Category: Digimon

For most of the Digimon Card Game’s life the top of a set was Secret Rare. Then BT-25 Dual Revolution added a tier above it, and every set since has carried it. Ultimate Rare is not a new card type and not a new colour; it is a treatment, and it sits at the top of the printed rarity structure of the sets that include it. This page covers where the tier sits, how to recognise it on a card, and why the exact counts the publisher publishes are worth more to a collector than any rate you might read elsewhere.

Quick answer

Ultimate Rare is a foil treatment introduced in BT-25 Dual Revolution, positioned above Secret Rare in the printed structure of a set. It appears in BT-25, BT-26 Timeless Bonds and EX-13 Chivalrous XIII, and those sets publish its count alongside the other rarities: BT-26 lists 3 Ultimate Rares among its 108 card types, and EX-13 lists 3 among its 81. The publisher does not publish how often one appears per box, and this page does not guess. What it does publish, and what you can rely on, is how many cards in the set carry the treatment.

Where the tier sits

A Digimon set’s structure is published rarity by rarity. Take BT-26 Timeless Bonds, which lists 108 card types split across Commons, Uncommons, Rares, Super Rares, Ultimate Rares, Secret Rares and Specials. Ultimate Rare is the tier that sits between Super Rare and Secret Rare in that listing order, and it is the tier that did not exist before BT-25.

It is worth being precise about what that means. The tiers describe how a card is printed and finished, not how strong it is. A Super Rare and an Ultimate Rare of the same Digimon are the same card in play; only the surface differs.

How to recognise one

The treatment is a textured foil that stands slightly proud of the card surface. Tilt the card and the pattern shifts as one surface across the art window rather than catching light in scattered points, which separates it from the fine starfield textures used elsewhere in the hobby.

On the card itself, the rarity mark printed in the set’s own encoding is the reliable identifier. Every Digimon card carries a set code and a rarity mark, and the guide to codes and rarity marks walks through how that encoding is read. Trusting the printed mark over a visual impression is the safer habit, particularly when you are comparing two cards that share a finish but belong to different sets.

Where it appears

Set	Card types	Ultimate Rares listed
BT-25 Dual Revolution	115	Introduced with this set
BT-26 Timeless Bonds	108	3
EX-13 Chivalrous XIII	81	3

Two things follow from those numbers. First, the tier is small in every set that carries it — three cards, in both of the sets where the count is published. Second, it is consistent: a set that includes the treatment includes roughly the same handful of cards in it.

Why the published counts matter more than a rate

Collectors often ask how many boxes it takes to pull a given treatment. That is a rate question, and the publisher does not publish rates. What it does publish is the count of cards carrying the treatment in each set, and unauthorised rates circulate anyway and disagree with each other.

The honest position is that the count is knowable and the rate is not. If your plan depends on the rate, you are working from someone else’s estimate. If your plan depends on the count, you are working from the publisher. the Digimon Card Game index lists the sets and the treatments we track for exactly this reason.

What to do with it

Two practical points. First, the treatment is a surface treatment, so it is more sensitive to handling than a flat printing: sleeve it before you compare it to anything, and inspect it at a tilt under a light rather than straight down. Second, whether a given copy is worth grading is a question about the copy, not the tier, and the grading page covers what the population data can and cannot tell you.

For storage, the cards are the standard 63 by 88 millimetres, so the sleeves that fit most trading card games fit these. The protection page covers the fit and the layers.

Frequently asked questions

Is Ultimate Rare above Secret Rare?

In the printed structure of the sets that include it, yes. BT-25 introduced the tier and it has appeared in every booster and extra booster since, listed after Super Rare and alongside Secret Rare and Special in the set’s own breakdown.

How many Ultimate Rares are in a set?

The sets that publish a count list three. BT-26 Timeless Bonds lists 3 among its 108 card types, and EX-13 Chivalrous XIII lists 3 among its 81.

How many boxes does it take to pull one?

The publisher does not publish that, and unauthorised figures conflict with each other, so we do not state one. What is knowable is how many cards in the set carry the treatment.

Does Ultimate Rare change how the card plays?

No. The treatment is a finish. The card’s name, colour, level, effects and evolution requirements are identical to any other printing of it.

Is it the same as a Secret Rare?

No. Secret Rare is the tier below it in the sets that carry both. the guide to codes and rarity marks covers how to read the printed rarity mark, which is the reliable way to tell them apart on a card you are holding.

Sources

Sources and further reading

1. Bandai — Digimon Card Game official product pages
2. Bandai — Digimon Card Game official card list
3. Third-party retailer set breakdowns (published card counts and rarity structure)
4. Bandai — Digimon Card Game official rule manual

Game rules, product contents and card counts are quoted from the publisher’s own materials at the date stated and can change without notice. Prices quoted anywhere on this site are secondary-market observations and move quickly; nothing here is a valuation or an investment recommendation. Our own asking prices for the cards we hold are on each product page.

Most card games keep their card types separate. A Digimon card is a Digimon, an Option card is an Option, and the four card types lays out the four types the game uses. BT-25 Dual Revolution broke that separation by introducing a card that is both at once: a single physical card whose two faces are a Digimon and an Option. It is the largest mechanical change the game has made since launch, and it changes both how a deck is built and how the cards inside it need to be handled.

