News: Ride to Victory Sequel "Lock on Victory," Fourth Season and Movies Announced for 2014

FuRyu producer Ms. Fujiwara speaks about Lock on Victory at the Special Conference.

Yesterday Bushiroad's December 16th broadcast brought with it the unveiling of Cardfight!! Vanguard's schedule going into 2014, revealing several upcoming titles including a second 3DS game, Cardfight!! Vanguard: Lock on Victory. FuRyu producer Ms. Fujiwara came to speak on the title. Based on the storyline of the Link Joker season of Cardfight!! Vanguard, Lock on Victory will feature the return of the previous game's customizable protagonists as they head into high school. The player will be able to attend Miyaji Academy, Hitsue High, or Fukuhara High School and live out their daily lives with the anime's cast. Production images showed the hotblooded-type hero from RTV in Miyaji uniform, with the cool-type hero in Hitsue clothes, and the dark-type heroine instead shown attending Fukuhara. Whether the player's school is connected to their choice of protagonist is unknown, but a versus mode image shows the female protagonist fighting in Hitsue uniform, suggesting that the player will be free to choose any school regardless of their selected character.

Images from the game's interface show the integration of Lock into gameplay, represented by black rings rotating above the face-down Locked cards. The game will also support the break ride mechanic, with new animations specific to it, as well as grade 4 units. Lock on Victory will support cards from up through VG-BT15: Infinite Rebirth, just as RTV supported up until BT09: Clash of the Knights and Dragons on release, but as with the previous game will not be released until after the set itself. LOV is scheduled for a summer release. Previously international fans had come out in strong support of Ride to Victory's international release, which had prompted Bushiroad to begin internal talks about localizing the game, but nothing has come of this as of yet. As the company has been responsive to its fans' requests, Lock on Victory may provide an opportunity for a renewed push to bring the video game series overseas.

12/17/2013 Update: LOV's official website has launched.

DAIGO's announcement prompted a flood of real-time comments from the viewers.

Viewers went wild when musical star DAIGO announced the production of a Cardfight!! Vanguard film, featuring the return of Sendou Aichi, Kai Toshiki, Tokura Misaki and others. Instead of being produced by Studio TMS as the core anime seasons are, the film will be produced by Ultra Super Pictures, a studio most recently involved with the production of Black Rock Shooter and Kill La Kill. More surprising still is that the anime film accounts for only half of the entire work; in addition to the anime edition, a complementary live action edition will be produced by Ace Works Entertainment. This upcoming TV drama is believed to be a successor to the 2012 film that previously brought Vanguard's musical star DAIGO to the fore as a key actor. Once again he will be joined by Mimori Suzuko, although it is unknown if she will be reprising her role from the previous film as Kagami Maria. Immediately after the Special Conference's airing an official website for the film went up, showing off a promotional image advertising the two pieces and a list of some of the actors casted. Both films are scheduled for release in 2014, with the anime film being directed by Itagaki Shin, and the live action film directed by Motoki Takashi.

Regarding the anime film, Kitta Izumi joked that she was playing the "cute heroine" as Misaki for the movie--NicoNico viewers made some humorous protests, insisting that Aichi was instead the series' heroine. She also commented that to have a film edition of Cardfight!! Vanguard being produced was "like a dream." As DAIGO pointed out, it's now been almost three years since Vanguard began; there was no small amount of sentiment for the four speakers then on stage, who had been a part of the franchise since it began in 2011. Perhaps the individual to which this meant the most however, was Itou Akira.

Known for making rare public appearances via the Vangua-Road webcast and communicating with his fans primarily via Twitter, the reclusive mangaka came on stage to describe the upcoming film as being on a larger scale. While specifics regarding the story are few, it will take place after the Link Joker chapter and feature most of the main characters. Some concerns arose that Team Q4 would be reduced to Team Q3 because of Kai's absence when the team was last active during the Asia Circuit, but these fears were alleviated when it was said that Kai would not be going anywhere for the film. Viewers took note that during the broadcast Itou was dressed "Kai-kun style"--his black blazer, scarf, high boots and the deck holder strung over his belt gave the impression of a Kai Toshiki cosplay.

Along with these announcements came news of Cardfight!! Vanguard's upcoming fourth season, dubbed "Legion Mate" chapter (レギオンメイト編 region meito hen, note that the Japanese pronunciation uses a hard G sound as in "green") which will follow Aichi and Kai's shared story after Link Joker. Images of Aichi and Kai in their Link Joker-era designs were used, prompting Kitta Izumi to comment that "Kai-kun looks a little...how should I say..." but Doctor O assured everyone that these images were recycled from BT15, as there is no key artwork ready for Legion Mate as of yet. As no final English title has been given yet, some have disputed the Legion translation in favor of "Region Mate." Those speaking at the event pronounced the レ sound as closer to L than R, but neither translation fits the Japanese rendering perfectly.

The new season's ED theme will be created by Japanese girls' pop group FAKY, while the OP "V-Road" will be created by the Bushi★7, an all-star team of artists assembled to celebrate Bushiroad's seventh year in operation. The Bushi★7 will consist of DAIGO, Psychic Lover members Yoffy and Imajo, Suara, Kitta Izumi and Mimori Suzuko, and Morishima Shuuto. The announcements drew a string of "8888" flooding the screen, which for the viewers at home substituted for clapping--the reading for 8 "hachi" sounds similar in Japanese to "pachi," an onomatopoeia for applauding.

The final announcement for the day was that 2014 will also see the release of a new extra booster set for the Bermuda Triangle clan, following up on VG-EB02: Banquet of Divas and VG-EB06: Dazzling Divas. In addition to this, another Great Vanguard Festival will be held at the Tokyo Big Sight this coming year, as has become customary for the TCG's tournament season in Japan. Doctor O closed out the Special Conference wishing well to the viewers, after which a string of new commercials for VG-BT14: Brilliant Strike and the newest Beginning Sets aired while the stage was prepared for Buddyfight's conference.

The portion of the broadcast concerned with Vanguard can be viewed in its entirety on the Cardfight Pro YouTube channel, recorded courtesy of Touya. We are looking into subtitling the broadcast, but as this will take some time to accomplish, for now only the unsubbed version is available.

News: Fans Celebrate 12/12 "Renmas" Holiday

Originally posted by mefi_PaP.

Since December 12th yesterday Twitter and Pixiv have been flooded with Japanese fans observing 雀ヶ森レン様聖誕祭2013 "Master Suzugamori Ren's Holy Birthday 2013" (Suzugamori Ren-sama Seitansai 2013) the advent of Ren's birthday according to his official character biographies. This is the third observation of his birthday since his debut in 2011, and this year has been one of the most visibly observed among Japanese fans, owing to Suzugamori's enduring popularity.

Originally posted by rensama1212.

The tradition of observing Cardfight!! character birthdays began on Pixiv with celebratory artworks, and grew in popularity on social media until it reached a high point in 2013. Kai Toshiki's 8/28 birthday is more popular among artists, racking up 12 pages of artworks on Pixiv in 2012, but Suzugamori seems to own Twitter this year with fans going all-out for character shrines, birthday cakes and merchandise.

One of Bushiroad's official stores got in on the celebration with a portrait case full of Circuit-era Ren sleeves, framed by the trademark mountain lilies Suzugamori is associated with in the anime. You can browse through yesterday's festivities via the associated tag, #雀ヶ森レン様聖誕祭2013.

The kanji used for character birthdays are distinct from a normal birthday 誕生日 Tanjoubi and are also the one of the words used for Christmas 聖誕祭 Seitansai which has a more material slant than the religious term 降誕祭 Koutansai that's also used for saint's birthdays. (The phonetic word クリスマス Kurisumasu is more commonly used, being an approximation of the English word "Christmas." Some English words with similar usage are Christmas for Kurisumasu, X-mas for Seitansai and Christ's Mass for Koutansai.) Although rarely seen in the west unless influenced directly by Japanese fans, character birthdays are relatively popular with Japanese fandoms.

