Cardfight!! Vanguard - OCG Tournament Results (Nov. 23-24/2019)

Week two of Mehsterious Fortune format.

5th Oka Lab VGCS (54 Players):

1st) Gold Paladin (Agravain)

2nd) Narukami

3rd) Genesis 

4th) Tachikaze

Clan Distribution:

Shadow Paladin - 13%

Murakumo - 13%

Great Nature - 13%

Pale Moon - 11%

Tachikaze - 7%

Narukami - 7%

Nova Grappler - 7%

Neo Nectar - 6%

Gold Paladin - 4%

Nubatama - 4%

Aqua Force - 4%

Others - 11%

1st 

2nd 

3rd 

4th 

5th Iwamizawa VGCS (28 Players):

1st) Narukami

2nd) Pale Moon

3rd) Narukami

4th) Tachikaze

Clan Distribution:

Tachikaze - 6

Murakumo - 5

Pale Moon, Narukami - 4

Neo Nectar - 3

Great Nature, Genesis - 2

Royal Paladin, Link Joker - 1

1st

2nd 

3rd 

4th 

2nd Ami-Pen Cup (40 Teams - Standard): 

1st) Murakumo/Great Nature/Gold Paladin

2nd) Murakumo/Tachikaze/Pale Moon

3rd) Narukami/Pale Moon/Murakumo

4th) Narukami/Pale Moon/Murakumo

Clan Distribution: 

Murakumo - 20%

Tachikaze, Great Nature - 12%

Gold Paladin, Pale Moon - 11%

Narukami, Shadow Paladin - 9%

Genesis, Dark Irregulars - 3%

Neo Nectar, Spike Brothers, Nova Grappler - 2%

Angel Feather, Kagero, Granblue, Royal Paladin, Nubatama, Bermuda Triangle - 1%

1st

2nd Place

3rd Place

4th Place

Results/Images courtesy of the TeamAbsolution Discord

Oh neat.  Aggravain got a top.  Now it's just only Sephirot that hasn't gotten a win since the release of EB10.  Hell even Genesis has had more tops this format than Neo Nectar.

EDIT: Even in Team format Neos couldn't get a top.  Super big yikes.

V-EB12 Narukami Spoilers - Week 0

Jumping the gun?  Probably.  I do like to see how well I can predict things and so far I've at least managed to call what cards would be appearing in this set.  That said for this edition what I'm doing to do is list the cards we know, what information about them exists while also adding what I'd like to see knowing what was lacking from Set 5 and the format we're in.  This deck has the task of coming in after Bermuda Triangle Wave 2 and competing with a still very much alive and dominant Murakumo/Pale Moon deck.  Narukami has been doing well in spite of Accel meta but as an unabashedly biased Narukami main I obviously want this deck to be BDIF just so I can say that line without talking about the fabled Tier 0 format that was Japanese Set 10 Eradicators >.>



Dragonic Vanquisher

What we know: He has the Act ability of 1/Turn CB1 bind an opponents front row Rear-Guard and if you have a Grade 3 in your soul both players bind an undetermined amount of cards in their hands.  Furthermore he has an ability to give the front row +10,000 if 3 or more cards were bound this turn.

What I'd like: The CanyousayG translation was not surprisingly bad and initially said he yeeted both players hands which would have been bonkers.  The current translation says both players only bind one which is actually pretty lame for a "G3 in soul" requirement.  For this I'd like either both players bind more than one, a variable number (likely based on the Narukami player's hand) or tack on a call restriction effect based on the type of card bound ie if your opponent binds a Grade 2 then they can't guard with Grade 2s for the turn.  For the other skill I'd like it to be Continuous so you can chain call Rising Phoenix in the Battle Phase while getting the +10k AND I'd like to trigger based on the number of CARDS bound during the turn, not Rear-Guards.  This is important as this means that hand binds would count towards this and thus a second ride Vanquisher's act skill would immediately make it live.  I'd also like one of these two abilities to work on Rear-Guard as it would allow for some use in Premium format.  Mind you this set support could be literal cancer to Standard and it would mean fuck all for Premium Narukami so that last point is moot until the deck gets a good first stride to replace VBuster.

