CV: Tachibana Shinosuke
Rating: S
Role: AoE Crowd Control and Relay Attacks, Lunatic Emperor
Story
The Grand Pope is the supreme ruler of The Sanctuary. Bathed in Athena's glory, he commands the 88 Saints. In the Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac (Tencent) mobile game, the Grand Pope joins the battle as a powerful support with decent damage.
Skill Analysis
Cosmic Power: Basic attack, 0 cost
Deals 80% (85%/90%/95%/100%) C.DMG to 1 enemy.
Another Dimension: AoE Crowd Control, 4 cost
Open the gateway to a different dimension—when an enemy takes an action, there is a 39% (42%/45%/48%/51%) chance of it being sucked into a black hole. This can be triggered up to 5 times. Another Dimension disappears after the Grand Pope has taken 2 actions or upon having been triggered 5 times. It has a cooldown of 2 rounds and cannot stack.
Passive - skill: Gemini Maze: 0 cost
The Grand Pope has a 3% (5%/10%) chance of redirecting skills targeted at him to the teammate with the highest HP (the chance is increased by 20% if in Another Dimension).
Mysterious Devil Punch: Single-target, confusion, 4 cost
Deals 320% (340%/360%/380%/400%) C.DMG to 1 enemy and has a 35% chance (+Inflict Status Chance) to cause Confusion for 2 rounds. A confused enemy will attack a random friendly unit when they act. If it kills any units, the effect disappears.
Analysis
Looking at the Grand Pope's skills, they appear very powerful, however their downsides are also pretty obvious. First is the high cost - both active skills cost 4 energy - and there's his low SPD. His low base SPD makes it rather easy to focus him down, so you need to take these into account and start from there when considering your lineup.
Cosmo
Red: Eagle Eye (C.ATK & C.ATK Multiplier)
Yellow: Arrow (Inflict Status Chance & HP)
Blue: New Moon (P.DEF & SPD)
Special Cosmo: Mandala (reduces damage taken by 15%)
As a supporting character, your SPD and HP should be as high as possible, and Mandala further increases Grand Pope's survivability.
Lineup
Recommended lineup: Kiki + Cepheus Daidalos + Pegasus Seiya + Hound Asterion + Crane Yuzuriha + Grand Pope
The Grand Pope requires a lot of energy, so it is important to couple him with two energy generating Saints. Asterion's energy generation allows the Grand Pope to cast more skills. Daidalos debuffs enemies making them deal less damage while also bolstering your team's damage: buffs Yuzuriha's P.ATK and Grand Pope's C.ATK. Both Yuzuriha and Grand Pope are powerful single-target attackers and by quickly disarming the enemy (killing their high damage dealers) you can ensure a win early on.
When Grand Pope is used as a support, Yuzuriha isn't as useful. This lineup doesn't have a main damage dealer. Thus, Seiya and Yuzuriha can be replaced. You can use Sorrento for double crowd control, and Aphrodite for late high damage during later rounds. Use June + Marin + Daidalos + Grand Pope for survival.
Counters
If the Grand Pope is in a lineup that has two energy generating Saints allowing him to quickly cast Another Dimension, then it is recommended to focus him down and kill him at all costs. If he's not, still take measures to restrain him. Otherwise once Another Dimension is unleashed, your future survival is ruled by fate. Due to his high skill cost, you can leave Grand Pope alone for about 3 rounds before killing him if he is in any other kind of lineup.
Link
Power and Justice (Capricorn Shura): C.ATK +1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%.
Gemini Maze (Andromeda Shun, Phoenix Ikki, Dragon Shiryu): HP +1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%.
The Grand Pope's Identity (Pisces Aphrodite, Cancer Deathmask): C.ATK +1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%.
Thirteen Years Ago (Capricorn Shura, Sagittarius Aiolos): HP +1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%.
