The 3 Prototypes

Excluding triggers, drawn cards due to game effects, and advantage from optimal guarding, what is the mean advantage of your deck? Advantage is a difficult segment to normalize, given that one form of plusing (+5k power) is different from another (Draw 1) although technically they give the same +1. But we are not discussing how to normalize advantage.

Consider the accumulated pluses/minuses dispersion in a deck. Do all the sources burn out quickly? Or are they last over several turns? A prototype is a general condition used to describe the tempo of advantage gain. I’ve organized the three main kinds of prototypes* based on all the builds available:
*Since I have nothing else to call this.

• Uniform

• Random

• Clumped

If you didn’t know, the names come from the 3 types of population distribution patterns in animals. I chose prototype partly because the dart I threw at the dictionary landed in that general area, and because all** builds can fall into exactly one of these patterns. Since all builds stem from these basic areas, I call them prototypes for being the ‘first’ thing that comes in mind. As a general rule, the main vanguards’ effects will determine what kind of prototype the deck is.

**I have seen no good deck that does not fall into these categories: Possible overlapping of categories is generally due to a result of units that are either not part of the main focus or placed as a ‘filler’ to flesh out the build. For example, the 9k gr2 clones with the generic effect that gives it +3k on attack for having a unit with the same subclan/guild. Although the card itself falls within the uniform category the entire deck might fall into the clumped prototype.

Uniform

Uniform describes a deck where the advantage gained is consistent throughout the entire game. This includes the middle game as well as the endgame, and possibly the early game if possible. If the gimmick activates just about every turn, then it will be uniform.

If the deck requires a vanguard’s Limit break effect to gain a bulk of the advantage then it is not uniform, regardless of how uniform all other effects are. Some vanguards can have Limit Break skills but are not reliant on such effects to promote thier advantage (White Lily Musketeer)

There are a few ways to accomplish a uniform deck:

•  Activate an effect by paying a cost every turn. This is a very limited section, due to the amount of resources needed to sustain such actions. An example of this kind of style is Mr.Invincible+Megacolony Trappers.

• 21+ rearguard rows. A very basic technique that heavily minuses the opponent hand to maintain a known damage tempo. Royal Paladin (Soul Paladin) and Pale Moon (Midnight Rouges) can do so without limit break, making them great uniform decks. Note that these uniform decks will have NO advantage when facing crossrides due to the absurd defense.

• Attain consistent pluses by alternating the use of true and false resources.

True resources are places where the soul, field, hand and damage are payed, and effects are necessary to repay. But consider what Battle Sister Cocoa brings to the table: It is an on-call effect that requires no cost, and does nothing at first glance. Hand size did not increase (Dark cat), nothing is superior called (Flash Edge), and there isn’t even a power gain.

All Cocoa does is check the top card and chooses to leave it there or not. Obviously, we can all tell the usefulness of doing such an action: Getting a trigger checked is a pluses, and if you increasing the chances you get more triggers/pluses on average. This makes a CEO-mained build a uniform deck as you can vanilla the entire deck, run this as vanguard, and get an advantage for no apparent reason.

Another form of false resources come in the form of grade 3 checkers. Since the average grade 3 count for most decks is eight, you can expect to get something for free without using a single resource. Checkers cause a pseudo-trigger ability to activate inside grade 3’s, making a normal deck with 16 (55%) targets feel sad when faced with 24 (74%) possible targets. Specific checkers can even check a grade 3 every turn (Seifried). And since most grade 3 checkers do not pay costs, you get pluses for no clear reason and without using counterblasts or soulblasts. For a deck like Goku, filling in the gaps every other turn is Beserk and Kimnara: True and false resources alternate to retire something every turn and create constancy.

Tyrant Deathrex is an oddball but it fits the category of a uniform deck. Though counterblasts to gain advantage (Retiring Dragon Egg gives you a free \10/ and killing Blightops nets you a +\5/), the deck rarely exhausts their resources which makes the deck uniform. In one particular situation, Tyrant is alone on the field, you can see the pluses clearly: it gets +5000 unlike Garmore which needs Limit Break.

On-hit vanguard Pressure is last area of false resources. Given a standard 16|16|16, letting the vanguard through if affordable saves you more cards and damage than any other strategy (like guarding the vg for instance). This technique grants you a +0.5 a turn, and when combined with the cards you get every turn provides you the necessary defense to last through the endgame. If  you prevent the strategy,  like pressuring with Stern Blaukluger, then the opponent loses the ability to +0.5 every turn. Meanwhile, the fighter using the on-hit vanguard is still gaining that amount, so the pluses accumulate without using a single counterblast or increased trigger quality.

All uniform builds work from start to finish; Advantage is generated throughout the entire game (When you ride it to the last damage) even when all other resources have been depleted. Being able to gain advantage for using no resources is the key aspect of a uniform deck and is why they are very good for players that like consistent decks.

Clumped

Clumped refers to a build where the advantage engine is focused into only one part of the subgame, clumped in a short time span.

