Knocks Out the target.
Description
Iai Strike is a Swd Art in Final Fantasy IX used by Steiner to attempt to instantly dispatch an enemy for a cost of 16 MP.
Obtained[]
Iai Strike is learned for 40 AP from the Rune Blade, bought from Daguerreo before the party enters the Shimmering Island portal; if not bought by then, Steiner can never learn Iai Strike. The earliest Rune Blade can be bought when the party has a flying transport.
Mechanics[]
Iai Strike attempts to instantly defeat the targeted enemy at 30% base accuracy. It only works on regular enemies; it will fail on bosses. In practice, both Steiner's Iai Strike and Vivi's Death spell seem to work equally well and especially succeed frequently when the characters are on a high level. Unlike Vivi's Death, Iai Strike does not heal undead enemies to full health, but defeats them like any other regular enemy type.
Use[]
Iai Strike and Vivi's Death spell tend to be equally good at dispatching enemies in one go. The difference is that Vivi's Death will Reflect, whereas Steiner's Iai Strike will not. However, the only regular enemies who use Reflect are Ash, Drakan, and Ring Leader. Vivi's Death heals undead enemies, but Steiner's Iai Strike still works on them. However, against the undead, the player could simply use Life.
However, Steiner's normal Attack is so strong that it can dispatch most normal enemies in one or two hits, especially if enhanced with Killer abilities and MP Attack and perhaps Elem-Atk gear, meaning an instant death skill for him is more of a niche.
Iai Strike could be useful against Yans, where it pays to kill them off in one hit to avoid their counterattack. The player may also find it useful against the mirror enemies in Oeilvert, or in Ipsen's Castle if the player does not want to use a low-powered weapon. It is also good against Grand Dragons. Iai Strike works more often if the enemies are on lower level than Steiner, but he can fairly easily dispatch low level enemies with his normal Attack as well.
Etymology[]
Iaijutsu (居合術, "Re-sheath Techniques") is a Japanese quick-draw style, often involving a drawing strike from the sheath akin to battoujutsu, but is distinctively characterized by re-holstering the sword into its sheath right afterwards. It may be used aggressively to wage a premeditated surprise attack against an unsuspecting enemy and is also a counterattack-oriented art.
In fiction, iai is often characterized with extreme speed, as if both the drawing of the blade and re-sheathing of it are done in an instant.