NOTE: Beast Deities to be added later.
So let's talk deck types. While not as widely supported as say, Royal Paladins and its successor, Gold Paladins, Nova Grapplers have access to a wide variety of cards that make it possible for a large number of deck archetypes to be built. Without further ado, let's go into the deck types.
Asura Kaiser Build (G3 drive checker)
This is one of the earliest builds, and primarily focuses on standing rearguards during the battle phase via the Drive Check for an explosive series of attacks.
Asura Kaiser clocks in at an impressive 11k power (which is fast becoming the norm these days but still relevant), which makes it defensively capable as a Vanguard as well as a decent Rearguard (since 11k hits all except Crossrides alone), but its effect is the true meat of the build.
Asura Kaiser takes the Drive Check mechanic a little further, making it so that when you drive check a <Nova Grappler> Grade 3 unit, you can stand ANY Rearguard of your choice. The implications of this build was such that you could possibly build a hybrid deck around him so long as you have purely Nova Grapplers units in your Grade 3 line up (enter wacky Royal/Nova Grappler decks with Barcgal Support, those were the days back then.) and ensure that you have another Nova Grappler unit on the field at all times to maintain its 11k power (which shouldn't be an issue in Pure builds, but must be considered in Hybrids)
Yet just the Vanguard, a deck does not make, and Asura Kaiser received a lot of support for sets to come, allowing it to go toe to toe with new upstarts. Death Army Guy and Lady were introduced in BT-03 and brought a ton of explosive power to the deck, having the ability to stand themselves when a Grade 3 Nova Grappler is checked. Again, pretty splashable as long as you have a full Nova Grappler Grade 3 line up, but I digress. Play your formation right, and a Drive checked G3 equates to "Stand ALL THE REARGUARD".
In addition, Asura Kaiser builds can feature a variety of units that add to the theme, add a bit of consistency, or make up for its inherent weaknesses. Magician Girl, Kirara lets you counterblast 2 to draw a card upon a successful attack, while you might feature the Beast Deity series (Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Blank Marsh, Golden Anglet, Yamata Drake) in small amounts because it adds more options without compromising too much on its drive check theme. Moreover, as mentioned above, splashing tech units is definitely possible as long as you pay attention to your unit lineup, since Asura Kaiser does not feature an entirely restrictive effect.
However, being a rearguard oriented deck, Asura Kaiser builds must pay attention to their field in order to maximise their standing effects, which makes them susceptible to attacks on Rearguards either through battle or effect. Moreover, other than their drive check engine, Asura Kaiser does not have a reliable source of advantage to add consistency or card advantage, meaning that they tend to run out of steam quickly (Kirara and Draw Triggers helps mitigate this to a small extent, but this weakness continues to plague Asura Kaiser Builds to this day.).
Hybrids (Mr. Invincible Variants)
I would like to point out that options were limited back in the old days so many players took to combining clans (Bushiroad also made it easy through the wording of its effect as well as its rulings). Chief among them was a Megablast unit known as Mister Invincible. With Cape of bloody crimson and booming laugh of thunder, have at thee.
Mr. Invincible clocks in at 10000 power, which is pretty average, and in today's fast paced meta, perhaps painfully low and susceptible to easily made 20k columns, and chances are you are never going to pull off the Mega Blast (Counter Blast 5 and Soul Blast 8, when this unit hits, STAND ALL THE REARGUARD) except in extreme situations, but we are not focusing on the latter ability in this case, but its soulcharge ability, which lets you unflip one card in the damage zone in addition to the soulcharge, and we are not even looking in the soul charge. What we have here is a reliable way to expand the use of our severely limited counterblasts to unleash hell on your opponent.
For instance, popular among these splashable units was good old Dragonic Overlord. His effect is usable as a Rearguard, and will have you counterblasting 3 cards for it to gain a whopping + 5000 power and the ability to stand itself again when it hits a rearguard successfully, meaning literally killing off your opponent's front row. Your opponent may easily shrug one use, but how about 2? Or 3? Or even 4 uses? With Mr. Invincible, as well as units such as Humpty Dumpty and Clay Doll Mechanic, we can continuously unflip damage to spam counterblasts.
Alternatively, Nova Grappler also offered a crutch to the under supported Mega Colony, allowing them to spam their counterblast ability to lock down multiple rearguards with their on call effects (Karma Queen, Lady Bomb, Hell Spider). A hybrid deck did show up in the anime with Gold Rutile as a boss unit, so there is a good starting point if need be.
Sadly, that wacky era soon came to a close, as Bushiroad because more astute at creating cards, with only a few outliers being able to be splashed or relevant enough that you might want to use Hybrid support. Cards also became more restrictive, and with BT-01 and 2 being out of print in Japan, you rarely see these decks nowadays. However, these are ridiculously cheap and easy to put together, which is a solid plus for these decks.
