[VG][Touken Ranbu] Abusing On-attack and On-hit Skills 101!

[[F.A] Galleon]

Well then, that's a pretty crappy deck name isn't it... Oh wait it isn't, It's literally a one-line description of what the deck does.
As of the writing of this post, the entire set isn't updated on CFA yet, however, I have completed the deck IRL and this is my actual decklist.

Grade 0s: 17
1x Kashuu Kiyomitsu (SVG)
4x Aizen Kunitoshi (Stand Trigger)
4x Shokudaikiri Mitsusada (Critical Trigger)
2x Akita Toushirou (Draw Trigger)
2x Sayo Samonji (Critical Trigger)
4x Gokotai (Heal)

6 Criticals, 4 Stand, 2 Draw, 4 Heals

Since Akita, Sayo and Gokotai are all Vanillas, I won't bother going in-depth on them as Crits, Draws and Heals are pretty self-explainatory on why you would want them.

Shokudaikiri Mitsusada Grade 0
Critical Trigger/ Power: 4000.
[AUTO](RC):[Put this unit into your soul] When your vanguard attacks, if this unit is [Stand], you may pay the cost. If you do, draw a card, choose two of your rear-guards, and until end of turn, they get [Power]+3000.

Now, what can I really say about this critical trigger, It's basically the special Critical that On-stride G3s have, except It's generic, and it gives +3K to TWO rear-guards, which is debatably much better than +5K to a Vanguard. This card is absolutely ridiculous as you can use it at ANY time.... It's.. Margal on steroids, Fun-fact: In the game, his VA is the same as Kai Toshiki, That makes him that much cooler.

If you want a Critical in your deck, he is the man, if you DON'T want a critical in your deck, you still should run him because his effect is bonkers, plus trust me, you'll need that extra soul.

Aizen Kunitoshi Grade 0
Stand Trigger/ Power 4000
[AUTO](RC)[1/Turn]:When your vanguard attacks, if you have this unit in your back row, [Stand] this unit. Then, if you have a grade 4 or greater vanguard with MVP ability, choose one of your rear-guards in the same column as this unit, and [Stand] it.

I know what you're thinking, eeew Stand Trigger. Yeah Stand triggers aren't all that popular, but, his ability is so ridiculous (like Shokudaikiri) that really, you should run him. Basically, when your G4 MVP VG attacks, the entire column he's in stands, yeah, that's ANOTHER attack for NO cost. That's where the playstyle comes in.. An extra attack manes extra pressure for on-hit abilities, and an EXTRA trigger for on-attack abilities! Aizen, truly is the MVP of this deck, his ability is absolutely insane. Expect your Backrow to be mostly Grade 0s rather than Grade 1s thanks to Shokudaikiri and Aizen's insane abilities.

Kashuu Kiyomitsu/ Grade 0
[AUTO]:Forerunner (When a unit of the same clan rides this unit, you may call this unit to (RC))
[AUTO](RC):[Soul Blast (1)] When this unit boosts, if you do not have face up cards in your damage zone, you may pay the cost. If you do, Counter Charge (1), and until end of that battle, this unit gets [Power]+3000, and "[AUTO](RC):When your unit's attack hits a vanguard, draw a card, and put this unit into your soul.".

Kashuu Kiyomitsu... He's the only starter that doesn't give you a hard -1 in exchange for extra power (soft +1s), that in itself, kinda makes him worth running. But what is truly valuable, is his SB(1) Countercharge. All Touken Ranbu card's Costs are CB(1) so you can do some form of 'dance' (hah crappy pun) with your damage, triggering one of your unit's abilities, before boosting with Kiyomitsu and unfilpping and using another unit's ability. Unfortunately, if the attack in which he boosted hits, you'll be losing your really helpful unfilp, Don't think Touken only has CB(1) and they won't eat counterblasts, but trust me they will.

Grade 1: 14
4x Kousetsu Samonji (Sentinel)
4x Imanotsurugi (Stride Fodder)
4x Horikawa Kunihiro
2x Nikkari Aoe

Kousetsu Samonji, Just your regular Ol' G-Sentinel, Fun-fact: Also voiced by Kai Toshiki and was a sword of a Pacifist monk, which fits with his role as the deck's Sentinel.

Imanotsurugi, Power: 7000
[ACT](RC):[Put this unit into your soul.] Choose one of your grade 4 or greater units, during that turn, that unit gets [Power]+5000 and "[AUTO](VC) MVP (You can only pay the cost of MVP once in total each turn):[Soul Blast (1)] When this unit's attack hits a vanguard, you may pay the cost. If you do, Counter Charge (2).
[CONT](Hand):While you are paying the cost for Stride, this card gets grade+2.

Well, more things to use for stride is always amazing, but not only that, if you have another copy of him after you've Stride'd, he can enable Aizen Kunitoshi on ANY Stride Unit, which can win you the game. The on-hit countercharge is also quite a bit of pressure, but It's a MVP Ability, so make sure you've planned it out.

