Introduction

This coming Monday marks the return of the Yu Yu Hakusho (YYH) Collab along with various buffs, new evolutions, and 5 additional cards to roll for.

Upon the initial debut, the YYH Collab featured a relatively lackluster roster but was the first event to feature the Monster Exchange system. This system revolutionized how players approached Collab/Seasonal REMs as it enabled us to trade in various cards for one of our choosing. This meant we could avoid rolling in events with poor value at the bottom rarity and acquire the top prize with no additional Magic Stones spent.

As such, many players acquired Yusuke who was game changing upon his debut. Sadly, GungHo has little love for beloved hero and only gave him Limit Break + Super Awakenings.

This may be a let down for many players who were hoping he would gain an improved Leader Skill but while he is no longer considered the best, Yusuke is still a powerful card to own.

This article will highlight the strengths and weaknesses of all the featured cards to give players a better understanding of whether or not Magic Stones should be spent. Finally, one thing to keep in mind is that Monster Hunter will be returning to North America soon and offers significantly more value overall.

Video commentary

—video coming soon—

Overview

YYH Pros & Cons – March 28, 2019
Pros	Cons
Split evolutions for 6*-cards bring new value All cards have Limit Break/SA	Few meaningful buffs to older/lower rarity cards Yusuke was not greatly buffed Most cards are replaceable and few are “must haves” Monster Hunter is coming soon

Yu Yu Hakusho Collab REM
6 Star base
5 Star base

Yu Yu Hakusho Collab REM Rankings – March 28, 2019
S
A
B
C
D

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 Breaking

Limit Breaking is the process of leveling a card beyond level 99. This will unlock more weighted stats along with the potential to receive Super Awakenings. These 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.

You can read more about Super Awakenings HERE.

Monster Exchange

The Monster Exchange System has mostly eliminated the need to roll in most events as players can simply trade in for a card of their choice. This is often done during lackluster events to avoid spending Stones on poor bottom rarity cards or to snipe a specific card if luck is not on your side.

My approach to Collab rolling

Rolling and Rare Egg Machine is a gamble and it becomes a matter of maximizing your rate of returns in an event. For myself and non-IAP approach (only purchase Stones via gifts) I tend to be quite frugal and only roll during strong events.

This translates into rolling when the bottom rarity has high value as those will be the most common cards. Furthermore, I may utilize the Monster Exchange system to acquire the higher rarity cards if they will significantly advance my progress. As such, I tend to look most closely at the 5-star pool to determine if it is worth rolling in.

This is just my own personal approach and everyone has different goals/motivations so take this section with a grain of salt.

6 Star base

All 6* base cards can be used in the Monster Exchange for other 6* cards from the Yu Yu Hakusho Collab. Each trade will cost a total of 4 fodder.

Yusuke – S

Active: Reduces cooldown of other skills by 1 turn. Removes lock status on orbs. Change all orbs to Water & Light orbs (13 turn CD)

Leader Skill: Light attribute cards HP x1.5, ATK x1.5, RCV x1.5. All attribute cards ATK x4 when reaching 7 combos or above. All attribute cards ATK x2.5 when reaching Light & Water combos [2.25/225/2.25]

Awakenings:         
Super Awakenings:  
Typing: Balance
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 904 (1130)
HP 4035 (5044) / ATK 1820 (2275) / RCV 410 (512)

Pros	Cons
Powerful & synergistic active Strong LS Easy activation Unconditional HP/RCV multiplier Flexible team building Mono-colour potency Triple 7c  AND Box  One of the few cards with these awakenings Can be used as a potent VDP sub Balance typing Can use any Killer Latent	No buff to LS LS does not include damage reduction Vulnerable to Gravity+Hit Has lost his spot as the best/near best leader Lacks Time Extend May hinder some players

Yusuke (new evo)

Active: Create square of Light orbs with center at 2nd row from top and 2nd column from left (13 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 2x HP for Light Att.; Reduce damage taken by 25% when below 50% HP; 8x ATK when matching 4 or more connected Light orbs up to 16x at 8 orbs [4/256/1/43.75%]

Awakenings:        
Super Awakenings:  
Typing: Balance/Devil
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 904 (1130)
HP 3935 (4919) / ATK 2220 (2775) / RCV 200 (250)

Pros	Cons
Automatically creates a 3×3 VDP Box High VDP damage High durability LS Same effective HP as Dark Metatron	Damage Reduction only occurs <50% HP LS does not bring anything new to the table Orb hungry Low personal damage w/o VDP Base form is easier to play and more consistent

Yusuke was once heralded as the best leader in the game due to his high damage output, synergistic active with VDP , and strong durability. Sadly, newer and flashier cards have been released which has dropped his overall potency.

