With my rapping career close to the end (there are only so many Freestyle decks after all) it’s time for a new direction! Virtual cards are selectively being introduced into the game and bringing new possibilities. The game has been stagnant and now those following Retro are witnessing new decks emerge each year. All these changes can be overwhelming! But no worries, staying true to my French roots I’m going to help when it’s most convenient for me. This kicks off a brand new segment dubbed “Didier’s Cyber Crusade” where I’m going to play with decks online so you don’t have to.
From the fun personality sets to supplemental supporting cards, these virtual subsets are creating whole new decks and even enabling ones that just seemed to have a missing link. Each article I will pick a virtual card or cards, build a deck around them, post a deck list, and talk about my choices and strategy. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.
Tapion 1-4
Red TS Mastery
West Kai Sensei or North Kai Sensei
Red King Cold’s Observation
Huh???
You’re Invited
Gohan’s Kick x3
Just Saiyan
(Additional Non-Combat/Control hate added for North Kai like Aura Clash)
Total 66
Main Deck 60
Physical Attacks 30
Red Sword Cleave x3
Red Overbearing Attack x3
Red Axe Heel kick x3
Red Double Strike x2
Majin Buu’s Fury x3
Gohan’s Sword Thrust x3
Gohan’s Sword Sweep x2
Gohan’s Sword Slash x3
Trunks Sword Position 1 x3
Trunks Sword Slice x3
King Cold’s Sword Trick x2
Energy Attacks 4
Trunks Makes Himself Clear
Energy Lob
Red Energy Blast x2
Combat 4
Unlocked Potential x2
Battle Pausing
Earth’s Demise
Blocks 10
Time is a Warriors Tool
Nappa’s Physical Resistance
Nappa’s Energy Aura
Red Physical Fort.
Red Blocking Hand x3
Gohan’s Elbow Block x3
Drills 4
Gohan’s Swordplay Drill x2
Tapion’s Swordplay Drill
Victorious Drill
Non-Combats 7
Fatherly Advice
Krillin’s Concentration x2
Trunks Finds the Answer x3
The Sword of Trunks
Locations 1
Z Sword Plateau
I jumped immediately to Dragon Ball’s Link as my first crusade and why wouldn’t I? The movie was good; the villain wasn’t defeated by Spirit Bomb and lets face it…swords are cool. There is a reason Trunks was one of the most loved characters past his extremely badass entrance to the show.
Don’t let the word ‘sword’ fool you. Tapion plays only marginally like his admirable apprentice. Trunks Sword is a very controlled rapid aggression deck that combos Trunks Finds the Answer and Trunks Speedy Flight by setting up and unloading a massive amount of attacks and damage. Tapion has his share of combos, but this comes with some ramp time that’s spent inside combat. While Trunks prepares outside combat with drills like Devastation Drill, Tapion needs some anger to really get rolling.
The anger from the mastery and supporting cards make Red Style the strongest choice for him in my opinion. This was not my first choice however. With the additional damage modifier on my sword attacks making me drool, I gave it my best efforts to make Tapion Black work. Despite its anger cards like Black Front Kick and Black Side Kick it seemed to get stuck on the early levels too long. Even the amazing Black Body Destruction was a hindrance since it didn’t gain anger. Tapion Orange sounds super fun though I have not tried it. Orange Rapid Attacks could enable some insane anger generation. It even has its own sword card and drill tech inside Orange Sword Cleave. The combination of the Orange World Games Mastery with Tapion’s Swordplay Drill could send your damage through the roof. Maybe next time 😉
As you can tell, the ramp to level four is the crutch of this deck. Tapion loses Speedy Flight but gains his own version inside his final level’s power along with a massive damage steroid. How fast does this deck hit max level? Supporting draws with Unlocked Potential can jump you all the way from level one to four in a single combat and even without only taking two or three. The amount of anger generation this deck has is impressive; easily comparable to Majin Buu Red making MPPV a very strong secondary win condition. I know I know…no one does 1-4 anger…I’m Just Saiyan…
A quick glance at the deck list shows one glaring issue about this Red style deck: It has very little Red styled cards in it. All of Tapion’s powers supercharge sword attacks giving them high damage and anger exceeding most Red cards. I did play more at first, such as Red Face Slap, but I always ended up wishing they had sword in their titles. That being said, the select few that are played are the cream of the crop. Red Axe Heel Kick has always been a staple, however toss down Tapion’s Drill and forget all about losing Speedy Flight. Red Sword Cleave’s secondary effect won’t win you games alone, however it becomes devastating in combination with Red Double Strike and it’s great for setting up a two anger gain with the mastery.
