GamePress
Analysis by Chibi_Chu
Morgan (M) - Lad from Afar

3-4

Obtainable as a 3 - 4 only

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
150
HP 37
ATK 33
SPD 34
DEF 20
RES 26

Stat Variations

Level 1 Stat Variation
5★
4★
3★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 17 6 7 4 6
Middle 18 7 8 5 7
High 19 8 9 6 8

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
4★
3★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 34 30 31 17 23
Middle 37 33 34 20 26
High 41 36 37 23 30

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

Skill Sets

Fell Flambeau Moment (Superunit)

Build by Chibi_Chu
Recommended
Grima's Truth (+Eff) A Close Foil
Alternate: Close Counter
Positional Assist B Null Follow-Up 3
Alternate: Special Spiral 3
Noontime
Alternate: Sol
C Pulse Smoke 3
IVs

+ATK or +SPD / -DEF or -RES

SSpd/Res Solo 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Grima’s Truth (+Eff) 

Assist: Positional Assist 

Special: Noontime / Sol 

Passive A: Close Foil / Close Counter 

Passive B: Null Follow-Up / Special Spiral 

Passive C: Pulse Smoke 

Sacred Seal: Spd/Res Solo 

  • The newly-refined Grima’s Truth turns Morgan from a mediocre superunit to a potentially fantastic one. During combat, Grima’s Truth inflicts a debuff to the enemy’s stats equal to 4 + their current visible debuff; for example, if an enemy has a -4 Attack debuff and a -5 Speed debuff, they will be inflicted with additional debuffs of -8 Attack and -9 Speed during combat. While this set requires support for visible Atk/Spd/Res debuffs (ideally through the combination of Temari and Sabotage Res via Masquerade Lachesis or Tethys), the investment can be well worth it, as Morgan will have excellent offensive and defensive capabilities.
  • Since Morgan has no healing, Noontime and Sol are valuable for granting sustainability. 
    • Sol + Special Spiral- When Morgan activates Sol during combat, its cooldown will be decreased by 2 after combat. Assuming the attack Morgan activated Sol with was the final attack, its cooldown will then be 1. After receiving another enemy attack, Morgan will be ready to activate it again, likely against a full-HP enemy to make the most of Sol’s effect of healing 50% of the damage Morgan deals.
    • If not using Special Spiral, then Noontime is usually better because of its lower cooldown meaning more frequent healing. This is especially the case with New Year Velouria, whose Renewed Fang grants +1 Special charge per attack to her support partner if they are within 2 spaces of one another; when Morgan receives an attack, Noontime’s cooldown will decrease by 2 instead of 1 (assuming no Guard effect is active), allowing him to immediately activate it on his counterattack.
  • Morgan’s A slot should be dedicated to Close Foil or Close Counter; the former grants an additional +5 Atk/Def when the enemy initiates combat, but prevents him from counterattacking against Dragons. Given that Dragons are not particularly common and/or can be dealt with easily (such as Mythic Heroes Sothis and Duma), Close Foil is typically a slightly stronger choice. Being able to counterattack against melee units is vital because Morgan relies on activating his Special to receive healing, and tanking a barrage of enemy attacks is not particularly valuable if the unit sometimes fails to deal damage in return.
  • Effects that prevent Morgan’s follow-up attacks or guarantee the enemy’s follow-up attacks can significantly hamper his combat capabilities and chances of survival, so using Null Follow-Up to prevent that is a great choice. Again, Special Spiral also works well if using Sol. Likewise, units with their Specials ready can rip through Morgan’s defenses; as such, Pulse Smoke is a valuable C slot, as it inflicts +1 Special cooldown to the target and enemies within 2 spaces after combat. This stifles Defense Keeps that are reliant on nuking enemies with units that have strong Specials ready on turn 1.
  • Speed and Resistance are critical stats for Aether Raids Offense because Defense Keeps commonly have units that can stack their Speed to absurd lengths, and many strong nukes are Mages (such as Lysithea and Young Merric). This makes Spd/Res Solo an excellent choice, granting +6 Spd/Res to Morgan during combat if he is not adjacent to an ally; given the dangers of putting a support unit adjacent to a superunit because of the presence of many 2-ranged threats (such as the aforementioned Mages), it would be unlikely for Morgan to be adjacent to any ally anyways.

