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Shogun Showdown / Shogun Showdown
36 skills, shops and build planning
The 36 skills are grouped by shop category, with normal prices, effect requirements, combinations and common failures. Fill missing tile roles first, then consider three build examples for cooldowns, collisions and money.
Scope: PC full release, version 1.0 series (sources compared through official patch 1.0.2.1). Excludes Prologue, old Alpha versions and mods. Behavior has not been verified through gameplay or video, and individual console patch numbers remain unconfirmed. / Content checked: October 2, 2026
Two common skills: inventory and selling
| Skill | Category | Normal price | Requirements and effects | When to use it | Costs and exceptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Pockets | Common | 10 mon | Adds one consumable inventory slot | Save healing and shields found on the way for the final battle | Adds an empty slot; does not give you a healing item itself |
| Rogue Retail | Common | 10 mon | Lets you sell consumables outside shops and adds 1 mon to their selling price | Free inventory space and turn spare consumables into upgrade funds | Do not rush to sell when short of healing or escape options |
- Prices are in mon before sales. Check the shop's displayed price for the current tier and unlock state before buying. Permanent unlock costs in skulls are separate.
- Whether identical skills stack and how tier values change varies by skill. Do not plan as if every skill always has three tiers.
Eight weapon skills: meet attack requirements
| Skill | Category | Normal price | Requirements and effects | When to use it | Costs and exceptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Back Stabber | Weapon | 15 mon | +1 damage to attacks hitting an enemy from its back | Land melee tiles after swapping positions | Attacking behind yourself alone does not fulfill it. The enemy's facing matters |
| Sniper | Weapon | 15 mon | +1 damage to attacks against enemies at least four squares away | Boost distant Arrow or Lightning damage | A narrow board or adjacent boss does not provide enough distance |
| Unfriendly Fire | Weapon | 10 mon | Increases damage between enemies by 1 | Swap positions to put another enemy in spear range | Do not expect the same bonus on your own direct attacks |
| Mindfulness | Weapon | 20 mon | Waiting restores 1 extra CD to tiles and the special ability | Shorten the cooldown wait so a dodge becomes ready | Waiting also advances enemy actions. Secure safety before a telegraphed attack |
| Monomancer | Weapon | 20 mon | +1 damage when the attack queue contains only one tile | Supports a build that hits multiple times using one main tile | Queuing a movement tile alongside it breaks the condition. Maximum tier is 1 |
| Close Combat | Weapon | 20 mon | +1 to attacks on adjacent enemies. Does not apply to movement tiles | Strengthen stationary melee tiles such as Swirl | Charge itself is excluded. Targets can change position partway through a queue |
| Central Dominion | Weapon | 10 mon | +1 to attacks made from the battlefield's center. Movement tiles are excluded | Execute front-and-back tiles from the center | Moving to the center alone does not make you safe. Read telegraphed attacks on both sides |
| Odd Curse | Weapon | 10 mon | Curses one enemy at the start of odd-numbered waves | Recalculate the damage needed for the cursed target | You cannot choose the target. It does not curse everyone on every wave |
- Prices are in mon before sales. Check the shop's displayed price for the current tier and unlock state before buying. Permanent unlock costs in skulls are separate.
- Whether identical skills stack and how tier values change varies by skill. Do not plan as if every skill always has three tiers.
