News: Phantom Blaster “Abyss” Tops in Fourth Sapporo VGCS

Hokkaido citizens' activity center, Sapporo city. Over November 2nd the fourth Sapporo city VGCS took place, attracting seventy participants in total. Won by Igachuu, a new face in professional play, the tournament results followed up on recent trends established at the second Chiba Brave Cup. The tournament was primarily made up of Shadow Paladin cardfighters building their decks around the Revenger subclan, many of them having transitioned to it after abandoning Thing Saver Dragon following the implementation of the most recent restricted list.

Deck breakdown (70 participants in total)
23 Revenger
17 Perdition
8 Seeker
7 Liberator
4 Regalia
2 Link Joker (1 Blaster Joker 1 Deleter)
2 Dimensional Robo
1 Brawler
1 Spike Brothers
1 Granblue
1 Musketeer
1 Ancient Dragon
1 Raizer
1 Nubatama

Entry fee at Sapporo was 1000 yen (approx. $10 US) per person with payout to the top 4 cardfighters, with first place winning a the newest model of Nintendo 3DS XL, second place four copies of whichever Beginning Set of their choice, third place two copies of the same, and fourth place two boxes of VG-MBT01: Neon Messiah. As per current rules for mainstream play, G-units and their accompanying stride mechanics could not be used. Tournament format was five rounds of Swiss draw, followed by a four round cut to top 16, with 50 minutes per round and best of three (in Japan recognized as the first to two wins) ruleset in place. The tournament used clan fight rules to prevent mixing of multiple clans in each deck, and lasted just over ten hours from the beginning of the first round at 10:45 AM to the closing ceremony at 8:30 PM. The top 4 decklists are provided below.

While the preceding Brave Cup saw a narrow Liberator victory from the tournament's few Gold Paladin cardfighters, Sapporo city saw more traditional results from the dominant player base. Revenger fighters far outdid their Perdition counterparts, becoming the most prevalent group represented. “Abyss,” which was just feature as the English card of the day this morning, has filled the gaps left by Thing Saver in pro competition, is primarily characterized by its high power restand that tends to exceed the swings of even Minerva and Nouvelle of past tournament seasons. While counterblast heavy, “Abyss” has access to an unflipping engine from the base Blaster Dark Revenger and his supporting grade 1 Dorint. By eschewing Dark Revenger's retire skill entirely and exploiting Dorint purely for his unflip, the break ride central to “Abyss'” high power restand becomes counterblast-free. Later in the fight damage expended for the restand skill can be partially recouped by calling these cards from hand to sustain additional restands in the long term.

As at the Brave Cup, Blaster Joker continues to be absent in spite of it being feared as a major competitor in the current competitive format. An explanation may be drawn from its lack of truly aggressive means of winning games. Unlike the majority of deck options in the format, Joker does not have any kind of aggression approaching the level of a restand or guard manipulation, and its expensive skills can generally only maintain locks for two to three consecutive turns before petering out.

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-three, 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 the ARG Circuit series tournaments and the ongoing King of Cardfight competition in the American midwest.

Fourth Sapporo City VGCS
First place: Igachuu/イガチュウ
Grade 0
x1 Judgebau Revenger (FV)
x4 Healing Revenger HT
x4 Freezing Revenger DT
x4 Grim Revenger CT
x4 Revenger, Air Raid Dragon CT
Grade 1
x3 Dark Revenger, Mac Lir
x1 Hatred Prison Revenger, Quesal
x3 Barrier Troop Revenger, Dorint
x1 Transient Revenger, Masquerade
x3 Witch of Nostrum, Arianrhod 
x2 Black-winged Sword Breaker
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger “Abyss”
x4 Battle Spirit Revenger, Mackart
Grade 3
x4 Revenger, Phantom Blaster “Abyss”
x4 Illusionary Revenger, Mordred Phantom

Second place: Keshigomu/けしごむ
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x4 Perdition Dancer, Agafia HT
x4 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x2 Seal Dragon, Artpique DT
x4 Perdition Dragon Knight, Tuvar CT
x2 Perdition Dragon, Buster Rain Dragon CT
Grade 1
 x4 Peridtion Dragon, Rampart Dragon
x4 Dragon Monk, Gojo
x3 Perdition Battler, Mareikou
x3 Seal Dragon Spirit, Malkibel
Grade 2
x4 Perdition Dragon, Dragonic Neoflame
x4 Perdition Dragon, Menace Laser Dragon
x3 PerditionDragon Knight, Tarayev
x2 Dragonic Burnout
Grade 3
x4 Perdition Imperial Dragon, Dragonic Overlord the Great
x2 Dragonic Overlord “The Яe-birth”

