Revision Notice

The History of Professional Cardfight: February-April 2011 has been revised to meet new quality standards being set by upcoming installments in Cardfight Pro's history articles. May-August 2011 is next on the revision list, with the actual August-December 2011 article to be published afterwards. This new approach to defining the history of the Cardfight!! Vanguard TCG is placing an emphasis on a "SparkNotes" approach to discussing the less visible decks of any given format, rather than ignoring them entirely as was done previously, and individual booster sets are also being discussed and analyzed in depth. Additional discussion on the development of western Vanguard, online play and Cardfight Capital has also been added.

It is not yet set in stone of this will be the final form of the history articles. As the focus is toward teaching new cardfighters that were not around during this period, the method of presentation and points of discussion may not yet be perfected.

News: KeroKero Ace's Final Issue, Extra Booster 7 and BT13 Spoilers, Magus Cards, Nubatama and Dimension Police

The latest and final issue of KeroKero Ace magazine is now out, bringing with it our monthly spoilers for Cardfight!! Vanguard, this time focusing on VG-EB07: Mystical Magus and VG-BT13: Catastrophic Outbreak. It was revealed just yesterday morning that KKA will be ceasing publication following this issue, and to cope with that Bushiroad Inc. will be publishing its own monthly magazine starting in September, Monthly Bushiroad. To commemorate the return of the long-awaited Nubatama ninja clan that will be finally completed after a twelve-set hiatus spread out over two years, this issue is being released with a promo print of Stealth Dragon, Voidmaster, Nubatama's first boss card.

Translations of the issue's key cards are below. Most of these were translated by NeoArkadia and FelGrand. Pentagonal Magus was translated by winterhurtz.

7/25/2013 Edit: Nubatama translations revised. Kujikirikongou has the opponent choose the cards to discard and bind.

Oracle Think Tank units
Hexagonal Magus
11000 Power/Oracle Think Tank/Human
AUTO: [Limit Break 4] When another <<Oracle Think Tank>> rides on this unit, look at the top 3 cards of your deck, select one of the cards within and add it to your hand, then return the remaining card(s) to the top of your deck. During this turn, your Vanguard gains Power +10000.
CONT [V]: During your turn, if you have 4 or more cards in your hand, this unit gets [Power]+2000.
CONT [V/R]: Lord.

Pentagonal Magus
Grade 3/11000 Power/Oracle Think Tank/Human
AUTO: [Limit Break 4] When this unit attacks the Vanguard, you can declare the name of 1 "Oracle Think Tank" unit and reveal the Top Card of your Deck. If the name of the revealed card matches the name you declared, during this battle, this unit gets Power +5000/Critical +1.
ACT [V]: [Counterblast 1 "Magus"] Until the end of the turn, this unit gets Power +5000.
CONT [V/R]: Lord.

Note: Pentagonal Magus will be a promo card released with volume 6 of the Cardfight!! Vanguard manga, and an RR print in VG-EB07: Mystical Magus.

Crescent Magus
Grade 1/Oracle Think Tank/6000 Power/5000 Shield
AUTO [R]: When this unit boosts an <<Oracle Think Tank>>, you may declare a name of an <<Oracle Think Tank>>. Reveal the top card of your deck, and if it's the card that you have declared, during this battle, the boosted unit gains +3000.

Stella Magus
Grade 2/Oracle Think Tank/9000 Power/5000 Shield
AUTO [V/R]: [Counterblast 1] When this unit attacks, and you have a <<Oracle Think Tank>> Vanguard, you may pay the cost. If you do, declare a name of an <<Oracle Think Tank>>, and reveal the top card of your deck. If the card revealed is the declared card, you may add it to your hand, if not, return that card to the top of your deck and choose one card in your damage zone and turn it face-up.








Briolette Magus
Grade 2/9000 Power/5000 Shield/Oracle Think Tank/Human
ACT [R]: [Soulblast 1] If you have an Oracle Think Tank vanguard, draw one card, and put this unit on the top of your deck.

Nubatama units
Ashura Stealth Dragon, Kujikirikongou
Grade 3/Nubatama/11000 Power
AUTO [Limit Break 4]: When a <<Nubatama>> Rides this Unit, choose 1 of your Vanguards, it gains 10000 Power, then your opponent chooses 1 card in their hand, discards it, then your opponent selects 1 card in their hand, they Bind it face-down, then when at the beginning of the End of this turn, your opponent adds the Bound card to their hand.
AUTO [V]: When this Unit attacks, if your opponent has 3 or less cards in their hand, this Unit gains 2000 Power during this battle.
CONT [V/R]: Lord

Ashura Stealth Dragon, Kabukikongou
Grade 3/Nubatama/11000 Power
AUTO [V] [Limit Break 4]: [Counterblast 1] When this unit attacks the opponent's Vanguard, you may  pay the cost. If you do, Bind all your opponent's Rearguards face-down. If you bind 3 or more Units, this Unit gets Power +10000 during this battle. During the end of that turn, your opponent returns all the Bound Units to their hand.
ACT [V]: [Counterblast 1] This Unit gains Power +2000 during this turn.
CONT [V/R]: Lord.

Stealth Beast, Kuroko
Grade 0/Nubatama/5000 Power/10000 Shield
AUTO: Forerunner
AUTO [R]: [Soul Blast 1] When an attack hits the Vanguard that this Unit boosted, you can select 2 cards in your opponent's Bind Zone and discard them.

Storm Stealth Rogue, Fuuki
Grade 1/Nubatama/7000 Power/5000 Shield
AUTO [R]: [Counterblast 1, Place this Unit in the Soul] If your opponent has 3 or more cards in their hand, you can choose one of them at random and Bind it face-down. During the End of this turn, return the Bound Card to the opponent's hand.

Stealth Beast, Tamahagane
Grade 2/Nubatama/9000 Power/5000 Shield
AUTO: When this Unit appears in a Vanguard/Rearguard Circle, you can choose 1 of your opponent's Rearguards, Bind it. During the end of the turn, the Bound Card is returned to the opponent's hand.

Dimension Police units
Dimensional Robo, Daimagnum
Grade 0/Dimension Police/5000 Power/10000 Shield
AUTO: Forerunner
ACT [R]: [Place this Unit in your Soul] Select 1 of your <<Dimension Police>> Vanguards, it gains 4000 Power during this turn.

Dimensional Robo, Daicannon
Grade 1/6000 Power/5000 Shield/Dimension Police
ACT: (Rearguard Circle) [Put this card into your soul, and choose one of your "Dimensional Robo" rearguards and put it into your soul] Choose your vanguard with "Daiyuusha" in its name, and it gets Critical +1 until the end of the turn.

Dimensional Robo, Daiheart
Grade 2/Dimension Police/9000 Power/5000 Shield
AUTO [V]: At the start of the attack step when this unit attacks, if it has 13000 Power or more, this unit gets: "AUTO [V]: [Select 2 Grade 3 "Dimensional Robo" units from your hand, and place them into the Soul] When this unit's attack hits the Vanguard, you may pay the cost. If you do, search your deck for a Grade 3 "Dimensional Robo" unit, and ride it in <<Rest>> Position. Then, shuffle your deck." until the end of the battle.

News: Bushiroad to Launch New Vanguard Manga, KeroKero Ace to Cease Publication, Monthly Bushiroad to Launch in September

Hosted by CEO Kidani Takaaki, Bushiroad's monthly broadcast on NicoNico Douga revealed today that the company will be circulating their own magazine starting on September 6th, Monthly Bushiroad. Following the July 26th issue, KeroKero Ace magazine will cease publication of the official Cardfight!! Vanguard manga authored by franchise creator Itou Akira that has run parallel to the anime from the beginning, and new chapters will instead be serialized in Monthly Bushiroad.

