User blog:RaijinSenshi19/Buddyfight Informative - Buddy Rave, Double Deck Portion

Hello everyone, friends and enemies alike, RaijinSenshi / CobaltClaw here! I took a break from my schoolwork to get some content out to you guys, because I have some things I want to talk about. More spesificly: Buddy Rave.

Buddy Rave is going to be quite an interesting set for us English players. It combines two sets and the new and elusive double deck so we international players have a way to get it... Because reasons. Anyway, with this set, we are promised increased pullrates to make it easier to get the cards we need, because holy cheesedoodle is this set huge. Sitting at 11 RRRs, 18 RRs and 44 Rs, this set is the biggest one in recent memory, just from the rarer cards alone. But the more important thins is this: Are the cards we get any good, and worth our time and investment?

Well the rate/amount of foils we get will decide that, and I cant answer that question, obviously. But I can give all of you some insight on the new cards and some ways to use them. Good? Good. We are splitting this article up in two sections, one for each of the decks.

Neo Dragonic Force
We start by looking at the Neo Dragonic Force deck, which is centered around the Season 1 deck "Jackknife". Yeah, remember that Tasuku's buddy originally belonged to Dragon World? Appearantly, they had to make him much more different than Drum to make space for support for other Worlds...and then created more dragon stuff...

Anyway, the first card we look at is Jackknife Dragon Stragrite the X, which is a Common card, surprisingly. Call cost of 2 gauge, 8000 / 2 / 6000 for stats on a Size 3 with Double Attack. All of this already makes for a pretty good beatstick Size 3, but his ability is really interesting. When you have an Item equipped with at least 6000 power....this card is reduced to a Size 0.

This lets you play him alongside Gold Ritter, but he is not restricted to that alone, because Dragon World has a couple good items that have 6000 power as well, like Dragokeeper. Stragrite is a really good card, though he gets smacked by a lot of removal, he still manages to be a relevant card in these days. I personally would run it as a 2-of in some variations of my Jackknife decks.

The next card is the big ace-in-the-hole for the Neo Dragonic Force deck, which gained RRR status and...really should not have it, but I guess it is okay.

Jackknife "Neo Gold Ritter" is a Size 2 with 7000 / 2 / 5000 in stats, with a call cost of 2 gauge and you call him on top of a Jackknife on your field. Soulguard of course. And his ability is to pay 2 gauge when he has three or more cards in his soul to equip a Jackknife, "Gold Ritter" from your hand without paying the equip cost. This lets you play Gold Ritter when you have more than 5 life, which is okay, but this is not really RRR material.

Neo Gold Ritter is a card you will run 2-of, most of the time, because outside of slapping a Gold Ritter on you early, this Jack really doesn't do anything. It is good, but not as good as it should be. Now, if it could equip Gold Ritter from the deck or drop, that would be something else...but he cant. Like I said, he is not bad, but he is not insanely good either.

Now, this on the other hand. This is a good Jackknife card, deserving of being RR!

Jackknife, "Gewalt" is a Size 2 that needs to be played on a Jackknife by paying 2 gauge, while sporting 8000 / 4 / 5000 in stats, Penetrate and Soulguard (The english print is misprinted). His ability makes him unable to be destroyed by effects while he is on the field.

Okay, so let us talk about how huge a counter-resisted 4 Crit Penetrate attack is. It is the kind of stuff that kills. Jackknife decks not focusing on Gold Ritter, LOVES this card. It is a win condition basicly, and even in Gold Ritter, it serves the purpose of being immune to things like Death Grip. They also made sure to give this dragon enough punching power to actually get over walls. Gewalt is just one of the better Jackknife forms out there, and he is nearly a staple 2-of at least. But then again, some would rather just run Gargantua Punisher or something...

Next up is one of the support cards Jackknife has wanted for a long time, and that is a way to lower the cost of your Jackknifes, and it comes in the form of Bushknife Dragon. Doning his Size 1 2000 / 2 / 2000 stats, Bushknife has the handy ability of making your Jacks cost no gauge to call from your hand, just from having him on the field.

