What’s good about it: As an ACE, it pulls its weight in utility by providing any two cards from the deck and effectively making trash costs—or opposing trash strategies, null. You get a full deck, a full hand (some of which is picked), and to setup part of the deck going forward. It’s a great preparatory tool for the transition into late game. And if willing to give up on the huge effect of a late game deck refresh, it can still be used to refresh the hand and pick any 2 early on, which in some cases can be more effective earlier game.
What’s bad about it: You don’t get to keep your current hand. It’s not always a bad thing but it’s worth noting that it will reduce its efficacy window if you have to give up other critical in-hand cards, then waste some of your 2 picks on those cards again. You can also lose out on the effectiveness of the deck refresh if you haven’t gotten any trash-cost cards or you are forced to play it early. Like Polymorphic Code, you get a hand of 4 that turn; unlike it, Reload is voidable and is your only support for turn.
Tips: Once you decide Reload is best for your deck, always try to maximize every bonus it provides. This goes without saying, but it can be tricky if you plan for a deck of trash costs for heavy effects (Mega Chip, Mega Disk, Phantomon, Dark Wings, Giga Cannon, et al) and end up trashing the Reload without any way to recover it. The good news is Reload can be gained back with “recycle any 1” effects. Some evolution boxes will make this a practical ACE search when combined with reckless trashing, which Reload would then erase as if it never happened, effectively making high-trash costs in your deck into ACE-power cards! In addition, cards like Aquilamon are intensely powerful when combined with Reload, since this gives you effectively 5 copies of the Reload for purposes of sequencing: now you’re more likely to draw the Reload earlier than trash cards.
What’s good about it: Puppet Switch puts any card in your trash in your hand. This card is fantastic for reusing powerful cards, and setting up for high DP cost Digimon. Just imagining the possibilities with Ace cards, for instance: you could re-use Warp Dimension, netting you 18 cards of deck damage. Also, since you can change your type, this is usable with an attachment that fell into the trash along the road that your current active zone can’t use. You could change your type to Metal and re-use a Miracle crest to suddenly gain support effects outside of Metal’s domain.
You can do almost everything Puppet Switch does with other cards, but it always takes more than one card (and therefore turn) to set up these sorts of scenarios. This is a high-value card that can give players a host of new and unexpected outs. Most opponents wouldn’t consider a clutch Puppet Switch when playing out their turn. The fact that it gets back cards like evolutions or Digimon that were paid into DP means you can get insane DP value for later evolutions. Example: rack a Redotamamon for +40P, evolve, support with Puppet Switch and get back the Redotamamon, then it gives you +10P. By your next opportunity to evolve, you’ll have a guaranteed 50P and a net card advantage of +0. Lastly, a deck with x3 VS against your type can fall apart if you change your type away (plus you’ll net some sweet cards and DP out of the deal).
What’s bad about it: This card can’t be charged into DP normally—you have to play it as support to get it there. If you’re not set up for multi-color, you lose one of its effects; and if you are, you need a tight evolution-box line.
Tips: If you’re looking to reuse specific cards in your deck, Puppet Switch is a good universal way to do it without splashing into Jungle or Enigma. In fact, Puppet Switch is a good way to unlock the potential of your existing cards and therefore provides good universal synergy. Many games can come down to a well-timed Ace play that doesn’t get voided, so Puppet Switch on reusable Aces can give you the edge to win.
What’s good about it: Black Gear is a crazy mix-n-match that tries to give you the best possible answer to whatever lower-level situation you find yourself in. Since you gain every effect cumulatively, unlocking the Level U effect also automatically means getting the Level C. Since each level has an “OR”, you could potentially play this card with any 3 of 6 different effects. Each of those effects is easily comparable to other option-potence cards. At the highest level, it even gives the option for “Turbo” which means change the Support to “Any Phase”, so you can stack the remaining effects and still play a support; or else you could just get your Ace and play something devastating. With 2 KOs on the line, turbo OR Ace is a heavy advantage. Even if you’re not lower level, you can still draw 2 in a pinch.
