Mighty Guard (Final Fantasy IX)

Mighty Guard is a Blu Mag spell for Quina in Final Fantasy IX that bestows Protect and Shell to all available allies at a cost of 64 MP, temporarily mitigating both physical and magical damage done to the party. It cannot be reflected but would work with Return Magic were an enemy to use it on the player party, but no enemy does; Gigan Octopus uses it on itself.
==Obtain==
Quina learns Mighty Guard by eating a Serpion, Myconid, Gigan Octopus, Antlion (Outer Continent sand pits), or Gargoyle. The earliest it can be learned is by eating a Serpion on the world map area around the Qu's Marsh where Quina is recruited.
==Mechanics==
Mighty Guard bestows Protect and Shell onto the entire player party, bar anyone who has been flagged defeated by KO or Petrify. Protect mitigates damage from physical-based attacks by halving the "Bonus" during damage calculation phase. Shell mitigates damage from magic-based attacks by halving the "Bonus" during damage calculation phase, and halving accuracy for many spells that can miss.
:Status duration = Spirit * 360 
Status duration takes into account Battle Speed as set in the Config, as well as the unit's speed status (Stop, Slow, Normal, Haste).
==Use==
Mighty Guard is expensive at 64 MP, benefiting a lot from Quina equipping Half MP. The MP cost is so steep that if learned at the earliest opportunity, Quina likely lacks the MP to yet use it. It is handy for protecting the whole party at once, though once Eiko joins, she can do the same for a smaller MP cost with Carbuncle with Boost and Moonstone equipped. Mighty Guard is available much earlier, and is more convenient than casting the Protect and Shell spells individually; by the time Dagger/Eiko is finished casting even one of the spells onto the party, the person who got it first is likely already losing the protection due to status expiration. However, as status duration depends on the party's Spirit stats, when Mighty Guard is first available, its protection also lapses fast.
Mighty Guard is most useful in boss battles where the adversary is expected to attack the party a number of times before the battle is over. There is always a save point before a boss battle where the player can top up with a Tent, so Quina should have the MP available to use Mighty Guard as well. Later into the game, the party's Spirit stats are better and buffs last longer, and Quina has more MP and Half MP ability available, the spell is more readily usable. It is good to use in tough battles, such as against Hades and the final bosses.
Category:Blue Magic in Final Fantasy IX