News: “∞” Glendios Tops West Japan and Kansai Championships, Kagerou Disappears Overnight

"The unending apocalypse, infinite Ω."

Link Joker made an unanticipated return at the apex of two major tournaments yesterday, with both the West Japan VGCS and Kansai Spring Cup seeing Death Star-vader “∞” Glendios in first place. In both cases, Link Joker represented a minority among the participants. At the Spring Cup 35 3-man teams (105 persons) participated, but only two cardfighters played Link Joker among them. At the West Japan CS there were 86 participants, with the 5 Link Joker fighters split between Glendios and Blaster Joker. With the support that it's received in Fighter's Collection 2015, “Ω” has come out as a dark horse answer to the swarm of “Diablo” decks now flooding tournament play.

"Sold out." Photo by inaisekai.

Unusually for a post-Generation Stride tournament, no Kagerou cardfighters were present at the 86-person West Japan Vanguard Championship. The clan collapsed entirely in the face of “Diablo,” with many cardfighters jumping ship to Shadow Paladin and Narukami. Meanwhile at the Spring Cup only 10% of all fighters present played Kagerou--occupying the same niche that “Abyss” filled prior to the Legend Deck's debut. Meanwhile the Legend Deck is selling out in stores across Japan, and Japanese card shops are struggling to keep up with demand. “Abyss” made up 24% of all tournament entries at the West Japan CS, and 41% of the entries at Kansai. Glendios' top at the Spring Cup was complementary to this; while team forward Shokushu lead the way for his mates by going undefeated in the nine rounds he played, both of his teammates were playing Revenger decks with “Diablo” support. (Unlike other team tournaments, the Spring Cup did not prevent teammates from using the same clan.)


Shokushu's “Ω” Glendios deck focused on using its Fighter's Collection 2015 upgrade Death Star-vader “∞” Glendios. (Read as "Omega Loop" Glendios) For counterblast 2 and by turning a copy of itself face-up in the generation zone, “∞” places a card from the top of the opponent's deck onto their field locked for every “Яeverse” rearguard the Omega cardfighter controls. The stride's skill also effectively incorporates an ultimate break of its own, as if the Glendios fighter has five damage then the opponent's rearguards will not unlock during their end phase. This means that, barring any changes in damage as a result of trigger checks, an “∞” deck with five “Яeverse” units in play and five damage will guarantee themselves to automatically win through “Ω” Glendios' World End ultimate break during the main phase of the next turn, provided that the opponent does not have any unlock skills attached to their vanguard and that the Link Joker cardfighter is able to defend through their opponent's turn.

By cutting out even more grade 2 space than is standard, Shokushu was able to make room for both thirteen grade 1s and twelve grade 3s, helping accommodate  “∞'s” stringent requirements. His opponents were forced to avoid granting him five damage, only having the option to send him directly from four to six or not at all. Shokushu reported his individual matchups; six of the nine rounds he played were against Shadow Paladin cardfighters. (Shokushu's other rounds were against Narukami, a team that forfeited and Aqua Force.) He did not lose a single game during the tournament, despite some of the advantages Phantom Blaster “Diablo” had in those matchups. This record may be attributed to his teammates--the team's midfighter Nero and its captain Buretan both played Revenger decks, hence Shokushu had ample opportunity to practice for the matchup. Shokushu was also no stranger to playing Glendios, as he had topped the third Kansai CS sub tournament with it back in July 2014.

Another potential reason for Shokushu's success was the tournament format. Prior to top 16 the Spring Cup used a five-round Swiss system, with each round lasting 20 minutes and being constrained to best-of-one games. The first round began at 11:00 AM, the second at 11:35 AM, and so on. The tournament finals were best-of-three with a 50 minute time limit, and clan fight rules were enforced throughout. But because the initial five rounds were in best-of-one and every opponent facing “∞” Glendios had an incentive to keep the deck at four damage, the format was arguably biased in Glendios' favor. In any given game the looming threat of “∞” hitting the field prevents opponents from putting Glendios fighters to five damage, while still staring down 22000-power “Яeverse” rearguards every turn and having higher damage incentivized by the time limit. Conflicting priorities force poor decisions out of the opponent, to either risk putting the Glendios cardfighter at five in the belief that they will be unable to guard the next turn's stride attack, or to go to five damage themselves to scramble for an additional counterblast while in the immediate short-term putting down less guard. With a 20-minute timer, trying to send a Glendios cardfighter straight from four to six damage becomes less viable as the clock may finish counting down before that can happen.

