News: ARG National Championships to Conclude This Weekend

This weekend Alter Reality games will be holding a special event to thank those that supported their Circuit series tournaments this year, followed by the 2015 national finals. The special event will last from 12 PM to 5 PM on August 14th, and those attending will be able to play against community organizers Robbie Kohl, William Cole, and Jonathon Mindham. The winner of the event will receive a special edition playmat (pictured below) featuring characters in the likeness of Mindham, Kohl, and Cole. Only twenty-five copies of this playmat exist. Top 16 for the national championship on the 15th will receive an Amnesty Messiah playmat (pictured above), and the national champion will be awarded with the championship trophy seen at right.

The promotional cards White Dwarf Lady Battler and Fiercebau--both distributed at Bushiroad's earlier New York regional qualifier--will be tournament legal for the ARG national championships.

Cardfighters should take note that unused ARG points expire after the finals. Points cannot be retained for use in 2016. Those attending the national finals will need to use 20 ARG points earned from previous regional qualifiers to enter, and may use 50 additional points to receive a round 1 bye. Entrants will present their points to points when they register for the tournament. 111 cardfighters have qualified with invitations to the finals, and ARG is planning for a turnout of between 80 and 120 participants. As always, the tournament will use a best-of-three Swiss model to determine the first national champion as fairly as possible.

Senior Cardfight Pro editor Touya will be attending to provide coverage of the events, and will be participating in the finals. Today's article was made possible by the donations of our patrons at Patreon. Cardfight Pro is funded by public contributions from readers like you. 

News: Matthew Preston Wins Texas Regional Qualifier with Phantom Blaster “Abyss,” ARG Providing Shop Tournament Kits

ARG Regional champion Matthew Preston (left) and runner-up Austin Funderburg. Original photo by Alter Reality Games.

February 8th, 2015. Over the preceding weekend the first stage of the newly-christened ARG national championships concluded, with regional champion Matthew Preston winning the tournament using his Phantom Blaster “Abyss” deck. Preston's victory is the first time since the BT16-on format shift that “Abyss” has topped in a major US tournament, preceded by Robbie Kohl's victory at Chicago last December. Following the Texas regional qualifier there are now 40 cardfighters eligible for the national championship, sampled from the top 8 of each regional. Preston and Funderburg are among those that have been given point vouchers to pay for their entry into the $2000 finals, to be held this summer. Currently the invited fighters face a 20% majority of pure “Abyss” cardfighters, but these are primarily holdovers from the Atlanta tournament and may not reflect the final makeup of NCS2015. Instead the second most played deck among the top places, Thing Saver Dragon, is gaining the preference of professional American cardfighters as it did among the Japanese.

The Fort Worth qualifier drew 97 participants, compared in preceding order to Orlando's 85, Atlanta's 41 and Chicago's 34. As the tournament attracted more than 50 participants, in accordance with ARG's policy the finalists had the option of receiving either a predetermined cash payout or 150% of the payout in store credit. Preston and Funderburg opted for the former, receiving $200 and $100 respectively. The tournament finals were livestreamed to ARG's Twitch channel on the night of the tournament, and will later be uploaded to YouTube. The top 8 decklist are provided below.

Several of the top decks were easy to foresee; Prominence Glare, Thing Saver-“Abyss” and Cat Butler Raizers are all decks that have done well in Japanese play and been received positively by American fighters. The legion format Spike Brothers deck is something that has generally fallen under the radar outside of a few Doctor O Awards during Bushiroad's Fighter's Climax 2014, where eight draw variants made it into the top 8 of the Sendai, and Sapporo regional tournaments. Their solitary claim to fame in Japan has been second place at Fighter's Road 2014 Okayama.

Capping off the eclectic top 8 were two Overlord cardfighters hybridizing Dragonic Overlord the Great with past Kagerou Overlords, “The Яe-birth” and The End. Sam Hargrove with the End was the top ranked cardfighter following the last preliminary round, and made it to the semifinals before falling to Funderburg's Spike Brothers. Perdition decks have been strong contenders since BT17: Blazing Perdition hit stores in late January, but many Kagerou cardfighters have come to prefer having an offensive vanguard option over purely defensive rearguard control skills, leading them to integrate these past Overlords in place of Vortex Dragonewt and take advantage of support cards specific to the Overlord line like Dragonic Burnout. As several Perdition series cards are not Perdition-specific, there is innate synergy between using the lower costed Perdition card skills with aggressive Overlord variants. By contrast, running Vortex and the Great together tends to fall flat versus opponents that minimize their early to midgame calls, and against Shadow Paladin cardfighters that micromanage their rearguards through “Abyss'” and Raging Form's retire skills to avoid having any present during the Perdition fighter's turn.

Note that while striding was not permitted at the tournament, G Assist was. This is why Harmonics Messiah appears on several of the finalists' decklists, so that they could use the card for G Assist.

ARG Texas Regional Qualifier Top 8

Phantom Blaster “Abyss” - Matthew Preston
Bluish Flames Liberator - Ronald Gilliam
Thing Saver “Abyss” - Russell Graves
Spike Brothers - Austin Funderburg
Cat Butler Raizers - Sebastian Toscano and Russell Smith
Dragonic Overlord the Great/“The Яe-birth” - Jarred McClonahan
Dragonic Overlord the Great/The End - Sam Hargrove

Illust. slifertheskydragon

ARG has also begun providing tournament kits to participating card shops as part of its ARG Point Series, allowing them to host their own sponsored tournaments to have their players earn points that can be used towards merchandise, round 1 byes at ARG events and flights to the national championship. Stores interested in becoming tournament hosts for the ARG Point Series can do so through their official page. Participating stores will receive exclusive playmats designed for ARG in their tournament kits (visible above) to be given to the winners of these tournaments. Cardfighters are encouraged to speak with their local shops about becoming event hosts.

The next stage of the 2015 national championships will be the Louisville qualifier on the 21st, followed by the Fort Lauderdale qualifier on March 8th.

Alter Reality Games National Championship Series Texas, February 2015
Regional champion: Matthew Preston
Deck name: Ridiculous Peanut Butter Adventure
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 Transient Revenger, Masquerade
x4 Barrier Troop Revenger, Dorint
x2 Black-winged Swordbreaker
Grade 2
x3 Fighting Spirit Revenger, Macart
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger “Abyss”
Grade 3
x4 Illusionary Revenger, Mordred Phantom
x4 Revenger, Phantom Blaster “Abyss”
Grade 4
x2 Harmonics Messiah

Second place: Austin Funderburg
Deck name: Spike Brothers Beatdown
Grade 0
x1 Mecha Trainer (FV)
x4 Cheer Girl, Tiara HT
x4 Silence Joker CT
x2 Sonic Breaker CT
x4 Cheerful Lynx DT
x2 Cheer Girl, Pauline DT
Grade 1
x4 Cheer Girl, Marilyn
x4 Wonder Boy
x4 Reckless Express
x1 Oasis Boy
Grade 2
x4 Froxen Ogle
x3 Dudley Mason
x3 Silver Blaze
x2 Devil Summoner
Grade 3
x4 Bloody Ogle
x4 Bad End Dragger

Third and Fourth Place (Unsorted)
Sam Hargrove
Deck name: The End shall never fall!
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x4 Dragon Dancer, Therese HT
x4 Seal Dragon, Artpique DT
x4 Seal Dragon, Biella CT
x4 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
Grade 1
x4 Perdition Dragon, Rampart Dragon
x4 Dragon Monk, Gojo
x3 Perdition Dragon Knight, Gia
x3 Calamity Tower Wyvern
Grade 2
x4 Perdition Dragon, Dragonic Neoflame
x4 Dragonic Burnout
x3 Burning Horn Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Perdition Emperor Dragon, Dragonic Overlord the Great
x4 Dragonic Overlord the End

