Introduction

The PAD Acedemy REM returns this Monday to North America. The event comes with 5 new characters, Limit Break/Super Awakenings for older cards, and the option to utilize the Monster Exchange System to acquire the 8-star cards.

All of this translates into an interesting event; however, the cards themselves are nothing special and after numerous lucrative events, it may be challenging to justify spending your Magic Stones here.

Unfortunately, many of the PAD Academy cards are reskins of existing (and lackluster) REM cards along with the 5 and 6-stars being horribly outdated.

On the bright side, there will be no more 4-star cards coming out of the Event REM and each roll will be festively dressed to fulfill all your School Boy/Girl fantasies.

Video commentary

—video coming soon—

Overview

PAD Academy REM
8 Star base
7 Star base
6 Star base
5 Star base

PAD Academy – June 1, 2018
S
A
B
C
D

All 8-star cards are available for trade within the Monster Exchange System. Sakuya  will be available for 300,000 Monster Points but this is unwise as she is underwhelming along with the June Monthly Quests giving one out as a reward for completion.

Order within each tier is random and not reflective of ranking

Regardless of card’s ranking, you should always keep it if it is your very first time acquiring them.

Limit Break and Super Awakenings

The old 7/8* cards will have the ability to be Limit Broken along with receiving Super Awakenings. This additional awakenings can add significant power but only function in solo mode.

Any card that can qualify for Limit Breaking will having their level displayed in blue and feeding a Super Snow Globe will push them beyond the level 99 cap.

8 Star base

All 8* base cards can be acquired via the Monster Exchange System; however, this is not a wise decision as they are average at best and it would be better to save for a more ideal event/card.

Uruka (New) – A

Active: Change all orbs to Fire, Water & Wood & Light & Dark & Heart orbs. Ignores enemy attribute damage absorb effects for 1 turn (does not include combo shield, damage absorb shield, and damage void) (15 turn CD)

Leader Skill: Change the board to 7×6 size. All attribute cards ATK x3 when reaching 8 combos or above. All attribute cards ATK x3, 25% all damage reduction when attacking with Fire, Water, Wood, Dark & Heart orb types at the same time.

Awakenings:         
Super Awakenings: None
Worth trading for via Monster Exchange? No

Pros	Cons
Two part active Full board changer with all elements Colour absorb void Potent 7×6 leader Bind immune Recover Bind  Valuable awakenings Super cute	Cannot be Limit Broken Does not void Damage Absorb Colour absorb void is niche Leader Skill requires 5 elements

Pad Academy Uruka is adorable but is sadly lackluster commpared to her Heroine cousin. This is because the PAD Academy version did not study hard enough in school and only comes with a Colour Absorb Void instead of a Damage Absorb Void. Thus, Academy Uruka will be unable to trivialize spawns like Sopdet, Parvati, and Vishnu.

This is truly unfortunate as she could have been a meaningful card along with a potential candidate for Monster Exchanging for players who lack a Damage Absorb Void. As such, it will be challenging to gain amazing value out of Academy Uruka and is not worth Monster Exchanging for.

With that being said, Colour Absorb Void can have niche applications for farming practices against spawns like Machine Goemon and Machine Hera, but it is quite specific along with being somewhat easy to avoid/deal with. On the other hand, it may be worthwhile acquiring Academy Uruka’s skill up fodder to have in the rare cases where it can be helpful.

Finally, Academy Uruka can be a meaningful 7×6 leader as she can provide 9x ATK and 25% damage reduction when Fire, Water, Wood, Dark, and Heart orbs. This places her ahead of Diablos  in terms of raw multiplier numbers; however, the 5 elemental activation clause is problematic and can restrict team compositions. Furthermore, players only need one 7×6 leader to take advantage of a larger board and is generally better to pair with Diablos unless one needs Uruka’s base active skill.

