I'd have gone with giving Aichi and Kai clans that actually weren't blatant rip-offs of their old clans (I always felt that Aqua Force's strategy would have been good for Kai to use, for example). Failing that, go with releasing a ton of support for other clans so that the initial cards such as the goddamn crossrides aren't as potent, causing Kai and Aichi to investigate other clans to use as they gradually get their asses handed to them by the big bads of the season, screwing the idea of sealed clans altogether. Such as allowing boosters that can hit for 10k while paying a cost specific to that clan such as Soulblasting for Dark Irregulars (I think this would be a workable option; supposing Silent Tom can now hit for 18k, he can now carry his own weight and the other Grade 2s are free to play around with their own gimmicks without destroying the deck's individuality). That or introduce even more clone cards such as each clan having cards that negate non-trigger related increases in power. Or something like a 6k booster with the skill: "(R) If this unit boosts a rear guard, and that rear guard attacks an opponent's unit with 12000 or more, the boosted unit gains +4000 until the end of that battle."
I prefer the second idea myself, but there you go.
Derp Ren is kinda cool, but the season was just milking the success of the first by giving Ren Psyqualia back. I think things would have been a lot more interesting if Ren was similar to Aichi; he retains his memories of the old clans, as well as previously having Psyqualia, allowing Aichi to have someone to relate to and have as an ally until the clans are freed. In fact, before he showed up, I actually thought that would be the case. But no. Sucks.
I'd have also stopped making Team Caesar sufferers of the Worf effect. I'm going to assume that you haven't watched this anime called Prince of Tennis, so let me explain. The first introduced rival team was from Fudomine High School, and their first showdown with the main characters was quite close. Their later appearances (the earlier ones, anyway) show them curbstomping other teams all the way to a semi-finals or even finals. I think they should have done the same and shown that they stepped up their game by beating their way to the Circuit finals almost straight away.
If I was contractually obliged to make someone lose constantly to make them go through character growth, I'd have given it to Kamui. He got neglected in season 1 (hell, I reckon he still is), and now it's season 2 and he hasn't really developed a sense of any smart play beyond 'sack stand abilities and go all out'. I'd have made him go through a bit of hell to make him realise it's not the deck, it's him. I would have also made Misaki use Coco a lot sooner after going through some sort of stage where she worries that her deck is as strong as it's going to get.
I'm not really sure how to go about handling Kai as a member of Q4 without neglecting someone else in the process, apart from having to introduce a new team member to make 5 people, like they did in Beyblade for instance. Emi, say. I haven't figured out how to work Emi into the story, though. But she needs more love; she's clearly talented. Classic 5 man band:
Aichi: Hero
Kai: Lancer
Misaki: Smart Girl
Kamui: Big Guy
Emi: The Chick
It also would give the excuse to make more Bermuda Triangle support! To compensate for the added teams, I'd have made the fights shorter, apart from the ones involving a lot of character growth or plot relevant fights. I don't like the similtaneous triple battles since they're not interesting.
In the case of optional extras like Kyou, I'd probably go with the option of making him actually win something for a change. I'd have modelled him into some sort of lone wanderer, challenging anyone who's up for it, looking for somewhere where he has a purpose again. He's gradually turning into a comedy relief character (episode 94 probably isn't going to do him any favours). Once he's matured enough, he can get back to AL4 again.
The Circuit should also have been an extremely intense Swiss system. Since it's being held in many countries, I reckon that any team who wins in one country should get one 'point' for example, and the teams with the highest proceed to the finals. It would mean that Q4 would no longer keep having to get their asses handed to them by other rival teams (although they could be permitted to lose fights involving particularly important rivals such as Leon). By winning several finals Q4 wouldn't look so goddamn pathetic.
I'm sure I'll think of some more as I go along.
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