Interview: Brandon Smith & Brandon Bastianelli

Shortly before the award ceremony of the World Championship 2012 Chicago Qualifier, our team was able to interview regional champion Brandon Bastianelli and his teammate, Canadian regional champion Brandon Smith. Below is a transcript of the interview, which is also hosted above with photos from the event. This interview was taken at around 1824, as the tournament went more than two hours over schedule and the closing ceremonies were over around 1830.

Interview Transcript

CFP: Brandon and Brandon, you two are not only from the same team...
Smith: Same team.
CFP: ...but you are also both now qualified for the North American national championship, and if you take this far enough, you could take that to a world title. How do you two feel?
Bastianelli: I feel fantastic. I don't know why, but it's probably the best thing that's ever happened, ever. Like, not only am I getting to go on a trip that I really wanna go on, but I get to go there with a bud. Like, you can't get better than that. It's a dream.
CFP: And what about you, Brandon?
Smith: I've been excited because I won, but I came even though I had my championship title already, to just let my teammate get a chance and Brandon was the one that worked diligently, playtesting night and day and day and night. So it's a really really sweet end to see that you know, my feeling is that we worked so hard together and it actually pays off in the end. And you know I'm honored to be the Canadian national, even though I'm from the United States but I'm just really really excited right now, especially to have a teammate in top two and then also a teammate in third and fourth place. I really like it but Brandon for sure will be there.
CFP: How did you two get into Cardfight?
Bastianelli: That's—
Smith: I got it. All right, a lot of people don't know this, but Cardfight!! Vanguard came out in roughly November of last year, they came out with the English version, the very second they came out with the English version I had my store owner spearhead the whole bringing Cardfight to America, so a lot of vendors like GTS and Ed Storey at Global Enterprises in New York, a lot of distributors besides Hammergirl, Hammergirl was like the beginning. But besides Hammergirl, we were like one of the first people. Our state probably had like a little bit of an advantage, cause we had it the day it came out. So, that's like how I started in Vanguard, and then I got him started in Vanguard. I taught him basically, not him everything he knows, but a lot.
Bastianelli: Even though I was slightly before you in playing Golds to begin with.
Smith: Yeah, true.
CFP: That's a very heartwarming story. What's the philosophy behind your deck?
Smith: My deck?
Bastianelli: He fine-tuned it, so...
Smith: All right, so I'm an Oracle Think Tank player originally, and I love the control and the draw aspects of the game, and I played against him in one of our tournaments. He was playing Spectral Duke, never heard of it, you know I'm just like new to it, he's like "It stands again." I'm like "Wait. This is broken." So, I decided to play the same deck, he ends up dropping it for a little bit--he plays Royal Paladins--he also made top 8 in Canada. But besides that point, so he basically introduced me to Spectral Duke and the Gold Paladins, I fine-tuned the deck and I went undefeated, and he's playing my build today and he went undefeated.
CFP: There have been various controversies regarding the double elimination format of tournaments, the single match nature of individual rounds, the alleged nonrandomity of the matchups, and how the top eight were determined. Do you two feel that any of these factors have hurt the legitimacy of the tournament?
Bastianelli: No, I don't believe that a game would ever come here--I don't believe that they would come here and not have a system. They have a system, but America's not used to [it.] We're used to best two out of three, or best of the Swiss format, we don't understand the inner workings of double elimination. The tiebreaker system is very weird in double elimination, and we've never even experienced it before until this game started because this is more of a Japanese style of tournament structure. So, I know they have a system. I know they wouldn't lie about it, that's stupid like no one would ever lie about--they have too much to lose by doing that.
Smith: Exactly.
Bastianelli: It's so weird to us, and when people don't make it, they get upset no matter what. So first thing they're gonna do is attack the judges.
Smith: Yeah. Like I feel very sorry for people who didn't make it, who were like X-1 and didn't make it, but it's a fact that not every X-1 is gonna get in all the time. Like it was a fact that I lost to him also and so did Kyle Warfield, and it was a fact that I might not have made it. I came in sixth place, I was expecting third or second and I was second with Kyle instead of third or second--I came in sixth. And just because it was double elimination, and the way tiebreakers work are different from most things that North Americans are used to, like I'm used to Konami Software, I'm used to Magic Software, but this is a little bit different, you know maybe later on down the road they might switch over to a two out of three format, so right now it is what it is, I mean it's brand new. At this point in Konami's tournament organized play, there was none. So we gotta take what we have, you know?
Bastianelli: Konami doesn't even hardly have organized play here back then. We're only what, not even--
Smith: Yeah, we're less than a year in playing Cardfight!! Vanguard--
Bastianelli: --and we already have a tournament that sends you across the country and then possibly across the world, for free.
Smith: Where Konami did not. So like with the advancement of play, I give Bushiroad and Cardfight!! Vanguard a very very very high plus, because of their being ahead of the curve, you know what I mean? I know it sucks for some people who didn't make it, and I feel sorry and I definitely can understand how they feel, but you know we can't be mad at the fact that that's what happened. I'm very sorry you know, like I apologize and I'm not even that far.
Bastianelli: And even to suggest that they possibly are lying about this system, that's just asinine--there's no reason for that--I understand that people are mad, but they would never do that.
Smith: Exactly.
CFP: Okay, it's great to hear that player input, we better wrap this up seeing as the ceremony is starting. Thank you for the interview, guys. This has been Brandon and Brandon.

