# One Piece Card Game rules explained: Blocker, DON!!, Trigger, K.O. and more

> K.O. vs trashing from hand, replacing a Stage, legal attack targets, Blocker, DON!! and Trigger: One Piece Card Game rules explained per the August 2026 rules.

- Source: https://tradematches.app/en/blog/one-piece-card-game-rules-guide
- Author: Joaquin Orozco · TradeMatches
- Published: 2026-10-21
- Updated: 2026-10-27
- Language: en

![A One Piece Card Game match on a playmat, with characters in play, the row of DON!! cards and a player putting down a card](https://tradematches.app/assets/fotos/reglas-one-piece-card-game-portada.webp)
*Editorial illustration · not a photograph of a real card.*

**One Piece Card Game is played with one Leader, a 50-card deck and a separate 10-card DON!! deck. Each turn you add DON!! cards to your cost area, rest them to pay for cards and effects or give them to your Leader and Characters for +1000 power each during your turn, then attack your opponent's Leader or their rested Characters. You lose when your Leader takes damage while you have no Life cards left, or when your deck runs out.** This guide answers the rule questions players search for most, one section per question, starting with [Blocker], K.O. versus trash and given DON!!. Every rule was checked on 21 October 2026 against the official Comprehensive Rules, Version 1.2.1, last updated on 28 August 2026. Rule numbers appear in brackets so you can look them up.

Three principles from the start of the rulebook settle a lot of arguments. If a card's text contradicts the rules, the card wins (1-3-1). If you are told to do something impossible, you simply don't do it, and you do as much of a multi-part instruction as you can (1-3-2). And "up to" always lets you choose zero (1-3-5-1, 4-8-1). The rules say a DON!! card is "given" to a Leader or Character. Many players and older guides say "attached", and both words describe the same thing. If you are still choosing a first deck, the [One Piece TCG beginner guide](https://tradematches.app/en/blog/one-piece-tcg-beginner-guide-cards-to-look-for) covers products and first purchases. This page is about how the game plays.

## The rules at a glance

| Rule or keyword | Short answer | Rules |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [[Blocker]](#blocker) | Rest this active Character in the Block Step to become the target of an attack on one of your other cards. Once per battle. | 7-1-2, 10-1-4 |
| [K.O. vs trash](#ko-trash) | Only losing a battle or an effect that K.O.s counts as a K.O. Other trashing doesn't. | 10-2-1, 10-2-17 |
| [Rested vs given DON!!](#given-don) | Rested DON!! paid a cost. Given DON!! adds +1000 power during your turn and is neither active nor rested. | 4-4-2, 6-5-5 |
| [[Once Per Turn]](#once-per-turn) | Once per turn for each card. A card that leaves and comes back counts as new. | 10-2-13 |
| [[Activate: Main]](#activate-main) | Use it in your own Main Phase, outside battle, by paying the cost before the colon. | 10-2-2, 8-3 |
| [Attack targets](#attack-targets) | The opponent's Leader or one of their rested Characters. | 7-1-1-2 |
| [[Trigger]](#trigger) | When damage takes a Life card, use its Trigger instead of adding it to your hand, or add it to your hand without revealing it. | 10-1-5, 4-6-3 |
| [Stage cards](#stage) | One Stage at a time. Playing a new one trashes the old one. | 3-8-5 |
| [Deck building](#deck-building) | 1 Leader, 50 cards in its colours, up to 4 per card number, 10 DON!!. | 5-1-2 |
| [Five Characters](#five-characters) | To play a sixth, trash one of your five. That trashing isn't a K.O. | 3-7-6 |
| [[Rush] / [Rush: Character]](#rush) | Attack on the turn it is played. The Character version can only attack Characters that turn. | 10-1-1, 10-1-6 |
| [Counter](#counter) | Character Counter is free from your hand. Event [Counter] costs DON!!. Both are used only in the opponent's Counter Step. | 7-1-3, 10-2-4 |
| [[Double Attack] / [Banish]](#double-attack-banish) | 2 damage instead of 1 / the Life card is trashed with no Trigger. | 10-1-2, 10-1-3 |
| [Losing the game](#how-you-lose) | Damage to your Leader at 0 Life, or 0 cards in your deck. | 1-2-1, 9-2 |
| [Mulligan](#mulligan) | Redraw the whole 5-card hand once. The first player decides first. | 5-2-1-6 |
| [First turn](#first-turn) | The first player doesn't draw and gets 1 DON!!. Nobody battles on their first turn. | 6-3-1, 6-4-1, 6-5-6-1 |
| [[On Play] / [When Attacking]](#on-play-when-attacking) | On Play activates when the card is played. When Attacking activates each time it attacks. | 10-2-5, 10-2-6 |
| [DON!! −X](#don-minus) | Return X DON!! from your field to the DON!! deck as a cost. | 8-3-1-6, 10-2-10 |
| [[Unblockable]](#rush) | The opponent can't activate [Blocker] against this attacker. | 10-1-7 |

## How a battle works, step by step

**A battle in One Piece Card Game always runs in the same order: Attack Step, Block Step, Counter Step, Damage Step, then the end of the battle. The attacker wins if its power is equal to or higher than the defender's.** Most of the rules below plug into one of these steps, so it helps to have the sequence in front of you (7-1).

1. **Attack Step.** The turn player rests their active Leader or one active Character and picks a target: the opponent's Leader or one of their rested Characters. [When Attacking] effects activate, then the defender's [On Your Opponent's Attack] effects (7-1-1, 10-2-16-1).
2. **Block Step.** The defending player may activate one [Blocker]. [On Block] effects then activate (7-1-2).
3. **Counter Step.** The defender may trash Character cards from hand for their Counter value and play Event cards with [Counter], in any order and as many times as they can (7-1-3).
4. **Damage Step.** Compare power. If the attacker's power is equal or higher, a Leader takes 1 damage or a Character is K.O.'d. If it is lower, nothing happens (7-1-4).
5. **End of the Battle.** "At the end of the battle" effects activate and "during this battle" effects end (7-1-5).

