Official Deck Guide Archive

1. Obviously, your guide must be finished. Not necessarily perfected, but filled out every bit of it. Incomplete guides don't help anyone and will only be a waste of space.

2. Guides brought in here should really not have offensive jokes or things similar to that in them. We're not trying to call people bad for learning.

3. Spell/Grammar Check isn't required, but it's recommended so you don't look like an idiot.

4. To submit an entry, just post your decklist and guide together at once in a spoiler. Label it with the corresponding clan number and the next letter(ex. for a Retire Kagero Deck, if yours is the second one, at the top, put: IIb - Retire Kagero). If it's left untouched, it's accepted. If I delete the post, then I'll tell you what's wrong via PM. That's it.

5. For decks that use Incomplete Clans as the main focus (such as Nubatama + Kagero), they will go under the tab of the lesser clan.

6. A template for a guide should mostly follow the one used in this thread. It was the first here, and the people making these guides have been following it since.

Grade 0: 17

1 Wingal Brave
4 Alabaster Owl
4 Silent Sage, Sharon
4 Margal
4 Yggdrasil Maiden, Elaine

Grade 1: 14

4 Little Sage, Marron
4 Flash Shield, Iseult
2 Lake Maiden, Lien
2 Pongal
2 Toypugal

Grade 2: 11

3 The Avatar: Blaster Blade
4 Knight Of Silence, Gallatin
4 Hi-Dog Breeder, Akane

Grade 3: 8

3 King Of Knights, Alfred
2 Soul Savior Dragon
3 Swordsman Of Exploding Flames, Palamedes


IIb - Grade 1 Explanation

• Little Sage, Marron - The ideal Starting Vanguard and the best booster you can possibly have behind Vanguard besides one other unit. Being the 8000 Vanilla, this is obvious. The thing is however, this single booster can make insanely destructive powers that are commonly 21000. You can give 11000 Vanguards a run for their money, because this deck makes it so you can constantly swing for that much with literally no hassle. All of this makes it worth maxing.

• Flash Shield, Iseult - The world of Vanguard has evolved with the addition of Limit Break. These Limit Break units can very easily wreck your set up, or wreck your 10000 Powered Vanguards, which is very bad. To be absolutely sure you have a Null in nearly every situation, run 4. It may seem like it clogs, but it's better to have them maxed in the long run regardless.

• Toypugal - The most insane booster in the deck once you get Swordsman of Explosive Flames, Palamedes out as a rearguard. It allows you to swing with 22000 units while boosting the previously mentioned Grade 3 and Soul Saver Dragon, rivaling the ever mighty Majesty Lord Blaster. Just know that this is a dead 6000 booster until you call Palamedes since you'll never want to call your other Grade 3s, so run 2 at the most, since you can search it out.

• Pongal - This unit has the ability to search out Soul Saver Dragon by adding itself to soul, and can be Superior Called via High Dog Breeder, Akane's skill. This is absolutely amazing. Thins deck out of a Grade 3, fuels soul to actually get Holy Charging Roar off, searchable, and it's a 7000 booster to boot. Thing is though, you don't want to be running a huge amount of these, because you don't want to run too many copies of Soul Saver Dragon, since you'll only be getting it off once a game. Run 2-3, at the most. Though, this is still something nice to have, regardless.

• Lake Maiden, Lien - See those King of Knights, Alfred copies? Yeah, once you get your one, you don't need anymore. You only need one Soul Saver Dragon too unless you're forced to Ride one if you don't have another Grade 3. Once you fill up Soul Margal is kinda dead too. So having the Royal Paladin version of Nostrum Witch, Arianhod is very nice here, just to cycle through cards. With all the Grade 3s in this deck, Morikawa curse will hit you. Ditch those dead ones and get shields! Run this at two.

IIc - Grade 2 Explanation

• Blaster Blade - The Holy Swordsman of the Shining Land, the strongest Swordsman, and the Avatar of the Royal Paladins. Fits the trope of The Ace, as it should. But honestly, if you're going for a more competitive take on Royal Paladins, run no more than three of this. I actually used to max this because it was and still is my absolute favorite card. But aside from that, see that Vanguard only skill? Know that unless your opponent hits you hard with a Critical Trigger on their first attack, or they went first and swarmed you with Grade 2s, you'll most likely never use it. Though, if your opponent has a unit that's extremely dangerous on the field like Lizard Solider, Conroe or something, you can consider praying for them to top a Critical and using this. The fact that it can do this as a Rearguard, at the cost of only being able to hit Grade 2 or 3 units, makes it stronger than his Dark Counterpart: Blaster Dark by miles. This means that Blaster Blade has amazing use late game, something that Blaster Dark can never hope for. Huge beaters that have the ability to swing for 20000 like Burning Horn Dragon or S Special Intercepts like Knight of Truth, Gordon can be blown out of the water and make way for you to win the game. Though, do know that he's just a default 9000 Beater after that.

