"I cannot stand the sight of Reinhardt."

— Julius, and potentially many players after Arena and Aether Raids

Since Fire Emblem Heroes has loads of characters that are added every month, it is only natural several units end up becoming too good. This also can occur with skills too!

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Unit Types

Anyone who can instantly charge their Special Cooldown at the start of their turn. Most Infantry heroes that can charge their special through Cooldown Manipulation at the start of their turn are popular on enemy defense teams, since when their special activates either on their first attack or before combat, it would most likely will result in one less hero on the attacking team, and as a result most likely having that player surrender that battle in the Coliseum modes. While heroes such as Regular Ophelia, Regular Lysithea, and Legendary Lilina are the most common picks for players since they can do that on their own, other Infantry units that can do this by equipped with a weapon that gives -1 maximum special cooldown, a 2 cooldown combat special such as Moonbow, Glimmer or Ruptured Sky, and the Infantry-only Time's Pulse 3/4, since that reduces it to a 1 cooldown special which means Time's Pulse 3/4 instantly charges their special at the start of their every turn. Other units can also depend on being on a specific team build to charge their specials at the start of turn 1, such as with Legendary Hector and his Ostia's Pulse, or Infantry Pulse teams, and for the latter, they often will be equipped with stronger specials such as Ignis, Dragon Fang or even the AOE specials such as Blazing Wind, which are usually considered Awesome, but Impractical under normal circumstances due to their larger cooldown than other specials. There are ways to counter to this strategy such are Pulse Smoke, the Odd/Even Pulse Tie skills, and Witchy Wand+/Melancholy+, all which are premium skills, but even then it doesn't work if they use Time's Pulse since they can just charge it up again at the start of their turns.
- Regular Ophelia is very sought after for defense teams in Aether Raids thanks to her high Atk and great weapon. Her Missiletainn reduces her maximum special cooldown by 1, and at the start of turn 1 gives her -1 special cooldown for every Tome ally on the team, including herself. Due to how defense team compositions can go up to 7, she can be on a defense team specifically made with her in mind^note while also balancing it with other hard hitters or tanks, and have her special ready to annihilate any foe she attacks with a Blazing special to deal massive damage to enemies before combat, and with Hardy Bearing equipped, she can negate Vantage, so anyone who is trying to risk baiting her attacks and is not Green and does not possess high enough Res to survive her attack may as well be nothing to her. Even worse is that this is before any Elite Tweaks are put into play: Life and Death 3/4, Special Spiral, Res Smoke, the list goes on. Considering that some Tome users include dancers, she is the top priority for players to take out as fast as possible, otherwise by the time that you do eliminate her, your remaining units may be unable to eliminate the rest of the enemies on the map, making those defense teams unwinnable. What's worse is that has a Resplendent outfit, which comes with +2 to all of her stats, making her even more of a threat than she was before.
- While Lilina's regular, Valentine and Summer variants are nothing to write home about, her Legendary and Bridal variants are another story, as they share the same gimmick: Tome cavalry units with Squishy Wizard stats, weapons with -1 maximum special cooldown, -1 special cooldown at the start of turn 1 and boosting Atk and Res, and access to Gifted Magic, an AOE special with 2 special cooldown that deals damage equal to 0.8x of her Atk minus her foe's Res before the start of combat in a + shape. Even worse, since Gifted Magic checks her Atk at the start of combat, players also inherit Atk boosting skill such as Life and Death 3/4 onto her to deal more damage with both her attacks and AOE specials, and all of this is before more Elite Tweaks are given to her, such as Merges, Dragonflowers, and boosts from Mythic Heroes. Their main weakness is their low Spd and poor Def, meaning that any physical attacker can take her down with ease, but baiting her out is another matter entirely.
  - Legendary Lilina is a Red Tome Cavalry, and alongside Gifted Magic she has Studied Forblaze. It gives her -1 maximum special cooldown, -1 special cooldown at the start of turn 1, and if she is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat, she gains +6 Atk/Res during combat, and negate her foe's skills that changes attack priority, such as Vantage, countering units that depend on those skills.
  - Bridal Lilina is a Blue Tome Cavalry, and alongside Gifted Magic she has True-Love Roses. It gives her -1 maximum special cooldown, -1 special cooldown at the start of turn 1, and if she either initiates combat or is within 2 spaces of an ally she gains +6 Atk/Res during combat and deals true damage equal to 10% of her Res, trading priority nullification for true damage.

Units with Canto. [Canto (x)] allows user to move again after performing an action on their turn, which includes attacking an enemy or structure and using assist skills, which allows them to perform Hit-and-Run Tactics to get out of harm's way when they're done once per turn, but can only move to the amount of spaces given by x and cannot warp spaces more than what x allows, with x being either a fix number or the remainder of their unused movement, with the remainder becoming 0 if the user has warped first. While [Canto (1)] and [Canto (3x3)] gives little range and therefore can be pursued, the other ranges^note have their users move a large amount of spaces in just one turn, only being behind users that can warp spaces with skills such as Wings of Mercy, but can get out of dodge just as far. What's worse is that extra movement from other sources count to the movement they can allow and so things like Legendary Sigurd's Holy-Knight Aura and [Pathfinder] will make them go the distance and beyond. While Canto is somewhat tamer on the AI's hands, it's way worse to deal with in Summoner Duels, since all units on both sides are human-controlled. Therefore, it's already possible for human players to abuse it with hit-and-run strategies that makes a Canto user farther away from the opposing side's team, and trying to reach said Canto user takes up too much time due to how turns and phases work in this mode, which isn't helped by the limited turn count. It has gotten so unfun to go against that the status effect [Canto Control] was created just to disrupt units that use Canto.
Unit that have high mobility and can consistently attack twice when initiating combat. While weapons that can attack twice in one round of combat are common such as the Brave and Ninja weapons, there are plenty of heroes that basically outdo them in terms of DPS and range and need players to be careful about, or otherwise lose a unit with a 1-2 punch of strong attacks. While the release of the Deflect Sacred Seals and Brave Ike and his Urvan (especially if it has the unique refine) early in the game's life makes them a hard counter against them, the fact that only one unit can equip them in the former makes them hard to go against until the release of the Save skills making a dedicated tank take those specific hits, but even then there are a number of units that players have to look out for:

This has been a major source of trouble and losses since launch and has only gotten worse, especially with the Summer Vacation Banner in June 2022.

Regular Reinhardt, despite his low end Mighty Glacier stats, is considered to be one of the most aggravating units to see during the early days of the game's life. Thanks to his Dire Thunder combined with skills like Death Blow, Quickened Pulse, and Moonbow (a fairly low investment cost), he can charge in and pop one of your units without you being able to safely approach him, and then an ally can Reposition him back into safety. He is the main reason why it is difficult to field more than one red unit at once due to the sheer number of advantages he has. Unlike many units who generally get phased out as time goes on, with the introduction of new skills like Death Blow 4, Lull Atk/Res, and the introduction of new ways of increasing stats, Reinhardt remains one of the top dogs of the game despite his stats being low compared to other characters, and even if those stats are a problem, he received a Resplendent version in late March 2021, which means he gets +2 to all his stats, meaning he's going to hit a bit harder.

