OP07 The WANO Perona Guide (by the Perona Father: @ikailakai)

OP07 The Wano Perona Guide

Hi there, Kai (@ikailakai) here with an in-depth guide on my OP07 leader of choice, Perona. Perona is a leader that has always been part of my identity in recent sets. I pride myself in helping develop the standard version of Perona in OP06 in the ‘Spam 10 cost Doflamingo and pray’ list.

In Japan, Perona has never been a meta staple, but nonetheless, I have managed to go 7-2 with Perona in OP06, and 7-1 with her once again in OP07.

I think that Perona is underrated in many ways. Her leader ability is recognizably strong, but past that, she has historically struggled from her lack of ability to be flexible. She would play a powerful card every turn, KOing where she can, and lock what she can’t with 10 cost Doflamingo to end the game relatively early. 

For Perona, it seemed like she might fade away as the awkward Sakazuki copy that couldn’t draw 1 and trash 1. 

However, in OP07, RIKI (banned for multi-accounting, but great guy I’ve heard) found something that we all overlooked. 

If you remember the Film Shanks start deck, you may remember that this card is very similar to Buena Festa. Buena Festa found play in Green Purple Film Doflamingo in OP04, and was an excellent card as it could search, and also be a 2000 counter, increasing the consistency, and defense of the deck. Purple Film in isolation could never work despite having Buena Festa as the Purple Film Package is rather weak. As such, the ‘1 cost Searcher with 2000 counter’ was an extremely powerful card, that was gated only by the cards that it was capable of searching.

Otama seemed like she could fall into the same category. Green Wano cards used to be very strong. I remember when 4 cost Yamato (4/6000 On play Rest a 6 cost or less) was one of the strongest cards in the game in OP02. After OP02, Wano has gotten very sparing buffs, leaving it in mediocrity for almost 2 years.

However, there was one card that Wano got recently, in OP06. 

Ryuma seems to have Wano on it just for flavor. When I was cooking Perona in OP06, I explored Wano as it’s the only searchable keyword on Ryuma, but deemed the rest of the package too weak to make it worth using the package just for Ryuma.

However, with Otama, and other cards like Hiyori provided in EB01, there was another card that was suddenly usable, and extremely strong.

Sorry wrong card

This forgotten OP01 card, along with the Momonosuke, and Otama suddenly made it actually viable to run Wano just for Ryuma. Green Wano is a resource gaining package that continuously filters through the deck to find Ryuma, as well as resources through Samurai.

It is through this package that this deck functions. Thanks to Momonosuke being an Activate Main searcher, and Samurai draw 2 cards for the cost of 1, the weakness of Perona as a 4 life leader is effectively erased, as she gains more than enough resources to outdraw a 5 life leader such as Lucci.

I believe that Perona has one of the best spreads in the OP07 metagame. Though I have bias as this deck is my baby, I truly think that this deck has an excellent matchup against almost all of the top decks. However, it can be very taxing to play as it can, to some extent, require you to memorize the order of your deck when you search at the highest level.

In this guide, I will discuss:

• My list including my new tech 

• The fundamental play-style

• The popular matchups and how you can tech better the matchups you are struggling with

• How to more easily memorize the order of your deck.

My New List

My list is 48 cards similar to the list that I brought to the Tokyo Championship. Many of these cards have already been discussed, so rather than explaining card by card, it would be more efficient to go through the ones that might be a more focal point of interest, and that have some interesting use cases.

Bell-mère

One of the reasons why I overlooked Perona in OP07 originally was because the meta game has an abundance of 5 cost characters. Gedatsu, 5 cost Kid, 5 cost Sabo, Half of BY Luffy’s deck to name some of the more prevalent ones.

Bell-mère is not only a card that lets you reach that threshold, it lets you do it for free. Bell-mère gives your character or leader +1000, while being 1 cost. This means that the only cost is the 1 card you lose from your hand playing it. However, as Bell-mère is [Activate Main], it is hard to ignore for the opponent, and continuously accumulates value on the coming turns. This means that the opponent tends to be forced to hit it, making an artificial blocker, similar to Momonosuke. Having these Activate Main cards gives Perona very high survivability even in the face of aggressive decks like RP Law that often need to prioritize clearing something else on the board rather than Bell-mère.

