When to Block, Counter, or Take the Hit in One Piece

On your opponent’s turn you have three choices for every attack: block it, counter it, or let it through. New players tend to stop everything, then run out of cards right when the game is decided. Good defense starts with one idea from the turn lesson: a hit on your Leader moves a Life card into your hand. Damage hurts, but it also pays you.

The order of defense

When you are attacked, the official rules give you two steps, in this order:

1. Block Step. You may rest one Character with Blocker to make it the new target. Only one Blocker per battle.
2. Counter Step. You may trash Characters from your hand to add their Counter value to your Leader or one Character for this battle. You may also pay for and use [Counter] Events. As many as you like, in any order.

Then the attacker wins if its power is equal to or higher than the target’s. Because the Block Step comes first, you choose whether to block before you know whether you would have countered. Decide both together.

How much Counter you need

Ties go to the attacker. So the power you need to add is the gap plus 1000:

Counter needed = attacker’s power − your target’s power + 1000

A 6000 attacker into your 5000 Leader needs 2000 of Counter, not 1000, because 6000 against 6000 is still a hit. A 5000 attacker into a 5000 Leader needs 1000.

Do not overpay. If 2000 stops it, throwing a 2000 and a 1000 wastes a card. And if you cannot reach the number, do not throw anything: a Counter that falls short is a card lost for nothing.

When to take the hit

Your Life is a resource as well as a clock.

• At high Life, early hits are usually fine to take. You lose 1 Life and gain a card, and you may hit a Trigger. Spending two cards to stop that is often a bad trade.
• At low Life, every hit matters more. Your last Life card is your last buffer, and any hit at 0 Life loses the game.
• Watch Double Attack and Banish. A Double Attack hit takes 2 Life. A Banish hit trashes the Life card instead of giving it to you, so the hit pays you nothing. Both are worth stopping sooner.

A useful question on each attack: “If I take this, how many more hits can I take before I must stop everything?” When the answer gets close to zero, start defending in earnest.

When to protect a Character

Your opponent can only attack your Characters when they are rested, so those attacks usually come after you have attacked with them, or after an effect has rested them. Protecting a Character is worth it when it is worth more than the cards you spend:

• Yes, for a Character whose effect keeps paying you every turn, or one you cannot replace.
• Often no, for a Character that already did its job when it was played. Its [On Play] effect is done. Let it go and keep your Counters.

Using Blockers well

A Blocker rests to take the hit. If it loses the battle, it is K.O.‘d. That makes Blockers best in two spots:

• A Blocker that survives. If your Blocker’s power, plus a small Counter, beats the attacker, you lose nothing.
• A Blocker that saves your last Life. At low Life, trading a Character for a hit you cannot afford is a good deal.

A rested Blocker cannot block again until your Refresh. Your opponent knows that, so expect the big attack to come after you block the small one. When you can, save the Blocker for the attack that matters most.

Count before your opponent attacks

At the start of your opponent’s turn, count three things: your Life, the cards in your hand with Counter values, and your Blockers. That is your defense for the whole turn. Spread it across the attacks you expect, rather than spending it all on the first swing.