15 Starter Deck cards revealed in official Digimon TCG video, first promo cards coming through Battle Spirits collaboration

An introductory video published by the official Digimon Card Game YouTube channel revealed over 25 cards from the first two Starter Decks, including the Yagami Taichi Tamer card and the boss card of Cocytus Blue, Metal Garurumon. The video goes over the basic rules of the 2020 TCG, confirming and elaborating upon what was recently revealed in V Jump magazine.

It was also revealed through the official website today that the first promo pack, Ver 0.0, will be given out to those that buy the latest Digimon x Battle Spirits TCG Collaboration Booster, Last Evolution. One promo pack will be given out with every five packs of the Battle Spirits booster customers purchase. The promo pack features six Level 3 Digimon with different artwork and effects from their Starter Deck counterparts. Promo packs will also be packed in with the Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna Complete Selection Animation Digivice.

Agumon
P-001 Promo
Digimon card
3000 DP
Entry Cost 5 Evolution Cost 0
Level 3
[On-Entry] Destroy 1 of your opponent's 3000 DP or less Digimon. (Non-inheritable)

Piyomon
P-002 Promo
Digimon card
2000 DP
Entry Cost 3 Evolution Cost 0
Level 3
[During your turn] When this Digimon destroys an opponent's Digimon by battle, «(Illegible Keyword)». (Draw 1 card from your deck.) (Inheritable)

Gabumon
P-003 Promo
Digimon card
3000 DP
Entry Cost 4 Evolution Cost 0
Level 3
[On-Entry] Remove 1 Evolution Source from the bottom of 1 of your opponent's Digimon. (Non-inheritable)

Gomamon
P-004 Promo
Digimon card
1000 DP
Entry Cost 3 Evolution Cost 0
Level 3
[During your turn] Once per turn: When your opponent's Digimon's Evolution Source is removed, you get +1 Memory. (Inheritable)

Patamon
P-005 Promo
Digimon card
2000 DP
Entry Cost 4 Evolution Cost 0
Level 3
(Illegible timing) When your Security becomes(?) 1 or less, «Recovery +1 (Deck)». (Place 1 card from the top of your deck into the top of your Security.) (Non-inheritable)

Tailmon
P-006 Promo
Digimon card
4000 DP
Entry Cost 4 Evolution Cost 2
Level 4
[During your turn] If your Security is 3 or greater, this Digimon gets +1000 DP. (Inheritable)

Note that some effects have changed slightly since these cards were first eased. For example, this Patamon appears to be the same one revealed in V Jump back in January, but it has 1 more Cost, 1000 less DP, and a non-inheritable effect rather than an inheritable one.

The play area in the new Digimon TCG is divided into six zones: the Hand, Deck, Trash, Security, Raising Area, and Battle Area. At the start of the game five cards are placed face-down from each player's Decks into their Security. You win the game by attacking the opponent while they have no Security remaining, and remove their Security cards by attacking them with your Digimon, turning them from Active (vertical) to Rest (horizontal) to declare attacks. While in the video's example the opponent didn't have any Digimon in play at the time, the existence of the Blocker ability implies that Digimon cannot be used to block attacks without it. (Considering that the Digimon TCG reuses elements from Chrono Clash, which was in turn influenced by designer Ryan Miller's previous work on Duel Masters, players probably can't attack an opponent's Digimon unless it's Rested, and power ties will result in both the attacker and defender being destroyed...probably.)

Players enter Digimon into the battlefield by paying their Entry Costs, moving a marker along the Memory Gauge (here depicted in the center of the playmat, but also countable using a pair of accessory cards) towards their opponent's side. When the marker crosses past 0 and over to 1 or higher, it becomes the opponent's turn. Alternatively, players can pay the Evolution Cost to evolve a Digimon on the field into one of the next level and same color.

In addition to what was explicitly stated, several points about the game can be gleaned from careful observation of the cards shown:

• A Digimon with no effects has 1000 more DP and 1 less Entry Cost than a same-level Digimon with effects.
• In general, Level 3 Digimon have no Evolution Cost, so it's possible to play two cards on the first turn before play passes to the opponent.
• Discarded Baby Digimon go to the Trash, rather than returning to the Raising Area.

We now know 10 of the 16 unique cards in Starter Deck 1: Gaia Red, and 5 of the 16 in Starter Deck 2: Cocytus Blue. Currently from Gaia Red the unrevealed slots are slots ST1-02 and 04 (one of them likely being Piyomon, whose number isn't legible) as well as ST-06, 10, and 13 through 15. From Cocytus Blue, the unrevealed slots are 02, 04~07, 09~10, and 12~16.

