Welcome to Gaia! ::

xyz are like pok'e mon cards or vanguard cards. you put them on top of two or more cards of the same level. thats asbout it really.

Cardfight Vanguard, a new card game from japan. completely different from any other card game to date. which has lead to it's popularity

Question 1: Go Derp or go Home is the new meta. backrow is irrelevent, you either otk, have endless card removal, or just plain lose this format.

Question 2: the new archetypes thqat reign supreme are Dragon Rulers (tier 0 in both OCG and TCG, it even consistantly beats it's worst match up, as thats all they really need to side against), Mermail Atlanteans (another derp deck that OTK's, run's entire off monster effects so it's really hard to counter), Spellbooks/ Prophecy (a spellcaster archetype based off the major arcana and famous books. only traps they play, if any, are decree, t roar and waboku. the deck is the only deck in the game to ever be able to consistantly recycle and reuse spell cards effortlessly, and their engine is pretty bprked too. read spell book of judgment to find out why.) and evilswarm rabbit. (effortless locks down the other 3 decks via their ace monster, evilswarm ophion. the deck focuses on bringing him out and protecting him, then just beating the opponant down. sadly). the 5th best deck would probally be machina gadgets, as they have an xyz called gear gigant X, which is basically another gadget in itself, except it get them out of grave too. it's also the only other deck besides the big 3 that can pump out the broken rank 7's konami has made so far.

Question 3: Gadgets run the same as always, except xyz has made them faster and deadlier.

Mermail atlanteans focus on using water monsters as costs, the water monsters then sent to the grave via cost get their effects, which are either searching for seas serpents, popping face up cards or popping face down cards. the atlanteans are all sea serpents that get those effects and have their own effects as well. the mermails are rank 3 4 and 7 monsters, aqua, fish and seaserpent respectively. the level 3's have powerful reviving effects that let you spam the field when used as cost, while the rank 4's use water monsters as costs to get searches, monsters out of grave or other useful tricks. the level 7's can all discard other water monsters as a cost to summon themselves. this is an effect so rai-oh can't negate it. they then get powerful searches for monsters or the archetypes few spells and traps from deck or grave. one of them even nukes the field at the hefty cost of discarding 4 mermails. (the other 3 only need waters). then then otk you once they have advantage.

Dragon rulers are all extremely powerful in their own right, but together the 4 are borked. they are all level 7, and all their effects, all 4 of them, are ignition or trigger. you can use one of their effects per turn and only once per turn, which makes them pretty difficult to use for beginners, but once you master them the deck is autopilot. in addition, when they are banished, they cans earch another monster of the same type and attribute. the other two effects they share are the ability to return to hand during the opponants end phase after they were special summoned. they can also sumon themselves (which rai-oh can't ******** negate) via banished two monsters, any combination of the same type or attribute. they also have unique effects they get when discarding themselves with a monster of the same attribute. wind searches any other dragon, earth is monster reborn, fire is raigeki break, and water is foolish burial. there are also baby versions. the babies only have one effect they all share. and that is to once per turn, discard themselves and another dragon or monster of the same attribute to special summon their daddy from deck (daddy cant attack this turn though). they then spam rank sevens such as mecha phantom beastd rago sack which can summon tokens that make's it completely immune to all forms of destructions and can be used as tribute fodder for more dragons (such as light and darkness dragon) or be tributed to blow up any card on the field. they also love making number 11 big eye, which can steal opponants monsters. they ahve a great engine in spells too. sacrred sword of seven stars banished a level 7 monster from field or hand to allow you tod raw 2 cards (then search via the dragon), gold sarc is instant rota (banish daddy, get baby) and super rejuvination is always live. they literally really only need to side for evilswarm (because ophion shuts the deck down) and prophecy (which can get rid of drago sack without needing to destroy it).

evilswarm runs like a consistant version of dino rabbit. they have a cyber dragon, a normal, a monster that gives you a double summon for the turn, a wind-up rabbit for itself, and a monster that banishes evilswarms from grave to add other evilswarms from grave to hand and then get another normal summon (borked). the ace monster, ophion, prevents the special summon of all level 5 or higher monsters while it has xyz material, and can search for infestaton spell and traps by detaching one overlay unit (one of them is a forbidden lance for all face up evilswarms you control and it doesn't lower attack). the deck also has evilswarm bahumat, a miniture big eye that can only steal face-up monsters, and you need to discard and evilswarm from hand if the effect resolves successful too. bright side, it can attack that turn unlike big eye. the deck runs cards like safe zone and forbidden dress to give extra protection to ophion from monster effects that destroy cards too.other than that, it's just basic staple spells and traps.

prophecy, like mentioned earlier, is able tor ecycle spells easily. the monsters used all focus on summoning or searching they're boss monster or other spell book spell cards. the boss monster can summon herself from hand by revealing 3 spell book spells in hand (rai-oh still can't ******** negate). she also is like hyperion, able to banish a spell book spell card from grave (or hand) to destroy one card the opponant controls they have a forbidden lance spell book spell card (and since it's a spell book it's searchable), a spell book card that can either bounce a spell or trap, flip a monster face down or face up, or banish any card on the field by banishing a specific amount of spell books form grave. and this thing doesn't target. further more. they have a spell book card that adds any one banished spell book card to hand. a field spell that returns a spell book spell to the bottom of the deck from grave then lets you draw during standby, and many other broken cards. some of them even have two effects like the field spell, which when destroyed special summons a spell caster from your deck whose level is equal to or less than the amount of books in your grave. oh and the boss monster, high priestess of prophecy, is level 7..... they also have a premature burial that that doesn't kill the monster if it leaves the field. go figure.

last but not least, we have rogue decks that do well.

infernity once again have a loop thanks to a card called lavalval chain, which is rank 4 xyz that can foolish burial any card fromd eck, or place any monster on the top of your deck. they usual end field with 3 barrier, a doom dragon, a void ogre dragoon, and an inferntiy break, plus a few other monsters.

chain burns speed and the amount of card advatnage people can generate this formate have people looking for cheap wins with that too. there is a card called Card Car D which lets you draw two card by tributing itself during main phase, but after that you have to end turn. no big deal in chain burn, just set 5, summon card car and draw two and end.

Gravekeepers has seen a rise in play, as necrovalley shuts down dragon rulers, and the high monster count decks such as dragon ruelrs and mermails is screaming royal tribute fodder. and since alot of people aren't maining MST, all the more reason to play it. gravekeeper's assailant, descendant and guard can also hurt ophion as phion only has 1650 defense. and the pandemic it searches doesn't protect it from monster effects.

other rogue decks like inzektors, a dark insect archetype based off kamen rider, can go derp too. although they require a little more set up than other derpers as they were hit by the september banlist due to their derpness. they focus on equiping each other to gain power effects.

Also, thanks to Xyz, dragunities dont go make stardust end anymore, they go end fielf with stardust, photon strike bounzer (rank 6 xyz that negates monster effects and then burns for 1000 damage), red eye darkness metal and queen dragun djinn (rank 4 xyz that makes it so dragons except herself cant be destryed in battle). set royal decree end.

most archetypes from 5'ds, other than karakuri's and dragunities cant do anything. Karakuri's are pretty cool, they can end with 4 synchros, with an ideal hand.

frog Monarchs got good again due to the lack of backrow. any deck that can summon obelisk against dragon rulers deserves to win, as dragon rulers have lieterally no out to it.

cards like dark hole and mystical space typhoon are getting less and less sued in a competitive atmosphere too, due to the lack of backrow.

pretty much.