Navalgazer Dragon teased in Vanguard anime

The fifth episode of the 2018 Cardfight!! Vanguard anime, "Let's Go to Card Capital!" teased several upcoming Aqua Force cards from V-Trial Deck 03: Sōryū Leon in its next episode preview. Among the cards shown are the grade 1 Tear Knight Theo, grade 2 Marine General of the Restless Tides Algos, and the grade 3 Navalgazer Dragon, all cards that debuted in the original Aqua Force Trial Deck six years ago.

Leon himself was briefly shown on television at the end of the episode, getting ready to participate in the Asia Circuit tournament. The title of the next episode, Image 6, is "Declaration of War!! Shop Competition." (In the sense of two shops pitted against one another, likely Card Capital and Voyage.)

The legible text at left reads "Born August 1st, male, blood type B, Aqua Force user. [...] Despite still being a middle schooler, he has participated in various large tournaments. [...]"

Tear Knight Theo and Battle Siren Dorothea.

Marine General of the Restless Tides, Algos.

Study Guide: Aqua Force

Photo by rawritzrichii, not to be reposted elsewhere without the original photographer's express permission.

Once-unrivaled among the clans, Aqua Force is known as a legendary navy whose admiral sought to unite all of Cray under a single banner. Comprised of workeroid, battleroid and mermaid footsoldiers, and led by a secretariat of ancient Tear Dragons, the Aqua Force builds its strategy out of manipulating the battle phase to activate key skills at the first, second, third and fourth attacks of the turn. And like Shadow Paladin, the Force is a clan that we have had the opportunity to see unfold card-by-card. This makes them easier to study than some of their contemporaries, building the deck with each new card of the day to come out.

At their introduction in TD07: Descendants of the Marine Emperor on April 19th, there is no standard first vanguard for the clan. Officer Cadet of the First Battle will fill the position temporarily, but be aware that the FVG slot is something that the Force has never quite settled on a stable unit for. Each coming set will introduce new potential first vanguards, but which one actually suits you as a fighter will require heavy experimentation. The trigger bases for this clan are the standard 4 Heal, 4 Draw, 4 Critical, 4 Stand that we've been seeing from past trial decks, but do note that the battle phase manipulation means that stand triggers have more precedence than in other clans, so you won't necessarily be ditching them at the first opportunity.

The key grade 1s from TD07 are Battle Siren Dorothea, Accelerated Commando and Splash Assault. Dorothea is AquaFo's 10000-power vanguard support. Over a 6000 base, her +4000 skill activates when she boosts an Aqua Force vanguard during the third or more battle of the turn. This makes her an extremely consistent booster, since so long as the vanguard is the last to attack they will always strike for 20000 and above. A basic Aqua Force build can easily run three of her for this consistent line.

Meanwhile, Accelerated Commando is an old card, Starlight Unicorn. Returning to the game here, his +2000 skill has more merit. Part of the Force's battle phase manipulation mechanic is that they have units intended to attack independently at key points, typically with 10-11000 power. The reason that you get more mileage from this skill in the Force than in the Royal Paladins is because of one of the grade 2s introduced by the trial deck, Coral Assault.

Coral gains +3000 power when there are three or more battles in the turn that he attacks. While an 8000 base can be difficult to defend on the opponent's turn, this boost does let him attack 11000-power vanguards unaided, reaching 16000 power with as little as a 5000 boost, and still form a line of the same with the clan's 8000-power booster Theo, when his skill doesn't kick in. Because the wording is "when this unit attacks..." the skill takes place after Assault's attack has been declared, so if his is the third attack of the turn, it will still activate. The way that this combos with Accelerated is that by placing Accelerated's power on Coral, you can have him attack for 21000 with Theo's boost, which will hit those base 11000 units for just the right number to draw a 15000 shield defense out. While not a card that you would run four of, Accelerated Commando can be a useful modification for this reason.