The largest weakness Yusuke faces is not his damage output, but his lower effective health. Effective health refers to how much damage a team can withstand and is a combination of HP and Damage Reduction. This is important because current end game content (A5/AA2) feature Gravity+Hit and outrageously large preemptives. As such, being able to naturally survive these abilities without active skill intervention is invaluable. Sadly, Yusuke teams will often not have enough HP in solo to tank those preemptives and will be deleted by the Gravity+Hit combo as he lacks Damage Reduction.

Generally speaking, most high end teams have sufficient damage and it becomes an issue of surviving dangerous mechanics. As such, 2.25x HP/RCV is not going to cut it by today’s standards for his original form. This is not to say Yusuke is weak, just not as elite as before.

Despite the fact that he received no Leader Skill buff, Yusuke is still an all-around strong leader who can clear the vast majority of content with relative ease. This is due to his huge personal damage (three 7 Combos ) paired with his ability to delete Void spawns through his VDP .

In fact, very few cards actually own triple 7 Combo + VDP and I personally prefer this combination of awakenings over numerous VDP. This is because the 7 Combos still allow for large damage in all scenarios whereas a card with heavy VDP only deals meaningful damage with 9 orbs.

With this in mind, his new evolution feels like a let down overall due to him primarily owning VDP as his offensive awakening. While he will have amazing damage with 9 Light orbs, he will be hitting like a limp fish in most scenarios.

Despite the fact that the new Yusuke evolution has better multipliers on paper (also shares the same defensive multipliers as Dark Metatron ), he has significantly lower activation consistency while only enjoying his Damage Reduction when below 50% HP. This unusual requirement means he has less effective health against single large attacks than what we see on paper.

Despite the fact that he begins scaling at 4 connected Light orbs, he only has 64x ATK at this level while possessing no personal damage. This will slow down clear times as he may feel like playing a row-based team as he enjoys 144x at 6 Light orbs. By comparison, the original Yusuke can proc 225x from most given boards (only requires 3 Water and 3 Light).

Regardless, new Yusuke does come with an interesting active skill as he is able to instantly generate a 3×3 Box of Light orbs. This has natural synergy with his Leader Skill and VDP awakenings but I would still be loathe to convert my only copy into this form as the original has so much more flexibility.

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Kurama – B

Active: Change Fire, Jammer, Poison & Mortal Poison orbs to Wood orbs. Delay 2 turns to all enemies (11  turn CD)

Leader Skill: 4x ATK when above 50% HP; 3x RCV when matching 4 Heal orbs; 4.5x ATK and reduce damage taken by 25% when matching 6 or more connected Wood orbs [1/324/9/43.75%]

Awakenings:         
Super Awakenings:
Typing: Balance/Devil
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 904 (1130)
HP 3803 (4754) / ATK 1718 (2148) / RCV 543 (679)

Pros	Cons
Removes hazards 2 turn delay Modest leader skill Has farming applications 324x ATK with board swipe Unevolved form has 5 turn delay	Orb hungry Rows are less popular for traditional content Damage reduction is conditional Must match 6 Wood orbs HP-conditional ATK Primarily a farming leader

Kurama has a different active skill in their unevolved form that provides 5 turns of delay on a 20 turn cooldown. This is akin to Orochi  /Zeta Hydra  and is mostly notable for being able to transfer stats to Wood type cards. With that being said, Kurama will most likely be evolved to take advantage of their leader skill.

While row-oriented teams are less desirable for traditional content, they excel in farming scenarios. This is because players can convert the entire board to wood and swipe for 324x ATK. This is quite high and will most likely make short work of most content. Just be aware that this damage is conditional on being above 50% HP. While the 43.75% Damage Reduction can help mitigate some harm, they will lose their large multiplier whenever faced with a 99% gravity. With that being said, players can plan for this and having such a large amount of swipe damage can be appealing.

If using as a traditional leader, Kurama will be hard to use efficiently due to the fact that their damage reduction (and stalling potential) is tied to matching 6+ connected wood orbs. This can lead to problematic situations and they are largely eclipsed by unconditional effective HP row leaders.

