Character: Sendou Aichi

"I've become stronger, haven't I? But I'm still not there, am I? I have to become even stronger...or you won't recognize me." 
"Stand up, my avatar...Ride! Blaster Blade!"

Sendou Aichi/先導アイチ
Age: 15²
Birthday: June 06²
Blood Type: B²
Voice Actor(s): Yonaga Tsubasa (Japanese)³, James Beach (English)⁴, Jeon Gwang ju(Korean)⁵
Anime Biography: Series protagonist. A somewhat timid, but gentle boy who has been bullied regularly. Four years ago, Aichi had a sudden encounter with Kai Toshiki, who encouraged him to become stronger and more outgoing. Since then Aichi has respected Kai deeply, and made every effort to engage him in a Vanguard fight. Sendou Emi is his sister, and Sendou Shizuka his mother.

The first season's initial episodes focus on Aichi's personal and emotional growth, as he learns to trust in others and stand on his own feet. This is the time at which Aichi makes the most mistakes in the series, as he is still a beginner, and where his primary character flaw of pursuing greater strength without regard to the harm he does to himself first emerges. With prodding from the manager, Nitta Shin, Aichi eventually enters Card Capital's shop tournament and qualifies to enter the Kanto regional competition. Together with Kai, Misaki and Kamui, Aichi forms Team Quadrifoglio to represent his shop.

Spoiler warning: Season 1 details follow.
Despite making it past the Kanto regional, Aichi's team is crushed by the competition at the national tournament, withdrawing with a 1-2 win-loss ratio. It's at this time that Aichi first loses faith in himself and those around him, right as he learns that Kai is a former member of the Foo Fighters--the team which ousted his from the national tournament. AL4's leader, Suzugamori Ren, convinces Aichi that he is the weak link on Q4, and that if he had won even a single match at the nationals, they would have made it through the elimination round.

While Aichi attends the joint training camp between Team Q4 and Team Caesar, his self-doubt lingers. At this point, the Qualia that he first felt at the Kanto regional begins to emerge in earnest, and Aichi starts ceding more and more control of his fights to this mysterious power.

From rides 35-42 Aichi begins a gradual descent. His obsession with power blinds the boy, as he continually slips deeper and deeper into PSY Qualia's promises of strength, while losing sight of why he first sought to grow. Rather than make new friends, Aichi pushes others away. And though in ride 23 he was only receptive to the Qualia of others, able to sense--and feel great pain from--the presence of Suzugamori Ren, by 35 he can "hear the voices of the cards" and is no longer the master of his own deckbuilding. As time goes on Aichi's skill with PSY Qualia develops, until he can foresee strategies and start to torture his opponents with visions of Cray.

 

This power does not come without its drawbacks. PSY Qualia saps Aichi's physical strength, leading to his repeated collapse in the second Kanto regional and Tokyo national.

From rides 43-50 Aichi's relentless pursuit of strength wears on him until it brings the young fighter to his knees. The power of PSY Qualia gradually turns Aichi into a second Suzugamori Ren, until Ren himself is drawn to the boy and accelerates the Qualia's growth by offering Aichi a Shadow Paladin deck. In a vain attempt at securing himself as invincible, Aichi agrees to use the Shadow Paladins in his upcoming national fights, and in doing so sees his team past the elimination round where his Royal Paladins had failed him once before.

In ride 50 Kai finally confronts Aichi with the aid of Kourin and the underground fighters. During this fight, Aichi unleashes all of his rage and solipsism on Kai, making every attempt to torment the man he once admired;

"I've gotten stronger. I'm not the same person that I was long ago. Why? Why won't you understand?! I'm strong! I got strong!"

"Now you'll admit that I've gotten strong, right?! To fight you! Come on, look, Kai! This is my power!"

Surpassing Qualia before the boy's very eyes, Kai breaks Aichi's strategy using his friend's Royal Paladin deck against him. Kai pulls a surprise move by riding what was Aichi's signature card in the manga, Alfred Early, to make Aichi understand that real strength is found in the self and one's friends, not in the abstract supernatural. Realizing that Qualia has only made him weaker, Aichi surrenders and takes back his old deck, reconstructing it to face off with Ren in the national competition.

Aichi approaches Suzugamori Ren during the opening ceremony, attempting to return his old Shadow Paladin deck. With disdain for the separate path Aichi has chosen to walk along with PSY Qualia, Ren casts aside the cards, marking Aichi as his enemy.

On the first day of the final rounds, he pulls off an advanced form of his old Blaster Blade tactics, defeating former national champion Mitsusada "Koutei" Kenji with an Alfred Early ride. Playing his Royal Paladin deck flawlessly, Aichi wins Q4 into the last match against AL4, but that same night is called in by Kourin of Ultra-Rare to witness Kai and Ren's fight at the Foo Fighter HQ.

There Aichi sees Kai floored by Suzugamori's Qualia. In the battle's aftermath, Suiko approaches him with a contract, offering Aichi a choice between a card of darkness and a card of light. Before Aichi can give his answer however, the cards spontaneously converge into Majesty Lord Blaster; Suiko offers no explanation, stating only that she believes this card to befit him.

In the final match Sendou confronts Suzugamori directly, accusing him of making a mistake in rejecting Kai, who had risked himself to reach and save Ren from his wild power. Ren resists Aichi's attempts initially, instead luring him into reawakening his PSY Qualia.

At the moment that Sendou is prepared to show Ren despair, their mutual PSY Qualia finally achieves Ultra-Rare's long standing goal, synchronizing Suzugamori and Sendou's fight on Earth with the ongoing war between Royal and Shadow Paladins on Cray. With Kai's intervention however, Aichi breaks free from his Qualia's grasp once more--only to be left too weak to fight back against Ren, and in question of just who the real Sendou Aichi is.

Unable to guard Phantom Blaster Overlord, Aichi barley scrapes by in the final battle of season 1, pulling a sixth damage heal trigger. In his last turn Majesty responds to the boy, and firming his resolve, Aichi states that he is both the Sendou Aichi who craves power and the Sendou Aichi that rejects power. Turning both light and shadow on Ren, he finishes the battle between them and the war between paladins with Majesty Lord Blaster's skill.

In the ensuing clash, Ren is pulled back to reality. Aichi is crowned Japan's fourth national champion, and following the tournament decides to be the Aichi he always was. After that day, he can no longer feel PSY Qualia. Rather than being bothered by it however, Sendou chooses to fight with his own strength, and not borrowed power.
Spoilers end here.

During Asia Circuit, Aichi reprises his role as the captain of Team Q4. For this season he switches over to the Gold Paladin clan, using the Incandsecent Lion, Blond Ezel and the Great Silver Wolf, Garmore.

Spoiler warning: Asia Circuit details follow.
While teaching a new player the rules of Vanguard, Aichi is suddenly drawn into a vision of Cray. Witnessing firsthand the sealing of the Royal and Shadow Paladins, as well as the Kagerou, when he awakens Aichi finds his deck to have been replaced by a Gold Paladin one. Disoriented, he finds that the rest of his teammates believe that he had always used a Gold Paladin deck.

This sudden change comes just in time for Team Q4 to receive a formal invitation to the Asia Circuit in Singapore, hosted by the Tatsunagi Financial Group. Although devastated by the theft of his deck, Aichi quickly reconciles that he needs to assemble the team and fast. After besting Kamui in a fight, he's able to get his comrade traded from Team Handsome into Q4 for the season, and Misaki agrees to attend immediately. Kai however, resolves to find his own path to Takuto.

