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PASADENALUCCI - Cross' TOP8 Deck Explanation

Added 2024-08-15 18:01:25 +0000 UTC

Intro (@Cross_Aii)

Last weekend, I got another top 8!!

RP Law was traumatizing me, so I decided to let Perona go after GenCon, and switched to Lucci.
I always secretly thought Lucci was the strongest deck, and it absolutely overperformed for me last weekend. I beat most of my mirror matches, all of my Morias, all of my RP Laws, and I even beat 2 out of 3 BY Luffy decks. And the BY Luffy loss was 1-2, with me losing with lower deck count in time!

BY Luffy is certainly Lucci’s worst matchup, and I didn’t get swept by it the entire weekend.

My list is a bit strange compared to other topping Lucci lists, so I think an explanation will be extremely helpful.

Decklist

This is the Lucci list I got Top8 with last weekend, and there’s some key differences from other Lucci lists: Seven 2Ks, no other Top-End(no Issho, no 8Sabo), 3 Finger Pistol, 3 Helmeppo, no Borsalinos, Nightmare Luffy.

Let’s talk about each of these:

Seven 2Ks - This is clearly a very greedy decision.

To be fair I don't believe I’d ever play more than 8 2Ks in the first place, but seven 2Ks is definitely a bit lower than usual. The last time I saw someone play eight 2Ks in a black deck, was a first place Sakazuki player in one of the last OP05 Japanese tournaments.

I believed I could get away with only seven 2Ks, because I would consistently be able to handle my opponent’s board the entire game.
If RP Law didn’t exist, I would likely have no doubts about playing seven 2Ks. And if I could never low-roll against RP Law, I would also have little doubts about playing seven 2Ks.

I may go up to eight 2Ks (or pseudo-2Ks like the 0 cost event), if I expect to play against too many RP Laws in swiss/topcut. But I refuse to play any more than 8 copies, because I believe it’s a waste of space. I’d rather be playing more power or tech cards.

No other TopEnd - None of the TopEnd options felt anywhere as strong, or necessary, as Moria. Issho was decent in various matchups, but I felt I could easily smack Bonney/Enel without it. I also wanted Nightmare Luffy to be my BY Luffy tech, instead of Issho, because it has counter(for the RP Law matchup), and was also strong into Bonney/Enel(like Issho is).

8Sabo I was straight up unimpressed with. It’s strong against Law, but I’m more worried about my early-game against RP Law, not my late-game clears. It seems appealing in the mirro,r because it’s a double clear, but 8-Costs are too easy to clear in mirror matches, so a combo like RebeccaSpandine + Kaku/Lucci or TempestKick + Lucci + 5Sabo, is actually stronger.

Stussy is a fair card, but I think it's just too winmore. I'd always rather have Issho or 8Sabo.

3 Finger Pistol - This is probably what people are most confused about, and you probably couldn’t guess this is why I used 3 copies. I chose to play 3 copies of finger pistol, because I was sick of lowrolling against RP Law.

If you have a mediocre start against RP law, it becomes very easy to lose the match. So I chose to adopt a card like finger pistol that is not only extra clears I can draw into in the early-game, but actually sets me up for tempest kick the following turn.

People think pistol is bad, because you’re not establishing a body, but whatever body you play is getting cleared anyways. I’d rather let them keep 1 extra Gordon for 1 turn, clear their body, and have a double clear next turn, instead of having to play a Sabo.

Finger Pistol is also quite strong in the late-game, because you can do TempestKick + Enies Lobby + Lucci to clear 2 bodies, and use the finger pistol to clear the third body!

This card also happens to be really strong against Bonney, and can be combined with Enies lobby to pop 8-costs in the mirror match. It’s also an extremely efficient way to pop 5-Cost Luffy against BY Luffy, WHILE also filling trash.

2 copies is probably more correct, but I was getting tilted by RP Law.

3 Helmeppo - This card was so goated for me the whole weekend. People normally run 2 copies, and I’ve even heard some top players talking about running 0-1 copies. But this card really is too good.