What’s bad about it: You get nothing unless you’re behind in evolution. Everything you get is based on your opponent, which you can nudge but never control. If you unlock only the Level C ability, you’re Level R and at that point, a mere Power -400 or HP -300 might be nothing when you’re so weak. Voiding while the opponent is higher and U/M usually leaves you open to a beating from their superior body and the alternative for Trash 6 may do nothing to help you in that particular instance. Turbo and Draw 2 isn’t particularly devastating to a Level M, regardless of your level. Any Ace searched can’t be supported on the same turn. Each effect on its own is hard to justify.
Tips: At first, Black Gear looks difficult to control. But it’s important to remember, you don’t get more effects the further behind you are, you get them for being any number of levels behind, but with an opponent’s that’s further up the evolution stages. Therefore, the maximum value of Black Gear isn’t when you’re Level R, it’s when you’re Level U and they’re Level M (or any level just under theirs). Simply use a slow-evolution deck—Marine type usually excels at this. Any Digimon with high HP at each level can go slowly and allow the opponent to eventually reach Level M with very little risk. You won’t need to focus on your damage much, which gives you time to prepare for the biggest effect. Try using this as a guaranteed 2 KO card, either by searching your Ace (while Level U ideally) or turbo for a last-ditch KO. If you chose “trash 6”, the opponent may not be able to effectively recover from losing their Level M, as you now threaten to reach your own Level M unchallenged. If you plan to wait for the best effect or not, it’s still a good idea to include other “low-level” cards such as [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/170-Whistle.png” name=”Whistle”], and cards that work better if level is lower, like [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/199-Data-Copy.png” name=”Data Copy”].
Turbo is not a unilaterally worse choice than your Ace, since Turbo allows you to stack every other effect, draw 2, and still support with [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/068-Silver-Ball.png” name=”Silver Ball”], which covers the same bases as Black Gear’s turbo condition. The real weakness of Black Gear is comparing it to Silver Ball in the first place, since the ball is a far more straightfoward card that gives high value every time, regardless if your level is lower. All the ball and gear care about is whether your opponent is high enough. With that in mind, black gear can be extended beyond this microcosm of level, which isn’t very common anyway (U and M aren’t the mode of the game) and provides an additional benefit for opposing Level C. It’s not a devastating effect, but -400 Power can sometimes be as good as Whistle, since the highest Level C power is 600, most circles are around 500, most triangles around 300, and the average incoming attack will be somewhere around 400 after all. With that in mind, it’s like a soft Whistle if you’re R (where Whistle works at higher levels too, so long as you’re lower), but with the additional option to soften them up by 300 HP before hitting. Some Level R are quite strong, such as [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/011-Goblimon.png” name=”Goblimon”], which has the highest base power of any R, and Crash Rookies such as [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/010-Ghostmon.png” name=”Ghostmon”], which has the highest damage potential of all Rs. Goblimon’s circle plus Black Gear is 780 damage! Ghostmon’s crash + gear is 1050 damage on a Rookie!
In fact, Crash with any lower level is going to benefit from the HP -300 effect, so keep that in mind. Just throwing this one out there: you can Data Break on the turn you support with black gear, since you probably don’t want Level M anymore (unless you have a plan), and breaking will pile on even more powerful effects. What’s extra devastating is piling black gear on after using [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/164-Level-Crush.png” name=”Level Crush”] to ensure maximum carnage. Crushing for an HP reset, a ton of bonus HP, plus all the gear effects you can handle is a pretty strong turn. Surprisingly, that’s not the only Evolution card this low-level option pairs well with—[card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/167-Mutate.png” name=”Mutate”] can keep your HP reset and fresh, while providing a body swap to another of the same level (which would obviously be lower). Another counter-intuitive pick is [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/166-D-Link.png” name=”D-Link”], since you can play an abnormal Level C and evolve to Level U, assuming you waited for an opponent Level M. So it’s not even a matter of keeping your own active alive through this process to maximize the effectiveness. You might think it’s tough to ensure you’re exactly 1 level lower, but since Mutate, Level Crush, and D-Link all assist in fine-tuning this, it’s actually quite easy. Not to mention there’s more than one card in the game that evolves you from R to any C from the deck (or Destiny Zone). You don’t have to be “lowest” level, just a little lower will do.
Whamon (Level U)—The magic of an Ultimate that evolves from itself.
