Digimon TCG: Deck Guide - How to Play Dinomon and Tyrannomon!

The best thing about Digimon TCG nowadays is, without a question, the fact that the Western and Japanese formats are aligning. Now that new cards are released in the West and Japan at the same time, we can all buy them at the same time, so we, in the West, can play the new format right away. We don't have to copy decks from the East or try to predict what the meta will be like.

Today, we'll discuss one of the most relevant decks with the new set, EX8 - Chain of Liberation, which focuses on characters from Digimon Liberator, the manga made to promote the card game.

More specifically, we'll explore Tyrannomon!

Tyrannomon was the first Digimon ever created in the history of the entire franchise, well before many fan favorites like Agumon and Greymon. However, curiously, we had to wait this long to get a dedicated mega form for it, Dinomon EX8-016. It first appeared in Digimon Liberator, the manga inspired by the card game.

In this article, we'll review Dinomon EX8-016 and its deck, an off-meta build that has performed rather well. We'll go through the deck Dylan "DJVillain" played to get to the top 16 of the Oceania National Tournament - with Tyrannomon and other Dinosaurs.

Here's our list:

Digi-Eggs

We'll use two different Digi-Eggs in this deck, in a 4 to 1 ratio. The most important one is Koromon BT14-001, whose ability draws a card for you when a card is removed from your opponent's Security area.

Besides this card, the EX8 set itself brought us a perfect Egg for Tyrannomon: Koromon EX8-001. This Egg lets you delete an enemy Digimon with 3000 DP or less whenever another Digimon with "Tyrannomon" in its name or the "Dinosaur" trait using it as material attacks. It is a simple, yet efficient attack that you can use to remove smaller Digimon and disrupt your opponent's game plan.

Level 3 Digimon

Firstly, let's leave Ukkomon BT16-082 aside for a while - we'll discuss it later on. It might be a great Pokémon, but it is a bit more generic in this deck, as it is a staple in this meta.

Considering Digimon that add a lot to this strategy directly, particularly Digimon from EX8, we must start with Agumon EX8-007. It lets you Digivolve any Digimon called Koromon for free, so it is perfect with the Eggs this deck uses. Furthermore, it is a searcher because, when it enters play, it lets us look for cards with "Tyrannomon" in their name or the "Reptile"/"Dinosaur" traits in our deck and add them to our hand. It also lets us get Ryutaro Williams EX8-065, this deck's tamer.

We'll also use Agumon EX1-001, which lets you get another Agumon from your deck whenever a Digimon using it as material attacks. So, with it, you'll always have Level 3 Digimon to play. As for Agumon - EX4-005, it gives you memory while it is in play and draws cards when you use it as material and when Ryutaro Williams EX8-065 activates.

Finally, we have Guilmon EX4-006, which gains Rush when both players' graveyards have, in total, 20 or more cards. It is an excellent finisher, as it essentially gives you another chance to attack.

Ryutaro Williams

Before we discuss Level 4 Digimon, let's go through the single tamer in this deck: Ryutaro Williams EX8-065. Unfortunately, it isn't a setter, but it does give you one memory when your opponent has a Digimon in play. If you have only one copy of this card in play, this effect only prevents you from starting the turn with 1 memory. However, if you have multiple in play, this ability stacks and gives you a huge advantage.

Ryutaro's main effect happens when a Digimon with "Tyrannomon" in its name attacks: it lets you Digivolve it into another Digimon with "Tyrannomon" in its name, and it will cost 1 less. This effect also stacks when you have multiple copies of this tamer in play, so you'll be able to Digivolve many other Digimon for way less.

Level 4 Digimon

Now, we'll go through the first Tyrannomon, Tyrannomon EX8-011, which can Digivolve from any Digimon with the "Reptile" trait (Except for Ukkomon BT16-082) for less. Furthermore, when it Digivolves and at the start of your main phase, it gains +3000 DP until the end of your opponent's turn, so it is more resilient.

Agumon EX8-007 can easily get to 10.000 DP with its Inherited effect. Furthermore, you can play it directly from your Security when you reveal it from there.

We'll also use Tyrannomon BT11-052, which lets you play a tamer that costs 3 or less for free - in this case, we'll play Ryutaro Williams EX8-065 with it. Both this Tyrannomon and the one from EX8 have an Inherited effect that gives them +2000 DP. The difference is, to use Tyrannomon BT11-052's Inherited effect, a tamer needs to be in play.

