March to Death (Merciless)

March to Death (Merciless) is the second stage in Dead by Encore. When clearing this No Continues stage, the player is guaranteed to unlock the True Form of Curling Cat, Green Shell Cat.

Stage Information
Energy:	200
Enemy Base's Health:	1,200,000 HP
Enemies:	- Metal One Horn (300%) - Super Metal Hippoe (300%) - Sir Metal Seal (300%) - Metal Doge (300%)
Enemy Boss:	- Daboo of the Dead (100%)
Treasure:	- Curling Cat's True Form (100%, 1 time)
Misc. Information
Restriction:	No Continues
XP earned:	3,800 XP
Stage Width:	6,000
Max number of Enemies:	10
Japanese Version Information
JP Name:	Death March Super Extreme
Script:	デス・マーチ 超極ムズ
Romaji:	Desu Māchi Chō Goku Muzu
Location Information
Max ♛ Difficulty	1♛
Event Map:	Dead by Encore
Difficulty:	★10
Prev. Stage:	Prisoner's Progress (Merciless)
Next Stage:	N/A

Battleground

• 1 Daboo of the Dead spawns as the boss after 16.67 seconds^500f.
• 1 Metal One Horn spawns.
• 1 Metal One Horn spawns after 6.67 seconds^200f.
• 1 Metal One Horn spawns after 10 seconds^300f.
• 1 Super Metal Hippoe spawns after 100 seconds^3,000f.
• 1 Super Metal Hippoe spawns after 103.33 seconds^3,100f.
• 1 Sir Metal Seal spawns after 183.33 seconds^5,500f.
• 5 Metal Doges spawn after 30 seconds^900f, delay 5~10 seconds^150f~300f.
• 5 Metal Doges spawn after 80 seconds^2,400f, delay 10~20 seconds^300f~600f.
• Infinite Metal Doges spawn after 180 seconds^5,400f, delay 30~60 seconds^900f~1,800f.

Strategy

The key to success here is to demolish the strong Metals and hold Daboo of the Dead at bay, then advance and eliminate him, which can prove extremely difficult by his constant support. That being said, as most disposable Critical Hitters rely on chance and those that don't generally have atrociously slow attack rates or long recharge times, don't expect to beat this stage on your first try. High-level Noodle Cat, Modern Cat, Li'l Mohawk Cat with a maxed Critical Talent, or Catasaurus with its Cost Down talents serve as great meatshields, while two leveled Soba Cats can take away most of Sir Metal Seal's HP. Curry Cat also works as great role compression, as it serves as a critical hitter and a crowd controller, having enough range to beat Super Metal Hippoe. The higher your Holy Blast's level, the better, as you'll need every possible bit of damage to kill or cripple Daboo. Alternatively, if you have a massive investment in Waterblast, you can use it to cripple the strong Metals and use something else to kill Daboo.

Recommended Ubers

• Paladin Cat: Low cost, short recharge and high Critical Hit chance make Paladin an extremely effective anti-Metal Cat. This makes it ideal to bring along to improve your chances of winning. If you boost him enough, he can nearly one-shot the Super Metal Hippoes before they push too much and deal enough to knockback the Sir Metal Seal, making the rest of the stage fairly trivial.
• Hayabusa: Though not as consistent as Paladin, Hayabusa's higher damage can greatly help against the stage's metal enemies, especially Super Metal Hippoe and Sir Metal Seal, eating up huge chunks of their HP.
• Lufalan Pasalan: Lufalan is not the most consistent choice you can get, since while he can OHKO any Metal, his long recharge time, single target and low Critical chance effectively give him just one shot. If you choose to use him, prioritize hitting Sir Metal Seal as much as possible.
• Greater Balrog Cat: Disposable high DPS melee unit; he can prove to be very useful at chipping Daboo's health down in between Metal enemy waves as long as they don't get in the way. If used properly, Daboo might die in-between the Metal waves, and you can then fire a high-leveled Holy Blast to end this stage.
• Hades the Punisher: Great wall that can be very useful at stopping Daboo from advancing due to his extreme health and Daboo's slow attack rate. If you have him in True Form, Super Metal Hippoe's knockback and Daboo's slow will not even work on him, though take care, as Metal Doge, Metal One Horn and Metal Seal can chip him down very fast. He has to directly tank all of their hits, therefore it's best to send him when you're sure the waves are in transition.
• Kyosaka Nanaho: Nanaho has a 50% Critical chance on her second hit, and the Zombie Killer ability, both of which can be very useful in this stage.
• Ultimate Lasvoss / Trickster Himeyuri / Detective Vigler: All three of them have powerful Research combos, allowing you to send out your anti-metals faster.
• Mighty Sphinx Korps: Has massive health against Daboo and is able to tank the metal enemies very well.
• Daybreaker Izanagi: Similar to Balrog, Izanagi has great damage against the boss, sacrificing mobility for piercing range to get past the metals, higher damage per hit with a multi-hit, and a conjure to hold back the dangerous metal doges.

