Budget Deck Profile: Genesis Witches

Today I will preview one of my more favored cheaper deck. While it is nothing too flashy in terms of mechanics, it is very streamline (beat with columns) and its full of our cute and lovely witches from genesis, here's the list:

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Mahou Majo Columns

Grade 0: 17
1 Koroha (FVG)
4 Shiroma (crit)
4 Kukurihime (crit)
4 Lemonccino (crit)
4 Laurier (heal)

Grade 1: 13
4 Framboise (PG)
4 Melissa (CB1 call when SB)
3 Thyme (on call mill 3, 1 to soul)
2 Skoll (stride fodder)

Grade 2: 12
4 Chicory (12k attacker, mate)
4 Jasmine (SC3 12k attacker, mate)
4 Cardamon (CB1 call when SB +2k)

Grade 3: 8
4 Mint (Finisher)
4 Fennel (Main Ride)

Grade 4: 8
3 Doom brace (Your main stride)
1 Madew (fetch grade 3 from drop)
2 Varnagandr (Situation stride)
1 Blizza
1 Dione



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How to play this deck

The deck has a few focus, each helping the other somewhat:

• Soul Chaining by looping Doom Brace SB3 and SC3 if 5 or less soul
• Pushing 21k RG columns (Doom Brace, Mint, +3k with 12k attackers)
• Legion returning triggers after thinning the deck for trigger density
• Fennel Loop late game by shuffling back Fennel, Jasmine and 2 Heals once deck reaches 6-7 cards

Soul Chaining

Your main objective is to "chaining" through your deck to reach a reasonably low deck count while still pushing opponent every turn for damage. This deck aims to "soul Chain" through Doom Brace till the deck is thin, and then legion back triggers for high trigger density. That means you will try to maintain around 3-5 soul for Doom Brace every turn till you either need to Varnagandr or Mint's legion skill, which allows Doom brace will SC 3 every time you stride. This means at least 7 cards per turn will be removed from your deck (draw phase, sc3, triple drive) and you will reach the goal within 3-4 turns of striding.

Fennel Looping

This occurs when you have only 6-7 cards left in your deck. When this occurs you can permanently loop Fennel repeatably by shuffling back 2 heal, another Fennel and Jasmine to legion with. And after the attack, use Fennel's legion skill to SB the legion pair +1 card and search your top 5 for up to 2 witches, in which case we will just take a Fennel and add it to hand, to repeat this loop. Do note that this is a last resort tactics and cannot be repeated a lot of times unless you have an abundance of soul left (each loop cost 3 soul, 1 card + the legion you ride over). 

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Card Breakdown

I am just a messenger...of your
DOOM

This deck is basically a Doom brace deck in a witch engine. Doom Brace is you main damage pusher by providing 21k RG columns each turn and letting you build field through Cardamon and Melissa calling. Its not easy to guard multiple 21-26k RG columns and a 26k stride every turn, specially in a 12 critical deck.

Typical Game Sequence:

1. Ride Fennel. CB1 to SC3.
2. Stride Doom Brace.
3. Call a RG so that each column has at least 1 RG.
4. Doom Brace SB3 to pump both columns. SC3 due to only having 2 souls left.
5. Call any Melissa or cardamon you SC.
6. Swing with stride, triggers to your 21k+ RG columns.

Framboise and her are BFFs

Fennel is your ideal main ride and by herself she grants you the 3 soul required to start the "soul chaining". She is also your recovery legion as she can help build hand size to survive big turns through her legion skill by adding 2 witches from your top 5 to hand (only Skoll and Kukurihime can't be taken with her effect), sometimes getting that one PG you really need. You can also infinitely loop Fennel when you are at your last 7 cards due to how you can take a fennel you legion back and SB the previous legion pair every time, allowing you to keep looping, so long as you can survive guarding by looping back all your heal triggers. Her mate Jasmine is our 2nd set of 12k beater and like Fennel, helps us to SC3 to start the set up or help pay for bigger effects (Mint or Vanagandr).

These 2 are a god send for this deck. They help to get Melissa and Cardamon to the soul while also filling drop zone for legion. Shiroma is also a self-recycling trigger replaces itself, which makes the legion process much easier should you need to legion early. They add 1 card to the soul without needing GB or legion should you need to fix the soul before either (either from 2 to 3, or 5 to 6). Ideally try not to use their effects if it push you to 6+ souls as it prevents Doom Brace from soul looping, and only if you direly need to fish for Cardamon/Melissa or need the 3rd soul if you miss Fennel/Jasmine.

The deck gains its card advantage through SB effects, either through Fennel or Cardamon and Melissa. Shiroma is technically a wash, but can help you try to fix your soul count while sometimes letting you put either Cardamon or Melissa in the soul while cycling itself and helping early legion. You ideally want to ride Melissa and Cardamon as VG so they are guaranteed in the soul to be used and your other units are better used as RG. Do note that Cardamon allows some big plays through Koroha and Kukurihime as she is 11k when called from soul, making any 7k booster and her into a 21k column.

I am RNG-sus; hear me roar

Vanagrandr does not guarantee 21k columns, but he is special as he can help dig for multiple triggers and cards you need. He can also set up for surviving by leaving a heal trigger as the 4th card, which is useful sometimes. Unfortunately since the deck does not try to reach 6 soul consistently, I only opted to run 1 pair. Also not that you can possibly generate multiple attacks if there are a few Cardamon in the soul. Genesis has never really have consistent drive checks due to the rapid soul charging, but Vanagrandr gives you a shot at changing that fate.

She's strong, cute, and straight to the point about the beat down

Mint's legion is another push turn as we are reaching the end of our deck and cannot afford another Doom Brace. She will shuffle back our triggers, and grant us a 37k VG column (which rivals most strides) with boost and 21k Column. With a thin deck and high trigger density these columns can and are usually lethal. Like Vanagrandr she also can generate multiple attacks through Cardamon/Melissa, although they will be 16k/12k each instead of just 11k/7k.
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Variations

Skoll and Thyme are the only units main deck that can be tinkered with as everything else has a role to play. You can opt to run Bellini(10k attacker) instead of Skoll for more early game and more backup attackers, but this deck is more lacking of boosters than attackers. Last option is Hati, which allows us to always generate 21k columns or even 26k column (Doom Brace turn) every turn if you have 11k+ unit in front of it. Of the 3 Hati fits best into the game plan of "huge columns every turn", but as Genesis is already SC rapidly at times, I prefer the added consistency that Skoll gives, but Hati would be a close 2nd of cards I would try to run.

