【Special Feature】 BRO2023 Recap: Enter Alice's world!
Asia-Oceania - Simon (Sword Art Online) vs. 2one2ded (The Seven Deadly Sins)
The Asia-Oceania finals came down to a showdown between Simon’s Sword Art Online and 2one2ded’s The Seven Deadly Sins. Simon was able to show off the power of Shout Echoing Across the Battlefield, Alice 
by taking the crown without even using his level 3 combo!
Simon played the overwhelmingly popular Alice package paired with The Power of Divine Authority, Kirito 
at level 3, which gave him the ability to play a defensive game in tight spots.
On first glance, Shout Echoing Across the Battlefield, Alice may seem like your average level 2 climax combo, but it is in fact an incredible threat when played out in multiples at level 1 thanks to the effect of Straight Path, Alice 
! Opponents will have to find ways to contest the card’s titanic 10,000 (or more) power or risk another turn of Alice combos, allowing Sword Art Online’s compression to snowball out of control.
The Power of Divine Authority, Kirito also showed great versatility when complemented by his supporting cast of Unbreakable Hope, Asuna 
, “Stay Cool” Eugeo 
and Into the Light, Alice and Eugeo 
. With help from his friends, Kirito can do almost anything; healing to stabilize, reducing incoming soul damage to survive a turn, pushing damage for game, and even becoming immune to opponent’s targeted effects! You can even control the damage he deals with his climax combo 
by using In a Party Dress, Sortiliena 
to shuffle desirable cards back into the deck!
On the other end of the matchup, 2one2ded’s The Seven Deadly Sins deck played an increased number of Merlin: Wielder of Aldan 
and King: For a Special Someone 
to fill the void created by the loss of Gilthunder: Negative Little Gil 
, which can no longer be played alongside Escanor: Master of the Tavern 
since the most recent restriction list update. He also opted to play three copies of Diane: Childhood 
, a card not frequently seen in prior builds, to combat Shout Echoing Across the Battlefield, Alice .
Sword Art Online was a dominating force in the Asia-Oceania region, taking six of the eight top cut spots despite the numerous tech options that players chose to play in anticipation of the metagame. There were also some interesting decks players took to the tournament, and I would like to give a special shoutout to player VeeMKII who entertained us with his The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 
deck which included unique cards such as Release of Information Binding 
, Faded World 
and Cat Ears, Mikuru 
!
Check out Simon’s winning list below, or watch the VOD here!
Ken Takahata is a Weiß Schwarz player from Sydney, Australia who began playing in 2011. Most recently casting BCS2022 World Finals, he is an active member of the community who plays in, judges for and casts for tournaments. When not playing Weiß Schwarz, he usually watches or talks about anime and movies. You can follow him on Twitter at @zabuton78.
Europe – Lacrima (Sword Art Online) vs. Tangjiro (Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?)
In Europe we saw the return of last year’s runner up Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? take another stab at glory, but when it came to swordplay Alice was definitely in her element and after a fierce clash managed to come out on top!
Sword Art Online decks took many forms over the weekend, but our champion Lacrima opted for the choice/comeback variant running Shout Echoing Across the Battlefield, Alice together with the Always Friendly, Silica 
as his finisher.
Always Friendly, Silica is a great option for those looking for an all-in-one finisher. She may not offer survivability in the form of healing, but once she takes the stage you can expect the game to end right there and then. Not only does she deal an extra instance of damage, she also decompresses the opponent with her ability to shuffle back two cards to the opponent’s deck, making it all the more likely your next instance of damage will hit!
《Demonic Sword Gram》 
is there to make sure Always Friendly, Silica does what she does best without interference from the opponent by shutting down any form of counter play for the turn! 《Demonic Sword Gram》 being a level 2 event also allows for some board-breaking aggression a few turns prior in conjunction with a board of multiple Shout Echoing Across the Battlefield, Alice . This is a powerful play that can come in clutch in certain match ups!