• Knight of Silence, Gallatin - He's blind. He's deaf. He has 10000 power. Makes perfect sense. Along with Swordsman of Explosive Flames, Palamedes, you're gonna love having a powerful 10000 unit out. Your lineup is incredibly destructive with the beatsticks you'll have out, and Gallatin is no different from any of them. Holy Charging Roar will easily shoot this thing over 20000, and to make matters worse for the opponent, having any booster in the deck will allow it to soar up in power and fly at the strongest of vanguards with no problem. Definitely worth maxing in every Royal Paladin deck.

• High Dog Breeder, Akane - One of the low beaters of the deck. She's got a pathetic 8000, so you'll usually want to pawn her off as an intercept to make way for Gallatin or Palamedes. Her skill is what's important. You can Superior Call from your deck: Pongal and Toypugal. Or if you're going for a fun build, even Wingal behind Blaster Blade. She searches out your second strongest booster (only because Marron is always on 8000 and there's a chance you won't draw Palamedes) and the searcher for Soul Saver Dragon. The cute redhead her plays a role in making your future plays deadly. Run 3-4. You could always max in the Royal Paladin deck that focuses on Fang of Light, Garmall and Hi-Beasts with its Blizzard Formation, but I'm not one to talk on that deck type.

IIId - Grade 3 Explanation

• King of Knights, Alfred - Authority Equals a** Kicking and The Power of Friendship taken to the extreme. The legendary king himself plays the role of your central Grade 3 of the game. 10000 Vanguards will cower in fear on your turn, because at the cost of not being able to boost this guy, the ruler of knights gets +2000 for each one of his Royal Paladin brethren out on the battlefield with him. That's a maximum of 20000 during every single one of your turns for just doing what Royal Paladins should be: swarming. That's not including Triggers or use of Margal either. Also, though a hefty cost, his Counterblast can Superior Call any Grade 2 Royal Paladin from your deck. Call forth your fellow brethren for his ultimate power up! You can even do it by having five unflipping damage, Superior Calling Akane then Superior Calling another Royal Paladin for a +2. This card is insanely good and should be ran at 3-4. With the amount of Grade 3s you're likely to run, 3 sounds best.

• Swordsman of Explosive Flames, Palamedes - Literally the best rearguard in this deck. I mean that in every sense of the word. This unit gains Power +3000 when it attacks for having two Grade 3 Royal Paladin units out, including itself. You have a default 13000 attacker the second you call this thing, which automatically lets it take a swing at one of the mighty Crossrides by itself! To make matters even more ridiculous, boosting it with Toypugal, who gains Power +3000 via its own skill once you have this, lets you smash into the opponent with 22000 power. It strikes fear even in the heart of Majesty Lord Blaster. If not, with Marron, it still smacks down all 11000 and below Vanguards. This card design is clearly absurd, but you would be a fool not to run something this good. 2-3 is the way to go with this guy. Teching just 1 is gonna be too little, and is going to hurt the usefulness of Toypugal too.

• Soul Saver Dragon - The ultimate trump card of the Royal Paladin clan, being the very Goddess who watches over them and "rocks the souls of the brave" with her Holy Charging Roar. This is one of the reasons why Barcgal was banned, if not, the main reason. She is commonly referred to as "Soul Boobs" for being a Female Dragon. Moving on, her skill is built for a near-unstoppable Final Turn or to completely burn out your opponent's hand and win on your next. Before you attempt to even think about riding this card, make absolutely certain that you have 5 Cards in your soul, including your current Vanguard. Unless you have some bad Aichi Syndrome, don't ride this. Her skill is a one-time thing. You want to save her for an explosive assault that ends your foe. Her Soul Blast gives three Royal Paladin allies +5000 Power for your entire turn. You'll naturally give it to your two Front Row rearguards and Soul Saver's booster. You can swing with three attacks ALL over 25000. That's "Victory"! With a V! This even gets +3000 Power when attacking a Vanguard just to seal the deal!


• Knight of Truth, Gordon - The S Special Intercept unit that some friends and I normally debated about in terms of usefulness. One said Royal Paladins can't generate advantage as easily, so having extra defense would be nice. Another said that S Special Intercepts just don't have as much use, being outclassed by many other cards. Whether you want the extra defense is entirely up to you, but this is a pure offensive charge of a deck. Gordon will have no place here.

• Wingal - Blaster Blade's loyal companion that turns The Ace into a 19000 beater, which can topple the 18000 barrier when facing a Crossride. Sadly, Wingal's a dead 6000 if boosting anything else. The default 7000s make better choices.