Supportive Son and Strategist (Max-Investment Arena Support)

Build by Chibi_Chu
Recommended
Grima's Truth A R Duel Infantry 4
Alternate: R Duel Infantry 3
Rally Atk/Spd+
Alternate: Rally Up Atk+
B Windsweep 3
Alternate: Watersweep 3
Ruptured Sky
Alternate: Blue Flame
C Pulse Smoke 3
Alternate: Joint Drive Spd
IVs

+SPD

SSwift Sparrow 2
Alternate: Phantom Spd 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Grima’s Truth (no refine)

Assist: Rally Atk/Spd+ / Any other Dual Rally+ or Rally Up+

Special: Ruptured Sky / Blue Flame / Aether

Passive A: R Duel Infantry 4 / R Duel Infantry 3

Passive B: Windsweep / Watersweep / Def/Res Ruse / Null Follow-Up

Passive C: Pulse Smoke / Joint Drive Spd / Flexible

Sacred Seal: Swift Sparrow / Phantom Spd

  • The score a unit has in Arena is based on a variety of factors: base stat total (BST), merges, SP, and certain skills. This set seeks to maximize Morgan’s Arena score while still being a strong supportive set; because refining personal weapons does not increase their SP cost, an unrefined Grima’s Truth is a legitimate and arguably the best option for this set.
    • After he attacks during combat, Morgan will grant +5 Atk/Spd to himself and allies within 2 spaces, but more importantly, he will inflict -5 Atk/Spd to the target and enemies within 2 spaces.
    • Because this is very unsafe given the ubiquity of units that can counterattack from 2 range, Windsweep and Watersweep are recommended. These B slots prevent the enemy from counterattacking on the condition that Morgan’s in-combat Speed is higher than their in-combat Speed. Morgan also cannot perform a follow-up attack; given that this is a support set, however, he can afford to never have it. Windsweep prevents physical enemies from counterattacking, while Watersweep prevents magical enemies from counterattacking.
  • Morgan’s Assist should be any Assist that costs 400 SP: those would be Dual Rally+ and Rally Up+ Assists. Ruptured Sky, Aether, and Blue Flame are all equally valuable in terms of scoring, as they cost 500 SP. If using Windsweep or Watersweep, Morgan will never perform a follow-up attack, so Ruptured Sky’s 2 cooldown is most valuable, then Blue Flame’s 3 cooldown, then Aether’s 5 cooldown.
  • R Duel Infantry is key for scoring high in Arena, as it treats Morgan’s BST as higher than it actually is (and is worth 300 SP). 
  • If not using Windsweep or Watersweep, then Def/Res Ruse works well, allowing Morgan to inflict -5 to all stats and Guard if Def/Res Ruse is activated and Morgan inflicts his Grima’s Truth debuffs. Null Follow-Up is a more combative choice, granting greater combat consistency by neutralizing effects that guarantee the enemy’s follow-up attacks or prevent Morgan’s follow-up attacks.
  • There are 2 options for Morgan’s C slot:
    • If using a 240 SP C slot such as Pulse Smoke (valuable because Specials can be charged very quickly with Armor skills such as Bold Fighter and Special Fighter), Morgan will need a 240 SP Sacred Seal to reach a higher Arena score. For every 100 SP Morgan’s skills cost, his score will also increase, and he needs a 240 SP Sacred Seal to reach the next threshold. Swift Sparrow and Atk/Spd Solo are strong options that increase his damage output and likelihood of activating Windsweep/Watersweep or performing a follow-up attack; Swift Sparrow is generally preferred, however, as Arena maps can quickly become cramped and leave Morgan with no space to attack from that is not adjacent to an ally.
    • If using a 300 SP C slot such as Joint Drive Spd, Morgan will only need a 200 SP Sacred Seal to reach a higher Arena score. Phantom Spd is a great choice, increasing Morgan’s Speed by 10 when comparing his to the enemy’s to check for Windsweep/Watersweep. Otherwise, any Sacred Seal that increases his damage output and follow-up consistency would be appreciated, along with supportive skills to further help his allies.

