OP-18 Saint Gunko: Purple-Black Leader Text Explained

OP-18 Saint Gunko is the second OP-18 Leader whose text has surfaced in detail, and it is a very different card from Franky. Instead of Stages, it wants Characters coming back from the trash and a big body on the board. Here is what the card says, what Bandai has actually confirmed, and the questions the full set will answer.

TL;DR: OP-18 Saint Gunko (OP18-060) is a Purple/Black Leader, 5000 power, 4 Life. When a Character is played from your trash, draw 2 and trash 1. Once per turn, trash a card from hand and, with an 8000+ base power Character on board, add an active DON!! from your deck. It is an engine leader that needs OP-18's supporting cards to prove itself.

OP-18 Saint Gunko? (quick answer)

OP-18 Saint Gunko is OP18-060, a Purple/Black Leader with 5000 power and 4 Life. It draws 2 and trashes 1 whenever a Character is played from your trash, and it can trash a card from hand to add an active DON!! if you control a Character with 8000 base power or more.

What is confirmed and what is not

Bandai's OP-18 product page confirms the set name, the release date of November 20, 2026, the $4.99 pack price, and that Saint Gunko and Saint Shamrock make their One Piece Card Game debut in this set. It also says the set features the Water Seven and Holy Knights of God themes.

The card number, colors, stats and effect text below come from card databases working from the Japanese reveal. Bandai's English card list had not been published when this article went live, so wording may shift slightly in the English print.

The OP-18 English display box: 24 packs, 12 cards per pack, as shown on Bandai's product page.

Overview: the two effects

As listed by card databases, OP18-060 has:

• Once per turn, when a Character is played from your trash, draw 2 cards and trash 1 card from your hand.
• [Activate: Main] [Once per turn] You may trash 1 card from your hand: if you have a Character with 8000 base power or more, add up to 1 DON!! card from your DON!! deck and set it as active.

The first line is a draw engine that only turns on when something is played from the trash. That is a narrow trigger. The second line is ramp that costs a card and requires a heavy Character in play.

Analysis: what the card needs from the set

Both effects are conditional, which is the whole point. Neither does anything on turn one with a fresh hand.

Trash play. The draw trigger needs cards that play Characters from the trash. Purple and Black both have a history of this kind of effect, but how many of them are strong enough to build around is a question for the full OP-18 list.

8000 base power. The DON!! ramp only works if you already control a big Character. In One Piece TCG, 8000 base power Characters tend to be expensive, so this effect usually rewards a deck that has already stabilised. It is a way to accelerate out of a good position, not to recover from a bad one.

The discard cost. Both effects have you trashing cards from hand. That feeds the trash, which supports the first line, but a hand that is trashed too aggressively runs out of plays. Any deck with this leader has to balance the two.

GODEEPER: For the other OP-18 Leader with detailed text so far, see the Franky breakdown. OP18 Franky leader explained →

Step-by-step: how to evaluate Saint Gunko before launch

1. Wait for the English card list. Exact English wording and the full pool of Characters that play from trash will be there.

2. List Characters with 8000 base power or more in Purple and Black. The ramp effect is dead without them, so count how many you would actually run.

3. Count trash-to-play effects. The draw line needs at least a handful of these in the deck to trigger on a normal turn.

4. Decide what you can afford to trash. Write down which cards in your list you would happily discard each turn and which you would never.

5. Compare against your existing Purple or Black leader. If your current list wins the matchups you care about, Saint Gunko has to beat it, not just be new.

Tips

• Trash-based decks are vulnerable to trash-hate effects. Check which OP-18 cards interact with the trash before committing.
• The DON!! line adds an active DON!!, which is different from adding a rested one. It can be spent the same turn.
• A parallel (alternate art) version of Saint Gunko has been reported, but Bandai has not published rarity information.

Key Takeaways

• OP18-060 Saint Gunko is a Purple/Black Leader with 5000 power and 4 Life.
• Draw 2 and trash 1 when a Character is played from your trash, once per turn.
• Trash 1 from hand and, with an 8000+ base power Character, add an active DON!! from your deck.
• Its value depends on OP-18's supporting cards, which are not public in English yet.
• OP-18 releases November 20, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the OP-18 Saint Gunko card number? Saint Gunko is OP18-060, a Purple and Black Leader listed with 5000 power and 4 Life. Bandai's OP-18 page says Saint Gunko and Saint Shamrock both make their card game debut in this set.

What does the OP-18 Saint Gunko leader do? Once per turn, when a Character is played from your trash, draw 2 and trash 1. Its Activate: Main lets you trash a card from hand to add an active DON!! if you control a Character with 8000 base power or more.

What colors is Saint Gunko in OP-18? Purple and Black, with the Celestial Dragons and Holy Knights of God types.

Is Saint Gunko a good leader? It is too early to say. The card needs enough trash-play effects and 8000 power Characters in OP-18 to work, and the full English list is not public yet.

When does OP-18 release? November 20, 2026, at $4.99 per pack. Cards are legal at your local game store from the pre-release date.

Related Reading

• OP-18 Release Date: What One Piece TCG Fans Actually Know: what is official about the set so far.
• OP-17 Kaido Deck Guide: a current Purple leader for comparison.
• One Piece TCG Complete Guide 2026: rules, DON!! and the trash zone explained.

References

• Official ONE PIECE CARD GAME OP-18 product page: release date, price, contents and the Saint Gunko debut note
• OPlayTCG card page for OP18-060: card stats and effect text
• TCGroupAU OP-18 reveal recap: ONE PIECE DAY '26 reveal details