G-SP post GBT04

Grade 0: 18
2 david (FVG)
4 Kafir
8 crit
4 heals

Grade 1: 16
4 Brenwen
4 Karma Collector
1 Swordbreaker
3 Night Sky Eagle
4 Dark Quartz

Grade 2: 9
3 Serva
3 Grosne
3 Dark Pride

Grade 3: 7
4 Claret Sword
2 Manisa
1 Mordred

Grade 4: 8
4 Aurageyser Dragon
1 Aurageyser Doomed
1 Efnysion
2 Diablo

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How to play this deck:

Always Mulligan for Claret and a Grade 2. Having 16 grade 1 means you are likely to see one, so if the first 2 are not in opening hand, feel free to mulligan grade 1 away for additional chance. If both are present, then feel free to keep at least a grade 1 and another grade 3/Brenwen. Triggers should not be kept in hand unless you know opponent is rushing and need shields asap.

You swing every turn with 21k columns and a big VG column. Eagle and Dark pride makes it really easy to form a 21k RG column when combined with Claret's skill. In turns you can't stride (or choose not to) you can just retire existing units (preferbly used quartz, eagle and swordbreaker) for claret's GB2, which usually force at least 2-3 cards off opponent depending on how many dark quartz called and likely force out a PG. It is quite easy to overwhelm opponent if you can keep up the 21k columns across multiple turns.

This deck can guard really well due to how it converts called units (usually a plus from calling from deck) into cards in hand. Aurageyser, doomed and swordbreaker add cards to hand while fueling card effects. You will likely go through most of your deck by 3rd stride, and likely deck out close to 4th-5th stride. At that point just ride Manisa and legion back the triggers for final push.

If choosing who to call as booster, always favor eagle over dark quartz unless VG needs the boost or you are calling quartz to boost VG by 15k. You will need quartz in the deck to trigger dark pride's effect, so try to keep at least 1-2 in deck unless its final push.

You have to get creative with your column sometimes. There are times its the right thing to call a dark pride at the back row just to retire it for aurageyser or diablo, which allows you to call a dark pride and form a new column. Its also entirely acceptable to call 2 quartz/eagle to form a 21k column, as making opponent guard that column and later retiring them for effects pays well over their worth.

Grosne needs 2 grade 1 or below called to hit 22k with a 7k booster. He can hit 31k with 3 grade 1 called and a eagle called by claret to boost it, while able to hit 16k with just kafir (if really need the soul). He dies a lot because he's our best column maker that needs to be on the field at start of the turn (you can consider putting it in back row the turn before you ride claret and stride so he gets benefit off the 1st claret skill.

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Breakdown:

Grade 0: 2 David, 4 Kafir, 8-12 crits, 0-4 heals

I originally ran 3 david when using 2 Doomed, but after reducing down to 1, 2 david is fine. David gives you a +1 off Aurageyser and reduce the cost of Doomed and Diablo, and is an extra potential card to check off either Aurageyser.

Kafir is manditory here. Fuels the soul if needed for two aurageyser + swordbreaker, and against early rush, he can boost Serva to 14k (10k guard against 9k) and then proceed to buff Claret to 21k with david boosting. In a pinch he can make 16k column with Grosne.

Alternative: Some people will like to play howl owls or Dark eye raven instead of all in crits. I am not in favor of howl owl as you will deck out much faster and rather have the crit pressure. Raven is bonus utility that can be combo with either claret or sharp fang witch to generate retire fodder and recycle the stand. In another different type of build i can see this going far with Grosne and Convalle, just not this build.

Grade 1: 4 Brenwen, 4 Karma collector, 1 Swordbreaker, 3 Night Sky eagle, 4 Dark Quartz

I play only 1 Swordbreaker as its not manditory to fetch all the time. She does help with bad hand, but you will be feeding the soul to Aurageyser, and only have Kafir to replenish it. You can fetch her when david is not available as fodder to reduce the minus. If you happen to have her in opening hand even after mulligan, you can just ride her and save your other grade 1 for bigger plays later in the game.

Originally I ran 4 eagles, but due to Dark Pride i ended up with 4 Quartz. Quartz is about as good as eagles for making columns, as called by claret will grant it 12k power, enough to boost 9k to 21k. They can also form 21k column with eagles, and then retired later. Eagles are still here because they are good for making columns, and if you can call at least 2 grade 1 that turn, eagle can push Grosne to 26k (9+3+3+11), which is difficult to get with anything else.

