Kana (M)

In terms of raw stats, Kana is comparable to Nowi, an openly available unit known to be a popular and easy-to-complete merge project. Kana, however, brings along a second generation BST which grants him extra points in stats like Defense and Resistance, making him slightly better (but more time-consuming and rarer, as he comes at the expense of Grails). In terms of builds, his balanced statline allows him to specialize and excel with many different setups, though defaulting to a standard dragon kit is never a bad option.

Weapon: Lightning Breath+ (+Def or +Res)
Lightning Breath+ is an exceptional weapon that has taken its rightful place as one of the most popular inheritable breath weapons in the game. The innate Distant Counter that it provides is invaluable, opening up the A slot for a variety of different skills. The stat for which the weapon is refined for is up to each player’s discretion. A fully merged Kana with the maximum Dragonflowers can focus on either of his defensive stats, as both are exceptionally high.

Assist: Rally Up Atk+ / Reposition
Rally Up Atk+ is a great skill for supporting Kana’s allies when he is not engaging in combat. If it is unavailable, Reposition is a suitable substitute.

Special: Aether
Kana can easily manage multiple rounds of combat due to his excellently balanced stats. However, tough green foes and those possessing dragon effectiveness can prove to be a difficulty for him, even while receiving buffs. For this reason, Aether is a critical part of the kit, as it can keep him at a high enough HP for him to survive at least a few extra encounters.

A: Bonus Doubler / Steady or Warding Breath / Steady or Warding Stance / Def/Res Solo
Bonus Doubler is debatably the most important component of the set. It doubles the current buff on each of the user’s stats during combat, allowing for up to a +14 in- combat boost to Kana’s Attack, Speed, Defense, and Resistance. Notably, this can push Kana’s defensive stats to over 50, making him virtually impossible (or at least very difficult) to deal damage to or defeat without effective damage. However, Bonus Doubler is incredibly difficult to obtain, meaning that it may not be possible to inherit it to Kana. In this case, Steady or Warding Breath is another option, made easily accessible to players through the free copies of Brave Ike and Legendary Ike. These skills boost Kana’s defensive bulk by 4 and boost his Special trigger on the enemy phase, which is critical for triggering his slowed-down Aether. A more premium alternative to Bonus Doubler or a Breath skill is Steady or Warding Stance 4, which
yield significantly higher defensive boosts and inflict Guard upon a foe during the enemy phase. Finally, if Kana will be away from his allies during combat, it may be a viable option to inherit Def/Res Solo to him. While independent of any allies, both of his defensive stats are raised, improving his overall ability to counter the variety of foes he will face.

B: Null C-Disrupt / Null Follow-Up / Sudden Panic / Chill Res
Like all infantry units and especially his fellow dragons, Kana can make use of the Null skills in the B slot with great effectiveness. Null C-Disrupt is one of the best B slots that he can run, allowing him to counter pesky enemy units (notably Dazzling Staff healers like Camilla and Veronica) who would otherwise prohibit his counterattack. Null Follow-Up, the other Null skill available, allows him to cancel certain enemies’ guaranteed follow-ups from skills like the armor-exclusive Fighter skills and weapons like Garm, further restricting foes’ ability to meaningfully damage him. Sudden Panic is an HP-based skill that can be used in place of a Null skill to dismantle teams who like to stick together by changing their buffs to debuffs if their HP is lower than his. Kana’s HP is very high, with an adequate base HP of 45. Factors, including a boost from his refined weapon, an S-rank Summoner Support, and full Dragonflowers, can bring his HP up to 57, making triggering Sudden Panic significantly easier. Chill Res is a budget option that inflicts a simple debuff on magically bulky enemies. This penalty can make it easier for Kana to damage enemies whom he may have difficulty dealing with. It is important to note that Kana is not the best user of skills like Wrath and Quick Riposte. In Wrath’s case, the recommended Special for the kit pushes him out of the HP range for Wrath’s boost. When it comes to Quick Riposte, Kana’s Speed is already excellent at high merges, especially if he uses Bonus Doubler in the A slot. Many of his more threatening foes (such as Legendary Alm) will be carrying Null Follow-Up, meaning that skills like Quick Riposte have no effect in combat.

C: Rouse Def/Res / Rouse Atk/Def / Atk Smoke / Res Smoke
The Rouse skills are excellent for boosting Kana’s stats when he is not adjacent to his allies. They work in tandem with Solo skills, such as the Atk/Spd or Def/Res variants. The Rouse skills are also slightly easier to access, as the units who possess them — Perceval and Edelgard, respectively — are available in the common 5★ summoning pool. Conversely, the two Oath skills — Atk/Def and Atk/Res — are locked to Altina (a Mythic Hero) and Ilyana (a seasonally exclusive Hero). If Rouse skills are not accessible, Smoke skills can help interfere with enemy attacks. Atk Smoke can lower enemy Attack, meaning that his survivability is better against them. This can be particularly helpful for mitigating high-power threats. On the other hand, if Kana wants to improve his damage — which is understandable, as the set primarily focuses

on maximizing Kana’s defensive performance — Res Smoke can increase his damage output by lowering foes’ Resistance.