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Hiei – A

Active: Dark attribute ATK x3 for 1 turn. Randomly spawn 9 Dark orbs from non Dark orbs (16 turn CD)

Leader Skill: All attribute cards ATK x2 when reaching 2 set of Dark combos. ATK x1 for each additional combo, up to ATK x3 when reaching 3 combos. All attribute cards ATK x4, 25% all damage reduction when reaching 6 combos [1/144/1/43.75%]

Awakenings:         
Super Awakenings:
Typing: Attacker/Devil
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 904 (1130)
HP 3120 (3900) / ATK 2813 (3516) / RCV 90 (112)

Pros	Cons
Modest leadership potential Reliable damage reduction Self sufficient active Burst + 9 Dark orbs Skill Charge  Evolved form is better	Evolved form is better Leader Skill is orb hungry Makes 9 dark orbs but no Box  Active has a long cooldown if no Skill Charge/as an inherit

Hiei (new evo)

Active: For 99 turns, Dark orbs are more likely to appear by 7%; Change top row to Dark orbs (12 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 3x ATK and reduce damage taken by 35% when above 50% HP; 5x ATK when matching 2 Dark combos, up to 6x at 3 Dark combos [1/324/1/57.75%]

Awakenings:    
Super Awakenings:
Typing: Balance/Devil
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 904 (1130)
HP 3820 (4775) / ATK 2113 (2641) / RCV 300 (375)

Pros	Cons
High personal damage Strong VDP option First 99 turn Dark skyfall active Reasonable Leadership potential	LS requires 2-3 Dark combos Can be inconsistent Active does help Can run into issues with Effective HP

Hiei is one of the few cards within the YYH Collab that has received a new evolution that dramatically changes his kit and value. For the most part, this new form will be the superior choice as it dramatically improves his viability along with providing a unique active skill.

At this point in time, Hiei is the only card in the game who owns a 99 turn Dark Skyfall. We were first introduced to this type of Skyfall buff during the Street Fighter Collab but this is the first time we have it in Dark. For the most part, these types of actives provide massive sustain for mono-colour teams as it can provide fuel for more orb hungry leader skills. Assuming each orb type has a 100/6 = 16.67% chance of appearing, the +7% brings this up to 23.67% which is essentially 1/4. Thus, players would statistically have to clear 4*6 = 24 orbs (or 8 Combos) to theoretically have 6 new Dark orbs fall into place.

Granted the 7% increase is smaller compared to usual 15% for other skyfall buffs, the ability to last for 99 turns frees up active skills in longer dungeons. For example, players can enter Arena and use Hiei’s active right away and then let it charge up into whatever inherit is needed for future floors.

As such, Hiei’s leadership potential is reasonably high as the constant influx of Dark orbs can reliably proc the 225/324x ATK while enjoying an Edward style shield. Unfortunately, this level of effective HP can be put in jeopardy when playing through higher level content that features massive attacks as GungHo has somewhat designed dungeons around teams with around 4x effective HP.

In terms of his awakenings, Hiei is similar to the original Yusuke but trades a second Skill Boost for a Time Extend . Furthermore, Hiei can also become a triple 7 Combo card with VDP which may open up new doors for countering Void spawns.

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Raizen – B

Active: Change left-most column into Heart orbs. Inflict Light damage equal to ATK x200 to 1 enemy in exchange for reducing HP to 1. Affected by enemy element and defense (5 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 3x ATK for Light Att.; 2x ATK when below 50% HP; 3x ATK and reduce damage taken by 50% when matching 5 or more connected Light orbs [1/324/1/75%]

Awakenings:         
Super Awakenings:
Typing: Attacker/Devil
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 964  (1253)
HP 3455 (4492) / ATK 3094 (4022) / RCV 0 (0)

Pros	Cons
5 turn cooldown 200x ATK & is not HP sensitive Spawns a column of heart orbs Reduces team HP to 1 Sets up actives like Grimmjow  High base ATK 75% Damage Reduction <50%  awakening Interesting leader skill	Lower button damage Only need 1 to set up HP L awakenings are less practical overall 0 base RCV No defensive multiplier if <5 Light orbs

Raizen is an interesting card from the Yu Yu Hakusho Collab as he works somewhat like a reverse Kurama in that he can achieve spectacular levels of damage with a low combo count provided players are within his HP range. However, Raizen requires players to be below 50% HP which may feel dangerous, but he now comes packed with a 75% Damage Reduction when matching 5 connected Light orbs.

