News: FR2013 Tokyo Regional Decklists, Nebula Lord and Raging Form Claw Their Way Up the Ranks

The Fighter's Road 2013 Tokyo regional results are out, giving us our first look at what a professional Raging Form Dragon deck looks like, as well as the first pro Link Joker deck ever played. It wouldn't be an understatement to call Tokyo the most anticipated regional yet, as the updates from VG-BT12: Binding Force of the Black Rings have brought with them sweeping changes to the format and the proper debut of Lock. The once-stable environment of BT10-on, dominated by Eradicator and Liberator decks, has been shaken up considerably by Tokyo's top 4. The addition of Vowing Saber Dragon “Я” to the standard Eradicator deck has narrowly put Narukami cardfighter Tatsuya Tanaka at the top, followed by Imanishi Kouichi's Raging Form and Nagata Shou's Nebula Lord, but the effusion of Eradicator decks has reportedly been stemmed as discussion now turns toward the Revenger and Star-vader subgroups.

To recap the situation, Dragonic Descendant began his reign of dominance in the Osaka branch of the Asia Circuit Memorial Tournament, where tournament winner Uemura Shouhei and runner-up Nishiyama Daiki codified the basic Descendant deck. Descendant was turned to for combining his self-stand skill with an extra critical, which in the eyes of Japanese pros combined some of the strengths of Dragonic Overlord The End and Majesty Lord Blaster, which were almost unplayable under the then-enforced January 1st restricted list. To be absolutely certain that Majesty could not compete in the Memorial Tournament, Bushiroad also instituted special rules that each deck had to have more than four grade 3s, in response to Nakamura Mitsuaki's Blaster deck from the 2013 Trio Festival which got around the restricted list by playing one copy of Majesty with three Soul Saver Dragons and using the extra deck space for additional Blaster units so that Wingal Brave's skill could be used to search Majesty. Descendant thus did not have Majesty or DOTE competing with him, bypassing the gauntlet that many previous decks have had to deal with and then becoming cemented as the go-to tournament deck. This was followed by Descendant placing first at Tokyo, second at Hakata and first at Nagoya, with Kokubo Hikaru's Nagoya decklist drawing attention for being a card-for-card copy of Uemura Shouhei's.

Then during the unofficial Vanguard Championship tournaments in April, the top three spaces of the best 4 at the Kyoto VGCS were taken by Descendant, as well as the top two spaces of the Kanto VGCS. Descendant also placed second in the A block of the official Fighter's Cup and first in B block of the Fight Royale. In May Bushiroad revised the restricted list, creating the May 11th list that brought back DOTE as well as Alfred but kept Majesty and Tsukuyomi restricted while Descendant was added to the list. This somewhat curbed Descendant's control of the Japanese scene, but Narukami cardfighters remained undeterred by the list, running extra copies of Vowing Sword and Gauntlet Buster Dragon in his place as a holdover until one of those two copies were drawn, and his dominance continued into the next VGCS tournament which had preemptively adopted the rules of the list four days prior to its actual start date. Descendant placed first in this Hachiouji VGCS, and repeated this feat at the onset of the Fighter's Road 2013 national tournament in Sendai as well as at Kyoto and Kanazawa.

This string of victories was broken by Okudaira Ryousuke at FR2013 Hiroshima, where he took first place using a Dudley Emperor-Bad End Dragger deck. While Yoshida Yuuta's Descendant deck still made it to second place, Emperor had not received heavy recognition at higher level play up to this point and essentially came out of left field, putting real doubt on if Descendant was really going to last through the duration of this current restricted list. Curiously, Descendant has not been especially popular in the juniors' division until today, which supported the suspicions that part of Descendant's success was owed to the same stubbornness that kept Soul Saver Dragon, Majesty Lord Blaster, Dragonic Overlord The End and Goddess of the Full Moon at the height of tournament play for so long. Every previous high-end deck in the Japanese scene has been buried by either direct decree from Bushiroad or by new cards from the same clan outmoding the old ones in the eyes of pro fighters. Majesty himself is even now going toe-to-toe with Descendant out of that same obstinance. While Descendant would go on to place first in Fukuoka, second place was taken by an Eradicator deck that didn't run him and instead used Sweep Command's break ride with Spark Horn Dragon. From this the idea surfaced that rather than Descendant himself being the dominating force of this tournament season, it is actually the entire Eradicator framework with Descendant and Gauntlet Buster as its dressing--an idea that veteran cardfighters of 2011 are all too familiar with, considering some of the crazier decks that the Barcgal framework was driving in that year. Unlike with Barcgal, there is no one card that Uemura's model of the deck would fall apart without. The Eradicators are an ever-growing snowball of cards that are good individually but overwhelming together, and the only thing that's going to stop their progress is the kind of impermeable evolution of strategy that Okudaira demonstrated at Hiroshima and that Gotou Kiyomi did in last year's tournament. Neither of these cardfighters made sweeping revisions to their respective builds. All they did was make their decks speak modern Vanguard with small changes that would give them concrete early, mid and endgame strategies effective in the current format. This brings us to now.

BT12's release has been anticipated because while Vowing Saber has given the Eradicators another tool to play around with, Link Joker and Shadow Paladin are FR2013's wild cards. At the very same VGCS where Descendant made its debut prior to the Memorial Tournament, Shadow Paladin was seemingly geared to start the tournament season strong as it headed in with the promise of the first new support in years coming further down the line. It speaks to the developing mind set of pro play that Descendant's tournament debut was only second place. With Shadow Paladin finally updated for modern times and Raging Form's own debut being "only second place," the throne is once again disputed as Imanishi and Nagata's shaking of the brackets has ignited new possibilities. The sudden inflation in prices for Shadow Paladin and Link Joker cards, particularly Raging Form and Nebula Lord, has pointed to Japanese pros potentially being on the verge of jumping ship to these new decks. Like DOTE and Majesty before it, Descendant may turn out to be that same breed of pro deck that commonly does well throughout a season and then drops off when the championship finals come around; FR2013 could very well be a repeat experience of FR2012's underdog championship.

