Superhero

Superheroes. What every kid aspires to be, looks up to, and believes in. Even debased thinkers, mentally clouded in darkness like Emiya Shirou (bless his future soul) can find some semblance of hope and solace in these people, these bright figures. Now it's your turn to be a hero, to take up the mantle and wave that banner high. Are you ready to Transform?

Transform is the basis of how Superheroes work. You literally don a skintight suit and become the thing that you equip. For some reason, all the Superheroes you can become are all pretty good, having better defensive powers than Brave Machines. Weird. You'd think a robot would be more sturdier than...rubber? Anyways, Superheroes also tend to help each other out and work together, so you'll find that a lot of them have synergistic effects and support each other for a greater combination effect.

Working together and Transforming to meet every challenge, Superheroes will never give up and never let evil win.

A. B. C. D. Long ago, the
four multiple choices lived
together in harmony

Let's start with Captain Answer. He's a 5000/2/4000 Size 2 that you can Transform for 2 gauge. If you think about it, since a 5000/2 weapon usually costs 1 gauge, you're given that extra 4000 defense for another gauge, which is a huge bonus. And what's this, he's got another Act ability attached? Once per turn, you can pay 1 gauge; if you do, guess monster or spell (please don't guess Item) and mill the top card of your deck. If you're correct, Captain Answer gets Double Attack, no matter where he is (Item or monster). That's pretty good. Good deck awareness goes a long way to being able to grab some amazing advantage from Double Attack.

Never, ever Transform into this guy.

Three gauge is a pretty hefty investment for a chance at missing Double Attack (first turn), and if your opponent happens to pack any Counter weapon removal, let's just say that you've dug yourself quite a hole. Granted, Hyper Energy makes gauge not that big of an issue but there's probably better investments if you're not interested in dumping major gauge into a major risk/(not even that) major reward scenario. You have better Transform options, and Captain Answer does his job plenty well on the field rather than on your flag. Save your wallet and look towards better choices for Transform.

The alien, a reporter and
not the report

But what if you don't want to Transform? You can actually Ride a Superhero too! It's Takosuke time~! Takochuu costs 1 gauge to Ride, and his stats are actually 1 crit lower than what they're supposed to be (there's a 4000/2/2000 Transform in the TD). So that ability better be worth it - and it sure is. You can only activate it while Ride: pay 1 gauge, then declare a card name. Check your opponent's hand for that card; if it's there, you can deal 2 direct damage to your opponent. Okay, so you take a permanent -0.5 and a per-turn -0.5 for the possibility of a +1.5 every turn. So if you can guarantee it even once, you're able to pay off Takochuu immediately. Against some opponents - specifically Dragon World players, you can basically win the game by calling Boomerang Dragon turn after turn. Against other worlds, this is a good way to check what's in your opponent's hand once - and then if they don't play it the next turn, you know it's in their hand. Being able to consistently slam 2 damage into your opponent's face while knowing exactly what's in their hand is pretty sweet.

Stop! In the name of
justice!

More good cards. Rescue Dragon Mach Braver is very similar to Street Racer, Eligos. For Mach Braver, you can play 1 gauge and call him to your center during your opponent's attack - you also can change the attack target, just like Eligos. Mach Braver doesn't have an ability to return if it's destroyed, but it does have some pretty decent defense for a Size 1. 4000 is nothing to scoff at, and you have the chance to completely render a 3000 or less power attack completely useless. It's also a Size 1 with Move. Talk about being able to do everything at once.

So there's actually at
least nine?

Besides Takochuu, you have other really stellar options for a Transform/Ride target as well. Rampage Sonic is a 5000/3/3000 weapon for only 1 gauge. Seriously? That's so over-statted it's not even funny, already way better than Captain Answer by a long shot (1000 less defense, 1 more crit, 1 less gauge). Ninth Warrior, Nine is another worthy object of consideration. 1 gauge for 3000/1/3000, which is slightly undervalued, but then you can attack through any Quartet Five you have in the center. In other words, it's just Star Bow for the same cost and an additional 3000 defense. At least for the Quartet Five legion.

Speaking of Quartet Five, they're the first legion to debut in the new Hero World. Most of their cards are vanillas, but you know how good vanillas are in Hero World, so it's not disadvantageous at all to run them. Quartet Five actually transcends the Superhero archetype with Brave Machine members as well, so there's a pretty decent chance it'll get its own article in the future. In the meantime, just understand that there's also a pretty good Quartet Five Size 3 and a spell that trades itself for a Size 2 or less Quartet Five. That spell is as close to perfect as you can get, so you can look forward to Quartet Five being even better in the future.

