Xu Chu
Xu Chu 许诸
Crazy Tiger 虎痴

Bare the Chest 裸衣
During Xu Chu's drawing phase, he can choose to draw one fewer card. During his action phase, all damage that he causes by using Attacks or Duels is increased by one.
Clarification:
  • The extra damage that Xu Chu's "Bare the Chest" affords him stacks with other damage bonuses. For example, if he successfully attacks successfully with Wine after using "Bare the Chest," the attack will cause three units of damage. Fun fact: If Xu Chu uses "Bare the Chest," equips the Ancient Knife, and uses a Fire Attack with Wine on a character with no hand cards that is wearing Wood Armor, he will cause five units of damage, which is more damage than any other official character can cause in one particular instance.
  • If Xu Chu is the victim of Starvation, he cannot activate "Bare the Chest." If he is the victim of Capture, he can activate this power,  but there would be no point in doing so, as Xu Chu can only target other characters with an Attack or Duel in the action phase.
  • Xu Chu's "Bare the Chest" does not modify the requirements of other characters in responding to Xu Chu's Attacks and Duels: i.e. opponents still use one Attack per round in a Duel and one Escape to prevent damage from an Attack.
  • Xu Chu's "Bare the Chest" does not increase the amount of damage he receives during his turn if he loses in a Duel. Xu Chu would receive one unit of damage if he loses, whereas his opponent would receive two units of damage if they lose.
  • "Bare the Chest" does not modify damage that Xu Chu causes outside of his turn. For example, somebody who Duels Xu Chu during their turn after a turn in which Xu Chu activates "Bare the Chest" would not receive two units of damage from losing to him.
Strengths Weaknesses 
  • Xu Chu can cause a large amount of damage in a short amount of time with "Bare the Chest". Being able to deal two units of damage is very significant especially to characters who have a maximum of three units of health.
  • Xu Chu's ability gives him levarge against characters that have damage-activated abilities that activate on a "per-instant" basis. For example, if Xu Chu damages Sima Yi after using his power, Sima can only take one card, even though he lost two units of health.
  • The effects of "Bare the Chest" last throughout Xu Chu's entire turn. For example, if Xu Chu has the Crossbow, each of his Attacks will do two units of damage. 
  • Using Xu Chu's "Bare the Chest" when you do not have any Attacks or Duels in your hand is incredibly risky. If the card that he draws is not either of these cards, he will have used his power and forfeited drawing a card for nothing.
  • Because of the point made in the previous bullet point, Xu Chu is not going to be able to use his power on each of his turns. On the turns that he does not use his power, he has no advantage over other characters in terms of powers.
  • Using "Bare the Chest" effectively requires very precise timing, as Xu Chu needs an Attack or Duel and his victim-to-be should be low on cards or not have the cards to repel Xu Chu's Attacks and Duels.

Notable Combinations:
  • Liu Bei/Guo Jia/Xun Yu - Having one of these characters on your team is almost a necessity to keep Xu Chu well stocked with Attacks, Duels and other hand cards to keep Xu Chu strong and prepared to use "Bare the Chest".
  • Zhang Liao/Gan Ning - These characters can be useful if they are on your team, as they can strip away enemy hand cards to leave them open to your assaults. However, if they are not on your team, they can cause significant problems if they strip away your hand cards and prevent you from using "Bare the Chest" effectively.
  • Zhen Ji - Zhen Ji is Xu Chu's worst nightmare if they are not on the same team. Zhen Ji's "Overturned Country" allows her to use half of the deck as Escape and her "River Goddess" allows her to stock pile on these cards. In addition, because she need not worry about keeping actual Escape cards in her hand, she can keep black Attack cards that can serve either as Attacks or Dodges. This allows her to repel both Attacks and Duels. Finally, with "River Goddess," Zhen Ji has a good chance of drawing +1 horses and armor, which add additional barriers between her and Xu Chu's Attacks. 
 King Under no circumstances should Xu Chu be used as a king. Kings need to have defensive abilities. Xu Chu's "Bare the Chest" reduces the number of cards he will draw and leaves him more vulnerable to rebel assaults.
 LoyalistXu Chu can be a competent loyalist if the rebels have few Escapes. Under the right circumstances, he can crush rebels quickly. He is very good as a loyalist if Liu Bei is the king, as Liu Bei can give him Attacks, Duels, and weapons to help him use "Bare the Chest" effectively during his turn.
 RebelXu Chu can be a good rebel if he can guarentee that the king will not be able to use an Escape on his Attack. Obviously, he can do tremendous damage to the king. However, fighting the loyalists is not a strategy that should be overlooked, as the king probably has more units of health.
 SpyXu Chu is not the type who can stay with it for the 'long haul' so to speak. He should not be the first choice for a spy.

Final Remarks:
We do not like to discourge players from using a particular character, but Xu Chu is usually not the best choice for any given role. As stated earlier, he needs a team that can keep him stocked with Attacks and Duels in order to be a very effective character. If he does not have this team, using him can be frustrating. When using Xu Chu, do not activate "Bare the Chest" unless you have at least one Attack card. Also, realize that enemies will save Escapes for Xu Chu's turn. Do not be surprised if an enemy takes damage from your teammates' Attacks, but somehow has an Escape when you play your turn.

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