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Analysis by MackerelPye
Nemesis - King of Liberation

Hero Stats

Max Avg Total Stats at Lvl 40
176
HP 43
ATK 39
SPD 23
DEF 37
RES 34

Stat Variations

Level 1 Stat Variation
5★
4★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 16 10 5 10 7
Middle 17 11 6 11 8
High 18 12 7 12 9

Level 40 Stat Variations
5★
4★
HP ATK SPD DEF RES
Low 40 36 20 34 31
Middle 43 39 23 37 34
High 46 42 26 40 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

This unit requires use of Trait Fruits to get access to IVs

Skill Sets

SUDDEN LOUD OPERA NOISES (Distant Counter)

Build by MackerelPye
Recommended
Dark Creator S A Distant Counter
Positional Assist B Lull Atk/Def 3
Alternate: Quick Riposte 3
Bonfire
Alternate: Sol
C Atk Smoke 3
Alternate: Def Smoke 3
IVs

+ATK or +RES / -SPD

SQuick Riposte 3
Alternate: Mirror Stance 2

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Dark Creator S

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Noontime / Bonfire / Sol

Passive A: Distant Counter

Passive B: Lull Atk/Def / Quick Riposte

Passive C: Atk Smoke / Def Smoke

Sacred Seal: Quick Riposte / Mirror Stance / Most Other Atk, Def, or Res-boosting skills

  • Distant Counter is pretty archetypal on just about anybody with bulk on both ends, especially as good Resistance is essential in comfortably taking on mages. Nemesis certainly provides just that with his great mixed defensive statline and Dark Creator Sword also helping his offensive and defensive potential, making this build well-suited towards Arena, general gameplay, and Light Season Aether Raids.
    • Note, however, that Dark Creator Sword has its limitations due to being reliant on ally HP (meaning Nemesis's teammates can't take too much of a beating at all before he comes in) and affecting only Atk/Def rather than Resistance. Its damage reduction, though potent, is also conditionally reliant on ally health while working only once per phase.
  • Combined with the breath effect of Geirskögul, Noontime is a reliable form of sustain. Without that, conventional 3 CD Specials such as Bonfire or Sol work fine due to Nemesis's slowness.
  • To further support Nemesis's power and bulk, Lull Atk/Def would be his best B slot for such a purpose—it even cancels out enemy bonuses (in Attack and Defense) to prevent them from powering through with buffs alone. Lacking this, Quick Riposte is a perfectly affordable and viable alternative which gives Nemesis a form of follow-up—it should be in the build one way or another through Nemesis's B slot or Sacred Seal.
  • If taking Quick Riposte as a B slot, there's a host of Sacred Seals you may consider. For instance, Mirror Stance improves relevant spots in this build's gameplay, including better damage and both melee and ranged magical resistance. Other seals such as Warding Stance or Atk/Res Bond do just as well depending on Seal availability and gameplay preferences.
  • For consistent performance against subsequent fights (in one phase) where Dark Creator Sword's damage reduction would fade out, Atk Smoke helps in mitigating incoming damage, whereas Def Smoke makes kills generally more attainable.

Sorry Can't Hear You Over THESE INCOMPREHENSIBLE LYRICS (Mixed Phase Attacker)

Build by MackerelPye
Recommended
Dark Creator S A Atk/Def Solo 4
Alternate: Atk/Def Unity
Positional Assist B Quick Riposte 3
Alternate: Lull Atk/Def 3
Bonfire C Rouse Atk/Def 3
IVs

