Cardfight!! Vanguard

Season 1

Aichi Sendou is a timid young boy in his third year of junior high school. The one thing that keeps him going is his trading card Blaster Blade from Cardfight!! Vanguard, a trading card game that takes place on a different planet called "Cray" and is popular throughout the world. When Aichi's Blaster Blade is stolen by his classmate Katsumi Morikawa, he chases him to a local card shop named Card Capital. There, Aichi has his first cardfight with Toshiki Kai, an aloof and cold-hearted high schooler who has outstanding abilities and who originally gave Aichi his Blaster Blade when Aichi was little. Aichi wins the fight, reclaiming Blaster Blade, and begins to enjoy a fulfilling life as he delves deeper into Vanguard. Aichi's primary goal throughout the series is to become a stronger fighter, so he can once again battle Kai and have him recognize his worth. Aichi eventually places high enough at a local tournament to join with Kai, Misaki Tokura, and Kamui Katsuragi to form Team Quadrifoglio ("Q4" for short). Together, they enter regional and national tournaments to test their skills against fighters from all over Japan. Aichi's principal rival becomes Ren Suzugamori, a powerful but despicable cardfighter who is the leader of the reigning national champion team. Ren eventually makes Aichi awaken a power that Ren also possesses: Psyqualia, a psychic-like ability that lets its user foresee victory in cardfights. However, Aichi's usage of Psyqualia slowly distorts him into becoming a dark person like Ren. Thanks to Kai's efforts, Aichi decides to no longer use Psyqualia and reverts to his normal self. When Aichi battles Ren at the finals of the national championships, it is revealed that Cray is real, and Psyqualia is the power given to those who will determine Cray's future. Aichi manages to reconcile his good-natured personality with his dark desires to become stronger. Simultaneously on Cray, the Royal Paladin characters depicted in Aichi's cards resolve their conflict with Ren's Shadow Paladins. Aichi defeats Ren, and Team Q4 becomes the national champions of Japan. The season concludes with Aichi's Psyqualia mysteriously vanishing and Kai fulfilling Aichi's wish to cardfight him again.

Season 2: Asia Circuit

Shortly after Q4 wins the national tournament, a strange phenomenon occurs when Aichi meets a young boy named Takuto Tatsunagi. The Royal Paladin, Shadow Paladin, and Kagero clans of Vanguard have been wiped from existence, and due to this, Aichi's Royal Paladin deck has been changed to Gold Paladin. Aichi reunites with Q4 (excluding Kai) and travels across Asia to participate in the Vanguard Fight Circuit, an invitational multi-stage tournament featuring the world's best cardfighters, for the opportunity to meet and seek answers from the sponsor, Takuto. Throughout the circuit, Aichi, whose Psyqualia has reactivated, encounters a mix of familiar friends and new rivals. One noteworthy rival is Team Dreadnought's Leon Soryu, a man possessing Psyqualia who is on a mission to lead the second coming of both his family and the long-lost Aqua Force clan. After losing at the Singapore, Seoul, and Hong Kong Stages of the VF Circuit, Q4 finally manages to win the Japan Stage and meet with Takuto, who reveals that a dark entity known as Void is currently threatening the planet Cray. Furthermore, Leon is exposed as having made an alliance with Void, allowing the three clans to be sealed away in exchange for Void's promise to return Aqua Force to power. In a final confrontation, Aichi defeats Leon, who had absorbed Void's power. With a reformed Leon's help, Aichi uses his Gold Paladins to drive Void out of Cray and subsequently free the captured clans. The VF Circuit concludes with Q4 crowned as the winning team. Afterward, life returns to normal, except that Aichi now has a new deck featuring his signature Royal Paladin units as Gold Paladins.

Season 3: Link Joker

Months have passed after the VF Circuit, and the members of Team Q4 have drifted apart. Aichi enters his first year of high school at Miyaji Academy, where the instructors and students focus on looking towards the future and studying. Aichi thinks Vanguard can be a future that people can believe in, and he tries to establish a Cardfight Club on campus. Despite the interference of the Student Council, he manages to recruit the requisite five members for the club: Kourin Tatsunagi, Naoki Ishida, Shingo Komoi, and Misaki, who is also a Miyaji Academy student but was reluctant to join the club. During Aichi's inaugural appearance at the VF High School Championship, his team defeats Kai's team but loses to Ren's team. Kai remarks on how much stronger both Aichi and Ren have become. The second major story arc of the season revolves around an extraterrestrial entity called "Link Joker", the clan which is the avatar of Void. Various fighters become corrupted by Void's power and turn into "Reversed" fighters driven to seek out stronger opponents and bring them under Void's influence. Kai visits Takuto to seek answers, and in a moment of weakness while cardfighting the Reversed Takuto, he allows himself to become Reversed in exchange for additional power. More and more cardfighters around the world become Reversed, including several of Aichi's friends. Although Ren and Leon manage to fend off and free their respective comrades from Reverse, Aichi is unaware of what is happening until he sees Reversed Takuto announcing the end of the world. At first hesitant to face his Reversed friends, especially Kai, Aichi eventually resolves himself to fight them to save the world. After many battles, Aichi and his friends emerge victorious over Link Joker, but at the cost of losing the original Takuto. Moreover, Aichi faces Kai in one last fight to decide the strongest fighter. In the end, Aichi wins after Kai realizes what a true friend Aichi has been for him.

Season 4: Legion Mate

Several days after the mortal battle against Link Joker, life seems to have returned to normal. However, Aichi Sendou, the hero who saved the earth from the invasion of Link Joker and Void, has disappeared, and Kai, his closest friend ("mate"), seems to be the only person who remembers him. After receiving a Royal Paladin deck containing a new version of Aichi's avatar card Blaster Blade, Kai sets out not only to remind everyone about Aichi but also find him. Kai manages to gather other comrades who remember Aichi: Naoki, Misaki, his classmate Miwa, and Kamui. However, Kai realizes that Kourin is also missing. His investigation leads to the discovery of four magically-gifted cardfighters called the Quatre Knights: Olivier Gaillard, Phillip Neve, Rati Curti, and Raul Serra, who intend to stop anyone finding Aichi. Ren gives Kai a tip to Aichi's location where he discovers that Kourin is allied with the Quatre Knights, and Aichi was behind both the memory loss and the Quatre Knights. Kourin defeats Kai using her Link Joker deck and takes Blaster Blade. During training with Leon, Kai gains new resolve and returns to using a Kagero deck.

Naoki spies Serra's butler Morris entering a portal leading to a sanctuary on the moon where Aichi is located. Kai and his friends are confronted by Serra when they enter the sanctuary. They learn that in order to awaken Aichi they must defeat the four Quatre knights to break the four seals, but if they lose in the sanctuary they lose their memories of Aichi. Naoki defeats Serra, but Misaki, Kamui, and Miwa all lose to the three other Knights. With only Kai and Naoki remaining, Kai battles Gaillard, who blames Kai for the Link Joker incident and will not allow him to free Aichi because of it. Despite this, Kai defeats Gaillard, releasing the second seal. Suddenly, Serra arrives and uses his ice magic to imprison Kai, Naoki, and Gaillard. It is then that Gaillard reveals the truth; a Link Joker "seed" was implanted inside Aichi's body after he defeated Reversed Takuto. To contain the seed, Aichi now wants to seal himself away in the sanctuary with the Quatre Knights as his guardians. However, Serra reveals that his plan all along was to use Kai and his friends to weaken the seals, release the seed within Aichi, and obtain its power all for himself. Ren and Leon arrive and free Kai, Gaillard, and Naoki, but not before Serra has Neve fight Aichi while he battles Rati, releasing the remaining seals. Having discovered the meaning of "mates" thanks to Kai and Aichi, Gaillard finds new resolve and defeats Serra, stripping him of his powers and banishing him from the sanctuary. With Serra gone, Gaillard resets his sights towards Kai and fights him again. Kai defeats Gaillard again and then faces Aichi for a final battle. After Kai makes Aichi realize that sealing himself away was wrong, Kai defeats him. The Link Joker seed then tries to implant itself into Kai's body but is then broken apart by Blaster Blade. Nevertheless, the shattered pieces of the seed enter the bodies of each of Aichi's friends and will grow benign over time. Afterwards, Aichi, Kai, and the rest of their friends return to their normal lives. Aichi and Kai face each other in one last shop tournament, and despite the different paths they will take in the future, they know they will meet again as long as they keep playing Vanguard.

G Season 1

Set 3 years later after the events of Legion Mate, the story follows Chrono Shindou, an apathetic teenager who finds a Vanguard deck and a map in his school locker one day. Following the map, he is led to Card Capital 2, a card shop where he meets Kamui Katsuragi who works part-time there. After being taught how to play Vanguard and winning his first fight against Kamui, Chrono begins his venture in the world of Vanguard. Chrono finds Vanguard enjoyable, so he decides to return to Card Capital 2, where he takes up a quest and becomes a Grade 1 fighter. Then, he meets and fights Kouji Ibuki, who reveals that Chrono is and always has been completely alone. As a result, Ibuki crushes Chrono with no difficulty and refuses to even tell Chrono his name until Chrono becomes stronger. Over the next few days, Chrono meets and befriends Shion Kiba and Tokoha Anjou. Chrono also makes an acquaintance of Mamoru Anjou, the Kagero clan leader, and Jaime Alcaraz, the Spanish ace of the European League.

FIVA is holding a national tournament, and the only one not fired up is Tokoha. Being the younger sister of Mamoru, she is tired of being forced to live up to her brother's legacy. Meanwhile, Chrono is trying to get to Grade 3 so he can enter the tournament. In the end, Chrono, Shion, and Tokoha form Team TRY3 and enter the National Tournament together.

At the regional qualifier, Team TRY3 fights Team Demise. They ultimately turn out to be a formidable foe. Chrono beats their first fighter with no problems. Unfortunately, Shion and Tokoha ultimately lose in the second two games. In the aftermath of their defeat, Chrono's aunt discovers Chrono's new hobby and reveals the truth behind the disappearance of his father. Team TRY3 visits the United Sanctuary branch, seeking a rematch with Team Demise. They find that the United Sanctuary branch is turning fighters into people obsessed with victory, and challenge the Branch leader over the management of the United Sanctuary branch.

G Season 2: GIRS Crisis

This autumn will mark the opening of a major event organised by the Federation of International Vanguard Associations (FIVA), known as the "G Quest". Those who conquer the 6 Branch Quests will be honored with the title "Generation Master", and the chance to become a Clan Leader. The three members of TRY3 are all fired up by the new goal ahead of them, but behind the scenes, a massive plot that would lead to the destruction of Vanguard has been set in motion...

