Every UNION ARENA Starter Deck, Ranked
Looking to get into UNION ARENA but don’t know where to start? Why not try a UNION ARENA starter deck? Ideal for anyone new to the game, as well as for experienced players who want to build the newest deck more easily, there are many starter decks to choose from different IPs.
If you have a favorite anime that’s already had a set, why not start with that? If, however, you’re wondering which starter deck will help you build a strong deck with the least effort, then you are in the right place. UNION ARENA starter decks are not all created equally, and some are much, much better buys than others.
With that in mind, let’s look at every UNION ARENA starter deck available right now and rank them from least to greatest!
#14 Hunter x Hunter
Hunter x Hunter - Starter Deck
UE02ST: HUNTER X HUNTER Starter Deck
Market Value
Loading...
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 (assuming they are set on playing Hunter x Hunter at all). 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.
Today, this has become even more true after the Hunter x Hunter Vol. 2 failed to pick up traction due to overwhelmingly weak strategies that have failed to keep up with the English meta.
Safe to say the Hunter x Hunter starter deck is one product better left untouched for most outside of diehard fans of the IP looking for a casual play experience.
#13 Fullmetal Alchemist
FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST - Starter Deck
UE09ST: FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST Starter Deck
Market Value
Loading...
The Yellow Elric Bros deck looked promising at the time it came out. However, it inevitably proved too mid-tier to contend with the stronger decks out there. Basing the starter deck on an energy color largely lacking in powerful plays might not have been the best decision despite how popular the Fullmetal Alchemist himself is. A Roy Mustang starter deck would have been much more compelling, given that deck is easily the best in the set.
#12 One Punch Man
One Punch Man - Starter Deck
UE06ST: One Punch Man Starter Deck
Market Value
Loading...
I remember building the Yellow One Punch Man Saitama deck when the set first came out and being relatively blown away by its strength. The starter deck comes with a ton of powerful tools directly out of the box, but the main card it is missing also happens to be the deck’s strongest: the formidable five-cost Saitama.
This Saitama character caused a huge storm in the English meta when he was released – for a while he was even considered the best deck. His anti-removal capabilities were really tough to deal with back then, causing the removal-heavy format to have to change a bit to figure out how to deal with this 10000 BP behemoth.
However, One Punch Man as a whole hasn’t aged well. The game got faster, and gained more tools to deal with characters like this, effectively pushing Yellow Saitama out of the format.
Unless a Vol. 2 comes around, the One Punch Man starter deck is unlikely to be the best pick outside of diehard fans.
#11 Tokyo Ghoul
Tokyo Ghoul - Starter Deck
UE18ST: Tokyo Ghoul Starter Deck
Market Value
Loading...
Tokyo Ghoul’s starter deck alone is an odd one on this list. Not because it is bad but because it’s good but still ranks lower. The reason? It’s not the easiest to upgrade into something truly competitive. While you can upgrade it with relative ease, what you upgrade it to will be something largely mid-tier, not A tier or above.
#10 Black Clover
Black Clover - Starter Deck
UE08ST: Black Clover Starter Deck
Market Value
Loading...
While Black Clover may not be an overwhelmingly strong set, its starter deck is decent. In this deck you will get the basics for what you’ll need to make the strongest Black Clover Deck centered on Red Asta. The key components of this deck that make it strong include an Asta character that can negate opposing characters abilities. At the time, this was only so effective, but as the meta evolves it could actually be pretty solid.
#9 Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Starter Deck
UE05ST: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Starter Deck
Market Value
Loading...
Demon Slayer’s yellow Tanjiro focused starter deck is painfully close to being 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.
With Demon Slayer Vol. 2, Yellow Tanjiro gets considerably more powerful, making this starter deck a good buy for Demon Slayer fans and general UNION ARENA players alike.
#8 Sword Art Online
Sword Art Online - Starter Deck
UE07ST: Sword Art Online Starter Deck
Market Value
Loading...
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.
SAO’s starter deck affords plenty of fun and thrills directly out of the box, even without heavy upgrading. Upgraded, it easily becomes one of the strongest Sword Art Online decks of them all.
#7 Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan - Starter Deck
UE10ST: Attack on Titan Starter Deck
Market Value
Loading...
The Attack on Titan starter deck was relatively weak when it came out. However, now that Vol. 2 is out, this starter deck is worth resisting based solely on how strong some of the red decks get from the set.
While the deck you’ll build out of the box isn’t great, you’ll get several key pieces that you can use in a fully upgraded Red Attack on Titan deck. There are two to choose from, and both are strong.
Eren Jaeger (Attack Titan)
UEX07BT: Attack on Titan Vol. 2 • Rare
Market Value
Loading...