Eight Combo skills: turn multiple kills into recovery and money
| Skill | Category | Normal price | Requirements and effects | When to use it | Costs and exceptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combo Coin | Combo | 15 mon | Earn extra mon from enemies killed in a Combo | Turn multiple kills in ordinary waves into money | Does not apply to summoned enemies from 1.0 onward. Do not use old infinite-money strategies |
| Combo Recharge | Combo | 20 mon | Restores 4 CD to the tile making a Combo; 8 at tier 2 | Ready your main multi-kill tile for the next wave | Not an effect that recharges the entire hand regardless of Combo participation |
| Triple-Combo Heal | Combo | 20 mon | Restore 1 HP after killing three enemies in the same turn | Create healing for a no-consumables challenge | Two kills do not heal. Check the in-game display for how summoned targets are treated |
| Combo Curse | Combo | 15 mon | Curses one surviving enemy after a Combo | Reduce the damage needed for the next attack | Target is random. Do not assume it will always curse the intended boss |
| Combo Deal | Combo | 10 mon | Using two consumables in the same turn gives another consumable | Combine necessary uses, such as a shield and healing | Not triggered by a Combo. Using two unnecessary items reduces your stock |
| Kobushi Combo | Combo | 15 mon | Clears CD on tiles left in your hand when a Combo occurs | Ready an unused heavy tile for the next attack | Does not clear the CD of the tile currently executing |
| Combo Boon | Combo | 15 mon | Has a chance to give a consumable on a Combo | Combine with Rogue Retail to sell surplus drops | The dropped card is not an additional tile. Version-specific probabilities remain under review |
| Chilling Combo | Combo | 20 mon | Freezes one enemy after a Combo | Slow a surviving enemy while restoring CD | Cannot select the target or reliably freeze a resistant opponent |
- Prices are in mon before sales. Check the shop's displayed price for the current tier and unlock state before buying. Permanent unlock costs in skulls are separate.
- Whether identical skills stack and how tier values change varies by skill. Do not plan as if every skill always has three tiers.
Eight armor skills: shields and maximum-HP costs
| Skill | Category | Normal price | Requirements and effects | When to use it | Costs and exceptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Healthy | Armor | 15 mon | Maximum HP +2 | Compensate for low maximum HP from Day 5 onward | Lack of escape-tile CD recovery must be solved separately |
| Fortress | Armor | 20 mon | Start battles with a shield at the cost of 2 maximum HP | Prepare for a wave's opening actions or consecutive boss attacks | Compare HP after losing the shield. It does not nullify every attack |
| Reactive Shield | Armor | 20 mon | Deploys a shield after taking damage | Prepare for the next hit of a multi-attack sequence | Cannot help if the first attack kills you. Retriggering from a shield-blocked hit remains unconfirmed |
| Shield Retention | Armor | 15 mon | Carries a shield into the next battle | Use leftover shields or Kami Brew outside combat | Does not create a shield. Combine with a shield-granting skill or consumable |
| Karma | Armor | 10 mon | Returns damage equal to an enemy attack received | Supplement counterattacks in a build with sufficient durability | Killing an enemy may open a rear enemy's firing line. Consider the cost of planning to take hits |
| Chilling Blood | Armor | 15 mon | Freezes all enemies when you take damage | Wait for CD and reposition after being hit | Do not depend on it against Ice-resistant bosses. It cannot save a fatal hit |
| Iron Skin | Armor | 20 mon | Reduces damage taken by 1 and costs 3 maximum HP. Minimum damage is 1 | Compare reduction against large hits with the HP cost | Maximum HP 5 becomes 2. Durability against small attacks may decrease |
| Overflow Guard | Armor | 15 mon | Gain a shield when healing exceeds maximum HP | Turn excess healing from Triple-Combo Heal or Edamame Brew into a shield | Healing exactly to maximum HP does not fulfill the condition |
- Prices are in mon before sales. Check the shop's displayed price for the current tier and unlock state before buying. Permanent unlock costs in skulls are separate.
- Whether identical skills stack and how tier values change varies by skill. Do not plan as if every skill always has three tiers.
