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Aether Raids Tier List Article - December 2022

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Summary of Changes

Tier Star Reintroduction

  • Brave Dimitri: King of Faerghus, S
  • Ninja Camilla: Midnight Bloom, S
  • Summer Thorr: Sun-Kissed Gods, S
  • Summer Edelgard: Sun Empresses, S
  • Elimine: Scouring Saint, S
  • Medeus: Earth-Dragon King, S
  • New Year Peony: Álfar Dream Duo, S
  • Bridal Catria: Azure Wing Pair, S

Null Follow-Up Adjustments

  • Byleth (M): Tested Professor, 3
  • Byleth (F): Proven Professor, 3
  • Mareeta: Sword of Stars, 3
  • Ryoma: Peerless Samurai, 3
  • Legendary Ryoma: Supreme Samurai, 3
  • Malice: Deft Sellsword, 3
  • Laegjarn: Sheathed Steel, 3
  • Spring Fir: Student of Spring, 3

Arcane Power Level Adjustments

  • Kris (M): Unknown Hero, 3
  • Kris (F): Unsung Hero, 3
  • Ayra: Astra's Wielder, 3
  • Brave Celica: Warrior Priestess, 3
  • Valentian Catria: Mild Middle Sister, 4
  • New Year Gunnthrá: Year's First Dream, 4
  • Young Caeda: Princess of Talys, 3
  • Soleil: Adorable Adorer, 3
  • Shez (F): Keen Mercenary, 3
  • Dieck: Wounded Tiger, 3

Other Adjustments

  • Defensive Blue Infantry Tome, 4
  • Defensive Green Infantry Tome, 4
  • Sumia: Maid of Flowers, 3
  • Marianne: Adopted Daughter, 3
  • Seiros: Saint of Legend, 3
  • Otr: Kingsbrother, 3
  • Gatekeeper: Nothing to Report, 1 (Dark)
  • Astrid: Resolute Damsel, 1
  • Caeda: Beloved Queen, 3
  • Summer Lyn: Lady of the Beach, 1 (Dark)
  • Pirate Hinoka: Fair Pirate Pair, 2 (Anima/Dark)
  • Winter Lysithea: Gifted Students, 2 (Anima/Dark)
  • Marth: Prince of Light, 3
  • Tibarn: Lord of the Air, 3
  • Tibarn: Shipless Pirate, 3

Arcane Grima Adjustments

  • Defensive Armored Dragon, 2
  • Defensive Flying Dragon, 3
  • Defensive Cavalry Dragon, 3
  • Defensive Infantry Dragon, 3
  • Speed Armored Dragon, 3
  • Speed Flying Dragon, 3
  • Speed Cavalry Dragon, 3
  • Speed Infantry Dragon, 3
  • Halloween Dheginsea: Harvest Goldoan, 1

Arcane Downfall Adjustments

  • Defensive Axe Infantry, 3
  • Speed Axe Infantry, 3
  • Defensive Axe Armor, 2
  • Speed Axe Armor, 2
  • Defensive Axe Flier, 3
  • Speed Axe Flier, 3
  • Defensive Axe Cavalry, 3
  • Speed Axe Cavalry, 3

Enemy-Phase Brave Adjustments

  • Laslow: Dancing Duelist, 3
  • Haar: Black Tempest, 3
  • Lex: Young Blade, 3
  • Shez (M): Rising Mercenary, 2
  • Reinhardt (WT): Thunder's Sword, 3
  • Ninja Laevatein: Ninja of Múspell, 3
  • Finn: Lance of Legend, 3
  • Leif: Unifier of Thracia, 3
  • Arden: Strong and Tough, 3
  • Altina: Dawn’s Trueblade, 3
  • Winter Altina: Cross-Time Duo, 2

