Friday Stride: Rain Element, Madew

For the first few years of the game's existence, Vanguard allowed clan mixing, although it wasn't encouraged outside of a couple of specific decks. Then Clan Fight was introduced, eliminating all mixed decks but those two decks designed around it, which saved text space but prevented the use of cards from other clans in most decks. However, just two sets later Vanguard G began, and alongside some new mechanics it brought Cray Elementals into the game. The Cray Elementals are vanguard's generic cards, allowing every clan to be given access to specific cards. Though currently few in number, most of them provide some interesting support which can benefit most if not all clans, and helpfully enough the most recent set just reprinted one of them - Rain Element, Madew.

Unlike cursed rain, which causes flooding.

Madew was first released in that mine of G units known as the fighter's collection, but it was so widely useful and in demand that it apparently deserved a reprint just a few months after it's first print - in fact this is one of a very few cards to be in print in multiple packs at once, and unlike most of the others this isn't due to having multiple artworks. It's skill is simple enough - on stride, if you have a heart with 10000 power or less you can recover a grade 3 from the drop zone - but it opens up a huge range of options for a wide range of decks.

Although most grade 3's which are currently relevant have 11000 power base, a few older 10k units still see use, generally because the newer support allows them to function. Although most have clan-specific options, sometimes they won't be usable, and Madew functions as a free stride, boosting up the lower power of these units whilst not losing stride fodder for the next turn.

Probably the most significant card Meta-wise is Machining Stag Beetle, the original machining boss and the most cost-effective way of gaining enough rear-guards for the subclan's own G unit. Megacolony have enough options that Madew only has a small window where it's the best option, but given the power of their G zone having the ability to stride for free might just be useful.

Alongside Machinings, Musketeers also received a G unit, but oddly it was limited to "Cecilia", thus making it exclusive to White Lily Musketeer, Cecilia. Musketeer's first boss, she carried the build until the Legion bosses arrived, and with her new stride she gained more effective mid-game plays. Musketeers have always had an issue getting two boss units in a single deck, and boosting the aging Cecilia back up displaced Martina (a legion which really only shone in specific match-ups) and finally gave the deck a solid all-round grade 3 line-up of Cecilia & Vera. Cecilia's stride changes cards and plusses, whilst her base form gets around grade 2 gaming opponents. However, since all of Cecilia's skills are field manipulation based, if your setup doesn't need changing not losing a grade 3 you may want later is a handy option, especially as Musketeers can't afford to run the grade 1 stride fodder unit.

Unlike the above two cards, the resurgance of Leading Jewel Knight, Salome wasn't due to G units. It began with the Limit Break enabler, which as per standard pattern for those cards, was a Jewel Knight. Unlike (almost) every other Limit Break unit, Salome could call it from the deck without already having Limit Break, turning on her bonus crit even before the opponent reached grade 3. That early critical pressure made her threatening, but combined with Jewel Knight's rush potential makes a dangerous deck to face. Though not essential to the deck, Salome is a strong option especially if you can't afford Swordmy, and Madew helps grant more power for no real cost once the opponent is at five damage and her critical isn't needed.

What also helps sell Madew to these decks is that all three can pair up with a Legion, which Madew can also work with. Since all grade 2 mates meet the criteria, striding Madew over a legion can net you a grade 3 back even if you take the name and power of an 11k legion leader. Notable legions to benefit from this trick - besides any with on-legion skills which want to re-ride - are Bluish Flame Liberator, Prominence Glare and Brawler, Big Bang Knuckle Buster, both of which require other grade 3 units as part of the cost of their own skills. Being able to stride without losing (or in some cases gaining) fuel for these skills is a huge bonus.

Revival legions with 10k mates can also do the same thing. Of the ten revealed at time of writing, six of these meet the criteria, and those with specific advantage we'll come back to later.

It's worth noting that Madew checks the printed power of the unit, which means anything which has 10000 printed but has a higher power due to skills can still apply the effect. This means every ride chain outside Tsukuyomi and Galahad can also use Madew's effect, as well as Majesty Lord Blaster. The ability to stride for free whilst maintaining full defensive power is no bad thing, especially on any turn you weren't planning to use your vanguard's own skills.

The last area I'll talk about today is persona blasts. Stride doesn't sit well with these, as both mechanics suck up the same grade 3s, and whilst the Dragonic Overlord and Maiden revival legions make these workable by searching out more copies that doesn't help the rest of them. However, since many of them are 10000 power, Madew can either salvage them back or functionally provide trade of another grade 3 or stride enabler for a used persona, in much the same way as the legion examples above. The grade 3s able to use this trick include several revival legions - both the early Top Idol, Riviere and the more recent Thundering Ripple, Genovious have persona blasts, and whilst King of Knights' Vanguard, Ezzell is an 11k unit, his mate - King of Knights, Alfred - is not, and so can allow either unit to be recovered for future use.

Thus, we reach the other reason why Madew is in Vanguard and Deletor - the Royal Paladins are mostly focussed on Alfred units, and all royal Alfreds are 10k base or legion with a grade 2, making Madew highly useful for such builds.