The Big Reveal: Metal Garurumon

Metal Garurumon
ST2-11 Super Rare
Digimon card
11000 DP
Entry Cost 12 Evolution Cost 4
[When it attacks] Once per turn: Make this Digimon Active. (Non-inheritable)

Were Garurumon
ST2-08 Rare
Digimon card
7000 DP
Entry Cost 7 Evolution Cost 3
Level 5
[During your turn] While your opponent has a Digimon with no Evolution Sources, this Digimon gets «Security Attack +1». (When this Digimon attacks Security, increase the number it checks by 1.) (Inheritable)

Metal Garurumon's effect allows it to attack twice in a turn, automatically becoming Active after Resting to attack. While this can snowball with it inheriting «Security Attack +1» from Were Garurumon, allowing it to destroy up to 4 Security in a single turn, Were Garurumon's effect doesn't activate unless the opponent has a Digimon with no Evolution Sources in play, which is primarily achieved by using Gabumon and Garurumon's effects to gradually strip away Sources. In other words, Metal Garurumon requires setup to become this dangerous; the Blue color as a whole revolves around removing Evolution Sources from the opponent's Digimon to trigger other effects.

While the War Greymon line is less directly damaging, it also doesn't require much setup to happen and can't be reigned in by the opponent evolving their Digimon. War Greymon gets «Security Attack +1» for every 2 Evolution Sources beneath it, and can inherit an effect from a previously-revealed print of Metal Greymon that can make it Active again after it destroys an opponent's Digimon by battle. With Koromon, Agumon, Greymon, and Metal Greymon in the Source, War Greymon can attack twice and check two Security just by evolving normally, but because it has to attack a Digimon to go Active again, it can't check four in one turn like Metal Garurumon. The Gaia Red Starter Deck is thus for players that want something stable and aggressive, while Cocytus Blue is designed for more tactical play. (e.g. deliberately not attacking one of the opponent's Digimon so that it can be reduced to 0 Sources and keep the Security Attack effect active, allowing Metal to dish out more damage.)

Note that Were Garurumon's effect implies you can declare attacks on Security even if the opponent has Digimon in play, as otherwise the effect would be completely useless.

Gaia Red cards

Koromon
ST1-01 Common
Digitama card
Level 2
[During your turn] If this Digimon has 4 or more Evolution Sources, this Digimon gets +1000 DP. (Inheritable)

Piyomon
ST1-0? Common
Digimon card
Level 3
Entry Cost 2 Evolution Cost 0
3000 DP
No effect.

Agumon
ST1-03 Common
Digimon card
2000 DP
Entry Cost 3 Evolution Cost 0
Level 3
[During your turn] This Digimon gets +1000 DP. (Inheritable)

Birdramon
ST1-05 Common
Digimon card
5000 DP
Entry Cost 4 Evolution Cost 2
Level 4
No effect.

Greymon
ST1-07 Common
Digimon card
4000 DP
Entry Cost 5 Evolution Cost 2
Level 4
«Security Attack +1». (When this Digimon attacks Security, increase the number it checks by 1.) (Inheritable)

Garudamon
ST1-08 Uncommon
Digimon card
7000 DP
Entry Cost 6 Evolution Cost 3
Level 5
[When Evolving] During this turn, 1 of your Digimon gets +3000 DP.

Metal Greymon
ST1-09 Uncommon
Digimon card
7000 DP
Entry Cost 7 Evolution Cost 3
Level 5
[During your turn] When this Digimon is blocked, you get +3 Memory. (Inheritable)

War Greymon
ST1-11 Super Rare
Digimon card
12000 DP
Entry Cost 12 Evolution Cost 4
Level 6
[During your turn] For every 2 of this Digimon's Evolution Sources, it gets «Security Attack +1». (When this Digimon attacks Security, increase the number it checks by 1.) (Non-inheritable)

Yagami Taichi
ST1-12 Common
Tamer card
Entry Cost 2
[During your turn] All of your Digimon get +1000 DP.
[Security] You may play this card without paying the cost.

Gaia Force
ST1-16 Uncommon
Option card
Entry Cost 8
[Main] Destroy 1 of your opponent's Digimon.
[Security] Activate this card's [Main] effect.

