Design Theory: Game Formats

This is a topic that I've been thinking about writing for a long time, but I hadn't quite figured out how I wanted to approach it, yet. However, with the advent of the BT09 Crossride units, I feel that now is as good a time as any to discuss something that won't happen for a while, but will most definitely come up at some point and will affect everyone who plays this game. As Vanguard evolves, what type of format will the game take on? Currently, with only 8 sets and a few extra boosters under our belt, the game is functioning on an "Eternal Format" where every card printed is available for play, barring rulings from Bushiroad to the contrary (Barcgal's being banned as a Starting Vanguard, for example.) But, I'm sure we all hope, Vanguard is going to continue to grow. As more sets are released and more cards are added to the prospective construction pool, Bushiroad is going to need to make a decision whether to rotate out older cards or keep everything as is. In this article, I'm going to go over the pros and cons of Block and Eternal formats before, finally, sharing my own conclusion with you.

Eternal Formats: We are the 1%

You're starting to show your age there, pal.

As I stated previously, an Eternal Format is one where every card (with a few exceptions) are able to be used in a deck. Yu-gi-oh is a prime example of a TCG with such a design. Those cards from the first few sets are just as playable as cards from the past few expansions. You can even go as far as to mix them together. If a card has been printed in an official YGO expansion, it's free to use. However, just because a card is playable, that doesn't mean it's relevant, and that's where a huge problem in eternal formats begins to show. In a given pool of cards, only a small percentage will be relevant to the metagame, as only a small percentage of all cards are powerful enough to be of use to you in a competitive environment. As an example, how many of you past Yu-Gi-Oh players remember when Blue-Eyes White Dragon was one of the best cards in the game? Compare that same card to any of the current boss monsters in the metagame right now. I guarantee you that Blue-Eyes will be completely outclassed either in raw power, playability, or utility. In fact, I challenge you to find a "professional" (and I use the term loosely) YGO player who would even consider using BEWD in the deck they take with them to a qualifier or championship. The card is simply not relevant in the game anymore.

Another thing about eternal formats that makes people like them is that sometimes older, overlooked cards can become the perfect counter to a new strategy, or becomes phenomenal in combination with a new support card that was recently released. For example, back after the Storm of Ragnarok expansion was released, Six Samurai decks were running around everywhere. People needed an answer to the deck, and it was eventually found in the form of Puppet Plant, a card that was released 4 years earlier. Had YGO operated on a block system, that card would have most likely not been legal to use, and another counter would have needed to be found, and it probably wouldn't have been as effective. I'm sure there are other examples, but I was never one for uber-hardcore YGO in the first place, so I can't really confirm any other examples.

Pictured: Something almost as sexy as me.

Another plus for eternal formats is that, barring a massive ban, your old decks can still be played. For example, I have a few YGO decks made and sitting in my desk. I know they're all still legal, so I can grab one and head to a tourney should the mood strike me, despite some of the cards in them being 6+ years old. I think I'm a pretty humble guy, so don't take it as bragging when I say that I can sure play my way around my Morphtronic deck. I've worn through so many sets of sleeves on that thing, a lot of the combos are second nature. Still, despite that, it doesn't hold a candle to the newer strategies, and there's no way in Hades I'd actually run it at any event higher than a locals. Sure, I can use my sexy, sexy Ghost Rare Power Tool Dragons, but they probably won't do much work for me with crap like Laggia and the like running around.

Which brings me to one of the major problems with eternal formats: Power Creep. I feel like Mark Rosewater said it best when addressing the concept of Power Creep:

"Each set raises the bar on what cards can do until you get to the point where the game collapses under the weight of the power level. ("I win turn one before you can even play.")" -MaRo

This is fairly apparent in games like Yu-Gi-Oh. Look back on the initial release, when BEWD was still considered good. Fast forward to 2012, and you need a full-ass 15 card Extra deck to even stand a chance in this game, as the focus has shifted entirely to who can drop their big boss Synchro or Xyz monster, or who can control the board most effectively through the use of their Synchro or Xyz monsters. Power creep is also evident in Vanguard, though less so. I'm sure you all know about the "OMG CROSSRIDES QQ" bullshit already, so I won't go into much detail. However, I'm fairly safe in saying that for many people, these Crossrides represent an unfavorable power creep in the game. (Whether or not their claims are valid are a tale for another day.) Because any card can be played, the companies need to find a way to continue to sell new sets. Eventually, the quick and easy fix is to just make a few cards in that set absolutely game-defining. This process repeats with each set, as more powerful tiers of cards are introduced until, eventually, all other cards are effectively unplayable due to the nature of the format.

Those are my thoughts on Eternal Formats, but before I show you my conclusion, I need to go over the other major type I mentioned earlier, the Block or Staggered Format.

Block Format: Every Day I'm Shufflin'

Back when I was introduced to Standard (or Type 2, as it's also called) Magic: The Gathering, I was absolutely pissed off that they had a rotating block format. I was used to Yu-Gi-Oh at the time, and it was a foreign concept to me that the cards I have would become illegal based on the rules set down by the company, rather than the environment derived from the cards themselves. Yeah, I was too young and stupid to realize that they were basically the same thing. Now that I am both older and (slightly) wiser, I have a newfound respect for the Block format after playing both MTG, Legend of the 5 Rings, and the Pokemon TCG.

On the surface, Block formats seem like a quick and easy way to grab money by the company that makes the game. What better way to keep you buying their product than to make some of it illegal, forcing you to change up your deck? I'll admit, the idea turned me off a bit and still does in certain respects, especially because I'm a dirt-poor college student. However, from a design standpoint, Block formats are the best way to ensure that a TCG lasts for a long time, as evidenced by both Magic and L5R. But why is that?

For starters, block formats allow for changes in the meta without huge-ass power creeps. In a block format, it is inevitable that a card or cards will be rotated out. I bet you wouldn't be complaining about the game as much if you recognized that cards like Spectral Duke Dragon and DOTE had a limited timeframe in the format. Blocks allow for the proper rotations that shift the meta. Additionally, block formats encourage dynamic deckbuilding. You might have a great idea made now, but what are you going to do when cards X, Y, and Z rotate out of your deck? You might give up then and there, but someone else might look at the newest set and figure out that cards P, Q, and R actually work well in the deck as well. This type of interaction that forces players to change up their deck all the time promotes better deckbuilding skill, as it allows players to notice value in cards they may have overlooked earlier because their deck was "perfect" with cards that had been rotated out.

Block formats also make new sets relevant. Players who have completed their "pet decks" in eternal formats will often ignore new sets unless something completely awesome catches their eye and makes them want to make something else. In a block format, players need to look at every card in the set and assess both current and potential future value. You never know when something can make it big when some of the big threats are no longer a factor in the metagame...

In larger games, blocks can also help to focus new players on where to begin. In a large game with a huge card pool, it becomes intimidating for newer players to have to deal with 12000+ card pools. Blocks shrink that size down to 1000 or so cards, which is a much more manageable size to work with.

In Closing:

As you may have guessed by this point, I'm a huge fan of block formats. If I were to design my own TCG, that's the route I would go. However, I feel like Vanguard is not a game that would benefit from a block format. The major reasons for this are the Clan and Avatar effects.

Vanguard is a game that is heavily focused on playing a deck that you as a player like, be it for gameplay, art, or theme. Unlike Magic, which has what boils down to 5 "clans," or L5R which has roughly 10 or so, Vanguard has many more, and not all clans are present in all the sets. A block format would be too restrictive based on which clans would exist in which block and would, I feel, do more harm to the game than good. On top of that, a huge part of Vanguard is making a deck around your "Avatar" card, the card that you like the most. If that card were to suddenly be rotated out with no reprint in sight, then where does that leave you? While I wish that vanguard could support blocks, the way it is set up now leads me to believe that that is not a feasable option for the game.

Let me know what you think, though! Send me a message on reddit, PM me on facebook, respond to wherever I post this and give me your two cents!

As usual, this is Stephen Stills of Team Sex Bob-Omb reminding you that you're all beautiful. I just happen to be more beautiful than any of you.

Why Crossrides aren't as Broken as they Seem.

As some of you may know, the spoilers for BT09: Clash of the Knights and Dragons have been released and, as expected, we have even more Crossride units being introduced to the game.Naturally, there has been a fair amount of QQ-ing from some players who shall remain nameless, with some going as far as to announce their intent to boycott the game because these units are "too broken."

Myself? I don't see a problem.

Sure, Crossrides are phenomenal, seeing as they have a juicy 13000 defensive power if the previous incarnation is in the soul. In addition, most of them have pretty neat skills that fit the flavor of such powerful units. There are arguments that crossrides overcentralize the meta, and that clans with non-crossride units just can't compete.

Bullshit.

I'll concede that American players, by and large, tend to stick with decks they know will win. Especially if these past WCQs are any indication. Many people played Gold Paladins, and they represented the majority of decks played at every regional event. People assume that when set 5 is released, the same will happen to Kagero (Dragonic Overlord the End) decks. No matter where I go, I have seen arguments of "DOTE is broken. Pls fix QQ." Except for one thing: it really isn't. When I play against DOTE decks, I'm not afraid of that specific unit. In fact, I'd rather my opponent get that persona blast off 3 times in a game rather than nuke my boosters with Kimnara or scorch my intercepts with Berserk Dragon. DOTE is only a part of what makes the deck so good. The support units play a big role in how well the deck performs and allow you to cripple your opponent's field at little to no cost to yourself.