Horikawa Kunihiro, Power: 7000
[AUTO] Shinken Hissatsu (This ability is active if you have three or more damage):[Counter Blast (1)] When this unit is placed on (RC), you may pay the cost. If you do, Soul Charge (1), and this unit gets [Power]+4000 until end of turn.

A 11K Booster/Beater the turn he's called, and Soul charges for you to use as fuel, Well, it's really pretty self-explanatory is it? You need Soul Charge, and an 11K is always useful, Attacker or booster.

Nikkari Aoe, Power: 7000
[AUTO](RC) Shinken Hissatsu (This ability is active if you have three or more damage):[Put this unit into your soul] When your grade 3 or less vanguard attacks, if the number of other [Rest] rear-guards you have is three or more, you may pay the cost. If you do, choose one of your vanguards, and it gets [Power]+10000 until end of that battle.

Since we are not using the 'Toushirou' Archetype, that limits our Grade 1 options as the other grade 1s are basically vanillas. Hence, Nikkari is really just a filler, However, he just has a niche role, it boosting Tonbokiri's power, more on that when we get to Tonbokiri.

Grade 2: 11
3x Shishiou
3x Heshikiri Hasebe
3x Yamatonokami Yasusada
2x Doutanuki Masakuni

Heshikiri Hasebe Power: 9000
[AUTO](RC) MVP (You can only pay the cost of MVP once in total each turn):[Counter Blast (1)] When this unit's attack hits a vanguard, you may pay the cost. If you do, [Stand] this unit, and until end of turn, this unit gets [Power]+2000, and "[CONT](RC):This unit cannot attack a vanguard, and may choose a unit in your opponent's back row to attack.".

The ultimate pressure machine, if you're going to use an MVP Ability, it'll probably be him, his ability is absolutely stellar, snipe off annoying backrow like no tomorrow, of course, fitting the theme of the deck, he synergizes gloriously with Aizen, although you would only reach 13K Power, which isn't stellar, However, with the various +3K Methods (Shokudaikiri being the most relevant), you can boost him to a respectable 16K and start draining hands, he would also be 14K when sniping rear-guards, which would most likely require a 10K Shield as well!


Yamatonokami Yasusada Power: 9000
[ACT](RC) Shinken Hissatsu (This ability is active if you have three or more damage):[Counter Blast (1)] Until end of turn, this unit gets [Power]+2000, and "[AUTO](RC) MVP (You can only pay the cost of MVP once in total each turn):[Choose a card from your hand, and discard it] When this unit's attack hits a vanguard, you may pay the cost. If you do, draw two cards."

An interesting combination of Shinken Hisstasu and MVP, once again, his on-hit ability is incredible and is not something your opponent wants to let hit... Fortunately, you have Aizen and he's gonna have to let one of them hit now eh? If you feel like the deck isn't using enough Counter Blast.. try Spamming Yasusada for that extra +2K power to hit certain numbers!


Doutanuki Masakuni Power: 9000
[AUTO](VC/RC) Shinken Hissatsu (This ability is active if you have three or more damage): When this unit attacks a vanguard, during that battle, this unit gets [Power]+3000.

Honestly, he's nothing special, but a plain ol' 12K beater can serve you well, but the main reason he's in here, is because he makes that sweet sweet 16K Attack with Aizen... twice. And that's, pretty good.

Shishiou Power: 7000
[AUTO](RC) Shinken Hissatsu (This ability is active if you have three or more damage):[Counter Blast (1) & Soul Blast (1) & Choose a card from your hand and discard it] When this unit attacks a vanguard, you may pay the cost. If you do, draw two cards.
[CONT](RC):This unit cannot be chosen by the effects of your opponent's cards.

Of course, we saved the best for the last, Shishiou is the passion and the heart of Touken Ranbu, his ability is just... good. Well, on it's own it's good... With Aizen, it just gets ridiculous. With Aizen, Shishiou hits that sweet spot of 11K, just enough. Now, won't you just love to +2 for almost no good reason every turn? Yeah, me too. Shishiou will really most likely be your main consumer of counterblasts and soul, so, better watch out and manage your damage and soul. To top it all off, he has Resist.. Well only on the Rear-guard circle, but that's the most relevant one.

Of course, Shishiou is a pretty horrible thing to ride, 7K makes it a target for even Grade 1s. But, this shortcoming is nothing compared to the insane draw power he provides for the deck.

Grade 3: 8
4x Tonbokiri
4x Tsurumaru Kuninaga

Tonbokiri, Power: 11000
[AUTO](VC) Shinken Hissatsu (This ability is active if you have three or more damage):[Counter Blast (1) & Soul Blast (1)] When this unit is being attacked, you may pay the cost. If you do, this unit gets [Power]+2000 until end of turn.
[AUTO](VC):When this unit attacks a vanguard, during that battle, your opponent cannot call grade 0 units to (GC) from his or her hand.

