The official cf-vanguard webportal updated this morning to reflect new changes made to the Japanese restricted list. After several months of play in the current Raizer deck, the grade 0 Cat Butler has been restricted to being played at a maximum of two copies, limiting how consistently its skill can be pulled off. Meanwhile the once-infamous Dragonic Descendant has been taken off the list, after being restricted to two for the past year. Lizard Soldier Conroe and Barcgal remain restricted from being placed as the first vanguard. The new restrictions will take effect on August 18th.
Cat Butler has gained infamy internationally for making every Raizer Legion a restanding vanguard with a positive exchange in card advantage, retiring Butler to drive check an additional two cards. This has proven deadly in combination with their core grade 3, Ultimate Raizer Mega Flare.
MF's extra critical encourages the opponent to guard it at all
costs, and Cat Butler's skill only activates when the vanguard's attack
does not hit, creating a consistent combo wherein the opponent is forced to accept multiple vanguard attacks rather than risk potentially game-ending damage.
Butler's restriction coincides with recent modifications made to the list for the English-language format, bringing changes instituted in Japan back during the height of Dragonic Nouvelle Vague's popularity.
Although the modification has answered the general dominance of Cat Butler Raizers, observant fighters have noted that the new restricted list does not address the rise of Thing Saver-Phantom Blaster “Abyss,” which has just recently come to prominence in the Japanese pro scene as a powerful hybrid deck.