If you choose to forgo the combo route, the next option is the Shivam Bhatt special: a creature-based beatdown deck
OCCAMS MINDRAZER Its true that the most obvious deckbuilding choices are often the best, and I have so far skirted around the really straightforward way to get value out of discarding: cards with whenever you discard effects
SKU: ONE-OP-07 Category: One Piece Tags: 2 Players, PVP
We have a couple of ways to remove counters from it to help with the death trigger, and an endlessly replicating army is great for a deck that wants to go long and has cards that care about permanents with time counters
Target creature you control fights target creature you don't control
Its also very interesting to note that if you fill your board with historic permanents, its fine if your opponents dont sweep it away, but if they do, you get to emblem