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Analysis by raelet
Michalis - Ambitious King

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
157
HP 43
ATK 34
SPD 26
DEF 35
RES 19

Stat Variations

Level 1 Stat Variation
5★
4★
3★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 18 7 6 8 3
Middle 19 8 7 9 4
High 20 9 8 10 5

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
4★
3★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 40 31 23 32 16
Middle 43 34 26 35 19
High 46 37 30 38 22

IV Sets

Key stats worth increasing through nature if possible.
Complementary stats that matter, but not to the point of picking them over key stats for nature increase.
Relatively worthless stat that can safely be decreased through nature.
HPATKSPDDEFRES

This unit requires use of Trait Fruits to get access to IVs

Skill Sets

Mortar Bombing (Frequent high damage specials)

Build by raelet
Recommended
Hauteclere (+Eff) A Steady Stance 3
Reposition B Quick Riposte 3
Alternate: Quick Riposte 2
Bonfire C Threaten Def 3
IVs

+ATK or +DEF / -SPD

SQuickened Pulse

Show Explanation/Analysis
  • Weapon: Hauteclere (+Eff)
  • Support: Reposition / Draw Back / Swap
  • Specials: Bonfire
  • A slot: Steady Stance / Close Defense / Heavy Blade
  • B slot: Quick Riposte / Vantage
  • C slot: Threaten Defense / Threaten Attack / Team Dependent
  • Sacred Seals: Quickened Pulse / Close Defense 

With +10 damage at special activation, Michalis' Hauteclere forge has allowed him to deal faster, more consistent damage in the form of his Specials. Now, instead of waiting for the long Ignis or Aether procs, it's more advantageous in most fights to have Bonfire up and have it up often for a base addition of +27 damage at every proc on a shortened 2 tick cooldown.

When starting out the battle with his Quickened Pulse seal, Michalis is able to bait out any unit for a single blow, and then retaliate with a Bonfire intense enough to wipe most enemy units off the map.  If the opponent somehow survives to attack him again, Michalis retaliates with his base 50 damage and primes Bonfire to be fired off for the next player phase. Utilizing this kind of build, Michalis can kill even meta reds such as Mia, Ryoma, and Ayra on turn one of combat, though the latter two require a small Attack buff to be able to seal the deal.

Steady Stance and Close Defense are rather interchangeable; it mostly depends on what you have and what you'd be willing to sacrifice. Steady Stance will protect him somewhat from archers and dagger users, while Close Def will help mitigate some damage against dragons.

If you'd like to play him more defensively with even harder Specials at the expense of additional cooldown time, you can instead run him with Ignis and a Close Defense seal, which further protects him from enemy attacks and gives him stronger Special procs on the Enemy Phase. However, you'll do less consistent damage this way and you would need to rely on the enemy units doubling you in order to get all four ticks of combat from Quick Riposte.

If you like the idea of an 'all damage all the time' type of build, you can also consider running Heavy Blade to further mitigate Bonfire cooldowns, as Michalis certainly has the attack to sustain it.

His C slot is more up to your team - Michalis is a good member to carry Hone Fliers, as he does not benefit from the Speed boost in the way that other fliers would, though he can also use Goad Fliers to buff his team. If functioning as a standalone unit, Threaten Defense will help him do more damage, while Threaten Attack will help him tank for long periods of time.

The Panzer Tank

Build by raelet
Hauteclere (+Def) A Close Def 3
Reposition B Quick Riposte 3
Alternate: Quick Riposte 2
Ignis C Threaten Def 3
IVs

+DEF / -SPD

SClose Def 3

Show Explanation/Analysis
  • Weapon: Hauteclere (+Def)
  • Support: Reposition / Draw Back / Swap
  • Specials: Ignis / Aether
  • A slot: Close Def / Steady Stance / Fury / Iote's Shield
  • B slot: Quick Riposte / Lancebreaker / Axebreaker
  • C slot: Threaten Def / Team Dependent
  • Sacred Seals: Close Defense / Defense + 3

While the added effect of +10 damage per Special activation seems like a no-brainer, Michalis actually benefits immensely from upgrading his Hauteclere to improve his defenses as well. The +4 increase in Defense brings it up to 39, which also increases his Ignis damage by 3. Ultimately, if you're running Ignis, then the tradeoff is -7 damage every Special proc in exchange for +4 Defense in every round of combat (which saves Michalis 8 HP in each QR exchange). This beefs up his previous standard build into being nigh unkillable, and with this, he closes the distance on Beruka's niche as the flier with the highest defense.

Ignis is the recommended Special for this build due to its incredible damage potential and synergy with QR. However, for longer battles (such as for usage in the Tempest Trials, or if he's used extensively in the Arena), Michalis can work very well with Aether which can heal him back up to continue tanking.  Aether's damage procs off of the enemy's Defense, however, and the damage it does will be almost certainly less potent than Ignis.

This build can also be run on a budget; with Ignis, Fury, Quick Riposte 2, and his native Threaten Def, Michalis can still be incredibly lethal, though you should take care to pair him with a healer as Fury's chip damage can push him under Quick Riposte's HP threshold.

The last skill again depends on team composition. He can run Hone/Goad fliers, but as a standalone unit, he can be just fine with his natural Threaten Def.  As far as the sacred seals go, he wants to increase his defenses by any means necessary, which means that he works best with a Close Defense or Defense +3 seal.

