Building a deck from scratch can be intimidating. You may be pondering how to build a deck for the V-Premium format of Cardfight!! Vanguard from your pile of cards. I have been there many times when I wanted to build a new deck. You have a large stack of cards, and you need to select the best cards to build a functioning deck. Then, you will need to test the deck at your local card shop.
A Cardfight!! Vanguard deck is 50 cards, and it includes your starter. Your starter is always grade 0. The second rule in Standard is you can only play cards that are from Cardfight!! Vanguard V. These cards have a V symbol in the bottom left corner. Once you have 50 cards, you are ready to play vanguard!
Imaginary Gift
Imaginary Gift is a special card that gives your clan an advantage. Cardfight!! Vanguard currently has three Imaginary Gift; Accel, Force, and Protect. Accel creates a new rear-guard circle. Force gives 10,000 power to any circle. Protect becomes a perfect guard in your hand. Choose which gift you are most comfortable with and best fits your style.
Orders & Tickets
Order is a card that is a potion, magical item, or weapon. These cards are included in the main deck and have grades like every card in a deck. Orders have special effects to give you a major advantage in games. For example, an order may give power to your vanguard or allows you to draw cards from the deck.
You need to consider your strategy and style before adding an Order in a deck. Orders can be very powerful cards in the right deck. Compare the cost of the Order’s effect to your units’ effects. You must balance your resources to have a consistent deck. If you can afford the costs of an Order and your units, then consider adding an Order to your deck.
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Tickets & Starting Vanguards
It is time to update your starters! Starters include a new skill to add a Quick-Shield Ticket to your hand. They still have the first skill to draw a card when rode upon.
Tickets are similar cards to Orders, but they do not go in the main deck. Tickets have special effects to assist you. A Quick-Shield Ticket is a special shield to defend your vanguard in battle!
Ratio
Cardfight!! Vanguard has two types of cards; Normal Units and Trigger Units. You will need to add sixteen triggers and a starter in your deck, and every deck needs four heal triggers. That is a total of 17 cards and we have 33 more cards to work with. I always have 8 grade three cards, 12 grade two cards, and 13 card one cards for the remaining 33 cards.
You want a good ratio to have the best probability of riding to the next grade. You do not want to be locked on a grade, and your opponent rushes you because you are a step behind. Always be on the same grade as your opponent, or take charge if your opponent is locked on a grade. Falling behind can lead to a swift defeat, but taking charge can give you a major advantage. I would rather have the positive feelings of being ahead instead of falling behind my opponent.
However, a few decks may have different ratios. Their different ratios assist their cards’s skills. Extremely aggressive decks may run 16 critical triggers to rush their opponent. A few decks such as Nova Grappler with Asura Kaiser may run 10 grade 3s to increase the probability of triggering Asura Kaiser’s skill. Decks with very strong searchers may not need to run many cards of a particular grade because the searchers will draw them for you.
A Deck is A Team
A deck is like a sports team. You want all of the cards to work in your strategy. Cards should be able to use their skills together to create combos. These combos will give you momentum, and build your advantage in a game.
For example, one of my favorite combos is Alfred Early and Blaster Blade. Alfred Early superior calls Blaster Blade from the soul, you draw a card, and Blaster Blade retires an opponent’s unit. You gain three advantages in a single combo. You gain a new unit from the soul and draw a free card from the deck. Then, you retire one of your opponent’s best rear-guards.
Avoid cards that will conflict with each other. Every card in a deck needs to function without its teammates preventing it from functioning. For example, if you are playing Soul Saver Dragon, then you do not want to play too many cards that soul blasts cards. You want to build your soul and limit soul blasts. Soul Saver Dragon requires five cards in the soul to activate its skill.
The Perfect Defense
It is no secret by now that every deck needs a set of Sentinels. They are the perfect defense against most cards. We have two options for Sentinels. The first option is grade 1 Sentinels. They are a cheaper option if you are on a budget. There is nothing wrong with playing these Sentinels, but you will have more possibilities with our second option.
I highly recommend playing Draw Triggers that are Sentinels. You normally do not call Draw Triggers in standard decks, and they have a low shield of 5,000. Replace your original Draw Triggers with the new Draw Triggers that are Sentinels. These Sentinels with the same trigger effect offer a better defense. They open your grade 1 lineup for four more cards.
Archetypes
Archetypes are the easiest cards to build decks with. Their skills direct you to play cards with particular titles, and you will have an easier time seeing which cards in the archetype work together the best. Their skills work in harmony, and rarely conflict with each other. A deck with an archetype should only include cards under the same title because your deck will be very consistent.
Furthermore, most clans have archetypes in the V-Premium format. Liberators, Overlord, and Star-vaders are three examples of archetypes. Their clans also include generic support with useful abilities for every deck. You may include a few generic cards in a deck with an archetype.
Do Not Play Grade 3 Without Markers
Grade 3 cards without markers do not have any value in the V-Premium format. You do not want to be in a situation where you must ride this type of grade 3. You will not obtain a gift marker to gain advantage, and most of these cards do not have good skills. Then, your opponent will be one step ahead of you. Most clans are very dependent on getting the marker to set up their strategies.
Watch this video for an example of this problem. I was playing Oracle Think Tank with cards without a marker. Unfortunately, I was forced to ride one of these cards, and she does not have a marker. She was my vanguard for the entire game because I was unable to ride a new vanguard. I could not get a Protect marker to gain a defensive advantage. I tried my best to stay in the game, but loss the game.
Test Your Deck
The final step in building a deck is to test your deck. Go to your local game store or call a few friends to come over your house to play games. Do not panic if you lose the first game. A deck needs to be played many times before you make any adjustments. I normally play at least five games before I make any adjustments. If I see a recurring inconsistency, then I will research how I can make improvements.
The Final Word
Building a deck is a fun and time-consuming process. I have built many decks and love trying them out with my friends. It can be very rewarding when you finally make the best deck. Take your new deck to your locals to impress your friends. You may be able to win a tournament at locals or regional.
