Weekly Bites reveals: Foo Fighter arc adapting Vol. 2-5 of Vanguard manga

This week's episode of the rebooted Weekly Bites series features live-size replicas of Blaster Blade and Blaster Dark's swords.

Image 10: "Aichi's Wind!!"
The fourth round of the shop showdown is Sendо̄ Aichi versus Sо̄ryū Leon. Struggling against something Leon calls "the Wind," Aichi witnesses a completely different image in their fight from anything he's seen before.

Image 12 "The Mysterious Enemy, Foo Fighter!!" airing July 21st introduces the Foo Fighters, and begins their arc of the anime series.

There are several differences between the Foo Fighters of the reboot and those of the 2011 anime series:

• In the first season, Team Foo Fighter was Japan's strongest team. In the 2018 series, the Foo Fighters are a Card Gang.
• In the original anime the battle against them was set in the national championship tournament, but in the reboot they are fought as part of everyday life.
• In the 2011 version of this arc, Aichi used Shadow Paladin; in the 2018 version, he continues to use Royal Paladin.
• In the first season, Ren wanted Kai to return to him. In this season, Ren wants to ____ Kai.

This is all based directly on Itо̄ Akira's Cardfight!! Vanguard manga, and with his supervision additional scenes (not found in the comics) are also being developed. The manga was originally published simultaneous to the first season; internationally it's published by Vertical Inc.

 The Q4 versus Foo Fighter arc is adapted directly from volumes 2 through 5 of the manga.

Itо̄ Akira's character design of Suzugamori Ren, which can be found in the in-between pages of volume 3. Itо̄-sensei is excited that the Foo Fighter arc is finally beginning.

Image 12 "The Mysterious Enemy, Foo Fighter!!"
A member of the mysterious gang "Foo Fighter," Kawanami Minami, suddenly appears in the peaceful Card Capital. He uses a dangerous piece of equipment called the "VF Gloves" to make the damage from a fight become real.

 This twelfth episode is a straight adaptation of the manga's fifth chapter.

Kai, Ren, and Aichi's story
"The real battle begins between Kai with his painful past and Ren driven mad by his "PSY Qualia."
Can Aichi save these two, caught up in their chain of battles...?"

Weekly Bites reveals: New Vanguard manga "Vanguard Frontier" starting in Monthly Bushiroad magazine

In addition to the new MiniVan Hi!! manga by Quily, this month's issue of Monthly Bushiroad magazine will include a new original manga series called Vanguard Frontier, illustrated by new up-and-coming artist Pinko. It comprises more than 40 pages.

This month's smartphone wallpaper, given out for completing the issue's survey.

 This issue includes a four-page special on the characters' decks from the ongoing anime series.

It also contains spreads on Tachikaze, Spike Brothers, and Megacolony from V-Extra Booster 01: The Destructive Roar.

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. 

Weekly Bites reveals: New Vanguard manga "MiniVan Hi!!", prototype Gift Markers

Beginning in the upcoming July issue of Monthly Bushiroad, out June 8th, a new manga by Mini Vanguard gag manga author Quily based on the new Vanguard anime will begin, MiniVan Hi!!

Prototype Gift Markers will be available as part of the Get! Treasure Campaign; one Force, Accel, and Protect Marker packaged together, exchangeable for 1 point beginning May 30th. Fighters pull points in Japanese boxes and redeem them for these prizes.

Happy Birthday Aichi!! Vanguard goods, commemorating Aichi's birthday on June 6th. Cakes, macaroons, and cupcakes.

Alternate artwork Alfred Early, being given out in Japan as part of the Vanguard Plus campaign.

Weekly Bites reveals: Monthly Bushiroad content

Watch now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLWheGgHeP4

The June issue of Monthly Bushiroad magazine is out today, May 8th. Readers that complete the online survey linked in the issue can get a special smartphone wallpaper featuring Sendou Aichi and Kai Toshiki from the Origin anime.

The issue comes with a double-sided poster comprising the key art for the Cardfight!! Vanguard Origin anime on one side and Dragonic Overlord on the other.

It also comes with a 50-card Stardrive Dragon Start Deck featuring an alternate artwork version of Knight of Silence, Gallatin.

The issue includes 36 full-color pages from the second chapter of the Cardfight!! Vanguard manga, which is being rerun in the magazine with color work done by its original artist, Itou Akira.