This is a sizable amount of damage with only 5 Light orbs and makes me inclined to believe he can be a potent farming leader. Like Kurama, he can fully proc from a mono board swipe but comes with a stronger active skill.

Raizen’s active enables him to deal 200x ATK and changes your HP to 1. This will immediately put you within the damage zone and the 200x nuke may be enough for certain floors when combined with his high ATK stat. Furthermore, it has synergy with other low-HP buttons such as Grimmjow  and the only main issues is players only require one of these actives to shine. For the most part, 200x is “low” as we have access to up to 350x which can make multiple Raizen actives less appealing. With that being said, the instant generation of a Heart column can help set up FUA .

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Sensui – S

Active: No skyfall combos for 2 turns. Randomly spawn 6 Dark orbs from non Dark orbs (4 turn CD)

Leader Skill: [No Skyfall]; 1.5x all stats for Attacker type; 2x ATK when 5 or more combos up to 12x at 10 combos [2.25/324/2.25]

Awakenings:         
Super Awakenings:
Typing: Devil/Physical
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 904 (1130)
HP 3925 (4906) / ATK 2038 (2548) / RCV 313 (391)

Pros	Cons
Triple 7c  awakenings Guard Break  Potentially powerful Leader Skill Damage control 2.25x HP/RCV 4 turn base cooldown No skyfalls -> damage control	No Skyfalls caps damage output Restricted to Attacker types Make his new evolution instead

Sensui (new evo)

Active: For 1 turn, reduce damage taken by 75%; Change all orbs to Fire, Water, Light, and Dark orbs (10 turn CD)

Leader Skill: [Board becomes 7×6]; 3.5x ATK when 8 or more combos; 3x ATK and reduce damage taken by 25% when matching 4 or more colors [1/110.25/1/43.75%]

Awakenings:      
Super Awakenings:  
Typing: Attacker/Physical
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 906 (1132)
HP 4175 (5219) / ATK 2338 (2922) / RCV 63 (79)

Pros	Cons
High ATK 7×6 LS Built in Damage Reduction High personal Damage 10x with 10 combos Highest VDP potential in the game Active has LS synergy	LS is tied to 4 Colours Harder to VDP Competes with Diablos Personal VDP damage tied to 10 combos

The original Sensui can be thought of as an Attacker form of Reincarnated Kushinadahime as both share the same HP and ATK multipliers along with a no Skyfall clause. Thankfully, Sensui comes with an RCV component to help compensate for the lower healing potential of Attackers along with stronger awakenings.

With that being said, Kushinadahime is not a name that has been used to describe a strong leader in some time as the no Skyfall clause caps her overall damage output along with damage control being less relevant. With the introduction of FUA , Damage Void Penetration , and Fujin  style actives, the actual need to control one’s damage is at an all time low. As a result, the meta has somewhat shifted to a phase where players need to deliver explosive amounts of damage and rely on those awakenings/actives to counter boss mechanics.

Thankfully, Sensui’s new evolved form functions as a potent 7×6 Leader who has synergy with Akuma who requires 9 Combos and Dark attribute cards. This gives more flexibility for players instead of always pairing Akuma with Diablos or Gilgamesh but Sensui’s main disadvantage is requiring 4 colours to fully activate.

This colour clause places constraints on the types of board changers that can be used while also hampering the chance of utilizing VDP which is somewhat mandatory in high end content. Ironically, Sensui has the highest VDP damage when hitting 10 combos as his 10c, 7c, and VDP equate to 25x personal ATK or 31.25x with double VDP and 10c. The main drawback is it somewhat hinges on having 7×6 or using +3 combo count actives but this problem may eventually be solved via future Leader Skills.

The Monster Hunter Collab that JP has enjoyed (coming to NA soon) featured leaders that came with +combos when matching numerous linked orbs which applies to VDP or rows. This means the 18-12 VDP board can potentially have more than 7 combos and could give rise to a new era of VDP. Of course this is just speculation for future leaders and is not a practical thing at this point in time unless using 7×6.

Taking all of this into consideration, Sensui is a powerful card to own and will open new doors for most players.

