News: Bushiroad Announces Team League 2015 and Spring Festival, Nega-Keiopojisis Promo

Bushiroad South East Asia has updated up their pages on the English portal site to reflect the upcoming Team League 2015 competition. A triples division tournament, League 2015 will be held as part of a Spring Festival comprising all three of Bushiroad's English-language TCGs. The Spring Festival involves participation at the shop and regional levels, with Team League itself taking place at regional qualifiers and (in North America) at the national level. For the rest of the world, the tournament will stop at the regional level. Controversially, this year's League 2015 rules make it possible for the tournaments to produce no winners.

Cardfighters who participate in official shop tournaments during the two month period from March 2nd through May 3rd will receive special promotional coupons from Bushiroad, which can then be exchanged at the Spring Festival regional tournaments for a promotional card, Snow Element Blizza. A maximum of four coupons for four cards can be exchanged for per person. In the tournaments themselves participation is restricted to those with current residence in the continent their tournaments are held in.

Those that take part in the Team League 2015 regional tournaments from April through July will receive a gold edition Onmyo Regalia Nega-Keiopojisis as their participation prize, and the top 50 teams will receive a commemorative bag. Like all Team League tournaments, the TL2015 format will feature teams of three facing each other in best of one games. The team with two or more victorious members will win the round.

This is the first English-language Bushiroad tournament to address the use of G-Units in decks. Although actual clan fight rules have not been formalized in the English-language format, during Team League 2015 participating cardfighters are required to have a deck of only one clan, with exception given to Cray Elemental G-Units which can be used as a part of any deck's generation zone. Royal Paladin decks may contain up to four copies of Blaster Dark, but no other Shadow Paladin units, and Link Joker decks may use any number of “Яeverse” cards. Furthermore, every team member must be playing a different clan.

The rules and organization of the tournament have already come under significant scrutiny on the web. Like the preceding world championship, Team League 2015 allows tournament organizers to run a round 0; a round 0 results in half of the teams in the tournament being eliminated in the first round of the tournament, so that double elimination rules to not apply during the first round. Round 0s have been used to deliberately cut down the size of Bushiroad tournaments without instilling an actual cap on tournament attendance. Their use has fired intense criticism of Bushiroad, as for many cardfighters the regional qualifiers involve a drive of seven or more hours, all to be eliminated in the span of twenty minutes without being given the same double elimination opportunities as the teams that survive the initial round.

The time limit of the tournament is likewise under fire. Twenty minutes is rarely enough time to play a single game in legion format, where an extended midgame characterizes most cardfights and draws games out into prolonged resource wars. Most concerning is that the time limit rules for League 2015 can result in no winner being produced. As during the elimination rounds, hitting time limit in the top cut causes both cardfighters to lose. This leads to a variety of situations in which the tournament finals will not produce a winning team; for example, if two teams have one win and one loss each and their third game hits time, neither team will win. Every team member hitting time will produce the same result, as will two games going to time. It would even be possible for a round zero to result in every team being eliminated immediately, if no winners were produced as a result of every team hitting the time limit.

Assuming that the qualifiers do produce a winner, each winning team will receive a first place certificate, and the second through third place teams will be similarly certified. The winning team at each regional qualifier will also receive an invitation to the national finals, with travel and accommodation expenses provided. There are no invitations for second through third place.

League 2015 features a very low number of regional tournaments, with only five spread throughout the Asia-Oceanian territory, four across Europe and six in the United States. A complete listing can be found through the official portal. The tournament series has downplayed the importance of international markets outside of North America, with no continental event for the European or AO countries and no international finals. For many cardfighters across the globe their closest regional tournament is several hours across country borders, and for others participation is simply not an option.

News: Team League 2014 Ruleset Announced, Triples Format to Begin Using Best of 3

The official English portal for Cardfight!! Vanguard has updated with information on the upcoming 2014 team tournaments, "Team League 2014: Invasion." The Invasion is slated to begin in April and last through July; the current schedule states that nationals will start before regionals, but appears to rely on a different definition of "national" and "regional" championships. As defined further down, placing first or second in the national tournaments will qualify the teams for regionals. Taking place after the release of VGE-BT13: Catastrophic Outbreak in May, the Invasion's special rules will deliver a more immersive game experience by dividing participating teams into the Cray Defenders and Void Invaders, and the outcome of their battles will determine whether Cray is overtaken by the forces of darkness or if the soldiers of Link Joker are successfully repelled.

