Hello everyone, I’m DirectorKang from Team Brick Boys, Singapore. Below is my X account:
BT18 is an exciting set, though hybrids are less dominant than in the early days of the game. As the meta shifts, more aggressive and defensive decks now challenge the once-sticky hybrid decks. For BT18, I chose to focus on Purple Hybrid and Lucemon as the puzzle to solve.
Although I don’t think I fully “solved” the deck, the toolbox nature of the cards makes it incredibly fun to play. I ended up maining it for most of BT18. Despite experimenting against my teammates from Brick Boys and Unkers, I never quite settled on the best list.
I was fortunate enough to win a 16-man Evo Cup, and with BT19 around the corner, I wanted to share some insights from my three months of testing. Many people have found my decklist interesting, so here's a detailed breakdown.
Deck Build
Source: https://x.com/lumlaoren/status/1830172329998971333
I’ll explain my card choices, the combos I utilized, and some techs I tested (and others I didn’t).
Deck Choices
Digitama – BT16 Cupimon
The memory +1 is clutch at times. I originally tested with BT3 Demimeramon. I quickly decided on a purple Digitama to discard non-hybrid cards like tamers, gaining value from playing a free tamer. Cupimon becomes my choice when I decide to gain memory from deletion.
Level 3:
- Ignitemon (1x) – Can Digixros from the trash. Initially, I ran 3-4 copies when Mervamon was my main win condition, but I found the 4-cost play and non-hybrid traits clunky with Koichi. 1-3 copies depending on the number of Mervamon you play.
- BT17 Flamemon (3-4x) – Can evolve over a purple Digi-Egg, which helps with hybrid traits. It increases tamer acceleration with Takuya & Koji.
- ST17 Gabumon (4x) – Key Level 3 for memory +1 and excellent synergy with Duskmon. Swing with Duskmon, discard Velgrmon, then slide-evolve Duskmon for free. Velgrmon’s end-of-attack effect lets you gain memory, play a tamer, and maintain tempo.
- BT18 Lucemon (1-2x) – A recent experiment. Lucemon accelerates tamers by leveraging discard. Only playable because the digitama is Cupimon. Still testing, but 1-2 copies seem ideal.
Levels 4 & 5:
- Darkness Hybrid Package – The well-known Duskmon line setup in early game control. Loweemon gains value mid-to-late game with Rhihimon, transitioning your board state.
Tip: Sometimes prioritize summoning Digimon Kaiser from the trash over Koichi for future Rhihimon plays.
Level 6:
- BT17 AncientGarurumon – As everyone knows, AncientGaruru is a powerhouse. Using Loweemon’s essence means you can recycle Rhihimon and loop AncientGaruru if your opponent lacks ACE threats.
- Venusmon (1x) – Venusmon can stall a turn and tilt the game in your favor, though I keep it to one copy due to the possibility of milling with the Duskmon line.
- Mervamon (1x) – Mervamon summoning two KaiserLeomon creates a wall of blockers while taking out small threats. It’s a hidden boss card in the hybrid package.
Options:
- Amber Memory Boost (4x) – Great for consistency, especially in finding Venusmon and Mervamon. Currently testing 4 copies, though it could be reduced to 2-3.
- Warring Shot (2x) – Good for recovering key pieces through the Duskmon package and provides security against OTK decks.
Tamers:
- Standard ratios, though I’m torn between Takuya & Koji versus Eiji. Takuya & Koji allow for crazier combos, but Eiji offers more flexibility with the Duskmon line.
Tested Tech:
- Team Unkers' Recommendations – Susanno ACE, Takuya & Koji, and MetalGarurumon ACE deserve a shoutout from my Unkers teammates Slyx, Dtcgboomer, and DDD-Robin.
- BT7 Bokomon & Neemon – Solid early game cards, but their utility fades with the rise of Dorugoramon.
- Holyangemon ACE – Great for dealing with early aggression, but eventually, I dropped it for more options.
- BT9 Dexmon – A solid counter in wide-board meta, but I cut it as the meta shifted away from that.
Untested Tech:
- BT6 Tsunomon – I considered testing this for draw power, but I prioritized more ways to discard tamers from hand.
- Mother Reaper/Shoto – A stalling engine used in Japanese lists to mill out opponents. I didn’t test it as I felt it was too inconsistent if you don’t draw Shoto.
Combo:
- Duskmon beatdown – the reduce 1c evo to a hybrid from trash allows you to hit opponent security for 1 memory. With enough Koichi, you can Duskmon into Duskmon for the game.
- Takuya&Koji – double vengeance punishes bosses that only have 1 time immunity such as Cendrillmon or Dorugoramon line.
- Mervamon double lvl 4 – as mentioned above.
Tips:
- 90% of the time, discard beast form for cost and use Koichi to retrieve human form. You should still check your hand to ensure you have the combo but these tips will save your thinking time.
- Try to discard tamer when paying the cost for Cupimon, Gabumon, Loweemon and Lucemon. Hybrid is recommended to stay in your hand as a cost for Koichi.
- Duskmon line is good against opponents when they set up their scramble.
Conclusion
The deck has a lot of balanced 50-50 matchup spread, with Galacticmon being the toughest challenge. It doesn’t have explosive Turn 2 plays or winning matchups across the board, but I still consider it a tier 1.5 deck in the current meta.
You may pm me on X if you are still unclear on how the deck pilot.