User:RT GYPHON/Beta Version Tier List

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Yep, sounds about right

This is an Explanation/Analysis of all S ranked units in Beta version of BotC. Please note that this tier list ranks units within beta, as such they're ranked by how much they fare in the beta version (though full game release will be mentioned as a speculation). In case of character rework that was done in full version - please refer to other Explanations/Analyses. How can I sound official?? I literally made this thing as a semi-shitpost - I'm not GamePress wiki staff member ffs

Legend[edit | edit source]

Given that characters might have some nuances beyond "that trait is good" or "that trait is bad" - there will be color-coding in this tier:

  • Dark Red marks a flaw that unit has that impacts their ranking
  • Dark Green marks a strength that unit has that impacts their ranking
  • Dark Blue marks a certain, consistent niche that unit has
  • Dark Yellow marks a questionable, inconsistent niche that unit has OR a flaw that is while detrimental, doesn't make character less viable
  • Gray marks a negligeable flaw that unit has

And a fair warning, while I will bring up early/mid-game in the tierlist - I'm ranking characters with endgame in mind (UNREAL difficulty, max skill levels, DEPTH 4 and max unit level) and they're ranked on how useful they are in battlefield.

E-0 Tier[edit | edit source]

E-0 Tier are bottom of the barrel. Those units are largely outclassed - thus having little to no niches\utility and usually you would run along your more valuable units to fulfill their their job at a lesser degree. It's not reccomended to use them in your team unless the situation REALLY calls for it.

Kuroji Shitodo [EE] LeCafeUnit Icon Kuroji.png[edit | edit source]

Kuroji Shitodo is that one gacha character who is outright useless that it almost becomes a joke, and that's for all the wrong reasons. On first glance - they're meant to be a mixed, green element attacker - jack of all trades sort of. They have:

  • Poison Gas - for debuffing enemies with poison
  • Sneak Attack - for melee coverage on black element
  • Front and Back "Three Traitors" - for melee coverage on green element with added bonus of being multi-hit (hits 2x times) and has an overall multiplier of 442% ATK
  • Reverse Card "Understanding and Injury" - a ranged, green homing attack with added bonus of being multi-hit (hits 10x times) and also serves as 1 cost bomb. It has an overall multiplier of 270% of S.ATK

And as for their traits:

  • Scholar of Prehistory is an inherent trait that gives Kuroji a level 2 buffs to S.ATK and S.DEF for 4 turns
  • Ambiguously Paper-thin Archaeologist is a party skill that increases critical rate of other units that have appeared in [EE] (excluding themselves) by 10

It all seems quite good for Kuroji, however, looking deep into their kit - it all becomes apparent how much of an unfortunate unti they are. So let's get in on the points on why they're the worst S rank unit BotC has to offer.

Plain mediocre stats

As stated above, Kuroji was supposed to be a jack of all trades, but as the saying goes - they're master of none. Their base ATK stat is rather mediocre - with characters who are specialised in dealing physical damage having base 730+ ATK compared to their measly 610 ATK, and their S.ATK of 661 while solid - they're still outclassed by their siblings and Tsubakura. And their defences are also quite low. Their base DEF stat is tying with Hooaka (who is already quite frail), while S.DEF is lowest among other S-rank units, even Tsurubami has a higher S.DEF than Kuroji (Tsurubami's base 484 S.DEF compared to Kuroji's 479 S.DEF) . Their Inherent trait serves as a band-aid fix to their issues - buffing their S.ATK and S.DEF by 2 levels. While their S.ATK raises up to compete with Hooaka's high S.ATK (specifically 793 S.ATK) - That's only with level 2 buff... Against base Hooaka - who can be buffed up to 1,041 S.ATK (for comparison, +3 S.ATK Kuroji would be 859 S.ATK). S.DEF buff would feel less insulting - since you'll be using offensive buffs much more often - but with Tenkai [Melon] providing team-wide buffs with "Oriental Melon "Melopepon"" - even here they're outclassed since their base defences are low. Also - while their defenses wouldn't be an issue (e.g. Tsurubami and Hooaka) - for the reason that would be mentioned below, it's quite detrimental - especially with their already DEF stat not being buffed by the inherent trait.

Wrong elemental scaling

Normally, I wouldn't list off the full spell kit of the character, due to how customizeable they are - but with Kuroji it's egregious. Their DEPTH upgrades give them "Darkness/Nether User"; which isn't good for Kuroji - green element user (meaning they are losing out on 20% damage increase on their unique spells!). And even that wouldn't be that much of an issue if not for two things: 1. black element attacks being not good, 2. it's expensive to just change your limited moves, even if they're not good themselves.

  • Black element has only four attacks, and even then, two of them are limited to much better characters. "Sneak Attack" - is just dark "Karate Punch", which isn't even a good move in a first place since "Double Swords" exists. "Poison Gas" is usually outclassed by "Monochrome Ray of Bizarre Foods" and thanks to UNREAL disabling debuffs, Poison Gas is virtually useless. "Blind Shot" would be a solid option, but their DEPTH bonuses increase S.ATK and their inherent trait also increases S.ATK - and their ATK stat is outclassed by other physical attack users (as stated above). "New Star "Super Nova"" is also a good option for Kuroji - dealing 492% S.ATK and Kuroji being mostly S.ATK-er they would greatly benefit from having it, becoming a nuker like Aoji... If you're willing to wait 3 turns (which is extremely long by BotC standards) for it to charge and use Clause's/S-rank discs.
  • Given their rarity as an S unit, it would be rather hard to just blatanly replace their 3rd and 4th slot skills with something else. If we are ready to go through the gamble of replacing, extracting these spells would take months due to the nature of the game, you're not guaranteed to get at least three copies of the character for extraction in short succession unless you'll use Probability Manipulation Gacha - and even then you'll be getting 1/3 of the amount you'll need (spending at most 53,000 ink gems just to get 100 discs feels like a genuine waste of time and resources). You could also farm S-rank discs, but it's also a huge investment. upgrading these skills would take a while (roughly 7 weeks AT LEAST - with BM, AP and IG disc purchases and buying an attempt for daily DISC challenge every day at Rewards shop). And we're not talking about the issue of upgrading the said moves as it can also take weeks to raise to at least 80+ level. So even if it sounds alluring - especially for Kuroji - it's still a huge risk and investment on admittedly mediocre unit.
Common weaknesses and rare strengths

While this might be debated given the nature of the game being in beta, given the beta nature - Kuroji isn't doing so good as they're weak against Blue and Red element, the most common elements in the game. Their mixed attacker nature isn't secure as "Ig" and "Abrassive Jet" are ranged special attacks - and Ig is especially nasty because it's a homing attack, and since "Understanding and Injury" is a charged move - well now you have a vulneareable Kuroji. And if it wasn't bad enough - Water and Fire moves have also physical coverage in "Crimson Lotus" and "Water Balloon" and as mentioned previously - Kuroji doesn't have the best defences. Oh, and don't ever think of bringing them against Hooaka - they'll die if Hooaka sneezes on them. And their Green element attacks only effective against Aoji (who can kill them regardless due to them being Blue element specialist) and Tsubakura? - and even then, they're outclassed by Kurohebi in that regard tenfold. And Dark element - only effective against Hooaka and Aoji - who can kill them easily. Usually it wouldn't be an issue as neutral damage is still damage and some characters have better things to do than going for weaknesses (such as Clause) - but Kuroji could've definetely make a use of that to their full potential due to their Black element specialism.

Underwhelming moves

And on the topic of original moves - these moves aren't great. "Front and Back "Three Traitors"" - while would be a strong move - with 442% ATK overall at max level - which is massive and only rivaled by "New Star "Super Nova"" and "Eruption "Steam-Blast Explosion"", however - with Kuroji's measly defences - they wouldn't be able to make use of it with its 1 cell close range. And then there is "Reverse Card "Understanding and Injury"" - the most underwhelming final move and bomb in-game. While being multi-hit and homing is quite nice - their multiplier as a whole is 270% of S.ATK at max level - which is low by final attack standards - even Rei-kun's "Rei-kun Beam" has higher multiplier of 280% of ATK at max level and the only damaging final move that has even lower multiplier - is Yabusame Houlen [Chef Form]'s with "Dimension Cutter" - which has 163% of S.ATK at max level; and even with that - it has 85% chance to inflict S.ATK and ATK level 2 debuffs (those are delivered separetly) which gives at least some niche in lower difficulties. "Reverse Card "Understanding and Injury"" also serves as a bomb with cost of 1 - but even by these standards - it's really underwhelming.

  • Tsubakura Enraku [Waiter Form] has "Monochrome Ray of Bizzare Foods" - which on top of having 322% of ATK at max level - has 85% of applying poison - which is more than "Poison Gas" (which has only 60% of applying poison).
  • Yabusame Houlen [Chef Form] - as stated above - has "Dimension Cutter" - which has 163% of S.ATK at max level and has 85% chance to inflict S.ATK and ATK level 2 debuffs (though those debuffs have a separate chance to be afflicted) - which is more than any of the status-debuffing moves (being 50%) that don't even have a chance increase upon leveling.
  • Rei-kun has "Rei-kun Beam"- which is also multi-hit (and even hits more - 40x times), has overall 280% of ATK at max level, and it has a low chance of burning the opponent (4% every hit).
  • And Tenkai [Melon] while not having an offensive bomb - it has a high utility of providing team-wide level 2 buffs towards DEF and S.DEF

Thus - even among 1 cost bomb game they're outclassed. However, in spite of their flaws - they have small niches. Not something that detrimental and game-changing, but still something to make them somewhat useful.

