News: Blasters Make Comeback in Third Kansai VGCS and FR2014 Kanazawa, Thing Saver-Phantom “Abyss” Hybrid Places First

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Over the 21st the third Kansai VGCS concluded with an unorthodox combination of Paladin cards captaining its championship team. Exploiting the rule that any Royal Paladin cardfighter can have up to 10 Shadow Paladin cards in their deck, team captain Chii brought a Thing Saver Dragon deck with Revenger Phantom Blaster “Abyss” as his secondary grade 3 to the tournament. Since this did not occupy Chii's team's Shadow Paladin slot, this effectively allowed two separate teammates to take advantage of “Abyss” while still declaring separate clans. With the Royal Paladins' effective Blaster support still hanging around from BT05: Awakening of Twin Blades, the basic framework of the deck through Blaster-based subclan attackers and Wingal Brave was able to effectively support the fusion. Chii was hardly alone in the venture; Thing Saver-“Abyss” became a polarizing new deck at the tournament, with nine of the nineteen Royal Paladin cardfighters that participated playing similar builds. Others trying the same idea integrated Battle Spirit Revenger MacArt and Dark Bond Trumpeter to some effect, using MacArt to superior call Dark Bond when the vanguard Legions and then using Dark Bond's counterblast 1 to superior call a Freezing Revenger, setting up the field for a Phantom Blaster “Abyss” play. You can jump to the VGCS decklists by searching the page for [3KVGCS]

Third Kansai VGCS Clan Breakdown
19 Shadow Paladin (10 Raging Form, 5 Dragruler, 3 Mordred, 1 Cormac)
19 Royal Paladin (9 Thing Saver-Abyss, 8 Seeker, 2 Other)
19 Nova Grappler (18 Raizer, 1 Beast Deity)
14 Genesis (All Regalia)
10 Link Joker (6 Glendios, 3 Chaos Breaker-Garnet Star)
7 Dimension Police (All Metalborg)
5 Gold Paladin (All Liberator)
3 Oracle Think Tank (All Amaterasu-Ohirume Legion)
2 Neo Nectar (All Musketeers)
1 Narukami (Brawler)

33 teams totaling 99 cardfighters in all participated, with the top two teams comprising “Ω” Glendios, Raging Form-Phantom Blaster “Abyss,” “Abyss”-Thing Saver, Cat Butler Raizers, Raging Form-Phantom Blaster “Abyss” and a more standard Thing Saver Dragon deck. Both Chii and his teammate Pest reported individuals records of 6 wins to 2 losses. Notable other decks include Pokoki's (ポコ吉) Chaos Breaker-Garnet Star-Nebula Lord build from the fourth place team, and Warosu's (わろす) CEO Yggdrasil-Minerva deck from the third place team. Yggdrasil-Minerva is the popular choice for a definitive Regalia deck of the format, and this format's Link Joker build may be the last we see of Chaos Breaker in Japan in light of the upcoming Link Joker boss cards from VG-BT17: Blazing Perdition. These sampled decklists are translated below under the heading [3KCSSA]


By using Wingal Brave's skill in combination with Blaster Blade Seeker and Thing Saver's Legion, Chii was able to reliably search for his lone copy of Phantom Blaster "Abyss." Blaster Blade Seeker being on the vanguard circle during Legion would satisfy the requirements necessary for Wingal and for the Blaster-based subclan attackers to trigger. This gave him two restanding Legion vanguards to work with, patching the general weakness of the Seeker subclan's secondary grade 3s. In most previous formats this kind of mixing would be impossible because of the Lord skill, which prevents a unit from attacking if any card on the field does not have its clan, but from Seeker of Hope onwards new cards have foregone Lord from their printings entirely. And because of the special permission given to Royal Paladin cardfighters in team tournaments to use Shadow Paladin cards--originally a rule made for the sake of Majesty Lord Blaster fighters in 2012--unlike the majority of hybrid decks seen in VGCS tournaments, this deckbuild would be completely legal for play in Bushiroad's official events. So it goes that first place in this year's Kanazawa regional championship, held over the 17th, is Hayashi Daiki with one of those very same hybrid decks. Go to the heading [FR14KN] for his decklist.