Kansai Spring Cup Clan Distribution (105 participants)
43 Shadow Paladin
16 Narukami
11 Royal Paladin
11 Kagero
6 Aqua Force
4 Megacolony
4 Oracle Think Tank
3 Great Nature
2 Dimension Police
2 Link Joker
1 Nova Grappler
1 Pale Moon
1 Spike Brothers

The Kansai VGCS Spring Cup took place over the course of two days from May 4th to 5th at the Naniwa Citizens' Hall. 48 teams (144 participants). Entry was 4500 yen (approx. $38) and first place won a carton of G-BT03: Sovereign Star Dragon and were qualified for two byes for the second day of the tournament. Second place won six boxes of Sovereign Star Dragon, third place three boxes, and fourth place one box. Clan fight rules were implemented. The decklists for Shokushu's teammates are still forthcoming.

Do-re-mi Town. Original image by Morichan.

Second place at the West Japan VGCS was Sanctuary Guard Royal Paladin, third place Thavas-Strikehead Aqua Force, and fourth place Exxtreme Battler Nova Grappler. The tournament was sponsored by Cardbox, one of the original shops to support Cardfight!! Vanguard in Japan. It was a singles division tournament, held on the third floor of Do-re-mi Town, an entertainment center in Okayama prefecture. The first round began at 11:00 AM, with each round lasting 20 minutes. The tournament finals began at 2:30 PM, and the closing ceremony was held at 6:30 PM. Entry at West Japan was 1000 yen for those that preregistered and 1200 yen for those that registered on-site. First place won eight boxes of Fighter's Collection 2015 as well as a voucher for 5000 yen. Second place won four boxes of FC2015 and a voucher worth the same, third place two boxes and a 3000 yen voucher, while fifth through eighth places won a single box.

West Japan VGCS Clan Distribution (86 participants in total)
21 Shadow Paladin (Revengers and Blaster Dark "Diablo," 1 Witch reported)
12 Royal Paladin (Thing Saver, Jewel Knights)
9 Narukami (Brawlers, Eradicators)
5 Link Joker (mostly Glendios, a few Blaster Jokers reported)
5 Nova Grappler (Exxtreme Battlers, Raizers, and Asura reported)
5 Aqua Force (Thavas, Maelstrom)
4 Oracle Think Tank (2 Tsukuyomi, 1 CoCo, 1 Susanoo)
3 Murakumo (Hyakki Vogue)
3 Dimension Police (Metalborgs)
3 Gold Paladin (reported no Pellinores, Ezel, Liberator)
3 Great Nature (Tester Fox)
3 Gear Chronicle (reported no Upheavals)
3 Megacolony (1 made it to Top 16)
2 Granblue
2 Neo Nectar (Musketeers, 1 with Captain Cecilia, 1 without Captain Cecilia)
1 Pale Moon
1 Dark Irregulars
1 Genesis (Legion)

The VGCS tournaments are a series of unofficial tournaments organized by fans and cardshops. Unlike Bushiroad's 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.