Decent Gold/Metal Ghost killer

Thanks to the multi-hit nature of "Reverse Card "Understanding and Injury"" - it can be useful for killing ghosts. However, even in spite of that genuienly useful (if you're running out of skip tickets) - they're outclassed by other units, mainly Tsubakura Enraku?, Clause, Hooaka and Rei-kun. Plus with downside of having 1 turn charge, there is high chance of ghost that Kuroji targeted dying before they could cast it.

  • Tsubakura Enraku? [EE] has "Monochrome Storm" - a multi-hit (hits 3x times), wide (has 3 cell width) long range (has 6 cell length). With its low charge time of only one turn - it'll easily whittle down ghosts' HP or even kill them, especially with how small the arena is.
  • (Omitted) Clause (Omitted) [EE] has "Thousands Knives" - a multi-hit (hits 5x times), long range attack (has 5 cell length). Unlike "Reverse Card "Understanding and Injury"" - it doesn't have a charge time, as such can be easily spammed by Clause in Daily Stages
  • Rei-kun outclasses Kuroji even in that niche with their skill "Rei-kun Beam", that, as stated prior hits 40x times. While "Reverse Card "Understanding and Injury"" has a medium chance of not killing a ghost - "Rei-kun Beam" will be guaranteed to kill them
  • And Hooaka Shitodo [EE] - who has "Hot and Cold "Samidare Boiler"", a multi-hit (hits 2x times) medium range attack (has 4 cell length). While it seems they're inferior to Clause, thanks to their high luck and decent crit rate - they will proc crits much more often (compared to Clause's laughable 1 luck and 1 crit rate)

And those units would become even more menaces to ghosts thanks to Kuroji's party skill

Good Critical Rate support

This where Kuroji sort of shines, and it's in their crit rate support (+10 Crit Rate on characters who debutted in EE) - and paired with someone like Tsurubami, Kurohebi, Clause in Daily Stages and especially Hooaka will do wonders for them (and securing win in a pinch). There is a small downside of only [EE] characters receiving the buff - but given the only actively offensive character that didn't appear in [EE] is Rei-kun, it's not that detrimental.
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Yet... That's it really - there is only one niche where Kuroji has no competitors (and even then it's middling), while in other niche they have too much competitors. Otherwise they're just a very unfortunate unit. If they were given a wind scaling instead, if only their "Front and Back "Three Traitors"" had an actual range so their low defences wouldn't be that detrimental (of course with lower multiplier, but still) and if only they had their flashbomb back. At least other characters who don't have a flashbomb - make up for it by sheer power - while Kuroji just has nothing. It's trully sad, honestly.

C-0 Tier[edit | edit source]

This is where units are just plain mediocre. They don't have any glaring flaws, yet they don't any strengths either - they just exist. You can use them as a fodder if you don't have enough good units.

Yabusame Houlen [EE] LeCafeUnit Icon Yabusame.png[edit | edit source]

This is your starter unit and usually in gacha games - starter units are just plain: which exactly describes Yabusame. Yabusame is meant to be sort of a tank character - having high defenses and kit to accomodate their purpose AS a tank.
For their original moves they have:

  • Dimensional Detachment - an AoE null attack that also serves as 3 cost bomb and has an overall multiplier of 303% of S.ATK
  • Maiden's Pit - a flashbomb that reduces the damage received by 70% percent and heals 207% of user's S.ATK back (costs 3 FG)

And as for their traits:

  • Baaarrier is an inherent trait that gives Yabusame a level 2 buffs to DEF and S.DEF for 5 turns
  • Flawless Thoughtlessness is a party skill that decreases damage taken by units that have appeared in [EE] (excluding themselves) by 10%

Their kit is quite functional, however

Aside from tank support, Yabusame has nothing substantial to offer

Yabusame is a straightforward character. They're literally meant to tank hits - which adds to their surviviabbility. However - thanks to the nature of the game - that being able to clear stages as fast as possible without any casualties: Yabusame is just, there (and that's why - in spite of Aoji's being also straightforward, Aoji is a great blue nuke). You can't stall out fights, and with Yabusame's flashbomb "Maiden's Pit" - they were meant to do just that. But what about their job in a vacuum? Well...

Has competition amongst other tank units

There are five other units that I would consider "tank" units (since BotC doesn't have a classification system like LW), and they have their own strengths over Yabusame

  • (Omitted) Clause (Omitted) [EE] while having lower DEF and S.DEF - they have higher HP and slight resistances to debuffs and elements alike - while Yabusame has lower HP and no resistances no weaknesses. There is also arguable issue of two's flashbombs. "Floating "G-Free Zero"" has a cost of 2 flashmbomb gauges, while "Maiden's Pit" has a cost of 3, which might prove detrimental in a pinch. "Floating "G-Free Zero"" also has a higher damage reduction of 85% at max level and gives 150% chance to inflict level 2 ATK and S.ATK debuffs to the enemy; while "Maiden's Pit", as mentioned before, reduces the damage received by 70% percent and heals 207% of user's S.ATK back. While Yabusame performs better as a tank, Clause just has much more utility than "tank hits good" due to some niches that they have.
  • Same can be said about Santa Clause. While they're a bit worse version of Clause - they have a risky niche (and that same amusing niche as Clause, but less flexible and everlasting)
  • Yabusame Houlen [Chef Form] is also arguably better at tanking - having more DEF and slightly lower S.DEF. Their "Dimensional Cutter" - while lacking in damage and range - has a utility of debuffing ATK and S.ATK by 2 levels with 85% chance. They also have better movement range without Tsurubami's party skill. They're essentially almost the same - but they have an interesting niche that puts them above.
  • Tenkai [Melon] is just a better tank thanks to their skill "Yubari "Melon Barrier"" and flashbomb "Masked Melon" (that has a low cost of 1 FG) - allowing them to take damage in place of units within their skill areas. Yabusames nor Clauses have a concrete way to aggro enemies - so having substitute skill puts them above all four of them. They also have huge supportive capabilities with their "Oriental Melon "Melopepon"" - that's why they outclass Yabusame.
  • And Rei-kun has high defences and physical offensive capabilities which are even enhanced by their inherent trait. While their inherent trait also lowers their S.DEF - it goes down to 600 (and can be cured by level 2 "Barrier") - which is still formidable. They're just better.

While they can arguably compete with their chef counterpart and Clause's variants - later tank units genuienly outclass them in that regard. However they also have their own little strengths and niches that are much more useful than unit's below them.

A really good slot 4 skill/bomb for early/mid-game

Their skill - "Dimensional Detachment" is genuienly a good move. It's AoE (meaning it'll hit every enemy on the battlefield), null element (not many things resist it), and has solid multiplier of 303% of S.ATK at max level. While Yabusame's S.ATK isn't even that impressive - it still gets the job done and can be used as health whittler so your main attackers will be sure to kill them. Sadly, there is an issue of Tsurubami and their "Crane's Cry "Lamentations of the Crane's Cry"" as it's also an AoE attack, but it's also multi-hit and has higher multiplier of 369% of S.ATK in total. While in bomb department - Tsurubami's better - in bomb-free environment, Yabusame would perform better since "Crane's Cry "Lamentations of the Crane's Cry"" has 3 turn charge time, while "Dimensional Detachment" has 2 turn charge time - which can save you in a pinch.

Ease of customization

Thanks to them only having 4th slot move - they have a much more flexible customisation. In their Back-Issue stages - it's mandatory to have Yabusame - so having 3 free slots is a huge deal for dealing with early stages. And thanks to their customisation they have a rather interesting niche

Solid Support unit

Thanks to their customisation, good surviviabilty and their lackluster offensive stats - they can be retooled into support unit. While Tsurubami's "Attack Command" is quite strong - it has a downside of lasting one turn, which not only burns out Tsurubami's MP, but also allows only to focus on one character only. That's why I reccomend turning them into a support unit - even if buffs are only level 2, they last for 3 turns. The load out I found most effective was this:

  • "Barrier [Lv2]" - for supporting Rei-kun and just giving S.DEF buffs in general
  • "Might [Lv2]" - for supporting Kurohebi
  • "Psycho [Lv2]" - for supporting Aoji/Hooaka (mostly Hooaka, you'll be setting up Aoji as a nuke)
  • And "Dimensional Detachment" is unchanged, it's still a valuable tool in some cases

(Note: order of the first three moves can be interchanged)
Of course, everyone plays differently and this niche isn't "the correct way to play Yabusame" as it leaves Yabusame virtually without any offensive capabilities (Tenkai doesn't have that issue this bad as they have better things to do), which is a bit of a shame.
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But overall, Yabusame is really just a unit that exists and you usually don't use them after getting better units. They don't have any glaring problems like Kuroji, but they don't excell even at the thing they were supposed to do, as such they're C-0 tier.

C-1 Tier[edit | edit source]

These units also suffer from being just way too mediocre and underwhelming for the game. What puts them above C-0 tier is their niches that while could potentially turn the table - it's extremely situational.

Yabusame Houlen [Chef Form] LeCafeUnit Icon Yabusame Chef.png[edit | edit source]

This is one of the first original units added to the game and as seen with their collegue with bad attitude - they're sort of an experimental unit. They're essentially just like Yabusame, but unlike Yabusame - they also have a purpose of debuffing enemies. With their exclusive (and only exclusive move) being:

  • Dimensional Cutter - a meele null attack that has a multiplier of 163% of S.ATK at max level and has 85% chance to inflict S.ATK and ATK level 2 debuffs (they have a separate chance), also serves as 1 cost bomb

And as for their inherent trait:

  • Chef Unbound in Any Direction is a party skill that decreases damage taken by human party members by 5% (except themselves). (their inherent trait is the same, so I'm ommiting that)

Again, they're perfectly serviceable unit like Yabusame, but they have almost the same issues as them (mainly competition and being underwhelming - which hurts for our chef more because they have a lower chance of appearance than base Yabusame) and strengths (mainly customisation), so I'll list their weaknesses and strengths that are exclusive to them.

