Revengers tops at SCS 2015 (Phase 1)

May 16, 2015

Shadow Paladins take the gold in the Phase one of the Summer Circuit Series 2015 of Cebu, Philippines. Revengers went almost undefeated in the tournament, with only losing to a Blaukluger (Nova Grappler) player, cutting to top four which consisted of Revengers (Shadow Paladins), Dimensional Robos (Dimensional Police), Blauklugers (Nova Grappler), Big Bang (Narukami). Other notable clans which were the dark horses of the tournament were Aqua Force (with their recent release of G-Trial Deck) and Neo Nectar, both now utilising stride in their repertoire.

The Summer Circuit Series is the official renaming of VC's spring circuits (PRO Circuit then), and will be known as so, which started last year 2014. This circuit is a small and local non-profitable tournament which is usually held on the northern region of Cebu, Philippines, at Poblacion, San Remigio and Bogo City, Bogo. This is an annual tournament which takes place on two occasions: Phase 1 - last week of April/first week of May and Phase 2 - third week of May. This circuit is primarily geared towards the majority of a younger demographic and has been a success thus far. It's divided into two phases, wherein the first winner of the first phase will go on to compete against the winner of the second phase, to qualify and earn the title of the undisputed SCS champion. 

Meanwhile, in the Japanese shores, shadow paladins also have been taking over like a brutal storm. The "X" (Kagero) and Thing Saver Dragon (Royal Paladin) players are now missing in action, and all but the most are Revengers opting to run the newest Diablo support in their repertoire, taking advantage of the field control capabilities of the grade 2 Blasters. 

April 4, 2015: Vanguard United: The official press of S.C.S.2015

April 4, 2015. The people here at Vanguard United have decided to cover the Summer Circuit Series 2015 of The Vanguard Circle (otherwise known as Team Vanguard Circle or TVC). We will be the official press for the local event which will take place on May 2015. 

The Summer Circuit Series is the official renaming of VC's spring circuits (PRO Circuit then), and will be known as so, which started last year 2014. This circuit is a small and local non-profitable tournament which is usually held on the northern region of Cebu, Philippines, at Poblacion, San Remigio and Bogo City, Bogo. This is an annual tournament which takes place on two occasions: Phase 1 - last week of April/first week of May and Phase 2 - third week of May. This circuit is primarily geared towards the majority of a younger demographic and has been a success thus far. This year, more players and bigger prizes are expected, and along with that, will be hotter and more epic cardfights especially with the inclusion of the Stride mechanic to the game. 

A.V.D.: Revenger, Dragruler Phantom

Advanced Vanguard Discussion: Revenger, Dragruler Phantom

"Because despair has manifested itself; it is I, from the very depths of the abyss, Dragruler Phantom!"

Since set 12 the shadow paladin clan, in their great revival through their "Revengers" archetype, has set their place in the meta of vanguard alongside Link Joker (Chaos-Breaker Dragon), their then rivaled clan - both of which vying for the spot of being the strongest clan in the current format. BT14 onwards, and almost simultaneous with the release of EB08 (Champions of the Galaxy) and EB09 (Divine Dragon Progression), shadow paladins became 'overshadowed' by clans such as Kagero, Gold Paladin, and Genesis, with such clans getting new support. This was the case, until almost 3 months later, set 15 (Infinite Rebirth) was released and along with it were the last support cards for the "Revenger" archetype based from the third season of the animated series - most notable of which, is the clan's new boss card, "Revenger, Dragruler Phantom". 

A direct ascendant of the clan's first breakride (Mordred Phantom), Dragruler is the much awaited cross-breakride unit of the shadow paladins (such gimick was first introduced with Vowing Sabre Яeverse Dragon from set 12 and was again repeated with Gancelot in set 14). During the  turn Dragruler rides over Mordred, it is a fearsome 23k beater, with the 10k power from the breakride and the extra 2k power coming from his [CONT] (continuous) skill of having Mordred Phantom in the soul. With itself being a crossride, it provides easy guarding defense for it's user during his/her opponent's turn. 