Originally posted by ammy2326.

"Renmas" has proved especially popular this year in part because it coincides with the release of VG-HS06: Beginning Set Purgatory Revenger (はじめようセット 奈落の撃退者 Hajimeyou Setto Naraku no Ribenjaa) the Beginning Set associated with Suzugamori Ren and his new Revenger cards. Sets of these kind are issued annually by Bushiroad, typically reprinting a trial deck with additional promo cards, sleeves and merchandise toward the end of one of Cardfight!! Vanguard's seasons. HS06 is being accompanied by Sendou Aichi's HS05: Beginning Set Liberator of the Sanctuary (はじめようセット 聖域の解放者 Hajimeyou Setto Seiki no Ribereitaa) and for the first time Bushiroad will also be printing additional Beginning Sets later in the month, for Kai Toshiki's TD11 and Mitsusada Kenji's TD12.

News: Fifteenth Booster Set "Infinite Rebirth" Unveiled, Official Bushiroad Store to Open in Chiba City, Albert Lee Crowned North American National Champion

This morning Doctor O broke the news through Twitter of Cardfight!! Vanguard Link Joker's climax set, VG-BT15: Infinite Rebirth. Sharing its translated English name with the anime's fifth opening, OP05 無限∞リバース the kanji literally translates as "Infinite Reincarnation." The set will feature support for the Link Joker, Gold Paladin, Shadow Paladin, Kagerou, Aqua Force, Megacolony and Pale Moon clans, and will be released in Japan on February 28, 2014; to the date, this will be just two days after the three year anniversary of the Trading Card Game, for which the first trial decks were released on February 26 of 2011. Infinite Rebirth is anticipated to feature an overhauled Megacolony, bringing revisions to the clan that have been discussed since their core mechanic was functionally overtaken by Lock. The artist credited for the set's cover card is Oobari Masami of STUDIO G-1NEO, the same famed mecha artist who previously illustrated Super Dimensional Robo Daikaiser as well as his and Daiyusha's alternate artworks. Oobari has been heavily associated with Super Robot-genre anime and the Super Robot Wars video game franchise, but since creating Daikaiser has been putting a lot of work into Cardfight!! Vanguard, most recently at Bushiroad's Anime Festival Asia Singapore 2013 booth where he did interviews, photo shoots and signings.

Update 11:50 AM: VG-BT15's set size will be 102 cards, with 8 RRR, 12 RR, 22 R, 60 C and 12 Special Parallel cards. Additionally, it will introduce a new rarity, with a single card being ЯЯЯ "Triple Reverse" rare. The specifics surrounding this card are unclear, but it will be available through Monthly Bushiroad and will involve the Gold Trigger campaign. The set will feature Aichi and Kai's key cards from Link Joker's finale, and strengthen cards originally introduced in VG-BT10: Triumphant Return of the King of Knights as well as those from trial decks VG-TD08: Liberator of the Sanctuary, TD10: Purgatory Revenger and TD11: Star-vader Invasion. Based on the specific mention of cards from these sets and the appearances of some of the units shown above, it can be inferred that the new units include a crossbreak ride for Shadow Paladin's Illusion Revenger Mordred Phantom, as well as supporting cards for Liberator of the Round Table Alfred. The cover card for Infinite Rebirth also invites comparison to the unit Takuto used in ride 127 and that Kai subsequently envisioned himself playing, which the mention of Star-vader Invasion would set up as an Infinite Zero Dragon crossbreak ride. The anime suggested its skill could lock between 4 and 5 rearguards. The unit's motif of rings-within-rings draws also back to the image of Link Joker's "universal soul," three rings within one another which form an eye. A special edition of the set will also be packaged with the next volume of MiniVan DVD and a promo card illustrated by MiniVan artist Quily.

AEON Mall Makuhari New City concept image.

Meanwhile, Friday evening it came to light that Bushiroad will be opening a new store in AEON Mall Makuhari New City, a highly anticipated concept mall that will open on December 20th. AEON is a retailer chain in Japan, China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia whose newest mall is intended to be filled with additional entertainment beyond the standard shopping experience, as well as event spaces and custom stores.

Bushiroad Store concept image.

Strategically located close to Kaihin-Makuhari station, Makuhari New City is AEON's flagship mall, built in the very same Chiba city that houses the company's headquarters, AEON Tower. The placement of the new "Bushiroad Store" within AEON's crown jewel sends a strong message, making it out as a symbol of the company's economic prosperity in latent years--compare Nintendo's line of Pokémon Centers. It will open on the same day of New City's grand opening, keeping hours from 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM on the third floor. The store will house TCG products and supplies, character goods, as well as My Little Pony and New Japan Pro Wrestling merchandise. The space is also planned to be used for events related to Bushiroad's TCGs.

Bushiroad of Japan has also announced special rules for the New Year's Trio Festival 2014 tournament, to take place at the beginning of the next year. This triples format tournament will divide teams into Kai and Aichi group, each with their own special deck construction rules. Kai group team members must either include  “Я” cards in their decks or use four or more Link Joker cards in construction, while Aichi team members may not use “Я” units or Link Joker. The theme of the event is built up as "Aichi VS Kai, Showdown at the Summit" intended to organize a climactic battle between the forces of Void and Cray. Online registration will open on December 17th, after which applicants will be mailed their letters of invitation to the tournament. The tournament will be a three-versus-three format, with each fighter playing a single 20 minute game against their corresponding opponent. Out of the Aichi group and Kai group blocks, four teams from each will be selected for the top 8. Three rounds of Swiss will see each team scoring points from their wins or losses to determine which four teams will make it out of each block.

Prism Hall circa FC2012. Image from cardbox.sc

Trio Fest 2014 will be held at Tokyo Prism Hall on January 13th, 2014. Prism Hall is a familiar location to Bushiroad, as it was previously used to host the Fighter's Climax 2012 national tournament a little under two years ago.

In other news, Bushiroad USA released the names and decklists of the North American, European and Asia-Oceania continental championships' respective top 4s through the English Cardfight portal and Facebook earlier this week, providing a look at the upcoming World Championship 2013 finalists. The WCS2013 finals will be taking place on January 12, 2014 in Tokyo, and will see the respective top 4, top 2, top 3 and national champion of North America, Europe, Asia-Oceania and Japan facing off for the world title. Incumbent national champion Albert Lee seized his title with a more developed form of Dragonic Overlord the End deck, incorporating Dauntless Drive Dragon as its supporting break ride just two days after the card's release in VGE-BT11: Seal Dragons Unleashed. (The North American finals took place on October 27th.) Albert Lee had previously qualified for the national championships through taking first place in Hawaii's qualifier, using a somewhat unconventional PRISM decklist using Charlotte and Fundy that had received no small amount of criticism.

Although not an especially radical deck when compared to such departures as preceding national champion Kaden Kawakmi's DOTE, Lee's build does stand out for more than being in first place. Red Pulse Dracokid is a card that is commonly put down in favor of the tried and true Lizard Soldier Conroe, as Conroe is useful in a variety of situations whether he's searching for an effective boosting unit, tech cards like Heatnail Salamander or Aermo, a perfect defense card, or bypassing grade 1 lock. All of these positive characteristics have been negatively contrasted by the community with Red Pulse's low percent chance to search for a grade 3 from the top 5 cards of the deck for a similar cost. Those in favor of Red Pulse have argued for a long-term strategic value in that even when Red Pulse fails, because the grade 3 was not in the top 5 cards of the deck, and the cardfighter using him was unlikely to go through more than 5 cards within the next turn, the subsequent shuffling of the deck opens up more opportunities by taking away a known negative situation for a potentially better one--which it can be argued is worth the one card loss in card advantage. As Red Pulse's search skill also has synergy with both break ride and persona blast skills, the card does have a convincing case as one option for The End cardfighters.

