Attack Resolution

Main article: Attack Resolution/Old

NOTE: August 31, 2024 brought EN in line with JP with v4.0 of the rules and its change to attack resolution. "When your opponent attacks" now triggers at the same time as "When attacking." This only matters in certain edge cases and a quick review of the scenarios below shows no change in resolution. The flow chart still reflects the prior rules.

The prior rules set from before May/July 2023 can be found under the old ruleset.

Attack Flowchart from Version 3.0 Rulebook. Note that suspending and declaring the target have always been simultaneous, and that "when attacking" and "when an opponent's digimon attacks" are simultaneous triggers as of v4.

An in-depth explanation of attack resolution in the Digimon Card Game.

Attacking vs. Battling

Battling

Battling (バトル, Batoru^?) is performed between 2 Digimon or 1 Digimon and 1 Security Digimon. It is done by comparing the DP between the two combatants. If a Digimon's DP is lower than its opponent, it gets deleted in battle. Only Digimon are deleted in battle, Security Digimon are not deleted in battle.

Effects such as [ST2-01 Tsunomon] that refer to the "Digimon it is battling" refer to the Digimon that is its opponent in the battle. Security Digimon are not considered Digimon.

Attacking

Attacking (アタック, Atakku) is when the attack is declared by the player. An attack can be targeted against a player or a Digimon. An attacking process can consist of multiple battles. (e.g. 1 against Digimon, and X against Security Digimon^?)

Effects such as [When Attacking] or "when X attacks Y" refers to the declaration of the attack. [End of Attack] refers to the conclusion of an attack.

You cannot declare an attack with a Digimon that was played that turn. if you digivolve on top of a Digimon/Tamer that was played that turn, the digivolved Digimon is still treated as having been played that turn.

The Attack Process

1. During your Main Phase, you can declare an attack with an unsuspended Digimon in your Battle Area. In order to declare an attack you would:
   1. Suspend the Digimon you wish to attack with.
   2. Choose an attack target:
      • A suspended Digimon in your opponent's Battle Area.
      • Your opponent.
2. In response to the declaration of the attack, any of the turn player's [When Attacking] and "when your X attacks" effects are triggered, and both player's "when suspending" are also triggered, including the opponent's. Follow the Effect Resolution process until all effects are no longer pending.
3. After all effects in Step 2 have activated, the opponent's "when your opponent's Digimon attacks" are triggered as a separate timing. including the opponent's. Follow the Effect Resolution process until all effects are no longer pending.
4. After all effects in Step 3 have finished activating, the opponent chooses 1 of their active [Counter] effect and can activate it. If any effects triggered from the [Counter] effect, follow the Effect Resolution process until all effects are no longer pending.
5. At the blocker step, the opponent chooses 1 of their Digimon with Template:Blockerer and blocks with it. If any effects are triggered, follow the Effect Resolution process until all effects are no longer pending.
6. If you are attacking a Digimon, perform a battle between the two Digimon. If one of the battlers (attack target or attacker) is no longer in the Battle Area skip this step instead.
   1. The Digimon with the lowest DP is deleted. In the event of a tie, both Digimon are deleted.
   2. Any effects that are triggered in response to the deletion by battle are triggered after battle is completed. Continue resolving these effects following Effect Resolution before moving to the next step.
   3. After all effects in Step 2 have resolved, all effects that detail "end of battle" with a normal Digimon are triggered. Continue resolving these effects following Effect Resolution before moving to the next step.
7. If you are attacking the opponent with a Digimon that has a net positive security attack and they have no Security cards in their Security Stack. You win the game. If the Digimon is no longer on the field or became a Tamer, skip this step.
   • ＜Piercing＞ cannot win you the game.
   • The attacking Digimon must still be on the field.
   • It must have a total net positive Security Attack. So it can't have a total of ＜Security Attack -X＞.
8. If you are attacking the opponent or your ＜Piercing＞ had activated follow these steps to perform a security check and then repeat these steps again once for each ＜Security Attack +X＞ your attacking Digimon has.
   1. A Digimon can only perform a security check if it is in the battle area, if it is no longer a Digimon in the battle area end the attack go to Step 8.
   2. Flip the top card of your opponent's security stack.
   3. Activate all of that card's [Security] effects. The "when security is reduced" effects are triggered at this time. Continue resolving effects as detailed in Effect Resolution before moving to before moving to the next step.
      • The revealed card in the security stack is not counted towards cards in the Security.
      • [Security] effects must be activated before "when security is reduced" effects.
   4. If the checked card is a Security Digimon perform a battle with the attacking Digimon.
      1. If the attacking Digimon has a lower DP than the Security Digimon, delete the attacking Digimon.
      2. Any effects that would be triggered due to the deletion of the attacking Digimon are triggered (such as [On Deletion] effects of the attacking Digimon). Continue resolving effects in Effect Resolution before moving to the next step.
      3. After all effects have resolved any effects that happen at the end of the Security Battle are triggered (e.g. Lingering effect of [BT3-082 BlackGatomon] that plays itself). Continue resolving effects in Effect Resolution before moving to the next step.
   5. If the Security card has not been moved by its own effect, it is sent to the trash.
9. Any [End of Attack] effects are triggered. Any effects that "end the attack" (e.g. [BT5-111 Omnimon (X Antibody)] will end the attack) will skip all the previous steps to this step, if effects were pending after ending the attack they will remain pending at a lower priority. Continue resolving effects following Effect Resolution.
10. The attack process is now over, and all "for the attack" or "until end of that attack" effects stop applying.