Tangjiro’s Comeback/Gate Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? deck made it to the finals in the Europe region for the second time in a row. The core of his list remained the same, with both First Adventure, Bell 
and Proof of Trust, Hestia 
as the main climax combos. The deck did see changes compared to last year, with most of the yellow cards being cut from the deck in favor of more copies of key level 0 cards and some extra firepower in the late game.
First Adventure, Bell remains a strong option against high power boards, while being able to refill your hand at the same time. In conjunction with 【Fire Bolt】
and Pyonkichi 
you can easily contest Echoing Across the Battlefield, Alice while presenting powers of up to 15,500, which is far out of Backup range!
Drunken Goddess, Hestia 
was a new addition and a very powerful card in the current format! Just the inclusion of this card disrupts the opponent’s game plan as they are now forced to play around it or risk losing their key early played pieces.
The single copy of "Crozzo's Magic Sword" 
was enough to increase the deck’s late-game potential. Proof of Trust, Hestia , while strong in guaranteeing damage, does lack a bit of reach. This event burns for an extra three points of damage, making a full board of Proof of Trust, Hestia even scarier!
The finals match was better than one could have hoped for with both players showing off all their decks had to offer. The last few turns definitely had us on the edge of our seats!
Check out Lacrima’s winning list below, or watch the VOD here!
Nando (NendoWS) is a Dutch Weiß Schwarz player for IanTCG who has been in the game for over 7 years. Most of his time in Weiß Schwarz is spent brewing rogue/alternative decks and decks for sets of shows he enjoys. He’s also a content creator who makes videos when time permits and you can often catch him commenting on TCG-related stuff on Twitter (@nendo_ws).
North & Latin America – Hikawa (hololive production) vs. Lacrima (Sword Art Online)
Finally, to round out our weekend of action-packed Weiß Schwarz tournaments, we move on to the final leg of BRO2023 with the North & Latin America region!
The finals match for North & Latin America featured the return of Lacrima, fresh off a first place finish in the Europe region, once again flexing his powerful Sword Art Online deck featuring the Shout Echoing Across the Battlefield, Alice package for its advantageous combo, and Always Friendly, Silica as his finisher of choice. On the other side of the table sat Hikawa, piloting a fairly standard build of Kanata/Marine hololive production, utilizing Snooty, Amane Kanata 
into On the Stage, Amane Kanata 
as an advantage generator at level 2, alongside the efficient Towards the Future Together, Houshou Marine 
finisher in the late game.
Prior to the beginning of the game, the commentators noted that the level 2 game could trend in favor of Hikawa if things went well for both players. The idea behind this analysis was that On the Stage, Amane Kanata could side attack into Shout Echoing Across the Battlefield, Alice and still deal damage, while Shout Echoing Across the Battlefield, Alice was forced to front attack (otherwise dealing no damage) and was thus heavily susceptible to losing the board to counters such as Snooty, Amane Kanata , a card that was sure to be in Hikawa’s hand. Additionally, if Hikawa could secure two copies of Raid, Kiryu Coco 
, they could boost On the Stage, Amane Kanata up to 12,000 power, making her easily able to fend off the Alice strategy.
Unfortunately for Hikawa, the gamestate quickly spiraled out of control and fell heavily into Lacrima’s favor. Lacrima was able to produce an early board with 2 copies of Shout Echoing Across the Battlefield, Alice , while Hikawa was only able to field a single copy of On the Stage, Amane Kanata . With Hikawa unable to put adequate pressure against Lacrima’s board, Lacrima was not only able to keep control of 2 out of the 3 lanes, but was also able to secure a third Shout Echoing Across the Battlefield, Alice on his next turn. With another copy of the climax combo
, Lacrima created a massive lead in both resources and damage, sending Hikawa to level 3. Unfortunately, even being a level higher did not give Hikawa any additional advantages, as they had to continue using their On the Stage, Amane Kanata combo to try to build some semblance of an endgame. Far behind on damage, they were forced to front attack headfirst into Lacrima’s counters, thus losing their entire board.
