Monday, December 10, 2012

[Japan] New Restrictions Placed by Bushiroad + Personal Opinion

New Restrictions
With effect from the 1st of January 2013, for the Japanese version of Cardfight!! Vanguard, the cards highlighted in the following list will be restricted to up to a total of two cards in the deck (including the first vanguard).

New Restriction, Jan 1, 2013

<Royal Paladin>
King of Knights, Alfred
Majesty Lord Blaster
Wingal Brave

<Kagero>
Lizard Soldier, Conroe
Dragonic Overlord the End

<Oracle Think Tank>
Silent Tom
Godhawk, Ichibyoshi
Goddess of the Full Moon, Tsukuyomi

[Example]
OK: King of Knights, Alfred x 2
OK: Majesty Lord Blaster x 1, Wingal Brave x 1
- Total of 2 in a deck, so it’s fine.

Not OK: Majesty Lord Blaster x 2, Wingal Brave x 1
Not OK: Dragonic Overlord the End x 2, Lizard Soldier, Conroe x 1

There are currently no intentions of placing this restriction in the English version of Cardfight!! Vanguard.

Personal Opinion
First, let's make some assumptions:
-Bushiroad is restricting these clans/decks due to their dominance in the Japanese meta.
-Bushiroad wants a more diverse meta, so they restrict cards from these clans/decks.

Now some facts:
-5 new crossrides have just been released in Set 9.
-Bushiroad wants to diversify the meta... by taking away decks from the meta.

This makes no sense to me. By completely making some of the most popular decks unplayable at this time, they're allowing the meta to shift to another 2-3 decks that will completely dominate. Glory Maelstrom and Platinum Ezel to me seem like far and away the better crossrides, with clans that have a fair amount of solid support. In my opinion, Bushiroad are doing the opposite of diversifying the meta. All that will happen is instead of a meta filled with MLB, Dragonic Overlord the End and Tsukuyomi, we will have Glory Maelstrom, Platinum Ezel and maybe Sun Goddess, Amaterasu. They are trading 2-3 decks for 2-3 decks.

What they should have done is nerf (there is a fine line between nerfing, and making unplayable) MLB, Tsukuyomi and Dragonic Overlord the End in order to PERSUADE players into playing something else. This will create an actual diversity of 5-6 decks - those playing the nerfed (yet still playable) old decks and those that decided to play something new. FORCING players into playing something else will do nothing in terms of diversifying the meta in Japan.

My suggestion is that they up the number of allowed cards from those card pools from 2 to 3. This will allow in some level of playability in all the decks, while still bringing them down a notch in terms of dominance. This will give the newer decks a chance to do well against them, once again creating an ACTUAL diversity in the meta.

I sincerely hope that this doesn't happen in the English version of the game.

12 comments:

  1. hopefully booster 10 releases new kagero and royals that are "able to compete" with everything released in booster 9, otherwise that'd be completely screwing over anyone who played those clans. On a side note: Shadow Paladins are still around and a completely viable deck for the new meta. Just felt like throwing that out.

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    1. Booster 10 features Royal paladins, while Booster 11 features Kagero... Will take some time for that new Kagero units to arrive...

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  2. I know Bushi said they have no intentions of implementing it on the English but with that looming over our heads I feel like it may hinder the sales of BT05 just a little. I mean I feel like our meta is already Gold Pali dominated so I'd like to think we will get a few months to play around with BT05 before we join the nerf party.

    On a seperate note. As a Tsukuyomi player I feel like I just got a knife to the heart. I will admit the brokeness of Tom but I felt it took skill to memorize all the cards in my stack and simply minipulate that into out playing my opponent. Suppose it is time to stray from my comfort zone and try something new.

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  3. We need to start a movement.

    As I'm sure everyone is aware at this point, Bushiroad has recently announced a list of cards that will be restricted to two per deck for the Japanese meta starting January 2013. Any deck may not include more than two cards from the entire list, which includes highly anticipated cards such as Majesty Lord Blaster, Wingal Brave, and Dragonic Overlord The End. It also includes current English favorites such as King of Knights, Alfred, Goddess of the Full Moon, Tsukuyomi, and Silent Tom.

    This action has occurred as a result of decks including these cards being a dominant force in the Japanese meta, and Bushiroad aims to balance the game by restricting these cards. However, this restriction will render these decks completely unplayable in a consistent manner.

    While this action has currently only been taken for the Japanese version of the game, we should expect this same action to affect the English version when BT09 is released. This is the same situation that occurred when Bushiroad stated that Barcgal would not be restricted for the English version, and then decided to restrict it upon the release of BT03, just as they did in Japan. This kind of restriction sets the standard for future restrictions, and diminishes the health of the game.

    Bushiroad continues to release crossrides and other mechanics that allow the player to gain advantage. The dominance of Gold Paladin in the English meta is a good example of this, as well as the crossride printed for Blond Ezel in BT09. This is the proper method of sufficiently balancing the game, and it will allow for the game to continue to grow. The solution is to continue to print new cards that implement strategies that can overcome decks like Majesty Lord Blaster and Dragonic Overlord The End, rather than to limit these decks to the point that they are no longer playable.

    As players, it's up to us to make our voices heard. Bushiroad seems to try to do what's right for the players. Let's let them know that this is not the path that we want to see our game follow.

    Please sign our petition. Share it with your friends, your playgroup, your local shops and your tournament organizers. Include it in your forum signatures. Let's work together to keep Cardfight!! Vanguard healthy and fun.

    The petition is located here:
    https://www.change.org/petitions/bushiroad-cardfight-vanguard-reverse-the-two-per-deck-restriction-implementing-in-japan-jan-2013#share

    When signing the petition, you'll receive a single confirmation email that will allow you to share the petition with others. Let's spread the word.