Considering DOTE's international legacy, Lee's use of Seal Dragon triggers is also surprising because his deck does not make use of Seal Dragon Corduroy's especial counterblast. Contemporary cardfighters in Japan like 2013 junior national champion Niida Kazuki and VF Koushien Hiroshima champion Okabe Mizuki have adapted Corduroy at 4 to take advantage of the cheaper retire that leaves more room for The End's persona blast to threaten the opponent with. In Lee's deck this is instead dealt with through Bellicosity Dragon, Kagerou's damage unflipping grade 2 and one more unit that the opponent does not want to let through but must concede on because of the threat of The End's persona blast. Probably the most subtle difference in the deck is the 3 Burning Horn Dragon, which on the surface is a minor point but will look strange to veteran fighters. Since the Overlord deck's introduction to the world in December 2011, Burning Horn has been a staple card run at 4 in the majority of DOTE decks. With the introduction of BT10-on in Japan however, Burning Horn has been gradually scaled back in favor of grade 2s with skills, like Bellicosity in this list. The same transition is now taking place, reflecting the shift away from base 10000 vanguards, and the resulting decreased importance of the 20000 power line. Cards like Burning Horn are not likely to go away because their empty 12000 swings are still very useful in the early and midgame, but they are no longer 4-card staples in the decks with other options.

Winter 2013 National Tournament, North America
National Champion: Albert Lee
Decklist name: What are you running? Exodia!!
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x4 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x2 Seal Dragon, Artpique DT
x4 Seal Dragon, Biella CT
x2 Blue Ray Dracokid CT
Grade 1
x4 Wyvern Guard, Barri
x4 Embodiment of Armor, Bahr
x2 Dragon Monk, Gojo
x4 Seal Dragon, Kersey
Grade 2
x4 Berserk Dragon
x3 Burning Horn Dragon
x4 Bellicosity Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Dragonic Overlord the End
x4 Dauntless Drive Dragon

Analysis: Perron versus LeBon

Perron versus LeBon was a cardfight played in September of 2013 at the Park Hyatt Toronto. Played between the final remaining contenders for the Canadian regional title Sebastian LeBon and Kevin Perron, it was the last game of the first World Championship 2013 regional qualifier. As with all regional tournaments in 2013, the finals were done in best of one, with a 20 minute time limit. The game drew much interest at the time because of the unusual matchup, and can be used as a reference to teach the advantages of Azure Dragon-based Beast Deities, as well as to illustrate an overall positive matchup for the original Beast Deity deck when paired against Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion "THE BLOOD."

Circumstances of the Match
The Canadian finals came as a surprise to the global community because they featured two deckbuilds that had been studied extensively since December 2012 and had been critically panned compared to the dominant decks of the time, with Dragonic Overlord the End as the primary measuring stick for competitive play. LeBon played a Nova Grappler deck using Beast Deity, Illuminal Dragon while Perron brought a Narukami deck focused towards Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion,“THE BLOOD.” Each cardfighter had taken one loss in the double elimination rounds, but had managed to persevere through the top 8, with a win record of 8-1 each prior to the final game. Based on his deck alone, Perron had been favored for first place, as while the Beast Deities had brought positive revisions to Nova Grappler's play style their standing mechanics were not valued as highly as Narukami's straight retire power or Vermillion's simultaneous attacks on the front row. Of the 20 minutes allotted for the finals, 12 minutes and 33 seconds were used.

The game was unofficially recorded by a friend of fourth place finalist Kevin Luu. Throughout the entire game, LeBon maintained an overall lead with strong moves that were difficult to play against and encouraged his opponent to play poorly in response.

Below is a generally accurate recreation of the fight. Because there are no views from Perron's side of the table, the contents of his hand has to be inferred based on where he places cards in the video when drawing them, where they move and what kinds of plays he makes based on the limitations of his hand. Because Nova Grappler at this period had no retire skills to intimidate him, and Perron did not call many boosting units or attacking units when either would have been useful at certain points, as a general trend he did not have many usable rearguards in hand during the first nine turns.

The Game
Turns 1-2
[V] Spark Kid Dragoon (4000) versus Beast Deity, White Tiger (5000)
Perron's hand:  6. Red River Dragoon, Demonic Dragon Nymph Seiobo, Thunderstorm Dragoon, Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, Mischievous Girl Kyon-she.
Damage: 0/6
Triggers left in deck: 14
Net advantage:  0
LeBon's hand: 5. King of Sword, King of Sword, Beast Deity Scarlet Bird, Shining Lady, Ultra Beast Deity Illuminal Dragon.
Damage: 0/6
Triggers left in deck: 15
Net advantage: 0
Perron opens with Red River Dragoon (8000) moving Spark Kid to the back rearguard circle to the right of his vanguard for +1. LeBon draws Clara and makes a deceptive play by riding Beast Deity, Scarlet Bird (6000) with White Tiger retreating behind Bird for his +1. Although on the surface Perron has a strategic advantage this turn because he can drop 10000 shield to completely prevent the attack from getting through even with triggers, this is LeBon's goal. The standard response to an on-hit skill like Scarlet Bird's is to stop it from activating even though it may fail, which LeBon sought to take advantage of by persuading his opponent to drop shield early on. Because his deck's midgame stand skills help him make up for not dealing as much damage earlier in the game, and because Narukami has trouble maintaining high hand sizes, and its main strategy with Kaiser Vermillion needs 4-5 damage, LeBon can safely be denied the opportunity to deal damage this turn if it means lowering his opponent's hand and getting them into a position where he can play a denial game by leaving them at 3 later on. If checked a critical trigger would be wasted, but it would also give Perron positive reinforcement for stopping LeBon's attacks. The correct decision in this situation would be to let Scarlet Bird hit. Perron falls for the feint and guards with Demonic Dragon Nymph, Seiobo (S18000.) LeBon drive checks Twin Blader.

Turns 3-4
[V] Red River Dragoon (8000) versus Beast Deity, Scarlet Bird (6000) boosted by Beast Deity, White Tiger (5000)
[R] Spark Kid Dragoon (4000) with no boosted unit versus No rearguards
Perron's hand:  5. Thunder Storm Dragoon, Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, Mischievous Girl Kyon-she, Spark Edge Dracokid.
Damage: 0/6
Triggers left in deck: 13
Net advantage:  0
LeBon's hand: 6. King of Sword, King of Sword, Shining Lady, Ring Girl Clara, Ultra Beast Deity Illuminal Dragon, Twin Blader.
Damage: 0/6
Triggers left in deck: 14
Net advantage: +1
Perron rides Thunderstorm Dragoon (10000) and drive checks Wyvern Guard, Guld. LeBon damage checks Beast Deity, Azure Dragon. Note that because Azure Dragon was in the top 5, this means that no matter what Perron did, LeBon would have the lead in card advantage, but the scenario in which Perron had less cards is more useful to LeBon because it restricts Perron's plays.

LeBon draws Beast Deity Blank Marsh on turn 4 and rides King of Sword (10000), calling a second King to his right. Rearguard King attacks Thunderstorm Dragoon. Perron guards with Mischievous Girl, Kyon-she (S15000.) With White Tiger's boost, vanguard King drive checks LeBon's Hungry Dumpty tech. Perron damage checks Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion.

