Taira-no-Kagekiyo

“I don't care in particular if you treat Kagekiyo as a blade. The ones you battle against are the warped and crooked powerful ones, therefore they are nothing but the Genji.”

Ever wanted an Avenger whose gameplay actually embodies the brutal and angsty bloodthirst of the class itself? Then the hateful Taira no Kagekiyo is here to answer such desire. An offensive powerhouse, Kagekiyo represents some of the best qualities of a Quick-centric Single Target DPS and is capable of both plowing through and surviving the toughest of battles. 

Throwing away any traces of her innocent and valiant side, Taira no Kagekiyo’s skillset is as vicious as her vengeance, focusing on dealing massive single target damage through Critical Hits and Noble Phantasm while also possessing incredible survivability that also compliments her offensive side. Genji Must Die provides a ridiculously high Critical Damage buff, an anti [Genji] trait damage mod and a NP battery, at the small cost of reducing all other allied Servants’ Critical Star Gathering that also works in her favor. Kagekiyo Never Dies is her main survivability tool, giving a stackable Guts on a very short cooldown, and a unique buff that grants her a stack of [Grudge of Vengeance] whenever she triggers any Guts status. Kagekiyo’s last skill - Azamaru's Mist is a dual purpose skill, buffing her Attack and providing her a two times Evade buff. Fleeting World, Fleeting Might is Kagekiyo’s Noble Phantasm, a powerful Single Target nuke that deals proportionally higher damage depending on the number of [Grudge of Vengeance] stacks that she has, with the added bonus of removing all buffs on the target before dealing damage. 

Kagekiyo has a very straightforward, but interesting and powerful gameplan. With her combination of high Attack, strong Critical Damage, great NP Generation and monstrous survivability, she makes an excellent boss slayer for Challenge Quests even on her own as the last man in the party. Her [Grudge of Vengeance] stack mechanics provide some interesting strategy with an amazing ceiling, as Masters can create setups to maximize her Noble Phantasm Damage to ludicrous levels. 

However, she also possesses some drawbacks. Kagekiyo is an extremely selfish Servant. All of her effects are for herself, with her sole utility being buff removal from her Noble Phantasm. Furthermore, her Noble Phantasm Damage can be underwhelming without external buffs or additional stack of [Grudge of Vengeance], so Masters will have to invest a lot in terms of Party composition to get the best out of her. Last but not least, Kagekiyo does have some fierce competition from powerful Single Target centric Damage Dealers like Mysterious Heroine XX (Alter), or the two welfare Servants Sakata Kintoki (Rider) and Santa Karna. 

Taira no Kagekiyo is a superb Damage Dealer. Few Servants in the game boast as much Damage as her while also packing fantastic survivability. Even with her competitors being easily accessible, Kagekiyo makes a fantastic addition to any Masters’ roster that are still looking for a Challenge Quest specialist or even a last man standing for difficult content. Just remember, she requires a whole lot of headpats.

Amazing Critical Potential

With a whopping 100% Critical Damage boost over 3 turns from her first skill and a small 6% boost from her passive, Kagekiyo’s Critical Damage is out of this world. The Demerit of reducing all allies’ Critical Star Gathering from the skill serves as her own unique way of pulling Critical Stars. This in combination with her high hit counts and double Quick deck allow her to be quite sufficient as a Critical Damage Dealer. 

Fantastic Survivability

With a 2 hit Evade and a very short cooldown Guts that is stackable, Kagekiyo is a tough nut to crack. When used in a party with other Servants with other defensive tools, she can be an undying menace for the enemies. 

High Noble Phantasm Damage Potential

Even at base, her Noble Phantasm Damage with her own Attack buff is already quite formidable, particularly against enemies that like to stack defensive buffs as it removes all buffs before damage. But when it is fired off against any enemies with [Genji] trait or if Kagekiyo has any number of [Grudge of Vengeance] stack, its damage potential is sky high. While her [Grudge of Vengeance] mechanics can be tough to utilize perfectly in a party, it makes her a powerful solo Servant as a last man standing coming in and finishing off tough bosses.

Selfish Skillset

Kagekiyo has next to no utility in her skills. All the effects are centered around buffing both her offensive and defensive capacity. As an Avenger, she also possesses the Avenger EX passive which reduces all allies’ Debuff Resistance and lets her recharge her NP more when she is hitted. Kagekiyo also highly appreciates being able to do any form of Brave Chain for both generating Stars and NP Gauge. As a result, while she does appreciate the potential supportive effects from other Servants, sometimes it is better to deploy her as a solo Servant, or to quickly get other Servants off the field as soon as possible to take advantage of her buff windows and playstyle.

All of Taira no Kagekiyo's skills are superb and central to her performance. However, her first and third skills are her most important ones as their cooldowns are both higher and they are directly tied to her Damage potential. 

• Genji Must Die A++ – This skill is Kagekiyo’s main Critical steroid and NP Battery. As all of the values scale with skill level, it is sufficient to say this is her most important skill as it directly improves both of her damaging tools.
• Kagekiyo Never Dies EX – The best value out of this skill is the cooldown reduction as the only other effect that scales with level is Death Resistance. Nonetheless, a 4 turn Guts with 3 turn duration is incredibly powerful in challenge quests, so it is still highly recommended to be raised after her other skills are maxed. 
• Azamaru's Mist B – This skill grants two simple but powerful effects. The 2 hits of Evasion last over 3 turns so it helps a lot with survivability, while the Attack buff further improves her firepower. 

Kagekiyo has some interesting Craft Essence choices. The standard stats that she wants are Starting NP Gauge, Quick Cards Performance, Critical Damage and NP Damage. However, she can also utilize other niche effects such as Guts (as it stacks with her second skill) or Target Focus (to quickly stack her [Grudge of Vengeance]).

• Black Grail: Black Grail is generally the go to option for most Damage Dealers, but for Kagekiyo it also has an added benefit of helping her trigger Guts easier for more [Grudge of Vengeance] stacks with passive damage over time. 
• Midsummer Moment / Dangerous Beast / Crimson Teacher's Pointer / Fist of Hail: These Craft Essences provide several helpful stats that help Kagekiyo’s Critical niche and general performance. 
• Golden Sumo / Trace of Christmas / Cherry Icicle: Craft Essences with Starting NP Gauge and other beneficial effects that synergize well with Kagekiyo.
• Necromancy: An interesting option that Kagekiyo can utilize as it can help trigger more Guts for more [Grudge of Vengeance] stack, albeit a bit luck-based. 
• Gudaguda Poster Girl: Craft Essence with Target Focus are rare, and amongst them Poster Girl is certainly the best. Not only does it have the highest duration for Target Focus amongst them, it also provides a whopping 60-80% Attack buff for three turns, making it a strong but also strategic choice for Kagekiyo.