Chaotic Quang @NDG_Chaotic

I said I'd post a long post about the English conference, so lets break down why this one felt like the straw that broke the camel's back for the Vanguard community. To me, it really comes down to three things: 1) Product 2) Events 3) Premium Just a heads up, I'm not going to delve into format wars here. Regardless of which format you prefer, the end result is that you're a Vanguard player, and you should expect more. I'd also like to say that this a criticism not directed to anyone in particular. This is general criticism that I hope is constructive. 1) Product There are 3 big things that I see as problematic for English product: - It comes out nearly 3 months later. English product is always delayed a long time after its released in Japan, and once it's out in English it has lost most of its hype. - We get less than the JP version. Because Vanguard now is so intertwined with collab product, these are forcefully shifted to later sets due to (likely) licensing issues. Certain sets that were designed with the collabs in mind now become awful sets to open. The collabs being delayed also means the collab cards themselves are less powerful. Sometimes, we don't even get the collabs, so we just get less. This is also coupled with the fact that most decks require PRs to function, that sometimes don't even come out in English! - It costs more than the JP version. Pretty self explanatory, sealed products and singles are generally high in the English market. The only saving grace was when we had box toppers and sneak peek promos, but now we don't get them at all. You could say that the 1st and 3rd points apply to other card games as well. But why the 2nd? The only TCG that I can think of that does all 3 is Yugioh; the game that Vanguard originally took a large chunk of players from. What makes it worse though, is that we had a time when English was getting some exclusive stuff. We were getting accessible PRs via Sneak Peeks and box toppers which helped make those cards cheaper, but then they took it away. Other TCGs are also bridging the gap on the 1st point as well, doing global releases. The kicker is that we regularly see Korean Vanguard getting these PRs before we do, and usually distributed in a very accessible method. Why can't English have this? Sure, Korean Vanguard operates at a different scale from English (they're smaller), but that doesn't make the perceived messaging any better. The end result is English just gets weaker product, and no one knows why. The final thing here is banlists. We get the same banlists as Japan for Standard, except we're forced to experience knowingly bad formats. The EN community literally gets 0 inputs on the banlists, like when Eledglema was top tier and unhealthy in our format, but Japan didn't yet recognise it. This exacerbates the previous theories about how EN is just an afterthought. We have full knowledge that the food tastes bad, but we're forced to eat it. How do you expand globally when the messaging is like this? 2) Events I think the BSF/BCS model has stagnated and become outdated. Previously, I did say that this was one of the greatest strengths that EN had. However looking back, I said this when BSF and BCS ran all 3 Vanguard formats, allowing me to play a lot of Vanguard. Now in 2025, things are different. Bushiroad has more games, and competitors are offering more AND better events. It's unrealistic to expect that every game that Bushiroad offers gets crammed into BSF/BCS, and we have long periods in certain regions where there literally is nothing to play. For me, after BSF there will be no incentive to buy product for 6 months, because the next BCS in my region is in March. That's not good. People who are not engaged in your game are putting their attention elsewhere. The long story short is we need more events. We also need these events to be catered to specific audiences. Rather than have the weekend be filled with every single Bushiroad game, condense it down. A lot of Vanguard players also play Shadowverse? Do Vanguard and Shadowverse only. People who play Weiss also play Hololive? Put that on a separate weekend. Are we actually continuing to support Premium? Then put events for that too. Wanna spice things up? Some of these events are now team events. Wouldn't it be cool to have team events the entire year? We now also have time to make the quality of these events better. Are we getting a lot of players for Vanguard? We can make it a 2-day event (just like Japan). We now also have time to make the top cut Bo3 or double elimination. Why is this important? Because your competitors are offering a complete event experience and taking competition seriously. To cover the extra events, charge entry fees. BSF/BCS is the only event right now that is not charging entry fees for their regionals. This is not the competitive advantage that you think it is. Because the costs of hiring spaces are being fully taken on by Bushiroad, it is limiting the spaces we can hire, and also the amount of events we can have. I'll break it down with a real example. The Sydney venue for BCS 25/26 is Marrickville Town Hall. This event space charges $2740 a day on the weekend, which amounts to $5480 (this is all public on the website). A bit over 200 people attended Standard last year. If they all paid an entry fee of $30 ($15-$20 is the standard cost of a locals in Australia, with regionals for other TCGs costing $50+), you take back $6000. Of course, having an entry fee means that less people will show up, but it still works out to be more money than not charging. This entry fee can also be adjusted based on location (ie. certain parts of the world can have cheaper entry to their events based on economy). Even if only 100 people show up, that's still $3000 more than what you would normally get. You can