Turn 5
[R] No rearguards versus King of Sword (10000)
[V] Thunderstorm Dragoon (10000) versus King of Sword (10000) boosted by Beast Deity, White Tiger (5000)
[R] Spark Kid Dragoon (4000) with no boosted unit versus No rearguards
Perron's hand:  5. Wyvern Guard Guld, Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, Spark Edge Dracokid, Spark Edge Dracokid.
Damage: 1/6 (Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion)
Triggers left in deck: 12
Net advantage:  -1
LeBon's hand: 6. Shining Lady, Ultra Beast Deity Illuminal Dragon, Ring Girl Clara, Twin Blader, Beast Deity Blank Marsh, Hungry Dumpty.
Damage: 1/6 (Beast Deity Azure Dragon)
Triggers left in deck: 14
Net advantage: +1
Perron rides Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (11000) and calls another Vermillion (11000) to his right, then uses Spark Kid Dragoon's counterblast to move it to the soul and search the top 5 cards of his deck for a Narukami grade 3. The skill fails, the deck is shuffled and Perron has taken a -1. There is now a difference of three cards between the two with equal damage. Perron's vanguard Vermillion attacks LeBon's vanguard and goes unguarded, Perron drive checks Thunderstorm Dragoon and Malevolent Djinn (Critical Trigger +5000 power / +1 critical) assigning the critical to his vanguard and the power to rearguard Vermillion. LeBon damage checks Twin Blader and The Gong (Draw Trigger +5000 power / draw 1), gives the power to his vanguard and draws Three Minutes.

Rearguard Vermillion (16000) attacks rearguard King of Sword, and is defended with Shining Lady (S20000.) Because of LeBon's draw trigger, the only overall change in card advantage from the start of the turn is Spark Kid Dragoon's -1.

Turn 6
[R] No rearguards versus King of Sword (10000)
[V] Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (11000) versus King of Sword (10000) boosted by Beast Deity, White Tiger (5000)
[R] Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (11000) versus No rearguards
Perron's hand:  6. Wyvern Guard Guld, Thunderstorm Dragoon, Malevolent Djinn, Spark Edge Dracokid, Wyvern Guard Guld, Spark Edge Dracokid.
Damage: 1/6 (Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion)
Triggers left in deck: 11
Net advantage:  -2
LeBon's hand: 7. Ultra Beast Deity Illuminal Dragon, Ring Girl Clara, Twin Blader, Beast Deity Blank Marsh, Hungry Dumpty, Three Minutes, Beast Deity Azure Dragon.
Damage: 3/6 (Beast Deity Azure Dragon, Twin Blader, The Gong)
Triggers left in deck: 12
Net advantage: +1
LeBon rides Beast Deity Azure Dragon (11000). This is potentially a game-changing draw because prior to topdecking it LeBon had to play with the idea in mind that he would be riding Illuminal and that White Tiger would have to leave the field at some point through either his skill or just by calling a new unit over him, because he would otherwise not be able to make an 18000 power center line. LeBon could not anticipate that Perron would never draw "THE BLOOD" within this game, but if he believed that his opponent would get the crossride eventually then he may have planned to use White Tiger's skill on this turn, which could help even out the difference in cards. He calls Blank Marsh (7000) behind King of Sword, then has them attack the vanguard (17000.) Perron damage checks Dusty Plasma Dragon.

Azure Dragon (16000) drive checks Tough Boy and Ring Girl, Clara (Heal Trigger +5000 power / heal 1) healing Azure Dragon from his damage zone. Perron damage checks Malevolent Djinn (Critical Trigger +5000 power / +1 critical.) Note that LeBon's heal effectively negated Perron's critical.

Turn 7
[R] No rearguards versus King of Sword (10000) boosted by Beast Deity, Blank Marsh (7000)
[V] Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (11000) versus Beast Deity, Azure Dragon (11000) boosted by Beast Deity, White Tiger (5000)
[R] Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (11000) versus No rearguards
Perron's hand:  6. Wyvern Guard Guld, Thunderstorm Dragoon, Malevolent Djinn, Spark Edge Dracokid, Wyvern Guard Guld, Spark Edge Dracokid.
Damage: 3/6 (Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, Dusty Plasma Dragon, Malevolent Djinn)
Triggers left in deck: 10
Net advantage:  -2
LeBon's hand: 7. Ultra Beast Deity Illuminal Dragon, Ring Girl Clara, Hungry Dumpty, Three Minutes, Tough Boy, Ring Girl Clara.
Damage: 2/6 (Twin Blader, The Gong)
Triggers left in deck: 11
Net advantage: +1
At this point the game has swung firmly in LeBon's favor. Perron calls Thunderstorm Dragoon (10000) to his left column and uses it to attack King of Sword. LeBon guards with Three Minutes (S15000.) Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion attacks the vanguard, and goes undefended. This move could be contested considering that LeBon could have easily protected his lead with the Clara in his hand, but this would have given his opponent an opportunity to bring him down to -2 by using his rearguard Vermillion to attack King of Sword once again. By choosing not to guard, LeBon created an optimal scenario in which even if his opponent drive checked a critical trigger, it would only serve to enable Illuminal's limit break and exploit Perron's disadvantage. Perron drive checks Rising Phoenix and Demonic Dragon Berserker Garuda. LeBon damage checks Red Lightning (Critical Trigger +5000 power / critical +1) assigning it to Azure Dragon. Rearguard Vermillion attacks King of Sword, and is defended with Clara.

Turn 8
[R] Thunderstorm Dragoon (10000) versus King of Sword (10000) boosted by Beast Deity, Blank Marsh (7000)
[V] Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (11000) versus Beast Deity, Azure Dragon (11000) boosted by Beast Deity, White Tiger (5000)
[R] Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (11000) versus No rearguards
Perron's hand: 6. Wyvern Guard Guld, Malevolent Djinn, Rising Phoenix, Demonic Dragon Berserker Garuda, Spark Edge Dracokid, Spark Edge Dracokid.
Damage: 3/6 (Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, Dusty Plasma Dragon, Malevolent Djinn)
Triggers left in deck: 10
Net advantage:  -2
LeBon's hand: 6. Ultra Beast Deity Illuminal Dragon, Twin Blader, Hungry Dumpty, Tough Boy, Ring Girl Clara, Twin Blader.
Damage: 3/6 (Twin Blader, The Gong, Red Lightning)
Triggers left in deck: 10
Net advantage -1
LeBon crossrides Ultra Beast Deity Illuminal Dragon over Azure Dragon (13000.) With White Tiger's boost, Illuminal (18000) attacks the vanguard, Perron guards with Wyvern Guard Guld (S0) and drops Garuda to pay for Guld's cost, achieving perfect defense. LeBon drive checks Beast Deity Black Tortoise and Tough Boy. With Blank Marsh's boost, King of Sword attacks Thunderstorm Dragoon, who retires.

This can be argued as a misplay, as King of Sword's full rearguard line and Perron already being at -4 may have persuaded him to going to four damage and getting access to limit break, when going to four sooner would actually be meaningless because LeBon's rearguard lanes are not filled, he has another field ready in his hand and it would open Illuminal up to taking four damage as stands are the best endgame play. If Perron were to guard an attack on the vanguard at that point he would have to use Malevolent Djinn, so either way he would go to -5 but in this scenario he would lose more shield.

By not attacking the vanguard LeBon risked that he would have to go to limit break first. On the other hand, since LeBon just saw Garuda get dropped for perfect defense he also had a good idea that Perron did not have any replacement rearguards for Dragoon, and he would be able to protect King of Sword that way and drag the game out even further to capitalize on Perron losing more cards per turn than him. Furthermore, because he has his Hungry Dumpty tech in hand, LeBon could also plan to use the limit break twice in this game, and by going to four damage first he could use that to guarantee that his opponent would go to five before him. The result is a tradeoff.

Turn 9
[R] No rearguards versus King of Sword (10000) boosted by Beast Deity, Blank Marsh (7000)
[V] Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (11000) versus Ultra Beast Deity, Illuminal Dragon (13000) boosted by Beast Deity, White Tiger (5000)
[R] Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (11000) versus No rearguards
Perron's hand:  6. Malevolent Djinn, Rising Phoenix, Spark Edge Dracokid, Wyvern Guard Guld, Spark Edge Dracokid, Spark Edge Dracokid.
Damage: 3/6 (Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, Dusty Plasma Dragon, Malevolent Djinn)
Triggers left in deck: 9
Net advantage:  -5
LeBon's hand: 7. Twin Blader, Hungry Dumpty, Twin Blader, Ring Girl Clara, Tough Boy, Beast Deity Black Tortoise, Tough Boy.
Damage: 3/6 (Twin Blader, The Gong, Red Lightning)
Triggers left in deck: 10
Net advantage -2
Perron calls Rising Phoenix (5000) behind his rearguard Vermillion and soulblasts 2 to draw 1 for +1. Vanguard Vermillion (11000) attacks Illuminal unboosted, LeBon guards with Tough Boy (S18000.) Perron drive checks Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion and Red River Dragoon. Rearguard Vermillion (16000) attacks Illuminal but is guarded by Clara (S23000.) Thanks to Phoenix and these attacks the advantage state is once again neutral, but to actually come into the lead for a full turnaround Perron has to stop every attack next turn and drive his opponent to limit break before him.

