Should You Pull - A Monstrous Harvest Edition

This is a standard 4 unit banner, meaning that the odds start at 3%. Since this banner features 1 unit of every color, the odds for pulling on each color are good, though marginally less than a 3 unit banner.

Peerless Beauty

I imagine you were just as taken by L'Arachel’s gorgeous art as I was. Well, try not to get lost in it because you’ll find that what she offers is far from the most standout unit on the banner. Sporting an impressive sum of Attack and Speed at the cost of incredibly poor overall bulk, Halloween L’Arachel falls in line with the typical glass cannon mage archetype.

Seasonal Refines Never

Despite her marginally superior stat spread, L’Arachel’s lack of a unique weapon or skills makes her seem less appealing when compared alongside units such as Olwen (WT) and Gunnthra who compete for her role as an offensive green mage cavalry. 

Stats Comparison

Compared with the five star Valentine Mist

Compared with the five star Gunnthra

Compared with the 5 star Olwen (WT)

A Couple New Toys 

• L’Arachel introduces Madness Flask, a new seasonal inheritable weapon with the effect of Fury, granting her +3 to Atk/Spd/Def/Res at the cost of 7 damage taken after combat. 

• Rally Atk/Spd+ is a very strong Duel Rally skill that grants target allies an immense boost to their offensive stats. 

• Did you expect more at this point? Swift Sparrow 2 is hardly a skill that one might consider pulling for, considering that it has become common to the point that even a free event unit such as Naesala has it. 

• Perhaps you’re more interested in Spd/Res Ruse, an addition to the more recently added line of Ruse skills? These overshadow the previously added Feint skills by inflicting targeted opponents with the Guard debuff effect in addition to the reduction of their stats. 

Should you pull? 

Here are some reasons to try your luck on green orbs:

• You really like L’Arachel as a character and think that her art looks amazing.

• You want a strong offensive green mage cavalry while lacking other options

• You want to inherit her weapon and/or one of her skills onto another unit.

Here are a few reasons you may want to stay away from green orbs:

• You already have another unit that fulfills her role 

• You have no interest in any of the skill inheritance that L’Arachel offers to other units

• Your primary focus is around arena-based game modes in which L’Arachel will not score well.

Low Sugar

Another stellar addition to the list of “characters who received an alt before their base version was available”, Ilyana reminds us how we feel when we eat too much Halloween candy. It has been a while since we last had an armored mage that was this slow and bulky. Illyana’s statline is actually very comparable to Winter Tharja with slight variances in Attack and Defense. 

Heavy Hitter

With such a high value in Attack and a superasset to boot, Ilyana’s base kit seems to be centered around getting in and doing as much damage as possible in a single round of combat. This includes skills such as Bold Fighter as well as a Special that scales from her incredibly high Resistance.

Stats Comparison

Compared with the five star Valentines Lyn

Compared with the five star Lute

Compared with the 5 star Kliff

Candy Bag

• Another one of this season’s weapons that carry the effect of Fury, Spooky Censer is a better fit for other units than it is for Ilyana.

• Bold Fighter is an incredibly strong skill that guarantees the follow-up attack and accelerating the Special cooldown of armored units when initiating. An exceptional Attack stat and a powerful Special are brought together on Ilyana to create an offensive powerhouse.

• A new subset of Opening skills, Ilyana’s Atk/Res Gap grants a substantial boost to the Attack and Resistance of the ally with the highest Atk+Res total at the start of turn.

Should you pull?

Here are some reasons to try your luck on blue orbs:

• You like Ilyana and know her base version won’t be added any time soon

• You want a strong blue mage that can perform well both offensively and defensively

• You want to inherit her weapon and/or one of her skills onto another unit.

Here are a few reasons you may want to stay away from blue orbs:

• You prefer offensive mages with more mobility than an armored unit

• You have no interest in any of the skill inheritance that Ilyana offers to other units

• You will not have many opportunities to get merges due to her status as a seasonal unit.

