Rogue Lords Guide to Bloody Mary Part 1

Posted bytherealgmanreviewsPosted inRogue Lords Guides, Strategy Guides, Video Game Strategy Guides
Rogue Lords Guide to Bloody Mary image

Welcome to my blog, and this will be our Rogue Lords guide to the character/disciple Bloody Mary (referred to as BM from now on mostly).

If you’d like to read a review of this game you can find that here: Rogue Lords Review

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Bloody Mary is one of the three starting characters that you have, along with the Headless Horseman and Dracula. The first part of the guide for the Rogue Lords’ character, Bloody Mary, will cover a general introduction to the disciple.

The second part will cover her skills and relics, and the third part will be about where she fits into a team and combinations with other characters.

Intro to Rogue Lords Guide to BM

So Bloody Mary is primarily a damage dealer and one of the best damage dealers in the game when combined with her recharge skill. It’s this skill that makes her one of the best damage dealers.

This is because when she uses her recharge skill, she usually places a cursed mirror on an enemy target of her choice. This mirror is a permanent status effect on that target, but the mirror can only be on one target at a time.

Now it replicates the effect of an attack that Bloody Mary does on the target. So, if Bloody Mary attacks a different enemy, the enemy with the mirror will also be attacked.

If Bloody Mirror attacks the enemy with the mirror, the skills will be replicated on that enemy. This means that Bloody Mary can do much damage in a brief period.

Now while the two offensive initial skills only do HP damage, she also has access to some good skills that do SP damage.

One annoying thing about her attack skills that do HP damage is that they have the bloodthirsty trait, which means they can only target the enemy with the lowest HP.

This can sometimes be annoying as you may want to focus on a different target, but you are forced to attack the target with the lowest HP. When using her, you usually want to concentrate on damaging one target at a time to take out that target quickly.

One advantage of her SP-damaging skills is that they don’t have the bloodthirsty trait, and her one skill, Seven Years Bad luck, targets all enemies for SP damage and inflicts depression.

Be sure to start a fight using her recharge skill on an enemy to set them up for considerable damage in the following turns.

Skills and Relics for Rogue Lords Guide to BM

Initial Skills for BM

Stabbing

Ok, we will discuss her initial skills and then move on to the rest of her abilities. The first skill is Stabbing, which costs two action points and inflicts 7 to 12HP. There is not much to say as it deals HP damage and has the bloodthirsty trait like most of her HP-damaging skills.

Now Bloody Mary’s skills seem to include both skills that do one instance of considerable damage or two lesser damage instances.

Be aware that skills that do more damage are preferred when trying to get past damage reduction. In my experience, especially with the character Bloody Mary, skills that do more damage seem to be desired, especially with the mirror effect.

Mirror Blade

The next skill is the Mirror Blade which costs two action points and two instances of 3 to 5 damage. This is her second initial battle skill, so it’s a straight-up damage-dealing attack with the bloodthirsty trait.

Twist of Fate

The next skill is Twist of Fate, an alteration skill that only costs one action point that, when played on an enemy, will reduce the damage they do by two. Be aware that playing this on the enemy with the mirror effect will reduce their damage by four.

Now because this is an alteration, it only lasts one turn but can be played on an enemy even if they would be unaffected by status effects, even if you can’t play status effects due to a control played on Bloody Mary.

It can also be played in conjunction with other damage-reducing conditions like exhaustion.

The annoying thing about this is that it can only be played on one target and only lasts one turn, so it’s great to play when you have nothing else to play. Still, if you have nothing else to upgrade at the grim reaper, this would be a good candidate, as it costs 0 action points to play at higher levels.

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All Level One Skills for Rogue Lord’s BM

Next, we will discuss the rest of the skills starting at Level 1 at the Bloody Mary character’s disposal.

Wicked Cast

The next skill is Wicked Cast, an offensive skill that costs one action point and inflicts one instance of 4 to 7 damage. Not a bad skill to have as a lot of the time, you will have one action point left over, and if you are not playing Twist of Fate, you might as well do some more damage.

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe (referred to from now on as EMMM) is a skill that costs two action points that steal 4 to 6 HP and SP but are also a conclusion skill which means that if you use it, it will end your turn irrespective of is you have action points left or not.

It’s not a bad skill, but it does meagre damage for a two-point skill, so generally, I would only use it if you have nothing better to use. While it’s great at healing, it’s typically better to use Bloody Mary to take out targets rather than for recovery, as other disciples like White Lady and Lilith are better to use for healing.

Twisted Reflection

Twisted reflection is a one-cost skill that applies three bleeding to one enemy. I am mixed on bleeding because it only works when an enemy attacks something, which means, in my experience, I have found that this weakness is not that good.

Other weaknesses are much better, including decomposition, so it’s ok, but usually, there are better uses of a skill than applying the bleeding weakness.