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Mukuro (New) – B

Active: Recover all HP; For 1 turn, increase combo count by 2 (14 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 4x ATK and reduce damage taken by 80% when HP is full; 4x ATK for Fire, Dark Att. [1/256/1/96%]

Awakenings:      
Super Awakenings:  
Typing: Devil/Healer
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 906 (1132)
HP 3885 (4856) / ATK 1653 (2066) / RCV 563 (704)

Pros	Cons
96% Damage Reduction Can survive essentially any single hit Alternative to Zeus Verse 256x with one combo God & Devil Killers Comes with VDP Active solves 100% HP clause	Must be full health Autoheals do not work Colour restricted Damage Reduction only blocks first hit Multi hits will still hurt

Mukuro is one of two new 6* cards to be added into the YYH Collab and feels like a more luxurious and restrictive Zeus Verse . This is because both cards function as 100% HP leaders that are able to deal spectacular damage with a single combo.

Unfortunately, Mukuro can often be outclassed by Zeus Verse due to the fact that Verse is farmable while having no sub/colour restrictions. By being restricting yourself to Fire or Dark cards minimizes the cards you can bring to an encounter which can make team building harder to less deep boxes. With that being said, Mukuro has more potential compared to Zeus Verse due to the 96% Damage Reduction.

This 96% reduction only works against the first hit but will greatly alleviate the burden of returning to full health. Sadly, auto heals will not work here for their max multiplier but will most likely return your team to full health assuming only 1 hit was done. With that being said, Mukuro’s base active will instantly return your team to full health to immediately benefit from all his multipliers and is on a reasonable cooldown.

In terms of Mukuro’s awakenings, all of them have great synergy for farming or Ranking dungeon set ups as it covers Skill Boosts ,  unconditional damage via Killers along with VDP .

As a whole, Mukuro has the potential to be a potent leader assuming no multi hits and proper dungeon research.

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Yomi (New) – B

Active: Change Heal, Jammer, Poison, Mortal Poison orbs to Dark orbs; For 1 turn, reduce damage taken by 100% (14 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 2x HP for Dark Att.; Reduce damage taken by 25% when below 50% HP; 3x ATK when 4 or more combos up to 15x at 10 combos [4/225/1/43.75%]

Awakenings:      
Super Awakenings:  
Typing: Devil/Attacker
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 907 (1134)
HP 4055 (5069) / ATK 2308 (2885) / RCV 120 (150)

Pros	Cons
100% Damage Reduction active Scaling LS Combo based ATK not tied to HP High effective HP 4x HP 43.75% Damage Reduction when below 50%	<50% on a Combo leader No/low personal damage when above 50% Damage Reduction only occurs when below 50% Vulnerable to Gravity+Hit when above 50% Hard to hit 10 combos on 6×5 81x at 7 combos 121x at 8 combos

Yomi is the final new card added to the YYH Collab and comes with a potentially powerful leader skill. They boast 4x HP along with 43.75% Damage Reduction when below 50% HP. This essentially amounts to 4x effective HP at full health and when at 50% which should already be sufficient in most cases but does leave them vulnerable to Gravity+Hit combo when above half health. This is because they will take the full Gravity hit and the Damage Reduction will not be sufficient for the subsequent attack. Regardless, 4x HP is enough to survive all preemptives currently in the game.

Defensive multipliers aside, Yomi has a scaling ATK component that is able to max out at 15x but requires 10 combos to do so. This is an unrealistic expectation on 6×5 as a given board will have 7 or 8 combos (81x or 121x respectively) which will often not result in sufficient damage. Furthermore, Yomi lacks personal damage if above 50% HP (your ATK multiplier is unaffected) which translates into 1/3 of your team dealing less than idea damage.

While pairing with a 7×6 provides combo consistency, the maximum multiplier will still be on the low end and there are better pairings available.

Taking all of this into consideration makes it challenging to justify using Yomi when something like Dark Metatron exists and is better in almost every way.

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5 star base

All 5-star cards will have around 1040 weighted stats at level 100 which places them at a significant disadvantage compared to current options. As such, many may be used as an Assist if their active skill is valuable.

Kazuma Kuwabara – C

Active: For 1 turn, reduce enemies’ defense by 100%; Change 2nd column from left and 2nd column from right to Light orbs (11 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 2.5x ATK and 1.5x HP for Light Att.; 5x ATK when matching 5 or more connected Light orbs [2.25/156.25/1]

Awakenings:      
Super Awakenings:  

Pros	Cons
100,000 True Damage Spawns a column of Light orbs Guard Break	Little practical usage outside niche inherit

Kazuma Kuwabara is an underwhelming 5* card from the Yu Yu Hakusho Collab as his active skill is situational at best. Being able to deal 100,000 true damage to a single enemy is nothing special and because it only hits one target, it cannot be used to sweep through PreDRAs or other floors with multiple high defense cards. Furthermore, with the introduction of Guard Break  and higher ATK multipliers, most teams do not require True Damage when faced with high defense spawns.

