Vanguard 101: Perfect Guards

Greetings fellow card fighters. Today we will be discussing about a type of card which is essential in playing better at this game. We will be discussing all about PERFECT GUARDS.

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

So what are Perfect Guards basically? Well, Perfect Guards or PG’s (as their title implies,) provide “PERFECT” or absolute DEFENSE or SHIELD. They are indicated by the Zero (0) numeral value on their shield icon (and are now distinctively distinguished by the gold shield which started post set 8 until the current sets) and all are RR in rarity. All Perfect guards so far are Grade 1 normal units with their normal boost ability and have 6000 base attack power. All PG’s also have the same cost (discard 1 card from your hand with the same clan as this unit) and only up four (4) copies of cards which have “sentinel” ability can only be brought in a deck.

(FUN FACT: “Perfect Guards” aren't officially called as it is by Bushiroad. They are formally known by the company to be “Sentinels” (the name of their ability indicated on their skill). In the animated series, they are called “Null Guards”. The former was only coined by players yet is now formally recognized in the Japanese animated series as the universal title (maybe due to its already tolerant popularity).

So what is the essence of these cards?

Well let us explain. When you guard against an opponent’s attack, it takes up so much units in your hand to be used as guards just to ensure that your opponent’s attack doesn't hit. Each turn you are losing more and more cards, while you only get to draw 2-3 cards per turn with your normal draws and drive check. This causes hand-card disadvantage and hand-card disadvantage is a huge factor in the game which can bring you to your own demise. Even with having abundant hand cards, players still need to play conservatively.

With Perfect Guards though, instead of losing 3-4 cards in guarding against an attack, you only lose 2 cards: the Perfect Guard itself and the card discarded for its cost. And what’s best about it is that it IS assured that the attack will not hit, unlike normal guarding which wastes so much and yet there’s still a chance for the attack to pass through if the attacking vanguard hits triggers and surpasses the total shield of the opponent. PG’s then offer two advantage points: 1.) Ensured protection, and 2.) Conserved hand-card advantage.

Perfect Guards, albeit useful and efficient, also impose a disadvantage factor to the player running it in his/her deck. 

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In some decks, such as that of Blade Wing Reijys (Dark Irregulars) whose primary focus is to soul charge units to bulk up the soul and win games with their skills which are heavily based on soul quantity, PG’s provide only obstruction in the strategy of the deck. These builds carry only (if not all, then maybe most) cards which help in bulking up the soul to finish games quickly. PG’s which only provide absolute protection and have no assistance whatsoever in soul-feeding, will only slow down the pace of these decks and thus could even cause the loss for the player. This is the reason that some decks only bring 3 copies or none at all.

Also, if Perfect Guards are bought singly or online, these cards cost so much! These cards are very darn expensive due to their scarcity and very-hard to find nature in packs. This results in the inaccessibility of a player to it which is negatively appreciated.

Still, Perfect Guards are considered to be one of the very essential cards in playing the game. Despite their big price tags, they still provide convenience and efficiency especially during late games and there are only a small number of cards left to be played. Perfect guards are then still recommended. 

-kamiprince39-