Eight movement-art skills: special abilities and movement
| Skill | Category | Normal price | Requirements and effects | When to use it | Costs and exceptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two-Way Move | Movement art | 15 mon | Lets the special ability work on the opposite side too | Dodge without spending a turn changing direction | 1.0 removed the old CD +1 cost. Its necessity differs for the Chain Master, whose ability already handles both sides |
| Quick Recovery | Movement art | 15 mon | Reduces special-ability CD by 1 | Ready swaps or throws before the next telegraphed attack | Cannot fix a position where the ability itself is impossible |
| Damaging Move | Movement art | 15 mon | Adds 1 damage to the special ability's target | Provide initial chip damage for collisions or Scar Strike | No old CD +1 cost from 1.0 onward. The ability's positional requirements still apply |
| Dynamic Boost | Movement art | 15 mon | +1 attack damage when moving with a tile during the same turn | Build an attack queue including Charge or Smoke Bomb | Normal movement on the previous turn does not meet the same requirement |
| Cursing Move | Movement art | 15 mon | Curses the special ability's target | Preserve the multiplier for a large hit after dodging | A push collision may consume the Curse first |
| Chikara Crush | Movement art | 15 mon | Adds 1 to damage from enemy collisions | Strengthen Ronin or Jujitsuka throws and Dragon Punch | The Chain Master's position transfer alone does not cause a collision |
| Mamushi Move | Movement art | 20 mon | Poisons the ability's target at the cost of +1 ability CD | Secure an escape route while poison progresses | The escape ability recharges later. Check whether it will be ready before the next attack |
| Two-Faced Dancer | Movement art | 20 mon | Makes turning free, but turning twice consecutively curses you | Adjust facing before enemies move | Beware of repeatedly pressing to turn back. This serves a different objective from the fixed-facing achievement |
- Prices are in mon before sales. Check the shop's displayed price for the current tier and unlock state before buying. Permanent unlock costs in skulls are separate.
- Whether identical skills stack and how tier values change varies by skill. Do not plan as if every skill always has three tiers.
Two reward skills: revival and rerolls
| Skill | Category | Normal price | Requirements and effects | When to use it | Costs and exceptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fenghuang’s Feather | Reward | 20 mon | Revives after a fatal hit with half maximum HP | Keep insurance for recovering in the final battle | Rounding after revival and complete reuse requirements remain under review |
| Seiryu’s Scale | Reward | 20 mon | The first reroll at each reward is free | Look for rewards that fill missing range or escape roles | Does not make every shop reroll or second and subsequent rerolls free |
- Prices are in mon before sales. Check the shop's displayed price for the current tier and unlock state before buying. Permanent unlock costs in skulls are separate.
- Whether identical skills stack and how tier values change varies by skill. Do not plan as if every skill always has three tiers.
Build example 1: cycle Swirl and ranged tiles
- Use Swirl for front and back and Arrow or Crossbow for range. Do not make a queue that simply hits the same enemy with both.
- During ordinary encounters, kill the front enemy before reaching the back enemy to secure multiple kills in one attack.
- Combo Recharge restores CD on the tile that makes the Combo. With Kobushi Combo, also use the recovery of tiles left in your hand.
- Recovery skills trigger less easily against a single boss. Retain escapes such as Smoke Bomb and another main attack to survive the wait.
- This build is an attack-order practice example. Low CD alone does not guarantee safety every turn.
Build example 2: chip through collisions, finish with Scar Strike
- Choose the enemy to push and its collision target with the Jujitsuka or Ronin. A lone enemy provides no second collision target.
- Wound multiple enemies with Dragon Punch or the special ability. Chikara Crush increases the collision portion's damage if acquired.
- Finish wounded enemies together with Scar Strike to trigger Combo skills. Chip undamaged archers or similar targets with another ranged tile first.
- Change your plan before throwing or swapping an Immovable enemy. Do not keep attempting pushes against a target that makes your ability fail.
- Killing a Warden through collision also triggers an explosion. If you cannot choose a death location safe for your position, use range.
Build example 3: spend Combo income on missing tile roles
- Consider Combo Coin once your setup can kill multiple enemies in ordinary waves. Do not plan on earning infinitely from boss summons alone.
- Rogue Retail lets you sell unwanted consumables outside shops. Keep healing and shields rather than selling the whole inventory.
- Decide whether the next boss demands more range, escape or reuse, then spend the income on that weakness.
- For a run aiming at the 150-mon achievement, track essential upgrades separately from savings. Spending before fulfillment can leave your current money below the requirement.
Shopping and reward procedure
- Before the next battle, inspect your main tiles' CD, empty upgrade slots, healing and escape options.
- Before buying a skill, read whether you already have it, whether this is a tier upgrade, and whether it costs maximum HP.
- Iron Skin reduces maximum HP by 3. At HP 5, compare the result: maximum HP 2, while reduced hits still inflict at least 1 damage.