News: Cardfight!! Vanguard 3DS

To much applause yesterday, subscribers to the video game magazine Famitsu were revealed an up-and-coming Spring 2013 3DS title, Cardfight!! Vanguard Ride to Victory. The game is being developed by FuRyu, previously known for the Tsukumonogatari PSP visual novel-RPG hybrid and the 3DS/PSP dungeon crawler Unchained Blades, and will be retailing for 5229 yen, about 66.82 USD. While information is scarce at this time and the game is allegedly only at 40% completion, it is currently known that it will recreate the experience of playing the tabletop game, but on a handheld console. If and how this will take advantage of the 3DS' glasses-free 3D is unknown at this time, but the announcement is drumming much excitement from fans. As Cardfight's publisher, Bushiroad Inc., has had its hands in the video game market since before they turned their eyes to producing the CFV franchise, many have been waiting for this announcement since the anime debuted in January of last year.

While there are many questions in the air as to how the title will be executed, already we do have some answers. The game is to feature its own original storyline, but still based on the anime series, with the protagonist seeking to challenge Japan's fictitious pro scene and fight for the national title. Aichi, Ren, Kai, Shin, Misaki and Kamui have all been confirmed through screenshots or scans to be making appearances, but their exact role at this time is uncertain. Players will be able to use points earned in the game's story mode and free play to buy cards from the in-game Card Capital to modify their decks.

The current phase "battle phase" and inside of it "attack step" is listed in katakana at the top left; current number of cards remaining in deck, number of cards in the hand, cards in soul, and available counterblast are at the top right alongside a fighter's portrait. This setup is mirrored for the bottom left. Note that despite the season 1-inspired plot, Aichi is wearing his Circuit-era outfit. This pattern is likewise true for the remaining cast. Assuming that this screenshot comes from the 3DS' top screen, the hand seems to be shown on the bottom.

Other confirmed details are that the in-game shop will sell booster packs directly patterned off of their real-world equivalents. Noticeably, none of the screenshots or magazine reveals so far have shown any cards from after TD07; due to the game being less than halfway complete, it may be speculated that cards from BT07-08 will be included in the final product, depending on its date of release. Additionally, magazine scans appear to reveal a new, original character not present in the existing continuities.

This character may be a protagonist to embody the player in the game, if Aichi himself is not the protagonist.

While these initial shots look promising, there are many predecessors in the genre already pinning the fledgling game's shadow. As early as 1997 MicroProse's Magic: the Gathering had recreated the earliest TCG in computer form, boasting free character customization, accurate recreation of gameplay and an expansive overworld to explore. Hudson Soft's 1998 Pokémon: Trading Card Game featured similar depth of innovation by converting the experience into a portable game accessible to a broader age range, taking advantage of the programmed environment to include cards that did not exist in the real world. In 1999 Konami completed this early triumvirate of VTCGs with the last entry of the "Big 3," Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories, a PlayStation release frequently criticized for its inaccurate gameplay but lauded for its detailed graphical presentation--more akin to a visual novel than a VTCG as was established then--and for taking its own direction with an at-the-time incomplete storyline. Ride to Victory appears to follow a middle ground between the Memories and Pokémon patterns that were previously used in the Tag Force games, not sewing its plot from wholecloth but instead providing a different adaptation of a past storyline.