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 Orochi – B

Active: Delay 4 turns to all enemies (15 turn CD)

Leader Skill: ATK  x2 at 4 combos. ATK x0.5 for each additional combo, up to ATK x5 at 10 combos. While your HP is 50% or above, a single hit that normally kills you will instead leave you with 1 HP. For the consecutive hits, this skill will only affect the first hit

Awakenings:         
Super Awakenings:   
Worth trading for via Monster Exchange? No

Pros	Cons
High value active Two SB  Two SBR  High base HP Can transfer stats to Dark cards	Mostly used as an inherit Easily replicated via REM TPA  is less desirable Low base ATK

Pad Academy Orochi has some amazing artwork due to the inclusion of one head wearing a hat. Sadly, their comedic value cannot overcome their lack of value as an 8-star Event card. Academy Orochi has the exact same stat distribution and active as his REM cousin, Reincarnated Orochi .

This is a shame as Reincarnated Orochi is primarily used as an inherit and the same can be said for Academy Orochi. On the bright side, Academy Orochi comes with a better set of awakening so they may see more sub action along with transferring stats to Dark cards. Unfortunately, it will be challenging to justify using Academy Orochi as a sub due to the low value of TPA . Furthermore, most players tend to opt for Dark Athena  as a sub in shorter dungeons if it is not feasible to inherit a delay. This is because she has an extra Skill Boost  along with 4 less turns on their base cooldown.

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Academy Kali – C

Active: Change all orbs to Fire, Water & Wood & Light & Dark & Heart orbs (7 turn CD)

Leader Skill: All attribute cards ATK x4, 25% all damage reduction when attacking with 4 of Fire, Water, Wood, Light & Dark orb types at the same time. ATK x2.5 when simultaneously clearing 4 connected Wood orbs. ATK x0.5 for each additional orb, up to ATK x4.5 at 8 connected orb

Awakenings:       
Super Awakenings:   
Worth trading for via Monster Exchange? No

Pros	Cons
Some leadership potential Dark Kali  board changer Useful Super awakenings	Wood rows No offensive awakenings No real place in today’s meta

Academy Kali was a niche card last inception and has only declined further despite gaining useful Super Awakenings. This is because she has no offensive awakenings along with two wasteful Wood Rows .

As such, it will be challenging to find a real use for Academy Kali as she does not offer anything unique or of great value and will feel like a slap in the face as she is an 8-star Event card.

You should not trade in for her via the Monster Exchange.

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7 star base

Academy Lucifer – B

Active: Inflict Dark damage equal to ATK x200 to 1 enemy in exchange for reducing HP to 1. Affected by enemy element and defense. Randomly spawn 6 Heart orbs from non Dark & Heart orbs (7 turn CD)

Leader Skill: Light attribute cards HP x2, ATK x2, RCV x2. Light attribute cards ATK x1.5 on the turn a skill is used. ( Multiple skills will not stack )

Awakenings:         
Super Awakenings:   

Pros	Cons
Handsome Viable button inherit Reset HP to 1 Spawns 6 heart orbs	Niche button inherit Resets HP to 1 200x ATK is lower than other options Only need 1 Lucifer

Academy Lucifer is primarily used as a button inherit due to the 200x ATK active skill. This enables cards with the Coop Boost  awakening to deal wonderful amounts of damage that can instantly kill various spawns. Furthermore, Lucifer’s damage does not take into account your team’s HP so it can be used when full. In addition, by being able to reset your HP to 1, it will trigger the full damage from other button inherits like Grimmjow .

Unfortunately, Academy Lucifer’s damage is lower compared to other options so in an ideal world, players would only need to own 1 to push their HP into the correct zone and then utilize stronger options.

It will be challenging to use Academy Lucifer outside of a button inherit as the HP being set to 1 is a liability for traditional teams along with the damage not being significant when playing through challenging content.