For starter wise 2 other options stand out: Leyding and Pray Angel. Cinnamon, while being a witch unit, doesn't help our cause (we want to stay around 5 soul) and we cannot time her effect to our needs unlike Koroha. Leyding can replace itself for a proper unit, but only after striding, which leaves him vulnerable to early retires. Pray angel has similar issues as Leyding, but can give us the burst soul count should we are forced to legion a lot (easily from 2 to 6 soul) and do not have CB to spare for Fennel/Mint/Jasmine. I much prefer running Koroha because I will call starter to rearguard column regardless to have at least 1 unit in column for Doom Brace, and always boost 12k attackers with her. She can also make 21k columns outside of Doom Brace turns, and can be used early if you are afraid she gets retired early by Gatling Claw. All are decent choice and are playable, so pick which you prefer.

Alternative List

Grade 0: 17
1 Leyding (FVG)
4 Shiroma (crit)
4 Kukurihime (crit)
4 Lemonccino (crit)
4 Laurier (heal)

Grade 1: 13
4 Framboise (PG)
4 Melissa (CB1 call when SB)
4 Hati (+ power on SB)
1 Skoll (stride fodder)

Grade 2: 12
4 Chicory (12k attacker, mate)
4 Jasmine (SC3 12k attacker, mate)
4 Cardamon (CB1 call when SB +2k)

Grade 3: 8
4 Mint (Finisher)
4 Fennel (Main Ride)

Grade 4: 8
4 Doom brace (Your main stride)
1 Madew (fetch grade 3 from drop)
2 Varnagandr (Situation stride)
1 Blizza

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).

From Budget to Competitive: Bermuda Triangle (Part1)

Hi guys, today I am going to preview my take on how I would play the new G-Bermuda. As many have already known, this clan ain't cheap at all (olivia, why!?!) but the main core of the deck I am previewing today is reasonable affordable, and still have many of the main mechanics.

Disclaimer: This is a budget build you can mash up literally for cheap(by bermuda standards of cheap), it showcases that even though without the GR, you can still pressure multiple attacks per turn. If you happen to have the GR, it would make a great addition to the deck, but if your wallet cannot take the crit, it is not mandatory to play the clan as it should be with new generation stuff.

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Deck Name: Davy Jones' Fish Tricks 

Grade 0: 18
2 Duo Lovers Singer, Darling (FVG) ~$0.4
4 Duo Grampus Turn, Shannon (crit) ~$0.8
4 Duo Love Joker, Chulym (Crit) ~$2
4 Heartful Ale, Fundy (draw) ~$2
4 Duo Tropical Healer, Medjerda(Heal) ~$0.8

Grade 1: 14
2 Duo Pretty Horn, Ural (Sb2 draw) ~$1
4 Duo Petit Etoile, Peace (draw Engine) ~$2
4 PR♥ISM Duo, Aria (PG) ~$20
4 Duo Gorgeous Lady, Kazuha (pressure booster)~$2

Grade 2: 11
4 Duo Dragon Palace Dianthus, Minamo (Giant Attacker) ~$2
3 Glitter of Yearning, Spica (Harmony Amber clone) ~$9
4 Duo Lovely Devil, Vepar ~$2

Grade 3: 7
4 Duo Lovely Angel, Nemuel (Main Ride) ~$2
3 Little Princess, Himari (RG pressure) ~$0.6

Grade 4:
2 Legend of the Glass Shoe, Amoris (Board reset) ~$6
2 Rain Element, Madew ~$4
4 Leisure Soft Ribbon, Somni (Pressure) ~$2

Total price: ~$59
By far this is quite cheap as Bermuda goes. Granted everything is still new and prices are still high, but this will drop somewad as time goes, so

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Game Plan:
Somni, Spica and Himari are your main additional attack enabler. Amoris is there to reset all your units like Lulu in the event you did not bounce them. Make 21k columns with multiple Lulu and Syr Darya.

Winning Image:
Multiple RG swings. The VG column does not use much CB, so spent them all on rearguard effects. Swing till they break under the pressure and run out of cards to guard.

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Notable things:

Nemuel and Vespar:
This is your main ride. They are unique for a duos legion as they can bounce and clone anything else, which makes them a great boss on the cheap. The legion mechanic is also very crucial for long games as you tend to go through the deck relatively fast. Also since both are just R, they total cost to field this is no more than ~$8, which is a steal.

Shizuka
I opted not to run these in here, but you can consider 2. She gives you your stride fodder and your Himari's but her only real problem is the nature of the clan itself: they lack big columns without specific setup. She is quite difficult to form  21k columns without external help from Somni and Spica, and only to anything that attacks for 11k or more. If you want to make room for her, as suggested you can make the changes suggested above, but it will affect the nature of the deck.

Olivia
So lots of people are gonna ask why no Olivia. Firstly is the cost and availability. Secondly she is strong, but you can still manage without her in this deck. That said, she is a great addition to the deck, and give you stronger big pushes to end the game. If you have them available, I would reccomend taking an Amoris and a Somni for each Olivia pair.



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So what do you guys think? Leave your comments if you have other interesting ways to play this deck (you can leave standard meta list too, but that be boring and brings nothing new to this archetype, so I rather not go there if possible.)

Budget Control: Bermuda Triangle

So Bermuda's booster just came out recently, and there is a hype in demand for the cards. So I want to put in some advise for those who are a little light on the wallet.

Wait a few weeks for price to stabilize:
This is a very standard practice if you are extremely tight on budget. Wait for the hype to die down a bit, and more boxes are opened. The RR and some RRR will stabilize after many more boxes are opened to find SP full arts, so there WILL be much more stock soon for staples, so just chill a little and proxy up first if your friends are open about it.

Try to buy the C and R playsets:
Thus is saying as a budget player; buy play sets from people who whacked crates for SP arts. They have so many repeats of the C and R that its easy to get them to let it off to you. Being a clan booster and the sheer amount that is opened to find those elusive SP art, there is gonna be HEAPS of C and R, so i suggest trying to get a play set of C and R for ~$10. May give a little more lee way of $12-15 if you want them now, but kindly refer back to 1st rule, where you wait a few weeks, and reserve those money for the RR PGG and G3.

