DNA Digivolution in Digimon: costs and stacks
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The DNA Digivolution in Digimon Card Game combines multiple of your cards that meet a printed requirement on a Digimon card to form a new Digimon. It is not a standard digivolution that stacks one card on top of an existing pile: you select the required Digimon, pay the specific DNA Digivolution cost, place the piles in the order indicated, and the new card ends up on top. Afterward, you draw a card as a result of the digivolution. The resulting Digimon enters without being suspended and does not automatically retain all prior states of the original Digimon. The current full rule set details which effects are reset and which external effects continue to apply.
Read the requirement before moving the piles
A line such as «DNA Digivolution: Blue Lv.4 + Green Lv.4: Cost 0» requires two components that meet those conditions, one for each part. The specific card may require different colors, levels, names, or traits; do not substitute the example with a universal rule. First identify which cards in play are eligible and whether the conditions are met at that moment. An effect that changes color, level, or name may affect eligibility. If you do not have all the required components, you cannot complete that DNA Digivolution simply because you have a higher-level Digimon.
The rule refers to your cards that meet the revealed requirement. Check if the card allows a different type of component, such as a Tamer, in any variant; the printed requirement is what matters. Do not assume that «any two Digimon» work just because they share a color with the top card. Also, do not treat a card in the breeding area as automatically available in the battle area: verify the allowed zone and any specific text. In case of doubt, physically mark each component before announcing the cost.
The cost you pay
DNA Digivolution indicates a separate evolution cost. Many known cards show Cost 0, but that does not make all DNA Digivolutions free. Pay the number specified in the chosen requirement, subject to applicable increases or reductions. Do not confuse this cost with the cost to play the card from your hand, nor with the standard evolution cost that may appear in another section of the same card. These are distinct procedures, and the text selected determines which one you are performing.
The cost moves the memory marker like all other costs in the game. If the payment causes the memory marker to cross over to the opponent's side, do not interrupt the procedure halfway through the pile. Complete the digivolution and resolve any pending abilities before passing the turn according to the end-of-turn sequence. Conversely, do not choose DNA Digivolution if a restriction prevents the procedure or the cost cannot be paid. For a card with multiple evolution requirements, announce which one you are using before moving materials: it may change both the cost and which components are valid.
How materials are placed
The rules require that components be stacked in the order shown by the requirement, with the left-side component placed on top of the right-side one, unless the text allows choosing the order. Digimon cards that were already beneath each component travel with their own piles. Do not freely mix those inherited cards or reorder them based on what seems most convenient. Physical order matters because some abilities look for the top card of the digivolution or a specific position.
For example, if the card requires a blue Digimon on the left and a green one on the right, place the blue component on top of the green within the cards that remain beneath the new card, maintaining each one's previous cards in the correct order. The new DNA card is finally placed on top of everything. If the requirement specifies quantities or multiple copies and the rules allow choosing the order, announce your choice before continuing. A photo of the stack at the end can help reconstruct a play, but the best practice is to stack it correctly from the start.
The resulting Digimon is new
The key distinction of DNA Digivolution is that the resulting Digimon does not retain the state of the components. The top card enters without being suspended, even if one or both materials were previously suspended. This is not considered «desuspending» a prior Digimon to activate an ability that requires desuspension; official rulings explicitly clarify this. Certain turn-based ability uses are also reset according to the current rule set. However, an external continuous effect applied to all your Digimon may affect the new Digimon as soon as it appears. «Reset» does not mean «immune to any previous effect on the table».
The new state may enable an attack during the same turn under conditions where a component could not attack. Current rules explain that if a card played during that same turn participates in the DNA Digivolution, the resulting Digimon loses knowledge of having been played and may attack during that turn if no other restriction applies. Do not interpret this as «all DNA attacks always»: it still needs to be in a valid zone, not blocked by an effect, and have a turn attack opportunity. The «no suspension» status means the Digimon is not flipped over; it does not mean all conditions disappear.
Which abilities activate afterward
DNA Digivolution remains a type of digivolution. A card with an ability [When Digivolving] can activate when the procedure is completed, respecting the conditions of the ability and the resolution order. You also draw a card as a result of the digivolution according to the general evolution step. Do not automatically trigger [On Play] effects as if you had paid the cost to play a Digimon: placing a card via DNA Digivolution and playing it as a new unit are separate actions. A specific card may have special text modifying this rule; you must read it.
Abilities inherited from the components beneath the new card may influence its attack or defense. To determine which abilities it has, inspect the entire resulting stack after placing it. Distinguish the printed main ability of a component from its inherited abilities: the card is now beneath the new card and does not retain all its ordinary field abilities. If one of the components had a temporary effect received before combining, check whether that state is preserved; the general DNA rule treats the new unit as a distinct entity, and many prior states do not carry over.
Example turn
You have a blue Lv.4 Digimon suspended in the battle area and a green Lv.4 Digimon not suspended in the battle area. In your hand, you have a card with the requirement «Blue Lv.4 + Green Lv.4: Cost 0». You verify that both components actually meet those colors and levels. You announce the DNA Digivolution, reveal the card, and select that requirement. You pay zero memory for that line, stack the blue component first, then the green with its previous cards in the indicated order, place the new card on top, and draw a card. The resulting Digimon enters without being suspended. Now resolve any digivolution effects that follow.
If the blue Digimon was suspended because it had attacked earlier, you do not automatically carry over that suspension to the new Digimon. If the green Digimon had a continuous external effect stating «this Digimon cannot attack» and that effect was tied only to its prior identity, the new Digimon rule may change the outcome; if instead a continuous effect states «all of the opponent's Digimon cannot attack», the new Digimon may also be affected. Do not resolve both examples with the vague statement «DNA clears everything». Identify the source and scope of the effect.
DNA Digivolution versus standard digivolution
Standard digivolution selects one eligible card or pile, pays its cost, and places the new card on top; the pile orientation is usually preserved and its game history matters. DNA Digivolution selects multiple components, forms a new stack, and applies special state rules. Both actions draw a card according to the general evolution procedure, but they are not interchangeable. An effect that orders «standard digivolution» does not allow DNA Digivolution unless explicitly specified. The current rule set explicitly states that this operation requires an effect or permission that performs DNA Digivolution.
The difference also matters when building a deck. For standard evolution, you need a line that leads to a suitable pile; for DNA, you need to see both required components simultaneously. Drawing the top card without having both components may stall your hand. Include enough ways to find or maintain each component, and check whether the memory cost allows combining the pieces without sacrificing a decisive turn to the opponent. A card with Cost 0 can be powerful, but its preparation cost is real.
Common mistakes
The most common errors are using materials that do not exactly meet the requirement, paying the wrong evolution cost, stacking components in reverse order, and separating the inherited cards from each pile. It is also common to believe that the new Digimon «is desuspended» to activate a desuspension effect, or that it retains all temporary restrictions from both components. Another error is using an [On Play] ability without having played the card. Before continuing the turn, check the requirement, cost, order, draw, orientation, and abilities that actually activated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a suspended Digimon as a material?
Suspension alone does not necessarily invalidate a component that meets the requirement. The resulting Digimon enters without suspension according to the DNA Digivolution rule; this does not count as desuspending the prior material.
Do all DNA Digivolutions cost zero memory?
No. Pay the cost specified in the requirement you use, with applicable modifiers. Many known examples show zero, but the specific card dictates the cost.
Are the digivolution cards beneath the materials preserved?
Yes. Each component is placed with its cards beneath it, without arbitrarily reordering them. The order between components follows the DNA Digivolution line and any exceptions specified in the rules.