OP-17 Xebec Deck Guide: Blue Rocks Pirates Build 2026

How we checked this: we pulled every Standard decklist and pairing from 24 Limitless Play events between September 28 and October 12, averaged the 109 Xebec lists, and ran 100,000 simulated games of our list (and of a common variant) to test the leader's reveal and the DON!! curve.

Updated October 13, 2026: Rebuilt for the post-ban format: a 50-card list from 109 tournament lists, a reason for every card, matchup records from 389 non-mirror matches, and simulation numbers for the reveal and the curve.

OP-17 Xebec deck: is it still good after the ban? (quick answer)

Yes, and it got better. The ban on OP14-020 Dracule Mihawk took effect on October 12, but online organisers applied it early: Mihawk shows up in just 2 of the 587 lists in our window. With Mihawk gone, Xebec sits at 18.6% of the field, ahead of Black Luffy (10.4%) and Luffy & Ace (8.5%). One player summed up the mood on r/OnePieceTCG: "Any serious discussion about Mihawk always included how it was keeping Xebec at bay."

The newest event in the sample, ChinoizeCup #121 on October 12 (64 players), had 12 Xebec lists. Three of them went 5-1: Frodon finished 2nd, Solmyr 3rd and divalol 5th.

OP-17 Xebec deck list: the average of 109 post-ban lists

Nine cards are four-ofs in every single list, or one copy short in a few. The rest of the slots are where players disagree. We kept every card that shows up in more than half of the 109 lists at its rounded average copies (48 cards), then gave the last 2 slots to the most-played card outside that group, Wang Zhi, at the 2.40 copies lists run when they play it.

SHOP: Want to build this exact list? Buy this list on TCGplayer → It loads the cards into TCGplayer Mass Entry at the lowest-priced matching printing, so check set, art and condition before you pay.

The averages behind the flex slots: Buckin 3.12, Captain John 2.54, Don Marlon 2.48, Streusen 2.27 and Kaido 1.50. The next card down is And That's When Somebody Makes Fun of Their Friend's Dream!!!! (EB02-030), a 2-cost Counter Event in 39 of the 109 lists, usually as a single copy. It's the one non-Rocks Pirates card most lists play, and it's the card we'd cut first.

Image: Bandai official card list (OP17-039). Rocks D. Xebec, the Blue Leader.

What the winning lists did differently

The two biggest wins in the sample barely touched the core. PolGoFo won ChinoizeCup #115 on September 28 at 7-0 out of 128 players with 4 Buckin, 4 Streusen, 4 Don Marlon and 2 Captain John. Rukyy won ChinoizeCup #119 on October 6 at 6-0 out of 64 with 4 Buckin, 3 Ganzui and 2 each of Streusen, Don Marlon and Captain John. Both went to four Buckin. We'd do the same: it's the cheapest Counter in a deck that has almost none.

Why Xebec's reveal doesn't miss with this list

The old worry about this leader was the gamble: trash a card, and if the top card isn't Rocks Pirates you're down a card. With the list above it isn't a gamble at all. All 50 cards have a type that includes "Rocks Pirates". Buckin's type reads Former Rocks Pirates, Gloriosa's Amazon Lily/Rocks Pirates, and both count. Only a non-Rocks card such as EB02-030 or a Jinbe can miss.

That's why we left EB02-030 out even though 39 of the 109 lists play one. We ran 100,000 games of each version, with the leader attacking once a turn and always paying. With our list the reveal hit every time. With one Wang Zhi swapped for EB02-030, it hit 98.0% of the time, and you'd see at least one miss by turn 6 in about 10% of games going first and 12% going second. Each hit is two cards for one, so the leader is a card-advantage engine on every attack, not a coin flip. Pay every time unless you need the exact card you'd trash.

OP17-040OP17-040Shop on TCGplayer Edward Newgate is where the hand gets tight. His +3000 also costs a hand card, on the same attack where Xebec wants one. You can't pay both every turn without emptying your hand, so pick one per combat: the reveal when you need cards, Newgate when an attack has to get through.

Image: Bandai official card images (OP17-040 and OP17-056). Edward Newgate and the Rocks Pirates Event, four-ofs in all 109 lists.

The Counter problem, and a Buckin trap

None of OP-17's Rocks Pirates Characters has a printed Counter. Your defence is the 8 Rocks Pirates Events at +2000, 3 Buckin at +1000 and OP17-118OP17-118Shop on TCGplayer the 10-cost Xebec, which has a +2000 Counter in hand only "if you only have Characters without a Counter". Read that line twice: Buckin has a Counter, so a Buckin on your field switches OP17-118's Counter off. Play Buckin from hand early for tempo if you like, but once you're holding OP17-118 to defend, keep Buckin in hand as a Counter rather than on the board.

The base OP17-118 is cheap ($18.26 on Limitless on October 13); the manga-art print listed at $6,100.00 plays the same. Our Super Parallel and Manga Rare explainer covers the rarity tiers if you're shopping for a version.

Image: Bandai official card list (OP17-118). The 10-cost Xebec draws 1 and plays up to two differently named Rocks Pirates cards from hand.

GODEEPER: How Xebec was revealed, his card numbers, and why OP17-118 isn't an alt art of the leader. OP-17 Blue Leader Revealed: Rocks D. Xebec Confirmed →

Step-by-Step: the OP-17 Xebec deck's DON!! curve

Same simulation, same 100,000 games. We mulliganed any opening hand without a 1- to 3-cost Character, which happened 15% of the time.

1. Turns 1 and 2: Streusen, Kyo or Buckin, then Stussy or Don Marlon. Streusen sets up the top of your deck before your first reveal, and Kyo draws. Stussy on 3 DON!! keeps their best early attacker home for a turn.

