Quickie Post today.
For those readers out there who are playing the english version, you guys know that
The WORLD TOURNAMENT is coming!
For english version only.
So, the top contenders in this format, because only the 1st pack will be released, are:
King of Knights Royal Paladin:
The Stablity and power that come with Alfred with Barcgal. Need we say more?
The trick to building right is playing in 3 or more Bors.
Alternatively: 4 KOK, 2 Gancelot, 2 Bors.
Kagerou:
GOKUUUU BLADEEEE All the way.
This build of Kagerou has both the 11k Power Grade 3 Vanguard, as well as a very powerful Vanguard unit: Goku.
All you need are 2-3 Barri, and 1 Conroe. Need we say more?
The trick is playing out overlord in Vanguard circle, and bombing and attacking Marron.
The secret: Use Tejas. No Marrons means no Marron + Bors = Dead Overlord
Nova Grapplers:
Unstable, but strong as heck.
Their Grade 3 Vanguard unit, Asura Kaiser... Ho.Lee.Schitt.
11k AND Vanguard specific abilities?
Not to mention Genocide Jack: Totally broken as of Box 1 Meta.
Scratch that.
Totally broken.
Thats all for today.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Imperial Daughter
Hello everyone, and welcome back to SO IMBA!,
where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
I'm Rauzes, and today, we discuss Imperial Daughter.
Wait. What?
That crappy card? I thought we were going to discuss how Promise Daughter is rather good in 8 Draw Oracle?
Imperial Daughter is a card that requires either no rear guards, or to send one Oracle Think Tank unit to soul in order to lose Restraint, allowing it to attack.
Obviously, you will want to use this second way of losing restraint, no?
Without its 10k Power boost, you have to put a boost behind, in order to gain some decent advantage.
So, first put two units out, especially units such as Battle Sister Cocoa who can do something when coming into play to check the top card, then boost Imperial Daughter, and feed the battle sister.
Units that have effects when coming into play... sounds a lot like Sakuya Oracle think tanks, no?
So by utilizing cards such as Luck Bird, which have effects when coming into play... but also utilize Soul, you can form a way of keeping Imperial Daughter up and running for a long period of time.
Another way to utilize Imperial Daughter is to gain a state where you have no rear guards... AFTER attacking.
This can be achieved by using Juggernaut Maximum and High Speed Blacky.
This goes hand in hand with the soul blasting abilities and soul charging abilities the deck utilizes.
Thats all for today.
where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
I'm Rauzes, and today, we discuss Imperial Daughter.
Wait. What?
That crappy card? I thought we were going to discuss how Promise Daughter is rather good in 8 Draw Oracle?
Imperial Daughter is a card that requires either no rear guards, or to send one Oracle Think Tank unit to soul in order to lose Restraint, allowing it to attack.
Obviously, you will want to use this second way of losing restraint, no?
Without its 10k Power boost, you have to put a boost behind, in order to gain some decent advantage.
So, first put two units out, especially units such as Battle Sister Cocoa who can do something when coming into play to check the top card, then boost Imperial Daughter, and feed the battle sister.
Units that have effects when coming into play... sounds a lot like Sakuya Oracle think tanks, no?
So by utilizing cards such as Luck Bird, which have effects when coming into play... but also utilize Soul, you can form a way of keeping Imperial Daughter up and running for a long period of time.
Another way to utilize Imperial Daughter is to gain a state where you have no rear guards... AFTER attacking.
This can be achieved by using Juggernaut Maximum and High Speed Blacky.
This goes hand in hand with the soul blasting abilities and soul charging abilities the deck utilizes.
Thats all for today.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Cat Butler
Hello everyone, and welcome back to SO IMBA!,
where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
I am Rauzes, and today, we abuse Cat Butler.
Now, as you know, Cat Butler is a Nova Grappler, grade 0 with 5000 Power... With a rather unique ability...
If your Vanguard's ability did NOT hit, you can stand your Vanguard by retiring him.
But only if the Vanguard is Grade 2 or Below.
Not a problem, right?
Actually, this simply means you drive checked one more time, at the sacrifice of one card. An advantage difference of 0.
Oh.
Except for the fact that you DRIVE CHECKED.
If you get a trigger with the Drive check, you can gain more power, and utilize the effect.
Usually, this power would be used to hit the enemy, since you can put the power anywhere.
Or...
OR.
You put the power gained onto the unit behind your Vanguard.
The secret to using Cat Butler is to NOT boost your Vanguard, but still put something there.
Ride a unit that has lower power than the opponents Vanguard, and deliberately plan to utilize Cat Butler's Ability.
How it goes down is like this:
You attack, and since your power is lower than the enemy Vanguard's, your attack cannot hit unless you hit one trigger.
You drive check, and if you get a trigger, you apply the effects such as giving critical to the Vanguard, but give the power to the rear guard behind the vanguard.
This allows you to activate Cat Butler's ability, standing your Vanguard, and then you can attack a second time(or 3rd time if using 2 or more Cat Butler), this time giving the boost.
Since you pumped the rear guard behind your Vanguard, the total power will be the same, 5000 From each trigger, and forcing the enemy to guard thanks to the Critical Triggers.
Now... If only there were a Grade 2 Nova Grappler unit who could realistically attack with such high power, he could Tackle grade 3 11k Vanguards or Grade 3+ 13k Vanguards...
Oh. wait.
Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Genocide Jack.
As Vanguard, Genocide Jack gains an additional 5000 Power... When boosted.
If you DONT boost, he simply attacks for 11k Power...
Just right for taking down Grade 3+ Vanguards!
Use Cat Butler to gain triggers worth 3-4 Drive Checks, then boost with Doguu Mechanic.
Even without any triggers, thats 23000 Power. 15k Guard against Grade 3+!
(One trigger break~)
And add on another 5000 Power for each trigger you get, and suddenly Genocide Jack seems... not quite a normal Grade 2!
Why bother to ride to grade 3 and then to Grade 3+... when you just have to keep attacking with Genocide Jack?
The trick is to save up on your Cat Butlers until they ride Grade 3+... At their 4th Turn...
You have an inherent 1 Card Advantage over them(they get twin drive once), without losing power.
Since you've been attacking for... I dunno two or three times at this stage, they should have somewhere around 3-4 Damage.
Stack an inherent card disadvantage due to riding on top of that, and its highly unlikely the opponent will have any cards to be ready for an attack... that used Drive check FIVE times!
where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
I am Rauzes, and today, we abuse Cat Butler.
Now, as you know, Cat Butler is a Nova Grappler, grade 0 with 5000 Power... With a rather unique ability...
If your Vanguard's ability did NOT hit, you can stand your Vanguard by retiring him.
But only if the Vanguard is Grade 2 or Below.
Not a problem, right?
Actually, this simply means you drive checked one more time, at the sacrifice of one card. An advantage difference of 0.
Oh.
Except for the fact that you DRIVE CHECKED.
If you get a trigger with the Drive check, you can gain more power, and utilize the effect.
Usually, this power would be used to hit the enemy, since you can put the power anywhere.
Or...
OR.
You put the power gained onto the unit behind your Vanguard.
The secret to using Cat Butler is to NOT boost your Vanguard, but still put something there.
Ride a unit that has lower power than the opponents Vanguard, and deliberately plan to utilize Cat Butler's Ability.
How it goes down is like this:
You attack, and since your power is lower than the enemy Vanguard's, your attack cannot hit unless you hit one trigger.
You drive check, and if you get a trigger, you apply the effects such as giving critical to the Vanguard, but give the power to the rear guard behind the vanguard.
This allows you to activate Cat Butler's ability, standing your Vanguard, and then you can attack a second time(or 3rd time if using 2 or more Cat Butler), this time giving the boost.
Since you pumped the rear guard behind your Vanguard, the total power will be the same, 5000 From each trigger, and forcing the enemy to guard thanks to the Critical Triggers.
Now... If only there were a Grade 2 Nova Grappler unit who could realistically attack with such high power, he could Tackle grade 3 11k Vanguards or Grade 3+ 13k Vanguards...
Oh. wait.
Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Genocide Jack.
As Vanguard, Genocide Jack gains an additional 5000 Power... When boosted.
If you DONT boost, he simply attacks for 11k Power...
Just right for taking down Grade 3+ Vanguards!
Use Cat Butler to gain triggers worth 3-4 Drive Checks, then boost with Doguu Mechanic.
Even without any triggers, thats 23000 Power. 15k Guard against Grade 3+!
(One trigger break~)
And add on another 5000 Power for each trigger you get, and suddenly Genocide Jack seems... not quite a normal Grade 2!
Why bother to ride to grade 3 and then to Grade 3+... when you just have to keep attacking with Genocide Jack?
The trick is to save up on your Cat Butlers until they ride Grade 3+... At their 4th Turn...
You have an inherent 1 Card Advantage over them(they get twin drive once), without losing power.
Since you've been attacking for... I dunno two or three times at this stage, they should have somewhere around 3-4 Damage.
Stack an inherent card disadvantage due to riding on top of that, and its highly unlikely the opponent will have any cards to be ready for an attack... that used Drive check FIVE times!
Monday, November 28, 2011
InvinciLord
Hello everyone, and welcome back to SO IMBA!
Where we learn how to be a better Card Fighter.
I am Rauzes, and today, we discuss Invinci-Overlord... Post Booster 5!
So, as you know, Draconic Overlord is getting his own Special Boost... In the same way Alfred has Lion Mare Stallion.
Soul Blast 1 to become a 10k Boost.
Which is awesome, since Overlord can attack with 21000 Power.
Unless, of course, you counter blast, giving it 26000 Power... without triggers.
But, the counter blast cost of 3 is rather steep, no?
Thats where Mr. Invincible Comes in.
The concept behind Invinci-Overlord is to abuse Invincible and Nova Grappler's ability to open damage, and use Overlord to completely obliterate the rear guards.
The problem with the deck is that your soul every turn... does nothing.
UNTIL NOW!
With Flame of Promises Aermo, you can boost and attack with 26000 Power against a Rear guard... Multiple times!
Who wouldn't want that?
Where we learn how to be a better Card Fighter.
I am Rauzes, and today, we discuss Invinci-Overlord... Post Booster 5!
So, as you know, Draconic Overlord is getting his own Special Boost... In the same way Alfred has Lion Mare Stallion.
Soul Blast 1 to become a 10k Boost.
Which is awesome, since Overlord can attack with 21000 Power.
Unless, of course, you counter blast, giving it 26000 Power... without triggers.
But, the counter blast cost of 3 is rather steep, no?
Thats where Mr. Invincible Comes in.
The concept behind Invinci-Overlord is to abuse Invincible and Nova Grappler's ability to open damage, and use Overlord to completely obliterate the rear guards.
The problem with the deck is that your soul every turn... does nothing.
UNTIL NOW!
With Flame of Promises Aermo, you can boost and attack with 26000 Power against a Rear guard... Multiple times!
Who wouldn't want that?
Monday, November 21, 2011
Amon Flare
Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome back to SO IMBA!,
where we learn how to be a better Card Fighter.
I am Rauzes, and today, we discuss an interesting mix clan style:
Amon Flare.
Just like the name of the deck suggests, the deck revolves around Amon, with his high attack and ability to turn any Dark Irregular into a 1:1 Removal, and Blazing Flare Dragon.
The deck runs with a Dark Irregulars core, meaning most of the cards in the deck utilize Dark Irregulars and their Soul Charging abilities.
However, unlike classic Dark Irregulars builds, the deck doesn't necessarily use a massive amount of Soul for Amon.
Thus, instead of using cards such as Amon grade 1 and 2, the deck can function with only 3 or 4 soul under the Vanguard.
Because with only 4 Dark Irregulars in the soul, Amon goes to 14000 Power by himself. Put a 8k Boost behind, and he goes to 22k, needing another 3000 Power to breach the next power line.
Of course, this doesnt mean you dont run any extra soul Charging.
The deck uses many extra Soul Charging abilities as well.
Since the deck prioritizes high Power attacks and torturous removal over tricky effects such as Full Blasts or Multi Stand, your counter blast is used instead of Full Blast for removal effects of Gwynn the Ripper and Amon.
This is where the "Flare" bit of the deck comes in.
By running 4 Extra Blazing Flare dragon and 3/4 Bahr(Or Johka) as the only Kagerou cards in the deck, you can, with one Counter blast and one Dark Irregular, score a "Retire", powering up Blazing Flare!
With 13000 Power, only a 8k boost will push this guy over the 21000 Power line. 22k if Johka was boosting.
Counter Blast a second time, and the two together will breach 28k Power.
Actually, not only Johka can be used.
With Dark Irregulars, you can instead use Doreen the Thruster as boost, to get the same effect.
Meaning this deck can effectively run EIGHT 6+3k Multi Stack Boosters!
Imagine:
Amon as Vanguard(Lets just say... 6 soul), Boosted by Johka.
As a rear Guard, you have one Blazing Flare, boosted by Doreen.
Call one Skull Juggler. Soul Charge one. Doreen +3k.
Amon Counter Blast. Soul Charge one to kill one. Doreen, Blazing Flare, Johka +3k Each.
Call one Prisoner Beast.
Amon Counterblast. Soul Charge one to Kill one. Doreen, Blazing Flare, Johka +3k Each.
Total:Johka is 12k Boost, boosting a 19k Attacker Vanguard(31k Total), Blazing Flare has 16k, being boosted by Dorreen, who is 15k(31k Total)
The opponent has already lost 2 Cards.
Because Dark Irregulars has Absolute crap for Triggers, you get one Stand Trigger and no critical. You push in 3 Damage, of one your opponent heals(Enemy at 4 Damage).
The next turn, you take... lets say 2 Damage and are left with only one Blazing Flare in your hand... But the opponent only has 3-4 Cards in their Hand.
What do you do? You dont have Dark Irregulars to Soul Charge to Amon!
Well, you do what any good player does: declare FINAL TURN!
RIDE! Blazing Flare Dragon!
Because you now have 10 Soul under your Vanguard, thanks to Amon's rampant Soul Charging, you can use Blazing Flare's Ability Twice!
BURN two of those impudent fools!
Johka +6k, Blazing Flare(s) +6k Each.
Blazing Flare +Doreen will be 22k, and your Vanguard is 28k.
After the damage done by the brutal attacks the previous turn, as well as those 4 Units you have just ruthlessly Slain, its highly unlikely the opponent was READY for such high power attacks the next turn, since you burned through a lot of cards as well.
Thus, its unlikely they will be able to guard your attacks.
ATTACK! GET! CRITICAL TRIGGER DOUBLE!
where we learn how to be a better Card Fighter.
I am Rauzes, and today, we discuss an interesting mix clan style:
Amon Flare.
Just like the name of the deck suggests, the deck revolves around Amon, with his high attack and ability to turn any Dark Irregular into a 1:1 Removal, and Blazing Flare Dragon.