Turn 10
[R] No rearguards versus King of Sword (10000) boosted by Beast Deity, Blank Marsh (7000)
[V] Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (11000) versus Ultra Beast Deity, Illuminal Dragon (13000) boosted by Beast Deity, White Tiger (5000)
[R] Rising Phoenix (5000) boosting Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (11000) versus No rearguards
Perron's hand:  7. Malevolent Djinn, Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, Red River Dragoon, Spark Edge Dracokid, Wyvern Guard Guld, Spark Edge Dracokid, Spark Edge Dracokid.
Damage: 3/6 (Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, Dusty Plasma Dragon, Malevolent Djinn)
Triggers left in deck: 9
Net advantage:  -4
LeBon's hand: 6. Twin Blader, Hungry Dumpty, Twin Blader, Beast Deity Black Tortoise, Tough Boy, Three Minutes.
Damage: 3/6 (Twin Blader, The Gong, Red Lightning)
Triggers left in deck: 9
Net advantage -4
LeBon calls Beast Deity, Black Tortoise (8000) to his left and Tough Boy (8000) behind him, then has Tortoise (16000) attack the vanguard but is stopped by Spark Edge Dracokid (S21000.)

Illuminal (18000) is defended by Guld (S0) with Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion dropped for perfect defense. LeBon drive checks Red Lightning (Critical Trigger +5000 power / +1 critical) and gives all effects to King of Sword, followed by Beast Deity Golden Anglet.

King of Sword (22000 power / critical 2) attacks the vanguard. Perron damage checks Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion "THE BLOOD" and Yellow Gem Carbuncle (Critical Trigger +5000 power / +1 critical.)

Turn 11
[R] No rearguards versus King of Sword (10000) boosted by Beast Deity, Blank Marsh (7000)
[V] Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (11000) versus Ultra Beast Deity, Illuminal Dragon (13000) boosted by Beast Deity, White Tiger (5000)
[R] Rising Phoenix (5000) boosting Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (11000) versus Beast Deity, Black Tortoise (8000) boosted by Tough Boy (8000)
Perron's hand:  5. Malevolent Djinn, Red River Dragoon, Dusty Plasma Dragon, Spark Edge Dracokid, Spark Edge Dracokid.
Damage: 5/6 (Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, Dusty Plasma Dragon, Malevolent Djinn, Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion "THE BLOOD," Yellow Gem Carbuncle)
Triggers left in deck: 8
Net advantage:  -7
LeBon's hand: 6. Hungry Dumpty, Twin Blader, Twin Blader, Three Minutes, Red Lightning, Beast Deity Golden Anglet.
Damage: 3/6 (Twin Blader, The Gong, Red Lightning)
Triggers left in deck: 9
Net advantage -4
Perron calls Red River Dragoon (8000) behind his vanguard and Dusty Plasma Dragon (9000) to his left. He activates Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion's limit break 4, paying counterblast 3 for +2000 power and being able to attack the opponent's entire front row simultaneously until the end of the turn. LeBon cannot intercept during this attack and must guard each unit individually, but any trigger effects applied to Kaiser Vermillion will increase its power versus every unit it battles with. With Red River's boost, Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (21000) battles LeBon's front row, LeBon does not guard. Perron drive checks Dragonic Deathscythe and Yellow Gem Carbuncle (Critical Trigger +5000 power / +1 critical) giving the critical to his vanguard and power to his rearguard Vermillion. LeBon damage checks Shining Lady (Critical Trigger +5000 power / +1 critical) and Red Lightning (Critical Trigger +5000 power / +1 critical) passing the effects to his vanguard. At this point Illuminal rests at 23000 power and cannot be hit by any of Perron's remaining rearguards.

Not only did LeBon successfully bait his opponent into limit breaking while he had a second field ready in his hand, but Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion's limit break was not well used here because even if LeBon did not damage check any triggers, Garuda would have been swinging for an empty 9000 power that would not have matched Illuminal's 13000 while rearguard Vermillion with Phoenix would still only be drawing out one of the critical triggers from last turn for LeBon's defense. A better use of Garuda would have been to attack Black Tortoise, but because he was intending to swing with Vermillion in the first place, this would have had no real effect as the events proceed essentially in the same manner. The better play would be to wait to use Vermillion's limit break until next turn so that Garuda and rearguard Vermillion could serve more of a purpose in breaking down LeBon's defensive wall, and by extension guarding King of Sword on turn 10 instead of letting it through, but because Perron's hand was already strained it would be difficult to make this kind of judgment given the limited resources he was working with. Regardless, at this point the match has spiraled out into the endgame and with Perron at five damage, Illuminal's limit break has virtually sealed the match.

Turn 12
[R] Demonic Dragon Berserker, Garuda (9000) versus No rearguard boosted by Beast Deity, Blank Marsh (7000)
[V] Red River Dragoon (8000) boosting Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (11000) versus Ultra Beast Deity, Illuminal Dragon (13000) boosted by Beast Deity, White Tiger (5000)
[R] Rising Phoenix (5000) boosting Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (11000) versus No rearguard  boosted by Tough Boy (8000)
Perron's hand:  5. Malevolent Djinn, Dragonic Deathscythe, Yellow Gem Carbuncle, Spark Edge Dracokid, Spark Edge Dracokid.
Damage: 5/6 (Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, Dusty Plasma Dragon, Malevolent Djinn, Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion "THE BLOOD," Yellow Gem Carbuncle)
Triggers left in deck: 6
Net advantage:  -7
LeBon's hand: 7. Hungry Dumpty, Twin Blader, Twin Blader, Three Minutes, Red Lightning, Beast Deity Golden Anglet, The Gong.
Damage: 5/6 (Twin Blader, The Gong, Red Lightning, Shining Lady, Red Lightning)
Triggers left in deck: 6
Net advantage: -6
LeBon calls Beast Deity, Golden Anglet (9000) in front of Blank Marsh and Hungry Dumpty (9000) in front of Tough Boy. Anglet (16000) attacks the vanguard but is guarded by Carbuncle (S21000).

Ultra Beast Deity, Illuminal Dragon (18000) attacks the vanguard and activates his limit break 4, paying counterblast 3 to stand Golden Anglet and Blank Marsh, which triggers Anglet's skill and gives it +3000 power. Perron guards with Dragonic Deathscythe and Malevolent Djinn (S26000.) LeBon drive checks Beast Deity, Scarlet Bird and Beast Deity, Blank Marsh. Hungry Dumpty (17000) is defended by Spark Edge Dracokid (S21000) and Golden Anglet (19000) is stopped by an additional Spark Edge (S21000.)

