GamePress
Analysis by Chibi_Chu
Sanaki - Begnion's Apostle

5 Legacy

Obtainable as a 5 during certain summoning events only.

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
147
HP 33
ATK 37
SPD 26
DEF 17
RES 34

Stat Variations

Level 1 Stat Variation
5★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 15 8 6 3 7
Middle 16 9 7 4 8
High 17 10 8 5 9

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 30 34 23 13 31
Middle 33 37 26 17 34
High 36 40 30 20 37

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

Empress-ive Adaptability (Enemy Phase Sweeper)

Build by Chibi_Chu
Recommended
Rauðrblade+ A Close Foil
Alternate: Close Counter
Reposition B Vantage 3
Glimmer C Pulse Smoke 3
Alternate: Res Smoke 3
IVs

+ATK / -SPD

SFierce Stance 3
Alternate: Brazen Atk/Res 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Rauðrblade+ 

Assist: Reposition / Flexible 

Special: Glimmer

Passive A: Close Foil / Close Counter

Passive B: Vantage 

Passive C: Pulse Smoke / Res Smoke 

Sacred Seal: Fierce Stance / Brazen Atk/Res 

  • The combination of an impressive 37 Attack and Rauðrblade can make Sanaki a fearsome Enemy Phase sweeper. Rauðrblade increases Sanaki’s Attack by the sum of her visible buffs, allowing her to reach incredible Attack when fully buffed.
  • The combination of Close Foil/Counter + Vantage is crucial for frail Enemy Phase sweepers. Vantage allows Sanaki to counterattack before the enemy attacks if her HP is ≤ 75%; in tandem with Close Foil/Counter, Sanaki can have the opportunity to OHKO both melee and ranged enemies before they can damage her, circumventing her awful physical bulk and allowing her to potentially sweep an entire team. While Close Foil prevents her from counterattacking against Dragons, Dragons are very rare in Aether Raids Defense.
  • The rest of this set focuses on maximizing Sanaki’s damage (with the exception of Pulse Smoke). Glimmer’s bonus damage scales with Rauðrblade’s Atk bonus, making it a great Special. For her Sacred Seal, Fierce Stance grants +6 Attack when the enemy initiates combat while Brazen Atk/Res grants +7 Atk/Res when Sanaki’s HP is ≤ 80%, which synergizes well with Vantage’s HP requirement and works on both phases.
  • Choosing between Pulse Smoke and Res Smoke is mainly player preference. Pulse Smoke shuts down Infantry Pulse teams and prevents Sanaki from being OHKO’d by enemy Specials, while Res Smoke inflicts -7 Resistance on enemies within 2 spaces of the target. The former helps with her initial survival, while the latter helps with her damage output.

The Bomb of Begnion (Player Phase Nuke)

Build by Chibi_Chu
Recommended
Rauðrblade+
Alternate: Cymbeline (+Eff)
A Death Blow 4
Alternate: Mirror Impact
Reposition B Lull Atk/Res 3
Alternate: Special Spiral 3
Glimmer C Joint Drive Atk
Alternate: Res Smoke 3
IVs

+ATK / -SPD or -DEF

SDeath Blow 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Rauðrblade+ / Cymbeline (+Eff) 

Assist: Reposition / Flexible 

Special: Glimmer

Passive A: Death Blow 4 / Mirror Impact / Sturdy Impact

Passive B: Lull Atk/Res / Special Spiral

Passive C: Joint Drive Atk / Res Smoke 

Sacred Seal: Death Blow 

  • In contrast to her Enemy Phase set, the combination of an impressive 37 Attack and Rauðrblade can also make Sanaki a great Player Phase nuke. There are 2 routes for making Sanaki a Player Phase nuke.
  • Regardless of which route a player chooses to take, her Special, A, and S slots remain the same. Given that Sanaki wants to OHKO as much as possible, Glimmer is a great Special; its low 2 cooldown and +50% damage on activation can take Sanaki’s damage to absurd heights and secure close KOs. Death Blow is an excellent skill for Player Phase OHKOing, granting extra Attack when Sanaki initiates combat. However, she can also use Sturdy or Mirror Impact to grant +6 Attack in addition to a massive +10 Defense or Resistance respectively and preventing the enemy from making a follow-up attack. 
  • Joint Drive Atk and Res Smoke are great C slot options, with the former granting Sanaki and allies within 2 spaces +4 Attack during combat and the latter inflicting -7 Resistance on enemies within 2 spaces. Both bolster Sanaki’s damage output, increasing her chances of OHKOing.
  • The first route is to use Rauðrblade, which increases Sanaki’s Attack by the sum of her visible buffs, allowing her to reach sky-high Attack when fully buffed. For a Rauðrblade set, Sanaki wants to use Lull Atk/Res to negate the enemy’s Atk/Res buffs and inflict -3 Atk/Res to the enemy during combat. This helps her OHKO consistency and her survivability if she fails to OHKO.
  • The second route is to use Sanaki’s Cymbeline with its +Eff refine, which grants +5 Atk/Res during combat if she is within 2 spaces of a flying ally. Since Cymbeline doesn’t inflict +1 Special cooldown like Rauðrblade, Sanaki can use Special Spiral, which decreases her Special cooldown by 2 after combat if she activated it during combat. Given that Glimmer is a 2-cooldown Special, Sanaki will always have Glimmer charged after she activates it for the first time, making her a significantly more reliable OHKO nuke.

