Bandai please, ban Growlmon X and Gravity Crush!
Hi! I’m Tony aka Utsu, a French competitive player (and meme sometimes #BanMirage) for team OmniX. I’ve been playing the Digimon TCG since BT1-3: Release Special Booster Ver.1.0 pre-release in November 2020, time flies! I had a mitigated experience with Magic the Gathering and was looking for a new TCG, it was the perfect timing. I’m mostly playing at my locals in Paris (2 or 3 tournaments each week), or online with my team or my friends from all around the country.
My favorite Digimon is BT17-031 Renamon because I liked her and BT11-112 Rina Shinomiya when I was young, she’s so cool and edgy haha!
My favorite Alternative Art in the game is BT8-082 Ophanimon Falldown Mode, but I also really like the Digimon AA they announced in the PB-23, like Beelstarmon.
I chose Royal Knights for pretty simple reasons: The deck is good in the meta, not as good as Sakuyamon or Growlmon X engine I would say, but still pretty good. On the other hand, I like playing the deck and EVERY game I played with Royal Knights, are DIFFERENT. The possibilities are infinite and I just don’t like playing other decks in the meta. I tried Sakuyamon but it felt BORING, not gonna lie and I’m not really interested in the Growlmon X engine decks, it’s just not my style of gameplay.
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Before the event I was already playing the deck for a lot of weeks at my locals, but I was unsure about some techs in the list. My team helped me to get to the definitive deck list. I wanted to get at least a TOP 16 (being able to go to the EU finals) and I knew that Royal Knights was the best choice for me.
It’s pretty hard to win against Growlmon X engine decks (Phoenixmon is probably the least worst). If you expect a lot of Growlmon X engine decks and are not confident with your RK, I would advise to play something else. The matchup vs Sakuyamon is difficult but you can make it. Adventure is also a bad matchup somehow, but as the deck is pretty hard to play and not as represented as the two others mentioned, you should not really care.
BT13-007 Yggdrasil_7D6, please don’t play EX6-006 Gate of Deadly Sins as a 5th egg!
BT14-009 Gotsumon, I like this little guy, good tech in the meta in my opinion, but if you don’t like it you can try something else! Pretty good in the mirror to have a safe OTK and against some other decks that play Digimon by effects. Play 0, 1 or 2 copies.
BT20-083 Omekamon is the best defensive card in the deck. I won’t explain the card, but it’s your main option to avoid being killed by your opponent. The card isn’t hard to use, just remember that you can play it from BT13-007 Yggdrasil_7D6 sources even if you don’t use the On Play effect. The reason: just to block something or put pressure on your next turn as it could be the missing attack you need! The combo with Cool Boy is also insane. Play 4 copies!
I’m playing BT13-093 Omekamon because I think that 4 BT20-083 Omekamon isn’t enough. I like playing 5 as it also helps for unexpected kills or combos (too many are possible for me to explain them all). Depending on your playstyle 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4 copies, doesn’t really matter.
BT13-040 Magnamon is a pretty obvious choice as it’s the best Turn 1 in the deck. If you start you only give 2 memory to your opponent. If you go second you can lock your opponent at 1 memory and for example if he played Ukkomon for example, play Magnamon and Cool Boy, but be careful to not give too much memory to your opponent! Magnamon and The Last Guardian are to be honest better the better play when you start. If you go second, sometimes Cool Boy is a better choice as a Turn 1 depending on the matchup. As this is the card you absolutely want in your hand Turn one, you must play 4 copies.
BT13-087 Dynasmon, well, to be fair, you could cut that card and the deck would still work perfectly fine. I just like having one more searcher for consistency and the fact that it is trashing cards, this might help later in the game for cards like LordKnightmon, The Last Guardian in security to bring back a Cool Boy or Omekamon from trash, Gallantmon: Crimson Mode to trash the missing security for your lethal, etc. You can play 1 copy, 2 copies or no copy at all, it doesn’t really matter.
BT20-060 Alphamon: Ouryuken is the best removal in the deck together with Omnimon (X Antibody). It is a good card in early, mid and late game, but you just have to be careful about the timing you play it to avoid giving 5 more memory to your opponent. It’s also good as a combo piece! Especially with cards like Jesmon and OmniX because you’ll be able to take advantage of the 3 memory gain effect and extend your plays. A Turn 4 kill is possible! I think 3 copies is the perfect ratio cause you want to see the card in a lot of situations but it might be bricky if you find too many of them.
