Hi again.

It's me, Kai (@ikailakai), your resident Japanese OPTCG player and Green Kid enthusiast

You're probably wondering how I got here.

I said I was going to make YouTube videos on Film Kid.

But now there's a text article.

What happened.

I realized I suck at talking and editing. I recorded 3 videos on Film Kid and got to editing them, but as I edited them I realized, it's just significantly easier if I were to just write it. As much as I would have liked to create a system where I could eventually profit for the work I put into this game, I want to put out the best content I can. And for me, it is writing. I realized that paying for 'Note' is not accessible for people outside of Japan for some reason, so I'm writing this for free again. I've heard of Patreon, but I don't know exactly how that works.

Either way, please enjoy my complete guide on Film Kid.

Why Kid?

Film Kid I believe is one of the few decks in the game where the are very few matchups that are heavily losing or that nothing can be done in certain situations. Film Kid traditionally loses to RG Law, but other than that, I believe every matchup is winnable by your own skill, and not the enemy's lack of skill. 

Film Kid is very easy compared to some other decks like Zoro, and not only does it beat Zoro, but also Yellow, Whitebeard, and Blue Doflamingo in the OP03 metagame.

This article will be on both OP03 Film Kid, as well as OP04 Film Kid

For my reasoning behind Film Kid, let's first look at the other meta decks in OP03. A lot of this extends to OP04.

1. Zoro is the best deck in my opinion. It is versatile, has very few bad matchups, and is extremely consistent given that it uses 3-4 different types of searchers. A little advice I can give to Zoro players is that you should not search without knowing what card you want. If you really need 5Marco, but you throw out a Nami just because you have it and send 5 Marco to the bottom of your deck, the chance of you being able to draw it is drastically lower in the next few turns. Don't see searchers as a 'search,' but rather a 'trade' of your searcher, for a card that you want.

2. Whitebeard is the best deck if you just want to win, but don't want to put in as much effort as Zoro. I do think that Whitebeard is by far one of the most boring decks in the game, but drawing 2 cards every turn while having 6000 power is very strong. In the mirror this deck can be a pain and complicated without restrictions, so while it is a skill deck it's a bit of a turn-off-your-brain-in-90%-of-matchups deck.

3. Red Green Law on a good day can beat any deck. The high highs of the deck are stronger than any deck in the game. In Japan, while Law has won the championship once before, and many many Laws have made it into the top cut. No law has ever gone 8-0 or 9-0 in the preliminary round. It's a naturally inconsistent deck when compared to Zoro or Law as unlike Zoro, if your searchers don't go well you have no mid game or late game. Not drawing Bonney or Blocker Law can be a death sentence. Law is one of the most fun decks in the game, and if you have a history of playing Yugioh or Pokemon, you might enjoy this deck.

4. Katakuri is a weird deck. It's not S tier, it's hard to argue that it's ever A tier (in op03), but it is still one of the most represented decks at the lower end of play. The reason for this is that it's simple. Difficulty in this game comes from the decisions you have to make in when to defend and control the board, and when you push for life. 10 cost Linlin does everything you need and automatically brings you closer to lethal. Katakuri is a trigger dependent deck. If you lose to a trigger, you didn't lose to RNG, you lost to a deck who's entire concept revolves around triggers. This is innately an unstable gameplan, but is enough for newer players to win a reasonable amount of times. If you are new to the game and just want to have fun, yellow is good for you. There is no shame in having fun.

5. Kid is one of the few decks in the game that teaches fundamentals in my opinion. By playing Kid you are learning when you take life, when to counter, when to attack, when to leave your characters up. I personally would recommend Green to someone who wants to improve at the game. Often times, you are off by 1000 damage. "Ah, so unlucky he had that radical beam." But if you just chose to hit life instead of their board at one instance in the game, you would have had guaranteed lethal perhaps. Kid is a deck that, although it's simple, needs to be piloted perfectly to consistently win with. Otherwise, you will always be that 1000 damage short. It's very clear to see when you messed up and lost tempo, and reevaluate your play for next time. Because Kid is a flexible deck unlike Whitebeard or Katakuri, you have many options each turn, giving you the flexibility to fight in many matchups that are traditionally like rock paper scissors for other decks. But don't worry, I've written everything I could think of on Film Kid, so please stay with me until the end.

I do not think that Kid is the best deck in the game. However, I think that if you want a simple to pick up, somewhat hard to master deck, Kid is a good choice. If you play Whitebeard or Katakuri, you only ever learn to play Whitebeard or Katakuri. If you learn to play Zoro or Kid, you learn to play many decks.

That being said, the traditional 'more difficult' version of Kid no longer exists. In set 1 where people still used Okiku, Hawkins, 7 cost Kid etc, Kid was the most complicated deck (in the meta), as well as the strongest. The new version of Kid is easier to use while still teaching some fundamentals such as counting life, tracking counter, and teaching board control.

This new version is of course, Film Kid.

Ok, but Why 'Film' Kid?

Little fun fact, but in development of OP02, 7 cost Ace originally read as the following:

The design philosophy is apparently to start with ridiculously overpowered cards, and to take power away from there. If you look back at some of the insane cards, like 8 cost Kid, or Purple 10 cost Kaido, you can see this design philosophy. However, the game designers aren't gods and they can't anticipate how people will end up using these cards, and how effective they might be (ehem Whitebeard). Another example of this is all of the Nami cards that say "If you have 20 or less cards in your deck." They definitely did not expect people to run Impeldown All-stars just for Trigger.

