Here it is. The biggest moment we're all anticipating for - Choose Your Legends 8 is here at last!
Every year, these units would bring game-changing components that shape how we play Fire Emblem Heroes. From Duo Lyon's downfall to Emblem Ike's unshakable dominance, we can only expect the powercreep to keep escalating with these winners
So, without further ado, let's jump straight into my first impressions of these top-voted fan-favorites, and discover their potential impact on the meta.
Robin (F) (2nd Place - Women's Division)
She's dressed just like her male counterpart last year, which I'm not surprised since they've done a similar case with the Byleths' Legendary alts before. Her artwork is quite amazing, and big praises go to Wada Sachiko's for another masterpiece.
Sadly, not giving her a Levin Sword really raises many people's eyebrows, but at least she's a colorless infantry mage this time.
Exalt's Tactics:
- Slaying
- 2 Spaces Away From Target If Unit Uses Assist Skills;
- 2 Spaces Away From Unit After Unit Acts Or When In AR-Defense
- This excludes Warp Spaces from Rival Domains, spaces occupied by foes & other destructible terrain
Divine Vein (Ice):
- Impassable Terrain For All Foes
- Can Be Destroyed
- Can Be Occupied By Unit & Allies, Who Can Still Be Hit Over The Terrain
- Inflicts Atk/Spd/Res On Foe (Max: 14) = 5 + No. Of Allies Within 3R & 3C × 3
- Stat Penalty Neutralization
- Null-Guard
- 50% DR-Piercing
So Brave Robin (F) introduces a new type of Divine Vein effect, which acts as obstacles for your enemies. This is going to be your defensive terrain against Emblem Celica as well as her ring effect because she's unable to reach you with Warp Ragnarok, and that she has to destroy these icy obstacles first.
Keep in mind that she's still be able to reach you if you position yourself adjacent to the ice terrain effect or occupying it, and thus, it's not actually a hard counter to her.
For her usual passives, she has Flare & Atk/Spd Finish 4, and she has a preferred B skill
According to Plan:
- Atk/Spd+6
- Canto (1)
- Inflicts Hush Spectrum & Panic On The Closest Foes & Any Foe Within 2 Spaces
- Inflicts Atk/Spd/Res-5 On Foe
- Deals Flat DMG (Max: 25) = X × 5
- Brave Flat DR (Max: 15) = X × 3
- X = No. Of Bonus Effects + No. Of Penalty Effects Active On Unit
She can inflict Hush Spectrum like her Duo counterpart, yet it's weaker in comparison because she cannot self-refresh, probably as a compromise with the newly implemented Divine Vein (Ice). But still, she can nuke quite hard with that Flat DMG, and she'll never be a good nuke without it.
Lastly, she has yet another variant for Time's Pulse 4, which is Creation Pulse. Unlike the former, it's completely different because you get Special Cooldown Count-2 at max based on the number of Penalty effects active on foe. It's a little bit iffy personally, considering we have Freyr & Attuned Micaiah who can cleanse Penalty effects, so Time's Pulse 4 is still the ideal choice for me.
Overall, Robin turns out to be impressive as a nuke & support, especially that Divine Vein effect which proves to be a bane for most players currently using Emblem Celica and her ring. Speaking of which, I can tell she's going to be excellent in Summoner Duels, and AR-Defense especially where she's built for the latter. You could run her in Offense teams too, where she'll help to prevent nukes who are equipped with Celica's ring from warping in instantly, and taking out one of your support units.
Felix (2nd Place - Men's Division)
Levin Sword is finally added to the game, and Felix is the first to wield this overdue weapon. I can sense a wave of disappointment from the community, given that Robin should be the wielder instead. But still, it's better than having no Levin Sword at all.
Besides, he's a savant class unit, which I've heard is best fit for his role in Three Houses.
New Levin Sword
- Double Slaying
- Distant Counter
- Adaptive Damage
- Omni+5
- True Omni = 15% Of Unit's Spd
- Null Guard
- 50% DR-Piercing
Lone Wolf:
- Phantom Spd
- Enters Combat
- Already Acted Without Entering Combat
- Dull Omni-5 On Foe
- True DMG (incl. AOEs) = 20% Of Unit's Spd
- Flat DR = 20% Of Unit's Spd
- Flat Special DR (incl. AOEs) = 20% Of Unit's Spd
This is somewhat a hybrid unit, and his preferred skill is what makes him formidable on his own. He's somehow better as a player phase unit than enemy phase because of the action-economy, and that he can hit extremely hard with more True DMG, and become hardier with some nice Flat DR. This counts AOEs unlike other Flat DR effects we've seen.
Usually, you'll position your units to a certain spot and they'll end their respective actions, yet Felix is the exception to this: he breaks the movement rule of Fire Emblem! I can't believe we're getting similar units like this who would make Legendary Chrom obsolete in the future!
