Digimon TCG – GrandisKuwagamon Primer

The nineth booster of the Digimon TCG introduced a new set of cards called “X-Antibody.” Rather than make them their own archetype (like with D-Reaper in EX2) or give them an exclusive skill (like Armors in BT8), X-Antibodies were given to multiple different existing archetypes to help punch them up. This gives the BT9 meta-game a pretty good range, but everything hinges around a few specific cards. A lot of X-Antibody decks can feel kind of similar, with the main gimmicks being that certain X-Antibody cards can Digivolve for a cost of 0 if placed on top of a card that shares their name, or can Digivolve when attacking.

Green was already doing combat Digivolution before X-Antibody stuff was introduced, and a few of their cards support the gimmick in a way that the other colors really haven’t tapped into. A funny combo example for this is EX1 Kabuterimon, whose effect states it can Digivolve into a Lv5 “Insectoid” when attacking by paying the cost of the card you want to Digivolve into. X-Antibody is a new option card that has a similar effect, but limits you to only Digivolving into things with “X-Antibody” in their typing; however, every single color has at least 2 “X-Antibody” type Lv6 cards. So, get up to Kabuterimon on turn 1, send him out turn 2 and attach “X-Antibody,” swing with Kabuterimon and use his effect to go into a Lv5, and then use X-Antibody’s effect to go into a Lv6 “X-Antibody” type. It’ll probably run you about 6-7 memory, but if you have a decent start, you’ll end up with a turn 2 Lv6 while your opponent has only just started building their resources.

Today’s Deck Primer is going to focus on a green X-Antibody deck I’ve been having a lot of fun with the past few weeks: GrandisKuwagamon.

Let’s start with the key boss monster for the deck: GrandisKuwagamon.

It’s a 12,000 DP Lv6 that can Digivolve for a cost of 4, or specifically off of “GranKuwagamon” for 1. It has a Digivolve effect that suspends one of your opponent’s Digimon and then if Grandis is attacking can redirect his attack to an opponent’s suspended Digimon.

He gains +4,000 DP during the player’s turn.

And finally, once per-turn after attacking, He can suspend an opponent’s Digimon and unsuspend himself as long as a card with the name “GranKuwagamon” or “X-Antibody” is in his sources.

What a mouthful! This guy is really just one big beater, and his effects mix really well with a lot of the X-Antibody cards and their gimmicks. It’ll be easier to talk about the combos and plays you can make with him after introducing the cards ran to support him, but just know that he can serve a variety of purposes from potential full-field clears and 6-card security swipes to massive field setups.

While it’s very possible the deck will just jump from a Lv5 into Grandis, you ideally want to Digivolve him off a GranKuwagamon to guarantee Grandis gets his post-attack suspend and unsuspend effect. There are several versions of GranKuwaga to use, but the most useful one is the promo-variant. It’s an 11,000 Lv6 with a [Digi-Burst] ability. By removing 2 of its sources, it can grant a Digimon you control [Security Attack +1] until the of the turn. This effect has [Main] timing, so you can use it more than once, as long as you have the sources underneath to activate it. At minimum, you can check 3 security cards with GranKuwaga if you go from a Digitama all the way up the link (Lv2 + Lv3 and Lv4 + Lv 5). If you do the combo proper, you can Digi-Burst twice and then go up into Grandis, getting 2 swipes at 16,000 that’s check 3 cards each, leaving your opponent open if they aren’t running a recovery-heavy deck. A solid chuck of the lower level Digimon the deck runs will have source effects that activate when removed by Digi-Burst in order to reap the full rewards.

There are a few options for Lv5 that work well with this deck, but I am very partial to BT1 Okuwamon. He’s a 6,000 DP Lv5 that can Digivolve for 2 and has 1 source effect.

On the player’s turn, if this Digimon destroys an opponent’s Digimon by battle, gain +1 memory. He doesn’t look impressive at first, but that source effect puts in work. Not being a once per-turn means that as long as you can continue to recover and attack, you’ll get you memory back. Okuwamon essentially makes Grandis a free a card as long as your opponent has a Digimon on the field when you’re attacking.