The game designers are very good at balancing, but there's a trait that's unique of OPTCG that I believe no other games share, so it was very hard to predict for the game designers.

OPTCG is a game where vanillas are the strongest

Vanillas refer to cards with no text and are simple raw statlines of
3 cost 5000 power
4 cost 6000 power
5 cost 7000 power etc

Decks that use Vanillas well are Whitebeard, and Katakuri in OP04.

Vanillas are stong in this game as you either take out a character completely, or it survives unscathed. There is no "HP" on cards, so massive statlines are actually very good. Bandai knows this now in OP04 and OP05 and you can notice the amount of vanillas they introduce are sparing.

But now imagine if instead of a 3 cost 5000 vanilla, you could play a 2 cost 5000…

Well what if you wanted even more value…

In a game where Vanillas are strong, a deck that can play high value Vanillas consistently will always have to be considered as a potential threat to the meta in my opinion.

The Film cards while powerful, have a weakness, where as they are mostly vanilla effects and statlines, it's hard to close out games. This is where the star of the deck comes in.

This deck only works because of the leader Eustass Kid to help close out games. If you play 1-2 Vanillas every single turn, you will lose your hand, and therefore your counter, and you will roll over and die once they deal with your attackers. By your leader being kid, you permanently have 2 attacks possible every turn even if your board is wiped. It is the timing of using this ability, and how you use it that starts to separate bad players for decent players. It's not a hard skill to master by any means, but it is certainly the decision that needs the most thought in Kid, as once you decide to stop filling your board, you won't be able to take back board control.

The general strategy when using Kid is to fill up the board and bully the enemy with small hits before finishing the game with massive hits with your leader later on. Compared to a deck like Zoro, it has bigger bodies, bigger finishers, but less board control. But if you can push through the enemy life before they can stop you, does it really matter?

Film Kid vs Film GP Doflamingo

I don't think these 2 decks are comparable, as if it was, you would use the deck that can utilize the stronger cards. The deck with the stronger cards is Green Purple Doflamingo. The deck with the stronger leader is Green Kid. Doflamingo with cards such as 10 cost Doflamingo, Tezoro, and Uta are a midrange-control deck where you slowly out-resource and overwhelm your opponent. Film Kid with cards such as Brook, Bartoromeo, and L e a d e r make Kid an aggro-midrange deck. As such there will be meta environments where Kid is better, and Doflamingo is better into the meta. I personally, believe that Kid is better currently.

OP03 Film Kid

While I am in OP05 in Japan, I talked to people like Cross(@Cross_Aii) and some others often and help theory craft. This is the deck what I would use in OP03. Maybe after playing 50 games I would adjust things like the number of Bartoromeo, 8 cost Kid, counter events, etc. But I think this is a good place to start.

As stated before, the goal when using Kid is to overwhelm the board early game effectively, before pushing for lethal suddenly. This type of deck used to be extremely uncommon, but now is the norm for Kid. However, despite this, people still do not know how to fight versus it. Many people die without being able to put up any fight.

First let's go through each card and why and how I'm using it

Card by Card Explanation

Jewelry Bonnie

Bonney is a searcher that can pick up a surprising number of cards in a film deck. Remember: Use a searcher with the intent of looking for a certain card, not just searching because you can. If you have all of the pieces you need that are supernova, there is no reason to burn 1000 counter hoping it might become 2000 counter (unless that is what you need).

The following are the reasons you would pick up a certain card
2 Cost Killer: Killer is used over Bege because it has counter, and a bonus effect that can occasionally draw you a card. Pick this card from Bonney if you have everything you need and just need a little more protection, or a little more counter while you're pushing their life.
2 Cost Bartoromeo: If you already have your Luffy + targets to put out with Luffy, I would prioritize getting Bartoromeo as it restands your Luffy, and occasionally Nami to push your advantage harder and make it harder for the enemy to push damage or regain board control.
2 Cost Scratchmen Apoo: Apoo is a searchable 2000 counter. You will never play this card. If you are struggling for 2000 counters in matchups like Whitebeard, this is a good target.
4 Cost Zoro: Zoro is the only searchable Vanilla off of Bonney, so if you do not have a good turn 2 play going second, or don't have a target for Luffy in a coming turn, then Zoro is a good target from Bonney. Generally 1 of this card is enough unless you have 0 other cards like Nami or Brook in your hand.
7 Cost Monkey D. Luffy: Luffy is a combo starter so if you don't have 1, it's definitely a great card to pick up. Even if you already have 1, depending on the matchup (mainly yellow), playing a second one can be strong, so consider this option.
8 Cost Kid: In some matchups like Strawbeard or Blue Doflamingo, this card alone will stop any chance of winning they thought they had. Consider this card in specific matchups with top priority, and with 0 priority in other matchups such as Yellow.

Killer

This space is one of the flexible spaces in the deck, but the reasons I am using it are as follows:

+More targets for Bonney
+Low cost blocker with counter
+Best low cost blocker in the game, what is that Don x 1 effect ?!?!?

The low cost blocker merit is not very useful into decks like Zoro. However, it is very good into Yellow where you just need that 1 extra turn to close out the game. Into decks where you do not need the low cost blocker, using it as counter early game is totally fine.

