As usual, I went to locals and such. Today, the usual card shop was having the Extra Booster 1 Sneak Preview, which exactly five people showed up for. None of them were good players, so my friend who plays Vanguard and I could've easily gone in there and won, assuming we could make decent decks with the horrible grade ratios provided by EB01. But, we decided that our money was better spent on other things.
I spent my money on two Kaijudo boxes of DragonStrike Infernus, which Aki and I are splitting. We got some pretty good boxes, so that was good. Including the random holo card that is included in each sealed box, we got three Super Rares and six Very Rares from each box. For the six Supers, we got two Infernus the Awakened, two Andromeda of the Citadel, one Issyl of the Frozen Wastes, and one Kurragar of the Hordes. For the Verys, we got two each of Ragefire Tatsurion; Sok'ran the Untamed; Dreadclaw, Dark Herald; and Lyra, the Blazing Sun as well as four Kindrix the Psionic. I was happy to get the Andromedas and Lyras, since I'm going to be playing Light for sure. I think Aki is going to be running a Fire/Water/Nature Dragon deck, so the two Infernus would probably help a lot. We also got three Herald of Infernus from the two boxes, so those will probably be going into Aki's deck.
I'm unsure of exactly how I want to build my Kaijudo deck, since I'm definitely going to be using Light. I was initially planning on using Enforcers, but that was before I got access to two Andromedas and two Lyras. I may play my own Dragon-based deck, since we got plenty of Fire Birds from every Civilization. I'm just not sure about which other Civilizations I would want to use for my deck. Every one of them is good, though the Darkness Dragons kind of suck, but Darkness is just good in general. I kind of want to use Fire because they have all of the Fast Attackers and good early game removal like Heat Seekers, but they have no late game removal at all. I feel like I have to use either Nature or Darkness because those are the only decks with hard removal, but then the question would be what other Civilization to use. If I use Darkness, I'd have to use Water so that I could gain card advantage with the draw cards. If I use Nature, then I could use Nature cards to generate advantage (well, they would generate mana, but that just means I have to put less cards down into the mana zone from my hand), so then I could use Fire. It's a really difficult decision. Well, I have a few days to figure it out, so yeah.
Anyways, my friend spent his money finishing his Pale Moon and Dimension Police decks. So, we played a few games with me using his horrible Pale Moon deck and him using his Dimension Police deck. The Pale Moon deck is horrible because it focuses on Mistress Hurricane. Mistress Hurricane is not a bad card, but running four of them is ridiculously redundant. Half the time, there's nothing worth calling out from the soul...
After that, we played a few games with my using my Megacolony deck against his finished Tsukuyomi Oracle Think Tank deck. I was able to mooch some Shelter Beetles off of one of the people who did the draft, so I added them to my deck and won most of the games against my friend's Tsukuyomi deck. I mean, if you read the flavor text on the cards, you'd notice that Elite Mutant, Giraffa's flavor text says: "Even the Moon is nothing but a target for the Megacolony." Yes, this is why I always beat Tsukuyomi decks when I use my Megacolony deck. Oh, and it's not hard to play against Tsukuyomi because they can't really apply early game pressure, meaning that you can just hold all of your cards until they reach their stack and deck them out, or you could just rush them when they can't do anything about it.
I even tried out my friend's Tsukuyomi deck and realized that it's not nearly as good as I thought it would be. I could stack the bottom of the deck, as expected, but a lot of things have to go right for you to make it there and win because of it. Being stuck with Amaterasu as your Vanguard could ruin your stack and deck you out, and there's no guarantee that your stack will be any good once you get to it. I was able to make some ridiculous stacks, but it's often not enough. I mean, Misaki was able to stack amazingly in the anime, but what people don't realize is that she was ridiculously lucky to be able to get to her stack the way she did. The deck is good, but it's not as good as I had hoped.
But yeah, the only tournament today was the evening Vanguard tournament. There were 13 players there today, and most of them were incompetent players, as usual. I was playing my Dark Irregulars, while my friend was playing his Tsukuyomi deck.
