Cardfight!! Vanguard- Ride 1

Beep!  Beep!  Beep!  Really?  Does it have to go off right now?  My alarm clock kept blaring loudly across my room.  I would do something about it, but it’s too early in the morning.  Maybe if I ignore it, it could shut itself off.  But it didn’t shut itself off.  It just kept beeping.

I actually thought that the more I ignored it, the louder it’s becoming.  I couldn’t take it anymore; I was gonna’ snap at any moment!  “Fine!  I’m up, you stupid clock!  I’m up!”  I reached over to turn it off, but it was too far.  I fell out of my bed and hit my floor with a loud thump!  That’s right, my clock is way over there, on the other side of my room.  I thought.

I heard my mom shout from downstairs “Scarlett, are you up yet?”

“Well, I’m up now!”  I yelled loud enough for her to hear.  Dang, I really wasn’t planning on waking up today.  It’s in the middle of the summer season; I wanted to sleep in more.  I was having the best dream ever!  Now I can’t remember what it was.

“Oh, ok.  Could you come downstairs in a minute?”

I sighed heavily, and shouted “Sure.  Why not.  I’m not doing anything else today.”  I should do something about the alarm clock first.

I met mom downstairs, and she was with my brother.  Well, technically he’s my half-brother.  He has wavy deep blue hair, and matching colored eyes.  He wore an opened button-up shirt with a white undershirt.  His indigo skinny jeans kinda made him look emo.

“Good morning, Scarlett.”  Mom announced in a good mood.  “Markus came for a visit this morning.”

“I wanted to come over and congratulate you on your move.”  He said happily.

I could only respond with a drowsy “that’s nice.”

“You’re not excited to see me?”  He asked.  “We haven’t seen each other for years.”
I let out a loud yawn, “No, no, I am.  It’s just too early for me to show it.”  That was true.

“So, Markus, I hear you opened a card shop.  How exciting.”  Mom was delighted about his accomplishment.

“Oh, yeah, I had it for about a week, now.  I’ve been getting a lot of customers lately.”  Really?  Markus accomplished something, and it was popular?  When did that happen?

“So what kind of cards do you sell?”  I asked him.  I had to admit, even I was a little curious.

“A bunch of cards, actually: Yu-Gi-Oh, Magic the Gathering, Pokémon.  But the hottest seller is Cardfight!! Vanguard.”

“Cardfight?  I never heard of it before.”  Mom asked. That made the both of us.  I quit playing card games back when I was younger.  I couldn’t win a single game back then, and I just stopped altogether.

“Trust me, it’s amazing.  I even built my own decks and take them to tournaments.  Red, would you like me to teach you how to play?”

“What?  No!”  I responded brashly.  “I hate card games!  Besides, wouldn’t you be too busy managing your store than teach me?”

Markus chuckled loudly, “you definitely don’t know how card shops work, Scarlett.”
“Come on, honey,” mom begged, “It could be fun.  It would give you a chance to socialize.”

“No thanks, I’d rather not.  A lone pretty girl like me wouldn’t fit in with a shop filled with depressed nerds.”

“Actually, there are a lot of pretty girls there, at least for my standards.”  He commented.

“My standards are higher than yours, Markus!”

“Well, okay.  I gotta’ leave now.  Just stop by the shop when you feel like it.”  Finally, he left our house.  

Mom looked at me with a disappointed frown.  “You could’ve been a little nicer to him.  He’s your brother, after all.”

“Mom, come on.  He knows I hate card games.  He was the one who caused me to hate’em.  I bet he’s just tryin’ to get me back into it.”

“It wouldn’t kill you to have a hobby, you know.  Who knows, you could make some friends.”  She said as she unwrapped some dishes.

“I…I have friends.  A lot of friends.”  I think she knows I’m lying.  “I have too many friends to count.”

Mom couldn’t resist giggling, “Okay, honey.  I guess you do.  Still, it’s not a bad idea to check it out this one time.  Just stop by, say hello, and leave.”  

I groaned at her, “Ugh, fine.  But I’m only going to say hi.”

All afternoon, I’ve been walking around Queens to find Markus’s stupid card shop.  After many wrong turns, I think I found the place.  A Fighter’s Paradise. I thought to myself.  What a stupid name for a card shop.  Oh well, might as well get it over with.
I entered the shop, and it was somewhat filled with people.  There were playing tables in the back, with at least half a dozen players hurdled around each one.  A glass case covered the face of a wall, and was filled with the rarest and most expensive cards the shop had.

From the playing area, I heard Markus shout-

“With a special boost from Lizard Soldier, Raopia [power: 10000], Dragonic Lawkeeper [total power: 23000] attacks your vanguard!”

