Green Purple Doflamingo Deck Building Theory

Introduction

Hello and nice to meet you. My name is TsukiUsagi (@MdaTaePraty). 
Hey guys, Kai (@iKailaKai) here with the translation to English.

Today, I’d like to introduce a newly buffed build for Green Purple Doflamingo.
Introduced in OP04, this deck originally saw viability through the [Type: FILM] package and left results. You rarely would have seen a [Type: Donquixote Pirates] list, nor the deck in general for about a year. This version of the deck could not leave results, which likely came down to a few reasons.

1. The deck has rest effects but cannot generate card advantage through KO or draw-type effects.

2. It heavily relies on 10-cost Doflamingo, resulting in a weak early game, stalling until 10-cost Doflamingo.

However, in EB01 we were given Off-White, a card with the ability to generate resource advantage. In OP06, we were given Hody Jones, and in OP08 we were given 9-cost Charlotte Lin Lin. Finally, in OP09, we were given the 7-cost Sanji. These sorts of cards helped mend the issues of the deck mentioned above.
Additionally, the deck, which previously had a winning matchup against RP Law, also has an overwhelmingly winning matchup against Blue Doflamingo. In this article, we will be discussing the value of each card, and how to pilot the deck.
I believe that people who are curious about GP Doflamingo or are considering using him will learn a few things. So even if you just read the free section, I appreciate your attention.
※If people enjoy these articles, it will encourage me to write notes about the decks I build in the future, so If you enjoy my articles, I’d appreciate a follow on Twitter and consider purchasing my articles. Thank you.

Player Information:

I have also published fundamental content for beginners and intermediate players for free so I recommend checking those out if you haven’t already.
Track Record:

• 2023 Wave 1 Kanagawa Regionals, Top 32

• 2023 Wave 1 Nationals, Top 16

• 2023 Japan Finals, Champion

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I’ve written articles about other decks with a similar level of detail and length as this one. If you enjoy reading this article, I’d be grateful if you check out the articles on other decks as well. 

The Meta Shift from 'Red Purple Law' to 'Blue Doflamingo'

Before diving into the discussion about Green Purple Doflamingo, it’s important to first address the deck that stood out most in OP08 in Japan: Red Purple Law. This deck dominated the entire set and managed to even win multiple championships back to back. 
Though the English version never got to experience Red Purple Law at full power OP08 due to the bans, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the "strongest decks" were either Red Purple Law or decks that had a solid win condition against it. 
Red Purple Law excelled in both long, drawn-out matches involving repeated removal and attrition and short, aggressive matches where it constantly applied pressure through field development and leader attacks. At first glance, it appeared to be a flawless deck. However, one notable flaw of Red Purple Law was that almost all the cards it used were 5-cost or lower character cards. This made it possible to utilize Birdcage to secure an almost guaranteed win against Red-Purple Law matchups alone. 
Note: The deck at the time was extremely weak against Black Lucci particularly due to Enies Lobby, which was also gaining popularity during that period. As a result, its overall win rate across the meta was not particularly impressive.
With Red Purple Law’s absurd disappearance with the transition into OP09, it seemed like Green Purple Doflamingo would fade back into obscurity. However, with the rise of Blue Doflamingo, which centers around 4 cost characters and utilizes its leader effect to play characters Rested, the deck has found a renewed purpose in the current OP09 metagame.

“...I’ll Make Sure He Goes Nowhere!!”

In the manga, Doflamingo was defeated by the Straw Hats and the fighters of the Corrida Colosseum. However, this is after Doflamingo had defeated Law in a 1 on 1. Similarly, in the One Piece Card Game, this deck is designed to defeat Law.

By utilizing Birdcage, it is possible to trap nearly all of the characters summoned by not only Red Purple Law but Red Green Law as well.
Interestingly, this effectiveness extended to the current best deck in OP09, Blue Doflamingo, where the new 4-cost Law is adding overwhelming strength. Thanks to its ability to neutralize characters with a cost of 5 or less Birdcage alone not only renders Blue Doflamingo’s leader ability but nearly his entire deck useless.
The strength of these decks comes from their ability to build a strong board presence while maintaining card advantage through the number of attacks the deck is capable of.
Now, imagine a situation where the characters that become Rested can never become Active. Essentially, it makes almost all characters disposable, one-time use attacks. There are only two ways to deal with the Birdcage, and that is to recklessly swing trying to break through, or to wait for the Birdcage to disappear.
If the opponent opts for the first option, you can prolong the game with cards such as Off-White, or 9-cost Lin Lin, waiting for the opponent to expunge their resources.
If the opponent opts for the second option, you can defend with events while controlling the board state with Hody or Sanji. This oppressive choice between 2 evils is very fitting for a character like Doflamingo.
Although the deck has some poor matchups such as Red Shanks, it has a lot of potential in certain metas at specific moments.

Decklist

While the specific card counts and reasons for the inclusion will be discussed later, the deck is built to adapt to different decks, not just Doflamingo.
Against opponents where Birdcage is effective, the strategy involves setting up Birdcage early while focusing entirely on protecting your life. On the other hand, against opponents where Birdcase is less effective, the approach then shirts to pressure the opponent’s life aggressively with cards such as Hody and Sanji, before closing the game with the 10-cost Doflamingo.

Card Explanations

Leader: Donquixote Doflamingo (OP04) 

GP Doflamingo makes 2 Don active at the end of the turn.
This effect allows you to use counter events for no cost so that you can use your extra turn during your turn to allocate to your leader and chip away at the opponent’s life.
Additionally, Birdcage and Sugar are exceptionally powerful cards that this leader can use thanks to Leader Restriction.
Active Don is generally not very useful against decks that can hit at 5000 multiple times, but Birdcage covers this weakness, not forgiving any opponent who tries this. Decks that use 6-cost or higher characters have fewer hits per turn. In these matchups, 9-cost Lin Lin, and 10-cost Doflamingo are great for absorbing and reducing these powerful attacks. In this way, GP Doflamingo can switch his game plan to adapt to the deck he is fighting much easier than many other decks.
As I explained in my Black Yellow Luffy article (not currently translated to English), in this game, ‘life’ is an asset that increases in value as the turns progress. This deck takes full advantage of the ability to protect life with minimal resources burned, which is a large benefit and one of the key strengths of Green Purple Doflamingo.