The freestyle cards played are fairly standard for sword decks. I left out Trunks Sword Position 3 as playing Champion Drill and/or Speaking with the King Drill seemed like a bad idea with all the level hopping. Originally I didn’t play Trunks Sword Position 1, however quickly changed as it gives you additional anger options with Finds the Answer and Sword Slice. King Cold’s Sword Trick is great for that extra board control especially against Freestyle. Finds the Answer has just as much impact here as it does in any sword deck (dropping one first turn is alone enough to hit level three) making Energy Lob great support. A few good events are played such as Battle Pausing and Double Strike to give other options with Krillin’s Concentration. Winter Countryside is a huge pain as it basically blanks your anger gaining powers and if not for this I probably would have opted out of playing any location at all. I did consider Sacred World of the Kaisas a secondary option, but Z Sword Plateau won out as it can be targeted with Sword Slice!
Tapion plays just as you imagine a Red sword deck would: Fast and furious. Enter combat with sufficient anger cards, enough to gain a level or two and especially if facing a weak opponent. Remember cards like Gohan’s Sword Slash are great if you’re level one since its effect gains additional anger! Utilize your non-combats wisely and jump as quickly as you can to level four while trying to attach The Sword of Trunks. Once you’re max level, unleash a triforce of focused, unpreventable, +5 life card attacks. It won’t be long until the true master of this sword is crowned.
Tips and Tricks:
● Using Unlocked Potential on your L3 over your L4 is better in some situations, like when you have no sword cards in your Discard Pile or no Gohan’s Swordplay Drill in play.
● Don’t use your mastery on L1 if you can help it. Save it for L2 when the anger slows.
● Remember you can (and should) use cards like Trunks Sword Slice to use the L2 power as much as possible.
● Don’t forget that you choose the order of your effects. The correct stacking of anger from your powers and cards can leave you with anger to spare.
I approve this article… purely because “swords are cool”. 😛
Chippy
Where’s My Caffeine?
Great post, glad to see tapion getting some love; and now I’m sad I dismantled my red tapion sword deck, mine was close tho all he would do was level quickly yours seems to put out more damage which is awesome I do like the thought of an orange sword deck.
Although, it is disheartening to see a lack of Red Majin Spopovich’s Bane Drill… 😛
Chippy
Gettin’ Krund!
I c wut u did thar. It also has a lack of drills in general. His power protects only so much 😉
Meh, my opinion still stands on that card. It needs “Limit one per deck”. When I first read it, I thought it was good. When I understood its use, I thought it was amazing. Now Merckle’s Red Buu Drill Beats is the deck to beat. He got 2nd last year, much improved the build, and at the East Kai the deck was a sight to see.
I’ve had several conversations with him and they only solidified the opinion for me. I’m not going to play ‘he said, she said’ here, but retro asks for examples that break cards and I don’t think it gets better than this. That thing is a well oiled machine.
It needs a drawback. And no, not gaining anger is not a drawback. It’s actually like a super meditation drill, since it protects them and gives you benefits when your opponent tries to level you; not to mention completely countering DV. It’s like they took Red Meditation as a base, added two shakes of Red Bullrush and a dash of Orange Destruction, mixed it all up into one drill and called it a day.
It may look like I’m just picking on tournament winners here but I’m not. I said some things about Bojack, but besides stating he was T1 (I still think he is), all other statements were ambiguous (I used ‘may’ a lot). I’ve since been convinced by Fashbinder that I was really just mad he slaughtered me and my family one by one. Take Bojack’s allies away and he gets crushed. But I’m throwing down the gauntlet against Bane Drill. No vagueness here.
I don’t hate this drill. In fact, the exact opposite. It makes Red Drill Beats into a concrete deck that can sit on L1, not level at all, and pump out serious damage. It gives Red a whole new way to play. But if you’re going to make this powerful card’s only downfall be that it’s easily discarded/removed, make that downfall prominent by restricting it. I want to know that once I do remove it, it’s gone. I want the user to scramble to get it out before it’s discarded for damage. Not that that’s a problem with Pulverize. None of this drill’s usability will be effected by this change. It will still be a powerhouse you build entire decks around. Look at the other limit one Red drill. It doesn’t even compare.
I’m not looking to be right here, but rather I want this format to be as balanced and fun as it can be as everyone should. So if I have an opinion, I will say it. I’m not afraid of being wrong as no one should. I just hope I’ve made a good enough case that people will wonder why I’m saying these things. That’s good enough for me.