Ailment Team
Written by Reika
Overview
Ailment Teams specialize in crippling their foes through the use of Status Ailments. These teams aim to disable the enemy team long enough for them to be killed by secondary mechanics such as Pale Rider's Pestilence.
Although these teams can be directly countered by clerics such as Kinmamon and Daisoujou, there are ways to play around them on offense, and are great to catch teams that random without clerics on defense.
Concept
- Bind and Charm are two ailments that will completely prevent a demon from taking action.
- Mute will prevent a demon from casting skills, and has a lower cure rate compared to Bind and Charm.
- Pale Rider's Pestilence removes 50% of a poisoned demon's Max Health at the end of their turn (capped at 2000 damage).
- If you can keep them poisoned for two turns (or three, if a demon has above 4000 HP) in a row, Pestilence will automatically kill all demons.
- While it is possible to build an Ailment Team without Pale Rider and rely on some other alternate wincon (Poison damage, Defense Support etc), they are generally less reliable compared to Pestilence. As such, this article will focus mainly on the Pale Rider strat, feel free to adapt these for generic ailment teams though!
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Very powerful team for Revenging, as most defense teams don't run Clerics and clear speeds are very high.
- Unique playstyle.
- Only team with a guaranteed wincon.
Cons:
- High entry cost - Pale Rider is a Banner exclusive and is mandatory for the team.
- Most demons require Max Panel investment.
- Frail, will easily roll over if outsped.
- Prone to RNG.
Team
Now lets go in-depth as to how to build this Team.
Core Demons
The only core demon is Pale Rider, your main win condition.
Pale Rider
- The best Poison caster in the game.
- His signature Pestilence deals 50% of Max HP as damage (capped at 2k) to every poisoned enemy at the end of their turn.
- Plague automatically poisons all enemies at the end of your turn, in additional to dealing minor chip damage.
- This chip damage actually helps push Pestilence kill threshold up to 4700 HP, as it will damage them first before Pestilence kicks in.
Skills and Brands
- As Plague will automatically poison all enemies at the end of turn, most players opt to give him a skill like Mahamakajam to further support the team with Ailments.
- Speedster and Epitome of Swiftness can be used to raise battle speed. Going first is vital for the team.
- Insanity raises Ailment infliction rate.
- Divine Brands are required to cast Mahamakajam Turn 1. Speed brands are the recommended sub-set for Battle Speed.
Barrier Breaking Demons
Ward Brands are the first obstacles to Ailment Teams. Demons equipped with Ward Brands will automatically be granted Barrier at the start of battle, making them immune to Ailments. As such, it is mandatory to have a demon that can remove Barriers.
Samael
- With Panel 3 unlocked, Samael will automatically cast Barrier Break at the start of your turn.
- Being able to Barrier Break without consuming a Press Turn is very strong. This gives you one extra action to land a second ailment, remove their cleric etc.
- His unique skill God's Malice instantly sticks every single ailment on a demon. This can be useful to control dangerous targets like Guan Yu and Masakado, and pairs well with P3 Lilith.
- Purple is his recommended color. Infinite Chakra increases his natural MP regeneration, giving him more flexibility when choosing brands.
- P3 Samael is the best Barrier Breaker, though he requires a lot of grinding to unlock. There is no reason to not use him if you have him.
Skills and Brands:
- Speedster and Epitome of Swiftness can be used to raise battle speed. Going first is vital for the team.
- Insanity raises Ailment Infliction rate.
- Sick-Speed and double Speed are both acceptable brand combinations. Either combination will still allow you to cast maxed God's Malice twice in a row thanks to Infinite Chakra. While Sick brands increase your Ailment Infliction rate, double Speed gives your team more battle speed.
Nergal
- Nergal's unique Plague of Babylon removes Barries inflicts Weak.
- This allows your other Ailments to land 100%, letting you ignore Ailment Infliction rates on those demons.
- His other passive Meslamtaea automatically gives him Might (auto-Crit on next hit) whenever a demon is Poisoned. Coupled with his decent stats, this lets him function as a secondary Phys sweeper.
- Compared to P3 Samael, Nergal gives your other demons more freedom in choosing Brands, while bringing some Physical damage to the table. However, this comes at the cost of consuming a Press Turn for Plague of Babylon, which may backfire when going against Intimidating Stance Teams.
- Nergal is the second best alternative to P3 Samael. You should still consider grinding for P3 Samael eventually though if you plan to make Ailments your main PVP team.
Skills and Brands:
- Speedster and Epitome of Swiftness can be used to raise battle speed. Going first is vital for the team.
- Phys Amp and Epitome of Carnage increase his damage, allowing him to sweep better.
- Sick-Speed and double Speed are both acceptable brand combinations. While Sick brands increase your Ailment Infliction rate, double Speed gives your team more battle speed.
- War-Speed can also be used if going for a more Physical focus.
WIP
Shiva A
- Shiva A is a powerful Almighty Sweeper.
- Ishvara gives him a guaranteed Crit on his first attack to get the Crit Ball rolling.