Furthermore, with the launch of the new magazine will come a sidestory manga focused on the units of the trading card game, Cardfight!! Vanguard Gaiden: Shining Swordsman (カードファイト！！ヴァンガード外伝　光の剣士 Kaadofaito!! Vangaado Gaiden Hikari no Kenshi) which will be overseen by Itou Akira, and illustrated by Koshimizu Makoto. Focusing on the lore of the Cardfight!! Vanguard TCG, the protagonist was stated in the broadcast to be Blaster Blade.

The early promotional benefits of buying Monthly Bushiroad's first issue include three Cardfight!! Vanguard promo cards, one copy of Storm Bring Dragon and two cards from the upcoming thirteenth booster set, VG-BT13: Catastrophic Outbreak.

The end of KeroKero Ace is a sudden and alarming shift, as it was in this magazine that the first Cardfight!! Vanguard cards ever were distributed, and their exclusive previews of upcoming booster sets have become endeared to fans. KKA was started up six years ago by Kadokawa Shoten, having built up a sizable readership in that timeframe, with many international readers importing the magazine in addition to fans in Japan. Starting in September, the Cardfight!! Vanguard and MiniVan manga will both be transferred to Monthly Bushiroad. The monthly strategy articles that KeroKero Ace once provided will also be handled by Monthly, but with Bushiroad itself handling the writing and publication of those articles instead of providing material for an outside party to write around, it cannot be anticipated what kind of format Monthly will adopt for these. Bushiroad Monthly is tentatively slated for a 600 yen price after tax, approximately $6 US, and will be printed on B5 size paper.

News: Decklists for Chiba VGCS Released, Dudley Emperor in First, Nebula Lord in Fourth

The decklists from the Chiba Vanguard Championship were put out earlier today, providing a view of the top cardfighters and their decks from yesterday's VGCS. First place went to Hiroemon and his Spike Brothers deck; this build ran Dudley Emperor in conjunction with Bad End Dragger to launch a highly aggressive endgame, but built up to that point using Jelly Beans to search out key units like Dudley Mason and Dudley Dan. It runs 13 grade 3s, 13 grade 1s and just 7 grade 2s in a radical contrast to many of the popular decks of this current period, made possible by Jelly's search skill that can add any grade 2 or lower Dudley unit to the hand. Much like Tsukuyomi in the previous format, Dudley Emperor has come out as a surprising answer to the most popular deck of the period. Having previously been taken to first at the official FR2013 Hiroshima and Sapporo, and gone to second in Nagoya, the Spike Brothers appear to have finally hit their stride in professional play.

The top four cardfighters along with their decklists, as well as the total deck distribution of the tournament have been translated below. Second place went to Kousakimii with Eradicators, third to Yagyuu also with Eradicators, and fourth to wakisis (sic.) with Link Joker. The bottom four of the top eight were split among Revenger, Liberator and Eradicator fighters, and the VGCS subtournament was won by a Raging Form Dragon cardfighter. According to the data provided by the tournament sponsor, Raging Form was the most used deck in the tournament, with the Eradicators in second and Nebula Lord Dragon as the third most used.

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. The Chiba VGCS saw a total attendance of 89 persons.

Deck Distribution: Total Attendance 89 Persons
Eradicators 20 (10 with Vowing Saber “Я”, 10 without)
Revengers 26 (No one used Diarmuid)
Liberators 10 (9 with Liberator Garmore, 1 without)
Link Joker 11 (all using Infinite Zero and Nebula Lord Dragon)
Royal Paladin 4 (1 Majesty Lord Blaster, 1 Jewel Knight, 1 Sanctuary Guard Dragon, 1 King of Knights)
Pale Moon 3 (2 Silver Thorn decks, 1 Eva deck)
Spike Brothers 2
Bermuda Triangle 2 (1 PRISM deck, 1 Coral deck)
Narukami 2 (Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion)
Gold Paladin 2 (Ezel)
Amon 2 (without Dantalian)
Dauntless/Dragonic Overlord the End 1
Dimension Police 1 (Dimensional Robo)
Angel Feather 1 (Celestial)
Tsukuyomi 1
Magatsu Storm 1

First Place: Hiroemon
Grade 0
x1 Mecha Trainer (FVG)
x4 Cheerful Lynx DT
x4 Silence Joker CT
x4 Sonic Breaker CT
x4 Cheer Girl, Tiara HT
Grade 1
x4 Wonder Boy
x4 Cheer Girl, Marylin
x2 Reckless Express
x2 Dudley Daisy
x1 Dudley Dan
Grade 2
x4 Dudley Mason
x1 Treasured, Black Panther
x1 Highspeed Brakki
x1 Devil Summoner
Grade 3
x4 Bad End Dragger
x3 Demonic Lord, Dudley Emperor
x4 Jelly Beans
x2 Juggernaut Maximum

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

Third Place: Yagyuu
Grade 0
x1 Ambush Dragon Eradicator, Linchu (FVG)
x4 Eradicator, Blue Gem Carbuncle DT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Divine Spear Eradicator, Pollux CT
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
Grade 1
x4 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld
x4 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x1 Iron Blood Eradicator, Shuki
x3 Rising Phoenix
x2 Eradicator of the Ceremonial Bonfire, Castor
Grade 2
x4 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Cho-Ou
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x3 Dragonic Deathscythe
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x4 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x2 Eradicator, Vowing Saber Dragon “Я”

Fourth Place: wakisis
Grade 0
x1 Star-vader, Dusttail Unicorn (FVG)
x3 Star-vader, Scouting Felis DT
x3 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT
x3 Star-vader, Meteoliger CT
x3 Star-vader, Weiss Soldat CT
x4 Star-vader, Stellar Garage HT
Grade 1
x3 Demonic Bullet Star-vader, Neon
x3 Opener of the Black Door
x4 Demonic Claw Star-vader, Lanthanium
x4 Barrier Star-vader, Promethium
Grade 2
x4 Star-vader, Mobius Breath Dragon
x4 Unrivaled Star-vader, Radon
x3 Gamma Burst, Fenrir
Grade 3
x4 Star-vader, Infinite Zero Dragon
x4 Star-vader, Nebula Lord Dragon

News: Chiba Vanguard Championship Won by Spike Brothers, Eradicators in Second

7/21/13 Edit: Decklists are now up.

Tournament sponsor Hiwa Nyan has sent word out on Twitter that the first Chiba VGCS was won by a Spike Brothers cardfighter, speculated to be using the same Dudley Emperor-Bad End Dragger build that has been doing so well in the current Fighter's Road 2013 national tournament. Second place reportedly went to a Narukami cardfighter using an Eradicator deck, and while the exact build is unknown, the general assumption is that it will be another Dragonic Descendant variant. According to the Chiba VGCS' official Twitter, the decklists will be out tomorrow at the earliest, so the nature of these two decks cannot be set in stone until that time.

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. The Chiba VGCS had a capacity of up to 96 persons but the actual turnout is not yet known.

News: FR2013 Sapporo and Nagoya Decklists, Dudley Emperor and Raging Form Proliferate, Ancient Dragons Debut in Pro Play

The last regional decklists for Fighter's Road 2013 have gone out, confirming that the first place cardfighters from Sapporo and Nagoya's Open division tournaments, Nakamura Kousuke and Fukuno Hyouga, seized their respective titles using Dudley Emperor and Raging Form Dragon. Second place in Sapporo went to Nishihita Naoki's Descendant deck, while second in Nagoya went to Sasaki Daichi and his own Emperor build. Although outnumbered due to their late arrival, the sleeper hit of Dudley Emperor and surprising success of Raging Form have left a serious impact on the Japanese format. The combined deck representation from the winning lists of these two events shows 6 Dragonic Descendant, 5 Raging Form Dragon, 4 Liberator Garmore and 3 Dudley Emperor, 1 Ancient Dragon, 1 Majesty Lord Blaster, 1 Dragonic Overlord The End, 1 PR♥ISM, 1 Nebula Lord and 1 dedicated Vowing Saber Dragon “Я” decks. Following these tournaments, Raging Form Dragon's price has risen to being one of the most expensive RRRs in the Japanese format, at 2100 JPY/approximately 21 USD. Meanwhile Diarmuid, Nebula Lord and the original Luquier are all tied behind him at 1500 yen.