Alternative: If you do not want to run Quartz, you can instead max eagle to 4. Last 3 slots can be allocated to Swordbreaker, Gargubau, 8k Vanilla (10k if called by claret, early defensive ride and can be used with 9k to 15k guard a 7k, or 15k a 9k with a grade 3) or another david.

Grade 2: 3 Serva, 3 Grosne, 3 Dark Pride

For most G-era decks, unless they have really strong grade 2 lineup, I strongly advise at least 2 10k to smooth out the early game. They prevent people from rushing your face to hell (think tidal assault and swordmy calling shirley or Magatsu) and safely delay riding if you need to Brenwen to fetch Claret. They also are easy to push 21k with either eagle or quartz using Claret, and can still form 16k column with swordbreaker. Serva is also the mate for Manisa, which I will touch on later.

Grosne replaced Barbelith in this deck as he has a higher potential ceiling. He can hit 26k with eagle, something Barbelith previously couldn't. He makes 21k column with nearly any grade one, and 16k with Kafir. He'll die a lot cause many opponents hate him.

Dark pride is a new option available to the deck that furthers the deck's playstyle; thinning, getting positive or break even off the retire effects, and most importantly, countercharge and generating columns. He is also an attack magnet that many people will want dead, so he tends to save you guard just by being there. I ran only 3 because you will almost never get to call more than 2 quartz through its effect, so any more only improves the odds of seeing it but does nothing in the long run.

Alternative: you can run a 4th Grosne, Fiercebau, Shadow Lancer, or Macha and swap the numbers around, but I advise keeping at least 2 10k as they make quite a difference. Just be light on RG CB cost as most of it will be dumped into your stride of VG skill. Also if you choose to run Cormac over Manisa, you will have to run at least 2 Mackart.

Grade 3: 4 Claret, 2 Manisa, 1 Shadow Blaze

claret is the heart (pun intended) of the deck, so no excuse running less than 4 of him. He generates pluses for you, thins your deck, and can even help you push for damage once GB2 (which is always active after striding Aurageyser first). thanks to quartz, you can easily swing for 36k 2 crit by calling 2 quartz and still have a 21k RG column.

The remaining grade 3 are there to support claret. Manisa is my legion option because she has lower opportunity cost compared to Cormac. Cormac's mate Mackart is relatively weak due to spending many turns striding and have almost no revengers to call except revenger triggers. While to crit is valuable, the both do the same thing late game; shuffle back triggers to prevent deckout and swing with 21k+ legion, which by then Manisa's 10k base matters little cause you will be decking out or running low on hand to guard. Serva also fits like a glove in this deck due to its GB1 nature and cost little to have inside.

The last tech I ran is shadow blaze dragon for the times you get rushed. He's still a better option than Gilvers as he can help cripple your opponent's field to oblivion. In this slot you could also consider Mordred, but i rather have a LB unit that can directly impact the field.

Alternative: You can run Cormac instead of Manisa, though I dislike his mate a lot as he does not justify the deck space. If you do so make sure to run at least 2 Mackart. You can also opt to either Badhaah Caar as a useful grade 3 to call as RG. Desperate dragon is also a decent option if you change most of your triggers to revengers and include some LB enabler. You can also opt to cut a Brenwen to run a 8th Grade 3 of choice.

Grade 4: 4 Aurageyser, 1 Doomed, 1 Efnysien, 2 Diablo

I ran 4 Aurageyser as a 1st stride and a situational stride. Sometimes you just don't want to stride aurageyser doomed, and really need to lower cost of Aurageyser to dig further into the deck. Just be cautious if you have used swordbreaker, as you will have 2 soul to work with outside of kafir. Note that with dark pride, you can potentially generate a 4th attack through combat retire.

The doomed is a role player rather than a finisher. It helps you clear away grade 1 who no longer have effect (very important in this deck) as they tend to clutter the back row, so rather than calling over them and minus, you can retire them to effects and draw more cards. He has the occasional upside of blowing up opponent's units. Being an act skill may sound painful to many who are used to combat retire (like RFD or RPBA) but in this kind of deck where you want to call units before attacking, this is actually acceptable.