The deck runs with a Dark Irregulars core, meaning most of the cards in the deck utilize Dark Irregulars and their Soul Charging abilities.
However, unlike classic Dark Irregulars builds, the deck doesn't necessarily use a massive amount of Soul for Amon.
Thus, instead of using cards such as Amon grade 1 and 2, the deck can function with only 3 or 4 soul under the Vanguard.
Because with only 4 Dark Irregulars in the soul, Amon goes to 14000 Power by himself. Put a 8k Boost behind, and he goes to 22k, needing another 3000 Power to breach the next power line.
Of course, this doesnt mean you dont run any extra soul Charging.
The deck uses many extra Soul Charging abilities as well.
Since the deck prioritizes high Power attacks and torturous removal over tricky effects such as Full Blasts or Multi Stand, your counter blast is used instead of Full Blast for removal effects of Gwynn the Ripper and Amon.
This is where the "Flare" bit of the deck comes in.
By running 4 Extra Blazing Flare dragon and 3/4 Bahr(Or Johka) as the only Kagerou cards in the deck, you can, with one Counter blast and one Dark Irregular, score a "Retire", powering up Blazing Flare!
With 13000 Power, only a 8k boost will push this guy over the 21000 Power line. 22k if Johka was boosting.
Counter Blast a second time, and the two together will breach 28k Power.
Actually, not only Johka can be used.
With Dark Irregulars, you can instead use Doreen the Thruster as boost, to get the same effect.
Meaning this deck can effectively run EIGHT 6+3k Multi Stack Boosters!
Imagine:
Amon as Vanguard(Lets just say... 6 soul), Boosted by Johka.
As a rear Guard, you have one Blazing Flare, boosted by Doreen.
Call one Skull Juggler. Soul Charge one. Doreen +3k.
Amon Counter Blast. Soul Charge one to kill one. Doreen, Blazing Flare, Johka +3k Each.
Call one Prisoner Beast.
Amon Counterblast. Soul Charge one to Kill one. Doreen, Blazing Flare, Johka +3k Each.
Total:Johka is 12k Boost, boosting a 19k Attacker Vanguard(31k Total), Blazing Flare has 16k, being boosted by Dorreen, who is 15k(31k Total)
The opponent has already lost 2 Cards.
Because Dark Irregulars has Absolute crap for Triggers, you get one Stand Trigger and no critical. You push in 3 Damage, of one your opponent heals(Enemy at 4 Damage).
The next turn, you take... lets say 2 Damage and are left with only one Blazing Flare in your hand... But the opponent only has 3-4 Cards in their Hand.
What do you do? You dont have Dark Irregulars to Soul Charge to Amon!
Well, you do what any good player does: declare FINAL TURN!
RIDE! Blazing Flare Dragon!
Because you now have 10 Soul under your Vanguard, thanks to Amon's rampant Soul Charging, you can use Blazing Flare's Ability Twice!
BURN two of those impudent fools!
Johka +6k, Blazing Flare(s) +6k Each.
Blazing Flare +Doreen will be 22k, and your Vanguard is 28k.
After the damage done by the brutal attacks the previous turn, as well as those 4 Units you have just ruthlessly Slain, its highly unlikely the opponent was READY for such high power attacks the next turn, since you burned through a lot of cards as well.
Thus, its unlikely they will be able to guard your attacks.
ATTACK! GET! CRITICAL TRIGGER DOUBLE!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Power Lines
Hello everyone, and welcome back to SO IMBA!,
Where we learn how to be a better Card Fighter.
I am your Host, Rauzes, and today, we learn how to clear Power Lines.
In Vanguard, the most important thing is being able to hit the opponent's Vanguard... Hard.
Because most games go until both players get to grade 3, or about 6-7 turns on each end, the most important lines to clear are based on the Enemy's Grade 3 Vanguards, and how big they usually are.
Most of the time, Grade 3 Vanguard units are either 10000, or 11000 Power.
Occasionally, in cases such as Gancelot and Eidel Rose, they are 9000 Power...
So, as you play, the more important lines to clear are based on 10000 Power and 11000 Power.
Since in Vanguard, only 5000 and 10000 Guards exist, any number less than 5000 more than the previous line is Effectively the Same
Repeat after me: Effectively the Same
The power lines that are most important in Vanguard are:
10000, 11000, 15000, 16000, 20000, and 21000.
First, the 10k, 15k, and 20k.
With these powers, attacking a 10k Vanguard will mean they will have to guard a minimum of 5k, 10k, and 15k power, respectively.
However, this all changes when attacking a 11k Vanguard.
11k, 16k, and 21k become the magic numbers.
As you may notice, when attacking a 10k Vanguard, 14k is no different than a 10k attack.
Meaning that even if you boost with 4k to a 10k attacker, it doesn't really do much at all.
This means that when constructing your formation, which unit is boosting which, you have to take into account these power lines, and aim to construct these lines when attacking.
For instance, if the enemy only has 10k and 11k units out, and you have an empty space in front of your 8k boost, instead of putting a Gallatin or Nehalem there, placing a Gordon or Behger will still clear the 16k power line, making it a 10k shield for any unit, whilst providing benefits over the 10k attacker.
But if you get a 9k boost going, you might reconsider both of these, and instead call out a Gallahad Grade 3 or Draconic Overlord, especially if the enemy has a 10k Vanguard, because it will allow you to attack with 20000 Power total.
Thats all for today.
Where we learn how to be a better Card Fighter.
I am your Host, Rauzes, and today, we learn how to clear Power Lines.
In Vanguard, the most important thing is being able to hit the opponent's Vanguard... Hard.
Because most games go until both players get to grade 3, or about 6-7 turns on each end, the most important lines to clear are based on the Enemy's Grade 3 Vanguards, and how big they usually are.
Most of the time, Grade 3 Vanguard units are either 10000, or 11000 Power.
Occasionally, in cases such as Gancelot and Eidel Rose, they are 9000 Power...
So, as you play, the more important lines to clear are based on 10000 Power and 11000 Power.
Since in Vanguard, only 5000 and 10000 Guards exist, any number less than 5000 more than the previous line is Effectively the Same
Repeat after me: Effectively the Same
The power lines that are most important in Vanguard are:
10000, 11000, 15000, 16000, 20000, and 21000.
First, the 10k, 15k, and 20k.
With these powers, attacking a 10k Vanguard will mean they will have to guard a minimum of 5k, 10k, and 15k power, respectively.
However, this all changes when attacking a 11k Vanguard.
11k, 16k, and 21k become the magic numbers.
As you may notice, when attacking a 10k Vanguard, 14k is no different than a 10k attack.
Meaning that even if you boost with 4k to a 10k attacker, it doesn't really do much at all.
This means that when constructing your formation, which unit is boosting which, you have to take into account these power lines, and aim to construct these lines when attacking.
For instance, if the enemy only has 10k and 11k units out, and you have an empty space in front of your 8k boost, instead of putting a Gallatin or Nehalem there, placing a Gordon or Behger will still clear the 16k power line, making it a 10k shield for any unit, whilst providing benefits over the 10k attacker.
But if you get a 9k boost going, you might reconsider both of these, and instead call out a Gallahad Grade 3 or Draconic Overlord, especially if the enemy has a 10k Vanguard, because it will allow you to attack with 20000 Power total.
Thats all for today.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Special Boost
Hello everyone,
I am Rauzes, your host of SO IMBA!, where we learn how to be a better Card Fighter.
Today's topic is Special Boost.
I'm sure everyone has seen these guys around. Most clans have one.
"R: When Boosting, this Unit Gains 4000 Power(To become 10000 Boost Power)"
Cards like Wingal, Doranbau, Wyvern Strike Jarran, Queen of Heart, Nightmare Baby.
There are also a Vanguard Special Boost, units that, when a certain condition is met, becomes a 10k boost, but only for your Vanguard.
These are cards such as Lizard Soldier Raopia, Weather Girl Milk, Glory Maker, Stealth Millibird, And Evil Shade.
First up are the normal normal boost.
The partner units for these are all Grade 2 units, which makes sense.
If their partners were grade 3 Units, they would be able to hit 20000 Power every turn with ease.
But what about usability?
Usually, when attacking the Grade 3 Vanguard, only 2 Numbers matter: 21000 and 20000.
Both of these means that the 11000 and 10000 Power vanguard will have to throw at least a 15000 Power guard, instead of just 10000.
But most of these units that get boosted have... either 9000 or 8000 Power!
In actuality, they become 19000 and 18000 power, respectively.
Yet, while attacking the Vanguard, they are still 10000 Power Guard.
What if you put another 6000 Boost?
15000, and 14000 Power, respectively.
Still a 10000 Guard. Or worse, 5000.
Instead, lets put a 7000 Power Boost, pretty standard for units with effects, right?
16000 and 15000. Both, against a 10000 Vanguard, will be a 10000 Shield.
So, in actuality, the special boost did... Nothing.
It wastes space, by taking up space which could very well be higher power boosting units.
There are a few exceptions to this, though.
Blue Dust, who usually will go after Rear guards, can benefit from this 10000 Boost, especially against 8000 and 9000 Rear Guards.
By going over 19000 Power, it becomes a 15000 Guard for both, quite problematic for the opponent, especially since Blue Dust gets to soul charge when it hits.
More often than not, 15000 Guard means that guarding will take up more cards that just letting the attack hit, so it wont be a good idea.
Queen of Hearts is the only exception to this rule. When boosting King of Swords, a Grade 2 Vanilla, becoming 20000 Power, meaning that, if you choose to use her, you can hit 20000 Power, meaning that the enemy has to use a 15000 Power Guard, as long as they have a 10000 Power Vanguard.
Whilst I would suggest Lean, Sutherland's special boost, It is highly situational.
It does go to 21000 Power, so long as you have both Lean AND Sutherland as well as retiring a unit, making it much more situational than other combos.
Doranbau can boost Blaster Dark as Vanguard to 20000, very big as grade 2.
But when you reach grade 3, Doranbau becomes just another 6000 boost, pretty useless, except for feeding to Phantom Blaster Dragon.
Wyvern Strike Jarran boosting Tejas will attack with 18000 to the boosting guards, almost ensuring a kill of the boost units, but just a normal boost will be able to burn through advantage much easier.
On top of that, Kagerous have much more better selection of grade 1s.
So, in conclusion, most of the special boost units are not actually worth it to play in, but for stability and power, you are better off playing in cards that have higher power or more deck stabilizing effects.
I am Rauzes, your host of SO IMBA!, where we learn how to be a better Card Fighter.
Today's topic is Special Boost.
I'm sure everyone has seen these guys around. Most clans have one.
"R: When Boosting
Cards like Wingal, Doranbau, Wyvern Strike Jarran, Queen of Heart, Nightmare Baby.
There are also a Vanguard Special Boost, units that, when a certain condition is met, becomes a 10k boost, but only for your Vanguard.
These are cards such as Lizard Soldier Raopia, Weather Girl Milk, Glory Maker, Stealth Millibird, And Evil Shade.
First up are the normal normal boost.
The partner units for these are all Grade 2 units, which makes sense.
If their partners were grade 3 Units, they would be able to hit 20000 Power every turn with ease.
But what about usability?
Usually, when attacking the Grade 3 Vanguard, only 2 Numbers matter: 21000 and 20000.
Both of these means that the 11000 and 10000 Power vanguard will have to throw at least a 15000 Power guard, instead of just 10000.
But most of these units that get boosted have... either 9000 or 8000 Power!
In actuality, they become 19000 and 18000 power, respectively.
Yet, while attacking the Vanguard, they are still 10000 Power Guard.
What if you put another 6000 Boost?
15000, and 14000 Power, respectively.
Still a 10000 Guard. Or worse, 5000.
Instead, lets put a 7000 Power Boost, pretty standard for units with effects, right?
16000 and 15000. Both, against a 10000 Vanguard, will be a 10000 Shield.
So, in actuality, the special boost did... Nothing.
It wastes space, by taking up space which could very well be higher power boosting units.
There are a few exceptions to this, though.
Blue Dust, who usually will go after Rear guards, can benefit from this 10000 Boost, especially against 8000 and 9000 Rear Guards.
By going over 19000 Power, it becomes a 15000 Guard for both, quite problematic for the opponent, especially since Blue Dust gets to soul charge when it hits.
More often than not, 15000 Guard means that guarding will take up more cards that just letting the attack hit, so it wont be a good idea.
Queen of Hearts is the only exception to this rule. When boosting King of Swords, a Grade 2 Vanilla, becoming 20000 Power, meaning that, if you choose to use her, you can hit 20000 Power, meaning that the enemy has to use a 15000 Power Guard, as long as they have a 10000 Power Vanguard.
Whilst I would suggest Lean, Sutherland's special boost, It is highly situational.
It does go to 21000 Power, so long as you have both Lean AND Sutherland as well as retiring a unit, making it much more situational than other combos.
Doranbau can boost Blaster Dark as Vanguard to 20000, very big as grade 2.
But when you reach grade 3, Doranbau becomes just another 6000 boost, pretty useless, except for feeding to Phantom Blaster Dragon.
Wyvern Strike Jarran boosting Tejas will attack with 18000 to the boosting guards, almost ensuring a kill of the boost units, but just a normal boost will be able to burn through advantage much easier.
On top of that, Kagerous have much more better selection of grade 1s.
So, in conclusion, most of the special boost units are not actually worth it to play in, but for stability and power, you are better off playing in cards that have higher power or more deck stabilizing effects.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Guard Griffin
Good evening.
I'm teenage heartthrob, Rauzes, and it is my honor to be hosting today's show on So Imba, where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
Today, we discuss Guard Griffin.
Guard Griffin is a 6000 Boost at Grade 1 that can Counterblast when it enters the Guardian Circle to become a 10k Shield.
But...
For the counter blast cost of 1... is it really worth it for another 5k shield?
In terms of counter blast, each counter blast is worth approximately one half a card, or two counter blast is a +1 in card advantage.
So, concept wise, one counter blast for one more shield of 5k is worth it, no?
As holy disaster dragon illustrates for us, one card is worth 5000 Power as a guardian, so one counter blast is a pretty sweet deal, right?
What people don't realize is that there is, in fact, a card already out in the game that does this... only better!
Lizard Runner Undeaux!
Formerly used before the advent of Conroe for the first vanguard, the grade 0 Vanilla is, in fact, an upgrade of Guard Griffon!
It has 10000 Shield permanently, and since grade 0s can be used as boost as well, it will function also as 6k boost.
Perhaps you should consider playing in some of them, just for the flexibility between the boost and shield?
I'm teenage heartthrob, Rauzes, and it is my honor to be hosting today's show on So Imba, where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
Today, we discuss Guard Griffin.
Guard Griffin is a 6000 Boost at Grade 1 that can Counterblast when it enters the Guardian Circle to become a 10k Shield.
But...
For the counter blast cost of 1... is it really worth it for another 5k shield?