In junior class tournament news, one Nakamura Shunto may actually be the return of an established junior pro cardfighter, third place in FR2012. The Nakamura Shunto that we are seeing today has played very differently from the one of the past however, coming in second place and now contending for the national title with a Scarlet Witch deck, likely in light of Majesty now being restricted. Nakamura's contemporaries are shrugging at the restriction, however; Misawa Kentarou from the open division is undeterred by the list, running two copies of Majesty with one Soul Saver Dragon and twelve Blaster cards among his grade 1 and 2 units to use Wingal Brave's search skill with.

In the student-only division of the VF High School Championship, Ueno Yuuki's unorthodox Granblue deck has seen a lot of interest for its very tech-heavy build. The deck runs twelve critical triggers, with Rough Seas Banshee and the grade 3 Basskirk serving as a soul engine to fuel its three copies of Dancing Cutlass as well as the Deadly series cards. For field control options, Ueno selected the much-beloved Cocytus for his on-ride counterblast 2 and the much less frequently played Negromarl for the rearguard, one of the weakest grade 3s in the game that clocks in at just 8000 power but can also call any unit from the drop zone to any rearguard circle with his skill. For endgame limit breaks, Ueno also ran a single copy of Malefic Dragon, a unit that specifically fights units with 12000+ power like Majesty Lord Blaster and the many crossrides now in the game, by gaining +10000 power when it attacks them. While Ueno's deck is very far from standard Granblue and follows a difficult to master playstyle, his innovative approach has breathed some life back into the undead clan and the results speak in his favor.

With six tournaments completed, there are now just two branches of FR2013 remaining. Sapporo and Nagoya will bring us the last candidates for the championship title, with the tournaments being held on the 14th and 15th. The national championship finals will be on August 11th, closing the summer tournament with the coronation of Japan's 2013 champion.

Open Class Regional Tournament
Regional Champion: Tatsuya Tanaka/田中達也
Grade 0
x1 Ambush Dragon Eradicator, Linchu (FVG)
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Divine Spear Eradicator, Pollux CT
x4 Eradicator Dragon Mage DT
Grade 1
x2 Rising Phoenix
x4 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld
x4 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x4 Iron Blood Eradicator, Shuki
Grade 2
x3 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x4 Dragonic Deathscythe
x4 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Cho-ou
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x3 Eradicator, Vowing Saber Dragon “Я”
x3 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon

Runner-up: Imanishi Kouichi/今西弘一
Grade 0
x1 Harbinger Revenger, Claudus (FVG)
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 Morale Revenger, Dorin
x4 Transient Revenger, Masquerade
x1 Sacriledge Revenger, Berith
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger
x4 Nullity Revenger, Masquerade
x4 Black Clothed Revenger, Tartu
Grade 3
x4 Revenger, Raging Form Dragon
x4 Illusion Revenger, Mordred Phantom

Doctor O's Prize: Nagata Shou/長田祥
Grade 0
x1 Star-vader, Dusttail Unicorn (FVG)
x4 Star-vader, Stellar Garage HT
x4 Star-vader, Meteoliger CT
x2 Star-vader, Weiss Soldat CT
x4 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT
x2 Star-vader, Scouting Ferris DT
Grade 1
x4 Barrier Star-vader, Promethium
x4 Demonic Claw Star-vader, Lanthanium
x4 Hollow Twin Blades, Binary Star
x3 Opener of the Black Door
Grade 2
x3 Star-vader, Mobius Breath Dragon
x3 Evil Claw Star-vader, Niobium
x3 Unrivaled Star-vader, Radon
x2 Shooter of the Singularity
Grade 3
x4 Star-vader, Infinite Zero Dragon
x3 Star-vader, Nebula Lord Dragon

Junior Class Regional Tournament
Regional Champion: Funayama Yuiga/舩山唯我

Grade 0
x1 Eradicator, Strikedagger Dragon (FVG)
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x3 Eradicator, Blue Gem Carbuncle DT
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Eradicator of the Divine Spear, Pollux CT
Grade 1
x2 Rising Phoenix
x4 Sword Dance Eradicator, Hisen
x4 Eradicator, Wyvern Guard Guld
x1 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x2 Iron Blood Eradicator, Shuki
Grade 2
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x4 Supreme Army Eradicator, Zuitan
x3 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Chou-Ou
x1 Homing Eradicator, Rochishin
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x3 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x3 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon

Runner-up: Nakamura Shunto/中村俊斗
Grade 0
x1 Little Witch, LuLu (FVG)
x4 Lozenge Magus HT
x4 Psychic Bird CT
x4 Oracle Guardian, Nike CT
x4 Battle Sister, Ginger CT
Grade 1
x4 Oracle Guardian, Gemini
x2 Emerald Witch, LaLa
x2 Battle Sister, Omelette
x4 Battle Sister, Chocolat
x3 Battle Sister, Cream
Grade 2
x2 Battle Sister, Tart
x2 Promise Daughter
x4 Battle Sister, Mocha
x2 Silent Tom
Grade 3
x4 Scarlet Witch, CoCo
x4 Battle Sister, Cookie

