Alright, grab your deck and get ready to stand up, Vanguard! This guide will walk you through the exciting world of Cardfight!! Vanguard, a fast-paced and strategic trading card game where you become a powerful warrior fighting for the future of Planet Cray. Whether you're a complete beginner or looking to refresh your memory, we'll break down the game into simple, easy-to-follow steps.
So, let's get started! Are you ready to become a Vanguard fighter and lead your units to victory?
Step 1: Get Ready to Fight! Setting Up Your Deck and Field
Before you can unleash your powerful units, you need to prepare for battle! This is where the magic begins.
Your Deck: You'll need a main deck of exactly 50 cards. A crucial rule to remember is that you can't have more than four copies of any single card with the same name in your deck. This includes your starter Vanguard and any trigger units.
Your Ride Deck: This is a special deck of four cards, one for each grade (0, 1, 2, and 3). These cards are placed face-down and separate from your main deck. You'll be using this deck to "ride" your Vanguard to higher grades throughout the game.
Trigger Units: Your main deck must contain exactly 16 trigger units. These are special cards with a trigger icon at the top right corner. We'll get into what they do later, but for now, just know that your deck composition is important. You can have up to four Heal triggers in your deck.
The Playmat: The playmat is your battlefield. It has different zones where you'll place your cards. Familiarize yourself with these:
Vanguard Circle: This is the most important circle on your playmat. Your Vanguard, your avatar in the game, is placed here.
Rear-Guard Circles: These are the five circles where you can call your other units to fight alongside your Vanguard. They are arranged in a front row and a back row.
Deck Zone: Place your main deck here, face-down.
Drop Zone: This is where retired or used units go.
Damage Zone: When you take damage, cards from your deck are placed here, face-up.
Trigger Zone: A temporary zone where cards from your deck go during a check.
Guardian Circle: This is where you place cards from your hand to guard against attacks.
Now that you have your deck and playmat, it's time to begin! Both players shuffle their decks, draw five cards, and place a Grade 0 unit from their Ride Deck face-down on their Vanguard Circle. This unit is your "starter Vanguard."
Step 2: The Flow of a Turn - The Vanguard Phase
A turn in Cardfight!! Vanguard follows a specific order, a rhythm that you'll quickly get used to. Let's break it down.
Stand & Draw Phase: At the start of your turn, all of your rested units (cards turned sideways) return to the "stand" position (vertical). Then, you draw one card from your deck. Simple, right?
Ride Phase: This is the most iconic part of a Vanguard turn! You can ride a new Vanguard from your hand or your Ride Deck. You can only ride a unit that is the same grade as your current Vanguard or one grade higher. When you ride, the old Vanguard goes to your "Soul," a stack of cards under your new Vanguard. This is a crucial step to increasing your power and unlocking powerful abilities.
Main Phase: This is where you build your board. You can perform several actions during this phase, including:
Calling Rear-Guards: Place units from your hand onto your Rear-Guard Circles. You can only call units with a grade equal to or less than your Vanguard's grade.
Using Unit and Order Card Abilities: Many cards have special abilities you can use during this phase. Read the card text carefully to understand what they do.
Playing Order Cards: These are special cards that have powerful, one-time effects.
Step 3: The Heart of the Battle - The Battle Phase
The Battle Phase is where you attack your opponent and try to deal damage. This is where the action gets intense!
Attack Declaration: Choose one of your units in the front row and declare an attack on either your opponent's Vanguard or one of their Rear-Guards.
Boosting: Units in your back row with the "Boost" ability can add their power to a front-row unit in the same column. This is how you build up powerful attacks! To boost, you "rest" (turn sideways) the boosting unit.
Guarding: Your opponent can choose to guard against your attack by moving cards from their hand to the Guardian Circle. Each card has a "Shield" value that is added to their defending unit's power. This is a key part of the game's strategy!
