Saturday, May 31, 2014

News: Fourth Laketown VGCS Decklists, Narukami-Royal Paladin Fusion Places Third, Cat Butler Raizers Control Top Two

Original image by card shop Fireball.
Hosted by card shop Fireball, the fourth Laketown Vanguard Championship took place over the 17th of the month, and had a turnout of 60 persons with a 1000 yen (approx. $9.80) entry fee. Preceded by several rounds of six draw and then followed by a cut to top 8, this CS marked another victory for Nova Grappler cardfighters, but interestingly preceded the debut of Cat Butler Raizers at the Second Beast Deity Cup by a matter of days. Unlike the recent Raizer decks from the fourth Tachikawa VGCS and the Second Beast Deity Cup, first place finalist Hideyuki's deck included a more normalized grade 3 count, with seven grade 3s instead of four to five, and made room for its extra grade 0s by cutting out space throughout the entire deck, running just twelve grade 1s and ten grade 2s. His build also emphasized Energy Charger in a fashion similar to Calamity Tower Wyvern's use in the late Dragonic Nouvelle Vague decks prior to their phasing out. Although Beast Deity champion Silver Crow has received much of the credit for popularizing a particular incarnation of the Raizer series in professional play, Hideyuki may lead Nova cardfighters to rethink where they make their cuts and which cards are most important for supporting their restanding strategy.

Third place finalist Black-Rimmed Glasses made his way into the top 4 by uniquely inserting a playset of the grade 2 Narukami Brawler Youjin into his Thing Saver Dragon deck, taking advantage of the fact that Youjin does not require a Narukami vanguard to use his retire skill; so that when either Sacred Wingal or Thing Saver enter Legion, Youjin automatically retires one of the opponent's frontrow rearguards. This kind of deckbuidling is not possible in Bushiroad's official tournaments due to the implementation of rules which prevent players from using other clans in their decks, but VGCS organizers have no such qualms about mixing cards if the skill text allows for it. He also featured a number of other modifications, mixing in a Shadow Paladin card as well with the card changer Witch of Nostrum Arianrhod, to help expedite getting four cards into the drop zone for Legion alongside his Lake Maiden Lien playset. BRG has made a name for himself in the Vanguard Championships, making third in the fifth Fateclock VGCS and second place in the third Laketown VGCS.

The remaining top 8 in the fourth Fireball VGCS included Star-vader "Ω" Glendios, Thing Saver Dragon and two Cat Butler Raizers cardfighters. Glendios has remained an enduring part of the format since its debut at the previous Laketown CS, becoming one of the few builds to consistently slow down the pace of a game by shutting down both rearguard lanes and preventing them from unlocking. In the Legion format Omega has received consistently trouble from the plethora of semi-independent vanguards, diminishing the impact of a locked field.

The VGCS tournaments are a series of unofficial tournaments organized by fans and cardshops. Unlike Bushiroad's larger official tournaments, most VGCS events are done using a best of 3, Swiss tournament model. Turnout is typically 70-80 persons, but some events see 100 or more participants, all of whom compete using pseudonyms and internet handles rather than their real names as in official events. The VGCS model of fan-organized play has begun to gain popularity internationally, with the bi-monthly BeNeLux tournaments serving as their European equivalent.

Fourth Laketown CS
First place: Hideyuki/ヒデユキ
Deck name: STAP Cells Are Right Here!/スタップ細胞はここにあります!
Grade 0
x1 Transmigrating Evolution, Miraioh (FV)
x4 Cat Butler
x4 Regenbogen HT
x2 Raizer Crew DT
x2 Meteoraizer CT
x4 Red Lightning CT
x4 Minimum Raizer CT
Grade 1
x4 Shieldraizer
x4 Energy Charger
x4 The Screamin' and Dancin' Announcer, Shout
Grade 2
x4 Ultimate Raizer, DF
x4 Phoenix Raizer, FW
x2 Marine Raizer, HT
Grade 3
x3 Pheonix Raizer, DW
x4 Ultimate Raizer, MF

Second place: Rishia/リシア
Deck name: Don't Say Kompeitō Panic @Berserk/コンペイトウパニック@バーサークとは言わせない
Grade 0
x1 Transmigrating Evolution, Miraioh (FV)
x4 Cat Butler
x4 Raizer Girl, Kate HT
x2 Raizer Crew DT
x2 Schones Wetter CT
x4 Red Lightning CT
x4 Meteoraizer CT
Grade 1
x2 Shieldraizer
x2 Twin Blader
x3 Energy Charger
x3 Jetraizer
x3 The Screamin' and Dancin' Announcer, Shout
Grade 2
x4 Ultimate Raizer, DF
x4 Phoenix Raizer, FW
x2 Marine Raizer, HT
Grade 3
x2 Pheonix Raizer, DW
x4 Ultimate Raizer, MF

Third place: Black-Rimmed Glasses/くろぶちめがね
Deck name: Youjin in Thing Saver/ヨウジン入りシングセイバー
Grade 0
x1 Starting Legend, Ambrosius (FV)
x4 Seeker, Loving Healer HT
x4 Certain Kill Seeker, Modron CT
x4 Seeker, Herald Breath Dragon CT
x4 Margal DT
Grade 1
x1 Good Faith Seeker, Cynric
x4 Lake Maiden, Lien
x4 Guardian Law Seeker, Shiron
x4 Glynngal Seeker
x1 Witch of Nostrum, Arianrhod
Grade 2
x4 Brawler Youjin
x4 Blaster Blade, Seeker
x2 Full Bloom Seeker, Cerdic
x1 Crossbow Seeker, Gildas
Grade 3
x4 Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon
x4 Seeker, Sacred Wingal

Fourth place: Knight of Stability/安定のナオト
Deck name: Seeker, Media Park Kawaguchiten/探索店メディアパーク川口店
Grade 0
x1 Advance Party Seeker, File (FV)
x4 Seeker, Loving Healer HT
x2 Arms Dealer, Govanon DT
x4 Messegal Seeker DT
x4 Certain Kill Seeker, Modron CT
x2 Seeker, Herald Breath Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Lake Maiden, Lien
x3 Flash Shield, Iseult
x1 Summoning Jewel Knight, Gloria
x2 Glynngal Seeker
x4 Flail Seeker, Hasbasado
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade, Seeker
x3 Full Bloom Seeker, Cerdic
x4 Crossbow Seeker, Gildas
Grade 3
x4 Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon
x4 Seeker, Sacred Wingal

Sunday, May 25, 2014

News: Soul Saver-Thing Saver Fusion Deck Emerges in Fourth Tachikawa VGCS, Cat Butler Raizers in First

Original photo by FarEastBirds.
Nine hours ago the fourth Tachikawa Vanguard Championship closed with a Nova Grappler cardfighter playing the new Raizer Legion deck in first place, followed closely by a Royal Paladin fighter in second running a Cosmo Dragon deck that synthesized three-year-old Soul Saver Dragon support with BT16: Legion of Dragons and Blades' recently-released Seeker units. Third and fourth were likewise filled by Thing Saver and Raizer fighters. Both Nova Grappler and Royal Paladin have enjoyed considerable popularity among professional cardfighters since the set's release day, gaining favor for their aggressive self-standing vanguards whose speed--able to bring out their skills as early as turn 3--has supplanted the formerly dominant Nouvelle Vague deck, a deck once feared as having potentially solved competitive play. Out of the Tachikawa VGCS' 96-person turnout, not a single person ran Dragonic Nouvelle Vague.
Fourth Tachikawa VGCS Deck Breakdown
33 Seeker
21 Raizer
16 Metalborg
7 Star-vader, "
Ω" Glendios
6 Spike Brothers
5 Musketeer
5 Brawler
2 Duo
1 Gold Paladin
According to tournament organizer Kohaku, the top 16 for the tournament consisted of five Seeker decks, five Raizers, two Spike Brothers, two Musketeers and two Metalborg decks. Although written deck recipes are not yet published, the top 2 decklists from the VGCS were photographed and uploaded to Twitter, and have been transcribed below. The first place deck was a streamlined version of Beast Deity Cup champion Silver Crow's Raizer build, running just four grade 3s to accommodate a Cat Butler playset, and focusing on setting up Legion quickly with Shieldraizer and Energy Charger while building card advantage using Street Bouncer.

Original photo by Yukiya.
Second place cardfighter Yukiya's Cosmo Dragon deck brought some much-needed innovation to the emergent format, running five grade 3s with a single copy of Soul Saver Dragon made searchable using the time-tested grade 1 Pongal. Yukiya's alternate artwork Soul Saver (illust. Studio TMS) served as a finishing move after several bouts of Thing Saver Dragon's restanding skill, taking advantage of the deck's strong soulcharging engine using multiple copies of File, the draw trigger Margal and Legion's special property of sending the entire Legion pair to the soul when another grade 3 is ridden.

Soul Saver Dragon's on-ride soulblast 5 is well remembered for being one of the first mass field power boosts in the history of the game, but is rarely played today due to contemporary cards often gaining comparable levels of power with minimal setup. Soul Saver also served an alternate purpose in facilitating the same kind of minimal grade 3 count as is played in Raizers, and due to the nature of her support is flexible enough to work either as a strategy in her own right or purely as a setup for Thing Saver Dragon to build more soul for his Soulmate Legion skill. Yukiya tweeted that the trigger count for the deck was 8-4-4, presumed to be eight critical triggers, four draw triggers and four heal triggers based on the general trends within Japanese play.

The fourth Tachikawa VGCS results were mirrored at the Fighter's Road 2014 Sapporo regional qualifier, where first place was taken by a Thing Saver Dragon cardfighter who was reportedly using a more normalized deck, followed in second by another Raizer fighter picking up on recent trends. Decklists for FR2014 Sapporo are expected to go out in the next few days.

The VGCS tournaments are a series of unofficial tournaments organized by fans and cardshops. Unlike Bushiroad's larger official tournaments, most VGCS events are done using a best of 3, Swiss tournament model. Turnout is typically 70-80 persons, but some events see 100 or more participants, all of whom compete using pseudonyms and internet handles rather than their real names as in official events. The VGCS model of fan-organized play has begun to gain popularity internationally, with the bi-monthly BeNeLux tournaments serving as their European equivalent.

