バン二★大好き: May 2012

I've got too much free time in the office, so I thought of scripting a online clock for the blog. Well, it's finally done and it seems to be working well, I guess? Any opinion guys? Though I guess I'll expect lurkers, instead of feedbacks... =w=

On a side note, I wanna congratulate Homura for getting actual comments and more readers on our Vanguard blog (another project of mine, though I'm just the designer and scriptwriter). If you guys don't know what I'm talking about, here's the link for the blog. Go ahead and check it out, it has some really great insights of Vanguard from Homura. It might even help you out in your games. Well, if you don't know what is Vanguard, erm... perhaps what I can only do is asking you to Google up "Cardfight!! Vanguard". I don't think I'd be writing anything on there yet, since I'm much more comfortable with writing on here.

Anyway, I'm gonna stop here and get back to work or I might get screwed.

Oh, and another thing, selling off my Giraffa-based Megacolony deck, so I'm not gonna post the build anymore, unless someone requested for it. Gonna get Warlord Phantom soon, RIMITO BUREEEEEEEEEEEEKU!! Heh.

Name (Japanese)	Name (English)	Grade / Skill / Starting VG	Power / Guard / Critical	Numbers in Deck	Race	Trigger	Ability	Serial Number
シールドシード・スクワイア	Shield Seed Squire	0 / Boost / ✔	5000 / 10000 / 1	1	Bioroid	n/a	自 : When another 《Neo Nectar》 rides this unit, you may call this card to 【Ｒ】. 自【Ｒ】 : [Put this unit on top of your deck] When this unit's attack hits the opponent's Vanguard, if you have a 《Neo Nectar》 Vanguard, you may pay the cost. If you do, search your deck for up to one card named "Blade Seed Squire", call it to 【Ｒ】 in Rest, and shuffle your deck.	BT05/026 R
スイート・ハニー	Sweet Honey	0 / Boost / ✘	5000 / 10000 / 1	4	Insect	Heal	(You may only have up to 4 Heal triggers in a deck.)	BT05/052 C
ダンシング・サンフラワー	Dancing Sunflower	0 / Boost / ✘	5000 / 5000 / 1	4	Dryad	Draw	n/a	BT05/051 C
ウォータリング・エルフ	Watering Elf	0 / Boost / ✘	4000 / 5000 / 1	4	Elf	Stand	起【Ｒ】 : [move this unit to soul] choose 1 of your 《Neo Nectar》 unit, during this turn, this unit gains 3000 power.	BT05/053 C
ダンガン・マロン	Dungan Chestnut	0 / Boost / ✘	5000 / 10000 / 1	4	Dryad	Critical	n/a	BT05/050 C
カローラ・ドラゴン	Corolla Dragon	1 / Boost / ✘	8000 / 10000 / 1	4	Forest Dragon	n/a	n/a	BT05/044 C
ブレイドシード・スクワイア	Blade Seed Squire	1 / Boost / ✘	7000 / 5000 / 1	3	Bioroid	n/a	自【Ｒ】 : [Put this unit on top of your deck] When this unit's attack hits the opponent's Vanguard, if you have a 《Neo Nectar》 Vanguard, you may pay the cost. If you do, search your deck for up to one card named "Knight of Young Leaves, Gene", call it to 【Ｒ】 in Rest, and shuffle your deck.	BT05/047 C
キャラメル・ポップコーン	Caramel Popcorn	1 / Boost / ✘	7000 / 5000 / 1	3	Dryad	n/a	起【Ｖ／Ｒ】 : [Counter Blast *1] This unit gains 3000 power till end of your turn.	BT05/045 C
木漏れ日の貴婦人	Lady of Kamorebi	1 / Boost / ✘	7000 / 5000 / 1	3	Elf	n/a	起【Ｖ／Ｒ】 : [Rest this unit, choose a card from you hand and discard the chosen card] Draw a card.	BT05/046 C
メイデン・オブ・ブロッサムレイン	Maiden of Blossom Rain	1 / Boost / ✘	6000 / 5000 / 1	3	Dryad	n/a	自 : [choose a 《Neo Nectar》 from your hand, and discard it] When this unit is placed on 【Ｇ】, you may pay the cost. If you do, choose one of your 《Neo Nectar》 will not be hit till end of that battle.	BT05/011 RR
アイリスナイト	Iris Knight	2 / Intercept / ✘	10000 / 5000 / 1	4	Bioroid	n/a	n/a	BT05/024 R
グラスビーズ・ドラゴン	Glass Beads Dragon	2 / Intercept / ✘	9000 / 5000 / 1	3	Forest Dragon	n/a	自【Ｖ／Ｒ】 : [Counter Blast *2] When this unit's attack hits, if you have a 《Neo Nectar》 Vanguard, you may pay the cost. If you do, draw a card.	BT05/010 RR
ヘイヨー・パイナッポー	Hey Yo Pineapple	2 / Intercept / ✘	8000 / 5000 / 1	3	Dryad	n/a	自【Ｖ／Ｒ】 : When this unit attacks, if you have four or more 《Neo Nectar》 unit, during that battle, this unit gains 3000 power.	BT05/025 R
魁の戦乙女ローレル	Forerunner Battle Maiden, Laurel	3 / Twindrive / ✘	10000 / n/a / 1	3	Bioroid	n/a	自【Ｖ／Ｒ】 : When this unit attacks the opponent's Vanguard, if you have a 《Neo Nectar》, during that battle, this unit gains 2000 power.	BT05/021 R
メイデン・オブ・トレイリングローズ	Maiden of Trailing Rose	3 / Twindrive / ✘	11000 / n/a / 1	4	Dryad	n/a	永【Ｖ／Ｒ】 : If you have a non-《Neo Nectar》 unit on the field, this unit this unit loses 2000 power. 自【Ｖ】 : [Counter Blast *1, discard a "Maiden of Trailing Rose" your hand] When this unit's attack hits the opponent's Vanguard, you may pay the cost. If you do, look at the top 5 cards of your deck, choose up to 2 of your 《Neo Nectar》 cards,call them to seperate 【Ｒ】 and shuffle your deck.	BT05/S09 SP