With that in mind, the Guard Break awakening may help solve some problems for a newer player who does not have access to flashier and more powerful options.

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Genkai  – C

Active: For 1 turn, 2x ATK for Water, Light Att.; Change all orbs to Fire, Water, and Light orbs (12 turn CD)

For 1 turn, 2.5x ATK for Water, Light Att.; Change far left column to Water orbs and change far right column to Light orbs (Base form)

Leader Skill: 3x ATK for Water, Light Att.; Increase orb movement time by 2 seconds; 4x ATK when matching 5 or more connected Water or Light orbs

Awakenings:      
Super Awakenings:

Pros	Cons
Spawns a column of Water & Light in base form Tricolour board 2 or 2.5x ATK burst Base form has a better active	Neither evolution is amazing Double rows are better 2/2.5x is not that high Triboard with no Hearts

Genka has gained some relevance since her initial debut due to the fact that match-5 teams are more common. These types of teams are able to produce a large amount of damage with a single combo and being able to generate 2 distinct columns is meaningful for speed farming.

This is because it will enable players to quickly solve 2 floors provided their cards have high personal damage. Using a single active for 2 floors can help alleviate team building constraints but is still a niche use overall.

On a side note, double rows tend to be superior to double columns as they can be used in conjunction with a mono board changer to produce a 7 combo VDP board.

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Koenma – C

Active: Bind recovery for 4 turns. Awoken Bind recovery for 4 turns. 50% damage reduction for 3 turns (12 turn CD)

Leader Skill: Change the board to 7×6 size. Water attribute cards HP x2 RCV x2

Awakenings:     
Super Awakenings:

Pros	Cons
Useful active skill At least one component will be helpful	Many other Bind/Awoken Bind clears available Neither component is exceptionally strong

Koenma used to be a powerful inherit due to the fact that we had less options available for Bind and Awoken Bind clearing. Sadly, numerous other options exist (who can also be inherited) which has caused him to lose most of his unique edge.

Being able to reduce Binds and Awoken Binds by 4 turns is meaningful and when combined with a 50% Damage Reduction for 3 turns, at least one component will be useful. With that being said, It may be hard to justify using Koenma over other options. This is because neither option is exceptionally strong and being able to cover 2 things modestly well tends to be inferior to doing one thing amazingly well.

As such, may be seldom used in order to use a more specialized active/inherit.

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Kaname Hagiri – D

Active: Remove lock status on orbs. Reduce enemies’ defense to 0 for 1 turn. Effects carry forward on sweep (9 turn CD)

Leader Skill: Attacker type cards HP x1.5, ATK x1.5. ATK x2.5 for clearing each Fire or Dark orbs in a cross formation

Awakenings:     
Super Awakenings:

Pros	Cons
100% DEF break Removes locked orbs	Neither component is highly desirable Rarely need both components at the same time Still bad

Kaname Hagiri is another disappointing card from the Yu Yu Hakusho Collab due to the fact that their active skill is quite weak due to it combining two niche components. This increases the total cooldown along with players rarely needing both components at the same time outside of maybe 3P Dark Metatron.

The main problem with 100% DEF break is that Guard Break  is often a cleaner solution along with many top tier leaders having a high enough multiplier to burst through. In addition, the removal of locked orbs can be meaningful, but is best when combined with a more powerful secondary effect such as a board changer.

Taking all of this into consideration, it makes it hard to justify using Kaname Hagiri in the vast majority of situations.

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Botan – D

Active: +2 combo count for 1 turn. Avoid all Dark damage for 1 turn (15 turn CD)

Leader Skill: Light attribute cards HP x2, ATK x1. Increases time limit of orb movement by 5 seconds. RCV x3 when matching exactly 4 connected heart orbs

Awakenings:     
Super Awakenings:

Pros	Cons
+2 combo count 1 turn dark damage void	15 turn cooldown Rarely need both components Better options for either aspect

Botan is an unfortunately a lackluster card due to the fact that both components of her active skill are rarely needed which increase the total cooldown to the point where it becomes challenging to use.

