Vanguard Announce has come out with the latest results of the amateur Vanguard Championships, this time including the first Kyoto and the fourth Kanto VGCS. These large-scale amateur tournaments are organized by Kohaku ("Amber") and a network of card shops; they are unaffiliated with Bushiroad, but as a result of their independent status, both the entry fees and prizes are much higher than would be acceptable in official events. Cardfighters participating in the VGCS tend to operate under pseudonyms and net handles, rather than providing their real names as in Bushiroad's organized play. And unlike the official best of one, double elimination format, these amateur events are done in a best of three, Swiss tournament model. This makes the tournaments very drawn out, so attending can mean a full day's commitment, but it also creates a more intensely competitive environment where only fighters with the ability to control absolutely every game can reach the top brackets. The underground, anonymous nature of the amateur Vanguard Championships is intimidating to some, but the rewards are high as the top fighters can win
up to five boxes from the latest booster sets.
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| Photo source, from 2008. The Kyoto Education and Cultural Center is a culture center established by the city of Kyoto. Spaces within the building are frequently rented to provide environments for an event. |
The Kyoto tournament held on March 24th saw 74 participants and was held at the Kyoto Education and Cultural Center. The top three places were won using Eradicator-based Narukami decks, while fourth place went to a PRISM-based Bermuda Triangle build. Of the decks used, the Eradicators were the most populous with 23 participants using them, followed by the Liberators and PRISM Bermuda Triangle at just 12, then 5 Spike Brothers and 4 Oracle Think Tank decks. The remaining cardfighters included 2 standard Royal Paladin decks, 1 Jewel Knight deck, 1 old model Gold Paladin deck, and 1 deck of every remaining clan except for Aqua Force, Etranger, Kagerou, Nubatama, Granblue and Murakumo.
Meanwhile, the fourth Kanto VGCS on March 31st saw a turnout of 85 participants, with the top two places being taken by Eradicator decks, the third by a Spike Brothers build, and the fourth by another Eradicator deck. This particular tournament was held in a Round Robin format, initially divided into sixteen blocks, with the top two from each block then proceeding to the top 32. Rounds were best of five, allowing each fighter up to two losses. The top 8 included two more Eradicators, another Liberator and a PRISM build. Unlike at Kyoto, the Kanto tournament included videos of the matches including the final Narukami v. Liberator fight (above), providing a rare look at how the highest levels of Japan's competition play out.
The deck distribution this time included 29 Eradicator decks, 17 of them being Dragonic Descendant-Gauntlet Buster Dragon builds, with 11 others including Vowing Sword Dragon in the mix alongside Gauntlet and Descendant. Other decks included 22 Liberators, 7 PRISM, 3 Pacifica, and 4 Majesty Lord Blaster builds