Relentlessness

Relentlessness is her first offensive skill that attacks SP. It costs two action points and steals three instances of 2 to 3 SP. So, it heals SP damage as well as damaging the enemy. The damage is low but can be very powerful if buffed.

This is also very good to combine with the split spirit manoeuvre, as Bloody Mary is healing SP damage while attacking the enemy. It effectively allows you to do some tanking, especially if you have taken Lilith and have the relic that will enable Lilith to use her recharge skill on other disciples.

Also, be great if Lilith uses her wall ability, as that will also heal SP, which makes for a great tank.

Seven years bad luck

Seven years bad luck is the last of her level 1 skills, and this is one of my favourites. It attacks all enemy targets for 6 to 12 SP and inflicts one instance of the weakness depression on all enemies.  

This is great to have if you are going for an SP damage build, as with the mirror, it will apply two instances of depression, and depression is a significant weakness to use against an enemy.

Not only does it cause the enemy to lose 4 to 6 SP at the beginning and the end of their turn and reduces max SP.

All Level Two Skills for Rogue Lord’s BM

Heavy Heart

Heavy Heart is the first of the Level 2 skills, and it is a must-have because it applies 11 to 16 SP for two action points and applies two instances of the weakness zombie.

This weakness is a make-or-break ability, as powerful enemies in the game can heal themselves or other enemies.

This weakness turns healing into damage, so if an enemy were to recover 94 HP and had zombie applied to them instead of healing 94 HP, they would take 94 HP damage.

So you have to have a skill that can apply zombie, but the annoying thing about this one is that it only applies zombie to one (max two with the mirror) enemies, so there is a chance that the zombie won’t target the enemy that will be healed.

The reason is that while you get to see if an enemy is going to attempt a heal, it doesn’t tell you which enemy they will be healing, but at least if you’re focusing on one target, you can be sure that one target isn’t going to be able to heal itself.

While it’s not the best zombie-applying skill, you still should take it, as it does decent SP damage, and you need a zombie-applying skill to make sure the enemy doesn’t heal itself

Shard of Psyche

Shard of Psyche is a skill that applies 1 to 2 X 15 SP damage and clumsy weakness. In my experience, I use this primarily for SP damage, but the clumsy weakness can be beneficial to apply to an enemy.

Clumsy reduces an enemy’s HP damage by 10. This can be combined with the Twist of Fate skill but not with other controls like exhaustion.

If the clumsy control is on an enemy and you then play an exhaustion ability on that same enemy. The exhaustion control will replace clumsy and vice versa.

I mainly use this for damage, as it seems to do much damage. Still, suppose you’re playing a group of disciples that uses exhaustion. In that case, you might want to skip this skill as exhaustion is generally the better control to apply, especially when dealing with more powerful enemies.

Fiancée’s Kiss

Fiancée’s Kill is the first of her Level 2 skills that do HP damage. It inflicts 13 to 19 damage, recharges the depleted skill with the highest action points cost, and has the bloodthirsty trait.

It’s very straightforward in what it does as the 13 to 19 HP damage is excellent, exceptionally when replicated on an enemy, as the rechargeability is just icing on the cake.

It’s great to use this on your third turn so that you can recharge a skill you used previously in the last turn, so you don’t have to waste a recharge on it.

Bloody Waltz

Bloody Walts inflicts 7 to 9 damage for a cost of 3 action points, but the effect gets replayed for every depleted skill Bloody Mary has.

This skill requires some planning for practical use. In the game, I think you can have a maximum of seven skills, so if you have another six skills that are depleted and play this, it will replay another six times.

So, while this ability has potential, in my opinion, it requires too much to make it work, so unless you have unlocked all seven skill slots, I would ignore this one or sacrifice it for something better or get it if you have nothing better to take.

Deadly Gash

Deadly Gash inflicts 11 to 16 HP damage on an enemy, applies three bleeding, and costs two action points. The bleeding is just icing on the cake as you mainly use this for damage but be aware that an enemy can’t have two weaknesses applied to them simultaneously.

So, if you previously applied depression via Seven years bad luck and used Deadly Gash on an enemy, the bleeding will replace the depression and vice versa. But for the most part, it’s a good solid HP-damaging ability.

Be aware that it also has the bloodthirsty attribute.

Lunatic Strike

Lunatic Strike is the last level 2 skill, and it costs 1 AP point and inflicts two lots of 9 to 11 HP damage with the bloodthirsty attribute, but it also depletes the skill with the lowest action point cost.

The depletion is rough but can be mitigated by playing Fiancée’s Kiss straight after, so that’s one way you can use it. Still, even with the depletion, it’s mighty for what it does, so it could be helpful to have a weak one-action point skill just so this card can deplete that instead of something more useful.

All Level 3 Skills for Rogue Lords BM

Sinister Dance

Sinister Dance is the first of her level 3 skills. It is a support skill that targets all combatants (disciples and enemies), removes a weakness, and heals Blood Mary by 5Hp for all weaknesses removed and gives her +3 damage for every weakness removed, all for the cost of 1AP.