That being said that second skill is strong and might very well make Vanquisher the de facto finisher that replaces Detonix Drill Dragon in the deck at last.  Certain cards from the last wave really benefit from the extra oomph that Vanquisher gives as one of the biggest issues with the Gauntlet Buster deck (aside from yeeting your hand away) was that while you had a big and deadly Vanguard attack your RG lanes couldn't hit for shit.  This fixes that as Cho-Ou becomes a 24k restander and Zuitan gets even bigger.

Voltage Horn Dragon

What we know: On attacking the opponent's Vanguard he can CB1 to bind a front row rear-guard and yeet one in the backrow up to the front like Cho-Ou.  He also has a Cont skill to gain +5000 when a card is bound on your turn.

What I'd like: Honestly this alone is good.  He's a Recklessness Dragon that hits the same numbers as Thunderstorm Dragoon while also enabling Rising Phoenix in the battle phase.  I guess asking for him to work on V in addition to R so that you can punch over Force Vanguards would be nice.

Demonic Dragon Berserker, Chatura

What we know: He is an 8k (or 6k if one of the anime clips is to be believed) base that on Vanguard hit lets you SB1 to bind a front row RG and draw a card.

What I'd like: DON'T BE A 6K BASE.  8k is also questionable as it lets you get bullied by many common Grade 1s in the format and taking too much damage early against aggressive decks like Kumo/PM isn't good.  The +2 is nice and like before Chatura does give you some much needed draw power but I also didn't see him gain any additional power in the show (Ryutaro called him to an Accel 2 and post Vanquisher buff Chatura was at 23k) which isn't good as G Chatura's selling point was that he could swing for 11k from the start.  I really hope they do this guy good as Chatura was the unsung hero of G Narukami from Set 2 all the way to Set 12.  Maybe this one will be a foil.

Dragon Dancer, Anastasia

What we know: She's a 7k base and does not have any non on place power gain abilities that we know of.

What I'd like: Anastasia could be a number of things but I think the most reasonable one here would be a form of Countercharge given that the original was our unflip PG and our current means of countercharging (Helena) is awful.  I do think she'll also generate some kind of +1 to you to offset that 7k base be it a draw or bind.  Will probably be a RR and SP and an expensive one at that.

Mighty Bolt Dragoon

What we know: He's an 8k base and like Anastasia he doesn't have any non on place power gain abilities that we know of.

What I'd like: Being able to look at the top 5-7 of the deck for Vanquisher on Ride/Call would be reasonable I think.  There will probably be some kind of discard/self bind to offset the plus because we can't have nice things but adding consistency to the deck would be a good start.  He might also have an effect like Castor where you bind something upon putting him into play as well.

That's it so far.  We still have quite a ways to go as Fishing Season is in full swing and the drip feed is even more painful than last time.  In one last bit of speculation I might as well add on what I think will likely get cut from the deck in lieu of this wave of support;

Grade 1s

-Bolt Capture Dragon

-Desert Gunner, Gaiban

-Demolition Dragon

Grade 2s

-Recklessness Dragon

-Volt Pike Dragon

-Dragonic Deathscythe

Grade 3s

-Thunder Break Dragon

-Great Composure Dragon

-Detonix Drill Dragon

Demo, Scythe and Drill are the big ones here as they've been staple since our first wave and have the best chance of sticking around after EB12 due to what they bring to the table.  Demo's draw helps when going 2nd and his power gain allows Gauntlet and Vanquisher to hit those vaunted 33k lines against Force.  Scythe's role as beater is looking suspect now that Voltage Horn exists but I can't deny that him being removal that doesn't use CB is enticing depending on how CB heavy the deck will be.  He may stick around as both a means to get some easy removal off while also getting Rising Phoenix out of the soul.  Drill Dragon has the biggest quetion mark as even with a third wave of support coming Drill is really good at what he does.  He's pretty much the most relevant Restander in the current format outside of the random DI and KG top due to how easy he is to go off and how free he is against decks that don't commit much to the board.  Honestly it's quite possible that some number of Drill will remain in the deck even after this batch of support.