It also contains eight pages covering V-Booster Set 01: UNITE! TEAM Q4, focusing on Royal Paladin, Kagerou, and Nova Grappler units.

The July issue of Monthly Bushiroad will come with a 2018 version of the Knight of Silence Gallatin Shadowbox Kit, a popular pack-in item from previous years.

Weekly Bites episode 1, start!

Today's Card Analysis: Bellicosity Dragon

The Japanese card of the day for April 25th, 2018, is Bellicosity Dragon. A Single Rare from V-Booster Set 01: UNITE! TEAM Q4 and one of Kai Toshiki's recurring grade 2s from the manga, veteran cardfighters will recall Bellicosity being rather infamous for his on-hit countercharge skill. Historically that version of Bellicosity contributed to the dominance of many past Kagerо̄ decks like Dragonic Overlord the End and Dragonic Nouvelle Vague.

AUTO [Vanguard/Rearguard Circles]: When your opponent's rearguard is retired during your turn, this unit gets Power +5000 until end of turn.

In the comics Bellicosity's skill was never shown directly, and this incarnation of Bellicosity is quite different form the original. Rather than a countercharge ability, he's a modern take on Chain-attack Sutherland from Booster Set 2: Onslaught of Dragon Souls. These kinds of power units have often been looked down upon over the years, as they require other cards to consistently enable them and have to be powered up again each turn. The decks that have most been able to make use of them were subclans with access to cheap forms of retire like the Eradicators or Perdition Dragons. So how can Bellicosity fit in with the new Kagerо̄'s overall image?

To get our priorities straight, Kagerо̄ has had six grade 2s revealed thus far: Dragon Knight Nehalem, Berserk Dragon, Dragon Armored Knight, Prowling Dragon Striken, Spillover Dragon, Bellicosity Dragon, and the 10k vanilla Embodiment of Shield Rahm. Of these, Nehalem and Berserk Dragon have absolute priority over all other grade 2s--these are the cheapest retires you get at grade 2 in the deck, with Berserk even having a situational draw. These are either the first 4-ofs to be considered in deckbuilding right now, or they're the first 3-ofs if you're going to run four kinds of grade 2. Bellicosity is competing against...

• Striken - For the Dragonic Overlord critical combo
• Dragon Armored Knight - For attacking
• Spillover Dragon - As another cheap retire option

In terms of units that enable his skill, Bellicosity already has the aforementioned grade 2s as well as Burj and Bahr to set him off. And like Vortex Dragon, Bellicosity's power gain can also come from units being retired as a result of battle phase attacks, so you can trigger his skill by restanding with Overlord off a rearguard hit. It's conceivable that nearly everything except Bellicosity in the deck can activate his ability--we shouldn't have any trouble managing a 2-card combo consistently.

The issue is that for just a 5k increase, Dragon Armored Knight is functionally free. Bellicosity can become more powerful for a single turn off of multiple retires, but requires more investment from multiple counterblast/soulblast costs compared to simply making sure the opponent has one less rearguard than you. Meanwhile Striken rewards holding back for a turn by multiplying the damage Overlord is capable of dealing with its restand, and Spillover brings some desirable redundancy in another retire option.

Bellicosity Dragon doesn't bring any immediate reward to the Kagerо̄ deck; his function is to exacerbate a situation in which you already have the lead by draining more shield from the opponent as a reward for setting up your combos.

Vortex is arguable in the deck because there isn't a go-to second grade 3 for Kagerо̄ just yet, though that's subject to change when Dragonic Waterfall finally rears its head. But both Vortex and Bellicosity face an issue that a 5k power boost isn't what it used to be, in part because of Trigger Units now carrying 15~20k shield inherently and the basic unit of power both for Triggers and Gift Markers being 10k.

What all this means is that there isn't room for Bellicosity in a conventional grade 2 lineup with three types of grade 2 maxed out to 4. The way you make room for this beater is by taking away space from everything else:

Grade 2
x3 Dragon Knight, Nehalem
x3 Berserk Dragon 
x3 Spillover Dragon
x3 Bellicosity Dragon 

This involves a hit to the consistency of the other three units, as on average you'll only see one copy of a unit you run three of in any given game. We can afford that hit because 9 of the grade 2s serve functionally the same purpose, with that lone Bellicosity Dragon we draw taking their field control skills and turning them aggressive. It's going to take some proving to establish whether or not this really brings something better to the table over running 4 Armored Knight, Striken, or Spillover, but it's worth experimenting with and seeing what results you can bring out.

