Introduction

The Samurai Showdown Collab will be making their debut appearance this coming Monday after a content-packed NA stream on Friday.

While the prospect of gaining new cards is always exciting, it comes at a time when we are heavily saturated with content that demands our Magic Stones. This is because the Stream also announced a return of the buffed Heroine series along with Fist of the North Star. The exact dates for these events are unknown but are coming soon.

Furthermore, there is a 24h 7-stone Super Godfest which has appealing rates and 1.5% chance for the 7% GFE.

With that being said, the Samurai Showdown Collab is one of the higher value events due to every card having value. This is exemplified by all cards coming with a Weapon Assist along with many having unique kits that are hard to replicate elsewhere.

This article will cover the strengths and weaknesses of each card to give players a better understanding of what to expect in the Samurai Showdown Collab REM.

Video commentary

–video coming soon–

Overview

Samurai Showdown REM Pros & Cons – November 9, 2019
Pros	Cons
Debut event All cards have Weapon Assists No “bad” cards Many cards feature unique kits 6 Magic Stones per roll Easier to roll Contains Voice Awakenings , Orb Skin, and IAP bundles	6 Magic Stones per roll Slightly higher Exchange costs Lower weighted stats Comes during other exciting events

Samurai Showdown REM Rarities
6-Star Base
5-Star Base

Samurai Showdown REM Rankings – November 9, 2019
S
A
B
C
D

Order within each tier is random and not reflective of ranking

All icons show Base form

Use these rankings as starting points, not absolute truths

Regardless of a 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 have 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.

My approach to Collab rolling

Rolling any Rare Egg Machine is a gamble and it becomes a matter of maximizing your rate of returns in an event.

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 common cards 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-star cards have a unique Base, Evolved, and Weapon Assist form. Unlike Power Rangers, Base form has different active skills compared to the Evolved and Weapon Assist form.

Furthermore, all cards cap out at around 1,130 weighted stats which is on the lower end.

Haohmaru – S

Active: for 1 turn, increase combo count by 1; For 1 turn, 2x orb move time (6 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 1.5x all stats for Attacker type; Increase orb movement time by 2 seconds; 4x ATK when 3 or more combos up to 9x at 8 combos [2.25/182.25/2.25]

Awakenings:   
Super Awakenings:
Typing: Attacker / Physical
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 887 (1109)
HP 3945 (4931) / ATK 2303 (2879) / RCV 98 (122)
Weapon Assist:

Pros	Cons
Super Jammer Resist 100% coverage Strong offensive awakenings 6 turn CD	Jammer Resist is less valuable Evolved form has a much stronger LS Built in Follow Up Damage Similar to Ina Primarily a sub Light is highly competitive

Haohmaru is the first card within the Samurai Showdown Collab and comes with 100% Jammer Resist via a regular awakening. This is powerful and greatly frees up inheritance options as this one awakening provides the power of five.

Unfortunately, Jammers are arguably the least dangerous metric as Poison and Blind tend to be more lethal and are usually pursued first. With that being said, this is still valuable and the main hurdle for Haohmaru will be competing against the plethora of high-end Light subs (eg. ) and his other two forms.

If you find yourself having no need for another strong Light sub, his other two forms also hold significant value.

 Wandering Swordsman, Haohmaru

Active: For 1 turn, increase combo count by 2; Change all orbs to Fire, Light, and Heal orbs (13 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 1.5x all stats for Light Att.; 2x ATK when 4 or more combos; 5x ATK when matching 6 or more connected Light orbs; 50000 additional damage when matching 6 or more Light orbs [2.25/225/2.25]

Awakenings:
Super Awakenings:
Typing: Attacker / Physical
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 907 (1134)
HP 4045 (5056) / ATK 2353 (2941) / RCV 98 (122)
Weapon Assist:

Pros	Cons
Built in Follow Up Damage via LS Counters Resolve spawns Useful active skill Rows add damage Synergy with LS Powerful pairing with Light leaders eg. Megazord , Dark Karin , Tifa	Cannot abuse Combo Orbs Become “dead” awakenings Base CD is longish Harms semi orb hungry teams

Evolved Haohmaru comes with the incredibly powerful built in Follow Up Damage via their Leader Skill. This enables them to deal 50,000 True Damage after matching 6 or more Light orbs. This completely counters Resolve spawns which means there is no need for FUA or SFUA and subsequently Hearts from kill boards.

This opens up more options for orb changers while also providing a large layer of security when playing through challenging content. This leader skill can be favourably compared to Ina who features the same built in Follow Up Damage when matching 6 connected Dark orbs.

While 6 connected orbs is modestly orb hungry, strong defensive multipliers can aid in stalling which is one reason why it is often ideal to pair with someone else.

Part of Haohmaru’s multipliers are sacrificed for the auto Follow Up Damage so finding a way to bolster their Effective Health and survivability becomes important. With that being said, one could pair Haohmaru with any other strong Light leader to take advantage of his anti Resolve aspect.

For example, pairing with base Megazord from the Power Rangers Collab provides free movement time, 2x HP, and +1 combo with any connect 6 Light. This is similar to Phenom but has lower damage scaling and no natural Resists but has higher personal VDP damage.

Unfortunately, I do not foresee Haohmaru reaching Ina levels of power due to less ideal pairings along with the Combo Orbs being wasted. This is because it is both orb hungry and we lack a System to abuse it fully.

Weapon Assist:
Active: For 1 turn, increase combo count by 2; Change all orbs to Fire, Light, and Heal orbs (13 turn CD)

Pros	Cons
Provides four Resists Team HP Tricolour board with Heal Provides +2 combos	Jammer Resist is arguably the worst Resist

Haohmaru’s Weapon Assist is able to provide a total of 40% Jammer , 20% Blind , and 20% Poison Resist. This is on the higher end for total number of Resists but is sadly not created equally.

For the most part, Blind and Poison tend to be the most valuable as their mechanics are often the most deadly. By comparison, Jammer Resist is almost an after thought if additional inheritance space is available. With that in mind, there are two valuable Resists and two mediocre ones.