G Season 3: Stride Gate

Kouji Ibuki's Plan G is in effect, and they have located Ryuzu Myoujin's headquarters. It's up to Team TRY3 and their friends to stop Ryuzu's ambitions! However, Ryuzu has a defense force called the "Company", whose members include rival Shouma Shinonome and Am Chouno! What will happen to Luna Yumizuki after she was recognized as having more Stride Force than Am did? What will happen to Zodiac Time Beast if the Stride Gate will open? Will Vanguard be led to a perfect future?

The fight to save the Zodiac Time Beasts and Vanguard itself! The second part of Plan G is now in action!

G Season 4: NEXT

Five months have passed after Team TRY3's battle against the Company and the team decided to split up and go their separate ways with all three of them enrolling to different high schools. The story focuses on Chrono Shindou transferring to Tokyo Metropolitan Harumi High School. Chrono forms a new team with Taiyou Asukawa and Kazuma Shouji, a gloomy boy who attends the same school as Chrono. Shion and Tokoha have formed their own teams as well. What new challenges await Chrono in the aftermath of all these changes?

G Season 5: Z

The final season of the G Series. A group of six units from Planet Cray, called the "Apostles", have invaded Earth. Armed with the power of the six Zeroth Dragons, the Apostles aim to revive the sealed Dragon Deity of Destruction, Gyze who attempted to destroy Cray in the past. The final battle between the Vanguards and the Dragon Deity of Destruction begins.

V series Season 1:

A rerun series of the original Cardfight Vanguard with Aichi Sendou, the rest of Q4, and other old characters from the origInal series.

V series Season 2: Shinemon Arc

Starting 15 years before the first V series season, this season focuses on Shinemon Nitta, the present manager of Card Capital, attempting to save the shop from becoming a branch of Cardshop: Esuka.

V series Season 3: Extra Story -IF-

The final season of the V Series. This series is where both IF continuity world Emi Sendou and the V continuity Kouji Ibuki teams up to fight against the Jammer to save her brother, Aichi Sendou who has become the enemy (similar to Legion Mate).

An English dub co-produced by Ocean Productions (recorded at Blue Water Studios) began airing on Singapore's Okto channel from October 16, 2011,[21] on Animax Asia from January 22, 2012, and on Malaysia's RTM-TV2 channel from November 18, 2012. Dubbed episodes also began being released on YouTube from May 29, 2012.[22] The series can be seen officially on a dedicated channel for it created by Bushiroad, and is available for viewing in most countries without "geo-blocking". An English dub of the fifth season G began airing on YouTube on January 3, 2015, thus skipping over the fourth season Legion Mate. Hulu began hosting the English-dubbed version on August 26, 2013 in partnership with Aniplex of America.[23]

Opening themes

1. "Vanguard" by JAM Project (eps. 1–33, eps. 1–65 in English dub)
2. "Believe In My Existence" by JAM Project (eps. 34–65)
3. "Limit Break" by JAM Project (eps. 66–104)
4. "Vanguard Fight" by Psychic Lover (eps. 105–128, eps. 105–163 in English dub)
5. "Infinite∞REBIRTH" (無限∞REBIRTH, Mugen∞RIBĀSU) by DAIGO (eps. 129–148)
6. "Break your spell" by Psychic Lover (eps. 149–163)
7. "V-ROAD" by BUSHI★7 (Daigo, Psychic Lover, Suzuko Mimori, Izumi Kitta, Suara, and Shūta Morishima) (eps. 164–179)
8. "KNOCK ON YOUR GATE!" by Masatoshi Ono (eps. 180–196)
9. "Legendary" by Roselia

Ending themes

1. "Diamond Stars☆" (ダイヤモンドスター☆, "Daiyamondo Sutā☆") by Natsuko Aso (eps. 1–15)
2. "Smash Up!!" by Shīna Hekīru (eps. 16–25)
3. "Dream Shooter" by Sea☆A (eps. 25–38, eps. 1–65 in English dub)
4. "Starting Again" by Sayaka Sasaki (eps. 39–52)
5. "Nakimushi Treasures" (泣き虫 TREASURES) by Saori Kodama featuring Milky Holmes (Suzuko Mimori, Izumi Kitta, Sora Tokui, and Mikoi Sasaki) (eps. 53–65)
6. "Jōnetsu-ism" (情熱イズム, Jōnetsu-izumu) by Rin (eps. 66–78)
7. "Fighting Growing Diary" by Natsuko Aso (eps. 79–91)
8. "Entry!" by Sea☆A (eps. 92–104)
9. "Endless☆Fighter" by Suzuko Mimori, Yoshino Nanjō, and Aimi Terakawa (eps. 105–119, eps. 105–163 in English dub)
10. "Yume Yume Express" by Milky Holmes (Suzuko Mimori, Izumi Kitta, Sora Tokui, and Mikoi Sasaki) (eps. 120–138)
11. "Ride on fight!" by (Izumi Kitta and Suzuko Mimori) (eps. 139–150)
12. "Fly away -Ōzora e-" (Fly away -大空へ-, Fly away -To the Great Sky-) by Suara (eps. 151–163)
13. "Get Up" by FAKY (eps. 164–179)
14. "Get back yourself" by CERASUS (eps. 180–196)

Insert songs

1. "Miracle Trigger ~Tomorrow Will Be Ultra Rare!~" (ミラクルトリガー ~きっと明日はウルトラレア!~) by Ultra Rare (Mimori, Nanjō, and Terakawa) (eps. 18, 26, and 115; simply known as "Miracle Trigger" in English dub)
2. "Stand Up! DREAM" (スタンドアップ! DREAM) by Ultra Rare (Mimori, Nanjō, and Terakawa) (eps. 39, 115, and 118)

English dub ending theme

1. "Way To Victory" by Sea☆A (eps. 66–104 in English dub)

Opening themes

1. "BREAK IT!" by Mamoru Miyano (eps. 1–26, eps. 1–98 in English version)
2. "Generation!" by JAM Project (eps. 27–48)
3. "YAIBA" by BREAKERZ (eps. 49–74)
4. "SHOUT!" by Mamoru Miyano (eps. 75–98)
5. "Hello, Mr. Wonder land" by Ayako Nanakomori (eps. 99–123, eps. 99–current in English version)
6. "→Next Generation" by Psychic Lover (eps. 124–150)
7. "Flower of Emotion" by Kiryu (eps. 151–current)

Ending themes

1. "Cheering On for You" (だから元気 for YOU, "Dakara Genki For YOU") by Izumi Kitta (eps. 1–13, eps. 1–48 in English dub)
2. "NEXT PHASE" by Emi Nitta (eps. 14–26)
3. "flower" by Ayako Nanakomori (eps. 27–36)
4. "Dazzling Bravery!" (メクルメク勇気!, "Mekurumeku Yūki!") by Starmarie (eps. 37–48)
5. "Don't Look Back" by Rummy Labyrinth (Aimi Terakawa & Haruka Kudō) (eps. 49–74, eps. 49–98 in English dub)
6. "High Touch☆Memory" by Yui Ogura (eps. 75–86)
7. "Promise You!!" by YuiKaori (eps. 87–98)
8. "Wing of Image" by Rummy Labyrinth (eps. 99–111, eps. 99–current in English dub)
9. "Are you ready to FIGHT" by Raychell (eps. 112–123)
10. "Pleasure Stride" by Milky Holmes (eps. 124–136)
11. "Natsuninare" by Starmarie (eps. 137–150)
12. "Heroic Advent" by Roselia (eps. 151–174)

The basic premise of the trading card game, as explained in the anime, is that the two players represent astral spirits dueling on the fictional planet Cray. The cards in players' decks, called "Units", represent characters from Cray that players can "Call" to the field to fight for them. Players alternate turns calling, attacking, and defending with units. When one player reaches six damage, or there are no more cards in his or her deck, that player loses the game.

A deck must contain exactly fifty cards, including exactly sixteen "Trigger Units." There can be no more than four copies of the same card, no more than four total Heal Triggers, and no more than four cards with the keyword Sentinel (守護者, Senchineru) in a deck. There may also be an extra Sixteen Cards, called G-units, that are placed in a separate place called the Generation Zone. In addition to the G-units, you can place other items such as Gift Markers and Tokens there.

The game begins when the players place a grade 0 unit, the Starting "Vanguard", face-down in the Vanguard Circle the center of their playing area, and each draw five cards. Each player is allowed one "Redraw" by shuffling any number of cards from the starting hand into the deck and drawing the same number of cards. Players randomly decide who goes first and reveal their starting Vanguards; the player who goes first cannot attack during the first turn. To use a unit to attack or activate certain skills, the player must rotate it from its normal position ("Standing") to 90 degrees clockwise ("Resting"). At the beginning of a player's turn, during the Stand Phase, that player stands all his or her rested units, so they can be used again. During the Draw Phase, the player draws a card. Then, during the G-Assist Phase, the player can reveal their hand, look at the top 5 cards of their deck, then choose a card from them to add to their current hand. If they do, they then put two "G units" and two cards from their hand in to the out of the play area. However, to G-assist, the player can not have any cards with a higher grade than their vanguard in their hand. Next, during the Ride Phase, the player can choose a unit from the hand that is either the same grade or one grade higher than the current vanguard, which rides over top of the former vanguard (the card stacked underneath the Vanguard is called the "Soul"). Afterwards is the Stride Step in which the player can put cards into a discard pile called the "Drop Zone" whose grades sum up to three or higher, choose a face-down G-unit from their Generation Zone, and put in on top of the current vanguard, the previous vanguard considered a "heart." The strided card gets one of the hearts' name and power and adds it to its own. However, to stride, both players' vanguard must be grade 3 or higher. During the Main Phase, the player can call "Rear-Guard" units to five additional spaces: one each to the left and right of the vanguard, and three to the back row. The player can move rear-guards between the front and back row in that column and can "Retire" a rear-guard to call a new one in that space. Retired units are put into the discard pile ("Drop Zone").