Sapporo's Open tournament also marks the pro debut of Tachikaze's Ancient Dragons build, with Satou Yuu's Tyranno Legend making it into the top 4. The actual brackets for which decks will be used in the fight for the national title is not set in stone, as the cardfighters competing may change their decks prior to the championship finals in August.

Surprisingly, the winning team from Sapporo's Open class team tournament included a cardfighter emulating the reigning North American national champion Kaden Kawakami. Jinma Nobuoaki ran an even more extreme variation of Kawakami's DOTE model, with twelve stand triggers instead of six. The grade 3 makeup is relatively rare for the current Japanese format, as most Kagerou cardfighters would prefer Dauntless Drive Dragon as a supporting unit in order to give their deck a limit break and guaranteed extra drive checks, but Jinma instead stuck with the classic, crossride-centric model.

Meanwhile the Nagoya regional has marked the return of established pro cardfighter Koyanagi Keita, who also appeared in Nagoya's previous summer team tournament during FR2012. Koyanagi has since retooled his Dudley Emperor deck to follow the current Bad End Dragger trend, but also further expanded upon it using the search card Jelly Beans and the Dudley series units to bypass gradelock by being able to search for his grade 1 and 2 rides directly. The strategy was previously seen in the Sendai team tournament, where Katou Hirohisa similarly applied it for better overall consistency. Notably, Koyanagi's team included another veteran, Fujii Takaya, who ran a Spectral Duke Dragon deck in the previous year but is now using a PR♥ISM deck. As at FR2012, Koyanagi's team has a Shadow Paladin cardfighter onboard as their lead player, and they have once again come out as Nagoya's first place team.

Sapporo Open Class Regional Tournament
Regional Champion: Nakamura Kousuke/中村航介
Grade 0
x1 Mecha Trainer (FVG)
x4 Cheer Girl, Tiara HT
x4 Cheerful Lynx DT
x4 Sonic Breaker CT
x4 SIlence Joker CT
Grade 1
x4 Wonder Boy
x4 Reckless Express
x2 Cheer Girl, Marylin
Grade 2
x4 Highspeed Brakki
x4 Panzer Gale
x3 Devil Summoner
x3 Treasured, Black Panther
Grade 3
x3 Bad End Dragger
x4 Demonic Lord, Dudley Emperor
x2 Juggernaut Maximum

Runner-up: Nishihata Naoki/西畑直希
Grade 0
x1 Ambush Dragon Eradicator, Linchu (FVG)
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Divine Spear Eradicator, Pollux CT
x4 Eradicator Dragon Mage DT
Grade 1
x2 Rising Phoenix
x4 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld
x4 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x3 Iron Blood Eradicator, Shuki
x2 Eradicator of the Ceremonial Bonfire, Castor
Grade 2
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x3 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Cho-ou
x3 Dragonic Deathscythe
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x4 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x2 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon

Doctor O Prize: Satou Yuu/佐藤優
Grade 0
x1 Ancient Dragon, Babyrex (FVG)
x4 Ancient Dragon, Ornithohealer HT
x4 Ancient Dragon, Titanocargo DT
x4 Ancient Dragon, Firepteryx CT
x4 Ancient Dragon, Dinodile CT
Grade 1
x3 Ancient Dragon, Paraswall
x3 Ancient Dragon, Gattling Allo
x4 Ancient Dragon, Iguanagorg
x4 Ancient Dragon, Tri-Plasma
x1 Sonic Noah
Grade 2
x4 Ancient Dragon, Dinochaos
x4 Anicent Dragon, Beamankylo
x3 Ancient Dragon, Cryolopher
Grade 3
x4 Ancient Dragon, Spinodriver
x3 Anicent Dragon, Tyranno Legend

Sapporo Junior Class Regional Tournament
Regional Champion: Fukuno Hyouga/福野氷河
Grade 0
x1 Wingal Brave (FVG)
x4 Bringer of Good Luck, Epona CT
x4 Alabaster Owl CT
x1 Knight of the Future, Llew CT
x1 Margal DT
x2 Quiet Sage, Sharron ST
x4 Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine HT
Grade 1
x2 Flash Shield, Iseult
x2 Flashing Jewel Knight, Iseult
x4 Little Sage, Marron
x2 Knight of Friendship, Kay
x1 Pongal
x1 Lake Maiden, Lien
x1 Borgal
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade
x4 Blaster Dark
x2 Knight of Loyalty, Bedivere
x1 Star Call Trumpeter
Grade 3
x2 Majesty Lord Blaster
x2 Swordsman of the Explosive Flames, Palamedes
x3 Alfred Early
x1 King of Knights, Alfred
x1 Soul Saver Dragon

Runner-up: Sasaki Daichi/佐々木大智
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FVG)
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Zephyr Eradicator, Hayate ST
x4 Eradicator Dragon Mage DT
Grade 1
x1 Rising Phoenix
x3 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld
x1 Wyvern Guard, Guld
x2 Eradicator of the True Flames, Kougaiji
x2 Eradicator of the Ceremonial Bonfire, Castor
x2 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x1 Thunder Fist Eradicator, Doui
x1 Red River Dragoon
x1 Dust Storm Eradicator, Tokou
Grade 2
x1 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x3 Twin Gun Eradicator, Hakushou
x1 Homing Eradicator, Rochishin
x2 Eradicator, Thunder Boom Dragon
x1 Assassin Sword Eradicator, Susei
x1 Dragonic Deathscythe
x2 Demonic Dragon Berserk, Garuda
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x3 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x2 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon
x1 Eradicator, Electric Shaper Dragon

Doctor O Prize: Murono Kaitei/室野快帝
Grade 0
x1 Frontline Revenger, Claudas (FVG)
x4 Healing Revenger HT
x4 Freezing Revenger DT
x4 Grim Revenger CT
x4 Revenger, Air Raid Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Dark Revenger, Mac Lir
x4 Morale Revenger, Dorin
x4 Transient Revenger, Masquerade
x1 Witch of Nostrum, Arianrhod
x1 Revenger of Malice, Dilan
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger
x4 Nullity Revenger, Masquerade
x3 Black Clothed Revenger, Tartu
Grade 3
x4 Revenger, Raging Form Dragon
x4 Illusion Revenger, Mordred Phantom

Vanguard Fight High School 2013 Summer, Open Class Sapporo Regional Tournament Championship Team
Imagawa Hirosuke/今川博介
Grade 0
x1 Ambush Dragon Eradicator, Linchu (FVG)
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Divine Spear Eradicator, Pollux CT
x4 Eradicator Dragon Mage DT
Grade 1
x2 Rising Phoenix
x4 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld
x4 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x4 Eradicator of the Ceremonial Bonfire, Castor
Grade 2
x2 Twin Gun Eradicator, Hakushou
x2 Dragonic Deathscythe
x3 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Cho-ou
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Eradicator, Vowing Saber Dragon “Я”
x4 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon

Saitou Takashi/齋藤隆
Grade 0
x1 Spring Breeze Messenger (FVG)
x2 Flame of Victory CT
x4 Liberator of Hope, Epona CT
x2 Strike Liberator CT
x4 Armament Liberator, Gwydion DT
x4 Elixir Liberator HT
Grade 1
x2 Barcgal Liberator
x4 Curved Blade Liberator, Josephus
x4 Little Liberator, Marron
x4 Halo Liberator, Mark
Grade 2
x3 Blaster Blade Liberator
x4 Liberator of the Flute, Escrad
x4 Liberator of Royalty, Phallon
Grade 3
x4 Liberator of the Round Table, Alfred
x3 Wolf Fang Liberator, Garmore