2. Start revealing as soon as the leader can attack. With all 50 cards hitting, every attack is worth paying for. Trash the card you least need: an extra Event once you've drawn plenty, never your last Counter.

3. 5 DON!!: the Blue Linlin or Gloriosa plus a 1-drop. Linlin's On Play hands the opponent a bad choice: you draw 2 or they trash 2. Gloriosa removes a cost 5 or less Character to the bottom of the deck, where it can't come back from the trash.

4. 7 DON!!: Shiki. He has Rush against Characters and shrinks a blocker by 3000 when you trash a Rocks Pirates card. You'll have him in hand by your 7-DON!! turn in 63% of games going first and 70% going second.

5. 10 DON!!: OP17-118. It draws a card and puts two more Rocks Pirates cards into play, such as Newgate plus Stussy (cost 9 total). You'll be holding at least one copy when you reach 10 DON!! in 76% of games going first and 77% going second.

Xebec matchups after the Mihawk ban

These records come from 389 non-mirror matches between known decks on Limitless Play, September 28 to October 12, 2026. The mirror was 48-48.

Black Luffy is the real problem, and the card text explains it. OP17-094OP17-094Shop on TCGplayer Rodo costs 1 but gains +12 cost with an Elbaph leader, and Black Luffy's leader gives every Character with cost 12 or more Blocker. A cost-13 Rodo is out of reach for Gloriosa (cost 5 or less) and for the Rocks Pirates Event's bounce (cost 6 or less). Stussy still works, because she checks base cost. A Reddit player put it this way: Black Luffy has "tiny blockers that can’t be removed by Gloriosa that can be chained to block 9/12k swings."

Wang Zhi looks like the answer on paper, since he bottoms every opposing Character with base cost 1 and Rodo is base cost 1. The results don't show it yet. Xebec lists with Wang Zhi went 6-14 against Black Luffy, and lists without him went 12-24. That's about the same rate. We'd still run two in a field heavy on Black Luffy, but don't expect them to flip the matchup.

GODEEPER: Blue's full identity beyond this one leader: draw power, DON!! recovery and bounce. One Piece TCG Blue Deck Guide: Tempo and Draw →

Car D. Kaizoku's guide video walks through a Xebec list and gameplay:

Our take

This is the deck we'd bring to a post-ban event. It's the most-played leader, its engine draws two cards on every reveal with the list above, and it beats most of the field slightly. Build that list, go up to four Buckin like the two biggest winners did, and keep Buckin in hand once OP17-118 is your Counter. If your local is full of Black Luffy, either practise that matchup hard or pick something else. At 18-38 it's the one game where Xebec's strengths don't matter. If you're playing Big Mom, the reverse applies: our Big Mom guide found Xebec was its worst matchup.

Related Reading

• OP-17 Meta Tier List: where every OP-17 leader sits right now.
• One Piece TCG banlist: the six banned cards since October 12, including Mihawk.
• OP-17 Kaido deck guide: the Purple leader Xebec is slightly behind.
• OP-17 Spoilers Complete Tracker: every OP-17 card and leader in one list.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the OP-17 Xebec deck good after the Mihawk ban? Yes. From September 28 to October 12, 2026, Rocks D. Xebec was the most-played leader on Limitless Play, with 109 of 587 Standard lists (18.6%). It won 199 of 389 non-mirror matches, 51.2%. The one common matchup it clearly loses is Black Luffy, at 18-38 over the same two weeks.

What is the best Xebec decklist right now? The average of 109 post-ban lists runs four each of Gloriosa, Newgate, Shiki, OP17-118, both 0-cost Events, Kyo, Stussy and the Blue Linlin. Then come 3 Buckin, 3 Captain John and 2 each of Don Marlon, Streusen, Kaido and Wang Zhi. The two biggest winners in the sample both played four Buckin.

How often does Xebec's leader reveal miss? Never with our list, because all 50 cards have a type that includes Rocks Pirates, Buckin included (his type is Former Rocks Pirates). Lists with one EB02-030, 39 of the 109, can miss: in our 100,000-game simulation that version's reveal hit 98.0% of the time. Either way, pay every time.

Why does Xebec lose to Black Luffy? Black Luffy's Giants, such as Rodo, gain +12 cost with an Elbaph leader, and the leader gives cost 12 or more Characters Blocker. Gloriosa (cost 5 or less) and the Rocks Pirates Event (cost 6 or less) can't touch them. Xebec went 18-38 against Black Luffy from September 28 to October 12.

Does Wang Zhi fix the Black Luffy matchup? Not in the results so far. Wang Zhi bottoms every opposing Character with base cost 1, Rodo included. But Xebec lists running Wang Zhi went 6-14 against Black Luffy, about the same rate as lists without him (12-24). Run him for the matchup, but don't expect him to flip it.

Is OP17-118 worth buying for this deck? Yes, the base print. All 109 lists in our post-ban sample run four copies, and Limitless listed the base print at $18.26 on October 13, 2026. The manga-art print, listed at $6,100.00, is a collector piece that plays exactly the same as the base card in a deck.

References

• Limitless Play One Piece tournaments: source of the 109 Xebec lists, standings and pairings (September 28 to October 12, 2026)
• Rocks D. Xebec (OP17-039) on Limitless TCG: leader text, block and legality
• One Piece Card Game Card List, OP-17: official text and types for every OP-17 card
• Bandai restriction notice, effective October 12, 2026: OP14-020 Dracule Mihawk banned
• Limitless OP17-118 price page: base and manga-art print prices
• Car D. Kaizoku: Rocks D. Xebec deck guide (YouTube): video embedded above