Turn 13
[R] Demonic Dragon Berserker, Garuda (9000) versus Beast Deity, Golden Anglet (9000) boosted by Beast Deity, Blank Marsh (7000)
[V] Red River Dragoon (8000) boosting Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (11000) versus Ultra Beast Deity, Illuminal Dragon (13000) boosted by Beast Deity, White Tiger (5000)
[R] Rising Phoenix (5000) boosting Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (11000) versus Hungry Dumpty (9000) boosted by Tough Boy (8000)
Perron's hand:  1. Red River Dragoon.
Damage: 5/6 (Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, Dusty Plasma Dragon, Malevolent Djinn, Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion "THE BLOOD," Yellow Gem Carbuncle)
Triggers left in deck: 6
Net advantage:  -12
LeBon's hand: 7. Twin Blader, Twin Blader, Three Minutes, Red Lightning, The Gong, Beast Deity Scarlet Bird, Beast Deity Golden Anglet.
Damage: 5/6 (Twin Blader, The Gong, Red Lightning, Shining Lady, Red Lightning)
Triggers left in deck: 6
Net advantage: -6
Perron calls Red River Dragoon (8000) behind Dusty Plasma. Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (19000) attacks Illuminal, but LeBon plays Twin Blader and drops Three Minutes for perfect defense. Perron drive checks Photon Bomber Wyvern and Demonic Dragon Nymph Seiobo (Heal Trigger +5000 power / heal 1) assigning the power to Garuda and healing Malevolent Djinn from his damage zone.

Garuda (22000) attacks Illuminal but is guarded with Twin Blader with Three Minutes dropped for Perfect Defense. Vermillion (16000) is intercepted by Hungry Dumpty.

Turn 14
[R] Red River Dragoon (8000) boosting Demonic Dragon Berserker, Garuda (9000) versus Beast Deity, Golden Anglet (9000) boosted by Beast Deity, Blank Marsh (7000)
[V] Red River Dragoon (8000) boosting Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (11000) versus Ultra Beast Deity, Illuminal Dragon (13000) boosted by Beast Deity, White Tiger (5000)
[R] Rising Phoenix (5000) boosting Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (11000) versus No rearguard boosted by Tough Boy (8000)
Perron's hand:  2. Photon Bomber Wyvern, Demonic Dragon Nymph Seiobo.
Damage: 4/6 (Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, Dusty Plasma Dragon, Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion "THE BLOOD," Yellow Gem Carbuncle)
Triggers left in deck: 5
Net advantage:  -12
LeBon's hand: 5. Red Lightning, Beast Deity Scarlet Bird, Red Lightning, Beast Deity Golden Anglet, Beast Deity Black Tortoise.
Damage: 5/6 (Twin Blader, The Gong, Red Lightning, Shining Lady, Red Lightning)
Triggers left in deck: 5
Net advantage: -11
LeBon calls Red Lightning and uses his skill, moving him into the soul to unflip one damage, then calls Beast Deity, Golden Anglet (9000) to his open left circle. Boosted by Blank Marsh, his right Anglet (16000) attacks the vanguard, Perron damage checks Malevolent Djinn (Critical Trigger +5000 power / +1 critical) and gives the trigger to his vanguard. Illuminal Dragon attacks the vanguard and activates his limit break 4, standing Anglet (+3000) and Marsh. Perron guards with Seiobo (S26000), LeBon drive checks an unknown card and The Gong (Draw Trigger +5000 power / draw 1) giving the effects to his right Anglet and drawing Red Lightning. His right Golden Anglet (24000) attacks the vanguard. Perron guards with Dragonic Deathscythe and Photon Bomber Wyvern (S26000). Left Anglet (17000) is intercepted by Garuda (S210000.)

Turn 15
[R] Red River Dragoon (8000) boosting No rearguard versus Beast Deity, Golden Anglet (9000) boosted by Beast Deity, Blank Marsh (7000)
[V] Red River Dragoon (8000) boosting Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (11000) versus Ultra Beast Deity, Illuminal Dragon (13000) boosted by Beast Deity, White Tiger (5000)
[R] Rising Phoenix (5000) boosting Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (11000) versus Golden Anglet (9000) boosted by Tough Boy (8000)
Perron's hand:  1. Spark Edge Dracokid.
Damage: 5/6 (Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, Dusty Plasma Dragon, Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion "THE BLOOD," Yellow Gem Carbuncle, Malevolent Djinn)
Triggers left in deck: 5
Net advantage:  -16
LeBon's hand: 6. Beast Deity Scarlet Bird, Red Lightning, Beast Deity Black Tortoise, The Gong, Red Lightning, Beast Deity Golden Anglet.
Damage: 5/6 (Twin Blader, The Gong, Red Lightning, Shining Lady, Red Lightning)
Triggers left in deck: 4
Net advantage: -10
Perron draws and calls Spark Edge Dracokid (5000) in front of Red River, and his vanguard Vermillion (19000) attacks Illuminal. LeBon guards with Red Lightning, The Gong and Scarlet Bird (S33000) to ensure that the attack cannot pass through under any circumstances. Perron drive checks Malevolent Djinn (Critical Trigger +5000 power / critical +1) and Wyvern Guard Guld, giving the trigger effects to Spark Edge.

Spark Edge (18000 power / critical 2) attacks Illuminal, and is stopped by LeBon intercepting with both Golden Anglets (S23000.) Rearguard Vermillion (16000) is guarded with Black Tortoise (S18000.)

Turn 16
[R] Red River Dragoon (8000) boosting Spark Edge Dracokid (5000) versus No rearguard boosted by Beast Deity, Blank Marsh (7000)
[V] Red River Dragoon (8000) boosting Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (11000) versus Ultra Beast Deity, Illuminal Dragon (13000) boosted by Beast Deity, White Tiger (5000)
[R] Rising Phoenix (5000) boosting Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion (11000) versus No rearguard boosted by Tough Boy (8000)
Perron's hand: 2. Malevolent Djinn, Wyvern Guard Guld.
Damage: 5/6 (Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, Dusty Plasma Dragon, Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion "THE BLOOD," Yellow Gem Carbuncle, Malevolent Djinn)
Triggers left in deck: 4
Net advantage:  -16
LeBon's hand: 2. Beast Deity Golden Anglet, Ultra Beast Deity Illuminal Dragon.
Damage: 5/6 (Twin Blader, The Gong, Red Lightning, Shining Lady, Red Lightning)
Triggers left in deck: 4
Net advantage: -15
LeBon calls Golden Anglet (9000) to his left and Illuminal Dragon (11000) to his right. His vanguard Ultra Beast Deity, Illuminal Dragon (18000) attacks Perron's vanguard Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion. Perron does not guard, LeBon drive checks Ring Girl Clara (Heal Trigger +5000 power / heal 1) giving the power to his rearguard Illuminal and healing Twin Blader from his damage zone, and Tough Boy. Perron damage checks Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion "THE BLOOD;" Sebastien LeBon becomes the 2013 Toronto regional champion.

The "Tenzaku"
Throughout the entire game, LeBon established and maintained a consistent lead over Perron. In addition to this, LeBon demonstrated a familiarity with "THE BLOOD" while Perron did not have a clear comparable idea of how to play against Illuminal. Several times Perron was able to get back to or close to a neutral game state, as in turns 9, 13 and 15, but never actually took the lead after doing so and instead fell behind once more. LeBon capitalized on Scarlet Bird, an at-the-time uncommon choice for Illuminal decks that was generally replaced by Burstraizer or Shout, and it was his very first turn that sent the match spiraling into such a vicious cycle.

Even so, the most critical moves were in turns 10 and 11. Had Perron blocked King of Sword's 2 critical attack, then on his own turn refrained from using his limit break and used Garuda to attack Black Tortoise and draw out more shield, his critical trigger that turn could send LeBon to 5 damage first, and Perron would still have been able to use rearguard Vermillion at 21000 against King of Sword even after LeBon's power-up. From the perspective of not having this prior knowledge, it was already clear that being the first fighter to go to 5 would be a dangerous decision without a copy of "THE BLOOD" in hand to turn the match around with his extra critical, two heal triggers were already missing from the deck and in going to 5 Perron empowered Illuminal Dragon by making it necessary to block every single one of his four full-power attacks.

