Character Matchups/Villagers

Villagers character matchups. Back to the main page.

Juju

Juju vs Juju

At some point, the one that uses Touch of Doom successfully and switches out first will win if you're not trading blows. Deadly Poison becomes useful if you attack with Hex and the other's using Salve, so healing becomes a bit more difficult.

Juju vs Ambrosia

At close, Juju needs one Touch of Doom, and can survive 4 turns (or switch out), unless Ambrosia continually procs Spiked Boots. At far, Ambrosia needs 5 Bleeding Rituals for (6+12+18+24+24=84), whereas Juju needs 4 Curse of Juju. (Note that this will not kill Ambrosia until the end of turn 5.) Juju's Healing Touch effectively negate one Ritual each time they're used, generally giving him the advantage in this matchup. In reality however, it's more yomi than anything and most of the time, both sides will stall if energy is used for changing range. Elusive Feather is only useful for dodging Boots, so Quickening Powder, Tiger's Claw, or Healing Salve are usually much more better for Juju's survivability.

Juju vs the Marquis

Similar to the Ambrosia, it's unlikely, but Juju only needs one ToD first then survive 4 turns or switch out to win unless the Marquis is Blood Burning or using his drain attacks. At far, Juju can technically win by using 3 CoJ, but it's rather less efficient mainly because Juju would likely be forced to stay close, where MLM can heal. Healing Touch can regain some of the lost health stolen by the Marquis, negating them if used.

Juju vs Bestor

Worst case scenario Bestor kills Juju on turn 3 (turn 2 if FSF does inflict burn), dies on turn 4 from ToD. Juju has advantages if switching is available, allowing him to potentially CoD and survive. At far range, the optimal attacks for Juju is attacking with Hex 2x and he will win.

Juju vs Rathbone

The best chances of Juju winning would be to use Curse of Juju 3x (preferably at far range, where it won't usually be Dominated or countered with Heart of Darkness or Soul Siphon). Avoid using ToD where Domination can easily interrupt and reflect the debuff and making this a victory for Rathbone.

Juju vs B9

Range-dependent. At close range, B9 can spam Pincer Grab as a counter to Curse of Juju or to purposely suicide herself while staying at close range after Juju uses Touch of Doom (B9 will only need to use PGrab thrice to kill Juju as he takes full damage, though Juju with Elusive Feather may have a chance of winning if lucky). At far range, Juju can bombard B9 with Hex while suffering relatively less damage in the form of Berzerk Laser Blasts.

Juju vs Eva

A somewhat bad matchup for Juju as three of his four attacks are at the same speed as Eva's slowest attack, but only less so if he's using Quickening Powder since that makes three of his four attacks the same speed as Eva's quickest attack, giving enough time to hopefully land a ToD before switching out (since he lacks direct damaging attacks). Avoid using an unbuffed Curse of Juju since it can be Head Over Heeled. If at speed 6 because of QPowder, it initially deals slightly more damage than two Kisses, but the differences will eventually show up.

Popo

Popo vs Higashi

Item dependent matchup. Elusive Feather can make Popo out-dodge nearly all of Higashi's attacks due to their lack of physical defenses, or Tiger's Claw with its damage-reducing ability, but they can be countered by Origami Crane (Crane can be countered by Girdle of Iron Will). Quickening Powder will make Knee Bash able to interrupt Open Palm when it procs, but Deadly Poison or General's Insignia are much better since Popo will need the extra damage to break even with Higashi's high health (since Poison Dart will only deal 2 damage without poisoning). In all cases, Popo shouldn't be staying around with Higashi for too long and there's no worries in switching them out for someone else stronger, especially if you don't the want fatal Chi Blast coming their way.

Popo vs Rumiko

Item dependent matchup. Feel free to switch out but if you're forced to stay, Popo with Elusive Feather + innate can out-dodge Rumiko's S-Barrage and Eviscerate within a coin flip unless she uses Origami Crane. Otherwise, they'll usually trade blows. A good Slingshot will usually level Rumiko near death if you're lucky, otherwise stick to spamming Poison Darts.

Popo vs Andromeda

Bad matchup for Popo all around due to inferior damage output so switch. True Shot is unaffected by Popo's innate and Elusive Feather, making it easy for Andromeda to easy two-shot kill (or TKO if it crits), while her two physical moves can also easily kill Popo in a short duration.