Sacred Seal: Heavy/Flashing Blade / Close/Distant Def / Fierce/Steady/Warding/ Swift Stance / Deflect Melee/Missile/Magic / Chill Atk
It is very challenging to define which Sacred Seal is most appropriate for Kana. Heavy or Flashing Blade accelerates his Special by 2 instead of 1 when he attacks (assuming he possesses superior Attack or Speed; given Bonus Doubler, this should not be difficult). These Seals are notable for enabling Kana to trigger Aether quicker, nearly negating the cooldown penalty from his weapon. If the Heavy or Flashing Blade Seals are unavailable, Kana can further bolster his immense Defense and Resistance by defensively specializing him and focusing on countering either melee or ranged foes. For specifically enemy phase builds, a Stance Seal may be of more use for Kana. Stance Seals allow Kana to boost his Attack on enemy phase (Fierce Stance), boost his Defense or Resistance further (Steady or Warding Stance, respectively), or improve his Speed and Resistance by 4 (Swift Stance). The Deflect Seals allow Kana to significantly reduce the damage he receives from a specific type of enemy, which can be useful for reducing damage from particularly threatening foes. Deflect Seals can be useful on Kana in some situations, but they are much more niche than some of the aforementioned recommendations. The major issue with Deflect Seals is that the enemy must double him, which is a rarity without a weapon with a Brave effect, given Kana’s impressive Speed. Deflect Magic may be helpful with counteracting Reinhardt, while Deflect Melee can reduce the potency of Altina, whose Ragnell-Alondite provides her a guaranteed double attack. Finally, Chill Atk may be suitable for Kana, but the Seal is not necessarily recommended. It lowers the Attack of the enemy with the highest value. Chill Atk, however, does not take priority over the several alternatives already described.

This build is aimed to maximize Kana's defensive capabilities against physical units. With a statline of 51/51/39/41/35 at +10/+10, all Kana needs to do is take at least 13 damage and the equipped Brazens and Wrath will immediately take effect. Assuming it is an odd turn, in combat he now has (at least, assuming no drives are in effect) 61 defense - thanks to Wrath, once Bonfire is activated it will deal a whopping 40 additional damage. Not to mention the decreased cooldown! Ever since I blessed him with this power, Kana no longer comprehends what Falchion is. So remember, kids - think twice next time you want to build Nowi.

Though initially outshone by Nowi due to lack of merge potential and IVs, Kana has recently found new life due to the introduction of heroic grails and his better-optimized statline for a generalist. Compared to a +Spd Nowi, Kana will still have +3 spd. This build aims to capitalize on that by stacking as much spd as possible through GB’s effect and a refine. Furthermore, GB’s higher might largely mitigates the difference in atk between the two.

GB’s owl-like effect is much more flexible, and as such it is far less difficult to use on player phase as well as enemy phase. This flexibility means that choosing an A skill is largely up to personal preference. Distant counter can be chosen for general flexibility, but Atk/Spd bond or even fury are also solid options. With Atk/Spd bond, Kana can hit 53 Spd (48 w/ Distant counter) on even numbered turns with 3 allies nearby, allowing him to double all but the fastest units. As a note, at +1, that jumps up to 55 (50 with DC). This is more than easy enough given his F2P status.

Once his special activates for the first time, the combination of special spiral and flashing blade let’s kana activate Aether every combat, as long as the foe can attack once. Another option is ignis + wrath, should shear power is preferred over sustain. This works especially well with fury, both for the recoil damage and the extra defense it grants. With wrath active and 3 allies nearby, fury kana will deal an additional 42 damage when ignis procs. This can sometimes prove to be overkill, but it’s pretty cool all the same. Not to mention, wrath + fury = hella rad. Cause #themedmemes. Also pissy Kana is fun to imagine.

Even spd wave is definitely the best C slot, however as always this is flexible.

Chill spd and infantry/Ostian pulse support are greatly appreciated, however not necessary.

Expensive and tanky set for our little but powerfull dragon to use.
Thanks to his average speed stat he can and will prevent follow up attacks from units that has less than 41 speed or 45 if he gets buffs from light breath.
Weapon Light breath+ helps him a ton due to his balance stat line
Assist chose whatever you like, reposition works best for PVe content whereas double rally will work better in arena.
Special Bonfire is probably best special he can use but with flashing blade and special spiral he can use Aether, Dragon Fang or ignis.
A slot: skill you dont have to give him DC, as an alternative Kana can run brazen def/res to become inviciable wall, fury to reach 44 speed, darting stance or breath skills.
B slot i recommend windsweep to safely apply buffs from his breath but he can run other skills such as wrath, renewal or breaker skills and still be effective.
C slot atk smoke is here to make his enemy phase a bit easier but wave, tactic or drive skills will serve just as good.
Seal slot DD and CC is good choices but brazen, bond or darting stance will all be viable skills for him.

This cheap build takes advantage of Male Kana's natural defenses. After using Ardent Sacrifice, he'll drop to the sweet spot between 70%-80%, activating both Quick Riposte 3 and Brazen, and transforming his decent 35 Def/29 Res into an obscene 52 Def/46 Res when initiated on by a melee or dragonstone user. With the help of even a single Spur/Ward/Fortify boost to his Def, he should be able to take out even a fully built Lucina! And with Ignis charged, he should be able to take out a second enemy unit on his next initiation.