Exchanging Spiritual Leaders – The Alter Ego To Harmonics

Ironics with Harmonics: when the clan that made you quit Vanguard once is now one of your favourites.

I remember almost having the cash to buy cards for the deck that would have been my favourite: Aqua Force. Considering my funds back then, that was to be quite an achievement. Then lock ruined everything for me, and I’m not afraid to admit I ragequit the game. Thanks, Link Joker.

Logically, I was clenching up when Link Joker was first to be announced in standard format. I was really enjoying the reboot, did I really have to quit again? Turns out I didn’t. Not only did lock not come back, I felt like Deletors provided such a unique playing style, especially for a force clan, that I picked up the deck myself.

Then lock did come back. Again, clenching at first. I do not enjoy such toxic mechanics, even if I had the opportunity to now play it myself. Turns out it didn’t. I was glad to also pick up this deck, with one of the coolest units I had ever seen: Messiah.

I got the cards the day before a shop challenge. Not being a huge fan of the online alternatives to the cardboard, I didn’t test and just threw a list together. Then I went on to achieve my best result in Vanguard so far: top 4. Incidentally, the other top 4 player was Harth, who I later played the match for third place against, and ultimately that led to me joining the team.

One of my best friends in the scene, Varian, also plays Link Joker. Before we both joined CTM, we already talked lots and lots about our different approaches to Deletors, Brandt and Messiah. Link Joker has so many strange, interesting tech cards that we always played the deck vastly differently. That’s an uncommon occurrence in standard Vanguard, but always a good one in any card game. Also, the most fun I had in any game of Vanguard was playing Varian in a Brandt mirror match at locals. The excitement triggers bring to the game went through the roof… but of course, not in the usual way!

Needless to say, after lots of ups and downs, Link Joker has come to mean a lot to me within Vanguard. It has been a while since I wrote my Genesis articles. Now that Alter Ego Messiah has been out for a couple of weeks, I felt like writing a profile again!

The Parts

Silverdust Blaze has been a very good set, really setting a new standard for standard. Alter Ego’s deck consists almost entirely of cards from this set, and I think most choices are logical. The fun in choosing the final cards comes from the previous set with Link Joker, with the big question being: will Harmonics Messiah, the card I enjoyed so much, still have a place here? Let’s have a look at my list.

4x Alter Ego Messiah [3]

As usual, the boss needs to be maxed out. Duh!

The first thing when looking at this card is the comparison to Harmonics. That card led to a hard turn 4 deck, because of the G3 in soul requirement. You could add one by chance with Blast Monk Of The Thundering Foot, but… yeah. By chance. Within its own format, Harmonics at turn 4 was powerful enough, providing ample offensive power on 5 attacks, the first force clan to pretend it’s accel, while drawing very well for defense. But, as I mentioned, the meta nowadays has sped up way too much.

This is where Alter Ego comes in. It provides speed in creating a turn 3 deck instead. However, the most important thing speed-wise is the fact that it unlocks cards on attack instead of after the battle. Harmonics usually wasted triggers when its attack was perfect guarded. That is no longer the case. While the power Alter Ego provides unlocking already big units makes that you can pick force II, I usually still go force I. Being able to give critical triggers to rear-guards is a big factor for that choice.

The downside to Alter Ego is that it doesn’t provide the insane draw power Harmonics did. To make up for that, we can also pretend to be Granblue and call from the drop zone. Aside from certain cards requiring to be locked onto the field to stay on the field, this is a nice and abusable plus. Remember that you soul blast first, so you can pick a card from your soul to lock. Might even want to consider that while riding up to G3!

A very consistent card that lets you attack 5 times with quite large powers on turn 3. Yes, I’ll take that.

3x Clear Frame “Whirling Wash Of Curse Cleansing” (order) [3]

Come on, Bushiroad! This is a clan-specific order and you know it!

The downside to locking cards in your main phase and the timing of the Messiahs, is that you would have to make either awkward fields or have only 4 attacks. This card lets you have 5 attacks anyway, and then it replaces itself in your hand to boot. I’ve been tampering with its count in my deck for a while, though. Order cards can only be played once a turn, they’re useless in any other situation and this can only be used later in the game, so you don’t want to see it too early. To me, the sweet spot has been 3. Playing 2 to 4 is all fine, but definitely run this if you value consistency in your five-attack plan. Which, trust me, you do.

4x Genesis Machine Deity, Volkogode [4]

When it comes to this card, I have seen different counts played as well. Why would you ever run less than 4 of such a powerhouse, though?

I feel like Alter Ego steals the show, while Volkogode has been the chump doing all the preparations behind the scenes. Multi-attacking is only as good as the units attacking allow it to be, and with 30k, this card is the best by far to swing twice with. Best of all, since it locks itself after attacking, it accounts for itself swinging twice. While Alter Ego hands out 10k to rear-guards like candy, make your vanguard a threat too by returning the 10k favor on attacks 1 and/or 2 with this card. Since the force markers have way more value on RC, because you’ll use them twice there, Messiah itself tends to stay on the weak side.

We are able to lock cards as early as turn 1, swinging this bad boy on turn 2 against a… maybe 10k vanguard? Ouch. In these cases, you’ll want to keep this card in hand. If you do not draw into the cards that let you lock early after attacking, be creative in getting this into the drop zone to fetch with Alter Ego, like discarding for a perfect guard. Worst case scenario, just guard with it! I’ve seen multiple faces of people who don’t know the deck well contort very funnily, when you dead serious throw down a 0 shield guard and look them in the eye, as if you’re stopping their attack somehow.