As in Team League 2013 players will form teams of three to participate in triples fights, and each team member must use a different clan. However, the Invasion ruleset regulates teams more heavily than they were in the preceding team tournaments, drawing clear inspiration from Japan's New Years 2014 tournament. Cray Defender teams cannot use cards from the Link Joker clan or “Яeverse” cards in their decks, while Void Invader teams may only use Link Joker or decks with 3 or more “Яeverse” cards bearing the same name in them. A special rule allows Royal Paladin cardfighters on the Cray Defender side to use up to 10 Shadow Paladin cards in their decks, making a provision for Majesty Lord Blaster cardfighters. Each team member will receive a corresponding button as a participation prize, identifying them as a Defender or Invader, although team alignment will not be taken into account when determining round pairings. Which players fight which is determined by a team member's number. Each member is assigned either 1st, 2nd or 3rd position, and they are paired against opponents of the same number on the opposing team. This is similar to the Japanese team tournament structure used from 2011 to 2013, where players were assigned to be 先鋒 senpou "Foreward," 中堅 chuuken "Middle player" and the 大将 taishou "General" which have similar meanings, but also have double meanings like "Vanguard" for the Foreward and "Team Captain" for the General.

Unlike in Teams 2013, there will be no shop qualifiers. Currently there are national championships scheduled for the North American, European and Asia-Oceanian territories. The initial rounds of each tournament will use a modified Swiss, double elimination ruleset where if an entire team loses two rounds they are eliminated from the tournament, with each round being best of 1 games, followed by a cut to top 8. Top 8 will be single elimination but best 2 out of 3 games. This is an important development as previously best of 3 was reserved for continental and international-level events, and starting with League 2014 it is being implemented at lower levels. The winning team will receive the Team League 2014 national champion's trophy, a corresponding certificate, and an invitation to their respective regional championship finals, while the runner-up team will receive a second place certificate and an invitation to the regional finals. For first place travel accommodations will be provided, except for players from the United Kingdom and Singapore.

There will be no entry fees for the Invasion's qualifiers, except if the venues themselves charge for entry because of the tournament being held instead of another event.

News: The Stand Up Challenge Cup 2013 Begins!

The first North American national championship for 2013 formally began this past Friday, with shops all across the nation opening their doors as local qualifiers for gaining entry into the regional tournaments. Lasting up through March 31st, almost 300 shops across North America will be distributing regional invitations to the top two tournament winners; with 25 regionals being held, this means that more cardfighters will be turning pro in 2013 than in any preceding year.

Already the reigning national and world champion Brandon Smith has qualified, and like many others, is awaiting his regional assignment from Bushiroad USA. In addition to their regional invitations, those who qualify receive a commemorative button showing that they were one of the top two finishers at the tournament.

As part of our coverage, readers can send in their stories to be featured on Cardfight Pro as part of a community effort. To get your Challenge Cup story featured, mail it in to vanguardunitedstates@gmail.com. Photos of your events are also encouraged.

News: Team League 2013, World Championship 2013 Announced

Just today Bushiroad has opened up about the Cardfight!! Vanguard Team League 2013, an international team tournament that drew much attention from what was seen on posters but that up until today very little of which was concretely known about.

Bushiroad's press release paints a clear picture of how the tournament is being structured, as the first international team tournament of its kind. Spread out over three months from April through July, the Team League will be held in North America, Europe and Asia-Oceania; each team will consist of three members in a three-on-three format unique to Bushiroad properties. As with the 2013 National Championship, tournaments begin at the shop qualifier level in April to May, progressing to regional qualifiers in select stores from May to June, and then go on to continental finals for each region in June to July. For North America, the continental finals will be in Los Angeles. Listings will open up in March 2013, and as with NC2013 there will be a last-minute qualifier the day before the continental finals.

Most surprisingly however, in something of a Steve Jobs "one more thing" moment, the very last line of the press release confirms what many have been speculating on for some time now, that there will be a World Championship 2013 in the latter half of the year. The original press release is presented below, unmodified.

