Altria Pendragon (Ruler)

“I shall show you the essence of the Card!” — she’s not, however, related in any way to a certain nameless Egyptian pharaoh.

The so-called Swimsuit Lion King is the patron of the Swimsuit Swordmasters’ battle royale, as well as the undefeated dealer of Casino Camelot, a status she’s obtained thanks to her innate gambling strength, perception, and mental strength. Altria (Ruler) is a full-on offensive AoE Buster Ruler most known for her ability to deal a new set of Command Cards at will.

On first glance, Swimsuit Lion King’s kit seems to have the basics of a damage dealer role figured out, having two Attack buffs, an NP Charge, as well as Critical Star Absorption and Critical Damage Up buffs. She even has access to Card Performance Up buffs from her NP, and even Defense Ignore, on top of having a 20% NP refund just like her Lancer version. Aside from her offensive side, she also boasts the Ruler defensive class advantage, making her highly resistant to most enemies’ attacks, and her first skill Royal Bunny also provides a 1-turn Evasion to survive through enemy NPs.

Unfortunately, as a Servant so focused on being a damage dealer, Altria (Ruler) suffers from two critical issues, namely, her low Attack Stat as well as the Ruler class’s limited offensive class advantage. Furthermore, her kit can be somewhat tricky to utilize due to conflicting effects on Royal Bunny and RNG on Royal Card, though the latter would be alleviated after the skill’s Rank Up.

Due to the aforementioned problems, Altria is rarely, if ever, the optimal damage pick in any given situation, but that is no cause for concern. As long as one believes in the essence of the Card, then surely, Vegas’ strongest dealer will grant them Command Card draws sure to bring forth victory!

NP Charge

With a 40% NP Charge on Royal Bunny as well as 20% NP Refund on her NP itself, Altria Pendragon (Ruler) is a fairly flexible Servant where NP Charge is concerned, especially after Royal Card’s upgrade helps her form Brave chains with increased NP gain more easily. She does need slight external help to perform a first-turn NP with 50% Starting NP CEs, however.

Ruler Defensive Class Advantage

Rulers enjoy a defensive advantage against six of the seven normal classes (excluding Berserker), making them highly resistant against most ingame enemies, including the majority of Servant bosses. They also deal at least neutral damage against non-Avenger classes; these two factors make Altria (Ruler) a viable damage dealer for Masters with more limited Servant lineups.

Ignore Defense

Though it is simply a nice bonus most of the time, Altria’s Ignore Defense can be a great boon in quests featuring Defense buff-related gimmicks, or otherwise against Servants with powerful and/or spammable Defense buffs.

Limited Offensive Class Advantage

While the Ruler class is great for more defensively-oriented Servants, it only has offensive advantage against Berserkers (an advantage shared by most other classes) and Moon Cancers, the latter of which isn’t exactly a common enemy class. As a result, Altria (Ruler) rarely benefits from the 2.0x damage provided by said advantage, making her far less enticing as a damage dealer in many situations.

Low Attack Stat

Despite having a lot of self-buffs on paper, Altria (Ruler) suffers from a very low Attack stat, which undos much of the advantage said buffs provide. This also means that she scales slightly worse with external buffs compared to other Servants with higher natural Attack stat.

Tricky Skill Usage 

Altria’s kit comes packed with several useful tools, such as Evasion as well as a party-wide Critical Damage Up. However, both these effects are coupled with other conflicting effects, creating dilemmas in their use. Evasion is paired with NP Charge, meaning that one is usually used at the expense of the other (not to mention the delayed Attack buff, which adds another layer of complexity). Meanwhile, Critical Damage Up is lumped together with Command Card Shuffle, making it unreliable when used on demand.

It is recommended to max Altria’s first and third skills if she were to be used as a main damage dealer. While it’s also beneficial to level her second skill, it can generally be left at any level as the resource allows.

• Royal Bunny is a pretty loaded skill, providing Altria (Ruler) with NP Charge, Evasion, and even a delayed Attack buff. Maxing this skill allows Altria to choose from a wider selection of CEs without sacrificing her NP reliability. This skill should be leveled first.
• Royal Card applies a 3-turn Critical Damage Up to the entire party and resets the pool of Command Cards; after its upgrade, it gains an additional effect of removing a select ally’s Command Cards from the pool for 1 turn. While the skill can be a bit RNG-reliant, the Critical Damage Up amount is quite massive, and the Command Card Shuffle can be a run-saving tool in the right situation. Nevertheless, it should in general be leveled third.
• As Altria’s primary damage boosting skill, Knight of the Lion increases Altria’s Attack for 3 turns and Critical Star Absorption for 1 turn. As this skill is more reliable than Royal Card, it should be leveled second.

As a damage dealer, Altria (Ruler) favors hybrid Starting NP Gauge CEs, preferably with either Buster Performance Up, Attack Up or NP Damage Up as secondary effects. With proper support, she can also use CEs without Starting Np Gauge just as well.

• Aerial Drive / Holy Night Supper / Golden Sumo: Boulder Tournament / Round and Round / First Sunrise / Partake with the King:  These hybrid CEs provide some Starting NP as well as direct offensive benefits, a good fit for more casual farming runs where a very early NP isn’t necessary.
• Kaleidoscope / The Imaginary Element (MLB): These CEs can be used for Altrias with lower levels on her first skill, or when a first turn NP is needed. Otherwise, the preceding category should be used.
• The Black Grail: Given Altria’s considerable NP charge capabilities and high durability, she can use the Black Grail pretty seamlessly with the help of supports. This CE greatly increases her NP Damage, allowing her to take out more powerful enemy waves.
• Joint Recital / Victor of the Moon / Limited/Zero Over / Hero Elly's Adventure / Kaleid Ruby / Verdant Sound of Destruction: These CEs can be used in lieu of the Black Grail; while they don’t give as much of a raw NP damage increase, they provide a more balanced offensive benefit.