Thanks to this card, RP Law and BY Luffy both become significantly better matchups.

Bingoh

My new spice. I love finding these random cards that can further push the deck to new heights like Bell-mère, and Bingoh is that new innovation.

If you have played the deck, you may find yourself in these 2 situations occasionally.

• I drew Ice Age against RP Law and it’s borderline useless

• I can’t clear 6 cost Hawkins from Bonney

Bingoh not only makes Ice Age a power card against RP Law, it also makes Hawkins disappear for only 2 Don. (Cross Edit: Can also double pop 7-Cost Enel! IceAge + Ryuma + Bingoh)

On top of this, Bingoh is a Wano card, meaning that you can be greedy with your number of copies and still be fairly confident in your ability to draw it, should you need it. However, compared to a card like Momonosuke and Bellemere, it is not as threatening, despite also being Activate Main. It doesn’t accumulate value on its own, and need Ice Age, or some sort of cost reduction to use its full potential. If you somehow fight someone using this card, first of all, I am 99% sure they are also part of the Cross Community as I have never seen anyone even talk about this card before, but second of all, it can be ignored in many cases. It only combos with Ice Age, and unless you are playing RP Law, baiting Perona into using multiple Ice Ages while you still run top end (such as 9 Zoro in Bonney) is oftentimes the correct play.

This being said, it is still a cheap card that can be used as a Samurai target, so it is never a ‘dead card’ on the board.

Although I am running 2 in my list, I believe it can easily be 1 as it’s generally supplementary to Perona’s already powerful kit. I do not think I would consider running 3.

Searchers (Momonosuke & Otama)

Playing these with your spare don is generally fine. There will be times where you would rather have Otama in your hand as a 2000 counter, than as a search. Keep that in mind and don’t be overzealous with searching.

In regards to Momonosuke, note that occasionally, using Samurai to rest Momonosuke is better than using the actual search effect of Momonosuke. As I say in every guide with a searcher, you must know what you are looking for. If the best thing that you can find off of Momonosuke is 1000 counter, then using Samurai has the potential to not only get that 1000 counter, but also non-Wano cards. 

When you are searching, the priority will change in every instance of the game. Here are a few situations where you would choose 1 card over another.

• Momonosuke: Choosing Momonosuke is good, especially if you just searched with Momonosuke, and have 2+ Don left. Setting up 2 Momonosuke can occasionally lead to 1 of them remaining on the board to accumulate more value over the next coming turns.

• Otama: Otama is a 2000 counter, and will always take priority over Izou unless you need Izou’s on play effect immediately. Otama is a great choice as she is also the best Samurai target.

• Bingoh: Only in the Bonney and RP Law matchup, or if you need a Samurai target and have nothing else.

• Izou: Only when you need the effect to end the game on that turn, or need a 2k and Otama isn’t there.

• Hiyori: As the deck only runs 2, heavily consider picking this in a search if you don’t have one yet. She is very important to the combos that this deck can do (more info below)

• Ryuma: Generally you want as many Ryuma as you can get, so unless something absolutely takes priority, grabbing more Ryuma is always safe. I may choose a Momonosuke over Ryuma from time to time if I think I can potentially loop my deck quickly, but use your own judgment on if that is greedy or not.

• You can be my Samurai: Though this card is insanely strong, it is not core to the KO system of Perona. I would definitely prioritize this over most cards in searches, but I would never force myself to pick it in situations such as not having one yet.

Izou

Izou is mainly just a 2000 counter to make sure your searches keep hitting, However, remember that with leader ability, Izou can rest a 5 cost in a pinch.

Kozuki Hiyori

Although Hiyori can play a 5 cost or less Wano card, I deemed it not worth it to run Yama-san, which would be the only viable other choice. Hiyori plays Ryuma, and refreshes a card, and that is it.

The reason why she is run, despite ‘a 4 cost that plays a 4 cost from hand’ feeling redundant, is for several reasons

• It allows you to use Moria flexibly

  • In OP06, the 0 cost event, Inuppe, or Sabo were required to drop Ryuma into your trash so that you could effectively use Moria. Hiyori now allows you to simply counter with Hiyori to drop her into trash, and use Moria to pull out Hiyori, who will then pull out Ryuma from hand while drawing a card.

