CFV - Meta Analysis May 2017

At the end of last year I did an analysis on the meta at that time I said I would do some sort of follow up on the post in a couple months =P life got in the way, I didn't have the time for it, sorry! But the post was quite popular and I've gotten numerous emails to do another so here I am 5 months later with another post.

Before I begin... every now and then I get a question like this... "why do I emphasis so much on the Japanese game and not English?" Well:

• The Japanese game is much more mature/popular than the English game, more players naturally lead to a more competitive environment.
• Because of the game's popularity it's much more supported in Asia, for example there are more major tournaments; Clan leader Fight, District Battles etc. the West really only has the yearly WGP and even the regular shop tournaments in some areas are almost daily versus a more weekly thing in the English game.
• The Japanese game get their cards earlier than the English game so most of the time optimal builds would already have been figured out by the time cards come out in English.

Now that's out of the way... This time I decided to make a more competitive list with results only from larger tournaments; 24~ or more players. Again I'll be using a combination of vg.xpg, twitter and izazin to the best of my ability to compile the list and again I will only be counting decks that topped 2 or more times in the past 2/3~ months. At the time I'm writing this its late April, early~ May. 

Remember to take this with a grain of salt because I'm no professional analyst, I may have missed a deck or 2 or even counted decks an extra time =P

TOP DECKS OF LAST 2~ MONTHS

These are the decks seen in top 8 and above.

These are the decks you should be prepared to play against in larger tournaments.

Chronojet/Time Leap 23
Nightrose 22
Luard 16
SGD/Blasters 10
CBD/Freeze Ray/Messiah 6
Seven Seas Nightrunner 5
Blade Wing/Assassin 3
Dimensional Robos 2
Nociel/Rescue 2

• With all the top decks requiring a field to function, control-esque style of play is making a comeback, Luard is an example, we're seeing CBD here and there and in smaller tournaments Overlords are popping up too.
• I actually expected there to be more Nightrunner, Blade Wing & Nociel decks topping, Nightrunner and Blade Wing both play to a similar way as SGD and following that Nociel actually fairs quite well against rush.
• The most surprising deck for me to see top is D-Robos, never felt the deck was consistent enough to be competitive but nevertheless its really cool to see.

I've been told that my analysis' are generally too long...well obviously I could write a separate post for each deck but I've tried my best...here's the gist of each deck. Its not as detailed but you guys should still get the idea what the decks do.

If you guys remember what I said about the meta in my last analysis, its more or less the same...inserting recap;

Imo the following points are what decks require in order to be a top tier deck:

• Consistent and good at what they were designed to do.
• Have a lot of good match ups.
• At the moment the meta really favours early to mid game spikes.
• Strong advantage generator or recovery mechanic; able to make huge momentum swings, get an advantage and run with it or stabilise back after a deficit. 
• Little counter play.

THE 3 MOST POPULAR DECKS

CHRONOJET

Still the most popular deck, no surprise since its still arguably the best deck even after the restrictions Japanese players were quick to adapt their decks to a even more versatile Time Leap build. The deck still has access to the classic Melem combos but now also has stronger scaling throughout the game with units such as Steam Knight, Kalibum ,Steam Sniper, Lishma, Delayed Blazer Dragon & Chronofang Tiger G for a better early game and to extend combos. 

I've said this before, the deck is just really solid because it has easy reproduceable combos, really good tool boxing and access to the some of the strongest G4s in the game notably Chronodragon Nextage and Interdimensional Dragon, Heteroround Dragon. Its versatility means the deck doesn't really have bad match ups just games where it needs to play differently.

Some plays to look out for:

• The classic Tick Tock Worker interactions with Time leap - lots of attacks.
• Melem interactions with Time Leap, mainly History Maker and Metallica Phoenix - lots of attacks.
• Lishma combos; usually in combination with History Maker, Delayed Blazer, Chronofang, Kalibum and Gear Cat - Gear Cat can proc off Chronofang or Kalibum or get an 10000 power buff. 
• Heteroround Dragon+Gear Cat - Plus 10000 power to Vanguard; this play can block off 2 or more attacks if played right. 