Quick answer

A dual card is one physical card printed with two faces: a Digimon face and an Option face. It enters play as a Digimon, and its Option face is what triggers the card’s effect rather than a separate card being played. That collapses two slots in a deck into one, which is why the mechanic matters to deck building rather than being a curiosity. The mechanic arrived with BT-25 Dual Revolution and has been part of the game’s design space since.

What a dual card is

A dual card carries two card types on one piece of card. One face reads as a Digimon: a colour, a level, evolution requirements and an effect. The other reads as an Option: the type of card that normally resolves once and goes to the trash. Because they are printed on the same card, a player can never hold one without the other.

That single design decision is what makes the mechanic interesting. In an ordinary deck, running a Digimon and an Option costs two card slots. Running a dual card costs one, and the card does duty as whichever face the situation calls for.

How it enters play

A dual card enters play as a Digimon rather than being played as an Option. The Option face is not a second card you play later; it is the half of the card that carries the effect, which triggers in the circumstances the card describes.

The practical consequence for a player is a change in timing. Where an Option normally resolves and leaves, a dual card stays on the field as a Digimon and its effect comes from the face printed alongside it. That means the same card occupies a slot on the field and delivers the effect, where before those were two separate cards doing two separate jobs.

What it changes about deck building

Three effects, and they compound.

• Slot efficiency. One card covers two jobs, so a deck that leans on dual cards is running more distinct effects in the same fifty-card space.
• Consistency. A card that is always available as either a body or an effect reduces the number of situations where you draw the wrong half of your deck.
• Evolution planning. The Digimon face still has evolution requirements, so a dual card slots into an evolution line like any other Digimon while bringing an effect the line would not otherwise have.

The counterweight is that a dual card cannot do both jobs at the same moment on the field. It is flexible, not doubled.

Handling and sleeving dual cards

Two faces means two printed surfaces on one card, and both are exposed at different times. In play, a dual card is going to be turned over, which is the single most damaging thing you can routinely do to a foil card: the card is lifted, rotated and set down every time the two faces matter.

The protective answer is the same as for any other card in the game, with one extra point of care. A correctly sized inner sleeve keeps the surface clean, an outer sleeve protects the card during shuffling and turning, and a rigid holder is for storage rather than play. The protection page covers the fit and the layers, and the card protection range lists what we keep.

The extra point: because both faces matter, a scuff on either one affects the card. There is no “back of the card” that can quietly absorb damage.

Where it fits in the game

Dual cards are additive rather than a replacement. Ordinary Digimon and ordinary Option cards are still printed, still legal and still what most decks are built from. The mechanic exists as an option within deck building, which is why the answer to “should my deck run dual cards” is the same as for any other card: it depends on what the deck is trying to do.

What is worth knowing is that the mechanic is now established rather than experimental. It arrived in BT-25 and it has carried forward, so any deck list you read from that set onward may assume its existence. the Digimon Card Game index collects the articles that go through the game’s structure set by set.

Frequently asked questions

Are dual cards two cards in one sleeve?

No. A dual card is one physical card with two printed faces. It is a single card in the deck, and it counts as one card toward your deck size.

Which face do I play it as?

It enters play as a Digimon. The Option face is the half that carries the effect, and that effect triggers in the circumstances the card describes rather than being played as a separate Option card.

When were dual cards introduced?

With BT-25 Dual Revolution, which is where the mechanic debuted. It is the largest change to the game’s card design since launch and has carried forward into later sets.

Do dual cards replace normal Option cards?

No. Ordinary Option cards are still printed and still legal. Dual cards are an additional option in deck building rather than a replacement for the card types the game already had.

How should I protect them?

As you would any foil card, with one extra point of care: both faces matter, so a mark on either side affects the card. A correctly sized inner sleeve plus an outer sleeve is the standard approach, and the card is 63 by 88 millimetres, so standard-size sleeves fit.

Sources

Sources and further reading

1. Bandai — Digimon Card Game official product pages
2. Bandai — Digimon Card Game official rule manual
3. Bandai — Digimon Card Game official card list
4. Third-party set reviews covering the BT-25 Dual Revolution mechanic

Game rules, product contents and card counts are quoted from the publisher’s own materials at the date stated and can change without notice. Prices quoted anywhere on this site are secondary-market observations and move quickly; nothing here is a valuation or an investment recommendation. Our own asking prices for the cards we hold are on each product page.

The Digimon Card Game is young enough that all three of the lists on this page can be answered from the publisher’s own pages rather than from a summary. What a card is, which Digimon people voted for, and which cards are currently held back in tournament play are all published by Bandai, which makes this one of the few card games where a page like this can be complete instead of representative.

The Digimon card index here covers the game at the level of colour and card type. This page goes a level finer: the named Digimon, the named cards, and the exact wording the publisher uses for each.

Quick answer

A Digimon deck is built from four card types — Digi-Egg, Digimon, Tamer and Option — and the code printed at the bottom of a card tells you which product it came from. The Digimon ranking below is the order of the publisher’s own vote for the most popular Digimon, which was won by a fusion. The third list is the current banned and restricted list: four banned cards, five cards restricted to a single copy, and two pairs that cannot be played together.