At the end of the Attack, Block and Counter Steps, the game checks whether the attacker or its target has left its area. If either has, the battle jumps straight to the end and no damage is dealt (7-1-1-4, 7-1-2-3, 7-1-3-1-3).

## When can you use Blocker in One Piece?

**You can use [Blocker] only during the Block Step of your opponent's attack, when the attack targets one of your other cards (your Leader or a different Character). You rest the active Character with [Blocker], and it becomes the new target of the attack. You can activate one Blocker per battle.** The keyword is defined in 10-1-4-1 and the one-per-battle limit in 7-1-2-1. Since the Block Step comes after the Attack Step, you always know the attacker and its target, and any [When Attacking] effect has already resolved, before you decide.

### When you can't block

- **The Blocker is already rested.** Resting it is how you activate it, so a rested Character can't block (official Q&A). This catches people out after their own turn. A Character that attacked on your turn stays rested through your opponent's whole turn and only becomes active in your next Refresh Phase (6-2-4).
- **The Blocker is the card being attacked.** It protects your other cards, never itself (10-1-4-1 and the Q&A).
- **You already blocked in this battle.** Only one [Blocker] per battle (7-1-2-1).
- **The attacker has [Unblockable].** You can't activate [Blocker] against it (10-1-7-1).
- **An effect says the Character "cannot be rested".** The Q&A confirms that this also stops it from blocking.

### What happens after you block

The battle is now between the attacker and your Blocker. [On Block] effects activate (10-2-15-1), and you still get your Counter Step, so you can raise the Blocker's power from your hand (Q&A). In the Damage Step, if the attacker's power is equal to or higher than the Blocker's, the Blocker is K.O.'d. That counts as a real K.O., so its [On K.O.] effect works (7-1-4-1-2). If the Blocker has more power, nothing happens (7-1-4-2). Either way your Leader takes no damage, so no Life card moves and no [Trigger] comes into play.

The Blocker stays rested until your next Refresh Phase. For the rest of your opponent's turn it is therefore a legal target for any of their other attackers (7-1-1-2). A Blocker that survives a block can still be attacked and K.O.'d by the next attack.

### When blocking is worth it: a worked example

The numbers here are made up to show the arithmetic. Your Leader has 5000 power and 3 Life. Your opponent attacks it with a 7000-power Character. You have one active 5000-power Blocker and a Character card with a 2000 Counter in hand.

- **Take the hit.** You lose a Life card, but it goes to your hand, and if it has [Trigger] you may use it instead.
- **Counter on the Leader.** 5000 + 2000 = 7000, which ties the attacker. Ties go to the attacker (7-1-4-1), so you still take the damage and lose the Counter card as well.
- **Block.** Your Blocker at 5000 also loses unless you add at least 3000 more. With only the 2000 Counter it ties at 7000 and is K.O.'d.

Taking damage early is often fine, because each Life card becomes a card in hand. Blocking is strongest against attacks that would cost you more than one ordinary Life card: a [Double Attack] (two Life cards), a [Banish] attacker (the Life card is trashed and you get nothing), or any attack when you are on 0 Life and would lose. It is also worth blocking an attack aimed at a Character you want to keep, because a Character only gets this protection from a Blocker or Counters.

[Blocker] also appears in Digimon Card Game and Gundam Card Game, with the same idea of turning one of your own cards sideways so it becomes the target of the attack. If you play more than one of them, search for "Blocker" in the [TradeMatches keyword glossary](https://tradematches.app/en/tools/keyword-glossary) to see each game's definition side by side, so you don't carry one table's conditions over to another.

## K.O. vs trash vs returning to hand

**A Character is K.O.'d only when it loses a battle or when an effect K.O.s it. A Character that is trashed by an effect worded "trash", trashed to make room for a sixth Character, returned to the hand or placed in the deck has not been K.O.'d. [On K.O.] doesn't activate in those cases, and "cannot be K.O.'d" doesn't protect against them.** The definition is in 10-2-1-1 and 10-2-1-2, and 10-2-1-3 states plainly that a Character trashed "due to some other method" is not treated as K.O.'d. The useful habit is to read the verb on the card: "K.O." and "trash" are two different instructions.

| How the Character leaves | Is it a K.O.? | [On K.O.] activates? | Where it goes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Loses a battle | Yes (7-1-4-1-2) | Yes | Owner's trash |
| An effect says "K.O." | Yes (10-2-1-1) | Yes | Owner's trash |
| An effect says "trash this Character" | No (10-2-1-3) | No | Trash |
| Trashed to play a sixth Character | No (3-7-6-1-1, Q&A) | No | Trash |
| Returned to hand | No | No | Hand |
| Placed at the top or bottom of the deck | No | No | Deck |

### How [On K.O.] resolves

[On K.O.] works differently from every other automatic effect. It activates while the Character is still on the field. The card then goes to the trash, and the effect resolves from there (10-2-17-1, 10-2-17-2). It refers to the Character that has the text being K.O.'d, not to that Character K.O.ing something else (Q&A).

### What happens to everything attached to it

A card that moves from the Character area to another area becomes a new card. Effects that applied to it don't follow it (3-1-6). DON!! given to it go back to your cost area rested, so you can't reuse them that turn (6-5-5-4). For bounce effects this matters: a Character returned to hand loses any cost reduction it had, and you pay the normal cost to play it again (Q&A).

### "Trash" in costs means your hand

When "Trash" appears as a keyword, as in "Trash 1 card from your hand:", it means choosing a card from your hand and putting it in the trash (10-2-14-1). That has nothing to do with Characters on the field, and it is never a K.O.

