First thing's first, there will be no update to X-Stars this month. I wanted to put out a chapter today but I've been rewriting it for what seems like ever and I'm not going to rush it just to meet an imaginary deadline. Sorry to disappoint but at the very least I have a better idea of what I want to achieve in the chapter.
That said onto this post. Last tournament of the format and I decided to play Mermails seeing how 3 Gunde are kinda REALLY good. The deck I took was simple, though lacking some money cards in the Extra and I honestly thought about running the Undine Engine to compensate as Black Rose access is a powerful thing when you don't have Excitons. I ultimately went with Ocea instead. Was it wise? Well...
Round 1 - vs Constellar (0-2)
This was a disaster. Game 1 he opened all Level 4 Monsters which is bad for the deck, however I opened up with Gunde and 2 Aqua Spirits and couldn't draw into any additional monsters for the life of me. I can't say for certain what the Mermail vs Constellar Matchup is like, but when you brick like I did in the first game there's no winning it. Game 2 goes a little better as I do combo a bit, but I fizzle out after whiffing off of Reckless Greed and having no way of stopping his Pleiades plays. The lack of Exciton/Ark was really apparent here as I had a chance to make either, but lacked them and ultimately couldn't stop him from setting up a Cowboy for game.
Also it would have been really fucking nice to have seen Abyss-Sphere during either game. He burned his MSTs early and often so I was at no risk of him picking off a Sphere.
Round 2 - Bye
Yeah after getting smashed the first round I had to sit out the next. Wasn't happy with that at all. I did do some trades during the downtime and picked up some stuff for projects while also pulling literally god tier from Premium Gold. 7 God Cards, 2 of which were Slifers is pretty good I hear.
Round 3 - vs Spellcaster.dek (2-0)
So I get paired up against a new player and not surprisingly my deck works like it's supposed to. I combo off early and frequently, resolve multiple Reckless and just nut the hell all over him.
Top 4 - vs Constellar (0-2)
This match ultimately came down to my misplays coming back to bite me, and some bad beats. I walk into Fiendish Chains without MSTs, shotgunned a Sphere when I shouldn't have and mis-sided. Game 2 I resolve a Full House, but can't follow up on it as I sided out Abyssleed and wouldn't you know it, I NEEDED him to win! I literally slammed my fist on the table and said "DAMMIT!" in frustration. Getting 0-2'd twice in the same day in itself is enough to make me upset, but to my own botches makes me absolutely furious.
After that we went to Robins where I played some Vanguard and bricked while getting sacked, then played 2 games of Pokemon with Hobo and won/loss. Supporter droughts are very real and they're in alot of cases a surefire way to lose.
Props
-I got to Mermail in a tournament for one!
-I picked up some stuff?
Slops
-And then I punted the tournament
Monday 31 March 2014
Monday 24 March 2014
Lolcals Report - Some Dragons just want to watch the world burn
Today was dumb. Really, really dumb. Where do I even begin?
Originally for this locals I was going to play Noble Knights as I had picked up the deck, had it all built and ready to go and jazz. Then I find out that Tramps is having a Traditional Format Tournament this weekend and that just BORKS everything up for me as there's no way in hell I'd take Nobles into such an environment when I barely understand the nuances of the deck.
So what do I play?
Initially I considered, built and playtested Mermails for this (and by playtesting I spent almost 2 hours solitaring out hands, combinations of cards and interactions between certain banned cards and what I had present) due to the deck being able to ABUSE Fishborg Blaster with Atlanteans + Card of Safe Return. When I got that kind of setup off it was pretty ridiculous. Sinister Serpent being a constant discard for Pike, Teus and Turge was also nice.
However I was going out of my way far too often to make it work out. I'm talking about devoting my Normal Summon or Rank 4 play to make Lavaval Chain just to dump 'Borg...as opposed to Bahamut Shark + Abyss-Trite with Pike/Linde in grave. Having Borg being live when I could trop Tidal and Teus is nice and all but the synergy wasn't really there. I ended up changing my mind the day after and decided instead to build Lavals. The reasons for this were numerous;
-Rekindling is at 3.
-Convocation is at 3.
-Storm, Trunade and Feather Duster are legal.
-Dark Strike Fighter is much easier to make in this deck than Mermails, and dumber.
-Painful Choice's interaction with Handmaiden.
-Graceful Charity's interaction with Handmaiden.
-It can drop Shooting Quasar Dragon who is already a bitch to get around, but in an environment where people rarely run battle stopping hand traps like Fader/Crow/Jackfrost I knew if I could make him, I wouldn't lose.
-REKINDLING IS AT 3.
With my decision made I wrote up a quick list, mulled it over and contacted Rain593 for some input on the deck idea and settled on this abomination;
3x Laval Volcano Handmaiden
2x Laval Magma Cannoneer
1x Laval Lakeside Lady
1x Laval Cannon
1x Boost Warrior
1x Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos
2x Battle Fader
2x Ghostrick Jackfrost
2x Maxx "C"
2x Cardcar "D"
3x Upstart Goblin
3x Rekindling
3x Molten Conduction Field
2x Pot of Duality
1x Gold Sarcophagus
1x Graceful Charity
1x Pot of Greed
1x Painful Choice
1x Giant Trunade
1x Harpie's Feather Duster
1x Heavy Storm
3x Reckless Greed
2x Breatkthrough Skill
1x Shooting Quasar Dragon
1x Shooting Star Dragon
1x Stardust Spark Dragon
1x Scrap Dragon
1x Crimson Blader
1x Black Rose Dragon
1x Dark Strike Fighter
1x Laval Stennon
1x Lavalval Dragun
1x Lavalval Dragon
1x Laval Dual Slasher
1x Ally of Justice Catastor
1x Formula Synchron
1x Puralis, The Purple Pyrotile
3x Mystical Space Typhoon
2x Prohibition
2x Royal Decree
2x Gozen Match
2x Effect Veiler
2x D.D. Crow
1x Royal Oppression
1x Dark Hole
Originally I was going to run 3 PoD and 2 Cannons with no Cardcars but I could only find a single Cannon. I originally had Pot of Avarice in as well but honestly the card was just not working for me. I frequently opened with it or drew it LONG after I combod off and killed the opponent. So I threw in the Cardcars with the full intent of YOLOing with this deck. I try to get to Rekindling, Conduction Field and a Level 1 in the first 3 turns or die. Simple as that. How did it go for me? Well...