In terms of counter blast, each counter blast is worth approximately one half a card, or two counter blast is a +1 in card advantage.
So, concept wise, one counter blast for one more shield of 5k is worth it, no?
As holy disaster dragon illustrates for us, one card is worth 5000 Power as a guardian, so one counter blast is a pretty sweet deal, right?
What people don't realize is that there is, in fact, a card already out in the game that does this... only better!
Lizard Runner Undeaux!
Formerly used before the advent of Conroe for the first vanguard, the grade 0 Vanilla is, in fact, an upgrade of Guard Griffon!
It has 10000 Shield permanently, and since grade 0s can be used as boost as well, it will function also as 6k boost.
Perhaps you should consider playing in some of them, just for the flexibility between the boost and shield?
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Stern Blaukunger
Hello all and welcome back to SO IMBA!,
Where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
Today's post is rather short, and about stern Blaukunger, the new ace unit of nova grapplers.
By counter blasting 2 and discarding 2, Blaukunger gains the ability to attack once more, as a vanguard, along with his boost.
Now, While his multiple attacks might not seem threatening, especially since there's only one drive check the second time around, stern Blaukunger has a hidden ability.
Note that the card never specifies that you can only activate it's ability once per turn.
This means that, if played correctly, he can attack three times in one turn!
Scary enough?
How about combining with dancing wolf. Whilst you don't get a second drive check, you do get even more power.
Just imagine breaking a 2 trigger break, recovering with +10000 power, and giving dancing wolf another 3000 to become a 10000 boost!
Attack with 31000 power, and drive check another time !
Monday, October 31, 2011
Glorious Fang!
Hello and Hello everybody once again, and welcome back to SO IMBA!
Where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
I am Rauzes, and today, we talk about Glamaeux.
Glameaux is a new grade 3 Royal Paladin, with an ability as vanguard to gain 1k for each of his dogs around, and an ability that lets him special call out these dogs from the deck.
Snowgal is a rather interesting unit. If you can line up 3 of them, they will each become 8k boost, equaling Marron in power.
And with the abilities of Grade 2 and 3 Glameaux, you can very well do so.
Fangs of Light Glameaux, the grade 3, has 10000 power, and the same ability as the grade 2: By discarding one Royal Paladin when he comes into play, special call one Snowgal (or bluegal) from the deck.
What this translates to is that when you call this unit, you can turn any one of your cards from your hand into a 6-8k boost.
Deck balance wise, this means that even if you end up with a situation where you have too many grade 2s and 3s, but not enough grade 1s, you can throw any card to make it a boost.
Even if you do have enough grade 1s, by throwing extra Pongals once you have gotten your soul saviour Dragon, you can pull out cards from your deck, making your deck thinner and the chance of triggers higher.
Since most boost units with effects have 7000 Power, by having two Snowgals out, you already clear the 15000 Line with grade 2.
While Grade 2 Glameaux is rather small in terms of size, Grade 3 is 10k, a good size, especially for rear guards.
But grade 3 Glameaux has a certain power hidden for when he is the vanguard.
He gains 1000 for each Snowgal and Bluegal in the field as Rearguards.
Thus, if he is the Vanguard, and there are 3 Snowgals behind, he will become 13000, with 8000 Boost: 21000.
Even without this, if there are 2 Snowgals, and 1 Bluegal still around from the starting Vanguard, he will reach 20000 attacking power.
And even so, there is another hidden power.
If you have 4 Snowgals as Rear guard, they will all become 9k, giving you 2 9k boosts, and 1 18000 Power total(Snowgal boost Snowgal)
This will also give Glameaux 4000 Power.
If your last Rear Guard circle is Bluegal, Glameaux will gain 5000 Power, and recieve a 9000 Boost, a grand total of 24000 Power.
If you happen to be attacking a grade 2 or a grade 3 with 9000 Power, thats just enough so 20000 Guardian is a 1 trigger break.
Freaking massive.
On the next turn, when they change to a 11k or 10k Vanguard, you simply need to change out the attacking rearguards to larger things, and your Glameaux will still retain 21000 Power, with a full force of 8000 Boosts behind anything.
Drop one Snowgal and Bluegal for 2 Baromedes, and the enemy will almost have to fold.
Thats all for today.
SO IMBA, Stepping up your game since 2011
Where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
I am Rauzes, and today, we talk about Glamaeux.
Glameaux is a new grade 3 Royal Paladin, with an ability as vanguard to gain 1k for each of his dogs around, and an ability that lets him special call out these dogs from the deck.
Snowgal is a rather interesting unit. If you can line up 3 of them, they will each become 8k boost, equaling Marron in power.
And with the abilities of Grade 2 and 3 Glameaux, you can very well do so.
Fangs of Light Glameaux, the grade 3, has 10000 power, and the same ability as the grade 2: By discarding one Royal Paladin when he comes into play, special call one Snowgal (or bluegal) from the deck.
What this translates to is that when you call this unit, you can turn any one of your cards from your hand into a 6-8k boost.
Deck balance wise, this means that even if you end up with a situation where you have too many grade 2s and 3s, but not enough grade 1s, you can throw any card to make it a boost.
Even if you do have enough grade 1s, by throwing extra Pongals once you have gotten your soul saviour Dragon, you can pull out cards from your deck, making your deck thinner and the chance of triggers higher.
Since most boost units with effects have 7000 Power, by having two Snowgals out, you already clear the 15000 Line with grade 2.
While Grade 2 Glameaux is rather small in terms of size, Grade 3 is 10k, a good size, especially for rear guards.
But grade 3 Glameaux has a certain power hidden for when he is the vanguard.
He gains 1000 for each Snowgal and Bluegal in the field as Rearguards.
Thus, if he is the Vanguard, and there are 3 Snowgals behind, he will become 13000, with 8000 Boost: 21000.
Even without this, if there are 2 Snowgals, and 1 Bluegal still around from the starting Vanguard, he will reach 20000 attacking power.
And even so, there is another hidden power.
If you have 4 Snowgals as Rear guard, they will all become 9k, giving you 2 9k boosts, and 1 18000 Power total(Snowgal boost Snowgal)
This will also give Glameaux 4000 Power.
If your last Rear Guard circle is Bluegal, Glameaux will gain 5000 Power, and recieve a 9000 Boost, a grand total of 24000 Power.
If you happen to be attacking a grade 2 or a grade 3 with 9000 Power, thats just enough so 20000 Guardian is a 1 trigger break.
Freaking massive.
On the next turn, when they change to a 11k or 10k Vanguard, you simply need to change out the attacking rearguards to larger things, and your Glameaux will still retain 21000 Power, with a full force of 8000 Boosts behind anything.
Drop one Snowgal and Bluegal for 2 Baromedes, and the enemy will almost have to fold.
Thats all for today.
SO IMBA, Stepping up your game since 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Grade 1 Rush
Hello and Hello everybody once again, and welcome back to SO IMBA!
Where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
So today's topic is Grade 1 Rush.
People usually see a grade 1 Rush and think...
What the heck is wrong with this guy?
In a deck consisting entirely of Grade 1 and Grade 0, how can you win?
The deck will have no twin drive, and no hope of beating any other deck, right?
Right?
Wrong.
The most important concept behind the grade 1 rush is the concept of Ride.
See, every turn, you ride to the higher grade, by putting a card of that grade on top of your Vanguard, changing your Vanguard.
But what if you dont ride?
What if you only ride to grade 1?
Usually, what happens as you ride to the next grade is this:
Draw +1, Ride -1, Drive Check +1,(Grade 1)(Total +1)
Draw +1, Ride -1, Drive Check +1,(Grade 2)(Total +2)
Then Draw +1, Ride -1, Drive Check +2(Grade 3)(Total +4)
As you can see, every turn, you are only getting one card from your drive check, as advantage wise you are losing cards to ride.
Yes, you do gain some power, but how big a difference is 2000 more power?
That's less than 10% of the average vanguard's attack at grade 3!
The end result of your efforts in riding is the grade 3's Twin Drive, the ability to gain more and more cards every turn, and make triggers come out faster.
But lets think in another way.
What if, lets say, we DON'T ride beyond grade 1.
What would your number of cards look like then?
Draw +1, Ride -1, Drive Check +1,(Turn 1)(Total +1)
Draw +1,Drive Check +1,(Turn 2)(Total +3)
Then Draw +1, Drive Check +1(Turn 3)(Total +5)
By not riding beyond Grade 1, you gain a 1 card advantage over the enemy every turn for the first two rides.
What about turn 4?
At turn 4, the grade 3 will gain 3 cards, whilst the grade 1 will gain 2 cards.
Grade 3 player will have a total advantage of +7, whilst the grade 1 will have a total advantage of +7 as well.
Thus, it is only turn 5 and beyond that being at grade 3 will make a difference, card advantage wise.
And, as most players of Vanguard will already know, Turn 5 usually means the opponent is at 4-5 Damage, and about to die to a nastily timed trigger.
This means that the advantage and power of a Grade 1 rush is in fact...
The fact that advantage wise, you are at equal footing, if not better footing, until each player has gotten their 5th turn!
So, why bother with all this potential ride mishaps or having to mulligan to get a good hand with good balance up from grade 1 to grade 3?
Why not get rid of all of that, and just play ALL grade 1s?
All you have to do is rush the enemy, and kill the off before they can get their grade 3's Twin Drive to mean significant advantage.
So, by running only grade 1s in your deck, and probally mixing 2 clans(Kagerou + Royal Paladin or Kagerou + Nova Grappler are the most common), you generate a strategy in which you have a grand total of 5 turns to end your opponent, but in doing so be significantly advantageous in terms of advantage.
Thats all for today.
See you again on SO IMBA!
Where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
So today's topic is Grade 1 Rush.
People usually see a grade 1 Rush and think...
What the heck is wrong with this guy?
In a deck consisting entirely of Grade 1 and Grade 0, how can you win?
The deck will have no twin drive, and no hope of beating any other deck, right?
Right?
Wrong.
The most important concept behind the grade 1 rush is the concept of Ride.
See, every turn, you ride to the higher grade, by putting a card of that grade on top of your Vanguard, changing your Vanguard.
But what if you dont ride?
What if you only ride to grade 1?
Usually, what happens as you ride to the next grade is this:
Draw +1, Ride -1, Drive Check +1,(Grade 1)(Total +1)
Draw +1, Ride -1, Drive Check +1,(Grade 2)(Total +2)
Then Draw +1, Ride -1, Drive Check +2(Grade 3)(Total +4)
As you can see, every turn, you are only getting one card from your drive check, as advantage wise you are losing cards to ride.
Yes, you do gain some power, but how big a difference is 2000 more power?
That's less than 10% of the average vanguard's attack at grade 3!
The end result of your efforts in riding is the grade 3's Twin Drive, the ability to gain more and more cards every turn, and make triggers come out faster.
But lets think in another way.
What if, lets say, we DON'T ride beyond grade 1.
What would your number of cards look like then?
Draw +1, Ride -1, Drive Check +1,(Turn 1)(Total +1)
Draw +1,Drive Check +1,(Turn 2)(Total +3)
Then Draw +1, Drive Check +1(Turn 3)(Total +5)
By not riding beyond Grade 1, you gain a 1 card advantage over the enemy every turn for the first two rides.
What about turn 4?
At turn 4, the grade 3 will gain 3 cards, whilst the grade 1 will gain 2 cards.
Grade 3 player will have a total advantage of +7, whilst the grade 1 will have a total advantage of +7 as well.
Thus, it is only turn 5 and beyond that being at grade 3 will make a difference, card advantage wise.
And, as most players of Vanguard will already know, Turn 5 usually means the opponent is at 4-5 Damage, and about to die to a nastily timed trigger.
This means that the advantage and power of a Grade 1 rush is in fact...
The fact that advantage wise, you are at equal footing, if not better footing, until each player has gotten their 5th turn!
So, why bother with all this potential ride mishaps or having to mulligan to get a good hand with good balance up from grade 1 to grade 3?
Why not get rid of all of that, and just play ALL grade 1s?
All you have to do is rush the enemy, and kill the off before they can get their grade 3's Twin Drive to mean significant advantage.
So, by running only grade 1s in your deck, and probally mixing 2 clans(Kagerou + Royal Paladin or Kagerou + Nova Grappler are the most common), you generate a strategy in which you have a grand total of 5 turns to end your opponent, but in doing so be significantly advantageous in terms of advantage.
Thats all for today.
See you again on SO IMBA!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Beyond the Apex Limit
Sunday, October 23rd
Two Thousand and Eleven
Is the date today, and you are currently reading
SO IMBA!
Where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
I am Rauzes, your host, and today, we discuss the AL4 deck.
So you might be thinking: "AL4 is a team that runs 3 different clans, right? Everyone knows how to play those decks."
But what about using them all together at once?
Today, I'll be explaining a deck to you about the deck I recently be on a winning streak with: The AL4 deck.
Is it good?
Well, I've won a few tournament games without bothering to ride to grade 3, and at times even before needing to ride to grade 2.
The AL4 consists of 4 clans: Shadow Paladins, Spike Brothers, Dark Irregulars, and Pale Moon.
When constructing the deck, I focused on the specialties of each of these clans, and built the deck around these.
Spike brothers specializes in:
Superior Call during the battle phase, and Soul Blast for power up at the cost of returning to the deck.
Dark Irregulars specializes in:
Soul Charging at a fast rate, and utilizing this Soul for Power up.
and Palemoon Specializes in:
Superior Call from the Soul, and Power up from specific units within the soul.
Now a regular deck with only 1 clan can and would make full use of all these specialties, but if you think about it enough, you could actually mix all of these together.
If you use Dark Irregulars to soul charge, your Pale moons would be able to function to their fullest.
Then, if you use Spike Brothers to soul blast out anything that you DON'T happen to need for your pale moons, you can get rid of the dead weight soul charges that happened, for next to free attacking offensive power, leaving everything you might need behind.
If you think like this, the deck actually falls into place...
You start off the game by soul charging while putting on the offensive with high power Spike Brothers, and end the game when your combination of Pale moon and Spike Brothers superior call.
Spike Brothers Superior Call?
Spike Brothers have two cards that can Superior Call out Juggernaut Maximum(or Wonder Boy): General Zaifreed and Dudley Dan.
General Zaifreed is kind of weak as a Vanguard, but Dudley Dan is a rear guard circle unit...
When this Unit Boosts a Vanguard, You may pay the cost (Counter Blast 2, and send one Spike Brothers card from your hand to the soul). If you do, superior call one Spike Brothers from your deck to a Rear Guard Circle that has no unit in it.
And Juggernaut Maximum:
When this unit attacks, you may pay the cost of (Soul Blast 1). If you do, this unit gains 5000 Power(to 16000), but returns to the deck at the end of the battle.
Note that these two effects have one very important line missing from their effects...
The line "If you have a Spike Brother's Vanguard".
That's right. Dudley Dan can call out Juggernaut Maximum for him to attack with 16000 Power regardless of Vanguard.
