It was break time. Yukina gathered Nora, Katsumi and Akihiro for me. We crowded around the back of the class where my desk was.

"Everyone brought their Vanguard decks? I'd like to get a feel for everyone's play-styles."

"I always bring mine to school. I'm more excited to fight some new opponents honestly." Akihiro said.

"Yep, I have it right here." Yukina said.

"I nearly forgot to bring mine this morning... thankfully Takayuki-kun reminded me."

Katsumi playfully stuck her tongue out as she took her deck out of her bag. Her head really is always up in the clouds.

"U-um, question." Nora raised his hand.

"What's up?"

"Where... are we going to train? The classroom... it's a bit crowded, isn't it?"

Since it was break time, and not lunch time, more people loitered around in class. E Class was also smaller than the average classroom due to our standing in the school, so it did feel kind of cramped.

"How about we go to the fight room? It has an outside area not many people use. Me and Masaru go there all the time to play Vanguard." Akihiro suggested.

"Fight room? I've never been there before." Yukina said.

I paid a visit to the fight room yesterday when trying to find a way to contact D Class. Since it was still fresh in my mind, I was somewhat familiar with the place. The only issue was Kai and her friends also hung out at the fight room. By going there, we would potentially reveal to our enemies our current skill level.

However, it might not even matter. Those D Class students already knew about the war before we did, and Akari was still fighting them anyways. They might have found out about quite a lot of information already and reported it back to Zyriot by now.

We didn't have much to lose by playing there anyways. If anything, if we show them how we weak we are now, we could trick them into lowering their guard later.

"It's a great place if you like Vanguard. It's like having a locals at school."

Akihiro was advocating for it quite heavily. He was painting this amazing image of the fight room for the other three. I agreed somewhat, as I didn't expect how relaxed the atmosphere was. It reminded me of the neutral zones at school.

"Yeah, let's head over there. I could go for some fresh air."

With my confirmation, we headed to the fight room. Nora had a similar reaction to me when I first entered. He was being wary of his surroundings and observing carefully. In comparison, Yukina and Katsumi freely looked around and explored the place.

"Mornin', Takanori-san." Akusa-sensei greeted me. "Good to see ya come here again. Ishima-kun too, mornin'!"

"Yo, Riku-sensei."

It wasn't uncommon for people to call Akusa-sensei by her first name. In fact, she seemed to encourage it. It was small things like this that made her more friendly and approachable than other teachers at this school.

While curiously running around, Katsumi ended up stumbling upon the outside entrance. She entered it with a huge smile; Yukina following her. Nora meekly apologised to everyone the two girls ended up bumping into, while me and Akihiro followed suit.

As expected, Kai and her group of D Class friends were playing Vanguard here. Surprisingly, Akari and Kawaguchi were also hanging out with them. I think they were examining Shirogane's deck.

"What's Akari-chan and Kawaguchi-kun doing with the enemies?" Katsumi said.

"We usually play Vanguard with those guys." Akihiro explained. "Though, in this situation, it's a little dangerous..."

Kawaguchi noticed us staring at them, so he gave us a mischievous wave while smirking. That expression was enough to tell me that he and Akari were up to something.

"Let's ignore them for now and focus on our group."

I led everyone to the table furthest away from D Class. That way, they wouldn't be distracted by our classmates talking to them.

"Yukina, you play against Katsumi-san, Akihiro-san, you play against Nora-san. Akihiro-san, could you coach Nora-san while I help out Katsumi-san?"

"Sure, I can do that. Can't wait to work with ya, Nora."

"S-same here, I-Ishima-kun!"

Those two started setting up to play against each other. I sat down besides Katsumi as she got ready to play against Yukina. I noticed the clunky way Katsumi was shuffling her deck.

"Do you need help?"

"Eh? Ah, no, it's fine."

Katsumi nervously laughed, breaking her concentration, and spilling the cards on the table.

"...on second thought, maybe."

"There's an easier way to shuffle."

I collected her cards and began waterfall shuffling them.

The waterfall shuffle was the most common way to shuffle decks. Essentially, it was a safer riffle shuffle as it didn't damage your deck of cards through unnecessary bending. You let them fall between each other naturally, like a waterfall.

"Woah, that's so cool! Takanori-san, where did you learn this?!"