What’s good about it: Whamon (like his Champion form) has the highest printed HP of any Digimon in its level. The Evo-box bonuses featuring “Whamon” push the HP even higher. Whamon in the Evo-box gives this card a built in “Mutate” letting you evolve from U to U if you would like. Its Support ability is also very nice getting tons more HP if you can keep your hand relatively stable.
What’s bad about it: This card has low Power—closer to a Champion rather than an Ultimate. Its to zero ability is very under-powered.
Tips: Whamon (like most Ultimates) wants a dedicated deck with lots of evolution cards that can supplement its built-in Mutate. Running “Download” as your ace with cards like “level Crush”, “Plugin Back-up” and “Burst Growth” can give you extra effects with your extra Evolution, and keep the Whamons coming.
Data Hijack—Evolve from your deck and charge extra DP.
What’s good about it: Data Hijack’s primary effect is to evolve to level C straight from the deck. Evolve from deck is bonkers, letting you take full advantage of every Champion in your deck, as long as it’s a legal target. It’s second effect doesn’t require you to evolve, meaning you can use it even if you can’t go up—If that’s the case, the second effect lets you virtually charge twice before Evolving (by DP instead of the primary effect), or reveal the top card of your deck before the support phase. After use, it deletes itself so you don’t accidentally get flooded with this card after recycle effects (this is usually a good thing, since re-using a card like this is rare and requires tricky timing, while it clogs the hand).
What’s bad about it: At mid to late game, this card can be rather dull— especially if you are not at Level R or you didn’t have a valid card on the top of your deck (cards with +P).
Tips: Data Hijack loses consistency as the game progresses. If you have no other evolution to play and this is stuck in your hand (usually stopping you from draw 2 each turn), consider playing it and checking the top of the deck—at the very least, you get to check your upcoming card. Mixing this into decks with extra Champions or a variety of them can let you toolbox your evolution. Try running with “Shogungekomon”, “Cherrymon” or Champions with a wide variety of evolution-box effects.
What’s good about it: Since you often have to make tough choices about what to rack, this eliminates that responsibility by taking all those cards back. Since it has “recycle any 3”, you’ll get to choose which cards are returned—including partner, Ace, DATA, Firewalls, situationally good cards, and anything the opponent trashed or sniped that you wish to keep.
What’s bad about it: Early game, you don’t have much to recycle. Requires evolving by DP and provides no discount. In fact, discounts of any kind make this hypothetically less useful since racking means needing the Backup less. On the same note, it doesn’t shine by default in decks that can evolve with 1 rack. This effect can be a low return value unless planned for properly. While rare, it can’t take anything from DP unless it’s a Digimon card.
Tips: Make sure you’re not trying to use lots of external DP-gain effects such as [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/002-Monodramon.png” name=”Monodramon”], [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/043-Raremon.png” name=”Raremon”], or evo bonuses for this. If you do, you’ll lose out on a lot of its potency. This is similar to a [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/182-Vending-Machine.png” name=”Vending Machine”] that you use during evolution. If you’ve already used [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/099-SuperTag.png” name=”Super Tag”] or some other method of “ignore DP”, Plug-In Backup interferes heavily with this by taking everything back into hand. This card is best used a little after the early game, when you have some trash to recycle or in decks that need to rack more; OR after deliberately using a mulligan a few times to search your Ace, use it, evolve with this, then recycle the Ace. A property common to all “recycle any” cards is the ability to trash your deck on purpose of the bulk cards, then put the strongest cards back in for easy access later. Since it’s a Plug-In, it benefits from [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/019-PluginQ.png” name=”Reload Plug-In Q”] (Quick), which gives it another draw 1 if Q is in the Destiny Zone—even more cards!
Backup asks two opposing things of you: Ensure you can be independent with your evolution (no DP reduction necessary), and rack more than 1 cards to make best use of it. Normally, if not using your Evolution card to make the evolve itself easier, you should at least have high +P or low DP cost, to ensure fast and smooth evolution. Therefore, what Backup actually asks is that you make best use of it in decks that have trouble evolving, which will pay everything back to you. In some ways, this is more powerful than Super Tag since you can re-use all the DP for different purposes. In other ways, it’s worse—if you need to re-rack them, it’s going to take time.
