Many Gold Paladin players will be excited to see Prominence Glare of the Azure Flames make its debut in the game! This card gains immense power and guard restrictions based on the number of rear-guards the player called during their turn, paving the way for a more aggressive playstyle for the clan! When Prominence Glare of Azure Flames enters the battlefield, it immediately makes an impact on the game by allowing the player to superior call a card from the top four cards of their deck!

Furthemore, Prominence Glare of the Azure Flames becomes even more powerful as the player calls more rear-guards to the field! When it attacks, the player may Counter-Blast 1 and discard a card from their hand to further strengthen this unit, potentially allowing it gain 15 000 Power and an additional Critical if three or more rear-guards were called, with a Sentinel restriction if four or more rear-guards were called! Prominence Glare of the Azure Flames turns up the heat on the opponent whenever it rides into battle!

Combine this with cards that can increase the player’s board presence, (such as Bluish Flame Liberator, Percival (V Series) and Flame Wind Lion, Wonder Ezel (V Series).) and players will see that this card will create big bursts of aggression!

Dragonic Overlord “The TurnAbout” is another option for players who really love Dragonic Overlord! Not only does this unit stand all front row “Overlord” units at the end of the battle it attacked by paying 1 Counter-Blast and discarding two cards, it also strengthens them with an additional +10 000 Power if the opponent is grade 3 or greater!

While “The TurnAbout” will lose a drive check, its extremely strong ability allows the player to attack the opponent with a maximum of six powerful attacks with their Overlord units! To use this card effectively, players should combine this with Dragonic Overlord (V Series), as it is the only Dragonic Overlord in the V-Premium format with a rear-guard ability. Some have also considered using “The TurnAbout” with Dauntless Drive Dragon (V Series) to attack the opponent seven times with immense Power and pressure.

Many Pale Moon players will be pleased to see Astatic Baton Twirler make its debut! Should players call a card from their soul during their turn, this card gains a decent +5000 Power to be a helpful attacker!

Furthermore, when this card is ridden or called to the field from hand, it draws the player a card and allows the player to put a card from hand to soul! This helpful ability allows players to filter through their deck further and add key combo pieces or attackers into their soul to be used later!

One card that has not been seen in the English format for quite some time is the G-Guardian Bearlock. This card has a unique first ability that can be activated if the player is on Generation Break 1. When players are in a bind during the opponent’s turn, they can call Bearlock to defend them by binding one or more of their rear-guards with the sum of their grades being 3 or more! This provides an alternative cost for players to call G-Guardians to the guardian circle, and they can save their Heal triggers for defending other attacks! Furthermore, this helpful ability ties in well with its second ability!

Should the player use Bearlock’s first ability to superior call it to the guardian circle, it gains +5000 Shield for each card bound for its first ability! This allows Bearlock to become an extremely tanky defender against any powerful attack!

Bearlock helps to set up the bind zone for cards that make good use of the bind zone. For example, it helps Interdimensional Dragon, Mystery-flare Dragon (V Series) to increase the total grades of the cards in the bind zone and activates Chrono Dran to call Chronojet Dragon to the field! Of course, players do need to consider if the benefit of its defense and setup of the bind zone outweighs the offensive detriment of losing rear-guards.

Granblue players, rejoice! Samurai Spirit is finally here! By Soul-Blasting 1 and retiring one of their other rear-guards, players can call Samurai Spirit in the drop to the field, and give it a decent +4000 Power! Samurai Spirit allows players to send some key pieces to the drop to be used again later, while retaining board advantage. (For example, Ripple Banshee (V Series) or Dragon Undead, Skull Dragon (V Series) can be sent to the drop for later use.)

One notable combo that this can be used with is Spirit Exceed and Knight Spirit (V Series), allowing the player to advance to grade 3 earlier than the opponent! Achieving this wouldn’t be difficult, as Granblue has so many cards that can filter their deck quickly and get to their key pieces as fast as possible.

Cymbal Monkey is an interesting option that Great Nature players can consider running in their G zones. By calling this G-Guardian to the field, all other units lose -5000 Power for the rest of the turn!

At first glance, this might not seem like the most impressive card. However, it can be particularly effective against decks that require a certain Power threshold to be met in order to activate certain effects. (For example, Great Nature and Dimension Police.) Furthermore, this will be a great way to reduce the overall power of an attacking column, as both attacking and boosting rear-guards will have their Power reduced! Overall, Cymbal Monkey will require a lot more thinking and skill to play, but it has the potential to be very helpful in certain matchups!

Players who love to play the “Blaster” archetype in Royal Paladin will be happy to see that “Favored Pupil of Light and Dark, Llew” make its return in this special set! By boosting this rear-guard with “Blaster-friend, Barcgal” or “Floral Paladin, Flogal”, Llew gains +3000 Power and an ability that allows the player to call a grade 2 “Blaster” from their deck after it attacked by paying 1 Counter-Blast and putting this card into soul! The called “Blaster” rear-guard also gains +3000 power as well!

Llew is important in extending the number of attacks on the opponent! This card is able to immediately call any grade 2 card with “Blaster” in their card name, allowing the player to immediately use them on the offensive. (Such as Blaster Blade (V Series) or Blaster Dark (V Series – Royal Paladin)). One thing to note as well is the power gain that it gives itself allows it to force more guardians out of 12 000 base Power vanguards, while the power it gives to a “Blaster” unit like Blaster Blade (V Series) allows them to hit optimal numbers against 13 000 base Power vanguards!

Most players will find that it’s best for Llew to be boosted by Floral Paladin, Flogal on most occasions. After Llew’s ability activates to call a Blaster Blade (V Series) to the field to attack, Flogal’s ability can activate to stand that Blaster Blade again to attack, guaranteeing three powerful attacks on the opponent! Llew is able to elevate the offensive game plan of any Blaster deck!

Another integral part of the “Blaster” archetype is Floral Paladin, Flogal. After attacking with “Blaster Blade”, the player can use its ability to Counter-Blast 1 to stand that unit to attack once more! Flogal will also be returned to the deck by this ability!

Alongside Llew, Flogal helps to increase the number of potential attacks! The cost and requirement for this ability to activate is also relatively easy to achieve in “Blaster” oriented decks! Furthermore, because Flogal will be returned to the deck, the player can potentially reveal this card during their drive checks to further increase the pressure!

Do note that Flogal has a lower Shield value and trigger Power value compared to recently released triggers, so players will definitely have to experiment with their trigger lineup quite a bit to ensure that they still have sufficient offensive and defensive power!

One great Stride for the “Blaster” archetype is Holy Divine Knight, Gancelot Peace Saver. During its attack, if the player has a heart card with “Alfred” or “Blaster”, not only does the player Counter-Charge 1, they can also gain an extra drive, and an additional Critical if they have a face up card in their G zone!

This unit’s first ability helps to generate resources and increase the pressure on the opponent! Since the conditions to allow Gancelot Peace Saver to gain the bonus drive and Critical are relatively achievable in a Blaster deck, this card will almost always be a reliable option to Stride into!

Gancelot’s second ability allows all rear-guards with “Blaster Blade” in their card names to gain “Resist” if it is face up in the G zone. Resist is an effect that prevents a unit from being chosen by one of the opponent’s card effects that explicitly say “choose” in their texts. With such an effect, the opponent cannot use cards to interfere with the player’s Blaster Blade rear-guards! (Such as Flame Wing Steel Beast, Denial Griffin or Interdimensional Dragon, Heteroround Dragon.)

Holy Beast, Divine Maskkgal is an effective G-Guardian for Royal Paladin, gaining an additional +10 000 Shield if the player is on Generation Break 1 and if the player has a rear-guard in their front row when it is called to the field!

For relatively easy conditions, Maskkgal provides great Shield value.This card also increases the number of face up cards in the player’s G zone to further aid their cards that require a higher Generation Break number for their abilities!

Oracle Think Tank players will find that Still Water Festival Deity, Ichikishima is still a formidable Stride for the clan. By paying 1 Counter-Blast, 1 Soul-Blast and turning a card in their G zone face up, players can use Ichikishima’s first ability to draw two cards! This increases their hand advantage, filters their deck for more combo pieces and attackers, and increases the number of face up cards in the G zone to activate other abilities.

Ichikishima’s second ability is what makes it shine as a powerful attacker. This ability has the Oracle keyword, which activates if the player has five or more cards in hand. Should Generation Break 3 and Oracle be active, the player may flip a card in their G zone face up to prevent the opponent from calling G-Guardians and grade 0 cards from hand to the guardian circle until the end of turn!

In a format that relies heavily on grade 0 Triggers and G-Guardians as primary defensive options, Ichikishima renders many of the opponent’s defensive options useless. Oracle Think Tank players can definitely make use of this to significantly increase the strength of their rear-guards to make it even more difficult for the opponent to defend! With cards like Tetra Magus (V Series) that can put a Critical trigger on the top of the deck, Silent Tom (V Series) that can prevents the opponent from using normal units for guarding and Goddess of the Sun, Amaterasu (V Series) that stacks high Power and Critical, Ichikishima has the potential to prevent opponents from guarding their high-powered attacks!

A great G-Guardian option for Oracle Think Tank is Sun of Eternity, Amaterasu. Amaterasu has two abilities that activate when it is placed on the guardian circle. Not only does Amaterasu gain +10 000 Shield if the player’s hand has four or more cards, it also allows the player to Soul-Charge 1, look at the top card of the deck and decide whether or not to leave it there or put it on the bottom of their deck!

Amaterasu’s usefulness lies not just in its ability to gain high shield values easily, but also in its potential in stacking defensive triggers on the top of the deck during the opponent’s attacks. This will be important as it would make it harder for the opponent to land their attacks on the player when defensive triggers are checked. Amaterasu’s Soul-Charge will also be helpful in replenishing a much needed resource for the player, given that many cards in Oracle Think Tank utilise Soul-Blast. Sun of Eternity, Amaterasu provides great utility that no Oracle Think Tank player should forego!

Holy Seraph, Suriel is a phenomenal G-Guardian that all Angel Feather players should have. By calling Suriel to the guardian circle, players may Counter-Blast 1 to activate its Rescue ability. In doing so, the player can look at the top card of their deck and decide whether or not to leave it there or put it on the bottom of their deck. They also heal a card in their damage zone and deal their vanguard one damage!

This card is extremely valued due to its potential to reveal a trigger during the damage check, so that the player’s vanguard has a higher Power for the rest of the turn! The opponent will find it more difficult to deal damage to the player’s vanguard as a result of this defensive trigger! Furthermore, Suriel’s ability cost of 1 Counter-Blast is essentially nullified as the player can simply heal that face down card to get another face up card in their damage zone!

One great Stride that Angel Feather can rely on is Fanatic Seraph, Gavrail Eden. This card is an extremely powerful finisher, allowing the player to elevate the power of their attackers and enables multi-attack!

To activate Gavrail Eden’s first ability, players need to Soul-Blast 1 and flip a face down card in their G zone face up. This card’s Rescue ability heals a card in the player’s damage zone and deals one damage to their vanguard, increasing the number of face up cards in the damage zone and allows the player to potentially reveal a trigger unit in their damage check to further strengthen their units for battle!

When players attack with Gavrail Eden, they can activate its second ability to call any number of cards in their damage zone as the same number of face up cards in their G zone to the field! Those units also gain +3000 Power until the end of turn to hit for higher numbers! Then, the player puts the same number of cards from the top of their deck as the number of cards chosen into their damage zone face down.