Strategy 1

Lineup

Level 40

Level 60

Level 30

Level 20

Level 40

Level 30+

Activated Combos

Cap'n Ahab
Cat Base Defense UP (Sm)

Moby Dick
Unit Defense UP (Sm)

Miracle Performance
"Critical" Rate UP (M)

Battle Items

Notes: The last slot should either be an Uber Rare Cat with Critical Hit capabilities or a Talented Cameraman Cat with her Critical talent unlocked. Catasaurus has its Critical Talent maxed. Other useable Cannons include Breakerblast, Waterblast, or the default Cannon. Shigong Cat can be used instead of Metal Macho with similar results.

Cat Base
Cannon: Holy Blast
Style: Any
Foundation: Any

Lineup: Cap'n Ahab, Moby Dick, Miracle Performance, Manic Island Cat 40, Island Cat 60, Corrupted Moneko 30, Metal Macho 20, Catasaurus 40, Mochi Cat, Waitress Cat 30+

Cannon: Holy Blast

Items: Rich Cat, Sniper the Cat

Notes: The last slot should either be an Uber Rare Cat with Critical Hit capabilities or a Talented Cameraman Cat with her Critical talent unlocked. Catasaurus has its Critical Talent maxed. Other useable Cannons include Breakerblast, Waterblast, or the default Cannon. Shigong Cat can be used instead of Metal Macho with similar results.

1. Spawn Catasaurus along with Metal Macho and Corrupted Moneko to kill the 3 Metal One Horns.
2. Summon few units sparingly to kill the Metal Doges.
3. Continuously spawn Metal Machos to stall Daboo at bay. If you are clearing Metal Doges with ease, then consider spawning a couple Islands to do minor damage to Daboo.
4. Very soon 2 Super Metal Hippoes will advance towards you; spam all of your anti-Metal cats with the exception of Waitress and your Uber. The Hippoes will inevitably push towards your base and hopefully you kill one before Daboo gets close enough to strike your base. Time Waitress or your Uber to kill the other while there is an opening.
5. If you kill the Hippoes quick enough, spam Metal Macho, Manic Island and critters to damage Daboo and clear the peons. You should have pushed Daboo back to 1/2 - 1/3 of the way to enemy base with damage from cats and sniper the cat by this point.
6. Buffed Metal Seal will spawn. Spam everything except Waitress and your Uber. Let them land some Critical Hits and if you feel like Daboo is getting too close, spawn your Uber and pray it Crits on its first hit. You may also spawn a Waitress, just in case. If you are lucky, they will kill Sir Metal Seal.
7. Once Sir Metal Seal is dead, you need to send out Metal Macho + Manic Island + Island to take down Daboo while paying attention to your timing and adding the needed Critters when Metal Doges get in the way.
8. Eventually, Daboo of the Dead will be dead and you can destroy the enemy base.

Strategy 2 (UL Levels + Future Cat)

Lineup

Level 30

Level 50

Level 55

Level 40

Level 30

Level 30

Activated Combos

Biohazard
Research Power UP (Sm)

Bony Bone
Research Power UP (Sm)

Miracle Performance
"Critical" Rate UP (M)

Battle Items

Cat Base
Cannon: Holy Blast
Style: Any
Foundation: Any

Lineup: Biohazard, Bony Bone, Miracle Performance, Corrupted Moneko 30, Shigong Cat 50, Catasaurus 55, Future Cat 40, Soba Cat 30, Curry Cat 30

Cannon: Holy Blast

Items: Rich Cat, Sniper the Cat

1. Spawn Catasaurus along with Shigong and Corrupted Moneko to kill the 3 Metal One Horns.
2. Summon Catasaurus and Curry Cat to kill the Metal Doges.
3. Continuously spawn Metal Machos to stall Daboo at bay.
4. Very soon 2 Super Metal Hippoes will advance towards you; prioritize having as many Curry Cats out on the field as possible. They will push to your base, most likely.
5. If you kill the Hippoes quick enough, spam Shigong and maybe Skelecat if you've talented it for some reason.
6. Buffed Metal Seal will spawn. Spam everything except your combo units and Corrupted Moneko / Soba. Once Sir Metal Seal reaches the frontlines, send in both of them.
7. Once Sir Metal Seal is dead, Simply spam Shigong. When a metal doge comes, send Catasaurus.
8. Eventually, Daboo of the Dead will be dead and you can destroy the enemy base.

Trivia

• March to Death's Japanese name, Death March, is a term coined in 1861 to describe a forced long-distance march, usually undertaken by prisoners of war, on which those unable to go on are left to die.
  • "Death March" is also a term used in project management to describe a project whose participants believe it is destined for failure, or requires a large stretch of unsustainable overwork.

Reference

• https://battlecats-db.com/stage/s01205-02.html