Introduction

The Shaman King Collab will be making their debut in North America this coming Monday and is an exciting time for NA players. This is because there was a certain degree of uncertainty of whether or not we would actually experience this event as it is home to several unique and powerful cards.

One notable feature is that all monsters feature a Weapon Assist evolution which enables them to provide additional awakenings when used as an inherit. As such, all cards have some degree of value and is reminiscent of the Monster Hunter Collab. With that being said, all Weapon Assists have a different active which may change their value for each player. Carefully inspect before committing to this evolution. With that being said, the Shaman King differs in that all cards have significantly lower weighted stats but is offset by the 6-Magic Stone per roll price tag.

On the bright side, essentially every card is good/has some value and it makes it hard to justify not rolling.

Regardless, this article will outline the strengths and weaknesses of this event to give players an idea of what each card has to offer and whether or not it is worth their Magic Stones.

Video commentary

—Shaman King Hype?!—

Overview

Shaman King Collab Pros & Cons – May 23, 2019
Pros	Cons
All cards feature a Weapon Assist Monster Exchange requires 6-star GFE Value in essentially every card Debut in NA The first few rolls should not have dupes	Lower weighted stats 5:1 Monster Exchange ratio 6 Magic Stone cost

Shaman King Collab REM
6 Star base
5 Star base

Shaman King Collab REM Rankings – May 23, 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.

Weapon Assists

Weapon Assists are a special evolution for select cards that will be used exclusively as inherits. This form retains the same base stats as the original form but will also transfer over all awakenings on the Weapon Assist card and this occurs if the Awoken Assist  is present.

This type of evolution is permanent and cannot be reversed; however, during the card’s respective event, it is possible to Monster Exchange them to reverse them back to the original form. Doing this will forfeit all pluses, skill ups, and awakenings.

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 are available through the Monster Exchange at a 5:1 trading ratio due to the 6-Magic Stone cost. Thankfully, trade fodder consists of 6-star GFE.

Yoh Asakura – S

Active: For 1 turn, increase combo count by 2; Change Dark, Fire orbs to Wood orbs; Change Water orbs to Heal orbs (13 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 4x ATK when matching 6 or more connected Wood orbs; 4x ATK and reduce damage taken by 50% when matching 5 or more connected non Wood orbs [1/256/1/75%]

Awakenings:    
Super Awakenings:   
Typing: Attacker / Physical
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 906 (1132)
HP 4105 (5131) / ATK 2353 (2941) / RCV 76 (95)
Weapon Assist:  

Pros	Cons
High Effective HP Easy to activate Consists of Damage Reduction Survives >100% Gravities Damage not tied to combos Powerful active skill Solves activation and combo count Can efficiently use Zela Arguably the best sub in a vacuum Weapon Assist provides powerful resists	Match-5 cannot be Wood Restricts combo count 6 Wood orbs are not always available Activation inconsistency Zela Kitty is not available yet

Yoh Asakura is the first 6-star card of the Shaman King Collab and is a powerful leader due to his high Effective HP, damage output, and ability to efficiently use Zela .

When pushing through challenging content, damage tends to not be the most important factor as we tend to already be saturated with high damaging teams. As such, being able to survive mechanics become the largest determinant for how strong a leader is. This is often referred to as Effective HP as it takes into consideration HP and Damage Reduction.

For the most part, Damage Reduction is preferred as it can survive Gravities while also placing a lower constraint on RCV while also causing Poison orbs to be less punishing (Poison damage is based on max HP). Thus, Yoh Asakura is well suited for end game content as he has an effective 4x HP due to his 75% Damage Reduction which is almost always available.

Having to match any 5 connected orbs (excluding Wood) should be doable from almost any given board and greatly improves Yoh Asakura’s ability to stall through problematic encounters. With that being said, his combo count will be significantly lower due to the need to match-5 and match-6 Wood orbs. This can make higher Combo shields problematic but his base active can help solve that along with Zela.

In fact, being able to use Zela efficiently makes him a significantly stronger leader due to the fact that she is arguably the best sub in a vacuum. When I say in a vacuum, I mean she has the best potential due to her active, awakenings, and base stats and would almost always be a better choice compared to other options provided the leader can actually use her.

Zela comes with incredibly high damage output, FUA , VDP , and a bicolour board with Hearts and +2 combo count.

Unfortunately, Yoh Asakura is not without faults as he will suffer from inconsistent full activation, a naturally lower combo count (can be solved via actives or Zela Kitty pairing), and lower weighted stats compared to many other cards.