"But, Stills. 13000 Power is op. How can I magic number against that?"

18000 power columns allow you to force 10k worth of guard from a crossride. Do you know what can make 18k columns easily? Every single clan in the game. Every clan has at least 1 10000 power Grade 2 unit and an 8000 power booster. Not to mention, many clans run 10000 power Grade 3 units, as well. Stop crying about the game and do your part to prepare for those 13000 targets.

Bear in mind, units have costs to use their skills, too. Playing against the new Ezel? Do your best to keep them out of that Limit Break 5 Range. Playing against DOTE? Make sure they don't have 2 damage to flip and block their damn Bellicosity Dragons. Play smart, build smart, and make the most of the resources in your hand and field. I know you can do it.

I apologize for this, but it's something I really need to get off my chest. I'll have an actual article up later in the week.

Thanks for reading, and may you always pull SPs from your boxes.

-Stills

A Players Guide to Surviving Regionals

Now I have been going to tournaments for years, and I always loved the experience, however over the years I have learned that regionals are nothing like normal tournaments, and I have been astounded by how easy it is to get messed up (and if you read my tournament report, you can see I still have not gotten the hang of regionals myself) and make stupid mistakes. Not only that, but because Bushiroad runs tournaments differently, and because of the relative newness, I have seen players saying many cruel and downright wrong things towards the company. And I have seen many sad and unfortunate incidents that result in game losses or DQ's that could have been easily avoided, so it is my hope to help make the tournaments easier for each player, because I sure wish I had a guide before I went to Chicago regionals.

The Night Before

Assuming you get there a night before at the hotel, this is an important time. Usually the lobby will have a bunch of players around, take advantage of that, playtest against them. It will widen your experience, and give you an idea of what to expect, learn other decks and other playstyles.

Also make sure to eat well the night before, and get lots of sleep. Many people forget these two (ourselve included) and it can be a deciding factor. 

The Tournament and Preparation

First lets start with how the tournament actually is run, because Bushiroad does it differently than most, it is a:

Single match

Double elimination

Now, the single match is obvious, you play a single game, which is different than most games that do best 2-out-of-3, it has its fault and makes the risk of grade locking a little more terrifying, however it also allows rounds to be consistently put at 20 minutes, which is extremely nice to move things along in a timely fashion. However, an important thing to note is that whether or not you agree with it, complaining loud and proud for all to hear does not do anything (although, if you sing loud and proud for all to hear, it does spread christmas cheer).

The second important part is that it is double elimination. This means you play up to 7 rounds, however, if you lose twice then you are knocked out. This is very different from the traditional Swiss in which you play every round. With this system the tournament grows smaller and smaller. The biggest difference though, that many players do not understand, is that when cutting to top 8 your tie breakers are not based on who you lost to, but to who you beat.

To explain, normally in swiss if you go 6-0, and lose the final round, you are usually guaranteed a spot because you only lost to an undefeated, however that doesn't matter in DE.

If you go 6-0, but every single person you beat loses their next game and is immediately booted from the tournament, they offer poor tiebreakers.

On the flip side, someone else could lose round 1 , and make it to round 7 winning it, and if all of the people he beat also made it to round 7, that offers him great tie breakers.

I have seen many confused on this, because they are use to other games, and it is important to note. Just because you win your last game round 7 does not guarantee you top 8.

Before the Tournament (On the day of) 

Now you have a lot to do before the tournament, which many people just don't anticipate. The first thing is to prepare fully, and safely. First things first, before anything else, take a shower or at least use deodorant  and brush your teeth, among any other necessary hygienics. You will be in a room with a bunch of people packed close together, and the not-showered-for-three-days thing won't cut it. Many people skip this, and it is noticeable all the time.

Next, you need to pack your supplies  First you want you deck (obviously) , the best thing to do is put your deck (and only your deck, no other cards) in its own deck box that can easily be kept on your person, and extra sleeves in the deck box. Then have your wallet, and any other personal belongings securely on you in your pockets.

In a bag (or however you want to carry if) you want to have snacks, you wont have much free time, and you will get hungry ( take it from me, going hours not eating is a bad plan), and you will love the snacks. Also keep your trade binder if you want to do trades in between rounds. Keep in mind that during the tournament your best bet is to keep as little on you as possible, people are dirty rotten thieves  so the more you have the more they will try and steal. Keep as little with you as possible, never leave it out of your sight, and keep vigilant and cautious about the whereabouts of your possessions at all times. Checking every two or three minutes to make sure all your possessions are accounted for is the best way to avoid theft. And if you have a way to attach them to your person, all the better. (If you have a backpack, and set it down during the match, put your ankle through one of the straps, if it is moved then you will feel it, inconvenient at times, but helpful. )

Important notes-

You are given paper mats to use, which work well, however you can bring your own mat and use it if given permission, but it can be a bit of a hassle, your choice to bring it. I personally chose to skip, because I like to travel super light, but Scott brought his and had no trouble. 

While being a little paranoid concerning your possessions is smart, being an asshole and rude and treating every person like a thief is not, be smart, be suspicious, but do not be rude.

I couldn't fit this into the above segments, but if you can print out the comprehensive rules and floor rules
and keep them on you during the tournament. Read and memorize them too. If any issues come up, or you think a ruling you are getting is wrong, point them out with them.

Arriving and Signing up

Now, I will preface this part with the fact that I don't know for sure if this is how every regional is working like this, but it is fully based on my experiences. 

Assuming the tournament starts at 10, you really really want to arrive as close to 8 as possible (9 is absolute latest, if you arrive even 2 minutes late to sign up at 10:02 you cannot sign up) . My team arrived at 8:40 (a result of staying awake too late the night before, seriously, 11-12, get to bed asap, sleep is important) and the line was probably 100+ people long. It stretched through the entire edge of the room, out to the hall. You want to get there early as possible, to get to the front as soon as possible. Either way you will go through the line until you get to the pre-reg line (Always pre-reg, always) and at the front desk they will give you a goody bag, and then you show them your Id to prove you are who you say, and get your block and player number (I was c-215), and a decklist paper and round paper.

Also, while in the line, or before you get in line, or any time before reaching the front deck I highly suggest you sort your deck fully by grade or by each card so that writing your deck list can be easier. It helps a lot, let me write mine and get it done much faster than other members of my team.

Now the goody bag has a few awesome things. At Chicago we got the usual free deck box  we got a manga, DVD, a card box that can hold up to 3 deck boxes and a few more singles, but most importantly you get a pen. This pen will be your lifeline, they tell you that you only get one and to take care of it, and that is incredibly true. I lost mine, and regretted it the entire night. 

Now you are going to be sitting down to write out your decklist. This is one of the most annoying, important, difficult things you can possibly imagine, because you have to be incredibly specific for Bushiroad, you can't half ass anything or use shortcuts like in MtG or Yugioh. The deck list in this game have lots of quirks. 

Your Decklist and Pairing sheet

List all 50 cards (This seems obvious, but I saw a DQ because of this, count, count , count. Check three times, if you have friends, have them check your count, it is always painful to see a DQ because of this, and it happens too often)

List in order of the Grades, leave a blank line when you move to a new grade (This is not mandatory, but it is incredibly helpful for the judges, and for yourself on double checking)

Give starting Vanguard (if not recycling trigger) its own line (It just helps a lot) (and seriously, dont forget this, so many people do)

Go from the cards with the highest quantity to lowest (If you have 4 copies make it first listed, then 3 copies, then 2. Helps you double check and helps the judges check)

Make sure to list each card by its different rarity ( This is the most obnoxious of the rules, but it is their decision. For instance I had to list my Lozenge magus as BT01-En## and my SP one as BT01-SP-##  on two different lines, it was annoying, but you can get in trouble, so make sure to do it)

Make sure to write out the whole name of a card (In Yugioh (and I think MtG) you just have to write so there can be no doubt about what it is, in this game every part is important, you cant have any doubt, the judges want everything from name to ID on it. )

Write out your name, your block ID, and other important information on there (I forgot these, and it led to me taking an extra three minutes, which had the line grow 3fold, it was not fun)

Give your deck a fun name (This is least important, but trust me, it is fun. It is something so few games do, and really nice. Plus a nice deck name helps your mood, and a good mood does wonders. "Having the Tom of Your Life" was mine, and just the hilariously fun times of that name made my mood great for the whole tournament)

After that you will have your Round Pairing Sheet, you just need to fill it out with your name, your block number and ID, and mostly the same info you have on the deck list sheet. 

Finally, you get in a line, head up to the Judge table, they double check that you wrote down all the important info, and ask you "Did you count 50? Are you sure? Everything is correct?" and make you aware that you can get in big trouble, including a DQ. After that you are ready for...

Last Minute Preparations

Now this is one of the most important parts, because there are quite a few important things that people don't even consider that cause a lot of trouble, and with these simple guidelines can help prevent 90% of all issues I have read about.

At this point you should have anywhere from an hour (if you were super smart and got there really early at about 8) or 20-30 minutes (if you got there around 9 like I did)  to damn-near-none (if you were going last minute) you need to do a few important things. The first thing is change your sleeves if you haven't. 

Sleeves (Yes, they are so important they get a whole section) 

Sleeves are the biggest reason of DQ's I see in any tournament. Sleeves cannot be distinguishable in any way, they cant have dirt on them, they cant have corners messed up, broken sleeves, etc. If any thing is messed up like that they are considered marked (and this is for any tournament scene) and that can get you warnings (and be told to buy new sleeves to replace the illegal sleeves) up to DQ's. It seems harsh, but the Judges have no way to determine if your sleeves were just naturally messed up, or you used it to cheat.