The next part of the turn is the Battle Phase. The player can conduct any number of battles in sequence, and can attack with the same unit more than once as long as it is standing when the attack is declared. A battle is conducted by resting a front-row unit and choosing an opposing front-row unit to be attacked. If there is a standing grade 0 or 1 unit behind the attacker, it can "Boost" by resting, which adds its power to the attacker's. Then, the defending player has the chance to either take the attack or "Guard" with units from his or her hand and/or to "Intercept" by guarding with grade 2 rear-guards in the front row. The defending player may also guard using a G-Guardian from the G-Zone, after discarding a heal trigger from his or her hand. The G-Guardian is returned to the G-Zone when the battle ends. Guarding units add their shield value to the defender's power, but are retired immediately when the battle ends. After guards are declared, if the attacker is a vanguard, the attacking player performs a "Drive Trigger Check": the player reveals the top card of his or her deck in the "Trigger Zone" and then adds it to his or her hand. Attacking grade 3 vanguards have the "Twin Drive!!" skill, which causes an additional drive check to occur after the first check is completed. G-units have a Triple Drive!!!" skill, causing three drive checks. If a trigger unit that matches the clan of one of the checking player's units is revealed during a Drive Check, one of that player's units gains +5000 power with original series triggers /+10000 power with V-Series triggers, and one of five possible effects may occur:

• Critical (Yellow): a unit gets +1 critical value.
• Draw (Red): the player draws one more card from the deck.
• Stand (Blue): a rested rear-guard unit stands.
• Heal (Green): the player "Heals" by moving a card from the damage zone to the drop zone, but only if his or her damage is equal to or higher than the opponent's before checking the trigger.
• Front (Pink): all units in the player's front row gain 10,000 power until the end of the turn. (This trigger is exclusive for clans with Accel Gift)

The power boost and additional trigger effect can either be given to one unit or divided among two units.

When the attacker's power is equal to or greater than the defender's, the attack hits; otherwise, nothing happens. If a rear-guard unit is hit by the attack, it is retired. If a vanguard is hit, however, it remains in play and the defending player makes a number of "Damage Trigger Checks" equal to the attacker's critical value. The process works exactly like a Drive Check, but the revealed card is put into the "Damage Zone" instead of the hand. After the attacking player has finished conducting battles, the turn enters the End Phase, where certain effects may happen, and the stridden unit (if the player strode) goes back to the Generation zone face up (Face-up G-units cannot be used to stride), before going on the next player's turn.

From the V Series a new element was introduced: The Imaginary Gift (イマジナリーギフト, Imajinarī Gifuto) What you get if you ride a unit grade 3 with Gift Icon, these are a support to the clan's playing style. There are 3 types of clan gifts, and 2 sub-types associated with each gift. Each clan usually only has one gift type, excluding Bermuda Triangle which can acquire the other two through the card Heart Monopoly Anezka.

• Force (Blue): The clans that have that gift have a greater base power and are focused on a balanced game style.
  • Force I : This gift must be placed in a circle, the unit placed in a circle with the gift gets [Power] +10000 during the player's turn.
  • Force II : This gift must be placed in a circle, the unit placed in a circle with the gift has its original [Critical] become 2. This effect does not stack.
• Accel (Yellow): The clans that have this gift, have an offensive style of play and specializes in multiple attacks, and also have the exclusive Front Trigger.
  • Accel I : This gift, when placed behaves like an extra rear-guard circle in the front row and in exchange for not having support from a circle in the back row, that unit placed in the Accel I Circle gets [Power] +10000 during the player's turn.
  • Accel II : This gift, when placed requires the player to draw 1 card and behaves like an extra rear-guard circle in the front row. The unity placed in the Accel II circle gets [Power] +5000 during the player's turn.
• Protect (Green): The clans that have this gift, have a style of defensive game and specialized in the utility and versatility.
  • Protect I : When obtained, is placed in hand and when called in the guardian circle behaves like a Perfect Guard, allowing to defend against an attack, it can also serve as an alternative cost in case of discarding a card from hand.
  • Protect II : This gift must be placed on a rearguard circle . The unit on the gift has [Power] +5000 during both players turns and has [Shield] +10000 upon intercepting.

These are the 5 different types of cards in the game.

• Normal Unit - All grade 1-3 cards are normal units. As well as this, some grade 4's and some grade 0's are as well. They have power, critical, shield (Grade's 0-2), Gift icon (Grade's 3), may have ability text, may have flavor text, card art, their clan, their type, a name, a skill icon (Boost, Intercept etc.) and a grade.
• Trigger Unit - These are grade 0's with triggers. They have everything a normal unit has, and also have a trigger icon.
• G-Unit - These are grade 4's that you stride on to from the G-Zone. They have everything a normal unit has, save a shield. There is also a subset of G-Units known as G-Guardians. G-Guardians may be called from the G-Zone to the guardian circle.
• Token Unit - These are pseudo-units that are created by other card effects and kept outside of the main deck until played. Some Token Units have their own printed abilities.
• Order - These are non-unit cards normally kept in the main deck that follow the same requirements to be played as normal units, with the grade system. Order cards represent the use of magic or other strategies, providing tactical advantages.

Some parts of effect text are symbolized. These are the things you will need to know.

Certain abilities have costs to pay. This is a list of the most common costs to pay. Other costs with be shown in text in the cost part of the effect. Note that a number next to a cost show how many you have to pay.

• Counter Blast: This cost is paid by turning cards in the damage zone from face up to face down. On the Original series cards, this looks like a card with a purple arrow towards a purple card, in the V-Series change to a blue and white design with the sentence: C-Blast.
• Counter Charge: The opposite of Counter Blast, this is when you take cards face down in the damage zone, and turn them face up. On the Original series cards this is shown by a green card with a green arrow towards a card, in the V-Series change to a white and blue design with the sentence: C-Charge.
• Soul Charge: This is when you take cards from the top of the deck and add them to the soul. On the Original series cards this is shown by a yellow arrow towards a card in, in the V-Series change to a white and red design with the sentence: S-Charge.
• Soul Blast: The opposite of soul charge, you take cards from the soul and put them into the drop zone. On the Original series cards this is shown by a card with a blue arrow towards more cards, in the V-Series change to a red and white design with the sentence: S-Blast.

These are other symbols that appear very often.

• Act: This is a type of effect. Unless specified, these are only played in the main phase, but can be used as many times as you can pay the cost, unless otherwise stated. This is indicated by a blue rectangle with "ACT" in it.
• Auto: This is another type of effect. They can be used when a condition is met. Indicated by a green rectangle with "AUTO" in it.
• Continuous: This is the third type of effect. Unless specified, this is always active while in the correct zone. This is shown by a red rectangle with "CONT" in it.
• Vanguard Circle: The ability can be used/ is active while in the Vanguard Circle. As well, sometimes text will refer to the Vanguard Circle. An example is, "When it is placed on the Vanguard Circle icon, all units gain +2000 power until the end of the turn. Shown with a V in a circle.
• Rear Guard Circle: The same as the way an effect with the Vanguard Circle works, except with a Rear Guard Circle instead. Shown with a R in a circle.
• Guardian Circle: The effect is usable in the Guard Circle. An example is a perfect guard. When this unit is placed on Guard Circle Icon, you may pay this cost. Shown with a G in a circle.
• Limit Break: This kind of ability can only be used when the number of cards in your damage zone is the number stated (normally 4 or 5) or higher. Shown with a LB then 4 or 5.
• Legion: This kind of ability allows you to return 4 cards from your drop zone to your deck, look for the 'Legion Mate' (Name shown in red) and put it on the Vanguard Circle with the Legion Seeker. Usually, this will be a Grade 3 and a Grade 2, adding up to 20,000 power when it attacks (or up to 22,000 if Legion Mate is Grade 3). Most legion seekers have an ability that actives when it legions, or while it is in legion, as well as another ability. Shown with the word 'LEGION' in text.
• Stride: When a G-Unit Strides, some abilities can be activated. These are Stride Bonuses. Shown with the word STRIDE in text.
• Generation Break: This type of ability can be used while the number of units face up in the G Zone or the Vanguard Circle is equal to or higher that the number stated. Shown with GB and then a number(1, 2, 3, 4 or 8).
• Stand and Rest: This is shown by a card in portrait (Stand) or landscape (Rest).
• Once Per turn: This is a type of effect that can only be used by that card once in any given turn. Shown by 1/Turn in a purple rectangle. Older cards have the text "this ability cannot be used for the rest of that turn" written at the end of ability, which work the same.

Units in Vanguard are organized in Nations and Clans. Nations are the different countries that Planet Cray is divided in, with a total of six nations. Each nation is subsequently subdivided in clans, which are groups of units that band together to form an alliance. Each clan usually has its own unique aesthetic, and bases its play style around a certain skill.

