THE MOVEMENT KING RETURNS!! - Emblem Sigurd Banner Review

Sigurd is now the 4th Emblem Hero we've received, and he's ready to get his revenge after the less-than-stellar refine of his Legendary counterpart. It's kind of ridiculous that we're going back to the chronological order of these heroes except for Ike. It's almost like he's too popular of a lord to be released anytime soon!

Anyway, let's take a peek at what he has to bring to the table. Interesting enough, he's a lance unit instead of wielding his signature Tyrfing.

Emblem Sigurd

Holy-War Spear:

• Canto (3)
• Slaying
• Gallop (At Start Of Turn)
• Unit Moves 2 Extra Spaces

Grants the following to unit if unit initiates combat or is within 2 spaces of an ally:

• Omni+X (Max: 14) = 5 + No. Of Foes Within 3R & 3C × 3
• True DMG (Incl. AOEs) = 20% Of Unit's Def
• 50% DR-Piercing (Excl. AOEs)
• 7 HP Healing Post-Combat

How crazy is that: 5-MOVEMENT?! The extra 2 movement from Gallop makes it a very strong Bonus effect, and units like Brave Chrom and Citrinne can essentially copy the status effect for themselves. But beware of Nergal & Tina because they can steal this status effect is treated as a Bonus effect, turning the tides and having the enemy team sweep across the entire map in no time~

As for his weapon, it's not too shabby, but let's not forget - he can deal True DMG with his AOE Special, which is rare for a melee nuke.

Override:

• AOE DMG = 1.5 × (Unit's Atk - Foe's Def Or Res)
• Self-Refresh After Hitting 2 Or More Foes With Special (Once Per Turn)
• 40% Unpierceable Beacon Effect DR

It's gets even more insane - he can initiate Galeforce just by hitting multiple enemies with his AOE Special! This makes him strong as a Galeforce initiator in AR-Offense, but keep in mind that unlike Brave Felix, who can refresh himself, Sigurd is still vulnerable to traps.

For his Passives, he gets Atk/Def Excel and Fatal Smoke 4, though the latter can be replaced with Shadow Shift, a more recent skill that works beautifully with his built-in Canto 3, allowing him to Repo any ally out of danger from his foes.

But that's not all. From what we saw in the reveal trailer, Sigurd can activate his AOE Special at an instant after moving 4 or spaces, and that's thanks to a new inheritable B skill introduced with him:

Momentum 4:

If unit/foe initiates combat after movement:

• Atk/Def-3 On Foe
• Guaranteed Follow-Up 
• True DMG (Max: 20; Incl. AOEs) = Clash × 4

If unit has an AOE Special, triggers the following:

• Special CD Jump-X Before Combat
• X = 2 If No. Of Spaces Moved ≥ 3 Clash; X = 1 Otherwise

Note: If unit does not have an AOE Special, the same effects will apply, but before unit's 1st hit during combat.

This skill is undeniably strong, though not quite as meta-breaking as Laguz Friend 4. It is restricted to melee units, excluding armored ones. It's perfect for Sigurd because the True DMG from this skill can stack with his weapon's effect, which applies to AOEs as well. The combination of his weapon and his skill really makes it extremely hard to survive his attacks. Frontliner strategies are getting tough, like you can't simply rely on Emblem Ike tanking at the frontlines with ease.

Other units like OG Edelgard, Brave Eirika and Brave Seliph can also benefit from this skill  because it makes pre-charging their Specials a lot easier without heavily relying on support such as Bridal Embla.

Last but not least, his Emblem Effect provides some Flat DMG from your Specials via Clash × 2, and it grants you Canto (X). Ranged units get Canto (2), whilst melee units get Canto (3) instead. You'll also get 1 extra movement, excluding ranged cavs which is significant. I know Canto Control exists everywhere but, it's still a very useful effect, particularly for units who need to retreat after their combat.

In summary, Sigurd is an extremely potent nuke thanks to his 5-extra movement and his whopping amount of True DMG from his AOE Special. He can not only work as a WOM Galeforce unit, but he can also excel as a powerful hit-and-run unit in both AR-Offense and Defense, as well as Summoner Duels. His Gallop status is immune to Stall, and it's a game-changer for his mobility.

Surprisingly, his Emblem ring shines well on armored units, granting them Canto which dramatically improves their mobility also. Because of this, this unit make it a compelling option for your max-invested armored units in Arena. 

