@Shoryu Magami

While this is true, Kefka is at his highest tier as of now, giving he was taken from the World of Ruin. Terra dying, at this point, isn't a huge thing for Kefka; So having a little fun isn't going to hurt anything. (He could also destroy his beast at will, preventing her death if he really wanted to make her suffer.) Though I am certain Mateus could convince Kefka that capturing her is for the best; Mainly through suggesting that she herself could be sent to destroy the other Warriors of Cosmos. Kefka would get a kick out of it, and then Mateus could have Zidane play fetch.

WoB is getting raided, man. While Ritz is on the weaker side of the heroes, she's still pretty capable on her own terms; Jegran would be the biggest problem for her out of those entering the battle.

@Raddum

Here's my thoughts, with all of this in mind:

Mateus explains his plot to mess with the summoning Cosmos performs, which is also used as his justification for why he can sense the heroes as well (he's basically connected to them by virtue of sabotaging the summoning -- this allows him to hide the fact that he was powerful enough to know where they were regardless). At this point, he'll be aware of Terra's existence, and for reasons I'm not revealing will immediately want to capture her. All it would've taken is Kefka mentioning her name or revealing that he knows her, and Mateus would convince him that they could turn her to their side (since you've already confirmed this would convince Kefka).

Assuming Kefka brings up Terra's name, it'd be a piece of cake for Kefka and Mateus to convince Zidane to capture her. I don't see any reason why Kefka wouldn't work with Mateus, since I'm guessing he can at least guess that Mateus is manipulating Marche (considering Kefka himself is a manipulative prick in the game, even if he's a bit less calculated and a bit more, well, insane).

I don't know much about the Crystal Bearers, but I'm guessing it's safe to assume that Layle and Jegran are an even enough match. This would make Terra/Ritz mostly having to deal with Zidane and whatever reinforcements Kefka/Mateus send, but I don't want to make assumptions about Jegran's actions until it's revealed which group he's attacking.

Things could actually get very ugly for Cecil/Freya depending on how Freya responds to something that's coming, but I've also got a trump card ready to help them out.

@Gohan

I actually didn't notice that you posted until now, and from what I can tell you did it during the discussion me and @Raddum were having.

Would Jegran really have gone to Burmecia if Mateus had openly informed the Warriors of Chaos where the Warriors of Cosmos were located? I'm pretty much thinking Mateus would've had no difficulty describing them, so - even if Mateus has no idea who Layle is - Jegran would recognize the description given of Layle. As it currently stands it almost looks like Jegran got lost, since it's apparent he can't sense Layle directly from how you posted.

Figured I'd bring up my concerns before this moves on and we end up having problems, since as it currently stands him getting lost is the only thing that makes sense if he's directly hunting Layle as your post implied. I'm not entirely sure some people get 'lost' in Dissidia's setting, since it never seemed to be completely corporeal, but I'm guessing he could've taken a wrong portal or something.

On the other hand, if Jegran went to Burmecia knowing all this, it puts Cecil/Freya in a worse situation than they were planned to be in, which means I'll almost definitely need to use my trump card earlier than planned, unless the Hell Dragoon accompanied Jegran instead (for whatever reason) and Marche went elsewhere with another Hell Knight.

I get why you'd choose that location from an OOC perspective (it's the only group you're not part of), but I'm wondering about it from an IC perspective.

@Raddum

Assuming Gohan sticks with the actions he's gone with for Jegran (I'm assuming Layle is waiting for us to arrive), do you have any thoughts or plans? Wondering if you still want to go along with the original plan with Marche, or if I'll send a different Hell Knight with him and make the Hell Dragoon move out on its own.

@Shoryu Magami

All things considered, it's difficult to say. If we keep to the plan, then it's Jegran + Marche + Hell Knight vs Cecil and Freya, which could get messy but you seem to have a backup plan. Otherwise, Marche could possibly end up being deployed with Zidane to go after the WoB group. Mateus manipulating Marche into forwarding something Kefka approves of, such as Terra's capture, would score more points towards the momentary Kefka/Mateus team up. That'd give the WoB group enough to worry about; And Cecil and Freya can have their hands full with Jegran and whatever reinforcements he has.

The only major problem with this is that I'm playing both Chaos members in the WoB fight, though it's not a huge issue on my end since we're short on options without curbstomping the Warriors of Cosmos.

@Raddum

I don't have any personal objections to changing Marche's target to Terra, especially since - as you just pointed out - it'd actually allow Mateus to get on Kefka's good side too (which makes sense, considering Kefka is one of the Warriors of Chaos who is actually in his tier range until he reveals his full power). Considering the idea of sending Marche out is literally just to let him test his powers (without sending him after Firion), sending him after Terra is a viable option.

Keep in mind that I'll be sending a Hell Knight with Marche regardless of who he targets, so at the very least I'll be playing an enemy in the World of Balance battle too.

At this point my biggest concern is that Exdeath is the only one going after the Mist Cave group. I'm quite aware of the fact that Exdeath is powerful, especially with his regeneration, but he's essentially going three-to-one against an experienced protagonist group. Since Mateus wants Firion wiped out quickly, I'll probably have him send out forces there too.

@Shoryu Magami

I'll wait on Gohan's input before posting anything, but now we have a plan, either way.

Kefka can sent something to fuck with the Mist Cave group; Mateus is giving him what he wants (But what Mateus wants more) so Kefka can aid in chaos elsewhere in return. Of course, Mateus would have to not tip Kefka off... Though even if he did let something through, even a sliver of doubt, Kefka isn't in the state to process it as he's ready to watch some slaughter.

@Raddum

Yeah, I'm not planning on spoiling why Mateus is interested in Terra, but I will say it's sort of personal. Mateus wouldn't really need to give any indication to Kefka that he knows Firion -- he can simply emphasize the fact that the trio in the Mist Cave is seemingly more experienced and prepared than the other groups (who are either young and in disarray, or are outnumbered), so it's logical to make sure the bulk of the evil forces are directed there to eliminate them quickly. He'll likely send more than one Hell Knight after Firion unless Kefka offers something significant.

At any rate, it makes sense that we should get Gohan's input first.

@Gohan

Raddum knows already, and has some of the details for why, but I'm leaving the site permanently, mostly due to a combination of the bad community together with the fact that I'm being held back by this place -- the lack of commitment on the part of a lot of the members here basically ruins things for the truly devoted, and I refuse to keep investing so much time into those who don't appreciate it. I'll be sticking around only long enough to collect some data I left here.

I figured it wouldn't be right not to let you know.

@Shoryu Magami

Oh. Okay then, bye I guess.

@Gohan

Still collecting my data and giving people the opportunity to contact me off the site, so I'm still around, but not for too long.

@Shoryu Magami

Okay. Good luck in your endeavors dude.