Aside from these early forerunners, Japan's domestic VTCG market is already flooded by purely virtual innovations based out of arcades that deal real trading cards for use with scan machines (Monster Battle Road, Mushiking et al.), and nearly as many handheld Yu-Gi-Oh! releases as Street Fighter II remakes. Despite the small amount of information presently available, there are already many expectations riding on Ride to Victory, and challenges that it must overcome in the highly competitive environments both domestically and abroad. Given how Bushiroad has handled similar challenges facing both its real TCG and the anime, the future is nonetheless looking bright for Victory.

In other news, a second Big Vanguard Fest event was announced for 2013. This event will take place on from 27 April to 28 April, in the same two-day style as the 2012 Fest.

News: VG-BT09 Clash of the Knights & Dragons

Set for a December 8th Japanese release, Cardfight's eighth booster set, Clash of the Knights & Dragons (竜騎激突 Ryuukigekitou lit. "Dragon Cavalry Clash" with the "Cavalry" being the same kanji from EB03) was announced yesterday evening. So far the set is to feature new cards for Murakumo, Aqua Force, Oracle Think Tank, Nova Grappler, Angel Feather, Great Nature, Narukami, Pale Moon and the Gold Paladins that its set image makes clear. Additionally, the possibility of unmentioned clans receiving support has been brought up in the ad itself. There will be 102 cards with 2 reprints from previous sets, 8 RRR, 12 RR, 22 R, 60 C and 12 SP-rarity cards.

The limit breaks of three key units are confirmed to play a role from the pack advertisement (アイチ、櫂、レオンが使う最強ユニットがついに登場！ 限界を超越した三戦士の力がキミの手に！/ "The introduction of Aichi, Kai and Leon's strongest units! Hold the power of three warriors in your hands and rise above the limit!") Set 9 is being touted as an "all-star" pack that will reinforce multiple major characters' decks. As Japanese fans have been quick to note, set 9 seems to be a Circuit-era counterpart to set 5. Given that the set size is still BT06-on, and that this pack's season 1 counterpart was able to include support for ten clans with major support being devoted to five of those, BT09 leaves room for at least one or two more clans with major support for six in all or an equal division of support between all nine of the clans revealed. Gold Paladin, Narukami and Aqua Force are confirmed for major by the poster, while of the clans currently known Murakumo and Great Nature are arguably the ones most in need of updating. Since Nova Grappler and Oracle Think Tank are receiving their next updates in Infinite Phantom Legion and Celestial Valkyries, that leaves two slots open if the former approach is taken. Dark Irregulars is a possible unannounced candidate, as Tetsu will likely need to get screentime late in the season for his final confrontation with Kamui just as Asaka is bound to get the same for Misaki.

Other speculation is that BT09 will feature a crossride for Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel; given how similar speculation regarding BT08 and EB04 turned out, this may well be the case. The artwork definitely looks like Ezel, and Ito is credited for the illustration at the bottom right. His body armor also has aesthetic similarities to both Majesty Lord Blaster and the manga-exclusive Excalipetoza Blaster/Exculpate the Blaster (uncertain translations with no official name) possibly being a clue to this unit being its storyline equivalent. If the speculation proves correct, then this will be Sendou's first crossride, as Lord Blaster of the previous season did not meet the full criteria. While Great Daiyusha has certainly set a precedent through which 10000-power units can receive a crossride, the 13000 power of a prospective Ezel crossride would most likely be restricted by limit break, putting into question if it would really interact with the game in the same fashion as its season 1 predecessors.

Alternate speculations include that this Ezel be a darker counterpart for Takuto, or a simple alternate artwork reprint of Ezel. However, while alternate artwork cards have been issued in the past, they have only ever been cover cards in the set that their regular artwork debuted in. More interestingly this set's December release (set four days before BT05 was released last year) seems to suggest that the Asia Circuit will conclude in the same time frame as the first season, in March. As of this writing, that leaves around 28 episodes left in the season, for a 50 episode total rather than the 65 of the first season. While this is not concrete confirmation of the episode count, there is definitely a precedent for the inferred information.

