Merak (Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2)

Merak appears in Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 as one of the seven Septentriones. It arrives on Monday and is the second of the group to appear. It discharges cylindrical missiles that explode on contact and can fire a powerful ice powered projectile/laser attack.

History
Merak is named after one of the seven stars in the constellation the Big Dipper.

Appearances
Merak's body is flat, as if it consists of several bluish plates pasted together. Running along its sides are several red lines, each one linking a reddish eye-like structure on Merak's body. Despite its lack of width, Merak's "eyes" can extend sideways and separate into disc-shaped projectiles known as "Merak Missiles". At the front of its body it has the same kind of face as Polaris. The Merak Missiles also have Polaris face on them.

Strategy
Merak's speciality appears to be long-range attacks. Like most Septentriones, Merak does not move from its location. However, it can summon Merak Missiles that will move towards specific points in the area. If the missile should reach any of the those targets, the game will be over. Should any of the Merak Missiles be defeated, it will create replacements on its next turn. Merak Missiles are weak to Ice or Elec, and will only guard when being attacked. It will only attack when a party member is placed on top of its target. Merak's Circumpolarity will only be used when any of the player's teams stands on the central 3 columns of the map, in front of Merak. Circumpolarity deals Ice damage to all teams (friend or foe) in its path. Considering that Merak does not get its turn delayed by moving, standing on the wrong position on the battlefield would subject a team to at least 2 hits from Circumpolarity, almost guaranteeing that team's death unless they have Ice resistance.

Merak's attack range is 4, therefore a demon with "Animal Legs" will be useful for an attack-and-run strategy. It is also recommended that Angel is used in battle since it knows Force Dance to hit its weakness, Blood Wine to regenerate MP, and has Ice resistance. Participating in an event "Too Late" prior to Merak's battle can also grant the player early access to cracking Force Dance, as well as the ability to purchase Waira which also knows that skill by default. Merak's high Vitality and large amount of HP may prove intimidating, but so long as the attacking teams are kept at high health, it will go down eventually.

Trivia

 * Merak's in-battle sprite changes depending on where the player engages it from. It faces right if attacked from the bottom-most corner, left if attacked from above it, and slightly left if attacked from the center. It is the only enemy in the game that displays this behavior.