The three lists on this page

Two of the three lists here are complete rather than illustrative, which is unusual and worth flagging, because it changes what you can do with them.

• The card index — the four card types and the code prefixes. This is structure: it tells you where a card sits and what product it came from. It is the same on every card of that type.
• The Digimon ranking — a vote, and therefore a snapshot. It records what the people who answered said on the day they answered.
• The restricted cards — the publisher’s own list, complete as at the date on this page. Unlike a vote this one changes on the publisher’s schedule rather than on ours, so it is the list most likely to be out of date first.

The cards: what a Digimon card carries

Four card types share one game, and each one sits somewhere different. The distinction matters more here than in most card games, because the Digi-Egg deck is a separate deck with its own size limit, and because an Option card is the only type that is not a creature or a person.

Card type	Where it sits	What it is
Digi-Egg	A separate egg deck, not the main deck	The starting form. The egg deck may hold between 0 and 5 cards
Digimon	The main deck	A creature. It digivolves, attacks, and carries the level and the colour that decide what it can become
Tamer	The main deck	A person rather than a creature, and the card type that tends to carry effects that persist
Option	The main deck	A one-off effect rather than a body

Alongside the type, every card carries a short code at the bottom: a set identifier, a dash, and a two- or three-digit number. The letters say which product the card came from and the digits say where in that product it sits. The prefixes currently in use are ST for a starter deck, BT for a booster set, EX for a booster set outside the main numbered line, RB for a booster set, P for a promotional card distributed outside booster packs, and LM for a limited set card.

Rarity runs on its own ladder, from Common and Uncommon through Rare and Super Rare to Secret Rare, and an alternate-art version of a card keeps the same card number as the original. That last point is the one that catches people out: the code alone will not tell you which treatment you are looking at. The card numbers and rarity codes page covers the ladder in full.

The Digimon, ranked by the publisher’s own vote

Bandai ran a vote asking which Digimon was the favourite, and published the ten that came out on top. The result is dominated by the first series and by fully evolved forms: eight of the ten are from the original continuity or its immediate sequel, and six are at Mega level.

Rank	Digimon	Level	What it is
1	Omnimon	Mega	A fusion of two Mega forms, and a member of the Royal Knights
2	WarGreymon	Mega	The Mega form of the first series’ lead partner
3	Gallantmon	Mega	A Royal Knight, and the Mega form of a third-series partner
4	Beelzemon	Mega	One of the Seven Great Demon Lords
5	Agumon	Rookie	The lead partner of the first series, and the only Rookie in the top five
6	Alphamon	Mega	A Royal Knight
7	Paildramon	Ultimate	A DNA Digivolution of an ExVeemon and a Stingmon
8	Terriermon	Rookie	A Rookie partner form
9	Veemon	Rookie	A Rookie partner form
10	Patamon	Rookie	A Rookie partner form

Three features of that list are worth noticing. The winner is a fusion rather than a single Digimon, which is unusual on a list of this kind. Only one Rookie makes the top five, and it is the one that has been in the most media. And Paildramon is the only Ultimate in the ten, which makes it the highest non-Mega on the list — and the only entry whose official profile names the two Digimon it is made from.

The publisher also runs standing votes on narrower questions, and the results of those are instructive in the opposite direction. On a vote restricted to the angel-type Digimon, the winner was a female-presenting angel rather than the most familiar one, and the top three were all female-presenting. A narrow vote and a general vote do not produce the same order, and neither one predicts the other.

The restricted cards, ranked by how tightly they are held

This is the one list on the page that is complete. The publisher republishes the banned and restricted list as the competitive environment changes, and the version below is the one dated on this page. It has three tiers, and the tiers are the ranking: a banned card cannot be played at all, a restricted card is held to a fixed number of copies, and a banned pair is two cards that may not appear in the same deck.

Tier	Card	Card number	What the restriction does
Banned	Nyaromon	BT15-003	Cannot be included in a deck at all
Banned	Mega Digimon Fusion!	BT5-109	Cannot be included in a deck at all
Banned	Yamato Ishida	BT2-090	Cannot be included in a deck at all
Banned	Sayo & Koh	EX5-065	Cannot be included in a deck at all
Restricted to 1	Analog Youth	EX1-066	One copy per deck instead of the usual four
Restricted to 1	Growlmon (X Antibody)	EX8-012	One copy per deck instead of the usual four
Restricted to 1	Patamon	BT14-033	One copy per deck instead of the usual four
Restricted to 1	Shakkoumon	BT23-032	One copy per deck instead of the usual four
Restricted to 1	Hidden Potential Discovered!	BT3-103	One copy per deck instead of the usual four

Two details in that table are easy to miss and matter. The first is that the copy limit in this game is four, so “restricted to 1” is a cut to a quarter rather than a small trim. The second is that an alternate-art printing of a restricted card is restricted as well, because the restriction follows the card number and the alternate art keeps the same number. A different illustration is not a different card.

Alongside those two tiers sit the banned pairs, which work in the opposite direction: neither card is restricted on its own, but if one is in the deck the other may not be. Two pairs are currently listed. The first is EX2-007 Mother D-Reaper with EX7-064 Shoto Kazama. The second is BT20-037 Chaosmon: Valdur Arm with BT17-035 Taomon, and BT20-037 Chaosmon: Valdur Arm with EX8-037 Sakuyamon (X Antibody).

