Today's Card Analysis: Machining Hornet

The Japanese Card of the Day for June 11th, 2018, is a Megacolony Double Rare from V-Extra Booster 01: The Destructive Roar, Machining Hornet.

AUTO [Vanguard/Rearguard Circle]: When its attack or an attack it boosts hits a vanguard, look at 6 cards from the top of your deck, reveal up to 1 grade 3 from among them and add it to your hand, and shuffle your deck. If you added a card to your hand, and if this unit is on Rearguard Circle, put this unit into your soul.

Machining Hornet is the grade 1 counterpart to Machining Mantis, but rather than costing counterblast is attached to an on-hit condition. On vanguard circle Hornet is a straight +1 in a card advantage, while on rearguard circle it's a net-neutral exchange akin to Wingal Youth in the previous format--you gain a card by giving up a card. Similar to Circle Magus over in Oracle Think Tank, Hornet is an ideal opening ride that continues to serve a purpose in the rearguard as the fight progresses. And also like Oracle Think Tank, Megacolony is a Protect clan that adds its Gift to hand, stretching that +1 into a +2 once you actually ride the grade 3 you revealed.

While rearguard Hornets are neutral exchanges, like Mantis the potential for Machining boss cards to retain their signature call-from-soul mechanic carries alluring possibilities. You could trade Hornet to add Stag Beetle to hand, then ride Stag Beetle next turn to bring Hornet back out to seek your ride for the turn after that. Since Hornet only goes into the soul if you actually find the grade 3, there's no reason to not use the skill at each and every opportunity.

Machining Hornet's introduction in chapter 5 of the Cardfight!! Vanguard manga, used by Kawanami Minami.

The previous Japanese Cards of the Day were Archbird, Cheer Girl Marilyn, and Paralyze Madonna.

V-Extra Booster 01: The Destructive Roar will launch in Japan June 29th, 2018, and August 2nd for the English-speaking world. The accompanying new anime series, codenamed "Origin," began airing May 5th, with an English-subtitled simulcast on both YouTube and Crunchyroll. 

Today's Card Analysis: Machining Mantis

The Japanese Card of the Day for June 1st, 2018, is a Megacolony Triple Rare from V-Extra Booster 01: The Destructive Roar, Machining Mantis.

AUTO [Vanguard/Rearguard Circles]: When placed, [Cost: Counterblast 1] look at 6 cards from the top of your deck, reveal up to 1 grade 3 from among them and add it to your hand, shuffle your deck, and this unit gets Power +6000 until end of turn.

Mantis is one of the Machining cards first used by Foo Fighter Kawanami Minami in the manga and 2018 anime series, and has been greatly updated over its 2011 counterpart. The original Mantis gained 3k if there was a Machining unit in the soul, while its reimagining can become a 15k for the turn able to reach 23 with an 8k booster or 29k with Phantom Black. The top 6 check should not go underestimated; along with High Dog Breeder Akane, Berserk Dragon (via its on-ride) Hi-powered Raizer Custom, and Conjurer of Mithril, Mantis is one of the only grade 2s in the entirety of Standard capable of getting a net +1. Like the old grade 3 searchers of previous formats, if Mantis whiffs its grade 3 check then he shuffles and gets you out of a situation where you weren't going to draw a grade 3 regardless.

Although it's still early to be calling this, Mantis being on-place is likely to play into the greater strategy of the Machining cards as a whole. When the subclan's boss card, Machining Stag Beetle, first debuted in chapter four of the manga it had an on-ride skill to superior call two Machining units from the soul at rest and gain power equal to their own. This would in turn activate their own skills, and they could then be stood with the ability of Machining Worker Ant. Later cards like Machining Armor Beetle and Machining Little Bee further built on their soul-based play mechanics.

While we have yet to see exactly how Bushiroad intends to revise the boss cards for the reboot, we know that Stag Beetle is in the set, and retaining his old superior call skill would let you reuse Machining Mantis. So you could ride Mantis on your grade 2 turn, grab a Stag Beetle out of the top 6, then next turn ride Stag Beetle and superior call Mantis to reuse its skill and top 6 another Stag Beetle to ride the turn after. Taking into account the Protect Gift you'll be getting from that on-ride, that can stack into a net +4--provided Bushiroad doesn't reimagine Stag Beetle entirely, as they did for Perfect Raizer. So far most of the manga cards have taken a broad-strokes approach to matching their original effects, with Imperial Daughter gaining power and crit but ditching the no-rearguards mechanic, and Waterfall soulblasting a grade 3 for power, critical, and Sentinel blocking rather than discarding a grade 3 just for raw power.

