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Advanced Deck Building

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This guide is meant to be a follow-up for the beginner's deck building guide. If you want to take your Kongai deck up to the next level or if you want to see a character analysis from a deck-building POV, this guide is for you.

Considerations[]

Your deck and the cards you use in it are very important to the strategy you use.

Different cards fall into different categories depending on their playability. Some cards are considered 'tanks' as they can endure a substantial number of attacks before falling while also dealing high damage before falling as well. Other categories includes 'tricksters' (or 'speedster') who are optimized for both ranges and focuses on dealing damage whilst avoiding it (the "Hit and Run" strategy), 'utility' cards which either augment the cards in play (a.k.a 'support'), 'survival' cards which are designed to stall the opponent (also called 'range changers' or depending on their preference; 'zoners' for far-range and 'rushdown' for close), and 'finishers' which are designed to trap, or directly attack cards with low health (e.g. Zina; Tafari). There are also those cards that don't usually fit in any of these main categories, of which they're called 'all-rounders' or 'balanced', and cards that can hit benched opponents ('bench swarmer').

When choosing, keep this in mind: most people start off with a 'tank' card. Such cards are high in physical defense and high in HP. They can also deal out a lot of damage if they can get a hit in. Rather than following suit, there's several other cards which you can start off with, which I call 'anti-tank' cards. These cards deal out substantial non-physical damage. One example would be Cain Solomon. His Rush of Bats move, especially when he's injured, lets him deal out a large amount of damage against tanks. Your other two cards should fill in holes where the first card fails. If your first card was an 'anti-tank' card, I suggest that your second card be a 'tank' character. Your third card should be more of a specialty card such as Ubuntu or Rumiko. These cards should serve a certain purpose in your deck or they should clear the enemy's weakened cards.

Now that's out of the way, let's look at everybody else.

Martial Artists[]

The Martial Artists are definitely a lot suitable for beginners, as three of their fighters are on beginner's page, but the other two are no slouches either.

Amaya[]

She's a recommended character, so her evaluation is here.

Higashi[]

He's a recommended character, so his evaluation is here.

Onimaru[]

Onimaru is a beefgate in the hands of the right player. His abnormal amount of physical defenses and health means he can be scary to beginners as he can cut down most glass cannons and speedsters while suffering little to no physical damage in return. While his innate may sound useless, his immunity to crits can not only prevent major damage, but also weaken the effectiveness of crit-reliant fighters with the likes of Popo and Starbuck, as well as high-crit attacks like Dashing Strike and Trueshot.

His two main attacks are versatile in that his signature Sword Flurry can remove enemy buffs (preventing Enchants and Critical Hit Rate Increases and the likes) while his nuke Double Slash although expensive, is one of the most powerful abilities in that it can deal anywhere between 30-52 damage! As well as making your opponent's strategy a bit difficult by disabling their ability to change range, of course. His other two abilities Ancestral Curse and Ancestral Spirit shouldn't be forgotten as they will have their uses in the right situation. Ancestral Curse, reduces Physical Defenses by -10, so it's great for weakening tanks if Sword Flurry can't damage them, while Ancestral Spirit buffs up Onimaru by increasing his own defenses.

Unfortunately in the hands of the wrong or inexperienced player, Onimaru's cracks in his armor will show up.

  • He's very bad at far-range combat, so Zoners like Andromeda and Balthazar can run circles around him if he can't reel them in. If that's the case, switch out (Flash Powder is good for this as it can help lessen the risk of intercepts).
  • His slowness can be detrimental against some other tanks with faster and/or interrupting/stun attacks. Girdle of Iron Will can compensate for those weaknesses.
  • Against those lacking in Physical defenses (his specialty), they often have attacks that are either light or dark, something that without the use of Ancestral Spirit Onimaru is weak against.

Rumiko[]

She's a recommended character, so her evaluation is here.

Yoshiro[]

Yoshiro, while not nearly as fragile as Rumiko or Amaya, is still very much a glass cannon if he's not used properly, due to his luck-based innate. As such he is not very good at fighting anybody with at nearly-full HP. His lack of physical defenses and main attacks being physical also means he's not good at fighting against tanks, usually those with damaging physical attacks. Yoshiro should switch out from those opponents.