Round 1 - vs Sylvans (2-0)
Game 1 - He opens with Lonefire which I Maxx "C" and he doesn't stop which ALL of us mock him for doing. He ends with 2 Big Trees and gets me down to less than half life. I go Conduction + Rekindling with Boost Warrior in hand, make Quasar and kill him.
Game 2 - He opens Lonefire again and I have the "C" for him. He for once doesn't turbo scrub and passes with a tree. However I'm a fucking master and have not one but TWO Rekindlings and make Quasar, Dark Strike Fighter, Blaster and Cannoneer and go WARGH BLAFDLFKDFJL at his life and kill him by dealing well over 20000 damage. When asked why did I need to kill him like that I answered simply;
There's no kill like overkill.
Round 2 - vs Blackwings (2-0).
Game 1 - He opens with a Blackwing monster I think? I'm pretty sure I resolved Pot of Greed and Charity into Handmaiden + Cannoneer to make Rekindling live with a Level 1 in hand. Yeeeeaaaah.
Game 2 - He sets some cards after Painful Choicing (I gave him Vayu) and I immediately say "and play Prohibition calling Rekindling" and HE DOES IT. This is the guy that side decks Prohibition in everything by the way. It actually puts me in a spot as I open with Rekindling and Painful Choice with some draw cards. I thin out my deck and set Reckless and Decree which he doesn't clear and it bites him in the ass as I decree what turns out to be Ring of Destruction AND Mirror Force and draw into MST to clear Prohibition and going the fuck OFF with 2 Rekindling. I bounce his monsters with Lavalval Dragon and make Quasar, Dark Strike Fighter, Blaster and some other guys and kill him. Between my monsters and DSF's burn effect I did a total of 24,300 total damage in this turn (DSF's interaction with Quasar is stupid. Sack it off for 2400, then sack off Shooting Star for 2000 damage. Jesus).
Round 3 - vs Junk Doppel (2-0)
Game 1 - He Veiler's my Cardcar but I Breakthrough Skill him a couple times and eventually my draw support to set up Rekindling. I bounce his monsters and OTK him with based Quasar, negating his Gorz along the way.
Game 2 - He opens with a pass, clearly giving away the Gorz and I play accordingly with double Rekindling. I set up Quasar and Dark Strike so that I can OTK him through what turned out to be Gorz AND Trag via knocking him down to 1300 LP and sacking off Quasar for game.
I do some trades at this time and pick up some Pokemon cards which is always nice.
Top 8 - vs X-Sabers (2-0)
Game 1 - He pokes me with an Emmersblade after opening with Card Destruction (knocking out a Painful Choice) while I Sarc out a Rekindling. He can't kill me before then and I go off and kill him.
Game 2 - This one went on for a while. He opens up with Greed, Charity and does Saber combos. He thankfully never uses Gottom's effect and uses Feather Duster while I had 2 Reckless Greed set so I drew a lot. Not enough to combo but I did have plenty of food for Blaster and did a neat little play of having Jackfrost book his Gottoms, then having Lakeside Lady pop it. I eventually win.
Top 4 - vs Blackwings (1-2)
Game 1 - So we shuffle and cut our decks. Then I win the dieroll and he shuffle and cuts my deck again. Is that even allowed? The fact that after the second shuffle and cut I opened with 2 Handmaidens, an Upstart that netted me nothing and a Reckless that also didn't do much makes me wonder if I got stacked. I suppose I could also attribute it to a Combo Deck bricking/fizzling out at the wrong time.
Game 2 - I opened with my sided in Prohibition...and CALLED PROHIBITION. Then I did Laval stuff. Didn't get to make Quasar but I was able to Black Rose and push shit in after.
Game 3 - I opened with Maiden again and don't see a Conduction field for quite some time and take a few shots for it. I am able to Rekindling to make Librarian and Dark Strike Fighter and swing with both, dropping him to 4800. I don't launch my monsters off thinking at least one will life next turn.
Raigeki. Blackwing spam, Dark Strike Fighter. GG. Well that's unfortunate. "Not for me."
Yeah fuck you too Cody. Am I disappointed I burned out here with a match against Megamonkey's Chaos Dragons in the finals on the line? Yes. Am I disappointed I lost to someone that the entire group of us hate and know is awful? Yeah. It IS Traditional after all so being blown out by epic sacking is to be expected.
That being said this was a silly, silly adventure in card games. Lavals were fun to play but I cannot lie when I say Rekindling is DUMB. I proved to everyone today why this card is going to 1 and why it NEEDED to. Above all else I also made it painfully clear why Dark Strike Fighter is getting his errata. It's one thing to have the card and talk warmly about past formats where it saw play like Synchro Cat, then get upset over him being redone to be less stupid.
But then you actually get to play the card in a setting and with a deck that can easily spit out and do derpy shit with just ONE. Now imagine Synchro Cat Format when this guy was at three. Disgusting. Dark Strike Fighter is fully deserving of his Main Phase 1, once per turn only effect.
After this we went to Robins for more games where I savaged Lightsworn and split games with Megamonkey, then went on what I'm referring as "Back Alley Misadventures" with Monkey and group. There was much hugging and wrestling and jumping with dancing and grown men carrying each other around like babies.
Liam and I were all "...this is awkard", until he was put in a shopping cart and thieved by Hellkaiser. He managed to escape before being thrown into foster care and then things became considerably less gay and more about flinging mint candies around in a parking lot.
...
Props
-Playing Lavals at least once while Rekindling was at 3. Disgusting card is disgusting.
-Playing Lavals with Greed, Charity, Painful and Dark Strike Fighter. Much Synchro, such draw, wow. Most of my turn 1 or 2s ended with me thinning the deck out by 10-13 cards.
-Putting over 24,000 damage on board in a single game. I think that may be my personal best.
-Once again reminding people why Quasar should be feared. In fact people are willing to scoop it up even if I can't game them because I used Upstarts before.
-Proving beyond a shadow of a doubt how busted Dark Strike is pre-errata.
-Burninating many people. I savaged the one guy so hard he STILL can't sit down.
Slops
-Bricking/fizzling out at the worst possible time.
-Not being able to burninate everyone. Quasar loves the taste of your salty tears.