If you evolve fast and regularly, [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/036-BurstGrowth.png” name=”Burst Growth”] is probably better than Backup. If you’re slow or have high trash costs and low hand (or need to maintain hand), Backup is great. The [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/136-WhamonU.png” name=”Whamon”] Level U support and [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/145-Wargreymon.png” name=”Wargreymon”] or [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/090-Rusttyrannomon.png” name=”Rusttyrannomon”] Activate both benefit from larger hands. In those Level M cases, it’s difficult to keep the hand size large due evolution requiring resources from hand. Backup can ensure a much more potent and more reliable activation. A minor point, but using DP to evolve to [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/001-Herculeskabuterimon.png” name=”Herculeskabuterimon”] means everything in DP is taken, you might draw 2, and that massive hand of cards is protected from discard, plus your deck is now 3 cards larger which helps enable the deck protection passive.
If you get the evo-bonus of [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/148-Rosemon.png” name=”Rosemon”] or [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/008-Megidramon.png” name=”Megidramon”] (when evolving by DP of course), an added Backup is a total of Recycle any 8! That’s a very powerful way to create the most potent deck for upcoming plays. This also heavily fuels discard costs such as an attached TOY [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/034-Missile-Pod.png” name=”Missile Pod”] and [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/065-MetalParts.png” name=”Metal Parts”], where every discard counts.
[card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/016-Puppet-Switch.png” name=”Puppet Switch”] is a notoriously strong card but it can’t be used with Backup! Pay attention to where Plug-In Backup is restricted to only taking “Digimon DP”. [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/030-Kyuubimon.png” name=”Kyubimon”] particularly loves and hates this plugin. Love because you can switch what supports Kyubimon activates at no extra DP cost to you. Hate because you may not want to switch, but using this in the same deck will eventually force one or else face the consequences of a dead Evolution card in hand.
As we see, Plug-In Backup is best in decks that “slow rack” and can obtain all their DP from Digimon cards in that zone. It’s very specific but there are several cards that shine extra bright this way. Any Digimon with “Put this into DP.” somewhere in its effects, such as [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/041-Ogremon.png” name=”Ogremon”], [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/031-Armadillomon.png” name=”Armadillomon”] (or [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/039-Armadillomon.png” name=”Armadillomon”]), [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/014-Mushroomon.png” name=”Mushroomon”], [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/043-Patamon.png” name=”Patamon”], [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/036-Falcomon.png” name=”Falcomon”], [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/051-Akatorimon.png” name=”Akatorimon”], [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/134-Angewomon.png” name=”Angewomon”], [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/089-Devimon.png” name=”Devimon”], [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/048-Minotaurmon.png” name=”Minotaurmon”]…this list could go on for a while. In the great case of PR [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/009-Witchmon.png” name=”Witchmon”], she doesn’t just put herself into DP, she can also be used after you take all yours with Backup and swap DP with the opponent to give them 0 DP. Weirder, you could swap and then play backup, giving you the unprecedented ability to hold your opponent’s cards in your hand! Also any evo-bonus with “Put … into DP” (usually the top 1 Digimon of deck), example being [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/090-Devidramon.png” name=”Devidramon”]. So when using this card with a huge list of Digimon, there’s a lot of value that can be had for re-using those same cards over and over.
Coliseum—Changing both players attacks to with various bonuses for yourself.
What’s good about it: Coliseum boosting your power is very helpful. Forcing a fight can be very necessary when you need to prevent abilities like drain and 1st attack. Especially if you want to use your circle with impunity.
What’s bad about it: tends to be the strongest attack for the majority of digimon. the bonus effects aren’t always that helpful at letting your attack happen on your opponents turn.
Tips: Coliseum is a tricky card to pin down, its extra effect tends to seem more random than it is, if you can figure out you opponents best move generally you know what effect your going to get. it’s best to use this on your turn when your opponent is most likely to use abilities to get extra damage out or survive to evolve on their turn. In some instances, you can get 200 Power and the change, making it comparable to an Attack Chip without the threat of counter (or “to zero” effects).
