Saturday, 6 December 2014

Cray Journal: Oracle Think Tank Stride~

As a huge OTT fan, I'm just sooooo happy that they FINALLY got support. It's been so long since they were supported it's hard to believe they were once considered meta. Anyways, moving on to the main point of my article, their new stride units and G-BT01 support.

Supreme Sky Battle Deity, Susanoo
G-BT01-S03-SP
[CONT](VC) Generation Break 2(This ability is active if you have 2 or more face up G units on your (VC) and/or G Zone) During your turn, if you have 4 or more cards in your hand, this unit gains [Power]+5000/[Critical]+1
[AUTO](VC): [Counter Blast (1)] During your turn, when your G unit Stride, you may pay the cost. If you do, look at the top 2 cards of your deck, search for one card, put it into your hand, and put the rest at the bottom of your deck in any order. 

Kinda lackluster for a RRR, but decent nonetheless. The GB2 ability will create a lot of pressure for your opponent. By the time you have used stride twice, it would be late game, with both opponents at 3-4 damage.
The second skill is the better part of this card. Since striding is essentially a net +/-0, this would make striding a net +1 for one counterblast. It would also let you stack your triggers at the bottom of the deck, so if you have a great memory, you will know what's coming once your stack is reached. In this sense, this card works rather well with the tsukuyomi ride chain.

Now let's look at the two G units that came out in this

Sword Deity of Divine Sound, Takemikazuchi
G-BT01-S02-SP
Stride- [Choose one or more cards from your hand with the sum of grades being 3 or greater, and discard them] Stride this face down card on  your (VC)
[ACT](VC): [Counter Blast (2) & Choose a face-down card named "Sword Deity of Divine Sound, Takemikazuchi" from your G Zone, and turn it face up] If the number of face-up cards in your G Zone is 2 or more, look at the top 4 cards of your deck, search for 2 cards, put them into your hand, and put the rest at the bottom of your deck in any order. 

Just like Susanoo, this card works really well with the Tsukuyomi chain, letting you reach your stack even faster and stacking more at the bottom. This ability is meant to be used sometime late to mid-game, to help you out of a pinch or get the desired cards into your hand.
Since the effect cost makes you turn another copy of itself face-up in the G Zone, you'll have to run an even number of these to fully utilize the effect.
But of course, you'll need another G unit in your deck to even use this card, so let's look at the other G unit released in this set:

Soaring Auspicious Beast, Qilin
G-BT01-025
Stride-  [Choose one or more cards from your hand with the sum of grades being 3 or greater, and discard them] Stride this face down card on  your (VC)
[AUTO](VC): When this unit's attack hits a Vanguard, look at 2 cards from the top of your deck, search for 1 card from among them, put it into your hand, and place the rest at the bottom of your deck in any order.

This unit is meant for early game rush. The instant both you and your opponent are at Grade 3, release this to pressure so you can build your hand early. Most people would not have a negate by that time, and would not be likely to throw a 30K shield for 2 pass at this point. This gives you even more reason to go second at the start of the game(or so I feel).
And the fact that this is only a R is so great~

Now I think I've said enough about those 2 G units, so moving on to a proper deck build:
4 Supreme Sky Battle Deity, Susanoo; 4 Goddess of the Full Moon, Tsukuyomi
4 Goddess of the Half Moon, Tsukuyomi; 4 Diviner, Shinatsuhiko; 3 Silent Tom
4 Mediator, Amenosagiri(PG); 4 Goddess of the Crescent Moon, Tsukuyomi; 3 Divine Sword, Amenomurakumo, 3 Oracle Guardian, Gemini
4 Psychic Bird(critical); 4 Battle Sister,Ginger(critical); 4 Dream Eater(draw); 4 Lozenge Magus(heal)
Starter: Godhawk, Ichibiyoshi
G Zone: 4 Sword Deity of Divine Sound, Takemikazuchi; 4 Soaring Auspicious Beast, Qilin