Perron never drawing "THE BLOOD" was also a key factor to the direction of the match. LeBon's rearguards were on the whole not suited toward facing a crossride defense. It's debatable how much getting "THE BLOOD" would have improved the game for Perron because without many 5000 shield units he would have had to use 10000 shield triggers regardless. Being able to attack with an extra critical on T11 instead of with just DKV would have drastically changed the outcome of that turn however, because LeBon would have no choice but to drop two perfect defense cards, potentially without ever going to limit break on that turn after blocking the double critical trigger passed to rearguard DKV. This would mean that Perron and LeBon's net advantage at the end of the turn would be -8 to -10, a positive situation for Perron, and it would have taken up one of LeBon's perfect defense cards earlier.

Although in this particular match LeBon did not have any other choice on the first turn, in general opening with Scarlet Bird can be compared to opening on Tengen in Go; a contested and somewhat dangerous opening that invites the opponent to make a nonstandard move that can quickly spiral out into a complicated game with heavy losses. Prior to Perron v. LeBon it was generally held that giving the opponent the opportunity to completely block the opening attack and potential critical triggers with it made the play inherently weak, so running Scarlet Bird in general was frowned upon compared to using Transraizer or Announcer Shout in its place. The results of the game speak contrary to this idea. As with comparable moves, the correct play is not to directly meet the opening attack, but to resist the challenge and develop your resources so that this first turn will not become important. There is the conditional factor at play that some builds can tackle the situation in such a way that they can afford to play differently. Tsukuyomi cardfighters, with a higher base power grade 1 than Scarlet Bird and the ability to pull constant advantage from the deck each turn, can afford to drop the 10000 shield. CoCo cannot meet it because her major advantage boost comes at T5 in this scenario and guarding in the midgame is necessary versus Illuminal. Most Royal Paladin builds also cannot play this way because even though they can pull advantage out later by superior calling from the deck, their raw draw power is not sufficient to keep up with the Deities' offensives later, so protecting early is not worth lacking cards later on. Mandalalord-Shirayuki can play the matchup either way because of their own persona blasts and search skills effectively giving the deck an additional 20~60000 extra shield per game, but the results of guarding Bird and Tortoise are still Tengen games that come down to the wire. The defining difference is that Mandalalord-Shirayuki force Illuminal to make the same judgments as his opponent and they drain cards from him in the same fashion, mirroring the gameplan and limiting the resources that both cardfighters can use. Shirayuki specifically can accept going to limit break first because it is easier for her to completely stop every attack in a turn, without resorting to Leaves Mirage.

Beyond just the Beast Deities, the aggression principles demonstrated in Perron versus LeBon can also be applied to any clan with units similar to Beast Deity search units, at present Murakumo but also to Narukami's Storm Bring Dragon and clans with copies of it.

Rumor: Cardfight!! Vanguard Manga to See English Translation

The following is being treated as a partially substantiated rumor and the story may develop significantly as more information comes to light. Please read with caution.

While the Cardfight!! Vanguard media franchise is known internationally as an anime and Trading Card Game, for the past two years the third piece of the puzzle that has yet to see English-language localization has been the original manga written by franchise creator Itou Akira. First debuted at the 2010 Tokyo Toy Show along with a preview video of the anime, and acting as the source material for the animated series, the Cardfight!! Vanguard manga has so far had only one official adaptation, of its first chapter released in preview materials during the 2012 World Championships and at promotional events. Outside of these fragmentary distributions, potential readers have been forced to rely on web-based fan translations or Japanese language mastery to read the manga. But if Amazon is anything to go by, this is about to change.

Amazon.co.uk has put up a preorder listing for volume 1 of the Cardfight!! Vanguard manga, published not by Kadokawa Shoten as the Japanese volumes were, but by VERTICAL. A New York-based publisher of Japanese popular media, VERTICAL is most noted for its translations of the manga adaptations of 5 Centimeters Per Second, Summer Wars and the works of classic artist Tezuka Osamu. The company was also responsible for translating Mobile Suit Gundam: THE ORIGIN. The English volume 1 is listed at 180 pages long, compared to the original Japanese volume's 193 pages. The reason for this discrepancy in page count is unknown. Volume 1's ISBN-10 is 1939130417 and ISBN-13 is 978-1939130419, and its release date is March 27 2014 according to the Amazon listing. Note that the preorder listing is exclusively on Amazon UK, but the New York publisher suggests that the manga will be released in the United States as well.

The current blurb on Amazon reads "From the makers of the YuGiOh trading card game comes Cardfight!! Vanguard, the manga that inspired the hit Vanguard card game. In similar fashion to YuGiOh and Magic the Gathering, the teenage cast of Cardfight!! Vanguard play a high-fantasy themed card game - initially they play for kicks, but eventually the stakes grow much higher... The basis of the hit trading card game and animation franchise, Cardfight!! Vanguard is a modern fantasy tale of trading card playing and making friends through gaming." There are some small inaccuracies within the description, as Itou was only involved as an assistant on the original Yu-Gi-Oh! manga and the author of the Yu-Gi-Oh! R spinoff, with no involvement in the card game outside of designing promotional cards.

Presuming that the information is correct, one point that is uncertain about this volume is whether or not the Alfred Early promo card that was included in the Japanese release will be brought over for the manga's English language release, as the card was already distributed with boxes of VGE-BT07: Rampage of the Beast King in 2012. As the release of VGE-BT10: Triumphant Return of the King of Knights is nearing, and it was within this set that the manga cards were rereleased in Japan in RRR rarity promo cards as box toppers, the release of the English manga would be the perfect opportunity to distribute these foiled reprints for westerners.

Press Release: Bushiroad Announces Initial Future Card Buddyfight Products and Release Dates

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Los Angeles, CA (October 22, 2013) – Bushiroad announced the initial product release dates and additional information for their newest trading card game, Future Card Buddyfight, at several conferences around the United States, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Dallas. Numerous players and store owners attended the conferences which were conducted by Bushiroad President Takaaki Kidani along with special guests: Future Card Buddyfight co-creators Shunichi Taira and Yoshimasa Ikeda, and Bushiroad USA General Manager Junghun Kim.

Bushiroad revealed the initial product release information in addition to the accompanying animated series and comic serialization schedules. President Kidani described Future Card Buddyfight as “easy yet complex.” Future Card Buddyfight will launch with three initial products—Trial Deck Vol. 1 : Dominant Dragons and Trial Deck Vol. 2: Savage Steel will both release on January 24, 2014, and Booster Pack Vol. 1: Dragon Chief will release a week later on January 31, 2014. The English and Japanese versions of the game will release simultaneously worldwide.

OLM Inc., the animation studio responsible for the Pokémon movie series, will be producing the Future Card Buddyfight animation series, scheduled to air in Japan from January 2014. An English-dubbed version will air shortly thereafter in Singapore and on YouTube worldwide.

A comic serialization will also appear in Shogakukan’s “Coro Coro Comic” in November in Japan.

Yoshimasa Ikeda, co-creator of Future Card Buddyfight and former CEO of the successful Japanese trading card game store franchise Card Kingdom, described the game as a “culmination of all the feedback that we’ve taken directly from store owners and players.” While the primary target audience in Japan is children ages 9-11, both President Kidani and Yoshimasa Ikeda feel that the game will also have a wider appeal in the United States. Gameplay demonstrations followed each presentation with many of the attendees taking the opportunity to sample the game.

In closing, Bushiroad vowed to fully support Future Card Buddyfight with a worldwide organized play program, and mentioned that in addition to their initial product offerings, they are planning for a full release schedule for 2014. Further information about Future Card Buddyfight will be presented by Bushiroad at Anime Festival Asia taking place in Singapore November 8-10, 2013.

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Bushiroad Inc. consists of 6 sub-entities: Bushiroad Group Publishing, Bushiroad South East Asia Pte Ltd, Bushiroad USA Inc., Bushiroad Media, Hibiki Music, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling Co., Ltd.

Bushiroad South East Asia Pte Ltd was established in Singapore on November 12, 2011 in order to expand the overseas market for Bushiroad card games such as Cardfight!! Vanguard, Weiβ Schwarz, Chaos TCG and Victory Spark.

