[ECG] Deck Check: The Descent of Nouvelle Vague

[ECG] Deck Check: The Descent of Nouvelle Vague

  Friday, May 30, 2014    byak

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The arrival of grade 4 is upon us! The newest Extra Booster for Kagero introduces a new deck type, featuring a dragon who transcends all other units in Vanguard!

We all know that units in Vanguard range from 0 to 3, but we've all pondered about the existence of a grade 4 unit. Some card effects have even referred to grade 3 or higher units, meaning Bushiroad made room from the start to include them in the game.

We've technically had a grade 4 for quite a while now, except it hasn't allowed in tournament play for a while. Epitome of Knowledge, Silvest was the first legal grade 4 in vanguard, along with the first card to be made completely forbidden from play. Silvest carries a 13000 base, equivalent to Cross Ride defense, and has a really simple +10000 power on attack skill. However, he has a continuous skill that prevents him from being included in a deck after certain dates (September 21st, 2012 in Japan and February 28th, 2013 for all other regions), which have passed, completely removing him from the game.

Silvest wasn't the strongest card either. One problem that stemmed from him was consistency. There wasn't a particularly good ratio of grades that would make him easy to ride. He also didn't do much as a card, either, and the rest of Great Nature really didn't do too much back then. It might have surprised some just because of his presence, but he really wasn't that great of a unit.

Fast forward ahead by one year, and we have Bushiroad's second attempt of a grade 4: Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague! He has a boatload of skills, so it's necessary to break them down one at a time. Nouvelle Vague, like Silvest, is also a 13000 static, rightfully giving him Cross Ride defense. However, if he's a rear-guard, he loses -1000 power. This makes him a 12000 attacker, meaning no 21000 columns with Embodiment of Armor, Bahr.

When Nouvelle Vague attacks as a vanguard, your opponent cannot guard with grade 0 units. So basically, think Silent Tom, except with 5000 more power and on your vanguard circle. This is huge when assessing Nouvelle Vague's power, as it becomes extremely more difficult to guard. Assuming it breaks the 21000 line, it takes 20000 worth of shield to guard with two triggers to pass. Without 10000 intercepts or other grade 1's that gain shield power, that would require a total of four cards to safely block. You could also use a perfect guard, but if this is the case, you'd need a perfect guard to block Nouvelle Vague each turn as the game progresses, drastically reducing your card advantage.

During your own turn, Nouvelle Vague also manages to nullify all of your opponent's trigger effects. This isn't as significant as the guarding restriction, but it adds insult to injury by taking away your opponent's safety net of draw and heal triggers. He also prevents your opponent from staying in the game with a sixth damage heal trigger, guaranteeing victory by the time you hit for the last damage. This skill also applies to any other methods of damage, including from your rear-guards, making all of your columns extremely oppressive.

Finally, we have Nouvelle Vague's Limit Break. It's fairly costly, as you have to counterblast three, soulblast three, and discard another Nouvelle Vague, but if you do, you get to retire all of your opponent's rear-guards. You're usually going to end up using this skill only once per game, but the timing is extremely important. Once you get to the second Vague and you have the resources to use it, you want to put constant pressure on them and force them to commit to the board. Then, you can blow up their field and continue with your pressure, simple as that. At the most, you'd be getting a +4 in card advantage for doing it, creating a huge momentum shift.

Overall, Nouvelle Vague's skills cover all of the points you would want to cover. You have permanent pressure from preventing your opponent from guarding with grade 0's, you have a powerful field nuke at your disposal, and to top it all off you can nullify all defensive triggers. You also have an extremely defensive board, since Nouvelle Vague has a 13000 base. The only question now is, how do you incorporate a grade 4 into the traditional Vanguard deck?

Catastrophe Coagulation!
17 / 14 / 11 / 4 / 4

1 Lizard Soldier, Conroe
4 Demonic Dragon Mage, Rakshasa [Critical]
2 Blue Ray Dracokid [Critical]
1 Embodiment of Spear, Tahr [Critical]
1 Seal Dragon Biella [Critical]
4 Gattling Claw Dragon [Draw]
4 Dragon Monk Genjo [Heal]

4 Wyvern Guard, Barri
4 Dragon Monk, Gojo
4 Nouvelleroman Dragon
1 Dragon Knight, Ashgar
1 Demonic Dragon Mage, Kimnara

4 Nouvellecritic Dragon
4 Bellicosity Dragon
3 Berserk Dragon

2 Dauntless Drive Dragon
2 Cruel Dragon

4 Transcendence Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vague

Thankfully, Bushiroad solved the consistency problem rather easily, thanks to the help of Nouvelleroman Dragon. When Nouvelleroman is called to the field, you can shuffle Nouvelle Vague back into your deck to add any grade 3 from your deck to your hand! So basically, Nouvelleroman makes it so you can play a small amount of grade 3's, since any Nouvelle Vague can turn into one if you need them. Theoretically, this means you have a greater chance of opening either of your grade 3's as you would in any other deck while still using four copies of Nouvelle Vague. This tends to make Nouvelleroman Dragon the cornerstone of the deck's strategy.

