Should You Pull?
Oni if you like Yuugi and/or can make sure she is in her element. It was oni last month where we were introduced to both a new Act to Chapter 4 and a new universe of iron and steam, starting with W5 Kasen Ibaraki (Oni Gate Abou Yaksha), and now we are followed by W5 Yuugi Hoshiguma (Oni Gate Abou Rakshasa) via the Azure Dragon Oni Ultra Festival Prayer! Once again, this comes with a Descending Step-UP, and 2 Story Cards, a returning 5★ one and a new 4★ one. So can this Nio-oni channel her inner Azure Dragon to thrive?
Well this Technical-Class Friend likes to excel in both debuffs on enemies and buffs that extend to her allies, which include Yin ATK and CRIT ATK for buffs, and Evasion, Yin DEF and CRIT DEF for debuffs, all accessible from the Skills and Spell Cards in W5 Yuugi’s arsenal. However, just like how W5 Kasen repeatedly increases her Spirit Power for 3 turns, W5 Yuugi repeatedly increases her Barrier Count by 1 for 3 Turns thanks to Skill 3! This on top of the Barriers given to the team with a Spell Card Post-ATK gives W5 Yuugi a sense of flexibility in the Barrier/Grazing field.
What makes the Barrier utility above especially helpful for W5 Yuugi is her ability to increase her own Yin ATK, Yang ATK, CRIT ATK and Accuracy by 1 stage per layer of Burn/Blind inflicted on her. With a Skill and various bullet lines providing the Burn anomalies to keep her offensive buffs up, this on top of her Barrier potential above provides a rather convenient combo when it comes to a layer of self-sufficiency. As for these anomalies onto enemies, Burn ones can be inflicted via both a Skill and Spell Card/Last Word Pre-ATKs, and both Burn and Blind can be broken with her Focus Shot, Spell Card 1 and Last Word.
However, not only does the anomaly breaking require Spirit Power (which while Skill 2 provides a good chunk, that’s it for her outside of Spirit Power support), W5 Yuugi also has difficulties when it comes to offensive damage output, which for Yuugi may be rather ironic. With her Ability providing a massive 45% boost in effective elemental damage, that actually turns out to be what can carry her power, and with a somewhat inconsistent elemental distribution between Earth, Star, Metal and most Wood (which is the most common element), W5 Yuugi may find herself struggling both with Spell Card and Last Word damage (especially compared to others), even with a strong Killer range and with the help of Slice Scaling, it’s a little unfortunate for her really. However, now that we have a certain Relic Friend that can inflict Wood Weakness onto enemies, this could definitely boost W5 Yuugi’s power when she really needs it.
But it’s time to take a little break from this Nio-oni, as we go into Story Card Spotlight! Returning is the 5★ Kasen’s Senkai, which has a long and strong Yang ATK buff and a little Body Bullet Boost. However, entering the Story Card Stage is the 4★ Card that is Choujuu Gigaku, which debuffs both Accuracy and Evasion by 2 Stages (2T). But with that said, it’s time for the W5 Yuugi encore!
Featured Story Card "Kasen's Senkai"!
Featured Story Card "Choujuu Gigaku"!
So how much is it worth going for W5 Yuugi Hoshiguma? Compared to her fellow W5 Kasen, she does struggle a lot more unfortunately, and unless she can fall back on L80 Yuyuko’s special Wood Weakness infliction, keeping her damage afloat will be very hit or miss. Of course, Yuugi fans will most likely be content with what this Nio-oni has to offer, like with her slightly different ways of going about Barriers, but with a Dev Letter coming up on February 13th, it will be worth keeping your eyes peeled for what is to come very soon. On top of that, if you have less than 1250 Seal Crystals, it most likely isn’t worth the gamble compared to other Friends like W5 Kasen. But again, that’s out of the window if you really like Yuugi!
To anybody willing to join the club of this Nio-oni, best of luck to those going in, and hopefully it oni takes a small amount of pulls!
Quick Overview
W5 Yuugi Hoshiguma is a Technical-Class Friend who can lock horns with her enemies thanks to her helpful mix of support and debuffs, while continuously providing herself a Barrier for 3 turns.
Helpful Mix of Support and Debuffing
W5 Yuugi is very capable of providing multiple means for not just herself, but allies to benefit from. Whether it’s the Yin ATK and CRIT ATK buffs for the team, or the Yin DEF, CRIT DEF and Evasion debuffs on all enemies, all of these means achieved by her Skills or Spell Card Pre/Post-ATKs can be rather handy for other allies, especially Yin ones.
Unlimited Barrier Works
What W5 Yuugi is able to do to make her stand out is her Skill 3’s Barrier increase for herself. However, this doesn’t just last for 1 turn which means that instead, W5 Yuugi will gain 1 Barrier every turn for 3 turns. In addition, W5 Yuugi can also provide the team 2 Barriers with Spell Card 2’s Post-ATK, making her a rather useful Barrier provider, both for herself and for allies.
Nio-Oni Sign “Anomalies, Strength, Disorder and Spirits”
The anomalies that W5 Yuugi can work with include Burn/Blind ones inflicted both on herself and on enemies. As for the ones on herself, the offensive buffs are a source of her strength as they can buff her Yin ATK and CRIT ATK even further, which on top of W5 Yuugi’s mastery of Barriers, she can keep these up by inflicting Burn anomalies via a Skill and various bullet lines. As for her enemies, she can inflict Burn anomalies onto enemies, for them to be broken. While we are about to get into some disorder-like territory when it comes to this Nio-oni below, with enough Spirit Power, she can do a lot of Burn breaking as well.
Accuracy Buff vs Evasion Debuff
While Accuracy buffs are welcome and in most cases preferred over, this is replaced with Evasion debuffs via both Skill 1 and Spell Card 2’s Pre-ATK. Should an enemy be fully broken lose a gauge, these Evasion debuffs are removed which may mean she will need support with Accuracy, such as through a certain other Nio-oni Friend.
Heavy Reliance on Effective Elemental Damage
Ironically, the Nio-oni that is notorious for her great physical strength has some issues when it comes to both her elemental distribution and her weak damage output. With her Ability allowing her effective elemental bullets to get a 45% boost, which is a great amount, unfortunately, her main element being Wood finds itself clashing with other elements being Earth, Star and Metal, and if her target or targets don’t have a weakness to Wood, W5 Yuugi’s damage will really fall flat, although a strong Killer range mitigates it a bit. Maybe a certain Relic with Wood Weakness infliction can ensure her damage stays strong…