What this page does not claim

No prices, and no card counts. The restricted list is reproduced as at the date on this page and will change on the publisher’s schedule rather than on ours, so it should be checked against the publisher’s own page before it is relied on. The Digimon ranking is a vote, which means it records the people who answered rather than the whole audience. Where the publisher does not state something, this page says nothing about it.

Frequently asked questions

How many copies of a card can a Digimon deck hold?

Up to four copies of a card with the same card number, in the ordinary case. Cards on the restricted list are cut to the number printed beside them on the publisher’s announcement, which for every card currently listed is one.

Does an alternate art change whether a card is restricted?

No. The restriction follows the card number, and an alternate-art printing keeps the same card number as the original. A different illustration is therefore still the same restricted card.

What is a banned pair?

Two cards that cannot appear in the same deck even though neither is restricted on its own. If the first card is in the deck, the second is banned from it. Two pairs are currently listed by the publisher.

Which Digimon is the most popular?

On the publisher’s own vote for the most popular Digimon, Omnimon took first place, with WarGreymon second and Gallantmon third. The wider top ten is dominated by the first series and by fully evolved forms, with three Rookie forms and one Ultimate among the ten.

Is the Digi-Egg deck part of the main deck?

No. The Digi-Egg deck is separate and may hold between zero and five cards, while the main deck is built to its own size. That is why a Digi-Egg card can be restricted in a way that a main-deck card cannot: it can be reached at a timing a main-deck card cannot.

Sources

Sources and further reading

1. Bandai — the Digimon Card Game official rules and glossary: the card types, the areas of the playing field, the deck limits and the card code prefixes given on this page.
2. Bandai — the official Banned and Restricted Card Announcement dated 2026-08-21, effective 2026-09-01: every banned card, every restricted card and both banned pairs listed on this page, with the card numbers the publisher prints on them.
3. Bandai — the Digimon Web official vote for the most popular Digimon, whose result gives the order of the ranking on this page, and the official Digimon Reference Book entries that give each Digimon its level.
4. This page was compiled 2026-10-06. Card counts are only quoted where the publisher publishes them.

Rules wording, card numbers and the banned and restricted list are quoted from Bandai’s own rules pages at the date cited and are subject to change. This page is rules and identification, not valuation: we publish no price for Digimon cards, because we have not yet run a checked pull of graded sales for the game.

Related reading

• The Digimon Card Game index on this site
• Digimon card numbers and rarity codes
• The memory gauge, explained

The Digimon Card Game is the newest long-running game in this section apart from Riftbound, which is an advantage: a collection can aim at completeness without a twenty-five-year backlog standing in the way. It also means the decisions worth settling are about scope rather than about catching up.

Quick answer

Decide five things first: whether the collection follows a character, a colour or a set line; which product line it covers; whether it wants the rarer treatments or a complete run; whether it follows one language; and how the cards will be stored. Because the game is young, a set-line collection is genuinely finishable, which is not true of every game on this site.

Pick the axis: character, colour or set line

The three natural axes are a character, a colour, or a product line. A character collection follows one Digimon across every set it appears in, which is a smaller and more repeatable project than it sounds because the character returns often. A colour collection follows one of the seven colours. A set-line collection follows the numbered boosters in order. Each produces a collection that can be described in one sentence, which is the test of whether it will stay coherent.

Choose the product lines to cover

The game runs several lines at once: the numbered Boosters, the Extra Boosters, the Starter Decks and the other releases around them. A collection that says “the numbered boosters” has an edge and an end. One that says “everything” has neither, and the overlapping reprints will make it expensive to keep complete.

Rarity or completeness

C, U and R are the bulk of any set and the easy part of a complete run. SR and SEC are where a complete run stops being cheap, and where a collection has to decide whether it is chasing the set or chasing the top of the set. Picking one answer early is what stops the two aims from competing.

Language, and then storage

The Digimon Card Game has printings in more than one language, including a Simplified Chinese edition, and they are separate printings rather than interchangeable copies, so it is worth naming the one you want. For storage, the cards are the standard 63 × 88 mm, so a standard sleeve and a standard rigid holder cover them; the two-layer order is covered in the protection guide for this game.

Frequently asked questions

When did the Digimon Card Game start?

It launched in 2020, which makes its print history short compared with the older games on this site.

Should I collect a character or a set?

Either works. A character collection is narrower and repeats across sets; a set-line collection follows the numbered boosters in order and has a clear end.

Is a complete Digimon collection realistic?

For one product line it is, because the game is young. For every line at once it is not, because the lines overlap and reprint the same characters.

Are English and Japanese Digimon cards the same?

They are separate printings of the same game. The language is part of how a printing is identified, so a collection should name the one it follows.

What storage do Digimon cards need?

A standard-size sleeve and a rigid holder. Digimon cards are 63 × 88 mm, so no game-specific product is needed.

