CFV - My Shop Challenge! Tournament Report April 2017

Just had my locals shop challenge so I thought I'd get this down asap while I still have some memory of it. For those that don't know what the shop challenge is...it's a big-ish tournament (well at-least for me) where the winner gets a 2 round bye in the Bushiroad Spring Circuit. Unfortunately I didn't win it...I came 3rd =_= but it was better result than I thought I'd get.

35 people showed up today at my locals in a tournament best of 1s up to top 8 and this is what I played.

Some of you may have caught a Brave deck post I made earlier which I took down, here it is tweaked. I'll be tweaking it again (G-BT10) and doing a proper post later in the month with full on explanations, not just notes. I wasn't planning to join the tournament but a good amount of players showed up so the prize pool got pretty juicy =P was also going to play SGD but this is new and shiny~...so I decided to be brave...

MY MATCHES

Blue Sky Knight, Altmile will be called BADmile =P

Round 1 - Luard/Diablo (1-0)

This player wasn't a local and honestly didn't like his attitude very much... he was salty all game and just kept complaining...

I was to go first > rode Damascus and passed. He rode Esras, attacked and I guarded 10k for no pass. I skipped ride phase > called Sicilus > attacked with both > opponent guarded Sicilus. Opponent rode a Revenger 10k > calls Blaster Dark Revenger "Abyss" > retires my Sicilus > attacked me with both units which I decided to take for counter blast (I thought if he crits me I'll have 3 counter blast which allows me to play Hopesong/Benon and take Sebreeze priority), I took 2 damage. The following turn I rode Redon > played Hopesong and Benon to form 2 columns > made 2 attacks to face and 1 attack to Blaster Dark which opponent guarded, I pulled a crit but he also triggered so in the end I only took him to 3 damage. I didn't have the counter blast to Sebreeze so he skipped ride phase, called another 10k > attacked both my rear guards and 1 attack to my vanguard which I took; a mistake on his part because I had another Hopesong in hand. On my turn I rode Hopesong over Redon > called a Suleiman in front of Powercharge and attacked. I decided not to make a 3rd column because it meant if he wanted to make 3 attacks 1 will be to my vanguard which would give me counter blast. He wasn't able to sustain the grade stuck game anymore, he was dropping cards whilst my units have basically been free from Hopesong and Benon. To deny me from making plays next turn he attacked my rear guards and passed. I rode G3 > strided Fides, stride skill and used Fide's to bring out Redon > played Suleiman from hand > activated Powercharge's ability > activated Alectos to give Suleiman +3000. With Brave active I attacked with Redon+Damascus first, opponent G-guarded Dizmel; protect on Blaster Dark > Fides attacked vanguard which he took, I crit'ed and he healed > he guards my remaining attack and I end my turn proc'ing Damascus and Powercharge, damage is 3:4 (me:opponent). Opponent strided Aurageyser Doomed > retired Blaster Dark for Luard's skill, brought out Rogue Eye, Arsur and Swordbreaker > Doomed retired my front row > opponent makes a 16000 column and goes all to vanguard, I no guard the Doomed, opponent hits 2 draw triggers...I take 1 damage and G-guard the rear. Opponent had a decent hand size so I just wanted to get some damage in and go for game next turn. Altmile's skill called Belenus +4000 > stride Aerial Altmile to get Twin Sword in front of Belenus and called Redon to get the +4000 from Altmile's stride ability > I used Alectos to enable Brave for the turn > attacked with Redon then Twin Sword and called Hopesong+Damascus, opponent takes 1 damage and proc's a draw trigger...Aerial Altmile attacks vanguard, opponent nullifies, I get heal, doesn't go off > Hopesong+Damascus attacks, opponent guards > end turn Damascus procs. I was in a REALLY good spot now, opponent is on 5 damage and I got rid a good portion of his hand. Opponent's turn he did ritual things, strided Aurageyser Dragon > called Arsur and Swordbreaker again with Luard's skill and made 1 column (weak hand I guess) and attacked all to vanguard, opponent pulled a heal and crit but I guarded everything. Back to my turn I stride Transcending Altmile, activate his ability and he basically scooped when I revealed 4 Aerial Altmiles in my G-zone and called Suleiman from hand.

