How to get started with Digimon Card Game: which Starter Deck to buy, deckbuilding rules and finding events

A recent Starter Deck is all you need to get into Digimon Card Game: ST-23 Digimon Beatbreak and ST-24 Digimon Data Squad each contain 54 cards, which is exactly a legal 50-card deck plus 4 Digi-Eggs, and you can take either one to a store tournament straight out of the box. Bandai's US list price is 15.99 USD each. If you can wait a month, ST-25 and ST-26 arrive on 4 December 2026 at 19.99 USD with a BT-27 booster pack inside. Building your own deck comes down to one line: exactly 50 cards, a separate Digi-Egg deck of 0 to 5, and no more than 4 copies of any card number. Store events are listed and booked in the Bandai TCG+ app, and in Europe only English-language cards are allowed.

Facts checked on 9 November 2026 at world.digimoncard.com; numbers in brackets are rules from the Comprehensive Rules Manual 4.3. Turn structure, memory and keywords are not covered again here; they live in our Digimon Card Game keywords guide.

What you need for your first game

Each player brings two piles. The main deck holds exactly 50 Digimon, Tamer and Option cards (1-4-1-2-1). The Digi-Egg deck is a separate stack of 0 to 5 egg cards (1-4-1-3-1). You also need a memory gauge, a single one that both players share during the game (1-4-2-1). How the gauge works, and what the breeding area where eggs hatch is for, is explained in the keywords guide under memory gauge and breeding area.

Current Starter Decks come with two playsheets (paper mats with the zones printed on them). If you are missing a memory gauge, the official rules page offers a printable playsheet plus memory gauges A and B as PDFs.

Which Starter Deck to buy in November 2026

The official catalogue lists starter products from ST-1 (January 2021) up to ST-26, and they are not equally useful to someone starting today. One thing that trips people up: the official «About» page still recommends ST-20 and ST-21, released in April 2025, even though two newer decks have been on shelves since May 2026. The table below covers the ones that make sense right now, using the figures from each official product page.

Deck	Release	US list price	What's in the box	Pick it if…
ST-23 Digimon Beatbreak	15/5/2026	15.99 USD	54 cards (4 Kekkomon eggs + 50), 21 card types, 2 playsheets, 4 index cards, 6 bonus cards	You want to play this month with a Beatbreak deck that attacks from the early turns
ST-24 Digimon Data Squad	15/5/2026	15.99 USD	54 cards (4 Koromon eggs + 50), 21 card types, 2 playsheets, 4 index cards, 6 bonus cards	You want to play this month with the Agumon-to-ShineGreymon line
ST-25 Alysion Rubeusdramon / ST-26 Alysion Yukinamon	4/12/2026	19.99 USD	54 cards, 17 card types, 2 playsheets, 4 index cards, 1 BT-27 booster pack and a DIGIMON ALYSION code	You can wait four weeks and would rather have the newest deck
ST-22 Amethyst Mandala (Advanced Deck)	5/12/2025	29.99 USD	54 cards, 60 sleeves, 1 playsheet, 6+2 bonus cards	You want sleeves included and a Renamon and Sakuyamon deck

These are Bandai's suggested retail prices in the United States. Shops elsewhere set their own prices, so compare a few before buying. ST-23 and ST-24 introduced DUAL cards, which carry a Digimon side and an Option side on a single card: when you use one, you declare which side you are using, and on the field it always counts as a Digimon (4-6-1 to 4-6-3). For deckbuilding they change nothing. They go in the main deck and count towards the 50.

So how do you choose? To play in November, go for ST-23 or ST-24. They are the only 2026 starter decks released so far, and they were the required decks for the Welcome Tamers Event, the casual store event Bandai ran in May and June with newcomers in mind. If there is no rush, ST-25 and ST-26 cost 4 USD more and include a booster pack. ST-22 comes with sleeves, but at almost twice the price. Upcoming product dates are in our TCG release calendar.

Building a deck: the five rules

Exactly 50 cards in the main deck, not one more or one fewer (1-4-1-2-1). Only Digimon, Tamers and Options, DUAL cards included. Tournaments allow no side deck, according to section 2.4 of the Tournament Rules Manual.
0 to 5 Digi-Eggs in their own deck. Any count up to five is fine, zero included (1-4-1-3-1). Egg cards can only go in the Digi-Egg deck (2-2-3).
Up to 4 copies per card number, in the main deck and in the Digi-Egg deck alike (1-4-1-2-2 and 1-4-1-3-2). You count by number, not by name: the official ST-23 decklist runs 4 Gekkomon BT25-046 and 4 Gekkomon ST23-06, eight cards sharing a name in a legal deck. The ST-22 list has eleven Renamon spread across three numbers.
Five eggs means at least two different card numbers, since a single number caps out at four.
The banned and restricted list overrides the 4-copy limit. A restricted card allows a single copy, and an alternate art with the same number counts as the same card.

The rules put no colour limit on deckbuilding, so you can mix as many colours as you like. The limit shows up during play: to use an Option from your hand, you need a Digimon or Tamer of its colour on your field. That is covered in the section on Option cards and colour requirements.