This is very good for regular Jackknife decks, giving them the ability to go straight into a form of Jack just from having the desired cards in hand. While he is not as viable in Gold Ritter, because he is useless after you equip the item, he shines in other Jack decks. One combo with this is to call Jackknife Dragon, search out Jackknife "Burn Energy", and then slap a new form on top, for an extra soul, free of charge. Plus, this little guy draws attacks and baits counter removal, which is a nifty little mental-ability to keep in mind. Really decent card.



Circleknife Dragon is another one of your nifty tool-monsters. Also a Size 1, with 2000 / 1 / 3000 for stats, this guy has the ability to convert a gauge and himself (from your hand) into any Jackknife monster or item in your drop zone.

In regular Jackknife decks, combining him with Bushknife to get some low-costed Jackknifes out in a pinch can save you from defeat, while in Gold Ritter based decks, he can snatch out Stragrite and Baby, giving you more options to attack alongside Gold Ritter with.

This guy is a big must in Jackknife, and the fact that he is just a Common baffles my mind...



Beware the small ones!

Jackknife Dragon, "Baby" is a cute little monster, but dont let his looks fool you, as this dragon can strike back when you least expect it. He sits pretty as a Size 1 with 2000 / 2 / 2000 for stats, he acts like a new base form Jack as well, so you can evolve him if needed. The merit lies in his ability to reduce his size by 1 if you have a "Jackknife" buddy, however.

This ability lets him get played alongside Gold Ritter, which is a huge boon for that deck. More 2 Crit beaters to go along with the huge item is always welcomed. In regular Jackknife too, he is just a really good little monster.



One of the two spells that Jackknife got was this one: Jackknife Joint. (yes, make all your smoking jokes now. They are not funny, so get it over with)

Joint is basicly a Nice one! copy, but with the added cost of discarding a Jackknife in your hand as well. It is a good way to filter Jackknife forms you dont need, or to just get card draw when you are on Gold Ritter. It is certainly one of the better drawing spells that Dragon World has ever recieved, and since Circleknife exists, you can just get back the cards you lose, if you absolutely need them later on. I am not sure how well Joint is going to do in the long run, but I am willing to give it a fair chance to shine because card draw is always welcome.



The last card that we got that is new out of Neo Dragonic Force is this spell named Jackknife Charge. When you cast it, you get topdeck charge 2 gauge, and if you have a Jackknife on the field, you get an additional gauge. So +3 gauge in total from one spell. And you can only cast one per turn.

Now, a lot of people will argue with using this over Dragonic Charge, just because Charge has Counter. Unless you run Gargantua Punisher and friends, I dont see a reason to not run this instead. The one additional gauge might end up making a difference. But since you have Bushknife as well, I cant recommend maxing the copies of this thing. 2-3 maybe, but not more.

Wings of Demise
The second half of the Double Deck is the Kyoya Gaen portion with Wings of Demise, which brings more support to Dragon Ein, and the deck of the previously horrible villain of Buddyfight, who just had charisma to fall back on.

The big boss of this group of support is Yearner of Extinction, Azi Dahaka, the new form of Kyoya's buddy. Yearner of Extinction is a Size 4, Dragon / Deity with 10000 / 2 / 1000 stats, costs 3 gauge and putting a card from your field into the drop zone to call. He is always regarded as his original form, and when destroyed you can equip Aqulta Gwaneff from your deck or hand. Now what sets him apart from his original form is that he does not have the Erasure of History ability, but instead he sports Penetrate and Double Attack.

Azi Dahaka had the problem that one shield always shut him off in the past, while now with this new form he can actually fight back and put up a fight with repeated volleys of attacks. While not having the complete field wipe, just focusing on offense might be worth it sometimes. This deserves the RRR spot by all means.



The next card is not that impressive, but still is an interesting card.

Captive of Eternity, Zamseed is a Size 3, Black Dragon and Deep with 8000 / 2 / 8000 for stats, and it costs 2 gauge to call him. While the stats are pretty legit for such a card, his ability kinda shifts it around a bit.

If your flag is not Darkness Dragon World, he gets Double Attack. If it is, then you get Penetrate. So for Ein, he is a strictly better offensive card, and in his original world, he is not really worth the investment. But the flag interaction is a cool little thing they added, which furthers my hope for multi-worlding being a thing with flags in the future.

