Budget Deck List: Shadow Paladins

Shadow Paladins is one of the most popular clans in Cardfight!! Vanguard. The clan has many iconic cards in the franchise such as Blaster Dark and Phantom Blaster Dragon. They have established themselves as a good clan in the standard format. I enjoy their style of retiring allies and opponents’ rear-guards to gain powerful effects. It perfectly fits their theme as dark knights. This strategy is also very effective against most clans.

However, every clan has its kryptonite, and the Shadow Paladins’ kryptonite is Oracle Think Tank. Oracle Think Tank has the perfect defense against Shadow Paladins. When Shadow Paladins attempt to retire an opponent’s unit, the skills usually allow your opponent to decide which rear-guards to retire. Promise Daughter dodges retirement better than Brett Favre. She can be chosen to be retired, but her skill does not allow her to be retired by an opponent’s skill.

My standard for a budget deck is a budget of fifty dollars. The majority of cards from are valued at four dollars or less. I stared building this deck with cards from V Trial Deck 04: Ren Suzugamori and a booster box of V Booster Set 02: Strongest! Team AL4. Then, I purchased a few cards online to complete it. All in all, this deck costed me $44 dollars so I stayed within the budget for a budget deck.

Deck List

Grade 0 =17

• Fullbau (Starter)
• Abyss Healer (Heal Trigger) x4
• Darkside Trumpeter (Critical Trigger) x4
• Dark Shield, Mac Lir (Draw Tigger/Perfect Guard) x4
• Death Feather Eagle (Critical Trigger) x2
• Howl Owl (Draw Trigger) x2

Grade 1 =13

• Black Sage, Charon x1
• Blaster Javelin x4
• Blaster Dagger x4
• Nightmare Painter x1
• Witch of Nostrum, Arianrhod x3

Grade 2 = 12

• Blaster Axe x4
• Blaster Dark x4
• Blaster Rapier x4

Grade 3 =8

• Dark Mage, Badhabh Caar x4
• The Dark Dictator x4

Shadow Paladin Vanguards

The Dark Dictator is the main event. He leads my Shadow Paladins to the path of victory. His skills are fantastic for a card from a trial deck. His skill gives him 2,000 power for each Shadow Paladin rear-guard on the field. In addition to gaining power in numbers, The Dark Dictator retires my opponent’s rear-guards.

The Dark Dictator also has synergy with my deck’s best cards. I can play combos with Blaster Dark, Blaster Javelin, and Black Stage, Charon. My favorite combo is superior calling Blaster Dark to retire two of my opponent’s rear-guards. It is a very devastating play against most decks. I always feel good forcing the opposition into retirement.

Dark Mage, Badhabh Caar provides a slight boost to my offense by calling a rear-guard to the field for a turn. While Dark Mage, Badhabh Caar gives my field a temporary boost, he does not have the same level of pressure as The Dark Dictator.  He is not the best backup vanguard, but he is the only option for Shadow Paladin until V Booster Set 04: Vilest! Deletor. He has a Force Marker, and that is always a positive.

Blasters

Blasters are the Shadow Paladins’ special forces! They work well in this deck, and they provide a lot of offense to the deck. Blaster Dagger, Blaster Dark, and the lovely Blaster Rapier retire my opponent’s rear-guards. Then, Blaster Javelin gives me a free card when he is called to the field. Unfortunately, Blaster Axe does not provide much to the deck. I will be replacing him after we get new support next year.

Shadow Paladin Rear-guards

The remaining cards are grade one units and triggers. First, I am going to focus on my grade one units. They provide power to themselves, the Blasters, or my vanguard. First, you may notice I am playing one Black Sage, Charon. It is not a budget card, but I am playing one copy because I pulled it from a booster box. I will play a full set if I ever pulled three more copies of him.

Witch of Nostrum, Arianrhod is a decent rear-guard for increasing my unit’s power. She increases my unit’s power by 10,000. This skill increases Blaster Rapier’s power to 24,000. Furthermore, Witch of Nostrum, Arianrhod is perfect to call behind The Dark Dictator as he does not need her boost. He gains 20,000 power from a Force marker and her first skill.  When she is behind him,

Nightmare Painter is a good card for soul charging in Shadow Paladins. He sends cards from the drop zone instead of the deck to the soul. I prefer cards with similar skills for soul charging as I do not worry about losing triggers or perfect guards from my deck.  I would play more copies of him, but I only pulled one from a booster box.

Trigger Lineup

Finally, my lineup for triggers includes six critical triggers, six draw triggers, and four heal triggers. Four of my six draw triggers are sentinels (Perfect Guards). I prefer to play six draw triggers in a standard deck. As a result of six draw triggers, the extra cards help the deck maintain its consistency. Then, I will have quicker access to my key cards.

The Final Word

Overall, I am  happy with the deck. I tested it against many decks at my local shop, and won every game. The deck is consistent with a good flow of offense and quick combos. I plan to update this deck when V Booster Set 04: Vilest! Deletor is released in English. I want to replace Dark Mage, Badhabh Caar with a better vanguard. His skill is decent, but it does dominate games.