The good news is that he's one; easy to use, two; very fast, and three; much stronger fighting other glass cannons, especially if they're reliant on dark or light based attacks. As they would also often lack physical defenses, his arsenal at close-range (his optimal range), although weak, is enough to frustrate them. Open Palm has a chance to stun, potentially soft-interrupting nearly all attacks and is very cheap (enough for him to stall for energy). If it does stun, then depending on the situation, he can either switch out (against a tank) or use Rising Dragon, an even quicker attack that also hits fleeing (making intercepts somewhat redundant at close-range). Best of all, his (even even faster) Chi Reflect reflects light at both ranges, making him a very good counter against light users (as mentioned earlier). Oh and he can threaten dark users with Chi Blast at far range if he has to.

Another interesting trait that Yoshiro possesses the flexibility to modify his strengths depending on the items. When he has the Scroll of Inner Focus, he's much stronger at far range, but still useful as a finisher. With the General's Insignia, he becomes much stronger at close range, being able to knock out a good portion of characters if he stuns with Open Palm. And interestingly, giving him Healing Salve allows him to become more effective at stalling, while Flash Powder can grant him a role as a hit-and-runner, evening his innate out to the likes of Rumiko.

Amazons[]

All of the Amazon's are built fighters (sometimes in more ways than one...), but heavily physical-reliant. This means that some skill is required to maximise your chances of winning.

Andromeda[]

Andromeda's unique in that all four of her abilities are far-ranged. This is very swingy as either she can deal damage or she's completely exposed to it. Thankfully her innate is unique in that her range changes cost 5 less energy means that she can easily go far a bit easier than others (apart from IBO-K9). Her two most powerful attacks are very slow when compared to some other far-range based fighters, who could otherwise beat her with faster attacks unless prepared. If she ever encounters these people (Anex and Cain to name a couple), as well as any close-ranged characters (who would freely attack where she isn't able to defend herself), just switch out. She's however, good against most speedsters and support fighter, where they would usually lack the damage and/or durability to survive and counter powerful attacks.

All four of Andromeda's attacks a simple to use and understand (like all the Amazons). Her incredibly cheap and sometimes effective Crippling Shot is going to be used most often if you don't want people closing in or range-dancing on her. Mind you, at this point, they could usually switch-out to avoid something like Trueshot (which understandably has a good chance to crit, but should be infrequently used due to its slowness), so an attack that can hit the fleeing like Rain of Arrows is available for her as an alternative to interception (but it's ineffective against those with high Physical resistance). Lastly, Lightning Arrow can interrupt Light attacks for free (as well as dealing a bit of damage), allowing her to interrupt powerful attacks like Chi Blast, Ray of Light, or a rival Trueshot, but not twice in a row (so she could easily be tricked into using it too early).

Anex[]

Anex's innate; in which she deals +50% damage to attacks and intercepts when under 20HP or less, is special in that she can make difficult matchups more easier just by taking damage, turning any disadvantageous matchups around. This means that her durability and HP isn't suppose to be that great (something that Reinforced Breastplate or Herbal Remedy can cover if you need it). She can also switch out if things don't go to your plan, but there's a better option down below.

An innate like this needs good abilities to back it up. At far range, she has the option of the relatively decent-speed Boomerang Chakkra, which is undodgeable (like Rising Dragon) or the slower and more powerful Power Toss (a.k.a. the better option), where it has the ability to force switch your opponent instead! (Only Ashi below also has this ability.) This is great if her innate is active where she can accidentally potentially kill someone while it force switches, or just preventing a difficult scenario. Don't worry if she's at close range, as her third ability Chakkra Slash is not only cheap and fast (making it rarely interruptable), it also slows down her target's attack speed by 2 for 2 turns, frustrating her opponent. Lastly, all three of her attacks are physical-based (which would become weaker with those with high Physical defenses), so she has Enchant Blade (like Helene) to boost damage and circumvent these barriers.

Ashi[]

Ashi's playstyle is very similar to that of Helene's, but with the added immunity to interrupts. This means that attacks like Tackle and Higashi's Open Palm have no effect on her despite her slow attacks, but unlike Helene is still affected by Stuns unless Girdle is active. Additionally all of her abilities are close-ranged only so range-dancing is expected if you don't want to be pelted from afar, and her slowness puts her in a heavy disadvantage against Cornelius Constantine unless she has Valkyrie's Charm, so otherwise switch out... or use the other option.

Having said that, all of Ashi's abilities are offensive. While this means she lacks an enchant-based attack like Anex and Helene (since two of her attacks lack any special effects), she rarely needs a damage boost, and that can be covered with Sharpening Stone or Insignia. Like Anex, she also has a force switch attack, Power Swing, but it's much cheaper (and less damaging). Her two other physical attacks unusually have no particular effects, the Axe Handle is fast (hence rarely affected by stun attacks) and can quickly finish off a weak foe, and the slower, but much more menacing Signature Slice, her main nuke. The last attack, Bleeding Slice is light-based (therefore ignoring any physical resistance, or any physical-based dodges) and can inflict the bleed debuff, but it can be reflected if not careful.