Scratchmen Apoo

There isn't much to say on Apoo. Apoo is a searchable 2000 counter. It is safe to say there is never a timing you will put this card out. I've put it out exactly once total, in my 100s to 1000s of Kid games. If you just see this card solely as 2000 counter, it will make your decisions easier. If there's ever a matchup you might consider playing this in, it could maaaaaayybe be Nami to increase your amount of 5000 hits and rest their defence. But even still, playing normally is probably better. Apoo is the first 2000 counter to cut from your hand. Additionally, if you're against a green deck that uses Bonney, and they don't cut Apoo for 2000 counter, it is very easy to calculate the potential amount of counter they could have for the rest of the game.

Tony Tony Chopper

Chopper is a 2000 counter that is searchable off of another star that has yet to be mentioned yet, Nami. Unlike Apoo, there are a few timings you do want to play him. As his effect can rest 1-2 cost characters, you can use him to clear a low cost blocker in the late game on your lethal turn. If you're against a deck that has the potential to play these low cost blockers. If Strawbeard tends to run 1 cost Chopper, or against Law's many blockers, or some random tech card, consider this as an option occasionally.

Izo

Izo is the best and most handsome green 2000 counter. It's not searchable, but it has an insanely strong [On Play] effect as well as 2000 counter. Generally you will only play this on the turn you are going for lethal as it lets you hit for 9000 9000 with your leader while resting one of the blockers cleanly.

Generally I recommend not to use this early game, even if you have 5 cost Law, as the turn that you play this, you are not developing your board, and can result in a tempo loss.

Usopp

3 Cost 5000 Power vanilla. Can hit a 6000 power leader without attaching any Don. This card can be played off of Brook ideally. I'll talk more about the nuances about when to play this card in the section about Nami.

Nami

This is the best searcher in the game. By using Nami correctly, you can almost guarantee that you get 2 cards by using her [On Play] once, and her [When Attacking] effect once at least. This means you are now only replacing Nami like Bonney does, but also gaining resources. The ability to gain resources is a uniquely Green attribute and should be abused to fully reach film's potential.

The slight nuance I was talking about with Usopp comes in here. If you cannot use Nami's [On Play] effect and have Usopp. I would consider playing Usopp over Nami. Nami's strength is in her ability to search twice and gain resources, while acting as a blocker, as if she goes unchecked, Kid will permanently draw 2 cards per turn.

However, I would only play Usopp over Nami, if I know I will play Nami with her ability in the next turn, or next 2 turns at maximum. If my plan is full and does not have room for Nami's effect, it can be ok to play Nami without her effects.

Here are a few hypothetical situations that might make the decision and reasoning more clear. In this scenario we will imagine we are fighting a deck like Zoro, where we have to consider that Nami could be Fire Fisted, but also a matchup where we need to line up multiple 5000 power attackers.

I will go in depth on the objective when fighting Zoro later, but this sort of logic flowchart can apply to any leader where you are trying to line up your board to hit with 5000 repeatedly.

Let's say you're second:

From 4 Don you will have essentially 4 possible moves. 
1. Nami + [On Play] effect
This enables you to activate Nami and immediately replenish your hand. As the deck does not run any 6 cost characters, as long as Nami survives, you will always have at least 1 extra don up on 6 and 8 Don, and get 2 draws off Nami usually.
2. Brook + Usopp
This lets you start pressuring and winning the board or the life race early, and is literally just playing 2, 2 Cost 5000 Power Vanillas
3. Brook + Nami
If 2, 2 Cost 5000 Vanillas are strong, then shouldn't Brook + Nami be even stronger? Yes and no. While yes against a deck like Zoro they won't clear Nami on turn 3, it will be hard to get 2 hits (and therefore 2 searches) off with Nami without burning your hand. As you want to win the life race, and the resource war, I would rather save Nami for the next turn after to guarantee I get the [On Play] effect, and most likely the [When Attacking] as well. However, if you choose to hold off on your Nami, what would you play if you don't have Usopp?
4. Zoro
As we know, Vanillas are strong. Especially in the early game it's never 'wrong' to play a simply powerful character that will likely not die.

If I do the same chart going first this will be much too long, but the same logic will always apply. If you intend on playing Zoro on turn 3 going first, it's ok to play Nami turn 2, but do not expect your Nami to survive. Evaluate what's most important to you in the next few turns, not just 'now.'

Of course if you do not have Usopp, then you can play Nami off of Brook. But it's very important to understand how important resource management is with Kid. One extra card is very significant in a game like OPTCG.

Unlike Bonney, each card doesn't have a logic behind when you want it. You are looking to find the puzzle pieces that you are missing to make your strongest move possible. Luffy is an essential combo starter, but knowing ahead of time what you'll play off Luffy take planning and careful searching.

This means, if you just want cards to play off Luffy, do not activate Bonney. You won't draw the cards you are looking for.

It can also be useful to remember what went to the bottom of your deck to predict what you'll be able to get in your next draws/search. Make sure you have a plan for your next 3 turns at least and you will immediately know what you want from every search, and you can finish games in 5 minutes.

Brook

I've gone over why this card is strong. Not only can you use it turn 2 to explode on to the board, you can use it on turn 4 off of Luffy to get even more value. While this card is crazy, after the 4th turn where you've already played your Luffy, unless you can intentions of playing a 2nd Luffy, you will not need this card anymore and will become a good choice for counter.

