Senji Muramasa

“A Servant's Saint Graph and Sword are the same. The more and more you patiently temper them, the stronger they get.”

Senji Muramasa - the most famed swordsmith in Japanese history, definitely does not fail to make a great impression, and not just because he has a certain familiar face. Possessing an extremely powerful and explosive skill set, Muramasa is an all-purpose AoE Arts Saber that can cut through almost any form of content as sharply as his blades. 

Muramasa’s most notable aspect is certainly his Noble Phantasm - Tsumukari Muramasa. This Noble Phantasm has 4 incredible separate effects, including removing all offensive buffs from enemies, ignoring their defensive buffs, and deal increasingly more damage when used consecutively as it increases his Arts Performance and NP Damage for 3 turns before dealing damage. Further augmenting this snowbally gameplay loop where Muramasa mercilessly slaughters waves of enemies over the course of multiple turns are his three no less powerful skills. 

Tameshi-Mono B+ is an omni card booster that grants an astounding 50% buff to all of Muramasa cards for 1 turn, on top of a Star Bomb and 1 turn Critical Star Gather Rate buff. Karmic Eye A grant Muramasa the ability to bypass Invincibility for 1 turn, a whopping 100% Critical Damage buff for 3 turns, and another 100% Critical Damage buff for 1 turn against enemies with Invincibility or Evade. Last but not least, Muramasa gets 50% NP Gauge from Flame EX, and a unique buff that lets him gain NP Gauge whenever he attacks normally. 

Any of Muramasa’ skills or Noble Phantasm is almost enough to be as good as some Servants’ entire kit, and when they all come together, we get a vicious killing machine that can repeatedly mow down enemies with intensity, either with his Noble Phantasm or his nasty Critical Hits. Muramasa shines best in farming with other Arts Support Servants, where his Noble Phantasm is highly loopable and gets progressively stronger after each use, but his Challenge Quest performance is top tier as well, with some highly desirable effects like ignoring Invincibility, and offensive buff removal. Muramasa does have a very obvious flaw - he has zero defensive options in any of his skills nor Noble Phantasm. Nonetheless, being an Arts Servant, Muramasa naturally has great synergy with some of the best defensive supports in the game, such as Altria Caster or Tamamo-no-Mae. 

All in all, Muramasa is a premium Servant that can easily contend for one of the highest places amongst Damage Dealers. Any Master lucky enough to recruit this grumpy old man in a sexy hero of justice body will surely enjoy one of the most satisfying gameplay loops in the game.

Incredible Wave-clearing Prowess

With a 50% Battery, an Arts Noble Phantasm that increasingly does more damage and refunds more NP, and powerful steroids, Muramasa has no trouble mowing down multiple waves of enemies, both in terms of Damage and NP Refund. His third skill’s unique effect and frequent Critical Hits with his Arts cards also let him rack up NP Gauge easily with Brave Chains. 

High Critical Burst 

With Eye for Craftsmanship giving a 100% Critical Damage buff for 3 turns, and an additional 100% against enemies with Evade or Invincibility, Muramasa can dish out silly numbers with his Critical Hit. This skill also grant an on-demand Star Bomb for the Critical turn, ensuring Muramasa has fuel for his onslaught. 

Great Answers To Challenge Quest Gimmicks

Muramasa brings more than just damage to the table. His Noble Phantasm has an incredibly rare AoE Offensive Buff-wipe that can help neuter dangerous bosses that like to stack removable Attack buffs. Furthermore, Muramasa can ignore Evade, Invincibility, and Defensive buffs, which is another highly prized niche amongst Damage Dealers, as it allows them to maintain fantastic offensive performance against many annoying challenges.

No Survivability Options

All of Muramasa’s skills are geared toward offense, with no effect that bolsters his survivability. Thankfully, this is not a particularly big issue for him as Muramasa is almost always used alongside powerful Arts Support Servants that can provide protection for him.

Mediocre Damage without Support

When it comes to Arts NP loopers, Muramasa's NP damage is actually on the lower end, despite his extremely impressive buff values. As a result, he often needs premiere Arts Support to hit damage values required for clearing certain waves, and can have trouble clearing higher-HP farming waves for some quests. Masters should keep this in mind, since this tends to relegate him specifically to Lancer waves rather than being an all-purpose farmer.

Muramasa is one of those Servants whose skills are all powerful and worth leveling. He is most often used as a wave clearer for farming, thus his two skills that directly bolster this aspect should be leveled as soon as possible to improve his damage ceiling and consistency. 

• Tameshi-Mono B+  – This skill serves as Muramasa’s main steroid. Usually this is best used for the third wave of any farming mission, or any wave where he needs the most damage to burst through. Since this boosts all of Muramasa’s cards, it is also advisable to use in turn where he can perform a Brave Chain. 
• Karmic Eye A – This skill is Muramasa’s primary Critical damage buff. The boost from raising levels in this skill is massive, but it does not contribute much for farming, so it can be delayed until after his two other skills are raised. 
• Flame EX – This skill is definitely Muramasa’s most important skill to level, as both of the NP Battery effects scale with level. This skill vastly improves Muramasa looping capacity and flexibility in choosing Support and Craft Essences.

Muramasa is best with stats that boost his NP looping. Starting NP Gauge grants him the most breathing room as it alleviates pressure in picking Supports for him, while also helping against enemy waves with low NP refund, such as Berserkers. Arts Performance, NP Gain Up and NP Damage Up are all fantastic options to boost either his damage or NP refund, or both. Critical Damage Up and Arts Critical Damage are alternatives for Masters looking to capitalize on his Critical potential. 

• Ocean Flyer / Dive to Blue / Painting Summer / New Beginning: Hybrid Starting NP Gauge and Arts Performance are the best Craft Essences for Muramasa for general purposes, letting him access his Noble Phantasm immediately while not overly compromising his damage. 
• Black Grail / Heaven’s Feel: The best general damage boost Craft Essence for any NP Loopers. The extra punch is particularly useful when high HP waves will be more and more common in future events and Muramasa is one of those Servants whose NP refund is good enough to capitalize on this.
• Royal Icing / Mark on a Smiling Face: Hybrid Craft Essences with multiple relevant stats for Muramasa that will be good for most general battles. 
• Another Ending / Holy Heart / Conversation on the Hot Sands: These Craft Essences focuses on boosting Muramasa’s Critical niche.