Marchosias/Strategy

(This page is for Marchosias strategy guide. For the standard Marchosias page, click here.)

Overview

Despite being a release unit, Marchosias is still a very useful and good character to use due to his ability of providing three sources of damage reduction, something which is remarkable for a / unit. Additionally, his application of TenacityDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff) being rather large due to his skill evolution and his extended horizontal movement make him ideal as a unit to move for a team. Furthermore, Tenacity itself is a less commonly applied defensive buff to allies compared to Protection, so this is also a niche for Marchosias in itself. So despite being an old unit, Marchosias is very capable as a tank and defensive support and presents a nice low-cost option for users. Finally, the introduction of ARs has also considerably boosted his utility due to the combination of his elemental attribute and weapon type.

Highlights

Class: Tank, Defensive Support

Gameplay role: Damage Mitigator

Pros

+ Three sources of damage reduction for the team, CurseATK Down by 0.8x ~ 0.4x for 5 turns (Debuff), TenacityDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff) and ProtectionDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff)

+ Relatively large/flexible application of Tenacity to allies

+ Healing provided to the team through Blessing+300~600HP/turn for 4 turns (Buff)

+ Fairly tanky himself due to self TenacityDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff) and Curse as mentioned before

+ Extended horizontal movement

+ Very good AR options

Cons

- Needs to move constantly

- CS is unremarkable effect-wise

- No source of self healing

Gameplay Role

Tank/Defensive Support

A chart which displays Marchosias' effects, TenacityDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff), ProtectionDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff), CurseATK Down by 0.8x ~ 0.4x for 5 turns (Debuff), and Blessing+300~600HP/turn for 4 turns (Buff).

Marchosias' application of TenacityDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff), ProtectionDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff), CurseATK Down by 0.8x ~ 0.4x for 5 turns (Debuff), and Blessing+300~600HP/turn for 4 turns (Buff) is shown in the image to the right. Notably, Marchosias has very consistent procs aside from Knightly One and generally prefers staying in the front line and having his allies in the row behind him, although they can also be horizontally adjacent to him as well. It's important to note that Marchosias will not apply Blessing or Protection to himself, so he will need an external source of healing to hold out for longer battles. Likewise, the range of his Curse is limited to the row in front of him, so the biggest threat to Marchosias will be enemies who exist outside his range that can deal lots of damage.

As a defensive support, Marchosias has been blessed with extra horizontal movement which is a great niche to have. Aside from Sitri, there are other units who have this same combination in role/ability such as Seth (Beachside), Tangaroa (Canaan), and effectively Tanngrisnir, so the fact that Marchosias does the same task at a low cost makes him very appealing. As one may already be aware, extra horizontal movement is a very special ability because it allows one to regroup units in wide maps in one turn if RNG is in one's favor. As a defensive support on top of this, it makes stray high damage during that first turn also manageable. Past that, this skill allows for easier repositioning of units and makes diagonal movements completely unnecessary. Finally, having a larger reach also opens up more strategies in engaging with enemies.

Marchosias has a fairly simple play style of moving to protect his allies. However, he does have a lot of additional options past that, and this is a result of AR equipment. Due to his elemental attribute and rarity, Marchosias is able to equip fairly decent ARs which expand the realm of his gameplay and allows one to customize him depending on the quest. For this reason, it would be good to look at the options available to him which are mentioned in more detail in the section below.

Stats and Seed Usage

Unit	(Effective) HP		Base ATK		ATK per square		CS ATK per square (SALV1)
	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded	Unseeded	Seeded
	6663	8724	3211	4722	1445	2125	2890	4249
	7264	9274	3925	5476	1766	2464	5298	7392

Since Marchosias' most important skills are guaranteed, the usage of Skill seeds shouldn't be a huge priority. Instead, HP/Level seeds would be preferable to boost his ability as a tank. Due to his being functionally the same as rarity, ATK seeds will have a somewhat significant boost to his damage, but it's not a huge priority since his role in a team isn't as a damage dealer.