So, as a finishing move, you could:
Attack with High Speed Blacky, boosted by Midnight Bunny, with Soul Blast.
Thats 21000 Power. Assuming it hits, High Speed Blacky will return to the deck, and Midnight Bunny will call out either a Barking Cerberus or Dark Metal Bicorn.
Then you attack with your Vanguard. Use Dudley Dan's Boost and effect to superior call out Juggernaut Maximum.
Juggernaut boosted by Dark Metal Bicorn with Soul Blast... 24000 Power.
Then, attack with the other rear guard you have.
Rather than forcing several weaker attacks, try to do so in the early game, to make it so the high power attacks of the late game will matter more.
By interchanging the cards on your field to adapt to the situation at hand at ease, you will find yourself at an advantage very quickly.
On top of that, by playing 3 clans, you have access to not just 4 types of Triggers, but a whooping total of 12 TYPES of triggers... of which you can pick any 4.
You can play 16 Criticals if you wanted to!
There is a criticism against mixed clan decks though...
Some say that it's very hard to play, because what clan your Vanguard is can severely limit what you can and cannot do...
Allow me to quote an adept player:
"Have you ever heard of this super awesome thing that allows you to change the card that is your Vanguard, whilst sending the previous one to the soul called 'Ride'?
The only thing stopping you from reaching the apex limit is your play.
Here at So Imba, we step up your game.
Two Thousand and Eleven
Is the date today, and you are currently reading
SO IMBA!
Where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
I am Rauzes, your host, and today, we discuss the AL4 deck.
So you might be thinking: "AL4 is a team that runs 3 different clans, right? Everyone knows how to play those decks."
But what about using them all together at once?
Today, I'll be explaining a deck to you about the deck I recently be on a winning streak with: The AL4 deck.
Is it good?
Well, I've won a few tournament games without bothering to ride to grade 3, and at times even before needing to ride to grade 2.
The AL4 consists of 4 clans: Shadow Paladins, Spike Brothers, Dark Irregulars, and Pale Moon.
When constructing the deck, I focused on the specialties of each of these clans, and built the deck around these.
Spike brothers specializes in:
Superior Call during the battle phase, and Soul Blast for power up at the cost of returning to the deck.
Dark Irregulars specializes in:
Soul Charging at a fast rate, and utilizing this Soul for Power up.
and Palemoon Specializes in:
Superior Call from the Soul, and Power up from specific units within the soul.
Now a regular deck with only 1 clan can and would make full use of all these specialties, but if you think about it enough, you could actually mix all of these together.
If you use Dark Irregulars to soul charge, your Pale moons would be able to function to their fullest.
Then, if you use Spike Brothers to soul blast out anything that you DON'T happen to need for your pale moons, you can get rid of the dead weight soul charges that happened, for next to free attacking offensive power, leaving everything you might need behind.
If you think like this, the deck actually falls into place...
You start off the game by soul charging while putting on the offensive with high power Spike Brothers, and end the game when your combination of Pale moon and Spike Brothers superior call.
Spike Brothers Superior Call?
Spike Brothers have two cards that can Superior Call out Juggernaut Maximum(or Wonder Boy): General Zaifreed and Dudley Dan.
General Zaifreed is kind of weak as a Vanguard, but Dudley Dan is a rear guard circle unit...
When this Unit Boosts a Vanguard, You may pay the cost (Counter Blast 2, and send one Spike Brothers card from your hand to the soul). If you do, superior call one Spike Brothers from your deck to a Rear Guard Circle that has no unit in it.
And Juggernaut Maximum:
When this unit attacks, you may pay the cost of (Soul Blast 1). If you do, this unit gains 5000 Power(to 16000), but returns to the deck at the end of the battle.
Note that these two effects have one very important line missing from their effects...
The line "If you have a Spike Brother's Vanguard".
That's right. Dudley Dan can call out Juggernaut Maximum for him to attack with 16000 Power regardless of Vanguard.
So, as a finishing move, you could:
Attack with High Speed Blacky, boosted by Midnight Bunny, with Soul Blast.
Thats 21000 Power. Assuming it hits, High Speed Blacky will return to the deck, and Midnight Bunny will call out either a Barking Cerberus or Dark Metal Bicorn.
Then you attack with your Vanguard. Use Dudley Dan's Boost and effect to superior call out Juggernaut Maximum.
Juggernaut boosted by Dark Metal Bicorn with Soul Blast... 24000 Power.
Then, attack with the other rear guard you have.
Rather than forcing several weaker attacks, try to do so in the early game, to make it so the high power attacks of the late game will matter more.
By interchanging the cards on your field to adapt to the situation at hand at ease, you will find yourself at an advantage very quickly.
On top of that, by playing 3 clans, you have access to not just 4 types of Triggers, but a whooping total of 12 TYPES of triggers... of which you can pick any 4.
You can play 16 Criticals if you wanted to!
There is a criticism against mixed clan decks though...
Some say that it's very hard to play, because what clan your Vanguard is can severely limit what you can and cannot do...
Allow me to quote an adept player:
"Have you ever heard of this super awesome thing that allows you to change the card that is your Vanguard, whilst sending the previous one to the soul called 'Ride'?
The only thing stopping you from reaching the apex limit is your play.
Here at So Imba, we step up your game.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
8000 Boost
Hello and Welcome back to SO IMBA!,
where we learn how to be a better Card Fighter.
I am your host, Rauzes, and today, we will be discussing about 8000 Boost Units.
First off, sorry for not posting for nearly a week. I've been really busy this week with...
1: Organizing a huge project on Monday.
2: Organizing as committee for an ANIME CONVENTION on Saturday
3: Cheerleading for Friday.
Wimps lift weights. Real men involve lift people.
But now all of that is Over!
And that means we can get back to our regularly scheduled dose of IMBA Strategies and tips!
So today, we discuss 8000 Boost
Grade 1 Units with 8000 Power, as well as grade 2 Units with 10000 power might not seem like much, but if you think they don't have uses, you've been playing too many other games.
Yes, they don't have effects, but their power gives them as much an advantage as you ever need.
Grade 2 10000 Power Units can hit a grade 3 without any boost, but what about Grade 1s?
Grade 1 8000 Power might not seem like much, but today, we prove all of that wrong.
Each clan only has 1 8000 Power Grade 1 unit, only one type of 8000 Boost.
However, most clans will have a good variety of 7000 Power units, so why cant we just pack those instead? Those seem to have pretty nice effects.
Yes, you can, but 8000 Power has one more thousand power, which is very important in crossing the: 21000 Power Line.
The 21000 Power line doesnt make much of a difference when up against 10000 Power Vanguard Units, but it sure does when up against 11000 Power.
Besides, when up against 10k Power, who can complain?
It is only with 8k Boost that Units that become 13000 Power alone can breach the 21000 Power line.
The only other way to breach this line is with Sakuya or CEO Amaterasu... who go to 14000 Power with more than 4 cards in the hand, as well as have a 10k Boost from Milk, going up to 24000 Power as a Vanguard.
Other clans, however, have to stick with units that can only get up to 13000 Power...
Meaning their only way of getting over 21000 Power is having the 8k Boost.
By getting over this power, it effectively equates to an additional card every turn, as the opponent needs to guard the attacks.
8k Boosts are, however, quite valuable.
Unlike Grade 2 Vanillas, their ability is irreplaceable.
Grade 2 Vanillas's 10k Power is the same as any grade 3, for the most part, minus the intercept, so the deck will have plenty of 10k Power units to fight for you.
However, grade 1 8k Boosts are much more valuable because in any one clan deck, you can only run four.
8000 Boosts also allow the making of 20000 Power with units that can become 12000 Power.
Practical gameplay wise, you will be seeing more 10000 Power Vanguards with the ability to boost up an additional 3k when attacking.
Thus, units that can gain 2k for soul charging can benefit from this to easily become 20k.
What about by themselves?
Actually, most decks utilize some form of low power Grade 2 Units for one reason or another...
Low power being 8k Power only.
So, as a grade 1, you can call these as attackers to try to take down that special intercept, then drop them to the backrow on the next turn, to serve as boost.
Thats all for today.
See you next time, on SO IMBA!
where we learn how to be a better Card Fighter.
I am your host, Rauzes, and today, we will be discussing about 8000 Boost Units.
First off, sorry for not posting for nearly a week. I've been really busy this week with...
1: Organizing a huge project on Monday.
2: Organizing as committee for an ANIME CONVENTION on Saturday
3: Cheerleading for Friday.
Wimps lift weights. Real men involve lift people.
But now all of that is Over!
And that means we can get back to our regularly scheduled dose of IMBA Strategies and tips!
So today, we discuss 8000 Boost
Grade 1 Units with 8000 Power, as well as grade 2 Units with 10000 power might not seem like much, but if you think they don't have uses, you've been playing too many other games.
Yes, they don't have effects, but their power gives them as much an advantage as you ever need.
Grade 2 10000 Power Units can hit a grade 3 without any boost, but what about Grade 1s?
Grade 1 8000 Power might not seem like much, but today, we prove all of that wrong.
Each clan only has 1 8000 Power Grade 1 unit, only one type of 8000 Boost.
However, most clans will have a good variety of 7000 Power units, so why cant we just pack those instead? Those seem to have pretty nice effects.
Yes, you can, but 8000 Power has one more thousand power, which is very important in crossing the: 21000 Power Line.
The 21000 Power line doesnt make much of a difference when up against 10000 Power Vanguard Units, but it sure does when up against 11000 Power.
Besides, when up against 10k Power, who can complain?
It is only with 8k Boost that Units that become 13000 Power alone can breach the 21000 Power line.
The only other way to breach this line is with Sakuya or CEO Amaterasu... who go to 14000 Power with more than 4 cards in the hand, as well as have a 10k Boost from Milk, going up to 24000 Power as a Vanguard.
Other clans, however, have to stick with units that can only get up to 13000 Power...
Meaning their only way of getting over 21000 Power is having the 8k Boost.
By getting over this power, it effectively equates to an additional card every turn, as the opponent needs to guard the attacks.
8k Boosts are, however, quite valuable.
Unlike Grade 2 Vanillas, their ability is irreplaceable.
Grade 2 Vanillas's 10k Power is the same as any grade 3, for the most part, minus the intercept, so the deck will have plenty of 10k Power units to fight for you.
However, grade 1 8k Boosts are much more valuable because in any one clan deck, you can only run four.
8000 Boosts also allow the making of 20000 Power with units that can become 12000 Power.
Practical gameplay wise, you will be seeing more 10000 Power Vanguards with the ability to boost up an additional 3k when attacking.
Thus, units that can gain 2k for soul charging can benefit from this to easily become 20k.
What about by themselves?
Actually, most decks utilize some form of low power Grade 2 Units for one reason or another...
Low power being 8k Power only.
So, as a grade 1, you can call these as attackers to try to take down that special intercept, then drop them to the backrow on the next turn, to serve as boost.
Thats all for today.
See you next time, on SO IMBA!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Galahad Paladins
Greetings, Hello, and good day to all.
You are reading SO IMBA!,
where We learn how to be a better card fighter.
I am Rauzes, and today, we discuss Gallahad.
Ichibyoushi is a similar card, so this discussion sorta does include the moon series of Oracle Think Tank.
Every turn, you can reveal the top 5 cards of your deck, and if the next level of the series is present, you can superior ride, at the cost of normal riding that turn, effectively giving one card.
However, the level 3 has a heavy drawback: if it does not have the full series in the soul, it will lose 2000 power and drop down to 9000 power...
Less than the percentiles involved in the special riding, we will be discussing the usage of running the series not in full.
It is quite common in Royal Paladins to start with Dorangal, and run 4 Galahad grade 1, and 4 Galahad grade 2, with no Grade 3.
This gives your deck a rather high chance of getting one free card per game, at the cost of running units that are 1000 power short of a vanilla, a pretty good deal.
Since the grade 3 is the only one that entails anything that can be considered a disadvantage, you mitigate the possibility of any such disadvantage by not running any at all.
Thus, your grade 3 lineup will be completely open.
But what about the cards that returned to the bottom of the deck?
Whilst special riding is not compulsory, as you can choose to select NONE of the units to special ride, checking the top 5 cards and sending them back to the bottom of the deck IS.
In most games, usually this means that those cards will never be seen in the game again...
Unless you do one of two things:
DRAW!
or
SEARCH and Shuffle!
Oracle Think tank, with their Draw 1 return 1 units, can achieve the insane amount of drawing needed to bring those returned cards back up,
whilst Royal Paladins can search, shuffling those cards back to random order.
Now, without these, you would know what cards are at the bottom, right?
How could we use that to our advantage?
The first was is by knowing which triggers will come up.
Because you have a good idea of how many triggers went back to the bottom of your deck, you know which triggers will NOT come up for you, but also potentially which ones CAN come up for you.
Thus, if you know all 4 of your heal triggers went to the bottom of the deck, you can play accordingly, and be a bit more defensive, because your heal triggers will not come up, and if they dont come up, they wont be hit to heal nothing.
Similarly, you can use similar thinking for the other triggers such as critical or stand.
This leads to the next use.
You can use them to time your searches.
If you use many cards that search such as Gancelot, Pongal, or Barcgal, you should hold on to these until you know the timing is good to shuffle your deck.
The timing to shuffle is when you feel you've seen too many triggers go back to the bottom.
Lets take a look at some numbers.
Even if you only run grades 0, 1, and 2, you actually do get a lot of information regarding your triggers.
Grade 0 will check 5 cards, Grade 1 will check 5, and Grade 2 will check 5.
A total of 15 cards that you could check, and statistically, about 5 triggers you know will not come for you.
So, if you had more than 7 or 8 triggers go off already, you simply need to shoot off a search card, and re-shuffle your deck.
In this same thinking, it might also be possible to use Dorangal... with NO Galahad at all, in fact.
Simply for the information advantage of 5 cards you know are at the bottom of your deck at the cost of 1000 power of your starter vanguard...
Seems like a good trade off, no?
That's all for today.
See you next time on SO IMBA!
You are reading SO IMBA!,
where We learn how to be a better card fighter.
I am Rauzes, and today, we discuss Gallahad.
Ichibyoushi is a similar card, so this discussion sorta does include the moon series of Oracle Think Tank.
Every turn, you can reveal the top 5 cards of your deck, and if the next level of the series is present, you can superior ride, at the cost of normal riding that turn, effectively giving one card.
However, the level 3 has a heavy drawback: if it does not have the full series in the soul, it will lose 2000 power and drop down to 9000 power...
Less than the percentiles involved in the special riding, we will be discussing the usage of running the series not in full.
It is quite common in Royal Paladins to start with Dorangal, and run 4 Galahad grade 1, and 4 Galahad grade 2, with no Grade 3.
This gives your deck a rather high chance of getting one free card per game, at the cost of running units that are 1000 power short of a vanilla, a pretty good deal.