Kansai VGCS Spring Cup
Championship team
Forward: Shokushu/しょくしゅ
Grade 0
x1 Star-vader, World Line Dragon (FV)
x4 Star-vader, Pixie Powder HT
x3 Star-vader, Jailer Tail DT
x3 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT
x4 Apollo Nail Dragon CT
x1 Star-vader, Meteoliger CT
x1 Star-vader, Spark Doll CT
Grade 1
x4 Refusing Deletor, Evil
x4 Star-vader, Ruin Magician
x4 Taboo Star-vader, Rubidium
x1 Star-vader, Volt Line
Grade 2
x3 Star-vader, Magnet Hollow
x3 Companion Star-vader, Photon
x2 Star-vader, Colony Maker
Grade 3
x3 Star-vader, “Ω” Glendios
x3 Star-vader, “Яeverse” Cradle
x1 Eradicator, Vowing Saber Dragon “Яeverse”
x1 Dark Dimensional Robo, “Яeverse” Daiyusha
x1 Silver Thorn Dragon Queen, Luquier “Яeverse”
x1 Deadliest Beast Deity, Ethics Buster “Яeverse”
x1 Cleanup Celestial, Ramiel “Яeverse”
x1 Broken Heart Jewel Knight, Ashlei “Яeverse”
Grade 4 (Generation Zone)
x4 Snow Element, Blizza
x4 Death Star-vader,  “∞” Glendios

Midfighter: Nero/ネロ
Decklist pending

Captain: Buriten/ブリテン
Decklist pending

West Japan Vanguard Championship
Champion
Grade 0
x1 Star-vader, World Line Dragon (FV)
x4 Recollection Star-vader, Tellurium HT
x3 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT
x3 Vortex Star-vader, Molybdenum DT
x3 Star-vader, Weiss Soldat CT
x3 Apollo Nail Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Refusing Deletor, Evil
x4 Star-vader, Ruin Magician
x4 Taboo Star-vader, Rubidium
Grade 2
x4 Star-vader, Magnet Hollow
x3 Companion Star-vader, Photon
Grade 3
x4 Star-vader, “Ω” Glendios
x4 Star-vader, “Яeverse” Cradle
x1 Covert Demonic Dragon, Hyakki Vogue “Яeverse”
x1 Dauntless Dominate Dragon “Яeverse”
x1 Eradicator, Vowing Saber Dragon “Яeverse”
x1 Maiden of Venus Trap “Яeverse”
x1 Dragonic Overlord “The Яe-birth
x1 School Punisher, Leo-pald “Яeverse”
Grade 4 (Generation Zone)
x1 Miracle Element, Atmos
x3 Snow Element, Blizza
x4 Death Star-vader,  “∞” Glendios

News: Duo Fighter Makes Top 4 in Second Kansai VGCS, Lock on Victory to Feature Multiple Endings

Higashiōsaka Civic Center, Higashiōsaka city, Osaka prefecture. Image source.

The last Vanguard Championship of March ended on the 30th, with the Dragonic Nouvelle Vague making an encore appearance in the Second Kansai VGCS' first and fourth spots. Turnout at Kansai almost broke 100, reaching a latent high point of 97 persons, although it was planned to accommodate up to 128 participants. Kagerou made up an overwhelming majority of the tournament with 42 entrants, but in spite of this dominance Kansai became the staging ground for Bermuda Triangle's revival in the Japanese pro scene, being tied with Aqua Force for the fourth most represented clan.

Second Kansai VGCS Clan Breakdown 
42 Kagerou
13 Link Joker
9 Bermuda Triangle
9 Aqua Force
7 Shadow Paladin
4 Gold Paladin
4 Pale Moon
3 Genesis
2 Narukami
1 Nova Grappler
1 Granblue
1 Oracle Think Tank
1 Great Nature

Just over a week after the release of VG-EB10: Divas' Duet, third place in the Kansai CS was taken by Kimuti, playing Duo Temptation Ried. Based on early previews of the cards in Monthly Bushiroad magazine, Duo builds were expected to do well in competitive play, but there was some debate over whether Ried or Iori would be the preferred deck in the current format. Where Ried is a self-standing vanguard like many of the currently favored decks, Iori's limit break allows her to search for up to two copies of any card in the deck as long as she already has one in play, forcing Duo fighters to choose between an offensive swing that can end the game or unparalleled access to the deck.

Duo True Sister, Mare.