Weapon Assist  

Active: For 3 turns, increase combo count by 2 (16 turn CD)

Despite the fact that Trojan Horse exists for 20% coverage against the same mechanics, the inclusion of SFUA is valuable. This may sound strange at first but one has to remember that it does provide 2x ATK for the owning card when forming a 3×3 Heart Box and can kill Resolve spawns.

This has the most applications after using a Zela board as it will generate Wood and Hearts for both VDP and SFUA along with the bonus combo count from Zela active. This can result in a sizable burst for the owning card and helps ensure a spawn dies without a need for a supplemental active.

---

Anna Kyoyama – A

Active: For 3 turns, 2x RCV; Remove all binds and awoken skill binds (10 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 4x ATK and reduce damage taken by 25% when matching 5 orbs in L shape; 5x ATK and reduce damage taken by 25% when matching 4 or more colors [1/400/1/68.36%]

Awakenings:  
Super Awakenings:   
Typing: Attacker / Healer
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 1006 (1258)
HP 3278 (4098) / ATK 2229 (2775) / RCV 705 (881)
Weapon Assist:

Pros	Cons
Full Bind and Awoken Bind clearing in both forms Potentially strong leader At least 1 Damage Reduction component can be achieved Synergistic awakenings Tape Resist via Weapon Assist	Leader Skill requires L + 4 Colours Limits board changers May be harder to FUA VDP may be harder Double leader actives is redundant

Anna Kyoyama looks like a strong leader from her multipliers but she will be marred by a restrictive activation clause. She must match both L and 4 colours for full activation which does produce spectacular damage and Damage Reduction, but not all given boards will have this available along with being restricted to the types of actives/board changers she can use.

Furthermore, trying to secure FUA may be risky from a 5-elemental board changer along with VDP being challenging as well. In order to successfully VDP, Anna must have an L and 9 orbs (these can be different colours) so an active must be used and there are not too many available.

Another drawback is her active skill in a leadership position. On its own, it is quite powerful as it prevents the need to bring something like Odin Dragon, but if 2/6 cards have this active, it becomes redundant. As such, you will be playing with less actives until an inherit charges up which may be problematic.

Weapon Assist

Active: Unlock all orbs; Recover all HP; Remove all binds and awoken skill binds (11 turn CD)

Anna Kyoyama’s Weapon Assist is quite valuable as it offers both a full Bind/Awoken Bind clear along a Tape Resist awakening. This can free up additional space on your team ad would be wise to pursue if the leader form is unappealing.

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King of Future, Hao – A

Active: For 1 turn, bypass Void damage shield effects; Change all orbs to Fire, Water, Wood, Light, and Dark orbs (30 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 4x ATK when matching 4 or more colors up to 5x at 5 colors; 4x ATK and reduce damage taken by 25% when matching 5 or more connected orbs [1/400/1/43.75%]

Awakenings:
Super Awakenings:  
Typing: Balance
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 907 (1134)
HP 3923 (4904) / ATK 1955 (2444) / RCV 373 (466)
Weapon Assist:

Pros	Cons
First Void Damage Void active Produces a 5-colour board Cooldown offset by Skill Charge Damage Reduction should always be available 400x ATK with full activation Weapon Assist instantly generates a 3×3 Fire Box	Rainbow leaders face activation inconsistency Match-5 can lower combo count May struggle with VDP and FUA Long CD active unless used with Skill Charge Harder to inherit base active

Hao joins the ranks of reasonable Rainbow leaders but like all teams that rely on 4+ colour activation, he will be plagued by orb troll and having a tougher time triggering VDP and maybe FUA . Taking a closer look at Hao, he strongly resembles Reeche in that both feature exceptionally long base cooldowns that are offset by double Skill Charge .

This results in 3 turns of cooldown reduction when all 5 colours are matched which means Hao’s active can be potentially charged up in 10 turns. This is incredibly fast but will most likely not have full rainbow boards every turn. With that being said, Hao is the first card available in North America that can Void/nullify Damage Void mechanics.

This is used to counter the Damage Void spawns (Grey Shield, eg. Gaia Dragon) at the push of a button. This means players do not have to bring VDP which can make combos and the inclusion of FUA significantly easier. This also means a spawn can be Buttoned or Gravitied and essentially opens up new ways to tackle Damage Void spawns.