Zoro

Supernova, Film, Vanilla, Playable off Luffy. Yes please.

This is generally the card you play when you have nothing else to play. However, as it's searchable off of multiple searchers, it's a card that can always end up being in your hand as an option.

Not much to say about this. It's solid for consistency.

Trafalgar Law

This card may surprise people. I've been talking up Kid as an aggro deck, but then I suddenly place a blocker?

No. Law is an attacker. Please remember this. Law is an attacker. Not only can he be a blocker on the final turn when things start to get close, he will hit for 6000 every turn while also putting out another 3 cost 5000 attacker. Generally you will use Law to restand your Nami so that you can guarantee another hit, and therefore search, with Nami.

Hypothetically let's say you were Second and this flow happens

Is the game not just over at this point? You almost guarantee the safety of one of your characters, while playing a 5/6000 attacker/blocker, replenishing your hand and setting up for another upcoming turn.

As Brook has a powerful [On Play] effect, then becomes a standard vanilla, Brook is an excellent target for Law. Even if you don't have something like a Nami in your hand, Law can still simply restand one of your 3 cost attackers to get ready for another hit next turn.

With this strength in mind, I think that Law is an excellent card in all facets except counter. However, cards without counter can always be discarded with the leader ability. It's just an absolute win all around.

Monkey D. Luffy

Once again, first thing straight. 
Luffy is an attacker.
Luffy is an attacker.
Luffy is an attacker.
Even if you don't have film Bartoromeo, Luffy will punch until he is forced to stand to that your leader doesn't die.

This might be the mistake that most film Kid players made. While Luffy is an excellent blocker, he is first and foremost, an Attacker that can play up to 2 more 5000 power Attackers with him.

I've stated the importance of having Luffy in your hand. However, remember that he's searchable off of both Bonney and Nami. So as important as this guy is, statistically, you should be able to draw him by 7-8 Don, even if it's not in your starting hand. Therefore it's not a top priority for your mulligan. 

If on 7-8 Don, the enemy goes down to 2 life from your 5000 hits before your leader attacks, and they have no Don up, heavily consider just hitting the enemy leader for 9000 9000, or 10000 10000. What can they do about it? They can't ask for emotional support from their hand, they don't have a hand anymore.

Additionally, if you're playing against Kid, do not take your life carelessly ever.

Eustass "Captain" Kid

Probably my favorite card in the game. Sorry Blue Doflamingo players. Not sorry. If you've played since OP01, this card needs no introduction. Kid has the ability to make your leader 8000 power. This fact alone makes it a very good card into Strawbeard and Doflamingo, make it a very meta specific inclusion for OP03. I would not use this card in OP04.

In Fortress Kid, the goal is to set up a searcher, an attacker, and 2 blockers alongside your 8 Cost Kid. While you cannot set up a fortress in film kid. 2 cost killer alongside Nami can make a much more aggressive phalanx as you can hide more attackers behind your Kid. Even if the fortress is broken in 2 turns, this is all the time you need to win if you have 1-2 attackers behind Kid.

Matchups I would not advice playing this in would be:
Ace: Absolutely not
Katakuri: If it was FULL Fortress Kid, it would be fine, but half Fortress Kid with Film Cards, I would rather just hit the leader for 10000 10000 and throw away Kid
Zoro: If Zoro does not run Gordon, it will end the game. If Zoro runs Gordon, you will lose your turn. If you can figure out if the enemy has Gordon and play Kid in the late game, it is good at solidifying your win. However, if they don't have Gordon, they lose anyways. Why would people not run this card??

Most other matchups can keep Kid as an option, but should also consider if they need this card to win, or if playing the card just makes you happy.

Punk Gibson

I personally prefer Paradise Waterfall over Punk Gibson, however I am using Punk Gibson for the sole benefit of it being a 2 cost +4000 counter event. This card will only be super effective into bad players that can't play around it, but being able to defend a 7000 attack with 1 card in a game where managing resources is extremely important, is very helpful. This card coupled with 8 cost Kid is also extremely strong. If they enemy plays 4 cost Marco, then having this in your hand will make the game joever.

What if I Don't Have P-029 Bartoromeo?

This card is expensive. Some people have ever blamed me for making it expensive. I assure you, I do not have that kind of influence.

However, this deck in Japan can be made for less that 20dollars. Whereas, in the English version, it's straight up an investment in your future. Buying a card thats 40 euros, or 50 dollars, or whatever the price is, and needing multiple, flat out sucks. I would recommend having Bartoromeo as it's searchable off of Bonney and Nami, but before you buy such as expensive card, please play like 200 games on the sim before you've convinced yourself that Kid is the right choice. I feel really sad when people send me DMs saying that they used my Kid deck and just barely missed out on top cut. I was rooting for you. I really wanted to you win.

If you want to play the deck casually and for fun, then consider making some changes to the deck. Perhaps consider making the Bartoromeo Franky, as it would not decrease the hit-rate of Nami. While I have recommended Paradise Waterfall in the past as the job it does is similar to Bartoromeo, I would probably prefer my Nami effect to hit more often. Bonney will hit most of the time anyways so we do not have to worry about her hit-rate.