Lacks any of the offensive prowess

That multiplier of 163% of S.ATK... is not good - in terms of offensive capabilities - "Reverse Card "Understanding and Injury"" just outclasses them. Paired with their low S.ATK of 419 (which is lower than their EE counterpart, who has 527 S.ATK) and slightly higher ATK - Yabusame is useless in UNREAL stages (with exceptions being "Tough Evanescent Existence" and debatedly/partially "Melon" (Yabu, Tsuba and Tsuru can be afflicted with debuffs, but most of the time they'll be under protection of Tenkai - who is immune), excluding minions). Even Yabusame has some offensive capabilities with their "Dimensional Detachment".

Awkward range of the skill/bomb

Another issue with their bomb - it's lackluster range. Their shot distance is one, meaning it's 1 cell length meele attack. While it has great widgth of twenty one cells and usually AI of enemies is set to attacker - it's still an extremely situational move to use - not to mention luck can get against you since you can get wrong debuffs or none at all (at least with their solid defences - they can at least afford going vanguard unlike Kuroji and certain someone else). Speaking of debuffs...

Clause can do the exact thing with more consistency in tough stages

Clause is back at it again, now with their flashbomb "Floating "G-Free Zero"" that gives 150% chance to inflict level 2 ATK and S.ATK debuffs to the enemy - which not only you have GUARANTEED chance to inflict both of the debuffs, but you would also have a higher chance to inflict debuffs to enemies who resist such debuffs. And it's a flashbomb with low cost of 2 FG too, meaning it'll charge up overtime which is good in no-bomb stages. It's also a homing attack - and while it can't affect multiple enemies like "Dimensional Cutter" - it can deliver the debuff towards someone more important, usually bosses. However...

"Dimensional Cutter" is quite spammable in story stages

This is their most important strength - spammability. If you couldn't roll the right debuffs, or you couldn't apply any of them, or their duration has ended - you can just cast it again as a bomb. And the other advantage it has over reliable "Floating "G-Free Zero"" - it can potentially hit a lot of enemies, as such, it can afflict a lot of debuffs - plus with it having high chance at max level of 85% percent (base chance being 65%) it will proc quite often. But, even if it all sounds cool and dandy - there is a bigger issue that plagues Yabusame and other debuff units in general...

Thanks to the introduction of UNREAL difficulty - this unit is mostly outdated

UNREAL difficulty straight up disables debuffs in stages (with some exceptions) - meaning poor debuffers have become obsolete - and Yabusame is hit by this the most. With their lack of offensive presence and their rather awkward range - poor Yabusame might be the worst debuffer and they're virtually useless in UNREAL difficulty.
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While it seems that Chef is worse than base Yabusame thanks to their situational nature - to me, they at least can do something at base level. If Yabusame is left as is, Chef is plainly better thanks to their debuffing capabilities.

Santa Clause LeCafeUnit Icon Santa Clause.png[edit | edit source]

Ah yes, an illegal unit, JynX probably still questions their existence ever since. This is who I call a gimmick character. Those gimmicks are admittedly extremely stupid, yet somehow they make total sense. Santa is just laughably dumb and if not for being a complete joke unit - they would've been oh so deadly and nasty. But at first, let me introduce you to their exclusive move:

  • Nativity "Santa Nova" - is a diamond-shaped (4x4 range) ranged attack that deals 309% of S.ATK and has 30% chance to inflict 2 levels of freeze, also serves as 3 cost bomb

And their inherent traits:

  • Abbreviation of the Holy Night is an inherent trait educes the cast time of [Trick] system and [Water/Ice] element spells by 1
  • Annoying Christmas is a party skill that raises HP and MP of all [Human] party members (except themself) by 8%
Freeze shenanigans

With introduction of Santa - they have brought a new status ailment: Freeze - which makes unit lose a turn. So here's a catch... Their range is huge. Unlike their original counterpart who has circle-shaped attack - they have a diamond-shaped attack, which gives them 25 cell range in total, compared to 21 cell range of OG Clause. Of course, even if their freeze niche sounds extremely nasty - there are some moments to take in mind:

  • They have only 30% percent chance to inflict it, and it isn't increased by leveling up their skill, which flows into two other points.
    • They have a huge charge time of 3 turns (2 turn with their inherent trait) - meaning it'll be REALLY bad if no one would end up being frozen given Santa's low S.ATK, and it's not spammable either since it costs 3 bombs to cast it as a... bomb.
    • There is also an issue of resistances - in stage "Tough Evanescent Existence" where having something like freeze is attractive - there are 3 units that would be unaffected by freeze (Tsubakura?, Hooaka and Aoji), one is resistant (Clause) - which is almost half of the bosses.
  • Given the nature of beta - it's possible that other characters (for example Hooaka [BPoHC]) would take their niche and do it much better (or at least with more spamability).

There are many rather detrimental caveats to their freeze niche, that it is not something you would safely rely on. Otherwise - it would be quite deadly: unfortunately only one unit is weak to their freeze and even god-awful one at that (*cough* Kuroji).

Santa Aoki

You know how potentially broken it is that even the creator of the game themselves acknowledges it. Their inherent trait belongs in "permanent" category - and it has the effect of reducing cast time of "trick" and "blue" attacks by one turn (wording is a bit ambigious though - if blue and trick count or only blue/trick moves get the reduce. Though it doesn't stack - so no nuke spam). As such - they synergize well with Aoji's spells as they have charged attacks - meaning you'll get free "Current Wave "Current Blast"" and 1 turn charge "Shitodo Card "Blue Wind"". However - as JynX stated - Santa's S.ATK is abyssmal, so it's not as viable as you might think: but that doesn't mean you can't do that. "De-Accelerate [LV2]" is extremely situational debuff, which has a 50% chance to miss and can only affect one enemy and not multiple like "Nativity "Santa Nova"" - so at least you can slap "Current Wave "Current Blast"" on them and they can also be used in UNREAL difficulties. Now onto negatives...

Santa Clause is just a worse version of Clause

Ultimately - Santa Clause is a joke unit. At least, Clause has definitive niches, at least Clause's bomb/ultimate move "New Star "Super Nova"" is an amazing offensive move and Clause having better stats overall. Who else got not even chance related stats not even breaking 1.00? So unless you want to screw around - it is adviced to not use Santa in... anywhere really.

Thanks to the introduction of UNREAL difficulty - this unit is mostly outdated

And this is ultimately their biggest flaw - as UNREAL doesn't favor debuff characters. While Santa has an amazing niche of freezing the opponents in "Tough EE" - crippling their offences, again, due to their aforementioned flaw of just not being good offensively - they're just not suited for "beta-meta" that much (though it could change in full version, unless JynX would thanos-snap them for getting in the game illegally)
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As much as I love the innate potential of Santa - they're just not good and are borderline gimmicky. While it can be argued that they should be ranked below Chef given their even much stronger situational nature - freeze is really nasty as a status effect, not to mention they're kind of an unique unit in their own right thanks to cooldown shenanigans. Still, they're more of a gimmick unit who you generally use just to mess around.(also their 30% chance of inflicting freeze might be a reference to JP's Pokemon RG Blizzard as it also has 30% chance of freezing the opponent)

B-0 Tier[edit | edit source]

This is where things get interesting. These units have notable niches that they excel at, but at the end of the day they're generally outclassed by the units above. They can be placed in a team either as a substitute or as a unit with clear role.

(Omitted) Clause (Omitted) [EE] LeCafeUnit Icon Clause.png[edit | edit source]

Rather odd isn't it? A unit who is meant to be a joke is ranked so high. However, there's a simple reason behind their odd ranking - they're quite decent and niches are quite interesting and more practical than their snowy counterpart. But at first, let's look at their kit.
For their original moves they have:

  • Thousand Knives - a five cell long, null element, multi-hit move that hits five times and has an overall multiplier of 265% of ATK
  • New Star "Super Nova" - 2x2 circle-shaped, ranged, black element attack that charges for 3 turns and has a multiplier of 492% of S.ATK (and it has a cost of 3 bombs)
  • G-Free Zero - is a flashbomb that reduces the damage received by 85% percent and has a 150% chance to influct ATK and S.ATK level two debuffs (costs 2 FG)

And as for their traits:

  • Abbreviation is an inherent that reduces the cast time by one for three turns
  • Eternal Senselessness Bearing the Alias of "Chaos" who Manipulates Gravity at Will is a party skill that increases HP and MP of units that appeared in [EE] by 10% (except themselves)

It's actually a really-really solid kit and exudes potential that they even sometimes make use of, so let's start with the positives.

Excellent Metal/Gold Ghost killer

Something that they're really good at is at killing these ghosts. As mentioned above, "Thousand Knives" hits five times and has range of 5 cell in length - making them EXTREMELY good at Daily Stages. And unlike "other unit" they're consistent at their job thanks to "Thousand Knives" not needing any charges and being able to hit more than one enemy (and with support of that "other unit" - they can even crit). Of course - there is an issue of redundancy to this niche given that you can just skip the stages entirely after clearing all stage missions and you'll even get your skip ticket back - but if you are burning away your skip tickets on spell upgrades or Rei-kun's discs - I would say their niche is worth it.

