News: Invaders Take Sweden, May BeNeLux Decklists, Second Sapporo, Hokusetsu VGCS & Fighter's Road 2014 Nagoya Results

The number of Reverse fighters has been consistently low for the first two months of Team League 2014, but the Invading side of the tournament may be in for a turnaround with the release of VG-BT13: Catastrophic Outbreak. Coming on the heels of a string of Cray Defender victories in Canada, Mexico, the Philippines, Paris, Germany and New York, Sweden's regional qualifier marks the first major steal for the Reversed cardfighters. While according to Bushiroad's figures at Paris and New York the Invaders only accounted for 7.7% and 20.5% of the total participants, the flood of new Reverse cards introduced by Catastrophic Outbreak and the rise of Chaos Breaker Dragon as the Invaders' new flagship deck has given them a small foothold in both slots of Sweden's top 2. Along with Team SKET from second place at the Paris qualifier, Sweden's teams account for Void's only presence in the Team League, with all three teams being concentrated in the European branch of League 2014.

The respective teams are reported by our source to be composed of Leo-pald “Я,” Link Joker and Ethics Buster “Я” fighters for first place, and Amon “Я,” Link Joker and Luquier “Я” fighters for second. Meanwhile we've also received the decklists from the May BeNeLux tournament, provided below under [MBNL] First place in the tournament went to Ozan Fincan with Chaos Breaker Dragon, while second went to Daniel Gaillard with Dragonic Descendant. Both decks were noticeably heavy on their grade 2 counts, emphasizing the forms of fast aggression, field control and power gain that have proven to be exemplary qualities of the format.

In Japanese news the Nagoya regional qualifier for Fighter's Road 2014 finished up on the 11th, with first place going to a Dragonic Nouvelle Vague cardfighter and second to one running the new Narukami Brawler subclan. Third and fourth place went to Sacred Regalia and Bermuda Triangle fighters, with the remaining half of the top 8 being unsorted as Musketeer, Pale Moon, Liberator and Glendios cardfighters. The Brawlers' success coincides with their widespread adoption in the unofficial Vanguard Championships; the second Sapporo and first Hokusetsu team tournaments saw both Brawlers and the new Royal Paladin Seekers make spots in the top 4. Sapporo's first place team was led by Nouvelle Vague cardfighter Dasukuro, and was captained by Northern Jewel's Omega Glendios build, in keeping with the progression of professional play since Infinite Rebirth's release.

Brawler, Shotgun Blow Dragon.

The team's midfighter valdy (sic), brought a Brawler deck that focused on the Legion skills of Shotgun Blow Dragon, a boss card released just over a week ago in VG-FC02: Fighter's Collection 2014. Shotgun's Legion 20000 with the grade 2 Military Brawler Lisei fuses a Lisei from the deck to the vanguard circle, adding Lisei's power to Shotgun's own for a 20000 base during his fighter's turn, and when they Legion his counterblast 2 forces the opponent to retire two of their own rearguards. If Shotgun's field is greater than the opponent's immediately after the skill is activated, he also gets an extra critical. The Legion retire combos with Lisei and the grade 1 Ark's skills, both getting +3000 power for each rearguard retired during the turn to easily make a 28000-power rearguard lane together. Furthermore, the grade 2 Brawler Yousei automatically retires an opponent's frontrow rearguard for no cost when the vanguard Legions, destroying three fifths of the field with Shotgun Blow and further powering up Lisei and Ark.

Brawler, Skybeat Dragon.

Although Shotgun Blow is the backbone of the deck, Skybeat Dragon from TD15: Brawler of Friendship is also an important supporting element of it. Since Shotgun Blow can only effectively activate once, being able to ride over him with Skybeat if another copy of Shotgun isn't available is important, because riding over a Legioned vanguard will send both Legion pieces into the soul and put a new unit on the vanguard circle, allowing Legion to be activated again. This opens the door to Skybeat's Legion with Skyhowl Dragon being activated, and his on-Legion frontrow retire skill, effectively trading the Skybeat ridden for one of the opponent's frontrow rearguards. Rising Phoenix provides reliable synergy with this strategy since the two units sent into the soul from riding over a Legioned vanguard can then be soulblasted to draw a card with Phoenix's on-call skill, making for an aggressive and circular strategy that continually pushes the opponent down throughout the fight while keeping the Brawlers at a steady place in advantage above them.

