Finally, the last ToP Leader is here. In the future I don’t think I’ll try to blitz out all of a set’s Leaders at once, it was rough. Anyway, today we end with the very first Leader (and card overall) I covered for the Tournament of Power set, Vegeta. I was quite harsh to Vegeta at that time. Have I discovered something to make me less harsh on him? Or is he still just pretty binder fodder? Let’s find out.

Vegeta/Saiyan Bond Vegeta

Unique Cards:

Red Saiyan Leader Support

Universe 7 Support

Strengths:

+ Can pump himself alongside the card he pumps on his Awakened side.

+ Can draw with cards already put on board, meaning he can be less proactive when necessary.

Weaknesses:

+ Doesn’t take advantage of his Warrior of Universe 7 ability.

+ The loss of the Awakend Leader Draw Swing REALLY hurts him compared to his U7 compatriots.

+ There’s no legitimate reason to use him over Pan, or even Caulifla for that matter.

Overview:

I’ll say this, I don’t think Vegeta is anywhere close to as bad as I first said. He’s not, I’ll give him that. Mainly because he’s not really a Universe 7 Leader. If anything, he’s a Universe 6 Leader masquerading as a U7 Leader. You end up using far more U6 cards because you need them to reliably get his skill off. If he were the only one of his type, I could see him being a solid choice. The issue? He’s NOT the only one of his type. Pan basically does everything Vegeta does but better. The only things Vegeta does better are being able to draw on turns you don’t want to play anything on board and being able to draw off of cheaper things than Pan. However…you really don’t want to go a turn without playing anything on board. On top of that, Vegeta is FAR more restrictive on what you can play compared to Pan who simply does not care. The only way to separate the two would be to take advantage of that Warrior of Universe 7 ability on Vegeta…but he can’t. There are only three Saiyans in the Universe 7 team. Goku, Vegeta and Gohan. Both Vegetas obviously make the cut, but what about the other two? Ready to Fight Goku and Focused Mind Gohan would be okay…if you ran enough U7 but you won’t really. Results of Training Son Gohan obviously does nothing as Vegeta isn’t Blue. Full Power Spirit Bomb Son Goku is great…but you’d rather play Vegeta on 5 to just end the game immediately. Lastly, even if you made enough arguments to include most of the above…most of the U6 cards at those turn slots are just better. Anyway, let’s get to the Decklist.

Deck Build:

Mono-Red U7 Vegeta

4 Cabba, Universe Mediator

4 Rushing Warrior Pan

4 Sister Attack Kale

4 Backbone of Universe 7, Son Goku

4 Gale Strike Vegeta

4 Sister Attack Caulifla

4 Impeccable Super Saiyan Cabba

4 Fearless Pan

4 Bold Super Saiyan 2 Caulifla

3 Chain Attack Trunks

3 Universe 7 Saiyan Prince Vegeta

2 Increasing Evil Masked Saiyan

3 Unending Awakening

3 Fickle Destruction

Deck Overview:

Honestly it’s pretty similar to how you’d expect most Mono-Red decks to run these days, though without Zen-Oh because you really want to build up board here. This isn’t an aggro deck, this is a tempo deck. Get value where you can, and don’t go all out until you’re ready for an absolute finish.

Discussion Points:

W-Wha…Fickle Destruction?!

Yeah, this jank card is finding its way into here for one reason and one reason only. Saiyan Teamwork Cabba. Look at the face of the true enemy.

With so many Veggie variants running around I wanted an answer to a Cabba immediately and without interaction. This is actually the best answer you could have to it. Now the downside is…the card is useless outside of that. In most cases it’s sideboard fodder but it feels like Veggies are getting more popular so I opted for the main. If not your cup of tea…or you don’t have to worry about Veggies in your own meta (which is pretty possible considering the expense) then feel free to put in anything you desire. Bodyguard Vegeta, Toppo, Zen-Oh, sky is the limit.

No Saiyan Cabba?

Was in here initially but with the revelation of being more tempo than aggro, Saiyan Cabba often speeds up the clock quicker than we’d like. We don’t want to grant the opponent too many resources at once.

Tips:

The Cabbas left are actually your best value source. Swing with them to gain advantage while depriving the opponent of theirs.

Yeah, that puny 1 drop Cabba that just cantrips for a U6? Swing with it. It’s a free draw that doesn’t give your opponent any advantage. Even if the opponent kills it you got the +1 already in most cases. Now Impeccable Cabba, that’s an amazing source. Killing a ton of relevant cards (or at least pressuring them) while also drawing you a card. It’s almost like having a cheaper Jiren. His attack also can’t be countered which is fantastic in end game scenarios. He’s often a 35K Triple Striker that can’t be countered during End Game scenarios, or at the very least a 30K Double Striker. All this while having great mid game utility in cleaning up cards you don’t like. I could honestly see this Cabba getting a ton of play, it’s very potent.

Pressure methodically, don’t go all in until you smell true blood in the water.

Again, this is a tempo deck. You want to win the overall resource battle. Slowly whittle the opponent down while setting up your winning image. Fearless Pan more often than not is your pressure tool rather than your win condition. Once at three or lower, the opponent is always risking death. Use your Awakening turn well to really bring the pressure in. Or at the very least make one of your pressure turns much safer.

Final Thoughts:

The deck was really fun…but at no point could I EVER shake the feeling that things would just be better using Pan instead. Vegeta is perfectly playable though so fans of Vegeta won’t be left with a crap deck that does nothing. If nothing else his deck design will be different just because he’s forced to use most of U6 where Pan probably won’t. But ultimately his design is lacking, in my honest opinion.

Tomorrow we begin Set 4 Previews, and then later we continue our initial Leader Guide quest…with the Pinnacle of Perfection.