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bushiroad Announces Cardfight!! Vanguard Team League 2013
Singapore, February 15, 2013 – Bushiroad South East Asia Pte Ltd and Bushiroad USA Inc announced a new Cardfight!! Vanguard tournament series: the Team League 2013. This will be the first ever Bushiroad-sanctioned international team tournaments in Cardfight!! Vanguard.
The Cardfight!! Vanguard Team League 2013 is a three-stage, team tournament campaign running from April through July across the North American, Europe and Asia-Oceania regions.
Players of all ages may form teams, consisting of three members, to face against rival teams in a continental level championship utilizing Bushiroad’s unique three-on-three team tournament format. Participating teams will receive promotional goods unique to Team League 2013.
The tournament structure is split across three phases; open shop qualifiers from April to May, regional qualifiers in selected tournament stores from May to June, and continental finals for each region in end June to July.
Tournament shops currently registered with Bushiroad will be eligible to hold open shop qualifiers.
The open shop qualifiers will be open to all teams across all three regions. These qualifiers will be listed on the Cardfight!! Vanguard website in March 2013. The top placing teams in each shop qualifier will receive an invitation to regional qualifiers in selected tournament stores in their specific regions. Regional qualifier team champions will be awarded with invitations and travel/lodging fees to the continental finals in their region. Second placing teams will only be awarded invitations to the continental finals in each region.
The finals for the North American region will be held in Los Angeles, CA, in July, with a venue to be confirmed. An open qualifier for the Team League will take place the day before the Team League finals (venue and date TBD), for players who have missed their chance on participating in the open shop qualifiers.
The finals for the European region will be held in the United Kingdom in July, with a venue and specific date to be confirmed.
The finals for the Asia-Oceania region will be held in Singapore in end June/early July, with a venue and specific date to be announced. Similar to the North American Team League qualifiers, an open qualifier will take place the day before at the same venue.
More details will be revealed on the Cardfight!! Vanguard website and Facebook pages as the dates draws near.
Bushiroad concluded their first international tournament series: World Championship 2012, in December 2012. The World Championship 2012 focused on individual players. The World Championship 2013 will be held in the latter half of 2013."

News: National Championship 2013, Stand Up Challenge Cup

Just today Bushiroad has announced the start dates for the 2013 North American national championship, opening the 2013 tournament season with the second national level competition to shake the continent. This championship will follow a considerably different design scheme from the previous one, beginning at the shop level rather than the regional; the top two winners in local shop tournaments--of which there are currently 270--will be invited to one of the 25 regional qualifiers, victory at which will allow them to proceed to the championship finals in June.

This three-stage format follows the double elimination, twenty minute single round format of previous tournaments, and will allow for last minute qualification on the day before the championship. In all, there are projected to be more than 500 participants in the regionals and 50 in the finals, only one of which can be crowned the 2013 National Champion. The 2012 champion and celebrated cardfighter Brandon Smith is already known to be making a return appearance, leading some to speculate that the United States may soon have a Rikino Sakura of its own. The original press release is presented below, unmodified.

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bushiroad USA Inc. Announces Cardfight!! Vanguard Stand Up Challenge Cup 2013

Walnut, CA, February 8, 2013 – Bushiroad USA Inc. announced a new Cardfight!! Vanguard tournament for North America: the Stand Up Challenge Cup 2013.

The Cardfight!! Vanguard Stand Up Challenge Cup 2013 is a three-stage, one-on-one player tournament running from March to June, and is a tournament exclusive to North America. Players will participate in store qualifiers for a chance to win invitations to the regional qualifiers. With over 270 stores signed on, only the first and second place finishers at each qualified store will receive an invitation to the regional qualifiers.

There will be 25 regional qualifiers spread throughout the United States, with one regional qualifier for Mexico and one regional qualifier for Canada. The winner of each regional qualifier will receive an invitation to the Stand Up Challenge Cup finals along with airfare and hotel accomodations. Second place finishers from each regional will only receive invitations to the finals.

The Stand Up Challenge Cup finals is scheduled to take place on June 2, venue to be announced. A last minute qualifier will take place the day before on June 1 at the same venue.