Has Blaster in name > MLB!

Rampage Blaster! is the Superhero Impact, tied to the ridiculously over-statted Rampage Sonic. The conditions are pretty simple: be Transform in Rampage Sonic and your opponent has 3 life or less. Deal 3 damage for 2 gauge. Cheap way to guarantee game when you're still a little bit off from that final blow. These 2 gauge for 3 damage Impacts are really great if you can manage to meet the conditions, and Rampage Blaster! has the easiest condition yet.

Hero Hunter, Sieben. I'll clarify his ability: you pay 1 gauge on attack, every time. If you attempt to attack with 1 gauge, you'll pay it out. If you attempt to attack with no gauge, you don't pay anything but your attack still goes through - after all, there's no clause saying that the attack stops if you can't pay.

Climax Step!

Last but not least, Hero Climax! shows off the best of what Superheroes can pull off. If your Superheroes destroy two or more monsters via attacks, you can cast Hero Climax! to gain 2 life and restand your Item - once per turn. Since Superheroes has pretty good field clear options (think Lightning Chaser), Hero Climax! gives you the ability to output more damage while maintaining some life advantage. Hero Climax is worst with Takochuu, but works pretty damn well with both Captain Answer and Rampage Sonic.

I almost forgot! There's two Decker Drums in Superhero, one rare and the other a PR. The PR one is the better, being able to pay 2 gauge to pop either a weapon or all Size 1s. The versatility is great, but the raw field clear against Size 1 based decks is unbelievable.

Transform!

Emergency Launch! Decker Drum is a seriously good card that works with a bunch of different cards to shuffle advantage around and wreak havoc on your opponent. A Size 2 with 6000/2/4000 is understatted by 2000 defense, and another 1 gauge call cost makes Emergency Launch a -1 on play. And then, a link attack? That's another -1. So we're digging ourselves in a pretty deep hole from the get-go. But then, you're allowed to choose a card to restand, just like Tetsuya. After that, if you restood yourself, you can ping your opponent for 1 direct damage. -2 for +1.75 - not bad, considering that -2000 defense is only soft advantage anyways. Essentially Emergency Launch gives Superheroes a way to punch through something huge in the center and get good tradeoffs afterwards. It doesn't gain advantage like Tetsuya, but it's a good way to get around stuff like Dragoenergy and stuff. You can also use it to force negates from your opponent when linking an open center.

The main problem with Emergency Launch is that it costs too much going in for a card that can get spell removed very easily. Hero World has little ways to recuperate such losses so you definitely have to play conservatively with over-the-top effects like this.

Redline

If you don't want to use Rampage Sonic or you want to go for a bit more control, Red Warrior, Road Blader is probably a better alternative for guaranteed investments. 2 gauge for 5000/2/5000 is already amazing, that's 1 gauge for +5000 defense from a normal 5000/2 weapon. But when it comes into play, you can pop a monster no questions asked? That's like, cheating. Seriously. Even if you can't Transform into Road Blader, you can play him for 2 gauge and still get the pop off, trading one-for-one easily. I've never seen a freer +1.75 that's also a wash when played unoptimally. Winning has never been so easy.

Road Blader is great with the new Impact, Emergency Trans! that allows you to minus like a retard. I'm serious. Emergency Trans! itself is a travesty, -1 gauge, -1 Impact from hand, -1 card on field in order to perform the greatest action in all of history: a wash. Playing a card from hand. Wao. But it's the real deal, because using it with Road Blader gives that pay 2 gauge to pop something a Counter timing. And that's where this Impact really shines - by being able to leverage the defense and on-play effects of Transformed cards in Counter timings. I mean, Road Blader already plusses like mad so getting hit by Emergency Trans' minus isn't that terrible when you can Counter pop something and get a +1 from a negated attack.

You get power!

White Valor, Lord Takuto is an on-field version of Set spells that exist for other worlds. He gives all Transform and Ride keyword cards +1000/1000, which is pretty nice for stuff like Road Blader becoming stupidly 6000/6000 and the like. Obviously, being on the field means that he's liable to get rekt but you can use that to your advantage - your opponent kinda has to kill Takuto or deal with 6000 defense on Road Blader so they'll waste an attack or two on him. So he sorta acts like an extra negate when you think about it. Pretty nice considering we only have 4 so far.

Dragon Barrier for Superheros. That, my friend, is an Afterimage. Being able to use this card to save stuff like Gunvellz which is amazing. You're also allowed to save anything with a Superhero - which includes your Transformed "Item".

