With the official English release of Digimon’s 12th main Booster Set, BT12: Across Time (BT12) in all regions, the Digimon TCG starter deck has now fully exceeded its expected lifecycle of two years. With new and returning players entering tournaments, the official World Championship series of 2023 continues to march on.
For new players looking to cut their teeth with a starter deck that will provide the basis for both casual and competitive success, we’ve compiled a list of our top 5 picks for Digimon TCG Starter Decks to be on the lookout for. We recommend buying 2 copies of any given starter deck for the best potential.
Credit: Topdecktcg
What are the best Digimon TCG Starter Decks?
ST14 – Advanced Deck Set (Beelzemon)
Whilst the naming convention may be different, the product ID lists this set as the 14th Digimon TCG Starter Deck. This allows it to make the list as our definitive pick for the Best Digimon TCG Starter Deck! This Beelzemon themed set is priced higher than the other decks on this list but not without reason. It could even rival the MTG PVP card game!
The set of 50 cards that, when coupled with a second copy of the starter deck, and/or the newest Beelzemon support from BT12, makes a very consistent and dangerous deck. This, in part, is thanks to the additional cards that come with the Advanced Deck Set. They feature staple cards and “tech” options. Important combo extenders such as EX2-039 Impmon are given at 2 per deck set alongside 4 of “playsets” of Death Slinger and BT2-068 Impmon foil reprints.
This set needs little to no support to pull off impressive placements at a competitive level. Players across EMEA and Americas have found top 16, top 8 and first place finishes through BT11. Its meteoric rise has seen it become a contender for Best Deck in Format for BT12 thanks to powerful X Antibody support.
Credit: Avault on YouTube
ST-12 Starter Deck Jesmon
The second starter deck on our list is a noticeable step below ST14. It’s a popular choice. Arguably the best choice of the pure starter decks, should Bandai make the Advance Deck Set style of Digimon TCG Starter Deck less common going forward.
It’s a cohesive deck that stands well on its own as a Royal Knight. In addition to competent old support, future support for the deck is likely to drop. In fact, it’s is already confirmed for BT13 Versus Royal Knight. Jesmon has seen varying levels of success since its inception, seeing high levels of consistency in the BT10 meta.
Released alongside the ST13 – Starter Deck Ragnaloardmon, both starter decks came with reprints of staple tamers to your collection, such as arguably the best blue tamer in the game; BT3-093 Davis Motomiya, and other memory setters for relevant colors.
Credit: Digimon Card Game
ST-9 Starter Deck Ultimate Ancient Dragon (Imperialdramon)
One of the few Digimon TCG Starter Decks that doesn’t immediately make clear the digimon at the center of the deck strategy. Ultimate Ancient Dragon focuses on the Imperialdramon DNA Digivolution line. Introduced alongside the launch of BT8, ST9 and ST10, this deck introduced the DNA Digivolution mechanic from Digimon Adventure 02.
This allows players to turn 2 digimon stacks into one very powerful boss monster for zero cost. This is if the pieces are in play, skirting summoning sickness. It was also the first starter deck to contain the newly introduced 2 color digimon, tamer and option cards that were brought in wholesale in BT8.
Unlike its counterpart that released at the same time, ST9 focused on hyper offense. It find the pieces it would need to do big damage early on and snowballing. The “high roll” deck would find success through BT8. But largely suffered in the BO3 format due to the consistency of “high roll” games needed to push to the top in a long swiss format. Other key pieces to bolster this deck further include EX1-014 ExVeemon, BT8-088 Davis Motomiya & Ken Ichijoji, and BT8-032 Imperialdramon Fighter Mode.
Credit: Digimon Card Game
Honorable Mentions for the Top Digimon TCG Starter Deck
ST-10 Starter Deck Parallel World Tactician (Mastemon)
The other Digimon TCG deck to debut the DNA Digivolution. Often shortened to “Jogress” to match the Japanese term, focuses on a control playstyle that uses both the trash and security as further resources. This will forever be a popular deck. This is due to its close ties to the community crafted “Security Control” (SecCon) lists, Mastemon is a high skill ceiling tier 2 deck for those that like board control and devastating Security bombs.
ST-7 Starter Deck Gallantmon
The last Digimon card game starter deck is a further step down. The mascot of Season 3 sports his own red starter deck for deletion and fast games thanks to additional security checks.
Besides nostalgia and the litany of support that seems to come from every other set. Being a fan favorite, series staple and Royal Knight, ST7 and 8 come with one Memory Boost of each of the main colors to help with consistency in the deck and in future builds.
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