Novas take down OTT in Inaba VGCS finals video, tournament made up of 35% Oracle Think Tank cardfighters

Early yesterday morning the 2nd Inaba VGCS crowned Nova Grappler cardfighter Hyoga its champion, marking the first big win for the clan in the V-BT01 format. Previously the highest Nova Grappler had placed was second at the TraCaider VGCS, the day after the first booster set launched. The finals were livestreamed over TwitCast, and recordings can be viewed below, along with decklists for the top cut.

Deck breakdown (68 participants)
24 Oracle Think Tank
20 Kagerо̄
15 Royal Paladin
9 Nova Grappler

Grand finals saw Hyoga face off with Suga, playing Oracle Think Tank; the fight for third-place was also a Nova versus Oracle match, Bonba against Rizu. Suga previously made fourth at last week's Sukacat VGCS team tournament. These matches saw the most-played clan of the tournament and of the format going up against the least-played, which makes Hyoga's triumph all the more surprising.

Illustration used for the Inaba VGCS playmat.

Although originally set to have five 30-minute preliminary rounds of Swiss pairings, in the days leading up to the tournament fighters voted to reduce match time by five minutes and gain a sixth round of Swiss. After the final Swiss round, the top 16  cardfighters progressed to a best-of-three top cut with hour-long matches. In addition to paper pairings, pairings were posted online using the same TCGMeister software used in Bushiroad's official tournaments since 2015. Rather than player numbers, the pairings were done using player names.

Hyoga won a 500 Gigabyte PlayStation 4 and Inaba VGCS playmat, Suga won five booster boxes of V-Booster Set 01: Unite! Team Q4 and an Inaba VGCS playmat, Rizu won four boxes and the playmat, Bonba won three boxes and the playmat, and the rest of top 8 received the playmat alone.

In game 1 of Grand Finals Suga (right) failed to G Assist from grade 1 to grade 2 twice, doing his best to mitigate the issue by riding Circle Magus over Circle Magus to proc her on-ride skill and filter for his grade 2 ride, using Luck Bird to utilize the extra soul. Unfortunately Suga never made it to grade 3 for game 1, having already been pushed to a high damage threshold early.

In game 2 Suga once again had to G Assist, this time from 0 to 1, but was able to push Hyoga to 4 damage before he got to Perfect Raizer, derailing his gameplan. (See below.) That translated to Suga's second Imperial Daughter turn eventually becoming fatal, as Hyoga could one-pass the 27k 2 crit vanguard but couldn't guard a 29k Promise Daughter-Luck Bird column.

Game 3 saw Suga opening strong, riding Circle Magus, getting out Luck Bird and two Promise Daughters for 15k attackers, but Hyoga was able to tip the balance of the game back in his favor after the two were tied up 2-2 in damage. Having a full front row of +5k attackers, he was able to poke Suga to 5 damage before even riding to Amaterasu. In general Hyoga drew incredibly well this game, seeing almost his entire Battledore Fighter playset.

Going into his CEO turn Suga attempted to play counterblast control to outlast his opponent, swinging at Hyoga's rearguards to leave him at 3 damage with only 1 open counterblast. Hyoga responded by calling Transraizer next turn to countercharge, allowing him to use Perfect Raizer's skill again to get in fifth and sixth attacks that put Suga into an unrecoverable position wherein he had to use his entire 10-card hand and only intercept to defend that turn. Even at this point, the game was only decided once Suga began damage checking on the turn after--with only a single 5k shield left in hand, Suga would not have been able to survive were it not for the Front Trigger he damage checked. That trigger put his Perfect Raizer up to 22, while Promise Daughter was only 24 boosted, just barely enough for Hyoga to pull through the turn. (Promise Daughter's skill was not active, as Suga only had 3 cards in hand after Twin Drive.)

(Note that while it may look like Suga won game 3 at first, this is only because the camera dropped below Hyoga's damage earlier--Hyoga was at 3 when Suga drive checked that crit, and Suga scooped. It was clear his last attack couldn't connect that turn, nor could he guard six to seven attacks the turn after, nor damage check enough heals to survive.)