Fourth Tachikawa Vanguard Championship
First place
Grade 0
x1 Transmigrating Evolution, Miraioh (FV)
x4 Cat Butler
x4 Raizer Girl, Kate HT
x4 Raizer Crew DT
x4 Meteoraizer CT
x4 Minimum Raizer CT
Grade 1
x4 Shieldraizer
x4 The Screamin' and Dancin' Announcer, Shout
x3 Energy Charger
x3 Cannonraizer
Grade 2
x4 Ultimate Raizer, DF
x4 Phoenix Raizer, FW
x3 Street Bouncer
Grade 3
x4 Ultimate Raizer, MF

Second place
Grade 0
x2 Advance Party Seeker, File (FV)
x4 Unstated Heal Trigger
x4 Unstated Draw Trigger
x8 Unstated Critical Trigger
Grade 1
x4 Guardian Law Seeker, Shiron
x4 Pongal
x3 Lake Maiden, Lien
x2 Glynngal Seeker
x1 Good Faith Seeker, Cynric
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade, Seeker
x4 Full Bloom Seeker, Cerdic
x4 Crossbow Seeker, Gildas
x1 Knight of Loyalty, Bedivere
Grade 3
x4 Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon
x1 Soul Saver Dragon

Friday, May 23, 2014

News: Fighter's Collection Units to be Remade as Legion Pairs, Thing Saver Dragon Saves All of the Things in FR2014 Tokyo

Fourteen hours ago Bushiroad representative Doctor O tweeted a surprising piece of information on upcoming cards, revealing that on June 10th 8:00 PM JST a special conference will be held through NicoNico Douga, outlining the schedule of Legion releases for the remaining clans in a product lineup for the season. Accompanying this announcement will be the beginning of the "Grade 3 Revival Campaign," which will feature the remaking of old boss cards with new Legion skills to bring them up to speed with new game mechanics. The units chosen came from a survey based on Fighter's Collection 2013, with the fan favorite units getting remakes. Each month, the official cf-vanguard portal will be revealing one of the units included in the game, with July's Legion pair being CEO Amaterasu and a new card to Legion with her. Remaining Legion pairs will be released from August onwards. The conference will also include information on Cardfight!! Vanguard Legion Mate, the currently-airing fourth season of the anime series.

Original photo by EnjoyVanguard.
In other news, the decklists from Japan's ongoing summer national tournament "Fighter's Road 2014" have been uploaded to the official Japanese Cardfight portal, unveiling the Thing Saver Dragon decks used by Takagi Yuuta and Ooyama Takeshi to take first and second place in the open-class regional qualifier. Following suit in the junior's division, the Victory Cup regional qualifier brought its own surprises as according to his Twitter page, the junior regional champion for Tokyo is none other than child actor Horiki Takumi, who played the deuteragonist of the 2012 Cardfight!! Vanguard live-action film and also made guest appearances on the Vanguard TV programming block Vanguard Kids. These successes on the Royal Paladin end of professional play have come on the heels of high placements from Thing Saver cardfighters thinking along similar lines at the Second Beast Deity Cup and Fourth Laketown Championship. The Tokyo regional decklists each placed particular emphasis on the Quintet Wall, Summoning Jewel Knight Gloria, reflecting the general favor Quintet cards have received from professional cardfighters in the BT16-on format. You can jump directly to the Fighter's Road decklists or the Victory Cup decklists by searching the page for [FR14OC] or [FR14VC] while VF Koushien decklists can be jumped to by searching for [FR14KS]
FR2014 Tokyo Regional Qualifier Top 8 (Open Class)
Takagi Yuuta/高木 裕太 - Royal Paladin
Ooyama Takeshi/大山 強志 - Royal Paladin
Sakumagazuki/サクマ カズキ (Doctor O Award) - Narukami
Saito Takato/斉藤 理斗 - Neo Nectar
Onodera Yuuta/小野寺 佑太 - Dimension Police
Okuwaki Yu/奥脇 優 - Nova Grappler
Takahashi Kazuya/高橋 和也 - Pale Moon
Watanabe Hitomi/渡部 瞳 - Aqua Force
Also notable is that the Brawler decklist that received the Doctor O award does not use Skybeat Dragon as was the convention prior to the release of BT16: Legion of Dragons and Blades, but instead Narukami cardfighter Sakumagazuki (alias) replaced it with Wild Rush Dragon, a Legion grade 3 whose skill lets it counterblast 1 for +10000 power and +1 critical when it drive checks a card with the same name as one of the two units on the vanguard circle, increasing its power after the guard step has already taken place and potentially surpassing the value of what would otherwise be a no-pass defense. Prior to BT16 there was some debate of whether Bigbang Knuckle Dragon's mass frontrow attack or Wild Rush's unpredictable persona blast-like effect would be favored in competitive play, and it seems that for now the more difficult to anticipate card has gained ground with pros.

The Tokyo regional qualifier also represents the first Metalborg victory for the Dimension Police clan, with Sin Buster cardfighter Shibata Takumi coming in second place in the Victory Cup tournament. Shibata's strategy was to use Sin Buster along with the special booster Black Doctor to create a strong center lane, and the supporting rearguard Commander Laurel to restand his vanguard. Sin Buster's Legion skill prevents the opponent from guarding with grade 1 or greater units from their hand if Sin Buster's power exceeds 30000, and unlike a variety of old-style Dimension Police units, this power threshold only has be reached after boosting. Black Doctor is a base 10000 booster whenever the unit is in Legion, so that with Sin and Doctor alone the post-Legion skill will be constantly active.

Even when Doctor is not available, the skills of Russell Blizzard and the stand trigger Metalborg Operator Kirika can increase the power of up to two vanguards by +3000 power, simultaneously giving power to the entire Legion pair of Sin Buster and Ur Buster. Since the opponent can only guard with grade 0 units, this makes their defensive power finite, and when his attack hits Sin Buster's innate skill will let him draw a card, while Commander Laurel's skill follows the time-tested strategy of resting four rearguards to restand the vanguard, a threat which is becoming more difficult than ever to defend because of the ability to block both perfect defense cards and Quintet Walls. Even should the opponent survive the turn, the initial draw from Sin Buster and the +2 from using Commander Laurel helps secure the game by keeping handsize high, making the Shibata's Metalborg deck formidable in professional play.

FR2014 Open Class Tokyo Regional Qualifier [FR14OC]
First place: Takagi Yuuta/高木裕太
Grade 0
x1 Advance Party Seeker, File (FV)
x4 Seeker, Loving Healer HT
x4 Margal DT
x4 Certain Kill Seeker, Modron CT
x4 Seeker, Herald Breath Dragon CT
Grade 1
x3 Flash Shield, Iseult
x1 Summoning Jewel Knight, Gloria
x2 Good Faith Seeker, Cynric
x4 Lake Maiden, Lien
x2 Glynngal Seeker
x2 Flail Seeker, Hasbasado
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade, Seeker
x3 Full Bloom Seeker, Cerdic
x4 Crossbow Seeker, Gildas
Grade 3
x4 Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon
x4 Seeker, Sacred Wingal

Second place: Ooyama Takeshi/大山強志
Grade 0
x1 Advance Party Seeker, File (FV)
x4 Seeker, Loving Healer HT
x4 Margal DT
x4 Certain Kill Seeker, Modron CT
x4 Seeker, Herald Breath Dragon CT
Grade 1
x2 Guardian Law Seeker, Shiron
x2 Summoning Jewel Knight, Gloria
x3 Good Faith Seeker, Cynric
x4 Lake Maiden, Lien
x2 Glynngal Seeker
x1 Flail Seeker, Hasbasado
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade, Seeker
x3 Full Bloom Seeker, Cerdic
x4 Crossbow Seeker, Gildas
Grade 3
x4 Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon
x4 Seeker, Sacred Wingal

Doctor O Prize: Sakumagazuki/サクマカズキ
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FV)
x4 Brawler, Green Gem Carbuncle HT
x3 Brawler, Dokouson DT
x4 Malevolent Djinn CT
x4 Brawler, Plasmakick Dragon CT
x1 Brawler of Heavens, Youzen
Grade 1
x2 Hardship Brawler, Toshu
x2 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld
x2 Tonfa Wielding Brawler, Ark
x3 Rising Phoenix
x1 Bonfire Eradicator, Castor
x4 Threatening Brawler, Koumei
Grade 2
x4 Brawler, Wild Fist Dragon
x3 Brawler, Skyhowl Dragon
x2 Military Brawler, Lisei
x1 Brawler, Plasma Claw Dragon
x2 Brawler Youjin
Grade 3
x4 Brawler, Shotgun Blow Dragon
x3 Brawler, Wild Rush Dragon

FR2014 Victory Cup Tokyo Regional Qualifier [FR14VC]
First place: Horiki Takumi/堀切拓海
Grade 0
x1 Advance Party Seeker, File (FV)
x4 Seeker, Loving Healer HT
x4 Margal DT
x4 Certain Kill Seeker, Modron CT
x4 Seeker, Herald Breath Dragon CT
Grade 1
x2 Guardian Law Seeker, Shiron
x2 Summoning Jewel Knight, Gloria
x4 Good Faith Seeker, Cynric
x3 Lake Maiden, Lien
x2 Glynngal Seeker
x2 Flail Seeker, Hasbasado
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade, Seeker
x3 Full Bloom Seeker, Cerdic
x2 Crossbow Seeker, Gildas
x2 Seeker of Bravery, Ars
Grade 3
x4 Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon
x3 Seeker, Sacred Wingal

Second place: Shibata Takuma/柴田拓真
Grade 0
x1 Destined Warrior, Dai (FV)
x4 Metalborg, Black Nurse HT
x4 Metalborg, Devil Roader DT
x4 Metalborg, Battle Roller CT
x4 Metalborg, Operator Kirika ST
Grade 1
x4 Metalborg, Mist Ghost
x2 Dimensional Robo, Daishield
x2 Metalborg, Bri Knuckle
x4 Commander Laurel
x3 Metalborg, Black Doctor
Grade 2
x4 Metalborg, Lionetter
x3 Metalborg, Russell Blizzard
x4 Metalborg, Ur Buster
Grade 3
x4 Metalborg, Sin Buster
x3 Metalborg, Draion

Doctor O Prize: Nishiguchi Reiji/西口玲侍
Grade 0
x1 Advance Party Seeker, File (FV)
x4 Seeker, Loving Healer HT
x4 Margal DT
x1 Messgal Seeker DT
x4 Certain Kill Seeker, Modron CT
x3 Seeker, Herald Breath Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Guardian Law Seeker, Shiron
x2 Good Faith Seeker, Cynric
x4 Lake Maiden, Lien
x2 Glynngal Seeker
x2 Flail Seeker, Hasbasado
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade, Seeker
x4 Full Bloom Seeker, Cerdic
x3 Crossbow Seeker, Gildas
Grade 3
x4 Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon
x4 Seeker, Sacred Wingal

