Simple Deckbuilding Guide

I made the following post on Pojo, as there seems to be a few people that needed deck help after taking up the English version of Vanguard that just came out.

If you haven't figured it out by now, there are many strategies in the Vanguard TCG that can make you either win or lose the game, hell, each "clan" is based off one of these strategies.

Ladies(However few there may be) and Mentelgen, I come here today wanting to discuss the "metagame" as the title suggests. What do you think makes the meta in Vanguard?

To me, the game has always been about "plus-ing" in either hand or field and "big beats" to make the opponent "neg", this is explained very well in the "Magic Numbers" theory.

The combination of the two above, I believe make the "meta" and it can be seen in the decks that are constantly winning in the big Japanese events, which are mostly Paladins, who's abilities let them do of both of the above and the Kagero who are able to "neg" the opponent so that you are able to net advantage. Of course other decks are there, such as Oracle decks and what not.

So what can you do to keep up with the meta? Live every other card game, the major points are in deck building. For example, I personally use 4 null-guards in every single deck that i play, and the reason is pretty clear. And although i don't think i need to say it, 4 heal triggers is pretty much required for any deck, even though it's not a rule.

Now, besides the Heal triggers and the null guards, each clan has powerful "staple" cards that are used in most decks for the clan, no matter what the strategy of the deck is. Good examples of this is Silent Tom for Oracle Think Tanks, Blaster Blade for Paladins, Kimnala for Kagero, Claydoll Mechanic for Novas.

So how do you build a deck? Simple, pick an "engine" or a card that you want to base you deck around (In this example i will restrict myself to the English set 1 + the two initial trial decks). After picking the base of the deck it's really just adding in staples and complimentary cards that allow you to hit the "magic numbers" while firing off abilities to "plus".

EXAMPLE - Royal Paladins. (because EVERYONE and their DOGS play Paladins and ask for deck help)

Card Base - Alfred. Both abilities are amazing, potential 20k unboosted unit, and plus if ability is activated.

Total: 50 (17 + 14 + 12 +7)

Grade 0 - 17
1 x Barcgal - Starting vanguard, allows you to plus
4 x Llew(Crit) - Combos with Barcgal
4 x Epona(Crit) - 8 Critical triggers as Alfred is rarely blocked unless needed
4 x Flogal(stand) - Combo's with Barcgal + more offensive than draw
4 x Elaine(heal) - pretty much 4 heals is mandatory in every deck

As you can see the grade 0's/triggers are decided by the "base" of the Alfred/Barcgal engine, each choice has a reason to be there.

Grade 1 - 14
4 x Iseult/Isolde - Null guard
3 x Marron - 8k vanilla
3 x Starlight Unicorn - 6k + 2k to a unit when it hits field
4 x Lake Maiden Lian - Tap,Toss,Draw

The grade 1 selection pool at this point is very narrow; however Lake Maiden Lian is a very strong turn 1 play that lets you cycle hand, and is also useful behind alfred as alfred is unable to be boosted.
Null guard at 4 is my personal preference and may not be needed in set 1.
The Marron combos well with the grade 3 Knight of Conviction Bors to hit 21k and is able to maybe force an oracle/nova player to boost with their lozenge/battleraizer to hit your vanguard.
The starlight unicorn, though a 6000 unit, is able to be called to a rear guard circle and add the 2000 power onto Alfred, in the case you are hitting an 11k opposing vanguard.

Grade 2 - 12
4 x Blaster Blade - Barcgal searches
4 x Gallatin - 10k vanilla, able to hit almost everything unboosted
4 x Covenant Knight, Randolf - able to hit 11k if conditions are right

At this point, Not only is the grade 1 pool a bit shallow, the grade 2 pool is as well.
Blaster Blade is able to be searched out of deck by Barcgal's skill, and also has a very good ability. Both lake maidens and marrons are able to boost him to 16k and above.
Gallatin is a 10k vanilla, which allows him to be able to hit almost everything without a supporting rear guard. Everything in the grade 1 lineup is able to bring him to a minimum of 16k. And in the situation of a stand trigger, a solid 15k attack is nice
Randolf is able to hit 11k under the right conditions, if these conditiosn fail, you are able to put marron behind him to hit 16k. Under the right conditions, you are also able to hit for 16k if you trigger a stand trigger.

Grade 3 - 7
4 x King if Knights Alfred
3 x Knight Of Conviction, Bors

As you can see, the grade 3's are usually the most powerful, with the potential to boost themselves to high power to attack and reach higher "magic numbers" pretty self explanitory

So a simple paladin deck from set 1 was built in a matter of minutes with some number logic. The deck will probably need to be played a few times and tested to be adjusted to personal preferences.

There has also been a few people asking about the grade distribution of a deck, usually a deck will have:
16-17 grade 0s
12-14 grade 1s
10-12 grade 2s
6-8 grade 3s

However the numbers depend on the deck, as an Asura Kaiser nova grappler deck will run more grade 3's than normal i.e. 8-10.

Any other questions can be posted below.