Why Tachikaze Excel with Accel

With Bushiroad's reboot of the game with V-series, the slate has been wiped clean and every clan is being rebuilt from the ground-up. This hasn't had too much of an effect on the core clans of Royal Paladin, Kagero, Nova Grapplers, and Oracle Think Tank, but some of the more fringe clans are seeing more noticeable changes. From minor streamlines to full-on revamps, the "side character" clans are seeing significant changes in the ways they play, and Tachikaze are no exception. Our favorite Dinodragons have received two significant changes to the way they play: The Accel gift, and the Equip Gauge mechanic.


Imaginary Gifts are changes made to all clans, although the magnitude of impact the gifts have on any given clan's playstyle varies. When Tachikaze were first announced as an Accel clan, I was admittedly jarred and a little disappointed. Thinking about how the clan played pre-reboot, I had hoped they would utilize Force. Firing off multiple attacks by eating and re-calling units would be much easier if the revived unit(s) got an additional 10,000 power and wouldn't need to worry about being boosted. Of course, Accel accomplishes all of this without needing the middle-man of the retire-and-recall mechanic. Giving Tachi's the Accel gift streamlined their game plan; their strategy has long had a focus on multi-attacking, but now they can accomplish that without needing to jump through any hoops. While this could be seen as a "dumbing down" of their mechanics, no longer requiring the use of skills and effects to achieve their multiple attacks, it now leaves more room for the clan to focus on other mechanics.

Primarily, their new Equip Gauge mechanic. This is brand new to the game, whipped up just for Tachikaze to help flesh out their identity. As a quick summary, the mechanic entails sticking cards from your deck face-down under your Rear Guards. These are used as "ammo" for your other skills, fitting the theme of the dinosaurs being living artillery that feed on each other. I was wary of this mechanic at the beginning, since needing cards to charge gauge and cards that use them meant the deck would be pretty combo-reliant. While that still holds true, at least in part, Bushi's card design for their first set has been pretty top-quality. Cards like Sonic Noa serve as both a gauge-charger and a retire outlet, and the card design team struck a nice balance between all the different effects the deck needs.

That said, how is the deck itself performing? Are all these shiny new mechanics just smoke and mirrors, or do they actually have substance? Having played the deck online and with proxies for the past few weeks, I have to say that I'm impressed with how the clan turned out. Despite being an Accel clan, Tachi definitely don't feel like a Nova Grappler knock-off. Having the extra circle gives them more room to put down fodder units, namely Blightops, while still keeping enough space for your heavy hitters to apply pressure. Nova Grapplers can churn out 6 attacks in one turn, but they generally don't require more than 1 card out of your hand to block. Meanwhile, Tachikaze can swing for numbers that rival, and even exceed, the power Force clans hit. 4+ attacks a turn that can force excess of 15k shield per attack.


The main weakness of Nova Grapplers, and presumably all Accel clans, is their lack of ability to mobilize a field. They aren't Royal Paladins, their calling power is pretty sub-optimal. Tachikaze, however, have a massive built-in advantage engine. Sonic Noa and Megarex both have draw effects, while Blightops and Laceraterex serve as the perfect fodder for those units' costs, allowing you to recoup or even grow your hand size. During plenty of my games I had a larger hand size than an OTT deck. If you can get your engine going, even a little bit, you shouldn't be hurting for field and combo pieces throughout the game.

Gigarex is what I would consider the perfect boss. His skill that sticks gauge on each of your Rear Guards ensures that you'll never be short on ammo, and with just a full front row he'll swing for 27,000. His skill makes sure he doesn't need a booster, which gives you more flexibility in where your scarce boosters can go. Deathrex, while not an optimal ride, can still serve as a Vanguard for a turn or two while you dig for Gigarex. As a Rear Guard, Deathrex can sometimes hit numbers as insane as 60-80,000. Megarex and Savage King serve similar roles, and though they don't get as big as Deathrex, their power just keeps stacking as the game continues. Throwing a lot of gauge onto Megarex, transferring all of those to Savage King, then feeding Savage King to Deathrex can net you a nearly unstoppable final turn.

Tachikaze can even start making plays before you hit Grade 3. Laceraterex and Blightops, with ways to charge more gauge and retire them, can let you dig for Gigarex and other units before your deck needs to really get going. The deck just has such insane synergy that, in the hands of a competent player, can absolutely steamroll an opponent. There are a lot of idiosyncrasies to the deck in regards to field setup (what goes on the Accel circle, what gets boosted by Noa, etc.), attack order (What gets gauge, what gauge moves where, etc.), and powerline optimization. Tachikaze are a clan that takes some dedication to really master, but reward that dedication with an incredibly potent and lethal deck.