This is easily remedied. Before the tournament (be it at the vendors there, or at your LGS before you come) I suggest buying at least a 60 pack of sleeves. I personally used Player's choice, which had almost no issues at all. But have 60-100 sleeves. Before the first round (earlier in the day works too, but don't open and then play a dozen games with the new sleeves)  completely switch into completely new sleeves you just (or previously bought) that have never been opened. While doing this check your sleeves, it can be a hassle, but it is better to make sure you don't have a sleeve with a factory defect (rare but it can happen)  that can get you in trouble. When all your sleeves are in good condition and your deck is resleeved, then take at least 10 extra sleeves and put them in your deck box (if you have more and space, put more in) with your deck (and nothing else, your deck and spare sleeves, nothing else in your deck box) . 

Now, sleeves can still get hurt through playing. Shuffle carefully and don't be rough, and if your opponent starts to be rough with their shuffling, ask them to shuffle a little kinder or call a judge to do it for you (it may seem annoying, and is a bit annoying, but you are in  a professional environment, take no chances) so that your sleeves remain in good condition. If you notice that a sleeve is broken, suddenly has a distinguishable mark, or any other issues you should set all cards but that one down, tell your opponent that it has an issue, and ask them to wait so you can change it to maintain a fair game state (and I never had to do this mid game, but I would also ask if they would like to have a judge there to be safe, because it is always better safe than sorry.) after that set the card to the side in a spot that both of you can tell it is the distinguishable card, get out a spare sleeve, take the card out in plain view for both to see, and replace the sleeve. Never try to change a sleeve mid game without making sure that your opponent knows what is going on, and that they can see it.

Between rounds check the sleeves, it takes two minutes or so to do a decent check of your sleeves to make sure they are fine, and to replace any busted ones. Two minutes of maintenance each round drops the chances of getting in trouble for marked cards and sleeves down to almost nothing.

One other good idea is to have a second set of spare sleeves (if you didn't opt to buy 2 to begin with, and only had about 10 spares) and if you finish round 7 is to switch into the new sleeves like you did before round 1. That way if you do get into the top 8 you can eliminate any risk of getting in trouble for your sleeves. I didn't do that myself, and I almost got in trouble because my sleeves had a slight bubble that was noticeable (Yes, I need to pay more attention myself, like I said, it is not easy but it is worth it)  and I only got off because I was polite (seriously, if you ever have any possible issue arise keep polite and talk to the judges like they are humans, and don't get mad for them doing their jobs, it never helps to treat them like crap because you disagree. This happens too much, and just makes you look terrible, and makes your chances of resolving the issue plummet) and I talked to them, explained I switched sleeves right before round 1, showed them my extras, and they could see that the cards that could possibly be distinguished were of every grade and different units that would not be helpful to know. 

I want to also address a common complaint about having to take care of sleeves, and that is the argument "But they cost so much" or "Bushiroad just wants you to have to buy from vendors there" And point out that you do not have to do any of this, but also the Judges don't have to give you any leniency when the sleeves are obviously marked (even if not intentional). The rules are there for a reason, and meant to be enforced. They can't make exceptions, or they have no grounds to uphold it when actual cheaters are found. You are going to a professional event, this is not some local tournament, this is a big and professional thing, you need to be on the top of it. Just like you would not go to a professional business meeting in a tank top and jeans, and would wear nice clothes, you should not go to the regional in your casual sleeves. If you get to the regional 8 dollars for a set of 60 Players Choice should serve you fine (They did me at least, and came in good colors) , if you are really broke 5 dollars will get your Ultra pro (which are worse made, have less extra meaning you have to buy a second set of 50 if anything happens, and you have to put them on upside due to the watermark) sleeves there. If you want to truly be prepared, pony up 20 dollars for either 2  players choice to avoid any trouble, or you can buy 1 set of bushiroad official sleeves (53 sleeves, have a random unit on it, and look and feel fantastic) with Bushiroads official second layer sleeves (Clear sleeves that go over your official sleeves, 50 of them, keep the sleeves in great condition) and you will have next to no issues for the entire tournament.

Important notes and summary-

New sleeves are great sleeves

Don't skimp on sleeves, spend that cash

Check check check your sleeves , over and over

Have friends check your sleeves

Be careful with your sleeves

Pay attention

Communication with your friends

Now this is something I realized after that my Team and I needed to do, and that is to come up with a plan of action in between rounds. When it ended we did not fully elaborate on what we were doing. For my issues, Stills and Scott both finished round 1 early (I took a while because my opponent, while new and pretty easy of a game, I helped teach him how to play it better and some rules) and went up to our room to get snacks, however we all settled on getting our own snacks. We should have had it so that the first ones to finish grabbed everyone their snacks, and I may not have starved myself (Look, OTT play long games when you play like me, you never get time to get food, and I forgot to ask for some.) (Seriously , don't starve yourself, ask friends to get you food) . Come up with set places to meet up after each round to discuss what happened in your games, trade out tricks and tips you learn for facing certain match ups (my team never got practice against SDD, so we traded tricks the whole time, and Young Neil and I traded tricks to playing OTT we found during the tournament), establish what is going on, who has what records, where to meet up between the next round. Set up agreements on trading and other stuff (For instance, since I was doing well I let Stills take my trade binder and do trades for me). Communicate for all of this, and keep phones on you the entire time, make sure everyone has everyone elses number, and check your phone constantly (not during the game though)  especially if you are in an unfamiliar area. Anything could happen, and you need to be careful and safe, even if it is just a card tournament.

The action starts

Right about now the action should be starting. This is a part that is annoying, because of obvious limits in funds. Since Bushiroad is hosting this free, and this is their first time in states (which many times you can tell they are setting up and still getting their footing on running it here) they put out pairings much differently than most companies. They will take your pairing sheets that you filled out earlier, they put them in order of match standings (which at this point are all 0-0, but later will be x-0, then x-1) and randomly put them down at each seat of whichever block you are in. They will call out "Number c-215 (or other number) as they place it out, going down by each two seats. One Judge laying it out, another calling it. This has an advantage of being much quicker since they are not having to enter everything into a computer to prepare for the next round (usually they could set up next round within 10 minutes of the end of a round, instead of most tournaments half hour), however this is also a bit haphazard and can get awkward fast with 4 judges (or more) yelling out names and numbers. At first this takes about 10-15 minutes, but the further the tournament goes on, the quicker it goes. 

Soon you will be sat down, and the Head Judge will explain the procedure. First, during each round you decide who starts (I kept a 20 sided die on me at all times, using a nice necklace that held it) , then each player shuffles their deck, they offer their deck to the opponent to cut. After first cuts, both players draw 5 cards. Clearly communicate how many cards you wish to return, shuffle them back in the deck, and repeat the other steps. After both players have cut again you draw back up to 5, and wait.

Now the judge will make sure everyone has their 5 cards and have done their mulligan, the head judge will ask "Is A block ready?" and if every player has their final 5, the A block judge will give a thumbs up. This continues until every block is set.  At this point the HJ explains the last few things, basic stuff to know during the tournament, and then says "To keep in spirit of the anime, for this first round when we start, I want everyone to flip up their vanguard and go 'stand up, the vanguard' like they do. You don't have to do this later, but I would like it for this first time to start the tournament. " although, through the rest of the tournament this happened each round, and it was a pretty fun and wonderful thing to do.

At this point you will actually play your opponent, you have 20 minutes for the round, at 10 minutes, 5 minutes, and I believe 1 minute they will announce how long is left in the round. 

This is the basic way that each round will go. It is important to remember multiple things during each round. First is be polite and have fun, don't go into it too stressed, the stress will throw you off badly. Introduce yourself before anything, even if both names have been said, and wish your opponent good luck and to have fun, that small politeness makes the game much better. Also, you can save time by each of you trading your Player Standing sheets, writing your name and block number on it. 

During the games communicate everything "I will block this much, that puts my VG at 25000, to your vanguards 18000, making it a x trigger pass, do you agree?" makes it so their are no miscommunications, if you say things like this they need to correct you if there is a trigger or effect forgotten (like say a Shamsiel, or CEO that is currently at 14000) both players can be reminded of it, and if they agree it is at 10000 power when it is 14000 they can't suddenly trick you by hoping you forgot (which is a fair strategy, they don't have to tell you of the boosts, even if it polite to) , when you talk and state each units power they need to correct you, or they can get in trouble for lying about their units power. Communicating will eliminate many issues, and prevents your opponent from gaining any advantages they can.

If you do end up noticing that someone forgot a power up, both need to talk it over, and if it is easily fixable ("I forgot that this unit was actually 15000, not 10000, you need an extra 5k to guard" ) and you can both fix it, then resolve the issue. Otherwise call a judge to try and fix the gamestate best as possible. 

During the game, also be polite, don't rub wins in the opponents face, don't complain and insult them if you lose ("You should have lost, you have no skill , you just got lucky") , don't get angry because of bad luck. Just have fun and enjoy the game, even if you are losing, this may be a competitive and professional scene, but that does not mean that you can't have fun and make friends. 

After you finish the game, you will call a judge, they will make sure on each players sheet has their opponents name, their player ID, and if you won or lost. They will then ask "Do you agree Player 1 lost, do you agree player 2 lost" to both people, sign the papers, collect them, and send you on your way until next round. 