You might feel like running 4 of this will clog your hand, but with the list I ended up with and the plethora of ways to ‘get rid’ of it, you’ll have no issues.

4x Lady Fencer Of Matter Transmission [2]

Honestly, this card is not very interesting, as there is only one use for it: enabling five attacks as well. Like Volkogode, it locks itself, so Alter Ego can unlock it again… and that’s it. However, even when comparing 15k to 30k, there’s no doubt only 4 self-lockers is not enough. You will not have 2 Volkogode on the front row all the time. Alter Ego’s restriction of choosing two different names, your opponent’s desire to retire it or the overreliance on the order card will see to that. Especially on the last point, Lady Fencer does has an advantage over Volkogode, as you can simply call her and she’s good to go.

4x Counterkill Strike, Gastorur [2]

Now, this is a very important card. Gastorur is your main G2 ride target and one of the cards to set up Volkogode ahead of time. The Harmonics Messiah deck was very counterblast reliant (as well as soul!), but that’s no longer the case. As long as you did not get damage denied, you should always make use of this ability. Next to Volkogode, there are other great targets to lock immediately, even if you cannot attack with them yet. If you don’t have any, drawing something new is almost always worth it.

If you draw into this card later, it can also provide your multi-attacks. Gastorur is Ghastly Nail’s replacement in that sense. You can attack with it first, then lock a new card over itself and unlock that card with Alter Ego. The card you lock may not always be an ideal attacker, but it will always get 10k from Alter Ego, plus you can save the booster behind Gastorur  if needed. Even a trigger can become a threat this way.

3x Blast Monk Of The Thundering Foot [2]

Remember what I said about the flex spot being filled by the old cards? This is my choice. There is another very obvious choice which I will mention later, though. Not being essential to the general strategy, it really is up to you or to what’s needed in the current format.

At this moment, I like Blast Monk because it grants me options to answer threats. A mirror Volkogode, Doha or Garan, Rising Phoenix and several Gears pieces are cards you not only want gone, but not even go to the drop zone. Also, as the soul charge card I mentioned earlier, it sometimes is nice to hit another option to soul blast and then lock with Alter Ego. You won’t run out of soul per se, so for that, the soul charge isn’t needed.

4x Manipulator Of The Void [1]

Why the hell is this a common?!

No, seriously?!

Usually, going second puts you at a disadvantage statistics wise, not only in Vanguard. This card almost makes you want to go second. Like Gastorur, it sets up Volkogode early, and this is the card that can do it turn 1. It even draws back the card you locked! Call multiple of these early and you can really put pressure on your opponent.

Not only as a ride target, but late game as well, this is amazing. Although your opponent gets the final call on whether or not you’re allowed to, it can fix your fifth attack in a pinch. Even if you’re set up, I would always lock something, as Alter Ego will give it +10k anyway. Any new booster will be more powerful than what was already there before. As if it wasn’t enough, Manipulator goes off as a booster itself as well. You can attack with your column on the first or second attack, and if you hit, you’ll usually lock a whole new column that will hit for +20k.

It doesn’t excel at anything that other cards can do better in the deck, but it is the most versatile tool you have. And you know I love that!

4x Bending Solid-hit, Vanmaanen [1]

Simple card: it lets you draw. Hard plus in most cases even. Without Harmonics (noticed already I skipped it?), you’re going to need that as often as you can. Even if you can only do it once per turn, you want to see it as early as possible. Next to Volkogode, this is a locking target that is always useful from turn 1 onwards. Skipping on Harmonics, you might need to dig for Alter Ego harder before turn 3, as you only run 4 copies of any possibility of a G3 ride target. Manipulator into this lets you draw 2 cards to look for your boss. That’s why I run 4 copies on default.

There’s some nice flexibility in using it smartly. Guard with it to get it in the drop zone, then get it back with Alter Ego. If you already have one on the field, make sure to call another card over it first to get it into the drop zone again. If you have a second one, you don’t even need to: just lock the new one over the old one and easily set up your next turn. That way, you can keep some shield value on hand.

3x Lady Battler Of The White Dwarf [1]

I’d say that this is also part of a flex spot. This one does account for a couple of weaknesses nicely, though.

Again, when you’re sweating bullets because you don’t have Alter Ego yet, White Dwarf is a major fix to that problem. It’s fine as a ride target, especially going first instead of second. It also makes for a decent attacker at 13k, hitting magic numbers on it’s own. The locked card requirement usually takes a bit of effort, but in this deck, Blast Monk mitigates that entire problem. Finally, as an extra bonus compared to the G3 searchers for other decks, we also have an order card to look for. Already on turn 3, White Dwarf can sometimes make the difference between four and five attacks.

So, not an essential card like Manipulator or Vanmaanen truly are in my opinion, running this at 3 is good enough.

8x critical trigger, 4x draw pg, 4x heal trigger, 1x starting vanguard [0]

I think that the trigger line-up is also a matter of preference or current format. Instead of the draw pg’s, this deck can handle running the crit sentinels too. I run draw pg’s to be able to dig for Alter Ego slightly better, as well as other pieces like Volkogode. I also feel safer with the option of nullifying an attack outright personally, although it might cost you more cards in the end and it’s awkward against Chronojet or The X. They’re still godsends against Susanoo or a Dimension Police variant.

Gone But Not Forgotten

Only two obvious cards to mention here: Harmonics Messiah and Remarkable Burst Monk.