## Rested vs given (attached) DON!!

**A rested DON!! has been turned sideways in your cost area to pay a cost, and it stays rested until your next Refresh Phase. A given DON!! (what many players call "attached") sits under your Leader or a Character and gives it +1000 power during your turn. A given DON!! is neither active nor rested, so it can't pay costs that require resting DON!!.** The relevant rules are 4-4-2 (given DON!! have no state), 6-5-5-1 and 6-5-5-2 (giving and the +1000) and 8-3-1-5 (costs paid by resting active DON!! in the cost area).

|  | Active in cost area | Rested in cost area | Given to a Leader or Character |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Can pay a cost by resting | Yes | No, already used | No |
| Can be given | Yes (6-5-5-1) | No | Can't be moved to another card (Q&A) |
| Adds power | No | No | +1000 each, during your turn only (6-5-5-2) |
| Can be returned for DON!! −X | Yes | Yes | Yes (8-3-1-6, Q&A) |
| In your Refresh Phase | Stays active | Becomes active (6-2-4) | Returns to the cost area rested, then becomes active (6-2-3, 6-2-4) |

### The rules for giving DON!!

- You give DON!! during your Main Phase by placing one active DON!! from your cost area under your Leader or a Character, as many times as you like (6-5-5-1, 6-5-5-3).
- Stages can't receive DON!!. Rule 6-5-5-1 only lists the Leader and Characters.
- Once given, a DON!! stays on that card. You can't move it to another Character during the turn (Q&A), and effects can't set it as active or rested (Q&A).
- If the card leaves its area, its DON!! return to your cost area rested (6-5-5-4). Any effects that applied to those DON!! are removed (3-1-6-1).

### What given DON!! do on your opponent's turn

Given DON!! come back only in your own Refresh Phase (6-2-3), so they stay under your cards during your opponent's whole turn, but the +1000 applies "during your turn" only (6-5-5-2). Your Leader therefore defends at its printed power. The DON!! still count for [DON!! xX] conditions, which check how many DON!! are given to the card (8-3-2-3, 10-2-9-1), and having more than X is fine (Q&A). The DON!! you rested to pay for things also stay rested until your next Refresh Phase. On your opponent's turn, only the DON!! you left active can pay for an Event [Counter].

### Planning a turn: an example

You start your Main Phase with 6 active DON!!. You play a 4-cost Character by resting 4 (2-7-2). With the other 2 you have a choice:

- Give both to your Leader. It attacks with +2000 this turn, but on your opponent's turn you have no active DON!!, so you can only defend with Character Counters from your hand, which cost nothing.
- Give 1 and leave 1 active. Your Leader attacks with +1000, and you keep 1 DON!! available for a 1-cost Event [Counter] on your opponent's turn.

Counting this before you act avoids the most common DON!! mistake: spending the same DON!! twice in your head, once as a cost and once as power.

## Once Per Turn: what it limits

**[Once Per Turn] means that effect on that card can be activated and resolved once in each turn. Two copies of the same card each get their own use, and the limit resets every turn, yours and your opponent's.** The definition is in 10-2-13-1, and 10-2-13-2 adds that cards with the same effect can each use it once. The official Q&A confirms this for cards with the same name.

### The details that come up at the table

- **After it resolves, it's gone for the turn.** You can't activate it again even if its condition is met again, and you can't pay its activation cost again (10-2-13-3).
- **A card that leaves the field and comes back is a new card.** If a Character used its [Once Per Turn] effect, went back to your hand and was played again in the same turn, it can use the effect again (10-2-13-4, 3-1-6).
- **A failed payment still uses it up.** If you start paying the activation cost and can't finish, the effect doesn't resolve and you still can't try again that turn (10-2-13-5, 8-3-1-3-1).
- **It isn't a timing permission.** An [Activate: Main] effect with [Once Per Turn] is still used only in your Main Phase, and an automatic effect still needs its event.

One reading worth stating. The limit counts effects that are "activated and resolved" (10-2-13-1). An optional effect ("you may") that you choose not to activate (8-1-2) has not been used, so it stays available if its event happens again that turn.

### Three quick cases

1. You have two copies of the same Character, each with an [Activate: Main] [Once Per Turn] draw effect. You can use both in one turn, once each.
2. Your Leader has a [Once Per Turn] effect that triggers when you are attacked. It works on the first attack your opponent makes and not on later ones that turn. On your own next turn it is available again.
3. You begin paying a cost that includes DON!! −2 but only have 1 DON!! to return. The effect doesn't resolve, and [Once Per Turn] counts it as used.

## Activate: Main: when and how to use it

**[Activate: Main] marks an effect on a card on your field that you can choose to use during your own Main Phase, whenever no battle is in progress. You can't use it on your opponent's turn or in the middle of a battle. To use it, you pay whatever cost is written before the colon.** See 10-2-2-1 for the keyword, 8-1-3-2 for "activate effects" belonging to the turn player in their Main Phase, and 8-3-1 for activation costs.

### [Activate: Main] vs [Main]

[Main] is found only on Event cards. You play the Event from your hand in your Main Phase, outside battle, by paying its cost and trashing it before the effect resolves (10-2-3-1, 2-7-3, 8-4-2). [Activate: Main] belongs to a Leader, Character or Stage that is already in its area, and its text only works there (2-8-2). Both are blocked during a battle. Neither can be used in the Counter Step.

### Reading the cost

- A circled number means resting that many active DON!! in your cost area (8-3-1-5).
- "DON!! −X" means returning X DON!! from your field to the DON!! deck (8-3-1-6). See [DON!! −X](#don-minus).
- "You may rest this Character:" can't be paid if the Character is already rested, and the Q&A says effects that stop it from being rested also stop this kind of activation.
- If you can't pay the whole cost, you can't pay any of it, and the text after the colon doesn't happen (8-3-1-3).

### How often, and on the turn it is played

Main Phase actions can be taken in any order and as many times as you like (6-5-2). An [Activate: Main] effect without [Once Per Turn] can therefore be repeated as long as you can keep paying. In practice, a cost that rests the card itself limits it to once. The rule that stops new Characters acting on the turn they are played covers attacking only (3-7-4). On a literal reading, a Character played this turn can use its [Activate: Main], even when the cost rests it.

### Triggers that activate [Main]

Some [Trigger] effects let you activate a card's [Main] outside the Main Phase (10-2-3-1-1). You still pay its cost: the official Q&A gives the example of OP03-074 Top Knot, whose [Main] still requires its DON!! −2.

