Azelle

Weapon: Sparking Tome 

Assist: No Assist / Positional Assist 

Special: Glimmer / Ruptured Sky / Draconic Aura / Dragon Fang

Passive A: Steady Impact / Swift Impact

Passive B: Null Follow-Up 

Passive C: Time’s Pulse 

Sacred Seal: Hardy Bearing / Swift Sparrow / Quickened Pulse

• Sparking Tome allows Azelle to inflict -6 Spd/Res and reverse the enemy’s visible Spd/Res buffs during combat if the enemy’s HP is ≥ 50%, making him a unique and potentially excellent counter to teams that use visible Spd/Res buffs on their carry/superunit. In combination with his high Attack and Speed, Azelle can deal excellent amounts of damage while frequently performing follow-up attacks against even fast and bulky enemies.
• Since Azelle is a potent offensive force, having no Assist on him may be more beneficial because units without Assists typically move before units with Assists. This means that Azelle can receive refreshes from allies, allowing him to move again.
• An awkward drawback of Sparking Tome’s Resistance debuffs is that Azelle is left without a particularly strong special to use. Usually, a Special with 3 or 4 cooldown that scales based on a defensive stat (such as Iceberg or Glacies) works wonderfully for nukes, but Azelle’s middling 26 Defense and low 23 Resistance are poor for using them. Luna’s -50% Resistance means little if Azelle is potentially inflicting -20 Resistance during combat already. As such, Azelle is left with Glimmer, Ruptured Sky, Draconic Aura, and Dragon Fang.
  • Glimmer is very inconsistent since it simply increases damage by 50% on activation, but its low 2 cooldown allows some of Azelle’s allies to use C slots other than Infantry Pulse. If Azelle is using both Time’s Pulse and Quickened Pulse, Glimmer is ready on turn 1, so none of his allies even need to necessarily be Infantry to begin with.
  • Ruptured Sky deals bonus damage equal to 20% of the enemy’s Attack (or 40% if the enemy is a Dragon or Beast). If the enemy is Attack-stacking, this can potentially deal more damage than Glimmer, especially if the enemy is a Dragon or Beast.
  • Draconic Aura has 3 cooldown and grants bonus damage equal to 30% of Azelle’s Attack, while Dragon Fang has 4 cooldown and bonus damage equal to 50%. Which one is chosen is dependent on how much Special cooldown reduction he can receive from his allies’ skills (such as Grandscratcher, Ostia’s Pulse, and Infantry Pulse). Ideally, Azelle has his Special ready on turn 1.
• Impact skills are excellent A slots because if Azelle initiates, they prevent the enemy from performing a follow-up attack. In tandem with Null Follow-Up, the enemy would need to have ≥ 5 more Speed than Azelle and an effect that neutralizes effects that prevent follow-up attacks. Steady Impact grants Azelle +7 Speed and +10 Defense on initiation, while Swift Impact grants +10 Resistance instead of Defense. Physical superunits are typically more common in Aether Raids Offense, however, making Steady Impact more appealing.
• Hardy Bearing is the go-to seal for Aether Raids Defense nukes. Vantage strategies in which a unit sweeps the enemy team on Enemy Phase are common in Aether Raids Offense, but Hardy Bearing shuts these down by nullifying skills that change attack priority (such as Vantage and Desperation). However, if Azelle needs an extra -1 Special cooldown reduction to have his Special ready on turn 1 or needs to pack a bit more punch, then Quickened Pulse and Swift Sparrow respectively are great alternatives.

Weapon: Sparking Tome 

Assist: Positional Assist 

Special: Glimmer

Passive A: Atk/Spd Push 4 / Fury (3 or 4) / Swift Sparrow (2 or 3)

Passive B: Desperation / Null Follow-Up

Passive C: Joint Drive Spd / Flexible 

Sacred Seal: Flashing Blade / Atk/Spd Solo / Swift Sparrow / Brazen Atk/Spd / Life and Death

• 37/39 offenses and Sparking Tome make Azelle a strong Player Phase unit. In addition to granting a permanent +3 Speed, Sparking Tome inflicts -6 Spd/Res and reverses the enemy’s visible Spd/Res buffs during combat if their HP is ≥ 50%. While Azelle’s offenses are already excellent, he is especially powerful against enemies that attempt to minimize the amount of damage they receive from magical enemies with visible Spd/Res buffs.
• The classic combination of Glimmer, Desperation, and Flashing Blade works well on Azelle. If Azelle’s HP is ≤ 75% and he initiates combat, he can perform his follow-up attack before the enemy counterattacks. In combination with Flashing Blade’s Speed-conditioned +1 Special charge per Azelle’s attack, Azelle can activate Glimmer, a 2-cooldown Special, on his follow-up attack to deal +50% damage and ensure that the enemy will not get a chance to counterattack.
• Swift Sparrow, Atk/Spd Push 4, and Fury are all strong choices for Azelle’s A slot. Swift Sparrow’s +4/6 Attack and +4/7 Speed is only granted on initiation, and while it does not inflict recoil damage, recoil can actually help Azelle fall into Desperation’s ≤ 75% HP condition. If Azelle is using Null Follow-Up to neutralize enemy effects that prevent his follow-up / guarantee their follow-up, Swift Sparrow is arguably the best option. Azelle is at much greater risk of receiving a counterattack, so avoiding recoil damage is nice for preserving his bulk.
• Joint Drive Spd grants +4 Speed to Azelle if an ally is within 2 spaces and grants +4 Speed to all allies within 2 spaces, making it a nice combination of selfish and supportive stat bonuses. Any Sacred Seal that increases Attack and Speed serves as a good alternative to Flashing Blade if raw damage is preferred over Special activations.