OP17, The World's Strongest Warriors: why the 4th anniversary set is driving collectors wild

On August 28, 2026, Bandai launched the OP17 « The World's Strongest Warriors » set of the One Piece Card Game in English, and the 4th anniversary set lives up to its name. Under its golden jacket stamped with the 4th Anniversary logo, OP17 gathers the most feared warriors of the One Piece universe: the Emperors at the height of their power, Loki the prince of Elbaf, and a legend players had been demanding since day one, Rocks D. Xebec. With 131 cards (plus 4 special cards), two brand-new Secret Rares, a Treasure Rare, ten anniversary SP cards and Manga cards for the ages, the set has triggered a rare level of excitement. Let us review its treasures, from the most classic cards up to the holy grail of the set.

Six legendary leaders, the heaviest cast ever assembled

The tone is set by the leader list alone: Edward Newgate (Whitebeard), Shanks, Kaido, Charlotte Linlin (Big Mom), Monkey D. Luffy and Rocks D. Xebec. Six figures who literally embody the title of the set. Each leader opens distinct strategies around their crew, and the « Rocks Pirates » theme officially enters the game with dedicated synergies. Special mention for the manga version of the Xebec leader: a close-up of his face taken straight from the manga's linework, a carnivorous grin in black and white on a blue frame.

The 6 SP cards of the 4th anniversary

Anniversary set obliges, OP17 carries a series of SP cards celebrating four years of the One Piece Card Game: reprints of emblematic cards dressed in brand-new illustrations and special finishes, with one visual thread: each character's haki is staged, overflowing the frame in sheets of energy. Six cards form the backbone of the series: Roronoa Zoro, Monkey D. Garp, Silvers Rayleigh, Yamato, Gol D. Roger and Kouzuki Oden, each haloed by their haki. The Zoro, rendered in black and white streaked with red in a very manga style, is one of the most impressive. Every booster becomes a double lottery: you no longer open only for the set's new cards, but also for these commemorative trophies.

The 4 Gold SP: Luffy, Shanks, Buggy and Blackbeard

Above the standard SP sits an even more coveted sub-series: four SP cards with a fully golden frame, reserved for the four current Emperors. Monkey D. Luffy in Gear 5 lounging on a golden throne, Shanks, Buggy and Marshall D. Teach complete this royal square. The full gold treatment, in line with the anniversary cards of previous sets, makes them one of the pearls of this set: their pull rate is markedly lower than that of the six standard SP, and their price already shows it.

The Kaido drawn by the creator of Baki

Another treasure worth singling out: an exceptional alternate version of the Super Rare Kaido (OP17-062), illustrated by Keisuke Itagaki, the mangaka of Baki. His hyper-muscular, feverish linework turns the Emperor's face into a terrifying close-up slashed with Japanese calligraphy, the artist's signature running along the card. Guest artist collaborations remain extremely rare in the One Piece Card Game, and this one, both for Itagaki's prestige and the graphic violence of the result, is already one of the most talked-about cards of the set.

The two Secret Rares: Rocks D. Xebec and Loki

At the top of the numbered rarities, the two Secret Rares form a duo perfectly in tune with the theme. OP17-118 finally brings Rocks D. Xebec into the game: the man who made the world tremble before Roger's era, captain of the crew where the young Kaido, Big Mom and Whitebeard once served, in an alternate illustration bursting with energy. OP17-119 is dedicated to Loki, the cursed prince of Elbaf, « Giant/Elbaph » type, whose swirling purple and gold artwork rides the current arc of the manga. The Lucky Roux Treasure Rare (OP17-033) completes the top shelf, in the tradition started by OP11.

A world first: the Luffy manga leader

OP17 introduces a card type that existed in no previous set: the manga-style leader card. Monkey D. Luffy inaugurates the format (OP17-079): the Elbaf Luffy in colour, wearing his viking helmet, stands out against a black-and-white manga page where his own face screams in the background, all set in a golden frame. Four years after the game's launch, the appearance of an entirely new rarity is an event in itself, and since leaders are limited to one copy per deck, this card is as much a game piece as a showcase piece. Its very limited print run immediately places it among the most hunted cards of the set.

The Manga cards of the Emperors

Just below the top of the pyramid, OP17 grants the Emperors their Manga cards: Whitebeard, Shanks, Kaido and Big Mom rendered in Eiichiro Oda's linework, on backgrounds of panels taken from the manga. Conqueror poses, haki effects, end-of-the-world framing: these Manga versions of the Super Rares count among the most sought-after pulls of the set, the true antechamber of the holy grail.

The holy grail: the two « crew » Manga cards

And here we are at the very top of the pyramid. OP17 hides two « crew » Manga cards which are, by common consent, the most beautiful pieces of the set and by far the hardest to pull. The first is the manga version of the Rocks D. Xebec Secret Rare (OP17-118): the captain sits enthroned at the centre of a golden circular composition where the entire Rocks crew is sketched in black and white in Eiichiro Oda's linework, the young Kaido, Linlin, Newgate and Shiki recognisable at a glance. The second is the anniversary reprint of the Monkey D. Luffy (EB04-061): Gear 5 Luffy in colour leaps out of a medallion where the nine Straw Hats, Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Usopp, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook and Jinbe, surround him in manga version.

In terms of rarity and prestige, these two cards play in the same league as the mythical « red » manga Luffy of OP13 or the golden manga Gol D. Roger of OP09: the kind of card you pull once in several cases, whose first sales skyrocket in release week. They, far more than the classic Secret Rares, concentrate the collectors' hunt: the holy grail of OP17, the one that alone justifies opening entire displays and the surge in sealed product prices.

Why such a frenzy?

Three engines are working together. Nostalgia first: OP17 finally prints characters awaited since the game's launch, Xebec first among them, and summons the whole mythology of God Valley. Then the news cycle: with Loki and Elbaf, the set rides the manga's current arc, drawing attention far beyond the circle of players. Finally the anniversary machine: between the ten SP, the Treasure Rare, the unprecedented manga leader and the two crew Manga cards, the density of treasure-hunt cards is among the highest ever offered.

The direct consequence: the market has gone into overdrive. Display and case preorders vanished from most retailers well before August 28, and one week after release the picture is the same everywhere: widespread stockouts, from specialist shops to large chains. The displays that resurface already trade well above the recommended shop price, sealed cases have seen their value climb spectacularly, and on the singles side, the first sales of the two crew Manga cards reach amounts reminiscent of OP09's greatest hours. A level of supply tension the One Piece Card Game had not known since the previous anniversary sets, mechanically pushing OP17 sealed products toward investment-piece status.

OP17 « The World's Strongest Warriors » wins its anniversary bet: a clear, powerful theme and a crescendo of treasures, from the leaders to the two crew Manga cards, through the Gold SP, Itagaki's Kaido and the very first manga leader. Whether you are a player after the new Emperor leaders, a collector chasing the holy grail, or an investor convinced that the 4th anniversary set will remain a reference, it is hard to look away. At FoxTCG, we offer the factory-sealed OP17 case in English edition: 12 never-opened displays, shipped tracked with signature on delivery, for those who want to own this chapter of One Piece Card Game history in its purest form.