With this, Angel Feather players will be able to extend the number of attacks that they are able to do during that turn! With so much damage zone manipulation, players will usually be able to select powerful rear-guards in the drop to be called to the field! Of course, players should leave some face up cards in the damage zone so that other abilities can activate! (For example, Black Aquerias, Japhkiel and Black Observe, Hamiel.)

Angel Feather players will be happy to see that Love Machine Gun, Nociel is making its return in this special set. By calling this card to the field, players are essentially able to swap a card in their hand and their damage zone!

This ability can be used to grab any important pieces in the damage zone to be used for combo plays. This card’s simplicity and flexibility improves the consistency and reliability of the offense of Angel Feather decks!

Battle Cupid, Nociel is an amazing card that all Angel Feather players should pick up, as it allows the player to swap a card in their hand and their damage zone when this is called to the guardian circle!

Similar to its grade 2 counterpart, Nociel provides great utility for any Angel Feather deck, because it can be used to retrieve any card in the damage zone! Be it combo pieces for your offensive strategy or defensive triggers and Perfect Guards to stop an incoming attack, this card will be able to grab it with ease.

Players will primarily use Nociel during the guard phase to grab another defensive piece that can further bolster the player’s defenses, such as high Shield value triggers and Perfect Guards.

Dragprincipal, Morfessa is one of the best Strides to be created for Shadow Paladin, as it provides significant card advantage and creates warping offenses that pose a dangerous threat to the opponent.

Not only does Morfessa’s first ability allow the player to Counter-Blast 1 and flip a card face up in their G zone to draw two cards, it also bends the rules of the game by regarding all trigger units in the player’s drop as grade 1!

This powerful ability retains hand advantage and increases the number of face up cards in the G zone, but it also directly supports cards with the Ritual ability! Ritual is a keyword that checks for the number of grade 1 cards in the drop to activate an ability. So, this ability guarantees that the player has more than enough grade 1 cards in the drop to activate their card abilities!

With help from its first ability, Morfessa’s second ability buffs all front row units with +15 000 Power and an additional Critical if Ritual 10 is active! Furthermore, the opponent is forced to guard with two or more cards from hand should they want to defend against attacks!

Dark Dragon, Plotmaker Dragon is a simple, but effective defensive tool that Shadow Paladin players have access to. If Ritual 3 is active, it gains +10 000 Shield on the guardian circle!

Plotmaker Dragon provides a reliable and sizable Shield against any of the opponent’s attacks as its ability requirement is usually active, given that Shadow Paladin players will usually have amassed a good number of grade 1 cards in their drop. This card should definitely be run as 1-2 of in the G zone!

One interesting option that players could consider using is Dragfall, Luard. This unit has the unique Ritual X ability, which changes its effect according to the number of grade 1s in the drop. With this, the player may Counter-Blast 4 and return a normal unit from their drop and to the bottom of their deck to pay the cost for Stride and Ultimate Stride. (This ability is more relevant in Ultimate Stride, as players would normally have to discard an extra copy of their vanguard to pay the cost.) Furthermore, this cost is reduced by 1 Counter-Blast for each grade 1 in the player’s drop, so players will be able to Stride with close to no cost, given that Luard builds are able to put many grade 1 cards in the drop.

Luard’s second ability is also quite important. Should the player Stride, they may Counter-Blast 1 to call a grade 1 or lower rear-guard from their deck! They can also retire an opponent’s rear-guard in the same column as the called unit if it has the Ritual ability! This allows the player to search for important Ritual cards such as Dragsaver, Esras and Belial Owl from their deck to serve as helpful rear-guards, while providing some field control!

Dragfall, Luard plays a vastly different role from Dragheart, Luard (V Series) as a main grade 3 vanguard! This card is mainly used as an activator for Zeroth Dragon of Zenith Peak, Ultima, whereas Dragheart, Luard (V Series) is used to quickly accumulate Force markers and power up grade 1 rear-guards on the field. Overall, Dragfall, Luard is still a viable option in many Shadow Paladin decks.

Every Shadow Paladin player needs to get a full playset of Dragsaver, Esras. Arguably the best Perfect Guard in the game, Esras has an ability that can be activated if it is in the drop. If Generation Break 1 and Ritual 3 is active, the player can retire one of their rear-guards and put another copy of this card in the drop on the bottom of their deck to return this card to hand.

Esras has been regarded highly due to its ability to be recycled easily. The cost and requirement to return this card to the deck is extremely easy to achieve, and with so many cards in the clan being able to filter the deck for grade 1s, the player will most likely see this card in their hand again, ready for any oppressive attack. Any opponent will find it difficult to break through a defense that has an effective five (or more) Perfect Guards!

A card to be considered in Luard decks is the original Belial Owl. Players can utilise its first ability to recycle itself from the drop into the deck at the end of their turn if Generation Break 1 and Ritual 3 are active. As Luard decks frequently search their deck for grade 1 units to call, this card will likely be shuffled by another card’s ability to increase the odds of it being revealed during a drive check. It also allows the player to use it again on the field as a competent rear-guard, perhaps for its second ability.

By retiring this card for an effect or cost of the player’s cards, they may draw a card if they have a “Luard” vanguard! This ability allows the player to retain and increase card advantage for close to no cost, given that Luard decks are able to call grade 1 or less units from the deck easily.

Belial Owl might not be the easiest to fit into a deck given its lower Shield and trigger Power value as opposed to more recent triggers, but the utility it provides is difficult to replace. Perhaps Luard players could fit a copy or two of this in their deck.

Other than Esras, Shadow Paladin players should also consider a full playset of Cursed Eye Raven. If the player is on Generation Break 1, they may rest this unit and return it to the deck to call up to two cards from the top of their deck to the field! At the end of that turn, those units are retired.

Cursed Eye Raven provides free rear-guards for the player that can be retired for their abilities. Given that Shadow Paladin sacrifices their rear-guards often, this card will always be helpful in summoning fodder. Thus, players will not need to commit cards from their hand to be retired for card abilities!

Furthermore, Cursed Eye Raven’s Stand trigger type can come in handy to stand a high-powered rear-guard during their turn! There is absolutely no excuse for players not to take hold of this opportunity to acquire this card!

Master Swordsman of First Light, Gurguit Helios is a great Stride, especially for decks that revolve around Sunrise Ray Knight, Gurguit (V Series). Should Unite be active, players can activate its first ability by flipping a copy of this card in the G zone face up to give this unit an additional drive! Unite is a keyword that activates certain abilities if the player called two or more cards during the turn. Not only does this ability increase the number of face cards in the G zone to accelerate Generation Break, it also gives the player more hand advantage and greater potential to reveal triggers during drive checks when Gurguit Helios attacks!

Furthemore, if Generation Break 3 is active, Gurguit Helios’ second ability allows it to gain +5000 Power for each of the player’s rear-guards and prevents the opponent from calling grade 1 or greater cards from hand during the battle that it attacked. As Gold Paladin has access to Accel markers, players are able to call even more rear-guards to the field to accumulate significantly more power on this card! While the effectiveness of this card’s guard restriction is reduced as opponents usually run Draw trigger Perfect Guards, Gurguit Helios’s high Power will definitely put on pressure that the opponent may find troublesome to deal with!

Golden Beast, Sleimy Flare is one of the best G-Guardians that Gold Paladin has to offer. By calling this to the field, the player may return one of their rear-guards to the deck to call up to two cards with different grades from the top five cards of their deck to the guardian circle!

Sleimy Flare’s defensive potential is massive, as players may potentially be able to superior call guardians with high defensive value to block the opponent’s attack! (even Sentinels!) Sleimy Flare is also a strong response to decks that prevent the player from guarding with certain cards in their hand. Furthermore, this ability also recycles a rear-guard back into the deck, which could be used to send key pieces back for later use!

Many players will find that Ketchgal Liberator is an impactful card to have their decks, as it allows the player to return this card to the deck and call another card from the top three cards of their deck other than “Ketchgal Liberator” to the field if this unit is called to a rear-guard circle from the deck!

Ketchgal Liberator filters the deck further for more powerful rear-guards to be called to the field when it is called from the deck. Furthermore, players may potentially reveal this card as a trigger during their drive checks to stand one of their powerful rear-guards again! This card works best with the many cards in Gold Paladin that can superior call rear-guards from the deck during the battle phase, as it can extend the attacking combos of the player! (For example, Sunrise Ray Knight, Gurguit (V Series) and Blazing Lion, Platina Ezel (V Series).) Overall, the benefits that this regal beast brings to the table are hard to refuse!

Complete Beauty, Amaruda Aphross is a great Stride for Genesis. When it enters the field, it can utilise its Revelation ability. Revelation is an effect that activates when the unit is placed on the specified circle, allowing the player to look at the top card of their deck, and they may put that card into their soul. If they do, the player rests one of their rear-guards. Such an ability helps to increase the number of cards in soul and also gives the player an idea of what cards they could potentially drive check into.

Players can Counter-Blast 1 and flip a card in their G zone face up for Amaruda Aphross’ second ability to give one of their rear-guards +10 000 Power and a Critical. They can also draw two cards and Soul-Charge 5 if they have fewer than five cards in their soul! This powerful ability strengthens a rear-guard significantly, increases the number of face up cards in their G zone, amasses more soul and retains hand advantage! Players who Stride into Amaruda Aphross should definitely use this ability to increase the offensive potential of their turn!

Players can also use Amaruda Aphross’ last ability after it attacks by paying Soul-Blast 15 to stand one of their rear-guards and prevent the opponent from calling sentinels from hand! While this ability seemingly has a high cost, it actually helps Genesis to activate certain card abilities when they are put from soul to the drop. (For example, Witch of Oranges, Valencia and Witch of Grapes, Grappa.) The impact that this ability has on the board is also not one to be trifled with, as the opponent may have to deal with the rest of the player’s high-powered rear-guards without their most valuable guardian! (Such as a high powered Unappeasable Biter, Gleipnir (V Series).)

Both Witch of Oranges, Valencia and Witch of Grapes, Grappa are key cards in many Genesis decks. When either card is put into the drop from soul, the player may Soul-Charge 2. This simple but potent ability allows the player to amass more soul to pay for powerful abilities, and can potentially put important key pieces into the soul to be used on offensive turns!

Despite having reduced Power compared to V Series counterparts (and reduced Shield in the case of Valencia), both cards provide massive utility by generating soul and increasing the consistency of obtaining key pieces in soul for powerful plays!

Shackle Felter, Gelgja is an extremely important card in many Genesis decks, especially ones that utilise the power of Mythic Beast, Fenrir. This card also has the Revelation ability, so the player has the opportunity to know the top card on their deck and increase soul.

Players can use Gelgja’s second ability to put this card in soul to the bottom of their deck, standing one of their rear-guards and buffing it with +3000 Power until the end of turn! Should the player have a “Fenrir” vanguard, not only do they Soul-Charge 2, they also give another unit +3000 Power for the rest of the turn!

Gelgja could be used to stand a rested rear-guard as a result of a Revelation ability! Furthermore, the Soul-Charge that it supplies will be much valued in Genesis, as players will be able to add more key pieces to soul and prepare for a huge turn! This card will be played mostly alongside Mythic Beast, Fenrir (V Series) as it is one of the few cards in Genesis that can reliably fetch cards from soul and easily enable multi-attack!

With Goddess of Seven Colors, Iris, players can put three cards from their drop into soul when they call it to the guardian circle! Iris also gains +5000 Shield if three cards were put!