If you want to try something realllllyyyy spicy. Maybe experiment with 3 cost Robin and 2 cost Law. Have some fun with deck building!

Bet you had to look up what those cards do. I think that there's a world there these cards can be strong, but I haven't tested it enough.

Unused / Potential Cards

Next let's go over some cards that are not used in this current build and why I chose not to include them. All of cards here have a reason that they could be used, but barely did not make the cut. As such I won't be going over cards like Kanjuro.

There are not many cards in this list comparatively, but don't treat this section as the 'Cards That You Should Never Use' list, but rather, the 'Cards That You Can Consider Using' list.

Nico Robin & Film Trafalgar Law

The dream combo. Brook -> Robin -> Law [Effect] -> Robin -> Law

In a deck where you want to hit with 5000 as many times as possible, these cards do not make the cut, as they are not 5000 power. However, if you put a Don on them, you can get more 5000 power attackers than any normal film Kid deck. if they kind of explosiveness was sustainable, I would use these cards. However, your hand is burned too quickly pulling off this combo in my opinion. It will always be a fun and absurd combo, but it will stay a dream for a little while longer. I have hopes for this Law in the future though. That's not the sort of effect you put on a common card.

Okiku

A viable option and very strong card. However, there aren't many cards that I want to rest, the card is not searchable or playable off of the film package, and it does not how counter. I believe if you have the space for this card, it can be an immense threat, but currently, it does not seem necessary.

Basil Hawkins

This card is insanely strong. However, it has 2 main drawbacks. No counter, and the effect comes into effect on the next turn. This means if you want to use Hawkins effectively, you need to set him up beforehand. Additionally, and most importantly, to use his effect well, you only hit once, and leave him active so the enemy can't take Hawkins back.

A 5 cost characters that can only hit for 7000 once to a character for 1 extra Don each turn is just not it man. People argue that this card is good into Whitebeard, but is it? If they game lasts for 4 turns after you play Hawkins, yes, Hawkins is the best card in the game. But putting one don on Hawkins means you can burn 1 extra 2000 counter from their hand as they defend Atmos. Is just through 2 Don on your leader hit using your leader ability to hit Atmos twice for 7000 not just objectively better? (Do not actually do this. It's weak, but Hawkins is even weaker)

In decks like Fortress Kid, this card shines as the deck is made for long games. In a deck where you want to finish the game in 5-6 turns, is playing a counterless, 5 cost 6000 body with no immediate benefit really worth it? In my opinion, no. 

Card's ugly anyway. Would consider more if there was original art for it.

Franky

Surprisingly, this is the card I get asked about the most on why I don't use it.

The main reason comes from when you see the matchups where you want to use this card.

This card is best into: Whitebeard, Katakuri, and the Film Kid Mirror.

Whitebeard: You don't need this card to win. If you take first hoping to draw Franky to push through damage, and end up not drawing Franky, you could just straight up lose. High risk, Medium reward.

Katakuri: You do not need Franky to win this matchup at all. It's overkill in an already overwhelmingly winning matchup

Mirror: If you ran Franky in the mirror and went first and played 5Franky 7Luffy, you would generally win. Franky makes a huge difference in the mirror. However, 8 cost Kid flips this even harder, so now the inverse is true. Even if they have Franky and Luffy, if you have 8 cost Kid, and the enemy doesn't, you automatically win.

Franky is definitely a card that can always be considered. And if you want to increase the number of film cards in your deck, this would be the first choice. However, you never needed Franky to win specific matchups, so I choose not to use it.

Krieg

Same reasoning as Hawkins. This card will make sure that your Katakuri opponent will never want to play the game ever again. However, you can do this without Krieg. It's not a necessarily powerful card against Zoro either, but completely decimates Yellow and Blue Doflamingo. However, as these matchups feel winning already I do not see a reason to use a win-more card that also does not have counter.

Paradise Waterfall

I love this card. If I had the space, I would use it. If you like this card more than Punk Gibson, feel free to use this instead. The only matchup where I can see this card making a substantial difference is against RG Law as you can defend your Nami better. I think there is merit to this card situationally, but Punk Gibson is generally easier to use economically. Unfortunately Paradise Waterfall isn't searchable with the current build, but if it was I would prioritize this card.

This brings us to the end of the deck explanation. Just a little bit more… I hope.

The next section, I will present my OP04 Film Kid deck and discuss the matchups in context of OP04. The reason I'm doing this is because you generally play the same in OP03, and OP04. However, there are more cards to be careful of in OP04. So rather than be redundant, I will write in the context of OP04 WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS as this is finally my main field of expertise. If the restriction remains in OP04, then the only unusable part of the next section will be the Whitebeard matchup.

OP04 Film Kid

There is one card here that you will not see in the OP03 list so I will start with explaining that first, and then explain 2 cards that have potential to be used in film Kid that I decided against.

Paradise Totsuka

This card came out in OP02. Why is it used now? The trigger effect on Totsuka is rarely ever useful. However, the main effect is surprisingly strong for surprise lethals, or board control.

