Tuesday, May 7, 2013

News: May Vanguard Championship Results, Eradicators Stay Strong in Face of Restricted List, Celestials Reach Top 16

The results of the most recent Vanguard Championship have come in, opening the month of May with a look at how the new restricted list will affect the format. As a preemptive measure, this VGCS event adopted the May 11 restrictions before they will actually take effect later this week. This time being held in the Hachiouji Civic Center in Hachiouji, Tokyo, the event drew 114 participants. Pairings were put together using the Swiss system, with the opening rounds conducted over the course of 20 minutes; 50 minutes were allotted for a best of 3 format among the top 16 fighters. Unlike in the previous tournament, matches were not recorded on camera.

The VGCS tournaments are a line of unofficial, amateur tournaments organized by fans and card shops and coordinated through the internet. The tournament environment is fiercely competitive, and unlike in Bushiroad's official tournaments, it's customary for participants to compete under pseudonyms and internet handles rather than using their real names.

First place was taken by Tonkatsu ("Pork Cutlet") and his restricted Dragonic Descendant deck, displaying greater break ride synergy and the integration of cards from BT11 to overcome the deck's more limited capabilities. Second went to Gaga's Liberator build, with third and fourth places going to other, almost-identical Descendant decks. Surprisingly, Dragonic Overlord The End did not do as well as predicted within the tournament, only placing within the top 16 and being ousted from the best 8 by CoCo-Cookie Oracle Think Tank decks, and Blockade Inferno was likewise low on the list. Majesty Lord Blaster has continued to maintain a competitive presence, penetrating into the top 16 with decks that use five and three grade 3s respectively. The most interesting development is the presence of a Celestial deck within the top 16, as Angel Feather has never been one of the top competitive clans, so its steady emergence into the height of amateur play may prove promising for how the world of professional cardfighters approaches it in the new format.

Of the clans participating in the tournament, there were 31 Narukami, 19 Kagerou, 15 Royal Paladin, 14 Oracle Think Tank, 7 Gold Paladin, 7 Angel Feather, 6 Genesis, 5 Tachikaze, 5 Aqua Force, 1 Bermuda Triangle, 1 Pale Moon, 1 Spike Brothers, 1 Neo Nectar, and 1 Shadow Paladin decks. First place received a Nintendo 3DS LL along with a copy of Cardfight!! Vanguard Ride to Victory. Second place won a regular 3DS, third two boxes of VG-BT11: Seal Dragons Unleashed and fourth one box of BT11. Fifth through eighth places received a box of VG-EB06: Dazzling Divas.

First Place
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FV)
x4 Eradicator Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Divine Spear Eradicator, Pollux CT
x3 Eradicator Dragon Mage DT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x1 Spark Edge Dracokid CT
Grade 1
x4 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x3 Iron Blood Eradicator, Shuki
x4 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld
x3 Rising Phoenix
Grade 2
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x4 Dragonic Deathscythe
x3 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Cho-Ou
Grade 3
x4 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x2 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant

Second Place
Grade 0
x1 Spring Breeze Messenger (FV)
x4 Strike Liberator CT
x4 Liberator of Hope, Epona CT
x4 Weapons Liberator, Gwydion DT
x4 Elixir Liberator HT
Grade 1
x4 Little Liberator, Marron
x4 Curved Blade Liberator, Yoseph
x4 Halo Liberator, Mark
x2 Silver Fang Witch
Grade 2
x4 Liberator of Royalty, Phallon
x4 Liberator of the Flute, Escrad
x4 Blaster Blade Liberator
Grade 3
x4 Liberator of the Round Table, Alfred
x3 Solitary Liberator, Gancelot

Top 16 Celestial Deck
Grade 0
x1 First Aid Celestial, Penuel (FV)
x4 Celestial, Landing Pegasus DT
x4 Punishment Celestial, Shemhazai CT
x4 Healing Celestial, Ramiel CT
x2 Rampage Cart Angel CT
x1 Critical Hit Angel CT
x1 Rocket Dash Unicorn CT
Grade 1
x4 Adamantine Celestial, Aniel
x3 Marking Celestial, Arabaki
x3 Underlay Celestial, Hesediel
x3 Order Celestial, Yeqon
x2 Battle Cupid, Nociel
Grade 2
x4 Wildshot Celestial, Raquel
x4 Candle Celestial, Sariel
x3 Essence Celestial, Becca
Grade 3
x4 Solidify Celestial, Zerachiel
x3 Prophecy Celestial, Remiel