News: Maelstrom, Tetra-Drive, Thavas to Receive Support in "Commander of Waves"

August 6th, 2015. The Japanese Cardfight!! Vanguard portal updated this morning with new images and information for the previously-announced Aqua Force clan booster, G-CB02: Commander of Waves. Like G-CB01: Academy of Divas before it, this clan booster will introduce a new mechanic, "Wave." The set will feature an evolved form of the clan's breakstride Thavas, "One Who is One With the Storm, Thavas" as well as support for the Maelstrom, Tetra-drive, and Genovious boss cards of past sets.

The clan booster will also include a reprint of the promotional card Couple Dagger Sailor. The setlist will comprise 40 cards, 39 new and one reprint; one generation rare, four triple rares, seven double rares, twelve single rares, sixteen commons, and six special parallel cards. One of these SPs will be an alternate artwork reprint of an existing card. Each sealed booster pack will contain seven cards, with two of them being guaranteed to be single rare or greater. Each sealed booster box will contain twelve packs, and retail for 3600 yen (approximately $29 US at the current exchange rate), while individual packs will cost 300 yen (~$2.50).

Worth noting is that the Nextage, Ahsha, and Altmile strides in G-BT04: Soul Strike Against the Supreme were also referred to as evolutions during the set's announcement. Commander of Waves will launch in Japan on October 23rd. No international launch date has been given as of yet.

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: Aqua Force Clan Booster "Commander of Waves" to Launch October 23rd, Comic Booster Sleeves

August 4th, 2015. During today's weekly stream, host personality Doctor O unveiled the title and launch date for the previously-announced clan booster, G-Clan Booster 02: Commander of Waves. (連波の指揮官 Renpa no Shikikan lit. "Commander of Connected/Successive Waves;" initially misread as 連破 Renpa "Successive Wins") Featuring Euro League pro cardfighter Jaime Alcaraz from the TV anime Cardfight!! Vanguard G, the booster set will launch the month after G-Comic Booster 01: Leaders & Deletors hits the Japanese game. Commander of Waves will launch on October 23rd in Japan. No international release date has been given as of yet. A complete recording of the broadcast may now be viewed below.

In other Leaders & Deletors related news, a pair of sleeves were also announced during the broadcast for a September 18th release date. Featuring protagonist Sendou Aichi and antagonist Ibuki Kouji as illustrated by the manga's lead artist Itou Akira, these are the second set of sleeves to feature the manga incarnation of Aichi, after another dual release of manga sleeves from October 2013 featuring Aichi and Kai Toshiki, also illustrated by Itou.

Doctor O also unveiled three cards from the upcoming G-BT04: Soul Strike Against the Supreme, presented below.

Greedy Devourer, Gleipnir
AUTO (Rearguard circle): Generation break 1: [Counterblast 1] When this unit attacks a vanguard, if this unit is boosted, you may pay the cost. If you do, soulcharge 3, and if a card has been sent from the soul to the drop zone during this turn, draw 1 card.

Charming Mutant, Sweet Cocktail
AUTO (Rearguard circle): Generation break 1: [Counterblast 1] When this unit attacks a vanguard, if this unit is boosted, you may pay the cost. If you do, choose 1 of your opponent's rearguards, rest it, and until the end of your opponent's next turn, that unit gets "AUTO (Rearguard circle): During the end phase of your turn, if this unit is rested, your opponent draws 1 card.", during this turn, that unit cannot intercept. During your opponent's next stand phase, that unit cannot stand.

Coercive Mutant, Darkface
AUTO (Vanguard circle): Generation break 2: [Soulblast 2] When one of your opponent's units is placed on a rearguard circle, you may pay the cost. If you do, rest that unit.
AUTO (Vanguard circle): [Counterblast 1] During your turn, when your G unit strides, you may pay the cost. If you do, choose 2 of your opponent's rearguards, rest them, and until the end of your opponent's next turn, they get "AUTO (Rearguard circle): During the end phase of your turn, if this unit is rested, your opponent draws 1 card.", and during your opponent's next stand phase, those units cannot stand.

Above is a complete recording of the stream. Bushiroad Cardfight event report is at 5:30, Aqua Force clan booster announced at 33:23, manga sleeves at 34:49, G-BT04: Soul Strike Against the Supreme cards shown at 35:54. 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: Monthly Bushiroad Leaks, Cosmic Roar to Hit Western Shelves in April

Everyone's favorite time of the month has rolled around once again, coinciding with a morning announcement from Bushiroad South East Asia unveiling the English-language logos for G-EB01: Cosmic Roar and G-TD04: Blue Cavalry of the Divine Marine Spirits. Cosmic Roar was announced last December, and will be released in Japanese on March 13th and in English on April 17th. The set consists entirely of cards for the Dimension Police clan, with support for the Dimensional Robo, Enigman, Zeal and Metalborg subclans. Anticipating problems with game balance following the set's release, Bushiroad has preemptively restricted Commander Laurel in Japan to just one copy in order to mitigate his use with the new stride units. This month's issue of Monthly Bushiroad magazine revealed several cards from Cosmic Roar alongside cards from G-BT02: Soaring Ascent, introducing the first new Enigman and Zeal support cards since BT08: Blue Storm Armada and BT13: Catastrophic Outbreak.