Hayashi was followed up in second place by Watanabe Shouhei with a hybrid of Nouvelle Vague and Dragonic Overlord “The Яe-birth.” Hayashi's strategy was to run Nouvelle at just two copies, playing his deck like a standard Overlord build with Nouvelle Vague and Nouvellecritic as the only major additions, building up towards a crossbreak ride turn with “The Яe-birth” to try for six drive checks in one turn, and then switch to Nouvelle Vague for his endgame after Overlord had already lain waste to the opponent's perfect defense cards. Although somewhat dated by the standards of the Legion format, the presence of both Dragonic Burnout and Nouvellecritic does give this incarnation of Kagerou a stronger midgame, and a specifically good endgame versus the Legion vanguards of the present who primarily attack in the range of 20~22000 power while both “The Яe-birth” and Nouvelle defend on a 13000 power base. This expedites the process of guarding, especially against the likes of restanding vanguards Thing Saver and Blaster “Abyss.”

The last major developments of these tournaments came from the Kansai VGCS' championship team Forward Pest (ペスト) playing Star-vader “Ω” Glendios with the new trial deck card Companion Star-vader Photon in the deck. Photon's skill allows his fighter to lock one of the opponent's rearguards when called if they already have a locked rearguard, easily shutting down their field and promoting synergy with Glendios' "Omega Lock" limit break, which prevents the locks from opening for one turn. At times Photon can act like a superior Cold Death Dragon, helping lock the opponent's entire field so that Glendios will automatically win through its ultimate break at the beginning of its next main phase.

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. 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 VGCS model of fan-organized play has begun to gain popularity internationally, with the bi-monthly BeNeLux tournaments serving as their European equivalent, and there are now similar grassroots organizations emerging in the United States like Cosmic Oasis' tournament series and the ongoing King of Cardfight competition in the American midwest.

Third Kansai VGCS [3KVGCS]
First Place Team: Cockroach of the East, Coming to the West/東のゴキブリ、西へ来る
Forward: Pest/ペスト
Grade 0
x1 Star-vader, World Line Dragon (FV)
x4 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT
x2 Star-vader, Scouting Felis DT
x4 Star-vader, Stellar Garage HT
x4 Star-vader, Meteo Liger CT
x2 Star-vader, Weiss Soldat CT
Grade 1
x4 Star-vader, Ruin Magician
x4 Taboo Star-vader, Rubidium
x4 Barrier Star-vader, Promethium
Grade 2
x1 Star-vader, Colony Maker
x3 Star-vader, Magnet Hollow
x3 Companion Star-vader, Photon
Grade 3
x4 Star-vader, “Ω” Glendios
x4 Star-vader, “Я” Cradle
x6 “Я” units (names not specified)

Midfighter: ask
Grade 0
x1 Frontline Revenger, Claudas (FV)
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 Transient Revenger, Masquerade
x4 Barrier Troop Revenger, Dorint
x1 Self-control Revenger, Rakia
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger “Abyss”
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger
x4 Dark Cloak Revenger, Tartu
Grade 3
x4 Revenger, Phantom Blaster “Abyss”
x4 Revenger, Raging Form Dragon

Captain: Chii/ちー
Grade 0
x1 Wingal Brave (FV)
x4 Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine  HT
x4 Margal DT
x1 Messgal Seeker DT
x3 Bringer of Good Luck, Epona CT
x4 Seeker, Herald Breath Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Knight of Friendship, Kay
x4 Lake Maiden, Lien
x3 Flail Seeker, Hasbasado
x4 Guardian Law Seeker, Shiron
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade Spirit
x4 Blaster Blade, Seeker
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger “Abyss”
x1 Knight of Loyalty, Bedivere
Grade 3
x4 Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon
x1 Revenger, Phantom Blaster “Abyss”

Second Place: Teacher and the Taught/先生と教え子たち
Forward: Boseto-san/ぼせとさん
Grade 0
x1 Transmigrating Evolution, Miraioh (FV)
x4 Cat Butler
x4 Raizer Girl, Kate HT
x4 Raizer Crew DT
x4 Meteoraizer CT
x1 Beast Deity, Death Stinger CT
x3 Red Lightning CT
Grade 1
x2 Blau Dunkelheit
x2 Shieldraizer
x3 Energy Charger
x4 The Screamin' and Dancin' Announcer, Shout
x1 Cannon Raizer
Grade 2
x3 Marine Raizer HT
x3 Ultimate Raizer, DF
x4 Phoenix Raizer, FW
x3 Street Bouncer
Grade 3

x4 Ultimate Raizer, MF

Midfighter: Muratake/ムラタク
Grade 0
x1 Judgebau Revenger (FV)
x4 Healing Revenger HT
x1 Lizard Witch, Aife DT
x4 Freezing Revenger DT
x4 Grim Revenger CT
x3 Revenger, Air Raid Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Dark Revenger, Mac Lir
x4 Transient Revenger, Masquerade
x4 Barrier Troop Revenger, Dorint
x1 Black-winged Sword Breaker
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger “Abyss”
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger
x3 Dark Cloak Revenger, Tartu
x1 Nullity Revenger, Masquerade
Grade 3
x4 Revenger, Phantom Blaster “Abyss”
x4 Revenger, Raging Form Dragon

