[JCG] The Current State of the Japanese Metagame

[JCG] The Current State of the Japanese Metagame

  Friday, June 13, 2014    byak

---

It's been a while since I was able to write an article about the Japanese game, but since they just got Legion and a new core set, I thought it'd be important to write an article about their metagame, considering it changed drastically!

Japan was recently swarmed with Legion units, thanks to a combination of the new Trial Decks, Booster Set 16, and the upcoming Extra Boosters for Genesis and Shadow Paladin. Compared to Break Rides, decks are getting a whole lot more Legion units than before. After Booster Set 16, Royal Paladin and Narukami both have a total of five!

The most popular Legion in the Japanese metagame by far, is Seeker, Sing Saver Dragon. Paired with Blaster Blade Seeker, his skill makes for an incredibly annoying boss by himself. I've already detailed how ridiculous he can be in a previous article, and the words have shown to be true in tournament results. In the top 16 of the VGCS in Laketown, ten of the sixteen decks were Seekers, forcing its way to the top four by sheer popularity.

It wasn't just popularity that gave it an edge, though. Seekers as a deck were incredibly flushed out from the start, including Crossbow Seeker, Gildas, a grade 2 that could pull any Seeker from your deck when you performed Legion, and Lake Maiden, Lien, a very old unit whose constant drop and draw skill could enable Legion extremely early on! It was clear that the deck has all the components it needed to be relevant from the start, and it definitely proved how powerful it can be.

credit to Siulzen of DuelistGroundz for compiling all of the decklists in this article

3rd: Royal Paladin (Seekers)
4 Seeker, Sing Saver Dragon
4 Seeker, Sacred Wingal

4 Blaster Blade Seeker
4 Full Bloom Seeker, Cerdic
3 Crossbow Seeker, Gildas

4 Good Faith Seeker, Cynric
4 Lake Maiden, Lien
3 Flashing Jewel Knight, Iseult
1 Summoning Jewel Knight, Gloria
2 Glynngal Seeker

FV: Advance Party Seeker, File
6 Crit
6 Draw (2 Margal)
4 Heal

However, Seekers were not proven to be the most powerful deck in the end. What might have been considered a dark horse at the time managed to propel itself to first place, stealing the title from Royal Paladins. Raizers were one of the few archetypes given support in Booster Set 16, and at first glance, they didn't appear to be very appealing. Ultimate Raizer Mega Flare attacked with an extra critical if you had four or more rest units, and it got to stand a rear-guard if it hit, but that was it. None of the other Raizers managed to generate advantage either, making it appear to be a weak choice overall.

Except there was one card that shot them all the way into first place. One card that was released years ago and finally brought to the surface after a recent declaration of rulings. The card I'm talking about, is Cat Butler.

The little guy doesn't seem like he does much, does he? All the way back from Comic Style Volume 1, Cat Butler is a grade 0 Nova Grappler that doesn't even have Forerunner, meaning you'd have to play more than 17 grade 0's to use him. Cat Butler's skill comes into play when a grade 2 or less Nova Grappler vanguard's attack doesn't hit. By retiring Cat Butler, you can stand that unit to attack again. Obviously he didn't see play because he was useless once you rode your grade 3 vanguard. At that point he'd just be a 5000 power vanilla grade 0, offering basically nothing.

That is not the case anymore.

According to Bushiroad, when you're using Legion, you technically have a grade 3 vanguard AND a grade 2 vanguard (at least if the mate is a grade 2). Therefore, Cat Butler works with any Nova Grappler Legion, standing them with their 20000+ attacking power.

And in the case of Mega Flare, an extra critical.

Sounds a lot scarier now, doesn't it?

Raizers are the best deck in the Japanese game because four Cat Butlers combined with four Mega Flare has been such a domineering force that no one can keep up with its tempo. It's much akin to Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant and its self-standing skill, except it costs no counterblasts and you only have to invest a single card.

1st: Nova Grappler (Raizers)
4 Ultimate Raizer, Mega Flare
1 Phoenix Raizer, Drill Wing

4 Ultimate Raizer, Dual Flare
4 Phoenix Raizer, Flame Wing
3 Street Bouncer

4 Shieldraizer
4 Screamin' and Dancin' Announcer, Shout
3 Energy Charger
2 Cannonraizer

FV: Transmigrating Evolution, Miraioh
4 Cat Butler
6 Crit (2 Red Lightning)
6 Draw
4 Heal

It's safe to assume that Raizers and Seekers are the best two new decks in the Japanese game, but what about the other newcomers? Brawlers were pretty hyped, but do they really live up to all of it? The leader of the Brawlers, Big Bang Knuckle Dragon appears to be quite huge. By counterblasting two Brawlers, Big Bang Knuckle gains +5000 power and the ability to attack all of your opponent's front row rear-guards for a turn. He's basically the new age Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion, but is that really what Brawlers need? Sure, this skill pumps units like Tonfa Wielding Brawler, Aak and Military Brawler, Lisei to large numbers, but compared to the damage pressure that other vanguards come with, this skill is hardly relevant.