• Alfred Early - I've argued with someone about this card's usefulness, even though he only ran it at one. Honestly, the card isn't that bad. It's just extremely counterproductive in standard Royal Paladin decks. By Riding him, you can Superior Call Blaster Blade from soul, getting another Grade 2 unit out by your side and retiring a unit, all while only having used one card in your hand. Sounds great, right? Well in this deck, that's going to hurt A LOT. Blaster Blade is now out of soul, meaning that you're one less from Holy Charging Roar. This is very bad, because now you have to throw down extra resources just to set it up. Ride again, throw down another Margal or even 2 of those. You can run this as a fun tech, I guess, but never anymore than 2, if that. I'd prefer 1 or not at all and riding it only if Holy Charging Roar failed and you need anything you can use to win.

• Solitary Knight, Gancelot - Recently removed from this deck. There are reasons for this: this deck needs 4 Perfect Guards and Gancelot has little use. It can search out the Ace by placing itself back in the deck for Wingal Brave, but it isn't worth it considering what you're keeping it out for. It's a 9000 power Vanguard, which is likely to be smashed into mercilessly. You can do without the Skill, and that's one less Grade 3 you're dealing with. This should never been ran at more than 1, but in this case, you don't need it.


IIIIa - With

Your Starting Vanguard will be Wingal Brave, obviously. You have no triggers with recycle skills, so you don't have much choice. For your hand, just do what you would for any standard deck: open with one of each grade. For your Grade 3, preferably King of Knights, Alfred. If you have a single High Dog Breeder, Akane, keep it and mulligan the others as your please. You only need one to get going. Mulligan Soul Saver Dragon if you have another Grade 3 to ride. For Grade 1s, open with Little Sage, Marron or Lake Maiden, Lien if possible.

For your Grade 1, ride either Marron or Lien, depending on who went first. If you did, you'll want to go Lien and ditch a dead card in hand to draw. If your opponent did, Ride Marron. You could Ride Lien regardless if you want to keep Marron as a booster, go right ahead. Just remember that you'll be losing Lien's draw power for later. If Blaster Blade is in your hand, move Wingal Brave to the Circle behind Vanguard. If not, move it to another Column. I'm going to be explaining why in a minute. Call additional Rearguards if necessary to hit if you went second. If you got a bad hand, go ahead and ride Flash Iseult, Iseult. No point in waiting for another Grade 1 unless you went first, but even then, I strongly do not recommend waiting.

For Grade 2, ride either Blaster Blade or High Dog Breeder Akane. The latter ONLY if you have two damage. The reason for these choices is because for Blaster Blade, you're not going to need him as much as the other two, his other copies are extremely searchable, and Wingal Brave will be behind Vanguard. Akane is because she's a weak 8000 unit, so riding her when you can use her Counterblasts lets you save up on Blaster Blades later in and Gallatins. Ride Knight of Silence, Gallatin only if you really have to. Riding that 10000 hitter is going to hurt unless you already have Palamedes ready. Here, you can start calling however you please. It's best to call out Gallatin with the Vanguard and go on the offensive right off the bat. Have Gallatin get rid of the irritating rearguards when needed and know that you have a chance of ripping a Stand Trigger here, making things more fun for your round of Grade 2 attacks.

Grade 3, this is where you start your endless, brutal assaults. Ride King of Knights, Alfred. If you don't have him, Soul Saver Dragon will do until you get your second copy. Launch out whatever you can for massive powerhouses. Swordsman of Explosive Flames, Palamedes should be played immediately just for the outrageous power he can soar to. Call boosters, and if you can, one behind Alfred. If you don't have three boosters to slap down from hand do not call a booster behind Alfred. You won't need it that badly. While swarming your opponent with powerful strikes, set up five cards in soul if possible. Throw down Margal or use another Powgal, even re-ride Alfred if need be. I don't recommend the later at all because that could be used for Lien or Iseult.

Now for the finale! Ride Soul Saver Dragon when your opponent is sitting on 4 or so damage, or if they're on 3 if you're feeling ballsy enough and rock the souls of the Royal Paladin army with Holy Charging Roar! This is where your gigantic beaters: Gallatin and Palamedes, along with boosters Marron and Toypugal shine brighter than anyone else. Your offensive power will absolutely skyrocket for this turn, and you can let out an unstoppable wave of attacks that will rip the opponent a new one. Giving power to your two front row Rearguards (hopefully one is Palamedes with Toypugal behind it) and Soul Saver's booster, you can swing for at least over 23000 with every attack. Your opponent is going to have one HELL of a time stopping all of that if they're on their last leg. Expect nulls to fly at your attacking Soul Saver, but that's quite alright. Give your Trigger powers to a standing Palamedes for a massive strike with 32000 power! Or 37000 if you get lucky. Your Stand Triggers are gonna shine here too, because as I said, that power gain is for the entire turn, so you can go for at least one more attack at 20000! Even if your opponent has survived, you've wiped out a good portion of, if not, their entire hand. All you have to do is live to your next turn, and they can't stop you.