Jinma Nobuoaki/神馬伸昭
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid FVG)
x4 Dragon Monk, Genjo HT
x4 Flame Seed Salamander ST
x4 Lizard Soldier, Gan-lu ST
x4 Lizard Runner, Nafud ST
Grade 1
x2 Seal Dragon, Kersey
x4 Wyvern Guard, Barri
x4 Embodiment of Armor, Bahr
x4 Dragon Monk, Gojo
Grade 2
x2 Wyvern Strike, Tejas
x4 Burning Horn Dragon
x2 Berserk Dragon
x2 Dragon Knight, Nehalem
Grade 3
x4 Dragonic Overlord The End
x4 Dragonic Overlord

Vanguard Fight High School 2013 Summer,  Student-only Class Sapporo Regional Tournament Championship Team
Kuwamura Daichi/桑村大地
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FVG)
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Divine Spear Eradicator, Pollux CT
x4 Eradicator Dragon Mage DT
Grade 1
x3 Rising Phoenix
x4 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld
x4 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x3 Iron Blood Eradicator, Shuki
Grade 2
x1 Twin Gun Eradicator, Hakushou
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x4 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Cho-ou
x2 Dragonic Deathscythe
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x4 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x2 Eradicator, Sweep Command Dragon

Chisaki Tetsuya/地崎鉄也
Grade 0
x1 Star-vader, Dusttail Unicorn (FVG)
x4 Star-vader, Stellar Garage HT
x4 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT
x4 Star-vader, Weiss Soldat CT
x4 Star-vader, Meteoliger CT
Grade 1
x2 Opener of the Black Door
x4 Demonic Claw Star-vader, Lanthanium
x4 Demonic Bullet Star-vader, Neon
x4 Barrier Star-vader, Promethium
Grade 2
x3 Soaring Star-vader, Krypton
x4 Furious Claw Star-vader, Niobium
x4 Unrivaled Star-vader, Radon
Grade 3
x4 Star-vader, Infinite Zero Dragon
x4 Star-vader, Nebula Lord Dragon

Den Ryouhei/伝涼平
Grade 0
x1 Creeping Dark Goat (FVG)
x4 Healing Revenger HT
x4 Freezing Revenger DT
x4 Grim Revenger CT
x4 Revenger, Air Raid Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Dark Revenger, Mac Lir
x4 Morale Revenger, Dorin
x4 Transient Revenger, Masquerade
x1 Revenger of Malice, Dilan
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger
x4 Nullity Revenger, Masquerade
x4 Black Clothed Revenger, Tartu
Grade 3
x4 Revenger, Raging Form Dragon
x4 Illusion Revenger, Mordred Phantom

Nagoya Open Class Regional Tournament
Regional Champion: Hirago Masaki/平子真幸
Grade 0
x1 Creeping Dark Goat (FVG)
x4 Healing Revenger HT
x4 Grim Reaper CT
x4 Grim Revenger CT
x4 Revenger, Air Raid Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Dark Revenger, Mac Lir
x4 Morale Revenger, Dorin
x4 Transient Revenger, Masquerade
x1 Revenger of Malice, Dilan
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger
x4 Nullity Revenger, Masquerade
x4 Black Clothed Revenger, Tartu
Grade 3
x4 Revenger, Raging Form Dragon
x4 Illusion Revenger, Mordred Phantom

Runner-up: Nakamae Shuuta/中前秀太
Grade 0
x1 Mecha Trainer (FVG)
x4 Cheer Girl, Tiara HT
x4 Cheerful Lynx DT
x4 Sonic Breaker CT
x4 SIlence Joker CT
Grade 1
x4 Wonder Boy
x4 Reckless Express
x3 Cheer Girl, Marylin
x3 Medical Manager
Grade 2
x4 Highspeed Brakki
x4 Panzer Gale
x4 Devil Summoner
Grade 3
x3 Bad End Dragger
x3 Demonic Lord, Dudley Emperor
x2 Juggernaut Maximum

Doctor O Prize: Yamane Takashi/山根誉史
Grade 0
x1 Little Fighter, Cron (FVG)
x4 Liberator of Hope, Epona CT
x4 Strike Liberator CT
x4 Armament Liberator, Gwydion DT
x4 Elixir Liberator HT
Grade 1
x4 Barcgal Liberator
x2 Liberator, Flare Mane Stallion
x4 Little Liberator, Marron
x4 Halo Liberator, Mark
Grade 2
x4 Liberator of the Flute, Escrad
x4 Blaster Blade Liberator
x4 Liberator of Royalty, Phallon
Grade 3
x4 Liberator of the Round Table, Alfred
x3 Wolf Fang Liberator, Garmore

Nagoya Junior Class Regional Tournament
Regional Champion: Niwa Kensuke/丹羽健輔
Grade 0
x1 Eradicator, Blade Hang Dracokid (FVG)
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Divine Spear Eradicator, Pollux CT
x1 Eradicator Dragon Mage DT
x3 Eradicator, Blue Gem Carbuncle DT
Grade 1
x2 Suppression Eradicator, Dokkasei
x3 Wyvern Guard, Guld
x1 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld
x4 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x2 Iron Blood Eradicator, Shuki
x4 Eradicator of the Ceremonial Bonfire, Castor
Grade 2
x2 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x4 Supreme Army Eradicator, Zuitan
x4 Homing Eradicator, Doui
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x1 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x2 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon
x2 Eradicator, Vowing Saber Dragon “Я”

Runner-up: Gotou Yuusuke/後藤優介
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FVG)
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Divine Spear Eradicator, Pollux CT
x4 Eradicator Dragon Mage DT
Grade 1
x2 Rising Phoenix
x4 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld
x4 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x4 Iron Blood Eradicator, Shuki
Grade 2
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x3 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Chou-ou
x4 Homing Eradicator, Rochishin
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x1 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x3 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon
x2 Eradicator, Vowing Saber Dragon “Я”

Doctor O Prize: Honda Naoki/本田直己
Grade 0
x1 Liberator, Cheer Up Trumpeter (FVG)
x4 Liberator of Hope, Epona CT
x4 Strike Liberator CT
x4 Armament Liberator, Gwydion DT
x4 Elixir Liberator HT
Grade 1
x2 Barcgal Liberator
x3 May Rain Liberator, Bruno
x4 Curved Blade Liberator, Josephus
x2 Little Liberator, Marron
x2 Halo Liberator, Mark
Grade 2
x3 Blaster Blade Liberator
x3 Liberator of the Flute, Escrad
x2 Liberator of Royalty, Phallon
x2 Liberator, Bagpipe Angel
x2 Cloudy Sky Liberator, Geraint
Grade 3
x2 Liberator of the Round Table, Alfred
x3 Wolf Fang Liberator, Garmore
x3 Solitary Liberator, Gancelot

Vanguard Fight High School 2013 Summer, Open Class Nagoya Regional Tournament Championship Team
Shirai Yoshiyuki/白井克幸
Grade 0
x1 Frontline Revenger, Claudas (FVG)
x4 Healing Revenger HT
x4 Grim Reaper CT
x4 Grim Revenger CT
x4 Revenger, Air Raid Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Dark Revenger, Mac Lir
x4 Morale Revenger, Dorin
x4 Transient Revenger, Masquerade
x1 Sacriledge Revenger, Berith
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger
x3 Nullity Revenger, Masquerade
x3 Black Clothed Revenger, Tartu
x2 Skull Witch, Nemain
Grade 3
x4 Revenger, Raging Form Dragon
x4 Illusion Revenger, Mordred Phantom

Koyanagi Keita/小柳敬太
Grade 0
x1 Mecha Trainer (FVG)
x4 Cheer Girl, Tiara HT
x4 Cheerful Lynx DT
x4 Sonic Breaker CT
x4 SIlence Joker CT
Grade 1
x2 Wonder Boy
x3 Reckless Express
x3 Cheer Girl, Marylin
x1 UFO
x1 Commander, Garry Gannon
x1 Dudley Daisy
x2 Dudley Dan
Grade 2
x2 Highspeed Brakki
x1 Brave General, Zachary
x1 Treasured, Black Panther
x4 Dudley Mason
Grade 3
x4 Bad End Dragger
x3 Demonic Lord, Dudley Emperor
x2 Juggernaut Maximum
x3 Jelly Beans