Popo vs Helene

Suprisingly, Popo here generally has an advantage when facing the flaxen-haired swordstress.

• Knee Bash can interrupt 3 of Helene's 4 abilities, including Enchant Blade, which can easily wipe out Popo in two turns with Frenzied Blade (an attack that would only deal 18 damage to Popo if unbuffed). Becomes less effective if Helene's using Charm (but that can be countered with Quickening Powder), so...
• Popo can change range at far or range dance to avoid most attacks from Helene, pelting her with Poison Darts and Slingshots, or buffing them with Herbal Prep (becomes more effective if Popo's using Deadly Poison, but less effective if Helene's using Candle).
• Alternatively, Popo can use Elusive Feather (buffs her innate) or Tiger's Claw (less effective, but acceptable if Helene's backed by Dark-based fighters).

Popo vs Popo

The Popo that crits, interrupts, or poisons first will win. Otherwise, things like Deadly Poison, Quickening Powder, Stoneheel Totem or Elusive Feather can also swing as towards the user as well.

Popo vs Cornelius

Corny wins with Gridle, Popo wins if Corny's without. Popo has faster moves in general and a 22.5% chance of avoiding Pilebunker when it hits (45% with the Elusive Feather), but Corny can wear down Popo's defenses (not that they had any in the first place!) and becomes immune to interrupt and crit by using Gridle.

Popo vs Sadie

Again, using Elusive Feather can be a lifesaver for Popo in this matchup, especially if Sadie's innate has been triggered (as Demon Claws and 5-Point Pinch are very effective against Popo). Herbal Preparations (and/or Deadly Poison, even though you should be using Feather) will have the effect of making Knee Bash and Slingshot deal more damage as the damage of Poison Darts will be absorbed by Sadie's defenses. Alternate between Herbal Prep and KB/Slingshot for this match if you plan on staying.

Tafari

Tafari vs Higashi

• Tafari can win by staying close first and plan for Ambush after hiding. Note that Higashi's innate becomes useless due to Tafari's innate. Ideally, Bombard Higashi with Poison Darts first until Higashi is low on energy (so he can't move far) and then Hide and Ambush. Note that Poison Darts can be interrupted by Open Palm, but Tafari with Girdle can ignore that since using Hide to avoid OPalm regularly can easily deplete Tafai of energy.
• Although Tafari can go far to activate Leafy Trap (which can kill Higashi in two turns if he attacks at close range), this isn't recommended if Higashi has 80+ energy as he can win by using Chi Blast and finish off with another attack. If Tafari can summon Leafy Trap without Chi Blast, he could force Higashi into a catch-22 at close range by killing himself by attacking or being killed by Ambush and Darts.

Tafari vs Helene

Generally a bad matchup for Tafari unless he can successfully use Ambush, which even then would he be lucky if he comes out without receiving any damage.

• Helene's Enchant Blade voids the effect of Leafy Trap and Hide by changing Shield Bash and Sword Slash from physical attacks to light. It's usually a recommended strategy for Helene in this matchup anyway.
• Tafari's only safe attack would be Poison Darts, due to Helene's lack of dark resists.
• If Helene's using Herbal Remedy, this generally negates the poison effect done by darts (without enhancement from Deadly Poison).

Tafari vs Tafari

Prepare for a long and boring match. This matchup will rely completely on luck. Basically, whoever gets Poison Dart to poison more wins. Do not try to use Hide or Leafy Trap, since Tafari can easily counter Hide by switching to far, and Leafy Trap by attacking with Poison Dart and not using Ambush. All in all, this will be decided by the items Tafari is carrying, and luck with Poison Dart. Best case scenario is to not switch in with Tafari against a mirror unless there's absolutely no choice.

The optimal item for this matchup is Deadly Poison. Other items are good substitutes: General's Insignia, Healing Salve, Tiger's Claw, Death Mask.

Tafari vs Auger

• If close range: you can attack with Poison Dart or Hide (attack with Ambush next turn).
  • If Auger is hit by a physical attack (Ambush), 50% chance for Tafari not to attack next turn. You can still change range, switch, or rest.

• Blackboot can attack with Word of Command. If you used Hide the same turn while affected, It's possible that Tafari attacks itself with Ambush. Hide has 30% chance to dodge physical attacks.