Sources

Sources and further reading

1. Bandai — the official DIGIMON CARD GAME card list, for card names, colours, levels and rarity codes.
2. Bandai — the official DIGIMON CARD GAME product pages and rule-site series list, for the Booster, Extra Booster, Theme Booster, Advanced Booster and Starter Deck lines referred to here.
3. CardSpicy — the Digimon card index, which tracks the colour and rarity structure of the game and links to the rest of the Digimon guides.

Game rules, product contents and card counts are quoted from the publisher’s own materials at the date stated and can change without notice. Prices quoted anywhere on this site are secondary-market observations and move quickly; nothing here is a valuation or an investment recommendation. Our own asking prices for the cards we hold are on each product page.

The Digimon Card Game does not release one numbered set after another. It runs several product lines at once, each with its own code family, and a card can come from any of them. Knowing the lines is what lets you place a card in the game’s release history from the code printed on it.

Quick answer

There are three main lines. Boosters carry the BT codes and are the numbered main sets. Extra Boosters carry EX codes and are smaller side sets that fill in themes. Starter Decks carry ST codes and are preconstructed decks. Around those sit Theme Boosters, Advanced Boosters, Resurgence Boosters, Special Boosters and Advanced Decks, each with its own code.

The main lines and their codes

Booster packs use BT codes and form the numbered spine of the game, running from BT-01 upward. Extra Boosters use EX codes and are smaller releases built around a theme rather than advancing the main set count. Starter Decks use ST codes and are preconstructed, ready to play, and often the simplest way into a new colour or mechanic. A card’s code is therefore the quickest way to say where it came from.

The lines around them

Beyond the three main lines there are Theme Boosters, which support one deck theme; Advanced Boosters and Advanced Decks, built for a specific line; and the Special Boosters and Resurgence Boosters that repackage cards across sets. Each carries its own code family, which is why a card list sorted only by number will look out of order — there is not one numbering, but several running side by side.

How to tell which product a card came from

Read the card number printed on the card. The prefix names the line — BT, EX, ST and the rest — and the number places the card inside that product. This is the same check a collector runs on any card before anything else, and it works without a wrapper, because the number is printed on the card itself.

Why the structure matters for a collection

A collection that follows one line is a different project from one that follows the numbered spine. Because the lines overlap in characters and themes, the same Digimon can appear in a booster, an extra booster and a starter deck, each time with a different code. Sorting by code is the only way to keep a collection of one character from becoming a pile of duplicates.

Frequently asked questions

What do the Digimon Card Game set codes mean?

BT is the numbered Booster line, EX is the Extra Booster line, ST is the Starter Deck line. Other lines such as Advanced Boosters and Resurgence Boosters carry their own codes.

How many sets does the Digimon Card Game have?

The numbered Booster line runs past BT-20 and the Extra Booster line past EX-10, with dozens of Starter Decks and several other lines alongside them. The official rule site keeps the current list.

What is an Extra Booster?

A smaller release built around a theme rather than a continuation of the numbered set count, which is why it has its own EX code.

What is the difference between a Booster and a Starter Deck?

A Booster is a pack of random cards; a Starter Deck is a preconstructed deck that plays straight out of the box.

Can the same Digimon appear in more than one set?

Yes, and it often does. Each appearance carries its own card number, so the code is what distinguishes one printing from another.

Sources

Sources and further reading

1. Bandai — the official DIGIMON CARD GAME product pages and rule-site series list, for the Booster, Extra Booster, Theme Booster, Advanced Booster and Starter Deck lines referred to here.
2. Bandai — the official DIGIMON CARD GAME card list, for card names, colours, levels and rarity codes.
3. CardSpicy — the Digimon card index, which tracks the colour and rarity structure of the game and links to the rest of the Digimon guides.

Game rules, product contents and card counts are quoted from the publisher’s own materials at the date stated and can change without notice. Prices quoted anywhere on this site are secondary-market observations and move quickly; nothing here is a valuation or an investment recommendation. Our own asking prices for the cards we hold are on each product page.

The Digimon Card Game uses four card types, and they divide the play space neatly. One type never enters the main deck, one fights, one supports from the board and one is used once and discarded. Knowing which type a card is tells you where it will be and how long it will stay.

Quick answer

A Digi-Egg lives in the separate egg deck and is the starting point of a Digivolution line. A Digimon is played to the battle area, or sits under another card as a source. A Tamer stays on the board alongside Digimon and supports them. An Option is a one-shot effect that resolves and goes to the trash.

Digi-Egg

Eggs sit in the Digi-Egg deck, a stack kept separate from the main deck. An egg is the first card of a Digivolution line and it is raised in the breeding area, where it can evolve without being attacked. Because the egg is what sets what a line may become, the egg deck is a genuine deck-building decision rather than a formality.

Digimon

Digimon are the bodies of the game: they are played to the battle area, they attack and block, and they Digivolve. A Digimon can also sit under another card as a source, which is what happens after it evolves. This is the type that carries the printed level and DP that the rest of the game refers to.

Tamer

A Tamer stays in play alongside the Digimon and supports the line. Tamers do not attack in the same way Digimon do; they sit on the board and change what the rest of the deck can do. A deck’s Tamers are often what decides how quickly it sets up.

Option

An Option card is a one-shot: it is played, its effect resolves, and it goes to the trash. Because it does not stay on the board, an Option is a resource spent rather than a permanent installed. The type is the Digimon equivalent of a spell, and like a spell it is the part of a deck that answers a specific situation.