also outsource events to people or businesses that want to do it. Let them take the costs and profits, as long as the event is ran to your standards and regulations. Make them submit event proposals so you can check if they have any idea what they're doing. You can provide the prizing, but let them take the local costs. This could be a low monetary investment for you to get more events out there and keep the community active. This money can then go back to more events, better prizing, and better venues. Events might not directly drive sales, but it keeps your player base active and happy. More events means more chances to play and more incentive to buy product. Separating events gives more incentive for players to dip into other Bushiroad games and gives each game their time to shine. TCG players are already spending lots of money on other games, why not keep them in yours? 3) Premium I've had quite a few people come up to me these past couple of days after hearing the news and they all said the exact same phrase, "It feels like the end of an era". Regardless of whether it is or isn't, the messaging paints a bleak picture. We had Premium events at 26 of the 30 BCS events last year. This year, we currently stand at 8 out of the 25 locations hosting Premium. Now, not all the events have been finalised yet (there are a few listed with the tag "More information coming soon"), but even if they all hosted Premium it will not even be close to the same percentage of events compared to last year. And what are we replacing the Premium events with? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The event space is already hired, they're just choosing not to run it. Maybe it's to save costs so they don't have to fly out so many people for worlds. That's really the only justification I can think of, apart from the other one which is they're trying to end of life Premium. This is what everyone is thinking. I've said it before and I've said it again. I think it's the wrong thing to do. BCS 24/25 had a surging amount of players on Premium. For a format that has pretty much been neglected by developers, it's honestly crazy that Premium was doing so well. Why? There's things on the line, there's things to play for, and people are willing to devote that time and effort for it. For BSF? The numbers aren't as good, and it really comes to the messaging and execution. If you're not putting any effort into Premium, the players are going elsewhere. The correct move would be to allow English control over Premium development and product. Allowing the English side to make their own banlists was a blessing, but it's clear that they're still being held back somewhat. The reality is though, if the format does not get any specific product support, it will likely stagnate and die. It's a wonder that it hasn't after so many years, and it can be attributed to the strength of having events. We should be monetising this format. There's always the naysayers who say Premium product doesn't do well. Premium hasn't gotten a real set since 2022, and at that point Japan already stopped taking Premium seriously. We did get some product that errata'd some cards and reprinted cards, but in the end they were just reprint product with erratas. I don't think it's too late, but if we continue to head in this trajectory then Premium will be dead, and the people who are burnt from this will be some of your oldest playerbase. Conclusion: This has been a very long post, but there's still more. One thing I didn't touch on is communication and messaging. There's quite a few things I've mentioned here that boils down to, "it's a bad look". Bushiroad needs to understand how their words or actions will affect their customers. Whenever we get copy and paste, what we see is low effort. When we get less product or things are taken away, we see that as a slight. The internal reasons could be different; maybe there's a disconnect between JP and EN sides, but that is largely irrelevant to the customer. The customer only cares about the results. The other question, where is the money going to? We've seen Vanguard as a whole grow, and Standard has been doing well. But are we getting better product? Are we getting better events? I don't think we are. We are getting a lot of copy and paste which like I said before, "it's a bad look". The other thing we do see is a lot of new TCGs that are coming out, that aren't Vanguard. Again, customers don't know the internal workings of what happens at the company, but they see results. They're seeing $50 generics and missing PRs, with no improvements in sight. TCGs are a luxury that fights for a person's time and attention. As such, they need to be worth it. Right now, the English market is spoiled for choice. Gundam TCG recently came out, and looks to be doing great. Riftbound is coming out in a couple of months, and is also something with a strong IP behind it. Other TCGs are still going strong, whether they're part of the Big 3/4 or not. But you're not just competing with other TCGs as well. You're competing with other time sinks like Shadowverse Worlds Beyond, or even Pokemon Champions. All of these are offering the complete package; a game and a competitive circuit to look forward to. As the average age of TCG players are getting older, we all have more disposable income and less time. Make your product the complete package, and then people will see no need to go elsewhere. TCGs are social games. If someone is playing, they drag their friends into it as well. That is also true for the reverse. If someone leaves, their friends also start leaving. Bushiroad needs to keep their players from wandering. If they don't, then they might wander and find another sphere to be invested in. And that will be a net loss to all of us. Thanks for reading, keep it civil, and have a good day!