Potentially a solid tank

While Yabusame is better at tanking hits thanks to Maiden's Pit, I would like to bring out their strengths over Yabusame and why you would pick Clause over Yabusame:

  • While having lower defences than Yabusame, they make it up with larger HP pool (and their defences are still solid) and slight resistances to every element (all but Null (10 resistance) have 20 resistance) and debuffs (all 10 resistance) - it allows them to take less damage and have less chances to be afflicted with debuffs.
  • Has arguably a better flashbomb - "G-Free Zero". Unlike "Maiden's Pit" - it has two charges and higher damage reduction percentage (G-FZs' 85% compared to MPs' 70%). And while "Maiden's Pit" is better at surviviability, "G-Free Zero" has a better utility of having a guaranteed chance of inflicting ATK and S.ATK level 2 debuffs on those who don't resist those debuffs (It's not as impactful in UNREAL, but lower FG requirement is huge for general surviviability).
  • As mentioned above, they're excellent metal/ghost killer - so they have more utility as a whole than Yabusame.

However, as mentioned in Yabusame's section, they face a rather fierce competetion. And while in case of Yabusame - I argued they're the worst of the tanks due to how the similar competition was and how other units had utility that they didn't have, with Clause: the issue is that there are genuinely good and reliable tank characters currently in the roster:

  • Tenkai [Melon] has a reliable way of protecting their teammates via substitution thanks to "Yubari "Melon Barrier"" and "Masked Melon". Doesn't help that they have a better utility as a DEF and S.DEF buffer, especially with "Oriental Melon "Melopepon"" that affects the whole team
  • And Rei-kun being Rei-kun who is also a great metal/gold ghost killer

Again, while they're not THE best tank at the game, they're solid, especially when taking in mind that raising Tenkai and Rei-kun is a lot expensive and time consuming.

Abbreviation shenanigans

Now this where things get a bit interesting. Their inherent trait allows them to shorten the cast time by one turn for three turns. While Santa's trait was everlasting, but situational and restrictive - here? It can be potentially more viable. Of course, you wouldn't want to replace their signature moves because they're genuienly good ones, but there is a move called "Ig" which is a homing, red element attack that has a multiplier of 293% of S.ATK takes one turn to charge - which is powerful for a general move. And Clause's inherent trait just deletes the charge time - giving you three free Igs to spam. It all sounds quite amazing, but...

Has no offensive presense

At the end of the day, they're designed to be a joke unit as curse of being JynX's most hated. Their strongest move - "New Star "Super Nova"", which has a whopping multiplier 492% of S.ATk - doesn't see much of a usage thanks to their low S.ATK stat (Not to mention "Thousand Knives" is also solid in both multiplier and range department gets completely dampened by Clause's even lower ATK stat). While it sounds ironic that this is a flaw when Tenkai exists who has none of it, but again - Tenkai just has better things to do and can actively take damage to themselves. It is a shame though as their potential is here, but at least they have some utility in them.
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I would say that Clause is moreso a utility unit than a functional tank. Their flashbomb is good, they're excellent in daily stages and they have a nice surviviability (and can chip-heal their units). But at the end of the day, they're only really useful in daily stages and early-to-mid game - which makes them the definition of niche. Still, I believe they're one of genuienly better S rank units overall - it's just the fact that they're Clause pretty much dampens their capabilities when they could've achieved much more in theory.

Tsubakura Enraku [EE] LeCafeUnit Icon Tsubakura.png[edit | edit source]

This may come off as controversial to some since in grand view of things, Tsubakura can potentially be a good character and they're nice-fitted for their job as we can see by their kit. For their original moves they have:

  • Monochrome Ray - a narrow sniping null attack that also serves as 2 cost bomb and has an overall mutiplier of 347% of S.ATK
  • Vertex Emit - a flashbomb that reduces the damage received by 25% percent and deals 356% of S.ATK of null damage at 4 cell length range (costs 1 FG)

And as for their traits:

  • Flying Swallow is an inherent trait that gives Tsubakura a level 2 buffs to ATK and SPD for 4 turns
  • Loafing Monochrome is a party skill that increases damage dealt by units that have appeared in [EE] (excluding themselves) by 5%

Sadly, they suffer the same problem as Kuroji... On a less painful scale and there are other things that put them this low in my list.

Wrong attack multiplier

Looking at their attacks multiplier, it's quite good! The problem? Tsubakura's kit prioritizes ATK stat first, and their attacking moves scale of off their S.ATK. Their S.ATK is good, just a bit below Aoji's (Tsuba's 713 S.ATK vs Aoji's 731 S.ATK), but Tsubakura would really use actually correct multiplier of ATK as their ATK stat is 891, only being outclassed by Rei-kun. The reason why their flaw isn't as painful as Kuroji's is because:

  1. Unlike Kuroji, Tsubakura is a good unit that in general despite of wrong multipliers and can still dish out massive damage and hit multiple enemies, rather having one cell range.
  2. Their S.ATK/ATK multiplier isn't as detrimental to damage output - it only just means they're worse S.ATK-er not that they're the worse unit who can't reach their potential without huge investments. Tsubakura is still extremely good ATK-er and many ATK reliant moves are also pretty good and more common, not unlike Kuroji's options of having "Dark 'Karate Punch'" and a literal utility move.
Their "glass cannon" nature can be detrimental to them

The way how mission system works and general physical attacks being only 1 cell long - you really need to support them with defensive buffs or have Tenkai substitute them. They have DEF stat of 463 - the lowest between other S-rank units, and while their S.DEF isn't the worst (Tsurubami and Kuroji have it worse), it's still very low especially when paired with their low HP pool. They're meant to take down things quickly as possible, but if they fail at that - good luck having barely alive or dead Tsubakura on your hands - which isn't ideal (only exception to "No unit loss" rule is "Tough Evanescent Existence". But if Tsubakura survives...

EXTREMELY GOOD movement range and unparalleled speed

Tsubakura has the highest movement range in-game - level 5. And paired with Tsurubami - Tsubakura can move anywhere in the field, not counting any obstacles. If Tsubakura survives, with their unmatched speed and range, they can easily flee into the rearguard - where they don't have to worry about being damaged again. Essentially they're a preemptive attacker - where their job is to deliver big slap to the enemy's face and just go away - either becoming a sniper or just chilling, maybe receiving heals from Hooaka (but that's another story). Speaking of their sniping capabilities...

Solid sniper

If you're not using Tsubakura as preemptive attacker - their "glass cannon nature" issue can become obsolete (not say it will, as there is "Abrasive Jet" and "Ig" to worry about). Their "Monochrome Ray" is basically their deadliest calibre - aim at your opponent, load it in (and assume that enemy just won't go stupid and go off of the attack's range) and boom, your enemy has lost a formidable chunk of HP. There is also pre bulit-in "Abrasive Jet" that gives them more consistent way of sniping opponents (while having less range and damage than "Monochrome Ray", "Abrasive Jet" is already too good for being a general move), that way if your Tsubakura got injured, you can just place them faraway without losing too much of an offensive momentum. You could argue that Aoji can become their competitor due to their "Current Wave "Current Blast"" just being a cooler "Monochrome Ray" both technically and visually - Aoji has better things to do as a nuke - so Tsubakura doesn't face that much of a fierce competition unlike Yabusame.

Ease of customisation

They essentially have the same strength as Yabusame, and while Yabusame could use it as a way to become a unit - thanks to Tsubakura's iffensive capabilities - they have more options. From my own experience, I would reccomend...

  • Thunder God Sword/Gensokick - They're essentially the same moves, both having only one cell range and high damage multipliers of 345% ATK at max level, it's only elemental difference (and their ranged attacks are also mirrors of eachother...). Great for eliminating threats and dealing damage in gemeral. It really depends on a situation whether one is useful than the other.
  • Crimson Lotus Sword - A 3 cell wide attack that hits two times and has overall mutliplier of 268% of ATK. Can be used for wider field coverage and a chance to crit.
  • Abrasive Jet - For sniping capabilities
  • And Monochrome Ray is unchanged.
Low cost on flashbomb

And it's exactly how it says on the tin - their flashbomb "Vertex Emit" has a low-low cost of only one flashbomb gauge, which is a steal. While it has the lowest damage reduction of 25%, it still reduces the damage taken by Tsubakura and it has a high multiplier of 356% of S.ATK (which ironically higher than "Monochrome Ray"'s). It's a solid flashbomb overall, all things considered.
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Overall they're a solid unit, especially early-to-mid game, but it just sucks that they're handicapped by their weaknesses - they would've been an extremely dangereous ranged attacker if not for "ironic game design". I would say they're Kuroji - but better and less problematic overall.

B-1 Tier[edit | edit source]

These units while better than the ones below them by either having better stats or have valuable niches and being good as a standalone unit, they're still vastly outclassed by units above them. They can also be placed in a team as a substitute or to fill a certain niche that they excel at.

Tsubakura Enraku [Waiter Form] LeCafeUnit Icon Tsubakura Waiter.png[edit | edit source]

This is one of the first original units added to the game and as seen with their collegue with no bounds - they're sort of an experimental unit. They're essentially just like Tsubakura, with added bonus of being a glassier cannon and being a poison applier. With their exclusive (and only exclusive move) being:

  • Monochrome Ray of Bizzare Foods - a four cell long, null element, move that has 85% chance of applying poison for 3 turns and has a multiplier of 322% of ATK, also serves as 1 cost bomb

And as for their inherent traits:

  • Here, sorry 'bout the wait is an inherent trait that gives Waiter a level 3 buff to ATK and level 1 SPD for 3 turns
  • Waiter With a Bad Attitude is a party skill that increases damage dealt by human units (excluding themselves) by 3%

Hm? What's that? Why waiter is ranked high, especially compared to their colleague and counterpart? Well...

Actually correct multiplier (and overall potent offensive capabilities)

The biggest issue that Tsubakura has is not being able to hit their potential with their base kit - Waiter doesn't have this problem thanks to "Monochrome Ray of Bizzare Foods". While its range and multiplier is lower than Tsubakura's, it still can get the job done. It isn't close range and it has ATK multiplier, rather S.ATK and with their ATK is raised by 3 levels thanks to their inherent trait. They have much more access to their true potential and they don't have to be buffed by Tsurubami's "Attack Command" which is nice since you can focus on other characters to bring out their true damage potential. Overall nice physical attacker.