Anti-Ranged

Build by raelet
Hauteclere (+Def) A Distant Counter
Reposition B Quick Riposte 3
Alternate: Quick Riposte 2
Aether C Threaten Def 3
IVs

+DEF / -SPD

SDeflect Missile 3

Show Explanation/Analysis
  • Weapon: Hauteclere (+Def)
  • Support: Reposition / Draw Back / Swap 
  • Specials: Aether / Ignis
  • A slot: Distant Counter
  • B slot: Quick Riposte
  • C slot: Panic Ploy / Goad Fliers / Varies on team
  • Sacred Seals: Deflect Missile / Distant Defense

This set works best with flier team support and can help mitigate the downsides of running a flier team: namely, facing off against archers and Reinhardt.

Although he has a low Resistance stat, with a Fortify Fliers buff, Michalis can survive a +10 QP/MB Reinhardt and kill him on the counterattack; if the Reinhardt is unmerged then Michalis can survive him as-is. Both of these put him at rather low health, so he'll want to top off with an Aether proc or another teammate's healing skill.

The main draw of this set, however, is his ability to counter archers. With his Deflect Missile seal and impressive Defense, Michalis can survive many Brave Bow archers, such as Life and Death Bridal Cordelia or Klein and kill them on the counterattack. This is, unfortunately, going to be stopped by Brave Lyn's default skill which negates DC, but even then, the ability to withstand arrows is vital to manipulating the AI in Arena. 

Distant Defense seal will further Michalis' ability to tank and retaliate from range, but doesn't mitigate Brave Bow damage quite as much. This build relies heavily on Sacred Seals to help him with survival and counterattacks, so be sure to upgrade whichever you choose all the way to the third level for maximum potential.

Introduction

As one of the first and somewhat overlooked GHB units, Michalis boasts surprisingly high HP and Defense, along with a solid Attack at the expense of his Speed and Resistance. He has since been buffed in the 2.0 update with his legendary weapon inheriting a +10 damage on Special trigger in addition to its already-present cooldown mitigation. All of this, coupled with its already-high 16 mt and his impressive strength, makes Michalis a monster when it comes to tanking and dealing damage and he should not be underestimated by any player.

He's generally most favorably viewed as a slow tank with the ability to nuke others with his specials, and not much about that has changed. However, due to his damage increase, he's become much more of a threat both on and against your team.  Offensively, he still leaves a little to be desired due to his low speed, but when his special is charged he's more than capable of killing units in the Player Phase.

Strengths

Forged Legendary Weapon

Michalis has Hauteclere, which has cooldown mitigation in addition to +10 damage on Special procs, vastly increasing his damage potential. Due to the cooldown reduction on his weapon, he can use Quick Riposte to proc strong Defense-oriented specials like Ignis or Bonfire on the Enemy Phase.

High Defenses

43 HP and 35 Defense makes him a fantastic physical tank. This immense physical bulk allows him to take little to no damage from lance users and can easily duel axe users, and even has the ability to duel it out with some sword users as well. If built properly with the utilization of buffs and seals, Michalis can tank archers without Iote's Shield which opens up his A slot to Distant Counter, allowing him to strike back against archers that threaten flier teams.

High Attack

Michalis' base attack with his Hauteclere reaches a natural 50, which is threatening on its own. When taking into account his high Attack stat, this coupled with Hauteclere's forged effect allows him to reach incredibly high damage numbers - +77 damage on a Bonfire proc, for example.

Weaknesses

Low Speed:

Michalis is noticeably slow even in a flier team setting, and lack of access to a Speed boon also aggravates this problem. He relies mostly on Quick Riposte to deal damage and on his bulk to last through confrontation.

Low Resistance

His low Resistance stat makes him quite vulnerable to mages and dragons, particularly red mages, but most meta green mages are a threat to him as well. Some fast or high damaging blue mages like Linde, Lute, or Delthea could also potentially kill him despite their color disadvantage

Weapon Skills

Weapons SP Rng. Mt.
Iron Axe
Inheritable by Axe users only.
50 1 6
Steel Axe
Learns by default at 3 ★
Inheritable by Axe users only.
100 1 8
Silver Axe
Learns by default at 4 ★
Unlocks at 3 ★
Inheritable by Axe users only.
200 1 11
Hauteclere

Accelerates Special trigger (cooldown count-1).

Unlocks at 5 ★
Non-Inheritable skill.
400 1 16
Weapon Evolution
Weapon Upgrades
Weapon Upgrades

Special Skills

Special Skills SP Turns
Rising Thunder

Before combat this unit initiates, foes in an area near target
take damage equal to (unit's Atk minus foe's Def or Res).

Learns by default at 4 ★
Unlocks at 3 ★
Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
150 4
Blazing Thunder

Before combat this unit initiates, foes in an area near target
take damage equal to 1.5 x (unit's ATK minus foe's Def or Res).

Unlocks at 4 ★
Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
300 4

Passive Skills

Passive Skills SP Slot
Iote's Shield

Neutralizes "effective against flying" bonuses.

Only inheritable by flier units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
200
A
Threaten Def 1

At start of turn, inflicts Def-3 on foes within 2 spaces through their next actions.

Inheritable by all units.
50
C
Threaten Def 2

At start of turn, inflicts Def-4 on foes within 2 spaces through their next actions.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 3 ★
100
C
Threaten Def 3

At start of turn, inflicts Def-5 on foes within 2 spaces through their next actions.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
200
C

Other Info

Origin
Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem
Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light

Banners Featured In

None

Official Hero Artwork