Brutal Inquisitor
Refess has the hardest working units in the game. Big hit points, solid defense, they help each other out, great ranged attacks, decent area effect, healing and Grimoire cards like Dispel that can end the enemy's LeBeau Soul Skill threat, and Defensive Maneuvers, which can double your own. But, they just don't get any respect. Why? Because Refess is missing speed, and doesn't have many special powers that trip up the opponent's strategies. This week I'm looking at a card with both, Brutal Inquisitor.
So he doesn't exactly have three copies in the starter deck, but he's rarity one, you'll manage. Also, his name is Brutal Inquisitor. This lets you name your theme decks things like "No one expects the Brutal Inquisition," a very important consideration. Brutal Inquisitor has a lot of things going for him. The number one thing is an AGI of 3, something pretty much every other Refess card is missing. If you have a front line and a row of archers swimming around with nothing better than AGI 2, you're going to be looking at that Gowen starter set covetously in no time. Brutal Inquisitor has a respectable 45 HP, as to be expected of a Refess unit, and very nice when you consider his RNG of 2. If he's in the second row, then he won't get hit too often and when he does, it won't be enough to take him out. His AT is 25, not too bad considering his special attack, Bash. For SP 1, Bash does normal damage and engages the enemy unit. That means the enemy unit goes gray, as if his turn had already passed. No action, no Auto Skill, no nothing. The only other power like this in the Basic Set is Harpy's screech, but that costs 2 SP and doesn't do any damage. Bash means that one little Brutal Inquisitor can keep the enemy's Zugateroza with 100 DF from a LeBeau Soul Skill busy forever, and still leave you enough SP to use Light Spearwoman's special attack every turn. Unfortunately, Bash has one big drawback, you can't target it. Because of this, you have to be very careful where you put Brutal Inquisitor. If you want to target the enemy's front line, put him in the second row to make sure his 2 range doesn't make him swing wide. Another good way to even the odds is to bring out two of him out at once. Sounds risky? Maybe, but if a pair of Brutals can ruin the enemy's flow, when they finally get wiped out you can take that 6 SP and use it to propel yourself into the Refess endgame, which usually involves SP guzzling cards like the Dragonrider, Phoenix and my personal favorite, Sphinx. Now your enemy's plan is a mess and you've got some very big guns on the field. Another thing to consider is that Bash only works if you go first, and 3 AGI only seems impressive because of the AGI 2 company it keeps in the Refess camp. You have to think of the competition you will be facing from each Sphere. You've got heavy hitters like Moonlight Warrior, Magic Scythe Soldier, Eagle Soldier, and the Lycanthropes, all 3's. You've only got a 50% of going before them. This can be solved with Soul Skills, like Elite Crest Knight and Expert Sorcerer, but that doesn't help much against speed demons like Magic Sword Dual-Wielder and LeBeau. I recommend throwing in one level of Falkow, giving you access to Song Sorceress, Sylphs and Undines to make this strategy really pay off. Thanks to Refess' solid cards, it’s simple to put together an army that doesn't fall apart easily. Unfortunately, it can be undermined or circumvented by the enemy's tricks and strategies. But see how well his plans work when you're causing his cards to lose turns left and right. Once his army begins to slip up, Refess' solid setup and endurance will really begin to shine. Brutal Inquisitor slows down the game, which can tip the scales against Spheres that like to burn out and then fade away. But the best part of this strategy is that it's not just a stalemate move. Your Bash isn't just slowing the enemy down, it's doing damage. It's not even taking away all your SP to do it. In fact, if you've got any SP generation out, you'll stay even with your enemy while you do damage to him. Brutal Inquisitor helps a Refess deck the way Song Sorceress helps a Sea Hunter, by filling in its weaknesses. A Sea Hunter usually never gets a chance to attack because he's a front line fighter with no AGI. By the time he goes, he's already on his back. Song Sorceress solves that problem by making the enemy go second. Having the same problem with Refess? Brutal Inquisitor makes it so the enemy doesn't go at all! That should help. Just try to back your Brutals up with cards like Ruby Carbuncle, Boy Combat Priest and Lapierre. You may not be able to outdo your enemy in a speed contest, but by taking up the average AGI of your cards, you'll make sure it won't be the deciding factor.
Note: This is Logress post from the Alteil.com website. The original post can be found here.