• It’s a Wano target

  • Though we run the Wano package for its resources, it remains true that there are not very many good Wano cards. Hiyori being searchable helps keep the consistency of searches high when you are going crazy with Momonosuke and Otama. Though with 24 Wano targets, the odds of you hitting a search is 96.2% for Momonosuke, and 93.3% for Otama, as you search more and more throughout a game, you do not want to start missing your searches as you expunge your deck. There have been games where I have looped through my deck twice, and didn’t miss a single search from proper preparation.

• It’s a Samurai target

  • Hiyori does not need to be active to use the effect, so whether it is when it is played out of hand, or off of Moria, Samurai can be used before activating Hiyori’s effect to bring out Ryuma active while drawing 2 cards 

Hiyori is an extremely versatile card, but only one is needed throughout the game. As such, I deemed that only 2 are necessary. However, as such, this means that if you see Hiyori in a search, it is wise to pick it most of the time, as you don’t know where the second one may be.

Borsalino

Part of why this deck uses Borsalino so well, in the OP06, and OP07 version, is because Perona’s leader ability has the capability to clear the board without using resources. By using leader ability and swinging into the target, the opponent is faced with a decision. Do they defend it, and potentially lose value to Ryuma, or do they let it go, and potentially have a Borsalino played for free on an empty board. The true power of Perona comes when she has both options in hand, but simply searching Ryuma so that your opponent knows it’s in your hand can be enough to clear anything (4 cost or less) with a simple leader swing.

5 cost Sabo

As you may have noticed, 5c Sabo is no longer in the deck. I believe that Sabo can be replaced. I’m a big Sabo Hater. However, it is extra security, so those who want that reassurance should definitely utilize it. It has merit as extra Borsalino in the event that a situation like the one above happens, but the effect is not too useful, and is generally worse than Borsalino in the OP07 metagame.

8 cost Sabo

With Perona’s leader ability, she can clear a 5 cost and 4 cost for no additional cost. Perona can use 8 cost Sabo better than any other leader due to having an enormous hand. Thanks to the resources that the Wano package yields, the -1 hand cost is not taxing, and simply lets Perona clear 2 characters on the board while establishing an 8 cost 9000 very effectively. Comboing this with Ice Age lets Perona take almost anything on the board.

Ice Age

I personally think 4 Ice Age is a must if you don’t run any other cost reduction events as it cannot be searched, and makes many matchups easier to continuously clear their board, such as Enel, Bonney, and Lucci.

Which boss monster should I use?

There are many choices to choose from. In Japan, the norm was a mixture of Moria, Stussy, and 9Zoro.

However, as you can see, I reallllllllyyyy disagree with this assessment by other Japanese players. Here are the boss monsters, and the reasons why you would play them.

Moria: Helps you establish a board while maintaining resources, and clearing the opponent’s board. It is a value machine, and although I am skeptical of it being ‘absolutely 4of must have card,’ you can’t go wrong with this card.

Sabo: Versatile board clear that allows you to KO top end characters, or midrange characters. I think that Sabo is essentially a more versatile Stussy, and therefore, I do not run Stussy.

Stussy: Although Stussy synergises well with the deck’s 1 costs that remain on the board, it is hard to use well against BY Luffy, and more importantly, RP Law. Consider this card if you need another leg up on Enel or Lucci.

9 Zoro: I don’t think this is really ever a good choice in this deck. It is a win more card against Bonney and BY Luffy, which I think are already good matchups

Issho: This card was very close to making it into my deck. I’d prefer this card over Stussy as anti-Enel tech. However, not being able to affect the board immediately on play can feel slow, so I have passed this card by on this occasion.

Fundamental Movement:

When piloting this new Wano Perona, there are a few traps that you can fall into. The most common one is oversearching. The dopamine receptors go weoweo when you double Momonosuke into Otama into Samurai and draw an enormous amount of cards. However, by doing this too much, you fail to establish your own board that can actually pressure the opponent’s board. Cards like Ryuma are important for alleviating the opponent’s pressure, while creating your own. 