Returning Units

The overall banner provides incredible value in the blue pool, where Sigurd shares the spotlight with Mythic Lumera and Emblem Celica, the latter making her first rerun. This is obviously the best color to focus on since you'll get two Emblem units and one top-tier Mythic for Light Season simultaneously. Lumera stands out as the best Light Mythic for her Divine Vein support, which can even neutralize Robin's ice terrain when positioned strategically. On the other hand, Celica's still a nightmare to face in all modes, thus in my opinion, she remains as the worst addition to the game.

The green & red pools are decent, yet Micaiah has significantly elevates the former for being a top tier support unit, who's more than just premium fodder. She's also color sharing with two Mythics from Astra season being Seiðr & Heiðr, who can greatly boost your scoring after investment.

In contrast, the red pool has Emblem Marth, alongside Legendary Yuri and Legendary Hinoka from Wind & Fire seasons respectively. While decent, this is not the ideal banner if you're looking for Marth alone unless you're aiming for Arena merges.

Finally, the colorless pool is the weakest by far. Fallen Veyle might be decent thanks to her double Scowl support, but she has fallen off shortly as Scowl effects start to get irrelevant. Meanwhile, Gullveig and Legendary Guinivere are just disappointingly lackluster - both of them can be simply summarized in one word: underwhelming.

Final Thoughts + Will I Summon?

To wrap it up, I'd say it is a solid banner, despite its minor flaws. That said, having two Emblem Heroes from one color would give you an edge in progressing throughout the game, so for me, I'll be summoning on this banner mainly for Emblem Sigurd himself. His devastating combat prowess and his insane mobility warrants him a must summon. Before this, I've summoned on the Ice Tribe banner and it's quite dreadful, so I have to save up to reach the minimum.

Regardless, if you already have Celica, then I'd suggest waiting for his rerun in December, as he's color sharing with the newest Legendary unit who might offer better value.

Let me know if you're excited for Sigurd, the movement king himself, and as always, be sure to save your orbs before Sigurd gallops and snatches them all!

A BERNIE BEAR STAMPEDE - Continuation on CYL8 Summons

Upon my recent summoning session on the CYL8 banner, I debated whether to keep pulling since I don't have Bernadetta, who turns out to be an incredibly strong unit. Not gonna lie, I can't pinpoint anyone who stands out to be the weakest, as they bring something highly valuable to the table.

The banner lasted until the Solm banner's release, and I didn't want to burden myself with summoning on Blue in December, where I'm currently focusing on my Emblem Ike merge project. So, I decided to bit the bullet and keep on investing until I get Bernadetta. It's value is just too good to pass up.

So, without further ado, let's jump right into these anticipated pulls!

Report #19

15th September - As usual, I was pulling on full circles, not bothered about getting duplicates because their fodder is amazing. It's good that I can spark one more time on this banner so that I can secure at least a copy of every focus unit and utilize them however I want.

This time, my summoning session started off strong with a second copy of Robin after 8 pulls. Hush Spectrum has started to fall off with the introduction of Creation Pulse & Shield Fighter. Yet, there is no denying that her ice terrain support continues to be a huge nuisance in AR-Offense.

Then, I got Flavia from the 4* Special pool. I can barely remember what she does as a unit, aside from having DR-Piercing upon her Special which is not a rare sight nowadays. Still, I'm glad that she's finally out of the pity breaker pool for good, as her fodder is terrible.

Four blue orbs popped up, and guess who showed up as I pulled the second blue orbl? It's Brave Bernadetta! And it did not stop there - not one, not two but THREE Bernadetta copies back-to-back. WHAT IN THE FEH IS THIS?! I can't believe that my barracks suddenly got flooded with a horde of Bernie bears, as if they just awoke after their RNG hibernation! It feels like a dream if you think about it.

Her fodder is decent though, with Assassin's Strike & Curved Shot as viable options for a ranged nuke investment. In this case, I have two existing candidates in mind to consider for Curved Shot, but I'm not sure who for now.

Next, Robin appeared again on the 73rd pull, which opens up more options for offering Creation Pulse as fodder. It essentially makes Scowl effects no longer a threat anymore, now that Emblem Ike can run his Special without a single hindrance. That's the hero!

Now that I've reached 80 summons, it's time for me to redeem my second Spark via Alfonse, who has the best fodder by far.

