105 more locations added to English Demo Caravan

The total number of participating locations in the 2018 Cardfight!! Vanguard Demo Caravan for the English format has been raised to 282, bringing the number of locations closer to the promised 300. Just two days ago that number was down at 127. The expanded lineup of shops includes many of the major locations on the American west coast and midwest that make up vital stretches of Vanguard's US market. Singapore, Bushiroad's international headquarters, remains curiously unattended.

Although the Caravan nominally begins May 29th, many locations are not holding their events until July and August or later--long after the launch of the first Trial Decks, Booster Set, and even after Extra Booster 1's launch on August 2nd. Other shops report not having been put on the list despite having their times already confirmed with Bushiroad; once again, readers are encouraged to contact their local store to ask about Caravan dates and times.

Kagerо̄ Start Decks being given out at Spring Fest 2018

Beginning with the Brussels and Anaheim Team League tournaments on May 12th, the English edition Crested Dragon Start Decks are being distributed at Bushiroad Spring Fest 2018 events. These are the first legal cards of the Standard format; the equivalent Royal Paladin Start Deck will be distributed to card shops beginning May 29th for use in the international Demo Caravan. So far the decks are being given out on both days of each event, even when day 2 doesn't otherwise involve Cardfight!! Vanguard.

English Demo Caravan to begin May 29th

The English-language Cardfight!! Vanguard portal updated Tuesday with the first dates for the international Demo Caravan. Set to span over 300 locations worldwide, currently just 87 locations have been listed for the United States, with more to be posted in the coming weeks. The event will take place from May 29th to July 29th, with dates varying by location. Participants will receive a free Stardrive Dragon Start Deck; its Crested Dragon counterpart has not yet been announced for English distribution.

In addition to the 87 listings for the United States, 26 locations are listed for Europe, and 14 for Asia-Oceania. Several of Bushiroad's biggest markets are missing from the demo list, including much of the American west coast and midwest, as well as their English headquarters in Singapore. In Japan the caravan attracted over 12,000 participants within its first three weeks, finally coming to a close on April 30th. The Japanese Start Decks came with vanilla Blaster Blade promotional cards, but the English Caravan seems to instead feature Buddyfight, Weiss Schwarz, and Dragoborne promo cards.

The chase cards out of the Start Deck are the alternate-skill prints of Sage of the Arts Jauron and Stardrive Dragon, which some prefer over their Trial Deck equivalents. Although the Start Deck cards do not have the V-series symbol, they are legal under Standard format thanks to a special rule that treats them as V-series cards. For collectors, the Start Decks are currently the only available prints of Aggregate Knight Firno and Wyvern Strike Agaruda.

Final cards out of Trial Decks 01 and 02

The official card data for Trial Deck 01: Sendou Aichi and Trial Deck 02: Kai Toshiki was published during the previous weekend's Great Vanguard Festival.

The grade 1 perfect guard Strong Knight Rounoria is still a 7000 power base, as is Guard Griffon. The trigger units are confirmed to not have effects in the Trial Decks, and remain 5k bases.

The most important takeaway from this is that the Start Deck perfect guards remain interchangeable with their Trial Deck counterparts, though both of these clans are likely to run at least a mix of grade 1 and grade 0 perfect guards come BT01, if not go full-Iseult and Barri.

Next issue of Monthly Bushiroad to come with Star Drive deck

The June issue of Monthly Bushiroad magazine will contain a 50-card Stardrive Dragon Start Deck featuring an alternate artwork Knight of Silence Gallatin, to match the Nehalem alternate artwork Crested deck distributed last month. The June issue will go on store shelves in Japan May 5th, 2018.

The Stardrive and Crested Dragon decks consist primarily of alternate versions of cards from the upcoming V-Trial Decks. Although some of these cards are deliberately inferior versions of the TD units, with lower base powers or more costly skills, some like the titular boss cards are arguably better than their Trial Deck counterparts. Both the Start Deck and Trial Deck cards are legal for play in Standard format thanks to a special rule, even though SD cards do not have the V-series marker that normally indicates valid Standard cards.

Today's Card Analysis: Crested & Stardrive Dragons

The Japanese cards of the day for April 27th are the supporting grade 3s from V-Trial Deck 01: Sendou Aichi and 02: Kai Toshiki, Stardrive Dragon and Crested Dragon. Longtime cardfighters will remember these from the Stardrive and Crested Flash Decks distributed prior to the game's actual launch in early 2011, and these cards have served much the same purpose in the rebooted Cardfight!! Vanguard as the headliners for the Start Decks distributed during the worldwide Demo Caravans. (To be held in June for the English format.) The Trial Deck versions of these cards differ significantly from their Start Deck counterparts, and both versions will be legal under the Standard rules, so which should you run?