In Singapore, Sendou misses his chance to speak with Takuto directly, interrupted by the Tatsunagi spire's security. To his surprise, Kourin of Ultra-Rare is familiar with the company top, and assures Aichi that success in the Circuit will allow him to meet his mysterious stranger. Receiving the Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel as a gift from her, he rebuilds his deck to account for the new card and musters the determination to face the Circuit head-on.

However, Aichi's progress comes to a roaring halt when Tatsunagi Takuto appears before him in his match with Christopher Lo during the tournament finals. Takuto forcibly awakens the two fighters' slumbering Qualia, setting a power-mad Lo on Sendou while Aichi, bewildered and suddenly unfamiliar with Qualia, finds himself unable to rely on the power.

Because of his hesitation, Q4 fails in both Singapore and Seoul, the finals of which are played against Team New AL4. Losing to Suzugamori Ren's revived PSY Qualia and his Spectral Duke Dragon-style Gold Paladins, Sendou is devastated by his loss to his own clan. Spending the following training camp abroad at a resort island, Aichi is advised by Suzugamori to give in to Qualia. However, Ren cautions Aichi that even if he uses the power, he's not guaranteed to win; as Koutei demonstrated versus Ren in Seoul, and as Aichi had in the Japanese finals, PSY Qualia can be surpassed.

Using his old Royal Paladins as inspiration and accepting the Gold Paladins as his comrades rather than as tools, Aichi then constructs a new deck to retrieve his sealed clan with, making its formal debut in Hong Kong.

This ends in failure due to his defeat at the hands of Souryuu Leon, forcing Aichi to reconcile his defeat with what he had learned at the training camp. One more time, Sendou approaches Suiko at the card shop PSY, seeking help from Ultra-Rare in becoming strong enough to pass through the final stage of the Circuit, the Japan stage. Although confident at his strength within his own country, Aichi is nonetheless overcome with doubt from his failures at Singapore, Seoul and Hong Kong, and these doubts manifest in full in his third fight versus Kourin.

Ultimately Aichi defeats her by mastering the Gold Paladin play style, and leaves PSY with a new card handed out to him spontaneously by the shop, seemingly in response to his growth. Aichi then restructures his deck once more, this time redesigning it around two cards; the Incadescent Lion, Blond Ezel that he received from Kourin, and the Blazing Lion, Platina Ezel that willed itself to him.

Following the close of the Japan Stage of the VF Circuit, and the start of the Final Stage, Aichi is able to finally achieve his goal of reaching Takuto. Within moments however, he and the other qualified cardfighters are drawn into a space created by Takuto to connect Earth to the planet Cray. There, Takuto reveals the full extent of his plot. The sealing of the three clans was masterminded by Void, a malevolent force of nothingness which seeks to overtake Cray entirely and wipe out all life. This was done to cripple Cray and prevent it from fighting back, and the plot worked, throwing the once-united planet back into chaos. Just as Suiko once manipulated Aichi and Ren to create individuals with powerful Qualia to put an end to the civil war, without regard to ethics or the sanity of those individuals, Takuto orchestrated the VF Circuit to select for four such individuals to lead Cray out from the chaos and defeat Void.

However, the plan is not perfect. Souryuu Leon, the last heir to the Souryuu family and the legendary savior of both them and Aqua Force, infiltrated the VF Circuit as a double agent for Void. With his wildly-evolved PSY Qualia and mastery of the powers that Void handed to him, Souryuu betrays Tatsunagi, draining him of his own powers and leaving the boy for dead.

When accused of betraying Cray itself, Leon reminds Takuto that the Tatsunagi family is not sinless. Despite later claiming to "trust" the leaders that he selected, Takuto used the VF Circuit winners as pawns just as Leon is now using him. To prevent the total annihilation of his family line and unseal the Aqua Force that had been abandoned by the clans that he is now turning the tide against, Leon is willing to temporarily bend his knee to Void. Encouraging the others to listen to their own wind rather than Takuto himself, Leon makes headway for the end of the constructed space, reinforcing himself with Void's power in preparation to do battle with any who would stand in Void's way.

"The tragedy that once befell the Souryuu people will happen to the entire Earth. The land will rot. The seas will dry up. All of Earth's blessings will be lost. All of life will be robbed of the will to live...Earth will become a planet of death."

With the leaders scattered inside of the space, Sendou consults Takuto for advice. Claiming that Leon's ambition is blinding him and that, should Void complete its journey from Cray to Earth through his space the entire world will feel the Souryuu tragedy, Tatsunagi persuades Aichi to use his Qualia to hunt down Leon and defeat him. Losers are not permitted to exist inside of the path to Cray. To lose a cardfight there is "the same as death," so by exploiting this principle they can stop Leon and confront Void directly.

Aichi agrees to Takuto's plan, and along the way receives guidance from the sealed Blaster Blade, but finds his path obstructed by Chris, whose Qualia has evolved completely beyond his control and left him as the same shell of his former self as Aichi had been late in the first season. To oppose him, Sendou brings out his Blazing Lion crossride and seizes the power of an ultimate break, completely overwhelming Lo and upsetting his "foregone conclusion" just as Kai had once done for Aichi.

While Christopher is brought back to his senses before vanishing from the space, the delay ends in unnecessary casualties. Aichi arrives too late to confront Leon himself, leading Kai and NAL4 to take his place. Despite Kai having his own legendary crossride, Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion "THE BLOOD" to fight with, Leon's Qualia renders himself virtually invincible and brings out Aqua Force's own keystone play. Like Chris, Kai has suffered defeat, and disappears pleading with Aichi to stop Leon.

The fight is an uphill battle for Aichi, with no clear way for either side to take advantage. For every move that he makes, Souryuu has a countermove prepared, and Sendou is forced to call on the power of his PSY Qualia that he had once resisted, to destroy Leon. Just when it seems that the tide would have turned however, with Blaster Blade spontaneously responding to his feelings as the Gold Paladin Blaster Blade Spirit, Souryuu raises up his own trump card: Blue Storm Supreme Dragon, Glory Maelstrom.

Back into a corner and wholly reliant on a heal trigger to bring him through, Aichi turns to the borrowed power of the Gold Paladins and Platina Ezel to finish off Glory Maelstrom, repelling Void from Cray.

In the final stage held the next day, in the finals Aichi once more defeats Christopher Lo, becoming the VF Circuit international champion.
Spoilers end here.

At the start of Link Joker, Aichi transfers into Miyaji Academy for high school, where he finds his hobby put down by peers and teachers alike, who are more concerned with academic studies and issues of globalization than games. Having to cope with being talked down to like a child and unable to find a school club or friends to fit in with, Sendou eventually convinces his classmate Ishida Naoki to try a cardfight with him. Ishida, though initially reluctant, becomes fired up by the game and eventually buys a Narukami trial deck, forming a small bond with Sendou.

Aichi's primary struggle in the third season becomes the distance between himself and his old friends, reverting to his timid personality in an alienating environment like Miyaji, and the relative uselessness of his hobby in comparison to a serious world of academia where most of his classmates are preparing for college rather than playing card games.

Manga Biography: In the manga, Aichi was originally a student along with his sister at Miyaji Academy elementary. He later transferred to Hitsue for middle school after facing severe bullying at Miyaji, and would later go on to meet Kai in Card Capital. While he would meet Misaki and Kamui as in the anime, their shop's spontaneous invasion by the Foo Fighters forces the Card Capital gang to strike back and try to regain Kamui's shop from gang's control.

Spoiler warning: Manga details follow.
While fighting Kyou, one of Ren's underlings, Sendou undergoes a gradual enlightenment in hearing the voices of the cards, and as his newfound powers develop he becomes more ruthless in battle.

Their struggle to stop the Foo Fighters' use of fight gloves, electroshock instruments which torture the user when they take damage, eventually culminates in Kai mounting his own independent counterattack at Suzugamori's apartment. Aichi watches Kai's Dragonic Waterfall suffer defeat at the hands of Phantom Blaster Dragon, and is subsequently drawn into a mirror match with Ren's Shadow Paladin deck. Trying to understand Ren's feelings of hatred and despair, Sendou is eventually able to finish him with a last-minute draw into Exculpate the Blaster, realizing through communication through their Qualia that Suzugamori had been subject to the same sadness and bullying that he himself had been.
Spoilers end here.

In volume 6 Sendou transfers back into Miyaji for high school, intending to confront his past. He eventually participates in the Asia Circuit national tournament, placing first, with Koutei coming in second and Ren in third. To his surprise, Tatsunagi Kourin joins his class, just after the first meeting at the Circuit award ceremony. Rather than the King of Knights, Alfred, Aichi's manga self uses Alfred Early as his primary grade 3 unit, and he begins the story using Graeme instead of Stardust Trumpeter as his FVG. However, Soul Saver Dragon is still supported by his deck.

Universal Notes: In all incarnations Aichi uses the Japanese pronoun "Boku," a pronoun used exclusively for male speakers. "Boku" is a nonthreatening pronoun reserved for young boys, and has largely been replaced by more masculine or assertive pronouns in daily speaking. His counterpart in the series in Ren, which is all but stated by their actions in rides 43 and 50, and Suiko's narration at the end of the latter episode. The two also share opposing birthdays, as Aichi was born on 6/6 while Ren was born on 12/12.

Fan Culture: The alternate Aichi seen in rides 43-50 is frequently called "Yandere Aichi" by fans, combining his name with a Japanese term for a sociopathic character in a relationship (usually the girl, though it can go both ways) who murders her rivals for someone's affection, or murders the person they love so that no one else can have them.

Decks and Play Style
Main Article: Evolution of Sendou Aichi's Play Style

Tied to his personal theme of friendship, Aichi uses a Royal Paladin deck for the majority of the series, which focuses on swarming the field with many other units that are weak individually but powerful together. Aichi's strategy primarily uses a superior ride and deck-searching skill to ride Blaster Blade as his grade 2 vanguard, then utilizing Blade's skill to retire opponent rearguards. He also adapts two other tactics for his deck early on; the first is riding the King of Knights, Alfred as his grade 3 and calling other units to increase Alfred's power, and the second is to ride Soul Saver Dragon and give power increases to his already-called rearguards.

Rides 1-34 (47/50 cards)

Grade 0

x1 Barcgal (FVG: Rides 8-34)
x2 Stardust Trumpeter (FVG: Rides 1-7)

x2 Flogal ST

x3 Bringer of Good Luck, Epona CT

x2 Yggdrasil Maiden Elaine HT

x1 Weapons Dealer, Govanon  DT

x3 Knight of the Future, Llew CT

Grade 1

x3 Wingal (PR/0007)

x1 Wingal (BT01/044)

x3 Little Sage, Marron

x3 Flash Shield, Iseult

x2 Starlight Unicorn

x4 Knight of Rose, Morganna

Grade 2

x2 Knight of Silence, Gallatin (KAD3/002)

x2 Knight of Silence, Gallatin (BT01/021)

x1 Blaster Blade

x2 Knight of the Harp, Tristan

x1 Great Sage, Baron

x2 Knight of Truth Gordon

Grade 3

x3 Solitary Knight, Gancelot

x1 King of Knights, Alfred

x2 Gigantic Charger

x1 Soul Saver Dragon

Aichi's second deck is a modification to his first, perfected using cards from the second and third booster sets. With Yuri's coaching he's able to create a winning image, using High Dog Breeder, Akane and Pongal to add Soul Saver Dragon to his hand, then using the Saver Dragon's skill to empower his rearguards. While the tactics he employs with this deck are nearly the same as his first, they are refined to omit unnecessary cards and achieve his intended results more quickly.

Rides 35-42 & 51 (39/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Barcgal (FVG)
x3 Flogal ST
x2 Future Knight, Llew CT
x2 Bringer of Good Luck, Epona CT
x1 Little Fae Marching Band ST
x2 Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine HT
x1 Margal DT
Grade 1
x3 Little Sage, Marron
x2 Young Pegasus Knight
x1 Wingal (PR/0007)
x2 Pongal
x1 Soul Guiding Elf
x2 Flash Shield, Iseult
Grade 2
x1 Blaster Blade
x2 High-Dog Breeder, Akane
x1 Gigantic Dozer
x1 Knight of Truth, Gordon
x2 Knight of Silence, Gallatin (BT01/021)
x2 Swordsman of the Blaze, Palamedes
Grade 3
x1 Solitary Knight, Gancelot
x3 Soul Saver Dragon
x1 King of Knights, Alfred
x1 Swordsman of Explosive Flames, Palamedes
x1 Alfred Early

Aichi's key cards while using his Shadow Paladin deck are Blaster Dark and Phantom Blaster Dragon. His strategy is to use Fullbau and Blaster Javelin to add Dark to his hand from the deck, keeping card advantage early in the game, then using the Blaster Dragon's skill to retire his rearguards for extra power and critical. Worth noting, though Aichi puts every effort into riding Phantom Blaster Dragon during his four fights held with this deck, he only ever hits with its Damned Charging Lance in half of his fights, against Bidou and Gunji. In general, while Aichi plays Shadow Paladins well, he lacks the same level of skill that he had with his own Royal Paladins and his strategy lacks the offensive push that Ren's does.

Rides 43-50 (30/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Fullbau (FVG)
x3 Grim Reaper CT
x1 Abyss Healer HT
x1 Abyss Freezer DT
x1 Darkside Trumpeter ST
Grade 1
x2 Blaster Javelin
x2 Black Sage, Charon
x2 Doranbau
x2 Nostrum Witch, Arianrhod
x2 Dark Shield, Mac Lir
Grade 2
x2 Blaster Dark
x3 Skull Witch, Nemain
x3 Dark Knight, Rugos
Grade 3
x2 Phantom Blaster Dragon
x1 Dark Metal Dragon
x2 Dark Mage, Badhabh Catha

Though incomplete, Aichi's fourth deck is shown to use cards from BT05 in a form that builds in concert with his old strategies. His new starter accommodates for the September 5th Barcgal ban, and Alfred Early is now implemented with the intent of bringing out Blaster Blade a second time.

Sendou's final deck of season one is a mix deck, incorporating Blaster Dark into it. This build is supported by his count of "Blaster" deck searchers--Wingal Brave and Starcall Trumpeter--as well as rearguards themed around having a "Blaster" vanguard.

Rides 51-66 (37/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Wingal Brave (FVG)
x1 Barcgal
x1 Flogal ST
x1 Future Knight, Llew CT
x2 Quiet Sage, Sharon ST
x1 Margal DT
x1 Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine HT
x1 Bringer of Good Luck, Epona CT
x1 Alabaster Owl CT
Grade 1
x3 Little Sage, Marron
x1 Flash Shield, Iseult
x3 Knight of Friendship, Kay
x2 Pongal
x2 Lake Maiden, Lien
Grade 2
x1 Blaster Blade
x1 Knight of Loyalty, Bedivere
x1 Knight of Truth, Gordon
x1 High-Dog Breeder, Akane
x2 Knight of Silence, Gallatin (BT01/021)
x2 Starcall Trumpeter
x2 Blaster Dark
Grade 3
x2 Soul Saver Dragon
x1 Swordsman of Exploding Flames, Palamedes
x1 Alfred Early
x1 Solitary Knight, Gancelot
x1 Majesty Lord Blaster

During the Asia Circuit, Sendou is forced to switch temporarily to a Gold Paladin deck. This new deck, rather than being an outgrowth of the primary style he developed as a Royal Paladin cardfighter, shows heavy influence from the King of Knights strategy Aichi developed early in season 1. Using the Great Silver Wolf, Garmall he can superior call a grade 2 or lower Gold Paladin unit, and use his limit break to gain power while attacking vanguard units.

Rides 66-70 (24/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Grassland Breeze, Sagramore (FVG)
x1 Weapons Dealer, Gwydion DT
x1 Elixir Sommelier HT
x1 Fortune Bell ST
x1 Silent Punisher CT
Grade 1
x2 Precipice Whirlwind, Sagramore
x1 Blessing Owl
x1 Charjgal
x2 Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth
x1 Silver Fang Witch
x2 Evil Slaying Swordman, Haugan
Grade 2
x1 Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains
x2 Sacred Guardian Beast, Nemean Lion
x2 Sleygal Sword
x1 Charging Chariot Knight
Grade 3
x1 Great Silver Wolf, Garmore
x1 Sleygal Double-Edge
x2 Battlefield Storm, Sagramore

In anticipation of the upcoming Asia Circuit, Aichi reconstructs his deck shortly after arriving in Singapore in ride 70. His new construction uses the Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel he received as a gift from Kourin as its focus, pressing the game with the unit's limit break. To strengthen his early game, Aichi switches his first vanguard to Kyrph, using its skill in conjunction with Beaumains and Gareth to superior ride Ezel.

Rides 71-85 (32/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Crimson Lion Cub, Kyrph (FVG)
x2 Silent Punisher CT
x2 Flame of Victory CT
x1 Elixir Sommelier HT
x2 Weapons Dealer, Gwydion DT
x2 Greeting Drummer ST
Grade 1
x2 Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth
x2 Player of the Holy Axe, Nimue
x3 Silver Fang Witch
x1 Little Battler, Tron
x2 Halo Shield, Mark
x1 Sleygal Dagger
Grade 2
x2 Player of the Holy Bow, Viviane
x3 Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains
x1 Sleygal Sword
Grade 3
x1 Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel
x2 Knight of Fury, Agravain
x2 Battlefield Storm, Sagramore

Built in the style of his previous Royal Paladin decks, Aichi's third Gold deck omits Kyrph much as his last Royal deck omitted Barcgal. Using Spring Breeze Messenger as his new first vanguard, Sendou gears this deck toward superior calling key units to prepare for following turns, planning out his fights step by step. As a followup tactic, Spring Breeze and Viviane are used in the hopes of calling out Lop Ear Shooter, who can then call White Hare in the Moon's Shadow, Pellinore to activate Pellinore's superior ride mid-battle, standing his vanguard much as Suzugamori Ren had done earlier in the season with Spectral Duke Dragon. This deck is one of his definitive builds of the season, bringing together all of his past strategies along with what he had learned from the fighters he met overseas.

Rides 86-95 (35/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Spring Breeze Messenger (FVG)
x3 Speeder Hound DT
x1 Elixir Sommelier HT
x2 Flame of Victory CT
x2 Silent Punisher CT
Grade 1
x2 Player of the Holy Axe, Nimue
x2 Listener of Truth, Dindrane
x1 Halo Shield, Mark
x2 Blade Feather Valkyrie
x1 Little Battle, Tron
x2 Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth
Grade 2
x4 Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains
x2 Lop Ear Shooter
x2 Player of the Holy Bow, Viviane
x2 Flash Edge Valkyrie
x1 Gigantech Commander
Grade 3
x1 Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel
x2 White Hare in the Moon's Shadow, Pellinore
x2 Sleygal Double-Edge

Aichi's final deck of the season is built in the style of his final Royal Paladin deck, converting to Ezel-based skills rather than Blaster-based ones. Despite this return to an Ezel focus, Sendou continues to avoid Kyrph, instead relying on a card with more targets, Dreaming Sage Corron. With Corron he can search out any piece in the Ezel crossride series, adding either Blond Ezel or Platina Ezel to his hand at will. Because of this new focus, the deck is reoriented around quickly putting together an ideal field using Ezel, Nimue, Kahedin and Silver Fang Witch, to bolster its strength with Platina afterward. Sendou treats Platina much as he once did Soul Saver Dragon, relying on his ultimate break only for the turn that he rides him rather than sitting on its high base power and waiting to use the break later. Despite the superior speed that War-horse, Raging Storm could afford him, Sendou's take on the deck eschews this card and as a result is somewhat slow.

Rides 95-104 (31/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Dreaming Sage, Corron (FVG)
x2 Dantengal CT
x2 Elixir Sommelier HT
x2 Flame of Victory CT
x1 Silent Punisher CT
Grade 1
x2 Halo Shield, Mark
x3 Player of the Holy Axe, Nimue
x2 Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth
x2 Silver Fang Witch
x1 Advance of the Black Chains, Kahedin
Grade 2
x1 Player of the Holy Bow, Viviane
x2 Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains
x1 Knight of Passion, Bagdemagus
x1 Blaster Blade Spirit
Grade 3
x1 Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel
x2 Battlefield Storm, Sagramore
x1 Great Silver Wolf, Garmore
x3 White Hare in the Moon's Shadow, Pellinore
x1 Blazing Lion, Platina Ezel

Following the unsealing of the Royal Paladins and the beginning of the third season, rather than converting back to the clan that he had used for four years previously, Sendou chooses to stay by the Gold Paladins and rebuild his deck around the cards that he relied on in the first season, reimagined as Gold Paladins. These cards, drawing from the Liberator subgroup, each gain power for having either a vanguard or a certain number of rearguards with "Liberator" in their name. Despite being less developed compared to his previous decks, Sendou is nonetheless extremely proficient with his new strategy, based on a combination of Blaster and Soul Saver play. The Liberator of the Round Table, Alfred, rounds out the strategy by bringing him the base 11000 defense that he enjoyed under Phantom Blaster and a limit break that gives him +2000 power for each Liberator rearguard, without the restriction of being unboostable. This gives Sendou a powerful late game, able to reach numbers that Alfred never could previously.

Rides 105-Current (31/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Angelic Liberator (FVG: 105-108)
x1 Wingal Brave (FVG: 108-Current)
x1 Fortune Liberator ST
x2 Elixir Liberator HT
x2 Weapons Liberator, Gwydion DT
x2 Liberator of Hope, Epona CT
x1 Flogal Liberator ST
Grade 1
x2 Little Liberator, Marron
x1 Future Liberator, Llew
x2 Pomerugal Liberator
x1 Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth
x2 Halo Liberator, Mark
x1 Liberator, Flare Mane Stallion
Grade 2
x1 Blaster Blade Liberator
x2 Liberator of Silence, Gallatin
x1 Zoegal Liberator
x2 Liberator of Royalty, Phallon
x2 Liberator of the Flute, Escrad
Grade 3
x1 Dignified Gold Dragon
x3 Solitary Liberator, Gancelot
x1 Liberator of the Round Table, Alfred

Aichi's manga deck is, like his initial anime deck, built with Blaster Blade and Soul Saver Dragon in mind. However, his primary grade 3 is Alfred Early. Aichi plays much more conservatively in the manga, rarely calling any units except to rush the opponent when riding to grade 3, and is less aggressive with deck searching. Beginning with volume 6, Sendou starts to incorporate Blaster Javelin Normally as a key grade 2 ride, soulcharging two units to call two High Beasts. Exculpate the Blaster is included as a temporary transformation sequence for Blaster Blade, to wipe out his opponent's field and overwhelm them with power derived from an alternative soulblast.

Chapter 1-Current (19/50 cards)
Grade 0
x2 Graeme (FVG)
x1 Flogal ST
x1 Giro
x1 Margal DT
x1 Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine HT
Grade 1
x1 Little Sage, Marron
x1 Mirubiru
x1 Knight Squire, Alen
x1 Wingal
x1 Guiding Sage, Zenon
x1 Flash Shield, Iseult
Grade 2
x1 Blaster Blade
x1 Knight of Silence, Gallatin
x1 Patriotic Sage, Benon
x1 Blaster Javelin Normally
Grade 3
x1 Alfred Early
x1 Soul Saver Dragon
x1 Exculpate the Blaster

Citations and External Links
1. "先導アイチ." KeroKero Ace Vol. 45 1 Sept. 2011: 2-6. Print.
2. "AICHI SENDOU." KeroKero Ace Vol. 51 1 Apr. 2012. Print. 
3. Cardfight!! Vanguard Ride 14. Crunchyroll, 2011. Web. 14 Mar. 2012.
4. "Cardfight!! Vanguard English Version - NicoNico Channel." NicoNico Channel. NicoNico Douga, 11 Mar. 2012. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://ch.nicovideo.jp/channel/vanguard-dub>. 
5. "Aichi Sendo." MyAnimeList. CraveOnline Media, LLC., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://myanimelist.net/character/39539/Aichi_Sendo>. 

Character: Kai Toshiki

 "Just watch. This is who I really am! Burn everything in this world to ashes with your apocalyptic fire...Dragonic Overlord!"

Kai Toshiki/櫂トシキ
Age: 15¹
Birthday: August 28⁵
Voice Actor(s): Satou Takuya(Japanese)², Ryan Luhning(English)³, Kim Yeong Seong(Korean)⁴
Anime Biography: Four years ago he was a cheerful boy that helped Aichi cope with the bullying he was facing at school, but Kai moved away shortly after that. Having just moved back Kai now keeps little company, though Taishi insists on being Kai's friend.

Outside of official matches, Kai frequents the battlegrounds of the "underground fighters," intentionally going up against cheating players to make his fights more difficult.

Spoiler warning: Season 1 details follow.
Four years ago, Kai's parents died in a sudden accident. He was in fourth grade, and was taken in by his uncle's family, whom he moved away with. Three years later, in middle school, he befriended Suzugamori Ren and Shinjou Tetsu, becoming a founding member of Team Foo Fighter in a bid to enter the Vanguard national competition. For the duration of spring term they grew to be close friends, but as the autumn dawned on them Ren underwent a sudden transformation.

Suzugamori had been endowed with PSY Qualia, and this power very quickly devoured him at a much faster rate than it would later Aichi--within a day of acquiring it Ren was capable of causing physical harm to others through Qualia, even throwing his Tetsu across their practice room. Once Ren hired the Kashiwagi Construction company to build the Foo Fighter's headquarters, Kai decided he'd had enough; he challenged Ren to a fight, in which Ren used his powerful Shadow Paladins to overwhelm Kai.

While the fight ended prematurely due to Ren's sudden collapse, Kai chose to walk out on the Foo Fighters where Tetsu lingered. Emancipated, he moved out of his uncle's town and enrolled in high school, where he would meet Miwa Taishi and Sendou Aichi again. Having watched Ren become consumed by PSY Qualia once before, and found himself helpless then, Kai initially remains in denial as Aichi starts to develop his own powers. Toshiki ignores repeated warning signs, avoiding people out of guilt, afraid of the incident with Ren repeating.

Come ride 43 Kai fails to stop Aichi from being absorbed by PSY Qualia. Kai confronts his friend in a bout after the elimination round of the national tournament, using Aichi's own discarded Royal Paladin deck against the boy. With Alfred Early as his trump card, Kai makes Aichi realize that real strength comes from oneself and one's friends, not from supernatural forces.

While he keeps away from fighting in the national tournament out of respect for how far Q4 has come, on the night before the final match between Q4 and AL4, Kai makes an appearance at the Foo Fighter headquarters, and challenges Ren to a fight at the very stage where they once clashed one year ago. With the modern Foo Fighter team, Ultra Rare, and Aichi as witnesses, Kai brings out his avatar's crossridden form, Dragonic Overlord The End, in a bid to wrest Ren from Qualia's control.

Kai fails. Thanks to Suiko's prior intervention and Ren's highly evolved PSY Qualia, The End is slain by Ren's own crossride, Phantom Blaster Overlord. Kai walks away from the fight in an emotional valley, pleading on his knees for Ren to come back to his senses--Suzugamori disregards his old friend, stating that this "The End" of their friendship, and that all he needs now is the limitless power of Qualia.

In the finals Kai watches Q4's matches from the stands, and proves instrumental in preventing Aichi's powers from relapsing. Screaming across the stadium for Aichi to stop, he barely pulls the boy back from his other self's control. When the match closes with Sendou the victor, Kai shares a final silent moment with Ren before the Foo Fighters pull out of the competition.

Toshiki's final fight of season 1 is against Aichi, closing the season just as he began it.

Spoilers end here.

Kai encounters Tatsunagi Takuto at the start of the Asia Circuit just as Aichi did. Opening the season 2's first fight with Dragonic Overlord, Toshiki is surprised that a neophyte like Takuto could guard his attack.

Spoiler warning: Asia Circuit details follow.
In the aftermath of their fight, Kai's deck is replaced with a Kagerou one and his memories are sealed. Tatsunagi, having introduced Kai into a timeline where the Royal Paladins, Shadow Paladins and Kagerou never existed, takes his leave of the boy. Dismissing what he can recall of their fight as a dream, Kai departs, and after Aichi confronts him about the changes to his own deck the next day, challenges Sendou to a fight.

Using Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion and the powerful Limit Break skill for the first time, Kai defeats Aichi but finds nothing in the battle. Unfamiliar with and unwilling to use his new Gold Paladin deck, Sendou has already limited himself too deeply to seize victory. Though his memories of Blaster Blade briefly resurface, they are just as soon shut down and the two of them are interrupted by an announcement for the VF Circuit.

Aichi recognizes the Takuto advertising the Circuit as the same one who stole his deck. Though Kai no longer remembers the Royal Paladins, he trusts Aichi, and tells him to find his own path to Takuto as he will find his.

Kai eventually comes to join Team Foo Fighter New AL4, reforming the team with Ren and Asaka. He participates as a mainline member during the Seoul Stage of the VF Circuit.

Spoilers end here.

Manga Biography: Similar to the anime, Kai helped Aichi out when he was young in the manga, and he is currently a pro player revered for his strength. However, Kai is also much less cold in the manga, and more willing to hang around with the other customers of Card Capital.

Spoiler warning: Details for Volumes 2 through 5 follow.
Unlike in the anime, Kai's parents never died. Instead, Kai's father created a steep financial debt for his comapny, and Kai was abandoned by his parents, to be moved around between different relatives' homes. Meeting up with Ren and Tetsu and forming the original Foo Fighters restored some of his love for life, but Kai became further depressed and isolated after Ren became absorbed by PSY Qualia, from a chance encounter with Suiko. (Although not outright stated, it has been speculated that the company his father worked for was in fact the Tatsunagi corporation.)

Kai eventually chooses to confront Ren directly, allowing Tetsu and Asaka to entertain him in their apartment while he waits for Suzugamori's arrival. Chapter 14 closes with him having broken Asaka in a completely one-sided fight, but in his following match with Ren, Kai is dominated by Qualia, struck down by a rapid succession of The Dark Dictator's and Phantom Blaster Dragon's skills. Kai is completely drained by the battle, and while he tries with all his strength to prevent Aichi from fighting Ren and activating his Qualia again, Sendou goes against his wishes by fighting Ren in his place. Sendou eventually manages to defeat Phantom Blaster Dragon and bring Ren back to his senses, with the Foo Fighters and Team Q4 becoming friends.

The manga's first "season" ends with Kai and Aichi beginning one more fight, which becomes the first chapter of its second "season" (in terms of the plot's development when compared to the anime.) During their fight Sendou shows signs of losing control of his Qualia, being unable to restrain it versus Kai--Kai in turn encourages him to use the power, believing that he'll defeat it even so. However, in the second chapter it becomes readily apparent that Kai himself is developing symptoms of PSY Qualia.
Spoilers end here.

Universal Notes: Kai uses the Japanese pronoun "Ore," a very masculine and casual way of talking. Design-wise, his counterpart is Tetsu, who makes the exact opposite decisions that Kai does throughout the series.

Fan Culture: Kai has acquired a reputation in the English fanguard for his unintuitive name. While this is more obvious to Japanese fans due to how Japanese naming order works, "Kai" is his last name, and Toshiki is his first. Toshiki is a very unusual first name, but this is backed by how his name is written--in Vanguard, all surnames are written with kanji, and all given names with katakana.

Decks and Play Style
Kai's deck is a dragon-based Kagerou clan deck, built around retiring the opponent's rearguards and gaining bonuses from that. For most of season 1 he has no defined playstyle, alternating between different vanguards as necessary to suit each fight. However, this lack of cohesion is ultimately a weakness that goes unexploited by his opponents, and Kai refines his deck with the rest of Q4 in ride 35.

Rides 1-34, 49 & 57: Raging Dragon of the Empire (Anime) 48/50 cards
Grade 0
x1 Lizard Runner Undeux
x1 Lizard Soldier Conroe
x2 Dragon Dancer Monica DT
x3 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x1 Lizard Soldier, Ganlu ST
x2 Dragon Monk, Genjo HT
x2 Demonic Dragon Mage, Raksha CT
x1 Gatling Claw Dragon DT
x1 Blue-Ray Dracokid CT
Grade 1
x3 Embodiment of Armor, Bahr
x2 Flame of Hope, Aermo
x2 Wyvern Strike, Jarran
x2 Wyvern Guard, Barri
x2 Demonic Dragon Guru Kinnala
x2 Iron Tail Dragon
Grade 2
x2 Blazing Core Dragon
x3 Dragon Knight Nehalem
x1 Wyvern Strike, Tejas
x1 Dragon Knight Aleph
x1 Berserk Dragon
x2 Relentless Sutherland
Grade 3
x2 Dragon Monk Goku
x3 Dragonic Overlord (TD02/001)
x1 Embodiment of Victory, Aleph
x1 Vortex Dragon
x2 Blazing Flare Dragon
x2 Dual Axe Archdragon

Kai's second deck is built around the Amber Dragon line, which guarantees both grade security and hand advantage. Kai makes the dubious choice of using Lava Arm Dragon a rearguard, and brings Aermo in as a holdover from his old deck to help aid with draw power. While this deck has much more intense retire abilities than his old one, Kai mainly uses it to whittle down his opponent's hand in the two fights that it was featured in.

Rides 35-51: Empire II 34/50 cards
Grade 0
x1 Lizard Soldier, Conroe
x2 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x3 Gatling Claw Dragon DT
x1 Dragon Monk, Genjo HT
x2 Blue-Ray Dracokid CT
x1 Amber Dragon, "Dawn"
Grade 1
x1 Iron Tail Dragon
x2 Embodiment of Armor, Bahr
x2 Demonic Dragon Mage, Kimnara
x2 Wyvern Guard, Barri
x1 Dragon Monk, Gojo
x1 Flame of Hope, Aermo
x2 Amber Dragon, "Daylight"
Grade 2
x2 Dragon Knight, Nehalem
x1 Flame Edge Dragon
x1 Blazing Core Dragon
x1 Amber Dragon, "Dawn"
x1 Lava Arm Dragon
Grade 3
x1 Blazing Flare Dragon
x1 Dual Axe Archdragon
x1 Vortex Dragon
x3 Amber Dragon, "Eclipse"
x1 Dragonic Overlord

Kai's third deck, designed wholly to counter Ren's, is built on crossriding from Dragonic Overlord to Dragonic Overlord The End. In order to take advantage of being able to activates its skill following the drive check, Kai combines The End with the Flame of Hope, Aermo to cycle out cards from his hand. This lets him activate The End's Persona Blast mid-strike. Kai shows some difficulty using this deck compared to his previous ones, as his hand is practically empty by the time he crossrides.

Though not outright confirmed, Suiko implies both during her talk with Kourin in ride 58 and in her contract with Aichi that The End is the card of light she can entrust to fighters. However, Suiko never contracted Kai, so even she isn't sure where he gained his copies of it.

Rides 57-66: His Life As Fuel (31/50 cards)

Grade 0

x1 Lizard Soldier, Conroe

x3 Dragon Monk, Genjo HT

x2 Gatling Claw Dragon DT

x1 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x3 Blue-Ray Dracokid CT

Grade 1

x3 Embodiment of Armor, Bahr

x1 Flame of Hope, Aermo

x2 Flame of Promise, Aermo

x2 Demonic Dragon Guru, Kimnara

Grade 2

x2 Berserk Dragon

x1Dragon Knight, Nehalem

x3 Burning Horn Dragon

Grade 3

x3 Dragonic Overlord

x4 Dragonic Overlord The End

At the start of Asia Circuit Kai is given a new deck, this one filled with Narukami units. Geared toward all-out attacks on the vanguard and making use of counterblasts in exchange for power, his deck's trump card is Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, which attacks the opponent's front row equally, blocking their intercept while clearing their field in the same move.

Rides 66-Current: Resonance of Thunder Dragon (36/50 cards)

Grade 0

x1 Lizard Soldier, Sisin (FVG: Ride 67)
x1 Lizard Soldier, Saishin (FVG: Ride 77-on)

x2 Old Dragon Mage DT

x1 Yellow Gem Carbuncle CT
x1 Demonic Dragon Nymph, Seiobo HT
x1 Malevolent Djinn CT

Grade 1

x2 Red River Dragoon

x1 Lightning Stone Jinn

x1 Thunder of Hope, Helena

x2 Lizard Soldier, Riki

x1 Wyvern Transport Corps
x2 Wyvern Guard, Guld
x1 Photon Bomber Wyvern

Grade 2

x1 Gale Thunderclap Jinn

x3 Thunderstorm Dragoon

x1 Shield Blade Dragoon

x1 Bright Jet Dragoon
x2 Demonic Dragon Berserker, Garuda
x3 Dragonic Deathscythe
x2 Hex Cannon Wyvern

Grade 3

x2 Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion

x1 Thunder Break Dragon

x1 Plasma Bite Dragon
x2 Djinn of the Lightning Flash

Like in season 1, his manga deck is also a Kagerou deck meant to clear the opponent's field of rearguards, but it supports the counterblast-heavy clan better with Bellicosity Dragon. This dragon's skill lets him unflip damage previously used to pay costs, allowing Kai to last in prolongued fights. Meanwhile, Hidden Dragon Striken is unable to attack, but confers additional power and critical on the vanguard that rides it. Kai demonstrates considerably more skill than his anime counterpart, combining Striken's skill with superior ride cards like Cruel Dragon to simultaneously gain the effects of Striken while also avoiding those superior ride's drawbacks; he faces and holds his own against multiple Qualia cardfighters throughout the manga, always pushing them to their breaking points before they can make any kind of comeback.

Chapter 1-Current: Raging Dragon of the Empire (Manga) 11/50 cards
Grade 0
x1 Lizard Runner, Undeux
x1 Demonic Dragon Mage, Raksha CT
x2 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x1 Lizard Runner, Nafud ST
x1 Red Gem Carbuncle DT
Grade 1
x1 Embodiment of Armor, Bahr
x1 Flame of Hope, Aermo
x1 Guard Gryphon
x1 Lizard Soldier, Raopia
Grade 2
x1 Dragon Armored Knight
x1 Bellicosity Dragon
x1 Hidden Dragon Striken
x2 Dragonic Gaiearth
x1 Berserk Dragon
Grade 3
x2 Dragonic Overlord
x2 Vortex Dragon
x1 Dragonic Waterfall
x1 Cruel Dragon

Citations and External Links
1. "櫂トシキ." KeroKero Ace Vol. 45 1 Sept. 2011: 8-9. Print.
2. Cardfight!! Vanguard Ride 1. Crunchyroll, 2011. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. 
3. "Cardfight!! Vanguard English Version - NicoNico Channel." NicoNico Channel. NicoNico Douga, 11 Mar. 2012. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://ch.nicovideo.jp/channel/vanguard-dub>.
4. "Kai Toshiki." MyAnimeList. CraveOnline Media, LLC., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://myanimelist.net/character/39492/Kai_Toshiki>.
5. "Character birthdays." KeroKero Ace Vol. 50 1 Mar. 2012. Print. 

Character: Satomi Eiji

"The victorious and the defeated...I assume you know which of these is the more fantastic?"

"Look well, Teru. This is the defeated."

Satomi Eiji/里見英治
Age: Unconfirmed
Portrayed by: Namioki Kazuki (2012 Drama)
Drama Biography: Satomi is Teru's private tutor, as well as his mentor in Vanguard. Although not a major character upon his introduction, he is the drama's primary antagonist. Maintaining this role even in defeat, he is responsible for motivating Teru to bully and look down on other cardfighters.

Spoiler warning: Spoilers for the STAND UP! Vanguard live-action drama follow.

Initially shown giving Teru a lesson in cardfight, Satomi espouses his theory of victory; that among the world population between the victorious and the defeated, those who are always victorious are superior to any who think they can afford loss. He passes this idea onto Teru Socratically, asking leading questions that bring Teru to the same conclusion. Their lesson however, is interrupted by Daigo, seeking a revenge match with Teru.

Satomi does not allow this. Introducing himself as a genius who first presented his theory of the universe while working for NASA, he cardfights Daigo in Teru's place. Having defeated him in two successive matches, Satomi makes Daigo beg for another chance. Bored by the fight, he dismisses Daigo and returns to his lessons with Teru.

Satomi is next seen the night before a local tournament, giving Teru extra study material. Asking the boy to "picture it," he uses Kurumalord's megablast to end their game.

Satomi's "image" of Kuramalord's Ninjitsu Art: Meteor Storm.

The following day he and Teru participate in the local tournament on Team Teru. Alongside his prodigy student, Satomi is their primary fighter in the opening round, up until the finals where he plays second. Ultimately Satomi undergoes a complete breakdown after his defeat by Daigo, after which he is not seen again.

Spoilers end here.

As Daigo's counterpart, Satomi occasionally makes use of his own catch phrase, "Ya know?" spoken in English.

Decks and Play Style

Satomi fights with a Murakumo deck, making extensive use of hit-and-run tactics to rapidly fill his field while saving his hand up to become a stonewall against his opponent's attacks. Because of this, decks without heavy power gain have difficulty dealing damage to him later in the game. Satomi's primary strategy builds his soul with Kurama Lord, bringing out the fiend's megablast for three additional attacks. Against Daigo and many other competitors at their local tournament he rides Dueling Dragon, ZANBAKU, locking opponents out of crossriding.

STAND UP! Vanguard Drama: Ninjitsu Art: Meteor Storm (27/50 cards)

Grade 0

x1 Stealth Beast, Evil Ferret

x2 Stealth Beast, Cat Rogue DT

x1 Stealth Fae, Dart Spider ST

x2 Stealth Beast, Moon Edge CT

x2 Stealth Fae, Yukihime HT

Grade 1

x3 Stealth Beast, Million Rat

x1 Stealth Beast, Leaf Racoon

x3 Silent Stealth Rogue, Shijimamaru

x1 Stealth Beast, Leaves Mirage

Grade 2

x2 Stealth Fiend, Midnight Crow

x3 Stealth Beast, Bloody Mist

x2 Stealth Dragon, Cursed Breath

x2 Stealth Beast, White Mage

Grade 3

x1 Stealth Field, Kurama Lord

x1 Dueling Dragon, ZANBAKU

Character: Sendou Emi

"Which one is the real one? The Aichi that's here now, or the Aichi I know?"

"I ride Top Idol, Riviere!"

Sendou Emi/先導エミ
Age: 11/12 (Approximately) ¹
Voice Actors: Enomoto Atsuko(Japanese)²
Aichi's younger sister, who attends a girls' private school, Miyaji Academy. Initially Emi lacks interest in Vanguard, but after seeing his personal growth when facing the boys that used to bully him, she starts to come and watch his fights at Card Capital. Emi proves to be instrumental in holding Team Q4 together, and after a practice match with Morikawa, eventually becomes a skilled fighter in her own right.

In ride 15 Emi mentions the possibility of bringing a friend to Card Capital; this eventually does take place in ride 51, calling all the way back to her friend from ride 3, Mai.

Spoiler warning: Season 1 details follow.
After Misaki quits Q4, Aichi returns home in a depressed state. Taking note of this, but unaware of what took place the preceding day, Emi goes to Card Capital to investigate. Being invited by the manager to try out Card Capital's new constructed decks, Emi enters into her second cardfight, this time with Misaki.

During their fight Misaki is reminded of why her parents chose to run the shop in the first place; it's Emi who, having fun despite her loss, unknowingly convinces Tokura that she was deliberately trapping herself in the past and ignoring the friends she has now.

Emi accompanies Q4 to the regional and national competitions, as well as their training camp with Team Caesar. Though reduced to a bit role for much of season 1, Emi is nonetheless a powerful emotional support for Aichi and his friends, and takes part in several shop tournaments, even defeating Katsuragi Kamui while serving as a member of Team Overthrow. Late in the season as her brother is gradually devoured by PSY Qualia, Emi is pushed aside and made distant from her sibling, forcing her to worry alone over his strange behavior.

Spoilers end here.

For the duration of the Asia Circuit, Emi is projected to be left behind at Card Capital, as she is not a Q4 team member and thus cannot take part in the international league.

Decks And Play Style
During her practice fight with Morikawa, Emi borrows Misaki's deck to learn the game, and focuses her strategy toward the units she finds the cutest.

Ride 15: Perfect Cherry Blossom 32/50 cards 
Grade 0
x2 Lozenge Magus HT
x2 Oracle Guardian, Nike CT
x3 Dream Eater DT
x2 Miracle Kid DT
x2 Psychic Bird CT
Grade 1
x2 Battle Sister Cocoa
x2 Battle Sister Chocolat
x2 Oracle Guardian Gemini
x2 Weather Girl, Milk (BT01/055)
x1 Weather Girl, Milk (TD04/009)
x2 Luck Bird
Grade 2
x2 Silent Tom
x2 Maiden of Libra
x2 Oracle Guardian, Wiseman
Grade 3
x1 CEO Amaterasu
x2 Oracle Guardian Apollon
x1 Oracle Guardian Hermes

In her match with Misaki, Emi uses a constructed Oracle Think Tank deck. Emi's strategy here is focused on the Goddess of Flower Divination, Sakuya, whom returns cards to the hand in order to rearrange their formation, reuse skills, and gain hand advantage. As support the deck contains Dark Cat and Oracle Guardian, Apollon whose draw skills cycle through the deck quickly, and Meteobreak Wizard who counterblasts to gain extra power.

After her fight, Shin gives Emi the constructed deck free of charge. The cards in it go on to back her later deckbuilding.

Ride 25: Cherry Blossom Princess Maiden (20/50 cards)

Grade 0

x1 Victory Maker DT

x1 Lozenge Magus HT (BT01/27)

x1 Dream Eater DT

Grade 1

x2 Battle Sister Maple

x2 Dark Cat

x3 Luck Bird

x1 Weather Girl, Milk (TD04/009)

x1 Oracle Guardian Gemini

Grade 2

x3 Sword Dancer Angel

x2 Oracle Guardian Wiseman

Grade 3

x1 Goddess of Flower Divination, Sakuya

x1 Meteobreak Wizard

x1 Oracle Guardian Apollon 

In the second shop tournament Emi takes part as "Princess Maiden" of Team Overthrow, using a Bermuda Triangle-Oracle Think Tank mix deck primarily based on the constructed deck she received earlier in the series.

Ride 37: Princess Maiden (16/50 cards)
Grade 0
x3 Bermuda Triangle Cadet Caravel
x2 Lozenge Magus HT
x2 Oracle Guardian, Nike CT
Grade 1
x1 Blazer Pleasures
x1 Oracle Guardian, Gemini
x2 Dark Cat
x1 Battle Sister, Chocolat
Grade 2
 x1 Oracle Guardian, Wiseman
Grade 3
x1 Top Idol, Flores
x2 Goddess of Flower Divination, Sakuya

The third shop tournament is where Emi brings together what she's learned. Exchanging Caravel for Riviere, Emi dedicates her deck to an evolving ride line and brings in Top Idol, Pacifica as a finishing megablast to swarm the field with. Meanwhile Top Idol, Salem is an easy 20000-power attacker that forces her opponent to expend more cards to guard, which is supported by grade 3 Riviere's rearguard-empowering skill. Emi is a highly offensive cardfighter, skilled at backing her opponents to the wall.

Rides 51-Current: Drowning Your World (28/50 cards)

Grade 0

x1 Bermuda Triangle Cadet, Riviere (FVG)

x2 Drive Quartet, Flows HT

x2 Drive Quartet, Ressac ST

x2 Drive Quartet, Shuplu CT

x2 Drive Quartet, Bubblin DT

Grade 1

x1 Mermaid Idol, Ellie

x2 Mermaid Idol, Felucca

x2 Mermaid Idol, Sedna

x2 Mermaid Idol, Riviere

x1 Blazer Pleasures

x1 Pearl Sisters, Perle

Grade 2

x1 Top Idol, Aqua

x1 Pearl Sisters, Perla

x2 Mermaid Idol, Flute

x1 Super Idol, Riviere

Grade 3

x1 Top Idol, Pacifica

x3 Super Idol, Salem

x1 Top Idol, Riviere

Citations and External Links
1. "先導エミ." KeroKero Ace Vol. 45 1 Sept. 2011: 18-19. Print.
2. Cardfight!! Vanguard Ride 52. Crunchyroll, 2011. Web. 16 Mar. 2012.

Character: Nanbara Teru

"Hiroki...with all my power, here I come!"

"Mow him down, Phantom Blaster Overlord!"

Nanbara Teru/南原テル
Age: Unconfirmed
Potrayed by: Uchiyama Haruka (TV Drama)
Drama biography: A competitive Vanguard fighter, Teru glorifies victory over all else. Teru is studious in Vanguard, working to become one of the best fighters of his time, and he even has a private tutor for the game. Despite his skill, Teru is a bully and is the primary antagonist against Miura Hiroki.

Spoiler warning: Details for the STAND UP! Vanguard live action drama follow.
While Teru acts as the chief antagonist against Hiroki for much of the drama, looking down on him as weak and bullying him in school because of that, this hatred of the weak was ultimately instilled in him by his tutor, Satomi Eiji. Comprising Team Teru alongside Eiji and one of his peers, Teru enters into the local Vanguard tournament playing to win.

In the final rounds he witnesses his teacher's defeat at Daigo's hands, and begins to waver in his views after this. Admitting Hiroki's strength upon being forced into a corner by the boy, a last-minute heal and critical trigger allows him to outlast his opponent, using Phantom Blaster Overlord's persona blast to end the game. Ultimately coming out the champion, Teru interrupts the award ceremony to befriend Hiroki, offering him a revenge match.

In the tournament aftermath, Teru is seen making up for his previous bullying, inviting Hiroki into his circle and playing Vanguard after school with his friends.
Spoilers end here.

Decks and Play Style
Teru fights with a Shadow Paladin deck, gaining victory at the expense of his allies. With minor field assistance from Badhabh Catha and Macha, Teru's deck is notable for being the only ShaPala deck in any continuity to omit Skull Witch, Nemain. Instead opting for field-oriented skills, his main strategy is to bring out Phantom Blaster Overlord while gaining card advantage with Fullbau, Macha and Nemain, then roll Masquerade into the fray to press his opponent's hand and finish the fight using a persona blast.

His aggressive play style also includes Donnerschlag as an alternative to Masquerade, and he enhances the effect of this style by guarding most of his opponent's early attacks, often ending up going into his third turn with only one damage. This helps in managing his damage late in the game, ignoring powerful rearguards and completely stopping his opponent's vanguard attacks.

STAND UP! Vanguard: Shadow Erosion (38/50 cards)
Grade 0
x1 Fullbau (FVG)
x2 Abyss Freezer DT
x3 Darkside Trumpeter ST
x1 Abyss Healer HT
x1 Death Feather Eagle CT
x1 Grim Reaper CT
Grade 1
x3 Black Sage, Charon
x3 Blaster Javelin
x2 Nostrum Witch, Arianrhod
x3 Dark Shield, Mac Lir
x1 Apocalypse Bat
Grade 2
x1 Blaster Dark
x1 Darkness Maiden, Macha
x3 Demon World Castle, Donnerschlag
x2 Dark Knight, Rugos
x3 Knight of Nullity, Masquerade
Grade 3
x2 Phantom Blaster Dragon
x2 Dark Mage, Badhabh Catha
x1 Darkmetal Dragon
x2 Phantom Blaster Overlord