With the launch ofDigimon’sB11: Dimensional Phase expansion, the Digimon card list expanded even further expanded to include new Digimon, Tamer, and Option cards to face any new challenger that comes your way. This expansion even brings back some older Digimon with updated card effects, such as the Machinedramon card’s new interaction with Analogman.
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Every great card game expansion is bound to come with an equally great set of art for each and every new card that it introduces to the game, and Digimon’s B11: Dimensional Phase is no exception. While card art doesn’t really equate to any in-game strength, there’s no doubt that it makes for a great display item.
10Titamon
Titamon’s card art is dynamic, bombastic, and vibrant without being overly flashy or complex. The art has one goal, and it’s to make Titamon lookas large and imposing as possible– all things considered, it did wonderfully.
The blocking of every part of Titamon is perfectly done to exaggerate the parts of its body that were already disproportionately large, making sure that whenever you look at this card, it feels like the Digimon is heavily lumbering over you. Thankfully, the card gives extra focus to Nakano Haito’s work in all its glory as it confidently spills through the card border.
9ClearAgumon
The new ClearAgumon art has a lovely sense of movement that manages to portray a still character as though it were filled with life and wonder. Rather than give ClearAgumon a generic stance to get the point across, Kazumasa Yasukuni instead chose to portray the Toy Agumon frolicking and playing– using motion in this way enhances the Digimon past a point of just existing, and instead gives them a tangible character.
Additionally, the use of bronze as the material in the background pairs well with the green that takes up the most space in the scene, providing a healthy level of contrast to the image and further improving the sense of motion.
8Geremon
These goofy guys are surprisingly well-designed, not only appealing enough to be memorable, but representing the card’s intended effect well. On a purely aesthetic level, Gossan made this card mostly absent of cool colors, sticking to yellows, pinks, and oranges– due to this, the art is able to be visually consistent without becoming muddied.
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Even further, the use of three Geremon over just one matches the card’s effect. This card allows you to draw two cards in exchange for trashing a card of a certain type – so the Geremon closest in the image is the one that the card itself represents, and the two following it are supposed to be the cards that you draw from the effect.
7Astral Snatcher
Astral Snatcher uses color and perspective to make the art truly feel astral and ephemeral. The whites and yellows that make up the character pictured feel angelic and heavenly, which contrasts the domineering purples that clog the rest of the image. Purple, being not as common in nature, can give an otherworldly feeling when used in a composition– everything is set up to make this art feel as magical as possible.
Ishibashi Yusuke placed the perspective on the receiving edge of the grab, making all of that magical and otherworldly energy feel like it’s being turned on the viewer. From this position, it’s more than just a basic attack– the result of this magic will be deeply consequential to your enemies.
6Evil Squall
Itohiro does a great job of using the visual language of motion to communicate danger, all the while making the art aesthetically pleasing. The stalactites and stalagmites that line the space of the scene form weird arrows that point toward the ground– this gives the scene the feeling of downward motion that is doubled by the landing pose that the central character seems to be crouching into.
This fixation on gravity represents the heavy toll that this card’s effect can have on an opponent, since it can destroy three of your opponent’s lower-level Digimon in a snap. Beyond what the art means, the central character is just too dapper in their full-length cape not to love.
5MetalGreymon + Cyber Launcher
This card does a great job of making the Digimon pictured and its fierce attack feel equally important in the scene– the bright electricity shooting out from the attack contrasts thedark mechanical body of the Digimonlaunching it, which allows them to balance each other out and keep the focus of the art even. The contrast also allows for the illumination that the attack provides to spill over the Digimon’s frame and create extreme shadows in all its nooks and crannies.
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The additional detail on this one makes it extra special– Sasasi made sure to add destroyed buildings and even another creature to the background of the art, which grounds this as an attack with apocalyptic consequences.
4Machinedramon
Machinedramon’s standard card art, while not as flashy as its gold foil, uses perspective well to make it look as intimidating as it deserves to be. Kaz isolated the Digimon so that it would be the only focus of the image, giving the viewer a clear look at the array of dangerous implements which it will use to delete your enemies.
The use of illumination throughout the piece also allows for a juxtaposition between the cold metal implements and the bright blue flames that they spew. Other illumination highlights a sense of danger, as the orange lights on the exterior of Machinedramon’s frame flare in the same way that a warning light would on industrial machines.
3Chikurimon
Chikurimon’s card art is a masterclass at setting tone in a piece of art – Chikurimon, the Digimon that is most similar to a sea mine, is portrayed less like a cold instrument of violence, and more like a living creature. The way that the humanoid character in the image holds the plethora of Digimon in their arms feels a bit parental – as if this isn’t someone bundling up a load of bombs, but insteadnurturing their babies.
On top of that, the background and white color palette make the image feel cold, framing the scene as a family in hard times trying their best to succeed. Thankfully, the familiarity we see in the art is enough to warm any heart.
2Analogman
Analogman is funny. Not just funny– Analogman is justhilarious.Wheremost tamer cardstend to have a picture of a character standing in a fairly normal way to make them recognizable, it is a breath of fresh air to see Kenji Watanabe go in the exact opposite direction, rendering a character as strangely as possible. The twisted position that the person in the image takes, as well as the contorted expression they wear, make this card a thoroughly unique and humorous viewing experience.
But the humor doesn’t take away from the quality of this art – the character portrayed in the image is warped and difficult to make out, lending them an unsettling air. This tamer is supposed to be shrouded in mystery, unlike your easy-to-parse standard tamer.
1Crimson Flare
Crimon Flare’s art does a great job visually representing a major burst of heat energy without defaulting to a generic ball of flame. Naturally, the card uses fire in its design, but fire alone does not an explosion make– Kazumasa Yasukuni uses more wind than flame to represent the intense pressure being let off by this infernal blast.
The monster that dominates half of the space also characterizes this blast as something fierce and animalistic, rather than an explosion caused by something like a bomb or a machine– this is not a chemical fire, but a wildfire.
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