While this card doesn’t provide much defensively, it makes up for it in its superior ability to amass key pieces in the soul to be used again during the player’s turn. (For example, returning a Valencia or Grappa to soul provides immense benefits to the player!) Iris’ utility in amassing specific cards in soul is what makes it so valuable in many Genesis decks.

One of the main Strides that Kagero has access to is Flare General, Dumjid Valor. This card has the Blaze ability, which can be activated to unlock powerful abilities! Occurring at the beginning of an attack, if the player has more rear-guards than the opponent, the vanguard enters the blazing state until the end of turn!

By Striding into Dumjid Valor, the player can Counter-Blast and flip a card face up in their G zone to retire one of the opponent’s rear-guards and give this unit a significant +15 000 Power for each sentinel in their drop! This ability removes key rear-guards on the opponent’s field and increases the number of face up cards in the player’s G zone for abilities that require Generation Break. Furthermore, the additional Power bonus scales as the player uses more Sentinels throughout the game, so when players use Dumjid Valor during drawn-out games, it will launch a powerful attack that the opponent will find troublesome to deal with!

Dumjid Valor’s second ability is also extremely powerful, allowing the player to stand it once more when the opponent calls a sentinel or G-Guardian if it is blazing! While Dumjid Valor loses a drive from activating this ability, the pressure it heaps onto the opponent is extremely overwhelming, as opponents will have to contemplate dealing with Dumjid Valor again! As such, Kagero players should definitely look into obtaining a copy or two of this great card.

Dragonic Overlord “The X” is a great staple for Overlord decks in Premium. This card makes use of the Legion mechanic, which allows the player to return 4 cards in their drop zone to their deck, and search for a Legion Mate that is placed on the vanguard circle alongside the Legion Leader. Do note that Legion can only be performed if the opponent’s vanguard is grade 3 or greater. In this case, “The X” performs Legion with Dragonic Overlord the End.

When “The X” performs Legion, the player may search their deck for up to one card with the same card name as a unit on the player’s vanguard circle and add it to their hand! This ability can be used to search for another copy of “The X” or Dragonic Overlord the End to be used again the following turn!

Furthermore, if its attack did not hit, the player may Counter-Blast 1 and discard a copy of Dragonic Overlord “The X” to remove up to two of the opponent’s rear-guards from the field! While this ability is not something that players will usually utilise, it is a great option to have to deal with the opponent’s key units on the board.

Many players use “The X” because of its power as a Legion Leader with Dragonic Overlord the End (V Series). Taking a closer look at Dragonic Overlord the End (V Series), it has two abilities that can re-stand itself after it attacks. If a vanguard is in Legion state, whenever a Legion Mate or Legion Leader is Rest or Stand, the other unit changes to the same state as well. This means that “The X” will be able to stand again with Dragonic Overlord the End to attack the opponent at least three times!

Players may also be wondering if the vanguard would lose drive checks as a result of Dragonic Overlord the End’s abilities, which reduce the vanguard’s drive checks when activated. If a vanguard is in Legion state, when the vanguards attack, the number of drive checks to perform is equivalent to the number of drives the Legion Leader performs. So, this means that Dragonic Overlord the End’s abilities will not reduce “The X”’s drive checks! This is especially important as it allows the player to attack the opponent and drive check up to 6 times!

Overall, Dragonic Overlord “The X” will remain as a key cornerstone of Kagero in Premium, and should definitely be picked up by anyone looking to play an Overlord deck in the format!

One of the best G-Guardians to have ever graced the game, Flame Wing Steel Beast, Denial Griffin is a must-play in all Kagero decks. Calling this card to the guardian circle effectively allows the player to retire one of the opponent’s attacking rear-guards for just 1 Counter-Blast!

Denial Griffin is a simple and effective show-stopper against any powerful rear-guard the opponent uses to attack! This kind of defensive power is unparalleled amongst all clans, and as such, players should definitely use Denial Griffin in all their Kagero decks.

Another great defensive option for Kagero players to consider is Lizard Soldier, Bellog. By calling this card to guard an attack against their vanguard, they can allow their vanguard to retire one of the opponent’s rested rear-guards if that attack did not hit!

Even though Bellog has a lower base Shield and Power, it’s helpful ability can be monstrous against rear-guard reliant clans like Nova Grappler and Pale Moon. Furthermore, players only need to activate Generation Break in order to use this card, so it will be a very effective defensive tool for most of the game!

Enma Stealth Rogue, Mujinlord is a great Stride for Nubatama, allowing the player to buff any number of rear-guards as the number of face up cards in their G zone with a helpful +4000 Power, while also dominating the opponent’s rear-guards and using them to attack the opponent’s vanguard!

Mujinlord turns the opponent’s rearguards against their vanguard, giving them extra Power to apply more pressure on the opponent. What’s more, players are only required to Counter-Blast 1 and flip a copy of this face up in their G zone to use this awesome ability! One thing to note is that this card is able to utilise dominated units’ abilities if the player chooses to pay the cost. No opposing rear-guards are safe when this card is on the field!

Another powerful Stride that can be used is Evil-eye Hades Emperor, Shiranui “Mukuro”. Should Generation Break 2 be active, the player may pay the cost to dominate the opponent’s vanguard, and use it to attack enemy rear-guards!

Shiranui “Mukuro” is an effective option that can obliterate the opponent’s board, as their vanguard will be forced to attack all of their own rear-guards. Furthermore, when their vanguard attacks, not only will the Nubatama player be able to drive check, but they will also be able to utilise the dominated vanguard’s abilities if they want to.

Any player going up against a Nubatama deck will definitely have to be careful to not overcommit rear-guards to the field against this card!

Nubatama has access to this great G-Guardian: Rikudo Stealth Dragon, Gehourakan. By calling this to the field, the player may Counter-Blast 1 and Soul-Blast 1 to dominate one of the opponent’s grade 1 rear-guards in the back row and use it as another defender against the opponent’s attack!

Given that most grade 1s used in the Premium format are from the V Series, these grade 1 cards will usually have 10 000 Shield. As such, when the opponent uses a grade 1 to boost for one of their attacks, Nubatama players can utilise Gehourakan to dominate that rear-guard to gain a significant amount of Shield and reduce the total Power of that attacking column. Gehourakan will especially be important against decks that require boosting to be effective! (For example, Monoculus Tiger (V Series) is primarily used in Great Nature Zoa combos.)

Evil-eye Vidya Emperor, Shiranui “Rinne” has an extremely dominating presence on the field! Not only is the opponent forced to call two cards from their hand to the field, those units are also dominated, and attack the opponent’s vanguard one at a time. These dominated units have an additional +5000 Power, and their AUTO abilities cannot be activated by the opponent when called!

This ability forces more cards of the opponent’s hand during their defense, as they will have to deal with two additional attacks coming from their own rear-guards! Furthermore, they cannot even activate those rear-guards’ on-place abilities! Adding on the fact that the player can utilise the dominated rear-guards’ attacking abilities, this card is not one to be messed with!

Shiranui “Rinne” has a helpful second ability that increases the pressure on the opponent! If the player is on Generation Break 3, all dominated units get +10 000 Power and an additional Critical! So, the rear-guards that the opponent calls to the field through this card’s first ability will become quite threatening, forcing the opponent to guard with even more Shield!

One great G-Guardian that Tachikaze can rely on is Cliff Authority Retainer, Blockade Ganga. When called to the guardian circle and retire one of their rear-guards to give it an additional 10 000 Shield! Furthermore, the player can choose two rear-guards, and they will be returned to hand should they be retired during the turn!

Blockade Ganga’s ability to gain a sizable amount of Shield is quite valued in Tachikaze decks, as Tachikaze players will find it difficult to find more useful defensive options aside from this. Furthermore, this card’s second ability can be used to target front row grade 2 rear-guards, which can intercept an attack for them to be returned to hand! In doing so, it’s very possible that Blockade Ganga and supporting grade 2 rear-guards provide a significant 35 000 Shield!

Great Emperor Dragon, Gaia Dynast is an interesting Stride option for Tachikaze. This card has the Engorge ability, which is important in activating its other powerful abilities. Occurring at the beginning of this unit’s attack, the player may retire one or more of their own rear-guards to allow this unit to become engorged!

Gaia’s first ability can be activated if the player is on Generation Break 3! Should one of their rear-guards be retired by this unit, they may Counter-Blast 1 to call that card to the field once more and give it +3000 Power! This ability is used to create more attacks for the player, as they can retire one of their powerful rear-guards by this unit’s Engorge ability and its final ability to call them to the field as attackers! This also synergises with many cards in the clan that activate abilities when they are retired from the field by a card effect! (For example, Darting Dragon, Bluesprint and Regiment Dragon, Regiodon.)

Gaia Dynast’s third ability provides great attack potential, field control and utility for the Tachikaze player. By engorging this unit, the player may flip over a copy of this face up in their G zone to retire all rear-guards in that same column as a chosen rear-guard, while also Counter-Charging 1!

Not only does this ability allow the player to get rid of the opponent’s key pieces on the board, it also activates Gaia Dynast’s second ability and rear-guard abilities that come into effect when they are retired! Furthermore, Counter-Blast is replenished for the player to continue using their units’ abilities!

Coelamagnum is an interesting option that Tachikaze players could consider running in their decks. By putting this unit into the drop zone from a rear-guard circle while Generation Break 1 is active, (Perhaps by retiring this unit by card effects.) the player can return this card to the bottom of the deck to draw a card and strengthen another unit with +5000 power for the rest the end of the turn!

This card’s synergy with many other Tachikaze cards that can retire this unit during the battle phase allows it to be such a reliable card to use! Not only does this card allow the player to gain card advantage and strengthen one of their powerful rear-guards, (Such as Clearout Dragon, Sweeperacrocanto) it also enables the player to shuffle this back into the deck to potentially be revealed as a trigger during their drive check to stand another rear-guard!

Turbo Smilodon is an helpful card that allows Tachikaze players to put the top card of their deck face down as an equip gauge for their rear-guard when it is placed or when it attacks the vanguard!

Equip Gauge is a mechanic that Tachikaze in the V-Premium format uses heavily, and it is used to buff powerful rear-guards (For example, Ravenous Dragon, Megarex and Clearout Dragon, Sweeperacrocanto.) or increase the number of possible attacks by calling the equip gauge to a rear-guard circle! (See Darting Dragon, Blueprint and Regiment Dragon, Regiodon for reference.)

With essentially no cost, players are able to accumulate equip gauge easily onto one of their powerful rear-guards! This is something that should definitely be considered in many Tachikaze decks that utilise a lot of Counter-Blast and Soul-Blast for their powerful plays!

Players could consider utilising Sonic Noa (V Series) in their Tachikaze decks to provide reliable equip gauge for their rear-guards and potentially activate effects by retiring rear-guards. By using Sonic Noa to boost a rear-guard, the player may put the top card of their deck face down as an equip gauge for the boosted unit.

With Sonic Noa, the cost to equip a gauge to a rear-guard is significantly lowered and made more reliable, such that the only requirement is that this card needs to boost the targeted unit.

Furthermore, when Sonic Noa’s attack or the attack that it boosted hits the opponent’s vanguard, the player may draw a card by retiring a rear-guard! This ability is simple, allowing the player to gain more card advantage; however, it can also be used to activate on-retire effects of certain rear-guards! There are many interesting ways to build Tachikaze in Premium, and including this in a deck is definitely a great way to start!