Doctor O's Prize: Okura Takumi/小倉拓海
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FVG)
x3 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x3 Divine Spear Eradicator, Pollux CT
x4 Eradicator Dragon Mage DT
x2 Eradicator, Blue Gem Carbuncle DT
Grade 1
x4 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld
x4 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x1 Iron Blood Eradicator, Shuki
x3 Rising Phoenix
x2 Eradicator of the Ceremonial Bonfire, Castor
Grade 2
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x2 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Cho-ou
x1 Twin Gun Eradicator, Hakushou
x3 Dragonic Deathscythe
x1 Supreme Army Eradicator, Zuitan
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x3 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x3 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon

Vanguard Fight High School 2013 Summer, Open Class Tokyo Regional Tournament Championship Team
Watanabe Kento/渡邉健斗
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FVG)
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Divine Spear Eradicator, Pollux CT
x4 Eradicator Dragon Mage DT
Grade 1
x4 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld
x4 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x2 Iron Blood Eradicator, Shuki
x3 Rising Phoenix
Grade 2
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x4 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Cho-ou
x4 Dragonic Deathscythe
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x4 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x2 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon
Misawa Kentarou/三澤健太郎
Grade 0
x1 Wingal Brave (FVG)
x4 Enthusiastic Jewel Knight, Polly HT
x3 Margal DT
x3 Blazing Jewel Knight, Rachelle
x3 Alabaster Owl CT
x3 Bringer of Good Luck, Epona CT
Grade 1
x4 Flash Shield, Iseult
x4 Little Sage, Marron
x4 Knight of Friendship, Kay
x2 Pongal
x1 Blaster Javelin
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade
x4 Blaster Dark
x4 Star Call Trumpeter
x3 Blaster Blade Spirit
Grade 3
x2 Majesty Lord Blaster
x1 Soul Saver Dragon

Matsumoto Yuusuke/松本佑典
Grade 0
x1 Little Witch, LuLu (FVG)
x4 Battle Sister, Chai HT
x4 Psychic Bird CT
x4 Oracle Guardian, Nike CT
x4 Battle Sister, Ginger CT
Grade 1
x4 Oracle Guardian, Gemini
x1 Battle Sister, Maple
x1 Battle Sister, Omelette
x4 Battle Sister, Chocolat
x3 Battle Sister, Cream
Grade 2
x2 Battle Sister, Tart
x2 Battle Sister, Macaron
x4 Battle Sister, Mocha
x4 Silent Tom
Grade 3
x4 Scarlet Witch, CoCo
x4 Battle Sister, Cookie

Vanguard Fight High School 2013 Summer, Student-only Class Tokyo Regional Tournament Championship Team
Imaizumi Tsukasa/今泉司
Grade 0
x1 Ambush Dragon Eradicator, Linchu (FVG)
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Eradicator Dragon Mage DT
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Eradicator of the Divine Spear, Pollux CT
Grade 1
x3 Rising Phoenix
x4 Eradicator, Wyvern Guard Guld
x2 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x3 Iron Blood Eradicator, Shuki
x3 Eradicator of the Ceremonial Bonfire, Castor
Grade 2
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x3 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Chou-Ou
x2 Eradicator, Thunder Boom Dragon
x3 Dragonic Deathscythe
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x4 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x1 Eradicator, Sweep Command Dragon

Ueno Yuuki/上野祐樹
Grade 0
x1 Skeleton Assault Troops Captain (FVG)
x2 Doctor Rouge HT
x2 Rick the Ghostie HT
x4 Rough Seas Banshee CT
x4 Knight Spirit CT
x4 Ghoul Cannonball CT
Grade 1
x3 Samurai Spirit
x3 Dancing Cutlass
x3 Dandy Romario
x1 Deadly Nightmare
x3 Gust Djinn
Grade 2
x2 Captain Nightmist
x4 Ruin Shade
x1 Skeleton Knight
x4 Commodore Blueblood
x2 Deadly Spirit
Grade 3
x2 King of Demonic Seas, Basskirk
x2 Witch Doctor of the Abyss, Negromarl
x2 Ice Prison Necromancer, Cocytus
x1 Dragon Undead, Malefic Dragon

Kurihara Ryou/栗原遼
Grade 0
x1 Little Fighter, Cron (FVG)
x4 Liberator of Hope, Epona CT
x4 Strike Liberator CT
x4 Flame of Victory CT
x4 Elixir Liberator HT
Grade 1
x1 Silver Fang Witch
x4 Curved Blade Liberator, Josephus
x2 Little Liberator, Marron
x4 Halo Liberator, Mark
x2 May Rain Liberator, Bruno
Grade 2
x2 Liberator of the Flute, Escrad
x3 Blaster Blade Liberator
x4 Liberator of Royalty, Phallon
x4 Liberator of Silence, Gallatin
Grade 3
x4 Liberator of the Round Table, Alfred
x3 Wolf Fang Liberator, Garmore

News: Shadow Paladin and Link Joker Top Tokyo Regional, Granblue Provokes Applause in Team Tournament

Update: The decklists for the tournament are now out.

Doctor O has reported the results of the Fighter's Road 2013 Tokyo regional tournament, which was just completed earlier today. Drawing much excitement, the Eradicator deadlock that has dominated much of the tournament season was broken by the arrival of VG-BT12: Binding Force of the  Black Rings and the new Shadow Paladin and Link Joker decks with it. Doctor O listed Tokyo's Open division top 4 as Shadow Paladin, Narukami and Link Joker, implying that one of these clans made two separate entries into the top.

Meanwhile in the VF High School team tournaments, the winning team drew cheers from the audience for its Granblue cardfighter, who carried their team to the top in spite of the clan having not received proper support since April of last year, in VG-BT06: Breaker of Limits. Decklists for the Open, Junior and team tournaments should be coming out later this week, providing a view of just how heavily BT12's release has impacted professional play.