It's certain that Brawlers have some of the most efficient field control skills in the game right now, but most of the good decks are good because their vanguards get huge due to Legion. Brawler, Shotgun Blow Dragon sort of follows this trend. When Shotgun Blow performs Legion, you can counterblast two to force your opponent to retire two rear-guards of their choice, and then, if you control more units, Shotgun Blow Dragon gains a critical. Funnily enough, Shotgun Blow Dragon has been outperforming Big Bang Knuckle in just about every event, though neither of the decks have been finishing in good positions. Brawlers are definitely a deck to watch though. All they need to be one of the best decks is a really heavy damage pressure vanguard.

3 Brawler, Shotgun Blow Dragon
4 Brawler, Wild Rush Dragon

2 Military Brawler, Lisei
2 Brawler, Skyhowl Dragon
3 Brawler Youjin
4 Brawler, Wild Fist Dragon

4 Threatening Brawler, Koumei
2 Ceremonial Bonfire Eradicator, Castor
2 Tonfa Wielding Brawler, Ark
3 Rising Phoenix
4 Wyvern Guard, Guld (PG)

FV: Brawler, Fighting Dracokid
6 Crit (4 Malevolent Djinn)
6 Draw
4 Heal

One deck that has been showing promise outside of the top two right now are Metalborgs. They're the newest Dimension Police archetype and they can hit really hard, mainly because of their main Legion. Metalborg, Sin Buster hits really hard and is empowered by the vanguard-centric support of Dimension Police. While it's in Legion, if it attacks a vanguard and it has 30000 power or more, your opponent cannot guard with grade 1 or higher units, meaning they can't Sentinel or anything along those lines. In addition, if Sin Buster hits with a power of 20000 or higher, you also draw a card, but that's not as important.

Unlike units like Super Dimensional Robo, Daiyusha, Sin Buster's power is checked after a boost is applied. This means that if you used a 10000 booster, you'd easily reach the 30000 power condition. What this also means is that Break Riding instantly fulfills the conditions for a turn, and considering the deck has access to Super Dimensional Robo, Daikaiser, this can result in really powerful burst.

The popular way of using Metalborgs is to use Sin Buster with Daikaiser, then back him up with Commander Laurel. The end result of these three cards is a 30000+ vanguard swing that has an extra critical, prevents your opponent from using sentinels, and also can stand itself if it hits. Metalborgs also have other units that can make Sin Buster even bigger. Metalborg, Mist Ghost and Metalborg, Russell Blizzard both give your center column +8000 power when you call them, making it even harder for your opponent to survive. The deck also uses 12 draws, since it banks on dealing four damage with Sin Buster, Daikaiser, and Laurel and needs a source of advantage.

4 Metalborg, Sin Buster
4 Super Dimensional Robo, Daikaiser

4 Metalborg, Ur Buster
4 Dimensional Robo, Kaizard
3 Metalborg, Russell Blizzard

4 Dimensional Robo, Daishield
4 Commander Laurel
4 Metalborg, Mist Ghost
2 Metalborg, Death Blade

FV: Warrior of Destiny, Dai
12 Draw
4 Heal

Spike Brothers have always been the underrated deck of the metagame, but this time around, with their new Legions, I think they definitely have the potential to make a good showing at tournaments. Emerald Blaze and Silver Blaze, for one, make a decent combination. When Emerald Blaze attacks while its in Legion, you can slide a copy of itself or a Silver Blaze from your hand into the soul and counterblast three to call any two units from your deck. It's admittedly a very heavy costed skill, but the 11000 base is an improvement from older bosses, and Spike Brothers now have a damage un-flipping engine in the form of Jumbo the Stungun. Calling two Jumbos can refund two of the damage you just spend, and you also get to soulcharge two cards for units like Silver Blaze. 

When Silver Blaze attacks and your vanguard is in Legion, you can soulblast one to give him +10000 power, but he goes back into the deck at the end of the turn. He's basically a souped up version of Highspeed, Brakki that's meant to work with Legion.

However, the other Spike Brother Legion, Bloody Ogre, may be able to make an even larger impact. During the turn you Legion with its mate, Frozen Ogre, all of your rear-guards gain +5000 when they attack, but go back into the deck. Additionally, when Bloody Ogre attacks, you can counterblast two and slide a card from your hand into the soul to call any card from your deck. Ideally, you want to use both of these bosses with Bad End Dragger, Spike Brother's fearsome Break Ride. Using Bad End with Bloody Ogre results in your rear-guards gaining +15000 on attack, which can end up being huge.