Standard Royal Paladin decks will always function like this. Massive swarming and then basically mindless aggro until Soul Saver Dragon, then it's an explosive Final Turn.

IIIIb - Against

It's not easy, fending off the Royal Knights of the United Sanctuary. But it is entirely possible. Here's some tips on how to stop them from running you out of the Nation.

Wingal Brave - This is a very dangerous card, as it helps Royal Paladin players set up for Soul Saver Dragon easily, and then still have backup with an additional Blaster Blade. If it's possible, risk a trigger and throw down a Shield when Blaster Blade attacks while boosted by Wingal Brave. Try not to waste all of your shields stopping him. If you can't, you can't. Just be ready for Holy Charging Roar.

Swordsman of Explosive Flames, Palamedes - This will quite literally be the most destructive Rearguard in the game and you need to KILL it. Don't waste all of your effort on it, but kill. it. Those 21000+ swings are going to be the very end of you if you don't stop him. If you're not pushing for game, go ahead and let your rearguards bully him. Palamedes is invaluable to your opponent, so they will defend it. They'll toss out more shields and eventually, it will die or they will have thrown down everything.

Soul Saver Dragon/King of Knights, Alfred - Royal Paladin decks focus on their Power of Friendship, so it's your job to tear apart these bonds. When not applying pressure to the Vanguard, bully the stronger Rearguards like Gallatin and Palamedes. Blaster Blade too if Wingal Brave is behind him. The two trump cards of the Holy Knights are nothing without their fellow brethren. Alfred will become a 16000 swinger at the most. While Holy Charging Roar will either not happen due to lack of allies to call, or just be less effective because your opponent will have to boost back row, making Stand Triggers very lackluster in their cases. Also, always slap down a Null against a Soul Saver Dragon that has hit 25000+ Power. You're going to waste too much precious advantage trying to stop her if you don't.

Applying Pressure - If you have the means to constantly bully your opponent in any way, please do so. Burn out everything they have. That's general knowledge when facing any deck, but for Royal Paladin decks, this is going to be a huge problem. It will get to the point of where they are forced to start intercepting/guarding with precious Grade 1/2s, and in the best case scenario, forced to discard the mighty Palamedes with Flash Shield, Iseult. Or even one of the other two trump cards. Continuously hound your enemy, as the Royal Knights cannot guard forever, nor can they last with severely weakened forces. After surviving a desperate Holy Charging Roar, if they have little to nothing left in hand, you've won.

Kagero Players - In the case of using Kagero, you should be able to easily win the game. You players boast extremely dangerous skills such as that of Gatling Claw Dragon, Demonic Dragon Mage, Kimnara, Berserk Dragon, and even Blazing Flare Dragon. Hell, the Wind of the Apocalypse: Dragonic Overlord can even make them panic when faced with an Eternal Flame. Dragon Monk, Goku and Amber Dragon, Eclipse are also insanely good here. All of these cards RETIRE, so you're going to put a such a major damper in the Royal Paladin forces, they'll never be able to reach full power. Even in the English Meta, Wyvern Strike, Tejas can bring down the legal Barcgal and severely cripple your foe.

Perfect Guard - In the face of both Holy Charging Roar and the ruler of all knights: Alfred, you'll want to use Null Guards mainly for these two. Use against Alfred only in the case of believing that it's impossible to guard against him and his allies all at once without it. As mentioned above, use it when Soul Saver Dragon is boosted during the turn of a Holy Charging Roar. Don't be afraid to use it on Palamedes if you're literally completely out of options. He's coming at you with ridiculous strength, so I wouldn't be surprised.

The Oracle Think Tank are a clan from the nation of United Sanctuary. The Oracle Think Tank is a corporation of individuals talented in magic that use their powers to predict the future. They focus less on power and more on intelligence, with cards mechanically themed around hand size, drawing, and looking at the top card(s) of your deck. Many of the cards in the Oracle Think Tank clan are designed to be female.