Conclusion

I did not expect my luck to turn around so dramatically for the second run! Still, I've seen stuff like this since I summoned on the Elusia banner, which was definitely a wild rollercoaster. You know? I could have ended the summoning session here after getting three copies of Bernadetta, but I felt like there was even more value from this banner that I had to squeeze out, especially with the chance to get more copies of Robin, followed by a second Alfonse for inheritance purposes.

Meanwhile, we're eagerly awaiting for news of the upcoming Emblem Hero expected at the near end of this month. If that unit in particular doesn't bring anything game-changing, I might skip this one and instead, pull for either Shield Fighter from the Ice Tribe Banner, or the Solm Banner. Even so, Emblem Heroes are by far the most tempting unit types to pull for thanks to their longevity as rings, making us harder to resist.

As always, be sure to save your orbs!

ELYOS NATIONS ASSEMBLE - Solm Banner + Aided Heroes Review

Another new hero type, another wild reaction from the community. FEH just keeps pushing boundaries  and now, after they've introduced Emblem Heroes, Aided Heroes are here! Reginn is the first to introduce this mechanics, and we've already seen this coming through datamining.

However, what's really exciting about the New Heroes banner is that the kingdom of Solm has finally arrived, which essentially concludes all four nation representatives of Elyos. 

So, without further ado, let's dive deep into my thoughts on Aided Heroes first!

About Aided Heroes

Basically, they give you an Aided Essence every time you summon them, which works similarly to getting Ascended Florets from Ascended Heroes. Unlike Ascended Heroes however, it's a permanent currency i.e. it's not restricted to only one Aided Essence per new unit you've just pulled for, but you can still have more Aided Essences even if you get duplicates.

You can bestow Aided Essences to your existing units which basically increases +1 to all stats, which is done once per unit. In addition to that, those units whom you've just offered to can now equip accessories exclusive to that hero.

In context, this new hero type feels pretty underwhelming, and thankfully these units would not drastically change the game. I don't understand why IS has to stick with their stubborn formula of introducing a new hero type every time there is a Tempest Trials+ story. It's really frustrating, especially for this year after we've just got Emblem Heroes, who help us substantially.

What's worse about Aided Heroes is that they are limited just like Rearmed & Attuned Heroes. I can get it for the latter two types because of their incredible value as fodder factories, even if they fall off in the long term as units. For Aided Heroes though, it's the complete opposite because they don't work as fodder factories at all! You just get stats & cosmetics, that's it!

From the name alone, I thought it would brought us a never-before-seen concept that would bring something fun to the game, and not just PvP. However, this feels unfinished or aptly enough, poor execution because IS keeps tending to their atrocious formula, rushing to get it done without considering all the possibilities that this new hero type would make FEH great again.

As we've seen in the artwork, Reginn is accompanied by a drone, but I would like something that this drone can do not just live accessories. Imagine if they brought pets instead, functioning like Assist Trophies in Smash, where they can engage in combat for a short while as long as the user is equipped with the Aided Essence. That would be hilarious (and chaotic) if it comes like, think of Emblem Ike at +10 for instance, hanging on to 1 HP after Duo Igrene's AOE, then dies to a mere drone who suddenly joins the battle briefly. Or how about Micaiah's pet bird shapeshifting into her deity self and nuke somebody out of the window? We'd totally lose our minds if it ever happens!

So to recap, Aided Units are just your ordinary Ascended units but much more inaccessible because IS wants us to spend more money. The stats and accessories mean nothing for a competitive player's perspective. Don't get tempted to pull for them right away unless it's your favorite! I reiterate: they are not your fodder factories, and it's a concept that feels wasted!

And with all that's said, let's get back to these anticipated heroes!

Aided Reginn:

Well, I have to put the quote-on-quote star of this banner first because of this new flawed mechanic, I guess?

Dvergr Wayfinder:

• Slaying
• Canto (Dist. +2; Max: 5) During Turns 1-4

For allies in 3R & 3C during turns 1-4:

• Atk/Spd+4
• Special CD-1 Jump Before Their 1st Hit

Grants the following to unit if unit's HP ≥ 25% at start of combat:

• Omni+X (Max: 14) = 5 + No Of Allies Within 3R & 3C × 3
• True DMG (Excl. AOEs) = 20% Of Unit's Spd
• 40% Brave DR On 1st Hit
• Full DR-Piercing When Special Triggers

Like all Book 5 OCs, her Canto is restricted to the first 4 turns. She works decently as a pseudo-support nuke by granting the Special Jump support to her allies, which makes Hush Spectrum not a threat anymore because we start to have ways of dealing with Scowl effects. Then, she's able to hit really hard with so many stat bonuses and being able to nullify damage reduction from her foes with her Special.

