the sadboi backlog diaries

Character Diaries (read: Strategies)

Alear

Clanne

Alfred

Boucheron

Chloé

Louis

Jean

Anna

Alcryst

Diamant

Ivy

Kagetsu

Zelkov

Seadall

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Serene's Forest | An amazing resource for Fire Emblem anything, not just Engage. I get everything from growth rates to emblem skills from here!

Now, the thing about Dancers is that his stats, aside from Movement, are largely irrelevant because he should not be seeing any combat. But that doesn't mean that he can't be helpful in some situations. He can wield up to A-level arts, so that could be useful in breaking ranged foes. Let's see what I can cook up here.

Potential Inherited Skills

Marth’s Avoid+ set grants a direct bonus to a unit’s Avoid stat (max +30). Accumulative cost of 4,500 SP.

Marth’s Break Defenses allows the unit to make an extra attack at half the damage output if the unit initiates combat and breaks the foe. Costs 2,000 SP.

Marth’s Unyielding set lets the unit recover a certain percentage of HP at the start of the Player Phase if the unit’s HP was under a given threshold at the end of the Enemy Phase (max recovery = 40% of max HP). Accumulative cost of 300 SP.

Sigurd’s Canter set allows a unit to move up to three spaces after the unit takes an action (except using an item and Waiting). Accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Micaiah’s Resistance+ set grants a direct bonus to a unit’s RES stat (max +5). Accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Roy’s Hold Out set allows a unit to survive a fatal round of combat with one HP remaining if the unit’s HP was above a given threshold at the beginning of combat. Accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Lucina’s Dual Support grants a bonus to their adjacent allies’ Avoid stats that increases depending on the unit’s support level with the allies. Total bonuses issued cap at +90. Costs 2,000 SP.

Ike’s Defense+ set grants a direct bonus to a unit’s DEF stat (max +5). Accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Byleth’s Art Focus set grants a direct bonus to a unit’s Hit stat when the unit is equipped with an art (max +30) in exchange for a flat -10 to their Dodge stat. Accumulative cost of 1,000 SP.

Corrin’s HP+ set grants a direct bonus to a unit’s HP stat (max +15). Accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Corrin’s Quality Time set restores HP to a unit’s adjacent allies and increases that unit’s support level with them if the unit acts or waits near allies. (Max HP recovery +10.) Accumulative cost of 500 SP.

Eirika’s Lunar Brace set allows the unit to deal extra damage equivalent to a percentage of the foes’ DEF stat when the unit initiates combat with a physical attack. (Max damage = 30% of foe’s DEF.) Accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Veronica’s SP Conversion grants an extra 20 SP for each defeated foe. Triggers without a ring or bracelet equipped. Costs 300 SP.

Whittling Down

I'm a Bad Bitch, You Can't Kill Me... Maybe

Now here's the thing. Seadall avoiding combat on most occasions is sound in theory. But in practice, he could still be within the scope of long-ranged attacks from enemies despite being behind allied units. With that in mind, there is a strong case for him to inherit the Avoid+ skillset. That could supplement Canter, too.

He could use Canter to get out of dodge, and the Avoid+ skillset would assure that he doesn't get touched should he find himself in a compromising situation. Even though Avoid+ is expensive, it might make for a good pair. If I go this route, I should consider getting SP Conversion to make sure I have enough SP in enough time.

Another idea would be pairing Avoid+ with Unyielding. In the event that he does get touched, having that extra healing would come in clutch. Any remaining lost HP could be easily recovered by Jean, Anna, or Ivy.

One more idea would be pairing Avoid+ with Hold Out. It does seem nice; but in the event that an ambush happens and the worst takes place, I fear the skill might trigger too early given how squishy Seadall is. He might not survive an Enemy Phase with it. Not to mention that I'm already thinking about investing in the Avoid+ skills, which do cost a pretty penny already. I don't wanna spend more time on this game than I already am.

"You Won't Break My Soul"? More Like, "I'm Gon' Break This Foe"

Seadall could also help out with combat if he needs to. He wields arts, which breaks bow, tome, and knife users. Skills like Break Defenses, Lunar Brace, and Art Focus would come in handy — especially Lunar Brace given how low his STR stat is. But there are literally 13 other units that can deal a better damage output without having to break them. Plus, a break is a break as long as the damage output is more than one. I can get by without amplifying break damage.

Boosting Stats

If I didn't want to be elusive, I could just increase his DEF and RES with their respective skill sets. Or, alternatively, give boosts to his HP to increase his durability. But filling my inherited skill slots with stat boosters just feels like I'm not taking full advantage of them by not making them work with what Seadall already has.

Support Synergy

Case in point: Seadall's playstyle always involves him being near allies to dance for them. Skills like Dual Support and Quality Time require allies to do nothing but be nearby, AND they have synergy with his personal skill. That seems like more of a vibe.

Further Whittling

I started with 13 ideas and I leave with six: Avoid+, Canter, SP Conversion, Unyielding, Dual Support, and Quality Time.

The thing about Dual Support is that Seadall only has support levels with four units in my final 14; so only four people would be getting the value from that skill. With that in mind, Dual Support might not make the most sense.

Quality Time also increases support, but the HP recovery is universal. I don't necessarily mind the HP recovery, but I think it might be the most beneficial for the army if all healing took place after attacks and actions. Not to mention I'm already healing folks with Seadall's personal skill already and have three people that can use healing staves ready to go to work.

That leaves a potential trio: Avoid+, SP Conversion and either Canter or Unyielding. I'm kind of inclined to go for Canter because of the opportunity to get out of attack range, which is a stronger case that I would make for Unyielding, given what I said about Quality Time.

So, yeah — Avoid+, SP Conversion, and Canter it is! I use SP Conversion to see how fast I get the SP I need to get the best version of the Avoid skill and Canter will stay where it is once I get it!

Patron Emblems

If Kagetsu gets Byleth and Zelkov gets Camilla, that would leave Seadall with Chrom. And I'm not gonna hold you — I'm okay with that. I really don't care about the stat boosts, but the support Sync Skills that Chrom offers are nice for him to have, especially considering that he's always going to be nearby other allies in most occasions.

And WHAM. There's my final fourteen all planned out.

I'm looking at his stats, and while I'm happy with most of them, one of them sticks out like a sore thumb — RES. Now, I can either help it or ignore it. But with a stat that low and so far gone, I might just double down on physical attacks. Even if I bump up that RES stat, it won't be enough to survive an attack from a third-level tome spell like Bolganone. Let's see what skills I can glean.

Potential Inherited Skills

Marth’s Perceptive set grants a direct bonus to a unit’s Avoid stat when the unit initiates combat (max +30). The bonus increases by one point for every 4 SPD. Accumulative cost of 500 SP.

Marth’s Avoid+ set grants a direct bonus to a unit’s Avoid stat (max +30). Accumulative cost of 4,500 SP.

Micaiah’s Resistance+ set grants a direct bonus to a unit’s RES stat (max +5). Accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Roy’s Advance allows the unit to move one space toward a foe that is two spaces away and attack them. Costs 500 SP.

Leif’s Knife Precision set grants a direct bonus to a unit’s Hit and Avoid stat when the unit is equipped with a knife (max +15). Accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Lyn’s Alacrity set allows a unit’s follow-up attack to trigger before the foe counterattacks if the unit initiated combat with a given SPD advantage. (Required advantage: ≥9 → ≥7 → ≥5.) Accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Lyn’s Speedtaker grants a stacking +2 bonus to a unit’s SPD stat each time the unit initiates combat with a foe and defeats them (max +10). Lasts for the remainder of the battle. Costs 2,000 SP.

Corrin’s Draconic Hex inflicts -4 to a targeted foe’s basic stats after the unit initiates combat with them. Penalty shrinks by 1 each turn. Costs 2,000 SP.

Eirika’s Lunar Brace set allows the unit to deal extra damage equivalent to a percentage of the foes’ DEF stat when the unit initiates combat with a physical attack. (Max damage = 30% of foe’s DEF.) Accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Eirika’s Dodge+ set grants a direct bonus to a unit’s Dodge stat (max +30). Accumulative cost of 2,500 SP.

Eirika’s Gentility set reduces damage taken by a unit. (Max -5.) Accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Tiki’s Starsphere grants enhanced stat growth rates (+15% to all stats) when a unit levels up. Costs 1,500 SP.

Whittling Down

Making Zelkov an elusive little thing wouldn't take too much effort. His base Avoid stat is 56 without the bonus from weapons, terrain bonuses, and other skills. So giving him a bonus with Marth's skills like Perceptive or Avoid+ would make him more slippery the more that he levels up. But again, the Avoid set is just too expensive for me to consider investing in it outright.

But if I pair Perceptive with Knife Precision, he could make something shake. I have no idea how high a unit's Hit stat can be, but I have a feeling if I make Zelkov's Avoid stat go over 100 after all the calculations, that reduces a foe's hit rate to at least 50%. That's a pair I could actually consider, especially considering his personal skill reduces a foe's Hit stat by 10 every time he's in combat with them.

I did include Resistance+ here, but like I said before — Zelkov's RES stat is lower than T-Pain on that one Flo Rida song. Whatever boost I'd get from here wouldn't be significant enough to affect durability in the endgame. I'd be better off equipping something like Starsphere to increase the growth rate for that stat from 15% → 30%. Or better yet, Gentility to directly reduce how much damage he takes. And still... his Avoid stat is right there. I mean, look at it.

Using Zelkov to take care of approaching enemies with Advance seems like a fun idea; but if I'm gonna do that, then I'd prefer to kill them outright. And my fear here is knives being so light of a weapon that it won't do much damage. A unit with partial HP can still kill. But that's where Draconic Hex could kick in. Other units that foe attacks might be able to survive if the foe's basic stats are reduced. That might be a viable strategy.

I have faith in Zelkov out-speeding other foes in future level-ups, so the Lorcan One-Two Punch™ really serves no real purpose rather than to be the final nail in the coffin. There's other skills that cater more to what I think Zelkov needs.

Lunar Brace could be really useful. Knives aren't powerful weapons, and they essentially do chip damage against foes with high DEF stats. That amp in damage output could make for pretty meaty hits. However, I see nothing it might pair with. And Dodge+ suffers from the same problem.

Further Whittling

So, I started with twelve ideas and whittled them down to four: Perceptive, Knife Precision, Advance, and Draconic Hex. And truth be told, I might go with the former pair.