IIb - Grade 1 Explanation

• Battle Sister, Chocolat – The perfect guard of the deck. The draw power lets the deck run 4, being able to continuously fend off big threats.
• Battle Sister, Cocoa – A Grade 1 with 6k that, when Rode or Called, gives you the ability to look at the top card of your deck and place it on the top of bottom. Now, the 6k may turn off some people, but being able to predict a trigger or get closer to the stacked cards at the bottom of your deck is invaluable.
• Crescent Moon Goddess, Tsukuyomi – The Grade 1 Ride Chain. It’s pretty obvious to run 4 for consistency. The 7k is also nice for an RG, too.
• White Rabbit of Inaba – The Grade 1, 6k, little bunny is probably one of the disputed card in the deck. Now, you might hear that Oracle Think Tank decks can reach 6 Soul fairly easily. Well, that is true to an extent, but it is not always the case. Missing a Ride Chain can and will happen to you and being able to get to the 6 Soul is extremely important. White Rabbit of Inaba outshines Psychic Bird and Oracle Guardian, Red Eye in the aspect of getting Full Moon Goddess, Tsukuyomi to full power in a pinch.
• Oracle Guardian, Gemini – The Grade 1 vanilla, a common choice among certain clans. Its flavor text also sums up the clan; making is pretty cool to play. It makes for a good choice as the Vanguard Unit if you miss Riding Crescent Moon Goddess, Tsukuyomi. However, its greatest asset is being able to boost Battle Maiden, Tagitsuhime for a 20k, which is a great number against most Grade 3 units.


IIc - Grade 2 Explanation

• Half Moon Goddess, Tsukuyomi – Grade 2 of the Ride Chain, Soul Charges 2 when successfully going through the Ride Chain, overall 9k beater.
• Battle Maiden, Tagitsuhime – The best Rearguard to have late game, and can play defense early game. Battle Maiden, Tagitsuhime is a Grade 2 with 9k that gains an additional 3k whenever 6 or more are in soul. Most players who have faced her will try a significant amount to Retire her, which can take some pressure off of your current Vanguard Unit.
• Oracle Guardian, Red Eye – The 9k fox statue may not seem like it, but it does a lot for the deck. Even with a successful Ride Chain, Full Moon Goddess, Tsukuyomi would still require another card in the Soul. While Psychic Bird and White Rabbit of Inaba are valid choices, Oracle Guardian, Red Eye lets you keep the 10k shield that Psychic Bird brings and sustains the hand advantage that you’ve worked hard for. Getting this early to mid game can give you the Soul that you need, get you closer to your stacked cards, or force your opponent to waste cards by guarding, which could’ve come in handy later. Plus its red, making even better.

IId - Grade 3 Explanation

• Full Moon Goddess, Tsukuyomi – Now for the star of the deck…well, star maybe a poor choice of words. Full Moon Goddess, Tsukuyomi truly lives up to her role as the “Avatar of the Full Moon”, and the central unit of the deck. To start off with, this unit loses 2k when it is missing any of the Ride Chain in its Soul. Now, some consider this a major flaw, but it is not as bad as it seems. First, you already have Godhawk, Ichibyoshi in the Soul regardless. Second, with the ability of mulligan, you have a decent chance to end up with numerous cards of the Ride Chain in your starting hand. This is coupled with the fact that a Ride Chain filled Soul will give Full Moon Goddess, Tsukuyomi an impressive 11k power makes it worth the small effort. While not being the strongest Vanguard Unit, it does have a distinct advantage over 10k Vanguard Units and doesn’t bow down as easily to the likes of Phantom Blaster Overlord, Dragonic Overlord The End, and Majesty Lord Blaster. Finally, we come to Full Moon Goddess, Tsukuyomi’s Counterblast; when activated, you draw two cards and place one from your hand into the Soul. Being a natural +1 to the hand is what it is at face value, but it does so much more. This skill can draw and fill your Soul with the rest of the Ride Chain, provided you missed any, and gets you that much closer to your stacked cards.
• Evil-eye Princess, Euryale - I know what you’re thinking, “why not CEO Amaterasu?” I’ll get to that in just a bit, but right now, let’s talk about the most controversial unit in the deck. Evil-eye Princess, Euryale, commonly known as Eury, is one of the four and only Grade 3 Oracle Think Tank from BT05: Awakening of Twin Blades. Evil-eye Princess, Euryale is a 10k unit that represents one of the Gorgon sisters. When this unit is Called or Rode and you have 6+ Oracle Think Tanks in the Soul you can Bind a random card in your opponent’s hand for the duration of the turn. This card is simply amazing late game, on the verge of heavenly if used in multiples. This unit can ruin your opponent’s plan in ways they couldn’t begin to imagine. It can force your opponent to use many of their 5k shields, take on extra damage, force the use of a different card for perfect guard fodder, or simply make your opponent unable to guard your attacks. With this card you can gain the upper hand after a bad game or win a turn or two early, saving you from the difficulties of late game against the powerhouses of the meta game.


