Wakan Tanka/Strategy
NOTE: This page currently under construction.
(This page is for Wakan Tanka strategy guide. For the standard Wakan Tanka page, click here.)
Overview
☆3/☆5 Wakan Tanka
Adapted with permission from the Housamo Gameplay-Based Tier List. Remove this disclaimer when Overview:☆3/☆5 Wakan Tanka is sufficiently modified.
It’s odd that a character has superior range as the common version compared to his 5☆, 
Blow has always been an attack range with clear strengths and downsides, and this is no exception. 
Wakan Tanka certainly has defensive momentum through LB1’s Evasion every level, which should be (and will probably always be due to attack range) approached to its maximum the moment he gets it. LB2 is great, Accel+CP Up serves as a steady way to steroid CP into your allies quickly, with a great effect range to boot and the buff lasting for a while, he also gets Accel’s benefit on Default, helping with his own CP partially. LB3 greatly varies between versions, 3☆ doesn’t affect him, but it still serves as a great offensive buff to whoever you want, it being a fairly uncommon buff can easily stack with other common offensive buffs is a very welcome trait. 5☆ however, applies this to himself as well, paired with CP Up pumps his own CP for his rather nice Charge, being currently the only Charge in the game known to apply Critical+, a very good offensive buff that should be approached the moment its applied. All in all, he’s a very offensive support and unit, generally pushing his allies’ offense to greater extents.
☆5 Fashionista Wakan Tanka
Example overview
Highlights
☆3/☆5 Wakan Tanka
Adapted with permission from the Housamo Gameplay-Based Tier List. Remove this disclaimer when Highlights:☆3/☆5 Wakan Tanka is sufficiently modified.
Class: Bruiser, Offensive Support
Gameplay Role:
Pros
+ Default Acceleration, along with other similar effects quickly fill up his CP, this extends quite well to his allies along with a CP Up effect through LB2.
+ LB1 ensures near-absolute damage nullification for the turn he gets it.
+ LB3 as 3☆ shares a fairly uncommon offensive buff that can easily stack with other common offensive buffs, which also applies to him as 5☆.
+ Even at raw effect, Charge bestows Crit+, which equals a fully leveled offensive buff. Consider slotting him as leader due to Crit+ being short-lived.
Cons
- Past LB1, which only lasts for a turn, he has subpar resilience and needs backup if he wants to last.
- Slightly gated to allies with good Charge skills if he wants them to approach his CP-giving methods.
- 5☆ is, strangely enough, Strike-ranged, it may trade off for LB3 applying to him and giving more CP, but it’s debatable given his attack range’s lacking range.
☆5 Fashionista Wakan Tanka
Class:
Gameplay Role:
Pros
+ Example pro
Cons
- Example con
Gameplay Role
Example gameplay role breakdown.
Gameplay Role
Example gameplay role breakdown.
Stats and Seed Usage
| Unit | Max HP (unseeded) | Max HP (seeded) | Max ATK (unseeded) | Max ATK (seeded) | Max normal ATK per square (unseeded) | Max normal ATK per square (seeded) | Max CS ATK per square (unseeded, SALV1) | Max CS ATK per square (seeded, SALV1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
   |
6142 | 8096 | 3775 | 5377 | 2076 | 2958 | 7549 | 10755 |
   |
7702 | 9568 | 5108 | 6723 | 5108 | 6723 | 20430 | 26890 |
  |
7088 | 8885 | 6168 | 7903 | 3392 | 4347 | 24671 | 31612 |
Example description
Team Synergy - Fashionista
Healers
Despite the many roles which Wakan Tanka (Fashionista) performs, he does not provide any sort of healing so he'll ideally be paired with healers to improve the team's sustainability. Since Wakan Tanka's 
ProtectionDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff) buff applies to allies adjacent to him, the healer would ideally have a healing range which extends diagonally so that allies may receive both healing and Protection from Wakan Tanka. Examples of such healers include 
Chernobog (Beachside) and 
Tetsuya (Christmas) due to their healing skills mainly targeting the frontline.
Characters with defensive buffs besides Protection
Due to Wakan Tanka not needing to move to bestow ProtectionDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff) to allies, he can be paired with defensive buffers who provide other buffs such as 
TenacityDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff) typically by moving in order to make the team tankier than it already is. Examples of such defensive buffers include 
Aizen, 
Shino (Valentine), and 
Marchosias. As stated before in the section concerning healers, it's recommended that such defensive buffs extend beyond adjacent squares for maximum coverage.