Bellicosity Dragon is designed by manga author Itou Akira and illustrated by Maekawa Yuuichi, who also illustrated the original Bellicosity Dragon in EB01: Comic Style Vol. 1.

The previous Japanese card of the day was Giro.

V-Booster Set 01: UNITE! TEAM Q4 will launch in Japan May 25th, 2018, and in English June 22nd, 2018. It will be accompanied by sleeves based on Dragonic Overlord and Blaster Blade. V-Trial Deck 01: Sendou Aichi and V-TD02: Kai Toshiki will launch in Japanese May 11th, 2018, and in English June 8th, 2018. They will be accompanied by a new sleeve based on the "Imaginary Gift" design.

The first Extra Booster set of Standard, V-EB01: The Destructive Roar will launch in Japan June 29th, 2018, and August 3rd for the English-speaking world. The accompanying new anime series, codenamed "Origin," will begin airing May 5th, 2018, on TV Tokyo and affiliated stations. It will be simulcast with English subtitles on YouTube and Crunchyroll. 

Today's Card Analysis: Giro

 

The Japanese card of the day for April 24th, 2018, is Giro. A Royal Paladin Common from V-BT01: UNITE! TEAM Q4, Giro is easy to write off for being a Normal Unit grade 0 without Forerunner--no matter what he brings to a deck, he does it by reducing your overall probability to ride to grade 3 consistently. But the card is a template of things to come, and foreshadows some interesting mechanics we have yet to see from the Standard format.

CONT [Rearguard/Guardian Circles] This unit cannot be chosen by your opponent's card effects, and cannot be attacked.

At first blush this might sound like the Resist keyword from the old format, but it's slightly different.  It's true that Resist prevented cards from being chosen for effects, and in that regard Giro can't be targeted by the likes of Berserk Dragon or Nehalem, while Vortex Dragon's effect of "retire all of your opponent's rearguards" can still blow him away because it doesn't choose anything. But Giro takes this to the next level by being a unit that can't be attacked, which has some interesting applications; supposing we were going to run this for a second, putting Giro up front would limit the opponent's attack targets. Doubling up on Giro would force a Dragonic Overlord to only attack the vanguard with its higher base power, making it easier to defend and stop the restand skill.

It's likewise interesting that Giro is unaffected on the Guardian Circle because nothing actually interacts with the Guardian Circle just yet. With Dimension Police receiving support in Extra Booster 02: Champions of the Asia Circuit, it's possible we'll see a more restrained implementation of the guard break mechanics they developed in the past. What Giro's really hinting at is that there will be skills that affect guardians in Standard--potentially more than just retiring guardians, there could be cards that decrease their shield, or switch them with other units.

Rather than Giro himself though, you should be looking for when this skill starts hitting grade 1 and 2 units.

Giro is designed by manga author Itou Akira and illustrated by Tanimeso. The two are also collaborating on Machining Stag Beetle.

The previous Japanese cards of the day were Damanance Dragon and Savage Hellfire Gabiya.

V-Booster Set 01: UNITE! TEAM Q4 will launch in Japan May 25th, 2018, and in English June 22nd, 2018. It will be accompanied by sleeves based on Dragonic Overlord and Blaster Blade. V-Trial Deck 01: Sendou Aichi and V-TD02: Kai Toshiki will launch in Japanese May 11th, 2018, and in English June 8th, 2018. They will be accompanied by a new sleeve based on the "Imaginary Gift" design.

The first Extra Booster set of Standard, V-EB01: The Destructive Roar will launch in Japan June 29th, 2018, and August 3rd for the English-speaking world. The accompanying new anime series, codenamed "Origin," will begin airing May 5th, 2018, on TV Tokyo and affiliated stations. It will be simulcast with English subtitles on YouTube and Crunchyroll.

Today's Card Analysis: Cruel Dragon

The Japanese card of the day for April 16th, 2018, is a Double Rare from V-BT01: UNITE! TEAM Q4 and one of Kai Toshiki's key grade 3s from the manga, Cruel Dragon.