Can work as a standalone unit, surviving the UNREAL debuff purge

What made Chef and Santa lose relevancy is UNREAL disabling debuff play - and given they inherently have low damage, they pretty much fell compared to base and future units. However, thanks to Waiter having actual offensive capabilities, they still can be used in UNREAL stages - even replacing Tsubakura in some cases. However, their debuff that they're specialise in is also the most useful of them all.

Excellent poison applicator

From five currently available debuffs (aside from stat debuffs) - Poison is the most reliable and practical debuff in the game. It delivers about 10% of enemy's HP and it helps you to deal additional damage to especially bulky enemies - such as Clause or Tsurubami. And with "Monochrome Ray of Bizzare Foods" being an excellent Poison applicator (having 85% chance at max level) and its low cost of only one bomb, they can replace "Poison Gas" with its measely 60% chance of afflicting poison. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you accumulatedn Probability Manipulation points - Waiter isn't a bad pick (though there are units who have higher priority). However even with their strengths of being a poison applicant and as a physical attacker - there are flaws that keeps them from being a great unit.

Ultimately a glass canon

This is largely subjective negative on my part - but they're still quite frail. While "MRoBF" is their best tool for dealing damage, other physical moves are usually 1 cell length - which isn't ideal for Waiter. So unless you got a DEF/S.DEF buffer on your team (e.g. Tenkai/X-Mas Ghost) or healer (e.g. Clause/Yabusame/X-Mas Ghost), you do need to keep their surviviability in mind.

Quite an expensive character

And this where we get to the most problematic flaw. Given that they were a first limited unit, sharing "banner" with Chef - it was a matter of luck if you're gonna get those units. While now they're made more accessible thanks to them appearing in standard gacha along with Chef, Santa and X-Ghosts with lower chance and also being in Probability Manipulation Gacha: acquiring and let alone raising them still will be expensive. Spending at most 53,000 Ink Gems to get them at guarantee is genuienly expensive and even if you get them by pure chance, again - farming S discs is pure pain and it will take 2 months MINIMUM (at fully optimised farming cycle), not counting beating Tough Stages. There is also an issue of Tenkai, who is not available in standard gacha and only obtainable from PMG and comparing those two by their viability and practicality - it's better to get Tenkai first as they're Tank/Buffer who is more suited for UNREAL rather than Waiter. That is unfortunately a harsh reality when it comes to our Waiter, hence why they're in B-1 tier.
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Ultimately, while they could've been genuienly good unit as they outclass Chef and Santa both stat wise and utility wise, unfortunately with introduction of UNREAL difficulty which doesn't allow debuff-play, new S rank units (Tenkai and Rei-kun) and overall still facing competition from other DPS characters - they just can't break the ceiling. If you do get them early in the game by pure luck - they will turn some of the tougher fights much-MUCH easier.

B-2 Tier[edit | edit source]

This a tier where genuienly good units are placed who can be placed in a team with much more confidence. They have nice offensive capabilities and/or have a solid utility in battle. The reason why these units aren't ranked higher? They're either outclassed by sheer damage or don't have as much utility as A-tier units.

Tsubakura Enraku? [EE] LeCafeUnit Icon Fake Tsubakura.png[edit | edit source]

Now that's what I call a great unit! Somewhere along the development they got an ATK stat buff, and unlike Realbakura's S.ATK buff which only made to make them more viable with their S.ATK-centric spell kit, Fakebakura's buff flows smoothly with them, but at first let's look at their kit itself.
For their original moves they have:

  • Clarity Card "Ink and Silver" - five cell length ranged move that deals 293% of ATK
  • Monochrome Storm - 3x6 cell, multi-hit (3x), null element, ranged, one-charge move that deals 105% of ATK each hit, dealing 315% of ATK overall and has a cost of 3 bombs
  • Blackout - a homing flashbomb that reduces the damage received by 20% percent and deals 359% of ATK of null damage (costs 3 FG)

And as for their traits:

  • The One who Harvests is an inherent trait that gives Fakebakura a level 2 buffs to ATK and S.ATK and level 1 buff to SPD for 4 turns
  • Loafing Monochrome (Bizarre) is a party skill that increases ATK, S.ATK, DEF, S.DEF & SPD of party members with an appearance in [EE] by 5% (except themself)

This a solid load-out that serves to support their team, fitting for Tsurubami in disguise. But let's take a closer look on why they're that good.

Excellent crowd control (and "Monochrome Storm" just being great in general)

In stages where there are plenty of (powerful) enemies, such as "Tough [EE]" - Fakebakura is an excellent choice to deal with them. "Monochrome Storm" not only has a nice range, it also requires one turn charge - which makes already good unit even that monstrous as it allows them to not only weaken multiple opponents, it can also outright kill enemies if they were damaged prior to their launch. Plus it has a bonus of being multi-hit, which not only has a higher chance to proc a crit, but also is an incredible tool to deal against daily stages. Overall a great move to assist your teams, especially on Hex/Overkill stages.

Solid attacker

Don't think that "Monochrome Storm" is their only tool to deal with their opponents. "Clarity Card "Ink and Silver"" is surprisingly good offensive ranged attack that can deal with remains of enemies (and well being ranged is always great). And "Blackout" is a nice flashbomb that can help mitigate some of the damage and in return have a homing null attack as a counter. Generally can hold their own in a team and quite adaptable.

Incredible passive support

Fakebakura possesses one of the best, if not the best party skill in the entire - "Loafing Monochrome (Bizarre)", increasing offensive, defensive and speed stats by 5%, which improves overall team performance. Of course, it will be only be applicable to [EE] cast - but looking at the vacuum of beta version - it's majority of the cast and [EE] units still hold their own to warant a support. However, at the end of the day - they're a party support character which does come with unfortunate side-effects that doesn't let them to break the B ceiling.

Really requires to be in Hex/Overkill teams to be effective

Again, thanks to the nature of the game of beating stages in less amount of turns as possible without losses - Fakebakura faces a tricky situation, especially when you have a sufficient number of S rank units.

  • Duel teams are no questions, you must bring the best of the best damage dealing characters like Rei-kun or Hooaka.
  • Double teams require at least one damage dealer and one active support. Two supports won't bring you anything substantial and you can run all offense if you fancy it.
  • Delta teams face the similar issue, this time you'll definetely need one active support and two attackers or all out attackers to work, two supports can work, but under the assumption that they're active supports and buff character's seperate stats.
  • Quartet teams are quite tricky and can potentially use Fakebakura, however it has a huge caveat. You'll always use Tsurubami, that's a given, so you have three slots. Depending on the circumstances you might find a combination where Fakebakura can find place in, but it usually involves 1 active support and 3 dps or something like that.
  • Hex teams are much more suited for Fakebakura - given that they can buff even more units. However, as stated before, it depends on your team needs - so you may encounter scenarios where Fakebakura is less than desireable unit to use.

They're a party player in nature, however there is another thing that keeps them in B-tier bracket...

Generally outclassed

And this is perhaps their biggest issue - while they're extremely good... They tend to be outclassed and from both sides too as they either:

  • Don't hit as hard as the units above, such as Kurohebi who is a great boss killer or Aoji who is a destructive nuke. Again, they're solid attacker - but they're meant to weaken opponents with "Monochrome Storm" and chip with "Clarity Card "Ink and Silver"".
  • Aren't as potent in Support department like Tsurubami who is a great DPS enabler or Tenkai who is a party-wide DEF/S.DEF provider. While their party skill is absolutely amazing - you do wish they could've offered more than that.

They're not bad, unlike Kuroji they actually have a lot of utility with them and their stats aren't down disgusting - but the units above them are just that good.
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Suffice to say, Fakebakura is a gatekeeper character. Those who are below them is questionable, while others who are above are quite good and must-haves in your team. And now, we can finally move onto A tier: where other half of units are.

A-0 Tier[edit | edit source]

This is the tier where you can find solid units with clear roles. While they might be not as necessary as units above, they can be confidently placed as a substitute and they're the ones who you want to keep in mind when building a team.

Tenkai [Melon] LeCafeUnit Icon Tenkai MELON.png[edit | edit source]

Now this is a unit that I underestimated when they first released. At first I thought that they would be an average unit, someone who wouldn't be that useful due to their defensive nature - however they're much more interesting than that due to their unique gameplay and I would say their defensive nature actually makes them better. But let's take a look at their unique kit:
For their original moves they have:

  • Yubari "Melon Barrier" - Substitute move that takes damage in place of party members within the spell area (3 cell wide in front).
  • Oriental Melon "Melopepon" - an AoE move that heals 68% of S.ATK, buffing DEF and S.DEF by two levels and has a cost of 1 bomb
  • Masked Melon - Substitute flashbomb that reduces the damage received by 80% percent and summons a field that takes damage in place of party members within the spell area (1 cell radius around Tenkai (8 cells total))*, has a cost of 1 FG

And as for their traits:

  • Flying Melon of Terror is an inherent trait that gives Tenkai a level 2 buffs to DEF and S.DEF for 10 turns
  • Melons are Tasty! is a party skill that increases all party members' by 10% HP. (except themself)

As you can see - their kit is inoffensive. What would be normally useless character in any other gacha/rpg game - they have incredibly useful utility as an aggro/buffer. However, there are massive caveats that hold them back significantly from being A-2 in my eyes. But at first let's get into their good traits.