What’s good about it: Immediately, you’re drawn to the Support ability which attaches and saves you from the perils of Crash. Since —the type Hagurumon most easily assists, has a staggering amount of Crash, it fits right in. Circle to zero helps tremendously to keep it alive on a medium-strength body. One of the rare attachments where you will be able to use the ability the turn it attaches, so you don’t waste a turn.
What’s bad about it: You shouldn’t hang out on this Active (it’s not Goblimon after all). You’re still going to lose HP, diminishing the possibilities of this card far more than it may first appear. Takes away the slot of the valuable “Miracles Crest” which lets you use your own Active’s Support (something crash-centric decks already strive for).
Tips: Well now you don’t have to run Concert Crash anymore. Pair this with other possibilities such as Chainsaw, Data Copy (for an instant kill with almost no downside), Waspmon, or add Drain when you Crash with cards like Dark Wings. Try changing your type to after attaching, so you unlock access to more Drain. Or change to to unlock access to powerful HP-based conditionals like Icemon.
DB-013 Biyomon—An evolution-primed Rookie with serious hate.
What’s good about it: The amazing ability to toolbox a Champion for direct, immediate evolution from the deck, which ignores DP since it’s outside the evolution phase. That ridiculous triple hate of with a high 200 base power for it (this is good even for many Champions with x3 VS). +30 P is always welcome on a Rookie, especially in Wind. If you don’t manage to be R and Wind for the Support, you still get a serviceable draw 2.
What’s bad about it: Incredibly weak attacks otherwise. You need a serious back-up plan for this Digimon, if it gets stuck out there and left hanging with all those low-Power attacks and the extremely vulnerable HP. You will have to actually validate the Champion, which is locked to Wind Rookies. The x3 VS is only useful if you can actually hit with it without dying at Rookie level. You have to skip using an Evolution card that turn, which can stop you from getting pretty powerful bonuses.
Tips: There are really not a lot of downsides to this card other than the loss of tempo. The Support isn’t just good for saving DP and toolboxing, it can also set an opponent up for failure if they think they’re going to KO a Rookie but nope, actually you pulled out a Champion (especially if it has a new attack ability that predicts what they planned for!). Make sure you aren’t playing this when you could just evolve normally to a good option in hand. Alternatively, the effect is also sort-of like “Super Tag” in that you’ll get to keep DP, so you can Rack-Up, skip evolving, use this as support to set up your Champion (be sure to know what attack you want to use during the Strategy Phase) and then you’ll be set DP-wise for Ultimate. is really good x3 VS, especially if you manage to mix her into a deck with something like Sabirdramon. That unlocks the ability to abuse the x3 VS on a much larger scale, or even make a skeleton for a “Mastemon” deck.
What’s good about it: “M” is for “Miracle” and “Multi-use”—you can play this as a normal support to get a phoenix effect, which doesn’t let the opponent have a KO. But you can also choose to “Turbo”, which means play this Any Phase with a couple of modifications: you don’t delete it and it counts as 1 KO as normal. You get to pick based on the situation whether it’s better to give up your support for the turn or not, depending on how far ahead the opponent is in KOs, so this is never dead in hand just like other Aces.
What’s bad about it: If 1000 HP would’ve saved you a KO, [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/004-Gold-Mushroom.png” name=”Gold Mushroom”] is arguably better (an ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure). On that note, [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/071-Mystic-Seal.png” name=”Mystic Seal”] is better if you would use Ruby for its Support-speed effect in most situations, since by virtue of not dying, Seal still allows you to attack (plus void something). Not every Ace gets deleted, so good luck finding an abusable combo for this.