Russell Smith
Deck name: ROBOT HOUSE
Grade 0
x1 Transmigrating Evolution, Miraioh (FV)
x4 Cat Butler
x4 Raizer Girl, Kate HT
x4 Raizer Crew DT
x4 Meteoraizer CT
x4 Shining Lady CT
Grade 1
x3 Shieldraizer
x1 Twin Blader
x3 Cannonraizer
x4 Screamin' and Dancin' Announcer, Shout
x3 Energy Charger
Grade 2
x4 Ultimate Raizer, Dual-flare
x4 Phoenixraizer Flame-wing
x3 Street Bouncer
Grade 3
x4 Ultimate Raizer Mega-flare

Fifth through Eighth Place (Unsorted)
Jarrod McClonahan
Deck name: Reduce everything in this world to ashes, flame of apocalypse!
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid
x2 Perdition Dancer, Agafia HT
x2 Dragon Dancer, Barbara HT
x4 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x2 Seal Dragon, Artpique DT
x3 Perdition Dragon Knight, Tovare CT
x3 Perdition Dragon, Buster Rain Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Wyvern Guard, Barri
x4 Dragon Monk, Gojo
x4 Calamity Tower Wyvern
x2 Violence Horn Dragon
Grade 2
x4 Perdition Dragon, Dragonic Neoflame
x3 Burning Horn Dragon
x3 Dragonic Burnout
x2 Perdition Dragon, Menace Laser Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Perdition Emperor Dragon, Dragonic Overlord the Great
x3 Dragonic Overlord “The Яe-birth”
Grade 4
x4 Harmonics Messiah

Sebastian Toscano
Deck name: Raizer
Grade 0
x1 Transmigrating Evolution, Miraioh (FV)
x4 Cat Butler
x4 Raizer Girl, Kate HT
x2 The Gong DT
x4 Raizer Crew DT
x3 Meteoraizer CT
x3 Minimum Raizer CT
Grade 1
x3 Shieldraizer
x1 Beast Deity, Solar Falcon
x2 Energy Charger
x4 Screamin' and Dancin' Announcer, Shout
x2 Carvingraizer
x2 Jetraizer
Grade 2
x1 Marineraizer High-torpedo
x2 Street Bouncer
x4 Ultimate Raizer, Dual Flare
x4 Phoenixraizer Flame-wing
Grade 3
x4 Ultimate Raizer Mega-flare
Grade 4
x4 Harmonics Messiah

Ronald Gilliam
Deck name: It's Time for a Gold Rush
Grade 0
x1 Korongal Liberator (FV)
x1 Flaming Passion Liberator, Guido
x4 Numinous Tree Liberator, Elchea HT
x4 Ketchgal Liberator ST
x2 Fortune Liberator ST
x4 Flame of Victory CT
x2 Liberator of Hope, Epona CT
Grade 1
x4 Halo Liberator, Mark
x4 May Rain Liberator, Bruno
x3 Fast Chase Liberator, Josephus
x2 Physical Force Liberator, Zorron
Grade 2
x4 Regulation Liberator, Aglovale
x4 Oath Liberator, Aglovale
x3 Liberator, Lawful Trumpeter
Grade 3
x4 Bluish Flame Liberator, Prominence Glare
x4 Bluish Flame Liberator, Prominence Core

Russell Graves
Deck name: Thing  “Abyss”
Grade 0
x1 Wingal Brave (FV)
x4 Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine HT
x4 Margal DT
x1 Blazing Jewel Knight, Rachelle CT
x1 Jewel Knight, Noble Stinger
x1 Seeker, Hallowed Breath Dragon CT
x1 Bringer of Good Luck, Epona CT
x1 Alabaster Owl CT
x3 Future Knight, Llew CT
Grade 1
x4 Defending Seeker, Shiron
x4 Lake Maiden, Lien
x4 Knight of Friendship, Kay
x1 Grynngal Seeker
x2 Battle Instinct Revenger, Lifechur
Grade 2
x2 Blaster Dark Revenger “Abyss”
x3 Blaster Blade Spirit
x4 Blaster Blade Seeker
x4 Fighting Spirit Revenger, Macart
Grade 3
x1 Revenger, Phantom Blaster  “Abyss”
x4 Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon
Grade 4
x1 Harmonics Messiah

News: ARG Announces 2015 National Championship Series, $2000 Prize Pool

Alter Reality Games President Jim McMahan has set in motion an initiative to bring together a US national championship series, promising to crown ARG's first national champion this summer. The circuit series tournaments are to serve as regional qualifiers for the championship games. Six qualifiers have been announced for February through March, with the preceding Chicago, Atlanta and Orlando tournaments also being granted qualifier status, their winners having retroactively received invitations to the finals. The new qualifier locations and dates are given below. In order to create a strong professional tournament environment without the flaws of Bushiroad's system, the ARG national championship series will employ the same best-of-three Swiss ruleset that ARG has made extensive use of at past tournaments.

In total there are nine tournaments currently integrated into the ARG national championships, and with a three month gap between the last announced qualifier and the nationals, additional locations may yet be announced. The large tournament structure stands in stark contrast to Bushiroad's recently-announced Team League 2015, which features just six regional tournaments for North America's Bushiroad national tournament, only four of which are in the United States and one in of which is in Canada. And unlike Bushiroad's paper certificate system, the winning cardfighters at ARG's tournament series will be rewarded with store credit and cash, fully realizing the meaning of "professional" cardfight.

This new national championship will award cardfighters who place inside the top 8 at qualifiers with both invitations to the finals and Circuit point amounts which can be used to pay entry into the ARG nationals in lieu of the typical $20 entry fee, as well as to purchase ARG-sponsored gear and card supplies. The national championship finals will include trophies for the winners, and a minimum prize pool of $2000--historically the largest prize pool that has ever been made available for a Cardfight!! Vanguard tournament.

Prizes for the regional Circuit series tournaments have been standardized. If tournament turnout exceeds 50 participants, the prizes can be paid out either in cash or as 150% prize credit depending on the player's choice. This means that at a 50 person tournament, first place can opt for either $200 cash or $300 credit, while second place can choose either $100 cash or $200 credit. The championship finals will be held in late July or early August, and are tentatively being discussed inside the area of Philadelphia to Providence, Rhode Island.

Upcoming ARG qualifiers include the Fort Worth and Ontario Circuit series tournaments in Texas and Canada, both on February 8th. Following that will be the Louisville qualifier on February 21st, Fort Lauderdale on March 8th, Hartford on March 15th and Toronto on  March 21st. Beginning with the Hartford Connecticut qualifier, stride units will be legal for play in ARG tournaments. Louisville will be last competition to not allow stride. As at the Orlando Circuit, Cardfight Pro will be traveling to Louisville to provide live coverage of the tournament.

The ARG national championship embodies the culmination of a collaborative effort between ARG and Cardfight Pro; last November we began contacting McMahan and others to pledge coverage for tournaments that would address the concerns of cardfighters worldwide. Alter Reality Games has our full support in establishing this tournament system, and those who place in their tournaments will be recognized by Cardfight Pro as professional cardfighters of the same caliber as those that qualify in the world championships and VGCS tournaments. 

In preparation for the upcoming events, organizer Robbie Kohl surveyed players for eleven questions on specific rulings and then contacted Bushiroad USA's judges directly, to ensure that the judges at ARG will be rigorously trained and able to address major rulings disputes. An exhaustive list of the rulings is provided below.

