Defining the Metagame: Dark Irregulars

Hello from Homura, and today it is a good day to feel evil, mwahahahahaha!!!!

Ahem, pardon me for that. Alright, as the title says it, I'll be discussing about the forever Soul-hungry clan of Vanguard, Dark Irregulars. DI hasn't been getting much love since its debut in BT-03, with only a few cards from BT-05 available for them (nobody even use those cards, maybe except the Draw Trigger or Devil Child).

In BT-07, DI gets a massive boost, with Limit Breaker now available for them, and certain units that brings their thirst for power to the next level. I would say with the additional cards from BT-07, DI can have more variety when it comes to deckbuilding, compared to the last time where only Hell Marquis, Amon and Stil Vampir are the main choices to build decks. Not forget to mention the forever hated 8 Stand Triggers build. So before I delve into more details, let's have a recap of Dark Irregulars in their entirety.

Dark Irregulars, when they first came out, is designed to have 'quantity of Soul' in mind, where they will unlock a lot of skills which require you to have a certain number of Soul. Also, because of that, the majority of their units are also geared for that purpose, which is to fill up your Soul. They also have 2 different Megablast units, which emphasizes more in the 'number of Soul matters' theme. After almost a year, they're finally back with an even bigger appetite for Souls. Let's have a look at what the new DI have installed for us (Warning: Long Post Ahead!!!)

The Dark Lord of Abyss

This is the first Limit Breaker of Dark Irregulars. Boasting a printed 11k power (the drawback is negligible if you're playing a pure clan), he is the successor of Hell Marquis Amon. The only difference about him and Amon is Amon consistently gets the +1k per Soul when you're at the offensive, whereas Dark Lord only get it as a LB skill. Comparing this with Amon, Dark Lord tends to gain the upper hand because he has 11k power when you're defending. No doubt that Amon can hit super high numbers like 30k++, but his awful stats makes him a easy target for 20k line rape.

Usually, when you're hitting for more that 20k, your opponent will usually say 'No Guard' or just null guard it. When boosted by Devil Child (6k unit that becomes a 10k booster when you have 6 or more soul), Dark Lord will achieve the same desired effect with his 21k attack. Whether you want to be more aggro with Amon, or have a bit of breathing space when defending with Dark Lord, it's really up to your preferences.

Bladewing Reggie

Now this is something interesting. Bladewing Reggie is a 10k G3 with a pair of very interesting skills. The first skill is when you have 15 or more Dark Irregulars in your Soul, Reggie gains +2 Critical permanently. This brings him to the rank of the highest damage unit in the game on its own (without any outside support), with a grand total of 3 Critical when you attack. This is another 'No Guard' or Null Guard attack to your opponent.

Reggie's second skill is when he CIP as the Vanguard, you can target one of your Dark Irregular unit, then search your deck for up to 3 of the same card and Soulcharge them. This skill presents 3 different situations to you, where each of them is some sort of advantage for your side. Firstly, you can thin your deck by removing up to three non-trigger cards, which is very good to increase your chances to hit a trigger. Secondly, it speeds up the clock for hitting 15 soul by three turns. And finally, this skill powers up a cycle of cards known as the 'Demonic Hour' units, which I'll be mentioning next. The only concern on using this skill is the potential danger to deckout even faster, so use with care. Reggie embodies the extreme of the offence of DI, so power-hungry players can give him a shot.

The 'Demonic Hour' Cycle

Actually 'Demonic Hour' is my own translation because the Kanji of the names written on the cards actually means 'the time where demons roam', hence I called them the 'Demonic Hour' cycle. This cycle consists of a G1, G2 and a G3 that shares the same skill:

CONT [V / R]: During your turn, for each (Card Name) in your Soul, this unit gets +2000 power.

If you see, they combo perfectly with Reggie, because Reggie can perform a targeted Soulcharge. You might not use the Devil Tank of the Demonic Hour (G3) or the Underworld Carriage of the Demonic Hour (G2) because they are just vanillas that can hit hard. Let's save some slots for better cards here shall we? But the case is different when it comes to the G1, Demon Bike of the Demonic Hour. It's a 6k unit, but when you have at least 2 of them in Soul, the bike instantly transforms into a 10k monstrosity. Things are even better when you have 3, where you can boost for 12k every turn. Just beware of Kagero (everybody hates Kagero).

Besides those stated above, BT-07 also gives us a few very good Soulchargers, which is better than the inital ones given to us. Some of the notable ones are stated below.

Free Traveler

For a mere cost of CB1, you can perform a targeted SC on a G2 or below DI unit when he comes into play. Best used with the 'Demonic Hour' cycle. Though his downside is his 8k power (not a good number).

Emblem Master

He is the upgraded version of Blue Dust. As a trade off for losing a Personal Booster (Nightmare Baby), Emblem Master can SC3 instead of SC1 when his attack hits the Vanguard, just by paying CB1. Generally a good unit that is compatible with all DI cards out there.

Yellow Bolt

This is the SC version of Dragon Monk Gojo and friends. By resting this unit, you can SC1. Though not good in the later stages of the game, where you're trading off a booster for an extra Soul, he's quite good when you're going first. Personally I would not play more than 2 of him in any deck (or maybe exclude him at all).

Succubus of Courtship

IMO, this is a better version of Alluring Succubus. Alluring Succubus' SC skill is when she CIP, which means if you miss it, you can't do it anymore. This new Succubus improves this ability by changing the SC timing into 'when a attack boosted by her hits the Vanguard', while retaining the same stats as Alluring Succubus. Definitely an auto include for me.

Greedy Hand

The new starter for DI. Greedy Hand has a Superior Call skill, which gives you a +1 upon riding to G1. And he also can perform a G2 or lower targeted SC by paying CB1 and sending him to Soul. I think from now onward he'll definitely replace Vermilion Gatekeeper because of his targeted SC. Even if you don't use the skill, he's still a free booster for you.

Trigger Units

I'm definitely excited when the new Triggers for DI are revealed. In BT-07, DI gets a new cycle of Triggers (one of each type). Seeing that DI now has 12 Stand Triggers doesn't make me happy, but with DI having access to 8 Criticals and 8 Draws is definitely making me very happy! As we all know, DI have a big problem when it comes to hand card management, because you're throwing a lot of cards to maintain your offense, leaving you with nothing much to guard with. This is remedied by having more Draw Triggers available. 

Another thing is DI can make power lines so easily, they should have more Criticals because most of the time, your opponent won't guard a super high power attack. With another Critical Trigger available for them, DI finally can achieve a setup of 6 Criticals and 6 Draws, speeding up the clock to hit 6 damage and having more cards to defend.

Usually I'll post up a decklist during the end of this column, but I seriously don't want to make this post any longer. If time allows me to do so, you'll be able to see a decklist for DI tomorrow (still thinking whether I should post the Dark Lord build or the Reggie build).

Anyway, with the new cards coming in soon, DI can be a tourney-worthy deck if you build it properly. Why? Because from what I can see, Dark Zone decks are spoiled with choices, so choosing the correct card can be a little bit tricky. Compared with the other clans in BT-07, I would say DI is the closest behind Great Nature in the ranking chart of the booster's clans (Great Nature is just too versatile and their synergy is just that good). If compared to the other established clans out there? DI definitely stand a chance, except when facing 13k Vanguards where they might have a slight problem when defending (I wouldn't say attacking because DI's offense is just that good). 

So, it's time to start brainstorming! Until next time, I'm also off for my own brainstorming session, wheeee~~!!