Originally for this locals I was going to play Noble Knights as I had picked up the deck, had it all built and ready to go and jazz. Then I find out that Tramps is having a Traditional Format Tournament this weekend and that just BORKS everything up for me as there's no way in hell I'd take Nobles into such an environment when I barely understand the nuances of the deck.
So what do I play?
Initially I considered, built and playtested Mermails for this (and by playtesting I spent almost 2 hours solitaring out hands, combinations of cards and interactions between certain banned cards and what I had present) due to the deck being able to ABUSE Fishborg Blaster with Atlanteans + Card of Safe Return. When I got that kind of setup off it was pretty ridiculous. Sinister Serpent being a constant discard for Pike, Teus and Turge was also nice.
However I was going out of my way far too often to make it work out. I'm talking about devoting my Normal Summon or Rank 4 play to make Lavaval Chain just to dump 'Borg...as opposed to Bahamut Shark + Abyss-Trite with Pike/Linde in grave. Having Borg being live when I could trop Tidal and Teus is nice and all but the synergy wasn't really there. I ended up changing my mind the day after and decided instead to build Lavals. The reasons for this were numerous;
-Rekindling is at 3.
-Convocation is at 3.
-Storm, Trunade and Feather Duster are legal.
-Dark Strike Fighter is much easier to make in this deck than Mermails, and dumber.
-Painful Choice's interaction with Handmaiden.
-Graceful Charity's interaction with Handmaiden.
-It can drop Shooting Quasar Dragon who is already a bitch to get around, but in an environment where people rarely run battle stopping hand traps like Fader/Crow/Jackfrost I knew if I could make him, I wouldn't lose.
-REKINDLING IS AT 3.
With my decision made I wrote up a quick list, mulled it over and contacted Rain593 for some input on the deck idea and settled on this abomination;
3x Laval Volcano Handmaiden
2x Laval Magma Cannoneer
1x Laval Lakeside Lady
1x Laval Cannon
1x Boost Warrior
1x Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos
2x Battle Fader
2x Ghostrick Jackfrost
2x Maxx "C"
2x Cardcar "D"
3x Upstart Goblin
3x Rekindling
3x Molten Conduction Field
2x Pot of Duality
1x Gold Sarcophagus
1x Graceful Charity
1x Pot of Greed
1x Painful Choice
1x Giant Trunade
1x Harpie's Feather Duster
1x Heavy Storm
3x Reckless Greed
2x Breatkthrough Skill
1x Shooting Quasar Dragon
1x Shooting Star Dragon
1x Stardust Spark Dragon
1x Scrap Dragon
1x Crimson Blader
1x Black Rose Dragon
1x Dark Strike Fighter
1x Laval Stennon
1x Lavalval Dragun
1x Lavalval Dragon
1x Laval Dual Slasher
1x Ally of Justice Catastor
1x Formula Synchron
1x Puralis, The Purple Pyrotile
3x Mystical Space Typhoon
2x Prohibition
2x Royal Decree
2x Gozen Match
2x Effect Veiler
2x D.D. Crow
1x Royal Oppression
1x Dark Hole
Originally I was going to run 3 PoD and 2 Cannons with no Cardcars but I could only find a single Cannon. I originally had Pot of Avarice in as well but honestly the card was just not working for me. I frequently opened with it or drew it LONG after I combod off and killed the opponent. So I threw in the Cardcars with the full intent of YOLOing with this deck. I try to get to Rekindling, Conduction Field and a Level 1 in the first 3 turns or die. Simple as that. How did it go for me? Well...
Round 1 - vs Sylvans (2-0)
Game 1 - He opens with Lonefire which I Maxx "C" and he doesn't stop which ALL of us mock him for doing. He ends with 2 Big Trees and gets me down to less than half life. I go Conduction + Rekindling with Boost Warrior in hand, make Quasar and kill him.
Game 2 - He opens Lonefire again and I have the "C" for him. He for once doesn't turbo scrub and passes with a tree. However I'm a fucking master and have not one but TWO Rekindlings and make Quasar, Dark Strike Fighter, Blaster and Cannoneer and go WARGH BLAFDLFKDFJL at his life and kill him by dealing well over 20000 damage. When asked why did I need to kill him like that I answered simply;
There's no kill like overkill.
Round 2 - vs Blackwings (2-0).
Game 1 - He opens with a Blackwing monster I think? I'm pretty sure I resolved Pot of Greed and Charity into Handmaiden + Cannoneer to make Rekindling live with a Level 1 in hand. Yeeeeaaaah.
Game 2 - He sets some cards after Painful Choicing (I gave him Vayu) and I immediately say "and play Prohibition calling Rekindling" and HE DOES IT. This is the guy that side decks Prohibition in everything by the way. It actually puts me in a spot as I open with Rekindling and Painful Choice with some draw cards. I thin out my deck and set Reckless and Decree which he doesn't clear and it bites him in the ass as I decree what turns out to be Ring of Destruction AND Mirror Force and draw into MST to clear Prohibition and going the fuck OFF with 2 Rekindling. I bounce his monsters with Lavalval Dragon and make Quasar, Dark Strike Fighter, Blaster and some other guys and kill him. Between my monsters and DSF's burn effect I did a total of 24,300 total damage in this turn (DSF's interaction with Quasar is stupid. Sack it off for 2400, then sack off Shooting Star for 2000 damage. Jesus).
Round 3 - vs Junk Doppel (2-0)
Game 1 - He Veiler's my Cardcar but I Breakthrough Skill him a couple times and eventually my draw support to set up Rekindling. I bounce his monsters and OTK him with based Quasar, negating his Gorz along the way.
Game 2 - He opens with a pass, clearly giving away the Gorz and I play accordingly with double Rekindling. I set up Quasar and Dark Strike so that I can OTK him through what turned out to be Gorz AND Trag via knocking him down to 1300 LP and sacking off Quasar for game.
I do some trades at this time and pick up some Pokemon cards which is always nice.
Top 8 - vs X-Sabers (2-0)
Game 1 - He pokes me with an Emmersblade after opening with Card Destruction (knocking out a Painful Choice) while I Sarc out a Rekindling. He can't kill me before then and I go off and kill him.
Game 2 - This one went on for a while. He opens up with Greed, Charity and does Saber combos. He thankfully never uses Gottom's effect and uses Feather Duster while I had 2 Reckless Greed set so I drew a lot. Not enough to combo but I did have plenty of food for Blaster and did a neat little play of having Jackfrost book his Gottoms, then having Lakeside Lady pop it. I eventually win.
