100% Orange Juice - Malt & Mescal Character Pack

Mescal needs work and Malt is a bit damp. You might like to keep an eye on these characters, but I'm still recommending it as essential to completion.

Please localise it properly. Russian version of DLC comes without any text (cards, descriptions)

UPD. 22.02.2022 Malt's description still missing

UPD. Path of Secrets summer event and russian translation still not fixed.

I miss Hono's old art.

Part 1: Malt - Rank: T2

I am about to put him down in the T1 tier, quite frankly. But mayhe he's just above that tier.

Malt is another Sherry-wannabe, so I'll compare these 3 characters here.

Sherry - Always goes second but can challenge others to battle. Has a very situational hyper.
Islay - Doesn't have to always go second in battle but cannot challenge others. Has a hyper that can be used to snipe people.
Malt -Doesn't have to always go second in battle but cannot challenge others. Has a very situational hyper.

So basically, Malt has all the downsides of Sherry and Islay. His passive is very situational as you can only use battle cards that don't have requirements (Big Magnum, Shield Counter, etc, are not suitable as traps), I honestly don't see any reason why he should be bothering with those when Ambush or Assault can do a much better job for him.

His hyper also inflicts a semi-Battlefield event to the board. Yes, this will help him to get wins since his stats are great, and it also forces others to stop on an encounter panel if there is a battle trap set by him. But I generally just bring Mimic to get something more useful - Malt is not designated to be a win-based character anyways, at least his gears don't serve that purpose well like Sherry/Islay.

Why does he give 3 wins on KO? Is there any reason to that? Is 5/+1/+1/+1/5 that difficult to kill? Maybe, but he definitely doesn't need to give 3 wins for that kind of balance.

Part 2: Mescal - Rank: T3

Look, I'm putting her in T3. Even after the nerf, she's still good.

Why? Imagine you have a 50/50 Shield Counter when being challenged, that can steal stars from your opponent if you kill them, and on top of that you have +1 to both defense stats, and a hyper card that discourages people to challenge you without going yolo. How can I not put her in T3? Even after the nerf, I think is character is still close to being OP.

In what world does having a 50/50 Shield Counter make any sense when Mescal has borderline above average stats and a good enough hyper?

Malt has very strong stats, but suffers from a lot of the same gameplay issues that can make Islay miserable to play. Malt's only way to challenge opponents requires trap cards or Gentleman's Battle. Traps are notoriously inconsistent unless you can blanket the board in them, and Gentleman's Battle is situational at best. This inability to pick your fights can make it feel like you have very little agency over how the game unfolds. That being said, the ability to turn any battle card into Assault+ is a new and interesting concept to brew with. I think clever trap placement and use of his hyper have a lot of potential in the right hands. Brewer's buzz aside, my initial impression is that he feels like a less effective version of Islay that trades precision and consistency for more opportunities to get wins.

Mescal on the other hand is a much more straight-forward character with an interesting quirk. Whenever she is challenged in the field, there is a 50% chance that her opponent won't even get to fight her, battling a Pirate Crew Member instead. Thanks to her defensive stats, her pirate body guards, and the threat of Little Magnum retaliation, she can be very tough to take down. However, persistent opponents can beat their way through her defenses for some easy wins and a shot at KOing Mescal herself. If you want to try another complex defensive character Chris may float your boat.

I have a hard time recommending this pack if you are only looking to grab a few, but it's definitely worth picking up at some point.