Not a great match imo, pretty one sided but a win's a win~ Coming G-BT10 (next week) Luard will actually be competitive strong with Belail.

Round 2 - SGD/Blasters (2-0)

I overheard a few players griefing over SGD during round 1 and yep my turn~ another non-local, great guy and it was honestly a very exciting game, unfortunately for him I know waaaay to much about this deck =P 

Again I was to go first, I HARD mulligan for Hopesongs and Benons, I was able to open with a Hopesong so that was a sign of relief > I rode G1 and passd. Opponent2 rode Blaster Rapier, Laura and swung, I take 1 damage and he proc's Wingal Brave to search for BB Spirit. I rode Redon > played Hopesong to call another Redon and make 1 attack to vanguard, I check a crit, all effects to Alectos, opponent2 takes 1 damage, basically what I'm doing here is use Hopesong to grab me another 5000 shield. Opponent2 rode BB Spirit > played Benon in to Miron and attacked vanguard, he pulls a crit and I guard Benon, end turn damage is 3:1 (me:opponent). Since my opponent is on 1 damage I'm in no threat of Sebreeze or too many attacks so I called Redon (incase he guards) > swung at Benon and checked a heal. Opponent2's turn, he skipped ride phase (questionable decision imo) > called Barcgal and then Blaster Blade in front to counter charge 1 > called Flogal behind BB Spirit, Benon (no skill) in front of Miron and again all attacks to my vanguard, opponent2 doesn't trigger, knowing it'll be hard to guard once he strides I dropped a few cards so I was able to end on 3 damage. I rode Altmile and play Sebreeze > called Damascus, +4000 with Altmile's skill and call edSuleiman to a seperate column so I have a total of 3 attacks if i need them > I use Alectos' skill to draw 1 and enable Brave > Sebreeze attacked Blaster Blade, opponent2 no guard > Damascus attacked Benon, opponent2 no guard > I end turn, damage is 3:1, I made a HUGE misplay, I forgot to use Damascus' ability, I later get punished REALLY hard for that... Opponent rode SGD, SGD called Flogal behind vanguard > strided Regalie and called Blaster Blade and Miron in front row, front row +12000 > Regalie attacked first, I had to take 1 attack no matter what so I no guard, opponent2 first triggered a crit (HOLY HELL HEART ATTACK) but that was it (phew) > Miron column attacked, I guarded > Blaster Blade attacked unboosted 26000, I G-guard > Blaster Blade restood via Flogal and attacked boosted by Barcgal 29000, I PG, this is where I got punished for forgetting the draw from Damascus, the PG and an Altmile were the last cards I had...=( > opponent2 ends, damage is 5:1. Top decking~ I draw in to Twin Sword > beginning of ride phase call Twinsword in Damascus column, +4000. Opponent2 had about 5 cards in hand and no counter blast, I decided that the best action was...Twin Sword attacked and called Hopesong+Damascus > Altmile attacks Blaster Blade, opponent guards 2 to pass, I get Sicilus and a heal, effects to Hopesong > Hopesong attacked Blaster Blade, opponent2 guards > end turn Brave is active, both Damascus' proc, I draw 2 and counter charge 4, I have 4 cards in hand and damage is 4:2. Opponent2 strides Regalie again, called a Barcgal in front of Miron and a Flogal behind Regalie (FML) > Regalie attacks vanguard, I don't have cards to guard everything so I take, he blanks (LOL, I GOT THIS) > I guarded the remaining attacks and opponent2 ends with 4 cards in hand. I draw for turn, I get Hopekeeper and call that behind Twin Sword, Altmile skill +4000, Brave is active > stride Brave Lancer, Altmile's skill +4000 to Hopekeeper > Twin Sword attacks, call Benon in to Hopekeeper, opponent2 takes 1 damage > Benon attacks Blaster Blade > Brave Lancer attacks vanguard, calls Suleiman, Altmile and Selim, opponent2 no guard, I check 1 crit, power to Suleiman, opponent2 also triggers > Altmile+Selim attacks, opponent2 guards > Suleiman attacks, skill call Hopesong+Redon > opponent2 concedes and offers handshake =D

It was a great game and the player was a great sport, it was a genuinely fun game, pleasantly surprised how Brave was able to keep up, can't wait for Brave to actually get good and take the mantle from SGD~

Round 3 - Touken Ranbu (3-0)

This round was against another non-local but I have played him in the past and we both sort of recognised each other, had a nice little chat and overall a pretty chill game. Pleasantly surprised when my opponent told me he was playing Touken Ranbu. 

