For those who have followed me for a while, they know I am a veteran of TCGs; and the very first one I played was Cardfight Vanguard! The game itself has helped me find a lot of close friends and it has also shown me a whole new world. So when I heard that we were finally getting the Mobile version, I was excited, to say the least. So I started playing it and could not stop; let us dive into this and see what the final verdict is!

So what is the TCG (Trading Card Game) About?

The basic premise of the trading card game, as explained in the anime, is that the two players represent astral spirits duelling on the fictional planet Cray. The cards in the players’ decks, called “Units”, represent characters from Cray that players can “Call” to the field to fight for them. Players alternate turns calling, attacking, and defending with units. When one player reaches six damage, or there are no more cards in his or her deck, that player loses the game.

A deck must contain exactly fifty cards, including exactly sixteen “Trigger Units.” There can be no more than four copies of the same card, no more than four total Heal Triggers, and no more than four cards with the keyword Sentinel (Perfect Guard) in a deck. There may also be an extra Sixteen Cards, called G-units, that are placed in a separate place called the Generation Zone. In addition to the G-units, you can place other items such as Gift Markers and Tokens there.

So What is Different about the Mobile Game?

So there are some major differences between the IRL TCG and the mobile game. The first big thing is that in the game, you are running a 40 card deck instead of 50 cards. The second thing is that your only grade zero is your starter (in most cases, but the few special cases are Flogal, Future Knight Lew), so that means you are using your grade 3s as your triggers. The 3rd big thing is that they changed some cards around so that they are not too broken in the mobile version.

So those are a few key things that are different from the original game, but in all honesty, it works really well for the mobile game.

The mobile game has online play in a PvP mode! It has a story mode that faithfully reproduces the world of the original “Cardfight!! Vanguard” animation series! PVP Mode has been made with the new rules which allow for practice offline, so that way, you can show off your skills online. There is a “My Room” feature where you have the freedom to create your unique room and have your favorite characters hang out!

There is also an offline mode where you can earn items to craft cards for the different clans; this mode is called Character Fight mode. In this mode, you will fight different characters in the series to help earn materials that will advance your decks; as well as learn more about the characters you fight as well.

They have a point system in the game called VP, which stands for Victory Points. They use this system to help give the player extra rolls in the gatcha, give them free cards, etc.

How Does the Mobile Game Handle?

Its handling is pretty good for 95% of the time; once in a blue moon, I have trouble when it comes to riding to the next grade. When I reference this, I am talking about me choosing a card but end up picking up a different one in the process. Besides this, it is a simple click and drag of the cards, as well as leaving it to simple luck of the draw. Just like in real life, Luck does play a factor in the Mobile game; this can affect the outcome for the whole match either in a good or bad way.

The online play is a little sketchy depending on the connection. I have had a game where the connection was fantastic; while other games would take forever because of the huge amount of lag on the opponent’s end. Besides that, the overall online play is pretty good, and it helps you get VP (Victory points) items faster than just fighting the characters in the character fight mode.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, this game does the TCG a lot of justice as well as running very smoothly. I have not had a problem when it comes to running while playing, minus laggy connection which is not the game’s fault. The gatcha itself is not the worst and seems to have mixed reviews throughout the community. The in-game reward system is pretty good; the story is amazing as well! So overall, I believe everyone should give this game a try!