Top 8 OP08.5 Meta Marco deck from Top Deck Treasure Cup 11/16/24 piloted by Baron Egman @The_Egman.
Early Game Engine
The deck’s early game revolves on Ivankov, Izo, and the various 2 drops in the deck. At its core, Marco is a control / mid-range deck and the goal of the deck’s early game is to slow down the game via early-game cards that provide value for you if left unchecked. Ivankov’s on play ability allows you to play a 2 cost character from the top of you deck. Duval, Curly, and Pudding pair great into Ivankov because each of these cards help push card advantage in your favor. Ivankov also provides you card draw each time it attacks as long as you have 6 cards or less in hand. If you are able to play Ivankov in the early game, your opponent must either commit an attack or other resources to remove Ivankov. Given that Ivankov is at 4k power, the opponent must decide whether to attack with 5k power or invest a don for a 6k swing. If the opponent swings for 5k it becomes easy for you to counter with a 2k and continue your value with Ivankov the following turn. If everything goes according to plan, Ivankov would either help you gain hand advantage or slow the game enough for you to reach the mid-game to stabilize and control the board.
Mid-Game stabilization
7 cost Newgate and 6 cost Jozu are your main mid-game stabilizers. Jozu’s bounce-back ability lets you bounce key early game cards like Izo, Curly, or Pudding back to your hand to either play again or use as a counter while also bouncing a 6cost or less character on your opponent’s field. This can provide a very good tempo swing in your favor by setting your opponent back a turn and establishing a big body on board. 7 Cost Newgate also functions the same way but also provides the threat of ongoing value due to its “main” ability which allows you to continue KOing characters with 5k or less power.
End Game
In the late game, you can take advantage of Marco’s leader ability to stack the top card of your deck and play Sanji, which guarantees that you will play a strong card. Rayleigh is usually the combo you use to play two strong bodies and control the board via Raleigh’s and Marco’s abilities. In most cases, being able to play two big bodies and weaken the opponent’s board is all you need to close out the game.