As a Thief, his class skill makes his Movement stat unfettered, which is where a good chunk of Advance's value can come in. And there are other folks in my army that are slated to get Draconic Hex, so it isn't the end of the world if one additional unit doesn't get it.

Perceptive and Knife Precision allow him to hit more enemies and dodge more attacks, which I honestly cannot complain about. There are my *winners*!

Patron Emblems

Honestly, it's a three-way tie between Byleth, Camilla, and Chrom. I guess the question here would be what I'd use on Zelkov and Seadall.

This is what I said about Kagetsu's Patron Emblem. And honestly, there's a strong case for Byleth here. As a Covert unit, he gives out SPD bonuses to adjacent allies, and some of them are in dire need of it. But the problem is, maps have chests hidden behind doors, and Thieves can get to them the fastest. There are going to be times where he's either a lone wolf or paired with someone who can deal damage. The Sync Skills he has in his pockets wouldn't get the most optimal use 100% of the time.

The same could be said for Chrom. His sync skills can help adjacent allies — except for Brute Force and Surprise Attack, which could be nice on Zelkov. I imagine this would be a nice middle decision if not for Camilla existing.

Camilla could also be a good fit for Zelkov. The boost to RES is nice, and the Dragon Vein ability gives him a better chance to dodge attacks and be more accurate (thanks to Zelkov being a Covert unit.) He'd be unfazed by negative terrain effects, AND critical hits would deal more damage. Definitely more fitting for the lone wolf, seeing as how that Dragon Vein effect might be indiscriminate, thus harming adjacent allies... except for the ones whose skill strats bank on HP being below a threshold?? Hmm...

Honestly, I could pair Zelkov with Camilla and Kagetsu with Byleth... which would leave Seadall with what, exactly...?

UPDATE: Seadall gets Chrom, which I'm okay with. As a result, Zelkov stays with Camilla and Kagetsu stays with Byleth!

Typically, Kagetsu is a pretty solid unit, but after looking at these stats, wowowow. He's nine levels into his pre-promoted class and his stats are looking like THAT. His DEX and SPD stats are cracked, though. Maybe I should focus on making him a crit machine or make him a Fellow King in Avoidance with Alear.

Potential Inherited Skills

Marth’s Perceptive set grants a direct bonus to a unit’s Avoid stat when the unit initiates combat (max +30). The bonus increases by one point for every 4 SPD. Accumulative cost of 500 SP.

Marth’s Avoid+ set grants a direct bonus to a unit’s Avoid stat (max +30). Accumulative cost of 4,500 SP.

Roy’s Sword Power set grants a direct bonus to a unit’s Attack stat when the unit is equipped with a sword (max +10) in exchange for a flat -10 to their Avoid stat. Accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Leif’s Vantage set allows a unit to counter before the foe’s first attack if the unit’s HP is below a certain threshold when the foe initiates combat. Accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Lyn’s Alacrity set allows a unit’s follow-up attack to trigger before the foe counterattacks if the unit initiated combat with a given SPD advantage. (Required advantage: ≥9 → ≥7 → ≥5.) Accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Lyn’s Speedtaker grants a stacking +2 bonus to a unit’s SPD stat each time the unit initiates combat with a foe and defeats them (max +10). Lasts for the remainder of the battle. Costs 2,000 SP.

Ike’s Wrath grants a +1 bonus to a unit’s Crit stat for every HP the unit has lost (max +30). Costs 2,000 SP.

Eirika’s Lunar Brace set allows the unit to deal extra damage equivalent to a percentage of the foes’ DEF stat when the unit initiates combat with a physical attack. (Max damage = 30% of foe’s DEF.) Accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Tiki’s Starsphere grants enhanced stat growth rates (+15% to all stats) when a unit levels up. Costs 1,500 SP.

Soren’s Keen Insight set adds a direct bonus to a unit’s damage output when the unit deals Effective damage. (Max +7.) Costs 1,500 SP.

Camilla’s Decisive Strike set adds additional damage to the foe after combat if the unit initiates combat and lands a critical hit. (Max +10.) Accumulative cost of 1,000 SP.

Chrom’s Brute Force adds an extra 33% of critical damage dealt by a unit if they initiate combat and land a critical hit. Costs 1,500 SP.

Whittling Down

If I want to go the Avoidance route, then I might be finding myself waiting for a crazy amount of time for the necessary SP to come around. Because good LORDT, that Avoid skillset is expensive. Perceptive is fine in that department, but that only applies to when Kagetsu initiates combat. Maybe I'm throwing the baby out with the bathwater here, but it'd be nice to have Avoid boosts that apply across all phases and turns. Let's see if there aren't any other ideas.

And I'mma tell you right now — Sword Power ain't one of those ideas. I don't want to take away from Kagetsu's potential to Avoid enemy attacks; and I don't know where I'm gonna find the time (or patience) to amass 5,000 SP.

I can see a world where Vantage and Keen Insight could work together. The units that might deal the most damage to Kagetsu could be armored units. And if he has something like an Armorslayer, he could get the last word in with Vantage and turn those words into coffin nails with Keen Insight. I'm just not sure that would be the scenario that would give the most amount of trouble most of the time.

The Lorcan One-Two Punch™ could be crazy for Kagetsu. His SPD is good enough for Alacrity to trigger on its own; so much so that I can argue that Speedtaker wouldn't be needed. But damn, wouldn't it be nice to have anyway! I have no idea what the late game foes' SPD stats are gonna be like.

I could just... throw out the idea of being a master of avoidance and just double down on Kagetsu being a critting critter... Crit-ter...? Critter...? Whatever. ANYWAY.

If I think about going the crit route, then I could give him a Killing Edge (or w/e it's called), refine that, then give him Wrath. That could make for a potential guaranteed Crit, which could be absolutely BANANAS. And from there, I have three options:

Make any damage that much meatier with Lunar Brace;

Add an additional damage bonus post-combat with Decisive Strike; or

Double down on massive crit damage by adding that extra third of crit damage with Brute Force.

But again, Lunar Brace's SP cost is SO. DAMN. EXPENSIVE. I almost don't want to touch it; it seems like Decisive Strike might do the thing I want just as well as Lunar Brace when I think about the contexts in which Lunar Brace is the most useful.

If I didn't want to include Wrath, I could just bank on his natural ability to crit and cackle like a goblin every time Decisive Strike and Brute Force activates. I see the cases for both skills.

If I do chip damage in combat but land a crit, Decisive Strike's value comes in full force. If I do attack with the opportunity to land meaty hits, Brute Force could give that extra boost necessary to confirm the kill. It's all a matter which scenario I've come across the most and just go from there.

The main reason I have Starsphere on here would be to help make sure that Kagetsu's lower stats get to somewhere decent by the end of the game. But Starsphere is a Sync Skill that unlocks at Bond Level 1 when you equip a unit with Tiki. Do I really need to spend 1,500 SP on something so short-term, especially when I can get that without having to spend Bond Fragments?

Further Whittling

With this, I go from twelve ideas to five: Alacrity, Speedtaker, Wrath, Decisive Strike, and Brute Force.

With as many ideas as I had for Kagetsu being a Critter, going with the Lorcan One-Two Punch™ feels like not-the-best idea. NOW, the question is whether I include Wrath or not. Having Wrath trigger at its most effective is scary, but I think I might want to include it. It does directly contribute to his Crit stat, which is what I came here to do.

With that said, do I refer to the question I asked before: Do I find myself causing more often with Kagetsu — chip damage or meaty hits? And my gut says that the latter answer is the correct answer. So with that, I think I have my two picks: Wrath and Brute Force! Now...

Patron Emblems

Byleth offers a SPD and LCK boost, which makes for good chances for his Sync Skills to trigger; which CAN make up for the sometimes undesirable hit rates of weapons made to crit. Not to mention that the support level between him and Alear can go up faster AND can have his stats level out faster with a modifier to his earned EXP.

Edelgard offers an extra boost to STR, which is welcome. The EXP bonus that the trio offers is the same as Byleth's, but the downside is that the Attack stat bonus will never trigger because neither Edelgard, Dimitri, nor Claude wields a sword.

Tiki offers bonuses to DEF, which is nice. She comes with the boosted growth rates, further boosts to the DEF and RES stats, the potential to heal, and a chance to never be on the receiving end of critical hits — all of which I don't mind at all.

Hector boosts STR and DEF, which is NICE. Quick Riposte comes as a Sync Skill, which offers a bonus tactic that has partial synergy with the two skills I picked. Adaptability is also nice, but Heavy Attack might never trigger. I don't care much for Piercing Glare, though.

Camilla gives me HP, SPD, and RES, which might be the best stat bonus layout here (because I could use all three). And, Decisive Strike would come as a Sync Skill; so I could take my cake and eat it too!

Chrom could be just as useful here. STR, DEX, and SPD are all welcome, Brute Force comes as a Sync Skill, and the Rally skill would come in handy.

Honestly, it's a three-way tie between Byleth, Camilla, and Chrom... with a preference toward Camilla. I guess the question here would be what I'd use on Zelkov and Seadall.

UPDATE: Zelkov ended up with Camilla, and Seadall ended up with Chrom. As a result, Kagetsu stays with Byleth!

The damage output is high, the skill belonging to his unique class offers some autonomy, and can be a tank despite being a backup unit. However, I notice that he is starting to balance out.

Potential Inherited Skills

Marth's Avoid+ set grants a direct bonus to a unit’s Avoid stat (max +30). Accumulative cost of 4,500 SP.

Marth's Perceptive set grants a direct bonus to a unit’s Avoid stat when the unit initiates combat (max +30). The bonus increases by one point for every 4 SPD. Accumulative cost of 500 SP.

Marth's Sword Agility set grants a direct bonus to a unit’s Avoid stat when the unit is equipped with a sword (max +30) in exchange for a flat -10 to their Crit stat. Accumulative cost of 4,000 SP.