Oriental Melon "Melopepon" and generally great supportive capabilities

This move is arguably THE best move in the game due to how potent it is. Currently, support units can buff one unit at a time: and while level 2 buffs last for 3 turns, giving you time to buff at most 3-4 units - the best supporter has to constantly focus on one unit to give them level 3 buffs on ATK and S.ATK. Tenkai however can buff your ENTIRE team with level 2 DEF and S.DEF buffs, which is insane - especially in Overkill teams as it improves your surviviability, which is important in BotC. Having only one turn charge and one bomb cost - it's surprisingly pretty cheap for what it provides as it can be easily replenished. And if you want - you can still buff other units with Barrier [LV2] and Shell [LV2] (Rei-kun in particular) for more active gameplay in case of Melopepon being redundant. Overall extremely potent move which makes Tenkai quite terrifying as a support unit - almost on par with Tsurubami (which is pretty fitting, I suppose).

Has a reliable "aggro"

The main issue for tanks that are meant to tank damage (and not withstanding damage while hitting hard like Kurohebi or Rei-kun) is that they have no reliable aggro, as enemies are likely to hit weaker units first - which makes their addition to the team virtually useless. Tenkai however has a useful tool that allows the to draw damage to themselves - "Yubari "Melon Barrier"". It's a substitute move that takes damage in place of party members (maximum of 3), meaning you can slap them behind your glass cannon's backs (such as Tsubakura) and you're good to go (as a side note, back then you had to be extremely lucky to have them near desired unit - luckily battle formation update made them even better). It lasts for one turn, but it makes up for it by having extremely cheap cost of 40 MP (26 MP at max level) - thus giving 22/34 barriers. They really have better things to do rather than being an offensive unit - which actually helps a lot in defining their purpose.

Party-wide party skill

Normally, I don't bring up party skills because they can be extremely situational (such as Aoji's party skill that boosts the damage of trick spells that appeared in EE - which mind you, only two S-rank have spells like that and they're not offensive-oriented units), but with Tenkai? Regardless of appearance or race - everyone gets 10% HP bonus! This is just a neat little bonus that stacks on top of other HP buffing party-skills (Clause's and Santa Clause's) - which is quite versatile. Genuienly a nice party skill worth keeping in mind when building a team.

Long-lasting Inherent Trait

"Flying Melon of Terror" by itself is just a copy of "Baaarrier" since they buff S.DEF and DEF by two levels - but this inherent trait has a duration of 10 turns. While usually battles are typically short - taking 3-4 turns to beat, you could use some longevity in case of battle going for a bit longer (this is different from Yabusame, who is designed to be a stall unit, which isn't ideal for BotC)
While Tenkai is an amazing tank/support unit (and in my personal opinion - the best designed unit in the game in terms of gameplay (AND character design)) - there are a LOT of caveats that dampen not only their ranking in the tier list, but usage as well.

No offensive capabilities

Something that you will notice while looking at their stats is their low offensive stats. Normally - it would be a huge detriment to the unit, especially in this game where you need to beat stages as fast as possible - heck, some characters do have this as a negative. However, I think what separates Tenkai from other low-offense characters is:

  • The way how game works

To bring up the "Hey-Those-Games-Are-Different-But-Not-Really" example: in Touhou Lost Word - characters can buff/debuff (and most of them are team wide buffs nowadays) and attack at the same turn and some cards/attacks provide buffs to the character or their team. This leads to a situation where character must accomplish everything to be viable (e.g. Beach Yukari). However, at least in beta, characters can't do these things at the same time.

  1. While characters CAN attack and debuff at the same time as a result of their attack - debuffs are not guaranteed, not to mention outright DISABLED in UNREAL difficulty. The only attack where enemy is guaranteed to receive a debuff without any prior weaknesses/resistances is "G-Free Zero" and even then this is a counter debuff move than anything.
  2. The way buffs are handled is that they're LIMITED to buffing moves which take turns. That way - character might face a dilemma whether it should play a supportive role or an offensive role. Not to mention that you buff one character at a time for the most part, meaning you face a dilemma whether to use buff or attack.

While it's uncertain as to how would full version handle the buffs - in beta setting, support character don't have to be offensive juggernauts and if they are - there's an opportunity cost on losing DPS. Given that Tenkai can't provide offense to your team - it's a no-brainer to make them your main support. Not to mention, "Yubari "Melon Barrier"" lasts for one turn - giving them an active role as a supportive tank. That's why it's not really a flaw of theirs, it's something that you need to keep in mind - you should use them as a support character and not as some poorly executed offense character that accomplishes nothing. But now unto their real flaws...

Barriers are broken (in a bad way)

While the idea of Tenkai - the character that redirects all the damage to themselves - sounds like a great idea for a great character: the execution is pretty much BotC'ed. And that really comes down to a janky programming because if you put three characters in front of Tenkai and cast "Yubari "Melon Barrier"" on them - you essentially give Tenkai FOUR hitboxes - and boy would the AI exploit the ever living crap out of it. To give an example: "Monochrome Storm" by itself deals 315% of ATK to a single character - sounds already impressive - but with Tenkai having four hitboxes... They essentially receive 1260% of ATK... And if we're talking "Masked Melon" it'll be 2835% of ATK! Oh! And here's one better: remember the asterisk I put near the description of this flashbomb? Well, "Masked Melon" doesn't even work. Sounds insane, but it's true! I tested it myself multiple times to see if my eyes didn't deceive me - and it turns our that "Masked Melon" has the range of "Yubari "Melon Barrier""! So, uhh... keep that in mind when you're using Tenkai - because AI is quite smart about Tenkai's weakneases. Aggro is nice - but it's really flawed. Speaking of flawed defenses.

Spirit/Illusion weakness

Tenkai has one slight resistance against Water/Ice (which is to be fair is quite nice), but they have a crippling weakness towards one of the best elements in the game - Spirit/Illusion. This element while rare - has both good meele coverage in "Gensokick" and range coverage "Proton Gun" - which makes Tenkai quite vulnearable as: a) "Gensokick" has the highest multiplier of all base moves, and b) "Proton Gun" can pretty much hit two Tenkai hitboxes. What made Yabusame and Clause remarkable as tanks is that they're neutral towards all elements - which aids them in their purpose as they receive moderate amounts of damage - something that Tenkai can't brag about unfortunately. You really wish that Tenkai didn't had any weakneases as it serves as a huge crack in their defenses.

Slow speed

Speed is one of the important aspects in BotC's combat system and typically you want to have your heavy attackers and your best healers to be on a lower end of the spectrum - while you want your supporters to go first to provide buffs for the team. Unfortunately, while Tenkai is a great support with the busted 1-turn charge move - their speed is genuienly lacking. You would not only be pretty much late putting your barriers to defend your fragile units, but also be late at putting buffs as well. While "Oriental Melon "Melopepon"" will pay off the wait - you can't afford your glass canons die due to a random critical attack.

Extremely expensive to get and raise

And this is their unfortunate flaw. Since they're from limited banner, not everyone got them. And this would've been fine, as characters from previous limited banners also appeared in the standard gacha, albeit with lower chances (0.1% to be exact), Tenkai didn't receive them - meaning the only way you can get them is either by beating "Melon" (which only nets you ten pulls) and though Probability Manipulation machine, and since it costs 53,000 ink gems to get them guaranteed - it's a huge investment. And that's just to get them. Not mention the grind to get them to DEPTH 4 (which takes 2 months at minimum). Sure they ARE worth the the effort, but it requires a massive dedication.
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Phew, what a character. While I like the idea behind Tenkai and I can give props to JynX for going more into "specific role" kind of direction with that character - the execution is pretty much handled poorly when it comes to actual aggro. Still, despite their flaws - they're a great defensive support that you should definitely pair with "someone else".

Ghosts [X'Mas] LeCafeUnit Icon Ghost Xmas.png[edit | edit source]

While I did say we're ranking S rank units, Ghosts are a unique sort given that they were released alongside Santa. And while Santa is extremely situational at very best, Ghosts are actually quite functional and often overlooked due to their A-Rank status. Let's take a look at their kit:
For their original moves they have:

  • Noel Heal - A healing move that heals 105% of S.ATK in cross-shaped area (1x1).

And as for their traits:

  • S. ATK +10% - Self explanatory

At first glance, this kit feels underwhelming, but like Tenkai below (or above if you're reading that page), it's the matter of executing your job right - and boy dp they deliver.

Noel Heal

Another great skill that a unit can have. Not only it outclasses "Petite Heal" by having a better multiplier that suprasses 100%, but it's range is extremely useful. Not only you would healing four units maximum, but also yourself. This is the huge advantage that Ghosts have over other units as in beta, healing is REALLY niche and they're one of only two units that can manage that. With that you can tackle some tough stages as well, such as tough Kurohebi

Just an A-Rank

Again, despite their excellence at their useful niche as a healer, being an A-Rank unit does damper your viability a little as you have less stats overall (despite having no fixed unit strentgh, hell, Aoji (5048) has a bit less unit strentgh than Ghosts'(5050)). Coupled that if you're going to replace "Steam Blast Eruption" with "Noel Heal" in Hooaka, it makes Ghosts a tad redundant as healing is reliant on S.ATK (though it should be noted Ghost has the advantage of having a higher speed)

Quite expensive/rare

Since Ghosts came with Santa in a limited banner, not many have them. While they're in standard banner now, the chances are low. The consolation prize however is that because they're A-rank, it's way more easier to get them to DEPTH 4 than other limited units
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While this section is quite short, it goes to show that you don't have to be complex to net a high placement. They have one job and they do it excellently.

A-1 Tier[edit | edit source]

This is the tier where you can premiers at their job. They're essentially THE golden standard for units to follow if they want to see some usage. Unlike units below them, you actually want them to be present in majority of team comps as they provide great value to the team.