A deck of about fifty cards in violet sleeves next to a stack of five cards in pink sleeves — AI-generated illustration.

Worked example: turning ST-24 into your first own version

We start from a freshly opened ST-24 Digimon Data Squad. The point is to see how the rules add up and what it costs, not to hand you a tournament list.

Step 1: check the deck is legal as it comes

The official decklist has 4 Koromon in the Digi-Egg deck and 50 cards in the main deck: 32 Digimon, 6 DUAL cards (3 ShineGreymon ST24-07 and 3 ShineGreymon: Burst Mode BT25-104), 8 Tamers and 4 Options. Nothing goes above 4 copies, and none of the card numbers appears on the banned and restricted list in force on 9 November 2026. For 15.99 USD you own a tournament-legal deck.

Step 2: decide what goes up and what comes out

The ST-24 product page says the deck's game plan ends with the level 6 and level 7 DUAL cards, ShineGreymon and its Burst Mode, and the box includes only three of each. Taking both to four adds two cards, so two others have to leave to stay at 50. In this example we cut the two single copies: Falcomon ST24-12 and MirageGaogamon BT25-029.

Card	ST-24 out of the box	Adjusted version
ShineGreymon ST24-07	3	4
ShineGreymon: Burst Mode BT25-104	3	4
Falcomon ST24-12	1	0
MirageGaogamon BT25-029	1	0
Main deck total	50	50
Digi-Egg deck (Koromon ST24-01)	4	4

Step 3: what it costs

The two extra cards come in a second ST-24: another 15.99 USD, 31.98 USD in total at list price. Buying just those two cards as singles can be cheaper or dearer depending on the day, so check Cardmarket before deciding. The second deck leaves you with 52 spare cards plus its 6 bonus cards to trade.

Step 4: what you gain, in numbers

Take the first 10 cards you see from your deck: the opening hand of 5 and the next 5 draws, ignoring the extra draws from digivolving. With 3 Burst Mode in 50 cards, your chance of seeing at least one is 49.6%; with 4 it rises to 60.3%. The sums are 1 − C(47,10)/C(50,10) and 1 − C(46,10)/C(50,10). The 5 face-down security cards make no difference, because they come at random from the same shuffled deck. To run the numbers for your own list, the opening hand probability calculator includes Digimon (50-card deck, 5-card hand) in its game list.

Banned and restricted cards: the current list

The official list for the English version was last updated on 21 August 2026, with changes effective from 1 September 2026, and that is the list in force today. What changed on that date:

Banned: Nyaromon BT15-003. It is a Digi-Egg, so the list reaches the Digi-Egg deck too. Bandai's reasoning is that a one-copy limit was not enough, because an egg can be used at just the right moment.
Restricted to 1 copy: Analog Youth EX1-066, Growlmon (X Antibody) EX8-012 and Patamon BT14-033.

Overall there are four banned cards: Nyaromon BT15-003, Matt Ishida BT2-090, Sayo & Koh EX5-065 and Mega Digimon Fusion! BT5-109. There are also two banned pairs and 53 cards restricted to one copy, the oldest of them since April 2021.

The banned pair is the rule most likely to catch you out when you expand a preconstructed deck: if your deck includes card A, it cannot include card B. Take ST-22 Amethyst Mandala, whose decklist has 3 Taomon BT17-035 and 1 Sakuyamon (X Antibody) EX8-037. Both are the B side of a pair whose A side is Chaosmon: Valdur Arm BT20-037. Add that Chaosmon and those four cards have to come out first. Because restrictions go by number, a Patamon printed under any number other than BT14-033 still allows four copies. Bandai notes that the list moves with the competitive environment, so check it before every event.

Formats and how tournaments are run

The Tournament Rules Manual sets out three event levels: casual (store play, pre-releases and drafts), competitive (Store Championships and special events) and professional (Regionals, Area Finals and Worlds). There are three approved formats: constructed, where you bring your own legal deck; sealed, where you build from product handed out on the day; and draft, with six booster packs per player in pods of four (3.2 and 3.3). Some events add their own format on top. The Welcome Tamers Event (15 May to 14 June 2026) only allowed decks built from ST-23 and ST-24.

We found no set rotation on any of the official pages we checked. What decides whether a deck is legal is the list above plus the language of the cards.

Match	Wins needed	Time	Where it is used
Best of one	1	25 min + 5 extra	Casual and competitive events, at the organiser's choice
Best of three	2	45 min + 5	Required at professional events; optional elsewhere
Best of three, top cut	2	55 min + 5	Top cut

In Swiss, the number of rounds depends on attendance: 4 to 8 players means three rounds and no cut; 9 to 16, four rounds and the top two go through; 17 to 32, five rounds and a top four (3.6).