This lowers the overall viability of the Resists but is thankfully tied to a powerful active.

13 turns is a modest length which can help with active skill juggling but producing a tri colour board with Hearts is always meaningful for the final floors. Furthermore, the active also provides +2 combo count which ensures full activation.

---

Nakoruru – S

Active: Reduce binds and awoken skill binds by 5 turns; Change bottom row to Fire orbs (7 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 1.5x HP for Fire Att.; 4x ATK when 3 or more combos; 4x ATK and reduce damage taken by 25% when matching 2+ Fire combos [2.25/256/1/43.75%]

Awakenings:    
Super Awakenings:  
Typing: Healer / Attacker
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 889 (1111)
HP 3028 (3785) / ATK 1925 (2406) / RCV 605 (756)
Weapon Assist:  

Pros	Cons
Valuable active skill Orb generation and Bind/Awoken Bind clear 7 turn CD Super Poison Resist 100% coverage Frees up inheritance space Viable leader Respectable multipliers Only semi orb hungry	Offensive tied to >80% 1.5x & smaller window Has two other strong forms

Nakoruru comes with a utility-based kit as she is able to provide 100% Poison overage by herself via Super Poison Resist . This is valuable as Poison orbs are often quite dangerous and being able to completely counter them with a single sub can greatly free up inheritance options.

This is important because players can either pursue actives they want to have or can utilize damage-oriented Weapons. While Nakoruru does sacrifice most of their personal damage, they can potentially contribute more via Orb Enhances or Rows via Weapon Assists compared to a card without natural Poison Resist and using inherits to cover Poison.

This is an interesting concept and I feel there will become a shift towards subs with these Super Resists who will begin to play a larger part in team building. With that being said, Nakoruru may begin to see more usage as a sub when Raoh returns to NA via Fist of the North Star Collab.

Maiden Chosen by the Kamui, Nakoruru

Active: Deal 250x ATK Dark damage to an enemy; Change all orbs to Fire orbs (16 turn CD)

Leader Skill: [Board becomes 7×6] 2x HP & ATK for Fire Att.; 6x ATK when matching 7 or more connected Fire orbs [4/144/1]

Awakenings:
Super Awakenings:  
Typing: Healer / Attacker
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 909 (1136)
HP 3028 (3785) / ATK 2025 (2531) / RCV 605 (756)
Weapon Assist:  

Pros	Cons
Unique active Full inheritable Fire board 7×6 board 2x HP / 12x ATK Powerful Raoh pairing 2 Super SB	Long active cooldown Raoh is not here yet

Nakoruru’s evovled form lowers her sub potential as her kit is greatly reworked as she is now able to produce a full board of Fire and a 250x ATK Button.

This is an interesting combination and the fact that she can be inherited may open up some interesting farming builds. With that being said, this active may not always work in traditional content.

A full Fire board yields only a single combo which may not proc all Leader Skills but does have interesting synergy with themselves. As a leader, they are able to provide 2x HP and 12x ATK when matching 7 or more connected Fire orbs. This is met via her active and assuming pairing with someone else with similar requirements, can work.

Unfortunately, this board cannot be reshaped into other patterns and Void and Resolve spawns will not perish. With that being said, it is possible to pair with the future Raoh for built in Follow Up Damage as he has a similar Leader Skill requirement.

This pairing has the potential to be tremendously powerful as 7×6 with Follow Up Damage is a killer combo.

Weapon Assist:  
Active: Deal 250x ATK Dark damage to an enemy; Change all orbs to Fire orbs (16 turn CD)

Pros	Cons
Unique active Full inheritable Fire board 250x Button Adds sizable passive damage to team and owning card Does not set HP to 1	Purely offensive in nature

Nakoruru’s Weapon Assist is purely focused on offensive capabilities due to the fact that it provides passive damage for the entire team via Enhanced Fire Orbs along with >80% for the owning card.

This is usually placed on your main VDP card to solidify their damage output. With that being said, it provides no Resists or defensive benefits which may make it difficult to bring without stronger Resist options.

One thing to keep in mind with this Weapon Assist is the fact that a full Fire board can be inherited. This means players are no longer reliant on using Goemon as a sub and can open up team building options.

---

Base Ukyo Tachibana – A

Active: For 1 turn, reduce damage taken by 50%; For 1 turn, 3x ATK for Water Att. (10 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 2x HP & ATK for Water Att.; Increase orb movement time by 2 seconds; 7x ATK and 2x RCV when 5 or more combos [4/196/4]

Awakenings:
Super Awakenings:
Typing: Balance
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 888 (1110)
HP 3835 (4794) / ATK 1910 (2388) / RCV 368 (460)
Weapon Assist:

Pros	Cons
4 unique Killers Potentially strong VDP card Easy to activate and powerful LS	4 unique Killers Difficult to line up damage

Base Ukyo Tachibana features a power and surprisingly easy to activate Leader Skill. All players have to do is use Water cards and hit 5 or more combos while also having additional movement time. This should be doable in essentially every board and the 4/196/4 multipliers are solid overall.

While their own pairing can work, perhaps using a Velkhana friend may be beneficial. This is because Velkhana offers significantly more damage and Damage Reduction assuming 100,000 can be healed from Hearts. This threshold is “lowered” to 50,000 by Ukyo Tachibana’s 2x RCV which may make this more viable.

In addition to this, Ukyo Tachibana features strong VDP potential assuming they are facing either a Dragon, God, Attacker, or Physical type. Having 4 Killers is nice but the fact that they are unique is a drawback as it is harder to line up their damage and have those typings overlap.