Returning back to his Leader Skill, Hao requires 4 colours and a match-5 to fully activate. Thankfully, the Damage Reduction is tied to the match-5 which should always be available. Unfortunately, both components may be cumbersome and limits the types of board/orb changers available.

All in all, Hao functions as a strong Rainbow leader, but is hindered by the colour and match-5 clause. With that being said, his base form’s active is unique and powerful which makes it challenging to justify evolving into his Weapon Assist form.

Weapon Assist

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

Hao’s Weapon Assist takes a turn in the complete opposite direction as it is able to instantly generate a 3×3 Box of Fire orbs. This is akin to Evolved Yusuke in that the instant 9 orbs are already matched but I personally feel a bicolour board is a better option as it usually holds more combos.

With that being said, farming builds or certain Ranking Dungeons can greatly benefit from the guaranteed activation but giving up the only Void Damage Void active in the game is too high of a cost to justify.

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Iron Maiden Jeanne – A

Active: Reduce HP by 50%; Unlock all orbs; For 1 turn, only Water, Light, Dark, Heal orbs will appear (10 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 4x ATK and 2x HP for Light Att.; 4x ATK when below 50% HP; 2x ATK when below 80% HP [4/256/1]

Awakenings:    
Super Awakenings:   
Typing: Balance / God
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 907 (1134)
HP 3573 (4466) / ATK 1903 (2379) / RCV 510 (638)
Weapon Assist:

Pros	Cons
Specific Skyfall buff Helps set up the next board Promotes skyfalls Full Bind Immunity Weapon Assist Modestly long cooldown Easy to activate Leader Skill Only tied to HP No combo count required 4x HP Can use any Light sub	No Damage Reduction component <50% tends to be inferior to 7c 7c is always available Not bind immune Must rely on Weapon Assists

Jeanne provides Light with another <50% HP leader to abuse, but unlike Sinon , she has no typing restriction nor requires Rainbow activation. To compensate for this, Jeanne maxes out at 256x instead of 400x along with relying on being below 50% instead of 80%. Either way, this is a fair price to pay for the extra flexibility in team building.

256x ATK is achieved by being below 50% with no other restriction. This can easily trivialize content as a single combo can deal massive amounts of damage. Furthermore, being between 50-80% results in a modest 64x ATK which may still be enough for some encounters. One thing to keep in mind is that Jeanne teams can completely focus their output on Light damage and can use any board/orb changer.

Unfortunately, Jeanne is not without faults as she has no form of Damage Reduction which means she is exceptionally vulnerable to Gravities along with not being Bind Immune.

It sounds strange that any card can be bound in this day and age, and Jeanne is only able to overcome this via a Weapon Assist. Amusingly, her own Weapon Assist form is able to provide Full Bind Immunity  but the associated active may or may not be ideal due to the constant 10% healing.

Weapon Assist

Active: For 5 turns, recover 10% of max HP; For 1 turn, only Water, Light, Dark, Heal orbs will appear (14 turn CD)

Jeanne’s Weapon Assist is able to provide full Bind Immunity along with a reasonably long cooldown. This is important if you do not wish to overwrite the base active. In regards to the value of this active, the 10% max HP heal is interesting and can provide modest sustain and the forced 4-elemental orb drop promotes skyfalls while also setting up the next board.

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Tao Ren – A

Active: Create 1 Dark orbs over non Light orbs (1 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 5.5x ATK and increase combo by 1 when matching 4 or more connected Light and Dark orbs at once; 3x ATK and reduce damage taken by 25% when 5 or more combos [1/272.25/1/43.75%]

Awakenings:  
Super Awakenings:  
Typing: Attacker / Physical
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 1006 (1258)
HP 4685 (5856) / ATK 2620 (3275) / RCV 43 (54)
Weapon Assist:
Base form:    

Pros	Cons
1 turn base cooldown Will almost always activate (unlike Myne ) Provides reasonable awakenings Weapon Assist provides Coop Boost  and 2 ATK Helps create a stronger Button Interesting Leader Skill Should always have Damage Reduction +2 Combos without compromising matching Base form has 4 L Potential Fatalis sub	Must match Light and Dark LS multiplier are nothing exceptional

Tao Ren is the final card in the Shaman King Collab and comes with an interesting Leader Skill and kit. He requires players to match 4 or more connected Light AND Dark orbs along with 5 or more combos. Both components should almost always be doable which lends him activation consistency but he actually gains +1 combo (+2 with dual leaders) when matching the 4 Dark and Light.