So, Harmonics is out. I’ve tried playing it at 1 and 2, and I found two major factors to cut it altogether. First, the card draw it provides is nice, but it is simply too slow nowadays. Both you and your opponent have a good chance to win turn 3, and after guarding so much, must win turn 4. Even after drawing 4 to 5 cards, my hand would have been hammered down to the point that it makes no difference in surviving after turn 4. Second, the amount of G3’s and G4’s tends to clog your hand. Though Harmonics can be ridden on turn 3 in a pinch, this is only when you don’t have Alter Ego and just happen to have this… and then it kind of sucks anyway. In any other case, this is a total brick that makes for a terrible rear-guard and provides no defense. After rebuilding the deck without it, my defenses got much better.

Cutting Remarkable Burst Monk also helped with defenses, although this is more of a mental thing. I never liked this card much, because it makes me play towards a rather small chance to a win-more condition. You try to keep G3’s in your deck, while simultaneously needing those in hand too much. You might even run more G3’s just to up the chance of restanding your vanguard, but this only adds to the clogging. I’d rather just have the total freedom to fetch a G3 with White Dwarf and add to the consistency of your plays, as both possible targets are good to have. Also, because the order replaces itself, chances are you now actually have some shield value in hand. At the very least, you up trigger and shield draw consistency by thinning your deck out. If you don’t want a second or third Alter Ego, just discard it immediately after fetching it.

It’s fine if you like to run this high risk, high reward card. If you do pull it off, it will instantly win you a game that you were bound to lose. It’s also fine if you run it purely for the CB and draw. You can actually make the same plays you do with Vanmaanen. For now, I’m fine with cutting it myself.

The Whole

The old build, while lots of fun, always felt a little bit odd to play. First, there was the random locking from the top of your deck, using cards like Destiny Dealer. Second was the huge cost requirements on both counterblast and soul. You needed to pace your plays, usually making for one explosive turn, maybe another good turn, but then you ran out of steam. Third, the deck felt incomplete. People usually ran a backup G3, but there were no good fits. I ended up using Ghastly Nail as my first G3 ride target and played a copy of Brandt as a backup, but they never felt up to par with the other bosses. When it was time for Harmonics, things usually corrected themselves, but it was a bit of a struggle when you had to hold back, or was even forced to do so.

Instead of completing the old deck, the new support simply replaced all the old pieces for faster and more consistent ones. My main concern with this build is running only 4 G3’s to ride, but once you do so, the rest of the deck smoothly comes together. This now includes turns 1 and 2. Where they always felt like ride, swing, turn do nothing else, now you have multiple things you can do or set up for later. Although you have less raw draw power, you still cycle a lot, making it less risky to commit pieces early.

Knowing exactly what you lock at all times, having the drop zone instead of the top deck, and the timing of Alter Ego, adds even more to the consistency of the deck. That is why the deck does so well in my opinion, even if you have to attack with just big numbers instead of huge ones. When you do go huge, a 70k Volkogode is not unthinkable. And here I thought Valkerion was powerful!

Just like with the Valkerion deck, remember that you can use the cycling to set up your defences as well. It’s nice that you can rush early and have a sledgehammer of a turn 3, but in this format, your opponent will hammer back. Link Joker has a lot of control over the flow of the game if paid attention to. Amidst all that, even if you get punished for committing early or your loyal subjects of turn 3 get wasted, we can get them back.

It’s not ideal to rely solely on the drop zone for your attackers, though. I try to be set up before turn 3, including Volkogode, and simply revive some boosters so that I don’t have to waste my hand. Flipping those over for 10k extra on attacks 4 and 5 is effective enough.

If all fails and you’re stuck at three attacks, always lock back any two cards from the drop zone if you can and just attack with Alter Ego first. This way, you can again save your hand, and you’ll at least maximize on power output in that situation. If you find yourself forced to choose, I’d always prioritize getting more attacks over powerful ones.

And if, Genesis Machine Deity forbid, you don’t get Alter Ego, don’t give up! Maybe swinging with your Volkogode from the previous turn will keep you in the game, right?

The Next Stage

The well-known YouTuber DifferentFight regards Alter Ego Messiah Link Joker to be the best deck in format, setting a new bar for the power creep in standard. I tend to agree with him, although many other powerful decks have surfaced in this set and beyond. While power creep is always a sad thing, a necessity even in the way trading card game marketing works (or we would need a new standard format again?), as long as I have fun with the game and the deck I play, I think I’ll be fine. While abandoning Harmonics Messiah is also a sad thing, its reincarnation is more coherent, still just as fun, and glad it’s playable currently.

Now let’s hope that locking the opponent’s field stays far away!

In the coming few months, I’ll be getting loads of new cards for all the clans I play. I’m not sure which clan will be next to dedicate an article to, but I think the comparison between both Aqua Force builds, as well as both Great Nature builds, might be good options. Brewing with all the weird Dark Irregulars cards is also fun though… and do I even have to mention Genesis? You can bet I’ll be eagerly awaiting the new Valkerion support! It’s so good! Part 3: How Astral Forces…?

Genesis In Standard: How Astral Forces Retain Their Reign

The astral poets sang of a mighty deity from a forgotten plane of existence; a being of immense power that, together with the gifts of force acquired by the poets, could destroy any threat to Cray. All seemed to be well.

The last Springfest results before the cancellation made me question that. I went to a shop challenge and struggled against the consistency of Mordred Phantom (especially when piloted by my fellow CTM member Dave). I could withstand the steamroll of Narukami and Aqua Force a little better, but I didn’t get the chance to find out what top 8 level play would bring.