Seiðr's Burst:

• Boosts DMG = 50% Of Unit's Spd
• Adaptive DMG
• During Turns 1-4, Special CD-2 Jump Before 1st Attack & 1st Follow-Up 
• 40% Unpierceable Beacon DR

This is a complete upgrade to Seiðr Shell and it's certainly an improvement over her original Special. She can now jump through her Special before attacking, rather than having it activated at start of turn which is a nice change. Again, this would make Scowl irrelevant in no time. Having an Armored Beacon effect is a nice touch to boost her survivability.

Then, she comes with Atk/Spd Excel & Flow Guard as her existing passives, and introduces a completely new skill, Shadow Shift, which is exclusive to cavalry and flying types. It basically allows the user to Repo an ally during their Canto, and it does not count as a movement Assist. This is really good for anyone who's using Brave Felix extensively, as he can still refresh himself even after the Reposition. Keep in mind that Canto Control is already prevalent, so this presents a calculated gamble, where this skill is rendered useless if the enemy team has Canto Control in play.

Overall, Reginn is a highly formidable melee nuke with a few support capabilities that would make her relevant a bit longer. She is going to be amazing in AR-Offense like her base counterpart because she's built for that mode. She's going to do well in Summoner Duels too, where she can act as a supportive nuke, yet her nuking capabilities do not warrant her a must-summon choice compared to other nukes. Plus, she looks magnificent in her artwork: the new war attire, the goggles and her drone really complements her tomboyish nature.

Timerra (Attuned)

She's back in her base form, and after taking a glimpse on her passives, I'm literally shocked: as an Attuned Hero, she has everything you need to create a perfect omni-tank for the current meta.

Desert Spear:

• Slaying
• Dist. Counter
• Bulwark

Grants the following to allies within 3 spaces:

• Spd/Def+4
• 10 Flat DR On Foe's Attacks Upon Foe's Specials

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

• Omni+X = 5 + 15% Of Unit's Def
• Dull-All On Foes
• 10 Flat DR On Foe's Attacks Upon Foe's Specials

Her weapon comes packed with stats and flat damage-reduction, which can be granted to allies within her proximity, adding some support capabilities. Additionally, she can stop anyone other than Celica & Shez from warping, thanks to her built-in Bulwark, which is a rare sight on an infantry unit. But wait, that's not enough!

Sandstorm:

• Boosts DMG = 80% Of Unit's Def
• Special DMG = 150% Of Unit's Def Instead Of Atk
• Unpierceable X% DR = 40 - Current Special Cooldown Count Value × 10
• Spd-Rule Modification If Unit's Def > Foe's Def
• X (Max: 10) =  Difference Between Def Stats

She can melt through anything with that Special damage, making her pure nightmare fuel for anyone who dares to survive that hit! Followed by a ton of unpierceable damage-reduction, she's also another one of these units making herself easier to do follow-ups. It's going to change the way we're dealing with Spd creep nowadays, where speedy units are finding themselves harder to keep up.

As I mentioned earlier, she offers the perfect coalescence of skills that are essential for almost any omni-tank you want to invest in. Spd/Def Finish 4, Laguz Friend 4 & Breath of Life 4 are excellent options in her base kit, and they can be inherited in one go!

Finally, she has Time Pulse Echo as her new X Skill, which is essentially Time's Pulse 4 in an Attuned slot. That's going to be amazing for so many users who want to pre-charge their Specials for every turn, so they can run BOL 4.

In terms of fodder factories, here's a hot take: I think Eirika remains an optimal choice for building infantry tanks. If you're aiming to build a very efficient omni-tank, you want to run NCD as an Attuned skill, which is crucial to counteract Sweep effects. There are plenty of ways to pre-charge your Specials via means of support, which is now readily accessible. Because of that, I value NCD over Time's Pulse as an Echo skill option, even if it requires giving Timerra's fodder to Eirika.

