With all the recent Regional tournaments going on, I've ask my friend and cardfighting buddy Nick Buras to write up a report of his experience at the Regional Invitational he attended a few months back. I like to call these "Special Reports!" and I hope to have more guest writers in the future. For those who are unaware, Nick Buras came in first place at the Local Regional Invitational, securing him a spot in the Texas Regional. My next target for a bonus report will be a team from the Team Regional, so be on the lookout, Koden Shuffle Alliance!
In the meantime, a Cardfight!! Vanguard Special Report!
"Connect the DOTEs" by Nick Buras
If writing CFV articles is anything like writing Magic articles, I suppose I
should give you dessert first.
Cardfight!! Netdeck
Starter
Lizard Soldier, Conroe
Grade 0 (G0)
1 Dragon Dancer, Monica (draw)
3 Blue Ray Dracokid (crit)
4 Dragon Monk, Genjo (heal)
4 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr (crit)
4 Gattling Claw Dragon (draw)
Grade 1 (G1)
1 Demonic Dragon Mage, Kimnara
1 Flame of Hope, Aermo
4 Dragon Monk, Gojo
4 Embodiment of Armor, Bahr
4 Wyvern Guard, Barri (perfect guard [PG])
Grade 2 (G2)
3 Berserk Dragon
4 Burning Horn Dragon
4 Dragon Knight, Nehalem
Grade 3 (G3)
4 Dragonic Overlord
4 Dragonic Overlord, The End (DOTE)
What’s obvious:
* best overall Kagero starter as starter
* set of G2 that cares about namesake G3s
* set of heals
* set of PGs
* sets of namesake G3s
* sets of vanilla 8K and 10K power guys
* some number of Berserk Dragon
What’s not so obvious:
* Bullets (Aermo and Kimnara)
* Dragon Monk, Gojo
* Gattling Claw Dragon
Cardfight!! What Do??
I’m not going to go over what I would consider “the obvious” in great detail. You’re
playing in a tournament, so you’re going to want the best starter possible for
your strategy and full sets of heals and PGs. Playing Kagero? Run the best G2 they
have (Berserk Dragon). You’re playing DOTE, you’re going to want DOTEs and
regular Overlords. You have a G2 that Bushiroad made specifically for this
strategy (Burning Horn), so run it. As for the generic G1s and G2s, we’ll opt
for consistency and raw power. You see, Kagero’s defining theme is unit
destruction. While this deck has a fair bit of it, it isn’t the primary
strategy, so we’re not going to run guys that get bigger when stuff dies or
when there are X or fewer units in play.
Now for the “not so obvious.”
Aermo and Kimnara are “bullets,” or one-ofs. They both have limited function,
hence the limited number.
Aermo’s a Gojo when an attack he boosts hits, a go-to card when your hand is
full of redundant Overlords or otherwise dead cards. I’d love to run more of
him, but (1.) netdeck and (2.) 12K and 13K vanguards (VG) are things. When the
world was run by 10Ks and 11Ks, Aermo was great because the boost on a Berserk
or Nehalem was enough to warrant a 10K shield. 15K/16K columns don’t have that
same oomph against charged Majesty Lord Blasters (MLB) and crossrides. You also
don’t mind having extra DOTEs in hand because of the persona blasts. Even extra
regular Overlords are OK since they’re solid rear-guards (RG).
Why Kimnara rather than, say, Heatnail Salamander? (1.) netdeck, and (2.) Kimnara
kills a problematic G1 NOW. As explained in the Aermo section, 6K boosters
aren’t all that they used to be. At least Aermo triggers whenever ANY attack it
boosts connects. Salamander has to boost an attack that hits a VG in order to happen.
While not impossible, it’s just that much harder to do. Of all the cards in the
deck, Kimnara’s typically the weakest. That said, there are seldom ever dead
cards in this game: it can block and boost if need be, or be your G1 ride in a
heartbeat.
Gojo seems underappreciated to me. Should you win the die roll, there is no
better G1 to ride, since he immediately lets you dig a little deeper for
whatever you’re missing. Gojo also has the benefit of being a 7K booster when
you’re content with your hand. As explained in the Aermo section, the world is
run by 12Ks and 13Ks. Gojo and Nehalem take on a charged MLB, Gojo and either
Overlord take on other crossrides, Gojo and crossridden DOTE demand a minimum
of 15K shield from 10Ks.
Some may run Iron Tail Dragon instead of Gojo. It’s a fine card, but you want
to leave your damage up for stronger effects. I could see some taking out a
Gojo for an Iron Tail for fetch purposes, but I want to maximize my chance of
having a Gojo in hand when the game starts.
Kagero players, Gattling Claw Dragon is the best draw trigger you are not
running. It’s all about the ability. DOTE, MLB and Spectral Duke are all decks
you should care about, and Gattling Claw destroys their starters/opening plays.
Against DOTE (and most Kagero decks), you’re depriving them of their only
reliable way to fetch a bullet, a booster or a PG. Conroe is more versatile
than most acknowledge, so kill it if you get the chance.