To my great delight, Bushiroad agreed with my scepticism and decided to enhance my deck even further. The Astral Force didn’t have many Genesis cards to add to the pool, but then again, who needs numbers when there is quality?

These new cards presented us with some alternative options, but implementing those also brought some complications when building the deck. Last time, I talked about avoiding cosplaying as Morikawa. The way this new Valkerion deck is built, it seems to demand lots of grade 3 cards, namely all three of the astral poets now available to us. Before, summoning Valkerion on turn 3 was the high-roll play. Now it seems the only way to play.

Don’t be fooled, though. It’s still not that easy to pull off and when you cannot finish the game right then and there, you’ll be left open for punishment against virtually any deck. Although I do have to admit this high-roll is a lot more powerful, I liked having the delicate balance in my first build. My aim with this new deck list is to keep that balance intact as much as possible. I guess I just feel safer with a little more versatility!

This is part 2 of the Valkerion articles. If you haven’t already, it’s a good idea to read part 1 first. The reasoning for my picks here will be in extension to my thoughts on them in that article.

The Parts part II: The Astral Force

There are only three actual new cards listed here. One in particular had the most impact on the deck. It forces a rebalance of the different elements I discussed in the prior article, plus keep a new element in mind. It will be easier to start this list off with that particular card, and go from there.

3x Origin Deity Of Heavenly Light, Uranus [3]

Of course I’m talking about the new VR! Let’s analyse what this cards will grant us… and take from us.

First of all, the focus will be shifted to a turn 3 Valkerion. This fact alone grants the deck a significant power boost. Clearly, asking for only 3 force markers makes this a lot easier to accomplish than the other two astral poets, who both ask for 5 markers. Then, if Valkerion showed up and you happen to have an abundance of astral poets, the big man can attack again.

Previously, I tried to apply more pressure by playing 10 critical triggers. Being able to restand Valkerion does this better. The cost is a lot higher than it seems at first, though. It is what makes people run so many G3 in the deck, leaving little room for all that other good stuff, not to mention G3’s have no shield value. Those G3’s will then take up slots for boosters on the back row. Ideally, you’ll have 2 front row rear-guards to attack with, a vanguard, and Valkerion twice. The rear-guards were never that powerful though, and sacrificing your boosters makes it worse. Skipping out on a rear-guard attack is an option, but you really want to have one rear-guard attack left. If you don’t, you’ll unnecessarily drop down to three attacks where the deck could do four before.

It is the requirement of the 5 grades, however, that presents the biggest challenge. The quality of your soul now matters as well as how many soul you have. There are cards that help to fix the soul, but most of them come with their own issues. Something else we can do is relieve the strain on the soul by removing cards from the deck that need it. This will free up some space, but those cards weren’t played for no reason either.

Finally, both Gleaming Lord, Uranus and Astraios up the force marker count by two the turn you ride them. This Uranus will only have the imaginary gift icon to help us out. You’ll rely on your other force marker generators way more, and the best of them still eats 2 soul.

Lots of negatives, right? Don’t worry, I still run this card, don’t I? Upping the chance for a turn 3 Valkerion by that much makes all of the issues worth it. It makes it better than Astraios, at the very least. I see this card as nothing more than a tool to increase that chance, however. Restanding Valkerion is an extra option to use at an opportune moment, not a main focus. Even though the other two new cards will mitigate the issues partially, we’re talking about a perfect scenario having it all on turn 3. Hence, I only run 3 copies.

4x Phinomenus Of The Constellations [2]

Now, this card indeed solves a lot of issues! It is my favourite of the three new ones by a mile.

I can almost retract my statement that rear-guard attacks do nothing. It easily becomes 25 or 30k on turn 3 on its own. Seeing as new Uranus only gives an on-ride gift, you will need as many of them on vanguard as possible. You won’t be able to sneak one in on rear-guard anymore, but Phinomenus also takes care of that little caveat. Finally, even though Astraios will be dropped, Phinomenus will take over the card drawing duties, and better yet, you can call two of them on RG and double the draw power. It can be a little frustrating if you need to dig into your deck and you can’t, because you don’t have the markers yet. Then again, Astraios needed Valkerion.

This is an obvious 4-of in the Valkerion army. Case closed.

2x Dikei Of The Just Path [1]

Let’s get the most controversial choice out of the way now. I run only 2 of this. And, I don’t like it that much.

Don’t get me wrong, it really has an important place in the deck. Playing Dikei over other cards leaves counter blast and soul blast for other effects. The cost it does have allows you to fix your soul quality from hand. Putting in a G3 and then simply replace it with a new one is a very helpful play. In other cases you can put in something else if you still need to gather pieces. Banking on turn 3, that is quite helpful. And yes, it MIGHT grant you a marker and a plus too.

Do not bank on getting your markers solely by running this at 4, just because you dedicate a quarter of your deck to the G3’s you’re looking for. There is also a possibility you whiff entirely, in which case it’s a -2 for your hand in a deck that draws even less than the previous version. Plus, now you’ll have to dig even further to get your G3 back.

Like the rest of this deck, it is a personal preference. If you want to go high-roll, Dikei too is an automatic 4-of inclusion. In my build, soul charging in general is more powerful, allowing you to think ahead and maybe not soul charge a card you might need later. It keeps a little versatility.