While the success of Shadow Paladin and Link Joker was not completely unexpected, these new builds being able to compete with decks like Descendant on-release is still an unanticipated upset. Raging Folm Dragon's and Nebula Lord's prices in Japan have since jumped up into the range of 2000 yen per card (approximately $20 US) and Link Joker's perfect defense Promethium has gone to 1800 JPY, comparable to Barri's price during the Japanese reign of Dragonic Overlord The End. For comparison, the Revenger print of Mac Lir is hovering at 900-1000 yen, and the RRR print of Descendant has stayed at 900-1200. Cardfighters all across the country are eager to overturn the Eradicators' stranglehold on Fighter's Road, and with only two regionals remaining there is a limited window within which to do that. One trend that has been noted by attending cardfighters is the increased prevalence of Dark Zone clans; the introduction of Reverse units has deeply empowered Pale Moon and Dark Irregulars beyond their previous eras in BT03 and BT07, with Luquier Reverse and Amon Reverse being heavily proliferated across the different divisions. A distortion has appeared in the otherwise stable Japanese scene, and practically overnight the clan of the next national champion has become uncertain. Link Joker may be just the wild card pro fighters have been looking for.

News: FR2013 Kanazawa Decklists, Aqua Force and Majesty Lord Blaster Sweep Through Team Tournaments

The Fighter's Road 2013 Kanazawa decklists are out, revealing names of the newest emerging pro fighters of this year's national championship. Despite their restriction earlier this year, Eradicators have consistently maintained a steady grip on the Open division as the favorite pro deck of choice, with the Liberator subgroup as their constant rival. While they aren't shining as prominently, Angel Feather's Celestials made it into Kanazawa's best 8, pointing to a more even playing field than the top two results would suggest. The Open division may be business as usual for the Eradicator-Liberator deadlock, but the Junior class tournament is the center of attention for the crossride-centric Dragonic Overlord The End build that has reappeared here after a six month hiatus, this time taking advantage of Corduroy's cheaper cost and a pool of Seal Dragon triggers to make retiring easier on a build that wants to reserve its damage zone for The End's persona blast. The deck is being piloted by Niida Kazuki, a veteran of the 2012 Fighter's Road tournaments who previously used The End. Since that time it's clear that Niida's play style has cultivated in a different direction entirely, turning away form the Burning Horn Dragon that he once ran at four in favor of Corduroy, Berserk Dragon and Bellicosity Dragon's utility skills.

In an interesting twist of history, Eboshida Daito has reappeared in the best 8 for Kanazawa's Juniors division; while Eboshida has never been an especially prominent name among pros, at the game's beginning in late 2011 he was the runner up for the Nagoya Junior regional tournament using a Nova Grappler-Royal Paladin hybrid deck, and was also the runner up in the Kanazawa Junior regional for Fighter's Road 2012. Since 2012 he appears to have settled into Gold Paladin as his clan of choice, this time using a Liberator deck instead of Ezel support. Unfortunately, Eboshida did not place high enough to continue contending for this year's national title.

In VFHS news, teams sporting both Dragonic Descendant and Majesty Lord Blaster are gaining ground as a popular combination. With a modernized, break ride-focused Dragonic Overlord The End filling the third space, Hirayama Ken, Ishida Koudai and Watanabe Shouhei are together making for a dangerous combination of all-star builds, in spite of their neophyte status to the world of pros. The direction of the team is ambitious, but it remains to be see if their combination pays off or if the next wave of strategy pushes back the tide.

The Student-only division has taken a different course, with a tech-heavy Maelstrom deck emerging under the command of up-and-coming fighter Torimi Akitaka. Torimi is of interest due to Aqua Force's overall weaker presence in professional play, as the clan is generally agreed upon as strong but difficult to use compared to contemporaries with a less steep learning curve. As the format up until January was heavily defined by defensive play and base 13000 vanguards that Aqua Force units could generally not target with Diamantes or Basil, and the emphasis on aggressive play has only developed within February-on, Aqua Force fighters have been generally slower to come out of the woodwork.

Open Class Regional Tournament
Regional Champion: Shinohara Shigeki/篠原成貴
Grade 0
x1 Ambush Dragon Eradicator, Linchu (FVG)
x3 Eradicator, Dragon Mage DT
x1 Malevolent Djinn CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Eradicator of the Divine Spear, Pollux CT
Grade 1
x3 Rising Phoenix
x4 Eradicator, Wyvern Guard Guld
x4 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x3 Iron Blood Eradicator, Shuki
Grade 2
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x3 Dragonic Deathscythe
x4 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Chou-Ou
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x4 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x2 Eradicator, Sweep Command Dragon

Runner-up: Nakanishi Yuusuke/中西雄亮
Grade 0
x1 Spring Breeze Messenger (FVG)
x4 Liberator of Hope, Epona CT
x4 Strike Liberator CT
x4 Weapons Liberator, Gwydion DT
x4 Elixir Liberator HT
Grade 1
x2 Liberator, Flare Mane Stallion
x4 Curved Blade Liberator, Josephus
x4 Little Liberator, Marron
x4 Halo Liberator, Mark
Grade 2
x3 Blaster Blade Liberator
x4 Liberator of Silence, Gallatin
x4 Liberator of Royalty, Phallon
Grade 3
x4 Liberator of the Round Table, Alfred
x4 Solitary Liberator, Gancelot

Doctor O's Pick: Yoshida Shouji/吉田祥二
Grade 0
x1 First Aid Celestial, Penuel (FVG)
x4 Healing Celestial, Ramiel HT
x4 Celestial, Landing Pegasus DT
x4 Punishment Celestial, Shemhazai CT
x2 Critical Hit Angel CT
x2 Rocket Dash Unicorn CT
Grade 1
x4 Marking Celestial, Arabaki
x4 Underlay Celestial, Hesediel
x1 Order Celestial, Yeqon
x4 Adamantine Celestial, Aniel
Grade 2
x4 Candle Celestial, Sariel
x4 Wildshot Celestial, Raquel
x4 Love Machine Gun, Nociel
Grade 3
x4 Prophecy Celestial, Ramiel
x4 Solidify Celestial, Zerachiel

