Digimon TCG - Deck Tech: How to Play Gallantmon (X Antibody)

Ever since Gallantmon was released in Digimon TCG, fans have tried to make it work. This Digimon is not only the protagonist of Tamers, the third anime series in the entire franchise, but also one of the 13 Royal Knights, the most popular Digimon group. However, throughout the years, all the support this archetype got has never been enough to make it competitive - so far.

This archetype has never been able to draw its main pieces consistently, resist against the most dominant decks, or progress its game plan efficiently, which all made Guilmon's last evolution quite below average. We got support after support for this archetype, but it never managed to fulfill our expectations.

In today's article, we'll see how Chain of Liberation affected one of the most popular Digimon of all time, and how it became relevant in the meta!

EX8 - Chain of Liberation significantly changed Gallantmon. It even brought us a new, faster, and more efficient evolution line for it. With the new X Antibody cards, like Guilmon (X Antibody) EX8-009, Growlmon (X Antibody) EX8-012, and WarGrowlmon (X Antibody) EX8-015, this deck became more consistent. Now, you can get your main pieces more easily.

These new cards covered several "blind spots" that existed before, from gaining memory to more proactive effects, like WarGrowlmon (X Antibody) EX8-015's Inherited effect, which grants your Digimon Security +1.

The card that most stands out is Gallantmon (X Antibody) EX8-073, which lets you destroy an enemy Digimon or remove your opponent's top Security card directly, so it fixed one of this archetype's greatest issues. With these cards, this deck is now more competitive, as it can put pressure on the opponent more consistently. It has truly become a viable option in the meta!

Another welcome card was MedievalGallantmon EX8-074, which is a real threat in the current meta. Its effect lets you discount its play cost if you suspend 2 Digimon, so you'll be able to put it in play without spending all your memory. Its Alliance buffs its stats when it attacks, and, as such, also lets you "check" more cards on your opponent's Security. Meanwhile, its Vortex makes it more offensive, as it lets you attack enemy Digimon directly. Its "When Digivolving" effect, which deletes enemy Digimon, is a reliable way to deal with multiple threats at the same time. After all, if you suspend more Digimon, it lets you delete bigger Digimon.

Its All Turns effect is another removal in this deck. It basically lets you reuse, once per turn, its When Digivolving effect, which lets you remove an enemy Pokémon, as we've seen above. You'll be able to use this effect whenever Digimon are played, either by you or your opponent. With it, you'll be able to put even more pressure on your opponent.

EX8 was everything Guilmon fans wanted to make this deck shine competitively. And, to no one's surprise, that's precisely what happened.

The deck we'll explore today won the Oceania Nationals in the hands of Guilmon Bread.

Digi-Egg

Guilmon Bread used four copies of Gigimon EX2-001, which, as it draws a lot of cards in this list, fixed one of the biggest issues classic red aggro lists have. Furthermore, a few of the two-color Guilmon in this list can Digivolve from a Gigimon for less resources.

Level 3 Digimon

Guilmon EX2-008 is a searcher when it enters the board because it lets you get cards with "Growlmon" or "Gallantmon" in their name. Besides this, this card lets you get a card with "Takato Matsuki" in its name, which, in turn, is this list's Tamer (it only plays one - Takato Matsuki EX2-056).

Finally, Guilmon EX2-008's Inherited effect lets your "Growlmon" or "Gallantmon" Digimon delete an enemy Digimon with 3000 or less DP whenever they attack. It's a simple effect that can destroy smaller enemy Digimon, and also prevent them from creating a coherent strategy with their early-stage Digimon.

As for the aforementioned Guilmon (X Antibody) EX8-009, it is also a searcher. It lets you get the same types of cards as Guilmon EX2-008, but, instead of "Takato Matsuki", it lets you get "X Antibody" cards. It also gives you memory when an enemy Digimon is deleted, which is quite interesting. Its Inherited effect gives you 1 memory whenever an enemy Digimon is deleted on your turn.

Guilmon BT17-008 deletes an enemy Digimon with 3000 DP or less whenever you play one of your "Takato Matsuki" tamers. However, its Inherited effect is what most stands out, as it adds 2000 to this Digimon's DP-based deletion effects' maximums whenever you have 0 memory or less.

This list also plays Guilmon EX4-006, which gains Rush when both players' trashes is 20 cards or more, which often happens in the late game. This Guilmon is efficient in some matches, considering it can attack your opponent when they least expect it.

Level 4 Digimon

Growlmon BT12-010 lets us play our tamer, Takato Matsuki EX2-056, for no cost at all if we don't have it in play yet. Meanwhile, Growlmon ST7-05 is a vanilla card this list plays mainly for its Inherited effect, which gives you 1 memory whenever you delete an enemy Digimon, just like Guilmon (X Antibody) EX8-009.

Growlmon BT17-010 deletes Digimon with 4000 DP or less. With Guilmon BT17-008's Inherited effect, you'll be able to delete Digimon with 6000 DP or less, which is even deadlier. Furthermore, Growlmon's own Inherited effect increases this limit by +2000.

Growlmon (X Antibody) EX8-012's Inherited effect is the same as Growlmon ST7-05 and Guilmon (X Antibody) EX8-009. It gives you memory when you destroy enemy Digimon on your turn. It also protects itself: when it is deleted, you can play a Guilmon for free from your trash.

So, there are two pretty clear philosophies in this deck. Increasing the limit of effects that delete Digimon based on their DP, and gaining memory when you destroy a Digimon on your turn.