This isn't even my final...oh wait,
it is

Captain Answer gets a new "Final Mode" evolution that makes him...well, a lot better. Same 2 gauge Transform cost but for significantly improved stats, 8000/2/5000. You can call him for an extra gauge, but being a Size 3 with crappy stats isn't that good. His ability is near identical to the original Answer's: pay 1 gauge, and guess spell or monster. If you guess correctly, you get Double Attack - but Final Mode also allows you to destroy a monster, a +1 from the old effect. So Captain Answer was bad, but maybe Final Mode makes him playable again?

Surprisingly, still no. As improved as he is, Final Mode still forces you to hemorrhage gauge and resources for not-guaranteed effects. And while Captain Answer was possibly a good card to call, Final Mode can't ever be called in good conscience. I think I would still rather have a guaranteed destruction from Road Blader than Answer gimmicks.

You can, however, build a deck with 8 Captain Answer and nothing but spells to get the most out of 1 gauge every turn. Kinda like the Sitri cheese deck in Magic World.

Too many hero Drums...

Rescue Dragon, Justice Drum pushes Size 2 pressure to the limits. He's setting himself up for failure from the get-go: 5000 defense, 1 gauge call cost, no Soulguard or protection ability. Ready to be popped with Death Grip, Pillar of Fire, or other removal and made completely irrelevant. But if, and this is such an iffy thing, Justice Drum ever gets an attack in...Dragonic Overlord time. Restand. For every monster attacked and destroyed. Restand. The ride never ends. It's so polar, how good and how bad this card is. On one hand, it wins you the game single-handedly with attack after attack, allowing you to Hero Climax with ease and sweep. On the other hand, any single counter or negate will just shank this dragon into uselessness. It's not even like Demios who has fallbacks and safety nets so you don't lose resources. Drum just simply fizzles if he's blocked.

It's a make or break card and highly situational, which means I strongly dislike it. That being said, it is a card that can win games, so smart play and awareness (this is definitely a tech 1-of at most) can make this a game-changer.

I never die

Justice Drum also hearkens a new archetype for Hero World Superheroes: Rescue Dragons. Part Dragon and part Superhero, these metallic lizards are enlisted beside robots and officers to protect justice. Or something like that. There were a few cards before, but this is the first time they've come en masse, and with archetype-specific effects.

Anyways, if you ever felt like drawing more cards than you knew what to do with, Rescue Dragon Leader, Immortal Spirit is a cool card to play with. 2 gauge for 1 crit Double Attack. Weak, but not when every monster destroyed nets you a +1. Make sure you dodge Pillar of Fire and you basically get a pay 2 gauge draw 2 cards monster. That also triggers Hero Climax far too easily.

Swolarms

But the better Size 3 is definitely Forcearms. Forcearms is so scary. 8000/2/7000 is a mere 1000 defense below Gunvellz with identical effects, but Forcearms can Act grab a soul from the drop zone every single turn. If your opponent can't immediately kill it, it's staying on your field forever. More or less. Having 7000 defense is formidable and will help you tank quite easily alongside the plethora of protection spells Superhero has. With Takosuke, you can afford to keep burning your opponent as your Forcearms soaks up all their attacks. His only real weakness is to Penetrate. Everything else is easy candy.

I'm here to help! Die!

Dragschoebel is not fair. 1 gauge on-play destroy a Size 2 or lower is already undercosted. But being able to ping 1 damage for free on top of that if you're Transformed is just not fair at all. It's like a mini-Graybard. But unlike Graybard, you can grab it back with Rescue Dragon, Transmission. Pay 1 gauge and 1 life to grab any Rescue Dragon from your drop on-play, including Transmissions. But Dragschoebel is a much better target, since you can call it immediately for removal and damage.

More Rescue Dragons. Northern Bard gives all your Rescue Dragons Move if you have 2 or more Rescue Dragon monsters. Project Gunner turns any card in your hand into on-turn DragCharge if you are Transform. Erase Flare destroys spells, though if you want to bypass anti-destruction effects you can use Seven Ranger, the PR. Doctor Aid gives you life once a turn when you kill something. Nightstalker is a Size 0. Overall, we see a strong, solid archetype with a good assortment of support and tools. Typical Bushiroad Dragon fare.