There is also a staple pair of diablo for the times you want to wreck their face. Diablo punishes opponents for not calling 2 units out with his guard restrictions. You need not always use the guard restriction; monitor opponent's drive checks, and it he does not seem to have a PG ready, the 36k 2 crit is good enough for 1 CB. Against opponents with PG, he still demands 2 retire and a PG, which is a minimal of 4 cards.

Efnysien is another role player here. He can easily hit 36k unboosted with a retire and a dark quartz called. In fact one of my most common play is when opponent does not give me counterblast, I usually stride this and retire dark pride, which allows me to fetch dark quartz to make Efnysien 36, and using the unflip to have claret fetch an eagle to make a new 21k column. Its still a very demanding turn to guard (PG stride and 21+ rear column) for almost no cost. He is also ideal if you don't want to over commit in the all in and want to wither down opponent a bit more, and thus retiring a used booster for a new booster.

Alternatives: you can opt to run 3 aurageyser and 1 doomed if you for reasons don't want the 2nd aurageyser as an option. Running 4 diablo also gives you more offensive power that taxes your opponent, but I much rather have more than 4 strides and have access to a toolbox. Diablo also leaves you a little light on the defense department; you have to be the judge of that.

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Things to keep in mind:

Disclaimer* The deck is straight-forward, but its by no means easy to play properly! It ain't great nature math inducing, but it takes some planning. Small mistakes tend to cost you in the long run, and card counting (how many triggers left, how many useful calls left in deck, what your opponent drive check) goes a long way to play this deck to its potential.

1) You are on a fixed timer to kill your opponent. That is around 2-4 turns including first stride. Because of how aurageyser cycles through the deck, combined with claret and dark pride pulling units from deck, you are expected to deck out around your 5th stride. This also means your VG will ALWAYS attack theirs because of chance to crit them. Hence sometimes you might wanna slow down the card drawing if you know game will drag long . This includes the but not exclusive to the following:

-Not calling swordbreaker unless you have to. Its always there if you need it, but its not there because you must grab it. She makes doomed turns less painful and helps you dig deeper for that PG you are lacking in important fights, and should strictly used as such.

-Spending a turn as GB2 claret to force guard out isn't terrible either as you can still make scary numbers with correct hand. Its also cost no CB to do, which happens sometimes when opponent does not want to give you any.

-unless your hand is terrible that 10k shield doesn't matter, or opponent grade lock, or you need 3 soul for double aurageyser + swordbreaker (against spike brother comes to mind), try NOT to use kafir to cycle. He's flexible and gives us options, but only use it if needed. He's equally valuable as a 10k shield.

2) Plan your turns! Decide starting from first stride the order of cards you will play out. Different situations call for different strides, and there is no fixed sequence on how you would go about it other than 90% of the time aurageyser goes first. This deck performs really well when you plan out your turns, pick proper units to call at good timings. Keep that last Manisa and use Brenwen instead to stride if you aren't sure opponent is 100% dead and you are gonna deck out in 2 turns!

3) Opponents no hand > your opponent have a lot of damage, unless that crit kills them. Due to the nature of this deck, your late game VG will likely have an innate critical or high chance of drive checking them. As such, you always wanna pressure the crit on your 21+ RG column to pressure out all the guard. So aim to make plays with this goal in mind.

-This makes those who no guard the vanguard only take 1 damage at best but still need to throw down cards that turn as it reduce the odds of damage check a trigger. If opponent does not guard the 2 crit, he took 3+ damage this turn anyway, instead of taking only roughly 2 damage because the RG column is easier to guard after damage check.

-As tempting as it is to outright put them to high damage by crit to VG, we aim to kill opponents in 3-4 strides, and you want them to drop everything by the time your VG start to have inherit crit. This only applies if opponent is at 3 or less damage and we are striding aurageyser or Efnysion. At 3 damage any other stride or claret's GB2 will outright kill them for us if we check a crit trigger and they aren't guarded.

-Against an weak hand, diablo and doomed will decimate them even at 3 damage, which is why we have Efnysien and aurageyser to "pave the way" for us, and use big RG columns to wither down opponent.

4) Plan your columns properly. This deck makes easy 21k columns every turn, but it hurts you if you can't keep it that way every turn.

