Toroko Warriors/Meldi

Meldi is a playable character in Toroko Warriors, and is one of the numerous unlockable characters in the game. She is the daughter of Medusa but tries to push herself as far away from her as possible. Because of her relation with her mother, she can turn others to stone for a little while and use stone-related powers in general. She is a little lost in life, but she is a great and very unique fighter.

Meldi is categorized under defense, being a very bulky fighter who can hold up against attacks very well. Able to turn opponents to stone and form statues from the ground as walls and platforms that she and her teammates can use to their advantage. She is slower than most characters in the game, but has high potential as a defensive core for her team.

She is unlocked after half the game's assist characters have been used.

Playstyle
Meldi is one of the shortest characters in the game and has an average weight. She is also one of the game's slowest characters and suffers from a low jump, sharing some of her attributes with rocks. However, her bulk is extreme and her moves come out quickly as compensation for her slow speed. In addition, she can use her hair snake-ends to grab onto ledges, swing from area to area using them, and grab enemies just to slam them into tohers. With her ability to summon statues out of the ground and use permanently petrified opponents as weapons, there is a lot going for Meldi and she makes for a good defense.

More often than not, Meldi won't require much support, allies can safely reside around Meldi and take advantage of her protection so to protect themselves from enemies, which she can help defeat by using long-ranged bites from her hair or turn them to stone temporarily so they can be beat up by her allies. Staring at an enemy that has been freed from stone twice will be unable to break out of a third time, making them permanently petrified. Fighters can pick up the petrified bodies and use them as weapons until they break, whereas they can become heavy projectiles for her to use.

A unique trait for Meldi is that she can use two weapons effectively at once, using both her hands and her hair ends. Using this trait, she can utilize two pistols at the same time or use four heavy boxing gloves, which makes her all the more terrifying to face. This really comes in handy when paired with the Mistake, which is notable for using and disposing of all sorts of weapons. While she cannot heal her teammates, being able to surround them with statues and giving them time to heal by themselves and helpfully bait healers to them is a good part of her gameplay. As such, she works well with teams.

Meldi, while based on defense, is very good with offense nonetheless. Opponents who come too close will be punished with quick, snappy bites from her hair ends or will be taken care of by a series of fast, equally strong punches. She can use grey smoke to slowly damage opponents around her too, shall they be invincible to her physical attacks, able to help damage foes like Cosmetta this way. She can erect a marble pillar from the ground too, which can either be kept as a defense or get kicked down, causing massive damage to opponents it happens to fall on.

Notably, if Meldi takes on plenty of damage, she'll fly into a rage, which boosts her offensive stats and lowers her defenses slightly. With this heightened energy level, her attacks become much stronger and her moves come out faster, but her concentration is a little more shaky, thus she needs to look at opponents longer in order to paralyze them. If she hasn't engaged in battle for twenty seconds, she'll calm down, reverting to her defensive self. The sudden offensive buff can really make her useful in battle, converting her defensive energy into solid offensive power, which is sometimes necessary on defense teams.

Thanks to her great defense options, it shouldn't be hard for a Meldi player to find their way onto a team. Defense-based teams will warmly welcome one, as Meldi have proven to be brilliant when working simulatenously with others, able to provide a solid defense while being able to carry out power without an issue. Meldi can't heal her allies, but she can help aid in letting that happen by providing allies shelters that alert healers like Leah. While slow and moving much like a rock in ways, she can pull through this and still find her way around, even if she doesn't happen to be anywhere near speedy.

Meldi players do have some hindrances they need to overcome though. For instance, Meldi can't use her weapons and do punches at the exact same time, so a player will need to choose one option or the other. If she uses weapons, she'll be left open to physical attacks, and if she uses her arms, she can't reach opponents from very far away. The sluggish speed means she's open to foes like Alcyone who can penetrate her strong defenses with constant assaults, which means that she'll need allies that are at that kind of speed or higher. She must be particularly careful of Corrina, whose electricity can short-circuit her hair ends.

Meldi's FINALE is Brand of the Gorgons, which is when her symbol will flash on the screen and her eyes turn white, causing her to form petrifying lasers from them. The first two seconds are the strongest; if the lasers hit anyone at this stage, they'll be permanently petrified. After that, the lasers weaken and will only temporarily petrify opponents they hit. After eight seconds, the attack will end with an explosion from the lasers, severely damaging nearby statues and players alike. She can use the opportunity to attack opponents that she was really struggling with before, as can her allies.

To sum it up, Meldi is an excellent defensive character with a very strong strength in defending her allies. With her ability to temporarily petrify foes and form statues to save her friends from powerful attacks, there is an awful lot going for Meldi and she can be a very meaningful teammate in the long run.

Petrify
If Meldi stares into the eyes of an opponent for roughly six seconds, they will be turned to stone temporarily. They can break out by pressing buttons quickly enough or by flinging around the control stick real fast. However, if they're petrified a third time in a match, they will be permanently turned to stone and cannot break free.

Hairpiece Attack
By using the shoulder buttons, the player can send Meldi's snake-like hair pieces forward. This can be used to grab weapons or items, or petrified players which she can use as weapons. If the petrified figure breaks apart, she can use the separate bits as strong projectiles.

Statue Erection
Shoving the right analog stick forward will bring up a statue from right in front of Meldi. This statue can be used as a defense for allies. If the player wants to take things a step up, they can shove the analog stick all the way back and shove it forward to form a pillar, which she can knock down.

Standard

 * "The quiet daughter of Medusa, Meldi is an observant girl who isn't really afraid to speak openly about what she feels.  She wishes to separate herself from her mother as much as possible, yet retains some of her powers such as being able to turn others to stone.  When attacked, Meldi becomes quite aggressive, which can boost her powers and get her slightly out of control."

Alt

 * "With her ability to turn opponents to stone, Meldi should already sound like an intimidating opponent.  In fact, bringing her a flurry of attacks in a hurry can throw her into a rage!  In her rage, she becomes less defense-oriented and takes on large surges of energy, becoming much stronger in the process.  Watch out, for she can hold many weapons at once!"

FINALE

 * "Brand of the Gorgons is a devastating FINALE.  Once activated, Meldi's eyes will become a pure white and shoot out enormous lasers that explode at the end of their duration!  Anyone that the lasers hit will become petrified, so everyone should stay on alert so they don't take a beating from these huge threats!"