Ambush Demon Stealth Dragon, Shibarakku Viktor is a great Stride for Murakumo that helps them to set up for their finishing turn! By paying the cost for Shibarakku Viktor’s first ability, the player can reveal seven cards from the top of their deck and put up two cards with the same card name as a card on their rear-guard circles or in the drop from among them into their hand!

Through this, players can filter their deck further for their key pieces and put them into their hand to use for offensive turns. Whether these key pieces are already on the field, or have been put to the drop, Shibarakku Viktor will be able to grab a copy of these cards from the deck relatively easily, as it is quite likely that the player will be able to find a duplicate of a card from the revealed seven cards.

Meanwhile, this card’s second ability helps with multi-attacks! Shibarakku Viktor has the Shadowstitch ability, which activates at the end of the battle in which the specified unit’s attack did not hit. When the player’s rear-guard attack against the opponent’s vanguard does not hit, if this card is face up in the G zone, the player may Soul-Blast 1 to call this card to attack the opponent! So, this unit becomes another pesky attacker that the opponent will have to deal with!

Right now, Murakumo has access to a powerful G-Guardian: Ambush Demon Stealth Rogue, Shishiyuzeki. When called to the guardian circle to defend against the opponent’s vanguard attack, the player can move one of their rear-guards to the guardian circle, and that unit gains +5000 Shield until the end of that battle. Then, they may search their deck for up to one card with the same card name as that unit and call it to the guardian circle as well!

Shishiyuzeki has immense defensive potential, especially when paired with grade 1 or grade 0 triggers cards from the V Series. As these units have high Shield values, (10 000 Shield for Grade 1s, 15 000 Shield for Grade 0 Triggers and 20 000 Shield for Heal Triggers.) the player will be able to defend any high-powered vanguard attack that comes their way with Shishiyuzeki!

Another great Stride for Murakumo is Dharma Deity of the Five Precepts, Yasuie Genma. Yasuie Genma’s first ability allows the player to choose a card from their rear-guard or drop zone and call a card with the same card name as that card from their deck to the field. That unit will also be returned to the player’s hand at the end of the turn!

This ability can be used to call out important attackers to the field, or even to search for defensive pieces that can be returned to hand at the end of turn. It’s a highly efficient ability that only requires the player to Soul-Blast 1 and flip a copy of this face up in their G zone! Overall, the flexibility that this ability gives the player is what makes Yasuie Genma a great card. But that’s not all.

Yasuie Genma also has the Shadowstitch ability. If the player is on Generation Break 3, and its attack against the opponent’s vanguard did not hit, the player can give five of their units +5000 Power and an additional Critical until the end of turn! This ability significantly increases the pressure on the opponent if it activates, so opponents will most likely allow Yasuie Genma’s attack to go through to prevent this ability from activating. As such, the player is essentially guaranteed to deal the opponent one damage on the turn they Stride this as the opponent will have to take the attack coming from Yasuie Genma!

Stealth Dragon, Dual Weapon is an interesting card to be considered in Murakumo decks. By retiring this unit when its Shadowstitch ability activates, the player can call a copy of one of their grade 1 or 3 rear-guards from the deck! At the end of that turn, the unit called with this effect is returned to the deck.

Duel Weapon essentially allows for Murakumo players to continue their multi-attack strategy, even when they are stopped by the opponent! With a multitude of cards that Dual Weapon can synergise with, this card is something not to be missed out on!

Stealth Dragon, Hiden Scroll has been a powerful card in Murakumo for a long time. When this unit is called while Generation Break 1 is active, the player may return this to their deck to choose a rear-guard not named “Stealth Dragon, Hiden Scroll”, and call two cards with the same name as that unit from their deck! At the end of the turn, the called units are returned to the bottom of the deck in any order.

Hiden Scroll’s ability simply screams multi-attack. This card’s Stand trigger type will be most helpful in allowing the player to attack with powerful rear-guards once more! Furthermore, should players decide to call it during the main phase, it allows them to build up a field of units to attack the opponent! If they manage to call it during the battle phase, they will be able to recycle this back into the deck and extend their attacks even further!

One great Stride for Vanquisher players to consider is Conquering Supreme Dragon, Dragonic Vanquisher “VMAX”. After it attacks, if Generation Break 3 and Thunderstrike 5 is active while the opponent has no rear-guards, the player may Counter-Blast 2 to deal one damage to the opponent!

Thunderstrike is an effect that allows certain abilities to activate if there are a certain number of cards in the opponent’s bind zone. This first ability allows “VMAX” to be an effective finisher against the opponent. Should the opponent already be at 5 damage, players should definitely Stride into this to end the game!

When “VMAX” attacks the opponent’s vanguard, the player can also choose an opponent’s rearguard circle for each face up “Vanquisher” in their G zone, and this vanguard battles both the vanguard and the units on the chosen circles! This ability helps to clear the opponent’s board and paves the way for this card’s first ability to be used! Once again, this ability only becomes better as the game progresses, so players should only go into “VMAX” when they are able to finish off the opponent!

Mystic Wisdom Creation, Brahma is an interesting option to play in the Narukami G zone. When players call this to the guardian circle, they may bind two cards with different grades in their drop face up to give Brahma an additional +10 000 Shield to guard the opponent’s attack!

Overall, Brahma is a tanky defender against most attacks! This card is simple and effective in its job. As such, it could be considered in most Narukami decks as a 1-of in scenarios that require a sizeable amount of Shield to defend.

Sky Guardian Supreme Dragon, Bulwark Dragon is another powerful G-Guardian that stops many powerful decks in their tracks. At the end of the battle that it was called to the guardian circle, the player may bind one Rest rear-guard in the opponent’s front row for every four cards in the opponent’s bind zone!

This card is able to deal with many rear-guard reliant decks, such as Pale Moon, Nova Grappler and Murakumo by removing many of their key units from play. (Unless they have cards that can be called from the bind zone.) Furthermore, Narukami’s extreme ease in binding four or more of the opponent’s cards with other support (Such as Conquering Supreme Dragon, Stunverse Dragon.) should definitely increase this card’s usefulness whenever it is placed. As such, Bulwark Dragon is a must-play in all Narukami G zones!

Even in the Premium format, Fiendish Sword Eradicator, Cho-Ou (V Series) is an awesome card for Narukami. Players may Counter-Blast 1 when they call Chou-Ou to bind one of the opponent’s rear-guards in a column and move a back row rear-guard in that column to the front row rear-guard circle! This first ability allows the player to remove the opponent’s key rear-guards and accumulate more cards in the opponent’s bind zone! Cho-Ou’s ability to shift the opponent’s back row rear-guards to the front row can also help to deal with otherwise untouchable boosting rear-guards.

On top of this, Cho-Ou’s second ability allows it to become a great attacker that can stand again after the player’s vanguard attacks, should the opponent have no front row rear-guards! Narukami players will be able to unleash even more powerful attacks onto the opponent! As such, Cho-Ou is a great card for the clan, and should definitely be considered in many player’s decks.

Other than Wyvern Guard, Guld (V Series), Summon Lightning Dancing Princess, Anastasia can be a viable Perfect Guard in Narukami decks. When Anastasia is retired from the guardian circle, the player may draw a card if Thunderstrike 4 is active.

Anastasia’s draw effect is extremely easy to pull off due to Narukami being able to bind many of the opponent’s units with ease, which allows the player to filter through their deck faster to get to their key pieces. For Narukami decks that need to obtain their key pieces quickly, (For example, Dragonic Vanquisher decks.) Anastasia is the card to go!

Favourite Champ, Victor is a powerful Stride that can finish off an opponent effectively. Should the player be on Generation Break 3 after it attacked, they may pay the cost to stand the same number of rear-guards as the number of face-up cards in the G zone! If three or more cards were stand by this effect, they can discard three cards to Counter-Charge 1 and stand this unit to attack once more with a drive!

Ultimately, this Stride allows for Nova Grappler decks (Especially Victor decks) to unleash a throttle of attacks on the opponent to finish them off. The reason why this card is a game winner is because this ability is not restricted to a once per turn effect. As such, after Victor has Stand from this ability, it can attack again and activate this ability, provided the player still has the resources for it. This combo will require a lot of Counter-Blast, a lot of cards in hand, and a lot of face up cards in the G zone. That’s why it should only be used as a game-ending Stride alongside other powerful rear-guards. (Such as Extreme Battler, Dosledge and Extreme Battler, Golshachi.) Nevertheless, it is a fun and powerful card that can absolutely annihilate the opponent!

Meteokaiser, Gundreed is a helpful G-Guardian for most Nova Grappler decks. By calling this card to the guardian circle while Generation Break 1 is active, the player may flip a G-Guardian face up in the G zone to give their vanguard an ability that allows the player to Counter-Charge 1 if the attacks against it did not hit!

Gundreed is a reliable resource generator as it creates more Counter-Blast and face up cards in the G zone for the player to work with. One thing to note is that this card’s Counter-Charge can be obtained for the rest of the turn provided the opponent’s attacks on the vanguard do not hit. So, when the opponent is preparing a wave of attacks, players can utilise this to replenish many Counter-Blast with ease.

Gundreed can also synergise with Meteokaiser, Dogantitan. By using this card to turn a copy of Dogantitan face up, the player can use the Swiss knife-like Dogantitan on their turn for even more plays!

Most Nova Grappler players would defer to Meteokaiser, Dogantitan as their main defensive G-Guardian. Dogantitan is a very diverse card, having abilities that provide defence and utility. Should the player have fewer rear-guards than the opponent, Dogantitan is able to gain +10 000 Shield! This condition is extremely easy to meet, so Dogantitan will almost always be a 25 000 Shield guardian.

Dogantitan’s second ability is also extremely important in Nova Grappler decks that utilise a lot of Counter-Blast. If it is face up in the G zone, the player may Soul-Blast 1 and turn this card face down to turn a face down card on one of their circles or in their damage zone face up.

This ability effectively allows the player to Counter-Charge 1, but it can also be a way to deal with locked rear-guards and deleted vanguards. One thing to note is that this effect does not count as unlocking or releasing the vanguard from Delete, so it will also counter the opponent’s cards that can activate from such conditions being met. With such versatility, Dogantitan is a much needed presence in many decks!

Victor decks in the Premium format will usually run Exxtreme Battler, Victor (V Series) and Zubat Battler, Victor as their main grade 3 rides. While players usually want to ride into the former due to its generation of an Accel circle, this card is still a powerful vanguard that enhances the utility and standing potential of the deck with its many tools.

Victor’s first ability activates when the player Strides over it, allowing them to Counter-Blast 1 to draw a card and call a card from hand to the field! Then, the player can give one of their units a powerful ability that can stand another rear-guard when it attacks!

Essentially, this ability allows the player to chain more stand effects to attack with their rear-guards once more. This effect is especially powerful with the likes of many Strides that synergise with this effect, like Universe Ace, Bustered and Winning Champ, Victor, and can also be used to stand powerful rear-guards like Extreme Battler, Dosledge.

Victor’s second ability is also extremely helpful to replenish resources for the player! Activating at the end of turn, if the number of face up cards in the player’s damage zone is one or less, they may Counter-Charge 1. If the number of cards in soul is one or less, they may Soul-Charge 1. If the player was able to do both, they draw a card! This ability is extremely crucial for Victor decks, especially after using many cards that utilise these resources heavily. (Such as Universe Ace, Bustered and Favorite Champ, Victor.)

Extreme Battler, Golshachi is an important card for the Victor archetype in Premium. Should the player have a “Victor” vanguard, Golshachi gains “Resist” and the ability to stand another rear-guard when it attacks! Furthermore, when it is stand by the player’s card effect while Generation Break 2 and Rush are active, it gains +7000 Power for the rest of the turn!