Back to her frontliner capabilities, Timerra is genuinely on par with Emblem Ike which it's fitting, considering her role in Engage because she's meant to be an incredibly strong unit. If you like, you can give her Ike's ring for an additional Beacon effect to ruin a nuke's day. Speaking of nukes, for sure Brave Felix will run into trouble facing against her because of his weapon-triangle disadvantage. With all that's said, she's very astounding as a frontliner option for your usual tanking strategies in all PvP modes.

Fogado

Of course it's not the Solm banner without bringing the kingdom's only prince into the mix.

Sentinel Bow:

• Slaying
• Flier Effectiveness
• Disables Foes' Specials If Unit Initiates Combat Or Against Ranged Foes

Grants the following if unit initiates combat or is against ranged foes:

• Omni+X = 5 + 15% Of Unit's Spd
• 50% DR-Piercing (Excl. AOEs)
• Null Follow-Up
• 70% Brave DR On 1st Hit
• DMG Reflection On Next Attack = Total DMG Reduced From 1st Hit

Fogado is in a very weird spot because he's supposed to work as a nuke, yet somehow he functions like a tank because he turns off his foes' Specials like Lucia does. It's very interesting that he's basically a ranged version of Lucia, but doesn't have the capabilities to become a frontliner. 

He's still a player phase unit though, and I heard people saying that he's a direct counter to Duo Fjorm whom we've got not long ago, because his weapon works against her defensive Special, not to mention the weapon triangle advantage. The thing is, his offensive capabilities aren't as great as the best nukes we've got. So, I can't see him taking down Fjorm, assuming she has the proper support.

As for his passives, he has Flared Sparrow & S/D Far Trace 4, and he's a good candidate for Curved Shot if you want to improve his prowess.

Overall, Fogado has a very interesting niche that requires further testing to fully understand his potential in today's meta. He is usable in all modes, at least for now.

Merrin

We finally got our favorite wolf girl into the game, but unfortunately, she's a sword unit while she's mainly a dagger unit Engage.

Slaude Blade:

• Slaying

Grants the following to unit & ally if an Assist skill is used:

• 50% DR-Piercing
• Bonus Doubler
• Self-Refresh (Unit Only)

Grants the following if unit initiates combat or is within 2 spaces:

• Omni+X (Max: 14) = 5 + No. Of Allies Within 3R & 3C × 3
• Null Follow-Up
• Brave Flat DR On 1st Hit (Max: 15; Excl. AOEs) =  No. Of Active Bonus Effects × 3

I don't know if this has been widely discussed but, Merrin in my opinion, has stolen Chrom's unique identity as a Repo Self-Refresh unit. As we start to have similar units who can replicate or even outclass his role, Chrom might be on the verge of becoming irrelevant in the near future. In fact, we would come to the point where we only value Repo Self-Refresh units who can grant better support, given that team slots are getting competitive.

In this case, Merrin's support is even better than what Legendary Chrom could offer as she gets DR-piercing. On top of that, she's even better at nuking than Chrom, though perhaps not insane. 

Lastly, she has Spd/Def Link 4, another Link 4 variant followed by Even Attack Wave N in her C slot.

Merrin is fun to use as a unit, and because she literally steals Chrom's identity as a self-refresh unit, she'll stay relevant for the long term-at least until we get stronger options. Whether it's Aether Raids, Arena or Summoner Duels, she's welcome in any of these modes thanks to her versatility alone. However, I can hardly see anyone would pull for her since almost everyone has Chrom in their barracks.

Final Thoughts + Will I Summon?

In conclusion, this banner has some really astonishing value on the blue pool, where both Timerra and Reginn are color sharing. Both of them are powerhouses in their own right, yet it doesn't mean that you should pull for them, as they could be outshined in the future. Nonetheless, if you desperately need Laguz Friend fodder but you don't have spare copies of Ike, I think you found the right banner to summon on because you can acquire two of the most meta impactful skills in one go! 

After some thought, I had decided to continue spending on the CYL8 banner for Bernadetta before the banner reveal. I'm now left with 30-ish orbs, so as far as I want both Timerra & Reginn, I have to skip this for now. Aided Heroes are not interesting for me in general. After all, we've yet to see what this month's Emblem unit has in store.

Let me know if you're excited for the heroes of Solm, and be sure to save your orbs! 

MERGE = PAIN; FODDER FACTORY = YES - Road to +10 Emblem Ike (2)

It's time for another entry of my summoning session, and that is pulling on Legendary Shez's banner. Emblem Ike is back for his third run, so now it's my chance to snag a few copies of him. So, without further ado, let's jump right into some anticipated summons. It was a lengthy one!

