User blog comment:B214/Volume 23 discussion blog/@comment-1884090-20170408001538/@comment-10330822-20170410230249

Like I'm trying to say, I'm not expecting them to know something they have no business knowing. They don't have to be psychic or even have inside-information.

When it came to Dulio vs. Issei match, Rudiger's tactic was to weaken Issei's team by taking out a bulk of their power, Issei. The strategy was to use an illusion to play on Issei's perverted nature.

Now, they planned this knowing that Issei was a pervert, so it factored into their strategy on how to beat/incapaciate him.

This is what I am talking about. I'm not expecting them to know stuff like Sairaorg's peerage's abilities beforehand, that's no even a part of this discussion, because they never saw the abilities beforehand and had no business knowing it.

However, they did know that Dulio could create illusions, and they saw how effective it was during the exorcist rebellion. What's more, playing on Issei's perversions is a constant, it always happens, just not always successfully. If Issei doesn't realize that his perverted nature works against him in fights, then he isn't learning. Had he learned this earlier, perhaps he could have develop a counter-measure for when Dulio tried something like that, but he didn't, because he didn't even consider it.

As for Irina, there are plenty of table-top games, like liar's dice, that not only use the pieces you have, but also the pieces your enemy has. Also, it makes you wonder, if Rudiger/Dulio found out that Irina could be used for their hand, then why didn't Issei find that out? Its the difference in their skill as a King, that is what I am talking about. Besides, if I were the King, I'd attempt to find that out not only to see if they could use it against me, but whether I could use it against them. That is strategy and tactics.

Personally, if I was Issei's strategist, I wouldn't have fielded Irina at all, because her abilities don't really give them an edge over other angels, and like I would suspect, her presence may hurt a team of devils rather than help them when they are fighting a team of angels.

So, no, it doesn't have to be completely "in the moment" and what I meant by "work-around" is exactly that, support. Instead of just pushing Xenovia and finding ways to make her individually stronger, Issei uses his power to make her stronger. In short, his power raises the strength of the team, rather than the other way around.