Pure Darkness Keyword Deck

Frosty Steeple

Dark Irregulars have always been a clan than revolved around a strong end game. The problem with this is that they would normally lose triggers in the process of soul charging, reducing their impact. In addition, the looming threat of deck out means they usually only get 2-3 turns at full power. The new support focusing on the keyword darkness provides some answers to these problems due to selective soul charging and adding soul back to deck^*. Here is the deck list:

Grade 4 Units
4x Rebellious Retainer of Fresh Blood, Fredrick
4x Love Tempest, Kisskill Lira
4x Mask of Demonic Frenzy, Ericrius
2x Nighttime Gentleman Saint-Germain (G Guard)
2x False Dark Wings, Agrat Bat Mahlat (G Guard)

Grade 3 Units
4x Frosty Steeple
4x Glenzend Vampir

Grade 2 Units
4x Demented Executioner
3x Tragic Claw
3x Doppel Vampir

Grade 1 Units
4x Succubus of Avarice (Perfect Guard)
3x Succubus of Pure Love (Stride Helper)
3x Edge in the Darkness
4x Serpent Charmer

Grade 0 Units
1x Werfleder Ordonnaz (Starter)
1x Enigmatic Assassin
4x Wertigre Fanatica (Critical)
3x Amon’s Follower, Cruel Hand (Critical)
3x Hysteric Shirley (Draw)
2x Monochrome of Nightmareland (Stand)
4x Alice of Nightmareland (Heal)

The strides in this deck list are mainly pressure attackers either through the use of on-hit effects or the ability to gain obscene amounts of power^**. Fredrick allows you to place a card from hand into soul once a turn to give Frederick 1k additional power for each card in soul. If Frederick gains 10k or more from this skill, the front row rearguards gain 5k additional power. In addition to this, this card’s cost allows you to achieve darkness. Lira’s skill allows you to soul charge 2 and draw if there are 6 or more in soul when her attack hits an opponent’s vanguard. When he attacks, if darkness is active, Ericrius can soul charge 2. Then, if the number of cards in soul is 6 or more when Ericrius attacks, he gains the ability to retire an opponent’s rearguard if he hits the opponent’s vanguard, and for 15 or more gains 1k for each card in soul.

Mask of Demonic Frenzy, Ericrius

The grade 3 units focus on gaining cards with the darkness ability to hand or to soul while gaining large amounts of power. At generation break 1 and with darkness activated, and if you have 10 or more cards in soul, Frosty Steeple gains 10k additional power. Then if you have 15 or more cards in soul, the opponent can only call grade 0 guardians from hand to guard Frosty Steeple. With a boost from either Tragic Claw or Enigmatic Assassin, Frosty can hit 32k power or more. In addition to this generation break 2 skill, Frosty Steeple allows the player to check the top 5 cards of the deck for a darkness and add it to hand when placed on vanguard for the cost of one counterblast and one soul blast. With the new support, this skill finally becomes viable (since 30 cards in this deck list are darkness, including the deck list’s perfect guard). Glenzend Vampir, the new darkness main grade 3 unit, needs some explanation. Glenzend’s generation break one skill can help recycle some resources like enigmatic assassin for example. Specifically, the skill lets you place a darkness unit from hand or field into soul at the end of turn if darkness is active. As a result, Glezend allows you to draw a card if the there are 6 or more cards in the soul. The same skill also counter charges one damage and retires one opposing rearguard if Glezend has 15 cards or more cards in soul. When Glezend is placed on vanguard or rearguard, you can counterblast one to check the top 5 cards of the deck and put as many darkness units from among them into soul and the rest to the bottom of the deck.

The grade 2 units of the deck are made to help with consistency and pressure. Tragic Claw has the option to soul charge when another unit is placed in the same column. It gains boost for darkness and 10 or more in soul and gains 2k additional power for 15 or more in soul at generation break one, making Claw a potential 11k booster. This means that if it is behind the vanguard, it can soul charge when the player strides, helping Glenzend use darkness. Doppel Vampir gains 5k additional power for 6 or more in soul and restricts grade 0 guards for 15 in the soul if darkness is active. When placed on rearguard, Demented Executioner checks the top 7 for a darkness unit and puts it into the soul. When darkness is active, Executioner can also gain 2-5k power depending on the number of cards in the soul.

Serpent Charmer

The grade 1 units in this deck list are about are all about utility. Serpent Charmer gains 2k additional power for darkness and 10 in soul. If darkness is active and there are 15 cards in the soul,  it can retire itself at the end of turn, choose 13 cards in soul, shuffle the cards not chosen from the soul into deck, and draw a card. With the skill, this card helps prevent deck out while being able to cycle triggers from the soul back into the deck. Edge in the Darkness gains intercept and and the ability to intercept from the back row when 10 or more cards are in soul. This card also gains 3k power for generation break one, darkness, and 6 or more cards in the soul. If darkness is active and you have achieved generation break one, you can retire one of their grade 1 or less units to add Succubus of Avarice to hand from soul.

There are two grade 0 non-trigger units used in the current build. While there are a good number of usable starters, only two are used here. Werfleder Ordonnaz can go into the soul and soul charge 2 for counter blast one at generation break one. If after that, you have 6 or more in soul after the cost is paid, you can draw one card. If darkness is active, and you have 10 or more in soul, Enigmaic Assassin can call itself from soul to the rearguard at the beginning of the attack step. If you call it, it gets 5k additional power till end of turn. If you have 15 or more in soul, Assassain gains 10k additional power.

The rest of the deck consists of triggers and G guards, which help the deck soul charge and protect resources based on the amount of units in the soul. Hysteric Shirley goes into soul from the rearguard to soul charge 1. Monochrome of Nightmareland generation break one allows you to shuffle it into deck from rearguard, then soul charge 1. After the skill is activated, you can counter charge one if there are 6 cards in the soul, and draw a card if there are 10 cards in the soul. Agrat Bat Mahlat can soul charge 2 in order to gain 5k additional shield when placed on guardian circle. Saint-Germain can gain 10k additional shield if there are 10 more cards. In addition to this, if 15 cards or more in soul, Saint-Germain can give the field resist.

I hope you enjoyed this deck list. Please leave any questions or comments in about this deck list in the comments section.

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^{Images of cards came from http://cardfight.wikia.com/wiki/Cardfight!!_Vanguard_Wiki. These images may have been re-sized.}

^{*The Darkness keyword is activated when a card is put into the soul during the turn through any means beyond riding a unit or moving a unit to the vanguard circle.}

^{**For those who want to take the deck beyond budget, use One Steeped in Sin, Scharhrot and Abominable One Gilles De Rais.}