About Cardfight!! Vanguard

Welcome, fellow Cardfighter, to the world of Cardfight!! Vanguard! Imagine it! Exciting battles await on the Earth-like “Planet Cray”!

Lead the charge as the Vanguard, and show your allies the path to victory!

Launched in March 2011, Cardfight!! Vanguard is a multimedia franchise which revolves around the trading card game of the same name, and is supported by complementary works such as the televised Vanguard anime series, and more!

The latest Cardfight!! Vanguard animation,
CARDFIGHT!! VANGUARD Divinez, will air on January 12, 2024 (PST)!

New episodes will be added weekly at the following timings:
Friday 3.00pm PST | Friday 7.00pm EDT | Saturday 1.00am CEST
Friday 11.00pm UTC | Saturday 7.00am UTC+8

“CARDFIGHT!! VANGUARD Divinez” is the latest series after “overDress” in 2021 and “will+Dress” in 2022.
Following the previous series, character design will be done by CLAMP, while the production is by Kinema citrus.
The combination of CLAMP’s beautiful characters and high quality videos of Kinema citrus makes this a production beyond any regular hobby animation!

Learn more about the animation here!

We can’t get into a card game without learning the ropes, so without further ado, here’s a short video on how to play!

For those who love to read, a readable version is available here!

After learning the general rules of the game, it’s time to get some first hand experience! Let’s do it now with the demo deck!

There’s a lot more to learn about Planet Cray, allowing us a good insight into the background story of said planet and its residents!

You can read all about Planet Cray on The Official Lore Site via the banner below!

There’s a total of 6 nations in CARDFIGHT!! VANGUARD overDress, with various playstyles available within each nation. Let’s take a look at the introduction for each nation!

Dragon Empire
Dark States
Keter Sanctuary

Stoicheia
Brandt Gate
Lyrical Monasterio

Dragon Empire
• The only nation whose name remains even after 3000 years.
• While the nation’s borders are in constant flux, it remains safe and affluent due to its great military power based on destructive weapons that meld magic and science.
• A dragon egg of legends lays dormant at the “Red Dawn Manor” within the sacred temple at the center of Dragon Empire.

Dark States
• The nation formally known as Dark Zone is a magical nation dominated by the dark forces.
• The small kingdom dominated by the demon kings was once fractured, but it was reunited by the efforts of a single hero and Gear Chronicle.
• With the “laws” of Gear Chronicle and the relationship with Dragon Empire, Dark States entered a period of prosperity.

Keter Sanctuary
• What was once known as United Sanctuary is the youngest nation of Planet Cray
• This nation was once a holy kingdom of heroes that prized justice and order, but its territory has shrunk from civil wars and calamities.
• Separated into the controlling faction that looks down from the floating island, and the people below that gaze up at the island.

Stoicheia
• The nation with the longest history on Planet Cray “Zoo”, and “Magallanica” where the aquatic creatures and undead army gather, became one nation based on the teachings of the great sage Stoicheia.
• As foreseen by Stoicheia, the former Zoo is a land where the world’s best minds gather within the verdant riches of nature represented by the sacred tree. Stoicheia’s national power has been on a sharp rise of late, due to its abundance of resources and the unity of its people.

Brandt Gate
• The nation known as Star Gate prospered from being the Star Gate of Planet Cray to visitors from other dimensions. It maintains its advanced culture and national power in the new era through its high level of technological development.
• To prepare for the return of “Void”, the citizens of Brandt Gate defend themselves from invaders with the power of science, and continue fighting at the borders of the world.

Lyrical Monasterio
• A school city built atop the back of a gigantic whale that soars through the skies. It is the sixth nation of Planet Cray, and its independence is recognized by the five other nations.
• During the deity-less era, “Bermuda Triangle” received teachings from Stoicheia the Sage, and was reborn as Lyrical Monasterio. During this time, it was said that a great mermaid had greatly contributed to the creation of the nation.
• Lyrical Monasterio receives students aspiring to become idols from all over the world. As both a school and city, there are no restrictions placed upon race, gender or age.

Cardfight!! Vanguard utilizes various abilities in-game to spice up the gameplay! Let’s take a look at what they are and how to perform them!