Ultimately what Suga needed to do was call a booster for Circle Magus on his very first turn, so that Hyoga couldn't no-pass him with a single Front and would be forced into being at 3 damage on the turn of his Perfect Raizer ride. In the long term the only thing it would change for Hyoga's gameplan would be not needing to use Transraizer, opening up Rocket Hammer Man for use, but on Suga's end it would have disrupted his opponent's low-damage strategy and put them into a defensive position.

1st Place: Hyoga (Match record 8-1)

Hyoga went 11-2 against Kagerо̄, Oracle Think Tank, Royal Paladin, OTT, Nova Grappler, and Kagerо̄ (loss) in Swiss, then Kagerо̄ (2-0) OTT (2-0) and OTT (2-1) in the top cut. His list is unusual for running only one copy of Raizer Custom, while virtually every other Nova Grappler deck runs the card as a 4-of staple. His trigger lineup--5 Draw 7 Front--is in line with the week 2 average for the clan. The use of Hero support follows a general trend favoring Rocket Hammer Man and Cup Bowler over running Burst Raizer, as RHM enables Cup Bowler, who doubles as a second set of Iron Killers.

Hyoga published a blog post earlier today explaining his general strategy, which is summarized here;

• His goal with the deck is to use the power boosts to consistently demand 15k shield with his Accel attackers while demanding just 5k with the regular rearguards.
• Since it's generally impossible to win without taking a Waterfall, Victorious Deer, or Soul Saver turn, controlling both yours and the opponent's damage as much as possible is essential, preferably never going past 3 on your side.
• Battledore Fighter, Cup Bowler, Iron Killer, and Jetraizer are the deck's Accel attackers; they each swing for the equivalent of 23k power on an Accel circle, with Battledore demanding 5k more shield if the opponent is an Accel or Protect deck.
• Rocket Hammer Man is run purely for being an 8k grade 1 with the "Hero" race name, to get Cup Bowler live. Very rarely he boosts Cup Bowler with it, but the deck does not have the soul to spare.
• Transraizer is run solely to be a vanguard booster, to countercharge 1 before using Perfect Raizer a second time. This is how the deck executes its endgame strategy without taking more than 3 damage.
• The tech Raizer Custom is useful in the OTT matchup and not so much anywhere else. Originally it was at 4, but there's no opportunity to use it against Kagerо̄ opponents.

Hyoga also addressed specific matchups in his post:

• The Royal Paladin matchup is neutral, the overall plan is to be at 2 or less damage when you ride to grade 3. When going first, attack twice on your grade 2 turn, 3 times if your vanguard can demand 15k shield to stop. As long as you can get past the Soul Saver turn, you can win. When going second, just attack unboosted each turn until you ride Perfect Raizer. [To deny them counterblast.] If you draw Transraizer on your grade 2 turn you can call it, otherwise just go it solo. Once you've deployed your Accel circles, graze them to death with 6 attacks.
• The Oracle Think Tank matchup is very positive, the plan is to be at 3 or less the second time they ride Imperial Daughter. When going first, if you can get fill out your front row and Accel attackers it's a clear win, but they'll attempt to use Amaterasu and Sotoorihime to hang on. When going second, start swinging twice at your first opportunity, bearing in mind that every damage you give them is another card in their hand.
• The Kagerо̄ matchup is "the end of the world" (世界の終わり sekai no owari) and the goal is to be at 2-3 damage on the turn they hit you with Overlord. When going first, in order to stop Berserk Dragon from going off stick to 1 attack per turn until you ride to grade 3, don't even call boosters. After riding Perfect Raizer, only call front row units to make their Nehalems dead. If the opponent has a bad formation due to Spillover or somesuch, it's okay to drop an 8k behind the vanguard, but even a solo attack will knock off 10k from them. With regard to Overlord and Waterfall, you stop Waterfall through Overlord. Overlord is a valuable means of cutting down Kagerо̄'s resources because it discards 2 to drive check 1--you can let Overlord hit to reduce their hand, then kill them before they can get to their Waterfall turn. When going second, it's ideal to ride Jetraizer to avoid giving them counterblast for Berserk Dragon. Swing at their rearguards to deny them counterblast, keeping them at 0.