NO IDEA what the deck did my opponent had to kinda explain things to me as we played, I don't remember much of this match because it went by pretty quickly, he had a decent~strong G1-G2 opening and quickly established a board in an attempt to rush but I was able to match it, killing off rear guards I thought was strong as well as pulling a crit. I had to re-ride to prevent Sebreeze but eventually won stride priority with Hopesong =) I went in to Aerial Altmile and was on 4 damage first stride with 2 open counter blasts and Powercharge on board so I was able to keep Brave enabled the whole turn whilst making extra attack with Suleiman in to Hopesong+Damascus, my opponent seemed quite scared of my following turn so he dropped quite a bit of cards to guard. I don't even remember what he stride in to during his turn...but he made a really big column it was like 30000 which I took, I guarded the vanguard attack and remaining column. My turn, beginning of ride phase I call Twin Sword, +4000 > stride Transcending Altmile, flip Aerial, front row +6000, called Redon in back row, +4000 and activate his ability to enable boost, Brave is active > Redon front is empty, Twin Sword+Belenus attacks, called Selim in front of Redon, opponent3 G-guarded > Selim+Redon attacks vanguard, opponent3 no guards, opponent3 is on 4 damage > Transcending attacks vanguard, Belenus goes in to soul, draw 1, calls Hopesong over Twin Sword, +5000, calls Redon over Selim, opponent3 PGs, I check 2 crits, all power to Redon and 1 crit on each side > attack with Redon 31000 I think, opponent3 no guards, 2 damage, I win =)

A interesting match up, I've rarely played against Touken Ranbu but I can definitely see it giving GB decks a good run for their money. If Touken Ranbu is something to stay in vanguard it might actually be a competitive viable deck!

Round 4 - Chronojet/Time Leap (4-0)

Playing against another non-local...saw him play Chronojet earlier so I knew what I was up against, had some small talk, he was from a neighbouring local, he really wanted the bye... This guy ended up taking 2nd place, he beat me in semis =( more on that later and lost to my friend (a local player) in the finals. 