• If far range, attack with Leafy Trap and/or Poison Dart
• Leafy Trap deals 45 physical damage if enemy attacks with physical (Rapid-fire Pistol and Aimed Pistol)
  • Rapid-fire Pistol deals 6 damage and Aimed Pistol can do 35 or 55 (50% chance to crit)

Notes: Captain's Mirror is also a physical attack, but won't trigger Leafy Trap since it's a reflect attack. It can't reflect any of Tafari's attacks. Leafy Trap is physical, but won't trigger against Blackboot's passive since it's a trap attack and he has to take damage for the passive to activate. Even if the trap deals damage, it won't trigger his passive.

Tafari vs Ranec

• If Ranec is switching in at close range first, Tafari should hide first since there's no point in attacking him due to his innate. Chances are he may use Two-sword Slash first (either that or Ghostly Touch).
• Ghostly Touch can upset Tafari's ability to Ambush due it's inflated cost, forcing him to rely on Poison Darts. in turn, Leafy Trap eliminates the possibility of Ranec's TsS due to the former's effect on physical attacks (unless Ranec uses Psycho Crusher, so LTrap should be used on a low-energy Ranec) making him having to use GTouch. Fortunately, the attack isn't stackable if it wasn't missed/proc-ed.

Tafari vs Angelan D

Generally bad matchup for Tafari on both ranges, due to being assassin-outclassined by Angelan D. He should switch out or get lucky.

• Cloak and Surprised Attack is superior than Hide and Ambush, the former duo being more protective (all attacks compared to physical only) and more flexible (Ambush is only effective at close range).
• Leafy Trap is unactivatable if Angelan stays at far range and spams WMF or Cloak or Rest.
• Tafari's only effective attack against Angelan is Poison Darts. You could try and get lucky with Deadly Posion, but she can kill you quicker at far range with Hadouken or spam Precision Strike if she's not Cloaked.

Tafari vs Sadie

Tafari is recommended to stay close for this one if he wants to win otherwise Sadie might lock him out of an Ambush with Nether Vortex.

Tafari's best bet is to use Ambush after using Hide (the latter which can dodge 5-Point Pinch or Demon Claws). In the case that Tafari may need to stay far due to Nether Vortex, sustained damage with Poison Darts may be able to suffice until the trap wears off (or counter with Leafy Trap after the trap wears off so that Sadie can't use DCalws or 5PP without taking damage once Tafari moves back in). Deadly Poison may sound useful if stalling may be imminent, but it can be countered by the Periapt, so Healing Salve or Elusive Feather may be better off in this matchup.

Ubuntu

Ubuntu vs Juju

Ubuntu favored. Ub's innate make Juju's Touch of Doom too expensive to use without Ub counter-attacking the next turn or two while their's a slight chance Spirit Assistance may be prevented by Juju's innate. Ub should stick to alternating between Staff Strike and Tiger Claws as not only Juju is weak against physical attacks (Ub's also weak towards physical attacks, but Juju doesn't have any), they'll buff Ub and his team addictively. Ubuntu may be inclined to use Tiger's Claw or Deadly Poison if Juju is using Elusive Feather.

Ubuntu vs Popo

• Popo's attacks are fairly cheap. Ubuntu's innate changes all that making it uncomfortable for them to last long since they're not much of a hitter and damager. At a cost of 55 Energy, Popo may not bother using Knee Bash at all and stick to Poison Darts or switch out.
• Ubuntu with Girdle will certainly prevent Popo from interrupting his slow attacks with Knee Bash, since the tradeoff of using Quickening Powder is that it still make any attack other than Tiger Claws interruptible. The tradeoff of using Gridle however is that it becomes useless if Popo ignores Knee Bash.

Ubuntu vs Ubuntu

They'll trade Staff Strike and Tiger Claws with whoever's that proc first having the advantage. Or else the one that uses Spirit Assistance first wins. Having Deadly Poison, Tiger's Claw or QPowder can help.

