Ma Dai

Ma Dai is one of the new characters introduced Dynasty Warriors 7. He is Ma Chao's cousin and is best known for slaying Wei Yan. Before his playable appearance, he was a generic Shu NPC since Dynasty Warriors 2.

In the Dynasty Warriors series, his height is 180 cm (approximately 5'11"). In Kessen II, he stands at 165 cm (5'5").

Dynasty Warriors
Ma Dai is considered to be Ma Chao's loyal and faithful cousin throughout the Dynasty Warriors series. He first appears with his cousin at Tong Gate and is often the only general to continue serving Ma Chao after Han Sui's defection. He continues to follow Ma Chao into Shu and occasionally appears next to Wei Yan during the kingdom's final battles. If Shu tries to exterminate Wei Yan in his Legend Mode during Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends, Ma Dai is the general closest to attacking the "traitor". He can be played in Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires as a light officer with no attributes.

His playable appearance follows his basic history from previous ports, stating that he followed Ma Chao after Cao Cao's attack. A young man with a sunny disposition, Ma Dai is a trustworthy vassal who can always be relied on to preform his tasks well. He earns Zhuge Liang's trust in the battles against Wei.

Kessen
During Wei's story in Kessen II, he fights for his cousin's cause at Tong Gate and is one of the generals who leads an active assault. Presumably after the battle, the cousins lose sight of one another and reunite later. Ma Chao values his kinsmen and proclaims him as a "brother". During Shu's story, Ma Dai may join at his cousin's behest when they face Cai Wengi. Alternatively, he can be lost in a desert mirage created by Zhuge Liang and he continues to fight with her when he escapes. Compared to his other counterparts, Ma Dai is childish and pouts to the orders given to him. He cheerfully refers to his cousin as "Brother Ma Chao".

He leads a similar unit as Ma Chao except he has a weaker War rating and limited use of magic.

Development
When thinking of figures in Three Kingdoms fiction who is popularly known for being close to Ma Chao, Ma Dai is usually the first one people name. Therefore, he was added in the cast. The focus for his design, which became his trademark with developers, was "That stylish hat!" He is the first Warriors character to be designed completely based on their headwear. He was given wavy hair to try to imply his western plain land origins. His magical paintbrush is supposed to personify his unexpected dark side that is hidden underneath his cheery persona.

Voice Actors

 * Osamu Ryutani - Dynasty Warriors 7 (Japanese)
 * Hisayoshi Suganuma - Kessen II (Japanese)
 * Kōji Tsujitani - Romance of the Three Kingdoms drama CD series

Quotes

 * "I am Ma Dai, cousin to Ma Chao, face me!"
 *  Dynasty Warriors DS


 * "Ma Dai! I am overjoyed to see the righteous flames of justice burn brightly within you!"
 * "The flames of justice? ... Oh, oh yeah, sure."
 * Ma Chao and Ma Dai; Warriors Orochi 2


 * "Do I gotta? Well, okay. I'll go."
 * Reinforcing a unit; Kessen II

Dynasty Warriors 7
Ma Dai is affiliated with a brush in this appearance. When he is equipped with it, he can perform a unique attack exclusive to him. When he performs his musous, he will automatically use the weapon in his attacks.


 * EX Attack: ,,,,,undefined,undefined: Spins his brush several times over his head then does an upward slash which will detonate any remaining ink orbs on the field.
 * Musou 1: : Creates a large orb of ink in front of him, then sends it forward, hitting a large area of enemies.
 * Musou 2: R1 + : Creates a ring of ink at his side and sends it forward.

Historical Information
Ma Dai is Ma Chao's younger cousin who is mentioned in the Record of the Three Kingdoms. His earlier history remains unknown and he isn't mentioned until Ma Chao was dying in 222. His cousin said, "I am among the 200 people who survived Mengde's (Cao Cao's) cruelty, yet it is Ma Dai who will remain. I entrust him to faithfully serve His Majesty (Liu Bei) and preserve our family." When Ma Chao passed away, Ma Dai was given the rank of General Who Pacifies the North and was named Marquis of Chencang.

After Zhuge Liang died of illness, Wei Yan and Yang Yi were mutually hostile towards one another. When rumors of Wei Yan's defection reached Liu Shan's ears, Ma Dai was ordered to slay the betrayer. According to the Record of the Three Kingdoms and the Book of Jin, Ma Dai killed Wei Yan during the latter's escape. There are no accounts of him being rewarded for his deed.

His last mention in historical records is 235, in which he and his army invaded Wei. He was defeated by Niu Jin and fled after his army was cut down to 1,000 men.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
In the novel, Ma Dai is depicted as a positive supporting character. He accompanied Ma Teng to the capital and escaped from his uncle's execution through a disguise. He returned to Ma Chao and participated in his cousin's battles. He followed Ma Chao into Liu Bei's services.

Zhuge Liang formerly dubbed him as a vassal of Shu during the Northern Campaigns and Southern Campaign. He participated in a few of Zhuge Liang's plans, some of which includes ambushing Sun Li's troops and slaying the fictional Chen Zao. After the strategist's death, Ma Dai foresaw Wei Yan's betrayal thanks to a secret plan left behind to him by Zhuge Liang. According to the strategist's instructions, he was to feign loyalty to Wei Yan's cause and gain his favor. Ma Dai would only strike his former comrade down when Wei Yan would yell, "Who dares to slay me!?" True enough, Wei Yan did proclaim the same words and Ma Dai acted accordingly, dispatching the traitor by striking his back. Ma Dai was rewarded with the ranks that Wei Yan abandoned and earned respect as a loyal subject. Since he disappears from the novel after this deed, some readers speculate that Ma Dai quietly succumbed to illness and died soon after.