I mentioned before that stand triggers have more precedence for Aqua Force. Coral in particular has good synergy with them, since when a stand trigger is applied to him, Coral's skill will make him attack at the full 16000 power without a booster. There are other ways to stand Coral that we'll get to, but stand triggers produce the best results, so a deck that uses stands will want Coral as its rearguard support.

Going back to the grade 1s, Splash Assault is a type of early game attacker unit. Taking Coral Assault's skill and reworking it onto a 6000-power base, Splash can easily be made into a 9000-power attacker to work with Theo and your grade 1 vanguard on the first turn. His 6000 power can at least work with base 10000 grade 2 or 3s in either of the frontline rearguard circles, but it does have a lesser score than his RoyPala and ShadowPala counterparts, Kay and Gururubau. While the skill would definitely be more effective if it were a base 7000 +2000 skill, it gives Splash the flexibility to go up front when you're short on attacking units, and that 6000 base means that he's an unappealing target for the opponent to waste attacks on. Unlike with Gururubau or Kay, stacking two Splash together wll only yield enough power to fight base 10000 units, so it's not as versatile as the cards that came before it, but two or three can turn out some usable results.

Getting into the grade 2s properly, Marine General of the Restless Tides, Algos is a variation on the Maiden of Libra formula. Unlike other iterations of this skill however, Algos does not have to pay a cost to draw, and the activation window require Algos' attack to hit a vanguard to go through.

The caveat to this is that Algos' attack has to be the fourth or greater attack in the turn. There are a variety of ways to create this scenario; normally you would attack with Algos and another rearguard, then through either stand triggers or your vanguard's skills, stand Argos for the final attack of the turn. But you could also attack with your opposite rearguard, then the vanguard, applying skills to that rearguard column, and then conduct battle with Argos. This makes him flexible, and more likely to connect as the opponent will be worn out by the time Algos rolls around to fight. Inversely, if the opponent recognizes the pattern and tries to compensate by focusing their guards on Algos, then Algos is convincing the opponent to either reach 6 damage more quickly, or to lose their rearguards depending on how you set up the other three attacks of the turn. While it's very hard to trigger now, Algos is going to get much easier to activate in BT08 and BT09, and even if you aren't aiming to use his skill, he can make for a useful decoy to draw the opponent's fire when you need to.

From TD07's grade 3s, Navalgazer Dragon is the clan's first boss unit. Like Coral Assault, his autoskill gives him +3000 power in the third or greater battle of the turn. That makes him an automatic 20000+ power unit with a 7000 supporter, 21000 with Theo's support, and 23000 with Dorothea, whom he combos with nicely. That last number is high enough to strain even crossride units, and Navalgazer will be holding it every turn, so just his autoskill alone is dangerous, regardless of which stage of the game you're triggering it in.

The real focus here is on his limit break 4. For a low cost of counterblast 2, Gazer gets an additional +3000 power to stack on top of his prior boosts, and if his attack hits a vanguard in the third or more battle of the turn, he can stand 2 Aqua Force rearguards. Naturally, this works with Assault and Algos' skills, and the additional +3000 on top of his previous power boost will make a 26000-power line for nailing base 11000 and under units. Since the counterblast 2's power increase is unconditional, it also lets you choose to have Gazer not be the third attack of the turn when you have Theo set up behind him, which frees up your battle phase to conduct more regularly.

Marine General of the Full Tides, Xenophon has taken a lot of fire for what on the surface looks to be a lackluster skillset, but he's definitely the best secondary grade 3 TD07 gives us and a reasonable alternative ride to Navalgazer. Like Gazer, his vanguard skill gives him +3000 power during the third or more attack of the turn. In the rearguard he instead gains +1000 power during the third or greater battle. This is not a bad tradeoff, as if you run for example four Xenophon and four Navalgazer with those three Dorothea from before, any grade 3 that you ride will give you a consistent 23000+ vanguard, an anticrossride number that's none too shabby for a trial deck. In the rearguard Xenophon functionally serves as a grade 3 iteration of Coral Assault, going for 11000 independently and 16000 with a stand trigger, promoting further synergy with Navalgazer's limit break. While Dabid in the same trial deck gets +3000 power in either circle for an on-attack counterblast 1, in a Navalgazer build you generally want your entire damage zone to be reserved for Gazer himself, so that his limit break can be used two to three times in any given game. Xenophon's vanguard +3000 is the better deal because the consistent 21-23000 with either Dorothea or Theo will wear the opponent down severely over many turns, at no extra cost to yourself.

