Rocks vs. Miracle Luffy: The Matchup That Decides Clash #23 Tonight

EB05 Heroines Edition Vol.2 is officially out in English today (Bandai's page also notes "Tournament Legal after 7 days" for official play, so check your local event rules). Online, it's already a two-deck fight: Blue Rocks D. Xebec vs. RG Luffy with Jewelry Bonney.

What the Clash told us

At Conqueror's Clash #22 (173 players, 7 rounds), IgnacioH won with RG Luffy at 7-0, running 4 Bonney. Rocks still took four of the eight Top 8 spots (2nd, 3rd, 5th, 8th). The last three Clash winners: Rocks, Rocks, Luffy. Full lists are on our meta analytics page.

What the wider data says

Raphterra hit Rank 1 on the global ladder with RG Luffy, going 23-4. His tracker screenshot shows 6-2 vs. Rocks. Small sample, though.
Chinoize's EB05 ChinoizeCup ranking has Rocks at 145-140 (50.9%) and RG Luffy at 107-79 (57.5%), with the caption "Rocks is starting to lose ground."

Why Bonney is the problem

Bonney's −1000 only hits a Leader or Character with 6000 power or more (card text). Rocks' 5000-power Leader isn't a legal target, so the debuff isn't the real issue against it. The card advantage is. Bonney draws 2 and drops two small bodies, and as one player explained, Hiyori off Bonney leads into a 5-cost Oden and can mean drawing 4-5 cards. Decks on 6000+ leaders feel the debuff too. That's why at least one Ace player is eyeing Buggy instead.

There's already ban talk, with calls to hit Bonney and Hiyori. As far as we've seen, it's community opinion, not anything official.

Tonight's playbook (opinion)

On Rocks: don't race the Bonney turn blind. Know how many cards they'll have after it, and save the counters you need for the follow-up swing, not the first one.
On Luffy: expect Rocks at almost every table. Mulligan for your Bonney line, not for the perfect curve.
On anything else: Enel, Buggy and Rosinante all made the Clash #22 Top 8 at 6-1. There's room for a third lane if you've actually tested both matchups.

Pick your side

Conqueror's Clash #23 (EB05 Edition) runs tonight, Friday Oct 30. Rocks or Luffy?

👉 Register at conquerorsleague.com