Q1. Brawler, Big Bang Knuckle Buster activates its skill to attack four units. However, the opponent only has three units. Can he still attack all of them?
A1. Yes, you can still attack the three units ,because you have to do as much of the skill as possible once activated.

Q2. What happens when I use a quintet wall against Silent Tom, or Lark Pigeon and a grade 0 is called to the guardian circle?
A2. The units called by the quintet wall are being superior called, not normal called, so they are able to be placed in the guardian circle through that skill. Additionally, the Lark Pigeon is being superior called from the soul to the guardian circle so the same ruling applies. Any form of "call" that does not come from the hand is considered a "superior call" unless otherwise specified on the card.

Q3. Guarding against Transcore Dragon and Glory Maelstrom's skills, will the interceptors be affected?
A3. Intercepts will not be affected by Blue Storm Supreme Dragon, Glory Maelstrom, or Blue Flight Dragon, Transcore Dragon, both units specify that units cannot be called "from the hand" to the guardian circle.

Q4. Brawler, Big Bang Slash Buster is on a rearguard circle and a vanguard Big Bang Knuckle hits multiple times. Will this card gain +3000 power for every unit hit, or only gain the bonus once?
A4. Brawler, Big Bang Slash Buster will gain the +3000 power for each hit that Brawler, Big Bang Knuckle Dragon, or Brawler, Big Bang Slash Buster makes. Multiple bonuses.

Q5. Brawler, Big Bang Knuckle Buster attacks the opponent's “Ω” Glendios and they use Taboo Star-vader, Rubidium. Will all the attacks redirect to the “Яeverse” unit, or will the other attacks still hit their declared targets?
A5. If you place Rubidium in the guardian circle and activate its skill to retire and redirect the attack to a “Яeverse” unit, despite multiple units being attacked, all the attacks will be changed to that one “Яeverse” unit. Refer to FAQ 805, 807.

Q6. If I use Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon's skill to superior ride a copy of itself from the deck, can I use the skill of the new Thing Saver to perform the skill again if I have the counterblast to do so?
A6. Yes, you may activate the skill of the new "Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon" that was superior ride from the deck, as long as you can meet the requirements to activate the skill again. You do not however, return four cards to the deck with the new "Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon."

Q7. Does riding count as putting a card into the soul? If so, this will trigger Young Pegasus Knight, Doreen the Thruster and Great Sage, Barron, correct?
A7. Ride does not count as putting the unit that was ridden over into soul. In some cases of superior ride, the unit on the vanguard circle is considered being put into the soul, such as Barcgal.

Q8. How do Perdition Emperor Dragon, Dragonic Overlord the Great and the break ride Dragonic Overlord interact with each other?
A8. Perdition Emperor Dragon, Dagonic Overlord the Great as well as Dragonic Overlord (breakride) both trigger and are set into standby once the attack hits the rearguard. At that timing you have to choose one of their skills to activate, so you cannot trigger both of their abilities/given abilities to restand, even if you were to attack a second rearguard.

(Editor's note; This does not contradict Q9. The reason they interact this way is because both Overlord variants have the clause "This ability cannot be used for the rest of that turn. (Even if you do not pay the cost, this ability cannot be used for the rest of that turn.)" Hence they are mutually exclusive.)

Q9. I have a Dorint in the frontrow and a Dorint behind it in the same column. I call a Blaster Dark Revenger over one of the Dorints. How many damage are unflipped?
A9. If Blaster Dark Revenger is placed over one of two Barrier Troop Revenger, Dorint, in the same column, two damage will be unflipped due to this resolution chain: Blaster Dark Revenger placed over Barrier Troop Revenger Dorint → Both Dorint skills go into standby, called over Dorint is retired due to game mechanic, call is resolved → Both standby Dorint skills are then resolved. (Dorint does not have to remain on the field for his ability to resolve.)

Q10. If I call a Shiny Angel over a Regalia stand trigger, can I use Shiny Angel to target the said stand trigger that is currently on the same rearguard circle as I call over it?
A10. Yes, you may target the unit you retired due to being called over with the skill of Exorcism Regalia, Shiny Angel. Call Shiny Angel over stand trigger → Game mechanic retires stand trigger to resolve call, Shiny Angel's skill goes into standby → Shiny Angel's skill activates from standby to target up to three units in the drop zone.

Q11. If I legion how many cards must I return to the deck? Can it be less than four or exactly four cards?
A11. You must send exactly four units back to the deck to initiate legion.

News: Goddess of the Full Moon Tsukuyomi Tops Sukacat CS

Fighter's Collection 2014 reprint.

January 18th, 2015. The first team tournament of 2015 ended with a surprising deck at the center of the leading team. The Sukacat Vanguard Championship was won by a team running Thing Saver Dragon, Goddess of the Full Moon Tsukuyomi and Dragonic Overlord “The X.” The team's midfighter Ryo accomplished his feat by integrating Heaven Conquering Battle Deity Susanoo and his support cards from G-BT01: Generation Stride with the Tsukuyomi evolution line, using the evolution and generation break skills to repeatedly stack the bottom of the deck with trigger units while adding nontrigger cards to the hand.

This marks the first monoclan Tsukuyomi top in over two years; while Yasue Takamasa's Genesis-Oracle Think Tank hybrid made top 8 in a regional qualifier in mid 2013, the last time pure OraThin Tsukuyomi won a tournament was under former Sendai regional champion Tanaka Shouta in November 2012. The last time that Tsukuyomi topped, her widespread success eventually led to her finding a place on the restricted list alongside Dragonic Overlord the End and Majesty Lord Blaster. Many of Shouta's innovations have since become essential core elements to Oracle Think Tank, and Ryo's modifications have further improved the deck to create a circular loop in as few turns as possible. The decks of each team member are transcribed below.

Susanoo

Ryo's endgame strategy was to guarantee continuous double triggers for the rest of the game past a certain threshold of bottom-deck stacking, effectively presenting his opponent with a time limit before Tsukuyomi would explode. To build up to this point he first used an old trick of Oracle Think Tank, using the skills of Ichibyoshi, Crescent and Half Moon Tsukuyomi to put between twelve and fifteen cards on the bottom of the deck. Each of these units checks the top five cards for the next incarnation in its line and rides them, then places any remaining cards on the bottom.

In the past many cardfighters have deliberately stayed on grade 2 while feigning gradelock in order to get their stack to reach twenty cards, but in 2015 the deck has better options. Susanoo's on-stride skill checks the top two cards, placing up to one into hand and any remaining on the bottom. Combining this with the stride unit Soaring Auspicious Beast Qilin--who has an identical skill but with on-hit conditions attached--Ryo was able to get two to four more cards on the bottom of the deck, following up in later turns with his "finisher" Takemikazuchi.

Takemikazuchi

By turning a copy of himself in the generation zone face-up and paying two counterblast, as long as there are two or more cards face-up in the G zone, Takemikazuchi checks the top four cards to add two to hand and place the remaining on the bottom. These new units greatly expedite the process of setting up a twenty card stack without having to deliberately take a turn of gradelock, all while keeping up a strong defensive hand and using supporting rearguard draw skills to ensure that the opponent can't knock them out before the stack is reached. Full Moon herself played into this bunker defense strategy by shaving off up to four cards from the top of the deck with her draw skill, although compared to going for Takemikazuchi or Susanoo this is not as preferable.

Photo originally uploaded by ryogyoza.

