Cardfight Etiquette

So I mentioned in my "How to win more in Vanguard" post that I was was going to do that post, because it is something I wanted to address based on experience, and this one has very little to do with actual game-play! This article will look at how you should and shouldn't treat your opponent.

What is Cardfight Etiquette

Well put simply it is how you conduct yourself during a game of Vanguard (or actually any cardgame). Some of this stuff will seem very obvious, but may not be something that you even think about. So i'm going to give 3 things you should do, and 3 things you shouldn't do!

Things you should Do

1. Pay your opponent attention. 

  Seems really obvious but it is easy to get distracted, especially in a casual locals environment, as the T.O (tournament organiser) and judge of my locals, it can be hard for me to focus on my games, because I need to be available for any ruling issues, and to be solely responsible for keeping track of time. Even then I make the utmost effort to pay my opponent the attention they deserve, and I expect the same back. As mentioned before, paying attention is a good way to play better. 

2. Respect your opponent's cards

  Again, seems obvious. But it is the little things. Don't touch your opponent's cards without permission. Obvious that doesn't including splitting the deck, but if you are unsure of what a skill does, just ask your opponent. Or ask if you can look at the card. 

3. Be gracious in victory AND defeat

   Sometimes games can be frustrating. You might have your next 4 or 5 turns planned out, but that is made redundant by a triple crit drive check, or you may be about to win, but then your opponent checks a heal trigger as their sixth damage, then wins the next turn. These things happen. And yes they are frustrating. But nonetheless, the game happens how it happens. There is nothing you could have done to change it, so don't take that frustration out on your opponent. Because it is unpleasant for them, to be punished with your scorn just for playing the game, and in all honesty it makes you look like a dick. It comes down to you being unsportsmanlike, salty and unable to handle losing a game. We have all won and lost to crits or heals or both. But saying "You got lucky" or "You only won because.. " is just unnecessary. As an example someone at my locals said "I would have won easily next turn. " And I just looked at him blankly and said "But there wasn't a next turn, because I won this turn." But he persisted with "but if i had another turn." He couldn't understand that it was irrelevant. In that situation, he lost because he couldn't guard my attack. If he couldn't get to the next turn with guard, then that turn doesn't matter. But. Following the advice here, I just shook his hand and said "Maybe next time". 

 Because on the other hand you should be humble in victory as you are gracious in defeat. In the same way that losing to a triple crit is something you can't change, winning by a triple crit isn't a reason to gloat. Or be smug. (Of course there is never a need to be gloat in a game. Again. It makes you look like a dick.). Not only does it make you look pretty bad but gloating when in a strong position can compromise the game. If you are so confident you have won, you may stop trying as hard, meanwhile your opponent is doing everything they can to wipe that smug grin off of your face. As another example from my locals, I was playing my Regalia CEO deck against a guy who was playing Aurageyser Shadow Paladins (I have no hate for shadow paladins, it could have been any deck, it just so happens that he was playing shadow paladins). Of course any deck with Aurageyser can build up a lot of hand. So when he was sat on about nine or more cards in hand, he got arrogant, dropping comments like "I wonder if I have enough to guard". You know the sort. Smug. Already written the game off as a win. Not concentrating. So therefore not paying attention to what I was doing. So therefore not seeing the three Norn in my soul, or the Ordain Owl on my field. And guess what? While he was busy gloating. He didn't remember CEO's skill. And guess what else? No. He didn't have enough to guard. So this also ties in to focusing. There may have been things he could do the turn before to change the outcome of the game. Regardless of that, he made himself look like an ass and didn't win the game anyway. Just something to think about. 

Things Not to Do

1.) Spend the whole game looking at your phone. 

  

  When someone sits down opposite me to have a cardfight with their phone in their hand, and don't put it down even after the round has started and we have drawn our cards, I feel pretty disregarded. It's the same with someone who spends the whole game with their headphones in. It's just rude. You've both come to the event to cardfight. So I don't understand why you wouldn't put your all into it. I have another example. Two friends of mine sit down, one is playing a Bermuda Triangle deck, the other Shadow Paladin. (it looks like i'm hating on shadow paladins but i promise i'm not). They sit down to play. And Mr.Shadow Paladin puts his phone on the table and puts his earphones in. He then proceeded to play the whole game alternating between looking at his own hand, doing his moves and looking at his phone. Needless to say the Bermuda player won. But it get's better. The Shadow Paladin then scoops the entire match after one game because he "Simply cannot beat Bermuda Triangle". Ladies and Gentlemen I know I am opening a whole other can of beans with that but that is for another time. Thankfully this is not something that happens very often. But again this can go back to my previous post. One way to win more at Vanguard. Is to play Vanguard. Of course in card games there are different skill brackets, people have strengths and weaknesses, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a go. If you don't even want to try why even bother playing the game? 

2. `Make the game awkward for your opponent to play. 

