Hello There. I'm Augusto, a Vanguard Player from Brazil known by his online Nickname [FT] Rolfagia (Rolf to make it short). I've been playing Vanguard since the Japanese edition, not starting since March but May, when I was shown the CardGame. All the experience I got came from training, games and help of my friends around the world (Australia, Singapore, United States, Canada, England, Indonesia) and my local friend here in Brazil. These friends around the world also encouraged me to do a Vanguard Blog, where me and my friend from Australia write about stuffs we like in Vanguard (The Blog: http://www.rolfsvg.blogspot.com).

               Well... What I'll talk here is about 10 phrases that are common to hear in the CARDFIGHT!! Vanguard world, trying to explain what I got from them and giving my opinion. But first, Read these:

1. Knowledge is power, search for answers instead of believing in anything anyone tells you or that you think at first. It might lead to trouble for you later when/if you get corrected.
2. But also remember that even the wisest have their flaws, it's better to be safe than sorry.

Also, for the new players, a glossary:

So, let's go to the Phrases:

1. If you want a card to come, maximize it: Well, it's true based on math: Want a card to come you need the highest amount of that card in your deck. Like Magic the Gathering, CARDFIGHT!! Vanguard let you use four copies of the same card at your deck. If you want your Ace to come, or the Break Ride, or that specific grade 2 to ride it and enjoy his skills, the best option it to maximize.
2. If you don't use 4 Sentinel, I'll have an advantage: Well, by the first phrase (right above this one), it's true that you'll have more chances to get a Sentinel when you need it, but that also increases the chances for you to get one when you don't need. Let's say starting the game you have at least one of Each grade: Vanilla Grade 1(AKA the 8000 Attack Power Grade 1), Vanilla Grade 2 (AKA the 10000 Attack Power Grade 1), a Grade 3 and two Triggers... But after the mulligan, where you moved the triggers to the deck, you got yourself a Grade 2 and a Sentinel. Some people would Ride it, others wouldn't... Let's seek the view for the ones that would ride the Vanilla Grade 1: They have now a stronger VanGuard and a great card to be used when you don't want to get hit in their hands... But when it will be the moment? Your opponent's first attack? Probably not. It'll probably be at the Late Game, so you're in that moment where you might have no boosts (ok, here I add the "Luck factor" that you aren't able to Draw/Drive Check Grade 1 cards), that might be fatal for right numbers (against Prowling Dragon, Striken or any Grade 3 with 11000~13000 Attack Power, a non-boosted attack might not hit). For this point, what would I tell? Well... Seek your gameplay to decide, and try look how's the Metagame at the places you play and decide how many perfect guards you'll use.
   1. My experience with my place's Metagame taught me to use 3 or 4... But which one? I feel no problems or pressure with 3, but if I feel I'm prepared to move to 4.
      1. Now, let's say that Since the first deck I used I added 4 Sentinels without noticing that I could get similar results at my games with 3... With the pressure increasing, I would feel that the "higher defense power" I had got lower... And that might hit my confidence... Like "I need more shield... But from where will I get it?"
3. I'll guard early so I'll have less damage, then at the Late game I can preserve more shield: It's a simple logic: Guard the weakest attacks to take the strongest. Indeed If the single Drive check is guarded, you can take the Twin Drive Attacks for a longer time and that makes you able to hold up important shield cards, but let's face:
   1. What would I use to guard? Using triggers (save for Draw Triggers) would most of the times be an "Overguard", and if I have tons of triggers means I'll have problems at the offensive part. If my VanGuard's a Grade 1, I can't use Grade 2 to guard, so I would be reducing the number of cards that would boost my attackers, probably reducing my offensive power. If I have a Grade 2 Vanguard I can use Grade 2 cards to Guard and Intercept booster that might reduce the number of attackers at the next turn.
   2. I've a good hand and conditions to guard and I can follow my plan! Now I'll call this card and activate his skill... Wait... I don't have the damage I need for the CounterBlast! That might happen with decks with the Starter VanGuard having an Special effect, like Lizard Soldier, Conroe or Battle Sister, Eclair. Of course there are some that doesn't need (Crimson Heart, Nahas or Lozenge Magus) but they're in a specific deck (Nahas and her Superior Ride Skill) or have an extra effect (Lozenge goes back to the deck after she boost a card) or even have specific needs to be used (Deity Sealing Kid, Soh Koh). This without add the Starting cards that can't be moved from the VanGuard Circle (Stardust Trumpeter).
   3. My deck's ace have a Strong Limit Break! Then why you're guarding? Like: How you'll make pressure with a complete field of 3 Arboros Dragon, Sephirot and 3 Corolla Dragon with 2 damage?