- Third Eye is a fully unblockable Almighty attack that can also Crit for massive damage.
- Panel 2 is mandatory for him, as he is walled by Tetra Shift otherwise.
- It is recommended to make him the lead demon, as Ishvara guarantees he will crit pass for Masakado A. This will also allow him to gather enough MP to cast Third Eye in the same turn, even if he is running Spell Brands.
- You will need to do some creative branding if you plan to run him with Kartikeya. He needs to have a minimum of +3 AGI Mitama to speed tie Masakado A, with both him and Masakado A running Lead Brands in order to go before Kartikeya.
- Purple is the recommended color. Savage Glee increases the odds of Third Eye landing a crit.
- Shiva A is the luxury option, pick him if you managed to Panel him.
Skills and Brands:
- Butcher is used to increase Third Eye's damage.
- Speedster and Epitome of Swiftness can be used to raise battle speed.
- Great Aim can be used to patch up his accuracy if required.
- Spell Brands are recommended to increase his damage. Aim and Speed brands are acceptable sub-sets depending on preference.
Asura Lord
- Asura Lord is a single-target Nuker that carries a valuable aura.
- His unique aura Endless War buffs the critical rate and damage of all your teammates.
- Slaughter All is a fully unblockable Almighty Single Target attack that deal ridiculous damage, has above average Crit rate, bypasses Endures and can be casted T1, either through Divine Brands or Panels.
- Did I mention ridiculous damage? Not taking into account any transfer skills, Slaughter All has 210 BP, plus 12% from levels, 20% from Master Assassin and 10% from his Aura, with 40% base crit rate fired off a Titanic 242 STR (4th highest in the whole game).
- Purple is recommended to boost his damage further through Master Assassin.
- He is best run in the 3rd position, abusing Slaughter All's high crit rate to generate a Press Turn for your 4th attacker. This also lets him take full advantage of Kuyo Flash's buff swing to assassinate a key opponent even through Endures.
- Asura Lord is a very solid Nuker with a very helpful Aura, pick him if you have him.
Skills and Brands:
- Speedster and Epitome of Swiftness can be used to raise battle speed.
- Great Aim can be used to patch up his accuracy if required.
- Assassin and Berserker can be used to buff Slaughter All's damage.
- Savage Glee lets him reliably Crit for press turns, while indirectly buffing Slaughter All's damage.
- Divine is required to cast Slaughter All turn 1 without Panels. If you have Panel 2, War Brands are also acceptable to increase his damage.
- Aim and Speed brands are acceptable sub-sets depending on preference.
Susano-o A
- Susano-o A is a Physical Nuker that excels in defense teams, as his unique passive Heavenly Valor deals piercing AOE damage whenever the enemy passes.
- Violent Slash is a hard-hitting single target Physical attack that grows in power the more it is cast. The skill has 150 Base Power initially and can be cast T1 even without Divine Brands, making him a great candidate for the team.
- Purple is recommended for Master Assassin, which raises Violent Slash's damage.
- Innate Epitome of Carnage means he will naturally crit a lot, especially if paired with Kartikeya and Asura Lord auras.
- He is best run in the 3rd position, abusing his high crit rate to generate a Press Turn for your 4th attacker. This also lets him take full advantage of Kuyo Flash's buff swing to assassinate a key opponent.
- A very good candidate for Defense Teams. If you plan to run this team on Defense, definitely try to slot him in!
Skills and Brands:
- Phys Amp and Phys Boost can be used to increase his damage.
- Great Aim and Epitome of Aggression can be used to patch up his shaky accuracy.
- Speedster and Epitome of Swiftness can be used to raise battle speed.
- War Brands are usually used to maximize his damage potential. Aim brands are the recommended sub-set.
Cu Chulainn A
- Cu Chulainn A is a dual-element physical sweeper.
- Barbed Spear is a piercing Force-element Physical attack that deals multiple hits on all enemies.
- This gives him increased chances to crit for a half turn. On the other hand, it is also possible to lose turns from missing. As such, he is typically run in the 3rd or 4th position, depending on your risk aversion.
- Beware teams running Rama + Susano-o A, as the combo walls him.
- Cu Chulainn A is a high risk high return pick. Against teams without Force Anti-Pierce, he can deal massive amounts of damage while generating Press Turns from crits. Inversely, teams that do run Force Anti-Pierce will completely invalidate him.
Skills and Brands:
- Force Amp can be used to increase his damage.
- As Accuracy is very important for him (Barbed Spear has 12 chances to miss and lose Press Turns), Great Aim is recommended.
- Due to Barbed Spear's low MP cost, he can run War Brands for increased damage. Aim or Speed brands are acceptable sub-sets.
V☆
- V☆ is an Almighty Mage that excels at dealing spread damage.
- Whenever someone on your team does an auto-attack, V will follow up with Griffon-Bolt, dealing light Almighty damage to 4 random enemies.
- This is an incredible follow up to Kartikeya and/or Shiva A's initial attack, and Masakado A's own auto-attack after running out of MP.
- It also allows him to clean up any Endures remaining, and balance up the team by providing Magic damage.