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Academy Isis – C

Active: Recover RCV x5 HP. Bind recovery for 2 turns (3 turn CD)

Leader Skill: All  attribute cards ATK x3 when attacking with 3 of following orb types: Fire, Water, Wood, Light & Dark. ATK x0.5 for each additional orb type, up to ATK x4 for all 5 matches. Healer & Attacker type cards HP x2, ATK x2

Or

All attribute cards ATK x3 when attacking with 3 of following orb types: Fire, Water, Wood, Light & Dark. ATK x0.5 for each additional orb type, up to ATK x4 for all 5 matches. Healer & Attacker type cards HP x1.5, ATK x1.5, RCV x1.5.

Awakenings:         
Super Awakenings:   

Pros	Cons
Two different evo to customize her looks LS difference is negligible 3 turn base cooldown	Low value overall REM Isis is barely used

Academy Isis feels horribly outdated and even with her Super Awakenings, it is challenging to find a use for her. Her low-average weighted stats along with less ideal awakenings prevent her from being used on the majority of teams as stronger options exist.

Furthermore, her Leader Skill does trivial amounts of damage compared to current leaders so she will mostly remain a Box cheerleader. With that being said, which evolution would you choose?

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Academy Athena – C

Active: Enhance Wood & Light orbs. +6% per orb, up to +180% for full board (4 turn CD)

Leader Skill: Wood attribute cards HP x1.5, ATK x3. All attribute cards ATK x2, RCV x2 on the turn a skill is used. (Multiple skills will not stack)

Awakenings:         
Super Awakenings:   

Pros	Cons
Glasses > no glasses 4 TPA  4 turn base cooldown	TPA  is not desirable Has wood rows  Challenging to use effectively 1 SB

Academy Athena did not see much usage upon her initial inception and is even further behind this time around. This is because her Leader Skill is outdated along with TPA  being lackluster compared to 7 Combos .

While Academy Athena does have a nice 4 turn base cooldown, the fact that she only brings a single Skill Boost  cuts down on her sub potential as it may still be challenging to charge up an inherit or have other cards ready in time.

All in all, Academy Athena feels lackluster but at least we can customize her looks to make her wear glasses.

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Academy Hestia (New) – B

Active: Ignores enemy attribute damage absorb effects for 1 turn (does not include combo shield, damage absorb shield, and damage void). Change all orbs to Fire, Wood & Light & Heart orbs (15 turn CD)

Leader Skill: Fire attribute cards ATK x2. Wood attribute cards ATK x2. ATK x4 if both attributes are met. All attribute cards ATK x3, 25% all damage reduction when attacking with Fire, Wood & Light orb types at the same time.

Awakenings:         

Pros	Cons
Dual purpose active Colour Absorb void Board changer FUA  3 Enhanced Heart Orb  Higher stats/better awakenings compared to REM form	No offensive awakenings May mostly be used as an inherit

Academy Hestia functions similarly to Beach Tachibana  in that both share the same active skill as the base form of their REM cousin, but instead come with significantly more awakenings and higher stats. This is interesting as it gives players the option to naturally run a Colour Absorb Void active skill.

The main drawback is Colour Absorb Voids are in low demand and Academy Hestia has no offensive awakenings. This can put pressure on damage output as she will not be contributing much in that regards but her utility may make up for it.

Three Enhance Heart Orb  awakenings provide a significant boost to healing output when connecting 4 Heart orbs and may help solve recovery problems on some teams.  With that being said, it Academy Hestia will still be a niche sub option but may provide players with their first Colour Absorb Void active.

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6 star base

None of the 6* cards can be Limit Broken or receive Super Awakenings and essentially have no changes from the previous inception.

Academy Hathor – C

Active: Reduce 25% of all enemies’ HP. Ignore enemy element and defense. Increases time limit of orb movement by 200% for 2 turns. (13 turn CD)

Leader Skill: Fire attribute cards HP x1.5, RCV x1.5. All attribute cards ATK x6 when attacking with 5 of following orb types: Fire, Water, Wood, Light, Dark & Heart.

