Welcome to the first of the Tournament of Power Leader Guides. I’m kind of surprised at how well this series has taken off but it’s been a true joy to do. By popular vote, we will be starting with some brotherly love in Bergamo. Now as some of you may know I was…pretty harsh towards Bergamo. Were my criticisms well founded and Universe 9 just better off elsewhere, or does he have some hidden potential? Well let’s all find out together.

Bergamo/Bergamo, Eldest Brother

Unique Cards:

Iron Skill Battler Chappil

Sorrel, the Small Warrior

Shining Blaster

Strengths:

+ Of all the Leaders with that generic “Attack Leader Draw, Untap 2 Awaken”, Bergamo uses it the best. The ability actually fits him like a glove.

+ Access to a 5 Life Super Combo is unsurprisingly, very useful.

+ Shining Blaster is one of the best negates in the game.

Weaknesses:

– ONLY useful with the Trio thus restricting his deckbuilding greatly.

– In most cases, his Awakened Permanent ability isn’t all that useful outside of specific matchups. You know how I feel about “vanilla” Awakened Leaders.

Overview:

As I said, I was very harsh on Bergamo when he was revealed. Another unoriginal front side ability, and his backside ability didn’t read all that particularly useful. On top of that, unlike most of the other ToP Leaders, his archetype didn’t necessitate him to actually be used. While Shining Blaster is great, the deck certainly isn’t make or break on Chappil and Sorrel. In theory, Universe 9 should just be so much better with any other Leader. And yet…that doesn’t end up being the case. As a matter of fact, the only Leader I’d consider able to play Universe 9 properly…is The Soul Striker. The reason is, the ability to untap Energy mid-turn is IMMENSELY important to the strategy. However while Soul Striker can do it constantly, where Bergamo excels is gaining that early card advantage which is important to get to all the important pieces for the archetype. Let me be clear, the ability to board all three members of the Trio de Dangers is one turn is immensely necessary in matchups where you cannot guarantee their safety.

Now for some slightly bad news. Really just that the deck…pretty much builds itself, which will probably be a common theme for the ToP Guides. There’s really only so many ways you can take the deck. Still, I’ve cleaned it up the best I can and now have arrived with a build I’m pretty happy with.

Deck Build:

Mono-Blue Bergamo

4 Energy Boosted Majin Buu

4 Universe 9 Striker Roselle

4 Trio de Danger Lavender

4 Sorrel, the Small Warrior

4 Universe 9 Striker Oregano

4 Trio de Danger Basil

4 Universe 9 Striker Comfrey

4 Universe 9 Supreme Kai Roh

4 Trio de Danger Bergamo

4 Iron Skill Battler Chappil

4 Shining Blaster

3 Senzu Bean

3 Trunks, Power Overseeing Time

Deck Overview:

Like I said, the deck mostly builds itself. Just taking from the best of Universe 9, while putting just enough of some “good stuff” Blue cards to bind everything together. It’s just a matter of knowing the best U9 cards and the most useful of the generic. The deck I thought would feel clunky and annoying, but it’s surprisingly smooth especially once you resolve a Kai Roh. I know there are a couple of eye-raisers but let’s get to it.

Discussion Points:

What?! No Dangers Triangle?!

Don’t freak, this isn’t a Buu Leader situation. It’s not that I think the card is bad. It’s just…a bit redundant. Right now I think the card is perfectly suited for the sideboard. In most cases by the time you’re actually able to get the Triangle online there isn’t much you’d be afraid of anyway. In some certain matchups you will definitely need it (ESPECIALLY the mirror…Beerus help you if you don’t have the Triangle in the mirror…it gets ugly fast) but that’s all. I would argue that Trio de Dangers Bergamo just ended up being SO good that it kind of takes away a lot of Triangle’s thunder. Also, there’s just not a ton of space for it. Feel free to take out Buu for it I guess if you really want it bad.

Why no Brothers of Terror Bergamo?

Main issue was the same issue I brought up when the card was first revealed. It’s too slow to actually be useful. The effect is stupid strong if you can get it out quick enough, but it’s very hard to do so. More often than not it’s just a vanilla 20K Double Striker with relevant traits. At that point Chappil is better. Keep it in the side with Dangers Triangle (where you’ll need him as extra Bergamos to turn it on if need be). Since we have Trio de Dangers Bergamo this one is unneeded.

No Hop?

Card is bad. Deck is already full up on 3 drops as it is, she isn’t worth it, not even to guarantee the double ramp with Kai Roh. It’s actually very odd why Hop exists. She doesn’t fit with anything the deck wants to do. Hell, the free blocker does more for the deck since its defense can really come in handy against bigger swings at Bergamo. Hop…just doesn’t mesh at all. I feel the deck would’ve really enjoyed a U9 Bodyguard.