Bushiroad USA Inc. was established in Los Angeles, California on May 18, 2012, to better cater to the growing demand and interest in Cardfight!! Vanguard from both players and retailers in the USA.

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Future Card Buddyfight (Japanese) - http://fc-buddyfight.com/

Future Card Buddyfight (English) - http://fc-buddyfight.com/en/

Bushiroad (Japanese) - http://bushiroad.com/

Bushiroad (English) - http://bushiroad.fm/

Cardfight!! Vanguard Website (Japanese) - http://cf-vanguard.com/

Cardfight!! Vanguard Website (English) - http://cf-vanguard.com/en/

Weiβ Schwarz (Japanese) - http://ws-tcg.com/

Weiβ Schwarz (English) - http://ws-tcg.com/en/

ChaosTCG (Japanese) - http://chaos-tcg.com/

Victory Spark - http://vs-tcg.com/

Monster Collection - http://moncolle-tcg.com/

News: Black Rings Rise Over Tokyo Vanguard Championship, Chaos Breaker and “Я” Daiyusha Top

The West Tokyo VGCS finished on Monday evening, concluding a collaborative effort between the organizers of the Fateclo and Pitarui VGCS tournaments. 107 cardfighters participated in the West Tokyo VGCS, making it the second largest fan tournament in the game's history after the Hachiouji VGCS (114 cardfighters), albeit at only one third the size of a typical regional tournament. This was also the first Cardfight!! Vanguard competition to employ a new tournament structure which combined two different systems, four preliminary rounds of Swiss draw followed by four rounds for the finals using the remaining top 16 cardfighters. Each round lasted 50 minutes, and was conducted in a best of 3 games format between participants.

Unlike in the wholly elimination-based tournaments typical of official events, the Swiss format popular in fan tournaments has each participant play a certain number of rounds regardless of how many losses they take, scoring points based on their number of wins, losses and draws. While this guarantees every participant a certain amount of games even if they do not make the top cut, Swiss is not very time efficient because the same large number of players have to be paired each round where in an elimination tournament a certain percentage of players are eliminated in each round after the second, and a player that scores too highly in a protracted tournament may cause scenarios in which it is impossible for them to not place first, making the final round of the tournament effectively meaningless. The West Tokyo VGCS went for an optimal compromise by dividing the tournament into four Swiss rounds that would guarantee at least eight games to each player, then cutting to top 16 for the last four rounds, alleviating the time and point concerns approximately four hours into the event.

Of the fighters attending, 28 played Link Joker, 26 Revengers, 13 Eradicators, 6 Dimension Police, 5 Oracle Think Tank, 5 Great Nature, 5 Nova Grappler, 4 Pale Moon, 4 Angel Feather, 2 Granblue, 2 Aqua Force, 2 Kagerou, 2 Liberators, 1 Royal Paladin, 1 Spike Brothers and 1 Dark Irregulars. First through third place in the West Tokyo VGCS were won by Link Joker cardfighters, with fourth place going to a Dimension Police fighter wielding Dark Dimensional Robo, “Я” Daiyusha as his ace in the hole. Other highlights include a Zerachiel deck, as well as a Great Nature deck running Chatnoir, Polaris and Leo-pald “Я” in the top 8, as well as a Tetra Drive Dragon deck. Each decklist of the top 4 has been translated into English below.

The Second Hakata VGCS was also dominated by Link Joker, with 7 of the top 8 being Link Joker decks, and the remaining build being a Raging Form Dragon deck. Decklists are not yet available, but this is yet another tournament pointing to the strong impact of VG-BT13: Catastrophic Outbreak on the format. Chaos Breaker Dragon has now become firmly established as one of the dominating forces of the format, owing to its strong control-based play style that exceeds past decks in scope by preventing units from being called as well as retiring them later on. The effect this has on the game is fairly close to some predictions of how format warping the card would be, in stark contrast to antagonist clans of the past. During the 2011 and 2012 tournament seasons, Shadow Paladin and Aqua Force followed a set formula of a dramatic introduction with only one or two deckbuilds, neither of which were especially prominent in competitive play. Link Joker however has had an immediate effect on the game from the beginning, and while that effect only began to really pick up speed in wake of BT13, their control-based play style and multiple strong customization options make them a deck to watch in the Fighter's Climax 2013 tournaments.

The VGCS tournaments are a series of unofficial tournaments organized by fans and cardshops. Unlike Bushiroad's larger official tournaments, most VGCS events are done using a best of 3, Swiss tournament model, with entry fees in the vicinity of 1000 yen per person that go toward grand prizes like booster boxes, Nintendo 3DS handhelds and other merchandise. Turnout is typically 70-80 persons, but some events see 100 or more participants, all of whom compete using pseudonyms and internet handles rather than their real names as in official events.

West Tokyo VGCS First Place
Handle Name: Battledome/バトルドーム

Grade 0

x1 Star-vader, Dusttail Unicorn (FV)
x4 Star-vader, Stellar Garage HT

x4 Star-vader, Meteoliger CT

x4 Star-vader, Weiss Soldat CT

x4 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT

Grade 1

x4 Demonic Bullet Star-vader, Neon
x4 Prison Gate Star-vader, Palladium
x4 Barrier Star-vader, Promethium
x1 Opener of the Black Door
x1 Star-vader, Chaos Beat Dragon

Grade 2

x4 Unrivaled Star-vader, Radon
x4 Star-vader, Mobius Breath Dragon

x3 Star-vader, Colony Maker

Grade 3

x4 Star-vader, Infinite Zero Dragon

x4 Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Dragon

Second Place
Handle Name: Masa/マサ

Grade 0

x1 Extending Black Ring, Pleiades (FV)
x4 Star-vader, Stellar Garage HT

x4 Star-vader, Meteoliger CT

x3 Star-vader, Weiss Soldat CT

x3 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT
x2 Star-vader, Scouting Felis DT

Grade 1

x3 Demonic Bullet Star-vader, Neon
x4 Prison Gate Star-vader, Palladium
x4 Barrier Star-vader, Promethium
x3 Star-vader, Chaos Beat Dragon

Grade 2

x4 Unrivaled Star-vader, Radon
x3 Star-vader, Mobius Breath Dragon

x4 Star-vader, Colony Maker

Grade 3

x4 Star-vader, Infinite Zero Dragon

x4 Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Dragon

Third Place
Handle Name: DDB/ＤＤＢ

Grade 0

x1 Star-vader, Dusttail Unicorn (FV)
x4 Star-vader, Stellar Garage HT

x4 Star-vader, Meteoliger CT

x4 Star-vader, Weiss Soldat CT

x4 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT

Grade 1

x2 Demonic Bullet Star-vader, Neon
x4 Prison Gate Star-vader, Palladium
x4 Barrier Star-vader, Promethium
x4 Star-vader, Chaos Beat Dragon

Grade 2

x3 Unrivaled Star-vader, Radon
x4 Soaring Star-vader, Krypton

x4 Star-vader, Colony Maker

Grade 3

x4 Star-vader, Infinite Zero Dragon

x4 Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Dragon

Fourth Place
Handle Name: Flonne-senpai's pillow is gigantic/フロン先輩の枕はデカい
Grade 0
x1 Dimensional Robo, Daimagnum (FV)
x4 Dimensional Robo, Daibattles CT
x4 Dimensional Robo, Daicrane DT
x4 Dimensional Robo, Gorescue HT
x2 Justice Cobalt CT
x2 Army Penguin DT
Grade 1
x4 Dimensional Robo, Daibrave
x4 Dimensional Robo, Daishield
x4 Commander Laurel
x2 Dimensional Robo, Dailander
Grade 2
x4 Dimensional Robo, Daidragon
x4 Dimensional Robo, Kaizard
x1 Dimensional Robo, Daibarrett
Grade 3
x4 Dark Dimensional Robo, “Я” Daiyusha
x4 Super Dimensional Robo, Daikaiser
x2 Super Dimensional Robo, Daiyusha