Blaster Blade leaked

April 17th, 2018. An English product leak for V-Trial Deck 01: Sendou Aichi reveals the full skills of the Standard format Blaster Blade, hybridizing a number of different versions of the card from formats past.

CONT [Vanguard Circle]: If you have four or more rearguards, this unit gets Critical +1.
AUTO [Vanguard/Rearguard Circle]: When placed, by paying [Counterblast 1 & Soulblast 1] choose one of your opponent's rearguards in the front row, and retire it.

While the original Blaster Blade from 2011 could only retire grade 2 or greater units when placed on a rearguard circle, and gained the ability to retire any unit when placed on the vanguard circle, the reimagined card borrows Blaster Blade Liberator's front-row retire and gains a vanguard-critical skill that seemingly foreshadows Majesty Lord Blaster.

Although some have expressed concern with regard to Blade's early critical and emphasis on swarming, Bushiroad's plan seems to be to push both fighters in a match to advance the game state as quickly as possible. Nowhere is this more evident than in the age-old Royal Paladin-Kagerо̄ rivalry; Royal Paladin swarms the field with Allen and Marron to fuel Blaster Blade's extra critical, but Kagerо̄ in turn punishes Royals by retiring their units with Burj, Bahr, and Berserk Dragon, trading counterblast for counterblast and damage for damage. Royals have a theoretical damage lead from Blaster Blade, but Kagerо̄ gets to power up off retiring their field with rearguard Vortex Dragon. Royal Paladin in turn has to put down more guard to defend in the late game, while Kagerо̄ conserves hand by needing to defend against fewer and less powerful rearguards after initiating their retires. Royals' constant drawing off of Allen and Marron helps alleviate the high guard requirements, but Dragonic Overlord swinging for 43k+ promises to break through that hand as it builds up instances of Force and Burj power. It's a phenomenally designed matchup defined by a string of trades and choices on what each fighter wants to keep and what they are willing to sacrifice--and where will it lead? The King of Knights and Dragonic Waterfall will have to tell us.

News: Fighter's Cup & Fight Royale Tournament Results

Today the results of the Fighter's Cup and Fight Royale tournaments were made public through the official Japanese website. Both of these tournaments were held as part of the Great Vanguard Festival on April 27-29, each divided into two blocks. Notably, these results are showing much heavier influence from the new break ride mechanics than prior tournaments of 2013, as fighters are becoming more experimental with their deckbuilds.

Gold Paladin seems to be leaving its first real impact on the Japanese pro scene, as the Spectral Duke Dragon deck that was so impractical within the crossride format has been reworked with the Liberator subgroup supporting it, while the Ezel deck that only popped up briefly before is now likewise taking advantage of the Gancelot break ride.

Narukami is remaining a steady presence; in addition to "THE BLOOD" returning to tournament prominence, Uemura Shouhei's Dragonic Descendant decklist has once again shown its influence, as Fight Royale champion Itagaki Shinya has been clearly influenced by the deck's success. Although not a perfect replica, his build is clearly patterned off of Uemura's style. Due to yesterday's announcement of the May 11th restricted list, this could be the last time that Descendant shows its face in the pro scene.

Fighter's Cup A Block
Champion: Atenbou Yousuke/阿天坊洋祐
Grade 0
x1 Spring Breeze Messenger (FVG)
x4 Liberator of Hope, Epona CT
x4 Weapons Liberator, Gwydion DT
x4 Strike Liberator CT
x4 Elixir Liberator HT
Grade 1
x4 Halo Liberator, Mark
x2 Liberator, Flare Mane Stallion
x2 Sleygal Dagger
x3 Curved Blade Liberator, Josephus
x4 Little Liberator, Marron
Grade 2
x2 Blaster Blade Liberator
x3 Liberator of the Flute, Escrad
x3 Liberator of Royalty, Phallon
x3 Liberator of Silence, Gallatin
Grade 3
x4 Liberator of the Round Table, Alfred
x4 Solitary Liberator, Gancelot

Runner-up: Nomiya Youtei/野宮陽平
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FVG)
x4 Eradicator Dragon Mage DT
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Divine Spear Eradicator, Pollux CT
x1 Spark Edge Dracokid CT
Grade 1
x2 Rising Phoenix
x4 Eradicator of the Ceremonial Bonfire, Castor
x4 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld
x4 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
Grade 2
x3 Eradicator, Thunder Boom Dragon
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x4 Dragonic Deathscythe
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x4 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon

Fighter's Cup B Block
Champion: Nukui Yuu/貫井悠
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FVG)
x2 Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x2 Mischievous Girl, Kyon-She DT
x2 Old Dragon Mage DT
x2 Spark Edge Dracokid DT
x4 Demonic Dragon Nymph, Seiobo HT
x4 Malevolent Djinn CT
Grade 1
x4 Red River Dragoon
x2 Photon Bomber Wyvenr
x2 Dragon Monk, Ginkaku
x4 Wyvern Guard, Barri
x2 Rising Phoenix
Grade 2
x2 Thunder Storm Dragoon
x1 Storm Bringer Dragon
x4 Dusty Plasma Dragon
x3 Demonic Dragon Berserk, Garuda
Grade 3
x4 Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion "THE BLOOD"
x4 Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion

Runner-up: Ajisaka Masato/鰺坂真人
Grade 0
x1 Crimson Lion Cub, Kyrph (FVG)
x4 Elixir Sommelier HT
x4 Weapons Dealer, Gwydion DT
x4 Flame of Victory CT
x2 Dantegal CT
x2 Silent Punisher CT
Grade 1
x2 Disciple of Pain
x1 Silver Fang Witch
x4 Halo Shield, Mark
x4 Sleygal Dagger
x4 Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth
Grade 2
x3 Liberator of Royalty, Phallon
x3 Knight of Passion, Bagdemagus
x4 Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains
Grade 3
x4 Solitary Liberator, Gancelot
x3 Blazing Lion, Platina Ezel
x1 Burning Lion, Blond Ezel

Fighter's Royale, A Block
Champion: Matsuoka Reishi/松岡怜史
Grade 0
x1 Black Dragon Whelp, Vortimer (FVG)
x4 Liberator of Hope, Epona CT
x4 Elixir Liberator HT
x4 Flame of Victory CT
x4 Falcon Knight of the Azure DT
Grade 1
x4 Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth
x4 Scout of Darkness, Vortimer
x2 Halo Liberator, Mark
x2 Halo Shield, Mark
x1 Listener of Truth, Dindrane
x1 Silver Fang Witch
Grade 2
x4 Black Dragon Knight, Vortimer
x2 Liberator of Silence, Gallatin
x1 Blaster Blade Liberator
x2 Mage of Calamity, Tripp
x2 Player of the Holy Bow, Viviane
Grade 3
x4 Spectral Duke Dragon
x4 Solitary Liberator, Gancelot

Runner-up: Kawai Tomoki/川井智己
Grade 0
x1 Wingal Liberator (FVG)
x4 Liberator of Hope, Epona CT
x4 Flame of Victory CT
x4 Strike Liberator CT
x4 Elixir Liberator HT
Grade 1
x4 Halo Liberator, Mark
x2 Liberator, Flare Mane Stallion
x4 Curved Blade Liberator, Josephus
x4 Little Liberator, Marron
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade Liberator
x3 Liberator of the Flute, Escrad
x4 Liberator of Royalty, Phallon
Grade 3
x4 Liberator of the Round Table, Alfred
x4 Solitary Liberator, Gancelot

Fighter's Royale, B Block
Champion: Itagaki Shinya/板垣信也
Grade 0
x1 Ambush Dragon Eradicator, Linchu (FVG)
x4 Eradicator Dragon Mage DT
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Divine Spear Eradicator, Pollux CT
Grade 1
x2 Rising Phoenix
x4 Eradicator of the Ceremonial Bonfire, Castor
x4 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld
x2 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x2 Eradicator of True Flames, Kougaiji
Grade 2
x4 Eradicator, Thunder Boom Dragon
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x3 Dragonic Deathscythe
Grade 3
x4 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x4 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon

Runner-up: 谷帝希 (Pronunciation currently unknown, possibly a pseudonym; "Kokutei Nozomi" is one suggested reading.)
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FVG)
x4 Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x2 Old Dragon Mage DT
x2 Spark Edge Dragokid CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Nymph, Seiobo HT
x4 Malevolent Djinn CT
Grade 1
x4 Red River Dragoon
x4 Photon Bomber Wyvern
x4 Wyvern Guard, Guld
x3 Rising Phoenix
Grade 2
x4 Thunder Storm Dragon
x4 Hex Cannon Wyvern
x3 Demonic Dragon Berserker, Garuda
Grade 3
x3 Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion "THE BLOOD"
x4 Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion

News: Blaster Blade Liberator Unveiled

The final episode of Cardfight!! Vanguard Asia Circuit, which aired just two hours ago in Japan, confirmed the name of the much-anticipated Blaster Blade remake, Blaster Blade Liberator. Set to be featured in TD08: Liberator of the Sanctuary and BT10: Triumphant Return of the King of Knights, this unit will be a key card in the Gold Paladin clan's Liberator series subgroup. The card's skills are not known, but the power and shield are 9000 and 5000 as with his Royal Paladin incarnation, and he is speculated to have both Liberator-based skills and skills which will contribute to a double clan hybrid play style between the Royal and Gold Paladins. As BT10 will also feature Royal Paladin cards along with its Gold Paladins, as well as a reprint of the original Blaster Blade, the nature of these skills is highly anticipated.

Furthermore, three new cards based off of older Royal Paladins have been revealed.

Little Liberator, Marron
Grade 1/Power 7000/Shield 5000
Gold Paladin/Giant/United Sanctuary
[AUTO](RC): When this unit attacks, if you have a vanguard with "Liberator" in its card name, this unit gets [Power]+3000 until the end of that battle.

Liberator of Silence, Gallatin
Grade 2/Power 10000/Shield 5000
Gold Paladin/Human/United Sanctuary

Liberator of the Future, Llew
Grade 1/Power 6000/Shield 5000
Gold Paladin/Human/United Sanctuary
AUTO [R]: When this unit boosts a «Gold Paladin» vanguard, if the number of rear-guards you have with "Liberator" in their card name is 3 or more, the boosted unit gets Power +4000 until end of that battle.

These cards are based on the Little Sage Marron, Knight of Silence Gallatin and Knight of the Future Llew, while Marron's skill originated with the Knight of Friendship Kay. The new cards are being very poorly received in the wake of the Asia Circuit's extremely controversial ending, which will be broadcast in English in just two hours.