For those looking for a change of pace, a new game you may or may not have heard of has come to light, giving those hope for something fun, exciting, and NOT Yu-Gi-Oh! Its called Cardfight Vanguard, and it's already got a huge following over in Asian countries, and even a following in North America, and this article will be an introduction of sorts to get people acquainted with this amazing game.
First of all, Cardfight Vanguard, like Yu-Gi-Oh, is based of an Anime (and a MUCH more entertaining one at that), where the main characters play their favorite card game, but instead of trying to save the world with mystical powers, they do the things we card players do all the time! They playtest, prepare for Regionals, and even Nationals, and strive to be the best Vanguard Fighters possible! With that being said, I found it much more entertaining watching an Anime which I see things I can relate to myself. It's exciting watching people work their way up to the finals of Nationals!
Not only that, something I found extremely interesting, is that the Anime itself explains how to play in the first couple episodes. I had a firm grasp of how to play the game after watching, and not only that, the show goes even further to explain WHY certain plays are good, bad, and points out misplays (Which gave me a chuckle). It's not like where when we were all 12 years old back in the day and thought we could just Summon Blue-Eyes White Dragons whenever we wanted and all that. This story takes place a little further in the future—There are now billions of card game players in the world, to an extent where card games have become a necessity, a part of our lives. Sounds like a TCG players dream right? The game itself takes place on the Planet Cray. It is a place similar to our own planet, but unlike planet Earth, Gods and Demons, Dragons and other mythical creatures still roam the land. It is also a world where both Magic and Science have advanced hand in hand. Countries with advances in different fields and cultures rule over different parts of the planet Cray.
To make things fun and easy for everyone, I'm going to link you to the Official Cardfight Vanguard Facebook. Here you can click on "Beginners Guide" and wait for the flash tutorial game to load, and this will explain the basics of the game for you much easier and better then I could! You know what they say, you can learn easier by doing.
Now that you have hopefully taken the tutorial, I'm going to explain a bit more about certain card types.
Next up, we have paying cost for effects. In Vanguard, there are three main kinds of cost for effects.
- Counterblast "X": Counterblast is to take "X" amount of your face-up Damage, and flip them face-down.
Example: Counterblast 2: Choose an opponents Rear Guard and send it to the Drop Zone.
- Soulcharge "X": Soulcharging is to take the top "X" cards of your deck, and place them under your Vanguard. Cards under your Vanguard are called "The Soul".
Example: Soulcharge 1: Look at the top card of your Deck and place it at the top or bottom.
- Soulblast "X": Soulblasting takes "X" amount of cards that are in your "Soul" and sends them to the Drop Zone.
Example: Soulblast 5: Draw five cards.
That just about covers the basics of the game. It may seem confusing at first, but if you either watch the Anime, or try the game yourself preferably, you'll understand how simple it really is. Currently, the first set and 2 Starter Decks are out. Next month, the 2nd set will be released along with 2 new Starter Decks. Japan is currently on their 5th set, but something amazing is that Bushiroad (the minds behind Vanguard) will be releasing Set 6 simultaneously in Asia AND North America. This means that we will have Sets 1, 2, and 6. They are doing this so that we can eventually be caught up to them, and we will have the same cards at the same time! It's something Yu-Gi-Oh has never done, so I think that's pretty exciting that Bushiroad is trying to make it so we can always have the cards that Japan and other countries have available.
Finally, if your interested in trying out this new game, Alter Reality it for you! Singles, Starters, and Boxes. From what I've heard though, they've been selling out pretty fast, and are already taking pre-orders for the 2nd set, so get at them while you can!
Thanks for reading! Hopefully I've peaked your interest. Please, leave your comments and questions below, I'll be happy to try and help anyone concerning Cardfight Vangaurd! And since most of you are Yu-Gi-Oh players, see you at YCS Atlanta this weekend!
LMJeffJones
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