It’s also pretty beneficial to run Okuwamon X-Antibody, He’s a Lv5 8,000 DP with a 3-cost Digivolve, but that cost becomes 0 when Digivolving specifically off an “Okuwamon.”

He has 2 different effects, first he has a similar effect to Grandis and can suspend an opponent’s Digimon when he Digivolves and then, if he’s attacking, can change his attack target to an opponent’s suspended Digimon. The only catch is that this effect won’t work unless there’s and Okuwamon or “X-Antibody” option card in his sources.

Then, During the player’s turn, if he would Digivolve into an “Insectoid” type, you can reduce the cost by 1.

He’s a 0-cost bridge that can make it really cheap to go from Okuwamon up to Grandis. 8,000 is a decent amount of DP, and can help clear out pesky blockers or low levels when combined with his rest ability, but you typically don’t want to sit on him for too long.

Other decent Lv5s for the deck can include either of the other variants of Okuwamon. The main one worth mentioning is his most recent promo-variant that has a very weird ability: he causes all of your opponent’s Digimon to gain “If this card becomes suspended: lose 1 memory” until the end of your opponent’s next turn if Okuwamon Digivolves into an “Insectoid” type Digimon. He also grants [Pierce] as long as the top card of his stack is “Insectoid” type. It looks great on paper, but I think it’s a bit too much. You do get a lite-version of Ice Wall, but only after Digivolving. You really want to keep your stack safe in the Raising Area, so you can’t be interrupted. It’s a cute 2-of if you feel like it, but the high Digivolve cost and the risk of having to have your boss out on the field feels like a bit much to me.

Good Lv5s outside of the “Insectoid” line are [Digisorption] cards like Argomon and Blossomon. Both of them can reduce their Digivolution costs to 0 by resting a Digimon you control when you Digivolve up to them. Argomon comes with a source effect that let’s you play a Lv3 green Digimon into your field suspendeded. Like with Okuwamon, this effect is not once per-turn, so Grandis can very quickly build up a field of potential attackers or blockers that your opponent will have to deal with immediately or risk losing on their next turn. It’s also a great way to play Lv3 extenders like Kokuwamon X or ST4 Tentomon. Argomon is currently limited 1 copy for this exact reason.

This deck uses 3 particular Lv4s, and all of them have Digivolution costs of 1.

First is Weedmon, who comes with a source effect that grants the player +1 memory is he’s removed to activate a [Digi-Burst] ability. His use should be pretty easy to understand. Pop him for Grankuwagamon’s [Digi-Burst] and get your memory back to go into Grandis for free.

Next is BT3 Stingmon, he comes with a source effect that is exactly the same as BT1 Okuwamon’s, but it’s only once per-tun. It’s a good bridge, and it combos well with Grandis to set up extra plays on your turn.

Finally, there’s ST4 Kabuterimon, who is just a nice blocker. The meta is very fast at the moment, with lots of decks forging blockers, but Kabuterimon can put in some work since our goal is one very specific combo. If we don’t hit our combo, he gives us a potential extra turn, and even in the event we do hit out combo, he can stop your opponent from killing off a rested Grankuwaga or Grandis. I’ve mostly been running 3, but have debated taking him up to 4 and knocking Weedmon down 3 instead.

Depending on your build, you could also run 1 or 2 Arbormon as your token “Hybrid” type. I do like Tamers in this particular deck, and Arbormon is a great finisher after using GranKuwaga/Grandis to fully wipe your opponent’s security cards.

I’d also like to give an honorable mention to BT3 Gargomon as another 1-cost Digivolve option. If you don’t want to put the crux of your strategy on Weedmon and [Digi-Burst], he’s a suitable replacement. You could also go with BT5 Roachmon, who doubles as an “Insectoid” type for specific searchers that deck uses, but I personally think you can ignore him since he doesn’t give any other benefits.

There are several Lv3 options, but 3 main ones I like using are promo Palmon, EX1 Tentomon, and the recently released Kokuwamon X-Antibody.