## Who can you attack in One Piece?

**You can attack your opponent's Leader or one of their rested Characters. Active Characters, Stages and DON!! can't be attacked. The attacker must be your active Leader or one of your active Characters, and you rest it to declare the attack during your Main Phase.** Rule 7-1 sets out attackers and targets, and 7-1-1-1 and 7-1-1-2 repeat them for the Attack Step.

| Possible target | Legal? |
| --- | --- |
| Opponent's Leader | Always, whatever its state |
| Opponent's rested Character | Yes |
| Opponent's active Character | No, unless a card says otherwise (1-3-1) |
| Stage, DON!!, Life cards | No |

### Who can attack

- Your Leader and your Characters, as long as they are active. Each attack rests the attacker (7-1-1-1).
- Not on either player's first turn (6-5-6-1).
- Not a Character played this turn, unless it has [Rush] or [Rush: Character] (3-7-4, 10-1-1-1, 10-1-6-1).
- Not a card under a "cannot be rested" effect, because attacking requires resting it (Q&A).

After each battle, the game returns to your Main Phase (7-1-5-5). You can attack once with every active card, playing cards or giving DON!! between attacks.

### Why only rested Characters

Characters rest when they attack or when an effect or cost rests them, and they stay that way until their controller's next Refresh Phase. Every Character you attack with on your turn is therefore a target on your opponent's turn. That is the main trade-off of attacking with Characters rather than only with your Leader.

### After you pick the target

The target can still change or disappear. A [Blocker] can take its place (10-1-4-1). If an effect removes the target or the attacker from its area before the Damage Step, the battle ends at the next step check with no damage (7-1-1-4). With [Rush: Character], a Character can attack on the turn it is played, but only against Characters (10-1-6-1).

## Trigger: what to do when you lose a Life card

**When your Leader takes damage, you take the top card of your Life area. If it has [Trigger], you may reveal it and use its Trigger effect instead of adding it to your hand. Otherwise you add it to your hand without showing it. A card whose Trigger you used is trashed afterwards unless it says otherwise.** Life damage is processed one card at a time (4-6-2-1). The choice is described in 4-6-3 and 7-1-4-1-1-2, and the keyword itself in 10-1-5-1 to 10-1-5-3.

### The sequence for each point of damage

1. Check that you have Life cards. With 0 Life, the attacker wins instead (7-1-4-1-1-1).
2. Take the top Life card (3-10-2).
3. If it has [Trigger], decide: reveal it and activate the Trigger, or put it in your hand unrevealed (10-1-5-2).
4. If you activated it, resolve the effect. While it resolves the card is in no area, and afterwards it goes to the trash (10-1-5-3).

### When there is no Trigger choice

- **[Banish].** The Life card is trashed instead of going to your hand, and its Trigger isn't activated (10-1-3-1).
- **Life moved by an effect, not by damage.** "Add 1 card from the top of your Life cards to your hand" or "trash up to 1 card from the top of your Life cards" does not allow a Trigger (Q&A). Triggers only happen on taking damage.
- **An effect stops the card from going to your hand.** Then the Trigger can't be activated either (4-6-3-1).

### Two or more damage

Each damage is handled in full before the next. With [Double Attack], you resolve the first card's Trigger before taking the second Life card (Q&A). The rules allow damage processing to be paused for that Trigger (8-6-2-1). Other effects that trigger during the damage wait until all of it is done (8-6-2).

### Triggers on Event cards

Using an Event's [Trigger] does not count as "activating an Event", so effects that care about activating Events don't see it (Q&A). Some Triggers let you use the card's [Main] or [Counter] effect (10-2-3-1-1, 10-2-4-1-1), and you still pay that effect's cost.

### Trigger or card in hand?

The choice is a trade: a free effect now, or a card you can use later, for example as a Counter. Checking the Trigger text of your own cards before the game starts makes the decision quicker when the damage arrives.

## Face-up Life cards

**A face-up Life card is still a Life card. It stays in its place in the Life area, both players can see it, and if it has [Trigger] you can still use the Trigger when damage takes it.** The Life area is normally secret, but a face-up Life card is treated as being in an open area (3-10-2-1). The official Q&A confirms you can activate the Trigger of a face-up Life card.

- **Order doesn't change.** Damage and effects take the top Life card unless they say otherwise (3-10-2). A face-up card in the middle of the stack stays there.
- **Looking isn't flipping.** An effect that lets you look at Life cards works on face-up and face-down cards alike, and afterwards they go back exactly as they were (3-10-3).
- **New Life cards go face-down.** A card placed at the top or bottom of your Life goes face-down unless the effect says otherwise. Neither player may look at a card added to Life from the deck (Q&A).
- **Each player's Life stays their own.** If an effect lets you look at your or your opponent's top Life card and put it on the top or bottom, it goes back to its owner's Life area (Q&A).

A face-up Trigger is public information. Your opponent knows what the next point of damage will give you and can plan around it, for example by attacking with [Banish] or with a smaller attacker first.

## Stage cards: playing and replacing

**You play a Stage from your hand during your Main Phase by paying its cost, and you can only have one. To play a second Stage, reveal it, trash the Stage you already have, and then put the new one in your Stage area.** Rule 3-8-5 limits you to one Stage and 3-8-5-1 sets out the replacement. The official Q&A confirms this, and you pay the new card's cost as usual (2-7-4).

### What a Stage is and isn't

- It enters active (3-8-4), and its text only works while it is in the Stage area (2-8-2).
- It isn't a Character. It doesn't count toward your five Characters, it can't attack, and it can't be attacked: the only legal targets are the Leader and rested Characters (7-1-1-2).
- It can't be given DON!! (6-5-5-1).
- If its own cost or an effect rests it, it becomes active again in your Refresh Phase (6-2-4).
- In card text, "Stage" means a Stage in the Stage area, and "Stage card" means one anywhere else, such as in your hand or deck (2-2-6-1, 2-2-6-2).

