Fallen Ashnard

Weapon: Gurgurant

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Noontime / Moonbow / Sol

Passive A: Sturdy Stance / Close Def / Atk/Def Solo

Passive B: Guard Bearing / Quick Riposte

Passive C: Atk/Def Rein

Seal: Quick Riposte / Close Def

• This is Ashnard's best AR build, meant to utilized with a Far Save support. This enables Ashnard to easily deal with most melee opponents as well as support his ally with a -9/-9 debuff to his opponent's Attack and Defense, regardless of who takes the hit. This debuff is best utilized in conjunction with a bow or dagger Far Save user, such as Winter Felix or Plegian Raphael.
• With Guard Bearing, Ashnard further mitigates the damage he takes, making him very effective against AR defense teams with only one or two melee threats.
• Quick Riposte is a necessity, particularly if you want Ashnard to secure KOs.
• Your choice of Noontime or Moonbow really depends, though neither should matter all that much since they would only work on Ashnard's second hit, and so the healing or additional damage would be minimal if Ashnard does the majority of his damage on the first hit.
• It's possible to give him a 3 cd Special such as Luna or Sol in the assumption that his foe will double him, but there's no way to ensure that his foe will actually outspeed him, particularly with a merged Ashnard and the fact that many melee foes in AR tend to be rather slow.

Weapon: Gurgurant

Assist: Reposition

Special: Bonfire / Sol

Passive A: Distant Counter / Distant Foil

Passive B: Guard Bearing / Mystic Boost / Quick Riposte

Passive C: Atk/Def Rein / Pulse Smoke / Atk Smoke

Seal: Quick Riposte / Distant Def / Close Def / Atk/Def Bond

• With Gurgurant, Ashnard is free to take a Distant Counter A slot (Distant Counter is generally preferred over Distant Foil, due to his higher Resistance allowing him to endure combat with mages) and retaliate against the archers that he has flying immunity against. This allows him to freely bait and tank in most maps he's deployed on.
• He can then run Quick Riposte in his B or S slots - here, we have recommended running Quick Riposte in his Seal so that we can run Guard Bearing in his B slot.
• He could also run Quick Riposte in his B slot if you'd prefer to run a skill like Distant Def in his Seal slot. Another option is Mystic Boost in his B slot, which will help him to stay in the HP range of Quick Riposte, but it's generally not favored over Guard Bearing.
• For his C slot, Atk/Def Rein is the no-brainer choice, as it stacks with Gurgurant to enable Ashnard to take less damage and do more damage. If you're building him on a budget, he can also run Atk Smoke or Def Smoke if he's being bombarded by multiple foes at once, or even Pulse Smoke if he's going up against teams utilizing Infantry Pulse.
• Guard and Quick Riposte both have a high HP threshold, and if he falls under that threshold, neither skill will work. Therefore, if you plan on using him against multiple opponents or in longer engagements, then Sol is the recommended Special to keep his HP topped up. If you plan on using him in a more 1v1 fashion, Bonfire is his ideal Special, as he will retaliate with it on his second attack.

Weapon: Gurgurant

Assist: Reposition

Special: Moonbow / Glimmer

Passive A: Sturdy Impact 

Passive B: Chill Def / Vantage / Chill Atk

Passive C: Atk/Def Rein / Even Atk Wave

Seal: Death Blow / Heavy Blade

• Ashnard can also be run on Player Phase, thanks to the use of skills like Sturdy Impact, which prevents him from being doubled by his foe if he initiates combat. This can stretch his bulk out further and allow him to survive multiple engagements.
• His B slot is therefore a bit of a freebie. Vantage enables him to retaliate first if he's attacked while weakened in the Enemy Phase, which can sometimes be enough to defeat his opponent before he takes more damage. Vantage also pairs well with Heavy Blade in his seal slot and a 2 CD Special like Moonbow in his Special slot. This means that Ashnard will attack, do heavy damage, charge his Special, and then hit his next attacker with a charged Special before they can attack him. This is also an excellent way to handle opponents that Ashnard cannot defeat in a single hit.
• However, he may not take enough damage to enter Vantage range, particularly if skills like Atk/Def Oath are utilized. This means that running Heavy Blade could be superfluous (if his opponent attacks him without triggering Vantage in the subsequent Enemy Phase, his Special cooldown will be at 0 by the time he retaliates regardless of Heavy Blade use).
• Therefore, a combination of Chill Def and Death Blow is likely the better option against bulkier foes who do less damage to him, while Vantage and Heavy Blade are better options against dragons who will attack his significantly lower Resistance.
• When coupled with Sturdy Impact, the buffs from Atk/Def Rein offers him almost 50 Defense on initiation, and if used with Death Blow in his Seal slot, he initiates with 70 Attack before his Gurgurant and Chill Def debuffs.