Examples

Example 1

Scenario

Player A attacks with [BT1-081 HerculesKabuterimon] that has [BT1-079 Lillymon] in its digivolution cards. Player B has an unsuspended [ST4-08 Kabuterimon] and an unsuspended [BT1-064 Goblimon] in play. Player B has no security left.

Resolution

1. Player A's [BT1-081 HerculesKabuterimon] declares an attack against Player B by suspending HerculesKabuterimon.
2. [BT1-079 Lillymon]'s [When Attacking] inherited effect triggers and activates suspending [BT1-064 Goblimon].
   • The attack target was already selected in Step 1 against Player B. Player A cannot choose a new attack target at this step.
3. Player B has no effects to activate in the [Counter] timing.
4. Player B has no [Counter] effects to activate.
5. Player B chooses to block with [ST4-08 Kabuterimon] during the block step. The attack is redirected to Kabuterimon.
6. Start Battle.
   1. Compare the DP between [BT1-081 HerculesKabuterimon] and [ST4-08 Kabuterimon]. Kabuterimon is deleted.
   2. End Battle.
7. [BT1-081 HerculesKabuterimon]'s ＜Piercing＞ triggers and activates.
8. ＜Piercing＞ was activated, so a security check would be performed. Player B has no security so no security checks are performed.
   • Piercing does not win the game.
9. No further actions are required to be completed, the attack ends. [BT1-081 HerculesKabuterimon]'s [End of Attack] triggers.
   1. Player A activates the [End of Attack] effect to spend 3 memory and unsuspend HerculesKabuterimon.

Example 2

Scenario

Player A's [BT2-112 BlackWarGreymon] attacks Player B's [BT2-111 Beelzemon]. Player B only has a suspended [BT2-111 Beelzemon] and an unsuspended [BT2-072 Vilemon]. Player B chooses to block the attack.

Resolution

1. Player A's [BT2-112 BlackWarGreymon] declares an attack with BlackWarGreymon against Player B's Beelzemon by suspending BlackWarGreymon.
2. [BT2-112 BlackWarGreymon]'s [When Attacking] triggers because it declared an attack on Player B's Digimon with the highest DP.
   1. Player A activates the [When Attacking] and unsuspends BlackWarGreymon.
3. Player B has no effects to activate in the [Counter] timing.
4. Player B has no [Counter] effects to activate.
5. Player B chooses to block with [BT2-072 Vilemon] at the block step.
   • BlackWarGreymon has already unsuspended by activating its [When Attacking] effect, so it cannot prevent BlackWarGreymon from unsuspending.
6. Start Battle.
   1. Compare the DP between [BT2-112 BlackWarGreymon] and [BT2-072 Vilemon]. Vilemon is deleted.
   2. End Battle.
7. No further actions are required to be completed, the attack ends.