The damage buff and healing are nice, but if you are going to play this, it might be better to play it first and then apply exhaustion with another character. Sometimes, removing weaknesses from your party is a potent ability to have.

Bloodcurdling Laugh

Bloodcurdling Laugh is a support skill that only targets Bloody Mary. It costs one action point and applies three vampirism and one haste.

This is extremely powerful as it allows her to heal HP and combos well with Killing Spree. There’s no reason not to have this, but this won’t be as useful if you mainly focus on SP damage.

Vampirism is a cure effect that heals Bloody Mary 3 to 5 HP each time Bloody Mary inflicts damage, so when combined with the mirror status, if Bloody Mary is doing HP damage, she can heal a lot.

The Haste, which automatically recharges one skill per application, will help her do more damage.

Killing Spree

Killing Spree is the last of her skills and targets only Bloody Mary. It applies two bleeding, six split spirits, and +3 damage to Bloody Mary.

This is a compelling ability, but it also has the potential to kill her if you are not careful, so it’s good when combined with Bloodcurdling Laugh to heal HP damage or with skills that steal SP to cure that.

This vital skill requires advanced usage and could be a bit of a guide on its own, so I may do a part two to this guide to cover this skill.

Relics.

While this game has two relics just for Bloody Mary, others also work well with her.

Bloody Metronome and Pocket Mirror are two relics exclusive to Bloody Mary.

Bloody Metronome is harder to use as if she uses four skills in a single turn, she gives other disciples +3 damage, and the other is Pocket Mirror which places a mirror on an enemy at the start of combat and after a new wave of enemies.

Now Pocket Mirror is mostly a no-brainer as, most of the time, starting the combat with the mirror effect in place means you can focus on doing damage right at the start, so it’s a splendid relic.

Bloody Metronome is powerful, but in my experience, it is next to impossible to play four skills in a turn because you require at least three skills with one action point cost, which is hard to get without some luck.

Due to the random nature of this game, it’s tough to control which skills and relics you will end up with, so because of that, while Bloody Metronome has the potential to be very powerful, most of the time, it’s just a waste of a relic spot.

Other good relics I can think of is the one that gives free recharge (if you’re not using Lilith), and Equilibrium can be good as it can make duplicates of skills compelling.

What the Equilibrium relic does is that if a disciple has two copies of the same skill at the same level, they each cost one action point less. This can turn two groups of two-cost skills into much damage and may make you decide not to upgrade the skill.

The Equilibrium relic is fascinating with Bloody Mary because she has many two-cost skills, so reducing their cost by one is powerful, especially when combined with her mirror effect.

Team Composition for Rogue Lords BM

Bloody Mary will be the primary damage dealer in any party because of her mirror effect. So when you take her, you need to be aware that most of the time, she will be taking most of the actions with her team providing support.

But the good thing about her is that she fits pretty well with any other party because she can do both SP and HP damage.

Good partners for her are Lilith because Lilith can tank and heal, and because of Lilith’s Mistress of Suffering passive, it means that Bloody Mary will be powering up Lilith when she inflicts damage on enemies.

This works well with Lilith’s damage conclusion abilities.

White Lady is another fantastic partner as she doesn’t need to use abilities to be effective due to her masks and will generally be applying exhaustion.

White Lady also has Permutation, which swaps a target’s HP and SP, which works awesomely with Bloody Mary’s Level 3 Abilities. Switching a target’s HP and SP can be vital in certain matchups.

Also, White Lady can get Bloody Mary more action points, meaning that Bloody Metronome may work if combined with the Mask of Power. Plus, White Lady can reliably apply exhaustion control, which is vital for keeping your party alive.

White Lady can also apply the enhancement Presence of Mind, which increases Bloody Mary’s SP damage by six, so great if you’re focusing on SP damage.

Dracula can also sub for White Lady as he can also apply exhaustion to all enemies and has buffs for HP and SP damage. His recharge ability costs two action points but recharges all disciples’ skills.

As much as I like Headless Horseman when playing with Bloody Mary, Lilith is better because she can tank better than he can as Headless Horseman can tank, but he’s not as good at it as Lilith.

But if you take him instead of Lilith, he has a lot of skills that inflict damage to either an enemy’s SP or HP, depending on which is lowest, which is good with Blood Mary as he can support her in her attacking endeavours.

Baron Samedi is not a good pick as he primarily wants to do damage himself, so if you take them both, you will have to decide whom you want to be the primary damage dealer. Keep in mind that Baron Samedi mainly focuses on SP damage and depression.

He powers up depression, so he can combo with Seven Years Bad Luck, but you’re giving up exhaustion to take both, so it’s a hard choice.

Affiliate link to purchase the game from Green Man Games here: greenmangaming.sjv.io/eK4B5O

Thank you for reading the post. Click here for Rogue Lord’s Guide to Bloody Mary Part 2.

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