It pains me to say that these kinds of decks are what Bushiroad favours. Instead of slowly whittling down the opponent uniformly, they prefer one turn gimmicks to end the game there and then. This action is heavily shown when you see that EVERY*** grade 3 released is restricted to LIMIT BREAK. All good effects occur onlt in the endgame where there is the LEAST amount of flexibility/options.

*** Not those generic +2k clones, nor extremely horrible commons (Reverse Aura Phoenix anyone?). Goldfred, The Blood, Celestials, and even Last Card Revon is limited to the smallest area of the game.

As you know, there are three stages to a cardfight: early game, middle game and end game.

• The early game (Turn 1 to Turn 3 inclusive) is where you find out what kind of deck your opponent is running while trying to sneak in a couple of hits.

• The middle game (Damage 1 to Damage 3 inclusive) has low costed effects activated to try to set up a good lead. Advantage building is key here, because attacking a vital area may cripple the opponent for the next couple of turns and may prove fatal.

• The endgame (Damage 4 to Damage 6 inclusive) is where you blow all of your resources while trying to last to opponent’s assault.

Break rides clump a massive amount of power on to one card. Similar to a jack-in-the-box, you wind it up and listen to a peaceful melody before the demon of the netherworld pops up from the box to slit your throat off. So think about it: if you have a break ride as your vanguard, you are not do absolutely nothing during both the early and middle game. You sit there like a vanilla doll until you go to 4 damage then create a macho play that will hopefully be entertaining enough to save yourself from the boring game.

Little/Scarlet Witch Lulu/Koko burns all the advantage on turn 3 instead of turn 3. Grade 1 rush decks become
bunk starting from turn 4. Whatever you run, if the advantage generation is for one (or two) turns then you are looking at a clumped deck.

Say you are playing a Koko deck, and turn 3 hits without you having 2 open counterblasts. What to do? Do you forcibly grade-lock yourself to try to get that advantage? Or do you ride the less impressive Sakuya and settle for a smaller profit. Either way, you lose out on your ability to gain the full advantage. This is where clumped decks can go wrong: being subjected to a very small window of opportunity, it is difficult to set up properly to attain the specific goal. Break Ride decks need to ride cards in a certain order, and play the waiting game until the other grade 3 falls into their hand and they explode from there.

Now out of all this badmouthing, there are reasons to use a clumped prototype. Best thing to note is that the advantage from these decks usually greatly exceed the maximum output for uniform and random decks. While uniform decks are going +1,+1,+1 every turn for 6 turns, an explosive play screams +10 in your face. So you have the cons: A boring middle game and a chance based finisher, and the pros: Overpowered finishers that gives a grin to the victor.

There is a HUGE list of clumped builds, so there is no need for a list.

Random

Random prototypes are very rare, and the name suggests being random means that advantage is split over the course of the game or all at one time depending on the fighter. It’s important that it is not the situation that dictates whether or not the advantage spread is random.

It may come as a shock to you, but Spike Brothers are random. If someone never seen or heard of bloodball in their life, then the strategy for this build could be: In the middle game, use all the Juggernauts and Brakkis, In the endgame, use Dudley Emperor to soulcharge 2 Juggernauts in exchange for a pair of Panzer Gales.

Folly you may say! But if you consider it, you’ll find that the 100 yard touchdown playstyle can generate about the same as the above scenario. Why does no one follow the lazyman strategy? Because fighters do not want to expose their weakness: after +5k Juggernaut shuffles back in, which makes it a minus and is exploited if done early on. By doing it at the last moment possible, the opponent can not defend against the onslaught. But if they do survive, it is suddenly as if all the Burly men have suddenly been replaced with glass mannequins: which proves that the minus is the same for either strategy you choose.

Tachikaze is somewhat random deck. It gets a semi-juggernaut pair of cards so it is obvious how those will relate, but the vanguards crazy power boost is end game only, and as you know Limit Breaks belong in the clumped section. Well, most Limit Breaks. Shadow Paladin’s Illdona is a great card to use for random decks as it can convert all grade 3’s in most defense, and have some nice early game rushing cards. Combined with a few other plusing units (Macha, Blaster Dark) Illdona can explode pretty well. Not as well as Phantom Blaster Dragon though; being able to  cause a massive offense boost on Turn 3. Dark Dictator performs a similar task, without the bloodbath but more setup.

Great Nature completes the small list with multiple effect passing cards which range from +4000, extra Crit, Drawing, Returning, Cloning, or a combination.

Being able to adopt both the uniform or clumped playstyle really brings the best of both worlds. But with great power comes great responsibility as random builds are the most complex and technical out of all three prototypes. Misplays are extremely common even among professionals, and it takes a lot of playing before being comfortable enough to change styles fluidly and play to your opponent’s weakness. These kinds of decks is fuses both prototypes, but can still be considered a double-edged sword.

Conclusion

Yes, Bushiroad has heavily favoured the clumped high risk-reward style of play, but that is not the only prototype. Uniform and random builds are also available, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Don’t let one turn overpowered effects pull you into playing a certian deck; what matters is what you get out of it. Taking a look at all decks you own may show preference to one type over another: but if you can not find any of the other two types I suggest trying them out, and who knows? You may find another reason to get re-enjoy the game.

• Posted in: Deep Analysis