Top 10 Cards from EX-01

Published 2 years ago by TheEgman Article Views 11,016 Estimated Reading Time 6 minutes

Introduction

With the OFFICIAL release of EX-01 this week in North America we will FINALLY be able to start playing them in official events ( starting with each region's finals next month! ). Additionally, since this is an expansion set, the amount of cards in the set is less than a regular set. Because of this, I wanted to make a quick Top 10 list of my picks of the best cards from the expansion for those interested in just picking up the singles from this set. So let's go through them!


10. SkullGreymon

 

Starting this list off we have SkullGreymon. This is a rather unique card that is able to digivolve ontop of a purple or red level 4 and has higher then average stats; especially since it has security attack +1. Though it dies at the end of the attack, you are able to play a suspended Agumon on deletion. I believe this can pair really well in aggresive red decks, especially a deck like Agu-bond since you are already running a lot of Agumons and 2 damage with one swing can be really impactful. You would probably only need to run 2 or 3 of this but I think it is definitely worth a try in any red deck that can afford to get the maximum benefit from this card.

 

 

 

 

9. Diaboromon

Diaboromon decks have always been in a weird place. They have a somewhat large amount of support but, at best, they've been a tier 2 deck since their introduction. EX-01 attempts to help them out by introducing new cards for
entire Diaboromon line. Of this line, I believe the new Diaboromon is going to be a great assest for the deck moving forward. This card is incredibly flexible and is a great card for both your security and to play on your field.
Giving all of your Diaboromon's blocker ( including itself! ) will help the defensive capabilities and allow the deck to survive a couple more turns to hopefully setup. Additionally, ALSO having the security effect to play a token
for free is a great boon as well ( even though most of the effects that proc on playing a token are locked to your turn only ). I think this will definitely boost the power level of the deck/worth trying out.

 

 

8. MagnaAngemon

 

Though it didn't catch my eye the first time I saw it, I believe this MAgnaAngemon will be a staple for recovery heavy yellow decks. First of all, with this card's "when attacking skill" you can become an 11k lvl. 5, which should be able to hit over ALL other level 5's and  hit over/tie with a good portion of level 6s in the game. It will also keep this boost until the end of your opponent's next turn and even if you digivolve it into a level 6. Additionally, it's inheritable is very useful for gaining additional memory/can help reduce the cost of a level 6 it digivolves into that recovers ( such as this set's Seraphimon ).

 

 

7. Ultimate Connection

 

FINALLY, we get a black, mostly, generic option card.... that isn't Black Memory boost. Ultimate Connection is technically restricted to decks running cyborg digimon but a lot of black staple are already cyborg in the first place so it isn't TOO much of an ask to have them. Additionally, in it's archetype, getting a cycle/discard as well as gaining a memory is too good to pass up. Just make sure to have an extra cyborg in hand during your opponent's turn in case they hit this in security so you can hopefully gain 2 memory and end their turn!

 

 

 

6. ExVeemon/Stingmon

 

Sharing the number 6 spot, we have exveemon and stingmon. Looking in the future/Japanese meta, we know that green and blue card are getting a LOT of synergy which makes these guys especially flexible. If I was to choose my favorite of the two, I would probably say EXveemon is the better one due to it have jamming AND passing on jamming as an inheritable for the rest of it's line. Piercing is also a good keyword to have though so I definitely would recommend picking up both for your Imperialdramon decks!

 

 

5. Agumon / Gabumon 

Another shared spot, we've got the new Agumon and Gabumon. These guys are sharing a spot because they, essentially do the exact same thing for both of their respective "Greymon" and "Garurumon" archetypes; letting you find tamers/itself on inheritable swings. Additionally, these are fanastic adds for the already popular Agu-bond and Gabu-bond deck archetypes. Since they only look for cards with [Agumon] or [Gabumon] in their names respectively ( instead of JUST an [Agumon] or [Gabumon] ) they are also capabily of searching their bond counterparts, Agumon - Bond of BraveryGabumon - Bond of Friendship,  as well as their respective Tai and Matt tamers. These are a definite power up for anyone already running these bond decks!

 

 

4. Win Rate: 60%

 

When this card was announced, a lot of people claimed it was just a "worse" Mega Digimon Fusion. However, now that Mega Digimon Fusion, it has now been upgraded to "legal" Mega Digimon Fusion. In all seriousness, I do like how flexible this card is and, not only will it be used to discount a digivolve from level 6 to 7, but it can also help you digivolve from a level 5 to a level 6 AND keep it your turn. Additionally, the card you color you have to discard is the color of the card you're digivolving FROM not TOO ( meaning you have to discard a purple digimon when going from Lilith to Zwart, not a white digimon ). I expect this to see a lot of use in a lot of decks, including the soon to be nerfed Lilithmon / Titamon Loop archetypes.

 

 

3. Imperialdramon

 

We already touched on it with the #6 entry of this list, but I think Imperialdramon will be coming back into the competitive scene this meta due to all of the support the deck got from this pack. Unlike the original Imperialdramon, this one doesn't have jamming by itself, but it DOES allow you to suspend one of your opponent's digimon as well as unsuspend itself. Additionally, if this card has either the exveemon or stingmon jamming/piercing inheritable then this card goes from good to great. I'm not quite sure if I like this imperialdramon more then the original one but I DO know I will be running both in my imperialdramon decks.

 

 

 

2. Ice Wall

 

Most of you reading this already know. This card was the BANE of a lot of japanese player's existences and, starting in BT7, it will be limited to 1 copy per deck. HOWEVER, the Nationals format is EX-01 meta, meaning that this card can be run at a full 4 of for each regiona's respective events. SO, if you're running blue, you should PROBABLY grab a couple copies for your deck. And, if you AREN't playing blue, make sure to sell your copies early while there are still hungry blue players needing their full 4 copies.

 

 

 

1. Analog Youth

This is MY Top 10 list. And, because Analog Youth is one of my favorite cards in the game, I'm putting it at number 1. It is an incredibly flexible card that, not only helps you search for Digimon, regardless of their color, but also helps fill your drop area for decks that card about that ( I'm looking at you purple/black ). Additionally, though the timing for it can be a bit tricky, you are potentially able to double hatch every turn with it and the memory gain can essentially pay for itself over a couple of turns. Though there are less white option cards around that would need a white tamer like Analog Youth out ( Mega Digimon Fusion lol ), I think this is still a fantastic card and can find a home in a lot of different decks. And that will wrap up this list of cards I'm excited about for EX01. Let me know which cards I should ALSO be excited for and I wish you all luck in your packs/pulls!

 

 

About the Author

Hayden "TheEgman" Kaustinen is an avid card game player and makes content for the Digimon Card Game as well as Bandai's other card game Dragon Ball Super. Make sure to follow him on Youtube and Twitch for his other Digimon content!

Youtube: www.youtube.com/c/TheEgman

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