It’s similar versus MLB. Wingal Brave gets a missing Blaster piece or a G3 to
ride.
It’s not as sexy against Spectral Duke, but denying them early additional board
presence is great. It spares you from additional early damage, giving you that
extra turn or two to get your side of the table better developed.
If you’re against Soulless OTT or any other deck that doesn’t run a “move to RG
circle” (RC) starter, it blocks just as fine as any draw and can be pitched to
Aermo/Gojo/Barri all the same.
You also typically don’t care about the power of your triggers. But in a pinch,
4K’s enough boost for your G3s and Burning Horns to force heavier blocks
against 10Ks and 11Ks, even a charged MLB when boosting a crossridden The End.
Cardfight!! PROTIPS
A few tips about playing the deck before I talk about the tournament itself:
1.) Don’t panic if you fail to crossride. 11K still goes a long way.
2.) Don’t be afraid to play your DOTEs. You’ll usually get no more than one
persona blast off, so use the rest as RGs or fodder for PGs and Aermo/Gojo.
3.) When Aermo boosts DOTE on VG circle (VC), and the attack hits, there could
be a combo. When two or more automatic abilities trigger at the same time, you
choose one to play, as both become stand by. Suppose you don’t have a DOTE to
pitch to its persona blast. You should choose to play Aermo’s ability first.
Pitch a card (say, a Gattling Claw) and draw a DOTE. You can now play and pay
for VC DOTE’s ability and get an extra swing.
4.) Something I started doing at the last tournament I played in: I’m getting
into the habit of putting a die (or whatever’s handy) on top of my VC DOTE if
it’s crossriding. There’s an assumption that he’s continuously a 13K when
that’s definitely not always the case. If it’s an 11K, there would be nothing
on it. If it’s a 13K, there’ll be something on it to make the 13K obvious.
Cardfight!! Preparationing
I’ve been making small changes to my routines as of late, at the game table and
away. Here are a few that you should consider adopting if you feel stuck in a
rut:
* Get exercise. I’ve recently joined the YMCA and do strength training three
times a week. I’m also walking/running two miles, weather and schedule
permitting, two or three times a week around the neighborhood. You don’t need
to do all that I’m doing, but go walk for 20 minutes every other day. You’ll
notice an increase in energy and happiness, and maybe even smaller clothes
sizes if you stick to it long enough.
* Eat smaller portions more often. At my work desk, I have a drawer full of
one-ounce portions of almonds and granola bars. I have a few of these snacks in
my game bag as well. Keep your energy constant rather than riding your last
meal to an empty tank.
* Keep hydrated. Your body needs water for all matter of things. What else do I
need to say?
* Rotate spare sleeves. The Yu-Gi-Oh! sleeves I use are surprisingly good. I
have yet to see one break and they give you just enough in a pack; I even have
a spare! Between matches, I’ll unsleeve my starter (“A”) and a random card
(“B”). “A” goes in the spare sleeve. “B” will go in “A”’s old sleeve, leaving
“B”’s old sleeve as the new spare. This way, you’re putting equal wear on all
sleeves. In case a sleeve breaks, you’ll have a sleeve that looks no different
than the others (no shine in a sea of wear). Even though my starter can’t
return to my deck per its mechanics, I shuffle it along with the others to (1.)
wear its sleeve along with the others and (2.) have my opponent think I’m
running something that COULD move its starter to the hand or deck (ex. Little
Witch LuLu, since riding into Goddess of Flower Divination, Sakuya could return
it to your hand).
Cardfight!! Cardfights
As there were several quick rounds of play (3.5 hours for the ENTIRE
tournament), I had no time to make note of who was playing what, except for
this blog’s owner (because you’re SUPPOSED to make him feel bad) and the other
invitation winner. There was also the whole “Crap, I won and offered to write a
report but have no notes to work off of” thing.
Round 1: MLB
He admitted to me beforehand his unfamiliarity with his deck, having picked it
up shortly before the tournament started. This showed, as his second turn play
was Blaster Dark on VC and another on RC. Whatever Blaster units he called to RC
were dispatched immediately.
If you’re going to play MLB, you may want to sit on your Blasters until you at
least get your G3 going. MLB wants to charge as soon as possible. Leaving your
Blasters on RC without protection means you’re probably not going to reach that
base 12K.
(1-0)
Round 2: Soulless OTT
There was a turn where he drew seven cards: one from turn, two from riding CoCo
(again), one from sending Psychic Bird to soul, one from Luck Bird’s soulblast
ability, two from twin drive.
I still won.
Your strategy against Soulless OTT is more or less the following:
Phase 1 – make ≥ 20K columns
Phase 2 - ???
Phase 3 – Profit
(2-0)
Round 3: Megacolony
Comic Style Vol. 1 went on sale the day before, so he ran lots of cards with
which I was unfamiliar (especially the Machining units), on top of a clan one rarely
saw played.