Stern Blaukruger
BT-04 brought to Nova Grapplers a 1st-generation Ride Chain, the Blau series. While the ride chain itself is painfully average but offers amazing ride consistency (it literally guarantees your Grade 2 ride upon riding the Grade 1, and the Grade 1 can fetch the Grade 3 by discarding another Grade 3 Nova Grappler unit.) at the cost of losing that forerunner/pioneer effect, the boss of the build offered a ton of explosiveness to the deck, and was one of the 1st instances of you being being able to STAND THE VANGUARD (The 1st being Dragonic Overlord, with its crossride coming after Stern).
Stern Blaukruger clocks in at 10000 power, gaining a passive 1000 power if the Grade 2, "Blaukruger" is in the soul. Since you more or less have a strong chance of nailing that Grade 2 either through drawing the crd itself or fetching it with Blaujunger (the Grade 0)'s effect, Blaukruger will get his 11k power for the majority of the game.
Power issues aside, even if you do not get that 1000 power, it still doesn't stop it from using the effect. So long as you spend 2 counterblast and discard 2 cards (easily provided through your drive check), upon hitting the enemy Vanguard you can stand Stern Blaukruger as well as the unit behind him for another attack. For one thing, this ability is accessible without any limit break so it was online for most of the game.The cost of discarding 2 cards isn't that steep considering you get another Drive Check for your efforts, meaning to say that you just lost 1 card. However, the 3rd thing is if your opponent ever lets him hit... and he nails a critical trigger... BAM, you are suddenly threatening for game, during a period of the game where both of you are trying to build up resources and are trying to grind it down for the long haul.
This makes Stern Blaukruger an amazingly powerful Vanguard during the early to mid game, and more or less for the majority of the time your opponent wouldn't have the cards to guard another 17-18k attack, worse if you used Dancing Wolf (which gives itself 3k when he stands during the battle phase, making the 2nd attack by Blaukruger a staggering 21k not including any triggers).
Like Asura Kaiser builds, this build can also feature a variety of cards. Magician Girl Kirara forces shield from the opponent to make that 1st hit by Blaukruger all the more easier (since for some reason most people do not want you to draw a card...), or play a number of Vanilla hitters (such as Eisenkugel, Death Metal Droid, King of Sword, or even Brutal Jack) to easily reach staple numbers (since Cross rides are becoming a thing in the new English Meta Game), or if you are feeling ballsy, feature a whacky combo with Ethics Buster to stand your front row alongside Stern Blaukruger for a blistering series of small attacks (easily screwed over with a damage trigger check, and limit break is a late game mechanic). The possibilities are pretty wide, but to maximise the explosive consistency of Stern, more astute players tend to stuff in as many critical triggers in their deck (with even 16 triggers in Extreme Cases).
However, being an on-hit the Vanguard effect, Stern tends to be dead vanilla during the late game where damage is at 4-5 and your opponent will guard the vanguard anyway, so it's primarily an aggro build. On the other hand, it has pretty amazing pressure and will put games away quickly, and it's pretty cheap as well.
Death Army series
In EB-05, the Death Army archetype was actually made an archetype and expanded, and was one of the 1st instances of archetypes, which are units with a specific name that create synergy when you focus on building said archetype. In this case, unlike forerunners Guy and Lady, these units actually focus on standing themselves during the main phase (as opposed to the battle phase) in order to create giant power columns.
The main engine of this build circles around the Holy Trinity of Knight, Bishop, and Cosmo Lord (no, not Rook because Rook's a bloody 10k vanilla), as well as Pawn. Using Pawn and/or Cosmo Lord (both Variants), you rest them during the main phase to add power to themselves. Then, through Knight, Bishop and Death Army Cosmo Lord's limit break, you stand them again, either to get more power or go ahead with the standard 3 attacks (and threaten for game with a +1 Critical via the Limit Break). This build has an amazing mid to late game, and turns tend to get pretty wacky.
Being an archetype, the build tends to be rather restrictive in terms of card choice but there is still space for some creativity. You could play Asura Kaiser to feature a "Stand during the Battle Phase" sub-theme alongside Guy and Lady, or Top Gun, which gets power when you rest a unit, or even the regular Cosmo Lord, which gets even more power than its Death Army counterpart, and focuses your theme. Screamin' and Dancin' Announcer, Shout and Rocket Boy pretty much rest themselves, but can only be stood using Death Army Cosmo Lord's limit break. Unflip support should also be featured here whenever possible to extend the longevity of the deck during games.
At the same time, being a combo-ish deck, they tend to be susceptible to retire strategies (Pawn and Bishop pretty much become kill on sight, although not as bad as most Nova Grappler builds. Also, the deck is pretty much Perfect Guard fodder, but can threaten with high power over many turns making this weakness negligible.