According to Ryo, his record in the tournament was much better in the finals than in the opening rounds. The first four rounds of the tournament were held in best-of-one, with Ryo getting two wins off of Kagerou and Oracle cardfighters, preceded by two losses against Royal Paladin and Kagerou fighters. In the finals he won all four rounds 2-1 (Kagerou) 2-0 (Kagerou) 2-0 (Royal Paladin) and 2-1 (Kagerou.) The tournament finals were Shou's Thing Saver versus Victor-Raizers, Ryo's Tsukuyomi versus “The X,” and Kaiji's “The X” versus Susanoo-Mille Feuille.

Of note is that team captain Kaiji's “The X” decklist is one of the last that will be seen with four copies of Calamity Tower Wyvern in it, due to the card's imminent restriction effective this February.

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 King of Cardfight competition in the American midwest.

Credit to Siulzen for transcribing today's deck breakdown.

Deck breakdown (141 participants in total)
37 Kagero (34 Overlord, 2 Perdition, 1 Nouvelle)
32 Royal Paladin (22 Jewel Knight/Thing Saver, 8 Seekers, 1 Pendragon/Thing Saver, 1 Ezzell)
23 Oracle Think Tank (13 CoCo/Susanoo, 5 Gelee/Susanoo, 2 Tsukuyomi, 2 Amaterasu/Susanoo, 1 Mille Feuille/Susanoo)
20 Nova Grappler (14 Victor/Raizer, 5 Blau, 1 Blau/Raizer)
10 Shadow Paladin (Revengers)
4 Dimension Police
3 Gear Chronicle
3 Neo Nectar (Musketeers)
2 Granblue (1 BR Legion, 1 Legion)
1 Genesis
1 Tachikaze (Ancient Dragon)
1 Link Joker (Glendios)
1 Spike Brothers
1 Pale Moon (Silver Thorn)
1 Great Nature (Legion)
1 Megacolony

Foreward: Shou/将
Grade 0
x1 Advance Party Seeker, File (FV)
x4 Jewel Knight, Hilmy HT
x4 Margal DT
x4 Jewel Knight, Noble Stinger CT
x4 Blazing Jewel Knight, Rachelle CT
Grade 1
x3 Holy Knight Guardian
x4 Laurel Knight, Cycirlz
x3 Good Faith Seeker, Cynric
x2 Jewel Knight, Prizmy
x1 Stinging Jewel Knight, Shellie
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade Seeker
x4 Full Bloom Seeker, Cerdic
x3 Jewel Knight, Swordmy
x1 Knight of Twin Sword
Grade 3
x4 Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon
x3 Seeker, Sacred Wingal
x1 Sacred Beast Seeker, Claude
Grade 4 (Generation Zone)
x4 Divine Sacred Dragon, Saint Blow Dragon
x3 Shrouded Divine Knight, Gablade
x1 Miracle Element, Atomos

Midfighter: Ryo/りょう
Grade 0
x1 Godhawk, Ichibyoshi (FV)
x4 Lozenge Magus HT
x4 Psychic Bird CT
x4 Battle Sister, Ginger CT
x4 Oracle Guardian, Nike CT
Grade 1
x4 Mediator, Ameno-sagiri
x4 Goddess of the Crescent Moon, Tsukuyomi
x4 Luck Bird
x2 Oracle Guardian, Gemini
Grade 2
x4 Goddess of the Half Moon, Tsukuyomi
x4 Silent Tom
x3 Diviner, Shinatsuhiko
Grade 3
x4 Heaven Conquering Battle Deity, Susanoo
x4 Goddess of the Full Moon, Tsukuyomi
Grade 4 (Generation Zone)
x4 Sword Deity of Thunder, Takemikazuchi
x2 Soaring Auspicious Beast, Qilin
x1 Snow Element, Blizza
x1 Miracle Element, Atomos

Captain: Kaiji/ カイジ
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x4 Perdition Dancer, Agafia HT
x2 Seal Dragon, Artpique DT
x3 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x3 Perdition Dragon, Buster Rain Dragon CT
x4 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
Grade 1
x4 Protect Orb Dragon
x4 Calamity Tower Wyvern
x3 Dragon Monk, Gojo
x3 Lava Flow Dragon
Grade 2
x4 Dragonic Burnout
x2 Perdition Dragon Knight, Ilham
x2 Perdition Dragon, Dragonic Neoflame
x3 Burning Horn Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Dragonic Overlord “The X”
x3 Dragonic Overlord the End
x1 Perdition Emperor Dragon, Dragonic Overlord the Great
Grade 4 (Generation Zone)
x4 Imperial Flame Dragon King, Route Flare Dragon
x3 Divine Dragon Knight, Mahmoud
x1 Miracle Element, Atomos

News: Preregistration Open for ARG Texas, Ontario Circuit Set for February

On February 8th 2015 Alter Reality Games will be bringing its ARG Circuit series to Fort Worth and Ontario, commencing the first Vanguard Circuits in Texas and Canada. The entry fee for ARG's Cardfight!! Vanguard tournaments will be $20 per person, with five booster packs being provided to every player that enters. For the Texas Circuit, ARG will be giving out free playmats to the first 25 players to preregister. The playmats will be handed out prior to the tournament, in place of the free booster packs. Preregistration can be carried out through ARG's webpage. The tournament venues addresses are given below. At Fort Worth the tournament finals will be streamed lived to ARG's Twitch channel, but the Ontario tournament will not be.

As at Chicago, Atlanta and Orlando there will be a payout of $500 divided among the top 8, along with Circuit series playmats. The payout will be in store credit to be used on Alter Reality Games' website, unless more than 40 cardfighters participate, in which case payout will be in cash. As is standard for competitive tournaments the format will be best two out of three games, beginning with several rounds of Swiss pairings and followed by a cut to top 8. Only English-language cards will be permitted in the tournament, while Lizard Soldier Conroe and Barcgal will be banned from play. Clan mixing is allowed, so that cardfighters can play popular mixed decks like Thing Saver-“Abyss” and mixed Witches. On-site registration will begin at 10:00 AM and the tournament itself will begin at 11:00 AM. The tournament will take place at the Fort Worth Convention Center, 1201 Houston Street, Fort Worth, 76102.

The ARG Circuit series is publicly endorsed by Cardfight Pro as a professional tournament system. Those who place in the tournament will be recognized by Cardfight Pro as professional cardfighters of the same caliber as those that qualify in the world championships and VGCS tournaments. 

The Ontario tournament will not be run by Alter Reality Games, but ARG will be providing top 8 playmats for their associates in Canada to distribute. Registration will be held from 10:30 AM to 11:45 AM, while the entry fee and tournament regulations are identical to those at Fort Worth. The prizes for top 8, based on an anticipated turnout of 50 cardfighters, will be $220 for first place, $120 for second, $80 for third through fourth place, and $45 for fifth through eighth. Each member of the top 8 will receive an ARG playmat, while four random cardfighters will be given a BT16: Legion of Dragons & Blades mat. The Ontario Circuit will be held at the MVP Complex on 1325 Eglinton Avenue E Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

News: Christian Rivera Tops ARG Orlando with Thing Saver Dragon

Six of the top 8 games. Orlando champion Christian Rivera is on the left, in the center game.

The first major tournament of 2015 concluded earlier today with the lauded Thing Saver Dragon in first place, under the command of Orlando Circuit champion Christian Rivera. Beginning at 11:00 AM and lasting over ten hours, the six round tournament saw a payout of $500 to the top 8 cardfighters, with Christian claiming $200 of it and an exclusive champion's playmat. The top 8 fighters included the first Deletor top in the United States, as well as two Gold Paladin, one Blue Storm and one Yggdrasil top. The day was primarily stolen by Thing Saver Dragon, who accounted for three places in the top 8 and a significant portion of the tournament's participants, both as a pure Royal Paladin deck and as a mixed Royal-Shadow Thing Saver-“Abyss” deck. The top 8 decklists are provided below.

