Vanguard championship series 2026 (VGCS2026)

Date: 29th August 2026

Location: Dark Sphere, Unit 8 W12 Shopping Centre, London W12 8PP

Time: 09:15 - 21:30

VGCS (Vanguard Championship Series) is a grassroots tournament system that first originated in Asia back in 2017. The idea was to charge players a higher entry fee than they are used to to provide a tournament experience that rivals (and sometimes) exceeded the official Bushiroad events in terms of prizing and competition. First held in the UK in 2018, the third iteration of the event was last held in 2023 hosted solely by Zystral of YellowCard TCG. This time, he has partnered with CCE in order to further refine and deliver an excellent event for the community.

Doors open 9:15, registration ends 9:30, Round 1 starts 9:45. Expected end time 21:30.

Format

This year’s VGCS will be held in the experimental new “Two Deck Conquest” format that Zystral has been developing. The way this works is each player must bring two Standard decks. When you win with one, you must switch to the other and win with the second deck in what is effectively a best of 3*. You cannot switch deck until you win, but you are free to switch which deck comes first for each round.

*No overtime; if time is called during a game, that game becomes a double loss and the player with more game wins is the match winner. If time is called during game 3, the match result is double loss outright. If time is called in between games, do not start another and do the same wins comparison.

Event Schedule

Doors Open: 09:15
Registration Closes: 09:30
Swiss Round 1: 09:45
Predicted End Time: 21:30

Additional Information

Standard Individual Format
Best of 3
1h10m round duration

Requirements

Players must bring two (2) Standard decks.
Players must have a BushiNavi ID

Deck Building Rules and Sleeving Requirements

DZBT15 is not legal, Special Series The Legendary Vanguards is.
Current active restriction list is in effect.
Players must have different ridelines, including starters (same nation is allowed).
Both decks may use the same OT/regalis, but cards cannot be moved between decks during the event.
Main Deck A, Main Deck B, Ride Deck A, Ride Deck B must all be in distinct unique sleeves. Anything else is fine as long as it isn’t the same as either of the above four (e.g. Energy Generator, G Zone, and Tokens can all be the same sleeve as long as it’s some different fifth design/colour).

Prizing

Entry

2x Booster Packs of DZ-BT15: Strike of Illusionary Shadows (subject to change dependent on player count).
1x June/July Cardfight!! Vanguard Promo Pack (subject to change dependent on player count).
1x Set of Custom 1st/2nd cards with Power Markers