It's very rare for trial deck cards to see immediate adoption in pro play without their corresponding booster set available, but the Brawlers' and Seeker's shared strength of not needing to be at limit break to use their skills has made them extremely compelling competitively. Only needing four cards in the drop zone to activate Legion promotes earlier guards and staying in the range of 2~3 damage rather than risk going to 4 early. Some have expressed trouble adjusting to the nascent format, and after two years under the 4 damage restriction many of the cardfighters competing today have never played in a world without limit break. The ability to drastically outspeed the likes of Nouvelle Vague and Raging Form is thus a crucial advantage, and these new builds are likely to totally eclipse their past Narukami and Royal counterparts with the release of Legion of Dragons and Blades this Friday.

The first place team at Sapporo won three Nintendo 3DS XLs, while second place won three boxes of VG-BT15: Infinite Rebirth, and third place won three boxes of VG-EB10: Divas Duet. In total 81 persons attended the tournament, divided into 27 teams of 3. Second place team "Over Maxi Boost" was composed of Revenger, Glendios and Brawler cardfighters, while third was made up of Nouvelle, Galaxy Blaukluger and Glendios fighters, and fourth by Nouvelle, Brawler and Glendios. You can jump directly to the Sapporo decklists by searching the page for [2SVGCS] Overall Sapporo saw 81 participants, and a breakdown of the decks used by those cardfighters is available below.

Second Sapporo VGCS Deck Breakdown
13 ”Ω” Glendios
13 Nouvelle
9 Sacred Regalia
8 Revenger
6 Brawler
6 Pale Moon
4 Dragonic Overlord "The Яe-birth"
4 Blue Storm
3 Seeker
3 Bermuda △
3 Dimensional Robo
3 Blau
2 Liberator
1 Eradicator
1 Ezel
1 Dauntless Dominate Dragon "Я"
1 Seal Dragons

Seeker, Sacred Wingal.

Over at the Hokusetsu VGCS, this team tournament was taken by Team Wild Hitter. While team forward Hokaze's Glendios and midfighter Yakan's Nouvelle are familiar, it's the captain Rinon's Seeker deck that is attracting the most attention. His build combines the trial deck cards with the 2014 Vanguard Festival promos and Fighter's Collection 2014 support, focusing on a combination of hand conservation through traditional Royal Paladin superior call tactics, limited frontrow control and strong endgame field power boosts. Surprisingly, the build includes both the perfect defense card Iseult and the Quintent Wall Gloria, mixing them at 2-2. Previously Quintets were standardized at 0~1 in pro decks due to their comparative ineffectiveness versus the powerful extremes of the format, but for Legion decks the ability to instantly put 6 cards into the drop zone while denying an early game attack can mean near-instant setup of a game defining strategy. As limit break is not a concern for these builds and more emphasis is being placed on having a highly developed early to midgame, Quintets occupy a unique place in the new format as both the saving grace against going to high damage early and a utility role that potentially supersedes their importance as defense.

Much as the new Brawler decks are relying on mixing Castor from the Eradicators in to quickly fill the drop zone in the early game, Rinon's Seeker build uses four copies of Lake Maiden Lien and mixes in the Shadow Paladins' Arianrhod to capitalize on how card changing effectively supports Legion. The cheap counterblast 1 costs associated with the Seekers makes setting up Legion as fast as possible a priority, and the cards dropped for Lien and Arianrhod are no longer lost permanently thanks to Legion returning trigger units, making trigger units and Legion components like Blaster Blade Seeker and Combined Strength Seeker Locrinus ideal targets for card changing. The main strategy of the deck is to use Seeker Sacred Wingal with its first vanguard File; both of their skills activate when Wingal Legions to Blade Seeker, with File going into the soul at that time to superior call a Blade Seeker to the rearguard, where Sacred pays counterblast 1 to call a grade 2 or greater Seeker. Effectively, even if frontrow units aren't immediately accessible in hand, File and Sacred can together bring two frontrow cards out from the deck just by Legioning, and then with the two Blaster Blades' counterblasts can take out the opponent's entire front row.

Splitting, Seeker Brutus.