-Sometimes you don't have to kill david on first stride (aka aurageyser) and thus save him for an easier doomed turn. Applies mostly for non-retire clans. Against retire clans expect your first david to die A LOT, so plan columns accordingly.

-Sometimes with heavy grade 1 hands you can have david to RG column and apply a little more early pressure, especially if you need brenwen to fetch a claret. Opponents usually don't bother with it and any attack diverted at it means opponent committing cards to field, which mean less cards to guard or exposing their grade 2 to further attacks.

Claret's stride skill is borderline crazy. In addition to fixing columns and toolboxing, the 2k power gained also allows columns previously difficult to get. David becomes 7k booster, swordbreaker becomes 8k, brenwen becomes 9k booster, quartz can pretty much boost anything to 21k as 12k.

-Dark pride allows for multiple attacks per turn if properly set up. Especially so on diablo turn where opponent will take an immediate -4 (2 RG and at least a PG) just for the stride alone, allowing you to get Dark pride value if the resulting quartz generates another good column.

-Sometimes you can call something with dark pride for first swing, and prepare something 11k+ to combo with the called dark pride once aurageyser retires dark pride + fodder.

5) Try not to take more than 2 damage early if possible. This is more than enough resource to go about a aurageyser + claret combo and generate a 21k column. This is good practice in G-era decks because of how bad getting rushed is. It pretty much allows you to take risks you normally cannot take, taking an expected crit to save guard for future turns. It also allows you pace your damage as close to opponent as possible unless either side got trigger sacked. This allows you to have proper control over heal triggers (assuming you check them)

6) Don't let it get to you when you lose!. Kanzaki can go shut it about winning is everything. This deck is very potent, and can give many decks a run for their money. But its not unbeatable by any stretch. Its just really consistent and there will be times where your deck just doesn't give you what you need when you need it. Opponents can still trigger sack you, you drive checks can run dry of triggers, everything important goes to damage zone, opponent 6-7th damage heal; stuff can happen. Winning is never final, losing is never fatal. That's what makes vanguard different from other games: there's a reasonable amount of thinking and skill, but luck is still equally important and keep things interesting.

-That said, when this deck sacks people, it sacks them HARD. Your wins can look like complete blowouts at times, and it can be quite bad-ass to look at. And while its good to feel great about it, please be humble and remember that there will come a time you will be on that receiving end as well. No point being a prick about it; Humble in victory, graceful in defeat is how we leave good impression (even if people do moan a little when they see david)

-Keep calm while playing this deck. A calm, collective, and focused player playing this deck is a frightening opponent, and is a force to be reckoned (by vanguard standards). You take the tools you need, when you need it, hit like a truck, and tank through most crazy turns like its nothing. We have the tools, but we don't have to slap it in their faces.

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So that's my take on G-SP after gb04. Wad do you guys think? Do leave some comments!

Lets talk House Rules: Grade Locking

Looking for a way to remedy the intentional grade locking done by people against g-era decks. Its not against the rules, but its against fun for some and I'd rather everyone do what they want and lose, then one side playing vanillas the whole game. So I suggest this house rule to let people at least play their rearguard effects with a minor penalty. It ain't perfect and there is likely room for abuse, but if used responsibly, it does help everyone to at least have their fun. Important and often asked parts are highlighted like so.

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Stride Burst

At the beginning of your stride step, if your VG was a grade 3 since the start of the turn, and your opponent did not ride a grade 3 last turn, and their VG was not a grade 3 since the start of their turn, you may ask your opponent to choose and reveal a card in hand. Do the following based on what is revealed. Either way you cannot use Stride Burst again for the rest of the game.

<If opponent reveals a grade 3> If your opponent is a grade 2, your opponent now RIDE the grade 3, and may then draw up to 1 card. You choose 1 card in your hand and remove it from game. Effects that take place when the grade 3 is placed on <VC> are negated. Resume game as normal afterwards.

<If opponent does not reveal a grade 3> you choose 2 face-down cards in your G-zone, choose to cards in your hand, and remove from game those chosen cards. You may then perform a stride this turn as though your opponent's VG was a grade 3. Resume game as normal afterwards.

