

I think Combo decks will get a lot of value out of this, and that's good because Spike Brothers and Dimension Police are confirmed to have this gift. For example, you could stack multiple markers on the same rearguard circle, and then perform a chain of powerful attacks on that same circle. Alternatively, you could put several on your vanguard circle, and perform some kind of fatal shield break and/or guard restrict combo with Dimension Police. Being advertised as the balanced Imaginary Gift, midrange decks could also take advantage of the steady power gain, winning by attrition.



I wouldn't worry about your favourite clan being forced into a particular strategy by this new mechanic; a clan being Accel doesn't mean it has to be built as an Aggro deck, and Protect doesn't necessarily mean the deck will have to be control. The new season's grade 3s are likely to be very dynamic from what we've seen so far, so the majority of a deck's strength will likely come from the abilities of its units.



I think Combo decks will get a lot of value out of this, and that's good because Spike Brothers and Dimension Police are confirmed to have this gift. For example, you could stack multiple markers on the same rearguard circle, and then perform a chain of powerful attacks on that same circle. Alternatively, you could put several on your vanguard circle, and perform some kind of fatal shield break and/or guard restrict combo with Dimension Police. Being advertised as the balanced Imaginary Gift, midrange decks could also take advantage of the steady power gain, winning by attrition.I wouldn't worry about your favourite clan being forced into a particular strategy by this new mechanic; a clan being Accel doesn't mean it has to be built as an Aggro deck, and Protect doesn't necessarily mean the deck will have to be control. The new season's grade 3s are likely to be very dynamic from what we've seen so far, so the majority of a deck's strength will likely come from the abilities of its units.

So Bushiroad is rebooting Vanguard, and the new mechanic they are opening with is called Imaginary Gift. It's an interesting mechanic, and the three Imaginary Gifts relate very closely to a topic I've written about before . Accel and Protect will encourage decks to be built more like Aggro and Control respectively, and Force is the middle ground, like midrange. Each clan will have a predetermined Imaginary Gift.Accel gives the player an extra rearguard circle, and rearguards gain 10k power while inhabiting that circle. Accel promotes an aggressive strategy, as you can put those attacks to good use by defeating your opponent quickly, before they can stabilise. I think this gift will be used most by Aggro and Combo decks, but there is still potential for Midrange and Control decks to utilise this, and to be honest, a deck with a focus on card advantage may actually take better advantage of extra circles in the long run. Nova Grapplers will be the first Accel deck, but historically they haven't been the best at keeping card advantage, usually gaining their advantage through pressure, so they'll have to be careful of retire and attacks on their rearguards. The Accel gift has a lot of potential, as you can make extra frontrow circles by re-riding, but it may be difficult to do so while also maintaining a field larger than 6 units.I don't expect Imaginary Gifts to force clans into specific playstyles. Of course Accel promotes aggressive strategies, but any deck can make use of an extra threat on board, even Control, as they usually have to deal 6 damage eventually too. They say a good offence is a good defence. Rear guards that can restand inherently will synergise well with this Imaginary Gift, as will those that can restrict the opponent’s ability to guard.Protect essentially gives you a Perfect Guard every time you ride a grade 3, which of course is going to be really useful for reactive decks that want to play a long game of attrition. That's not to say a Midrange or Combo deck wouldn't appreciate some extra defence. Aggro will be a challenge with this Imaginary Gift, as you're losing a lot of pressure with it, but you can at least remove your main deck Perfect Guards in favour of some good early game beaters. If Granblue get a new Monster Frank that superior rides from the drop, I can see an Aggro Granblue deck appearing down the line, with a low G3 count and lots of grade 1 and 2 beaters. I'm also expecting great things from Dark Irregulars, as they are also a Protect clan; as they will likely have some kind of powerful late game gambit unlocked when they reach a certain soul threshold.Force is advertised as the balanced one. Force markers give 10k power to a circle of your choosing, and you can have multiple of them on the same circle. Force won't give as much immediate pressure as Accel, but over time it can build up, grinding away at the opponent's resources. This power can be given to the vanguard circle, so restanding vanguards will get a lot of value out of Force, as will vanguards with guard restrict.