Example 3

Scenario

Player A has [BT1-114 MetalGreymon] in the battle area. Player B has a [BT4-042 Piddomon] in their battle area. Player B has [ST3-15 Holy Flame] and [ST3-04 Patamon] in the Security.

Resolution

1. Player A's [BT1-114 MetalGreymon] declares an attack against Player B by suspending MetalGreymon.
2. MetalGreymon’s [When Attacking] effect trigger and resolves, causing Player A to lose 5 memory.
   • The turn does not end until all effects and attacks have been completed. It remains Player A's turn until the end of the battle.
3. Player B has no effects to activate in the [Counter] timing.
4. Player B has no [Counter] effects to activate.
5. Player B chooses a Digimon with Template:Blockerer to block with during the block step. Player B decides not to choose any Digimon.
6. First security check is made, and reveals [ST3-15 Holy Flame], triggering it’s [Security] effect resolve the [Security] effect.
7. MetalGreymon now has a security attack value of 2 and therefore is only able to check 1 more security card. Checking second Security reveals [ST3-04 Patamon]. Start Battle.
   1. Compare the DP values. MetalGreymon survives.
   2. End Battle.
8. No further actions are required to be completed, the attack ends.

Example 4

Scenario

Player A has a [BT3-089 Boltmon] in their battle area with a [BT2-008 Yaamon] in their digivolution cards and 4 cards in their trash. Player B has a [BT4-088 DanDevimon] and 4 [ST3-12 T.K. Takaishi] in their battle Area. [BT3-082 BlackGatomon] is the next card in Player B's Security.

Resolution

1. Player A's [BT3-089 Boltmon] declares an attack against Player B by suspending Boltmon.
2. Player A has no [When Attacking] effects to activate.
3. Player B has no effects to activate in the [Counter] timing.
4. Player B has no [Counter] effects to activate.
5. Player B has no Digimon with Template:Blockerer during the block step.
6. First security check is made, and reveals [BT3-082 BlackGatomon]. This activates BlackGatomon's [Security], and triggers DanDevimon’s [Opponent's Turn] effect.
   1. [BT3-082 BlackGatomon]'s [Security] effect applies a lingering effect.
   2. [BT4-088 DanDevimon]'s effect discards a security from Player A's security.
7. After resolving Step 2, Player A now has 5 cards in their trash, Yaamon’s effect is active and gives Player A’s Boltmon +1000DP. Start Battle.
   1. Compare the DP between the two Digimon. Boltmon has 13000 DP, and BlackGatomon has 12000 DP.
   2. Battle Ends, [BT3-082 BlackGatomon] is played to Player B's Battle Area.
8. No further actions are required to be completed, the attack ends.

Example 5

Scenario

Player A has a [ST4-13 HerculesKabuterimon] in their battle area with a [ST4-11 MegaKabuterimon] in its digivolution cards. Player B has 2 security cards and a suspended [BT2-034 Salamon] in their battle area. Player B's Security from top to bottom is [BT6-101 Wyvern's Breath] and [ST3-03 Tapirmon]. The top card of Player B's deck is [ST3-10 Magnadramon].

Resolution

1. Player A's [ST4-13 HerculesKabuterimon] declares an attack against Player B’s suspended [BT2-034 Salamon].
2. Player A has no [When Attacking] effects to activate.
3. Player B has no effects to activate in the [Counter] timing.
4. Player B has no [Counter] effects to activate.
5. Player B has no Digimon with Template:Blockerer during the block step.
6. Start Battle.
   1. Compare the DP between [ST4-13 HerculesKabuterimon] and [BT2-034 Salamon]. Salamon is deleted.
7. [ST4-13 HerculesKabuterimon]'s ＜Piercing＞, [ST4-11 MegaKabuterimon]'s [Your Turn] and [BT2-034 Salamon]'s [On Deletion] trigger at the same time. For more information go to Effect Resolution.
   1. Player A can use Herculeskabuterimon’s ＜Piercing＞ and MegaKabuterimon’s [Your Turn] effect in any order.
   2. Resolving ＜Piercing＞ does not perform a security check at this time.
   3. MegaKabuterimon's [Your Turn] trashes the top card of Player B's Security. [BT6-101 Wyvern's Breath] is put from security to trash. Its [Security] does not trigger.
   4. Player B activates Salamon’s [On Deletion] effect to ＜Recovery +1 (Deck)＞.
8. ＜Piercing＞ was activated, so a security check is performed after all effects have resolved. The top card of security is [ST3-10 Magnadramon]. Start a Security battle.
   1. Compare the DP of HerculesKabuterimon and Magnadramon. Magnadramon and HerculesKabuterimon have the same DP. Hercules Kabuterimon is deleted.
9. No further actions are required to be completed, the attack ends.

