Marvel Strike Force Kahhori - Theria Games

Introduction

Marvel Strike Force Kahhori is a character from the What If…? series, a Mohawk woman who possesses superhuman abilities. Her origin story begins when she encounters the wreckage of the Tesseract, falling into a mystical lake that transports her to Sky World. There, she discovers her ancestral roots and gains powerful abilities, including strength, flight, and energy manipulation. As a protector of her people, Marvel Strike Force Kahhori embraces her destiny and becomes a formidable force in the universe.

In Marvel Strike Force, Kahhori plays a pivotal role as a meta-changing character, particularly in War Mode. Her versatility makes her a valuable asset in various modes of the game, including Dark Dimensions. As a Controller for the Absolute A-Force team, she provides excellent plug-and-play value, making her essential to team composition. The Absolute A-Force team, the successor to the original A-Force, is designed to be the ultimate War team, capable of tackling any challenge in the game. With her powerful abilities and strategic value, Kahhori stands out as a key character in Marvel Strike Force.

Kit Overview

Kahhori is a Controller for the Absolute A-Force team, excelling at maneuvering across the battlefield, flipping effects, and incapacitating enemies marked as Exposed. Her abilities are centered around manipulating debuffs and applying powerful effects that make her a dominant force, especially in War. With her high damage output and ability to mitigate threats, she is designed to control the battlefield and support her team.

Sky Blast

Level: 1

Piercing: 50

Step of the Wind

Level: 1

Piercing: 80

Ancient Power

Level: 1

Piercing: 150

New World Protector

Level: 1

Fill Speed Bar: 100

Her Basic ability, Sky Blast, targets the primary enemy with 200% piercing damage and applies 50% drain. It also deals 5% of the target’s max health as damage, scaled down to 30% for minions. This ability flips two positive effects into negative ones, and in War, it flips all positive effects. If the target has Exposed, Blind is applied. If there are no positive effects, Exposed is applied instead. The ability also provides a charge to the Absolute A-Force ally with the most health and prolongs one positive effect on Kahhori by one turn. This attack cannot be blocked, and when forced to attack an ally, it deals less damage and does not apply Exposed to Absolute A-Force characters.

Kahhori’s Special ability, Step of the Wind, attacks all enemies with piercing damage and applies Bleed to all enemies. It deals double damage to enemies with Safeguard and flips five positive effects into negative effects. This ability also applies Offense Down, Heal Block, and Bleed to all enemies for a set number of turns, and applies Trauma to enemies with no positive effects. Additionally, Exposed is applied to all support enemies. Kahhori redistributes health evenly between herself and all Absolute A-Force allies. In War, this attack cannot be blocked, dodged, or counterattacked, and it clears all barrier on enemies.

Her Ultimate ability, Ancient Power, deals 100% piercing damage to the primary and adjacent targets, while applying Defense Down, Heal Block, Disruption, and Trauma for two turns. It also deals double damage to enemies with Safeguard and fills her speed bar by 100%. In War, this attack is unavoidable, and it cannot be blocked or counterattacked.

Kahhori’s Passive ability, New World Protector, fills her speed bar by 200% upon spawn, after all other characters’ on-spawn effects. She attacks the enemy controller with the highest focus, dealing piercing damage and applying Exposed. While her health is above 50%, she cannot gain Slow, and her Focus and damage can only be reduced by Offense Down. Against enemies with Exposed, her passive abilities prevent them from filling their speed bar, gaining stealth or Charged, or creating a barrier. Additionally, in War, Exposed enemies have their assist and revive chances reduced by 100%.

T4 Prioritization

Kahhori’s abilities benefit greatly from T4 upgrades, which enhance her performance, especially in War. Her Passive ability is the most impactful for the entire team. Upgrading this ability increases her Speed Bar fill from 100% to 200%, enabling faster turns. Additionally, when all of her Absolute A-Force allies are present, the T4 upgrade ensures that enemies with Exposed cannot generate Speed Bar for themselves or their allies in War, effectively hindering their speed and improving Kahhori’s team control. The upgrade also boosts her Piercing damage, further enhancing her offensive capabilities.

