MY WORST FEAR HAS COME - Elusia Banner Review

How amazing is that? Forget the AHR results for now. My plans of getting Freyr have shattered as IS has suddenly released a banner I'm not prepared for at this very moment. Archanea is already overdue for a New Heroes banner since almost two years, and now this, Elusia already? Don't get me wrong, I highly anticipate Elusia for this year, and that makes me hyped, but why releasing it so soon, after spending on the Valentine's banner?

Anyhow, enough of my ranting. Let's see what we get here.

Rosado

First and foremost, we got Rosado, who is very popular among all male characters from Engage, so his introduction in FEH is certainly a celebration for a lot of fans. His weapon grants Slaying and he inflicts the Atk, Spd & Def penalties on his foe during combat, which depends on the foe's maximum Special cooldown count. This sounds a bit concerning to a lot of units with Gambit, because it relies on the maximum Special cooldown count to do more Special damage, and that less will be dealt when fighting against Rosado. It also grants 40% damage reduction from brave hits, as well as a 70% DR-piercing effect if that foe's Def is more than the same foe's Res.

He has two new inheritable skills, one of which is Earthwind Boost 3, an another type of boost skill which looks decent for fast units. Then, Wyvern Rift is a new B skill which I believe is the final tier of Wyvern Flight. It will compare the unit's combined Spd & Def stats with his foe's, and if fulfilled, Rosado will deal true damage as well as flat damage reduction from brave hits based on his Def. Not only that user can do a guaranteed follow-up attack, but he can also make foes harder to do follow-up attacks, which is insane for a speedy tank. He does not have a C skill, which is great because he can run Guidance for warping support.

Rosado can be a great asset for a lot of teams, serving as both a frontliner and a warping support.

Kagetsu

Another red demote who offers nothing special in particular, besides Null Follow-Up fodder. Since he's an Engage unit, he's one of the demotes I'm fine keeping for my collection. However, with an awful lot of Book 1 demotes in the pool, I think he'll be harder to pull for, especially if you're looking for merges. And also, I wish he has a unique Special animation where he sheaths his sword, as seen in Engage.

Hortensia

We finally got an arcane staff unit after such a long wait, and Hortensia is no exception when it comes to useful fodder. Her weapon "Arcane Charmer" grants Slaying and 7 HP restoration to her nearby allies after they finished combat. Whereas at the start of combat, if the user is more than a quarter of HP, she will grant Omni+5, do a guarantee follow-up attack and Special acceleration to herself per attack. This weapon is relatively tame and not impressive for me. I expect more so that more outdated staff units can benefit from it. 

Regardless, "Glitter of Light" can be a very useful special indeed, as after it triggers, it will inflict the Flash effect to nearby foes after combat. This makes enemy phase teams even worse, and until we have a way to counter the meta shenanigans, such teams are not viable. Besides, Hortensia has a new-preferred C-skill being "Glittering Anima" which grants Atk/Spd +6, Canto (1) and penalty neutralization to herself and nearby allies. She can even inflict "Panic", "Discord" to her foes and if she's within 3 spaces of her ally, she can grant additional bonuses to Atk & Spd as well as an Anti-Guard effect. 

Overall, Hortensia can perform two roles: that of a ranged nuke and a support unit. Her versatility makes her a formidable presence in teams, especially flier lines. When consider inheriting both her arcane weapon and special, I suggest making your staff units more offensive so they can make good use on the Flash effect.

Ivy

Not a surprise for the crown princess's inclusion given that it's Elusia. I'm also surprised that her base form is now an Attuned, which is limited, so I guess there is no meaning when it comes to character choices for these unit types. Ivy's weapon shares some similarities as her summer counterpart, being able to warp to any of her support partners, but with far more range. Otherwise, she will move 1 extra space which is great as she still has the advantage without relying on them. She grants stat bonuses to herself based on 25% of foe's Atk, neutralizes Guard, heals after follow-up attacks and reduces damage from incoming attacks by a maximum of 70% from a Clash effect.

Her preferred A skill guarantees a follow-up attack for her which synergizes perfectly with her weapon, and that her foe is unable to do the same. By doing that, she can fully pierce through DR-effects from foes and as long as her HP is greater than 25%, she can attack thrice, from a Potent Follow-Up effect similar to Emblem Marth. 

That's not all, as she has Soaring Guidance, but this time as an Echo skill. This is so disgusting because now most fliers don't have to waste their C slots for the warping effect. We already have Soaring Guidance about 8 months ago, and now IS has pushed the warping meta way too far than before like, what are we supposed to play with this game right now? First Duo Lyon, and now this. This makes me speechless, and I think we need a lot more units like Gatekeeper for some counterbalance.

By the way, she also comes with another Trace 4 skill like Reinhardt's, but it is Atk/Res based. Ivy is definitely the star of this banner, as both a potent nuke and with an overwhelming Echo skill which leaves many players questioning the balance of this game.

Final Thoughts

As an avid collector of Engage units, how can I resist summoning on this banner? It's a good thing that Goldmary did not show up, or else I would have lost my mind now. I think she could possibly appear on a Summer banner this year instead. However, Engage is back at the worst possible timing, and I don't have enough orbs for this. So, what I'm going to do is to wait and save up as many orbs as I could before summoning by 7th March, which is the last day. I hope to pull for everyone, with one copy each on full circles, but Ivy and/or Hortensia will be my top priorities if my summons go downhill.

Thank you so much for reading my thoughts on this banner. My orb wallet is already unprepared for this, but let me know if you're excited to summon for any of the unit released. May your summons turn out succulent.