Tips: Here’s the thing, you’re supposed to use the Turbo version. It doesn’t delete itself (since no KO reduction happens), can be played any time so you’re not giving up support, and has a secret hidden inside it—counting as up-to 1 KO means using this out of nowhere with Level M gives you an unvoidable way to keep it fielded, while still counting as -1 KO! Gold Mushroom, Mystic Seal, and the like aren’t borderline-unvoidable. The only way to void this card when Turbo is [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/014-ClownTrick.png” name=”Clown Trick”] and that’s likely to just give you the card right back again, so you can still use it later; plus it’s a pretty rare situation to see. If you know they have Clown Trick, try baiting them to waste that void before they know what Ace you’re using. Since you’re not giving up that support, you can still play something devastating and offensive for battle, or just grab some delicious utility from [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/197-Training-Manual.png” name=”Training Manual”], especially if it fuels an Any Phase saturated deck. This is also a really weird and situational counter to [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/012-Soulmon.png” name=”Soulmon”], since your opponent is only likely to use it when you’d be KOd and you can throw this in during the first step of the Battle Phase to ensure no response play from the opponent—again, it counts as -1 KO in that situation too. Don’t forget revived Digimon never count as more than 1 KO for any reason, so this permanently sets your Level M to 1 KO.
Any situation where KOs are worth more than 1, the Turbo version of Miracle Ruby is amazing. Weirdly, you can use the Turbo version very well even with the same Soulmon; since you can’t guarantee Grudge is going to work or even be your best response that turn, a Turbo Miracle Ruby will act just like the regular Support version and give up 0 KOs due to its evo-box! With a little recycle…well you know. If you use the fact that you will appear to be cornered on the turn you Turbo this card, the opponent will select a strategy accordingly, play a support accordingly, and then be completely surprised during the first step of the Battle Phase. Because of this, Miracle Ruby is paradoxically better with decks that have some way to threaten the opponent’s attacks, such as “Counter” or “to Zero”, since they still have to account for your will to live (they don’t know you’re fine dying). In any case, that most likely means they have to support in order to get the last bit necessary to KO you, without knowing what lurks in your hand. This effectively also makes Miracle Ruby a void card, since opponents will want to play power gain to get a KO, only for you to utterly negate that no matter how much they gained. Someone using Crash or [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/191-Chainsaw.png” name=”Chainsaw”] for such a situation has doomed themselves.
But then it keeps going…if you’re not playing a deck with extreme abuse of Any Phase, large amounts of draw, or some way to get to Level M quickly, you still have the option to play this for any of your typical actives (assuming you still have a reason to put it in your deck). It’ll be deleted and therefore won’t be abusable. It won’t be nigh-unvoidable. It won’t be unilaterally better than Gold Mushroom or Mystic Seal (or any other similar), but you will still have a Digimon, it will have a good enough amount of HP to survive, and that will give you time to find some other strategy. Interestingly, it’s a weird counter for the devastating [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/067-ShiningMane.png” name=”Shining Mane”] where any other card that gives +1000 HP can’t be, since you won’t meet the conditions for its halving. Shining Mane often causes you to seize defeat from the clutches of victory.
Ruby is definitely a card that assumes you’ll be on your back-foot at some point during the game. Weirdly, I’ve witnessed a lot of contradictory things while playing this game. Those two Aces I keep bringing up? They’re common to use at the wrong time, especially Gold Mushroom since it gives more HP than people typically use before they evolve again. They don’t signal to the player when the best moment to use them is. They’re actually too good sometimes. If you’re too flexible, you don’t have a map for when to play the card. If you can’t play Miracle Ruby until you would almost certainly be KO’d, then you can pretend to be a cornered rat and force the opponent to act accordingly, as above. Ruby tends to stay in the hand for far longer, scale to the skill level of any opponent, and vastly change the little subgame of attack selection during the strategy phase. You can even commit to the revival despite not being obvious that you’ll be KO’d, by playing it earlier in the turn and forcing the opponent to try and wiggle around it—it’s a signal that you’re going to use Crash or some other reckless play and they’re likely to waste their energy trying to stop it. Since you can just recycle it back, the Ruby isn’t even wasted. Regardless of which version you use, it’s not as simple as “X card is better”.
Why does this whole article seem like a back-footed defense of a back-foot defense card? Because both reveal new hidden truths. The Miracle is Ruby lets you evolve, or stay at your max evolution. I hope this COTD does similar.
Meatvolution—A silly name but a serious healing card that recovers HP when evolving.
What’s good about it: There’s nothing more to say than free meat! HP +400 (nearly unvoidable) outside of the Support Phase is pretty ridiculous, and like most utility-evolutions, Meatvolution sets your new Digimon up for success early. In this case, you get to use that shiny new Digimon for a much longer time before being forced to evolve again. It’s more powerful than Recovery Disk, which is often played in HP Recovery decks. You also get a cost reduction of -10 DP which is nice.