But what this card really brings to the game, and not just to the clan itself, is its one of a kind skill. At limit break (having four damage), Dragruler can retire two (2) Revenger units for the cost of one (1) counterblast, and deal a damage directly to the opponent; I repeat, DIRECTLY. No guards. Just deal pure damage directly to the opponent (damage check still applies for this though, and there is a chance for the opponent to get a trigger). It also get +10k power from the said ability. However, this ability can't be used when the opponent is already at five (5) damage, making it into just a 13k vanilla vanguard when the opponent's is at five damage. Units such as Dark Bond Trumpeter, Mana, and Swordbreaker, or even triggers are great fodder target units for this card's skill. And with this unit's skill pushing the opponent - at most - to five damage, shadow paladins are now opting to run stand triggers instead of their standard critical triggers (albeit some bring both and try to balance the distribution of the two said trigger types) in order to dish our more damage to the opponent, and quite possibly finishing the game during the turn Dragruler's ability is activated.. But be wary of this unit's skill, as it could otherwise favor your opponent by activating their ultimate break abilities (which in many case is very devastating, as with "Vermillion, THE BLOOD" or "Ω Glendios"). And with so many of this card's setbacks, as what most people claim of it (i.e. being useless when opponent is at 5 damage, or favoring ultimate break decks instead, etc.), Revenger players have inferred to stay and continue using Raging Form Dragon instead as the main boss card of the deck.

However, what most players forget about Dragruler Phantom is that it's a crossride unit (of Mordred Phantom). And as such, crossrides have always been famous for their solid 13k defense, thus having an edge over the populace of 11k vanguard units. Guarding against them will now only require 5k shield (for 18k) to make it 2-to-pass for the opponent. And getting a damage trigger allows you a bigger chance of surviving, and easing out your pace during late games. And such factor, is Dragruler's advantage over Raging Form, making it in a way equal to it, and not inferior. Overall, Dragruler is the only card with this ability, and hopefully there will be more play of it (compared to Japan) when it's released in its English version later this 2014. 

Deck Check: Shadow Paladins - Revengers (Raging Form Dragon)

Deck Check: Revengers (Shadow Paladins)

BT12 - Binding Force of the Black Rings marked the debut of the highly awaited new clan of Link Joker ( along with their "locking" mechanic) and the Яeverse support for Narukami, Pale Moon, and Dark Irregulars, that also came with it  in this set. Along these also, is the more anticipated return and upgraded support for Shadow Paladins: the Revengers archetype. They made their debut weeks before set 12's release when TD10 and TD11 was released, and they set to mark their territory in the meta with their optimal boss card, "Revenger, Raging Form Dragon" (RFD). So without any further a do, let us begin:

It is very generic and is a must to run four (4) copies of the Revengers Breakride, "Illusionary Revenger, Mordred Phantom" and the deck's boss card, "Revenger, Raging Form Dragon" (RFD). You need to maximize the number of copies of RFD in your deck in order to have a higher chance of drawing in to it and be able to activate its limit break. Also, the same reason goes for Mordred Phantom. Running four (4) copies of him is very essential to the deck and in some sense,a trivial aspect for the deck to work properly. 

For the grade 2's, four (4) of "Blaster Dark Revenger" and "Nullity Revenger, Masquerade", and three (3) copies of "Dark Cloak Revenger, Tartu" are run by me. There aren't really other grade 2 units for revengers which prove to be better than these. Albeit some players opt to run Rugos (10k Vanilla) instead of Tartu, mainly because this deck can sometimes be counter-blast heavy, and Rugos aids in diminishing that and provide a solid 10k body. But why should you run Tartu?  In contrast to Rugos, Rugos does not help you in 'shaping' up your field. He only provides a beatdown power, WHICH is only 1k more than Tartu. Tartu on the other hand, aids you in shaping and forming up the structure of your playing field. She can get any grade 1 or lower "Revenger" unit from your deck and place it on the same column as hers. "But for the cost of two (2) counterblasts, is it worth it?" The answer to that question will only depend on what you are going to call. You don't use her skill too often or when you have nothing good to call on. But the efficient aspect I see to this is when you choose to superior call a "Barrier Troop Revenger, Dorint", and in the following turns assuming Tartu gets retired or intercepted, when you call and replace her with "Blaster Dark Revenger", you basically got your superior call (i.e. Dorint) for the cost of only one (1) counterblast.