“Oh, man!  That’s too high for me to guard!”  His opponent shouted.  “Man, I would’ve won if I had pulled a heal trigger at the last minute.”

As his opponent left the table, I ran over and saw him playing a strange card game.  “Hey, Markus.  What game is this?”

“Oh, hi, Scarlett.  This is Cardfight!! Vanguard.  You wanna play?”

“It looks kinda interesting.” I replied.  “But I don’t have a deck.”

“Don’t worry; I’ll grab one for ya’.”  He left the table, and went to his cashier.  When he returned, he had a deck in each hand.

“What’s the extra deck for?” I asked him.

“Since you don’t know how to play, I thought I could use a deck that’s as equally built as yours.  Now, which color do you want?  Red?  Or yellow?”

“I want…yellow.”  Markus happily handed me the deck, and I grazed through it.  Gold Paladins.  I thought to myself.  Their pictures certainly look pretty.

Markus got comfortable at the table and said, “Okay, Scarlett, here’s what we need to do: first, we need to choose a card from the deck, and lay it face down on the table.  This will be our “vanguard.”  We need to start off with a grade 0.”

“Okay.”  I found the one I want, and laid it down.  “Now what?”

“Next, we shuffle our decks and draw a hand of five.”  We both did as he instructed.  “How does your hand look, sis?”

“Uhm, I don’t know.”

“Don’t worry.  If you think it’s bad, you can always mulligan.  That’s when you take a certain number of cards from your hand, shuffle them in your deck, and then redraw the same number back.  For example, I’m gonna mulligan two cards, shuffle them in my deck, and draw two cards back.  But you can only mulligan once.”

“Okay.”  I don’t know how good my hand was; but to be safe, I mulligan my entire hand.  I think I new hand looked better.  “now what?”

“Now, we reveal our vanguard, and say “Stand up, Vanguard!”  Like this- Stand up, Vanguard!  Lizard Soldier, Rishin [Clan: Narukami/Grade 0/power: 5000]!” He revealed.

“Okay.  Stand up, Vanguard!  Grassland Breeze, Sagramore [Clan: Gold Paladin/Grade 0/power: 5000]!” I revealed.

“In order to make it easier for me to teach you, I’ll go first.  I draw!  I ride to grade 1, Wyvern Supply Unit [Clan: Narukami/Grade 1/Power: 6000]!  Scarlett, one of the game’s objectives is to ride to each grade each turn.  It goes from grade 0, to grade 1, to grade 2, then finally to grade 3.  Each grade has a special function- grade 1’s and 0’s are able to boost units in front of them, totaling their powers for a bigger attack.  I call Dragon Dancer, Rai Rai [Clan: Narukami/Grade 1/power: 6000] behind my Wyvern.  Since I can’t attack the first turn, I’ll end it there.”

“Okay, Then I draw!  I ride Knight of Elegant Skills, Gareth [Clan: Gold Paladin/Grade 1/power: 8000]!  Behind him, I call Blessing Owl [Clan: Gold Paladin/Grade 1/power: 6000]!  When Blessing Owl is placed on a rearguard circle, he gives one of my Gold Paladins +2000 power, so I give it to Gareth [power: 10000]!  Now I attack your Wyvern!”

“Okay.  When you declare an attack, you must tap the cards sideways.  Since you have Blessing Owl behind Gareth, you can tap it to give Gareth +6000 extra power.  That is called “boosting.”  Gareth [total power: 16000] skillfully slashed at Wyvern Support Unit [total power: 6000].  “Since I took the attack, you reveal the top card of your deck to me, and then put it in your hand.  That is called a “drive check.”
“Okay, like this?”  I revealed the top card, and shown- Charjgal [Clan: Gold Paladin/Grade 1/no trigger].

“Now I reveal the top card of my deck, then put on the side of my field.  This is called a “damage check.”  He revealed- Red River Dragoon [Clan: Narukami/Grade 1/no trigger] and placed it at the side of his field.  “The first player to accumulate six damage loses. You’re learning quickly, Scarlett.  I didn’t even have to tell you about rearguard circles.”  At the end, Gareth’s power returned to normal.


“Now, it’s back to my turn, Scarlett.  Before we start our new turns, we have to tap our units right-side up again so they can attack.  This is called “standing.”   After that, I draw.  I ride Thunderstorm Dragoon [Clan: Narukami/Grade 2/power: 10000]!  I call Shieldblade Dragoon [Clan: Narukami/Grade 2/power: 8000]!”  Markus tapped both Thunderstorm and Rai Rai, first. “With a boost from Rai Rai, Thunderstorm Dragoon [total power: 16000] attacks Gareth [total power: 8000]!  Are you going to guard, Scarlett?”

“No.” I replied.

“Okay, then.  I do my drive check.”  He revealed- Old Dragon Mage [Clan: Narukami/Grade 0/draw trigger].  “Oh, look.  I got a trigger!”