Fighter's Spotlight: Thomas Cassidy

Fighter's Spotlight is an ongoing project concerned with tracking real-world professional cardfighters across the globe.

Cassidy is on the left, next to Doctor K.

Thomas Cassidy

Age: Unknown
Titles Won: Dallas Regional Champion
Current Status: Dallas Regional Champion (Reigning)
Deck Type: Gold Paladin (Spectral Duke Dragon-Ezel)
Thomas Cassidy is one of two out of 240 participants to have placed high enough at the 2012 Dallas regional to qualify for the 2012 world championships. A Texas native, Cassidy is noted for the upset he cemented by coming out as no less than the fifth Gold Paladin deck to qualify, completely beating out the audience-favorite Kagerou and Oracle Think Tank clans at his regional. This completed a shift in professional favor away from the traditional view of Royal Paladin and Kagerou dominating, to the Gold Paladins for the national title, while also creating a six-way Gold Paladin mirror match in the public eye.

Additionally, a minor controversy surrounds Cassidy due to cheating allegations surrounding the Dallas regional. Cassidy was spotted by eyewitnesses performing a second drive check while at grade 2, illegally adding a card to his hand. As this took place in a crowd of over 200 onlookers with six judges observing the match, the allegations can be difficult to believe but have been almost universally corroborated by those present. Furthermore, the video of the match has been deliberately kept from the public eye, allegedly due to presenting direct evidence of the second check. The cheat itself was reported as accidental and was not noticed by Cassidy himself. Regardless of the truth behind the alleged cheating, Cassidy has been officially recognized in writing by Bushiroad as the regional champion, effectively shutting the door on further investigation.

Decks and Play Style
Cassidy brought a Spectral Duke Dragon deck to Dallas, championing the deck's full ride chain for grade security while avoiding counterblast-heavy cards. This eliminates the need for Tripp and helps Cassidy press the opponent earlier by way of Providence Strategist; while the card has been mostly panned since its release, Strategist proves vital to Cassidy's play style because even though it cannot exceed 15000 power with the strongest rearguard boost available, every attack that it makes must be guarded to prevent him from gaining hand advantage. Furthermore, Strategist's conditions are easy to meet and Cassidy's personal customization of the build to include Tron plays into the ease with which Strategist's skill comes off, due to them having similar activation conditions. 16000 power lines were also unnecessary in the format that Cassidy fought in, due to the ever-increasing popularity of Garmore-based Gold Paladin, which had only 10000 power units in play.

The final nail sealing Strategist as a key card for his deck is his use with the Duke Dragon centerpiece. Each Strategist that goes off works towards offsetting the disadvantage that the Dragon's limit break creates, similar to Nemain's use in Shadow Paladin decks, and with two Strategists in play alongside Spectral Duke, the opponent feels required to block all four attacks of that turn even at three or four damage. With Duke benefiting from Tron's 10000-power boost, this turns prolongued games into mortal affairs for the opposition. Compare how Chiku Fumiya in Japan similarly applied Brave General, Zachary to score free damage with a unit that would no longer exist at the end of his turn, or Field Driller to offset Dudley Emperor's cost; the two decks employ similar hit-and-run tactics that counter their own disadvantages by cutting cards away from the field and drawing replacements.

Winter 2012 Regional Tournament, Dallas: Vortimer the Strong
Card Pool: TD01-BT03, BT06-EB03, PR 0001-0029
Grade 0
x1 Black Dragon Whelp, Vortimer (FVG)
x4 Elixir Sommelier HT
x4 Falcon Knight of the Azure DT
x4 Weapons Dealer, Gwydion DT
x4 Silent Punisher CT
Grade 1
x4 Scout of Darkness, Vortimer
x4 Halo Shield, Mark
x4 Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth
x2 Little Battler, Tron
Grade 2
x4 Black Dragon Knight, Vortimer
x4 Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains
x4 Providence Strategist
Grade 3
x4 Spectral Duke Dragon
x3 Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel

Spotlight: Masuda Yuusaku/益田優作

Fighter's Spotlight is an ongoing project concerned with tracking real-world professional cardfighters across the globe.