Beast Deity series
BT-06 (Breaker of Limits) introduced the Beast Deity series, which initially featured 4 units based off the 4 symbols (or Ssu-ling in Japan) from Daoist Mythology (Suzaku, Byakko, Seiryu, Genbu, or Vermillion Bird, White Tiger, Azure Dragon, and Black Tortoise respectively). Scarlet Bird and Black Tortoise were capable of adding a fair amount of pressure and consistency to the deck, being able to let players check the top 5 cards and search for Azure Dragon upon successfully hitting the vanguard, which makes a great rearguard as well as Azure Dragon's Persona Blast (which lets you stand any 2 rearguard upon a successful attack on the Vanguard). The archetype never quite took off during that period of time, and only White Tiger and Azure Dragon made appearances as support in Asura Kaiser builds, Tiger giving the deck a decent 5k booster starter and Azure being a decent backup VG with considerable bulk.
BT-09 (Clash of Knights and Dragons) saw an expansion to the archetype, where the leader unit of the
Ssu-ling, Illumial Dragon was added (based off Kohryu or Yellow/Golden Dragon), in addition to a bit of support in Blank Marsh, Golden Anglet and Yamata Drake. Illumial Dragon came with the limit break ability to stand 2 Beast Deity units on attacking the Vanguard, in addition to being the crossride unit for Azure Dragon, while Yamata Drake and Golden Anglet were grade 3 and 2 versions of Dancing Wolf respectively, gaining 3k power upon standing during the battle phase, and Blank Marsh was the Grade 1 version of White Tiger. Illumial Dragon gave the deck some late game pushing power through being able to guarantee 5 attacks in a turn, a feat managed only by Dudley Emperor from Spike Brothers, except for the fact that we didn't have to minus ourselves drastically in order to pull this off.
BT-10 tied together the entire package, with Beast Deities obtaining another option as a starter (Riot Horn, essentially a Miracle Beauty clone for Beast Deities), as well as its 12k attacker (Hatred Chaos) and another 7k booster (Hilarity Destroyer). Chief among those upgrades was the Ride Break, Ethics Buster, which upon being ridden on at 4 damage or greater, gave the new Vanguard +10k power and the ability to stand your front row when attacking the Vanguard for a turn. This gave Beast Deities the ability to create explosive pushes for game by being able to guarantee a whopping 5 attacks in a turn. Used in conjunction with Illumial Dragon, one can either do this over a series of turns, or create a full one-turn push by managing a 4 unit stand and as the Anime put it, attack again in perfect form.
Essentially you'll want as many Beast Deity units as possible in the deck to bring out the most in your effects, since most Beast Deity cards require Beast Deity units on the field to use your effects (Illumial Dragon, Blank Marsh and White Tiger stands only Beast Deity units, and Riot Horn needs to be on the same column as a Beast Deity unit to use its effect). The only hard choices you would have to make is to choose between White Tiger and Riot Horn, and the inclusion of Scarlet Bird, Black Tortoise and Azure Dragon to make use of Illumial Dragon's Crossride status, since these choices more or less dictate how your deck is played.
Riot Horn Approach
Riot Horn is pretty damn powerful for a starter. In addition to Pioneer/Forerunner he is able to stand himself when a Beast Deity in the same column stands. This makes your Illumial Dragon/Ethic Buster/Blank Marsh plays and your Stand Triggers more potent due to the extra power. You'd want to include stand triggers to maximise the usage of this skill.
White Tiger Approach
White Tiger gives a column on-hit pressure, and is able to move out of the way in order for more powerful units to take its place when you use its effect. Unlike Riot Horn, you need not build your deck to facilitate its effect, making him the more flexible option. Simply stick him behind the Vanguard to impose a bit of pressure on your opponent.
Scarlet Bird/Black Tortoise/Azure Dragon
With the advent of Ethics Buster, Azure Dragon and friends were more or less pushed into obscurity yet again. The low power of Tortoise and Bird in an Metagame shifting towards a more 11k defence dominated environment makes them pretty unpopular choices, and Ethics Buster offers more explosive power to the deck. However, they have their uses in the early to mid game, creating plenty of early game pressure, consistency and advantage, where players are more or less building up and are hence less inclined to guard.
Damage Unflippers
Illumial Dragon's Limit Break takes up a whopping 3 counterblast, meaning that you would be able to pull it off only once a game unless you pull a heal Trigger... unless you are playing Nova Grappler, that is. Red Lightning and Clay-doll Mechanic are more or less staples in the build, letting you pull off that Limit Break again if need be. Just clear up a rearguard circle for them to perform their magic.
Again, like most Nova Grappler builds, there is a lack of a consistent card advantage engine, in addition to being overly rearguard orientated, causing them to be susceptible to retiring strategies.