Round 1: vs Oracle Think Tank (Tsukuyomi)
What are the chances that someone other than my friend would be playing Tsukuyomi today? Well, about zero, so I was paired up against my friend. So, after contemplating the conspiracies that occurred to have us paired against each other, we decided to just play for it. In the first game, he had to ride Silent Tom as his Grade 2, so I won pretty easily. In the second game, I just rushed him so I could prevent him from making it to the stack, so I won pretty easily, again. It's not hard to beat a Tsukuyomi deck if you know how they work.
OO
Round 2: vs Kagero (The End)
This was my Round 1 opponent from this evening Vanguard tournament. He was still as incompetent and lucky as ever. He made several misplays throughout the match, but kept getting triggers to mitigate the impact of his misplays. In the first game, I had him at four damage to my zero damage because he didn't attack my Vanguard for some reason. I put my Devil in Shadow out in front, and he felt compelled to attack it with his Grade 2 Vanguard boosted by Conroe to ensure that it would die. Alright then... But then he pulled three Heal Triggers in a row so that he ended up being at three damage, and I lost because of it. After that, I was frustrated enough that I started pointing out his bad plays, and his excuse for them was that he was tired. Anyways, my deck must have felt my frustration, since I started Crit-sacking him to no end after that to win the following two games. I didn't even get to Death Brace him.
XOO
Round 3: vs Kagero
I was playing against an incompetent player with a random Kagero deck based around Blazing Flare Dragon, I think... Anyways, he had a 10k Vanguard, so 20k columns win easily.
OO
With that, they cut to Top 4. My friend lost in the third round to a The End Kagero deck (not the one I played against in Round 2), so he didn't make it. I made it, having gone undefeated in the Swiss rounds. Since there were so few people, there were only prizes for the Top 2, so we had to play out the Top 4.
Top 4: vs Gold Paladin (Spectral Duke)
This was my Round 2 opponent from last weekend's Vanguard tournament. He missed his ride chain in the first game, riding Gareth, then Beaumains, then Garmore. So, I just made 20k columns across the board to win. I didn't even need to Death Brace him. In the second game, he got his ride chain and I didn't have any boosters, so I couldn't even hit his Spectral Duke Dragon half the time. In the third game, he missed his ride chain again (as it should be) and I was able to make 20k columns across the board again to put a bunch of pressure on him. He made a desperate last attack with Spectral Duke Dragon's Limit Break. I used a perfect guard and he got a Critical Trigger, so I just used another perfect guard on his final attack. I then proceeded to Death Brace him and pull a Critical Trigger to deal 3 damage while he was at 5 damage to win.
OXO
My opponent in the finals was my opponent from the finals of this evening Vanguard tournament. He also went undefeated in Swiss and won his Top 4 match (obviously), so both of us were undefeated for the whole tournament. We decided to just split the prizes and get seven packs each. I got Set 5 and pulled a Masquerade, so that's alright, I guess.
So my friend was very disappointed in his Tsukuyomi deck, even though he just got pretty unlucky today. He's going to give it another chance next weekend, but we'll see how that goes. He said that he now wants to make Shadow Paladins, since he likes the deck. So, he'll most likely buy Aki's Shadow Paladin deck. We still need to discuss the exact build he's going to use, so yeah.
That's about it. Just two more weeks until the first official Kaijudo tournament in April. Aki and I will be going to that, despite the fact that it's on a Sunday, which is still horrible. Depending on how it works out, we may go to additional Kaijudo tournaments. Hopefully, I'll be able to convince the shopkeeper to move the tournaments to Saturday, but I don't really have high hopes for that. We'll see, I guess. Next weekend, however, will just be the usual Vanguard tournaments.
Edison Deep Dive: Gladiator Beast
6 months ago
Weird. If moon goddess deck isn't as good as you think, how did it ever top in japan anyway?
ReplyDeleteA deck can do well at tournaments for several reasons. The sheer number of people playing that deck could push it to the top, even if the deck is terrible, especially in a luck-based game like Vanguard. Like, if everyone were to play Murakumo at my locals, then the deck would undoubtedly win despite how bad it is right now.
