You have to start somewhere when learning something new. For example, when learning to drive, you need to understand the functions of the pedals, or when learning to cook, you must know which ingredients work best for your dish and what heat levels are acceptable. Today is no different; we will be reviewing the Top 3 Leaders to help players get started in the OPTCG. These leaders are easy to pilot while also supporting winning strategies.

To kick things off, let's review a leader that comes out strong and pre-Constructed: Uta!

Like most mono-colored leaders, Uta is a 5000-power leader with 5 life and a leader ability: "[DON!! x1] [When Attacking] [Once Per Turn] Reveal 1 card from the top of your deck and add up to 1 {FILM} type card to your hand. Then, place the rest at the bottom of your deck." The FILM card type has been in and out of play within the OPTCG meta for a while. Uta allows players to fill their hands with relevant FILM cards while promoting a wide and aggressive strategy by quickly filling the board with green FILM characters, many of which were printed in Set 2, Paramount War. One example of how to quickly grow your board is at your 5 DON!! turn: you can play Brook, who allows you to play a 3-cost or less FILM character, then play Nico Robin, who allows you to play a 2-cost or less FILM character, and then play Trafalgar Law, pay 1 for his ability, play a second Nico Robin, and play Law again. This, of course, falls within the realms of Magical Christmas Land.

In just one turn, you've gone from zero characters on board to four! That's what I'd call rapid growth. Some of the strongest characters within this card type include Monkey D. Luffy, Nami, and Zoro - the original three Straw Hats. It's important to note that Nami is not included in the Uta starter deck, so she would need to be acquired as a single card.

Moving on, let's explore another excellent and easy-to-pilot leader: the mono-colored Warlord from Set 1, Romance Dawn, Doflamingo!

A blue leader with unmistakable shades and a fluffy pink coat - I mean, a blue leader with standard stats: 5000 power and 5 life. Doflamingo also has a similar ability to Uta: "[DON!! x2] [When Attacking] 1 (You may rest the specified number of DON!! cards in your cost area.): Reveal 1 card from the top of your deck. If that card is a {The Seven Warlords of the Sea} type Character card with a cost of 4 or less, you may play that card rested." This leader came out before the large supplement of Seven Warlords of the Sea characters were introduced in Set 7, "500 Years into the Future." Some excellent targets for Doflamingo's ability are Jimbei, Edward Weevil, Gecko Moria, and the Doflamingo Blocker.

Like Uta, Doflamingo supports wide board play, but it also allows for faster play as most Seven Warlords characters have "on-play" abilities, offering a variety of options when played.

Finally, let's go over the last leader on our list: none other than the green-haired, sword-wielding right-hand man to the Straw Hat captain, Zoro!

Zoro, as a leader, fits his character in the One Piece storyline perfectly. He is the front-runner for a quick and aggressive strategy akin to the RDW (Red Deck Wins) style. Zoro has the same mono-colored leader stats as the others: 5000 power and 5 life. His ability is very straightforward: "[DON!! x1] [Your Turn] All of your Characters gain +1000 power." Have small-cost characters with low power? Not a problem with Zoro! Play low-DON!! cost characters and turn your 4000 power characters into powerful attackers, pushing for aggressive gameplay.

Although Zoro was likely intended for the new Chopper leader, there's a Zoro Zoo deck floating around, packed with Chopper support from Set 8, "Two Legends." Some key examples are the three Tony Tony Chopper cards, Hiking Bear, and Robson.

We've got a Tony Tony that provides a -3000 power debuff, a Tony Tony that searches for an animal, and a Tony Tony that brings out another animal. Alongside these silly little characters, Hiking Bear isn't just a +2000 counter; he also buffs another animal, stacking with Zoro's +1000 buff. Robson, meanwhile, can attack quickly with haste for immediate damage.

All in all, Zoro promotes fast-paced, aggressive strategies. Just put 'em down and turn 'em sideways!

This concludes today's insights! What do you think? Do you believe these three leaders are the easiest to pilot? Will you be joining the OPTCG community? Till we meet again, fellow seafarers!