BT20-017 Jesmon is also a pretty good removal in the deck and a good card in early and midgame. The decoy token is pretty good because it allows you to do an early check (enabling a Turn 4 kill sometimes), block little threats, or obviously save one of your Red or Black Royal Knights! Same as Alphamon: Ouryuken, I think that 3 copies is the perfect ratio, but you may try 2 or 4 if you prefer.
With BT19-072 LordKnightmon you can bring back an Omekamon or Magnamon from trash with the On Play effect and the redirection is a must have for matchups like Imperialdramon. In my case, it also can bring back Gotsumon from trash. Just 2 copies is fine, but you may try 1 if you need slots for something else!
About BT13-112 Omnimon I won’t talk that much about the card because it’s pretty obvious. It is your easiest kill option in the deck. In total 3 copies is enough as you only want to find one in most games and you don’t ABSOLUTELY need it to kill your opponent. You have other ways to kill.
About BT13-111 Gallantmon is strong, BUT it was underwhelming during the tournament. I’ve played it 1 or 2 times. I think it’s a problem on my side as I should practice a bit more to find the perfect timing to play it. Play 1 or 2 copies.
About BT13-030 UlforceVeedramon is back! In my list I was hesitating about 3 slots. Ulforce took 2 of them. I’ve chosen him because it’s good in the Royal Knights mirror, but also good against Machinedramon (aka Mugendramon) matchup. I was expecting a lot of Mugendramon as the Digimon is pretty popular and the deck just received good support. Without Ulforce, Mugendramon is pretty, pretty difficult to handle. Play 0 or 2 copies, depending on what meta you expect.
Regarding BT20-021 Jesmon GX, I think the perfect Ace ratio in the deck is 3, this is a personal preference. The card is good for defensive plays (Ace threat) or offensive plays (can be 3 security checks!). Your opponent has to play around it. At least 1 or 2 copies is a must. I think 1 is nice in the current meta and 2 will be better if they hit the Growlmon X engine in the banlist.
BT13-019 Gankoomon is the same as Omnimon, I won’t talk that much about the card, but it’s pretty good in the midgame. The Gankoomon and Jesmon (and his token) gives you 2 lvl 6 for your Aces, Gankoomon and LordKnightmon can give you 2 blockers and a redirection, etc.
Just 2 copies is the perfect ratio as the card alone is a bit useless.
Omnimon (X Antibody) is one of the best cards in your deck as a defensive or offensive option. With The Last Guardian it’s a sticky threat for your opponent to handle and it’s really pressuring. It also allows you to finish games even without Omnimon as the card is doing a lot of security checks by itself. Play 4 copies!
BT17-018 Gallantmon: Crimson Mode is your “surprise OTK”. Play Omnimon (X Antibody) while keeping your turn (also work with Purge of the Royal Knights), hardcast Gallantmon: Crimson Mode and reap the profit! In total 2 copies is a good ratio.
EX8-074 MedievalGallantmon is a pretty good tech card in the current meta as a lot of hardcasts or Digimon played by effects happen. Be careful because Sakuyamon can disable your When Digivolving effect. Also, don’t forget that if you play Omekamon with Yggdrasil_7D6 or Cool Boy during your opponent's turn, it triggers your MedievalGallantmon! Sadly it’s not a RK :( and 1, 2 or 3 copies is good.
BT20-091 Cool Boy, the worst thing about this card is that it might be hard to find the best timing to play it. You have to choose between playing Cool Boy or a RK. The only tip I can give is that it’s easier to play it in the early game and that it helps you for the rest of the game with the extra draw and extra memory. Just take your time and think about your best option! If you need to deal urgently with an opponent threat, play a RK. If you have time to set up, play Cool Boy! As it offers tons of value, play 4 copies.
BT20-100 The Last Guardian is maybe the best card in the deck?! Good searcher, good delay effect, good security effect, cost nothing, it does EVERYTHING. You MUST play 4 copies!
BT13-110 Purge of the Royal Knights is a pretty good card, but not as good as it was. Timings to play the cards are more difficult to find and in a lot of games they’re just dead in hands or even on board! I would recommend playing 3 copies as it’s still a pretty good option, but you may play 2 or 4 copies if you prefer.
EX1-068 Ice Wall! Surprise! Your opponent won’t expect it and with Ulforce you have 2 more Blue sources to cast it. It didn’t save me in security for this Regionals, but I’ve won 2 games by hardcasting it.
The most basic one is:
First round and already a team kill! It was against my friend Abso from my Paris locals but also a player from my team! I knew exactly the matchup as I practiced it against him.
The first game was long, but UlforceVeedramon helped me to get the win. The second game was faster as he was bricking and I had everything I needed to handle the matchup.