85 cardfighters participated at the Orlando Circuit, making it the largest fan tournament ever organized on the North American continent. Some of those fighters came from as far as Miami, more than three hours from the tournament salon at the Ramada Gateway hotel. The Cardfight!! Vanguard portion of the Circuit was organized by judge Harris, a veteran cardfighter from Jacksonville who has been specifically hired for his experience by several tournament hosts in the past. The tournament format was held in best-of-3 with a 40 minute time limit on rounds. Six rounds of Swiss determined the top 8 cardfighters, who then played out to determine the pecking order on prizes.

Photos property of Cardfight Pro.

Clan mixing was permitted at the event. While Thing Saver-“Abyss” proved a population option as it had in Japan, no fighters were observed taking advantage of the rules to run mixed Genesis-Shadow Paladin witch decks. Importantly, while the Spike Brothers' legion grade 2s Bloody Ogle and Silver Blaze have been seen to tear apart the competition in Japan's Extreme Fight format, these were also not seen outside of pure Spike Brothers decks.

The tournament's time limits fell under some scrutiny by the cardfighters present. The most common complaint of the evening was of only having 40 minutes versus 50 to 60. The introduction of legion format has stretched the midgame of each fight considerably, with a strongly defensive and stall-oriented gameplay developing around legion skills removing most damage restrictions. Judge Harris was available for comment on the matter; while he was sympathetic to the fighters' problems, he cited the encroaching length of the tournament even under the current system as one reason for the limits. The difficulty of organizing large groups of players to complete their games in a timely fashion also came into play. Harris suggested a 50 minute time limit with double elimination rules as a future solution, so that every fighter that had lost two best-of-three sets would be cut from a given competition, effectively halving the number of players needed to be paired for every round following the second.

Photos property of Cardfight Pro.

Perhaps the most striking image of the day was that of the tournament's unintended mascot, top 4 cardfighter Joshua Harvie. Referred to during the tournament as "the Teletubby," Harvie cut an intimidating figure to those competing, as he attended the tournament in a Laa-Laa costume juxtaposed with a Guy Fawkes mask. Adding fuel to the fire is that Harvie was extremely proficient with his Thing Saver Dragon deck. When he abruptly won a game after an announcement that there were two minutes remaining until the time limit, his opponent was admonished by audience members for "activating The Tub." Harvie became the first of the top 8 fighters to be put on stream, but was eliminated in the top 4 in a mirror match with Christian Rivera.

Tournament runner-up Brian Villamil carved out a place for himself with the recently released Bluish Flame Liberators. Noticeably Villamil chose not to run Prominence Core with his Prominence Glare copies, opting to run Percival instead. This is a preference emergent in the American pro scene similar to that of the Americans' Japanese counterparts. Percival's direct card advantage is seen as more valuable over Core's neutral superior calls, and the additional critical from Core is much more easily dealt with than that of Glare or Percival's unboosted center lane. Villamil was joined in top 8 by Daniel Pelaez also playing Bluish Flames, but Pelaez was eliminated quickly by Rivera. Rivera poked fun at Pelaez's mass chaining of skills--Prominence Core to Oath Aglovale to Zorron to Ketchgal to call Bruno--that his opponent had "taken his turn for a year."

Note that when going through the decklists below, the copy of Kevin Carlson's Aqua Force list currently in our possession does not have the quantities of the cards he used list on it. As such, only the names are provided at this time.

The ARG Circuit series is publicly endorsed by Cardfight Pro as a professional tournament system. Those who place in the tournament will be recognized by Cardfight Pro as professional cardfighters of the same caliber as those that qualify in the world championships and VGCS tournaments. 

First place: Christian Rivera
Grade 0
x1 Advance Party Seeker, File (FV)
x4 Seeker, Loving Healer HT
x4 Margal DT
x4 Impact Seeker, Modoron CT
x4 Seeker, Hallowed Breath Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Defending Seeker, Shiron
x4 Honest Seeker, Cynric
x3 Grynngal Seeker
x3 Lake Maiden, Lien
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade Seeker
x4 Full Bloom Seeker, Cerdic
x3 Great Crossbow Seeker, Gildas
Grade 3
x4 Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon
x1 Light Source Seeker, Alfred Exiv
x3 Seeker, Sacred Wingal

Second place: Brian Villamil
Deck Name: Gold Paladin Liberator
Grade 0
x1 Flaming Passion Liberator, Guido (FV)
x4 Numinous Tree Liberator, Elchea HT
x4 Liberator of Hope, Epona CT
x4 Great Wish Liberator, Esus CT
x4 Flame of Victory CT
Grade 1
x3 Halo Liberator, Mark
x1 Light Formation Liberator, Erdre
x4 Fast Chase Liberator, Josephus
x4 May Rain Liberator, Bruno
x2 Physical Force Liberator, Zorron
Grade 2
x4 Regulation Liberator, Aglovale
x4 Oath Liberator, Aglovale
x3 Liberator, Lawful Trumpeter
Grade 3
x4 Bluish Flame Liberator, Prominence Glare
x4 Bluish Flame Liberator, Percival

Third and fourth place
Michael Housely
Deck name: Saver of Things
Grade 0
x1 Advance Party Seeker, File (FV)
x4 Seeker, Loving Healer HT
x4 Margal DT
x4 Impact Seeker, Modoron CT
x4 Seeker, Hallowed Breath Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Defending Seeker, Shiron
x3 Honest Seeker, Cynric
x3 Flail Seeker, Isbuzzard
x2 Lake Maiden, Lien
x2 Grynngal Seeker
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade Seeker
x4 Full Bloom Seeker, Cerdic
x3 Great Crossbow Seeker, Gildas
Grade 3
x4 Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon
x2 Seeker, Sacred Wingal
x2 Light Source Seeker, Alfred Exiv 

Joshua Harvey
Deck name: XXMLG420YOLOSWAGXXMTNDEWDORITOSXX
Grade 0
x1 Advance Party Seeker, File (FV)
x4 Seeker, Loving Healer HT
x4 Margal DT
x2 Messegal Seeker DT
x4 Impact Seeker, Modoron CT
x2 Seeker, Hallowed Breath Dragon CT
Grade 1
x3 Defending Seeker, Shiron
x1 Seeker, Plume Wall Angel
x3 Honest Seeker, Cynric
x3 Flail Seeker, Isbuzzard
x2 Lake Maiden, Lien
x2 Grynngal Seeker
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade Seeker
x4 Full Bloom Seeker, Cerdic
x3 Great Crossbow Seeker, Gildas
Grade 3
x4 Seeker, Thing Saver Dragon
x2 Seeker, Sacred Wingal
x2 Light Source Seeker, Alfred Exiv

Fifth through eighth place
Michael Luo
Deck name: Need Prize Money for PGs
Grade 0
x1 Regalia of Prayers, Pray Angel (FV)
x4 Regalia of Compassion, Eir HT
x4 Mirror Regalia, Achlis ST
x4 Regalia of Far-sight, Clear Angel CT
x4 Battle Maiden, Kukurihime CT
Grade 1
x4 Cold Blast Regalia, Svalinn
x4 Exorcism Regalia, Shiny Angel
x2 Regalia of Well-wishes, Preach Angel
x4 Witch of Oranges, Valencia
Grade 2
x4 Midday Regalia, Hemera
x4 Regalia of Fate, Norn
x1 Regalia of Fertility, Freyja
x2 Twilight Regalia, Hesperis
Grade 3
x4 Cosmic Regalia, CEO Yggdrasil
x4 Midnight Regalia, Nyx