New Units and Refines

  • Ascended Eir: Life Ascendant, 1
  • Rearmed Robin (F): Fell Tactician, 1
  • Gregor: Swell Sword, 2
  • Python: Apathetic Archer, 3
  • Halloween Hector: Dressed-Up Duo, 2
  • Cynthia: Hero Chaser, 3
  • Fallen Corrin: Wailing Soul, 2
  • Petra: Princess of Brigid, 2 
  • Hardin: The Coyote, 2
  • Ascended Tiki (Young): Awakened Blood, 1
  • Nah: Little Miss, 1
  • Hubert: Sinister Servant, 2
  • Kronya: Gleaming Blade, 3
  • Ephraim: Dynastic Duo, 2
  • Winter Marth: Royal Altean Duo, 1
  • Caeldori: Perfect Angel, 2
  • Hans: Ambitious Brute, 3
  • Winter Black Knight: The Night's Blade, 1
  • Winter Dorothea: Yuletide Dancer, 2
  • Winter Cordelia: Unyielding Snow, S
  • Arval: Cycle Keeper, 1 (Anima)
  • Yune: Chaos Goddess, 1
  • Embla: God of Closure, S (Dark)
  • Seiðr: Goddess of Hope, S
  • Legendary Eliwood: Blazing Knight, 1
  • Legendary Shez (F): Sharpest Blades, S (Dark)
  • Legendary Veronica: Princess Rising, S (Anima/Dark)

Introduction

We introduced the dynamic tier list system in the previous update. This update will be focusing on getting up to speed with all the new units of 2022 alongside several adjustments to legacy placements. We will then focus on all the new units released in January for the next update.

General Adjustments

Tier Star Reintroduction

  • Brave Dimitri: King of Faerghus, S
  • Ninja Camilla: Midnight Bloom, S
  • Summer Thorr: Sun-Kissed Gods, S
  • Summer Edelgard: Sun Empresses, S
  • Elimine: Scouring Saint, S
  • Medeus: Earth-Dragon King, S
  • New Year Peony: Álfar Dream Duo, S
  • Bridal Catria: Azure Wing Pair, S

The release of Embla can be considered a watershed moment in terms of evaluating unit viability, as Saves are nullified due to Severance. However, the efficacy of Saviors in the Astra season is still something that is worth consideration. As a temporary measure, we re-introduced a tier beyond Tier 1 to acknowledge units that can go above and beyond and are able to deal with Severance. The team is still in the midst of discussions and will be open to community feedback as well.

Arcane Power Level Adjustments

  • Kris (M): Unknown Hero, 3
  • Kris (F): Unsung Hero, 3
  • Ayra: Astra's Wielder, 3
  • Brave Celica: Warrior Priestess, 3 
  • Valentian Catria: Mild Middle Sister, 4
  • New Year Gunnthrá: Year's First Dream, 4
  • Young Caeda: Princess of Talys, 3
  • Soleil: Adorable Adorer, 3
  • Shez (F): Keen Mercenary, 3
  • Dieck: Wounded Tiger, 3
  • Tibarn: Lord of the Air, 3
  • Tibarn: Shipless Pirate, 3

The power level of Arcane weapons is significantly higher than some of the older weapons introduced in the game. We are adjusting some of the units with weapons that are either the same or weaker power level than Arcane weapons. We will also pay close attention to community feedback for other units that we might have left out in this assessment.

Null Follow-Up

  • Byleth (M): Tested Professor, 3
  • Byleth (F): Proven Professor, 3
  • Mareeta: Sword of Stars, 3
  • Ryoma: Peerless Samurai, 3
  • Legendary Ryoma: Supreme Samurai, 3
  • Malice: Deft Sellsword, 3
  • Laegjarn: Sheathed Steel, 3
  • Spring Fir: Student of Spring, 3

There is increased accessibility to Null Follow-Up effects over the past few months, such as status effects with Inf. Null Follow, Inf. Spd Tactic, and the Null Follow-Up seal. Unlike the effects that precede these skills, these skills can be used by any unit so long as the movement restrictions were met. This means that, in general, having Null Follow-Up on the weapon effect is no longer game-breaking compared to before. As mentioned in the dynamic tier list update, this means that these units will also be removed in January 2023 if there are no further placement changes. 

Arcane Grima

  • Defensive Armored Dragon, 2
  • Defensive Flying Dragon, 3
  • Defensive Cavalry Dragon, 3
  • Defensive Infantry Dragon, 3
  • Speed Armored Dragon, 3
  • Speed Flying Dragon, 3
  • Speed Cavalry Dragon, 3
  • Speed Infantry Dragon, 3
  • Halloween Dheginsea: Harvest Goldoan, 1

Arcane Grima provides many enviable effects for enemy-phase-focused units with guaranteed follow-up and extra healing after combat. The true damage based on 15% of the unit’s attack can be universally applied for all movement types as well. We made adjustments to all dragon units, with defensive armored dragons being the big winners of this weapon as it provides the dragon additional firepower which is extremely useful when used with Hardy Fighter. Halloween Dheginsea stands above the competition of generic dragons with his min-max stat distribution, as such he is slated for Tier 1 despite his generic status.