Aqua Force is a very playable clan right out of their trial deck, and with the release of BT08: Blue Storm Armada in May, they're only going to get stronger. Next time I revisit this clan, it will be to discuss BT08's Blue Storm Dragon, Maelstrom, and how the battle phase manipulation finally becomes a cohesive strategy of its own with the Storm Rider series.

Character: Charlene Chen

"Surprised, aren't you? For us, doing something like that is a breeze."

"Eh? It's pretty hard!"

—Gillian and Charlene, Ride 90

Charlene Chen/蒼龍シャーレーン
Age: Unknown
Anime Biography: The younger of two sisters that act as escorts to the Souryuu heir Leon, Charlene is a somewhat absent-minded woman who forms one third of Team Dreadnought. Skilled in both martial arts and cardfight, her role is to both protect Leon and act as his teammate in the VF Circuit's competitions. While on the surface she is the more passive of the sisters, Charlene becomes intense when angered, belying her outward appearance.

Spoiler warning: Asia Circuit details follow.
Charlene makes her debut in rides 87-91, accompanying Gillian and Leon to Hong Kong in order to score points as part of Team Dreadnought. While nominally just another team seeking to qualify for the final stage in Japan and an international trophy, their real goal is the total revival of the Souryuu family that once ruled the seven seas with their naval might. In order to accomplish his goal, Leon continually calls on the "wind," PSY Qualia, which eventually guides him to step into the fray himself for the Hong Kong tagfight finals, with Charlene as his partner. Through them the finals are won, and the three then proceed on a flight into Japanese waters. Here they are accosted by Yahagi Kyou and his Avengers, who plot to replace Dreadnought in the Japan stage of the Circuit. However, Charlene and Gillian easily fend off their assailants, then leaving Leon to finish Kyou off in a cardfight.

Charlene is speculated to be a member of the Souryuu family, due to her wielding the Aqua Force clan that according to Leon in ride 90 and outside rumors in 83, is supposed to be accessible only to them. There are multiple explanations for why her and her sister's surnames differ from Leon's--although the Souryuu people have allegedly dwindled to a single family, the size of the family is unstated, so there is a possibility that they come from a branch family and are Leon's distant cousins. Historically, when the political dominance of a particular, large family over one territory becomes important, the end result is a multiple lines of first, second, third and onward cousins growing increasingly distant from one another, each with their own children to hold strategically valuable offices and ensure that there will always be a legitimate heir to the family's central point of authority. Therefore, "Chen" may be but another branch in the Souryuu line, removed in some way from Leon's main family.

Another explanation is that Charlene and Gillian come from a different house than Leon. In Japanese custom it is commonplace for children to take the names of the parents that they were raised by or the family that they were raised with, so in the event of a divorce or some other dividing of children, two groups of children born to the same parents would only have the surname of one parent and not the other. If this were the case, then Charlene and Gillian would be Leon's sisters, raised in the Chen house rather than the Souryuu house.
Spoilers end here.

Decks and Play Style
Like all Dreadnought members, Charlene fights with an Aqua Force deck. Her particular build is Navalgazer-centric, as it lacks the unique Maelstrom cards of Leon's deck, and also unlike Leon it makes use of limit break support like Reliable Tactical Commander to trigger Navalgazer's skill early. Where Leon uses Algos to gain card advantage, Charlene instead relies on Valeria, using an inverse strategy that retires the opponent's rearguards instead of directly increasing her own scope of control.