Drive Check & Damage Check:
Drive Check: If your Vanguard attacks, you perform a Drive Check. You reveal the top card(s) of your deck and check for trigger units. If you reveal a trigger unit, its effect activates! After the check, the card goes to your hand.
Damage Check: If an attack hits your opponent's Vanguard, they take damage. For each damage, they reveal the top card of their deck and put it in their Damage Zone. If they reveal a trigger unit during a Damage Check, they also activate its effect.
Trigger Effects: Trigger units have powerful effects. There are four main types of triggers:
Critical Trigger: Adds one Critical to a unit. This means they deal one more damage if their attack hits the Vanguard.
Draw Trigger: Allows you to draw a card.
Stand Trigger: Allows you to "stand" a rested rear-guard unit.
Heal Trigger: Allows you to move a card from your Damage Zone to your Drop Zone, but only if you have the same or more damage than your opponent.
Step 4: The End of the Turn
After you finish all your attacks, your turn ends. Move any cards from the Guardian Circle to the Drop Zone, and any units that were "rested" to boost or attack remain rested. The turn then passes to your opponent, and the cycle repeats.
Step 5: The Road to Victory!
The game ends when one player's Vanguard takes a total of six damage. The player who reaches six damage first loses, and the other player wins!
So, there you have it! You now have the basic knowledge to start your journey in Cardfight!! Vanguard. Remember to read your cards carefully, strategize your attacks, and use your trigger effects wisely. The game is all about building a powerful board, pushing for damage, and knowing when to defend.
Ready to try your first Cardfight?
10 Related FAQs
How to build a Cardfight!! Vanguard deck?
To build a deck, you need exactly 50 cards, including a ride deck of 4 cards (one for each grade 0-3). You can't have more than 4 copies of any card with the same name, and you must have exactly 16 trigger units, with a maximum of 4 Heal triggers.
How to perform a "Ride" in Vanguard?
In your Ride Phase, you can place a unit from your hand or your Ride Deck on your Vanguard Circle. The unit you ride must be the same grade as your current Vanguard or one grade higher. The old Vanguard goes to the Soul.
How to use trigger effects effectively?
When you check a trigger during a Drive or Damage check, you activate its effect. You can give the power boost to any of your units on the field. The Critical trigger adds a damage point, the Draw trigger lets you draw, the Stand trigger lets you un-rest a rear-guard, and the Heal trigger lets you heal one damage if you have enough. Use them to either boost your attacking units for a hit or to protect your board for future attacks.
How to win in Cardfight!! Vanguard?
You win the game by dealing a total of six damage to your opponent's Vanguard. Each time an attack hits their Vanguard, they take one damage.
How to guard against an attack?
To guard, you can place cards from your hand into the Guardian Circle. Each card has a Shield value, which is added to your defending unit's power. Your opponent's attacking unit's power must be greater than your guarded unit's power plus the total shield value to hit.
How to use the "Soul" in Vanguard?
The Soul is the stack of cards under your Vanguard. Some card abilities require you to put cards into the Soul or call cards from the Soul. Your Vanguard also needs a Grade 0 unit in its Soul to stay on the field if it is retired.
How to tell the "grade" of a card?
The grade of a card is a number from 0 to 3 (and sometimes higher for special units) located on the card. You can only ride a Vanguard of the same grade or one grade higher, and call rear-guards of an equal or lower grade than your Vanguard.
How to use a "Boost" in the battle phase?
A unit with the "Boost" icon in the back row can rest to add its power to a front-row unit in the same column. This makes your attacks stronger and more likely to hit.
How to know when to use a "Heal" trigger?
You can only use a Heal trigger's effect during a Damage Check if the number of cards in your Damage Zone is equal to or greater than the number of cards in your opponent's Damage Zone. If you meet this condition, you can choose to move one card from your Damage Zone to your Drop Zone.
How to start playing if I don't have a deck?
The best way to start is by buying a Start Deck or Trial Deck. These are pre-constructed decks that come with everything you need to play, including a playmat and a guide, and are designed to be beginner-friendly.