Let’s start with Palmon. She serves a similar purpose to Weedmon. When she’s removed from your Digimon’s sources for a [Digi-Burst] effect, she grants [Jamming] to a Digimon you control until the end of the turn. Grandis really doesn’t have to worry about losing to a security Digimon, ever, since he’s a base 16,000 on the player’s turn, but said [Jamming] can come in real handy against Yellow Hybrid decks that are able to easily boost up the DP on their security cards. Palmon also let’s GranKuwaga put in work if you don’t have a Grandis to go into.

Next is Tentomon. Tentomon is borderline broken. He has a source effect that, when attacking, reduces the next Digivolution cost of a Digimon that goes into an “Insectoid” or “Ancient Insectoid” type Digimon by 1. This is not a once per-turn effect. As long as you can keep attacking with Tentomon in your sources, you can make most of the deck’s Digivolution options free. It’s a very underrated ability, and lets you quickly build up multiple threats that would otherwise force your turn to end from memory cost. Tentomon is also able to make your Digivolution from GranKuwaga to Grandis free when used properly. He’s super cost-efficient, and I can’t imagine ever not running 4.

Last of the staples is Kokuwmon X-Antibody. He costs 3, but can Digivolve off a regular Kokuwamon for 0. When you play or Digivolve into Kokuwa-X you can reveal the top 3 cards of your deck and add a “Machine” or “Insectoid” type Digimon and a card named “X-Antibody” to your hand. He’s your searcher, and dang good one at that. The majority of the deck is “Insectoid” types, and we run a healthy amount of “X-Antibody” because it’s one of the primary combo starters for the deck.

I like to run 13-15 Lv3s so some of the other cards that can be used to fill in the gaps are BT4 Lalamon, who gets added back to the hand when removed for [Digi-Burst] effect, ST4 Tentomon because he’s a +1 on play in most cases, or any of the of the 2-cost Lv3s for their cost-efficiency.

For Digitama you want BT5 Yokomon. She grants +2000 DP until the end of the turn when removed for a [Digi-Burst] effect. Simple, good, and helps you get over certain decks like Dorumon/Alphamon. If you want other options, I’d recommend either BT9 Motimon (who boosts your Digimon’s DP by 1000 while it has “Insectoid” typing) or EX2 Gummymon (Who lets you draw a card once when your opponent’s Digimon is suspended on your turn).

You can get pretty creative with Tamers, but I think BT1 Mimi works really well with the deck. You can easily build up cheap Lv4s and 5s that Mimi can then move into play to act as threats while Grandis is out. If you want to play more into the OTK-style of the deck, then Mimi is the best 3-setter for that since she let’s you hatch a digitama on the same turn you move Grandis out of the Raising Area. You really don’t want to move your intended Grandis stack out until you know you can make him. The deck has one particularly devastating turn, and you don’t want your main Digimon getting disrupted.

BT3 Ken is the other good memory setter for the deck, and he works well if you want to run something more memory-focused His ability lets you rest him whenever your blue or green Digimon deletes an opponent’s by battle. Due to how Grandis works, Ken can help net you back 4 memory total between himself, Ookuwamon, and Stingmon (assuming you get 2 successful attacks with Grandis). He can help get around cards like EX1 Ice Wall.

The duo BT5 Mimi and Izzy Tamer card is also decent. While you won’t really be using their secondary effect outside of fringe cases, their effect that gives an extra +2 memory at the start of your turn if you opponent controls a rested Digimon can make your opponent hesitate to attack you. Two memory can go rather far in this deck, and it’s very easy to shift the game around if your opponent doesn’t try to keep your memory values low.

BT9 also introduced a lot of good duo Tamers, and either one will work well in place of Mimi and Izzy. I’m partial to sticking with Mimi in this case, since she let’s draw when your green or blue Digimon deletes an opponent’s Digimon by battle by suspending, and grants +1 memory at the start of your turn for each player with a rested Digimon. T.K. and Izzy can also be viable, since they give a potential +2 memory if both you and your opponent have Lv5 or higher Digimon at the start of your turn and can suspend to give an opponent’s Digimon -1000 when you Digivolve into a Yellow or Green Digimon.

You don’t particularly need that many options in this deck because of how fast it moves. A few Green Memory Boost! can go a long way, though. I already said +2 memory puts in work for this deck, and this card helps ensure you’ve got what you need to complete your combos…. It’s also a search card.