Fujii Takaya/藤井貴哉
Grade 0
x1 Angelic Star, Coral (FVG)
x4 Drive Quartet, Flows HT
x4 PR♥ISM-Miracle, Adria
x4 PR♥ISM-Miracle, Canaria
x4 Drive Quartet, Shuplu CT
Grade 1
x3 Mermaid Idol, Sedna
x4 Mermaid Idol, Erie
x4 Fresh Star, Coral
x4 Mirror Diva, Biscayne
Grade 2
x1 PR♥ISM-Smile, Ligurian
x2 Girls Rock, Rio
x3 PR♥ISM-Promise, Celtic
x4 Shiny Star, Coral
Grade 3
x1 Eternal Idol, Pacifica
x4 PR♥ISM-Image, Vert
x3 Aurora Star, Coral

Vanguard Fight High School 2013 Summer,  Student-only Class Nagoya Regional Tournament Championship Team
Kyouen Seima/京円星磨
Grade 0
x1 Little Fighter, Cron (FVG)
x4 Liberator of Hope, Epona CT
x4 Strike Liberator CT
x2 Armament Liberator, Gwydion DT
x2 Flame of Victory CT
x4 Elixir Liberator HT
Grade 1
x1 Silver Fang Witch
x3 May Rain Liberator, Bruno
x2 Little Liberator, Marron
x4 Halo Liberator, Mark
x4 Curved Blade Liberator, Josephus
Grade 2
x4 Liberator of the Flute, Escrad
x2 Blaster Blade Liberator
x4 Liberator of Royalty, Phallon
x2 Player of the Holy Bow, Viviane
Grade 3
x4 Liberator of the Round Table, Alfred
x2 Solitary Liberator, Gancelot
x1 Wolf Fang Liberator, Garmore

Fushida Noriaki/藤田宜明
Grade 0
x1 Frontline Revenger, Claudas (FVG)
x4 Healing Revenger HT
x4 Freezing Revenger DT
x4 Grim Revenger CT
x4 Revenger, Air Raid Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Dark Revenger, Mac Lir
x4 Morale Revenger, Dorin
x4 Transient Revenger, Masquerade
x2 Buranbau Revenger
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger
x3 Nullity Revenger, Masquerade
x4 Black Clothed Revenger, Tartu
Grade 3
x4 Revenger, Raging Form Dragon
x4 Illusion Revenger, Mordred Phantom

Imani Michi/今仁道
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FVG)
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Divine Spear Eradicator, Pollux CT
x2 Eradicator Dragon Mage DT
x2 Eradicator, Blue Gem Carbuncle DT
Grade 1
x3 Rising Phoenix
x4 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld
x4 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x2 Iron Blood Eradicator, Shuki
x1 Eradicator of the Ceremonial Bonfire, Castor
Grade 2
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x3 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Cho-ou
x4 Dragonic Deathscythe
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x4 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x1 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon
x1 Eradicator, Vowing Saber Dragon “Я”

Ride to Victory Translation Part 9: Regional Tournament, Round 1

←Part 8

Part 10 (Upcoming)→

Regional Tournament Hall

Finally, the regional tournament is beginning. Everyone's support brought you here.

Is Kourin-chan here!?

What, you came too Lose-umi?

Aa, Kourin-chaan!

Tch, listen to him.

This place is bigger than I thought. Are you nervous?

I'm sure you'll be fine. If you fight like always, I know you'll have good results.

Everyone, thank you for waiting. At last, we are opening the third block of the Ride to Victory Regional Tournament. The veteran fighters who have each won their shop tournaments have gathered here! In the hot fights unfolding here, who will seize the laurel of victory!? Doctor O-san is here for commentary. I'm getting excited just thinking about it.

Yes. It's quite heardpounding.

Observing the condition of the fights is me, MC Miya. I will send you all a full, live broadcast. Now then, the first round is a match between Card Capital's representative [Player Name] and Yahagi Kyou.

What are you supposed to be? I've never seen your face around here before.

You're not my opponent. Send out Sendou Aichi or Kai Toshiki!

Uh-oh! Yahagi is suddenly provoking his opponent!

So-o exciting.



Well, whatever. I'll deal with you quickly, win and then go on up!

「俺様のターン！」

 "It's the Great Kyou's turn!"

Grade 0
x1 Mecha Trainer (FVG)
x2 Cheer Girl, Marylin HT
x3 Cheerful Lynx DT
x1 Silence Joker CT
x2 Sonic Breaker CT
Grade 1
x1 Wonder Boy
x3 Dudley Dan
x2 Spike Brothers Assault Squad
x1 Cheer Girl, Tiara
Grade 2
x2 Highspeed Brakki
x2 Devil Summoner
Grade 3
x2 Juggernaut Maximum
x4 Sky Diver

(Above are the confirmed cards that we've seen; there are around 24 cards missing from this list, but until complete data can be assembled it should give you an idea of what to expect from Kyou.)

Kyou is running a variation of his Spike Brothers deck, based on his appearance at the anime's first regional tournament. The goal of the deck is to set the field up with Mecha Trainer's search skill and Dudley Dan's counterblast 2 early on, then use a rearguard Sky Diver's skill to set up a chain of consecutive attacks, sacrificing card advantage by moving Diver into the soul when his attack hits to call another Spike Brothers, ideally Juggernaut Maximum. Maximum and Brakki can both soulblast when they attack to get +5000 more power and then cycle back into the deck, creating a string of powerful rearguard lines. There are a lot of issues with the strategy though--first, Kyou has no good grade 3 for the vanguard circle, as they're all 11000 power units with no skills outside of the rearguard circles. Second, Kyou's deck has a lot of weak rearguards, with the 8000 power Devil Summoner, 4000 power Dan and Assault Squad, which makes for an easy defense on your part.

The third issue is how conservative his AI is. Kyou never actually uses his units' skills. He tries to save his counterblast for either Dan or Mecha Trainer but doesn't seem to prioritize them, so whenever he judges whether or not to use one he decides to save it for the other. So he's not actually going to try and set up his field, or use his counterblast at all, and he'll almost always judge using Sky Diver's soul-in or Juggernaut Maximum's deck cycle as too much of a loss in resources at any given moment moment. The AI playing mindgames with itself means that it's harder to lose to Kyou than to win against him, as he's effectively playing with very weak vanilla rearguards and a vanguard line that can't do anything.

In the games where he does do something, there's still a lot that can go wrong with his strategy, as damage checking triggers throws the whole thing off, as do higher-power units that can't be hit by some of the rearguards that he'll call with Sky Diver.



Th, this can't be...there has to be some kind of mistake...that's right. It's decided. Hahaha, hahahaha...I think this is my victory! Uwaaaa!


Oh, Yahagi has run away! The first round is over. The winner, [Player Name]! Having won, it's decided that in the second round [Player Name] will face Usui Yuri.


Phew. It was nerve-wracking, but you did it.



The victory bells are ringing! My disciple.

That's why she's NOT your disciple.

The regional tournament is only just beginning. Do your best.

←Part 8

Part 10 (Upcoming)→

News: Mordred Phantom Break Rides to the Top in FR2013 Nagoya, Vanguard Championship Won by Link Joker, Shadow Paladin and Narukami Fighters

The final regional tournament for Fighter's Road 2013 finished over the weekend, and while decklists are not yet out, Doctor O has reported some of the results. The winner of the Nagoya Open regional tournament used a Shadow Paladin deck with Illusion Revenger Mordred Phantom as its focal card, while the Junior class tournament had first place taken by a Narukami cardfighter using the clan's recently-released Reverse card, Vowing Saber Dragon “Я.” As at Sapporo and Tokyo, a shift away from the previously-dominant Dragonic Descendant has been observed, and as the entrants that qualified during the previous Memorial Tournament that are still in the running for the FR2013 trophy will have to change their decks to accommodate for the current restricted list, we may yet see some established pros jump ship toward the new Shadow Paladin and Link Joker builds. The Fighter's Road 2013 national finals will be held on August 11th.