What’s bad about it: As typical with utility evolutions, you’ll have to evolve from DP and have your evolution taken care of independently of the card. This is just a bonus you get for doing things the old-fashioned way. It also still costs you a card from hand (and all your DP) so watch your card advantage. If you don’t actually need the extra 400 HP, this card can be a misplay or dead in hand. If you’re planning to evolve before the 400 HP is used up, you’ve essentially wasted everything.
Tips: Make sure whatever you’re going to with this card can use the 400 extra HP. It’s especially good when you can search Meatvolution card situationally from your deck. Almost always, [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/164-Level-Crush.png” name=”Level Crush”] will provide you with far more HP; so always ask yourself if you are heavily gunning for an HP-based strategy or just want to shore up some weaknesses in your existing Digimon. Overall, it’s not a bad pick once you have your DP/evolution squared away. In fact, this is one of the best cards for a Crash deck! DP -10 is the sweet spot for those since they often run many low-cost Level C, then try to get as much HP as possible before the inevitable crash. “But what if I have too much overkill” —You, probably. You might have overkill or just a ton of crash regardless, but that’s actually a good thing. In Game Theory terms, Crash is your “big gun” and the threat of it being used has to be taken just as seriously as it being used. Try looking up “Brinksmanship” to see how to level up your play in these situations. Let’s say for now that a gun is always in use, even when it is not being fired.
Reppamon—A Champion with heavy emphasis on support.
What’s good about it: The evo-box damaging ability is always welcome, as -100 HP to the opponent could result in a pre-Batttle Phase KO. You can choose to pay the Support cost or not, which makes this at the very least not bad to top-deck. Reducing the opponent’s Power to zero, especially while you get to attack, is incredibly powerful and usually better than a “Counter” if implemented correctly. The “Trash 2” Cross-ability can be used to much effectiveness when paired with other Trash abilities, making your fast -based deck capable of reducing the max number of KOs necessary to win in short order. Its evo-box branches 3 different types.
What’s bad about it: Its overall body is incredibly weak. You will be needing that evo-box bonus damage to deliver anything remotely resembling a KO, especially un-boosted. The +20P is a bit coarse in a type that tries to evolve as fast as possible. Lack of native 1st Attack on a weak body means it has trouble getting the final blow. Support is type-locked and attack-locked, on top of requiring a loss of card advantage (remember, you already -1 when you support with it).
Tips: If you plan to use the support often, try using -locked effects that swap your with Power (e.g. “Love Crest), or use Digimon with higher Triangles, or Triangle-abilities (e.g. “Kiwimon”) for maximum effectiveness. If you want to go for a trash-based strategy in Wind, make sure you protect its Cross and keep its HP up heavily with cards like “Large Disk”. Always set up the ability to evolve it to Level U ahead of time so you don’t get stuck on Reppamon and eat a KO.
Sniper Disk—Evolution that lets you “snipe” cards right out of the opponent’s deck.
What’s good about it: You get to see your opponent’s entire deck and every card that remains. This can target an Ace! It can also target Firewalls. You can hit an opponent’s Partner or Level Us to stop their plans early. If you hate being “sacked” by lucky late game draws, this fixes that problem immediately. Opponent can’t simply mulligan-spam into their best cards. You still get +20DP (up to +40P) as long as don’t mind much weaker sniping.
What’s bad about it: You have to actually evolve by DP. Gaining the extra DP bonus means you’re not using this card to stay ahead, you’re using it for damage control. Opponents can actively/passively resist this card with simple Recycle abilities, many of which are abundant and incidental. Significantly less effective later in the game and/or after Partner/Ace/Firewall cards have been played. Need to have a legitimate evolution strategy independent of this card—it’s not [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/165-Digivice.png” name=”Digivice”] after all.