+ATK / -SPD

SAtk/Def Solo 3
Alternate: Quick Riposte 3

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Dark Creator S

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Bonfire

Passive A: Atk/Def Solo (3 or 4) / Atk/Def Bond / Atk/Def Unity

Passive B: Quick Riposte / Lull Atk/Def

Passive C: Rouse Atk/Def / Flexible

Sacred Seal: Atk/Def Solo / Quick Riposte / Atk/Def Bond

  • The main switch here from the Distant Counter build is simply swapping Distant Counter and Nemesis's Sacred Seal out for Atk/Def Solo. This results in a more melee-heavy build that allows Nemesis to function in both phases rather than just enemy phase.  
    • When combined with full strengths of Dark Creator Sword (i.e. also increasing Atk/Def while offering temporary damage reduction), Solo enables Nemesis to come out victorious (nearly to the point of overkill) against other physical attackers. Furthermore, both enables his one-hit might against most foes in either phase.
    • However, players should beware of a lack of Resistance investment, even if Nemesis can withstand it with his damage reduction.
    • A Bond version of this build is possible and cheaper, though it requires Nemesis to be adjacent to other allies which may be positionally inconvenient compared to being Solo.
  • Otherwise, a lot of things remain the same due to Nemesis's one-note nature; Quick Riposte or Lull Atk/Def are Nemesis's most consistent B slot options still.
  • This build's more aggressive nature also demands damaging Specials, in which case Bonfire benefits significantly from this build's high Defense stacking.
  • Rouse Atk/Def is a neat C slot that encourages Nemesis further to fulfill Atk/Def solo conditions, though it's just as easily replaceable with other useful C slots for your team.

Draconic Deathstar (Mixed Defensive Tank)

Build by MackerelPye
Dark Creator S A Mirror Stance 3
Alternate: Bracing Stance 3
Positional Assist B Lull Atk/Def 3
Alternate: Quick Riposte 3
Bonfire
Alternate: Sol
C Atk Smoke 3
IVs

+RES or +ATK / -SPD

SQuick Riposte 3
Alternate: Mirror Stance 2

Show Explanation/Analysis

Weapon: Dark Creator S

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Bonfire / Sol / Noontime

Passive A: Mirror Stance 3 / Bracing Stance 3

Passive B: Lull Atk/Def / Quick Riposte

Passive C: Atk Smoke

Sacred Seal: Quick Riposte / Mirror Stance / Other Atk or Res or Def-boosting skills

  • You all asked for the God-Shattering Star, and here it is in build form. Thanks to Nemesis's high Resistance for a sword infantry unit, a mixed defensive build with Atk/Res stacking in his A-slot (and Sacred Seal if applicable) makes this a comfortable reality. Furthermore, Dark Creator Sword ensures Nemesis definitely won't be lacking in the Defense department despite a lack of investment, though you must monitor his allies' HP to make full use of it.
  • Despite a lack of Distant Counter, running a high-tier Stance skill such as Mirror Stance 3 or Bracing Stance 3 makes it possible to simply stall ranged threats out without being threatened by charged Special, thanks to these skills' built-in Guard effect. Meanwhile, Nemesis's own Special can be charged upon being freely attacked, though be wary of his limitations on bulk.
  • As is the case on all Nemesis builds, Lull Atk/Def or Quick Riposte are Nemesis's best B slot options; it's mostly a choice between safety and luxury versus practicality and budget. It is recommended to run Lull Atk/Def with the Quick Riposte Sacred Seal, while Quick Riposte can be paired with a close equivalent in the form of Mirror Stance
  • Bonfire and Sol are pretty practical for Nemesis's Special as he will probably activate them in a single round after getting double attacked by most threats. Running Geirskögul support, however, makes Noontime a more consistent sustain option.
    • All healing Specials should be placed on a build with an emphasis on Attack in order to damage and heal more.

Strengths

Strong Attack, Defense, and Resistance

Nemesis's high base stat total is relatively optimized with fantastic base values in his Attack, Defense, and Resistance. This grants him both substantial damage output and raw bulk, both of which only become better with his unique weapon and further skill investment.

Dark Creator Sword Strengths

Stats built in a weapon have proven to be quite strong and useful for units in the recent past, and Nemesis takes no exception to this as Dark Creator Sword boosts his Attack and Defense quite sizably. Damage reduction against both in-combat and AOE damage is also a strong, desirable trait that Dark Creator Sword offers—albeit with somewhat awkward conditions.

Infantry Perks

Nemesis's access to the ever-coveted Lull skill line is thanks to his infantry status. Additionally, by fifth-generation infantry standards, he enjoys great Arena scoring and stat distribution thanks to his high base stat total compared to units in other movement types.

Free Unit

Nemesis is freely acquirable through Grand Hero Battles without orbs, and many more merges/copies will be available at your beck and call through Heroic Grails.

Weaknesses

Weapon Design Flaws

Oh boy, where do we start. Nemesis's nefarious take on the Creator Sword certainly doesn't make for a bad weapon, but it could've been much more, too.

