I often wondered for months what Cardfight!! Vanguard G was about. It first appeared to me as a show about three teenagers from different backgrounds and with horrible attitudes. Now I clearly see the path the directors and writers aimed for its audience. The first season’s theme is clearly the debate about playing for fun and only playing to win the game. Chrono challenged Kanzaki’s beliefs that playing competitively without the desire for fun is the only way to properly play Cardfight!! Vanguard. Casual players and competitive players have long debated over which style is the most enjoyable to play. There is no right or wrong answer for this age old debate.
I choose to casually play trading card games because I want to play the cards that I like over cards that are the best in a format. All of my decks are made for fun. Playing my favorite cards gives me the entertainment that I want from a trading card game. It is always exciting to play my favorite cards to take control over a game. My passion burns every time when I summon my favorite card, Dark Magician. There is always a sense of satisfaction when making combo plays with these cards.
I met three casual Yu-Gi-Oh! players at my locals last week, and I had a good time with these guys. This is my type of environment for playing trading card games. They were playing games from the GX era. They gave me a run for my money, but Dark Magician and High Priestess of Prophecy did not let me down. My friend was complaining about a group of guys at rival shop, who are very rude to casual players. The group would complain to players for being casual and a waste of time to play against. He stopped going there so he just hangs out at my locals.
Choosing to be a competitive player is not a wrong choice. Competitive players strive to the best player there is in the game. Their competitiveness is what pushes them to get better. If you want to top tournaments with the best decks in a format, then go for it. Some players will say you are unskillful for playing the best decks, but they quickly forget your skills are more important than the cards. It’s not the cards that make the player. Skill is how you play your cards to win big games. However, never be one of those guys, who want to put down casual players. Not one even respectful and competitive players will want to be around such a negative person. I ran into this type of player a few years ago at an old locals. The guy took one look at my deck and attempted to trade my cards to improve my deck to his standard. I quickly took my deck away from the guy and gave him some words of wisdom.
To sum up, play the style that fits, who you are as a player. Casual players are some of the most fun players, who I have played against. Competitive players spend a lot of money for the best cards to play against the best players. The only problem is people, who do not accept players for playing casually. Trading card games were made for companies to make money and for players to have fun. Of course there is nothing wrong with playing to the win game. There is no need to degrade or belittle someone for having a different outlook at TCGs. Everyone has different motives on why they play these games. Always remember to have fun if you play casually or competitively. Go to your locals and get your game on!