In underground news, the most recent in the line of unofficial VGCS tournaments has finished, with this team tournament won by a team of Link Joker, Shadow Paladin and Narukami cardfighters. The second place team had a similar setup but with Link Joker replaced by Pale Moon, making for a very early debut of Luquier “Я” in tournament play.

An interesting innovation from the second place team is Gadgetarou's Raging Form Dragon deck, which uses Creeping Dark Goat as its first vanguard and Claudus as an eighteenth grade 0 to fetch with Dark Bond Trumpeter. Although this particular strategy has been in discussion among Shadow Paladin fighters ever since Dark Bond was first revealed, this is the first time that it has been seriously proven in a tournament environment.

In all, 96 cardfighters divided among 32 three-man teams participated. The tournament was split into five rounds of each team member fighting the opposing team simultaneously, with the tournament finals being best of three within those individual fights. The tournament breakdown for the top four teams saw the Eradicators and Revengers tied in popularity, with 4 Revenger, 4 Eradicator, 3 Star-vader and 1 Silver Thorn decks in the top 4.

VGCS First Place Team
Gaiji/カイジ
Grade 0
x1 Star-vader, Dusttail Unicorn (FVG)
x4 Star-vader, Stellar Garage HT
x3 Star-vader, Meteoliger CT
x3 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT
x3 Star-vader, Weiss Soldat CT
x3 Star-vader, Scounting Felis DT
Grade 1
x4 Barrier Star-vader, Promethium
x4 Demonic Claw Star-vader, Lanthanum
x3 Demonic Bullet Star-vader, Neon
x3 Opener of the Black Door
Grade 2
x3 Soaring Star-vader, Krypton
x4 Unrivaled Star-vader, Radon
x4 Furious Claw Star-vader, Niobium
Grade 3
x4 Star-vader, Infinite Zero Dragon
x4 Star-vader, Nebula Lord Dragon

Yuurei/ゆーれい
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FVG)
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Eradicator Dragon Mage DT
x4 Divine Spear Eradicator, Pollux CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
Grade 1
x4 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld
x4 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x2 Eradicator of the Ceremonial Bonfire, Castor
x4 Rising Phoenix
Grade 2
x3 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x4 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Cho-ou
x4 Dragonic Deathscythe
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x2 Eradicator, Vowing Saber Dragon “Я”
x4 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon

Genex/ジェネクス
Grade 0
x1 Creeping Dark Goat (FVG)
x4 Healing Revenger HT
x4 Freezing Revenger DT
x4 Grim Revenger CT
x4 Revenger, Air Raid Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Dark Revenger, Mac Lir
x4 Morale Revenger, Dorin
x4 Transient Revenger, Masquerade
x2 Revenger, Dark Bond Trumpeter
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger
x3 Nullity Revenger, Masquerade
x4 Black Clothed Revenger, Tartu
Grade 3
x4 Revenger, Raging Form Dragon
x4 Illusion Revenger, Mordred Phantom

VGCS Second Place Team
Gadgetaro/ガジェ太郎
Grade 0
x1 Creeping Dark Goat (FVG)
x1 Frontline Revenger, Claudus
x4 Healing Revenger HT
x4 Freezing Revenger DT
x4 Grim Revenger CT
x4 Revenger, Air Raid Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Dark Revenger, Mac Lir
x4 Morale Revenger, Dorin
x3 Transient Revenger, Masquerade
x3 Revenger, Dark Bond Trumpeter
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger
x4 Nullity Revenger, Masquerade
x3 Black Clothed Revenger, Tartu
Grade 3
x4 Revenger, Raging Form Dragon
x3 Illusion Revenger, Mordred Phantom

Suzu/涼
Grade 0
x1 Girl Who Crossed the Gap (FVG)
x4 Silver Thorn Barking Dragon CT
x4 Poison Juggler CT
x4 Silver Thorn Juggler, Nadia HT
x4 Silver Thorn Marionette, Natasha DT
Grade 1
x4 Silver Thorn Hypnos, Lydia
x2 Silver Thorn Breathing Dragon
x3 Silver Thorn Assistant, Ana
x2 Midnight Bunny
x3 Purple Trapezist
Grade 2
x4 Silver Thorn Marionette, Lillian
x4 Silver Thorn Beast Tamer, Maricica
x3 Nitro Juggler
Grade 3
x3 Silver Thorn Dragon Tamer, Luquier
x2 Silver Thorn Dragon Queen, Luquier “Я”
x3 Miracle Pop, Eva

Moo-chan/もーちゃん
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FVG)
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x2 Eradicator Dragon Mage DT
x4 Divine Spear Eradicator, Pollux CT
x2 Eeradicator, Blue Gem Carbuncle DT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
Grade 1
x4 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld
x3 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x3 Eradicator of the Ceremonial Bonfire, Castor
x1 Iron Blood Eradicator, Shuki
x3 Rising Phoenix
Grade 2
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x4 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Cho-ou
x4 Dragonic Deathscythe
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x1 Eradicator, Vowing Saber Dragon “Я”
x1 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon
x3 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon

News: Spike Brothers and Majesty Lord Blaster Take First in Sapporo Regional

Doctor O tweeted earlier today from the Sapporo branch of FR2013, revealing that the Open division champion used a Spike Brothers deck based on the Dudley series of units. Meanwhile the winner in the Junior class tournament was a Royal Paladin cardfighter who built their deck around Majesty Lord Blaster. The upper brackets for Sapporo included Tachikaze, Shadow Paladin, Link Joker and Narukami decks, but which clans made second place in each division is currently unknown.

Doctor O's information is coming on the heels of Raging Form and Nebula Lord's success at Tokyo, as well as the Spike Brothers' previous triumph in Hiroshima. This sudden influx of seemingly underdog decks into a format that was previously stale and dominated by Dragonic Descendant has come as a surprise to many, but as these outlier decks pick up steam the tail end of FR2013 promises to be an exciting period. As the official Cardfight!! Vanguard portal does not update over the weekends, the decklists from Sapporo will likely be put out later this week. The next and final regional in FR2013 will be Nagoya tomorrow on the 15th, with the championship finals on August 11th.

Shoplight: The Burrow

Fighter's Shoplight is a subproject that aims to distribute information regarding local shop and play spaces.

The Burrow
Location: 180 S. Rock Road, Suite #200, Wichita, KS.
Website: https://www.facebook.com/theburrowstore?fref=ts
Founded by Derrek Burrows in 2012, the Burrow was the first Kansas store to actively carry the Cardfight!! Vanguard Trading Card Game, and the first in the state to host tournaments. With a player base that dates back to before Descent of the King of Knights, the Burrow boasts a wealth of experienced and skilled cardfighters like Vinh Nguyen, 2013 Kansas regional champion and fifteenth in the Stand Up Challenge Cup national finals.

Tournaments are held on a bi-weekly basis, with a $2 entry fee per person that goes toward prize support, including sealed product, accessories and store credit. Prize support is supplemented by donated prizes from the store. Tournaments are grassroots and player run, with official sanction from Bushiroad USA. Typical attendance is in the range of 20-25 persons.

Citations and External Links
Information and photographs are contributed by Edward Orndorff. Edited and revised by Touya.

Have a shop that you'd like to see featured? Try submitting an article!

