Whitebeard Zoro vs. Strawhat Zoro (Patreon)

I have temporarily quit Law again, due to a theory of mine( check this tweet for details: https://x.com/Cross_Aii/status/1715795596488171786?s=20 ). So for the time being, I am back on the Zoro train! I will be discussing the differences, strengths, and weaknesses of Whitebeard Zoro compared to Strawhat Zoro.

Zoro's Position in the Meta

Regardless of if you are playing Whitebeard or Strawhat Zoro, both of these decks are at the top of the meta. I actually believe that Zoro is severly underrepresented, in comparison to it's deck power. Zoro is a consistently powerful deck, that boasts more consistency than Red/Green Law. If Red/Green Law falls in popularity, people can argue that it's due to Law's inconsistencies, but in Zoro's case, it has no business lacking in representation.

My current plausible explanation for Zoro's under-representation is due to it's difficulty. Even playing against Blue/Yellow Queen last night, I felt my brain melting because I didn't have a preconceived plan. Zoro either lacks in representation because people underrate/think it's too difficult, or I am personally overrating Zoro, and it's not an S tier deck, like I claim. I hope to prove that Zoro is a S-tier deck through my testing.

Whitebeard Pirates Zoro Decklist

This is the current standard for Whitebeard Pirates Zoro, and there's some important deck features:

• 4 Rush Zoro - Now that 9Beard is no longer in the format, Rush Zoro is broken for pressuring Whitebeard. It's an insane turn 2 play when going second, because you can swing 6K twice, and you can protect it with 2K counters! It's also Insane if you have another one on turn 3, because you can unexpectedly attack the opponent for 8K instead of playing a Marco.
• Rush Zoro is also incredible against Yellow. Due to 4Marco being reduced to 1 we have lost defense, however early Rush Zoro's are defensively strong strong. Katakuri struggles to clear Rush Zoro (due to wanting to use 3-7 Don to establish units in the early game).
• 3 Otama & 3 Gordon - I was a 4 Gordon believer for the longest time, but due to more non-counters being reintroduced into the deck(Rush Zoro), I think it's important to have more 2K counters. I personally wouldn't go below 3 Gordon, because it's broken in combination with Fire-Fist, and is very good at clearing bodies such as Red Ace.
• 2 Fiery Doll - This card is what lets us consistently beat Whitebeard. I know Noel's build runs 2 Diable & 1 Fiery Doll, which is stronger against decks like Rebecca. But I personally think 2 Fiery Doll is the best for consistently beating Whitebeard.
• 4 Fire Fist - Essential for the Law matchup. Fire Fist has proven to be the most consistent way for Zoro to clap Law.
• 3 Magura - This card is really strong for pressuring the Yellow Matchup. It's possible to Run 2, but I think 3-4 is very strong against Yellow.
• 1 Diable Jambe - Very good for closing out games against Black/Blue Rebecca. It's also nice to catch Red/Green Law player's off guard, if they go to 0 life too early.

Strengths of Whitebeard Zoro:

• Strongest Zoro deck against Law (Fire Fist being double searchable is crazy, 5Marco being searchable is also very strong)
• Arguably stronger against Whitebeard, due to Fiery Doll being double searchable
• Wins the mirror match, thanks to 5Marco
• Gordon + 5Marco is a very strong combo against any deck

Weakness of Whitebeard Zoro

• Weaker against Rebecca
• Matchups like Queen are much harder than for Straw Zoro, but seem possible through good playing
• Easier to lose to Yellow sack than Straw Zoro

Strawhat Zoro Decklist

This is my current standard for Strawhat Zoro, lets discuss some of the features

• 6 Rush Units - Back-to-back rush units are very strong against Rebecca. Very strong against Yellow as well.
• 5Luffy - Very strong for closing out games against any decks with blockers, especially Law & Rebecca. Law has had a recent trend of only running 1 defensive event, so back-to-back turns of Luffy/Diable Jambe, can end the game out of nowhere.
• 2K Counter Sanji - This card is broken against Queen & Rebecca. This card allows to effictively swing 7K against both of those matchups, and it allows us to gain resources from life (since they don't attack us)
• No Jet Pistol - Fire Fist is the strongest card against Red/Green Law, so even though it's not double searchable, it's included over Jet Pistol
• 5Marco - This card isn't searchable, but is very strong against Law, and is generically good to combo with Gordon. This is a candidate to be replaced though...

Strengths:

• Stronger into Yellow & Blue/Yellow Queen thanks to more 3K power units, and Rush Units
• The best version of Zoro against Rebecca

Weaknesses:

• Weaker into Law & The Mirror Match

Thoughts on Whitebeard vs Strawhat Zoro

Whitebeard Zoro, is the version of Zoro, that I feel is the strongest outside of the Yellow & Blue matchups. You can beat Yellow & Blue consistently, but if they outdraw you, you're cooked. But outside of that, you have an incredible Law matchup, all your strong cards are double searchable, and Marco/Fire Fist being searchable gives a lot of flexibility, especially against decks like Green that have powerful units. This version also seems to be more consistent into the mirror match.

On the flip-side, Straw Zoro is the strongest version against the Blue/Yellow matchups. You also have the best opportunity in beating the only bad match-up, Rebecca. Due to 5Marco not being searchable, and Fire-Fist not being double searchable, the Law matchup becomes slightly worse, but it's still even/advantageous. Rush Zoro being searchable is also very valuable against Whitebeard, so I think both versions have benefits against Whitebeard. This version does seem to be worse against the mirror though.

If Zoro mirrors become popular, I'd naturally be inclined to use the version that beats the mirror (Whitebeard Zoro). But if mirrors remain uncommon, then I'm interested in Strawhat Zoro giving me more well-rounded matchups, while not being AS dominant against Law. My biggest incentive for wanting to play Strawhat Zoro is being able to beat Yellow players that sack, my biggest qualm last format was losing to sacky Zoro players, and not seeing what I needed to against blue.

The thing about any Zoro build is that it's even at worst against almost any matchup (minus Rebecca), which build you choose, just depends on what you want an edge against.

---------------

I hope this gave y'all some insight into both versions of Zoro! I would like to do more quality testing, before I create a comprehensive guide for Zoro, so Yellow will likely be the next comprehensive guide.

If you liked this article and found it helpful, please like, and with that I will catch y'all in the next one, peace.