There's even more Madew can do, but I've gone on long enough, and even if I did go through every possible trick there'll be another one sooner or later. It should be clear this is a solid card, and even if you don't need it now it's not a bad idea to pick it up, just in case you change decks or your favourite clan gets support for a 10k grade 3.

Friday Stride: Original Deletor, Egorg

Yep, Comic Booster time. It's nice that at least some of the Manga cards got put out into the game, and Deletors did need some help to deal with stride being a direct counter to half the benefits delete gave out. One of those cards was a stride of their own, complete with a delete skill of it's own - Original Deletor, Egorg

Well aren't you cheerful?

Egorg is, like most deletors, named with random sounds, because that's how you emphasis 'alien' - make it meaningless. Unlike any other deletor, however, he has a Generation Break skill which only makes him useful on the second stride or more. This does mean that you'll have to skip a turn's delete to stride into something else (unless you ride Mixed Deletor, Keios that turn), but once you do so Egorg give you one of, if not the most cost-efficient delete available.

Most of the Grade 3 deletors cost 4 cards to delete, either in counter-blasts or in discards/retires. Juxtapose Deletor, Zaele only costs three, but is a once-only skill on legion, as opposed to a reusable ACT skill, and lacks the bonus effects other deleting units gain when they delete. Egorg costs only counter-blast 1 and retire 1 for a total of two cards (three if you count the stride cost, which is recovered by triple drive), and on top of the delete and the stride power locks a back row rear-guard and forces the opponent to bind a card from their drop zone face-down, an effect termed Vanish Delete.

Already it's better than almost any other Deletor - the only ones to have a lower cost either require the soul blast of a specific grade 3 or require two grade 3's to delete only after the vanguard attacked (a setup even less appealing in stride format than a conventional delete). But wait, there's more. Once you've deleted, locked and bound the cards, if your opponent has four or more damage and 13 or more cards bound face-down, you instantly win. Instant wins aren't usually common in TCGs in general, and Vanguard has kept them very rare - though so far all of them are in Link Joker.

Four damage isn't going to be hard to get to - you'd have to do that to beat them the conventional way anyway, and although we're not in season 3 any more and few decks will need to go to four damage to even start most decks will eventually want either counterblasts or not to waste shield. It's the 13 vanish deletes that will need some effort, but even this shouldn't be too difficult. Almost every new Deletor in Vanguard and Deletor has, as part of it's skill a vanish delete or two, which can soon start to add up. If nothing else, Egorg humself will vanish delete each turn you stride him, which should be every turn from his GB2 going live, unless you can't stride or would be on the last one but can't get enough units bound to win for some reason. The threat of the Delete End victory condition is a very real one, and it's even harder to play around than World's End. Against that, the opponent can leave them on four and pressure with criticals at least. Here, you either have to push hard and fast, somehow keep the drop zone empty, or play the grade 2 game, and for some decks this may well be difficult.

Overall, whilst Egorg doesn't fix all the problems with Deletors, it at least minimises the advantage losses they face, allowing them to keep up despite a lack of significant card advantage. It gives them an ultimate finisher and something for decks which don't find the delete as draining something else to worry about.

Friday Stride: Avatar of Heroic Spirits, Vishnu

So with the sword boys out of the way, we're almost ready for another new set for the English game, so once again a single week to find a card for. Since Narukami have just received more support in the Japanese game, let's take one more look at a card from Fighters Collection 2015. Looking ahead, this is likely to be the last time we visit this set for some time as the 2015 Winter set will be coming along before I need filler again. So, let's get on with Avatar of Heroic Spirits, Vishnu.

Wait, so there'll be more bad grade 3's?

Vishnu is stride support for Narukami's Noble deck, a build which has mostly slid under the radar due to being overshadowed by essentially every other build since, and the fact that they've had effectively no support. Vajra Emperor, Indra first appeared as a stand-alone card in Narukami's début set, gaining a critical for each copy on the rear-guard when it attacked. Somewhat interesting, but lacking power to back up the damage and relying on more copies of a specific grade 3 on rear-guard made it much less popular than Vermillion. The second noble, Black Celestial Maiden, Kali, didn't give any indication that there would be a theme to the Nobles, being a generic power-gaining unit. It was Lord of the Demonic Winds, Vayu who showed the pattern, being the equivalent to Indra, save for gaining 10000 power for each copy instead of extra criticals. The two make a working partnership - Indra pushes the damage up early, whilst Vayu has the power to overwhelm the opponent's remaining guard later in the game. However, Vermillion had been given a crossride, and the following set the Eradicators would make their appearance, consigning non-subclan Narukami to the binder for the next two blocks. Later in season 3, the deck would be thrown a bone in the form of Thousand Name Wyvern Knight, who could gain the name of whichever Noble was on your vanguard. Besides simply giving extra copies of your nobles, being a grade 2 gave you access to interceptors without limiting the vanguard.