Alphamon: Ouryuken might not be enough because Machinedramon can get +4K DP with some sources, that’s why UlforceVeedramon is good.
I was pretty confident in the mirror, but I’ve not been able to exploit it as my opponent just had bad hands compared to mine. He managed to finish in the Top 8.
I should have lost the BO but the timer saved me. My opponent was pretty good with the deck and I was surprised by Zephagamon. I won a game because he didn’t find enough level 5 Digimon. He finished in the Top 8.
The matchup was PRETTY HARD for Armor because Alphamon: Ouryuken can kill Magnamon (X Antibody) easily. That’s what I did in game 1. Sadly he didn’t find a single rookie in game 2, but I think the matchup is kinda unwinnable for Armor anyway.
Another team kill and against a pretty bad matchup! It was against YuXOh, also a friend from my Paris locals and a player from my team. We practiced the matchup so I knew what to expect. He won game 1, I won game 2 because he bricked, then I managed game 3 because he gave me too much memory and didn’t expect me to kill from that spot. It won’t happen again haha! YuXOh still managed to finish in the Top 8.
Do you remember Gotsumon? Well, that’s it. With Gotsumon on board, it’s pretty impossible for Abbadomon to set up. He managed to kill it in game 1 but my setup was too strong for him to handle it and in game 2. I had 2 Gotsumon on board with one last egg in his raising. He couldn’t do anything, he did Top 8 anyway.
The first game was a setup battle that I won, he was a bit too slow, sadly for him. In the second game he decked out trying to kill me with a board full or Royal Knights and Ice Wall!l activated. Omnimon as a defensive play is always an option to think about, please remember it!
Brumène, another friend from my locals in Paris, we four came by car together to Bordeaux and three of us made it to the Top 4 lol! The other one being YuXOh.
I don’t remember the first game to be honest, the second game as well, he was just too fast to kill me as I couldn’t do anything about it.
The third game was interesting. I noticed that between Omekamon and a RK, he preferred to bounce my RK with AncientGarurumon. I had 2 security left, Omekamon on board and I was like: “OK, if I play a RK and he tries to bounce it with Ancient, I have the win, otherwise it’s over”. So I played a Magnamon, expecting him to missplay and he did! He did the Ancient play, tried to bounce Magnamon, I played Omekamon from my hand with the effect of Cool Boy, AncientGarurumon bounced a security to my hand. So I had one security left, resolving the On Play of Omekamon to Digivolve into Omnimon (X Antibody) to then bounce his Ancient to the bottom of his deck. He couldn’t kill me on that turn and give me the win on my next turn
Remember: always try to win if you can! Your opponent can missplay! It’s better to have 50% chance of winning than 50% chance of “maybe I won’t lose if I do this”.
The whole tournament was on Saturday and the finale was early Sunday morning. I still don’t understand that choice but I regret because I think I could have won the Regionals if every game were played on Saturday, I was doing good!
The first game I had the lethal, I knew it, but I focused on something else and missplayed. That’s the reason why I think that playing the first game of the day at this moment was not good for me hahaha.
In the second game he missed lethal too (my opponent also had the first BO of the day debuff, at least!), so I won.
In the third game he killed me with the perfect Hero combo on Turn 4. I had a pretty good hand but it wasn’t enough to handle that sadly.
I think that my list was perfect for the event, for the next one I’ll probably change 1 or 2 cards because I expect some different meta calls, but that’s all.
If I could change something, definitely it would be playing the finale on Saturday or playing some games before the finale on Sunday to be more focused!
I would like to say that RK is a pretty fun deck to play, as I said it has tons of possibilities, all the games are different and interesting.
If you don’t like playing against RK, please don’t ask for a banlist. First, try to play some floodgates lol! Floodgates are deadly for RK, I don’t know why people are not playing some if they don’t like playing against RK. Also I would like to say that playing decks that you like to play is more important than playing the strongest deck if you don’t like to play it. Try to find the strongest deck you like to play, and you’ll do good in tournaments! It depends on your game style, but it works for me.
I would like to thank all of my friends from my locals in Paris and also all of my team mates from team OmniX who helped me to find the perfect list and practice before the Regio.
Special thanks to Mina and Abso for landing me some shiny cards, YuXOh for being our car driver and my rival for years, M5hordes and Brumène who were in the car with us, Kylian for the emotional support during the weekend and my girlfriend who supports my overflowing passion for this TCG haha!
Interviewed and special thanks to: Utsu
Author: Digital Gate Open (Nathan van Hulst)