need advice Megacolony... entering my first tourney

please as you finish viewing my deck list hear me out...nay... hear my winning image and personal preference out...

SV: Battler C
Triggers: 8Stands/4Draws/4Heals
G1:
4 madonna
4 machining mosquito
2 karma queen
2 stealth millipede
2 battler b
G2:
4 lady bomb
4 tail joe
3 toxic trooper
G3:
3 Master Fraude
2 antlion
2 Master beetle
1 hell spider

my winning image: shut down and depletion of enemy resources and-somehow-advantage; shenanigans and fades
how i play the deck... i havent tested it out yet, since i lack 25% of the cards i need as of now. but basically it revolves around mind games... making the opponent think that you'll do one thing, only to end up doing another unexpected thing... it involves 50/50 mind games; hell spider is a tech, because together with tail joe, i love making the opponent think twice in full attacking, especially if that one has a cross ride 13k VG, though master fraude solves this problem (somehow) i still want to make that mess in their mind ... i still can't determine the cards synergy so you veterans will prove to be a lot of help to me, please and thank you...

Antlion is kinda lost in this deck, sure his Megablast can win games, but you have so much CB in every other place sometimes trying to focus on him will do nothing, i suggest running 4 Master beetle since, 11k VGs protect you from easy to make 20k columns.

You also have a lot of trappers but you will run out of CB eventually, might not run the G2 version so you can run 10k vanllas, and run more battlers B, since your opponent will guard him, and it allows you to use Master beetle once, and 2 Battles per game

Give a look on alice builds on her blog, that my first advice most of the times

1. What's the point of Stands when Tail Joe and Master Beetle are the only targets in the deck that would actually make them work? Unless it's to form 18k to fight Crossrides, in which case you'd want 8 Crits, 4 Draws, 4 Heals since Stands against Crossrides suck balls. Comic Series is tomorrow so you'll have your Criticals then.

2. Bad Grade 3 selection. Pick what's going to be the Main Priority ride and stick with it. Being general actually causes a deck to perform worse than if it specialised in one thing; at least if you specialise you won't encounter the deck tripping over its own feet. Just use 4 Master Beetle and any other Grade 3 that isn't Antlion.

3. Toxic Trooper's nice, but for Crossride format he won't be doing too much in terms of columns. If the point is to run 18k heavy, then you NEED Phantom Black. And Bloody Hercules. 4 of each. 3 Lady Bomb since she's becoming less useful in terms of column making.

I'd suggest looking into the Giraffa ride chain. it adds a great deal of consistency and gives you an 11k body to sit at. plus, the grade 2 giraffa traps on hit for free, which will reduce your reliance on counterblasts slightly.

look into getting phantom blacks, as well. your grade one lineup looks pretty low power-wise. Stealth Milipede is solid at 2 in your deck, but since it only boosts vanguards for 10k, you're lacking a lot of boosting power for your rearguards.

like the others said, I'd suggest narrowing down your grade 3 selection.

trapping units is nice and all, but you can't focus your deck TOO much on it. our trapping skills use a good number of counterblasts, usually, so it's somewhat easy to go overboard on them. they're best used, IMO, to put some extra pressure on your opponent to block attacks just by being able to threaten shutting them down--so use them sparingly.

if you want to focus on 18k columns, Megacolony has the benefit of a good deal of targets around the 11k level. Tail Joe and Master Beetle, as you've seen--but also grade 3 giraffa on a succesful ride chain and Bewtiching Officer Lady Butterfly. using those 11k units will give you slightly more flexibility with your boosting linup so that you don't HAVE to have your 8k's out to hit that 18k sweetspot. plus, they make great stand targets if you put all effects on them, since even though crossrides can easily block 16k attacks, your opponent's hand will be a good deal thinner for blocking your earlier 18k attacks.

Good sir, i might not be able to provide any useful advice because i haven't played or faced Megacolony to much, but i shall salute you for taking a 'very' under appreciated clan into a tourney.
-Salutes-

You realize that as of today, Criticals can be used at 8 copies? Check my Giraffa decklist and run 8 crits. That's your best shot at competitive Megacolony.

I was hoping for antlions soul charge for fraudes activations

Thx for all those advice here is an update..

Sv battler c
Triggers 8 stand 4 heal 4 draws

G1

4 madonna
4 battler b
2 stealth millipede
4 karma queen

G2

4 tail joe
4 bloody hercules
3 lady bomb

G3
4 master beetle
3 lady butterfly
1 fraude

that list looks a lot tighter and more consistent than the first one. the main issue I think you'll come across is that you have a large number of counterblasts, and most of them cost 2.

you'll maybe be able to pull off a combination of two karma queen/lady bombs and one battler B, or one Master Beetle and one Karma Queen/Lady Bomb or two Battler B's.

that means your traps will have to be chosen decisively in order to keep the mind games going.

I might suggest considering swapping out the Karma Queens for Toxic Soldiers. at 7K, they allow your tail joes and Master Beetles to threaten crossrides with 18k columns, and your bloody hercules to be able the threaten Majesty Lord Blasters. Lady Butterfly threatens those numbers anyways with what you already have, so she's a solid choice.

then again, that entirely depends on your local meta and whether or not you expect to see those cards in use at the tournament. if you don't, then you won't necessarily have to worry about hitting those numbers.

Hmmm actually i have no issue with counterblast since i only use it when i really need to or if i have weak defence late game... I have several copies to give me a chance to trap every turn given the circumstances that i really need to stop something before its too late,
worrying of losing a single trapper copy that doesnt need to hit activate...

Basically its a vanilla battle for me with mind games from battler b and tail joes. The trappers are used for utility i might cut some karma queen for a madfly or phntom blck....can't see toxic trooper supporting me with anything aside from boosting so i think karma queen could do, since she has the same power with added utility

I had to double-check her power. I have no idea why I thought she was a 6k booster. anyways, fair enough.

either way, getting that sweet 18k column with Tail Joe is a good deal, and hitting him with a stand trigger can cause headaches for opponents with any power-level of vanguard. even though 16k can be easy for a 13k vanguard to block, you're still getting a total of 15k worth of shields from their hand/front row if they commit to stopping both attacks.

I personally prefer the on-hit style of effects because they add extra pressure on your opponent to block, and that can sometimes force misplays and situations where they have to drop a 10K shield when only a 5K is necessary, and the loss of that spare change hurts them when they're looking for clean, efficient ways to block. that can drain their hand a bit.

but in all sincerity, go with the style you prefer to play. your instincts have probably developed in a certain way to help facilitate the playstyle you prefer, so I'll not suggest you go against them.

hopefully Megacolony does you well in the tournament. they're one of my favorite factions, and they're the one that got me interested in playing Vanguard in the first place. Good luck!