Captain: Shadow/シャドウ
Grade 0
x1 Advance Party Seeker, File (FV)
x4 Seeker, Loving Healer HT
x4 Margal DT
x1 Messgal Seeker DT
x3 Certain Kill Seeker, Modron CT
x4 Seeker, Herald Breath Dragon CT
Grade 1
x3 Good Faith Seeker, Cynric
x4 Lake Maiden, Lien
x1 Flail Seeker, Hasbasado
x3 Guardian Law Seeker, Shiron
x1 Summoning Jewel Knight, Gloria
x2 Glynngal Seeker
Grade 2
x3 Natural Talent Seeker, Valrod
x4 Blaster Blade, Seeker
x3 Full Bloom Seeker, Cerdic
x2 Crossbow Seeker, Gildas
Grade 3
x4 Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon
x3 Seeker, Sacred Wingal

Assorted Decklists [3KCSSA]
Third Place Team Forward: Warosu/わろす
Grade 0
x1 Vivid Rabbit (FV)
x4 Regalia of Benevolence, Eir HT
x4 Regalia of Foredoom, Lot Angel DT
x1 Fancy Monkey DT
x4 Battle Maiden, Kukurihime CT
x3 Far Sight Regalia, Clear Angel CT
Grade 1
x4 Exorcism Regalia, Shiny Angel
x2 Goddess of Union, Juno
x4 Regalia of Purify, Pure Angel
x3 Regalia of Frozen Breath, Svalin
x1 Witch of Strawberries, Framboise
Grade 2
x4 Regalia of Midday, Hemera
x4 Regalia of Fate, Norn
x3 Evening Regalia, Hesperides
Grade 3
x3 Cosmic Regalia, CEO Yggdrasil
x2 Omniscience Regalia, Minerva
x3 Regalia of Wisdom, Angelica

Fourth Place Team Midfighter: Pokoki/ポコ吉
Grade 0
x1 Star-vader, Dust Tail Unicorn (FV)
x4 Recollection Star-vader, Tellurium HT
x2 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT
x3 Vortex Star-vader, Molybdenum DT
x1 Star-vader, Weiss Soldat CT
x2 Star-vader, Meteoliger CT
x4 Star-vader, Apollo Nail Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Star-vader, Bolt Line
x4 Prison Gate Star-vader, Palladium
x2 Mana Shot Star-vader, Neon
x4 Barrier Star-vader, Promethium
Grade 2
x4 Companion Star-vader, Photon
x4 Star-vader, Colony Maker
x3 Star-vader, Moebius Breath Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Dragon
x3 Star-vader, Garnet Star Dragon
x2 Star-vader, Nebula Lord Dragon

Fighter's Road 2014 Regional Qualifier, Kanazawa [FR14KN]
First place: Hayashi Daiki/林大貴
Grade 0
x1 Wingal Brave (FV)
x4 Seeker, Loving Healer  HT
x4 Margal DT
x1 Revenger, Air Raid Dragon CT
x3 Certain Kill Seeker, Modron CT
x4 Seeker, Herald Breath Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Lake Maiden, Lien
x4 Knight of Friendship, Kay
x4 Guardian Law Seeker, Shiron
x1 Flail Seeker, Hasbasado
x1 Transcient Revenger, Masquerade
x1 Revenger, Dark Bond Trumpeter
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade, Seeker
x2 Blaster Dark Revenger “Abyss”
x4 Battle Spirit Revenger, MacArt
x2 Blaster Blade Spirit
x1 Knight of Loyalty, Bedivere
Grade 3
x4 Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon
x1 Revenger, Phantom Blaster “Abyss”

Second place: Watanabe Shouhei/渡辺翔平
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x4 Dragon Dancer, Barbara HT
x3 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x3 Seal Dragon, Artpique DT
x2 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x1 Blue-Ray Dracokid CT
x3 Seal Dragon, Biera CT
Grade 1
x4 Wyvern Guard, Barri
x4 Calamity Tower Wyvern
x2 Dragon Monk, Gojo
x4 Eternal Bringer Griffin
Grade 2
x4 Burning Horn Dragon
x3 Dragonic Burnout
x4 Nouvelle Critique Dragon
Grade 3
x2 Dragonic Overlord “The Яe-birth”
x4 Dragonic Overlord (BT15/004)
Grade 4
x2 Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague