Feature: Interview with Former Japanese National Champion Kokubo Hikaru

On August 22nd 2013, Dengeki Online published an interview with Kokubo Hikaru, at the time the reigning Japanese national champion and the first Pale Moon cardfighter to ever hold the title. The interview was conducted as part of comprehensive coverage of Bushiroad's events, and was done alongside other interviews with the winners from the Weiss Schwarz, Chaos and Victory Spark tournaments. As the state of the English card game is now firmly in the BT12-on format Kokubo became champion in, his strategies are increasingly relevant for international cardfighters. Below is a translation of his interview, held on the 11th of that year following the national championships.

Kokubo v. Uemura Shouhei, FR2013 finals. Image source.

Interview with the Champion, Kokubo Hikaru/優勝した小久保光さんにインタビュー
――勝因はなんでしたか？
What was the reason for your victory?
スイスラウンドはライド事故で負けてしまった相手との決勝だったのですが、一瞬のチャンスをモノにできたのがよかったかなと思います。
"During the Swiss rounds I had an opponent who lost because of a problem with riding and I won because of that, but I wonder if that momentary opportunity was a good thing or not."
――ここ一番で活躍してくれたカードはなんでしょうか？
What is your most used card?
　《パープル・トラピージスト》かなと思います。このPRカードがあってくれてよかったです。
"I think it's "Purple Trapezist." I'm grateful to have this PR card around."
――WGPも始まりますが、どのように挑みたいですか？
The WGP (World Grand Prix) is already beginning, but how would you challenge it?
これからも変わることなく、大好きな“ペイルムーン”を使っていきたいです。このクランは強いです!!
"Without changing anything for the future, I would do it using the Pale Moon that I love. This clan is really strong!"

The "riding problem" that Kokubo identified is the everpresent fear of what has been called gradelock or misriding in the English game, where a cardfighter is unable to reach grade 1, 2 or 3 at the right moment and spends a turn or more behind the opponent. Winning by way the opponent being gradelocked has been a source of conflict around the world, as many fighters both professional and otherwise consider gradelock the game's worst aspect because of how it prevents one from putting up an effective fight, and thus the wins are felt to be illegitimate both by the defeated and the victorious. Particularly in BT10-on formats where grade 1 and 2 10000 and 12000 power attackers are prevalent, gradelock can spell a rapid death sentence with no opportunity to catch up. The deck that never becomes gradelocked has become a holy grail for professional play. However, it should be noted that Kokubo was referring to the Swiss elimination rounds used to determine the top 2 fighters, not the actual game that decided the Japanese national championship.

Kokubo is well known for his Luquier “Я” deck and accompanying strategies, as his major victory with the build came on the heels of the second Tachikawa Vanguard Championship results just days earlier. At the time this confirmed Luquier “Я” for the larger community as one of the best decks of the format, and also brooked a major division in play style. Kokubo Hikaru's Luquier deck was played with four of each Dragon Tamer for crossride consistency, but there was also a strong camp in favor of playing Luquier “Я” with Miracle Pop Eva for a game-changing endgame assault with four to five attacks in the turn that any deck would be hard pressed to survive. Kokubo's decision to focus on his crossride was partially based in the importance of the Dragonic Descendant matchup in Japanese play at the time, which defined the viability of many decks; the difference between base 11000 and 13000 defense was the difference in whether an unboosted Descendant could be guarded for two triggers to pass, or no pass with a single 10000 power shield.

News: Eighth Battle City VGCS Decklists, Glendios and Kagerou Reign Over Triples Tournament

Eastern Cultural Center, Sakai city, Osaka. Image source.

The Battle City CS organization has reported its latest tournament results, and the eighth Sakai ChampionShip has been won by team Priests of Double Critical. While the previous CS saw Blaukluger and Nouvelle Vague in the spotlight, this time two Omega Glendios cardfighters have taken the gold in one of the early team tournaments of the BT15-on format. One constant has remained between Battle City tournaments; as in the previous competition, the midfighter for the winning team used a dedicated Raging Form Dragon deck. In contrast to the mix of RFD-Dragruler that have become commonplace in Japan, Adesu's RFD build has emphasized using the established Raging Form-Mordred makeup developed around BT12, foregoing the crossride entirely and mixing Blaster Dark Revenger support with cards from Infinite Rebirth. This exists in contrast to the established trend of cutting Dark Revenger entirely for Lukea and Mana, a practice that emerged in light of Dragruler's counterblast costs generally replacing Blaster Dark's.

Glendios meanwhile is continuing to grow in popularity among Japanese fans after its success at the Hakata and Tsurumai VGCSes. While an innovative means of using both World Line Dragon and Dust Tail Unicorn in the same deck had been developed at Tsurumai through the grade 2 Colony Maker, this strategy has not seemed to catch on elsewhere, where additional cards of other grades are preferred for consistency over Dust Tail's additional Lock.

Second place team "Over There, Here and There" was made up of three Kagerou cardfighters playing Dragonic Overlord “The Яe-birth” and Nouvelle Vague decks, with the latter making up two thirds of the team. Team forward Minorun expanded Overlord's strategy slightly by experimenting with Kagerou's new grade 2 promo, Dragon Dancer Arabella, whose counterblast 1 powers up a Flame Dragon vanguard by +5000.

Dragon Dancer, Arabella

Since all of the vanguard options in the current Overlord deck make use of self-standing limit breaks, and “The Яe-birth” in particular Locks all of his own rearguards to fight alone, this build is able to make special use of Arabella by attacking with the power increase two or three times. Team OTHT's Nouvelle fighters brought identical decks that both made use of the grade 2 Dominate Drive Dragon, a base 12000 power attacker triggered by having a "Dauntless" vanguard in play. This took advantage of how long Nouvelle builds tend to sit on Dauntless Drive Dragon for their midgame before break riding to create a game-winning play of two 23000+ power attacks that can't be guarded with grade 0 units, partially answering the slow buildup Nouvelle is faced by.

Interestingly, many decks in the format are now gravitating towards 6-6 on draw to critical triggers, where in the past 12 critical had dominated the deckbuilding process. The change may be attributed in part to the higher number of moving pieces in each deck these days, with Eternal Bringer Griffin, Dragonic Burnout, Dragonic Overlord and his crossbreak ride all being considered essential parts of “The Яe-birth's” strategy, and Glendios similarly looking to assemble Ruin Magician, Praseodymium and several “Яeverse” cards into a single hand.

The eighth Battle City CS took place on March 21st in the gallery hall of the Eastern Cultural Center in Sakai city, and met its expected quota of 64 teams, charging the standard 3000 yen entry fee per team. First place in the tournament won three PlayStation 4 consoles, second place six boxes of VG-BT15: Infinite Rebirth and third place three 2000-yen iTunes cards. Third and fourth place in the tournament went to team Rotten Fighter BL4 (チーム腐-ファイターBL4) and team Amazing Party (ステキなパーティしましょ.)

The VGCS tournaments are a series of unofficial tournaments organized by fans and cardshops. Unlike Bushiroad's larger official tournaments, most VGCS events are done using a best of 3, Swiss tournament model. Turnout is typically 70-80 persons, but some events see 100 or more participants, all of whom compete using pseudonyms and internet handles rather than their real names as in official events.

Eighth Battle City Sakai VG Trio CS
Winning team: Priests of Double Critical/ダブクリ坊主
Sawa/澤
Grade 0
x1 Star-vader, World Line Dragon (FV)
x4 Recollection Star-vader, Tellurium HT
x1 Star-vader, Meteoliger CT
x3 Star-vader, Weiss Soldat CT
x2 Star-vader, Spark Doll CT
x3 Star-vader, Scouting Felis DT
x1 Star-vader, Jailer Tail DT
x2 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT
Grade 1
x4 Barrier Star-vader, Promethium
x4 Star-vader, Ruin Magician
x2 Carved Seal Star-vader, Praseodymium
x3 Taboo Star-vader, Rubidium
Grade 2
x4 Star-vader, Magnet Hollow
x3 Star-vader, Colony Maker
Grade 3
x4 Star-vader, “Ω” Glendios
x4 Star-vader, “Я” Cradle
x1 Eradicator, Vowing Saber Dragon “Я”
x1 Ice Prison Dark Lord, Cocytus “Я”
x1 School Punisher, Leo-pald “Я”
x1 Deadliest Beast Deity, Ethics Buster “Я”
x1 Maiden of Venus Trap “Я”

Adesu/あです
Grade 0
x1 Judgebau Revenger (FV)
x1 Frontline Revenger, Claudas
x4 Healing Revenger HT
x4 Freezing Revenger DT
x1 Abyss Freezer DT
x4 Grim Revenger CT
x3 Revenger, Air Raid Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Dark Revenger, Mac Lir
x4 Barrier Troop Revenger, Dorint
x2 Self-control Revenger, Rakia
x2 Revenger, Dark Bond Trumpeter
x1 Black-winged Sword Breaker
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger
x2 Nullity Revenger, Masquerade
x2 Overcoming Revenger, Lukea
x2 Wiles Revenger, Mana
x1 Dark Cloak Revenger, Tartu
Grade 3
x4 Illusionary Revenger, Mordred Phantom
x4 Revenger, Raging Form Dragon

Derrin/デリン
Grade 0
x1 Star-vader, World Line Dragon (FV)
x4 Recollection Star-vader, Tellurium HT
x2 Star-vader, Meteoliger CT
x2 Star-vader, Weiss Soldat CT
x2 Star-vader, Spark Doll 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
x2 Carved Seal Star-vader, Praseodymium
x3 Taboo Star-vader, Rubidium
Grade 2
x4 Star-vader, Magnet Hollow
x3 Star-vader, Colony Maker
Grade 3
x4 Star-vader, “Ω” Glendios
x4 Star-vader, “Я” Cradle
x1 Dragonic Overlord “The Яe-birth”
x1 Eradicator, Vowing Saber Dragon “Я”
x1 Blue Storm Karma Dragon, Maelstrom “Я”
x1 Dauntless Dominate Dragon “Я”
x1 Deadliest Beast Deity, Ethics Buster “Я”

Runner-up team: Over There, Here and There/あっちこっちそっち
Minorun/みのるん
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x2 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x2 Demonic Dragon Mage, Abarara CT
x2 Seal Dragon, Biera CT
x1 Blue-ray Dracokid CT
x1 Lizard Soldier, Goraha CT
x2 Seal Dragon, Artpique DT
x2 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x4 Dragon Dancer, Therese HT
Grade 1
x4 Wyvern Guard, Barri
x3 Calamity Tower Wyvern
x1 Dragon Monk, Gojo
x2 Violence Horn Dragon
x4 Eternal Bringer Griffin
Grade 2
x4 Dragonic Burnout
x2 Dragon Dancer, Arabella
x3 Burning Horn Dragon
x2 Berserk Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Dragonic Overlord (BT15/004)
x4 Dragonic Overlord “The Яe-birth”

Hiiya/ぴーや
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x4 Seal Dragon, Shirting HT
x4 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x2 Seal Dragon, Artpique DT
x3 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x3 Blue-ray Dracokid CT
Grade 1
x4 Nouvelle Roman Dragon
x4 Seal Dragon, Rinocross
x3 Calamity Tower Wyvern
x2 Dragon Monk, Gojo
Grade 2
x4 Nouvelle Critique Dragon
x4 Berserk Dragon
x3 Dominate Drive Dragon
Grade 3
x1 Dragonic Overlord (BT15/004)
x4 Dauntless Drive Dragon
Grade 4
x4 Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague

Seven/セブン
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x4 Dragon Dancer, Barbara HT
x4 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x2 Seal Dragon, Artpique DT
x2 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x1 Seal Dragon, Biera CT
x1 Demonic Dragon Mage, Abarara CT
x2 Lizard Soldier, Goraha CT
Grade 1
x1 Dragon Dancer, Maria
x3 Seal Dragon, Rinocross
x4 Nouvelle Roman Dragon
x3 Calamity Tower Wyvern
x2 Dragon Monk, Gojo
Grade 2
x4 Nouvelle Critique Dragon
x4 Berserk Dragon
x3 Dominate Drive Dragon
Grade 3
x1 Dragonic Overlord (BT15/004)
x4 Dauntless Drive Dragon
Grade 4
x4 Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague

News: Extra Booster 11 "Requiem at Dusk" and Extra Booster 12 "Waltz of the Goddess" to Support Shadow Paladin and Genesis, New Witch Cards to be Introduced

Images circulating on Twitter Japan this morning unveiled the next two extra boosters for the Japanese edition of Cardfight!! Vanguard, VG-EB11: Requiem at Dusk (宵闇の鎮魂歌 Yoiyami no Chinkonka, "Requiem of Twilight") and VG-EB12: Waltz of the Goddess (女神の円舞曲 Megami no Enbukyoku, "Goddess' Waltz.") Stated to provide exclusive support for the Shadow Paladin and Genesis clans, and feature cards used by Suzugamori Ren and Tokura Misaki in the TV anime Cardfight!! Vanguard Legion Mate, the extra boosters are confirmed to support the Revenger and Regalia subclans that were introduced last year. In addition, EB11 will introduce a series of Shadow Paladin "jet-black witch" (漆黒の魔女) cards, while EB12 will introduce "snow-white witches" (純白の魔女) for Genesis.

新たな力、漆黒の【魔女】達を集めて新しくヴァンガードをはじめることもできる！
Aratana chikara, shikkoku no majo-tachi wo atsumete atarashiku Vangaado wo hajimerukoto mo dekiru! 

"By collecting the jet-black "Witches" you can use a new power to begin a new kind of Vanguard!"

EB11 and EB12 will be released on June 20th in Japan. Each set will feature 35 cards, 25 new with 10 reprints (3 RRR, 5 RR, 8 R, and 19 C-rarity cards, with 6 Special Parallels containing only 1 reprint and 2 Legion Rares.) Blaster Dark Revenger is popularly believed to be one of the reprints in the set, with alternate artwork derived of the promotional image seen above, and a Legion marker to allow connectivity with the new boss card. There is also a possibility that he will be modified to be closer to Blaster Blade Seeker in skill. The sets are confirmed to include use the Legion mechanic, as was suggested at a previous press conference.

News: Glendios Cardfighter Wins Second Tsurumai VGCS, Triple Kagerou Team Places Second in Eighth Battle City CS

This weekend brings an increased prevalence of Glendios decks with it, following on the build's initial momentum earlier this March. The second Tsurumai and eighth Battle City Vanguard Championships both concluded over the 21st and 22nd, with Link Joker fighters making a lasting impression in the top brackets of each tournament. The build's impact has varied immensely based on region, achieving greater visibility within central Japan in Gunma prefecture, than in Hokkaido to the north, where Nouvelle Vague has a better hold on the format.

The second Tsurumai CS had 59 participants in all, with the top 4 going to Glendios, Dragonic Overlord, Glendios and Revenger cardfighters. This isn't the first victory for Glendios fans; the deck had been previously spotlighted in competitive play at the head of the Fireball VGCS earlier this month, under the command of tournament champion Kado. The main difference between Kado and Tsurumai winner Red Deer's decklists are that Kado was more willing to play around Omega Lock. His decklist used Cold Death Dragon where Red's uses Colony Maker, with the intent being to take the initiative away from his opponent by forcing them to put a Locked card into play, but with the caveat that he needed to be able to cast Omega Lock on that very turn to prevent the opponent from gaining card advantage in the long run.

This works better with the World End alternate win condition because otherwise opponents can voluntarily choose to keep their rearguard circles open until Omega Lock fizzles to prevent the auto-win from being initiated, but Deer's decklist is geared to take advantage of how Omega slows the game down without necessarily needing to win through it. Colony Maker leads into Dust Tail Unicorn or Ruin Magician/Praseodymium depending on the conditions. Ninjin's decklist was built similarly, but with two extra Reverse cards for 14 grade 3s and just 12 and 6 grade 1s and 2s, straining the limits of established concepts of deckbuilding.

Interestingly, among those grade 3s was a copy of Dragonic Overlord “The Яe-birth.” It has frequently been assumed by westerners that “The Яe-birth” cannot be used with Glendios support because it does not have the specific phrase “Я” in its card name, but in Japan “The Яe-birth” is instead seen as being compatible because the supporting units' card text only specifies the backward R character, Я, in card names, and because the phonetic reading for Яe-birth and Яeverse are the same リバース Ribaasu. It's uncertain how the English-language incarnation of the card will handle the intentional double meaning behind “The Яe-birth,” as there are no standards in English for phonetic guides.

Second place cardfighter Sousuke reached the top bracket using a Dragonic Overlord the “The Яe-birth” deck, with notable similarities to the makeup of Beast Deity Cup champion Hisui's deck. Both cardfighters agreed for the most part on the grade 2 and 3 makeup of their builds, with Dragonic Burnout and Berserk Dragon being favored units for their on-call field control that makes use of the rearguard circles Яe-birth Locks, but Hisui prioritized accessing the break ride with Eternal Bringer Griffon more where Sousuke went for raw draw power using Calamity Tower Wyvern and Gojo's card changing to ditch excess draw triggers.

Meanwhile the eighth Battle City Trio CS concluded recently with first place going to a Glendios, Dragruler and Glendios team while second went to three Kagerou cardfighters running two Nouvelle Vague and one Overlord decks. Third place was a makeup of Glendios, Blue Storm and Kagerou; deck lists are not yet available, but the Blue Storm build is suspected to be a Maelstrom build along the same lines as the one that recently placed second in the first Sapporo VGCS. The success of a triple Kagerou team points to the mutual effectiveness of separate but contemporary Kagerou decks, even in spite of Nouvelle being generally regarded as king among them. With Dauntless Dominate Dragon “Я” likewise hanging around in tournament results, many are eyeing Kagerou as a mainstay clan for the 2014 tournament season on both sides of the water.

Second Tsurumai VGCS
First Place: Red Deer/赤いシカ
Grade 0
x1 Star-vader, World Line Dragon (FV)
x1 Star-vader, Dust Tail Unicorn
x4 Star-vader, Stellar Garage HT
x3 Star-vader, Meteoliger CT
x4 Star-vader, Weiss Soldat CT
x2 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT
x3 Star-vader, Scouting Felis DT
Grade 1
x4 Barrier Star-vader, Promethium
x4 Star-vader, Ruin Magician
x3 Carved Seal Star-vader, Praseodymium
x2 Taboo Star-vader, Rubidium
Grade 2
x4 Star-vader, Magnet Hollow
x3 Star-vader, Colony Maker
Grade 3
x4 Star-vader, “Ω” Glendios
x3 Star-vader, “Я” Cradle
x1 Deadliest Beast Deity, Ethics Buster “Я”
x1 Cleanup Celestial, Ramiel “Я”
x1 Silver Thorn Dragon Queen, Luquier “Я”
x1 Demon God Marquis, Amon “Я”
x1 Ice Prison Dark Lord, Cocytus “Я”

Second Place: Sousuke/そーすけ
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x2 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x2 Demonic Dragon Mage, Abarara CT
x2 Seal Dragon, Biera CT
x1 Blue-ray Dracokid CT
x1 Lizard Soldier, Goraha CT
x4 Seal Dragon, Artpique DT
x4 Dragon Dancer, Barbara HT
Grade 1
x4 Wyvern Guard, Barri
x4 Calamity Tower Wyvern
x2 Dragon Monk, Gojo
x2 Eternal Bringer Griffin
x2 Demonic Dragon Mage, Kimnara
Grade 2
x4 Dragonic Burnout
x4 Burning Horn Dragon
x3 Berserk Dragon
Grade 3
x4 Dragonic Overlord (BT15/004)
x4 Dragonic Overlord “The Яe-birth”

Third Place: Ninjin/にんじん
Grade 0
x1 Star-vader, World Line Dragon (FV)
x1 Star-vader, Dust Tail Unicorn
x4 Star-vader, Stellar Garage HT
x4 Star-vader, Weiss Soldat CT
x1 Star-vader, Meteoliger CT
x2 Star-vader, Spark Doll CT
x3 Star-vader, Jailer Tail DT
x1 Star-vader, Scouting Felis DT
x1 Star-vader, Nebula Captor DT
Grade 1
x4 Barrier Star-vader, Promethium
x3 Star-vader, Ruin Magician
x3 Carved Seal Star-vader, Praseodymium
x2 Taboo Star-vader, Rubidium
Grade 2
x4 Star-vader, Magnet Hollow
x2 Star-vader, Colony Maker
Grade 3
x4 Star-vader, “Ω” Glendios
x2 Star-vader, “Я” Cradle
x1 Silver Thorn Dragon Queen, Luquier “Я”
x1 Eradicator, Vowing Saber Dragon “Я”
x1 Maiden of Venus Trap “Я”
x1 Dragonic Overlord “The Яe-birth”
x1 School Punisher, Leo-pald “Я”
x1 Dark Dimensional Robo, “Я” Daiyusha
x1 Covert Demonic Dragon, Hyakki Vogue “Я”
x1 Silver Thorn Dragon Queen, Luquier “Я”

Fourth Place: Kainzu/カインズ
Grade 0
x1 Creeping Dark Goat (FV)
x1 Judgebau Revenger
x4 Grim Revenger CT
x4 Revenger, Air Raid Dragon CT
x4 Freezing Revenger DT
x4 Healing Revenger HT
Grade 1
x4 Dark Revenger, Mac Lir
x1 Black-winged Sword Breaker
x1 Revenger, Dark Bond Trumpeter
x2 Transient Revenger, Masquerade
x1 Brunt Revenger, Shadow Lancer
x4 Self-control Revenger, Rakia
Grade 2
x4 Overcoming Revenger, Lukea
x2 Nullity Revenger, Masquerade
x3 Wiles Revenger, Mana
x2 Dark Cloak Revenger, Tartu
Grade 3
x2 Illusionary Revenger, Mordred Phantom
x2 Revenger, Dragruler Phantom
x4 Revenger, Raging Form Dragon

News: Fighter's Collection 2014 to See English Release, English TCG Approaching Synchronization

The next eight English-language set releases have been announced through the official Cardfight!! Vanguard USA Facebook page, and much excitement has been raised over the upcoming release of VGE-FC: Fighter's Collection 2014 at the end of the year. Due to the nature of FC sets as primarily featuring reprints with few new cards and the rapid release schedule of the game's English edition, it has been a concern of the English-language Cardfight community that they would never get a western release. FC2014, which is set to feature at least 23 new cards with one new grade 3 for each of the clans, has more incentive to be brought over to western shores due to the decreased count of reprints. All of these sets have been added to the official products page, sans set images.

With 37 cards and just 7 known reprints, FC2014 will feature SP reprints of Majesty Lord Blaster, Goddess of the Full Moon Tsukuyomi, Phantom Blaster Overlord, Dragonic Overlord the End, Eradicator Vowing Sword Dragon, Perfect Raizer and Top Idol Pacifica. The full Japanese setlist is not yet currently known, but as no English release of FC2013 has been announced and the set size of Fighter's Collection sets is not necessarily set in stone, it has been variously speculated that the English release could include cards from FC2013 by bumping the set size up to a full 72~80 cards, similar to the set sizes of BT01~BT05. The lack of a release for FC2013 has been a sore spot for westerners, in part due to the exclusive break rides Bleoberis and Electric Shaper Dragon, and also due to the highly coveted alternate artworks in the set for Asura Kaiser, Phantom Blaster Dragon, Blaster Blade and Blaster Dark.

More immediately, VG-BT14: Brilliant Strike and its accompanying pool of Reverse cards are suspected to be arriving in July or August. Eight releases are scheduled for after June, and with only six months remaining in that time period, it's possible that some of these will be dual releases within a single month. In particular, TD13: Successors of the Sacred Regalia and the later trial decks TD14: Seeker of Hope and TD15: Brawler of Friendship are all opportune products to release in the same month as accompanying booster sets due to how they complement the cards in Brilliant Strike and Legion of Dragons and Blades. Another possibility is for the sets following Infinite Rebirth to be released in the winter months following the new year, though this would contradict Fighter's Collection 2014's placement.

With these factors in mind, the annual World Championships--which have historically taken place in August/September through December/January--will likely be held in at least a Brilliant Strike or Divas Duet-on format, with Infinite Rebirth available in time for the finals. This oncoming rapid release schedule will likely put the English card game close to being totally synchronized with the Japanese TCG, matching the goal outlined at last year's Anime Expo of achieving simultaneous release.

News: Maelstrom “Яeverse” Places Second in First Sapporo VGCS, Dragonic Overlord “The Яe-birth” Soars in Beast Deity Cup

Decklists from the first Sapporo VGCS went up late yesterday evening, along with accompanying videos of the final match. Although the tournament marks yet another top spot for Kagerou cardfighters, interest in the second place fighter's Aqua Force deck has exceeded that in the Nouvelle fighter's, both in Japan and internationally. Second place cardfighter Mantesu created an innovative Maelstrom “Яeverse” deck modeled on the Glory Maelstrom builds of old, with nine grade 3s including familiar Diamantes support to pull off the deck's various limit breaks.

There is a substantial division in how “Я” Maelstorm is being played however. Unlike past and current Aqua Force fighters that tend to tech Glory Maelstrom at one copy, Mantesu's post-BT15 Maelstrom deck focused very heavily on the new crossride, running it at 4/3 with its original form. The first Sapporo VGCS reportedly drew 60 persons including spectators, with 48 persons participating in the championship; Mantesu was the only Aqua Force cardfighter present.

His version of the deck made use of a combination of Blue Storm and Brave Shooter support. The first vanguard Marios can search the top 5 cards of the deck for a Maelstrom unit to put into hand when an attack that it boosted hits a vanguard, potentially giving two to three opportunities to search for one of Mantesu's seven Maelstrom grade 3s before he needs to ride one. However, in both of his games with Nouvelle cardfighter Kukkii, Marios was shut down on his opponent's second turn by Gattling Claw Dragon. With Hermes and the grade 1 Brave Shooter, Mantesu had six options for base 10000 power attackers as early as turn 1, and Storm Rider Eugen let him take advantage of that further by attacking for an 8000 power base early on, then swap out for either Brave Shooter or Hermes for a second attack.

Blue Storm Marine General, Spyros.

Including the vanguard, that can create an early three attack combo. This is where the deck's eight stand triggers come in, as they exacerbate the opponent's initial dilemma of facing repeated and early attacks when guard power is typically low. Tidal Assault is meant to facilitate that further at turn 2; a base 9000 power unit that stands itself after attacking and loses -5000 power in the process, Assault is intended to attack unboosted first and then with a boost second so that it swings in the ballpark of an 11000 base for the second blow, just enough to graze most grade 3s in the format. From turn 3 onward it can also enable multiple-attack vanguards alongside the counterblast-to-stand Spyros and the Blue Storm base 12000 attacker Gregorious, who works well when swapping positions with Diamantes.

This enables both Maelstrom “Яeverse” and Maelstrom's +5000 power limit breaks, which activate during the fourth or greater battle of the turn. If Maelstrom's attack hits it can counterblast 1 to retire one of the opponent's rearguards and draw a card, grabbing up a net advantage of 2 by giving the opponent a -1 and his own cardfighter a +1, which together with the multiple attacks and stand triggers snowballs into the opponent having very few cards in play regardless of how they approach the attacks. Even if Maelstrom is defended, attacking for a ~23000 power base is a tall order to defend early with or without a perfect defense card, and potentially denies the opponent their limit break while Mantesu is setting up his crossride.

In addition to sitting on crossride defense that lets him expend less cards per turn while his opponent spends more defending the attacks, Maelstrom Reverse's limit break bypasses the need to hit. He gives himself an innate extra critical by resting and then Locking a rearguard during the fourth or greater battle of the turn, which makes up for the lack of critical triggers by smoothly bringing the opponent to 5 damage and making the additional attacks of the turn from stands that much more important. If his attack is defended, Reverse can then retire an opponent's rearguard and draw a card without needing to hit, sending the opponent into a downward spiral where there's an effective time limit on how long they have to win the game before they run out of cards from defending multiple attacks and losing a rearguard each turn while Aqua Force hovers above them with superior card advantage. You can jump to the first and second place decklists directly by searching the page for [1SVGCS]

The major fault of the deck is when it does not draw the cards necessary to pull off its strategy, as in the first game of the Sapporo finals where Mantesu went second but had none of his early game offensive power, and late in the second game where he had his Reverse card in play but not a strong enough field to trigger the limit break. Damage triggers can also upset this strategy at any point in the fight, as they effectively decrease the entire field's power by 5000. But with so many options for triggering the fourth attack condition, the consistency of the build is still sufficient to stand up to professional giants like Nouvelle Vague and Raging Form-Dragruler.

Meanwhile the decklists from the Beast Deity Cup are out, and much excitement has been raised over the success of Dragonic Overlord “The Яe-birth.” While generally agreed on as a strong contender in the current format, “The Яe-birth” has also been overshadowed by its grade 4 big brother, Nouvelle. Яe-birth's Lock field skill prevents anything but the vanguard from being used for the turn, but gives its vanguard +10000 power and a skill that allows it to stand by discarding two cards after an attack. In conjunction with the skill of the BT15 break ride that Яe-birth is a crossride of, this allows for up to three attacks and six drive checks with no loss in card advantage, equivalent in practical terms to giving the entire field twin drive for one turn.

Generally Яe-birth has been used in conjunction with on-call skills like those of Calamity Tower Wyvern and Berserk Dragon, but has only penetrated tournament play in small numbers. Hisui's victory with it is one early footholds in the BT15-on format.

He was accompanied by two other Overlord cardfighters in the top 4, and also notably the Nova Grappler cardfighter Konomu, who played a Beast Deity deck that fused Ethics Buster Extreme and Reverse into one composite strategy. This has become a popular strategy since the release of VG-BT13: Catastrophic Outbreak, with Extreme-Reverse fusion decks dominating the Nagoya junior regional finals, and taking first in the fifth Fateclock VGCS. Konomu made a relatively unprecedented call in running eight draw rather than the stand or critical triggers that have been shown effective with Beast Deities, using Shout to card change the draws out of his hand after they've been checked. He may have been taking a leaf from contemporary Link Joker cardfighters' playbooks, as running in the vicinity of 5~7 draw has been demonstrated to be effective for decks that are heavily break ride dependent, and Ethics Buster “Яeverse” in conjunction with his break ride has achieved no small amount of notoriety as an eight-attack kill strategy. With Chaos Breaker and Glendios heavily sidelined by the Nouvelle-centric state of professional play, the way has been opened once more for rearguard-dependent decks like Maelstrom and Ethics Buster “Яeverse.” You can jump to the top 4 decklists directly by searching the page for [1BCUP]

First Sapporo VGCS [1SVGCS]
First Place: Kukkii/くっきぃ
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x4 HT (Specific information not given)
x4 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x1 Seal Dragon, Artpique DT
x7 CT (Specific information not given)
Grade 1
x4 Nouvelle Roman Dragon
x4 Dragon Dancer, Maria
x4 Calamity Tower Wyvern
x2 Dragon Monk, Gojo
Grade 2
x4 Nouvelle Critique Dragon
x4 Berserk Dragon
x2 Bellicosity Dragon
x1 Demonic Dragon Berserker, Kubhanda
Grade 3
x2 Dragonic Overlord (BT15/004)
x3 Dauntless Drive Dragon
Grade 4
x3 Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague

Second Place: Mantesu/まんてす
Grade 0
x1 Blue Storm Cadet, Marios (FV)
x4 Blue Storm Fleet, Angler Soldier ST
x4 Dolphin Sider of High Speed Raids ST
x4 Blue Storm Battle Princess, Doria DT
x4 Blue Storm Kitchen Sailor HT
Grade 1
x4 Emerald Shield, Paschal
x4 Blue Storm Marine General, Hermes
x3 Storm Rider, Eugene
x2 Mercenary Brave Shooter
Grade 2
x4 Tidal Assault
x4 Blue Storm Marine General, Spyros
x3 Blue Storm Marine General, Gregorious
Grade 3
x4 Blue Storm Karma Dragon, Maelstrom “Я”
x3 Blue Storm Dragon, Maelstrom
x2 Storm Rider, Diamantes

Beast Deity Cup [1BCUP]
First Place: Hisui/ヒスイ
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x2 Seal Dragon, Biera CT
x2 Lizard Soldier, Goraha CT
x2 Blue-ray Dracokid CT
x1 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x1 Demonic Dragon Mage, Abarara CT
x4 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x4 Dragon Dancer, Barbara HT
Grade 1
x4 Seal Dragon, Rinocross
x4 Eternal Bringer Griffin
x2 Calamity Tower Wyvern
x2 Violence Horn Dragon
x1 Dragon Monk, Gojo
Grade 2
x4 Burning Horn Dragon
x4 Berserk Dragon
x4 Dragonic Burnout
Grade 3
x4 Dragonic Overlord (BT15/004)
x4 Dragonic Overlord “The Яe-birth”

Second Place: Awaawa/あわあわ
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x3 Seal Dragon, Biera CT
x2 Lizard Soldier, Goraha CT
x2 Blue-ray Dracokid CT
x2 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x3 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x4 Dragon Dancer, Barbara HT
Grade 1
x4 Wyvern Guard, Barri
x3 Eternal Bringer Griffin
x3 Calamity Tower Wyvern
x3 Dragon Monk, Gojo
x1 Demonic Dragon Mage, Kimnara
Grade 2
x3 Burning Horn Dragon
x3 Berserk Dragon
x3 Bellicosity Dragon
x2 Dragonic Burnout
Grade 3
x4 Dragonic Overlord (BT15/004)
x4 Dragonic Overlord “The Яe-birth”

Third Place: Konomu/このむ
Grade 0
x1 Beast Deity, Riot Horn (FV)
x4 Beast Deity, Death Stinger CT
x4 Beast Deity, Banpauros DT
x4 The Gong DT
x4 Beast Deity, Rescue Bunny HT
Grade 1
x4 Beast Deity, Solar Falcon
x4 Beast Deity, Blank Marsh
x2 Energy Charger
x2 Screamin' and Dancin' Announcer, Shout
x1 Beast Deity, Hilarity Destroyer
Grade 2
x4 Beast Deity, Hatred Chaos
x3 Beast Deity, Golden Anglet
x3 Beast Deity, Brainy Pabio
Grade 3
x4 Beast Deity, Ethics Buster
x4 Deadliest Beast Deity, Ethics Buster “Я”
x2 Strongest Beast Deity, Ethics Buster Extreme

Fourth Place: Fayete/ふぁやて
Grade 0
x1 Red Pulse Dracokid (FV)
x3 Blue-ray Dracokid CT
x4 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr CT
x4 Gattling Claw Dragon DT
x1 Seal Dragon, Artpique DT
x3 Dragon Dancer, Therese HT
x1 Dragon Dancer, Barbara HT
Grade 1
x3 Wyvern Guard, Barri
x1 Dragon Dancer, Maria
x4 Eternal Bringer Griffin
x2 Violence Horn Dragon
x2 Calamity Tower Wyvern
x1 Dragon Monk, Gojo
Grade 2
x4 Burning Horn Dragon
x4 Berserk Dragon
x4 Dragonic Burnout
Grade 3
x4 Dragonic Overlord (BT15/004)
x4 Dragonic Overlord “The Яe-birth”

News: World Champion Almeida Stewart Wins BeNeLux Tournament with Genovius, Lock on Victory to Include Over 2300 Cards

The latest BeNeLux tournament concluded on March 9th early this week, with reigning world champion Almeida Stewart taking first place using an Aqua Force deck atypical of the BT12-on format. The BeNeLux tournaments are a line of unofficial competitions organized by the joint vanguard community of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Although open to being held in any of the three countries' major cities, it is typically held in Antwerp, Belgium on a monthly to bimonthly basis; due to its relatively high turnout in the range of ~30 persons minimum, it has been nicknamed the VGCS of BeNeLux.

In total there were 35 participants, low compared to the normal turnout of a Japanese CS but on par with other large tournaments in Europe and the unofficial ARG tournaments in the United States. The March BeNeLux was held in the Outpost Gamecenter of Antwerp and lasted 6 rounds, with second place going to Dylan Kneip playing a Raging Form Dragon deck. The top 8 were as follows;

1. Aqua Force (Thundering Ripple Genovius, played by Almeida Stewart)

2. Shadow Paladin (Revenger Raging Form Dragon, played by Dylan Kneip)

3. Pale Moon (Silver Thorns)

4. Gold Paladin (Spectral Duke Dragon)

5. Narukami (Eradicators)

6. Link Joker (Nebula Lord Dragon)

7. Royal Paladin (Sanctuary Guard Dragon and Fang of Light Garmore)

8. Gold Paladin (Ezel)

Stewart's decklist emphasized better than average draw power, speed and consistency. The core of it used the Ripple evolution cards for ride security to search out Pavroth or Genovius, with the grade 1 and 2 Brave Shooter support for base 10000 and 12000 attackers that allowed better early aggression. This also worked well with Pavroth's ability to stand and power up a rearguard in the midgame, turning Twin Strike Brave Shooter into a base 15000 attacker on the second strike.

Stewart ran three copies of Penguin Soldier for its soulblast-and-draw skill, reasoning that with the deck's break ride he would always have four cards in the soul to use two of the Penguins later on.

His main strategy was to break ride Genovius over Transcore Dragon; attacking with both rearguard lanes first would bring the opponent to 5 damage, Transcore's skill would force the opponent to discard a card just to be able to guard in the first place to ensure a -3 even if they had a perfect defense card, and Genovius' persona blast would stand both rearguard columns to ensure that he would have two more attacks waiting to receive any trigger checks.

The maneuver became even more dangerous if the opponent was already at 5 damage, where any one of the five attacks would win the game. For endgame purposes Stewart ran a tech copy of Blue Storm Supreme Dragon Glory Maelstrom, using Glory Maelstrom's ultimate break to prevent the opponent from using perfect defense cards while increasing his own power. The decision synergized well with his focus on draw power and grade security. You can jump to the decklists directly by searching the page for [MBNL]

Meanwhile more details on the upcoming sequel to the Nintendo 3DS game Ride to Victory, Cardfight!! Vanguard Lock on Victory, have just come out through an Amazon listing. Announced last December, the sequel will feature over 2300 cards, support both local and internet play, and allow the sending of messages to other players after concluding a cardfight. Lock on Victory will also come packaged with four copies of Setting Sun Star-vader Darmstadtium, each foiled as an R-rarity card.

Retailing for 5229 JPY (approx. 52 USD) the game is scheduled for a June 5th release in Japan, will introduce four new protagonists and will allow the player to attend a high school of their choice from the anime series, between Kai Toshiki's Hitsue High, Sendou Aichi's Miyaji Academy, and Suzugamori Ren's Fukuhara High School. Recent issues of Monthly Bushiroad magazine have also shown Reversed cardfighters appearing, with Naoki and Koutei making use of their Vowing Saber Dragon and “Я” Daiyusha decks respectively.

Although past campaigns to bring the first game over have not succeeded, Bushiroad was responsive to fans' initial requests for FuRyu's game to be translated for the western markets, to the point that internal talks had begun by the time of Anime Expo 2013. As Ride to Victory was never designed with an international release date in mind, there may yet be hope for its sequel.

March BeNeLux Tournament [MBNL]
First Place: Almeida Stewart
Grade 0
x1 Starting Ripple, Alecs (FV)
x2 Ice Floe Angel HT
x2 Medical Officer of the Rainbow Elixir HT
x4 Pyroxene Communications Sea Otter DT
x4 Jet-Ski Rider CT
x4 Supersonic Sailor CT
Grade 1
x4 Silent Ripple, Sotirio
x4 Mercenary Brave Shooter
x4 Emerald Shield, Paschal
x3 Light Signals Penguin Soldier
Grade 2
x4 Rising Ripple, Pavroth
x4 Twin Strike Brave Shooter
x2 Tear Knight, Lucas
Grade 3
x4 Thundering Ripple, Genovius
x3 Blue Flight Dragon, Transcore Dragon
x1 Blue Storm Supreme Dragon, Glory Maelstrom

Second Place: Dylan Kneip
Grade 0
x1 Creeping Dark Goat (FV)
x4 Healing Revenger HT
x4 Freezing Revenger DT
x2 Abyss Freezer DT
x4 Grim Revenger CT
x2 Revenger, Air Raid Dragon CT
Grade 1
x4 Revenger of Darkness, Mac Lir
x4 Barrier Troop Revenger, Dorint
x2 Sacrilege Revenger, Baal-berith
x4 Transient Revenger, Masquerade
Grade 2
x4 Blaster Dark Revenger
x3 Dark Cloak Revenger, Tartu
x4 Nullity Revenger, Masquerade
Grade 3
x4 Revenger, Raging Form Dragon
x4 Illusionary Revenger, Mordred Phantom