Zarvani Grant 
Deck name: Team Ubermensch
Grade 0
x2 Acquire Deletor, Igor (FV)
x4 Taunting Deletor Goto HT
x4 Exulting Deletor, Maestol DT
x1 Squeezing Deletor Id DTx4 Override Deletor, Olg CT
x3 Marching Deleteor, Maze CT
Grade 1
x4 Refusing Deletor, Evil
x4 Idolizing Deletor, Guim
x3 Breaking Deletor, Gatario
x2 Looting Deletor, Gunec
Grade 2
x4 Greedy Deletor, Jail
x4 Juxtapose Deletor, Gaele
x3 Pursuing Deletor, Egotte
Grade 3
x4 Daunting Deletor, Oksizz
x4 Juxtapose Deletor, Zaele

Kevin Carlson
Deck name: Wipeout!!!
Grade 0
Blue Storm Cadet, Anos (FV)
Blue Storm Soldier, Kitchen Sailor HT
Battle Siren, Mallika DT
Supersonic Sailor CT
Blue Storm Soldier, Missile Trooper CT
Grade 1
Emerald Shield, Paschal
Blue Storm Guardian Dragon, Icefall Dragon
Mako Shark Soldier of the Blue Storm Fleet
Blue Storm Marine General, Hermes
Light Signals Penguin Soldier
Mola Mola Soldier of the Blue Storm Fleet
Blue Storm Battle Princess, Electra
Grade 2
Blue Storm Marine General, Starless
Blue Storm Marine General, Gregorios
Blue Storm Marine General, Spyros
Tidal Assault
Grade 3
Blue Storm Wave Dragon, Tetra-burst Dragon
Blue Storm Marine General, Demetrius

Daniel Pelaez
Grade 0
x1 Flaming Passion Liberator, Guido (FV)
x4 Numinous Tree Liberator, Elchea HT
x4 Ketchal Liberator ST
x4 Strike Liberator CT
x4 Steel Blade Liberator CT
Grade 1
x1 Sword Formation Liberator, Igraine
x3 Light Formation Liberator, Erdre
x4 Fast Chase Liberator, Josephus
x4 May Rain Liberator, Bruno
x2 Physical Force Liberator, Zorron
Grade 2
x4 Oath Liberator, Aglovale
x4 Regulation Liberator, Aglovale
x3 Liberator, Lawful Trumpeter
Grade 3
x4 Bluish Flame Liberator, Percival
x4 Bluish Flame Liberator, Prominence Core

News: ARG Unveils Orlando Circuit Facebook Page, Thing Saver-“Abyss” to be Legal

In advance of the upcoming tournament next week on Sunday January 4th, Alter Reality Games has set up a Facebook page for the Orlando Circuit. The tournament will take place at the Ramada Gateway Hotel (7470 Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy 192, Kissimmee, FL 34747) and will have a total payout of $500 to the top 8 cardfighters. First place will receive $200 in prize credit as well as a playmat exclusive to the tournament champion, while second place will get $100, third and fourth $50, fifth through eighth $25, and all places from second to eighth will receive a top 8 playmat. If the tournament attracts more than 40 participants, the prizes will be paid out in cash. The top 8 will be broadcast live to ARG's Twitch channel, so even those not attending the tournament can tune in to see the final games played out. Cardfight Pro editor Touya will be attending the event to do on-site coverage and interviews.

Registration will begin at 10:00 AM and the tournament will begin an hour later. Preregistration is not possible. Participants are advised to print out one of these deck sheets to write out their decklists on. The tournament will require a $20 entry fee, and participants will receive five booster packs with their entry. Tournament format will be Swiss, meaning that players with similar records will be paired together each round where possible, and unlike Bushiroad's official tournaments, ARG Orlando will be best-of-three games. The time limit on each round is 40 minutes. Any questions can be answered by sending an e-mail to events@alterealitygames.com. 

Note that ARG has ruled that clan mixing will be legal at Orlando, so cardfighters will be able to use Thing Saver-“Abyss” and other mixed decks. The announcement is concerning to some, as most cards from BT16-on do not require a vanguard of a specific clan nor do they target only cards within their clan, and the Lord keytext is no longer being printed on grade 3 cards. This means that units like Frozen Ogle, Silver Blaze and Brawler Yojin can be played in any deck so long as that deck uses legion vanguards and no boss cards from BT15 or earlier.

The ARG Circuit series is publicly endorsed by Cardfight Pro as a professional tournament system. Those who place in the tournament will be recognized by Cardfight Pro as professional cardfighters of the same caliber as those that qualify in the world championships and VGCS tournaments.

News: Nam Vo Wins Atlanta Championship with CEO Yggdrasil

ARG Atlanta champion Nam Vo, holding his playmat and prize money. Original photo uploaded by Alter Reality Games.

December 7th, Georgia International Convention Center, Georgia. The second stage of ARG's Cardfight!! Vanguard Circuit series tournaments finished over the weekend with Genesis cardfighter Nam Vo in first place. 41 cardfighters participated in the event, making this the first largeCardfight!! Vanguard tournament with cash payout. Nam Vo received $200 for placing first in the tournament, while runner-up Matthew An was awarded $100. The tournament finals were streamed like to ARG's Twitch channel, and recordings of the top 8 will be uploaded to their YouTube later. Atlanta will be followed by another Circuit series tournament in Orlando Florida on January 4th, the first major tournament of the new year. Vo and An's decklists are provided below, courtesy of Robbie Kohl.

ARG Atlanta's top 8 consisted of five Shadow Paladin and three CEO Yggdrasil cardfighters, with three of the Shadow Paladin fighters playing Phantom Blaster “Abyss” and two of them playing the clan's Witch deck. North American cardfighters have generally gravitated towards decks out of EB11: Requiem at Dusk and EB12: Waltz of the Goddess since the November 21st releases, preferring these options to the less complete trial deck options that went out on the same day. The format is expected to diversify with the release of VGE-BT16: Legion of Dragons and Blades ver. E on December 16th, but for the time being a back and forth tug-of-war between Yggdrasil and “Abyss” has dominated professional competition, as seen in both Atlanta and Chicago.

Nam Vo's Yggdrasil deck was not without surprises; while the majority of Regalia cardfighters have adamantly stuck to draw and critical triggers, Vo ran two copies of the stand trigger Mirror Regalia Achlis. One of the consequences of the Regalia Angel series' semirandom soulcharging is that there is always the potential to soulcharge trigger units. This puts an incentive on the Genesis fighter to soulblast those trigger units so that they can be recycled later through legion, rather than soulblasting grade 1 and 2 cards with on-blast skills.

Because Achlis can give a Regalia vanguard +5000 power when soulblasted, he answers this scenario by ensuring that Yggdrasil fighters do not miss out on a potential skill by soulcharging a trigger unit. Stand triggers in general have proven more popular with the onset of the legion format, as the vanguard's naturally high center lane and the increased importance of each damage point has made them a more viable--and unexpected--choice when considering trigger lineups. Most opponents do not factor in stand triggers when guarding, due to their lack of play in past formats.

The ARG Circuit series is publicly endorsed by Cardfight Pro as a professional tournament system. Those who place in the tournament will be recognized by Cardfight Pro as professional cardfighters of the same caliber as those that qualify in the world championships and VGCS tournaments.