As we discussed with Nami, Film Kid can naturally leave 1 don comfortably. Leaving 2 Don is hard in the early game, but have a spare don is very good. Totsuka with an attacker and your leader in the early game can wipe out an early trigger character from yellow before they can get a single hit through. Other than this, it can rest a sudden trigger Sanji coming from yellow's last life, and most importantly, rest 4 cost Marco. Totsuka is Marco's worst nightmare, and we make sure to abuse it's power to turn Marco from a permanent blocker, into a permanently rested blocker. Totsuka makes the Katakuri and Whitebeard matchup significantly easier to deal with. As Totsuka is hard to use, and you never want to have 2 stuck in your hand, if you see a good timing in the early game to use it, I would recommend doing so. Don't feel the need to hold on to Totsuka as long as you can get good value out of it at that specific stage in the game.

Sugar

If you don't know, Sugar has 2 effects on her card. One that is usable only by Don Quixote Pirates, and one that is usable to all leaders. The [On Play] effect: "Rest up to 1 of your opponents characters with a cost of 4 or less" is usable by all Green leader and is essentially Paradise Totsuka with 1000 counter.

If Sugar has the same effect as Totsuka, but also has 1000 counter, and neither are searchable, wouldn't Sugar be objectively better? It's possible. I do think that this is a preference call. I prefer Totsuka because of the benefit of being able to potentially play it early cheaply and take board control. However, because Sugar has counter, you do not need to rush to use her effect early. The art is also really cute and it feels more BM to lose to this thing resting your blocker than Totsuka.

Additionally, if you play this card on 10 Don to push through for lethal. Your leader can only hit with 10000 10000 rather than 11000 11000. This can make a big difference on the final turn. With all of this in mind, I choose to use Sugar. However, she has lots of potential, and I recommend you give this card a try yourself.

Don Quixote Doflamingo

Every other Green deck must use this card. It's absolutely insane. You essentially stall one turn and play a 10000 power character in the mean time. The reason I am not using this in my Kid deck, is because I simply believe, that in the OP04 metagame, hitting for 12000 12000 is flat out better as an aggro deck. Kid wants to finish the game around the time that you would play Doflamingo, so by playing Doflamingo, although you are stalling your enemy's attacks, you are also stalling your own leader's stronger attacks. This gives the enemy time to set up blockers and make a come back assuming you don't have multiple Doflamingo. If you play Kinemon or Oden, congratulations welcome to your new perma 4-of. If you play film Kid, I would hold off on this card for now.

How to Play Film Kid

Didn't expect it to take 6200 words to get to this point. 

Tip 1

In most matchups, your objective is to use your Don as efficiently as possible, to create the strongest possible board each turn. It is in essence simple, but needs practice to ensure you're setting up your perfect turn in the previous turns. As the deck loves free resources, Nami is core to going first and second. Generally if you have Nami in your starting hand it is worth keeping. As we want to use Nami's ability as much as possible, if you are unsure, pick second. By picking second you can do something like this in a perfect world

However, this is not the only plan that can lead you to victory.

When you go second, if you have Nami, you can find a way to weave her into your first 3 turns to search roughly twice. For the extra card draw on the first turn, and the extra Don, second is Kid's strong suit. 

If you're first on the other hand. It could look something like this 

Or perhaps something like

I chose these examples because you can see how important it is to see your future turns on turn 1. If you do not see a world where you have a floating Don in the first 3 turns then I highly recommend not playing Bonnie.

You can see that when you're first, you get to draw less with Nami. But the tradeoff for this is that you can start hitting first.

Tip 2

This brings me to my second important point on how to play Film Kid. As you are a deck that needs to manage your resources well, you do not want to waste your important combo cards in the early game for counter. In all matchups I would take the first 2 life with no questions asked as it gives me a +2 hand advantage over an opponent who took 1 life and defended 1 life.

This is also an important concept for Zoro. It doesn't matter how low you get, as long as they cannot kill you.

When you go first as film Kid, you're faced with a problem on turn 3.

"Should I attack with my 3 Cost 5000 Body"

For most people this is a no-brainer yes. However, at this point, Kid will still be at 4 life, which makes defending the 3 Cost 5000 Character difficult to not worth it.

There is no definitive answer, but if you're unsure, I would not attack on the 3rd turn going 1st and force them to hit my life an extra time to get my down to 3 life. Kid loves to be at 2-3 life, and Kid loves for the enemy to be at 2-3 life as well. As long as you're countering correctly, you will not be in a situation where you roll over and die because they hit your for 15000 when you had 14000 counter in your hand. If this happens to you, you messed up.

Tip 3

The final important tip with Kid is to identify how many turns it will take for you to achieve lethal, compared to how many turn for the enemy to achieve lethal. This can be its whole own article, but to state it simply, Just count how much potential damage you could push through compared to how much potential damage they can push through on the next turn. By calculating this 2-3 turns into the future, you can identify if you have beat the enemy even half a turn faster. Once you see this opening, it's time to start pushing for lethal with leader ability. Generally after Luffy lands, there is no need to play more characters unless it's another Luffy. Therefore, you can focus on using your leader ability and playing smaller things on the side such as Killer, Bartoromeo, or Punk Gibson.

Matchups

Next I will go on to how I would fight each matchup in OP04, and what I worry about.

