Union Arena Chainsaw Man Reze Deck Guide: Purple 2026

How we checked this: we pulled Bandai's official Purple CHAINSAW MAN deck through its Bandai TCG+ deck code, compared it card by card with Joseph Writer Anderson's list, priced both on TCGplayer on October 13, 2026, worked out the exact draw odds for both lists, and tallied Bandai's 26-27 regional top fours.

Updated October 13, 2026: We replaced the tier-list score with real results from Bandai's archive, added Bandai's official decklist with prices, and fixed the card name: the 5-energy Raid card is Bomb Devil, not "Bomb".

The Union Arena Chainsaw Man Reze deck list

Bandai published a purple Chainsaw Man deck in its Recommended Decks by Title on July 24. It's 50 cards and shares 45 of them with Joseph Writer Anderson's list from the day before. The table shows both, with TCGplayer market prices for the base printing:

The differences are small. Bandai plays a third Bomb Devil (016) and two each of Denji (005) and Reze (027); JWA plays the fourth Denji (008) and full sets of Denji (003) and Reze (026). We'd start from Bandai's list: it's cheaper, and it's the one the publisher put out.

How the Reze engine works

Everything keys off one condition: a Denji on your field got sidelined this turn. Denji (003) can sideline himself at the end of the main phase, and Denji (006) draws a card when he's sidelined, or digs four deep for a Reze or Denji if one of your own abilities did it.

Once that's happened, Reze (031) gets better. She's a 4-energy, 4000-BP Raid card onto any Reze. When Played she draws a card and then either takes 1000 BP off an opposing front-line character or, with the Denji condition met, switches one of your AP cards back to active. That extra AP is the deck's tempo.

Image: Bandai, UNION ARENA official card list

Bomb Devil (017) is the removal. It's also a Raid onto Reze, and it's treated as Reze itself. When Played it either takes 1000 BP off a front-line character or, on your turn, if Reze is the only card with 4000 or more BP on your field or in your sideline, lets you sideline one of your own characters to take 5000 BP off one of theirs. Read that condition before you plan the turn: one non-Reze card with 4000 or more BP on your side turns the big mode off.

Image: Bandai, UNION ARENA official card list

Boom finishes the job. It sidelines an opposing front-line character with 3000 or less BP, or 5000 or less if a Reze is on your field. Stack a Bomb Devil cut on top and very little survives.

What the odds say

Raid needs a Reze on the field and the Raid card in hand, so we ran the numbers on the pieces. Both lists play eight Raid cards (four Reze 031, four Bomb Devil 017):

Finding a Denji is never the problem. Finding a Raid card is: about one opening hand in four has none, so you can't count on the AP re-stand every game. Denji (008) helps here, because it digs three cards for a character and, if it finds a Reze, takes 1000 BP off something on their side.

Image: Bandai, UNION ARENA official card list

Is the Union Arena Chainsaw Man Reze deck winning?

Not yet, on Bandai's records. Chainsaw Man was tournament legal from its July 24 release events. Since then Bandai has posted top fours for two North American regionals, Gen Con (August 2) and 401 Games (September 5). Neither has a Chainsaw Man deck. Purple Solo Leveling won both, and took four of the eight spots; Yellow Sakamoto Days took second and fourth at Gen Con.

That's a long way from the preview hype. JWA wrote before release that "Purple Reze is perfectly poised to dominate the UNION ARENA meta." The same guide named the problem, though: "Its biggest issue is arguably Yellow Sakamoto, as the Raid Sakamoto with the protection is a pretty hard counter to your Reze." Sakamoto is exactly what showed up at Gen Con.

The community chatter is thin, too. r/UnionArena had 22 posts in the 80 days to October 13, and the only two that mention Chainsaw Man are gameplay videos. Team Sleeveless said back in July it was "planning on doing one final set featuring the Purple Makima deck vs the Purple Reze deck," and that's about the extent of the Reze talk there.

Eight decks over two events is a small sample, so we wouldn't call Reze bad. We'd call it unproven. Arena South posted a match against Red Denji if you want to see the deck played:

What it costs

Three cards are almost the whole bill. In Bandai's list, three Denji (008) at $10.57, four Bomb Devil (017) at $4.14 and four Reze (031) at $3.39 come to $61.83, or 91% of the $67.82. Everything else is under 21 cents a copy. The chase printings are another matter: the Reze (030) R** parallel had a $1,012.81 market price on October 13. You don't need it.

Our take

We'd build Bandai's list for $67.82 and play it at locals. It's cheap, and the Denji sideline into an AP re-stand is a real engine. We wouldn't take it to a regional over Solo Leveling until a Chainsaw Man deck actually shows up in Bandai's top fours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Purple Reze a good deck in Union Arena? It works, but it isn't proven. Bandai's archive shows no Chainsaw Man deck in the top four at Gen Con (August 2) or 401 Games (September 5), and Solo Leveling took four of those eight spots.

What is the key card in the Reze deck? Reze (UE22BT/CSM-1-031), a 4-energy, 4000-BP Raid character. When Played she draws a card, then either takes 1000 BP off an opposing front-line character or, if a Denji was sidelined this turn, switches one of your AP cards to active.

What does Bomb Devil do in the Reze deck? Bomb Devil (CSM-1-017) is a 5-energy Raid character treated as Reze. It takes 1000 BP off a front-line character, or 5000 BP if Reze is your only 4000-plus card and you sideline one of your own characters.

How much does the Purple Reze deck cost? Bandai's 50-card list cost $67.82 on TCGplayer on October 13, 2026; JWA's cost $78.34.

Is Reze good for new Union Arena players? It's cheap enough, but you have to track a Denji sideline every turn and count BP before attacks. We'd learn the game on a simpler list first.

Related Reading

• Union Arena SAKAMOTO DAYS Deck Guide: the deck JWA called Reze's hardest matchup.
• Union Arena Red Kagurabachi Deck Guide: a simpler aggro deck if you're new.
• Union Arena Current Meta Tier List: where the rest of the field sits.