Misfortunate Handsome Swordsman, Ukyo Tachibana

Active: Change all enemies to Fire Att.; Create 6 Water orbs (16 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 3x ATK and increase combo by 1 when matching 6 or more connected Water orbs at once; 5x ATK and reduce damage taken by 50% when 8 or more combos [1/225/1/75%]

Awakenings:     
Super Awakenings:
Typing: Balance
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 908 (1135)
HP 3935 (4919) / ATK 1960 (2450) / RCV 368 (460)

Pros	Cons
Valuable active for Water teams Orb generation and “burst” Outstanding sub potential Two Team HP	LS is inconsistent Damage Reduction tied to 8 combos Cannot rely on themselves for Healing

Like the other 6-star cards within the Samurai Showdown Collab, Ukyo Tachibana’s evolved form dramatically changes their kit and usability.

Firstly, their active is able to provide 6 Water orbs and a “burst” of 2 or 4x as he will also change the enemy’s attribute to Fire. This means Water teams will deal 2x more passive damage but become 4x if they were facing a Wood spawn.

As a leader, they have strong multipliers on paper, but their 75% Damage Reduction is tied to hitting 8 or more combos which is not always possible. While each leader can add +1 when matching 6 connected Water orbs, they are not always available and each leader has a longer cooldown which may prevent actives always being used. As a result, they may find themselves with no additional Effective HP and subsequently dead.

With that being said, the Draconic Orchestra event has a new Water leader that functions essentially the same as Tifa . This larger board will help with the orb hungry nature and combo requirements. Sadly, this will take 2-3 months to come to NA.

Weapon Assist:
Active: Change all enemies to Fire Att.; Create 6 Water orbs (16 turn CD)

Pros	Cons
Large amounts of passive damage Active provides more Water orbs	Purely offensive

Ukyo Tachibana’s Weapon Assist is able to provide four Enhanced Water Orbs which does provide a sizable boost to your team’s passive damage. This can help players push through harder content as their team will be able to deal more damage for the same amount of effort.

With that being said, the best way to clear hard content is to not die and defensive Resists tend to contribute more to this. Of course, if you are able to field a team with sufficient Resists, supplemental damage will always be valuable.

---

Genjuro Kibagami – A

Active: Create 9 Dark orbs; For 1 turn, 2x orb move time (9 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 3x ATK when 3 or more combos up to 8x at 8 combos; 2x ATK when matching 2 Dark combos, up to 5x at 5 Dark combos [1/1600/1]

Awakenings:  
Super Awakenings:
Typing: Attacker / Devil
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 889 (1111)
HP 3270 (4088) / ATK 2495 (3119) / RCV 190 (238)
Weapon Assist:  

Pros	Cons
High personal damage Two Team HP	Requires SA for Bind Immunity No VDP Not a feasible LS

Genjuro Kibagami’s Base form comes naturally with triple 7 combo and two Team HP . This is a nice healthy mix of offense and defense but does not have the ability to gain a VDP and only becomes bind immune with Super Awakenings.

While these can be worked around, Dark has a reasonably deep sub pool to draw upon and Genjuro may be passed over for stronger options.

Blood-Starved Savage Swordsman, Genjuro Kibagami

Active: Create 15 Dark orbs; Enhance all Dark orbs (13 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 3x ATK for Dark Att.; Reduce damage taken by 50% when above 80% HP; 5x ATK and increase combo by 1 when matching 6 or more connected Dark orbs at once [1/225/1/75%]

Awakenings:  
Super Awakenings:
Typing: Attacker / Devil
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 909 (1136)
HP 3470 (4338) / ATK 2495 (3119) / RCV 190 (238)
Weapon Assist:  

Pros	Cons
4 SB Triple VDP Super Jammer Resist Can pair with Ina	Requires SA for Bind Immunity Active may result in few combos

Genjuro Kibagami’s Evolved form comes with a truly unique kit as he brings 4 SB , Triple VDP , and Super Jammer Resist  through his base awakenings. This is quite powerful can open up numerous options for team building as he covers several different aspects.

The ability to ensure actives are ready in time along with high piercing damage can help him find a place on various Dark teams. Unfortunately, they are still not naturally Bind Immune and their active can be hit or miss.

Being able to randomly generate 15 Dark orbs may result in very few combos which may hinder compositions that must hit a specific threshold.

On the other hand, Genjuro Kibagami can pair with Ina due to having the same match-6 clause. This provides more personal VDP damage and higher damage with match-6 compared to Phenom . With that being said, large multi hits will destroy this team as the Damage Reduction only takes place when above 80% HP.

Weapon Assist:  
Active: Create 15 Dark orbs; Enhance all Dark orbs (13 turn CD)

Pros	Cons
Provides +400 ATK to owning card Tape Resist	Means giving up Evolved form Stronger options exist

Genjuro Kibagami’s Weapon Assist is able to provide 400 additional ATK to the owning card and is the highest one available that does not have a negative penalty.

This additional ATK may help natural Button teams in solo mode, but the main appeal will usually be the Tape Resist combined with a longer cooldown.

A longer cooldown helps ensure the inherit does not accidentally charge up which gives a bit more wiggle room. Sadly, this Weapon competes with his powerful Evolved form which should be made in most situations.

---

Shiki – A

Active: Remove all awoken skill binds; For 1 turn, Dark orbs are more likely to appear by 25% (7 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 5x ATK for Dark Att.; Increase orb movement time by 2 seconds; 3x ATK and reduce damage taken by 25% when matching 3 or more colors [1/225/1/43.75%]

Awakenings:
Super Awakenings:  
Typing: Balance
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 889 (1111)
HP 3115 (3894) / ATK 2545 (3181) / RCV 208 (260)
Weapon Assist:

Pros	Cons
Full awoken Bind clear 100% Blind immunity	4 TPA is often underused Niche active overall

Shiki’s base form provides the coveted 100% Blind Resist but is sadly attached to a lackluster card. 4 TPA can deal reasonable damage but most Dark teams are already orb hungry and cannot spare a match-4. As a result, Shiki would only be used as a Blind Resistance stick and I would pursue other ways to do so.