Roy's Sword Power set grants a direct bonus to a unit’s Attack stat when the unit is equipped with a sword (max +10) in exchange for a flat -10 to their Avoid stat. Accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Roy's Hold Out set allows a unit to survive a fatal round of combat with one HP remaining if the unit’s HP was above a given threshold at the beginning of combat. Accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Leif's Vantage set allows a unit to counter before the foe’s first attack if the unit’s HP is below a certain threshold when the foe initiates combat. Accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Lucina's Dexterity+ set grants a direct bonus to a unit’s DEX stat (max +5). Accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Lyn's Alacrity set allows a unit’s follow-up attack to trigger before the foe counterattacks if the unit initiated combat with a given SPD advantage. (Required advantage: ≥9 → ≥7 → ≥5.) Accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Lyn's Speedtaker grants a stacking +2 bonus to a unit’s SPD stat each time the unit initiates combat with a foe and defeats them (max +10). Lasts for the rest of the battle. Costs 2,000 SP.

Ike's Resolve set grants a bonus to the unit’s DEF and RES stats if the unit’s HP is below a given threshold after combat (max +7). Accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Ike's Wrath grants a +1 bonus to a unit’s Crit stat for every HP the unit has lost (max +30). Costs 2,000 SP.

Eirika's Lunar Brace set allows the unit to deal extra damage equivalent to a percentage of the foes’ DEF stat when the unit initiates combat with a physical attack. (Max damage = 30% of foe’s DEF.) Accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Tiki’s Geosphere grants a boost to the DEF and RES stats of both the unit and their adjacent allies if the unit is nearby allies at the start of the Play Phase. (Max +5.) Accumulative cost of 1,000 SP.

Hector’s Quick Riposte set allows a unit to always follow up (if the weapon allows) if the unit’s HP is above a given threshold. Accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Veronica’s Reprisal set adds a certain percentage of lost HP to a unit’s Attack stat if the unit’s HP is not full. (Max 50% of lost HP.) Accumulative cost of 6,000 SP.

Whittling Down

Now, Diamant's personal skill will always trigger if he initiates combat and the foe can counter. That's a +15 to Hit for Diamant and anyone he fights. Getting the Avoid boosts would cancel that out, even at its base level. But at the same time, his personal skill only triggers when he initiates combat, so copping Perceptive ALSO makes sense; I could offset the Hit bonus only when the skill triggers. Not to mention that it's cheaper than both the Avoid set and Sword Agility.

Another approach would be the defenestration of that idea. I could just aim to tank the hits and/or overpower the foe. Sword Power is way too steep of an SP cost despite its maximum boost. Hold Out increases Diamant's life on the battlefield; but after I survive that one would-be fatal attack, he's done for unless I pair it with something like Vantage or Unyielding — at which point I feel like I'd be better off entertaining other ideas... but there's still potential for the strategy.

Speaking of Vantage, I think there's some room to work with there. If he's destined to be a tank, then I could bank my strategy on Diamant an even crazier killing machine the less HP he has. He could be under the threshold for Vantage to trigger, and from there I have two options:

Resolve could kick in, which makes Diamant harder to kill;

Wrath could kick in – with the right weapon, he could guarantee critical hits.

I'm more inclined to make him stronger over making him more of a tank; my world is better off with less enemies on the map. That makes Vantage and Wrath a combo for serious consideration.

Diamant's unique class's skill allows him to heal himself based on the damage he deals to a foe; and whether or not that skill triggers depends on how high his DEX stat is. So, there is a case for increasing his DEX stat with the Dexterity+ skills. And with the accumulative SP cost being as low as it is, it might prove to be beneficial to have. The problem is, every skill+ set are standalone skills; and I'm the type of person that prefers to have two sets of skills working together for a more viable strategy. I'm not against boosting DEX; but let's see what else there is.

His SPD is pretty decent, but he might need some help out-speeding foes in the late game. That's a strong point to inherit Speedtaker, BUT I'm unsure if I need Alacrity. The big question is whether or not Alacrity's reliance on Attack Speed makes it easier to nab a follow-up vs. banking on the natural required Speed difference to attack twice. I'm inclined to think Alacrity is valuable. A foe's speed might be greater than mine, but once I throw the foe's BLD stat and the Weight of their weapon into play, it may work out in my favor. I guess that's what makes Lyn's Wombo Combo a fan favorite.

Diamant could use the extra help that Lunar Brace offers, but he's pretty strong enough as it is. And the chances are that if a foe's defense is high, then their RES might be shit. So, I think I can get away with skipping on Lunar Brace.

If I position Diamant right in the formation, Geosphere might actually come in clutch for other allies like Louis and Boucheron. And, it is cheaper than Resolve, albeit it offering a lesser bonus. However, I'd rather not rely on all three of my strongest units being smushed together every single time the team splits up. Let's put Geosphere away.

Quick Riposte would actually go crazy on Diamant, especially with the Brave weapons that allow the unit to attack twice during one phase of combat. But if the rest of the strategies that I came up with rely on Diamant being below an HP threshold, then maybe Quick Riposte wouldn't be the best idea.

Reprisal could pair really well with skills like Wrath... okay, maybe only Wrath. But that SP cost is a little too steep. I worry that I might have to invest in SP Conversion in order to get those skills. I'd prefer not to have my two inherited skill slots be taken up by two skills that don't work with each other.

With all this in mind, I go from fifteen ideas to six: Perceptive, Vantage, Wrath, Dexterity+, Speedtaker, and Alacrity. Take me back to 2019, because I see three routes here.

I could go with Perceptive and Dexterity+; they're two standalone skills that don't work with each other. So it's not a dealbreaker, but it's definitely on the bottom of my hierarchy of wants.

Vantage and Wrath all bank on Diamant not being at full HP, which – let's be real – is very much a possibility. They work well together the better Vantage gets.

...and then there's the Lorcan One-Two Punch™. And I'm not gonna hold you — there are plenty of units that are gonna be fast enough to double. So, I think I'm fine with excluding a couple people from the fun.

This means Vantage and Wrath wins here! Now, to think about...

Patron Emblems

Honestly, I might just stick with Roy because any other Emblem I'd consider pairing him with is already planned to be with someone else. Roy grants boosts in HP, STR, and RES — all of which are welcome.

And on top of that, he comes with Hold Out as a Sync Skill; and when he's engaged with Roy, he levels up by five levels, which means his STR stat is going to go through the roof. Whoever steps in front of that man is dying.

Welp, Diamant, there's your strat!

Boucheron's DEX stat is actually pretty decent, but it looks like his STR could use a little work. I think that might be a tradeoff for his crazy HP, DEX, and BLD growth rates. Low strength, but heavy weapons he wouldn't whiff with don't slow him down at all.

My Boucheron looks like this right now, and uhh... yeah, the STR did get that work. I made him into a Warrior because I saw the opportunity to even his stats out a little bit. Plus, he's hits faster and more accurately than he would as a Berserker. The bare tiddie is an added bonus.

I did have to get him proficient in bows, though. Thanks for proficiency at Bond Level 3, Leif!

Potential Inherited Skills

The one thing that is screaming out at me is that DEF stat. If I can double down on his STR or his DEX while bolstering his DEF, then maybe I can get something started.

Marth's Avoid+ set offers a direct bonus (of up to +30) to a unit's Avoid stat at the cumulative cost of 4,500 SP.

Leif's Vantage skillset allows a unit to counter before a foe's first attack when the foe initiates combat if the unit is below an HP threshold at an accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Lyn's Alacrity skillset allows follow-up attacks to occur before a foe's counterattack during the Player Phase if the difference between a unit's AS and the foe's AS is above a certain threshold for the accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Lyn's Speedtaker grants a stacking +2 bonus to a unit's SPD stat (up to a max of +10) every time a unit initiates combat and defeats a foe for 2,000 SP.

Ike's Resolve skillset grants a boost to a unit's DEF and RES stat when a unit's HP drops under a certain threshold after combat for as long as they stay under that threshold for an accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Ike's Defense+ set grants a direct boost to a unit's DEF stat (of up to +5) at the accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Ike's Axe Power set grants a direct boost to a unit's Attack stat (of up to +10) at the flat cost of a -10 penalty to their Avo stat at the accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Whittling Down

Now, Boucheron's growth rate for SPD is decent, and dodging attacks is almost always better than taking hit; but as always, the steep SP cost is giving me pause. Plus, I doubled down on attempting to bolster his DEF stat. Maybe a thing to put in my pocket for later?

If in any case where shit can hit the fan and Boucheron's HP is down in the trenches (which is very much a possibility if his DEF doesn't get its shit together), Vantage can be a nice tool in the back pocket. This, however, would put Boucheron in a corner of the ring (so to speak) where he'd only be able to defeat foes when they're the ones that initiate the attack. Not the most comfortable position to be in.

Ideally, I would take enemy units off the map during the Player Phase, and Alacrity would guarantee that. But on the same side of the coin, Speedtaker would boost my speed enough to where Boucheron wouldn't need Alacrity to follow-up.

Given that Boucheron's BLD growth rate is crazy and that his BLD stat is decent (with several levels left to go), I can safely imagine that his BLD can surpass 17, which is the highest Weight out of all the things that a Warrior could wield; also, the cap for a Warrior's BLD stat is 20.

Yet... am I crazy for thinking that Alacrity also has synergy with Vantage?

...huh. Resolve can pair well with Vantage. My DEF and RES get a boost while under that HP threshold, and my attacks can pop off first during the enemy phase. That's a decent strat, albeit a difficult one to maintain at first.

Ike's DEF boosts might actually be viable here. It's relatively cheap SP-wise and fixes the issue I need to tend to. But on the other hand, it doesn't help much else — like Resolve does.

And the same thing that gives me pause about investing in the Avo skillset also applies to the Axe Power set. With all this in mind, my set of choices go from seven to five, which does not help me make my decision in the slightest: Vantage, Alacrity, Speedtaker, Resolve, and Defense+.

But before I make that decision, I might want to consider looking at Patron Emblems first.

Patron Emblems

Roy's massive STR boost and small RES buff can come in handy with Boucheron's stats. Not to mention that Advance can give him the upper hand on foes AND Hold Out might be helpful given his low DEF stat.

Leif can work with Boucheron. When engaged, he can switch freely between axes and bows; so if I equip him with the right weapons, I think he'd be a beast. Not to mention the boosts to his DEF and BLD stat. And when he pulls off a Quadruple Hit, that's an additional 50% damage to any hit that breaks the unit afterwards thanks to Merciless.

Lucina can allow him to chain attack anywhere with Dual Strike. AND with Dual Assist, that's extra damage that Boucheron might be able to get in in those instances where another unit can't do as much damage as I'd like.