Golshachi has the Rush ability, which allows it to activate an effect when it is Stand by a card’s ability! Overall, this card serves as an effective attacker and multi-attack enabler for Victor decks. For close to no cost, it is able to Stand powerful rear-guards (like Extreme Battler, Dosledge) so that more attack patterns can be made!

Energy Girl is a strong Stand trigger that can elevate many Nova Grappler decks, as it can stand another rear-guard at the end of the battle that it boosted, if Generation Break 1 is active! Furthermore, Energy Girl will also be returned to the deck!

Other than the requirement of Generation Break 1, this card’s stand effect is extremely free, allowing the player to stand their strong rear-guards to beat down on the opponent once more. Energy Girl is also shuffled back into the deck, so it enables the player to potentially reveal it as a trigger during their drive check to stand one of their rear-guards yet again!

Bravest Peak, X-gallop is one of the most impactful Strides for Dimension Police. X-gallop has the Burst ability, which becomes active when the unit’s Power reaches a specific Power threshold. By attacking with this unit with 40 000 or more Power, the player may Counter-Blast 1 and flip a card in their G zone face up to give it an additional drive! Furthermore, if X-Gallop’s Power is 80 000 or more at the end of the battle it attacked, the player can stand it and give it drive -4!

To many, 80 000 Power seems like an impossible feat to pull off. Thankfully, X-gallop has an extremely useful second ability that allows it to gain +10 000 Power for each face up card in the G zone if Generation Break 3 is active! As the game progresses, the Power that X-gallop can gain will continue to increase, allowing it to easily attain 80 000 Power! This effect will be especially great with other cards that can turn cards in the G zone face up quickly! (Such as Heat Wave Beast, Geomaglass, Oceanic Conversion, Atlantic Dolphin, and Strongest Command Chief, Final Daimax DX.)

X-gallop can also gain Power passively from generated Force I markers during their turn, as well as cards that can further buff the vanguard! (For example, Twin Order (V Series) and Super Dimensional Robo, Daizaurus.) This makes it extremely easy for X-gallop to meet and exceed 80 000 Power! The synergy that this has with many cards and its potential to gain power on its own should incentivise Dimension Police players to pick up this card!

Oceanic Conversion, Atlantis Dolphin is an extremely powerful G-Guardian that should definitely be run in all Dimension Police decks. When called to guard against the opponent’s vanguard attack while Generation Break 1 is active, the player may flip a face down G-Guardian face up to buff this card with +5000 Shield for each of the player’s rear-guards. If its Shield meets or exceeds 30 000, the player can Soul-Charge 1 and Counter-Charge 1!

The utility that Atlantis Dolphin brings is very invaluable, as it can gain high Shield values to defend against the opponent’s vanguard’s attack and also generate resources for the player, while increasing the number of face up cards in the player’s G zone. This helps the player to survive against the opponent’s formidable attacks, prepares resources and meets requirements for the player’s finishing turn.

Another great G-Guardian for Dimension Police is Gallant Incarnation, G-O-Five. Players may call this to the guardian circle and Soul-Blast 1 card with 5000 Power or more to give it +10 000 Shield! G-O-Five also gains an additional +5000 Shield if a card was put into the player’s damage zone during this turn.

Overall, G-O-Five’s strength lies in its strong Shield value, which allows it to essentially be a 30 000 Shield guardian. Of course, there are some prerequisites that allow it to gain this Shield, but it is nonetheless a useful option in most Dimension Police decks, serving as a deterrence against high-powered attacks.

Players could consider using Enigman Calm as an effective Perfect Guard. While its Perfect Guard ability can only be activated when called from hand, its value lies in it being able to be reused again! After a vanguard with the burst ability attacks, if it has 40 000 or more Power and Generation Break 2 is active, the player can Counter-Blast 1 and Soul-Blast 1 to return this card in the drop to hand! Should the vanguard have 45 000 or more Power, they also Counter-Charge 1!

Given that Dimension Police vanguards tend to attack with quite high numbers, players will be able to consistently fetch Enigman Calm in the drop back to hand for defensive purposes! The only drawback with this is that the vanguard needs to have the Burst ability, but that is easily solved by using Bravest Peak, X-gallop as the main Stride!

In order to play Chaos Breaker Dragon in the Premium format, players should definitely pick up Death Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Deluge. This card is absolutely phenomenal for this specific archetype, instilling terror into any opponent. If the player has a “Chaos” heart card and Generation Break 3 is active, they may pay the cost to force the opponent to call two cards from their hand to their field as locked cards! Furthermore, if they are at four or less damage, the player can put one of their locked cards into their damage zone face down!

Firstly, Chaos Breaker Deluge helps to increase the number of locked cards on the opponent’s field, essentially shutting down their offensive strategy. With Star-vader, Chaos Breaker Dragon (V Series) that can retire unlocked rear-guards to gain Force markers and draw cards, there will be even more locked cards on the opponent’s field that Chaos Breaker Dragon can benefit from!

Secondly, it reduces the opponent’s hand size, causing them to become more susceptible to attacks from the player. They will also face the dilemma of sacrificing key attackers or defensive pieces to fulfil Chaos Breaker Deluge’s cruel demands!

Finally, Chaos Breaker Deluge increases the number of cards in the opponent’s damage zone, putting the opponent on edge to guard all of the player’s attacks. This card is a finisher that crushes any chance of the opponent surviving, so players need to be able to last long enough to Stride into this!

Large Wheel of the Cosmos, Cosmo Wreath is a great G-Guardian that has strong defensive value and can counter the opponent’s game plan. By calling this to the guardian circle, the player may Counter-Blast 1 to force the opponent to lock one of their back row rear-guards. If this is done, Cosmo Wreath gains an additional +5000 Shield!

The Shield value that Cosmo Wreath can have is equivalent to that of a V Series generic Heal trigger, but the ability to lock a back row rear-guard is extremely invaluable. This can be used to counter against decks that have a strong emphasis on their back row rear-guards for boosting to execute their game plan, such as Dark Irregulars. Cosmo Wreath’s potential to throw a wrench in the opponent’s offensive strategy should incentivise players to run a few copies of it in their G zone.

A Stride that Star-vader Premium decks could consider using is Death Star-vader, Glueball Dragon. Should the player have a “Star-vader” heart card, they can pay the cost to force the opponent to lock a rear-guard for each face up card in the player’s G zone!

This ability progressively grows stronger as more cards in the G zone are flipped face up, so Glueball Dragon’s potential to lock many of the opponent’s rear-guards is further maximised! This ability will definitely be oppressive against rear-guard reliant decks like Aqua Force and Murakumo!

Furthermore, Glueball Dragon’s second ability gives all front row “Star-vader” cards a helpful +3000 Power for each of the opponent’s locked cards if Generation Break 2 is active! Similarly to Glueball Dragon’s first ability, Star-vader units in the front row will get progressively stronger with more of the opponent’s rear-guards locked! Overall, Glueball Dragon is a great option that increases in value as the game continues to progress!

Many players have long awaited the return of Star-vader, Freezeray Dragon, and it is not hard to see why it has been a beloved staple in Link Joker. This card’s first ability has Limit Break, which is only active if the player has 4 or more cards in their damage zone. When the opponent’s rear-guard is locked by the player’s card effect, Freezeray Dragon gains a helpful +3000 Power until the end of turn. This ability is great offensively as it provides a good buff to Freezeray Dragon whenever the player locks more of the opponent’s rear-guards with their cards! This ability can also be activated when Freezeray Dragon’s second ability is used, allowing players to gain defensive Power!

When a card is put into the player’s damage zone (either by taking damage or putting cards into the damage zone), they can lock one of the opponent’s rear-guards! While simple, this ability is extremely powerful as it stops most rear-guard oriented decks in their tracks, forcing the opponent to jump through even more hoops to execute their game plan!

With Freezeray Dragon also gaining defensive Power when this ability activates, it makes it more difficult for the opponent’s attacks to hit for higher numbers and deal damage. With such amazing defensive potential, no Link Joker player should pass up the opportunity to get a copy of this highly coveted card!

Temerarious Cataclysmic Rogue, Hellhard Eight is an extremely powerful Stride that is a game-ender the moment it enters the field. Whenever a unit attacks, if Generation Break 8 is active, the player can give a unit an impactful +10 000 Power! Furthermore, after the chosen unit attacks or boosts, the player may put that unit and a card from hand into soul to call another card from their deck!

With other impactful attackers, (Such as Gyro Slinger (V Series), Spike Bouncer (V Series), Highspeed, Brakki (V Series), Wonder Boy (V Series) and Juggernaut Maximum (V Series).) and the fact that Spike Brothers has access to Force markers, Hellhard Eight can create an endless number of high-powered attacks to demolish the opponent!

Although the Generation Break 8 prerequisite may be challenging to achieve, there are many supporting cards (For example, King of Interference, Terrible Linus, Black Horn King, Bullpower Agrias, and Shootdown Sovereign, Violence Ace.) that can flip up more cards in the G zone face up to meet this requirement. Spike Brothers enthusiasts only need to run one copy of this in the G zone to make room for other helpful Strides and G-Guardians, because once they are able to Stride into this card, victory will definitely be in their hands! Don’t miss out on this opportunity to obtain Hellhard Eight!

To further aid in the Hellhard Eight combo, players can definitely look into using Black Horn King, Bullpower Agrias. When this unit attacks, the player may pay the cost to bind any number of their rear-guards. If the player bound three or more rear-guards, they can draw a card and call two cards from their bind zone for each face up card in their G zone!

Bullpower Agrias’ potential in the Hellhard Eight combo lies in its ability to turn up even more cards face up in the G zone. Furthermore, as its ability is not restricted by Generation Break, Spike Brothers players can easily use this as their first Stride during games. Other than this, the offense that it provides should not be ignored as well, as it can call rear-guards that were bound to rear-guard circles again to beat down on the opponent, allowing the player to attack five times at minimum! This card can also serve as a soft counter against decks like Narukami or Nubatama, as they can re-use rear-guards bound by the opponent.

Jelly Beans has been beloved by many players, and it’s hard not to see why. Even though Jelly Beans has a miniscule 10 000 base Power, its ability is very important in helping Spike Brothers players quickly reach Generation Break 8 to activate Hellhard Eight. By revealing this card to the opponent and returning it to the bottom of the deck, the player can reveal and add a grade 2 or less “Dudley” card from their deck to their hand and shuffle their deck!

This ability is primarily used to search the deck for a particular card: Dudley Cheers, Linsey. This card is a Heal trigger, and its main purpose is to be discarded for the use of G-Guardians, specifically Terrible Linus. By using Terrible Linus, the player can quickly increase the number of face up cards in their G zone to prepare the ideal conditions for Hellhard Eight. Jelly Beans definitely increases the consistency for Spike Brothers players to complete their game plan, allowing them to win more comfortably!

King of Interference, Terrible Linus is the best G-Guardian for Spike Brothers Premium players. When Terrible Linus is called to the field, if Generation Break 1 is active, the player may flip a G-Guardian face up in the G zone to put one of their rear-guards into soul and give this unit a significant +10 000 Shield for every two open circles on the player’s field!

Terrible Linus provides a strong defence that can scale up to at most 35 000 Shield, which can be extremely beneficial in blocking incoming attacks. However, what’s also important about this card is its ability to turn another G-Guardian in the G zone face up! In doing so, Terrible Linus helps to further increase the number of cards that are face up in the player’s G zone to prepare for Hellhard Eight’s descent onto the battlefield!

