Last updated: 15.03.2021
Whenever I mention archetypes that seem to have missed the mark in terms of playability, they are normally from the often mentioned Duel Terminal/Hidden Arsenal series or even older editions like certain archetypes from Dark Crisis and such (“Guardians” anyone?). But surprisingly not all of the newer archetypes follow the trend of being more powerful than the older cards in the game; the proof for that can be found in an archetype that is often simply referred to as the beta version of “Zoodiac”: “Digital Bugs”.
Disclaimer: None of the information given by me is set in stone. Having an open mind in deck building and including creative ideas is always helpful, if only to further understand the playstyle and strategy of the deck you are about to build. There are probably choices that I list which can be labled as debatable, but no platform I know of gives a broad overview over both the archetypes and all the card choices, so I aimed to do just that. I will try to keep this page (as well as the other ones, once they are made) up-to-date, so if any reader feels like I skipped some amazing tech choice or a crucial card, just drop me a note and I will add the missing information if necessary. Furthermore, I use a number of sources for ideas and information, so a list with links that I deem useful is attached to the end of the page and credit is given whenever I can point to a source to do so.
“Digital Bug” is a Light Insect archetype that focusses on Xyz Summoning and battle position manipulation. The main idea is to switch your monsters into Defense Position to activate various helpful effects, while also switching the opposing board into Defense Position to use the various effects of the Xyz “Digital Bugs” interacting with Defense Position monsters to gain board control that way. Unfortunately, the lack of really strong cards, the fact that they are part of one of the more undersupported Types in Yugioh being Insects, the level of all Main Deck monsters being 3 (therefore having no access to the powerful Rank 4 Xyz toolbox) and their need to exclusively asking for Light Insect monsters specifically makes them, if not bad, at least fairly restricted. Let us see what they can do anyway:
Archetype:
Name: “Digital Bug Centibit“
Level/Rank: 3
ATK/DEF: 1500/500
Attribute/Type: Light Insect
Cannot be used as an Xyz Material for an Xyz Summon, except for the Xyz Summon of an Insect-Type monster. Once per turn, when this face-up card is changed from Attack Position to Defense Position: You can Special Summon 1 Level 3 Insect-Type monster from your Deck in Defense Position. An Xyz Monster that was Summoned using this card on the field as Xyz Material gains this effect. - This card can attack all Defense Position monsters your opponent controls once each.
“Digital Bug Centibit” is the first Main Deck monster and immediately shows how restricted you are going to be in this archetype. “Digtial Bug Centibit” cannot be used for an Xyz Summon, except for Insect Xyz Monsters; the pool of options this includes is not even tiny anymore, it is actually almost non-existent. To make up for this drawback and to help the swarming nature of the archetype, you can, once per turn, Special Summon a Level 3 Insect monster from your deck to your field in Defense Position when “Digital Bug Centibit” changes from Attack Position to Defense Position. It also allows the Xyz Monster it is attached to as Xyz material to attack all Defense Position monsters your opponent controls instead of just attacking once. So simply changing the position of “Digital Bug Centibit” via card effect allows you to Xyz Summon, which is not the most powerful effect ever imagined in this game, but it certainly helps getting your board into shape. In fact, “Digital Bug Centibit” is a key part of the strategy and the ability of having an Xyz Monster that can kick the entire board is nothing to scoff at either (at least in this archetype), so play “Digital Bug Centibit” at three copies.
Recommended copies: 3
Name: “Digital Bug Cocoondenser“
Level/Rank: 3
ATK/DEF: 0/2000
Attribute/Type: Light Insect
Cannot be used as an Xyz Material for an Xyz Summon, except for the Xyz Summon of an Insect-Type monster. Once per turn, if this card is in Attack Position: You can target 1 Level 3 Insect-Type monster in your Graveyard; change this card to Defense Position, and if you do, Special Summon that monster in Defense Position. An Xyz Monster that was Summoned using this card on the field as Xyz Material gains this effect. - If this card attacks a Defense Position monster, your opponent's cards and effects cannot be activated until the end of the Damage Step.
“Digital Bug Cocoondenser” continues the trend of being a Level 3 Light Insect monster, and it even shares the Xyz Summon restriction of only being able to used for Insect Xyz Monsters. This bug fills the board via revival: If “Digital Bug Cocoondenser” is in Attack Position, you can switch it to Defense Position, choose one Level 3 Insect monster in your graveyard and then proceed to Special Summon that monster to your side of the field in Defense Position. Again, not much wrong with this effect. By simply having any “Digital Bug” in your graveyard, you can start Xyz Summoning by summoning “Digital Bug Cocoondenser” and using its effect. This effect even allows “Digital Bug Cocoondenser” to be part of an OTK, which will be further explained in the playstyle section. “Digital Bug Cocoondenser” also has an effect for a Xyz Monster that has it as material, allowing the Xyz Monster to stop the opponent from activating cards and effects whenever it attacks a Defense Position monster. Giving the “Ancient Gear” effect to a “Digital Bug” is cute, but will not be that relevant most of the time. Still, there are match-ups you can use this effect in and its not like we are going to run less copies of “Digital Bug Cocoondenser” just for its Xyz effect being some mediocre. “Digital Bug Cocoondenser” is the number two in the spamming strategy of “Digital Bug”. Even if you do not aim to pull the OTK-build off, “Digital Bug Cocoondenser” proves to be useful at two to three copies.