The alternative grade 3, Splitting Seeker Brutus from Fighter's Collection 2014, has a more distinct early game compared to Sacred Wingal; when placed on the vanguard circle he can counterblast 1 to search the deck for Locrinus and call it to the rearguard. His especial counterblast activates when he attacks the vanguard and has Legion, endowing four frontrow Seekers with +3000 power. Since the both halves of the Legion pair may be selected, this causes the vanguard lane to swing for 26000 power by itself, while the rearguard lanes attack in the range of 19~22000 boosted. Although not as combo heavy as the Brawlers, being able to reliably make both frontrow rearguards break the ~21000 line for counterblast 1 every turn makes Brutus a modern Soul Saver Dragon capable of a staggeringly strong endgame. Unlike Sacred Wingal, whose superior calls and potential double frontrow retire are strong plays at any part of the match, Brutus' field power bonus can fall flat in the early and middle of a fight where the opponent is starting the turn at low damage. Comparing preview cards from upcoming sets BT16 and EB10~11, Legion skills that are purely used for the endgame are already a rarity. Brutus is considered likely to be replaced by Thing Saver Dragon from BT16, a card already preordering for 3000 yen apiece (approx. $30 in US money) double the price of a Dragonic Nouvelle Vague.

Also of note is Sigma's Pale Moon deck in the lead of the second place team. Venus Luquier is a rare sight for professional play, as while she's an effective successor to the Luquier ”Я” that took last year's winter national championship, she's been generally overshadowed by the likes of Nouvelle Vague and the Revenger series. Sigma's approach to the deck dropped Silver Thorn Assistant Irina--often regarded as the crux of the Silver Thorns' soulcharging engine and a staple in their builds--in favor of Beast Tamer Ana's aggressive on-boost counterblast, using her in combination with the grade 2 Maricica to bring out an extra lane when their attack hits, with the potential to target Assistant Zelma for their skills and then swap Maricica into the soul to call out one more attacker. With the right combination of plays, these types of multiple attack chains will also power up Silver Thorn Upright Lion and the original Luquier herself. While modern Luquier has been typically thought of in terms of being a soul-derived advantage engine, these aggressive plays are a fresh and interesting approach to Silver Thorns. You can jump directly to the decklists by searching the page for [2HVGCS]

May BeNeLux Tournament [MBNL]
First Place: Ozan Fincan
Grade 0
x1 Star-vader, Dust Tail Unicorn (FV)
x4 Star-vader, Stellar Garage HT
x4 Star-vader, Scouting Ferris DT
x2 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT
x4 Star-vader, Meteoliger CT
x2 Star-vader, Weiss Soldat CT
Grade 1
x3 Barrier Star-vader, Promethium
x2 Demonic Claw Star-vader, Lanthanum
x4 Prison Gate Star-vader, Palladium
x4 Mana Shot Star-vader, Neon
Grade 2
x3 Star-vader, Colony Maker
x3 Star-vader, Moebius Breath Dragon
x4 Unrivaled Star-vader, Radon
x3 Furious Claw Star-vader, Niobium
Grade 3
x1 Star-vader, Nebula Lord Dragon
x3 Star-vader, Infinite Zero Dragon
x3 Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Dragon

Second Place: Daniel Gaillard
Grade 0
x1 Ambush Dragon Eradicator, Linchu (FV)
x4 Worm Toxin Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Eradicator, Dragon Mage DT
x2 Eradicator, Blue Gem Carbuncle DT
x2 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Sacred Spear Eradicator, Pollux CT
Grade 1
x3 Eradicator, Wyvern Guard Guld
x2 Rising Phoenix
x4 Steel Blooded Eradicator, Shuki
x4 Eradicator, Demoliton Dragon
Grade 2
x4 Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Chou-Ou
x1 Supreme Army Eradicator, Zuitan
x4 Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon
x4 Eradicator, Thunder Boom Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Eradicator, Gauntlet Buster Dragon
x3 Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant

Second Sapporo VGCS [2SVGCS]
First Place Team: ○るでぃがわからせる
Foreward: Dasukuro/だすくろ
Deck Name: Deck Descended of the Demonic Dragon 2014/魔竜降臨したデッキ 2014
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x4 Seal Dragon, Shirting HT
x4 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x1 Seal Dragon, Artpique DT
x3 Demonic Dragon Mage, Abarara CT
x4 Seal Dragon, Biera CT
Grade 1
x2 Seal Dragon, Kersey
x4 Nouvelle Roman Dragon
x4 Seal Dragon, Rinocross
x3 Calamity Tower Wyvern
Grade 2
x4 Nouvelle Critique Dragon
x4 Berserk Dragon
x3 Dominate Drive Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Dauntless Drive Dragon
x1 Cruel Dragon
Grade 4
x4 Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague

Midfighter: valdy (sic)
Deck Name: Vowing Valdy Special 2014/ボーイングヴぁるでぃスペシャル 2014
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FV)
x4 Demonic Dragon Eradicator, Seiobo HT
x4 Eradicator, Dragon Mage DT
x2 Eradicator, Blue Gem Carbuncle DT
x2 Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x4 Malevolent Djinn CT
Grade 1
x4 Eradicator Wyvern Guard, Guld
x4 Tonfa Wielding Brawler, Ark
x4 Rising Phoenix
x2 Eradicator of the True Flames, Castor
Grade 2
x4 Brawler, Skyhowl Dragon
x3 Military Brawler, Lisei
x3 Dragonic Deathscythe
x2 Brawler Youjin
Grade 3
x4 Brawler, Shotgun Blow Dragon
x3 Brawler, Skybeat Dragon

Captain: Northern Jewel/北の八坂 (Kita no Yasakani)
Deck Name: Golembeat 2014/ゴーレムビート　2014
Grade 0
x1 Star-vader, World Line Dragon (FV)
x3 Star-vader, Meteo Liger CT
x4 Star-Vader, Weiss Soldat CT
x2 Star-vader, Scounting Ferris DT
x2 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT
x1 Star-vader, Jailer Tail DT
x4 Star-vader, Stellar Garage HT
Grade 1
x4 Star-vader, Ruin Magician
x4 Barrier Star-vader, Promethium
x4 Taboo Star-vader, Rubidium
x2 Engraving Star-vader, Praseodymium
Grade 2
x4 Star-vader Magnet Hollow
x3 Star-vader, Colony Maker
Grade 3
x3 Star-vader, ”Ω” Glendios
x4 Star-vader, ”Я” Cradle
x1 Dauntless Dominate Draogn ”Я”
x1 Dragonic Overlord ”The Яebirth”
x1 Silver Thorn Dragon Queen, Luquier ”Я”
x1 Eradicator, Vowing Saber Dragon ”Я”

Second Place Team: Over Maxi Boost/マキシブースト終わった
Foreward: Buster/バスター
Deck Name: Shadow Paladin/シャドウパラディン
Grade 0
x2 Judgebau Revenger (FV)
x4 Healing Revenger HT
x4 Freezing Revenger DT
x4 Grim Revenger CT
x4 Revenger, Air Raid Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Dark Revenger, Mac Lir
x3 Self-control Revenger, Rakia
x2 Revenger, Dark Bond Trumpeter
x1 Black-winged Sword Breaker
x2 Transient Revenger, Masquerade
Grade 2
x4 Nullity Revenger, Masquerade
x4 Overcoming Revenger, Lukea
x3 Wiles Revenger, Mana
Grade 3
x4 Illusionary Revenger, Mordred Phantom
x4 Revenger, Dragruler Phantom

Midfighter: Hide/ひで
Deck Name: Papparapaa/パッパラパー
Grade 0
x1 Star-vader, World Line Dragon (FV)
x4 Star-vader, Stellar Garage HT
x4 Star-vader, Meteoliger CT
x2 Star-vader, Weiss Soldat CT
x2 Star-vader, Scouting Felis DT
x4 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT
Grade 1
x4 Barrier Star-vader, Promethium
x4 Star-vader, Ruin Magician
x1 Carved Seal Star-vader, Praseodymium
x4 Taboo Star-vader, Rubidium
Grade 2
x4 Star-vader, Magnet Hollow
x4 Star-vader, Colony Maker
Grade 3
x4 Star-vader, “Ω” Glendios
x4 Star-vader, “Я” Cradle
x1 Dragonic Overlord “The Яe-birth”
x1 Silver Thorn Dragon Queen, Luquier “Я”
x1 Eradicator, Vowing Saber Dragon “Я”

Captain: Shitarabakizoku/したらば貴族
Deck Name: 夏野こおりが好きだ
Grade 0
x1 Spark Kid Dragoon (FV)
x4 Brawler, Green Gem Carbuncle HT
x4 Malevolent Djinn CT
x4 Brawler, Dokouson DT
x4 Eradicator, Dragon Mage DT
Grade 1
x4 Wyvern Guard, Guld
x2 Tonfa Wielding Brawler, Ark
x4 Rising Phoenix
x4 Eradicator of the True Flames, Castor
Grade 2
x4 Brawler, Skyhowl Dragon
x3 Military Brawler, Lisei
x3 Brawler Youjin
x2 Dragonic Deathscythe
Grade 3
x4 Brawler, Shotgun Blow Dragon
x3 Brawler, Skybeat Dragon

