NCD ECHO?! SIGN ME UP - Magvel New Heroes Review

So, here comes this month's New Heroes banner, featuring some long awaited favorites from Sacred Stones. Besides, I expect Niðavellir to appear as well because of the story from Tempest Trials, so without further ado, let's get into it.

Ascended Amelia

I can't even remember how many years has Amelia ever received an alt, besides her resplendent status, yet here she comes. Unfortunately, she's an armored unit, and I wish she could be a cavalry or infantry instead. For FE veterans and fans alike, her return is a call for rejoice. It's a shame that we don't have a Tier 4 Save skill just yet.

Lance of Grado

• Slaying

If unit is within 2 spaces of an ally, grants the following to herself and allies within 2 spaces:

• Def/Res+6
• Special Acceleration
• Foe Bonus Neutralization

If unit is within 3 spaces of an ally, grants the following:

• Omni+X (Max: 14) = 5 + No. Of Allies Within 3 Spaces × 3 
• Penalty Neutralization
• 40% Brave DR from 1st Hit
• 7 HP Healing 

Looks pretty solid for a tank, together with Armored Beacon for some unpierceable DR. Let's take a look at her preferred A skill.

Obsidian Tactics:

If foe initiates combat or is above 75% HP, grants the following:

• Omni+9
• Pseudo-Prime i.e. X = No. of Bonus Effects Active On Unit & Allies Within 2 spaces
• If X ≥ 1, inflicts Atk/Def-(X×2) on foe (Max: 12);
• If X ≥ 3, Distant Counter;
• If X ≥ 5, 50% DR-Piercing

Her skill essentially works like Prime skills, but sadly like all of them, it's feels weak and would bring problems for Amelia in general. Prime skills have lost their value, now that Nergal can steal all Bonuses, and Loki shutting them down permanently. Besides, having 5 Bonus effects just for additional 50% DR-piercing sounds ridiculous, give that it's more accessible via support units.

Then, we have Clever Fighter as Savy Fighter 4 on crack, with built-in NFU & Spd Rule modification similar to Summer Hrid's weapon. It also grants 10 flat Brave DR from the 1st hit, as long as the user meets the Spd check. This skill is worth the investment for certain fast armored units to perform follow-ups in ease.

Overall, I think Amelia feels underwhelming as a Save unit because she's heavily dependent on Bonus effects to get the most of it. She will continue to struggle, now that we have units who can take away Bonus effects easily. Even though she's usable in certain areas, I can't fathom enough that Save units will ever earn their place.

Forde

Another unit whom I don't recognize at all, nor will I care. He's plainly forgettable after a while.

Wild Wind Sword

• Inflicts Spd/Def-4 on Himself At Start of Both Phases

At start of combat, if unit's HP ≥ 25%:

• Omni+5
• All-Stats Unity
• Flat DMG (excl. AOEs) = Total Penalties on Unit × 1.5
• NFU
• 40% Brave DR from 1st Hit
• 7 HP Healing

What can I say about this dud? He literally has nothing, as if it isn't ironic enough to show him finishing off some sort of generic armored unit. What's utterly disappointing? He does not have No Quarter, which means that I have to sacrifice more Dimitris and Sylvains. Huge missed opportunity for bring No Quarter into the pool

I don't care he has Spd/Def Unity or Trace 4, and I don't even care he has flat DMG when there are so many better alternatives in terms of melee nukes. As I said, there's nothing I can do to him for inheritance, or as a unit, and don't you dare wandering off nowhere and break my pity rate in my future summons, with your sly little grin!

Niðavellir

He's not a Rearmed, nor an Attuned unit this time. Maybe IS starts to get desperate and invite more pity breakers for the profit. Anyway, Daisuke Izuka's art style is a spot on as always.

Niðavellir Ballista

• Slaying
• Flier Effectiveness
• Canto (Dist. +1; Max 4) Between Turns 1 & 4

Grants the following during the first 4 turns:

• To Unit: Special Cooldown Count -3
• To Allies Within 2 Spaces: Special Cooldown Count -1
• To Both Unit & Allies: Hexblade

Grants the following at start of combat, and unit's HP ≥ 25%:

• Atk/Spd+6
• Atk/Spd+X = 20% of Unit's Spd
• True DMG (incl. AOEs) = 20% of Unit's Spd
• 30% Brave DR from 1st Hit

This unit is clearly built for spamming AOEs, and that explains why he comes with an AOE Special. After all, Verge of Death is perfect for dealing Spd-based true DMG which applies to AOEs, and that makes him a very formidable nuke. His weapon makes him quite strong as a support as well, where he can charge his allies' Specials and they can become AOE spammers too.

