Matador is a fiend that you must defeat in the DLC Subquest “Return of the True Demon” in Shin Megami Tensei V. Most Subquests will reward you with a large amount of experience, some Macca, and then you’ll receive an item of sorts. Most of the time, it’ll be a Talisman which allows you to have access to the different Magatsuhi skills in the game.

How to Unlock Return of the True Demon - Matador¶

As this entire quest line is DLC, you’ll need to purchase the “Return of the True Demon” DLC from the Nintendo E-Shop. The quest isn’t available immediately, and instead you will unlock it by speaking to Sophia in the World of Shadows for the second time. Once you’ve been told about the quest, you will find Matador to the east of the Tamachi Leyline.

Matador’s Stats¶

Matador’s stats are quite well-rounded. He has high strength, and agility, with relatively high magic too. The only thing he really lacks is his vitality, which means he takes a fair bit of damage from your attacks.

Matador’s Resistances¶

Ailments¶

A brief look at his weakness tells you that the only element you should be using is Electric skills although Physical, Almighty, Fire, and Ice are decent against him, you won’t get another turn unless your Physical attacks CRIT.

Matador’s Skills¶

Looking at Matador’s skills, Andalucia, and Mazan are the main skills to worry about, especially during his Magatsuhi as they deal a lot of damage, and they can hit all of your party. Red Capote is also strong at this point, as it raises both his Accuracy and Evasion to max for three turns, which makes it difficult to hit him. Finally, he has access to Charge, which greatly increases the damage to the next Strength-based attack which can be devastation if used before Andalucia, and Marakunda, that reduces your Accuracy/Evasion by one rank for three turns.

Recommended Items¶

As Matador has a lot of health, you may find yourself running low on MP on multiple characters. This is why we recommend Chakra drops, as they will replenish your MP by 50 points. By now, you should have a few on you. Phys Dampeners are needed to block his Andalucia attack which can be devastating, but in this stage of the game, you’ll be lucky to have any, although you can have some by now. Force Dampeners can be purchased from Cadaver’s Hollow, and are mainly used on his Magatsuhi Mazan attacks. Finally, bring along a some Revival Beads, at least 5, but more if you can afford them.

Recommended Party¶

For the recommended party, you’ll want to take along either demons who are strong to Force or have access to Electric skills, preferably a combination of both. You should also have someone who can cast Sukunda, as this lowers Matador’s Evasion/Accuracy, which is an important counter to his Red Capote skill. It’s for this reason that we bring along Feng Huang, he resists Force as well as having access to Media. This alone makes him great for healing this battle.

For the next demon, you should bring along Shiisaa, it feels as though he was made for this battle, especially if he is at least level 22. This will give him access to Zionga which is Matador’s weakness, Sukunda, that lowers his Accuracy/Evasion, and he also resists Force.

Finally, bring along Ame-no-Uzume as she can heal with Media, has access to Zionga, and she can raise your attack which counters Matador’s Marakunda, but she is weak to Force which means you’ll need to guard on her last turn. Or you could take (no pun intended) Take-Minakata, who also has access to Electric attacks, and he isn’t weak to Force, although he isn’t strong against it either, but what lets him down is, his magic stat isn’t as high, and he doesn’t have the flexibilty of Ame-no-Uzume.

Matador Strategy¶

As with most of the fiend battles, this battle is tough. The higher level you are, the easier it’ll be. Although Matador is level 24, we recommend being at least level 28 on the normal difficulty and above.

As soon as the battle starts, Matador will go first. He almost always starts with Red Capote, which buffs his Accuracy and Evasion to MAX for three turns, and then he’ll normally attack or cast Mazan. When it’s your turn, use a spyglass on him if you want, then pass your turns until you reach Shiisaa. Cast Sukunda on Matador to reduce his Accuracy/Evasion by 1 rank, then start using Electric skills on him. Some of these attacks may miss as he still has some buffs to his evasion.

Now that the first phase of turns have passed, Matador normally spends his turns either casting Mazan, attacking, or using Charge. He’ll use Red Capote a couple of times, but he doesn’t use it constantly, so once you debuff him, it’ll normally stay that way for a handful of turns. He can cast Marakunda which’ll lower the defense of your entire party, but he doesn’t use this often. If he does, eithe Guard with everyone until it wears off, or cast Rakunda if you have it to remove it. His Charge buff only works on Strength-based attacks, and he’ll usually follow it up with a normal attack on his next turn. As long as you are fully healed, this shouldn’t cause too much of a problem.

What you want to do for the entire battle is, cast Sukunda twice to remove his Evasion buff from Red Capote. Heal after every Mazan, and if you’re using Ame-no-Uzume, guard on her last turn due to her being weak to it.

If he uses his Magatsuhi, every attack will be critical and can wipe out your party, so follow this priority. Make sure you’re fully healed, Nahobino takes priority, use a Phys Dampener if you have it for Andalucia, a Force Dampener for Mazan (you can only use one Dampener), guard with everyone. Heal to full after.

If you do lose any party members, switch them out for a like for like replacement if you can. Leanan Sidhe for Ame-no-Uzume/ Feng huang for healing (weak to Force), and Makami for Shiisaa (for Sukunda). Then, when you have a full four turns to use again, slowly start reviving the dead members and rotate them back in one at a time.

For your attacks, you’ll be using Zionga with Nahobino, Sakanagi when using the Magatsuhi skill Omagatoki Critical. Pass or Guard with Feng Huang to conserve MP when not healing with Media. Shiisaa’s priority is 2x Sukunda then Zionga. Finally, Ame-no-Uzume can cast Zionga, help heal with Media, and Guard on her last turn to avoid giving Matador another turn if he casts Mazan as she is weak to it. And that’s all there is to it.

This is a tough fight, especially with what you’ve available to you at this time. If you’re struggling, even with the above strategy, you could wait until level 27, and get Cironnup from Shinagawa, and use his Cautious Cheer ability which he unlocks at level 30. This gives the entire party a Defense/Accuracy/Evasion by 1 rank for 3 turns, which can help tremendously.

When you’ve defeated him, you’ll receive your rewards in the Result screen. Also, you’ll also be able to fuse him as a special fusion by combining Ame-no-Uzume, Fortuna, and Turdak as long as you are at least level 24.