Recommended copies: 2-3
Name: “Digital Bug LEDybug“
Level/Rank: 3
ATK/DEF: 500/0
Attribute/Type: Light Insect
Cannot be used as an Xyz Material for an Xyz Summon, except for the Xyz Summon of an Insect monster. Once per turn, when this face-up card is changed from Attack Position to Defense Position: You can add 1 Level 3 Insect monster from your Deck to your hand. An Xyz Monster that was Summoned using this card on the field as Xyz Material gains this effect. - When this card destroys a monster by battle, draw 1 card.
“Digital Bug LEDybug” is the resource producing part of the “Digital Bug” archetype. It can also only be used for Insect Xyz Monsters, but when switched into Defense Position from Attack Position, you can add one Level 3 Insect monster from your deck to your hand. Furthermore, it also has some added bonus when used for an Xyz Summon: The Xyz Monster that has “Digital Bug LEDybug” as Xyz material allows its controller to draw a card whenever it destroys a monster in battle. Keep in mind that this is not once per turn, meaning that the combination of “Digital Bug Centibit” and “Digital Bug LEDybug” potentially allows you to draw a sizeable number of cards while clearing the opposing board. “Digital Bug LEDybug” is certainly useful, but it is also the only Main Deck member of the archetype that cannot kickstart a Xyz Summon by itself. Overall, “Digital Bug LEDybug” has its uses, but is more focussed on recovery and resource gathering than making big plays. You can play three copies, sure, but this is the one Main Deck monster the “Digital Bugs” have to offer that you can actually play at less copies than three and still not lose speed and power with.
Recommended copies: 1-3
Name: “Digital Bug Websolder“
Level/Rank: 3
ATK/DEF: 500/1500
Attribute/Type: Light Insect
Cannot be used as an Xyz Material for an Xyz Summon, except for the Xyz Summon of an Insect-Type monster. Once per turn: You can target 1 face-up Attack Position monster you control; change it to Defense Position, and if you do, Special Summon 1 Level 3 Insect-Type monster from your hand in Defense Position. An Xyz Monster that was Summoned using this card on the field as Xyz Material gains this effect. - If it is Xyz Summoned: The DEF of all face-up monsters your opponent controls become 0, also change them to Defense Position.
And were are already at the last Main Deck monster the “Digital Bugs” had for the longest time: “Digital Bug Websolder”. “Digital Bug Websolder” is as limited in Xyz Summoning as the rest of the bugs, meaning that you can only summon Insect Xyz Monsters. It does have an interesting summoning mechanic though: Once per turn, you can choose one of your Attack Position monsters, change them to Defense Position and then proceed with the Special Summon of a Level 3 Insect monster from your hand. Obviously, the position change does trigger the effect of another “Digital Bug”, allowing for further plays, however limited they might be. And “Digital Bug Websolder” also sticks around with an effect when used as Xyz material: In case of “Digital Bug Websolder”, the Xyz Summoned monster sets any defense stat on the opposing board to zero, then switches the monsters into Defense Position, making them easy fodder for further attacks if “Digital Bug Centibit” is involved. It needs to be said, in the niche of the “Digital Bug” archetype “Digital Bug Websolder” is absolutely crazy in terms of supporting the archetype it belongs to and should always be played at three copies.
Recommended copies: 3
Name: “Digital Bug Registrider“
Level/Rank: 3
ATK/DEF: 1000/1000
Attribute/Type: Light Insect
Cannot be used as Xyz Material for an Xyz Summon, except the Xyz Summon of an Insect monster. When you Normal Summon a Level 3 Insect monster: You can Special Summon this card from your hand, then you can make both this card and that monster Level 5 or 7. If this card is Special Summoned from the hand: You can change the battle position of 1 Insect monster you control. An Xyz Monster that was Summoned using this card on the field as material gains this effect. - This card gains 1000 ATK/DEF.
After quite a while of silence around the “Digital Bug” archetype, there was hope at the horizon when Blazing Vortex was released in the TCG realms. The newest entry into the “Digital Bug” archetype is “Digital Bug Registrider”. “Digital Bug Registrider” has the usual “Digital Bug” restriction of only being usable for Insect-Type Xyz Summons, so this seems to be a trend that they will stick with in the future. The rest, however, is pretty insane for “Digital Bugs”: When you Normal Summon a Level 3 Insect monster, you can Special Summon “Digital Bug Registrider” right from your hand, setting up an Xyz Summon with pretty much any monster in the deck. Furthermore, when summoned that way you can change the level of “Digital Bug Registrider” and the other monster you Normal Summoned to either Level 5 or Level 7, which is amazing because one of the biggest weaknesses the deck had prior to the release of “Digital Bug Registrider” was that you had to pay an arm and a leg to access your higher level Xyz options; this all changes with “Digital Bug Registrider”. The effect even continues: When “Digital Bug Registrider” is Special Summoned (from example by its own convenient effect) you can change the battle position of one Insect monster you control, which will obviously trigger the effects of that monster if you chose a “Digital Bug” monster, giving you further swarming and searches. Lastly, this bug even has an effect when used as Xyz material by giving that Xyz Monster 1000 bonus ATK and DEF. This is yet another solid boost, since “Digital Bugs” were not really able to exceed the 2600 ATK mark without outside help and were therefore in quite a pickle against Link-4 monsters or even certain archetypes with big stat blocks. “Digital Bug Registrider” is a card like “B.E.F. Zelos“: It tries to solve all of the archetypes problems in one go and it mostly delivers, you will just have a hard time if you are not able to get it on the board consistently or if the card gets negated. Still, “Digital Bug Registrider” is absolutely insane support and should never be run at less than three copies.