Rides 90-91: A910 Howitzer (18/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Erikk
x3 Mother Ship Intelligence CT
x2 Enemy-Seeking Seagull Soldier ST
Grade 1
x2 Tear Knight, Theo
x2 Dorothea
x1 Emerald Shield, Paschalis
x2 Torpedo Rush Dragon
x1 Reliable Tactical Commander
Grade 2
x2 Lazarus
x1 Valeria
Grade 3
x2 Naval Gazer Dragon

Character: Souryuu Leon

"I needed power...I didn't care if it came from [...] the devil. I happily joined hands...If I could attain that power, I vowed to defeat my opponent, even if they happened to be a god! And you people are no exceptions!"

"Wash away all vice in the flow of a furious flood. Its name is righteousness! I ride Blue Storm Dragon, Maelstrom!"

Souryuu Leon/蒼龍レオン
Age: Unconfirmed; enrolled in a high school as of Link Joker
Voice Actor: Kanbara Daichi (Japanese)
Anime Biography: The son of a mysterious family shrouded in rumor, Leon is an enigmatic figure who claims to be directed by "the wind." First appearing in card shop PSY to fight the world-famous Daigo, Leon is immediately recognized for his use of the legendary clan, Aqua Force. An unrivaled clan that had long ago conquered the world, Aqua Force vanished into myth much like the Royal Paladins that would go on to follow it in recent times. The Souryuu family however, continues to wield this clan even today.

Leon is also the leader of Team Dreadnought, with the twin sisters Gillian and Charlene as his teammates.

Spoiler warning: Asia Circuit details follow.
Upon meeting him, Kourin immediately identifies Leon as someone possessing "the new power." Suiko does not know of him personally, nor does she know if he possesses this "new power," but seems to recognize his surname, suggesting that she is well aware of the Souryuu family's use of Aqua Force. "He" seems likewise aware of the family, as their past relation to Cray is mentioned briefly toward the end of season 1.

Leon makes continuous reference to "the wind" both in his fights and out, and is able to tell when his final turn has come while fighting Daigo based on the wind "stopping." This wind that Leon speaks of is in fact his own extremely powerful PSY Qualia, evolved to a level on par with Suzugamori Ren's. Unlike Aichi, Leon is able to use his Qualia outside of battle, using it to determine where he should go next to achieve his goals and who his allies will be at any given moment. Following his defeat of Daigo, Leon states that he intends to fight Aichi in the future, and makes this aim a reality at the Hong Kong stage of the VF Circuit.

Related Articles: Analysis: Leon & Aqua Force

Leon's true nature is as the legendary savior of the Souryuu people, an ethnic group that in the ancient past dominated the seven seas with the power of their mysterious "Aqua Force" power. In reality, their fate was directly connected to the Aqua Force clan on Cray, and when that clan was subjugated by an outside party, the Souryuu people's own power was shattered and they were forced on a mass exodus away from the seven seas. Driven into a single ruined fortress, they survived on the brink of destruction for years as their population dwindled down into a small chain of family lines, what is known today as the Souryuu family.

From generation to generation, the Souryuu family handed down the true nature of Aqua Force, and along with it a legend of a child whose life would coincide with the appearance of a star in the "eastern sky"--that of Japan. Leon was raised as this savior, and when this star appears toward the end of season 1, he embarks on a journey to revive the Souryuu family, manipulating Earth's relationship to Cray by cardfighting with what remains of the Aqua Force clan to free them from their sealing on Cray. By shaking the Earth with their appearance, Souryuu is able to gradually loosen their bonds and empower the Force, in turn bringing prosperity back into the hands of the Souryuu family.
Spoilers end here.

Decks and Play Style
Leon cardfights with an Aqua Force deck, attacking with each unit in a specific order to trigger their skills in turn. Battle Siren, Dorothea is used to empower his vanguard, primarily Navalgazer Dragon, whose limit break activates with the same timing as her, creating a 26000-power column that helps to force Navalgazer's rearguard-standing skill past the opponent's defenses. His Assault series cards activate their skills in the fourth or greater battle, well supporting Navalgazer's ability, while Algos and Cynthia search the deck for the needed pieces of Leon's strategy.