News: FR2013 Tokyo Regional Decklists, Nebula Lord and Raging Form Claw Their Way Up the Ranks

The Fighter's Road 2013 Tokyo regional results are out, giving us our first look at what a professional Raging Form Dragon deck looks like, as well as the first pro Link Joker deck ever played. It wouldn't be an understatement to call Tokyo the most anticipated regional yet, as the updates from VG-BT12: Binding Force of the Black Rings have brought with them sweeping changes to the format and the proper debut of Lock. The once-stable environment of BT10-on, dominated by Eradicator and Liberator decks, has been shaken up considerably by Tokyo's top 4. The addition of Vowing Saber Dragon “Я” to the standard Eradicator deck has narrowly put Narukami cardfighter Tatsuya Tanaka at the top, followed by Imanishi Kouichi's Raging Form and Nagata Shou's Nebula Lord, but the effusion of Eradicator decks has reportedly been stemmed as discussion now turns toward the Revenger and Star-vader subgroups.

To recap the situation, Dragonic Descendant began his reign of dominance in the Osaka branch of the Asia Circuit Memorial Tournament, where tournament winner Uemura Shouhei and runner-up Nishiyama Daiki codified the basic Descendant deck. Descendant was turned to for combining his self-stand skill with an extra critical, which in the eyes of Japanese pros combined some of the strengths of Dragonic Overlord The End and Majesty Lord Blaster, which were almost unplayable under the then-enforced January 1st restricted list. To be absolutely certain that Majesty could not compete in the Memorial Tournament, Bushiroad also instituted special rules that each deck had to have more than four grade 3s, in response to Nakamura Mitsuaki's Blaster deck from the 2013 Trio Festival which got around the restricted list by playing one copy of Majesty with three Soul Saver Dragons and using the extra deck space for additional Blaster units so that Wingal Brave's skill could be used to search Majesty. Descendant thus did not have Majesty or DOTE competing with him, bypassing the gauntlet that many previous decks have had to deal with and then becoming cemented as the go-to tournament deck. This was followed by Descendant placing first at Tokyo, second at Hakata and first at Nagoya, with Kokubo Hikaru's Nagoya decklist drawing attention for being a card-for-card copy of Uemura Shouhei's.

Then during the unofficial Vanguard Championship tournaments in April, the top three spaces of the best 4 at the Kyoto VGCS were taken by Descendant, as well as the top two spaces of the Kanto VGCS. Descendant also placed second in the A block of the official Fighter's Cup and first in B block of the Fight Royale. In May Bushiroad revised the restricted list, creating the May 11th list that brought back DOTE as well as Alfred but kept Majesty and Tsukuyomi restricted while Descendant was added to the list. This somewhat curbed Descendant's control of the Japanese scene, but Narukami cardfighters remained undeterred by the list, running extra copies of Vowing Sword and Gauntlet Buster Dragon in his place as a holdover until one of those two copies were drawn, and his dominance continued into the next VGCS tournament which had preemptively adopted the rules of the list four days prior to its actual start date. Descendant placed first in this Hachiouji VGCS, and repeated this feat at the onset of the Fighter's Road 2013 national tournament in Sendai as well as at Kyoto and Kanazawa.

This string of victories was broken by Okudaira Ryousuke at FR2013 Hiroshima, where he took first place using a Dudley Emperor-Bad End Dragger deck. While Yoshida Yuuta's Descendant deck still made it to second place, Emperor had not received heavy recognition at higher level play up to this point and essentially came out of left field, putting real doubt on if Descendant was really going to last through the duration of this current restricted list. Curiously, Descendant has not been especially popular in the juniors' division until today, which supported the suspicions that part of Descendant's success was owed to the same stubbornness that kept Soul Saver Dragon, Majesty Lord Blaster, Dragonic Overlord The End and Goddess of the Full Moon at the height of tournament play for so long. Every previous high-end deck in the Japanese scene has been buried by either direct decree from Bushiroad or by new cards from the same clan outmoding the old ones in the eyes of pro fighters. Majesty himself is even now going toe-to-toe with Descendant out of that same obstinance. While Descendant would go on to place first in Fukuoka, second place was taken by an Eradicator deck that didn't run him and instead used Sweep Command's break ride with Spark Horn Dragon. From this the idea surfaced that rather than Descendant himself being the dominating force of this tournament season, it is actually the entire Eradicator framework with Descendant and Gauntlet Buster as its dressing--an idea that veteran cardfighters of 2011 are all too familiar with, considering some of the crazier decks that the Barcgal framework was driving in that year. Unlike with Barcgal, there is no one card that Uemura's model of the deck would fall apart without. The Eradicators are an ever-growing snowball of cards that are good individually but overwhelming together, and the only thing that's going to stop their progress is the kind of impermeable evolution of strategy that Okudaira demonstrated at Hiroshima and that Gotou Kiyomi did in last year's tournament. Neither of these cardfighters made sweeping revisions to their respective builds. All they did was make their decks speak modern Vanguard with small changes that would give them concrete early, mid and endgame strategies effective in the current format. This brings us to now.

BT12's release has been anticipated because while Vowing Saber has given the Eradicators another tool to play around with, Link Joker and Shadow Paladin are FR2013's wild cards. At the very same VGCS where Descendant made its debut prior to the Memorial Tournament, Shadow Paladin was seemingly geared to start the tournament season strong as it headed in with the promise of the first new support in years coming further down the line. It speaks to the developing mind set of pro play that Descendant's tournament debut was only second place. With Shadow Paladin finally updated for modern times and Raging Form's own debut being "only second place," the throne is once again disputed as Imanishi and Nagata's shaking of the brackets has ignited new possibilities. The sudden inflation in prices for Shadow Paladin and Link Joker cards, particularly Raging Form and Nebula Lord, has pointed to Japanese pros potentially being on the verge of jumping ship to these new decks. Like DOTE and Majesty before it, Descendant may turn out to be that same breed of pro deck that commonly does well throughout a season and then drops off when the championship finals come around; FR2013 could very well be a repeat experience of FR2012's underdog championship.

In junior class tournament news, one Nakamura Shunto may actually be the return of an established junior pro cardfighter, third place in FR2012. The Nakamura Shunto that we are seeing today has played very differently from the one of the past however, coming in second place and now contending for the national title with a Scarlet Witch deck, likely in light of Majesty now being restricted. Nakamura's contemporaries are shrugging at the restriction, however; Misawa Kentarou from the open division is undeterred by the list, running two copies of Majesty with one Soul Saver Dragon and twelve Blaster cards among his grade 1 and 2 units to use Wingal Brave's search skill with.

In the student-only division of the VF High School Championship, Ueno Yuuki's unorthodox Granblue deck has seen a lot of interest for its very tech-heavy build. The deck runs twelve critical triggers, with Rough Seas Banshee and the grade 3 Basskirk serving as a soul engine to fuel its three copies of Dancing Cutlass as well as the Deadly series cards. For field control options, Ueno selected the much-beloved Cocytus for his on-ride counterblast 2 and the much less frequently played Negromarl for the rearguard, one of the weakest grade 3s in the game that clocks in at just 8000 power but can also call any unit from the drop zone to any rearguard circle with his skill. For endgame limit breaks, Ueno also ran a single copy of Malefic Dragon, a unit that specifically fights units with 12000+ power like Majesty Lord Blaster and the many crossrides now in the game, by gaining +10000 power when it attacks them. While Ueno's deck is very far from standard Granblue and follows a difficult to master playstyle, his innovative approach has breathed some life back into the undead clan and the results speak in his favor.

With six tournaments completed, there are now just two branches of FR2013 remaining. Sapporo and Nagoya will bring us the last candidates for the championship title, with the tournaments being held on the 14th and 15th. The national championship finals will be on August 11th, closing the summer tournament with the coronation of Japan's 2013 champion.

