Lesson 0: Understand Cardfight!! Vanguard's Meta
- Brampton Booster
- May 28, 2012
- Comment
Woah there! This is an archived article talking pre Set-5. If you want to look at more current stuff visit my main page.
So why should you play the meta? Actually, what is the meta? My definition of meta is players that play with a lot of ideas and studying behind their back, and the background info gives them a better advantage and take the best route when it comes to certain circumstances. This, combined with experience, creates professional players who play these games to make money.
Now, not everyone plays meta. Either they don’t care, they don’t want to or they can’t. In some games, that can really hurt. If you’ve ever played Pokémon before, a single meta pokémon (Like those who pick their battles and gives them moves that wild pokémon don’t have) can wipe clean an entire row of pokémon that have been trained by a causal player. Cardfight!! Vanguard however is designed perfectly so casual players have a chance to defeat professionals, not in the ‘omg perfect hand vs cruddy only traps yugioh’ nor the ‘why did I bother to do meta there is not difference’ but the ‘Oh yes that was close but I won, so feel crusty’. Playing the meta in Vanguard gives enough difference to show the level difference but not enough to upset a newcomer. You don’t have to become a meta player; just close this site and walk away contently.
So why play meta? For me personally, I play it because it is rewarding. It’s better to be playing someone who knows what they are doing, then someone who constantly messes up. It’s not about the win, rather the flow towards the win (whether it’s me or someone else.) It’s enjoyable because even pros can smile at their loss to an insane pull, or the tense close game that was decided by a single card.
Even if you don’t play the meta, you still need to know what Magic Numbers are: it’s only simple adding and boosts up your game by a lot.
How is Cardfight!! Vanguard Meta?
The meta of all card games comes from the vast majority of cards. Unlike most card games, nearly all cards are no better then another and so Vanguard is a very perilous scale that has an amazing team which perfects all cards. It is then the matter of mixing these cards with one another to create the difference between a good and bad deck. That is how card games should be, up to the fighter’s skill to make decks.
However, the essential difference in skill actually comes from the placement of your units. Some cards in other games are expendable: not in vanguard. You must place every card down with a purpose. Every card can be used in many ways, and you must decide which way is best to use it for. Combine that with careful prediction and plays, Vanguard is much more then meets then what it is. The developers of the game planned every card to be an overall 0 gain and therefore you need to apply everything in tandem to bring an advantage. To do that is to prepare. To prepare by creating a perfect deck. To prepare by forming your Final Turn, to prepare by counting triggers and cards, to prepare by learning the opponent’s Winning Image, to prepare by poking and prodding at the opponent’s playstyle. Most of the battle is won by good preparation and it takes a lot of time to realize it. But once you do you can play much better. That is the part of Vanguard’s meta, and everything I will talk about will improve your understanding.
Lingo
Okay, now that I’ve talked to you about why this game can be considered meta-playable, I’ll start talking in meta. As in every game, there is some lingo. The slang I most frequently use are the terms below:
GR – This means Grade
VG – This means Vanguard, the unit inside the Vanguard Circle
RG – This means Rearguard, the unit in one of the Rearguard Circles
CB – This is my short form for CounterBlast
SB – This is my short form for SoulBlast
SC – This is my short form for SoulCharge
LB – This is Limit Break!
\S/ – Shield in short form. I know, I’m lazy
1k - same as 1000. Easier to say hitting for 16k (or 16) instead of 16 thousand.
Vanilla – This is used to describe units with no effects.
Ride Chain – A set of units(Grades 0-3) in which you ride onto for effects. Most effects give an advantage such as drawing a card, with the trade off of losing abilities or power if the chain is not complete. An example of a chain is the Galahad Chain, while others are slightly ambiguous like the PBD chain. Most chains are named after the Grade 3.
Cross Ride – Riding one unit on top of another of the same grade, usually to activate some effect.
Clans
Clans are shortened to two characters, a couple with three.
RP – Royal Paladins
OTT – Oracle Think Tanks
AF – Angel Feathers
GP – Gold Paladins
SP – Shadow Paladins
KG – Kagero
NK – Narukami
TK – Tachikaze
NB – Nubatama
BT- Bermuda Triangle
GB – Granblue
MC – Mega colony
GN – Great Nature
NN – Neonectar
SB – Spike Brothers
DI – Dark Irregulars
PM – Pale Moon
MK – Murakumo
NG – Nova Grappler
DP – Dimension Police
ET – Etranger
AqF – Aqua Force
Acronyms
There are a few acronyms that I try not to use here, but if it slips by I apologize. The following list is mainly card names of key units, shortened to provide less strain on the hand.
BB – Blaster Blade. Could be also used to describe Brampton Booster (I kid)
SSD – Soul Savior Dragon
MLB – Majesty Lord blaster
DO – Dragonic Overlord
DOTE – Dragonic Overlord The End
PBD – Phantom Blaster Dragon
PBO – Phantom Blaster Overlord
DKV – Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion
SDD – Spectral Duke Dragon (Note the S and D changeup to Soul Savior Dragon)
Ezel – Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel
There are units that appear in multiple clans, likely because they have general effects and are useful in many different decks. Noticing the different clones help understand the units.
Bors clone - A unit with the ability to hit for 13k with a CounterBlast
Aermo clone - This unit switches a card in your hand with another when what it boosts hits(either vanguard of rearguard).
Beserk clone - When it’s called, you can CB2 to get rid of an opponent’s Rearguard (Mostly it’s a GR2 or lower, but Blaster Blade goes for GR2 and higher)
Starlight clone – A +2000 when it is called. More useful in some decks then others, but mostly below par.
S-Intercept - When units of this type intercepts, they gain +5000 shield. This helps because the only cards we have that guard for 10000 is triggers.
Shizuku clone/G3 searcher - A relatively new clone with the effect. While not very beneficial it is found in all of the new clans. It looks for a grade 3 among the top five cards.
Bellicosity clone/unflipper - When Bellicosity hits a vanguard, unflip damage.
Other phrases
Pressure – Whenever guard an attack, that is due to pressure. Cards with on-hit effects or more power have more pressure, and vice versa.
Trigger Phasing/Syncing/whatever-ing – I sparsely place this phrase throughout my lessons, but I don’t talk about it until Lesson 10. Strange but I order my lessons in terms of control, without needing to consider random factors and opponents play.
Crossride – Anything that, at the start of the turn, the opposing vanguard’s power is greater then 11k. This includes MLB and DOTE, but excludes Shamsiel(due to it being 12k after an attack).
Breakride – Anything that has the following stanza; AUTO LB: [Optional Cost] When a <> rides over this unit, [effect] that unit gets +POWER10000 until end of turn.
If you feel like I’m missing something or I haven’t detailed anything enough please leave a comment. I hope you enjoy learning and playing the meta!
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