Frequently asked questions

What are the four card types in the Digimon Card Game?

Digi-Egg, Digimon, Tamer and Option. The egg deck is separate; the other three are built into the main deck.

What is a Digi-Egg card?

The first card of a Digivolution line, kept in the separate egg deck and raised in the breeding area.

What does a Tamer do?

A Tamer stays on the board alongside the Digimon and supports them, usually by making the deck’s plan faster or more consistent.

Do Option cards stay on the board?

No. An Option resolves and goes to the trash, so it is spent rather than installed.

Why is the egg deck separate?

Because eggs are not drawn from and are not shuffled into the main deck. They are the starting point of a line, so they are kept as their own stack.

Sources

Sources and further reading

1. Bandai — the official DIGIMON CARD GAME rule manual and play sheet, which set out the memory gauge, the field areas and the win condition.
2. Bandai — the official DIGIMON CARD GAME card list, for card names, colours, levels and rarity codes.
3. CardSpicy — the Digimon card index, which tracks the colour and rarity structure of the game and links to the rest of the Digimon guides.

Game rules, product contents and card counts are quoted from the publisher’s own materials at the date stated and can change without notice. Prices quoted anywhere on this site are secondary-market observations and move quickly; nothing here is a valuation or an investment recommendation. Our own asking prices for the cards we hold are on each product page.

Every Digimon card prints a colour, and the colour is not decoration: it stands for a style of play that the card pool is built around. Seven colours exist, six of them tied to a clear job and one for everything that does not fit. Choosing colours is therefore the first deck-building decision, not a finishing touch.

Quick answer

Red is aggression and direct damage. Blue is deck manipulation and control. Yellow is recovery and security manipulation. Green is Digivolution speed and going wide. Black is defence through blocking bodies. Purple treats the trash as a resource. White covers utility cards and cards that do not sit in one of the six.

Red — aggression and direct damage

Red is the straightforward pressure colour. Its cards push attacks through and deal damage rather than building a long board, so a red deck tries to end games before the opponent settles. The colour rewards committing early and keeping the opponent reacting.

Blue — deck manipulation and control

Blue works on the deck and the hand rather than the board. Its cards draw, arrange and restrict, and they are the reason blue decks can hold a game at arm’s length. A blue player wins by making fewer mistakes than the opponent over more turns.

Yellow — recovery and security

Yellow plays around the security stack, which is the part of the game most colours leave alone. Its cards recover security, change what a flipped security card does, and turn the stack into a resource. Yellow is the colour that makes a game last longer than the board suggests.

Green — Digivolution speed and going wide

Green accelerates: its cards evolve more cheaply and put more bodies onto the board early. Where red tries to end a game quickly with one line, green tries to end it with several, and the two get there differently.

Black, Purple and White

Black is the defensive colour, built on blocking bodies that survive what they stop. Purple uses the trash as a resource, discarding to pay for effects and then recovering the cards it threw away. White is the remainder: utility and cards that do not sit inside the six, so it has to be read card by card rather than as a single strategy.

Why colour decides the deck

Because the card pool is organised by colour, a deck built in two colours has to be built from two jobs that fit together. The egg deck is part of that decision too, since the egg a line starts from sets what the line can become. The colour spread of the game is summarised on the Digimon card index, and the card types that sit on top of it are covered in the guide to Digimon card types.

Frequently asked questions

How many colours are there in the Digimon Card Game?

Seven: Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Black, Purple and White. Six of them stand for a style of play and White collects the utility cards.

What is the difference between Red and Green?

Red presses with attacks and direct damage; Green gets bodies and evolutions onto the board faster. Both are aggressive and they get there in different ways.

What does the colour of a card decide?

It sets which deck the card belongs in. The card pool is organised by colour, so colour is a deck-building decision rather than a label.

Can a deck use more than one colour?

Yes. A deck can be built in more than one colour, as long as the cards and the egg line support each other.

What is the White colour for?

Utility and cards that do not belong to the other six, so it is read card by card rather than as a single strategy.

Sources

Sources and further reading

1. Bandai — the official DIGIMON CARD GAME rule manual and play sheet, which set out the memory gauge, the field areas and the win condition.
2. Bandai — the official DIGIMON CARD GAME card list, for card names, colours, levels and rarity codes.
3. CardSpicy — the Digimon card index, which tracks the colour and rarity structure of the game and links to the rest of the Digimon guides.

Game rules, product contents and card counts are quoted from the publisher’s own materials at the date stated and can change without notice. Prices quoted anywhere on this site are secondary-market observations and move quickly; nothing here is a valuation or an investment recommendation. Our own asking prices for the cards we hold are on each product page.

Quick answer

CardSpicy explains the Digimon Card Game from the publisher’s rules, and a game is decided by a defensive wall of five cards taken from the top of your own deck rather than by a life total.

The Digimon Card Game is played with a defensive wall in front of each player. It is not a hand and it is not a life total: it is five cards taken from the top of your own deck, and games end when it runs out.

Five cards, face down

After shuffling, each player places the top five cards of their deck face down in their security stack, without looking at them. The stack sits between the player and the opponent, and it is checked when the player is attacked rather than when they choose to look.