This is the general flow that Perona tries to go for, but the importance of the deck is flexibility from turn to turn. 

(Reminder F/S stands for First or Second, and the number refers to the maximum Don that you have on that turn)

Side note: When I say ‘Ryuma’ I recommend using Hiyori to play Ryuma when you have it in your hand. Getting Hiyori into the trash quickly helps set up for Moria, and cycles your deck for more options.

First:

F1: Otama / Momonosuke 

You generally prioritize Momonosuke on this turn as on the next turn it allows you to rest 2 Momonosuke together in the event that you search another one. Even if you play Otama, without another 1 cost target, you can’t use Samurai yet, and it can be ignored by the opponent.

F3: Momonosuke / Samurai

If you can manage to go Momonosuke -> Momonosuke, then without some sort of board clear, there is a high likelihood that one of them will stay even on your 5 don turn. As you generally want to be playing a 4 cost on the 5 don turn, you will have this spare don available, making the Double Momonosuke start optimal. However, in the event that you don’t, and your opponent ignores your board, you can also use the next turn to Samurai, draw 2 cards and play a 4 cost regardless. 

In the event that your opponent played a searcher or small body, I would use leader ability and hit it in situations where I plan to use Momonosuke. This forces the opponent to use their leader to clear Momonosuke, and not get a free clear with Spandam.

F5: Borsalino / Ryuma

As we’ve mentioned, having both of these options available to us allows us to rest, swing at a target, and then react to how the opponent plays out their turn. In the event we only have one or the other, we can play out our turn differently. If we absolutely want to play Ryuma this turn, valuing the 4/6000 power line that it creates, and don’t have Borsaino, hitting leader to ensure that Ryuma does work is an option. In the other scenario where you have Borsalino, but no Ryuma, bluffing that you have Ryuma, by hitting the character on the board with 4 Don separated from your Don pile can make your opponent lose value as Borsalino comes down. The important point is adaptability.

Sometimes, like I implied, you won’t need the 4/6000 power line, and just want to clear the board. In these scenarios, you can rest, hit their board, and if they defend it, play Ryuma as usual, and if they don’t just search and/or samurai to pad out the turn. This adaptability is what makes Perona so fun, and so annoying to play against.

F7: Searches, Samurais, Board Clears

On this turn, we do not have a 5,6, or 7 cost that we want to play optimally, and thus, becomes the turns that we can catch up on the searches and Samurais we’ve been holding. Like in BY Luffy, we have these timings where we have spare Don, so we do not need to rush to use our searches early on. In fact, holding searches for longer increases the value of the search.

F9: Sabo / Moria

On this turn, we also have a spare don that can be used for numerous things such as Ice Age, or Samurai. From here on out we’ll be working with the cards in our hand, and trash flexibly to respond to the opponent’s board efficiently while powering up our board more and more.

Second:

S2: Otama / Momonosuke

While we can use Momonosuke and the effect on the same turn, I want to slow you down. Is the Momonosuke at risk of dying on the 3 Don turn. If it isn’t, I prefer to leave Momonosuke active on the 2 don turn, to potentially Double Momonosuke on the 4 don turn. They create a similar situation to the movement going first and create a wall that’s very hard to pass. In matchups like RP Law, who would never use their leader ability on turn 2 in OP07, playing Otama + Momonosuke on turn 1 to set up for a search, and potential Samurai or extra search on the next turn creates scenarios where you are developing your hand, and building the board with something that needs to be swung at to stall the game to the point where you inevitably win.

Timing where you would use Momonosuke and the effect on S2 even in matchups where the opponent can’t clear it would be times where you want to play a 4 cost on 4 don.

S4: More searching, or Ryuma / Borsalino

Usually on this turn, there isn’t a target that we desperately want to clear with Ryuma. As such it’s generally a decision between Borsalino and resource farming.

S6: More searching, and Ryuma / Borsalino

Playing a body on this turn is important to actually be able to pressure your opponent later in the game. By going second there is more Don to play with that gives us more time to use Samurai and searches on the same turn. Playing Ryuma + Otama + Samurai on this turn is common. Do not feel afraid to rest larger targets with Samurai, including things like Moria. These cards have a large statline that generally are difficult to swing into. Resting them does not actually affect the board state negatively for yourself in many cases.