Lyn's synergy with Boucheron's personal skill could be crazy. If Boucheron calls doubles, those doubles can chain attack the foe he's targeting regardless of where the user is. That's a big bonus to his damage output.

Ike can bolster Boucheron's DEF stat by a decent amount. Not to mention that Resolve and Wrath could turn him into an OTK machine.

Chrom/Robin's synergy could be the same as Lyn's. Other Half will kick in every time he's engaged. Not as crazy, but still useful!

The Big Decision

If I pair Boucheron with Lyn, then Alacrity and Speedtaker come as Sync Skills, which could make room for that Vantage/Resolve pair. I'm still waiting to see if there is anyone else who can benefit from Lyn more, but there is a strong case for Boucheron to be paired with her.

If I pair Boucheron with Leif, then Vantage comes as a Sync Skill. Leif would solve the DEF problem, which would allow me to throw in Speedtaker and Resolve. Can anyone make a better case for Leif to be paired with literally anyone else??

Shit, this has me crying like Boucheron.

UPDATE: I gave Lyn to Alcryst, which means Boucheron is stuck with Leif! Though, like I said in Alfred's post about Sigurd, I don't think that's a bad thing.

Honestly, Alfred could not have come fast enough. I was starting to get tired of Vander stealing what experience decided to come his way. And honestly, his growth rates aren't too terrible. I decided not to reclass him into anything other than his unique class because I'm lazy.

The main things that I need to obsess over are his SPD, RES, and BLD. And honestly, I kind of need to pick one and revolve my strategy around that.

His BLD is 10; the heaviest weapon that Alfred can wield as an Avenir is 12. I'm willing to leave Build alone; over the next eight levels he has to get, I trust that BLD can increase by two. And if he doesn't, there are items that I can use to resolve that problem. And if those items go to someone else who needs it more, then reclassing him to start over from scratch is always an option.

His RES, compared to everyone else, is in the middle of the road. I would like to believe that enemies are going to target other people with lower RES stats; so it isn't the end of the world if I leave that be.

Now, his SPD? That's what worries me the most. I might have to strategize around bolstering that stat. With that in mind, let's see what I can do with skills that bolster his SPD and give his attacks a little more oomph.

Inherited Skills

Marth's Unyielding skillset restores a unit's HP equal to the threshold necessary for the skill to trigger at the start of the next Player Phase for the accumulative cost of 300 SP. (40% HP threshold = 40% of max HP recovered)

Sigurd's Canter set allows a unit to move up to three spaces after initiating combat for the accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Sigurd's Momentum set adds +1 to a unit's attack for every space that unit travels before combat at the cost of 2,000 SP.

Sigurd's Lance Power set grants a direct bonus (of up to +10) to a unit's Attack stat at the flat cost of Avo -10 and the accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Micaiah's Resistance skillset grants a direct boost (of up to +5) to a unit's RES stat at the accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Roy's Hold Out skillset allows the unit to survive any round of combat with one HP remaining so long as the unit's HP at the beginning of the round is above a certain threshold for the accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Leif's Vantage set allows a unit to counter before a foe attacks if the foe initiates combat and the unit's HP is below a given threshold for the accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Lyn's Speedtaker grants a stacking direct +2 bonus to a unit's SPD stat every time a unit initiates combat against a foe and defeats them (up to a max of +10) for the cost of 2,000 SP.

Ike's Resolve grants a direct bonus (of up to +7) to a unit's DEF and RES stats as long as the unit's HP remains under a given threshold for an accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Byleth's Mentorship skill grants a 20% boost to experience earned after a round of combat to not only the unit but also adjacent allies for the cost of 350 SP.

Edelgard's Lineage grants a 20% boost to a unit's earned EXP for 150 SP.

Tiki's Starsphere grants an additional 15% to a unit's growth rates for 1,500 SP.

Hector's Quick Riposte always guarantees a follow-up attack against a foe in the Enemy Phase if the unit's HP is above a certain threshold at the accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Camilla's Spd/Res+ grants a direct boost (of up to +5) to a unit's RES and SPD stats for an accumulative cost of 4,800 SP.

Unyielding recovers HP below a certain threshold, but with three healers on deck, I'm unsure if that's something I can really get behind.

Canter is an absolute must-have for my mounted units. However, one of my ideas regarding Alfred's Patron Emblem was Sigurd, which means that both Canter and Momentum are going to be Sync Skills. I did invest in base-tier Canter already, but maybe I should consider other ideas before I double back.

And now, we come to the part where I eliminate a bunch of ideas because the accumulative SP cost is too steep! But also, I have other reasons. The following skills can sashay away:

Lance Power+ robs Alfred of the opportunity to avoid as many incoming attacks as he can — not to mention that I'm trying to bolster SPD and improve his Attack stat. This embraces one at the cost of another.

Spd/Res+ solves two problems at once; but depending on what Emblem I equip him with, I might not have this problem.

If Alfred is really hurting so bad before an Enemy Phase that Hold Out triggers, I'm doing a bad job with my healers.

Alright, moving on.

Every basic stat boost skill comes at too steep of an accumulative cost; I'm typically against the idea of spending the SP for that. But the cost for Micaiah's Res+ boosts aren't all that terrible.

I can see Vantage having synergy with Quick Riposte. When Vantage triggers, Quick Riposte allows Alfred to follow up, which is a chance to kill. But am I really going to let my husband Alfred get below that HP threshold before the next Enemy Phase? That question can also apply to Resolve.

I can see Speedtaker playing a legitimate role here. Even though Alfred may not attack twice, OTKs are still a very real possibility. It fixes his SPD stat, and if the +10 buff allows him to attack twice, then I might not need to worry about his Attack stat.

If I wanted to speed up growth, then Mentorship, Lineage, and Starsphere can also be really clutch. It'll take less time for him to get the level-ups Alfred needs. But is all that SP really worth spending for something so short-term, at least relatively speaking?

With all this in mind, my list of 14 whittles down to five: Resistance+, Vantage, Quick Riposte, Resolve, and Speedtaker. The thing about Vantage, Quick Riposte, and Resolve is all three of those skills require Alfred to be below the threshold for all of these skills to trigger, which doesn't sit right with me. And if I eliminate those those three, then I'm left with:

Resistance+ and Speedtaker.

Other Build Ideas

If I did feel brave about keeping Alfred below HP thresholds, then any combo between Vantage, Quick Riposte, and Resolve would be insane.

If I felt like going the extra mile, then I can imagine any combo using Mentorship, Lineage, and Starsphere would be nuts as well.

Patron Emblems

Sigurd has Canter and Momentum as Sync Skills and boosts his BLD to eliminate the second half of the AS equation. Unlocking his second Engage Weapon also gives him a +5 bonus to his RES stat, which he needs desperately. AND, that frees up one skill slot for anything else.

Micaiah is an... idea. I'd gain an extra healer with the ability to heal himself at the same time; I could Engage and pull a Great Sacrifice for an easy level up, foregoing any magic attacks; and the +5 to his RES would also be nice.

Roy is an idea in the same way that Micaiah is. He could benefit from the small boost to his RES and the Hold Out skill could prove to be useful in clutch situations.

Leif provides a bigger bonus to BLD, his Engage Weapon allows for follow-up attacks when Engaged (which renders his SPD stat moot for as long as the Engage meter lasts,) and Vantage comes as a Sync Skill.

Lucina can offer a +4 SPD buff. Plus, having a non-Backup unit that can chain attack would be nice.

Lyn has a bigger boost to SPD, I wouldn't have to worry about getting Speedtaker, and Alacrity comes in as a bonus.

Camilla offers boosts in SPD and RES, but I'm failing to think of anything else I could do here.

Chrom/Robin also offers a SPD boost, but it seems like someone in more of a support role would benefit more from equipping that bracelet.

So really, it's a three-way tie between Sigurd, Leif, and Lyn. And honestly, I'm okay with whatever Emblem here. Of course, my two skill picks change depending on who I pair with him. Let's see what else there is.

UPDATE: I ended up giving Leif to Boucheron, and Lyn to Alcryst. So this would mean that Alfred is stuck with Sigurd! Though, I don't think that's a bad thing.

The thing about archers is that their HP, DEF, and RES are the worst thing about them; but "worst" here doesn't mean that they're objectively shit. Alcryst can take some hits. But if I have to prioritize one thing over another, I would probably look at DEF.

Or, alternatively, I could boost his speed and double down on his potential to follow up. Alcryst being his unique class allows him to ignore half of the enemy's defense (if his DEX stat lets him.) AND, his STR increases if his personal skill triggers. If he always follows up, that pair could be even nastier.

Potential Inherited Skills

Marth's Avoid+ set grants a max direct bonus of +30 to a unit's avoid stat. Accumulative cost of 4,500 SP.

Sigurd's Canter set allows a unit to move up to three spaces after initiating combat. Accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Roy's Strength+ set grants a max direct bonus of +6 to a unit's STR stat. Accumulative cost of 6,000 SP.

Leif's Build+ set grants a max direct bonus of +5 to a unit's BLD stat. Accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Lucina's Bow Agility set grants a max bonus of +30 to a unit's Avoid stat at the flat cost of -10 to a unit's crit chances and the accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Lyn's Alacrity set allows a unit's follow-up attack to pop off before a foe's counterattack during a Player Phase if the difference between both parties' AS stat is above a given threshold. Accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Lyn's Speedtaker grants a stacking +2 bonus to a unit's SPD stat (up to +10) every time that unit initiates combat and defeats a foe. Costs 2,000 SP.

Eirika's Lunar Brace set allows a unit's attacks to deal an extra amount of damage equal to a set percentage of the foe's DEF stat when initiating combat for the accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Edelgard's Weapon Sync set grants a max direct bonus of +7 to a unit's Attack stat if the unit is equipped with the same weapon type as the paired Emblem. Accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Hector's Quick Riposte set guarantees the unit will follow-up as long as the unit's HP is above a certain threshold for the accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Chrom's Rally Spectrum set grants the unit to give a max bonus of +3 to all allies' basic stats as long as the allies are within a two-square radius of the unit. Accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Whittling Down

I really do not see any reason for getting the Avoid bonuses when Bow Agility is right there. Plus, I'm thinking I could make up for the crit deficit in other ways. And even if I don't crit, Alcryst is most likely going to kill whatever unit confronts him. And he'll survive it, too.