First Hokusetsu VGCS [1HVGCS]
First Place Team: Wild Hitter/ワイルドヒッター
Forward: Hokaze/ほかぜ
Deck Name: Cute Deep Crimson (Shinku Kawaii/真紅)
Grade 0
x1 Star-vader, World Line Dragon (FV)
x2 Star-vader, Spark Doll CT
x3 Star-Vader, Weiss Soldat CT
x2 Star-vader, Scounting Ferris DT
x3 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT
x1 Star-vader, Jailer Tail DT
x4 Star-vader, Stellar Garage HT
Grade 1
x4 Star-vader, Ruin Magician
x4 Barrier Star-vader, Promethium
x3 Taboo Star-vader, Rubidium
x4 Engraving Star-vader, Praseodymium
Grade 2
x4 Star-vader Magnet Hollow
x2 Star-vader, Colony Maker
Grade 3
x3 Star-vader, ”Ω” Glendios
x4 Star-vader, ”Я” Cradle
x1 Dauntless Dominate Draogn ”Я”
x1 Ice Prison Dark Lord, Cocytus ”Я”
x1 Deadliest Beast Deity, Ethics Buster ”Я”
x1 Silver Thorn Dragon Queen, Luquier ”Я”
x1 Covert Demonic Dragon, Hyakki Vogue ”Я”
x1 Maiden of Venus Trap ”Я”
x1 Eradicator, Vowing Saber Dragon ”Я”

Midfighter: Yakan/やかん
Deck name: Cute Luna-sama (Runa-sama Kawaii) ルナ様かわいい
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x2 Blue-ray Dracokid CT
x1 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x4 Dragon Dancer, Barbara HT
x2 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x1 Dragon Dancer, Monica DT
x3 Seal Dragon, Artpique DT
x2 Seal Dragon, Biera CT
Grade 1
x4 Nouvelle Roman Dragon
x4 Dragon Dancer, Maria
x4 Calamity Tower Wyvern
x1 Diable Drive Dragon
Grade 2
x4 Nouvelle Critique Dragon
x4 Berserk Dragon
x3 Dominate Drive Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Dauntless Drive Dragon
x1 Dragonic Overlord (BT15/004)
Grade 4
x4 Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague

Captain: Rinon/りのん
Deck Name: Stomachache (Itsuu/胃痛)
Grade 0
x1 Advance Party Seeker, File (FV)
x4 Certain Kill Seeker, Modron CT
x4 Bringer of Good Luck, Epona CT
x4 Messegal Seeker DT
x4 Seeker, Loving Healer HT
Grade 1
x2 Flash Shield, Iseult
x2 Summoning Jewel Knight, Gloria
x4 Good Faith Seeker, Cynric
x4 Lake Maiden, Lien
x1 Witch of Nostrum, Arianrhod
x1 Seeker of the Right Path, Gangalen
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Blade, Seeker
x4 Full Bloom Seeker, Cerdic
x3 Combined Strength Seeker, Locrinus
Grade 3
x4 Seeker, Sacred Wingal
x4 Splitting Seeker, Brutus

Second Place Team: 24 Year-old VG Fighters/２４歳、ＶＧファイターです
Forward: Sigma/シグマ
Deck Name: Pale Moon/ペイルムーン
Grade 0
x1 Silver Thorn Beast Tamer, Emil (FV)
x4 Silver Thorn Barking Dragon CT
x2 Dynamite Juggler CT
x4 Poison Juggler CT
x2 Silver Thorn Marionette, Natasha DT
x4 Silver Thorn Juggler, Nadia HT
Grade 1
x4 Silver Thorn Beast Tamer, Ana
x4 Silver Thorn Assistant, Zelma
x4 Silver Thorn Hypnos, Lydia
x2 Silver Thorn Breathing Dragon
Grade 2
x4 Silver Thorn Beast Tamer, Maricica
x4 Silver Thorn Rising Dragon
x3 Silver Thorn Upright Lion
Grade 3
x4 Silver Thorn Dragon Empress, Venus Luquier
x3 Silver Thorn Dragon Tamer, Luquier
x1 Miracle Pop, Eva

Midfighter: Daigo (TL note; the cardfighter's name is written with the kanji for "Enormous Mistake" 大誤 read phonetically as "Daigo.")
Deck Name: Bermuda △
Grade 0
x1 PRISM-Smile, Coro (FV)
x4 Heartful Ale, Fundy DT
x4 Duo Gran Pasturn, Syanon CT
x4 Duo Pride Crown, Madeira CT
x4 Duo Tropical Healer, Mejelda HT
Grade 1
x4 Duo Afternoon Tea, Parana
x3 Apprentice Idol, Karen
x3 Mermaid Idol, Felucca
x4 PRISM-Duo Aria
Grade 2
x4 Duo Mini Hat, Rhone
x4 Duo Kelpie Jockey, Syrdarya
x3 Duo White Ice Crystal, Rikka
Grade 3
x4 Duo Temptation, Ried
x4 Duo True Sister, Mare