Cocytus Blue cards

Tsunomon
ST2-01 Common
Digitama card
[During your turn] When it battles an opponent's Digimon with no Evolution Sources, this Digimon gets +1000 DP.  (Inheritable)

Gabumon
ST2-03 Uncommon
Digimon card
2000 DP
Entry Cost 3 Evolution Cost 0
Level 3
[When it attacks] Remove 1 Evolution Source from the bottom of 1 of your opponent's Level 5 or less Digimon.

Garurumon
ST2-?? Common
Digimon card
4000 DP
Entry Cost 5 Evolution Cost 2
Level 4
[When it attacks] Remove 1 Evolution Source from 1 of your opponent's Digimon

Other cards

Seraphimon, Zudomon, and the Option cards Shadow Wing and Starlight Explosion were all briefly shown in the introduction to the video, but are not clearly legible. Starlight Explosion has a Main Phase effect that affects the end of the turn, and a Security effect.

Starter Decks Gaia Red, Cocytus Blue, and Heaven's Yellow, will launch April 24th in Japan for 500 yen each, and will be followed by Booster Set ver. 1.0: NEW EVOLUTION on May 15th. No English release has been announced at this time.

Want the card game released overseas? Subscribe to Bandai's official TCG channel on YouTube, like their videos, follow their Twitter, and leave comments! Marketing departments pay attention to where their followers are, and getting the TCG a bigger following overseas than it has in Japan would send a strong message to Bandai.

First 6 Minutes of Digimon Adventure tri. "Decision" Shown in Livestream

February 11th, 2016. In today's Tokuban Adventure livestream over NicoNico Douga, the voices of Tachikawa Mimi and Kido Jou, Yoshida Hitomi and Ikeda Junya, presented audiences with information about several upcoming products, including the 15th anniversary D-3 Digivice Paildramon Color and Blu-Ray releases of Digimon Adventure tri.'s second chapter, Ketsui. ("Decision" or "Determination) The pair showed off a new trailer for Ketsui, as well as the first six minutes of the film. (Something similar had been done for the first chapter, Reunion.) This six minute preview is presented above.

The new trailer featured Jou's Gomamon evolving to Vikemon, and at the end a brief clip from the third chapter Kokuhaku ("Confession") was shown, in which Takeru screamed "Patamon!" This second trailer will likely be officially uploaded by Toei within 24 hours.

Gameplay clips from Digimon World -next 0rder- were also shown, along with a new trailer for the 2016 smartphone game Digimon Linkz. The Maicoomon gameplay can be seen here, while Linkz trailer is being processed and will be uploaded shortly.

The Digivice Ver. 15th Will Be Reprinted in March 2016

Over December 25th, Premium Bandai tweeted that the Yagami Taichi, Ishida Yamato, and Anime Original Color models of the Digivice Ver. 15th will all be reprinted in March 2016 to coincide with the recent preorder launch of the D-3 Ver. 15th. Preorders for the second run of the Ver. 15th are currently open until the launch date. The price of the device is set at 9990 yen, approximately $83 at the current exchange rate, and unlike the D-3, no specific limit on orders has been set. Tamers will have to order their Ver. 15ths before the launch date to receive them, and those outside of Japan will have to go through a proxy to purchase the Digivices.

Premium Bandai is Bandai's dedicated web shop, which sells directly to consumers rather than to toy stores. From August 26th to December 25th, 2014, Bandai sold the Digivice Ver. 15th in orange and blue to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of Digimon Adventure, and the Anime Original Color Ver. 15th later became available from March 3rd to May 11th, 2015. The AOC Digivice shipped with a flyer for the D-3 Ver. 15th, a limited six thousand units of which are currently available for preorder and will ship in June 2016. The Ver. 15th series has helped revive a long tradition of play in the Digimon fandom, becoming one centerpiece for the fan-organized DIGIMADO tournament series.

Digimon Adventure tri. Tote Bags Available at Comiket 89

December 14th, 2015. Bandai Fashion Net posted several upcoming products that will be available at Comiket 89 from December 29th to 31st. Alongside the previously-announced Virus Agumon plush toy, four types of tote bags and microfiber mini towelettes featuring the cast of Digimon Adventure tri. will be available as a set for 3000 yen (under $25 at the current exchange rate). The designs feature Ishida Yamato, Yagami Taichi, Tachikawa Mimi, and Takenouchi Sora, each with their respective partner Digimon. Labeled "Digimon Adventure tri. ZZZ With My Friend Tote Bags," the collection is part of Bandai's overall goal of targeting older female consumers with new Digimon merchandise.

