One Piece TCG banned cards: banlist and banned pairs

Bandai keeps an official list of banned cards for One Piece Card Game: the banlist. If your deck contains one of those cards, you cannot play it at an official tournament. This guide covers the list in force, reviewed on 8 November 2026, what changed in the latest update and why, how banned pairs work and how to check in two minutes that your deck is legal.

Banned, restricted and banned pairs

The official list has three sections:

• Banned cards. You cannot include them in any deck, not even a single copy.
• Restricted cards. The section exists, but it is currently empty: there are no restricted cards in One Piece Card Game right now.
• Banned pairs. Two cards that are legal on their own but cannot be in the same deck together.

Every ban includes the parallel (alternate art) versions of the card. It does not matter whether you own the regular version or the rarest one: if the card number is on the list, it is not allowed.

Current banned card list

This is the list in force since 12 October 2026 for Europe, North America, Latin America and Oceania. Japan and Asia sometimes apply changes on different dates.

Banned pairs

The banned pair rule is in force. It works like this: you can play card A or card B, but never both in the same deck.

In practice, if you play the OP11-040 Luffy Leader, you cannot run either Katakuri OP11-067 or Linlin OP08-069. And any deck can run the I Re-Quasar Helllp!! Event or Borsalino EB04-058, but not both.

The latest update: Dracule Mihawk

On 24 September 2026 Bandai announced the ban of OP14-020 Dracule Mihawk, which came into force on 12 October 2026. This update added no restricted cards and no new pairs, and no cards were unbanned either.

The development team gave two reasons:

• Some combinations with this card became stronger than expected as new boosters came out.
• It heavily limited the options of Leaders with the Slash attribute and reduced Leader variety, including with an eye on upcoming releases.

As a replacement, Bandai plans to hand out a new Leader with different text, P-163 Dracule Mihawk, at future events. It is a different promo card with its own number, so it is not affected by the ban. As of 8 November 2026, Bandai has not yet said at which events it will be handed out.

Recent change history

Some of the official reasons behind these changes help explain how Bandai thinks. Pudding was banned because, in blue decks, it punished opponents who hold lots of cards in hand too harshly, and Bandai sees bluffing with hand size as part of what makes the game fun. The Re-Quasar and Borsalino pair was banned because it showed up in far more decks than expected, especially yellow ones, and dragged games out too long. And the Luffy pair exists because Katakuri and Linlin covered up the weakness the deck was meant to have in the early game.

Watch out for unbanned block 1 cards such as Moby Dick or Ice Age: no longer being banned does not mean you can play them in Standard. They are only legal in the Extra format. We explain it in One Piece TCG Standard format: rotation and legal sets.

How often the banlist changes

Bandai usually reviews the list twice a year: after the first season of the championship in Japan and after the World Championship. Even so, it can ban a card earlier if it thinks the card is damaging the game: the Re-Quasar and Borsalino pair came into force just nine days after the 1 April 2026 review. It can also take cards off the list when the environment changes.

To decide, the development team looks at win rates, results from big tournaments, how much each deck is played, how a change will affect the future of the game and whether a card is crowding out other Leaders.

How to check your deck is legal

1. Check the block icon on each card, in the bottom right corner. For the current Standard format you need block 2 or higher (or X).
2. Go through the banned list above. Search by code, not by name: there are many different cards of the same character. For example, only Mihawk OP14-020 is banned, not every Mihawk.
3. Check the pairs. If you play the OP11-040 Luffy Leader, or run Re-Quasar or Borsalino EB04-058, make sure you do not also have its pair.
4. Count the deck: 1 Leader, 50 cards in the Leader's colour, a maximum of 4 copies of each number and 10 DON!!.
5. For official tournaments in Europe, remember that they are played with English cards. French cards are also accepted, but Japanese cards are not allowed.

If you are building a list from scratch, how to build a One Piece TCG deck walks you through the process step by step. And once you have it, test your deck in ARENA, our free One Piece TCG simulator: it uses the official rules, so it is a good way to get a few games in before the tournament.

What to do if you own banned cards

A banned card does not disappear from the game. You can still use it in casual games with friends, and many keep their value as collectibles, especially the parallel versions. To compete, the usual move is to replace it: check what decks with your Leader are running now in the best meta decks and pick up whatever you are missing as singles, which works out far cheaper than opening packs hunting for one specific card.

Always check the official list on Bandai's website before a tournament, because it can change at a few days' notice.

Frequently asked questions

How many cards are banned in One Piece TCG?

As of 8 November 2026 there are 6 banned cards, 3 banned pairs and no restricted cards.

Does a ban also cover parallel versions?

Yes. Bandai includes every alternate art version with the same card number.

Is the banlist the same in Standard and Extra?

Yes. Since 1 April 2026 the same list of banned cards, restricted cards and pairs applies to both formats.

What rules does ARENA use?

Bandai's official rules. That makes it an easy way to play One Piece TCG online for free with the same deck you would take to a tournament, whether in ranked, in private rooms or in Swiss tournaments.

Keep reading

• One Piece TCG Standard format: rotation, blocks and legal sets.
• Best One Piece TCG decks: the meta tier list after the Mihawk ban.
• How to play One Piece Card Game, step by step.
• EB-05 and OP-18: the new One Piece sets.

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