This is more of a historical entry, but with him in the 3~4* pool, as well as a 5* version being rewarded in a quest makes him stand out as the first double attacking unit that players are more likely to build up.

Legendary Leif. He's a Colorless Bow Cavalier with a Glass Cannon statline that brings his regular variant's S Drink and Meisterbogen. Meisterbogen is a 9 Might weapon that is effective against flying foes, inflicts -5 Spd on the user, allows the user to attack twice in one round, regardless of phase, and if he is under the player's control, deny any of the foe's follow-up attacks if the user initiates combat, and Njörun's Zeal, a 3 cooldown special where once per turn, if the user initiates combat, inflicts the Gravity status on the user and their Paired-Up ally and grants the user one more action after combat, making it basically Galeforce with a lower cooldown and a relatively minor downside. Because of that, thanks to S Drink putting Njörun's Zeal at 2 cooldown at turn 1, if he initiates on your units and attacks twice, he moves again to potentially move one space closer and take out another one of your heroes near the initial target and thanks to Meisterbogen double attacking on both phases, any ranged attacker that can't one-shot him will meet a double attack from him, giving him a high chance to eliminate them in retaliation, and all of this is before any any Elite Tweaks. What's even worse is that he received a Remix in update 7.1.0 in January 2023, where his Meisterbogen has the unique refine of granting him +4 Atk/Spd/Def/Res, true damage equal to 10% of his Atk and ignore skills that inflict -X special buildup on him per attack, all which activates if he either initiates combat or is within 2 spaces of an ally, and Njörun's Zeal II has the additional effect of granting -1 special cooldown at the start of turn 1, turning him into a more powerful multi-target attacker.

A double attacking bow unit that can get an Extra Turn is one already one should be worried about.

Ninja Duo Lyn & Florina. Their Tailwind Shuriken is a 9 Might weapon that gives the user -1 maximum special cooldown, +4 Spd, inflicts -4 Def/Res on the user, the standard [Dagger 7] debuff effect, and if the user initiates combat, they can attack twice in one round. This means that they are the first dagger unit in the game that has access to a Brave weapon, and they're no joke thanks to their Tailwind Shuriken letting them able to activate any 2 cooldown special every second attack, while also having flier mobility to close in and attack one of your units. They were even gifted to players for free as part of A Hero Rises 2021.

Being a flying unit that can double attack, are rewarded as a free unit in A Hero Rises 2021, and their Duel effect, makes them a common sight in Arena Defense teams, and their potential with their Extra Turn in Summoner Duels makes them annoying to play against.

Ninja Duo Female Corrin & Elise. Their Ninjustu Scrolls is a 9 Might weapon that gives them +4 Spd and inflicts -4 Def/Res on them, allows them to double attack if they initiate combat, and allows them to deal damage equal to 70% of the difference in between their and their foe's Spd if they are faster than their foe, up to +7 true damage, and combined with their double attack they will deal up to 14 true damage alone from their first double attack, and up to 28 true damage if they quad, but considering that they will gain the maximum benefits if they have 10 or more Spd than their foe during combat, they will quad with the full benefits if they reach that Spd threshold in the first place, which is easy for them. Not helping matters is because they're the winner of A Hero Rises 2022, they were given as a free hero to all players for a certain amount of time, making her a common threat.

Them dealing true damage in their attacks if they're faster alongside their double attacks, being rewarded as a free unit in A Hero Rises 2022, and their Duel effect, makes them a common sight in Arena and Aether Raid Defense teams, and their potential with their Extra Turn in Summoner Duels makes them annoying to play against.

Winter Harmonized Lysithea & Lute. Their Sweet Yule Log gives him -1 maximum special cooldown, and if they are at 25% HP or above at the start of combat, they gain +6 Atk/Spd during combat and if they initiate combat and they 9 or less Spd over their foe they have any of their follow-up attacks go before the foe can counterattack, and if they have 10 or more Spd they instead attack twice in one round. You will need a unit with high Spd and/or Res to tank them, or otherwise will lose said unit.

Them being Colorless make them only have disadvantage over against Raven-like effects, but the fact that their double attack requires a Spd check makes them more likely to fall behind against fast units.

Ninja Camilla. A Flying Red Tome, she has Mighty Glacier statline and bring the Flowery Scroll. It is a 9 might weapon that gives -1 maximum special cooldown, +5 Def/Res but inflicts -8 Spd, makes the user attacks twice regardless of phase, and if the foe initiates combat and they have lower Res than her, she attacks first. The last two parts are what makes her very annoying to face against, as she can Vantage Sweep a lot of units with ease with her very high Res, not helped by the fact that she inflicts a big Res debuff on the foe during combat, effectively gets very high Atk on a Brave weapon. Her prescience alone can perform a Total Party Kill on many player's teams, and this is before Elite Tweaks, so players are usually forced to run units with either the Hardy Bearing or Deflect Magic Sacred Seals or weapons or skills to prevent counterattack such as Watersweep or Firesweep weapons to counter her, or have a unit that is Blue and has a lot of Res and Atk, both which limits team building against other threats she might be teamed up with.

A Flier with a magic brave weapon and stat-based Vantage with a strong default kit is something not many players are prepared for.

Female Shez . A Blue Dagger Infantry, she has a Glass Cannon statline and brings Asura Blades and Swift Slice. Asura Blades gives +5 Spd, allows her to attack twice regardless of phase, the standard [Dagger 7] debuff effect, neutralizes any field stat debuffs on her during combat, and if she is faster than her foe she gets +1 special buildup per attack during combat, and Swift Slice gives her +8 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat if she either initiates combat or is within 2 spaces of an ally, and if she initiates combat and either she has 20 or more Spd over non-Dragon or Beast Infantry units or she has 5 or more Spd over Cavalry, Flying, Armored, or Dragon or Beast Infantry units she deals effective damage against all weapon types. While most of her kit makes her a great mixed phase unit, it's the last part that turns her into one of the ultimate player phase units as she will be doing a lot of damage before she triggers he special, and with her default Atk/Spd Oath 4 she becomes a mobile killing machine, and that is before any Elite Tweaks.

A very mobile brave attacker that deals effective damage to basically all the roster is not to be messed with.