Another card that aids the Hellhard Eight build is Mecha Trainer. Mecha Trainer’s first ability allows it to be called to a rear-guard circle when it is ridden upon. This ability allows the player to increase their board advantage, but it also paves the way for the player to utilise Mecha Trainer’s second ability.

By paying the cost, the player may use Mecha Trainer’s second ability to add a grade 1 or less card from their deck to their hand! Similarly to Jelly Beans, this card’s main purpose is to search out the important Dudley Cheers, Linsey to utilise Terrible Linus. Of course, this ability can also be used to search out other key combo pieces like Wonder Boy (V Series) and Gyro Slinger (V Series), or even defensive options such as Perfect Guards and Light Elemental, Honoly. The utility and flexibility that Mecha Trainer brings to the deck is unquestionable, and players should definitely look into running a few copies of this awesome card in their deck!

One who Splits Darkness, Bledermaus is a great finishing card to end the game should the player run low on cards in the deck. When it attacks, if the player is on Generation Break 2, Darkness is active and the number of cards in soul is ten or more, the player may pay the cost to return all grade 0 cards on their rear-guard circles and soul to the deck and give two units +5000 power until the end of turn. After it attacked, Bledermaus stands once more to attack with 1 drive!

Bledermaus has the Darkness keyword, which is only active if a card was put into the soul during the turn. This card is great whenever Dark Irregulars players run low on cards in the deck. By utilising its ability, the player can shuffle back many triggers in their soul back into their thin deck that can be potentially revealed during their drive checks! Furthermore, as Bledermaus also can stand again after it attacks, it will be able to potentially reveal 4 triggers on its own during its drive checks! In any situation that the player needs to end the game swiftly, Bledermaus is definitely the way to go!

A great G-Guardian that Dark Irregulars players could consider is False Dark Wings, Agrat bat Mahlat. By calling this to the guardian circle, the player Soul-Charges 2, while giving this unit an additional +5000 Shield if there are six or more cards in soul!

This unit’s defensive Shield buff may not be as useful if the player is using 20 000 Shield Heals, but it will be more valued if the player is using 10 000 Shield Heals from the original series or the highly anticipated 15 000 Shield Heal Guardians releasing in V Clan Collection. In spite of this, Agrat bat Mahlat is usually used to further increase the number of cards in the soul to prepare for the finishing turn. As such, this could be run as a 1-2 of in the G zone for its utility.

Dimension Creeper has remained a staple in Dark Irregulars since time immemorial. It has a simple but effective ability that allows the player to put this card from soul to the drop to Soul-Charge 2!

Dimension Creeper, when combined with other cards, can allow Dark Irregular players to increase the number of cards in soul extremely quickly. To maximise this card’s ability, supporting units that can amass more copies of this card in soul (Such as Emblem Master (V Series), Variants Killertail and Demonic Deep Phantasm Emperor, Brufas.) should be played together with it!

While this card might not be the most optimal defensive option due to its 5000 Shield, it is still one of the best ways to get a sizable number of cards in soul to prepare for a finishing turn.

A card that Dark Irregulars players can consider using is Monochrome of Nightmareland. If the player is on Generation Break 1, they can return this to their deck and Soul Charge 1. If there are six or more cards in soul, they also Counter-Charge 1. If there are ten or more, they draw a card!

This card provides great utility to Dark Irregulars decks, by increasing the number of cards soul, maintaining hand advantage and providing free Counter-Charge to activate other abilities. Furthermore, it is a Stand trigger, so when it is shuffled back into the deck, it increases the number of triggers in the deck such that the player can potentially reveal this as a trigger during their drive check to stand another powerful rear-guard!

Masquerade Master, Harri is an amazing Stride that all Pale Moon players should have in their arsenal. When this card attacks, the player may pay the cost to activate Harri’s first ability, moving two cards on their circles into soul and calling three cards from soul to the field! At the end of turn, those cards are returned to soul. Harri’s second ability allows all rear-guards with the magia ability to gain +3000 Power for each face up card with ‘Harri’ in its card name in the player’s G zone!

This card is extremely powerful due to its attack potential. On its own, Harri will enable at least five attacks on the opponent. However, with the combination of other Strides such as Fancy Megatrick, Darklord Princess, the number of attacks that this card enables during a turn increases significantly. Furthermore, this card also returns all rear-guards called by its ability to soul at the end of the turn (by Magia), so the opponent has almost no way of interacting with them.

Something interesting to note about this card is that its cost of putting two cards on other circles can be used to remove locked cards on the Pale Moon player’s field. As such, Masquerade Master, Harri is an effective counter against Link Joker, especially Chaos Breaker Dragon decks.

Kinesis Megatrick, Coulthard is another staple card that enhances the defenses of Pale Moon in the Premium format. When Coulthard is placed on the guardian circle, if Generation Break 1 is active and there are four or more different grades in soul, the player may pay the cost to give Coulthard an additional +15 000 Shield!

Coulthard is able to provide simple but effective defense against most decks. Pale Moon decks add cards to their soul a lot, so the requirement of 4 different grades should be relatively easy to achieve. After all, 30 000 Shield is usually more than enough to stop most attacks in their tracks!

Flying Peryton used to be a Common, but it had immense potential the moment it was released. By calling this card to the field when Generation Break 1 is active, the player Soul-Charges 1 and calls a card from soul to a rear-guard circle in the same column as this unit! At the end of the turn, the called unit is returned to soul! (by Magia)

Flying Peryton is extremely powerful due to its ability to increase soul and call more cards to the field. The Soul-Charge is important as it helps the player find more key pieces and thins the deck further, and the extra rear-guard will definitely be an essential part of the player’s offense! This ability can be used even during the battle phase, to increase the number of attacks on the opponent!

Back in BT07: Rampage of the Beast King, Pale Moon received an amazing support card in Purple Trapezist. Who knew that such an old card would become one of the most essential cards in Pale Moon decks of the Premium format? By calling this card to the field, the player can put another rear-guard to soul and call a card other than “Purple Trapezist” from soul to the field!

The main reason why Purple Trapezist is such a great card is because it gives the player so much versatility. Purple Trapezist can be used as an attack extender, by putting rested rear-guards to soul and calling them again to attack once more. Furthermore, it can also be used to activate certain cards’ abilities when they are put to soul, or when they are called to a rear-guard circle! This card can work well with cards like Nightmare Doll, Alice (V Series), Prankster Girl of Mirrorland, and even Masquerade Master, Harri! Even though this card may not be the easiest to play, the immense benefits that it brings when played correctly should not be ignored.

Purple Trapezist is a universal card in all Pale Moon decks, as such all Pale Moon players should pick up a playset!

Prankster Girl of Mirrorland is a card that should be considered by many Pale Moon players. When this card is put into soul while Generation Break 1 is active, Prankster Girl can be returned to the deck so that the player can add a card other than “Prankster Girl of Mirrorland” from their deck to soul!

This card provides Pale Moon players with a reliable way of searching for key pieces that can be called to the field later. Be it attack extenders like Flying Peryton, Purple Trapezist, or strong attackers like Starry Pop Dragon or Nightmare Doll, Alice (V Series), the utility that Prankster Girl of Mirrorland brings is something that should not be ignored by any player. Furthermore, the fact that this card is a Stand trigger should definitely incentivise many players to run it. Other than this, Prankster Girl of Mirrorland also helps to filter and shuffle the deck such that the player can potentially reveal more triggers during their drive check or damage check!

Chronodragon Gear Groovy is another form of the iconic Chronojet Dragon, and it has remained as a powerful Stride for a long time. If the player is on Generation Break 2 and has a ‘Chronojet’ heart card, they can pay the cost for Gear Groovy’s first ability and copy the AUTO abilities of two face up Gear Dragons in the G zone! Furthermore, if Generation Break 3 is active, they may Soul-Blast 1 and flip a card in their G zone face up to give it a decent +5000 Power!

Chronodragon Gear Groovy can be used to combo with cards like Chronodragon Nextage or Interdimensional Dragon, Grogrock Dragon to attack the opponent’s vanguard even more time with their vanguard, or even with Interdimensional Dragon, History-build Dragon to create even more attacks with rear-guards with Time Leap. The limitless potential of this ability to synergise with Gear Chronicle Strides should encourage players to run this card significantly in their Gear Chronicle Premium decks.

Gear Chronicle has access to Interdimensional Dragon, Heteroround Dragon as their primary G-Guardian. By calling this unit to the guardian circle while the player has a “Chronojet” vanguard, they can Soul-Blast 1 to return one of the opponent’s rear-guards to the bottom of their deck and force the opponent to call the top card of their deck to the field!

Similar to Denial Griffin, Heteroround Dragon is able to stop any powerful rear-guard in their tracks. Any player will find that Heteroround Dragon is an effective disruptor to many of their offensive plans! With such defensive prowess,, all Gear Chronicle players should play a copy or two of this card as a strong counter to rear-guard reliant decks.

Players will definitely remember History-maker Dragon as one of the staple Time Leap cards during the G Era, and it still is a very relevant card in Gear Chronicle Premium decks. When this unit attacks the vanguard while Generation Break 1 is active, the player may Counter-Blast 1 to time leap one other rear-guard!

While its ability is very straightforward, History-maker Dragon is not a card to be underestimated. History-maker’s Time Leap ability is extremely generic, allowing the player to choose any rear-guard to be time leaped. This card is a key combo piece in Time Leap shenanigans, and it works well with cards like Steam Maiden, Melem, Tick Tock Worker and Steam Battler, Ur-Watar.

Time Leap as a mechanic requires a very high skill level to execute well, but the dividends it pays are extremely great. Should players be able to master using History-maker Dragon and other Time Leap supporting units, they will be able to elevate their Gear Chronicle Premium experience to another level.

Tick Tock Worker is another important card for Gear Chronicle Time Leap builds. It has the Forerunner ability, which activates when it is ridden over, calling it to a rear-guard circle. However, what’s more important about this card is its second ability. After another of the player’s rearguards attacked, if Generation Break 1 is active the player may move this card to soul and time leap that unit!

Similar to History-maker Dragon, Tick Tock Worker is extremely important in enabling more multi-attacks through Time Leap. As mentioned before, it is a key combo piece in Time Leap builds with History-maker Dragon, Steam Maiden, Melem and Steam Battler, Ur-Watar. Adding on the fact that Gear Chronicle is a Force Clan, Time Leap becomes extremely powerful in Premium as rear-guards will still be able to hit high numbers even though their base Power is significantly lower compared to cards printed for during the V-Era.

Stand triggers are already a powerful tool in Premium, but Steam Battler, Ur-Watar is one of the most exceptional units with its impactful ability. When this unit is bound from a rear-guard circle while Generation Break 1 is active, the player may return this to the bottom of the deck, draw two cards and return a card from hand to their deck!

As mentioned before, Ur-Watar is an important card in Time Leap combos. This is because it can be shuffled back into the deck after it was bound by Time Leap. Then, there would be more Stand triggers in the deck, which can be drive checked to restand key rear-guards like History-maker Dragon and Steam Maiden, Melem, which can initiate even more attacks.

Ur-Watar also increases the player’s card advantage by drawing more cards. The player can then return triggers or Time Leap combo cards back to the deck to create even more pressure! This Stand trigger will remain as a necessary piece to ensure that the Time Leap engine runs smoothly like clockwork!