Recommended copies: 3
Name: “Digital Bug Scaradiator“
Level/Rank: 3
ATK/DEF: 1800/1400
Attribute/Type: Light Insect
2 or more Level 3 LIGHT Insect-Type monsters Once per turn, during either player's turn: You can detach 2 Xyz Materials from this card, then target 1 monster your opponent controls; change its battle position, and if you do, it has its effects negated until the end of this turn. Once per turn, when this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard: You can attach that destroyed monster to this card as Xyz Material.
“Digital Bug Scaradiator” is THE monster you will go into in order to make plays in “Digital Bugs”; not really because the card is so immensely powerful, but actually because there is actually no competition (unless you perceive “Number 20: Giga-Brilliant” as an insane card to go into). It needs specifically two or more Level 3 Light Insect monsters, so if you read the effects of the other cards and thought of putting Insects with other Attributes into the deck, then sadly your journey ends here. For that, you can once per either player’s turn detach two Xyz materials, target an opposing monster, switch it to Defense Position and if you do negate all of its effects until the end of turn. Furthermore, to make up for the loss of two materials, if “Digital Bug Scaradiator” destroys a monster in battle and sends it to the graveyard, you can attach it to “Digital Bug Scaradiator” as material. While this replenishes your resources and allows “Digital Bug Scaradiator” to use its effect again if you manage to destroy two monsters in battle, it also temporarily denies graveyard setup with the monster you absorbed. “Digital Bug Scaradiator” was for the longest time the only monster that profits from all of the Main Deck monsters effects when used as Xyz material: Simply upranking your monsters will not give them the effects of the material since those cards state that they have to be attached from the field when summoned, which is not the case if they are transferred from one Xyz Monster to another. Thankfully, “Digital Bug Registrider” can change the levels of Main Deck monsters, making the choices a bit more versatile. Still, “Digital Bug Scaradiator” is the number one candidate for all combinations without “Digital Bug Registrider“, like summoning it with “Digital Bug Centibit” and “Digital Bug Websolder“, and therefore switching everything into Defense Position, setting the DEF stats of those monsters to 0, being able to attack all of the opposing monsters, and then absorbing the most important one as Xyz material. Granted, “Digital Bug Scaradiator” is not nearly as flashy as many other monsters in the game, but it actually manages to pull some plays off, so play two to three copies.
Recommended copies: 2-3
Name: “Digital Bug Corebage“
Level/Rank: 5
ATK/DEF: 2200/1800
Attribute/Type: Light Insect
2 or more Level 5 LIGHT Insect-Type monsters You can also Xyz Summon this card by detaching 2 Xyz Materials from a Rank 3 or 4 Insect-Type Xyz Monster you control, then using that Xyz Monster as the Xyz Material. (Xyz Materials attached to that monster also become Xyz Materials on this card.) Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card, then target 1 Defense Position monster your opponent controls; shuffle it into the Deck. Once per turn, if the battle position of a monster(s) on the field is changed (except during the Damage Step): You can attach 1 Insect-Type monster from your Graveyard to this card as Xyz Material.
“Digital Bug Corebage” is a Rank 5 Light Insect Xyz Monster, which might seem weird, but is playable via using a Rank 3 or 4 Insect Type Xyz Monster and detaching two materials from it rather than using two (non-existent) Level 5 Light Insect monsters as material. “Digital Bug Corebage” brings a surprisingly good removal effect to the board: By detaching one Xyz material, you can choose an opposing monster in Defense Position and shuffle it into the owner’s deck. Furthermore, again to work against the constant loss of Xyz materials, you can attach one Insect monster from your graveyard to “Digital Bug Corebage” when a battle position on the board is changed. This effect is obviously once per turn, otherwise you could attach quite a pile to it in the right deck. “Digital Bug Corebage” is not terrible: You can access it directly via “Digital Bug Registrider” and therefore turn it into a 3200 ATK beater with an additional effect and the fact that you can summon a removal effect of this sort of easily really helps the deck. If necessary, you can still access “Digital Bug Corebage” via Xyz climbing from “Digital Bug Scaradiator” by detaching two materials from it, which is fairly costly but could surprise people who are not aware of that effect on Xyz “Digital Bugs”. At the end of the day, “Digital Bug Corebage” is a useful removal tool and the number one option to climb into the Rank 7 “Digital Bug”. With the newer support, you can also access it directly, which makes me recommend it at two copies.