  • First, the more avoidable but still ugly part of Dark Creator Sword: its dependence on healthy allies. While this is normally easy enough to maintain at the beginning of the match, there are no guarantees that said allies will be at enough health to maintain the Sword's effects by the time Nemesis comes into play. Furthermore, plays from both the opposing team and your own units can be problematic in this regard; Duma's Upheaval, using Push or Fury, or relying on other units to engage often in combat will lower the potency of Dark Creator Sword overall. While this can be worked around with healers, this, too, is a potential teambuilding obstacle.
  • If a skill involves any effect along the lines of "first combat in each phase", chances are you'll probably err away from it due to the inconsistent and inopportune timing of this. Unfortunately, it applies to the damage reduction part of Dark Creator Sword, making Nemesis somewhat less consistent at a tanking than regular Spurn / Close Call / Repel units.

Low Speed

Nemesis's underwhelming weapon would be a rather forgivable aspect if he had the statline to overcome it. Unfortunately, poor distribution to Speed is a side effect of Nemesis's otherwise fantastic spread everywhere else, exposing him to double attacks and forcing him to run Quick Riposte for his own follow-ups. One could argue that his Speed isn't even min-maxed either; at a surprisingly borderline value of 23, some of it could have been distributed to other relevant stats.

Undesirable Archetype

Slow, defensive sword units are becoming increasingly disadvantageous due to the existence of faster sword infantry with access to inheritable damage reduction skills such as Spurn. In Nemesis's own subcategory, Lif particularly presents some hard competition; he has access to follow-up attacks (without relying on Quick Riposte), self-sufficient Special acceleration, and reliable stat augmentation from his unique skills. Even as far as Arena is concerned, there is a bit of hard competition with Itsuki or Young Marth as both achieve the same BST bin as Nemesis while sporting extremely useful weapon effectiveness against dragons and armors.

Weapon Skills

Weapons SP Rng. Mt.
Iron Sword
Learns by default at 1 ★
Unlocks at 1 ★
Only Inheritable by Sword Units.
50 1 6
Steel Sword
Learns by default at 3 ★
Unlocks at 2 ★
Only Inheritable by Sword Units.
100 1 8
Silver Sword
Learns by default at 4 ★
Unlocks at 3 ★
Only Inheritable by Sword Units.
200 1 11
Dark Creator S

Grants Def+3. During combat, boosts unit's Atk/Def by number of allies with HP ≥ 90% × 2 (max 6). During unit's first combat in player phase or enemy phase, reduces damage from attacks during combat and from area-of-effect Specials (excluding Røkkr area-of-effect Specials) by percentage = number of allies with HP ≥ 90% × 15 (max 45%).

Learns by default at 5 ★
Unlocks at 5 ★
Non-Inheritable skill.
400 1 16
Weapon Evolution
Weapon Upgrades
Weapon Upgrades

Special Skills

Special Skills SP Turns
Dragon Gaze

Boosts damage by 30% of unit's Atk.

Learns by default at 4 ★
Unlocks at 3 ★
Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
100 4
Dragon Fang

Boosts damage by 50% of unit's Atk.

Unlocks at 4 ★
Non-inheritable by Staff-wielding units.
200 4

Passive Skills

Passive Skills SP Slot
Chill Atk 1

At start of turn, inflicts Atk-3 on foe on the enemy team with the highest Atk through its next action.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 1 ★
60
B
Chill Atk 2

At start of turn, inflicts Atk-5 on foe on the enemy team with the highest Atk through its next action.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 2 ★
120
B
Chill Atk 3

At start of turn, inflicts Atk-7 on foe on the enemy team with the highest Atk through its next action.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
240
B
Savage Blow 1

If unit initiates combat, deals 3 damage to foes within 2 spaces of target after combat.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 3 ★
50
C
Savage Blow 2

If unit initiates combat, deals 5 damage to foes within 2 spaces of target after combat.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 4 ★
100
C
Savage Blow 3

If unit initiates combat, deals 7 damage to foes within 2 spaces of target after combat.

Inheritable by all units.
Unlocks at 5 ★
200
C

Other Info

Origin
Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Banners Featured In

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