Energy
Divine Skill
overDress

XoverDress
Alchemagic
Set Order

Final Rush
Limit Break
Stride Skill

Generation Break
Ritual
Dominate

DressBoost
RevolDress
White Wings/Black Wings

Powerful
Friend
Glitter

Cannonball
Regalis Piece
DressUp

UnisonDress

Energy

Introducing a new system, Energy!
Place an Energy Generator Ride Deck Crest when you ride, and gain Energy!
This accumulated energy can then be used for various abilities!

Divine Skill

A new Powerful skill held only by the Fated Ones that can only be used once per fight! This move can even become a decisive blow depending on when you use it!

overDress

Final Rush

Set Order

Set Orders are a type of order cards introduced during the CARDFIGHT!! VANGUARD overDress season! Place this card in the order zone when played, and you can continuously manifest its ability! Here, we introduce two new types: Prison (“Galaxy Central Prison, Galactolus”) and World (Dark Night and Abyssal Dark Night), as well as other examples of Set Orders!

Prison (“Galaxy Central Prison, Galactolus”)

World (Dark Night and Abyssal Dark Night)

Other examples of Set Orders


(From left to right: Songs, Arms, Product)

Alchemagic

Limit Break

Limit break is an activation condition keyword that references the number of cards in the damage zone! Look out for this icon in the card text, and the number indicated in said icon will represent the number of cards needed in the damage zone!

Units that has Limit Break are Leading Jewel Knight, Salome, Revenger, Raging Form Dragon and White Lily Musketeer, Cecilia, which are units featured in Premium Decksets “Jewel Knight”, “Revenger” and “Musketeer” respectively, on sale July 12, 2024!

Stride Skill

Stride Skill is a collective term for continuous abilities that begin with Stride! Activated during the Stride Step of the Ride Phase (it’s the step after your Ride Step within the same Ride Phase!), activation conditions are normally either when both players’ vanguards are grade 3 or greater or when your vanguard is grade 3 or greater at the beginning of your turn.

Once these conditions are met, simply pay the cost of the STRIDE ability of the face down G Unit you wish to Stride in your G Zone and Stride it onto your vanguard!

Check out this link for more information on Striding and what it entails!

Generation Break

Generation break is an activation condition keyword that references the number of face up G units on the vanguard circle and G zone. Look out for this icon in the card text, and the number indicated in said icon will represent the number of face up cards needed in the G zone!

Some units that have Generation Break are Chronojet Dragon, and Chronodragon Nextage from Special Series 03: Stride Deckset -Chronojet-.

XoverDress

An improvement to the original overDress ability, XoverDress is a continuous ability where cards can be placed on rear-guard circles on top of specified rear-guard units. Well-known units that hold this ability are Jeweled Sword Equip, Garou Vairina from Booster Pack 06: Blazing Dragon Reborn.

Ritual

An activation condition keyword used only by a specific unit, Luard and it’s related cards, Ritual references the number of grade 1 cards necessary in the drop zone to activate any Ritual abilities!

Dominate

An ability usable only a specific unit, Shiranui, and it’s related cards, Dominate refers to the ability to take control of your opponent’s units! With Dominate, you can use your opponent’s vanguard to wreck havoc on your opponent’s board!

DressBoost

Used only by certain units related to “Sealed Blaze Maiden, Bavsargra” from Start Deck 06: Mirei Minae -Sealed Blaze Maiden- and only activates upon boosting!

Units that have this ability are Trickmoon and Vairlord from Booster Pack 04: Awakening of Chakrabarthi and Booster Pack 12: Evenfall Onslaught respectively.

RevolDress

A keyword that some automatic abilities with the effect of riding a unit from hand in the stand state after a unit’s attack have. A popular unit that holds this ability is Youthberk “Skyfall Arms” from Booster Pack 06: Blazing Dragon Reborn.

White Wings/Black Wings

Activation condition keywords that are based on grades of the cards in the bind zone! If all the cards in the bind zone are odd grades, you’ll be considered as White Wings! If all the cards are even grades, you’ll be considered as Black Wings!

The Ride line that utilizes the White Wings/Black Wings keywords is the “Alestiel” Ride line from Lyrical Monasterio!

Powerful

A keyword ability that activates with the condition of “if your soul has 0 cards”! Cards that have this particular keyword ability are “Coming Beauty, Herminia” from Lyrical Booster Pack 02: Lyrical Monasterio ~It’s a New School Term!~ and other related cards!

