BT-10 Xros Encounter introduced tons of new mechanics that shifted how the game is played. With powerful decks that take advantage of the Save and DigiXros keywords, like Xros Heart, and older archetypes that were given a breath of new life with new Sistermon cards like the Jesmon starter deck, making the right decision on which cards to purchase in order to win large regional events is something to mull over.
Luckily, Xros Encounter is one of the few Digimon Card Game formats where most of the decks are playable at a high level. But, even if the aim is casual play, the decks are loads of fun to play with friends at your local card shop.
10 Shoutmon X4
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Even though the poster card title goes to Shoutmon X5, X4 takes the cake for one of the best cards in the set. Within the Xros Heart deck, Shoutmon X4 is the main driving piece and a pseudo-boss Digimon of sorts. Using the new DigiXros mechanic, you are able to place up to four of the main Xros Heart Digimon underneath X4, reducing its play cost by two for each Digimon you place. Effectively making Shoutmon X4 only cost one memory to play.
Not only are you set up with a huge Digimon with 8,000 DP, Rush, Piercing, Draw 1, and -2,000 DP to the opponent's Security Digimon, but after the attack goes through, you can Save all the Digimon used for the DigiXros to be used later for another X4 or even Shoutmon X5.
9 Taiki Kudo
Like Goku in every Dragon Ball piece of media, making a card featuring a goggle-donning Digimon protagonist that is unplayable would be borderline criminal. Thankfully, Taiki Kudo is quite the opposite.
Anything that searches the deck for missing combo pieces and costs less than four memory to play will forever be a key card in any archetypes, but Taiki doesn't just let you pick up one card out of your search. He lets you add one to hand, then place another underneath himself for later use with his secondary effect to let you use cards underneath tamers, which have been added by Taiki or through the Save keyword, for a DigiXros.
8 Bloomlordmon
Green has always been in an interesting position in the Digimon Card Game. It produces interesting control-heavy decks with fun gimmicks that are quite unique to green, such as Digisorption, but players end up finding ways to use those mechanics in order to make the decks overly oppressive. Hence, cards like Hidden Potential Discovered! and Argomon have been officially restricted to one by Bandai.
The Bloomlord deck, on the other hand, feels very different. Taking the same approach as GrandisKuwagamon from the last format, Bloomlordmon aims to slowly set a very explosive board to wipe the opponent's Security in one go by using smaller Digimon that have been suspended by effects while still being useful cards on the board.
7 Blazing Memory Boost!
For fans of Blue Hybrid back in the BT-06 format and stun players alike, Blue Flare is the deck to go with. Trashing powerful inheritable effects from the opponent's Digimon and stunning them along the way is a powerful combination to set Blue Flare in good contention for one of the best decks in the BT-10 format. Blazing Memory Boost! is one of the cards that enable it.
Memory boost cards are a staple in almost every deck, but this archetype exclusive boost allows you to search six cards deep into the deck, grab two Blue Flare cards, and still play a Kiriha Aonuma revealed in the search. All for a cost of five memory, which might seem steep compared to other memory boosts, but the payoff is there. Not only do you get the memory gain effect by trashing it next turn, but combined with Kiriha, you will be set at a cozy five memory next turn, ready to freeze your opponent.
6 Venusmon
There aren't many floodgates in the Digimon Card Game, especially since the game's memory system gives the players limited resources per turn to remove problematic cards from the battle area. Venusmon is the latest iteration of a floodgate in the game.
Venusmon completely negates any When Digivolving and When Attacking effects of your opponent's Digimon while protecting itself from attacks, forcing your opponent to remove it with effects like deletion or Digivolve. After the restriction to JetSylphymon, Venusmon is what yellow needed in order to keep up with the stronger decks in the BT-10 format.
5 Sakuyamon: Maid Mode
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Sakuyamon was introduced in EX-02 Digital Hazard, but it never made strides as a whole. It had a cool gimmick with a plethora of two-cost options that could be played for free or even recycled from the trash, making the deck a toolbox-style deck.
Sakuyamon: Maid Mode grabs that playstyle and cranks it all the way up. Allowing you to recycle any Plug-In option from the trash, or any option up to a play cost of five, opens up the possibilities of the deck to a far larger gamut than ever.
4 DarkKnightmon (X Antibody)
One of the biggest gripes that most people have with Digimon Card Game is that Tamer cards are very rarely interacted with by the opponent, meaning that decks whose main game plan is to set up tons of Tamers to push their advantage usually go unchecked. This is why the BT-06 Hybrid format saw two hits on the restricted list in the form of JetSylphymon and Tommy Himi.
BT-10 introduces heavy Tamer-based decks like Xros Heart and Blue Flare, but Bandai doesn't leave players out to dry without a direct counter. DarkKnightmon was a fun deck during BT-07 Next Adventure and kept getting more support in the sets after, but it always felt like it needed an extra push. That push comes in the form of DigiXros and DarkKnightmon (X Antibody). It pops Tamers, recycles your trashed cards, and plays a DarkKnightmon from the trash once it is deleted for an endless amount of value.
3 Minervamon
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Minervamon is one of the more interesting cards in Xros Encounter. Not only does Minervamon bring back the loop-style deck that Lilithmon popularized, but it enhances them a bit further by recycling most of your Digimon whenever your opponent plays a Digimon. In a way, Minervamon becomes a tempo deck that matches the opponent's board. It is a unique way of playing purple since you get access to cards with strong effects like Rush, Draw 2, etc.
Minervamon allows you to build your decks with a toolbox playstyle in mind, giving you access to every single keyword that purple can use and even the Eyesmon engine. This card makes the deck move fast and hard. Better get those copies Cocytus Breath and Megadeath ready.
2 Jesmon (X Antibody)
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The original OTK deck is back, and it is stronger than ever. With Jesmon (X Antibody), the deck's swarming ability becomes even stronger since it essentially plays a Sistermon for free and still gives you a card in hand from Digivolving. Red has a hard time drawing the pieces it needs for its combos but another Mega that can get you an extra draw and further enhance your board is quite powerful. Even if you don't Digivolve from a Jesmon, Jesmon (X Antibody) is still a very good top end at only a three memory cost to Digivolve.
This Jesmon card further optimizes the deck by cutting up to four card slots since you don't have to add Judgment of the Blade anymore in order to attack unsuspended Digimon. Say goodbye Mother D-Reaper.
1 Jesmon GX
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Jesmon GX is what most people call a "win more" card. Jesmon already has a good game plan with swarming the Battle Area with Sistermon cards while using their effects to protect its own Security, but what Jesmon GX does is infinitely more fun. By Digivolving into GX on top of a stack that already includes Jesmon and Jesmon (X Antibody), you can use its When Digivolving effect to place another Royal Knight card underneath itself, giving you Security Attack +1 for every Royal Knight underneath Jesmon GX.
That is a total of four security checks. By the time you're able to climb up to GX, you'll have already checked at least one or two security. GX will just come in for clean-up duty.