Close Counter

One of the most infamous skills, Distant/Close Counter allows melee units who are helpless vs. ranged (and vice versa) to potentially trade back heavy damage. As melee units typically have low resistance, Distant Counter can allow a unit to beat many of their previous counters, color permitting. It’s feared by low defense ranged attackers, particularly those with low speed. Ranged units with decent defense enjoy the use of this skill.

The Distant/Close Counter + Quick Riposte combo is famous for a reason: A guaranteed double attack on anyone who initiates combat onto the unit. This powerful combo can be used on nearly any unit with reasonable defenses, more commonly seen on melee units than ranged. Distant/Close Counter + Vantage is also strong, forcing attackers to take potentially heavy damage. This is a devastating combo for ranged units in particular. Dagger-users can use this skill to debuff foes for a retaliatory strike next turn: It also combos well with Seal skills which do the same thing.

These are two of the most difficult skills to deal with, as their very nature is to be problematic. The best way to handle Distant/Close Counter is Desperation, allowing your faster units to potentially KO a foe before they can retaliate. Skill combos are trickier to deal with: Quick Riposte + Distant/Close can be beaten by luring that unit into your team. Vantage + Distant/Close Counter is particularly troublesome: Powerful users of Desperation are your best bet here. If all else fails, debuffs such as Threaten Atk can help to mitigate the damage.