Kagerō in Generation Stride is boosted not mainly by a G Unit, but by a Legion Card known as Dragonic Overlord: The X.
Now, you can tell from the Title of this article I do not have many positive things to say about this clan in general. But I want to get a few positive things out of the way.
First off, just because I don't like Kagerō, that doesn't mean I don't like their base mechanic or Toshiki Kai. Their mechanic of controlling the game is a good way to keep your opponent on their toes, and honestly, even though Ren Suzugomori is my favorite Cardfighter, Id have to put Kai on the top of my favorite characters list.
Kagerō is meant to be a control deck. It first started out as a way to destroy rearguards easily and get multiple drive checks. When they returned in Season 3, they became more for Grade 2 disruption in the Seal Deagon Sub Clan, which again was about controlling your opponents field. Even Dauntless Drive Dragon with The End was ok since you can prepare yourself for the Break Ride.
But everything changed when the Dragon Empire Attacked. (yes, I went there.)
The release of Trancendance Dragon, Dragonic Nouvelle Vogue was the start of a true war between those who like Kagerō and those who despised it.
The main difference that appeared was how over powered the card was at that time. The standard ability, meaning no requirements like Limit Break, was to nullify the use of Grade 0's to guard and to nullify any trigger effects that happened during its turn. This is what made the deck so destructive that not long after, Conroe, a starter commonly used for that deck, was banned because so many people used it.
Nowadays people don't care, as Legion and other cards can play with it. And with Dauntless Dominant, only the lesser cards were implemted into the Kagerō decks. But Kagerō didn't stop there. They introduced the new Deagonic Overlord Break Ride as well as Dragonic Overlord The Rebirth. This was one of the top tier decks that wipes the floor when played right, getting 3 twin drives at a high power. Despite decks like Glendios countering it, the Overlord lineup has so much support it balances the damage done, and to top it off, Nouvelle Vogue could finish off should your opponent survive, considering most likely they will have used their perfect guards just for The Rebirth.
Then came Perdition Dragons, which took even less subtlety that this was a Fan Service Clan. Not only did the main card copy the ability to damage outside of attacks from Dragruler Phantom, it gained the ability to null triggers and destroys 2 rearguards in the process! And not to mention it gained a power boost just from killing rearguards.
And finally in the regular series, the release of Dragonic Overlord The Great, not only having the Overlord name, but also a Perdition card, meaning mixing these two sub clans wasn't a bad idea. While it only gets a restand by attacking a rearguard, the deck runs well with the extra twin drive as it gives more and more pressure, and also takes out rearguards when it's needed.
The Kagerō clan may not always be the main focus of the show, but if Season 4 did anything right, it's correctly potray the destructive power of Kagerō. But this does not excuse how much the Kagerō clan is supported. Even as we enter G Series, Kagerō is one of the most used clans with yet another Dragonic Overlord card, and most don't even need the ability of Stide because of it. Though we've seen many old card revivals in the past with True Daikaiser, Amon Revival, and the soon to be coming Vermillion Revival, Kagerō's The X was a misplay not because of itself, but the timing of putting him in the series. The last thing other ayers wanted was to see, after so much Persition support they could continue through Stride even with their own Stride, another revival of the Overlord. If they had saved it like they might be doing with the Paladin clans, it would have been ok because the Perditions were good enough to be supportive of Stride and their own mechanics work. It could also help other clans to polish their skills as Bushiroad focused on the lesser played but still enjoyable clans. But The X throws all that balance out the window as Kagerō shows it needs to reinvent it's wheel every so often no matter how good its current support can survive.
One of my friends who is a big fan of Kagerō once argued that the cards like Blaster Blade get even more support. And another says Revengers have great support for how little it gets. However, there is a difference between having /a lot/ of support, having /good/ support, and having /a lot of good/ support. Blasters may have had support for a while with their many cards and variations, but Majesty Lord Blaster died with the advent of Season 3, and the Royal Paladins became the Jewel Knights. Revengers had 3 parts of Support from Set 12, Set 15, and their Extra Booster, and Raging Form was the pinnacle till Abyss. Kagerō had Seal Dragons, but anyone who wanted to play top tier played Dauntless with The End until Nouvelle Vogue and The Re-Birth came out. And again, despite Dominant not coming close to Nouvelle, the smaller support was still viable and then was expanded on in the very next set.
I honestly don't hate the idea of Kagerō. The problem lies with how much their tactics are flanderized and how much they don't even need to evolve until other cards that can counter them comes. The End and Nouvelle Vogue are prime examples of cards that even when others need to evolve little by little and when their new support comes, the main cards become obsolete, Kagerō only gets stronger and their older cards return because it's the fan favorite clan.
Do I dislike Gold Paladins or Shadow Paladins for the same reasons? No, because they have seen moderation and have weaknesses even when cards do come out. Kagerō gets constant support that they see no moderation aside from their hiatus in Season 2.
To all Kagerō players out there, this is not an attack on you. This is more of a personal gripe I have with this clan. Moderation is needed so that players can express more diversity and not show any true favoritism.
These are my honest opinions. Happy Kagerō Day everyone. And Merry Christmas to non-Vanguard players.
Daltorus.
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