Amnesic Wanderer, Shiki

Active: Create 5 Fire, Water, Wood, Light, Dark orbs over any orb; For 1 turn, 2x ATK for Dark Att. (8 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 2x HP for Dark Att.; 5x ATK when matching 5 orbs in L shape; 3x ATK when matching 4 or more colors; 50000 additional damage when matching 4 or more colors [4/225/1]

Awakenings:
Super Awakenings:  
Typing: Balance
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 909 (1136)
HP 3115 (3894) / ATK 2645 (3306) / RCV 208 (260)
Weapon Assist:

Pros	Cons
Can become triple 7c Built in Follow Up Damage Gives Rainbow teams a viable Follow Up Damage Synergistic active for LS	Follow Up Damage tied to 4 colours Must match 5 orbs in L VDP does not count Semi reliant on Void Damage Void

Shiki’s evolved form comes with the highly prized built in Follow Up Damage via her Leader Skill and is tied to Rainbow activation, not blobs of Dark orbs. This differs from Ina  and gives Rainbow teams a chance to take advantage of one of the strongest mechanics in the game.

With that being said, Shiki’s activation does come with some hurdles as she has to match both an L with 4 total colours for full activation.

This is a fair amount of effort and without a Void Damage Void active, will make quite difficult to overcome Void spawns. This is because connected 9 orbs in a 3×3 Box does not fulfill the Leader Skill requirements for the L and to get the anti Resolve aspect, one must have 3 other colours. Thus, to use VDP , players would have to have 9 Dark orbs with 3 other colours with one of those being an L.

Build in Follow Up Damage is still tremendously powerful, but Shiki’s activation requirements and team building will be more restrictive compared to Ina.

Weapon Assist:
Active: Create 5 Fire, Water, Wood, Light, Dark orbs over any orb; For 1 turn, 2x ATK for Dark Att. (8 turn CD)

Pros	Cons
Skill Boost	Underwhelming for top rarity card

Shiki’s Weapon Assist is an underwhelming affair due to it providing little benefit for a Skill Boost Weapon Assist . This is because the 8 turn cooldown runs the risk of it accidentally charging up and is nearly the same as Amen (7 turns).

Furthermore, the L may not provide enough value overall and is disappointing for a top rarity card.

---

Yashumaru Kurama – S

Active: Reduce HP by 50%; For 1 turn, 2x orb move time; Delay enemies for 2 turns (9 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 1.5x all stats for Wood Att.; Increase orb movement time by 2 seconds; 3x ATK when matching 4 or more connected orbs up to 9x at 6 orbs [2.25/182.25/2.25]

Awakenings:  
Super Awakenings:
Typing: Balance
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 881 (1101)
HP 3945 (4931) / ATK 1880 (2350) / RCV 333 (416)
Weapon Assist:

Pros	Cons
Three <50% 8x personal damage Solid LS multipliers Can be a movement time stick	Wood is primarily combo based Less places to use <50% Evolved form & Weapon are powerful

Kurama is the final 6-star card within the Samurai Showdown Collab and features 8x personal damage when below 50% HP. This naturally has synergy with teams who wish to be low HP and the main drawback is less places for Wood to abuse it.

With that being said, Kurama can form their own team who can use and Wood card and match any 6 for 182.25x ATK along with a flat 2.25x HP/RCV. These are respectable multipliers and the main drawback will be managing your HP to have personal damage from your leaders.

On the other hand, Kurama can function as a movement time stick on mono Wood teams as they can bring an additional 1-2 seconds. This can be invaluable for many compositions as movement time is often in short supply. Furthermore, their active will drop your HP so Kurama can provide meaningful damage or overwrite time debuffs.

Rebellious Crow Tengu, Yashamaru Kurama

Active: Reduce unable to match orbs effect by 9999 turns; Remove all binds and awoken skill binds; Replace all orbs (9 turn CD)

Leader Skill: [No skyfall] 2x HP & RCV; 1.5x ATK when there are 15 or fewer orbs remaining up to 9x ATK when 0 orbs left; 3x ATK when 6 or more combos [4/729/4]

Awakenings:  
Super Awakenings:
Typing: Balance
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 908 (1135)
HP 4045 (5056) / ATK 1880 (2350) / RCV 383 (479)
Weapon Assist:

Pros	Cons
Valuable active Counters unable to match orbs Full Bind & Awoken Bind clear Refresh board Strong LS on paper Powerful sub Natural Cloud Resist	No Skyfall can inhibit combos Rarely hit 729x ATK Requires strong puzzling skills as a leader Active redundant with 2 leaders

Like their Base form, Evovled Kurama can function as a movement time sub for Wood teams and also comes with a natural Cloud Resist . Furthermore, their active trumps Odin Dragon while also having more personal damage.

Kurama’s active is able to fully clear Bind and Awoken Binds along with countering the unable to match X orbs mechanic. These two defensive traits are valuable and all of these help solidify themselves as a potent sub. Furthermore, they fully clear these effects as most other options offer a finite amount in either metric.

On the other hand, Evolved Kurama also has strong leadership potential as they offer an unconditional 4x HP/RCV along with a potential 729x ATK when leaving 0 orbs on the board.

This massive ATK multiplier will rarely hit 729x but players will still enjoy around 400-500x with most boards. Of course, this will require strong puzzling skills to achieve on a regular basis and will be their main crux for many players.

With that being said, the No Skyfall clause may hinder high combo shield spawns and movement time will always be an issue. Thankfully, their Leader Skill has no colour or typing clause so any sub can be used.

Weapon Assist:
Active: Reduce unable to match orbs effect by 9999 turns; Remove all binds and awoken skill binds; Replace all orbs (9 turn CD)

Pros	Cons
60% Jammer Resist <50% Powerful active	Jammers are often a lower priority

Kurama’s Weapon Assist is an incredibly powerful option as it provides 60% Jammer Resist , 2x personal damage when below 50% HP , and a powerful utility active.

The unable to match X orbs mechanic can become lethal in higher level content and we still do not have many ways to counter it. Furthermore, the full Bind/Awoken Bind clear can act as a collateral benefit and gives more opportunities for the active to be useful.