Aoji Shitodo [EE] LeCafeUnit Icon Aoji.png[edit | edit source]

And another unit that proves that the real beauty shines in simplicity. Aoji has only one attacking (and viable) element - Water/Ice. While usually many great units shine with coverage moves (such as "Crimson Lotus Sword" on both Kurohebi and Rei-kun), Aoji doesn't need that as their kit entirely dedicated to Water/Ice moves and I would say that they're an example of specialist done correctly and is the first member of the "Big Four" of the beta:
For their original moves they have:

  • Current Wave "Current Blast" - a narrow, one-charge sniping blue attack and has an overall mutiplier of 380% of S.ATK
  • Shitodo Card "Blue Wind" - 2x2 circle-shaped, ranged, blue element attack that charges for 2 turns and has a multiplier of 410% of S.ATK (and it has a cost of 3 bombs)

And as for their traits:

  • Protection by the Deep Ones is an inherent trait that increases Water/Ice damage by 5% & decrease MP consumption of Water/Ice skills by 20%
  • Weak-Willed Youngest Child is a party skill that increases trick damage dealt by party members who appeared in [EE] by 10%. (except themself)

Again, their kit is extremely simple, and it doesn't need to be flashy to be effective, so let's go over their pros and cons

Enabler of set-up play

This is what I consider their best trait. Normally, having two charge move is extremely detrimental, either because it's too risky (Hooaka) or doesn't justify the wait time (Yabusame): Aoji however proves this notion to be false and manages to be excellent BECAUSE of their 2 turn charge move. While they don't outdamage the likes of Kurohebi or Hooaka, they make up for it by sheer splashability of their attack; as such they're a great pick for stages that have multiple dangerous threats ahead (such as Christmas Frontlines or Tough EE). Their sniping skill is less relevant, but it is a nice tool to have in early game since it's a better "Monochrome Ray" in every aspect.

Great source of mass Water/Ice damage

And another thing that makes Aoji so valuable. While Hooaka is generally much more prefered due to their access to not only to Water/Ice, but also Fire/Flames - another great and valuable element; Aoji stands out due to their splashability. In fact, it's thanks to their splashability that they're notable for beating "April Fools" stage, being a valuable back-up asset in "Tough EE" stage and only viable option for quickly getting rid of ghosts in "Christmas Frontlines".

Excellent Late-Stage Sweeper

Regarding splashability, Aoji is the best bomber when it comes to sheer range and damage. The immediate 410% S.ATK multiplier which is further supported with Aoji's many perks coupled with their great range makes them a mandatory pick for late portions of Back Issues as you would have more slots and more enemies. Sure, while you can only use it once per stage thanks to its 3-bomb cost, in terms of THAT meta specifically - Aoji is undoubtedly the best unit who can utilise them, as many units that use those bombs either have underwhelming damage output (Yabusame, Tsurubami) or just suck (Hooaka). If you want a quick buck on UNREAL stages or just haven't cleared them, Aoji is the best choice.

Only gets useful if you plan to play long-term

And that's where the big issue with Aoji comes into play as their kit is pretty much charge-based. While it gets good at the late-game where you're clearing Tough Stages where multiple enemies are quite common; in early-to-mid game they HARDLY have any use whatsoever due to how fast-paced it is and due to much better alternative nukes like Yabusame or Tsurubami thanks to their AoE properties, even if they outclass them when it comes to Back-Issue UNREAL content. While the good news is that Yabusame and Tsurubami fall off really hard in that department later on, it'll take a while until you find a genuine use for Aoji.
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While their section even shorter, it doesn't matter as Aoji is a solid unit in general, and beginning with them, units tend to have more situational flaws that instead of letting them down, they merely hold back unit's cracked potential.

Kurohebi [EE] LeCafeUnit Icon Kurohebi.png[edit | edit source]

Now we get from "fairly situational units" to the units you'll definetely see in clear comps. Kurohebi is a type of unit that just... Has everything it could want from the game without being too daunting. Nice HP pool, formidabble ATK stat of 766, defences reaching 600+ (which is a lot compared to other damage dealers), nice SPD bracket and MOV stat of 3, which is considered good enough for mobility; as such is the second member of the "Big Four". But, having good stats is a one piece of the puzzle of mystery as to why Kurohebi is such a solid character overall, so let's take a peek at their kit, shall we?
For their original moves they have:

  • Blind Shot - a three-cell long, black attack that has a 50% chance to blind the opponents and has an overall mutiplier of 246% of ATK.
  • Cut Card "Slit Snake" - a four-cell, green element attack that charges for 1 turn and has a multiplier of 420% of ATK (and it has a cost of 2 bombs)

And as for their traits:

  • Assassination is an inherent trait that increases damage done to the humans by 10%, and an additional 15% increase to Tsubakura Enraku-like units.
  • Strong-Willed Shadow is a party skill that increases slash damage dealt by party members who appeared in [EE] by 10%. (except themself)

While at glance it may seem your regular kit, it's thanks to how kit is functioning - Kurohebi becomes an ideal unit, it's almost as if the stars alligned just for them as it hits almost everyone in Beta version.

Jack of All Stats

Surprisingly enough, Kurohebi has all around great stats across the board, considering that units before them were either specialists (Tsubakura being a Speedy Glass Cannon and Clause being a Stone Wall) or their stats being not that high (such as Tsurubami having relatively low stats... and the other person named "Kuro"). Let's dissect all their relevant stats to see what makes them great.

  1. Their ATK stat is 766. While they're not Tsubakura's or Rei-kun's highs, it is 3rd highest ATK stat in the whole game and it shows. Coupled with their relatively high speed that doesn't override Tsurubami's (who is an essential unit) and high bulk - they're overall an extremely good physical attacker and your usual go-to option FOR physical attacker
  2. Their defensive stats are: HP of 2486, DEF of 661 and S.DEF 604. Their DEF and S.DEF while at first glance don't look that remarkable, when compared to others who are not tanks, their stats are usually at 500+, if not lower; so Kurohebi in actuality becomes pretty bulky (especially with +2 DEF buff from ZBCs since they would be in the frontlines). Their HP stat also compliments this as their HP is only suprassed by Yabusames and Clauses, who, as we established early, are not great in the battlefield. Their staying power is surprisingly pretty solid
  3. Their SPD stat is 647 and their MOV is 3. Their speed is located in a comfortable position where it not only normally outspeeds a lot of threats (which is not the case for someone like Hooaka), but as mentioned before, is slower than Tsurubami's speed bracket of 703 - which allows them to be buffed by Tsurubami to +3. Speed is pretty important in BotC's battle gameloop, so having a character who can deal with the enemies before the they even attack is great. Not to mention their MOV stat of 3 is on great territory and is even boosted further by Tsurubami's party skill, meaning they're pretty flexible when it comes to movement opportunities

Their only middling stat is S.ATK, which is extremely inconsequential as they don't get too much mileage out of it anyway due to rather poor coverage. Speaking of which

Bane of Humanity

This is another thing that makes Kurohebi pretty scary - they're quite effective AGAINST humans (combined with their DEPTH perks and Inherent Trait, their damage against humans is increased by 30%), and let me bring up a little thing: virtually every boss unit in the game is a human. That means that they're exceptionally high-value in boss battles, ESPECIALLY in story mode where they can spam "Slit Sanke" to their heart's content. And shout-outs to "Tsubakura Enraku-like enemies" bonus which makes Fakebakura's bossfight a complete joke due to the added bonus of 15% (45% damage increase + super-effective element). The only problematic matchup is Rei-kun, but that doesn't detract from the fact that Kurohebi is a force to be reckoned with.

Impeccable Coverage

And yet another thing that makes Kurohebi that much desireable. From their base elements alone (Wind and Dark), they already cover good chunk of the cast: Hooaka, Aoji and Fakebakura. However we also need to acknowledge their two "free" slots where you can equip "Crimson Lotus Sword" for neutral coverage and effective coverage against Kurohebi and Kuroji, "Thunder God Sword" for Rei-kun and handful of water enemies, and "Gensokick" for Tsurubami and Tenkai. Either way, no one (sans, as established earlier, Rei-kun) is truly safe against Kurohebi. And again, it's thanks to the traits mentioned above it all comes to fruition. But we do have to adress the elephant in the room

Horrible Matchup with Rei-kun

Kurohebi... Can't really deal with Rei-kun in any capacity. Sure, while they have "Thunder God Sword" to put a dent to their defences, Rei-kun is not only a machine (thus losing the +30% damage boost), but also extremely phsysically bulky - and Kurohebi is a physical attacker. While they're bulky, they can't afford being hit by Rei-kun. Sure, while it's not a big deal, two of the major stages: April Fools Day and 1st Beta Anniversary - feature Rei-kun - which makes Kurohebi not an ideal pick.
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Kurohebi is a type of units that don't have any inherent weaknesses. Sure they might have small hiccups here and there, but beyond that - an extremely versatile unit that will serve you well. Who could've thought that a first boss who canonically can't even do their job right would turn out to be a legitimately great character?

A-2 Tier[edit | edit source]

Now we arrive at the summit. These units are typically the best performing in their roles, be it offense or support. They are extremely valuable and are a massive staples of the teams. While there will be units that are even more powerful/versatile; these are generally the units you'll desire the most.