Like with the Virus Agumon plush, the collection is very limited. 200 sets of tote bags and mini towelettes will be sold at Comiket 89, with 100 more being sold through the Premium Bandai web shop.

Comiket (an abbreviation of "Comic Market") is an annual doujinshi fair, where unofficial manga drawn by fanartists are sold alongside official products. Doujin events of this type are tolerated by large companies like Bandai and Toei because of a combination of factors; the fans typically operate at a loss when going to the event, with more than 50% of fanartists losing money by selling their work, and the events have an important role in cultivating fanbases that will be receptive to buying official merchandise. The success of doujin markets as an advertising tactic has even lead to corporate organization of these markets and other conventions, as seen in the Digimon-only event Digital ∞ Infinity organized by Studio YOU.

Mynavi Interviews Hanae & Hosoya on Digimon Adventure tri.

Original image uploaded by Mynavi.

November 20th, 2015. In an interview done in advance of Digimon Adventure tri.'s Japanese premiere on the 21st, Japanese news outlet Mynavi conducted an interview with voice actors Hanae Natsuki (Yagami Taichi) and Hosoya Yoshimasa (Ishida Yamato). In the interview, Hanae discussed his shock at the original cast being replaced for Digimon Adventure tri., and the challenges he faced in becoming the voice for one of his childhood heroes. Hanae saw Taichi as being Fujita Toshiko, his original voice actress, and went into the audition believing he would never be chosen for the role of Taichi. For his own part, Hosoya had no knowledge of Digimon prior to being asked to audition for Adventure tri., but felt the need to portray a Yamato that Kazama Yuuto (the character's original Seiyuu) could never perform as. A complete translation of the interview was published on the 24th by fan translator Onkei-kun.

"When I attended the Digimon event and saw the bright, shining eyes of the fans who anticipated this series, I felt over again how much love these pure-hearted people have for this anime, and how I'm going to be voicing in such a cherished series."
—Hosoya Yoshimasa

Many fans both in Japan and abroad have remarked on similarities between Hosoya's and Kazama's voices when used for Yamato, with several theatergoers initially mistaking Hosoya for the original actor by the sound of his voice alone. The similarities in the film are reinforced by Yamato's character in the film, which of the cast displays the least amount of change since Adventure 02. In contrast to this, Hanae's Taichi has been immediately singled out for the differences both in portrayal and tone when compared with Fujita's presentation. Hanae is normally chosen to portray very youthful and boyish characters, and his more mature version of Taichi is somewhat surprising to the industry as a whole.

The second chapter of Digimon Adventure tri., Decision, will premiere in Japan on March 12th, 2016, and be simulcast overseas by Crunchyroll.

Agumon Pouch, A3 Poster, Stickers in 9/20 Issue of smart e-Mook

November 17th, 2015. Japanese distributor Elpaka Books announced over Twitter an upcoming special editorial of the e-mook series smart [sic], focusing on Digimon Adventure tri. Contrary to their name, e-mooks are not electronic but are instead "enhanced magazine-books," a recent form of Japanese publishing which come packaged with special gift items that drive up the price of the issue, enticing consumers to buy the mook for the item. This special editorial will contain a large Agumon pouch ("Original Big Pouch") from clothing brand BEAMS, an A3-size poster for Digimon Adventure tri., and a sheet of stickers featuring Ishida Yamato's new band "Knife of Day."

The issue will become available on November 20th, one day before the first tri. film's Japanese premiere. It will feature a special interview with the new voices of Yagami Taichi and Ishida Yamato, Hanae Natsuki and Hosoya Yoshimasa, and will retail for 2000 yen, approximately $20 in US money.

Earlier today the blog Digi-Egg mistakenly reported Elpaka's magazine-book cover as a poster for new charms, misconstruing the word 魅力 miryoku "fascination/charming" to mean a charm item. Elpaka Books is a subsidiary book distribution service of Lawson, a Japanese chain of convenience stores. Originally prominent for its e-book distribution, Elpaka shut down their e-book service in 2014 and has since focused on print.

First 5 Minutes of Digimon Adventure tri. Shown in Livestream

October 25th, 2015. In an official Digimon livestream held today over Nicovideo, the first five minutes of the first Digimon Adventure tri. film Reunion were shown to promote the upcoming movie. An unsubtitled recording is provided above; subtitles will be provided later.

Digimon Adventure tri. was prescreened in Japan on Friday, and will premier in theaters November 11th, 2015. While the tri. DVD and Blu-ray releases will be region fee, no actual subtitled or dubbed western release has been announced at this time.