Recommended copies: 2
Name: “Digital Bug Rhinosebus“
Level/Rank: 7
ATK/DEF: 2600/2200
Attribute/Type: Light Insect
2 or more Level 7 LIGHT Insect-Type monsters You can also Xyz Summon this card by detaching 2 Xyz Materials from a Rank 5 or 6 Insect-Type Xyz Monster you control, then using that Xyz Monster as the Xyz Material. (Xyz Materials attached to that monster also become Xyz Materials on this card.) If this card attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing battle damage to your opponent. Once per turn, during either player's turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; destroy the face-up monster(s) your opponent controls with the highest DEF (all, if tied).
Of course, if there is a Rank 5 monster that you can stack into, there is also the next bigger member at Rank 7 available. “Digital Bug Rhinosebus” is the boss monster of the “Digital Bug” archetype and was previously summoned by detaching two materials from a Rank 5 or 6 Insect Xyz Monster and then using that monster as material. The need for two Level 7 Light Insect monsters is just silly since it is nigh impossible to summon directly; at least, that was the case until “Digital Bug Registrider” came into being, making the direct access as easy as Normal Summoning one “Digital Bug” Main Deck monster. “Digital Bug Rhinosebus” is the archetypal boss monster since it is the one thing dealing significant damage in the entire archetype. With 2600 ATK, it is certainly the strongest monster, it deals piercing damage via its effect and is certainly deadly should you actually be able to get a combo like “Digital Bug Registrider“/”Digital Bug Centibit” effect onto this guy by changing their level: 3600 ATK with piercing damage against a 0 DEF board which just got switched into Defense Position can mean a swift OTK, which was almost impossible before and now can be considered a fairly consistent option to go into. “Digital Bug Rhinosebus” also comes with an destruction effect that is basically “Smashing Ground” for the cost of one material. Granted, “Digital Bug Rhinosebus” is pretty one-dimensional as a boss monster, but it can actually end the game when entering the field with the right Xyz materials attached to it. Aside from “Digital Bug Registrider“, it is also summonable via the in-archetypal Trap card “Bug Emergency” (analyzed further down in the article) and the usual and previously mentioned Xyz climbing, so you have a few options to get this bug onto the field. As “Digital Bug Rhinosebus” is your go-to game ender, I would that it is worth one or two deck slots; just keep in mind that it is probably the worst Extra Deck monster the “Digital Bugs” have to offer in terms of versatility.
Recommended copies: 1-2
Name: “Bug Matrix“
Type: Field Spell
All Insect-Type monsters you control gain 300 ATK and DEF. You can target 1 Insect-Type Xyz Monster you control; attach 1 Insect-Type monster from your hand to that monster as Xyz Material. You can only use this effect of "Bug Matrix" once per turn.
“Bug Matrix” is the “Digital Bug” Field Spell and if you think that we reach “Trickstar Light Stage” or “B.E.F. Zelos” levels of usefulness, I have bad news for you. First of all, “Bug Matrix” gives an obligatory stat boost of 300 in both ATK and DEF, which is nice, I guess, but ultimatively only matters on “Digital Bug Rhinosebus“, which would still not be pushed beyond the 3000 ATK mark with the effect while “Digital Bug Registrider” serves as a way better ATK boost anyway. The second, and last, effect of “Bug Matrix” is that you can target one of your Insect Xyz Monsters and attach an Insect monster from your hand to that monster as material. While this sounds good on paper because you would be able to attach monsters to “Digital Bug Rhinosebus” when it matters, all of the Main Deck “Digital Bugs” are completely useless as materials via this effect, since they all state that they had to be on the field when the summon happened. Adding them from the hand is therefore not them being on the field, which means you cannot give any of the nice effects to your bigger bugs. “Bug Matrix” offers a fairly underwhelming set of effects and I would recommend skipping it when deckbuilding.
Recommended copies: 0
Name: “Bug Signal“
Type: Quick Spell
Target 1 Insect Xyz Monster you control; Special Summon from your Extra Deck, 1 Insect monster that is 2 Ranks higher or lower than that monster you control, by using it as the Xyz Material. (This Special Summon is treated as an Xyz Summon. Xyz Materials attached to that target also become Xyz Materials on the Summoned monster.) You can only activate 1 "Bug Signal" per turn.
The “Digital Bugs” are committed to the Xyz Summoning plays, which is further evidenced by “Bug Signal”. You can target one Insect Xyz Monster you control, then Special Summon from your Extra Deck an Insect monster that is either two Ranks higher or lower than the targeted monster. Afterwards, summon that monster from your Extra Deck using the target on the field and all of its materials as Xyz materials for the new monster. Since it is a Quick Spell, you can also activate it during the opposing turn potentially allowing for some cheeky “Digital Bug Scaradiator” plays, but this is basically the Quick Spell version of the effect that is printed on the “Digital Bug” Xyz Monsters with the bonus of being able to use any Insect Xyz Monster, not needing materials as cost and going both up and down for a change. Keep in mind though that “Bug Signal” can allow you another attack during the opposing turn by attacking with whatever Xyz Monster you have on the field, then up-/down-grading it, therefore changing the field state and having a monster available that can kick again. Also, since this is a Quick Spell, you can use it on reaction to any opposing effect targeting your Xyz Monster, switch it out against something else and then watching the opposing effect harmless fading into nothingness. These are only a small bonuses, but trust me, “Digital Bugs” take whatever they can get. “Bug Signal” is definitely a case for the preferencial treatment, since it comes down to whether you like to play the card or not.