• United Sanctuary: A righteous holy nation with a strong emphasis on honor and justice, the armies of the United Sanctuary use both ancient magic and new scientific traditions in combat. Represented by the color yellow.
  • Royal Paladin: A chivalrous army of knights, holy dragons, angels and mages who act as the Sanctuary's main standing army. Their play-style is based around strength in numbers, searching and calling allies from the deck and gaining power by controlling many rear-guards. During the G-Era, they gain a particular emphasis on calling Grade 2 units from the deck, as well as the specific keyword Brave, which grants their units powerful effects when the number of cards in the player's hand is three or less, letting them come back from the brink of defeat with even greater strength. In the V Series they keep the focus of having many rearguards and superior call from the deck and also from the hand, this clan has the Force Imaginary Gift. Introduced in Trial Deck 1: Blaster Blade.
  • Shadow Paladin: A group of dissenters and outcasts from the United Sanctuary, they are the dark counterpart and enemies of the Royal Paladins. After the War of Liberation, however, they turn a new leaf, putting their ruthless battle tactics and dark sorcery in service of the United Sanctuary instead of against it. A dark twist of their rival's play-style, they focus on the same mechanic of searching and calling units from the deck as Royal Paladins, but their boss units instead sacrifice their allies to fuel the costs of their powerful abilities. During the G-Era, they gain a particular emphasis on calling Grade 1 units from the deck, as well as the specific keyword Ritual, which grants their units powerful effects if there's a certain number of Grade 1 units in the drop zone. In the V Series retain the focus of calling and retire rearguard but also gain power or skills to have more rearguards than the opponent, this clan has the Force imaginary Gift. Introduced in Booster Set 4: Eclipse of Illusionary Shadows.
  • Gold Paladin: A new clan created by the remaining members of the Royal and Shadow Paladin after their respective leaders were sealed during the events of the War of Liberation. Thus, they incorporate the same mechanic of searching and calling units from the Deck, but focus on speed over consistency: whereas their Paladin predecessors use expensive skills that search out specific units, Gold Paladins use cheaper skills that instead call random units from the top of the deck. During the G-Era, they gain the specific keyword Unite, which grants their units bonus effects if the player has called at least two units during their turn. In the V-Series they retain the approach of calling units at the top of the deck and also from the hand during the attack phase allowing more attacks. This clan has the Accel Imaginary Gift. Introduced in Trial Deck 5: Slash of Silver Wolf.
  • Oracle Think Tank: A corporation of magically-gifted individuals that use their powers to predict the future and support their Paladin allies with information. Their play-style strongly revolves around hand advantage, using skills that draw additional cards from the deck, as well as checking and rearranging cards from the top of the deck, allowing them to "predict" the future and manipulate their draws or drive checks. During the G-Era, they gain the specific keyword Oracle, which grants their units bonus effects if the player has five or more cards in their hand. In the V-Series continues with the drawing cards and also the manipulation of the top of the deck to draw or for the drive check. This clan has the Protect Imaginary Gift. Introduced in Booster Set 1: Descent of the King of Knights.
  • Genesis: After foreseeing a doomed future for the Planet Cray, the CEO of Oracle Think Tank created this second conglomerate of magically-talented individuals to protect the future. Their play-style focuses on increasing the number of cards in the Soul with effects that Soul Charge from the deck, and then remove these cards as a cost to activate powerful abilities. Some of their units also activate their effects when they're removed from the Soul. During the G-Era, they gain the specific keyword Revelation, which allows the player to check the top card of their deck and then either place it back on top of their deck, or in the Soul. If they place the card in the Soul, the player will have to rest one of theirs rear-guards afterwards. In the V-Series he continues with the specialization in the soul, as a cost reduction for powerful skills and putting cards from soul in the rearguard as Divine Gauge. This Clan has the Force Imaginary Gift Introduced in Booster Set 10: Triumphant Return of the King of Knights.
  • Angel Feather: A medical institution directed by angels who are masters of healing magic and technology, they are dispatched to battlefields all over Planet Cray to heal the wounded. Their play-style revolves around manipulation of the damage zone: they can swap cards between it and the hand, field or deck, gain effects when a card is placed in the damage zone, and even outright heal damage. During the G-Era, they gain the specific keyword Rescue, which heals a card from the damage zone, then performs one damage check on their vanguard, which can activate triggers. In the V-Series you keep manipulating the damage zone for superior call or to have cards for the hand. This clan has the Protect Imaginary Gift (which can be used to heal a damage if it is placed in the damage zone). Introduced in Booster Set 6: Breaker of Limits.
• Dragon Empire: The largest of the nations, the Dragon Empire is a militaristic monarchy that is bent on conquering the other nations. Represented by the color red.
  • Kagerō: A group of fire dragons and their human servants, they are the ruling clan within the Dragon Empire and act as its Aerial Assault Unit. Their play-style is heavily focused around retiring and destroying the opponent's rear-guards, as well as re-standing their Vanguard for extra attacks. In the G-Era, they gain the specific keyword Blaze, which grants their units bonus effects if the number of rear-guards they control is greater than the opponent's, which synergizes with their retiring capabilities. This style of game to retire rear-guards of the opponent and obtain benefits of that is still preserved in the V-Series. This clan has the Force Imaginary Gift. Introduced in Trial Deck 2: Dragonic Overlord".
  • Narukami: A group of lightning dragons who replaced the Kagero when they were sealed away during the War of Liberation and kept the Empire together in those times of strife. Similar to Gold Paladins, their play-style is a twist of their original counterpart's: like Kagero, they focus on retiring the opponent's rear-guards, but prefer raw power over control, usually only being able to retire front-row units, but gaining power boosts and criticals in exchange. During the G-Era, they gain a new emphasis on permanently binding the units they retire, which synergizes with their specific keyword Thunderstrike, which grants their units bonus effects if the opponent has a certain number of bound cards. In the V-Series it focuses on binding units of the front row to get more power and have more control. Some units benefit from having open circles in the front row. This clan has the Accel Imaginary Gift. Introduced in Trial Deck 6: Resonance of Thunder Dragon.
  • Nubatama: A group of ninja animals, spirits and shadow dragons who use mysterious dark arts and act as the Dragon Empire's Espionage Corps. Their play-style is focused around depleting the opponent's defenses by forcing them to discard cards from their hand, as well as temporarily binding cards from their field and hand, with some units having the ability of sending bounds cards to the drop zone to make their temporary gains permanent. During the G-Era, they gain the specific keyword Afterimage, which allows their units to bounce back to the hand when a bound card is returned to the opponent's hand, allowing them to re-use on-call skills or protect their units from retaliation. They later gain a second keyword in Domination, which forces the opponent's units to attack their allies. In the V-Series they now specialize in hand manipulation, returning their own rearguard for defense or to call back to gain power and the opponent's rearguard to reduce their defenses by preventing calling or discarding them from the hand. This clan has the Protect Imaginary Gift. Introduced in Booster Set 1: Descent of the King of Knights, they did not get additional support until Booster Set 13: Catastrophic Outbreak.
  • Murakumo: Another group of ninja animals, spirits and shadow dragons, sister clan to the Nubatama, who act as the Empire's Black Ops Agency. A highly technical clan, their play-style focuses on hit-and-run tactics, with abilities that call copies of their units from the deck that return to it at the end of turn, allowing them to exert on-field pressure without wasting cards from their hand. This hand-conserving focus is enhanced by some of their boss units, who have defensive skills that enhance the player's ability to guard attacks. During the G-Era, they gain the specific keyword Shadowstitch, which activates extra effects or abilities when a unit's attack does not hit the opponent's Vanguard. In the V-Series as it has the Accel Imaginary Gift, lost the ability to return the units to the deck after being called but in return get sabotage skills that prevent the opponent can defend or attack. Introduced in Extra Booster: Comic Style vol.1.
  • Tachikaze: An army of mechanically-enhanced dinosaurs and primitive humans who act as the Empire's Ground Assault Unit and main infantry force. They have a highly aggressive play style, overpowering the opponent with extremely high-powered attacks that come at the expense of retiring their own units, many of which have some way of returning to the hand or field upon being retired to offset these costs. During the G-Era, they gain the specific keyword Engorge, which grants units extra power or bonus effects after they retire one of their other rear guards. In the V-Series retains the withdrawal of their own units in the turn to get more power, amplified with the Equip Gauge that are cards placed face down below the rearguards which can be used as support or cost. This clan has the Accel Imaginary Gift. Introduced in Booster Set 1: Descent of the King of Knights.
• Dark Zone: A dark and mysterious nation whose leadership is constantly disputed between the various demonic and magical creatures that inhabit it. Represented by the color purple.
  • Dark Irregulars: A lawless group composed of demons, vampires and mutant humans who use mysterious powers fueled by sorcery, plagued by constant in-fighting due to their might makes right mentality. Their play-style is focused around Soul Charging massive numbers of cards from the Deck, gaining enormous power boosts and incredibly powerful abilities if the number of cards in their Soul is high enough. During the G-Era, they gain the specific keyword Darkness, which grants units extra powers or bonus effects if a card has been put into the Soul during their turn. In the V-Series they keep the original play-style focused on having many cards in the soul to obtain effects. This clan has the Protect Imaginary Gift. Introduced in Booster Set 1: Descent of the King of Knights.
  • Spike Brothers: The current reigning champions of the extremely violent Cray version of American Football, Gallows Ball, they believe that no tactic is brutal or underhanded enough in order to achieve victory. An extremely aggressive clan, they feature units that gain power boosts when they attack but must return to the deck after doing so, as well as boss units that sacrifice cards in hand to call even more attackers to the field to keep the assault going. During the G-Era, they gain the specific keyword Charge, which activates when a unit is called to the field by an effect, granting it extra power or bonus effects but forcing the unit to return to the deck after it battles. In the V-Series they keep the fact of calling units from the deck with the cost of putting others in the soul so that they have a lot of power and also reduce their deck to have more chances of having a trigger in a drive or damage check. This clan has a Force Imaginary Gift. Introduced in Booster Set 1: Descent of the King of Knights.
  • Pale Moon: A highly mysterious traveling circus who gives highly popular and mesmerizing performances all over Planet Cray, but secretly houses a guild of elite assassins who serve whomever pays for their services. Like the Dark Irregulars and Genesis clans, their play-style focuses around increasing the Soul by Soul Charging cards from the deck, but they instead use the Soul to swap units between it and the field to attack multiple times. During the G-era, they gain the specific keyword Magia, which calls units from the Soul for extremely cheap costs or grants called units bonus effects, but forces them to return to the Soul at the end of turn. In the V-Series they retain the manipulation of soul to call units and have many attacks, boosting that attribute with the Accel Imaginary Gift. Introduced in Booster Set 3: Demonic Lord Invasion.
  • Gear Chronicle: A mysterious group led by steam-empowered gear dragons who are able to travel through space and time and have taken residence in the ancient ruins of the Dark Zone. Their initial play-style focused around sending enemy units back into the deck and preventing the opponent from guarding with units of a certain grade. They later gained the specific keyword Time Leap, which allows them to bind their own rear-guards to call units of a higher grade from the deck to gain extra attacks or effects, then putting the called units back into the deck and the bound units back into the hand at the end of turn. The Zodiac Time Beast sub-group focuses around permanently binding their units, then gaining benefits from the number of bound cards the player has, as well as moving cards from the bind zone to the hand or field. In the V-Series they manipulate the bind zone, binding their own units to obtain skills or power and have sufficient grades in the bind zone for when they ride Grade 4 units (which they retire at the end of the turn) to use their skills in addition they keep returning enemy rear-guards to the bottom of the deck. This clan has the Force Imaginary Gift. Introduced in G Trial Deck 1: Awakening of the Interdimensional Dragon.
• Magallanica: A nation that is chiefly located in the seas and oceans of Cray, with its only land mass being an archipelago of small islands, and thus mainly inhabited by underwater creatures. Represented by the color blue.
  • Granblue: A large crew of undead pirates, ghosts, vampires and zombies who sail around the seas of Cray in their ghost ships, raiding and plundering wherever they go. Their play-style is focused around reviving fallen units from the drop zone back to the field, along with skills that send units directly from the deck to the drop zone to supplement these effects. In the G-Era, they gain the specific keyword Hollow, which grants their units extra effects when called to the field, at the cost of being sent to the drop zone at the end of turn, ready to be revived again. In the V-Series follow with the use of the drop zone to make superior call but also have skills to put letters of the top of the deck in the drop zone to have at least 10 cards or more in the drop zone to get more power. This clan has the Protect Imaginary Gift. Introduced in Booster Set 1: Descent of the King of Knights.
  • Bermuda Triangle: A clan of mermaid pop idols and singers who are the biggest stars in Planet Cray, and whose highly expensive concerts are attended by members of every clan. Their play-style focuses around skills that bounce their units from the field back to the hand, triggering a variety of effects from drawing extra cards to granting power boosts. During the G-Era, they gain the specific keyword Harmony, which grants a unit bonus effects when another unit is called in the same column as it, synergizing with their return-to-hand abilities to activate these effects multiple times. In the V-Series still do not know how will be their style of play and have the Force Imaginary Gift. Introduced in Booster Set 2: Onslaught of Dragon Souls, the clan is unique in that additional cards for it have never been released outside of Extra Booster or promotional cards, beginning with their first unique Extra Booster, Banquet of Divas.
  • Aqua Force: A naval military clan who once ruled all of Cray thanks to their dominance over the sea and their belief in absolute justice, they once fell to oblivion but have recently returned to the Planet. A highly technical clan, they focus on increasing the number of their attacks via different means in order to enable the skills of some of their units, which gain powerful effects when they are the 3rd, 4th or even 5th attack in a turn. During the G-Era, they gain the specific keyword Wave, which indicates the number they need to attack in (Wave 3, for example, means the unit needs to attack 3rd to unlock its effect). In the V-Series they keep the focus on the number of attacks they make to the opponent to obtain skills or power and in support of that emphasis they have the Accel Imaginary Gift. Introduced in Trial Deck 7: Descendants of the Marine Emperor.
• Zoo: An extremely fertile and nature-attuned nation situated in the east of Cray that houses a variety of life, from highly-intelligent animals to sentient vegetation or heinous criminal insects. Represented by the color green.
  • Megacolony: An insect mafia ruled by a mysterious Queen and the main criminal organization in Cray, their armies of loyal, genetically-enhanced insects and mutants raze Planet Cray committing every imaginable crime. Their play-style is focused around paralyzing the opponent's resting units, disallowing them from standing at the beginning of their turn, which in turn prevents those units from attacking or boosting; some of their boss units can even paralyze the opponent's Vanguard. Starting in the G-Era, some of their units gain the giga-paralyze ability, which allows the player to draw cards if the paralyzed units are still at rest on the opponent's field at the end of their turn, or prevents paralyzed Grade 2 units from intercepting. During the G-Era they gain the specific keyword Dark Device, which grants their units extra effects if all enemy units in the same column as them are at rest. In the V-Series have the focus on the control of the field, as the "paralyze" (prevent the rested rear-guard stand) or reduce the power of all enemy units affecting their defense and attack. This clan has the Protect Imaginary Gift. Introduced in Booster Set 1: Descent of the King of Knights.
  • Great Nature: A clan of sentient and extremely intelligent animals that study in the Great Nature University, the highest educational institution on Planet Cray. Their play-style is a mix of aggression and hand advantage, focusing on granting power boosts to their rear-guards at the cost of being forced to retire them at the end of the turn. These costs are offset by skills that draw cards or search the deck for additional copies of units when they are retired. During the G-Era they gain the specific keyword Success, which grants their units extra effects when one of their Rearguard's power reaches a certain threshold. In the V-Series they keep the focus of the rearguards but instead of being withdrawn at the end of the turn, they have skills that put the top deck card in the drop zone and obtain effects according to the type of card. This clan has the Accel imaginary Gift. Introduced in Booster Set 2: Onslaught of Dragon Souls.
  • Neo Nectar: A clan of sentient plants, bioroids and forest dragons who produce the largest amount of grain and food in Cray, which in turn grants them great influence in nations with low self-sufficiency of food. Their play-style focuses on calling copies of their units from the deck, as well as granting them high power boosts if the player controls many units with the same name. During the G-Era, they gain the specific keyword Bloom, which grants a unit power boosts or extra effects when a unit with the same name as it is called to the field. In the V-Series have a new element: Plant Token, which are called as if they were a unit, allowing to keep the hand to call units or to defend. Despite the low power of the tokens, the units have skills that allow them to be used as cost or to empower them. This clan has the Force Imaginary Gift. Introduced in Booster Set 5: Awakening of Twin Blades.
• Star Gate: A nation situated in Cray's southern pole, in which a spaceport operated by the Commercial Wrestling Federation attracts all kinds of visitors from outer space and alternate realities. Represented by the color gray.
  • Nova Grappler: A no-holds-barred fighting league that attracts the toughest fighters in the galaxy, their fighting matches retransmitted as a competitive sport in all of Cray. They have a highly aggressive play-style, focused around re-standing their own units during the Battle Phase to gain extra attacks, often accompanied by power boosts. During the G-Era, they gain the specific keyword Rush, which grants their units bonus power or extra effects when they are re-stood by an effect during the Battle Phase. In the V-Series they keep the approach to Stand up their rearguards in the battle phase to have more attacks. This clan has the Accel imaginary Gift. Introduced in Booster Set 1: Descent of the King of Knights.
  • Dimension Police: An intergalactic vigilante corp whose heroes travel the galaxy fighting powerful alien super-villains, who are also considered part of the same clan. Their general play style focuses around manipulating the power of Vanguard units. The heroes focus around increasing the power of the own Vanguard, which often gains extra effects when its power breaks a certain threshold, while the villains instead focus around decreasing the power of the opponent's Vanguard, with some of their units gaining extra effects if the power of their opponent's Vanguard is low enough. During the G-Era, the hero side of the clan gains the specific keyword Burst, which grants units extra power or bonus effects if their Vanguard's power reaches a certain threshold. In the V-Series retained in the approach to make the Vanguard acquire some power to have skills, supported with the Force Imaginary Gift to meet it. Introduced in Booster Set 3: Demonic Lord Invasion.
  • Link Joker: A group of highly advanced extraterrestrials who launch a full-scale invasion of Cray, starting with the territory of Star Gate. Their arrival forces the various nations of Cray to band together and defend the planet. At the end of the war, however, a splinter group, led by Alter Ego Messiah, become allies of Planet Cray. They have the unique ability of Locking (turning face-down) the opponent's rear-guards, disallowing the opponent from attacking, using their abilities or even replacing them with new units until the end of their next turn. The Deletor archetype focuses around Deleting the opponent's Vanguard, which turns it face-down, robbing it of its skills and reducing its power to 0 until the end the opponent's next turn. Starting in the G-Era, the Messiah archetype focuses on locking their own units, then unlocking them to gain benefits. In the G-Era, the Deletor archetype also gains the Vanish Delete ability, permanently binding face-down cards from the opponent's drop-zone; their boss unit, Original Deletor, Eigorg, can outright win the game if the opponent has enough face-down bound cards. In the V-Series they returned to the use of "Delete" to prevent defense and also the use of bind face down the rear-guards of the opponent to reduce their possibilities and make your units have more power. This clan has the Force Imaginary Gift. Introduced in Trial Deck 11: Star-Vader Invasion.
  • Etranger: Not a full-fledged clan, but instead cards which feature real people or cameos from other franchises are assigned to Etranger, which means "foreigner" in French. Examples of characters that have been featured include Spider-Man, Keroro from Sgt. Frog, and "Baron Kidani", an alter-ego of Takaaki Kidani. Etranger has only appeared on Japanese promotional cards, with the exception of one card "Summer Days at Grand Fest, Try 3" which was given away at the Vanguard and Buddyfight Grand Fest 2017 event.