- Use Seiryu's Scale's free reroll only for the first reroll. Check the cost before making a second or later roll.
- Services using skulls at Moonlit Port appear after all unlocks. Old guides' mon/skull exchange values differ by version; use the shop's current display.
- A fixed table of exchange services with conflicting prices remains pending.
Keep verified consumables by role
| Role and consumable | Decision before use | Related condition |
|---|---|---|
| Edamame Brew: HP recovery | Compare remaining HP with the attacks you can take before the next shop | Cannot be used for Frugal Fighter, which prohibits consumables. Excess healing can trigger Overflow Guard |
| Kami Brew: shield | Save for queues that walking or swapping cannot avoid | With Shield Retention, the full release allows use outside combat |
| Rain of Mirrors: changes enemy facing | Read whether the enemy can face another enemy instead of you | Does not move enemies. Recheck every firing line after the change |
| Freezing consumables: stop enemies | Decide whether you need time to prepare an attack or restore CD | Do not rely on them against Ice-resistant targets. Version-specific duration values remain under review |
- All consumable types, selling prices and drop rates remain under review. Do not confuse tile or skill rerolls with consumable use.
Check each skill's conditions before buying
The following examples assume no other bonus damage, Curse, or shields, and a base damage of 2 for a tile without movement. They do not newly define the base values of a particular enemy or tile.
- First check the enemy's remaining HP and facing. Then read your distance and queue length. Do not choose a skill first and only afterward look for a setup where it works.
- For example, a base-2 attack against an enemy with 3 HP needs a qualifying bonus of 1. If you intended to use Monomancer but queued 2 tiles, redo that kill calculation.
- If the queue contains a tile that adjusts distance, it falls outside this table's no-movement assumption. Do not resolve conditions during movement with a simple distance table; recheck attack warnings and current tile descriptions.
| Skill and assumed situation | Qualifying condition | Calculation | A situation where the same preparation fails |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sniper: the target is 4 spaces away | Distance is at least 4 | Base 2 + skill 1 = 3 | Moving within 3 spaces fails the distance requirement |
| Sniper: the target is 3 spaces away | Not enough distance | Remains at base 2 | Owning the skill alone does not let you add 1 at every range |
| Monomancer: only 1 attack tile in the queue | The queue contains 1 tile | Base 2 + skill 1 = 3 | Adding a movement tile makes the queue 2 tiles and breaks the single-tile condition |
| Monomancer: 2 attack tiles queued | The queue contains 2 tiles | Estimate using only each tile's base value | Do not add the skill's 1 to both tiles when calculating kills |
| Back Stabber: hit from behind the enemy | Behind relative to the enemy's facing | Base 2 + skill 1 = 3 | Your facing backward alone does not put you behind the enemy |
| Close Combat: adjacent, with no movement from the tile | The target is adjacent; the tile does not move | Base 2 + skill 1 = 3 | Do not expect the same bonus on a tile that includes movement |
Combo Recharge and Kobushi Combo recover different tiles
Separate tile A, which creates the Combo, from tile B, which remains unused in hand. The table compares only recovery from the skills themselves; normal end-of-turn recovery has not yet been subtracted.
- Decide which tiles will attack and which to retain for avoiding the next danger. Queuing every tile you want to recover removes them from Kobushi Combo's targets.
- Check that the setup can at least produce a Combo. Do not enter a lone-boss situation assuming recovery triggered by multi-kills is always available.
- After calculating the skill effects, account for normal cooldown recovery and the next enemy action. Recovering a cooldown and being able to dodge the next attack are separate matters.
| Skill compared after triggering | Used tile A: cooldown 6 before recovery | Tile B left in hand: cooldown 3 | What to check next |
|---|---|---|---|
| Combo Recharge, level 1 | Subtract 4, leaving cooldown 2 | This skill leaves it at cooldown 3 | Check whether the tile you want for the next attack queue is A, which participates in the Combo |
| Kobushi Combo | This skill leaves it at cooldown 6 | The tile in hand goes to cooldown 0 | If you want to reuse A sooner, recovering only B is insufficient |
- This example does not include level-2 Combo Recharge's recovery, the full processing order when both skills are held, or how excess recovery is handled.
