Digimon has a grudge match older than almost any card era: the royal guardians of the Digital World against the seven kings of the Dark Area. That rivalry has been simmering in canon for years, and Bandai just turned it into shelfable product. On October 1, the Digimon Card Game revealed Premium Battle Set Ver. Royal Knights [PB-27] and Premium Battle Set Ver. Seven Great Demon Lords [PB-28], two pre-built collections aimed straight at each other. And if you missed it, the next main booster, BT-28 Abyss of X, supports both factions at once. Here's who's on each side and whether a set is worth your money.
Who are the Royal Knights?
The Royal Knights are a group of thirteen Mega-level holy knight Digimon — the sacred guardians of the Digital World. They serve King Drasil (also spelled Yggdrasill), the root computer that rules the network, and they answer when a threat outweighs a single knight. The lineup reads like the series' hall of fame: Omegamon (Omnimon), Gallantmon (Dukemon), Magnamon, UlforceV-dramon, Jesmon, Alphamon, and the rest of the Round Table crew, all the way down to Examon and Craniummon.
In lore, the Knights have a natural, running feud with the Seven Great Demon Lords. They're order; the Demon Lords are the chaos that order exists to contain.
And the Seven Great Demon Lords?
The Seven Great Demon Lords are a looser alliance — seven Mega-level demon Digimon that rule the Dark Area, each loosely tied to one of the seven deadly sins. They rarely work together the way the Knights do, which makes them more dangerous in their own way. The set culminates in the fused Ogudomon, alongside Lucemon (Falldown and Chaos Modes), Beelzemon, Lilithmon, Demon (Creepymon), Barbamon, Belphemon: Rage Mode, and Leviamon, plus the Gate of Deadly Sins option card.
What's in each set (and what it costs)
Both sets are structured the same way: the full roster of each faction, plus one associated extra character, with every card appearing twice for deck-building. Each also comes with a face-off-style artwork theme. Pre-orders for the English versions are open now through Premium Bandai — the Royal Knights set [PB-27] at $66, the Seven Great Demon Lords set [PB-28] at $55. Pre-orders close November 16, and sets ship in June 2027.
Both are designed to pair with this winter's extra boosters: EX-13 Chivalrous XIII for the Knights side and EX-14 Malevolent VII for the Demon Lords. If you're already picking up those, these sets give you the core cast to build around them.
The bigger picture: BT-28 Abyss of X
The sets are a warm-up. BT-28 Abyss of X is themed around the X Antibody evolution, and Bandai has confirmed it supports both factions — Royal Knights and Seven Great Demon Lords. Release events start March 5, 2027, with the booster in stores March 12, 2027.
That's the real reason to commit early: if you want to play either faction competitively in the new meta, these Premium Battle Sets are a clean one-box way to start, and Abyss of X will give both sides their power pieces.
Should you buy?
If you main one faction already, PB-27 or PB-28 is nearly a no-brainer against buying singles to fill a deck. Casuals can wait — the sets are contains-no-sprints, so pre-order pricing holds. But if you intend to run Knights or Demon Lords once BT-28 lands, grabbing your side before the November 16 cutoff saves you the post-release mark-up on the most-played cards.
Pick a side, mark the calendar, and get the rivalry on the table. If you main one faction already, PB-27 or PB-28 is nearly a no-brainer against buying singles to fill a deck. If you're just collecting, there's no rush — pre-order pricing holds through the window. But if you intend to run Knights or Demon Lords once BT-28 lands, grabbing your side before the November 16 cutoff saves you the post-release mark-up on the most-played cards.