The previous Japanese Card of the Day was Front Line Commander, Sigiswald.

V-Extra Booster 01: The Destructive Roar will launch in Japan June 29th, 2018, and August 2nd for the English-speaking world. The accompanying new anime series, codenamed "Origin," began airing May 5th, with an English-subtitled simulcast on both YouTube and Crunchyroll.

News: Chrono Plush Toy to Debut at Comiket 88, Episode Previews

August 11th, 2015. In today's weekly stream, Doctor O leaked three new cards from G-BT04: Soul Strike Against the Supreme for the Angel Feather, Megacolony, and Neo Nectar clans. Meanwhile an announcement made through figure production studio Gift's Twitter account teased an upcoming plush doll based on the likeness of Shindou Chrono. Previously Gift had produced similar dolls of Sendou Aichi, Kai Toshiki, Suzugamori Ren, and Miwa Taishi based on their appearances in the Asia Circuit chapter of the anime, and will debut at Comiket 88, from August 14th through 16th at the Tokyo Big Sight Chrono's plush will be the first based on Cardfight!! Vanguard G. Four new episode previews for Cardfight!! Vanguard G have also been leaked from this month's issue of Monthly Bushiroad magazine.

The episode previews, along with the new cards, and a recording of today's livestream are all provided below.

Turn 41 "Tokoha VS Rin"
The United Sanctuary branch's special match begins. Tokoha enthusiastically seeks revenge, attacking the princess-like presence of Team Demise's Hashima Rin.

Turn 42 "Shion VS Shouma"
Game 2 of the special match. Shinonome Shouma toys with Shion with the words "People see their own futures." Can Shion show the future for himself that he believes in!?

Turn 43 "Stride Force"
Kanzaki Yuuichirou reigns over the United Sanctuary branch with absolute power. Hidden in his heart is a grand ambition. Chrono and his friends will face that ambition head-on!

Turn 44 "Chrono VS Taiyou"
Standing before Chrono is the Taiyou that coldly pursued victory and became like a machine. Can Chrono's burning ideal reach him, and take back the old Taiyou!?

Nursecap Dalmation
AUTO (Rearguard circle): Generation Break 1: When this unit boosts, during that battle, for each face-up card in your damage zone, the boosted unit gets Power +1000.

Machining Slater
AUTO (Rearguard circle): When this unit boosts a vanguard with "Machining" in its card name, if your opponent's vanguard and rearguards are all at rest, soulcharge 2.

Maiden of Calyces, Sarianna
AUTO (Generation Break 1) [Counterblast 1, soulblast 1] When this unit is placed on a rearguard circle, if you have a grade 3 or greater vanguard with "Ranunculus" in its card name, you may pay the cost. If you do, choose one of your other rearguards, search your deck for up to one card with the same name as that unit, call it to a rearguard circle, shuffle that deck, during this turn, this unit gets Power +2000.

(Deckbox and sleeves at 8:11, G-BT04 cards at 20:20)
During the stream Doctor O also revealed that a pair of Pacifica and Shizuku deckboxes and sets of promotional sleeves will be available for purchase at Comiket 88, as well as related merchandise to promote Touken Ranbu -ONLINE-. The stream attracted over ten thousand live viewers during its run.

News: Machining Legion, Sanctuary Guard Support Premiered in Monthly Bushiroad Magazine

August 6th, 2015. Approximately twenty-four hours prior to street date, fans have leaked images from the most recent issue of Monthly Bushiroad magazine, revealing an upcoming legion as well as reprint for the Machining subclan in G-BT04: Soul Strike Against the Supreme. A remake of Machining Stag Beetle from Comic Style Vol. 1, the legion combines improved superior call with power gain, and being able to paralyze the opponent's rearguards to prevent them from standing. The issue also unveiled new units specifically designed for the Sanctuary Guard Regalie deck, and Angel Feather breakstride support from G-BT04. The issue also revealed that the existing Machining legion, Machining Tarantula mk II, will be reprinted in G-BT04, and that the promotional card "Blaster Rapier, Lola" from Koshimizu Makoto's Swordsman of Light manga will be packaged with next month's issue.