How a game ends

A player loses if they are attacked with zero cards remaining in their security stack. That is the primary end of a game: shrink the stack to nothing, then land one more attack. A player also loses if they cannot draw when the rules require it, which makes an empty deck a loss condition in its own right rather than a nuisance.

What happens when security is attacked

The top card is revealed. If it is a Digimon, a battle is conducted against it. If it is an Option or Tamer card, it normally goes to the trash unless the card carries a security effect — a printed ability that activates when the card is revealed. That is why the composition of a deck matters to a stack the player never chose card by card.

You build the stack out of your own deck

Because the five cards come from the top of your own shuffled deck, what stands behind you is a deckbuilding decision even though it is not a card-by-card one. One of the seven colours, yellow, is built around manipulating it — the index groups the colours by what they are for.

The draw and the first turn

Draws come from the same deck the security stack came from, so the two run down together. The player who goes first skips the draw phase of their first turn, which is worth remembering when you are counting how long a deck can last.

What this page does not claim

No prices, and no card counts. The rules here are quoted from the publisher’s own rules and glossary, and the digivolution article covers the other half of how a board is built.

Frequently asked questions

How many cards are in a security stack?

Five. After shuffling, each player places the top five cards of their deck face down in the security stack without looking at them.

How do you lose a game of the Digimon Card Game?

Two ways. You lose if you are attacked while your security stack holds no cards, and you lose if you cannot draw when the rules require it.

What happens when the top security card is revealed?

If it is a Digimon, a battle is conducted against it. If it is an Option or Tamer card, it normally goes to the trash unless it carries a security effect, which activates when the card is revealed.

Do you choose which cards go into security?

No. Security is the top five cards of your shuffled deck, placed face down without looking at them. What you can influence is what is in the deck in the first place.

Does the first player draw on their first turn?

No. The player who goes first skips the draw phase of their first turn.

Sources

Sources and further reading

1. Bandai — the Digimon Card Game official rules and glossary: the memory gauge, the areas of the playing field, the card types, the card code prefixes and the timings referred to on this page.
2. Bandai — the Digimon Card Game rulebook and restricted-card list.
3. Rules wording is quoted from the publisher’s own glossary rather than from third-party rules summaries.
4. This page was compiled 2026-10-06. Card counts are only quoted where the publisher publishes them.

Rules wording is quoted from Bandai’s own rules and glossary at the date cited and is subject to change. This page is rules and identification, not valuation: we publish no price for Digimon cards, because we have not yet run a checked pull of graded sales for the game.

Related reading

• The Digimon card index — colours and card types
• Digivolution and sources, explained
• The memory gauge: how a turn ends

Quick answer

CardSpicy explains the Digimon Card Game from the publisher’s rules rather than from table habit, and the game uses one shared gauge that both players draw from — what you leave behind is what your opponent starts with.

Most card games hand each player their own resources at the start of a turn, and the skill is in spending them well. The Digimon Card Game does something else. There is one gauge on the table, both players draw from it, and the amount you leave behind is the amount your opponent starts with.

That single decision changes the shape of a turn, and it is the first rule worth learning after the Digimon card index has told you what the cards are.

One gauge, shared between both players

The memory gauge has 0 in the centre and runs to 10 on each player’s side. It is not owned by either player; it is a single track that both players move. To pay a cost, the counter is moved one space toward your opponent’s side for each point of the cost.

When the turn changes hands

If the counter lands on 1 or higher on your opponent’s side, your turn ends once any effect or action already in progress has finished resolving, and it becomes your opponent’s turn. That is the rule that ends most turns, and it means a turn is not measured in a fixed number of actions — it is measured in the gauge.

The reverse matters just as much. If the resolution of an effect or action pulls the counter back to 0 or above on your side, your turn continues. A card that returns memory can therefore buy you another action.

Why you cannot simply spend everything

Because the memory left on the opponent’s side is the memory they begin with. Ending a turn is a payment, not a pause: a turn that finishes with the counter deep on the opponent’s side hands them a large opening play. A turn that finishes with it one space over gives them almost nothing. Two turns that deployed the same cards can therefore leave the opponent in very different positions.

The ceiling

Neither player can hold more than 10 memory, and a cost cannot be paid with memory you do not have. To play a card costing 13 you need at least 3 memory on your side already, because the counter has to be able to move the full distance without passing 10 on your opponent’s side.

What this page does not claim

No prices, and no card counts. We have not yet run a checked pull of graded sales for the Digimon Card Game, and the rules on this page are quoted from the publisher’s own glossary rather than from third-party summaries. Where Bandai does not define something, this page says nothing about it.

Frequently asked questions

How do you pay memory costs in the Digimon Card Game?

By moving the memory counter one space toward your opponent’s side for each point of the cost. The gauge has 0 in the centre and runs to 10 on each side, and it is shared between both players.

What happens when the memory gauge crosses to your opponent’s side?

Your turn ends once any effect or action already in progress has finished resolving, and it becomes your opponent’s turn. The amount left on their side is what they begin with.

Can the gauge move back to your side during your turn?

Yes. If the resolution of an effect or action moves the counter to 0 or above on your side, your turn continues rather than ending.

What is the most memory a player can have?

