Hi all and in this article I will go through a few tips on how to make full use of your money when it comes to playing Vanguard, as well as things that work on the cheap. Do note that although some of these tips are in context to Singapore where I live, it can be applied in most places where traders, players and stores are accessible.
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Buying decks from Player base
This is already a common practice, but needs some elaboration for newer players. The idea here is to buy a complete deck from players who are willing to sell them. There are a few benefits here;
1) You get the full (or almost full) package:
This saves a lot of time hunting for a lot of singles. You may still need to grab a few more cards to tune the deck to suit your play style, but overall you already found at least 40-50 cards through 1 person, so it saves a lot of time!
2) Relatively cheaper:
This is usually cheaper than getting everything from a store or buying singles. Most of the time the commons and rares that are negligible will get thrown in for free, and at times you get a pretty decent discount to seal the deal, if you are polite enough and the other person is willing. So always communicate with who you deal and try to find a comfortable price both side can agree on. You be surprised how good deals you can get at times!
3) Trades are possible:Both of you can even consider trade existing decks for each other's, provided you both come to the consensus that they are of equal value. And by equal value is not just monetary value, but possibly play value or collectible value. This gives the possibly of trying out different decks for minimal costs.
4) Get to meet new people and places:This is quite relevant in Singapore as you may have to travel to the seller's point of contact (POC), This may be a good opportunity to locate and visit card shops in the area, as well as meet more people who share this hobby! Always try to interact and you will be surprised how many of them are quite nice once they warm up to you. On the flip side you also get to see different types of people to deal with, and if appropriate, take note of those you have to be cautious of (backdealers, cheaters, rowdy, rude, swindlers). Its not to say it is wrong but more like its a choice to be this way. You also have a choice to continue interacting with them or not, so final verdict is up to you!
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Building a Collection
DO NOT BUY SINGLE PACKS FOR KICKS
This is very important so I will get this out of the way first. This is basically equivalent to gambling and hope u strike a lottery. Risk vs rewards this is a terrible idea, as you could have just paid ~$4 for basically 4 C and a R you don't need. I am not trying to crap on store owners, but from a player standpoint it is just too much risks for my liking. If you have to buy packs, buy a box of them. This greatly reduce the randomness, and you can resell all the RR and RRR and cover most of the cost, as well as getting the kick of opening packs.
Buying Booster slots:
This will be the defacto means to acquire cards in a new set. The way it works is if you pay for a clan slot, you will gain every card that belongs to that clan that appears in the box. You can get really lucky and gain multiple RR and RRR, or really unlucky and get as little as just a single RR. However, the randomness tends to even out at around 8-16 slots, and this easily gives you 2-4 extra play set of C and R to sell off, so you can recoup some money back. At around 16 slots you will very likely get at least 4 of everything san GR, and extras goes into your trade bait or recouping expenditure.
Do note that hyped clan slots are notoriously spiked in price due to demand and how well the cards gained can easily sell, so if you are aiming for one of those, prepare to easily shell out $10-14 for each slot. Non-main clans like Murakumo are budget players dream as they cost ~$5-6 per slot, which is a steal for what you are getting.
Buying C and R play sets from new sets:
This is if you do not want to buy slots and you want to gain the cards for a future budget deck. Most Sets are commonly sold by traders or people who open boxes for ~$10 per clan per set, and will have 4 of every C and R. That is a very low price to gain the R play sets while gaining bonus C, so if you do not want to buy slots, this is a good option.
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| Pretty... Expensive that is |
If BT03 thought me anything, its that stride fodder may actually spike in price! Our lovely little lady Branwen, as of this writing, has spike to a whooping $4-6 each! Granted she belongs the shadow paladin which is a main clan, but she was easily $0.5-1 at the release of GBT03, and due to how many people needs her, and only 1 is available per box, its going to be a little hard to acquire her. This is also the case for many stride fodder for main clans like Royal, Neo Nectar and Gear Chronicle that are going to gain support in GBT04, so if you happen to find them during trading, I strongly advise acquire at least a play set of them. Even if you do not use them, they make really good trade bait to help acquire stuff you need, so don't miss out on chances!
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| So vanilla, but so good for budget |
On hit strides:
Many of the on hit strides are R, TD or FC15, which usually gets played in every deck. They are also super budget option for those on a tight wallet. Again similar to stride fodder, I would advise gaining a play set of them in the event you do end up playing the clan. Some main clan strides will jump in prices due to trends and availability, and they can be used in extreme fights if it suits your fancy, so no reason not to get them!
Sentinels:
This is particularly true for EVERY clan. You can make a budget deck for everything, but you will without fail need 16 triggers and 4 PG. This tend to cost a little more than the other options, but they are always compulsory to run. You will also want to do some research beforehand and learn what each clan prefers. Some clans actually need to run normal PG instead of the new PGG, and there are even clans who benefit running Quintet walls (eg Regalia/ Musketeers). So if you can find a steal for Sentinels, especially commonly used ones, pick them up to bolster what you have for trade! Newer PGG tend to around $3-6 depending on demands, QW tend to be on cheaper end of $1-3, PG tend to change prices according to how important the PGG is to the clan, but sub clan PG tend to have stable price at $4-5.
Effect Triggers:
This is a relatively low investment, and can usually be found easily by looking through C piles that store sell for bulk price. My suggestion is to look up for upcoming clan hypes, and go acquire play sets of effect triggers that are likely to be used. Triggers without effect are more easily available and usually are optional, but sub clan (eg Jewel Knights) need those because of Especial counterblast, and based on scarcity they could spike in demand. Important triggers to look out for are triggers that soul charge for effects (power gain, countercharge), or some of the newer GB1 stand triggers that provide important clan mechanics.
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| They are actually dahm good in a Claret deck, and barely cost anything |
Vanilla Legions/R legions:
This is particularly true for most clans who gain support from Season 4 and G. I find most budget option for newer stride era decks favoring running vanilla legion as back up G3 and their mate. They cost a micro-fraction of many RR or RRR legion, the 10k G2 does a lot of work to shore up early game vulnerability, and it grants the legion mechanic, which many stride decks need late game due to dangers of decking out. The 10k base is hardly a big issue since strides are basically PG or no guard 80% of the time, and easily hit 31k with a proper booster. R legions are better if they are available to your clan, but not everyone have access to them, so it really depends on what is available.
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And that's all for the first part of this series. Leave some comment on what you would like to see more or any budget ideas you guys have!
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