Again I was to go first (no one likes going first for some odd reason =S) > rode G1 and passed. He rides G1, moves Chronodran to the back on a side column and calls a G1 stridder, searches for Chonojet G > both attacks to vanguard, he didn't crit so I take both attacks. I actually do a similar thing on my turn, skip ride and call Sicilus to swap BADmile for Knight of Heavenly Decree > both attacks to vanguard, opponent4 guards Sicilus and takes 1 damage. Opponent4 rides G2 10k and plays Kalibum to spin away my starter > Kalibum+Chronodran attacks my vanguard, I no guard > his vanguard attacks my vanguard, I guard for no pass, he checks a draw trigger. This is where I think he done goofed its obvious he didn't know I played an early game engine that or he didn't care and attempted to rush me down; the correct play should have been 1 attack to my rear (Sicilus) to deny me the 3rd counter blast because...On my turn I ride Suleiman, play Hopesong and call Damascus to make a column  > play Benon in empty column and call Knight of Powercharge so I have 14000, 9000, 15000 columns and 1 open counter blast this means next turn he has to re-ride or not deal any damage to me if he wants stride priority assuming I didn't have an answer. I go vanguard attacks Kalibum, he no guards I check a crit, all effects to Hopesong (20000 now) > Hopesong attacks vanguard, its 15000 to guard, if he takes this and triggers Benon doesn't hit so there's incentive for him to take the damage, but its 2 damage if it connects, opponent4 no guards, takes 2 damage and he triggers =( I pass, damage is 3:3. Opponent4's turn I can see his reluctance to ride G3 but does it so he can actually progress in the game, to deny me counter blast he attacks my rear guards. My turn again, ride Altmile, stride Fides, flip Aerial, +4000 to Damascus > call Redon in front of Damascus with Fides, activate Powercharge to have Brave enabled and call Suleiman to opposite column > Redon+Damascus attacks 22000, opponent4 no guards, I did this based on knowledge og him checking triggers earlier meaning chances to trigger again are low > Suleiman attacks and calls another Redon over Redon...opponent4 guards > Fides attack vanguard, opponent PGs, I check a crit, effects to Redon > Redon attacks, my opponent G-guards > end turn Powercharge and Damascus proc. Opponent4 strides Nextage (I wtf'd cause it was such an early Nextage but I guess me being on 3 damage gave him incentive to push for game), Time Leap Chronodran in to Lishma, Chronojet in a rear back row > played Melem in front of Chronojet and History Maker+Tick-away Dragon in the other column > does the standard Melem Time-Leap play (not going to explain it...look it up =P), I guard first attack 5000 shield, take the second and third attack, I check heal on 3rd attack, Melem goes in to Gear Cat replacing Chronojet in the back, damage is 4:4 > Nextage+Lishma attacks boosted, I PG, opponent blanks including drive checking Chronofang G (LOL) > Lishma goes in to Delayed Blazer anyway...Leaps History Maker in to another Chronojet, Chronojet stands, so he has Delayed Blazer, Chronojet (VG), Chronojet > Chronojet attacks my rear guard, I no guard, Chronojet (VG) attacks vanguard, I G-guard for no pass, opponent checks a crit and heal...effects to Delayed Blazer > Delayed Blazer attacks, I guard...pretty sure I had like 3 cards left after that...damage is 4:3. Since Gear Cat was on the field I had to stride Fides to get rid of it or else I have to deal with a 21000 base Chronojet and have my unit spinned > I remember my field ended up with a combination of Suileiman and Redon and both columns hit at least 21000 > Fides attacked, skill +5000 power to each of my side boosters, I did this in case my opponent Heteroround's my front units, retire Gear Cat and my opponent no guards, I check 1 crit, power to Suleiman and my opponent is at 5 damage > I swing with Redon+booster, pretty sure it hit for like 31000, opponent G-guards with Heteroround+some other cards to guard the attack and spins away Suleiman to prevent me from making more attacks, Suleiman is replaced by Altmile and remember how I stacked power on my boosters > Altmile+booster attacked for another 31000+, opponent couldn't guard, I win~ 

I think my early game really caught my opponent off guard, probably didn't expect that sort of a presence from a GB deck, I also think he was somewhat baited by my lowish hand sizes, Royal Paladin G-guards are so damn efficient and the early Nextage was a bit too optimistic...

Round 5 - Chronojet/Time Leap (5-0)

Yep Chronojet again...though this time against a friend, I felt pretty bad that I had to beat him =P

My friend decided to go first since he knows I'm probably going to play the grade stuck game anyway, he rode G1 and passed. I rode G1 > attacked vanguard and passed, 1 damage. Friend rode Delayed Blazer, called a History Maker and Tick-tock > both attacks to my vanguard, I take History Maker+Tick-tock, vanguard attack, he checks a crit, I take 2 damage. I ride Redon, call Benon in to Miron, draw 1, call Suleiman > Suleiman attacks History Maker, friend no guard > Redon attacks vanguard, friend no guard, 1 damage > Benon+Miron attacks vanguard, friend guards, end turn damage is 2:2. Friend re-rides G2 10k base and calls Kalibum to spin away my starter > Kalibum+Tick-tock attacks vanguard, I guard > 10k+Chronodran attacks vanguard, no guard for me, friend checks a stand trigger, all effects to Kalibum, I take 1 damage > Kalibum attacks rear guard, I no guard. My turn I ride Hopesong Angel, he calls Suleiman > Hopesong attacks Kalibum, friend no guard > Suleiman+Miron attacks vanguard, friend guards, end turn damage is 3:2. My friend couldn't really play the G2 game anymore and he was also on lowish damage so he decided to ride G3 first and just swing at vanguard which I no guard, he crits and I'm on 5 damage. I didn't actually have a G3 so I had to G-assist, I hit BADmile =_= but didn't really have a choice right now so I rode him. I don't remember my board completely...but I was on Fides pulled out Redon and did the attack loop with Suleiman in to Twin Sword and Twin Sword back in to Suleiman so fourth and got my friend to 4 damage > Fides attacked, friend PGs, I check 2 crit triggers, all effects to a Redon called by Suleiman prior > Redon attacked for 27000 or something like that...I remember he revealed his hand to me, he had 3 cards and was 5000 guard off so had to take the 3 damage, I win~