The Ultimate ability is considered a guaranteed T4, as it significantly improves her combat effectiveness. The T4 increases her Piercing damage and extends the duration of Trauma from 1 turn to 2 turns for the primary target and adjacent enemies, making her Ultimate even more disruptive. It also increases her Speed Bar fill from 50% to 100%, allowing Kahhori to act immediately after using her Ultimate, which is critical in War situations.

Upgrading her Special ability provides additional value by clearing all Barrier from all enemies and applying Trauma for 2 turns to enemies without positive effects. This makes her Special a powerful tool for breaking through defenses and applying consistent debuffs to enemies that are not protected.

For the Basic ability, the T4 upgrade applies +1 Charged (up to a maximum of 3) to the Absolute A-Force ally with the most Health, which helps maximize the team’s potential. Additionally, it slightly increases the damage of the Basic attack, improving her overall output.

Iso-8 Class Options

Kahhori has two solid Iso-8 class options: Striker and Skirmisher, each offering distinct advantages.

As a Striker, Kahhori can make full use of her Exposed mechanic, ensuring she applies Exposed or other negative effects with every Iso-8 follow-up attack. This enhances her ability to control the battlefield by reliably applying debuffs. Additionally, her Striker class allows her to keep providing charges to her Absolute A-Force allies, further boosting their effectiveness. When attacking an enemy that does not have Exposed, she will apply it and then go back to apply Blind, ensuring both Exposed and Blind are applied in the same attack.

Alternatively, Skirmisher works well for Kahhori due to her role as one of the first to take a turn on her team. This gives her the opportunity to apply a significant number of Vulnerables, helping to amplify the damage her team deals. The increased Focus from the Skirmisher class also enhances her ability to land negative effects, including Exposed, making her even more disruptive to the enemy team.

While Striker might seem like the more obvious choice due to its synergy with her Exposed mechanic, both Raider and Striker Iso-8 classes are strong options for Kahhori, allowing for flexibility depending on team composition and strategy.

Team Synergies and Placement

Kahhori is an integral member of the Absolute A-Force team, which is considered a top-tier War team designed to dominate in the game for months to come. When this team includes four or more Absolute A-Force allies, enemies with Exposed cannot fill their speed bar, preventing them from gaining any speed advantage.

The Absolute A-Force team consists of Kahhori, Ms. Marvel (Classic), Medusa, Ironheart, and Wasp. While Wasp and Ironheart have received upgrades to enhance their effectiveness, Medusa provides a +10% speed boost to the team in War. It’s important to note that while Absolute A-Force members can be used on a regular A-Force team and still count as A-Force, using regular A-Force characters on the Absolute A-Force team won’t provide significant benefits due to the team’s specific tags.

For team placement, Ms. Marvel (Classic) should be positioned in one corner, as she serves as a protector for the team. Wasp should be placed next to Ms. Marvel (Classic) to take advantage of her excellent dodge chance, making her harder to hit. Ironheart should be placed in the middle of the formation, while Kahhori and Medusa are best positioned on the opposite side to balance the team’s strengths.

In terms of team roles and functions, Kahhori plays a pivotal role in providing charges to her allies, and she excels in War due to her high damage output and ability to apply Exposed to key opponents. This allows the team to easily eliminate enemies with Exposed. Ms. Marvel (Classic) will apply Safeguard and Immunity to herself and all Absolute A-Force allies, particularly when enemies are defeated. Medusa prevents enemies from spawning with evade or Deathproof, further hindering the enemy’s defenses. Wasp is a powerful asset as she can gain up to 75% Charged on spawn, and if she starts with three Charges, she will dodge 100% of the time, making her nearly untouchable.

The optimal turn order for the Absolute A-Force team begins with Kahhori, who will take three turns, followed by Medusa, Ms. Marvel (Classic), Ironheart, and Wasp. This arrangement maximizes the team’s effectiveness and ensures they can outmaneuver and overwhelm opponents.

Gameplay and Combat Tips

The Absolute A-Force is a powerhouse team, especially in War, where they excel thanks to their strong bonuses. They are designed to dominate the battlefield with impressive damage output and the ability to mitigate damage effectively. When key opponents are marked with Exposed, the team can easily take them down, making Kahhori’s role as a Controller crucial to the team’s success.