DeleteAnd I never said that Tsukuyomi was bad. I just said that it's not as good as I thought it would be. It's still a relatively good deck.
Thank god I didn't waste my money on that. You have no idea how fucking expensive those moon goddess cards are!
DeleteYeah, a Tsukuyomi OTT deck costs more than it's worth, but it's still a good deck.
DeleteWow, damn. Is it just me or hass Kaijudo been printing tons of power cards in only a few sets. I really wonder how the Kaijudo community will hold up in your locals
ReplyDeleteWell, it's much better than at the start of Duel Masters where most of the cards in each set were unplayable garbage. I mean, we still get stuff like Luminar and Vorg that don't really do anything for any deck, but it's nice that a higher percentage of the cards in each set are good cards.
DeleteWell, most of those cards cost too much to mitigate their effects, costing 8-9 mana, which by that time you are already down to 0-2 shields
DeleteSo why did duel master dies in US anyway? It's still going on at japan.
Delete@Arc
DeleteWell, some of the cards are still worth playing even if they're Level 8-9. And you're not always down to just a couple shields by that point in the game. It depends on what you're playing and what you're playing against.
@Anonymous
Duel Masters was not very well marketed in the United States, which was a large part of why it failed here. There's also Bombazar, which pretty much ruined the game. It was like Tier 0 TeleDAD in Yu-Gi-Oh, in a way.
I never play duel master so I don't know. Is bombazar the tcg exclusive card? So now duel master in ocg is full of broken cards? Is there banlist at all? If bombazar is broken, why didn't US implement banlist?
DeleteBombazar was not a TCG-exclusive card. It was banned in the United States, as far as I know, but the main problem with the game was that it wasn't marketed well. Bombazar just turned a lot of players away from the game.
DeleteThe OCG has a ban list, but I don't really keep up with Duel Masters anymore, so I don't really know much about the current state of the game.
Chill, dude. Why are you getting angry over the children card game? Sure, that kagero player maybe the noob, but there is no reason to vent your frustration onto him while pointing out his mistake.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever wonder maybe noone told him about the basic fundamental thing about vanguard?
I wasn't frustrated that he was misplaying so badly, I was frustrated because he was winning despite misplaying so badly.
DeleteLast time I saw him, he had a full Pellinore Gold Paladin deck, and now he has a full The End Kagero deck. If he is willing to spend hundreds of dollars on a children's card game, I'd expect that he'd at least know how to play.
And his misplays weren't making bad columns or anything that basic; he was killing my rear-guards when there was no reason to (like when I put Devil in Shadow in the front) or keeping multiple copies of The End in his hand despite only having enough Counter Blasts for one Persona Blast. That last thing ended up losing him the game, since he threw out cards with shield values using his perfect guards instead of discarding extra The Ends.
Honestly, if it weren't for that triple Heal Trigger that gave him the game that I was clearly going to win, then I wouldn't have been frustrated at all.
LOL, this remind me of the time when I call Lizard Soldier, Saishin to front row rear, using my vanguard to attack, hoping to drive check the trigger to power up Saishin and attack again.
DeleteDuring his turn, he actually attack my Saishin, and I was liked...OOOK. LOL.
I am rather surprised you actually beat the 13k crossride The End with 10k Death Anchor(11k if 8 souls).
ReplyDeleteDark Irregulars have both Amon and Doreen, which act as 9k boosters and make it really easy to make 18k columns. Crossrides really aren't much of a problem.
DeleteIs it a curse that everytime spectral duke player get the chain ride successfully, you auto lose but win when they miss the chain ride? LOL!!
ReplyDeleteWell, the Vortimer ride chain gives them a relative advantage of two cards. Basically, it's like they get a free rear-guard column from the start of the game, which is pretty powerful.
DeleteIt's just a +1. They have to retire 1 rearguard to call 2 from top deck. Even so, it's random luck. If they call 2 grade 0, they are out of luck, LOL!
DeleteYes, it's a +1, but they get it twice. So, overall, it's a +2. And I say that they gain relative card advantage because riding is a minus, but both players have to ride up to Grade 3, so they're just canceling their ride minus while you're still stuck with yours. So overall, they're gaining a +2 over you when they get their ride chain.