If you need the cash, sell your foil R, GR and SP arts now!:
This is for people who opened multiple boxes. They are only gonna drop in price as many more become available. If you can probably live with just 2 GR at this current state, but even then its optional, as the on hit stride has similar effects. They also sell for a whooping ~$30+ a pop, so use this to recoup your box cost, and wait for it to dip closer to $20 to buy them back. For SP arts, unless you are an avid collector and have the cash, just use them to recoup the cost. Sp and non-SP have no difference in play value, and if you are like me, function wise they are no different, and I prefer to save  what you can for basic important stuff, like the RRR break-stride.

Start digging stores for C and R from previous Bermuda booster (especially duos):
This is a little late, but if your local stall have spares for Duos C and R, gobble play sets up IMMEDIATELY. They are gonna keep going up, specially Peace that everyone and their friends will advocate playing in 4s. Take as many as you can if they are affordable, as it is only going to get harder, and take some for your friends if you feel generous. If for nothing else you can resell it for a marginal profit, or make complete decks to sell off.

Stay the hell away from Meer and Victoria:
If you already have these and are not planning to play them, let go of them now. Their price are now experiencing spikes as the demand suddenly jumped. Meer is super mandatory for playing Eternal Sister Meer, and Victoria is an important legion for Duos if you are going that direction now that she has another duos legion to work with. If you can snag them for trades for cheap, do so, but otherwise just ignore them for now as they are gonna cost you. Give it 2-4 months and when the craze subsides, you can go ahead and grab them as a deck or play set.

From Budget to Competitive: Dark irregular Part 2

Welcome back to the second part of Budget to Competitive. We will continue to look into dark irregulars on a whole and compare both options available: Amon focused, and Scharlachrot.

Again I will list the pricing I used in previous article.

Noteables

I will mark the prices of all the options as *Worth getting, *not so budget unfriendly, and *super-budget unfriendly.

(RR) Scharlachrot Vampir ~$4-6 each, easily found
(RR) Flag Breaker ~ $3-4 each, easily found (Compulsory)
(RR) Squall Maker Vampir ~$2-3 each, easily found
(RRR) One Who is Abhorrent, Gilles de Rais ~$6-8 each, easily found
(PR) Flying Librarian ~$1-2 each, not so easy found
(RR) Doreen the thruster ~$6-9 each, very hard to acquire
(PR) Psychic of Ash, Hadar ~ $25+ per legion pair, very hard to acquire
(PR) Astaroth Legion ~$7-9 per legion pair, not so easy found
(RR) Yellow Bolt ~$2-3 each, not so easily found
(R) Alluring Succubus ~$2-3 each, very hard to find
(RR) Great Demon, Soulless Demagogue ~ $1-2 each, easily found
(RRR) Amon's Claw, Marchocias ~$2-3 each, not so easily found
(RRR) Demon Marquis, Amon "Яeverse" ~$5-6 each, not so easily found
(RR) Amon's Follower, Vlad Specula ~$4-5 each, not so easily found

Di C and R play sets from GBT03: ~$10 for play set, easily found
Dark knight of nightmareland ~$2 for play set, not so easy
Hysteric Shirley ~$2 for play set, not so easy
Most C ~$1 for 5, most R ~$2 for play set

Now here is the rough breakdown for prices I would use for my decks:

Total price breakdown for Amon if buying singles:
4 Amon Яeverse ~$20
2 Astaroth set ~$16
2 Gilles ~$12
3 Marchocias ~$9
4 Flag breaker ~ $14

total: $71 +

Total price breakdown for Scharlachrot if buying singles:
4 Scharlachrot ~$20
4 Squall Maker ~$8
2-3 Librarian ~$4
4 Flag breaker ~ $16
4 Gilles ~$24

total: $74+

The price breakdown isn't very far off after doing the math. Its just that Amon have more early game and soul charge potential, but are reasonably harder to acquire. Scharlachrot is much easier to acquire, and people will likely be selling the entire deck for reasonable price. Both decks have the pros and cons, so pick what you like!

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Some Thoughts

Doreen the thruster vs Lunatic Masquerade
Price: $6-9 vs $0.2
So Doreen is something MANY DI players will consider a must have. Personally i think otherwise. She promotes bulk soul charging, has use pre-stride, has a higher number possible compared to Lunatic, and has almost 3000% price increase compared to Lunatic, and is rather difficult to acquire. And if you comparing turns where there is no soul charging involved (like when you are 6-7 cards from decking out), she is weaker than Lunatic, which is always a stable 11K by then.  Not to say she is bad, but she and predator tends to lure newer DI players to spam their SC effects just to keep numbers up across multiple turns, which I feel is just gonna make decking out a real thing. You have to pace your SC effects to get the most out of DI, and unless it is final turn or you need the souls, I suggest trying not to aim for high soul count just to make Doreen work, but rather get her to benefit off the incidental soul charge effects you have.

Shirley vs Monochrome
Price: $0.25 vs $0.2
This is a matter of preference, as I feel if you are even going to stride even once, Monochrome performs better. Granted Shirley is 2 SC during main phase, Monochrome lets you do 2 things DI does not have often: drawing cards and countercharge. You give up a 10k shield, but you make up for it with another use of an important skill like Bar maid or either Vampir, while recycling a stand trigger back to deck and a draw. So I feel even if your deck sorely needs draw like in Amon, even Amon have very huge front row during either stride, so it is in favor of Monochrome.

Astaroth vs Hadar
Price: $8 vs $20+
Based on card pool available, Astaroth gets to dip into the entire Amon card pool, which has some of the most efficient SC engine possible. He is also a legion with always crit pressure, and a mate that is still strong even if you had to ride it. Hadar is the more generic legion, and with the printing of Rigil it is possible to make a grade 3 line-up of both Rigil and Hadar. Only real problem is getting Hadar legion set. As of this writing the price has seen a crazy spike, due to the demand for the mate, which is good in any legion DI deck. So if you wallet is hurting, Astaroth is being printed as a legion pair promo and more easily available as compared to the now low print Hadar legion.