The first card revealed is the grade 1 Enigman Cloud, an homage to 2011's Enigman Ripple.

AUTO: [Soulblast 1] When this unit is placed on a rearguard circle, you may pay the cost. If you do, look at up to 5 cards from the top of your deck, search for up to one grade 2 or less card with "Enigman" in its card name, reveal it to your opponent, put it into your hand and shuffle your deck. If put into your hand, choose a card from your hand, and put it into your soul.

When successful Cloud's skill effectively trades a card in hand for an Enigman from the deck, and opens up the potential for correcting the rides of Enigman decks that use the Storm evolution line. Cloud can search for himself, which can lead to rapidly changing out less useful cards like draw triggers to quickly fill the field.

Next is Evolving Beast Darvain, who similarly manipulates the soul but does so by trading cards from the field rather than from the hand.

AUTO: [Choose one of your other rearguards, and put it into your soul.] When this unit is placed on a rearguard circle, you may pay the cost. If you do, search your deck for up to one card with "Zeal" in its card name with the same grade as your vanguard, ride it as stand, and shuffle that deck. If you rode, choose a card from your soul with the same grade as your vanguard, call it to a rearguard circle and choose one of your opponent's vanguards, during this turn it gets Power -3000.

In the early game Darvain can be used to trade copies of draw triggers or spent on-call rearguards for lower graded Zeal units, aggressively decreasing the opponent's power even prior to reaching grade 3 while also ensuring that you ride the key units Eye of Destruction and Devourer of Planets Zeal. If you open with multiple copies of Darvain it's also possible to put your first copy into the soul for the cost of the second and then pull it out again, triggering a loop limited only by the number of Eye of Destruction Zeals in your deck. The second Darvain when called out will put the first one into the soul and call it back out, which in turn puts the second one in and out again. While only truly useful when going second or while gradelocked, this can put the opponent down to -12000 power if you don't open with Eye of Destruction. Later on Darvain can help replenish the field using cards from the soul while stacking negative power bonuses on top of Zeal's. Galactic Beast cardfighters have always favored stand triggers and aggressive turns to capitalize on the decreased power, which Darvain caters to.

The Evolution Beast's skill can also be used to superior ride Zeal over a break ride, allowing you to use Original Saver Zero to give the opponent a net -8000 power from both Zero and Darvain's skills. This exchange causes you to break even on your own card advantage, as Darvain's soul-in and superior call are a net +0, providing multiple incentives to ride through Darvain rather than through the hand. If you have the limit break enabler Dailion in play, then you can execute this play the moment you ride Zero on your third turn. With Galactic Beast Zeal's limit break, these can together stack up to -13000 power, leveling even crossrides to 0 power.

The last Dimension Police unit revealed in the issue is the grade 2 Metalborg, Magma Fork. Fork is a custom attack that specifically takes advantage of legion mechanics, as is characteristic of the Metalborg subclan as a whole.

AUTO: [Counterblast 1 "Metalborg"] When this unit attacks a vanguard, you may pay the cost. If you do, during that battle, for each card on your vanguard circle this unit gets Power +3000.

While in any other deck Fork's counterblast would seem wasted compared to a standard subclan attacker, with an in-legion Metalborg vanguard Fork can gain two instances of the power bonus, becoming a 22000-power attacker that can help overwhelm the opponent after the vanguard has drained their hand.

Other key units revealed in the magazine issue include Sleepy Tapir and a new legion for Gear Chronicle. Tapir is a clone of Binoculus Tiger empowered with Resist, who can give +4000 power to a different rearguard when he attacks but then has to retire it during the end phase of the turn.

The new Gear Chronicle legion is Nixie Number Dragon and his legion mate, Steam Knight Zangu. Zangu's counterblast 1 lets him send an opponent's grade 1 or lesser rearguard to the bottom of their deck when the vanguard is in legion and his attack hits, making him a conditional replacement for the Relic Master Dragon introduced in the previous issue. Nixie Number's legion skill follows up on Chronojet's from the trial deck; when one of his fighter's card skills places an opponent's rearguard on the bottom of their deck, Nixie Number gets a skill that prevents the opponent from calling grade 1 and greater cards to the guardian circle, blocking perfect defense cards. Perhaps the most shocking reveal about these cards is that Nixie Number and Zangu are normal rares in the set, not double or triple rares. This gives very easy access to a guard manipulation unit for newer Gear Chronicle cardfighters, and one that independently attacks for 23000 power.

