Goodbye, 2014

You were a bit of a dick, robbing me of my old computer and ability to play card games illegally for several months and all.

You were also a bit of a dick for the disaster that was the Chicago WCQ for Vanguard (and the mediocrity that was the Buddyfight WCQ).

That and the homelessness thing.

But I suppose I deserved it to an extent.

Here's to a better 2015. :v

DOTE tread on me

The news is in, and Kagero accidentally the whole thing. By which I mean Overlord the Cross took all the top spots in the biggest official Japanese tournament of the year, slaughtering everything else to the surprise of no one. But what is it that makes the deck such a force?

For starters, the top end is absurdly powerful. Simply by performing Legion, you have to means to do any one of at least two of three things: stand upon hitting, retire two upon missing, or sitting on the Grade 3 you just grabbed as a means to feed Stride plays on the coming turn. And all of these feed into one of the strongest Overlord support cards - Dragonic Burnout, which is as close to free as retire gets. The fear factor is strong, and the control factor is utterly devastating.

But of course, things don't stop there. The rest of the deck is also a well oiled machine. You have all sorts of options at Grade 2 besides Burnout, including Berserk, Twilight Arrow, Neoflame, and ye olde Burning Horn. Grade 1 features the absurdly powerful unflipping perfect guard, Calamity Tower, Gojo, and Lava Flow - and those are just the usual suspects. Nothing's stopping you from using Grom or Violence Horn, for example. Red Pulse and Fargo are both strong forerunners, and of course Gatling Claw is an eternal thorn in the side for every deck depending on their own.

So what you get after all is said and done is the best of both self-advantage and opponent-dismantling, and you can shift gears depending on what the opponent is doing in order to assure a good outcome for yourself even if one of these factors is being shut down somehow. Not many other decks do that, nor can many other decks put up with that. At least, that's what the results would suggest.

Naturally, I don't believe it's quite as dominant or even as problematic as the masses might. The state of the G format insofar is roughly that of where the game was BT05-BT09; there's a clear favorite, but plenty of other things see regular tops and can play against the favorite on relatively even ground, namely Royal Paladin, Shadow Paladin, and Oracle Think Tank variants. There's no doubt in my mind that Neo Nectar will perform perfectly well too, although the remainder of G-BT02 is still up in the air as far as viability goes. Aqua Force, Narukami, and Great Nature have historically lagged behind for a lot of reasons, and while Nova Grapplers aren't quite so prominent at the moment, they're still somewhat of a tall order to match.

This is a shocking development ~degozaru

I actually forgot about Nubatama for awhile, including the fact that they got an additional LB4 boss by way of Fighters Collection 2014, a PR Legion Pair, and most importantly, a PR Critical Trigger to help round out their options. They've all been rather gargantuan improvements on an individual basis. Together, though? They're something else.

1 Stealth Beast, Kuroko

4 Heal

8 Crit

4 Stand

4 Sakurafubuki

3 Fuuki

3 Dreadmaster

4 Mijingakure

4 Tamahagane

4 Kokujyo

4 Daranicongo

4 Mantoracongo

3 other G3s
(I used 2 Kabukicongo and a Voidmaster since I was a bit iffy on the discard cost of Yozakuracongo and didn't figure the break ride would synergize too well)

8 generic G Units

Daranicongo causes something of a chain reaction; the deck is less reliant on Kuroko's survival and as a result is far more stable in achieving its goals. Bonus points for being a solid standalone beater.

Mantoracongo ups the ante by delivering an extremely deadly finisher that doesn't require putting yourself in a position that will kill you.

And of course more crits means you get to the end game scenario faster and finish more reliably, which was a huge problem for prior builds.

Striding is kind of neither here nor there unless the opponent is playing risky enough to turn off all your skills, though.

G era support would perhaps be a bit much for the game to handle. @_@

Baseball

Stepping away from the Saver of things and Jewel Knight zerg rush for a moment...

1 Wingal Brave
4 Heal
8-12 Crit
0-4 Margal

4 Marron
4 new 8K who's name escapes me
4 Holy Knight Guardian
2 Kay/other filler

4 Blaster Blade
4 Blaster Dark
4 Starlight Violinist

4 Majesty Lord Blaster
2 Solitary Knight, Gancelot
1 Soul Saver Dragon

4 Vague Sacred Knight, Gablade
4 Saint Blow Dragon

Let's just sit down and look at this.

It's a defensive deck that aims to tank through the game by way of high defense at all grades while simultaneously catapulting the opponent into the late game, where they become Saint Blow fodder (or stride fodder in general, I mean, Atmos is probably better than Gablade in this build). Wingal, if not occupied with Blaster fetch duty, grabs a G3 to pitch for the big guns on turn 4 and beyond. It's a good deal IMO.