• CEO Amaterasu – Probably the biggest thing one would see missing from the deck. Many decks and many sources of information will tell you that CEO Amaterasu is the better choice for your second Grade 3 in this deck, but I will argue that. One of the main arguments I’ve heard (I’m going to quote a DGZ member for this) is, “Eurayle is trash, it's a vanilla VG and a vanilla RG after the first turn, it has a surprise factor late game, but unless your binding a null guard it probably won't matter that much”. Ok, so let’s dive right into this. Comparing CEO Amaterasu to Evil-eye Princess, Euryale as the Rear Guard Unit gives you what? A 10k vanilla after the first turn, with Evil-eye Princess, Euryale getting its skill during the first turn. CEO Amaterasu will have no use for its Megablast as a Rear Guard Unit because that should be used for the more reliable and consistent Counterblast of Full Moon Goddess, Tsukuyomi. I will not deny the fact that CEO Amaterasu is leagues above Evil-eye Princess, Euryale in the Vanguard Circle and can benefit you in getting to your stacked cards faster, but that would require you to Ride (or worst case Re-Ride) this unit. It leaves you with a 10k on the defensive side of the board, which is extremely vulnerable in today’s meta game, with +5k Limit Breaks giving Vangaurd Units upwards of 25k during the offense. Also, while it may not seem that important, the Soul Charging CEO Amaterasu gives not only dwindles your deck, but can virtually lock important units into the Soul. So, while CEO Amaterasu plays an amazing offensive late game as the Vanguard Unit, Evil-eye Princess, Euryale can play just as amazingly late game, and can even force your opponent into the end game. In the end, the second Grade 3 should be a Rear Guard Unit first and a Vanguard Unit in the event of going without a Grade 3 Tsukuyomi. I do enjoy the discussion between these two cards, so feel free to add your opinions.


IIIIa - Against

This is something that most of you should probably take a good note of if you want to be able to play better against them.

• Stop the sixth Soul. Getting to 6 Soul is important for this deck; Evil-eye Princess, Euryale, Full Moon Goddess, Tsukuyomi, and Battle Maiden, Tagitsuhime all rely on being in this state. So, when you’re being attacked by Oracle Guardian, Red Eye think twice before taking the hit, especially if they miss a part of the Ride Chain.

• Commit to the board. [b]Oracle Think Tank[b] decks have no real way to Retire or mess with their opponent’s field, take advantage of that. Committing units to the board, especially early game, can give you the
upper hand right from the get go.

• Late Game equals End Game. Now, since I’ve gone on and on about the stack, playing against it should be simple; keep your opponent from reaching their stack. This means that you should start pushing as soon as you reach Grade 3. If you can’t win in that time, then save your perfect guards for when your opponent is reaching the end of their deck.


IIIIb - With

The Starting Vanguard will be Godhawk, Ichibyoshi. In your opening hand, you should keep one copy of any one of the Ride Chain, however, try to get the lower Grades first, because it gives you more time to draw into the higher Grades. Other than that it is as standard as any other deck, mulligan any trigger. Some may want to keep a Psychic Bird for security, but the amount of Soul Charging cards the deck brings doesn’t warrant the dead trigger.

Now, you obviously want to Superior Ride as much as possible to keep a hand advantage over your opponent. In the event you don’t get Crescent Moon Goddess, Tsukuyomi don’t panic. You have two options; Ride another Grade 1 and try to fill the Soul with the appropriate cards, or do not Ride anything for the turn. I recommend the latter in the event you go first, and it’s your choice if you go second. Remember, skipping a Ride is not as bad for this deck since you get 5 cards closer to your initial stack. You should call Rear Guards to poke for early damage if possible.

Riding the Grade 2, simple enough. Once again, Superior Ride if possible, if not then Ride Half Moon Goddess, Tsukuyomi. If you cannot do either of those, then you once again have the choice to Ride another Grade 2 or not Ride anything at all. Call Oracle Guardian, Red Eye if you have it and Battle Maiden, Tagitsuhime if you think you need to take pressure off your Vanguard Unit. If you don’t have a Grade 3 at this stage then you might want to start Calling Psychic Bird and/or Battle Sister, Cocoa for their skills.