CONT [Hand]: During the turn your opponent's rearguard was retired, you may normal call this unit to Rearguard Circle even if your vanguard is grade 2 or lower.
AUTO [Rearguard Circle]: When its attack hits a vanguard, by paying [Return this unit to your hand], you may Soulcharge 1.

It's hard not to be underwhelmed. In its original debut, Cruel Dragon was a superior ride Kai used to reach grade 3 faster, and carried the strategic advantage of letting one ride the grade 4 Dragonic Nouvelle Vague in the same number of turns it would normally take to ride a grade 3. In that version, Cruel Dragon was a base 11000 grade 3 that could be ridden when an opponent's rearguard was retired during the main phase, and if ridden this way it would lose 3k power for the turn as a trade-off. It's understandable why Cruel has to be reimagined for Standard format; the new Gift mechanic gives cardfighters another instance of Gift every time they ride a grade 3, and letting Kagerо̄ cardfighters rack up two Gifts in the time it takes the opponent to get just one could destabilize the game. But it would be just as easy to simply not give Cruel Dragon the Imaginary Gift ability, especially seeing as this card already has no vanguard skills.

Kai superior riding Cruel Dragon was an important play in the final chapter of the manga's first arc, and beyond that it leaves an open question of just how Nouvelle will be handled by the new series seeing as superior rides are seemingly out of the question. This also means the anticipated synergy between Cruel Dragon and Striken--an important combination focused on in that same chapter--is out the window with it.

Adding insult to injury is that the classic game got Cruel Dragon right in Extra Booster 9: Divine Dragon Progression, balancing its superior ride so that you could only do it in the main phase and only if you could successfully rest your grade 2 or greater vanguard. (Not interfering with Megacolony's stand denial mechanics.) EB09 even gave Cruel Dragon a Limit Break.

That said, how best can you use Cruel Dragon?

Because his skill is Continuous and not Automatic (e.g. "When your opponent's rearguard is retired...") and specifies "normal call," you can't get any multiple attacks going with Spillover because Cruel can only be called during the main phase. What you can use the card with is either print of Nehalem, to call a powerful rearguard on your grade 2 turn, and to form an early 23k lane with Dragon Monk Gojo.

The on-hit skill doesn't inflict much pressure right now, as the only use of the soul Kagerо̄ has is Dragonic Overlord, but with Spillover also filling up the soul it's worth keeping in mind for paying future costs should there prove to be a soulblast theme to the deck. It's likewise worth remembering that you can technically call Cruel Dragon while you're on a grade 1, we just don't have any grade 1 or 0 units that retire cards yet.

The intention behind Cruel is likely to attack with it, return it to hand, and ride it again next turn for another instance of Force. However, seeing as Cruel Dragon's return-to-hand effect is an on-hit skill, there will be plenty of times where you can call this card but shouldn't because you don't have another grade 3 to ride next turn in case the opponent guards. Moreover, once you're on Dragonic Overlord you don't really want to be on any other unit, as his restand skill is too important to Kagerо̄'s gameplan.

This is yet another case where replacing "soulcharge" with "countercharge" would have made the card vastly more appealing. Even discounting that, had it been callable during battle phase, Cruel would be much more compelling. Overall it's hard to recommend Cruel Dragon with what little we know of the current card pool, as Dragonic Overlord, Vortex Dragon, and Crested Dragon are all more appealing units; the only leg up Cruel has over Vortex is possessing the Force ability, and seeing as Crested Dragon's power bonus is both a vanguard and rearguard skill, Crested may be the better choice. When Crested Dragon is an all-around better grade 3 than you, you need to go home and rethink your life.

"Ruthless Stream!!"

While Bushiroad posted no lore for this incarnation of Cruel Dragon, we still have his classic lore to go on from the original game:

A fearsome general of "Kagerо̄" who swore absolute loyalty to the emperor of Dragon Empire. It is a radical hostile to all who dare complain about the stance of the empire, even among comrades. Its ruthless personality is outshone by its many achievements, among them preventing revolts by dissenting elements. However, it exploits its authority by independently sending out spies and covert units to monitor its comrades, excessively monitoring even those that do not even remark or act against the empire. As a result, many generals censure its excessive actions. Nevertheless, it is a treasure to the empire, and its contribution both in interior and foreign affairs are not to be neglected. The Cruel Dragon roars only once on the battlefield. Its comrades flee as soon as they hear its battlecry. If they do not escape in time, they are incinerated by the turbulent storm of its inferno, as only enemies stand in the dragon's way.