Example 6

Scenario

Player A's suspended [BT3-016 Durandamon] digivolves into [BT5-086 Omnimon] and attacks Player B's suspended [BT2-074 Devimon] with ＜Blitz＞. Player B's top card in Security is [BT3-089 Boltmon].

Resolution

1. Player A digivolves into [BT5-086 Omnimon] triggering both [When Digivolving] effects. For more information go to Effect Resolution.
   1. Omnimon is unsuspended first by the second [When Digivolving] effect.
   2. Omnimon declares an attack on [BT2-074 Devimon] by activating ＜Blitz＞. This triggers [When Attacking] effects.
      1. There are no [When Attacking] effects to resolve at this time.
2. Player B has no effects to activate in the [Counter] timing.
3. Player B has no [Counter] effects to activate.
4. Player B has no Digimon with Template:Blockerer during the block step.
5. Start Battle.
   1. Compare the DP between [BT5-086 Omnimon] and [BT2-074 Devimon]. Devimon is deleted.
6. [BT3-016 Durandamon]'s ＜Piercing＞ and [BT2-074 Devimon]'s ＜Retaliation＞ are triggered. For more information go to Effect Resolution.
   1. Player A must use their effects first. So ＜Piercing＞ is activated. Activating ＜Piercing＞ does not perform security checks at this time.
   2. [BT2-074 Devimon]'s ＜Retaliation＞ is activated to delete [BT5-086 Omnimon]. Omnimon's interruptive [All Turns] is triggered.
      1. Omnimon's [All Turns] effect trashes [BT3-016 Durandamon] to protect itself. It has lost ＜Piercing＞.
7. ＜Piercing＞ was activated and resolved even though Omnimon lost the effect, so a security check is performed after all effects have resolved. The top card of security is [BT3-089 Boltmon]. Start a Security battle.
   1. Compare the DP between [BT5-086 Omnimon] and [BT3-089 Boltmon]. Omnimon survives.
8. No further actions are required to be completed, the attack ends.

Example 7

Scenario

Player A attacks with [ST2-11 MetalGarurumon] against Player B. Player B has a suspended [BT2-079 VenomMyotismon] and an unsuspended [BT1-082 Rosemon] with Template:Blockerer from [BT1-103 Testament] last turn. ====Resolution====#Player A's [ST2-11 MetalGarurumon] declares an attack against Player B.

1. MetalGarurumon's [When Attacking] effect and [BT2-079 VenomMyotismon]'s [Opponent's Turn] effect trigger at the same time.
   1. Player A activates their effects first so MetalGarurumon is unsuspended by its [When Attacking] effect.
   2. Player B activates their effects after all of Player A's effects have resolved so Player B gains 1 memory from VenomMyotismon's [Opponent's Turn] effect.
2. [BT1-082 Rosemon]'s [Opponent's Turn] triggers at the [Counter] timing. Player B activates its effect to suspend MetalGarurumon.
3. Player B has no [Counter] effects to activate.
4. Player B chooses one of their Digimon with Template:Blockerer during the block step. Player B chooses to block with the [BT1-082 Rosemon].
5. Start Battle.
   1. Compare the DP between [ST2-11 MetalGarurumon] and [BT1-082 Rosemon]. Both Digimon are the same DP so both are deleted.
   2. The battle ends.
6. No further actions are required to be completed, the attack ends.

Example 8

Scenario

Player A at 3 memory digivolves their unsuspended [BT5-031 MetalGarurumon] into [BT5-086 Omnimon] while they have [BT5-091 Takumi Aiba] in play. Player B has a [ST1-06 Coredramon] and [BT2-079 VenomMyotismon] in play.