Bridal Harmonized Catria & Thea and Winter Harmonized Cordelia & Fates Selena. These are units that can basically give what the above units can do and give it to themselves and anyone on their team. Both of them share the same gimmick, but give different status effects to themselves and all allies within 2 spaces of them at the start of their turns. While both of them gives the [Orders] status effect, which allows a unit to warp to an adjacent space of an ally within 2 spaces of them, Bridal Harmonized Catria & Thea's Wedding-Bell Axe gives [Triangle Attack], which allows the unit to double attack if they initiate combat and there is at least two other units with Triangle Attack within 2 spaces of them, and Winter Harmonized Cordelia & Fate Selena's Inseverable Spear gives [Dual Strike], which allows the unit to double attack if they initiate combat and they are adjacent to another ally with Dual Strike. As a result, they can give anyone a double attack on initiation. Regular Shinon? Regular or Rearmed Ophelia? Fallen Edelgard? They will give [Orders] and [Triangle Attack] or [Dual Strike] to them to create a team of mobile double attackers or potentially quad attackers, making their presence on the enemy team alone a dreadful experience if they're on the Defense Team in Aether Raids, where they can potentially give those status effects to the entire team with the right setup, making them top priority to take down, but with how Defense Teams are usually setup it falls into a Morton's Fork scenario if you should take them down first or any of their allies, and since themselves are Harmonized Heroes, their presence will activate the Defense Team's Duo's Hindrance, meaning that your Duo and Harmonized Skills will not activate as long as them and any other Duo or Harmonized heroes on the Defense Team are alive within a certain amount of turns.

Granting high mobility and guaranteed double attacks to any unit near them makes them a very common sight on Aether Raids defense teams. I even have surrendered against them a few times before even going into battle since I do not have a dedicated team against the other units they're giving the double attack and warping ability, such as Volke and Young Innes.

Refreshers, units that can use Sing/Dance/Play to give a unit an Extra Turn. Having refreshers on your side is fun; Having refreshers on the enemy's side is definitely not. Having any of the units listed here alongside refresher units will make you want to pull every hair out whenever you lose against them. The AI often move in a predicable manner, but add a refresher unit in the enemy team, and predictability goes right out the window. Even worse, any of them with 3+ movement by default, have high mobility skills like Wings of Mercy 3 making them warp to their wounded allies or Odd/Even Tempest 3 makes enemy units initially far from them to move again, sometimes with their specials ready to finish the job, or to bypass units to target a more vulnerable one. They are a high priority target, but the fact that when they refresh, they're more likely are behind enemies who moved again, especially if they have Canto, so getting to them is difficult, and even trying to lure them to attack will more likely create some Morton's Fork situations for the players. The only hard counters to their refreshing skills is sources of [Isolation], where those inflicted with the status effect cannot use or be the target of Assist Skills, including Sing/Dance/Play, and units that instantly end another foe's turn, but such sources are few and far between.
- Legendary Azura is a Blue Tome Flying unit that players dread seeing, as her Prayer Wheel gives an ally she danced to Atk/Spd/Def/Res equal to the highest bonus the unit has, even from the Dance B and Sacred Seal skills such as Earth Dance 3, and the unique refine for it grants +6 Spd to all allies within 2 spaces of her at the start of her turn, making sure that they get +6 Atk/Spd/Def/Res, and her Gray Waves, in addition to refreshing an ally, if that ally is an Infantry or Flying unit, they gain +1 movement, and Gray Waves II also gives [Null Panic] under the same conditions. Combined with high mobility skill such as Aerobatics 3 and Wings of Mercy 3 and you got among one of the worst refreshers to face against.
- Harmonized Hatari Azura & Leanne is similar to the above Legendary Azura, trading flying movement for Cavalry movement, which means that they can support Cavalry units naturally, and that means trouble. Besides having the above Gray Waves, their Dancing Flames grants +6 Atk/Spd/Def/Res to all adjacent allies after they refresh an ally, meaning that they require little setup to give the buffs compared to Legendary Azura. What's worse is that they're a Harmonized unit, meaning that in Aether Raids they will activate their Duo's Hindrance Defense structure to nullify the player's Duo and Harmonized Skills as long as they exist, and going after them in the first place is a major task in itself due to how player's defense teams are usually set up in not just being behind strong frontliners but also near [Savior] units to protect them as well.

