Buggy OP09-042 deck: decklist and guide with Alvida EB05-021 (November 2026)

Buggy OP09-042 is the blue Cross Guild Leader and the deck that has gained the most from EB-05. With Alvida EB05-021 it is already tier 2 in Japan and makes the top 8 of online tournaments almost every week. This guide covers what the Leader does, how the deck plays, a full decklist from 3 November 2026, the key cards, flex options, mulligans and matchups.

Data from online tournaments from 19 October to 3 November 2026, with EB-05 cards already legal. For the rest of the meta, check our tier list of the best One Piece TCG decks.

What the Buggy OP09-042 Leader does

It is a blue Leader with 5 Life and 5000 power, with the Slash attribute and the types The Four Emperors and Cross Guild. Its official English text reads:

"[Activate: Main] You may rest 5 of your DON!! cards and trash 1 card from your hand: Play up to 1 {Cross Guild} type Character card from your hand."

In plain terms: in your Main Phase, you can rest 5 DON!! and trash a card to play a Cross Guild Character from your hand, whatever it costs. With 5 DON!! you can land a cost 9 or 10 Character, and there is no once-per-turn limit: with 10 DON!! you can use it twice.

How to play Buggy OP09-042: early, mid and late game

Buggy uses its Leader to cheat out its expensive cards early and fill the board with Characters of cost 5 or more. Cabaji, Mohji and Alvida ST25-001 cost 4, but gain +1 cost if you have two Characters with a base cost of 5 or more; Cabaji and Mohji also gain Blocker.

Early game (turns 1 to 3)

• Turns 1 and 2: search with Mr.3 OP09-056 or the Cross Guild OP09-057 event. Both look at 4 cards.
• Your goal is to have Alvida EB05-021 for the 5 DON!! turn.
• Against Luffy OP13-001, prioritise Cabaji, Mohji and Mihawk: you need Blockers early.

Mid game (turns 4 to 7)

• Turns 3 and 4: Cabaji, Mohji or Alvida ST25-001 (draw 3, trash 2). Mihawk OP09-048 is a 7000 Blocker that draws 2 and trashes 1.
• At 5 or 6 DON!!: the Leader plays Alvida EB05-021. You draw 2 and play a cost 8 or less Cross Guild for free, usually Crocodile & Mihawk ST25-003.
• After Alvida EB05-021's effect you can't play more Characters that turn: play everything else first.

Late game: how to close it out

• At 10 DON!!, the Leader can be used twice: two big Characters in one turn.
• Buggy OP09-051 (12000) sends an opposing Character of any cost to the bottom of the deck. Use it on their best card before the finish.
• Count your board before playing Buggy OP09-051: without 5 Characters of cost 5 or more, it goes to the bottom of your deck.

Mistakes that cost the most games

• Playing Buggy OP09-051 without 5 Characters of cost 5 or more.
• Using Alvida EB05-021 before playing the rest of the turn's Characters.
• Spending searchers without thinking about what you still need for Alvida.

The golden rule: Buggy OP09-051 goes to the bottom of your deck if you don't have 5 Characters of cost 5 or more when it comes into play. Count your board before you play it. And remember that after Alvida EB05-021's effect, you can't play any more Characters that turn.

Buggy decklist: 3rd at ChinoizeCup #131 (3 November 2026)

This is the list Gyan used to finish 3rd at ChinoizeCup #131, an online Limitless Play tournament with 53 players, going 5-1. A week earlier, BMKid also came 3rd at ChinoizeCup #129 (28 October, 61 players) with an almost identical list.

Total: 50 cards plus the Leader (42 Characters, 6 Events and 2 Stages). BMKid's list swaps the 2 Mohji & Cabaji and one Mr.3 OP16-056 for one more Alvida ST25-001 and 2 more Gravity Blade.

Key cards and why they matter

• Alvida EB05-021: cost 9 and 7000 power. On play you draw 2 and play a Cross Guild card with cost 8 or less for free. When attacking, she negates the effect of an opposing Character for the turn. With the Leader, that is two Characters and two cards for 5 DON!!.
• Buggy OP09-051: 12000 power. On play it places an opposing Character at the bottom of the deck, with no cost limit.
• Crocodile & Mihawk ST25-003: draws 2, trashes 1 and plays a Cross Guild card with cost 4 or less. Once per turn, if your opponent's effect would remove one of your Cross Guild Characters from the field, you can trash a card instead.
• Mr.3 OP09-056 and Cross Guild OP09-057: the two cost 1 searchers. Mr.3 also finds Baroque Works type cards, though not another Mr.3.
• Mr.3 OP16-056: cost 4. You trash it to draw 2 and stop an opposing Character with cost 9 or less from attacking until the end of your opponent's next turn. It is not Cross Guild, so the Leader can't play it.
• Cabaji ST25-002 and Mohji ST25-005: +2000 Counter in hand and Blocker on the board. Cabaji gets +5000 on your opponent's turn; Mohji draws 1 when K.O.'d if you have 3 cards or fewer in hand.

