Local Digimon prodigy shares his journey

1/31/2024

When someone thinks about playing a card game, the typical thoughts come to mind. For the older generations, it could be UNO, spades, rummy, solitaire, and maybe even blackjack for you gamblers. Many in younger generations grew up with a different style of card games, like the seemingly infinitely popular Pokémon or Magic the Gathering. For Antonio Leovan, the choice was Digimon. 

Digimon is a Japanese media franchise that encompasses virtual pet toys, anime, manga, video games, films, and, of course, a trading card game. Like many, Leovan’s introduction to the franchise came through the show, “Digimon Data Squad.” This eventually led to him getting the Nintendo DS game, “Digimon World Dawn,” that he sunk countless hours into.

Originally, like many, Leovan started with Pokémon. So, why switch to Digimon?

“I like the gameplay of Digimon compared to other card games,” he said. “Digimon is based on a number system from 10 to 0 to 10, called the memory system. You do as much as you can with how much ‘memory’ your opponent gives you. You’re able to attack your opponent as many times as you want, and it doesn’t end your turn. You can Digivolve, you can play option cards. All of these can happen while you have enough ‘memory’ to do it, and once it passes 0, it goes to your opponent’s turn.” 

The newfound passion for the game and its style of play led Leovan to become more serious with his hobby.

“I’ve always been very competitive in what I did,” he said. “So when my friend showed me the (Digimon) cards at a Pokémon event I was playing in, within the next few weeks, I started playing with a starter deck I had.”

When it comes to his collection, Leovan likes to keep it simple. While he does keep 50 to 100 cards for playing in tournaments or with friends, his dedicated collection is much smaller. He keeps the special cards he’s won at regional and national tournaments because of their sentimental value, while opting to sell the rarer, more expensive cards he’s pulled from opening packs.

“I’d rather have the money to use for something else than keep it in a binder,” Leovan said.

While he didn’t have much success in the competitive scene right away, he kept practicing and became better over time. He continued to grow his skillset and became further entrenched in the growing Digimon community in Des Moines.

“It’s a very welcoming community for people of any skill level,” he said. “We always welcome new players with cards that they need or give advice to help make their decks efficient when playing against others.”

Leovan added that people from as far as Cedar Falls and Waterloo have made the trip to the capital city to participate in tournaments they have hosted.

Leovan and his team even made the lengthy trip to the Digimon National Tournament that took place in Los Angeles last year.

“Nope, I definitely wouldn’t have expected that happening at all,” Leovan said of the thought he would end up playing in a national tournament. 

He earned the invite to nationals by placing first at an in-store championship he traveled to Omaha for, which Leovan says is one of his proudest moments. However, the memory making wouldn’t stop there, as he recounts his performance at nationals.

“The most memorable moment was probably making top 16 in the first in-person nationals for Digimon in 2023,” he said. “It was the best performance I’ve had in a trading card game, and I would not have ever expected that I would get that far in the tourney.”

Leovan and his team spent months preparing decks, strategies and gameplans for when they reached nationals, which further strengthened the bond he has with his teammates.

“Even the night before nationals happened, it was all testing to figure out what was the right 50 cards to put in a deck to optimize them for all of us to do well in the tourney. Also eating really good tacos at a stand that was right next to the Airbnb we stayed at,” said Leovan.

There are several reasons why Leovan wants to convince others to join in on his hobby. He says it is a cheap game to get into. A quick search shows starter decks can go for less than $20. He also notes the friendly community.

“There are people that will help you understand the game because people want to grow the game to others that have never heard of it,” he said. “It’s a very welcoming environment.”