Top 4 - vs Blackwings (1-2)
Game 1 - So we shuffle and cut our decks. Then I win the dieroll and he shuffle and cuts my deck again. Is that even allowed? The fact that after the second shuffle and cut I opened with 2 Handmaidens, an Upstart that netted me nothing and a Reckless that also didn't do much makes me wonder if I got stacked. I suppose I could also attribute it to a Combo Deck bricking/fizzling out at the wrong time.
Game 2 - I opened with my sided in Prohibition...and CALLED PROHIBITION. Then I did Laval stuff. Didn't get to make Quasar but I was able to Black Rose and push shit in after.
Game 3 - I opened with Maiden again and don't see a Conduction field for quite some time and take a few shots for it. I am able to Rekindling to make Librarian and Dark Strike Fighter and swing with both, dropping him to 4800. I don't launch my monsters off thinking at least one will life next turn.
Raigeki. Blackwing spam, Dark Strike Fighter. GG. Well that's unfortunate. "Not for me."
Yeah fuck you too Cody. Am I disappointed I burned out here with a match against Megamonkey's Chaos Dragons in the finals on the line? Yes. Am I disappointed I lost to someone that the entire group of us hate and know is awful? Yeah. It IS Traditional after all so being blown out by epic sacking is to be expected.
That being said this was a silly, silly adventure in card games. Lavals were fun to play but I cannot lie when I say Rekindling is DUMB. I proved to everyone today why this card is going to 1 and why it NEEDED to. Above all else I also made it painfully clear why Dark Strike Fighter is getting his errata. It's one thing to have the card and talk warmly about past formats where it saw play like Synchro Cat, then get upset over him being redone to be less stupid.
But then you actually get to play the card in a setting and with a deck that can easily spit out and do derpy shit with just ONE. Now imagine Synchro Cat Format when this guy was at three. Disgusting. Dark Strike Fighter is fully deserving of his Main Phase 1, once per turn only effect.
After this we went to Robins for more games where I savaged Lightsworn and split games with Megamonkey, then went on what I'm referring as "Back Alley Misadventures" with Monkey and group. There was much hugging and wrestling and jumping with dancing and grown men carrying each other around like babies.
Liam and I were all "...this is awkard", until he was put in a shopping cart and thieved by Hellkaiser. He managed to escape before being thrown into foster care and then things became considerably less gay and more about flinging mint candies around in a parking lot.
...
Props
-Playing Lavals at least once while Rekindling was at 3. Disgusting card is disgusting.
-Playing Lavals with Greed, Charity, Painful and Dark Strike Fighter. Much Synchro, such draw, wow. Most of my turn 1 or 2s ended with me thinning the deck out by 10-13 cards.
-Putting over 24,000 damage on board in a single game. I think that may be my personal best.
-Once again reminding people why Quasar should be feared. In fact people are willing to scoop it up even if I can't game them because I used Upstarts before.
-Proving beyond a shadow of a doubt how busted Dark Strike is pre-errata.
-Burninating many people. I savaged the one guy so hard he STILL can't sit down.
Slops
-Bricking/fizzling out at the worst possible time.
-Not being able to burninate everyone. Quasar loves the taste of your salty tears.
Tuesday 18 March 2014
Red-Eyes B. Dragon the Effect Monster!
Like this is any surprise. Me wanting to give a buff to my favourite card? Naaaaahhhh....
But really the idea to create an effect monster version of Red-Eyes B. Dragon came the moment I saw Dragonic Overlord from Cardfight!! Vanguard get turned into a Break Ride. It made me think that perhaps Yu-Gi-Oh! could turn iconic Normal Monsters or monsters that have bad effects and re-release them with actual good effects. Now admittedly they'd NEVER do this as it would ruin the prestige and stuff of the original (ie. why Summon Skull never got a name change despite badly needing something done to settle the whole Archfiend stuff) but dammit I AM someone who writes fanfics and shit so screw their logic I'm gonna do it anyway!
If you control no monsters, you can Normal Summon this card without Tributing, but you cannot summon other monsters this turn. If this card attacks an opponent's monster, it gains 600 ATK during the Damage Step only. If this card is used as Fusion, Synchro or Xyz Material OR Tributed for the Normal, Special or Ritual Summon of a DARK Dragon-Type Monster, it gains 1000 Atk and the following effect, until the end phase;
* At the end of a battle involving this monster, if your life points are 2000 or less you can discard two Dragon-Type monsters from your hand; This card can attack again. You can only use this effect once per turn.
The Booster Pack is called "Overdrive Generation" a reference to a fanfic my friend worked on that had a character of mine cameo in, who played Red-Eyes. I tried for the longest of time to come up with a suitable ultimate play card that would be fitting for the big climatic battle against the big bad. The end result (so far) is this, something that operates pretty much like a Break Ride from Vanguard and yeah this is pretty much an imitation of the restand ability of many Vanguards. I'm willing to bet Red-Eyes and its offspring would be part of the Kagero Clan since they're firebreathing dark dragons.
When designing the card I decided to give it identical stats to Red-Eyes as it really is just an effect version of the card and going with the "Break Ride" gimmick two effects which I'll break down.
The first effect I think I did real good on. You have a way to summon it from the hand without needing tributes, but at the cost of being unable to summon other monsters during the same turn, a powerful double edged sword. He's able to beat over anything with less than 3000 attack which is always nice and being a Level 7 DARK Dragon makes him compatible with various cards (Eclipse Wyvern, Seven Star Sword, Rank 7s). Then there's the second effect.
I'm well aware that the second effect is probably VERY strong if not overpowered and should be limited to when he's used as Xyz Material or Tributed but for now I'll just enjoy the extremely wide range of applications this guy has with the many Dark Dragons available in the game. Some of the notable Dragons that this works with are;
-Any Level 5 or higher Dark Dragon (Darkflare)
-Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon
-Darkflare Dragon
-Black Skull Dragon
-Five-Headed Dragon
-Beelze, King of Dark Dragons
-Infernity Doom Dragon
-Void Ogre Dragon
-Black-Winged Dragon/Black-Feathered Dragon
-Red Dragon Archfiend/Jeweled Red Dragon Archfiend
-Dark End Dragon
Since Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon banishes for his special summon, he doesn't get the boost. You could use REDMD to summon this thing if it's been out for a turn already then sack them off for something else (the attack again effect is an activated ability so LaDD would negate it).