This supplemental combo is quite exciting as he is not an exceptionally orb hungry leader and the total combo count should rarely be compromised. As such, he will have an exceptionally easy time overcoming Combo shields, even when matching VDP or FUA (VDP fulfills the match 4+). Furthermore, his 1-turn base cooldown enables him to be greatly customized as he can carry any active required for the dungeon. This additional layer of flexibility can be valuable and at the very worst generates a single Dark orb.

While all of this sounds great, his main drawback is the fact that his multipliers are not exceptionally amazing. 272x ATK is a bit on the higher side but with only 43.75% Damage Reduction as his Effective Health, he will be vulnerable to many mechanics in end game content. Regardless, I like the direction GungHo is taking with the built-in combo leader skills and look forward to seeing more in the future.

In terms of his base form, Tao Ren has a different set of awakenings as he is granted 4 L’s . This means he can function as a potent sub on Fatalis teams if damage is a concern. Furthermore, the 1 turn active skill and his Light sub attribute means he can be used on Light Ryu teams to fulfill his active skill clause.

Weapon Assist

Active: Enhance all orbs; Charge allies’ skill by 3 turns (20 turn CD)

Tao Ren’s Weapon Assist is able to provide both Coop Boost  and 2 ATK awakenings. This will greatly bolster a card’s stats in multiplayer while also lending an additional 200 ATK. This can help create even stronger buttons from things like Nergigante Hunter .

Unfortunately, not everyone is gungho on Button farming and his base form is quite strong so it would be hard to justify converting.

---

5 star base

All 5-star base cards have low weighted stats which may make it challenging to use as a sub. Thankfully, all come with a Weapon Assist which enables them to provide additional value when inherited.

Opacho – A

Active: Change all orbs to Fire, Water, Wood, Light, and Dark orbs; For 1 turn, bypass att. absorb shield effects (11 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 3.5x ATK and reduce damage taken by 35% when above 50% HP; 3x ATK when matching 3 or more colors; Increase orb movement time by 2 seconds [1/110.25/1/57.75%]

Awakenings:    
Super Awakenings:
Weapon Assist:  

Pros	Cons
Leader Swap Weapon Assist Provides Team HP = +10% HP with double leader swap Colour Absorb Void in base form Budget Shirou sub Comes with Orb Skin Can be directly purchased via IAP bundle	Leader Swapping is niche Colour Absorb Void is niche Harder to roll compared to other 5-stars Nearly 6-star rolling chance

Opacho’s base form can act as a temporary sub on developing Shirou teams along with being able to negate Colour Absorb mechanics. For the most part, Colour Absorb Voids are becoming more common and tend to be less mandatory compared to Damage Absorb Voids (eg. Fujin ) but can still play a vital role when faced with certain spawns.

As such, newer accounts may find more value in using Opacho in their base form until another alternative becomes available as their true power comes from the Weapon Assist.

Weapon Assist  

Active: Becomes Team leader, changes back when used again; Deal damage equal to 10% of enemies’ max HP (22 turn CD)

Leader Swapping is the ability to enter a dungeon with a specific leader and then have it change places with a particular sub to take advantage of that Leader Skill. For the most part, this is either used for 7×6 abuse or for bolstering Rank Experience.

This is because entering a dungeon with those types of Leader Skills will not have those effects removed upon swapping with a sub. Thus, players can take advantage of the larger board or extra Rank Experience while using a more powerful leader.

Despite the fact that several options for this exists, none come in a Weapon Assist form and the added awakenings can help teams succeed in challenging dungeons. In fact, the Team HP is the main selling point as having two Opocho Weapon Assists translates into +10% Team HP which can make or break compositions in end game content.

With that being said, not many players are able to fully take advantage of this mechanic as the most common place to use this is for Saline -swapping Arena 5.

Orb Skin

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Horohoro – B

Active: Lock Heal orbs; Change all orbs to Water orbs (13 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 3x ATK and 1.5x HP for Water Att.; 3x ATK when matching 4 or more connected Water orbs up to 4x at 6 orbs [2.25/144/1]

Awakenings:    
Super Awakenings:
Weapon Assist:

Pros	Cons
Unique twist on Water/Heart boards Three Killers in base form Provides Balance Killer in Weapon Assist	All Killers are different Harder to stack damage

Horohoro is an interesting card as he has value in both base and Weapon Assist form. In his base form, his active skill is able to generate a full board of Water but will not overwrite Heart Orbs. This can result in predictable board distributions but is less reliable compared to the full mono board + double row makers.

