Cardfight!! Vanguard Weekly Card Update #7

August 7, 2015August 7, 2015 Tom

Welcome back to our weekly Vanguard update! This week a huge amount of cards from Soul Strike Against the Supreme have been revealed, including some support that looks to make Megacolony a very competitive deck! We also see more support for Royal Paladins, Shadow Paladins, Neo Nectar, Angel Feather and Genesis.

The changes to Megacolony in this set are the most significant, and now they are a force to be reckoned with. Intimidating Mutant, Darkface (pictured) is their new Grade 3 Striding vanguard, and he is extremely good. His Generation Break 2 ability is straightforward, if potentially costly – it can Soul Blast 2 to rest an opponent’s unit when that unit is placed on a rear-guard circle. This is really good when used on Grade 2 units, as it can shut down a column even on the opponent’s turn, even if they call over a paralysed unit. His On-Stride skill, however, is what makes him ridiculously good: for Counter Blast 1, you may choose two of your opponent’s rear-guards, rest them and make them unable to stand during the controller’s next stand phase, but also if they are at rest at the end of the opponent’s turn, you may draw a card for each of them! This is very cost effective and will create some serious advantage for the user. The opponent must either intercept with those units, call over them (making them lose cards), let you draw by not replacing them, or find some way to make them stand. However, using those units to attack will simply put them at rest and allow you to draw more cards, so it forces the opponent to make some difficult choices, none of which are favourable. Darkface comes with the now-standard Grade 1 searcher in Nova Mutant, Little Dorcas. Meanwhile, Facinated Mutant, Sweet Cocktail (pictured) further aids Megacolony by helping to remove one of their weaknesses. Her Generation Break 1 ability activates when boosted, and at Counter Blast 1 not only forces an opponent’s rear-guard to rest and stop them from standing in the stand phase, but also stops them from being used to intercept and allows the user to draw a card if that unit is at rest during the opponent’s end phase! This is unbelievably good for Megacolony, as, previously, paralysing Grade 2s meant little as they could still be used to guard, which means that Sweet Cocktail will surely be a staple in every deck. Completing this control trinity is the G-Unit, Raging Spear Mutant Deity, Stun Beetle. When it hits a vanguard, for the cost of Counter Blast 2, it can stop the opponent’s vanguards from standing but also from (normal) riding, meaning that their vanguard cannot attack. This is a virtual +2 for the user (as you prevent their Drive Checks), but can translate into more advantage when you consider your reduced need to guard on their turn. As such, it is an expensive cost, but very powerful when used at the right time, especially considering that Striding over a rested unit means that the G-Unit will also be at rest. Further, Machining receive a new Legion pair. Machining Scorpion mk II can legion with either Machining Hornet mk II (an older card) or Machining Mosquito mk II (released in G-BT04). Scorpion’s Legion ability is to call up to three ‘Machining’ cards from the Soul at rest and gain power equal to the sum of those units. This requires Counter Blast 1 and to discard a card with the same name as one of your vanguards, but is a straightforward +2. This ability works really well with Carapace Mutant Deity, Machining Destroyer, as it can help gather enough rear-guards to prevent your opponent’s vanguard from standing. Further, calling your rear-guards at rest can be mitigated by using the effect of Machining Firefly, although it does use a Counter Blast to do so. Therefore, Megacolony will continue to be a very Counter Blast heavy deck, but as their Perfect Guard in G-BT04 (Rebellion Mutant, Star Shield) has been confirmed to have the Counter Charge effect, this will be somewhat reduced.

Angel Feather also receive their Grade 3 Strider in Black Shiver, Gabriel (pictured). Her Generation Break 2 ability is a straightforward +2000 power to all your front row units when a card enters your Damage Zone, which is useful both offensively and defensively. Her On-Stride allows you to look at the top three cards of your deck, put one in the Damage Zone face-up, and then choose a face-up card in the Damage Zone and call it as a rear-guard, granting it 2000 power. This is usually only going to be used when you already have a good target in the Damage Zone, although the ability to set up future plays is definitely good. Nurse of Broken Heart is a Grade 2 with a very good ability. When a card is put into your Damage Zone, both she and your vanguard gain 2000 power until the end of the turn. This works nicely in conjunction with Gabriel’s skill, but works exceptionally well with Holy Seraph, Raziel (released in G-BT04 alongside her). When Raziel is placed on the vanguard circle, he can return all cards in the Damage Zone to the deck and replace them with cards from the top of the deck. At five damage, this means that each Nurse of Broken Heart gains 10000 power and gives 10000 power to the Vanguard, leading to a powerful offensive turn. Mobile Hospital, Healing Palace has the potential to be a useful rear-guard Grade 3, as when its attack hits a Vanguard, it can look at the top three cards of the deck, put one in the Damage Zone and call a card from the Damage Zone as a rear-guard. This also can be used to trigger other effects, although it often will be more useful for Striding. Finally, Black Record, Israfil is the usual Counter Charging Perfect Guard, and will certainly be useful given the clan’s reliance on both Counter Blasts and only being able to use face-up cards in the Damage Zone for most effects.