Obviously giving any of these guys +1000 and a second attack is pretty nutty. You have to be very, very low on life to get this bonus, making it a late game clutch card and you have to be able to protect Red-Eyes for a turn in order to do this, but Jeweled Red Dragon swinging for 6K after clearing the board is pretty unreal.
Oh and I do plan on making some kind of ultimate form for Red-Eyes that uses this card in some way. THAT will be some obscenely strong anime level bullshit that will only pop up once or twice and it will be AWESOME.
But really the idea to create an effect monster version of Red-Eyes B. Dragon came the moment I saw Dragonic Overlord from Cardfight!! Vanguard get turned into a Break Ride. It made me think that perhaps Yu-Gi-Oh! could turn iconic Normal Monsters or monsters that have bad effects and re-release them with actual good effects. Now admittedly they'd NEVER do this as it would ruin the prestige and stuff of the original (ie. why Summon Skull never got a name change despite badly needing something done to settle the whole Archfiend stuff) but dammit I AM someone who writes fanfics and shit so screw their logic I'm gonna do it anyway!
If you control no monsters, you can Normal Summon this card without Tributing, but you cannot summon other monsters this turn. If this card attacks an opponent's monster, it gains 600 ATK during the Damage Step only. If this card is used as Fusion, Synchro or Xyz Material OR Tributed for the Normal, Special or Ritual Summon of a DARK Dragon-Type Monster, it gains 1000 Atk and the following effect, until the end phase;
* At the end of a battle involving this monster, if your life points are 2000 or less you can discard two Dragon-Type monsters from your hand; This card can attack again. You can only use this effect once per turn.
The Booster Pack is called "Overdrive Generation" a reference to a fanfic my friend worked on that had a character of mine cameo in, who played Red-Eyes. I tried for the longest of time to come up with a suitable ultimate play card that would be fitting for the big climatic battle against the big bad. The end result (so far) is this, something that operates pretty much like a Break Ride from Vanguard and yeah this is pretty much an imitation of the restand ability of many Vanguards. I'm willing to bet Red-Eyes and its offspring would be part of the Kagero Clan since they're firebreathing dark dragons.
When designing the card I decided to give it identical stats to Red-Eyes as it really is just an effect version of the card and going with the "Break Ride" gimmick two effects which I'll break down.
The first effect I think I did real good on. You have a way to summon it from the hand without needing tributes, but at the cost of being unable to summon other monsters during the same turn, a powerful double edged sword. He's able to beat over anything with less than 3000 attack which is always nice and being a Level 7 DARK Dragon makes him compatible with various cards (Eclipse Wyvern, Seven Star Sword, Rank 7s). Then there's the second effect.
I'm well aware that the second effect is probably VERY strong if not overpowered and should be limited to when he's used as Xyz Material or Tributed but for now I'll just enjoy the extremely wide range of applications this guy has with the many Dark Dragons available in the game. Some of the notable Dragons that this works with are;
-Any Level 5 or higher Dark Dragon (Darkflare)
-Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon
-Darkflare Dragon
-Black Skull Dragon
-Five-Headed Dragon
-Beelze, King of Dark Dragons
-Infernity Doom Dragon
-Void Ogre Dragon
-Black-Winged Dragon/Black-Feathered Dragon
-Red Dragon Archfiend/Jeweled Red Dragon Archfiend
-Dark End Dragon
Since Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon banishes for his special summon, he doesn't get the boost. You could use REDMD to summon this thing if it's been out for a turn already then sack them off for something else (the attack again effect is an activated ability so LaDD would negate it).
Obviously giving any of these guys +1000 and a second attack is pretty nutty. You have to be very, very low on life to get this bonus, making it a late game clutch card and you have to be able to protect Red-Eyes for a turn in order to do this, but Jeweled Red Dragon swinging for 6K after clearing the board is pretty unreal.
Oh and I do plan on making some kind of ultimate form for Red-Eyes that uses this card in some way. THAT will be some obscenely strong anime level bullshit that will only pop up once or twice and it will be AWESOME.
Monday 10 March 2014
Locals Report - It was super effective!
This was a weird one. I was expecting to be playing Yu-Gi-Oh! but Tramps (the store we are going back to) decided to have a Traditional Tournament today and none of my decks were equipped for it (I had made Lightsworn with the intent of winning Locals once again with it for personal reasons) so I sat out Locals and instead unleashed my inner Trade Demon and got stuff.
Lots of stuff.
Well not really but I did get alot of cards off of a friend who got his friend's collection and there were many awesome things among them. DB Typhoon, 1st Edition SR Luster Dragon 2 and O.M.G. LOB Red-Eyes B. Dragons! I now have a playset! Yeah they aren't 1st Edition but original Red-Eyes are original Red-Eyes.
And then the Pokemon cards I traded for. I got rid of alot of my janky shit for EXes and rarity upgrades to my deck then traded off the EXes for cash and to help people get into the game. Basically I get good cards and get them to other people so they can build decks and fight me, therefore allowing me to have for the first time in 4 years consistent, competent competition. I ended up spending more time doing Pokemon TCG stuff than YGO and didn't play a single game of Vanguard today. It was crazy.
That said I'll do a quick recap of how YGO went for me today;
-I played a whopping couple of games with Lightsworn against Noble Knight. I milled well one game, hitting Necro Gardnas and Skill Prisoner's often to ensure Lumina lived for a few turns and I end up never having to drop Judgment Dragon in either game. Twas gud.
-I played even more games with my own Noble Knights, learning that Call of the Haunted and Gwalchawhatever are bad together and I open with my Gwen WAY too often. This will be a long journey in learning how to be a lightbringer.
Now let's get to the good part. The Pokemon!
First Set - Garchomp/Altaria vs Fairy Box (2-0)
So of the group, Hobo as we call him has been the most active in the game as of late (Megamonkey's a few cards short of having his deck ready to go) and already has a nearly finished Fairy deck. Just lacks a Xernias-EX and some staples. Yes he already has 2 Xernias-EX. It's ridiculous.
Game 1 - I start with a Gible and have to hide behind it as I set up against his less than stellar opening. He does N and Red Card me which suck bullocks but because Gabite is one of the best cards ever I set up Garchomps and kill his stuff before he can get his deck rolling.
