Card Game Block Icon Detailed

[MarcFBR]

Recent cards shown off for the Digimon Card Game have had a small number on it with no explanation given for it's meaning.

The Digimon Card Game Twitter finally provided an explanation.


All cards released after April 1st will have this new 'block icon'. It's being used as a release designation in case rule updates in the future means cards have to be removed from deck construction for future tournaments and events.

At the moment the plan is to increase the number every year, and there are no current plans for them to use it, but it's being put in place for if (when) it's needed.




The first cards to use the block icon are:
The 2nd promo card of Pulsemon, along with the 5th Tamer Battle Pack and associated Winner's Card.

Starter Decks 7 Dukemon & 8 ULForceV-dramon: (various early card previews below)

V-Jump Early Look
Guilmon & V-mon
GeoGreymon & Coredramon
Promo Poster & Magazine Previews of Royal Saber & ULForce Saber
Various Starter Decks 7 & 8 Card Previews

Booster Set 6 Double Diamond: (the only previews we have so far are below)
Sistermon Blanc & Sistermon Noir




We have clean card images for Booster Set 5 Battle of Omega, plus Tamer Battle Pack 4, 4th Scene Vote, & Vital Bracelet Pack-In Cards.

We also just got our first details & images for Booster Set 6 Double Diamond & the Dukemon & ULForceV-dramon starter decks and pre-orders are up!

Plus we have the first details for the 1 year anniversary of the card game, including a number of fun things!

And images from previous Digimon Card Game releases:
Starter Decks 1, 2, and 3, and first 10 promo cards
Booster Set 1 New Evolution
Booster Set 2 Ultimate Power
V-Tamer Promo Cards
Purple/Black Promo Set
Tamer Battle Pack 1 and Tamer Battle Winner's Card
Booster Set 3 Union Impact
Starter Decks 4, 5, & 6, plus Tamer Battle Pack 2 & winner's Card 2, & 1st 2 scene vote cards
Booster Set 4 Great Legend, Tamer Battle Pack 3, 3rd Scene Vote, Dark Digimon Promo Pack, & Apparel Cards

 

[Muur]

Card rotation may prove to be an unpopular choice...

 

[Mattman324]

Card rotation may prove to be an unpopular choice...

Rotation literally always proves to be an unpopular choice. If they're smart, they won't do it for another two or three years, when the game has a large enough install base to take the hit.

 

[Nightwing]

These blocks don’t have to mean rotation, it could just make for different formats. Would be interesting, for example, if you gathered a couple of your friends to play only with Block 1 after a couple more 2021 sets come out. I’ve played “Starter Deck cards only” games before that were pretty fun. If Carddass supported that on a larger scale, it’d give people more opportunity for interesting deck building.

We’ll just have to see how this is implemented, if at all. Could just be for future-proofing.

 

[DragonicEmperor]

Just make a banlist really. The charm of cardgames like Yugioh is that every card that has been released at some point can finally be useful through future support.

Then again, Pokémon has set rotation but I have no idea how good that game does and how well received it is.

 

[Santaskid]

I like the idea of them trying to future proof it... we are puttiing this in palce JUST INCASE. I mean i feel most early cards will get phased out due to inevitable power creep, but I can also see a reason that might call for rotation I mean banning a few cards is probably going to be step 1 and the easiest route... but using it for easy format definition could be fun as well. I like that they at least at the moment don't plan to make use of it but they are putting it in just in place... so i can see the first "rotation out" being no block cards so Booster 1-what 5? Obviosuly that won't be until we get up to what booster 7 or 8?

But this does help with promo cards i feel. causeI think one of the issues with standard rotations is promo cards/side packs. It can be tricky to remember when they were released and it saves time if you just have to say "only block 2+ are legal"But we'll justh ave to wait and see how things play out. Maybe they will go for a ban list and make use of the block icons for format stuff instead.

 

[Mattman324]

Then again, Pokémon has set rotation but I have no idea how good that game does and how well received it is.

Pokemon used to be by far the biggest card game in the world. Then it started rotating. It's now only in competition for the top three worldwide, slightly below in some reasons.

Set rotation is a notable part of the reason Pokemania ended.

 

[Santaskid]

the one thing that really concerns me the more i think about it is it sounds as if they are confused themselves. On one hand its nice putting something there just in case. so in theory when we start getting block 2 stuff no block cards can be phased out or something. But at the same time ' we are putting these on just in case... but we don't plan to use them as things stand right now' well clearly there has to be at least some level of concern to make you put she ground work in place.

Upside they could decide later on to do a ban list instead and repurpose them for say format identification and such. But it still feels as if theres some level of confusion.

 

[GoldenEXP]

Bandai did this for Battle Spirits too iirc
Its only used for tournaments with special rules like (Only block 1 cards), no rotation there

 

[TokenDuelist]

Then again, Pokémon has set rotation but I have no idea how good that game does and how well received it is.