Since the grade 3 is the only one that entails anything that can be considered a disadvantage, you mitigate the possibility of any such disadvantage by not running any at all.
Thus, your grade 3 lineup will be completely open.
But what about the cards that returned to the bottom of the deck?
Whilst special riding is not compulsory, as you can choose to select NONE of the units to special ride, checking the top 5 cards and sending them back to the bottom of the deck IS.
In most games, usually this means that those cards will never be seen in the game again...
Unless you do one of two things:
DRAW!
or
SEARCH and Shuffle!
Oracle Think tank, with their Draw 1 return 1 units, can achieve the insane amount of drawing needed to bring those returned cards back up,
whilst Royal Paladins can search, shuffling those cards back to random order.
Now, without these, you would know what cards are at the bottom, right?
How could we use that to our advantage?
The first was is by knowing which triggers will come up.
Because you have a good idea of how many triggers went back to the bottom of your deck, you know which triggers will NOT come up for you, but also potentially which ones CAN come up for you.
Thus, if you know all 4 of your heal triggers went to the bottom of the deck, you can play accordingly, and be a bit more defensive, because your heal triggers will not come up, and if they dont come up, they wont be hit to heal nothing.
Similarly, you can use similar thinking for the other triggers such as critical or stand.
This leads to the next use.
You can use them to time your searches.
If you use many cards that search such as Gancelot, Pongal, or Barcgal, you should hold on to these until you know the timing is good to shuffle your deck.
The timing to shuffle is when you feel you've seen too many triggers go back to the bottom.
Lets take a look at some numbers.
Even if you only run grades 0, 1, and 2, you actually do get a lot of information regarding your triggers.
Grade 0 will check 5 cards, Grade 1 will check 5, and Grade 2 will check 5.
A total of 15 cards that you could check, and statistically, about 5 triggers you know will not come for you.
So, if you had more than 7 or 8 triggers go off already, you simply need to shoot off a search card, and re-shuffle your deck.
In this same thinking, it might also be possible to use Dorangal... with NO Galahad at all, in fact.
Simply for the information advantage of 5 cards you know are at the bottom of your deck at the cost of 1000 power of your starter vanguard...
Seems like a good trade off, no?
That's all for today.
See you next time on SO IMBA!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Full Blast
HARO and HARO everybody, and a warm welcome back to SO IMBA!,
Where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
Today is October 11th, Two Thousand and Eleven, Tuesday.
Just a really quick reminder to everyone that Thursday, October 13th, so this thursday, is International Suit Up Day.
Wear a suit to work!
Wear a suit to school!
Wear a suit to sports!
Wear a suit to watch sports!
Wear a suit to watch cheerleaders in between sports!
Wear a suit to perform the cheer leading!
Wear a suit to VANGUARD!
Today, we will be discussing Full Blast.
Say what blast?
Full Blast.
Or, as some would like to say: 行くぞ。ファイナル・ターン！フルブラスト発動！！
Full Blast is the term used for card with the following Text:
[V] Soulblast(8), Counter Blast(5):
And they all have:
[V] At the beginning of your main phase, Soul Charge (1), and
Full Blast units are called so because they WILL use up all of your counter blast, as well as all of your soul.
As the Full Blast units have a soul charging ability, in theory, with enough time and good playing, they can set themselves up for a full blast.
However, in most games, you wont last quite as long, especially without counterblast support, so you would have to use cards that give some form of soul charging, in order to rack up enough soul to activate the full blast.
Very few Full Blast units are frequently seen in common play for two main reasons:
The first is how hard it is to pull off, especially without added deck support and devotion.
and the second is that most of these effects... just don't add up...
as in: They aren't worth Full Blasting for.
Here are some examples of Full Blasts:
Destroy all Enemy Rear Guards
Draw 5 Cards(ohoho we all know who this is)
Destroy 3 Rear Guards
Move 3 Rear Guards to Soul
Move 1 Rear Guard to Vanguard
Special Call up to 5.
Stand all Units
Now, lets take a quick look at whether these all add up.
Card Advantage wise, Lo Bell and Vortex Dragon are quite frankly, out.
Soul Blast of 8 AND a Counter Blast of 5 isnt quite worth the 3 Cards advantage that they give.
Simply put, instead of using your counter blast and soul on those 3 cards, you could be using them on other cards, such as Berserk Dragon, or Nightmare Doll Alice, to give you effectively, the same amount of advantage.
Next up are the cards that give 5 advantage... In Theory.
I'm talking Baskirk and United Attacker.
Both have effects that allow them to special call 5 Cards, supposedly adding up: In Theory...
But most good players will never ever use their Full Blast abilities.
Why? Because although they can give 5 Advantage, most of the time, they wont.
When you have 8 Soul, 5 Damage, and are ready to rev up your Full Blast... for the final turn...
Do you have absolutely Zero rear guards?
Of. Course. Not.
At the end stage of games, chances are that you have quite a few rear guards hanging around chilling out, doing work.
So, while, advantage wise they may seem good, but actual play wise, they run into some problems.
First, with United attacker:
Spike Brothers without 4 Juggernaut/4 Skydiver? Must Be 4 Juggernaut/2 Skydiver/2 General.
Quite frankly. Spike Brothers dont really have other choices for their Grade 3. Juggernaut and Skydiver are just that good.
On top of that, General Zaifreed is already your dedicated Vanguard unit, so hence, United Attacker doesnt really have a spot on the team.
Sorry, big ol Ogre, but you're getting Benched.
Next up is Baskirk.
Yes, he can call the Kraken, but unlike United Attacker, Granblue as a clan doesn't really have much choice for dedicated Vanguard Grade 3 Units.
Baskirk actually does have it's uses, but not for his Full Blast.
First off, his soul Charge.
Whilst Granblue doesnt usually use Soul Blast, there is one very good card that utilizes it very well: Dancing Cutlass.
Considered a mainstay in Granblue builds, Dancing Cutlass provides the stepping stone to Captain Nightmist or Samurai Spirit at next to no cost, because Granblue doesn't use soul all that often.
Hence, by giving a soul charge every turn, you are feeding Dancing Cutlass, while becoming a 20k Attacker.
In Granblue, the counterblasts are better used in reviving your Rear Guards to do battle, so forget completely about using Bakirks Full Blast. Its just not worth it.
The cards that either Destroy all Rear Guards or Give 5 Draw are actually worth your time to aim for, but do take a long time to set up.
Simply put, instead of garnering 5 card advantage, think of it more as a way instead to be burn through Guardians.
The last 3 are Steil Vampir, Mr. Invincible, and CEO Amaterasu.
First up is the CEO herself.
Reasons to use this card?
Other 2 effects. Nuff said.
Although CEO's Full Blast isnt something you actively aim for, it could very well be in your deck, since the 5 draw in any deck at all is amazing.
Steil Vampir is another good example of a Full Blast.
What allows Dark Irregulars to use Full Blast so well is that they exceed at fast and strong soul charge, allowing your first effect condition to be met easily, but also that they don't have too many Counter Blast units, so your damage zone will probably be open for a long time.
Hence, the Dark Irregular's Full Blast units are actually quite achievable.
The last one in line is Mr. Invincible.
Mr Invincible is almost as imba as CEO Amaterasu, only without the +4000 Power.
Not only does its effect help open damage, setting up the counter blast needed for the effect,
but it is one of the very few cards in the game
That can stand your vanguard, whilst retaining the Twin Drive.
Just those additional drive checks give +2 Advantage.
Then you have 3 more full power attacks.
Its as if your opponent's turn never happened.
That's right.
Mr. Invincible Full Blast might as well read:
When this unit's attack hits, Full Blast to SKIP THE OPPONENT'S NEXT TURN
Suddenly he becomes one of the most imba cards in the game, right?
Not quite.
Nova Grapplers soul charge...
Very... very... horribly.
Out of the entire clan, only Mr. Invincible can soul charge, meaning that your Tornado Stand Galactica will take up a lot of time to set up.
Too bad, I guess.
Maybe run a Mr. Invincible deck that Utilizes Dark Irregular's Soul Charging abilities, and Nova Grappler's counter cost recovery?
That's all for today.
See you next time on SO IMBA!
Where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
Today is October 11th, Two Thousand and Eleven, Tuesday.
Just a really quick reminder to everyone that Thursday, October 13th, so this thursday, is International Suit Up Day.
Wear a suit to work!
Wear a suit to school!
Wear a suit to sports!
Wear a suit to watch sports!
Wear a suit to watch cheerleaders in between sports!
Wear a suit to perform the cheer leading!
Wear a suit to VANGUARD!
Today, we will be discussing Full Blast.
Say what blast?
Full Blast.
Or, as some would like to say: 行くぞ。ファイナル・ターン！フルブラスト発動！！
Full Blast is the term used for card with the following Text:
[V] Soulblast(8), Counter Blast(5):
And they all have:
[V] At the beginning of your main phase, Soul Charge (1), and
Full Blast units are called so because they WILL use up all of your counter blast, as well as all of your soul.
As the Full Blast units have a soul charging ability, in theory, with enough time and good playing, they can set themselves up for a full blast.
However, in most games, you wont last quite as long, especially without counterblast support, so you would have to use cards that give some form of soul charging, in order to rack up enough soul to activate the full blast.
Very few Full Blast units are frequently seen in common play for two main reasons:
The first is how hard it is to pull off, especially without added deck support and devotion.
and the second is that most of these effects... just don't add up...
as in: They aren't worth Full Blasting for.
Here are some examples of Full Blasts:
Destroy all Enemy Rear Guards
Draw 5 Cards(ohoho we all know who this is)
Destroy 3 Rear Guards
Move 3 Rear Guards to Soul
Move 1 Rear Guard to Vanguard
Special Call up to 5.
Stand all Units
Now, lets take a quick look at whether these all add up.
Card Advantage wise, Lo Bell and Vortex Dragon are quite frankly, out.
Soul Blast of 8 AND a Counter Blast of 5 isnt quite worth the 3 Cards advantage that they give.
Simply put, instead of using your counter blast and soul on those 3 cards, you could be using them on other cards, such as Berserk Dragon, or Nightmare Doll Alice, to give you effectively, the same amount of advantage.
Next up are the cards that give 5 advantage... In Theory.
I'm talking Baskirk and United Attacker.
Both have effects that allow them to special call 5 Cards, supposedly adding up: In Theory...
But most good players will never ever use their Full Blast abilities.
Why? Because although they can give 5 Advantage, most of the time, they wont.
When you have 8 Soul, 5 Damage, and are ready to rev up your Full Blast... for the final turn...
Do you have absolutely Zero rear guards?
Of. Course. Not.
At the end stage of games, chances are that you have quite a few rear guards hanging around chilling out, doing work.
So, while, advantage wise they may seem good, but actual play wise, they run into some problems.
First, with United attacker:
Spike Brothers without 4 Juggernaut/4 Skydiver? Must Be 4 Juggernaut/2 Skydiver/2 General.
Quite frankly. Spike Brothers dont really have other choices for their Grade 3. Juggernaut and Skydiver are just that good.
On top of that, General Zaifreed is already your dedicated Vanguard unit, so hence, United Attacker doesnt really have a spot on the team.
Sorry, big ol Ogre, but you're getting Benched.
Next up is Baskirk.
Yes, he can call the Kraken, but unlike United Attacker, Granblue as a clan doesn't really have much choice for dedicated Vanguard Grade 3 Units.
Baskirk actually does have it's uses, but not for his Full Blast.
First off, his soul Charge.
Whilst Granblue doesnt usually use Soul Blast, there is one very good card that utilizes it very well: Dancing Cutlass.
Considered a mainstay in Granblue builds, Dancing Cutlass provides the stepping stone to Captain Nightmist or Samurai Spirit at next to no cost, because Granblue doesn't use soul all that often.
Hence, by giving a soul charge every turn, you are feeding Dancing Cutlass, while becoming a 20k Attacker.
In Granblue, the counterblasts are better used in reviving your Rear Guards to do battle, so forget completely about using Bakirks Full Blast. Its just not worth it.
The cards that either Destroy all Rear Guards or Give 5 Draw are actually worth your time to aim for, but do take a long time to set up.
Simply put, instead of garnering 5 card advantage, think of it more as a way instead to be burn through Guardians.
The last 3 are Steil Vampir, Mr. Invincible, and CEO Amaterasu.
First up is the CEO herself.
Reasons to use this card?
Other 2 effects. Nuff said.
Although CEO's Full Blast isnt something you actively aim for, it could very well be in your deck, since the 5 draw in any deck at all is amazing.
Steil Vampir is another good example of a Full Blast.
What allows Dark Irregulars to use Full Blast so well is that they exceed at fast and strong soul charge, allowing your first effect condition to be met easily, but also that they don't have too many Counter Blast units, so your damage zone will probably be open for a long time.
Hence, the Dark Irregular's Full Blast units are actually quite achievable.
The last one in line is Mr. Invincible.
Mr Invincible is almost as imba as CEO Amaterasu, only without the +4000 Power.
Not only does its effect help open damage, setting up the counter blast needed for the effect,
but it is one of the very few cards in the game
That can stand your vanguard, whilst retaining the Twin Drive.
Just those additional drive checks give +2 Advantage.
Then you have 3 more full power attacks.
Its as if your opponent's turn never happened.
That's right.
Mr. Invincible Full Blast might as well read:
When this unit's attack hits, Full Blast to SKIP THE OPPONENT'S NEXT TURN
Suddenly he becomes one of the most imba cards in the game, right?
Not quite.
Nova Grapplers soul charge...
Very... very... horribly.
Out of the entire clan, only Mr. Invincible can soul charge, meaning that your Tornado Stand Galactica will take up a lot of time to set up.
Too bad, I guess.
Maybe run a Mr. Invincible deck that Utilizes Dark Irregular's Soul Charging abilities, and Nova Grappler's counter cost recovery?
That's all for today.
See you next time on SO IMBA!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
4 Chappie Splash
Hello, Hi, and Good day, to all the readers out there.
Today is October 9th, 2011, and you are currently reading SO IMBA!,
Where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
Today, we talk Chappie the Ghost.
Chappie the Ghost is a Grade 0 10k shield Granblue card, with a rather fun effect:
When you use him as a guardian, you can send a Granblue Card from your deck to the drop zone.
(Completely regardless of your vanguard)
So, usually, players using Granblue would put in about 2 or 3, for a tiny bit extra shielding, and because its effect is pretty good, as a pinpoint search.
That being said, its popularity has been going down since the release of Dancing Cutlass. Players seem to just max out on Guiding Zombie and Baskirk, and use Soul Charge -> Guiding Zombie -> Dancing Cutlass -> 1 Draw to send a grand total of 5 cards to the drop zone, whilst drawing one card.
This allows the granblue player to have much more cards with effects in the drop zone there, as opposed to just one.
On top of this, Guiding Zombie has the same 10k shield, giving the player the same amount of protection over the course of the game.