These are the official events with dates that Bandai lists as of 9 November 2026:

Evolution Cup 2026 Vol. 4, in stores from 1 December 2026 to 31 January 2027: constructed, Swiss rounds with no top cut, best-of-three matches of 55 minutes plus 5. The participation prize is an alternate-art Hurricane Screw Shot EX7-071. You must sign up in Bandai TCG+ beforehand.
Official Store Tournament: each store picks its own dates.
Regionals 26-27, season 2: the Spanish stop has already happened, in Madrid on 15 and 16 August 2026 (La Nave, run by Victory Road). The next European date is Wakefield, UK, on 19 and 20 December.
European Area Finals: London, 15 to 17 January 2027, by invitation earned at a Regional only.

Finding and booking a tournament with Bandai TCG+

Bandai TCG+ is Bandai's official organised play platform. You use it to search for events at nearby stores, sign up, register your deck, check in and see pairings and results. It is the same app used for One Piece or Gundam.

Create a Bandai Namco ID. TCG+ registration requires one, and minors need consent from a parent or legal guardian (Tournament Rules Manual, 2.1).
Install the app from the App Store or Google Play, or use the website. The site asks for a language, a region and a game title. If you live in Spain, pick «Spain» (anywhere else, your own country) and «DIGIMON CARD GAME (English)», not the Japanese version, which is a separate circuit. You have to accept the terms of service and privacy policy before going any further.
Search for events with «DIGIMON» selected at the top, as Bandai's own event pages instruct, and filter by distance.
Register before the day. For the Evolution Cup, signing up in TCG+ in advance is mandatory, so simply turning up at the store is not enough.
Register your deck in the app if the store asks for it, then check in and enter each result there on the day.

If no Digimon events show up near you, the app will not list stores that do not run them. Ask at your usual store. Our directory of TCG stores in Spain lists card shops by city (those running Pokémon events) and links Bandai TCG+, but it does not confirm which ones run Digimon.

Two players in a tournament match at a hobby shop, with a phone on the table — AI-generated illustration.

Digimon-specific points for your first tournament

The general checklist of what to bring and how to behave at the table is in our guide on preparing for your first TCG event. These rules are particular to Digimon, all from the Tournament Rules Manual:

English cards. Players in Europe must use English-language cards at every tournament event (2.4.1), and Bandai's language page places Europe in the English-version region. More on this in our card language and edition guide.
Opaque sleeves, and different ones for the eggs. Every sleeve in the main deck has to match, and the Digi-Egg deck must be sleeved so it can be told apart from the main deck. Up to two sleeves per card are allowed, but not reflective backs or holographic fronts (2.4.2). In practice that means one pack for the 50 main-deck cards and a different colour for the eggs. The sleeves and boxes calculator tells you how many packs you need, and our sleeves guide covers types and sizes.
Your own memory gauge. The manual asks you to bring a gauge and a counter, with each player tracking memory so nobody shares materials (2.4).
A decklist with card number and full name. No shorthand: for example, «ST24-07 ShineGreymon ×4». Store events only require one if the store announces it in advance; championship events always do (4.4).

Common beginner mistakes

Counting the eggs inside the 50. ST-24 has 54 cards because it is 50 plus 4. Pull the Koromon out to «get to 50» and your main deck is actually 46.
Counting copies by name. The 4-copy cap applies per card number. Eight Gekkomon across two numbers are legal; five with the same number are not.
Adding a fifth identical egg. A fifth Koromon ST24-01 does not fit. The fifth Digi-Egg needs a different number.
Expanding a deck without checking banned pairs. Chaosmon: Valdur Arm with ST-22 is the clearest example.
Bringing Japanese cards to a European event. Only the English version is allowed in Europe.
Turning up without a TCG+ booking. Events such as the Evolution Cup require you to register in the app first.

What to do with your spare cards

The second deck from the example leaves you with around fifty spare cards. The TradeMatches app does not cover Digimon Card Game; its «have» and «want» lists work for other games. For Digimon, the printable trade list works with any game: you write one card per line with number, language and condition, then print the sheet and bring it to the event. Before offering a card, check its condition with our card condition guide.

FAQ

Can I play a tournament with an unmodified Starter Deck?

Yes, as long as none of its cards are on the banned and restricted list. As of 9 November 2026, the ST-23 and ST-24 decklists meet every rule exactly as they come.

Do I have to play Digi-Eggs?

No. Your Digi-Egg deck can hold anywhere from 0 to 5 cards, zero included, although without eggs you will never hatch anything in the breeding area.

How many copies of the same card can I play?

Four per card number, unless the card is restricted, in which case only one. Two cards with the same name but different numbers are counted separately.

Do I need Bandai TCG+ to play at a store?

For official events, yes: stores publish them on TCG+, and for events like the Evolution Cup you must register in the app beforehand. A casual game needs nothing of the sort.

Sources and checks

On 9 November 2026 we read the product pages and decklists for ST-22 to ST-26, the Comprehensive Rules Manual 4.3 (rules 1-4, 2-2 and 4-6), the June 2024 Tournament Rules Manual (2.1, 2.4, 3.2 to 3.6 and 4.4), the banned and restricted list, the event pages and the Bandai TCG+ start screen. The probabilities come from the hypergeometric distribution.