For sealed product, our strategy remains simple: wait for the second wave . That is when supply peaks and the frantic opening day demand cools down. But singles require a bit more precision, so we wait for supply to hit maximum and the hype peak to fall off.
Before diving into our targets, let's clarify our TCJournal position . The top hits like the Pirate Crew foils, Mangas, and SPs are incredible pieces for any collection. However, paying $1,000+ for a single card immediately prices out too many everyday collectors and investors. High buy-ins carry massive risk. We aren't saying they won't climb higher—One Piece has plenty of market history proving they can—but that's not our lane. We focus on affordable entry points with strong future yearly growth potential .
Here are our top OP-17 targets to scoop up when the dust settles:
Monkey.D.Luffy (093) Alternate Art Opening day saw NM copies hit the market at $50. Even though there is a plethora of Luffy cards out there, this piece boasts exceptional artwork from the Elbaph era. Because it is an Alternate Art Super Rare, that opening price tag is largely hype-driven and sure to fall to much more reasonable levels. It’s hard to perfectly time the bottom, but if the price lowers to under $20 , this card is absolutely worth a closer look.
Monkey.D.Luffy (093) Super Rare Opening at $5 on release day, you might wonder why this is on our list. Typically, we do not suggest buying regular Rares or Super Rares. They are extremely common, and the market will be flooded with thousands of them in the coming weeks. However, the amazing character pose and artwork make this an exception. Do we suggest buying at $5? Definitely not. Our buy-in target is strictly under $1 , and hopefully lower than that.
Special DON!! Cards This set brings some heavy-hitting alternate DON!! cards to the table. The Alternate Art Rocks Special Foil opened at $60, the Luffy and Loki Gold opened at $20, and the Four Emperors Gold debuted at $15. Despite featuring massive characters and multi-character art, they are still DON!! cards. We expect these to drop the most in value and plan to pick them up when they hit fractions of their current market values .
Kaido (063) Alternate Art Call us biased, but we believe Kaido is deeply undervalued. As more collectors revisit the Wano arc and appreciate his significance, his cards will eventually have their day in the sun. This is one of the best artworks in recent sets. It opened at $18, but we’re simply waiting for the inevitable drop to start accumulating .
Kaido (062) Super Alternate Art With an estimated pull rate of roughly 1 per case, this card hit the market hot around $350. Featuring incredibly unique "Baki-style" artwork, it completely pops out from the crowd—whether the style is your personal favorite or not. We are watching this as a great long-haul grail hold, but only if it drops under the $200 level .
The Golden Rule of TCG Investing Remember, these are our estimated goal entries . High demand can always keep cards far above our target price points. If that happens? We simply miss out on the card entirely. After all, there will always be another set . The most important factor in this market is your buy-in price —it entirely dictates your future return, so the lower, the better.
To follow these picks or see what else we suggest buying in the current market, join tcjournal.io for free.
OP17 Set Link : https://www.tcgplayer.com/search/one-piece-card-game/the-worlds-strongest-warriors?productLineName=one-piece-card-game&setName=the-worlds-strongest-warriors&page=1&view=grid