Huge Gains

Am I reading this correctly? 174 BST on a RANGED armored unit? It’s almost jarring to see how Dozla compares to his predecessors, edging out Winter Cecilia in every single stat except for Resistance. Similar to her, Dozla can fit a variety of roles thanks to the numerous options available to dagger units. 

Short End of the Stick

• Attached to this big ball of stats are some less than impressive skills. I would suggest that AR-D Atk/Def is limited to the interest of those who frequent Aether Raids but in reality, they don’t use these skills either. 

• Dozla also comes with another Duel Rally in the form of Atk/Def+, allowing him to grant significant buffs to a target ally as well as being a great tool for arena-based scoring.

Stats Comparison

Compared with the free Winter Cecilia

Compared with the three star Sothe

Compared with the five star (green) Halloween Kagero

What makes him stand out?

Having the skills unique benefits of armored units as well as the flexible weapon options of a dagger allow Dozla to be used in many different ways both offensively and defensively. Further compounding this is an incredibly well-rounded statline with an incredible 38 base Attack (plus a superasset) and solid values in everything else. 

Should you pull?

Here are some reasons to try your luck on colorless orbs:

• You like Dozla and know that there won’t be any normal Sacred Stones banners any time soon. 

• You need a strong dagger unit that can be built in an assortment of different ways. 

• You want to inherit his weapon and/or one of his skills onto another unit.

Here are a few reasons you may want to stay away from colorless orbs:

• You already put heavy investment into Winter Cecilia, who can fulfill many of the same roles as Dozla. 

• You have no interest in any of the skill inheritance that Dozla offers to other units

Two is better than one

I imagine you didn’t have to look twice to see that Hector (and Lilina!) are big stars of this banner. In addition to looking extremely cute, these two introduce the brand new concept of “duo heroes” to the game. This alone makes Hector stand out completely compared to every other sword armor in the game. 

Some things will never change

• Who would have guessed that Hector would be the only unit on the banner to come with a personal weapon? Conjurer Curios grants him effective damage against armored units as well as significant stat boost during combat. 

• It wouldn’t be Hector without Distant Counter in his base kit, now would it? That fodder alone makes Hector eye-catching enough to roll for.

• Are you tired of armor-exclusive skills? Yeah, me neither. Odd Follow-Up guarantees the holder’s follow-up attack as well as preventing their opponent’s but only during odd-numbered turns.

Stats Comparison

Compared with the free Black Knight

Compared with the five star Valentines Ike

Compared with the three star Draug

Bolt Tower on Wheels

Hector is more than just another big ball of stats. Through a trigger similar to using an item in Arena Assault, he can activate the special ability of his duo unit. This deals 20 out of combat damage to all enemies within 3 columns centered on Hector. This can be used one time every map. 

Application in Aether Raids

The idea bolt tower that can be activated whenever and wherever one chooses probably caught the eye of those who frequent Aether Raids. This can be used in an assortment of different ways including but not limited to forcing a specific unit with infantry pulse to lose HP on the first turn, preventing the rest of the enemy team from having their Specials accelerated, cutting down the HP of bulky frontliners such as Seliph in order to more easily clear a way for your own units, and even making use of weapon that are based on foe’s HP such as Athame. 

Should you pull

Here are some reasons to try your luck on red orbs:

• You like Hector and Lilina and think the concept for this alt is adorable

• You are interested in how duo heroes work and want to try it out before they begin to release more of them

• You are Aether Raids savvy and understand how Hector’s unique ability can be incredibly useful in the mode

• You’re looking for a strong sword armor with an overall impressive statline

• You want to complete the weapon triangle of Hector alts

• You want an incredibly high-scoring unit for arena-based game modes

• You want to inherit his weapon and/or one of his skills onto another unit

Here are a few reasons you may want to stay away from red orbs:

• You already have a sword armor that you invested into and don’t see yourself using Hector much

• You are not interested in the concept of duo units

• Red orbs have the lowest rates when it comes to pulling your desired unit