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FAQ

Things to note:

1) Only works if opponent has intentionally been holding back riding even though he has drawn a grade 3 that can be ridden. Opponent needs to
-start their turn as a non-grade 3
-did not ride that turn
-you were a grade 3 since your turn start (meaning you ride to grade 3 on your last turn)
-this also means opponent had the opportunity to ride to grade 3 and stride first, but opponent forgo it
-he reveals a card in hand when you ASK for it (not force upon them!, be polite even if annoyed)
-he choose one to reveal, and based on card revealed apply either 1st or 2nd effect.
-everything that happens is a Game State Effect, and is by no means affected by any other card effect in play, hand, drop, or bind zone. Things waiting to resolve will only begin to resolve once the whole process is done.

2) You take a minus to do this, but at least your g-break units aren't vanilla anymore and you get at least 1 break-stride skill off your grade 3 (if its that unit).

3) You can choose not to activate Stride Burst (Not mandatory) when conditions are met, so opponent can't force you to perform it unless you want to.

4) you opponent can choose to reveal ANY card (even if he has a grade 3, opponent can choose to reveal another card, should they wish so)

5) You don't have access to your stride break GB2 unless you stride a persona flip, cross-stride or Blizza. But you will activate all your other GB1 units.

6) The penalty is exactly the same as G-assisting. Reason why this has to be implemented is there are times you are forcing the opponent to ride a sub-par unit that's terrible to ride first. So instead of assisting to hit your ride, you are paying the 'assist' to enable all your g-break, which is quite a fair trade off considering you are smashing them for your stride numbers while they are grade 2. If opponent does not want to ride that grade 3, opponent can reveal something else, and proceed with next effect instead.

7) Why negate the on ride effect for opponent? Because they could have done so on their own turn, but chose not to, so I don't think they deserve to get their effects on your own turn (might result in some rule complications so this stop-gaps MOST, but not all of them). They are already getting up to a draw for the minus the ride will cost them, as well as you having to minus one.

8) For 2nd effect, only the player who initiates Stride Burst takes the G-assist penalty because most GB1 effects are balanced out as mid-late game effects, which can and will easily take over the game after 1-2 rounds. Hence the penalty is there to reduce the complete blowout (imagine staring down aurageyser and 2x 21k RG columns without paying assist cost. The grade lock deck will just roll over and die because they intentionally do so to prevent that from happening in the first place! This gives them at least a fighting chance by letting the cost weaken your defenses, granting a window to fight back).

9) This allows BOTH players to have some consent on how the game flow will become (you and the opponent). I don't want this to be something you force other party to comply to just because you want to play your way. If we do that we are no different from the person intentionally grade-locking. This is the better middle ground I can find so that everyone gets to play with the cards they consciously put into their deck.

10) This does not affect legion at all. Reason being is legion are still mostly related to their corresponding sub clans, and some of them (jewel knight, revengers, seekers, liberators) have some of the most crazy early game plays due to some of the mates plus their sub-clan attackers. Also another note is most legion bosses are not vanilla when not in legion. Many have some effect or power gain through their non-legion effect (although some like mega flare are made easier by being in legion), and therefore don't have the same problem as G-era grade 3 who do not even have an effect to work with.

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What do you guys think? do leave your comments on opinions regarding how to minimize the fun lost due to grade locking!

Ripple support as of 23/9

Ripple is getting new support in the aqua force clan booster, and I like what I am seeing.

Demise Ripple Orest

AUTO](RC):[Put this unit on the bottom of your deck] At the end of the battle that this unit boosted, if the number of your other [Rest] units with "Ripple" in its card name is two or more, you may pay the cost. If you do, look at five cards from the top of your deck, search for up to one card with "Ripple" in its card name from among them, reveal it to your opponent, put it into your hand, and shuffle your deck.

So this lets you search top 5 for a ripple after boost, assuming you have VG and at least another ripple. This lets us trade the trigger for more chance to find a proper unit or hitting the ride chain, find a persona, while recycling the trigger back. A great boon to consistency.

4k does not seem like much, but remember that the ride chain if ridden properly (extremely easy with Odysseus) are 8k/10k/11k respectively, which can hit conventional 12k/14k/15k breakpoints we need against another non vanilla vg. The legion also hits 22k assuming you have Pavroth in soul, so 26k is still an ideal breakpoint. Lastly You can still swing with this and Lavisse to make a 16k in a pinch, as long as its the 2nd column to attack. 7k will still hit 11k, 9k will hit crossrides for 13k, and 11k will hit 15k, which is 10k for most grade 2.