Analysis:

Ah, Neo Nectar, a clan full of plants. It's a clan you grow plants, make more plants and straggle your opponent with vines before they can even prepare to defend themselves against your plants. Literally, that's what living plants do, no? Anyway, if you read any blogs on the internet, you'd already know Neo Nectar's potential and how good the deck is. For those who don't, Neo Nectar is indeed a very good clan. In fact, if you're a beginner, I'd really recommend you to try out this clan. The mechanics for is simple, annoy the shit out of your opponents with your units' skills and practically hit and guard for the rest of your match. Sounds boring? It may be after some time, but it's still a fun clan that's worth to invest in.

My friend, QHong managed to use my deck to achieve top 4 in the "National" (unofficial) Tournament in Malaysia awhile ago (yes, I regret on not using my Neo Nectar deck). That pretty much indicates how strong it is, and the potential to fight against meta clans that players regard nowadays.

Alright, let's now dissect my deck, shall we?

The deck starts off with Shield Seed Squire, the best startup Vanguard Neo Nectar currently has. Why is Shield Seed Squire the best startup Vanguard for Neo Nectar? The reason is simple, his awesome skills. Shield Seed Squire's first skill basically gives you a free booster. In fact, having a 5k booster is decent. Since my deck's playing methods are based on "Trolling" Rose (Maiden of Trailing Rose), it's more likely I'd have her standing as my Vanguard. With Shield Seed Squire standing behind Trailing Rose, her power boosted by Shield Seed Squire will become 16k, which is the minimum requirement to fight against 11k Vanguards, forcing them to guard with a minimum 15k guard to make it two triggers pass. Of course, that's depending on your opponent's deck.