At this point you can look at the main judge table, it will have a sign saying "Next round starts at <time> " to give you an idea of how long you have free time. With this free time you should check your sleeves over (This is so important it needs repeating), you should pile shuffle your deck once or twice to prepare for next round (To have it as shuffled as possible) and then you can do whatever you have time to do. You can check out vendors, you can trade with other players, you can just walk around, or get some food so you don't starve yourself (If you haven't caught on, this is really bad too).

Important notes- 

Pile shuffle your opponents deck is a good strategy, especially because it allows you to psych them out, make sure they have 50 card decks, and to fully make sure they couldn't have stacked in any way. 

Seriously, be polite and have fun, the worst players are those who are rude, have fun and dont be a jerk. 

Round 7 Ends

Okay, because this is also a little different to some people, and if you're like me you never have been to a top 8, this will help. After round 7 there will be about 20 minutes break as they figure out who made the top 8. Now, just because you won round 7 does not mean you got top 8 (unless you have a perfect record) so don't get too excited (like I did) . If you did win, prepare your deck with new sleeves if you have them, just in case.

They will then announce top 8, starting with the 8th seed, going to 1st seed. You will hand in your deck to a judge, who will sort through it, check it to your decklist (which is where the writing everything legibly and every card well comes into place) to make sure you have 50 cards, and all the different ones you said. They will then check your sleeves too. 

After that the top 8 players are moved to one table where 1st faces 8th, 2-7, 3-6, 4-5 , in an enclosed area with a judge for every game to watch and maintain the game. There will be a table width distance for spectators to watch, so they can't actively affect too much. Unlike during the main round where they can be within a few feet of players.

If you do get here, don't psych yourself out, be prepared, keep calm, keep simple, and don't freak out. Also, don't get too content. At the point I hit the top 8 I was content (I had been told they finished after round 7, and was too tired and hungry to realize that was wrong) and honestly too hungry and tired to be focused. I played bad the whole game, didn't think through stuff, and got trounced badly. 

Free Play

Hey guys, Stills here taking over for this section, since that sacky motherfucker made top 8 and couldn't actually participate in the free play event. Meanwhile, I scrubbed out in Round 4 and had plenty of time to grab myself some sexy promo cards.

So after, you lose twice, you have the option of sticking around and doing free play. This event started at an unspecified time during the tournament (I didn't catch when, but they should have it on the info page for the tournament.) and lets you play to get some more promos in addition to the Knight of Steel Blade, Caradoc you got for entering. Play 2 games, and you get a Dragonic Vanisher. Play 4, and you get Sphere Magus. Everyone wants Sphere Magus. People will jump you as soon as you get out of the promo line to try and get yours. Use this to your advantage and try and get 20-25 worth of trades for it if you aren't gonna use it in a deck.

To register for free play, you just get in the proper line for it. Once you reach the front, the judges will give you a score sheet and pair you up with someone. The two of you will go off and play a game, then you'll both get back in line together. I can't stress how important it is to get back in line with your opponent, as the judges will not initial your score sheet if both players are not present. After getting your sheet signed, the judges will pair you up with another person. You will do this 4 times. Around 4PM, they rolled out the promos and another line started to claim those. After that, feel free to derp around, play more games (Nubatama 3-1, bitches!), or go check out the Vendors. If your friends are in Top 8, I recommend going over to cheer them on.

Finishing up

After about 2 or so more hours, the whole tournament will be over. They do closing ceremonies and everyone talks and celebrates. After that you are free to goof around, talk to people, this is usually the best time to do trades and fun games.

At this point, just enjoy the fact that you have finished your regional, and I hope you had a blast. From here go and hang out with friends, or head home, do whatever, and I hope you had some awesome times and got some awesome memories. 

I hope this helped, and I am sorry for some random issues here, I will be editing it, and so will Stills, if anyone has any good ideas or important parts they believe I missed that can help at these, feel free to tell me,  any and all help is appreciated. But for now, this Straw Hat, signing off! 

Deckbuilding 101 With Stills

So, you just decided to pick up Vanguard and bought yourself a trial deck. Or perhaps you netdecked a list off the internet and built that. You didn't put much thought into it, mainly because the source you got it from assured you that it was a good build. Over time, though, you will undoubtedly want to build a deck on your own, maybe for a Clan you've never played with before. At first you might think that deckbuilding is easy. After all, this is Vanguard. It's not like there's any amount of complex thought that goes into making a deck. You just load up with all the shiny cards and go to town, just like in Yu-gi-oh!

Of course, as any experienced Vanguard Fighter can tell you, this just isn't the case. Vanguard is surprisingly deep, despite the gigantic luck factor involved with it. There are some things you really need to think about when building a deck, and some of these are things you might overlook the first time you do so. This article is designed to give a set of guidelines for both newcomers and experienced players alike to help build better decks.

Before we begin, I do want to say that this is by no means the definitive way to make decks and, indeed, your method might be different. If it is, let me know! I'd love to hear about the things you do when you try to make a deck, maybe you'll give me some kind of awesome advice to make my process a lot more streamlined and smooth.

Part 1: Picking a Focus

This might seem like a "well, duh" kind of step, since many experienced players will always have a pretty good idea about what they want to make before they even set foot into the proverbial deck garage, but it's always good to make sure that you have a focus or a "winning image" in mind before you even make the deck. In most cases, it'll be either a playstyle (A Pale Moon deck that focuses on swapping units from the field to soul) or a specific card (a Nova Grappler deck that focuses on Beast Deity, Azure Dragon). Before you go any further, it's good to figure out exactly what you want to do so that you don't deviate from that focus later on down the line. For the purposes of this article, let's make ourselves a Nova Grappler deck.

After looking at the clan page on the Vanguard Wiki, I decided that I want to make a Nova Grappler deck that applies good pressure via Asura Kaiser's skill in order to get more attacks in one turn.

Now that we have picked our focus, it's time to move onto...

Step 2: Your Grade 3 Lineup

FINISH HOLD!

Rather than starting at the bottom, I prefer to start building my deck from the top, with my Grade 3s. Usually, you're gonna want about 7 or 8 Grade 3's in a deck. More than that really starts to mess with your ratios, and I don't recommend that for a beginner. Generally, you're going to want one (or two) units in your deck to be your "main" Vanguard, the card that will be on your Vanguard circle for most of the game. The other Grade 3's should be used as "backup" Vanguards that work just as well (or better) on the Rearguard circle. This is important for 2 reasons. First, having more than half your Grade 3 units with vanguard-only effects mitigates their usefulness. Obviously, you can only have one Vanguard at a time, so having units that work only on the Vanguard circle will reduce the overall effectiveness of your deck, as they basically become Vanilla units when you call them to the Rearguard. There are some exceptions to this rule, but we'll cover those in a later portion.

Back to our Nova Grapplers. Since we want to have a high chance of drawing Asura Kaiser, we're going to max him out and run 4 copies. Also, since his skill relies on checking a Grade 3, we're gonna run 4 more Grade 3 units. After consulting the page, I also decide to run 4 copies of Moai the Great, as he works well as a rear guard and is also my favorite unit in the game. At this stage in the game, our decklist looks like this:

Grade 3 (8)

4x Asura Kaiser

4x Moai the Great

Grade 2

Grade 1

Triggers (16)

Grade 0

Step 3: Check the Drive Trigger

After figuring out your Grade 3s, we'll skip down to the bottom of the list and take care of our triggers and our starting Vanguard. First of all, check out the triggers your clan has available to them. Some clans will have a vast array of options they can run, like Kagero, while some others, like Tachikaze, will only have a few to choose from. Generally, you will be running 4 Heals and at least 4 Criticals, with the other 8 slots taken up by whatever other triggers you decide to use. This is by no means a rule, however, as you can run any trigger spread you want to, so long as your clan has it available. So, you could run a standard 8 Crit/4 Draw/4 Heal or the basic 4 Crit/4 Draw/4 Stand/ 4 Heal. Maybe you'd prefer to play offensively? See if your clan lets you run 10 Crit/2 Draw/4 Heal or even 8 Crit/6 Draw/2 Heal. Trigger spreads can help make your deck unique and can really screw up opponents if they're outside the usual norms.

Talk to the hand!

While you pick your triggers, it's also a good idea to pick your starting Vanguard. This will be the first unit you play on the field, so you should make sure to pick one whose skill you're most comfortable with. Bear in mind that some triggers also have skills that allow them to be used as SVGs, so don't just look at Normal Units when trying to figure this out.

Looking at my Nova Grappler deck, I think back to my original idea for a winning image. In order to constantly build pressure when I attack, I decide to run 6 Critical Triggers (4 Red Lightning and 2 Shining Lady) and 6 Stand triggers (3 Battleraizer and 3 Turboraizer). I also run 4 Heal Triggers because I want to max out my chances of healing when I need it most.

Because I run Battleraizer as one of my triggers, I don't need to pick a starting Vangaurd. Battleraizer's skill is a perfect fit for the SVG position, so I don't need to run another Grade 0. This frees up my deck space a bit for more units when I put in my Grade 1 and 2 Units, meaning I have more options later on down the line. For those of you keeping track at home, the decklist now looks like:

Grade 3 (8)
4x Asura Kaiser
4x Moai the Great

Grade 2

Grade 1

Triggers (16)

3x Battleraizer (STAND)
3x Turboraizer (STAND)

4x Red Lightning (CRIT)

2x Shining Lady (CRIT)
4x Ring Girl, Clara (HEAL)

Part 4: Your Utility Units, Grade 2

Grade 2 units are the bread and butter of the deck. Their skills will often be the ones you use the most over the course of the game, and you will find yourself calling them often to your front rearguard circles thanks to their handy intercept ability. Your grade 2 choices will often dictate the way you play the deck as much as if not moreso than your choice of a main vanguard. Morikawa might think that Grade 3s are the strongest units, but Grade 2s are the most versatile.

