CUE THE EDM MUSIC (Middle Discussion)
Introducing, the Middle; one of our first major BTA moments. Of all the teams that got buffed this Canto, I feel like The Middle definitely recieved the most. Middle Heathcliff cures the concept of needing to Clash for SP, Kiramael gains her own SP and inflicts pretty significant Bleed Count, of which the Middle struggled with prior, and then... there's Outis... yeesh. Whole powerhouse and arguably one of the strongest IDs we've gotten this Season.
On top of that, the Middle has recieved not one but TWO E.G.O catered to it specifically, through the Abnormality "I'll Go Fer Scissors How 'Bout You," as well as introducing the mechanic of changing the background soundtrack of the battle, which, while not too significant, is pretty badass.
And now, with the Season coming to an end, I highly doubt we'll be getting much more upgrades to the team any time soon... (watch us get BTA from the Great Sister Ricardo mentioned... it's possible.)
So, I wanted to talk about it! Cause I can!
Identities
As of the current moment, we have 6 Middle IDs, and while that's not a full team... we have other options.
This is the most general Middle teamcomp, while the only significant Support Passive being Albina Faust, who supplies a free +2 Bleed Count per turn. I've seen discourse about Lamp Gregor's purpose on this team, so lemme lay it flat: he's slow, so he'll never mess up the 6 Envy A-Res (unless if you're super duper unlucky), applies Burn Potency and Count, reduces SP through Sinking, and he uses Garden of Thorns.
That's 2 Envy Damage and Power Up, which means +20% damage and +2 Base Power to Envy Skills.
Your other options are any characters with an Envy Skill or, better yet, Defense, of which there... aren't a lot of good options.
Your best bets are going to be AEDD Gregor (though Lamp is far superior), Dimension Shredder Yi Sang (especially given how his Evade is actually super useful), or Reindeer Hong Lu/Rodya. Another option, given her Bleed application and a few other buffs, would be Princess Rodya. Of course, you could also use these in place of Meursault, given he's the weakest link in terms of damage and usability, given his Counter never turns into an S3 and he's the only 00, but I'd still use him anyway cause he still gets buffs from other members on the team, and if killed by Outis, gives her a... small buff...
So yeah let's talk about the
E.G.O
Aside from the previously mentioned Garden Of Thorns, there's a few other options for E.G.O you can use, either thanks to their Passives or being Middle-related.
Starting with Meursault, there's a few options. While Capo kinda works given it buffs Blunt and Wrath next turn, both of which Middle Meursault have, I'd like to more importantly point out the obvious; Regret.
It inflicts Tremor Count, which, while not too significant, makes a possibility that Heathcliff's S3-2 can actually... do a little more than like, 4 Stagger Threshold. But more importantly is the Passive. +2 Coin Power at the cost of -1 Base Power is really good, especially given the Middle CONSTANTLY gains SP through an assortment of manners, meaning Meursault will basically always be at max. Furthermore, Meursault's lowest Speed is 4, which, if you're unlucky enough to get to that point, you'll get a free Blunt Power Up! That's pretty good, ay? Oh you could also use Electric Screaming for 2 Offense/Defense Level Up on himself and 2 allies... so that works too. Up to you.
Onto Ishmael, aside from some obvious answers like Blind Obsession and Tidal Elegy, I'd also make a slight argument for Wingbeat.
It inflicts Bleed, and more importantly, it's Passive makes it to where, if not at max HP (which, given how masochistic the Middle is in their gameplay, is pretty likely), she'll do both more damage and heal HP. Additionally, this heals allies as well. You could also use ABS for some Burn application but... yeah anyway, Don Quixote everybody!
I'm gonna rapid fire for Don Quixote because she actually has an Envy E.G.O for every slot!
Starting with what is probably my new favorite E.G.O, this E.G.O has a LOT of variety. If you need healing? Win the Clash, and your allies get healing based on Envy Reson. If you lose the Clash, you do more damage. On top of this, after winning the Clash... FREE POWER DOWN!!! Which means, of course, less damage taken in turn for Counters.