S8: Moria / Sabo

You do not have the extra don that F9 has, but you have the opportunity to play the body faster. Sabo on this turn is immensely powerful and no decks tend to run powerful 7 costs in this meta. In the instance that they do, Moria can pull out things such as Helmeppo + Hiyori -> Ryuma to clear an active 7 cost.

S10: Moria / Sabo, but with extra fun cards

From here it is the same as F9, where you have the spare don to search, or to use Ice Age / Samurai to further create a rift in the resources between you and your opponent.bvcfx

Matchups:

This was the assessment that I gave for Perona in the OP07 Primer. I did not want to overvalue Perona with my bias, but I want to correct a point. I do think that Lucci and Moria are slightly winning. (Moria slightly more so). However, Lucci for example feels very very close, and while it is not necessarily 60:40, it feels close to 55:45.

RP Law: 

50-50

Side Selection: Second

Mulligan: Momonosuke > Otama > Ryuma / 8Sabo

RP Law in OP07 prefers to go second. By going second we not only take away their powerful move, we also can play 8Sabo on curve to seal the game. In this matchup, having, and not having Sabo can make a big difference especially if you’ve been given first. 

Many people think that as Perona you have this ability to be able to starve decks well, and while this is true for some matchups, I would not do so in the RP Law matchup. Test this further as I could be wrong, but I think that hitting the leader when you have nothing else to do is fine, as in fact, it’s hard to consistently starve RP Law out of the game. If they high roll and draw all of their Queens and all of their Reijus, we not only lose the advantage of starving, but we lose our potential out of finish the game on our own clock. By hitting in this matchup (when there is no other target), and putting Law down to 3 or sometimes 2 life, we can create a scenario where we can hit the leader to force counter out of the opponent’s hand.

In this matchup, you simply want to continuously clear the opponent’s board as optimally as possible each turn and build your resources. 

Also keep in mind that if you are not planning to use Bingoh, that Ice Age is better for resting 5 costs than Tsuru is. Without Bingoh, Ice Age is a dead card, but can help you rest 5 costs with your leader ability. When doing this in the midgame, make sure to use Ice Age, as it doesn’t have counter.

Lucci: 

55-45

Side Selection: Second

Mulligan: Borsalino > Momonosuke > Otama > Moria

I used to take first in this matchup, and can’t for the life of me remember my logic why. I believe that you should be taking second as you can set up Borsalino on 4, but perhaps I am missing something.

The Lucci matchup is a matchup where I do actually starve my opponent from time to time. The reason for this is due to the fact that most of Lucci’s power-cards are unsearchable. If they fail to play 2 Morias back to back, and an Enies Lobby somewhere in the mix, they become a significantly weaker deck. Lucci uses Moria exceptionally well, and by not hitting them you prevent them from around 2 more draws that can help them not only find these cards, but protect them with potential counter. In this matchup we are fighting hard for board control. If Lucci consistently draws everything that he needs, he can potentially outvalue Perona due to cards such as Stussy and his insanely powerful Morias.

However, in the event that you can establish cards like Borsalino twice early on, hitting leader and stopping the starve is perfectly fine as it lets you threaten resources out of your opponent’s hand in a similar way to how you can against Law.

If you are struggling with this matchup, consider how you are using your Moria. Generally your Sabo can clear more than what Moria can clear, but Moria can gain resources, where Sabo only cuts them. Finding a timing where both are sufficiently good generally means that Moria is the correct play. Play the long game and out resource Lucci with your insane draw sources and push back once your board, whether it’s an army of Borsalinos, or when finally one of your 8 costs, sticks to win this matchup.

If you struggle in this matchup, Stussy is a good value card, as well as cards like 5c Sabo to help keep a lead that you already have.

Moria:

Slightly Winning

Side Selection: Second

Mulligan: Borsalino > Momonosuke > Moria

Moria can be difficult if you fail to draw Borsalino, and is very easy if you do. Sticking these cards to the board reduces Moria’s aggression and creates a body that he cannot clear. Borsalino is one of the most important cards to both Lucci and Moria as they cannot clear it with their effects, and need to hit into it, or have you block with it. 