First place: Nam Vo
Grade 0
x1 Regalia of Prayers, Pray Angel (FV)
x4 Regalia of Compassion, Eir HT
x2 Mirror Regalia, Achlis ST
x3 Regalia of Foredoom, Lot Angel DT
x3 Regalia of Far-sight, Clear Angel CT
x4 Battle Maiden, Kukurihime CT
Grade 1
x2 Cold Blast Regalia, Svalinn
x2 Witch of Strawberries, Framboise
x4 Exorcism Regalia, Shiny Angel
x1 Goddess of Union, Yuno
x3 Purification Regalia, Pure Angel
x2 Ordain Owl
Grade 2
x2 Twilight Regalia, Hesperis
x2 Regalia of Fertility, Freyja
x4 Regalia of Fate, Norn
x3 Midday Regalia, Hemera
x1 Goddess of Trees, Jupiter
Grade 3
x3 Midnight Regalia, Nyx
x4 Cosmic Regalia, CEO Yggdrasil

Second place: Matthew An
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
x2 Black-winged Sword Breaker
x4 Transient Revenger, Masquerade
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger “Abyss”
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger
x3 Fighting Spirit Revenger, Macart
Grade 3
x4 Revenger, Phantom Blaster “Abyss”
x4 Illusionary Revenger, Mordred Phantom

News: ARG Chicago Top 8 & Decklists, Atlanta Championship Upcoming

Alter Reality Games has uploaded recordings of the ARG Chicaco Circuit's top 8 fights to its YouTube channel, showing off the last two of each three games played between Circuit champion Robbie Kohl and top 8 finalists Brian Mei, Antoine Michael Jackson and Christian Maldonado. Kohl has also provided us with some of the decklists gathered from the top 8, but was only able to provide Brian Mei's Great Nature deck and his own “Abyss” build. The videos of the top 8 are given below, with commentary.

In upcoming tournament news, the ARG Atlanta Circuit is imminent, coming up on this weekend on December 7th at the Georgia International Convention Center. $550 in prizes will be awarded to the top 8 as store credit, with the credit becoming cash payout if more than 40 cardfighters attend. Each participant will receive five free booster packs with their $20 entry fee, and the tournament will consist of 45 minute best-of-three rounds. Registration is at 10:00 AM and the tournament will begin at 11:00 AM, so please arrive promptly. You can find more information through the event's Facebook page.

ARG Atlanta will be followed by an Orlando tournament on January 4th. Each of the ARG Circuit events will be accompanied by its own playmat, generally handed out to the top 8 in addition to their prize credit. The ARG Circuit series is publicly endorsed by Cardfight Pro as a professional tournament system. Those who place in the tournament will be recognized by Cardfight Pro as professional cardfighters of the same caliber as those that qualify in the world championships and VGCS tournaments.

Researcher Fox, the crux of Mei's deck.

One of the most noted fighters present at Chicago was Brian Mei, whose Great Nature deck was uncharacteristic of typical top 8 tournament results. Mei's deck was assembled just two days before the Chicago Circuit, and primarily focused on Great Nature's breakride Chatnoir with its legion pair Tester Fox and Researcher Fox. His primary strategy was to use Tester Fox's skills to power up rearguard copies of Researcher Fox, then retire it in the end phase while in legion; Researcher's on-retire skill counterblasts 1 to search the deck for either half of the legion pair so that he breaks even on the retire exchange, then Tester Fox's end phase skill unflips the damage Researcher counterblasted, draws a card and then puts two cards from the drop zone onto the bottom of the deck. In this case, putting the Researcher that was retired onto the bottom of the deck ensures that the one in his hand can search for it next turn, and repeat the whole cycle from square one.

Furthermore, for every copy of Coiling Duckbill called to the field that turn Mei could layer an instance of "[AUTO]: During your end phase, when this unit is put into the drop zone from a rearguard cricle, draw a card." on Researcher Fox, essentially gaining a +1 in card advantage for every card drawn after using Researcher's counterblast. Mei ran four stand triggers in place of draws in his Great Nature deck, taking advantage of the clan's triple rare grade 2 Binoculus Tiger. Every time Binoculus attacks the vanguard he can give +4000 power to another rearguard in exchange for retiring it at the beginning of the end phase, which means that there is no penalty for repeatedly using Binoculus on Researcher Fox. With one stand trigger, it's possible for Researcher to acquire a net +12000 power boost from Binoculus and Tester Fox, making a ~28000 power column.

Mei also ran a single copy of Leo-pald “Яeverse” to round out the grade 3s; “Яeverse” can be a devastating tech card in the endgame in combination with the deck's stand triggers, as “Яeverse” can repeat his limit break any number of times per turn limited only by how many cards it can lock. Since “Яeverse” gives two rearguards +4000 power in exchange for locking one, this establishes two rearguards with the +12000 power boost described above. When break ridden this allows his fighter to attack with two rearguards columns in the range of ~29000 and ~32000 while the vanguard attacks for 21000 power, and then draw two cards at the end of the turn to not just refund the cost of riding but also gain a +1 off of it. With so many options this leaves the deck able to have simultaneously offensive and defensive turns, as seen below.

Mei had wanted to run an additional copy of Coiling Duckbill in his deck but was not able to find room for it, believing that Silver Wolf was more important for building 21000 power rearguard lanes. A 16000 power column can only reach 20000 with a single Binoculus or Tester Fox power boost on it, but a 17000 power column is able to graze its way into 21000. Hence, Silver Wolf is important for getting the deck's various 9000 power grade 2s into that territory.


Versus Kohl's Revenger deck Mei won the unseen first game, but struggled to keep pace in the second and third. One of the weaknesses of Great Nature is needing to keep its rearguards in hand until a combo is set up, and hence having poor early aggression. Kohl had the first move and this would normally put Mei in a position to be very aggressive, but because of this incentivesto keep cards in hand earlier he was unable to build on this. Initial triggers also set Mei behind significantly, forcing him to play catch-up in a damage lead, and Kohl was able to consistently retire Mei's first vanguard Gardening Mole, which prevented Mei from using his skill later on to return a card retired in the end phase to the hand.

Because Mole sends itself into the soul to do so, it typically trades field presence in order to keep the hand high for a defensive game. Its skill can be particularly dangerous in combination with the critical trigger Ruler Chameleon, whose on-retire counterblast can search the deck for a copy of itself and put it into the hand. Mole into Chameleon results in both critical triggers being put into the hand for defensive purposes, which also sets up a legion for the next turn in addition to being defensively beneficial immediately. In the first game Mei drew three cards off of Chatnoir's break ride skill and Tester's legion, and was able to search out a Chameleon with Chameleon, but not having access to Mole prevented him from converting a fifth card to his hand. Had this been the case, Mei would have been able to keep a Researcher Fox in hand rather than guard with it, to use with Tester Fox's legion skill in the next turn, which would have led to drawing another card and searching for another Fox instead of losing card advantage off of Compass Lion.

In game 3 the problems of the first game were exacerbated when Mei became gradelocked at 2, preventing him from making a comeback against Kohl's early leads. Gradelock has been a constant hazard for cardfighters since the game's beginning, but with the introduction of stride units and Harmonics Messiah in VGE-BT16: Legion of Dragons and Blades ver.E on the 19th fighters will be able to circumvent gradelock through the G Assist step.


In top 4, Kohl played against Antoine Michael Jackson's Duo deck. Kohl ended up gradelocked at 1 in the second game, followed by Jackson facing the same. However, Jackson was ultimately unable to retaliate against Kohl's Transient Masquerade field, and Judgebau ensured that Kohl had a six card lead going into Jackson's first grade 3 turn on top of the immense 2-to-4 damage difference. While Jackson attempted to delay Kohl's endgame by playing counterblast control, focusing on his rearguards and only affording him a single damage, having Dorint's unflipping skill active allowed Kohl to ignore this and his break ride entirely to go for game.

