Following last night's information leak, the official results of Fighter's Road 2012 have been announced. Exceeding many presumptions about what is competitive in today's format, Gotou Kiyomi has been made Japan's third senior class national champion and the first such champion of this tournament season. Rikino Sakura has been finally confirmed as the junior champion, making her the first person of any division or country to defend a title in consecutive years, and the first consecutive national champion in the world. Her deck this year shows a startling degree of innovation, completely abandoning the Kagerou decks she made her name with for an Oracle Think Tank deck using modern tactics.
While Royal Paladin, Gold Paladin and Kagerou are performing as expected, and this marks RoPala's third consecutive championship dominating the senior league, this was achieved using tactics now called ancient. Unlike past champions, Kiyomi took his place in history using a pure Alfred deck with absolutely no focus on Soul Saver Dragon or Majesty Lord Blaster, two deck builds popularly called "broken" since their introduction. In recent times the King of Knights had largely fallen by the wayside in favor of these units and their support cards, but Kiyomi has come out demonstrating that the power balance between sets one and seven is not so skewed that he can't take the national crown with old cards. In fact, Wingal Brave and Lamorak are the only cards in his deck to come from a set beyond 3.
Please note that Kanamaru Makoto, the famous Bermuda Triangle cardfighter from Osaka, has been exposed as an inveterate cheater, and was already banned from many card shops in his home region before FR2012 went underway. The matter is currently being investigated; if Kanamaru cheated during the Fighter's Road events, he may stand to lose his titles. As such, while his Bermuda deck is currently considered the second strongest deck in the country, it's unknown if he tampered with the match in any way.
Japanese National Championship 2012
Seniors Division
National Champion: Gotou Kiyomi/後藤聖弥
Grade 0
x1 Wingal Brave (FVG)
x4 Future Knight, Llew CT
x4 Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine HT
x4 Alabaster Owl CT
x4 Bringer of Good Luck, Epona CT
Grade 1
x4 Flash Shield, Iseult
x4 Little Sage, Marron
x3 Lake Maiden, Lien
x4 Toypugal
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade
x3 Knight of Silence, Gallatin
x2 High Dog Breeder, Akane
x2 Knight of Determination, Lamorak
Grade 3
x4 Knight of Knights, Alfred
x3 Swordsman of Explosive Flames, Palamedes
Runner-Up: Kanamaru Makoto/金丸眞人
Grade 0
x1 Bermuda Triangle Cadet, Riviere (FVG)
x4 Comical Rainy CT
x4 Cooking Caspian DT
x4 Drive Quartet, Flows HT
x4 Drive Quartet, Shuplu CT
Grade 1
x3 Mermaid Idol, Erie
x4 Mermaid Idol, Sedna
x2 Prism of the Water's Surface, Miltoa
x4 Mermaid Idol, Riviere
x2 Navy Dolphin, Ameer
Grade 2
x4 Top Idol, Aqua
x4 Super Idol, Riviere
x3 Mermaid Idol, Flute
Grade 3
x1 Top Idol, Pacifica
x2 Super Idol, Salem
x4 Top Idol, Riviere
Third Place: Nakamura Seishirou/中村誠士郎
Grade 0
x1 Lizard Soldier, Conroe (FVG)
x4 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x4 Dragon Monk, Genjo HT
x4 Gatling Claw Dragon DT
x2 Blue-Ray Dracokid CT
x2 Red Gem Carbuncle DT
Grade 1
x4 Wyvern Guard, Barri
x4 Embodiment of Armor, Bahr
x3 Dragon Monk, Gojo
x2 Heat Nail Salamander
x1 Flame of Promise, Aermo
Grade 2
x4 Burning Horn Dragon
x4 Bellicosity Dragon
x3 Berserk Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Dragonic Overlord
x4 Dragonic Overlord The End
Fourth Place: Minami Takeshi/南武志
Grade 0
x1 Wingal Brave (FVG)
x4 Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine HT
x4 Margal DT
x4 Alabaster Owl CT
x4 Bringer of Good Luck, Epona CT
Grade 1
x4 Flash Shield, Iseult
x4 Little Sage, Marron
x2 Toypugal
x3 Knight of Friendship, Kay
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade
x1 High Dog Breeder, Akane
x3 Blaster Dark
x3 Starcall Trumpeter
x1 Knight of Loyalty, Bedivere
Grade 3
x3 King of Knights, Alfred
x1 Solitary Knight, Gancelot
x4 Majesty Lord Blaster
Juniors Division
National Champion: Rikino Sakura/力野桜
Grade 0
x1 Little Witch, LuLu (FVG)
x4 Lozenge Magus HT
x3 Oracle Guardian, Nike CT
x4 Psychic Bird CT
x2 Victory Maker DT
x3 Battle Sister, Ginger CT
Grade 1
x4 Battle Sister, Chocolat
x4 Oracle Guardian, Gemini
x1 Weather Girl, Milk
x2 Luck Bird
x3 Dark Cat
Grade 2
x4 Battle Sister, Mocha
x4 Oracle Guardian, Wiseman
x3 Silent Tom
Grade 3
x4 Scarlet Witch, CoCo
x4 Goddess of Flower Divination, Sakuya
Runner-Up: Murosaki Yuki/室崎祐希
Grade 0
x1 Lizard Soldier, Conroe (FVG)
x4 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x4 Dragon Monk, Genjo HT
x4 Gatling Claw Dragon DT
x3 Blue-Ray Dracokid CT
x1 Red Gem Carbuncle DT
Grade 1
x4 Wyvern Guard, Barri
x4 Embodiment of Armor, Bahr
x3 Dragon Monk, Gojo
x2 Demonic Dragon Mage, Kimnara
x1 Flame of Promise, Aermo
Grade 2
x2 Dragon Knight, Nehalem
x4 Burning Horn Dragon
x3 Cross Shot, Garp
x2 Berserk Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Dragonic Overlord
x4 Dragonic Overlord The End
Third Place: Nakamura Shunto/中村俊斗
Grade 0
x1 Wingal Brave (FVG)
x3 Future Knight, Llew CT
x3 Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine HT
x2 Margal DT
x4 Alabaster Owl CT
x4 Bringer of Good Luck, Epona CT
Grade 1
x3 Flash Shield, Iseult
x4 Little Sage, Marron
x3 Lake Maiden, Lien
x3 Knight of Friendship, Kay
x2 Apocalypse Bat
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade
x4 Blaster Dark
x2 Starcall Trumpeter
x1 Knight of Loyalty, Bedivere
Grade 3
x1 King of Knights, Alfred
x2 Swordsman of the Explosive Flames, Palamedes
x4 Majesty Lord Blaster
Fourth Place: Takenaka Shun'ichi/竹中駿一
Grade 0
x1 Black Dragon Whelp, Vortimer (FVG)
x4 Flame of Victory CT
x4 Speeder Hound CT
x2 Silent Punisher CT
x2 Weapons Dealer, Gwydion DT
x4 Elixir Sommelier HT
Grade 1
x4 Halo Shield, Mark
x4 Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth
x2 Little Battler, Tron
x1 Listener of Truth, Dindrane
x4 Scout of Darkness, Vortimer
Grade 2
x3 Player of the Holy Bow, Viviane
x2 Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains
x1 Lop Ear Shooter
x4 Black Dragon Knight, Vortimer
Grade 3
x2 Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel
x3 Holy Mage, Manawydan
x2 Spectral Duke Dragon
x1 Great Silver Wolf, Garmore
