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Spring Xander

Analysis by milkyytoast
Spring Xander - Spring Prince

5

Obtainable as a 5 only

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
154
HP 40
ATK 25
SPD 28
DEF 35
RES 26

Stat Variations

Level 1 Stat Variation
5★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 17 5 5 8 6
Middle 18 6 6 9 7
High 19 7 7 10 8

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 36 22 24 32 23
Middle 40 25 28 35 26
High 43 29 31 38 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

As a unit that primarily depends on his physical bulk to both absorb and deal damage, Spring Xander performs best when he either boosts his pitiable offensive prowess or bolsters his Defense.

Boons

  • +ATK: Thankfully, Spring Xander fortunate enough to have Attack superboon, which grants him +4 in the stat instead of +3. Although his base Attack and Speed are still rather low, with a lance equipped +ATK Xander has a respectable offensive presence.
  • +DEF: Spring Xander’s fantastic physical bulk carves him a niche similar to Sigurd when he runs a Defense boon. If Ignis or Bonfire is chosen as his Special, +DEF will also boost his damage output.

Neutral

  • RES: Although this can be run as a bane if necessary, Spring Xander’s decent magical bulk means this stat is best kept at neutral in order to make him more versatile.

Banes

  • -HP: Although Spring Xander wants all the bulk he can muster, refined lances -- regardless of the secondary refinement chosen -- give +5 HP. This brings Spring Xander back to neutral HP, so a bane is preferable to reducing his offensive and defensive stats.
  • -SPD: If building Spring Xander as a physical tank, getting doubled allows him to charge his Special faster. Otherwise, neutral Speed helps Spring Xander avoid follow-ups from many mid Speed tier units.

Skill Sets

This Vest Is Bulletproof! (Physical Tank)

Build by
Recommended
Carrot Lance+ (+Def) A Close Def 3
Alternate: Earth Boost 3
Reposition
Alternate: Swap
B Quick Riposte 3
Alternate: Quick Riposte 2
Ignis C Threaten Def 3
Alternate: Hone Cavalry
IVsSClose Def 3

Show Explanation/Analysis
  • Preferred IV: +ATK or +DEF / -SPD
  • Weapon: Carrot Lance (+Def) / Slaying Lance (+Def) / Harmonic Lance (+Def)
  • Assist: Reposition / Swap / Flexible
  • Special: Ignis / Bonfire
  • Passive A: Close Def / Steady Stance / Earth Boost
  • Passive B: Quick Riposte / Guard 
  • Passive C: Threaten Def / Threaten Atk / Hone Cavalry / Fortify Cavalry / Flexible
  • Sacred Seal: Close Def / Quick Riposte

The goal of this set is simple: bait to charge a Special, and then hit a foe for massive damage.

For IVs, +DEF is preferred to boost the power of a Bonfire or Ignis proc, while +ATK helps Spring Xander’s damage output when his Special is not charged. -SPD is used to help Spring Xander get doubled, which guarantees a devastating activation of Ignis on the next Player Phase.

Spring Xander’s native weapon, the Carrot Lance, allows him to self-sustain due to its HP recovery effect if he attacked in battle. Moreover, its ability to be refined grants Spring Xander 5 extra HP as well as a stat boost of his choosing. Alternatively, the refined Slaying Lance offers the same HP and stat boost as well as cooldown reduction, while the Harmonic Lance gives +10 damage to Spring Xander's Special procs. Either will serve this build well, especially when given a +Def refinement to further boost Spring Xander’s Defense.

Assists, as per usual, can vary. Swap allows Spring Xander to maneuver more effectively in tight quarters, while Reposition -- when combined with his cavalry movement -- grants him the ability to reach distant allies and deliver them away from danger. Any movement or support Assist can be used here, however -- dual rallies are always an excellent option for team support and/or Arena scoring.