Recommended copies: 0-3
Name: “Bug Emergency“
Type: Normal Trap
Target 2 Level 3 Insect-Type monsters in your Graveyard; Special Summon them, but their effects are negated. You can banish this card and 1 Xyz Monster from your Graveyard; the Levels of all Level 3 Insect-Type monsters you currently control become equal to the banished monster's Rank until the end of this turn, also you cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn, except Insect-Type monsters. You can only activate 1 "Bug Emergency" per turn.
The last card in the “Digital Bug” archetype is “Bug Emergency”. You can target two Level 3 Insect Type monsters in your graveyard, and Special Summon them with negated effects. The effect negate is completely irrelevant if you go into Xyz Monsters anyway, since they will receive their bonus effects just fine after being transformed into Xyz materials. Furthermore, by banishing this card and one Xyz Monster (completely generic for once in this archetype) you can change the level of all Level 3 Insect monster you control to the Rank of the banished Xyz Monster. This, however, locks you into only Special Summoning Insect Type monsters for the rest of the turn. “Bug Emergency” was for the longest time the only card in the archetype that would allow for the easy summon of “Digital Bug Rhinosebus“. “Digital Bug Registrider” does exist now, giving any “Digital Bug Rhinosebus” summon a boost in consistency, but “Bug Emergency” can still be used to potentially turn the game around when played with “Extra-Foolish Burial” or other crazy strategies. Overall, if you like to focus on summoning “Digital Bug Rhinosebus“, play it at whatever number you see fit. However, if you rather use other options such as “Digital Bug Scaradiator” to finish the game or simply do not want to bother with playing this card, you should rather skip it.
Recommended copies: 0-3
Recommended Engines:
“Digital Bugs” themselves are not against any sort of reinforcement or addition to the deck, but with their need of an extremely specific line-up of monsters, there is almost no engine that fits into the playstyle or the Attribute/Type combination. There are “Spiders”, but including them makes the deck even slower and more inconsistent as the pure version (the one option that you could potentially play is listed under the “Further useful cards”-section). There are two candidates worth mentioning though that can find usage in “Digital Bugs”:
“Kaiju”:
As with so many other decks, “Kaijus” are a solid engine to remove opposing monsters that would otherwise refuse to leave the field. In “Digital Bugs”, they have the added bonus of normally being switched into Defense Position and then being taken care of by a myriad of effects made exactly for that scenario. “Kaijus” also take care of the one monster type the “Digital Bugs” struggle against: Link Monsters. It honestly does not matter what “Kaijus” you add to the deck, but choosing the ones with lower base DEF is certainly not the worst decision you could make.
“Galaxy”:
There is the option to run a small “Galaxy” engine to make the entire deck run smoother. “Galaxy Worm” has the right Attribute/Type combination and is therefore a short way into an Xyz Monster: Normal Summon “Galaxy Worm” while you control no other monster, search and summon another “Galaxy Worm“, and then proceed from there by Xyz Summoning “Digital Bug Scaradiator“. To make this engine a little more spicey, simply play a few copies of “Galaxy Soldier” (shoutouts to “Coolqueval” for the idea): It can be Special Summoned by discarding a Light monster, which is perfect setup for the revive effect of “Digital Bug Cocoondenser” or serve as extra material for “Digital Bug Corebage“, it will search a “Galaxy Worm” from your deck for further plays should your board find itself destroyed prematurely and with two of those guys, you can overlay them into “Cyber Dragon Nova“, which in turn will serve as fodder for “Cyber Dragon Infinity“.
Further useful cards:
Main Deck monsters:
“Bachibachibachi“:
If you like the idea of “Digital Bug Rhinosebus” to kick Defense Position monsters for damage and cannot afford to go into it, use “Bachibachibachi”. It is one of the rare monsters with the right combination for “Digital Bugs” (being a Light Insect monster) and can therefore be used for the summon of “Digital Bug Scaradiator” and give it piercing damage to build a smaller version of the boss monster with easier access. With “Digital Bug Registrider“, you can Normal Summon “Bachibachibachi”, Special Summon “Digital Bug Registrider“, go into “Digital Bug Scaradiator“, and have a 2800 ATK beater with piercing damage.
“Doom Dozer“:
“Doom Dozer”, while not sporting the right Attribute for the deck, can give “Digital Bugs” a certain edge when it comes to ATK stats, surpassing even the archetypes biggest monster by 200 ATK while still keeping the decks Normal Summon slot untouched.
“Honest“:
The classic Light Attribute handtrap. Since “Digital Bugs” still have to battle quite often, “Honest” is a solid choice for the deck. It is normally discarded to increase the ATK of your monster that is being attacked by the opponent, but you can easily boost a “Digital Bug Scaradiator” with some useful Xyz materials to OTK the opponent.