“What’s a trigger?”  I asked him.

“A trigger is a card with a box in its top right corner that activates when revealed during your drive or damage check.  There are different effects for different triggers.  The red ones, like this, allow me to give a unit +5000 power, and lets me draw an extra card.  And I give my Shieldblade Dragoon the extra power.”  As Markus drew an extra card, Thunderstorm Dragoon swooped down to attack Gareth.  Gareth couldn’t withstand the attack!

“I’ll check my damage, then.”  I revealed- Battlefield Storm, Sagramore [Clan: Gold Paladin/no trigger], and put it in my damage zone.

“But I’m not finished yet!  I attack Gareth [total power: 8000] with Shieldblade Dragoon [total power: 13000]!”

“I won’t let you! I use Fortune Bell [Clan: Gold Paladin/Grade 0/ stand trigger/shield: 10000] to guard!”  Shieldblade Dragoon dashed crazily toward Gareth, but was blocked by a girl holding a giant bell.  The girl disappeared, and Shieldblade stopped in front of Gareth.  Feeling his power diminish, Shieldblade retreated before assaulting the enemy vanguard.

“Oh darn, my attack didn’t go through.  You even learned how to guard without me telling you!  You’re learning quicker than I thought, Scarlett!”

“I stand and draw!  I ride Knight of Superior Skills, Beaumains [Clan: Gold Paladin/Grade 2/power: 10000]!” A pillar of light exploded underneath Gareth, and who stepped out was a knight in large lion-like armor.  “I call Sacred Guardian Beast, Nemean Lion [Clan: Gold Paladin/Grade 2/power: 8000], and Precipice Whirlwind, Sagramore [Clan: Gold Paladin/Grade 1/power: 6000]!  With a boost from Blessing Owl [power: 6000], Beaumains [total power: 16000] attacks Thunderstorm Dragoon [total power: 10000]!”

“I don’t guard.”  Markus said.  I revealed my drive check- Silent Punisher [Clan: Gold Paladin/Grade 0/critical trigger].

“Hey, Markus, what does this yellow one do?”

“Ah, a critical trigger.  That increases the damage a selected unit deals.”
“Okay, so I give all the effects to my vanguard.”  Beaumains attacked Thunderstorm Dragoon with power he never knew he had.  This new power was able to damage Thunderstorm much more than normal.

“Because I didn’t guard that attack, I take an extra damage.  I check the first- Brightjet Dragon [Clan: Narukami/Grade 2/no trigger], then I check the second- Demonic Dragon Nymph, Seiobo [Clan: Narukami/Grade 0/heal trigger].  Look, a heal trigger!”

“Let me guess, the green ones-”

“As long as my damage is higher than or equal to yours, I can heal one damage.  As I do that, I give Thunderstorm dragoon the extra +5000 [total power: 15000].” He said as he took the Red River Dragoon out of the damage, and into the drop zone.

“Okay then, I boost Nemean Lion [power: 8000] with Sagramore [power: 6000], and attack your vanguard!”

“Too bad my vanguard’s attack is higher.  Your attack won’t go through.” He chuckled.

“What?!”  No matter how hard Nemean Lion [total power: 14000] tried, it couldn’t get past Thunderstorm Dragoon’s defenses [total power: 15000].

“If only you gave the +5000 bonus to Nemean Lion.  Oh well.”


“My turn.  I stand and draw.”  Markus laughed to himself at the card he just drew.  “Oh, man.  I was actually waiting for this unit.  This may be your first fight, Scarlett; but you will feel the crushing power of thunder!  I ride!  Thunderbreak Dragon [Clan: Narukami/Grade 3/power: 10000]!  His vanguard suddenly erupted into a column of lightning.  His Thunderstorm Dragoon was being transformed into the terrifying Thunderbreak Dragon.  “Since he was placed on the vanguard circle, his ability activates.  I can counterblast two cards from my damage to retire one of your units!”

“Retire?  What does that mean?”

“It basically means I’m killing one of your units.  And the one I have in my sights is your Nemean Lion!”  As Markus paid the counterblast cost, Nemean Lion was struck by a stray, fierce lightning bolt.  When the dust cleared, Nemean Lion was no more.  “Call- Lightning of Hope, Helena [Clan: Narukami/Grade 1/power: 6000], and Djinn of the Lightning Flash [Clan: Narukami/Grade 3/power: 10000]! I attack Beaumains [total power: 10000] with my Djinn; and when Djinn attacks the vanguard, and he’s in the rg circle, he gains +2000 power [total power: 12000]!”

“I guard with Weapons Dealer, Gwydion [Clan: Gold Paladin/Grade 0/draw trigger/shield: 5000]!”