Fortunately, knowledge of how to approach this matchup is common at Rocket’s:
don’t boost with everything. A Berserk Dragon on back RC saw to that for most
of the match, so his units were mediocre at best.
(3-0)
Round 4: MLB
I wanna say I lost to this guy at the Kenner tournament when he was piloting
Phantom Blaster Overlord. He killed me when I was at two damage – persona blast
plus two drive-checked crits. I didn’t have the PG then, maybe I will this
time.
He started with Wingal Brave.
I’m honestly trying to remember details of this game, but I can’t. I beat him,
that’s all that matters.
(4-0)
Round 5: Cory w/MLB
This game was awkward. He rode to G3 Palamedes with no other G3s for a while. I
had an 11K DOTE as my VG, but again, having that extra 1K power made my blocks
easier. 9K + 6K = 5K blocks all day.
Your plan versus MLB is to basically sit on a PG for MLB’s, uh, Blaster Blast.
He got to MLB late game and I did exactly this, shoring up a win for me a turn
or two later.
(5-0)
aside
I suppose that’s what’s scary about DOTE’s
persona blast. MLB and Phantom Blaster Overlord have to
go all in in order to do their
thing. You have to pay the cost BEFORE you know if it’ll hit or not. The
defender doesn’t know what triggers
are coming, but they see a damn-near auto-hit 30K attack. If
they PG it, you couldn’t say you were
surprised. Against DOTE, however, how do you block? Do you
PG the first attack? Or throw enough
shield down to force a trigger or two and PG the second swing?
If you don’t have the PG, how much
do you block? It’s the challenges of blocking DOTE wisely that I
guess is so hard.
/aside
Round 6: Michael w/Spectral Duke
I won the die roll but failed to ride G2 for a turn. My opponent came out swinging
and rode the chain all the way. I recall losing quickly.
(5-1)
Round 7: Bye
I can live with this.
(6-1)
Round 8: Bye
I can live with this, too!
Yes, back-to-back byes were possible because pairings only cared about wins and
losses, not previous opponent names. Which means I could receive a bye next
round, too, should the undefeated player lose.
Michael lost his first match this round, so there were three players standing,
each at 7-1. Next round’s bye was a guaranteed invite to the next tournament.
(7-1)
Round 9: The End
Michael got the bye, which meant I had to play to snag an invite.
I spent Round 8 behind Michael’s opponent, a DOTE pilot. Whereas my build is a
netdeck, his appeared to be more to his personal taste, running a fair number of
newer cards, like Guard Griffin, Flame of Promise, Aermo, Bellicosity Dragon
and Prowling Dragon, Striken.
I can’t remember if I Gattling Clawed his Conroe or not. We both rode Dragonic
Overlord, then DOTE. He couldn’t put up pressure for some reason, and I felt
unusually calm. The invite’s on the line and I felt fine. No pressure, no need
to rush through anything, even though we had a time limit. Tranquil. Maybe it
was because of me being in the driver’s seat? I found my zone and I stayed
there.
(8-1)
Round 10: Mike w/Spectral Duke (again)
The tournament wasn’t over just yet, but me qualifying for the next tournament (just
east of Beaumont, TX) lifted a burden off my shoulders.
An attendee recorded the match and told me he’d post it on YouTube later. I
haven’t seen it yet personally but hey, stuff happens.
If memory serves, he rode the ride chain G1 but whiffed on finding anything.
For lulz I blew up his G0 behind VC. I can’t remember if he continued the chain
into G2, but had he, me blowing up his RG was critical for reasons explained
earlier.
What was all for fun could’ve well won me the match inadvertently.
He was on some non-Duke G3 as VG. I only remember that guy being a 10K and
could therefore be hit by pretty much anything on the front row, boosts being
the proverbial icing on the cake.
Memory again escapes me on specifics, but I was ultimately the last man
standing.
(9-1)
Cardfight!! Afterglow
I received quite a few pats on the back and congratulations from fellow store
patrons, as travel plans were being drawn together for the Regionals Qualifier
two weeks later.
This was the first larger tournament I’ve won in ages, and it was peaceful. You
have this idea of praise and chariots and all that jazz that just magically
appear when you win something like this. Praising aside, none of that happened.
I hung around, talked to some friends, got in the truck and went to the Y for
strength training.
If all winning does to you is give you a little pep in your
step, I’m cool with that.
I’ll take better notes during the Texas event, in the chance I win and get to
go to Orlando. Until then (I’ll do what I can), thanks for reading!
.jpg/300px-BT12-020-RR_(Sample).jpg)
.jpg/300px-TD11-001_(Sample).jpg)
.jpg/300px-TD11-005_(Sample).jpg)
.jpg/300px-PR-0135_(Sample).jpg)
.jpg/300px-BT12-033-R_(Sample).jpg)
.jpg/300px-BT12-016-RR_(Sample).jpg)
.jpg/300px-BT12-002-RRR_(Sample).jpg)
.jpg/300px-BT12-012-RR_(Sample).jpg)
.jpg/300px-BT12-003-RRR_(Sample).jpg)