On to the grade 1's: four copies (4) "Barrier Troop Revenger, Dorint" and "Dark Revenger, Mac Lir" (PG) are run along with three the (3) copies of  the the grade 1 revenger 10k attacker, "Transient Revenger, Masquerade" and two (2) "Revenger, Dark Bond  Trumpeter". Also, the last of the normal units for this deck is the second copy of our starting vanguard, "Frontline Revenger, Claudas". Four (4) copies of the Perfect guard (Mac Lir) and Blaster Dark's tandem, Dorint is highly recommended for this deck, simply because the former is relevantly needed to stop the onslaught of the high numbers of attack power that vanguards can unleash out in this breakride format  (especially noted of this is Link Joker) and the latter is going to be your generic grade 1 booster on your field (and also unflips damage with Blaster Dark). For Masquerade, in contrast as to most of the clans who bring four (4) copies of the same kind as him, three (3) copies of him is just the most that you can bring in this build. This is because the last two (2) slots available is left for Dark Bond Trumpeter. Dark bond trumpeter is mainly used as a fodder for Raging Form's skill and is also Claudas' retriever. She gets you your second copy of Claudas for the cost of one (1) counterblast. 

If any of you know the 2013's Fighter's Climax National Champion of Japan (Open Division), Lee Innyeng  who won using the Shadow Paladin clan, you might've noticed that this is EXACTLY the same lineup and build as his; true. But this deck (of mine) is only different in the trigger line-up. As you can see, I'm running nine (9) Critical Triggers. Yes. NINE Critical Triggers. To some of you, you wouldn't really react as much to this, while others may (and most like will) scrutinize this. The standard trigger line-up for Revengers has always been 8 Crits, 4 Draws, and 4 Heals. However, this is too predictable already and as such I decided to take it up a notch and increase the possibilities of my vanguard checking in to a critical. This was mainly done for the purpose of surprise and is not recommended (by me) to be run for consistency purposes.

Complete Deck List:

Grade 0 (18) :

2x  Frontline Revenger, Claudas (not shown in the picture above)

1x  Grim Reaper

4x  Grim Revenger

4x  Revenger, Air Raid Dragon

3x  Freezing Revenger

4x  Healing Revenger

Grade 1 (13) :

4x  Barrier Troop Revenger, Dorint

4x  Dark Revenger Mac Lir
3x Transient Revenger, Masquerade
2x  Revenger, Dark Bond Trumpeter

Grade 2 (11) :

4x  Blaster Dark Revenger

4x  Nullity Revenger, Masquerade

3x  Dark Cloak Revenger, Tartu

Grade 3 (8) :

4x  Illusionary Revenger, Mordred Phantom

4x  Revenger, Raging Form Dragon

Overall, the Revengers have proven to be a very resilient deck in the japanese meta by staying in it for more than 6 months already and has produced many victors in such time. It has also began to create ripples on the waves of the american meta. As of now, it is yet in its early stages of experimentation and creative innovation. But it is yet to face its true challenge in two months time when VGE - BT13 Catastrophic Outbreak is released and along with it is the optimal boss card of the only clan which can par up to it (Link Joker), "Star Vader, Chaos Breaker Dragon".

