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In Inkulinati, you will command an army of Beasts through various randomized duels and battles. The first boss of your journey is Master, who taught you everything you know about being an Inkulinati. To surpass the Master and continue on your journey, you'll have to beat him in a duel.

Related: Inkulinati: Beginner Tips

Master uses Exploder-based Beasts that can be tricky to deal with, and his passive ability allows him to keep on the offensive throughout the battle. Below, we'll take a look at the Beasts and actions Master will use, as well as a few strategies for beating him.

Inkulinati is currently in Early-Access on Steam, so the content of this guide is subject to change as the game is updated.

How To Beat Master

master duel change army screen

Because of the variety of options in combat, there is no one surefire strategy for beating Master every time you encounter him. Instead, we will lay out what Beasts he will use, some ways to counter them, and general strategies that you should keep in mind.

The battlefield that you face Master on is random each time, as well as the Apocalypse and Glade Objects that appear. However, the best way to beat Master, if possible, is to simply push him off the edge. As we will discuss below, Master will use Exploder Beasts that gain value as Master summons them, meaning a drawn-out fight favors the enemy.

To get around that, if you can quickly get to Master and push him off the edge, you won't have to deal with his annoying Beasts. If this isn't an option, here are some tips for dealing with Exploder enemies.

Master's Beasts

master's army tip

Master will use the following Beasts in this duel.

  • Cook Exploder
  • Bean Exploder
  • Jaw Exploder
  • Hat Exploder

As their name suggests, when Exploder enemies die, they explode, dealing five damage to the tiles on the left and right of them. Additionally, Master can manually Detonate them using the Hand Action of the same name, or the Beasts can manually detonate using their ability Hold Your Farts.

The Cook Exploder and Bean Exploder are long-range Beasts that can deal damage from afar. The Cook Exploder in particular can be troublesome, as it can heal its allies. However, it costs nine Ink for Master to summon, meaning he won't be summoning one every turn, and may not even summon one for the duration of the battle.

If you're dueling on a vertical stage, Master will most likely use Hat Exploders. These Beasts can attack the floors above and below them, and up to two spaces on either side. However, because they have no Prayer ability, these Beasts are always vulnerable to being pushed, especially on vertical stages where there are plenty of edges.

Tips And Tricks

pushing master off the edge of the battlefield to win

Exploder enemies can be difficult to deal with, as even killing them can deal collateral damage to your nearby Beast. Because of this, we recommend using either long-range Beasts like Bow-Wielders or high-health Beasts like the Sword-Wielders.

Using long-range Beasts will allow you to pick at Master's Exploders from afar, ensuring their death explosion doesn't hurt your own Beasts. The downside to this strategy, however, is that Master gains some Living Ink back when an Exploder dies, meaning killing one will bring him closer to summoning another. Because of this, you can enter a situation where you're repeatedly killing the Beasts that Master repeatedly summons, ending in a stalemate.

Alternatively, high-health Beasts can quickly move toward Master at the start of the duel, getting close enough to hit him a few times before dying. Again, if possible, you can quickly push Master off the edge of the battlefield early in the match, tanking hits on your high-health Beasts to get close enough to do so. Or, if pushing isn't an option, you will be close enough to get a hit or two on the boss before your Beast dies. Repeat this process, and you should be able to defeat Master.

Next: Inkulinati: Best Beasts