This turn becomes even scarier when you account for Bloody Ogre's mate, Frozen Ogre! As a rear-guard, if Frozen Ogre attacks a vanguard and you performed Legion this turn, you can counterblast one and slide him into the soul to call any card from your deck! Without boost, the Break Ride turn makes him swing for 24000, and you can also call another copy of himself. Frozen Ogre has no restrictions on what he can call, so during your Break Ride turn, you can cycle through the three copies at your disposal and even finish your opponent off with one more attack after that! When played right, Spike Brothers with their new Legion can be a force to be reckoned with.

4 Bad End Dragger
4 Bloody Ogre

3 Treasured, Black Panther
1 Jumbo the Stungun
3 Silver Blaze
4 Frozen Ogre

1 Commander, Garry Gannon
3 Cheer Girl, Marilyn (PG)
1 Baron Amadeus (QW)
1 Machine Gun, Gloria
4 Reckless Express
4 Wonder Boy

FV: Mecha Trainer
8 Draw
4 Silence Joker
4 Heal

And last, but certainly not least, we have Musketeers. Similar to Raizers, Musketeers have had support for a while, since their debut in Booster Set 8. However, they were kept out of the light due to the lack of proper support in the Break Ride era. Their strategy revolved around retiring old Musketeers to get new ones, making your field super consistent. Since their strategy filled the drop zone relatively fast, it'd make sense that they're coming back in full force with their own Legion in Booster Set 16.

Their main Legion, Peony Musketeer, Martina, serves as the advantage engine of the deck. If Martina is in Legion, you can counterblast one and shuffle five non-trigger Musketeers to the bottom of your deck in order to look at the top four cards of your deck and call two Musketeers. You can only use the skill once per turn, but giving a +2 to your field is nothing to scoff at. Martina's mate, Peony Musketeer, Thule, also helps fuel your drop zone fairly efficiently. If you call Thule while your vanguard is in Legion, you can retire a Musketeer to call a new one from the top four cards of your deck.

The only problem with Martina is similar to the problems that Brawlers had: there's very little damage pressure. It's extremely easy to build a field with Musketeers, but when that's done, there's not much else you can do. At the very least, they can shuffle their Sentinels into the deck in various ways to have very rapid access to them, but what else can they do?

Licorice Musketeer, Vera and Licorice Musketeer, Saul are exactly what Musketeers needed to create a damage strategy. Once per turn, Vera can retire a Musketeer to call one off the top five, but what makes her powerful is her Legion skill. During the turn you perform Legion, all of your Musketeers gain +3000 power. This results in your vanguard reaching 26000 power without a booster, and both of your columns gaining +6000 power. It's only for one turn, but if you can chain Veras together, you've got yourself a solid strategy. The only downside is that decks can play the damage game better, so Musketeers still can't really match to their power, but admittedly, the deck is very fun to play.

2 Holly Musketeer, Elvira
4 Lycoris Musketeer, Vera

4 Cherry Blossom Musketeer, Augusto
1 Lily of the Valley Musketeer, Kaivant
4 Pansy Musketeer, Sylvia
3 Lycoris Musketeer, Saul

2 Red Rose Musketeer, Antonio (PG)
2 Moth Orchid Musketeer, Christie (QW)
3 Water Lily Musketeer, Ruth
4 Lily of the Valley Musketeer, Rebecca
3 Dandelion Musketeer, Mirkka
1 Tulip Musketeer, Mina

FV: Broccolini Musketeer, Kirah
8 Crit
4 Draw
4 Heal

What can we draw from this as a conclusion? Well, Raizers are the best deck due to Cat Butler, Seekers are carried by Sing Saver Dragon, Brawlers are missing damage pressure, and Metalborgs, Musketeers, and Spike Brothers are all viable tournament decks. Limit Break was really shifted out of the metagame scene, but not entirely because they're worse than Legion. While it's true that Legion doesn't have to wait for anything, Legion decks dominated the tournament because most of the good players dropped their old Limit Break decks for them. I believe that decks like Glendios, Revengers, etc have enough potential to fight versus Legion, but someone needs to have the guts to actually pick them up.

Keep in mind, we're getting a lot more Legion units very soon. The new Extra Boosters will be giving support to Shadow Paladin and Genesis, while the new Trial Decks will be giving support to Gold Paladin and Link Joker. All of the Legion units we've seen so far for them have given very good impressions, but we still need to wait and see how well they can impact the metagame! Stay tuned for our coverage on the fast approaching Extra Boosters, and thanks for reading.