Digimon TCG: Deck Guide - How to Play Magneticdramon and the Mineral Deck!

If you've read one of my articles before, then you know I'm a big fan of black decks. The first Digimon TCG deck I played was Etemon and I am playing Dorumon and Galacticmon right now (the subject of my last article) while I wait for a few Numenon cards to arrive.

Nonetheless, one deck that has piqued my interest since it was released but that has never really clicked for me was the Mineral list. It only had one main game plan and relied on other cards, like Gogmamon BT4-072, to hold itself together.

Well, now that a few months have gone by and the EX10 set has come along, the Mineral archetype has finally taken shape. It is all thanks to Magneticdramon (EX10-036), the new Level 7 Digimon in EX10. This strategy has even shown up in a few recent tournaments, representing a good part of the meta, and is performing quite well.

So, in today's article, we'll put our mining caps on and try to understand this new, promising list. Without further ado, let's go!

Today, we'll explore this list by Anthony, who got second place at the Pro-Play Regional Tournament. Almost four hundred players competed at this event. This is a black deck centered around resilience and building a board state that will destroy the opponent's life points all at once in late-game turns. Like any regular black deck.

It relies completely on "Mineral" Digimon and their main mechanic, which is called Fragment. This mechanic always comes with a number, like Fragment (3), Fragment (2), and so on and so forth. It triggers when the Digimon that has it is about to be destroyed. The number indicates how many cards in its inheritance you can discard to prevent that from happening.

Please note that many Mineral cards trigger when they're discarded from the inheritance and that both Fragment and a few other effects on the Digimon themselves force you to discard them. That's how this deck works.

Here's our list today:

Decklist

Magneticdramon

As it was Magneticdramon (EX10-036) that made this archetype a real thing, let's start with it. Magnetic is more than an isolated finisher, like other Level 7 Digimon are in some decks: it is the main engine in this list. It discards and recycles Minerals every turn, constantly triggering effects.

This is a Level 7 dragon Digimon with 14,000 DP that you can actually evolve directly from a Level 5 "Proganomon" Digimon if you have a "Close" tamer in play, essentially skipping an evolution step. That fits the approach the dev team has taken for the Digimon in the TCG multimedia project, Digimon LIBERATOR. Every standout character gets a Level 7 Digimon of its own that can evolve from a Level 5 Digimon as long as its tamer is in play.

Magneticdramon's first effect activates when it attacks or digivolves. When it does, after you discard three Rock or Mineral Digimon from any of your Digimon digivolution cards, you may discard an enemy Digimon and then the opponent's top security card. To sum up, with this effect, you'll use the resources this deck already gives you as you play to remove threats and attack the opponent's security at the same time. It also doesn't trigger just once per turn, as it also triggers when you digivolve this Digimon and whenever it attacks, as long as you can do those two actions and remove material from it.

Its second effect lets you, once per turn, move three Rock or Mineral cards from your trash pile and put them with its digivolution cards to unsuspend* it. This way, Magneticdramon will be active, and you'll be able to set up a sequence of attacks or effects with it all on the same turn, as long as you have enough Minerals in your trash pile. Finally, it has Fragment (3). Because you can use this second effect to get three Minerals from your trash pile and put them in Magnetricdramon's inheritance, you'll be able to protect it consistently, which is always welcome.

It is clear this deck can easily destroy the enemy board and deal damage directly through effects and attacks again and again. In a single turn, you'll clean their board and their security. As the Mineral player, your entire game plan is setting up your main Digimon so that you have the resources to use its effects multiple times.

Digi-Egg

The Digi-Egg this list uses is quite simple. Tumblemon (EX8-005) gives you 1 memory when you discard it from any of your Digimon's digivolution pile, which you'll do constantly with this deck. It is a perfect way to get a little bit more gas and even steal a turn from a careless opponent that ends up with 0 memory.

Proganomon

This list plays two Proganomon: (EX8-051) and (EX10-032). Because Proganomon can warp into a Level 7 Digimon and there are more versions of it in this list than the Level 6 Digimon themselves, we need to understand it well. Otherwise, we won't be able to execute our main game plan.

Proganomon (EX10-032), just like Magneticdramon, is a new way to progress with this line. If a tamer named Close is in play, this card lets you move a Landramon from your trash pile and put it in one of your Sunarizamon's inheritance. Then, you can digivolve it directly for 3 memory and ignore the standard digivolution process. This both lets you skip the digivolution line directly to its Level 7 form and makes this deck more efficient. Because of it, you'll have no trouble getting back on your feet after the opponent removes one of your Digimon, for instance.

It can also give one of your Mineral Digimon the keywords Collision and Piercing, as well as +3000 DP, so it will indirectly help you get rid of enemy Digimon as well. As for Proganomon (EX8-051), it is a bit simpler. It only has the keywords Collision, Piercing, and Fragment (3).

Both of these Level 5 Digimon have the same inheritance effect. When you discard them through a Rock or Mineral Digimon's inheritance effect, you may de-digivolve 1 an enemy Digimon. As such, it also rewards you for discarding it with Magneticdramon's effect and other high-level Digimon.

