Asbel

Weapon: Grafcalibur 

Assist: Assistless / Rally Assist 

Special: Luna / Ruptured Sky

Passive A: Atk/Spd Boosting A Slot / Steady Impact 

Passive B: Spd/Def Tempo / Null Follow-Up

Passive C: Time’s Pulse / Joint Drive Atk

Sacred Seal: Blade Session / Atk/Spd Form 

• Bridal Catria is a staple of Dark Defense Keeps thanks to Wedding-Bell Axe, which grants both an Orders effect (allows unit to warp to spaces adjacent to allies within two spaces) and 【Triangle Attack】(grants unit a Brave effect if they initiate combat within two spaces of ≥ two allies with【Triangle Attack】). Because Bridal Catria emphasizes positional togetherness, ranged Infantry nukes tend to work best with her, which is a category that Asbel happens to fall into!
• Grafcalibur’s -1 Special cooldown allows for customization for Asbel’s Special, B, and C slots:
  • Asbel’s Special cooldown should be left at 0 or 1 cooldown. If using a 3-cooldown Special such as Luna, Time’s Pulse in Asbel’s C slot is key.
  • While Time’s Pulse allows Asbel to instantly ready his Special, it may be blocked by Hardy Fighter Far Save Armors. On the other hand, if Asbel’s Special is at 1 cooldown, he cannot activate his Special at all against enemies with Guard effects. As such, leaving Asbel at 1 cooldown and using a Tempo skill (or Tempo effects from allies such as Legendary Female Byleth) could be ideal; while the Def reduction from Spd/Def Tempo (the only Tempo skill at the time of writing) is wasted, this is the only way for Asbel to get through both Hardy Fighter and Guard effects at the same time.
  • If using a 2-cooldown Special, Asbel can switch Time’s Pulse for Joint Drive Atk, which grants +4 Atk to Asbel and allies within two spaces during combat. Additionally, if using Legendary Female Byleth for the Tempo effect (or not using Tempo at all), Null Follow-Up is a strong alternative, potentially allowing Asbel to quadruple while also preventing guaranteed follow-ups.
• Atk/Spd Boosting A Slots increase Asbel’s damage output, quadruple potential, and counterplay against Spd-based damage reduction, making them ideal options. Steady Impact is a niche, but strong counterpick against Brave Hector in case Asbel fails to 2HKO, as it universally prevents his guaranteed follow-up while also ensuring survival against Bonfire + Special Fighter variants and maintaining high Spd for the aforementioned reasons.
• Blade Session grants +3, +6, or +9 Atk/Spd on initiation if zero, one, or ≥ two allies respectively have already moved, making it Asbel’s strongest Sacred Seal for maximizing offenses. Given that seventh slot units immediately end turn and Rallies and/or refreshes usually occur before initiation, Asbel can easily gain +9 Atk/Spd. If Blade Session is already equipped on an ally, however, he can use Atk/Spd Form instead, which grants +1, +3, +5, or +7 Atk/Spd if zero, one, two, or ≥ three allies are within two spaces. This synergizes well with Bridal Catria’s【Triangle Attack】effect.

Weapon: Grafcalibur 

Assist: Positional Assist 

Special: Blazing AoE Special

Passive A: Life and Death (3 or 4) / Fury 4 

Passive B: Special Spiral

Passive C: Time’s Pulse / Res Smoke 

Sacred Seal: Life and Death / Fury 

• Grafcalibur’s -1 Special cooldown makes AoE Special spam a great set choice for Asbel. When Asbel activates an AoE Special before combat, the Special’s cooldown becomes 3; after he attacks during the following combat, it drops to 2. Special Spiral, Asbel’s B slot of choice for this set, decreases his Special cooldown by 2 after any combat he activates his Special before/during, dropping it to 0 and allowing him to activate it again for next initiation.
• Blazing AoE Special damage is calculated by multiplying the gap between Asbel’s visible Atk and the enemy’s visible Res by 1.5. As such, maximizing this gap to deal as much AoE damage as possible is ideal, making Life and Death Asbel’s best A and S slots.
  • Fury 4 in Asbel’s A slot + Fury 3 in his S slot increases his visible Atk by a total of 7 while also dealing 14 recoil damage after every combat. As long as Asbel’s max HP is ≤ 56, he will fall to ≤ 50% HP, allowing allies with Wings of Mercy to warp to spaces adjacent to him for subsequent attacks, refreshes, hit-and-run maneuvers, and more.
• Time’s Pulse helps Asbel ready his first AoE Special to snowball as soon as possible, though Res Smoke is a strong alternative due to its -7 Res infliction on enemies within two spaces after combat.