Friend

“Friend” is a state that a card has, and is granted by the continuous ability “If you have
another unit in the same column as this unit, that unit and this unit become “Friends”. Cards that hold this ability are MiMish, Fortia from Lyrical Booster Pack 02: Lyrical Monasterio ~It’s a New School Term!~ and other related cards!

Glitter

A keyword ability that becomes active then the specified unit in the ability is on the board. Some examples of cards with this ability would be “For One’s Precious Thing, Rorowa” and “Dragritter Girl of Flame Blossoms, Radylina” from Booster Pack 05: Triumphant Return of the Brave Heroes.

Cannonball

A keyword that some automatic abilities have. Said automatic abilities usually deal with performing attacks against a vanguard. One unit that holds this ability is “First to Head Towards a Dream! Michu” from Lyrical Booster 03: Lyrical Monasterio ~Summertime Memories!~!

Regalis Piece

Refers to specific types of orders known as Regalis Piece. These special cards offer powerful boons to your gameplay, like being able to perform Persona Ride or giving your vanguard a pseudo Over Trigger effect!

Some examples of Regalis Piece cards are Gratias Gradale and Evergreen Transphere from Booster Pack 08: Minerva Rising and Special Series 05: Festival Booster 2023!

DressUp

Commonly used by certain Lyrical Monasterio units, DressUp is a continuous ability that means the card has an additional card name during the game. Units that have this ability are newer versions of grade 3 units released earlier, such as “Enduring Beauty, Herminia” and Full Moon Magic, Fortia from Lyrical Booster 04: Lyrical Monasterio ~Trick or Trick!~!

UnisonDress

A Keyword that only certain units have. Some abilities can put specific units into the
UnisonDress state and activate when said units are in the UnisonDress state. A well known unit that has this ability is Marche Fleur, Lianorn Vivace from Booster Pack 13: Flight of Chakrabarthi!

We’ve gone through so many things now, and I’m sure you’re itching to get your hands on some cards to start your journey! Let’s go through all the different types of products available!

Start Decks
Booster Packs
Special Series

Start Decks

Start Decks are pre-constructed decks that are designed for beginners to learn how to play Cardfight!! Vanguard and are ready for play straight out of the box!

Explore our available Cardfight!! Vanguard Trial Decks via the clickable banner below!

Booster Packs

Booster Packs consists of cards that upgrade and further strengthen the start decks. Booster Packs, as the name suggests, mainly come in packs where a random selection of cards is inserted in each pack.

Cardfight!! Vanguard Start Decks and Trial Decks can be further strengthened with cards from Booster Packs! Check out more details via the clickable banner below!

Special Series

Special Series sets are any other products that are not considered as Start Decks or Booster Packs. Special Series sets can come in the form of a supply set, which consists of either Card Sleeves or Deck cases or Playmats or any combination thereof, or in the form of a Booster Pack-esque product consisting of reissued popular cards.

The first Special Series for CARDFIGHT!! VANGUARD Divinez consists of reissued cards and some new cards to power up existing Trial Decks! Check out more details via the clickable banner below!

There’s various kinds of rarities available in our Booster Packs! There’s even some products with unique rarities included! Here’s a glossary of the more commonly known rarities and what they stand for!

Abbreviation

Name

C

Common

R

Rare

ORR

Over Double Rare (Special rarity for Over Triggers)

RR

Double Rare

RRR

Triple Rare

SP

Special

H

Holo

DSR

Dress Secret Rare

SR

Silver Rare

FR

Frame Rare

FFR

Double Frame Rare

Tournaments

We have tournament events throughout the whole year where you can test your skills against your fellow cardfighters, ranging from regular shop tournaments to national and continental level tournaments with highly attractive prizes up for grabs!

Format

There are 3 different formats for our shop, national and continental level tournaments
– Standard, V Premium and Premium! Let’s take a look at them!

Standard Only cards with D icon are allowed
V Premium Only cards with v icon are allowed
Premium all cards are allowed

Do check out detailed information on each of the different formats available here!

Also, check out the upcoming events we have in store!

*With the current situation on COVID-19, we encourage all cardfighters to contact their local game store to confirm safety procedures for tournaments and to prioritize personal safety and the safety of those around you above all else.

