How to play Sabo OP13-004
Red / Black Leader · deck guide from 1,200 simulated games against the 12 most-played decks · updated November 2, 2026
Played with its most common tournament list, Sabo won 65.8% of games against the current meta. Games ran about 5.3 of its own turns. Go wide with 2-cost Elbaph Straw Hats, keep a 12-cost giant out, and pump everything with 1 DON on Sabo.
If you have 4 or more Life cards, give this Leader −1000 power.
[DON!! x1] If you have a Character with a cost of 8 or more, your Leader and all of your Characters gain +1000 power.
Go first or second?
Go second. Wins 70% going second vs 62% going first.
Mulligan: what to keep
Hands with 2 early Characters (cost 1–4) won most often (73.2%). The cards that matter most in an opening hand are Gerd (+16.2 points), Nami OP17-086 (+9.2 points), Usopp (+7.7 points): hands with them win that much more often than hands without. Hands with Sanji, Roronoa Zoro EB04-007, Nami OP01-016 win less often (−10.1, −8.1, −6.7 points). Tournament advice: Gerd and Nami in the opening hand; go second (70% vs 62%).
| Early Characters in opening hand | Games | Win rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 168 | 73.2% |
| 3 or more | 1032 | 64.6% |
Turn by turn
What the deck plays most often on each of its turns:
- Turn 1:
Usopp (22% of games) or 
Nami OP17-086 (12% of games) - Turn 2: Usopp (29% of games) or
Sanji (25% of games) - Turn 3:
Jaguar.D.Saul (38% of games) or 
Pirates Docking Six (20% of games) - Turn 4:
Monkey.D.Luffy OP17-093 (27% of games) or 
Loki (21% of games) - Turn 5: Monkey.D.Luffy OP17-093 (43% of games) or Loki (15% of games)
- Turn 6: Monkey.D.Luffy OP17-093 (26% of games) or Loki (20% of games)
Key cards
| Card | Played in | Usual turn |
|---|---|---|
| Jaguar.D.Saul | 63% | 2.9 |
| Monkey.D.Luffy OP17-093 | 60% | 4.6 |
| Usopp | 60% | 2.1 |
| Loki | 49% | 4.1 |
| Sanji | 47% | 2.2 |
 Brook | 43% | 2.4 |
| Pirates Docking Six | 37% | 3.8 |
 Nico Robin | 35% | 3.2 |
Matchups
Best: Yamato (92.0%), Kaido (87.0%), Donquixote Rosinante (78.0%). Hardest: Portgas.D.Ace (46.0%), Monkey.D.Luffy OP17-079 (52.0%), Trafalgar Law (55.0%).
| Against | Win rate | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Yamato OP16-079 · matchup | 92.0% | 100 |
| Kaido OP17-058 · matchup | 87.0% | 100 |
| Donquixote Rosinante OP12-061 · matchup | 78.0% | 100 |
| Monkey.D.Luffy OP13-001 · matchup | 77.0% | 100 |
| Enel OP15-058 · matchup | 68.0% | 100 |
| Rocks.D.Xebec OP17-039 · matchup | 61.0% | 100 |
| Enel OP05-098 · matchup | 59.0% | 100 |
| Luffy & Ace ST30-001 · matchup | 58.0% | 100 |
| Boa Hancock OP14-041 · matchup | 57.0% | 100 |
| Trafalgar Law OP01-002 · matchup | 55.0% | 100 |
| Monkey.D.Luffy OP17-079 · matchup | 52.0% | 100 |
| Portgas.D.Ace OP16-001 · matchup | 46.0% | 100 |
How these numbers are made: the site's game engine plays full games (DON!!, attacks, blockers, counters, triggers and card effects) between tournament decklists, with the same AI on both sides. They show how the deck plays on average, not how a top player would pilot it. Differences under about 3 points are within noise.