Beast Deity series
BT-06 (Breaker of Limits) introduced the Beast Deity series, which initially featured 4 units based off the 4 symbols (or Ssu-ling in Japan) from Daoist Mythology (Suzaku, Byakko, Seiryu, Genbu, or Vermillion Bird, White Tiger, Azure Dragon, and Black Tortoise respectively). Scarlet Bird and Black Tortoise were capable of adding a fair amount of pressure and consistency to the deck, being able to let players check the top 5 cards and search for Azure Dragon upon successfully hitting the vanguard, which makes a great rearguard as well as Azure Dragon's Persona Blast (which lets you stand any 2 rearguard upon a successful attack on the Vanguard). The archetype never quite took off during that period of time, and only White Tiger and Azure Dragon made appearances as support in Asura Kaiser builds, Tiger giving the deck a decent 5k booster starter and Azure being a decent backup VG with considerable bulk.
BT-09 (Clash of Knights and Dragons) saw an expansion to the archetype, where the leader unit of the
Ssu-ling, Illumial Dragon was added (based off Kohryu or Yellow/Golden Dragon), in addition to a bit of support in Blank Marsh, Golden Anglet and Yamata Drake. Illumial Dragon came with the limit break ability to stand 2 Beast Deity units on attacking the Vanguard, in addition to being the crossride unit for Azure Dragon, while Yamata Drake and Golden Anglet were grade 3 and 2 versions of Dancing Wolf respectively, gaining 3k power upon standing during the battle phase, and Blank Marsh was the Grade 1 version of White Tiger. Illumial Dragon gave the deck some late game pushing power through being able to guarantee 5 attacks in a turn, a feat managed only by Dudley Emperor from Spike Brothers, except for the fact that we didn't have to minus ourselves drastically in order to pull this off.
BT-10 tied together the entire package, with Beast Deities obtaining another option as a starter (Riot Horn, essentially a Miracle Beauty clone for Beast Deities), as well as its 12k attacker (Hatred Chaos) and another 7k booster (Hilarity Destroyer). Chief among those upgrades was the Ride Break, Ethics Buster, which upon being ridden on at 4 damage or greater, gave the new Vanguard +10k power and the ability to stand your front row when attacking the Vanguard for a turn. This gave Beast Deities the ability to create explosive pushes for game by being able to guarantee a whopping 5 attacks in a turn. Used in conjunction with Illumial Dragon, one can either do this over a series of turns, or create a full one-turn push by managing a 4 unit stand and as the Anime put it, attack again in perfect form.
Essentially you'll want as many Beast Deity units as possible in the deck to bring out the most in your effects, since most Beast Deity cards require Beast Deity units on the field to use your effects (Illumial Dragon, Blank Marsh and White Tiger stands only Beast Deity units, and Riot Horn needs to be on the same column as a Beast Deity unit to use its effect). The only hard choices you would have to make is to choose between White Tiger and Riot Horn, and the inclusion of Scarlet Bird, Black Tortoise and Azure Dragon to make use of Illumial Dragon's Crossride status, since these choices more or less dictate how your deck is played.
Riot Horn Approach
Riot Horn is pretty damn powerful for a starter. In addition to Pioneer/Forerunner he is able to stand himself when a Beast Deity in the same column stands. This makes your Illumial Dragon/Ethic Buster/Blank Marsh plays and your Stand Triggers more potent due to the extra power. You'd want to include stand triggers to maximise the usage of this skill.
White Tiger Approach
White Tiger gives a column on-hit pressure, and is able to move out of the way in order for more powerful units to take its place when you use its effect. Unlike Riot Horn, you need not build your deck to facilitate its effect, making him the more flexible option. Simply stick him behind the Vanguard to impose a bit of pressure on your opponent.
Scarlet Bird/Black Tortoise/Azure Dragon
With the advent of Ethics Buster, Azure Dragon and friends were more or less pushed into obscurity yet again. The low power of Tortoise and Bird in an Metagame shifting towards a more 11k defence dominated environment makes them pretty unpopular choices, and Ethics Buster offers more explosive power to the deck. However, they have their uses in the early to mid game, creating plenty of early game pressure, consistency and advantage, where players are more or less building up and are hence less inclined to guard.
Damage Unflippers
Illumial Dragon's Limit Break takes up a whopping 3 counterblast, meaning that you would be able to pull it off only once a game unless you pull a heal Trigger... unless you are playing Nova Grappler, that is. Red Lightning and Clay-doll Mechanic are more or less staples in the build, letting you pull off that Limit Break again if need be. Just clear up a rearguard circle for them to perform their magic.
Again, like most Nova Grappler builds, there is a lack of a consistent card advantage engine, in addition to being overly rearguard orientated, causing them to be susceptible to retiring strategies.