Report #18

September 7th - That's what I meant by lengthy, as I was sniping only on red orbs with every last orb I saved up, in 418 orbs. Mote that I didn't subscribe to FEH pass because my strategy was to try to get a copy of Ike first, even if it went beyond the 40-pull threshold. Then, I'll re-subscribe it and take the second copy straight away.

Also, whenever there weren't any red orbs in the circle, I'll go for colorless because it has the lowest chance of getting a focus unit, making it a safe bet.

Looks like I was well-prepared for this summoning session as it seems it wasn't off to a great start. As you can see here, I reached 9.50% pity rate, which sounds devastating. None of the red focus units showed up until the 19th pull, where I got Rearmed Lumera. Back then, I was planning to get her because she's blessable, and that I can use her in Astra season for her Divine Vein support alone, so one copy is enough.

Perhaps not, as I didn't expect to get another Lumera on the 22nd pull. Now, I thought of making her a Laguz Friend 4 fodder factory this time around. Red is so good not to miss because you get so much value from the color sharing alone between Lumera & Ike. Even so, I wish this could have been Ike.

On the 30th & 31st pulls, here comes Legendary Shez, together with Karel from the 4* Special respectively. Shez is not as broken as everyone would expect, yet he's turns out to be strong with his built-in WOM & Pass, and he can trigger them after his allies' combat. 

On the other hand, I did not have Karel, and I won't bother making him a manual soon.

I passed the 40th summon threshold, and yet Ike still refused to show up. It's so frustrating, but I guess this was the price I pay for all the luck I had on the previous banners. Just when I thought of securing some copies for my merge project after getting the good stuff, the RNG decided otherwise.

By the way, I lost track of how many red orbs I've pulled for by the time I got Flier Olivia, who's merely Aerobatics fodder. To make things worse, my pity rate rose back to 9.50%.

And again, Lumera kept showing up instead of Ike! It's my third copy this time around, which I feel had strongly incentivize me to turn her into a Laguz Friend fodder factory. So, after some thought. I decided to sacrifice one of my Ike copies in order to make the most of her Rearmed privilege, even if it means losing out one Ike merge.

Shortly after, I got Idunn. Not much to say here - just another unit waiting to become fodder.

Afterwards, my orbs were depleted to 89, and I reached a staggering 10.50% pity rate! I was getting really desperate: will I not secure an Ike copy within my orb budget? Feeling anxious, I pulled the last red orb in this circle and there he was, Ike at last! Finally, but just look at how much he's drained my orbs, only for a single copy! These 8% banners are such a gamble when it comes to +10 merge projects.

Now, I'm finally done with this monstrosity of a banner with an extra Ike via spark! Man, it feels like forever trying to pull for him.

Summary

The summons didn't quite go as planned, but I'd be happy to take a few copies of Lumera anyway, whom I'll be using as a fodder factory for Laguz Friend. On top of that, I also managed to snag a copy of 4* Lapis as she's my F2P merge project. Overall, I'm still grateful with my pulls, especially knowing that Fallen Lumera's value will not go to waste. 

Speaking of which, I equipped Laguz Friend to Nergal and Duo Askr after this summoning session to enhance their bulk so they can work effectively as both omni-tanks and support units. I saved the third one for future use.

For the time being, I'll be saving up as much as I could for Ike's next return in December, where it's going to be tight: we're getting all four Brave units in one sitting, just like the previous December releases. The only unit I was missing is Bernadetta, whom I underestimated on release, and I bet she'll color share with this month's Emblem unit, followed by a new Legendary - likely blue because of that. 

So now, I have two colors to consider, which would involve spending more orbs than before, causing my Ike merge project to become more challenging! I might consider continuing to spend on the Brave banner until I get Bernadetta, and maybe get this month's Emblem hero so that I will not struggle to choose between the colors when the time comes. 

As always, be sure to save your orbs!

HARDY FIGHTER 4! - Ice Tribe Banner Review

We've been eagerly waiting for an Ice Tribe banner for such a long time, and here it comes! The moment before the trailer came out, we knew that Nils was going to be part of it, followed by Felicia thanks to the silhouettes. Plus, it's the Ice Tribe we're talking about, and you would not call it an Ice Tribe lineup without the two sisters from Fates. They have to be in this batch!

So without further ado, let's jump right into these anticipated units.