Vanguard cards are sold in Booster Sets, Extra Boosters, and Trial Decks, each containing a selection of new cards and sometimes reprints of older cards. A typical booster pack contains five cards: four common (C) cards and one rare (R) card. Sometimes, the rare card will be replaced by a double rare (RR), triple rare (RRR), or Special Parallel (SP). SP cards are alternate versions of lower-rarity cards in the same set, but have different flavor text and sometimes artwork. Cards of R rarity or higher also have special holographic foiling patterns, which vary depending on set and rarity.

Most common are Booster Sets, which are sold in boxes of 30 randomized booster packs. Booster sets contain support for at least 6 clans. Starting from G-BT11, each display contains 16 packs, with each pack containing 7 cards.

List of Booster Sets

• BT01 - Descent of the King of Knights (騎士王降臨, Kishiō Kōrin): Cards appearing in season 1.
• BT02 - Onslaught of Dragon Souls (竜魂乱舞, Ryūkon Ranbu): Cards appearing in season 1.
• BT03 - Demonic Lord Invasion (魔侯襲来, Makō Shūrai): Cards appearing in season 1.
• BT04 - Eclipse of Illusionary Shadows (虚影神蝕, Kyoei Shinshoku): Cards appearing in season 1.
• BT05 - Awakening of Twin Blades (双剣覚醒, Sōken Kakusei): Cards appearing in season 1.
• BT06 - Breaker of Limits (極限突破, Kyokugen Toppa): Cards appearing in season 2.
• BT07 - Rampage of the Beast King (獣王爆進, Jūō Bakushin): Cards appearing in season 2.
• BT08 - Blue Storm Armada (蒼嵐艦隊, Sōran Kantai): Cards appearing in season 2.
• BT09 - Clash of the Knights & Dragons (竜騎激突, Ryūki Geki Totsu): Cards appearing in Season 2.
• BT10 - Triumphant Return of the King of Knights (騎士王凱旋, Kishiō Gaisen): Cards appearing in season 3.
• BT11 - Seal Dragons Unleashed (封竜解放, Fūryū Kaihō): Cards appearing in season 3.
• BT12 - Binding Force of the Black Rings (黒輪縛鎖, Kokurin Bakusa): Cards appearing in season 3. Introduces "Яeverse" cards.
• BT13 - Catastrophic Outbreak (絶禍繚乱, Zekka Ryōran): Cards appearing in season 3.
• BT14 - Brilliant Strike (光輝迅雷, Kōki Jinrai, lit. Radiant Thunderclap): Cards appearing in season 3.
• BT15 - Infinite Rebirth (無限転生, Mugen Tensei, lit. Infinite Reincarnation): Cards appearing in season 3. Introduces the Triple Reverse Rare (ЯЯЯ) rarity, which is rarer than SP and appears only on one card - Star-vader, "Omega" Glendios.
• BT16 - Legion of Dragons & Blades (竜剣双闘, Ryūken Sōtō, lit. Dual Battle of Dragons & Blades): Cards appearing in season 4. Introduces the Legion Rare (LR) rarity.
• BT17 - Blazing Perdition (煉獄焔舞, Rengoku Homura Mai, lit. Purgatory Flame Dance): Cards appearing in season 4.