Arcane Downfall

  • Defensive Axe Infantry, 3
  • Speed Axe Infantry, 3
  • Defensive Axe Armor, 2
  • Speed Axe Armor, 2
  • Defensive Axe Flier, 3
  • Speed Axe Flier, 3
  • Defensive Axe Cavalry, 3
  • Speed Axe Cavalry, 3

As for Arcane Downfall, the main synergy is the ability to loop Godlike Reflexes with relative ease on speedy infantry units due to the unconditional cooldown acceleration on top of the cooldown reduction, with the additional healing being rather useful as well due to their relative focus in the enemy phase. As per usual, armored units continue to reign supreme as the on-hit healing is especially useful to increase their longevity. Otherwise, the general cavalry and fliers can also use this weapon as a generic Galeforce initiation weapon, although it is worth noting that the healing is largely a hindrance for such an endeavor as it is more difficult to recoil into Wings of Mercy for the allies. 

Enemy-Phase Brave Adjustments

  • Laslow: Dancing Duelist, 3
  • Haar: Black Tempest, 3
  • Lex: Young Blade, 3
  • Shez (M): Rising Mercenary, 2
  • Reinhardt: Thunder's Sword, 3
  • Laevatein: Ninja of Múspell, 3
  • Finn: Lance of Legend, 3
  • Leif: Unifier of Thracia, 3
  • Arden: Strong and Tough, 3
  • Altina: Dawn’s Trueblade, 3
  • Winter Altina: Cross-Time Duo, 2
  • Young Caeda: Princess of Talys, 3

The introduction of Wyvern Katana and Wyvern Yumi is an interesting proposition for many generic units, as having the ability to attack twice is a huge boon as per discussed in many of the tier list analyses. Naturally, this means that similar to Null Follow-Up, units that do not have any additional niche outside of being able to attack twice are likely to struggle to compete with a modern generic unit with the new Ninja inheritable. 

Within the personal weapon group, there are still some relative standout units. Shez (M) continues having his high-speed niche, although his niche is no longer as appealing compared to before. On the opposite end, Winter Altina has a min-maxed stat distribution that does provide her with an additional level of protection if it is required as well. As such, Shez and Altina are slated for Tier 2 and the rest are bumped down into Tier 3. This noteworthily includes units that were historically good, such as the likes of Laslow and Arden.

Other Adjustments

  • Defensive Blue Infantry Tome, 4
  • Defensive Green Infantry Tome, 4

The increased power level of nukes makes generic infantry tomes in general a difficult proposition.

  • Sumia: Maid of Flowers, 3

Retroactive adjustments when reviewing Cynthia, as reliance on Heavy Blade is a difficult proposition in the modern era. 

  • Seiros: Saint of Legend, 3
  • Otr: Kingsbrother, 3

Retroactive adjustments when reviewing Arval, as these Anima Mythics are significantly weaker compared to the new kid in town.

  • Gatekeeper: Nothing to Report, 1 (Dark)
  • Astrid: Resolute Damsel, 1

Embla means that people are gravitating away from using in-combat buffs in favor of bonus effects. Astrid is one of the few units that can provide combat bonuses alongside recent skill developments such as Inf. Spd Tactic means that Astrid is likely to perform much better in the Light season. As for Gatekeeper, another implication of Embla is the increased popularity of Galeforce clears, most noteworthily with Summer Edelgard. Gatekeeper with Detailed Report can be considered a relatively hard counter to Summer Edelgard due to the denial of Assault Troop.

  • Legendary Caeda: Beloved Queen, 3
  • Brave Marth: Prince of Light, 3

A supposedly cavalry-buster that could not kill the most prominent cavalry melee nuke (Brave Seliph) is problematic. Brave Marth also faces a similar problem as well. 

  • Summer Lyn: Lady of the Beach, 1 (Dark)
  • Pirate Hinoka: Fair Pirate Pair, 2 (Anima/Dark)
  • Winter Lysithea: Gifted Students, 2 (Anima/Dark)

Re-adjustments for some of the Aether Raids Defense units due to the increased power level of nukes compared to before. Summer Lyn’s melee sweep effect is also re-assessed higher due to the general lack of ranged tanks in the current offensive meta.