### Replacing a Stage: an example

You have a Stage whose effect you have already used this turn, and a different Stage in your hand. In your Main Phase you reveal the new Stage, pay its cost, trash the old one and place the new one active. If the new Stage has an [Activate: Main] effect, you can use it straight away, because it is a fresh card in the Stage area. The old Stage is in the trash and can only come back if an effect returns it.

## Deck building: Leader, 50 cards and 10 DON!!

**A legal One Piece Card Game deck is exactly 1 Leader, a 50-card main deck of Characters, Events and Stages that share your Leader's colours, with no more than 4 copies of any card number, plus a separate 10-card DON!! deck.** These are rules 5-1-2 to 5-1-2-3. The Tournament Rules Manual repeats them and adds that side decks are not allowed (2.4).

### Checks that catch most illegal decks

- **Colours come from the Leader.** Only cards of a colour on your Leader can go in the deck (5-1-2-2). A Leader with two colours lets you use both, because a multicoloured card counts as every one of its colours (2-3-5).
- **Copies are counted by card number.** The limit is 4 per number (2-14-2, 5-1-2-3). Parallel and alternate-art printings that share a number count together. Our guide to [identifying One Piece parallel cards](https://tradematches.app/en/blog/identify-one-piece-parallel-cards) explains where to find the number.
- **The Leader and DON!! are not part of the 50.** The deck is only Characters, Events and Stages (5-1-2-1).
- **Some cards change the deck rules.** An effect that lets you include a different number of a certain card replaces the normal rule while you build (5-1-2-4). Read it on the card itself.
- **Check the banned list.** Bandai publishes banned cards and banned pairs for official events. On 21 October 2026 the latest change was effective from 12 October 2026, and the restricted category was empty. Format rules for Standard and Extra are a separate check on the official rules page.

When you present your deck before a game, it must meet these rules at that moment (5-2-1-1). Counting the 50 cards and the 10 DON!! separately is the quickest way to spot an extra card or a DON!! shuffled into the main deck.

## The five-Character limit

**You can have at most 5 Characters in your Character area. To play a sixth, reveal it, trash one of the five you already have, and then play the new card. That trashing is rule processing, not a K.O., so [On K.O.] doesn't activate and no effect can stop or replace it.** The limit is 3-7-6, the procedure 3-7-6-1, and 3-7-6-1-1 says no effect can be applied to the trashing. The official Q&A confirms that [On K.O.] doesn't activate.

- **You choose which one goes.** The rule just says to trash one of your Characters. It doesn't matter whether that one is active or rested.
- **Its DON!! come back rested.** DON!! given to the trashed Character return to your cost area rested (6-5-5-4), so you can't give them to the new Character that turn.
- **The new Character follows the normal rules.** It enters active (3-7-5) and can't attack that turn unless it has Rush (3-7-4).
- **Only Characters count.** Your Leader and your Stage are in their own areas.

Replacing a Character makes sense when the one you trash has nothing left to offer, for example one whose [On Play] has already given you its value, or a small Character that can no longer win battles. It also gets rid of a Character with an [On K.O.] effect your opponent was counting on, without giving you that effect. That works against you if you wanted the K.O. effect.

## Rush: attacking on the turn a Character is played

**[Rush] lets a Character attack on the turn it is played, against the opponent's Leader or a rested Character. [Rush: Character] only lets it attack the opponent's Characters on that turn. Neither one overrides the rule that no player can battle on their first turn.** See 10-1-1-1 for [Rush], 10-1-6-1 for [Rush: Character], 3-7-4 for the normal rule that Characters can't attack on the turn they are played, and 6-5-6-1 for the first-turn ban.

### What still applies

- The Character must be active when it attacks. It normally enters active (3-7-5), but if an effect rests it first, it can't attack.
- The attack happens in your Main Phase and follows the usual steps, so the opponent can block it and use Counters.
- You can give DON!! to the Rush Character before attacking. Each one adds +1000 during your turn (6-5-5-2).
- From the following turn on, a [Rush: Character] Character attacks like any other and may target the Leader.

### [Unblockable]

[Unblockable] is a separate keyword that often sits next to attack keywords: the opponent can't activate [Blocker] against a card with it (10-1-7-1). It doesn't stop Counters.

## Cost vs power

**Cost is the number in the top-left corner that you pay to play a card. Power is a Leader's or Character's strength in battle. Changing one never changes the other: a −2 cost effect doesn't lower power, and a −2000 power effect doesn't make a Character count as cheaper for an effect that checks "cost X or less".** Cost is defined in 1-3-9-1 and 2-7, power in 2-6.

|  | Cost | Power |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Who has it | Characters, Events, Stages (2-7-5) | Leaders and Characters (2-6-2) |
| What it does | DON!! you rest to play the card (2-7-2 to 2-7-4) | Compared in the Damage Step (7-1-4-1) |
| Can it go below 0? | Only during a calculation, otherwise it counts as 0 (1-3-6-2) | Yes, and the Character stays on the field (1-3-6-1) |
| What usually changes it | Cost-reduction effects, which can bring a target under a threshold | Given DON!!, Counters, power effects |

### Power below zero and ties

The official Q&A works through this. A 6000-power Character hit by −10000 has −4000 power and stays on the field. Giving it 1 DON!! takes it to −3000. Because the attacker wins when its power is equal or higher (7-1-4-1), a −2000 attacker beats a −2000 defender, and 0 power beats 0 power. "Set power to 0" lowers the power by whatever it was when the effect activated, and does nothing to a card that is already below 0 (4-12).

### Cost reductions

Lowering an opponent's Character's cost is mostly a way to bring it into range of an effect that only hits Characters "with a cost of X or less". A cost can't stay below 0. A Character that leaves the field loses its modifiers, so a cost-reduced Character returned to your hand costs its full amount again (Q&A, 3-1-6). When a card refers to "base" cost or power, it means the printed number (4-9-2).

### How long the change lasts

Read the duration on every modifier. "During this battle" ends when the battle ends (7-1-5-3). "During this turn" ends in the End Phase (6-6-1-3). "Until the start of your next turn" ends in that player's Refresh Phase (6-2-1).