 I have had this done to me on more than one occasion. Let me explain. If your opponent is playing against you and winning. They aren't doing anything wrong. So don't make them feel like they are. You are both playing the game to meet the same objective, which is to win the game. If you are not getting the cards you need, or are grade stuck that is not your opponent's fault. Or your deck "hating you". It is chance. It is unfortunate, but again it is not something you can control. How good you are at the game is not determined by the outcome of one game. Or even one event. You might be having the worst game ever, but win every other game you play that day. Or you might have unlucky games all day, but then come back the next week and go undefeated. Being mad because you are losing is no excuse to make your opponent feel bad about winning. I had been insulted at locals before by an opponent who had disadvantage in the game because of being grade locked. Think about how you would feel if the tables were turned, if you were having a good game and your opponent made you feel bad about that. It feels pretty shit, and you almost feel like you should hold back. Here's the thing. You shouldn't hold back. You are playing the same game as your opponent, if they want to essentially sulk because they are losing then let them get on with it. Just be the bigger person. Win the game then move on. 



3. Be Mature/Appropriate


Yes Vanguard is designed to be played by people from ages 6 and up, and yes it is supposed to be fun, but when it comes to it you are both there to play the game and try and win it. The point is pretty general and all points before sort of wrap into this one. 
As for being appropriate, it's something that should be obvious, if you are playing a younger person don't swear. This obviously counts more at events then when playing with friends. Imagine how nail-bitingly nervous you would be as a parent. Don't let that parent's worst fears about organised tournaments be true. 



There are probably many more things that could be added to these lists, but the short version is think. Exactly the same as it is in-game, it's the same when interacting with other players. 




Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!

How to win more at Vanguard!

So as I may have mentioned in earlier posts, my local tournament is on Sunday, so today I was able to test out Granblue for the first time. How did it perform? Honestly. Not that well. Over six rounds I ended with a record of 2-4.

Anyone can say "I had bad luck" ("I had no triggers." "if i had this card I would have won" "your deck is just better" We've all met the salty players). So instead of simply putting my performance with the deck down to factors out of my control, I thought I'd make a post to talk about things that went wrong for me, things in and out of my control and how I could have better controlled the factors that it is possible to control. The first thing to look at is reasons why you don't win a game of vanguard -




- Bad Match-up
- Misplays
- Little to No understanding of combos/mechanics
- Making errors in calculations
- No triggers!
- Not concentrating on the game (both your turn and your opponents)
- Too many of one grade
- Not enough of one grade.
- Grade Stuck!
- Triple crit on your opponents first stride
- Their playing THAT* deck
- 6th DAMAGE HEAL!!




*Where that deck is the deck you personally view as being most powerful and difficult to play against.




There probably are a great deal more reasons why you might lose a game. But these are the ones that came to mind first. So needless to say there a lot of ways that victory can slip through your fingers. So let's break it down into two groups. Things you CAN control/influence and things that are simply out of your control.

THINGS THAT YOU CANNOT CONTROL

- Triple crit on your opponents first stride
- Their playing THAT* deck
- 6th DAMAGE HEAL!!
-  No triggers!


So these are things that there is nothing you can do to change. They are all things that are just simply bad luck, which is a part of the game. These are all things that could have worked in your favour and helped you get the win, but just so happened to work in your opponent's to get the win for them. In other words, there is no need to be angry. Yeah it sucks if your opponent wins the game from getting three critical triggers off of their first stride, especially if you have meticulously planned out the next three or four turns. It's part of the game. You wouldn't be sorry if the tables were turned. You want to win. The point of playing a game is to try and win. In the heat of the moment you can feel frustrated, or even angry at your opponent. But try to not show that. It doesn't make them feel good, doesn't make you feel any better and if you have that kind of attitude when you lose, they may not want to play you again. (I have a whole post planned about "Tournament Etiquette" which will go a lot more into this subject).

So the short version is, you can essentially disregard these factors when looking at how to improve your chance of winning games. But lets have a look at the far more intricate workings that is the factors that we can control-

THINGS THAT YOU CAN CONTROL 

A more accurate title for this part would have been "things you can control or influence" but that doesn't have quite the same effect. These are, as the name suggests, things that you can do, and so therefore learn how to do better, that can greater increase your chances of winning. This can be broken in three parts; Pre-Game, During a Game and Post-game. 

Pre-Game

-  Too many/not enough of one grade

- Bad match-up

- Little to no understanding of deck mechanics/combos

So all of the pre-game aspects are to do with preparation for playing the game. Assessing why you aren't winning as much begins on the drawing board; the cards you are running. It seems obvious but you build your deck from nothing (again I will have an article on deck-building up at a later date). Make sure you know the average ratio grades (8,14,11,17) but also know any variations from that average that the deck you are building might benefit from (for example many Dragonic Overlord: The X decks play more than 8 grade 3 units because of the uses they can get out of them). Research pays off. I have often in the past looked up what other players are doing to help me with building my decks. Chances are, if you are reading this, that is how you found this blog, by looking up decklists, so you are already going in the right direction! 