All of these components are powerful by themselves but putting them all together is quite meaningful and makes for a tremendously powerful weapon.

5 Star base

All 5 star cards have the same active and leader skill along with stat distribution for Base and Evolved form, the only difference is their awakenings. This means players can swap between each form with relative ease as Latents, levels, and Skill Ups will not be lost.

Just be aware that their Weapon Assists have a different active compared to Base/Evolved form.

Furthermore, all Evolved forms contain Dungeon Bonus .

Hanzo Hattori (Samurai Shodown) – A

Active: For 1 turn, 1.5x ATK for Fire, Dark Att.; Change Wood orbs to Fire orbs; Change Light orbs to Dark orbs (6 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 5.5x ATK and reduce damage taken by 25% when matching Dark+Fire; 2x ATK and increase combo by 1 when matching 6 or more connected Fire orbs at once [1/121/1/43.75%]

Awakenings:  
Super Awakenings:
Typing: Attacker / Devil
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 707 (919)
HP 2823 (3670) / ATK 2053 (2669) / RCV 43 (56)
Weapon Assist:

Pros	Cons
Natural 40% Poison & Blind Resist 6 turn CD Offensive awakenings	Low weighted stats Requires SA for Bind Immunity Competes with VDP

Hanzo is the first 5-star card within the Samurai Showdown Collab and comes with an impressive kit for a bottom rarity card. Their Base form will often be chosen over the evolved one as their awakenings have more synergy with the current meta.

Base Hanzo is able to provide a natural 40% Poison & Blind Resist which will greatly free up inheritance slots. These two Resists are valuable for virtually every team and this is akin to a free Aerith Weapon Assist . For example, a Phenom team can use Hanzo along with a Halloween Pumpkin for 100% Blind Resist and 60% Poison. This will greatly open up inheritance possibilities and enables players to bring the actives they actually want.

Furthermore, Hanzo has a short 6-turn base cooldown which provides a useful small burst and orb changer but can also inherit something more powerful with ease.

Unfortunately, their main drawback is their terribly low weighted stats (especially RCV) along with Dark have a highly competitive sub pool.

2nd Player Color Hanzo Hattori

Active: For 1 turn, 1.5x ATK for Fire, Dark Att.; Change Wood orbs to Fire orbs; Change Light orbs to Dark orbs (6 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 5.5x ATK and reduce damage taken by 25% when matching Dark+Fire; 2x ATK and increase combo by 1 when matching 6 or more connected Fire orbs at once [1/121/1/43.75%]

Awakenings:  
Super Awakenings:
Typing: Attacker / Devil
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 707 (919)
HP 2823 (2669) / ATK 2053 (2669) / RCV 43 (56)
Weapon Assist:

Pros	Cons
5 TPA with reasonably high ATK	Base form is almost always a better choice

Like the other 5-star cards within the Samurai Showdown Collab, the evolved form shares the same active, leader skill, and weighted stats but changes the awakenings. This gives players more flexibility as the same card can be used in more diverse ways.

Sadly, Hanzo’s evolved form is significantly more niche as the TPA meta has never really taken hold. Despite the fact that they are capable of delivering high amounts of damage, their Base form provides significantly more utility and universal usability.

Furthermore, the Weapon Assist may also be tempting for less developed boxes.

Weapon Assist:
Active: Change the outermost orbs of the board to Heal orbs; Change 3rd column from right to Dark orbs; Change 3rd row from bottom to Dark orbs (15 turn CD)

Pros	Cons
Skill Boost Weapon Assist Unusual for bottom rarity 15 turn CD Unique active Dupes are valuable	Competes with Base form Provides no other valued awakenings

Hanzo’s Weapon Assist is the only bottom rarity card to provide a Skill Boost . For the most part, this is for farming/Ranking Dungeon builds but being able to have actives ready at the correct time is vital.

With that being said, Amen can be purchased for 750,000 MP and is always an option for players; however, the 15 turn cooldown for Hanzo makes it vastly superior to Amen’s 7 turns when unskilled.

Furthermore, the active skill is truly unique as it is able to produce 15 Hearts along the outer edge and then 10 Dark orbs which will overwrite 4 Hearts. This yields a net 10 Dark and 11 Hearts which can be solved into various patterns.

---

Galford – B

Active: Change far right column to Light orbs; Delay enemies for 1 turns (7 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 3x ATK and reduce damage taken by 35% when above 50% HP; 3x ATK for Light Att.; 2x RCV for Water Att. [1/81/4/57.75%]

Awakenings:
Super Awakenings:
Typing: Balance
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 708 (920)
HP 3130 (4069) / ATK 1535 (1996) / RCV 265 (344)
Weapon Assist:

Pros	Cons
Double Devil Killer Double Attacker  Killer Relatively rare Balance typing Can use any Latents >80% provides 1.5x	Competes with many other Devil Killer cards

Galford is a powerful answer to tanky Devil and Attacker spawns due to their two natural killers for each along with the ability to take any Killer Latent. Furthermore, their ability to utilize >80% grants them an additional 1.5x ATK.

All of these give him an edge when attempting to kill these spawns and this tends to have the most merit in Ranking or farming situations.

For myself, I would utilize Attacker Killer latents on Galford due to the fact that double Devil Killer is significantly more common compared to Attacker along with me owning Brachydios .

2nd Player Color Galford

Active: Change far right column to Light orbs; Delay enemies for 1 turns (7 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 3x ATK and reduce damage taken by 35% when above 50% HP; 3x ATK for Light Att.; 2x RCV for Water Att. [1/81/4/57.75%]

Awakenings:  
Super Awakenings:
Typing: Balance
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 708 (920)
HP 3130 (4069) / ATK 1535 (1996) / RCV 265 (344)
Weapon Assist:

Pros	Cons
7.6x ATK when above 80% HP Balance typing Can use any Latents Can swap between Base and Evolved from with ease	Restricted to teams who remain high HP

Galford’s evolved form trades their Killers for 4 (5 with SA) >80% awakenings. This translates into 7.6x ATK (with SA) when above 80% and is effective against every spawn. This naturally has synergy on teams who wish to remain high health such as Zeus Verse .