I already invested in Canter. It seems like a good idea for him to just be in and out, especially considering his personal and class skill.

I don't think that I need to worry all that much about buffing Alcryst's STR stat. If I position him the right way, the personal and class skills can be enough for a kill. That puts the Strength bonus and Lunar Brace out of the question.

Given his STR stat and his bonuses, Speedtaker might always trigger, which sets the stage for Lyn's one-two punch.

The thing about Weapon Sync is that... well, two things. The SP cost makes me want to cry, but also this skill would only work if Alcryst was paired with Claude (Edelgard) or Lyn. This would lock in Lyn for Alcryst, which gives me pause.

Quick Riposte would allow me to follow up regardless of AS differences, but Alacrity and Speedtaker will always be a thing that hits harder, albeit for more.

There's no real reason for Rally Spectrum to be here. I just think it'd be cool if Alcryst gave back his little stat boosts.

So, I go from eleven to four: Canter, Bow Agility, Alacrity, and Speedtaker. Now, my thoughts naturally lead to thinking about...

Patron Emblems

If I pair Alcryst with Lyn, Alacrity and Speedtaker could come as Sync Skills, which would free up the space for Canter and Bow Agility. That's a p strong case for Lyn being with Alcryst, but I know that I'm also considering Lyn for Clanne, Alfred, and Boucheron.

But, I would only be using Alfred for the speed boosts; and I think only Speedtaker would be useful for Boucheron. And it'd be nice for Clanne to have Lyn, but he doesn't really need her to do his job. There's more sense to giving Lyn to Alcryst. Not to mention this would make a lot of other decisions for me.

If I give Alcryst to Lyn, that leaves Lucina as the only candidate for Clanne; it would also make Leif the only candidate for Boucheron. And if Leif is going to Boucheron and Lyn is going to Alcryst, that would leave Alfred with Sigurd, which I don't mind at ALL.

CLANNE: Lucina or Lyn

ALFRED: Sigurd or Leif or Lyn

BOUCHERON: Leif or Lyn

ALCRYST: Lyn

Looks like I have a plan.

Now, Ivy is of a rare breed; she's one of three flying magic users. There are a couple of things that give her the edge over the other two, but the main that's sticking out is her dexterity and speed. They were "enhh" when they started, but they're beginning to trail off, which I'm concerned about.

Potential Inherited Skills

Marth's Avoid+ set grants a direct bonus to a unit's Avo stat (up to +30) for the accumulative cost of 4,500 SP.

Sigurd's Canter+ set allows a unit to move up to three spaces after initiating combat for the accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Celica's Resonance+ adds a direct bonus to a user's damage output (of up to +3) at the cost of one HP if the user is equipped with a tome. Accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Celica's Tome Precision+ set grants a bonus to a unit's Hit and Avo stat (up to +15) when the unit is using a tome. Accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Celica's Magic+ set grants a direct bonus to a unit's MAG stat (up to +5) for the accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Micaiah's Staff Mastery+ set grants a unit a direct bonus (up to +30) to their Hit stat when using a staff. Staves also heal an additional 15 HP. Accumulative cost of 1,000 SP.

Micaiah's Silence Ward

Leif's Vantage+ set allows a unit to counter before a foe's first attack when the foe initiates combat if the unit is below an HP threshold for the accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Lyn's Alacrity+ set allows follow-up attacks to occur before a foe's counterattack during the Player Phase if the difference between a unit's AS and the foe's AS is above a certain threshold for the accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Lyn's Speedtaker grants a stacking +2 bonus to a unit's SPD stat (up to a max of +10) every time a unit initiates combat and defeats a foe for 2,000 SP.

Corrin's Draconic Hex inflicts a -4 penalty to the foe's basic stats if the unit initiates combat for a cost of 2,000 SP.

Hector's Quick Riposte allows a unit to follow-up when the foe initiates combat if the weapon allows it and the unit's HP is above a certain threshold. Accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Soren's Anima Focus inflicts a status effect on a foe if the unit attacks with a tome depending on the magic used. Costs 800 SP.

Whittling Down

Ivy has been having some pretty shitty level-ups, so I'm beginning to think that the Avoid+ set might be worth getting. If she continues to not get increases in her DEF stat, then the next best thing that I can do would be to increase her Avoid stat. Plus, if I focus on SPD, then this'll only get better. Maybe I can pair this with Speedtaker?

Canter is a must for my mounted units, and probably doubly so for Ivy. If she's gonna be slow, then I fear that enemies might double up on her. She could adopt this in-and-out strategy where she gets in to do some damage then LEAVE, that might prove to be of some value. Also could work well with the Avoid skill set.

Resonance is risky, but it could also work. She's been in instances where that bonus would've taken an enemy off of the map. The HP is small, yet really risky — especially in instances where some units get to double her. But who knows; if I pair this with Speedtaker, her stat might actually get somewhere.

Tome Precision also helps out with her Avo stat which, when paired with the Avoid skills, could actually be useful. That would also help her Hit stat, considering her low DEX as well. Who knows, though.

Celica's Magic boosts do directly affect her ability to kill, but that SP cost is, yet again, way too steep. But I am considering investing in the Avoid skills, so what's too steep, exactly? To which I say that it doesn't make much sense to spend that much to boost a stat she has a decent amount of. To spend that much to try making sure that she doesn't die is a different story.

Micaiah's Staff Mastery can make sense, especially when she engages and the ability to use A-level staves kicks in. Healing Light also comes as a Sync Skill, so she can heal herself that way. ...wait, did I find a purpose for Micaiah? Hol' on.

Vantage could make sense here; she might be under that HP threshold for a while. But if I do wind up pairing her with Micaiah and she gets Healing Light, nothing's stopping me from running away to someone who needs healing and recover that way. I could also engage and use Nosferatu if I need it.

Alacrity only makes sense if I pair it with Speedtaker; and even then, I don't think she'll ever be above the threshold for Alacrity to trigger. Speedtaker has plenty of purpose when I pair it with other things anyway, so...

If Ivy isn't going to double up, the best thing that I can do is reduce an enemy's stats, so maybe the duo created with Draconic Hex and Anima Focus could be a vibe. Making it easier for other people to kill is a valid strategy.

Patron Emblems

Micaiah can allow Ivy to equip A-level staves in the later bond levels, which I really don't mind. And I won't deny that having Healing Light as a Sync Skill does offer an idea to compensate for her low DEF.

Tiki boosts her HP, DEF, and LCK; which, I can see at least two of them being a good look on her. Tiki also offers +15% to her growth rates, can grant her the opportunity to heal herself, AND cuts enemies' crit chances in half.

I might go with Tiki until she gets her DEF to a reasonable point and then switch over to Micaiah once it's gotten to where I like it.

I say that because she starts out as an Axe Fighter; and while the base stats for DEX, SPD, and LCK are insane, her growth rate for MAG is drastically higher than her growth rate for STR. So that leads to a question: Why the FUCK is she an Axe Fighter?

Lady Anna, you’re normally the one trying to sell people something, but let me sell something to you for once — being a magic user.

Turning her into a Sage took some work, but we're here now! Anna can finally make use of her MAG growth. We needed tome proficiency, but with Celica that was light work.

Anna kind of runs into the same problems that Jean does — particularly, she's squishy. I think I can make something shake if I boost her offense and DEF; kinda like how I initially did Jean's strategy on healing and defense.

Potential Inherited Skills

Marth's Avoid+ grants a direct bonus to a unit's Avo stat (up to +30) for the accumulative cost of 4,500 SP.

Marth's Perceptive+ grants Avo+30 during combat when the unit initiates combat. Accumulative cost of 500 SP.

Celica's Resonance+ adds an extra bonus to a unit's damage output (max +3) at the cost of one HP when the unit will attack with a tome.

Celica's Tome Precision+ grants a bonus to a unit's Hit and Avo stat (up to +15) when the unit is using a tome. Accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Celica's Magic+ grants a direct bonus to a unit's MAG stat (up to +5) for the accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Micaiah's Silence Ward grants the unit immunity to the Silence status effect for 200 SP.

Leif's Vantage+ allows the unit to counter before the foe attacks when the foe initiates combat as long as the unit's HP remains below a certain threshold. Accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Leif's Build+ grants a direct bonus to a unit's BLD stat (up to +5) for the accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Lyn's Alacrity allows a unit to pop off their follow-up attack if the unit initiates combat and the difference between AS stats are above a certain threshold. Accumulative cost 3,000 SP.

Lyn's Speedtaker grants a stacking Spd+2 each time a unit initiates combat and defeats a foe (up to a max of +10.) Costs 2,000 SP.

Ike's Defense+ grants a direct bonus to a unit's DEF stat (up to +5) for the accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Ike's Resolve+ grants a boost to a unit's DEF and RES stat (up to +7) as long as the unit's HP is under a certain threshold after combat. Accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Byleth's Divine Pulse+ can turn a missed attack into a hit. Base percent chance is 30%, with 1% added for every point on a unit's LCK stat. Costs 250 SP.

Byleth's Luck+ grants a direct bonus to a unit's LCK stat (up to +12) for the accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Corrin's Draconic Hex inflicts a -4 penalty to the foe's basic stats if the unit initiates combat for a cost of 2,000 SP.

Veronica's Book of Worlds advances 1 stage (to max 5) for each consecutive round that unit uses Wait. Reverts to base stage if unit triggers the effect. Costs 300 SP.

Soren's Anima Focus inflicts a status effect on a foe if the unit attacks with a tome depending on the magic used. Costs 800 SP.

Whittling Down

Avoiding is the next best defense, so there is merit to spending SP for boosts to the Avoid stat. I just think spending that much for Avo+30 is a little excessive. Now, Perceptive does cost less, but I would love nothing more than to see if I can't get something defensive that applies to all phases.

A part of me is a little salty towards Resonance. There have been multiple times where units have died in part to the one HP cost every round of combat. (Thank God for the Time Crystal.) Plus, a +3 bonus to a damage output seems somewhat negligible.

Getting Tome Precision makes a lot more sense since it contributes to both offense and defense. But I'm not gonna hold you, I think I'm more appreciative of the Avoid buff than I am the Hit buff.

What I said about the Avoid+ skillset can also be pasted here regarding the Magic+ set. And like I wrote in Jean's entry, Silence Ward seems nice, but it only finds value in a niche situation. Nothing's stopping me from getting it, tho; it's a nice tool. Just gotta check the map for Silence staves first.