Hikawa managed to survive an additional turn, and with one final chance to take the game, went for a finisher play with three copies of Towards the Future Together, Houshou Marine ! However, Lacrima’s deckstate was well prepared for this onslaught of attacks, with only one of the six instances of damage landing! With Hikawa already sitting at level 3 with six cards in clock, and with multiple climaxes out, Lacrima easily closed out the game with three copies of their own finisher, Always Friendly, Silica .
While other players and decks throughout the tournaments were playing various counters to Alice, such as Diane: Childhood , as seen in 2one2ded’s The Seven Deadly Sins deck, or Mother in Her Memories, Itsuki Nakano 
in various The Quintessential Quintuplets decks; the Kanata/Marine build of hololive production has a rough time trying to incorporate those cards into their strategy since its early game is centered entirely around getting set up for the Kanata strategy at level 2. Options such as Fanatical Over Hiyoko, Shiranui Flare 
and #Kanatart, Amane Kanata 
do exist within the set, but taking away from the main gameplan could potentially cause problems for the hololive production player. One particular card to look out for in this matchup is #FestivalDrawings, Natsuiro Matsuri 
, whose “stock swap” ability can ruin the opponent’s deckstate, especially if they’re stockpiling a ton of resources as Alice-centric builds of Sword Art Online decks tend to be able to do.
Alice-centric builds of Sword Art Online are definitely a major threat of the current format, taking the throne in all three regions in BRO2023. Players will have to carefully study what options they have to combat the Alice game plan if they wish to succeed in this format, both in terms of title selection and deck composition. Hopefully, in the coming months, we can see some exciting developments from new titles like Avatar: The Last Airbender, Chainsaw Man, and Guilty Gear -STRIVE- that could knock Alice down a peg or two!
In the meantime, be sure to check out Lacrima’s winning SAO deck below.
Randall Muramoto (a.k.a. Shizukatz) is a SoCal-based Weiß Schwarz content creator for Tressa’s Collectibles who has been playing the game for just over a decade (as of the time of writing). Having been invited to be a commentator for multiple official Weiß Schwarz events, both online and offline, he loves sharing his knowledge about the game and getting people excited about unique decks and strategies. You can catch him on Twitter at @ShizukatzWS!
Asia-Oceania - Simon (Sword Art Online) vs. 2one2ded (The Seven Deadly Sins)
The Asia-Oceania finals came down to a showdown between Simon’s Sword Art Online and 2one2ded’s The Seven Deadly Sins. Simon was able to show off the power of Shout Echoing Across the Battlefield, Alice by taking the crown without even using his level 3 combo!
Simon played the overwhelmingly popular Alice package paired with The Power of Divine Authority, Kirito at level 3, which gave him the ability to play a defensive game in tight spots.
On first glance, Shout Echoing Across the Battlefield, Alice may seem like your average level 2 climax combo, but it is in fact an incredible threat when played out in multiples at level 1 thanks to the effect of Straight Path, Alice! Opponents will have to find ways to contest the card’s titanic 10,000 (or more) power or risk another turn of Alice combos, allowing Sword Art Online’s compression to snowball out of control.
The Power of Divine Authority, Kirito also showed great versatility when complemented by his supporting cast of Unbreakable Hope, Asuna, “Stay Cool” Eugeo and Into the Light, Alice and Eugeo. With help from his friends, Kirito can do almost anything; healing to stabilize, reducing incoming soul damage to survive a turn, pushing damage for game, and even becoming immune to opponent’s targeted effects! You can even control the damage he deals with his climax combo by using In a Party Dress, Sortiliena to shuffle desirable cards back into the deck!
On the other end of the matchup, 2one2ded’s The Seven Deadly Sins deck played an increased number of Merlin: Wielder of Aldan and King: For a Special Someone to fill the void created by the loss of Gilthunder: Negative Little Gil, which can no longer be played alongside Escanor: Master of the Tavern since the most recent restriction list update. He also opted to play three copies of Diane: Childhood, a card not frequently seen in prior builds, to combat Shout Echoing Across the Battlefield, Alice.