Tips: This one speaks for itself. Make sure you have a good evolution structure to your deck independently of Sniper Disk. The 40 DP is probably enough to always evolve (similar to Digivice), so you may be tempted to only use Sniper Disk. The problem is you will fall into a trap—Digivice lets you ignore DP, for use with the next evolution, DP-cost cards, and is effectively infinite DP. Sniper Disk would only work without additional racking when you’re willing to get a much weaker effect and/or willing to lose all your DP cards. One remedy for this problem is to use Super Tag first to protect your DP, then Sniper Disk to full effect. Always try to memorize the remaining cards in your opponent’s deck (you only get one shot). Snipe cards as mentioned above, which are Aces/Firewalls/Partners and other cards that may be problematic for you to deal with, or give the opponent fast or immediate upcoming advantage, especially if they do something reckless like spam mulligans. Try to use Evolution searchers to get this card when you need it, before all the good stuff gets played.
Death Evolution—A new firewall and stops Evolutions in their tracks, and maybe an Option.
What’s good about it: It has a very rare ability: the power to be played during the Evolution Phase and void an Evolve card. On top of that, it can also stop an Option card later in the Support Phase, if you choose. If your opponent has no way to play around it, this can be a hard one-two combo that floors them.
What’s bad about it: Overall, it’s less powerful than other firewalls such as “Cherrymon’s Mist”, and isn’t for every deck. You have to make the decision to Support with it during the Evolution Phase, which can give your opponent enough information to play around it. Since it can only void Options, this gives it a more limited scope and the opponent might have wanted to support with a Digimon (or not at all) anyway.
Tips: Those precious 3 Firewall slots have to be thought through carefully. What can you really use? What synergizes? What can you re-use? While it technically can be played around, let’s not underestimate the power to buy a turn by stopping an Ace from even being played. Also, if you have no Evolutions to void, you can always play this in the Support Phase regularly, which gives you flexibility. If you reveal to void an evolve, then discard it on purpose, there are ways you can re-use it later via recycle or similar.
What’s good about it: [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/044-Megalogrowlmon.png” name=”Megalogrowlmon”] provides via evo-bonus a huge recycle on par with [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/182-Vending-Machine.png” name=”Vending Machine”]. It has a very easy DNA, since half the requirements just have to be and Level U. The HP on this incarnation of terror is huge for its type. “Attach D”, while not incredibly ridiculous by itself compared to other Cross-abilities, is monumentally horrifying when paired with the passive “Attachment Slots +2” and “Unaffected by Shatter”, since this means you can set up 3 (non-Ace, non-Firewall) attachments from your deck in a row, with no ability to be stopped, all of which can form a complex combo. Megidramon can also change its type every turn to make best use of all the type-requiring attachment cards and evade “x3 VS” abilities the opponent may have. The cherry on top is how it slowly corrupts the opponent’s deck into oblivion over time.
What’s bad about it: Try actually setting up those 3 attachments with only its attack. I dare you. Any opponent with an ounce of fore-thought will see right through it and plan around it, possibly going for a one-hit KO with their Ace. Megidramon also has a more “balanced” spread of attack Power for its huge DP cost, so it doesn’t really stand out anywhere, including . This is a nearly pure-setup Mega and should be supported as such. Corrupting 1 every turn is very slow if you’re not also supporting with similar abilities. Changing your type away from Dragon usually makes you more vulnerable to “x3 VS” in general (opponents can play Digimon on their turn, you know) and turns off a lot of the best Dragon supports. In addition, an opponent with the rare Counter- (or “to-Zero”) is going to see your setup coming a mile away and make you eat dirt.
Tips: While it’s usually not advisable to build your supports/options around your Mega, Megidramon makes it necessary to at least coincidentally support it. Without backup, it’s just a whole lot of effort for very little payoff. If you can keep its health up, anticipate anti-Cross plays, outfox [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/074-Vademon.png” name=”Vademon”], [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/036-LovePatch.png” name=”Love Patch”] and [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/010-Ghostmon.png” name=”Ghostmon”] plays (you do have extra slots lying around for them to use), and keep your opponent dealing with this five-alarm-fire of a Digimon, it’s incredibly rewarding. Make sure that the support for it in your deck works just as well for your Level C and Us, unless you have a dedicated speed-evolve strategy like [card img=”https://www.v-mundi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/163-Hyper-Digivolve.png” name=”Hyper Digivolve”]. See also Incubator COTD for more attach combos!