Cruel Dragon is designed by Itou Akira and illustrated by Miyoshi Norikatsu, who also illustrated Miru Biru.

The previous Japanese card of the day was the Dragon Knight, Nehalem.

V-Booster Set 01: UNITE! TEAM Q4 will launch in Japan May 25th, 2018, and in English June 22nd, 2018. It will be preceded by the first Trial Decks of the Standard format, V-TD01: Sendou Aichi and V-TD02: Kai Toshiki, launching in Japanese May 11th, 2018, and in English June 8th, 2018. They will be accompanied by a new sleeve based on the "Imaginary Gift" design.

The first Extra Booster set of Standard, V-EB01: The Destructive Roar will launch in Japan June 29th, 2018, and August 3rd for the English-speaking world. The accompanying new anime series, codenamed "Origin," will begin airing May 5th, 2018, on TV Tokyo and affiliated stations. It will be simulcast with English subtitles on YouTube and Crunchyroll.

Bushiroad putting up early chapters of the Vanguard manga online

Bushiroad has uploaded high-quality scans of the first four chapters of the Cardfight!! Vanguard manga to the Monthly Bushiroad magazine website as a free preview to promote the upcoming manga-inspired anime, viewable inside their own reader interface. This is only for the Japanese-language edition; users can select from chapters #001~004 using the four orange buttons below the volume 1 cover, and scroll from right to left using their arrow keys or the on-screen icons. Once the reader interface is loaded, the top right button zooms in on the page, while the top left button closes the reader.

The decision was likely motivated by the inclusion of fully colorized chapters in the magazine's most recent issues, which these uploads do not cover. The company probably intends users to preview the manga online, then want to see the color edition in Monthly Bushiroad.

The new anime series based on the manga, codenamed "Origin," will begin airing May 5th, 2018, on TV Tokyo and affiliated stations. It will be simulcast with English subtitles on YouTube and Crunchyroll, and unlike past seasons will be in a late night to early morning timeslot. V-Trial Deck 01: Sendou Aichi and V-TD02: Kai Toshiki will launch in Japanese May 11th, 2018, and in English June 8th, 2018. V-BT01: UNITE! TEAM Q4! will launch in Japan May 25th, 2018, and in English June 22nd, 2018. The first Extra Booster set, V-EB01: The Destructive Roar will launch in Japan June 29th, 2018, and in July for the English-speaking world.

Today's Card Analysis: Miru Biru

Bumble Ray!

The Japanese card of the day is Miru Biru, a Royal Paladin Common from V-BT01: UNITE! TEAM Q4!

CONT [Rearguard Circle]: If it is in the same column as the vanguard, this unit gets Power+5000.

Miru Biru's skill is functionally identical to another skill that we've seen, found on the Start Deck version of Wingal. The different between them is that Miru Biru's skill is continuous while Wingal's is automatic, so Wingal only gains the power boost while he is boosting, while Miru Biru is a constant 12k on both fighters' turns so long as he's behind the vanguard. Currently the two are interchangeable in Standard, but in Premium this matters because it means Miru Biru is harder to target by Nova Grappler's retire skills, which can only hit units with a base power equal to or less than the unit they just stood. (e.g. Tribrut.)

As he stands now, Miru Biru is essentially a version of Wingal that doesn't count towards the 4-card maximum, so you could run 4 copies of Trial Deck Wingal and still get the functionality of Start Deck Wingal from Miru Biru. Also of note is that Miru Biru is the first non-Start Deck grade 1 we've seen to be a 7k base, something that is demonstrably not the standard for Standard. Whether you run Miru Biru at all is largely personal preference; with the 13k base grade 3s he forms a 25k column, which is just over a desirable 23k threshold most grade 1s don't reach. With Star Drive Dragon he forms a 28k, something that can help deplete the opponent's hand over several turns even without Force active.

Both Miru Biru and Wingal are High Beasts, and so can boost High Dog Breeder Akane for 3k, making a 20k column that's just over the 18k threshold expected of rearguards. That helps compensate for his lower power base, but it's hard to advise running Miru Biru at all because of his low flexibility.