Rating: 7/10 Its an effect trigger that improves the consistency of the deck. definitely run 4. Mostly to fix terribly hands.

Flashing Ripple Odysseus

[ACT](RC)[1/Turn]:[Choose one of your other rear-guards, and put it into your soul] Search your deck for up to one card with "Ripple" in its card name with the same grade as your vanguard, ride it as [Stand], and shuffle your deck. If you rode, choose up to one card not named "Flashing Ripple, Odysseus" from your soul with the same grade as your vanguard, call it to (RC), and that unit gets [Power]+2000 until end of turn.

This ripple ride chain getting the Darwin treatment. As long as you can get this to RC, it doesn't matter if you hit the ride chain anymore as you can just fix it there and then.

Missed Sotirio? Just send Alecs back to soul and fix it, and get back that 8k defense.

Missed Pavroth? Ride it as required and call back out a tidal assault or Lavisse you were forced to ride and giving them 2k, making any 8k boost a huge 19k column.

Can also easily fetch Militiades or Genovious depending on whether opponent is grade stuck or not. Or just reride Militiades for another round of effects and legion.

Also note that you can only call same grade as VG, so no fixing column other than front row most of the time, and cannot loop indefinitely since you can't call another Odysseus.

Side not is that this hurts megacolony's VG stun, since it does not specify VG needing to be in stand to activate. It also get rid of gigaparalyzed units and call out new units (abeit mostly grade 3) so you can still have a decent attack turn.

(25/9) It has been brought to my attention that you can Infinitely recycle Militiades every turn with multiple Light Signal Penguin Soldier, similar to how kagero does it with the X. Wad you do is this:

1) Ride over Existing legion with Odysseus effect
2) SB legion and mate with Light Signal. Draw a card
3) Legion back the units you SB
4) Next turn use Odysseus to Ride Militiades again, call out Genovious in soul. Use Militiades' on ride effect if applicable
5) Call Light signal #2 OVER Genovious RG, SB 1st Light Signal and Militiades. Draw a card
6) Legion back Light Signal #1, Genovious and Militiades and 1 other cards. Light Signal #2 is now Light Signal #1
7) Repeat 4-6 whenever you have a Light Signal to call ad naussium, every turn

Rating: 9/10. Super consistent. No Brainer 4-of. Super derp with Light signal penguin soldier.

Turbulent Ripple. Lavisse

AUTO](RC):When this unit attacks, if the number of your other [Rest] units with "Ripple" in its card name is two or more, this unit gets [Power]+3000 until end of turn.

Few things to take away from this:
1) Its out Pseudo 12k sub-clan attacker, which all aggressive clans should have. In a pinch makes 16k column with Orest and Alecs.
2) Makes a 19k column with 7k booster to force 15k guard on 9k grade 2.
3) Its effect is not 1/turn, and stacks for the whole turn, meaning on Genovious or Militiades turns, you expect at least 6k power, which results in 22k column
4) Use with Odysseus you can make a 14k attacker on turn 2 by sending him in to ride Pavroth, then calling him out as a 11k, which gets +3k through effect to become 14k.

Rating: 7/10. Ain't flashy but serves the needs ideally. We still are not sure if we'll see a grade 1 version of this (as of 23/9), but hell it would be awesome. As of now this will do just fine.

Breaking Ripple, Miltiades

[ACT](VC): Legion21000 "Thundering Ripple, Genovious" (If your opponent's vanguard is grade 3 or greater, this unit may return four cards from your drop zone into your deck once, search your deck for the specified card, and Legion)
[AUTO](VC):When this unit attacks a vanguard, if this unit is Legion, and if the number of [Rest] units in your front row is three or more, choose up to one of your rear-guards and [Stand] it, and Counter Charge (1). Then, if the number of [Rest] units in your back row is three or more, draw a card.
[AUTO]:[Counter Blast (1)] When this unit is placed on (VC), you may pay the cost. If you do, look at three cards from the top of your deck, search for up to one card with "Ripple" in its card name from among them, reveal it to your opponent, put it into your hand, and put the rest into your drop zone.