Here we are, the final step! Grade 3 is also pretty self explanatory; you need to let the Full Moon shine. You should have had enough time to get Full Moon Goddess, Tsukuyomi into your hand. If you still don’t have it and are unable to Superior Ride it, we go back to the choice of “to Ride or not to Ride?” I would recommend not Riding Evil-eye Princess, Euryale if at all possible. Though, you should Ride if your opponent already has a powerhouse Vanguard Unit, then grin and bear it until you can Ride Full Moon Goddess, Tsukuyomi. You should also be putting down Battle Maiden, Tagitsuhime and any offensive force you can muster up. Start putting as much pressure as possible, while you get closer to your stack. Call Evil-eye Princess, Euryale whenever you feel extremely overwhelmed or when you feel you’ve reached your stack.[/center]

Grade 0: 17
1 Fullbau
4 Abyss Freezer
4 Abyss Healer
4 Death Feather Eagle
4 Grim Reaper

Grade 1:13
4 Blaster Javelin
4 Black Sage Charon
3 Dark Shield, Mac Lir
2 Apocalypse Bat

Grade 2: 13
2 Blaster Dark
2 Skull Witch, Nemain
4 Knight of Void/Nullity, Masquerade
2 Knight of Darkness, Rugoth
3 Cursed Lancer

Grade 3:7
4 Phantom Blaster Dragon
3 Phantom Blaster Overlord


IIb - Grade 1 Explanation
Blaster Javelin - Having this in your opening hand can really make a huge difference for mid-game, or even a few turns later. Riding this on top of Fullbau is the ideal start, which automatically brings out Blaster Dark for next turn. If the enemy swarms on their turn, it's really helpful for field control. Because the deck build only uses Phantom Blaster Dragon/Overlord, you won't really need to care much for the secondary skill, being that it can add Phantom Blaster Dragon to your hand from your deck. The ability to do so however is very helpful if you wish to thin your deck, and increase the percentage of getting a trigger.

Black Sage, Charon - If you fail to get Blaster Javelin, do not fret. This is the second best way to begin your game. Every clan has a vanilla 8,000 grade 1 and I highly suggest having it regardless of the clan. This is a great beater and really is capable of early game pressure, and is the perfect rearguard booster for Masquerade.

Dark Shield, Mac Lir - Null guards are wonderful when timed correctly, and can shut down entire strategies. Be wary of it, however because it does cost your discarding another card. Do not try and rely on nulls, rather keep them in your hand for insurance, especially if battling a deck that can buff the Vanguard incredibly (Dimensional Police, Gold Paladin, etc).

Apocalypse Bat - In this deck are 14 cards with Blaster in the Name. Vanguard decks are 50 cards always, meaning there is a 28% chance of getting at least 1 Blaster card from your deck within your opening draw, give or take. Leaving the rest of the math out of this, 2 is perfect for the deck because Apocalypse bat is terrible as anything else but a boost unit for a Blaster, or a desperation guard/Damned Charging Lance victim. You will be able to get it usually when you need it, and it won't clutter your deck with dead checks/draws.

IIc - Grade 2 Explanation

Blaster Dark - Poster boy for the Shadow Paladins and the Harbingder of the enemy's end, Blaster Dark is in all honesty not that great of a card in general. It has cool art, and I'm a huge fan of him, but in a Phantom Blaster Overlord deck build, 2 is his maximum usefulness Limit. Don't be turned off to the idea of running him, when rode on top of Blaster Javelin, he is the perfect grade 2 vanguard, in fact, I'll venture as to say there is no better of a grade 2 Shadow Paladin vanguard than Blaster Dark. Mirroring the mighty Blaster Blade, counter blasting two will allow you to kill any of the enemy's units. However, the downside is that it only works as a skill when it's a Vanguard, but don't underestimate the power of a Well timed Blaster Dark hit. There are too many better grade 2s that you could draw or play to have Blaster dark at anything more than 2 for an Overlord deck. I'll explain later which other decks having Blaster Dark at 4 would be a good idea, but in this particular build, he is only any good as a Vanguard, he's otherwise a 9,000 vanilla unit.

Skull Witch, Nemain - In a phantom Blaster Overlord deck, Nemain is great for minor draw power, just to increase chances of a Trigger. Also, should you use Phantom Blaster Dragon's skill, you'll find yourself fairly short on A) A hand, B) A field, and C) Unflipped damage. Nemain's job is to help you find replacements for the Rearguards that fell victim to Phantom Blaster Dragon's Damned Charging Lance.

Knight of Void, Masquerade - Knight of Void in this particular build is the only Grade 2 worthy of being maxed out. He's a terrific beater, and not only pressures the enemy, but also pulls aggro for most attacks. Having Masquerade out not only ensures an 12k swing every time (Provided your vanguard's a Blaster) but also will be unit that will most likely be attacked during the enemy's turn. Having Masquerade combined with Black Sage Charon is an automatic 20,000 swing, which later on in the game is a really terrifying thing to have swung at you, in the enemy's perspective.

Cursed Lancer - Cursed Lancer plays a supportive role, as he unflips damage. Although he isn't a 10,000 grade 2 rear guard, he will definitely attract attention. Flipping damage to fuel Phantom Blaster Overlord will almost always force the enemy to guard against Cursed Lancer, allowing your Vanguard or your other Rearguard's attacks to go through more easily, as the enemy generally would rather opt to have you at 2 damage and unable to use Overlord's skill, than to take the Cursed Lancer hit for a heavy swing next turn.