Repeat Offenders

Edelgard. As expected from the emperor of Adrestia, she is a fearsome foe with skills that makes her stronger if she is going in solo. While her regular variant is strong and has the potential to blindsight players if they're not careful, her Legendary, Fallen and Summer variants takes her gimmick to another level, while her Brave variant breaks away from that trend, but in the most horrifying way possible:
- Legendary Edelgard is a One Woman Army in the strongest sense of the word. She has a Mighty Glacier statline where her weapon Aymr inflicts -6 Atk/Def on the foe and denies follow-up attacks if she's by herself, on top of giving her an extra 3 Atk, and Raging Storm where it gives her a guaranteed follow-up attack against dragons and beasts, but is essentially a built in Galeforce, allowing her to move again if she initiates combat with no one nearby (And yes, it actually stacks with Galeforce, meaning she can potentially act 3 times by herself without any dancers). If you don't have a ranged unit or armor effectiveness, your team is as good as dead. Most of these skills only work if she's not adjacent to an ally, creating a diabolical Morton's Fork of deciding if you should take her out first or pick off her allies.
- Brave Edelgard breaks away from her being strong without allies, to being strong, even near allies. As an Armored Axe with Mighty Glacier stats, her entire skill kit will make you forget that being a slow armored unit for her is a downside. She has Black Eagle Rule to give her a guaranteed follow-up attack if she's at 25% HP or over and reduces damage taken from any follow-up attacks by 80%, and Flower Hauteclere: it gives her -1 maximum special cooldown, and if she's at 25% HP or over, she inflicts -6 Atk/Def on the foe during combat, and gives her +1 Movement, as well as the Orders status effect, which allows her to move to an adjacent space of an ally within 2 spaces of her. Already from her basekit, she's dangerous, and if she has an ally 2 spaces away from her, she moves like a cavalry unit, and thanks to her Flower Hauteclere and Black Eagle Rule, her abysmal Spd and initial 1 Movement matters little. Even worse is the refine she got for her Flower Hauteclere in update 6.9.0 in September 2022, where the unique refine gives her +3 Atk/Def/Res during combat and inflicts -1 special buildup on the foe per attack if she or her foe moved to a different space before combat and +2 Atk/Spd/Def during combat equal to the amount of spaces of whoever initiates combat, up to +9 Atk/Def/Res total during combat, she inflicts additional -6 Atk/Def on the foe during combat and she restores 7 HP per attack she performs, all which activates if she is within 3 spaces of an ally, so she punishes enemies that moves, which nearly all units do to attack her in the first place. And all of this is before any Elite Tweaks, and thanks to her great Atk and defenses, Save skills are a popular skill inheritance for her, making her and her team extra annoying to take down.
- Fallen Edelgard. As a Colorless Armor Beast, she brings a Mighty Glacier statline, but her very busted skillset will make sure that her very low Spd is not a big problem for her. Her weapon, Twin-Crest Power, and exclusive B skill, Armored Wall, are the most sticking points of her kit. Twin-Crest Power gives her -1 special cooldown, Distant Counter and +2 Atk if she is transformed, and if she is at 25% HP of above at the start of combat, she inflicts -6 Atk/Def on the foe during combat, she and her target cannot perform a follow-up attack, and if she initiates combat and is transformed at the same HP threshold, she gains an Extra Turn (which stacks with Galeforce). Meanwhile, Armored Wall gives her +1 special buildup per attack, inflicts -1 special buildup on the foe per attack, heals her for 7 HP after combat, and if she is transformed, she reduces damage taken from the foe's first attack by 40% in the first combat she participates in each player and enemy phase, all which activates if she is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat. With that, she is a nigh-unkillable tank that will hit very hard, and she will counterattack with a 26 power Bonfire by default if players initiate on her. She's so tanky that it will sometimes take the player's entire team to take her down, especially if she is the last foe on the map. Finally, all of this is before any Elite Tweaks are given to her. There are ways to take her down, but she's so bulky that at that point you're pretty much building an entire team solely dedicated to taking her down and sometimes not good enough to take down her other allies as well, and even with multiple counters released later on such as Legendary Male Byleth and Regular Thórr, Fallen Edelgard is despised for how much constraint she puts on teambuilding, with one being required to have a dedicated hard counter to the Hegemon lest they suffer a Total Party Kill.
- Summer Harmonized Edelgard & Altina. A Sword Armor, they bring a Mighty Glacier statline, but their skillkit will make you forget they were ever slow. They bring Legendary Edelgard's Raging Storm to make them annoying, and Regal Sunshade: it gives them -1 maximum special cooldown, and grants them +6 Atk during combat, inflict -6 Atk on the foe during combat, reduces damage taken from the foe's first attack by 40%, and if there are a certain amount of foes or more within 3 rows or 3 columns centered on them depending on the amount of foes active^note, they attack twice, all which activates if they are at 25% HP or above at the start of combat. With Assault Troop granting them [Charge]^note and Raging Storm granting an Extra Turn, and with the extremely easy to activate trigger for their double attack being incredibly difficult for players to defuse, especially with the small map and regular team of 4, they're going to be charging to the frontline and annihilate any foes within ranges of them while also being very difficult to take down. Even worse is if they copy Legendary and Fallen Edelgard's Extra Turns gimmick, meaning they can potentially perform a Total Party Kill, especially with refresher support.
Dimitri has one consistent gimmick that he has with all his variants: use his high Atk and Def to his full advantage. While his regular variant is a bit dangerous to face against in some situations and has the potential to blindsight players if they're not careful, he is not as consistent like his Legendary, Brave, Fallen and Summer variants:
- Legendary Dimitri. He is a Lance Infantry Lightning Bruiser that brings Areadbhar and Atrocity. Areadbhar gives him -1 maximum special cooldown, and if he is at 25% HP or above, he gains +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat and 4% damage reduced from enemy attacks and non-Røkkr AOE specials for every point of Spd he has over his foe, up to 40% damage reduced, and Atrocity, if the foe is at 50% HP or above at the start of combat, grants him damage equal to 25% of his Atk, and inflicts -5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res and +1 special cooldown to the target and all foes within 2 spaces of the target after combat if he survives. So from Areadbhar and Atrocity alone he has Spectrum Push, Dodge, Brave Alm's Scendscale (which would give him 17 true damage by default), Spectrum Smoke, and Pulse Smoke, and all of that is before any Elite Tweaks, such as changing out his Blazing Wind for another attack special like Vital Astra or Ruptured Sky. Like his other variants, however, he is weak to magic attack thanks to his low Res and average HP, but with his Areadbhar's Damage Reduction, it's not going to be an easy feat.
- Brave Dimitri. He is another Lance Infantry that brings a Mighty Glacier statline, but his skillkit will make you think otherwise, especially when he received his refine in update 6.9.0 in September 2022. His Blue Lion Rule gives him reduces damage taken from attacks and non-Røkkr AOE specials by 4% for each point of Def he has over his foe, up to 40%, and if he has more Def and the foe initiates combat he gets a guaranteed follow-up attack, which is fine by itself, but the refined Moon Gradivus is another story. Moon Gradivus gives him the Distant Counter effect, and +1 special buildup per foe's attack, and the unique refine gives him +5 Spd/Def/Res during combat, inflicts -5 Def on the foe during combat, ignores field stat buffs on the foe's Atk and Def during combat, and reduces damage taken from attack and boost his damage equal to 20% of his Def, all which activates if he is within 3 spaces of an ally. All of that together and you go someone who is very difficult to take down, especially on the enemy phase, and with his high Def, he reduces damage taken and boost his damage further, and unlike most damage reduction skills that effect cannot be negated by skill like Deadeye or Lethality, making him have very few counters against him, and all of this is before any Elite Tweaks. However, his low Res is major weakness so a strong magic attacker can take him down, especially if they're green, but the Damage Reduction of his Blue Lion Rule and Moon Gradivus will make him shrug off all but the strongest magic attacks.
- Fallen Dimitri. Another Lance Infantry, he brings a Lightning Bruiser statline, but what makes him dangerous is his Vengeful Lance and Murderous Lion. Vengeful Lance gives him +3 Atk, and it gives him +6 Atk/Spd during combat and if he somehow is not able to perform a follow-up attack, he gains damage equal to 50% of the difference of his Atk and his foe's Def if his Atk is higher, all which activates if he's not adjacent to an ally, and Murderous Lion gives him [Canto (Rem. +1)], and allows him to inflict -3 Spd/Def on the foe during combat and prevent the foe from counterattacking if he's not adjacent to an ally. Already he brings a deadly base kit that is focused on him initiating combat, while also allowing him the option to retreat after battle with his Murderous Lion and his default Odd Tempest 3. Since his kit focuses on Hit-and-Run Tactics, he will take no damage from all of this if he initiates combat thanks to his Murderous Lion preventing his foe from counterattacking, and if he somehow does not perform a follow-up attack, he will deal 75% of the total damage he can potentially do instead of 50% in most cases, and that's not going into any Elite Tweaks, such as him inheriting Ninja Naginata+. However, unlike his Brave and Legendary variants he does not have any form of Damage Reduction and so his low Res is his major weakness.

Fallen Dimitri has only Murderous Lion with his Lightning Bruiser statline going for him, and Arcane weapons are not going to help him here, so he's pretty safe to cut.

