Hello, on the weekend of October 3rd I placed top 4 in one of the largest Vanguard events since the COVID 19 Pandemic. We had 43 Players in Saturday's main event, 6 rounds before cut to top 8.
My brothers, Ryan and Robert, our friend Derek and I drove up Friday night after I finished a long day of work. We stayed at our friend Frankie's house and arrived at around 10:30pm. His parents were very kind and we were accommodated perfectly. The 5 of us practiced for a couple hours before going to sleep for what was to be a long tournament day.
We woke up at 7:30am to get ready, had breakfast, and hit the road. It was only a 30 minute drive from his house to the event location so it was not too bad. Upon arriving, we got in some more practice, wrote our decklists, and did a bit of trading.
In terms of the deck of choice, I chose to take Majesty Lord Blaster who was just released that weekend. Majesty Lord Blaster, MLB for short, was my favorite card in the old game as it was the stepping stone that made me go from an awful player/deck to a great player/deck. One day I will be writing my story of Vanguard and how I came to play the game, but long story short, I always have loved everything about the unit. His art is what made me love Royal Paladins; the face that he was both dark and light at the same time, and how he was Royal's strongest card immediately left an impression on me. I was counting down the months during quarantine when I would finally have this card, and even did some proxying beforehand to make sure I got the build right.
Official Deck List for the Event
Above is the list I ended up using. It was based off trying to get MLB's skill as consistent as possible and having it go off every time I rode into Grade 3. Bricking kills you in Vanguard like any other card game, and I was dead-set on avoiding that. Another big draw to this deck is that it comes in a structure deck costing roughly $75. It is a very affordable deck choice.
Clearly the effect is strong, being an 18k on both turns is ridiculous. Generating Force 1 markers in multiples every turn gives you such a huge snowball power effect that most decks cannot keep up with it. Also the best part is that it works regardless of what grade your opponent is on, meaning it works if you go first! This is something that my Gancelot deck would be sorely lacking. It should be noted this card also works on Rear Guard for the Critical, making it the best Rear Guard in the deck as well.
Obviously, you need these two get MLB's skill off. They are also, in my opinion, the game's best Grade 2 Vanguard rides. Both are great depending on the situation, though I tend to favor riding Blaster Dark more and did about 75% of my games played.
This card helps us ensure we have the right Blasters on the board to get MLB's skill off. It works on Vanguard and Rear guard making it a good ride as well. Also, he allows us to Soul Blast if we have no Faceup Damage meaning that if the opponent tries locking us out of counterblasts, we will still be fine. This is one of the best cards in Royal Paladin and most likely will be for many years to come. He also comes in a Trial Deck so it is very easy to get your copies of him.
These two cards are essential for the deck. The Order card does what Livarot does but also can get you your grade 3 if you do not have it. While it doesn't have any shield, you can use it to get a Grade 2 Blaster which is a 5k Shield. The art on this card is also very phenomenal and inspired me to create an art piece that is similar to this.
Trumpeter recurs your order card or any Blaster for a counter and a soul. It's essentially a +2, but also has boost. A common play would be tutoring it out with Livarot on Grade 2 to make an early 20k column, even if you don't get the recur skill. Trumpeter is very versatile and is one of my favorite cards in the deck.
Standard Searcher and Draw Power
On hit Tutor
Sicilus is very easy to get the +5k off of and he ups our chances of hitting ous our only Grade 3.
Wingal Brave is on-hit pressure and a tutor for any Blaster, working on Vanguard and Rear Guard.
Both are automatic 4 ofs in the deck.
Marron was a bit of a wild card. I needed draw power because I am losing 2 cards every turn due to MLB's skill, so I wanted more card advantage. I opted for Marron over Allen because Allen was only a one time use while Marron's effect could be replicated every turn as long as I had the resources and he was still alive. Many players replaced Marron with either Allen or Blaster Dagger/Javelin due to it being a target for Wingal and Trumpeter.
Both are automatic 4 ofs in the deck.
Marron was a bit of a wild card. I needed draw power because I am losing 2 cards every turn due to MLB's skill, so I wanted more card advantage. I opted for Marron over Allen because Allen was only a one time use while Marron's effect could be replicated every turn as long as I had the resources and he was still alive. Many players replaced Marron with either Allen or Blaster Dagger/Javelin due to it being a target for Wingal and Trumpeter.
Triggers were standard 4 Heal 8 Crit 4 Draw. You need the draw PG's for discarding the order for Trumpeter to recur. Also in this meta with Overlord, Messiah, DI, and MLB running around, the nullify is better for guarding.
So,
I was playing MLB
Ryan was playing Messiahs
Frankie was also playing MLB after seeing how powerful it was while playing against me
Robert was playing Harri
and Derek was playing Susano'o
On to the event!
Round 1: Link Joker Messiahs (W 2-0) || 1-0
I win both games very easily, the poor guy was playing Messiahs without any of the new support. The total match took about 5 minutes.
Round 2: Dark Irregulars Scharhrot (W 2-0) || 2-0
I played against my friend from Hollywood Peter. I lost game 1 due to the Number of Terror combo with Scharhrot in about 6-7 turns. Game 2 I get hit with a double crit drive check while at 3 damage, and only live due to a 6 damage heal. I ended up hitting a bunch of triggers on my defensive checks to live and win the game. Game 3 we start in time, where I win 1 damage to his 4. I got very lucky to hit that Heal, but he did as well to hit those double criticals.