4x Giant Deity Of Distant World, Valkerion [5]

Disregard what I said about this card in part I. Run it at 4 no doubt! You’ll want to see it sooner. The critical line-up is changed, so the quintuple drive check is a little more desirable. Also, it is hard not to notice that new Uranus asks for 5 grades. Makes it less painful to soul charge the boss away once.

4x Gleaming Lord, Uranus [3]

Don’t disregard what I said about this card in part I. Run it at 4 no doubt! All the points I mentioned there still stand. Even with the soul not being an ‘infinite’ commodity, this card should prioritize the soul you have left.

4x Battle Maiden, Mutsuki [2]

The count for this card also gets bumped. The turn 3 plan and the reduced marker generation from new Uranus make the fourth copy a welcome addition. The card drawn has more weight, too.

3x Strong Bow Of The Starry Night, Ulixes [2]

I really tried keeping Sahohime, as I absolutely loved her. Sadly, she demands too many resources now, and there are cheaper ways to fix the soul.

You might remember me mentioning this card. Last time, it didn’t make the cut. This time, I feel it best balances out the deck on the elements it struggles with. Even without Sahohime, the soul could still be an issue. This card not only soul charges 2, but also makes sure one of them is a grade 2. While riding up to grade 3 normally, it guarantees you a grade 2, 2 and 1 to use for Valkerion, while also leaving your starter and another card to use for old Uranus. Also, with Sahohime gone, it is a decent replacement in the cycle engine.

This card is not a necessity, but I’m glad to have settled on this after all my testing. Give it a chance yourself.

4x Atlas Of Heavenly Sphere [1]

Like in the first version of the Valkerion deck, this card is absolutely crucial to max out. It keeps the cycling alive and adding soul is more important now. Riding it is better now. Getting the marker has more priority now. I could probably think of even more of  “more something now” for this card, but you get the point!

3x Astraia Of The Full Heavens [1]

Another controversial choice. After dropping Sahohime and going on about the strain on the soul, this stays in. At 3, even.

The foremost reason is the same that riding Atlas is better in Valkerion 2.0. Soul charging 2 right off the bat will make your life a lot easier. The cycling is still good, and while you won’t be able to bounce it back to your hand all the time, leaving it as a booster is fine too. It can easily be bounced later in the game, once Valkerion has done its thing. Still playing 3 copies presents the option of simply playing a new one if you couldn’t get the card you need on the first try. Finally, putting back heal triggers, and now also critical triggers more than ever, is too good to pass up.

2x Deputize Bear [1]

Playing 2 of this card was fine before, and with a fourth copy of Valkerion, it should be fine now.

There actually is another play you could take advantage of this time, something that used to be a drawback. Play a Bear before you get three markers, and if you find Valkerion, you must put a card from your hand into your soul. Reminds you of Dikei, doesn’t it? Talk about turning a weakness into a strength! This is also why I don’t mind running 2 Dikei, even though this is not as consistent if you’re desperate for soul quality.

8x critical trigger, 4x draw pg, 4x heal trigger, 1x starting vanguard [0]

Back to the classic trigger line-up. I have a few reasons for this, and they mostly have to do with the piece reliance earlier in the game. Adding 2 more draw triggers back into the line-up helps slightly to get those pieces, and mitigates the lack of draw power the deck has once again. I almost always want to run 4 perfect guards, but with a lack of space in the deck now, Pure White Witch, Solty is harder to keep in. Lastly, as mentioned, Valkerion attacking twice is a different way of putting pressure on your opponent with it. I can be a little more lenient on the amount of crits now.

Gone But Not Forgotten

Because the deck has gotten even more piece reliant, I don’t think there much reason to consider other cards. If you want to commit 100% to the rush, one important omission from my old list needs to be added back in: Quaking Heavenly Dragon, Astraios Dragon. This is purely for being the third astral poet, as its uses have been outclassed by new Uranus and Phinomenus. Run as many as you feel you might need. The rest of your deck will consist of the cards I already play, only upping some of their counts and taking out Ulixes and Astraia.

There is one card I really want to highlight in this section, as it also got dropped: Prometheus Of Dancing Lights. To be honest, I’m still really on the fence with this card. Opposed to Ulixes, this is a 15k attacker on its own, and while it only soul charges 1, it gives you the chance to fix soul quality as well. The reason I chose Ulixes is because with the amount of soul my build fixes, chances are great that you already have the right amount of grades. If you don’t, Dikei is a more reliable backup to do so. I’ll never rule this card out entirely, though.

I looked at only 2 other cards again. Phosphoros Of Auspicious Light has more use now, because getting the grade 3 is more desirable, as well as adding the soul. The G3 addition is not as reliable as Dikei though. What nudged this card out again is that Mutsuki is now even better as your turn 2 ride. If you have both of them on hand, I would advise against riding Phosphoros. The other card I considered again is Saturn Of Opportune Time. If you feel like you lack marker generation, I think this is the best option to add. Also, being a 13k attacker, it makes your life a little easier if you want two astral poets on the back row for your Valkerion onslaught. I still feel like the cost for getting the marker is way too high, so I really don’t like running it.

The Whole part II: …To Your Grave

I made it very clear that I love Genesis in my first article. I was also very enthusiastic when reading the Origin Deity’s effect the first time. I do have to admit that building this deck was a bit of a struggle, especially after finding a build that suited me so well before these cards came out.

I’m definitely not a rush player. I usually like midrange decks with cards that allow me multiple options, so I can adapt to the current situation. I feared that I had to throw all that out the window to play a rush deck with way too many G3’s for my liking. Luckily, I kept searching a bit further to find this build.