Given the prevalence of red units possessing more than 28 Speed in all game modes, Ignis is Spring Xander’s preferred Special, granting him an additional 30 damage when it is activated when he initiates. Bonfire is another potential option that will activate when Spring Xander is initiated on and doubled, which should not be too difficult to ensure. Quick Riposte ensures that Spring Xander is able to sneak in an extra Special charge when he is attacked by a melee foe, while Guard severely limits if not downright disables the opponent's ability to charge their Special in return. When combined with the Carrot Lance's HP recovery effect, Sping Xander is more easily able to stay at the > or = 80% HP activation threshold for this skill. Do note that if Guard utilized, Quick Riposte should be used in Spring Xander's seal slot.

Due to the use of the Close Def skill and seal in conjunction, against melee units this build has a ludicrous 54 Defense with a +DEF boon (51 Defense with +ATK) -- Steady Stance and Earth Boost are serviceable alternatives with similar effects. Popular red swords like Arya, and Mia do nothing to this build unless they charge their special, and even then the damage is reasonably negligible due to Carrot Lance’s HP recovery. Moreover, Spring Xander’s impressive Resistance allows him to tank red dragons like Young Tiki and Adult Tiki. Most blue lances also do chip damage and are hit hard by a Ignis / Bonfire proc, and even red and blue Bold Fighter armors can’t usually KO this build outright.

As for C skills, Threaten Def increases the damage Spring Xander is able to deal when it is active, while Threaten Atk grants him more sustainability. If his team contains additional cavalry allies he can instead run the appropriate cavalry buff, but this skill can be anything from a Drive to a Tactic.

Carrots Are Healthy, Right? (Support)

Build by
Recommended
Harmonic Lance+ (+Atk)
Alternate: Carrot Lance+ (+Atk)
A Fury 3
Reciprocal Aid
Alternate: Ardent Sacrifice
B Renewal 3
Sol
Alternate: Bonfire
C Spd Smoke 3
Alternate: Threaten Spd 3
IVsSAtk Smoke 3

Show Explanation/Analysis
  • Preferred IV: +ATK / -HP or -SPD
  • Weapon:  Harmonic Lance (+Atk) / Carrot Lance (+Atk)
  • Assist: Reciprocal Aid
  • Special: Sol / Bonfire
  • Passive A: Fury
  • Passive B: Renewal
  • Passive C: Spd Smoke / Def Smoke / Res Smoke / Threaten Spd
  • Sacred Seal: Atk Smoke

Spring Xander’s physical bulk grants him an impressive ability to bait melee foes who come his way and debuff the enemy team in the process. This can be an excellent way of enabling his stronger teammates to perform a clean sweep or swinging certain matchups in their favor.

+ATK -- along with an Attack refinement and Fury --  is used to bolster Spring Xander’s damage output, and brings his Attack to a respectable 48. Fury also has the added bonus of boosting Spring Xander’s defensive stats for a rather negligible penalty, given that Spring Xander will be healing rather often. -HP is the preferred bane because of its negligible effect when making use of a refined lance, but -SPD can also be used to allow for more consistent Sol or Bonfire activations.

Reciprocal Aid or Ardent Sacrifice is a great assist for Spring Xander, synergizing with Renewal and allowing him to heal his allies who may be better suited for a matchup. Sol’s normally unimpressive damage output and healing effect is boosted by the flat +10 damage the Harmonic Lance provides while Bonfire hits hard when it activates due to Spring Xander’s high base Defense, and is preferable compared to Ignis due to its lower cooldown and the lack of Quick Riposte on this build. Renewal grants him greater self-sustain, especially when used in conjunction with the Carrot Lance or a Harmonic Lance-boosted Sol.

Spring Xander’s final slots, his C-slot and seal, are the secondary crux of this build. These powerful and wide-reaching debuffs will severely disrupt the enemy team -- no matter which of them is used. Spd Smoke is particularly notable for being available on the F2P Fallen Takumi, but any Smoke skill (barring Atk Smoke given its overlap with Spring Xander’s seal)  can be used. Threaten Spd is a decent budget option, though its Area of Effect is smaller and its activation condition much more stringent.