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Decklists:

Fanart Amon "Яeverse" From  Franky Kesuma

Amon list

Grade 0: 18
2 Bar maid Grace (FVG)
4 Hell's trick (heal)
4 Grausam (effect crit)
4 Cruel Hand (crit)
4 Monochrome (stand)

Grade 1: 13
4 Flag breaker (PGG)
2 Pure love succubus
3 Hell's deal
4 Phu Gremlin

Grade 2:11
4 Ron Gremlin
4 Hell's Draw
3 Hell's Nail

Grade 3: 8
2 Amon
4 Amon "Яeverse"
2 Astaroth

Grade 4: 8
2 Gilles
2 Demagouge
3 Marchocias
1 Kisskill Lila

Now the plan for this list is full balls aggro. Your main stride will be Demagouge as you soul charge set up, and Marchocias for big swing turns. Grilles is strictly a finisher, and if you ended up having 2 bar maid in play, we can easily see a 66k+ Grilles with glory and double crit, which is quite game over for most people. Astaroth is there in the event you starting to deck out, as most of the time you will be spend as reverse, hopefully have the crossride through all the soul charging. You can swap Phu Gremlin for Doreen if you want, but no more than 2, as I find Phu useful even late game as emergency attackers.

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Stride Era's Amon

Scharlachrot build

Grade 0: 17
1 Werbat Ordonnanz
4 Alice (heal)
4 Monochrome (stand)
4 Weretiger (crit)
4 Dark knight (crit)

Grade 1: 13
4 Flag Breaker (PGG)
3 Lunatic Masquarede (11k booster @ 10 soul)
4 Pure love Succubus (stride fodder)
2 killing dollmaster

Grade 2: 12
2 Flying Librarian
4 Knife conducter
3 Izyla (legion mate)
3 Squall Maker Vampir

Grade 3: 8
4 Scharlachrot Vampir
3 Hadar (legion)

Grade 4: 8
2 KissKill Lila
4 Gilles
2 Demagouge

This is very similar to previous budget list except for the inclusion of 2nd set of Grilles and 2 Librarian and Legion. I find librarian's really decent even though it is only 8k, as we have mainly Lunatic as a booster. We have some strong 21k columns in squall maker or any column with lunatic (at 6 soul he is 9k boost, which is 21k with knife conductor), while VG column is a threat by itself thanks to stride and GB2. Same deal as previous deck; where you have to pace your SC or else you risk decking out. It is definitely less aggressive than Amon, but you have more card advantage, and therefore less likely to run out of gas. Legion is there for the end game when you still have not killed your opponent, and can help you purge triggers out of the soul to legion back.
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So what do you guys think?  I am currently working on a DP and GP deck, and posting my NG deck that I main. Leave your comments on what you want to see next!

Playing on a Budget: Tips for budget Vanguard 1

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

This is a very important tip for newer players that want to try out different clans. You can usually find your commons or rares within 1st week of a new release, and they tend to be undervalued early in the set due to people trying to recoup cost from buying boxes,  There a few particular things you need to note of and try to include in your 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.

Pretty... Expensive that is

Stride fodders: 

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!

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.

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!

From Budget to Competitive: Dark irregular Part 1

Its time for me to do a new budget deck. This time after a few people's suggestion I decided to try making a dark irregular deck. Thanks to the availability of it in the recent GBT03 booster, and how many top tier players find it weak. I have decided to look at what is possible for making this deck work and work out a cost-efficient means to play this deck.

This time round I will try a different approach towards making the deck. I will first look up all the possible cards we can add, availability, and price range, before deciding on options. Based on a little digging and some running around Singapore, this is the price range I could get for these:

Noteable Pricing:

I will mark the prices of all the options as *Worth getting, *not so budget unfriendly, and *super-budget unfriendly.

(RR) Scharlachrot Vampir ~$4-6 each, easily found
(RR) Flag Breaker ~ $3-4 each, easily found (Compulsory)
(RR) Squall Maker Vampir ~$2-3 each, easily found
(RRR) One Who is Abhorrent, Gilles de Rais ~$6-8 each, easily found
(PR) Flying Librarian ~$1-2 each, not so easy found
(RR) Doreen the thruster ~$6-9 each, very hard to acquire
(RR) Emblem Master ~$2-5 each, very hard to acquire
(PR) Psychic of Ash, Hadar ~ $25+ per legion pair, very hard to acquire
(PR) Astaroth Legion ~$7-9 per legion pair, not so easy found
(RR) Yellow Bolt ~$2-3 each, not so easily found
(R) Alluring Succubus ~$2-3 each, very hard to find
(RR) Great Demon, Soulless Demagogue ~ $1-2 each, easily found
(RRR) Amon's Claw, Marchocias ~$2-3 each, not so easily found
(RRR) Demon Marquis, Amon "Яeverse" ~$5-6 each, not so easily found
(RR) Amon's Follower, Vlad Specula ~$4-5 each, not so easily found


Dark knight of nightmareland ~$2 for play set, not so easy
Hysteric Shirley ~$2 for play set, not so easy
Most C ~$1 for 5, most R ~$2 for play set
Di C and R play sets from GBT03: ~$10 for play set, easily found (see image)

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He's our main man... I mean Vampir...

Since we are going about the cheaper and more easily available cards, it effectively makes our deck revolve around striding, You have to play 4 Flag breaker and 4 Scharlachrot Vampir, and 2 Gilles to have a decent chance against most decks. That is ~$47+ cost already. If you include the C and R bundle, that's close to $60. So while this deck is reasonably cheap, its not one of those super budget ones.

If you are lucky and are one of the few who bought box slots @ ~$50 for 8 slots, you might get most of this for a really good deal and have spares to either trade for what you need or sell spare C and R! The rest of you don't give up! Check up trade forums and have a look out at stores and player base to see if they have any sweet deals for these. Its entirely possible to get this under $50 if they are desperate enough to let them go!

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Deck List:

Budget Dark Irregular

Grade 0: 17
1 Werbat Ordonnanz
4 Alice (heal)
4 Monochrome (stand)
4 Weretiger (crit)
4 Dark knight (crit)*

Grade 1: 13
4 Flag Breaker (PGG)
3 Lunatic Masquarede
4 Pure love Succubus (stride fodder)
3 Killing dollmaster

Grade 2: 11
4 Knife conducter
4 Werewolf Jaeger
3 Squall Maker Vampir


Grade 3: 4
4 Scharlachrot Vampir
4 Sweet Predator

Grade 4:
4 KissKill Lila
2 Gilles
2 Demagouge**

* Its not found in GBT03, but you will definitely get a play set in your DI playing career, so just grab them from stall if possible.
** This is particularly strong with Starter + stride skill adding 6 cards to soul in 1 turn. It is a bulk RR in FC15, so its reasonably easy to acquire.