To summarize: in contrast to the old deck, this new version has less cycling power, less adaptability, less defensive capability and puts more pressure on the piece reliance, as well as the soul. It makes up for it by granting more consistent ways to gain those specific pieces, more aggression earlier in the game, and the means to fixing the soul have been provided along with the demand. It’s a little easier to understand (so far for big brained Genesis, haha!), although the core principle the deck was intended to accomplish is harder to pull off to the fullest extent.

Valkerion was already a powerful deck, with which I went for a guaranteed Valkerion play on turn 4 with a moderate chance to get to him on turn 3. I feel like playing the deck the same way, with a way more significant chance to set loose your boss on turn 3, already makes it better. On top of that, the chance to restand that boss also adds more power to the deck, although I usually grant myself the room to go for that play on turn 4. That by itself makes the turn 4 play better than before as well. Of course, don’t hesitate if you can go all out on turn 3. You’ll now have something to guard with, at least!

I wish I could go to shop challenges or regionals to truly put this deck to the test. That being said, I was happy to learn that Genesis got first place at a pretty big online tournament. Admittedly, this was a rush version… but I’ll disregard that for my own sake!

Seriously, though: I hope that these two articles provided you with some alternate thoughts on this awesome clan and deck. I don’t pretend to show off the perfect deck list and declare it to be the ultimate powerhouse. However, I absolutely do declare that I pour my heart and soul into it, and that it is worth exploring all kinds of different angles. If Genesis is not your clan, I hope to inspire you to take another look at your favourite with a different view, and try out new things.

I’d like to close this two-part article by thanking you for reading, and inviting you to leave a comment. I’d love to hear feedback, be it about either content or style. I’ll use that in future articles, as I already have some more ideas lined up for you guys!

Genesis In Standard: How Astral Forces Fare Against The World

One of the cool things about Vanguard is its focus on clans. They have such powerful themes and they keep their general theme as time passes, in both playstyle and aesthetics. Chances are there is a clan that suits your personal preference and interests. As a kid and teenager, a couple of subjects fascinated me. Astronomy was one of those. Mythology was another.

When I first saw Oracle Queen, Himiko, I had just started playing Vanguard again, beginning with the reboot. Up until that point, I tried almost every clan to see what would suit me, and I had a couple of decks I liked playing. Himiko made me think that I might have found my main clan. And yes, the deck was awesome.

Then Bushiroad announced Shinemon Nitta would become the main character in a new anime arc. And would play Genesis. And the units were revealed.

Do I need to underline the hype any further?

I instantly got hooked on the celestial bodies personified and accessing the astral plane. You could say that I obediently play what the anime dictates (I started out with Royal Paladin, haha!), ride the hype train and something about Genesis losing its identity as a big brain clan. I won’t blame you for thinking so. I can even see your point, especially when you’re a clan veteran, like my CTM team mate Robin!

However, let me take you through the journey my deck and I shared together. Let me show you the depth that can be found here, the potential of its power and the passion I have for what these cards have to offer. Hopefully by reading this article, I’ll rewrite your imagination on some or all of these points.

This article will consist of two parts. In this post I will cover the first version of the deck, when Infinideity Cradle and the trial deck were released. In the near future I will add the second part, covering the deck with the Astral Force cards added.

The Parts part I: Infinideity Cradle

At the time of writing, the Valkerion deck will already have been updated with new cards. However, it’s a good idea to examine the first version of the deck anyway. The central cards will remain the same, and the thought process that went into this will largely be useful when swapping old support with new.

3x Giant Deity Of Distant World, Valkerion [5]

Let’s start with the main focus… and one of the main issues when building this deck: this is a grade 5. In my experience with the first appearance of Gear Chronicle, forcing another grade in like this will mess with the overall balance of your deck. There will be less room for good cards from other grades, you will clog up if you play too many and it will put a dent in your defensive capabilities. Genesis’s advantage over Gears here is that we play more G3 than G5, so the grade curve will be nicer. However, we want to prevent going full Morikawa.

The choice to play 4 Valkerion is understandable. It will net you an advantage if you want to try and hit Valkerion on turn 3, which the deck can do if everything goes your way. You’ll also raise the chance to get quintuple drive (let’s be honest, that just feels good). I always strive for a stable build, and Valkerion is awesome enough when he is summoned forth on your fourth turn. With that in mind, I squeezed its count to 3, granting myself time to look for it within my winning image. And, well… you’ll have plenty of G3 to get triple drive. Counts for something too, right?

4x Gleaming Lord, Uranus [3]

A trial deck card that’s better than the VR? Oh yes. This card does literally everything you could want in this deck.

In the search for cards that add force markers, there are three factors that I consider: the consistency, the cost and, most important: can I do it before the battle phase? I quickly dropped all cards that grant a marker on attack, on hit etcetera, because it will be too late if you need those markers on turn 4… and let’s not even talk about turn 3 then. Most of those cards aren’t even consistent. You need full control over when you want to gain markers.

I’d say the ride phase is on time, right? Obviously, when placed on VC, the 20k power boost is real. Its most powerful aspect however is the ability to also grant you a marker when placed on RC, making it incredibly versatile. The 13k without a booster will prove to be enough as an attacker, especially when it’s your fourth attack and it got stacked a couple of triggers onto it. As you’ll get plenty of soul even before Valkerion’s drive, and you don’t have to watch the specific cards in your soul at all, you will always have plenty of it to pay the cost. Don’t worry about getting your marker.