Team Synergy

Healers/Other Defensive Supports

Marchosias should be used with healers to cover his lack of healing for himself or other defensive supports to provide another layer of protection. Due to the range of his skill activation, these units would also ideally be in the backline. Examples include Chernobog (Beachside), Kagutsuchi (Jamboree), and Daikoku.

Units who can pull enemies in

Since Marchosias can only CurseATK Down by 0.8x ~ 0.4x for 5 turns (Debuff) to the enemies he hits, units who can pull enemies in through their skills would be an ideal teammate for him to address this shortcoming. Snipe units such as Surtr (Valentine) and Arachne are some examples which are good.

Units who don't need to move

Since Marchosias will be proviing a layer of defense for the team, the rest of the team should have some form of offensive buffing/damage dealing and ideally without needing to move to do so. Examples include Wakan Tanka (Fashionista), Tangaroa (Canaan), and Ose.

AR Equipment

Marchosias has some very nice AR options which address some of his weaknesses. In particular, arguably the best AR for him is The Way of the Sword Has Just Begun since it allows him to function like Barguest (Valentine) and pull enemies inward to his application of CurseATK Down by 0.8x ~ 0.4x for 5 turns (Debuff), thereby improving his and the team's survivability. Further options for improving survivability include City of Drifters and Valentine's Dogs!. Aside from that, "Ogresses' Dream - A Different Time, A Different Place" gives him more value in moving by giving Glint+10% skill activation rate for 2 turns (Buff) to allies and Battle between Swordsmith and Swordsman allows him to remove buffs including Guts+1HP when HP is at 0 at the end of the turn for 5 turns. Removed once activated. (Buff) on overkill along with some weapon resistances. He can also equip the Vow of Binding to give him BindCannot activate skills, ATK Down by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns. CS effects still apply. (Debuff) immunity which is nice for a defensive support, who is mostly responsible for keeping one's team alive, to have. Finally, while it isn't his role to deal damage, Abyssal Confectionery gives him extra damage and CharmCannot attack for 3 turns (Debuff) immunity, which can be useful depending on the quest and team composition.

Checks and Counters

Movement Restriction

Since Marchosias needs to move to activate his skills, debuffs such as FearCannot move at will, -10CP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff) will inhibit this ability to provide defense for the team. Granted, it would still be possible for him to apply CurseATK Down by 0.8x ~ 0.4x for 5 turns (Debuff) and ProtectionDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff), but his utility as a unit with extended horizontal movement would be gone.

Skill Locking Debuffs

Since Marchosias has no immunity to skill locking debuffs, these debuffs will shut him down easily. He can get immunity from BindCannot activate skills, ATK Down by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns. CS effects still apply. (Debuff) however from the Vow of Binding AR.

Defense Penetration

Enemies who can pierce debuffs can counter Marchosias' effects. Unit-wise, this includes Eita (Set Sail) and Tajikarao, but this ability can also appear in other enemies, such as Hephaestus/Talos in the level 80 challenge quest for Virtual Summer Memory.

Teambuilding Options

This section consists of user-submitted builds that may not necessarily be viable for high level quests.

Curry God

Team Details (submitted by milk)
Chernobog 【Healer, Offensive Buffer】	Kagutsuchi 【Defensive Support, CP Battery】	Marchosias 【Tank, Defensive Support】	Nekros & Bacchus 【Debuffer, Damage Dealer】
Cost: ≥48

This is a team meant to show the synergy between Marchosias and Kagutsuchi, as well as show the strength of After Buff skills. In particular, Marchosias applies TenacityDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff) and Jamboree Kagutsuchi applies ProtectionDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff), which allows Jamboree Kagutsuchi to CP charge allies of choice while having two defensive buffs up. Furthermore, three of the units on the team have After Buff skills which Marchosias will regularly activate. In the case of the support Nekros＆Bacchus, he should have the Single Bulls Club AR in order to charge his own CP along with the effects from Jamboree Kagutsuchi. Chernobog (Beachside) rounds out the team by providing a consistent source of healing, offensive buffing, and another defensive buff through UnctionDEF Up by 0.85x ~ 0.425x, +150~300HP every turn for 2 turns (Buff).