DeleteIf they call two Grade 0's, that's still a whole column that could attack you early in the game that they only had to commit one card into making. Then, they could just kill one of those Grade 0's and get something better when they ride Spectral Duke Dragon.
Even if they call garbage, they still get free cards, which matters. Unless you're playing a crossride, then they're free to put a trigger behind their Vanguard, which would be enough to force 10k minimum guard. If didn't get that free card, then they would've had to commit a card from their hand, and every card counts.
Actually it's still +0. It is a mere illusion into tricking you into thinking it's a +2.
DeleteImagine you have 2 cards on the field(1 vanguard and 1 rearguard) and 4 cards in hand. That's a total of 6 cards.
You ride grade 2 vortimer, now you have 3 cards in hand. Riding is -1 so still 2 cards on field. Retire 1 rearguard to call 2. Now you have 3 cards on field. Still a total of 6 cards. So it's +0, no difference :p
Here's a quote from the previous comment:
Delete"I say that they gain relative card advantage because riding is a minus, but both players have to ride up to Grade 3, so they're just canceling their ride minus while you're still stuck with yours. So overall, they're gaining a +2 over you when they get their ride chain."
Yes, riding is a minus, but they cancel their ride minus when they get the ride chain. Unless your deck has a similar feature, which most decks don't, then you're taking a minus when you ride. So, relative to you, they have a +2 when they get the ride chain.
If that's still not clear, consider what happens when they don't get their ride chain. They'll minus when they ride just like most decks do, meaning that they'll be on par with other decks. However, getting the ride chain gives them two free cards that they would not have if they had not gotten the ride chain.
What is your opinion on Alice's vanguard analysis blog? Google v mundi.
ReplyDeleteI've read Alice's blog. Some of her posts are helpful, specifically the more advanced, math/statistics-related ones. Others don't seem very helpful, but to be fair, many of those posts are aimed at beginners or intermediate players and just outline the basics, which is why I personally don't find them helpful. They would probably be good for players who are fairly new to Vanguard, though.
DeleteIt's obvious that Alice puts a lot of work into her blog, and I respect that, but I disagree with some of her opinions. I'd rather not get into that, though.
Come on, tell us which part of Alice's blog do you disagree with? If you feel awkward, just simply state which part you disagree without stating why. Just want to know which part you disagree unless you disagree about the crossride part where Alice refuses to do due to simple reason that it's boring to play a crossride deck.
DeleteWell, the main thing is her apparent hatred of crossrides. I understand why she thinks that they break the game, and I agree with her on that. However, her refusal to even discuss crossrides on her blog is what I don't like. Yes, they break the game, but they're still part of the game; she's writing a blog solely about Vanguard, so I think that she should cover the topic.
DeleteI disagree with other small things like some of her clan analyses. I think that she hypes up some cards while ignoring others. She has a right to her opinions, but I just disagree with some of them.
Can you at least tell me which of her clan analysis you disagree on?
DeleteI could, but that would require me to go through all of her clan analysis posts and pick out the parts I don't agree with. That would take far too much time, so I'd rather not.
DeleteOkay then, just tell me which clan is it, that's all.
DeleteThere's more than one. It's just some specific card choices, not entire posts.
DeleteMore than 1? Seriously? Can you elaborate just 1 clan, that's all?
DeleteWhy is it surprising that I disagree with more than one part of Alice's blog?
DeleteIf you really want an example that much, then here's one: Stil Vampir. Alice talks about Stil Vampir as though it is the best Megablast and will almost always end the game. I disagree; it's a good Megablast, but if your opponent still has their starting Vanguard out on the field for you to exploit, then you should be winning already anyways. And the best you're going to do otherwise is make them ride some 6k booster, which just makes them have to guard with an additional 15k at most, not to mention that they still have access to perfect guards.