Hooaka Shitodo [EE] LeCafeUnit Icon Hooaka.png[edit | edit source]

Hoo boy, now that's a unit that refuses to be bad. Hooaka was pretty notorious in their playable BPoHC debut where they absolutely shredded the stages with how broken they are. While in BotC they're more or less balanced this time around, they're still extremely powerful and is someone that every player needs to look out for. First, let's take a look at their frankly unique kit that has some properties exclusive to them:
For their original moves they have:

  • Hot and Cold "Samidare Boiler" - a melee, 4-cell long blue and red attack that hits 2 times and has an overall mutiplier of 310% of S.ATK (155% per hit; first hit is Water/Ice, second Fire/Flame)
  • Eruption "Steam-Blast Explosion" - 2x2 circle-shaped, melee, red and blue element attack that charges for 2 turns and has a multiplier of 467% of S.ATK (and it has a cost of 3 bombs; elemental damage applied simultaneously)

And as for their traits:

  • Bipolar is an inherent trait that increases Water/Ice and Fire/Flame damage by 10%
  • Cool-Headed Hot-Heeled Thermal Runaway is a party skill that increases magic damage dealt by party members who appeared in [EE] by 10%. (except themself)

It should be very clear as to why Hooaka is such a powerful unit, as everything they have benefits them greatly and feeds into insane damage output that they have. Let's dissect their strengths to show just how busted Hooaka is in context of BotC.

Plainly Insane Damage Output and Utility

That needs no introduction, with their 801 S.ATK, it is the highest S.ATK in the beta; but that's not all. Their "Samidare Boiler" is nothing short of amazing, while 310% of S.ATK might not sound too amazing, its range is pretty good for keeping Hooaka out of danger, it doesn't require charging, and its most valuable trait is that it's dual-element (in comparison Kurohebi's "Blind Shot" has 246% ATK, and overall it's a bit just worse at every front) that is further boosted by their perks up to +60% damage increase (+30% on Water/Ice and +30% Fire/Flames via their inherent trait and DEPTH bonuses). This makes Hooaka pretty versatile and valuable as a DPS, as even in situation when an enemy is resistant to one of their elements, doesn't they're resistant to the other. Overall it's an extremely powerful tool for Hooaka which they use excellently and something that you'll use a lot.

Best Resistances and Minor Weaknesses

Now this is something that you won't think about all that often, but it is something that makes remarkably good. They resist Water/Ice and Fire/Flame elements, two of the most common attacking types in the game when it comes to the enemies (not to mention the +70 resistance as opposed to regular +50). This makes Hooaka's surviviability surprisingly high, especially for how frail Hooaka is at 2050 HP (which is lowest from all units not counting Tsubakura-likes, including Rei-kun) and defences at 480+, which is pretty low by BotC standards. And their weaknesses are pretty minor as well. Thanks to Hooaka's range, they won't be brushed with Dark/Nether attacks (even with Kurohebi's "Blind Shot" as it has shorter range than "Samidare Boiler") and Light/Holy are rare; the only serious problem they have is their weakness to Poison, but to be fair, Poison is pretty dangerous to everyone who doesn't resist it.

Surprisingly Great Healer

And another surprising benefit to Hooaka is that they're one of the greatest users of "Petite Heal". "Petite Heal"... Is not a great move, as even on the max level it doesn't reach the 100% multiplier, which means you would be healing less than your special stat; not to mention all of the base users of the move have low/middling special attack stat. Hooaka, thanks to their high base S.ATK stat, can somewhat circumvent this issue and they're guaranteed to heal at average around 31% of their health, which is a lot (The highest percentage from base users is is 20% (X'mas Ghosts) and lowest is 16% (Chef Yabusame) within beta). And since Hooaka won't be using any of general S.ATK options that often, that might be a great pick for Hooaka! Though it should be noted that 1&2 Spell Slot variants are only accessible via Yabusame/Clause, but I will assure you it is absolutely worth it. And if you go and replace "Steam-Blast Explosion" with Noel Heal (which, if you have X'mas Ghosts, it is far easier to do), then you have a great healer full stop.

Necessitates Tsurubami Support

While Hooaka has great offensive utility, they do have a need of support from Tsurubami to reach their full potential. Sure, that applies to the rest of the "Big Four" as their inherent traits boost their overall damage output, Hooaka also has an issue of mobility. MOV 2 is low, especially for an active DPS like Hooaka. Luckily, Tsurubami's party skill boosts exactly that and Hooaka can move much more freely around the battlefied. It isn't that detrimental with how mandatory Tsurubami is to the team, but it needs to be noted if the inclusion of Tsurubami isn't necessary or you plainly don't have them, as Hooaka can be pretty clunky without the MOV support.

Eruption "Steam-Blast Explosion" is Horrendous

And now for their only flaw... "Steam-Blast Explosion" is just plain awful and synergises negatively with Hooaka. While that 467% S.ATK multiplier sounds very enticing, it has a cost that renders it totally unusable. First of all, it is melee, and that circle shape essentially boils down to 2-cell length MAX, which invalidates Hooaka's best trait of being ranged attacker and forces them to be on the frontlines to get the best out of that spell's range. And second of all, the most detrimental flaw in that spell's usage is its 2-turn long charge. Coupled with already awful range and you have a vulnerable Hooaka who will die before they'll launch the move as stated previously, Hooaka IS very frail. It is a shame that this move sees virtually no usage outside of niche scenarios where it is used as a bomb (aka. casted immediately).

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If not counting for "Steam-Blast Explosion" being arse, Hooaka is a great unit and in fact one of the best DPS units in the entire game. They don't have many pronounced weaknesses and if they do, they're patched immediately anyway. Overall a high-value unit that should be in around 80% of the comps thanks to their insane damage output.

Tsurubami Senri [EE] LeCafeUnit Icon Tsurubami.png[edit | edit source]

Alright, here we are, the summit of unreality. Tsurubami is the extra stage boss and a final battle of Back Issue of Evanescent Existence of BotC. And as a playable character they're pretty strong, but in oddly unique way and is acknowledged by JynX themselves (as they did recommend using Tsurubami on UNREAL stages in one of the Pixiv FANBOX posts at one point). But let's dissect their kit to have a better understanding of their character and their kit
For their original moves they have:

  • Attack Command - a supporting move that boosts +3 ATK and +3 S.ATK for one turn
  • Myserious Card "Monochrome Bivalence" - 2x2 circle-shaped, melee, null element attack that has a multiplier of 239% of S.ATK
  • Crane's Cry "Lamentations of the Crane's Cry" - an AoE null, multi-hit (3x) attack that also serves as 3 cost bomb and has an overall multiplier of 369% of S.ATK
  • Bird's Eye "Pitch-black Eye" - an AoE null flashbomb that reduces damage received by 15% percent and deals 228% S.ATK of null damage (costs 4 FG)

And as for their traits:

  • Dance is a unique inherent trait that allows Tsurubami to take one more action each turn (can only move)
  • The Inexplicable Hakama is a party skill that increases MOV of party members who appeared in [EE] by 1. (except themself)

As you can see, Tsurubami has a lot of tools, even ones that are unique to them, but they're what I call "an evolving character" - a unit whose job changes depending on a stage of the game you're on - as such they're more complex than what they seem.

Great Asset in Early-game

In early-game, enemies are generally quite frail and weak, but they do make up for it in numbers, and a lot of early-accessible units usually don't have the range to cover most of them. That's when Tsurubami comes in. They have solid offences by virtue of being a S-rank unit (as generally you will be relying on A-D Rank units, such as Tri-Element), having high speed and access to "Mysterious Card "Monochrome Bivalence"", which has a nice range for this point of the game, and the fact that it's instanteneous also helps. Should you get them to DP-1, and you'll unlock their bomb - which is a better version of "Dimesional Detachment" on every front and should allow you to sweep the stages up until the Final Boss of Final Stage (Clause), as it's your first roadblock and a DPS check... Which Tsurubami unfortunately fails. And yeah, you need to keep in mind that while they're great at clearing stages, they're not good of a DPS, ESPECIALLY in mid-to-late game where their offensive capacity is obsolete and by that point you should have access to better DPS units like Kurohebi, who is still an amazing boss sweeper. So what if you already cleared EASY/NORMAL stages and Tsurubami's role as a sweeper became non-existent, if not hindering? Well...

The Best Central Support in Mid-to-Late Game

Tsurubami is the only character that has "Attack Command" as a base and is the only source of that move: and it's pretty strong too - it raises your offenses by +3 (which translates into +30% stat increase) for one turn and it can be done continuously until the MP runs out (which is 6 turns of upkeep at D.100, which is more easier to achieve by virtue of it being a LV2 spell). This is huge, because it allows units to hit higher damage thresholds, which is extremely valuable in late game - and it helps that it's the only source of +3 boosts, as the others either come from traits (such as Rei-kun) or CMs, but that's too RNG-reliant. And while you can run +2 Trailblazer to replace them, you still will be losing out on +10% stat increase can be pretty detrimental

MOV Support

And yet another tool that makes Tsurubami unique and frankly quite valuable as a support. MOV is a stat that determines the range of movement of a unit, and the higher the stat is, the better, as it gives them more flexibility on the field - and it doesn't help that that stat is exponential, meaning difference between MOV 2 and MOV 3 is massive, and so forth. As such, in beta, they're pretty valuable as a provider of it, as the majority of units are from [EE], and many units don't have the highest MOV in the world (there are four units that have MOV 2; two have MOV 3; and two have MOV 4 and above). They synergise the best with Hooaka, who is the most crippled by MOV limitations as a DPS unit and they boast the highest S.ATK in beta; but they can also boost Kurohebi's already solid MOV stat of 3 to make them more agile on the field and granting Tsubakura the ability to straight up teleport around the field.

Has High Surviviability thanks to "Dance" (among other things)

Admittedly, Tsurubami doesn't have the best bulk - in fact they're a pretty frail character, but they make up for it by being a supporting character, meaning they don't have to be in frontlines. And if they need to dodge something or cut the distance - they have "Dance" which allows to take an extra action each turn. Not only that, their elemental weaknesses aren't relevant, as they have massive range advantage since the longest attack only has 5 cells, so outside of small stages, attacks just won't reach them.
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This is a unit that pretty much defined the beta BotC, as they enabled a lot of characters. While their viability will be debated in full version thanks to general powercreep; they're a very interesting character to look at and is generally considered one of the staples. TBA