Deck Dissection (after so long...) : Attack of the Ginseng

Hey hey hey!!! Haven't been seeing you guys for so long, I wonder how many of you has gave up on my blog (LOL!) since I haven't been posting for almost half a year... Work and my life has indeed took the most out of my time, and for a period of time I was really demotivated to play Vanguard, thus my long hiatus in posting.  But after so long, I joined a shop-level tournament back at my LGS, and actually got 2nd place (despite haven't been playing for so long), hence it burns my passion to write back up XD !

So without further delay, let's start the deck dissection for the deck that I used today, which I called it 'Attack of the Ginseng'!

Grade 0
Devil in Shadow x1 (FV)
Dark Knight of Nightmare Land x4 (Critical)
House of Amon, Cruel Hand x2 (Critical)
House of Amon, Psychic Waitress x2 (Draw)
Hysteric Shirley x4 (Draw)
House of Amon, Hell's Trick x4 (Heal)

Grade 1
Jet Black Poet, Amon x4
House of Amon, Vlad Specula x4
House of Amon, Hell's Deal x4
Yellow Bolt x2

Grade 2
House of Amon, Hell's Draw x4
House of Amon, Lon Shinrin x4
Gwyn the Ripper x3

Grade 3
Demon World Marquis, Amon x4
Demon Marquis, Amon 'Reverse' x4

Yes, what I meant by the 'Attack of the Ginseng' is actually an Amon-based Dark Irregulars deck. This is my 2nd attempt in using a DI deck in tournaments (IIRC, the last time I used it was when BT-03 for Japanese just came out, and never used any DI deck again in tourneys). When I first saw the spoiler for Amon R, the first thought that came to my mind is 'Sweet! Extra Critical!' (sorry, I'm a big fan of built-in Critical increases XD), and without a second thought, I straight away hunted for the materials and started building it.

Up to this point, my deck isn't actually complete, since the older Amons are quite some relic now (they're damn hard to find, no joke). Hence, I borrowed some cards from my friend that owns a DI deck, and built this deck from there. This tourney proved as a very good testbed for the deck. Now, here's a rough explanation on how this deck works and the logic behind my card choices.

Grade 0
The G0 I'm using as the starter is the now-famous G3 searcher. The reason why I used Devil in Shadow is because he can help to search out any G3 in case you're stuck at G2, or to search out Amon R for the 13k defence. Also, DiS can fuel up your Soul, as well as serving as a Lock target for Amon R.

The triggers for me is set at 6-6-4, because Amon R has a built-in Crit increase skill, hence I focus more of gaining hand advantage. The above 2 triggers are in because they help a lot in terms of feeding Amon, whereby  Dark Knight can increase power to create magic number lines, and Shirley is basically a SC2.

Grade 1

Hell's Deal is actually one of the key cards for the deck. This is because she can SC2 upon entering play when you have a Vanguard with the 'Amon' name (which almost 90% of my non-trigger units has it), which helps a lot for Soul fueling, and being a 7000 power booster, she's definitely a 4-off considering her utility and decent stats.

Here we revisit an old staple in DI decks, none other than Amon in basic form. Sporting 6000 power, he doesn't seem to look good at the first glance. However, his true potential shines when you have 6 Soul on your turn. Poet Amon turns into a decent 9000-power attacker or booster, and to hit 6 Soul is not a problem for the Soul-hungry DI decks. 4-off as well for me because Poet Amon can also create 21k magic lines, which I'll explain later.

4 pieces of Vlad Specula is staple. You can also use March Rabbit, just that I prefer Vlad as he looks cooler and easier to find since he's newly released. Oh, and having the 'Amon' name gives him extra benefit when you wanna play out Hell's Deal to start Soulcharging. the 2x Yellow Bolt is just a tech card. Being able to SC on turn 1 is quite good, and he is also a good Lock target for Amon R.

Grade 2

Hell's Draw, the G2 equivalent of Hell's Deal. I don't think this need more explanation, lol.

Another old staple, Gwyn the Ripper. Basically he is my countermeasure against pesky backrow boosters and annoying frontrow units like Silent Tom, Especial Interceptors, 12k attackers and more. This deck doesn't use a lot of CB, that's why having him as a 3-off sounds quite okay when you need to push in the damage by getting rid of their Interceptors.

Bearing the name of 'Amon', Lon Shirin is the equivalent of the 12k attackers when your Vanguard has a certain name on the card. The mainstay attacker in our deck, he can create the magic number of 21k in RG due to the combo with Poet Amon providing a 9000-power boost. If paired with other boosters, he can take down almost any non 10k-power rear guards by either forcing a 15k shield to guard or totally getting rid of that unit. While he loses his skill in the Vanguard circle, he is able to activate the skills of the Hell Sisters. No need to say more, automatic 4-off in the deck.

Grade 3

Enter the main star of the deck, Amon himself. Those that played DI during the release of BT-03 already know what kind of havoc he can wreck. His attack gradually becomes deadlier as more Soul is fueled for him. And he also has a very handy CB1 skill to retire your opponent's units, by sending one of your guys into the Soul. This might cause a -1 on your field, but it sets up for the next stage, and your opponent gets a -1 as well, so I think it's actually a fair trade. Just one thing to remind you all, he is only a 10000-power unit, so careful when he is attacked by 20k magic number lines.

But, when Amon takes his 'Ginseng' form, it's a totally different story already. Amon R is the crossride of Amon, which comes together with a scary skill topping up his +2000 crossride bonus. For a measly cost of Locking one of your RG, Amon R gains the power boosting skill from his Demon form, and an extra Critical if you have 6 or more Soul when you use the skill.

The key to use the skill is your Soulcharging. Although DI is famous for being Soul hungry, this build actually wants you to limit your Soulcharging. Depending on what unit your're facing (11k, 10k, or 13k), you should just SC until you hit the number to force a 15k shield for a one-to-pass. This can ensure that you won't deck out fast, while also preventing you to further SC in precious trigger units. Trust me, when you continuing to ram your opponent's VG with a 21k/23k monstrosity without a booster, things are damn bad for the receiving end (it happened to almost all my opponent's today).

Alright, to wrap up things you just need to 'Charge smart, and Play smart' for this deck. This deck is very easy to pilot, and highly-recommended for beginners because budget-wise, the deck is not that expensive, you just need to be patient to hunt for the older cards. 

that's all for me today, hopefully I'll have the motivation going on to post newer stuffs. I know I'm very lagged behind in terms of information, but I'll try to come up with content whenever I'm free. Alright, this is Homura signing off for now. Bye!