Flex slots and options

The fixed core is 4 Alvida EB05-021, 4 Buggy OP09-051, 4 Crocodile & Mihawk, 4 Mihawk and the searchers. What changes between lists:

• Gravity Blade Raging Tiger OP06-058: places up to 2 Characters with cost 6 or less at the bottom of the deck. Between 2 and 4 copies.
• Emptee Bluffs Island OP09-060: a Stage that swaps 2 cards from your hand for 2 new ones. Both podium lists run it.
• Mohji & Cabaji OP16-051: draws 2 if you have 5 cards or fewer. Optional.
• Boa Hancock EB05-028 and Alvida EB03-021: Tsaams's list (12th at ChinoizeCup #124, 19 October) ran 2 of each. The November lists no longer do.

If you want to understand how to tune these counts, we explain it in how to build a One Piece TCG deck.

Mulligan

• Keep the hand if you have Alvida EB05-021, a cost 1 searcher, or both. This is the rule Shonen TCG's guide uses.
• Mulligan if you have nothing to play before 5 DON!! and no way to find Alvida.
• Against Luffy OP13-001, prioritise Cabaji, Mohji and Mihawk: you need Blockers early.

Matchups against the top decks

The first column is Buggy's results across three online tournaments from 19 to 22 October, compiled by Shonen TCG. The second adds up five Limitless Play ChinoizeCups from 26 October to 3 November, where Buggy went 46-31 with two 3rd places. These are small samples.

The big problem is Luffy OP13-001: in the late October ChinoizeCups Buggy went 6-15 against it. Against yellow Enel and Kaido, Buggy does very well, as the ranked data in our meta guide already suggested. Against Rocks, the October numbers were even and the November ones are better.

What EB-05 and OP-18 change

• EB-05 brings Alvida EB05-021. All 18 Buggy players at the 19 and 20 October tournaments ran 4, and so do the November lists. EB-05 has been legal at Store Championships and regionals since 6 November 2026.
• It is rising in Japan. In Japanese results from 30 October to 1 November, Buggy already makes up 5.6% of decks.
• OP-18 (20 November in English): no Cross Guild cards have been confirmed. The blue cards revealed so far are Baroque Works, with Miss All Sunday OP18-041 as the Leader, and they are leaks. Buggy's Leader only plays Cross Guild Characters, so don't expect much from them.

The full forecast is in how the meta will change with OP-18 and EB-05.

Budget: which cards are expensive

Buggy is cheap to get into: the ST-25 Blue Buggy starter deck ($11.99 RRP in the United States) includes the Leader, Alvida, Cabaji, Mohji and Crocodile & Mihawk from ST-25, plus reprints of Mr.3 OP09-056, Buggy OP09-051, Buggy P-084 and the Cross Guild Event. You will need extra copies of almost everything, but they are cheap cards: the Buggy OP09-051 reprint was going for around $0.08 on TCGplayer as of 7 November 2026.

The card that sets the price is Alvida EB05-021, a Super Rare from EB-05. As of 7 November we haven't found a reliable English market price: it is the set's first week and prices are moving a lot. Shonen TCG estimated around $90 for the rest of a similar list, without the EB-05 cards, as of 24 October.

Try it in ARENA

Buggy is learned by playing: when to spend 5 DON!! on the Leader and in what order to drop your Characters. In our free One Piece TCG simulator, ARENA, you load this meta list in one tap, straight from your phone or desktop browser. ARENA, like every other simulator, is an unofficial fan project.

1. Play against the AI on its four difficulty levels until you never lose a Buggy OP09-051 to the bottom of your deck.
2. Create a private 1v1 room and ask a friend to play Luffy OP13-001 against you, the matchup you most need to practise.
3. Once you have it down, climb the ranked ladder with it or enter an online Swiss tournament.

Before you pay for four Alvida, play ten games with Buggy online in ARENA.

FAQ

Is Buggy OP09-042 good with EB-05?

Yes. We have it as a projected tier 2 for the OP-18 format: it went 46-31 across five ChinoizeCups in late October, with two 3rd places. Its weak spot is Luffy OP13-001.

How many Alvida EB05-021 do I need?

Four. Every successful Buggy list we have reviewed since 19 October runs four.

Can I start with the ST-25 starter deck?

Yes, it is the base of the deck. Then add Alvida EB05-021, Mihawk OP09-048, Mr.3 OP16-056 and whatever extra copies you are missing.

Are any Buggy cards banned?

No. The Mihawk ban only affects the OP14-020 Leader; Dracule Mihawk OP09-048 is legal. The full banlist is in One Piece TCG banned cards.

Keep reading

• Luffy OP13-001 deck: the red/green deck Buggy struggles with most.
• Kaido OP17-058 deck: one of Buggy's best matchups.
• Rocks OP17-039 deck: the most played deck in the format.
• The OP-18 and EB-05 meta: which decks go up and which go down.

One Piece card images: © Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, Toei Animation. One Piece Card Game is a Bandai product; ONLYCHASES is not affiliated with Bandai.