I think he should have played a little more defensive but I can't speak for everyone...Always feels bad to take a friend out but it needed to be done for my flawless victory =P

Round 6 - Top 8 - Chronojet/Time Leap 2 - 0 WIN (6-0)

This round I was playing a friend of mine a local that comes here every week, probably because of him that I know enough about Chronojet and Time Leap...

Game 1

My friend chose to go first, rode a G1 stridder and passed. I rode Hopekeeper and attacked vanguard, friend guarded for no pass. Friend rode History Maker and called Lishma behind the vanguard, attacked vanguard which I no guarded, 1 damage, Lishma brings out Kalibum, spins away my starter > kalibum attacks (I actually had a hand of G2s so I couldn't guard), I no guard, 1 damage. I rode Hopesong which called Redon > called Sicilus behind Redon from hand to swap BADmile for Knight of Heavenly Decree > called another Redon to empty column > all attacks to vanguard, friend takes 2 damage. Friend rode Chronojet G, called a 10k vanilla and attacks my rear guards. I rode Altmile and stride Fides to get out Benon and Knight of Powercharge > activate Powercharge to help enable Brave for the turn and called Suleiman from hand and made some attacks, don't exactly remember the sequences after this but damage was 2:4 at the end. Friend went in to Huang Long and made Time Leap plays with History Maker, Melem and Lishma, again I don't remember the sequence of attacks...but I didnt a defensive trigger so I assume he tried to go for game but I was able to guard everything after my 5th damage, friend also wasn't able to get Gear Cat on the field end of turn which was huge because I was able to take the win with Brave Lancer afterwards.

Game 2
Game 2 was actually horrible for my friend...I did the classic turn 1 crit, turn 2 crit and turn 3 crit to my friend...Its pretty pointless to recount this game because I really just complete sacked him by the time we were on G3 my friend was already on 5 damage. I stride in to Aerial Altmile for the +3000 power in conjunction with Twin Sword, he couldn't guard everything and just lost =S

The whole day whenever I spoke with my friend he just hoped that he didn't have to play me because he knew it'd be an uphill battle, I know his tendencies and if you guys didn't know already...my version of Brave does very well in to Chronojet which I'll explain in another post.

Round 7 - Top 8 - Semifinals - Chronojet/Time Leap 1 - 2 LOSE (6-1)

Chronojet again, against the round 4 opponent...

Game 1

I had a pretty good early game, damage was 3:3 and obviously I was striding first =P I was able to get him to 5 damage by after going in to Aerial Altmile and making multi attacks with Suleiman+Twin Sword. My opponent G-guarded in the previous turn and he went in to Nextage first stride, he played Tick-tock, Melem and leaped a G1 to bring out History Maker, long story short he made a ton of attacks and healed twice...I was lucky to damage check a trigger so I survived the turn, unfortunately for me he ended the turn with a Gear Cat via Melem. On my turn I basically had no choice but to go in to Fides to get rid of Gear Cat or else nothing on my field will really hit...I called another Twin Sword and attacked with Fides first, unfortunately I only checked 1 crit trigger which wasn't enough to get over his double G-guards, I ended turn and my opponent strides Gear Groovy, I just scooped because I didn't the cards to deal with a re-standing vanguard+Time Leap attacks, game lost.