Aside from 3 copie increasing the likelihood of me seeing a Helmeppo in trash by my 9-don turn going first (so I can do Tempest Kick + Enies Lobby + MoriaHelmeppoLucci to clear my opponent’s 8 & 4-Cost), it also can be combined with Moria at 10-don to do this same combo I just mentioned! It’s basically extra copies of tempest kick, and I consistently did Helmeppo + 8Moria at 10-don throughout the day.

You also just literally always want Helmeppo in trash. Even against RP Law, MoriaHelmeppoLucci + Stage, lets you pop a 5 & 4-Cost without using any events. And Helmeppo can also be used out of hand on curve against RP Law, if tempest kick is not active yet.

No Borsalinos - I chose to have 6Brook as my mirror breaker, instead of Borsalino. I could run both, but I’m too concerned with running techs for other matchups like finger pistol & Nightmare Luffy.

6Brook felt like the superior option to have, because I can answer the mirrors ideal play of Sabo on 5-Don, with my own 6Brook on 6-don. And when going first I can follow a Sabo played on 5-don, with a Brook on 7-don to answer there Borsalino or Sabo played on 6-don(assuming they didn’t, or don’t play 6Brook)!

6Brook is also extremely strong against BY Luffy, as a card that can remove 5Luffy or Morias.

I feel like 6Brook was the stronger card to have.

Nightmare Luffy - This was my BY Luffy tech of choice. I thought that this card having a counter meant it would still be fine to have against RP Law, and it happens to be strong against Bonney/Enel. Not only can it clear Hawkins/7Enel like 3-Cost Brook can, but it has the name “Luffy,” which actually means 7Enel doesn’t even have the option to protect itself! The 6K body is also quite awkward to clear for Enel / Bonney depending on the stage of the game.

This card actually overperformed against BY Luffy, and I’m not sure if I would have won my BY Luffy games without it.
I actually made a mistake where I was sending back 4 cards for BY Luffy, instead of 3 cards, so there’s a chance I could have won harder in my first topcut game, and maybe have even beaten the 2nd BY Luffy. The extra cards I would get out of BY Luffy’s hand, from having Luffy at the correct power, ends up amounting to a lot of value overtime. That’s like 1 extra card BY Luffy loses, per Nightmare Luffy activation!

About IceAge

IceAge was a card I was really excited about in my initial Lucci list, but I ultimately made the decision to cut it. The reason for this is that I thought finger pistol would be stronger than running additional tempest kicks, because it’s strong against RP Law, and can still pop 8-Costs by itself in mirror matches!

If you also read what I said about Helmeppo earlier, you’ll notice that Helmeppo + 8Moria was a combo I did frequently throughout the weekend. So Helmeppo was already fulfilling the role of extra tempest kicks.

Potential Changes to the list

2 Finger Pistol - I liked having 3 finger pistols, but I think the ratio may have been a little too crazy. 2 is probably the ideal amount to make space for other cards, like a 8th 2K.

0C Event - If I decide to run 8 2Ks, I will probably play one of these pseudo-2Ks as my last slot. The most common option to use is the 0C event, and I think it’s a pretty strong way to defend 7K attacks, especially when considering how many bricks this deck has.

A 1-Of TopEnd option - Luckily for me, I managed to see my Morias in all my games against BY Luffy, but there’s going to be games where I see Moria way too late against BY. In order to combat this, I think I want to play a 1-of topend option.

Issho is looking like the most likely candidate, as it also has potential to be good into other matchups, and the RNG discard effect is actually just stupid.
But I’m also considering 7Luffy as a consistent hard-counter option to BY Luffy.

Thoughts on my matchups

Enel

Enel felt like a pretty safe matchup for me the entire weekend.

Even in my TopCut game, I actually milled all 4 Morias Game1, and milled 2-3 Game2, and still managed to walk out with a 2-0.

The one game I lost to Enel in swiss, I actually threw. Something possessed me to do a double finger pistol on 8-don, which was actually just an insane decision to make. From there I lost too much tempo, and didn’t have enough removal to keep up with the other big bodies they played.

I also made the decision to play Lucci instead of 3Brook on my 6-don turn. This was also an insane choice, especially when I had the MoriaHelmeppo + Enies Lobby double-pop combo ready the following turn.

