Invited Author: Kristian Lee Kane Rodriguez
Country: Spain
Introduction
Hi everyone! My name is Kristian Lee Kane Rodriguez and I am from Spain. I've been playing the Digimon Card Game since its release and have tried out many different decks.
Today, I wanted to share my Hunter's Decklist from a local tournament that took place on May 12, 2023, at ManaVortex in Alicante, Spain.
Introduction to my deck:
This is a plain ol' Xros Hunter deck without any innovative or spicy tech. However, I had a lot of fun learning how to play the deck and its various level 3 Digimon with different effects. Once you understand how each Digimon works, the deck becomes quick and powerful in terms of drawing cards. The deck's success depends on not only the Tamers but also Arresterdramon and its superior mode. The new mulligan system helped, but I found that the deck's core is stable enough that I didn't need to use it often.
This deck is very agile and has a lot of drawing power, making it challenging to brick. It also requires very little memory to perform many actions.
WEAKNESSES:
The security is weak, and the Tamers don't do anything when they hit the field. The deck's strongest Digimon is Quartzmon or a superior mode, which makes it easy for opponents to swing recklessly.
BONUS:
The large number of effects on the field due to the Tamers, plays, and digivolving can be overwhelming at first, especially for players who haven't tried the "save" mechanic. However, once you get the hang of it, it's a very fun deck to play with.
Matchups
FIRST MATCH:
Hunters vs. Hydramon w/ Quartzmon (2-0)
The first game was straightforward, and the Hydramon deck's strategy actually helped me by flooding the field in more than one occasion. I was able to clear the field easily thanks to OmniShoutmon and the Shoutmons that get added onto the sources thanks to the Tamers. I knew how Hydra and Quartzmon worked, which gave me an advantage. In this game, I was able to use Arresterdramon's superior mode to Xros Psychemon with Gumdramon, get back a superior mode from under my Tamer, evolve Psychemon into Arresterdramon for 1 cost, give him a +2000 DP with a Dracmon, and then evolve into superior mode, which helped me win.
SECOND GAME:
Hunters vs. Beelzemon (2-0)
This was a fast-paced game. We both knew that whoever gave the other even a little room to work with would lose. The first game was simple: we would both swing and hope for the best. In my case, I hoped my level 4 Digimon wouldn't die, and in his case, he hoped that my security wouldn't have any Tamers (which is difficult due to the sheer number of Tamers in this deck). This matchup is very close, as Beelzemon has a lot of ways to extend his turn and significant removal abilities. Beelzemon also melts your securities. In the end, I won thanks to my draws, and my opponent was not able to get his game going.
This matchup is a very close one. Beelzemon has a lot of ways of extending his turn and a lot of big removal, and Beelzemon will melt your securities. Alas, there is always a Tamer hiding in those securities, and Hunters only need 3 memories. The Tamers do the heavy lifting.
Gumdramon played with Digixros, an additional draw, Arresterdramon for 0 memories thanks to Tagiru and Taiki, and gave him 1 Dracmon with +2000 in his sources and a Clockmon with Jamming. His own effect gave him rush, a free swing to his last security, and he evolved for a cost of 1 into Superior mode, sending his Beelze under his Tamer, ended the turn, and took a free swing.
THIRD MATCH
Hunters vs ShineGreymon 2/1
This was arguably the weirdest game since ShineGreymon isn't in its strongest form (yet). It had some consistency issues and a few misplays from my part due to not understanding the nature of Masaru/Marcus and ShineGreymon Bt12. Nevertheless, a strange but fun game.
FOURTH MATCH
Hunters (me) vs Hunters 2/1
This game was extremely fun. The best thing about the Xros Hunters' deck, I would say, is even though a lot of the decklists are so similar, they are so different in playstyle. Here, you can also see the difference in style in players.
The first game was a loss for me due to not being able to draw enough cards. My opponent had Shoutmon and Shoutmon (King Version), and they would delete my own Lvl 4 before I could utilize them. The lack of Tagiru was also very noticeable.
The second game was just a game of who could bring out Superior mode first.
The third game is where I saw my deck shine. For the first three turns, we both prepared our board, and then it clicked, with four memories and a +1 thanks to Yuu. OmniShoutmon and some Watchmakers took down his securities in a swift swing. After that, on my next turn, Gumdramon Digixros was played, evolved into Arresterdramon for a reduced cost thanks to the tamers, and a final evolution toSuperior mode was game.