Lunge

The distant cousin of Hit and Run, Drag Back and Swap, Lunge is one of the many mobility skills available as a B slot skill. However, the amount of danger it leaves the user can make it an unpopular choice compared to the above. After combat initiated by a unit with Lunge, the two will swap positions, similar to the support skill Swap. This has two effects: It relocates the attacked enemy closer to your team, and puts your unit closer to the enemies. Drag Back is considered a safer method of pulling foes towards your team, but Lunge functions well, and can leave your unit in a position to heavily threaten the opponent’s team. Lunge also effectively grants your unit an extra square of movement space.

If you intend to use Lunge over its more popular brethren, it’s safe to assume that you desire both the “Drag Back” effect as well as the forward movement. Tanks are a unit type with the defensive stats to take hits. While they can survive combat with multiple enemies, armored units lack the mobility required to create offensive opportunities, and often wish to have foes attack them. A sturdy cavalry unit is a decent option. Lunge will boost their great mobility further, and allow them to send foes closer to their team, who might be left behind otherwise. A dancer with Wings of Mercy is a great partner to a Lunge user, they can either give them a second attack round or dance them to safety. If you intend to use this combination, giving your Lunge user Reposition will allow both dancer and Lunge-user to return to relative safety.

Lunge is less popular than skills such as Drag Back for the reason that it usually sends your units into excessive danger. Being a coveted B slot skill, there is a significant opportunity cost to using Lunge, when you consider that powerful skills such as Quick Riposte, Vantage and Desperation compete for the same skill slot. Facing enemies with Lunge can be tricky, as their movement is unpredictable. The best strategy against a Lunge-user is to keep your team grouped up. That way, you can gang up and KO the user of the skill before they cause serious damage. If a friendly unit is pulled away from the team, this makes it much easier to keep them safe.