When choosing Grade 2 units, you're gonna want about 10-12 in your deck. If possible, your Grade 2s should fill the gaps that your triggers fill. For example, if you don't run very many draw triggers, consider running Grade 2 units that allow you to draw cards. In addition, choose units that synergize well with your winning image. If you're playing Spike Brothers, for example, you should probably be running at least a few Highspeed Brakkis so that you can squeeze more attacks into a turn via his soulblast, which returns him to the deck, allowing your Vanguard skills to call more units to the now vacant rearguard circle. Also worth considering are the Especial Intercept units. They have 8000 power, but count for 10000 shield when they intercept. Often, putting one of these on the field is enough to force your opponent to focus his attacks on it, lest he allow you to have a floating 10k shield that you could use at any time.

Back to our Nova Grapplers. With 26 slots left in the deck, I decide to devote 12 spots to my Grade 2 units, leaving 14 for my Grade 1s. Among the Grade 2s I choose are Death Army Lady, who synergizes well with my winning image, Magician Girl Kirara, who covers my weaknesses by letting me draw more cards, and King of Sword, who is my generic 10000 Vanilla Beater. Now, my list looks a bit like:

Grade 3 (8)
4x Asura Kaiser

4x Moai the Great

Grade 2 (12)

4x Death Army Lady

4x King of Sword

4x Magician Girl, Kirara

Grade 1 (14)

Triggers (16)

3x Battleraizer (STAND)

3x Turboraizer (STAND)

4x Red Lightning (CRIT)

2x Shining Lady (CRIT)

4x Ring Girl, Clara (HEAL)

Part 5: Boosting Your Way to Victory

Perfect Guard!

As you may have guessed by this point, the final part of the deckbuilding process is to finish out your list with the Grade 1 units. Grade 1s don't hit very hard on their own, but they're invaluable due to their boost ability, which allows your Grade 2 and Grade 3 units on the front lines to hit harder. Of special note among the Grade 1s are the Perfect Guard units. All of these possess the ability to completely negate an attack against an ally of the same clan for the simple cost of a discard from your hand. Most fighters will run 3-4 of these, and those slots are hardly ever considered wasted. Grade 1s should be chosen as much for their power as for their skills, as they will be the deciding factor in letting your other units hit those juicy magic numbers that all fighters love so much.

As a basic rule, whenever I first build a deck, I will usually throw in 4 Perfect Guards and 4 8k boosters as a baseline, and fill in the cracks later. I'll do the same for my Grappler deck here. That leaves me with 6 slots I can use for my other Grade 1s, and I eventually decide on a 3/3 Split between my Claydoll Mechanics and Death Army Guys.

Finally, the deck is done. Let's take a look at what we have now.

Grade 3 (8)

4x Asura Kaiser

4x Moai the Great

Grade 2 (12)

4x Death Army Lady

4x King of Sword

4x Magician Girl, Kirara

Grade 1 (14)

3x Claydoll Mechanic

3x Death Army Guy

4x Tough Boy

4x Twin Blader

Triggers (16)

3x Battleraizer (STAND)

3x Turboraizer (STAND)

4x Red Lightning (CRIT)

2x Shining Lady (CRIT)

4x Ring Girl, Clara (HEAL)

Now that we have our deck made, the only thing left to do is...

Part 6: Playtest Like Hell

The only way to know if your deck runs smoothly and to see what runs well and what doesn't is to play games using your deck. Don't just play a few games and feel complacent with the build, really grind the shit out of your deck. Play until you're sick of looking at the cards, take cards out, put new ones in. Remember, there is no such thing as a universally "best" build for a deck, and what works for some people may not work for others. Take the time to really see how well the deck fits your playstyle and don't be afraid to change things up if you need to. When playtesting, it's important to take a look at 3 important factors, all of which should help in determining your final build.

Columns:

As I outlined in my previous article, the numbers your columns can hit is an important consideration to consider when playtesting and even in the early stages of building. You need to be sure that your deck is well-equipped to handle the common threats you will come across. In addition, analyzing your magic numbers will help in determining if you really need to run 4 copies of that 8k booster over other Grade 1 units that might provide more utility. Generally, if you're hitting 1000 or 2000 over those Magics, you should drop some of the 8ks in favor of other Grade 1 units that could help add some much-needed versatility to your deck.

Damage Levels:

As you play, you should begin to notice a comfort zone you prefer when it comes to the amount of damage you let through before you begin to really guard. This comfort zone is something most people think about on a basic level during gameplay as "how much damage I can comfortably take to make my deck run properly." Unlike other games, Vangaurd uses the damage you take as a major resource to make your deck run, so you should find out what level of damage you want to sit on during early, mid, and late game. with the advent of limit breaks, many decks enjoy sitting at 4 damage, while decks without a Limit break tend to prefer 3 to more easily prevent losses due to lucky critical triggers. Generally, you can determine your comfort level based on the number of counterblasts (or Limit Breaks) you have versus your ability to unflip damage. For example, Nova Grapplers tend to not use very many counterblasts and have ways to unflip their damage via Claydoll Mechanic, Red Lightning, and others. Novas can comfortably sit at 2 or even 3 damage while still making judicious use of their Counterblast effects due to this. Other clans, like Kagero, are more counterblast-heavy, and so those players will usually like taking a bit more damage to run well. Identifying your damage range is a good way to understand when to guard and when to let an attack through, and it'll help your game in the long run to learn the general comfort ranges of other clans, as well as the Counterblast costs of some of their most common skills.

Consistency:

Put simply, can your deck do what you want it to 9 times out of 10? If not, you could have a consistency issue. One of the major bonuses playtesting gives you is the ability to identify what works well all the time and what almost never works well. This knowledge allows you to change up your build in order to make it more refined. Need to draw more cards? Change your trigger lineup to include some Draw Triggers. Having trouble hitting vanguards with X power? Alter your boosters to hit those lines easier. Like anything worth doing, finding the right deck build takes time and effort, but it feels great to know that you've won using a deck forged from your own blood, sweat, and tears.

After playtesting the Nova Grapplers, I found that the Stand triggers were really Superflous in a deck that ran Death Army units and Asura Kaiser both, so I took them out in favor of a 8 Crit/4 Draw/4 Heal Lineup. In addition, now that Battleraizer was out as my starting Vanguard, I was forced to use Beast Deity, White Tiger as its replacement. This, in turn, caused me to drop Moai the Great to put in Azure Dragons to allow Tiger's skill to go live. I also futzed around with my G1 and G2 lineup a bit before I found a build that I was happy with, which can be found below.

Stills' Awesome Novas.dek

Grade 3 (8)
4x Asura Kaiser

4x Beast Deity, Azure Dragon

Grade 2 (11)
4x Death Army Lady
3x Magician Girl, Kirara
2x King of Sword
2x Brutal Jack

Grade 1 (14)

4x Death Army Guy

4x Twin Blader
4x Claydoll Mechanic
2x Tough Boy

Triggers (16)
4x Red Lightning (CRIT)
4x Shining Lady (CRIT)

4x Three Minutes (DRAW)
4x Ring Girl, Clara (HEAL)

Starting Vanguard (1)
Beast Deity, White Tiger

That's all I have on my thought process here. For those of you who stuck with me to the end, thanks a lot! I hope you enjoyed this read. As always, feel free to message me on either Facebook or Reddit if you want to discuss Vanguard, swap tips, talk about deck builds, or even tell me that I'm a worthless excuse for a human being!

As always, this is Stephen Stills of Team Sex Bob-Omb wishing you happy deckbuilding! And may all your dreams come true!

Mathematical! The Numbers that Matter

On the surface, Vanguard seems to be an extremely luck-based game where it doesn't matter how you play or think so long as you keep hitting your opponent's vanguard and sack a double crit. And I'm totally not saying that's wrong. This game has a heavy luck aspect to it, but there's also a whole other layer of skill and thought that goes into setting your field up to plan for that eventual final push. And, hey, if you don't sack that double crit, it's always nice to have a backup plan.

What Exactly Are Magic Numbers?

On the most basic level, Magic Numbers are the attack values you want from your columns in order to force the biggest shields from your opponent's hand. Magic numbers are ordinarily calculated based on the power of the Vanguards you expect to face, and can be adjusted on the fly in order to fit the deck you're playing against.

Pictured: The number one cause of
table-flipping incidents in Japan.

More than any other game, Vanguard is big on making the power of a unit matter. A difference as small as 1000 power can be the difference between guarding with 10000 and 15000 worth of shield, and it's important to understand that distinction. This theory, which I will call "The 1000 Idea" is why cards like Dragonic Overlord the End seem to dominate the meta in Japan, or why Dark Lord of the Abyss is actually a smarter choice to run over Amon, despite having a less powerful skill.

