Leona is the spelldrive team’s playmaker, saying, “Strategy’s really important in spelldrive. You gotta read the situation and change your tactics on the fly. That’s what I love about it,” and we get many examples of Leona strategizing in various situations throughout the game:
The Cloudcalling event begins with Leona’s idea to train up a team from NRC to win a festival tournament, as he will have to provide lessons should anyone else win. During their training Leona assesses his group’s strengths and weaknesses and simulates various lineups, surprising Kifaji with his decision to put Kalim in first.
Kifaji says, “I had assumed you would have Kalim go last to avoid him actually having to compete much” but Leona reveals his strategy of putting Kalim early not to win, but to give Vil and Lilia the opportunity to see what a real match is like.
Leona says he taught Kalim all he knows about defense and nothing about offense due to their limited timeframe, telling Kalim that he is to go for a draw in all his bouts, which will make things easier for Vil and Lilia.
Kifaji says, “I’m impressed, Prince Leona. Only you could think of such an underhanded tactic,” but Leona points out that it is a perfectly legitimate tactic to go for a draw in chess.
Kalim compromises Leona’s strategy by letting himself get goaded into making a strike for his opponent, losing instantly. Vil observes, “If (Kalim) had stuck to Leona’s plan I imagine you could have gotten the draw.”
Leona’s strategy for Vil is for Vil to use his keep his distance until his opponent makes the first move, then use his long reach to his advantage, pleasing Vil: “An elegant and refined fighting style, perfect for me.”
Leona’s strategy works, though Vil is injured in the process when his opponent breaks the rules with a physical attack.
Leona’s strategy for Lilia is having him end the match as soon as possible due to Lilia’s low stamina, but—like Kalim—Lilia decides to diverge from Leona’s instructions.
Leona says, “With most strategies, you’d have only a one percent chance of winning. But follow my instructions, and that should improve to 50 percent,” and deduces that their opponents in the final round are desperate due to having substituted in a retired athlete.
Leona also strategizes a way to distract Kifaji, saying he has been “sure to rile Cheka up.” (Lilia: “Khee hee hee, using your cute nephew like that. Underhanded even for you.”)
Leona changes their order for the final round but his plan is compromised by Lilia using magic on accident, an automatic disqualification.
He comes up with a new plan of having Vil distract Kalim’s opponent, but Kalim refuses to comply. Kalim wins by default after his opponent bows out of the tournament in gratitude for Kalim having bought him a bus earlier in the event.
Leona himself participates in the decisive match of the final round, a move that is strictly against the rules, forcing Kifaji to support him in order to save face. Kifaji explains,
“Prince Leona isn’t allowed in the tournament. His participation would mean an immediate disqualification. If it was known that the young prince was so flagrantly breaking the rules, it would bring shame to the entire royal family of Sunset Savanna. There are many foreign dignitaries in attendance. We can’t allow them to witness such malfeasance….Prince Leona must have been counting on me making this calculation to save face. And now he’s made me complicit in his scheme.”
Leona reflects, “any fool can see he’d do anything to protect the country’s honor. Still, he did his part. I have to be a little thankful.”
Twisted Wonderland Reference Note 