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Should You Pull? Sister String Duet

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Should You Pull?

10/12 Update: There was a minor error with Yatsuhashi's data, she was mistakenly recorded as having party-wide Accuracy UP each boost, when it's just for her alone. Our apologies for the mistake.

Only if you really like either character. Yatsuhashi is an okay buffer, Benben can do acceptable damage with setup time, and that’s about it. You’re pulling on this banner if you have a particular desire for either character, not for any meta reasons, because they're both kind of weak (though not completely helpless) and also general.

+Decent All-targeting Last Word with Fire and Wood breaks
+Buffs own Yin ATK and debuffs one enemy’s Yin DEF
+At least 5 levels of Accuracy UP to self

-Below average access to elemental breaks; only 2 Wood breaks per spell card
-Little team support outside of Yin DEF debuffs
-1/3/1 scaling on 1/2/3 Spirit Power hurts damage output when farming

+Decent teamwide ATK UP

-Below average Breaks
-Low damage

Benben Tsukumo

The older of the two Tsukumo sisters, Benben Tsukumo originated as a biwa from the Outside World until being swept into the land of Gensokyo. She did not become a youkai immediately upon entering Gensokyo, remaining as a lifeless musical instrument. It took the power of the Miracle Mallet, whose use spread magical power throughout the land and resulted in the creation of Benben and Yatsuhashi. The mallet’s power was unleashed from the inchling Shinmyoumaru Sukuna, who planned to rebel against society and the rule of humans. When that incident was resolved, the Tsukumo sisters discovered an alternative power source to live on once the Miracle Mallet’s power finally ran out. Benben isn’t shy to use the biwa she carries at all times, either for friendly performances or battles of bullets.

With the ability to perform on her own, Benben devotes herself to very speedy showings of her musical talents in LostWord. Three aspects of her kit contribute to raising her Agility, including the two skills Secret Song: Youshinsou and Secret Song: Ryuusen along with her Last Word, Kenjou - Imperial Palace Inferno. Slicing bullets found on her spell cards and Last Word can take advantage of her Agility buffs to make her musical scores even more damaging. Her Last Word especially, which is All-targeting and has a good amount of Energy bullets, can be a useful area of effect Yin-focused attack when needed. Not much setup is required Accuracy-wise, seeing how at least 5 levels of Accuracy UP can be gained from the skills Secret Song: Takuboku and Secret Song: Ryuusen.

Outside of her Last Word, Benben’s spell cards provide some decent utility. Heikyoku: Sounds of Jetavena’s Bell gives 0.75 Spirit Power, which can be used to activate the secondary effects of the bullets on her other attacks. Music Sign: Malicious Musical Score, for instance, can lower one target’s Yin DEF by 1 extra level combined with the initial 2 levels of Yin DEF DOWN at 2 Spirit Power, although unfortunately only at a 50% chance. A Last Word with 3 Spirit Power boost might result in more levels in Agility (albeit only at a 35% chance per level), meaning even more damage will be done by the finishing slicing bullets. Going for effects such as this can be rather costly, especially considering how both her spell cards and Last Word have a 1/3/1 bullet spread for 1/2/3 Spirit Power respectively, meaning it can take a good amount of time to set up without support.

As helpful as decreasing Yin DEF of singular targets may be for Yin attackers, Benben does not provide any other meaningful debuffs for potential team synergies. You can expect her to rush down all of the enemies with a rising performance, but not much else in terms of elemental breaks or support.
 

Yatsuhashi Tsukumo

Yatsuhashi Tsukumo, the Tsukumogami of an Aged Koto, is a pretty simple youkai. She’s what’s known as a tsukumogami youkai - they’re sentient objects, born when an item manages to survive for a hundred years. Typically, at least - she and her sister were born when a magical storm overtook Gensokyo (play Double Dealing Character if you want to learn more!), resulting in the birth of new tsukumogami. At first, she wanted to overthrow society, but now she and her sister simply pass their days playing their instruments. 

Yatsuhashi Tsukumo was once a simple koto. Then, the events of Double Dealing Character occurred, which lead to an amanojaku attempting to invert society with the help of a legendary relic known as the Miracle Mallet. While this failed, the magical backlash from the artifact caused several tools to gain sentience and become what is known as a Tsukumogami - Yatsuhashi and her sister Benben being two of such tsukumogami. At first, they wanted nothing more than to overthrow society, but it’s unknown what their current goals are due to not making any appearances since. Of the two, Yatsuhashi is plucky, energetic, and hot-blooded, and uh - she has the ability to make sound! ...yeah, sorry Yatsuhashi fans, there’s not a lot to talk about here.

In LostWord, Yatsuhashi takes the role of a decent buffer. Her second skill, Kumiuta: Ogi no Kyoku is the primary reason to bring her, as it provides 1 level of Yang and Yin ATK UP for 2 turns, with a 50% chance for 1 more. If you're willing to give her a turn, she can add a further level to both (with a 80% chance for one more) with her All targeting Last Word, Koto Tree Hill - which also has a total of 4 Wood and 2 Sun Breaks at 3 Power, which isn't half bad for an all targeting Last Word. Fnally, she can also - apply 2 layers of Blind to a single foe for 2 turns with her third skill, Kumiuta: Kumoi no Kyoku.

If you stretch further for uses for Yatsuhashi, both spell cards have a below average 1/1/2 Wood Breaks for 0/1/2 Spirit Power, with Koto Sign: Sounds of Anicca's Koto also giving her 1 Spirit Power to help out with the cost. 

Overall though, Yatsuhashi isn’t very impressive, but you can at least get some use out of her if you like her. 

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