Grade 0: 17
x1 Battleraizer (First Vanguard)
x4 Wall Boy (Heal Trigger)
x4 Twin Blader (Draw Trigger)
x1 Three Minutes (Draw Trigger)
x4 Turbo Raizer (Front Trigger)
x3 Cannon Ball (Front Trigger)
Grade 1: 13
x1 Raizer Custom
x4 Jet Raizer
x4 Rocket Hammer Man
x4 Trans Raizer
Grade 2: 12
x4 Hi-powered Raizer Custom
x4 Iron Killer
x4 Cup Bowler
Grade 3: 8
x4 Perfect Raizer
x4 Battledore Fighter

2nd Place: Suga (Match record 6-3)

Suga went 9-6 overall, against OTT, Royal Paladin, Royal Paladin, Kagerо̄, Kagerо̄ (Loss) and Kagerо̄ (loss) in the Swiss rounds, and Kagerо̄ (2-1) Nova Grappler (2-1) and Nova Grappler (1-2) in the top cut.

Compare with Suga's previous list from last week's Sukacat VGCS; they chose to cut 2 Sotoorihime for an extra MeMe and an Onmyoji tech, and switched out a Luck Bird for an additional Mizunohame. They seem to have gotten the idea from Ryo, who went undefeated at Sukacat with an identical list. Onodera also topped with this list this past week at BatoLoco Oyama's weekly shop tournament.

Grade 0: 17
x1 Lozenge Magus (First Vanguard)
x4 Sphere Magus (Heal Trigger)
x4 Weather Forecaster, Miss Mist (Draw Trigger) (Sentinel)
x4 Oracle Guardian, Nike (Critical Trigger)
x4 Psychic Bird (Critical Trigger)
Grade 1: 13
x4 Circle Magus
x4 Farfalle Magus
x3 Goddess of Time's Passing, Mizunohame
x2 Luck Bird
Grade 2: 10
x4 Promise Daughter
x3 Yellow Witch, MeMe
x2 Goddess of Insight, Sotoorihime
x1 Onmyoji of the Moonlit Night
Grade 3: 10
x4 Imperial Daughter
x4 CEO Amaterasu
x2 Victorious Deer

3rd Place: Rizu (Match record 7-2)

Rizu went 9-6 overall, against Royal Paladin (loss) Royals, Royals, Royals, Oracle Think Tank, and OTT in the Swiss rounds, and Kagerо̄ (2-1) Nova Grappler (0-2) and Nova Grappler (2-1) in the top cut.

Note that Rizu also topped Fullcomp Ikebukuro's weekly shop tournament this week, and won one of the Sukacat VGCS's playmat sub-tournaments last Sunday, using the same list in both tournaments.

Grade 0: 17
x1 Lozenge Magus (First Vanguard)
x4 Sphere Magus (Heal Trigger)
x4 Weather Forecaster, Miss Mist (Draw Trigger) (Sentinel)
x4 Oracle Guardian, Nike (Critical Trigger)
x4 Psychic Bird (Critical Trigger)
Grade 1: 13
x4 Circle Magus
x4 Farfalle Magus
x3 Luck Bird
x2 Oracle Guardian, Gemini
Grade 2: 10
x4 Promise Daughter
x4 Goddess of Insight, Sotoorihime
x2 Silent Tom
Grade 3: 10
x4 Imperial Daughter
x4 CEO Amaterasu
x2 Victorious Deer

4th Place: Bonba (Overall record 6-3)

Bonba went 9-6 overall, facing Nova Grappler, Royal Paladin, Oracle Think Tank, OTT, Novas (loss) and OTT in the Swiss rounds, then going up against Royals (2-1) OTT (1-2) and OTT (1-2) in the top cut.

Top 8: Hanpen (Overall record 5-2)

Hanpen went up against Oracle Think Tank, Royal Paladin (loss) Royals, Royals, OTT, and OTT in Swiss, then was eliminated 0-2 in round 1 of the top cut versus Nova Grappler.

Grade 0: 17
x1 Lizard Runner, Undeux (First Vanguard)
x4 Dragon Monk, Genjo (Heal Trigger)
x4 Wyvern Guard, Barri (Draw Trigger)
x2 Red Gem Carbuncle (Draw Trigger)
x4 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr (Critical Trigger)
x2 Demonic Dragon Berserker, Yakshasa (Critical Trigger)
Grade 1: 12
x4 Flame of Hope, Aermo
x4 Embodiment of Armor, Bahr
x4 Lizard Soldier, Raopia
Grade 2: 13
x4 Berserk Dragon
x4 Spillover Dragon
x3 Embodiment of Shield, Lahm
x2 Flames of Destruction, Verti
 Grade 3: 8
x4 Dragonic Waterfall
x4 Dragonic Overlord

The VGCS tournaments are a series of unofficial tournaments organized by fans and cardshops in Japan. Unlike Bushiroad's official tournaments, most VGCS events are done using a best-of-three, Swiss tournament model. Turnout is typically 70-80 persons, but some events see 100 or more participants, all of whom compete using pseudonyms and net handles rather than their real names as in official events.

First tournament videos of Standard: Card Place tournament finals, Kagerо̄ vs OTT and Royal Paladin vs Kagerо̄

The Oita branch of Japanese card shop Card Place uploaded the final games from its two Standard-format unofficial shop tournaments, both held on May 26th, 2018. These videos are the first tournament videos of the Standard format, although they are best-of-one. The above video features Kanari (left) playing Kagerо̄ versus Gamarin (right) playing Oracle Think Tank, while the video below covers Kawanobe (left) playing Royal Paladin versus Shuugo (right) playing Kagerо̄. Decklists are at the bottom of the page.

Of note is that despite otherwise playing the game well, Gamarin misunderstands Imperial Daughter's on-ride skill at the 11:46 mark, looking at the top 2 cards of the deck and adding one card to soul and stacking one on top of the deck. In reality, Imperial Daughter adds one of those cards to hand and the other to either soul or top of deck, so he should have put the Gemini into his hand rather than to soul. It ultimately doesn't change much because of the game ending shortly thereafter--he soulblasts the Gemini as part of Luck Bird's cost, but could have blasted any of the other 4 for the cost even if Gemini weren't in soul.

In this match, Gamarin hits all of the major beats of his deck; he rides Circle Magus, opens on Amaterasu so he has an overall lead in card advantage throughout, then transitions to Imperial Daughter for his endgame. Meanwhile Kanari is hurt both by having to G Assist to grade 3 and by how Gamarin's units counter his own plays. Promise Daughter's inability to be retired for the opponent's card effects stops Kanari cold on his grade 3 turn, as it blocks Waterfall's on-ride skill, and the turn before that Promise Daughter's +6k forced Kanari to take a damage he clearly didn't want, giving the lead to Gamarin.

Because he can't retire anything with Waterfall, Kanari's Gabiya column becomes just 15k rather than 25, and his Raopia 8 instead of 13, preventing him from poking with Raopia and then forcing a damage with Gabiya. Kanari failing to ride Overlord deprives him of his midgame and makes him waste a ride on a vanilla Force turn that doesn't develop his overall strategy, putting him in a significantly worse position. For Gamarin's part, successfully powering up CEO three times with Farfalle and her own skill pushes his opponent to go to 5 first, while also stacking a crit on top with Farfalle that almost ends the game outright. Silent Tom ends up only swinging for 37 vs a 33k vanguard, but it still forces a 15k shield because of Tom's effect blocking normal unit guardians, wasting Kanari's resources. For the finale Gamarin chooses to let Dragonic Overlord hit when could easily stopped the first swing, so that Kanari would discard 2 cards for a single drive check and reduce his own hand size.

In general, Kanari seemed less familiar with his opponent's card effects going into the match than Gamarin was with his; he didn't know Imperial Daughter couldn't be retired, nor about her power gain, both things which cost him early on. He also chose to snipe a Tom with Berserk Dragon rather than one of the boosters, when already-called Toms are mostly dead in Standard for only hitting 17k on their own.