Katsumi, who had probably never played a card game seriously in her life, looked amazed at this simple technique.

"It's pretty common amongst players to use. I picked it up from them. Look, even Yukina and Akihiro-san use it."

Just like me, those two also used the waterfall shuffle. Nora was doing the same pile shuffle as Katsumi, which wasn't very good for optimal randomisation. I'd also have to teach him this technique too.

"Can I have a go?"

"Sure."

I handed the excited Katsumi back her deck. She tried mimicking my actions, taking it slowly. Even though she struggled at first, after doing it a couple times, she could now waterfall shuffle very slowly. Then, both girls drew their starting hands.

Katsumi stared at her hand quite thoughtfully. It seemed decent as I looked at it. It had a card of each grade and no triggers, so there wasn't anything obvious to shuffle back. If anything, she could safely keep this hand.

"If you need help, you can ask. That's what I'm here for."

I encouraged Katsumi to ask me any questions she had. I could tell that she was having difficulty doing a mulligan for this hand.

"Um... about this... what should I put back?"

Her hand had Deadheat Bullspike, Provoke Needle, Spike Bouncer, Offensive Punter and Garry Cannon. A very early game orientated line-up.

If she really did want to shuffle something back, Needle would be her best choice, but there was also the chance that she could draw into a trigger, which would be a worse trade-off.

"This is a really good hand, actually. There's not much I'd suggest changing, since you can use all your cards to some extent."

"So I don't have to shuffle anything back?"

"Yep. If your hand is fine as it is, I don't see much of a point."

Katsumi nodded. Then she grinned awkwardly.

"So... I just got lucky..."

"Card games inherently have an element of luck to them. If you're lucky, it's not a bad thing. Vanguard just... makes luck more prevalent with things like triggers."

I looked across the table at Yukina, who's deck was based around warping trigger effects. If Katsumi was lucky, she was in for hell.

"For example, Kou-san, look at my hand. I've got two trigger units and Decaydal as my grade 3. Since I want to ride "Brandt", and not Decaydal, I'm going to shuffle it back alongside my triggers."

Since this was a practice match, Yukina revealed her hand to Katsumi to teach her more about mulligan. After putting those three cards to the bottom of her deck, Yukina showed Katsumi her improved hand.

"I might have drawn into a trigger still, but I now at least have my main grade 3 target."

"I get it now! Alright, I'm pumped to play!" Katsumi grinned.

"Stand up, Vanguard!"

"Cheer Girl, Franny!"

"Starhulk, Lurli!"

"You're still using Franny...?" I said.

"I couldn't find any Mecha Trainer... I searched everywhere too!"

"How about we proxy your starter then?"

"Proxy?"

"It's when a card is being used to represent or imitate another card. In this case, we'd pretend Franny would be Mecha Trainer, so you can use it's on-ride skill."

"Ooh, okay! Then, is it okay if I go first, Yukina-san?"

"Be my guest."

"I ride, Commander, Garry—"

"Wait."

"Eh?"

Katsumi was more of a novice than I thought. She skipped her draw and nearly misplayed...

"Firstly, since it's the start of your turn, make sure to draw a card. Drawing at the start of your turn is the only guaranteed way you'll get more cards to work with as the game progresses. It's vital to remember, so start getting into the habit."

"Oops... okay, I draw. I ride, Commander, Garry Ca—"

"Stop."

"I did another mistake?!"

I felt bad for interrupting her so much, but if I didn't erase these bad habits now, they'd be harder to break later on.

"Sort of. Notice the skills on Punter and Garry. Punter has a skill that lets him be called to rear-guard when ridden upon, which can only happen if he's the vanguard. Meanwhile, Garry has a skill that can only work on rear-guard. If you ride Garry, you'll be missing out on both of their skills."

"Oh, I didn't know that! I thought I'd be fine if I rode any grade 1."

"You need to take into account skills that maybe specific to the Vanguard. It's similar to riding your avatar - if you had, say, Bullspike and Juggernaut in hand, you'd obviously ride Bullspike because of it's skill as the vanguard. If you rode Juggernaut, you'd miss out on that skill."

"Hmm... even small things like choosing which grade 1 to ride can be important too, huh? Alright, thanks Takanori-san! I ride, Offensive Punter! Then, "Mecha Trainer" lets me draw a card! Turn end!"