I've been considering a slight scaling back on Blade and Dark to include a couple of Blade Spirits as an expansion Violinist's flexibility and better ride options. There are some worthwhile G1 options to look at as well, such as Shotputter or Ladinas or even Pongal, who makes Soul Saver and Stride plays that much easier.

Even if not comparable on a competitive scale, it should at least make a nice budget option heading forward.

Marine General, Tidal Bore Dragon and Flower Princess of Spring Color, Arborea

Because my words must be thrown in my face no less than twelve hours down the line, the G Units featured in G Trial Decks 3 and 4 saw their official reveal in a commercial that aired during last night's episode.

On the Neo Nectar side of things, there are no surprises. A straightforward on-hit cloning of one of the units you already have in play is going to put in work, even if you should select something of the boosting nature (due to the +2K buff). Actually, odds are that's what you're gonna do above all else since front row dies hard and fast.

But Aqua Force is another story. This guy is odd. For starters, he reduces the generally required battle count by one, meaning he's online even with the most paltry of fields. You then generate hard advantage out of the hit! I suppose that makes sense since this is intended to be the "setup" boss, the first Stride play, but the concept is incredibly foreign for the clan all the same. To make things even more interesting, it lets you call a card from hand, which can lead into a fourth attack if you weren't capable of it before. What does that mean? Ding ding ding, Savas is online and retiring. The two compliment each other, generating a Maelstrom-like effect. And given that the deck is probably going to run 12 stands, opponents will likely catch on and let Tidal Bore Dragon hit just about every time to keep their own losses to a minimum. Nice! (Now just think of all the sweet sweet pluses he can make alongside Marios :x)

It won't belong until we know everything in G-TD03/04.

Wave Battle! Ride On!

Did I mention I like Aqua Force? Because I'm quite fond of Aqua Force. Various causes have always kept the clan from being top dog - lacking support quality, control mechanics, etc. - but the G era is looking to change that, and I have to say I'm excited.

At the forefront of it all is Couple Dagger Sailor, who throws out everything that was wrong with the Storm Riders and Legion support. For a mere CB1, you have a generic 11K beater that can enable more attacks and doesn't care about the name or status of your Vanguard. It's what the clan has wanted ever since the Break Ride block began.

Whirlwind Brave Shooter sports some rather fitting flavor text. It's also another first for Aqua Force, as they've always lacked G1s that can force shield without regard to the opponent's formation. The potential unflip is pretty negligible, though.

Diamantes wishes he had the utility that Max brings to the table.

And the recently unveiled Savas hits a lot of good notes. Your first through third battles typically knock out the front row, and the fourth will now force your opponent to off one of their own boosters. Should you be without Stride fodder, he's a very solid pressure unit in his own right with bonus crit and Grade 0 prevention.

We're really at the tip of the iceberg, too. We've yet to see any G Units, Forerunner, skill Stand trigger, or the anticipated Amber clone, all of which are liable to be significant forward pushes in much the same way.

The Maelstrom deck is about to return from the dead. I can feel it. Legion not so much, if Michael and Milos are any indication.

SEGA

Genesis as a clan bothers me in many ways. It displaced OTT. It's entrenched in Limit Break. It's Vanguard centric to a greater extent than Dimension Police, and it's generally less rewarding at that. It's loaded with incomplete themes. It's difficult to predict additions to as well, because the only rule is "Soul Blast". But time and time again I find myself trying to work with what the clan has and looking forward to what it will one day receive. Maybe it's the aesthetic, maybe it's the name... or perhaps more likely is that it appeals to my fondness of a deck with many moving parts, even if none of the parts actually do so without the okay from the big cheese.

We have Waltz of the Goddess to thank for the highly adaptable Regalia engine, which focuses on reloading soul selectively from the drop zone rather than randomly from the deck and does so free of charge, offset by the need for minor setup. The PR card Hesperis is even free of any naming restrictions, allowing any Vanguard that soul blasts prior to attacking to be an on-hit death machine.

Several months ago I used this knowledge to build a nifty little number, and with any luck it'll see a G era update soon.

1 Vivid Rabbit

4 Regalia Heals

4 Regalia Crits

4 Battle Maiden, Kukurihime

4 Regalia Draws

4 Witch of Frogs, Melissa

4 Regalia Shiny Angel

3 Goddess of Self-sacrifice, Kushinada

1 Regalia Svalinn

1 Existence Angel

4 Witch of Ravens, Chamomile

4 Regalia Hesperis

4 Regalia of Midday, Hemera

4 Eternal Goddess, Iwanagahime

4 Regalia of Midnight, Nyx

8 Generic G Units

In essence, it's the fastest any Genesis deck can be, starting to threaten the opponent from the moment a Grade 3 is ridden rather than having to wait for Limit Break or Legion conditions. You stand to gain quite a lot of advantage yourself, too.

The deck comes up short due to lack of actual push, though. I've been contemplating new builds with Minerva, but... no satisfactory products yet.