The G3 Tsukuyomi is here because, what better G3 to run than this? Monaka is fine too, but her effect is LB, and you don't exactly have enough G1 space to put a LB enabler. Her effect isn't exactly a finisher either, and you won't have enough G3s left to use as stride fodder.
Shintatsuhiko's name may be a mouthful, but it's nothing more than a GB1 12K whacker. Nuff' said.
Silent Tom. The silent killer. With triple drive check and a higher chance of getting triggers, why would you NOT run this?
Amenomurakumo. Another mouthful. It's a G1 with the ability to reveal a G3 and drop 1 card to search out Susanoo. This is effect is not meant to be used as it will ruin your stack. It's main effect is to drop for stride. If this unit is to be used to pay the cost for stride, it gains 2 grades, meaning you can just drop this card from your hand and stride.
I know the new negates have a restriction in that they can only defend your Vanguard. But in this deck, the CB usage is really high, and you'll need a way to unflip, and this is the only possible way. Running Lemonade(sb2, unflip 2) is not an option here as there isn't enough G1 space.
8 crit 4 draw is standard and will help maintain the large hand size OTT is known for.
Psychic Bird is a must because you'll need the 6 soul requirement if you were to accidentally ride Tsukuyomi first.
The main purpose of this deck is to draw until you reach your stack, and pull a double/triple trigger to kill your opponent instantly.

For those of you a little tight on budget, here's an alternative decklist:
4 Supreme Sky Battle Deity, Susanoo; 4 Battle Sister, Mille Feuillle
4 Diviner, Shinatsuhiko; 4 Diviner, Kuroikazuchi; 3 Battle Sister, Marshmallow
4 Mediator, Amenosagiri(PG); 4 Divine Sword, Amenomurakumo; 3 Oracle Guardian Gemini; 3 Battle Sister, Lemonade
4 Psychic Bird; 4 Battle Sister, Ginger; 4 Dream Eater; 4 Lozenge Magus
Starter: Battle Sister, Eclair

Mille Feuille is a C card with an on ride ability to CB1, SB1 to draw one card. Her GB1 ability is an ACT ability to CB2, check the top 2, take 1, and put the other at the bottom. She doesn't have much use on the Vanguard, so you can ride her first to fulfill the conditions for Marshmallow, and then use her as stride fodder once you ride into Susanoo.
Marshmallow is a pressure unit that lets you soul charge 1 and unflip 1 when her attack hits the Vanguard, and your Vanguard is a battle sister. It's a VC/RC effect, so it would be best to ride her on your G2 turn.
Kuroikazuchi is a RR. Her GB1 ability: when she is boosted, and attacking a Vanguard, you can CB1 to draw 1 card.
Psychic Bird again is a must to fuel the soul for unflipping. This build uses even more counterblasts than the previous one, so you're gonna need lemonade and the negate to unflip as many times as possible for you.
The main purpose of this deck is to filter until you have mostly triggers left in the deck. Lozenge Magus and Eclair are needed to shuffle so the triggers don't all get stuck at the bottom. If they do, by the time you reach them, you would lose by deck out.

Overall, OTT is still very fun to use, and you get to traumatize your opponents with your huge handsizes~
I really don't think I can say any more about this clan, so have fun Vanguarding everyone~

Signing off,
Lee Megan

Saturday, 29 November 2014

Stride Generation~ G!!

Following the introduction of Cardfight!! Vanguard G, we have new G units, and stride.
What are G units?
G units are Grade 4 units with "Triple Drive!". They are not placed in the main deck, but in the G Zone, a zone right abobe the damage zone on the typical playmat. G units can be used for Stride, and each player can have up to 8 G units, with a maximum of 4 copies per unit. 
What is Stride?
Stride is an ability unlocked when both players' Vanguards are Grade 3 or greater. To stride, one must discard 1 or more cards with the grades totaling to 3 or more. All G units are face down in the G Zone at the start of the game. When you stride, choose a G unit and place it face up on the Vanguard circle. At the end of your turn, that unit goes back to the G Zone face up, and cannot be used for stride again. When you stride on your Vanguard, the G unit gains the name and original power value of your "heart". If your original Vanguard is in Legion, choose 1 unit to be the heart. The G unit does not gain the skills of the heart. As the term "triple drive" suggests, you get 3 drive checks when you stride. 

Generation Break
You may have noticed some new units have the symbol GB1 or GB2. These abilities are unlocked when there is the stated number of G units face up in the G Zone or on the Vanguard circle. So for example, if your grade 2 rear guard has a GB1 ability, it can be activated when you have a Striden Vanguard or when there is one face up G unit in the G Zone. 

G Assist:
G assist is a new mechanic designed to help with misgrading. You need to have at least 2 G units to use this. Here's how it works:
1)Reveal your hand to your opponent, proving you don't have a unit 1 grade higher than your Vanguard. 
2)Check the top 5 cards of your deck for a unit 1 grade higher than your Vanguard, and add it to your hand. Shuffle your deck. 
3)Choose 2 G units from your G Zone, and 2 cards from your hand, and remove them from the match. This is not bind or discard. The lost G units cannot be used to fulfil the conditions for Generation Break. 
4) Proceed to ride phase. 
If you did not add a card to your hand during step 2, skip step 3 and jump to step 4. 
The G Assist ability is very costly, hence it should only be used when truly desperate. 