It was G booster 2 which finally brought generic builds back into the limelight - though once again, it wasn't the Noble build. However, one more noble made it's appearance. Turbulence Deity Howl, Rudra also gained it's skill based on other copies on the rear-guard, this time retiring an opponent's rear-guard for each other copy. In addition, the clan's new heal trigger, Deity of Love, Kama, was also a noble, which wasn't overly significant until Vishnu made his appearance.

Vishnu himself lost the counterblast cost of the smaller nobles, and since he can't have cards with his name on the rear-guard he can work with any nobles - shutting out Thousand Name, but allowing Kama to add to the skill and also be a useful booster. For each Noble, Vishnu forces the opponent to retire and bind a rear-guard, and then if you retire three or more he gains a critical. Sadly the deck still isn't up in the higher tiers - Vishnu himself performs better in extreme fights, where Genesis and Oracle Think Tank can abuse their larger supply of Nobles - but there's now generic support up to modern standards to at least give them a fighting chance, and with the newest support from Japan gaining skills based on bound cards the deck may have more potential to come.

Firday Stride: Hotarumaru

Well, it finally happened. Vanguard's first fully non-Cray clan has reached the Anglosphere, and with it a whole bunch of cards who care not a jolt if you try and stick on grade 2. However, they still have some solid G units to call upon the rest of the time, so in the interest of equality let's have a look at one of them - Touken Ranbu's Hotarumaru

Adding a playable crossover will do that.

A few weeks ago I mentioned that Stun Beetle was the only example of a clan's initial persona flip unit to be on-hit. Technically that's true (and for the English game I base these reviews on was completely true at the time), though it's not quite that simple. This week's card also has an on-hit persona flip, although the clan did get another persona flip at the same time, so it's only a joint first. With that out of the way, onto the effect. As mentioned, he on-hit he flips a copy of himself in the G zone, and also rests 5 rear-guard to activate a Homare ability.

Homare is one of Touken Ranbu's new keywords, and acts as a hard once per turn skill - only one Homare skill can be paid for in a single turn, regardless of which card tries to use it. This allows them to have some quite powerful skills without the same restrictions as other clans, but forces them to decide which skills are more important when.

For Hotarumaru, his skill is a very powerful one - he gets to re-stand himself, at the cost of two of his three drive checks for the rest of the turn. Though the loss of Triple Drive may seem to be an issue, he has the natural bulk of a stride unit, coupled with any triggers from the first swing, means this isn't something that can be taken lightly, especially if the opponent can't block this attack (not that unlikely, if they let it hit to begin with).

For anyone who's been following the game for any length of time, this guy has obvious parallels to Dimension Police's Commander Laurel, a much older card with a similar effect. When printed, Laurel was fairly well-balanced, however as the vanguard line has gained more power, Laurel has become more of an issue. Hotarumaru, however, provides a nice display of how Laurel would need to change to stay in check.

First up, the cost. We can't expect non-GB rear-guard skills to flip G units, and nor should we, as the early GB1 would be unfair (except on a Cray Elemental), but resting 5 vs resting 4 is a huge shift. Resting 5 means the first attack can't be boosted, which for an on-hit skill helps to keep it in check. Whilst Touken Ranbu do have a unit which can stand itself in the back row when a vanguard attacks, it's a 4k base trigger, meaning it won't make a difference outside specific combinations of your heart and your opponent's vanguard. Said unit is more helpful to the sides, as when Hotarumaru attacks he can stand a column, allowing you some extra attacks that turn.

Second, what has to be hit. Laurel can activate when a rear-guard is hit, meaning a huge vanguard can go after a relatively unimportant rear-guard for an increased chance of a hit, especially against decks who use Perfect Guards which can't protect them, Whilst you lose the guard pressure of swinging against the vanguard, you still get your extra drive checks and can usually save the booster for the second attack. Hotarumaru can't pull off this trick, and thus has to deal with any deck's perfect guards and the late-game need not to let any vanguard hit.

Third, Hotarumaru's loss of drive checks. With this, over two attacks he makes four checks, the same as any other restanding G unit, whereas a G unit stood with Laurel gets to make six. Even Nextage only makes 5, and that comes with an extra discard relative to other restanders as well as an inability for Chronojet to carry trigger bonuses. As standard, resting both rear-guard columns would save the opponent 2 10k shields, hence two extra drive checks from a grade 3 Laurel stands balances out. A G unit, however, starts to ramp up advantage very quickly.

Fourth, Hotarumaru's restand is it's skill, whereas Dimension Police's vanguards have their own skill on top of Laurel, meaning more for the opponent to deal with. Finally, there's reusability. Hotarumaru can only restand twice at best, and can only make the attempt three times before he can no longer pay the cost. Laurel is live as soon as your field is full and is live even to the end of the game.

What you shouldn't take from this is that Hotarumaru is bad. What you should be seeing is that Laurel compounds all the advantages of more powerful cards released since his début, and so he's not really healthy for the game, but that the idea is sound and thus salvageable. In this role, Hotarumaru is a solid card, and Touken Ranbu as a clan are distinct enough from the rest of the game that they're worth at least looking at.