Crested Dragon
AUTO [Rearguard Circle]: When it attacks a vanguard, if the number of your opponent's rearguards is 3 or less, this unit gets Power +5000 until end of battle.

Stardrive Dragon
AUTO [Rearguard Circle]: When it attacks a vanguard, if the number of your rearguards is 3 or greater, this unit gets Power +5000 until end of battle.

Appropriately for Royal Paladin and Kagerо̄, the new Stardrive and Crested Dragons are essentially inversions of each another's conditions, with Stardrive gaining power based on increasing your own rearguards and Crested gaining it based on reducing the opponent's. Their SD incarnations instead gained just 3k power, but those versions were active in both vanguard and rearguard circles, and both required their fighter to have three or more rearguards in play.

The 5k power bonus means that the new cards can swing for 18 alone, which meets the base requirement to force the opponent to guard with 10k shield. (13 being the normal base power for a grade 3 vanguard in Standard.) With as low as a 5k boost these cards can go for 23k and force a guard with a Critical Trigger or better, but the problem is reaching the stage after 23. 28k is the threshold at which rearguard columns become truly threatening in the Standard format, and the only way for these cards to reach that threshold is with Allen, Marron, Gojo, or Auspice Falcon. These cards each have skills capable of powering up either themselves or these attackers, bringing them in the range of 28~29k. Without these specific units, there isn't a tangible difference between the SD and TD versions of these cards, as virtually any booster will make a 23 column with the Start Deck versions.

No matter which version is your preference, they each have the Force icon, granting you another instance of a continuous +10k during your turn to a circle of your choice--for the rest of the game. That brings us to an important issue with these cards; they contradict the goals of your deck.

In the new format, the ideal play strategy is to continuously ride another grade 3 every turn from the first moment possible, gaining another instance of your clan's Imaginary Gift to further strengthen your board and force additional guard from the opponent. (Or in the case of Protect, progressing another step on the long road towards an unbreakable defense.) Playing grade 3s with a Gift to the rearguard directly contradicts the ideal flow of Standard decks. Vortex Dragon and Gigantech Charger can get away with it because these cards don't have Force, and as a trade-off are capable of a much higher maximum threshold of power than Crested or Star Drive, with Vortex getting 5k every time you use Bahr, Burj, Berserk Dragon, or Spillover, and Gigantech getting 10k on-place or when you ride.

What this means in the long run is that the Start Deck versions are preferable because these at least can make a power difference on the vanguard circle with base 7k grade 1s or with vanguard-specific boosters like Miru Biru. The Trial Deck equivalents are vanilla 13ks on vanguard, and if you were going to run them for their rearguard boost then you would find better versions of that strategy waiting in BT01. (For $0.50 and $0.25 per card, at that!)

At the end of the day, the Start Deck vs Trial Deck version debate won't have long to live. The Trial Decks hit June 8th for the English format, and we move on to BT01 format just 22 days later. By then multiple new grade 3s will have likely swept all this under the rug. But for those 22 days, it's probably best to switch these units out for their Start Deck prints.

With these two cards out of the way, we have one final set of uncertainties regarding the Trial Decks; whether or not the grade 1 perfect guards will differ from their Start Deck counterparts, and if any of the triggers will be effect triggers.

The previous Japanese card of the day was Bellicosity Dragon.

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 Booster Set of the Standard format, V-BT 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.

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.

More than 12000 people have participated in the Vanguard Spring Caravan

Uploaded by @hasetch_tenchou.

Bushiroad reports that the Cardfight!! Vanguard Spring Caravan has been demoed by more than 12000 people at 158 stores across Japan since its inception in March. The number of participants is likely to double by the time the Caravan concludes on the 30th, by which time over 300 stores will have hosted demo events for the Standard format.

The equivalent English events are stated to start in June, closer to the launch of the Trial Decks.

A newly-opened carton of Start Decks given out to card shops. Uploaded by @nextonenabari.

The Spring Caravan is a unique opportunity for new fighters to learn the ropes of the Standard format, and walk away with a free Start Deck. The Stardrive Dragon deck was given out between March 16th and April 6th, while after today shops will begin distributing the Crested Dragon deck. Both Start Decks come with a vanilla Blaster Blade promotional card. Those that complete the workshop also receive a commemorative certificate featuring Kai Toshiki welcoming them to the world of Vanguard. Bushiroad last reported around 5000 participants by March 24th.

Uploaded by cfvanguard_PR.

V-Trial Deck 01: Sendou Aichi and V-Trial Deck 02: 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 Booster Set of the Standard format, 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. 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.