Vantage does guarantee that enemies can and will get wiped if Anna gets low on HP; there's a high chance that can happen given her mushy DEF stat. And, it does have synergy with Alacrity so that she guarantees that she hits first no matter what phase she's in. It also pairs will with Resolve.

The Build boosts are nice because it helps Anna increase her chances of attacking twice. And it didn't hit me until just now that this also increases the chance of Alacrity triggering, which is actually a thought. I think if it has synergy with Vantage AND the Build boost, there might not be a need for Speedtaker. Speedtaker works best when paired with Alacrity because the speed boosts from the OTKs help trigger Alacrity. But Anna's speed is pretty decent; I don't think she'd need it.

Divine Pulse would ensure that she hits; it's based partly on LCK, so that naturally gives me pause. However, Anna's LCK stat is pretty high. It'd be foolish to not take advantage of her LCK stat in some form. This also makes the Luck+ boosts make sense.

Draconic Hex would be nice for those moments where the rest of the army has trouble killing a problem foe. If I pair that with Anima Focus, they're kinda fucked. ...wait, I'm starting to love this idea.

I originally had the idea of equipping all three magical units with a different tome to make sure that I get all the value from Anima Focus. And I almost want to explore that for real, so let me put that in the back pocket.

I also like the idea of Book of Worlds. But the problem is, I won't be waiting enough turns to get the full value of the skill all the time. Still, tho — the SP cost is cheap, so I might just invest in it anyway.

When everything is said and done, I started with 17 ideas and walk away seriously considering seven: Tome Prescision, Vantage, Alacrity, Resolve, Build+, Draconic Hex, and Anima Focus. The problem is, I like all of these ideas. So, lemme look at emblems:

Patron Emblems

Celica offers a really great magic boost, but I'm worried about Resonance being a thing.

Micaiah is a good second option for any magic user, but I fear that might be better for more of a support role. But I did say that Jean might not be the best option for Micaiah either. Maybe it might fit on Ivy? I'm unsure.

I think the only thing Lyn can do is offer her infamous Wombo Combo.

Corrin boosts HP, MAG, and RES – all of which are welcome. Not to mention that Draconic Hex comes as a Sync Skill, which makes room for Anima Focus and one other thing... or, maybe, two skills that have synergy with each other. But also, Quality Time is a thing.

Byleth mainly has skills that utilizes her LCK stat, which is... nice, I guess. Not sure what else he can offer.

Soren has Anima Focus as a Sync Skill, which carves out a spot for another skill, which I don't mind.

But despite my hangups, I might stay with Celica. And if that's gonna be the case, then maybe I should think about Draconic Hex and Anima Focus as my main two. It'll depend on what the layout for Ivy is at this point.

The thing about Jean is that his personal skill allows a lot more chances for his stats to grow each level up; and this allows Jean to be virtually anyone you need.

Making him a High Priest gives Jean the best healing capabilities, he can now use tomes (which incentivizes me to bolster is MAG stat anyway), AND I still have another Arts user aside from Alear. But despite the versatility, he is still a little bit squishy. Yet... I'm unsure if I really need to bolster his defensive capabilities at all. He has ranged offenses with tomes; and in the case he's low on HP, there are a couple of skills that allow Jean to heal himself.

Potential Inherited Skills

But still, it wouldn't hurt to have some kind of protection. Maybe I should think about bolstering healing and offense? Y'know...

I'm gonna be a doctor who can fight AND heal!

Marth's Break Defenses allows a unit to make an extra attack at 50% damage if the unit's attack breaks a foe. Costs 2,000 SP.

Marth's Unyielding set allows a unit to recover a percentage of health at the start of the Player Phase if a unit's HP is below a certain threshold. Accumulative cost of 300.

Sigurd's Momentum+ set grants a +1 bonus to a unit's Attack stat for the unit's first attack during combat for each space unit moved before attacking. Accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Celica's Tome Precision+ set grants a bonus to a unit's Hit and Avo stat (up to +15) when the unit is equipped with a tome. Accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Celica's Magic+ set grants a unit a direct bonus (of up to +5) to their MAG stat for the accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Micaiah's Healing Light allows a unit to recover half of the HP they healed after healing another ally using a staff. Costs 200 SP.

Micaiah's Silence Ward grants immunity from the Silence status effect for 200 SP.

Micaiah's Staff Mastery+ grants a unit a direct bonus (up to +30) to their Hit stat when using a staff. Staves also heal an additional 15 HP. Accumulative cost of 1,000 SP.

Roy's Hold Out set allows a unit to survive a fatal round of combat with 1 HP as long as their HP is above a certain threshold at the start for an accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Leif's Build+ set grants a unit a direct bonus (of up to +5) to their BLD stat for the accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Lyn's Alacrity set allows a unit's follow-up attack to pop off before a foe's counterattack during a Player Phase if the difference between both parties' AS stat is above a given threshold. Accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Lyn's Speedtaker grants a stacking +2 bonus to a unit's SPD stat (up to +10) every time that unit initiates combat and defeats a foe. Costs 2,000 SP.

Ike's Defense+ set grants a unit a direct bonus (of up to +5) to their DEF stat for the accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Veronica's Book of Worlds advances 1 stage (to max 5) for each consecutive round that unit uses Wait. Reverts to base stage if unit triggers the effect. Costs 300 SP.

Soren's Anima Focus inflicts a certain status effect on a foe depending on the kind of tome a unit attacks with. Costs 800 SP.

Whittling Down

Since Jean can still use Arts with this class, I could confront ranged offense enemies (namely tome, knife, and bow users) and break them for that turn. I would only use the Arts for those instances, so having Break Defenses would be a nice touch. Problem is, those scenarios might be too niche to justify equipping it. Let's put that down as a maybe.

Unyielding does make a lot of sense. Even though Healing Light and the High Priest class skill exist, it would reduce usage of my staves and make them stretch longer. But also, if I'm hurting for healing, items like Vulneraries and Elixirs also exist. Wouldn't that make equipping Unyielding redundant?

Since Jean would be playing the back in most situations and going back and forth, there's something to be said about having Momentum kick in when he finally catches up. It could also pair with Tome Precision to deal some real heavy magic damage. However, am I really going to use offensive magic when I have Anna and Ivy on the field as well? But in speaking of Tome Precision...

Tome Precision could hit incredibly hard given Jean's high MAG stat. It also makes for some nice reassurance for those times when tomes might be too heavy for Jean to perform follow-up attacks... when he's in the position to go for it. But again, this does nothing for his healing skills.

Magic+ does affect both Jean's healing and offensive facets to his class, but HOO BOY, is that SP cost steep as fuck. Healing Light does help you get the most out of a staff usage, so I can see the immediate value. Shit, I've seen the immediate value.

There's some value in Silence Ward as well. However, it's only useful on maps where an enemy does have a Silence staff equipped; so I might not need it all the time. It is cheap, though, so I should invest in it anyway. I did invest in it.

The fact that Jean can heal himself with not only Healing Light but also Self-Healing means that I'll always be able to put myself above the threshold for Hold Out to trigger; but the problem is I often find myself being attacked by multiple units. When I make a mistake, I make a mistake. So Hold Out might trigger once and I still die. But also, 5,000 SP to get to the top-tier variation of Hold Out is also steep.

Increasing Jean's build with the Build+ skills can allow Jean to perform follow-up attacks with heavier tomes by getting rid of the second half of the AS calculation. But, I'm not sure what that might mean for staves. It might mean nothing at all.

I can see the benefit behind Jean having Alacrity. He doesn't benefit the most from it, but popping off magic before foes attack can clear the map faster with lesser risk. But again, this is a purely offensive skill. Yet, sometimes offense is the best defense.

I can also see the benefit behind Jean having Speedtaker. More speed, more chances to follow-up, less enemies on the map. But if Jean is supposed to be playing the back, I don't it'd be the end of world if Jean can't kill folks right away. That's not his job job.

Having a direct buff to Jean's DEF from the Defense+ skill helps out a bunch, but again — he has ranged offenses with tomes and should only be up close and personal with units he can break. I might could get away with not touching his defense at all.

The support that Book of Worlds offers is a DOOZY. Yet, that skill gets better the longer that I move and wait. I'm unsure if I can get some real mileage out of it because I'm going to be moving and healing most of the time.

And then, Anima Focus offers more support in a way that might suit Jean's build better. Those status effects are crazy and, in a way, lightens the load on Jean a bunch. It's offense in a different way.

And with all that in mind, I whittled down 15 to seven: Break Defenses, Tome Precision, Healing Light, Silence Ward, Staff Mastery, and Anima Focus. And it looks like Anima Focus and Staff Mastery might be the move for me.

If I break a foe with Jean, there's a good chance that other units are going to be beside him to take them out. Jean doesn't need to do all that work.

Tome Precision is nice, but it only helps with one part of Jean's capabilities.

Healing Light does get more mileage out of staff usage; but like Tome Precision, it only helps with one part of Jean's capabilities. I've invested in it before writing this blog post; so there's not harm in changing my mind here anyway.

Silence Ward is nice, but it's also hella niche. And the latter part about Healing Light also applies here.

Anima Focus has three different effects depending on the magic of the tome you attack with, and I have three magic users in my party. I won't have to worry about Jean's SPD stat and having him double if I equip him with a thunder tome that won't allow a follow-up to happen in the first place. It'd be easier for Ivy or Anna to have their speed up to snuff with tomes that can double up.

Staff Mastery directly helps with healing, and seeing as how Jean might be the only healer in my group, he needs to boost his output as much as he can.

Patron Emblems

Micaiah comes with Healing Light as a Sync Skill, so I wouldn't even need to let go of it at all. This also has synergy with Staff Mastery, healing Jean's HP more as a result.

Corrin might actually be a good emblem for Jean as well. Quality Time can be used to top off a unit's HP, Dragon Vein and Draconic Hex have synergy with Anima Focus, and the boosts to HP, MAG, and RES are all welcome.

Veronica can summon heroes for extra support. Book of Worlds can help tap in to Jean's more offensive tactics with Anima Focus, the staves she has when engaged inflict further negative effects, AND she can heal as well.

Soren comes with Anima Focus as a Sync Skill, which can make room for other healing skills, and... that's about it.