Nixie Number Dragon
Legion 20000 "Steam Knight Zangu"
AUTO (Vanguard circle): When your card effect places your opponent's rearguard into their deck, if this unit is in legion, during this turn, this unit gains "AUTO (Vanguard circle): When this unit attacks a vanguard, during this battle, your opponent cannot call Grade 1 or higher cards from their hand to their guardian circle".
AUTO (Vanguard circle): When this unit attacks a vanguard, if there is another unit in your center column, this unit gets Power +3000 during this battle.

Today's Card Analysis: Battery Boom Dragon

Today's Japanese card of the day is an update to the Aqua Force's serial attack strategy, and the first card revealed from the clan's upcoming second trial deck, Jaime Alcaraz's G-TD04: Blue Cavalry of the Divine Marine Spirits. Battery Boom Dragon is a twist on past support cards like Benedict and Lysandros, filling their position in creating multiple attacks to trigger the vanguard's skills with conditions like "if it is the fourth or greater battle of the turn," while also harassing the opponent with glancing blows. Unlike his predecessors though, Battery Boom can fill a role in the vanguard circle in the event of a worst-case scenario.

Battery Boom Dragon's primary skill lets him change positions with a unit in the same column as himself after he attacks, as long as it was the first battle of the turn. Like with the Storm Rider series of the past, the rest or stand position of the units does not change, so you're intended to place an 11~12000 power independent attacker behind Battery so that it can attack after he has and increase the number of attacks in the turn. This makes it possible to get to the fourth battle of the turn, by attacking with Battery Boom, swapping positions with the unit behind him, attacking with the other rearguard lane, and then attacking with the vanguard for the fourth attack.

The primary problem with Battery Boom is his 10000-power base. In order for his attack to connect with most vanguards of the present format, you have to use either Battle Siren Mallika's or Neferli's skills to pump up Battery Boom by +3000 first. Otherwise you're only attacking to increase the number of attacks that turn to meet a skill threshold and exchange positions with Twin Strike Brave Shooter or Gregorios. This is not necessarily a wrong approach, but Battery Boom is in competition with Diamantes, Lysander and Lysandros. Diamantes at least attacks for 11000 power before changing positions, while Lysander and Lysandros can both restand after being boosted instead of needing to rely on position-changing, and attack rearguards that they can actually hit afterward to rack up the number of battles on that turn. So in the rearguard Battery Boom is generally outclassed, but he does have an advantage on the vanguard circle that none of these past support cards could fill.

Like many lesser grade 3s introduced in the wake of G-BT01: Generation Stride, Battery Boom has a generation break skill that follows the same design as the initial limit breaks of BT06. For generation break 1, Boom gets +6000 power when he attacks the vanguard, and accounting for the general inflation of grade 3s over the past several years from having a normal base power of 10000 to 11000, this means that cards of Boom's type are effectively the Garmores of the new era. The bar has been raised from 15000 to 16000 power, and having face-up G-units has replaced having four damage as a skill condition. In fact, Aura Shooter Dragon in G-TD02: Divine Swordsman of the Shiny Star is a near equivalent for Great Silver Wolf Garmore, only calling grade 2 and greater cards instead of lower for the same cost and timing.

So unlike Diamantes, if you're forced to ride Battery Boom and have no other options, you still have a 10000-power base instead of 9000 power, and you have an offensive vanguard skill to fall back on that can make a 21~23000 power column with a 5000-power booster. Even if you face a Link Joker matchup and find your booster locked, Battery can still fight back with a 16000-power attack as long as you have access to stride early on. This flexibility between the vanguard and rearguard circles gives Battery a good balance between parameters that other Storm Rider derivatives do not have, and because of his rearguard role this clan in particular is more likely to run their generation break Garmores than contemporary clans are. While not a game-winning card by any means of the imagination, Battery is a very respectable upgrade over Diamantes.

The question is whether or not you really need Battery Boom. With a variety of effective grade 1 and grade 2 support that can achieve his skill indirectly using rearguards that can already hit for the right numbers, comprising Wheel Assault, Spyros and their legion equivalents Starless and Tempest Boarder, Battery Boom only has a place if you are running a deck that is both non-Blue Storm and non-legion. Aqua Force is likely to receive its own generation break grade 1 and 2 units with similar skills to these cards, so Battery Boom may well be dead on arrival.