With this, he's turns out to be a worth-noting candidate for Emblem Celica's ring. Together with Double Slaying, it opens up more Galeforce strategies, and Felix can be a possible Fury 4 initiator in Aether Raids. Alternatively, you can run an AOE build on him to get the best out of his Slaying effect, and he can even function as an insane hit-and-run nuke, but without Canto which is nice as you'll not get affected by Canto Control. I wonder if his self-refresh ability can be stopped by Traps though.
Lastly, Atk/Spd Excel as well as the newly introduced Endless Tempest are a perfect combination that bolsters his offensive capabilities further. Endless Tempest marks the beginning of Tier 4 versions of Tempest skills which now grants unconditional extra movement as well as an Omni-Clash effect, followed by a Dull effect. I know there's a certain boar who would enjoy his entire kit!
In essence, Felix can do literally anything, and he can certainly do better than other units in their respective niches. I think he's going to be a strong candidate for all new players who don't have many modern options. You want a good tank but you don't have Emblem Ike? There, Felix; You want a formidable nuke who can retreat easily? There, Felix; You want to do either Galeforce or AOE but you don't have anyone to cover up either of them? There, Felix! He's incredibly useful in a crap ton of strategies, which sounds insane for a single unit alone, and that would save you lots of orbs because you don't need to get others with similar roles!
Because of that, Brave Felix is a must have for any newcomer. There's no denying that he'll carry you through a ton of game modes, whether it's PvE or PvP!
Bernadetta (1st Place - Women's Division)
Our first colored bow in ages, and it's finally here since Brave Lyn. Bernadetta's a blue bow cavalry unit and her design is pretty much a safe choice that fits her war arc. Nothing much to say about the design outside of her nice artwork.
The Inexhaustible:
- Canto (Dist. Max: 3)
- Slaying
- Flier Effectiveness
- Unconditional Brave
- Omni+5
- True Omni = 15% Of Unit's Spd
- True DMG = 20% Of Unit's Spd
- 50% DR-Piercing
She managed to snatch that bow from Indech, huh? Nice paralogue reference for her. Anyway, her weapon is alright on paper, but there's nothing crazy in particular.
We now have a new inheritable Special for bows after Deadeye, and that is Curved Shot.
Curved Shot:
- Boost Special DMG By 30% Of Foe's Higher Spd Or Def
- 40% Unpierceable DR If Whoever's Special Is Ready Or Triggered
She's mainly functioning as a pure-ranged nuke, and you won't want to run Atk/Spd Prime 4 because it's worthless nowadays. You could swap out with Flared Sparrow, or even better Life & Death which is readily accessible because her damage output is reliant on her Spd.
Plus, Assassin's Strike is her only B-slot option for now until we get better B skills for nukes because BOL4 is everywhere.
Not only that, she can work as a decent support unit with Paranoia in her C slot.
Paranoia:
- Null Follow-Up (Unit Only)
- Paranoia
- 1 Chip DMG
Paranoia (Effect):
- Atk+5
- Desperation
- Vantage, if No. Of Penalty Effects Active On Foe ≥ 3, Or At Equal Range (Excl. Saves)
- Reflects All Active Penalty Effects On Herself
- Atk/Spd+5
- Null Guard
Just like her other alts, she's going to deal chip damage to herself and allies in order to make the most of it, which is still ridiculous. You need to be at below full HP for Desperation, when you could get it from Ursula for free. Whereas for Vantage, it's even restrictive because your enemy team can cleanse those Penalty effects for himself anyway, even though Bernie can reflect them.
Therefore, she's here for a specific niche that I won't say it's bad, but it isn't applicable for everyone. But, if you have Young Emmeryn in your barracks, she's undoubtedly her best friend, particularly in AR-Defense because she can heal after the chip DMG, turning herself into a WOM beacon and make your defense a rally trap, or I should say, an Emmeryn trap. Bernadetta also can function as a WOM support in Galeforce teams on AR-Offense, and she's decent in Summoner Duels & Arena for her role-compression.
Despite all of this, I'm afraid that she might be the weakest candidate of the group, and I envision her to age poorly, and that her support may no longer be useful in the long term. For now, she's quite strong as a unit.
Alfonse (1st Place - Men's Division)
He's dressed up like his dad which makes sense for him to be the next ruler of Askr. This time, he's an axe cavalry wielding his father's weapon.
Majestic Glitnir:
- Canto (Dist. Max: 4)
- Slaying
- Def/Res+6
- Extra Movement
- Quickened Pulse
- Def/Res+X
- Inflicts Def/Res-X on Foe
- X (Max: 14) = 5 + No. Of Allies Within 3R & 3C × 3
- True DMG (Excl. AOEs) = 10% Of Unit's Def
- True DR (Excl. AOEs) = 10% Of Unit's Def
- Full DR-Piercing On Special
- Time's Pulse 4
Alfonse gets a lot of bulk from his weapon, and he's also a potent melee nuke at the same time, with his True DMG & True DR effects. Those are really nice, but his Special contains a totally unique effect that we've never seen before.