That's right folks, He's a VC Silent Tom. Remember Nikkari Aoe? If they don't have a Sentinel, they'll cry when he attacks them. But It's ok, they'll cry when they attack YOU as well, thanks to his amazing Shinken Hissatsu. For a simple payment of CB(1) SB(1), a cost you should be familiar by now, he gains +2000 power until the end of the turn. That's right, a 13K Base VG. This might save 1-3 cards in your hand, which is truly valuable, but NOT only that, if you wish to use the ability again, to become a 15K VG, you could, but if it doesn't aid you in guarding, obviously that's a waste of resources. When you have Tonbokiri as your VG, be sure to plan ahead, pay attention to Sentinels, and calculate the guards you need and use his Shinken accordingly!

Tsurumaru Kuninaga, Power: 11000
[AUTO](VC) MVP (You can only pay the cost of MVP once in total each turn):[Soul Blast (1)] When this unit's attack hits a vanguard, you may pay the cost. If you do, Counter Charge (1), choose a grade 3 card from your drop zone, and return it to your hand.
[AUTO](VC):During your turn, when your G unit Stride, Soul Charge (1), choose two of your units, and they get [Power]+3000 until end of turn.

There we go, the Grade 3 Stride Base for Touken Ranbu, and let's just say, that is one powerful on-stride ability, not only is it free, it gives you a soul charge, which can be used for various things, and you can even power up your Vanguard, but of course you'll usually power up your rear-guards if possible as stated before, +3K can really help in hitting certain numbers. His On-hit ability is amazing, but due to the fact that he's the Stride Base, you'll most likely be striding and it won't see too much use.

G-Deck, Grade 4s: 8

4x Hotarumaru
2x Iwatooshi
1x Taroutachi
1x Mikazuki Munechika

Mikazuki Munechika,
[ACT](VC)[1/Turn]:[Counter Blast (1) & Choose a face down card from your G zone, and turn it face up] This unit gets [Power]+3000 for each face up card in your G zone until end of turn. Choose a rear-guard in your opponent's front row for each two face up cards in your G zone, and retire it. If the number of face up cards in your G zone is two or more, this unit gets [Critical]+1 until end of turn.

The Generation Rare of Touken Ranbu, the rarest sword, both in VG and in-game, and he really demonstrates why he is one of the 'Five Heavenly Swords', With a simple payment of CB(1) and any G-Deck Filp, He gains +3000 for every G-unit face-up in the G-deck, for the sake of explaination, 2, since you really wouldn't want to stride him as your first stride, retires a frontrow rear-guard, and gains Critical +1. That is ridiculous. If you have 3 Face-up already and you stride him, he becomes a Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion The Blood, with 38K Power, Unboosted, absolutely terrifying.

Disclaimer: This list is faithful to my actual IRL Decklist, due to budget reasons, I only have 1 of him, I HIGHLY recommend 2 copies, trust me, even with only 1 copy, this deck IS NOT CHEAP. If you do have two copies, feel free to replace Hotarumaru or Taroutachi

Iwatooshi
[ACT](VC)[1/Turn]:[Counter Blast (1) & Choose a face down card named "Iwatooshi" from your G zone, and turn it face up] During that turn, this unit gets "[CONT](VC):This unit battles all of your opponent's units in the front row in one attack.".

Speaking of Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion.... Iwatooshi has literally Vermillion's ability... For a simple cost of CB(1) Persona Filp and NO OTHER requirements. Needless to say, Vermillion's ability is really good. Not only that, thanks to its persona filp, it helps fuel Mikazuki Munechika, hence there is only two copies of him as Mikazuki basically outclasses him afterwards.
Fun-fact: Iwatooshi is not a sword, but a Naginata, and he is the only weapon in the actual game that hits all enemies at once, hence his Vermillion ability.

Taroutachi
[CONT](VC):During your turn, all of your rear-guards with Shinken Hissatsu ability in your front row get [Power]+3000, and if you have a heart card with "Jiroutachi" in its card name, this unit gets [Power]+5000.

As I do not have Jiroutachi, TAroutachi is a simple +3K power to all front row Shinken Hissatsu rear-guards, he has his uses as that 3K might break some numbers, but he's mostly a filler as you could filp him for Mikazuki Munechika.

Hotarumaru
[AUTO](VC) MVP (You can only pay the cost of MVP once in total each turn):[Choose a face down card named "Hotarumaru" from your G zone, and turn it face up & Choose five of your rear-guards, and [Rest] them] When this unit's attack hits a vanguard, you may pay the cost. If you do, [Stand] this unit, and this unit gets drive-2 until end of turn.

I know what you're thinking, man this card, isn't that good of a card, and you would be right, Hotarumaru is really a Vanilla stride, but, why is he in the deck then? The answer is simple, it's not his effect, but the fact that he is the only innate 'MVP' Grade 4 Stride. Why is this important? If you've forgotten, it's what's needed to trigger Aizen's incredible ability. IF you do not stride Hotarumaru, you'll need to use Imanotsurugi, which isn't too desirable.

Closing Statements:
Touken Ranbu is a really fun and great clan, props to Bushiroad for the design of the card as they are translated pretty well. It'll take some practice to get a hang of the deck, but once you've got it, it's a real thrill ride, that's all.

[Moe Shinkō]

Excellent post. Quite insightful, I'm going to a build a more aggressive Touken build, to get consistent 21k+ column swings every turn.