FR2014 Tokyo VF Koushien Team Tournament [FR14KS]
Foreward: Andou Masaya/安藤雅也
Grade 0
x1 Starting Ripple, Alecs (FV)
x4 Medical Officer of the Rainbow Elixir HT
x4 Blue Storm Soldier, Missile Trooper CT
x1 Battleship Intelligence CT
x4 Dolphin Soldier of High Speed Raids ST
x2 Pyroxene Beam Blue Dragon Soldier ST
x1 Enemy Seeking Seagull Soldier ST
Grade 1
x1 Battle Siren, Dorothea
x3 Patrol Swimming Jellyfish Soldier
x3 Tear Knight, Cyprus
x3 Tear Knight, Theo
x4 Emerald Shield, Paschal
Grade 2
x1 Twin Strike Brave Shooter
x1 Coral Assault
x2 Blue Storm Soldier, Tempest Assault
x2 Tear Knight, Lazarus
x4 Tidal Assault
Grade 3
x4 Blue Flight Dragon, Transcore Dragon
x4 Blue Wave Dragon, Tetra Drive Dragon

Midfighter: Kawamoto Suzumi/河本涼生
Grade 0
x1 Liberator, Cheer Up Trumpeter (FV)
x4 Elixir Liberator HT
x4 Armed Liberator, Gwydion DT
x4 Liberator of Hope, Epona CT
x4 Strike Liberator CT
Grade 1
x4 May Rain Liberator, Bruno
x4 White Rainbow Liberator, Balan
x2 Sword Formation Liberator, Igraine
x2 Halo Liberator, Mark
x2 Starry Skies Liberator, Guinevere
Grade 2
x3 Liberator of Royalty, Phallon
x4 Liberator, Star Rain Trumpeter
x4 Blaster Blade Liberator
Grade 3
x2 Liberator, Monarch Sanctuary Alfred
x2 Solitary Liberator, Gancelot
x4 Liberator of Bonds, Gancelot Zenith

Captain: Yamamoto Hiroki/山本拓希
Grade 0
x1 Advance Party Seeker, File (FV)
x4 Seeker, Loving Healer HT
x2 Margal DT
x2 Messgal Seeker DT
x4 Certain Kill Seeker, Modron CT
x4 Seeker, Herald Breath Dragon CT
Grade 1
x2 Summoning Jewel Knight, Gloria
x2 Flash Shield, Iseult
x3 Seeker, Rune Eagle
x4 Good Faith Seeker, Cynric
x3 Glynngal Seeker
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade, Seeker
x4 Full Bloom Seeker, Cerdic
x3 Crossbow Seeker, Gildas
Grade 3
x4 Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon
x4 Seeker, Sacred Wingal

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

News: Cat Butler Raizers Top in Second Beast Deity Cup and Fourth Laketown CS

The second Beast Deity Cup and fourth Laketown Vanguard Championship both finished on the seventeenth, with each tournaments' respective top 2s filled by Nova Grappler cardfighters using the new Ultimate Raizer Mega Flare builds from VG-BT16: Legion of Dragon and Blades, released in Japan last Friday. Each tournament had a strong turnout, and their Raizer champions were followed closely by Thing Saver Dragon cardfighters whose decks may give some insight into what kinds of build broke first and second in the recent FR2014 Tokyo regional.

In addition to the 48 persons that preregistered, sixteen more registered on-site for the Beast Deity Cup, bringing the final turnout to 64 persons. The fourth Laketown CS (also branded as the fourth Fireball CS due to the hosting party) saw 38 persons preregister, but made accommodations for up to 68 persons and final attendance is not known. Beast Deity champion Silver Crow built his strategy around smoothly developing a fast and early Legion attack with Mega Flare; with the support of the Screamin' and Dancin' Announcer Shout and Energy Charger he could quickly card change out his six draw triggers while building advantage with Charger and putting cards into the drop zone to activate Legion with.

Mega Flare's Legion 20000 triggers its autoskill, which gives it an extra critical if there are four units at rest when it attacks the vanguard--including the entire Legion pair. The bigger picture surrounding this is the synergy between the Nova Grappler Legions and Cat Butler, a grade 0 printed back in December 2011 in VG-EB01: Comic Style Vol. 1. Cat Butler's skill can stand the vanguard by retiring himself if the vanguard is a grade 2, and immediately after Bushiroad representative Doctor O confirmed via Twitter that this was valid with Legion skills, the card drew widespread attention both in Japan and overseas. As Cat Butler's retire is effectively a -1 to receive a second twin drive and neither Mega Flare nor Butler are constrained by limit break, this allows for a fast and early +1 increase in card advantage that comes coupled with additional critical and aggressive sweeping attacks. As Ultimate Raizer MF only requires four units to be at rest for his critical to kick in, Silver Crow also made use of the grade 2 Street Bouncer to build his advantage further early on, giving up a rearguard attack in order to draw a card and improve consistency while still maintaining the vanguard's dangerous Legion skill.

In an unexpected twist, both of the Beast Deity Cup finalists run four of the Nova Grappler Quintet Wall, Shieldraizer, completely abandoning perfect defense cards for the first time in the history of professional play. The low counterblast cost of the Raizer deck and the need to set up an early Legion functions well the early use of Quintet Walls as a quick way to prep Legion in advance. While the pro reception of Quintets ranged from lukewarm to negative when they first debuted in VG-BT14: Brilliant Strike, Legion has made the likes of Shieldraizer and Gloria commonplace among professional cardfighters. More surprisingly still, Silver Crow's decklist used just five grade 3s in order to accommodate maxing out Cat Butler at 4.

The fourth Laketown/Fireball CS decklists are not currently available, but the top ten are known to contain 5 Nova Grappler, 4 Royal Paladin and 1 Link Joker decks, with Raizers making first and second place. The previous Laketown CS is generally regarded as the origin point for the proliferation of Star-vader “Ω” Glendios in Japan following VG-BT15: Infinite Rebirth. The first Beast Deity Cup meanwhile is attributed with being the inspiration for many of the competitive Dragonic Overlord “The Яe-birth” decks.

Second Beast Deity Cup
First Place: Silver Crow/シルバークロウ
Deck name: The Will of Konomu-sensei/このむ先生の闘志
Grade 0
x1 Transmigrating Evolution, Miraioh (FV)
x4 Cat Butler
x4 Beast Deity, Rescue Bunny HT
x2 Meteoraizer CT
x2 Red Lightning CT
x2 Beast Deity, Death Stinger CT
x4 Raizer Crew DT
x1 Schneeregen DT
x1 Beast Deity, Banpauros DT
Grade 1
x4 Shieldraizer
x4 The Screamin' and Dancin' Announcer, Shout
x3 Energy Charger
x2 Cannonraizer
Grade 2
x4 Ultimate Raizer, DF
x4 Phoenix Raizer, FW
x3 Street Bouncer
Grade 3
x4 Ultimate Raizer, MF
x1 Phoenix Raizer, DW

Second place: sein
Deck name: Good Luck Spiral/幸せスパイラル
Grade 0
x1 Transmigrating Evolution, Miraioh (FV)
x2 Cat Butler
x4 Raizer Girl, Kate HT
x2 Meteoraizer CT
x3 Shining Lady CT
x3 Red Lightning CT
x3 Raizer Crew DT
x1 Subliminal Grey ST
Grade 1
x4 Shieldraizer
x3 The Screamin' and Dancin' Announcer, Shout
x3 Energy Charger
x2 Clay-doll Mechanic
x1 Carvingraizer
Grade 2
x4 Ultimate Raizer, DF
x4 Phoenix Raizer, FW
x1 Wing Raizer
x2 Marine Raizer, HT
Grade 3
x4 Ultimate Raizer, MF
x3 Phoenix Raizer, DW

Third place: Jin/仁
Deck name: Seeker/探索者
Grade 0
x1 Advance Party Seeker, File (FV)
x4 Seeker, Loving Healer HT
x3 Certain Kill Seeker, Modron CT
x3 Seeker, Herald Breath Dragon CT
x4 Messegal Seeker DT
x2 Margal DT
Grade 1
x3 Flashing Jewel Knight, Iseult
x1 Summoning Jewel Knight, Gloria
x4 Good Faith Seeker, Cynric
x4 Lake Maiden, Lien
x2 Glynngal Seeker
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade, Seeker
x4 Full Bloom Seeker, Cerdic
x3 Crossbow Seeker, Gildas
Grade 3
x4 Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon
x4 Seeker, Sacred Wingal

Fourth place: Hisui/ヒスイ
Deck name: None
Grade 0
x1 Advance Party Seeker, File (FV)
x4 Seeker, Loving Healer HT
x3 Certain Kill Seeker, Modron CT
x3 Seeker, Herald Breath Dragon CT
x4 Messegal Seeker DT
x2 Margal DT
Grade 1
x2 Good Faith Seeker, Cynric
x4 Lake Maiden, Lien
x4 Guardian Law Seeker, Shiron
x2 Glynngal Seeker
x1 Flail Seeker, Hasbasado
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade, Seeker
x3 Full Bloom Seeker, Cerdic
x4 Crossbow Seeker, Gildas
x1 Natural Talent Seeker, Valrod
Grade 3
x4 Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon
x3 Seeker, Sacred Wingal
x1 Pure Heart Jewel Knight, Ashlei

Sunday, May 18, 2014

News: Nouvelle and Shotgun Blow Dragon Spread Sparks Over FR2014 Nagoya, Thing Saver Dragon Dominates Tokyo Regional