As in most of these games, Kohl effectively won with his grade 1 plays; as long as his opponents were unable to retaliate against multiple rearguard attacks early in the fight, the rest of the deck's card skills would ensure that the situation would be preserved for the remainder of the game. Blaster Dark Revenger “Abyss” continued to push Jackson down in card advantage while preemptively negating the draw power from his first vanguard by retiring it, and Judgebau threatened him with the alternative of a constant high pressure lane that demanded at least 15000 shield while the rearguards would continue to push him towards 4 damage, or with Kohl building advantage off of a Sword Breakers.

Versus Antoine, Kohl deliberately avoided giving critical triggers to his vanguard in order to prevent Jackson from break riding. Kohl was already at 4 damage by this point, and allowing Jackson's Duo break ride to go off would spell an end to the match. This allowed him to slow down the pace of the game by a turn and recover, putting his opponent at the 3 damage mark so that Phantom Blaster “Abyss” would have better chances of getting his opponent to 4 damage and ending the game before most of Jackson's skills could go off. Kohl won the round 2-1.


Game 3 of Robbie Kohl versus Christian Maldonado was already covered, but as discussed there in game 2 Kohl repeated much of his strategies he would use in 3, retiring Maldonado's first vanguard to prevent soulcharging later on, playing both aggressive attack and early defense strategies. Kohl ended his grade 2 turn at +0 to -3, taking four cards from Maldonado in a single turn. By the end of his grade 3 turn Kohl to Maldonado was at -1 to -6, an advantage difference of five cards. This went down to -7 when Maldonado was gradelocked at 2. This was a deliberate decision, but one which cost Maldonado the game, attempting to prevent Phantom Blaster “Abyss” from legioning by not going to grade 3 until it could become part of a winning play. By the end of the first game Kohl was maintaining a ten card difference in advantage, -2 to -12. In game 2 Maldonado was able to get his Yggdrasil legion set up, putting Kohl from 3 to 6 damage with a single critical trigger by gaining an added critical from his soulblast 6 legion skill, and blocking Kohl's grade 0-heavy hand from being used. In game 3 Maldonado's play was weakened by opening with Minerva and once more having his first vanguard Pray Angel retired, while Kohl chose to prioritize a brute force approach before dedicating to his restand strategy, winning 2-1.

Kohl's opponents did not play around the fact that his rearguards were generally only worth 5000 shield. Because of Kohl's pattern of attacking with one rearguard and then attacking with the other if the first one was guarded, then following with the boosted vanguard, it was in his opponents' best interests to let the first rearguard attack hit in the case of a damage trigger check. A single damage trigger would prevent the remaining unboosted rearguard from hitting, and make Kohl's vanguard a 10000 shield for two or none to pass, but each opponent consistently guarded the first rearguard and took the second instead, missing out on the opportunity to counter Kohl's offense. In turn, his opponents did not emulate this strategy of attacking with unboosted rearguards prior to the vanguard, sometimes costing them when Kohl would damage check triggers, as in the case of Maldonado's first turn Ordain Owl in their second game.

Alter Reality Games Circuit Series Chicago, December 2014
Chicago Circuit champion: Robbie Kohl
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
x2 Black-winged Sword Breaker
x4 Transient Revenger, Masquerade
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger “Abyss”
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger
x3 Revenger of Nullity, Masquerade
Grade 3
x4 Revenger, Phantom Blaster “Abyss”
x4 Illusionary Revenger, Mordred Phantom

Top 8: Brian Mei
Grade 0

x1 Gardening Mole (FV)

x4 Dictionary Goat HT

x4 Eraser Alpaca ST

x4 Triangle Cobra CT

x4 Holder Hedgehog CT

Grade 1

x4 Cable Sheep
x4 Silver Wolf
x3 Coiling Duckbill

x3 Tank Mouse

Grade 2

x4 Illusion Scientist, Researcher Fox
x4 Binoculus Tiger
x2 Compass Lion

x1 Lamp Camel

Grade 3

x4 Magic Scientist, Tester Fox
x3 Honorary Professor, Chatnoir
x1 School Punisher, Leo-pald “Яeverse”

News: ARG Circuit Series to Visit Chicago, Atlanta, Orlando, Call for Judges

Beginning this weekend, Ohio-based card shop Alter Reality Games has announced the return of Cardfight!! Vanguard to its Circuit series tournaments. Cardfight!! Vanguard will join Magic: The Gathering and the Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card games as part of ARG's featured games. To promote the Circuit series ARG is introducing its own line of playmats, with the three introduced today featuring the characters Phantom Blaster “Abyss” and Great Daikaiser. Each of the playmats has the name of the event it will be distributed at printed on it, as well as the skyline of the city the event is to take place in. Atlanta's playmat bears the SunTrust Plaza skyscraper in the background, while Orlando's shows the Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom behind “Abyss.” Each of the three tournaments scheduled is described below, with links to their events page.

The finals from each tournament will be streamed by ARG on their official channel, allowing viewers to watch the top cardfights compete live. Each Circuit event will use a best-of-three games ruleset, with Swiss round pairings. Vanguard tournament organization at ARG is currently being handled by YouTube celebrity Robbie Kohl, known for his impact in the Yu-Gi-Oh! community. With over fifty thousand subscribers Kohl is a relatively high profile figure in the west, acquainted with past Vanguard stars like the first world champion Brandon Smith. Kohl volunteered to help run the tournaments after ARG made their previous call for tournament organizers, but the events remain shorthanded where judges are concerned. ARG is still in need of judges for Cardfight!! Vanguard tournaments, so if you are available for either the Georgia or Orlando Circuits described below please send an application to jim@alterealitygames.com.

Set to take place on Saturday November 30th, ARG Chicago will be held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont Illinois. The entry fee will be $20, and cardfighters that enter the tournament will receive five booster packs for entering. First place will win $200 in store credit at ARG, which can be used on their official website to purchase cards, booster boxes and other supplies. Second place will win $100 in store credit, third and fourth will receive $75 in store credit, and fifth through eighth place will win $25 credit. The top 8 cardfighters will each receive a playmat, but due to holiday delays these may arrive late and have to be mailed to the players. The prizes described assume a 16 player turnout; if more than 40 fighters participate, prizes will be handed out in cash. Each round will have a 45 minute time limit, registration for the tournament will begin at 10:00 AM, and the tournament itself will start at 11:00 AM. The tournament will follow Bushiroad's Comprehensive and Floor rules, with some additional rules established by ARG, and modifications made to adjust the tournament for a Swiss format.

ARG Atlanta will take place on Sunday December 7th, and will be held at the Georgia International Convention Center. The same entry fee, prize and tournament rules from Chicago will be used at Atlanta, with a total of $550 being distributed among the winners, and a tournament-specific playmat being given to the top 8 fighters. Atlanta is still in need of judges, so if you are able please apply to jim@alterealitygames.com.

ARG Orlando is set to take place on Sunday January 4th, and will be the first Circuit series tournament of 2015. It will be held at the Ramada Gateway Hotel in Kissimee, Florida. Orlando is still in need of judges, so if you are able please apply to jim@alterealitygames.com.

The ARG Circuit series is publicly endorsed by Cardfight Pro as a professional tournament system. Those who place in the tournament will be recognized by Cardfight Pro as professional cardfighters of the same caliber as those that qualify in the world championships and VGCS tournaments.