Deck Dissection: Maelstrom Force

Hi guys, Homura is finally back from his long absence. Apologies before anything because I'm really busy with work, and also the lack of article ideas caused me to delay my posts for so long. But nevertheless, I'm back, and hopefully I can keep up with my productions. Today, I'll be talking about one of the newly emerged clans with a lot of hype throughout the preview period - Aqua Force.

Aqua Force currently has a Trial Deck available, and will receive further support when BT-08 is released this coming weekend. The playstyle of Aqua Force is very distinct and tricky, as it require a certain number of attacks to be done in order to unleash the units' full potential. With the expansion's support, a few different archetypes are viable for AQ players, but the one that I'll be looking at involves Blue Storm Dragon, Maelstrom as the core of the deck. Without further delay, here's the decklist that I have in mind.

Grade 0
Officer Cadet, Erikk x1 (FV)
Seagull Soldier of Enemy Searching x3 (Stand)
Dolphin Soldier of High Speed Raids x3 (Stand)
Sea Otter Soldier of Pyroxene Communication x3 (Draw)
Battleship Intelligence x3 (Critical)
Medical Officer of Rainbow Elixirs x4 (Heal)

Grade 1
Tear Knight, Theo x4
Emerald Shield, Paschalis x4
Battle Siren, Dorothea x3
Torpedorush Dragon x3

Grade 2
Storm Rider, Bashir x4
Tear Knight, Lazarus x4
Coral Assault x3

Grade 3
Blue Storm Dragon, Maelstrom x3
Marine General of Spiral Waves, Benedict x2
Storm Rider, Diamantes x2
Navalgazer Dragon x1

You may see the deck's composition is quite weird there, with 4 different types of G3s especially. I'll explain further in detail below why I build the deck like this.

Grade 0

Officer Cadet, Erikk is the starter for the deck. Erikk is a clone of all the G3 searcher starters out there so further explanation of his skill in not required. The reason why he was in there is for you to fish out your G3s, especially your 'Enablers' (I'll explain what are Enablers later).

The Trigger lineup is geared more towards Stands to maximize AQ units' skills. The 3x Draws is to provide you with more hand advantage, and the 3x Criticals is for the Surprise Factor, especially when your opponent says No Guard during their 4th damage, if you just kept on triggering Stands.

Grade 1

4x Theo is standard, as well as 4 null guards. Dorothea is our main VG booster, with the capability to boost up to 26k during Limit Break attacks, forcing your opponent to use up their nulls or dump a lot of hand cards to guard your VG's attack.

Torpedorush Dragon works similar to Dorothea, but with the added benefit of working as a Rear Guard booster as well. The only drawback for Torpedorush is that it only can boost up to a maximum of 9k once you unlock its requirement. But, combining it with a 'Enabled' Coral Assault or Rear Guard Maelstrom, you can still make 20k lines.

Grade 2
The G2s from Aqua Force are the most versatile among all of their units. They each have a different Enabler skill that requires different enable conditions, which give AQ players a lot of choices in terms of deck building.

Storm Rider, Bashir is a must play at 4x because he's an Enabler. An Enabler is a unit that helps you to unlock your other units' potentials by providing extra attack counts. When your first attacker is Bashir, he turns into a 10k beater, and after the attack, you may switch places with the unit behind him, thus enabling you to launch another attack, and push the attack count to 2 just with 1 column.

Coral Assault is your 3rd attacker during your Battle Phase. When he's enabled, he hits for 11k for the turn. And if you hit any Stand Triggers during your VG's Drive Check, he hits harder for a whopping 16k unboosted.

Tear Knight, Lazarus is the 10k vanilla, and he's in the deck to provide a bit more stability in power, and to maintain your attack momentum.

Grade 3
Now here's the main dish of your deck, and where the show starts. The G3 package holds 2 different types of Enablers, and of course a main and sub VGs.

Storm Rider, Diamantes is the same as Bashir, but with an increase of 1k in base power, allowing your to hit 11k Vanguards while enabling your other units. This addition is to ensure that you have enablers in case you don't hit any Bashirs.

Marine General of Spiral Waves, Benedict is another different type of Enabler. Although it doesn't swap positions like the Storm Riders, but he's very good being a harasser. Benedict is a 10k G3, with the skill of being able to stand again once per turn, at the cost of -5k power for the turn. So the best way to use Benedict is to first hit anything within reach unboosted, and then hit again with the backrow's boost, effectively eliminating Rear Guards, hand cards or deal damage, and of course pushing up the attack count by 2, all at the same time.

Maelstrom is the main Vanguard for the deck. Boasting 11k base power, and a very devastating LB, Maelstrom can be considered as one of the most powerful units in the game, despite the condition to enable its LB.

Once you hit LB, and when Maelstrom is the 4th attacker, it gets a +5k power boost, making it a 16k unboosted (26k when boosted by Dorothea). And if Maelstrom's attack hits, the additional AUTO skill granted by the LB activates. By paying a mere CB of 1, you can choose and retire 1 of your opponent's Rear Guard, and draw a card. Packing raw power, retiring power, and hand advantage all in one body is definitely something to be looked out for.