Nightmare Luffy was also one of the MVPs against Enel. You don’t need it to win, but it can make the game significantly easier. Due to the “Luffy” name, 7Enel can never be kept alive while Luffy is on the board. The 5-Cost & 6K statline is also just extremely difficult for Enel to deal with in the first place.

My biggest advice for this matchup is prepare to clear the 7Enel on curve by preparing for a double-pop (this will most commonly be done by preparing a 3Brook or 5Luffy the turn before their 7Enel turn), and continuously pop their big units & predict their plays. There’s plenty of times where you can leave them at 2-life, but if your trash is weak, or you want to go through your deck as fast as possible, don’t be too scared to swing.

Also remember that you can attack into a rested 7Cost Enel, instead of face on their Enel turn, to leave them with 2 life!

BY Luffy

This matchup felt less bad than I thought it would be. I think the requirements are high to beat this matchup, but it seems to be very possible.

Nightmare Luffy puts in a nasty amount of work, as it allows me to apply pressure, WHILE getting rid of threatening 5Luffys or 8Morias. I think this card will remain as one of my tech options of choice for this matchup!

I think seeing 8Moria way too late, can straight up lead to unplayable games. So I’m thinking of playing another TopEnd option that can complement the Nightmare Luffy. The most likely candidate seems to be 1-2 Issho, and Issho’s minus 3 Effect actually works quite well with Luffy.

My biggest advice for this matchup is to counter attacks while you can. I think we’re pretty much forced to counter out of the early 5K - 6K swings, as their attacks get way too big later into the game.

It’s also worth noting a common mistake I made was, blocking with my Sabo & countering out, and then they would just attack into my Sabo with their other unit. I think it’s better to lose a life, than lose an early Sabo, so keep that in mind.

Sabo is basically an extra life against Luffy, because they can’t really clear it. It also allows us to pressure their life, if we establish enough bodies, before they awaken.

RP Law

This matchup feels like it’s won or loss in the early-game. It’s up to Lucci to open Enies Lobby, and if they don’t, they need to open a combination of cards that allows them to clear the opponent’s board, while still keeping tempest-kick live in the late-game.

And RP Law can also high roll by drawing into Shachi penguins, which allows them to have one more unit than they should in the early game.

My biggest advice for this matchup, would actually be to counter out of one of the early 5K swings. If you don’t you may be met with 6s and 7s for the rest of the game. I think part of the reason I got away with seven 2Ks against RP Law, is because I was smart with which attacks I chose to guard early.

A special combo to keep in mind in my list, is that you can use TempestKick + Enies Lobby + Lucci to clear 2 units. And then use a finger pistol to clear the last unit!

Also keep in mind that, when you don’t open stage, you may need to play Brook on 3-Don, and then use Kaku/Kalifa on 5-don in order to clear the RP Law’s 4-don unit.

Moria

This matchup felt really really weird to be honest. It felt like if I saw multiple Morias, I should just steamroll them, but if I saw 0-1 Morias, it might just be cooked for me.

My biggest takeaway from this matchup this weekend, is that I should actually mulligan for Sabo when going first, rather than Enies Lobby. I think the Sabo just provides too much board presence early, and is a filter that will allow for a more consistent late-game.

When going second, I think Enies Lobby on 2, 3Brook on 4, and Brook or Sabo on 6, will be our best line. I think it’s fine to mulligan for Enies Lobby, because we have multiple outs on the going second curve (being satisfied with either Sabo or 6Brook on 6 is pretty strong, and highrolling Enies + 3Brook, could lead to a free game).

Mirror Match

I think I won so many mirror matches, because I knew what to look for, and consistently made very advantageous decisions. I lost dieroll against the mirror literally all day, but aiming to play Sabo on 5 was an extremely strong gameplan. I think too many people strive for the Enies Lobby mulligan in the mirror match, and at least when going first, I think you’re forced to look for Sabo to smooth out the early-game.

Aside from the early-game, I think the mirror match is actually just a fundamentals-diff. You need to know when to attack, when to not attack, when to block, when to do 5Sabo vs 6Brook, list goes on. I think it’s a matchup you will get better at, by continuing to grind it.