Most +2 combo count actives have a much shorter cooldown along with a more meaningful secondary effect whereas a full single turn void like Ganesha is 13 turns.

The main scenario where I can foresee this being useful is against resolve spawns who also have a Void mechanic that only executes when left at 1 HP. As such, gaining +2 Combos can help with activation and the shield prevents death. Sadly, only blocking Dark damage greatly restricts where this can be used.

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Chu – A

Active: Recover 50% of max HP. Inflict Light nuke damage equal to team Water & Wood ATK x60 to all enemies (20 turn CD)

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

Awakenings:     
Super Awakenings:

Pros	Cons
60x team Water & Wood nuke Stronger alternative to Nergigante Hunter Healing can help Zeus Verse  teams Light Damage is less likely to be halved	No Coop Boost  Have to inherit Can run into SB issues Healing can ruin other buttons (Vritra, Grimmjow)

Chu is a potential alternative to Nergigante Hunter  as he offers a higher ATK multiplier of 60x vs 40 but the main issue is Chu lacks Coop Boost . This leads to him being forced into an inheritance role in order to actually have his button deal meaningful damage. As such, teams may run into Skill Boost  issues when trying to juggle his 20 turn cooldown plus the base card’s own active.

With that being said, Chu brings some interesting secondary benefits through the healing component as it can be used to maintain a higher health threshold for preempetives or for teams like Zeus Verse . Furthermore, the Light damage aspect is less likely to be halved as no colour naturally resists it. Unfortunately, the healing aspect can ruin the potential of other buttons like Grimmjow  and Vritra .

Taking all of this into consideration, Chu can possibly be used but requires more planning and finesse compared to a Nergigante Hunter build.

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Jin – B

Active: Change top-most row & bottom-most row into Wood orbs (13 turn CD)

Leader Skill: Wood attribute cards HP x2, RCV x2. ATK x3 when simultaneously clearing 6 connected Wood orbs

Awakenings:      
Super Awakenings:

Pros	Cons
Double row generation Same colour Combos with mono boards	Now have access to 2 farmable double rows

Jin will have relevance for the foreseeable future due to the power of double row generators.

Being able to instantly produce two rows of the same colour enables players to quickly solve boards in various patterns when used in conjunction with a mono board changer.

The idea is that players generate a full board of a different colour and then use Jin after to create an 18-12 split. This distribution is consistent and can be quickly solved into a 7 combo VDP board. Furthermore, pairing with a full Heart board and a SFUA can overcome high health Resolve spawns.

In essence, double row makers are wonderful for farming teams but with the presence of the farmable Eugeo and Saber Assassin, players may have less need for another double row maker. With that being said, not all players own these cards and having more is never a bad thing.

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Karasu – B

Active: Change all orbs to Fire, Dark & Jammer orbs (7 turn CD)

Leader Skill: All  attribute cards ATK x2.5 when reaching 1 set of Jammer combo. ATK x1.5 for each additional combo, up to ATK x4 when reaching 2 combos. All attribute cards ATK x2, 25% all damage reduction when reaching 5 combos

Awakenings:     
Super Awakenings:

Pros	Cons
7 turn cooldown board changer Double Machine Killer Triple via SA	Active generates Jammers No Skill Boost  Cannot use Machine Killer latents Requires solo mode for SA

Karasu’s active is on a quick 7-turn cooldown which is quite powerful for a full board changer. Unfortunately, he also produces Jammers which are undesirable by the vast majority of teams. Granted there are some teams that like Jammers, they have never really took off and tend to be more of a meme than practical overall. With that being said, having a short 7-turn cooldown enables them to more easily inherit something over top.

In regards to his sub potential, Karasu can be used as an effective Machine killer due to his personal 27x damage in solo mode. Sadly, he lacks other awakenings (most notably Skill Boost ) and loses his third Machine Killer when played in solo mode.

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Itsuki (New) – C

Active: Delay enemies for 3 turns; For 3 turns, no skyfall (10 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 4x ATK and 2x HP & RCV for Wood, Dark Att.; Reduce damage taken from fire, water, wood, dark att. by 30%

Awakenings:  
Super Awakenings:

Pros	Cons
3 turns no Skyfall Damage Control Prevents unwanted matches 3 Skill Boosts High damage output with 10 Combos	Niche sub overall Active is niche Requires 7×6 to truly shine

Itsuki is one of the new 5-star cards released this time around and comes with the potential to have high damage output on 7×6 boards. This is because they own both a 10 and 7 Combo awakening which translates into 10x personal damage. This outpaces triple 7 Combo but faces inconsistencies on 6×5 boards.

