Raging Spirit

Ancient World used to be all about having a huge Size 3 in your center position and feeling big and playing with the center strategy. Well, you can still do that with the new support in Hundred Booster 1...but why not use a weapon as well? I mean, you rogue Sieger players are probably tired of using that freaking Burning Bow. Why not just play Ancient World with all the Size 3 goodness alongside actual weapons?

With Raging Spirits, you can do that. The archetype works with Size 3's that you can call to the side, instead of the center. These Size 3's have the Guard ability - I just coined that - to redirect all opponent attacks to them, effectively being in your center without actually taking up your center lane. This allows you to wield a legit weapon - and Raging Spirits works wonderful with the new weapons released (even the vanilla one).

Basically, if you like to play with weapons like Dragon or Danger but you can't leave Ancient World alone, here's the best of both Worlds. Literally.

Big Gang Knuckle Buster

Remember how when Ancient World debuted, you got basically the choice between Sieger and Sieger? Well, Raging Spirit is debuting with 3 unique Size 3 monsters. And all of them are playable. The main baddie is Ethereal Overlord, Gang the King. What an angsty chuuni name. Pay 3 gauge for- aww screw the cost, is that 5 crit? Hell yes. And Penetrate? Oh man. As if that wasn't good enough, the actual power of the card is 13000 because when will you not have 3 Raging Spirit in the drop after paying 3 gauge for this card in the first place. So he hits like a truck, looks like a truck, and also takes a hit for you with the Guard mechanic. Sounds legit. He's a staple. Side him out when you think removal will be an issue (4000 defense pls), but otherwise go for broke.

Remember, if you're worried about Solomon Shield clones you can always link attack. Gang the King basically heavily punishes anybody stupid enough to call a center against Raging Spirits.

Your secondary Size 3 is a choice between Wicked Dragon Emperor, Billion Knuckle and Bash Dragon Emperor, Champion Lord - or actually, just run both. Billion Knuckle is a more defensive card, packed with a well-costed Soulguard alongside a great Counterattack ability. Champion Lord, on the other hand, gives you a sick 9000/2 Double Attack for the same exact cost. All your Size 3's have Lifelink 2 which is fine, it's much more affordable than Lifelink 5.

So Australian

With a Size 3 monster on the field already and your center open, your opposite lane should be filled with a Size 0. While you could use one of the new Dragon Lord Bruder cards (and you should), the specialized Dragon Kid, Ricky is a good fit for Raging Spirits. It nullifies the Lifelink of your Size 3 Raging Spirit, and since your Size 3 is Guarding both you and Ricky, that effect is more or less guaranteed to go off sans removal. Ricky himself boasts pretty decent stats, same as Fate Skeleton.

Cool weapon. Even though it's just vanilla, I'm sure we'll be getting better ones later (you can always run Buddy Sword for now).

Scratch that, we actually have 4 different Size 3's to choose from including the PR. Sole-Path Dragon Emperor, Onystreet is pretty solid despite having nothing but the Guard ability. Why? Magic numbers, 7000 defense is pretty good and dodges PoF. You basically replace Gang with this guy when Gang's unsafe, and even Champion Lord if you feel that's unsafe as well. Since Onystreet doesn't cost any gauge, he's a huge lifesaver sometimes. The safest play is oftentimes the best play.

Losing is just another way to win

Raging Spirits, upon debut, were better than Dragon Lords because you didn't have to manage your gauge to always have more than 3 so you can evolve to the next form of Sieger. Well, now you kinda have to leave 3 gauge available, but the payoff is definitely worth it. If you were to die on your opponent's turn, you can pay 3 gauge to come back to 1 life and call Fourth Omni Fire Lord, Burn Nova to the field. You also become immune to damage for the rest of the turn. When Burn Nova enters the field, you have to discard your entire hand but he also nukes every other card besides himself and is indestructible on-play. He has Triple Attack. You can see how polar this card is. Since it's call cost requires you to die, this card is actually a dead card until you lose. You just have to keep holding onto it and in a deck that doesn't draw well that can be fatal. But hell, this deck gives you a very very good second chance at the game.

Underling of the Fire Lord, Ricky is a great card, 4000/1/ offense on a Size 0. Two effects make this new Ricky phenomenal. The first pays 1 gauge to give another Raging Spirits +5000 power and Penetrate. Welp, guess Gang the King is absolutely outclassed because now every card you have is just Gang the King but less risky. The second effect is 2 gauge to revive himself from the drop zone, which is pretty good. He doesn't have Lifelink either!

Muh Counter call timing.

Gang the King got better as an SD. He's actually just a glorified Size 0 with very cheap call cost and ridiculous 6000/2 Penetrate. You can also use Dragon Baby Ricky which gives you the option of sacking Baby Ricky (and paying his Lifelink) to save whatever big dude you were going to lose.

Now is leading an army

New support is all the rage nowadays, and Burn Nova gets a new Omni Lord form: Commadant of the Enma Alliance. I'm scared because now Bushiroad has to balance every Raging after this and ask "Will this card make Alliance Nova broken?" You can discard a Raging Spirit monster from your hand to give the otherwise Penetrate-only Burn Nova that card's ability for the turn. Every single ability. Everything after the call cost. So it quickly goes through the roof when you realize that discarding original Burn Nova gives this dude Triple Attack. -1 for 2 more 3-crit Penetrate attacks? Yes please. You can also get weird interactions by discarding like Gang the King SD and making Alliance Nova a Size 0 if you call another Size 3 Raging Spirit. You can give him extra crit, make his attack unnullifiable, give him indestructible, etc. Just be careful because he also gets the Lifelink of the discarded card as well, so you don't want to tack on too much Lifelink without a way to counter an opponent's Oops!

But yeah, discarding Edgeknuckle and playing 2 Charging Ricky is 5 damage Penetrate and can't be nullified. Pretty funny.

I have a big horn

The entire Enma Alliance basically exists to support whatever Size 3 you're going to get behind for the game. Regentthorn helps get those Rickys into your drop zone and charges up some drop related strategies. Jetcowl is extra soul as well as soul hate. Onizorihead gives +5000 defense on a counter and combined with the dude that already has Counterattack its fantastic, but acts free protection for any boss. Kilmince allows you to revive basically any Size 3 Raging boss you want at a minus (but combined with Regentthorn, its kinda like a tutor but worse). Cutbilly is a Size 0 with 3-crit if you have a Size 3 Raging.

Of course more importantly we get a cheaper Wrath Trigger protection so now Ragings is best Ancient Again.

Venom Nova looks really similar to another card...oh hey, it's almost like Catastrophe Cord! Except Venom Nova is amazing. Decks that have a lot of gauge ramp can utilize Venom Nova's ability to tank forever, and sitting on a 9000/3 Penetrate feels pretty good. He has inverse synergy with his counterpart, however (they all do, kinda). But he's definitely an powerful option, straightforward and strong. It helps that Dragon Kid, Zack is basically more free gauge.

- updated to H-BT04, CP01, H-EB04, H-TD02, H-PP01 -

All images used obtained from the official Bushiroad website and used here solely for reference purposes. Future Card Buddyfight!, logos, and respective content belong to Bushiroad. Large images belong to the Buddyfight! Wikia.