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Shonen TCG · General
Reviewing
One Piece TCG
OP-16 Law deck guide note: Trafalgar Law does not appear as a Leader in OP-16. Confirmed leaders are Ace, Luffy, Buggy, Sengoku, Yamato, and Blackbeard (source: Bandai EN official). This article covers Law as a Character card and DON!! manipulation as a deck strategy. Win rate data below is pre-launch estimation.
This guide covers running 
OP16-030OP16-030Shop on TCGplayer Trafalgar Law as a Character card and the DON!! manipulation strategy he enables. If you are looking for the Green/Yellow Supernova combo deck built around the older OP10-022 Trafalgar Law leader, see the GY Law OP-16 deck guide instead, it shares Law's name but has no strategic overlap with this build.
Trafalgar Law is the strategic player's choice among OP-16's six leaders. He does not overwhelm with raw power like 
OP16-065OP16-065Shop on TCGplayer Akainu or survive through numbers like 
OP16-014OP16-014Shop on TCGplayer Marco. Law wins through DON!! manipulation: stripping boosted power from opponent characters or redirecting resources to his own board at critical moments.
Playing Law well requires understanding DON!! management better than any other OP-16 leader demands. That depth is both the appeal and the barrier.
TL;DR: Law OP-16 uses DON!! manipulation to remove opponent power boosts and redirect resources. Mid-tier pick with high skill ceiling. Heart Pirates crew with Bepo and Jean Bart as key pieces. Budget build ~$85-105. Stronger against midrange, weaker into Sengoku's removal suite and Blackbeard's redirect. EN tournament data is just starting as of June 12 launch. Intermediate difficulty.
Law's mechanic targets attached DON!! on opposing characters. When your opponent attaches 3 DON!! to a character to boost it above counter range, Law's ability removes those DON!! cards, returning the character to its base power. This negates the investment your opponent made without triggering K.O. effects. The tempo gained from this disruption lets Law's own Heart Pirates advance their board state faster.
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About the author
TCG Deck Analyst
Former card game tournament organiser turned analyst. Covers One Piece TCG meta, deck efficiency, and card valuation. Builds spreadsheets for decks most people just play.
Disclaimer
This article is published for informational and entertainment purposes. It does not constitute professional financial, legal, or technical advice. Game performance, online services, patch schedules, and store listings change. Verify critical details (pricing, system requirements, regional availability) with publishers and storefronts before you buy. Affiliate links, where present, help support our editorial work and are labelled in our affiliate disclosure.
Standard OPTCG power math: when your opponent attaches 3 DON!! to a 5000 power character, it becomes 8000 power. You need 8000+ attack power to K.O. it, which may require your own DON!! commitment.
Law's Room ability creates an interrupt window. At certain trigger conditions (specific DON!! count, specific board state), Law can activate Room and move attached DON!! from a target opposing character to the opponent's DON!! area. The character returns to its base 5000 power. The DON!! cards go back to the opponent's available pool. Neither player gains an explicit advantage in card count, but the opponent's tempo investment is nullified.
Why does this matter competitively? Two reasons.
First, your opponent often commits DON!! for a specific attack that would kill one of your key characters. Removing those DON!! mid-attack sequence changes the power comparison and potentially saves your character at a cost of nothing from your resources.
Second, opponents plan multiple turns ahead with DON!! attachment. If you remove their planned attachment during their turn, their next-turn plan involves replanning around reduced power levels. This forces mistakes and misplays from opponents unfamiliar with the mechanic.
The risk: Law's manipulation requires setup. You need Law's leader ability active, specific DON!! counts, and in some cases specific Heart Pirates in play. If the setup pieces are not available, Law has no manipulation capability and plays as a less efficient midrange deck.
Law-style control rewards precise resource sequencing across a flexible card pool.
Law's DON!! manipulation is a lot easier to follow in motion than in a card-by-card writeup.
