Hi amigos, today I want to go over the results for the BRO 2021 Premium events that we just had this prior weekend! I think most of us would have agreed that it wasn’t exactly what we expected! Let’s dive into it!
Final Standings & Top 8 Results
Pics thanks to https://twitter.com/FuzzyParadox
We right away see both Nightmare Dolls and Luard taking 1st and 2nd places! There was some discussion beforehand that Nightmare Dolls was a real contender for the Pale Moon. However, Pale Moon is still a clan that only a few players can perform well. Players such as Derick Dao (known as the Harri player) are ones that can be seen to succeed with it. Looks like more players have been playing Pale Moon more to even perform well!
Furthermore, Luard is still a solid pick for regional events too. Morfessa is still a REALLY strong 1st stride! Luard is still a deck that can take full advantage of it thanks to cards like Dagda.
Another deck that we expected to be a contender is Regalia. After the Tahro hit, Regalia was really a solid choice for Genesis to be able to still make it to Top 8. Glad to see it here since I also personally played Regalia this time. It also has many attributes that make it a well-rounded deck such as restanding VGs/RGs, Marduk, 7 drive checks, Resist-like effects, etc.
A cool and unexpected deck that made it to 2nd place was Eradicators! Usually, with Narukami, people think of Vanquisher, yet Eradicators did well in this region event! They still have access to great cards such as Impede Dragon. Kudos to the player!
AO Top 8
In AO we can see that Nightmare Dolls took 3 spots! Plus this region had it place 1st. Behind it is 2 Highlander, Vanquisher, Thavas, and Luard.
EU Top 8
This one was more diverse! Luard taking 2 spots and also placing 1st. Then following up with Victor, Dailiner, Nightrose, Nightmare Dolls, Eradicators, and NLK. Notice that there was still 1 Nightmore Dolls in Top 8 even though it didn’t Top 2 in this region.
NA Top 8
However, NA took an interesting turn! 4 Granblue decks! 3 of them Beatrice focused and 1 is Nightrose. Followed by Regalia, Nightmare Dolls, Luard, and Magus! More on Granblue in the next section.
Represenation Data
Thanks to Bushiroad Judges (Chusan, KuuroNeko, Pcyborg helped creating/sharing these)
AO Region
The Top 5 most represented clans respectively are Granblue, Shadow Paladin, Kagero, Pale Moon, and Bermuda Triangle! I’m greatly surprised and glad to see Granblue being the most represented!
Definitely expected Shadow Paladin and Kagero showing a good amount since they’re usually solid picks!
Pale Moon and Bermuda Triangle are just behind them! Again Nightmare Dolls and even some Harri decks were definitely being played after seeing 3 Nightmare Dolls in Top 8.
NA Region
The Top 5 most represented clans respectively are Granblue, Shadow Paladin, Kagero, Bermuda Triangle, and Genesis! Wow very similar to AO!
Genesis squeezed into this one! So I’m sure it was mainly Regalia decks.
EU Region
The Top 5 most represented clans respectively are Granblue, Shadow Paladin, Genesis, Narukami, and Bermuda Triangle! Again we see similarities!
Interestingly, we see Narukami representation made it to the Top 5 here.
Some Reflections
I’ll take some time to reflect on 3 clans that I believe should be reflected on. Plus a few key highlights that helped them make it to Top 8 and even Top 2.
Nightmare Dolls
The elephant in the virtual room is Nightmare Dolls! Pale Moon was affected by the Fighter’s Rule update last October; however, Nightmare Dolls still have access to really great options.
Key Highlights:
- Accel Circle generation (typically Accel II for more hand advantage)
- Can reride down to G2 in certain matchups to deny Stride but still do an effective 1st G3 Turn
- Access to all of the great Pale Moon strides such as Darklord Princess, Fairfield, Harri, etc. that enable multi attacks with both VG/RGs
- A lot of attacks thanks to cards like Alice, Ginny, etc.
- Works well with the Dark States Over Trigger (we saw this on stream)
Beatrice/Nightrose
Our beloved clan, Granblue! I’m pleased to see it take some tops and also have the highest representation for AO and NA. Granblue has been a resilient deck in Premium for years and it’s great to see how much it can adapt to handle the most crucial matchups.
Key Highlights:
- Both multi VG/RG attacks
- Can generate hand advantage easily
- Improve hand quality with cards like Greed Shade and Protect marker generation
- Colombard and Obadiah can search for key cards in matchups
- Can play Cray Elementals such as Rollock, Honoly, etc. without hurting it
- Disruptive G Guard plays with Negrolily, Beatrice, and Cannoneer
Also, Solemn did an in-depth deck profile of his Top 8 Beatrice deck! Feel free to watch:
Luard
Lastly, of course, Luard with Morfessa! Still a solid pick till this day and is one of the few decks that can still play the G Era G3s as well. EU Champion Karan Patel did really well with Dragfall, Luard (interview article).
Key Highlights:
- Powerful 1st Stride with Morfessa (2 Crit+, +15k blanket front row, guard restriction, multi RG attacks)
- Toolbox nature with Luard G3s (Dragfall can do free Stride and Ultimate Stride)
- Recycles, Consistent, and has board control
- Also, access to other Shadow Paladin strides such as Spectal Blaster “Diablo”, Phantom Blaster “Diablo”, etc.
Closing Thoughts
What’s also cool to see is that Dravoth predicted Pale Moon and Granblue doing well in his article! Nice!
There seems to be a common theme for these tops:
- Restanding VGs
- Multi attack with RGs
- VGs/RGs that gain extra Crit
- Advantage gaining
- Some unique play(s) that can contribute to their individual success (disruptive G Guard plays, recyclibilty, etc.)
Will this weekend’s results affect tomorrow’s ban list? We’ll find out soon enough! Thanks for reading! Till next time amigos, see ya!
Rogue of the Seven Seas 