Aggressive Amnesiac (General Offense)

Build by Chibi_Chu
Grima's Truth (+Eff)
Alternate: Rauðrblade+
A Atk/Spd Push 4
Alternate: Fury (3 or 4)
Positional Assist B Desperation 3
Moonbow
Alternate: Glimmer
C Joint Drive Spd
Alternate: Time's Pulse 3
IVs

+ATK or +SPD / -DEF or -RES

SHeavy Blade 3 / Flashing Blade 3
Alternate: Atk/Spd Solo 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Grima’s Truth (+Eff) / Rauðrblade+

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Moonbow / Glimmer 

Passive A: Atk/Spd Push 4 / Fury (3 or 4)

Passive B: Desperation 

Passive C: Joint Drive Spd / Time’s Pulse / Spd Smoke / Flexible 

Sacred Seal: Flashing Blade / Heavy Blade / Atk/Spd Solo / Swift Sparrow 

  • Grima’s Truth grants Morgan +5 to all stats and inflicts the nearest enemy within 4 spaces with -5 to all stats. The self-buff allows Morgan to be a self-sufficient offensive unit that can consistently deal high damage and perform follow-up attacks. Alternatively, Morgan can use Rauðrblade for its high nuke potential, as it grants Morgan an Attack bonus during combat equal to the sum of his visible buffs; however, given the growing ubiquity of skills that neutralize or reverse visible buffs, Blade tomes are becoming less and less reliable, especially considering they require support from allies via visible buffs and increase the unit’s Special cooldown by 1.
  • A 2-cooldown Special is the best option for Morgan if using Time’s Pulse or Flashing/Heavy Blade. If Morgan initiates combat in Desperation range (≤ 75% HP), he can perform a follow-up attack, and no Guard effect is active, he can activate his 2-cooldown Special on his follow-up attack. Moonbow is stronger if using Grima’s Truth to cut through high-Resistance enemies, while Glimmer is much stronger if using Rauðrblade because the bonus damage granted by Glimmer scales with the bonus Attack granted by Rauðrblade.
  • Atk/Spd Push 4 grants Morgan +7 Atk/Spd if his HP is ≥ 25% at the sacrifice of 5 recoil damage after combat; since Desperation requires his HP to be ≤ 75%, Morgan can use this recoil damage to his advantage. Alternatively, Fury 3/4 grants +3/4 to all stats in exchange for 6/8 recoil damage after combat and is not HP-gated, making it more comfortable to work with and granting Morgan some extra Def/Res just in case. 
  • If using Time’s Pulse in Morgan’s C slot, Sacred Seals that increase Morgan’s offenses such as Atk/Spd Solo and Swift Sparrow work wonders. If using Flahsing/Heavy Blade in Morgan’s S slot, Joint Drive Spd grants +4 Speed to Morgan if he is within 2 spaces of an ally and grants +4 Speed to all allies within 2 spaces, making it a great hybrid between personal and supportive in-combat buffs. Spd Smoke’s -7 Speed infliction to enemies within 2 spaces after combat makes it another good choice, allowing for greater Speed control.

Strengths

Workable base offenses

While 33/34 offenses were never spectacular, they are solid enough to work with, especially considering Grima's Truth and support from allies. 

Grima’s Truth

After browsing the Askran library, Morgan came across ancient Plegian texts and used the new knowledge to turn his weapon from alright to excellent. Grima’s Truth (+Eff) is a fantastic refine that works similarly to Plegian Katarina’s Fell Flambeau in that it becomes stronger as the enemy suffers from more visible debuffs. More specifically, if Morgan’s HP is ≥ 25%, he inflicts penalties to the enemy during combat equal to 4 + the enemy’s visible debuff to the respective stat. For example, if the enemy has visible debuffs of -4 Attack, -5 Speed, -6 Defense, and -7 Resistance, then Morgan will inflict -8 Attack, -9 Speed, -10 Defense, and -11 Resistance during combat.

Morgan’s offensive and defensive potencies are only locked behind visible debuffs (which his allies can usually inflict for him) and his HP being ≥ 25%, which is one of the easiest conditions in the game.

