Shindoism

[もちもちもっちゃん @motimoti_seizin]

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[Shindoism @TechnoShindo]

@cvltshit @BlightYoakam

[Kai @WCC @TransGraham]

I said I'd post a long post about the English conference, so lets break down why this one felt like the straw that broke the camel's back for the Vanguard community. To me, it really comes down to three things:

1) Product
2) Events
3) Premium

Just a heads up, I'm not going to delve into format wars here. Regardless of which format you prefer, the end result is that you're a Vanguard player, and you should expect more. I'd also like to say that this a criticism not directed to anyone in particular. This is general criticism that I hope is constructive.

1) Product
There are 3 big things that I see as problematic for English product:

- It comes out nearly 3 months later.
English product is always delayed a long time after its released in Japan, and once it's out in English it has lost most of its hype.

- We get less than the JP version.
Because Vanguard now is so intertwined with collab product, these are forcefully shifted to later sets due to (likely) licensing issues. Certain sets that were designed with the collabs in mind now become awful sets to open. The collabs being delayed also means the collab cards themselves are less powerful. Sometimes, we don't even get the collabs, so we just get less.

This is also coupled with the fact that most decks require PRs to function, that sometimes don't even come out in English!

- It costs more than the JP version.
Pretty self explanatory, sealed products and singles are generally high in the English market. The only saving grace was when we had box toppers and sneak peek promos, but now we don't get them at all.

You could say that the 1st and 3rd points apply to other card games as well. But why the 2nd? The only TCG that I can think of that does all 3 is Yugioh; the game that Vanguard originally took a large chunk of players from.

What makes it worse though, is that we had a time when English was getting some exclusive stuff. We were getting accessible PRs via Sneak Peeks and box toppers which helped make those cards cheaper, but then they took it away. Other TCGs are also bridging the gap on the 1st point as well, doing global releases.

The kicker is that we regularly see Korean Vanguard getting these PRs before we do, and usually distributed in a very accessible method. Why can't English have this? Sure, Korean Vanguard operates at a different scale from English (they're smaller), but that doesn't make the perceived messaging any better. The end result is English just gets weaker product, and no one knows why.

The final thing here is banlists. We get the same banlists as Japan for Standard, except we're forced to experience knowingly bad formats. The EN community literally gets 0 inputs on the banlists, like when Eledglema was top tier and unhealthy in our format, but Japan didn't yet recognise it. This exacerbates the previous theories about how EN is just an afterthought. We have full knowledge that the food tastes bad, but we're forced to eat it. How do you expand globally when the messaging is like this?

2) Events
I think the BSF/BCS model has stagnated and become outdated. Previously, I did say that this was one of the greatest strengths that EN had. However looking back, I said this when BSF and BCS ran all 3 Vanguard formats, allowing me to play a lot of Vanguard.

Now in 2025, things are different. Bushiroad has more games, and competitors are offering more AND better events. It's unrealistic to expect that every game that Bushiroad offers gets crammed into BSF/BCS, and we have long periods in certain regions where there literally is nothing to play. For me, after BSF there will be no incentive to buy product for 6 months, because the next BCS in my region is in March. That's not good. People who are not engaged in your game are putting their attention elsewhere.

The long story short is we need more events. We also need these events to be catered to specific audiences. Rather than have the weekend be filled with every single Bushiroad game, condense it down. A lot of Vanguard players also play Shadowverse? Do Vanguard and Shadowverse only. People who play Weiss also play Hololive? Put that on a separate weekend. Are we actually continuing to support Premium? Then put events for that too. Wanna spice things up? Some of these events are now team events. Wouldn't it be cool to have team events the entire year?

We now also have time to make the quality of these events better. Are we getting a lot of players for Vanguard? We can make it a 2-day event (just like Japan). We now also have time to make the top cut Bo3 or double elimination. Why is this important? Because your competitors are offering a complete event experience and taking competition seriously.

To cover the extra events, charge entry fees. BSF/BCS is the only event right now that is not charging entry fees for their regionals. This is not the competitive advantage that you think it is. Because the costs of hiring spaces are being fully taken on by Bushiroad, it is limiting the spaces we can hire, and also the amount of events we can have. I'll break it down with a real example.

The Sydney venue for BCS 25/26 is Marrickville Town Hall. This event space charges $2740 a day on the weekend, which amounts to $5480 (this is all public on the website). A bit over 200 people attended Standard last year. If they all paid an entry fee of $30 ($15-$20 is the standard cost of a locals in Australia, with regionals for other TCGs costing $50+), you take back $6000. Of course, having an entry fee means that less people will show up, but it still works out to be more money than not charging. This entry fee can also be adjusted based on location (ie. certain parts of the world can have cheaper entry to their events based on economy). Even if only 100 people show up, that's still $3000 more than what you would normally get.

You can also outsource events to people or businesses that want to do it. Let them take the costs and profits, as long as the event is ran to your standards and regulations. Make them submit event proposals so you can check if they have any idea what they're doing. You can provide the prizing, but let them take the local costs. This could be a low monetary investment for you to get more events out there and keep the community active.

This money can then go back to more events, better prizing, and better venues. Events might not directly drive sales, but it keeps your player base active and happy. More events means more chances to play and more incentive to buy product. Separating events gives more incentive for players to dip into other Bushiroad games and gives each game their time to shine.

TCG players are already spending lots of money on other games, why not keep them in yours?