After a few days of reflecting on what was presented for the Bushiroad English Conference Summer 2025, I am extremely disappointed as a Cardfight!! Vanguard player due to the messages conveyed by @bushiroadGlobal. The four topics of discussion are: 1. Events 2. Formats 3. Premium 4. Communication I would like to put a disclaimer that all opinions and thoughts on this thread are holistically as a Cardfight!! Vanguard player and has no implications on distinguishing formats. Topic One: Events As someone who travels to nearly every single Asia Oceania event and have competed at the highest level of play, I am dumbfounded at the lack of Cardfight!! Vanguard I will be playing this next season for BCS 25/26. Firstly, Premium has been axed across the globe for so many locations and thinking just for Asia Oceania, last year having seven regional tournaments with two days of Cardfight!! Vanguard (Standard and Premium), that is every player's hunger for competition. As announced on the Bushiroad English Conference, five of those locations (potentially six) have Premium removed and replace with NOTHING. Absolutely NOTHING; not even Lyrical Cup, no Premium, not even a Teams event, NOTHING. This is probably the most frustrating and condescending thing to all competitive players around the world. As a player who wants to play as much Cardfight!! Vanguard as possible on a given weekend at a regional championship, I am unable to do that anymore. Some may say that side events would work as a replacement, but they simply don't. Side events do not have high stakes and rewards such as prize cards, playmats, and an invitation to the World Finals. Side events are nowhere near as incentivizing as a regional tournament. Furthermore, this halves the time period where someone from another Bushiroad game is given the opportunity to see what Cardfight!! Vanguard is all about. It is lost opportunity as a way to get players into the game, or even mildly, get them talking about the game and showing interest. Looking into the future and against the competition in the TCG market, Riftbound (a game that hasn't been officially released) has already announced a full competitive circuit. Similarly, other established games such as One Piece Card Game, Grand Archive, and others not part of the Big 3/4 have a competitive circuit that extends over a whole weekend. These games are the destination where all Cardfight!! Vanguard players are looking to jump to due to the lack of care in giving the players the opportunity to play the game they have invested their time in. Additionally, many of the competitors are promoting for entry fees to cover expenses that are included in running an event such as venue hire and staff compensation. To be honest, if a Cardfight!! Vanguard player is spending hundreds or thousands on cards to build decks and play the game, an entry fee of $30-50 is nothing to them, let alone a full plane ticket to fly to the regional location. Using an entry fee to allow for a better tournament experience not only keeps your players playing your game but as well, draw new people into the competitive space. Ideas that work in Japan DO NOT work outside of Japan because the demand is different and the distance is contrasting. BSF and BCS are probably the only events amongst all TCG (that I know of) that are promoting free entry. I'll be completely real, this is NOT cutting it. Bushiroad needs to look at the market and get out of the 2015 mindset where things were what they were before. Things change, games evolve, and the company carrying it needs to as well. This is the worst change of the four to be discussed in this thread. Topic Two: Formats This topic is not purely for Premium but for the event circuit entirely. Bushiroad eliminated Lyrical Monasterio Cup which may or may not be great for certain people, but the fact they did not replace the second event with anything at all for most of the regional locations, that is appalling. Some suggestions can be taken from One Piece Card Game and their Grand Asia Open. Day 1 is a singles tournament followed by Day 2 being a teams event. Why can't Bushiroad Championship Series or Bushiroad Spring/Summer Fest adopt this model across the whole year. Now that you have eliminated the secondary format from the regional circuit (Premium, Lyrical Cup, V-Premium), why is this stopping you from promoting a better competitive environment by introducing a teams event paired with a solos event to start the weekend. Another alternative is to extend Standard to become a two-day event like it is in Japan. Standard is growing and won't be gated behind the loss of Premium so there is a huge opportunity to capitalize on changing this. Additionally, if players like myself are wanting more events in general, why not just stretch BCS to be the circuit the entire year? BSF is portrayed as a "casual" event because it is a teams event, but you can completely remove that from the equation if you are looking to remove Premium/Secondary format from the regional schedule, and put teams on the second day instead. All players are looking for more opportunity to play and Bushiroad is gating that opportunity for their consumers and their diehard players from playing the game they love. Is this not what Bushiroad wants? Do they not want Cardfight!! Vanguard to grow? Do they not want our money? Do they not want consumers to buy their product? More events means more opportunity to play. More opportunity to play means more tournaments on the same regional weekend. More Cardfight!! Vanguard to play for all players means more players get into the game because their friends told them so. Topic Three: Premium Premium is dying. The writing is on the wall. No new product in over two years. But is it really dying? Premium as a format has been treated by @bushiroad like garbage and gated by the policies and dictation of the Japan side. Premium has been disregarded by Japan and that should ONLY be done on the Japan side. Premium on the Western side however has a dedicated player base who has been asking for years for more. For over three years, Premium has received no products, the most minimalistic changes to the ban list, and yet, players are still playing this format as it is very in-depth with many mechanics over Cardfight!! Vanguard's lifetime. If the Japan side do not want Premium to live, they should give the reigns to Bushiroad International to manage this format, create new product, administer the ban list, and create its own competitive circuit. Similar to how Buddyfight is managed by Bushiroad Thailand, this should be adopted as well by Bushiroad International for Cardfight!! Vanguard Premium. Some suggestions for this move would be: - Create a separate competitive circuit that is not tied to BCS/BSF as that is managed by Bushiroad JP. - Make Day 1 a Singles tournament with Day 2 being Teams tournament. - Have this circuit run across the whole year with paid entry to cover expenses for venue hire and event management. - Reward players who top with a similar prizing structure to BCS 25/26 Standard with Top Cut prizing, Top 32/16/8/4/Champion tiered prizing, and a Worlds invitation If Bushiroad Japan is making the decision of what formats are played for the game's main circuit on the Western side, nothing is stopping @bushiroadEvents from running a separate circuit that has a more sustainable financial structure to cover expenses tied to the circuit. This does seem like a way of "rebooting" Premium, but more so to reinstate it into a position for it to start from the beginning; allow players to get into the format, and invest time into a format that dates back to the start of the game that we love. Topic Four: Communication Ban lists, product announcement, timeframe on gaps between releases, event circuit news - all of these items were not communicated well in the slightest. Standard got a ban list that should have been implemented ages ago and we only got this a few days ago? Eledglema was a deck discovered by the Western side and no implementation of restraining it caused for a very diminishing and lopsided format. Same with Bavsargra. After playing three regionals (this weekend being the fourth) in a format with full power Bavsargra, Eledglema, Rezael, and Shiranui, I am so done and exhausted with this format. It would have been cool to play a refreshing format after suffering multiple months of the same garbage over and over again. Bushiroad needs to action on this quicker, and communicate if things will change even quicker. If a format is degenerate, players are going to walk away from your game and play another game to pass the time. Once enough time has passed, you would have lost many players due to poor management of your game. Similar to Premium. How on earth did Fenrir, Shout Loop, Gold Paladin GB8 and Hellhard Eight live the Premium ban list. Anyone could have told you that Fenrir and Shout are the two most degenerate decks in the current format and none of them were touched. To put it bluntly, data is not everything. You should reach out to the community about their tournament experiences and many can tell you how terrible it is to sit across from Fenrir who one-turn kills you and there is nothing you can do about it. Same thing with Shout - I milled my opponent from a 33 card deck to zero and there was no way my opponent could do anything to stop it. Bushiroad, you have my contact details. If you need some suggestions, feel free to reach out to me and I will happily assist in making my favorite format better. How about product and the gap between releases? Many games are doing global releases and whilst Vanguard in the west are three months behind the JP release of each set, the discovery phase for Western players is not there. By the time the set releases for English, we already know what the best deck is and what cards to get. Does that not impact the sales figures? If a set is poor competitively, then you will see a dip in your sales targets because Japan has the format figured out. When will Cardfight!! Vanguard be aligned with the other games in the industry and have global release? Conclusion As much as I am frustrated and defeated with how BCS 25/26 is panning out to be, at the end of the day, I love Cardfight!! Vanguard and these raw emotions and thoughts means I care about the game. I want to see this game thrive and be the best it can be but unfortunately, the company and people behind it are stopping this from happening. Not to say that most of the people at Bushiroad are hard-workers because they are, but the decision makers need to re-assess the future of this game and look at what your consumers and audience wants for the game. Changes I would like to see are: - BCS/BSF Format changes to have singles on Day 1 and teams on Day 2 - More locations and have the main circuit run across the whole year - Separate Premium from the main circuit and have the format managed by Bushiroad International - Create a separate competitive circuit for Premium with singles on Day 1 and teams on Day 2 It is all wishful thinking but the most I can do is provide constructive criticism so that they are aware of the damage they are dealing to the Cardfight!! Vanguard community and where it will lead our players in the long run. That being said, I will continue to enjoy Cardfight!! Vanguard and compete through the Bushiroad Championship Series 25/26 circuit. I love Cardfight!! Vanguard and the community that plays this game. I hope this message reaches you @shunichi_taira & @kidanit to implement changes for the better. From one of your most dedicated players, Derick Dao ❤️