   4. My deck focus at the bonus from my Break Ride! Similar to "c", but worse: Few are the decks that can decide that they'll do a "Superior Break Ride" (Dimension Police with Dimensional Robo, Goyusha, Narukami with Eradicator, First Thunder Dracokid  and Tachikaze's Destruction Dragon, Dark Rex) with the help of cards like Doctroid Micros. So, a Solitary Liberator, Gancelot, would only be able to unleash his Break Ride if my opponent decides to let me with 4 damage, and if I guard early it'll help him to not let me Break Ride so soon.
4. If  I have less damage than my opponent I'm in an advantage position: Just check the star of "b" and full "c" and "d" from 3. There are players that can, on purpose, let their opponent with less damage so they can't move with their own strategy, like activating Limit Breaks, Break Rides or activating Heal Triggers, where they can't recycle the used CounterBlasts. No I'm not telling that "Less damage is always worse", it's a good thing but, strategy-wise, you need to know how much damage you want to have at specific moments of the game.
5. Some Clans get more support than others: Indeed there is an unbalance at the game. for example: Megacolony got some support at BT01, BT02, BT04 (the biggest they had), EB01 and at EB03. By now, there is no more card to help them, while you have all the time more cards from Narukami, Gold Paladin, the EB that focus on Nova Grappler, Oracle Think Tank, Kagero. If I would give a shot on "why?" would be that they're the clans that people most use, so they'll get more support faster than other. Bermuda Triangle got 2 EB for their clan only and few cards from BT02, for example, because there is more players that want Bermuda than Megacolony (because they're cute Mermaids? Because of the clan's skill? Maybe both).
6. This game is unbalanced, there are decks, builds and clans much stronger than the others: Again: Something that's true. You can't try to compare, by now, Megacolony with clans like Link Joker or Aqua Force, the difference in power and support is too much. No, I'm not telling that Megacolony is a weak deck, I've a friend who knows how to use them better than anyone, just that with the new cards being used, they're getting weaker and weaker (compare Evil Armor General, Giraffa's skill or Martial Arts Mutant, Master Beetle's Limit Break with Stern Blaukluger's skill or Blue Storm Dragon, Maelstrom's Limit Break Isn't fair: Giraffa have a heavy cost to destroy 2 Grade 1 or less while Stern pays the same CounterBlast and discarts two cards for an extra attack without "Twin Drive!!", and Master Beetle spends 3 CounterBlasts to stop 2 cards from standing while Maelstrom simply need to be the 4th card attacking to get a +5000 Attack Power bonus and a strong extra skill for 1 CounterBlast if it hits).
   1. Also, try add the Anime together with the Cardgame. For example: Suzugamori Ren's Revenger deck have, like, Illusionary Revenger, Mordred Phantom and Revenger, Raging Form Dragon at the Anime, while the cardgame still have the promotional card Curse Spear Revenger, Diarmuid. Without the promotional card, Revengers have only 1 Break Ride and 1 "Ace" (ok... They have the other Shadow Paladin cards BUT not other Revenger cards, that's my point). What happened here? Easy: Using Ren from the anime would increase the popularity of such cards, even being one single build! So when you see a Revenger deck being used online, you've almost 100% you're against a Break Ride, an almost 100% that is Form + Break Ride combo.
7. CrossRides are unbalanced cards, they should never appear or only get the +2000 At their own turn: Oh a classic one here since BT05, when we saw the first CrossRides! Fighting against a 13000 Attack Power VanGuard is tough, indeed, some game plans and cards can simply DIE with this (example: It's tough to use Silent Tom against CrossRides: He hits with 16000 With Oracle Guardian, Gemini's boost, that's 5000 Shield: Only 1 Grade 1 or Grade 2. Sure you can do something yet but it's harder to unleash a great potential without triggers). The thing is: The game must keep going, not simply stop and don't improve with more skills and "RideChains". So because of the always 13000 Attack Power They should never appear, but Break Rides are completely acceptable, even if they give a great skill for some cards, like Mordred Phantom's Superior Call a card from your deck with +5000 Attack power with 1 CounterBlast or Solitary Liberator, Gancelot with his Soul Saver Dragon Skill without the SoulBast 5 cost... Even Ancient Dragon, Spinodriver when you've a field filled with cards you can Recycle like Ancient Dragon, Iguanogorg: You draw 2 cards and lost nothing! Complain about the Cardgame's Evolution without trying to see a path to continue playing is bad, if they never had CrossRides, some ideas and Skills would never come! We would end with Limit Breaks and Ultimate Breaks together With legions, because the idea of the CrossRide, in my opinion, was what gave the idea of the Break Ride... And CrossRides are an option to "Revive" some Cards too. For Example: Super Dimensional Robo, Daiyusha would be used in less proportion if wasn't for Ultimate Dimensional Robo, Great Daiyusha or Dark Dimensional Robo, "Reverse" Daiyusha. Demon World Marquis, Amon also would be not used so much if wasn't for Demon Marquis, Amon "Reverse".