Sword Art Online was a dominating force in the Asia-Oceania region, taking six of the eight top cut spots despite the numerous tech options that players chose to play in anticipation of the metagame. There were also some interesting decks players took to the tournament, and I would like to give a special shoutout to player VeeMKII who entertained us with his The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya deck which included unique cards such as Release of Information Binding, Faded World and Cat Ears, Mikuru!
Check out Simon’s winning list below, or watch the VOD here!
Ken Takahata is a Weiß Schwarz player from Sydney, Australia who began playing in 2011. Most recently casting BCS2022 World Finals, he is an active member of the community who plays in, judges for and casts for tournaments. When not playing Weiß Schwarz, he usually watches or talks about anime and movies. You can follow him on Twitter at @zabuton78.
Europe – Lacrima (Sword Art Online) vs. Tangjiro (Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?)
In Europe we saw the return of last year’s runner up Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? take another stab at glory, but when it came to swordplay Alice was definitely in her element and after a fierce clash managed to come out on top!
Sword Art Online decks took many forms over the weekend, but our champion Lacrima opted for the choice/comeback variant running Shout Echoing Across the Battlefield, Alice together with the Always Friendly, Silica as his finisher.
Always Friendly, Silica is a great option for those looking for an all-in-one finisher. She may not offer survivability in the form of healing, but once she takes the stage you can expect the game to end right there and then. Not only does she deal an extra instance of damage, she also decompresses the opponent with her ability to shuffle back two cards to the opponent’s deck, making it all the more likely your next instance of damage will hit!
《Demonic Sword Gram》 is there to make sure Always Friendly, Silica does what she does best without interference from the opponent by shutting down any form of counter play for the turn! 《Demonic Sword Gram》 being a level 2 event also allows for some board-breaking aggression a few turns prior in conjunction with a board of multiple Shout Echoing Across the Battlefield, Alice. This is a powerful play that can come in clutch in certain match ups!
Tangjiro’s Comeback/Gate Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? deck made it to the finals in the Europe region for the second time in a row. The core of his list remained the same, with both First Adventure, Bell and Proof of Trust, Hestia as the main climax combos. The deck did see changes compared to last year, with most of the yellow cards being cut from the deck in favor of more copies of key level 0 cards and some extra firepower in the late game.
First Adventure, Bell remains a strong option against high power boards, while being able to refill your hand at the same time. In conjunction with 【Fire Bolt】and Pyonkichi you can easily contest Echoing Across the Battlefield, Alice while presenting powers of up to 15,500, which is far out of Backup range!
Drunken Goddess, Hestia was a new addition and a very powerful card in the current format! Just the inclusion of this card disrupts the opponent’s game plan as they are now forced to play around it or risk losing their key early played pieces.
The single copy of "Crozzo's Magic Sword" was enough to increase the deck’s late-game potential. Proof of Trust, Hestia, while strong in guaranteeing damage, does lack a bit of reach. This event burns for an extra three points of damage, making a full board of Proof of Trust, Hestia even scarier!
The finals match was better than one could have hoped for with both players showing off all their decks had to offer. The last few turns definitely had us on the edge of our seats!
Check out Lacrima’s winning list below, or watch the VOD here!
Nando (NendoWS) is a Dutch Weiß Schwarz player for IanTCG who has been in the game for over 7 years. Most of his time in Weiß Schwarz is spent brewing rogue/alternative decks and decks for sets of shows he enjoys. He’s also a content creator who makes videos when time permits and you can often catch him commenting on TCG-related stuff on Twitter (@nendo_ws).
North & Latin America – Hikawa (hololive production) vs. Lacrima (Sword Art Online)
Finally, to round out our weekend of action-packed Weiß Schwarz tournaments, we move on to the final leg of BRO2023 with the North & Latin America region!
The finals match for North & Latin America featured the return of Lacrima, fresh off a first place finish in the Europe region, once again flexing his powerful Sword Art Online deck featuring the Shout Echoing Across the Battlefield, Alice package for its advantageous combo, and Always Friendly, Silica as his finisher of choice. On the other side of the table sat Hikawa, piloting a fairly standard build of Kanata/Marine hololive production, utilizing Snooty, Amane Kanata into On the Stage, Amane Kanata as an advantage generator at level 2, alongside the efficient Towards the Future Together, Houshou Marine finisher in the late game.