For Kawanobe versus Shuugo, Kawanobe's hand doesn't let him hit the ideal Royal rides, forcing him to open on Soul Saver Dragon and be put in the unusual position of transitioning from SSD to King of Knights after using his Holy Charging Roar turn to force Shuugo to 5. Meanwhile Shuugo begins with the intended open of Dragonic Overlord and forces Kawanobe to perfect guard early with Overlord's 31k on-hit pressure, but misplays by first calling a rearguard Dragonic Overlord and attacking with it.

In the first place, calling that Overlord is the reason he's unable to get another Force Gift on the next turn as it would be too early to ride Waterfall even if he had it, and he doesn't have a third Overlord waiting in hand to ride. Second, Shuugo saw his opponent drive check a Draw Trigger perfect guard back on Kawanobe's first turn and should have anticipated Overlord being guarded. Swinging with the vanguard first would let him put the crit on the rearguard, potentially evening the pace of damage.

Akane ensures Kawanobe can hit his target soul count by turn 4, and a second Akane in hand actually opened the possibility of a Holy Charging Roar on the first ride at the 3 minute mark. Kawanobe rightfully held back until his opponent was at a damage count where the 30k power boost would matter, choosing to play conservatively because going second already gave him the damage lead he needed and Shuugo wasn't doing anything to outpace him. This second Akane proves pivotal in enabling him to get off a Roar in the same turn he later used Blaster Blade.

Shuugo makes an interesting play at the 9:55 mark: he attacks a rearguard with Spillover Dragon to power up Bellicosity mid-battle phase, taking out an interceptor and drawing more shield out of Kawanobe. He could have called a booster for Spillover to use its end-of-battle skill and guarantee the retire, but instead played on his opponent not expecting the move while saving himself a 5k shield and counterblast.

Ultimately what does Shuugo in is that Kawanobe is able to scale his field appropriately to set up both Jauron and Blaster Blade as overwhelmingly powerful beaters that stretch Shuugo's hand to its limits when he's already back-to-the-wall at 5 damage. Jauron gets 5k on-attack which makes a 23 column with Pongal and jumps up to 33k with Force, already making Shuugo guard with a Heal and one card more, and Blaster Blade similarly received 5k from King of Knights' skill and a 13k boost from Wingal for 28 total. Kawanobe's trigger checks push Shuugo beyond the threshold he can guard with that turn, making 43 and 38k columns. The match opened with Kawanobe playing offense, and it ended that way.

Gamarin's Oracle Think Tank decklist.

Grade 0: 17
x1 Lozenge Magus (First Vanguard)
x4 Sphere Magus (Heal Trigger)
x4 Weather Forecaster, Miss Mist (Draw Trigger) (Sentinel)
x4 Psychic Bird (Critical Trigger)
x4 Oracle Guardian, Nike (Critical Trigger)
Grade 1: 13
x4 Circle Magus
x2 Farfalle Magus
x3 Oracle Guardian, Gemini
x4 Luck Bird
Grade 2: 12
x4 Silent Tom
x4 Promise Daughter
x4 Goddess of Insight, Sotoorihime 
Grade 3: 8
x3 Imperial Daughter
x3 CEO Amaterasu
x2 Victorious Deer

Compare and contrast Soga Hiroshi's Oracle list.

Kawanobe's Royal Paladin decklist.

Grade 0: 17
x1 Glyme (First Vanguard)
x4 Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine (Heal Trigger)
x4 Flash Shield, Iseult (Draw Trigger)
x4 Bringer of Good Luck, Epona (Critical Trigger)
x4 Flogal (Critical Trigger)
Grade 1: 14
x4 Little Sage, Marron
x3 Knight Squire, Allen
x4 Pongal
x3 Wingal
Grade 2: 11
x4 Blaster Blade
x4 High Dog Breeder, Akane
x3 Sage of the Arts, Jauron
Grade 3: 8
x4 King of Knights, Alfred
x3 Soul Saver Dragon
x1 Alfred Early

Note the differences with Uchida's list. Jauron instead of Conjurer, tech Alfred Early, valuing Wingal over a 12th grade 2.