Game 2

The early game went REALLY well for me I did the turn 1 crit in to turn 2 crit thing and even though my opponent healed he was still on 4 damage by the time we were on G3, he didnt even me any counter blast though so I wasn't able to end the game on first stride, it was just 3 attacks that my opponent guarded. Because of the pressure I put out from G1 - first stride my opponent dropped quite a bit of cards and wasn't able to do a full Time Leap combo, I basically just took everything to vanguard that turn. He also didn't check a heal trigger and only had about 7 cards in hand, when I strided Transcending with 3 open counter blasts he scooped.


Game 3
Game 3 was actually longer than any of the other games I had today, we actually went over time. The early-mid game was quite similar to Game 1 round 6 against my friend, I got a decent start and pushed my opponent to 4 damage after first stride (Fides) whilst I was on 3 but my opponent was luckier than my friend, he was able to make Time Leap plays and check 2 heal triggers on his Metallica Phoenix turn, this blew the game wide open and now I had to play catch up as well as deal with potentially 2 Heterorounds...My opponent ended turn with a Gear Cat on field, I calculated that neither Transcending or Aerial would get me big enough numbers so again I had to use Fides to get rid of it, I called Suleiman via Fides and proceeded to make attacks > Fides attacked, got rid of Gear Cat, my opponent no guards, I crit, he takes 2 damage > Suleiman attacked and called Benon which called Miron, here's where I messed up...I don't know what I was thinking but I forgot to draw off Miron...opponent G-guarded Suleiman > Benon attacks, opponent guards. I hadn't realised I missed the draw until end phase, I halted the game and asked my opponent if I could still have the draw since it wasn't game changing, he was reluctant to (understandable) it was my fault, since the judge was busy with another game and we were running out of time I decided to just let it go. My opponent strided Nextage, long story short he made a bunch of attacks and I had to drop pretty much my whole hand, on top of that triggered he another heal... He didn't have Gear Cat on the field and with not much left I strided Brave Lancer, called 2 columns and attacked with those first, my opponent guarded both > Brave Lancer attacked, called Redon and 2 Altmiles (pretty sure both columns hit 21000) my opponent was on 3 damage and he didn't have anymore PGs, it took him a long time to make the decision but he chose to take the hit, according to my memory and calculations I just needed 1 crit and I should be able to take the win, I checked nothing =( feelsbadman... This is where the draw I missed earlier really came back to bite me, I was forced to discard Twin Sword for my PG earlier because I chose to keep the stride fodder...if I had Twin Sword I could have made an extra 1-2 attacks which would have been enough to win... but anyway I attacked his rear guards and ended my turn. My opponent went in to Gear Groovy and basically the only way I could survive the turn was to hit a trigger and then miracle heal, that didn't happen, I lost.

I can't say I had the best time this round since I was already tired of playing against Chronojet...and I made imo the biggest mistake of the day =( but props to my opponent, he put up a really good fight.

Notes:

There are 2 very important things to play around against Chronojet, Luard & Nightrose or GB centric decks generally: 

• Win the G1 game; good Chronojet, Luard and Nightrose players understand they can accumulate lots of card advantage once they stride so they're happy to drop cards early to apply pressure since these deck generally play excessive amounts of G1s and G0s. I always to try force them to ride G2 first because this puts the Sebreeze pressure on them, GB decks will have to stop giving me damage or re-ride both favours me since I play lots of G2s and have a early game (with less damage I can take more hits when stride begins and re-ride means the G2 game is extended+they minus).
• Get stride priority; letting any strong GB deck stride first is basically death because it means they can refill hand and set up for more plays. You always want GB decks to ride G3 first, to do so stay on G1 or G2 multiple turns by re-riding or not giving them counter-blast to Sebreeze or alternatively rush/pressure them REALLY hard where they need to ride G3 to end the G2 game.

There's a lot of tricks and intricate things Royal Paladins can do to sway the early game to our favour but just saying...not once in this tournament did I lose stride priority, feelsgoodman =P

All in all a good day, I got my money's worth and played 6 hours of vanguard...super tiring but it was fun! Highly encourage all players to play at their shop challenge =) stay tuned for a Brave post next!

*images from cardfight.wikia*