Summer Dimitri. Unlike his other variants he is an Axe Cavalry with a Lightning Bruiser statline, and alongside his Legendary variant's Atrocity, which is bad enough, his brings Unyielding Oar. Unyielding Oar gives him -1 maximum special cooldown, [Canto (Rem. +1)], and he gets +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat and allows him to attack twice if either the foe has a [Bonus] active or he has 10 or more Spd than his foe during combat, all which activates if he is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat. The double attack of his Unyielding Oar is the most powerful part of his skillkit, as it synergizes with his Atrocity's true damage equal to 25% of his Atk during combat, so with his Atk going to 72 Atk with his default kit and, he is getting 18 damage per attack, so anyone with average HP will just fold against him even with great Def, and with his high Spd, he is near guaranteed to double attack, and this is before any additional buffs he can receive. However, his low Res is his major downfall, so any strong magic attack will take him down easily.

Red Units

Marth, the first protagonist of the entire Fire Emblem franchise, has to be given careful treatment for his reputation. While his Regular variant is a good support Drive unit, his Young variant being a good Vantage sweeper, his Groom variant being outclassed by units like Plegian Kris, and his Winter Duo variant being a great Armor unit, all that is overshadowed by what his remaining two variants received in 2021 to make them Lightning Bruisers with ridiculous skills:
- Brave Marth is a Lightning Bruiser with all to be a Godsword and then some. He has Shining Emblem, which is a 2 cooldown special that gives him +6 Atk/Spd/Def/Res and +6 Atk to all allies within 2 spaces of them at the start of his turn if he is within 2 spaces of an ally, boosts his damage equal to 35% of his Spd during combat, and if it triggers he gives himself and all his allies +6 Atk/Spd/Def/Res, even if he was KOed during that combat, and Genesis Falchion gives him -1 maximum special cooldown, deals effective damage against Dragons, gives him +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat, and the following effects depending on the total sum of the field stat buffs among the 3 allies with the highest total field stat buffs active on them during combat: 10+ gives him Null Follow-Up, 25+ gives him an additional +5 Atk and allows him to recover 5 HP per attack he performs, and 60+ gives him Vantage, all of which triggers if he either initiates combat or within 2 spaces of an ally. So that Shining Emblem he has? It can trigger all those effects if he triggers it, and even the +6 Atk buff to allies within 2 spaces can trigger the Null Follow-Up effect if there is at least two other allies within 2 spaces of him. So with everything, he becomes a statball that is difficult to take down, and this is before he receives any Elite Tweaks, such as any Menace and Joint Drive skills.
- Legendary Marth with a once-considered Lightning Bruiser statline that is considered a Jack of All Stats now was basically the hard counter against Dragon units while still able to serve fine on his own against other units, but was later on was overshadowed by other units. That however changed with the release of update 5.11.0 in November 2021 when he got both his Legendary Remix and his refine for his Exalted Falchion. His Binding Shield, which allows him to have a guaranteed follow-up attack, deny any of his foe's follow-up attacks, and prevent the foe from counterattacking, all which activates if he is against a Dragon foe, has Binding Shield II now also trigger that if he has 5 or more Spd than his foe during combat, acting as an Omnibreaker and Wind/Watersweep, and unlike most Legendary Remixes, upgrades his Fire Emblem special to the above Shining Emblem. However, the absolute worst of all is the refine for his Exalted Falchion. Exalted Falchion gives him +3 Spd, deals effective damage against Dragons and it has the Bonus Doubler effect, the refine version also gives him +4 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat if he either has a [Bonus] or is at 50% HP or above at the start of combat, and the unique refine allows him to gain an additional +4 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat and effectively reverses any field stat debuffs he has on him during combat, all which activates if he either initiates combat or is within 2 spaces of an ally. Combined with his Shining Emblem's stat buffs and you got a Lightning Bruiser. Basically, him getting stat buffs during combat whether he buffed or debuffed makes facing him a Morton's Fork scenario, where while buffing him makes him bad enough, debuffs on him as well will turn him into a gigantic ball of stats, and that's not going into any Elite Tweaks. With that said, the only real way to prevent him from growing to that statline is to have skills that ignore any of the foe's field stat buffs during combat, such as Close Def 4 and Dull Close.
Valentine's Duo Líf & Thrasir. They're a Mighty Glacier Red Tome Cavalry Duo Unit that is almost unfair to fight against. Their &Thorn;jfáli gives them +3 Atk, a guaranteed follow-up attack if they're within 3 spaces of an ally, just like Regular Líf's Sökkvabekkr, as well as +6 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat, but they injure their closest ally (or allies) for 20 damage afterwards if they attack. While their other stats are very high, their only drawback stat-wise is their lackluster Spd, which means they has to rely on their weapon's guaranteed follow-up. On top of that, their weapon pierces through half of any non-Special Damage Reduction skill, so if you've been relying on that, you're in for a world of hurt.
Legendary Sigurd. He brings a Mighty Glacier statline on top of having a busted skillset by default. He has his Regular variant's Crusader's Ward, Hallowed Tyrfing and Holy-Knight Aura: Hallowed Tyrfing gives him -1 maximum special cooldown, and if his foe is at 75% HP or above at the start of combat, he gains +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat, gets a guaranteed follow-up attack, and he gains 40% damage reduced from his foe's first attack if either he initiates combat or the foe is wielding a ranged weapon, and Holy-Knight Aura is a 2 cooldown special (reduced to 1 thanks to his Hallowed Tyrfing) that gives him +1 Movement at the start of his turn, boosts his damage equal to 25% of his Atk during combat when it triggers, and if his special triggers, he gives himself and all allies +6 Atk and +1 Movement after combat, even if he was KO'd during that combat. So not only is he tough to take down thanks to his Damage Reduction, but also increase the movement of his allies by +1 if he activates his special, meaning a whole lot of shenanigans can happen, such as dancers moving 1 more space and Ranged Cavaliers getting very high movement to attack. Because of that, he is very difficult to bait out without having any of his allies get increased movement and Atk as well and take down whatever target he was attacking even if he somehow was taken down, that target's not going to tank by using Life Drain specials and Heal Thyself skills to top up their missing HP thanks to Sigurd's Fatal Smoke 3, and he is difficult to take down first with Ranged Cavaliers because of his increased attack range and Hallowed Tyrfing and Crusader's Ward's Damage Reduction working against ranged units if they initiate against him.
Legendary Nanna. A Sword Cavalry unit, she brings a Glass Cannon statline, Lands Sword and Hoðr's Zeal. Lands Sword gives her +3 Atk, grants her +6 Atk/Spd during combat, allows her to ignore skills that prevent her follow-up attacks, non-Special effects that "reduce damage by X%", defensive Specials that are triggered by unit's attack, and restores 7 HP to unit after combat, all which activates if she is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat, and Hoðr's Zeal gives her [Canto (Rem. +1)], deals damage equal to 20% of her Atk during combat and has any of her follow-up attacks before foe can counterattack if she initiates combat. Because of this, her weapon can bypass all kinds of Damage Reduction skills and even the niche defensive special skills. Vital Astra? Fallen Edelgard's Armored Wall? Negating Fang? Miracle? You name it, and alongside with Hoðr's Zeal she can hit hard when she initiates combat, making her be able to take down all but the toughest tanks with her dealing true damage per attack and get out of dodge with Canto, while having the potential to never receive any damage at all, and that's before going into any Elite Tweaks, such as inheriting the Ninja Katana+ to tear though tanks with true damage, merges and dragonflowers. However, she can be easily be taken down thanks to her poor defenses and thus Anti-Cavalry weapons and Blue Tomes even the common Regular Reinhardt can beat her, but one should still be careful baiting her out.