Katsumi:
Hand: 6
Damage: 0
OXO
OOO

Yukina:
Hand: 5
Damage: 0
OXO
OOO

"Stand and draw. I ride, Sunset Edge, Duskblade! Lurli's skill, I draw a card. Since your Vanguard is grade 1, I add a Quick Shield ticket to my hand."

"While you guys are playing, I'd like to explain the idea of "match-up analysis" to Katsumi-san bit by bit. Is that okay?"

I learnt about this from one of the pro-vanguard fighters I followed back in middle school. His name was Kuroiwa Akihito, a player best known for his outlandish rogue decks.

Being a compassionate person, he always posted advice and teachings on how to become better. One of these was a flow-chart on match-up analysis, which I spent weeks memorising. It's been burnt so deep into my head by now, there's no way I'd forget it.

"Go for it. Duskblade, attack! (8000)"

"Match-up analysis? No guard!"

"Since there's so many decks in Vanguard, you'll be facing against a variety of opponents using their own strategies. Knowing how to play against them correctly can massively swing the game in your favour."

"Drive check! (Whiteouter, Vect)"

"So learning it will help me counter my opponents? Damage check! (Powerback Renaldo)"

"Correct. Just like in sports, you're not the only one playing the game. You need to know how to navigate your opponent's deck as they'll also be trying to prevent your plays while making their own. Knowing how to fight against others can come naturally by playing the game overtime, but since we don't have much time, I'll teach you the theory behind it."

Katsumi, who didn't understand concepts very easily, tried to wrap her head around what I explained. By using sports as a comparison, I could make it easier for her, as she was an athlete.

"Turn end."

Katsumi:
Hand: 6
Damage: 1
OXO
OOO

Yukina:
Hand: 8
Damage: 0
OXO
OOO

"Why do I need to learn how to analyse though? Can't I just play against a certain match-up again and again until I know how to beat it? Stand and draw."

"That is a strategy people use, especially against meta decks."

I noticed Katsumi took my advice onboard, as she was trying to carefully choose which grade 2 in her hand she should ride.

"I ride, Spike Bouncer! I use it's skill to counterblast, soulblast and look at the top two cards of my deck. What are meta decks?"

"Meta decks are the best decks in the game's current format. For example, some meta decks are Messiah and Overlord."

"So, they're like the best runners in a race? I call, Highspeed, Brakki to rear-guard! The other card goes to the bottom of the deck. Offensive Punter's skill, I call it to rear-guard."

"Yeah, you could say that. Since meta decks are very popular due to their power, it's a great idea to practice against them so you know how to beat them. However, you shouldn't rely on just knowing the match-up, as you might run into an opponent who plays the deck differently from your test partner, or an opponent who uses a rogue deck. You need to know how to counter decks you've never seen before as well. Don't forget to use Brakki's skill."

"Oh, right! Brakki gets +10k Power! (10000 > 20000) I call Garry Cannon to rear-guard! Then, what's a rogue deck choice?"

"It's self-explanatory. A rogue deck is basically an unexpected deck. At the top tables, rogue decks mean they can stand their ground against the meta decks. However, since they're not as good, they're not as popular. They gain "rogue" status from being used by enough people that they can be considered a legitimate threat. An example of this would be Altmile or Chronojet."

"Then... would my deck be a rogue choice? Punter attacks Duskblade! (8000)"

If you were playing at Table 500, maybe.

"Sort of. Spike Brothers fall into a weird space due to being a three attack Force deck, but that's a topic for another day. Anyways, "matchup experience" won't be useful unless you know what you're looking for when analysing the fight."

"No guard! (Binodal Dragon)"

"That's why, if I teach you the foundations of match-up analysis, you can apply it to anybody you face, which will make you more flexible in the war. Since anybody can be your opponent, it's necessary to learn how to deal with decks you've never seen before."

"This is..." Katsumi rubbed her chin and squinted her eyes. "...kind of interesting. I feel smart... like I'm about to learn a big brain technique! Boosted by Garry, Spike Bouncer attacks Duskblade! (10000 > 18000)"

Seeing Katsumi get excited over this reminded me of when I was really into Vanguard. The game was one of the few hobbies I continued doing when I became a shut-in after Suzune left. I had good memories associated with Vanguard since it was how me and Suzune first met.