Captain: Kakao
Deck Name: Kagerou
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x2 Blue-ray Dracokid CT
x2 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x1 Lizard Soldier, Goraha CT
x1 Demonic Dragon Mage, Abarara CT
x1 Dragon Monk, Genjo HT
x1 Dragon Dancer, Therese HT
x1 Seal Dragon, Sharting HT
x1 Dragon Dancer, Barbara HT
x4 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x1 Seal Dragon, Artpique DT
x1 Seal Dragon, Biera CT
Grade 1
x4 Nouvelle Roman Dragon
x2 Dragon Dancer, Maria
x1 Wyvern Guard, Barri
x1 Seal Dragon, Rinocross
x3 Calamity Tower Wyvern
x3 Dragon Monk, Gojo
Grade 2
x4 Nouvelle Critique Dragon
x4 Berserk Dragon
x2 Dragonic Burnout
Grade 3
x3 Dauntless Drive Dragon
x2 Dragonic Overlord (BT15/004)
Grade 4
x4 Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague

News: Requiem at Dusk to Introduce "Abyss" Shadow Paladins, Sacred Regalia and Nouvelle Take Spotlight in Vanguard Festival Team Tournament

The latest poster leaks from Japan have named both VG-EB11: Requiem at Dusk's and VG-EB12: Waltz of the Goddess' dual cover cards, hinting at the identities of an anticipated quartet of new units for the Shadow Paladin and Genesis clans. Shadow Paladin's new Legion pair, Blaster Dark Revenger "Abyss" (ブラスター・ダーク・撃退者 “Abyss” Burasutaa Daaku Ribenjaa “Abyss”) and Revenger Phantom Blaster "Abyss" (撃退者 ファントム・ブラスター “Abyss” Ribenjaa Fantomu Burasutaa “Abyss”) are named after an epithet for the original Phantom Blaster Dragon, the "Abyssal Dragon" (奈落竜 Narakuryuu also given as "Dragon of Hell.") The Abyss motif had previously been used for the Revengers in TD10 where 奈落の撃退者 was translated as "Purgatory Revenger" and referred to that trial deck's break ride, Mordred Phantom.

With Abyss-specific support expected to come out of the set along with the new Revenger cards, Blaster "Abyss" is currently set up to be the most supported Shadow Paladin boss in the clan's history, drawing simultaneously from four different subclans with its name alone.

A similar poster for EB12 has identified that set's Legion pair as Regalia of Destiny Norn (運命の神器ノルン Unmei no Jingi Norun) and Regalia of the Cosmos CEO Yggdrasil (宇宙の神器CEOユグドラシル Uchuu no Jingi CEO Yugodorashiru.) The paired units draw their origins from Norse mythology, where Norn was the tripartite goddess of fate, and Yggdrasil was the world tree that Norse cosmology was built around. Yggdrasil has been previously named in Genesis' card lores as both the CEO of Genesis and a goddess of Neo Nectar, and has been implied to have some connection to Cray's own world tree.

The character was previously alluded to in Jupiter's card lore and in the November 2013 issue of Monthly Bushiroad, where Yggdrasil was Genesis' CEO and working in secret with Hexagonal Magus, the acting head of Oracle Think Tank during Amaterasu's absence.

In other news, the fan-run Second Petit Vanguard Festival (第二回プチヴァンガ祭 Dai-Ni-Kai Puchi Vanga Matsuri) team tournament has just concluded in Japan, with a team of Sacred Regalia, Monarch Sanctuary-Zenith and Nouvelle Vague cardfighters taking first place. The triples tournament was named after Bushiroad's ongoing Vanguard Festival events, humorously rebranding itself as the "Petit" Festival rather than the official "Great" Festival to distinguish between the two.

