User blog comment:B214/Volume 23 discussion blog/@comment-139.190.27.252-20170326130301/@comment-31137559-20170326201537

But if it's a case of just being stronger than the opposing team, you insult the tactical types like Sona, Seekvaira, and Rudiger. Just going into every Rating Game with a pure strength mindset is a great way to get yourself beaten. Look at what Cao Cao did against the Gremory group. They had the leader of the Fallen Angels and the two Heavenly Dragons yet Cao Cao made them look like fools, power be damned. And he did that while defending Georg and Samael. There are ways to beat a stronger opponent without the use of strength.

You ever hear of those battles while the one side has been heavily outnumbered yet still won? Rating Games are like battlefields. You use everything to your advantage. It doesn't just come down to who's stronger all the time. Barakiel pushed Issei into a corner(figuratively and literally). He used the rules of that Rating Games to his advantage. What happens when a king realize they're powerful enough? They start having to use their brains. We don't know what kind of Rating Game it will be so we need to hold off on saying that they are stronger.