Zoro

70:30 Winning Matchup
Prefer Second
Mulligan: Nami, Brook

This is a matchup where you want to spread your board out wide and hit them repeatedly with 5000. The goal here is to search multiple time with Nami so that you can defend their 5000 attacks, while they struggle to obtain the same amount of resources that you can. In this matchup, while your characters are bigger, Zoro's characters are cheaper meaning that if you ignore them, you might have a bad time. As a general rule of thumb, I attack every rested character that has a base power of 3000 power to 5000 power. I will not hit something at +3000 above base power, for example Zoro into Dadan, as that gives too much value to their character. The most I would attack at is 5000 power (leader for example) into Dadan. In many cases you can ignore certain characters, but if you're unsure, follow the bolded rules.

Zoro will only ever hit you for 5000 to 7000 generally, so feel free to even go down to 1 life if they let you. The only way for them to win if for them to break through your last shield, and then hit you. As you want to be careful of Diable Jambe, do not go down to 0 life. Generally this is a matchup where the enemy will overzealously hit your leader twice before realizing that Nami is a problem that needs to be dealt with. However, at this time you'll already have a +2 card advantage over the enemy and it will be significantly easier to defend Nami, and also make the correct decisions on what to defend with.

One card combination to worry about is Gordon + Fire Fist. This combo can get rid of Luffy and Nami together. However, it does get 3 cards from their hand. Thanks to cards such as Brook and Luffy, your power overwhelming is enough to push through despite being Fire Fisted.

Whitebeard

55:45 Slightly Winning Matchup
Prefer Second
Mulligan: Zoro

You're going to see behind the curtains here to how much of a cheat code Kid's leader ability is. Reminder that this section is if the RESTRICTION IS LIFTED, and will not apply if it's not. Here is how to win going second.

yea……….

In this matchup, you need to make sure that Whitebeard reaches 0 life before his Whitebeard turn. For this to be possible, you need 2 hits to go through. The best way to do this is to of course, hit for 8000 or higher on 2 separate turns. By getting 2 through, and forcing the enemy to defend the other 2, you are burning their hand and creating a situation where they are physically unable to play Whitebeard.

If you're going first, this is the plan:

Because we managed to get 1 hit through on turn 2 already, we only need one more hit. If we play this like we play going 2nd, then we completely waste our 7 Don turn. As the enemy has 2 Life at this point, If you get 3 big hits through, the enemy only need to defend 1, and take the rest, compared to going second where they have to defend 2. However, because you're going first, you have an extra turn to try to get this last hit through before the enemy is allowed to play Whitebeard. 

This matchup feels winning going second, and 50-50 to slightly losing going first. However, if the enemy knows how to fight the matchup, they can play in a way that harms Kid tremendously. 

I'm hesitant to write how Whitebeard wins this matchup, but I feel I owe it to the people who want to know how to fight Kid and read this far. If you just jumped to this section and didn't read the rest, fuck. If you want to beat Kid as Whitebeard, play 4 cost Marco on turn 2 going Second. This ruins Kids plans. If you play a second 4 cost Marco it gets very very hard to deal with. If you're first vs Kid though, just hope you have enough counter because if you play 4 Marco on turn 3, Kid will just Paradise Totsuka it and kill it. Whitebeard is a deck that if they draw every piece that they want, they will win. So even if your plans go perfectly, sometimes they are just the better player and draw all of their counter.

Red Green Law

30:70 Losing Matchup
Prefer Second
Mulligan: Nami, Brook

Red Green Law is historically bad for Film Kid. HOWEVER, I THINK WANO SUPERNOVA KID STOMPS IT. Even if you have Chopper, even if you get Punk Gibson and Paradise Totsuka trigger, you cannot clear the board fast enough to prevent Law from doing what he wants. The best thing to do is to do what you want, and see if Law can stop you. Ignore Law's board, never attack anything on the board, 0. Full face, full punch. Your goal is to get Law down to 0-1 Life so that they're forced to block with their board, and make it hard for themselves to use their leader ability. To fight the resource war, you need Nami, so doing what you can to keep Nami alive with cards such as Paradise Waterfall, Bartoromeo, 5 cost Law, etc, you want to keep pressuring life continuously, and hope that the Law didn't draw everything he needed. This is one of the matchups where you can play chopper before your lethal turn. As you need many things to go your way and many things to not go the enemy's way, this matchup is losing for Kid

Kid

50:50 Even Matchup
Prefer Second
Mulligan: Nami, Brook

I won't dwell on every matchup. In Japan it was rare to be using Kid, and even more rare to play the mirror. If the Mirror becomes common overseas, then there are some key cards that can make a difference in the mirror. 8c Kid, Hawkins, Franky etc. For now, assuming that these are 2 of the same decks that have not teched for the mirror, going second and drawing more cards would be advantageous. Play a consistent game and you should be ok.

Green Blue Doflamingo

20:80 Losing Matchup
Prefer Second
Mulligan: Nami, Brook, Luffy

This is probably the hardest matchup for film Kid. Film Doflamingo can answer everything film Kid wants to do, but this does not mean Doflamingo is better than Kid into other matchups.

Kid wants to get big hits through -> Doflamingo has 2 up permanently
Kid wants to spread out the board and attack at 5000 -> Uta will rest one, and 10 c Doflamingo will lock them.

The way to win this matchup is to play normally, spreading out your board, and aim to play 2 Luffys in a row. One that gets trapped by 10c Doflamingo, and one that doesn't. Ever if you pull this off, it's a bit iffy if you can actually win, but this was the best plan I could come up with. If they fail to draw 7c Luffy, it's more winnable.