So this can get quite confusing for many, and may look a little meh. But this is anything but meh.

We start by looking at the on ride effect; CB1 to top 3 for a ripple card, add up to one to hand, and the rest hit the drop zone. Being a legion based deck the drop zone filling is always welcome as we can save hand instead of committing cards to guard. It also helps search for another ripple, and since another 3 ripple cards are previewed, that makes a grand total of 28/49 cards in deck if you run 4 of everything, which is over 50% chance, a reasonable rate. Be it finding a RG to call, or grabbing a genovious to persona or stride, its a welcoming plus for aqua force who naturally lack in that department.

Militiades is also a 21k legion (due to being a revival legion for grade 3 genovoius). Which grants the deck access to some decent legion support like Anos(Pavroth does not need Alecs in soul for effect but we lose ride chain search), Milos(resist tidal assault), Starless (grade 2 Diamantes), Mola (10k vg booster) and tempest broader (costless unit swap) should u choose to run them. We also have access to Madew to retireve copies of Militiades or Genovious in drop zone, which is always a plus.

The legion based effect is a little trickier to understand. Basically its tailored to the ripple strategy of full field attack before using Genovious' persona to restand the entire field. Due to this we need to know that:

1) Attack order is RG/RG/VG (restand RG)/RG/RG
2) They usually will play mostly crits (maybe draw)
3) They have some of the scariest rush due to Pavroth and tidal assault, so they are aggressive in nature
4) They reward committing to a full field due to Genovious full field restand
4) There is no need for 4th attack enabler, as the grade 3 is the enabler, so space can be committed to ride chain.

The first part helps you meet the important 3 rested front row (on full field, legion have 4 units in front row, including the mate, so this helps meet Genovious condition). Even if you have just 1 16k column, you can still restand a unit to place triggers on (legion 2 units + rested front row). It also adds in a countercharge, making it easier to get Genovious 2 CB requirement. It becomes very relevant when you cant access a 2nd front row attacker, as we can stand a booster, and use genovious to stand the front row, although its quite undesirable for cost. This is due to Genovious being a limit break unit, so we won'y always have it available unless we run the enabler.

2nd part involves you having a full field and rewards you with a free draw if you can swing as a full field. This is actually the minor part of the effect as its never easy to full field as aqua force, particularly against retire clans. but if you managed to, you get to draw an extra card a turn, which puts this roughly on par with stride adding 3 cards to hand, minus a drive check, helping to dig further for a persona.

3rd part would involve after the attack end, and you have an opportunity to use Genovious' persona, whcih will restand the entire field for another 2 columns of attacks (and if stacia is behind VG with GB1, she can attack again as well). Again note that you need exactly 3 rested front row, so this is where the first legion effect comes into play in the event you have 2 front row RG. This is done after the attack, meaning that even if you did not have a persona in hand before attack, you still have 2 drive checks and Militiades draw effect to find it, as well as Orest to check top 5, increasing the odds greatly.

Rating: 8/10. Strong role player, helps them get small incremental advantage over multiple turns while providing legion support. Will likely bring back the ripple deck, in a good way (less of the grade stuck shenenigans Pavroth was, but more of a proper legion focused deck with ride chain).

Torrential Ripple, Podromos

[AUTO](VC):[Choose a face down card named "Torrential Ripple, Podromos" from your G zone, and turn it face up] When this unit's attack hits a vanguard, if you have a heart card with "Ripple" in its card name, you may pay the cost. If you do, look at five cards from the top of your deck, search for up to two cards with "Ripple" in its card name from among them, call them to separate (RC), and shuffle your deck.

This is really good. Its cost no CB, it helps fuel the Field by potentially calling up to 2 ripple, granted we still not sure if any more grade 1 or 2 is going to be printed, so as of now... we have 28/49 ripples maximum, slightly over 50%, meaning likely at least 1 unit called. Its also a pressure on hit unit, meaning you don't have to flip until he actually hits. Best part he does not have to be the 3rd or 4th attack, so more reasons to go straight crits.

Rating: 9/10. Definitely play in ripple decks, but mostly as 3 of due to the nature of on hit, as we really only need this to go off once, and the 3rd is here incase the first miss.

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How I would go about building this deck? It kind of builds itself.