The tournament had an entry fee of 1000 yen per person, and was held on the third floor of the Higashiōsaka Civic Center in Osaka prefecture. The tournament lasted from 11:20 AM until 7:30 PM, and had six 20-minute best-of-1 Swiss rounds followed by a cut to top 8 with four 50-minute best-of-3 games. First place won a Nintendo 3DS XL, second place a standard Nintendo 3DS, third place three boxes of VG-BT15: Infinite Rebirth and fourth place two boxes of the same.


The deck's cornerstone play is using the Duo break ride, True Sister Mare, with its self-standing vanguard Ried. Like the previous Dragonic Descendant, Ethics Buster "Яeverse" and Dragonic Overlord "The Яe-birth", Mare into Ried has the inherent advantage of the break ride power multiplying the effectiveness of multiple attacks, but Mare's counterblast 1 also returns all Bermuda Triangle units to hand when the vanguard attacks and then calls two.

Duo Temptation, Ried.

When used in combination with Ried, who can stand herself by discarding two Duos with the same name and paying 2 counterblast after she attacks, this allows for six attacks in one turn. The calling of rearguards also provides more opportunities to use Loulou in combination with the clan's base 12000 attacker Syrdarya, and Ural.

Like Nouvelle, one of the key points of success for the Ried build is its access to a Luck Bird equivalent in Duo Pretty Horn Ural, and Kimuti chose to run Ural at four to capitalize on Duo series' efficient one-girl soulcharging engine, Ricca. By being able to grab up that kind of cheap card advantage throughout the fight, compensating for Shizuku's failure or building on her success early game, then making additional plays over Ricca's soulcharging after using skills that return her to hand, Duo decks are able to effectively accelerate in a way that makes every one card count for two.

Adding to its effectiveness is that the deck has a special booster in Duo Beast Ear Loulou, a base 7000 grade 1 that when called can choose up to Loulous on the field to give +2000 power to. Since Bermuda Triangle makes its plays around being able to return cards to the hand,  she can be safely recycled across multiple turns, and at endgame when multiple Loulous hit the field the first one played becomes successively more powerful than those that follow, so that the backrow begins to look like 13000-11000-9000 or 13000-9000-11000 to make strong rearguard lanes that complement a high-power vanguard.

Second Kansai VGCS Top 8 
1st Ishibaji/イシバシ - Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague
2nd Demon King/魔王 - Star-vader, Omega Glendios
3rd Kimuti/きむてぃ - Duo Temptation, Ried
4th New Moon/三日月 - Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague
Best 8 Nao - Star-vader, Omega Glendios
Best 8 Kuroneko - Star-vader, Omega Glendios
Best 8 Kouzan/光山 - Dragonic Overlord
Best 8 Nikoru/にこる - Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague

Also of note is Demon King's Glendios deck, in second place. While Glendios was previously established at the third Laketown, second Tsurumai and eighth Battle City tournaments as an effective deck in its own right, King's build deviated significantly from the established norms. Most Link Joker cardfighters run Glendios with thirteen grade 3s and seven grade 2s to make use of nine “Яeverse” cards, but Demon King's build instead cut back to eleven grade 3s with seven “Яeverse” units in favor of an additional Colony Maker and Rubidium, prioritizing Colony Maker's ability to search for Ruin Magician and streamlining how the “Яeverse” units are played. This is in contrast to Nao and Kuroneko's Glendios decks from further down in the top 8, which played sixteen and thirteen grade 3s respectively, and experimented with Infinite Zero and Cold Death Dragon to pursue Glendios' ultimate break instead of winning conventionally.

The VGCS tournaments are a series of unofficial tournaments organized by fans and cardshops. Unlike Bushiroad's larger official tournaments, most VGCS events are done using a best of 3, Swiss tournament model. Turnout is typically 70-80 persons, but some events see 100 or more participants, all of whom compete using pseudonyms and internet handles rather than their real names as in official events.