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  4. I really felt that Tsukuyomis got hit too hard seeing as even with 4 of each Grade spread,there is a lack of consistency due to the off chance that you cannot Superior Ride. Also,Silent Tom may not be a problem to Crossrides seeing as he can only Boost up to 16k no Triggers but the new Grade 3 may overcome that. So Tom I do see a point in limiting but only for the future support. I can live with having to play Amber mixed with The End seeing as no matter how much fun it is to see my opponents squirm,I believe a Stand and the keeping of Twin Drive is too much and too easy. Also,I can't see the point in Alfred being on the list as Royals are better at recruiting due to them not luck-sacking as much as the Golds do. And despite all that,the Golds are still the most overused cards here in the Western continents!!!! All in all,the intentions are good but the execution is very flawed.

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  5. I agree with XxLoneWolfe & Xephon0930, as a Tsukuyomi player I feel like eating a sucker punch to the groin. Silent Tom is one thing yes, but having to choose between Ichibiyosi and Tsukuyomi herself is just unfair.

    My usual chance in getting the whole 3 superior ride is only 60-70% at best. Even then, I still need to dig deeper with Psychic Bird, Red Eyes, Cocoa or Amaterasu. With the new semi limit move from Bushiroad, the chance of getting all 3 superior ride is probably close to 10%

    ... And doing everything above while trying to remember the order of cards in the bottom of the deck...

    Completely agree that Tsukuyomi is a deck that's hard to pilot. IIRC HerO himself experienced it first hand. If a deck like that can succeed, then it's because of the skill of the player (and the lack of skill of those who had to face it). MLB & DOTE is another thing though, figured elementary schoolers can win tournament with both decks as long as they don't make any misplay.

    As it is, next year everyone will be playing the clans that can crossride consistently, otherwise they won't be able to stay competitive. Nice Bushiroad, just nice.

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    Replies
    1. You do know you just complained about how hard it is to play with a deck that has an incredibly high chance of getting +3 on the ride up, and then said it was so hard to count cards when you can infact write down your results if you choose to, and at any time either player can check the number of cards in the deck. Even if you want to focus on keeping it mental it's nowhere near as hard as people make it out to be. I'm so tired of you Tsukuyomi players acting like you have to put effort into your baby auto pilot deck. Trust me you're not any better than the rest of us. Wanna know what Tsukuyomi does? Draws cards, and attacks. Oh man, so fucking difficult.

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    2. Correction, no note, but oh man I have to memorize 15 cards if I ride properly, so hard.

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  6. Not exactly. Technically you have 49 cards (excluding your vanguard) when you start; assuming you get the ride chain off sucessfully that is 15 cards in said stack. You also need to take into account that you draw to 6 cards in your opening hand so the deck starts off at 43 cards; said rides make it 28 cards. Idealy it is a 28 card trigger check, draw, damage check grind through that last 28 cards. I'm not saying it is hard to play this deck compared to anything else and I wasn't saying it took effort; I was simply saying that it was my style and I enjoy playing it. I agree that it is like any other deck; on the other side of said coin it's late game potential is rediculous if you can memorize every card through that stack and use it to your advantage.

    Vanguard isn't as simple as draw cards, defend, and attack. Advantage is what makes or breaks the game. Knowing what the cards are at the bottom of a deck; that is an advantage. I wouldn't call anything in Vanguard auto pilot; we aren't playing Yugioh Exodia self touch decks; every deck is unique in a sense and every player has a way to play them.

    On a side note I would never willingly count or re count the cards in my deck to allow my opponent to gain the same advantage and therefore null the point of stacking. I like keeping it to myself; just saying.

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    1. Exactly the point, the many mental notes you have to make for yourself is what makes this deck uniquely taxing. Keeping the info all to ourselves is the best course of action too IMO.

      Just sayin' that those out of those 4 cards we put on the bottom of the deck? I had a fair share of experience (I lost count) when they only contained 1 trigger or 2. 3 is the best I could ever get. The scenario I had to face once is getting 1 trigger out of Ichibiyoshi's ability, then had to shed 3 non-triggers (through drawing or damage check) while making sure I don't run into one of my next set of triggers (which I finally stacked courtesy of Crescent Moon Tsukuyomi).

      Sorry to say but Tempest13, the one who replied to my comments above definitely never played a Tsukuyomi deck, just picturing it mentally. Coz it's not as simple as GP, MLB or The End. Not even close. I too love a challenging deck to pilot, and for me Tsukuyomi shines above all the other decks I've mentioned.

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  7. In my locals we implemented the list and the top 8 decks were as follows
    1st: Nova Grappler [Beast Deity Version])
    2nd: Aqua Force [Maelstorm Version])
    3rd: Narukami [Vermillion Version])
    4th: Gold Paladin [SDD Version])
    5th: Gold Paladin [Ezel Version])
    6th: Bermuda Triangle)
    7th: Gold Paladin [Ezel Version])
    8th: Gold Paladin [Ezel Version])
    Although GP dominated nearly half the slots, there were decks like BMT that made it. this never happened when DOTE was still at its peak~just saying.

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  8. So is bushiroad trying to push the older clans out of the spot light in order for the new clans to shine and to perpetuate their own sales? And if so how many more times will this have to happen? I personally am upset at the new restrictions. I am an English only player, an avid kagero player, and have been waiting on the release of D.O.T.E. for quite some time only to find out I will only be able to use my deck for a short while. It honestly seems like I am being made to move on to the new “kagero” clan which I wont. That being said now that these restrictions are in place whos to say the new cross rides wont come out and have the same effect on the game sine the older “broken” ones will no longer see real play, which would just start the cycle again. Sorry about the long post, just wanted to get my point across.

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