It essentially gives your leader another free attack, or free +1000 counter every turn on top of a free life every time that he is played. Borsalino is king, and you may find it more beneficial in the Moria matchup (and sometimes Lucci matchup) to prioritize playing Borsalino over Ryuma even if you have a target to KO. Having your board stick creates a compounding advantage that adds up at the end of the game.

Moria, unlike Lucci, absolutely cannot be starved. Moria uses Hogback and can infinitely loop their 8Morias if you let them. Please do not starve Moria, and fight the board as it’s summoned to eventually push back with your Borsalino army.

If you are struggling with the Moria matchup a card like 5 cost Bonney is actually an option to prevent their Moria turn on 8 Don. It’s a bandaid solution that I do not absolutely love, but it is an option.

BY Luffy:

Slightly Winning

Side Selection: Second

Mulligan: Momonosuke > Ryuma > Bell-mere > Otama

BY Luffy is only as threatening as his board. Reject used to keep BY Luffy in check as a 6Don option to clear 5 cost Luffy in Enel. However, many decks fail to deal with 5 cost (power-up) Luffy. If this Luffy stays on the board for even 1 extra turn, it can create an advantageous situation for BY Luffy. As Perona, we can easily clear BY Luffy’s Luffy with a cost reducer (Bell-mere, Tsuru, Ice Age) with Ryuma. Making sure that we actually have this is important. However, if you can Bell-mere -> Ryuma Luffy’s Luffy, then Perona is now in an advantageous situation. Clearing Luffy’s board by any means necessary, including slamming your don to hit the target, gives Perona enough time to develop her board and create a powerful attack that will end the game. As Perona always has this threat of Ice Age, Tsuru, Bellmere, or even Izou with leader ability, 1 of Luffy’s Sabos are always useless in the late game. As such, the strength that BY Luffy has over other mono-black decks is erased, making it a slightly winning matchup for Perona.

If you are struggling with this matchup, Issho is the card.

Enel:

Slightly Losing

Side Selection: First

Mulligan: Borsalino / Momonosuke > Otama > Moria / Top End > Ice Age

While this matchup is slightly losing with my construction, with tech cards you can make it very winning. Enel is the matchup that differs the most from the top end that you play. If you are seeing this matchup a lot, 9 Zoro, or even better, 8 Issho is a great choice.

You generally want to progress your turns cycling for top end and building your board to pressure the opponent's life, so that you can finish the game before their top end starts to take over the game. The reason that I prefer to take first is because when you take second and play an 8 cost on curve, you create a free 8 Katakuri target. Perona doesn’t have a strong 7 don turn aside from clearing what was played and accumulating resources. Enel on the other hand, wants to be developing their top end to push back. If they are forced to use 8 Katakuri on a Borsalino, that’s one less Katakuri you need to worry about for Moria. When you do play Moria or Sabo on 9, clearing Katakuri in the process, the opponent now is faced with the decision to continue to develop their top end with an Ace, or play another 8 Katakuri out of necessity. By taking first, we force the opponent to deal with our board at awkward times.

Keep up the pressure with cards like Borsalino in the early game, and baton pass it to the late game characters that clear Enel’s board while establishing yours. If you give Enel too much time, their top end is stronger than yours, so be careful of this. A cheeky 8 Issho in the mid game can be an effective disruptor to this plan.

Mirror:

50-50

Side Selection: Second

Mulligan: Borsalino > Momonosuke > Moria

I honestly have only hit 1 mirror in all of my OP07 tournaments, so this is more just what I know hurts Perona than actual battle experience. Not only did I only play the mirror once in tournament, it was a hilarious game where we both couldn’t draw jack shit and had the most awkward fumble playing a card and passing until one of us could draw Momonosuke (It was me. That’s why I won).

Borsalino is a nightmare for Perona to deal with as she cannot Ryuma it. However, she can just rest and slam 8000 into it while also searching on the same turn. Doing this in response to Borsalino on 5 or 6 is an effective way to deal with the board. If you somehow need to tech for the Perona mirror, 5 cost Bonney to prevent the 8 Don play, or 8Issho, 5 Smoker etc. are all cards you can consider. Play for value and do not waste your resources on clearing things that don’t matter, such as stray Otamas.