Third place: Lelouch
Grade 0
x1 Judgebau Revenger (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 Barrier Troop Revenger, Dorint
x4 Transient Revenger, Masquerade
x2 Black-winged Sword Breaker
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger “Abyss”
x3 Battle Spirit Revenger, Mackart
Grade 3
x4 Revenger, Phantom Blaster “Abyss”
x4 Illusionary Revenger, Mordred Phantom

Note that there is an error in ☆Shinamon's Japanese decklist; it only lists 49 cards. Based on a photo of ☆Shinamon's decklist, this missing card is a second Sword Breaker.

Fourth place: ☆Shinamon/☆しなもん/
Grade 0
x1 Judgebau Revenger
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 Barrier Troop Revenger, Dorint
x4 Transient Revenger, Masquerade
x2 Black-winged Sword Breaker
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger “Abyss”
x3 Battle Spirit Revenger, Mackart
Grade 3
x4 Revenger, Phantom Blaster “Abyss”
x4 Illusionary Revenger, Mordred Phantom

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

Original image uploaded by CHI_godstknows

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

News: Phantom Blaster “Abyss” Tops in Hokusetsu CS, Neon Messiah Artwork Debuts on MSN

The second Hokusetsu Vanguard Championship took place in Japan over July 6th, with multiple Shadow Paladin cardfighters playing different variations on Phantom Blaster “Abyss” making the fan tournament's top 8. The 96-person tournament saw a clash between “Abyss” and the current Nova Grappler boss Ultimate Raizer Mega Flare for the tournament finals, with Seeker and Regalia cardfighters taking third and fourth place. While the new Blaster unit's debut was anticipated by the public, prior to Hokusetsu many expectations had shifted to the newly emergent Witch deck within the same clan, and it is to some surprise that Revengers have continued to hold favor.

In a move generally predicted by the rest of the community, Hokusetsu champ Mirutae's “Abyss” deck used the well-established Raging Form Dragon in combination with its Legion grade 3, providing two separate self-standing vanguards each able to attack in the range of 21~22000 power on their second strike. The pairing was debated leading up to the release of EB11: Requiem at Dusk, with many arguing that the slower Mordred Phantom would make for a more decisive turn by building a stronger center lane and rearguard formation. Mirutae's build lacked favor with the three other Revenger fighters of the Hokusetsu top 8, who instead followed up on the concept of integrating existing Phantom support with Legion. Among these fighters was Kimuti of the second Kansai CS, known for pioneering Duo Temptation Reit early after the release of Divas' Duet.

This was not the first appearance of Blaster “Abyss” in professional play either. Shortly before pro cardfighter Tochibi Yuusuke had captained Osaka's champion team in Bushiroad's ongoing 2014 VF Koushien tournament. Unlike the Hokusetsu champion, Tochibi's deck eschewed RFD in favor of splitting its grade 3 count between “Abyss,” Dragruler and Mordred Phantom, cutting the original BDR and Dorint entirely for Lukea and Rakia. By emphasizing Phantom support, the use of Swordbreaker soulblasts and prepping “Abyss” with break ride setup, Tochibi worked to enhance the gravity of his Legion's restanding skill, building up towards a single defining turn to finish the game.

VF Koushien Osaka: 栃尾悠介/Tochibi Yuusuke
Grade 0
x2 Judgebau Revenger (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
x1 Brunt Revenger, Shadow Lancer
x3 Revenger, Dark Bond Trumpeter
x3 Self-control Revenger, Rakia
x2 Black-winged Swordbreaker
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger “Abyss”
x4 Wiles Revenger, Mana
x3 Overcoming Revenger, Rukea
Grade 3
x3 Revenger, Phantom Blaster “Abyss”
x2 Revenger, Dragruler Phantom
x3 Illusionary Revenger, Mordred Phantom

Registration for Hokusetsu began from 9:30 to 10:30 AM, with on-site registration being carried out from 10:30 to 11:00, and the tournament formally began at 11:10. The tournament opened with four rounds of Swiss draw which lasted until 2:20 PM, followed by a cut to top 8 and ended at 7:30 PM. Like other VGCSs, Hokusetsu followed a best of three format rather than the best of one endorsed by Bushiroad Inc. Rounds were 40 minutes in length prior to top 8, and 50 minutes afterwards. Organized by tomato (sic), kuroneko, Pere and Tawaran, the tournament had an entry fee of 1000 yen (approx. $10) per person, with first place receiving a Nintendo 3DS XL as a prize, second place a standard Nintendo 3DS, and third place six extra booster boxes, three each of Requiem at Dusk and Waltz of the Goddess.