Cardfight!! Vanguard - OCG Tournament Results (Nov. 16-17/2019)

New set.  New format?

2nd Yanagi Seido VGCS - VMC Qualifier (35 Participants):

1st) Great Nature

1st place Great Nature

1st

3rd Aokawa VGCS (40 Participants):

1st) Narukami

2nd) Murakumo

3rd) Murakumo

4th) Spike Brothers

Clan Distribution:

MC, NN, AqF, GB, GC, SB, NT, KG, Gen, RP - 1

GN, GP, SP - 2

NG, TK - 3

NK - 4

PM - 6

MK - 8

1st

2nd 

3rd 

4th 

Jakarta WCC VGCS

1st Place) Murakumo

2nd Place) Murakumo

3rd Place) Murakumo

4th Place) Beast Deity/Godhand

1st

2nd 

3rd 

4th 

Note: Malaysa plays both JP and EN format and this was a tournament that allowed use of decks from either or provided your entire deck was either English or Japanese.

DakaRta VGCS (participation unknown)

1st Tachikaze

2nd Pale Moon

3rd Murakumo

4th Tachikaze

1st

2nd 

3rd 

4th 

Credit to the TeamAbsolution Discord for images/results

Nope, still the same outside of the lone Great Nature top.  Neo Nectar and Gold Paladin failed to break in (at the time of this being posted) which doesn't surprise me as Neos strategy of "spawn field for free then swing with big numbers" is being done better by Murakumo and Pale Moon who also are able to attack with 4 lanes from Turn 3 onwards.  NN being restricted to 3 attacks with no finisher just doesn't cut it in the current Standard format.  Golds are a hot mess and while able to do some cheeky things under the right circumstances seem to be a worse Tachikaze at the end of the day.

Cardfight!! Vanguard - OCG Tournament Results (Nov. 9-10/2019)

And so Set 7 format comes to a close.  Did it even do anything?

2nd SuperKaBoS VGCS (31 People):

1st) Pale Moon

Top 8 was PM/PM/PM/PM/Tachi/Tachi/Tachi/Narukami

Clan distribution:

Tachikaze - 9 

Pale Moon - 6

Narukami - 4

Shadow Paladin, Genesis, Aqua Force - 2

Oracle Think Tank, Gold Paladin, Kagero, Murakumo, Nubatama, Dimension Police - 1

1st

Nippon Bashi VGCS - VMC Qualifier (59 People):

1st) Murakumo 

2nd) Shadow Paladin

1st

2nd

Yellow Submarine (Hiroshima) VGCS - VMC Qualifier (Unknown number of participants, but close to 64):

1st) SP

2nd) PM

Top 4) Narukami

Top 4) Narukami

Top 8) PM (Dolls)/Tachi/Tachi/Kagero (Overlord)

1st

2nd 

3rd 

4th 

Yellow Submarine (Fukuoka) VGCS - VMC Qualifier (62 Participants):

1st) SP

2nd) Tachi

3rd) Tachi

4th) SP

Top 8) Naru/Tachi/PM/Mura

1st

2nd 

3rd 

4th 

Credit to the TeamAbsolution Discord for images/results.

Ah.  Right.  Set 7 pretty much did little to change up the format.  Lmao.  Novas and Genesis got a couple tops but the top 4 decks and Narukami got way more tops.  Overall Set 7 is basically Vanguard's Chaos Impact.

Cardfight!! Vanguard - OCG Tournament Results (Oct. 27-Nov. 3/2019)

Turns out I missed a couple last week and by that I mean literally the day after I made that post did these couple other ones pop up.  D'oh!

2nd Asahikawa VGCS - VMC Qualifier (43 Players): 

1st) Murakumo 

2nd) Tachikaze 

3rd) Genesis (Astral Poet)

4th) Narukami 

Clan Distribution:

Pale Moon - 11 

Murakumo - 7

Narukami - 5

Tachikaze - 4

Nova Grappler - 3

Bermuda Triangle, Genesis, Aqua Force, Dark Irregulars - 2

Shadow Paladin, Gold Paladin, Kagero, Nubatama, Dimension Police - 1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Re-Easy VGCS - VMC Qualifier (33 Players): 

1st) Narukami 

Top 8 was 3 PM, 1 Gen, 1 Tachi, 1 Naru, 1 AqF, and 1 MC.