8. Barcgal doesn't need to stay banned as a Starter anymore: Another classic words, normally done by new players. The reason Barcgal was banned as started (meaning: You can't use him as the Grade 0 Starting Vanguard) isn't because "Oh, he'll have soul enough for Soul Saver Dragon's SoulBlast", it was for other reasons:
   1. Consistency: At the start of the game, normal decks need a grade 1, a grade 2 and a grade 3 to ensure you'll not Misride (Tsukuyomi and Galahad decks can do Superior Rides so with luck you can have only Grade 0 cards at your hand that you might not Misride, but they're an exception). Starting cards like Fullbau, Amber Dragon, Dawn and Blaujunger Have a ridechain specific: With the right Grade 1 Ride, you can get the Grade 2 from your deck, so they sometimes doesn't need a Grade 2 at the starting hand. But Barcgal is other situation: He simply doesn't need a g2 at the hand, because most of the people WILL hit the vanguard and give the Counterblast that Future Knight, Llew need to do the Blaster Blade's Superior Ride. This changes the situation around not only the starting hand, but the whole deck: you can have less Grade 2 cards, adding more Grade 3 or Grade 1!
   2. Strength: Ok, Soul Saver Dragon's SoulBlast is one of the strong points, but not him alone: if the field's not strong, it might not be devastating as it should... but add the skill with strong cards like Toypugal and Swordsman of the Explosive Flames, Palamedes that the deck, even without Barcgal, will have a strong attack. and let's nto forget that, with a Superior called Blaster Blade from the deck, you already trigger part of the Continuous skill for Majesty Lord Blaster and you can attack with Exculpate the Blaster, that'll use the other cards in the soul with his other skills.
9. I only lost because of Triggers/Luck! No! Please no! Vanguard have the "Luck factor" influencing the game, but you can't use it always as an excuse for when you lost. few games I agree with that (as I saw a friend with 5 damage, he took a 2 critical attack and got double heal trigger at his damage check! too bad he was still cornered and next turn and lost). It's not polite to tell that when, like, you lost because he checked a double trigger, happens! What? It happened 30 out of 50 games? Again: Happens, how many times you got double triggers and won while your opponent said nothing but "Good Game"? I went once with my Tsuku-Vampyr deck and my opponent, after 15 out of 20 games, got a 6th damage heal! He had luck, but I don't tell "He only won because of those triggers" (ok he was using Gold Garmore Deck so his deck was strong, THIS is a point on why I lost, but I'll not blame the deck or triggers), I accepted this fact that "luck was on his side" (we don't have someone that "Oh I won due my bad luck"). Telling this phrase gives to your opponent the feeling that you told "You would never beat me if wasn't for that!" - And there is REALLY people that get pissed off because of that [personal experience: I had a Tag game in against a double that picked their decks to be superior to mine and my partner's decks. They had the upper hand in triggers at the start of the game (first damages: Draw Triggers, first attacks: Critical Triggers) but my partner and I moved on. With more damage: Only we could heal, and I had an OTT deck so I could recycle my Heal Triggers... And we healed 6 out of 7 times! We won the game and they blamed "We lost because of your luck" of if they needed to explain the game, was "Gamesack"... So the fact they had luck at the start of the game with their triggers was nothing, but when happens with  my partner and I we only won because of that]. When you're in a Cardfight, accept that luck is a factor and move on, but don't use it as a reason to hide that your lost because your opponent was better.
10. Vanguard is 80% (or more) based on luck: I kinda feel tired to hear this line... Seriously luck is important in Vanguard, but not 80%! if was only that, then the experience I got to read the game's flow, building my deck and field so I can win against other decks and their Limit Breaks, Break Rides and Strategies wouldn't mean anything! Because a person that started to play 5 seconds before playing with me would be like "at same level" due luck! If you're interested about this Phrase, take a look at this link from Felix Suroso, a good friend of mine: http://articles.alterealitygames.com/why-vanguard-is-not-just-about-triggers-and-luck-based/

               Well... these were the pick of 10 phrases I read most in the Vanguard world, and I tried to explain why people tell it and explain why you should or not believe in that. I'm not being "The owner of the truth" here, just wanting to pass new information.

Thanks,

Rolf.

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Rolfagia

Vanguard Cardfighter from Brazil, playing since 2011. Main deck: Dragonic Overlord the End

Rolfagia

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