Most Granblue players will find that Ghostie Great Emperor, Big Obadiah is an extremely impactful Stride for the clan, and it’s hard to disagree with that sentiment. By paying the cost for Big Obadiah, the player can put any five cards from their deck into the drop and call two cards from their drop to the field for each face up card in the player’s G zone! Those units also gain +5000 Power until end of turn!

Granblue has many great cards that can be filtered from the deck into the drop to be called out, such as Dragon Undead, Skull Dragon (V Series), Greed Shade (V Series), Mighty Rogue, Nightstorm and Pirate Swordsman, Colombard (V Series). Furthermore, Big Obadiah helps to prepare for the finishing turns as it can put key combo pieces immediately into the drop. Players will have less trouble finding their key pieces in the deck for their final turn. The power boost that Big Obadiah gives also helps to give some pressure during the battle phase as well! Overall, Big Obadiah is a must-play card for most Granblue decks, helping to prepare the player to execute the final turn!

Mighty Rogue, Nightstorm is another beloved card in the Granblue clan due to its potential to create even more attacks. Firstly, Nightstorm has the Hollow ability that plays a role in its second ability!

After Nightstorm attacks a vanguard while Generation Break 1 is active and it is hollowed, the player may pay the cost to call a card in the drop other than “Mighty Rogue, Nightstorm” to a rear-guard circle that Nightstorm is not on. This ability is the reason why most Granblue players adore this card, as it allows the player to extend their attacks even further, and it can prove to be extremely effective when cards like Skull Dragon are called from drop with extremely high power.

Nightstorm’s second ability isn’t used as much, but it is still a good ability nonetheless. By riding this card, the player can Counter-Blast 1 and Soul-Blast 1 to add a card with the hollow ability to their hand from the top five cards of their deck! This allows the player to potentially search their deck for more cards with the Hollow ability, and these cards usually have a powerful effect accompanying them, like Skeleton Cannoneer, Undying Departed, Grenache, and Mick the Ghostie and Family.

Players will usually prefer to use Nightstorm’s first ability over its second because there are more powerful grade 3s to ride into, such as Vampire Princess of Night Fog, Nightrose (V Series). But overall, Nightstorm is an amazing unit that has to be played in Granblue Premium decks. Players can even run 1 copy of this because Granblue has many cards that can filter through their deck and obtain key combo pieces with ease!

Many Granblue players have started to consider using Great Witch Doctor of Banquets, Negrolily as its potential has been strengthened with the arrival of Ghostie Leader, Beatrice in this year’s V Special Series 09: CLAN SELECTION PLUS Vol.1. When Negrolily is called, the player may pay the cost to call a normal unit with “Ghostie” in its card name from the drop to the field and give Negrolily an additional 10 000 Shield!

Negrolily is a more powerful G-Guardian thanks to Ghostie Leader, Beatrice. Beatrice’s first ability allows the player to Soul-Blast 1 to call a card not named “Ghostie Leader, Beatrice” from the drop to a rear-guard circle. Since Beatrice is a normal unit with “Ghostie” in its card name, Negrolily can call Beatrice to the field even during the opponent’s battle phase! With this, Beatrice can then call out certain units to bolster the defenses of the player! The player could use Beatrice to call Skeleton Cannoneer to retire the opponent’s attacking rear-guards, or call Mick the Ghostie and Family to give the vanguard +10 000 Power until the end of turn. Overall, the defensive strength that Negrolily adds to Granblue decks is extremely invaluable.

Skeleton Cannoneer is another useful card that can be played in most Granblue decks due to its reliability in removing the opponent’s key units. Skeleton Cannoneer also has the Hollow ability, which benefits the player greatly through its second ability!

When it is called from drop, if the player is on Generation Break 1, they may pay the cost to retire one of the opponent’s rear-guards! Then, if this unit is hollowed, the player draws a card as well!

This ability can be used to remove one of the opponent’s key rear-guards, making it more difficult for them to mount a dangerous offense. One key combo with Skeleton Cannoneer is when it is used in conjunction with Negrolily and Ghostie Leader, Beatrice during the opponent’s battle phase. By calling Negrolily to the guardian circle, the player can call Beatrice from the drop. The player can then use Beatrice to Soul-Blast 1, calling a Skeleton Cannoneer from the drop. In doing so, the player has an opportunity to retire one of the opponent’s attacking rear-guards!

Undying Departed, Grenache should also be considered in some Granblue decks due to its ability to replenish resources for the player. Grenache has the Forerunner ability that allows it to be called to a rear-guard circle after it has been rode upon, increasing the player’s field presence. It also has the Hollow effect that plays a role for its third ability!

Grenache’s third ability allows the player to Counter-Charge 2 when it is put into the drop from the field due to the hollow ability while Generation Break 1 is active! This effect benefits Granblue players greatly by replenishing resources for abilities that need Counter-Blast! As such, Grenache is an extremely treasured card that Granblue players should get their hands on!

Granblue players will be happy to know that Mick the Ghostie and Family is making its return in this set. This card also has the Hollow effect that aids its second ability. When this unit is called from drop while Generation Break 1 is active, if it is hollowed, the player may give one of their units a helpful +10 000 Power for the rest of the turn! Furthermore, Mick can be returned to the deck when it is put into the drop from the field!

Most players will use Mick with Negrolily and Beatrice to strengthen their vanguard during the opponent’s battle phase. As mentioned above, Negrolily can call Beatrice to an open rear-guard circle, which activates Beatrice’s ability to call this card to the field to give the vanguard that defensive power boost to last for the turn. This helps to reduce the burden on the player when guarding the opponent’s attacks!

Many Bermuda Triangle players can utilise Chouchou Popular Favor, Tirua as a generic way to achieve multiple Vanguard attacks. By paying the cost for Tirua’s first ability, this unit gives all front row “Chouchou” units +5000 Power for each of the player’s open rear-guard circles! This ability can be useful to strengthen the player’s Chouchou units, especially when the player’s field will be mostly empty to maximise the playstyle of Chouchou.

However, Tirua’s usefulness lies in its second ability! If the player is on Generation Break 3, after it attacks, the player may return three rear-guards to the bottom of the deck to stand Tirua once more with 1 drive! This allows the player to attack once more with their vanguard! This ability is not limited to a Chouchou heart, so every Bermuda Triangle deck will be able to stand their vanguard after it attacks!

Furthermore, with the first ability, there will be at least three open rear-guard circle when this ability is activated, effectively giving this unit an additional 25 000 Power! This card will be a staple in Bermuda Triangle Premium decks for a long time, and this special set is a great way to grab a copy of it!

Perfect Performance, Ange is a great Stride that Premium players could definitely utilise! If the player is on Generation Break 2, they may pay the cost to return any number of rear-guards on the field (Including the opponent!) to hand, and Ange gains +5000 Power for each card returned! Furthermore, the player draws a card if five or more cards were returned, and Ange gains a bonus drive if seven or more were returned!!

This ability can act as a pseudo-field control as it effectively removes the opponent’s rear-guards from the field. Simultaneously, the player’s rear-guards that were returned to hand can be called down to the field again to serve as attackers and activate on-place abilities. Ange herself becomes more powerful the more rear-guards are returned to hand, which allows her to hit for extremely high numbers and gain even more card advantage.

This card can definitely be used against rear-guard reliant decks, to punish them whenever the opponent calls many rear-guards to the field. It could probably be seen as a 1-2 of in most Bermuda Triangle decks, serving as a utility option.

Legendary Idol, Riviere is a strong Stride that is heavily used in Riviere Premium decks.. By paying the cost, the player can give the same number of rear-guards as the number of “Riviere” cards in soul +5000 Power until the end of turn! The player may also draw a card and give this unit +10 000 Power and an additional Critical if there are three or more face up cards in the G zone!

This card is great in Bermuda Triangle decks that revolve around Riviere, as those decks will be able to gain the most advantage out of this card. Riviere decks can also superior ride early in the game with Maturity Talent, Salena, gain significant card advantage and attack multiple times during the battle phase! (For example, Maturity Talent, Salena, Super Idol, Riviere (V Series) and Top Idol, Riviere (V Series).) With the power boost that this unit can confer to them and itself, the opponent will be hard-pressed against such a high-octane offense!

Highest Society, Citron is a phenomenal G-Guardian for Bermuda Triangle. When this is called to the guardian circle, the player may call a grade 1 or greater card from their hand to the field to give this a helpful +10 000 Shield!

Citron’s shield gain might not be most effective, but the utility gained from calling a rear-guard during the opponent’s battle phase may be crucial. For example, the player could call Light Elemental, Honoly, which can restrict the opponent’s rear-guards from attacking during the fifth battle or more of that turn unless 1 Counter-Blast is paid. They could also call Choco Love Heart, Liselotte to generate more field advantage, before intercepting with Liselotte! The flexibility of Citron is what makes it a great card in most Bermuda Triangle decks!

Many players will remember that Dreamer Dreamer, Kruk is still one of the most powerful trigger units to exist in the Premium format. Kruk has the Harmony keyword, which activates when another unit is placed in the same column as the unit with the harmony ability. Both units will become in harmony until the end of turn!

Kruk’s offensive potential is quite clear with its second ability. Should Generation Break 1 be active and this unit is in harmony, the player can return this card to the deck after it boosts to return a rear-guard to their hand and call another card from hand to the field to attack once more!

This ability is especially helpful to further increase the number of attacks that can be done by Bermuda Triangle players. With powerful units like Liselotte that can further increase field advantage, Kruk is an amazing card that should be included in all Bermuda Triangle decks.

Admired Sparkle, Spica is another attack extender for Bermuda Triangle. When it attacks the vanguard while boosted and Generation Break 1 is active, the player may Counter-Blast 1 to return one of their own rear-guards to hand and call a card from hand to the field! That unit also gains +3000 Power!

Spica can be used to return powerful rear-guards back to hand and call them again to the field to attack again! This ability could also be used to activate powerful on-place abilities to further increase card and field advantage. For example, the player could call down Liselotte to create even more attacks!

Every Aqua Force player should grab a copy of Marshal General of Surging Seas, Alexandros, for it is a formidable Stride able to turn the tides of battle! After it attacks for the 2nd or 3rd time that turn, the player may pay the cost to stand two other rear-guards and give them +5000 Power for each face up card in the G zone!

Alexandros’ strength lies in the fact that as the game goes on, the power that it can confer to rear-guards becomes significantly stronger. This can be used as a finisher to end the game, as it essentially guarantees at least 5 attacks from the Aqua Force player. Combined with the fact that Aqua Force is an Accel Clan, the player can potentially perform 6-7 attacks while using this! Using Alexandros during the most opportune moment will be the play that can break the storm, so Aqua Force players should not miss out on this opportunity to grab a copy of this!

One of the strongest G-Guardians for Aqua Force is Blue Storm Deterrence Dragon, Ice Barrier Dragon. When the player calls this card to the guardian circle, if it is during the 1st battle, or from the 4th battle onward of that turn, it gains +10 000 Shield! This ability is simple and effective in blocking high-powered attacks with close to no cost. Of course, players should definitely strategise when they should utilise Ice Barrier Dragon. Ideally, it should be used during the opponent’s first or fourth or more attacks for maximum value!

Blue Wave Armor General, Galfilia provides much needed defense and utility to Aqua Force! By calling this card during the 2nd or 3rd battle duringthe opponent’s turn, it gains an additional +5000 Shield! This ability may not be as useful if the player is using 20 000 Shield Heals, but it will be a good defensive bonus if the player is using 10 000 Shield Heals or the highly anticipated 15 000 Shield Heal Guardians.