Junior Class Regional Tournament 
Regional Champion: Niida Kazuki/新井田和輝
Grade 0
x1 Lizard Soldier, Conroe (FVG)
x3 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x1 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x3 Seal Dragon, Artpitch DT
x4 Seal Dragon, Biera CT
x4 Seal Dragon, Shading HT
x1 Blue-Ray Dracokid CT
Grade 1
x2 Embodiment of Armor, Bahr
x4 Seal Dragon, Kersey
x4 Seal Dragon, Rinocross
x3 Dragon Monk, Gojo
x1 Flame of Hope, Aermo
Grade 2
x4 Seal Dragon, Hunger Hell Dragon
x4 Seal Dragon, Corduroy
x2 Berserk Dragon
x2 Bellicosity Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Dragonic Overlord The End
x3 Dragonic Overlord

Runner-up: Takamoto Yutaka/高本豊将
Grade 0
x1 Dreaming Sage, Korron (FVG)
x2 Flame of Victory CT
x4 Silent Punisher CT
x3 Dantengal CT
x2 Loonbau ST
x3 Speeder Hound DT
x4 Elixir Sommelier HT
Grade 1
x2 Little Battler, Tron
x2 Blessing Owl
x2 Evil Slaying Swordsman, Haugan
x3 Advance of the Black Chains, Kahedin
x3 Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth
x2 Disciple of Pain
Grade 2
x2 Master of Pain
x3 Sacred Guardian Beast, Nemean Lion
x1 Mage of Calamity, Tripp
x3 Knight of Passion, Bagdemagus
x3 Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains
Grade 3
x1 Blazing Lion, Platina Ezel
x2 Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel
x1 Solitary Liberator, Gancelot
x2 Battlefield Storm, Sagramore
x1 Holy Mage, Manawydan

Doctor O's Pick: Eboshida Daito/烏帽子田大翔
Grade 0
x1 Little Battler, Cron (FVG)
x4 Liberator of Hope, Epona CT
x4 Strike Liberator CT
x4 Weapons Liberator, Gwydion DT
x4 Elixir Liberator HT
Grade 1
x2 Silver Fang Witch
x4 Curved Blade Liberator, Josephus
x3 Little Liberator, Marron
x3 Halo Liberator, Mark
x1 Halo Shield, Mark
Grade 2
x4 Liberator of the Flute, Escrad
x1 Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains
x4 Liberator of Silence, Gallatin
x3 Liberator of Royalty, Phallon
Grade 3
x4 Liberator of the Round Table, Alfred
x2 Solitary Liberator, Gancelot
x2 Steel Spear Liberator, Bleoberis

Vanguard Fight High School 2013 Summer, Open Class Kanazawa Regional Tournament Championship Team
Hirayama Ken/平山謙
Grade 0
x1 Ambush Dragon Eradicator, Linchu (FVG)
x3 Eradicator, Dragon Mage DT
x1 Malevolent Djinn CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Eradicator of the Divine Spear, Castor CT
Grade 1
x2 Rising Phoenix
x4 Eradicator, Wyvern Guard Guld
x4 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x4 Eradicator of the Ceremonial Bonfire, Castor
Grade 2
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x3 Dragonic Deathscythe
x4 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Chou-Ou
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x4 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x2 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon

Ishida Koudai/石田航大
Grade 0
x1 Lizard Soldier, Conroe (FVG)
x2 Dragon Dancer, Monica DT
x4 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x1 Seal Dragon, Artpitch DT
x4 Seal Dragon, Biera CT
x4 Seal Dragon, Shading HT
x1 Red Gem Carbuncle DT
Grade 1
x4 Embodiment of Armor, Bahr
x1 Seal Dragon, Kersey
x4 Seal Dragon, Rinocross
x4 Dragon Monk, Gojo
x1 Flame of Hope, Aermo
Grade 2
x2 Seal Dragon, Hunger Hell Dragon
x4 Dragon Knight, Nehalem
x3 Berserk Dragon
x2 Cross Shot, Garp
Grade 3
x4 Dragonic Overlord The End
x4 Dauntless Drive Dragon

Watanabe Shouhei/渡辺翔平
Grade 0
x1 Wingal Brave (FVG)
x4 Enthusiastic Jewel Knight, Polly HT
x3 Margal DT
x1 Alabaster Owl CT
x4 Bringer of Good Luck, Epona CT
x4 Blazing Jewel Knight, Rachelle CT
Grade 1
x2 Toypugal
x2 Lake Maiden, Lien
x4 Little Sage, Marron
x4 Flashing Jewel Knight, Iseult
x3 Knight of Friendship, Kay
Grade 2
x3 Star Call Trumpeter
x3 Blaster Blade Spirit
x3 Blaster Blade
x4 Blaster Dark
Grade 3
x2 Swordsman of the Explosive Flames, Palamedes
x2 Majesty Lord Blaster
x1 King of Knights, Alfred

Vanguard Fight High School 2013 Summer, Student-only Class Kanazawa Regional Tournament Championship Team 
Grade 0
x1 Little Witch, LuLu (FVG)
x4 Oracle Guardian, Nike CT
x4 Psychic Bird CT
x4 Battle Sister, Ginger CT
x4 Lozenge Magus HT
Grade 1
x1 Battle Sister, Omelet
x4 Battle Sister, Chocolat
x2 Battle Sister, Cream
x2 Battle Sister, Cocoa
x2 Emerald Witch, LaLa
x4 Oracle Guardian, Gemini
Grade 2
x3 Battle Sister, Tart
x3 Battle Sister, Mocha
x4 Silent Tom
Grade 3
x4 Battle Sister, Cookie
x4 Scarlet Witch, CoCo

