BT-11 Dimensional Phase releases the end of this month, extending the reach of Xros Wars Digimons and introduces Digimons and characters from it's video game franchise. Early review… here we go!
X7 and Beyond!
Fans of Xros Wars will finally get their full roster of Digimons and Digivolutions.
With the proper materials, Shoutmon X7 is a 2-cost to play Digimon that is a 16000 DP wall and deletes an opponent's Digimon, with [Rush] and [SecurityAttack+1] for extra aggression.
However, Shoutmon decks in BT-10 meta do not suffer against any decks in particular, and since X5 was already providing whatever X7 can provide (except for deletion and the high-DP) it becomes skeptical for some on whether X7 will truly earn it's place in Shoutmon decks, especially when it disrupts the current deck distribution (with addition of OmegaShoutmon and the ZekeGreymon lineup).
But we are still only half the set in, and waiting to see if X7F will be introduced in this set.
Enter The Demon Lord
The biggest boss of Xros Wars finally joins the card game, and far more interesting that the Shoutmon roster.
Bagramon sports very interesting effects that has yet to be seen in game, and the deal-breaker may be his ability to look at your opponent's hand, which is currently available only to Bagramon. We think that he will fare quite well with in the competitive scene.
Effect: [Main] You may put up to 3 [Bagra Army] Digimon from your trash to the bottom of 1 of your Digimon’s digivolution card or 1 of your tamer card. Then, if you have a [Bagra Army] Digimon or tamer, put 1 of your opponent’s Digimon to the bottom of another of their Digimon’s digivolution cards.
Security: Revolve this card’s [Main] effect
Bagramon's option card Astral Snatcher is another interesting addition to deck building. Being a 7-cost purple option means instant synergy with Beelstarmon and Promo Metalgarurumon.
Promo Metalgarurumon in particular can digiburst infinitely using Astral Snatcher, putting more Digimons back to its digivolution cards than it discards. What this lacks is a little bit more synergy to use those [Bagra Army] cards under Metalgarurumon… maybe MegaDarknessBagramon?
Sheep Combo!
Another unique ability in BT-11 is Kingsukamon's [On Play][When Digivolved] effect that turns your opponent's Digimon into a 3000 DP Sukamon, which will work wonders with Flame Hellscythe.
Since Kingsukamon is a 6000 DP yellow Digimon, Flame Hellscythe can play him from trash and guarantees removal of 1 of your opponent's Digimon by reducing it's DP to 0.
However Kingsukamon's effect will only effectively change a Digimon's name, color, and DP. It will not remove its effects and abilities so [On Deletion] and [Armor Purge] effects will still activate as usual.
Phoenixmon Rebirth
For fans of Phoenixmon, rejoice as BT-11 finally introduces a version of this iconic Digimon that doesn't suck! Akiho Rindou's Phoenixmon can trigger it's own [On Deletion] effect whenever the opponent's security reduces, which synergies well with her line of Birdramon and Garudamon to play 4-cost red tamers for free.
This engine works in a way where if you have 1 tamer in play, Phoenixmon's death will summon a Birdramon, or Garudamon if you have 2 tamers, or Phoenixmon if you have at least 4 tamers! With a combination of Akihos and Taichi tamers cards, Pheonixmons can be continuously played upon death and with [Rush] and [SecurityAttack+1] they become tremendously aggressive.
– [On Play] Reveal 4 card from the top of your deck. Add 1 red Digimon with [Vaccine] in traits to your hand. Return the remaining cards to the bottom of your deck.
– [Your Turn] When you play a red Digimon with [Bird] or [Beast] in traits by effect, you may suspend this tamer to give that Digimon [Rush] for the turn.
ANALOGMAN
Oh boy… paying tribute to Digimon World 1 comes the original and perhaps the most iconic antagonist of the game's franchise, Analogman is the most obvious buff to any Mugendramon deck. It seems obvious that Bandai wasn't happy with the fact that their favourite machine Digimon with 2 gigantic cannons weren't doing well in any meta, with EX-01 being short lived, and subsequent Chaosdramons in BT-07 and EX-03 failing to lift any Mugendramon deck competitively.
This time around, we have a new Mugendramon that hopefully fixes the weight issue of the old. A dual [On Play] and [When Digivolving] effect gives this new Mugendramon a much needed flexibility, to search and prep your trash for another Mugendramon.
However, since there is no cheap way to play Analogman it does not yet look obvious that Mugendramon will be making a clear comeback in BT-11.
[BT11-092] Analogman
– [Start of your Main Phase] By Trashing 1 Lv.5 'Cyborg' Type card from your hand, gain 1 Memory and draw 1 card.
– [Opponent's Turn] When an opponent's Digimon attacks a Player, you may suspend this Tamer to change the attack target to 1 of your Lv.6 'Machine' Type Digimon.
– [Security] Play this card without paying its cost.
[BT11-072] Mugendramon
– [On Play] [When Digivolving] Reveal 5 cards from top of your deck. Add 1 [Analogman] from among to your hand and 1 card with [Cyborg] or [Machine] in its traits from among to your hand or to the bottom of this Digimon's digivolution cards. Trash the remaining cards.
– [On Deletion] By returning 1 of your [Analogman] to the bottom of your deck, you may play 1 [Machinedramon] from your hand without paying its memory cost.
A New Mervamon Loop?
With the [Back for Revenge] option card and [Minervamon], it is possible to loop for OTK by using using [Back for Revenge] on [Minervamon].
When Minervamon attacks and is deleted, summons Mervamon from trash and subsequently summons another LV4, and revives itself by using [Back for Revenge]. All 3 Digimons can attack with [Rush] thanks to Mervamon, and when Minervamon is deleted again this can be repeated!
[BT11-086] Mervamon
– When you play this card, you may use cards from your trash as DigiXros materials.
– [On Play][When Digivolved] You may play 1 LV4 or lower purple or [Xros-Heart] Digimon from your trash without paying its cost. If DigiXros-ed, the amount of digimon played +1.
– [Both Turn] All your Digimon with [Retaliation] or [Xros-Heart] gains [Rush] and [Blocker].
– [DigiXros-3] 1 Digimon with [Xros-Heart].
Summary
BT-11 is looking good so far, and we haven't even mentioned the new [Charge] effect nor talked about the elegant Leomon archetype-buff Panyjamon. But we had to mention the new gold foils!
Gold foils are a new rarity in Digimon Card Game, and with low pull rates Bandai hopes that's these gold cards can improve collector value for high-rarity Digimon cards. These cards do look good on ads and we can't wait to see the actual thing!
But coming back to gameplay, BT-11 does offer enough mechanics to breathe new energy into this 2 year old game. This set should fare quite well for both the players and collectors.
Score: 8/10
