3 Things Cardfight!! Vanguard can learn from Yu-Gi-Oh!

1. The Best 2 out of 3

Bushiroad needs to change the official tournament format for Cardfight!! Vanguard. The tournaments are a double elimination format. If you lose twice in the first round then you eliminated. The top 8 round is single elimination. One loss is an elimination. A match consists of one game. It’s win or go home in the worst way possible. It is discouraging to attend official tournaments because you may have a bad first game and be out of the tournament in minutes. Many players are eliminated within the first few minutes of the tournament. There’s no fun in that. Bushiroad needs to strongly consider changing their tournament’s format. This will only turn more players away from official tournaments.

Yu-Gi-Oh! actually gets this right. A match is the best 2 out of 3 games. It’s in the official rule book! This match format is completely standard for all tournaments. Konami uses a swiss system for tournaments. Players play in many matches within a round’s time frame. The player with the most wins will win the round. You can play for fun even if you’re having a bad first round. In other words, you may lose the first two matches, and continue to play more matches until the round is officially over.

2. Promo Cards Should Be Rare

Cardfight!! Vanguard promo cards look very cheap and boring. Promo cards are made like common cards. You can’t notice the difference between a common promo card and a common card. They all look the same! It shouldn’t be this way. Promo cards are very special cards. Most of them are unavailable in booster packs and trail decks. They are either a bonus card in a booster box, promo packs, or special related products.

Once again, Yu-Gi-Oh! gets it right! All Yu-Gi-Oh! promo cards are a rarity. Most promo cards are either Super Rare or Ultra Rare. This is what makes promo cards so special. The rarity is a sign of how special and rare the cards are.

3. The Anime Needs Logical Conflicts

Cardfight!! Vanguard can be a fun anime to watch because the matches are intense. The characters are cute and likable. However, the conflict doesn’t make sense. Let’s look at the conflict in the first two seasons. Ren is the top player in Japan. However, in his match with Aichi, Aichi says “you’re not going to rule the world”. When did Ren say he wanted to rule the world? Ren’s actions do not scream “world domination”. He did not commit any crimes. He does hurt his relationships with people. However, that’s not illegal. That’s not trying to conquer the world. Season 1 Ren is nothing more than a very heartless teenager.

In the second season Leon Soryu is the main antagonist. He wants to revive the Aqua Force clan and Soryu nation. In order to do this he is willing to kill everything. This contradicts his goal. His actions will lead to the deaths of the Aqua Force and Soryu because the Void wants to destroy everything including Leon. Leon is unable to achieve his goals whether or not he is able to defeat Aichi.

The conflicts in Yu-Gi-Oh! are well written except for Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. Pegasus wants souls, Kaiba’s technology, and most importantly the Millennium Puzzle to revive his decease wife. Yami Marik manipulated the real Marik to obtain the Millennium Puzzle and God cards to rule the world. The examples are two villains with selfish goals. The goals are very evil and most importantly logical. Yami Marik is power hungry and will do anything to receive the ultimate power. Pegasus’s love for his wife drives him to do anything to bring her back. He is rich and powerful. He will crush the weak to get what he wants.