Resolution

1. Player A digivolves into [BT5-086 Omnimon] triggering both [When Digivolving] effects and [BT5-091 Takumi Aiba]'s [Your Turn]. For more information go to Effect Resolution.
   1. Player A activates ＜Blitz＞ first and declares an attack on Player B. This triggers all of its [When Attacking] effects and [BT2-079 VenomMyotismon]'s [Opponent's Turn] effect.
      1. Player A activates their effects first. So [BT5-031 MetalGarurumon]'s [When Attacking] effect, Player A gains 1 memory.
      2. Player B's [BT2-079 VenomMyotismon] [Opponent's Turn] activates, so Player B gains 1 memory.
   2. Player A activates [BT5-091 Takumi Aiba]'s [Your Turn] effect to draw a card.
   3. Player A activates [BT5-086 Omnimon]'s other [When Digivolving] to unsuspend itself.
2. Player B chooses one of their Digimon with Template:Blockerer at the block step. Player B chooses [ST1-06 Coredramon]'s Template:Blockerer.
3. Start Battle.
   1. Compare the DP between [BT5-086 Omnimon] and [ST1-06 Coredramon]. Coredramon is deleted.
4. No further actions are required to be completed, the attack ends.

Example 9

Scenario

Player A attacks with [BT2-064 HiAndromon] Player B while at 2 memory, Player B has [ST16-12 MetalGarurumon] in hand and a [EX3-060 ExTyrannomon] with [ST6-08 Devimon] as its digivolution card. Player B's first security card is [ST6-08 Devimon].

Resolution

1. Player A has no [When Attacking] effects to activate.
2. Player B has no "When your opponent's Digimon attacks" effects to activate during the [Counter] timing.
3. Player B chooses to activate the [Counter] effect of [ST16-12 MetalGarurumon] and digivolves [EX3-060 ExTyrannomon] into [ST16-12 MetalGarurumon]. This triggers its [When Digivolving] effect.
   1. Player B trashes 3 cards from their hand and gains 3 memory putting the memory at 1 on Player B's side.
4. Player B has no Digimon with Template:Blockerer at this time.
5. The security check is made, Player B flips over [ST6-08 Devimon]. Start a Security Battle.
   1. Compare the DP between [BT2-064 HiAndromon] and [ST6-08 Devimon]. No Digimon are deleted.
6. No further actions are required to be completed, the attack ends.

Example 10

Scenario

Player A has in the battle area 1 [EX4-025 Turuiemon] and 1 [EX4-054 Wendigomon] with [EX4-034 Lopmon] and [BT6-004 Pinamon] in its digivolution cards. Player A also has [EX4-057 Antylamon] in their hand. Player A attacks Player B's suspended [BT3-043 Kentaurosmon] with [EX4-054 Wendigomon].

Resolution

1. Player A attacks [BT3-043 Kentaurosmon] with [EX4-054 Wendigomon]. This triggers [EX4-054 Wendigomon]'s ＜Alliance＞ and [BT6-004 Pinamon]'s [When Attacking] effects.
   1. Player A activates ＜Alliance＞ to suspend [EX4-025 Turuiemon] and give [EX4-054 Wendigomon] 4000 DP and ＜Security Attack +1＞. This triggers [EX4-034 Lopmon]'s [Your Turn] effect.
   2. Player A activates [EX4-034 Lopmon]'s [Your Turn] effect and digivolves [EX4-054 Wendigomon] into [EX4-057 Antylamon]. for 1 memory.
   3. Player A activates [BT6-004 Pinamon]'s [When Attacking] effect to ＜Draw 1＞.
2. Player B has no "When your opponent's Digimon attacks" effects to activate during the [Counter] timing.
3. Player B has no [Counter] effects to activate.
4. Player B has no Digimon with Template:Blockerer during the block step.
5. Start Battle.
   1. Compare the DP between [EX4-057 Antylamon] and [BT3-043 Kentaurosmon]. [EX4-057 Antylamon] has 12000 DP, [BT3-043 Kentaurosmon] has 11000 DP. Kentaurosmon is deleted. This triggers its [On Deletion] effect.
   2. Player B activates [BT3-043 Kentaurosmon]'s [On Deletion] reducing [EX4-057 Antylamon]'s DP to 11000 DP.
   3. The Battle ends.
6. The attack begins ending, the [End of Attack] effects of [EX4-057 Antylamon] and [EX4-054 Wendigomon] trigger.
   1. Player A activates [EX4-057 Antylamon]'s [End of Attack] effect.
   2. Player A activates [EX4-054 Wendigomon]'s inherited [End of Attack] effect.
7. The attack has concluded, and [EX4-057 Antylamon] loses the 4000 DP and ＜Security Attack +1＞ from ＜Alliance＞. Its DP is now 0 DP from [BT3-043 Kentaurosmon]'s effect. [EX4-057 Antylamon] is deleted.