Ice Tribe Felicia

Here she comes, getting her second Special alt after so long. To be honest, I kind of expecting a Flora & Felicia becoming a duo unit, but alas, we would never get one.

Ice-Tribe Axe:

• Slaying
• Adaptive DMG
• Grants Null Dragon Weakness To Either Of The Following:
• Support Partners Within 3 Spaces (With Support Partner)
• Ally With The Highest Res (Without Support Partner)

For allies with Null Dragon Weakness:

• Spd/Res+5
• Spd/Res Stat Penalty Neutralization
• Null Counter Disrupt

Grants the following if unit initiates combat, or is within 3 spaces of an ally with Null Dragon Weakness:

• True Omni = 5 + 15% Of Unit's Spd
• True DMG (Excl. AOEs) = 20% Of Unit's Spd
• 50% Non-Special DR-Piercing
• 40% Brave DR From 1st Hit

At first, I thought that this unit is fine at best, until I realized that she grants NCD support to all of her allies. That's huge, especially for dragon units like both Legendary Corrins as well as the Alears who are decent omni tanks. Now they don't have to worry about facing against dragon-effective units, or getting swept due to NCD, which I believe that IS wants to ditch Lyon even further.

However, if you don't care about dragons, then I don't think she's a mandatory support unit to pull for, given that Emblem Ike is the main omni-tank that comes in mind, and that he also has built-in NCD. So overall, she's here for a specific niche in the omni-tank meta, and that is for dragons only. I know it sounds restrictive but hey, it fits her lore nicely.

Lastly, she has some decent fodder being Atk/Spd Excel, Odd Spd Wave 4 and S/R Near Trace being a new variant of Near Trace 4, which you could put all in one build if you're not super-interested of her support capabilities.

Overall, Felicia proves to be decent as a support unit in all PvP modes, but she's only best used in a scenario where you use dragons often. Even if you don't have dragons, you'll still get some value from her NCD support alone. Outside of her support, she's fine as a melee nuke because she has everything that fits today's standards, especially half DR-Piercing.

Ice Tribe Thea

I almost forgot that Thea existed in this game, yet it makes sense as she's from an icy kingdom after all.

Ilian Frost Blade:

• Slaying

Grants the following to unit & allies within 2 spaces:

• Triangle Attack
• Canto (1)

Grants the following to unit if unit initiates combat or is within 2 spaces:

• True Omni (Max: 15) = 5 + No. Of Dragonflowers Used On Unit × 2
• 50% DR-Piercing
• 7 Flat Brave DR From 1st Hit
• Special Acceleration +1 Per Hit

She's merely a side upgrade of Bridal Catria, with more improvements than the latter. Even though Triangle Attack is no longer a thing in AR-Defense, it's still going to work in Summoner Duels if you position yourself correctly, so you'll not get affected by Ruse skills. Also, granting Canto (1) to your allies is a nice touch for your allies to retreat a bit.

Other than that, she can hit really hard whilst charging up her Specials every hit, and it doesn't really matter how many Dragonflowers you've invested on her. She can get so much True Stats even if you just give her 5 Dragonflowers on release.

Then, she comes with Air Orders 4, which allows any flier to grant Charge support for free, and it essentially devalues Legendary Hinoka because you can give this to anyone. Now I'm not saying that this skill makes her completely irrelevant in the meta, as she still gives you Special Acceleration, which is not included in the inheritable skill itself.

Overall, Thea is basically Bridal Catria but better. She is usable in certain game modes, yet her support is no longer in its peak. Even without Ruse 4, we're still getting so many units who can now reduce damage from Brave hits, so it's making it difficult for her to one-shot most of the common threats via her Brave effect alone.

Ice Tribe Flora

Flora is the demote of this banner this time, which is unfortunate for Nils as he's going to be yet another Grail unit after nearly 2 years. Nils fans are in shambles right now.

Ice Dagger+:

• Adaptive DMG

Grants the following if unit initiates combat or is within 2 spaces:

• Omni+5
• Guaranteed Follow-Up
• 50% DR-Piercing
• Dagger (7)

Since damage-reduction piercing is getting prominent, it's good to have for an inheritable dagger like this one, although it still needs NFU to get away other NFU.

As for her passives, she comes with Atk/Spd Catch 3 and Disarm Trap 3 for building up fodder. Again, there's nothing much to say about her unless she's your absolute favorite.