With that being said, if you know there is a way for you predictably generate a specific number of Heart orbs, it may have some value.

In addition to this, Horohoro has 3 unique Killer awakenings but the main problem is that all are different. This may often result in only 3x personal damage against spawns that do not have overlapping types. As such, he will often make for a less reliable Killer stick unless the dungeon in question has those typings.

Thankfully, he also has a potent Weapon Assist form.

Weapon Assist

Active: Delay enemies for 2 turns; For 4 turns, Water orbs are more likely to appear by 15% (12 turn CD)

For the most part, Horohoro’s Weapon Assist will be used for the Balance Killer awakening as it grants the base card 3x personal damage. This is valuable for Ranking Dungeons or against Void spawns where your VDP card needs an extra boost in power.

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Lyserg Diethel – B

Active: Change Water, Jammer orbs to Wood orbs; Change Dark, Poison, Mortal Poison orbs to Fire orbs; Reduce binds and awoken skill binds by 3 turns (8 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 4x ATK for Wood Att.; 2x RCV for Fire Att.; 2.5x ATK and reduce damage taken by 25% when matching Wood+Fire [1/100/4/43.75%]

Awakenings:     
Super Awakenings:   
Weapon Assist:

Pros	Cons
Provides Hazard removal 3 turn Bind and Awoken Bind clear Physical Killer via Weapon Assist	Stronger Bind/Awoken Bind clears exist Mostly acts as a transitional card

Lyserg Diethel’s main appeal will be her Weapon Assist as it is able to provide a Phsyical Killer awakening.

With that being said, her base form can act as a transitional Bind/Awoken bind clearer. This is because she only provides 3 turns of clearing which may not be sufficient for harder content.

Weapon Assist

Active: Recover all HP; Delay enemies for 3 turns (15 turn CD)

Like any other Weapon Assist that provides a Killer awakening, their main purpose will be to provide 3x personal damage against their respective spawn. This tends to be most helpful in Ranking Dungeons or against Void spawns where your VDP card needs an extra boost in power. Furthermore, the full heal component can aid in farming teams that must remain at 100% HP.

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Joco – B

Active: Change 2nd row from top to Light orbs and change 2nd row from bottom to Wood orbs (11 turn CD)

Leader Skill: Increase orb movement time by 5 seconds; 3.5x ATK for each cross of 5 Wood, Light orbs [1/1838.69/1]

Awakenings:  
Super Awakenings:
Weapon Assist:

Pros	Cons
Double row maker in base form Combos with mono Fire, Water, and Dark boards Provides 18-12 split Double Balance Killers  + Coop Boost Weapon Assist provides an Attacker Killer	Weapon Assist has a significantly weaker active

Joco’s base form has a significantly stronger active compared to his Weapon Assist as he is able to generate 2 unique rows.

For the most part, double row makers are used in farming set ups as they can combo with a mono board changer to always produce an 18-12 board. This leads to a 7 combo VDP solution and can only fail if locked orbs exist. This predictability is invaluable as it can take the edge off farming as the board is easy to solve.

In addition to his double row generation, Joco can act as a niche Balance Killer card as his stats can be further amplified in Coop due to his Coop Boost awakening. While he still does not have the highest stats available, he will be somewhat abreast in coop.

Weapon Assist

Active: For 5 turns, 1.5x orb move time; For 5 turns, 1.5x ATK for Attacker type (10 turn CD)

Players should only convert Joco to his Weapon Assist form if they already own Double Row makers as that type of active is quite hard to replicate. Despite the fact that having an Attacker Killer is useful, I would prioritize a Double Row maker if lacking one.

---

Marco – C

Active: Reduce HP by 50%; Enhance all Light orbs; Delay enemies for 2 turns (10 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 7x ATK when below 50% HP; 2x ATK and reduce damage taken by 50% when matching 5 Heal orbs in a cross formation [1/196/1/75%]

Awakenings:    
Super Awakenings:  
Weapon Assist:

Pros	Cons
Unique active in Weapon Assist form Gemstone that scales with <50%	Not many teams have large numbers of <50% Base form is lackluster Weapon Assist awakenings are middling

Marco’s base form will not be able to provide much merit for many teams due to the fact that neither the active nor awakenings provide much value. As such, he would often be converted into his interesting Weapon Assist.