Be mindful of your current situation when you play Uranus on turn 3. Calculating a turn ahead, you might even be able to sneak a marker in for your rear-guard’s battleground, where the base power will usually be quite low. Abuse this card wisely!

3x Quaking Heavenly Dragon, Astraios Dragon [3]

So, when Uranus is our main man, where does that leave Dragonboi?

Well, thinking back to the situation with Gear Chronicle, I don’t envy Lost Legend having to carry the main premise of the deck on its own. Having a second astral poet that can open the gates makes this card worthwhile on its own. It’s also the better choice to be the vanguard, because it can generate a marker when you cannot reride, and even draw a card cheaply when Valkerion enters the scene.

Still, if you want to play around with the number of high grade cards, this is definitely the first choice to drop (do NOT drop Uranus). Playing only 6 G3 just bothered me, so I play 7, again with the grade curve in mind. If you feel like playing 4 Valkerion, then cut this to 2.

4x Prometheus Of Dancing Lights [2]

I bought the trial deck four times for multiple reasons. One of them is having this four times in foil. And it deserves its RRR status in the trial deck.

Its versatility is not to be overlooked, going beyond the Valkerion version of Genesis. It soul charges 1, giving you a choice what to ditch in the soul at that moment. That doesn’t matter much here, but what you leave on top of your deck… that makes all the difference. You could Oracle Think Tank a trigger, or fetch a combo piece with your drive check. You could draw that piece with Astraios Dragon and live to check triggers another day, maybe. All in all, this card is a vital piece to the incredible cycling engine this deck provides, and the consistency it needs.

As an attacker, it allows you to hit the 23k magic number when paired with a booster; some welcome help for the lackluster rear-guard swings. Oh, and I guess your vanguard wasn’t powerful enough already.

Do be careful when you play this card during your main phase. If you need a combo piece, play this as late as possible. It’s a shame if you whiff and are then forced to dig on, while you left a perfectly good trigger on top of your deck. You could also play with this timing if you instead whiffed on a trigger. Simply play Valkerion or Bear and reshuffle.

3x Battle Maiden, Sahohime [2]

This is my secret weapon. I hardly saw any lists running this, but it is so good. Sahohime is the best plus for Genesis, as well as the best cycle card to get to your pieces. Both are sorely needed. As mentioned before, the soul cost is no issue at all.

Resist the urge to put a trigger into the soul without second thought, even though that makes Sahohime a decent beatstick for a turn. This deck really is good at cycling, not so much at raw draw power. This means that you should think ahead and maybe keep that 15k or 20k shield in hand. Disposing of a G3 is more beneficial for your defences.

3x Battle Maiden, Mutsuki [2]

We are lucky to get this promo as a mere R in the booster set. A turn 2 20k vanguard sets you up for a little bit of a rush when you need it and makes your life opening the astral plane easier. It draws you a card to boot, for a cost that’s not terrible. Granted, the window to use here is small: after turn 2, this card is very dead. I will list some alternatives later, but none of them outshine the potential of Mutsuki. If you’re bent on a turn 3 Valkerion, feel free to run it at 4.

4x Atlas Of Heavenly Sphere [1]

Remember when I mentioned I looked at marker generators only when they can do so before the battle phase? That’s one of the benefits of this trial deck monster.

Atlas is also one of the reasons that you will have plenty of soul to work with before Valkerion overclocks it. Whether you use its activated skill or ride it on turn 1, it will provide Genesis’s signature resource. In the process of getting your marker, it is also one of the key pieces of your cycling engine. Remember this when you have Prometheus as well. If you have precious counter blast to spare, it’s never wasted on this card. Never run less than 4.

3x Astraia Of The Full Heavens [1]

When I first saw this card, I was severely underwhelmed. It doesn’t plus, it’s a 7k body, and the cost for bouncing it is hefty. Then, after playing a few games testing it out, I went a full 180.

In essence, Astraia fulfils almost the same role as Atlas. The only thing this card can’t do is getting a marker, but everything else it does better. On ride, you’ll gain more soul. Regarding cycling, you can do it next turn again when you bounce it, unless the 10k shield is very welcome during your opponent’s turn. While this should not be a priority to use your soul on, you usually can.

What this card does extra is letting you think ahead, like Sahohime does. Adding a card back to your deck is not to be scoffed at, especially when that card is a trigger. The potential of healing again or letting your vanguard or Valkerion add pressure with a crit is amazing. Get rid of something useless though if you need to keep your defence up.

What I initially overlooked is the versatility this card provides, if used wisely, at the right moment and while keeping its flaws in mind.

2x Deputize Bear [1]

I think I can be short but sweet about this card. Searching seven cards deep for Valkerion is good. You can play around with its count to suit your needs, but it is an auto include in any case. On turn 3, not having three markers is unheard of, so don’t worry about the drawback. Keep in mind that this will be able to shuffle your deck. I mentioned a few advantages.

2x White Wall Sorcerer, Vejiva [1]

Wait, this card doesn’t add a marker before the battle phase…

…but believe me when I say that having more 20k shields at your disposal, even just two more, will save you more than once. Against accel, you’ll love this. If you’re looking to up your counts of key pieces for your winning image, you can drop it rather safely, though.

2x Pure White Witch, Solty [1]

It’s a minor cycle on ride, but this is in the deck for one reason: opening up space in the trigger line-up. I’ll tell you why…

10x critical trigger, 2x draw pg, 4x heal trigger, 1x starting vanguard [0]

Your vanguard and your boss monster both swing for huge numbers, but for one damage each time if you don’t check a trigger. I’ve heard the argument to use force II gifts, but just don’t. That’s a waste when you have to stack five on VC anyway, then force yourself to place a sixth for Valkerion, which can only be done with a ride. Your vanguard will do nothing afterwards.

