AF is getting lots of hype when it is first previewed. Besides having nice shoujo illustrations, this specialty of the clan - Damage Zone Manipulation also cause AF to gain popularity as this kind of skill is never seen anywhere before this.
Unlike other clans, AF does not have an 'autopilot' version of the deck. Instead, AF appeals more towards players that like to play skill-based decks, whereby you need to think a lot before applying your move. This is reflected in AF's ability to swap cards from the Damage Zone, where you really need to think carefully which card to swap out to maximize the profit made from the swap. For those players that has been playing non skill-based decks (like me for an example, heh!), AF might be hard for you to pilot.
There are 3 different types of decks that you can make in AF, as they have 2 distinct units that need to have a deck specially tailored for them, and another unit that can have a deck of her own or be splashed into the other decks. Here are the 3 cards that I'm mentioning:
First card that I'll be talking about is Cosmo Healer, Ergodiel. This is a Persona Blast unit from AF that can heal damage outside of Heal Triggers. Upon hitting the Vanguard, Ergodiel can Persona Blast to recover one damage. She comes together with a Chain Ride system, where the G0 shares the same skill as Bermuda Cadet, Rivere; the G1 and G2 shares the passive power-up when the previous grade is in the soul, as well as a damage swapping skill. This skill ensures that you will always have the card you need at that point of time while continuously ride to G3 without much problem. And backed with Ergodiel's 11k power, this is the most defensive deck AF offers.
The second card is Mobile Ward, Feather Palace. This one displays the Damage Zone Manipulation of AF through a Megablast skill. This 10k Golem (why a Golem?) has a auto SC1 that buffs it up to 12k, making a 20k line boosted by Besnel (the 8k vanilla). its Megablast allows you to heal 1 damage from your Damage Zone for each AF Rear Guard you have on the field, to a maximum of 5 (duh!). Imagine that you have 5 RGs on the field, essentially you just used a Megablast for free and you can take another 5 more damage before you lose the game! However, the downside of this card is there's not many ways to effectively SC at the moment, and the 10k base power will get raped for sure during defense. Verdict? Not so viable ATM.
The last card is a very utility-based G3. Enter the Limit Breaker for AF - Circular Saw Kiriel. Among the 3 different types of G3s I mentioned here, Kiriel can be considered as the best one here. Nonetheless she's just a 10k base, but she has a very good LB effect that can help her to form 20k, 21k, 22k, 23k, and 25k lines which are very impressive IMO. Also, she also has a very good CIP skill. For a cost of CB1, you may Superior Call a face-up AF unit from your Damage Zone, and put back a card from the top of your deck face-down. Technically you're paying CB2, but for that cost to call a unit that may change the tide of the battle to your favor, why not? And it also help to trigger skills of units that has 'when a card is put into your Damage Zone' abilities. The most important thing is she's splashable in every AF deck you make, making her the most versatile card in the entire AF arsenal.
Besides the main 'stars' of your decks, AF also feature a 'sub-star' which are very important units for AF's strategies. Please welcome Nociel!
The 3 Nociels plays a very crucial part in an AF deck due to their skills to swap cards from your Damage Zone and Hand. The G0 Nociel is a Stand Trigger that allows a swap by Soulcharging her. The G2 Nociel swaps through a CIP skill. The G1 Nociel is the highlight here. You can see the other 2 Nociels has a ACTIVATE ability, while this one is an AUTO ability. Yes, Battle Cupid, Nociel's skill can be used during your opponent's attack phase to surprise your opponent when they thought that you won't have enough guard by suddenly swap out a 10k shield from your Damage Zone. Sweet~
Thinking of just stop here, but still feel like continuing. DECKLIST TIME!!
Grade 0
Miracle Feather Nurse x1 (FV)
Critical Hit Angel x4 (Critical, duh!)
Rocket Dash Unicorn x2 (Critical)
Happy Bell, Nociel x2 (Stand)
Bouquet Toss Messenger x4 (Draw)
Sunny Smile Angel x4 (Heal)
Grade 1
Heavenly Injector x4
Pure Keeper Requiel x3
Burst Shot, Besnel x4
Battle Cupid, Nociel x3
Grade 2
Fate Healer, Ergodiel x4
Love Machine Gun, Nociel x2
Gatling Shot, Barbiel x3
Core Memory, Armaros x3
Grade 3
Cosmo Healer, Ergodiel x4
Circular Saw, Kiriel x3
The deck here is a Ergodiel-main with a splash of 3 Kiriels in it. Basically this deck gives you a basic roundup of AF's damage swapping skills with Nociels and the Ergodiel chain allowing you to swap whatever you want (swapping Heal Triggers sounds tasty...). Maintain the early to mid game with Ergodiel (hopefully Persona Blasting a few times), then reride into Kiriel for the finishing blow.
So far I would say that AF is at tier 1.5 now, but given the first wave of cards in BT-06, AF already has a strong base of cards. Whatever that's left to make AF a good deck that can compete with the other metagame decks out there is the pilot's skills. Have fun!
Blog isnt original. Everything written here everyone knows and everyone else has written about it.
ReplyDeleteChatbox a bad system and slow Change it.
Err... I know my blog was kinda not 'original in a sense' since like you said, everybody has written about it. So why didn't you go and post these comments at those blogs?
ReplyDeleteMy blog is just to offer another alternative to look for Vanguard information and also as a pastime. I like to write and I'm just writing for my interests. So if you don't like it you can just stop reading it. And by the way, Vanguard does not have much information to begin with. What are you expecting?
good blob. i found it enjoyable. the other blogs posted on pojo didnt offer much in regards to info as much as your blog has. the negative comment is probably someone who has a failblog. due to todays standards: 1 hater = massive cool pts lol keep it up
ReplyDeleteEdmund here. Just a small recommendation that maybe you can provide 'hyperlinks' to the card names in your decklist to assist new players like me who are unfamiliar with Vanguard cards (and can't read Japanese). :P
ReplyDeleteNice blog. :)
@first anonymous: At least Homura did an effort to write, no? What about try writing yourself? I doubt you could actually write as good as him. On the issue of chatbox, well, it's made that way, because I preferred a real-time chatbox, instead of a chatbox that stacks up all comments with spams and stuff. So, instead of the regular chatbox, I just embed an IRC channel onto the blog.
ReplyDelete@Edmund: I recommend some links, but too much links will just flood the page with unnecessary stuff. However, that's up to Homura to decide.
Thanks for taking the time to write up this blog. I've really enjoyed many of your articles since finding it yesterday. I'm gonna give this deck a go tonight casually with some friends.
ReplyDelete