In Digimon Story: Time Stranger, there are a few ways to beef up your Jogmon card collection, and each method is pretty useful. The main way is by jumping into card battles. You need to make sure you’re ready for your battles.
Best Way to Get Cards in Digimon Story Time Stranger
If you’re looking to accumulate cards efficiently in Digimon Story: Time Stranger, there are a few ways to go about it, and some are way better than just spending your hard-earned Yen. The absolute best way to get new cards is to jump into the Jogmon Ultimate Card Game (JUCG) battles. When you win rounds in a match, the game rewards you directly with cards, so you don’t even need to hit up a shop, no need to digivolve.
The more rounds you win, the more cards you snag: a perfect 5-win sweep gets you three cards, winning three to four rounds gives you two cards, and even just one or two wins will net you a single card. This means you don’t have to crush every match to grow your collection; you just need to play consistently.
Aside from playing in the JUCG, a good strategy is to actively hunt down Card Battle opponents scattered around the map. When you beat these NPCs, you might get a few of the cards they used during the battle. This is awesome because it not only bulks up your collection, but it also lets you target specific cards you’ve seen an opponent play. The game also has a cool, almost hidden feature where holding certain card combinations in your hand can magically get you new cards.
It’s been confirmed that having two cards of the same Attribute or two cards of the same Generation (like from In-Training I to Champion) will trigger this. This adds a nice strategic layer to your deck-building; you’re thinking about potential card synergy even before the match starts.
Now, if you’re trying to find a particular card or you just have a ton of Yen to burn, card shops offer the most direct route. Specifically, there’s a shop in the back alley of Akihabara where you can buy cards. Sure, this costs in-game currency, but it gives you control over what you get, which is something random wins won’t do.
To even get into the Jogmon Ultimate Card Game and all its card-gathering goodness, you have to complete the main quest “A Vow Made on a Starry Sky.” Once that’s done, a boy outside the base in Shinjuku will give you the starter Battle Set, unlocking the whole system. So, honestly, the key is to prioritize story progression early on to open up this super rewarding minigame.
Best Tips for Cards in Time Stranger
If you want to crush the Jogmon Ultimate Card Game (JUCG) in Digimon Story: Time Stranger, you need to get the core rules down first. Every match is made up of five rounds, and the first player to win three of them takes the whole thing. At the start of each round, you’ll draw five cards at random from your deck, and who goes first is also decided by chance. Your cards have two key factors that determine their strength: an Attribute and a Ranking. No need to worry about load enhancements or anything like that.
The Attribute system is basically a rock, paper, scissors game: Virus is weak to Vaccine, which is weak to Data. On the other hand, the Ranking system uses a number to show strength, and usually, a higher number beats a lower one. But here’s a unique twist: a Rank 1 card actually defeats a Rank 7 card, which really adds a layer of strategy to the game.
Building a powerful deck means you’ll constantly need to acquire new cards. The most efficient way to expand your collection is by winning rounds in matches, and the best part is that this method doesn’t cost any Yen. The more you win, the more cards you get: five wins will net you three cards, three to four wins will give you two cards, and one to two wins will grant you a single card. If you win zero rounds, well, you won’t get any new cards, which is pretty obvious.
Beyond just winning, you can also get new cards by finding Card Battle opponents scattered around the field. If you manage to defeat them, you have a chance to grab some of the cards they used during the battle. Also, you can sometimes get new cards just from having unique combinations in your hand, like two cards with the same Attribute or two cards from the same Generation (from In-Training I to Champion). Now, if you’re looking for specific cards, you can check out the shops in Akihabara’s back alley, but to be fair, that’s going to require you to spend some Yen.
The Jogmon Ultimate Card Game itself actually becomes available once you’ve wrapped up the main quest called “A Vow Made on a Starry Sky.” After that, you’ll see a quick cutscene outside the Shinjuku base where a kid will show up and hand you the Battle Set, which officially unlocks the minigame and lets you challenge all the NPCs across the map.
As you dive deeper into the card game, always remember that your starting hand is unpredictable, but also that playing second gives you a strategic advantage because you can react to whatever your opponent does. You’ll need to master the back-and-forth between Attributes and Rankings, and keep on top of acquiring new cards through all the various methods, if you want to become a top-tier JUCG player in Digimon Story: Time Stranger.