“Koa’ki Meiru Beetle“:
The first of the really weird options in “Digital Bugs” is “Koa’ki Meiru Beetle”. With 1900 ATK, it actually is a solid beater according to “Digital Bugs” standards and the complete lack of any “Iron Core of Koa’ki Meiru” to keep it from destroying itself can be substituted by revealing “Digital Bugs” from your hand. “Koa’ki Meiru Beetle” then switches all Light and Dark monsters into Defense Position when Special Summoned, which means that around one third of your opponents has to summon their board in exactly the way you want them to, while your Special Summoned Main Deck monsters activate their effects right away.
“Mother Spider“:
Talking about weird options, we have “Mother Spider”. The monster is completely irrelevant most of the times, but being able to tribute two of your opponents monsters for a plus on your board makes the card at least worth considering.
“Naturia Fruitfly“:
More oddball support comes from the “Naturia” archetype: “Naturia Fruitfly” can snatch opposing monsters with 0 DEF, which can be triggered by either “Curse of Anubis” or an Xyz Summon with “Digital Bug Websolder“. As a small added bonus, “Naturia Fruitfly” also decreases all of the opposing monster’s stats by 300. Just keep in mind that it can only be used for generic Xyz Summons, since “Naturia Fruitfly” is Earth Attribute.
Spell cards:
“Earthquake“:
An easy way to switch monsters into Defense Position. “Earthquake” obviously has no effect on Link Monsters and since it switches all monsters on the field, you have to have some sort of strategy to switch yours back if you still want to attack that turn, but it is an option to be considered.
“Inferno Reckless Summon“:
Easy swarming tool. All of your in-archetype Main Deck monsters fit the bill to activate this card, almost all of them are played at three copies and a solid number features Special Summon mechanics to trigger “Inferno Reckless Summon”.
“Level Limit – Area B“:
One of the old burn-deck floodgates finds usage in “Digital Bugs”, since it can switch pretty much the entire board any deck with big Main Deck monsters as well as access to Fusion, Ritual and Synchro monsters in Defense Position, while leaving your board completely unchanged and free to position changes as well as allowing it to attack.
“Mystical Space Typhoon“:
The easy solution to any backrow removal needs. “Twin Twisters” and “Cosmic Cyclone” are obviously better in terms of removing cards, but “Digital Bugs” cannot always afford to ditch cards or pay life points.
“Raigeki“:
“Digital Bugs” have almost no way of destroying/removing monsters, so they take any option they can get to stop the opponent from getting too crazy. “Raigeki” is simply the best choice when it comes to monster removal.
“Stumbling“:
“Stumbling” is a weird option in “Digital Bugs”: It stops the opponent from going ham immediately and sets the opposing board up for easy disposal while triggering the effects of your own Main Deck monsters immediately after being played. Sure, “Stumbling” can be bricky or even harmful at times, but it certainly allows for some creative combos.
Trap cards:
“Curse of Anubis“:
A useful position changer. Stops attacks, lowers defense, locks into Defense Position. “Curse of Anubis” is pretty much the Trap version upgrade of “Earthquake“.
“Heavy Storm Duster“:
The deck has no means to remove backrow and “Heavy Storm Duster” is very good at filling that void. The card is also immune to “Anti-Spell Fragrance” and works fairly well in a slow-playing deck such as “Digital Bugs”.
“Level Limit – Area A“:
After mentioning “Level Limit – Area B” in the Spell section, you might wonder why “Area A” finds its way into the list. Aside from being harmful to certain decks and cards (like “Scapegoat“), it allows “Digital Bug Websolder” and “Digital Bug Cocoondenser” to use their effects more efficiently, which in case of “Cocoondenser” unlocks the opportunity for an OTK.
“No Entry!!“:
The Trap version of “Earthquake“. Less powerful than “Curse of Anubis” and only changes from attack to Defense Position unlike “Zero Gravity“, but can certainly be played in “Digital Bugs”.
“Ojama Trio“:
This card is an option if you want to go all-out with the piercing damage OTK strategy. Gifting the opponent monster is certainly not the best idea in modern Yugioh, but if you summon “Digital Bug Rhinosebus” via “Bug Emergency” with both “Digital Bug Centibit” and “Digital Bug Websolder“. With the Ojama tokens alone, this will deal 2600×3 damage plus 300×3 burn damage, ending up with 8700 damage for an OTK. With to advent of “Digital Bug Registrider“, this combo has gotten way easier to use while also dealing more damage if necessary.
“Quaking Mirror Force“:
The one “Mirror Force“-variant that switches stuff into Defense Position. They are face-down which means cards like “Digital Bug Websolder” have no target they can affect, but it is the best choice if you want to run something to stop the opposing attack.
“Swords of Concealing Light“:
The effect is pretty clear: Use the card to give yourself some breathing room and to turn the entire opposing board into exactly the position you need it in to rampage through it.
“Trap Trick“:
“Trap Trick” in this deck is simply a searcher for your position changers such as “Curse of Anubis” or “Zero Gravity“, but it can obviously be used for other options aswell.