This, more than anything else, is the aspect of the game that took me the longest to get a grip on in Vanguard, but it's something important to know. For example, a Great Silver Wolf, Garmore is attacking you with its Limit Break, boosted by Little Battler, Tron for a total power of 25000. You've got a Demonic Lord, Dudley Emperor on your Vanguard circle, with a measly 10000 Power. You need to drop 20000 points worth of shield to guard the attack, and that's assuming he doesn't check any triggers! However, if you were riding the Mighty Juggernaut Maximum, with his beefy 11000 base power, you would only need to drop 15000 for a Single Trigger pass, which saves a card in your hand for later use. That measly 1000 power doesn't seem as insignificant now, does it?

This is something that you come to realize the more you play Vanguard. Power matters. However, that doesn't mean your 8000 boosters automatically earn 4 slots in your deck. Rather, you need to compare the magic numbers you need to the units you run in your deck to see what the optimal use of space is for your deck.

Setting Up for Success: Picking the right Units for the Job

The first thing you need to do when considering which magic numbers to hit is consider which units you expect to go up against. For example, at the moment, the most powerful unit you can expect to see in a match is 15000. However, considering that 15000 is caused by a rarely-used unit performing a megablast, we can ignore it. Realistically, the biggest units you'll see will have 11000 power, while most common units will have 10000. Thus, when constructing your deck, you want to be able to hit at least 16000 on any given boosted rear guard attack. (We'll cover unboosted attacks in a second.)

The most important units to consider when looking at magic numbers are your Grade 2s. Why Grade 2, specifically? Because of 2 very important reasons.

            1. They have the very useful Intercept skill, so you'll usually want at least one on the field.

            2. You should be running more of them than you do Grade 3s. Thus, you should see more Grade 2s 

            over the course of a game.

Let's say, for a moment, that you're making a Nova Grappler deck. At the moment, your list looks like this:

Grade 0 (17)

Beast Deity, White Tiger

4 Shining Lady (CRIT)

4 Red Lightning (CRIT)

4 Three Minutes (DRAW)

4 Ring Girl, Clara (HEAL)

Grade 1 (14)
4x Death Army Guy

4x Twin Blader

4x Tough Boy

2x Screamin' and Dancin' Announcer, Shout!

Grade 2 (11)
4x Death Army Lady

3x Magician Girl, Kirara
2x King of Sword
2x Brutal Jack

Grade 3 (8)
4x Asura Kaiser

4x Beast Deity, Azure Dragon

Using the Guidelines I laid out, let's take a look at our Grade 2 units. Death Army Lady and Kirara both have 9000 Power, King of Sword has 10000, and Brutal Jack has 11000. Since we have no 8000 Power Grade 2 units, is it really necessary to run 4 copies of Tough Boy, our 8000 Booster? Even when he boosts the lowest power Grade 2, it comes out to 17000 power, which is 1000 over what we need, especially considering there are no odd 12000 power defensive units (outside of Angel Feather.) Ergo, I don't really need to run 4 copies of Tough Boy, considering that a 7k Unit can do his job boosting just as well, but also provide extra utility.

However, what if Angel Feather are still a problem? That's not a big deal, you can still leave a couple of him in to deal with those odd 12000 units, but we don't need him at 4. To that end, Let's take 2 Tough Boy out and replace them with a pair of Clay Doll Mechanics. Not only do they provide a 7000 boost, but they also unflip a damage when called, which synergizes nicely with our Kiraras and Brutal Jacks. Plus, the 7000 power still allows our King of Swords to hit those odd Angel Feather units if reqired. All we really did was increase the number of tricks our deck can do while doing nothing to the consistency of our grades or columns. We can throw any unit behind our 11k Grade 3 units to hit opposing vanguards, and we have good synergy between our grade 2s and Grade 1s combining to hit that 16000 magic number.

Do note, however, that once BT05 hits stateside in February, 13000 is gonna be the standard for defense, which makes 18000 a good magic number to hit. This will (theoretically) make your Vanilla Grade 2 and Grade 1 units more important, as a Column of those 2 hits 18000 perfectly.

Grade 3s: Why Gigantech Destroyer kicks Manawydan's Ass

This, of course, brings us to the next question. The major difference between units that gain 2000 power when attacking a Vanguard versus units that gain 2000 when boosted. For starters, let's take a look at the rarities of the cards before we even look at the gameplay aspect. Units that gain 2000 when they attack a Vanguard are R, while those that gain it when boosted are C. For having such similar skills, there sure is a discrepancy in rarity across the board. I wonder why that could be?

Consider the following: You will not always have a booster to spare when you call these units to the field. Thus, in those situations, units that boost themselves without a booster will be useful in hitting those pesky 11000 Vanguards, even if it only amounts to a single card (5000 shield) loss for your opponent. In the long run, it's still one more card than they would have lost had you called the unit that requires a booster. Furthermore, calling these self-boosting units allows you to keep more cards in your hand to use to guard your own units, rather than using up another card to allow the Grade 3 you just called to deal some damage.

Additionally, in the long run, it won't matter too much as most of those units' attacks would be directed to the Vanguard, anyway, and an 11000 power rearguard isn't all that common. Usually, players will hold onto extra copies of their "main" 11k Vanguards (do note I said "usually," not "always.") to use as food for Perfect Guards and cycling skills such as Lien and Aermo's.

In short, units that gain the 2000 without need for a booster tend to have more overall value in the early and mid game when it counts, and maintain similar value going into late game. Ergo, it is usually in your best interest to run cards like Gigantech Destroyer over cards like Manawydan.

The Important Numbers, Broken Down by Clan

Even after you build your deck, the way you set up your columns doesn't need to be static. By and large, the boosters you drop will stay on the back rear-guard circles unless you get rid of them yourself (unless you're playing against decks that love retiring units, but that's neither here nor there), so it's important to plan how you want your columns to look from the moment you see your opponent's starting Vanguard. Listed below are every damn clan in the game with the Magic Numbers you need to plan to hit against them. The general rule is to take the base power of the Vanguard, then use increments of 5000 for the numbers. (For example, a 10000 Power Vanguard needs to use 5000 shield to guard an attack of 10000-14000, 10000 Shield to guard from 15000-19000, etc.)

Royal Paladin:

Stardust Trumpeter: 
            A Trumpeter in the Starting Position usually means that the deck is going to be an Alfred Toolbox, meaning that every Grade 3 he'll be running. (Alfred, Palomedes, Soul Saver, Holy Disaster Dragon, etc.) Is 10000 base power. Shoot for 20000 columns if possible.

Drangal:
            Drangal is the start of the oft-overlooked Galahad Ride Chain, one of the only Royal Paladins with 11000 base Power. Against him, you'll need to set up 16000 or 21000 columns. But, really, once set 5 comes out, you won't be seeing much of him anyway.

Bluegal: 
            Bluegal is the biggest indication of a Fang of Light, Garmore deck. Garmore tends to run himself and Palomedes, both of whom are 10k. Prepare columns as you would against Alfred Toolbox.

Wingal Brave: 
            As of set 5, you'll be seeing this little guy a lot. He can mean the deck is either an Alfred Toolbox or a Majesty Lord Blaster deck. MLB clocks in at 12000 base power, so start prepping those 17k columns as soon as you see any Blaster Darks, Star Call Trumpeters, or Majesty Lords.

Oracle Think Tank:

Lozenge Magus: 
            A Lozenge Magus on the starting circle means one of two things: Mocha Beat and Pre-BT07 Soulless. Either way, expect to see a 10000 power unit on the Vanguard Circle. Also bear in mind that some OTT players like running as many as 8 Draw triggers, so try and capitalize on their lack of 10000 power shields.

Godhawk, Ichibiyoshi: 
            This is the only time you should worry about an 11000 power Think Tank Vanguard. A Godhawk at the start of the game means your opponent is running a Tsukuyomi deck. Tsuk has the potential to hit 11000, and you should plan on it happening even if they don't hit the full ride chain. It'll only take a single lucky red-eye soulcharge or the fixing ability of Tsukuyomi's own skill to pump her up from 9 to 11k and completely ruin your field. Always assume she will be at 11000.

Little Witch, Lulu: 
            After BT07, this will be THE starting Vanguard of choice for the soulless build. Just like Lozenge Magus, this should be an indicator that the max the Vanguard will be at is 10000. Bear in mind that Soulless Think Tank loves running as many crits as they can, so bear in mind that they'll have a lot of 10k shields at their disposal.

Battle Sister, Elcair: 
            Indicates the same thing as Lozenge Magus. 10000 Vangaurds.

Shadow Paladin:

Fullbau:
            Probably the only SV for Shadow Paladins you will ever see, considering the other one is the Vanilla Zapbau. When set 4 is out, the highest power units you need to worry about playing against Shadow Paladins are Origin Mage, Ildona and Phantom Blaster Dragon, both of whom only have 10000 power. However, once set 5 is out, most Shadow Paladin players will probably switch to Phantom Blaster Overlord, who is an 11000 at best and a 13000 in the worst case. Hold on to your 8k boosters, mate. You'll need em.

Zapbau:
            Same as Fullbau, but don't expect to see this guy as much because Fullbau's potential advantage is better than a Vanilla anyday.

Angel Feather:

Thermometer Angel, Sunny Smile Angel, and Hope Child, Turiel: 
            Any of these 3 starters will mean you will probably end up facing down Circular Saw, Kiriel or Chief Nurse, Shamshiel at some point during the fight. Both of these lovely ladies are 10000 power, so plan accordingly. (Important to note: Both Shamshiel and The Phoenix, Calamity Flame will become 12000 power as soon as a card is placed in the damage zone through any means, including guarding with Battle Cupid, Nociel. Make SURE to keep this in mind if you are going against either of those two cards,)

Miracle Feather Nurse:
            The first link in Angel Feather's ride chain is a dead giveaway that you'll be seeing Cosmo Healer, Ergodiel at some point down the line. Ergodiel has the potential to be 11000, so long as her grade 2 link is in the soul. Don't take a chance and shoot for 16k columns asap.

