Introduction

Xiu Min is the final card of the Four Gentlemen series (300,000 MP monster) and is another glass-cannon oriented leader. They are capable of achieving 110.25x ATK on a light row  based team and should obliterate essentially any obstacle foolish enough to stand in your way. Xiu Min has a reasonable active skill and their 10-turn cooldown makes them less appealing as a base for Skill Inheritance. Thankfully, you do not have to use numerous Xiu Min’s to form an effective team which is a relief after Xiang Mei . However, with the advent of numerous other glass-cannon leaders and the future released heart-cross cards, how viable is Xiu Min?

Xiu Min at a glance

Xiu Min

Physical
7,011 HP / 1,465 ATK / 0 RCV
994 Total
 

Active Skill:
6   
1.5x ATK Physical types
10 turn CD

Leader Skill:
1.5x ATK when matching 2+ Light combos. 2x ATK when clearing 5 connected Light orbs, up to 7x at 10
110.25x ATK

Xiu Min Scaling Multiplier
# connected	5	6	7	8	9	10+
1  combo	4x	9x	16x	25x	36x	49x
2  combos	9x	20.25x	36x	56.25x	81x	110.25x

The above chart shows how your multiplier works with the various possible combinations; however, the multiplier is not as straightforward as you may think as you are better off making a connected 10 light orbs instead of a 3 + 7 match. At 11 orbs, it is more favourable to make a 3 + 8 match as that will yield a higher multiplier:

Xiu Min Multiplier Comparison
#  on board	8	9	10	11	12	13+
1  combo	25x	36x	49x	49x	49x	49x
2  combos	9x	20.25x	36x	56.25x	81x	110.25x

Sample gameplay

Xiu Min lacks dual typing and does not have a sub attribute. This seems bizarre for a 300k MP Monster; however, his leadership power brings fourth an impressive amount of burst damage when forming light rows. Below is a sample video of a solo Arena 1 to give you an idea of his capabilities and playstyle:

You can also do your own research by using the search term 黄菊の君子・シュウミン but here is another video of Ultimate Descend Rush:

Pros:

• Highest base health in the game (7,011) and puts Satan to shame. I don’t know if he will ever be able to RCV from this
• 110.25x ATK multiplier while stacking light rows 
• Trivializes high health/defense bosses
• Able to control damage through the number of connected light orbs and electing to form a row or clump
• Active spawns 6 light orbs to combo after another orb changer
• Healer Killer  awakening grants 3x damage to helaer type bosses
• Able to deal large amounts of damage without type restriction
• Is a beautiful guy who enjoys staring at a piece of paper

Cons:

• Fragile in the sense he has no base RCV. The naturally high HP helps survive attacks, but you will struggle to recover from them
• Still cannot survive DQ Hera without coop or a shield
• 0 base RCV
• Vulnerable to binds and is dependent on subs to remove them.
• Low uses as a sub
• Do you really need to purchase him with the abundance of other glass-cannon leads?
• Costs 300,000 Monster Points
• No subtype or sub-element which is a loss of millions of damage when hitting 110.25x ATK
• Has issues forming numerous unique combos and can struggle with combo shields
• Somewhat orb hungry 13 light orbs = 110.25x ATK although 10 orbs is 49x with a row
• I expected someone buffer or more formidable looking as the monster with the most health in the game

What awakenings do I prioritize?

Xiu Min will have nearly no benefit from TPA  oriented subs as you are forced to make a connected 10 along with an additional light orb match. Thus, you should prioritize subs with rows  and then orb enhance  after surpassing 10.

Matching strategies

Your playstyle will feel very similar to the Uuevo Hero Gods (Yamato , Andromeda , Perseus , Wukong ) or Neptune Dragon  as you need to match 10 connected light orbs. However, how you match your orbs will be based upon the following chart to maximize damage as the break point for making 2 combos 11 orbs.

Xiu Min Multiplier Comparison
#  on board	8	9	10	11	12	13+
1  combo	25x	36x	49x	49x	49x	49x
2  combos	9x	20.25x	36x	56.25x	81x	110.25x

If you do not own a Xin Min, you are able to pair your Wukong  with them to achieve a 52.5x ATK multiplier. However, this may not be worthwhile and probably better off not trying to force this pairing.