While there will be a massive amount of upgrading you’ll need to do to build the strongest version of either the Red Attack Titan deck or the Mikasa/Eren deck, many of the key pieces for both strategies can be found in this box.
#6 BLEACH: Thousand Year Blood War
BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War - Starter Deck
UE01ST: BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War Starter Deck
Market Value
Loading...
Despite the fact I’ve purchased two of these myself simply for the Raid Ichigo, the 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.
#5 Jujutsu Kaisen
Jujutsu Kaisen - Starter Deck
UE03ST: Jujutsu Kaisen Starter Deck
Market Value
Loading...
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 bat. 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 was so massively popular in the competitive UA scene for a while.
While it’s not the strongest deck in the game anymore, it’s still competitively viable, especially after the original two-cost Yuji/Starter Deck Sukuna pair ban was dropped.
#4 Re:ZERO
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- - Starter Deck
UE24ST: Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Starter Deck
Market Value
Loading...
While Re:ZERO’s deck focuses on the slightly less powerful Yellow Emilia deck, the thing that really makes this a great product to buy is how easy it is to upgrade. I’ve been playing a ton of Yellow Emilia thanks to picking up and upgrading two starter decks. The upgrades were only around $30 total, making it affordable and hassle-free. And the majority of that upgrade was just the five-cost Raid Emilia (who is much cheaper to purchase now), with the rest being bulk.
Emilia (027)
UE24BT: Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- • Super Rare
Market Value
Loading...
Emilia has a powerful free-play mechanic built into it. Not only can you free-play events with the powers of five-cost Emilia: you can play key characters, one of whom comes in, switches to active, and attacks for 4000 BP.
While lacking some of the absolute most high-end power other decks have, Re:ZERO’s ability to quickly set up, and punch holes in your opponent’s defenses makes this starter deck ideal for anyone looking to play with very little added effort to build a full deck.
#3 Evangelion
Evangelion: New Theatrical Edition - Starter Deck
UE15ST: Evangelion: New Theatrical Edition Starter Deck
Market Value
Loading...
Red Evangelion is one of the strongest UNION ARENA decks right now. It has many high level wins and placements, including winning the UNION ARENA Grand Final in Japan as well as making top three at the North America Championship Finals.
While it’s not known for being overly easy to beat, it’s insanely powerful once you get the hang of it, and this starter deck is a great starting point. Once you purchase two of these, the main card you are going to need to upgrade it is the powerful seven-cost Evangelion piloted by Shinji.
Evangelion Test Type-01 Pseudo DMS Phase
UE15BT: Evangelion: New Theatrical Edition • Super Rare
Market Value
Loading...
Use this closer to swing through attacks, defend against triggers, and force your opponent into a very un-advantageous blocking pattern.
#2 Rurouni Kenshin
Rurouni Kenshin - Starter Deck
UE11ST: Rurouni Kenshin Starter Deck
Market Value
Loading...
Rurouni Kenshin is the best UNION ARENA starter deck to buy right now. It’s strong, it’s colorful, and it’s insanely versatile – something that’s very handy in a UNION ARENA meta like ours with lots of powerful decks to choose from.
One of the best things about this starter deck that makes it so top tier is that it includes two essential characters in it – one of which is arguably the single strongest in the set.
Oftentimes starter decks won’t include your key cards in them out of the box, making them somewhat less exciting to pick up. However, the starter deck Kenshin is even stronger than the booster pack Red Kenshin Raid (of which you’ll still need four copies in your deck).
Kenshin Himura (090)
UE11BT: Rurouni Kenshin • Super Rare
Market Value
Loading...
My Rurouni Kenshin Starter Deck upgrade was also very, very easy to achieve because of how consistent and strong the cards already were.
If you’re looking for an excellent gateway deck to start playing the game, you can’t go wrong with Rurouni Kenshin.
#1 BLEACH: Thousand Year Blood War – Advanced Deck
Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War - Advance Deck
UE10DC: Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War Advanced Deck
Market Value
Loading...
BLEACH gets UNION ARENA’s first Vol. 3, so you know it’s gonna be hyped. Japanese players picked up its new strategies quickly, with one Rukia/Ichigo player winning a large tournament with the fully upgraded Purple BLEACH strategy.
The Advanced Deck is the single highest value UNION ARENA Starter Deck item to ever grace the shelves. Every card in the deck is foil, two new exclusive cards are introduced in it that you’ll need for more than one Purple BLEACH deck. Also, a parallel rare is guaranteed in every box, and you can even pull an SR** if you’re really lucky.
Whether or not Rukia/Ichigo really is the strongest deck coming out of Vol. 3 is something we won’t know for sure for a while. However, this is absolutely the #1 “starter deck” to watch right now.
