With Starter Deck ST-37 The Desert Princess and the Pirates and Starter Deck ST-38 Baroque Works now officially confirmed for a December 18 release, One Piece Card Game players have three recent starter decks worth comparing directly: those two newcomers alongside Starter Deck Green Roronoa Zoro, ST-32, which released back on July 31, 2026 at $11.99.
All three are entry-level products on paper, but they differ enough in price, bonus contents, and actual play complexity that treating them as interchangeable would miss real differences a new or returning player should know about.
This isn't just a recap of each deck's announcement. It's a genuine side-by-side comparison of what separates them once you actually sit down to build or play.
Here's how the three stack up against each other.
ST-32 carries the lowest price of the three at $11.99, and bundles in a full OP-16 booster pack on top of its standard deck contents, giving buyers a small taste of booster-pack variance alongside a ready-to-play deck. ST-37 and ST-38 both carry a higher $16.99 MSRP, each including a smaller 3-card bonus pack and a playsheet instead of a full booster pack.
That's a meaningful trade-off. ST-32 technically delivers more raw product for less money, while ST-37 and ST-38 lean more on their dedicated deck design than on bonus-pack variance to justify the higher price.
ST-37, The Desert Princess and the Pirates, is explicitly positioned as the simpler, more beginner-friendly option among the three, built around straightforward play patterns new players can pick up quickly. ST-32's Zoro build is also approachable, favoring direct, aggressive plays that are easy to understand even without deep system knowledge.
ST-38 ranks as the most complex of the three. Its Blue and Black Baroque Works build is built around cycling through the player's hand while removing opposing characters, a genuinely more involved strategy than either of the other two decks.
Players who want to jump in and start attacking immediately will likely prefer ST-32's direct Zoro-led aggression or ST-37's simple, accessible structure. Players drawn to a scheming, attrition-based playstyle, picking off an opponent's board piece by piece, are the clear audience for ST-38's Baroque Works build.
That's really the core decision point across all three: how much strategic depth a player wants on day one versus how quickly they want to start winning games with straightforward plays.
ST-32 leans on Roronoa Zoro's broad popularity as a recognizable, easy sell for fans who want a deck built around a character they already love. ST-37 and ST-38 both draw from the Alabasta arc's cast, with Baroque Works specifically giving ST-38 access to the organization's distinctive roster of agents and operatives.
Collectors focused on a specific arc or storyline, rather than a single headline character, will find ST-37 and ST-38's shared Alabasta framing more cohesive as a themed pair than pairing either with ST-32.
By pure dollars-per-content, ST-32 edges out the newer pair thanks to its included full booster pack at the lowest price point of the three. By design depth and long-term strategic ceiling, ST-38 offers more room to grow into a genuinely competitive build, even at a higher upfront cost.
ST-37 sits in the middle on value, trading ST-32's booster-pack bonus for a more arc-cohesive theme and Alabasta-specific cast, without reaching ST-38's strategic complexity.
For pure beginner accessibility and lowest cost, ST-32 ranks first thanks to its booster-pack bonus and simple, aggressive Zoro build. ST-38 ranks second for players who want genuine strategic depth and don't mind the smaller bonus-pack contents. ST-37 ranks third, not because it's a weak deck, but because its appeal depends more on Alabasta-arc theme interest than on either price or complexity standing out.
That ranking will shift for individual players based on character preference, so treat it as a starting framework rather than an absolute verdict.
Comparing three starter decks hands-on means keeping each one intact and easy to tell apart. A plastic deck box in a different color per deck makes it easy to grab the right one without digging through a pile.
Across all three, matte standard-size card sleeves protect the cards from the shuffling and testing that comes with actually comparing decks in practice games.
ST-32 Green Roronoa Zoro, at $11.99.
ST-38 Baroque Works, built around hand-cycling and character removal.
Yes, a full OP-16 booster pack, unlike ST-37 and ST-38's smaller 3-card bonus packs.
Yes, both draw from the Alabasta storyline.
Each of these three decks does something different well: ST-32 maximizes value for the lowest price, ST-37 maximizes accessibility, and ST-38 maximizes strategic depth. The right pick really comes down to whether price, ease of learning, or long-term strategy matters most to you.
Whichever deck you land on, a plastic deck box keeps it organized and ready to compare against the others.
!
