Attention on deck! With the release of D-BT04 Awakening of Chakrabarthi, what is the state of Flagburg? Can Flagburg keep up with the big decks in the standard format, or should it descend into the deeps of the abyss and bide its time? In today’s article, we are going to take a hard look at how strong Flagburg is with the new support that was given in D-BT04 Awakening of Chakrabarthi and whether it was enough to keep us afloat.
New Support
With the release of D-BT04 Awakening of Chakrabarthi we have received a handful of new cards purpose-built for Flagburg and a few that might be helpful from our neighbors in Stoicheia. First up let’s discuss the new direct support for Flagburg.
Direct Support
#1 – Blue Artillery Dragon, Inlet Pulse Dragon
With the ability to restand on the first attack at the cost of one soul blast we have a welcome new member to the fleet in Blue Artillery Dragon, Inlet Pulse Dragon! With this restanding ability it would be reason enough to run Blue Artillery Dragon, Inlet Pulse Dragon, but wait there’s more! At the end of our turn, if we attacked four times or more, we can put Blue Artillery Dragon, Inlet Pulse Dragon into the soul and draw a card! This ability is so great for a multitude of reasons. First, the obvious ones being it replenishes the soul after reducing our soul putting us at a zero loss in the soul and drawing us a card. These two reasons are good enough to make us want to devote slots, but the less obvious come with some of the matchups we may see. Primarily when facing Seraph Snow or Eugene we deny our opponent a target for their abilities and generate an advantage for ourselves. In my opinion Blue Artillery Dragon, Inlet Pulse Dragon is something we needed and need more of.
#2 – Heavy Strike Brave Shooter
Next, we have Heavy Strike Brave Shooter with the ability to gain +5k power until the end of turn when your vanguard is Flagburg! This ability also does stack if Heavy Strike Brave Shooter were to restand and attack again, giving us a 20k attacker. We must ask ourselves if this is good enough to push anything out of the deck at this time. In my opinion no, as space is so tight in the deck and the need to support a card with individual support to make it viable is problematic.
#3 – Advance of Great Cause
Last up, we have Advance of Great Cause with the ability to give one of our Flagburgs an additional 20K power on our opponent’s turn until the end of the battle. Generally, I have not been very fond of these types of cards as they are so narrow. Meaning even though most cards have less shield potential than this card the ability to attack, boost, or guard any other card tends to outweigh the extra 5k.
Indirect Support
#1 – Clipping Dragon of Soul-revolution
First, up in our indirect support, we have Clipping Dragon of Soul-revolution, with the ability to be put into soul and counter charge one card if you used Alchemagic or attacked five or more times. With how much Flagburg uses counterblast and soul this is a card that we would want, but there are issues. From my experience, I have found I need the counterblast or soul before Clipping Dragon of Soul-revolution can activate. Without the counterblast or soul, it is also more difficult to activate its ability. So, for me, it is a regrettable miss for Flagburg.
#2 – Gather Upon Me, Ye Wandering Souls
Next up we have Gather Upon Me, Ye Wandering Souls which gives our vanguard an extra drive check for the cost of discarding one order card. I have seen a few Japanese lists topping using this card, but to use it effectively they have had to increase the number of orders, which with how little room we have is difficult. Depending on the build I definitely can see Gather Upon Me, Ye Wandering Souls being a great help.
#3 – Serene Maiden, Lena
Last up we have Serene Maiden, Lena, with the ability to increase her shield value by 5k when our opponent is at grade 3. Lena is an easy and welcome inclusion into the deck as a strict upgrade for our draw triggers.
D-BT04 Deck Updates
Now with an idea of where we have started and what new tools we have available, we can make a plan to move forward. I would propose a fairly optimized list as a starting point for continued development below.
Now as for cards that are commonly run in the previous lists that are not included like Sylan Horned Beast, Agleo, High Rate Burst Dragon, and Spiritual Body Condensation I will explain their exclusion.
Sylvan Horned Beast, Agleo
Agleo is an excellent card that provides a large power boost to two units, but it falls behind in comparison to Conspiring Mutant, Admantis. Admantis outperforms by when being placed it gives 5k to a rearguard and then boosts another unit for 8k, then can boost for turns after. These advantages just make Admantis so much better in my opinion.
High Rate Burst Dragon
From the beginning of D-BT03, I have had mixed feelings for High Rate Burst Dragon. I believe now that we have Blue Artillery Dragon, Inlet Pulse Dragon we no longer need High Rate Burst Dragon. The removal of High Rate Burst Dragon also stabilizes our resources by a small margin.
Spiritual Body Condensation
I believe Spiritual Body Condensation is worth running, but the soul issues that Flagburg has made it difficult. Due to the soul issues, I have replaced it with In Search of an Ideal Far Away, which gives Flagburg a little extra boost to either get through that last bit of damage or eat away at an opponent’s hand. In Search of an Ideal Far Away can provide a unit with 20k-25k very easily, which could be that extra power to punch through.
The Current Meta
With all of this analysis where do I think Flagburg sits in the rankings? I think Flagburg sits roughly in the middle of the pack due to the likely best deck being Seraph Snow. The matchup currently against Seraph Snow will be brutal for any Flagburg player, with every imprisonment of your cards being almost a guaranteed retire. Currently, the best way a Flagburg player can win out over Seraph Snow is straight-up rushing down the opponent. Unfortunately, Flagburg is not as good as Aqua Force of the past in doing early rush. What are your thoughts on Flagburg in the current meta? Please let me know in the comments!
Rogue of the Seven Seas 