Arknights: Should You Pull? Standard Banner: Magallan and Nightingale

The new Standard Banner features the following Operators:

Featured Operators:

Rarity	Operator
6★	Magallan - Summoner Supporter Nightingale - AoE Medic
5★	Leizi - Chain Caster Nightmare - ST Caster Platinum - Anti-Air Sniper

• Based on previous patterns, it is likely but not 100% certain that the Operators for purchase in the Distinction store will be Nightingale and Nightmare
• 6★ Rate-Ups have a 50% chance of appearing when pulling a 6★
• 5★ Rate-Ups have a 50% chance of appearing when pulling a 5★

If you want Magallan, maybe. Otherwise, NO. If you’re trying to pull Thorns, prioritize Thorns first.

Most Doctors probably spent all their resources on the limited Weedy/ W/ Elysium banner, and now they’re probably using everything they can find on the current Thorns banner. Thorns is heralded as the second coming of SilverAsh in terms of brokenness, and he’s way better than anybody on this banner, so if you’re pulling for him, this banner is an easy skip.

It’s too bad, because this banner doesn’t suck as much as it seems. Magallan is tricky to use but excellent (especially for the upcoming Integrated Strategies event) and Nightingale is a reliable counter to pretty much any Arts DPS enemy. Platinum is underrated, Nightmare is fun, and Leizi… well, Leizi looks cool, if nothing else. If you love Summoner Supporters and really want to raise Magallan before Integrated Strategies, this banner is here for you.

If you aren’t dead set on getting Magallan, though, this banner is probably not a great use of your Orundum. At best, you might want to do Headhunt x1 until you pull a 5★ or higher Operator, since one is guaranteed in the first 10 rolls.

Summoner Supporter

+ Incredibly versatile; covers various roles and types of damage depending on her Skill

+ Brings a whole army along with her; great for “Limited to a smaller Squad of Operators” Challenge Modes and Contracts in CC events

+ Very cost-efficient 6-star Operator to invest in for “Integrated Strategies” event

+ One of the strongest crowd-controllers in the game at present with S1

- Guzzles DP to place her drones

- Skill usage can be hard to time correctly

- Drones are fragile and easily killed off by ranged enemies

AoE Medic

+ Serviceable AoE healer

+ Hard-counters enemy Arts damage

+ Distracts ranged damage away from allies with her Phantoms (E2 Talent)

- Loses value on maps compared to her alternatives when no enemy Arts damage is present

Chain Caster

+ Unique “chain lightning” attacks that can jump up to 4 tiles if enemies are arranged correctly

+ Talent and innate crowd-control means she works well with no-Block strategies

= Better than a ST Caster when enemies are close together, and better than an AoE Caster when enemies are spread out, but worse when the opposite is true

- High DP cost

- Low base ATK and slow attack speed greatly reduces her potential DPS

- “Chain” range on her attacks is only 1 grid, so utilizing the bounces intentionally can be difficult

ST Caster

+ Surprisingly durable when equipped with her S1; she gets Physical and Arts Dodge from her Talent and can heal herself when S1 is active

+ Can heal multiple allies within her attack range using her S1 (useful versatility for Challenges)

+ S2 inflicts the unique Nightmare debuff, which reduces enemy movement speed and stacks with effects like Slow -- perfect for Slow-centric or 0-Block strategies

= The Nightmare debuff inflicts True damage on its victims based on how far they move; however, since the debuff also reduces movement speed, enemies don’t move as far while it’s active

- Niche abilities; rarely required to complete a stage

- Requires substantial investment to reach her full potential, which is asking a lot for such a niche Operator

- Long cooldown on S1 and automatic activation on S2

Anti-Air Sniper

+ Becomes an uber-Sniper once her S2 procs (permanent ATK boost and attack range increase)

+ Punches through all but the highest-DEF enemies with her Talent + S2

+ Has longer attack range than any other Anti-Air Sniper once S2 activates

= She’s received a gorgeous skin in the current Heart of Surging Flame Retrospective

- Long activation time on S2, and until it procs, she is noticeably weaker than other 5* Snipers

Magallan has an army of flying drones at her beck and call, and she’s equipped them to handle a wide variety of tasks. With S1, they exude some of the most consistent CC in Arknights. With S2, they drill into enemies’ vulnerable pates with powerful melee Arts damage. And with S3, they open fire on enemies from afar with ranged AoE missiles.