In other news, the official website for Cardfight!! Vanguard Lock on Victory!! has updated with new information regarding the upcoming 3DS game. According to the newly established story page, there is a separate storyline for each of the three in-game high schools, with each character responding differently depending on whether the protagonist is male or female, and there are multiple endings depending on both the choice of school and character.

主人公（キミ）は高校生の新米ヴァンガードファイター。とあるきっかけで、入学した高校の「カードファイト部」に入部することに！VF甲子園優勝を目指して、ライバルたちと切磋琢磨する部員たち。しかし、そんな彼らに謎の現象「リバース」の影が迫っていた……。 

The protagonist (you) are a Vanguard Fighter just beginning high school. By certain chance, you are going to join your school's Cardfight Club! Aiming to win the VF High School Championship, you and your rivals study hard along with your club members. However, the shadow of the mysterious phenomenon "Яeverse" is drawing near to these people...

Building on the previous game's feature of being able to start the game over with the same card collection after completing it the first time, Lock on Victory takes full advantage of the system by letting them see each of the different storylines across multiple playthroughs.

Second Kansai VGCS
First Place: Ishibaji/イシバシ
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x4 Dragon Dancer, Therese HT
x1 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x4 Seal Dragon, Artpique DT
x3 Seal Dragon, Biera CT
x4 Demonic Dragon Mage, Abarara CT
Grade 1
x4 Nouvelle Roman Dragon
x4 Dragon Dancer, Maria
x3 Calamity Tower Wyvern
x2 Dragon Monk, Gojo
Grade 2
x4 Nouvelle Critique Dragon
x4 Berserk Dragon
x3 Dominate Drive Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Dauntless Drive Dragon
x1 Dragonic Overlord (BT15/004)
Grade 4
x4 Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague

Second Place: Demon King/魔王
Grade 0
x1 Star-vader, World Line Dragon (FV)
x4 Recollection Star-vader, Tellurium HT
x2 Star-vader, Weiss Soldat CT
x4 Star-vader, Spark Doll CT
x2 Star-vader, Scouting Felis DT
x4 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT
Grade 1
x4 Barrier Star-vader, Promethium
x4 Star-vader, Ruin Magician
x2 Carved Seal Star-vader, Praseodymium
x4 Taboo Star-vader, Rubidium
Grade 2
x4 Star-vader, Magnet Hollow
x4 Star-vader, Colony Maker
Grade 3
x4 Star-vader, “Ω” Glendios
x4 Star-vader, “Я” Cradle
x1 Ice Prison Dark Lord, Cocytus “Я”
x1 School Punisher, Leo-pald “Я”
x1 Maiden of Venus Trap “Я”

Third Place: Kimuti/きむてぃ
Grade 0
x1 Bermuda Triangle Cadet, Shizuku (FV)
x4 Heartful Ale, Fundy DT
x2 Duo Lamplight Melody, Tigris DT
x4 Duo Tropical Healer, Mejelda HT
x4 Duo Gran Pasturn, Syanon CT
x2 Duo Pride Crown, Madeira CT
Grade 1
x4 Duo Beast Ear, Loulou
x1 Duo Afternoon Tea, Parana
x4 PRISM-Duo Aria
x4 Duo Pretty Horn, Ural
Grade 2
x4 Duo Kelpie Jockey, Syrdarya
x4 Duo Mini Hat, Rhone
x4 Duo White Ice Crystal, Rikka
Grade 3
x4 Duo Temptation, Ried
x4 Duo True Sister, Mare

Fourth Place: New Moon/三日月
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x4 Dragon Dancer, Barbara HT
x4 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x1 Seal Dragon, Artpique DT
x3 Seal Dragon, Biera CT
x4 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
Grade 1
x4 Nouvelle Roman Dragon
x4 Dragon Dancer, Maria
x4 Calamity Tower Wyvern
x1 Dragon Monk, Gojo
Grade 2
x1 Dragon Knight, Nehalem
x1 Seal Dragon, Hunger Hell Dragon
x4 Nouvelle Critique Dragon
x3 Berserk Dragon
x3 Demonic Dragon Berserker, Kumbhanda
Grade 3
x4 Dauntless Drive Dragon
Grade 4
x4 Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague

News: Musketeers Make Second in Kansai Vanguard Championship, Nouvelle Vague Reworked for Restricted List

From A Quick Dip! Board Game & Hobby Blog

The first Kansai VGCS concluded on the 26th in Japan, and decklists went out today with Kagerou and Neo Nectar cardfighters in first and second place. Coming on the heels of the fifth Fateclock VGCS, a similar ruleset which adopted the upcoming restricted list was used at Kansai to jump straight into the new format. In spite of this, tournament champion faruke (sic) was able to make first place undefeated in sets using a Nouvelle Vague deck modified for the new play environment.

Unlike other Nouvelle cardfighters that are still testing the waters with 2 copies of Nouvelle, faruke chose to keep maxing out the grade 4, with 4 grade 3s as in the preceding format. Due to the use of grade 4s and Dracokid in place of Conroe, the new Nouvelle has twice the soul count of pre-restricted list Kagerou decks and is more readily able to make use of Calamity Tower Wyvern's soulblast. For this reason Tower is now being run at 4, and this general improvement in draw consistency has helped compensate for Conroe's restriction so that faruke's list is made possible.

The Kansai VGCS took place at Hobby Base Yellow Submarine in Kyoto, and drew 96 participants. Entry fee was 1000 yen, with a prize payout for the top 4 identical to that used at Fateclock. The tournament began with four preliminary rounds lasting 40 minutes each, with the first fighter to 2 wins winning their round, and was followed by four more rounds for the finals under similar rules but with a 50 minute time limit instead. faruke wrote a tourney report for his blog, explaining that he went undefeated in sets, and counting each game individually came out of the day 16-1 (2-0 vs Dauntless Dominate Dragon, 2-0 vs Nouvelle, 2-0 vs Eradicators, 2-0 vs Blau series, 2-0 vs Revengers, 2-0 vs Regalia, 2-1 vs Eradicators and 2-0 vs Musketeers.)

By far the most surprising turn of events was Musketeers in second, piloted by Neo Nectar cardfighter, Tomato. Although appreciated as one of the more strategically challenging and rewarding decks around, Musketeers have not seen heavy play since their original debut in BT08. Like Nouvelle and the Eradicator decks that have enjoyed popularity in recent months, the Musketeer deck's core strategy hasn't changed, but the components of it have undergone adjustment to bring it more in line with the times. Tomato expanded the core concept of cycling out less useful Musketeers using Kaivant, Rebecca and Cecilia by bringing in the grade 2 Pansy Musketeer Sylvia to topdeck call other Musketeers that can then be cycled out if they're poor for more precise calls, and the Fighter's Collection promo Mirkka. Since Mirkka becomes a 9000-power booster as long as the deck has been shuffled by a card effect, and all of the Musketeers' unique effects shuffle, Tomato was able to form easy 21000 power lines with Augusto and Hermann as frontrow attackers. With Cecilia's limit break allowing them to recoup lost card advantage or otherwise conserve cards in the same way that Paladin decks do, trading the extra copies of Cecilia for the most important Musketeers, and now to recycle perfect defense cards with the introduction of Antonio, the build has evolved into a unique branch of Neo Nectar in the same way that Dudley Emperor has for Spike Brothers or Cosmo Lord has for Nova Grappler.

While these were generally expected changes, one which was not foreseen by the general community was the use of stand triggers in Musketeers. More accurately, it is the utility of an almost-pure Musketeer trigger lineup; as there are no Musketeer draw triggers, Tomato chose to run Blue Rose Musketeer Ernest to have as many Musketeers in his grade 0 count as possible. Ernest's own skill allows him to return himself to the deck to search the top 4 cards for a Musketeer in the same way as Rebecca and Kaivant. With the amount of consistency that Cecilia and her support gives through repeated searching and cycling, cutting draws is an understandable move. Another unforeseen change was a Maiden of Venus Trap "Я" tech used to fill out grade 3 space in place of a fourth Hermann, providing a fifth grade 3 for the vanguard circle. Since Venus Trap cannot be targeted by any of the Musketeers' skills, her chief purpose is to provide an alternate gameplan by Locking any of the Neo Nectar rearguards with her limit break to build up the field by superior calling others from the top of the deck, which can eventually lead into a Cecilia ride to tie things back together.