Pokemon used to be by far the biggest card game in the world. Then it started rotating. It's now only in competition for the top three worldwide, slightly below in some reasons.

Set rotation is a notable part of the reason Pokemania ended.

It's been doing pretty poorly the past couple of years sadly. Before Unbroken Bonds was released, a handful of Judges, TOs, and Stores, predicted a single print run from Unbroken Bonds onward because of a rumor from their distributors. Plenty of hopeful people didn't believe said rumor, but we knew that the state of the game was causing Pokemon to waste money and resources. Then single print run was confirmed for Unbroken Bonds and it really didn't change a single thing about how much product was on shelves. Game still did badly.

They recently had a player survey sent out before the Logan Paul incident happened. Solely because the player-base was dying out and uninterested in the card game. So hopefully they stick to the results of the survey from the players, this situation could not have come at a worse time that might change their minds on improving the game.

As for rotation with Digimon, I hope it won't be the case. The inheritable system leaves a lot of room for potential with later cards and even older cards.

The design of the Digimon card game works best without a rotation, and could lose a lot of it's charm by rotating cards out.

 

[Mattman324]

It's been doing pretty poorly the past couple of years sadly.

A lot of big names have. Yugioh constantly parrots that its tournament numbers constantly went up during the Vrains era, but discontent was everywhere and there is no logical reason that if Yugioh was actually doing well they'd release a product that directly competes with it in the market. Magic boasts high sales numbers but admits between the lines that that's mostly due to a number of products that sell for exorbitant costs and Magic Arena, while the actual physical card game has been... in a pretty fucking rough place recently. Vanguard is doing a pretty substantial restructuring. Buddyfight fucking died. Duel Masters, I'm not sure on because I don't follow it as much, but last I heard the product they were doing that was doing the best was catering to the oldest fans.

A lot of shit happened in the last five years to TCGs, even before COVID. I expect the market from three years ago to look drastically different from what it will in three or so years from now.

(That said, bringing it back to set rotation, it's been killing TCGs since the 90s. Digimon's established itself, but it needs to last a few years more before it has the pedigree to weather such a thing - at the very least to allow for an all cards format to exist.)

 

[GoldenEXP]

Im being told the recent Dragon Ball TCG also does this and only for the few tournaments with special rules too, so it seems to just be Bandai tradition

 

[Dynamicmon]

This is not gonna matter for a while as the only cards with the block number are the new starter decks, BT6, and the alternate art Pulsemon.

 

[Nightwing]

Just make a banlist really. The charm of cardgames like Yugioh is that every card that has been released at some point can finally be useful through future support.

Upside they could decide later on to do a ban list instead and repurpose them for say format identification and such. But it still feels as if theres some level of confusion.

There already is a ban list, two cards have already been limited to 1 copy each. I believe it took effect on April 1st, so it's official now.

Bandai did this for Battle Spirits too iirc
Its only used for tournaments with special rules like (Only block 1 cards), no rotation there

Oh cool, that's what I was thinking it would be used for so it's nice to know they've already done this kinda thing. Gonna be interesting to see which block(s) the Digimon cards belonged to.

 

[Mattman324]

There already is a ban list, two cards have already been limited to 1 copy each. I believe it took effect on April 1st, so it's official now.

Is that on the Japanese side? There's three cards restricted in America - the original versions of Algomon's Perfect and Ultimate forms, and Hidden Potential Discovered.

 

[Santaskid]

Totally misread the initial post- i think this goes for most/all of us.

It's being used as a release designation in case rule updates in the future means cards have to be removed from deck construction for future tournaments and events.


I know i read this as standard rotation but now that people have pointed out that Battle Spirits has used this for tournament things it makes perfect sense. The block icon will not be usedfor rotation-but just to easily identify tournament standards. Which is a relief.

 

[Kit Chan]

I thought rotations were good because they help keep the game fresh without building powercreep upon powercreep.

And then Pokemon EX era happened.

TBH, I think the main reason TCGs are where they are now is because over the past decade there's been a shift in focus from strategic gameplay towards fast dopamine hits for dummies be it with huge beat sticks or massive OTK combos, while at the same time shortening the game length for tournament organizers.

Been seeing similar things in the video game industry. All hype, no substance seems to be the game publishers are playing. Among Us is a breath of fresh air.

 

[Nightwing]

There already is a ban list, two cards have already been limited to 1 copy each. I believe it took effect on April 1st, so it's official now.

Is that on the Japanese side? There's three cards restricted in America - the original versions of Algomon's Perfect and Ultimate forms, and Hidden Potential Discovered.

It’s universal now, and it’s only Algomon Perfect, not Ultimate. You are right about HPD though. The two cards they hit are the problem cards, the other Algomon cards are not really as impactful, and honestly don’t even see as much play these days in Japan. They should see more play in the West for now, I guess, but they’ll likely get left behind as we get BT4 and ST4.