Agree. If grade 0 isn't on the field, the next lowest will be grade 1 6k. If opponent has to guard 15k against vanguard and rearguard while at 5 damage, he/she is already going to lose, not to mention you can't guard with grade 2 from your hand, sealing your fate :p
DeleteIt's always either the end or spectral duke. Can't people for the love of god use different clan?
ReplyDeleteOf course they can. It's just that those decks are easier to use, so they use them. It's the same with any card game.
DeleteIt's especially so in Vanguard, though, since luck plays such a large factor, so you can basically play any deck and win if you get lucky. You don't even have to play a good deck; you could just play a Trial Deck and win if you get lucky enough.
I know but it's kinda sickening that 99% of players use The End or spectral duke just because it is a winning meta deck. But what they don't know is that the reason they won is because almost everyone play them. It's like yugioh all over again. No depth. Where's neo nectar, nova grappler? Surprise bermuda dies out so soon.
DeleteAlso it's kinda ironic that you mention The End and Spectral Duke are easier to use and yet that The End player you are facing is an idiot.
DeleteTo be fair, Spectral Duke and The End are better decks than Neo Nectar, Nova Grappler, and Bermuda Triangle at the moment. They just also happen to be easy to use.
DeleteAnd just because The End Kagero is an easy deck to use doesn't mean that people know how to play it properly. These are Vanguard players we're talking about (implying that most Vanguard players are bad).
This is completely laughable. Vanguard isn't that hard. In fact they are easier than yugioh. Not to mention that The End is ex gold paladin player and yet he still misplay. Tired? What a shitty lame excuse. If he's tired, why did he join the tournament in first place? Pathetic excuse. Do you know I beat The End with maiden of trailing rose deck? Pathetic. I spend less than 50 just to make one. And you already prove that The End and spectral duke has been beaten by DI, the most underrated clan. When would they ever learn? To think noone uses granblue anymore. How pathetic.
DeleteObviously Vanguard isn't hard; it's the easiest trading card game I've ever seen... And just because that The End player used to play Gold Paladins doesn't mean anything, since Gold Paladins are easy to use, too.
DeleteAny deck can beat any deck just based on luck because it's Vanguard, so that Trailing Rose thing doesn't help your argument. Yes, Dark Irregulars are underrated, but that doesn't make Vanguard any less luck-based. Oh, and Granblue is a pretty bad deck right now, no matter how you make it. It has so much trouble hitting 18k, and its revival gimmicks don't really help the deck much...
Back to the point, Vanguard doesn't really take any skill, so there is no incentive to learn how to play better. It doesn't make those players "pathetic", a word you overused like crazy, by the way. It just makes them ignorant, which in and of itself is not necessarily their fault. There's a difference between being ignorant and being stupid.
Do you have 3ds? If vanguard game coming out in english, would you buy? I wanna play with you.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a 3DS.
DeleteGrunty, you comment about your friend's horrible Mistress Hurricane deck but not his DP deck, so how is it? Is his DP deck well-made? Is it good? What kind of DP build?
ReplyDeleteHis Dimension Police deck uses Enigman Storm and Miracle Beauty as the Grade 3's. Of course, it uses the Enigman ride chain so that Storm will be at 11k most of the time. Miracle Beauty is there for the Stand Triggers, but I don't know the exact trigger line-up.
DeleteWhy didn't your friend uses DP deck for tournament instead? When you don't play tournament, where do you usually hang out to play vanguard with others?
ReplyDeleteDimension Police are pretty bad right now. I wouldn't even consider running Dimension Police instead of Oracle Think Tank...
DeleteBetween tournaments, my friends and I either play at the usual card shop or go to a fast food restaurant. We don't play Vanguard during the week, only on the weekend.
Aren't playing vanguard in fast food restaurant not allowed? Once I play with friends at McDonald, and we got chased out by the staffs.
DeleteNo one has ever told us to leave, so we see no reason not to. It's not like we just go in and play; we actually buy food, so we're paying customers.
DeleteWhy noone uses phantom blaster overlord deck?
ReplyDeleteBecause it's more expensive than it's worth. It's not a bad deck, since Shadow Paladins have some nice cards that no other clans have, but it's not worth the price tag.
Delete