Ubuntu vs Cornelius

Ubuntu is one of the few characters whose focused on increasing the stats of his allies instead of decreasing his opponent's, so this becomes handy when facing Cornelius. As Ub can increase his damage output, this becomes a risk to Corny, so it becomes likely that he would be forced to use Blood Burn or Hypnotic Stare to counter Ub's Staff Strike and Rain Dance (and this isn't even considering the fact that Corny's moves now cost +5 Energy!). This leaves Corny however at further risk for open damage so he would likely be alternating with Voidstream, which also deals damage. In the worst case of scenarios, Ubuntu can freely switch out if he wants as long as the next man/woman is buffed enough to finish off Corny! Pilebunker and Spirit Assistance won't normally become useful until nearing the endgame, when card numbers start going down.

Quickening Powder becomes a must-have for Ubuntu (so most of his moves break even with Cornelius's and can avoid Stare). Elusive Feather is only niche for dodging Pilebunker, but Deadly Poison could be a useful counter towards Ring of Curses or Necronomic Tomes on Corny.

Ubuntu vs Vanessa

Ubuntu should try to move far (to avoid Double Slash) and use Spirit Assistance (since Vanessa will take full damage, two SpiritA's will kill her assuming Ub has 100 energy). Compare this to VV's Ray of Light which deals 42 damage to Ub (which won't normally kill him), but she will need to rest before she can use it again (not counting Ubuntu's innate in effect). Elusive Feather may be useful if VV spams Slash, but consider Deadly Poison if Staff Strike and Tiger Claws are being used (which evens out the damage done by Slash and Feast of Blood).

Ubuntu vs Gunbjorn

Gunbjorn normally favored due to being the stronger one at close range, though Ubuntu can, with care, may be able to switch out from this one or even defeat him at far.

• Both fighters innate cancel each other's out.
• The recommended item for Ub would be Quickening Powder due to the slowness of Ub's attacks compared to Gun's. With QPowder, most of Ub's attacks would average at speed 6, becoming faster than Gun's Cold Steel Axe and Bone Chill. Elusive Feather can be used to dodge CSA and Helmet Ram, but the chances of Feather procuring is less than that of QPowder. Alternatively, Girdle of Iron Will can be used to avoid Ram but it will not counter Ice Shards if it procs.
• Tiger Claws will be absorbed by Gunbjorn's defenses unless Rain Dance is active (but will still increase Ub's teams' crit rate if it "hits"), which means that Ub will have to rely on Spirit Assistance (at far) and the ever-slow Staff Strike (when close) for damage.
• If at far, Ubuntu can win with two SpiritA's, or else Gunbjorn wins by Ram and CSA.

Ubuntu vs Sadie

Ubuntu can be favored in this otherwise even matchup depending on item selection, although if Sadie's innate is triggered, then she is more likely to win.

• The main thing for Ubuntu to take note is that Sadie has a sub-par energy game. As she's likely to use her two physical attacks, items like Tiger's Claw and Elusive Feather will make her attacks more difficult to bear in terms of energy cost and the increased dodge chance or damage reduction, alongside Ub's damage-increasing attack, which threatens Sadie's health.
• Alternatively, Quickening Powder can be used to enhance Ub's slow attacks (most notable making Staff Strike becoming the same speed as 5-Point Pinch and Demon Frenzy while Spirit Assistance becomes faster than Nether Vortex if QPowder procs). Deadly Poison is useful to the extent that the Periapt isn't active on Sadie.
• If Ubuntu is stuck at far due to Nether Vortex, it may be a good time to either stack Rain Dance or counter with Spirit Assistance (most notably being able to Kill Sadie by two-three turns). At close, Tiger Claws is the same speed as Pinch and can kill 4x. Girdle of Iron Will can prevent the effects of Pinch, allowing Ub to land the stronger Staff Strike more safely.

Zina

Zina vs Rumiko

Item dependent matchup. Zina is usually favored due to her superior defenses and innate, though Rumiko with Scroll can swing this the other way. Zina should be using Deadly Poison now that Poison Darts would start flying around, but if Zina's innate has been activated, she may be able to defeat Rumiko in three turns with Tiger Pounce even without Deadly Poison.

Zina vs Onimaru

Unless Zina's innate is active, this can be a difficult matchup for her so switch out when possible.