Second place was taken by Minorun with Cat Butler Raizers, third by Nero with a Thing Saver Dragon deck, and fourth by Akiyuki with a combination Yggdrasil and Minerva. Minorun's deck is clearly derived from one of the original Cat Butler decks of the season, Silver Crow's, which debuted back in the second Beast Deity Cup and has served to inspire many imitators. Each of these decklists is translated below and may be jumped to by searching the page for [2HVGCS]

The previous Hokusetsu CS was held last May, and was held in a team tournament format, with Team Wild Hitter's captain Rinon being known for establishing a very early version of the then-new Seeker deck using primarily trial deck cards.

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.

In other news, MSN Japan has uploaded an article on the upcoming movie Cardfight!! Vanguard Neon Messiah, along with a promotional image of the main cast. Cinema Today had previously shown off lineart of antagonist Ibuki Kouji's primary unit for the film, an unnamed Link Joker from the Deleter subclan who will serve as the cover card for the film's trial deck, MTD01: Malefic Deleter. Plot summaries for the film outline Neon Messiah as being set during a global Vanguard tournament known as the "Messiah Scramble," and that protagonist Sendou Aichi will be fighting side by side with his lifelong friend and rival Kai Toshiki. The release date for Neon Messiah is currently set as September 13th.

Careful combing of each site's HTML has revealed higher resolution versions of the lineart and teaser, hosted below. The text off to the side of Ibuki's unit reads "G03" identifying it as a grade 3, but what would presumably be the unit's name appears illegible and attempts at transcription have only yielded nonsense phrases like いづう・ディ・い下り

Second Hokusetsu VGCS [2HVGCS]
First Place: Mirutae/みるたえ
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
x3 Barrier Troop Revenger, Dorint
x2 Revenger, Dark Bond Trumpeter
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

Second place: Minorun/みのるん
Grade 0
x1 Transmigrating Evolution, Miraioh (FV)
x4 Cat Butler
x4 Raizer Girl, Kate HT
x4 Raizer Crew DT
x4 Meteoraizer CT
x4 Minimum Raizer CT
Grade 1
x4 Shieldraizer
x3 Energy Charger
x4 The Screamin' and Dancin' Announcer, Shout
x3 Cannon Raizer
Grade 2
x4 Ultimate Raizer, DF
x4 Phoenix Raizer, FW
x3 Street Bouncer
Grade 3

x4 Ultimate Raizer, MF

Third Place: Nero/ネロ

Grade 0
x1 Advance Party Seeker, File (FV)
x4 Seeker, Loving Healer HT
x3 Margal DT
x1 Alabaster Owl
x4 Certain Kill Seeker, Modron CT
x4 Seeker, Herald Breath Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Good Faith Seeker, Cynric
x4 Lake Maiden, Lien
x2 Guardian Law Seeker, Shiron
x2 Flashing Jewel Knight, Iseult
x1 Glynngal Seeker
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade, Seeker
x4 Full Bloom Seeker, Cerdic
x4 Crossbow Seeker, Gildas
Grade 3
x4 Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon
x2 Seeker, Sacred Wingal

Fourth place: Akiyuki/あきゆき
Grade 0
x1 Vivid Rabbit (FV)
x4 Regalia of Benevolence, Eir HT
x3 Regalia of Foredoom, Lot Angel DT
x1 Witch of Lemons, Limoncello CT
x4 Battle Maiden, Kukurihime CT
x4 Far Sight Regalia, Clear Angel CT
x1 Regalia of Prayer, Pray Angel
Grade 1
x4 Exorcism Regalia, Shiny Angel
x3 Goddess of Union, Juno
x2 Regalia of Purify, Pure Angel
x3 Regalia of Frozen Breath, Svalin
x1 Witch of Strawberries, Framboise
x1 Ordain Owl
Grade 2
x3 Regalia of Abundance, Freya
x3 Regalia of Midday, Hemera
x4 Regalia of Fate, Norn
x1 Goddess of Trees, Jupiter
Grade 3
x4 Cosmic Regalia, CEO Yggdrasil
x1 Omniscience Regalia, Minerva
x2 Regalia of Wisdom, Angelica