List of G Booster Sets

• G-BT01 - Generation Stride (時空超越（ストライドジェネレーション）, Sutoraido Jenerēshon, lit. Stride Generation): Cards appearing in G Season 1. Introduces the Generation Rare (GR) rarity.
• G-BT02 - Soaring Ascent of Gale & Blossom (風華天翔 (ふうがてん), Fūga Tenshō, lit. Soaring Petal Wind): Cards appearing in G Season 1.
• G-BT03 - Sovereign Star Dragon (覇道竜星 (はどうりゅうせい), Hadō Ryūsei, lit. Star Dragon of Supreme Road): Cards appearing in G Season 1, First set to feature two Generation Rare (GR) rarity cards in one set.
• G-BT04 - Soul Strike Against The Supreme (討神魂撃 (とうじんこんげき), Tōjin Kongeki, lit. Conquer Divine Spirits Strike): Cards appearing in G Season 1.
• G-BT05 - Moonlit Dragonfang (月煌竜牙 （げっこうりゅうが）, Gekkō Ryūga): Cards appearing in G Season 2, Introduce "Oracle", and "Thunderstrike" keywords.
• G-BT06 - Transcension of Blade and Blossom (刃華超克 （ジンカチョウコク）, Jinga Chōkoku): Cards appearing in G Season 2, Introduce "Brave", "Rush", and "Bloom" keyword.
• G-BT07 - Glorious Bravery of Radiant Sword (勇輝剣爛 （ユウキケンラン）, Yūki Kenran): Cards appearing in G Season 3, Introduce "Blaze", "Darkness", "Rescue", and "Burst" keyword. Also introduces the Super Generation Rare (SGR) rarity. First set to feature SP clan packs for clans those are not yet feature SP clan packs
• G-BT08 - Absolute Judgment (超極審判 （チョウゴクシンパン）, Chōgoku Shinpan): Cards appearing in G Season 3, Introduces the "Revelation" keyword.
• G-BT09 - Divine Dragon Caper (天舞竜神 （てんぶりゅうじん）, Tenbu Ryūjin): Cards appearing in G Season 4
• G-BT10 - Raging Clash of the Blade Fangs (剣牙激闘, Kenga Gekitō): Cards appearing in G Season 4
• G-BT11 - Demonic Advent (鬼神降臨, Kijin Kōrin): Cards appearing in G Season 4
• G-BT12 - "Dragon King's Awakening " (竜皇覚醒, Ryūōu Kakusei): Cards appearing in G Season 4
• G-BT13 - "Ultimate Stride " (究極超越, Arutimetto Sutoraido): Cards appearing in G Season 5. Introduces the rarity ZR and the G unit exclusive keyword Ultimate Stride.
• G-BT14 - "Divine Dragon Apocrypha" (竜神烈伝, Ryūjin Retsuden): Cards appearing in G Season 5.

List of V Booster Sets

The V series reduced the number of packs per box to 16 and began featuring only 4-5 clans per box. Featuring less new cards per set, but adding new rarities.

• V-BT01 - Unite! Team Q4 (結けっ成せい！ チームQ4, Kessei! Chīmu Kyu Fō): Cards appearing in V Season 1.
• V-BT02 - Strongest! Team AL4 (最さい強きょう！ チームAL4, Saikyō! Chīmu Ē Eru Fō): Cards appearing in V Season 1.
• V-BT03 - Miyaji Academy Cardfight Club (宮地学園CF部, Miyaji Gakuen Kādo Faito-bu): Cards appearing in V Season 2.
• V-BT04 - Vilest! Deletor (最凶! 根絶者, Saikyō! Derītā): Cards appearing in V Season 2.
• V-BT05 - Aerial Steed Liberation (天馬解放, Tenma Kaihō): Cards appearing in V Season 3.
• V-BT06 - Phantasmal Steed Restoration (幻馬再臨, Genma Sairin): Cards appearing in V Season 3.
• V-BT07 - Infinideity Cradle (神羅創星, Shinra Sōsei): Cards appearing in V Season 4.
• V-BT08 - Silver Petal Dragonflame (銀華竜炎, Ginga Ryūen): Cards appearing in V Season 5.

Extra Boosters are sold in boxes of 15 booster packs and contain a lower number of cards to collect (35 Cards). Extra boosters contain support for only a few clans, and often only for one clan.

List of Extra Boosters

• EB01 - Comic Style Vol. 1 (コミックスタイル Vol.1, Komikku Sutairu Vol. 1): Cards appearing in the manga.
• EB02 - Banquet of Divas (歌姫の饗宴, Utahime no Kyōen): Cards from the Bermuda Triangle clan, appearing in season 1.
• EB03 - Cavalry of Black Steel (黒鋼の戦騎, Kurogane no Senki): Cards from older clans not present in BT06-BT08, appearing in season 2.
• EB04 - Infinite Phantom Legion (無幻の兵団, Mugen no Heidan): Cards from Kamui's Nova Grappler clan, appearing in season 2.
• EB05 - Celestial Valkyries (神託の戦乙女, Shintaku no Ikusa Otome): Cards from Misaki's Oracle Think Tank clan, appearing in season 2.
• EB06 - Dazzling Divas (綺羅の歌姫, Kira no Utahime): Cards from the Bermuda Triangle clan, appearing in season 3.
• EB07 - Mystical Magus (神秘の預言者, Shinpi no Yogensha, lit. Mystical Prophet): Cards from Misaki's Oracle Think Tank clan, appearing in the manga.
• EB08 - Champions of the Cosmos (銀河の闘士, Ginga no Tōshi, lit. Fighters of the Galaxy): Cards from Kamui's Nova Grappler clan, appearing in the anime and manga.
• EB09 - Divine Dragon Progression (創世の竜神, Sōsei no Ryūjin, lit. Genesis of Divine Dragon): Cards from Kai's Kagero clan, appearing in the manga.
• EB10 - Divas Duet (歌姫の二重奏, Utahime no Dyuetto): Cards from the Bermuda Triangle clan, appearing in season 4. This set (and all of future "DUO" archetype cards) feature "Black" and "White" alternate arts of cards.
• EB11 - Requiem at Dusk (宵闇の鎮魂歌, Yoiyami no Rekuiemu): Cards from Ren's Shadow Paladin clan, appearing in season 4.
• EB12 - Waltz of the Goddess (女神の円舞曲, Megami no Warutsu): Cards from Misaki's Genesis clan, appearing in season 4.

List of G Extra Boosters

• G-EB01 - Cosmic Roar (宇宙の咆哮, Sora no Hōkō): Cards from the Dimension Police clan.
• G-EB02 - The AWAKENING ZOO (Jī Awēkeningu Zū): Cards from the Megacolony Great Nature and Neo Nectar clan.
• G-EB03 - The GALAXY STAR GATE (Za Gyarakushī Sutāgēto): Cards from the Nova Grappler Dimension Police and Link Joker clan.

G Clan Boosters and G Comic Boooster is an updated version of Extra Boosters, containing 40 Cards to collect. They are sold in boxes of 12 booster pack, each with 7 cards (5 Common, a Rare, and a rare or above). G Clan Booster always contain support for only one clan while G Comic Booster contain support for only a few clans featured in manga version.

List of G Clan Boosters

• G-CB01 - Academy of Divas (歌姫の学園, Utahime no Gakuen): Cards from the Bermuda Triangle clan, Introduces the "Harmony" keyword. SP Cards from this set feature alternate art of cards.
• G-CB02 - Commander of the Incessant Waves (連波の指揮官, Renpa no Shikikan): Cards from the Aqua Force clan, Introduces the "Wave" keyword.
• G-CB03 - Blessing of Divas (祝福の歌姫, Shukufuku no Utahime): Cards from the Bermuda Triangle clan, SP Cards from this set feature alternate art of cards. Also introduces the Wedding Special Parallel (WSP) rarity, which currently only have been featured in this set.
• G-CB04 - Gear of Fate (運うの歯車, Unmei no Gia): Cards from the Gear Chronicle clan. Feature two different SP Clan Packs
• G-CB05 - Prismatic Divas (七色なないろの歌姫, Nanairo no Utahime): Cards from the Bermuda Triangle clan. All SP cards are featured in swimsuit style.
• G-CB06 - Rondeau of Chaos & Salvation (混沌と救世の輪舞曲, Konton to Kyūsei no Rondo): Cards from the Link Joker Clan.

List of G Comic Boosters

• G-CMB01 - Vanguard & Deletor (先導者と根絶者, Sendōsha to Derītā): Cards from the Royal Paladin and Link Joker clans, Introduces the "Vanish Delete" keyword.

G Technical Booster Feature support for 3 clans, containing 75 Cards (25 cards for each clan). They are sold in boxes of 12 booster pack, each with 7 cards (5 Common, a Rare, and a rare or above).

List of G Technical Boosters

• G-TCB01 - The RECKLESS RAMPAGE: Cards from the Tachikaze, Spike Brothers and Nubatama clans, Introduces "Afterimage", "Charge", and "Engorge" keyword.
• G-TCB02 - The GENIUS STRATEGY: Cards from the Murakumo, Megacolony and Great Nature clans, Introduces "Shadowstitch", "Dark Device", and "Success" keyword.

List of V Extra Boosters

• V-EB01: The Destructive Roar: Cards from Tachikaze, Spike Brothers and Megacolony clans. Introduced the Equip Gauge mechanic.
• V-EB02: Champions of the Asia Circuit (アジアサーキットの覇者, Ajia Sākitto no Hasha): Cards from Aqua Force, Dimension Police and Granblue clans.
• V-EB03: ULTRARARE MIRACLE COLLECTION (ウルトラレア ミラクル コレクション, Urutorarea Mirakuru Korekushon): Cards from Angel Feather, Gold Paladin and Neo Nectar clans. Introduced the Plant token mechanic.
• V-EB04: The Answer of Truth (ジ アンサー ofオブ トゥルース, Ji Ansā obu Turūsu): Cards from Genesis, Gear Chronicle and Great Nature.
• V-EB05: Primary Melody (プライマリー メロディ, Puraimarī Merodi): Cards from the Bermuda Triangle clan.
• V-EB06: Light of Salvation, Logic of Destruction (救きゅう世せいの光ひかり 破は滅めつの理ことわり, Kyūsei no Hikari Hametsu no Kotowari): Cards from Royal Paladin, Kagero, Nova Grappler and Link Joker clans.
• V-EB07: The Heroic Evolution (ザ ヒロイック エヴォリューション, Za Hiroikku Evoryūshon): Cards from Kagero, Nova Grappler and Link Joker clans.
• V-EB08: My Glorious Justice (マイ グロリアス ジャスティス, Mai Guroriasu Jasutisu): Cards from Dimension Police, Granblue and Aqua Force clans.
• V-EB09: The Raging Tactics (ザ レイジング タクティクス, Za Reijingu Takutikusu): Cards from Tachikaze, Spike Brothers and Megacolony clans.
• V-EB10: The Mysterious Fortune (ザ ミステリアス フォーチュン, Za Misuteriasu Fōchun): Cards from Gold Paladin, Neo Nectar and Great Nature clans.
• V-EB11: Crystal Melody (クリスタル メロディ, Kurisutaru Merodi): Cards from the Bermuda Triangle clan.
• V-EB12: Team Dragon's Vanity! (Team 竜牙独尊リュウガドクソン!, Chimu Ryūgadokuson!): Cards from Shadow Paladin, Narukami and Aqua Force clans.
• V-EB13: The Astral Force (ジ アストラル フォース, Ji Asutoraru Fōsu): Cards from Angel Feather, Genesis and Gear Chronicle clans.
• V-EB14: The Next Stage (ザ ネクスト ステージ, Za Nekusuto Sutēji): Cards from Royal Paladin, Gear Chronicle and Neo Nectar clans.