Masuda is to the right of Doctor O, holding the championship trophy.

Masuda Yuusaku/益田優作
Age: Unknown; Seniors Division
Titles Won: Tokyo Regional Champion, Vanguard Grand Prix National Champion (Senior Class)
Current Status: National Champion (Winter 2011)
Deck Type: Royal Paladin (Alfred-SSD, Galahad influence)
Masuda Yuusaku is the 2011 Grand Prix national champion, having made his debut in the pro scene during a troubled time when his clan's place as a competitive deck was in dispute. In stark contrast to Rikino's by-the-book approach to the junior cup, Masuda is today known for having innovated a deck that reestablished RoPala in the new format, cementing them as the clan of choice for many professionals to come. At the moment he is the subject of much interest in the west due to the ongoing world championship, and the English side of the game existing at roughly the same stage as Japan had in Masuda's time. Unlike Masuda, western cardfighters are approaching their first national events in a limit break-dominated format, once more putting into question how his deck can perform for the emerging EN scene.

Decks and Play Style
Having come into the Prix immediately following the restriction of Barcgal, as a Royal Paladin cardfighter Masuda faced the challenge of reestablishing a clan that had just been put into doubt. Opting to take the unproven but promising Galahad build, Masuda's set 3 deck eschews the Godspeed section of the line in favor of the Soul Saver and Alfred play set established by Shitakawachi, but with Palamedes replacing Bors as his rearguard attacker. Due to the inclusion of Galahad, Lien proved both unnecessary for consistency and forced out by the need to maximize his odds of getting off a superior ride. The deck's synergy is somewhat interrupted by RoPala's lack of Tsukuyomi-style stacking support, Tribulation's soulcharge 2 not being available due to Godspeed being excluded, and the numerous count of shuffle-based skills, but this is a deck where the Paladins are operating outside of their traditional comfort zone and Masuda has made the most of that by adapting it back toward their leading image.

Unlike his predecessors, Masuda's deck required zero maintenance in the transition from the regional to national level. Since there's no room for Toypugal and Marron could not be run in her full number, Palamedes is at less than his peak performance, and while Soul Saver helps compensate for this, had the Explosive Flames been capable of breaking 21000 power more regularly then Saver Dragon's soulblast would push that strength to another stage. His purely 10000-power grade 3s and Palamedes' lesser expressive force leaves the Masuda deck dangerously open to loss from defensive play styles and 20-25000 power rushes, cheaper and easier to maintain than 16-21000. While important for understanding the development and evolution of professional Cardfight, and undoubtedly the best deck that RoPala had available at the time, it's unlikely to see comebacks in modern Japanese play due to the development of the Blaster series.

Winter 2011 Regional Tournament, Tokyo Seniors Division
Card Pool: TD01-BT03, PR 0001-0036

Grade 0
x1 Future Knight, Llew CT
x4 Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine HT
x3 Margal DT
x1 Drangal (FVG)
x4 Alabaster Owl CT
x4 Bringer of Good luck, Epona CT
Grade 1
x4 Flash Shield, Iseult
x3 Little Saged, Marron
x3 Pongal
x4 Knight of Quests, Galahad
Graded 2
x2 Blaster Blade
x2 Knight of Silence, Gallatin
x2 High Dog Breeder, Akane
x2 Knight of Truth, Gordon
x4 Knight of Tribulations, Galahad
Grade 3
x3 King of Knights, Alfred
x2 Soul Saver Dragon
x2 Swordsman of the Explosive Flames, Palamedes

Spotlight: Brandon Smith

Fighter's Spotlight is an ongoing project concerned with tracking real-world professional cardfighters across the globe. 

Smith is at the bottom right. Opposite him is John Pedro, the Canadian runner-up for 2012. Original photo by Cardfight USA.