Helene[]

She's a recommended character, so her evaluation is here.

Phoebe[]

Phoebe is probably the most complex Amazon playability-wise. Her unique innate (+25% chance to disable items permanently via attacks), is abnormally powerful. With it she can disrupt your opponent's plans easily, thus debilitating items like Mindreader's Chalice or Deadly Poison can be removed (permanently) from your lists of trouble. She's mostly stronger at far-range like Anex, but not a complete monoranger like the others, so her close-ranged abilities despite being rather weak, their effects reflect that. Note that she's still pretty bad at close range however, but the first of her abilities is designed to negate this.

Hamstring's effect makes it the most powerful Energy Cost Increase attack (despite ironically not that powerful in terms of damage), increasing your opponent's range changing costs by 20 is guaranteed to make sure she can go far without opposition, or gain energy to do that if you can't. A slightly more risker attack (that is dual-ranged) is Deafening Crack; also cheap and flimsy but it reduces hitrate by 20% for 4 turns, which can mean a difference between life and death. It should only be used in the worst of scenarios however.

Power Lash is another of those attacks which seems good in theory until you actually try and use it. It's powerful and has a chance to stun, but Phoebe can't use it after a range chance, so good timing and planning is required. Most of the time, Rapid Lashes serves as her main attack, and it's both light and bleeds like Bleeding Slice (which is both a good and bad thing, as it can be ineffective against those with decent Light resistance).

Villagers[]

A good cast of supporting fighters, Villagers are. Their versatility makes up for their lack of offense (and defense).

Juju[]

Juju's in this very weird position where under the right circumstances he has the ability to deal damage to all characters (since his two main attacks do not deal direct damage and thus ignores defense stats) while being able to heal back any damage. Under the wrong circumstances, his lack of physical defenses and slow attacks can turn against him.

Firstly let's fix what we don't have. One of Juju's main weakness is of course his lack of physical defenses. This wouldn't be a problem if you're fighting against glass cannons like Rumiko, Rathbone or the Witches. If you're fighting a tank that is capable of spewing out lots of damage, it of course would be a problem. This can easily be solved with Elusive Feather or Tiger's Claw. If for some reason you find Juju's attacks to be too slow for your preference, Quickening Powder covers that.

With that out of the way, let's look at what Juju has. For starters, his two most powerful attacks (as mentioned earlier) deals indirect damage, meaning that they will ignore defenses. Curse of Juju is the attack that he/you will most often used and because it's dual ranged, Juju can use it where his opponents are at their most vulnerable while he uses Healing Touch to recuperate from counter-damage. Because of this, Juju's main offense style is a slow-burning one. The threat of Hex or Touch of Doom often forces non-tank characters to change range, at which point Juju should enjoy the energy advantage.

Speaking of which, his other two attacks are nothing to scoff at. Hex might be boring, but it's always accurate and effective against opponents with lower dark defenses (this is where it becomes more powerful if Blood Burn or Voidstream is active). Touch of Doom insta-kills after 4 turns, but should only ever used during the most optimal of situations, because at best it's usually a scare tactic.

Popo[]

Popo's arguably one of the most recognizable cards, even if they're rarely used. This is because their unorthodox main fighting style is what makes them stand out from the lot, which heavily revolved around the RNG (Random number generation) of the Proc% (Procurement percentage), or to make it easy, it all comes down to luck. Basically, Popo's "All or Nothing" as they're either extremely and ridiculously damaging (if you're lucky), or else stupidly ineffective, similar to Juju.

Firstly, Popo's innate (25% chance to dodge physical attacks) means that unless they're using Origami Crane or Polished Spyglass, opponents with physical attacks will have a much harder time landing those attacks if Popo keeps dodging them. Their signature Slingshot has a high chance to miss (40% of the time), but if it does land, then there is a 50% chance that it deals triple damage instead of the usual 20 damage. This can make Popo a dangerous card to use when you're lucky. Popo's Poison Dart might seem ridiculous giving it deals only 5 dark damage (which would be annoying if it doesn't poison), but if it does poison, your opponents will lose 10 HP over the course of 4 turns. Poison Dart has synergy with Herbal Preparations (which makes all of Popo's attacks deal 3 Poison damage for 4 turns if they hit, plus it also has a 30% chance to heal Popo for 25 HP when used). Lastly, Knee Bash can interrupt slow attacks, which is always handy.

