You may have missed it, but we’re getting a soft new set for BLEACH: Thousand Year Blood War UNION ARENA. BLEACH has inarguably been one of the most popular UNION ARENA sets to date, and has some very powerful decks in it. However, with the new card selection rolling out starting end of October 2025, several new decks are getting much stronger.

Below, let’s dive into which decks from BLEACH will be the strongest following this powerful new mini expansion.

What is the BLEACH New Card Selection?

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The BLEACH New Card Selection suffers from a slightly ambigious name. Indeed, I originally only ordered one of these because I wasn’t sure just what exactly this was (now I need to fish out hte rest of what I need on the secondary card market). Essentially, the BLEACH New Card Selection is a soft Vol. 3 for BLEACH, bringing essential new cards to bolster existing strategies. Which of these cards will have the biggest impact to create the strongest decks is the subject of the rest of this article.

#5 Mayuri

Here it is: the obligatory Mayuri list! Despite being one of the best UNION ARENA sets thanks to how well rounded it is, Mayuri still stands out as one of the weakest BLEACH decks of them all.

Of course, this deck does get some added support thanks to a new one-cost Mayuri. It’s hardly the boost the deck needs to become truly viable competitively, but I’m sure there are fans of this cooky deck who will be excited about this add.

#4 Yamamoto

Yamamoto hasn’t gotten a ton of love lately in the UNION ARENA metagame, but maybe it’s time to bring some of that back. It’s actually a deck that hits really, really hard when you get everything off, and it’s also a deck that gains some new viability thanks to the new card selection.

While the Kenpachi three-cost in hand card that generates two energy is a shoe-in for Toshiro decks, it’s a solid pick for Yamamoto, too, giving this big guy a secondary attacker to keep the pressure going while you build up to your stronger finishing move.

The one card that feels uniquely included in the New Card Selection is the Ukitake three-cost character. This card is really aimed at helping you build up to your seven-cost Yamamoto more consistently. However, it’s not actually the strongest card in the world and I could see many decks running without it.

The new two-cost Kyoraku feels like a must in this deck, however, thanks to that powerful searching effect. All-in-all, Yamamoto might be getting the love it needs to pop off once the BLEACH binder collection comes out!

#3 Blue BLEACH Rukia/Ichigo

Blue BLEACH is a favorite deck for many UNION ARENA players, offering versatility, powerful combos, and lots of fun. While the New Card Selection isn’t likely to launch it to the top of the power rankings for BLEACH decks, it’s still going to gain a significant edge compared to where it used to be at thanks to a solid new two-gen raid target for Ichigo as well as the Rukia filter card at one-cost.

These new cards aren’t going to change the strategy a ton – just make the deck more consistent and reliable than its previous form.

#2 Byakuya comes into his own

Since BLEACH came out at the very beginning of UNION ARENA’s history, Byakuya has had to play second fiddle to Ichigo. Could that all be over with the new card selection?

The Byakuya/Renji combo feels much more deadly than ever, thanks to new support especially from a powerful Renji character – one that can switch to active the turn it is played while complete with Nullify Impact.

You can combo the Kisuke with the Renji to create powerful and aggressive plays, and the deck feels more cohesive than it has yet to date.

Will it take Ichigo’s place as the preferred BLEACH Purple deck? Not likely – but it should still be a fan favorite especially those like me who have been playing Byakuya from the start!

Additionally, there is a strong new one-cost Byakuya that’s very solid you can include. I find the one-cost Renji is probably more necessary, however, but you could find a way to work this card into the list and unlock additional filtering if you want. It’s a solid card and definitely worth considering.

#1 Kenpachi Toshiro is the strongest new BLEACH deck

While already considered a top tier deck by many, the Toshiro/Kenpachi synergy gets a significant boost following the new card selection. The two key new cards this deck gets are two energy generating raid targets for both Kenpachi and Toshiro, and they really are a game changer for this deck.

Whereas before the deck list was forced to be extraordinarily tight due to a limited pool of raid targets (as well as a lackluster two-cost color trigger for Toshiro), now fitting all of your strongest card in fits like a glove.

Additionally, the three-cost Toshiro brings much needed draw capabiltiies into the deck. While it won’t be enough to make this deck a dominant draw-engine deck, the added draw without having to make specific techs for it is a welcome add, as is the two-cost Kyoraku who can help you filter through the top cards of your deck for the pieces you need most.

The two-cost Kyoraku is a huge improvement over the two-cost Unohana you had to run to add some draw before, and will make this deck much more consistent.

All-in-all, I would not be surprised to see Toshiro top many tournaments after the new card collection releases, modernizing the deck to compete with a very challenging meta.

BLEACH decks not included in this list

Before closing things out, it’s worth mentioning a few strong BLEACH decks that aren’t included in this list simply because they did not get any new added support in the New Card Selection. These decks are:

Yellow BLEACH
Squad Zero
Purple BLEACH (Renji Rush, Ichigo/Rukia)

While I can see why the Purple BLEACH decks outside of Byakuya didn’t get anything – they’re already strong enough – I’m a little confused why Yellow BLEACH didn’t get a boost. Surely Bambies could use a little added help to compete with all these powerful sets coming out.

Regardless, I love the idea behind this New Card Selection. While the naming of this product is a little wonky, I hope stuff like this keeps coming out to enhance existing sets!

UNION ARENA: BLEACH New Card Selection’s Strongest Decks