“Xyz Reborn“:
This is honestly one of the weaker options, but it can help in certain situations. “Xyz Reborn” is simply a Normal Trap “Monster Reborn” for Xyz Monster and the card, after being resolved, attaches itself to the Xyz Monster it summoned as Xyz material. This allows you to revive “Digital Bug Scaradiator“, kick a monster and absorb it as Xyz material and then rank it up into “Digital Bug Corebage“, or starting with “Digital Bug Corebage” switching a monster’s position, adding an Insect monster as Xyz material to “Digital Bug Corebage” and then ranking into “Digital Bug Rhinosebus“. The card is fairly limited, but since both your Rank 3 and 5 monsters can fetch themselves materials, it allows for certain plays.
“Zero Gravity“:
Similar to “Earthquake“, this card changes positions when activated. However, there is a number of points that make “Zero Gravity” a little bit better for the deck: It changes positions both from defense to attack and vice versa, so setting it up is a little bit easier, it can be activated during the opposing turn, leaving the opponent less opportunities to react and if activated during their turn, you can use your turn to set your board in whatever positions you like it in, which is harder to do with “Earthquake“. Solid option, if you still need some position switching.
Extra Deck monsters:
“Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss“:
Good old “Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss” brings graveyard setup and a temporary 2500 ATK beater, while being completely generic in terms of summoning. Can only be summoned via non-“Digital Bug” monsters.
“Inzektor Picofalena“:
Pretty much the only Insect Link monster that is universally useful. “Inzektor Picofalena” can fill the graveyard with cards from your hand, offers a small stat boost to monsters and even has a draw and recycle effect. She will be pointless most of the time, but being completely generic in asking for Insect monsters and having a wide array of different effects might pay off in certain games.
“Mechquipped Angineer“:
Another generic Rank 3 monster, which offers a Quick Effect position change. During that turn, the opposing monster you chose will be pretty much indestructible, but you can take care of it during your turn again. You can also wall with one of your monsters, but this will rarely happen. Again, this card can only be summoned via non-“Digital Bug” monsters.
“Number F0: Utopic Future“:
An option that was played in the “Pure Digital Bug deck” by HardLeg Joe. The main idea behind this option is to have something in the rare case that you are stuck with low-stat Xyz Monsters and cannot get past something on the opposing board. In such a case, you overlay both Xyz Monsters into “Number F0: Utopic Future”, ram it into the opposing monster for no damage due to its effect and steal the attacked target.
“Number 3: Cicada King“:
“Number 3: Cicada King” is a very useful monster for the “Digital Bug” archetype. Being able to Special Summon Insect monster from your hand upon it changing the battle position is very helpful since your deck works with that exact interaction. And it does not stop there: You can negate monster effects and change the position of other monsters you control aswell, with further increases the combo potential overall.
“Number 20: Giga-Brilliant“:
The other Light Insect Rank 3 Xyz Monster in the game. The ATK boosting effect is both underwhelming and mostly useless, but you can use this thing in a pinch to climb into higher ranks with certain cards. Not my favorite choice, but one that should be mentioned.
“Number 28: Titanic Moth“:
A Rank 7 option to put onto “Digital Bug Corebage” if you use “Bug Signal” or to opt into via “Digital Bug Registrider“. It only deals damage, first by attacking directly for half of its ATK stat, then burns the opponent for their cards in hand. Helpful if you need to finish the game and have the option to summon it available, but otherwise an underwhelming monster at best.
“Inzektor Exa-Stag“:
“Inzektor Exa-Stag” follows the same idea as with “Titanic Moth“: Use “Bug Signal” on a Rank 3 Insect Xyz Monster or “Digital Bug Registrider” as usual, snatch an opposing monster for “Inzektor Exa-Stag” to use as a club, then attack with your new beatstick. “Inzektor Exa-Stag” has no use other than running for the face, but sometimes that is all that is necessary.
Playstyle/Combos:
“Digital Bugs” are relatively straightforward, despite the fact that the use a number of cards no one has seen for the last 10 years. Your main goal is to summon Xyz Monsters, specifically “Digital Bug Scaradiator“, and use your mixed bag of position switching and control effects to eventually run through and end the game. The Main Deck monsters, while limited in number, give a decently consistent start to your game plan. “Galaxy Worm” is pretty much the omni-starter, since it is not only a one-card Xyz Summon, but also the one method to summon any non-“Digital Bug” Rank 3 Xyz Monsters from your Extra Deck. “Foolish Burial” with “Digital Bug Cocoondenser” is another way to get two Level 3 monsters one the field, as is “Digital Bug Websolder” with any other “Digital Bug” in hand. The new addition in “Digital Bug Registrider” can unclog various hands, since it accompanies any Level 3 Insect that you Normal Summoned and therefore can turn any of your “Digital Bug” monsters into an Xyz Summon.