## Character Counter vs Event Counter

**A Character card's Counter is the number printed on its side. In your opponent's Counter Step you trash that card from your hand, without paying anything, to give your Leader or one Character that much extra power for the battle. An Event with [Counter] costs DON!!: you pay its cost, trash it and resolve its text, and only during the Counter Step of an attack by your opponent.** See 2-10 and 7-1-3-1-1 for Character Counters, and 7-1-3-1-2 and 10-2-4-1 for Event [Counter].

|  | Character card Counter | Event with [Counter] |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cost | None (Q&A) | The Event's cost, paid by resting active DON!! (2-7-3) |
| Where it comes from | Your hand only, never the field (Q&A) | Your hand |
| Effect | +power to your Leader or 1 Character for that battle | Whatever the Event says |
| When | Your opponent's Counter Step | Your opponent's Counter Step (10-2-4-1). Not your Main Phase (Q&A) |

### Rules worth knowing

- You can use as many Counters as you like, in any order, during the Counter Step (7-1-3-1).
- You may boost a card that isn't being attacked, but the bonus ends with the battle (Q&A), so it is almost never useful.
- If a card somehow has more than one Counter value, only the highest applies (2-10-4).
- Effects can't activate an Event's [Counter] unless they say "activate [Counter]" (10-2-4-1-2). Some [Trigger] effects do (10-2-4-1-1).
- Your DON!! are only refreshed at the start of your own turn. On your opponent's turn, Event Counters can only use the DON!! you left active.

### Counting a defence

Your opponent's 6000-power Character attacks your 5000-power Leader. Because ties go to the attacker (7-1-4-1), you need 7000, not 6000. One 2000 Counter is enough, and so is a 1000 Counter plus an Event that adds 1000 or more. A habit that saves cards: add up what you need before you trash anything, because Counter cards you trash in a battle you lose anyway are wasted.

## Double Attack vs Banish

**[Double Attack] makes a successful attack on the Leader deal 2 damage instead of 1, so two Life cards are taken one after the other. [Banish] sends the Life card to the trash instead of the hand, and no [Trigger] can be used. Neither keyword adds power, and neither does anything when the attack targets a Character.** The definitions are in 10-1-2-1 and 10-1-3-1, and 7-1-4-1-1-3 says Life damage is repeated once for each point.

|  | [Double Attack] | [Banish] |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Changes | How many Life cards (2 instead of 1) | Where the Life card goes (trash, not hand) |
| Triggers | Allowed, one card at a time | Not allowed |
| Can the attacker choose not to use it? | No, can't deal just 1 (Q&A) | No, the card must be trashed (Q&A) |
| Against a Character | No effect | No effect |

### Rulings from the official Q&A

- A [Double Attack] that connects deals 2 even if the attacker loses the keyword or leaves the field because of the first card's Trigger. The damage was fixed at 2.
- The first card's Trigger resolves before the second Life card is checked. If you have no Life left after that Trigger, the second damage has nothing to take.
- If your opponent has 1 Life, a [Double Attack] doesn't win the game. The win only happens if they already had 0 Life when the damage was determined (7-1-4-1-1-1).

On a card with both keywords, each Life card it takes would be trashed without a Trigger, because [Banish] applies to every damage that attack deals to the Life. That is our reading of 10-1-3-1, not a separate ruling. The defence is the same for both keywords: block the attack, or Counter it, before the Damage Step.

## How you lose: zero Life and an empty deck

**You lose when your Leader takes damage while you have 0 Life cards, or as soon as your deck has 0 cards. Running out of Life doesn't end the game by itself, and an empty deck doesn't wait for you to try to draw.** These are the two defeat conditions in 1-2-1-1. Rule processing checks them and applies them immediately, even in the middle of another action (1-2-2, 9-1-2, 9-2-1).

### Zero Life

When an attack wins against your Leader, the game checks your Life at the moment it is decided that damage will be dealt. If you have 0, the attacker wins on the spot. If you have 1 or more, you take a Life card as usual (7-1-4-1-1-1, 7-1-4-1-1-2). This is why your last Life card is not your last chance: an opponent who empties your Life still needs another successful attack on your Leader. That is also when [Blocker] and Counters matter most.

### Empty deck

The second condition is having 0 cards in your deck (1-2-2-2, 9-2-1-2). Draws, placing Life cards and effects that move cards from the top of your deck all count. The loss happens at the next rule processing, which is immediate, not at your next Draw Phase. Keep an eye on deck size in long games, especially if your deck searches or mills itself.

### Other ways a game ends

- If both players meet a defeat condition at the same rule check, the rules say all of them lose (9-2-1). They describe no tiebreak.
- A card effect can make a player win or lose directly. That happens while the effect resolves (1-2-5).
- A player can concede at any time. No card can force a concession or replace it (1-2-3, 1-2-4).
- An infinite loop that neither player can stop ends the game in a draw (11-1-1-1).

## Mulligan and setting up the game

**Each player draws 5 cards and may redraw once: shuffle the whole hand back into the deck and draw 5 new cards. The player going first decides first. You can't keep part of the hand, and your Life cards are only placed from the top of the deck after both players have decided.** This is 5-2-1-6 and 5-2-1-6-1. The Life cards come next, in 5-2-1-7.

### The full setup order

1. Each player presents a legal deck, shuffles it and places it face-down (5-2-1-1, 5-2-1-2).
2. Leaders go face-up in the Leader area (5-2-1-3).
3. Rock-paper-scissors or another method decides who chooses to go first or second (5-2-1-4, 5-2-1-5). The Tournament Rules Manual asks for a random method and, in a best-of-three, lets the loser of the previous game choose (4.6).
4. Leader effects that read "At the start of the game" happen now, before the opening hand (5-2-1-5-1).
5. Draw 5. Starting with the first player, each player may redraw once (5-2-1-6).
6. Place Life cards from the top of the deck equal to your Leader's Life value, so that the top card of the deck ends up at the bottom of the Life area (5-2-1-7, 2-9-2-1).
7. The first player starts their turn (5-2-1-8).