Game 2 - A whole 8 hours later we resume our match and I open no basics a couple times before dropping Emolga and a Gible in play. He sets up Fairy Garden and Aromatisse while I set up a couple Altaria and a Garchomp to take early prizes but come across the problem that is Xernias-EX being able to OHKO my Pokemon. I end up making it a war of attrition while using my Dragon to constantly keep a flow of Garchomp going, taking prizes when I can while ultimately setting up a chomp with a Muscle Band and the 2 Energy needed to Dragonblde for 160 damage total. I kill one Xernias with this setup and after a few turns set up the other for a knock out in the same manner thanks to CLUTCHEMOLGA doing 20 damage to it, putting it in range for a revenge kill from Garchomp if he knocks my guy out. He concedes the game knowing that I've got him.
And then we get to the crazy part. Magnus came by today and he brought a pair of 2010 World Championship decks. Luxray/Garchomp and Gyarados from the SP Era of Pokemon TCG. I won't go into the full details of it on here but the SP format is widely considered by many to be one of Pokemon's best, much like Tele-DAD or Goat Format for Yu-Gi-Oh! Megamonkey challenged me to a game of retro format Pokemon which I was only too happy for. I was a complete rookie at the game in 2010 and to be honest a bit of a Hipster so I really missed out on some good things back then. Both of us were pretty much going into this game blind though it was really no surprise that I was given Gyarados to work with. Water OP.
2010 Format - Gyrados (bluestar899) vs Luxchomp (Megamonkey666)
If you want an idea of how these two decks work, check out these videos from when J-Wittz was super competitive at the game;
I miss Profit.
We both start off well. I open with Sableye and we both discover just how good Impersonate is as I get off a Pokemon Collector through it and it allows me to get my ball rolling. He starts benching SPs and snipes my Luxray with his Garchomp (which was a really good play as I opened with Lurxay GL Lv. X. Never played it all game) and I find out through Azelf that 2 of my Magikarp are prized along with a Gyarados which is just awful as my damage output ends up being limited to 60! I'm able to drop a Gyarados thanks to Broken Time Space and start fighting back, taking some prizes (but miss the prized Magikarp!). Monkey meanwhile sets up Dialga G Lv X to make my already dead Luxray in hand worse and my Uxie worthless, but I chip in there with Gyarados and force him to Poketurn the Dialga and Garchomp Lv X on a few occasions. After that I Poketurn my Crobats, get some damage in and Super Scoop Up Gyarados and put it back down with an Expert Belt to start taking some much needed prizes. He eventually KOs the Gyarados but by this time I had all the pieces to set up another one with 3 Magikarp in the discard, an Expert Belt and another Super Scoop up in hand on the off chance that he put Luxray Lv X into the active. After coming to the conclusion he wouldn't be able to set up a Lucario GL and have enough energy for Luxray to OHKO Gyarados he scooped it up as we hit the 40 minute mark. I can easily say without hesitation that was the best game of Pokemon I had ever played and one of the best TCG games I ever played in general. Is it any surprise that it was a game between Megamonkey and I that turned out like this? No not really.
After talking about how intense the game and our plays and misplays (we both botched a couple things) were in addition to just how different Pokemon was from now (lol EXes) we head to Burger King, talk/trade more then peace out.
Props
-Epic trades were epic
-Making a profit off of those trades were epic
-Epic Pokemon games were epic
Slops
-Not being able to play in an actual YGO Tourney two weeks in a row now
-Overspending :/
Lots of stuff.
Well not really but I did get alot of cards off of a friend who got his friend's collection and there were many awesome things among them. DB Typhoon, 1st Edition SR Luster Dragon 2 and O.M.G. LOB Red-Eyes B. Dragons! I now have a playset! Yeah they aren't 1st Edition but original Red-Eyes are original Red-Eyes.
And then the Pokemon cards I traded for. I got rid of alot of my janky shit for EXes and rarity upgrades to my deck then traded off the EXes for cash and to help people get into the game. Basically I get good cards and get them to other people so they can build decks and fight me, therefore allowing me to have for the first time in 4 years consistent, competent competition. I ended up spending more time doing Pokemon TCG stuff than YGO and didn't play a single game of Vanguard today. It was crazy.
That said I'll do a quick recap of how YGO went for me today;
-I played a whopping couple of games with Lightsworn against Noble Knight. I milled well one game, hitting Necro Gardnas and Skill Prisoner's often to ensure Lumina lived for a few turns and I end up never having to drop Judgment Dragon in either game. Twas gud.
-I played even more games with my own Noble Knights, learning that Call of the Haunted and Gwalchawhatever are bad together and I open with my Gwen WAY too often. This will be a long journey in learning how to be a lightbringer.
Now let's get to the good part. The Pokemon!
First Set - Garchomp/Altaria vs Fairy Box (2-0)
So of the group, Hobo as we call him has been the most active in the game as of late (Megamonkey's a few cards short of having his deck ready to go) and already has a nearly finished Fairy deck. Just lacks a Xernias-EX and some staples. Yes he already has 2 Xernias-EX. It's ridiculous.
Game 1 - I start with a Gible and have to hide behind it as I set up against his less than stellar opening. He does N and Red Card me which suck bullocks but because Gabite is one of the best cards ever I set up Garchomps and kill his stuff before he can get his deck rolling.
Game 2 - A whole 8 hours later we resume our match and I open no basics a couple times before dropping Emolga and a Gible in play. He sets up Fairy Garden and Aromatisse while I set up a couple Altaria and a Garchomp to take early prizes but come across the problem that is Xernias-EX being able to OHKO my Pokemon. I end up making it a war of attrition while using my Dragon to constantly keep a flow of Garchomp going, taking prizes when I can while ultimately setting up a chomp with a Muscle Band and the 2 Energy needed to Dragonblde for 160 damage total. I kill one Xernias with this setup and after a few turns set up the other for a knock out in the same manner thanks to CLUTCHEMOLGA doing 20 damage to it, putting it in range for a revenge kill from Garchomp if he knocks my guy out. He concedes the game knowing that I've got him.
And then we get to the crazy part. Magnus came by today and he brought a pair of 2010 World Championship decks. Luxray/Garchomp and Gyarados from the SP Era of Pokemon TCG. I won't go into the full details of it on here but the SP format is widely considered by many to be one of Pokemon's best, much like Tele-DAD or Goat Format for Yu-Gi-Oh! Megamonkey challenged me to a game of retro format Pokemon which I was only too happy for. I was a complete rookie at the game in 2010 and to be honest a bit of a Hipster so I really missed out on some good things back then. Both of us were pretty much going into this game blind though it was really no surprise that I was given Gyarados to work with. Water OP.