Second place went to a team made up of Nouvelle Vague, Gancelot-Holy Shine Dragon and Omega Glendios fighters, with the Glendios fighter focusing on aggressive beatdown tactics rather than on their alternate win condition. The tournament finals were Regalia vs Nouvelle, Liberator vs Liberator and Nouvelle vs Glendios. Decklists are forthcoming. In all the Petit Festival had a turnout of 108 cardfighters divided into 36 teams, and the total deck makeup of the tournament is given below;

The Second Petit Vanguard Festival Clan Breakdown
3 Dragonic Overlord
1 Dauntless Dominate Dragon "Я"
22 Dragonic Nouvelle Vague
8 Shadow Paladin
21 Star-vader, "Omega" Glendios
5 Aqua Force
2 Neo Nectar
15 Bermuda Triangle
10 Gold Paladin
4 Pale Moon
1 Blau
8 Genesis
2 Brawler
5 Seeker
1 Other Royal Paladin

The Second Petit Festival represented the professional debut of Brawler and Seeker decks in Japan, the trial decks for which were just released yesterday. Although BT16 support is still a month away, the Legion abilities of Wingal Seeker and Skyhowl Dragon have proven sufficient to stand on their own in the new format. Notably, there were also no Eradicator decks in the tournament,  and strong support for both Omega Glendios and the new Duo builds as competitors against Nouvelle Vague.

News: March 2nd Broadcast Explains Legion Mechanic, Raizers and Musketeers to See Support in BT16

Following the end of Link Joker earlier today Bushiroad aired a special broadcast on NicoNico Douga, discussing the upcoming Legion Mate season and some of the card mechanics therein. The program was introduced by Doctor O, with the anime being addressed by the voices of Sendou Aichi and Kai Toshiki, Yonaga Tsubasa and Satou Takuya; Satou confirmed for the fans that Kai will be the main protagonist of Legion Mate, and to Yonaga's distress that Aichi will be disappearing during the season.

When things came back to Doctor O, the viewers were treated to two jumbo-sized replicas of the upcoming TD14: Seeker of Hope cards. The deck's key grade 2, Blaster Blade Seeker, is a variation on the established field control formula. Like the traditional Blaster Blade he can retire a grade 2 or greater rearguard, but this is only when placed on a rearguard circle and costs just a single counterblast as opposed to past incarnations' two. Blade Seeker may require a Seeker vanguard to do so, but this is difficult to confirm from NND's low resolution.

What really drew surprise from the broadcast's 18,000 viewers was the explanation of the new Legion Mate mechanic and the skill of Seeker, Sacred Wingal. Sacred Wingal's Activate skill is not a limit break, but instead activates Legions it to Blaster Blade Seeker by matching up their Legion icons. Wingal can pay a cost of shuffling four units from the drop zone into the deck, to become joined with Blade Seeker as one unit with a total base power of 20000. Wingal's autoskill then triggers at the moment that it has been Legioned, letting it superior call a grade 2 or greater Seeker from the deck.

How exactly Legion Mate interacts with established mechanics is unknown. Legion units becoming a 20000 power base during their own turn was described as a typical attribute of the Legion Mate mechanic, so presumably most if not all Legion cards for this upcoming season will be a base 11000 grade 3 and base 9000 grade 2.

Interestingly, the introduction of Legion Mate may mark either an end or shaky coexistence with limit break; addressing the longstanding issue of the game's pace becoming more oriented around being at 4 damage over time, the only condition observed on Legion Mate skills is the ability to have a Mate on the field. Legion activates when a vanguard and rearguard with paired Legion icons are matched up, which gives their cardfighter greater freedom of choice on when to use skills, and rewards successful timing for using Legion Mate when the opponent is already at higher damage by giving them innately greater power to work with. Conversely, using Legion too early wastes a skill that can only be used as many times as the Mate unit can be played from the hand.

Doctor O revealed several different upcoming pairs of Legion units, including those from Brawler of Friendship and an alternate set of Legion cards from Seeker of Hope, but what drew the most excitement were the units from VG-BT16: Legion of Dragons and Blades. Nova Grappler will be receiving a pair of Raizer units with the new mechanic to round out their build, while Neo Nectar will start the season off with paired Musketeer units.

Additionally, Doctor O assured everyone that Tokura Misaki will also be returning with Legion cards, much to the relief of her voice actor, Kitta Izumi. What clan she will be using is unknown. Many fans are clamoring for her to return to Oracle Think Tank while others have suggested she stay with Genesis, but neither clan is currently scheduled to be supported by BT16.

The program was closed out by Morishima Shuuta, voice of Shin Nitta, who asked the audience to help him with the cheer "Ride the Vanguard!" The cards covered by the NND conference will be given better coverage in the upcoming seventh issue of Monthly Bushiroad magazine. A recording of the broadcast will go up tomorrow.

3/3/2013 Update: The broadcast has been uploaded to YouTube. Highlights include an explanation of the Legion mechanic at the 22 minute mark, Blaster Blade Seeker and Sacred Wingal's debut at 23:37 as well as the introduction of Raizer and Musketeer support from 28:19 on.