### Deciding whether to redraw

The rules give you one all-or-nothing redraw, so the question is whether this hand does something on your first three turns. Count how many DON!! you will have (see [First turn](#first-turn)) and check whether you can play something useful with them. A hand of expensive cards is more of a problem for the player going first, who gets 1 DON!! on turn one. There is no limit on hand size (Q&A), so keeping a slow hand doesn't cost you cards later.

To see how far you can rely on drawing a specific card, the [opening hand probability calculator](https://tradematches.app/en/tools/opening-hand-probability) already has the One Piece format (50-card deck, 5-card hand). With 4 copies of a card, you will open it 35.3% of the time. If you always redraw when it is missing, the new hand comes from all 50 cards freshly shuffled, so the chance of seeing it in one of the two hands rises to 58.1% (1 − 0.647 × 0.647).

## First turn: draw, DON!! and attacks

**The player going first doesn't draw on their first turn and places only 1 DON!!. The player going second draws normally and places 2 DON!!. Neither player can battle on their own first turn, even with [Rush].** See 6-3-1 for the draw, 6-4-1 for DON!! and 6-5-6-1 for the ban on battling.

A turn has five phases: Refresh, Draw, DON!!, Main and End (6-1-1). On the first turn there is nothing to refresh, but everything else runs normally. In the Main Phase you can play cards, use [Activate: Main] effects and give DON!! (6-5-2). You just can't attack.

| Own turn number | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DON!! available, going first | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 10 |
| DON!! available, going second | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 |

The table assumes no effect has added DON!! or returned them to the DON!! deck. You place 2 a turn while the DON!! deck has them, 1 if only one is left, and none once it is empty (6-4-1 to 6-4-3). Since all your DON!! refresh each turn (6-2-3, 6-2-4), the number in the table is how much you can spend or give in that turn.

## On Play vs When Attacking

**[On Play] activates once, when the card is played. [When Attacking] activates every time that card declares an attack, in the Attack Step before any block. Playing a card never activates its [When Attacking], and attacking never repeats its [On Play].** See 10-2-6-1 and 10-2-5-1, and 7-1-1-3 for where When Attacking sits in the battle.

| Keyword | When it activates | Rule |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [On Play] | When the card is played | 10-2-6-1 |
| [When Attacking] | When you declare an attack with that card | 10-2-5-1 |
| [On Your Opponent's Attack] | After the opponent's attack is declared and their Attack Step effects have activated | 10-2-16-1 |
| [On Block] | When you activate [Blocker] | 10-2-15-1 |
| [On K.O.] | When that Character is K.O.'d | 10-2-17-1 |
| [End of Your Turn] | In your End Phase, once | 10-2-7-1, 6-6-1-1-1 |

### Rulings that settle most disputes

- You must activate an [On Play] if you can. If it has a cost, you may decline to pay it and play the card without the effect (Q&A, 8-1-2).
- [When Attacking] only works for the card that has it. Another card attacking doesn't activate it (Q&A).
- When an attack is declared, the attacker's [When Attacking] activates before the defender's [On Your Opponent's Attack] (Q&A, 10-2-16-1). The defender's effect works even if the attack targets a different card.
- A [When Attacking] effect with a [DON!! xX] condition needs the DON!! to be given before you declare the attack (8-3-2-3).
- If the card leaves its area before its automatic effect activates, the effect doesn't activate (8-1-3-1-3).

## DON!! −X

**DON!! −X is a cost: choose X DON!! cards from your Leader area, Character area and cost area, in any mix of active, rested and given, and return them to your DON!! deck. If you can't return all X, you can't pay it, and the effect after the colon doesn't happen.** See 8-3-1-6 and 10-2-10-1 for the definition, 8-3-1-3 for unpaid costs, and the Q&A for using given DON!!.

|  | Circled number (rest) | DON!! −X (return) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Which DON!! | Active DON!! in your cost area | Any DON!! in your Leader area, Character area or cost area |
| Where they end up | Rested in your cost area until your next Refresh Phase | Back in the DON!! deck |
| Effect on power | None | Returning a given DON!! removes its +1000 |

The DON!! deck is an open area that both players can check (3-3-2). Returned DON!! come back through your DON!! Phase, 2 per turn (6-4-1). Paying DON!! −X late in the game, once your DON!! deck is empty, also means you will place DON!! again on your next turn. Early in the game it slows down how many DON!! you have on the field. If you start paying a DON!! −X cost on a [Once Per Turn] effect and can't finish, the effect counts as used (10-2-13-5).

A practical tip: return rested DON!! first when you can. They are already spent for the turn, while active and given ones are still doing something.

## Simultaneous effects: what resolves first

**When effects of both players trigger at the same time, the turn player resolves theirs first, then the non-turn player resolves theirs. An effect that triggers while another is resolving waits until the effects already pending have resolved.** The main rule is 8-6-1, and its example in 8-6-1-1 shows the waiting: if effects A and B trigger together and resolving A triggers C, C resolves after B.

- **Turn player first, with one exception.** If the turn player's resolution triggers another of their own effects, the non-turn player first resolves the effect they were already waiting on, then the turn player continues (8-6-1).
- **During damage processing,** other triggered effects wait until all the damage is done. A [Trigger] is the exception: it can interrupt (8-6-2, 8-6-2-1).
- **Effects triggered by playing a card or activating an effect** are activated after the first effect has resolved (8-6-3).
- **Replacement effects ("instead")** are applied in this order: the card that created the effect, then the turn player's, then the non-turn player's (8-1-3-4-2).
- **End of turn** effects: all of the turn player's [End of Your Turn] effects, in the order they choose, then the [End of Your Opponent's Turn] effects (6-6-1-1-2 to 6-6-1-1-4).

A few tie-break rules also help. Text resolves from top to bottom (1-3-7, 2-8-3). When both players must choose or act at the same time, the turn player goes first (1-3-4, 1-3-10). A prohibition beats an instruction (1-3-3). If an effect says to rest a card and another says to make it active at the same time, resting wins (1-3-8).