3) Premium
I've had quite a few people come up to me these past couple of days after hearing the news and they all said the exact same phrase, "It feels like the end of an era". Regardless of whether it is or isn't, the messaging paints a bleak picture. We had Premium events at 26 of the 30 BCS events last year. This year, we currently stand at 8 out of the 25 locations hosting Premium. Now, not all the events have been finalised yet (there are a few listed with the tag "More information coming soon"), but even if they all hosted Premium it will not even be close to the same percentage of events compared to last year.

And what are we replacing the Premium events with? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The event space is already hired, they're just choosing not to run it. Maybe it's to save costs so they don't have to fly out so many people for worlds. That's really the only justification I can think of, apart from the other one which is they're trying to end of life Premium. This is what everyone is thinking.

I've said it before and I've said it again. I think it's the wrong thing to do. BCS 24/25 had a surging amount of players on Premium. For a format that has pretty much been neglected by developers, it's honestly crazy that Premium was doing so well. Why? There's things on the line, there's things to play for, and people are willing to devote that time and effort for it. For BSF? The numbers aren't as good, and it really comes to the messaging and execution. If you're not putting any effort into Premium, the players are going elsewhere.

The correct move would be to allow English control over Premium development and product. Allowing the English side to make their own banlists was a blessing, but it's clear that they're still being held back somewhat. The reality is though, if the format does not get any specific product support, it will likely stagnate and die. It's a wonder that it hasn't after so many years, and it can be attributed to the strength of having events.

We should be monetising this format. There's always the naysayers who say Premium product doesn't do well. Premium hasn't gotten a real set since 2022, and at that point Japan already stopped taking Premium seriously. We did get some product that errata'd some cards and reprinted cards, but in the end they were just reprint product with erratas. I don't think it's too late, but if we continue to head in this trajectory then Premium will be dead, and the people who are burnt from this will be some of your oldest playerbase.

Conclusion:
This has been a very long post, but there's still more. One thing I didn't touch on is communication and messaging. There's quite a few things I've mentioned here that boils down to, "it's a bad look". Bushiroad needs to understand how their words or actions will affect their customers. Whenever we get copy and paste, what we see is low effort. When we get less product or things are taken away, we see that as a slight. The internal reasons could be different; maybe there's a disconnect between JP and EN sides, but that is largely irrelevant to the customer. The customer only cares about the results.

The other question, where is the money going to? We've seen Vanguard as a whole grow, and Standard has been doing well. But are we getting better product? Are we getting better events? I don't think we are. We are getting a lot of copy and paste which like I said before, "it's a bad look". The other thing we do see is a lot of new TCGs that are coming out, that aren't Vanguard. Again, customers don't know the internal workings of what happens at the company, but they see results. They're seeing $50 generics and missing PRs, with no improvements in sight.

TCGs are a luxury that fights for a person's time and attention. As such, they need to be worth it. Right now, the English market is spoiled for choice. Gundam TCG recently came out, and looks to be doing great. Riftbound is coming out in a couple of months, and is also something with a strong IP behind it. Other TCGs are still going strong, whether they're part of the Big 3/4 or not. But you're not just competing with other TCGs as well. You're competing with other time sinks like Shadowverse Worlds Beyond, or even Pokemon Champions. All of these are offering the complete package; a game and a competitive circuit to look forward to.

As the average age of TCG players are getting older, we all have more disposable income and less time. Make your product the complete package, and then people will see no need to go elsewhere. TCGs are social games. If someone is playing, they drag their friends into it as well. That is also true for the reverse. If someone leaves, their friends also start leaving. Bushiroad needs to keep their players from wandering. If they don't, then they might wander and find another sphere to be invested in. And that will be a net loss to all of us.

Thanks for reading, keep it civil, and have a good day!

[Shindoism @TechnoShindo]

@PapaJujuVEVO

[Shindoism @TechnoShindo]

@VTA

[Shindoism @TechnoShindo]

@50cardsshop

[50cards @50cardsshop]

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[50cards @50cardsshop]

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[Shindoism @TechnoShindo]

@PapaJujuVEVO I want you to spit in my mouth

[Bay Area Cardfight!! Vanguard Group @bayareacfv]

Hey y'all! This is the official Bay Area Cardfight Vanguard Group located in Bay Area California. Main goal of this page is to show off decklists that top at our local stores. If you're interested, follow this page!

[Shindoism @TechnoShindo]

@AzaleaArchivist

[Azalea 🌸 @AzaleaArchivist]

[RTs appreciated 🩷]

I'll be opening $50 head-shot emergency comm in this style since I'm a little tight this month T w T)7 Unlimited slots for now and not FCFS. One-day turnover upon receiving sketch and approval!

THANK YOU AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS✨🩷

[Shindoism @TechnoShindo]

@echibobi This image goes so hard

[Shindoism @TechnoShindo]

@babypazzzz GAME NGA!!!!

[Shindoism @TechnoShindo]

@babypazzzz SHE GOT A COMMUNITY???!?!?!?!? OUT OF ALL THE LANGUAGES 🇦🇨🇦🇩🇦🇪🇦🇫🇦🇬🇦🇮🇦🇱🇦🇲🇦🇴🇦🇶🇦🇷🇦🇸🇦🇹🇦🇺🇦🇼🇦🇽🇦🇿🇧🇦🇧🇧🇧🇩🇧🇪🇧🇫 SHE DECIDED TO SPEAK NONSENSE LMAOOOOOOOO

[Shindoism @TechnoShindo]

@PapaJujuVEVO I want you

[50cards @50cardsshop]

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[Shindoism @TechnoShindo]

@amedeollen

[Shindoism @TechnoShindo]

@amedeollen @actuallysmiley