Calm Before the Storm: Descendants of the Marine Emperor

Hi guys, Homura is back after a few days of absence (office work is taxing a lot on my body, was really tired  almost everyday after work). Finally I decided on bringing back 'Calm Before the Storm', which from now onwards, will be discussing more about rumors and upcoming news (of course those with proper proofs).

As we all know, Bushiroad will release their 7th Trial Deck for the Japanese version of Vanguard, which is named 'Descendants of the Marine Emperor'. This TD will be focusing on a new clan called Aqua Force, which according to Bushiroad, will be a clan used by a major rival character during the middle arc of this season's anime.

They have revealed the settings for the anime character not long ago. His name is called Souryu Leon, and he's a last descendant of very famous family from the past. His deck, Aqua Force, is set to be a 'legendary clan' that has been unsealed. Aqua Force bears a lot of references to modern day navies as from what we can see from their design, most of their units wears military uniforms resembling naval officers.

According to Bushiroad's setting, Aqua Force is an ancient, legendary clan from the nation of Magallanica that ruled the seas of Cray. They are Cray's strongest naval army, and fights bearing the name of 'Justice'. Most of the units comprises of Aquaroids, Mermaids, marine-based High Beasts, as well as Tear Dragons (refer to Dragonic Waterfall of Kagero). After they have been unsealed, they're ready to rule the seas again.

Alright, enough for the fluff, and let's look at the actual cards and how they are played in the game. From the several cards that has been previewed, almost all of them (barring the 8k vanilla Tear Knight, Theo and the Stand Trigger) shares a same ability:

When this unit attacks/boosts, if this is the 3rd battle or onward for this turn {insert ability here}

From what we can understand from the ability, it looks like the final attack will have the biggest impact, as the units will gain extra bonuses when they're the 3rd member to attack. It's like the waves we can see at the beach, the smaller ones comes first, then proceeds with bigger and bigger waves, then a tsunami strikes at the end after it collected enough momentum. Now, let's look at the cards that has been previewed so far:

Coral Assault

This is one example of the 'wave' pattern units that I've described earlier. Before the 3rd battle, he's just a normal 8k power Grade 2 with Intercept. However, if he's the 3rd unit onward to attack, he gains a +3k boost to power, making him a 11k attacker.

Battle Siren Dorothea

Dorothea is a 6k power Grade 1. And usually 6k units will have some decent abilities to back up their lack in power. To be exact, Dorothea is Aqua Force's personal booster for their Vanguards, being able to pump their power to boost a higher amount to break magic number lines.

Sharing the 'wave' pattern characteristic with Coral Assault, Dorothea's skill allows her to boost a whopping 10k power for the Vanguard if the attack is the 3rd or onward. So if you want to hit for a ridiculous amount of power, your Vanguard must be the last to attack.

Naval Geyser Dragon

Hopefully I get the translation of its name correct. Anyway, Naval Geyser Dragon is the cover card for the Aqua Force TD. He's a 10k Grade 3, and being the cover card, expect it to have some decent skills to back it up. Naval Geyser Dragon has 2 skills, which we'll take a look at each of them.

One of its skills gives it +3k during battle, if Naval Geyser Dragon's battle is the 3rd battle onward. So if you boost it with Dorothea, Naval Geyser Dragon can hit for 23k power if you fulfill its requirement for the power boost, making it to be able to force at least 15k guard when attacking 13k Vanguards.

Naval Geyser's second skill comes in the form of a Limit Break. It's an activated ability that costs a CB of 2, and gives Naval Geyser 2 additional bonuses. Firstly, Naval Geyser gets a +3k to power, making it a 13k before boosting. Then, Naval Geyser also gains an extra ability:

AUTO [V]: When this unit's attack hits a Vanguard, and this is the 3rd battle or onward for this turn, choose up to 2 of your <Aqua Force> Rear Guards, and stand them. 

At a glance, Naval Geyser's Limit Break doesn't differ much from the Persona Blast of Azure Dragon from the Nova Grapplers. Also, it has a downside, where the ability is a activated ability, giving your opponent information in advance of what you're going to do.

But barring these disadvantages aside, the LB skill is actually very devastating. Imagine a situation where you have Naval Geyser Dragon as your VG, and 2 other RGs that have a 'wave' pattern skill. You attack with both RGs, force some guards out (or not), and then attack with Naval Geyser. If your opponent guards, well you've at least wasted a few cards from their hand. If they don't, you just stand back those units, and attack again with their 'wave' bonus on. Either way, you're actually in a profitable situation.

In short, Aqua Force plays slightly similar as Nova Grapplers. However, they have a key difference which I personally think that what makes them stand out more that Nova Grapplers - their 'wave' pattern. You see, Nova Grapplers allow you to stand multiple times, the same goes to Aqua Force. But, Aqua Force has the advantage of being able to unlock bonuses while attacking multiple times.

Still we have yet to see the full list of the Trial Deck yet, so I can't say much for now. But seriously, I'm really anticipating the arrival of Aqua Force (going to start this clan by the way, lol) as it brings an alternative for us in comparison with Nova Grapplers. Have patience, and wait for the deck's release on 11th August (which is like 3 weeks from now?).

Alright, this is Homura signing out for now, and expect another article quite soon!