Due to their lower rarity, Galford can function as a weaker Tilly due to less ATK and no Killer. With that being said, both forms have merits for most Monster Boxes and can be swapped with ease as their typing and actives remain the same between Base and Evolved form.

Weapon Assist:
Active: Delay enemies for 2 turns; Change Wood, Dark, Jammer, Poison, Mortal Poison orbs to Light orbs (13 turn CD)

Pros	Cons
Provides Passive damage Double Light orb changer that keeps Hearts	Awkward due to Combo Orb

Galford’s Weapon Assist is able to provide a Combo Orb which has only been obtainable via 7* GFE or 9* Seasonal Weapons. With that being said, Combo Orb is still an underwhelming mechanic for the most part as it is just too orb hungry for practical purposes.

Having to severely blob your orbs drastically lowers your current Combo count in hopes of having more for the next turn.

On the bright side, the active has value for mono Light teams as it will flood the board with Light without breaking Hearts along with providing modest damage via Enhanced Light orbs .

---

Rimururu – A

Active: Change Poison, Mortal Poison orbs to Water orbs; For 1 turn, increase orb move time by 2 seconds (2 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 2x all stats for Water Att.; 2x ATK on the turn a skill is used; 3.5x ATK when matching 5 or more connected orbs [4/196/4]

Awakenings:
Super Awakenings:
Typing: Healer / Physical
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 887 (1153)
HP 4005 (5206) / ATK 1695 (2204) / RCV 443 (576)
Weapon Assist:  

Pros	Cons
Can become triple Healer Killer Can use Healer Killer latents 2 turn base cooldown Removes Hazards Strong LS multipliers assuming active skill loop Loop with 2 Rimururu	Orb Skin card Has 3.5% rolling rate

Rimururu is the Orb Skin card within the Samurai Showdown Collab which means she will have nearly the same rolling rates as a 6-star card. Thankfully, their weighted stats have been pushed up to compensate for this but do not go in with the expectation of easily rolling her.

Regardless, Rimururu’s base form is able to have triple Healer Killers which translates into 27x personal damage and can be further boosted via Healer Killer latents and their single 7 Combo . This makes them unique as they do surpass Zeo Megazord from the Power Rangers Collab.

While this is a unique niche, it is valuable to have but players may find more merits in their Weapon Assist or Evolved form if Zeo Megazord is already owned.

On the other hand, both forms possess a strong Leader Skill assuming actives are available.

2nd Player Color Rimururu

Active: Change Poison, Mortal Poison orbs to Water orbs; For 1 turn, increase orb move time by 2 seconds (2 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 2x all stats for Water Att.; 2x ATK on the turn a skill is used; 3.5x ATK when matching 5 or more connected orbs [4/196/4]

Awakenings:  
Super Awakenings:
Typing: Healer / Physical
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 887 (1153)
HP 4005 (5206) / ATK 1695 (2204) / RCV 443 (576)
Weapon Assist:  

Pros	Cons
5 Enhanced Water Orbs Sizable passive damage 2 turn base cooldown Removes hazards 3 Skill Boosts Strong LS multipliers assuming active skill loop Loop with 2 Rimururu	Orb Skin card Has 3.5% rolling rate Not Bind Immune

While Rimururu’s Base form facilitates outstanding Healer Killing potential, their Evolved form is able to provide sizable passive damage for mono Water teams.

By coming with 5 Enhanced Water Orbs , every single Water orb that falls down will come enhanced and this will add sizable amounts of passive damage. This is important when pushing through harder content or if using a weaker team as every card dealing more damage is meaningful.

Furthermore, their 2 turn base cooldown enables them to easily inherit an active of your choice and may have some merits on Mono Water teams such as Beach Veroah or Beach Barbara & Julie .

On the other hand, they are capable of forming a solid team assuming two Rimururu can be used for the active skill loop. Looking further ahead, there will be a  Water Tifa in the future from the Orchestra event which will give additional options.

Weapon Assist:   
Active: Enhance all orbs; For 1 turn, bypass att. absorb shield effects (9 turn CD)

Pros	Cons
SFUA + 2 Blind + L Colour Absorb Void Enhances all orbs	Orb Skin card Has 3.5% rolling rate

Rimururu’s Weapon Assist comes with several powerful effects. Firstly, the full board enhance acts as a damage boost to all teams while the Colour Absorb Void has merits in certain situations.

For example, Light and Dark teams have a minor speed bump in AA2 due to a 5 turn Light and Dark absorb. While this can be stalled through, being able to bypass this is valuable as actives would have probably been needed otherwise.

With that being said, the awakenings may be the most appealing aspect of this Weapon Assist. At this point in time, only Yoh provides Resists with SFUA which is important for teams who utilize Zela style boards.

A board of Hearts plus a single colour are difficult to solve with FUA and VDP but become much easier for VDP + SFUA. Furthermore, the +2 combos ensure sufficient combos are met.

Overall, this is a tremendously powerful Weapon Assist and may be her best form to pursue.

Orb Skin

---

Jubei Yagyu – B

Active: Deal 100000 damage to an enemy 5 times; Change all orbs to Fire, Water, Wood, and Heal orbs (9 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 2x HP & ATK for Attacker type; Increase orb movement time by 2 seconds; 5.5x ATK when matching 4 or more connected Wood orbs [4/121/1]

Awakenings:
Super Awakenings:
Typing: Attacker
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 708 (920)
HP 2645 (3438) / ATK 2128 (2766) / RCV 55 (72)
Weapon Assist:

Pros	Cons
Natural 40% Jammer & Blind Resist	Low weighted stats Many strong Wood subs exist Jammer  < Poison

Jubei Yagyu is the second card within the Shaman Showdown Collab to feature four natural Resist awakenings. This provides 40% protection against Jammer and Blind attacks which can ease inheritance options.