Valentine's Duo Chrom & Male Robin are effectively a red version of Legendary Chrom, who is mentioned in the Blue Ranged folder. They bring a Mighty Glacier statline with a skillkit consisting of Legendary Chrom's To Change Fate! and their Destiny's Bow. It has flying and armored effectiveness, -1 maximum special cooldown, a Link-esque effect for the first 4 turns of battle that reduces their special cooldown and the special cooldown of an ally that uses a movement assist on them or is targeted by their movement assist (which includes To Change Fate!) by 1, and +5 to all stats and a guaranteed follow-up attack when initiating combat or being within 2 spaces of an ally. Because To Change Fate! gives Duo Chrom another action, Destiny's Bow alongside their Time's Pulse 3 lets them spam Deadeye for those first 4 turns while bypassing their low Spd with guaranteed follow-up attacks if they don't manage to nuke the enemy outright. The saving grace to facing them is their 26 Res and 27 Spd, which means blue mages with good enough Spd can easily be their undoing.
Legendary Veronica is someone who you should not let anyone initiate on your units. A Red Tome Cavalier, she brings a Glass Cannon statline, Enclosing Dark and Enclosure. Enclosing Dark gives -1 maximum special cooldown, have any of her follow-up attacks go before the foe can counterattack, and gives her +6 Atk/Spd during combat, ignores skills that prevents any of her follow-up attacks, inflicts -4 Spd/Res on the foe during combat if there is exactly 1 foe within 2 spaces of that foe, and inflicts -8 Spd/Res on the foe during combat and prevents them from counterattacking if there are 2 or more foes within 2 spaces of that target, all which activates if she either initiates combat or is not adjacent to an ally, and Enclosure is a 2 cooldown special that boosts her damage equal to 25% of her Atk, and ignores non-Special Damage Reduction skills and inflicts -1 special buildup on her per attack. Basically, she is an extremely fast unit that punishes grouping up and forces players to play differently whenever she is on the map, but to have a chance to counterattack her at all, you need a unit that has either extremely high Spd and/or Res or has Hardy Bearing and Null C-Disrupt, and units with those attributes are few and far between, and that's not going into any Elite Tweaks. However, she is still a Glass Cannon, so any strong attacker can take her down with ease, but with her attack range baiting her out is still a problem.
Regular Embla. She is a Flying Beast and a Dark Mythic with a Lightning Bruiser statline, and brings Enclosing Claw and Severance. Enclosing Claw gives -1 maximum special cooldown, gives her the flying beast effect of extra movement if she transforms, and if her HP is 25% or above at the start of combat she gains +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat, and inflicts a penalty on the foe's Atk/Spd/Def equal to the number of foes within 3 columns and rows of her x 3 (with a maximum penalty of -9 to all three stats), and if there are 2 or more foes within 3 columns and rows of her, she neutralizes effects that guarantee the foe’s follow-up attacks and inflicts special cooldown -1 on her foe per attack. But what truly puts her in her own league is her unique C skill, Severance. This skill lets her inflict [Undefended] and [Feud] against all foes within 3 columns and rows of her at the start of her turn, and if she does, she also neutralizes any [Penalty] on her and grants herself [Dodge]. [Undefended] prevents the unit affected by this status effect from being protected by [Savior], while [Feud] is a status effect that disables the skills of the unit's allies during the unit's combat. Both of these status effects are nothing short of devastating to deal with, as they completely shut down most tanking strategies, especially Save tanking. [Feud] also makes offensive oriented strategies much harder to pull off, as they can prevent units from receiving extra stats and effects that could make or break these strategies. Meanwhile, Embla herself is extremely powerful during combat with Guard, Null-Follow Up, Dodge, and not having any negative status effects to worry about during her player phase. This isn't even considering her default Atk/Spd Clash 4 skill, the other sacred seals she can run, or the other Elite Tweaks she can receive. Her Severance alone makes her a menace on defense teams, especially if she is on Astra/Anima Season teams, as many defensive strategies on the player's team are rendered useless against her, and sometimes even forces players to run Elimine on Light/Dark Seasons to counter against her, hurting their score in the process. Bows, brave weapons, damage reduction piercing specials, and area-of-effect specials are all viable ways of taking her down, but there is nothing that is stopping her from being protected by [Savior] skills, so it's an asymmetrical effect that does not disables her team's tanking strategies. With the sheer amount of effects she has in her Enclosing Claw and especially Severance, she's a unit who is never to be underestimated, no matter what game mode she's encountered in.
Brave Seliph. He is a Sword Cavalry that is a Lightning Bruiser that brings Holytide Tyrfing and Heir to Light. Holytide Tyrfing gives him -1 maximum special cooldown, [Canto (2)], and if either him or his foe initiates combat and moved to a different space he gets +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat, deals true damage equal to 10% of the foe's Def for each space the initiator moved, up to 40%, and if he is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat and he is over 1 HP and takes lethal damage he gain a Last Chance Hit Point, and Heir to Light gives him +6 Atk/Spd, [Null Follow-Up] and +1 movement at the start of his turn if he is within 2 spaces of an ally. His great mobility allows him to increase damage dealt and boosts his default Atk/Spd Clash 4, but what makes him a real pain to take down is his Holytide Tyrfing's Last Chance Hit Point effect, where if he inherits either a Life Drain special or Mystic Boost 4 he will be topped up to activate it again the next combat, with his [Canto (2)] making sure that his enemies need to move spaces in order to attack him, activating his Holytide Tyrfing's effects in the process.
Legendary Yuri. A Red Dagger Infantry Glass Cannon, he follows his regular version's footsteps while also having unique tools of his own to make him extra annoying, bringing with him the Abyssal Blade and Fetters of Dromi alongside his regular version's Foul Play. Abyssal Blade gives him -1 maximum special cooldown, the standard [Dagger 7] effect, and gives him +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat, ignores skills that deny any of his follow-up attacks, deals extra true damage equal to 20% of his Spd reduces damage taken from the foe's first attack by 30%, all which activates if he either initiates combat or is within 2 spaces of an all, and Fetters of Dromi gives him [Canto (2)], gives him +1 movement at the start of his turn, removes that status effect if he was inflicted with [Stall] at the start of his turn, and inflicts -4 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat to all foes within 2 spaces of him. Not only you got a near copy of one of the best units in the game, but he overcomes one of his weaknesses of his regular version and still is a major threat, while also having access to great Infantry Elite Tweaks.
Fallen Female Byleth. She is an Infantry Sword unit with a Lightning Bruiser statline mixed with a deceptive amount of bulk. Captain's Sword gives her -1 maximum special cooldown, a bulwark effect preventing units from moving past her, and if she's above 25% HP, she gets +5 to all stats during combat, completely neutralizes her opponent's bonuses, and a 7 HP heal after combat; On top of this, if her foe initiates combat and she has more Spd than them, she gets the vantage effect and counterattacks before they can attack. She also comes with Distant A/S Solo, allowing her to counterattack at any range and gives her +5 Atk & Spd if she's alone, Close Call 4 for Spd based Damage Reduction, & Time's Pulse 4 for easy looping of her special. Speaking of which, her special happens to be Divine Pulse, which not only boosts her damage by 25% of her Spd, but also reduces any incoming damage from the next attack by 75% (which cannot be pierced by specials like Lethality or Deadeye) and increases the damage of her next attack by 20% of her Spd. With her kit, she can preempt the opponent before they can even react, shrug off most lethal attacks with little to no issue and recover a majority of the HP lost, making her seem nigh unkillable. Of course, if the opponent is either faster than her or is running the Hardy Bearing seal, she might have a bit of trouble surviving.