Much like Amaya, Popo suffers from a lack of HP and Defenses, making it very difficult for them to sustain long-term combat. Against any bad matchups, your main option is to switch out.

Tafari[]

Tafari is infamous in the eyes (or hands) for some players, or else severely underrated for others. This is because he has possibly one of the most powerful, dangerous and game-changing innate: the right to disable the opponent's ability to switch out. The innate alone already swings things into your favor, which is great if you need to finish off a troublesome opponent low in health, but Tafari can usually stand in a more direct fight, especially if he needs to stall.

His bread and butter are Hide and Ambush. Hide is great against physical-heavy characters like Onimaru and Zina as it increases his chances at avoiding damaging Physical Attacks, while at the same time unlocks one of the most powerful attacks in the game. However, Ambush is expensive and rather predictable so it should only be used if you're certain it won't be countered. Poison Dart is also available giving Tafari the ability to counter-attack or target the area of his opponent at their weakness by poisoning them. Leafy Trap might never seem like an ability you would ever use due to it's slowness and it being far-range only, but it's useful for scaring physical-based characters (something Tafari usually has no problems going up against). Against any bad matchups, your best bet is to switch.

Ubuntu[]

Ubuntu's similar to Juju in that he's usually better as a support fighter because of his suboptimal attacks and defenses. However, whereas Juju focuses on debuffing his opponents, Ubuntu focuses on buffing his allies. Ubuntu's innate is quite useful in that by taxing your opponent an extra 5 Energy, it makes them much harder for them to attack efficiently and might even make some attacks less useful. It's so good that even Gunbjorn also has it!

Both of Ubuntu's main offensive abilities will also buff his allies attacks; Staff Strike and Tiger Claws. Staff Strike is horribly slow if you're not using Quickening Powder, but it can increase your team's single-hit attack's by an extra 4 damage whereas Tiger Claws increases your team's Crit rate by 25%. Rain Dance is especially useful for allies with multiplicative-damaging attacks as it increases their damage by 1 (and also affects single-hit attacks). These three abilities are really effective against Cornelius Constantine, a card who specializes in being immune to stats-lowering effects and thus has no counters against buffs/buffed opponents of the opposing nature.

And... just one more thing: Spirit Assistance. It's Ubuntu's most deadly attack, but it requires a turn to setup and it's only effective at far range, so it should only be used when it's necessary.

Zina[]

She's a recommended character, so her evaluation is here.

Vampires[]

Vampires are another set that's usually accessible for beginners (two of them are beginner's recommended). Asides from the Marquis, but we'll get to him soon.

Ambrosia Thorn[]

Ambrosia Thorn might look pretty and delicate, but this girl can take in as much as she dishes out. Her reasonable stats (70 HP, 3/1/5) and abilities means that she is effective both as a tank and a tank-slayer (providing she stays at close range and avoid any Light attacks). All of Ambrosia's attacks are rather slow, but if she uses the Girdle, she can turn many of the matchups where her slowness is a disadvantage into an even more effective fighter. Did we mention that Ambrosia's also immune to Poison and Burn debuffs?

Vamp Kiss is an essential attack as without it, Ambrosia cannot tank with 70 HP alone (the fact that it's 100% Drain also means she's receiving her pound of flesh/blood fairly). Vamp Kiss goes hand in hand (even though that phrase might not be suitable as you'll see) with Spiked Boots, a low-damaging and cheap attack (cheap enough that you can use it to regain energy) that can stun her target. And finally, Ambrosia's most powerful attack, Spectral Choke, although expensive, is undodgeable and very useful as a finisher. Bleeding Ritual is there if you need an unremovable debuff, but it's only ever useful when the situation is optimal.

Cain Solomon[]

Cain Solomon works in the same way as Anex (they have the same innate) except he's better at close range. And as such, he's not meant to have good durability (although he shares the same stats as Miss Thorn as mentioned earlier, so items like Blood Vial, Necronomic Tomes and Healing Salve are there if you're that concerned).

Cain's abilities are relatively straight-forward and efficient: His signature Tackle can interrupt attacks slower than speed 7, preventing highly disruptive nukes that can easily KO Cain without activating his powerful innate. Next, Voidstream is useful in lowering the Dark defenses of his enemies and can be used at far range alongside Rush of Bats, a slow but damaging attack that is rather effective against those without good Dark defenses. Tantrum should be used carefully as it's only activatable at close range, but once it works, Cain can deal quite a lot more damage.