2010 Format - Gyrados (bluestar899) vs Luxchomp (Megamonkey666)
If you want an idea of how these two decks work, check out these videos from when J-Wittz was super competitive at the game;
I miss Profit.
We both start off well. I open with Sableye and we both discover just how good Impersonate is as I get off a Pokemon Collector through it and it allows me to get my ball rolling. He starts benching SPs and snipes my Luxray with his Garchomp (which was a really good play as I opened with Lurxay GL Lv. X. Never played it all game) and I find out through Azelf that 2 of my Magikarp are prized along with a Gyarados which is just awful as my damage output ends up being limited to 60! I'm able to drop a Gyarados thanks to Broken Time Space and start fighting back, taking some prizes (but miss the prized Magikarp!). Monkey meanwhile sets up Dialga G Lv X to make my already dead Luxray in hand worse and my Uxie worthless, but I chip in there with Gyarados and force him to Poketurn the Dialga and Garchomp Lv X on a few occasions. After that I Poketurn my Crobats, get some damage in and Super Scoop Up Gyarados and put it back down with an Expert Belt to start taking some much needed prizes. He eventually KOs the Gyarados but by this time I had all the pieces to set up another one with 3 Magikarp in the discard, an Expert Belt and another Super Scoop up in hand on the off chance that he put Luxray Lv X into the active. After coming to the conclusion he wouldn't be able to set up a Lucario GL and have enough energy for Luxray to OHKO Gyarados he scooped it up as we hit the 40 minute mark. I can easily say without hesitation that was the best game of Pokemon I had ever played and one of the best TCG games I ever played in general. Is it any surprise that it was a game between Megamonkey and I that turned out like this? No not really.
After talking about how intense the game and our plays and misplays (we both botched a couple things) were in addition to just how different Pokemon was from now (lol EXes) we head to Burger King, talk/trade more then peace out.
Props
-Epic trades were epic
-Making a profit off of those trades were epic
-Epic Pokemon games were epic
Slops
-Not being able to play in an actual YGO Tourney two weeks in a row now
-Overspending :/
Saturday 8 March 2014
Locals Report - Reversal
In a rare instance I have not one but two Saturdays off this month so I get to make a couple Vanguard Local posts on here. Neat! Also neat is the sudden interest in playing the Pokemon TCG which is fine by me as I get to play against competent players! They just need cards to make their decks better which I've made it a mission to get. I bought some packs like a bad but pulled really good for Yu-Gi-Oh! in compensation (Noble Knight High Lancelot dude for instance) and found white Ultra Pro sleeves which I snatched up asap.
That said for this Locals I opted to play Vowing Sword Dragon "Яeverse" and ended up participating in a team battle tournament much like the one I posted about a long time ago. I paired up with Megamonkey (Revengers) and Mr. Cornfield (Garmore Liberator) and we'd be rotating who went first each round. However we all suspected like last time around we'd either 2-0 our opponents or get 0-2'd ourselves.
Round 1 - (0-2)
I didn't get to play this around as my team mates both dropped games. Misrides, trigger sacks, etc. Like Feraligatr though I did not complain. I simply continued to be the silent guardian that keeps everyone safe.
Round 2 - vs Great Nature (2-0)
I get the Crossbreak Ride and pop some of his monsters over a couple turns. He pushes back and gets me into a bad situation to be honest. He was up at least 5 cards in hand to my 2 and probably was going to kill me on the next turn if I didn't win during mine so when I drive checked a critical trigger I contemplated my options for a moment. After realizing that if I put everything on my Rearguard, checked another trigger and put all of that on the rearguard (making it a 22k attacker) I would not have been able to get through the remaining cards in his hand and promptly decided to put it all on Vanguard and hope to hit the second trigger as he had already committed 20k to my 23k attack with Vowing. I hit the trigger and kill him with a 33000 Vowing Sword Dragon "Яeverse" to win the game, leaving him CONSIDERABLY pissed because I double trigger sacked him. I won't deny I gambled on that turn and won with luck. If anything what I did was way outside of the norm for me as I normally don't gamble in these kind of situations due to my terrible luck of succeeding when attempting a double trigger. However considering the situation I was in during this game I saw a chance to close out the game and took it. That's what my logic told me and it worked.
Funny how I was able to apply logic to a situation involving luck.
Round 3 - vs Ancient Dragons (2-0)
Same deck as the last time so I made it a point to time my Retire skills properly and in doing so forced him to burn Counterblasts prematurely. It paid off as I only had to worry about one turn of pressure and picked off his cards with "Яeverse" to win.
After that the format got changed to simultaneous 3v3.
Round 4 - vs Eradicators (1-2)
I started off well enough with the pieces for the Crossride, but fizzled out due to drawing nothing else to support my attacks in addition to hitting my Heal Triggers early. Vowing Saber Dragon attacked by itself 3 times before I was able to make a push, but I had no means of defending against his late game attack and ultimately took a Critical hit for my troubles.
Our team finished second, Megamonkey ended up wanting to build Revengers of his own (he borrowed a deck). After that we went to Cameron's and played games of Pokemon using some poorly constructed decks. I brick hard and it hurts then I played some Beyblade and found out how much the game hates Left handed people. As for the deck I'm pretty satisfied with how it worked for a first showing. Vowing "Яeverse" is a pretty strong, threatening Vanguard but being able to provide rearguards for his locking on a consistent basis can be difficult.
Props
-2nd Place alongside fellow members of "Team SP" seems pretty legit.
-Pulling the Noble Knight Synchro
-Vowing Sword "Яeverse" doing his thing.
-For once not being on the end of a massive dickbutting of triggers and in fact being the one doing the dickbutting. Karma's a bitch, huh world?
Slops
-Fizzling out. In my perfect world I'm able to open with the cards needed to Break Ride while checking triggers and drawing into complementary rearguards. That never happens.
-Finding out that being a left handed Beyblader is really difficult.
That said for this Locals I opted to play Vowing Sword Dragon "Яeverse" and ended up participating in a team battle tournament much like the one I posted about a long time ago. I paired up with Megamonkey (Revengers) and Mr. Cornfield (Garmore Liberator) and we'd be rotating who went first each round. However we all suspected like last time around we'd either 2-0 our opponents or get 0-2'd ourselves.
