Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong

Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong 张昭 & 张紘 Managers of Heaven and Earth 经天纬地 Direct Instruction 直谏 As many times as they would like during their turn, Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong can place a piece of equipment from their hand in the equipment area of another character. They cannot replace a piece of equipment. For each piece of equipment that they place in another character's equipment area, Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong draw one card. Stubborn 固执 At the end of another character's discard phase, Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong can return one of the cards that they discarded into their hand. Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong can then place all other discarded cards in their hand.

Clarification:

• When using "Direct Instruction," the recipient of the equipment card cannot decline to equip the card.  Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong forcibly equip the card.

• Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong cannot take equipment in their equipment area and give it to other characters for "Direct Instruction." The power stipulates that the equipment must be in their hand.

• If another player only discards one card at the end of their turn,  Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong's "Stubborn" would allow them to keep the card if they choose to activate this ability, but  Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong would not be able to take possession of any cards.

• If Cao Zhi is in play, his "Fallen Bloom" takes priority over "Stubborn." In other words, in another character's discard phase, Cao Zhi immediately takes possession of the club-suited cards, then "Stubborn" can be activated with the remaining non-club cards. The reasoning for this can be found in the language of the two abilities. "Fallen Bloom" takes place immediately when club-suited cards are discarded, whereas "Stubborn" takes place at the end of the discard phase.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong and wonderful team players. "Direct Instruction" can be used to arm teammates with equipment and "Stubborn" can be used to prevent a net loss of cards during their discard phases.  "Direct Instruction" can be used against enemies in some situations. For example, if  Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong have a Blaze in their hand, they can use "Direct Instruction" to place the Wood Armor on an enemy then use Blaze to potentially do two units of damage. In addition, other characters like Younger Zhuge Liang and Yu Jin have abilities that are active when they do not armor equipped. Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong can use "Direct Instruction" to disrupt these abilities. "Stubborn" is not only useful when used with teammates, but it can also be useful when used with enemies. Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong gain more cards than the target when this ability is activated on a character who discards many cards in their discard phase. It is sometimes a good deal to get these cards even if it means that an enemy gets to keep an extra hand card of your choice. Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong can get many useful cards from "Stubborn." Allies can purposefully discard equipment instead of equipping it to allow Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong use "Direct Instruction" during their turn. Additionally, Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong can be very strong with the Crossbow if they acquire many Attack cards with "Stubborn" throughout the round.

Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong are excellent team players, but they do not work well at all in one-on-one situations or in situations without a team.  "Direct Instruction" can be useful, but it often gives Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong a dilemma. If they always use this ability, they will not have any equipment for themselves. It can sometimes be difficult to tell whether or not Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong need a piece of equipment more than a teammate.  Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong's "Stubborn" is not as useful when aggressive characters are in play. These characters will probably not discard many card in their discard phase and Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong will not be able to help them or help themselves with "Stubborn."  While "Stubborn" can be useful in keeping this duo alive, Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong have no other defensive ability to call upon. If they are not careful, they can be killed very quickly as they only have three units of health.

Notable Combinations:

• Zhen Ji/Yuan Shu/Zhou Yu/Demigod Cao Cao/Huang Yue Ying - These characters have abilities that increase their drawing power. As a result, "Stubborn" will be more useful to Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong when they activate it during these characters' discard phases. In particular, Yuan Shu is Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong's best ally, as he has a power that mandates a certain number of cards being discarded in his discard phase. His presence is useful to Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong, even if he is on the opposite team.

• Sun Shang Xiang/Ling Tong - These characters have abilities that activate when cards leave their equipment area. Although Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong cannot force these characters to discard these cards, he can give them equipment that can be used to activate these powers at a later time via "Direct Instruction."

• New Ling Tong - New Ling Tong is a wonderful ally to Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong. The new "Whirlwind" can be activated during New Ling Tong's discard phase. Because "Stubborn" allows Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong to take all cards discarded in a discard phase, they can also keep the two cards from other characters that New Ling Tong decides to discard via "Whirlwind." New Ling Tong can choose to discard an enemy's equipment, which can then be placed in Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong's hand for the use of "Direct Instruction," which is particularly useful for New Ling Tong. 

• Cao Zhi - Cao Zhi's "Fallen Bloom" competes with "Stubborn" and overrules it in the case of discarded club-suited cards. As a result, Cao Zhi's presence can make "Stubborn" weaker when performed on other characters. However, if Cao Zhi gains a lot of club-suited cards via this power, it is unlikely that he will be able to use all of them during his turn, so "Stubborn" can be used to take most of these club-suited cards. If Zhang Zhao and Cao Zhi are on the same team, they can use their powers to 'pass' clubs to each other during their discard phases (Cao Zhi takes all discarded clubs from Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong via "Fallen Bloom" then discards them in his discard phase during which Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong can use "Stubborn" to take them back, propagating the cycle).

• Da Qiao - Da Qaio's "Country Scene" is useful because it allows her to more easily Capture Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong's enemies. This will force them to skip their action phase. Because of this, Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong can obtain more cards from "Stubborn." However, Da Qiao has leverage over Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong because she can easily Capture them and force them to discard their extra cards gained from "Stubborn" after their skipped action phase.

• Xu Huang - Xu Huang's "Blockade" allows him to more easily use the card Starvation. While this may not cause as much of a problem if Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong are targeted with this card and they have already gained other cards from "Stubborn," but his presence may prevent Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong from using this ability if his teammates are targeted with this card and do not draw cards to discard in their discard phase.

• Wu Guo Tai - Wu Guo Tai's "Exposure" can undermine Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong's "Direct Instruction" if they take the cards he equipped with this ability and give them to one of their enemies.

King	Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong can be a good king choice if the loyalists pick characters like New Ling Tong or Yuan Shu that can give Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong many cards via "Stubborn." Otherwise, Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong can be a risky king choice due to their low health and lack of defensive abilities (other than "Stubborn").
Loyalist	Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong are a good loyalist pick. They can allow the king to keep an extra card and take the rest via "Stubborn" and they can keep him well fortified with "Direct Instruction."
Rebel	Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong are a good rebel pick. They can give the rebels weapons via "Direct Instruction" to help them to reach the king. Also, they will have many opportunities to use "Stubborn" to help their allies and themselves.
Spy	Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong are a poor spy choice. Their abilities are best suited for team situations and they are also very fragile. Additionally, they may have a very difficult time taking down the king in a one-on-one situation unless the king is already very weak, assuming they can even make it to that point without a team.

Final Remarks:

Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong can be thought of as a utility character. In most situations, they are not at the head of the assault, but they have a very useful role in keeping the team strong. Consider carefully when using "Direct Instruction" whether or not you need the equipment more than the ally. Other characters may be more sturdy than Zhang Zhao & Zhang Hong. Also, never forget that you have "Stubborn" at your disposal. If someone is Captured and must discard many cards, it is possible that you may get the right cards to finish the game on your turn, especially if they have to discard many tool cards or if you have the Crossbow and they have many Attacks.

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