Some tips for playing against Chronojet:

• Apply pressure as much as you can in the early game because its likely the only time you get to build a lead without disruption and then just try to run with it. Try to make them play catch up whether its in card advantage or damage.
• Refrain from calling G0s in the early game because Kalibum can spin them away.
• Fight for stride priority, stay on G1 or G2 for extra turns, this is extremely important because if Chronojet gets to stride first they can generate an incredible lead as well as set up for following turns. It's very hard to play catch up against Chronojet.
• If you can't stop the their combos during their turn consider guarding early game, 5000 or 10000 for 1 to pass imo is worth the risk, its in your favour. You need to have the luxury to check defensive triggers for the Time Leap combos during stride turns.
• If your opponent has the Melem combo (Melem+Time Leap partner) then consider taking the first couple attacks to check for a defensive trigger, sometimes 1 trigger is enough to block the rest of the attacks or at the very least make them a LOT easier to guard.
• Most builds only play 4-6 crits so card count and consider taking VG attacks.

Some decks that do well against Chronojet:

• Early game decks where you can build a lead and run with it. Try to make them play catch up whether its in card advantage or damage. Here are some:
• SGD/Blasters
• Musketeers 
• Raging Form
• Seven Seas Rush
• Chronojet himself... - A well timed Heteroround does wonders.
• Overlords - Retiring units control the game pace and similarly a well timed Deniel Griffin, Defeat Flare or Bellog can completely screw over any Time Leap play.
• CBD/Freeze Ray, locking front RG circles basically means Chronojet can't efficiently Time Leap.

NIGHTROSE

Granblue received a pretty significant buff from Rummy Labyrinth (out in a week~ in English as I write this) mainly:

• Diabolist of Corpse, Negrosonger - Replaces the Mist Phantasm Pirate King, Nightrose, both serves a similar purpose but Negrosonger is live earlier, uses less resources and gives power. 
• Vampire Princess of Starlight, Nightrose - Basically more consistency now, a much lower risk of not riding Nightrose... 
• Maltreat Shade - Some recycle which is nice in longer games but importantly more cc (counter charge) so the deck can be less reliant on Grenache.

So again... no surprises that Nightrose remains as a popular deck, she shares similar characteristics as Chronojet, both are consistent decks, have a lot of good match ups, can generate a lot card advantage and versatile in both offense and defense etc. however I've said this before... Granblue typically have a slight edge in the early game due to their interactions with the drop zone; they're able to freely drop units both on field and to guard because cards in the drop zone just become resources later on.

Some plays to look out for:

• Grenache Hollow+Nightrose GB2 ability to cc 4.
• Using King Serpent or Bale the Ghostie to cc during battle.
• Using Mick the Ghostie to pump RGs during battle.
• Overloading (calling units on top of another) rear circles to proc abilities and make more or stronger attacks. 
• RG interactions with Nightrose's GB2 ability and Negrolily; mostly Mick the Ghostie, Skeleton Cannoneer and Negrolazy.

Some tips for playing against Nightrose:

• Again apply pressure as much as you can in the early game because its likely the only time you get to build a lead without disruption and then just try to run with it. Try to make them play catch up whether its in card advantage or damage.
• When attacking trying to make it 10000 or more to guard, this way they can't just intercept to guard a whole attack.
• Fight for stride priority, stay on G1 or G2 for extra turns, again this is extremely important similarly with Chronojet if Nightrose gets to stride first they can setup and generate a really big lead.
• In certain match ups if they have GB2 enabled, get rid of a RG before your VG attacks, this forces them to drop cards or proc Nightrose's ability immediately making it less disruptive if you have plays after.
• ALWAYS keep track of Drop Zone, this determines what plays Nightrose can make.
• 1 cb basically = 1 more attack

Some decks that do well against Nightrose:

• Though units in the drop zone become resources later remember that it doesn't happen until they stride so rush/early game decks played right are still very effective.
• SGD/Blasters
• Musketeers 
• Raging Form
• Seven Seas Rush
• Contrary to popular belief Overlords can force Nightrose to play much more conservatively, if Nightrose over extends a well timed Deniel Griffin, Defeat Flare or Bellog can just end the entire turn and screw over hollow abilities which are essential to resource management, particularly with "The X" you can actually force a grind game which you will eventually win.
• CBD/Freeze Ray again locking the RG circles means no multi-attacking (no pressure) and limits amount of units that can be called from drop zone (no plus).
• Vanquisher if you can get stride priority and start binding things from the drop zone specifically Grenache, Mick the Ghostie and Negrolazy.
• Luard plays very well in to Nightrose notable because of the constant threat of Dark Dragon, Phantom Blaster "Diablo". It basically means Nightrose can't get full value of her Drop Zone & Hollow plays.

LUARD

In my last analysis I said I wasn't convinced with Luard a being good deck, I was actaully right for a while until G-BT10 gave Luard a buff. A huge, huge, huge buff. Belial Owl is essentially the missing gear that makes Luard tick, it makes all abilities with a retire costs free to use and recycles itself... 

Luard is very consistent, has a lot good match ups, can generate a lot card advantage and can play grind game pretty well especially with the Cursed Eye Raven build. However, Luard suffers greatly for having little pressure (if they're not on Spectral Daiblo they generally only have 3 attacks), the deck also isn't very versatile which it makes for a very linear style so if you're really good at the game you can almost dictate Luard's plays.

While imo overall weaker than Chronojet and Nightrose, Luard goes in to Nightrose and other GB decks VERY well. Luard's again my opinion a mid-rangy~control-esque deck, using cards like Belail Owl and Sword Breaker with Shadow Paladin's box of strides to make very efficient trades. 

Some plays to look out for:

• Early game rush mostly with G1 units, Luard can use them as retire fodder later and to proc Ritual.
• Revenger build has an early game Blaster Dark "Abyss" for control.
• Phantom Blaster "Diablo" guard restriction, be weary of your opponent playing Blaster Dark "Diablo", he can retire one of your units planned for PBD's cost
• In the late game Knight of Brawn, Grosne+Cursed Eye Raven interactions usually with Belial Owl, Esras and Aurageyser Doomed - basically its a mini loop to gain a bucket of power (Grosne can get like +50000) once the deck has be thinned enough.

Some tips for playing against Luard:

• Again apply pressure as much as you can in the early game, its a very good time to try to get ahead because unlike Chronojet and Nightrose to a certain extent, Luard has a much harder time playing catch up.
• Consider removing units from the field in the early game, this limits Luard's options when retiring units.
• Again fight for stride priority, stay on G1 or G2 for extra turns, if you can force Luard in to a defensive play your in a very good spot.

Some decks that do well against Luard:

• Again decks strong against GB:
• SGD/Blasters
• Musketeers 
• Raging Form
• Seven Seas Rush
• Overlords or anyway to wipe Luard's field before he strides really... Luard won't be able to plus with his abilities and again a well timed Denial Griffin or Defeat Flare can pretty much end the entire turn.
• Similarly Chronojet has Heteroround which but the deck can also essentially negate the pluses that Luard generates through Time Leap...

A BIT ABOUT THE OTHER TOPS

SGD/BLASTERS

Imo the best rush/aggro deck right now it has a very strong early game using Benon and the Blaster engine and transitions to an extremely strong first stride, Sanctuary Guard Regalie.

Against this deck guard early as much as you can because they can easily take game on first stride with 2+, 21000+ columns and avoid giving SGD cb; attack RGs or consider not attacking at all (could be game decision if you're on a high damage count); easiest way to go about this is 1 cb basically = 1 extra attack or 2 extra cards.