As counterintuitive as this might seem, maybe Micaiah isn't the best idea? Jean can already wield S-tier staves, so I don't get any benefit on that end. It would make more sense to give her to Anna or Ivy in that regard.

With that in mind, the two emblems that stand out to me are Corrin and Veronica. There's really no exciting layers to a strat behind equipping Jean with Soren aside from the silly status effects that Anima Focus offers. BUT, I wonder what's stopping me from using Corrin on my other magic units.

Let me see what the play is with Anna and Ivy.

UPDATE: I picked Celica for Anna and have a plan for Tiki and Micaiah for Ivy, which means Jean is in the clear to equip Corrin!

The man is a tank. HP, STR, BLD, and DEF for days. The man wants to sit down and people-watch out of battle, so why NOT make him a literal wall in-battle?

The man takes no flack from physical units and doles out a lot more damage in return; but his SPD and his RES stat leave something to be desired, though. And I can see that DEX stat being a bit of a problem on the more elusive enemies in the late game as well. As much as I want to try to make Louis a more balanced unit, I think I'm fine with taking the gamble of doubling down on what he's good at: playing defense. But there might be a few ideas outside of this.

Potential Inherited Skills

Now, if we're talking about defense, I have a couple options to consider:

Marth's Unyielding skillet allows a unit to recover a percentage of their max HP (up to 40%) equivalent to the threshold required for the skill to trigger. Accumulative cost of 300 SP.

Sigurd's Canter allows a unit to move up to three spaces after initiating combat against a foe at the accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Sigurd's Lance Power set grants a direct bonus (of up to +10) to a unit's Attack stat when the unit is equipped with a lance at the accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Sigurd's Hit+ set grants a direct bonus (of up to +30) to a unit's Hit stat for the accumulative cost of 2,500 SP.

Micaiah's Res+ set grants a direct boost (of up to +5) to a unit's RES stat at the accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Roy's Hold Out set allows a unit to survive a round of combat with 1 HP as long as the unit remains above a certain HP threshold for the accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Leif's Vantage set allows a unit to counter before the foe's first attack during the Enemy Phase for the accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Lyn's Alacrity set allows a unit's potential follow-up to pop off before the foe's counterattack during the Player Phase if the difference between the unit's and the foe's AS stats is above a certain threshold. Accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Lyn's Speed+ set grants a direct bonus (of up to +5) to a unit's SPD stat for the accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Lyn's Speedtaker grants a stacking +2 bonus to a unit's SPD stat (up to a max of +10) for every time a unit has initiated combat against a foe and defeated it during the Player Phase. Costs 2,000 SP.

Ike's Resolve set grants a buff to a unit's DEF and RES stat as long as the unit's HP remains under a certain HP threshold for the accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Ike's Defense+ set grants a direct bonus (of up to +5) to a unit's DEF stat for the accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Corrin's HP+ set grants a direct bonus (of up to +15) to a unit's HP stat for the accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Hector's Quick Riposte set guarantees the unit will follow-up as long as the unit's HP is above a certain threshold for the accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Soren's Keen Insight set adds up to +7 to a unit's damage output when a unit deals Effective damage for the accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Camilla's Spd/Res+ set grants a direct bonus (of up to +5) to a unit's SPD and RES stats for the accumulative cost of 4,800 SP.

Chrom/Robin's Spd/Dex+ set grants a direct bonus (of up to +5) to a unit's SPD and DEX stats for the accumulative cost of 4,800 SP.

...how'd I go from so little ideas to so many?

Whittling Down

There are a bunch of skill ideas where they only work if Louis' HP is below a threshold; so if one of those skills ends up being one that I pick for my final builds, Unyielding might not vibe with the second skill at all. I'll double back if I feel the need.

Louis isn't a mounted unit; but admittedly, it would be funny if Louis broke from the line, murk'd someone, then used Canter to hobble right back to his post. The most fatal MINK to ever MINK.

I don't think that I'm worried about boosting Louis' damage output with skills like Lance Power; I'd be more worried about making him hit. And there are other skills and stat boosts from other Emblems for that. Case in point: Sigurd's Hit+ set.

I am personally MORTIFIED by the thought of a mage unit taking Louis out with a 1-2 punch from a tome; so looking a gift horse (in the form of Micaiah's Res+ set) in the mouth would be foolish. On the other hand, I could offer a different kind of protection with Hold Out. If I pair that with Vantage, the outcome of that could look like a routed enemy.

The thing about SPD is that if I worried about SPD, I'd mainly be worried about the ability to let him attack twice. Now, the direct SPD stat boost is theoretically sound, but Alacrity and Speedtaker give me pause here. Even with Speedtaker's +10 to Louis' SPD stat, the AS difference might never be high enough for Alacrity to trigger. It would just make a lot more sense to eye Quick Riposte before Lyn's Infamous Wombo Combo™.

I do like the idea of Resolve's +7 to Louis' RES stat. Louis isn't impervious to chain attacks that either hit or miss, so seeing his HP whittle down from physical attacks is very much a thing. Plus, it grants a higher boost to his RES stat than Micaiah's and Camilla's buffs. And in speaking of direct buffs, boosting Louis' DEF stat even more just... feels like overkill; so maybe Ike's Def+ set isn't the best idea.

A direct HP boost from Corrin does guarantee that he'll be in the heat of battle for longer. It just feels wrong to have that take up a spot, though.

Moving on, this is where I feel a little iffy. Quick Riposte is a nice thought, but with so many other potential skills revolving around Louis' HP being below a threshold, I'm unsure if investing in that skill makes the most sense.

I mainly picked Keen Insight because Louis is going to be wielding a lance that is effective against SOMETHING. And if I attack with that, that +7 to the damage output post-calculation will come in handy.

And lastly, the idea of Chrom/Robin's direct boosts to my SPD and DEX stats is amazing, but that SP cost is too steep; and depending on what Emblem I pair Louis with, it might be useless. ...well, maybe not; these boosts do stack, but still.

So, I go from 17 to nine: Unyielding, Canter, Hit+, Hold Out, Vantage, Quick Riposte, Resolve, HP+, and Keen Insight.

There are multiple combos in this here pool:

Unyielding could always put me back within the threshold for Quick Riposte to trigger.

Hit+ would help me land a lot more brutal hits, which gets doubled with Quick Riposte as long as I'm topped up on health.

Hold Out would only need to trigger once for Vantage to kick in, but LAWD have mercy — that's one hell of a gamble.

Resolve would keep me in the fight longer, I'd boost my RES and, with Vantage, could take magic units out with less worry for my HP.

I'm not going to hold you, all these combos aren't for someone of my constitution. I'm just this close to just picking Hit+ and Quick Riposte and picking one of the Emblems for their defensive skill.

Patron Emblems

Roy does boost HP and RES, and Hold Out comes as a Sync Skill — so, that could also work with Vantage and Resolve. I also end up spending less SP in the long run. His Blazing Lion attack could also do pretty well.

Leif boosts Louis' DEF and HP pretty decently, and Vantage would come as a Sync Skill — meaning Hold Out and Resolve could come in and work together on an uncommon (yet still possible) scenario.

Ike boosts Louis' DEF and HP more than Leif, Resolve would come as a Sync Skill, which opens the door for me to consider other skills outside of the triple threat.

...and honestly, I came here to boost my RES stat, so Ike wins this battle. And if that's the case, then I'm keeping my Hit+/Quick Riposte idea.

Whenever I got her, she was actually a killing machine. She was attacking twice, she was able to tank a hit before she needed healing, but I'm starting to see a little bit of trailing off on her DEF and RES. Her SPD stat is actually pretty good, so wouldn't say that I'm worried about her yet.

I did notice that her STR stat was a little off during her Base Class Era™, so reclassing her into a Wyvern Knight helped round everything out a little bit. From here, I have a couple ideas: (1) to capitalize on her SPD stat [which I've already done for Alear, so maybe find something else]; or (2) bolster her Attack stat and let everything else cook. I think my answer here is the latter, but let me not jump the gun.

Inherited Skills

From there, I have a couple of ideas:

Marth's Break Defenses skill offers an extra attack at 50% damage if the unit initiates combat and breaks the foe for the cost of 2,000 SP.

Sigurd's Canter+ set allows a unit to move up to three spaces after initiating combat with a foe for an accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Sigurd's Momentum+ set grants a +1 bonus to a unit's Attack stat for every space they move before initiating combat for an accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Sigurd's Lance Power set grants a direct boost (of up to +10) to a unit's Attack stat when equipped with a lance at the cost of a flat -10 penalty to their Avoid stat and the accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Roy's Sword Power set grants a direct boost (of up to +10) to a unit's Attack stat when equipped with a sword at the cost of a flat -10 penalty to their Avoid stat and the accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Leif's Vantage allows a unit to counter before a foe attacks during the Enemy Phase as long as the unit's HP is below a certain threshold for an accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Lyn's Alacrity set allows a unit to pop off their potential follow-up attack before the foe counters during the Player Phase if the unit's AS stat is a certain number above the enemy's for the accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Eirika's Lunar Brace set allows a unit's attacks to deal an extra amount of damage equal to a set percentage of the foe's DEF stat when initiating combat for the accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

...huh, it's not often I get so few ideas. Not that I'm complaining!

I'm kind of in love with the idea of pairing Break Defenses with Alacrity. That's three attacks with no penalty if Chloé breaks the enemy. I can imagine the fun I'd have, especially considering that she's wielding swords AND lances. AND and, the class skill from Wyvern Knight will pretty much permits Alacrity to pop off if I position her right.

Looking at Chloé and her personal skill, this might be one of those rare cases where I throw Canter and Momentum out of the running. She earns a +2 bonus to her damage output when a male and female unit are nearby, so I'm incentivized to keep her close.

Alacrity also has wicked synergy with Vantage by allowing her to pop off her attacks (and maybe kill the foe) in any Phase; but given her low DEF and RES stat, I'm not sure how long she might last.

Lunar Brace's extra damage could be a vibe, too. I'm pretty sure the third attack I'd get from Break Defenses would also have this bonus. And with Alacrity thrown into the mix? Game over. If only it wasn't so expensive. I wonder what other benefits I would get if I paired Chloé with Eirika, though.

Patron Emblems

If I pair Chloé with Eirika, then I get Lunar Brace as a Sync Skill. I could freely swap back and forth between reducing the damage taken and increasing my damage output, and the DEX and LCK boost I'd grab from her would increase my chances at dodging attacks AND landing Crits. I might be in love with this idea already.