While “Digital Bug Registrider” solves a lot of the problems the archetype has, it can only be played at three copies and options to search it out of the deck are very limited. Therefore, the problems often arise after summoning your first Xyz Monster: You can now climb into bigger ones, but those will be left without almost any Xyz material, and while a “Digital Bug Scaradiator” on the field is nice, it is normally nothing game-ending and can be taken care of rather quickly. There are a few ways to get “Digital Bug Scaradiator” up to speed, ramming it into the entire opposing board and dealing significant piercing damage doing so, but not only is this approach rather expensive card-economy-wise, but also tends to be inconsistent. Reaching “Digital Bug Rhinosebus” is rarely worth doing unless you have “Digital Bug Registrider” available. You can you play it with “Bug Emergency“, but that route needs quite a lot of setup. Other Xyz options do exist, but due to the limitations of “Digital Bugs” rearing their ugly heads at pretty much every corner you could take, you will rarely have the chance of using those.
There is one aforementioned OTK able with “Digital Bug”, which works as follows: Have a “Digital Bug Cocoondenser” on the field and one in the graveyard, while any card that forces them back into Attack Position is on the field (like “All-Out Attacks” or “Level Limit – Area A“). Use “Digital Bug Cocoondenser” number one to revive the other one, leading to two monsters. Card number four in this combo can be any card that sacrifices monsters to deal damage to the opponent like “Cannon Soldier“. Sacrifice “Digital Bug Cocoondenser” number one for damage, then revive it “Digital Bug Cocoondenser” number two, with will be able to use its effect since it did not enter the field in Defense Position, but in Attack Position due to being forced that way. Proceed to do this as many times as you need to finish the opponent. The OTK definitely works, but obviously is a little bit gimmicky and not the main thing “Digital Bugs” aim for.
The plan overall is to keep your opponent’s monsters stuck in Defense Position, build up any combo in form of a Xyz Monster you can manage to get on the field, then run everything over to deal some damage. Pray that this strategy works, since you do not have that many others to fall back upon.
Weaknesses/Counters:
“Digital Bug” are as weak to Special Summon blocks as pretty much anything else in the game, making cards like “Archlord Kristiya“, “Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo“, “Jowgen the Spiritualist“, “Vanity’s Fiend“, or whatever else blocks Special Summoning a counter to them. Summon negation is also very bad to their overall gameplan, since they rely on their Xyz Monsters to do the work, making “Solemn Judgment” and similar cards helpful against the strategy. Furthermore, “Digital Bugs” dislike effect negation, meaning that anything from “Skill Drain” to a simple “Effect Veiler” can stop their gameplan immediately.
On top of all the negation options that the “Digital Bugs” have to struggle with, they also have a problem with removal (both the monster and the backrow kind), and are at a disadvantage against any deck that can work without using monsters, since their whole plan falls into pieces in such a scenario. Another weakness, as mentioned before, lies in Link Monsters: Since you cannot force them into Defense Position, none of the “Digital Bug” schenanigans work on them and since there is nothing in “Digital Bugs” to lower ATK points, you will have to find ways to get around them in another way. Finding such options will be fairly hard though, since “Digital Bugs” severely limit their own deckbuilding options with the aforementioned restrictions, making it highly unlikely that they will keep monsters with high ATK points in check if they cannot be switched to Defense Position for whatever reason.
Sample Decklist (March 2022):
This is the “Digital Bug” list I made. Since the archetype is rather restrictive, we do have to use quite a number of in-archetypal cards, but that is not that bad. “Digital Bug Centibit“, “Digital Bug Registrider“, “Digital Bug Websolder“, and “Digital Bug Cocoondenser” are at three since they are so useful for the deck in my opinion, only “Digital Bug LEDybug” is at two since I needed the deckspace. Other than that I run the mention “Galaxy” engine, most of the “Digital Bug” backrow support and some Defense Position tools. There are really no surprises to anyone who read the article here, just straightup all that seemed playable.
If you are not sure what certain cards are or if you would like to download the deck, you can find anything necessary under this link: https://ygoprodeck.com/digital-bug-deck/. Also, here is the entire decklist in text:
Monster (23):
3x “Galaxy Soldier“
1x “Honest“
3x “Digital Bug Centibit“
3x “Galaxy Worm“
3x “Digital Bug Registrider“
1x “Bachibachibachi“
3x “Digital Bug Websolder“
2x “Digital Bug LEDybug“
3x “Digital Bug Cocoondenser“
1x “Mirror Ladybug“
Spell/Trap (17):
1x “Raigeki“
1x “Harpie’s Feather Duster“
1x “Pot of Desires“
1x “Monster Reborn“
3x “Bug Signal“
3x “Stumbling“
3x “Bug Emergency“
2x “Curse of Anubis“
1x “Solemn Strike“
1x “Solemn Warning“
Extra Deck (15):
1x “Digital Bug Rhinosebus“
1x “Cyber Dragon Infinity“
2x “Digital Bug Corebage“
1x “Cyber Dragon Nova“
1x “Inzektor Exa-Stag“
1x “Super Quantal Mech Beast Grampulse“
3x “Digital Bug Scaradiator“
1x “Number 3: Cicada King“
1x “Saryuja Skull Dread“
1x “Topologic Trisbaena“
1x “Armillyre, the Starleader Dragon“
1x “Inzektor Picofalena“
Cubic Creativity 