Shield Seed Squire's second skill is a pretty cool skill which may annoy your opponent. Some players might say, "5k power? What am I gonna hit with this?". Heard of 1st and 2nd turn rush? No matter if you're starting first or later, the best standing Vanguard your opponent could offer, will be always 8k. If he/she has a 7k standing Vanguard, it'll be a better scenario. Since the deck is a deck with tons of booster, I won't be surprise in getting two or three Grade 1's on my hand. Now, here's the fun part. Ride a 7-8k Grade 1 onto Shield Seed Squire, superior call him to your current Vanguard's side. Call another 7-8k Grade 1 behind Shield Seed Squire. Can you imagine this? Start the attack with Shield Seed Squire, this will force your opponent to guard with 5-10k to avoid you from superior calling Blade Seed Squire. If your opponent doesn't guard, you're able to superior call Blade Seed Squire, and Shield Seed Squire will go back to your deck, allowing to have an extra 10k guard, if you manage to draw him. See? It's a win-win situation! You either reduce your opponent's hand cards, or call an extra booster to prepare yourself for the later turns. Shield Seed Squire's skills are pretty awesome, eh? Just wait till we get to the rest of the cards.

Now, onto the triggers. I guess I can't really say much about the triggers, since the triggers now available for Neo Nectar are balanced triggers, basically Heal, Stand, Critical and Draw. It's worth to note though, that Watering Elf, which is the Stand trigger for Neo Nectar does have a skill among all triggers. In my opinion, it's actually a decent skill, worth to use, if you could utilize it to finish off your opponents. That always depends on situation though.

Next, we have the Grade 1's lining up. Firstly, we have Corolla Dragon, the 8k vanilla for Neo Nectar. Nothing much to say, except it's really recommended to have 4 of Corolla Dragon in your deck. Secondly, Blade Seed Squire, the evolution of Shield Seed Squire. Unfortunately, there's nothing much he could offer in this stage, since I'm not a fan of his later evolutions the Grade 2, Knight of Young Leaves, Gene and Grade 3, Knight of Harvest, Gene. However, he is a pretty decent booster unit to be used around.

Thirdly, Caramel Popcorn. As embarrassed as she is, she is actually a pretty good unit to have around. Neo Nectar doesn't really use much of the Counter Blast, unlike clans such as Shadow Paladin, Kagero, Megacolony, etc. This is where she comes in, extra 1k power per Counter Blast. Sounds wasting, eh? But, with the correct timing, this will actually make your opponent frown with annoyance. Besides, she's the only unit that can provide boost more than 8k. Combined with Laurel (Forerunner Battle Maiden, Laurel), she could be a devastating force to be reckon with. With the correct amount and timing, you could actually shout out "FINAL TURN!". For instance, you have Laurel standing in front of Caramel Popcorn, and your opponent has a 11k Vanguard standing with 3-5 hand cards and he/she has taken 5 damages. Counter Blast *2, Ms. Popcorn has an extra 2k power added, which pretty much makes her a 9k booster. Now, Laurel's ability (check top) activates, which makes her pumped up to 12k, boosted by Caramel Popcorn, totaling up the power to 21k. With this, your opponent will be forced to guard with 15k guard, pretty much an effective way to burn up his/her hand cards. This will probably throw your opponent into a state of agony, even if he/she manage to survive after this, since he/she will probably have no hand cards and if he/she doesn't finish you off next turn, he/she will lose.

Fourthly, Lady of Kamorebi. Before saying she's an old woman, I gotta say, she a pretty good unit to have around, when you can't get the cards you want. Rest her, throw a card from your hand, and draw a card. Simple as that, you'd be filtering your deck, at the same time, a second chance in trying to get the card you much need, though sometimes it's still up to your luck, you unlucky bastard. Heh... Fifthly, Maiden of Blossom Rain, well, our lovely null guard for Neo Nectar. I guess there's nothing much to say about her, except for the amount of her in my deck. Why just 3? As I've always said it, having 3 is just having more than enough. It's good to have a card that could nullify attacks, but having too much of it will just drag you down. I guess quoting a friend of mine will best suit my remarks:

"Think of Null Guards as a heavy and sturdy shield.
Although it will be able to protect you from many things, it is heavy and won't come into play until late game, where higher power matters."