Really, 4 Chappil?

Another card I was harsh on initially. But being a cheaper Double Striker, with a free combo cost and a relevant ability all in Universe 9 really helps his cause a ton. He’s certainly not the reason to play Bergamo but since we are, he’s a great help. He plays far better than he reads in my testing (and THAT’S why we play the game).

Power Overseeing Time again?

Once again, the deck requires very specific pieces to work. Trunks is the failsafe, plus another Double Striker is helpful.

Tips:

The deck isn’t always live or die on getting the full Trio out.

Simply put, don’t be afraid to just push the tempo with just a couple of the Trio if the opportunity presents itself. This serves two purposes. One, you often get potent effects on the cheap that can really help pressure the opponent. Two, it can buy you a turn of defense as the opponent’s main focus immediately shifts to killing every Trio member they can see. Even just playing Bergamo alone is often a huge swing in momentum if the opponent doesn’t have adequate removal.

If the opponent does have plenty of removal, do change gears and save up the entire Trio for one turn.

This is where playing Bergamo really pays off over other Leaders. If you know the opponent can easily out Trios as fast as you can put them down on board…then just chill on them. The deck has other ways to push tempo and advance your gamestate, while also allowing Bergamo to continuously draw cards. The second you’re in Awaken range you can immediately board the entire Trio. Even outside of Awaken you can do it on 7 Energy (though you’ll need Comfrey/Beans backup).

The deck is actually pretty resilient, don’t get too discouraged if you lose a few cards.

You would think this deck would just break apart immediately when you lose a Trio member or two, but that’s not the case. That speaks to the design of the cards. You never NEED the full Trio on board, it’s just very helpful if you do. Even if the opponent outs everything, with Bergamo’s draw, Comfrey’s ability to put anything on board for 3, Oregano and Roselle to really help dig, Kai Roh ramping you a million years ahead, and Trunks, POST getting you back crucial pieces, you’ll be surprised at how quickly you’ll rebuild your board after losing it. It should speak to the resiliency of the deck that I faced absolutely no struggle against a multitude of Chain Attack Trunks/Zen-Oh decks. Play the matchup right and it doesn’t really pose as much of an issue as one would think.

Trio de Dangers Bergamo may be one of the strongest cards in the entire game, use it and abuse it.

TdD Bergamo is just absolutely bonkers and just plays so much better than he reads…and he already reads insane. I’m not even talking about his ability to potentially Maruading Captain lock (for those who don’t know, if you get two Bergamo out tapped the opponent can never swing with Battle Cards). His Barrier skill is also insane but it’s usually just a scare factor. The fact is, when you put him on board he’s just an absurd lightning rod that draws so much commitment from the opponent it’s insane. He will drag cards and Super Combos out of the opponent like no one’s business. When the opponent is burning Super Combos to try and out a Battle Card, it’s to your advantage (unless obviously it’s Shugesh/Kid Goku). He leaves your opponent in such a bad position. They can’t leave him on board or he lords over the entire game, especially if you board a second or board the rest of the Trio. If they undercommit, you can defend and then it becomes much tougher to out him. If they overcommit you essentially get to hand control your opponent for no cost. He can absolutely slow an opponent’s gameplan to a crawl if they do not have removal and even when they do it never feels like a huge defeat.

Victory is often decided by how well you use Shining Blaster.

Like I said a few times, I believe Shining Blaster to be one of the best negates in the entire game. It outright stops two attacks and can really punish those who tap out before swinging. However it’s also very precious because it’s your lifeline for Bergamo. You always want to have at least one Shining Blaster around (and appropriate Energy ready) when making your pushes. Even if you have to use Senzu Bean preemptively on your turn just to make sure you have the Energy up for it, do so. It slows the opponent down immensely and allows your Bergamo to keep wreaking havoc on their lives.

Final Thoughts:

The deck is actually really fun. I thought it’d be a struggle to play with it but it performed above my expectations. Idk if it’ll take down any tops at Regionals or anything, but unprepared opponents can really get crushed out of nowhere. Bergamo as a Leader I actually have to apologize to. I was harsh on his design, and while I’m still not the biggest believer in his Awakened Permanent, the rest of the Leader actually synergizes perfectly. I think those who want to play him will have a great time…and those playing against him will be in hell even if they win.

Next time, we’ll finish out Blue for ToP with what most people believe to be the best Leader in the set, Gohan.