News: Requiem at Dusk to Introduce "Abyss" Shadow Paladins, Sacred Regalia and Nouvelle Take Spotlight in Vanguard Festival Team Tournament

The latest poster leaks from Japan have named both VG-EB11: Requiem at Dusk's and VG-EB12: Waltz of the Goddess' dual cover cards, hinting at the identities of an anticipated quartet of new units for the Shadow Paladin and Genesis clans. Shadow Paladin's new Legion pair, Blaster Dark Revenger "Abyss" (ブラスター・ダーク・撃退者 “Abyss” Burasutaa Daaku Ribenjaa “Abyss”) and Revenger Phantom Blaster "Abyss" (撃退者 ファントム・ブラスター “Abyss” Ribenjaa Fantomu Burasutaa “Abyss”) are named after an epithet for the original Phantom Blaster Dragon, the "Abyssal Dragon" (奈落竜 Narakuryuu also given as "Dragon of Hell.") The Abyss motif had previously been used for the Revengers in TD10 where 奈落の撃退者 was translated as "Purgatory Revenger" and referred to that trial deck's break ride, Mordred Phantom.

With Abyss-specific support expected to come out of the set along with the new Revenger cards, Blaster "Abyss" is currently set up to be the most supported Shadow Paladin boss in the clan's history, drawing simultaneously from four different subclans with its name alone.

A similar poster for EB12 has identified that set's Legion pair as Regalia of Destiny Norn (運命の神器ノルン Unmei no Jingi Norun) and Regalia of the Cosmos CEO Yggdrasil (宇宙の神器CEOユグドラシル Uchuu no Jingi CEO Yugodorashiru.) The paired units draw their origins from Norse mythology, where Norn was the tripartite goddess of fate, and Yggdrasil was the world tree that Norse cosmology was built around. Yggdrasil has been previously named in Genesis' card lores as both the CEO of Genesis and a goddess of Neo Nectar, and has been implied to have some connection to Cray's own world tree.

The character was previously alluded to in Jupiter's card lore and in the November 2013 issue of Monthly Bushiroad, where Yggdrasil was Genesis' CEO and working in secret with Hexagonal Magus, the acting head of Oracle Think Tank during Amaterasu's absence.

In other news, the fan-run Second Petit Vanguard Festival (第二回プチヴァンガ祭 Dai-Ni-Kai Puchi Vanga Matsuri) team tournament has just concluded in Japan, with a team of Sacred Regalia, Monarch Sanctuary-Zenith and Nouvelle Vague cardfighters taking first place. The triples tournament was named after Bushiroad's ongoing Vanguard Festival events, humorously rebranding itself as the "Petit" Festival rather than the official "Great" Festival to distinguish between the two.

Second place went to a team made up of Nouvelle Vague, Gancelot-Holy Shine Dragon and Omega Glendios fighters, with the Glendios fighter focusing on aggressive beatdown tactics rather than on their alternate win condition. The tournament finals were Regalia vs Nouvelle, Liberator vs Liberator and Nouvelle vs Glendios. Decklists are forthcoming. In all the Petit Festival had a turnout of 108 cardfighters divided into 36 teams, and the total deck makeup of the tournament is given below;

The Second Petit Vanguard Festival Clan Breakdown
3 Dragonic Overlord
1 Dauntless Dominate Dragon "Я"
22 Dragonic Nouvelle Vague
8 Shadow Paladin
21 Star-vader, "Omega" Glendios
5 Aqua Force
2 Neo Nectar
15 Bermuda Triangle
10 Gold Paladin
4 Pale Moon
1 Blau
8 Genesis
2 Brawler
5 Seeker
1 Other Royal Paladin

The Second Petit Festival represented the professional debut of Brawler and Seeker decks in Japan, the trial decks for which were just released yesterday. Although BT16 support is still a month away, the Legion abilities of Wingal Seeker and Skyhowl Dragon have proven sufficient to stand on their own in the new format. Notably, there were also no Eradicator decks in the tournament,  and strong support for both Omega Glendios and the new Duo builds as competitors against Nouvelle Vague.