Round 1 - (0-2)
I didn't get to play this around as my team mates both dropped games. Misrides, trigger sacks, etc. Like Feraligatr though I did not complain. I simply continued to be the silent guardian that keeps everyone safe.
Round 2 - vs Great Nature (2-0)
I get the Crossbreak Ride and pop some of his monsters over a couple turns. He pushes back and gets me into a bad situation to be honest. He was up at least 5 cards in hand to my 2 and probably was going to kill me on the next turn if I didn't win during mine so when I drive checked a critical trigger I contemplated my options for a moment. After realizing that if I put everything on my Rearguard, checked another trigger and put all of that on the rearguard (making it a 22k attacker) I would not have been able to get through the remaining cards in his hand and promptly decided to put it all on Vanguard and hope to hit the second trigger as he had already committed 20k to my 23k attack with Vowing. I hit the trigger and kill him with a 33000 Vowing Sword Dragon "Яeverse" to win the game, leaving him CONSIDERABLY pissed because I double trigger sacked him. I won't deny I gambled on that turn and won with luck. If anything what I did was way outside of the norm for me as I normally don't gamble in these kind of situations due to my terrible luck of succeeding when attempting a double trigger. However considering the situation I was in during this game I saw a chance to close out the game and took it. That's what my logic told me and it worked.
Funny how I was able to apply logic to a situation involving luck.
Round 3 - vs Ancient Dragons (2-0)
Same deck as the last time so I made it a point to time my Retire skills properly and in doing so forced him to burn Counterblasts prematurely. It paid off as I only had to worry about one turn of pressure and picked off his cards with "Яeverse" to win.
After that the format got changed to simultaneous 3v3.
Round 4 - vs Eradicators (1-2)
I started off well enough with the pieces for the Crossride, but fizzled out due to drawing nothing else to support my attacks in addition to hitting my Heal Triggers early. Vowing Saber Dragon attacked by itself 3 times before I was able to make a push, but I had no means of defending against his late game attack and ultimately took a Critical hit for my troubles.
Our team finished second, Megamonkey ended up wanting to build Revengers of his own (he borrowed a deck). After that we went to Cameron's and played games of Pokemon using some poorly constructed decks. I brick hard and it hurts then I played some Beyblade and found out how much the game hates Left handed people. As for the deck I'm pretty satisfied with how it worked for a first showing. Vowing "Яeverse" is a pretty strong, threatening Vanguard but being able to provide rearguards for his locking on a consistent basis can be difficult.
Props
-2nd Place alongside fellow members of "Team SP" seems pretty legit.
-Pulling the Noble Knight Synchro
-Vowing Sword "Яeverse" doing his thing.
-For once not being on the end of a massive dickbutting of triggers and in fact being the one doing the dickbutting. Karma's a bitch, huh world?
Slops
-Fizzling out. In my perfect world I'm able to open with the cards needed to Break Ride while checking triggers and drawing into complementary rearguards. That never happens.
-Finding out that being a left handed Beyblader is really difficult.
Friday 7 March 2014
Not every deck can be Plus One
People really should stop calling their decks "Plus One" when they have no clue what the concept actually means. Throwing 3 Upstart, 3 Cardcar D into a deck does not make your deck like Fire Fist. Tacking on a silly tagline to your Six Samurai is not only stupid but again the people doing so most of the time don't understand what the concept of "Plus One" means.
Plus One Fire Fist earned its name not because of Cardcar. That's only a part of it. The reason the deck has its name is because the core of the deck naturally generates advantage. Your plays get you more cards, putting you over your opponent in economy. That is what a "Plus One" is. How does Fire Fist do so? Well;
-Fire Formation - Tenki adds a Beast Warrior to the hand. That puts you from 6 cards total to 7.
-Fire Fist Bear when it inflicts damage puts a Fire Formation onto the field. You're up an additional card from before. Gorilla puts a Formation in play when it runs a card over.
-Tiger King puts a Formation on field which is used to put a card into your hand. You've gone up 2 cards.
-Wolfbark generates another card every turn he is on the field. He is card advantage on legs.
Throwing Cardcar into a deck does not automatically make it a Plus One deck, not if the rest of the deck doesn't have additional cards that generate advantage on their own. If the rest of the deck consists of one for ones you're just playing something standard Yu-Gi-Oh. Where is your Tenki, Bear or Wolfbark? Where are the cards that if the opponent doesn't have a response for them will keep giving you free cards every turn, allowing them to run away with the game? Not every deck can do this.
Am I talking out of my ass? It's possible. However it really does bug me when I see people say "OMG I run Cardcar and Upstart! My deck is Plus One __!" when what they've doesn't function remotely similar to Fire Fist. Again not every deck can do this. Not every deck can be a Plus One deck. Stop calling yours one when it isn't even close to being one.
Plus One Fire Fist earned its name not because of Cardcar. That's only a part of it. The reason the deck has its name is because the core of the deck naturally generates advantage. Your plays get you more cards, putting you over your opponent in economy. That is what a "Plus One" is. How does Fire Fist do so? Well;
-Fire Formation - Tenki adds a Beast Warrior to the hand. That puts you from 6 cards total to 7.
-Fire Fist Bear when it inflicts damage puts a Fire Formation onto the field. You're up an additional card from before. Gorilla puts a Formation in play when it runs a card over.
-Tiger King puts a Formation on field which is used to put a card into your hand. You've gone up 2 cards.
-Wolfbark generates another card every turn he is on the field. He is card advantage on legs.
Throwing Cardcar into a deck does not automatically make it a Plus One deck, not if the rest of the deck doesn't have additional cards that generate advantage on their own. If the rest of the deck consists of one for ones you're just playing something standard Yu-Gi-Oh. Where is your Tenki, Bear or Wolfbark? Where are the cards that if the opponent doesn't have a response for them will keep giving you free cards every turn, allowing them to run away with the game? Not every deck can do this.
Am I talking out of my ass? It's possible. However it really does bug me when I see people say "OMG I run Cardcar and Upstart! My deck is Plus One __!" when what they've doesn't function remotely similar to Fire Fist. Again not every deck can do this. Not every deck can be a Plus One deck. Stop calling yours one when it isn't even close to being one.
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