Examples of G units: 
All clans: Harmonics Messiah; Heat Elemental, Magnum; Miracle Elemental, Atmos
Gear Chronicle: Interdimensional Dragon, Mystery Flare Dragon
Royal Paladin: Vague Sacred Knight, Gablade
Oracle Think Tank: Sword Deity of Divine Sound, Takemikazuchi
Nova Grappler: Meteorkaiser, Viktplasma
Kagero: Imperial Flame Dragon King, Route Flare Dragon

This is just a short list of the current known Stride units. Certain clans have new cards which combo well with the Stride mechanic to net huge advantages.
If your favorite clan does not have Stride units yet, you can use the generic clan G units to power up your current deck, or wait for Bushiroad to release G units for that clan.

Happy Cardfighting everyone~!

Signing off,
Lee Megan

Thursday, 23 October 2014

New Preorder Promotion :D


Le-vanguard TD promotion.
Preorder is now open for
G-TD01 "Awakening Of The Interdimensional Dragon" (Gear Chronicle)
G-TD02 "Divine Swordsman of the Shiny Star" (Royal Paladin)
Release Date: 21st November 2014
Usual Price: $18
ORDER NOW: $16 for 1 TD, $60 for 4 TD
Closing order date: 17th November 2014
Sms me at 96379686 or drop me a PM me via facebook https://www.facebook.com/SkyeLovesDespair to place your order.

Monday, 6 October 2014

Preorders And Limited TIme Promotion

Item code: AS-001
Usual Price: SGD 14
Preorder Price: SGD 12
Closing Order Date: 31st August 2014

Contact us to reserve your order:
SMS - 96379686
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/lebanhammer



Item Code: AS-002
Usual Price: SGD 14
Preorder Price: SGD 12
Closing Order Date: 31st August 2014

Contact us to reserve your order:
SMS - 96379686
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/lebanhammer

Item Code: AS-003
Usual Price: SGD 14
Preorder Price: SGD 12
Closing Order Date: 31st August 2014

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SMS - 96379686
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/lebanhammer

Item Code: AS-004
Usual Price: SGD 14
Preorder Price: SGD 12
Closing Order Date: 31st August 2014

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SMS - 96379686
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Item Code: AS-005
Usual Price: SGD 14
Preorder Price: SGD 12
Closing Order Date: 31st August 2014

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SMS - 96379686
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Item Code: AS-006
Usual Price: SGD 14
Preorder Price: SGD 12
Closing Order Date: 31st August 2014

Contact us to reserve your order:
SMS - 96379686
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Item Code: AS-007
Usual Price: SGD 14
Preorder Price: SGD 12
Closing Order Date: 31st August 2014

Contact us to reserve your order:
SMS - 96379686
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Sunday, 5 October 2014

WGP 2014

Well, this year's WGP, held at Expo Hall 2, was bigger than ever. According to the announcer, a total of 576 players signed up for this event. I think many people came for the promo cards given out. All players who entered wgp were given a special promo, promo pack vol. 13, and a special deck case:
The fighter's climax promo is a g3 searcher for royal paladin, the only one(sorry rp fans). The deckcase features the new main character for the Vanguard anime in Season 5. 

The English world championship was happening at the same time as wgp, and all players who signed up received a promo and a special rubber playmat. 
Damn i'm jealous of those English players... >< Anways, moving on... :)

Several card shops came down to set up booths selling limited edition stuff. These were Gameplus, Rowell, Excel CS, and Thousand Taste Trading.  They sold the fighter's climax 2014 sleeve, as well as the Bermuda Summer collection pack. 
If you spent $30 or more at any one of these shops, you would receive a ticket for an autograph session with the artist of Cutlus Witch, Rias(forgot her name, sorry ><). She also designed several other cards, and you could ask her to sign one of your cards. If you don't have anything designed by her, she'll write on a postcard for you. 

Free fight was also open to all players. Although the regulation said only English decks are allowed, the judges didn't really care. The promos given out were in English though...
After each fight, you and your opponent(both must have a scoresheet) have to go to the judges to get an authentication signature. After 2 fights, you'll get the Shadow Paladin promo. After 4 fights, you'll get the Link Joker promo. They let you play free fight more than once, so you can actually get mor promos if you can find enough opponents. 

All in all, this was a very good event. They revealed stuff about Stride, which will b talked about here in a later article when more units with Stride appear. I just hope next year's WGP will be as fun as this year's. Until next time guys!! :)

Signing off, 
Megan Lee