Open Class Regional Tournament
Regional Champion: Tatsuya Tanaka/田中達也
Grade 0
x1 Ambush Dragon Eradicator, Linchu (FVG)
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Divine Spear Eradicator, Pollux CT
x4 Eradicator Dragon Mage DT
Grade 1
x2 Rising Phoenix
x4 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld
x4 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x4 Iron Blood Eradicator, Shuki
Grade 2
x3 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x4 Dragonic Deathscythe
x4 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Cho-ou
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x3 Eradicator, Vowing Saber Dragon “Я”
x3 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon

Runner-up: Imanishi Kouichi/今西弘一
Grade 0
x1 Harbinger Revenger, Claudus (FVG)
x4 Healing Revenger HT
x4 Freezing Revenger DT
x4 Grim Revenger CT
x4 Revenger, Air Raid Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Dark Revenger, Mac Lir
x4 Morale Revenger, Dorin
x4 Transient Revenger, Masquerade
x1 Sacriledge Revenger, Berith
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger
x4 Nullity Revenger, Masquerade
x4 Black Clothed Revenger, Tartu
Grade 3
x4 Revenger, Raging Form Dragon
x4 Illusion Revenger, Mordred Phantom

Doctor O's Prize: Nagata Shou/長田祥
Grade 0
x1 Star-vader, Dusttail Unicorn (FVG)
x4 Star-vader, Stellar Garage HT
x4 Star-vader, Meteoliger CT
x2 Star-vader, Weiss Soldat CT
x4 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT
x2 Star-vader, Scouting Ferris DT
Grade 1
x4 Barrier Star-vader, Promethium
x4 Demonic Claw Star-vader, Lanthanium
x4 Hollow Twin Blades, Binary Star
x3 Opener of the Black Door
Grade 2
x3 Star-vader, Mobius Breath Dragon
x3 Evil Claw Star-vader, Niobium
x3 Unrivaled Star-vader, Radon
x2 Shooter of the Singularity
Grade 3
x4 Star-vader, Infinite Zero Dragon
x3 Star-vader, Nebula Lord Dragon

Junior Class Regional Tournament
Regional Champion: Funayama Yuiga/舩山唯我

Grade 0
x1 Eradicator, Strikedagger Dragon (FVG)
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x3 Eradicator, Blue Gem Carbuncle DT
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Eradicator of the Divine Spear, Pollux CT
Grade 1
x2 Rising Phoenix
x4 Sword Dance Eradicator, Hisen
x4 Eradicator, Wyvern Guard Guld
x1 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x2 Iron Blood Eradicator, Shuki
Grade 2
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x4 Supreme Army Eradicator, Zuitan
x3 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Chou-Ou
x1 Homing Eradicator, Rochishin
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x3 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x3 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon

Runner-up: Nakamura Shunto/中村俊斗
Grade 0
x1 Little Witch, LuLu (FVG)
x4 Lozenge Magus HT
x4 Psychic Bird CT
x4 Oracle Guardian, Nike CT
x4 Battle Sister, Ginger CT
Grade 1
x4 Oracle Guardian, Gemini
x2 Emerald Witch, LaLa
x2 Battle Sister, Omelette
x4 Battle Sister, Chocolat
x3 Battle Sister, Cream
Grade 2
x2 Battle Sister, Tart
x2 Promise Daughter
x4 Battle Sister, Mocha
x2 Silent Tom
Grade 3
x4 Scarlet Witch, CoCo
x4 Battle Sister, Cookie

Doctor O's Prize: Okura Takumi/小倉拓海
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FVG)
x3 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x3 Divine Spear Eradicator, Pollux CT
x4 Eradicator Dragon Mage DT
x2 Eradicator, Blue Gem Carbuncle DT
Grade 1
x4 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld
x4 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x1 Iron Blood Eradicator, Shuki
x3 Rising Phoenix
x2 Eradicator of the Ceremonial Bonfire, Castor
Grade 2
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x2 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Cho-ou
x1 Twin Gun Eradicator, Hakushou
x3 Dragonic Deathscythe
x1 Supreme Army Eradicator, Zuitan
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x3 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x3 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon

Vanguard Fight High School 2013 Summer, Open Class Tokyo Regional Tournament Championship Team
Watanabe Kento/渡邉健斗
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FVG)
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Divine Spear Eradicator, Pollux CT
x4 Eradicator Dragon Mage DT
Grade 1
x4 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld
x4 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x2 Iron Blood Eradicator, Shuki
x3 Rising Phoenix
Grade 2
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x4 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Cho-ou
x4 Dragonic Deathscythe
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x4 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x2 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon
Misawa Kentarou/三澤健太郎
Grade 0
x1 Wingal Brave (FVG)
x4 Enthusiastic Jewel Knight, Polly HT
x3 Margal DT
x3 Blazing Jewel Knight, Rachelle
x3 Alabaster Owl CT
x3 Bringer of Good Luck, Epona CT
Grade 1
x4 Flash Shield, Iseult
x4 Little Sage, Marron
x4 Knight of Friendship, Kay
x2 Pongal
x1 Blaster Javelin
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade
x4 Blaster Dark
x4 Star Call Trumpeter
x3 Blaster Blade Spirit
Grade 3
x2 Majesty Lord Blaster
x1 Soul Saver Dragon

Matsumoto Yuusuke/松本佑典
Grade 0
x1 Little Witch, LuLu (FVG)
x4 Battle Sister, Chai HT
x4 Psychic Bird CT
x4 Oracle Guardian, Nike CT
x4 Battle Sister, Ginger CT
Grade 1
x4 Oracle Guardian, Gemini
x1 Battle Sister, Maple
x1 Battle Sister, Omelette
x4 Battle Sister, Chocolat
x3 Battle Sister, Cream
Grade 2
x2 Battle Sister, Tart
x2 Battle Sister, Macaron
x4 Battle Sister, Mocha
x4 Silent Tom
Grade 3
x4 Scarlet Witch, CoCo
x4 Battle Sister, Cookie

Vanguard Fight High School 2013 Summer, Student-only Class Tokyo Regional Tournament Championship Team
Imaizumi Tsukasa/今泉司
Grade 0
x1 Ambush Dragon Eradicator, Linchu (FVG)
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Eradicator Dragon Mage DT
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Eradicator of the Divine Spear, Pollux CT
Grade 1
x3 Rising Phoenix
x4 Eradicator, Wyvern Guard Guld
x2 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x3 Iron Blood Eradicator, Shuki
x3 Eradicator of the Ceremonial Bonfire, Castor
Grade 2
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x3 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Chou-Ou
x2 Eradicator, Thunder Boom Dragon
x3 Dragonic Deathscythe
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x4 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x1 Eradicator, Sweep Command Dragon

Ueno Yuuki/上野祐樹
Grade 0
x1 Skeleton Assault Troops Captain (FVG)
x2 Doctor Rouge HT
x2 Rick the Ghostie HT
x4 Rough Seas Banshee CT
x4 Knight Spirit CT
x4 Ghoul Cannonball CT
Grade 1
x3 Samurai Spirit
x3 Dancing Cutlass
x3 Dandy Romario
x1 Deadly Nightmare
x3 Gust Djinn
Grade 2
x2 Captain Nightmist
x4 Ruin Shade
x1 Skeleton Knight
x4 Commodore Blueblood
x2 Deadly Spirit
Grade 3
x2 King of Demonic Seas, Basskirk
x2 Witch Doctor of the Abyss, Negromarl
x2 Ice Prison Necromancer, Cocytus
x1 Dragon Undead, Malefic Dragon

Kurihara Ryou/栗原遼
Grade 0
x1 Little Fighter, Cron (FVG)
x4 Liberator of Hope, Epona CT
x4 Strike Liberator CT
x4 Flame of Victory CT
x4 Elixir Liberator HT
Grade 1
x1 Silver Fang Witch
x4 Curved Blade Liberator, Josephus
x2 Little Liberator, Marron
x4 Halo Liberator, Mark
x2 May Rain Liberator, Bruno
Grade 2
x2 Liberator of the Flute, Escrad
x3 Blaster Blade Liberator
x4 Liberator of Royalty, Phallon
x4 Liberator of Silence, Gallatin
Grade 3
x4 Liberator of the Round Table, Alfred
x3 Wolf Fang Liberator, Garmore