Unfortunately, Jammer Resist is less important to the point where most teams do not actively pursue its protection. As such, Jubei Yagyu drops down to 40% Blind Resist in terms of “valuable” Resists.

While this 40% is nice, Wood has few sub options when dupe Zelas being so strong along with Raizer occupying most sub slots. As a result, it may be harder to justify using Jubei Yagyu over the limited, but strong other options.

2nd Player Color Jubei Yagyu

Active: Deal 100000 damage to an enemy 5 times; Change all orbs to Fire, Water, Wood, and Heal orbs (9 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 2x HP & ATK for Attacker type; Increase orb movement time by 2 seconds; 5.5x ATK when matching 4 or more connected Wood orbs [4/121/1]

Awakenings:    
Super Awakenings:
Typing: Attacker
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 708 (920)
HP 2645 (3438) / ATK 2128 (2766) / RCV 55 (72)
Weapon Assist:

Pros	Cons
Strong TPA potential	TPA is less utilized overall

Jubei Yagyu’s evolved form gains access to five TPAs along with his respectable base ATK. This can enable him to deal meaningful amounts of damage but will sadly go under used.

While it does have potential, it will most likely be underutilized as TPA is not strongly favoured overall due to the fact that Wood lacks an ideal way to abuse them.

Weapon Assist:
Active: Change all orbs to Fire, Water, Wood, and Heal orbs; Charge allies’ skill by 2 turns (13 turn CD)

Pros	Cons
One of two Weapons to contain double Enhance Killer	Niche Killer overall

Jubei Yagyu’s Weapon Assist is one of two that contains double Enhance Killer awakenings (other being Glavenus Weapon ). For the most part, this is a truly niche Killer but who knows when it will come in handy and Jubei is easier/cheaper to acquire compared to Glavenus.

---

Tam Tam – B

Active: For 7 turns, reduce damage taken by 30%; Create 3 Fire orbs (8 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 1.5x all stats for Fire Att.; 2x ATK on the turn a skill is used; 4x ATK when matching 5 Fire orbs in L shape [2.25/144/2.25]

Awakenings:  
Super Awakenings:
Typing: Balanced
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 708 (920)
HP 3428 (4456) / ATK 1308 (1700) / RCV 313 (407)
Weapon Assist:  

Pros	Cons
Permanent 30% Damage Reduction Viable 1 turn CD card: Omega	Hard to justify as a sub Does not provide meaningful awakenings Evolved form has more value

Tam Tam’s base form does not provide much in the way of meaningful awakenings. As such, it is better to look at the evolved form who is exactly the same except for the awakenings.

2nd Player Color Tam Tam

Active: For 7 turns, reduce damage taken by 30%; Create 3 Fire orbs (8 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 1.5x all stats for Fire Att.; 2x ATK on the turn a skill is used; 4x ATK when matching 5 Fire orbs in L shape [2.25/144/2.25]

Awakenings:      
Super Awakenings:
Typing: Balanced
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 708 (920)
HP 3428 (4456) / ATK 1308 (1700) / RCV 313 (407)
Weapon Assist:  

Pros	Cons
30% Damage Reduction for 7 turns 8 turn CD Viable 1 turn CD card: Omega 5-6 Killers	All unique Killers Harder to line up damage Damage Reduction ties up an active

Tam Tam’s Evolved form boasts 5 unique Killers before Super Awakenings with each providing 3x personal damage against their matching spawn. Unfortunately, none of these are the same which makes it much harder to line up for big damage.

As a result, Tam Tam would become more of a generalist which tends to be less ideal compared to a specialist. Specialized cards are able to perform their given task significantly better compared to the majority of other options. In order to compensate for this, they tend to be lacking in most other areas. With this in mind, players often build their team around each hurdle and having someone who can counter them more efficiently tends to be chosen over someone who can do a bit of everything.

On the other hand, Tam Tam’s active skill is quite interesting as it provides 30% Damage Reduction for 7 turns on an 8 turn cooldown. This adds significant amounts of additional bulk to a given team but the main drawback is it taking an active slot. Furthermore, Tam Tam may often not be used as a sub which means the best 1-turn card is base Omega . While Base Omega is powerful, many players have pursued his Dark form for the <50% power.

Weapon Assist:  
Active: For 2 turns, reduce damage taken by 75%; For 3 turns, Fire orbs are more likely to appear by 15% (14 turn CD)

Pros	Cons
Powerful Coop option 40% Poison Resist Useful active for Fire	Largely hinges on multiplayer

While Tam Tam’s other forms have varying use, his Weapon Assist is able to provide 40% Poison Resist and Coop Boost along with a useful active, especially for Fire teams.

Coop Boost grants the owning card 1.5x stats when used in multiplayer. This is often used to augment a card who has a natural Button active such as Brachydios to increase their Button damage.

This still applies for Tam Tam, but the inclusion of 40% Poison Resist makes them an appealing choice for coop teams in harder content or even solo players for mono Fire teams. This is because the active is still reasonable and sometimes all you need is 40% Poison Resist.

---

Charlotte – A

Active: Change all orbs to Water, and Wood orbs; Change far left column to Heal orbs (10 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 2x HP & ATK for Water Att.; 2x RCV when matching 4 Heal orbs; 3.5x ATK when matching 4 or more connected Water orbs up to 5.5x at 6 orbs [4/121/4]

Awakenings:
Super Awakenings:   
Typing: Physical
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 708 (920)
HP 4285 (5570) / ATK 1373 (1785) / RCV 15 (20)
Weapon Assist:

Pros	Cons
Unique active skill Bicolour with 5 Hearts Useful awakenings Team HP  & RCV FUA , VDP , 7c	Low weighted stats Offset by Team HP  & RCV Not Bind Immune with base awakenings

Charlotte’s base form has a strong set of awakenings as she provides a nice balance of offensive and utility. This can help justify her usage as a sub as the Team HP and Team RCV  help compensate for her lower weighted stats.