IIId - Grade 3 Explanation

Phantom Blaster Dragon - Blaster Dark may be the Shadow Paladin's Poster boy, but Phantom Blaster Dragon is the bread and butter of the Shadow Paladins that really give the enemy something to be scared of. Damned Charging Lance is a very self destructive move, however if well timed, it can assure victory for you in a very overwhelming manner. Use his skill with caution, because it's only possible to pull of his skill 4 times, in an ideal match. Ideal meaning you pulled all of your heals while you had 5 damage. Phantom Blaster Dragon is much more of a Beater type of Grade 3 than anything. There are decks based around his reitre ability, and decks like those generally have more Nemains to support the ever famished Dragon.

Phantom Blaster Overlord - Although Phantom Blaster Dragon was a force to be reckoned with, bless the poor soul who has the misfortune of going toe to toe with this beast. Phantom Blaster Overlord has a printed power of 11,000, meaning most Grade 3 vanguards can't even touch it without a boost. Not only that, but provided Phantom Blaster Dragon is in the soul, Overlord gains an extra 2,000 all the way to 13,000 original power. At this point, it will take boosts to always hit it, or else it can't be harmed, and even then, one 5,000 guard is powerful enough to stop a vanguard who was boosted by a trigger. Offensively, it's a monster. With it's persona blast, Overlord gains 10,000 power, and an extra critical. Although it takes an extra counterblast, it no longer needs to retire it's allies, meaning the pressure is
constantly on.


• III - Controversial Choices

Danbau - Because Blaster Dark is far from a good Rearguard, it is rather ballsy and situational of anybody to run this unit, who's sole purpose is to make Blaster Dark a 19k swing. It is inferior because Apocalypse Bat also gives a 10k boost (provided a soul blast), and works for all aspects of the Blast Chain.

Grade 3 Rearguards - In this deck, with this specific build, Grade 3s have no place as a rear guard. They are to be used as vanguards and vanguards only. There are cards that work well for Rearguards, but the grade 2s are very good and very powerful on their own, and are capable of intercepting.

• IIII - The Winning Image

The Winning Image of this deck (That is to say, the perfect setup for this deck) would be to have Phantom Blaster Overlord as Vanguard, Apocalypse Bat as the rearguard for Overlord, Masquerade with Charon in back on one Column, and then Cursed Lancer and Charon on the other column.

The reason for this is that The weakest swing you'll be making is your Cursed Lancer/Charon, for a decent power of 17,000. That's still fairly good and will force the enemy to make a decision between letting cursed Lancer hit and unflip a damage, or risk getting hit by Overlord's Persona Blast. Because of Masquerade's Skill, with the Charon boost, Masquerade will always swing for 20,000. This means that while Apacolypse Bat can use it's skill to make Overlord 23,000, you can focus all Trigger power to Lancer, and Masquerade will still be very hard to guard. The entire focus point of this deck is pressure. The deck is essentially full of beaters and strategic Beaters that force the enemy into situations where they simply can not win. An example with this winning image would be the enemy has 4 cards in hand, 1 Grade 1, 2 Grade 0s, and a Null guard, with 4 damage. Attacking with Overlord First and then using the Persona blast will force the enemy to nullify the attack, or risk losing on the spot. If he nullifies the attack, he will only have 2 Grade 0s to protect himself from your next two assaults. Let's say the Twin Drive Check didn't pull a trigger, that's still a 17,000 and 20,000 swing he has to defend himself from. In most situations, you will most likely pull at least one trigger. Putting that to Lancer, the enemy now has to either let Lancer's 22,000 swing hit with an unflip, or let Masquerade's attack hit. Either way, that's one damage. On the enemy's turn, your winning Image field will force the enemy between choosing to attack Masquerade or Cursed Lancer, because both of their skills are too supportive of Overlord at this point. If he kills off cursed Lancer, you still have a 20,000 beater, and if he kills Masquerade, you can still unflip to continually use Overlord's skill, provided you still have another Overlord.

• IV - Playing against the Shadow Paladins

Retiring the rearguards with skills and then battling the Vanguard with attacks are the ideal way to go about fighting the Shadow Paladins. Shadow Paladins late game generally tend to rely on the rearguards having minor but deadly skills to support the Vanguard, while they are buffed for ridiculous swings. If you can use skills to retire the Rearguards, the Shadow Paladin user will most likely fumble to replace them with units just as good.

Shadow Paladins are at their best late game, so fast hits are best, and only use nulls for Phantom Blaster Dragon/Overlord's skill.