Blue Units

Regular Ingrid. A Lance Cavalier, she brings a Glass Cannon statline and Lúin. Lúin give her -1 maximum special cooldown, and gives her +6 Spd, boost her damage by 20% of her Spd during combat, and if she has 5 Spd or more than her foe, she prevents her foe from counterattacking, all which activates if she either initiates combat or is within 2 spaces of an ally. With Spd going up to 62+ with everything in her favor, she's going to deal an extra 12 damage on top of what is essentially 67+ Atk, trying to get a unit to go up to 57 Spd during combat without the use of buffs to have a chance to counterattack without Null C-Disrupt is not going to be an easy feat. All of this is before she gets any Elite Tweaks, such as S/D Near Trace 3 to increase her mobility and the Flow skills to ignore skills that deny her follow-up attacks. She can thankfully can be taken down with ease with her below average HP and defenses, but good luck trying to bait and approach her first with her high mobility.
Brave Hector when he received his refined Maltet. Brave Hector at the time of his release is a strong mixed-phase unit with Mighty Glacier stats with a strong kit of Maltet, which gives -1 maximum special cooldown and allows the user a guaranteed follow-up attack if the foe initiates combat and the user is at 50% HP or above at the start of combat, and Ostian Counter, which combines Sturdy Stance 2 and Distant Counter. His presence in the Meta Game did a good amount of impact, but not as much as other heroes released later on, such as Brave Edelgard. Update 4.9.0 in September 2020, however, changed that when his Maltet received its refine. The refined Maltet now has -1 maximum special cooldown, removes his armor weakness, and if the foe initiates combat and the user is at 25% HP or above, the user gains a guaranteed follow-up attack and ignores any penalties inflicted on the user, and the unique refine allows him to inflict -6 Atk/Def and denies any enemy follow-up attack if the foe either initiates combat or is at full HP. His refined weapon alone is worth an entire skill kit of a hero, and combined with his default skillkit, he is one of the most powerful mixed-phase units in the game. With 2021's introduction of Save skills and Hardy Fighter later on in the year, Brave Hector would instead shift towards a purely enemy phase build with Far Save, combining Hardy Fighter with Aegis and Deflect Magic to become one of the game's premier Mage Killers alongside Ascended Fjorm.
Ascended Idunn, for similar reasons with Brave Hector post-refine. She brings a Mighty Glacier statline and Dew Dragonstone. It gives her -1 maximum special cooldown, deals effective damage against Armored foes, removes her Armor weakness, deals adaptive damage against ranged foes, and if she is within 3 spaces of an ally she inflicts -5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res on the foe during combat, ignore any penalties on her stats during combat, and prevents her foe from performing a follow-up attack. Because of this, she can be seen as a hybrid of Brave Hector and Legendary Fae, and her default skillkit makes her the best user of Wily Fighter 3's bonus neutralization effect on the foe, and this is before any Elite Tweaks she can receive, such as any variant of Distant Counter, Special Fighter and Ascended traits. Her main weakness however is that she is still weak against Dragon effective weapons, especially from Green units, but with her bulk and Dew Dragonstone preventing her foe's follow-up attacks it's not going to be easy to take her down.
Legendary Chrom. He's a Mighty Glacier that bring Randgríðr and To Change Fate. His Randgríðr grants him +3 Atk, is effective against Flying and Armor units, and if the foe has full HP before the start of combat, he inflicts -6 Atk/Def on the foe and allows him to ignore any penalties inflicted on him, so not only will be at full strength if his foe is healthy, but he's hitting harder and making himself more tankier than normal, but the worst is his To Change Fate! assist skill: It functions as the same as Reposition, but also gives him (and his paired up ally) +6 Atk and another action once per turn, but both are inflicted with the Isolation status, which doesn't really matter that much because it only lasts through his second action, meaning that he can be danced again after his second action, and this is before he receives any Elite Tweaks. However, his low Spd and Res is main downfall, so any strong magic attacks can take him down.

He is starting to show his age and Valentine Duo Chrom & Male Robin do his gimmick better.

Summer Duo Thórr & Loki. They have a Mighty Glacier statline that brings regular Thórr's Worldbreaker and Divine Whimmy. Divine Whimsy gives them -1 maximum special cooldown, grants them +6 Atk and inflicts -6 Atk on their foe during combat if their own HP is equal to or greater than 25%, reduces their special cooldown by 1 at the start of their turn if they are within 2 spaces of an ally, and inflicts [Stall] and [Exposure] on foes with the lowest Spd and all foes within 2 spaces of those foes. Stall is nasty for units who rely on having extra movement, such as Brave Alm, Yuri, Legendary Sigurd, and Armor March units, who will all have their movement reduced to 1 if they have an extra movement buff active. [Exposure] is far worse, however, which causes the unit affected by this debuff to take 10 extra true damage from all in-combat attacks from their foe. Even the tankiest of units will go down far more quickly if they are affected by Exposure, and those units tend to have low Spd, so they are the most likely to get targeted by this debuff. And as if all of that wasn’t enough, they have a Duo skill that inflicts Gravity on all foes within cardinal directions of unit and neutralizes any stat bonuses active on foes within 5 rows or 5 columns centered on units (and it won’t neutralize any stat bonuses if the foe is affected by Panic), which, while not useful on the enemy, becomes one of the best Duo skills in Summoner Duels. Once they’ve charged up their special, they’ll more likely than not be able to nuke whoever they end up initiating combat on, especially if they were affected by Exposure. Their very low Spd means that almost every unit can double them, and they are also easily dealt with by bow units, but closing the gap is easier said than done, both as a result of them being a ranged flier and their [Stall] debuff potentially hampering the movement of your units.