Ice Tribe Fjorm + Nifl

They're really going up with the theme, aren't they? Yes, I know both Fjorm & Nifl make a lot of sense for this banner, but aren't we getting tired of Fjorm constantly receiving alts already? Talking about insane levels of fan service! What about Gunnthra and Ylgr? Because these two siblings aren't getting that much attention.

Ice-Crystal Spear:

• Slaying

Grants the following if foe initiates combat or foe's HP ≥ 75%:

• True Omni (Max: 14) = 5 + No. Of Allies Within 3 Spaces × 3
• True DR (Excl. AOEs)= 20% Of Unit's Spd
• Stat Penalty Neutralization
• Null Follow-Up
• 7 HP Restoration Post Combat
• Null C-Disrupt (Against Ranged Foes)

Dual Ice Mirrors:

• 40% Unpierceable DR (Against Ranged Foes)
• Damage Reflection (After Special Triggers; Min: 40% Of Unit's Res)
• Full DR-Piercing
• Distant Counter

Her weapon combined with her preferred skill, make her really strong as an armored unit because she's getting so much damage-reduction, not to mention these can be stacked onto themselves. Like her Ascended counterpart, she's can shut down Sweep effects against ranged foes, though it could have been applied universally to all foes. 

She can also hit back very effectively after absorbing all those hits, and built-in Distant Counter makes her even more powerful as a Save unit.

Since her Ascended counterpart is the first to introduce Hardy Fighter as a B skill, she's also the first to evolve it into its Tier 4 version - Shield Fighter! It doesn't have the Quickened Pulse effect like Hardy Fighter, but instead it charges up your Special by 1 during foe's combat, while it doubles if you're facing up against Brave effects. 

What's more, it triggers twice and gives you 7 Flat DR if you're hit by a DR-Piercing Special, which works similarly to Corrin's Negating Fang II. This is downright amazing for a lot of Spd-based armors, as it could be a sign that armors are slowly rising up the meta as they used to. You'll not get affected by Scowl or Hush Spectrum by any means because you'll be able to charge your Special instantaneously during combat, which negates both of those effects. In fact, we've started seeing effects like this since the Hoshidan Summer banner, and it could eventually make Scowl effects useless.

As for her passives, she has Deluge Boost 3 being a new Boost 3 variant, followed by A/S Far Save 3. I wonder how much longer do we have to wait for Save skills to get a Tier 4 version?

Finally, she has an absurdly powerful Duo button that applies Divine Vein (Ice) within a proximity of 2 spaces from Fjorm herself. It's strong because Divine Vein (Ice) essentially stops foes from warping towards, and if that's not enough, this effect lasts for 2 turns, which is insane! It's going to make so many Emblem Celica users become frustrated, as they are forced to waste an action by destroying the ice terrain first, and it's not just one Ice terrain, but two in each direction that shields Fjorm.

In conclusion, Fjorm might be one of the best Far Saves we've got in the game, who outshines Winter Byleth in terms of bulkiness, whilst having a role compression like Myrrh. She's going to be very useful in both AR-Offense & AR-Defense, where she fits really well as a good Save unit. In Summoner Duels, she's going to be a pain to deal with in that mode because of her Duo button. Even though we'll get better Save units in the future, she still retains her high value from her Divine Vein support alone, until one day, IS decides that they're done with Divine Vein effects and releases a hard counter to those effects.

Final Thoughts + Will I Summon?

This banner has some nice offerings to play with, especially Fjorm being an obvious star of this batch. Like I said, we may have better Saves within a couple of months, and other than Fjorm, none of these units do anything that's impressive to the meta. Their overall value is unmatched to the previous Hoshidan Summer banner, where you might as well get an insane C skill that makes end-actions meaningless, or Nephenee for some Special Acceleration support.

If any of these units interest you, then maybe it's worth spending a couple of orbs on this banner. Otherwise, you should skip like I do, because CYL8 is still the better overall banner to spend orbs on, and it lasts for a few more weeks before we have information on the upcoming New Heroes banner. Also, be prepared for a new Emblem Hero coming up at the end of this month, unless IS chooses to temporarily shift the rotation and make room for Hræsvelgr as our new Mythic.

Let me know if you're looking forward for Save units to coming back. Next, I'll be posting my summons on the Legendary Shez banner, but instead I'm going for more Ike merges. And as always, be sure to "Save" your orbs from the infamous Scowl effects.