CBD/FREEZE RAY/MESSIAH

This is actually a really hard deck to play, there's a world of difference between good and great CBD players, a lot of it comes down to mathematics though (which option will net me more pluses type thing). There are 3 aspects to this deck:

• CBD basically stalls until it can stride Chaos Universe, from there the deck can start "controlling" the game by being very smart with chain locking. CBD is generally the card the player wants to ride.
• Freeze Ray slows the game down (he locks opponent RGs during their turn, really good against multi-attacks), basically CBD players have a ride choice depending on match up.
• The Messiah part of the deck is really just Amnesty and Arrestors, they help make a really strong push when the player wants to attempt ending the game.

Against CBD you have 2 choices; rush them really hard, make them guard with combo pieces, deal a lot of damage and try to go for game on first stride or play conservative, save cards to guard when they start locking your field. 

SEVEN SEAS NIGHTRUNNER

Nightrunner after Rummy Labyrinth actually plays VERY similar to SGD; its not as good because its less consistent and slow since Nightrunner has been restricted. Its core is still G1 rush and they generally stay on G1 until they feel they have a good grasp of the game then they'll ride up to G3 and stride for the finish usually Negrosonger or Nightmist. 

Playing against this deck is also similar to SGD but you actually have 2 choices, keep track of what they have in drop zone and drive checks; if they have some combination of Slash Shade, Nightspinel, Prisoner Dragon or Plegeton then avoid giving them cb and try your best to stall the game out since they don't run heals and the deck needs to mill function...otherwise you can trade for damage and try to out pace them if you think you can deal 6 damage faster than they can.

BLADE WING/ASSASSIN

The concept is similar to SGD and Nightrunner; deal as much damage as you can and end the game on first-two strides, issue with the deck is its not as consistent (dependant on sc) and its early game is not as strong as the other 2. The deck's uses the Blade Wing engine to get a big soul, like REALLY big (hopefully there's a set of Enigmatic Assassins) and Blade Wing Tibold or Soulless Demagogue for cont. +power to the front row, then let Enigmatic Assassin work her magic...(she can be called to RC at the beginning of each attack step and gets power). Basically the deck can make like 4+, 30000+ attacks on first stride.

Against this deck best thing to do imo is just to guard early since their early game is pretty weak...if you can get stride priority go ham and bash them because it can get annoying against Blade Wing Sullivan later.

DIMENSIONAL ROBOS

Dimensional Robos actually keep up with the more popular decks fairly well but it doesn't follow the norm (card advantage or early power), its strength comes after G3 where literally every stride or legion turn swings with a crit+other abilities...for example Final Daimax can give front row power+crit and Great Daikaiser can swing with crit+the ability to retire guards, combined with Commander Laurel...what the deck does is assert a ton of pressure where you might have to over guard and PG/G-guard every turn otherwise you might just die...

Only advice I can give is if you can't end the game on first two strides, in what ever way, draw as much as you can, grab those PGs and heals!

NOCIEL/RESCUE

Nociel is honestly still a very strong deck to play though its advantage plays are pretty rng. Nociel mainly generates pluses from the G3 ability, if a Nociel card enters the damage zone she can add it to hand so depending on luck the deck can easily go +4 or 5 on OPPONENT's turn...aside from that the deck can make multi-attacks with Nociel G4 and Harut, Rescue plays and of course it has access to Broken Heart shenanigans (power buff to herself and VG). If you think about it the overall style of the deck is very similar to Chronojet and Nightrose, just that Luard and Nightrose have very strong control plays which Nociel is weak to.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Since I have the data...here are some of the other decks that are seen in smaller, local tournaments in no particular order.

Thing Saver/Blasters

Exceed/Blasters

Gaia Emperor 

Big Belly 

Gurguit 

The Legend 

Victor 

Shiranui

Rex 

Blue Wave 

Raging Form 

Though games are generally now longer because there's a stronger emphasis on the early-mid game; striding first is just a very strong tempo play combined with people playing with the mind set that games can end on first or second stride, not much has really changed in terms of meta, it is still very much generate a whole bunch of advantage and run with it. 

TL;DR Chronojet, Nightrose and Luard are imo the best decks right now. They're consistent and super good at generating card advantage as well as maintain pressure.

*images from cardfight.wikia*