Total cost: ~$60

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Winning Image:
Stride every turn and make 21k columns. Lunatic + either Knife or werewolf will make 21k columns with little effort, while squall with any booster makes 21k column for 1 CB. Ideally you have 3 soul breakpoints; 6 (Scharlachrot stride skill), 10 (other effects) and 15 (Gilles). It is extremely vital NOT to rush to 15. Take it slow and reap the benefits off Scharlachrot stride skill to retire, and only go to 15 for the kill. Sweet predator is mostly fodder or an extra RG attacker, but you can push her up through dark knight, monochrome, werebat or dollmaster, also making columns.

My favorite G1 for this deck. Works like a Doreen, but none of the commitments required! 

Disclaimer: This is the base required for the deck to function properly. Trust me, it works out fine if you pace your soul charging. You don't have to all in at once, and take a while to whittle down opponent with 21k+ columns. You get decent advantage off Kisskill + Scharlachrot + monochrome, so you can still stay afloat while you hammer away at your opponent.

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Next time round I will talk more about possible improvements, as well as look into building towards the Amon sub clan as well. Till then, leave some comments and share your opinions! Let me know if you prefer the older format or this format.

From Budget to Competitive: Gear Chronicle part 2

Welcome to the continuation of my budget series articles for gear chronicle. We will talk about some of the possible changes to make for the deck, options vs cost, and what you should prioritize on depending on your capital limits. My previous article walks through how to build a decent good deck from scratch with 2 x TD and a few good rares and commons, so do look up the link below if you have not already.

From budget to competitive gear chronicle part 1

Money Sinks:

The following cards are where most of your money get sunk into. I will breakdown what they offer to the clan in general, relative priority of getting them, and how viable are they relative to their budget cost. Gentle reminder that shop prices will be considerably more than what I am quoting here as reference, but that doesn't mean you should not try them if you you can't find it from players! Sometimes you can get really sweet deals from shops if they are really nice, so don't hesitate to inquire.

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High priorities:

These are basically stuff you will 100% need without fail. They make the deck function towards its winning image, so if wallet allows, grab them! Good deals exist if you are persistent, specially among players and traders, so be polite about it, and if they are not offering lower, do respect their decisions and don't force it.

#1: Interdimensional Dragon, Ragnaclock Dragon ~$8-10 (Eng ~$15)

Ragnaclock is a beast. It can carry the entire deck on its back if needed, and is a threat that everyone facing gear have to plan for. That means saving PG specifically for him, and thus this create awkward situations where opponent's will not guard your first few strides if their hand does not have enough G0 shields. This allows you to severely punish them with chrono jet's GB2 glory if they use up most of their G0. Or if their drive checks had no PG, you can potentially punish them with this for high damage or even end the game. Minimal at least a pair.

When do I get this?
When your wallet allows it. I would prioritize at least getting a pair to gain the option. Even more than other options. However if it is over your spending capital, faterider is still a decent option, and your opponent will assume you have it and play around it regardless. Ideal aim is to get 2 of these asap, although a complete play set need not be immediate if wallet is a little light.

Is it worth the cost?
Very. Its a very powerful finisher that requires opponent to have an exact answer or it will cost him. I gotten mine at ~$8 each in Singapore, during the off period where the clan saw a decline in play. Granted it was a good bargain, I would say $8-10 is a good deal. For english side unfortunately the nature of the game is expensive, so expect around ~$15 each. Still worth getting a pair if you can afford it.

#1/2: Interdimensional Dragon, Faterider Dragon $4-5 (English ~ $6-10)

This is a very strong unit for budget cost. He grants the clan toolbox potential as well as high amount of power later in the game. Best of all it has no CB or SB cost, meaning they can be spent on your control effects or guard restrictions. The power to a unit is no slouch either, as after striding ragnaclock you can easily get multiple 3k power to 3-4 unit. Ideally at least 1 in the G-zone, but 2 is a possibility.

When to get this?

You can either get this asap if you know ragnaclock is out of your range, or get this after ragnaclock. It really depends on your wallet capacity, so use personal judgement for this. He is really good for his cost, and grants insane utility to a deck with not much filtering.

It it worth the cost?

I would say he is the 2nd most important unit to have in the G-zone for english, as for Jap he's a steal for his price. As of writing I find found mine for around ~$5 each, and keep 2 in the event I want to play a more aggressive stride focusing on RG. For english this can easily reach around $8-10 for RRR, which is alright for what it does, but a little on the pricier end, so you are extremely budget . 

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Medium priorities:

Everything here helps the deck, but it is more of a quality of life change that you can live without. Most of these are quite affordable upgrades so if there are good offers you can afford, do snag them. They are good quality of life improvement, at reasonable cost.

#1: Glimmer breath dragon $1-2 (Eng $2)

This unit is very similar to Burnout Dragon. Like burnout, he makes you committed to a G3 in your deck, which is Chrono jet. But given how strong that is, you usually want to sit on chrono jet for a LONG time, making the oppotunity cost extremely low. He does cost a soul which is a scarce resource in GC, but if planned properly its manageable. Unlike his precessor Relic master, he cant be used pre-stride but can hit 11k vg unhindered and cost only 1CB 1SB, so take your pick. Do note when considering other units that require souls, as this tends to clash with them. Its a decision either to use this over Amber as GC actually lack backrow boosters to commit due to deck constraints; glimmer is more independent while amber is over a long term, so take your pick.

When to get this?

When good deals arrive. This card is cheap for what it does unlike burnout (main clan hype too stronk). Since we commit mostly to chrono jet, this has marginal drawbacks and as a standalone its quite good. Look out for great deals as people may be willing to even through this in in bundle trades just to get rid of it. Take them when its convenient and never look back. If you are going to focus on amber then you might want to hold on this one.

Is it worth the cost?

Very good deal. I got mine at roughly $1 each through bundle trades, as the hype is currently down. English ones will be roughly $2 each which is still affordable. He's flexible, and cheap to boot. A real budget saver.

#2: Steam maiden, Arlim ~$4-5 (Eng $5-7)

This is our PGG that grants a chance to countercharge(new unflip keyword). You can reliably get 1 unflip (possibly more) based on how long the game drags. If you are aiming for more RG that consume CB this is rather handy for managing that, but not mandatory. She cannot be used to guard for RG, so it is something to note against matchups with Overlords or Big Bang.

When to get this?
When you settled High priorities. This means she is lower priority than Ragnaclock and Faterider, as the TD already have normal PG, so getting them basically only adds a chance to countercharge. You will definitely want to prioritize utility and main cards before getting this, but keep a look out for sweet deals. Ideally you want to get 4 at one shot.