Introduction

Originally appearing on the Spring Festival Banner, Spring Xander is a lance calvary unit that has established himself as a breaker of pity rates and a breaker of hearts since his debut. Boasting a 25/28 offensive spread, Spring Xander has continually been outclassed in the OHKO meta, but he may have found new relevance as of version 2.0.

The reason for this can be found in something he possessed before the update (his impressive 35 Defense and 26 Resistance at neutral) and something he did not – the refined Carrot Lance. Healing 4 HP after any instance of combat where he attacks only adds to Spring Xander’s tanking abilities, and the refinement process also offers the added bonus of boosting his HP and Attack, Defense, Speed, or Resistance. In Spring Xander’s case, a few extra points in his Attack or Defense can make all the difference, turning him from a unit that was obsolete the moment he was released to a perfectly serviceable tank who would perform particularly well in a calvary team.

To conclude, Spring Xander, though really functioning only as fodder before the update, has since been granted a considerable buff. If one is running a calvary team or missed Camus and are looking for a solid blue check to threats like Ayra, Zelgius, Black Knight, and Mia, then Spring Xander may be the right unit for the job.

Strengths

Carrot Lance

Healing 4 HP after any instance of combat where Spring Xander attacks grants him reasonably good sustain.

Like all refinable lances, refining the Carrot Lance makes Spring Xander more able to play to his strengths, and boosts his HP to boot.

Excellent Defense

With a boon, Spring Xander can reach 38 Defense.

Even with a Weapon Triangle advantage, most green units (barring speedy attackers, Brave Axe users, and Bold Fighter armors) struggle to KO him outright.

This makes him a relatively easy to build and low investment physical wall.

Flexible Speed

Spring Xander will not be doubling anyone barring exceptionally slow units like Adult Tiki, but 28 Speed at neutral is enough to avoid follow-ups from popular units like Nowi and Brave Ike unless they're Speed stacking.

Spring Xander can alternatively choose to reduce his Speed to 24 to ensure he is doubled -- this allows him to consistently fire off powerful Specials.

Weaknesses

Horrible Attack

Even with a +Atk refined Carrot Lance, neutral Spring Xander just barely manages to break the 40 Attack threshold.

If increasing Spring Xander’s other stats through weapon refinement, one will need a +ATK boon to break the same threshold.

This makes Spring Xander not as flexible as he may first appear to be, especially because he must rely on Defense-scaled Specials to deal consistent damage.

Mixed Bulk

Although this may seem like a strength, Spring Xander doesn’t really have the offensive presence necessary to take advantage of his mixed bulk.

Because of this, it’s difficult to put his good Resistance to use.

High Competition

For the blue spot on a cavalry team, Spring Xander must compete with amazing units like Reinhardt and Legendary Ephraim.

Among a mixed team, competition is even stiffer.

It’s hard to justify using Spring Xander over most units, all of whom simply outperform him.

Weapon Skills

Weapons SP Rng. Mt.
Steel Lance
Lance Users Only
100 1 8
Carrot Lance

If unit initiates attack, unit recovers 4 HP after the battle.

Lance Users Only
200 1 9
Carrot Lance+

If unit initiates attack, unit recovers 4 HP after the battle.

Learns by default at 5 ★
Lance Users Only
300 1 13
Weapon Evolution
Weapon Upgrades
Weapon Upgrades

Support Skills

Support Skills Rng. SP
Swap

Unit and target ally swap spaces.

Learns by default at 5 ★
1 150

Passive Skills

Passive Skills SP Slot
Live for Honor

If unit survives, get 1.5x normal badges from a Training Tower map. (If similar skill effects also used, only highest multiplier applied.)

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
100
B
Fortify Def 1

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

Inheritable by all units.
50
C
Fortify Def 2

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

Inheritable by all units.
100
C
Fortify Def 3

Grants adjacent allies Def+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 Fates

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