Blue Crocodile

40:60 Slightly Losing Matchup
Prefer First
Mulligan: Brook + Brook Targets

Blue Crocodile can immediately bounce your board even if you spread it out with Brook or Luffy. So the way we will play this is to try to flood the board in the first 3 turns by playing

1: Pass
3: Usopp
5: Brook -> Nami + Effect

for example, and then attack like crazy with leader ability there-on after. You still have 1 turn where you can play Luffy with it most likely surviving. However, I felt as though you would not have enough time to push through if you took the turn to play Luffy.

If you can play another Luffy -> Brook -> X, then I would. Otherwise, I would start hitting for 9000 9000 or 7000 7000 with my leader to try to close out the game early.

Blue Doflamingo (OP03 Specific)

80:20 Winning Matchup
Prefer Second
Mulligan: 8 cost Kid, Bonney

This matchup just does not exist in OP04, so taking a step back for OP03, all you need to beat blue is 8 cost Kid. Look for this card primarily, and search with Bonney exclusively until you find 8 cost Kid. I really don't see a way that Doflamingo can with this matchup if you have 8 cost Kid.

It is a good idea to take out things like Hancock, but just ignore things like Vanilla Gecko Moria unless the enemy has about 3 or less cards in hand.

Do not focus too much on winning board from if you have 8 cost Kid in your hand, as eventually your leader will become 8000, and they will be forced to put 3 Don on their 5000 power characters to reach it. This is the same difference as a 2000 power character trying to hit a 5000 power leader. Don't be afraid of the bigger number, and know what you are allowed to ignore.

Nami

95:5 Almost Unlosable Matchup
Prefer Second
Mulligan: Nami, Brook

Seriously if you just play this normally, you will win. Playing against Nami is actually a really interesting puzzle I am not going to write all that shit here. That's another article. If you don't know how to fight Nami, and you're piloting a deck like Whitebeard that is roughly 50-50 vs Nami, you'll end up losing.

The very basics though, if this describes you, is to:

Hit at 5000, or 9000
Don't hit if you only have a single hit and they have active Don in the early game
Hit either at 5000 repeatedly, or 15000 once per turn and pass
The goal is to get closer to lethal while not letting the enemy get closer to lethal. It's very simple sounding, but do not hit recklessly.

Rebecca

50:50 Lottery Matchup
Prefer First
Mulligan: Paradise Totsuka, 2000 Counter

Rebecca vs Green Purple Doflamingo is absolutely unwinnable for Doflamingo, as Doflamingo relies on setting up a board. Rebecca takes out his board very easily, so Doflamingo does not stand a chance. If Rebecca can create a situation where there is only one attacker, the leader, she wins. However, Kid has an immovable 2nd attacker…. his leader, again!

Rebecca's leader ability is only usable if she is at 6 cards or less, so I recommend not hitting at 5000 if she is at 6/7 cards in hand. A strong way to counter Rebecca is to hit hard with your leader early game to force them to draw their hand. 

As Kid, you can go

1: Pass
3: 8000 Leader
5: 7000 7000
7: 9000 9000
9: 11000 11000

etc etc.

The matchup comes down to how many blockers Rebecca manages to draw. If she doesn't draw enough blockers, she will lose. Do not go down to 2 life too easily as a way to lose this matchup is to get Luffy King Kong Gun'ed down. The reason you look for Totsuka in the matchup early, and Punk Gibson later is so that you can permanently erase a low cost blocker for the rest of the game once you get within 2 turns of your lethal. Make sure to calculate how long you can keep their blockers rested, and keep their blocker out of the way as you hit face exclusively. Putting aside 1 blocker can make a large difference. 

If Rebecca does not run Ideo, I don't know if she can win.

Katakuri

70:30 Winning Matchup
Prefer Second
Mulligan: Nami, Brook

Katakuri is similar to Zoro in how you want to play, so I won't go over that again. However, as Zoro tends to hit at a consistent 5000-7000 each turn, it makes taking life easy. Katakuri on the other hand will eventually hit you with 8000, and eventually 12000. Be more careful with taking your life in the early. I would still take the first 2 life in general.

Katakuri triggers to worry about:

Here are the Katakuri triggers that can mess with your lethal, and how to deal with it.

First when you are going for lethal, remember to leave a don floating for Paradise Totsuka, if you have it in hand. This can take care of Brulee and Sanji.

Next you want to hit from your leader first ONCE. By doing this, you are caring for Capone 'Gang' Bege as even if Bege comes out of trigger, he can only stop 1 hit, and not 2. However, if you want to keep your options open depending on how the enemy responds to the way you use your Don, don't feel forced to immediately dump 6 don on your leader. If their hand size is small, consider something like 7000 to invite them to use counter for your 5000 attacks to go through next.

After your leader attacks once, hit with your characters that cost 5 or less in priority of the cards that you want to keep on the board more. This cares for Thunderbolt.

While generally you want to hit from low to high, but hitting with something like Zoro before Usopp, you are giving the enemy the choice of stopping 1 attack by Thunderbolting Usopp, or getting rid of the scarier target. Make these decisions hard for the enemy by prioritizing attacking with the characters that you want to stay on the board first.

After this you are in the clear for most triggers and can hit in a standard order, using your leader ability to finish the game.

Closing

Thanks for reading. I'll write more, but I might find a new way to get this information out. Stay tuned

Sincerely, Kai @ikailakai