Click below for a look at one of the T8 decks from Worlds – and more!

1. An Evening with Royal Blood

After a tough T8 loss at Worlds, Anthony Eason could be seen laying out cards on a side table – already deep in thought about tweaks for his deck!

Anthony Eason’s Red Ascension Vegeta post-Worlds update (original list available here):

//Events

• 3 Red Restriction

//Energy Attacks

• 3 Vegeta’s Final Flash
• 3 Vegeta’s Galick Gun
• 3 Enraged Blast
• 3 Red Static Shot
• 
2 Assisted Kamehameha 
• 2 Blinding Energy Move


//Physical Attacks

• 2 Heroic Dashing Punch
• 2 Shoulder Slam
• 3 Devastating Blow
• 3 Red Mule Kick
• 3 Red Tandem Attack
• 3 Red Sword Stab
• 3 Red Shoulder Grab
• 3 Red Pound

//Defense

• 3 Red Energy Defensive Stance
• 3 Red Resourceful Block
• 3 Red Blocking Hand
• 3 Red Escape
• 3 Red Repel
• 1 Time is a Warrior’s Tool

//Planning Step

• 2 Visiting the Past
• 1 Earth Dragon Ball 7

Overview: This build has a tremendous amount of synergy, and most of the cards in the deck have overlapping effects in desirable strategic categories. The heart of the deck is the lock component: three copies each of Red Restriction and Vegeta’s Final Flash – both of which shut off things like Unleashed and Orange Retribution Mastery. Final Flash also gains 2 anger, serving as the perfect example of the deck’s ability to shift through two victory conditions simultaneously (with each card filling multiple roles). The tech effects from Heroic Dashing Punch, Devastating Blow, Red Shoulder Grab, Red Mule Kick, and Shoulder Slam all net immediate anger of their own, while something like Red Sword Stab brings extra defense (via Endurance), immediate anger, and additional stage pressure. With the inclusion of Red Pound, the physical beatdown component of this deck is not to be underestimated – and winning by Survival can be nearly as common as MPPV!

Tweaks: Consider -3 Red Static Shot for +3 Red Energy Blast (+2 anger on HIT vs. +1 immediate anger, 5 damage unpreventable vs. 4 damage raw, and then upside of removal)

Strategy and Tactics: The deck is well rounded, though there are alternative viable approaches with this Mastery/MP combination (including a potential case for Confrontation). The subtle strength of this build is the robust defensive package, with 16 blocks, 3 actions that end combat, and 2 Visiting the Past. Combined with a decent amount of Endurance, these ratios keep up the aggression while buying time for Vegeta’s Level 3 and 4 Powers to develop – and getting mileage out of those Powers is the key to maximizing Vegeta’s effectiveness as an MP! At the same time, the blocks are another example of the deck’s synergy, as they fuel the Red count for Mastery skip (and many of the blocks themselves enable powerful combos).

Knowing when to press the gas pedal and push for beatdown over MPPV can unfold differently on a game by game basis – but in general this deck wants to be the aggressor! In the later stages of the game, ending combat becomes an art form as the various skips and passes allow Vegeta opportunities to quickly level up or sneak in damage before moving on to the next turn! This deft manipulation of combat is beneficial to both the beatdown and MPPV routes, and the addition of Assisted Kamehameha provides additional late-game reach.

Weaknesses: The obvious bane of all MPPV decks – level down effects (Saiyan Peace, Blue Neck Beam, Earth or Namek Dragon Ball 2), anger lowering effects (Namekian Maximum Will, Blue Head Knock, Devastating Blow), misc. anger hate (Wall Breaker, Blue Rebuke, Gohan Ally, etc).

2. MP on the Rise 

The spotlight on Gohan seems to grow brighter each day, as his endless potential continues to expand in the emerging meta!

Aside from the Adept Gohan that made T8 at the Worlds Last Chance Qualifier, the World Championship also saw a lone Gohan entrant make it into the Top Cut! The power of Gohan with Namekian Restored Mastery is undeniable, and it seems well established as a top contender for the foreseeable future. Gohan – To the Rescue can always enable any “Ally” build, including the still-popular Tag Team variant. His Ally removal fills in holes for Black, with Assisted Kamehameha also generating crits for Black Conflict control. Whether heavily Ally based or simply splashing the personalized Ox King, Chi-Chi, and/or Piccolo, Gohan’s options across all six Styles are seemingly endless! One wonders how long until Gohan Red makes an impact in the environment…

3. The Origins of Blue Control for Today’s Modern Villain

Control decks may have fallen by the wayside for the time being, especially those of the Villain variety. However, Villains have several unique tools in the current environment – and they can be augmented by Blue’s additional tech options like Cooler/Ginyu Allies, Blue Neck Beam, the evergreen Blue Betrayal.