Trial Decks are 50-card decks designed as an introduction to the game. They contain a fixed selection of cards, including one RR and two R cards. At the start of each season, a pair of Trial Decks is released which introduce that season's signature mechanic to the game. Season 2 introduced "Limit Break," which gives a vanguard extra effects when the player is at 4 or more damage. Season 3 introduced "Break Ride", which gives bonus effects for riding one Grade 3 vanguard on top of another one. Season 4 introduced "Legion", which allows two cards to combine into a single vanguard.

Starting from the "G" series, Trial Decks contain 52 cards, including four RRR cards and two "G Unit" cards which begin the game in the "Generation Zone." These cards can only enter play by "Striding" them over a grade 3 vanguard until end of turn. The G Unit retains the name and power of the previous vanguard, known as the "Heart".

List of Trial Decks

• TD01 - Blaster Blade (聖域の光剣士, lit. Shining Swordsman of the Holy Land): Cards from Aichi's Royal Paladin clan, appearing in season 1.
• TD02 - Dragonic Overlord (帝国の暴竜, lit. Raging Dragon of the Empire): Cards from Kai's Kagero clan, appearing in season 1.
• TD03 - Golden Mechanical Soldier (黄金の機兵): Cards from Kamui's Nova Grappler clan, appearing in season 1.
• TD04 - Maiden Princess of the Cherry Blossoms (桜花の姫巫女): Cards from Misaki's Oracle Think Tank clan, appearing in season 1.
• TD05 - Slash of Silver Wolf (銀狼の爪撃): Cards from Aichi's Gold Paladin clan, appearing in season 2.
• TD06 - Resonance of Thunder Dragon (雷竜の鳴動): Cards from Kai's Narukami clan, appearing in season 2.
• TD07 - Descendants of the Marine Emperor (海皇の末裔, Kaiō no Matsuei): Cards from Leon's Aqua Force clan, appearing in season 2.
• TD08 - Liberator of the Sanctuary (聖域の解放者, Seīki no Ribereitā): Cards from Aichi's Gold Paladin clan, appearing in season 3.
• TD09 - Eradicator of the Empire (帝国の抹消者, Teikoku no Ireizā, lit. Eraser of the Empire): Cards from Naoki's Narukami clan, appearing in season 3.
• TD10 - Purgatory Revenger (奈落の撃退者, Naraku no Ribenjā): Cards from Ren's Shadow Paladin clan, appearing in season 3.
• TD11 - Star-vader Invasion (侵略の星騎兵, Shinryaku no Sutāveidā): Cards from Kai's Link Joker clan, appearing in season 3. Introduces the "Lock" keyword.
• TD12 - Dimensional Brave Kaiser (超次元の勇者, Chōjigen no Yūsha, lit. Super Dimensional Hero): Cards from Kenji's Dimension Police clan, appearing in season 3.
• TD13 - Successor of the Sacred Regalia (神器の伝承者, Jingi no Denshōsha): Cards from Misaki's Genesis clan, appearing in season 3.
• TD14 - Seeker of Hope (希望の探索者(シーカー), Kibō no Shīkā): Cards from Kai's Royal Paladin clan, appearing in season 4. Introduces the "Legion" mechanic.
• TD15 - Brawler of Friendship (友情の喧嘩屋(ブロウラー), Yūjō no Burourā): Cards from Naoki's Narukami clan, appearing in season 4. Introduces the "Legion" mechanic.
• TD16 - Divine Judgment of the Bluish Flames (聖裁の青き炎（せいさいのあおきほのお）, Seisai no Aokihonō): Cards from Gaillard's Gold Paladin clan, appearing in season 4.
• TD17 - Will of the Locked Dragon (決意の呪縛竜（けついのじゅばくりゅう）, Ketsui no Jubakuryū): Cards from Kourin's Link Joker clan, appearing in season 4.

List of G Trial Decks

• G-TD01 - Awakening of the Interdimensional Dragon (覚醒の時空竜（かくせいのじくうりゅう）, Kakusei no Jikūryū): Cards from Chrono's Gear Chronicle clan. Introduces the "Stride" mechanic.
• G-TD02 - Divine Swordsman of the Shiny Star (明光の聖剣士（みょうじょうのせいけんし）, Myōjō no Seikenshi): Cards from Shion's Royal Paladin clan. Introduces the "Stride" mechanic.
• G-TD03 - Flower Maiden of Purity (純真の花乙女 (じゅんしんのはなおとめ), Ji ~yunshin' no Hanaotome): Cards from Tokoha's Neo Nectar clan.
• G-TD04 - Blue Cavalry of the Divine Marine Spirits (海神の蒼騎兵 (わだつみのそうきへい), Wadatsumi no Sōkihei): Cards from the Aqua Force clan.
• G-TD05 - Fateful Star Messiah (宿星の救世竜 (しゅくせいのメサイア), Shukusei no Mesaia): Cards from the Link Joker clan.
• G-TD06 - Rallying Call of the Interspectral Dragon (鳴導の時幻竜 (めいどうのじげんりゅう), Meidō no Jigenryū): Cards from Chrono's Gear Chronicle clan in G season 2. Introduces the "Time Leap" keyword.
• G-TD07 - Illusionist of the Crescent Moon (弧月の奇術師 (こげつのきじゅつし), Kogetsu no Kijutsushi): Cards from Luna's Pale Moon clan in G season 2. Introduces the "Magia" keyword.
• G-TD08 - Vampire Princess of the Nether Hour (冥刻の吸血姫 (めいこくのきゅうけつき), Mei Koku no Kyūketsuki): Cards from Am's Granblue clan in G season 2. Introduces the "Hollow" keyword.
• G-TD09 - True Zodiac Time Beasts (真生の十二支刻獣 (しんせいのじゅうにしこくじゅう), Shinsei no Jūnishi Kokujū): Cards from Chrono's Gear Chronicle clan in G season 3.
• G-TD10 - Ritual of Dragon Sorcery (竜魔道の儀式 (りゅうまどうのぎしき), Ryūmadō no Gishiki): Cards from Kazuma's Shadow Paladin clan in G season 4, Introduces the "Ritual" keyword.
• G-TD11 - Divine Knight of Heavenly Decree (天てん命めいの聖せい騎き士, Tenmei no Seikishi):Cards from Shion's Royal Paladin clan in season 4
• G-TD12 - Flower Princess of Abundant Blooming (繚りょう乱らんの花はな乙おと姫, Ryōran no Hanaotohime):Cards from Tokoha's Neo Nectar clan in season 4
• G-TD13 - Evil Eye Sovereign (じゃがんの支配者, Jagan no Shihaisha):Cards from Nubatama clan in G season 4 Introduces the new ability "Domination" keywork.
• G-TD14 - Debut of the Divas (うたひめの初舞台, Utahime no Debyū): Cards from Bermuda Triangle clan in G season 4 Introduces new theme "Chouchou".
• G-TD15 - Messiah Dragon of Rebirth (再誕さいたんの救世竜, Saitan no Mesaia): Cards from the Link Joker clan in G season 5.

Legend Decks are pre-constructed decks contains 54 cards, including fifteen RRR cards (one of each unique card type) and at least four "G-Unit" cards. All Legend Decks focus on a single character from the anime and the units strongly associated with them. The units have been retrained, given skills and abilities found in Vanguard G.

List of G Legend Decks

• G-LD01 - The Dark "Ren Suzugamori" (The Dark "Ren Suzugamori", Za Dāku "Ren Suzugamori"): Cards from Ren's Shadow Paladin clan.
• G-LD02 - The Overlord blaze "Toshiki Kai" (The Overlord blaze "Toshiki Kai", Za Obārōdo bureizu "Toshiki Kai"): Cards from Kai's Kagero clan.
• G-LD03 - The Blaster "Aichi Sendou" (The Blaster "Aichi Sendou", Za Burasutā "Aichi Sendou"): Cards from Aichi's Royal Paladin clan

List of Special Sets

• FC01 - Fighter's Collection 2013 (ファイターズコレクション 2013, Faitāzu Korekushon 2013): Cards appearing in seasons 1-3.
• FC02 - Fighter's Collection 2014 (ファイターズコレクション 2014, Faitāzu Korekushon 2014): Cards featuring support for all clans.
• DG01 - DAIGO Special Set (DAIGOスペシャルセット, DAIGO Supesharu Setto): Cards from Daigo's Royal Paladin clan, appearing in season 3. Released in English as MT01 (Mega Trial Deck 1) - Rise to Royalty.
• MB01 - Movie Booster 1: Neon Messiah (ネオンメサイア, Neon Mesaia): Cards appearing in the Neon Messiah movie. Released in Japan only with cards distributed to Booster Set 16: Legion of Dragons & Blades ver.E and Booster Set 17: Blazing Perdition ver.E in English.
• MTD01 - Movie Trial Deck 1: Malefic Deletor (凶きょう星せいの根絶者デリーター, Kyōsei no Derītā): Cards from Kouji's Link Joker clan, appearing in the Neon Messiah movie, Introduces the "Delete" keyword. Released in Japan only with cards distributed to Booster Set 16: Legion of Dragons & Blades ver.E in English.

List of G Special Sets

• G-FC01 - Fighter's Collection 2015 (ファイターズコレクション 2015, Faitāzu Korekushon 2015): Cards featuring G-Unit support for all clans.
• G-TB01 - Touken Ranbu -ONLINE-: Cards from Touken Ranbu clan, a clan that is based on the online browser game of the same name, Introduce "Shinken Hissatsu", and "Homare" keywords.
• G-FC02 - Fighter's Collection 2015 Winter: Cards featuring 1 G-Unit and 1 normal unit support for an old archetype for all clans except Touken Ranbu.
• G-DG01 - DAIGO Special Set G (DAIGOスペシャルセットG, DAIGO Supesharu Setto Ji): Cards from Daigo's Royal Paladin clan, appearing in G season 2. Released in Japan only
• G-FC03 - Fighter's Collection 2016: Cards featuring 1 G-Unit and 1 G-Guardian for all clans except Touken Ranbu. Introduces the "G-Guardian" mechanic.
• G-TTD01 - Touken Ranbu -ONLINE-: Cards from Touken Ranbu clan,
• G-TB02 - Touken Ranbu -ONLINE-: Cards from Touken Ranbu clan, Introduces the "Nitou Kaigan" keyword.
• G-FC04 - Fighter's Collection 2017 Includes a Stride, G guardian and Heal Trigger with abilities for all clans except Touken Ranbu.