“In that case, I boost Thunderbreak Dragon [power: 10000] with Rai Rai [power: 6000] to attack Beaumains [total power: 10000] again; and when Rai Rai boosts ThunderBreak Dragon, I can soulblast 1 card to give Thunderbreak +4000 extra power [total power: 20000]!”  When Lizard Soldier, Rishin became absent from the soul, Thunderbreak Dragon’s power increased.

I don’t have enough shield to protect myself.  I thought.  “No guard.”
“When you upgrade to grade 3, you are allowed to drive check twice.  This is called the “twin drive.”  Here goes, first check- Plasmabite Dragon [Clan: Narukami/Grade 3/no trigger], second check- Zephyr Kid, Hayate [Clan: Narukami/Grade 0/stand trigger].  Boy, I just keep getting triggers, today!”  He shouted in amusement.
“What do stand triggers do?” I asked.

“They let me stand a resting unit, and allow me to attack with it again. I give all the effects to Djinn of the Lightning Flash [power: 15000]!”  Thunderbreak Dragon overwhelmed Beaumains.  The knight couldn’t handle being struck by a lightning storm.

“Damage check-” I revealed- Sleygal Sword [Clan: Gold Paladin/Grade 2/no trigger].  “No trigger.”

“Again, I attack Beaumains with my Djinn [total power: 17000]!”

“Silent Punisher [Clan: Gold Paladin/Grade 0/critical trigger/shield: 10000], protect me!”  A blue ninja boy appeared from nowhere, and deflected the Djinn’s lightning shot.

“I’m not done yet.  I boost Shieldblade Dragoon [power: 8000] with Helena [power: 6000], and attack your vanguard.”  Combined with Helena’s power, Shieldblade Dragoon [total power: 14000] successfully landed a hit on Beaumains [total power: 10000].
 
I revealed- Evil Slaying Swordsman, Haugan [Clan: Gold Paladin/Grade 1/power: 7000] for my damage.  “This is the power of the Narukami!”  Markus proclaimed loudly.  “They silence their opposition with the wrath of the sky!  Sorry of that was a little loud.  I’m just a little excited.”

“This game actually isn’t half bad.”  I admitted.  “Even I’m getting a little excited.”
“Good, I’m glad you like it.”

“Now it’s my turn! Stand and draw!”  I examined the card that I drew.  Great Silver Wolf, Garmore.  I thought to myself.  This could help me. “Alright, Markus; it’s time for me to play my grade 3! I ride my avatar!  Great Silver Wolf, Garmore [Clan: Gold Paladin/Grade 3/power: 10000]!”  Beaumains felt a power surge he never felt before, and exploded in a column of light.  He was transformed into the warrior in gold and silver wolf armor, Garmore-

“I activate Garmore’s skill- when he’s placed on the vanguard circle, I counterblast 2 to summon an ally from my deck!”  I skimmed through the deck and found the card to target.  “I call Charging Chariot Knight [Clan: Gold Paladin/Grade 2/power: 8000] from the deck!  From my hand, I call Charjgal [Clan: Gold Paladin/Grade 1/power: 6000]!”

“Boy, you’re getting really good at this, Scarlett.”  Markus commented.  “I think you can handle yourself now.”

“With Owl boosting [power: 6000], Garmore  [power: 10000] attacks your vanguard.”

“No guard.”

“I check my twin drive! First check-” Weapons Dealer, Gwydion [Clan: Gold Paladin/Grade 0/draw trigger], “I give Chariot Knight the +5000, and I draw.  Second check-” Silver Fang Witch [Clan: Gold Paladin/grade 1/no trigger].  Garmore furiously slashed at the enemy dragon, damaging it.  Markus revealed Thunderstorm Dragoon [Clan: Narukami/Grade 2/no trigger] as damage.  “I boost Chariot Knight [power: 13000] with Charjgal [power: 6000], and attack Thunderbreak Dragon [total power: 10000]!  And when Chariot knight attacks while I have fewer cards in hand than you, he gains +3000 power [total power: 22000]!”

“I guard with Old Dragon Mage [Clan: Narukami/Grade 0/draw trigger/shield: 5000], Then I intercept with my Shieldblade Dragoon [Clan: Narukami/Grade 2/shield: 5000].”  He said while moving his Dragoon into the guardian circle.

“Why? Your total shield is 10000.  That’s not enough to block my attack.”
“Ah, but when Shieldblade Dragoon moves from the rearguard circle to the guardian circle, his shield value doubles; making my defenses high enough to block your attack.”  Charging Chariot Knight moved in for the kill, but was blocked by Shieldblade and Old Dragon Mage.  Thunderbreak was left unharmed.


“Well, Scarlett, looks like we made it to the mid-game.  This is where things get interesting.”