• Mistress's Command is must-have recommended for damage control due to Oni's high stats. Sure, this can be removed with Sword Flurry, but if Oni tries to do the same thing by using Ancestral Spirit to protect himself from Zina's innate, then she can do the same thing by using Tiger Pounce so its fair game. There's no point in using Tiger Frenzy unless you enjoy killing benched people slowly, and only use Eye of the Tiger in moderation (not counting its ridiculous cost) since it has a higher chance of damaging another opponent than the target you're aiming for.
• Elusive Feather can really come in handy for this matchup as Zina doesn't have much in the form of physical resistance. Deadly Poison

Zina vs Ashi

Zina can win this when her innate is triggered, but even without her innate, they'll fiercely trade blows.

Zina:

• Unless Ashi is using Sacred Candle, one sure way defeat Ashi is to use debuffs like Bleed and Stun (with Mistress's Command if active) and/or Poison (if Zina's also equipped with Deadly Poison).
• Ashi with the candle is a bit harder, but items like Elusive Feather or Tiger's Claw will still make things difficult for her. Quickening Powder won't normally be as useful if Tiger's Pounce being regularly used.

Ashi:

• Ashi will likely be using Bleeding Slice (as not only it's very damaging and will ignore Feather, it's practically the only thing that counters MCom). Signature Slice is more damaging, but Ashi will receive damage first.
• Apart from Sacred Candle, Sharpening Stone is good with the challenge of MCom since a +25% crit chance can swing favors during the match despite having the same proc rate as Elusive Feather (either SStone or General's Insignia, which is more consistent). Herbal Remedy counters debuffs by healing, while Girdle is only useful for avoiding stun.

Zina vs Zina

Normally more item dependent since Pounce can knock off Mistress's Command which is otherwise game-changing for this matchup. Things like Deadly Poison, Tiger's Claw and Feather are influencing.

Zina vs Vanessa

Both item-dependent and whether if Zina had killed someone recently (which means her innate has triggered).

• Most preferred items are Tiger's Claw (So that Vanessa deals less damage) or Deadly Poison (if you prefer Zina having a more deadly touch). Elusive Feather is only useful for dodging Double Slash and Quickening Powder generally becomes useless as Zina would be more reliant on Tiger Pounce (see below). Chances are, Vanessa may be using an item that's aiding survivability (Tomes is a common example, as she would likely be using Feast of Blood and Double Slash for the majority of this matchup.).
• The most useful move to combat Vanessa becomes Tiger Pounce and Mistress's Command (as the latter attack will buff the former). With Tiger Pounce being able to stun, it will soft-interrupt most of Vanessa's attacks when it procs.
  • An innate triggered Tiger Pounce can easily kill VV by turn 2 if starting at close-range, even without Mistress's Command.
• Zina is recommended to stay at close-range so that Vannesa will be less tempted to use the dangerous but costly Ray of Light. Vanessa may also choose to stay close to avoid the effects of Tiger Frenzy or EoT (Eye of the Tiger) for her bench. (EoT may be used at close range, but Zina will be stalling for energy by the next turn)

Zina vs Ranec

Ranec slightly favored due to his Two-sword Slash being able to remove Mistress's Command (meaning that Zina will have to re-apply it if she's regularly using it), but the victory margin is usually slim:

• Deadly Poison for Zina will be able to make her relay less on MCom (because innate abilities are usually unremovable), focusing the energy and time to attack Ranec.
• Asides from TsS, Ghostly Touch (if active on Zina) will make her attack's cost (Eye of the Tiger definitely) intangible without repercussion, potentially saving Ranec and his bench.

Zina vs Rathbone

Bit of a tosser really.

Zina

• Zina can only deal more damage more damage after she killed someone, where she is at her strongest (and Mistress's Command can be Dominated), so Deadly Poison gives her the edge if her innate's inactive. Or you could also go with Tiger's Claw since her speed 9 attack Tiger Pounce will activate the item, counter Rathbone's Heart of Darkness (which also reduces damage).

Rathbone

• Rathbone has to watch out for Bleed and Stun with Tiger Pounce buffed by Mistress's Command, which can then be remedied if Rathbone has Margo or Wei-Shan on the bench (assuming he didn't dominate that).
• Domination affects all attacks except Tiger Pounce. However, it still deals 1/3 of Rathbone's health, so something like Bracers of Righteousness or Hero's Flagon can gain back missing health (the latter even removing Bleed). Or you can go offensive and counter Tiger's Claw with Ring of Bravery. Or avoid this mess and stay outside with Knight's Emblem.