-Rauzes

Let's move on to Grade 2's. Firstly, the 10k vanilla for Neo Nectar, introducing Iris Knight. Nothing much to say, except just like Corolla Dragon, I think it should be compulsory to have 4 of him in the deck since he provides the most consistent power output among Grade 2's. Secondly, the weird looking Glass Beads Dragon. At the cost of 2 Counter Blasts, you are able to draw a card. A decent unit to have around since Neo Nectar uses not many of the Counter Blast. So, it sounds good to be able to draw a card after causing a damage to your opponent or lay waste to one of your opponent's Rearguard. In addition, Glass Beads Dragon's drawing card ability is something that most players are having trouble with. Guarding Glass Beads Dragon means reducing one's own hand card, while not guarding the opponent will be able to draw a card. So, feel free to annoy your opponent with it - to guard or not to guard?

Thirdly, going HEY! YO! with Hey Yo Pineapple. He does look kinda ridiculous, if you'd ask me. But, his ability makes him deadly. As long there's 4 Neo Nectar units on the stage, he becomes a 11k power pineapple. No, seriously. Even without boosters, you could just easily hurl him onto your opponent's 11k Vanguard. Try hurling a pineapple onto opponent, that hurts...

Finally, Grade 3's. We have Forerunner Battle Maiden, Laurel, the card that made Dragon Executioner looked like a cheap bastard (I know you guys out there paid that much for DE, hah...). But, seriously, for a relatively cheap card, she has the same skill as DE, making her very effective in harassing Vanguard of any amount of power. Sounds fun, eh?

And now, the ace of the deck, Maiden of Trailing Rose or most might prefer to call "Trolling" Rose. Wonder why? Let's take a look at her first skill. Nothing much it seems. The second skill is where the fun part comes in. Her second skill allows you to check the top 5 cards and superior call up to 2 of the cards of the Neo Nectar clan to two different Rearguard Circle, and you could even replace the existing units to accommodate the newly superior called units. And what's the cost for these? 1* Counter Blast and of discarding a Maiden of Trailing Rose from your hand (basically "Persona Blast") if the attack goes through. HOLY SHIT! 1* COUNTER BLAST? Yep. At the cost of 1* Counter Blast, you get to annoy your opponent by calling out more units (growing out more plants, lol). Basically, Maiden of Trailing Rose has one of the cheapest and most efficient cost to activate such impressive skill. This pretty much makes her one of the best Persona Blast-ing units out there, rivaling Kagero's Dragonic Overlord The End and Nova Grappler's Azure Dragon. Let's not forget, Ms. Trolling Rose here is a 11k unit by default, which makes her much more awesome.

After all these elaboration, I guess you guys will be still wondering about the grading structure of this deck. 17-16-10-7? Well, apparently, it's the standard grading structure for the Japanese players over at Japan. Why shouldn't I try it out? I've played it, my friends tried it out, and it shows good results. My friend's success at the "National" (unofficial) Tourney in Malaysia is a prove of it. Basically, the deck won't run out of boosters, and won't lose out against decks that focuses on retiring opponents' units. There are tons of advantage in having more Grade 1's, but it's really up to your own choice.

In my opinion, this is a pretty fun deck, a really offensive deck. The deck is able to shift from either rushing or controlling playing style, depending on how you play it and the situation. You grow plants and the plants keep reproducing, till your opponents can't contain them. That's the primary play style and my opinion, the rest it's up to you guys to debate.

If you have any questions, feel free to post it on the comment box below, I'll try to answer all your questions. And that's all for now, see ya next time!