Understanding Arlong Leader and building an Arlong decklist.
Strengths
Arlong is naturally a very aggressive leader. He is swinging for 7k damage while also summoning a body on the board for additional pressure. This makes Arlon’s 1-3 turns very powerful.
When you take damage to your life there is a high chance that you will activate a trigger from life due to the amount of triggers that you run in the deck. This means that you can continue to build pressure even on your opponent’s turn.
Weakness
Generally, Arlong likes to end the game quickly before the game gets into the late game. Because if the game isn’t won quickly then Arlong’s window of opportunity to win begins to close. This is due to the fact that the triggers in the deck are usually characters with 5k attack and cost 4 or less. All of these are subject to removal from any deck and can easily be attacked by higher-cost characters.
However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t build a deck to counter this weakness.
Cards that Synergize with Arlong
Considering Arlong’s ability, you want to run cards that cost 4 or less and have triggers. Since Arlong is very aggressive the cards should be at least 5k attack so they can easily attack your opponent or should have a strong ability.
Cracker is a great attacker that can potentially hit your opponent for double damage. Since Arlong starts his life at 4 this usually means that Arlong will have less life than your opponent, making it easier to use Charlotte Cracker’s ability. Cracker also has a trigger ability that allows you to summon him from life on your opponent’s turn and put more pressure. Cracker should be included in all Arlong decks.
Sanji is a new yellow blocker from the new set OP04 Kingdoms of Intrigue that has 5k attack and a trigger. This makes Sanji a very good card to add to your Arlong deck. Sanji is flexible because you can attack with him and use him aggressively or you can use him defensively as a blocker. Sanji is a staple that I believe should be in every Arlong deck.
Smoothie is a pretty solid 4C 5K attacker. She also has an ability that lets her get 2K more attack by adding a card from your life to your hand. This ability can be useful especially if you have a cracker on the board as smoothie will get stronger and while activating your cracker’s abilities. She can also help enable other cards like the new Yamato leader that lets you gain life.
Perospero is a 3C 5K attacker that also has the option to search for a big mom card from your deck. He synergizes well with the deck since you’re already running Crackers and probably Smoothie too. He has a good body that potentially allows you to get another card into your hand. A good card overall but the only drawback is that it doesn’t have a counter so it’s dead in the hand.
Capone Bege may not be a strong body to attack with but it does have a strong defense ability. It’s effect when triggered by life allows you to stop a leader or character from attacking. It is also a 2K counter from hand. These two things make Bege a really great defensive card for the deck.
Hatchan is another 2K counter with a trigger like Capone. However, this one is a bit weaker in my opinion but can be useful. His trigger allows you to summon him on the field. He is only a 4k attack so he will need at least one don to attack if you choose to play him using his trigger. If not he is just a 2K counter which isn’t bad. And I think that alone merits to have him in an Arlong deck.
Similar to Bege, Kuroobi doesn’t have a strong body for attacking. However, his ability to rest ANY card is very strong. You can use him with Arlong’s ability to rest a blocker while Arlong attacks. You can even use him defensively if you trigger from life. It is a good flexible card that compliments your attackers very well. I think he is a staple in Arlong decks but maybe around 2-3 copies.
Brulee is a good blocker that has a trigger. After OP04 a lot of people prefer to run the Sanji blocker instead of Brulee because Sanji has more attack. That being said Brulee is still a good card to consider. You don’t need to discard a card to play her from life unlike Sanji and this card is searchable from Perospero. Sanjji cannot be searched from Perospero. Both Brulee and Sanji have their advantages and disadvantages but both synergize well with Arlong.
Nami is an east blue searcher with a trigger that can synergize with Arlong depending on your deck build. If you are running a lot of east blue cards then she is a staple that should be included. Otherwise, she may not be worth running.
Chew is a pretty niche card in my opinion. His on-play ability isn’t bad but it isn’t great either. Perhaps in a tournament environment where you expect to play against a lot of Zoro decks that use a lot of small searchers to attack then I can see Chew being useful. It’s a good card to keep in mind but it is very niche.
Mont-d’Or is a really interesting card with a good effect but it does suffer from the same weakness as Chew. So I consider this a niche card for a tournament setting. As a tech card in the right environment, this card combined with Arlong’s ability can be a strong combo.
This card was introduced in the new Yamato starter deck (09). The fact that it is a 4C 5K body is pretty good and it means you can play it using Arlong’s ability. His trigger effect is also niche but the bad part is that you can’t play the card onto the board if you activate its trigger. So it’s not a bad card to include in an Arlong deck but I wouldn’t say it’s a must include. If you have space in your deck and you are looking for something extra to include that can use Arlong’s ability then this might be a good card to include.
Lastly, I did want to include Linlin because she synergizes well with the deck despite not having triggers. She can be searched by Perospero. Arlong likes to play first so Linlin can be dropped on curve during your 7-don turn and will create a lot of pressure and force your opponent to either trash a life or give you an extra life. She can also be played on your 10-don turn and still give you enough don to use Arlong’s ability to create a strong combo. Depending on the deck that you’re running she could be a staple for the deck.