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Wednesday 2/27: Phantom Blaster Overlord Today we’re reviewing the other half of the first generation of crossrides.  In stark contrast to yesterday’s entry, Phantom Blaster Overlord is sometimes seen as the worst crossride in the game, though there has been controversy as to whether he really should be considered the worst.  If one were to look solely at Phantom Blaster Overlord’s unique skill and put it into the context of a typical game of Cardfight!! Vanguard, that may indeed appear to be the case, for the existence of Perfect Guards and people’s tendency to play 3-4 of it in their deck makes the skill virtually never worth executing, so much so that Phantom Blaster Overlord is often referred to as a “vanilla”, or a unit that has no interactive skill and only raw statistics.  So why is he not unanimously considered the worst of the crossrides, when they all share the same statistics?  Once again, we must put Phantom Blaster Overlord in the context of his deck, where he outperforms some of his peers in terms of synergy.  Phantom Blaster Overlord is the only crossride with the distinctive honor of being backed up by a ride chain, with his lower form being a Grade 3 of a ride chain.  Because Blaster Javelin can serve to more consistently secure a Phantom Blaster Dragon ride, and the ride chain as a whole boosts ride consistency and the likelihood of riding the most statistically-powerful units possible, there is no crossride with a greater degree of consistency in getting that 2K boost than Phantom Blaster Overlord, as well as no crossride so consistently strong on the defense even in the early and middle stages of the game.  It’s not just the ride chain that lends itself to Phantom Blaster Overlord’s consistency in power though, with the Skull Witch, Nemain, Darkness Maiden, Macha, and Dream Painter all increasing your chances of securing the proper ride sequence, fixing a prematurely-ridden Phantom Blaster Overlord, or even allowing you to achieve the crossride boost a whole turn early.  Despite not providing the offensive pressure of some decks, a Shadow Paladin deck using Phantom Blaster Overlord can often be counted on to last and be a pain to actually win against.  And sometimes, the greatest offense is a good defense.  Rating: 3/5 (Definitely flawed, but not a bad card at all) Art: 4/5 (One of the better-looking cards in the set)