Infantry advantages

As always, it is worth mentioning that Morgan is an Infantry unit, especially considering that in this case, Morgan’s Infantry status is primarily what makes him stronger than Plegian Katarina. He has access to excellent skills such as Null Follow-Up, Null C-Disrupt, Special Spiral, and Flashing Blade, all of which significantly enhance his combat potential and consistency. He also rarely needs to concern himself with effective damage, with only Guinivere’s Aureola being a legitimate and common threat.

Low competition

Infantry Red Mage tanks are few and far between, and none of them have the balance of overwhelming offensive capabilities and excellent defensive capabilities that Morgan can potentially have through the combination of support from allies and Grima’s Truth.

Weaknesses

Shaky base bulk

Morgan suffers from being a Gen 2 unit, as his 37 HP, 20 Defense, and 26 Resistance sum to 56 physical bulk and 62 magical bulk. Both are low enough to endanger Morgan of being OHKO’d by both physical and magical enemies, but thankfully, Grima’s Truth and support from allies (particularly visible Atk/Spd debuffs for enemies and in-combat buffs for Morgan) do wonders for patching Morgan’s unimpressive base bulks.

Arguably worse base effect when refined; requires support

Unrefined Grima’s Truth’s base effect reads: “After combat, if unit attacked, inflicts Atk/Spd-5 on target and foes within 2 spaces of target through their next actions, and grants Atk/Spd+5 to unit and allies within 2 spaces for 1 turn.”

Refined Grima’s Truth’s base effect reads: “At start of turn, inflicts Atk/Spd/Res-5 on nearest foes within 4 spaces through their next action and grants Atk/Spd/Res+5 to unit for 1 turn.”

Ironically, the unrefined effect synergizes better with Grima’s Truth (+Eff) than the refined effect for a superunit or Enemy Phase build. Because Grima’s Truth’s base effect got changed from Atk Smoke + Spd Smoke to what it currently is, Morgan requires support from his allies through visible Atk/Spd debuffs to make the most of his refine; regardless, both effects would require visible Res debuff support from allies or Res Smoke to increase his damage output from his refine. Thankfully, units such as Tethys and Masquerade Lachesis are outstanding at this--thanks to their high Resistance, they can use Temari to inflict Atk/Spd debuffs and Sabotage Res to inflict Resistance debuffs while also having Dance to grant another action to one of their allies.

Weapon Skills

Weapons SP Rng. Mt.
Flux
Red Tome Users Only
50 2 4
Ruin
Red Tome Users Only
100 2 6
Fenrir
Learns by default at 4 ★
Red Tome Users Only
200 2 9
Grima's Truth

Grants Def+3. After combat, if unit attacked, inflicts Atk/Spd-5 on target and foes within 2 spaces of target through their next actions, and grants Atk/Spd+5 to unit and allies within 2 spaces for 1 turn.

Learns by default at 5 ★
Unlocks at 5 ★
Non-Inheritable skill.
400 2 14
Weapon Evolution
Weapon Upgrades
Weapon Upgrades

Special Skills

Special Skills SP Turns
Dragon Gaze

Boosts damage by 30% of unit's Atk.

Learns by default at 4 ★
Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
100 4
Dragon Fang

Boosts damage by 50% of unit's Atk.

Unlocks at 4 ★
Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
200 4

Passive Skills

Passive Skills SP Slot
Dull Ranged 1

If unit's HP = 100% at start of combat and foe uses bow, dagger, magic, or staff, neutralizes foe's bonuses (from skills like Fortify, Rally, etc.) during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
60
B
Dull Ranged 2

If unit's HP ≥ 50% at start of combat and foe uses bow, dagger, magic, or staff, neutralizes foe's bonuses (from skills like Fortify, Rally, etc.) during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
120
B
Dull Ranged 3

If foe uses bow, dagger, magic, or staff, neutralizes foe's bonuses (from skills like Fortify, Rally, etc.) during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
240
B
Spur Res 1

Grants Res+2 to adjacent allies during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
50
C
Spur Def/Res 1

Grants Def/Res +2 to adjacent allies during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
120
C
Spur Def/Res 2

Grants Def/Res +3 to adjacent allies during combat.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
240
C

Other Info

Origin
Fire Emblem: Awakening

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