Grand Hero Battle - Robin (F)

Once again, a fan favourite returns from the shadows for this GHB… Robin, the Mystery Tactician! As yet another map that features no reinforcements and requires summoners to damage or bait an enemy to get the map moving, Robin’s map pretty much requires the use of a striker + dancer + draw back / reposition strategy. If you bait, your chosen tank will have to withstand an assault from all three colors of the weapons triangle, which is far from an ideal situation.

Thankfully, though, this GHB is far from the most challenging of the bunch, particularly because a whopping half of the units on this map are Green! If you have a strong Red, you should have very little trouble on this map -- the hardest part is definitely deciding which units to use and getting started once you do so.

As is generally true of GHBs, the individual units you will use is very important as they will primarily inform your strategy. There are a few routes you can take depending on what units you have available to you, and, of course, adjustment based on the units you possess is always a possibility.

Strikers

Since the only viable way of starting this map require a striker, Brave Bows prove useful in this GHB due to their quadding potential, especially when combined with SPD buffs / spurs / drives or a breaker skill. Speedy bow users are an additional option although their damage output may be less depending on their currently active buffs. Brave Lyn, Bridal Cordelia, Klein, and Setsuna are potential strikers you may want to use.

Alternatively, Brave and Blade tome users can also serve to be just as useful, especially if the Blade users are provided with the appropriate buffs. Reinhardt and Blade S!Corrin, S!Camilla, Cecilia, L'Arachel, LA!!Lilina, Nino, Tharja, and Tailtiu are all options here. Unfortunately, melee Brave users aren’t as useful in this GHB due to their inability to initially strike at the enemy without being danced. Also of note are strong red mages like Sanaki, Lilina, Celica, Katarina, SM!Eirika, H!Nowi, and Arvis, who are able to independently check three (or more) units on this map on their own when provided with Axebreaker.

Tanks

Since there really isn’t a viable opportunity to bait in this GHB, you’re instead going to want to get the map started with a striker and a dancer. Once you’ve done that, however, it’s entirely feasible to use a tank to lure mages into attacking you behind the wall and defeat enemies whom you have a color advantage against.

The tank you choose here will entirely depend on which units you have the most trouble handling on this map. Robin is easily dealt with by a high RES Green Mage with G Tomebreaker like Julia or Deirdre, or Red units like W!Tharja, Black Knight, Zelgius, A!Tiki, or Lightning Breath Y!Tiki. If you don't possess these units or they're not working for you, the Red Mages spoken of in the Strikers section are also options to KO Robin and the Axes, albiet ones who should not be taking melee hits. For the tanks mentioned, Quick Riposte will prove to be your friend, as it will aid you in netting some KOs on enemies you do not outspeed. Alternatively, if the Blue Mage is giving you trouble, try a Green Mage like the ones mentioned above, or other strong Green tanks like Hector, LA!Hector, or Lightning Breath Fae. Finally, if the Red mage is the bane of your existence, go with Nowi, Linde, Delthea, Lute, or one of the Blue Mages mentioned in the Strikers section. It is not highly suggested that you prioritize dealing with this foe unless it is really giving you trouble, however, due to the fact that any Blue unit you bring will possess a weapons triangle disadvantage against half of this map. Brave or speedy archers will also delete most of these mages, with the exception of Robin herself due to her rather high DEF.

Dancers

Dancers help support units with high firepower, may even have a decent offensive presence themselves, and can usually tank a hit or two, if need be.  Olivia, PA!Azura, PA!Inigo, PA!Olivia, Azura, NY!Azura, and Ninian  all provide the support that high-firepower units need while also possessing the ability to net a few KOs themselves.

Strategizing for this GHB is made much simpler by the fact that there are no reinforcements. While it’s difficult to exactly predict what will happen due to IV / Merge variance, here’s some general tips to get you started.

An OP Opening

As is customary for most GHBs, the enemies on Robin’s map will not start to move unless they are baited, damaged, or KO’d. Since this map layout only really allows for a strike and retreat strategy, you’ll have to go on the offensive from the get-go.