Helpful Little Sister (Support)

Build by Chibi_Chu
Cymbeline (+Eff)
Alternate: Cymbeline (+Res)
A Mirror Stance (2 or 3)
Alternate: Fury (3 or 4)
Reposition
Alternate: Rally Atk/Spd+
B Sabotage Atk 3
Alternate: Atk/Spd Ruse 3
Iceberg
Alternate: Glacies
C Joint Drive Atk
Alternate: Close Guard 3
IVs

+ATK or +RES / -SPD or -DEF

SDrive Atk 2
Alternate: Distant Guard 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Cymbeline (+Eff) / Cymbeline (+RES)

Assist: Reposition / Rally Atk/Spd+ / Flexible 

Special: Iceberg / Glacies / Ruptured Sky

Passive A: Mirror Stance (2 or 3) / Fury (3 or 4) / Atk/Res Bond (3 or 4) / R Duel Infantry  

Passive B: Sabotage Atk / Atk/Spd Ruse / Atk/Spd Link / Flexible

Passive C: Joint Drive Atk / Close Guard / Distant Guard / Flexible

Sacred Seal: Drive Atk / Distant Guard / Chill Atk

  • Cymbeline’s Drive Atk effect allows Sanaki to play a supportive role while maintaining her high Attack and Resistance to be an anti-mage or magical nuke. +Eff is chosen because it grants Sanaki +5 Atk/Res during combat when a flying ally is within 2 spaces, but +Res can be chosen if the player chooses not to use Sanaki with a flying ally. 
  • Sanaki can stack her Cymbeline’s Drive Atk with Joint Drive Atk and an additional Drive Atk in her C and S slots to grant a whopping +10 Attack to allies and +4 Attack to herself when she is within 2 spaces of an ally. Alternatively, she can use Drive skills for different stats or Close or Distant Guard to provide more balanced in-combat buffs.
  • Given Sanaki’s great Resistance, she can use Sabotages very well. Sabotages inflict -7 to a stat to enemies that are adjacent to other enemies and have -3 Resistance compared to Sanaki.
  • If Sanaki has Reposition, she can use a Link skill in her B slot to grant +6 to 2 stats whenever she uses Reposition or is the target of a movement Assist skill. If Sanaki has a Rally, she can use a Ruse skill to inflict Guard and -5 to 2 stats to enemies within cardinal directions of her and the person she rallies (or the person that rallied her). 
  • Given her lopsided statline, Sanaki specializes in nuking and tanking magical attacks. Iceberg and Glacies are great Specials, capitalizing on Sanaki’s high Resistance by granting bonus damage equal to 50% and 80% of her Resistance respectively. Mirror Stance, Fury, and Atk/Res Bond all increase Sanaki’s Atk/Res, allowing her to nuke and tank more reliably.
  • Alternatively, Sanaki can use a 500 SP Special such as Ruptured Sky and R Duel Infantry to become a high-scoring Arena support.

Strengths

Impressive Attack

Boasting a great 37 Attack, Sanaki can deal massive damage, especially with Rauðrblade and/or Attack buffs taken into account. She can make up for her inability to consistently perform a follow-up attack by simply OHKOing enemies instead.

High Resistance

Sanaki’s impressive 34 Resistance allows her to utilize Ploys and Sabotages effectively to support both herself and her allies. She can also serve the role of a magical tank and Iceberg/Glacies nuke very efficiently.

Cymbeline’s flexibility

Cymbeline’s innate Drive Atk allows her to perform a support role. Thanks to Cymbeline’s unique refine potentially granting her +5 Attack and Resistance, Sanaki doesn’t necessarily have to even sacrifice her combat or magical tanking role for a support role. As an infantry unit, Sanaki also has access to skills such as Special Spiral, flexible movement via flying allies’ skills, and doesn’t have to worry about effective damage very often.

Weaknesses

Pathetic physical bulk

Carrying the burdens of a terrible 33 HP and an abysmal 17 Defense, Sanaki wants to avoid being attacked by physical enemies at all costs, as she will frequently be OHKO’d.

Disappointing Speed

Unfortunately, Sanaki’s base Speed of 26 is far below average. With Speed so low, her offensive and defensive capabilities can become compromised, forcing her to rely on OHKOing or her magical bulk.

Reliant on Team Support

While Sanaki has flexibility, it’s limited by her reliance on teammates. For offensive sets, she needs refreshing and/or visible buffs. For Cymbeline’s unique refine, she requires a flying ally within 2 spaces of her, which limits her positioning and the teammates she can run Cymbeline with. This isn’t so much of an issue in Aether Raids, however, as many offensive Mythic Heroes are fliers (Peony, Eir, Naga, Altina, etc.).

Weapon Skills

Weapons SP Rng. Mt.
Fire
Red Tome Users Only
50 2 4
Elfire
Red Tome Users Only
100 2 6
Bolganone
Red Tome Users Only
200 2 9
Cymbeline

Grants adjacent allies Atk+4 through their next actions after any combat this unit initiates.

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

Support Skills

Support Skills Rng. SP
Harsh Command

Converts penalties on target into bonuses.

Learns by default at 5 ★
1 150

Passive Skills

Passive Skills SP Slot
Triangle Adept 1

Gives Atk+10% if weapon-triangle advantage, Atk-10% if disadvantage.

Excludes Colorless Weapon Users.
50
A
Triangle Adept 2

Gives Atk+15% if weapon-triangle advantage, Atk-15% if disadvantage.

Excludes Colorless Weapon Users.
100
A
Triangle Adept 3

Gives Atk+20% if weapon-triangle advantage, Atk-20% if disadvantage.

Excludes Colorless Weapon Users.
Unlocks at 5 ★
200
A
Hone Atk 1

Grants adjacent allies Atk+2 through their next actions at the start of each turn.

Inheritable by all units.
50
C
Hone Atk 2

Grants adjacent allies Atk+3 through their next actions at the start of each turn.

Inheritable by all units.
100
C
Hone Atk 3

Grants adjacent allies Atk+4 through their next actions at the start of each turn.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
200
C

Other Info

Origin
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

Banners Featured In

Official Hero Artwork