UNION ARENA: Kenpachi Green BLEACH Deck
Green BLEACH is back!
May/June are starting to feel a lot like Oct/November of last year with the return of BLEACH to the UNION ARENA meta. Although once a force in the game, BLEACH has invariably fallen out of the competitive scene with even the legendary Purple BLEACH dropping just shy of the top tier as of late.
Thanks to BLEACH Volume 2, however, Soul Reapers are back on top, and Green BLEACH is one of the decks that receives the most support in this set.
The biggest change? More than any of the BLEACH decks in Volume 2, Green BLEACH is staring to really feel like a Kenpachi deck and not just a Toshiro deck.
Toshiro plays a huge role in this deck, but he’s more of a supporting character to the full frontal assault that is Kenpachi Zeraki.
In this Green BLEACH deck guide, we’ll be going over this effective strategy and how it fairs against other decks in the meta.
Green BLEACH deck list
Green BLEACH quick start guide
Quickly build up your energy line to four energy using low cost characters and your Yumachika/Sajin so you can play your many 4000 BP attackers.
Wall-out your opponent with 4000 BP raidless Kenpachi characters.
Look to take big removals via 2AP Kenpachi and stun your foe’s board via Toshiro.
Close out the game with a combo of Raid Kenpachi and Yachiru, bolstering him to Damage 2/Impact 2 and beyond.
Looking at new cards that make Green BLEACH so much stronger
There are a total of seven different cards in this updated Green BLEACH deck list, making up a combined total of 23 cards. That’s a pretty significant update to the build, meaning almost half the deck is comprised of new cards. While you may likely already know what key cards like Toshiro Hitsugaya or the existing Kenpachi characters do, when combined together into this strategy, the deck feels like almost a new deck entirely.
The biggest change? Kenpachi is the star of the show now, with all of the support he needs to dominate the battlefield.
Let’s get into each of the new cards added to the strategy and why they’re so beneficial to the deck.
Ikkaku lets you open with added draw
“When Played” draw-one-sideline zero-cost characters are effective staples in many UNION ARENA decks, and that’s especially the case for a deck like Green BLEACH that tends to suffer a little on the draw side of things. Being able to open with Ikkaku certainly enables you to see more cards early in the game, and yet another “Active” trigger getting included in the deck doesn’t hurt either.
Yumichika
Yumichika is the only triggerless card in the entire deck. However, he’s well worth the trade-off given his ability to rapidly build your energy line. While you’ll need three other Thirteen Court Guard Squad characters in play to gain the added energy generation, that’s a relatively easy bar to meet with a deck like this one.
Saijin is a sticky tech
I feel like Sajin will be something of a polarizing card for Green BLEACH players. Some will love the added utility he brings to the deck while others will disdain the fact that he becomes unraided at the start of your turn.
However, from a certain perspective, even the fact that he unraids himself could be seen as something of an advantage. After all, your three-cost Sajin is very handy partly for his Step keyword. This means you can fairly easily use Sajin to handle a variety of situations to gain an advantage and draw cards, then step base Sajin back to the energy line to play even more cards the following turn.
With his combined Nullify Impact, draw effect, and anti-removal capabilities, at least two of these cards feels like a must in BLEACH Green to me.
Combine Yachiru with Raid Kenpachi to create a monster
Kenpachi is often referred to as a monster in the anime. Thanks to his new Raid character and boosted by Yachiru, he really starts to feel like one. The most effective way to use Yachiru is to Raid Kenpachi over another four-cost Kenpachi, and then use Yachiru to give him both Damage 2 AND Impact 2, forcing your opponent to choose between a rock-and a hard place.
Even without the Yachiru buff, however, Raid Kenpachi is pretty intimidating (as that wall of text suggests). For starters, his anti-BP reduction effects are highly relevant in the post BLEACH Vol. 2 meta, helping in the matchup versus BLEACH Purple decks and others.
Additionally, he’s incredibly sticky, enabling him to essentially survive removal attempts. He’ll lose the top raided card, but as you’ll be raided on a four-cost Kenpachi you’ll still have a strong character underneath him.
And, the final piece of the pie is his 1000 BP boost and Damage 2. He’s a phenomenal closer for only four-energy cost, making him easily one of the strongest cards in all of BLEACH.
Green BLEACH matchups
Now that we’ve taken a deep look at how the deck operates and the many new cards coming to its strategy, let’s look at Green BLEACH’s matchup spread. In regards to that, I really like what I’m seeing. Green BLEACH plays very well into the current UNION ARENA meta, and we’ll highlight some of its key matchups below.
Vs. Purple BLEACH and Code Geass
Both Purple BLEACH and Code Geass leverage BP reduction to gain huge advantages over the playing field. However, a combined total of eight different 4000 BP characters immune to BP reducing effects gives you a distinct edge over this deck.
Vs. Yellow Saitama
Meanwhile, Green BLEACH has no trouble dealing with Yellow Saitama. While other decks will struggle to counter five-cost Saitama’s anti-removal ability, Green BLEACH can simply freeze him with Toshiro. Indeed, we’ve seen this work very well competitively in the past, making the matchup a relative cakewalk for Green BLEACH.
Vs. Yellow and Blue BLEACH:
Green BLEACH does well into both Yellow and Blue BLEACH via a few distinct advantages. For starters, Kenpachi’s anti-BP reduction is solid against Yellow BLEACH: a deck which relies on some BP reducing effects to get the full effect out of Raid Bambietta. Meanwhile, you can lean heavily into Saijin in a rare battle format to prevent the two-AP cost Ichigo from bouncing him back to the hand. Similarly, Raid Kenpachi also prevents that same removal if he’s been raided over a four-cost character.
Vs Yellow Goddesses - potentially problematic
Yellow Goddesses should remain a powerful deck after Black Clover and BLEACH drop, and the matchup is not particularly good for you. While Green BLEACH should fair well in the early game, it doesn’t have a lot to stop Yellow Goddesses from stealing a win in the late game.
At that point, Asuna can lock down your Kenpachi on the back line with relative ease, rending many of his effects null-and-void. Meanwhile, Sinon can easily snipe any of your characters for late game Impact. The key to this matchup is just winning before Yellow Goddesses can lock you out of the game.
Vs Green Lancelot
Finally, Green Lancelot should be a decent matchup for this deck. You have several characters capable of swinging through Lancelot’s 5000 BP bodies. You also can hit similar kinds of power levels for less energy as Lancelot does right now, enabling you to close out the game. Lastly, your deck is much lower-to-the-ground thanks to a max energy cost of four. Use this to win the game before your opponent can overwhelm you with Air Cavalries.
Green BLEACH is a formidable deck. It should be a top contender in the UNION ARENA meta, and a huge favorite in the BLEACH Rare Battle format where it goes exceptionally well into the other BLEACH decks. Try it out for yourself and let me know how it goes!