Runner-up Kajiya Takayoshi. Photo by the_Blue_13.
The first and second regional qualifiers for Japan's summer 2014 national tournament took place this week, with up-and-coming fighter Itou Tatsuya taking first at the Nagoya regional with his Dragonic Nouvelle Vague deck. Followed closely by Kajiya Takahito with Shotgun Blow Dragon in second, this marks the transition into the summer professional season with both a well established build of past formats and the rise of new blood in the format. Just days after BT16's release on the 16th, two Royal Paladin cardfighters playing the new Seeker Thing Saver Dragon took first and second at FR2014 Tokyo regional, one of the most difficult tournaments to qualify at in the Japanese system due to the high bi-annual turnout. Decklists for Tokyo are forthcoming, while in the meantime we have the top 8 from Nagoya along with the decklists from Fighter's Road, the Victory Cup and VF Koushien team tournament. The Nagoya decklists are below by the heading [FR14OC]
FR2014 Nagoya Regional Qualifier Top 8 (Open Class)
Itou Tatsuya/伊藤 竜也 - Kagerou
Kajiya Takayoshi/梶屋 隆仁 - Narukami
Fukaya Kouki/深谷 公貴 (Doctor O Award) - Neo Nectar
Ooshima Kazuhiro/大嶋 一弘 - Bermuda Triangle
Chikami Yuuki/近間 悠希 - Link Joker
Wakayama Masayuki/若山 将之 - Genesis
Kokui Shougo/國井 将吾 - Pale Moon
The Doctor O Award for the tournament went to Fukaya Kyouki's Musketeers deck, for smoothly integrating the old Cecilia strategy along with Fighter's Collection 2014's Holly Musketeer Elvira. This is the last pre-BT16 Musketeers deck to make top 8 in a major tournament after Tomato's success at the Kansai VGCS last January, and has been followed by a post-BT16 Musketeers cardfighter in the Tokyo top 4. According to tweets from on-site viewers, the Tokyo top 4 was Thing Saver, Thing Saver, Musketeers and Metalborgs. Thing Saver Dragon's success was well forecasted in Japan, where the card has been sitting at double Nouvelle Vague's single price for some time now. The card is respected as a self-standing vanguard that can be activated without needing to be at 4 damage, and with its Legion power boost and on-attack skills the Dragon already makes a 23000 power line, a peak number versus the dominant Nouvelle decks. Thing Saver's access to Margal for soulcharging and the promo card Glynngal Seeker for unflipping damage is also considered important because it allows the unit's Legion skill to be repeated several times to finish the opponent off, although this is ultimately limited by the number of Thing Savers available in the deck due to the need to superior ride one to stand.

Meanwhile Shotgun Blow's success at Nagoya is coming in the aftermath of its widespread adoption in the fan-run Vanguard Championships, where the Brawlers have been leaving their mark as a fast and powerful control deck in direct competition with the break ride-centric Nouvelle Vague. The Brawlers are projected to become even more of a runaway success with the release of Bigbang Knuckle Dragon and Wild Rush Dragon in BT16, but what exact form the new Narukami will take is uncertain. Bigbang is a modification to the Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion formula, attacking the frontrow for CB2 while in Legion rather than for CB3 while at limit break, and Wild Rush's skill effectively adds six critical triggers to the deck that give +10000 instead of +5000; when Wild Rush is in Legion, if it drive checks a copy of either of its Legion pair units, it can CB1 for +10000 power and +1 critical. Regardless of what combination of their core vanguards becomes the most popular, considering the relative expense of each deck, incoming cardfighters and those that did not adopt Nouvelle in the first place are considered likely to move in favor of the Brawlers, whose fast and easy setup allows them to easily compete with the grade 4 on equal terms.

2014's Victory Cup replaces the original juniors' division of professional play that has existed since 2011, although the term "open class" is still used to refer to the adult division by way of grandfather clause. Any cardfighters that are not in their third year of junior high school or greater can participate in the Victory Cup, which in the Japanese school system is equivalent to a fourteen-and-under division. Due to an error on the official Cardfight portal, the Victory Cup results are erroneously listed as a team tournament, although the decklists are appropriately headed "Champion," "Runner-up" and "Doctor O Prize" instead of "Foreward," "Midfighter" and "Captain." The Victory Cup decklists are by the heading [FR14VC] Meanwhile the 2014 VF Koushien is this year's major team tournament, named after the annual baseball tournament series of the same name. Unlike in 2013, there is no requirement this year for participants to be in the junior' division, and accordingly there is no separate team tournament for open class cardfighters as happened during FR2013. VF Koushien is thus experiencing a return to the 2012 system. The Koushien decklists are below by the heading [FR14KS]

Notably, this year's Victory Cup and VF Koushien tournaments are the first time we've seen Megacolony decks in professional play, with Tsurumoto Hiroki and Isogai Hitoshi both running variations on the Machining deck with the Cyclomatooth break ride to stall the opponent out, repeatedly preventing them from standing their field each turn and inducing a -2 for each -1 the Megacolony fighters incur. The Fighter's Collection 2014 boss card Machining Warsickle was particularly favored by Isogai, who used its limit break on subsequent turns after his break ride to continue preventing the opponent's vanguard from standing, giving him heavy leverage against Nouvelle's on-attack guard denial.

FR2014 Open Class Nagoya Regional Qualifier [FR14OC]
Regional champion: Itou Tatsuya/伊藤竜也
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x4 Seal Dragon, Shirting HT
x3 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x2 Seal Dragon, Artpique DT
x1 Demonic Dragon Mage, Abarara CT
x2 Lizard Soldier, Goraha CT
x4 Seal Dragon, Biera CT
Grade 1
x4 Seal Dragon, Rinocross
x3 Nouvelle Roman Dragon
x3 Calamity Tower Wyvern
x4 Dragon Monk, Gojo
Grade 2
x2 Bellicosity Dragon
x4 Nouvelle Critique Dragon
x4 Berserk Dragon
Grade 3
x1 Dauntless Dominate Dragon “Я”
x2 Dragonic Overlord
x3 Dauntless Drive Dragon
Grade 4
x3 Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague

Second Place: Kajiya Takahito
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FV)
x4 Brawler, Green Gem Carbuncle HT
x4 Brawler, Dokouson DT
x1 Eradicator, Blue Gem Carbuncle DT
x1 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x1 Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x2 Malevolent Djinn CT
x2 Brawler, Plasmakid Dragon CT
x1 Spark Edge Dracokid CT
Grade 1
x4 Wyvern Guard, Guld
x4 Tonfa Wielding Brawler, Ark
x4 Rising Phoenix
x2 Bonfire Eradicator, Castor
Grade 2
x3 Brawler, Skyhowl Dragon
x3 Military Brawler, Lisei
x3 Dragonic Deathscythe
x2 Brawler Youjin
Grade 3
x4 Brawler, Shotgun Blow Dragon
x3 Brawler, Skybeat Dragon

Doctor O Award: Fukaya Kouki
Grade 0
x1 Broccolini Musketeer, Kirah (FV)
x4 Hibiscus Musketeer, Hanah HT
x4 Four Leaf Fairy DT
x4 Blue Rose Musketeer, Ernest ST
x4 Night Queen Musketeer, Daniel CT
x4 Bullet Chestnut CT
Grade 1
x2 Lily of the Valley Musketeer, Rebecca
x4 Water Lily Musketeer, Ruth
x4 Red Rose Musketeer, Antonio
x4 Dandelion Musketeer, Mirkka
Grade 2
x4 Cherry Blossom Musketeer, Augusto
x4 Lily of the Valley Musketeer, Kaivant
x4 Pansy Musketeer, Sylvia
Grade 3
x3 White Lily Musketeer, Cecilia
x4 Holly Musketeer, Elvira

FR2014 Victory Cup Nagoya Regional Qualifier [FR14VC]
First Place: Tsuchiya Yuuki/土屋勇希
Grade 0
x1 Little Battler, Cron (FV)
x4 Liberator of Hope, Epona CT
x4 Strike Liberator CT
x4 Armed Liberator, Gwydion DT
x4 Elixir Liberator HT
Grade 1
x3 Little Liberator, Marron
x3 May Rain Liberator, Bruno
x4 White Rainbow Liberator, Balan
x1 Sword Formation Liberator, Igraine
x3 Halo Liberator, Mark
Grade 2
x2 Liberator of the Flute, Escrad
x2 Liberator of Royalty, Phallon
x3 Liberator, Star Rain Trumpeter
x4 Blaster Blade Liberator
Grade 3
x2 Liberator, Monarch Sanctuary Alfred
x3 Liberator of Bonds, Gancelot Zenith
x3 Solitary Liberator, Gancelot

Second Place: Gotouyuusuke/ゴトウユウスケ
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x4 Seal Dragon, Shirting HT
x4 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x3 Seal Dragon, Artpique DT
x4 Seal Dragon, Biera CT
x1 Lizard Soldier, Goraha CT
Grade 1
x1 Seal Dragon, Rinocross
x3 Wyvern Guard, Barri
x3 Seal Dragon, Kersey
x4 Dragon Monk, Gojo
x1 Embodiment of Armor, Bahr
x1 Lizard Soldier Grom
Grade 2
x2 Bellicosity Dragon
x4 Dominate Drive Dragon
x2 Dragon Dancer, Arabella
x2 Seal Dragon, Hunger Hell Dragon
x1 Berserk Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Dauntless Dominate Dragon “Я”
x4 Dauntless Drive Dragon
Grade 4
x1 Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague

Doctor O Prize: Tsurumoto Hiroki/鶴本祐基
Grade 0
x1 Megacolony Battler C (FV)
x4 Machining Bombyx HT
x4 Machining Scorpio CT
x8 Machining Cicada ST
Grade 1
x2 Machining Mosquito
x4 Machining Hornet
x2 Machining Ladybug
x3 Machining Black Soldier
x1 Machining Locust
x2 Paralyze Madonna
x2 Machining Caucasus
Grade 2
x2 Machining Red Soldier
x2 Machining Mantis
x2 Machining Papillion
x4 Machining Tarantula
Grade 3
x2 Machining Warsickle
x1 Machining Spark Hercules
x4 Unrivaled Blade Rogue, Cyclomatooth

FR2014 Nagoya VF Koushien Team Tournament [FR14KS]
Foreward: Iwabuchi Kouya/岩渕宏哉
Grade 0
x1 Desire Jewel Knight, Heloise (FV)
x4 Jewel Knight, Hilmy HT
x4 Jewel Knight, Sacred Unicorn DT
x4 Blazing Jewel Knight, Rachel CT
x4 Jewel Knight, Noble Stinger CT
Grade 1
x2 Summoning Jewel Knight, Gloria
x2 Flashing Jewel Knight, Iseult
x3 Jewel Knight, Prizmy
x3 Stinging Jewel Knight, Shellie
x4 Security Jewel Knight, Arwen
Grade 2
x4 Banding Jewel Knight, Miranda
x3 Fellowship Jewel Knight, Tracie
x4 Linking Jewel Knight, Tilda
Grade 3
x4 Pure Heart Jewel Knight, Ashlei
x4 Broken Heart Jewel Knight, Ashlei “Я”