Magallan takes the strengths of a Summoner Supporter to a whole new level, but her complex robotics are not easy to utilize. Her drones are aerial, so they can’t Block, and each one takes up both DP and a unit slot when deployed. Her Skills are very powerful, but they recall all of her active drones when the duration ends, forcing you to deploy them again. And the only way to recover drones that are killed by enemies is by retreating and redeploying Magallan herself, so making a mistake with her can really screw you over.

There are a lot of fine details to learn and remember when using Magallan. Is the effort worth it? Absolutely.

I recommend pulling for Magallan, but only if you understand how Summoner Supporters play and are interested in using them.

Nightingale is the ultimate counter to enemies with Arts damage. Used well, her Talents and Skills can make allies within her range virtually immune to Arts damage, and she brings AoE healing on top of that. Her Fleeting Phantom Talent is particularly useful, giving her two birdcages (it’s symbolic!) that she can deploy as decoys to soak up ranged damage anywhere on the map.

When enemy Casters or similar units hit the field, Nightingale is the MVP for the map. However, on any stage where enemy Arts damage is nonexistent (or just easily survivable without Nightingale’s help), she loses her luster. She has no utility other than mitigating Arts damage; when that utility isn’t bringing value, Nightingale has very little to offer.

I don’t recommend pulling for Nightingale, but she’s well worth investing in if you pull her. Enemies with Arts damage are often a tremendous pain when they show up, making Nightingale a good ace to have up your sleeve.

At present, Leizi is the only member of her archetype: the Chain Casters, whose attacks bounce from enemy to enemy, dancing across the field and inflicting damage all the way. Leizi adds a Slow effect to her chain lightning strikes and bonus damage from her Talent, which increases her ATK when hitting unblocked enemies. Between her Talent and her Trait’s Slow effect, Leizi is a natural fit for a no-Block strategy, and her special chaining attacks give her a unique reach as compared to other Caster Operators.

“Unique” certainly describes Leizi, but “unique” does not equal “good.” Her archetype falls somewhere between a ST Caster and an AoE Caster, and unfortunately this means she suffers the downsides of both. Her ATK is lower than an AoE Caster and her ASPD is slower than a ST Caster (and her attacks become less powerful every time they bounce, except when her S2 is active), so her DPS is often terrible. Her Talent’s ATK buff against unblocked enemies does not make up the difference, especially with her low base ATK, and she has no utility other than the brief Slow from her Trait.

On some stages, where steady streams of enemies are funneling through long chokepoints, Leizi’s attacks can bounce up the enemy ranks and give her pretty impressive range. Otherwise, it’s too easy for the chain lightning to end its chain prematurely, and the overall low DPS means it’s rarely worth the effort.

I don’t recommend pulling for Leizi.

The dual-natured Gloria—codename Nightmare—is a bundle of contradictions, on and off the battlefield. Her Talent changes depending on her Skill, making her more durable if equipped with S1 and more dangerous if equipped with S2. Aside from her Talent, her Skills are so different that they completely change her role: S1 heals allies when she attacks for the duration, and S2 inflicts a unique Nightmare ailment that greatly slows enemy movement speed and does Pure damage as they move.

Nightmare looks pretty good on paper, but she’s a little too generalist for the amount of resources she demands. In particular, because she has to pick between her two Skills before entering a battle, she’s actually less versatile than she sounds. Her Skills are powerful but take a long time to charge, S2’s auto-trigger is inconvenient, and both Skills really need to be at least M1 (preferably M3) to show their true power, which is an expensive prospect.

If you put the resources into her, Nightmare can actually be quite potent (and she doesn't deserve the hate she tends to get). However, few Doctors are likely to feel the return is worth the investment, especially now that we have access to other “hybrid” Operators like Podenco (who is a great 4*) and Folinic (who was a welfare unit).

I don’t recommend pulling for or buying Nightmare.

Platinum’s claim to fame is her S2. It grants her a sizable ATK buff; makes her attacks slower so that she gets even more bonus damage from her Talent (increased damage based on how long it’s been since Platinum last attacked); and adds an extra grid’s length to her attack range.

In essence, Platinum can shoot farther than any other existing Anti-Air Sniper and has one of the strongest single shots when she does so. Her overall DPS is still outdone by Exusiai’s barrage of rapid-fire attacks in most situations, but that extra attack range allows Platinum to be deployed on grids that other Anti-Air Snipers wouldn’t even be able to attack from, giving her terrific versatility.

I don’t recommend pulling for Platinum, but she’s well worth raising if you pull her.