これからファイトを始まる君へ

Hello everyone, and welcome to SO IMBA!,

Where we learn how to be a better card fighter.

Well, recently, around the japanese blog-o-sphere, are posts addressed to new players hoping to enter or start vanguard in the near future, titled "To the you whom will start fight from now".

It doesnt really translate well to english, but the concept is a letter to new or starting players, to jump start them into basic tactics of the game, and mistakes many new players tend to make, either in deck building or play.

拝啓,
これからファイトを始まる君へ

To: The you who is going to start Card Fights,

Welcome to the world of Vanguard.
I'm sure you have a lot of questions to ask, a lot of things you want to know about, a lot of cards that you have never seen before.
To you, its a brand new world, and the only thing we, as veterans, can do, is to guide you along your own path.

So, I'm sure you've chosen which clan has called to you already.

Wait, what? You havent? Well, lets go pick out one just for you right now!

Of all these clans, there are some that I recommend for newer players to the game.
These are for three main reasons:
1) Easy and not too expensive to put together(you want to fight ASAP, dont you?)
2) Basic and not too difficult to learn
3) Will grow with you as a player, and will still keep up with you as you grow as a player

So the clans I recommend to newer players are:
Neo Nectar
Bermuda Triangle
Nova Grappler
Tachikaze
Mega Colony
Kagerou

Yes, theres nothing wrong with playing the other clans instead, but of the clans, these are the easier to pull together and the more auto-pilot decks around.

Well, now that you've gotten your clan, how do you build your deck?

When you build your deck, you have to have some end in mind.
How do you want to win? What do you want your deck to do that nobody else can?

Choose your favorite card, and pick cards to support them.
Dont let the flashy RRR cards catch your eyes, but instead look towards the Commons and Rares, and perhaps the RR cards. These will have simpler effects, and easier to learn fighting styles

One of the most difficult parts of deck building will be the grade balance, and the problem most people encounter as new players.

As stated in the trial deck, the best balance you want to have is
17 G0s(16 triggers, 1 First Vanguard)
15 G1s(12 units, and 3 Null Guard units is usually reccomended)
10 G2s
8 G3s(try to limit your grade 3s to only two or three different units)


In card choice, dont get too held up on effects that look interesting or complex.
Vanguard is not a combo based game, and hence, simply using units with high power will be enough.
Higher power means the opponent will be unable to guard as well, and you can guard easier.

Stick to one clan!
As a beginner(and expert), one of the most important things to do is to stick to one and only one clan. It makes deck playing much easier and all your effects can go off without a hitch.


Put your deck together?

If so, lets go to a card store, and FIGHT!
If you explain youre just a beginner and dont really know the card effects, any player would be glad to help you with the effects.

Dont worry too much about winning, just about fighting.
The more experience you gain, you learn the tricks of the trade, and how to out-play other players.
If you make friends with a very experienced player, instead of fighting against them, ask him or her to help you find another player to fight against, and have him teach you your mistakes.
Fighting against them will only result you in losing a lot, and maybe disheartening yourself. It will give you an illusion that you are very weak, no matter how much you have grown, and hence you misjudge how much you know, and, more importantly, what you do NOT.
You will only gain experience and grow if you let yourself, so just open up and learn.


So when you fight, you get the chance to mulligan before the game begins.

Have a look at what I wrote about mulligans, and how this can help you out.



Tips on attacking.

First off, even if your Vanguard's attack wont hit the opponent, be sure to attack. The potential trigger gain just might let the attack land.
Also, you gain one card from the drive check, so be sure to always get this free advantage.

When attacking, the trick is to decide which unit will attack what before entering the battle phase, and try to have the total power of the attacking unit + boost equal to the opponents unit +5000. This would mean, to block the attack, they would have to throw at least 10000 Guard.
If the attack can be guarded by a 5000 Guard, attack something else that would get you more advantage.

This one trick of building power lines is the most important concept in Vanguard, and will set you apart from the true newbies.


As for whether you should attack Rear Guards of Vanguard, keep in mind this:
If you attack the Vanguard, they have 5 shots of completely ignoring the attacking power, and simply taking 1 damage.
However, if you are attacking the rear guard, they have the choice of losing that unit, or guarding.
As you can see, attacks to the Vanguard dont really gain you any card advantage until they have 5 damage.
If you want to gain card advantage, you must attack rear guards, but you cannot win by only attacking rear guards.

If you attack the Vanguard, the game will end earlier, and they can guard well.
However, if you attack rear guards, the game will end later, and they cannot guard as well.

Therefore, if you attack Rear guards, you destroy their ability in the long run to guard, whilst attacking the Vanguard will allow you to attack for the win.

As for whether you attack with Vanguard or Rear guard first, look at your trigger balance.
If your deck doesnt play any stand, just attack with your Vanguard first.
However, if you do have stand triggers, be sure to attack with your rear guards first, as they can potentially be stood by the stand trigger.


Guarding.
The trick to guarding is to budget your guarding.
In the early game, dont sacrifice card advantage to protect your life.
If you have some damage, you can activate counter blast, which will strongly benefit you.

However, in mid game, dont attacks on your vanguard get through too easily. This is when you have 3-4 damage. Be sure to guard attacks, so long as it doesnt eat up more than 20000 guard.

When you guard, you must also take into account the game system, and the chances of triggers coming up, and which trigger might come up.

Consider what would happen if Stand trigger comes up, whether critical triggers will come, whether heal triggers or draw triggers come up, and guard accordingly.
Its quite easy to determine whether the opponent runs Stand or Critical, depending if they attack with their vanguard First or Last.


Thats all for today, and hopefully this little post will help you along the way to becoming an A rank fighter.