News: Kai Toshiki to Play Royal Paladin for Legion Mate, Team League 2014 Regional & Continental Dates

The cover characters for the fourteenth and fifteenth trial decks broke early this morning, confirming fans' initial speculations about the direction of the Cardfight!! Vanguard franchise's fourth chapter, Legion Mate. VG-TD14: Seeker of Hope features cards that will be used by Kai Toshiki in the anime, while VG-TD15: Brawler of Friendship will instead feature Ishida Naoki's units. The news was first leaked through promotional posters sent to card shops, with official images replacing their placeholder equivalents on the Japanese portal soon after. The promotional posters also advertised Legion as a new mechanic, each showing off two new cards united by the same crossing of swords symbol used in Legion Mate's official logo. Moreover, a set of promo cards have given some indication of what the new mechanic may look like.

Set to be released on April 26th and 27th as part of this year's Great Vanguard Festival, the promos are new first vanguards for for Narukami and Royal Paladin intended to work alongside the trial decks' new cards. In addition to their basic Forerunner skills, Brawler Fighting Dracokid (喧嘩屋 ファイティング・ドラコキッド) and Vanguard Seeker File (先陣の探索者ファイル) have Legion-centric skills. File's skill activates automatically; when the vanguard gets "Legion" he can move into the soul to superior call a Blaster Blade Seeker from the deck. Dracokid instead has to be activated in the main phase. By moving into the soul, Dracokid gives the vanguard a skill that when an opponent's frontrow rearguard is put into the drop zone and the vanguard has "Legion," his fighter can counterblast 1 and retire an opponent's unit on the same column as the retired card. The way that these cards are worded defines Legion as a quality any unit can have or have taken away, like Twin Drive!! or Boost, but also specifies particular benefits for the vanguard receiving it, and these units also give Legion a specific icon in the shape of a shield made up of crossed swords like that shown in other promotional materials.

Note that since neither promo card is subclan or clan dependent, they do not necessarily have to be used with Brawler or Seeker vanguards, or even units of the same clan. All they require is that the vanguard have Legion. Currently it's presumed that Blaster Blade Seeker will have an on-call retire skill like past incarnations of Blaster Blade, and because File exchanges himself for a copy of Blade Seeker while Fighting Dracokid does not give anything but a retire skill, the cards are balanced around the idea that Dracokid causes the user to lose one card in advantage while the opponent's loses two where File does not cost card advantage and in exchange the Seeker he calls can only take away one card. If multiple retire skills can be triggered in one turn however, Dracokid can snowball more effectively by retiring two cards on his own in addition to what was accomplished with other skills. Furthermore, putting him in the soul can contribute towards Rising Phoenix's soulblast-to-draw skill. These extended combos specifically depend on being able to access other retire skills for less than 2 counterblast in the first place however, could not function with break ride skills due to the timing involved and can only last for a single turn.

Accounting for how posters have advertised Legion as connecting two cards, the contiguous Blade Seeker and Sacred Wingal artwork, a similar design pattern for Skybeat and Skyhowl Dragon, and the literal reading of Legion's kanji 双闘 as "fighting as a pair," Legion itself seems to be built on the idea of tagging two cards together to work at once. Thus the mechanic both enables the abilities of certain cards as with File and Fighting Dracokid, and can be made useful on its own. The fact that Legion has to be received to use it at all suggests that there are restrictions on when and how many times a unit may get Legion per game.

In international news, the upcoming Team League 2014 has had some of its terminology modified. What were previously identified as national championships are now being called regional championships, and what were called regionals are now being referred to as continental championships. This answers some of the confusion surrounding the idea that League 2014 was previously touting, that the national tournaments for each country would serve as qualifiers for regionals, which to many veteran fighters sounds like a paradoxical inversion of the established tournament structure; qualifying for a smaller event at a larger one. With the change in terminology has also come the dates for the upcoming tournaments, with regionals picking up in April and lasting through July while the continental tournaments will be in July. Specific dates can be found on the official Cardfight portal.

Team League 2014 is a triples format for the English-language Cardfight!! Vanguard TCG, with each team taking the side of either the Cray Defenders protecting the planet from attack or the Void Invaders seeking to conquer it with the otherworldly power of Lock and Reverse. Invader teams are required to play either with Link Joker or "Яeverse" cards empowered by the Void, while Defender teams are banned from using these cards and must fight back with their natural abilities.