The strategy you’ll want to use (and the one that originally broke this GHB wide open) is to use a ranged unit to attack one of the Axe Infantry, dance your unit, and then Draw Back or Reposition your dancer out of the enemy’s range. These foes have relatively low RES, 34 SPD, and only one totes Distant Def, so it’s likely that you’ll get an easy KO here, especially if you have a fast Mage at your disposal, or use Axebreaker and have the weapons triangle on your side. Brave bow users or particularly speedy archers are also an option, although they’ll hit these enemies in the stronger DEF. Axebreaker is also suggested here along with a low cooldown special like Moonbow or Luna if you’re using a Brave Archer, as when you attack an appropriate unit, you’ll be able to quad.

Preferably, you’ll want to net as many KOs as you can this turn, although that may not be possible depending on the units you have available to you. If your Striker is missing out on finishing off one of the Axes, try Death Blow 2 / 3 (which can be found on a 4 star Ursula / Effie and a 4 star Klein, respectively), the Attack +3 seal, and / or a Hone Attack / Hone Cavalry Buff.

Straight Down The Middle

Once you’ve gotten this map started, you have three choices -- a) continuing to strike hard with the help of a dancer, b) using the chokepoint to wall out the rest of the foes on this map, or c) baiting the mages from behind the wall and then walling out / KOing the melee enemies.

Option a is self-explanatory -- basically, you need to KO all your enemies before they’re able to KO you. This may be harder than you think, especially because of Robin and her possession of the Gronnwolf tome. Since it deals effective damage to cavalry, your cavalry units will struggle to take a hit from her, and her high DEF makes it difficult to KO her outright without a charged Special. The solution to this is to either make sure you maneuver out of her range and KO her at the soonest opportunity, or to bring a strong enough dancer (preferably Olivia due to her color advantage) who is able to heavily damage Robin before you finish her off with another unit.

Option b is much easier with the assistance of the Quick Riposte seal, and the Vantage skill, which can actually allow you to win some unfavorable matchups if your tank’s Special is charged when the foe who possesses the color advantage attacks you. Red tanks (listed in the Tanks section above) who are non-cavalry are ideal here, as they possess a color advantage against half (!!!) of this map, will be able to hold to chokepoint and avoid effective damage from Robin. A healer may also be useful if you’re tanking, especially if they tote Physic+ -- they’ll be able to heal at-range or provide an assist with a Wrathful and / or Dazzling attack, if need be.

Option c is much like option b, but will likely require some movement skills and careful positioning to ensure your units are able to be in the right place at the right time. Swap and even less commonly used skills like Pivot work wonders when you're trying to grant any unit (especially armors) a greater movement range.

Use Dancers

As always, dancers serve a valuable role refreshing your units and allowing them to get some KOs they cannot net outright. Some dancers can even provide valuable buffs that can help a unit either deal greater damage or survive a round of combat they would be KO’d by otherwise.

Winning The Battle Before It Starts

Part of the reason this map is one of the easier ones is definitely the layout, but the funnel effect this map has may prove challenging to you if you’ve never encountered it before. Combined with the plethora of enemies possessing an extended range due to their tomes, it’s possible you may struggle with this GHB at first.

The solution to this problem is to either build a balanced team (plus a dancer) or a team of dedicated strikers who can handle more than one enemy on this map. In this GHB, you have the option to put your eggs in one basket or try a more mixed team composition -- if your Strikers-only strategy isn’t working, try bringing with a tank and a healer instead. Don’t forget that if your strikers have a color advantage and are able to counterattack, they should be able to bait the mages, with Reinhardt being the sole exception due to his exceptionally low SPD. Buffs (especially class-specific buffs) may also provide your units with the extra boost of damage they need to net a tricky KO, or may raise their defenses to the point that they survive a hit they would not whether otherwise.

If At First You Don’t Succeed

As is true of all high difficulty content, the potential variance in unit builds that Skill Inheritance brought along with the random nature of summoning has resulted in pretty much every single player having different “building blocks” to work with. This, when combined with the high difficulty level of Infernal, may prove frustrating while someone is trying to find the right combination of units and moves. The key thing to keep in mind is that it may take multiple tries of the map and a few stamina potions for you to find a strategy that works for you. Every single turn you complete gets you one step closer to completing the puzzle. Reading about or watching videos of successful strategies may also help you break through a particularly difficult turn that you can’t complete, or may give you ideas of a new unit to use.