Digimon card rarities and alt-arts explained

Digimon cards carry the rarity labels C, U, R, SR, SEC and, in recent sets, UR. The label sits just under the card number, near the bottom right, and an alternative art keeps the same number and label and adds a star in front of the label. A second alternative art adds two. Bandai counts card types, so BT-26 has 108, while it has 136 entries once every version is counted. A pack holds 12 cards and a box holds 24 packs.

Which rarities do Digimon sets use?

Recent booster pages list seven rows. The card list uses the short labels.

The Ultimate Rare row is new. BT-25, released May 22, 2026, returns one of its cards with a new UR rarity, and every booster from then on has three. EX-11, from February 2026, has none. Special Cards are not among the numbered cards.

Older sets used different rows. The 2021 and 2022 pages in the table below list five rarities and nothing more, while Reboot Booster RB-01, from September 2023, listed 17 Promotion types alongside its 7 Secret Rares. Our secret rare, booster pack and booster box entries explain those terms across card games.

How do you read the rarity on the card?

Look under the card number. The card images in Bandai’s card list show three patterns on the cards checked:

These readings cover only the images named, so check the card in your hand too. The card list also tags each such entry Alternative Art, and its search can filter for them.

On the cards checked, the star sits in a different place on each of three Bandai card games. On the Digimon cards it sits before the label. Our One Piece rarities guide shows it above the label there, and our sibling guide to Dragon Ball Super Fusion World rarities finds it after the letters, inside the label.

How many cards of each rarity does a set hold?

Each product page counts types by rarity. The rows below are what each page states, with the release date it gives (the North American date where it lists several).

Two patterns run through the table. The BT sets from BT-10 on hold 40 to 44 Commons, while the EX sets hold 22 to 27. And since BT-25, the top of each set has settled at 12 Super Rares, 3 Ultimate Rares and 2 Secret Rares. BT-27’s date was still ahead on October 12, 2026, and release dates may vary by region and specifications can change.

What does a set’s type count include?

Rip.fan set three product pages against their card lists, and the counts line up once two things are known.

• Reprints of older cards sit inside the rarity rows. BT-25 has 104 cards numbered BT25, of which 40 are Commons, 26 Uncommons and 21 Rares. It also has six alternative-art reprints that keep their original numbers, such as BT2-047 and EX1-068: two Commons, two Uncommons and two Rares. Added together, that makes 42 Commons, 28 Uncommons and 23 Rares.
• The Special Card row sits outside the list. BT-26 has 104 numbered cards, matching its six main rows exactly, so its 108 types are those 104 plus the 4 Special Cards.

BT-10 follows the same rule. It has 2 Secret Rares numbered BT10 plus an alternative art of BT6-111, which makes 3. So a card number from an older set can turn up in a newer set, and our card number entry explains how to read one.

How many versions does a set really hold?

More than its type count. Here are each rarity’s numbered cards and alternative-art entries on two card lists, four years apart:

In BT-26, every Super Rare has at least one alternative art, and each Ultimate Rare and Secret Rare has two. In BT-10, each Super Rare and Secret Rare had one, and half the Rares did. The shift is toward more versions at the top of the set. An entry labeled SR can be the standard print or one of its alternative arts, so check the stars and the art before you name the card. Our alternate art entry covers the term across card games.

What extras have come with a box?

• Release Special Booster Ver.1.0 (2021). Each box came with a Tamer card in an alternate design, one of 10, and a promotion pack holding a pair of cards. Buying 12 packs also brought a Dash Pack with one of 5 alternate-art cards from the set.
• BT-26 (2026). Each box comes with an extra pack.
• EX-13 (2026). Each box comes with an Alt-Art card. The set also gives each of the 13 Royal Knights an Alt-Art with a finish that shines gold.

From RB-01 on, each set also includes alternate art or design cards of the listed types.

Does the rarity tell you what a card sells for?

Not on its own. A Super Rare and its alternative arts share a number and a label, but Bandai lists each as its own entry, so match the stars and the art when you compare prices.

• Sold prices: our guides to finding what a card sold for and market, listed and sold prices explain the method.
• Fees: the seller fee calculator shows what a sale on TCGplayer or Whatnot leaves after fees.
• Grading: CGC grades virtually all trading card games, and our guide to whether a card is worth grading covers the sums.

For more card games, see the trading card hub, our guide to which cards to collect and our Magic card rarities guide.

Frequently asked questions

Which BT-26 Timeless Bonds cards are Ultimate Rares?

Three: Rosemon: Burst Mode (BT26-050), Plutomon (BT26-059) and Chronomon: Destroy Mode (BT26-060). The set's two Secret Rares are Jupitermon: Wrath Mode (BT26-103) and the Tamer card Kunlun (BT26-104).

What came in a BT-10 Xros Encounter box besides its packs?

Each box held one of 6 parallel-design Tamer cards plus an ST-11 Special Entry Pack, with a Gammamon promotion card and 1 of 16 alternate-art reprints.

What was the box topper in EX-01 Classic Collection?

An alternate-art WarGreymon, BT2-065, came in every EX-01 box, and the same card was a promotion card in Bandai's Gift Box.

Does Release Special Booster Ver.1.0 hold every card from Japan's first three boosters?

No. It combines cards from the Japanese Booster Ver. 1 to 3, and Release Special Booster Ver.1.5 holds the rest, so a full run of those Japanese cards needs both.

Do Digimon sets come out on the same day in every region?

Not always. BT-10 Xros Encounter came out in Europe and Oceania on October 14, 2022, a week before North America and Latin America. EX-01 reached Europe and Oceania on December 10, 2021, six weeks ahead of North America.