- Shadow-Shock essentially guarantees he will never have MP issues, as it gives him a free Almighty ST attack that also triggers his own Griffon-Bolt.
- He is best run in the 4th slot, as his auto-attack is not able to crit for Press Turns.
- V☆ is the safer option compared to Cu Chulainn A. While less explosive, he does not have to worry about NDR and Accuracy.
Skills and Brands:
- Butcher and Serial Killer can used to increase Griffon-Bolt's damage.
- Speedster and Epitome of Swiftness can be used to raise battle speed.
- Spell Brands are used to increase his damage. Speed brands are the preferred sub-set.
Finalized Team
To recap, your finalized team should typically look something like this:
- 1st demon should have high Crit rate to start the crit chain.
- 2nd demon should be Masakado A.
- 3rd demon should have high Crit rate to generate another press turn.
- 4th demon is flexible, though an AOE is appreciated at this point.
High Speed Hero Masakado
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Assuming maxed AGI Mitama on everyone, the above team can reach 40k Battle Speed, enough to outspeed the majority of the metagame. Both Susano-o A and Cu Chulainn A are capable of unleashing their unique skills Turn 1, and Masakado A can mop up any remaining demons with Herculean Strike L.
Anti-Midrange Hero Masakado
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Unlike the high speed version above, this variant sacrifices speed in order to improve the matchup versus Intimidating Stance Teams and Drain Teams. Assuming maxed AGI Mitama on everyone, the team can still reach ~27k Battle Speed (enough to outspeed Midrange Teams) while still running offensive passives and brands on the main attackers. All of the attacks are Almighty element, allowing the team to counter Drain Teams.
A typical battle versus double Intimidating Stance Teams (5 initial Press Turns reduced to 3) will look something like this:
- Press Turn 1: Shiva A crits from Ishvara --> Griffon-Bolt follow-up.
- Half Turn 1: Masakado A casts Kuyo Flash.
- Press Turn 2: Asura Lord casts Slaughter All, deleting a demon and scoring a crit.
- Half Turn 2: V☆ auto-attacks (turns into Shadow-Shock) --> Griffon-Bolt follow-up.
- Press Turn 3: Shiva A casts Third Eye, scoring a crit. By this point the enemy team should be mostly annihilated.
- Half Turn 3: Masakado A auto-attacks --> Griffon-Bolt follow-up to clean up any remaining demons.
Checks and Counters
While very oppressive, Hero Masakado teams are by no means unstoppable. There are several ways to counter them on both offense and defense.
Outspeed
- Hero Masakado teams are glass cannons, being outsped is usually a death sentence.
- Speedy teams like Archangels can outspeed and decimate them T1.
- This is especially true versus the Anti-Midrange variant that sacrifices speed for power.
Crit Resistance
Wild Instinct Passive -75% to Critical hit rate of damage received.
Epitome of Fortitude Passive +20% to max HP, -50% to Critical hit rate of damage received.
- As Hero Masakado teams rely on crits to generate press turns and have highly optimized turn orders, missing a single crit can be game-losing.
- Crit Resistance swings this in your favor, especially versus Hero Masakado defense teams as the AI will always try to attacking low LUK demons for Press Turns.
- Bulky Demons like Asherah who have low LUK are the best carriers of the skill, as the AI will likely target her and fail to crit.
- She also appreciates the extra HP granted from Epitome of Fortitude.
Bulky Teams and AOE Resistance
Orcus
Asherah
Nidhoggr
Gogmagog
- Orcus helps to soften the damage from Third Eye, Kuyo Flash and Griffon-Bolt.
- Asherah is bulky and Mother's Creation allows her to revive a sweeper with an extra press turn for the counter-sweep.
- Nidhoggr is naturally bulky and has innate Enduring Soul plus Wild Instinct (in purple).
- His unique skill Nastrond heals a large portion of his HP whenever a teammate is killed. This greatly increases his chances of surviving the Turn 1 onslaught (provided he is not killed through Endure by Slaughter All) and turning the tables through Recarmdra.
- Gogmagog bears special mention. When fully paneled, he will provide your entire team 30% Crit Resistance, as well as reduce the damage taken from Physical attacks.
Quetzalcoatl A
- Quetzalcoatl A is a deadly Fire mage that is capable of dealing high amounts of damage, thanks to having innate Fire Amp and Butcher.
- His unique passive Ce Acatl automatically revives him if he is dead at the start of your turn, and refunds a Press Turn icon.
- Paired with Nidhoggr (who is almost guaranteed to survive) or another tank like Orcus or Asherah, Ce Acatl will automatically bring him back to life the next turn, letting him sweep with two Aztec Pulses (pass on the tank).
Intimidating Stance
- Less press turns = Less turns for Hero Masakado teams to deal damage.
- Asherah is a very good teammate, as Mother's Creation allows her to revive your sweeper with an extra press turn for the counter-sweep.
- Beware the AntiMidrange variants though, which are crafted specifically to counter these teams.
See also
- Tier List
- Skill List
- Brands
- PVP Team Guide for more Team guides