Team Building Options

Xiu Min is a rather orb hungry leader as he ideally requires 9+ light orbs to deal enough damage to sweep most content. As such, you require multiple light orb changers with just enough utility as the dungeon requires. Furthermore, it is wise to bring high recovery subs as they will allow you to restore your health should you ever take damage. From my research, the JP players also appear to prioritize double orb changers that either make light/light or light/hearts.

Higher tier subs:

•  Wukong is everyone’s favourite monkey and is a favoured sub on Xiu Min. Wukong is able to generate both light and enhanced heart orbs while possessing a physical typing. The enhanced hearts allow an RCV starved team to heal while the additional damage gained from the physical typing and Xiu Min’s active is quite fantastic. Lastly, the recover bind  awakening acts as a pseudo bind clearer.
•   Apollo can be used in either form as both have amazing recovery along with the enhanced heart orb  awakenings that bolster your healing potential along with retaining their plussed status when converted into light orbs. Which evolution you choose will depend on the number of light rows  your team has along with how important the enhanced skyfalls are to you.
•  Awoken DQXQ is NA’s (and Mantastic/Fantastic’s) flavour of the month due to their ability to generate a relatively easy 100x damage while stacking light rows. Could you run DQXQ over Xiu Min is debatable; however, Awoken DQXQ is a fantastic sub due to her light and heart orb generation along with poison removal. This reduces the dependency on a full board changer which helps open up sub possibilities.
•  Wedding Eschamali is simply amazing even without the presence of any light rows. The 7 light orb enhances  are incredible when combined with her double-light orb changer and 4 turns of skyfalls. GungHo could always increase profits by making an Eschamali of every colour.
•  Superman is a Super board changer as he produces light, water, and fire orbs. You are able to combo with Baal , Wedding Akechi , or Wukong to produce a 2/3 light board. In addition, he has stellar awakenings along the physical typing.

Viable subs:

•  Raphael may realistically be a higher tier sub as many of the teams I researched ran him. However, his presence is largely unneeded for most content and puts pressure on team building due no light orb generation. His 5 light rows are incredible, but can you justify a sub just because of a certain few awakenings? However, if you are able to take advantage of his shielding active (and possible 49x ATK from a full light board after heartbreaking), you may choose to bring the disco ball-loving Archangel.
•  Wedding Akechi has one of the strongest actives in the game and great synergy with Superman and Saria; however, his own stats are rather lackluster and although he has 4 powerful awakenings, you may be yearning for more. As such, many players may elect to use Wedding Akechi as an assistant for Skill Inheritance.
•  Pollux is starting to see more time in the spotlight due to their future ultimate evolution that will grant them God Killer  and double skill boost. However, excluding that future buff, Pollux brings the beneficial enhanced light  and heart orb  awakenings. This provides an extra source of damage along with an enhanced healing component (which your teams badly need). In addition, the haste allows you to recycle your actives faster and can also be used as a base for skill inheritance due to their 7-turn cooldown.
•  Baal is often neglected by me in my reviews (probably stems from my own bias from the early days of PAD and his lack of viability). However, with the release of a more accessible skill up material and powerful evolution, I need to show him more love. His 3 light rows are a fantastic source of damage and his unbindability makes him a great base for skill inheritance as a bind clearer (just note he lacks a recover bind ). However, Baal’s sub colour goes largely to waste and if he is not max skilled (or if you do not run Superman), you may be better off running a different sub.
•  Apocolypse is similar to Superman, but has less combo potential due to the spawned heart and purple orbs having less synergy, You can use any heart breaker EXCEPT Apollo which can be frusterating and the two TPA awakenings go largely to waste.
•  Amaterasu deserves mentioning due to the power of her active and lack of damage contribution being offset by her physical typing. Amaterasu’s heal restores health equal to 40% of your max health along with clearing 4 turns of binds and a single turn of haste. The heal become significant, especially in coop where your HP pools will be even larger and her naturally high base RCV will help you recover after attacks.
•  Ilm is sometimes an overlooked sub, but is another strong board changers due to the fact he will statistically produce 15 light orbs. Thus, you have a relatively high chance of producing 2 unique rows and your 110.25x ATK multiplier.  If you fail to produce sufficient light orbs, you can always use Xiu Min to correct it. I cannot wait to both roll an Ilm and to have their ultimate evolution be announced.
•  Saria is yet another viable board changer and does in fact have a powerful active; however, it is her lack of useful awakenings outside of the two row  enhances that keeps her from breaking into the higher tier sub category. Do note you can combo her with any heart breaker or Wedding Akechi.
•  Ars Nova may be quietly sitting in your box since you rolled them X Godfests. However, they can make a powerful sub on Xiu Min teams due to their 5 enhanced light orb awakenings and ability to spawn 5 new light orbs while enhancing. This is great when used in conjunction with other board changers/actives as it ensures you have sufficient orbs to hit 110.25x ATK.
•  Alcyone is essentially the inferior Apollo due to less beneficial awakenings. Granted their active is stronger than regular Apollo, but Awoken Apollo will be better in nearly every way. Alcyone needs an ultimate evolution to improve their power and viability.
•  Fuma is another physical sub, but by bringing another low RCV card by hinder more than enhance your gameplay. However, the 5-turn base CD makes him an appealing candidate as a base for Skill Inheritance. Just keep in mind that his original active has low synergy outside of a Leilan , Meimei , and Sylvie  boards.