Because AQ is famous for wave pattern attacks, and due to Malestrom's 4th attack requirement, we need something that can be enabled at the 3rd attack other than Coral Assault, and that's why I added in a singleton Navalgazer Dragon. During the 3rd attack, Navalgazer can hit up to 23 when boosted by Dorothea (it gets +3k when he's attacking in the 3rd or onward battle).

Navalgazer also has a Limit Break with the same enabling requirement like its AUTO power boost. After you paid CB2 for the cost, it gets +3k power, and the AUTO skill to stand two AQ units when its attack hits the Vanguard. Hitting for 26k and topping up with the skill to enable up to 2 more attacks is no joke as well.

There's another Enabler which I can't find slots for them at the moment: The Tactician Duo, which enables your Limit Break as early as Turn 3. Maybe after testing this prototype I'll try to find slots for them.

And here you go, my take on a Maelstrom based Aqua Force deck. Sad to say I'm on the verge of quitting this once enjoyable card game, if not I would've make this deck and try it out myself. But rest assured, even if I don't play the game anymore, I'll still be providing my insights for Vanguard, and the blog will never die.

That's all for now, see you soon!

Calm Before the Storm: Tear Dragons 101

Hey there, Homura here with another post about the upcoming new clan, Aqua Force. I just bought 4 Trial Decks last week and started playing with a modified version of it. The results were quite satisfying, and I would say that Aqua Force definitely gives you a new taste in playing Vanguard. However, the only downside is this deck doesn't have a proper starter, and most importantly, null guards. Hence, it's very tough for me to play against the other decks out there (I lost more that I won).

But anyway, BT-08 will be giving the proper support for Aqua Force, and the rest all comes to your playstyle and card selection. Today's article will be focusing more on the 3 main units of Aqua Force, the Tear Dragons. The trio consists of Navalgazer Dragon, Hydro Hurricane Dragon, and also the recently spoiled Blue Storm Dragon, Maelstrom.

Each of these Tear Dragons has a distinctive playstyle that requires you to choose carefully the cards that're going to be paired up with them. And without further ado, let's have a look at all 3 cards and some brief analysis on how they work and who should they be paired with.

Navalgazer Dragon
This card is available as an x1 for each Trial Deck you bought. Navalgazer is a 10k G3 with a pair of very interesting skills. Firstly, he has an innate power boost of +3k as long as Navalgazer is the 3rd or onward unit to attack. So, assuming that you're boosted by Tear Knight, Theo (the 8k vanilla), you'll hit 21k, or 23k when boosted by Battle Siren, Dorothea.

His second skill comes in the form of an LB. By paying a cost of CB2, Navalgazer gets a +3k boost in power, and gains an additional skill to enable you to stand 2 Aqua Force Rear Guards upon a successful hit on the Vanguard. For a TD card, Navalgazer is exceptionally strong skill-wise. If your deck in centered around the 3rd battle or onward, Navalgazer is definitely your best finisher. Comboing Navalgazer with cards that gains extra bonuses for later attacks, such as Coral Assault, and Marine General of the High Tides, Xenophon will unleash a torrent of high power attacks as you keep on slamming into the red zone.

Hydro Hurricane Dragon
The second member in the Tear Dragon trio is Hydro Hurricane Dragon. Similar to Navalgazer, HHD is also a 10k that has an innate power boost of +3k when attacking the Vanguard. So HHD also can hit 21k normally with Theo, or 23k with Dorothea once you fulfill the requirements.

HHD is also a Limit Breaker, which packs a very dangerous LB skill together with him. The LB skill is a startup ability which costs CB2. After paying the cost, HHD gains an additional +3k power, as well as an additional skill which allows him to retire all your opponent's Rear Guards upon a successful hit on the Vanguard. The only downside (also similar to Navalgazer Dragon) is you're giving away prior information to your opponent, which might probably already prepared a null guard for your attack.

An additional requirement to get the LB going on is HHD's attack must be the fourth one or onward. So how are we going to do that? The answer is the usage of the Storm Riders, Bashir and Diamantes to setup the fourth attack for HHD. The Storm Riders share the same skill, which gives them +2k power, and allows them to switch places with a Rear Guard in the same column after they attack the Vanguard in the first attack. With a constant pummeling during your Battle Phase, you can ensure that you'll be wasting a lot of your opponent's hand cards, or diminishing their board presence as you set up for HDD's finisher.

Blue Storm Dragon, Maelstrom
This is the cover card of BT-08, and the third member of the Tear Dragon trio. In my opinion, Maelstrom is the most dangerous out of the three, as he sports very decent stats and also deadly skills. Maelstrom is like the newer 11k G3s, with a drawback in the form of a -2k power penalty if you're playing a cross-clan deck.

