Deep Thought (ディープソット Dīpu Sotto) is a fan-made clan from the Magallanica nation. Deep Thought specializes in controlling the opponent's hand and deck, restricting the cards the opponent has access to at any time before decking them out.
Background[]
Deep Thought is a vast civilization located in the depths of Magallanica in Cray i. Ruled by the Deep Lords, tentacled beings with immense psychic powers, Deep Thought is isolated from the other civilizations of Cray; their existence was only a rumor to the people of Magallanica, and not even that to other nations. Despite this, they are well-informed about the goings-on of what they call the "surface world," using spies and mind magic to gain information.
Deep Thought worships a mysterious deity known as "Hazur". Long ago, Hazur descended onto Cray as a prophet, teaching its inhabitants that the current structure of reality was an illusion kept in place by the demiurge, the wicked creator of the world who encouraged conflict and suffering among its creations. The ultimate goal of all beings was to achieve enlightenment, which could only be found by breaking through the demiurge's illusions and creating your own reality. However, as the centuries passed by, Hazur's message was forgotten by the surface worlders, and only Deep Thought remembered their message. In accordance with Hazur's teachings, Deep Thought strove to make themselves different and better, trying to break from the conventions set forth by the demiurge. As the surface worlders began to drift away from Hazur's message, Deep Thought began to hold them in xenophobic contempt, seeing them as lesser beings, forgetting that among Hazur's teachings was the fundamental unity of all beings past arbitrary distinctions like clan and nation.
However, Deep Thought did not yet act overtly against the surface worlders, as they wanted little to do with them. This changed when a mysterious mechanical dragon appeared on the outskirts of Deep Thought's territory. Deep Thought fought with the stranger and its forces, until they realized that the stranger fought and acted like none of the surface worlders. The dragon introduced itself as Strega Kaiser, an emissary sent by Hazur himself. Strega Kaiser told them that he had come from the prime timeline, the one most affected by the influence of the demiurge, where the clans of Cray had stagnated nearly completely, erasing any hope of Hazur's enlightenment taking root. Strega Kaiser made a pact with Hazur, curious of Hazur's message, and that it was time to act to revive Hazur's teachings.
Deep Thought thus finally decided that the surface civilizations had succumbed to the stagnation and complacency that Hazur had warned about. Desiring to force enlightenment onto the ignorant surface dwellers, they began to prepare their wake-up call. After months of preparation, they unleashed the Great Flood.
Playstyle[]
Deep Thought is a disorienting, invasive clan that specializes in hand and deck control. Unlike other control clans, which control the opponent's units on the field, Deep Thought aims to restrict the cards the opponent has access to. They have several tools to do this, such as looking at the opponent's hand, deck, and G zone, rearranging the cards in the opponent's deck, and discard (stolen from a dusty Nubatama warehouse). Deep Thought also has a few other control tools, such as light retiring, stealing the opponent's units, and even nullifying the opponent's plays. Deep Thought's most important tool, however, is mill.
Milling is Deep Thought's primary mechanic. By putting cards from the opponent's deck to their drop zone, Deep Thought can win games without having to heavily focus on offense. Deep Thought's mill also serves the purpose of removing undesirable cards from the opponent's deck, allowing Deep Thought to control their opponent's draws. Deep Thought generally has a lackluster offense, and its units often have low base powers. However, it does have cards that gain power off of an opponent's hand or deck size, and it can steal the opponent's units to fight in their place.
Deep Thought has three different playstyles:
- The first is hard mill-control, represented by Abyssal Emissary, Ourginus. This is the most defensive of the playstyles, and aims to cripple the opponent's resources until they run out of cards in their deck.
- The second is brainwashing, represented by One with a Thousand Eyes, Ullsiwel. This playstyle aims to steal the opponent's units, simultaneously bolstering their forces while weakening the opponent's. It mostly plays like a field-filling beatdown deck in the vein of Royal Paladin, although supplemented by Deep Thought's control options as well as the abilities of your opponent's stolen units. This playstyle is the least dependent on mill, although they can steal cards from the opponent's drop zone, allowing them more choice the more they mill.
- The third is full aggro beatdown, represented by Mindbreaker, Algazark. This playstyle uses cards that gain power based off of the number of cards in the opponent's drop zone, causing them to get steadily stronger as the game goes on. High power means more guarding, which means more cards put into the drop zone, which means even more power.
In an effort to break the laws of the demiurge, Deep Thought's cards do not always adhere to the regular conventions of Vanguard. They may have unusual power or shield values, as Deep Thought likes to min-max their units' stats. A unit specializing in defense may have very little power and an inflated shield value, while a unit specializing in offense may have no shield at all and an inflated power value.
Overall, Deep Thought should make the opponent feel like a puppet being controlled as they struggle against an incomprehensible enemy, with their units, hand, and even deck fighting against them.
Races and Sub-clans[]
Races[]
- Ancient
- Battleroid
- Deep Lord
- Dragonman
- Gillman
- Golem
- High Beast
- Kraken
- Leviathan: Giant whale-like sea monsters.
- Mermaid
- Noble
- Skeleton
- Tear Dragon
- Workeroid
Sub-clans and archetypes[]
- Ourginus
List of Deep Thought cards[]
Grade 0[]
| Name | Race(s) | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Abyssal Breaker | Dragonman | Trigger unit (Critical) |
| Abyssal Scout, Fleirum | Gillman | Normal unit |
| Abyssal Tidecaller | Gillman | Trigger unit (Heal) |
| Advisor of Forbidden Knowledge, Srarm | Deep Lord | Trigger unit (Draw) |
| Apprentice of Opposition, Selethas | Deep Lord | Trigger unit (Stand) |
| Deep Guard, Renai | Mermaid | Trigger unit (Draw) Sentinel (Perfect Guard) |
| Depth Reaper | Noble | Trigger unit (Critical) |
| Emaciated One, Olvolor | Deep Lord | Trigger unit (Critical) |
| Energy Shield, Ewalis | Deep Lord | Trigger unit (Stand) |
| Keeper of Forbidden Knowledge, Srarm | Deep Lord | Trigger unit (Draw) |
| Knowledge Guardian | Battleroid | Trigger unit (Draw) |
| Underworld Watcher, Vlakar | Deep Lord | Trigger unit (Heal) |
| Venom Harvester | Gillman | Trigger unit (Critical) |