But that's a story for another day.
Todays story is about Chappie, and instead of using it in Granblue Decks that you pinpoint drop any card you happen to need, just putting 4 into any deck, to increase the chance of triggers.
Chappie can actually be used as a 10k shield, followed by it being used to send another Chappie to the drop zone, thinning out the deck.
This ability allows you to run them in any deck at all, so long as you have something to drop.
By running 4, you effectively have 2 extra 10k Shields, as well as a 47 card deck, as opposed to 49.
In decks such as CEO Oracle Think Tank decks, more importance is placed upon having many cards in the hand and drawing, hence either 4 to 8 Draw triggers.
However, adding on more draw triggers will lead to a slight imbalance in defensive power, and you will need to add in 10k Shield Cards.
Perhaps throwing in 4 Chappie is the solution to this.
Keep in mind that this effect is compulsory, not optional.
But who can say no to an increase in trigger chance?
Thats all for today.
This is Rauzes, signing out.
Today is October 9th, 2011, and you are currently reading SO IMBA!,
Where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
Today, we talk Chappie the Ghost.
Chappie the Ghost is a Grade 0 10k shield Granblue card, with a rather fun effect:
When you use him as a guardian, you can send a Granblue Card from your deck to the drop zone.
(Completely regardless of your vanguard)
So, usually, players using Granblue would put in about 2 or 3, for a tiny bit extra shielding, and because its effect is pretty good, as a pinpoint search.
That being said, its popularity has been going down since the release of Dancing Cutlass. Players seem to just max out on Guiding Zombie and Baskirk, and use Soul Charge -> Guiding Zombie -> Dancing Cutlass -> 1 Draw to send a grand total of 5 cards to the drop zone, whilst drawing one card.
This allows the granblue player to have much more cards with effects in the drop zone there, as opposed to just one.
On top of this, Guiding Zombie has the same 10k shield, giving the player the same amount of protection over the course of the game.
But that's a story for another day.
Todays story is about Chappie, and instead of using it in Granblue Decks that you pinpoint drop any card you happen to need, just putting 4 into any deck, to increase the chance of triggers.
Chappie can actually be used as a 10k shield, followed by it being used to send another Chappie to the drop zone, thinning out the deck.
This ability allows you to run them in any deck at all, so long as you have something to drop.
By running 4, you effectively have 2 extra 10k Shields, as well as a 47 card deck, as opposed to 49.
In decks such as CEO Oracle Think Tank decks, more importance is placed upon having many cards in the hand and drawing, hence either 4 to 8 Draw triggers.
However, adding on more draw triggers will lead to a slight imbalance in defensive power, and you will need to add in 10k Shield Cards.
Perhaps throwing in 4 Chappie is the solution to this.
Keep in mind that this effect is compulsory, not optional.
But who can say no to an increase in trigger chance?
Thats all for today.
This is Rauzes, signing out.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Superior RIDE! GRADE 3!
Hello everyone out there, and welcome to SO IMBA!,
Where We learn how to be a better card fighter.
Today, I'd like to share with you a decklist for Superior Ride.
Grade 3, with their Twin Drive, are extremely powerful, the exact reason why you cannot afford to lag behind the opponent in terms of Grade.
The first player to reach Grade 3 is at such a major advantage, Its very hard for the opponent to catch up...
If you go first, and can Superior Ride to grade 3 before the opponent even hits Grade 2...
They are at a pretty big disadvantage...
Not only can they not hit you without boosts on their turn, but they have to sit through two rounds of Twin Drive before they get there themselves.
SUPERIOR RIDE!
Grade 3: 8
2 Blazing Flare Dragon
2 Embodiment of Victory Aleph
4 Draconic Overlord
Grade 2: 12
4 Blazing Core Dragon
4 Dragon Knight Aleph
4 Dragon Knight Nehalem
Grade 1: 14
4 Embodiment of Armor Bahr
4 Iron Tail Dragon
2 Dragonic Imam Kinnala
2 Fire of Hope Aermo
2 Wyvern Guard Barri
Grade 0: 17
1 Lizard Soldier Conroe (First Vanguard)
4 Embodiment of Spear Tahr(CRIT)
4 Gattling Claw Dragon(DRAW)
4 Blue Ray Dracokid(CRIT)/Lizard Runner Nabudo(STND)
4 Dragon Monk Ghenjo(HEAL)
As you could probally see from the decklist, this deck runs not one, but TWO reliable ways to quickly ride from Grade 2 to Grade 3, Dragon Knight Aleph and Blazing Core Dragon.
By utilizing these two engines to victory, reaching Grade 3 and pushing out damage quickly becomes easier and faster.
Give it a spin.
This is Rauzes, and you're reading SO IMBA!, where we learn how to be a better card fighter!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Trigger Balance.
Hello and Hello, boys and girls,
and welcome back to SO IMBA!, where we learn how to be a better Card Fighter.
Today, we'll be talking about Trigger balance: What triggers you should put into your deck.
Statistically speaking, of your 16 triggers, the following will happen in an average game...
One to three will end up in the Damage Zone...
Three to four will be drawn into your hand, doing nothing...
And 4 to 6 will be hit by Drive Check, during your turn, hopefully doing something.
And if you run 4 heal triggers, you will, on average, heal once a game, with 2 to 3being hit in the game.
So, taking these into account, lets run over the advantages and disadvantages of each trigger.
HEAL: Can be used with both Damage and Drive Check, but only 4 can be put in your deck.
DRAW: Can be used with both Damage and Drive check, but only has 5000 Shield, reducing its use once its in your hand.
CRITICAL: Can only be used on Drive Check, but deals more damage. And who doesn't like dealing more damage?
STAND: Can only be used on Drive Check, but stands your units to attack one more time. And everybody loves more attacks.
We can break triggers down into two categories:
Offensive: Triggers that will allow your attacks to be better,
and Defensive: Triggers that will work on your opponent's turn.
The offensive triggers will be your Critical and Stand, whilst your Defensive triggers will be your Draw and Heal.
Now, try to imagine a game you had recently.
Whilst you damage checked about 5 to 7 times, you certainly took a Drive Check much more often than that.
Defensive triggers still retain their effect on your turn, just that they will also come into play on the opponents turn as well.
Take a quick look at the numbers I presented above, about the number of triggers that end up where by the end of the game.
From this, the conclusion that can be reached is that you will want to have not exactly 8 Defensive Triggers, but instead slightly less, around 6.
The other 10 Triggers should ideally be offensive triggers.
The 6 Defensive triggers will ensure that of the two to three triggers that end up in the damage zone, at least 1 will be a draw or heal, giving you advantage.
Whilst some decks prefer 12 offensive, and 4 Heal, this doesn't exactly capitalize on the amount of damage you take.
Additionally, some clans currently don't have any choice as to their arrangement of triggers.
The 4 Crit/4 Stand/4 Heal/4 Draw build has been popularized thanks to Trial Decks, but should be tweaked slightly, in fact.
the 6 Crit/4 Stand/4 Heal/2 Draw will capitalize best on where cards tend to end up, as opposed to raw luck.
That's all for today, everyone.
Tune in tomorrow, for another post in SO IMBA!
and welcome back to SO IMBA!, where we learn how to be a better Card Fighter.
Today, we'll be talking about Trigger balance: What triggers you should put into your deck.
Statistically speaking, of your 16 triggers, the following will happen in an average game...
One to three will end up in the Damage Zone...
Three to four will be drawn into your hand, doing nothing...
And 4 to 6 will be hit by Drive Check, during your turn, hopefully doing something.
And if you run 4 heal triggers, you will, on average, heal once a game, with 2 to 3being hit in the game.
So, taking these into account, lets run over the advantages and disadvantages of each trigger.
HEAL: Can be used with both Damage and Drive Check, but only 4 can be put in your deck.
DRAW: Can be used with both Damage and Drive check, but only has 5000 Shield, reducing its use once its in your hand.
CRITICAL: Can only be used on Drive Check, but deals more damage. And who doesn't like dealing more damage?
STAND: Can only be used on Drive Check, but stands your units to attack one more time. And everybody loves more attacks.
We can break triggers down into two categories:
Offensive: Triggers that will allow your attacks to be better,
and Defensive: Triggers that will work on your opponent's turn.
The offensive triggers will be your Critical and Stand, whilst your Defensive triggers will be your Draw and Heal.
Now, try to imagine a game you had recently.
Whilst you damage checked about 5 to 7 times, you certainly took a Drive Check much more often than that.
Defensive triggers still retain their effect on your turn, just that they will also come into play on the opponents turn as well.
Take a quick look at the numbers I presented above, about the number of triggers that end up where by the end of the game.
From this, the conclusion that can be reached is that you will want to have not exactly 8 Defensive Triggers, but instead slightly less, around 6.
The other 10 Triggers should ideally be offensive triggers.
The 6 Defensive triggers will ensure that of the two to three triggers that end up in the damage zone, at least 1 will be a draw or heal, giving you advantage.
Whilst some decks prefer 12 offensive, and 4 Heal, this doesn't exactly capitalize on the amount of damage you take.
Additionally, some clans currently don't have any choice as to their arrangement of triggers.
The 4 Crit/4 Stand/4 Heal/4 Draw build has been popularized thanks to Trial Decks, but should be tweaked slightly, in fact.
the 6 Crit/4 Stand/4 Heal/2 Draw will capitalize best on where cards tend to end up, as opposed to raw luck.
That's all for today, everyone.
Tune in tomorrow, for another post in SO IMBA!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Split The Critical Trigger!
Hello, hello everybody, and welcome back to So Imba!
Where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
The day is Sunday, October 2nd, and I am Rauzes, here to discuss about Critical Trigger Splitting.
First and foremost, I'm sorry for the lack of post yesterday. My internet died because my housemate forgot to pay for internet.
Sad story. Story of all our lives. True story. Tell it again.
Anyhows, I had somebody ask me about my little "Catch Phrase", "Where We learn how to be a better card fighter".
"But, if you're the one teaching all of us the technique and things to learn, why do you say we? Shouldn't it be 'where you learn how to be a better card fighter!' ?"
Actually, that's not entirely true.
I am learning just as much as you are.
What I write about, the concepts and techniques, is something I look up from various sources around the web and from discussions.
Most of what I write about... I have never learned for myself before.
So what you learn is what I have learned. I'm just passing along the word.
Hence, not only you learn to be a better card fighter, I do too!
WE learn how to card fight better!
Today, we discuss a rather interesting concept... Splitting Critical Triggers.
So what's the split Critical?
"Splitting" a trigger is a term used for putting the +5000 of a Critical or Stand trigger onto different units than putting the critical or stand effect.
But... why on earth would you want to put a critical effect on another unit... when your Vanguard's attack already went through?
Although, yes, most of the time, you would want to put the critical on the unit who's attack already went through, and the power on another, so it would be harder to guard.
But, you can also try to force the opponent to guard, in order to burn through cards.
One of the easiest ways to force a guard from the opponent is to have a low power unit attacking... with two critical.
Even if the opponent has one or two damage, it's highly unlikely that the enemy will let that attack through, and might even throw a few grade 1 or 2s to guard.
Hence this is where the Critical Split comes in.
When you attack with your Vanguard, and hit a critical trigger, instead of putting the power and critical to your vanguard to push for damage and break the guard,
Instead put one critical on one of your rear guards, and the power on yet another rear guard.
This will make the opponent prioritize guarding the one with critical, and put less importance on guarding the one with the power, allowing its attack to go through easily.
So, as opposed to the 2 damage from Vanguard, and maybe 1 from the Rear Guard...
the opponent at the end of your turn has 1 damage from your rear guard, and has used a lot of cards to guard your unit with the increased critical.
While this might seem like a bad idea, as I mentioned several times before, burning through the opponents cards in the early game is very important.
Some other factors that might come into play:
Some cards gain their effect when their attack hits, such as soul charging or drawing cards. By putting the power of the trigger onto this unit, it allows this attack to hit a bit easier.
Heal triggers will only work if you have more damage than the opponent. Hence, if you only put one damage on the opponent, sometimes this will completely shut down their heal triggers, even for one turn.
Counterblast.
By splitting the critical trigger, and preventing the opponent from gaining too many damage, it might shut down the enemy's counterblast, thus making them not play that Blaster Blade, to save it for next turn. Thus, one less attack to worry about.
That's about it for today.
See you next time, right here on So Imba!
Where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
The day is Sunday, October 2nd, and I am Rauzes, here to discuss about Critical Trigger Splitting.
First and foremost, I'm sorry for the lack of post yesterday. My internet died because my housemate forgot to pay for internet.
Sad story. Story of all our lives. True story. Tell it again.
Anyhows, I had somebody ask me about my little "Catch Phrase", "Where We learn how to be a better card fighter".
"But, if you're the one teaching all of us the technique and things to learn, why do you say we? Shouldn't it be 'where you learn how to be a better card fighter!' ?"
Actually, that's not entirely true.
I am learning just as much as you are.
What I write about, the concepts and techniques, is something I look up from various sources around the web and from discussions.
Most of what I write about... I have never learned for myself before.
So what you learn is what I have learned. I'm just passing along the word.
Hence, not only you learn to be a better card fighter, I do too!
WE learn how to card fight better!
Today, we discuss a rather interesting concept... Splitting Critical Triggers.
So what's the split Critical?
"Splitting" a trigger is a term used for putting the +5000 of a Critical or Stand trigger onto different units than putting the critical or stand effect.
But... why on earth would you want to put a critical effect on another unit... when your Vanguard's attack already went through?
Although, yes, most of the time, you would want to put the critical on the unit who's attack already went through, and the power on another, so it would be harder to guard.
But, you can also try to force the opponent to guard, in order to burn through cards.
One of the easiest ways to force a guard from the opponent is to have a low power unit attacking... with two critical.
Even if the opponent has one or two damage, it's highly unlikely that the enemy will let that attack through, and might even throw a few grade 1 or 2s to guard.
Hence this is where the Critical Split comes in.
When you attack with your Vanguard, and hit a critical trigger, instead of putting the power and critical to your vanguard to push for damage and break the guard,
Instead put one critical on one of your rear guards, and the power on yet another rear guard.
This will make the opponent prioritize guarding the one with critical, and put less importance on guarding the one with the power, allowing its attack to go through easily.
So, as opposed to the 2 damage from Vanguard, and maybe 1 from the Rear Guard...
the opponent at the end of your turn has 1 damage from your rear guard, and has used a lot of cards to guard your unit with the increased critical.
While this might seem like a bad idea, as I mentioned several times before, burning through the opponents cards in the early game is very important.
Some other factors that might come into play:
Some cards gain their effect when their attack hits, such as soul charging or drawing cards. By putting the power of the trigger onto this unit, it allows this attack to hit a bit easier.
Heal triggers will only work if you have more damage than the opponent. Hence, if you only put one damage on the opponent, sometimes this will completely shut down their heal triggers, even for one turn.