Is it worth the cost?
I got mine at about $4 each due to good deals, but many will be willing to pay about $5 for them. English ones may go up to $5-7 depending on where you get them. In my opinion they are decent if you intend to use a lot of CB and don't mind forsaking RG against Naru or Kagero. Overall I feel it not high priority, but important to look out for when appropriate.

#3: Lost age dragon ~$4-6 (Eng $2-3)

This is a book promo that should have just been the TD promo instead of mystery flare. Unfortunately its Bushiroad's marketing strategy, so we gotta live with that. Its nothing complicated, simple hit pressure and instant tuck effect for no cost. Definitely more cost effective than chronoscommand overall, a very good 1-of when opponent have multiple targets you want to pick off the field.

When to get this?
When you get a decent deal. You won't miss it if you don't have one, but he is an excellent option to have. He can be found occasionally within traders as it is a book promo, so it is just a matter of whether you can afford it. Its not as scary as Ragnaclock and cost roughly the price of Faterider, so if given the choice, Faterider>Lost Age.

Is it worth the cost?
Depends. If tight on wallet I'd say you can get similar on hit pressure through Epochmaker + Glimmer Breath. He demands roughly ~$4-6 in Singapore for the Jap one, so it may deter some people. In English he is cheap at around $2-3 each, so this is one of the cards English had it easy. On hit pressure for free is never bad, so if given sweet deals do consider it, can be worth the cost.

Notable #1: Interdimensional Dragon, Epochmaker Dragon ~$2-3

This is my favorite pick in this category, A real dark horse.It grants good pressure for free, and lets you reuse your glimmer breath or steam breath dragon. The extra attack from a G3 is very underrated, as if planned properly, even if opponent has a damage trigger, he still can hit his front row to pressure guard. Another cool thing is you can relocate your RG when they get called back, so you can shift boosters around or even put important units like amber in the back row so they don't get attacked during opponent's turn. So get creative.

When to get this?
I would say try to get 1. It is a GR, the art is pretty cool, and its cheap to boot. I usually like to stride this or Lost age first to get the pressure out since many people want to take the first few damage for CB and save hand, so the frequency of it going off is quite high. If they PG this, it works in your favor since that's one less PG for Ragnaclock. Grab this when cheap offers arise.

Is it worth the cost?
I may be bias, but its worth getting one, even for the art alone. Got mine at a cheap $2, which is great for budget players. Don't let the fact it is a GR scare your wallet, as many people don't want to hold on to this. Unfortunately this is not available yet in English, so you guys are out of luck for the moment.

Notable #2: Interdimensional Beast, Upheaval Pegasus ~$0-1

This dark horse (no pun intended) is a risky gamble that can pay off really well, especially if you already have units that benefit off tuck effects already in play. Mistgazer, gear hawk and Gear hound get ridiculously large of it, which generates really big RG columns.  Sometimes you can even get opponent's triggers to be stranded on his field, which means less triggers in his deck overall. However do note this can be risky if opponent has RG that have on call effect, as they can pay for them even on your turn! So some caution to be taken. A very high risk high reward card for the more adventurous.

When to get this?
Get this off trades as throw-ins. This thing is really cheap as it is considered a trash RR from FC15, so should not be hard to aquire. It helps that there are better strides out there, but for cheap this card adds a little fun into your game with friends at little cost.

Is it worth the cost?
If gotten for cheap/free yes. Its a fun pick that I throw in to keep games interesting. I got mine off box sharing for FC15 since nobody wanted it, and got it thrown in along with my nova stuff. Again this is a FC15 card, so English will have to wait to see if they will get it. Overall its good cost for fun gotten, so it doesn't hurt to pick up one.

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Low priorities:

Here is where some caution is required; I do not really advise getting these immediately either because they are not cost efficient for what they do, cost too much, or very low priority over those mentioned above. In no way they are terrible, just that if budget is a concern, try to steer away from these.

*Heart Thump Worker ~$2-3 (Eng ~$5-7)

This unit helps to build up soul for your SB, which is rare in GC. However this does not justify the cost (especially in Eng).
When to get this?
After everything else in priority. I would value this the least important of all the upgrades, as the improvement is just an extra critical that can soul charge. That said, if you manage to get this as a throw in during trade, do snag some up as you will eventually get them, just not before the rest.

Is it worth the cost?
Not so. Everything else provides better utility for cost ratio. I would not pay the price for this in Eng, but for Jap I think within range of $2 is acceptable, although i rather settle the strides and other stuff first before considering this.

Chronos Command Dragon ~$7-9(Eng ~$9)

Now this may seem contradictory, but hear me out on this. This unit does not do what you expect it to do, and not well at it.Firstly you have no control of when you want the effect to go off, unless opponent rush you with full field, and even then properly staggered effects will get you the same results (chrono+epochmaker+glimmer). Next thing to note is the cost is rather high at CB2 + SB1 + a discard. Assuming a SB = 1CB, you need to make sure you nail at least 4 RG to break even. For the same on hit lost age or epoch can generate +1 off this for no extra cost. It would be nice to have one, but I feel other units perform better on average.

When to get this?
After almost every other stride, or there is a steal. I personally do not feel this is worth it's current cost (partly due to this being a GR) so the price is still hyped. I feel if on a budget, you get more bang for your buck with either fate rider or even ragnaclock. So don't put this on a high priority unless its a really good deal.

Is it worth the cost?
Personally I don't like it, but some say 1 copy doesn't hurt. He is floating $7-9 atm, which Eng one goes around $9 or so. He is priced this way since he is the GR form GBT01, but I feel his effective price should be around ~$6. So if you get lucky and find it for that price, do grab it then.

Steam fighter, mesh-he $4-5 (Eng ~$5)

This is also another one that I feel varies in value. IF you want to focus heavily on CB like amber + Ishin, you will want to consider this to mitigate some cost. However soul is already precious to the clan as it is, so I will try not to run this with other SB effects.

When to get this?
This unit's priority depends on how heavy your deck's CB is. In my budget list it is light on CB and runs Gigi, so this does not fit in. However if using a heavy CB and light SB effect, this can find a home, and its priority becomes right after Arlim. Otherwise I tend to stay away form this one.

Is it worth the cost?
I think it should be cheaper. Both the Jap and Eng ones cost ~$5, but I think its more bang for your buck if you are heavy on CB. Again this depends on your list mostly whether you can support it well or not.