Leader (1):
Heart Pirates Core (16):
Mid-Range Support (12):
Events and Utility (17):
Total: 50 cards
SHOP: Building this Trafalgar Law list? Check current OP-16 singles prices on TCGPlayer. Shop TCGplayer →
Bepo (mandatory 4 copies): Bepo is why Law's ability fires consistently. He costs 2, enters as a Heart Pirate (activating alliance synergies), draws a card on entry, and specifically counts toward Law's leader ability condition. Without Bepo in the opening hand, Law's manipulation window is delayed to turn 3-4 instead of turn 2-3.
Shambles (4 copies): Law's most recognized card and the most versatile event in the deck. At 3 DON!!, Shambles can swap character positions (moving an opponent's blocker out of the blocker zone, enabling attacks that were blocked), trigger power manipulation effects, or in some interactions create board states where Law's leader ability fires twice in a turn. Read the current card text carefully as Shambles has multiple effect options.
Kid (4 copies): Law's alliance partner from the Wano arc. Kid and Law operating as co-captains is a thematic and mechanical partnership in OP-16. Kid at 4-cost provides a 5000-power attacker who shares the DON!! manipulation synergy in some versions of Law's build. The specific interaction depends on whether your local meta is running the "Kid/Law Alliance" variant.
Injection Shot (3 copies): Targeted removal for characters under 3000 power. Covers the space where Shambles is too expensive for small targets. Removes key opponent setup pieces (1-2 cost enable characters) without committing to a larger event.
GODEEPER: See how Law compares to all other OP-16 leaders side by side before committing to a build. OP-16 All 6 Leaders Explained →
Keep:
Mulligan:
Law's opening hand needs at least one Heart Pirate or a search piece for one. Without that, the manipulation mechanic is unavailable for the entire early game.
Turn 1: Play Penguin or Shachi (1-cost Heart Pirate). Condition count starts.
Turn 2: Play Bepo (2-cost, draws 1). Condition active. Hold Shambles in hand for reactive use.
Turn 3: Main phase. Law's manipulation ability active. Deploy Killer (Rush) for immediate pressure. Use Room event to strip DON!! from the opponent's most-boosted character if they over-committed DON!! on their turn 2.
Turn 4: Deploy Kid (4-cost alliance piece). Your board has Penguin + Shachi + Bepo + Killer + Kid. Five pieces total. Shambles on this turn can create a board wipe of their blocker zone if timed correctly.
Turn 5-6: Jean Bart (5-cost, 7000 power). His attack-twice conditional fires when 2+ Heart Pirates are in play, which they are. Jean Bart attacking twice plus 2-3 additional character attacks closes most games from 4 life.
vs. Sengoku/Akainu (unfavorable): Akainu's removal ignores DON!! attachment entirely. When Akainu removes your Bepo with Fujitora, your condition piece and draw source are both gone. Without Bepo, Law's manipulation window closes. Sideboard Heart Pirate Alliance (additional search pieces) to replace condition pieces faster.
vs. Marco (slightly favorable): Marco's blockers are 2000 power without DON!! attachment. Law's manipulation shines here: when Marco players attach DON!! to blockers to push past counter range, Law strips those DON!! and makes the blocker beatable at base cost. Law can consistently neutralize Marco's most expensive defensive investments.
vs. Buggy (favorable): Buggy's jail mechanic jails Heart Pirates out of play temporarily. Shambles can return jailed Heart Pirates from the jail zone in some card text interpretations; confirm your version's wording. Law rebuilds faster with Bepo draw than Buggy can sustain the disruption.
vs. Blackbeard (likely unfavorable): Blackbeard's redirect mechanic disrupts Law's combat plan by changing which characters take damage. JP week 1 shows Blackbeard at S-tier and beating mid-range decks. The matchup is worth testing once EN results come in.
vs. Luffy (even to slightly unfavorable): Both are tempo and resource management decks. Luffy's two-pool board width can present more threats than Law can manipulate away in a single turn. Matchup is close and will depend on pilot skill.