Grade 0: 17
1 Alecs
4 Orest
4 Sonic Sailor
4 Crit (or 4 Malikka for more consistency and possible columns)
4 Heal

Grade 1:
4 Odysseus
4 Sotirio
4 PG (Any will do, though TD PG would save lots of cash)
3 8k/LB4 enabler/Kelpie rider/Stacia (Depending on whether you want early rush, earlier Genovious or more Lambros/extra utility unit)

Grade 2: 12
4 Pavroth
4 Lavisse
4 Tidal Assault (No contest in rushing department)

Grade 3: 8
4 Genovious
4 Militiades

Grade 4:
2 Lambros (Always run at least 2, we dont have enabler outside of stacia or tidal assault)
3 Podromas (helps fill the field, its never gonna hit twice ever, so 3rd copy only if 1st one missed)
3 Madew (Recur back Genovious for persona)

Best part of this deck is everything works without striding, so opponent gains no real advantage for grade stuck.

Random rantings

Few things that crossed my mind:

1.
I think I am getting addicted to striding aurageyser dragon. combined with claret fetching a swordbreaker and putting it behind serva, and retiring david to aurageyser, gives you some of the most insane and best feel of hand size boost ever (think only 3 Peace with multiple Darling can compare). Specially if you get to stride first, puts you so far ahead at times, even with crappy hand, that you are set for the next 1-2 turns. Hell there are times I even consider striding it twice depending on opponents (against big final turns like Bad End Ogre, or retire clans and LJ) over doomed. Never regretted buying and keeping 4, specially when it was still $12.

2.
RP getting way too much support. Granted most are for either Altmile and Alfred, we still have the insane altmile stride, and I think good JK are printed because we might see something happen to Swordmy. Benon is a pretty strong early play for 1 CB, i can easily see it being tech in in budget royal lists along with Mirron. Alfred is basically RP's version of Ezel; screwing LJ like its nothing. but since most of Alfred's support ties to a grade 3, at least if this craze catches on we'll see a lot less of the "grade stuck at 2 and swordmy you to death". Bushi must have been smoking weed again...

3.
Think deletor will be pretty consistent after the comic booster. Now with ample ways to countercharge, and getting pluses off Alba and Elro, a potential unflip trigger, and a new alternate win in Eigorg (ain't easy), but at least opponent can't do shit against it cause if they refuse to fill the drop zone by guarding, they are gonna die to delete. And best thing none of this give a lick whether opponent is grade 3 or not, which gives deletor a strong identity of aggression over say Messiah.

4.
Aqua force support is arriving. Ripple support kind of makes me fearful if they print more grade 1 and grade 2 support, but the legion is in the right direction. Definitely brace for a new maelstrom (likely a breakride or more effects pre LB4 version), thavas stride will also likely be a big middle finger to tidal bore 3-4. Hell we likely see 1 tidal bore, 1 socrates, 4 lambros, and maybe 2 thavas. Hopefully it would help if they can gain a little more field for less, but that might be asking for too much.

5.
Rush period is finally over, and it has slowed down significantly enough for me to start writing on a consistent basis (hopefully). No promises.

Random Decklist: Troll Shadow

Grade 0: 17
1 Creeping dark goat
8 crit
4 cursed eye raven
4 heal

Grade 1: 13
3 Brenwen
3 Peaker
4 Nemain (PG) (non-foil)
2 Swordbreaker (only expensive RR)
1 Servemyu

Grade 2: 12
4 Serva
4 Grosne
4 Macha (LD non-foil)

Grade 3: 8
4 Manisa
2 Baddah Caar (9k)
2 Sharp Fang Witch

Grade 4:
4 Madew (comic booster R)
2 Efnysion (FC RR)
2 Diablo (non-foil)

This deck was inspired by Timmy power gamer. Its not as offensive as a claret based deck, but it has so much card advantage its not even funny.Between. Madew recycling a on call grade 3, macha, baddah and sharp fang fetching, you have many options. Peaker is there so that you don't get owned for riding one of the 9k. you can get big columns through Grosne and spamming ravens to call (which thins the deck making the legion turn high trigger density) and using sharp fang to call multiple ravens. Wads more, this deck is relatively cheap with only Swordbreaker costing a significant amount (rest of them have a cheaper alternative print).