Kahhori is designed for quick, strategic maneuvering. She specializes in flipping effects and incapacitating enemies marked with Exposed. Her Basic, Special, and Passive abilities all contribute to applying Exposed, with her Basic being particularly potent. With her Basic attack, Kahhori strikes the primary target for Piercing damage, flipping 2 positive effects into negative effects (or all positive effects into negative effects in War). If a target has no positive effects, she applies Exposed instead, and if the target already has Exposed, she also applies Blind.

This attack cannot be blocked, making her a reliable debuffer. When forced to attack an ally, however, her damage is reduced, and she doesn’t apply Exposed or any negative effects to Absolute A-Force characters. Upon spawning, Kahhori fills her Speed Bar by 200%, allowing her to act quickly, and she attacks the enemy Controller with the highest Focus, applying Exposed. As long as her health is above 50%, she is immune to Slow, and her Focus and Damage can only be reduced by Offense Down.

Essentially, Kahhori can take two turns right after spawning, setting up her Basic and following up with her Special and Ultimate attacks, making her a powerful initiator. In War, she plays a role similar to Captain Britain in Cosmic Crucible and Scarlet Witch (Zombie) in War by preventing enemies from manipulating her Speed Bar.

Kahhori’s primary function in a team strategy is applying Exposed to the enemy Controller with the highest Focus, which is especially important for targeting powerful characters like Old Man Logan, Hela, Green Goblin (Classic), Northstar, Cosmic Ghost Rider, and Shadow King. After Kahhori’s initial turn, the rest of the team can focus on using their abilities to control the most challenging enemies. Start by using Kahhori’s Special on the first turn, followed by her Ultimate on the second, ensuring control over key targets and ensuring a smooth victory in War.

When facing enemies with Safeguard, Kahhori’s Ultimate and Special abilities become even more dangerous, as both attacks deal double damage to Safeguard-protected enemies, allowing her to bypass this protection effectively.

For targeting strategies, it’s essential to know which enemies have support and which ones are Controllers, as they tend to have the highest Focus. Familiarizing yourself with the entire roster of characters and their roles will give you an advantage in knowing which enemy to prioritize.

Finally, turn order for the Absolute A-Force team should be as follows: Kahhori will take three turns, followed by Medusa, Ms. Marvel (Classic), Ironheart, and Wasp. This sequence maximizes the team’s synergy and ensures they can effectively outmaneuver and overpower enemies.

Key Mechanics

Kahhori is a key character in the Absolute A-Force team, which requires four or more Absolute A-Force allies to reach its full potential, especially in War. She plays a vital role in enhancing the team’s damage output, control, and sustain, making her a crucial member. With Medusa providing an additional +10% Speed in War, the team’s effectiveness is further amplified, ensuring they can outpace and overwhelm opponents.

One of Kahhori’s standout features is her Speed Bar manipulation. Upon spawn, she immediately gains a 200% Speed Bar boost, allowing her to take multiple turns early in the match. In War, her presence with four or more Absolute A-Force allies ensures that enemies with Exposed cannot fill their Speed Bar, preventing them from taking additional actions. Additionally, her Ultimate ability boosts her Speed Bar by 100%, enabling her to perform follow-up actions immediately after using it.

Kahhori excels at applying Exposed, a key mechanic in her kit. Her Basic, Special, and Passive abilities all contribute to applying this debuff. Her Basic attack applies Exposed to enemies without positive effects, or Blind to enemies that are already Exposed. Her Passive ensures that upon spawn, she targets the enemy Controller with the highest Focus, applying Exposed to them.

In terms of enemy control, Kahhori can flip positive effects on enemies into negative ones, applying various debuffs like Trauma, Defense Down, and Heal Block. In War, she takes this control further, as enemies with Exposed cannot gain Stealth or Charged, and their Assist and Revive chances are reduced, making them far more vulnerable.

Kahhori also brings significant damage and utility to her team. She deals Piercing damage, which ignores the opponent’s Armor, and her attacks deal double damage to enemies with Safeguard. Additionally, her Basic attack deals 5% of the target’s max health as damage, which is scaled down to 30% when targeting minions.

As for stat mitigation, while her health is above 50%, Kahhori is immune to being Slowed, and her Focus and Damage can only be reduced by Offense Down, ensuring she remains a consistent threat.