Bonney:

Slightly Winning

Side Selection: Second

Mulligan: Momonosuke > Otama > Moria > Ice Age

This is a matchup that is also swayed by the tech choices. 8 Issho is an excellent choice in this matchup as it’s very hard for Bonney to clear, and lets you rest anything that costs 7 or less with your leader ability for free thanks to Issho. This means that you can also rest Hawkins and hit it hard for 10000 with Issho to physically clear the board, and make it harder in general for their board to stick.

This is another matchup where people think it’s optimal to starve, but I simply don’t think it’s necessary to as you have the stronger top end.

While Bingoh can also do this, and multiple turns faster than Issho, Bingoh is never something to mulligan for. Finding Ice Age, as it’s unsearchable, and using Momonosuke to search for Bingoh will yield a better result when fighting Bonney. Still, do not be overzealous with your Ice Ages, and you will need them sometimes to clear 9 Zoro. If you are generally not threatened by the Hawkins on the board, overspending resources to clear it can hurt you instead. Play a slower game as unlike Enel, your top end is stronger, and sticks more. Never let Zoro live, and you will find yourself eventually winning out the value game against Bonney.

REMEMBER: 2 cost Rosinante can still ‘block’ even if it’s rested by using its effect for when a rest character (8Kid) is KO’d Every other blocker can be deactivated by resting it, but do not slam 10 don on a character to clear 8 Kid thinking the Rosinante won’t save him.

How to more easily memorize the order of your deck

Some people acknowledge that this is a good thing to do, but do not actively try to as it’s difficult to memorize the order of your deck. However, there is an easier way. Knowing what you’ve already seen in your searches, and knowing what you will see on the loop is important to weighing the decision between searching with Momonosuke, or Samurai. Looping won’t always come up as your deck won’t always loop. But in the event that it does, you need to be ready.

Knowing what you’ve seen in your searches is purely a memorization game, but try to keep track of key cards you have sent to the bottom. These cards would be cards such as Moria, Sabo, Ryuma, Ice Age etc that you’ll be wanting to eventually use Samurai to find more of later in the game. Knowing that you’re unlikely to find it may help to risk assess and find the optimal play in the moment.

For looping your deck, there is a tech. Generally in your searches, you want to put a Wano card on top, as if you search, you want to make sure that your searchers don’t miss. Putting a Wano card on top will make sure that even if your bottom 4 cards are not Wano, the search will hit. Then the second card should be another card you want with high priority, such as Moria, or Sabo. In this way, if you loop, you’ll know when you should search / use Samurai by knowing where cards in your deck are.

But how do you memorize what the top card was in a 30 minutes game? Generally, you loop your deck after 7 searches. This can change with the number of Samurais you use, but it’s a good rule of thumb. The real tech to remembering the order is to use your don cards. Assign certain cards that you’ll be putting on the top of your search to Don cards. For example, use some random booster pack don, such as the Shanks Don, and keep a mental note that the Shanks Don equates to Otama. Then, when you search a card and send Otama to the bottom (with Otama at the top of the 4), you can flip over a Shanks Don, so you know that the top card when you loop is Otama.

Repeating this with each search (and keeping the order of the don cards the same) will help you know exactly what will be in your search every time after the loop.

Red Green Law players may have done it in the past, but newer players especially may have never heard of this concept. It’s a bit difficult to execute, and describe, but consider this method if you play a deck that tends to loop. I personally do not use the don method and just brute-force memorize it when I’m try-harding and think I’m going to loop, so find what works best for you. Allocating brain capacity to something like this may also tire you out in a long game day, so don’t push yourself too hard to learn this weird tech that only a few select decks can use.

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This brings us to the end again. Perona is a deck that has a system that is flexible, and works well, and most of it is case by case. Understanding how the cards work together, and staying flexible is the most important thing to making the consistency as high as possible. Forcing yourself into a structure is how you end up losing with this deck (and many decks). Making sure not to overuse your searchers and card resources, and actually taking the time to establish your board is vital to winning as Perona.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Until next time, Kai (@ikailakai)

Hopefully I can get my YouTube running soon too, I’ll inform you guys everywhere I can when that train starts.