A.V.D.: Star-vader, Nebula Lord Dragon

Advanced Vanguard Discussion: Star-vader, Nebula Lord Dragon

"lock . . .lock . . . lock . . everything"

The Link Joker clan made its official debut in the international meta two weeks ago, with the release of their trial deck “VGE-TD11 Star-vader Invasion", and with the recent English release of BT12 – Binding Force of the Black Rings, the clan received their first grade 3 boss card: Star-vader, Nebula Lord Dragon.

In contrast to Chaos Breaker Dragon (which is treated as the optimal grade 3 boss card of the clan), Nebula Lord doesn’t fall too far behind with breaker – albeit the consistency and the draw-power that Breaker offers. The best description there might be for Nebula Lord is that it’s a “Beatdown” unit, designed to crush and obliterate the souls of fighters who come against it, and ultimately, reverse them in the process of doing so. In the anime, this was the first boss card which the pseudo-antagonist of the series, Toshiki Kai, used and was responsible for many fighters getting reversed, including the likes of Shinjou Tetsu and Narumi Asaka.

At 11k base power, Nebula Lord stands as a solid vanguard unit for Link Joker. It has an [ACT] activate ability which enables it to lock one rear-guard booster of the opponent for the cost of two (2) counterblasts. This vicious ability gets rid of pesky and dangerous boosters such as the likes of Doreen, and even that of their own clan, Lanthanum. The only problem that most players have with this, is that for the cost two (2) counterblasts, locking an opponent’s rear-guard booster is somewhat not as flexible as it should be, in contrast to that of Breaker’s which is able to lock any rear-guard unit of the opponent. This limits the options that the player should have in playing it, thus making it in this sense inferior to Breaker. 

But that’s not what this unit is only capable of; this extra-terrestrial beast’s power lies in its limit break. A limit break which is very devastating and game-owning, that when used properly, it can grant this card’s user the assurance of reversing every opponent. At four (4) damage, Nebula Lord gains an Active ability; every <Link Joker> in the front row line − including this card as the Vanguard – is entitled of having a massive +3000 power boost for every locked card in the opponent’s side of the field. And with the bonus of locking two (2) cards when you breakride this unit, courtesy of Infinite Zero, it is a guarantee that this unit and some other two (2) front row <Link Joker> units will get a +6000 power boost. What’s worth noting is that, cards such as Lanthanum and Niobium also get their own bonuses from locking your opponent’s units, all the more reason as to how dangerous they are when played together. And when the opponent is already at four (4) damage, with the massive number of power that the attacks of these units are capable of reaching, opponents are forced to use perfect guards and/or to guard as much as they are able to; if they do survive, they may not do so anymore in the succeeding turns for they will have already used up all of their resources . Nonetheless, it is really gonna cripple the powerplays that the opponent supposedly intended to play.

Nebula Lord Dragon is a really good card that is only underestimated by most players. This card is a strong card on its own, independent of breakride and is capable of winning many games by itself. If only played right, one can truly understand how strong and beastly this card truly is. But with the near-coming release of BT13 in two (2) months time, not that much attention will really be given to this card. If ever there may be, it will only be just by the few. Nonetheless, this card is the first Invader, and it will lock and reverse anyone who comes across the path of its user; such potential has never been this concealed. 

Deck Check: Gold Paladins - Spectral Duke Dragon

Deck Check: Gold Paladins - Spectral Duke Dragon

Spectral Duke Dragon was one of those units which defined a generation. It was the unit which most likely represented the Gold Paladin clan in a more competitive perspective (albeit being already very and sufficiently supported thus a more reliable clan to bring for tournaments because of its diversity). This was also the build which Brandon Smith (together with his buddy Bastianelli) ran with during last year's (2012) World Championships which he successfully won the title of. Until today, Duke will forever be remembered as one of those cards which dominated the meta and pioneered in the perk self-standing; a card that can never be forgotten. So in honor of this legendary card, I decided to make a deck check of it, and without further a do, here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewgEzrShTuk

With the release of TD08 Liberator of the Sanctuary, this deck gets a superb support from the breakride. With Duke going for 20k+ when it restands, it sure is going to decimate an opponent. While Duke was already dangerous back then, it now has become more detrimental and destructive, making its cost very efficient and worthwhile (forcing the opponent to use 1-2 perfect guards). This deck may have a chance at the spotlight again and ultimately add another glorious victory to Gold Paladins.