Level 6 Digimon

This deck plays two distinct Level 6 options: Pyramidimon (EX10-033) and Blastmon (EX10-034). Both have Fragment (3), so they are just like other Mineral Digimon, but they perform different roles in this game plan.

Its first effect triggers when you digivolve it or attack with it. It lets you move up to three Mineral or Rock cards from your trash pile and put them under it with its digivolution cards, which is all this deck wants. As for the second effect, it also triggers when you digivolve it or attack with it. It lets you discard up to three Mineral or Rock cards from any of your Digimon's digivolution cards to discount the play cost of an enemy Digimon by 2 for each card you discard until the end of the opponent's turn. This effect might seem random, but keep it in mind because it will come up later.

As for Blastmon, it is more passive-aggressive, in a way. Besides having Collision, Fragment (3), and Blocker, it also has an on play/digivolution effect that forces an enemy Digimon to attack at the beginning of the next main phase. This is the perfect opportunity to force an important enemy piece to attack and punish it for it.

You can only activate its other effect once, on any turn, when you attack with it. It lets you discard two cards from its digivolution cards to grant it +3000 DP and Security Attack +1 until the end of the turn. This is a perfect way to activate Mineral Digimon that want to be discarded and also set up a painful attack on the opponent's security pile.

Landramon

These Landramon are our Level 4 Digimon. You can set up a very funny strategy with them by moving them from the trash pile to a Sunarizamon's inherited pile. That way, it can digivolve into a Progranomon (EX10-032).

Landramon (EX8-048) speeds up the main game plan in this list. When you digivolve it, if you have one or no tamer in play, you can play a Close tamer from your hand for free. This effect lets you put your main tamer in play naturally, for free, without relying on a specific opener or losing a turn just to do it. It doesn't interact with the trash pile directly, but it makes the deck more consistent and turns a possibility into a certainty.

When you discard it from a digivolve pile, you'll trigger its other effect. This effect, in turn, lets you destroy an enemy Digimon that costs 4 or less, which goes really well with Pyramidmon (EX10-033)'s effect. Remember? I said it would come back later, and later is now. Pyramidmon discounts the cost of enemy Digimon, and Landramon removes enemy Digimon that cost a certain amount of resources.

Landramon (P-167) is a recursive searcher. At the beginning of the main phase or when you digivolve it, you may discard a Mineral or Rock card from any of your Digimon's digivolve pile to reveal the top three cards in your deck. Next, you may get a card with those same traits and add it to your hand or put it underneath Landramon itself, in its digivolve pile. You may then put the other cards on the top or the bottom of your deck in any order.

This effect is quite critical. It filters the top cards in your deck, feeds your trash pile, discards your Mineral cards to trigger effects, and can get rid of dead cards or keep good ones at the top of your deck. A card like Landramon Promo is the dream setup card in any strategy because it fits most of them perfectly and even does a little bit extra for them. When you discard it from any digivolve pile, it lets you de-digivolve 1 something, just like Proganomon.

Sunarizamon

Time to discuss our lizard, the foundation of our entire strategy. This list plays three different versions of it that all have the same inheritance effect. When you discard them from the digivolve pile, they let you delete a Digimon that costs 4 or less, so they're also great with Pyramidmon (EX10-033).

When you play Sunarizamon (EX10-025), you may move up to two Mineral or Rock cards from your trash pile to one of your Mineral or Rock Digimon's digivolve pile, fueling them with the resources they need. Sunarizamon (BT21-055) is perfect to digivolve your Digi-Egg. It discounts the cost to digivolve a Mineral or Rock Digimon by 1.

Sunarizamon (EX8-047) is a searcher for both Mineral and LIBERATOR cards, as it lets you get more of them from the top of your deck, like the Close versions and the Mineral/Rock option. It gives you two cards, one of each kind: one Mineral/Rock and one LIBERATOR card.

Close

In Digimon LIBERATOR, the Mineral tamer is Close. Close (EX10-063) has two effects: one speeds up the game, and one gives you memory. At the beginning of the main phase, you may put it at the bottom of your deck to play another Close from your hand for free. Next, if you don't have a Digimon in play, you may play a Sunarizamon from your trash pile for free as well. That way, if you're falling behind in the matchup, you can come back.

You can use its second effect on any turn. It actually goes really well with discarding cards from the digivolve pile of Mineral or Rock Digimon, as you can suspend it to gain 1 memory.

Close (EX8-067) is the setter in this deck. Furthermore, whenever one of your Digimon digivolves into a Mineral or Rock Digimon, you may suspend this tamer to move up to two Mineral/Rock cards from your trash pile to the Digimon that has just digivolved. And you can see where that goes.

This Mineral list is set to remain in the meta as a healthy strategy, which will open up a pretty interesting precedent on how LIBERATOR decks will fare in the future. From the looks of it, they'll get updates with competition in mind to keep them relevant in the format.

What do you think? Tell us what you think in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!