New Units and Refines

  • Arval: Cycle Keeper, 1 (Anima)
  • Yune: Chaos Goddess, 1 (Dark)

We start off with Arval and the remixed Yune, which both are definitely significant in the defensive landscape. Arval essentially revitalized Bridal Catria in the defensive meta as it can potentially open up a stat check race against Elimine, and Arval’s generally high resistance meant that they can actually stand a chance against Elimine’s False Start effect. Yune’s remixed Chaos Named is a phenomenal debuff skill that is difficult to dodge due to the two-space debuff effect similar to the likes of remixed Gunnthra and Hrid, and Chaos Manifest refine not only provides Yune protection from the first hit, it also grants Yune an obscene level of firepower which is difficult to avoid as it is based on the debuffs within two spaces of foes rather than the foe themselves. 

  • Embla: God of Closure, S (Dark)

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the release of Embla is a new age for Light season as players could no longer fully leverage Savior as a strategy on Light season at least until there are means to get around Severance. That of itself is more than sufficient to place Embla extremely highly, however, apparently, that was not enough for her as she is also a very good combat unit herself that can potentially catch people off guard until some circumstances. Needless to say, she joins the other units in the reinstated star tier.

  • Seiðr: Goddess of Hope, S

Being able to shut off the opponent’s turn is almost game-breaking, even if it is only for every alternate turn. There are, in general, two main applications; she is potentially a part of Galeforce clears where she could end some of the opponent's turns to reduce the number of kills required to pull it off, and she can stall the enemy units to accrue Aether structures. Other than that, she can also potentially shut off problematic nukes, however, that can be somewhat avoided more easily if the defenses do take Seidr into consideration. Nevertheless, the team also believes that she is deserving of the star tier.

  • Legendary Shez (F): Sharpest Blades, S (Dark)
  • Legendary Veronica: Princess Rising, S (Anima/Dark)

As for the new Legendaries, Shez is particularly devastating in the Dark season due to the possibility of Shez charging up a powerful special such as Lethality with the help of her allies. However, this is largely limited only to Dark due to the presence of Elimine. Veronica however has no such issues as she is in no way reliant on any start of turn effects. Her movement range alongside the ability to negate counterattacks makes her an absolute menace on the defensive side. She is also one of the more consistent ways of dealing with savior armors on Anima season due to the ability to negate counterattacks so long as the foe has 2 allies around (which is almost always the case for them). This meant that Veronica is likely going to be excellent in both defensive seasons 

  • Ascended Eir: Life Ascendant, 1 (Anima/Dark)
  • Rearmed Robin (F): Fell Tactician, 1
  • Legendary Eliwood: Blazing Knight, 1

Ascended Eir not only has some level of protection in the player phase, but her firepower is also very impressed with the true damage based on the ally with the 2nd lowest HP. The protection meant that she is very likely to get 2 hits off, with the small caveat that she is likely taken out if the foe survives the 2 hits as there is no protection from guaranteed follow-up attacks. Legendary Eliwood is now a great support unit that provides a boatload of support to a specifically with the highest attack, and he now grants the buffs on himself as well which does increase his general potency in combat. The introduction of Embla also means that bonuses are largely favored, making Legendary Eliwood even more relevant than before. Lastly, Rearmed Robin is essentially sidegrade Brave Hector and Ascended Idunn, with the focus being on having much higher speed as opposed to the other two. 

  • Gregor: Swell Sword, 2
  • Halloween Hector: Dressed-Up Duo, 2
  • Fallen Corrin: Wailing Soul, 2
  • Petra: Princess of Brigid, 2 (Anima/Dark)

Gregor has a very synergistic weapon by inflicting debuffs on the foe and having the Vulture weapon effect for all stats, which does make him a relatively decent choice as a melee specialist. There are some concerns against Brave Seliph due to him having Atk/Spd Clash by default which neutralizes the penalties on Atk and Spd, which could be troublesome for Gregor, but for now, he is slated for Tier 2. Halloween Hector’s weapon is not much better compared to the Arcane counterpart, and Fallen Corrin’s effect is difficult to justify as the payoff for not relying on support with her weapon is largely not worth the hassle. Petra does open up the use of more consistent Lethality with her weapon, and her beast effectiveness can definitely be used as coverage for units such as Caineghis and Askr, however, it is still lacking due to the general lack of protection. 