-kamiPrince39-

A.V.D.: Clash of the Paladins - Shadow against Gold

Advanced Vanguard Discussion: Clash of the Paladins - Shadow against Gold

In the land of cray, there existed a clan of noble and loyal knights called the Royal Paladins

They swore to protect their land with honor and fortitude and to lead all  the

other clans of Cray to progress. However, a number of these paladins deliberately committed treason and denied "the will of the blade" and sought power for their own. Exiled, they came to be known 

as the Shadow Paladins who embodied supreme prowess and avarice. This conflict escalated

to a full-scale war which eventually came to a compromise and gave birth to the all new

 Gold Paladins.

Among the three aforementioned clans (Royal, Gold, and Shadow), Royal Paladins proved to have been the best clan among the three. However,last November 2012, Bushiroad hit Majesty Lord Blaster (MLB,the best card of the clan) on their official ban list semi-limiting MLB to only two (2) copies per deck. This devastated the status of the clan in the professional scene in the meta which eventually lead to its demise. The throne was then open for the two left paladin decks for them to seize it and prove who reigned supreme and more dominant against the other. Either of which, both proved to be of equal rivals to the other as both decks are very much played by the majority.

Both clans are very offensive in nature bringing with them more than four critical triggers in their trigger line-up - albeit Gold paladins were more aggressive with their twelve (12) criticals in contrast to the Shadow paladins' standard eight criticals. This was due to the insufficiency of support cards printed for the Shadow Paladins, despite the fact that they have their crossride support whereas Golds didn't (yet Golds had more support than they could ever need of). This caused shadow paladins to become more passive in their pace,focusing to succeed in their crossride and focus their power in their center baseline or on their vanguard unit. Gold paladins though didn't play like this. Usually, Gold paladins would spam 3-4 units on the field during turn 2 or 3 of the game and just abuse their resources to an all-out assault.

This kind of play-style might have instigated player Brandon Smith to pick this as his choice of weapon to play in the World Championships - and he was very right about it. During the finals match of last year's World Championships, both players played gold paladins. The two players onlydiffered in the build that they were using. Smith used Spectral Duke Dragon (SDD) while Suharto used the Pellinore build. Smith won and further established the authority of Gold paladins as the more dominant paladin clan. 

Despite the fact that Gold paladins won last year's World championships, one can never take away the bulk and power that the crossride of Shadow paladins brings: Phantom Blaster Overlord with its gigantic attack of 13,000. This massive attack power provided a stalling mechanism to the pace of Shadow Paladins. This was the asset that Shadows had and Golds lacked. Unfortunately, this "was" the case until set 9 came and gave Gold paladins their very own crossride unit.This fully engraved the place of Gold paladins as the "dominant paladin clan" of the meta and has proved its superiority over the Shadow Paladins.

-KamiPrince39-

A.V.D.: Chaos Breaker Dragon

Advanced Vanguard Discussion: Chaos Breaker Dragon

With the release of the Link Joker clan in BT12 Binding Force of the Black Rings together with TD11 Star-Vader Invasion, and the innovation of the Reverse units (both of which fully utilize the new "Lock" mechanic), a new age of gameplay has come to rise for the meta. With clans getting further support of reverse units, the meta has come to define itself as a crossride type of meta, most of which are the reverse units which utilize the lock ability. BT13 Catastrophic Outbreak further expanded the number of these Reverse units available to the game and along with it was the beast incarnate who has come to be  known as Chaos breaker Dragon.