The fun part in deck building is trying out different combinations of cards to see which works best for your playstyle, but with so many good cards available, it can be daunting for the new player. We’ve created some guides to help you get started, check them out!

General FAQs
Game Mechanics FAQs

General FAQs

I’m interested in getting Cardfight!! Vanguard products! Where can I get them?

Cardfight!! Vanguard products are available from game stores and hobby stores. You’ll be able to find the nearest store via this link!

I’m interested in playing Cardfight!! Vanguard, but I don’t have anybody to play with.

You’ll be able to find other cardfighters on the official Bushiroad Discord channel!
Click here for more details

Other than the downloadable version, are there any demo decks available? Where can I obtain one?

Yes. Demo decks are available. Do check with your friendly local game store near you on its availability! Check out our list of retailers here.

How will Cardfight!! Vanguard’s product releases be scheduled for the year?

VGE overDress boosters releases are planned to be released once every 2 months. More details for the English version will be announced at a later date, and information on upcoming product releases will be updated here.

Game Mechanics FAQs

overDress Mechanic

If I do not perform overDress for “Vairina”, am I unable to call it?

No, you can still call “Vairina”. In this case, you can choose to perform a normal call from hand, or to perform a superior call.

My vanguard is grade 1, but can I perform overDress on my rear-guard “Trickstar” and place “Vairina” on top?

No, you cannot. For overDress, similar to a normal call, it needs to be the same grade or lower than your vanguard.

Is the originalDress card “Trickstar” kept in soul?

No, it is not. You cannot use originalDress cards as cost for Soul-Blast.

What happens when “Vairina” retires from overDress?

In the event that “Vairina” retires, it goes to the drop zone together with the originalDress “Trickstar”. This does not mean the originalDress “Trickstar” is retired, however. (It is the same for when moving to other areas, like hand, damage zone, bind zone, soul, etc)

When “Vairina” is Superior called, can you overDress on top of “Trickstar” that is on a rear-guard circle?

No, you cannot. For overDress, you will place it on top of the specified unit instead of performing a normal call.

Can “Vairina” in overDress mode intercept? What is the Shield value like in that case?

Yes, it can intercept. It shifts to the guardian circle together with the originalDress, and the shield value is 5000.

Final Rush Mechanic

What is “Final Rush”?

It is information that the fighter holds. There are card effects that reference “Final Rush”.

When you are in “Final Rush” at the start of your Ride Phase, after performing Persona Ride, do I lose “Final Rush”?

No, you will remain in “Final Rush”. After performing Persona Ride, even if your vanguard changes to other units, you are in “Final Rush” until end of turn.

Prison Mechanic

If there is only one “Galaxy Central Prison Galactolus” in the order zone, can I place only one card from opponent?

No, you can “Imprison” multiple cards.

When calling from Prison, can I perform Soul-Blast twice? Subsequently, can I Counter-Blast twice?

Yes, you can. You can use and call multiple times from Prison as long as you are able to pay the cost.

If I call from Prison, can I call regardless of the current grade of the vanguard?

Yes, you can. Calling from Prison is treated as a superior call, therefore, you can call regardless of your vanguard’s grade.

After calling from Prison, can I use the ability of the called unit when placed?

Yes, you can. You can use abilities of cards that are triggered when placed.

Can I place multiple set order in the order zone?

Yes, you can. Even with a set order in the order zone, you can still play set orders.

If “Vairina” in overDress state is imprisoned, does it move to Prison together with the originalDress?

Yes, it moves together with originalDress. When it moves to the order zone, the overDress state will be removed, and “Trickstar” and “Vairina” will be imprisoned as separate copies.  

Alchemagic Mechanic

If you used “Alchemagic”, will it be regarded as playing an order card twice?

No, it will not. An order card can only be played once. The cost and effect of the order card bound is added.

When using “Alchemagic”, how should the process of binding an order card, paying the cost for two order cards, and the two effects be resolved?

Please follow the steps shown below.

  1. Specify that you’re playing a normal order from hand.
  2. At that moment, bind a normal order from your drop.
  3. Pay the costs for both the normal order played from hand and the normal order bound.
  4. Resolve the effects of the normal order played from hand, then the normal order bound.

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