A sample grade 1 lineup would look something like this:

Grade 1
x4 Strong Knight, Runoria (Perfect Guard)
x4 Little Sage, Marron
x1 Knight Squire, Allen
x3 Wingal (TD01)
x2 Miru Biru / Wingal (SD01) 

The purpose of the tech Allen here is as deliberate redundancy to make the deck more consistent, functioning as a placeholder for a fifth Marron we can't run. Belgius and Akane are essentially the only grade 2s Miru Biru can boost in other columns, but with the corresponding grade 2 lineup looking like this...

Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade
x3 Sage of Literary and Military Arts, Jarron
x4 High Dog Breeder, Akane

...There's not really room for Belgius in the current deck. That makes Miru Biru a challenging card to fit in, if it can fit in at all.

Right now the Royal Paladin deck is still being faced with the challenge of coming up with a boss card that can stand on even footing with Dragonic Overlord, and addressing its counterblast issues. Royals currently have no way of countercharging, so in current playtesting it's shaping up as a clan that has to constantly give up one skill to use another.

Miru Biru in chapter 1 of the Cardfight!! Vanguard manga.

On one final note, while the current Card of the Day profiles in Japan do not incorporate any of the card lore Vanguard is so well known for, we do have Miru Biru's lore from the classic game on hand;

Among the High Beasts, it is an officer of Royal Paladin of remarkable intelligence. It is also a mascot of the knightly order, and many knights are comforted by its lovely appearance. With is high computing power and extensive strategies, it plays a central role in logistical support.

 Miru Biru is designed by Itou Akira and illustrated by Miyoshi Norikatsu.

The previous Japanese Card of the Day was Spillover Dragon.

The first Booster Set of the Standard format, V-BT01: UNITE! TEAM Q4! will launch in Japan May 25th, 2018, and in English June 22nd, 2018. It will be accompanied by V-Trial Deck 01: Sendou Aichi and V-Trial Deck 02: Kai Toshiki, launching in Japanese May 11th, 2018, and in English June 8th, 2018. They will be accompanied by a new sleeve based on the "Imaginary Gift" design. The first Extra Booster set, V-EB01: The Destructive Roar will launch in Japan June 29th, 2018, and in July for the English-speaking world. The accompanying new anime series, codenamed "Origin," will begin airing May 5th, 2018, on TV Tokyo and affiliated stations. It will be simulcast with English subtitles on YouTube and Crunchyroll.

First look at colorized Vanguard manga

Late last March it was announced that the Cardfight!! Vanguard manga is being re-serialized in Monthly Bushiroad magazine in colorized form. The series' concept creator and manga author Itou Akira is doing the color work himself, expanding on several one-shot colorizations he had done back during its original 2011-2017 run. Monthly Bushiroad tweeted several preview images of the first color chapter, which debuts in the latest issue. Chapter 1 will span 48 pages in total.

Fans will be able to purchase a pair of pins based on the manga panels at this year's Vanguard Festival in Japan. Aichi's badge will be for sale on day 1 of the event on April 29th, and Kai's badge on day 2 of the event on April 30th.

The Cardfight!! Vanguard manga's international license is currently held by Vertical Inc., who is in the process of localizing volume 12, due out July 24th. No international plans for the color edition have been announced as of yet.

The new anime series based on the manga, codenamed "Origin," will begin airing May 5th, 2018, on TV Tokyo and affiliated stations. It will be simulcast with English subtitles on YouTube and Crunchyroll, and unlike past seasons will be in a late night to early morning timeslot. V-Trial Deck 01: Sendou Aichi and V-TD02: Kai Toshiki will launch in Japanese May 11th, 2018, and in English June 8th, 2018. V-BT01: UNITE! TEAM Q4! will launch in Japan May 25th, 2018, and in English June 22nd, 2018. he first Extra Booster set, V-EB01: The Destructive Roar will launch in Japan June 29th, 2018, and in July for the English-speaking world.

Today's Card Analysis: Prowling Dragon, Striken

The Japanese card of the day is a single Rare from V-BT01: UNITE! TEAM Q4, Prowling Dragon Striken. A Kagerо̄ unit first introduced in chapter 5 of the manga, Striken went almost unchanged in the transition from the original TCG to Standard. A slight buff to his skillset makes him more palatable to Kagerо̄ cardfighters, but it comes with a trade-off.