Curse Dragon, Tragose is the RR of Wings of Demise, and I am really not sure if this card is worth the spot.

Size 2, Wild Dragon, 5000 / 2 / 5000 for stats and a call sot of 1 gauge, and Lifelink 1. When he enters the field, you may either salvage a Size 4 monster from your drop and add it to hand, or you can directly set a Set spell from your drop zone. While I can see some gimmicky plays which involves gauging Azi and Dragon Throne, I really do not think it is all that worth it. Throne is not going to be removed that easily, and you realisticly will not have enough gauge for multiple Azi Dahaka and this guy.

Use him purely for the Set spell part of the effect, but even then, dont make this dragon your focus...



The next card is another one of those kinda cards that really does not have a lot to impress with.

Severing Dragon, Scissor Gilos is a Size 2 Duel Dragon with 6000 / 2 / 7000 in stats, costs 1 gauge and has Move. And that is all there is about him. A 7k wall is good and all, but you gotta wonder if you could have had more. Then again, he is good for what he is, so I cant complain too much.



Dragon Knight, Cagliostro is another one of our new Ein spesific support cards. This feisty little Dragon Knight is a Size 1, with 1000 / 1 / 1000 as stats. He is incredibly small, but his ability is Eins Alchemy, which activates when he enters the field, but only once per turn, letting you draw a card.

Drawing cards in Ein is a very important thing, due to your low starting hand, and Cagliostro is a perfect adding to Ein in that aspect, and not just the Azi Dahaka builds, but Dragon Knight builds, some Purgatory Knights builds, and so on. He just fits right in as a nice little card that helps you get through your deck faster. And he is just a R, to boot! Amazing. simply amazing.



Sometimes you gotta ask yourself how much you value non-counter based destruction. Dragon Deity Tyrant is a spell that deals 1 damage to the opponent, but if your flag is Dragon Ein, you can pay 1 life and gauge to destroy a monster your opponent controls.

Compared to cards like Dragonic Destroy, this card is much much better, costing less resources overall, and pinging your opponent for 1 damage in addition. It is a cute little tech card, not a card I would use personally, but I can see a lot of people finding some value in this.



Abyss Aura is a spell that gives any of your Dragon attribute monsters in battle a boost of +6000/+6000. That is all.

This card is not worth our time, unless you really want your Azi Dahaka to stay alive...or Demongodol or the Purgatory Knights. Dont see a lot of value in it, personally.

And lastly, we have the new Wicked Lord Dragon Sword, Aqulta Gwaneff. This card needs to be equipped by the ability of Azi Dahaka and cant be played otherwise, it is always regarded as the original Aqulta Gwaneff as well. But things get different when we look at the stats and bonus abilities.

Gwaneff 2.0 has 15000 / 2 for stats and Double Attack, which is already really good, but then we see that the sword also can not have its attack nullified. So this is a much more aggresive version of the sword, and depending on the match-up, you will want to equip the appropriate version, or depending on how many shields you have or not. It is all about timing and match-up, and many say that this is just straight up worse than the original.

I dont quite agree on that, but my opinion is just what it is: An opinion. This deserves the RRR status it has, though.

Are these cards worth it?
Depending on if you already have a bunch of Jackknife cards from season 1 or managed to get your hands on Dragon Throne and Dragon Ein, yes this bundle is well worth it. New players saddly can not build these decks only using the Buddy Rave cards, which is really sad and disappointing.

Seeing how Triple D is doing the best it can at allowing new players to enter the game, it is kinda unfair that only japanese players get full access to all of the Double Deck contents. We could have a ton of players who wants to play Ein and Jackknife, but they cant because they just have no way to get all these old and rare cards. However, gathering these cards will most likely benefit everyone, as there are people who are willing to trade for copies of Neo Gold Ritter, Azi Dahaka, Aqulta Gwaneff and Gewalt, at the very least. This could be used for your own gain to get good cards you might want.

Oh, and dont forget about the Buddy Rare versions of Neo Gold Ritter and Azi Dahaka. They are sure to be worth a small fortune.

Hope this was of help to some of you, and next time I will talk about the Buddy Collection part of Buddy Rave, so until then, have a good time and look forward to your next Buddyfight.

Peace~