## Public and private information

**You can always ask how many cards are in each of your opponent's areas, and you can look through either player's trash. The contents of a hand, the deck and face-down Life cards stay private.** The number of cards in every area is open information (3-1-4). The trash, Leader area, Character area, Stage area, cost area and DON!! deck are open areas, while the deck, hand and Life are secret (3-1-5, 3-2 to 3-10).

| Public (Tournament Rules Manual 4.11) | Private (4.12) |
| --- | --- |
| Number of cards in hand | Which cards are in a hand |
| Number of cards in the deck and DON!! deck | The cards in the main deck |
| Number and names of cards in the trash | What the Life cards are |
| Number of Life cards left | Which cards were played or activated last turn, unless an active effect makes it relevant |
| Printed information on a card that is named or clearly described |  |
| Which cards have been played this turn |  |

At official events, players must answer questions about public information truthfully. Lying about it or refusing to answer can lead to disqualification, as can giving false information about private knowledge (4.11, 4.12). You may not search your opponent's hand, deck or Life unless an effect tells you to, and you can't ask a judge to do it for you without evidence of a problem (4.13).

Some effects reveal or let you look at secret cards. An effect that lets you look applies only to you unless the card says otherwise, the cards stay where they are, and they go back as they were (11-3). Revealed cards become hidden again once the effect is done (11-2-2). A card searched from the deck into your hand is always revealed, even if the effect doesn't say so (11-2-1).

## Attributes, types and colours

**Attributes (Slash, Strike, Ranged, Special, Wisdom and "?") and types (the names in the type line) are separate details on a card. Neither gives any bonus by itself; they only matter when an effect mentions them. In card text, attributes are written in < >, types in { } and card names in [ ].** See 2-5-2 and 2-5-6 for attributes, 2-4-3 for types and 2-1-2 for names.

- **Attributes** are found only on Leaders and Characters (2-5-5). A card with two attributes counts as both (2-5-4).
- **Types** are separated by a slash when a card has several (2-4-2). A type written in quotes in an effect, such as a type including "XX", also matches types like "Former XX" or "XX Allies" (2-4-3-1, Q&A).
- **Colours:** there are six (red, green, blue, purple, black and yellow), shown on the hexagon in the lower-left corner. A multicoloured card is every one of its colours (2-3-2 to 2-3-5).
- **Cards that gain a name, type or attribute from their text** have it everywhere, including during deck building and in secret areas (2-1-3, 2-4-4, 2-5-7).

An example from the official Q&A shows how literal these checks are. A Leader treated as having all names, types and attributes counts as a <Slash> card. It therefore can't K.O. in battle a Character that "cannot be K.O.'d in battle by <Slash> attribute cards". Rarity, the block symbol and the illustration don't affect play (2-13, 2-15, 2-16), so a parallel printing plays exactly like the standard one.

## Finding the cards your deck needs

When a list calls for a fourth copy of a card number or a specific Blocker, TradeMatches lets you keep lists of the cards you have and the cards you want, see matching collectors near you and talk in your province's chat. Before you agree a swap, our guide to [proposing a trade both collectors want](https://tradematches.app/en/blog/propose-card-trade-both-collectors-want) covers how to put the offer together.

## FAQ

### Can a Character that attacked last turn use Blocker?

Not until it becomes active again. Attacking rests a Character, it only turns upright in its owner's Refresh Phase, and a rested card can't pay the rest cost that [Blocker] needs. So anything you attack with is unavailable as a Blocker for your opponent's following turn.

### Do DON!! given to my Leader help on defence?

No. The +1000 per given DON!! only applies on your own turn, so during your opponent's attacks your Leader uses its printed power plus any Counters. The DON!! do stay under the card until your Refresh Phase, which still matters for [DON!! xX] conditions.

### Does the attacker win ties in One Piece Card Game?

Yes. The Damage Step only asks whether the attacking card's power is at least the defender's, so equal power means the attack succeeds. When you count Counters, aim for at least 1000 more than the attacker.

### Can I play an Event with [Counter] during my own turn?

No. An Event's [Counter] effect is reserved for the Counter Step of an attack your opponent makes. The only exceptions are effects that say they let you activate [Counter], such as some Triggers.

### Does a [Double Attack] beat an opponent on 1 Life?

Not on its own. The two damage take the last Life card and then find nothing to take, and the game only ends if the player was already at 0 Life when damage was decided. A further successful attack on the Leader is still needed.

### Is a Character trashed by "trash 1 of your Characters" K.O.'d?

No. Trashing and K.O.ing are different instructions, and only K.O.s from battles or K.O. effects count. A Character removed with the word "trash" won't activate [On K.O.], and protection from K.O. won't save it.

## Sources and checks

On 21 October 2026 we read the full official Comprehensive Rules (Version 1.2.1, last updated 28 August 2026) and checked each section of this guide against the rule numbers cited. We also went through every entry of Bandai's general rules Q&A dated 28 February 2025, the public and private information sections of the Tournament Rules Manual, the banned and restricted card notice, and Bandai's page on card languages.

- [ONE PIECE CARD GAME Comprehensive Rules, Version 1.2.1 (PDF, last updated 28 August 2026)](https://en.onepiece-cardgame.com/pdf/rule_comprehensive.pdf?20260828)
- [Official rules page (rules documents and announcements)](https://en.onepiece-cardgame.com/rules/)
- [General rules Q&A (PDF, 28 February 2025)](https://en.onepiece-cardgame.com/pdf/qa_rules.pdf?20250228)
- [Official FAQ index](https://en.onepiece-cardgame.com/rules/faq/)
- [Bandai Organized Play Tournament Rules Manual (PDF)](https://en.onepiece-cardgame.com/pdf/tournament_rules_manual.pdf?20260116)
- [Banned/restricted card notice (effective 12 October 2026)](https://en.onepiece-cardgame.com/news/restriction.html)
- [Rules for the use of different languages (7 November 2025)](https://en.onepiece-cardgame.com/rules/announcements/lang_card_rule.php)