Makings Of A King:
- Boosts DMG By 30% Of Unit's Def + Def [Great Talent]
- Flat Unpierceable DR = 40 - (10 × Current Special Cooldown Count Value)
- Atk/Def/Res [Great Talent] +2 (Unit Only)
- Atk/Def/Res [Great Talent] +1 (Allies Within 3R & 3C Only)
- Atk/Def/Res [Great Talent] +4 (Unit Only)
- Atk/Def/Res [Great Talent] +3 (Allies Within 3R & 3C Only)
Great Talent:
- Permanent Additional Stats
- Can Be Stacked
- Does Not Count As Stat Bonuses
- Max Cap: +20 To Unit & +10 To Allies
This is a very amazing support effect that grants you increased stats on your map, and those are permanent stats, so it cannot be neutralized by Lull Skills or stolen by Tina or Nergal. Besides that, it's giving both Alfonse and his allies some extra bulk with this kind of stat boost, making them harder to be taken down by other units.
It's what differentiates Alfonse from your typical melee cavalry units, as he can work as both an omni-tank, nuke and support. In fact, we could see this effect being implemented to future releases.
He has two new inheritable passives in his kit, one of which is Fortifications. It's basically yet another Fort. Def/Res variant, which is ironic because we already have Heiðrún not long ago with Stronghold, and then IS suddenly decides to depreciate her fodder value by putting a stronger version of it into the mix. Now, she has to run that skill because it offers Divine Vein (Stone) support and Flat Special DR by 10, making her support capabilities better.
Next, we have Reopening as an upgraded version of Guard 4. Even though Guard is useless nowadays, it offers you some decent value with True DMG & Flat DR based on your unit's Def, which are valuable for some high Def units like Alfonse himself since those effects can stack with each other.
Lastly, he's the second-unit to have BOL 4, which helps you substantially to counter against Duo Lyon and other burn damage nukes.
Overall, Alfonse proves to be a very bulky omni-tank cavalry unit being able to grant some invaluable support with his unique permanent stat boosts. He can even hit hard with his full DR-Piercing, followed by True DMG, and that he can loop his Special after combat which is unseen in a cavalry unit, making him ideal for Galeforce strategies in AR-Offense. Also, he can work in Summoner Duels where he fits nicely in raid boss teams as well as Pathfinder teams. With his permanent stat boosts and a ton of DR, he's going to be really hard to take out, and therefore, our main protagonist is the clear winner of this year's batch.
However, as we begin receiving units granting permanent stat boosts, I'd expect a counter in the near future, which could inflict permanent stat debuffs to your team. It's going to work the opposite to Grand Talent, so keep that in mind as his support would eventually be not as useful as he currently does.
Grand Hero Battle - Panette
We now have a Grand Hero Battle unit from Engage, and it's not one of the Four Hounds this time. It's none other than Panette. This time, she has a preferred weapon that grants Time's Pulse 3 to herself and nearby allies, similar to Askr's C skill.
She can tank quite well with her True-Omni, and she can hit hard with her Flat DMG reflection, together with True DMG. For a Grail unit, this is pretty strong, and Panette is one of my favorites in Engage. Because of this, I'm definitely building her up, but it would mean offering Laguz Friend 4 from Emblem Ike, whom I'll be merging gradually to +10.
Final Thoughts + My Top Picks
This year's Choose Your Legends has by far the most insane level of powercreep we've ever gotten. All four of these heroes have brought new aspects that would change the game.
Alfonse introduces a never-before-seen powerful support & gimmick, whereas Robin's Divine Vein (Ice) is going to be a nuisance to handle with. Felix turns out to be quite annoying if you're facing him because not only he breaks the end-action rule, but he can easily take down your support units once he survives. And finally, Bernadetta is surprisingly hardy enough to survive most threats, even though she might be the weakest CYL unit. Talking about someone who's supposed to be built for nuking alone.
In my case, Alfonse is going to be my top pick because I need another BOL 4 support for one of my omni-tank teams, whereas my second pick goes to Robin. I could experiment her new Divine Vein effect on my AR-Defense, and her Hush Spectrum effect still turns out pretty strong.
Because of this, it's no surprise that I'll be spending on this banner like most players would, followed by a free pick. This banner is certainly packed with everybody's favorites, but since it's a New Heroes banner, I would advise against merging up one of your favorites to +10 because next year's Golden Week would provide better rates than this.
As always, thank you so much for reading my thoughts on this year's CYL, and I wish you the best of luck with your chosen heroes! We all deserve to enjoy our favorites.
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