GODEEPER: For the current win rates and matchup data across the OP-16 field, see the meta tier list. OP-16 Meta Tier List Week 1 →
Law's DON!! manipulation creates resource advantages that Crocodile and Buggy exploit in the support Character slots.
Budget ($85-105): Keep the full Heart Pirate core (Bepo, Penguin, Shachi at 4 each). Drop Jean Bart to 1 copy. Replace Hawkins and Apoo with budget equivalents. Shambles and Room at 4 copies each remain unchanged. This build loses some late-game punch but the core manipulation mechanic runs identically.
Optimized ($130-160): Full list as written. Add Manga Rare Law ($30-50 for 1 copy) for the flex slot. The Manga Rare version has the same stats as standard but holds resale value better.
Track opponent DON!! attachment carefully. You need to know when they are about to attach enough DON!! to create a problem versus when they are making a suboptimal attachment that you should let resolve. Only manipulate when it genuinely saves you from an un-counterable attack.
Do not use Shambles proactively unless the board state clearly justifies it. Shambles at 3 DON!! is expensive for a reactive effect. Saving it for the turn where an opponent overextends DON!! attachment generates 3-4 turns of tactical advantage from a single card.
Learn the Room timing rules. Room can only be activated at specific windows in the turn structure. Misplaying Room (attempting to activate it outside a valid window) is an illegal action in tournament play. Know exactly when your ability window opens.
Law rewards pattern recognition. After 10+ games, you will start to see when opponents are about to over-commit DON!!. That recognition is what separates a losing record from a winning one with the same decklist.
OP-16 Ace Deck Guide: Whitebeard Pirates Burn Build: OP-16 Ace deck guide covers the Red leader's fast burn strategy, Whitebeard.
OP-16 Launch Day Guide: What to Do on June 12, 2026: OP-16 launch day guide for June 12, 2026.
OP-16 All 6 Leaders Explained: Law's placement among all OP-16 leader options
One Piece TCG Card Rarities Explained: Every rarity tier explained, from Common to SEC and Manga Rare, including OP-16 chase cards.
One Piece TCG Colors Explained: Blue is Law's primary color and its counter-heavy control playstyle explained.
OP-16 Complete Guide: Full set overview and key mechanics
OP-16 Garp Deck Guide: Law's closest Tier 2 competitor and comparable cost deck
OP-16 Akainu Deck Guide: Law's worst matchup in detail
One Piece TCG How to Play: DON!! rules review for Law's manipulation interactions
OP-17 Release Date: August 26, 2026 Global Launch: The next set launches worldwide on August 26, 2026, and will reshape which control tools Law has access to.
OP-17 Spoilers Complete Tracker: Every confirmed OP-17 leader, card, and release detail as spoilers drop.
Does Law's DON!! manipulation happen during the opponent's turn or yours? Law's ability activates on your turn during the Main Phase or in response to specific triggers during the opponent's turn depending on the exact card text version. Check your card text carefully. The most common version triggers during the opponent's Battle Phase.
Can Law manipulate DON!! attached to the opponent's leader? Generally no. Most Law card versions specify "non-leader character." Confirm your exact card text. Some promotional versions have different wording.
What is the best event to counter a Law player? Removal that targets characters before DON!! is attached. Law's manipulation requires opponents to have already attached DON!!. If you remove Law's key characters (Bepo, Jean Bart) before they generate value, Law's manipulation has nothing to trigger against.
Is Law good for players new to competitive One Piece TCG? Not recommended as a first competitive deck. Law's DON!! tracking requirements and Shambles timing decisions are above average difficulty. Start with Red Luffy or Garp; return to Law after 30+ games.
Can Law and Kid be played together as co-captains in OP-16? The Kid/Law Alliance mechanic from previous sets may or may not be supported in OP-16 depending on what Kid cards are standard-legal. Check current standard rotation before building the alliance variant.
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