CONT [Vanguard Circle]: This unit cannot attack.
AUTO: When you ride a grade 3, by paying [Counterblast 1], draw 1 card, and during that turn 1 of your vanguards gets Power +5000/Critical +1.

In exchange for giving up a drive check and an attack on your grade 2 turn, Striken makes it back up to you with a draw and an extra critical. This might seem like a straight negative at first--after all, you're giving up a potential damage and trigger just to get it back for a counterblast next turn--but the real asset of Striken is how he interacts with the recently-revealed Dragonic Overlord. Overlord's once-per-turn skills respectively give him a 10k buff and the ability to restand after his attack has hit; combine this with Striken and you have a 28k 2 critical vanguard with an opportunity to deal 4 damage in a single turn before factoring in actual triggers. Historically speaking, Striken was used in a similar way late in the life of the 2011 Overlord-Goku deck, one of the earliest competitive Kagerо̄ decks.

The downside to this is that it's easily stopped with a perfect defense card, but it's also a very cheap maneuver that rids the opponent of one of (on average) two they'll see from their playset. Versus Accel and other Force decks, staring down an Overlord that will so easily end the midgame and send them straight to the late is devastating; on the other end of the spectrum, Protect clans are likely to shrug off the play as a direct result of having double-or-more the number of perfect guards. The loss simply isn't as significant in a draw-heavy deck that gets another Sentinel unit every time it rides a grade 3. Those matchups are more likely to play out like the Tsukuyomi-Goku slow grind of the BT03 days.

One element of Striken that was lost in the transition is his defensive value. In both the original manga and card game, Striken was envisioned as a unit that gained power when attacked by unboosted units, preventing the opponent from rushing him down while his fighter's hand was still low from not attacking the previous turn. Striken now replenishes your hand for a cost, but being a base 10k isn't as walling as it was in the old format. (We currently know of only one 9k grade 2.) For a totally clean transition from EB01, Striken would need to be an 11k base that also gained power while being attacked--instead he gives us compensation on our lost card advantage, which is a bit messier since the cards conserved from not having to guard could very well be greater than simply maintaining the same level of card advantage.

There's also the issue that Striken hasn't totally scaled with the power of the game. The old Striken was essentially a guaranteed critical trigger in exchange for a dead turn, but the new Striken only gives half as much power as an actual crit. And while Striken is designed to be a strategic investment, whether or not that investment will pay off is at least partially matchup dependent, which isn't something you want to hear when said "investment" involves the real possibility of having only one ride option for the turn.

One upshot of the card is the role it plays in counterblast denial, particular when going first. The new format has already shown us cards like Knight Squire Allen and Alfred Early that use their counterblast skills on-place, and encourage conserving cards to call at the right moment rather than immediately rushing in. Leaving the opponent at 0~1 damage for a turn forces them to pace their deck and pinch those on-place skills rather than spam them, as well as choose between cards like Allen and Jarron. The alternative is that they choose to lose their opportunities to gain card advantage and switch to vanilla attacking--all because you rode a grade 2 that gives you the "benefit" of skipping a turn.

Cruel Dragon, a grade 3 that could be ridden during the main phase if an opponent's rearguard was retired.

There are some unresolved questions brought on by the relatively unknown card pool of BT01. For example, at this time we don't know if Cruel Dragon is going to get remade inside 2018. Having access to a grade 3 that can superior ride and bypass your grade 2 turn to negate the loss of an attack would make this incarnation of Striken a net +1 rather than a neutral exchange. These are questions that will have to be addressed as we go.

Prowling Dragon Striken is designed by Itou Akira and illustrated by Kogaratsu, who also illustrated its card for Comic Style Vol. 1. The previous card of the day was the Knight of Silence, Gallatin.

V-Booster Set 01: UNITE! TEAM Q4! will launch in Japan May 25th, 2018, and in English June 22nd, 2018. It will be preceded by V-Trial Deck 01: Sendou Aichi, and V-TD02: Kai Toshiki, launching in Japanese May 11th, 2018, and in English June 8th, 2018. Both Trial Decks will be accompanied by a new sleeve based on the "Imaginary Gift" design. The accompanying new anime series, codenamed "Origin," will begin airing May 5th, 2018, on TV Tokyo and affiliated stations. It will be simulcast with English subtitles on YouTube and Crunchyroll.