Midfighter: Ooba Shin'ichi/大庭伸一
Grade 0
x1 Morgenroet (FV)
x4 Regenbogen HT
x4 Schneeregen DT
x4 Shining Lady CT
x4 Schones Wetter CT
Grade 1
x1 Blaupanzer
x4 Blau Dunkelheit
x2 Flower Ray Leprechaun
x4 Clay-doll Mechanic
x2 Polar Stern
Grade 2
x4 Blaukluger
x3 Jupiter Blaukluger
x3 Mars Blaukluger
x2 Grosse Baer
Grade 3
x3 Mond Blaukluger
x3 Galaxy Blaukluger
x2 Stern Blaukluger

Captain: Isogai Hitoshi/磯貝仁志
Grade 0
x1 Machining Little Bee (FV)
x4 Machining Bombyx HT
x4 Raider Mantis DT
x4 Machining Scorpio CT
x2 Sharp Nail Scorpio CT
x2 Shelter Beetle CT
Grade 1
x1 Machining Mosquito
x4 Machining Hornet
x2 Machining Ladybug
x2 Paralyze Madonna
x4 Machining Caucasus
Grade 2
x4 Machining Red Soldier
x4 Machining Mantis
x2 Machining Armor Beetle
Grade 3
x4 Machining Warsickle
x2 Machining Spark Hercules
x4 Unrivaled Blade Rogue, Cyclomatooth

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

News: Invaders Take Sweden, May BeNeLux Decklists, Second Sapporo, Hokusetsu VGCS & Fighter's Road 2014 Nagoya Results

The number of Reverse fighters has been consistently low for the first two months of Team League 2014, but the Invading side of the tournament may be in for a turnaround with the release of VG-BT13: Catastrophic Outbreak. Coming on the heels of a string of Cray Defender victories in Canada, Mexico, the Philippines, Paris, Germany and New York, Sweden's regional qualifier marks the first major steal for the Reversed cardfighters. While according to Bushiroad's figures at Paris and New York the Invaders only accounted for 7.7% and 20.5% of the total participants, the flood of new Reverse cards introduced by Catastrophic Outbreak and the rise of Chaos Breaker Dragon as the Invaders' new flagship deck has given them a small foothold in both slots of Sweden's top 2. Along with Team SKET from second place at the Paris qualifier, Sweden's teams account for Void's only presence in the Team League, with all three teams being concentrated in the European branch of League 2014.

The respective teams are reported by our source to be composed of Leo-pald “Я,” Link Joker and Ethics Buster “Я” fighters for first place, and Amon “Я,” Link Joker and Luquier “Я” fighters for second. Meanwhile we've also received the decklists from the May BeNeLux tournament, provided below under [MBNL] First place in the tournament went to Ozan Fincan with Chaos Breaker Dragon, while second went to Daniel Gaillard with Dragonic Descendant. Both decks were noticeably heavy on their grade 2 counts, emphasizing the forms of fast aggression, field control and power gain that have proven to be exemplary qualities of the format.

In Japanese news the Nagoya regional qualifier for Fighter's Road 2014 finished up on the 11th, with first place going to a Dragonic Nouvelle Vague cardfighter and second to one running the new Narukami Brawler subclan. Third and fourth place went to Sacred Regalia and Bermuda Triangle fighters, with the remaining half of the top 8 being unsorted as Musketeer, Pale Moon, Liberator and Glendios cardfighters. The Brawlers' success coincides with their widespread adoption in the unofficial Vanguard Championships; the second Sapporo and first Hokusetsu team tournaments saw both Brawlers and the new Royal Paladin Seekers make spots in the top 4. Sapporo's first place team was led by Nouvelle Vague cardfighter Dasukuro, and was captained by Northern Jewel's Omega Glendios build, in keeping with the progression of professional play since Infinite Rebirth's release.

Brawler, Shotgun Blow Dragon.
The team's midfighter valdy (sic), brought a Brawler deck that focused on the Legion skills of Shotgun Blow Dragon, a boss card released just over a week ago in VG-FC02: Fighter's Collection 2014. Shotgun's Legion 20000 with the grade 2 Military Brawler Lisei fuses a Lisei from the deck to the vanguard circle, adding Lisei's power to Shotgun's own for a 20000 base during his fighter's turn, and when they Legion his counterblast 2 forces the opponent to retire two of their own rearguards. If Shotgun's field is greater than the opponent's immediately after the skill is activated, he also gets an extra critical. The Legion retire combos with Lisei and the grade 1 Ark's skills, both getting +3000 power for each rearguard retired during the turn to easily make a 28000-power rearguard lane together. Furthermore, the grade 2 Brawler Yousei automatically retires an opponent's frontrow rearguard for no cost when the vanguard Legions, destroying three fifths of the field with Shotgun Blow and further powering up Lisei and Ark.

Brawler, Skybeat Dragon.
Although Shotgun Blow is the backbone of the deck, Skybeat Dragon from TD15: Brawler of Friendship is also an important supporting element of it. Since Shotgun Blow can only effectively activate once, being able to ride over him with Skybeat if another copy of Shotgun isn't available is important, because riding over a Legioned vanguard will send both Legion pieces into the soul and put a new unit on the vanguard circle, allowing Legion to be activated again. This opens the door to Skybeat's Legion with Skyhowl Dragon being activated, and his on-Legion frontrow retire skill, effectively trading the Skybeat ridden for one of the opponent's frontrow rearguards. Rising Phoenix provides reliable synergy with this strategy since the two units sent into the soul from riding over a Legioned vanguard can then be soulblasted to draw a card with Phoenix's on-call skill, making for an aggressive and circular strategy that continually pushes the opponent down throughout the fight while keeping the Brawlers at a steady place in advantage above them.

It's very rare for trial deck cards to see immediate adoption in pro play without their corresponding booster set available, but the Brawlers' and Seeker's shared strength of not needing to be at limit break to use their skills has made them extremely compelling competitively. Only needing four cards in the drop zone to activate Legion promotes earlier guards and staying in the range of 2~3 damage rather than risk going to 4 early. Some have expressed trouble adjusting to the nascent format, and after two years under the 4 damage restriction many of the cardfighters competing today have never played in a world without limit break. The ability to drastically outspeed the likes of Nouvelle Vague and Raging Form is thus a crucial advantage, and these new builds are likely to totally eclipse their past Narukami and Royal counterparts with the release of Legion of Dragons and Blades this Friday.

The first place team at Sapporo won three Nintendo 3DS XLs, while second place won three boxes of VG-BT15: Infinite Rebirth, and third place won three boxes of VG-EB10: Divas Duet. In total 81 persons attended the tournament, divided into 27 teams of 3. Second place team "Over Maxi Boost" was composed of Revenger, Glendios and Brawler cardfighters, while third was made up of Nouvelle, Galaxy Blaukluger and Glendios fighters, and fourth by Nouvelle, Brawler and Glendios. You can jump directly to the Sapporo decklists by searching the page for [2SVGCS] Overall Sapporo saw 81 participants, and a breakdown of the decks used by those cardfighters is available below.
Second Sapporo VGCS Deck Breakdown
13 ”Ω” Glendios
13 Nouvelle
9 Sacred Regalia
8 Revenger
6 Brawler
6 Pale Moon
4 Dragonic Overlord "The Яe-birth"
4 Blue Storm
3 Seeker
3 Bermuda △
3 Dimensional Robo
3 Blau
2 Liberator
1 Eradicator
1 Ezel
1 Dauntless Dominate Dragon "Я"
1 Seal Dragons
Seeker, Sacred Wingal.
Over at the Hokusetsu VGCS, this team tournament was taken by Team Wild Hitter. While team forward Hokaze's Glendios and midfighter Yakan's Nouvelle are familiar, it's the captain Rinon's Seeker deck that is attracting the most attention. His build combines the trial deck cards with the 2014 Vanguard Festival promos and Fighter's Collection 2014 support, focusing on a combination of hand conservation through traditional Royal Paladin superior call tactics, limited frontrow control and strong endgame field power boosts. Surprisingly, the build includes both the perfect defense card Iseult and the Quintent Wall Gloria, mixing them at 2-2. Previously Quintets were standardized at 0~1 in pro decks due to their comparative ineffectiveness versus the powerful extremes of the format, but for Legion decks the ability to instantly put 6 cards into the drop zone while denying an early game attack can mean near-instant setup of a game defining strategy. As limit break is not a concern for these builds and more emphasis is being placed on having a highly developed early to midgame, Quintets occupy a unique place in the new format as both the saving grace against going to high damage early and a utility role that potentially supersedes their importance as defense.

Much as the new Brawler decks are relying on mixing Castor from the Eradicators in to quickly fill the drop zone in the early game, Rinon's Seeker build uses four copies of Lake Maiden Lien and mixes in the Shadow Paladins' Arianrhod to capitalize on how card changing effectively supports Legion. The cheap counterblast 1 costs associated with the Seekers makes setting up Legion as fast as possible a priority, and the cards dropped for Lien and Arianrhod are no longer lost permanently thanks to Legion returning trigger units, making trigger units and Legion components like Blaster Blade Seeker and Combined Strength Seeker Locrinus ideal targets for card changing. The main strategy of the deck is to use Seeker Sacred Wingal with its first vanguard File; both of their skills activate when Wingal Legions to Blade Seeker, with File going into the soul at that time to superior call a Blade Seeker to the rearguard, where Sacred pays counterblast 1 to call a grade 2 or greater Seeker. Effectively, even if frontrow units aren't immediately accessible in hand, File and Sacred can together bring two frontrow cards out from the deck just by Legioning, and then with the two Blaster Blades' counterblasts can take out the opponent's entire front row.

Splitting, Seeker Brutus.
The alternative grade 3, Splitting Seeker Brutus from Fighter's Collection 2014, has a more distinct early game compared to Sacred Wingal; when placed on the vanguard circle he can counterblast 1 to search the deck for Locrinus and call it to the rearguard. His especial counterblast activates when he attacks the vanguard and has Legion, endowing four frontrow Seekers with +3000 power. Since the both halves of the Legion pair may be selected, this causes the vanguard lane to swing for 26000 power by itself, while the rearguard lanes attack in the range of 19~22000 boosted. Although not as combo heavy as the Brawlers, being able to reliably make both frontrow rearguards break the ~21000 line for counterblast 1 every turn makes Brutus a modern Soul Saver Dragon capable of a staggeringly strong endgame. Unlike Sacred Wingal, whose superior calls and potential double frontrow retire are strong plays at any part of the match, Brutus' field power bonus can fall flat in the early and middle of a fight where the opponent is starting the turn at low damage. Comparing preview cards from upcoming sets BT16 and EB10~11, Legion skills that are purely used for the endgame are already a rarity. Brutus is considered likely to be replaced by Thing Saver Dragon from BT16, a card already preordering for 3000 yen apiece (approx. $30 in US money) double the price of a Dragonic Nouvelle Vague.