So making sure your numbers of each grade is important, as of course, for a start, it minimizes your chances of being grade stuck. But what should also be taken into account when deck building is the combos that exist within a deck. You have a limited amount of space in your deck, now more than ever this new G-era. What is a key card in someone else's deck may massively hinder your deck. One thing you do need to bare in mind when looking up a deck list is that you may play the deck differently to how the author of the decklist would. The best way to build up an understanding of what a clan/deck can do is trying it out. Cardfight Area ( downloadable from cardfight.ru) is a great way to test decks online before you go to locals. Online you can try things, you can make mistakes and most importantly you can learn. One thing that I have discovered is that you can write ten pages of theory on why a particular card is good, but the only real way to truly find out, is to put it in a deck and test it out. Also you can try before you buy. You might love the look of a deck, but hate how it plays. 

Another great way to learn a deck is by watching other people play it. There is no end of videos on you tube of people playing games, in the exact same way that people learn by watching professional gamers in League of Legends. Of course this carries the risk that the person playing may not be very good with the deck, or may not realise the deck's full potential, you can get an idea of what the deck looks like in action. 

The tl;dr of the pre-game prep is to know your deck. 

As for bad match-up, it's the same. Know what your bad match-up is. Know why exactly it is a bad match-up, and what you can do to make the best of that game, rather than just saying "It's my bad match-up, i've lost". 

You could even argue that the process begins before you even pick a deck, by going to locals and scoping out what people play, and so therefore what the best deck to play is based on good match-ups. But lets assume that you are quite keen to play the deck you have chosen! (As I was with granblue). 

As an extension point to this, you basically need to actively use your brain. 

During the Game 

- Not concentrating on the game (both your turn and your opponents) 

- Making errors in calculations

So the first point is very general, and should be obvious, but sometimes is not. Vanguard is a game of two halves. Your turn and you opponents response, and your opponents turn and your response. It is of paramount importance that you pay attention during all of these things. It can be the difference between winning and losing. If you miss one important detail then it could be the difference between winning and losing. This is what you are looking for: 

- The cards in your opponents hand (the cards they search out and drive check)

  If you have an idea of what is in your opponents hand, you can more efficiently judge how to make the most of your turn. i.e. What is called where, and what attacks where. The obvious example is if they have five cards in hand, and you know three of them are grade 3 units then you know they have at most 20k plus a PG shield, or 30k. Knowing the absolute maximum your opponent can guard for is useful information to have, when planning your attacks, as well as preparing for your opponents next turn. By not paying attention to this very useful information you are handicapping yourself, especially if you opponent is doing it. 

-How your opponent is guarding 

Again this is free information that could be very important, though this one comes more under the mind games sort of category. For example, if you attack a large attack, say 19k, into a 9k rearguard, and they drop the 15k shield in order to defend it, you know that that unit has importance. They may be lacking in rearguards and don't want to lose the presence they have on the board. 

- Miscalculations 

This is something that can affect either player of course and usually accidental. But if neither player notices then play goes on. 1k power can make all of the difference in this game. 1k is often the difference between winning and losing, magic numbers at work! (more on those at a later date!). The best tip I can give is always do the math. Generally don't rely on your opponent to do it. Some decks, i.e. Angel Feather, give huge power boosts in one turn, but the same applies to huge numbers. 41k is a better attack then 40k. If a turn has a lot of moving parts (Again. Angel Feather, Refros is love) that isn't an excuse to turn off. Heal triggers happen. It is better to know exactly what is going on, even if you are praying on the heal. 

So far we have covered your two greatest weapons. Knowing your deck. And playing attention. These sound so obvious. But it is so easy to just slap a deck together, and then just play, in the same way that it can be easy to switch off during a game. It's a battle. You don't go to battle before you know how to fire your weapon. And if you switch off in a war zone, you're going to get shot (Or have a much higher chance of being shot). 

Post Game

So the game is over. What now? I lost. 

Well. You go back to the beginning. What did you learn from your game that you can then apply to your deck-building process. What combos worked well, and which combos didn't.

The way to get better is to practise; playing games. But the important thing, other than having fun of course, is to learn something!

Getting back to me and my Granblue deck. 

Today I basically took my paper theory on the deck, sleeved it up and jumped blind into the fire. I didn't know any of the combos. I didn't know how to optimize my plays to be able to get the most of the deck. So I can use this guide and come to the conclusion that I don't know the deck well yet. Concentration may have come into it, I haven't been very well for the past few days, but generally I know I can improve with the deck, so I have spent the evening play testing and will be posting a revised version of my deck (Which I will post!) 

Overall. Vanguard is a game that easy to pick up. Anyone could do it, the rules are simple and the objectives obvious. Vanguard has a steep learning curve though. But the main tool for climbing that curve is pro-active thinking. 

I really hope this post has helped you in any way, this is the way I personally plan to get better at the game! 

Thank you for reading, and may the triggers be ever in your favour!

- Flogal FTK