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Here is how I would go about purchases depending on how much I can afford:

Budget route:

1x epochmaker > 1x upheaval > 1x faterider > 2x Ragnaclock > 1x lost age > 2-3x glimmer breath  > 4x arlim >2x Ragnaclock > rest

High capital route:

4x Ragnaclock > 4x Arlim > 1x fate rider > 1x lost age > 4x heart thump > 2-3x mesh-he > rest

Maximum Budget list

G0: 17
1 Gunner Gear dracokid or Timepiece dracokid (FVG)
4 Steam maiden, Uluru (heal)
4 Luckypot dracokid (draw)
4 Steam battler, dadasig (critical)
4 Vainglory dream gear cat (stand)

G1: 14
4 Withdrawn gear raven (PG)
4 Mistgazer dragon (power booster)
2 steam rider Dizkal (9k attacker)
4 Steam breath dragon (strider)

G2: 11
4 Smoke gear dragon (10k base)
3 Steam fighter, amber (retire unit)
4 Twinmaser dragon (12k attacker)

G3: 8
4 Chrono jet dragon (Main G3)
4 Steam maiden Elul (backup G3)

G4: 8
2 lost age dragon
2 fate rider dragon
2 epochmaker dragon
2 upheaval Pegasus

Proposed list (final):

G0: 17
1 Gunner Gear dracokid or Timepiece dracokid (FVG)
4 Steam maiden, Uluru (heal)
4 Luckypot dracokid (draw)
4 Steam battler, dadasig (critical)
4 heart thump worker* (critical)

G1: 14
4 Steam maiden Arlim* (PGG)
4 Mistgazer dragon (power booster)
2 steam rider Dizkal (9k attacker)
4 Steam breath dragon (strider)

G2: 11
3 Smoke gear dragon (10k base)
3 Glimmer breath dragon* (retire unit)
3 Twinmaser dragon (12k attacker)
2 steam knight puzer lli* (legion mate)

G3: 8
4 Chrono jet dragon (Main G3)
4 Ruin disposal dragon (backup G3 legion)

G4: 8
4 Ragnaclock dragon
1 lost age dragon
1 fate rider dragon
1 epochmaker dragon
1 upheaval Pegasus

From Budget to Competitive: Gear Chronicle part 1

Hi readers. Today I am going to try a different approach at vanguard. This series is named "From budget to competitive" and is catered for our more financially challenged individuals who still want to enjoy playing vanguard at a reasonable budget.

This was suggested to me by a few friends who find vanguard to be really expensive, and quite daunting for new people to enter. However it being true for main clans, there are some budget alternatives that are often underplayed. I hope that with this series of articles, I hope to let newer people see that its not all meta.deck or cardfight-wallet.

Today we will look into the relatively new clan: gear chronicle. As a new clan just introduced in GBT01 and gaining support in GBT02, many of the available cards are still in circulation, making this quite accessible. There are a few factors that make budget build possible:

Strengths

1) G-TD: This is like Bushiroad's best possible idea to introduce new players to the game. Unlike older TD, you just need to get only 2 of these to have a completely functional deck, complete with a play set of main G3, PGs, and useful cards. Just need to replace a few less optimal units and you will have access to a reasonably good deck for the fraction of the cost that it takes to buy play sets of some main clan aces(thing saver, abyss,the x).

2) Chrono Jet dragon: This card is really strong for a TD ace. He's got in-built retire engine to generate advantage, have game ending power in his GB2 glory effect, and has good support to back him up. Overall a very strong unit to start out with out of the trial deck, even if the TD stride is (basically) there just for triggering chrono jet.

3) Many good common and rares printed: This is quite unique to just gear chronicle in general since they have only existed for 2 sets. They have a lot of good support to shore up the clan's roster so that they will be at least equal footing with at least some of the other clans. They also printed 2 legion pairs for GC that are just rares, making it really easy to get playsets for cheap. The power granting aspect of the clan is not really mainstream at the moment, and with most of them being just commons, they are affordable as well.

4) Not main-meta...: Recently they have fallen out of meta and due to this have fallen in price. Many of the Japanese singles are pretty affordable to get. Their RR Relic master dragon is a measly $1 to many people and is often thrown in as trade bait. Another RR glimmer breath dragon is also reasonably affordable in my region at about $2 each for a solid unit. Also with Fighter's Collection 2015(FC15) now available in Japanese, we now have 2 more decent options for stride, with upheaval Pegasus being the trash RR in the FC15. Sure its risky, but hell when it works with some of your units, it can get really insane. Works in our favor so not complaining.

5)...but still hurts the meta: Now this is linked with point #4. With all the clans moving towards a more RG focused play style, being able to decide what stays and what does not is quite vital. Disruption is key to GC in addition to its guard restrictions. Your main plan is to keep nailing their important RG while powering up yours to push for victory.

6)strides are a means to an end, not the end: This applies when you are under a budget. In all honesty, the bulk of your upgrades are going to be poured into the strides. Ragnaclock is quite expensive on the English side, and around the $8-10 range for Japanese ones in Singapore. Its brutal, and basically carries the entire deck on its back, but there are cheaper alternatives. The main role of stride in this budget deck is to help you toolbox for what you need, as well as triggering chrono jet's breakstride effect. If you don't have the molar to splurge on it, the deck still functions as normal, just that you don't have a conditional "I win" button.

Build

Budget Gear Chronicle Version 1
* new cards to be added.

G0: 17
1 Gunner Gear dracokid or Timepiece dracokid (FVG)
4 Steam maiden, Uluru (heal)
4 Luckypot dracokid (draw)
4 Steam battler, dadasig (critical)
4 Vainglory-dream gear cat* (stand)

G1: 14
4 Withdrawn gear raven (PG)
4 Mistgazer dragon* (power booster)
2 Steam scarra Gigi* (Sb2 draw)
4 Steam breath dragon* (strider)

G2: 11
3 Smoke gear dragon (10k base)
3 Steam fighter amber (retire unit)
3 Twinmaser dragon (12k attacker)
2 steam knight puzer lli* (legion mate)

G3: 8
4 Chrono jet dragon (Main G3)
4 Ruin disposal dragon* (backup G3 legion)

G4: 8
4 Mystery-flare dragon
1 Snow element, Blizza*
2 Atmos*
1 upheaval Pegasus* or another Blizza for English players

Estimated Cost:

Total added:
0   RRR
0   RR
12 R ~$0.5ea --- $6
4   Promos ~ $2ea --- $8
9   Commons ~$0.2 ea ---$2

Cost of 2 TD: ~$18ea

Total cost incurred: ~$42 (~$53 from stores)

Price may vary based on where you get the cards. If you trying getting the deck from player base as second hand you could probably get it at a cheaper price. Also trying to get singles like atmos and blizza from players would be around $1 if you are decent at bargaining. However if you are relying on a shop for the goods, the prices can be a little higher.