Insatiable Devourer, Gleipnir (pictured) is a great new option for Genesis. When he is boosted attacking a Vanguard, he can Counter Blast 1 to Soul Charge 3, then draw a card if a card was put into the Drop Zone from the Soul previously in the turn. Similarly, Goddess of Hearths, Hestia offers Genesis a similar ability as their new back-up Grade 3. When she hits a vanguard, she can Counter Blast 1 to Soul Charge 3, then draw a card if a copy of herself is in the Soul. These effects can be very helpful, but hasten the problem of decking out in Genesis. Therefore, as with all mass Soul Charge effects, these skills must be used with caution lest the player simply deck out. Regardless, these are powerful tools for the Genesis arsenal and Gleipnir, if not Hestia, will see play in many decks.

Battle Song Angel (pictured) is a very useful Grade 1, especially in G-Era Royal Paladins. At Generation Break 1, he gains Resist and 2000 power if there are two or more allied Grade 1s on the field. As G-Era Royals tend to be restricted to calling Grade 2s, many players will appreciate the option to have an ‘invincible’ back row of boosters. Another good Grade 1 for G-Era Royals is Knight of Reform, Pier. When a Grade 2 unit is called as a rear-guard, if your vanguard has ‘Altmile’ in is name, he can grant two units in his column 2000 power. This essentially makes him an 11000 booster when one is called, but it has no once per turn restriction. This means that, if you call Grade 2 units like Techgal who can still be useful in the back-row, he can become increasingly powerful. Jumpgal is a new Forerunner with a really interesting set of skills. At Generation Break 1, if you control two or more other Grade 1 or less rear-guards and he is in the front row, he gains 5000 power and intercept. This means that he is functionally a 10000 power Grade 2 when used correctly, and can become a 10000 shield interceptor. This means he can be used flexibly as either a 5000 power booster or as a 10000 power attacker, so many players will value him for his versatility. Finally, Archer of Sanctuary offers Sanctuary Guard decks a new option – if your vanguard has ‘Sanctuary Guard’ in its name, he becomes an 11000 power attacker all on his own, and also offers the ability to call a Grade 1 from the deck, albeit at the expensive cost of Counter Blast 2.

Meditation Knight, Mac Nessa (pictured) offers an alternative to Promising Knight, David for Shadow Paladin decks. He is a Forerunner with a Generation Break 1 ability which activates when he is sacrificed for a cost. When this happens, he can Counter Blast 1 to give your vanguard 5000 power and allow it to retire an opponent’s rear-guard on hitting a vanguard. Like David, he can be searched using Claret Sword Dragon’s skill, and so might prove a strong alternative depending on your build’s focus. Upstream Dragon is a new Gear Chronicle Grade 2 with the standard 9000 power. At Generation Break 1, when it attacks a vanguard, it can gain 4000 power but returns to the deck at the end of that battle. It then searches the deck for a Grade 1 unit and calls it to a rear-guard circle at Rest. This can be good to search for useful rear-guards such as the Counter Chargers or Mist Geyser Dragon, although players might not be able to find space in the already strong Grade 2 line-up of Gear Chronicle. Finally, two new units for Neo Nectar have been revealed. Flower Garden Maiden, Mailis is a Critical Trigger who specifically supports ‘Ranunculus’ vanguards. When your vanguard attacks, you may put her into the Soul from a rear-guard circle to draw a card and give your Vanguard 5000 power. This replaces itself and helps to fill the Soul, and so will see play in all Ranunculus builds. Early Flowering Maiden, Via is also specific support for ‘Ranunculus’, and looks to be a really useful tool for Neo Nectar decks. Her Generation Break 1 ability has the cost of choosing two normal units from the Drop Zone and putting them on top of the deck in any order, then she grants up to four units with the same name 3000 power each and shuffles the deck. This not only fits well with the effects of cards such as Sacred Tree Dragon, Multivitamin Dragon, but also helps to add copies of cards back to the deck so that they may be reused easily. Her effect is limited to being used once a turn, but she is strong support for the clan and will be highly used.

That concludes this week’s instalment of Cardfight!! Vanguard news, check back next week for more updates!

Cardfight Vanguard singles are available to purchase at Big orbit Cards: Cardfight Vanguard