Cornelius Constantine[]

He's a recommended character, so his evaluation is here.

Marquis Le Morte[]

The Marquis Le Morte is a card that isn't really recommended for beginners since he's only effective with a certain playstyle. With enough practice, the Marquis is quite effective as a card good at trolling opponents.

The Marquis's main strategy is using Vampiric Touch and Life Drain to damage his opponents while healing himself, before switching out. While this may not seem cost-efficient, the Marquis's only goal in mind (his playstyle) is to heal himself and if you can, switch him out (which his innate will give you a very good reason to). If utilized that way, the Marquis can effectively be a repeated thorn on your opponent's side. Because of this, it is entirely within reason that any of the Marquis's bad matchups will become just as bad for the other side. Since everybody that's rational would want a decisive victory or plan, the Marquis's main playstyle heavily focuses on the mind-games with his irrationality (like feinting an attack at close range to switch them out or leave).

As both of his main attacks are only effective at close range, Teleport works to close the gap (which has a small chance of not working). Blood Burn is only ever useful in certain situations.

Vanessa Voss[]

She's a recommended character, so her evaluation is here.

Pirates[]

The Pirate are offense-heavy but defence-poor in that they use mostly physical attacks while lacking in light or dark defenses. This trait means that great care has to be taken when fighting against non-physical fighters.

Auger Blackboot[]

Auger Blackboot is quite simple to use as long as he's being used correctly (in that he should stay at the far range). Since there usually isn't any far-range nukes, this makes Auger usually suitable for tanking at far range due to his high HP, despite his seemingly inadequate defenses, or you can use him just as a finisher as both of his main attacks are capable of being in both roles.

Auger is perhaps distinct in that he has a unique innate in that when hit by a physical attack, there is a 50% chance of ordering the enemy to not attack next turn (Stand Down). This is very useful as a physical-based fighter (or any other fighters with physical attacks) runs the risk of being unable to attack the next turn. Backing up his innate are his two main attacks: Rapid-fire Pistol (Interrupting and economic) and Aimed Pistol (slow, but deadly). Captain's Mirror works in the same way as Chi Reflect. Word of Command might sound powerful, but its slowness and unpredictability (not to mention its default range of usability is the range that Auger should never be in) makes it unusable save for a last attempt.

Balthazar Bomb-Britches[]

Balthazar Bomb-Britches really ups the ante by bringing in his signature Cannon. Like Auger, he's bad at close-range. but good at tanking on far-range. Balthazar's innate is the same as Helene's, meaning that stun-based attacks like Yoshiro's Open Palm and Power Lash are useless against him.

Balthazar is one of the few characters that has to use one ability to unlock another ability. Load Cannon is slow, but the buff is cheap and unremovable and can be done in close-range. That ability unlocks Fire Cannon, a nuke that is maximum speed, ignores defenses (meaning that Onimaru will receive 62 damage in wholesale) and deals splash damage to other opponents. Shot-put is slow, but it can Stun and can be used to set up the cannon abilities, while Drop Kick is essential if Balthazar is stuck at close range.

As Balthazar's attacks are all Physical, Onimaru and those who can dodge those types of attacks (like Popo or other Villagers with Elusive Feather) will be a bane to his existence unless he has Polished Spyglass. Against Onimaru without the Spyglass however, Balthazar is better off switching out unless he can Fire Cannon.

Darla Cross[]

Darla Cross is a unique and very entertaining character to play, as she is a potential game-changer. By having the ability to steal items and use them for herself, Darla can frustrate the plans of her opponents and turn bad matchups into more advantageous situations later. One of her attacks, Parrot Pilfer enables her to steal items, or she can wait until her innate activates.

Darla's other three attacks have their uses. Parrot Torpedo is powerful and can stun, Quad Daggers is Darla's other bread and butter attack, as it's quick and useful to clean up weaker opponents, and Poisoned Blade is cheap and can get Darla out of close-range in a pinch.

Because of her playstyle plus her inadequate stats, Darla isn't that great against heavy-hitters and physical-based users. Thus her chances of survivability increases if she switches in and out frequently.

Ranec Vest[]

Ranec Vest is a very distinctive character (he's probably one of the only few playable Ghost Pirates in video games, and one of the even fewer benevolent Ghost Pirates). For starters, his innate makes him completely immune to any physical attacks when he switches in. Because of this, physical-based cards will not be able to attack Ranec at first, essentially giving him a free turn.