Prior to the beginning of the game, the commentators noted that the level 2 game could trend in favor of Hikawa if things went well for both players. The idea behind this analysis was that On the Stage, Amane Kanata could side attack into Shout Echoing Across the Battlefield, Alice and still deal damage, while Shout Echoing Across the Battlefield, Alice was forced to front attack (otherwise dealing no damage) and was thus heavily susceptible to losing the board to counters such as Snooty, Amane Kanata, a card that was sure to be in Hikawa’s hand. Additionally, if Hikawa could secure two copies of Raid, Kiryu Coco, they could boost On the Stage, Amane Kanata up to 12,000 power, making her easily able to fend off the Alice strategy.
Unfortunately for Hikawa, the gamestate quickly spiraled out of control and fell heavily into Lacrima’s favor. Lacrima was able to produce an early board with 2 copies of Shout Echoing Across the Battlefield, Alice, while Hikawa was only able to field a single copy of On the Stage, Amane Kanata. With Hikawa unable to put adequate pressure against Lacrima’s board, Lacrima was not only able to keep control of 2 out of the 3 lanes, but was also able to secure a third Shout Echoing Across the Battlefield, Alice on his next turn. With another copy of the climax combo, Lacrima created a massive lead in both resources and damage, sending Hikawa to level 3. Unfortunately, even being a level higher did not give Hikawa any additional advantages, as they had to continue using their On the Stage, Amane Kanata combo to try to build some semblance of an endgame. Far behind on damage, they were forced to front attack headfirst into Lacrima’s counters, thus losing their entire board.
Hikawa managed to survive an additional turn, and with one final chance to take the game, went for a finisher play with three copies of Towards the Future Together, Houshou Marine! However, Lacrima’s deckstate was well prepared for this onslaught of attacks, with only one of the six instances of damage landing! With Hikawa already sitting at level 3 with six cards in clock, and with multiple climaxes out, Lacrima easily closed out the game with three copies of their own finisher, Always Friendly, Silica.
While other players and decks throughout the tournaments were playing various counters to Alice, such as Diane: Childhood, as seen in 2one2ded’s The Seven Deadly Sins deck, or Mother in Her Memories, Itsuki Nakano in various The Quintessential Quintuplets decks; the Kanata/Marine build of hololive production has a rough time trying to incorporate those cards into their strategy since its early game is centered entirely around getting set up for the Kanata strategy at level 2. Options such as Fanatical Over Hiyoko, Shiranui Flare and #Kanatart, Amane Kanata do exist within the set, but taking away from the main gameplan could potentially cause problems for the hololive production player. One particular card to look out for in this matchup is #FestivalDrawings, Natsuiro Matsuri, whose “stock swap” ability can ruin the opponent’s deckstate, especially if they’re stockpiling a ton of resources as Alice-centric builds of Sword Art Online decks tend to be able to do.
Alice-centric builds of Sword Art Online are definitely a major threat of the current format, taking the throne in all three regions in BRO2023. Players will have to carefully study what options they have to combat the Alice game plan if they wish to succeed in this format, both in terms of title selection and deck composition. Hopefully, in the coming months, we can see some exciting developments from new titles like Avatar: The Last Airbender, Chainsaw Man, and Guilty Gear -STRIVE- that could knock Alice down a peg or two!
In the meantime, be sure to check out Lacrima’s winning SAO deck below.
Randall Muramoto (a.k.a. Shizukatz) is a SoCal-based Weiß Schwarz content creator for Tressa’s Collectibles who has been playing the game for just over a decade (as of the time of writing). Having been invited to be a commentator for multiple official Weiß Schwarz events, both online and offline, he loves sharing his knowledge about the game and getting people excited about unique decks and strategies. You can catch him on Twitter at @ShizukatzWS!