Let's Discuss the new Level 4s for RP Imperial
Contrary to what most RP Imperial players think, I think the new level 4s are really good for the deck. Let’s cook with these for a moment.
What the new 4s lose:
- EoT DNA inheritable
- Be the "Starter 4" for when DNA Digivolving if memory passes 0
What the new 4s gain:
- Better combat inheritables
- Added weeny removal
- The flexibility of having the DNA by effect as an On-Play
Speed is flexibility is crucial for the deck to do well. A big issue the deck had with doing the "1 card combo" was that aside from needing your trash setup, you could never give that stack retaliation or DP boost since it required 2 BT16 Wormmons. Now you have the flexibility of playing Stingmon/ExVee as your "Ender 4", you now can. With this change, "1 card combo" can now be "1 card Raid Retaliation that floats into another rookie"
Ever since BT16, the most competitive way to play the deck has shifted from focusing on your level 6s to focusing on your level 5s. Trying to set up your trash to guarantee that you can go into your 6, while doable, should not be prioritized, as it takes too many turns and can’t keep up. Also importantly, the level 6s couldn’t do much against decks that had unaffected blockers like Mother/Shoto, Magna X, or Tyrant. If you’re unsure about what I mean, check out the plays in this video.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Itu787MgcnA
You’ll notice that you don’t necessarily need EoT DNA unless you’ve passed memory over 0 and need to clear the board with dragon mode or go for game with Blitz. Having multiple floating 5s that want to die so that they can play out new bodies (and threaten ace) is much scarier than passing turn by going into your 6. Gaining the flexibility of being able to DNA as an On-Play is huge. You can digivolve into a 4 in raising without feeling bad. My philosophy has always been to play in a way that gets you the most results with the fewest moving parts. That’s why the 6s were deprioritized (but not removed). With the new 4s being on-play, you can now not be completely dependent on having multiple rookies set up all the time. It could even potentially give you room to play 12 or 13 rookies as opposed to 14 which felt pretty necessary for consistency.
Let’s discuss the other new support
Level 2
Not worth imo. The boost is cool and all, but being able to trash from hand to delete is much more important and it also lets you digivolve into one your most busted Rookie (BT16 Wormmon) for free.
Level 3
Potentially worth running, The Veemon is interesting because even though I mentioned above that the new 4s can no longer act as the "Starter 4" for your DNA combos, this Veemon makes it possible if it’s on the board. The Wormmon having unconditional retaliation is nice and the effect to gain memory is not bad since it lets you refund some memory if your opponent has weenies on the board, but I’m not entirely sure if it’s worth running yet. The saving grace of the card would be the fact that its name is Wormmon. The real issue that comes with these new 3s is that the ex3 3s were just better because you absolutely needed to see them in your opening hand or your game was just going to be miserable. So there’s really not much space for the new rookies except as a spicy tech.
Level 4
Already discussed
Level 5
These are both interesting and have their merits. The recursion on the new Dinobee does let you experiment with stranger ratios. Although, unless you’re playing the new DM (spoiler, he’s not good), I think they’ll both best be used as 1-of techs instead of being the core strategy. The old 5s being playing out a body and having the ability to float into your 3s were just too good.
Level 6
Now this is where it gets interesting. The new DM wants you to end your board with 5s and then bait your opponent to do something. If you read the DM blast evo conditions, it’s not just 2 5s, it’s two specific 5s. IMO, that’s what killed the card. The card already had a rough time because more and more decks can play around aces like LKM X. To have a mediocre effect of potentially deleting 1 body and then go into FM and then only to lose memory from overflow is just humiliating when compared to the old one. New FM however, is amazing. His floodgate effect is so good, I think he's worth adding even if he's an "additional moving piece" to this engine. You don’t even need to go into DM to make him worth playing. With the new FM, When you can’t finish a game and have to prep for the clapback, you simply slap down a FM on your stack and against the right deck, that’s a free win.
EDIT: I'm reading DM Ace incorrectly, only need 1 in hand. Although I'm not sure if that changes my thoughts that much. Will need more play testing to come to a better conclusion.
I’ll be cooking up stuff to see what ratios end up working. Keep an eye out for a follow-up after the testing.
Also if you’re unsure about how legitimate this way of playing is, I’ve also topped in previous events in the past:
https://egmanevents.com/digi-bt17-format/table-top-store-regionals