"Asteroid Wolf, guard! (23000) You'll need one trigger!"

"Drive check! (Killparade Mevis) Ya-hoo-hoo, I got a critical! I give all effects to Spike Bouncer! (18000 > 28000/1 > 2)

Good thing she got that critical trigger now, and not later.

It's surprising to think about, but Suzune was the best player in our elementary school class. No one could beat her, so everyone took turns fighting her, hoping one of us would win. Eventually, I became the first person to beat her. Some luck was involved, but it was thanks to my hard work studying the game through videos online.

"Lucky... damage checks! (Swift Deletor, Geali, Lady Healer of the Torn World) Heal trigger! Since I have more damage than you, I can heal! All power to Vanguard! (8000 > 18000)"

"Then... since this attack hit, I can use Garry's skill. I put him into soul and draw two cards. Then, I put one card from my hand to the bottom of my deck. Next, Brakki will attack Duskblade! (20000)"

"I active the Blitz Order, Quick Shield ticket! Add +5k Power to my Vanguard! (23000)"

When I became a shut-in, all I ever did was read books and follow the competitive Vanguard scene. Unbeknownst to me, I was also rapidly improving my skills by consuming all that media. I was beginning to learn the ins and outs of the game like it was the back of my hand.

"Aw man, I couldn't get in another damage... Turn end!"

Katsumi:
Hand: 7
Damage: 1
XXX
OOO

Yukina:
Hand: 6
Damage: 2
OXO
OOO

Yet despite all that, I still wasn't good enough to beat Mikazuchi-sensei or Kaido. It's frustrating, but deep down, those brutal losses had also reignited my spark for the game. Seeing Katsumi enjoy learning it only made me more determined to help everyone improve, including myself.

"Stand and draw! I ride, Swift Deletor, Geali! I call, Whiteouter, Vect! Geali, attack the Vanguard! (10000)"

"No guard!"

"Anyways, the first phase is self-deck analysis. Did you consider the questions I left you with yesterday?" I said.

Before I left their house, I asked both Nora and Katsumi to retrace their steps of deck-building and ask themselves: "What's my win-con here?" and "How can I achieve it?". Once they could answer that, I told them to familiarise themselves with the standard strategies of what they had built.

"Drive check! (Axino Dragon) Critical trigger, power to Vect, critical to Geali! (10000 > 20000) (1 > 2)"

"Ai-ya-ya! Damage check! (Sweetie Guard, General Seifried) Yep, me and Takayuki-kun talked about it all night. He really helped me figure out what my winning image was."

"What conclusion did you come to?"

"By using Bullspike, Brakki and Needle, I'll make all my attacks super big, and smash through my opponent with them!"

Even though she had an idea of how to win, her means to getting that victory would be short-sighted, if that's all she had to form her columns with.

"Geali's skill, since the attack hit, I soulblast and bind Brakki face down!"

"Noooo, purple wabbit! I should've read what your cards did first!"

Katsumi sniffled as she turned Brakki upside down and removed him from the rear-guard.

"That's exactly why we're learning how to do match-up analysis. By learning about what your opponent can do, you can stop them accordingly. Anyways, did you consider the third and final question? It's the most important to take note of."

Katsumi drew a complete blank.

"Hang on, Takanori-san."

She leaned back and whispered behind my back to Nora.

"Psst, Takayuki-kun! Help me!"

I'm right here, you know... I can hear you.

Nora and Akihiro were fighting each other with their hands revealed, so Akihiro could teach him the core skills of playing the game, such as optimal guarding and skill timing.

"K-Kou-san?"

"What was the most important question Takanori-san asked us? I completely forgot!"

In Katsumi's usual clumsy fashion, she didn't remember the part which mattered most.

"It's to see what the deck's weakness is. What can you opponent do to stop it? And what you can do to counter it?"

"Ah, I remember now! Thank you, Takayuki-kun!"

Katsumi then turned back to me after cheating the question out of Nora. The difference in these two's attitudes was like day and night.

"My deck's weakness is... the ratios!"

I was surprised by that declaration. For once, Katsumi was right. It might not have been what I was thinking of, but as a beginner, recognising her card ratios were her main weakness was fairly impressive.

"Vect attacks the Vanguard! (20000)"

This time, Katsumi read the card before deciding her guard.