Clan Distribution: 

Pale Moon - 5

Tachikaze, Narukami - 4

Nubatama, Murakumo, Nova Grappler - 3

Genesis, Dimension Police, Aqua Force - 2

Royal Paladin, Shadow Paladin, Kagero, Dark Irregulars, Megacolony - 1

1st

2nd Sapporo Lab VGCS - VMC Qualifier (58 Players):

1st) Murakumo 

2nd) Narukami 

3rd) Shadow Paladin (no list) 

4th) Genesis (no list)

1st

2nd 

2nd Hiroshima VGCS (26 Players):

1st) Murakumo

2nd) Dark Irregulars

3rd) Nova Grappler

4th) Dark Irregulars

Clan Distribution:

Hiroshima:

Shadow Paladin - 5

Nova Grappler - 3

Genesis, Kagero, Pale Moon, Tachikaze, Dark Irregulars - 2

Link Joker, Narukami, Murakumo, Gold Paladin, Angel Feather, Granblue, Nubatama, Megacolony - 1

1st

2nd 

3rd 

4th 

Shukunao VGCS (28 Players):

1st) Tachikaze

2nd) Pale Moon

3rd) Shadow Paladin

4th) Genesis (Himiko)

Clan Distribution:

Nubatama - 4

Pale Moon, Genesis - 3

Shadow Paladin, Gold Paladin, Aqua Force, Nova Grappler, Murakumo, Tachikaze - 2

Kagero, Oracle Think Tank, Spike Brothers, Narukami, Granblue, Great Nature - 1

1st

2nd 

3rd 

4th 

18.5th 193 VGCS (32 People):

1st) Tachikaze

2nd) Murakumo 

3rd) Murakumo

4th) Pale Moon

Clan Distribution:

Pale Moon - 7

Tachikaze - 6

Murakumo, Narukami - 4

Spike Brothers - 3

Shadow Paladin, Aqua Force, Nova Grappler - 2

Genesis, Nubatama - 1

1st

2nd 

3rd 

4th 

Cosmo VGCS (Standard - 22 Teams):

1st) Murakumo/Tachikaze/Genesis

2nd) Spike Brothers/Murakumo/Narukami

3rd) Tachikaze/Nubatama/Shadow Paladin

Clan Distribution:

Tachikaze, Murakumo - 12

Narukami - 10

Pale Moon - 8

Shadow Paladin - 5

Genesis, Nubatama, Nova Grappler - 4

Royal Paladin - 3

Spike Brothers - 2

Link Joker, Megacolony - 1

1st

2nd

3rd

Credit to the TeamAbsolution Discord for images/results

Took you long enough Genesis, but you finally did it.  Now it's just Angel Feather that remains as the only clan from Set 7 without a top of some form.  Both Astral Poet and Himiko are seeing play with the former variant seeing more it seems.  That said every once in a while you'll get the odd top from an unfavourite which is what Genesis finds itself in at the moment.  Its a solid Tier 2 deck.  That said the format is basically same as usual and my hot take after next week's new set release is that it won't change much.  Sure Great Nature looks good on paper but will it see play over Kumo and Pale Moon?  Its possible.  Neo Nectar's second wave makes it a solid deck but I don't see it being able to play the role of Murakumo/Pale Moon killer that I think some people were hoping for.  Sephirot is an okay card in a format with busted cards and as far as Golds go I'm not feeling it with them.  I am pleased however that Narukami is still hanging in there despite being the oldest of the Accel decks in the format.  It's position is ironically the same as Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Thunder Dragon deck; a strong top 5 deck that acts as a gatekeeper towards many of the other decks that you see people bring to a tournament.  If your deck can't handle the thunder then it definitely can't deal with the storm that is the rest of Tier 1.