Dante the Deceptive is a Clanless 
Banner Unit.
Lore[]
Little is known of Dante, and what I do know I can't truly trust. While he seems to reign from Hell, he's made friends with many winged casting doubt on the place of his origin. But, he's always provided his help in the direst of times, so I will not question his allegiance.
Battle Quotes[]
- Dante, at your command!
- Dante, at your service!
- Instruct me as you see fit, my friend!
- My sincerest apologies for your imminent loss.
- Ah, I see you've noticed my candles.
- Oh, it's just a scratch.
- I'm sorry, did that hurt?
- Please, quit your yowling!
- I might be willing to trade sides...for a price.
- Is your train always so drab?
- Hold this for me, will you?
- Don't worry, you can trust me.
- You can't shake these old bones!
Strategy[]
Dante the Deceptive joins your train 2 rings after the Mysterious Figure event if you choose to accept the 3 Dante's Candle items. Dante the Deceptive is a very strong unit that is capable of being the focal point of your run. Since you will always have at least 3 Blights when you receive him - the 3 Dante's Candle items that he gives you before joining - he will gain at least 3 Multistrike when played, and if you are playing on higher Covenant Ranks and start with Deadweights this will be higher - causing Dante the Deceptive to strike enemies at least 6 times on Covenant Rank 25. When upgraded and given 
buffs, this means Dante the Deceptive's damage will quickly spiral out of control.
It is more worth taking Concealed Caverns events than usual with Dante the Deceptive, as the Ember Deposits and Penance Yard events are extremely beneficial with Dante the Deceptive (and the Artifact you get with him, Dante's Cloak), as they give Dante the Deceptive more Multistrike and those events cause Dante's Candle to be even more beneficial to your deck than they already are.
While Dante the Deceptive can improve the deck significantly, choosing to take or not to take Dante the Deceptive is usually more about the survivability of the player in the 2 Rings before getting Dante with additional Dante's Candle cards. Especially on high Covenant Ranks, taking on the candles can be a high risk.
Suggested Upgrades[]
| Upgrade | Description |
|---|---|
 
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Strengthstone and Largestone are very effective on units with Multistrike (especially units with a low default Attack value). The additional +10 Attack bonus of the Strengthstone for example is effectively applied multiple times on units with Multistrike.
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Quick is very good on Dante the Deceptive, as the unit can have an extremely high Damage output potential and therefor kill all units on the floor before they have a chance to attack. |
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Battlestone, similar to Strengthstone, is quite effective on units with Multistrike (especially units with a low default Attack value). Though the Battlestone provides less Attack, the additional +10 Health helps protect low Health units from Sweep and other circumstances where the small additional survivability will be useful.
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Pacts & Unit Essence (The Last Divinity (DLC) only)[]
Probably the strongest fusion you can do involving Dante the Deceptive is to provide him with a way to scale his by fusing a unit with an essence that provides this into Dante the Deceptive. There are several ways to do this - Alpha Fiend is an example of a particularly strong one.
Alternately, if you have access to a Hellvent and already have good ways to scale Dante the Deceptive's , fusing it with a copy of itself effectively gives it 2 additional Multistrike - one directly from the fusion, and another because Dante the Deceptive's "When played..." ability resolves after his Summon ability. This is particularly strong with the Melting Remnant's Reform mechanic, allowing you to scale Dante the Deceptive's Multistrike along with its and - provided you are able to handle how many Dante's Candles this will put in your deck.
Alternately, Dante the Deceptive when fused into another unit provides Multistrike with a more manageable downside than most other Unit Essences that provide Multistrike. This isn't commonly a good idea because it involves sacrificing (a copy of) Dante the Deceptive, who can often be more effective than the unit you are merging into, but it may be worth considering in certain runs.
History[]
See: Version History
| Version | Changes |
|---|---|
| 1.0.0 | Added Dante the Deceptive. |
| 1.0.7 | Dante no longer gets buffed by Ashes of the Fallen. |
| 1.1.2 | Dante now has the trait Intrinsic when you get him from True Champion. Intrinsic makes him always start in your hand to feel more like your champion. |