Fire Red

But there's actually another archetype in Superheroes exclusively...kinda. Gaigrander series is mostly Item-focused, swapping between different forms like Equipment Change. Each form has an effect for the circumstance, and switching between them correctly makes the deck function better. At least that was the idea behind Equipment Change, but pretty soon Bushiroad realized that holding onto so many dead cards does not make for a good gameplan. So Gaigrander actually has a more unique effect that makes them work fundamentally better: swapping into the deck.

Gaigrander 01. Transform cost is 1 gauge and the ability to return up to one Gaigrander you are Transform into back to your hand. The keyword is up to one, since Gaigrander 01 is actually the only Gaigrander you can Transform into initially. This pseudo Equipment Change helps you not minus hand when you're swapping between Gaigrander forms. His second effect allows you to pay 2 gauge as an Act ability to search your deck for a Gaigrander and add it to your hand. A good plussing mechanic if anything, and sets up the combo with just a single card.

Finish him!

Oh no, my opponent is attacking me! During your opponent's attack phase, you can Counter Transform (cough cough Prydwen) into Gaigrander, "Analyze Form" to get a nice 6000 defense Item. You pay 1 gauge for this and you return your previously Transformed Gaigrander to hand. Note that if you don't have a Gaigrander Transform, then you can't Transform into "Analyze Form". It's not amazing, but it certainly threatens to block weak attacks, forcing links that you can negate.

On your turn, you want something more aggressive, so you can Transform into Gaigrander, "Finish Form" as a Counter during your attack phase. Doing so not only restands your Gaigrander, giving you an extra attack, but also nets a 6000/3 Item with Penetrate attached. Meaning your first Item attack can be to clear a monster, then Counter Transform for Penetrate, Hero Climax into another 6000/3 Penetrate blow. Quite powerful for a single turn, and that's not even including an Impact. It's very feasible that OTKs will happen with good Gaigrander plays.

Finally, we have Gaigrander 02, the only one meant to be called (you can call the others but they're pretty expensive). With a 1 gauge call cost and an on-play effect to tutor for a Gaigrander, this card pretty much ties in the Gaigrander lineup and allows you to effectively run something like 4/1/1, since you have 8 cards that can grab either 1-of "Analyze" or "Finish". 

I'm getting heated up

But let's say you don't want to devote 10 cards to a strong weapon lineup that's versatile but a bit clunky. Let's say you just want something that hits hard and strong right out of the box. Well, Rampage Sonic and Road Blader have always been good options, but they're now competing with Fiery Inspector, Prominence Burst. 5000/2/4000 for 1 gauge is great, but Prominence Burst gains an extra crit for every monster destroyed by a Superhero monster attack. Meaning you can possibly get this guy up to 5 crit if you destroy a full field (or just chew up a monster that has Soulguard). That's scary, especially in a world with a spell negate.

All the damage!

And Prominence Burst even has an associated Impact synergy, just like Rampage Sonic. Although Superior Justice Driver! is splashable with any Transform, it works best with Prominence Burst and can be cast regardless of your opponent's life, allowing you to use it for quick bursts of damage.

Cyber Police, Commander Gale gives all Superhero on-field +1000 power - including your Transform Item. He also charges gauge whenever a mosnter is destroyed by a Superhero attack. Good card. Grand RuLer, Silbarrier is one of those on-play 1 gauge draw a card if you have condition cards. The condition is easy - be in Transform. So between Gale and Silbarrier, Superheroes now have a good resource engine within their monsters as well.

I've Come Back to Take You Down recycles any Superhero for 1 gauge. Pay an extra if you aren't breathing (aka Transform).

It's Here, the NEW Suit! gives a Superhero +2000/2000 (but no Counterattack). It gives the card you are Transform into +4000/4000, so basically treat it as a negate if you are being attacked.

The final answer? (Probably not)

Captain Answer, "Overlord" is the third iteration on Answer, and they've improved him yet again. Same 8000/2/5000 as "Final Mode", but the ability has drastically changed. 1: They removed the activation cost. 2: You mill your opponent, not yourself. 3: If it's a monster, you get Double Attack. If it's a spell, you can pay 1 gauge to destroy a monster or item. So no more guessing! Of course, if its an item or an Impact then you get nothing, but at least you didn't have to pay anything to activate the effect. Overlord is the first playable version of Answer that actually does good things. Finally. Round of applause for Buddyfight developers.

Blue Valor, Lord Lancer introduces Counter timing Transform in a new way. He's really useful if your Ride/Transform suddenly gets nuked and your opponent wants to hit you with a 2000 power or less attack. But otherwise? I don't think he's that great. Maybe if he was a Size 1 with slightly more compromised stats so he wouldn't be a dead card.

- 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.