Ueki Shun'ya/上木駿矢
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FVG)
x4 Demonic Dragon Nymph, Seiobo HT
x3 Mischievous Girl, Kyon-She DT
x4 Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Malevolent Djinn CT
x1 Spark Edge Dracokid DT
Grade 1
x2 Eradicator of the Ceremonial Bonfire, Castor
x4 Wyvern Guard, Barri
x2 Photon Bomber Wyvern
x1 Eradicator of the True Flames, Kougaiji
x1 Rising Phoenix
x1 Dragon Monk, Ginkaku
x4 Red River Dragoon
Grade 2
x4 Thunder Storm Dragoon
x4 Dusty Plasma Dragon
x2 Demonic Dragon Berserker, Garuda
x1 Dragon Dancer, Veronica
Grade 3
x3 Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion "THE BLOOD"
x4 Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion

Torimi Akitaka/鳥見皓宇
Grade 0
x1 Officer Cadet, Erikk (FVG)
x2 Mass Production Sailor ST
x2 Enemy Seeking Seagull Soldier ST
x3 Dolphin Soldier of High Speeds, Raids ST
x3 Pyroxene Communications Sea Otter Soldier DT
x2 Supersonic Sailor CT
x4 Medical Officer of the Rainbow Elixir HT
Grade 1
x2 Tear Knight, Theo
x4 Emerald Shield, Paschalis
x2 Battle Siren, Dorothea
x2 Flash Signal Light Penguin Soldier
x3 Shortstop Brave Shooter
Grade 2
x4 Tear Knight, Lazarus
x2 Storm Rider, Basil
x3 Twin Strike Brave Shooter
x2 Veteran Strategic Commander
Grade 3
x4 Blue Storm Dragon, Maelstrom
x1 Blue Storm Supreme Dragon, Glory Maelstrom
x1 Last Card, Revonn
x3 Storm Rider, Diamantes

News: Fighter's Road 2013 Kyoto Results, Stand Up Cup Finals to be Held Sunday

Today the results for Japan's ongoing national championship went public, following up Doctor O's report from Saturday. In the Open division Dragonic Descendant has continued to consistently place first in spite of now being restricted to two copies per deck, while Liberator Alfred has continued to be only second best. Interestingly, the best 16 is seeing some greater experimentation among pros as Doctor O's pick from the open class tournament is a fusion of Dauntless Drive Dragon and Flare Whip Dragon. While Flare Whip has been well liked among some professionals--his skill gives him +3000 power when a Kagerou with the race of Flame Dragon is drive checked, for a consistent 16000 vanguard prior to calculating boost--before it was difficult to compose a deck purely of Flame Dragons that was also competitive, as Dragonic Overlord The End was typically the better option. Tanimoto Naoya's variant uses Seal Dragon units in concert with existing Flame Dragon race cards and Dauntless Drive to have a vanguard line that on its key turn goes for 26000 power on both of its twin drive checks.

In the Junior Class tournament a Beast Deity deck using Ethics Buster and a Stern Blaukluger tech placed first, drawing much attention for running only a single critical trigger in the deck while using seven stands instead in concert with Dancing Wolf's skill to force its way to the top. An Angel Feather build with an astonishing amount of variation placed second; while the deck's primary vanguard is Shamsiel, it also employs single copies of Metatron, Calamity Flame, Remiel and Kiriel that are easily fetched through the damage zone manipulation skills of Shamsiel, Nociel and Turiel. While erratic, the innovative build does bring out one of Angel Feather's best qualities in always having the card it wants in hand.

Doctor O's pick from the Junior class' best 16 is surprising. After its long reign, the legendary Dragonic Overlord The End has fallen far enough to not even place second. The deck is a mostly traditional, crossride-oriented The End deck using Seal Dragon cards to make use of Corduroy's skill, but the fact that this deck needed to be spotlighted to be known of at all speaks volumes for how far it has fallen. By contrast, in the VF High School Tournaments' Open division, The End's classic rival Majesty Lord Blaster is making a comeback. While unlike The End, Majesty is currently restricted to just two copies, emerging pro Masami Daishi is taking the restriction in stride by only using Majesty at one copy, playing his deck as a traditional Alfred-Palamedes build up until Wingal Brave's attack hits to grab Lord Blaster, then using Starcall to bring out Blaster Dark for Majesty's skills. His teammates have employed more modern tactics, using proven Descendant and Liberator builds. The Student-only division's top team was more off the wall, with Kitaoka Tomooki using a break-ride oriented Gauntlet Buster deck while Kitaoka's teammates brought successful Dauntless Drive-Blockade Inferno and Chromejailer-Liberator fusion builds. Overall Kyoto has seen much more diversity of play than at Sendai, in spite of the top Open class decks remaining the same.

On the English side of pro play, the Stand Up Challenge Cup will be coming to a close this Sunday as the next US national champion is decided. Reigning champion Brandon Smith is no longer running for the Cup title, but instead will be hosting a gunslinger event to play against cardfighters that want to test their skills against the current champion. Because of this, there is no direct favorite for the national title as there was in 2012, and the public eye is turned now toward the question of who will step up to fill the interregnum period between Smith and the WCS2013 national champion. Saturday will see the last regional event prior to the Cup finals take place at the Champion's Gate, Florida. Unlike previous regionals, the Last Minute Qualifier is open to any who are in line in time to join. Including this qualifier, there are 27 regionals spread out between the United States, Mexico and Canada, with two fighters from each participating in the finals for a 54-person final stage that will dwarf the previous national's 16-person finale.