Gold Paladin:

Crimson Lion Cub, Kyrph and Spring Breeze Messenger: 
            Kryph and Spring Breeze Messenger usually signal that they are playing Garmore/Pellinore/Ezel. All of these vanguards are 10k, so 15k-20k columns are your target numbers.
Black Dragon Whelp, Vortimer:
            This guy signals yet another one of those annoying 11k ride chains. Plan to set up 16k-21k columns in the early game. This can change back to 15k-20k columns if they miss their grade 2 Vortimer, since SDD will lose the +1000 power and GP has no way to soul fix themselves.

Kagero:

Lizard Soldier, Conroe: 

            This guy can be the herald for either Lawkeeper or Dragonic Overlord the End. If this is any time after set 5 is out, assume DOTE is coming and prepare 18k lines, otherwise, plan for Lawkeeper, who is only a measly 10000 power unit.

Amber Dragon "Dawn": 

            If you see this guy, it means that your opponent will probably be running Amber Dragon "Eclipse" as their main Grade 3. Like many ride chain units, he has the potential to be 11000, so be sure to plan your lines accordingly.

Lizard Runner, Undeux: 

            While I wouldn't normally go out of my way to mention the Vanilla, Undeux is a near-perfect way of telling if your opponent is playing a Kagero trial deck. In this case, they will probably ride Dragonic Overlord as their main vanguard, so prep your lines for 11k.

Tachikaze:

Dragon Egg: 

            The main units you'll be seeing when Dragon Egg is the starting Vanguard; Tyrant Deathrex, Ravenous Dragon Gigarex, and Chaos Dragon Dinochaos, are all 10000 power. You could also see people running Destruction Dragon, Dark Rex after BT08 is out, but he's only 10k as well.

Military Dragon, Raptor Soldier: 

            This guy indicates that Military Dragon, Raptor Colonel is coming, and that guy can hit 11000 easy. However, unlike Tsukuyomi, Raptor colonel has no way of getting his Grade 2 into the soul in case of a missed ride, so feel free to make columns to hit 10k if they don't get Raptor Captain on that VG circle.

Baby Ptera: 

            While this unit indicates nothing about the Grade 3s that Dragon Egg does not, it should also be a signal that your opponent probably doesn't know the optimal way to run Tachikaze. Teach them that Dragon Egg is the best Generic Vanguard by pounding their 10000 power units in.

Murakumo:

Stealth Beast, Evil Ferret: 

            Currently the only First Vanguard available to Murakumo, seeing this guy tells you jackall about what Grade 3 your opponent favors. Assume they're running Mandala Lord/ZANBAKU like any good Murakumo player would and line up those 11k columns.

Narukami:

Spark Kid Dragoon and Lizard Soldier, Saishin: 

            Both of these guys are decent choices for a Narukami build, so expect to see Dragonic Kaiser, Vermillion when either of these guys show their ugly mugs on that Vangaurd Circle. Make 11k columns and never look back.

Seal Priest, Koukou: 

            This guy means that your opponent is probably running the new BT08 Narukami, as that's the only deck where his skill would be even REMOTELY useful. Expect to see Divine Seal Dragon, Dungaree on that Vanguard circle. Plan for 11k, just like with any other Narukami build.

Nubatama:

Stealth Beast, Hagakure: 

            If your opponent leads with this, they are an idiot. The second you see a Nubatama unit, plan for whatever Vanguard you are likely to see based on the clan they hybridize with (Usually an 11k line). Voidmaster himself is only 9k defensively, so you can steamroll him without much thought.

Nova Grappler:

Battleraizer: 

            After EB04 comes out, this'll be the vanguard of choice for the Perfect Raizer deck. Like many Nova Grappler units, he's got a 11000 defensive power. But, bear in mind that he'll only be 9000 if his user controls no other Raizer units.

Turboraizer: 

            Honestly, I don't know why anyone would lead with Turboraizer, but he's an option. Just plan for 11k like you would with most Grappler decks.

Beast Deity, White Tiger: 

            This means your opponent probable has a Kaiser/Azure dragon build. Both of them are 11k, and both work well on the Vanguard circle.

Blaujunger: 

            The first link in the Stern Blaukruger line who can have a power of...you guessed it, 11000! Nova Grapplers have fantastic defenses, so it's always best to just line up 11k against them no matter what.

Dimension Police:

Enigman Flow: 

            Flow, Ripple, Wave, Storm. A Ride chain that adds up to a potential 11000 power. Line up those 16k columns and hit them until they break.

Dimensional Robo, Goyusha: 

            You'll be seeing this guy a lot after BT08 comes out. He provides the fuel needed for the Great Daiyusha deck to run the way it needs to. Great Daiyusha is like Dragonic Overlord the End in that he can be either 11k or 13k. Still, prepare for a 13k power defense, especially because they can always just use Goyusha to shove a Super Daiyusha into the soul to make up for any missed rides.

Soldier of Destiny, Dai: 

            This guy tells you that your opponent probably isn't running Zeal, Great Daiyusha, or Enigman Storm. Any unit not named Zeal, Storm, or Great Daiyusha has 10000 power or less. Aim for that number.

Larva Beast, Zeal: 

            Like Enigman Storm, Zeal gains 1000 power if his previous grade is in the soul, putting him at 11000. If you see a Zeal on the VC, plan to hit dem 11k columns.

Dark Irregulars:

Devil in Shadow, Greedy Hand, and Vermillion Gatekeeper: 

            Unlike most clans, the starting Vanguard for a Dark Irregulars deck is based on preference. Aim for 11k due to Dark Lord of the Abyss existing.

Pale Moon:

Hades Ringmaster, Innocent Magician, and Girl Who Crossed the Gap: 

            Like Dark Irregulars, Pale Moon don't need a specific starting Vanguard for any of their main Grade 3's. For the most part, you want to set up basic 15-20k lines against a Pale Moon player, though take note if they start soulcharging a crapton of cards. That's a big indicator that the 11k Mistress Hurricane will be making an appearance.

Spike Brothers:

Mecha Trainer and Smart Leader, Dark Bringer: 

            Dark Zone clans seem to have some kind of theme going on here, huh? Both of the main Spike Brothers units (Seifried and Dudley Emperor) are both 10000 power, and they will want to ride those at some point during the game. Bear in mind, some Spike Brothers players (myself included) will ride 11k Grade 3's like Juggernaut Maximum or Sky Diver to take advantage of their 11k power while they bide their time for a big push. Play it safe and set up 16/21k columns if you can.

Megacolony:

Madame Mirage and Megacolony Battler C:

          These guys can indicate any number of Megacolony Grade 3's. Usually, though, if people play Megacolony, they'll probably have a Martial Arts Mutant, Master Beetle (I assume), who is an 11000 Vanguard. Madame Mirage gets a mention here because she's my Starting Vanguard of choice for my Megacolony deck.

Machining Worker Ant:  

            This guy tells you that Machining Stag Beetle is coming, and that guy's only got 10000 power. Line up those 15k columns and take some swings, kid.

Larva Phantom, Giraffa:

            Hey, look, a ride chain! You know what that means! He's got the potential to be 11000! You know the drill by now, I'm sure.

Neo Nectar:

Shield Seed Squire:

            Shield Seed Squire tells you jack shit about their main vanguard, since it offers support to the Gene Series, which function better as support units. More than likely, though, they'll be using Maiden of Trailing Rose, who has 11000 base power.

Arboros Dragon, Ratoon:

            As with most chains, there's the potential for 11000 here.

Turnip Musketeer, Kira:

            Kira can be used as the Starter for a Trailing Rose deck, as well. However, if you see an abundance of other Musketeer units, you can safely assume the main Vanguard will be White Lily Musketeer, Cecelia, who only has 10000 power.

Great Nature:

Acorn Master, Blackboard Ohm, and Flask Marmoset:

            Great Nature has one 11000 power unit, and it won't use any of these guys as a starter. Shoot for 10000.

Schoolyard Prodigy, Locks:

            Ride Chain. 11000. Can we tell that I'm running out of creative ways to say the same shit over and over again?

Granblue:

Guiding Zombie, Captain Night Kid, and Skeleton Assault Troops Captain:

            Like the Dark Zone clans, Granblue can run any starter for any G3, despite Night Kid being the obvious choice for the starter. Most players will run the 10000 power Cocytus, but if you see Deadly Nightmare or Deadly Spirit, brace yourself to face down a potential deadly Swordmaster, who boasts a base 11000.

Bermuda Triangle:

Bermuda Triangle Cadet, Wedell and Bermuda Triangle Cadet, Shizuka:

            You'll be seeing Wedell most often, but both of these units can be used for Pacifica, Raindear, or Lena builds. All 3 of those units have 10000 power.

Bermuda Triangle Cadet, Riviere:

            Say it with me now!

RIDE CHAIN!

11000!

            Thank you and good night.

Aqua Force:

Officer Cadet, Erik and Aqua Breath Dracokid:

            Either of these two can mean any Aqua Force G3 is coming. Blue Storm Dragon, Maelstrom is a big threat, obviously, so aim to hit 11k with your columns.