Brandon Smith

Birthdate: July 29, 1986
Titles Won: Canadian Regional Champion, North American National Champion (2012), World Champion (2012)
Current Status: World Champion (Former, 2012)
Deck Type: Gold Paladin (Spectral Duke Dragon)
Brandon Smith is the former international champion and one of two out of 120 fighters to have qualified in Toronto to participate in the 2012 North American national championship. Originally an Oracle Think Tank cardfighter from outside Canada that later converted to Royal Paladin, he made the leap to Gold Paladin following Barcgal's restriction and used his experience from local play to rocket into the throne of the North American continent. Following this, he became the leading fighter in the world and the first World Champion in history. Smith was also instrumental in the early spearheading of Cardfight in the United States, bringing the game into Collectible Investments in the very first month of its release.

In addition to his victories at Toronto, Los Angeles and Tokyo, Smith participated in the Chicago regional while Brandon Bastianelli used their deck, but was eliminated in the top eight and came in sixth. During the North American Stand Up Challenge Cup, Smith used a Majesty Lord Blaster deck, but abstained from participating past the regional level due to a scheduling conflict with the on-site gunslinger event that he was running at the championship finals.

Smith competed using a Great Nature build in the 2013 World Championships, making top 16 at the Toronto regional qualifier and going 12-1 at Chicago; his one loss became the tiebreaker that set him outside the cut to top 8 without the chance to participate further. Despite being denied the opportunity to defend his title, Smith remained positive and continued to encourage others to play Cardfight!! Vanguard. His tenure as world champion ended with the close of the WCS2013 on January 12, 2014, with the title formally passing over to European cardfighter Almeida Stewart.

Decks and Play Style
Smith's deck was co-developed between him and Bastianelli, with Bastianelli having developed the early build, later dropping it for the Royals while Smith fine-tuned it. As a result of their diligence, the finished deck would eventually top both the Canadian and Chicago regionals, with no modifications made between appearances.

Smith adheres to the Spectral Duke Dragon style of play, using an eight critical, four draw build to try to maximize his output critical, forcing the opponent to race him for damage and activate his limit break more easily. The extra critical triggers also help with Duke Dragon's self-standing skill, as it retains the effects of the triggers upon standing, mitigating the relative lack of threat that it poses upon losing twin drive. Smith chose to use Gwydion over Falcon Knight for his lone draw, most likely because Gwydion's 5000 power can still push Duke Dragon up to 16000 or Gigantech up to 17000.

Sleygal Dagger and Little Battler, Tron both work as alternative boosters to one another, Tron turning Duke Dragon into a 21000-power column while Dagger can achieve similar numbers by repeating her counterblast. Due to the popularly questioned integrity of the 2012 championship's double and single elimination format, the most widely agreed upon point about Smith's deck is that its main feature is the ride security. Unlike other cardfighters, Smith's use of the Vortimer ride chain gives him seven extra cards to parse through for his grade 2 and 3 ride, helping to ensure that he does not miss a ride or on his initial twin drive.

Smith's Spectral Duke also emphasizes Viviane more commonly than contemporary builds, compensating for the steep loss in advantage that Duke Dragon's powerful limit break confers. His deck is somewhat weakened by the absence of Tripp, as without the ability to unflip damage, any counterblast that Smith uses is permanently lost. This weakens his capacity to survive the latter parts of a match, since without any counterblast the deck's skills are cut off from use, but as it's inherently difficult to survive a well executed Dragon rush, it's rare for the deck to reach that point in the game.

Winter 2012 Regional Tournament, Canada
Card Pool: TD01-BT03, BT06-EB03, PR 0001-0029
Grade 0
x1 Black Dragon Whelp, Vortimer (FVG)
x4 Silent Punisher CT
x4 Elixir Sommelier HT
x4 Weapons Dealer, Gwydion DT
x4 Flame of Victory CT
Grade 1
x2 Sleygal Dagger
x4 Halo Shield, Mark
x1 Little Battler, Tron
x4 Scout of Darkness, Vortimer
x4 Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth
Grade 2
x4 Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains
x3 Player of the Holy Bow, Viviane
x4 Black Dragon Knight, Vortimer
Grade 3
x4 Spectral Duke Dragon
x3 Gigantech Destroyer

This decklist ultimately went unchanged for the national tournament, taking the North American title without modification.