Open Class Regional Tournament
Regional Champion: Aoyama Takuya/青山拓也
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FVG)
x4 Eradicator, Dragon Mage DT
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Eradicator of the Divine Spear, Castor CT
Grade 1
x2 Rising Phoenix
x4 Eradicator, Wyvern Guard Guld
x4 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x3 Iron Blood Eradicator, Shuki
x2 Eradicator of the Ceremonial Bonfire, Castor
Grade 2
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x2 Dragonic Deathscythe
x4 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Chou-Ou
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x4 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x2 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon

Runner-up: Gisuji Junpei/宜壽次隼兵
Grade 0
x1 Little Battler, Cron (FVG)
x4 Liberator of Hope, Epona CT
x4 Strike Liberator CT
x4 Weapons Liberator, Gwydion DT
x4 Elixir Liberator HT
Grade 1
x2 Pomergal Liberator
x2 Liberator, Flare Mane Stallion
x2 Liberator of the Future, Llew
x4 Little Liberator, Marron
x4 Halo Liberator, Mark
Grade 2
x2 Blaster Blade Liberator
x3 Liberator of Silence, Gallatin
x4 Liberator of Royalty, Phallon
x3 Liberator of the Flute, Escrad
Grade 3
x4 Liberator of the Round Table, Alfred
x3 Solitary Liberator, Gancelot

Doctor O's Pick: Tanimoto Naoya/谷本直也
Grade 0
x1 Lizard Soldier, Conroe (FVG)
x4 Seal Dragon, Biera CT
x4 Blue Ray Dracokid CT
x4 Seal Dragon, Artpitch DT
x4 Seal Dragon, Shading HT
Grade 1
x4 Seal Dragon, Flannel
x4 Seal Dragon, Kersey
x2 Iron Tail Dragon
x4 Seal Dragon, Rinocross
Grade 2
x4 Seal Dragon, Hunger Hell Dragon
x4 Seal Dragon, Corduroy
x3 Berserk Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Flare Whip Dragon
x4 Dauntless Drive Dragon

Junior Class Regional Tournament
Regional Champion: Nishida Sachi/西田祥
Grade 1
x2 Beast Deity, Riot Horn (FVG)
x4 The Gong DT
x1 Red Lightning CT
x3 Turboraizer ST
x4 Battleraizer ST
x4 Wall Boy HT
Grade 1
x4 Twin Blader
x4 Beast Deity, Blank Marsh
x3 Dancing Wolf
x2 Tough Boy
Grade 2
x3 King of Sword
x4 Beast Deity, Hatred Chaos
x4 Beast Deity, Golden Anglet
Grade 3
x4 Beast Deity, Ethics Buster
x3 Ultra Beast Deity, Illuminal Dragon
x1 Stern Blaukluger

Runner-up: Shoutsubo Mizuki/庄坪瑞生
Grade 0
x1 Hope Child, Turiel (FVG)
x4 Fever Therapy Nurse DT
x4 Critical Hit Angel CT
x4 Happy Bell, Nociel ST
x4 Sunny Smile Angel HT
Grade 1
x3 Battle Cupid, Nociel
x3 Crimson Mind, Baruch
x2 Clutch Rifle Angel
x4 Thousand Ray Pegasus
x2 Pure Keeper, Requiel
x1 Adamantine Celestial, Aniel
Grade 2
x1 Candle Celestial, Sariel
x1 Love Machine Gun, Nociel
x1 Core Memory, Armaros
x4 Crimson Drive, Aphrodite
x3 Million Ray Pegasus
Grade 3
x4 Chief Nurse, Shamsiel
x1 Crimson Impact, Metatron
x1 The Phoenix, Calamity Flame
x1 Prophecy Celestial, Remiel
x1 Circular Saw, Kiriel

Doctor O's Pick: Gotou Yuusuke/後藤優介
Grade 0
x1 Lizard Soldier, Conroe (FVG)
x4 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x2 Embodiment of Armor, Tahr CT
x2 Seal Dragon, Artpitch DT
x2 Dragon Mmonk, Genjo HT
x2 Seal Dragon, Biera CT
x2 Seal Dragon, Shading HT
x2 Blue Ray Dracokid CT
Grade 1
x4 Embodiment of Armor, Bahr
x2 Seal Dragon, Kersey
x3 Wyvern Guard, Barri
x3 Dragon Monk, Gojo
x1 Flame of Hope, Aermo
x1 Flame of Promise, Aermo
Grade 2
x1 Seal Dragon, Hunger Hell Dragon
x2 Seal Draogn, Corduroy
x4 Burning Horn Dragon
x4 Bellicosity Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Dragonic Overlord The End
x4 Dragonic Overlord

Vanguard Fight High School 2013 Summer, Open Class Kyoto Regional Tournament Championship Team
Masami Daishi/正躰大士
Grade 0
x1 Wingal Brave (FVG)
x3 Bringer of Good Luck, Epona CT
x3 Alabaster Owl CT
x3 Future Knight, Llew CT
x3 Margal DT
x4 Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine HT
Grade 1
x4 Little Sage, Marron
x4 Lake Maiden, Lien
x4 Flash Shield, Iseult
x2 Toypugal
Grade 2
x3 Blaster Blade Spirit
x4 Blaster Blade
x2 Blaster Dark
x3 Star Call Trumpeter
Grade 3
x4 King of Knights, Alfred
x1 Majesty Lord Blaster
x2 Swordsman of the Explosive Flames, Palamedes