Finally, Kahhori enhances team synergies by charging up her allies. Ms. Marvel (Classic) provides Safeguard to the team, making them harder to control and ensuring that Kahhori’s support abilities, such as granting charges, can be utilized to their fullest.

Availability

Kahhori is available through multiple means in Marvel Strike Force, including offers, orbs, and core orbs. As a What If? original character, she can be obtained during special events, such as the “Two Turtle Doves” event, where players can earn Kahhori shards. This event lasts seven days and requires spending showcase energy, collecting snow globes, and purchasing the 2024 orbs to progress. The event offers 70 Kahhori shards at Milestone 14, a milestone that is relatively easy to achieve. An additional 30 shards can be obtained at Milestone 15, though this requires substantial progress in the Winter’s Peak Tower mode. Players can also collect 25 free Kahhori shards from the Winter Wonderland Chapter 1.

Kahhori’s shards are also available through the Winter’s Peak Tower. This tower requires characters to have at least five yellow stars to participate and resets daily at 4:00 p.m. Pacific time. Additionally, players can earn Medusa shards or orbs in this mode, which may also be relevant to acquiring Kahhori through other means. The tower offers a unique opportunity to farm resources, including those needed for Kahhori’s progression.

The “What If? Wonderland” event guarantees 25 Kahhori shards in Mission 1, along with shards for other characters like Wasp and Ironheart. This event also ensures the farming of Kahhori orb fragments, which are available in subsequent missions (Missions 2, 3, 4, and 5).

Kahhori is also obtainable from the Snow Globe store, where she can be bought for three diamonds at the cost of five million globes, equating to 300 million gold. The Snow Globe store is particularly useful as it offers resources five times faster than other methods.

Finally, starting December 29th, Medusa will be a weekly free claim for 15 shards, and she can potentially be unlocked for free-to-play players in about six weeks, providing a steady path to acquiring Kahhori.

Concerns and Counters

Kahhori has faced some concerns from players who believe she is overpowered and potentially detrimental to the game, with some questioning whether the Absolute A-Force team, especially Kahhori, is limited to only being effective in War. Additionally, there are opinions that Kahhori may not significantly impact the war meta as a solo character.

Some community content creators (CC) have voiced disappointment in her current state, and players have expressed frustration with the basic attack’s potential to be dodged, especially against characters like Sasquatch. Another concern is Kahhori’s low focus, making it harder to reliably apply her effects. Furthermore, the need to identify which enemy characters are controllers and which one has the highest focus adds a layer of complexity that some players find inconvenient.

In terms of counters, characters that prevent speed bar gain can disrupt Kahhori’s effectiveness. The Annihilators team in the Arena can also shut her down, while Black Panther Shuri can block assists, and Captain Britain can disrupt speed bar in Cosmic Crucible.

In Alliance War, teams like Alpha Flight with Mefisto and Odin can overpower her, and Northstar or Cabal can prevent her from performing at her best. Kahhori also struggles against characters with Safeguard or those that can apply it, as it reduces her ability to make an immediate impact. Characters that can remove or flip charges from Ms. Marvel (Classic) can interrupt the team’s sustain, and those that cannot receive Exposed or other vulnerabilities can bypass some of her most effective debuffs.

Kahhori has received some nerfs, notably that her basic attack can no longer be assisted. Teams that counter the Absolute A-Force include those led by Odin, Mefisto, and Alpha Flight, which can neutralize the team’s synergy. Additionally, a key limitation of Kahhori is her lack of any form of ability block or stun, which leaves her less effective in situations where controlling enemies’ actions is crucial.

Conclusion

Absolute A-Force is specifically designed to dominate in War, with Kahhori playing a central role in enhancing the team’s damage output, control, and sustain. Some players have expressed concerns that Kahhori is overpowered, but she does have counters. Characters that can prevent speed bar gain are effective against her, and teams like Alpha Flight with Mefisto and Odin can prove too powerful for Kahhori to overcome.

To maximize her effectiveness, Kahhori requires four or more Absolute A-Force allies, making team synergy crucial. Kahhori can be obtained through offers, orbs, and events, and while there is some debate about whether a nerf to her basic attack has made her less impactful, she still remains a key character in War. Some content creators recommend investing cores to unlock her, believing she will dominate various game modes with her powerful abilities and synergies.