Awakenings:      

Pros	Cons
Double 7 Combo  Dual purpose active 25% Gravity Time Buff	6 awakenings Stronger 7c cards exist Active is niche overall

Academy Hathor is still the same girl from the previous round of PAD Academy and is even more lackluster than before. This is because she has not kept abreast with other options as she only has 6 awakenings with only two being truly relevant. Furthermore, her active skill is quite situational overall.

Traditional gravities have become less valuable overall due to FUA  and Damage Voids. As such, it will be challenging to take advantage of a potential 25% damage. On the other hand, Time Buffers have become more relevant due to more spawns drastically reducing your orb movement time; however, Hathor will not be an optimal option due tot he longer base cooldown. With that being said, if she is your only option for overriding time debuffs, she may have some merit for your Monster Box.

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Academy Acala – C

Active: +1 combo count for 1 turn. Reduces cooldown of other skills by 1 turn. (7 turn CD)

Leader Skill: No skyfall matches. Water attribute cards All Stats x1.5. ATK x3 for clearing each Water or Wood orbs in a cross formation.

Awakenings:      

Pros	Cons
Acala  but Water primary attribute	Acala  is not relevant New evo is stronger but Academy form is lackluster

Academy Acala is essentially a Water form of the 5* REM Pantheon Acala  which almost already guarantees she will be lackluster. This is because GungHo heavily favours 6* GFE/Rare Collab cards and Academy Acala is sadly not one of those. Furthermore, Academy Acala does not gain access to the new evolution the REM Acala will enjoy and will remain lackluster overall.

One can still use either Acala as a leader, but is quite a large amount of effort overall and much stronger and easier options exist.

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Academy Susano – A

Active: 50% damage reduction for 5 turns. (15 turn CD)

Leader Skill: All attribute cards ATK x3 when reaching Dark & Dark combos. 20% Fire, Water, Wood, Light & Dark damage reduction.

Awakenings:      

Pros	Cons
Three SB  Powerful shielding active Same as REM non-Reincarnated form	Low weighted stats 6 awakenings

Academy Susano is still a surprisingly potent card from the PAD Academy due to his powerful shielding active.  Being able to reduce all incoming damage by 50% for 5 turns is amazing as it helps guarantee players ca survive lethal encounters where prolonged stalling/preemptives are involved. While this may not be a common occurrence, it is invaluable to have. Furthermore, the 15 turn cooldown is manageable if used as an inherit but becomes easy to achieve if using Academy Susuano as a sub.

While it will be rare to want to use Academy Susuano as a sub, this three Skill Boosts   can be appealing, especially if one needs the shielding component quickly.

Overall, Academy Susano is a valuable card to own as he provides one of the best value shields in the game.

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 Academy Loki (New) – B

Active: Dark & Wood attribute cards ATK x2.5 for 3 turns. Reduces cooldown of other skills by 2 turns (14 turn CD)

Leader Skill: Dark attribute cards HP x1.5, ATK x1.5, RCV x1.5. ATK x2 for clearing each Dark or Wood orbs in a cross formation

Awakenings:      

Pros	Cons
God & Machine Killer   2 turn haste active	2.5x burst is “low” Low weighted stats Niche awakenings

Academy Loki is a new card to be added into the PAD Academy event and comes with an interesting twist on traditional Norse God actives. The 2.5x ATK burst is considered low nowadays but may be sufficient for certain content. Furthermore, the two turns of haste my play a critical role in certain instances where one needs to recycle an active skill back up.

If planing on using Academy Loki as a sub, he would only have merit if facing a God and Machine type boss. This is because Academy Loki has low base stats and will only deal meaningful damage against a dual type encounter as he will have 9x personal damage.

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5 star base

Academy Theurgia – D

Active: Randomly spawn 2 Fire orbs from non Fire orbs. Enhance Fire orbs. +6% per orb, up to +180% for full board (4 turn CD)

Leader Skill: attribute cards ATK x2. Wood attribute cards ATK x2, RCV x2. ATK x4 if both attributes are me

Awakenings:         

Pros	Cons
5 Fire Orb Enhances  4 turn cooldown	Low base stats Orb enhances are not valued

Academy Theurgia used to be a potent 5* card to roll from the PAD Academy Event; however, time has not been kind to this volleyball player and will struggle to find relevancy in this day and age. Teams are not reliant on orb enhances for padding damage as 7 Combos  are far more efficient along with not having to rely on favourable skyfalls or dodging jammer/poison attacks.