Although Ranec is stronger at close range, he has the option to set his range with the devastating Psycho Crusher if he's at far range (as well as potentially avoid a powerful attack like Chi Blast, Trueshot or Omega Missile with his powerful attack). Once at close range, Ranec can use Two-sword Slash to remove an opponent's buff or deal some neat damage, or he can use Ghostly Touch to debilitate opponents with an increased energy cost on attacks. And if you feel that the opponent may choose to switch out, instead of Intercepting, Ranec can use Le Chuck's Curse and damage the fighter switching in instead!

Starbuck[]

Starbuck is here to whoop some ass and drink rum, and he's all out of rum! His innate is one of the most dangerous ones as all of his attacks have a 25% crit chance (functionally the same as a 24/7 Sharpening Stone). However, despite his good Physical resistance and generous HP, he's not usually effective as a tank when fighting against Dark and Light users, but at the same time, his attacks are too costly to be effective being a rushdown fighter like Yoshiro, so a fine balance must be made on Starbuck if he is to be effective. His innate can be countered by the Girdle of Iron Will, so switch out if his opponent is using one.

All of Starbuck's attacks hit hard when they land. The Old One, Two damage per cost is respectable, but might not be damaging with higher Physical defenses unless it crits. Tackle once again can be used to interrupt slower attacks. Gigaton Punch is his main nuke, and inflicts a rare debuff called Confused, which prevents your opponent from controlling their fighters (allowing Starbuck a chance to escape). Anchor Toss is viable at far range, but it's damage per cost isn't great unless Starbuck is using General's Insignia.

Knights[]

The Knights are one of the more spread-out faction, but all of them suffer from terrible defenses, despite their good damage and versatility. And as such, Bracers of Righteousness is a common item used.

Bestor[]

He's a recommended character, so his evaluation is here.

Gunbjorn[]

Now we've come upon the Horny Helmet Man! (Sorry!) While Gunbjorn shares the same innate as Ubuntu, unlike the latter, Gunbjorn's attacks utilizes his innate to a better extent. Gunbjorn's stats makes him suitable for tanking should the situation depend on it, but three of his attacks having synergy with each other and his innate makes him very suited as a destructive energy gamer, hence being considered as an "All-Rounder".

Helmet Ram firstly has a chance to interrupt if it hits. While this is already useful as it is, when combined with Ice Shards, an attack that is dual-ranged and slows opponents, and Bone Chill, another dual-ranged attack that increases the target's range change cost by 5 energy (like Stoneheel Totem, also worth complementing if Gunbjorn is using said item), as well as inflict the unique cold debuff (of which only the Witches can counter with a certain item), it can really stack against your opponent as they risk losing more energy for attacks that can get ever-increasingly interruptable. Cold Steel Axe is Gunbjorn's main nuke, and it's good for scaring opponents into changing range, where Bone Chill and Ice Shards can be used.

Oxbox[]

Oxbox's strategy is simple: Switch in (where his innate deals damage), finish an opponent off, tank some damage if necessary, and switch out. Any deviations to this strategy will be detrimental if you wish to max out Oxbox's potential.

This is because while Oxbox has two light-based attacks like Gunbjorn, if the former is used correctly, then those two attacks should rarely (if not, never) be used. Stoneskin Dance should (in theory) grant Oxbox massive Physical defenses (and a bit more Light and Dark defenses), but its maximum slow speed means that he will receive damage (where he should instead rest). And Sandstorm's main ability is to decrease all opponent's accuracy (in theory), but it's bugged state (meaning that the main ability will almost never proc) is makes it an inferior Tiger Frenzy at best. Even if it does proc, Oxbox's main attacks are more useful and damaging for his usual strategy.

Warhammer Ram is useful for forcing opponents into close range (and scares them into not changing range), and Warhammer Smash deals massive damage while it can stun. Because of those two moves, Oxbox tends to have energy problems, and thus tends to be easily intercepted. Keep that in mind when playing as him.

Rathbone[]

THE Black Knight of Kongai. Rathbone shares the same innate as Ashi, but their main strategy are like chalk and cheese. Ashi's a close-ranged tank while Rathbone is a loose, glass cannon that can punish (all) his opponents while damaging his teammates (you're reading it correctly, Rathbone has attacks that damage his teammates).

Rathbone's signature attack is Domination, an attack that not only interrupts the opponent's slower attacks, but forces them to attack their teammates. Heart of Darkness deals massive dark damage for its reasonable cost and can reduce the target's damage. Rathbone's other two attacks can damage his team if you choose poorly: Soul Siphon deals damage to the target and an ally which heals Rathbone, while Reckless Firestorm indiscriminately targets everyone apart from the user (but less so for the allies).