@VeryGayEzreal Jhin, Ezreal, Kai'sa, Samira & Lucian

@FuzzyParadox Here is the deckcode for Vietnamese Gang Premium Slot with Shiranui Crest. decklog-en.bushiroad.com/view/4VW3Y It's me who was playing ^^

@dayoneplayer Isn't it too dangerous to going second since most meta/strong decks want to going first, right?

The first tournament had the opportunity to test out the Shiranui Premium deck that I had been waiting for so long. R1 vs Messiah Crest W R2 vs MLB W R3 vs Aqua L R4 vs Angel W R5 vs Granblue W R6 vs Victor W T8 vs Musketeer W T4 vs Peony W Final L

Kazdel Alliance Cardshop @KazdelCardshop

2 years ago

Kazdel Shop Challenge Premium: Top1: Nguyễn Khánh Hà - Nova Grappler (Victor) Top 2: Nguyễn Minh Quang - Nubatama (Shiranui Crest) Top 3: Nguyễn Trọng Nhân - Neo Nectar (Stand Peony) #VGtopdeck

keyboard_arrow_left Previous keyboard_arrow_right Next

0 2 6 270 0

@thederickdao

😠

keyboard_arrow_left Previous keyboard_arrow_right Next

Chú Tháo End year was held in 17/12 with 55 players Champion: Nguyễn Ngọc Gia Thịnh (BCS Singapore V champ 2023), deck Griphogila Runner-Up: Nguyễn Minh Quang, deck Gandeeva Top 4: Trương Vinh Hạnh, deck Zorga Top 4 Ngô Minh Nhật, deck Evil Eye #VGTopDecks

keyboard_arrow_left Previous keyboard_arrow_right Next

Local Tournament (Kazdel) D | 12/03 R1 Vs Minerva W R2 Vs Orfist Mas W R3 Vs Seraph W R4 Vs Orfist Mas W R5 Vs Magno Mas L 4-1 Swiss | Top 3 Swiss Top 8 vs Magno Mas W Semi vs Gandee W Final vs Orfist Mas W

TOP 3 PREMIUM BRO NA! I will write up my itinerary soon!!

Fuzzy @FuzzyParadox

3 years ago

#BRO2023 Premium has officially come to an end! Here are the Final standings from all 3 regions! Congrats to all of the players here! Please remember to use the Global version of decklog for these codes! The rest of the Top 8 are also now LIVE on VG-Paradox So go check it out!

keyboard_arrow_left Previous keyboard_arrow_right Next

2 20 109 15K 2

Made it top 8 BRO NA/LA!

Bushiroad Global @BushiroadGlobal

3 years ago

🛜BRO2023🛜 There has been an update to the Top 8 Fighters bracket for BRO 2023 Cardfight!! Vanguard Premium Format for the NA/LA Region.

0 1 4 3K 0

@MisgradeKing The other grade 2, why u running so many of them?

@infinite_life23 Can I get the deck profile you're testing rn?

@TransGraham Where's my OT?

@infinite_life23 Yes

@tripleRRRare @NovaVReverie Love it!

GIVEAWAY!!! The winner will be getting a set of Ride Deck Sleeves, included in the next Drop. Just Like, Retweet, be Following this page and @NovaVReverie The winner will be announced in 48 hours.

Vietnam Standard 23/09 with 32 player 1st swiss: 1vsGravidia🌟 2vsJet🌟 3vsMinerva🌟 4vsEzel🌟 5vsWillista🌟 Top 8 vs Avantgarda Semi vs Minerva Final vs Willista - Lose to OT Thanks to Thanh Duy for lending me the deck. I had a great day coming in 2nd after 1 hour test/learn!

@TransGraham The promo help you RevolDress one more time -> Tempest 1 Drive -> Fullblast 2 Drive