And then, of course, there's the Passive, which along with the healing is why I'd argue this is the most beneficial update the Middle has recieved. This makes Don's Envy Skills do more damage, and deal even MORE with Envy Resonance. She gains Offense Level Up depending on how much HP damage (including Shield) she's taken, which with this team would be a lot given they constantly use Counters, and INFLICT NEEDLES ON COMBAT START BASED ON ENVY A-RES.
For those of you who don't know why this is so significant... this is FREE BLEED COUNT. Needles causes whoever has it to gain +1 Bleed Count when taking any Envy damage, which makes this team which previously struggled very hard with Bleed application be PRETTY SIGNIFICANT WITH IT. This is EVERY TURN after using the E.G.O ONCE, by the way. So anyway, back to my "rapid fire..."
For Teth, there's Electric Screaming, which is some Charge gain... woohoo... but also she gains 1 Attack Power Up when killing an enemy with Envy Skills so... woohoo?
He. Telepole. Charge. Not super significant unless if you're using like, AEDD Gregor or DS Yi Sang or something, then it becomes... kinda useful?
ONE OF THE BEST E.G.O IN THE GAME (aesthetically.) Once again, it's Charge, big whoop. She can hardly use the Passive since her only real way of gaining/consuming Charge is other E.G.O but, anyway.
She applies "Magical Girl's Chant" to up to 4 allies when using this E.G.O based on Envy Res, which is a free Attack Power Up and Damage Up, so on top of Garden of Thorns is +30% damage and +3 Base Power so... not bad? So yeah Heathcliff's here now!
While Bodysack... can be useful, and Telepole is like, more Charge gain, big whoop, he actually has some pretty good E.G.O, specifically Move-In Reg and Binds. It essentially inflicts Wrath & Envy Fragility this turn and next turn, as well as 1 Burn Potency whenever they lose a Clash during the duration. Furthermore, the Passive is a free 1-3 Burn Potency per Turn (which will generally be 1 given you're mainly using his S3, but regardless)
Binds, on the other hand, is a free 5 OFFENSE/DEFENSE LEVEL UP PER TURN, assuming you hit the 6-Res (which... is discounting Lamp Gregor. Guess he's a Stranger..? oh that's the wrong Sinner? well... anyway) if you pair this with Electric Screaming Meur, 3 allies will get 6 Offense/Defense Level Up every turn, which is essentially 2 free Power Up and Protection (kinda.) Outis... has options alright.
Envy Resource rearrangement, which really helps fuel Garden, up to 6 which is pretty good. Healing by 10% HP for 2 allies, 1 Bleed Count, 2 Needles, and 1 Curse. Free 4 damage on Clash Win, inflicts 1 Power Down to targets who are low, further crippling them. Pretty good!
Now, this isn't too significant, but it does... something, I guess. Assuming every other member of the team uses their Counters, you can get like, all 4 Bullets you can get with 1 single use, which will ramp up the Passive to a degree, making it to where she'll inflict... 1~2 Burn per hit... not sure how the rounding on this works... oh and she also inflicts 1 Dark Flame Yeah.
and that's it, so to wrap this up, I wanna cover the
(Lack Of) Strategy!!!!!!!!!
Counter. Counter. Counter. Counter. Counter. Counter. Garden Of Thorns. There it is, folks. At some point, you'll wanna use E.G.O. I'd prioritize Don's Scissor E.G.O first, Outis' Scissors, and then Move-In Reg, Binds, and from there you can sorta freestyle. The other E.G.O are options you can use, but aren't nearly as important.
As for the strategy??? Uh... Scissor... Then Punch! always prioritize using I'll Go Fer Scissors, both of them are by far the BEST E.G.O in this team given the boost damage and cripple the opponent respectively, as well as ramping up the Bleed Count the target has by quite a bit, which this team needs.
With that said, love yall very very much. The Middle is currently my favorite team to play just because of their variety, ease of use, and like, they're just fun??? And the fact that Will You Play is basically an honorary member at this point is funny as hell, especially including that Don's trailer had the Middle EDM music playing. Obviously the Middle will return with another boost in power when Ricardo eventually pops E.G.O and/or shows up with the Great Sister he mentioned, but I doubt that'll happen next Canto so... I feel secure making this informal guide right now. Buh byeee!!!
Posted Aug 3, 2026, 10:38 AM UTC