New Year Elm

Weapon: Fang of Finality 

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Luna / Moonbow 

Passive A: Atk/Spd Boosting A Slot / Sturdy Surge

Passive B: Beast N Trace / Dive-Bomb / Sweep Skills

Passive C: Spd/Def Hold (or Rein) / C Feud

Sacred Seal: Atk/Spd Solo / Heavy Blade

• With -1 Special cooldown, +6 Atk/Spd, Spd-based true damage, damage reduction, offensive Null Follow-Up (neutralization of effects that prevent his follow-up), +2 base Atk, and +1 Movement from Fang of Finality, Elm is an incredibly threatening Player Phase force. Note the restrictions for some of the aforementioned effects:
  • The +6 Atk/Spd and Spd-based true damage are granted if Elm initiates combat or is not adjacent to any allies. For each enemy within three spaces of the target (including the target), Elm gains true damage = 10% of his Spd, up to 30% for three enemies.
  • The damage reduction is granted if Elm is not adjacent to an ally. For each enemy within three spaces of the target (including the target), Elm gains 20% damage reduction, up to 60% for three enemies.
  • Elm transforms at the start of the turn if he is adjacent to only Dragon/Beast allies or not adjacent to any allies. Upon transformation, he gains +2 base Atk and +1 Movement.
• Thanks to Fang of Finality’s -1 Special cooldown, Elm can activate 3-cooldown Specials such as Luna (pierces 50% of enemy’s Def) on his follow-up attack if the enemy counterattacks and no Special-slowing effect is active. Alternatively, 2-cooldown Specials such as Moonbow can be activated on Elm’s follow-up even if the enemy does not counterattack as long as no Special-slowing effect is active.
• Atk/Spd boosting A slots are naturally strong choices given Elm’s strong offensive lean. Surge Sparrow and Sturdy Surge are particularly worth mentioning, as they grant healing on Special activation. Combining these skills’ healing with Fang of Finality’s damage reduction can drastically boost Elm’s survivability as long as he can consistently activate his Special.
• As the aforementioned transformation restrictions can be inconvenient or outright impossible to achieve depending on the circumstances, Elm’s native Beast N Trace is a great B slot, allowing him to forgo these transformation restrictions altogether and move his remaining movement + one additional space after his first action of the turn.
  • Alternatively, if transformation restrictions can be reasonably worked with, Elm can aim for 2HKOs before the enemy can even counterattack with Dive-Bomb. If Dive-Bomb is used, Elm can use Heavy Blade in his Sacred Seal slot to activate 3-cooldown Specials on his follow-up attack if no Guard effects are active; alternatively, he can swap Heavy Blade for an Atk/Spd boosting Sacred Seal and use a 2-cooldown Special instead. Note, however, that Elm’s damage reduction becomes a failsafe rather than a staple of his usage, and Surge Sparrow and Sturdy Surge lose value because the healing is redundant.
  • Windsweep and Watersweep prevent physical or magical enemies respectively from counterattacking altogether and have similar set implications to Dive-Bomb.
• Spd/Def Hold furthers Elm’s offensive capabilities by inflicting -4 Spd/Def on enemies within three spaces during combat. Spd/Def Rein inflicts the same debuffs, but only within two spaces, so it more than suffices if Hold is unavailable. If neither is available, however, then his base C Feud is still beneficial, shutting down support effects Colorless enemies give and receive during combat.

Weapon: Fang of Finality

Assist: Positional Assist

Special: Galeforce 

Passive A: Atk/Spd Boosting A Slot / Sturdy Impact

Passive B: Beast N Trace / Wings of Mercy / Dive-Bomb / Sweep Skills

Passive C: Spd/Def Hold (or Rein) / Atk/Def Hold (or Rein) / Atk/Spd Hold (or Rein)

Sacred Seal: Heavy Blade

• By using Galeforce, a 5-cooldown Special that activates after combat if ready, Elm can effectively perform two actions in one turn, taking advantage of his excellent Player Phase capabilities. Fang of Finality significantly helps with his overall consistency:
  • With -1 Special cooldown, Galeforce’s cooldown is reduced to 4. Heavy Blade, a Sacred Seal that grants +1 Special charge per Elm’s attack if he has more Atk than the enemy, allows him to activate Galeforce after two attacks (usually one combat) assuming no Special-slowing effect is active.
  • +6 Atk/Spd, Spd-based true damage, damage reduction, offensive Null Follow-Up (neutralization of effects that prevent his follow-up), +2 base Atk, and +1 Movement aid immensely in Elm’s damage output and mobility.
    • Both the Spd-based true damage and damage reduction are based on the number of enemies within three spaces of the target, including the target themselves. Each enemy grants +10% Spd-based true damage and +20% damage reduction, up to 30% and 60% respectively. Most Galeforcers lack either of these effects, let alone both at the same time, making Elm a high-damage, high-survivability initiator.
    • The +2 base Atk and +1 Movement are only granted if Elm transforms, which occurs at the start of the turn if Elm is adjacent to only Dragon/Beast allies or is not adjacent to any allies.
• Atk/Spd boosting A slots maximize Elm’s offenses, making them natural choices; Atk/Spd Catch 4 and Atk/Spd Clash are particularly worth noting. The former grants +9 Atk/Spd if the enemy has a Penalty active and is at 100% HP (+7 Atk/Spd if only one condition is achieved). The latter grants 6 + X Atk/Spd during combat and neutralizes Elm’s visible Atk/Spd debuffs if X is ≥ 2; X is the number of spaces he moves to initiate combat.
  • Alternatively, Sturdy Impact can be used to gain significant physical bulk and survivability on initiation. As Fang of Finality lacks the defensive half of Null Follow-Up, Sturdy Impact’s follow-up prevention can be valuable for ensuring Elm survives counterattacks from a wider cast of enemies.
• As the aforementioned transformation restrictions can be inconvenient, Elm’s native Beast N Trace is excellent, as it forgoes these restrictions and allows Elm to move his remaining movement + one space after his first action of the turn. Alternative B slots are listed below:
  • For Aether Raids Offense, Galeforce strategies typically have a “Wings of Mercy beacon,” a unit that drops to ≤ 50% HP so allies with Wings of Mercy can teleport to spaces adjacent to them. As Elm has significant damage reduction baked into his weapon, he gets more consistent mileage out of being a unit with Wings of Mercy rather than being a Wings of Mercy beacon himself.
  • Dive-Bomb aims for 2HKOs before the enemy counterattacks, which can be a good option if willing to sacrifice the flexibility and mobility that Beast N Trace and Wings of Mercy provide.
  • Windsweep and Watersweep prevent physical or magical enemies respectively from counterattacking altogether. Counterattack prevention is naturally stronger than simply performing a follow-up attack before the enemy can counterattack (Dive-Bomb), but note the potential inconsistency due to only stopping physical or magical enemies from counterattacking depending on which is chosen.
• Hold skills inflict -4 to two stats to enemies within three spaces during combat, while Rein skills inflict to enemies within two spaces. Whichever stat combination is chosen is dependent on player preference.