Level 5 Digimon

Wargrowlmon (X Antibody) EX8-015 is the best low-rarity card in this deck, and I consider it a must if you're interested in a budget-friendly list. Its Inherited effect gives you Security +1 and its main ability protects it until the end of your opponent's turn - it makes it immune to the main removal effects in the game and gives it +3000 DP. With an X Antibody's effect or Wargrowlmon's Inherited effect, you can delete an enemy Digimon with 10000 DP or less. Please note that their previous forms also increase the limit of this Inherited effect.

Wargrowlmon BT12-016 lets you delete a Digimon with 4000 DP or less, and, if you can't delete anything, you can Digivolve it directly into a Gallantmon for its Digivolve cost minus 1. Its Inherited effect gives you 2 memory at the end of your attack if it has "Growlmon" or "Gallantmon" in its name, including this line's level 6 version or Wargrowlmon's X Antibody version.

Level 6 Digimon

This deck, curiously, doesn't use MedievalGallantmon EX8-074. Instead, it uses Gallantmon (X Antibody) EX8-073 as its main Mega Digimon. This card fits the two sub-themes in this deck incredibly well.

Firstly, it lets you delete an enemy Digimon with 10000 DP or less, and if you can't, you'll untap and trash the top of your opponent's Security - both when you Digivolve it and at the end of your attack. Furthermore, when Gallantmon X attacks, it buffs its own DP by 4000 and nerfs the enemy Digimon's DP by 4000 (remember, a Digimon is destroyed if they get to 0 DP). All of this goes really well with its previous forms, which give you memory when you destroy an enemy Digimon on your turn.

This Digimon also protects itself from all enemy Digimon effects when you have 0 memory or less.

This list also plays other Gallantmon: Gallantmon BT13-111, for instance, can discount its own cost by a lot, so you can play it for close to nothing. Its effect discounts its costs based on how many cards are in both players' trash piles. It also lets you delete an enemy Digimon with 6000 DP or less when it enters the board. If you can't delete any Digimon, it lets you delete Digimon with 13000 DP or less. You can increase both of these numbers with the right Inherited effects. Furthermore, you can use this effect again when it attacks, and the fact it has Rush means you can use it twice in a row: when it enters the board, and then when it attacks, all in the same turn.

Gallantmon BT17-016 deletes enemy Digimon with 8000 DP or less. As you must have guessed, when you can't, you get another effect: it buffs itself with +3000 power and the Blocker ability. It also protects itself from enemy effects when you have 0 memory or less. It is a very defensive Digimon.

Level 7 Digimon

Gallantmon: Crimson Mode Ace BT17-018 is the Ace this deck uses. It can be an answer to an opponent's attack with its Blast Digivolve, and, regardless of how it entered in play (either if you paid for its cost or evolved it on either players' turn), its On Play effect triggers. It lets you delete up to 15000 total worth of your opponent's Digimon. With the right Inherited effects, you can delete even more Digimon with it.

Its other effect lets you trash the top card of your opponent's Security for each 10 cards in both players' trash whenever it attacks. It is a reasonably strong effect when you consider this list plays Digimon that buff the damage you deal to the enemy Security by +1.

Takato Matsuki

Takato Matsuki EX2-056 is not a setter, unfortunately, but you can tap it to gain 1 memory whenever an enemy Digimon is deleted. This goes really well with the main effects in this deck.

However, its main ability, once per turn, grants Blitz to any of your Digimon as long as they have "Gallantmon" or "Growlmon" in their name. Blitz lets your Digimon attack as soon as they Digivolve, even if you passed your turn to do this. If you really think about it, that's one way to activate effects that only work when you have 0 memory or less.

Staples

Let's discuss this list's staples. Remember, staples are cards with generic effects that perform really well in any deck they are in, and make your plays smoother and more consistent.

Red Memory Boost!! P-035 is part of one of the most classic staple cycles in the entire game. It lets you add to your hand red Digimon from the top of your deck and, on the next turn, you can trash it to gain 2 memory.

As for Offense Training P-103, it is a more modern version of this type of option. It lets you add to your hand red cards from the top of your deck, but with a few more restrictions. Later on, you can also trash this card to discount the Digivolve cost of one of your red Digimon. You can put both of these cards in play when they're revealed from your Security.

Red Scramble LM-027 is part of a new card cycle. It not only discounts the Digivolve cost of red Digimon, but also lets you recycle red Digimon from your trash and play one of them with 2000 DP or less if your board is empty. It is great when you're behind.

Finally, there's X Antibody Proto form EX5-070, which lets you move through evolution lines a bit faster because it discounts Digivolve costs and makes transitioning into advanced Digimon forms a bit easier. Its support effect lets you progress quickly to Gallantmon (X Antibody) EX8-073 and other X Antibody Digimon. It also makes this deck more resilient to enemy disruption, as its Inherited effect protects the Digimon it is attached to from removals.

The classic X Antibody BT9-109 is also in this list. It is great when you need to Digivolve certain Digimon while you attack and trigger a few other effects that need your Digimon to have Antibody cards attached.

I'm really glad to see a deck centered around such a beloved Digimon becoming a great, viable option in the meta. You can definitely improve this deck even more with other Guilmon and their evolutions, like, for instance, Guilmon ST7-03, which can turn into a Gallantmon directly.

This is a real Tier-1 list, as well as quite consistent. It will probably shine in many future tournaments.

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

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!