Machining Scorpio mkII
ACT (Vanguard circle): Once per turn: [Counterblast 1, choose a card with a same name as a unit on your vanguard circle, discard it] If this unit is in legion, choose up to three cards from our soul with "Machining" in their card name, call them to separate rearguard circles as rest, during this turn, increase this unit's power. The increment is equal to the combined power of all units called by this effect.
ACT (Vanguard circle): Once per turn: [Choose one of your rearguards with "Machining" in its card name, put it into your soul] Choose one of your rearguards, stand it, choose one of your opponent's rearguards, during your opponent's next stand phase, that unit cannot stand.

Machining Mosquito mkII
CONT (Rearguard circle): During your turn, if you have a "Machining" vanguard, and if your opponent's vanguard and rearguards are all at rest, this unit gets Power +2000, and "AUTO (Rearguard circle): Once per turn: When this unit's attack hits a vanguard, choose one of your other rearguards, stand it, choose one of your opponent's rearguards, during your opponent's next stand phase, that unit does not stand."

Jumpgal
AUTO: Forerunner
CONT (Rearguard circle): Generation Break 1: If you have two or more other grade 1 or less rearguards, and if this unit is in your frontrow, this unit gets Power +5000, and Intercept.

Archer of the Sanctuary
AUTO (Rearguard circle): When this unit attacks, if you have a vanguard with "Sanctuary Guard" in its card name, during that battle, this unit gets Power +2000.
AUTO: [Counterblast 2] When this unit is placed on a rearguard circle, if you have a vanguard with "Sanctuary Guard" in its card name, you may pay the cost. If you do, search your deck for up to one grade 1 or less card, call ti to a rearguard circle, and shuffle that deck.

Black Shiver, Gavriil
AUTO (Vanguard circle): Generation Break 2: When one of your cards is put into the damage zone, during that turn, this unit gets "CONT (Vanguard circle): All of your units in your frontrow get Power +2000."
AUTO (Vanguard circle): [Counterblast 1] During your turn, when your G unit strides, you may pay the cost. If you do, look at three cards from the top of your deck, choose one, and put it into your damage zone face-up. Put the remaining cards on the bottom of your deck in any order, and choose a face-up card from your damage zone, call it to a rearguard circle, during that turn, that unit gets Power +2000.

Gavriil's generation break 2 and stride bonus skill amasses their past boss cards Chief Nurse Shamsiel and Circular Saw Kiriel into a single card, providing a powerful alternative deck to Celestials that can even gain power bonuses during the opponent's turn when damage is checked, or swapped through the guard circle of Nociel. Her name comes from the Russian reading of Gabriel; in Japanese Gavriil is transliterated as ガウリール while Gabriel is ガブリエル.

Soul Strike Against the Supreme will launch in Japan on August 28th, and in the United States on October 2nd.

News: Doctor O Reveals Machining, Jewel Knight, Celestial Support Cards

(Touken Ranbu cards at 12:10, merchandise at 14:35, G-BT04 cards at 32:00)
July 7th, 2015. In this week's live stream, TV personality Doctor O celebrated the ongoing Tanabata festival by hanging Vanguard-themed wishes from a small tree in Bushiroad's studio, as well as several of the Vangarou-kun card sleeves. In the course of the broadcast Doctor O previewed several cards from G-Title Booster 01: Touken Ranbu -ONLINE-, as well as a line of Touken Ranbu TCG merchandise created for the set, while also showing off Megacolony, Royal Paladin, and Angel Feather cards from G-BT04: Soul Strike Against the Supreme. The translated text of each card is given below.

Straight Jewel Knight, Bartrum
AUTO (Rearguard circle): At the end of your turn, if you have a "Jewel Knight" vanguard, and if the number of other rearguards with "Jewel Knight" in their card names is three or more, draw a card, put this unit on the top of your deck, and shuffle that deck.

Machining Firefly
AUTO: [Counterblast 1] When this unit is placed on a rearguard circle, if you have a vanguard with "Machining" in its card name, you may pay the cost. If you do, choose another of your rearguards, stand it, choose one of your opponent's rearguards, during your opponent's next stand phase, that unit cannot stand.

Invert Celestial, Asbeel
CONT (Damage zone) If you have a vanguard with "Celestial" in its card name, this unit gets "ACT (Damage zone): [Put this face-up card on top of your deck] Shuffle your deck, look at 3 cards from the top of your deck, choose 1 card other than "Invert Celestial, Asbeel," put it into your damage zone face-up, and put the remaining cards into your drop zone."