Weapon: Grafcalibur 

Assist: No Assist / Positional Assist 

Special: Ruptured Sky / Luna 

Passive A: Sturdy Impact 

Passive B: Null Follow-Up / Lull Spd/Res

Passive C: Time’s Pulse / Distant Guard

Sacred Seal: Swift Sparrow / Hardy Bearing 

• With Grafcalibur granting -1 Special cooldown, the combination of it and Time’s Pulse allows Asbel to always have a 2-cooldown Special ready once his phase begins, even if he gets hit by Pulse Smoke beforehand. As such, Specials like Ruptured Sky, Moonbow, and Glimmer work wonders. Alternatively, with Infantry Pulse support, Asbel can opt for more powerful Specials with longer cooldowns like Luna and Dragon Fang, although he risks getting Pulse Smoked.
• Sturdy Impact and Null Follow-Up ensure as much as possible that Asbel will perform a follow-up attack and the enemy will be unable to do the same. The -3 Spd/Res debuff during combat that Lull Spd/Res inflicts still makes it a decent alternative despite Grafcalibur’s nullification of visible buffs. 
• With Grafcalibur, Sturdy Impact, and Swift Sparrow, Asbel gains +15 Attack, +9 Speed, +15 Defense, and +5 Resistance when he initiates or is within 2 spaces of an ally, making him potentially annoying to KO while dealing fantastic damage and preventing most follow-up attacks. Hardy Bearing is a strong alternative for ignoring Vantage, which many units use in Aether Raids Offense to sweep Enemy teams by OHKOing on their counterattack before enemies can attack them.
• Whether or not Asbel uses an Assist depends on whether players would like for him to get refreshed. Without an Assist, Asbel moves before refreshers, allowing him to get refreshed by them. Given that he is incredibly powerful when he initiates, this is a more than viable option.

Weapon: Grafcalibur / Snow Globe+ (+Res) / Gronnvulture+ (+Res) / Plegian Torch+ (+Res)

Assist: Positional Assist 

Special: Noontime / Iceberg 

Passive A: Close Countering A Slot / Atk/Res Unity 

Passive B: Null Follow-Up / Null C-Disrupt

Passive C: Spd Smoke 4

Sacred Seal: Solo Skills 

• While Asbel’s natural bulks are unimpressive, his weapon choices allow him to Enemy Phase remarkably well nonetheless. While Grafcalibur grants -1 Special cooldown, +5 to all, and enemy buff neutralization during combat, Snow Globe’s enemy debuff doubler effect can provide massive Atk/Res swings in Asbel’s favor should said debuffs be active and not be neutralized; as such, both weapons are viable, and which one is chosen depends on player preference and team comps.
• Spd Smoke 4 is universally Enemy Phase Asbel’s best C slot, granting Spd-based damage reduction after his first combat. Given Asbel’s high Spd, he should be able to get the full 40% damage reduction against most enemies.
• Solo S slots grant +6 to two stats during combat if Asbel is not adjacent to an ally, making them strong stat boosters that can swing certain matchups in Asbel’s favor (especially as the number of combats he participates in increases). Note that both Grafcalibur and Snow Globe require Asbel to be within two spaces of an ally, though alternatives similar to Snow Globe such as Gronnvulture and Plegian Torch simply require Asbel to not be adjacent to an ally.
• Both Null Follow-Up and Null C-Disrupt are great B slot options, with the former neutralizing effects that guarantee the enemy’s follow-up and block Asbel’s follow-up and the latter neutralizing effects that prevent Asbel’s counterattacks.
• Generalist / Melee Specialist:
  • Close Countering A Slots are necessary to counterattack against melee enemies. Regular Close Counter suffices, but other choices include Close Reversal (Close Counter, but also +5 Def during combat) and Close Foil (Close Counter, but +5 Atk/Def during combat and no counterattacks against Dragons).
• Ranged Specialist:
  • Atk/Res Unity reverses visible Atk/Res penalties during combat; in combination with Snow Globe, Gronnvulture, or Plegian Torch (which all have this same Atk/Res penalty reversal), Asbel can gain ludicrous in-combat Atk/Res. Atk/Spd Unity is a good alternative to ensure Asbel can perform follow-ups and maximize damage reduction.