Wei-Shan[]

Wei-Shan might look unassuming as a monk (or a knight, or a martial artist), but that's just a façade to hide his effectiveness as a support fighter... or a staller. Wei-Shan's main specialty is to heal his allies by removing their debuffs and prolong the amount of HP restored on the bench while debilitating his opponents by reducing their damage by a literal tenfold (which you'll see below). This, combined with his innate (heals 4 HP and remove 1 debuff when resting) grants him his staller stellar reputation.

Wei-Shan can not only remove his own debuffs, but with Healing Wind, he can remove all debuffs from his allies. Even then, he needs to defend himself, so Whirlwind can be used to trap opponents at far range while paired with Dashing Strike. Or if Wei-Shan is up close, he can use Crippling Palm to shut down single-hit attacks, making most characters with single-hit attacks nearly useless.

Robots[]

The Robots are quite flexible in terms of strengths and weaknesses and as such can be used within their own group or alongside other groups. However, while they may look simple and easy to play, they usually require more attention for maximum output and efficiency.

Angelan D[]

Angelan D is a character that's heavily ingrained in yomi (Japanese term for "reading", like that other Sirlin game) and thus represents the core aspects of Kongai. A good player can use Angelan D wisely based off their predictions on their opponent, while a novice can only go so far with what Angelan D has.

For starters, Angelan D innate, which allows her to reduce the cost of her attacks by 5 energy for 4 turns after resting makes her one of the most energy-efficient fighters (and she won't need to worry too much regarding range-changing because her strongest attacks can cover both ranges). Her signature attacks work in a similar way to Hide and Ambush (that being Cloak and Surprise Attack), but they're better in that they're dual-ranged and can dodge ALL attacks. Angelan D also has the option of using Precision Strike at close range, which grants a bonus +25% crit chance when she's cloaked (but is good even without the effect), while Wave Motion Fist interrupts Light-based attacks like Lightning Arrow, annoying Light users.

B9[]

B9 is unique for a Support fighter as she is capable of messing her opponents in a multitude of methods. For starters, her innate lets her deal 10 damage whether both B9 and her opponent rest in the same turn. While that innate may seem limited, if fighting against monorangers, range-dancing will quickly stack the damage up.

B9's most outstanding ability is that with Protect Family, she can heal herself and ALL allies (even Wei-Shan and Margo can only heal themselves), as well as removing the team's debuffs. This makes her survivability usually high regardless of her suboptimal resistance (and your deck's too). Her two close-ranged attacks, Pincer Grab and Electrifying Grab, can stun and reduce the hit-rate of her opponent respectively (Pincer Grab is Physical, so it get's around opponents with high Light defenses). Against fighters without Light defenses, Berzerk Laser Blasts is good at cleaning them out.

Gorbax[]

He's a recommended character, so his evaluation is here.

IBO-K9[]

At first glance, IBO-K9 will appear quite fragile due to his exceptionally low HP and defenses. However, his intentional lack of durability counteracts with his mobility (the highest in the game, due to his innate giving him Free Range Change for two turns when switching in) and reasonable energy game. Additionally, a higher durability would in fact hinder his most deadly ability. Because of this, it is recommended that IBO-K9 should be switching often in order to maximize his innate.

Claw, Claw, Bite is a fast and spammable move that can bleed opponents at close range, while Sonic Bark is one of the few far-ranged attacks which can stun. His two strongest abilities are Uplifting Yelp, a cheap buff that will grant all his allies (allies only) no energy costs for 3 turns. This is great for mono-rangers and allies with very powerful and energy-taxing attacks as they can use their energy only for range-changing while pulling off attacks that would otherwise have not been possible with the cost. Best of all, it can then be followed up with IBO-K9's crème de la crème ability (or more accurately, his pièce de résistance), Self-Destruct. Befitting for its name, it requires IBO-K9 to die (hence his low durability making things easy), but in turn will deal heavy damage to opponents (even killing them too if 50 HP or less, stats-dependent) and some splash damage to their allies.

MR-V1N[]

To keep it brief, MR-V1N's attacks are quite slow (ironically for a "Speedster) and has low Physical and no Light resistance. To make up for this, MR-V1N has high Dark defenses and is the only character who can drain Energy from his opponents (both via his innate when switching out and Energy Sap). Forlorn Poetry makes his opponent's attacks slower, thus enabling MR-V1N's slow attacks (like the cheap, but plain Indifferent Strikes) to be much faster at the expense of his opponents. Depressive Mood reduces Dark resistance by 3 for 3 turns and is much faster than MR-V1N's damaging attacks, but due to its lack of damage and unreliable proc., it's not recommended except for those with high Dark defenses.