Further details and updates about the Stand Up Challenge Cup 2013 can be found at  http://cf-vanguard.com/en/event/stand-up-2013/."

North American National Championship Qualifier Locations

Initially leaked in an Anime Expo 2012 announcement, revised dating and location information for the 2012 North America qualifiers has just been added to the Bushiroad website. With consultation from professional event planner and media manager Alyssa Fisher, here is our forecast for the events.

Marriott Toronto Airport Hotel, Toronto, Canada: September 1st. Most event spaces at this hotel only seat 12-16 people, so speculating on the event's locale is easier. The conference rooms have enough room to host the Canadian qualifier, but do not provide a single open space for the tournament to be overseen in. The Grand (840-1000 individuals) or Junior Ballrooms (180) are much more likely locations due to their open shape and high carrying capacity.

Wyndham Dallas Love Field Hotel, Dallas, Texas: September 8th. Less information is available for this location than most, but the First Class A&B rooms can accommodate 330-600 people in various configurations.

Update: This location has been changed to Hyatt Regency Dallas. This is probably due to Hyatt's higher carrying capacity, as virtually any event space in the hotel can hold 1,000 people. Marsalis Hall on the exhibition level is one possibility due to its enormous size, well suited to being stocked with arranged and cordoned-off tables to create competition space, but it may be too large for the estimated attendance. The Reunion Ballroom or Landmark sections on the lobby level are also probable, with many configurations that lend themselves well to the qualifier while maintaining a high seating count.

Gamesmart MX, Mexico City, Mexico: September 15th. Information on this facility is sparse, but notably the website mentions that the winner of the qualifier will receive plane tickets and accommodations to the championship site.

The Comcast Arena, (Listed as Seattle, Washington but actually in Everett, Washington): September 15th. The Edward D. Hansen Conference Center addition is almost confirmed as the site (it's specified on the CF-Vanguard website where otherwise you would only list "The Comcast Arena"), but any given event space inside of it can hold up to 800 people, so there's no specific location that can be said of at this time.

Chicago Marriott Schaumburg Hotel, Chicago, Illinois: September 22nd. The most likely place for the qualifier is the ballroom, which can seat up to 1000 people. The only other area within the hotel grounds of comparable size is the Grand Marquis Tent, which can seat up to 350 people, but as it is a tent it is most likely unsuitable for the qualifier's purposes.

New Jersey Convention & Exposition Center, (Listed as New York but actually inside of New Jersey): October 6th. Any of the four exhibit halls has a carrying capacity exceeding 1000. The conference center can probably be ruled out due to how the space is compartmentalized, but exhibit halls A through D still stand. Taking into account the junior and main ballrooms, the designated space is basically impossible to predict.

North Atlanta Trade Center, Atlanta, Georgia: October 13th. Appears to provide only a single space, so speculation is unnecessary.

Anaheim Convention Center, (Listed as Los Angeles, California but actually located in Anaheim, California): November 3rd. This is where the national championship will be held. The situation is essentially the same as with the NJCEC, being that there's no particular space that lends itself well to the situation. The first floor exhibit halls are likely, however. Note that this was a past Anime Expo location.

While even the most popular of card games often only see a turnout of around 500 to these types of tournaments, when accounting for spectators, as well as friends and family brought in by the participants, the total room needed by the event space doubles.

News: World Championship 2012 Announced

This morning on Bushiroad's official English website and Facebook page, the first international championship season for Cardfight!! Vanguard was announced. Three sets of continental qualifiers are now open for North America, Asia-Oceania and Europe. These qualifiers, held in September and October, will then qualify the winners for an invitation to the national championships of those respective territories. The national champions of those areas will then proceed to the international championship held in Tokyo during December.

Participating cardfighters must be current residents of their corresponding qualifiers to participate. North American cardfighters may not participate in European qualifiers, and vice-versa. Only English-language cards may be used. Currently there are eight qualifiers in North America, one of which will be in Canada and another in Mexico; Europe by contrast has only three qualifiers, in Great Britain, France and Germany. Asia-Oceania has nine qualifiers, two in Japan, one in Singapore, one in Taiwan, one in Hong Kong, one in Malaysia, one in Indonesia, one in the Philippines and one in Australia.