Counterblast.
By splitting the critical trigger, and preventing the opponent from gaining too many damage, it might shut down the enemy's counterblast, thus making them not play that Blaster Blade, to save it for next turn. Thus, one less attack to worry about.
That's about it for today.
See you next time, right here on So Imba!
Friday, September 30, 2011
All In!
Hello, Hello, ladies and gentlemen.
The day is September 30th, 2011, and it is time for another episode of SO IMBA!, where We learn how to be a better Card Fighter.
I am Rauzes, and today, we discuss All Ins.
In Vanguard, there are advantages to keeping cards in your hand, namely, to use for guarding.
In most games, you usually want to put out a maximum of two cards per turn, keeping the rest for future turns, and for guarding.
An All-In is when you forsake all guarding, and instead throw down all or most of your cards in your hand, in an effort to push for major damage.
The most common time you see this happening is when you both are at 5 damage, low on cards, and are trying to end the game in one or two turns.
In Other words, you know that you have no other option, and if you cannot beat the opponent this turn, you will lose (unless you hit double heal trigger or something.), because you have no more cards to save yourself...
And, although you are telegraphing your state to your opponent, meaning they know they almost have the game,
They are also forced to throw the maximum amount of guard, as one trigger can and probably will give you the game, in an attempt to survive until the next turn.
But, nobody ever said this is the best timing for an all-in.
Another good timing to throw an All-In is when the opponent still has very few cards, as they didnt have enough time to build up their army with Twin Drive: In the very early game.
If you went first, you will ideally reach grade 3 earlier, giving you one attack with grade 3 against a grade 2.
Grade 2s tend to be weaker and easier to hit, and hence harder to guard.
Additionally, the opponent, at this stage, will only have 9 Cards total... Of which 1 was used to ride to grade 1, and the other used to grade 2...
Thats 7 Cards to guard against a full force attack, if they did not call anything to attack you with.
Although the opponent will have at most 2 damage at this state, so they can ideally just take damage from every attack you throw at them.
But if you are playing a high critical deck, a multi stand deck, or a special call deck like Palemoon or Spike Brothers, which can throw at most 6-7 attacks per turn...
Although the first few attacks will go through, as early game at this stage means the enemy can simply take the damage, instead of wasting a bunch of cards guarding.(This actually means you can get away with attacking with smaller units!), the later attacks, especially the ones coming from Asura Kaiser Stand, or Spike Brothers special Call, will all probally be guarded
They are forced to guard, using cards that SHOULD be in their hand, to call and attack you the next turn!
Meaning not only do you throw the enemy into a highly defensive position, unable to push out, they will have nothing to push out with as well!
I mentioned before that at that point in the game, the enemy should only have about 9 cards.
Deck balance wise, that's statistically 2 10k Guards, 1 or 2 Grade 3s(Cannot Guard), and the rest 5k Guards.
For the amount of guard available to guard, yes, they will survive...
But at what cost?
By giving up their 5k Guards, they are sacrificing powerful fighting forces in an attempt to stay alive at about 4 Damage.
Therefore, the actual aim of the early all-in is not really to try to end the game, but to force many guards from the enemy, leaving you in a much more stable state.
Just watch out for cards like Blaster Blade or Berserk Dragon on the return turn.
This is Rauzes,
And you are reading SO IMBA!, where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
Tomorrow, we talk Splitting Critical Triggers.
The day is September 30th, 2011, and it is time for another episode of SO IMBA!, where We learn how to be a better Card Fighter.
I am Rauzes, and today, we discuss All Ins.
In Vanguard, there are advantages to keeping cards in your hand, namely, to use for guarding.
In most games, you usually want to put out a maximum of two cards per turn, keeping the rest for future turns, and for guarding.
An All-In is when you forsake all guarding, and instead throw down all or most of your cards in your hand, in an effort to push for major damage.
The most common time you see this happening is when you both are at 5 damage, low on cards, and are trying to end the game in one or two turns.
In Other words, you know that you have no other option, and if you cannot beat the opponent this turn, you will lose (unless you hit double heal trigger or something.), because you have no more cards to save yourself...
And, although you are telegraphing your state to your opponent, meaning they know they almost have the game,
They are also forced to throw the maximum amount of guard, as one trigger can and probably will give you the game, in an attempt to survive until the next turn.
But, nobody ever said this is the best timing for an all-in.
Another good timing to throw an All-In is when the opponent still has very few cards, as they didnt have enough time to build up their army with Twin Drive: In the very early game.
If you went first, you will ideally reach grade 3 earlier, giving you one attack with grade 3 against a grade 2.
Grade 2s tend to be weaker and easier to hit, and hence harder to guard.
Additionally, the opponent, at this stage, will only have 9 Cards total... Of which 1 was used to ride to grade 1, and the other used to grade 2...
Thats 7 Cards to guard against a full force attack, if they did not call anything to attack you with.
Although the opponent will have at most 2 damage at this state, so they can ideally just take damage from every attack you throw at them.
But if you are playing a high critical deck, a multi stand deck, or a special call deck like Palemoon or Spike Brothers, which can throw at most 6-7 attacks per turn...
Although the first few attacks will go through, as early game at this stage means the enemy can simply take the damage, instead of wasting a bunch of cards guarding.(This actually means you can get away with attacking with smaller units!), the later attacks, especially the ones coming from Asura Kaiser Stand, or Spike Brothers special Call, will all probally be guarded
They are forced to guard, using cards that SHOULD be in their hand, to call and attack you the next turn!
Meaning not only do you throw the enemy into a highly defensive position, unable to push out, they will have nothing to push out with as well!
I mentioned before that at that point in the game, the enemy should only have about 9 cards.
Deck balance wise, that's statistically 2 10k Guards, 1 or 2 Grade 3s(Cannot Guard), and the rest 5k Guards.
For the amount of guard available to guard, yes, they will survive...
But at what cost?
By giving up their 5k Guards, they are sacrificing powerful fighting forces in an attempt to stay alive at about 4 Damage.
Therefore, the actual aim of the early all-in is not really to try to end the game, but to force many guards from the enemy, leaving you in a much more stable state.
Just watch out for cards like Blaster Blade or Berserk Dragon on the return turn.
This is Rauzes,
And you are reading SO IMBA!, where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
Tomorrow, we talk Splitting Critical Triggers.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
High Speed Blacky
Hello, Hello, ladies and fine gentlemen.
You are reading SO IMBA!, where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
I am your host, Rauzes, and today, we discuss High Speed Blacky.
High Speed Blacky is a Spike Brother's Grade 2 Unit with 9000 Power... with a rather interesting effect...
By Soul Blasting one, it can gain 5000 power for one turn, but returns to the deck at the end of the turn...
Which can be used regardless of your Vanguard, IE: It is a card that can be splashed into any deck.
As you've probably figured out, decks that need to conserve the soul for effects such as Soul Blast, Counter Soul Blast, or Power up cannot readily use this card, because they dont want to sacrifice the cards in your soul...
But what about decks such as Nova Grapplers, or 0 Soul Oracle Think Tank?
These such decks dont really utilize Soul quite as much, do they?
Whenever you ride, do you notice that for the most part, those cards will never come back?
Thats right. Effectively, every card that goes to the soul... is gone...
Its only matters how many cards are in the soul, not particularly what is there.
Thats where cards like Alfred Early and cards that can call cards from the soul(Pale Moon) really shine, because they make cards in the Soul matter.
Although High Speed Blacky's soul blast will cause you to lose not only one card on the field, but a card that can also be used for INTERCEPT, an ability that gives a bit more worth to Grade 2s on the Field.
However, when attacking as a rear guard, it becomes a 14000Power unit by itself, at next to zero cost.
In pushing in that last damage, along with boost, it becomes a unit that can easily break the 21000 Line, forcing additional guarding from the opponent, securing your win.
So, next time you're building your deck, think for a moment how your deck is utilizing Soul...
and if its not using it at all, take a moment to consider High Speed Blacky.
If your deck really has no need to be fully one clan, consider sticking in two or three High Speed Blacky, as it might just pay out.
Thats all for today.
This is Rauzes, signing out.
See you tommorow, right here on So Imba.
You are reading SO IMBA!, where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
I am your host, Rauzes, and today, we discuss High Speed Blacky.
High Speed Blacky is a Spike Brother's Grade 2 Unit with 9000 Power... with a rather interesting effect...
By Soul Blasting one, it can gain 5000 power for one turn, but returns to the deck at the end of the turn...
Which can be used regardless of your Vanguard, IE: It is a card that can be splashed into any deck.
As you've probably figured out, decks that need to conserve the soul for effects such as Soul Blast, Counter Soul Blast, or Power up cannot readily use this card, because they dont want to sacrifice the cards in your soul...
But what about decks such as Nova Grapplers, or 0 Soul Oracle Think Tank?
These such decks dont really utilize Soul quite as much, do they?
Whenever you ride, do you notice that for the most part, those cards will never come back?
Thats right. Effectively, every card that goes to the soul... is gone...
Its only matters how many cards are in the soul, not particularly what is there.
Thats where cards like Alfred Early and cards that can call cards from the soul(Pale Moon) really shine, because they make cards in the Soul matter.
Although High Speed Blacky's soul blast will cause you to lose not only one card on the field, but a card that can also be used for INTERCEPT, an ability that gives a bit more worth to Grade 2s on the Field.
However, when attacking as a rear guard, it becomes a 14000Power unit by itself, at next to zero cost.
In pushing in that last damage, along with boost, it becomes a unit that can easily break the 21000 Line, forcing additional guarding from the opponent, securing your win.
So, next time you're building your deck, think for a moment how your deck is utilizing Soul...
and if its not using it at all, take a moment to consider High Speed Blacky.
If your deck really has no need to be fully one clan, consider sticking in two or three High Speed Blacky, as it might just pay out.
Thats all for today.
This is Rauzes, signing out.
See you tommorow, right here on So Imba.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Gigantic Charger
Hello, Hello, ladies and fine gentlemen.
You are reading SO IMBA!, where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
I am your host, Rauzes, and today, we discuss Gigantic Charger.
Gigantic Charger, while being a 9k Grade 3, a number only usually seen on the weaker Grade 3s, has an extremely unique and interesting effect...
When you call or Ride this guy, you can Special Call the top card of your deck to a Rear Guard, given its a Royal Paladin.
So... you reading this right?
If you call or ride Gigantic Charger, you get an instant +1 Card Advantage in terms of fighting force on your field!
However, you have to consider... what might Gigantic Charger call?
In order to gain advantage, when you call Gigantic Charger, you ideally have 1 Side Guard and 1 Rear Guard circle open, because in any situation, its effect will be able to call an ally... somewhere.
In this ideal situation, if its effect hits a grade 0 or 1, you can call it to a back guard, and if it hits a grade 2 or 3, Left/Right guard.
However, if you think about it, if you only have 1 side guard circle open, like in late game stages, keep in mind that Gigantic Charger's effect is compulsory.
This means that while it can give you instant advantage, in the end game stage, its skill might not be the most advantageous of them all...
Because the Charger is only 9000, with no Shield or Intercept, even if the opponent leaves him on the field, his uses are highly limited.
Any 9000 Vanilla Grade 3 is completely bested by a Grade 2, Vanilla or not.
Therefore, when you call Gigantic Charger, and your deck top is actually a grade 2, you can call it to the side guard.
More importantly, to directly on top of Gigantic Charger.
Even if you call Grade 2 Gallahad or something, having intercept alone proves advantageous, and has its uses.
If you Call him when you have no open rear guard circles, you can always stick the new unit on top of an old one, retiring the old unit.
Thats all for today.
This is Rauzes, signing out.
See you tommorow, right here on So Imba.
You are reading SO IMBA!, where we learn how to be a better card fighter.
I am your host, Rauzes, and today, we discuss Gigantic Charger.
Gigantic Charger, while being a 9k Grade 3, a number only usually seen on the weaker Grade 3s, has an extremely unique and interesting effect...
When you call or Ride this guy, you can Special Call the top card of your deck to a Rear Guard, given its a Royal Paladin.
So... you reading this right?
If you call or ride Gigantic Charger, you get an instant +1 Card Advantage in terms of fighting force on your field!
However, you have to consider... what might Gigantic Charger call?
In order to gain advantage, when you call Gigantic Charger, you ideally have 1 Side Guard and 1 Rear Guard circle open, because in any situation, its effect will be able to call an ally... somewhere.
In this ideal situation, if its effect hits a grade 0 or 1, you can call it to a back guard, and if it hits a grade 2 or 3, Left/Right guard.
However, if you think about it, if you only have 1 side guard circle open, like in late game stages, keep in mind that Gigantic Charger's effect is compulsory.
This means that while it can give you instant advantage, in the end game stage, its skill might not be the most advantageous of them all...
Because the Charger is only 9000, with no Shield or Intercept, even if the opponent leaves him on the field, his uses are highly limited.
Any 9000 Vanilla Grade 3 is completely bested by a Grade 2, Vanilla or not.
Therefore, when you call Gigantic Charger, and your deck top is actually a grade 2, you can call it to the side guard.
More importantly, to directly on top of Gigantic Charger.
Even if you call Grade 2 Gallahad or something, having intercept alone proves advantageous, and has its uses.
If you Call him when you have no open rear guard circles, you can always stick the new unit on top of an old one, retiring the old unit.
Thats all for today.
This is Rauzes, signing out.
See you tommorow, right here on So Imba.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
One Use Boost
Hello, Hello everybody, and welcome to SO IMBA!
Where we learn how to be a better card fighter!
I am Rauzes, and today we discuss One Shot Boosters.
One shot boosters come in two flavors:
Either they are Stand triggers that boost 6k for once, before returning to the deck,
Or they are HEAL Triggers that boost for 6k for once, before returning to the deck at the end of the turn.
At this point in time, there are two triggers that do this: Battleriser, and Lozenge/Sphere Magus.
So you might be thinking: "But, Lozenge Magus and Sphere Magus are two different cards..."
No they are not.
They have the same damn effect, and you can only put a total of 4 in your deck. Do the math.
Today's discussion is about the usage of these guys, and more importantly, the timing.
Too often, I see players Ride to grade 1, Call them to rear guard...
And attack with Boost.
No.
Do NOT.
Both Stand and Heal triggers are Mid to Late game triggers, which really throw the enemy and game one way or another(as triggers are supposed to).
But, when you have 0 Damage, and 0 other Rear Guards, both of these triggers mean next to nothing...
So, why are you so intent to send them back to the deck?
Unlike Tachikaze's Critical or Dark Irregular's Stand triggers, these return to the deck regardless of the hit.
With the aforementioned two triggers, they're easier to send back in the early game, which is why you try to do so.
However, if you look carefully at Lozenge/Sphere/Battleriser, it sends itself back...
-1 Card Advantage.
Yeah, your triggers went back to the deck, but you could have done that any time, no?