Koukuchi Satoya/髙口賢哉
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FVG)
x4 Eradicator, Dragon Mage DT
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Eradicator of the Divine Spear, Castor CT
Grade 1
x3 Rising Phoenix
x4 Eradicator, Wyvern Guard Guld
x4 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x3 Iron Blood Eradicator, Shuki
Grade 2
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x3 Dragonic Deathscythe
x4 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Chou-Ou
Grade 3
x2 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant
x4 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x2 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon


Yamaguchi Atsu/山口篤
Grade 0
x1 Little Battler, Cron (FVG)
x4 Liberator of Hope, Epona CT
x4 Strike Liberator CT
x3 Weapons Liberator, Gwydion DT
x4 Elixir Liberator HT
x1 Flame of Victory CT
Grade 1
x4 Curved Blade Liberator, Josephus
x2 Silver Fang Witch
x4 Little Liberator, Marron
x4 Halo Liberator, Mark
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade Liberator
x4 Liberator of Royalty, Phallon
x4 Liberator of the Flute, Escrad
Grade 3
x4 Liberator of the Round Table, Alfred
x3 Solitary Liberator, Gancelot

Vanguard Fight High School 2013 Summer, Student-only Class Kyoto Regional Tournament Championship Team
Kitaoka Tomooki/北岡誠起
Grade 0
x1 Ambush Dragon Eradicator, Linchu (FVG)
x4 Eradicator, Dragon Mage DT
x4 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Eradicator of the Divine Spear, Castor CT
Grade 1
x3 Eradicator of the True Flames, Kougaiji
x4 Wyvern Guard, Guld
x4 Eradicator, Demolition Dragon
x1 Iron Blood Eradicator, Shuki
x3 Red River Dragoon
Grade 2
x3 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x3 Dragonic Deathscythe
x2 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Chou-Ou
x1 Eradicator, Thunder Boom Dragon
x1 Eradicator, Saucer Cannon Wyvern
Grade 3
x3 Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon
x4 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x1 Eradicator, Sweep Command Dragon

Takimoto Yuuki/瀧本祐希
Grade 0
x1 Seal Dragon, Terrycloth (FVG)
x4 Seal Dragon, Shading HT
x4 Seal Dragon, Artpitch DT
x2 Dragon Dancer, Monica DT
x4 Seal Dragon, Biera CT
x2 Demonic Dragon Mage, Raksha CT
Grade 1
x4 Seal Dragon, Rinocross
x3 Demonic Dragon Mage, Kimnara
x4 Seal Dragon, Kersey
x4 Seal Dragon, Flannel
Grade 2
x3 Seal Dragon, Jakado
x3 Seal Dragon, Corduroy
x4 Seal Dragon, Hunger Hell Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Dauntless Drive Dragon
x4 Burning Hell Seal Dragon, Blockade Inferno

Irino Yuuichiro/入野裕一郎
Grade 0
x1 Spring Breeze Messenger (FVG)
x3 Flame of Victory CT
x3 Dantengal CT
x4 Elixir Liberator HT
x4 Falcon Knight of the Azure DT
x2 Weapons Dealer, Gwydion DT
Grade 1
x2 Blackmane Witch
x4 Halo Shield, Mark
x4 Listener of Truth, Dindrane
x4 Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth
Grade 2
x1 Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains
x1 Blaster Dark Spirit
x2 Blaster Blade Spirit
x3 Mage of Calamity, Tripp
x4 Lop Ear Shooter
Grade 3
x4 Conviction Dragon, Chromejailer Dragon
x4 Solitary Liberator, Gancelot

News: Doctor O Tweets BCF2013 Vanguard Stage in Sendai Results

Doctor O tweeted the results of the Bushiroad Cardfight 2013 Vanguard Stage this morning through his official account, revealing the outcome of the Senior and Junior tournaments held on the 12th. BCF2013 is part of a nationwide tour lasting through July, which also forms the Fighter's Road 2013 summer national tournament. Of the sixteen finalists for FR2013, eight of them will be determined through BCF2013 events, with four others being Asia Circuit Memorial Tournament champions, and four more being finalists from the Great Vanguard Festival event. The eight participants for the Juniors division of FR2013 will be coming purely from the Fighter's Road 2013 regional events. Only elementary students and younger may participate in the Juniors division, while the Seniors division is open to all ages.

 

While the decklists and names are not yet available, Doctor O stated that the Senior champion used a Gauntlet Buster Dragon-based Narukami deck, while the runner up was also using a Narukami deck, but based on Sweep Commando Dragon. The Junior champion is one of the first major Kagerou victories in a long time, taking the top spot with a Seal Dragon deck, while the runner up used a Gold Paladin Liberator deck.

The remaining seven tournaments will take place in Kyoto, Kanazawa, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Tokyo, Sapporo and Nagoya. This will be the first time that the Fukuoka and Kyoto prefectures have been included in the national tournament, and also the first time that Okayama, Hakata and Osaka will not be participating.

News: Fighter's Road 2013, World Championships and FC2012 to be Broadcast Live

Bushiroad's CF-Vanguard website has confirmed that Fighter's Road 2013, the first half of the 2013 tournament season for Japan, is now upcoming. Set to last from May through July, the tournament is currently stated to follow the same eight regional, one national tournament format of previous seasons.

In other news, both the World Championship 2012 and Fighter's Climax 2012 finals will be broadcast live on NicoNico Douga, with the doors opening at 9:50 AM Japanese Standard Time. (This will be at 9:50 PM Eastern Standard Time.) According to the current schedule, the first matches of FC2012's senior class finals will be broadcast at 10:30 AM JST, the world championship finals will be shown at 1:30 PM JST, and the finals for FC2012 will begin at 2:00 PM, with several other events in-between until the closing ceremony at 5:00 PM. In all, the event is projected to last over seven hours.