Ten. Neither player can exceed 10, and a cost cannot be paid with memory you do not have, so a 13-cost card needs at least 3 memory on your side already.

Is the memory gauge the same as a per-turn energy pool?

No. A per-turn pool belongs to one player and is refilled at the start of that player’s turn. The Digimon gauge is a single shared track, and spending moves it toward the opponent.

Sources

Sources and further reading

1. Bandai — the Digimon Card Game official rules and glossary: the memory gauge, the areas of the playing field, the card types, the card code prefixes and the timings referred to on this page.
2. Bandai — the Digimon Card Game rulebook and restricted-card list.
3. Rules wording is quoted from the publisher’s own glossary rather than from third-party rules summaries.
4. This page was compiled 2026-10-06. Card counts are only quoted where the publisher publishes them.

Rules wording is quoted from Bandai’s own rules and glossary at the date cited and is subject to change. This page is rules and identification, not valuation: we publish no price for Digimon cards, because we have not yet run a checked pull of graded sales for the game.

Related reading

• The Digimon card index — the seven colours and the four card types
• Digivolution and sources: what sits under a Digimon
• The security stack, and how a game ends

Quick answer

CardSpicy reads a Digimon card’s printed fields rather than its board position, and digivolution builds a creature by placing cards on top of it — the cards underneath stay part of what it is.

A deck in the Digimon Card Game does not usually deploy its largest bodies straight from hand. It builds them. The mechanic that does the building is digivolution, and it leaves a record: the cards you used are still part of the creature they became.

Digivolving is placing a card on top

To digivolve, you take a Digimon already in play and place another card on top of it, paying the digivolution cost printed on the new card rather than its play cost. The card you place becomes the top of the stack. What was already there stays underneath, in play, as a source.

The stack counts as one Digimon. The top card supplies the name, level, colour and DP that are in play. The cards beneath are sources, and they are not discarded — they are still part of the object.

Sources are not dead cards

A card can carry an inherited effect, which activates while that card is stacked under another Digimon. Cards you can no longer see are therefore still doing work. This is why two stacks built from the same top card can be worth different amounts: what matters is not only what is on top but what is underneath.

Digivolution conditions

Each card prints what it is allowed to digivolve from — typically a level and a colour. Building a stack is therefore a sequence of legal steps rather than a free choice, and the order in which you build it decides which inherited effects you end up holding.

Digivolving is not the same as playing

The official glossary keeps two timings apart. The On Play timing triggers when a Digimon is played directly to the battle area, and the glossary states plainly that it does not apply to a Digimon that digivolved or to one moved into play from the breeding area. The When Digivolving timing triggers when a Digimon on the battle area digivolves. A card that rewards being played does nothing for a stack, and a card that rewards digivolving does nothing for a card played from hand.

Digivolving also carries a digivolution bonus that draws you a card, and a Digimon that digivolves in the breeding area does not activate its When Digivolving effects. The Digimon card index sets out which zones the game uses.

Why the trash is a resource

Because digivolution needs material, the trash is less a graveyard than a second supply of it. One of the game’s seven colours is built around that idea directly: purple works from the trash rather than from the hand, which is the clearest illustration of why the card you discarded is not necessarily gone.

What this page does not claim

No prices, and no card counts. The rules described here are quoted from Bandai’s own glossary, and where the publisher does not define something this page says nothing about it.

Frequently asked questions

What is a source in the Digimon Card Game?

A source is a card sitting underneath a Digimon that digivolved onto it. The sources stay stacked beneath the top card and are part of the same Digimon. Effects can reference them, and a card with an inherited effect can still activate while it is one.

Do On Play effects trigger when a Digimon digivolves?

No. The glossary’s On Play timing applies to Digimon played directly to the battle area and states that it does not apply to digivolving Digimon or to Digimon moved into play from the breeding area. Digivolving has its own timing.

Do you draw a card when you digivolve?

Yes. Digivolving carries a digivolution bonus that draws you a card, and the glossary refers to it when describing the order in which effects resolve.

Can you digivolve a Digimon in the breeding area?

Yes, and the glossary notes that a Digimon which digivolves in the breeding area does not activate its When Digivolving effects. A Digimon in the breeding area also cannot activate effects or be targeted by them.

Why does a card under a Digimon still matter?

Because cards can carry inherited effects that activate while they are stacked under another Digimon. A stack can therefore be worth considerably more than the sum of the costs you paid to build it.

Sources

Sources and further reading

1. Bandai — the Digimon Card Game official rules and glossary: the memory gauge, the areas of the playing field, the card types, the card code prefixes and the timings referred to on this page.
2. Bandai — the Digimon Card Game rulebook and restricted-card list.
3. Rules wording is quoted from the publisher’s own glossary rather than from third-party rules summaries.
4. This page was compiled 2026-10-06. Card counts are only quoted where the publisher publishes them.

Rules wording is quoted from Bandai’s own rules and glossary at the date cited and is subject to change. This page is rules and identification, not valuation: we publish no price for Digimon cards, because we have not yet run a checked pull of graded sales for the game.

Related reading

• The Digimon card index — colours, card types and the rarity ladder
• The memory gauge: how a turn ends
• Reading a Digimon card: codes, numbers and rarity marks