In closing:

Knowing your magic numbers and which ones you can easily hit are a cornerstone of playing Vanguard effectively and should always be something you should consider during every stage of the game.

If there was anything you didn't get or want clarification on, feel free to post in the comments below or contact myself or Wallace on reddit. (MoaiTheGreat and DaRootBear, respectively.)

As always, this is Stephen Stills of Team Sex Bob-Omb wishing you happy fighting and hoping that the odds will be ever in your favor!

Straw Hat's Deck Profile

Since some were asking, here is my deck.

Having the Tom of Your Life

The deck

Grade 0: 17

Godhawk ichibiyoshi-1

Lozenge magus-4

Psychic bird-4

Oracle guardian nike-4

Victory maker-2

Dream eater-1

Miracle kid-1

Grade 1: 15

Battle Sister Chocolat-4

Crescent moon -4

Battle Sister cocoa-3

Circle magus-2

oracle Guardian gemini-2

grade 2: 12

Half moon-4

Silent Tom-3

Red eye-3

Battle Sister Mocha-2

Grade 3:6
Full moon-4

CEO-2

Now, one thing that jumps out , as my friend Stills says, is my screwed up ratios.

Which, even for me is a bit odd. 

Now, I am a huge advocate of the idea "If you need it max it to make the highest chance of getting it" except Vanguard is interesting in that it thins you down to make your chances of getting cards substantially easier. Even more so with a deck like mine. I found through testing I could get away with 2-ofs and 3-ofs and have it work much more consistently than 4-ofs. It was a weird thing that I found. 

The first big change for this was my Grade 3, between it all I found I would hit my grade 3 consistently with 6, even if I got stuck on a 9k Full Moon.

I also increased the grade 1 line up because consistently that was my most important ride, if I got grade one I could set up the next grades easy, I could set up most anything.

The Mind Games

The reason is because I base this deck off of a few major ideas, revolving around mind games:
-Provide consistency through utility

-Lie with your playstyle

-Put your opponent on the tilt through previously mentioned utility

-Let your words ring true, but your actions speak differently

-Let your appearance win games alone

Now, I will admit, this all sounds kinda like a crazy guy trying too hard to be deep, but I will try to explain best I can, since according to Stills I play completely opposite of how I should.

The first thing that I think set me up for an advantage is that I set myself to seem a lot more serious than I should have, I was really nicely dressed, I had a button up shirt, I had dress pants, and then Straw hat, a Core drill, and a necklace with a D20, I packed light, but I looked in control, prepared, and confident, I appeared completely and utterly confident, and that is a powerful thing. 

Now my first point is easy to understand, Cocoa for example provided me with amazing details and options, Circle let me know how to play with the knowledge of the top card, and Gemini provided a boost for Tom, and Chocolat is the key ass saver (and best art ever, just saying). 

Now the next three all go hand in hand. Mind games is what the deck is truly all about, deception and perfection are wonderful traits.To play this deck you have to create illusions, you have to firmly lie to yourself and your opponent through what you play. You must make them think one card is the key monster, your boss unit, then drop out a unit that should be a support as a boss.

For example, Silent Tom (Which, if my deck name doesn't make it obvious, is my favorite unit) is one of the most devastating units in the deck (and arguably the game) , yet over half the time his best use is bait and confusion. Through my plays I make it so that my opponent fears Tom as a game ender, I establish firmly that he will destroy them, I make them focus and fear Tom completely and lead them to go after him, and when they do, when they waste time on him, I let him die happily , and drop out anything else to take his place. Sometimes I will play Tom, making the focus be on him, every trigger going towards him, yet the Red Eye on my field is actually the game changer of my side, the one setting up every condition, setting up my victory, the simple little utility creature is actually the most fearful card on my field, yet it never seems that way until the game finishes from it. 

The deck plays a long mind game, this strategy can instantly put an opponent on the tilt, your opponent will doubt themselves the instant the unit you let the unit you made seem so important die so easily, and it starts to force your opponent to doubt what they are doing, they begin to think differently, you force them to abruptly change. Then after you convince them of the changed tempo you abruptly reestablish the old order, and make it so that the original order comes back.

Stills described it rather well after a night of playtesting, " If he calls Tom, dont kill it because it is probably bait. But then when you think it is bait, you need to kill it because it is really his Game ender, except at that point it is secretly bait" 

Every single part of every play is careful subterfuge, you have to convince your opponent one thing, while doing another. All while you read your opponent and learn how they act, you have to control the games tempo, and more than that, dictate it in a way that throws off the opponent. The most efficient way to do this is by radically altering your game play. 

For example, my natural state is playing the long game, I will drop cards intermittently, but usually conserve resources, make small pushes, but overall just take small shots while racking up advantage. I make that the set tempo, I establish it as a fact to my opponent that I am defensive and will make small exchanges. I focus on the vanguard exclusively. Then out of nowhere I will go and change to full columns and wild attacks, take out rearguard, go incredibly offensive, establish an urgency in my opponent, and suddenly switch back to my original style. I force my opponent to reevaluate everything I do consistently, keeping it so there is almost no way to read me.

Even when I check top card with Cocoa or CEO, I make it more than it is. I set it up so I convince them it is a trigger, I let it be known there is one so they change their guarding for it. Then sometimes I leave a card that is not one on top to mess with them. The effect on how someone plays when they over or underguard because of a trigger and you reveal Chocolat or Tom is overwhelmingly powerful. To that end I also use Circle Magus, not only to let me know if I should attack with Full Moon or use her skill, but to convince my opponent of the top card. A well place sigh, or smile, or anything of the sort with a look at the top can completely change how your opponent acts.

If any of you play poker, a common thing is a "tell" which lets people know if you have a good hand or bad, I use the idea of it to establish tells, and then I let my "tell" happen when it is a lie, so my opponent thinks they have caught me off guard, and find the tables suddenly turned.

The MVPs

Now, the deck itself plays rather straight forward (well, as much as any Full Moon build can) , however there are three units that shined above all else.

Battle Sister Cocoa is the card, that as hard as it is to say, won me the most games. She did too much, and was probably consistently the biggest game changer. Early game cocoa rides (if I missed Crescent moon) allowed me to set up draw triggers for Damage checks, or on my turn they helped me set up turn 1/2 Criticals multiple times. They let me know exactly what units to place and when to max out their efficiency, based on drive checks I would get. they let me know whether I should play more defense, or go offensive. Multiple late game cocoas let me sift through those last 5-8 cards to make it so I could hit the 1-3 triggers I usually had left, or to force my way down to the stacks double trigger. Every time I scryed a card with her and left it on top my opponent instantly would play different, and that change would always put the game in  my favor. The 6k of cocoa hurt bad, but aside from Tom, every other unit she would normally back would hit at least 15k with her. And in the end she made the perfect vanguard booster. 

Silent Tom was the second best, and obviously my favorite. Honestly, I would argue Tom is a perfect card design and the best card in the game. This card has the power of its name going for it, it is widely known, widely feared. Which this deck plays right off of, it changes the game even if it is not game changing. People, even good players, start to target it instantly even if they dont need to. This card is perfect, its effect can either end the game (I cant count the amount of games in my life I have held a tom, dropped it as a final turn card, and won from it) , it forces your opponent to use G0 on the vanguard, and perfect guards on your rear guard. Your opponent has to play to get rid of him, but it can be just as bad to play against Tom, he is terrifying beyond all measure. He is also the most difficult to play. This guy is so good he makes me break one of my own rules (Dont put a card in deck specifically because of another) and put gemini in just to let Tom hit 16. He is especially good against decks that blow up rear guards with effects, because they always target Tom instead of boosters, I could go on and on about why Tom is so amazing, in every way he fits the decks playstyle, artistically he is amazing and fits the themes, he looks brilliant, and he is built in such a way to balance him out, yet still be great.  If I chose an Avatar, it is definitely him, and he is by far my favorite unit and deserved to have the deck named after him. 

Battle Sister Mocha, this one surprised me how much effect she had. Going to the hotel I knew I was lacking in single unit column power, but I couldnt figure out what to use, wiseman never cut it, and 3 seemed the best for both Tom and Red eye. Mocha ended up perfect, she hit those pesky 11k vanguards solo, she could handle most rear guard with ease, and most importantly she had the wonderful side effect of instilling fear in my opponents that I did not expect. She made them act like I drop Tom, and would almost always attack her, even if it was a situation that they would leave a 10k vanilla around, they viciously attacked mocha, and would not stop. She put people on a tilt and made them change how they play, and it worked wonderfully.  Despite the fact that she did nothing special, and she has no stories of game winning like Tom, she ended up just adding a perfect amount of pressure, giving me some extra confidence, and putting in for the right amount of mind games to solidly turn the tides of many games, and help me out all day.

Closing notes

Now, I know I didnt exactly go into too much depth, but the card choices itself are pretty obvious, it is more how I played them that truly affected the game. Due to the raw draw adn cycling power of the deck I was able to forgo maxxing out cards and still consistently have them. I rarely suffered any consistency issues, only messed up my ride 2 or 3 times, and fixed it withing turns (Check out the Tournament report for details) , I think I missed only a single ride, and over all I had maybe two times I had to play desperate and make bad, weak, non-magic columns.

The deck is really hard to play, you have to keep track of everything, but it is really damn fun, and I am glad I played it through the tournament.

For now, that is all I have, and since I know I left a lot out, if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Straw Hat, signing off!