  • Python: Apathetic Archer, 3
  • Cynthia: Hero Chaser, 3

Python’s weapon is not significantly better compared to Whitecap Bow in terms of providing the firepower, hence he stays in Tier 3. While Cynthia is significantly better with her refined weapon, her best role is likely to be a Galeforce unit, which the general lack of cooldown acceleration and reliance on Heavy Blade makes her a difficult proposition for a higher tier. 

  • Ascended Tiki (Young): Awakened Blood, 1

Ascended Tiki follows the trend of Flame Lyn as a premium infantry tank, with the main difference being the ability to use Distant Counter as a seal which does make her significantly more versatile. Ascended Tiki is a giant stat stick that is difficult to take down with the help of Bulwark to allow Tiki to protect her allies well. Tiki is also strong against Area-of-Effect skills, which is brownie points even if such specials are more common in Summoner Duels as opposed to Aether Raids. Nevertheless, it is sufficient for a Tier 1 consideration. 

  • Hardin: The Coyote, 2
  • Caeldori: Perfect Angel, 2
  • Ephraim: Dynastic Duo, 2

Hardin, Caeldori, and Ephraim all experience the same problem. All 3 are pretty much locked into a player-phase role either due to their weapon, their movement type, or both, which can be restricting in the context of Aether Raids as they are largely being pigeonholed into being a Galeforce unit. They can perform this role to a good extent, which is why they are considered for Tier 2, however, it is unfortunate as there are limited ways for a melee unit to contribute in the player phase outside of being a Galeforce unit. Galeforce competition is also extremely stiff when compared to competitors such as the likes of Brave Seliph and Summer Edelgard. 

  • Nah: Little Miss, 1
  • Hubert: Sinister Servant, 2

Released slightly after the release of Embla, both Nah and Hubert are largely unaffected by Severance, as Nah provides bonuses while Hubert inflicts debuffs. Nah is likely more flexible in terms of applications alongside the use of other support skills such as Inf. Null Follow, while Hubert is likely more niche with one of the prominent use cases being pairing up with Summer Edelgard for the Exposure damage (immersion?). 

  • Winter Marth: Royal Altean Duo, 1
  • Winter Black Knight: The Night's Blade, 1

Winter Marth provides a different dimension and an alternate win condition as a Save armor, which can be effective so long as he is well supported. The presence of Embla does somewhat marred his efficacy on Light season, but it is similar relative to the other armors. He slots right into Tier 1 alongside the other armors. The same could be said for Black Knight; he is an excellent Near Save unit due to the lack of prominence of damage reduction piercing in melee range alongside his fast speed to tackle against the likes of Legendary Nanna and Brave Seliph, however, Embla also makes this proposition less palatable compared to before. 

  • Winter Cordelia: Unyielding Snow, S

Winter Cordelia is a sidegrade of Bridal Catria by decreasing the condition to only 1 ally, in exchange for some flexibility as it requires the ally to be adjacent. While the use case of Cordelia is obvious on defense, it is largely possible that Winter Cordelia is a phenomenal unit to be used on the offensive side of the game as well. This is because any unit that warps in using Wings of Mercy will by default be meeting the adjacency condition, which meant that Dual Strikes is going to activate. Similar to Bridal Catria, we will slate Cordelia in the star tier, but whether she will be considered for defense or offense might be readjusted in the future. 

  • Kronya: Gleaming Blade, 3
  • Hans: Ambitious Brute, 3
  • Winter Dorothea: Yuletide Dancer, 2

We will now touch on the remaining units for December. Kronya’s boosts are too little too late as Kronya’s first combat continues to be relatively weak, which means that she is unable to tackle against the likes of Far Save on defense, which is rather problematic. Hans while has an interesting niche in terms of dealing damage based on the damage reduced, can be a difficult proposition against the likes of first-hit damage reduction and Miracle effects. Lastly, Winter Dorothea is a cavalry dancer that performs to the level of Masquerade Sigurd and below Hatari Azura.

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About the Author(s)

Maskilraid is a writer specialising in Fire Emblem Heroes. He situates in the tiny island of Singapore, and is a fanatic in crafting Aether Raids Defence teams. He also has academic background in Statistics, providing statistical analysis of the pull rates in Fire Emblem Heroes.

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