Use Mindfulness's waiting where you can escape
This skill's extra recovery requires waiting. Do not assume moving to another position also gives the same extra recovery as waiting.
- Read every enemy's next attack line before waiting. Check whether your current space is safe and whether waiting lets an enemy move into range.
- Decide whether you want to recover a tile or the special ability, then count the additional recovery for that cooldown. Ability conditions, such as invalid targets or Immovable enemies, remain separate from the cooldown.
- If avoiding the next danger requires movement, plan without applying waiting's extra recovery to that movement. Use the recovery from a position where you can wait safely.
| Cooldown before applying the skill | Calculate only the extra recovery from level-1 Mindfulness | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Tile cooldown 4 | The extra 1 reduces it to cooldown 3 | Add normal end-of-turn recovery separately. Also read enemy actions before you can prepare the tile |
| Special ability cooldown 2 | The extra 1 reduces it to cooldown 1 | Compare remaining cooldown and warnings to see whether you can use the ability before the next queued attack |
| No escape space, and the next enemy attack will hit | Recovery alone does not make you safe | Handle the warning with a shield, consumable, or another tile instead of waiting for recovery |
Compare two 2-damage hits at maximum HP 5
Assume you start at full health, have no shields, healing, Curse, or other HP changes, and take 2 damage twice from an enemy. This is arithmetic for examining the cost of durability, not an actual enemy attack queue.
- Calculate maximum HP gains and losses first on the purchase screen. Do not judge defense from the damage reduction number alone.
- Separate the enemy's attacks into individual hits. Even if Iron Skin reduces 2 to 1, repeated hits use up your 2 HP.
- If shields or Ice trigger after a hit, calculate their conditions separately from this simple example. If the first hit kills you, subsequent effects cannot serve as recovery options.
| Build | Starting maximum HP | After 2 hits | What this shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| No HP-changing skill | 5 | 5−2−2＝1 | Under these assumptions alone, 1 HP remains |
| Healthy, level 1: maximum HP +2 | 7 | 7−2−2＝3 | The same 2 hits leave 2 more HP |
| Iron Skin, level 1: maximum HP −3, damage reduction 1 | 2 | 2−1−1＝0 | Each hit is lighter, but you cannot survive this pair of hits |
A 45-mon shopping example: do not spend everything while leaving a gap in your tiles
This compares normal, undiscounted prices when the required shop has the items in stock. It neither guarantees those same items will appear nor lists skull costs for permanent unlocks.
- Choose one thing missing in the next fight. Pick the merchant type according to whether you need to fix distance, main-tile cooldowns, ability reuse, or remaining HP.
- Add the needed skills' normal prices and calculate the mon to retain for healing or tile upgrades. Check separately whether you can buy a skill and whether your run can meet its conditions.
- If discounts, sales, or rerolls occur, update the budget using current shop prices. Do not apply a normal-price example unchanged to a sale or skull payment.
| Purchase plan compared | Payment calculation | Mon left | Conditions before buying |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness + Monomancer | 20 + 20 = 40 mon | 5 mon | A safe place to wait and a main tile that can kill on its own |
| Quick Recovery + Two-Way Move | 15 + 15 = 30 mon | 15 mon | There is an attack you want to dodge with the special ability, and using an effect on the opposite side helps |
| Healthy only | 15 mon | 30 mon | Covers insufficient maximum HP; range and escape-tile problems remain |
What these skill calculations leave unconfirmed
Sources for the PC full release's 1.0 series were cross-checked, and obtained official update announcements were checked through 1.0.2.1. These calculations are decision examples using the existing 36 skills' conditions, not a count of newly added skills.
- These additional tables do not establish every permanent skill-unlock cost, every level cap, consumable appearance rates, or current console build numbers.
- Since 1.0, Combo Coin does not apply to summoned enemies. The old tactic of making a boss summon repeatedly for unlimited mon is excluded from this budget.
- The full duration handling of Chilling Combo and the order of multiple simultaneous skills need separate confirmation. Source comparison is not treated as actual play or frame-by-frame video verification.