Round 3: Bermuda Riviere (W 2-0) || 3-0
I did not expect to face Bermuda at all this event, but it was not as bad as the last couple events we attended at all. The Bushiroad power creep finally caught up. I won both games fairly simply due to MLB being more of a powerhouse than Riviere is, and the deck was very outclassed.
Round 4: Bermuda Riviere (L 0-2) || 3-1
I queued into another Bermuda player, my friend Jonathan Owens, and this round went the complete opposite of the last one. I had trouble hitting my Grade 3's both games, and I believe I G-Assisted four-five times during both games. I remember one game I was just stuck on Grade 2 after failing for what seemed like 3 turns, which is a quick death sentence for any deck.
At this point, they announce it will be 6 Rounds guaranteed, so I need to win at least one more to guarantee topping. We also were given an hour lunch break which was awesome, so Derek and I hit up McDonalds to bring back food for the team. We got to play Uno afterwards which I won 2 games.
At this point, they announce it will be 6 Rounds guaranteed, so I need to win at least one more to guarantee topping. We also were given an hour lunch break which was awesome, so Derek and I hit up McDonalds to bring back food for the team. We got to play Uno afterwards which I won 2 games.
Round 5: Royal Paladin MLB (W 2-0) || 4-1
What happened to me the last match happened to this opponent. He could not hit his 3 the first game and scooped. In the second game, he misplayed by trying to use Livarot to call into an occupied Rear Guard when he only calls to open. He couldn't get his Blaster Dark because of this and I won the game from that.
Round 6: Kagero Overlord the X/End (L 0-2) || 4-2
I play against Kyle Warfield who I somehow always play in the last round of swiss. He is a really good player so I enjoy when we get to fight. Playing against the X and the End is very forgettable for me but I remember he hit Headshot Dragon as the booster and Calamity Tower to give power to the X both games. Game 2 I remember him hitting a Heal trigger to live, and then I lost on the triple swinging vanguard crack back.
As the standings were coming out, my only losses were to undefeated Bermuda and 5-1 Kagero, who was in 2nd place. I figured I would be the highest 4-2 so my chances were looking good. Ryan was sitting at 5-1 with Messiahs so he was guaranteed top. Frankie went 3-3, Derek went 2-4 and Robert went 1-5.
They started calling out the placements from 8th up, and I got 8th place yet again. I was so happy just to make it, and that also meant I could get my revenger on Jonathan Owens for beating me when I knew my deck was not at its best.
Noticeably, I knew most of the top 8.
Jonathan Owens, Kyle Warfield, and Andrew Kondrick, are friends, and James Munoz is someone I love playing and testing with who I talk to every couple of days. Counting my brother Ryan, there were only 2 players I did not know in Top 8, which was pretty cool.
Standings Picture
The judge came to us and asked if we wanted to split or play it out. The catch was that the Cash prize of $250 would go to Jonathan Owens because he won first place. Selflessly, he offered to split the cash prize with the rest of us so that we can all be winners and spend the rest of the night with friends. Everyone was super happy about that, and we were all getting ready to split when ONE guy, Carlos Eligio, wanted to play it out, selfishly saying that the split would not be enough for him. The room went silent and we were in shock that a 5th seed Nightrose player would look a gift horse in the mouth and say no. He became public enemy number 1 immediately and was talked to by multiple people but refused to change his mind.
Granted, the not splitting thing did not bother me too much because I knew I had a good chance against Bermuda. I just needed not to brick!
Top 8: 1st Seed Jonathan Owens Bermuda Riviere (W 2-0)
I got my deck to go off the way it is supposed to, and was able to win both games. Hitting timely triggers and getting MLB to work both times as soon as I rode him is a death sentence. He had some difficulty with G Assist during one of the games, but he was able to hang in there until the end based off player skill and the amount of draw that Bermuda deck has; Game 1 went to deck out because he was drawing so much.
My brother got eliminated by Murakumo in Top 8, but James won his game against Kyle. Unfortunately, Andrew lost against the Granblue player in 3 games.
The judge approached the Top 4, James and I with Royals, a Murakumo and the Granblue player, and asked if we wanted to split or play. This time the Murakumo player wanted to play, probably because of his favorable matchup against Protect Granblue, so we went off to top 4.
The judge approached the Top 4, James and I with Royals, a Murakumo and the Granblue player, and asked if we wanted to split or play. This time the Murakumo player wanted to play, probably because of his favorable matchup against Protect Granblue, so we went off to top 4.
Top 4: James Munoz Royal Paladin MLB (L 1-2)
Game 1 was a brick of a game similar to my Round 4. The deck just did not want to give me the right pieces and I lost very easily. Game 2 was a back and forth, and I ended up winning. Game 3 I made James' MLB swing a 2 to pass, where he ended up hitting 2 Criticals in Anime style fashion. I recovered with a Heal, but died the following turn. It was a really fun and great top 4 match, and I am so happy and proud of him.
Top 3: Incomplete
James and I finished our round before the other table finished their game 1, so I decided to take 4th, leaving the loser of that table with 3rd, and left the event. I won 2 boxes of Silver Dust Blaze and pulled alright. Unfortunately I learned that the Granblue player won, and James and him split for 1st and 2nd. It always feels bad when selfish people get their way and are, in this case, justified.
We headed out to Buffalo Wild Wings to celebrate Ryan and I's accomplishment and headed back to Miami the next morning.
The weekend was very fun and thanks to Gathering Place Games for hosting the event.
Shout out to:
Golden Phoenix Games for sponsoring us
Team All Effects for being the best team ever
Clockspace Customs for our custom gift markers
Any questions feel free to pm me!
- Richard Garcia
- Richard Garcia
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