Vanilla units in today's metagame, and why I hardly give them attention

Vanilla units in today's metagame, and why I hardly give them attention

  Thursday, January 02, 2014    byak

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Hey there cardfighters! In today's article, I thought I'd bring you something different. As a few of you may have noticed, in the past articles that I have written, I have given the common 8000 and 10000 vanillas very little credit. I rarely even touch vanilla units when building decks. These units have always been accepted by the majority, but in today's article I'm going to go over why they're not the best choices in today's metagame.


For a quick review, every clan has their own vanilla units. Each clan is entitled (currently) to one 8000 grade 1 unit and a supposedly limitless amount of 10000 grade 2 units. Bushiroad has recently started to create more 10000 grade 2's that fit in with archetypes of clans (ex: Liberator of Silence, Gallatin was printed after Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains with the motive of supporting the new Liberator deck). They can be quite flavorful at times and they're usually well received.

Why play them to begin with? 8000 vanillas, being more limited, have a decent amount of applications. When combined with a 13000 attacking unit, they can create a 21000 column that strikes fear in any 11000 column. Otherwise, they can pair up with a 12000 attacking unit (which is more common) and make a 20000 column to deal with 10000 base units (which are unfortunately less common). When they're paired up with 10000 rear-guards they can make 18000, which is effective vs Cross Rides and problematic 8000 base units. And finally, being paired with 8000 rear-guards can help make the essential 16000 column for standard vanguard units in our meta.

Looking away from columns, they also provide a solid turn 1 defense. If your opponent rides a standard 7000 and pulls back their 5000 forerunner, then you can easily block the first hit with a 10000 shield (12000 vs 18000) and take no risks when putting up a defense. Now that I've stated all these pros, why don't I like them?

Starting with the 21000 column argument, there aren't enough good 13000 units that validate this claim. Veteran players are familiar with the ever so hated Swordsman of the Explosive Flame, Palamedes and its 13000 attack, and even older players remember the old Knight of Conviction, Bors which came with a counterblast cost. The fact of the matter is, we're beyond those times, and while those units were good, they're outclassed by the standard 11000 Break Ride and boss unit duo that's becoming more and more prominent. Players are giving up the slot of their support grade 3 for more vanguard centered power and beefier units, which in turn can cause the old 8000 vanillas to be set aside.

Though another factor in all of this that shouldn't be set aside is that most Break Ride units have conditions that make them 13000 un-boosted on attack. Usually the condition is very easy to fulfill, and the result is that you have a lot more pressure coming from your vanguard before you Break Ride. Of course, it's more important to have rear guards that create 21000 because your vanguard is hard to guard, but this can make them even harder to guard. This is a strong point for 8000 vanillas, but you still need to consider how they interact with the rest of your deck, including the next unit that you ride.

Another con is the trends of grade 2's at the moment. What is the most common number that grade 2's come with? 9000. 9000 is the key number for pressure units and card advantage units, and what do they do with an 8000 vanilla? They make 17000, which is 1000 stronger than it needs to be (unless you're playing vs a lot of Majesty Lord Blaster). The lack of synergy between the two kinds of units can really mess up your deck building, because if you have a lot of 9000 units, it's more important to look for better compliments, such as 7000 grade 1's with useful skills or powerful 9000 grade 1 boosters. Being able to compliment your grade 1's and grade 2's like this can increase your deck's power output, which is something that an 8000 vanilla can hinder.

The important fact to gather from all this is that if you want to run your 8000 vanilla, there better be a lot of reason to run it. There are more and more powerful 7000 grade 1's creeping up that hold more value than vanilla units and as stated before, compliment with 9000 grade 2's. Also, no 8000 vanillas right now fit into any archetypes, which are also becoming the popular deck building path and rely on you building pure archetype cards for them to be powerful.This is usually what seals the coffin for the 8000 vanillas. If they can't create enough power columns, then I don't recommend touching them.

10000 vanilla units are a bit different, but still nonetheless unfavorable right now. The pros of 10000 vanillas is that they can trade with other 10000 bases and they can make 18000 columns for Cross Rides when paired with 8000 vanillas. They also give a solid turn 2, similar to how 8000 vanillas give you a better turn 1, since they're tankier and easier to guard for. The best part about these vanillas is that they can belong to archetypes, which can be beneficial if the archetype doesn't have many units to choose from.

The problem is that that's their only really relevant use. There are less and less 10000 bases and it's harder to get those un-boosted trades that they offer, plus they also just get outclassed by the 9000+3000 power attackers in that area. The tanky nature of vanillas is cool but it doesn't equal the card advantage that other grade 2 support units offer. Like 8000 vanillas, 10000 vanillas fall off and are the awkward one out in comparison to the rest of the good cards right now. The only reason I would include a 10000 vanilla is if an archetype didn't really have anything else better.

Right now... I'd have to say we're just in the wrong metagame for vanilla units. They have their merits, but those merits don't mix in well with what's good right now. They simply fall flat and need a bit of a boost if they want to become good again. I'm not saying they're completely unplayable, because there are a few decks out there that can utilize them well, but they don't mix in with the general mass of good decks. Feel free to share your opinion in the comments section below, and thanks for reading.