A grade 3 unit, Star-vader Chaos Breaker Dragon was a unit designed as field-control card and is commonly referred to as a "boss card" of the clan (game-ender card). It's a solid 11k Vanguard which is capable of reaching 16k-21k attack power in its own attacks and with it is a limit break ability which was designed to obliterate and counter the ever-growing number of players utilizing the lock mechanic with their reverse units. Lastly, it has the "Lord" ability which restricts it from being splashed into other clans.

Its first ability is an [ACT] Activate ability which locks any rear guard of the opponent for the cost of 1 counterblast and by discarding 1 "Star-vader" card from the hand. This ability isn't really that much of a surprise, considering the 'lock' ability as being the main gameplay tactic of Link Joker. In contrast to the primal Link Joker boss card though, Nebula Lord, it is in a way reasonable as to why this unit's skill costs more (with the addition of an extra cost of discarding a card from the hand, albeit minus the second counterblast) for its skill because it is more flexible in nature and is more "open" compared to Nebula Lord's which locks only one back row rear guard of the opponent, for the cost of two (2) counterblasts. Chaos Breaker's skill allows the player to freely and carefully select a unit which is more optimal for him/her to lock. And with the aid of the clan's breakride, Infinite Zero, during the turn that you would ride Chaos Breaker Dragon over it, you're already guaranteed to have locked two of the opponent's rear-guard units. But what really separates this card from Nebula Lord as a boss card for the Link Joker clan is its Limit Break. 

Its Limit Break is the skill which it is more known for, for this limit break skill completely destroys the locked unit/s of the opponent by retiring them. Whenever an opponent's unit is unlocked, for the cost of one (1) soul blast, Chaos Breaker retires that/those unit/s which were unlocked AND for each unit that was retired by this skill, the player which controls Chaos Breaker gets to draw a card. For the cost of one (1) soul-blast, a cost so irrelevant, Chaos Breaker's controller is allowed to retire the opponent's unit(s) AND get free card(s) from it. This skill is very potent for unlike the infamous Kagero clan (notable for their retiring skills), it first locks the unit, thus having the locked unit take-up a rear-guard space (rendering 1 rear guard either useless or irrelevant) and then afterwards, retire it and get rid of it permanently, taking it out of the field for game advantage.

Overall, Chaos Breaker is a very potent unit capable of stopping the more notable clans in the meta while getting so much pluses from doing so. The only problem with this though is that this Limit Break is only efficient during the turn that you breakride it, giving you the opportunity to retire 2-3 units and draw cards from this skill in the succeeding turn. Locking 1 and drawing 1 card from its skill isn't as efficient compared to if you locked 3-4 units and for the same cost, you get more. Still, a card that was made specifically created to counter decks which benefited from the lock mechanic is one hell of a card.

A.V.D.: Raging Form Dragon

Advanced Vanguard Discussion: Raging Form Dragon

Some posts ago, we talked about self-standing vanguards. These were vanguards which could stand back by themselves and be able to attack for a second time in a single turn. On this AVD, we'll discuss about a card which has a similar skill as to those who are self-standing.

BT12 Binding Force of the Black Rings gave a "new life" and new support for the Shadow Paladins, particularly giving them their sub-clan archetype "Revengers". Revengers were first introduced in TD10 Purgatory Revenger, with Blaster Dark Revenger as the cover card of the trial deck. The sub clan was further expanded with set 12 including their new boss card, "Revenger, Raging Form Dragon". This was "epic comeback" for the clan which proved to have been insufficient and inferior (in power and efficacy) since the debut of their first optimal boss card "Phantom Blaster Overlord".

So to start off, Raging Form is an 11k grade 3 unit. Its 11000 attack power enables it to reach the magic numbers of 16k-21k powerlines without being supported, and only by itself. But its second skill adds +3000 more power whenever it attacks for the cost of one (1) counterblast. This gives it then the capability to further extend its total power in its column, now ranging from 19k-24k. And just like any other boss units, it has the Lord ability which forbids it to attack if there is a unit in play which is not of the same clan as it. 