"Hmm... since you can't bind a card, all you can do is draw a card. In that case, no guard!"

Just before Katsumi drew her 4th damage, I interrupted her.

"Actually, that's pretty detrimental if you let that hit."

"Eh? How come?"

"Well, there's a lot of reasons. Firstly, getting pushed to four damage will put you into a more disadvantageous position later. It's better to guard smaller attacks now and let big attacks hit later, as you'll use less cards that way. Secondly, drawing a card is more powerful than binding your rear-guard, as letting Yukina draw a card gives her more shield to guard your attacks with, which stifles your win-con of bashing their face in with high-powered attacks."

Katsumi was dumbfounded.

"Drawing cards is more powerful? Binding my rear-guard means I can't attack with it anymore though."

"Spot removal is good, yes, but in Vanguard, hand advantage is key. There's a whole other concept called "card economy", but I'll teach you that another time. For now, understand this. Since your deck is where you get more cards to use over the course of the game, drawing cards let you use more of your deck faster. It's like in rounders, you won't be able to get through everybody batting, but you want to get through as many people as possible to try and get more runs than your opponent."

"Ah, I get it! If my best card is trapped near the bottom, I won't ever see it unless I draw into it!"

"There we go. That's why I told you to not forget your draw phase. Unless your deck can draw cards through skills, the draw phase is the only chance you'll have getting new units. It's also why we run multiply copies of cards. We want to increase the chance of drawing that card since we have a fifty card deck to go through."

"And if I let Vect hit, Yukina-chan can draw into more cards and get an advantage over me. In that case, Killparade Mevis, guard! (25000)"

"Very good, you're learning."

I tried to complimenting her, but it came out stiff. Yukina giggled.

"Yuu, you're a great teacher. Turn end."

"I try."

Either way, Katsumi would be losing something from Vect's attack. It was better to guard as it had more benefits to it, and she had the means to do so.

Katsumi:
Hand: 6
Damage: 3
XXO
OOO

Yukina:
Hand: 6
Damage: 2
XXO
OOO

OST: Alexandrite

"My turn, stand and draw!"

Katsumi really emphasised the fact she was drawing a card to me. I've never seen someone so hyped to draw a card.

"The megaton whirlwind that crushes through the defence line has arrived! Blow a hole straight through the impossible, my avatar! Deadheat Bullspike, ride!"

This is where the game really begins. So far, Katsumi's made some rookie mistakes, but getting to ride a grade 3 first was massive. She could easily cripple Yukina with the cards in her hand.

"Imaginary Gift: Force I! I'll put it on my front row rear-guard circle! I move Offensive Punter back and call two Provoke Needle (10000 > 20000) and a Garry Cannon! The Provoke Needle on my Force marker will get another +10k! (20000 > 30000)"

Even though she performed her main phase so confidently, I noticed one way she could've optimised her line of play.

"Actually, Katsumi-san, I think you should put the Force marker on your vanguard circle first. Since your deck uses critical triggers, you should attack with Bullspike first. This is because Yukina will be more inclined to stop your Vanguard's attack to not take unnecessary damage. That way, if you drive check any and she does guard, you can pass the effects to your rear-guard to make them more threatening. Not only that, you'll waste less soul using Bullspike's Force marker moving skill."

Katsumi's shoulders slumped as her face wobbled with sadness.

"I feel like such a failure right now..."

I felt bad accidentally discouraging her. She seemed so pumped to learn earlier, but I guess my help was beginning to wear on her.

"Sorry for going overboard with my explanation. I don't think what you did was exactly wrong, but considering you had two Needles on rear-guard, you can make the most out of your single Force marker that way."

"Nah, don't apologise! Both you and Takayuki-kun act like real doormats sometimes."

Doormat...? Was that some kind of insult?

"I feel like a failure, but I won't learn unless you correct me. So nit-pick away, Takanori-sensei!"

I think I prefer being called a doormat over a sensei.

As per my advice, Katsumi moved her Force marker to her vanguard circle with Yukina's consent. She then launched into her battle phase.

"Deadheat Bullspike attacks your Geali! (23000) Nothing is impenetrable with my... Kinetic Storm!"

"Iron Staff of Forbid Extinguish, Ilinvert, perfect guard!"