Also of note is Sigma's Pale Moon deck in the lead of the second place team. Venus Luquier is a rare sight for professional play, as while she's an effective successor to the Luquier ”Я” that took last year's winter national championship, she's been generally overshadowed by the likes of Nouvelle Vague and the Revenger series. Sigma's approach to the deck dropped Silver Thorn Assistant Irina--often regarded as the crux of the Silver Thorns' soulcharging engine and a staple in their builds--in favor of Beast Tamer Ana's aggressive on-boost counterblast, using her in combination with the grade 2 Maricica to bring out an extra lane when their attack hits, with the potential to target Assistant Zelma for their skills and then swap Maricica into the soul to call out one more attacker. With the right combination of plays, these types of multiple attack chains will also power up Silver Thorn Upright Lion and the original Luquier herself. While modern Luquier has been typically thought of in terms of being a soul-derived advantage engine, these aggressive plays are a fresh and interesting approach to Silver Thorns. You can jump directly to the decklists by searching the page for [2HVGCS]

May BeNeLux Tournament [MBNL]
First Place: Ozan Fincan
Grade 0
x1 Star-vader, Dust Tail Unicorn (FV)
x4 Star-vader, Stellar Garage HT
x4 Star-vader, Scouting Ferris DT
x2 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT
x4 Star-vader, Meteoliger CT
x2 Star-vader, Weiss Soldat CT
Grade 1
x3 Barrier Star-vader, Promethium
x2 Demonic Claw Star-vader, Lanthanum
x4 Prison Gate Star-vader, Palladium
x4 Mana Shot Star-vader, Neon
Grade 2
x3 Star-vader, Colony Maker
x3 Star-vader, Moebius Breath Dragon
x4 Unrivaled Star-vader, Radon
x3 Furious Claw Star-vader, Niobium
Grade 3
x1 Star-vader, Nebula Lord Dragon
x3 Star-vader, Infinite Zero Dragon
x3 Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Dragon

Second Place: Daniel Gaillard
Grade 0
x1 Ambush Dragon Eradicator, Linchu (FV)
x4 Worm Toxin Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Eradicator, Dragon Mage DT
x2 Eradicator, Blue Gem Carbuncle DT
x2 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Sacred Spear Eradicator, Pollux CT
Grade 1
x3 Eradicator, Wyvern Guard Guld
x2 Rising Phoenix
x4 Steel Blooded Eradicator, Shuki
x4 Eradicator, Demoliton Dragon
Grade 2
x4 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Chou-Ou
x1 Supreme Army Eradicator, Zuitan
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x4 Eradicator, Thunder Boom Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x3 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant

Second Sapporo VGCS [2SVGCS]
First Place Team: ○るでぃがわからせる
Foreward: Dasukuro/だすくろ
Deck Name: Deck Descended of the Demonic Dragon 2014/魔竜降臨したデッキ 2014
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x4 Seal Dragon, Shirting HT
x4 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x1 Seal Dragon, Artpique DT
x3 Demonic Dragon Mage, Abarara CT
x4 Seal Dragon, Biera CT
Grade 1
x2 Seal Dragon, Kersey
x4 Nouvelle Roman Dragon
x4 Seal Dragon, Rinocross
x3 Calamity Tower Wyvern
Grade 2
x4 Nouvelle Critique Dragon
x4 Berserk Dragon
x3 Dominate Drive Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Dauntless Drive Dragon
x1 Cruel Dragon
Grade 4
x4 Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague

Midfighter: valdy (sic)
Deck Name: Vowing Valdy Special 2014/ボーイングヴぁるでぃスペシャル 2014
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FV)
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Eradicator, Dragon Mage DT
x2 Eradicator, Blue Gem Carbuncle DT
x2 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Malevolent Djinn CT
Grade 1
x4 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld
x4 Tonfa Wielding Brawler, Ark
x4 Rising Phoenix
x2 Eradicator of the True Flames, Castor
Grade 2
x4 Brawler, Skyhowl Dragon
x3 Military Brawler, Lisei
x3 Dragonic Deathscythe
x2 Brawler Youjin
Grade 3
x4 Brawler, Shotgun Blow Dragon
x3 Brawler, Skybeat Dragon

Captain: Northern Jewel/北の八坂 (Kita no Yasakani)
Deck Name: Golembeat 2014/ゴーレムビート 2014
Grade 0
x1 Star-vader, World Line Dragon (FV)
x3 Star-vader, Meteo Liger CT
x4 Star-Vader, Weiss Soldat CT
x2 Star-vader, Scounting Ferris DT
x2 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT
x1 Star-vader, Jailer Tail DT
x4 Star-vader, Stellar Garage HT
Grade 1
x4 Star-vader, Ruin Magician
x4 Barrier Star-vader, Promethium
x4 Taboo Star-vader, Rubidium
x2 Engraving Star-vader, Praseodymium
Grade 2
x4 Star-vader Magnet Hollow
x3 Star-vader, Colony Maker
Grade 3
x3 Star-vader, ”Ω” Glendios
x4 Star-vader, ”Я” Cradle
x1 Dauntless Dominate Draogn ”Я”
x1 Dragonic Overlord ”The Яebirth”
x1 Silver Thorn Dragon Queen, Luquier ”Я”
x1 Eradicator, Vowing Saber Dragon ”Я”

Second Place Team: Over Maxi Boost/マキシブースト終わった
Foreward: Buster/バスター
Deck Name: Shadow Paladin/シャドウパラディン
Grade 0
x2 Judgebau Revenger (FV)
x4 Healing Revenger HT
x4 Freezing Revenger DT
x4 Grim Revenger CT
x4 Revenger, Air Raid Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Dark Revenger, Mac Lir
x3 Self-control Revenger, Rakia
x2 Revenger, Dark Bond Trumpeter
x1 Black-winged Sword Breaker
x2 Transient Revenger, Masquerade
Grade 2
x4 Nullity Revenger, Masquerade
x4 Overcoming Revenger, Lukea
x3 Wiles Revenger, Mana
Grade 3
x4 Illusionary Revenger, Mordred Phantom
x4 Revenger, Dragruler Phantom

Midfighter: Hide/ひで
Deck Name: Papparapaa/パッパラパー
Grade 0
x1 Star-vader, World Line Dragon (FV)
x4 Star-vader, Stellar Garage HT
x4 Star-vader, Meteoliger CT
x2 Star-vader, Weiss Soldat CT
x2 Star-vader, Scouting Felis DT
x4 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT
Grade 1
x4 Barrier Star-vader, Promethium
x4 Star-vader, Ruin Magician
x1 Carved Seal Star-vader, Praseodymium
x4 Taboo Star-vader, Rubidium
Grade 2
x4 Star-vader, Magnet Hollow
x4 Star-vader, Colony Maker
Grade 3
x4 Star-vader, “Ω” Glendios
x4 Star-vader, “Я” Cradle
x1 Dragonic Overlord “The Яe-birth”
x1 Silver Thorn Dragon Queen, Luquier “Я”
x1 Eradicator, Vowing Saber Dragon “Я”

Captain: Shitarabakizoku/したらば貴族
Deck Name: 夏野こおりが好きだ
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FV)
x4 Brawler, Green Gem Carbuncle HT
x4 Malevolent Djinn CT
x4 Brawler, Dokouson DT
x4 Eradicator, Dragon Mage DT
Grade 1
x4 Wyvern Guard, Guld
x2 Tonfa Wielding Brawler, Ark
x4 Rising Phoenix
x4 Eradicator of the True Flames, Castor
Grade 2
x4 Brawler, Skyhowl Dragon
x3 Military Brawler, Lisei
x3 Brawler Youjin
x2 Dragonic Deathscythe
Grade 3
x4 Brawler, Shotgun Blow Dragon
x3 Brawler, Skybeat Dragon

First Hokusetsu VGCS [1HVGCS]
First Place Team: Wild Hitter/ワイルドヒッター
Forward: Hokaze/ほかぜ
Deck Name: Cute Deep Crimson (Shinku Kawaii/真紅)
Grade 0
x1 Star-vader, World Line Dragon (FV)
x2 Star-vader, Spark Doll CT
x3 Star-Vader, Weiss Soldat CT
x2 Star-vader, Scounting Ferris DT
x3 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT
x1 Star-vader, Jailer Tail DT
x4 Star-vader, Stellar Garage HT
Grade 1
x4 Star-vader, Ruin Magician
x4 Barrier Star-vader, Promethium
x3 Taboo Star-vader, Rubidium
x4 Engraving Star-vader, Praseodymium
Grade 2
x4 Star-vader Magnet Hollow
x2 Star-vader, Colony Maker
Grade 3
x3 Star-vader, ”Ω” Glendios
x4 Star-vader, ”Я” Cradle
x1 Dauntless Dominate Draogn ”Я”
x1 Ice Prison Dark Lord, Cocytus ”Я”
x1 Deadliest Beast Deity, Ethics Buster ”Я”
x1 Silver Thorn Dragon Queen, Luquier ”Я”
x1 Covert Demonic Dragon, Hyakki Vogue ”Я”
x1 Maiden of Venus Trap ”Я”
x1 Eradicator, Vowing Saber Dragon ”Я”

Midfighter: Yakan/やかん
Deck name: Cute Luna-sama (Runa-sama Kawaii) ルナ様かわいい
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x2 Blue-ray Dracokid CT
x1 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x4 Dragon Dancer, Barbara HT
x2 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x1 Dragon Dancer, Monica DT
x3 Seal Dragon, Artpique DT
x2 Seal Dragon, Biera CT
Grade 1
x4 Nouvelle Roman Dragon
x4 Dragon Dancer, Maria
x4 Calamity Tower Wyvern
x1 Diable Drive Dragon
Grade 2
x4 Nouvelle Critique Dragon
x4 Berserk Dragon
x3 Dominate Drive Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Dauntless Drive Dragon
x1 Dragonic Overlord (BT15/004)
Grade 4
x4 Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague

Captain: Rinon/りのん
Deck Name: Stomachache (Itsuu/胃痛)
Grade 0
x1 Advance Party Seeker, File (FV)
x4 Certain Kill Seeker, Modron CT
x4 Bringer of Good Luck, Epona CT
x4 Messegal Seeker DT
x4 Seeker, Loving Healer HT
Grade 1
x2 Flash Shield, Iseult
x2 Summoning Jewel Knight, Gloria
x4 Good Faith Seeker, Cynric
x4 Lake Maiden, Lien
x1 Witch of Nostrum, Arianrhod
x1 Seeker of the Right Path, Gangalen
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade, Seeker
x4 Full Bloom Seeker, Cerdic
x3 Combined Strength Seeker, Locrinus
Grade 3
x4 Seeker, Sacred Wingal
x4 Splitting Seeker, Brutus

Second Place Team: 24 Year-old VG Fighters/24歳、VGファイターです
Forward: Sigma/シグマ
Deck Name: Pale Moon/ペイルムーン
Grade 0
x1 Silver Thorn Beast Tamer, Emil (FV)
x4 Silver Thorn Barking Dragon CT
x2 Dynamite Juggler CT
x4 Poison Juggler CT
x2 Silver Thorn Marionette, Natasha DT
x4 Silver Thorn Juggler, Nadia HT
Grade 1
x4 Silver Thorn Beast Tamer, Ana
x4 Silver Thorn Assistant, Zelma
x4 Silver Thorn Hypnos, Lydia
x2 Silver Thorn Breathing Dragon
Grade 2
x4 Silver Thorn Beast Tamer, Maricica
x4 Silver Thorn Rising Dragon
x3 Silver Thorn Upright Lion
Grade 3
x4 Silver Thorn Dragon Empress, Venus Luquier
x3 Silver Thorn Dragon Tamer, Luquier
x1 Miracle Pop, Eva

Midfighter: Daigo (TL note; the cardfighter's name is written with the kanji for "Enormous Mistake" 大誤 read phonetically as "Daigo.")
Deck Name: Bermuda △
Grade 0
x1 PRISM-Smile, Coro (FV)
x4 Heartful Ale, Fundy DT
x4 Duo Gran Pasturn, Syanon CT
x4 Duo Pride Crown, Madeira CT
x4 Duo Tropical Healer, Mejelda HT
Grade 1
x4 Duo Afternoon Tea, Parana
x3 Apprentice Idol, Karen
x3 Mermaid Idol, Felucca
x4 PRISM-Duo Aria
Grade 2
x4 Duo Mini Hat, Rhone
x4 Duo Kelpie Jockey, Syrdarya
x3 Duo White Ice Crystal, Rikka
Grade 3
x4 Duo Temptation, Ried
x4 Duo True Sister, Mare

Captain: Kakao
Deck Name: Kagerou
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x2 Blue-ray Dracokid CT
x2 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x1 Lizard Soldier, Goraha CT
x1 Demonic Dragon Mage, Abarara CT
x1 Dragon Monk, Genjo HT
x1 Dragon Dancer, Therese HT
x1 Seal Dragon, Sharting HT
x1 Dragon Dancer, Barbara HT
x4 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x1 Seal Dragon, Artpique DT
x1 Seal Dragon, Biera CT
Grade 1
x4 Nouvelle Roman Dragon
x2 Dragon Dancer, Maria
x1 Wyvern Guard, Barri
x1 Seal Dragon, Rinocross
x3 Calamity Tower Wyvern
x3 Dragon Monk, Gojo
Grade 2
x4 Nouvelle Critique Dragon
x4 Berserk Dragon
x2 Dragonic Burnout
Grade 3
x3 Dauntless Drive Dragon
x2 Dragonic Overlord (BT15/004)
Grade 4
x4 Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague

Monday, May 5, 2014

News: Ozan Fincan Wins May BeNeLux Tournament with Chaos Breaker Dragon

Yesterday's BeNeLux ended with the fan-favorite Link Joker clan in first place, played by European cardfighter Ozan Fincan. Unusually for a fan competition, this month's BeNeLux was the first major tournament of the BT13-on format, with its top 8 showcasing several of the competitive favorites from Catastrophic Outbreak, in particular Link Joker's new trump card Chaos Breaker Dragon and the Nova Grappler Reverse unit, Ethics Buster "Яeverse." The BeNeLux tournaments are a line of unofficial competitions organized by the joint vanguard community of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Although open to being held in any of the three countries' major cities, it is typically held in Antwerp, Belgium on a monthly to bimonthly basis.

Participation this month was high in spite of the latent controversies surrounding the last BeNeLux winner. With an Xbox 360 for first place as an incentive to participate, a total 28 participants joined the tournament, with clan usage breaking down as follows;
May 4th BeNeLux Clan Breakdown
6 Shadow Paladin
5 Narukami
4 Link Joker
3 Nova Grappler
2 Kagero
2 Dimension Police
1 Dark Irregulars
1 Genesis
1 Gold paladin
1 Angel Feather
1 Murakumo
1 Aqua Force
Chaos Breaker's successful debut was well forecasted by the greater community, as the card's unique ability to slow the pace of the game by cheaply Locking the opponent's cards, preserving Locks with its support unit Palladium, and then later retire those cards as they unlock to draw allows it to control the general flow of card advantage throughout a fight and prevent opponents from efficiently fighting back. Despite the presence of the new decks, the top 8 was generally dominated by Eradicator cardfighters, with Dragonic Descendant-Gauntlet Buster as the most played build of the top 8, and the tournament as a whole saw heavier Shadow Paladin presence than anything else.
May 4th BeNeLux Top 8
1. Ozan Fincan (Link joker - Chaos Breaker Dragon)
2. Daniel Gallardo (Eradicator - Descendant/Gauntlet)
3. Vincent De Baere (Eradicator - Descendant/Gauntlet)
4. Gillian van Sande (Dark Irregulars - Amon Reverse)
5. Frederik De Baere (Nova Grappler - Ethics Buster Reverse)
6. Corentin Janssens (Eradicator - Descendant/Gauntlet)
7. Andy Van den Ouwelant (Link Joker - Chaos Breaker Dragon)
8. Kim Geerinckx (Genesis - Fortuna)
Seventh place in the tournament is a familiar face for professional play, taken by none other than 2012 French regional champion Andy Van den Ouwelant. Van den Ouwelant made a strong showing in World Championship 2012, winning his regional title with a Spectral Duke Dragon deck played against William Astoul's Dragonic Lawkeeper, and after two years has continued to persevere in modern play by adapting to Link Joker alongside a host of other international cardfighters. Chaos Breaker's international tenure is projected to be short-lived, as VGE-EB09: Divine Dragon Progression is due early next month alongside the grade 4 unit that has proved to be the terror of Japanese play.

Friday, May 2, 2014

News: World Champion Steals €4000 of Merchandise from Luxembourg Card Shop, Interview with Paris Regional Runner-up Team SKET

Last week a massive break-in took place in one of Luxembourg's largest card shops, La Caverne du Gobelin; more than €4000 (approx. $5500) in Cardfight!! Vanguard and Yu-Gi-Oh! merchandise were stolen. The break-in at La Caverne was linked to a string of three thefts at the Team League 2014 Paris regional qualifier. Three decks were stolen, two of which were known to be a Dauntless Drive Dragon-Dragonic Overlord the End and a Link Joker deck; one of the decks belonged to an eleven-year-old boy. A player from La Caverne du Gobelin, who requested that his name not be used, volunteered to us information regarding the break-in, and our previous source in the unfolding story concerning alleged cheating at the French regional has likewise come forward to corroborate some of these statements.

Stewart as seen in 2013.
Reigning world champion Almeida Stewart was initially suspected to be involved in the theft at the regional qualifier, but not in the break-in at La Caverne due to the timing of the burglary taking place close to the regional tournament on the 19th. However, after an investigation by the Luxembourg police, fingerprints were used to connect Stewart and both of his teammates back to the burglary. Following this, La Caverne du Gobelin released a statement on their Facebook page on the 21st stating that the burglars had confessed to the Luxembourg police and issued an apology to the store. On the 26th the shop then made the announcement that Stewart, his brother Christopher and their teammate Vladyaslav Khimenko have since been permanently banned from La Caverne's various locations and organized play. Furthermore, the player from La Caverne attested to Stewart having cheated in tournaments by drawing extra cards and putting heal triggers on the top of his deck from his hand. According to this same source, after La Caverne reported the incident to Bushiroad the company placed a ban on Stewart preventing him from participating in official tournaments. However, this last piece of information has not yet been confirmed by Bushiroad and is the only piece of the story that has not been corroborated elsewhere. We granted the company an opportunity to respond, but have yet to receive a statement.

As the reports of the Luxembourg police are not filed as a matter of public record, a police report regarding the theft could not be obtained during our investigation.

With regards to the cheating accusations that have surfaced, tournament host Epitanime issued a statement on Bushiroad.fm on the 24th regarding the existence of the alleged video evidence of Stewart's cheating during the regional tournament;
Contrary to what has been reported, neither Parkage nor Games from Japan, hosting the tournament, nor the judges, have such a video confirming or reversing the suspicion on this player which could likely be used as an evidence.
Parkage and Games from Japan wish to emphasize the attention given to this kind of behaviour during our tournaments by our judges ; unfortunatly such cheating act may remain unnoticed.
Care should be taken with reading the statement that "neither Parkage nor Games from Japan [...] nor the judges, have such a video confirming or reversing the suspicion on this player which could likely be used as an evidence." Epitanime's statement as it is worded does not deny the existence of a video, but denies possessing a video which can be used as evidence for either confirming or denying Stewart's alleged cheating. It may be reasonably inferred that Epitanime is in possession of a video which they consider inconclusive. The denial of possession can also point to having turned the video over to another party, i.e. Bushiroad.

Epitanime's statements are written to deliberately be in conflict with those of on-site witnesses who have stated with confidence that the games were recorded on video, and by depriving the public of the only known visual evidence can falsely give the appearance of there being no incident at all. The possible coverup will ring familiar to veteran American cardfighters, as it can be compared to the 2012 case of Thomas Cassidy; accused of cheating by performing a twin drive while still at grade 2 in order to win the Dallas regional qualifiers in WCS2012, despite a crowd of over 200 onlookers attesting to the incident, none of the six judges noticed the illegal move and Bushiroad USA subsequently refused to release the video of Cassidy's game to the public. While in Cassidy's case the cheating was believed to be accidental rather than intentional, the fact remains that in both instances releasing the videos would resolve the tensions openly by letting the public see the games as they were played and judge the truth for themselves, rather than try to obscure the facts and promote a closed book policy. Epitanime's stance does not expressly deny that the video exists, but dodges the question of what it depicted.