Example 11

Scenario

Player A has in the battle area, 1 [BT9-079 GranDracmon] and 1 [EX4-010 BlackWarGrowlmon] that gained "[When Digivolving] ＜Blitz＞" this turn from [EX2-056 Takato Matsuki]. Player A also has [EX2-043 Gulfmon] in their trash. Player B has only [BT13-008 Agumon] in security.

Resolution

1. Player A declares an attack with [BT9-079 GranDracmon].
2. Player A has no [When Attacking] effects to activate.
3. Player B has no "When your opponent's Digimon attacks" effects to activate during the [Counter] timing.
4. Player B has no Digimon with Template:Blockerer during the block step.
5. The security check is made, Player B flips over [BT13-008 Agumon]. Start a Security Battle.
   1. Compare the DP between [BT9-079 GranDracmon] and [BT13-008 Agumon]. No Digimon are deleted.
   2. The battle ends.
6. The attack begins ending, [BT9-079 GranDracmon]'s [End of Attack] effect triggers.
   1. Player A digivolves [EX4-010 BlackWarGrowlmon] into [EX2-043 Gulfmon]. This triggers the gained "[When Digivolving] ＜Blitz＞" and [EX2-043 Gulfmon]'s [When Digivolving] effect.
   2. Player A activates [EX2-043 Gulfmon]'s [When Digivolving] effect, trashing cards from each player's hand until they have 5 cards in hand. This triggers its [Your Turn] effect to unsuspend itself.
   3. Player A activates [EX2-043 Gulfmon]'s [Your Turn] effect, unsuspending [EX2-043 Gulfmon].
   4. Player A attempts to activate [EX2-043 Gulfmon]'s "[When Digivolving] ＜Blitz＞" but fails because the current attack is still on-going.
7. All "until end of battle" effects finish. The attack has completely concluded.

Sources

• Official Rule Manual (Ver.2.1) (2021/04/23)
• Carddass Email English 11/03/2021: Security Card to Trash
• Carddass Email English 11/03/2021: Hercules No Attack Target
• Carddass Email English 01/04/2021: Security Digimon and VenomMyotismon
• Carddass Email English 09/04/2021: Security Attack and De-Digivolve
• Carddass Email Japanese 19/05/2021: <Advance> and [When Digivolving]
• Carddass Email Japanese 21/05/2021: VenomMyotismon and [When Attacking]
• Carddass Email Japanese 02/09/2021: Cannot Attack, Cannot Suspend
• Carddass Email English 10/09/2021: New Security Timing
• Carddass Email English 14/09/2021: New Security Timing Example
• Carddass Email English 14/09/2021: New Security Timing Old Example Re-Confirmation
• Carddass Email English 18/11/2021: Effects without "for the turn"
• Carddass Email English 23/06/2022: End of Turn <Blitz> Attack Resolution
• Carddass Email English 31/08/2022: Attacking Outside of Main Phase with Effects Part 1
• Carddass Email English 31/08/2022: Attacking Outside of Main Phase with Effects Part 2
• Carddass Email English 17/09/2022: Ending the Attack vs End of Attack
• Carddass Email English 29/11/2022: Security Battle vs Trash
• Carddass Email English 14/03/2023: Alliance and Wyvern's Breath
• Carddass Email English 14/03/2023: <Blitz> End of Attack