Winter 2012 National Tournament, North America
Card Pool: TD01-BT03, BT06-BT07, PR 0001-0029
Grade 0
x1 Black Dragon Whelp, Vortimer (FVG)
x4 Silent Punisher CT
x4 Elixir Sommelier HT
x4 Weapons Dealer, Gwydion DT
x4 Flame of Victory CT
Grade 1
x2 Sleygal Dagger
x4 Halo Shield, Mark
x1 Little Battler, Tron
x4 Scout of Darkness, Vortimer
x4 Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth
Grade 2
x4 Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains
x3 Player of the Holy Bow, Viviane
x4 Black Dragon Knight, Vortimer
Grade 3
x4 Spectral Duke Dragon
x3 Gigantech Destroyer

Smith's decklist proved extraordinarily long-lived, once again going unmodified for the world title.

Winter 2012 International Tournament, Japan
Card Pool: TD01-BT03, BT06-BT07, PR 0001-0029
Grade 0
x1 Black Dragon Whelp, Vortimer (FVG)
x4 Silent Punisher CT
x4 Elixir Sommelier HT
x4 Weapons Dealer, Gwydion DT
x4 Flame of Victory CT
Grade 1
x2 Sleygal Dagger
x4 Halo Shield, Mark
x1 Little Battler, Tron
x4 Scout of Darkness, Vortimer
x4 Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth
Grade 2
x4 Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains
x3 Player of the Holy Bow, Viviane
x4 Black Dragon Knight, Vortimer
Grade 3
x4 Spectral Duke Dragon
x3 Gigantech Destroyer


Interviews
Smith and Bastianalli were both interviewed six minutes before the Chicago regional award ceremony, by an editor from Cardfight Pro (then operating under the "Game Set" brand.) The full text and an audio recording of the interview can be found here.

Additional Images

Smith is second from the left, holding the championship trophy. Original photo by Cardfight!! Vanguard. On the right is runner-up Henry Suharto, to the right of him fourth-place finalist Christopher Sok, and on the far left is third-place finalist Christopher Fernau.

Spotlight: Christopher Fernau

Fighter's Spotlight is an ongoing project concerned with tracking real-world professional cardfighters across the globe.

Fernau is on the right. To the left is Dima Kvatkun, the German runner-up. Original photo by Cardfight!! Vanguard.

Christopher Fernau

Age: 24 (at regional crowning)
Titles Won: German Regional Champion, European National Champion
Current Status: European National Champion (Reigning)
Deck Type: Gold Paladin (Garmore)
Christopher Fernau is the reigning national champion for Europe, and one of two out of 105 cardfighters to qualify in Germany for the 2012 European national. Accordingly, he is also in line for the 2012 world championship title.

Originally, Fernau had a background with online cardfight, having played for one and a half years through the Cardfight Capital BYOND client. Ironically for one of the world's first competitive GoPala cardfighters, Fernau dislikes the clan and chose to use it for its strength in the German scene so that he could qualify to compete in the United Kingdom. His view at the time of the German regional was that of the clans available in the developing scene, the Royal and Gold Paladins, Kagerou, Tsukuyomi-based Oracle Think Tank, Granblue and Spike Brothers were the primary contenders for the world title. Of those, he selected Garmore-based Gold Paladin to adapt to Bushiroad's current double elimination tournament policy, as a way of solving the competitive equation, due to Spectral Duke Dragon forming a poor hybrid deck with Garmore and Fang Witch, the latter of which worked against Duke Dragon's soul-retaining evolving ride¹.

Decks and Play Style
Fernau's Gold Paladin deck is a six-draw and six-critical play on their established Garmore and Blond Ezel styles. Taking advantage of GoPala's strong field presence, Fernau opted to utilize draw cards like Silver Fang Witch in conjunction with their Blond Ezel four-soul superior ride to maximize the potential gains from Garmore and Ezel's superior calls. This turns every one-card gain into a two-card gain on top of the powerful rush that Ezel's early twin drive allows for, while gaining massive amounts of power for a strong offensive push with limit break later on.