Regarding the regional qualifier itself, the results of the tournament have been published by Bushiroad along with the official decklists, and in addition to that we at Cardfight Pro have secured the decklists of the runner-up Team SKET, as well as interviews with all three of its members. The first place decklists can be jumped to by searching the page for [T14FR1] while the second place decklists can be reached by searching for [T14FR2] These interviews include details on why their team members chose to side with the Invaders instead of Defenders, their favorite qualities of their decks, and what SKET stands for. The translation of our questions and of team SKET's answers were graciously handled by Kyo, a leading figure in the French Cardfight community.

Q: What kind of people are you, and why did you decide to play your decks?
A: We are 3 friends who happened to know each other on a forum which gathered the big part of the French community. Thus, we met through Internet and became friends ; and today two of us (of the Team) are playing in the same card shop. Initially, we intended to come in order to support the whole Event, as we did not get a French event last year. It was really important for us to show Bushiroad how much France loves this game, and how much we want the game to expand. Ultimately, we came in order to have fun, to laugh, and to spend a good time with our opponents, while showing our skills.

(Arnaud "JUN" Faber): I played Eradicator, based on Vowing Saber Dragon "Reverse", Gauntlet Buster and Dragonic Descendant, mainly because of their artworks ; I also happen to play the clan since its original release in BT06: Breaker of Limits. Regarding Vowing Saber Dragon "Reverse", I love its gameplay, which makes you wonder about the right timing about activating its Limit Break ; in order to counterbalance the Lock cost.

(Axel "Shinigami" Verdier): I love Link Joker artworks, are they are both futuristic and fiendish, Chaos Breaker Dragon in particular. I was really pleased by Nebula Lord Dragon's playstyle, mixing both control and aggressive strategies ; up to the point that Stand Triggers can become really nasty.

(Anthony "Snake" Lamontre): I played Pale Moon as I love their artworks since the beginning, and I also like Soul-based gameplays. I chose the Silver Thorn series as I find the archetype fitting my playstyle.

Q: Why did you go to Invaders instead of Defenders ?
A: For some RP aspect. It was funnier to act as the evil ones instead of the heroes, but also because many of the key units in the BT12: Binding of the Black Rings format are Reverse units.

Q: What are the favourite qualities of your Decks ?
A: (Arnaud "JUN" Faber): I was initially going to play a regular Crossbreak Ride Deck. However, it was too weak in terms of early gameplays. I then decided to remove the Break Ride units from my Deck in order to put 3 Gauntlet Buster, which is able to pull off a brutal early gameplay thanks to Ginkaku (Damage Pluser). As such, I think that the main quality of my Deck is its versatility : I can pull off pressure thanks to Ginkaku and Gauntlet Buster's extra Critical, while taking into account Chou-ou or beatstick units ; without giving the Limit Break to my opponent if I cannot manage it. Or if I need to wipe out the opponent's units as I suffered from being rushed, thanks to Vowing Saber Dragon "Reverse" while having powerful Rearguard columns. Third point, Descendant is here to finish off my opponent through the remaining Counterblasts. Therefore, I am able to adapt myself to the current situation and act accordingly.

(Axel "Shinigami" Verdier): I love playing this Deck for several reasons. The first of them is that they are able of both controlling my opponent, but being aggressive. The former part is thanks to Nebula Lord Dragon's Limit Break, powering up my front-row units ; plus units like Lanthanum and Niobium and the usual Neon and Radon stuff. All of these units are able to take advantage from Stand Triggers in order to widen the gap. As for the control part, it is made possible through the Lock mechanic itself ; like in Infinite Zero Dragon, Dust Tail Unicorn and Moebius Breath Dragon. Draw Triggers and Opener of Dark Gates are also important as you cannot "control" your own hand. The second reason is that this Deck doesn't have a "bad Ride". Of course you would prefer some order of Riding, like in any other Deck. But with some mastery, you can do something regardless of what you Ride first, and make the Deck work.

(Anthony "Snake" Lamontre): The Luquier "Reverse" Deck has a great advantage of doing a controlled Soul Charge rythym, let alone you have a better range for what goes into the Soul ; this is made through Irina or Dancing Princess of the Night Sky who will feed the Soul for further Limit Break moves - with Luquier. She is able to provide a quality Card Advantage, while providing me the regular Crossride defense if the original Luquier is in the Soul. Further more, the main goal is to Break Ride Luquier "Reverse", in order to perform 5 attacks in the same turn with 2 Purple Trapezists in the Soul. All of this in order to finish off my opponent, or to make him give up his hand by making use of the Soul thanks to Luquier "Reverse" +5000 bonus. Like Arnaud, I think that this Deck has several uses.

Q: And what does "SKET" stand for ?
A: Support Kindness Encouragement Troubleshot. It actually comes from the "SKET Dance" manga, the three of us love it. In "SKET Dance", the heroes are 3, they are nice, considerate, motivated, but the main point is that they have a quirky humour ; and we hope that people felt the same way towards us during this event.

We thank you a lot for your time.

Team League 2014 France First Place: Team United Force [T14FR2]
Liu Bo Chen's Decklist: Sacking to the Max La
Grade 0
x1 Liberator, Cheer Up Trumpeter (FV)
x4 Liberator of Hope, Epona CT
x4 Strike Liberator CT
x4 Armed Liberator, Gwydion DT
x4 Elixir Liberator HT
Grade 1
x4 Little Liberator, Marron
x2 Future Liberator, Llew
x4 Halo Liberator, Mark
x4 Fast Chase Liberator, Josephus
Grade 2
x2 Liberator of Silence, Gallatin
x4 Liberator of Royalty, Phallon
x2 Blaster Blade Liberator
x3 Liberator of the Flute, Escrad
Grade 3
x4 Liberator of the Round Table, Alfred
x4 Wolf Fang Liberator, Garmore

Edwin Talahatu's Decklist: Sackmeester weet raad, idd La :P
Grade 0
x1 Ambush Dragon Eradicator, Linchu (FV)
x3 Eradicator, Blue Gem Carbuncle DT
x3 Eradicator, Dragon Mage DT
x3 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x3 Eradicator of the Divine Spear, Pollux CT
x4 Worm Toxin Eradicator, Seiobo HT
Grade 1
x4 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x4 Eradicator, Wyvern Guard Guld
x4 Steel-blooded Eradicator, Shuki
x2 Rising Phoenix
Grade 2
x3 Eradicator, Thunder Boom Dragon
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x4 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Chou-Ou
Grade 3
x4 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x4 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon

Vincent Van Der Schee's Decklist: Mijn Bunshin is OP LA :P
Grade 0
x1 Frontline Revenger, Claudas (FV)
x4 Healing Revenger HT
x4 Freezing Revenger DT
x4 Grim Revenger CT
x4 Revenger, Air Raid Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Barrier Troop Revenger, Dorin
x4 Dark Revenger, Mac Lir
x4 Transience Revenger, Masquerade
x2 Sacrilege Revenger, Baal-berith
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger
x3 Dark Cloak Revenger, Tartu
x4 Nullity Revenger, Masquerade
Grade 3
x4 Revenger, Raging Form Dragon
x4 Illusionary Revenger, Mordred Phantom

Team League 2014 France Second Place: Team SKET [T14FR2]
Arnaud "JUN" Faber's Decklist: Narukami - Eradicator'tue Ninja/Ninja Eradicaturtle
Grade 0
x1 Ambush Dragon Eradicator, Linchu (First Vanguard)
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle (CT)
x4 Worm Toxin Eradicator, Seiobo (HT)
x4 Eradicator, Red Gem Carbuncle (DT)
x3 Sacred Spear Eradicator, Pollux (CT)
x1 Eradicator, Old Dragon Mage (DT)
Grade 1
x4 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld (Sentinel)
x4 Steel-blooded Eradicator, Shuki
x3 Dragon Monk, Ginkaku
x3 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
Grade 2
x4 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Chou-ou
x3 Double Gun Eradicator, Hakushou
x2 Homing Eradicator, Rochishin
x2 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
Grade 3
x3 Eradicator, Vowing Saber Dragon "Reverse"
x3 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x1 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x1 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon

Axel "Shinigami" Verdier's Decklist: Link Joker - Nebulamitié <3/Nebulafriendship
Grade 0
x1 Star-vader, Dust Tail Unicorn (FV)
x4 Star-vader, Stellar Garage (HT)
x3 Keyboard Star-vader, Bismuth (ST)
x3 Star-vader, Scouting Ferris (DT)
x2 Star-vader, Moon Commander (ST)
x2 Star-vader, Nebula Captor (DT)
x1 Star-vader, Weiss Soldier (CT)
x1 Star-vader, Meteor Liger (CT)
Grade 1
x4 Barrier Star-vader, Promethium (Sentinel)
x4 Demon Claw Star-vader, Lanthanum
x4 Mana Shot Star-vader, Neon
x2 Opener of Dark Gates
Grade 2
x4 Unrivaled Star-vader Radon
x4 Furious Claw Star-vader, Niobium
x3 Star-vader, Moebius Breath Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Star-vader, Infinite Zero Dragon
x4 Star-vader, Nebula Lord Dragon

Anthony "Snake" Lamontre's Decklist: Pale Moon - Silverpop "Reverse"
Grade 0
x1 Innocent Magician (FV)
x4 Poison Juggler (CT)
x4 Rainbow Magician (DT)
x4 Silver Thorn Juggler, Nadia (HT)
x3 Silver Thorn, Barking Dragon (DT)
x1 Silver Thorn Marionette, Natasha (DT)
Grade 1
x4 Silver Thorn Hypnos, Lydia (Sentinel)
x4 Silver Thorn Assistant, Irina
x3 Purple Trapezist
x2 Silver Thorn Beast Tamer, Ana
x1 Midnight Bunny
Grade 2
x4 Silver Thorn Rising Dragon
x3 SIlver Thorn Beast Tamer, Maricica
x2 Silver Thorn Marionette, Lilian
x2 Dancing Princess of the Night Sky
Grade 3
x3 Miracle Pop, Eva
x3 Silver Thorn Dragon Queen, Luquier "Reverse"
x2 Silver Thorn Dragon Tamer, Luquier