However, the spotlight for Maelstrom is for his Limit Break, where similar to HHD, an extra skill will be unlocked when Maelstrom is the fourth unit to attack. The first bonus is a +5k to his power, making Malestrom a 16k monster unboosted. And the LB also generate a new AUTO skill, whereby upon a successful hit on the Vanguard, you may pay the cost of CB1. If you paid the cost, you can draw a card, and retire one of your opponent's Rear Guard.

With this kind of skill that only require a mere CB1 (I know the 'must hit Vanguard' part is hard), Maelstrom is hands-down the best among the 3. Like HHD, the Storm Riders are the best partners with Maelstrom as they can setup the fourth attack. Definitely a 3 to 4 off in every deck.

Here you go, a brief introduction and analysis of the trio of Tear Dragons for Aqua Force. Which one and how many of each to use goes ultimately to your personal preference, though I suggest no matter which one you have decided to main, Navalgazer Dragon will definitely be the best sub-Vanguard for your deck, as the LB conditions for Navalgazer is easier to achieve.

Alright, I'll leave you guys now to think about this problem (I myself have to think also LOL!). Until next time, May the wind guide you to your paths.

Calm Before the Storm: More Aqua Force! (and an annoucement)

Hello guys, Homura here with more Aqua Force goodies to share with you all. Just a small announcement, from next week onward I'll be shifting to another location for my work, hence you might not see me that often anymore when it comes to posting articles (apparently no internet connection there, hence I can only write at night). But don't worry, you'll still hear from me, so make sure to let me know anything that you desire to gain more information in, and I'll try my best to present them to you all.

Well, without further ado, let's begin the article by showing you some more cards from the new Aqua Force Trial Deck, Descendants of the Marine Emperor; as well as some cards from the next booster set for JP, BT-08 Blue Storm Armada.

Hydro Hurricane Dragon

The second Limit Breaker for Aqua Force which will be out in BT-08. Lets have a look at its skills:

ACT [V] Limit Break 4: [CB2] Until the end of this turn, this unit gets +3000 power, and gains "AUTO [V]: When this unit's attack hits a Vanguard, if the number of battles this turn is four or more, retire all of your opponent's Rear Guards."

AUTO [V]: When this unit attacks a Vanguard, this unit gets +3000 power until the end of that battle.

Looks familiar? It is actually a combination of Demon Slaying Knight, Lohengrin and Soul Saviour Dragon. The only down side of its skills is that you need to activate it first, giving your opponent prior information of what are you going to do. However, this can also be an advantage to you by baiting out null guards. Take advantage of Aqua Force's Wave Pattern strategy and you are able to launch very devastating effects towards your opponent. At normal times, Hydro Hurricane Dragon is still a 21k beater when boosted by Tear Knight, Theo (8k vanilla) or 23k when boosted by Battle Siren, Dorothea (after you unlocked the requirements).

Storm Rider Diamantes & Storm Rider Bashir

These two guys are the best initiator for you wave pattern attacks. The G2 is Bashir, and the G3 is Diamantes, and both of them share the same skill:

AUTO [R]: When this unit attacks, and this is the first battle of the turn, during that battle, this unit gets +2000 power. During the close step of this unit's battle, choose one other <Aqua Force> Rear Guard at the same column, and exchange their positions (This doesn't change the cards's orientation).

These cards' functions are to net you more attacks to unlock your wave patterns. A simple trick to use them is to put them in the same row with an attacker, and attack with the Storm Riders first. Then you can attack again with the unit behind, and that will net you 2 battles for the turn, with your Vanguard and the other Rear Guard (if any) still able to attack. Most likely a staple in any Aqua Force decks.

Jadeite Shield, Paschalis

Of course, you can't complete a deck without the null guard right? ^_^

Marine General of the Roaring Seas, Argos

Argos is a 9k Grade 2 from the new TD-07 with a similar ability like Kirara clones, which is to draw a card. The only thing you need to take note is his attack must be the fourth or more attack, and you must hit the Vanguard in order to activate his skill. Not really relevant in the TD build unless you hit a Stand Trigger, but he will be played widely when BT-08 is out.

Marine General of the High Tides, Xenophon

Another card given in the Trial Deck, Xenophon is basically a clone of Oracle Think Tank's Sky Witch, Nana, albeit with a different requirement for the power boost. Similar to most Aqua Force units, you need to conduct a certain number of battles to unlock Xenophon's power up. As long as Xenophon's battle is the third battle or onward, Xenophon gets +3k when he's the Vanguard, or +1k when he's a Rear Guard. He might see some usage when the Trial Deck is released, but I think that when BT-08 is out, together with the Storm Riders, he'll have lesser screen time as his power up is not that impressive as a Rear Guard (if he gets +2k then its a different story).

Here you go, a little bit more spoilers for you all. The cover unit for BT-08 is not spoiled yet, but I think it'll be something on par with Naval Geyser Dragon and Hydro Hurricane Dragon (fingers crossed). Yes, and this concludes my article for today, and might be my last article until god knows when. Anyway, do keep following my blog, as I won't be totally MIA from it.

Till then, have fun, and wish me luck at my new office (which will be at a construction site LOL!)

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!