Nah, fuck it. Chloé is getting paired with Eirika and my final picks are Break Defenses and Alacrity.

thank u, next.

Reclassing

Clanne has DEX and SPD, which is nice. And, I can understand him being a Mage at the beginning because you have Vander + Alear as your physical attack units and Framme as support. But with Clanne's growth rate for MAG being so low... why Mage, especially considering his growth rate for STR is significantly higher?

Clanne's STR growth rate is 35, while his MAG growth rate is 10. That means every time he levels up, there is a 35% chance that his STR stat will increase by one — and a 10% chance that his MAG stat will increase by one.

Reclassing him into a physical attack unit sets him up to take advantage of his STR growth rate, but now I gotta think about what I'll reclass him into. I saw what Clanne looked like as a Wolf Knight on the internet, and... now I want the smol boi on top of a wolf.

So if I'm putting him on a direwolf (relatively speaking), I would have to worry about him gaining proficiency in knives, which I honestly don't mind spending bond fragments on. If I pair him with Leif, it'll cost 400 BF or 700 BF to get that proficiency with Micaiah.

Clanne has an innate proficiency in tomes and a normal proficiency in swords; so turning him into a Sword/Knife Wolf Knight involves the least amount of effort on that front.

Inherited Skills

Reclassing him into a physical attack unit solves only one problem, though. Letting that STR growth rate cook is fine, but he is a little bit squishy. To remedy that, I have two options: (1) boost his SPD/Avo stat to make him a whiff machine, or (2) let him use his knives to make ranged attacks.

If I want to turn Clanne into a whiff machine, then I can take some pages out of Alear's strat:

Marth's Avoid+ skillet offers a direct bonus (of up to +30) to a unit's Avo stat... at the accumulative cost of 4,500 SP.

Marth's Sword Agility skillset offers a direct bonus (of up to +30) to a unit's Avo stat... while wielding a sword... at the flat cost of -10 to his Crit stat and an accumulative cost of 4,000 SP.

Lyn's Alacrity+ skillset allows both a unit's main attack and follow-up attack to happen before a foe's counterattack... during the Player Phase... if the unit's AS stat is above a certain threshold... at the accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Lyn's Speedtaker grants a +2 bonus to the unit's SPD stat (up to an accumulative +10) every time a unit OTKs a foe... during the Player Phase... for 2,000 SP.

If I want to make Clanne do in-and-out ranged attacks, then a couple of skills come to mind:

Sigurd's Canter+ skillset lets a unit move up to 3 spaces after attacking during the Player Phase at the accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Sigurd's Momentum+ skillset offers a direct bonus to his Attack stat – +1 for every space the unit moves before initiating combat – at the accumulative coast of 2,000 SP.

Leif's Knife Precision skillset grants a direct bonus (of up to +15) to both a unit's Hit and Avo stat... when the unit is using a knife... at the accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Leif's Build+ skillset offers a direct bonus (of up to +5) to a unit's Build stat at the accumulative cost of 2,000 SP.

Eirika's Lunar Brace+ skillset allows the unit to deal extra damage of up to 30% of an enemy's DEF stat... at the cumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Other skills that could be useful:

Emblem Tiki's Starsphere adds a +15% chance to a unit's growth rates at the cost of 1,500 SP.

Emblem Hector's Quick Riposte allows a unit to follow up with a second attack (if the weapon allows) if their HP is above a certain threshold... during the Enemy Phase... at the accumulative cost of 3,000 SP.

Ideally, I would want the best of both worlds. If I could make 'em whiff and kill them afterwards, then I'd be over the moon. But let's assess.

Marth's skillsets are just waaaaay too expensive for me to consider buying them from the jump, especially considering that Leif's Knife Precision offers me more (despite it offering half the Avo bonus) for less.

Alacrity is nice, especially considering his SPD stat is most likely going to guarantee the trigger the higher the skill tier.

Given Clanne is quite the speed machine, I honestly don't think that he'd benefit from Speedtaker; so let's throw that out of the running.

Canter is almost a must for me when it comes to mounted units, so I'm holding a spot for it whether I like it or not.

In theory, Clanne would be moving within a small radius, so the attack bonus I'd get from Momentum would be negligible.

Knife Precision not only guarantees a hit but also grants a better possibility of making the enemy whiff. If I position Clanne right, MC Hammer Alear has a buddy.

Build+ directly affects his AS stat. If Clanne's Build stat is more than the Weight of the weapon he has equipped, then his AS will be equal to his SPD stat. I can imagine this being useful, especially with swords.

Lunar Brace, despite its steep cost, would actually help out with the knives, so I might not actually mind spending the SP for this.

Now, nothing is stopping me from reclassing him to get more level-ups and stat increases, but I think the time (and the SP to inherit Starsphere) would come a little too late for Clanne.

Quick Riposte makes sense on its own, but it'd be a lot better for people who have a shit SPD stat, and Clanne does not fit that bill.

If I'm truly to have Canter take up a slot, that means I'm left with a few options: Alacrity, Knife Precision, Build, and Lunar Brace. I think I can eliminate the Build+ skillset from the running, seeing as how the Wolf Knight's max BLD stat is 12 — the heaviest weapon a Wolf Knight can wield has a Weight of 13, which means that his AS is going to be his SPD minus one. That's a negligible difference.

Getting rid of Alacrity feels like a gamble, considering how squishy Clanne can be. But if I have faith in his SPD stat and invest in that, then I can get by without it.

And truth be told, if Clanne can't do damage on a unit, it's probably going to be an armored unit, which can be taken down using magical units. All that to say it's not the end of the world if I take Lunar Brace out of the running either.

Which leaves one skill left, and my final build: Canter and Knife Precision.

Patron Emblems

Lyn not only offers Alacrity AND Speedtaker when equipped at a certain bond level, which can make Clanne kind of unstoppable. Not to mention the boosts to DEX and SPD, which doubles down on what Clanne needs to be effective.

Lucina can be a good emblem for Clanne, too. The DEX and SPD buffs are bigger, plus Clanne can help out with chain attacks wherever he is, distance be damned.

Tiki could also be a good option as well. Starsphere unlocks at Bond Level 1, which gives Clanne a good chance at catching up.

Chrom is another option. STR and SPD are always nice to have, and the Rally skill is nice to have around with other folks that could guarantee the kill when Clanne can't get to it.

I could try my shot at giving Lucina to Clanne solely for the bigger buffs and the chance to take more people off of the map. Tiki is great up until endgame, Chrom would be better suited towards magical support units, and I want to see who would benefit the most from having Lyn as an emblem before I give it to Clanne.

Skill Inheritance

With that being said, I have some second thoughts about inheriting most of Marth's skills.

Avoid+ grants a direct boost to a unit's Avo stat up to +30... at the accumulative cost of 4,500 SP.

Sword Agility+ grants a direct bonus to a unit's Avo stat up to +30 at the flat cost of -10 to its Crit stat... at the accumulative cost of 4,000 SP.

Perceptive+ grants a direct bonus to a unit's Avo stat up to +30... during the Player Phase.

There's value there, but if the strat I want to go with is buffing his Speed stat rather than just his Avoid stat, there are other ideas I should consider first. Specifically, Lyn's skills.

Lyn's Speed+ skillset just grants a boost to a unit's SPD stat up to +5... at the accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Alacrity allows a unit's potential follow-up attack to happen before the enemy has a chance to pop off... when the unit initiates combat.

Speedtaker grants a +2 bonus to a unit's SPD stat for every OTK that unit is responsible for, up to a max of +10... but only the OTKs during the player phase.

The big thing people always do is pair Alacrity and Speedtaker together. The +10 to anyone's Speed stat puts a unit's Attack Speed far enough ahead of Alacrity's threshold for it to trigger. But, here's the thing.

Alear is almost always going to strike twice, and he won't suffer from a hit or two. Speedtaker offers a bigger bonus that's applicable to everything that stat affects, meaning the chance that the enemy's rebutting attack will whiff will be bigger while guaranteeing that Alear will attack twice in the most extreme situations.

However, Alear's high likelihood of attacking twice doesn't guarantee a kill. There are a couple of things I can try to guarantee a kill:

Eirika's Lunar Brace skillset boosts a unit's attacks with a damage bonus up to 30% of the enemy's DEF stat... when the unit initiates combat.

Roy's Strength+ skillset grants a direct bonus to a unit's STR stat up to +6 (which directly affects their Attack stat)... at the accumulative cost of 6,000 SP.

Roy's Sword Power skillset grants a direct bonus to a unit's Attack stat (which is different from their STR stat) up to +10... at the cost of a flat -10 penalty to the unit's Avo stat and the accumulative cost of 5,000 SP.

Engraving/enhancing weapons at the smithy on the Somniel can grant a bonus to a weapon's Might and Weight stats.

I think that the play here is that I do two things. Reducing a weapon's Weight directly affects a unit's Attack Speed stat, and increasing a weapon's Might directly affects a unit's Attack stat. If I pair that with the bonus from the Lunar Brace skills, then the world is... kinda mine.

...there I have it. Speedtaker and Lunar Brace.

Other Ideas

Sword Agility/Speedtaker is another way to get the best of both worlds, but without the extra assurance.

Sword Power/Alacrity ignores the idea of being a leaner, meaner, dodging machin-er entirely and places focus on guaranteeing the the kill.

Patron Emblem Ideas

(by patron emblem, i mean the emblem ring that a unit can be equipped with)

Marth being equipped to Alear is canon; and hey, it's a good idea. That man will NOT get hit with his Sync Skills, PLUS neither of the skills I'm aiming for will get cancelled out.

Even with a decent Avo stat, Alear will NOT be able to avoid everything, especially stacking chain attacks; if I equipped Roy, Hold Out would be pretty clutch.

Lyn would give me Alacrity as a bonus; but if I'm gonna have Speedtaker as an inherited skill, then I wouldn't be making the most out of my skill slots. (If I'm doing that, then maybe Sword Agility has a purpose after all?)

Lucina's sync skills grant Alear the chance to act as a backup unit, which is a nice idea, considering some units that need the EXP are gonna need all the help they can get... even if it's just an extra 3 damage.

I'm gonna go ahead and try pairing Marth with Alear. Who am I to upset the canon?