A manga series written and illustrated by Akira Itō was announced along with the anime.[1] The first chapter was published on November 26, 2010 in Kerokero Ace magazine. With Kerokero Ace ceasing publication with its September 2013 issue, new chapters of the manga continued starting with the first issue of Monthly Bushiroad magazine.[24] While the manga shares the same characters as the anime, it follows an original storyline and contains many differences from the anime version. Vertical has licensed the manga series and began releasing it in North America on April 29, 2014.[25][26]

A side story referred as Episode 0 was released on May 23, 2013. It is also illustrated by Itō. Its storyline follows Toshiki Kai's childhood.[27]

A spin-off manga series titled Mini Vanguard, also known as Mini Van (みにヴぁん), began publishing in Kerokero Ace alongside the original manga. The first chapter of the spinoff was released with the sixth chapter of the main manga series. Mini Vanguard is a short yonkoma comedy manga by Quily featuring all of the characters as super deformed. Like the original manga series, Mini Vanguard continued in the first issue of Monthly Bushiroad magazine after the final September 2013 issue of Kerokero Ace magazine.[28] Mini Vanguard was adapted into a flash anime series produced by DLE.[29] It aired from April 6, 2013 to December 14, 2013. The ending theme song of this series is "Mirai Sketch" by Ultra Rare (Suzuko Mimori, Yoshino Nanjō, and Aimi Terakawa).

Another spin-off manga series titled Cardfight!! Vanguard Gaiden: Swordsman of Light (カードファイト!! ヴァンガード外伝　光の剣士, Kādofaito!! Vangādo Gaiden Hikari no Kenshi) began publishing in Monthly Bushiroad magazine. It is supervised by Akira Itō and illustrated by Makoto Kishimizu. Its story focuses on the lore of the Cardfight!! Vanguard trading card game.[30]

A talk radio show titled Stand Up Our Vanguard (立ち上がれ僕らのヴァンガード, Tachiagare Bokura no Vangādo), also known as TachiVan, began airing in 2011 on Hibiki Radio.[31] It is currently split into two shows: the main show which changes its subtitle to coincide with the current anime season and airs on Saturdays, and TachiVan Sunday. It is hosted by Tsubasa Yonaga and Takuya Satō, the voice actors of Aichi and Kai respectively, with occasional guest appearances by various other Japanese voice actors and actresses from the anime series.

A 224-page novel based on the anime series was released in Japan on May 15, 2013. It is written by Bandana Aoi, and the internal illustrations are done by Yōsuke Adachi. The story follows Aichi reaching out to a lonely young boy named Hiro Hamane (浜音ヒロ, Hamane Hiro).[32][33]

A mobile app game titled Cardfight!! Vanguard: Cray Wars (カードファイト!! ヴァンガード 惑星大戦, Kādofaito!! Vangādo Wakusei Taisen, lit. Cardfight!! Vanguard Planet Wars)[34] was released on March 12, 2013. It is a strategy role-playing game and is region-locked to prevent devices outside Japan from installing it. The game introduces an original character named Navica, who acts as the player's guide in the world of Cray and explains the game mechanics. The game's storyline is based around the Virtual Vanguard System (VVS), which generates a virtual space in which people experience the world of Cray, an earth-like planet where magic and science have progressed hand in hand. Each continent of Cray is dominated by one of six prospering nations. Through the VVS, the player's avatar dives into this dreamlike world and fights daily battles for one of these nations. However, a sudden abnormality upsets this scenario. Players move their avatars about the world map of Cray using a six-sided die, accepting and completing quests to receive items and gold to advance the storyline. Two types of deck are composed for use within the game: one to be used in battle and one with which to besiege dungeons. Each deck has six cards; skills are triggered in the battle deck based on the position of cards in relation to one another, while the dungeon deck makes use of skills related to manipulating dice and avoiding traps. In addition to the player's avatar having a level, individual cards have levels. Increasing the cards' levels enhances skills. Leveling up and skill synthesis allows cards to be customized so that two players may have the same card but different abilities.[35]

A Nintendo 3DS video game adaption titled Cardfight!! Vanguard: Ride to Victory!! (カードファイト!! ヴァンガード ライド トゥ ビクトリー!!, Kādofaito!! Vangādo Raido tu Bikutorī!!)[36][37] was released in Japan on April 11, 2013.[27] It was developed by FuRyu. The game features an original story which stars a new cardfighter protagonist who is aiming to win at a national tournament. Players choose one of six possible original characters to play as, one male and one female each of three personality types: hot-blooded (熱血系), cool (クール), and dark (ダーク). The game features appearances by at least 30 characters from the anime such as Aichi Sendou, Toshiki Kai, Ren Suzugamori, Misaki Tokura, and Shin Nitta. There is a tutorial mode for those who are new to playing the TCG. The main story takes the player through a series of fights against rivals, ending with the national tournament championship. There are also optional missions, which challenge the player to win with a predetermined set of cards, and free play, where the player can duel against any opponent previously encountered in the story. Winning a fight earns the player points, which can then be spent at the Card Capital shop to purchase booster packs to build a stronger deck. The game also features wireless online play.[38]

A second 3DS game adaption titled Cardfight!! Vanguard: Lock on Victory!! (カードファイト!! ヴァンガード ロック オン ビクトリー!!, Kādofaito!! Vangādo Roku On Bikutorī!!)[39] was released in Japan on June 5, 2014. It was also developed by FuRyu. This game's story is based on the Link Joker arc of the anime series. Similar to the first game, players will choose to play as one of the previous game's six original characters (albeit older) plus four more original characters[40] and will attend one of the high schools depicted in the anime. The game's wireless battle mode will be greatly expanded. For example, the game's AI will continue an online match if a disconnection occurs. The game will support a wireless link-up method similar to Nintendogs.[7]

A downloadable game for Microsoft Windows titled Cardfight!! Online was planned to be released in early 2016, but cancelled.[41] It was developed by DELiGHTWORKS and CrossGames. The game would have been free-to-play with in-game transactions. Cardfight!! Vanguard G series and later cards were going to be available. Older cards would have also been added later. Cardfight!! Online would have feature unranked matches, ranked matches, and tournaments. There would have been also be tutorials for new players. New cards were going to be obtained from the in-game shop or from crafting.

A video game for Nintendo Switch was released on September 19, 2019 in Japan.[42]

A mobile app titled Cardfight!! Vanguard Zero was released globally on April 9, 2020. Many mechanics from the original card game have been changed in favor of fast game play over full simulation.

A live-action 90-minute drama titled Stand Up! Vanguard was aired on May 3, 2012.[43] It is directed by Takashi Motoki, who describes this project as the "first-ever live-action card-game program". It stars Daigo, Shinta Sōma, Haruki Uchiyama, Suzuko Mimori, Nao Nagasawa, Kazuki Namioka, and Kazuhiko Kanayama. Two of Breakerz's songs, "Climber x Climber" and "Nonai Survivor", are used as background music for this drama as well as some live-action Cardfight!! Vanguard commercials. Much like in the anime, this drama features cameo appearances of the main characters of Tantei Opera Milky Holmes. In this case, three girls cosplay as Nero, Cordelia, and Hercule as one of the teams in the Vanguard team tournament.

Daigo is a wanderer who claims to be a genius and strongly believes in justice. One day, at a playground, he sees Hiroki Miura being bullied by other kids, including his classmate Teru Minamihara. Daigo attempts to save the day, but he gets beaten up in Hiroki's place. The kids' homeroom teacher, Maria Kagami, arrives to the scene and scares the bullies away. As Hiroki walks back home, Maria explains to Daigo about how Hiroki is a timid boy who never speaks his mind, which has warranted him to be picked on. To help Hiroki (and win Maria's affection), Daigo gets a job as a special teacher at the school. As Daigo tries to get closer to Hiroki, he learns that while Hiroki may be reserved, he is actually passionate about and confident in himself when it comes to playing the game of Cardfight!! Vanguard. Little by little, as Daigo has Hiroki teach him more about the game, he opens up Hiroki's heart while teaching him to have courage. However, he also learns that several factors all inhibit Hiroki from coming out of his shell: Hiroki has a fear of losing, Hiroki's busy working father Shigehiro looks down on his hobby, and Hiroki's mother Kumiko, who got him into playing Vanguard, is deceased. Eventually, Daigo convinces Hiroki to play against Teru in a cardfight. However, Teru wins and insults Hiroki, causing him to lock himself in his room out of frustration. Daigo tries to have a match with Teru but instead finds himself challenging Teru's supremacist home tutor and a greater genius, Eiji Satomi. He ends up losing to Eiji multiple times, with Hiroki secretly watching. Hiroki asks Daigo why he tries so hard, to which Daigo answers "losing is frustrating, but what comes after is most important."

Hiroki declares to Teru that he will get his revenge at a citywide Vanguard team tournament. The tournament commences with Hiroki, Daigo, and Maria teaming up. Defeating many colorful teams along the way, both Hiroki's and Teru's teams advance to the finals, which are to be held the next day. However, the night before the tournament finals, Maria gets hit by a car and is hospitalized as a result. With no one else to turn to, Daigo asks Shigehiro to be Maria's replacement, but he refuses due to his work. The next day, despite Hiroki not believing his father would come, Shigehiro does in fact make it in time before Hiroki's team gets disqualified. The finals begin with Shigehiro using his deceased wife Kumiko's deck against one of Teru's team members. Although Shigehiro ends up losing, he remembers the last conversation he had with Kumiko before she died. After the fight, he apologizes to Hiroki for all the mean things he said and gives him Kumiko's necklace, telling him to have courage. With Teru's team leading 1–0, the next fight between Daigo and Eiji starts. Despite Eiji's genius-level play, Daigo refuses to give up. He miraculously defeats Eiji, who runs away crying. With the score now 1-1, it comes down to the last match between Hiroki and Teru. Although Hiroki tries his absolute best and never gives up, Teru ultimately wins. Hiroki, Shigehiro, and Daigo all cry in frustration, but during the awards ceremony, Teru recognizes Hiroki and gives him his respect and friendship. Afterwards, when Daigo goes to the hospital to give flowers to the injured Maria, he sees her with another man, assuming that he is Maria's significant other. Believing that his love for Maria is over before it started, he runs off. In the end, Hiroki is now more confident in himself and has many friends. Daigo decides to go back to being a wanderer, but not before he and Hiroki have one last cardfight.

A hybrid live-action/anime film was released on September 13, 2014.[8] The live-action segment, A Game of Three (３つのゲーム, Mitsu no Gēmu), was directed by Takashi Motoki at Ace Crew Entertainment, and stars Daigo, Suzuko Mimori, Taizō Shīna, Takuma Sueno, and others. The anime portion, Neon Messiah (ネオンメサイア, Neon Mesaia), was directed by Shin Itagaki at Ultra Super Pictures, and screenplay was made by Mayori Sekijima.[7] It features the animated debut of the character Kouji Ibuki (voiced by Mamoru Miyano).[44] Neon Messiah made its US premiere on July 4, 2015 at Anime Expo.[45]