Subs that act as great bases for Skill Inheritance

These subs are not that great on their own; however, with the introduction of Skill Inheritance, you are able to benefit form their fantastic awakenings while using a much stronger active.

•  Awoken Venus has very high base recovery, 1,000 auto heal, 3 light rows, and a very short, 4-turn active. This makes her a fantastic base for Skill Inheritance on Xiu Min teams.

Sample teams

One nice benefit of using Xiu Min is the relative flexibility when team building due to no type restrictions. This gives you free reign to build a team that can address the dungeon mechanics while catering to your box capabilities. There will naturally be superior sub choices such as running Superman over Saria, but you will have to work with what you are given. You can also search YouTube using 黄菊の君子・シュウミン

     
Solo Arena 1 shown above

     
     
Ultimate Descend Rush Coop shown above

     
Machine Hera Solo (video)

Almost all of my YouYube searches produced teams that included Wukong and Raphael when tackling higher end content. Granted my sample size may not be that large, but should give an idea of what types of cards the JP player base are using.

Can I use non-physical cards?

You are able to successfully use subs non-physical subs on Xiu Min teams due to the nature of your already high damage. However, you may be keeping Xiu Min’s active due to the relatively long 10 turn cooldown and having a physical sub may be advantageous, but I would not go out of my way to accommodate.

Skill Inheritance

Xiu Min may possibly be used as a base for Skill Inheritance as their active is only okay at best. You are able to correct a bad board change, but there may be times where you wish to address orb fatigue, survivability, and any other mechanic you encounter.

Xiu Min	6    1.5x ATK Physical types 10 turn CD
Inheritance Options
Damage Enhance	You should not need
True Damage / Poison
Board Changer
Damage mitigation
Delay
Orb Changers

What you choose to use will depend on the cards you have at your disposal along with the requirements of the dungeon. I did not list bind clearing as Xiu Min can be bound and essentially defeats the purpose.

I highly recommend you read my Skill Inheritance: Advanced Strategies article as it will provide you with a wealth of information on how to make the most of your actives.

Latent Awakening set-up

Xiu Min does not require any specific latents to shine. Outside of a single rainbow resist (as a means to survive 100% gravities by having 1% of each colour), you are quite free to do as you please. However, due to the fact that Xiu Min has the highest base HP in the game, they can benefit the most from HP latents . At max level, Xiu Min gains an astounding 526 bonus health from latents and when +297, they can achieve 8,527 health alone. Simply incredible.

The viability of skill delay resists  latents has diminished through skill inheritance as you are able to protect yourself by using the additional cooldown timer as a “shield” against delays.

If you are doing coop, your survivability dramatically increases as you benefit from the health of your partner’s subs. This also allows you to bring more actives and acts as a pseudo protection against skill delay as bosses can only delay one team at a time.

Conclusion:

Xiu Min is another powerful glass-cannon oriented leader who is able to achieve 110.25x ATK while prioritizing light rows. Naturally, their team building requirements are very REM heavy, but that is expected with any 300k MP monster. However, they suffer from a lack of healing potential and you need to bring  appropriate subs if you are facing a dungeon with numerous preemptives or encounters that require you to stall. All of these factors diminish his value in high end dungeons as many are designed to counter tanky-burst teams and Xiu Min will be left feeling fragile despite the giant natural health pool.

I feel that there are better glass-cannon options available and we will soon have the all-powerful heart-cross leaders in North America who are better able to survive challenging content while dealing large burst damage.

Let me know if you are planning on purchasing Xiu Min or are you waiting for something stronger to come along.

Happy Puzzling!