But what really highlights this horrofying dragon is its Limit Break. At four damage, you gain access to an [AUTO] Auto skill which requires you to pay a very high price: retire three (3) "Revenger" rear guards in the field. And when the cost has been paid, it's where the true demostration of its superior skill and sheer dominance is evidently seen in action; you can select another copy of itself and superior ride it as STAND during the end step of the battle which it attacked and your new and standing Raging Form Dragon gains an extra +10,000 to its attack power. And with this in the picture, the Revenger user would most likely and ultimately go for another attack and inflict more damage to the opponent. This also means that the player is able to again, perform twin-drive and check for more triggers and get some more cards. This destroys the hand advantage of the opponent, punishing him/her with attacks that would consume almost all of his/her resources until ultimately he/she is unable to guard anymore. 

So it is safe to say that this vanguard is a half "self-standing" vanguard while at the same time it also is a "Self-breakride" unit which gives itself +10k when its Limit Break is successfully activated. This enables a Shadow Paladin user to reach a fourth battle in a single turn. This is such a big plus for the clan and an overall new perk which is unique to itself and could further be integrated in the future cards of the future sets of Vanguard. 

-kamiprince39-

A.V.D.: Reverse ("Я")

Advanced Vanguard Discussion: Reverse "Я"

Photo owned by James Gabriel C. Garrido. Photo is not allowed to be used or be be posted elsewhere without the owner's permission.

BT12 Binding Force of the Black Rings introduced the new Link Joker clan, a clan which represented as the "avatar of void". Along with it brought an infestation that infected so much of Cray, ultimately corrupting some of the most powerful units to exist in the planet. This corrupting process or phenomenon was called "Reverse" which is indicated a reversed "R" symbol (Я).  

Reverse units are crossride units of  some normal units which were created by Link Joker, or by void itself. They are all 11k units and all of them have the black ring symbol, signifying their affiliation to the Link Joker clan.They gain a continuous +2000 power when a specific unit is found in the soul and all of them have the cost of locking your own Rear guard unit/s in order for their skills to be technically activated. 

Locking is a mechanic that was introduced by and  is fully exercised by the Link Joker clan wherein a card is flipped face-down and is to remain in that position until that player's turn ends. Locked units cannot be retired by normal means and cannot change their battle position until it is unlocked. They are also technically not treated to exist (by quantity) in the field, hence they aren't counted as Rear guards. This is a very constricting mechanic that can really cripple the gameplay of many clans especially those that rely heavily on rear guards such as Gold Paladins or Royal Paladins' Alfred. Having been locked means that those units CANNOT attack, intercept/boost, and their skills become nullified.

Back to Reverse units, now at first one may think that locking your own units would only jeopardize your game and cause you to lose. But its not really like that. Its because the units you lock would only be lost during your current turn, for at the end phase they just unlock. The only minus that you're getting is that you lose a rear guard booster or a rear guard attacker/interceptor, but other than that, it isn't really that much of a problem to deal with for the skills of most Reverse units quite powerful and game-changing. Most of the time, the units that players would choose to lock are backrow rear guards units (or the boosters) particularly that of the main powerline or the Vanguard column. Such example is seen below:

Photo owned by James Gabriel C. Garrido. Photo is not allowed to be used or be be posted elsewhere without the owner's permission.

But amidst this, Reverse units are very O.P. (Over-powered) in nature making their cost all the worthwhile. And with the meta slowly shifting to a crossride-breakride type of meta, losing a vanguard backrow booster is never a loss provided with the +10000 power bonus of the breakride, you'll most likely going to hit for 20k+ power on your main column. This huge number can enforce perfect guards from the opponent. If the opponent unfortunately doesn't have any,well it's more likely g.g. (good game;term used for ending games or winning games). Reverse units will most likely be seen in so many plays and tournaments. They will be the pinnacle of crossrides.

-kamiPrince39-