Garmore offers a more consistent main strategy with his counterblast 2, superior calling his own custom booster in the vanguard circle for a 26000-power assault to help cripple the opponent's hand. Because of that specified superior call, Fernau is able to run Charjgal as only a single copy. Like Fang Witch, the Silver Wolf benefits from Ezel's extra soul via Charjgal's soulblast, and also works in tandem with the Incandescent Lion by being a 21000-power rearguard. Overall this makes his deck aggressive and capable of pulling out massive advantage at any time in the game, with incredible power gain and better chances of dealing extra damage from critical triggers, but it's weakened by the lack of surprises that contemporary Duke Dragon decks would push with. The inclusion of Gigantech Charger over Manawydan was considered strange in traditional theory, due to his skill primarily being effective with stand triggers and being vanguard-oriented, where Manawydan has greater synergy with critical and draw, being useful versus any unit regardless of circle. Fernau selected this unit based on having similar effectiveness to Beaumains, being able to mount an attack unboosted even versus base 11000 vanguards.

Ease of play factored in heavily here, with Fernau using Garmore to tie it together and superior call any card needed to suit the situation. Silver Fang Witch, Nemean Lion and Charjgal were given emphasis for that superior call, as each satisfies a different demand; Fang Witch gives out draw power and along with the Lion defense, while Charjgal brings out offensive strength that easily breaks past the most stable base power of the 2012 format. Ezel was selected as a backup strategy because of his superior ride, as his counterblast was regarded as wasteful by Fernau. Due to the deck's heavy emphasis on forming controlled 16-20000-power lines, her heavy counterblast consumption even with Tripp accounted for, and the lack of key targets like Lop Ear Shooter at the time of the regional, Viviane was omitted from the deck. Fang Witch was instead preferred for the gain in advantage due to forming a 20000 line with Garmore's limit break or Ezel's autoskill. Overall Fernau emphasized control of the field over creating spectacles, and because of this the deck contains only three unique skills--those of Kyrph, Ezel and Garmore.

Winter 2012 Regional Tournament, Germany: Chibi Gaara's RAWR Deck
Card Pool: TD01-BT03, BT06-EB03, PR 0001-0029
Grade 0
x1 Crimson Lion Cub, Kyrph (FVG)
x2 Silent Punisher CT
x2 Weapons Dealer, Gwydion DT
x4 Flame of Victory CT
x4 Elixir Sommelier HT
x4 Falcon Knight of the Azure DT
Grade 1
x1 Charjgal
x2 Silver Fang Witch
x3 Sleygal Dagger
x4 Halo Shield, Mark
x4 Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth
Grade 2
x3 Sacred Guardian Beast, Nemean Lion
x4 Mage of Calamity, Tripp
x4 Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains
Grade 3
x2 Gigantech Destroyer
x2 Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel
x4 Great Silver Wolf, Garmore

Fernau's decklist saw him through the national event mostly unchanged. Only Falcon Knight was swapped out, in favor of Speeder Hound, due to Hound having a base power of 5000 over Falcon Knight's 4000; because of this, Hound can form a 15000 line with Beaumains, Garmore, Gigantech or Ezel before accounting for skills. This improves its overall consistency and eliminates the problem of Falcon Knight becoming a complete dead card when drawn normally.

The deck's new title is a partial quote from Souryuu Leon, in reference to the limit break-centric nature of the Gold Paladin clan.

Winter 2012 National Tournament, Europe: We who carry out justice have no LIMITS
Card Pool: TD01-BT03, BT06-BT07, PR 0001-0029
Grade 0
x1 Crimson Lion Cub, Kyrph (FVG)
x2 Silent Punisher CT
x2 Weapons Dealer, Gwydion DT
x4 Flame of Victory CT
x4 Elixir Sommelier HT
x4 Speeder Hound DT
Grade 1
x1 Charjgal
x2 Silver Fang Witch
x3 Sleygal Dagger
x4 Halo Shield, Mark
x4 Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth
Grade 2
x3 Sacred Guardian Beast, Nemean Lion
x4 Mage of Calamity, Tripp
x4 Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains
Grade 3
x2 Gigantech Destroyer
x2 Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel
x4 Great Silver Wolf, Garmore

Citations and External Links
1. Fernau, Christopher. "German Qualifier 2012 - Düsseldorf: Chibi Gaara (RAWR) - Player Report." Pojo. Pojo, 9 Sept. 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://www.pojo.biz/board/showthread.php?t=1077329>.