However, Galfilia’s main utility lies in its second ability. If it is face up in the G zone, the player may pay the cost to turn a face down card on one of their circles or in their damage zone face up. This helps to alleviate some of the woes of the Counter-Blast heavy clan; players mainly use Galfilia for this ability, and they can even make use of Strides that can turn cards in the G zone face up to access this card’s ability. Other than this, Galfilia will be especially useful in matchups against Link Joker that can Lock and Delete the player’s units!

Overall, while most players will most utilise Galfilia’s first ability, they will most definitely utilise the card’s second ability frequently to replenish their resources!

Many Aqua Force players will be extremely happy to see Tidal Assault make its return in this set. After it attacked a vanguard, the player may stand it and give it -5000 Power!

Tidal Assault enables an additional attack for the player with no cost, which will definitely be important in Aqua Force to maximise their strategic multi-attack. Combined with the fact that Aqua Force makes use of Accel markers, the power reduction that Tidal Assault gets when it stands again will mostly be negated as Accel Markers give the unit on that additional rear-guard circle a power boost. As many other Aqua Force units tend to require Soul or Counter-Blast costs in order to stand again, Tidal Assault provides relief by enabling offensive strategies without taxing the player’s resources!

Another card that players can consider using is Supreme Ruler of the Storm, Thavas. This card’s first ability isn’t used as much, but it is one to be considered nonetheless. When the player Strides over this card, the player may call a card from their hand to the field! Then, they may give one of their rear-guards “Resist”. If that rear-guard has the wave ability, it also gains the ability to attack from the back row!

Essentially, Thavas’ first ability prevents one of the player’s rear-guards from being targeted by any of the opponent’s counter tools, such as Denial Griffin and Heteroround Dragon. Aqua Force players will have a greater incentive to strengthen that rear-guard as the opponent has no way to remove it from the field! Furthermore, because the chosen rear-guard will be able to attack from the back row (if it has the wave ability), it will allow the player to extend their combos even further, pushing the opponent to the brink!

Thavas’ main draw lies in its second ability, which allows the player to Counter-Blast 1 to stand this rear-guard after it attacked during the 1st or 4th wave of the turn and Generation Break 2 is active! Similar to Tidal Assault, Thavas helps in meeting Wave ability requirements, and while it does come with a Counter-Blast cost, Thavas doesn’t lose any power from using this ability!

Poison Sickle Mutant Deity, Overwhelm is one of the most powerful Strides that Megacolony has access to, and it is mainly due to the card’s potential to regain card advantage or create pressure on the opponent.

By paying the cost for Overwhelm’s first ability, the player draws the same number of cards as the number of the opponent’s Rest rear-guards! Should the opponent have one or less rear-guards, this unit gains an additional Critical and a drive! Whether the opponent’s board is filled with Rest rear-guards or almost empty, the player will either be able to accumulate immense card advantage or gain offensive power! This card will be especially effective against rear-guard reliant decks, as the player will be able to accumulate more cards in hand!

This card’s second ability also strengthens the units significantly! If Generation Break 3 and Dark Device are active, all units gain +2000 Power for each face down card in the opponent’s damage zone! Dark Device is an effect that becomes active if all of the opponent’s units in the same column as the unit possessing the ability are in Rest. As the opponent will almost always attack and boost with their rear-guards, such effects will usually be active!With this significant power gain, players can wait or force the opponent to use their Counter-Blast before using this card (Cards like Evil Governor, Darkface Gredora help to facilitate this.) to significantly buff all of their units!

Even with the release of Guilty Empress, Darkface Gredora as a primary Stride option in Megacolony, many players will still look to Lawless Mutant Deity, Obtirandus as a reliable way to restrict the opponent’s offense. If the player is on Generation Break 2, they may Counter-Blast 2 and discard a card to prevent the opponent from calling cards to the field (other than the guardian circle) until the end of their next turn!

This ability effectively shuts down any deck that is heavily reliant on rear-guards, as the opponent will need to have their battlefield filled with rear-guards to counter Obtirandus. However, combining Obtirandus with other units that can prevent the opponent’s units from standing will further obstruct the opponent’s offensive strategy! This card is a great option in Megacolony decks, further amplifying the control aspect of the clan!

Megacolony has access to an awesome G-Guardian in Feather Wall Mutant Deity, Morphosian. This card gains +10 000 Shield when called to the guardian circle if the opponent has two or less Stand rear-guards!

Morphosian’s ability is absolutely beneficial for the player, as it essentially provides a free defensive buff against any of the opponent’s attacks. The only thing that players really need to ensure is that the opponent only has two or less Stand rear-guards to fully utilise this! Otherwise, it’s a great card that bolsters the endurance of Megacolony decks.

Another great G-Guardian for Megacolony is Seven Stars Mutant Deity, Relish Lady. When this card is placed on the guardian circle to defend the opponent’s vanguard attack, if Generation Break 1 is active, the player may pay the cost to force the opponent to rest two of their rear-guards. If they were unable to, they can draw a card, Counter-Charge and Soul-Charge 1!

Relish Lady presents a dilemma to the opponent: they can either rest their rear-guards to prevent the player from gaining resources at the cost of them losing offensive power, or leave their rear-guards as they are to let the player regain some advantage. Of course, it’s important that players know when to use this against their opponent. The best case scenario using Relish Lady would be against decks that usually attack with the Vanguard first!

Players can still consider using Evil Governor, Darkface Gredora in their Megacolony Premium builds. By riding this card or Striding over it, players can Counter-Blast 1 to prevent the opponent from calling cards to rear-guard circles in a chosen column until their next turn! This makes it more difficult for the opponent to mount an offense against the player as it restricts the opponent’s ability to call rear-guards to the field! Megacolony players will thus be able to gain a tactical advantage in their matchup!

Darkface Gredora’s second ability is not one to be trifled with as well! Should Generation Break 1 be active during the player’s ride phase, they can Soul-Blast 1 to force the opponent to turn a card in their damage zone face down while they Counter-Charge 1! Through this, the player can steal the opponent’s resources and limit the opponent’s use of their cards’ ability and serves as a great control tool to keep the opponent in check!

Omniscience Dragon, Balaurl returns in the Revival Selection. It has been a cornerstone card for many Great Nature Premium decks. By Soul-Blasting 1 and flipping a card in the G zone face up, the player can give all front row units +4000 Power for each face up card in the G zone, and the ability to draw a card if their attack hits the vanguard! Those rear-guards will also be retired at the end of turn!

As Great Nature is an Accel Clan, they can utilise Balaurl’s ability very effectively, being able to attack with 4 or more front row rear-guards. The power increase that all front row units gain will create strong attacks that the opponent will find difficult to deal with. The ability that it confers to all the front row units is also crucial to increase card advantage. Furthermore, Balaurl will enable many cards that have abilities that activate when rear-guards are retired, given that Great Nature focuses on retiring their rear-guards at the end of the turn as well. (Such as Famous Professor, Bigbelly (V Series).)

Combining Balaurl with cards that can stand other rear-guards, (Crayon Tiger and Amazing Professor, Bigbelly are great examples of this.) the overwhelming multi-attacks that this card allows for is phenomenal, and it definitely should be included in all Great Nature decks.

Great Nature Premium players will find that there is no better G-Guardian than Sheltered Heiress, Spangled. By calling this card to the guardian circle while Generation Break 1 is active, the player may pay the cost to give all guardians an ability that draws the player a card when they are retired from the guardian circle!

Against any dangerous attack, players can throw down any number of guardians from their hand to block the attack. Adding Spangled in that defense, they will be able to regain all the cards that they lost from guarding! Furthermore, it allows them to filter through the deck further to find their combo pieces! Spangled is a must play for all Great Nature decks!

Phenomenal rear-guards like Amazing Professor, Bigbelly should definitely be considered by Great Nature players. Bigbelly becomes successful if it has 20 000 Power or more on the vanguard circle or a rear-guard circle. Success is a state that units can gain if they meet a certain Power threshold, and units that are successful can gain access to additional abilities.

When Bigbelly is ridden or when the player Strides over it, the player may call a card from their hand to the field! That rear-guard gains +4000 Power, and it is retired at the end of turn while the player draws a card! This ability calls an additional rear-guard to the field and strengthens them, allowing them to attain high power for Success abilities. It also helps to activate effects that come into play when cards are retired during the end phase!

However, Bigbelly’s third ability is even more powerful! If Generation Break 1 is active and Bigbelly is successful after it attacks, the player may Counter-Blast 1 to stand another rear-guard and give it +4000 Power! This serves as a great way to reuse strong rear-guards as attackers again! With such great offensive potential, Amazing Professor, Bigbelly should not be underestimated on the field!

Talented Rhinos is an interesting card that players can definitely consider using in their Great Nature decks. This card becomes successful if it has 20 000 Power or more on a rear-guard circle until the end of the turn. If Talented Rhinos is successful, it gains +4000 Power and prevents the opponent from calling grade 0 cards to the guardian circle from hand for the battle it attacked!

Talented Rhinos can be combined with Zeroth Dragon of Death Garden, Zoa and Monoculus Tiger (V Series) to essentially win the game. By Ultimate Striding Zoa, the player can call Rhinos to a rear-guard circle, and it gains 99 999 Power constantly, and this ability: “when this unit deals damage to the opponent, the opponent loses.” When it attacks while boosted with Monoculus Tiger (V Series), if Monoculus Tiger puts a normal unit into the drop, the opponent cannot guard this attack with Sentinels or grade 0 units (which are the cards that have the most defensive potential in the game). Players can also further the consistency of this combo by using Sage-saint Mentor of Black Lacquer, Isabelle to re-order the top card of the deck and increase the odds of putting a normal unit into the drop!

Crayon Tiger’s reprint in this Revival Selection is extremely welcome among most Great Nature players, and it’s extremely easy to see why this card is loved by many. When it attacks the vanguard while boosted and Generation Break 1 is active, the player may Counter-Blast 1 to stand another rear-guard and give it+4000 Power! At the end of turn, they draw a card and retire that rear-guard!

Crayon Tiger’s upside is in the fact that it can stand one of the player’s rearguards once more, as this allows the player’s strong rear-guard with guard restrictions to attack once more! With great multi-attack and guard pressure to work with this, many Great Nature decks will benefit greatly with Crayon Tiger in the deck,so every player should take this opportunity to grab a playset of this!

The best G-Guardian for Neo Nectar in the Premium format would have to be Bond Protector Musketeer, Antero. By calling this to the guardian circle, the player may Soul-Blast 1 to give it +5000 Shield. Then, if the player has one or less rear-guards, or four or more, it gets an additional +15 000 Shield!

Antero is a great defensive option when the player’s field is almost empty or when the field is almost filled with rear-guards. Antero is both flexible and simple, and more often than not it is exemplary in protecting the player. As such, Neo Nectar players should definitely look into grabbing a few copies of this card to bolster their deck!

Neo Nectar players can also consider using Pansy Musketeer, Sylvia (V Series) to help in their early game offense. When placed, the player may call a plant token! Plant tokens were introduced in the V Series as a new way to enjoy Neo Nectar. These tokens are not part of the deck, but they are grade 0, have 5000 Power, 1 Critical and can boost.

Sylvia provides a way to add more units to the field without any cost. This is highly beneficial in Neo Nectar builds that can fill the field with rear-guards quickly to rush the opponent down in the early game or that can take advantage of Plant tokens in another way, such as with Dream-spinning Ranunculus, Ahsha (V Series).