The trick to using these one shot boosts is:
Making the enemy guard with at least 1 card, so the card advantage balances out.
For this to happen, the enemy must have about 4 to 5 damage, and want to guard your attacks.
Thus, you can use these one shot boosts to their full potential.
Additionally, since heal and stand triggers are more effective in the late game, by sending them back then, you reduce the rate of you getting these triggers earlier, whilst not having the conditions to make full use of them.
That's all for today, everyone.
You're reading SO IMBA!, where we learn to be a better card fighter.
This is Rauzes, signing out.
Where we learn how to be a better card fighter!
I am Rauzes, and today we discuss One Shot Boosters.
One shot boosters come in two flavors:
Either they are Stand triggers that boost 6k for once, before returning to the deck,
Or they are HEAL Triggers that boost for 6k for once, before returning to the deck at the end of the turn.
At this point in time, there are two triggers that do this: Battleriser, and Lozenge/Sphere Magus.
So you might be thinking: "But, Lozenge Magus and Sphere Magus are two different cards..."
No they are not.
They have the same damn effect, and you can only put a total of 4 in your deck. Do the math.
Today's discussion is about the usage of these guys, and more importantly, the timing.
Too often, I see players Ride to grade 1, Call them to rear guard...
And attack with Boost.
No.
Do NOT.
Both Stand and Heal triggers are Mid to Late game triggers, which really throw the enemy and game one way or another(as triggers are supposed to).
But, when you have 0 Damage, and 0 other Rear Guards, both of these triggers mean next to nothing...
So, why are you so intent to send them back to the deck?
Unlike Tachikaze's Critical or Dark Irregular's Stand triggers, these return to the deck regardless of the hit.
With the aforementioned two triggers, they're easier to send back in the early game, which is why you try to do so.
However, if you look carefully at Lozenge/Sphere/Battleriser, it sends itself back...
-1 Card Advantage.
Yeah, your triggers went back to the deck, but you could have done that any time, no?
The trick to using these one shot boosts is:
Making the enemy guard with at least 1 card, so the card advantage balances out.
For this to happen, the enemy must have about 4 to 5 damage, and want to guard your attacks.
Thus, you can use these one shot boosts to their full potential.
Additionally, since heal and stand triggers are more effective in the late game, by sending them back then, you reduce the rate of you getting these triggers earlier, whilst not having the conditions to make full use of them.
That's all for today, everyone.
You're reading SO IMBA!, where we learn to be a better card fighter.
This is Rauzes, signing out.
Attack! Rear Guard!
Hello, Hello everybody, and welcome back to So IMBA!
Where we learn to be a better card fighter.
I am your host, Rauzes.
So, you're wondering whether to attack Rear guards, or the Vanguard...
It is a hard question, and most of the time, most people would gun down the enemy's Vanguard as soon as possible.
However, to be in control of the game as much as possible and have maximum advantage, it is important to home down on the enemy's rear guards as well.
The main reason is that if the hit gets through, the enemy will LOSE one card, as opposed to no card advantage lost for the Vanguard.
So, when should you attack Rear guards? When can you force advantage?
Lets take a look at numbers:
If you attack with a 10k guard against a Rear Guard, they will either have to lose: A 10k Shield, 2 5k Shields, or let the unit die, one card(if grade 2, a 5k Shield).
Obviously, when they have a ton of hand, they will be more willing to let their Rear Guards die, leaving your attack... kinda meaningless, especially because they have replacements.
However!
If the enemy does NOT have a replacement, especially if you use Blaster Blade/Other target killing units before, the opponent will be more willing and desperate to protect the rear guards, because they need them to attack you on the next turn.
One of the easiest ways to see if they have no substitute for their Grade 2/3 Rear Guard is if they guard, at all, especially over 5k guard.
Remember, especially the 5k Guard.
Even if the enemy has a large hand, it does not necessarily mean they have the best balance of hand.
For all you know, they could all be grade 0s and 1s, unable to pack much of a threat.
For extra pressure to apply, try using cards that have effects that trigger when you HIT(not hit Vanguard), so the opponent has less reason to let your attacks through.
When the opponent has very little cards in hand, for instance after he called many to Rear Guard, its the best time to attack them down, as theres less things around to guard.
Therefore, if the opponent tries to all in, or plays out more than 3 cards in one turn, try to aim down their Rear Guards, as its highly unlikely they have more in their hand, or any guardians to call.
Thats all for today.
/Rauzes
Where we learn to be a better card fighter.
I am your host, Rauzes.
So, you're wondering whether to attack Rear guards, or the Vanguard...
It is a hard question, and most of the time, most people would gun down the enemy's Vanguard as soon as possible.
However, to be in control of the game as much as possible and have maximum advantage, it is important to home down on the enemy's rear guards as well.
The main reason is that if the hit gets through, the enemy will LOSE one card, as opposed to no card advantage lost for the Vanguard.
So, when should you attack Rear guards? When can you force advantage?
Lets take a look at numbers:
If you attack with a 10k guard against a Rear Guard, they will either have to lose: A 10k Shield, 2 5k Shields, or let the unit die, one card(if grade 2, a 5k Shield).
Obviously, when they have a ton of hand, they will be more willing to let their Rear Guards die, leaving your attack... kinda meaningless, especially because they have replacements.
However!
If the enemy does NOT have a replacement, especially if you use Blaster Blade/Other target killing units before, the opponent will be more willing and desperate to protect the rear guards, because they need them to attack you on the next turn.
One of the easiest ways to see if they have no substitute for their Grade 2/3 Rear Guard is if they guard, at all, especially over 5k guard.
Remember, especially the 5k Guard.
Even if the enemy has a large hand, it does not necessarily mean they have the best balance of hand.
For all you know, they could all be grade 0s and 1s, unable to pack much of a threat.
For extra pressure to apply, try using cards that have effects that trigger when you HIT(not hit Vanguard), so the opponent has less reason to let your attacks through.
When the opponent has very little cards in hand, for instance after he called many to Rear Guard, its the best time to attack them down, as theres less things around to guard.
Therefore, if the opponent tries to all in, or plays out more than 3 cards in one turn, try to aim down their Rear Guards, as its highly unlikely they have more in their hand, or any guardians to call.
Thats all for today.
/Rauzes
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Mulligan.
Hello and hello everybody, and Welcome to So Imba!
Where we learn to be a better card fighter.
Today's topic is the Mulligan, or as we all know, the exchange of draws at the beginning of the game.
So, as you know, the game allows you to change any number of cards at the beginning of the game, and your objective is to mainly send back all the triggers, and try to get grades 1, 2, and 3.
But there is much, much more to the mulligan than this.Yes, you should return all your triggers to the deck because... well, them being in the deck is where you want them to be.
But what about taking mulligans to a higher level?
Which cards should you return, and which cards should you try to amass?
The secret lies in whether you are going first, or second.
So lets take a look at the differences between first and second turn:
First turn: While you can not attack, you can ride first. Also, when going first, you can "Ride Accident" ONCE during the game, without being that... THAT much of an disadvantage.
Second turn: While you CAN attack and get your first drive check, you can NOT afford to have a "ride accident", because you are already getting to grade 3... with Twin Drive, slower...
So lets tackle the concepts shall we?
If you are going first, the objective of the mulligan is to get grade 1 and 2, but specifically, you want more grade 2s, and your Grade 1 8k power.
The reason you want to get your grade 1 8k guy ASAP is simple: Defense.
Because you cannot attack on the first turn, if you ride Maron, Bahr, and Friends, the opponent will NOT be able to attack you with much, unless they call units to provide boost...
Which is a bad idea, because on the next turn, their valuable(especially in early game) boosts are wide open for attack.
On top of this, if the enemy does NOT ride an 8k attacker, they have to boost themselves to try to damage you.
Then, when your first attack rolls around, you get the chance to ride to Grade 2, and call your grade 2 allies.
Most of the grade 2s have at least 8000 power.
If they dont... WHY ARE YOU USING THEM!?(yeah. Really. Why?)
Therefore, if on the second turn, if they ride/call 8k power units, you can easily attack them to take down them or their rear guards.
For example, if you special ride G2 Gallahad, then call 1 Gordon, and 1 Gallatin, all of these can attack, and damage the enemy's units with no problem, with no boost, hopefully garnering you advantage as you take down their rear guards.
Conclusion for going first:
Get one grade 1 8k power, and at least 2 grade 2 units.
Going second:
Unlike going first, you can attack on your first turn.
Once you ride to grade 1, you can call grade 1s and grade 0s to fight for you, hopefully pushing some damage, at least two, or maybe 3.
To do so, you will want to amass a large number of grade 1s, especially the 8k attackers.
The reason you will want to pump out 3 grade 1s to attack on your first turn is so that you can start racking up damage quickly, while you can move the rear guard grade 1s to the backrow, to use as boosts the next turn onwards.
This also means you will want to protect your rear guards for the next turn, so be ready to throw at least 1 unit as guard, preferably a grade 0.
Thus, when going second, you ideal starting hand will have at least:
0-1 Grade 0 10k shield, 2-3 Grade 1s, 1 Grade 2s.
And the objective of your first turn is to be agressive and push for damage.
Now that we've reviewed the more deeper tactics of mulligan, lets take an even deeper look.
Most players will simply aim to have 1 grade 1, 1 grade 2, and 1 grade 3.
But what most people dont see is that...
While getting a grade 1 to kick start the game is very important, you have 2 draw phases and 2 drive checks to get Grade 2, and 3 of each for Grade 3(assuming youre going second),
And so, the actual importance of getting a Grade 3 in your opening hand is NOT quite as important as you may think so.
But grade 1s and grade 2s are very important to start the game off with.
Thats all for today
/Rauzes
Invisible Triggers
Hello and hello everybody, and Welcome to So Imba!
Where we learn to be a better card fighter.
To kick start our new blog, the first idea I'd like to share is for our more advanced players, the concept of Hidden Triggers.
So, as we all know, there are 4 types of Triggers:
DRAW!
HEAL!
CRITICAL!
and STAND!
Of these four triggers, each has their pros and cons, where Critical triggers are considered just barely the best, because they can throw the enemy off their calculations.
Depending on your deck, which triggers you pick to use varies.
OTTs will use more Draw, Kagerou might take up 12 critical trigger, and Nova Grapplers will want to go with at least 8 Stand.
But one thing with most decks dont change:
They have 16 triggers, and 4 different triggers.
For example, in 12 Crit Kagerou, your build would be:
4 Heal Trigger(Dragon Monk Genjho)
4 Critical Trigger(That Snake guy)
4 Critical Trigger(Embodiment of the Spear, Tahr)
4 Critical Trigger(Blue Ray Dracokid)
and what about Nova Grappler?
4 Heal Trigger(Round Girl Clara)
4 Stand Trigger(Lucky Girl/Cannon Ball)
4 Stand Trigger(Battleriser)
4 Critical Trigger(Red Lightning)
Hmm...
Noticing a trend?
Here it is: Everybody uses 4 different types of cards for triggers, and 4 of each, what we like to call 4/4/4/4.
This method of deck building is actually so common place, that most players will see the first few triggers they see, and instantly try to map out what triggers you are playing.
For example:
You attack, hit a critical trigger(Lets say, Tahr.)
They take 2 damage. On the returning turn, they attack once, which you take, opening a Blue Ray Dracokid. Then, they attack again, and THEY get a critical trigger.
The two damage you take starts with Dragon Dancer Monica, allowing you to draw, then a Dragon Monk Genjho, which gives you a heal.
So far, the opponent has seen four different triggers: Two different critical triggers, one heal, and 1 draw.
THUS, they will assume, and play accordingly to, the following triggers they assume are in your deck:
8 Critical, 4 Heal, 4 Draw.
This is where "Invisible Triggers" comes into play.
The opponent at this point is playing according to what he expects your triggers to be, and hence will start defending higher than needed at around 4 life, because of the criticals, and be more willing to stay at around 5 damage, to mitigate the usefullness of your heal triggers.
What I'm trying to say is that
If you hit a STAND trigger, lets say,
The Opponent will be COMPLETELY caught off Guard, because they did not think ahead to the possibility of more than 3 attacks in one turn.
Invisible Triggers is a concept that trys to outsmart the opponent, by packing an unorthodox number of triggers, in an attempt to throw the opponent off guard.
For example, instead of running
4/4/4/4,
Try playing in...
4/3/3/2/4
or
4/4/3/1/4
In this way, you manage to sneak in a stand trigger, with the opponent completely caught off guard when they see it.
Of course, for different decks, you may want to try different arrangements of triggers, to match your decks play style.
However, try to keep the trigger you are trying to hide at 1 or 2, because at 3 or more, the opponent will be able to pick up on it much much faster, defeating the purpose of the hidden triggers.
Do keep in mind that the rate of success may not be that high, it is a very sneaky and unpredictable way to push for more damage.
Thats all for today.
/Rauzes
STAND UP! VANGUARD!
Imagine...
A planet much like the earth we are on, the planet Cray,
The battles that spread out on this planet,
And The call that begins the fights:
STAND UP! VANGUARD!!!
Hello Hello everybody, and Welcome to So Imba!, where we learn to be a better card fighter.
I am your host of today's show, Rauzes.
Cardfight Vanguard is a very popular up and coming card game, and I myself have only started last month, when I was still in Japan.
Vanguard has proven to be very interesting, and very fast paced and fun, hence its popularity in Japan and other countries.
I'm starting this blog in hopes of finding English speaking Vanguard players from around the world, and providing them with tips, thoughts, and ideas I have about Vanguard.
Whilst some of the tips and thoughts may already be common knowledge for some of the more experienced players, I made this blog so everyone can benefit.
Therefore, not all of the ideas I share may not be entirely new, but I hope to write them in a way to best help you, as a player, develop.
And for this to happen, I also need to provide ideas and concepts that are relatively basic, for the budding player to use!
With no further ado, let's start!
STAND UP! VANGUARD!!
/Rauzes
A planet much like the earth we are on, the planet Cray,
The battles that spread out on this planet,
And The call that begins the fights:
STAND UP! VANGUARD!!!
Hello Hello everybody, and Welcome to So Imba!, where we learn to be a better card fighter.
I am your host of today's show, Rauzes.
Cardfight Vanguard is a very popular up and coming card game, and I myself have only started last month, when I was still in Japan.
Vanguard has proven to be very interesting, and very fast paced and fun, hence its popularity in Japan and other countries.
I'm starting this blog in hopes of finding English speaking Vanguard players from around the world, and providing them with tips, thoughts, and ideas I have about Vanguard.
Whilst some of the tips and thoughts may already be common knowledge for some of the more experienced players, I made this blog so everyone can benefit.
Therefore, not all of the ideas I share may not be entirely new, but I hope to write them in a way to best help you, as a player, develop.
And for this to happen, I also need to provide ideas and concepts that are relatively basic, for the budding player to use!
With no further ado, let's start!
STAND UP! VANGUARD!!
/Rauzes
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