Archerous' R3M13 Delib

Quality

The Middleman has finally been unmasked. And now? There’s nothing more to do than fight. Brighid Rhodes and Kid Savage find themselves face-to-face with Ichi Ni San Go in a bittersweet brawl (more emphasis on the bitter). In such a pivotal battle, how do our combatants do?

Starting with Kid and Brighid, the former wastes no time in launching a car at Ichi using his Stand, as he rushes in to make the “Killing Zone”, a small space where Kid can strike out at Ichi with limited counter opportunities given her slight range disadvantage. He uses this Zone throughout the fight to keep the pressure on Ichi as often as he can. While Kid is busy rushing Ichi down, Brighid takes some time to set up, tearing her jacket up to make strips of cloth to wrap around Outlando d’Amour’s knuckles, giving her the means to shoot pressurized blood from her knuckles, aptly named Blood Knuckles. She seeks to disable and hinder Ichi, rather than dedicate a full-on attack to her, using the Blood Knuckles to blind her when given the chance, and to strike her in places that would wear out her already weak stamina. In the beginning, we have a clear dynamic between these two fighters: Kid handles the offensive role, white Brighid lends herself to a support role. A solid start.

As the fighting goes on, Kid is generating his Wetlands, using the water to slow Ichi down, while using the moss created through these wetlands to cover any holes that Ichi might be able to enter or exit the Backstage through. Brighid continues her hinder game. From here, the pair discusses defenses against the Middleman’s various tools she could use to attack them, offering a good few options such as disarming her with a punch from Knock You Out and using the duo’s relatively good agility to dodge projectile attacks. I would have preferred a little more time being spent on the concept of disarming by breaking the objects in Ichi’s hands. Getting in close enough to target an object in her hand, even with Knock You Out can create unintentional openings that I believe a simple range gap cannot tackle alone. Not to say it isn’t an effective strategy, because it is. It just comes with a little more risk than is initially presented. I would’ve also liked to see a few more countermeasures for the Alchemical Cacti beyond simply batting them away. Given the watery environment the duo seeks to foster, an attack from either powder could prove deadly, slowing them down at best and electrocuting them at worst. This is a small gripe for an overall solid strategy, but I felt it needed addressing all the same.

Overall, I’m giving this strategy a 7! Bridghid and Kid knew what they were doing throughout the whole match. They take great advantage of the 2v1 presented to them, making sure to cover each other in the areas they are lacking in. They work together as a wonderful duo, and beyond a few gripes, they put out an excellent strategy to take down the Middleman! Well done!

Onto Ichi, we start with some early Setup in the Backstage. From here, she seeks to engage in trickery and sabotage. Throwing rocks from various exits, observing her opponents from the other world to find opportune places to strike, and using the cacti to freeze any water or blood around her opponents, as well as electrifying those sources if any of that is on the opponents proper. Ichi is a slippery opponent, one you certainly shouldn’t let your guard down.

From there, she goes over the weapons she will be using for the duration of the match, in addition to the objects from the Backstage. Each one offers a tactical advantage in addition to a fun theme (more on that in Jojolity), turning Ichi into a well-rounded killing machine. The Stake is used for disabling her opponents and keeping them in place. The Pain offers consistent damage as a whip, especially to vulnerable areas of the body. The Foot offers Ichi defensive measures and can also be used for heavier attacks. The Fist is used throughout to turn the tide of battle to her advantage, and the Blade is used to punish both enemies and herself whenever they are overreaching. With six arms and six weapons, Ichi is a dangerous force to be reckoned with, worthy of her status as Middleman to the Metropolis Suite.

Overall, I’m going to give this strategy an 8! I found that while it was more of an explanation on how the different parts of Ichi’s kit were to be used in the fight, it was sufficiently thorough in its explanation. She offers a terrifyingly clever threat to her opponents, leaving little room for error on their part. Its a solid strategy! Well done!

Jojolity

As for Jojolities, I’ll keep it brief. I found both teams did excellent jobs at approaching their jojolities. Brighid and Kid not only took on how their characters differed from Ichi throughout the strat, but even how different they approached the issue of “killing the Middleman”. They embodied duality proficiently and tactfully, thus, I’m giving their Jojolity an 8!

Onto Ichi, I found her method of throwing herself further into the role of the Middleman throughout the match compelling, especially through the theming of each of her weapons used. Through these ‘lessons’ she grafts onto herself, they all make up what the Suite has always wanted from Ichi: a multitool to any problem they could face. In the process of taking on these aspects, Ichi loses more and more of herself, thus hitting rock bottom. For this theming, I’m going to give her Jojolity an 8, as well!