When it comes to finding all the pieces of the puzzle for creating a great hydra team, exploring synergies between champions is just as important as finding someone that checks multiple boxes. Sometimes, those boxes are only checked when paired with the right champion(s). Let’s explore options for one of the newest Legendaries being added to the game for hydra: Michinaki.

What does Michinaki do?

Michinaki is a new Legendary champion being added to the game and part of the next 10x event along with 2x Sacreds. He is a strong champion that may surprise you with his damage in Hydra clan boss. He’s a great champion to put in Relentless gear as well (Which you may already have him in if using in Clan Boss). He’s also Defense based for damage so easy to build to hit hard and survive. So, why is he strong for hydra specifically? Let’s discuss…

1. A1 + Passive:  He attacks and places HP Burn. HP Burn does very well in hydra, especially in lower levels. His passive results in him using his A1 quite often, a 50% chance of ally attack if ally attacks an enemy under Hex. This makes it quite easy to keep up HP Burn on all of the heads. 
2. A2: He brings an AoE attack that places Decrease DEF. If the enemy is under Hex, he also places Decrease ATK. You always want Decrease DEF for every hydra fight. Decrease ATK also helps keep everyone alive and you always want that on the Head of Wrath due to its big smashes.
3. A3: He brings a second AoE hit that also removes all buffs from the target and places Hex debuff. A buff-stripper is very valuable in a hydra fight as new heads pop up or if Block Buffs can’t be kept up 100% of the time. Hex allows you to properly target the Head of Mischief and also helps to add extra damage to the fight overall.

When putting him into your team, there are some things to consider regarding synergy. Let’s now talk about some of his best pairings. 

For this combination, the main strength is in Soulless’ A3 paired with the debuffs placed by Michinaki. On his A3, Soulless attacks all enemies and increases the duration of all debuffs on the target by 1 then places a Provoke debuff on all enemies for 1 turn. He places a Shield buff on himself for 2 turns equal to 30% of damage dealt. The damage increases by 10% for each debuff on the target. Debuff extension can help keep up the HP burn, Hex, Decrease DEF and Decrease ATK debuffs easily throughout the whole fight, lessening the need for Michinaki to be in gear such as Reflex or have Refresh accessories. 

Other champions that can be helpful in Hydra and also bring a Debuff Extend include: Thylessia, Vildrax, and Crohnam. 

It makes the most sense to mention these 3 champions together. All of these champions have a Decrease SPD debuff as an AoE and an Increase SPD buff for all allies. Nekmo Thaa, Krisk the Ageless or Lady Kimi all make great pairs with Michinaki and to be part of any roster because of this strong value of both skills on one champion that help all allies to go more often. Of course, there is no need to have more than one in a team composition.

Siphi the Lost Bride is a great option to have as the reviver and healer on a team with Michinaki because she also brings an Increase DEF buff. Adding this buff with a damage dealer that also is defense based helps to improve their overall damage. Obviously, Siphi is a very strong champion for her buffs, revival and heals overall in the game; hydra is no different. There are a lot of other champions that place Increase DEF buffs, but she’s probably the strongest to note to use if possible.

Final Thoughts

Keep in mind that his HP burn is placed after an attack so if Poison Cloud is up on a head (but HP burn isn’t already), he will not be able to land that to help counteract that buff. It should also be noted that he does not pair well with Geomancer. Geomancer‘s passive that pumps out big damage relies on Geomancer being the one to place the HP burns. We don’t want other champions placing HP burn or it will not count as far as his passive being triggered.