Building upon that, her active is quite unique as it creates a bicolour board of Water plus Wood and then creates a column of Hearts on the far left. This can make it easier to sweep Resolve spawns and I can foresee value being gained from its usage.

With that being said, one drawback that is worth being aware of is her lack of Bind Immunity without Super Awakenings. This will eat into her damage potential and not everyone has a full Bind Immunity Weapons.

2nd Player Color Charlotte

Active: Change all orbs to Water, and Wood orbs; Change far left column to Heal orbs (10 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 2x HP & ATK for Water Att.; 2x RCV when matching 4 Heal orbs; 3.5x ATK when matching 4 or more connected Water orbs up to 5.5x at 6 orbs [4/121/4]

Awakenings:  
Super Awakenings:   
Typing: Physical
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 708 (920)
HP 4285 (5570) / ATK 1373 (1785) / RCV 15 (20)
Weapon Assist:

Pros	Cons
Many Water Rows Unique active skill Bicolour with 5 Hearts	Less applications for Water Rows right now Will change with future Water Tifa from Orchestra

Charlotte’s evolved form provides numerous Water Rows which can dramatically improve the damage output when matching 6-connected. Unfortunately, we lack an ideal home to use them on which means they will often go to waste.

With this in mind, her Base form will prove more valuable for the majority of teams.

Weapon Assist:
Active: For 1 turn, reduce damage taken by 100%; Deal 300000 fixed damage to all enemies (16 turn CD)

Pros	Cons
60% Total Resists 2 Water Rows 16 turn cooldown Less chance it charges up Active is not horrible	Less applications for Water Rows right now Will become valuable in future with Minaka

Charlotte’s Weapon Assist is valuable due to the fact that it provides 40% Poison and 20% Jammer Resist along with two Water Rows . This mix of offensive and defensive awakenings is most likely the future of stronger Weapon Assists .

The main drawback is that we have few ways to truly take advantage of the Water Rows provides at this point in time. With that being said, there is a new Draconic Orchestra card that functions like Tifa but for Water. This will enable players to utilize the Rows for additional damage while also gaining Resists.

---

Yoshitora Tokugawa – B

Active: Create 6 Fire orbs (4 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 2x HP & RCV; 3x ATK when matching 3 or more colors (2+heal) up to 12x at 5 colors+heal [4/144/4]

Awakenings:  
Super Awakenings:  
Typing: Attacker
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 708 (920)
HP 2908 (3780) / ATK 1993 (2591) / RCV 58 (75)
Weapon Assist:     

Pros	Cons
Fast charging active Provides Team HP  & Team RCV Modest Rainbow leader	Low ATK LS Low weighted stats Not bind immune without SA If bound, lose HP/RCV

Yoshitora Tokugawa is the final card within the Samurai Showdown Collab and comes with the ability to greatly augment both the HP and RCV for a given team. This helps offset their own low weighted stats and their double 7 Combo provides modest damage output.

Furthermore, their 4 turn base cooldown lets them easily inherit a new active or to quickly generate 4 Fire orbs. Sadly, they are vulnerable to binds without the Full Bind Immune Super Awakening.

On the other hand, they are capable of forming a modest Rainbow team due to their unconditional HP and RCV multipliers. Unfortunately, their ATK is on the low end and will be quickly outpaced by other options.

2nd Player Color Yoshitora Tokugawa

Active: Create 6 Fire orbs (4 turn CD)

Leader Skill: 2x HP & RCV; 3x ATK when matching 3 or more colors (2+heal) up to 12x at 5 colors+heal [4/144/4]

Awakenings:  
Super Awakenings:  
Typing: Attacker
Weighted Stats (Limit Break): 708 (920)
HP 2908 (3780) / ATK 1993 (2591) / RCV 58 (75)
Weapon Assist:     

Pros	Cons
Strong VDP vs against Attacker and Balance 3 Skill Boosts 4 turn CD	Niche usage Mostly used for specific scenarios Cannot use Balance or Attacker latents

Yoshitora Tokugawa’s Evolved form trades the bulk and universal damage for strong piercing ability against Balance or Attacker types.

Their offensive awakenings against a singly typing will yield 18.75x personal damage when forming a 3×3 Box. While this is reasonable, it is also quite niche as it is only effective in few given scenarios.

With that being said, it is a niche that can be fulfilled along with the 3 Skill Boosts in conjunction with a 4 turn base cooldown.

Weapon Assist:     
Active: Change all orbs to Fire, Water, Wood, Light, Dark, and Heal orbs; Deal 200x ATK Light damage to an enemy (10 turn CD)

Pros	Cons
200x ATK nuke 10 turn cooldown	Orb Enhances come in all 5 colours Only 20% per colour 200x ATK only used for farming Adds cooldown to a Rainbow board change

Yoshitora Tokugawa’s Weapon Assist is able to provide a single Orb Enhance for each colour which may sound appealing but is actually underwhelming in practice. This is because each Enhanced Orb awakening provides a +20% chance an orb will fall down Enhanced. Thus, one of each colour is not a reliable source of damage. Furthermore, unless the team is Rainbow, the bonus damage will not be that high as Rainbow teams often try to concentrate their damage any way.

With this in mind, it is best to treat this Weapon Assist as a 200x nuke on a 10 turn cooldown. While 200x may not be sufficient in all cases, it may be enough for certain content, especially when inherited on a card with Coop Boost .

Conclusion

The Samurai Showdown Collab is an exciting event as it offers value within every card. This is because all feature a Weapon Assist evolution or unique kits that we cannot replicate otherwise. The 6-Magic Stone cost per roll negatively hurts their weighted stats, but being able to access potentially unique cards offsets this.

As a result, this will motivate me to roll a few times as these cards can help fill holes in my Monster Box. Having more options is always valuable and the low cost makes it easier to stomach repeated Gold rolls.

With that being said, let me know what you think about the Samurai Showdown Collab REM and how much you plan on rolling in the comments down below.

Happy Puzzling!

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