"Wow, Takanori-san, you were totally right! Yukina-chan guarded!"

In fairness, Yukina could've simply no guarded as she was only on 2 damage. I think she guarded so this lesson would stick in Katsumi's head.

"Twin Drive!! (Derange Thaddeus, Silencer Joker) Critical trigger! I give all effects to my Provoke Needle on the right! (10000 > 20000/1 > 2) Since the attack didn't hit, and Bullspike is on a Force marker, I can draw a card and retire one of your rear-guards! I'll retire Vect in revenge for binding Brakki!"

"Good job remembering Bullspike's skill, Kou-san." Yukina said, removing Vect from her field.

"He he, I made sure to read my cards too. Then, with a boost from... um, which Needle should I attack with first? The one with a critical or one without a critical?"

"It depends on what you want to do. If you want to pressure her, attack with the critical Needle first, as you have Garry Cannon behind that one. If you want to deal more damage, attack with the non-critical Needle first, as you can consecutively deal three damage without fearing damage triggers that way."

"If drawing cards is good... I'll have to pressure her with Needle and Garry! Boosted by Garry Cannon, Provoke Needle attacks! (20000 > 28000/2) Bullspike's skill! I soulblast to move my Force marker to Needle! (28000 > 38000/2) Needle's skill, he gets +10k for being on a Force marker! (38000 > 48000/2)"

Through a combination of luck, trial and error, and emerging skill, Katsumi had managed to achieve her desired "winning image". However, this wouldn't be enough to blow a lethal strike. If anything, this turn would serve to widen the gap between them, and I'm sure Yukina understood that well.

Considering how low her hand was and how large that attack is, she had no choice but to take it. In an ideal scenario, Yukina would have used her sentinel on Needle, but she sacrificed the better play to help her friend get better at the game. It couldn't be helped.

"That's really strong... no guard! (Wandering Starhulk Deity, Brandt Ringer, Asteroid Wolf) Critical trigger! All power to my Vanguard! (10000 > 20000)"

Luckily, this damage trigger would make guarding against Katsumi's next attack much easier.

"Alright! Since it hit, Garry Cannon goes to soul and I draw two cards! That's super strong, right, Takanori-san?!"

"Yep. Don't forget to put a card from your hand to the bottom of your deck too. I suggest putting back that Sonic Breaker, as it's a critical."

"Gotcha! Now, boosted by Offensive Punter, my other Provoke Needle attacks! (10000 > 18000) Bullspike's skill, I'll soulblast to move my Force marker to Needle! (18000 > 28000) His skill adds +10k! (28000 > 38000) Punter's skill! Since he's boosting, I soulblast to give him +2k until end of battle! (38000 > 40000)"

Once again, Katsumi had formed an extremely powerful line. Due to Punter's additional +2k, not even a single Heal trigger could stop this attack. Things were starting to look really bad for Yukina.

"No guard. (Fatal Shockwave, Jetshaft)"

Unfortunately, Yukina didn't have the means to guard it. Katsumi had pushed her to the brink of death successfully.

"Ya-hoo-hoo! One more damage and I win! Punter's skill, I draw another card and return him to the bottom of the deck! Turn end!"

Maybe Katsumi was taking on my advice too much... her sudden obsession with drawing cards was a little worrying. Though, as long as she knew the importance of card advantage, that was all that mattered.

Katsumi:
Hand: 7
Damage: 3
XXX
OOO

Yukina:
Hand: 4
Damage: 5
OXO
OOO

In my opinion, Yukina would have a hard time rebounding from Katsumi's attack. Her best bet was to pray and hope Katsumi would randomly drive check into her heal triggers. That was the only way I could see her winning this game.

"My turn, stand and draw. Dark warrior from another world, envelop the galaxy in crimson blackness! Divide and conquer, Wandering Starhulk Ruler, Brandt, ride!"

With that declaration, it was also time for me to get into the meat of Katsumi's training. The real start of developing her skills as a cardfighter began now.

"Alright, we can move to phase 2. Enemy deck analysis."

"Goku!"

Katsumi looked at me with a slightly worried face. Laughing nervously, she sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck.

"There's more to match-up analysis...?"

"We're only just getting started, Katsumi-san."

To my warning, Katsumi nodded decisively. She had guts. More guts than me.