Unfortunately, he does not have a preferred skill, which is surprising for an OC, but you can easily offer him Def/Res Smoke 4 so that he can retreat after combat while granting the Pathfinder support for himself. You could also swap out Seal Def/Res 3 for something like Physical Null-Follow to deal with the follow-up shenanigans.

Overall, Niðavellir turns out to be excellent at AR-Defense, especially on a cav-line. I feel like he can synergize with Fallen Ursula pretty well, allowing him to hit harder with the Desperation status, just in case when the damage dealt by his AOE doesn't reduce his foes' HP to 1. Also, there's no doubt that he's an amazing hit-and-run nuke in Summoner Duels and other game modes.

Attuned Eirika

Yup, I saw this one coming, and she's a godaxe this time. Looks like she's taking a break from being a cheerleader for Lyon, and swoops in with another alt.

Sisterly Axe

• Slaying
• Phantom Spd
• Atk/Spd +6 & Dodge to Unit & Allies At Start of Turn

Grants the following if unit is within 3 spaces of an ally:

• Omni+X (Max: 14) = 5 + No. Of Foes Within 3R & 3C × 3
• Flat DR (excl. AOEs) = 20% of Spd
• 50% DR-Piercing
• 7 HP Healing

We have a new Special that's inheritable, and that's Gust which has 3 CD. It basically boosts damage by 50% of Spd when it triggers, and the user gets 40% DR from the next attack onward. It only triggers when the Special is ready or triggered on either sides, before or during combat, and that the user meets the Spd check. 

It shares some similarities with Godlike Reflexes, but it only activates when the user attacks. However, it cannot be used on Laguz Friend 4 because of Slaying, yet it's still a decent Special for some of your older units to deal massive damage whilst taking advantage of some damage-reduction.

Like all other Eirikas, she has a preferred B-skill in her kit, and if you look at the original Moonlight Bangle, you'll see a significant difference.

Moonlight Bangle Q

• Vantage, if Unit's Spd ≥ Foe's Spd - 4
• Atk/Spd/Def-5 On Foe
• True DMG (excl. AOEs) = 25% of Foe's Def
• Special Acceleration Before Unit's 1st Hit & 1st Follow-Up
• Null Guard

Being able to trigger Vantage without having to initiate combat is quite a big deal, yet I'm afraid that this skill could age fast as we're leaning towards more fast units in the future. After all, you need to keep an eye on Hardy Bearing, which can shut it down easily.

Eirika needs to have her Special ready to make good use of Gust, so having Special acceleration on her 1st attack and her follow-ups is really crucial. So does Time's Pulse 4 in her kit after combat.

She has D Bonus Doubler after Attuned Caeda, and what really sets her apart and makes her a better fodder factory is that one echo skill. Null C-Disrupt Echo is here at last, and oh boy, I know Brave Dimitri is going to enjoy this! Bonus Doubler 4, Laguz Friend, BOL 4 support and NCD Echo combine together pretty well and you'll eventually have the Ultimate Dimitri. Imagine how insane is that?

It's is a must have for any tank without a preferred-skill in order to deal with Sweep effects, which are getting common. I'm confident that people who are investing their favorite omni-tanks, no matter old or new, are going to be excited about this unit, only to get that skill alone. It's such a game changer.

Anyway, Eirika is a very formidable Vantage frontliner, and proves to be a strong contender for omni-tanking in AR-Offense, Summoner Duels and Arena. She has what she needs to be an effective omni-tank and Vantage unit. However, bear in mind that Spd creep could lead her to her downfall as time goes on. Her support is fine at best, but Dodge is kind of irrelevant nowadays.

Final Thoughts + Will I Summon?

Overall, Eirika is clearly the flagship unit of this banner, who can do what Vantage units couldn't, albeit not at Emblem Ike's level. Niðavellir opens the gate to more cooldown support options, and while Amelia is apparently an underwhelming Save unit, she still retains some value for being an Ascended unit as you can get the Floret. And finally, that one sword cavalry is just utter garbage, and I swear that I don't want him to ruin my pity rate!

However, I feel like this banner is not impactful enough to justify wasting a few orbs, but still, I wouldn't stop you from getting NCD Echo if you want to improve your omni-tanks a bit. My girl Caeda is going to love this, because she's missing NCD in her kit, and that I can now swap out Guard Echo thanks to her Attuned privilege. 

We're getting a Mythic Hero banner at the end of this month, and I think it's going to be both Heiðrún and Eikþrnir on green & colorless respectively. They have joined the protagonists' side based on the story, and I can't wait to see their potential as units. Therefore, I've saved enough orbs for them to show up, and needless to say, it's best for me to wait for a while.

Let me know if you're looking forward to pulling for any of these units, and be sure to save your orbs from getting NCD'ed!