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Academy Sasuke – C

Active: Change Light orbs to Water orbs (5 turn CD)

Leader Skill: Attacker type cards HP x2, ATK x3

Awakenings:     

Pros	Cons
Unique orb changer 5 turn cooldown 2 Skill Boosts	Outclassed by most current cards Low weighted stats

Academy Sasuke used to be another desirable card to own when Dragon Killers  were scarce but that has sadly changed in this day and age. A Killer awakening provides 3x personal damage to the owning card which used to be a big deal. Sadly, most cards now come with 7 Combos  or multiple Killers which makes it challenging for older cards to stay abreast.

As such, Academy Sasuke will rarely find a usage outside of their unique orb changer.

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Academy Ishtar (New) – B

Active: Reduce enemies’ defense to 0 for 1 turn. Effects carry forward on sweep. Change all orbs to Water, Wood & Light orbs (15 turn CD)

Leader Skill: All attribute cards ATK x4.5, RCV x1.5 when HP is less than 50%. While your HP is 50% or above, a single hit that normally kills you will instead leave you with 1 HP. For the consecutive hits, this skill will only affect the first hit

Awakenings:      

Pros	Cons
Unique dual purpose active skill Board changer 100% DEF break Toast	Mostly and inherit 100% DEF Break is situational Adds turns to cooldown

Academy Ishtar is one of two new 5* cards and not only comes with a unique active skill, but wonderfully toasted toast. While the toast may provide fiber, her active skill can prove useful for Yusuke  teams.

Yusuke teams require Water and Light matches along with 7 combos and some players may be starved for viable board changers. As such, Academy Ishtar can help fulfill this role along with providing 100% DEF Break. Normally, DEF Break is a situational effect due to the presence of Guard Break  and higher multipliers; however, Yusuke teams rarely have Guard Break and some spawns have comically large amounts of defense. As such, an Ishtar inherit can help overcome these situations (such as the Jewel of Creations in Arena 4) while also clearing the board.

Unfortunately, the additional DEF Break adds approximately 7-8 turns to the total cooldown which can make it challenging to successfully inherit.

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Academy Lumiel (New) – C

Active: Change all orbs to Fire, Water & Wood & Dark orbs. Deal 100000 damage to all enemies. Ignore enemy element and defense (8 turn CD)

Leader Skill: No skyfall matches. God type cards ATK x2.5, RCV x2.5. All attribute cards ATK x3.5 when attacking with Fire, Water, Wood & Dark orb types at the same time

Awakenings:      

Pros	Cons
Dual purpose active skill Board changer 100,000 True Damage Blue main attribute Famiel is in the artwork	As useful as REM Lumiel

Academy Lumiel is the final card in the PAD Academy and will act as inherit where one needs True Damage with the board changer being a nice secondary perk.

For the most part, many teams have sufficient damage to overcome high Defense spawns, but some still prefer to have access to True Damage. With that in mind, Blue Sonia  teams can make great use of Academy Lumiel as an on-colour inherit to overcome things like the PreDRAs in Arena 2/3. The ability to bypass them with ease along with having the key colours with the board changer means it does not go to waste.

Sadly, there are not many applications for this type of board changer but may be nice to have if lacking other options.

Conclusion

The PAD Academy Event is lackluster overall and thankfully, the new cards do not bring enough charm to justify rolling in. This means players will be able to save their Magic Stones for future events that have more desirable prizes. Furthermore, players should not utilize the Monster Exchange System as the 8* cards are not worth acquiring and your 6* GFE will be better saved for future events.

Let me know what you think about the PAD Academy event in the comments below and if you plan on rolling.

Happy Puzzling!

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