Weapon Assist

Active: For 2 turns, increase ATK by 30% for each Enhance when HP is below 50% awakening skill on the team (14 turn CD)

Marco’s Weapon Assist functions like a Gemstone Princess in that the amount of additional damage provided is based off a particular awakening. In this case, it scales for +0.3x for each <50% awakening . This is the same scaling as a Gemstone but may be challenging to field a team that provides enough of these awakenings as Skill Boosts or 7 Combo tends to be the most commonly available. Of course there can be exceptions to this with certain compositions but it will probably be a less common first choice.

---

Ryunosuke Umemiya – B

Active: Deal Dark damage equal to 80x of team’s total Wood, Dark ATK to an enemy; Charge allies’ skill by 1 turn (12 turn CD)

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

Awakenings: 
Super Awakenings:
Weapon Assist:

Pros	Cons
Potentially high damage Button in base form 12 turn CD Jammer Skyfall buff in Weapon Assist Overrides Poison Skyfalls Invaluable in A5	Targets only 1 enemy Must use a specific team Weapon Assist is fixed at 8 turn CD

Ryunosuke Umemiya has the potential to deal large amounts of Button damage provided your team is heavily composed of Dark/Wood cards. This if further amplified by his short 12-turn cooldown but is kept in check by only hitting a single enemy.

As such, he may or may not be a stronger option compared to your other single target nukes and being forced to use specific cards may be problematic overall.

With that being said, if you have no interest in Button farming, his Weapon Assist provides an invaluable active for Arena 5.

Weapon Assist

Active: For 1 turn, Jammer orbs are more likely to appear by 20%; Change all orbs to Fire, Wood, Dark, and Heal orbs (8 turn CD)

At first glance, causing a Jammer skyfall buff seems counter intuitive but its main purpose is to overwrite more lethal mechanics. In Arena 5, there is a 50% chance to encounter Poison skyfalls which are not countered by Poison Resists  . This debuff will be fatal to many teams and the best way to overcome it is by using your own Jammer Skyfall buff. Any Hazard buff will overwrite one used by an enemy and having 20% Jammers for 1 turn is much better compared to 15 turns of high probability Poison.

With that being said, the cooldown is fixed at 8 turns which could be problematic as there is no way to lower or increase its value.

---

Faust VIII – B

Active: Reduce binds and awoken skill binds by 6 turns; For 1 turn, 3x ATK for Dark Att. (12 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 4x ATK for Dark Att. and reduce damage taken by 35% when above 50% HP; 2.5x ATK when matching 4 or more colors [1/100/1/57.75%]

Awakenings:  
Super Awakenings:
Weapon Assist:  

Pros	Cons
Dual purpose active 6 turn Bind and Awoken Bind clear 3x Burst damage Always have value Weapon Assist provides double Awoken Material Killer	Low value active in Weapon Assist form Base form would be primarily used as an inherit

Faust VIII is in an awkward situation due to the fact that their active is vastly superior in their base form and would be primarily used as an inherit. This means that players will not be able to take advantage of the double Awoken Material Killers .

Regardless, having a 6-turn Bind and Awoken Bind clear is quite valuable as it should be sufficient for the vast majority of content and the secondary effect of 3x Dark damage ensures the active does not go to waste.

Having a dual purpose active that has two valuable components helps ensure it is not wasted if one of the mechanics are not used. As such, Faust VIII may be the inherit of choice for Dark teams in challenging content as it can potentially free up an active skill slot.

Weapon Assist  

Active: For 2 turns, reduce damage taken by 50%; Change Heal orbs to Dark orbs (11 turn CD)

Unfortunately, Faust VIII’s Weapon Assist has a different and less powerful active which leads to a tough decision as to which form is best to pursue. For the most part, I would lean more heavily towards their Base form as the double Awoken Killers have a more niche application while also competing with the farmable Zaerog Weapon Assist.

Conclusion

The Shaman King Collab is an exciting event for North American players as there was a large degree of uncertainty of whether or not we would actually see this event. One of the main appeals for Shaman King is that all cards come with a Weapon Assist form which provides some value as being able to transfer over awakenings is valuable. Furthermore, essentially every card is valuable and provides justification for rolling even a few times.

One thing to keep in mind is that this is the debut in North America which means the chances of players rolling a dupe should be lower due to the fact that we have never acquired any of the cards before. This mostly applies to rolling in small amounts.

Let me know what you think about the Shaman King Collab in the comments below and if you plan on rolling.

Happy Puzzling!

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