Control VS Rush

Hello everyone, and welcome to SO IMBA!,

Where we learn how to be a better card fighter.

I am your host, Rauzes, and today, we will be discussing Control style versus Rush style.

Basically, in Vanguard, there are two main ways to play and aim to win: Win in the early game, or win by attrition.

Thus, from this rose the two main general playstyles of decks: Control and Rush (known in some circles as Gangbang)

In terms of deck building, by just focusing on one of these styles, you can easily build your deck well.

Of course, no single clan is purely control, nor purely rush, but they fall onto some sort of scale, where some clans are better at control and others at rush.


Basically, Rush wins by the opponent not being able to keep up guarding so many attacks with such high power, and Control wins by the opponent not being able to guard because they don't have enough cards to do so.

Although most games will end with you mixing these two play styles, its best to keep your eyes on one, and you'll realize you can win with more ease.

Lets start with Rush.

Rush styles focus on pushing in damage as soon as possible, having their attacks go over the "should guard" lines to push in damage, then following up(potentially) with high powered attacks from the Vanguard, Rear guard, and critical triggers for the win.

More or less, Rush/Gangbang styles attack all out the Vanguard, even if it is only a 5k Guard, just to keep burning cards or pushing in damage.

The "should guard" line is the concept that for optimal play.
Basically, in the early game, the amount to necessitate a guard is lower than it is in the late game.
This is for two reasons: 1: In early game, you have very few cards, and 2: You can TAKE IT WITH LIFE also, you can build up some counter blast to get your deck rolling.

For instance, on the first attack, even if the attack was a 5k Guard, you would let it through, just because that 5k Guard would better be used as a fighting unit or boost.
In the mid game, where fields are about 3-4/5 full, guard lines are about 5k to 10k, while letting through 15k Guards. At this stage, though, your 10k Guards are limited, so you still need to count and think ahead.
And in the late game, where you are at 5 damage, you guard everything for obvious reasons.

Exploiting this concept, Rush style decks would plop down their boosts early game, to push their attacks over these "should guard" lines, allowing the player to push in 4 to 5 damage in the early game.
If you played right, you can even win without your vanguards attack or rear guards attack ever clearing the 20k Line without triggers.

To put down these early game boosts, play wise, you would open with more G1s and maybe no G3, so playing this would pressure the opponent in the early game.

Deck building wise, you would want your deck to contain many higher powered boosts, such as 8ks, 9k boosts, and 7k boosts with the CB1 = 1k effect, such as Haugan, etc.
Rush style decks tend to emphasize more on swarming, deploying your units, and  making sure boost power is there than the actual quality of the rear guards, just focusing on clearing the lower power lines(15, 16k).

Examples of Rush style decks would be Gold Paladins, with their large array of superior call from top of deck for low cost effects, and Blonde Eizel's massive attacking power with his limit break.
Another example would be Garmore style Royal Paladins, with their insane ability to tutor their boost powers, and their 10 Crits(or 12, depending on how many heal they run)

I would say these are the 2 Rush styles that are more pure to the concept, since they have a variety of high attack units and share the same painful 10k Defense Vanguard problem.
That, and you dont see too many RP/GP decks that dont main 8 Criticals.

Other examples include Spike Brothers, New-style Granblue, Lawkeeper Kagerou, etc.

In Rush style decks, you have high attacking power at the cost of solid defense.

Your aim is to keep the opponent at higher damage than you, and push in for final damage before they get enough triggers to get back on their feet.

The biggest point about Rush styles is their ability to end games with Critical-in's or get you to 4-5 damage before G3.

Next up is Control style.

Control style type decks focus much more on pure card advantage, banking off the concept that an attack will go through if the enemy has zero hand to guard.

Basically, your playstyle will aim to control the game through sheer card advantage.
This means that not only does the opponent have very little hand, but you have a large hand to guard with as well.

How the deck achieves this situation is by attacking rear guards quite often, reducing their number and damage output.
Whilst in a game where you only attack the vanguard, the opponents field will be G1 boosting a G2/3, and and all their power lines well built.

However, if you constantly attack the rear guards, eventually quite a few of them will fall, faster a rate than the opponent gets them.
What this creates is a situation in which the opponent must call G0s to attack and call G1 to be boosted by G1, or the opponent will not call out units to attack.
Thus, the attack become 5k to guard, or only the vanguard attacking.

Needless to say, this means you get a sock load of advantage over the opponent in terms of your own defensive power.

In this way, you wont die easily, so feel safe sitting behind 7-8 or even more hand.
 
Keep in mind this defensive power also means defending your valuable rear guards.
Now, since rear guards tend to be smaller than the vanguard, having high enough power to constantly take out rear guards with rear guards doesnt require quite as high numbers, so you can utilize 11k units with 6-7k boosts to control well.

From this, clans that have large front row fighters but less tutor able and less powerful boost units, are more control-oriented.

Not to say that boost isnt needed. Of course it will be necessary when actually giving damage to the opponent.

One thing you must keep in mind is that if you start attacking the rear guards, the results wont set in for quite a few turns, as the opponent will easily be able to replace them.
You are trying to create a situation in which the opponent CANNOT replace the rear guards, by constantly hammering at them. Attacking them once or twice will mean the opponent definitely has something to replace it with.

Clans that are control-oriented are:
Nova Grappler(though, if you play Rush with them they are also very good), Kagerou(thanks to their increased ability to retire rear guards through effects), and Dimension Police(less retire opponents rear guards than Commander Laurel's ability giving you two twin drives per turn almost).

Kagerou is an exceptional example
For starters, they have Overlord. 11k Tank style Vanguard, who has an ability to wipe out rear guards.
They have 5 different G2 10k Units(wtf right), giving you the ability to stand gigantic at the G2 stage.(And 1 more if you count Amber, but nobody plays it.)
They have Overlord THE END, who has the ability to STAND itself and give you 2 more cards via Twin Drive
They can burn rear guards through special effects such as Kinrara and Berserk Dragon
Their units cannot clear the 20/21k line well, with only a few units being able to do so, with rather difficult/late game conditions(Minus Burning Horn)

Basically, you can play Kagerou in a way to focus purely on advantage, and be able to out-play the opponent with ease.

Less control focused examples include Narukami, Shadow Paladin, Palemoon.

The biggest point for Control styles is that If you missed a ride, for one or two turns, you can still turn it around with Control styles by slowly garnering advantage and abusing Heal triggers.

Control styles tend to go well with Stand.
Why?
Because most players can only brace for 3 attacks. Any stand trigger, although the unit stood would be weaker, would have its attack go through easier, because the opponent simply doesn't have enough cards to guard.


Now, its not that CRIT = RUSH and STND = CONTROL.
You can play a control based game with a bunch of crit, and a rush style game with a lot of stand. Theres nothing stopping you.

If you control with CRIT styles, it gives you faster card burning through guards.
For instance, if you load a critical trigger onto a RG and make it a 15k Guard, and attack the opponent when they have 4 damage, they HAVE to guard.
This situation would not happen if you played in stand instead, for instance.


Thats all for today.

Until next time, arrivederci, frog.