Okay, now for the last part, the 2 X-Antibody cards. First is the titular “X-Antibody,” a 0-cost option card that can be played ignoring it’s color restrictions as long as you control a Digimon. When played, you may put it at the bottom of a Digimon’s sources, as long as that Digimon does not already have an “X-Antibody” Option in its sources, and no effect can remove “X-Antibody” from that Digimon’s sources (including your own [Digi-Burst] effects).

While in a Digimon’s sources it gains a once per-turn effect when attacking to Digivolve into a Digimon that has “X-Antibody” typing by paying it’s Digivolution cost.

X-Antibody also has a security effect that adds that card to your hand and gives you +1 memory.

This card is such a nuisance, and is the reason this deck is so efficient. It combos particularly well with Tentomon, since Tentomon will reduce your next digivolution by 1, and Grandis only costs 1 when played on top of GranKuwaga. So, attack with GranKuwaga, resolve Tentomon, then resolve the Antibody, and play Grandis for free to then ram your opponent’s field with a force of a speeding semi-truck. When properly combined with Okuwamon, you end up going plus on memory and get to continue your turn after disrupting your opponent’s plays. This can often be important, as Grandis is very weak on your opponent’s turn, and that extra memory is what you want to use to set up your blockers or plays for next turn.

There is 1 more card to reap the full benefits of this combo though, and that is “Cool Boy,” a 1-off manga character that nobody bothered to name. I guess he’s cool, I don’t know, I’m too old to say what’s cool and what isn’t.

He’s a 2-cost tamer with 2 different effects. First, on play, he reveals the top 3 cards of the deck and lets you add 1 “X-Antibody” type Digimon and 1 “X-Antibody” card to your hand and send the rest to the bottom of your deck.

His second ability lets him rest when you Digivolve a Digimon into an “X-Antibody” type Digimon of the same level to gain +1 memory and draw a card. It’s very simple extension, but not particularly common in this deck. I’ve been a bit back and forth on whether or not I actually like using him since Okuwamon X and Grandis are the only targets. EX1 Analog Boy is a decent replacement if you’d rather have a more defensive tamer option that also combos well with BT1 Mimi.

Okay, so what are the deck’s weaknesses? It has a few. Like a lot of aggro decks, it doesn’t deal well with hard control and decks that just focus on spamming out tamers and recovery instead of things for you to attack. If your opponent isn’t playing Digimon for you to rest and destroy, you aren’t getting your memory back. In this case, you want to be ending games quickly with Grandis. The more things drag out, the worse a position you’ll find yourself in.

The deck also has particular issues with “Armor” types. [Armor Break] is a skill that lets the player send the top card of a Digimon’s stack to the trash pile instead of letting the Digimon be destroyed. Okuwamon, Stingmon, and Ken will only trigger on destruction, so armor break just bypasses that. It’s more of a hindrance than a death sentence, but green doesn’t really run field wipes to help get around “Armor” cards. The only ways around [Armor Break] at the moment are with negative stat cards like Wyvern Breath or “return to hand,” neither of which green has access to.

However, it can handily deal with just about anything. The deck has consistent turn 3-4 kills that a lot of popular decks can’t keep pace with. An example perfect 3-turn goes something like this:

Turn 1: Hatch a Digitama and go into any Lv3 and play a memory fixing tamer

Turn 2: Digivolve into a 1-cost Lv4, then a 2-cost Okuwamon, and then into Grankuwaga

Turn 3: Move GranKuwaga into play, [Digi-Burst] twice to gain [Security Attack +2] and Digivolve into Grandis for 1. Attack twice with Grandis to check 6 security cards. Digivolve your Tamer into Arbormon and swing for game.

I think that GrandisKuwagamon is a very flexible deck, that has potential to do many different things. The range of unique “Insectoid” type cards in green aren’t fully covered in this primer, but it is very easy for this deck to shift to a more control-centric build if that ever becomes viable. There are also plenty of cards that grant [Pierce] in green, letting Grandis focus exclusively on field clearing if need be. Either way, GrandisKuwagamon is a really fun green deck that can force your opponent to stay on guard at all times. It’s fragility is off-set by its ability to quickly recover or swarm given the circumstances that it’s in.