This alternative solution has done well for me. If you drive check like crazy anyway, simply up the chance of getting a critical trigger. You could even be lucky and check one in early game more easily. The big swings will threaten your opponent when they’re on 5 damage early, won’t they?

If you feel adventurous, you could even fit in 12 critical triggers, but personally, I like having those 2 draw triggers to help out on occasion. It also makes the G1 line up more unstable, and the deck is already iffy to play when you’re not careful.

Gone But Not Forgotten

Let’s explore some alternative options, which I ended up dropping myself. Starting out, I wouldn’t even bother with the G3’s, as good as some of them may be. You need both astral poets too much. Adding even more different G3’s is a recipe for lots of clogging.

Amongst the G2’s, it’s a different story. Prometheus is essential, but if you don’t want to run either Sahohime or Mutsuki, the first card to consider is Phosphoros Of Auspicious Light. Like Prometheus, it hits 23k, and the ability to look for a G3 while providing quite a bit of soul could enable you to lower your G3 count. Like Mutsuki however, its window is on turn 2 ride only, and Mutsuki’s benefits have more potential, I feel.

If you find you’re lacking other aspects in the balance of your deck, two other alternatives are Pluto Of Deeply-laid Stratagems and good old Strong Bow Of The Starry Night, Ulixes. Pluto is one of the better marker generators and adds power on rear guard. It also goes to soul itself. In this case, that will cost you a precious card in the end, while not getting that much essentials back. Ulixes has the same drawback, but if needed, it can add to the cycle engine and adds more soul. As far as marker generation goes, Parthenos Of Holy Verse is another option, but its 9k base and lack of other benefits make me play Pluto in that case.

I’ll list a few more cards you might ask about, but in my opinion simply aren’t worth it. Heavenly Wind Sorcerer, Burnet sounds good in theory as an accel killer, but its help will come way too late and does too little when it finally comes. We don’t need to bother too much with the rear-guards. Saturn Of Opportune Time’s cost for a marker is way too high. It requires setup the turn before, and then makes you minus and itself useless for the rest of the turn. Witch Of Cats, Cumin can be considered as a support card for other cards, but the deck is not stable enough to use it properly, and also takes itself out for the turn you play it. Finally, Diana Of Moonlight is too slow as well, and the on hit restriction makes it unreliable.

Finally, it’s merely a personal preference to play 10 critical triggers. There’s no argument against the tried-and-true 8 crit, 4 draw, 4 heal if you need space!

The Whole part I: From The Cradle…

If you look in the comment sections of Wiki or YouTube or talk to other players at your local game shop, there’s talk of more and more decks that simply throw down their cards and bash face as fast as possible. Sometimes decks will hardly allow their opponent to respond to their onslaught. Valkerion seems to be amongst those decks. Not only does it take away from the spirit of Genesis, but rumour has it Valkerion is an inconsistent deck at that, making other decks in this category simply better.

After my first test runs with this deck, I was scared to admit that was true. It is difficult to then take a step back and analyse the components of the deck. At face value, this would seem to do nothing but hit for big numbers, and while that is essentially the idea, keeping this idea in the mind prevents one from looking beyond that. Shinemon Nitta is very correct: you need to rewrite your image.

There are a couple of aspects I’ve addressed regarding the aggressive build: tight resource management, both in soul and counter blast, inconsistency combined with reliance on key pieces, lack of draw power and subsequently lack of defence, and failure to put pressure due to the one damage per hit and low rear-guard power. On the flipside there was an overabundance of marker generation, which meant that, luckily, there was space in the card line-up to improve things.

With my take on the deck, some advantages were added. First, as there is not a lot to do about draw power, except for playing more draw triggers, filtering through your deck faster is the best way to go. It closes multiple leaky spots. In fact, Genesis can do this so well that Valkerion became quite consistent in making its plays, as well as potentially improving its guarding capabilities. Second, dropping the marker generators made the deck very resource friendly. Not enough to spam your abilities whenever, but when you only make your plays when you need them, you will be fine. Finally, if you can’t play fast, you’ll have to play hard, and the critical triggers are definitely hard. Also, even when cutting out all those marker generators, remember to play force markers on RC when you can. Trust me, you’ll hardly need more than five of them under your vanguard.

I remember Link Joker, when people would run so many G3’s in their Messiah decks, just to up the chance to restand Messiah or soul charge a G3 early. This was in an effort to stay alive in a fast accel meta. In my opinion, trying to speed things up will only make your deck and your playing inconsistent, and then helpless to defend yourself. Although the urge is there to play otherwise, Valkerion is realistically a turn 4 deck, and that comes at the cost of speed against so many powerful accel decks.

I also remember that, right before a nationals of the Pokémon card game, I decided to revert my deck back to its basics, just because on its own, it ran the best. There were so many versions trying to tech in cards to counter the meta, but I had faith in my build and knew it inside out. I made top cut with it and I was the only one to do so with that deck. I think one of the beautiful things about Crushing The Meta is that the team shares my vision. I don’t compromise my build (or my entire clan for that matter!) to counter the meta, I make sure I optimize the deck I like in order to play well with it. Sometimes it will still not be ideal, but one thing I did find out: if there is a clan that rewards carefully planned playing and knowledge of all possibilities with its units, it’s Genesis.

The hype has been real. And Genesis became my main clan.