Witches[]

The Witches lack durability and HP most of the times, so it's recommended an evasive playstyle is used to maximize their success rate. Their abilities heavily revolve on cheap debuffs or expensive damaging attacks.

Agathe De Grey[]

Agathe lacks the strength to face an opponent head on, so her main playstyle is mostly an aggressive, yet evasive support type. Her two physical attacks Broom Strike (no effects) and Wild Broom Ride (1 in 3 chance to remove enemy buffs) are cheap and fast, but less-damaging against high physical resistances so they're only there for necessity. If at close-range, Agathe's innate will deal 4 damage to her opponents every turn (like Ring of Bravery, but smellier).

Her most effective strategy is to bombard opponents with Witch's Curse, which will drain 5 HP a piece for 3 turns. It might not seem much compared to other drain attacks, but it can be stacked multiple times, and can really annoy her opponents, even when she's switched out. Agathe can use Mark of the Witch to nuke her opponent as it's much faster than Touch of Doom, but the debuff is removable and can be switched out on, so The Black Book is very useful if you wish to make MotW effective.

Eva Bovary[]

Eva Bovary is much stronger in dealing damage and energy efficiency for a Witch, so she's great as a speedster at both ranges. All of her attacks are Light-based so she's usually good at fighting against most Dark users. At the same time, all of her attacks are Light-based so she suffers when going up against other Light users, especially since her attacks aren't usually damaging. So Eva's best strategy is to frequently switch out against those opponents, which increases her chances of activating her innate (25% chance to prevent enemy from attacking when switched in).

Fiery Passion is Eva's go to attack at far range and it's undodgeable, making it useful as an alternative to Intercepting. At close range, Searing Touch can burn opponents and Kiss can not only always restore HP for half the damage it deals, it also has a 25% chance to Crit. Her strongest attack is Head Over Heels, which works in the same way as Word of Command except it's dual range and interrupting like Domination (and it's reusable without cooldown).

Margo Curie[]

Margo Curie, much like Wei-Shan, lacks the abilities to defend herself sufficiently in combat so she's more focused on debilitating opponents and healing allies. Unlike Wei-Shan, who's debuffs, stats and availability of items can enable him be a good staller, Margo lacks the stats and items to be effective in that playstyle so she's purely relying on her buffs and debuffs, but the majority of her abilities are dual-ranged, so energy is usually not a concern for her.

Margo's innate is quite strong and can give Healing Wind a run for its money. It share's the same purpose (90% chance to remove all Debuffs), but her version's not affected by energy cost (in fact she activates it by resting, which will also grant her the energy bonus) and speed. And much like Wei-Shan's innate, Margo also has the ability to heal with Healing Potion which will restore her to full health, but can only be used once (so use it wisely!). Her two main attacks are cost-efficient and serves a purpose each: Heartache Cocktail will disable the target's damage by 2 for 3 turns while Acid Splash (close range only!) burns her opponent. Her closest thing to a nuke is Hallucinogenic Incense and much like Gigaton Punch, it inflicts the Confused debuff on her opponent for 2 turns. Because of its slowness can cost, it is best used when Margo's at the range most vulnerable to her target and when its best to switch her out after applying it.

Sadie Trudeau[]

Sadie Trudeau is another of those fighters who fights with a 50/50 effect that can either kill or get her killed. Her attacks are very damaging (especially if her innate's active which affects her two Demon attacks by increasing their damage by 30% for 3 turns after a kill, like Zina) and she can be effective on both ranges, but she suffers from high energy cost and usual fragility (not to mention her lack of single-hit attacks), so she will be switching quite a bit in order to take advantage of energy recovery. Because of this, she can be a bit difficult at first, but highly rewarding with experience and time (it can be argued that Sadie is the most powerful of all the Witches because of her attacks and innate alone).

The good news is that all of Sadie's attacks are damaging (if you play your cards right!). Her signature Demon Claws is the fastest close-range attack, thus rarely interruptible, and benefits from her innate. 5-Point Pinch, although cheap and flimsy, can stun opponents and is effective against characters without good Physical stats. Demon Frenzy is dark, dual-ranged and has a chance to attack a benched opponent (making Sadie an intermittent Bench-Swarmer), while Nether Vortex works in the same way as Whirlwind, by trapping her opponent at far range, damaging them if they go close (or if you force them to).

Sophie Merovingian[]

She's a recommended character, so her evaluation is here.

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