Game plan:

This deck aims to be more aggressive with your RGs which using chrono jet to get millage out of your strides. Most of your RG power comes from your mistgazers and gear cat, triggering off chrono jet or amber. Puzer lli is mostly there just for legion purposes, as you want to spend your souls on Gigi to gain card draw, but on some occasions you can use it as a finisher, just not often.

Your strides are there to trigger chrono jet and swing for big columns. Atmos and blizza tend to mimic ragnaclock as a attack opponent have to pg except it lacks the extra crit. Blizza also allows for early GB2 with chrono jet if you find yourself in a situation where you might not be able to stride next turn. They are also reasonably distributed promo so they can be found and acquired easily, and can fit into many other decks, so its a good investment.

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I hope this series of article wil helps people who are new enter the cardfight scene. Next time i will talk about possible upgrades to the deck, comparing cost to what it provides the clan, and an updated list with these cards.

To Part 2

Deck Profile: Seekers Anti-Meta Rush (Super Budget)

OK this was taken from one of my reddit post when I was working on it a few months ago. But it is here for your viewing benefits! I bring you my Seeker aggro rush.

Deck list:

Grade 0:

• 4 Self Possessed seeker, Lucius
• 8 Seeker crit
• 8 crit

Grade 1:

• 4 Good faith Seeker Cynric (+3k attacker)
• 4 Seeker of right path, Gangalen (+2k attacker VG)
• 4 Seeker, Seblmy (+3k attacker if 3 front row seeker, VG/RG)
• 4 Sky arrow bow seeker, Lunete (+3k attacker if 4 other seeker, VG/RG)
• 3 Seeker, Plume Wall Angel (QW)
• 2 Seeker, youthful mage (cb1 +1k)

Grade 2:

• 4 Endowed seeker, Vallod (10 vanilla)
• 2 Sky bow seeker, Morvi (+3k attacker if 4 other seeker, VG/RG)
• 2 Full Bloom seeker, Cerdic (12k attacker)

Grade 3:

• 1 Forthright Seeker, Egbert (Legion)

Grade 4:

• 2-8 stride units (any is fine, minimal 2)

Why play this deck:

• It hurts alot of the current meta (no stride or legion)
• Games are fast. Really fast.
• Its dirt cheap. Only real expensive stuff are QW (`$2ea) and liew if you are gonna get them.
• People expect a legion deck when they see seeker as it is their strongest push factor and may mulligan badly against a rush (not keeping some 10k shields).

Have been experimenting with this deck for awhile and have found it to be consistent enough to win majority of the games I played in my area. This is a very simple rush that that does not ride a G3 and rushes your opponent. Not riding a g3 allows you to prevent your opponent from performing legion or striding, hence blanking a good portion of their deck. A few special note about this list:

• 4 Lucius - These are here as additional 8k boosters. It serves 3 main functions. 1) greatly increase your chances of filling all your columns with 18k rows with seekers which helps against crossrides, 2) are 10k shields when used to guard unlike other g1 & 3) are seekers to trigger Lunete and Morvi 4+ seeker RG.

• 

  2 youthful mage - This is there in the event you have trouble making good columns, which only occurs when 1)you draw too many triggers 2)opponent has a crossride. For 1 CB you get a 8k booster, and in a pinch 2CB turns this into a 9k VG booster against 9k g2 or getting 21k with Morvi or Cerdic.
• 
• 3 plume wall angel - This proves to be slightly better than PG in this deck due to hand constraints of having no draw (triggers or effects or even twin drive). Also the only other CB use is from youthful mage or end game Cerdic, which you will only use sparingly.

• This are you attackers in addition to the normal power attackers. They increase your odds of making columns on fastest possible turns. Also do note that their effects also function in the VG circle, so even your VG will be 15k for 1 pass early!

• 

  1 Egbert - This is a 1-of if you do draw it late game as you never want it in your opening hand. Late game however its there to push for final turn by providing a 31k+ center row +crit. Add in twin drive and also legion to shuffle back your crit triggers to sack your opponent. The 2CB cost is nothing in a deck that will never us this effect more than once ever. Never ever ride this unless it is pushing for game as your opponent will now be able to push for game also by striding or legion. 

Tips:

• Guard alot and early. It gets harder to guard as the game progress, and guarding for your RG saves you the effort to replace them. There are no heals in the deck so no point having same or more damage than your opponent unless its final turn.
• Plan ahead. If you can only make 2 good columns first turn, it might be better to split into 10k/VG/10k instead of 2 16k. Triggers will screw you over, but it pressures your opponent to guard a lot more or take risk with damage check. also later on the board transition as you fill them up will be easier.
• With Lucius, try to hobo them in hand unless they are needed immediately for forming columns. They are the only few that can guard for 10k by itself, which can make a difference. If you know opponents have a crossride then use them solely for boosting and only guard with the excess.
• abuse those numbers. Ideal numbers to hit are 17k on 7k G1, 19k on G2 9k, and 16k on 11k G3. The goal is to make the -1 from riding hurt them more than you as cards are scarce during first 4-5 turns. By pushing them to dying range early you pressure them to guard with everything and slow down their offence long enough for them to not kill you.
• always hit face. Never attack the rg. Pressure them to intercept with their RG. 
• Plan to force as much shields as you can. Ideally if your opponent guarded VG and you get a crit, swing with the column with crit first to force out guard (15k). Even if he don't guard and gets a heal off it, your other 16k column will still force out a 5k shield, possibility even a 10k shield that he was saving for it beforehand.
• Revengers are a bitch, especially the mordred/dragruler + blaster control. Its uphill but not unwinnable. Blaster dark abyss is a total bitch as it +1 you and threaten to kill another front row and then intercepts for 5k shields. Also many people have already dropped mordred/dragruler for raging form/phantom blaster abyss and therefore MOST of the time you rarely have to contend with 13k base.
• Novelle also provides the same issue with revengers. The fact they can gattling into cruel over their striken to set up for novelle can and will hurt you alot. However they will not get many retires as most of their hand is spent guarding early and either their hand will be greatly taxed or they are very close to dying. Save your QW for Novelle itself.