All UNION ARENA Starter Decks, Ranked
Eager to start playing Bandai’s new anime trading card game, UNION ARENA, but don’t know where to start? If you have a favorite anime that’s already had a set, why not start with your favorite? If, however, you’re wondering which starter deck will help you build a strong deck, then check out the list below for more info.
#6 Hunter x Hunter
This starter deck has some interesting pieces, but ultimately players who pick it up will find themselves wishing they could ditch the Gon for the much stronger Green Kurapika. Gon’s deck focuses heavily on boosting the BP of your characters – sometimes reaching some pretty insane numbers. While boosting BP seems cool in theory, for the most part it’s unnecessary as most cards in the game end up maxed out at 4000 or 5000 BP. Gon and Friends saw relatively little play even at the time this set came out, especially compared to how madly popular the Kurapika deck was. If you’re looking for a starter deck to build from, you should probably leave this one quietly on the shelf.
#5 Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Demon Slayer’s yellow Tanjiro focused starter deck is almost really solid. If it only had access to the Nezuko Raid mechanic directly out of the box the deck would be really good. However, it’s missing the whole switching in-and-out thing that Nezuko’s Raid does so well. As such, the basic starter deck essentially lacks the entire bit that makes Yellow Tanjiro good.
That being said, it does have an exclusive Tanjiro raid character that in some ways is even better than the SR you get from packs. While his Impact keyword only lasts a turn, the boosted 500 BP makes him able to withstand attacks from many opponents.
#4 Sword Art Online
In the Sword Art Online starter deck, players can take up the mantle of their favorite characters from the show’s earliest arc. What’s more, two of the IP’s most popular characters are included in this deck, and they unlock solid combos even without the SR raid versions you can only get from the packs.
From the early looks of things, SAO’s starter deck should afford plenty of fun and thrills directly out of the box, even without heavy upgrading.
#3 BLEACH: Thousand Year Blood War
Despite the fact I’ve purchased two of these myself simply for the Raid Ichigo, BLEACH Starter deck is actually lacking many of the key pieces you need to build a powerhouse BLEACH Purple deck.
Again, the Raid Ichigo is a handy card, but he’s still a far-cry from the much more powerful five-cost Ichigo. Additionally, while you do get a situationally handy five-cost Renji, four-cost Renji which makes BLEACH Purple really sing is noticeably absent.
While this deck upgrades into one of the strongest UNION ARENA decks ever, you’re gonna have to put in some serious work to upgrade it to reach its full potential. That being said, it’s got most of the staples you are going to need, once you partner it with a few sets of relatively cheap super rare cards.
#2 Jujutsu Kaisen
Jujutsu Kaisen offers a pretty broken starter deck, and unlike the other starter decks on this list, you get your strongest character card, Sukuna, included right off the batt. Indeed, this deck really isn’t missing much. For the most part, you just need to add a few four-cost raid Itadori’s into the mix and you’re good to go.
The versatility of this deck directly out of the box may be partly to blame for why Blue Sukuna remains so massively popular in the competitive UA scene.
#1 One Punch Man
The Yellow One Punch Man starter deck is missing the strongest card any Yellow Saitama deck should have – that being five-cost Saitama. That being said, this deck is insanely playable right off the shelf, and you can totally build something that wrecks with just buying two of these.
The fact that this deck comes with an insane added removal character like four-cost Saitama, the powerful One Punch card, and Genos with Impact really makes it stand head and shoulders above the rest of the starter decks out there. Not to mention it also includes the underrated one-cost Silverfang to give you plenty of early game aggression. Combined, One Punch Man’s starter deck currently tops the list.