Finally, we have Tyrannomon (X Antibody) P-160, whose ability is similar to Ryutaro Williams EX8-065's - it lets you Digivolve it when you attack with it for less. Furthermore, its Inherited effect gives it Piercing, so you'll deal any excess combat damage to your opponent's Security.

Level 5 Digimon

Metaltyrannomon EX8-043 has one of my favorite effects in Digimon TCG: it removes a card from your opponent's Security when you delete a Digimon in battle. This turns board advantage into life advantage. Furthermore, when it Digivolves, you can De-Digivolve 1 one of your opponent's Digimon if you suspend it, and it also protects itself from effects until the following turn.

MasterTyrannomon EX8-014's design is similar. It lets you suspend a Digimon, and, if this Digimon is already suspended, it lets you delete a Digimon with 8000 DP or less. It also protects itself with Fortitude, which lets you return it to the board with no materials after it is destroyed. Its Inherited effect gives you +1 Security.

Level 6 Digimon

The most relevant Level 6 Digimon is MedievalGallantmon EX8-074, which is a big threat in the current meta. Its effect reduces the play cost by 4 if you suspend two Digimon, so you don't have to spend a lot of memory to put it in play. Its Alliance makes it more resilient and powerful when it attacks, so your opponent will have to work harder to delete it and it will also check more cards in their Security. Meanwhile, its Vortex lets you attack more enemy Digimon. Its effect, which lets you delete Digimon when you Digivolve it, is a reliable way to deal with multiple threats at once. The more Digimon you suspend with this effect, the more DP you can add to its DP deletion effect's maximum.

Its All Turns effect is another removal for this deck, as it lets you activate its When Digivolving effects again once per turn when a Digimon is played, either by you or your opponent. This way, you'll be able to put a lot of pressure on your opponent.

MedievalGallantmon EX8-074 is the most relevant Digimon in the meta, and Dinomon EX8-016 is the Digimon that best fits this deck. It creates a barrier that prevents your opponent from attacking your unsuspended Digimon. Meanwhile, your own Digimon usually get more DP with Agumon EX8-007 and Tyrannomon EX8-011's Inherited effects.

Then, when you put it in play, you can destroy the enemy Digimon with the lowest DP and suspend another Digimon - either your opponent's, so you can attack it, or one of your own, to protect it with its passive ability. Finally, Fortitude and Security +1 are great with Dinomon EX8-016.

Level 7 Digimon

This deck can also go beyond mega evolutions. Agumon - Bond of Bravery ACE LM-021 can Digivolve any of your Agumon directly, skipping all steps, both on your turn and your opponent's, thanks to its Blast Digivolve. Furthermore, it is essentially a board wipe, as it deletes any number of enemy Digimon as long as their total DP adds up to equal or less than this Digimon's DP. That is usually 14.000, but you can increase it with other Digimon's Inherited effects. Furthermore, whenever it attacks and a tamer is in play, you can trash the top card of your opponent's Security stack.

Omnimon BT5-086 is a classic Level 7 Digimon that lets you attack extra times, even when you pass the turn to your opponent when you Digivolve, thanks to its Blitz. It can also defend itself really well against effects that would delete it or return it to your hand if you trash a Level 6 Digimon in this card's Digivolution cards.

Staples

As we mentioned before, Ukkomon BT16-082 is a lot better in this list than other common Level 3 Digimon because it gives you more tamers and lets you hatch eggs in your breeding area.

Offense Training P-103 lets you draw red cards from the top cards of your deck, and, later on, discounts the cost to Digivolve a red Digimon. You can play both of these cards directly through their Security effects when they're revealed.

Red Scramble LM-027 is part of a new cycle of cards that not only discount the cost of Digivolving red Digimon, but also recycle red Digimon from your trash pile. It also lets you play one of them, as long as it has 2000 DP or less and your board is empty, so it is great when you're behind.

Garnet Memory Boost LM-033 brings a new approach to the traditional Memory Boost cycle. It lets you draw red or black Digimon from the top of your deck, and, later on, you can sacrifice it to get 2 memory.

This is probably the next Digimon TCG deck I'm going to build. It is fun, aggressive, and, in general, performs really well, with consistent cards and interesting interactions. I'm also glad to see that Tyrannomon finally got a mega version based on its main live, considering Rust Tyrannomon was more tied to its cyborg version.

What did you think of this list? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!