Characters with offensive buffs ideally besides Ardor
Without either 
Crit+ATK Up by 2.5x ~ 5x for 1 turn (Buff), 
CritATK Up by 2x ~ 4x for 1 turn (Buff), or 
ArdorATK Up by 1.2x ~ 2.4x, +5CP/turn for 2 turns (Buff) up on Wakan Tanka, his damage drops by a fair amount, making it preferable that he has a teammate which can offensively buff him in a way besides Ardor. Due to his LB3 having somewhat shaky procs however, an extra source of Ardor would not be a complete waste either. Furthermore, due to Wakan Tanka giving Ardor to his allies via his default skill and his LB3, allies with access to a different offensive buff would benefit the most. There are obviously many units which fall into this category, but the Band units are notable for bestowing 
ConcentrationATK Up by 1.1x ~ 2.2x, skill activation rate +10% for 2 turns (Buff) which is particularly useful in maximizing Wakan Tanka's phase start burst damage.
Characters who can attract enemies
While Wakan Tanka already has an innate method of attracting enemies through his default skill, this sometimes isn't enough since he might be in the wrong column to pull units when the phase starts. For this reason, units such as 
Surtr (Valentine), 
Arachne, and 
Dagon might be helpful.
Characters with good Charge Skills
Due to Wakan Tanka having slight CP battery tendencies through ArdorATK Up by 1.2x ~ 2.4x, +5CP/turn for 2 turns (Buff) and his CS, it's recommended to bring units who have good charge skills as opposed to units who have lackluster ones. Note that the reduced range of Wakan Tanka's CS may also be undesirable, so charge skills which increase allies' CP may not be ideal either in this case.
Backliners
Wakan Tanka is almost guaranteed to be in the front line at all times, so he'll play well with units that naturally want to occupy the backline such as Takemaru. Snipe units are also particularly effective for hitting past Wakan Tanka's range.
Checks and Counters
Example counter
Example description
Teambuilding Options
This section consists of user-submitted builds that may not necessarily be viable for high level quests.
Extreme Defense
| Team Details (submitted by milk) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wakan Tanka 【Bruiser, Tank】 |
Chernobog 【Healer, CP Battery】 |
Arachne 【Debuffer】 |
Marchosias 【Support unit】 |
 Anyone / no one 【Flexible】 |
Anyone / no one 【Flexible】 |
| Cost: ≥66 | |||||
This team builds upon the Wakan Tanka (Fashionista) and Chernobog (Beachside) core to bolster defense to extreme levels. Wakan Tanka and Chernobog have fantastic synergy with Chernobog being one of the best healers in the game and both units supplying Ardor for the other's benefit. By themselves, they are already a formidable duo with access to defensive buffs such as ProtectionDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff) and 
UnctionDEF Up by 0.85x ~ 0.425x, +150~300HP every turn for 2 turns (Buff). The addition of Arachne and Marchosias only increases such potential by adding defensive buffs TenacityDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 1 turn (Buff) and 
DEF UpDEF Up by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns (Buff) to the mix. Furthermore, the two units apply 
CurseATK Down by 0.8x ~ 0.4x for 5 turns (Debuff) and 
DazzleATK Down by 0.7x ~ 0.35x for 3 turns (Debuff) which also reduce damage.
Formation-wise, Wakan Tanka and Marchosias should be in the frontline while Chernobog and Arachne hide behind them in a defensive setup. Marchosias should be constantly moved to set up formations and his LB3 Tough-Winged Griffon+ is ideal for such herding while bestowing Tenacity. For a more offensive albeit riskier formation, Marchosias can be moved in such a way to move Wakan Tanka in the backline such that he is between Chernobog and Arachne in order to bestow CritATK Up by 2x ~ 4x for 1 turn (Buff) to both of them. Similarly from there, an even more riskier formation can be created by moving these three units to the frontline so that Wakan Tanka procs his Crit more reliably.
As Wakan Tanka and Chernobog are the core of this team with Marchosias and Arachne being mostly auxiliary additions to further boost defense, either Marchosias or Arachne can be replaced with different units for reasons of team cost or availability. Moreover, the unit order of this team is not rigid. Some may prefer to have Chernobog as leader to have his skills proc since Wakan Tanka may nuke enemies before Chernobog can do so. Others may like to have the option of Wakan Tanka bestowing Crit to Chernobog. One may want Arachne to precede Wakan Tanka so that her Attract skill pulls enemies in before Wakan Tanka attacks. In any case, the main point is that this team is more of a template to improve upon rather than a strict recommendation.
Due to this team's explicit focus on defense, this team is best suited for situations where such longevity is desired such as long CQs. This team can be crippled by debuffs such as 
BindCannot activate skills, ATK Down by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns. CS effects still apply. (Debuff) or if Marchosias receives 
FearCannot move at will, -10CP/turn for 5 turns (Debuff) so these issues should be mitigated by having Wakan Tanka or Chernobog attack due to their access to 
Nullify DebuffPrevent receiving debuff once for 4 turns. Vanishes after use. (Buff) or chancing on Arachne giving 
Skill LockCannot activate skills for 5 turns. (Debuff). Furthermore, having Wakan Tanka's CS available removes his access to Protection so careful attention should be paid to either use it quickly, have Marchosias to compensate, or control CP charging carefully as a preventative measure.