Lizard Soldier Conroe also contributes to this strategy. Since Nouvelleroman Dragon is a grade 1, as long as Conroe sticks around by the time you can counterblast, you can retire him immediately to grab Nouvelleroman without having to draw him! Of course, if you do draw him, Conroe can become anything else, including Wyvern Guard Barri as a hypothetically free Sentinel.

Our Break Ride of choice for this deck is our only choice: Dauntless Drive Dragon. Dauntless has quickly become a recurring contender in Vanguard's metagame due to the natural strength of re-standing vanguards. While Dauntless originally came with a lot of pressure with Dragonic Overlord the End, it's arguable that Nouvelle Vague draws more power from him, due to his guarding restrictions. Consider the fact that Nouvelle Vague attacks twice in one turn with 23000+ on each attack, meaning you basically have to use a Sentinel to protect yourself. The power from Dauntless by itself is enough to propel you into the lead.

Mathematically, it's also important to realize that with Nouvelleroman Dragon, six cards in your deck can essentially become Dauntless Drive, which is substantially more than the traditional four copies you'd see in every deck. This makes Dauntless a lot more consistent and you'll end up riding him almost every game. However, it's important to have a small degree of variance in the build, so we also have other options to work with.

While Dauntless Drive Dragon is a very good unit to go with Nouvelle Vague, Cruel Dragon is also a good option to utilize. The main gimmick in using Cruel Dragon is that it's possible to drop him on your second turn! During your main phase, if you retire a unit with a card effect and you have a grade 2 or higher vanguard, you can rest your vanguard to ride Cruel Dragon from your hand, though he loses -3000 power during that turn. If you don't want to take the Dauntless route, which isn't always necessary, Cruel Dragon lets you put Nouvelle Vague on the field one turn earlier if you can get to him early on.

Cruel Dragon's Limit Break isn't too shabby either. When Cruel Dragon attacks, you can counterblast and soulblast to retire a grade 2 or lower unit. It's very cost efficient, though the return is fairly minuscule. However, there's synergy to be found with Dauntless Drive, since you can trigger the Limit Break twice in one turn. It doesn't come up that often, but if it's needed, it comes in handy. Aside from that, it's also fairly easy to trigger the Superior Ride skill as well, since you have four copies of Gattling Claw Dragon to retire other starting vanguards and one copy of Demonic Dragon Mage, Kimnara to kill off boosters. Berserk Dragon and Nouvellecritic Dragon can also trigger Cruel Dragon, but their conditions are slightly harder to reach.

Speaking of Nouvellecritic Dragon, it fits in with the rest of the deck by working with Nouvelle Vagues in your hand. When he hits the field, you can reveal a Nouvelle Vague in your hand and counterblast to retire any unit your opponent controls. While we still include Berserk Dragon in the deck, this card clearly outclasses it, despite of the slightly tougher conditions. Basically, the purpose of your grade 2 lineup is to possess as much field control as possible. You want to spend the game trying to get as much value from Nouvellecritic and Berserk Dragon as possible, without interfering with Nouvelle Vague's steep cost if necessary. You might have trouble landing attacks on your opponent's vanguard, but Nouvelle Vague's steep power makes up for it, allowing you to land more hits on rear-guards and restrict their options.

Bellicosity Dragon also contributes to this by creating hypothetical pressure that synergizes with your other two grade 2's. Bellicosity's on-hit damage un-flipping lets you use Nouvellecritic Dragon and Berserk Dragon even more, forcing your opponent to commit to guarding more against you. If he's your grade 2 ride, you can also combo him very well with Conroe by trying to un-flip your first damage early on, making it difficult to contest.

Other than that, the deck is fairly simple to understand. The one-of copies of Dragon Knight Ashgar and Demonic Dragon Mage, Kimnara let Conroe accomplish other things when you open Nouvelleroman Dragon. Dragon Monk Gojo offers consistency, which is necessary in a deck that needs to get to grade 4. Your goal in every game, obviously, is to put Nouvelle Vague on the board as early as possible, as it disrupts your opponent more than anything else. Surely your opponent can take the early damage from him, but as the game progresses, it becomes harder and harder to stay alive. Not to mention it becomes really easy for you to stay alive with your 13000 defense.

One thing to definitely focus on when using this deck is eliminating units that would create 18000 columns. Keeping 18000 columns off the board makes it almost impossible for your opponent to mount a sizable attack versus you, further increasing your chances of winning. This is why so many retiring units are used, so that you can see one or two every game.

Other than that, the deck is simple to use, and simplicity is good. Bushiroad did a very good job in incorporating grade 4 support in the game, even if the grade 4 in question is questionably over the top. Keep in mind however, that Lizard Soldier Conroe was restricted from being a starting vanguard in the Japanese game, and if the deck shows as much popularity over here, Conroe might receive the same treatment. If that were to occur, Red Pulse Dracokid serves as a replacement, but a questionable one at best. For now, enjoy Conroe while you can, and enjoy the deck!