Nero Fest 2019 - Exhibition I: Super Regeneration Muscle (Spartacus)

• Note: Masters cannot use duplicate Servants. One Servant of each only!
• The man was made of all meat.  And by meat, they mean magical nanomachines that regenerate copious amounts of HP every turn and bring joy to masochists.  Oh, wait. 
• With plenty of ways to abuse Spartacus, this Exhibition Quest is one of the easiest ones yet. Nonetheless, we've provided a full breakdown below, but skimming it should be enough.

Key mechanics:

• With only a few enemies to deal with initially, starting the encounter with NPs ready to fire may prove challenging.

• Spartacus is under the effect of both his own (unremovable) 100.000 base healing per turn, and additional massive healing timers that go off in set 3-turn intervals. Additional healing timer buffs are applied on every Break, and Masters will quickly find themselves outhealed if they go the slow and steady route. 

• Quick Cards will slow his healing down, granting 10% Healing reduction for every Quick card selected for 3 turns (stacking to max 90%). 

• Spartacus will inflict a 3-turn (cleansable) Buster Performance Down on entry and also (attempt to) prevent further rushing by gaining an additional Special Defense buff if any of his Break Bars are broken within 3 turns of when he first enters the field.

• However! Spartacus is exceedingly vulnerable to buff removal and buff blocking. While Spartacus' passive healing per turn (and special defense buff) cannot be removed, the timed healing buffs are removable or blockable. 

• In addition, no healing can save him if all his HP is depleted in a single turn. Sometimes the best defense is stacking more offense. Just make sure he actually is broken or he will heal back up!

• Spartacus can charge his NP, beware of sudden NPs and he will very likely unleash at least one NP before the fight is over due to his initial anti-rushing mechanics.

• Note that Spartacus' NP pierces defense, so defense stacking to avoid NP damage will not work.

• Oppression is injustice! Spartacus will try and prioritize (and critical) King-trait Servants. Bringing King Servants is still viable, especially if they are used as a meat-shield, but beware nonetheless.

• Don't let the initial Buster Performance Down buff throw up a smokescreen, any card type is viable, especially as the Buster Performance Down only lasts for 3 turns and is perfectly able to be cleansed.  
• Quick Servants are of course stronger than usual, having the opportunity to outdamage his healing.
• But Buster Servants (with Merlin) still have the highest burst damage potential to bypass his healing entirely, while Arts Servants can recharge their NP the fastest and outlast Spartacus to boot. 
• Ideally, form a set-up with one main DPS with 2 Supports and the Event CE. Burst damage is key here, and the more damage buffs (and some survival) that is stacked on one Servant, the better.
• Spartacus is of course Male, which makes him a prime target for Male-bullying tactics. Euryale, Tamamo no Mae (Lancer), Queen Medb, and Orion are all powerful options, although Orion's anti-male steroid is sadly additive with the Event CE. 
• Servants with buff removal are incredible here. Meltryllis, Jack, Musashi are some prime examples, but even darkhorse options like Avenger of Shinjuku, Frankenstein (Saber) and yes, Amakusa can speed up the fight for Masters who do not wish to rely on one-shotting Spartacus.
• Buff Blocking is also a superb alternative, with Jeanne d'Arc (Alter) easily destroying the entire Challenge Quest. Masters with a disposable Mephistopheles could use him (and then swap/let him die) to apply his 3-time buff block. 
• Spartacus will generally unleash at least one NP (due to his NP charging and defense buff), so Teamwide Invincibility/Evasion is rather nice. Personal hard survival works perfectly fine too.
• Since Spartacus is a Berserker, the entire roster is available. Extra Class Servants are also extra powerful here, with Avengers dealing insane damage while Alter Ego and Ruler Servants can work with full class advantage as well.
• In the end, High Burst Damage renders any discussion here moot, especially Quick Servants who prevent Spartacus from recuperating any taken damage. Kintoki (Rider), Scathach, Altria Pendragon (Rider Alter) and Illyasviel for example can all unleash plenty of NP damage - even moreso with NP Upgrades. Naturally high Critical Damage works well too.
• Note: Depending on the strategy, consider waiting 3 turns for the Special Defense buff not to trigger, or trigger it immediately and spend 3 turns charging NPs.

Certainly! In fact, this might well be one of the most flexible solo Challenge Quests yet, with a wide variety of options to consider (and increase your chances for that grailed/NP upgraded friend Servant to be of use!)

• When soloing, Masters field lvl 1+ Servants with a Taunt (Georgios and Leonidas) to draw fire for 2 turns (one at a time) and then leave the borrowed maxed Servant on their own. 
• There are 3 main problems impeding any solo strategy: The healing Spartacus does to recover, the special defense buff during the first 3 turns if his HP Bar is broken, and his Buster Performance Down debuff. 
• In effect, Masters need to do enough damage to one-shot with a chain (or remove the timer healing buffs). 
• In most cases, Masters break the first HP bar within 3 turns and then use the Special Defense buff to charge the next NP. Once it wears off, Spartacus can be clobbered properly (try to avoid wasting damage while its active as odds are, Spartacus will outheal it)
• Cu Alter is a good option as per usual, but Jack, Meltryllis, Okita, Euryale, Kintoki (Rider) are all viable alternatives. See the video links for some examples of success!
• Note that the Chaldea Mystic Code is very powerful here as it greatly helps dealing enough damage to kill Spartacus while also bring an Evasion.

Note that these videos are not affiliated with GamePress, but showcase some lineups that are effective in clearing the final challenge. These can serve as a good reference for how to rotate skills during this quest or simply to have a look at the encounter before diving in.

• Cu Alter solo (lvl 90, NP2) with the Chaldea Mystic Code - note that using NP1 should be fine but cuts it a bit more close (try and find a better one!)
• Mash/Georgios/Melt/Merlin Set-up with Atlas Academy Uniform - A good look at how buff removal and high ST damage will make for a clean kill.
• Euryale solo (70, NP5, 6/6/10) with the Chaldea Mystic Code - got a bit lucky with a Critical at the end to charge NP, but a good showcase either way
• Kintoki (Rider)/Georgios (65)/Arash (60) "Solo" - Kintoki absolutely demolishes Spartacus
• Jeanne d'Arc (Alter)/Arash/Merlin/Waver/Nightingale Overkill composition yet showcases buff block well
• Jack Solo (90, NP2) with the Atlas Academy Uniform - ought to work with NP1 as well.