While this may be appealing, having a sub with only raw damage is less amazing overall because we tend to deal enough damage already and require utility to survive problematic mechanics. As such, Itsuki would mostly function as a damage and Skill Boost stick on 7×6 teams as their active and other awakenings offer little else.

In terms of their active, a 3 turn delay on a 10-turn cooldown is fast charging, but the need for a delay is quite low at this point in time whereas the No Skyfalls can hinder damage potential as Damage Control is rarely needed.

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Shishiwakamaru (New) – B

Active: Reduce HP by 50%; Deal 100x Dark damage to an enemy; Change Heal, Jammer, Poison, Mortal Poison orbs to Dark orbs (5 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 4x ATK when below 80% HP; 2x HP & ATK for Dark Att.; 50x ATK additional damage when matching orbs

Awakenings:  
Super Awakenings:

Pros	Cons
5 turn base cooldown Small 100x nuke -50% player HP LS has built in follow up damage Counters Resolve spawns 8x ATK 2x HP Not orb conditional Natural Tape Resist Double Devil Killer Viable pairing with Saber Alter and Sensui	100x nuke is often too small Fewer awakenings Stronger Devil Killers exist Restricted to Dark subs

Shishiwakamaru is an interesting card within the YYH Collab as he is able to provide 2x HP / 8x ATK along with free Follow Up damage after matching orbs. This is used to counter Resolve spawns and is sometimes the most efficient way to deal with these encounters.

At this point in time, Light and Dark Vaj   are the two best options as they offer 6x ATK, high stats through Coop Boost along with Skill Boosts . Unfortunately, both require two Light/Dark combos to activate which prevents full mono board swipes. As such, Shishiwakamaru can fulfill a different niche as he can swipe full boards for 8x ATK provided players are below 80% HP.

Being low HP is made easier via Satan and his -9999 RCV while also allowing various buttons such as Grimmjow to optimally function. Of course, one has to be aware of preemptives so careful planning must be exercised.

The difference of 6x vs 8x can be quite significant and can potentially enable players to modify their team compositions or open up new possibilities. Furthermore, by naturally coming with Tape Resist can negate one of the more annoying mechanics as it is a rare natural awakening (sometimes found as a Super Awakening but that is lost in coop).

Taking all of this into consideration, Shishiwakamaru  can help players clear Resolve spawns more easily while also being able to utilize full board swipes.

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The Beautiful Suzuki (New) – B

Active: Create 3 Fire, Water, Wood, Light, Dark, Heal orbs over any orb (10 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 1.5x Rank EXP; 2x ATK when matching 4 or more colors [1/4/1]

Awakenings:  
Super Awakenings:

Pros	Cons
Same Rank EXP as Ganesha Comes with 2 Skill Boosts Has damage awakenings Dungeon Bonus gives a little extra zest 10 turn base cooldown Orb Skin	Rank farming is not for everyone Less value if used outside this niche Saline is superior Dungeon Bonus only works in solo Tiny additional perks

The Beautiful Suzuki is a significantly stronger Ganesha due to their double Skill Boost, offensive awakenings, and lower base cooldown. All together, this makes them a strong option for Rank Farming and their Dungeon Bonus provides a tiny extra amount of Rank Experience (+2%).

Sadly, Rank farming is not for everyone as it can cause newer players to rank up too fast and waste stamina. Furthermore, those truly GungHo about pushing their rank will most likely own Saline (1.8x) which means all other options are inferior as they provide less Rank Experience.

Despite sounding negative, The Beautiful Suzuki is still a reasonably strong card and they are the only monster in the YYH Collab to come with an Orb Skin.

Conclusion

The Yu Yu Hakusho Collab is an exciting event as it will mark the debut of Yusuke  along with being able to utilize the Monster Exchange system to trade in for 6* cards.

For the most part, this Collab is mediocre outside of Yusuke and may result in players simply using the Monster Exchange instead of rolling.

Let me know what you think about the Yu Yu Hakusho Collab REM and how much you plan on rolling.

There will be a separate article analyzing the viability of using the Monster Exchange system for Yusuke  coming soon.

Happy Puzzling!

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