Third and fourth place in the Kansai VGCS went to Nouvelle and Eradicator cardfighters, with fifth and sixth going to Sacred Regalia and Revenger fighters playing Minerva and Raging Form Dragon decks. The return of Eradicators in competitive play is part of an ongoing narrative inherited from the Fighter's Climax tournament that ended earlier this year; since the release of VG-BT14: Brilliant Strike the Narukami subclan has experienced a resurgence in popularity credited to Matsumoto Kenji, the FC2013 Osaka regional champion who carved out the Eradicators' first open class victory for the Eradicators since the preceding national tournament five months ago. The major difference between his and past Eradicator builds is the use of the Ignition Dragon break ride, who fills the space that was once used by Vowing Saber and Vowing Sword Dragon techs. For a single counterblast, Ignition's break ride skill has the opponent retire 2 of their rearguards, allowing it to conditionally reach the back row where Vowing Sword could not. The really transformative change is that Ignition gives the opponent a -2 in exchange for the break ride's -1, which immediately puts the opponent in a worse position than the Narukami cardfighter, can wear them down if multiple break rides are forced in, and provides insurance because the opponent's back row is their most likely voluntary sacrifice where the front row will be dedicated to intercepts so that their attacking power is significantly diminished going into the next turn. At Kansai the build was piloted by Takai ("Expensive") who prioritized Gauntlet Buster above his other grade 3 options and dropped subclan attackers entirely, favoring Zuitan's unflipping instead of Spark Rain as well as Castor's card changing instead of Demolition Dragon.

The VGCS tournaments are a series of unofficial tournaments organized by fans and cardshops. Unlike Bushiroad's larger official tournaments, most VGCS events are done using a best of 3, Swiss tournament model. Turnout is typically 70-80 persons, but some events see 100 or more participants, all of whom compete using pseudonyms and internet handles rather than their real names as in official events.

The First Kansai VGCS
First Place
faruke
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x2 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x2 Blue-Ray Dracokid CT
x2 Lizard Soldier, Goraha CT
x2 Seal Dragon, Biella CT
x4 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x4 Dragon Dancer, Barbara HT
Grade 1
x4 Nouvelle Roman Dragon
x1 Dragon Monk, Gojo
x4 Seal Dragon, Rinocross
x4 Calamity Tower Wyvern
Grade 2
x2 Hidden Dragon, Striken
x4 Nouvelle Critique Dragon
x4 Berserk Dragon
x2 Demonic Dragon Berserker, Kumbhanda
Grade 3
x3 Dauntless Drive Dragon
x1 Cruel Dragon
Grade 4
x4 Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague

Second Place
Tomato
Grade 0
x1 Broccolini Musketeer, Kirah (FV)
x4 Hibiscus Musketeer, Hanah HT
x4 Blue Rose Musketeer, Ernest ST
x4 Night Queen Musketeer, Daniel CT
x4 Bullet Chestnut CT
Grade 1
x3 Lily of the Valley Musketeer, Rebecca
x3 Water Lily Musketeer, Ruth
x4 Red Rose Musketeer, Antonio
x4 Dandelion Musketeer, Mirkka
Grade 2
x4 Cherry Blossom Musketeer, Augusto
x3 Lily of the Valley Musketeer, Kaivant
x4 Pansy Musketeer, Sylvia
Grade 3
x1 Maiden of Venus Trap, "Я"
x3 Black Lily Musketeer, Hermann
x4 White Lily Musketeer, Cecilia