Souryuu later reveals a new strategy, integrating the Storm Rider series of cards that swap positions with the cards behind them after attacking to let him enter third and fourth battles more easily, and as a new main vanguard the 11000-power Blue Storm Dragon, Maelstrom. Maelstrom's own limit break gives him +5000 power in the fourth battle onward, forming a similar 26000-column with Dorothea while just touching 20000 with Erikk, and allowing him to retire an opponent's rearguard while drawing a card if the attack hits and the opponent is still left standing. This exceptionally brutal strategy helps to corner his opponents swiftly, and works even better in the Hong Kong stage's tagfights, where his teammates employ similar strategies.

Rides 82-99: The Vast Trident (43/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Officer Cadet of First Battle (FVG: Rides 82-90)
x2 Officer Cadet, Erikk (FVG: Rides 90-Current)
x1 Sea Otter Soldier of Pyroxene Communication DT
x1 Battleship Intelligence CT
x2 Medical Officer of Rainbow Elixir HT
x2 Enemy-Seeking Seagull Soldier ST
x2 Dolphin Soldier of High Speeds, Raids ST
Grade 1
x3 Tear Knight, Cyprus
x1 Battle Siren, Dorothea
x2 Accelerated Commando
x1 Tear Knight, Theo
x1 Splash Assault
x1 Diva of the Battlefield, Cynthia
x1 Emerald Shield, Paschal
x2 Storm Rider, Eugene
Grade 2
x2 Marine General of the Restless Tides, Algos
x2 Matchless Trench Titan
x3 Tear Knight, Lazarus
x1 Coral Assault
x3 Storm Rider, Basil
Grade 3
x2 Vital Anchor, David
x1 High Tide of Water Future, Xenophon
x1 Navalgazer Dragon
x3 Blue Storm Dragon, Maelstrom
x2 Storm Rider, Diamantes

After seizing additional power in order to secure the Souryuu people's freedom and unite Cray, Leon refits his deck to account for his new ace in the hole, the legendary Blue Storm Supreme Dragon, Glory Maelstrom. As the manifestation of a legendary dragon from ancient history that passed judgment on warring peoples, Glory Maelstrom is the ideal form of his Maelstrom avatar card, but as an ultimate break-bearing crossride is slow and difficult to use. Souryuu, having to cope with holding only one copy of Glory Maelstrom, bases his deck around versatility, support for the original Maelstrom, and the judgment of his wind to guide him to Glory. With Glory Maelstrom's ultimate break, he not only receives the +5000 power of the original Maelstrom, but also denies his opponent the use of grade 1 and higher units for defense, forcing them to block with trigger units while stopping perfect defense cards in their tracks. Unlike any of his previous decks, this one is much more focused toward critical with no stands seen in the Circuit's airing, and to cope with Maelstrom's original form being blocked frequently he relies on Penguin Soldier for added draw power.

Rides 99-Current: The Absolutely Invincible, Absolutely Righteous Aqua Force (28/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Tri-holl Dracokid (FVG)
x2 Battleship Intelligence CT
x2 Supersonic Sailor CT
x1 Medical Officer of Rainbow Elixir HT
x1 Otter Soldier of Pyroxene Communication DT
Grade 1
x2 Tear Knight, Cyprus
x2 Tear Knight, Theo
x1 Emerald Shield, Paschal
x2 Penguin Soldier
Grade 2
x1 Coral Assault
x1 Tear Knight, Lazarus
x2 Storm Rider, Basil
Grade 3
x4 Blue Storm Dragon, Maelstrom
x4 Storm Rider, Lysander
x1 Storm Rider, Diamantes
x1 Blue Storm Supreme Dragon, Glory Maelstrom