Green Units

Brave Ike after his Urvan refine. While Ike was already a decent unit before with a Mighty Glacier statline, his refine dialed his strengths up. In addition to reducing the damage of the first attack he takes by 40%, he also forces enemies initiating on him to make their follow-ups before his counterattack. This may sound like a bad thing... but Urvan reduces damage of consecutive attacks after the first by 80%, effectively making all foes faster than him deal a mere fraction of their original damage to him^note. Not only does this make his low Res almost irrelevant, but Urvan's retained special acceleration means that he'll often be able to recover all of his lost HP with Aether. Because of all this, he can run Distant Counter to tank and retaliate ranged enemies as well. Even worse is the B skills he can run alongside Distant Counter: Null C-Disrupt, to make sure that units with weapons and skills like Dazzling Staff and the Firesweep weapons cannot chip down his HP without retaliation, and Close Call/Repel/Spurn, to boost his Damage Reduction further during combat, as to make sure his decent Spd will be useful against slow Squishy Wizards that run skills like Axebreaker, and to make things worse, he received a Resplendent boost in February 2021 where he receives +2 to all of his stats, reaching to 45 HP, 38 Atk, 30 Spd, 37 Def, and 22 Res by default, increasing his bulk even further. Because of this, Brave Ike becomes a nigh-unkillable, self-sustaining wall that's downright impossible to player-phase without something like Hardy Bearing, an AOE special or Damage Reduction-Ignoring skills stopping him in his tracks.

With the advent of consistent AOE special users and Damage Reduction-Ignoring specials and units, as well as his refine not actually giving him stats or inflict debuffs, he's fallen off. He is more likely to be a historical example though.

Ascended Fjorm has the honor of being the first ever Ascended Hero, and she lives up to the title with flying colors. Despite being an Axe Armor, she's a Jack of All Stats in everything except Spd, but her skillset and her signature weapon, Nifl's Bite, make her one of the most fearsome Armored units in the game. Her Nifl's Bite gives -1 maximum Special cooldown, Distant Counter, and 7 HP restored after combat as well as Null C-Disrupt against ranged foes if she's within 2 spaces of an ally. Combined with her default Hardy Fighter 3 ^note and her regular version's Ice Mirror (luckily not Ice Mirror II), she serves as the premier Far Save unit with her A/R Far Save 3, she can tank hits from ranged opponents and have guaranteed counterattacks that hit exceedingly hard. Because of her presence alone, Staff units dropped in usage as ranged nukers and debuffers since her release.
Eitri. As a Flying Green Mage, while she has a Glass Cannon statline, her skill kit will make you think otherwise as she has Grim Brokkr and Divine Recreation. Grim Brokkr gives her +3 Atk, gives her [Canto 2] during turns 1 to 4, and if she either initiates combat or is not adjacent to an ally she inflicts -6 Atk/Res on the foe during combat and she gains a guaranteed follow-up attack, and Divine Recreation has her inflict -4 Atk/Spd/Def/Res, reduces damage taken from the foe's first attack by 30% and boost her next attack equal to the damage reduced if the foe is at 50% HP or above at the start of combat. So right from the bat she debuffs the foe's Atk and Res a lot and takes less damage as a result as well, and that's not going into any Elite Tweaks. However, her biggest weakness is against bows, since she is a flying unit alongside her below average HP, and especially so if said bow unit is also Red.
New Year's Duo Dagr & Nótt. They're a Green Bow Flier with a Glass Cannon statline with Regular Dagr's Sun-Twin Wing and Jötnar Bow. Jötnar Bow gives them -1 maximum Special cooldown, is effective against Flying foes, inflicts -5 Atk/Spd/Def on the foe during combat as well as additional debuffs on their Atk, Spd, and/or Def on the foe equal to the total bonuses they have on each of those respective stats during combat if they either initiate combat or are within 2 spaces of an ally, as well as Pathfinder, the same effect that makes Regular Dagr and Regular Nótt annoying to face against. Combined with Sun-Twin Wing and Atk/Def Rein 3, they become Lightning Bruisers that are nearly impossible to take down if everything is in their favor, and that's before they receive any Elite Tweaks. However, their low defensive stats and Flier status mean that strong mages and Archers in particular can take them down with ease if they're not running Iote's Shield and have no field stat buffs on their Atk. Just be thankful that the computer cannot trigger their Duo Skill if they're in the computer's control, where they can otherwise enable shenanigans like this to happen, but in Summoner Duels where they're under the player's control...
Yune after update 6.11.0 in November 2022. As a Flying Green Mage with a Squishy Wizard statline, her Remix in update 6.11.0 massively improved her, where her Chaos Named+ now allows her to inflict -7 Atk, Spd, Def or Res to those foes with the highest specific stats on the enemy team and all foes within 2 spaces of that foe, and inflicts [Panic] to those highest stat foes at the start of her turn, and has the refined Chaos Manifest now gives her +6 Atk and +5 Res, makes her perform a guaranteed follow-up attack and if she initiates combat reduces damage taken from the foe's first attack by a percentage equal to double the value of the highest total field stat debuff of either the foe or foes within 2 spaces of that foe, and the unique refine gives her +5 Atk/Res during combat and allows her to deal true damage equal to the value of the highest total field stat debuff of either the foe or foes within 2 spaces of that foe, all which activates if she either initiates combat or is within 2 spaces of an ally. With -7 Atk/Spd/Def/Res on one foe, she will reduce damage take by 56% and deal 28 true damage per attack, which is scary on its own, but the real kicker is that field stat buffs reversed by [Panic] stacks with the field stat debuffs, so typically on the foe with +6 Atk/Spd/Def/Res reversed with [Panic], that adds 48% damage reduced and 24 true damage to her attacks, so stack that together an you go someone who will reduces damage by 100%^note from the foe's first attack and deal 52 true damage per attack, and that's before calculating her natural attack damage, giving her have a good chance to perform a One-Hit Kill on a foe. What's worse is that penalty neutralization effects during combat like with Slick Fighter and Brave Hector's refined Maltet does not bypass this calculation if they're near allies as she will also check all foes within 2 spaces of her target, so even Save units will feel her wrath. There are a few ways to counter this combination, such as Last Chance Hit Point alongside Null Follow-Up or Vantage effects, but she too can be built alongside a dedicated team to counter those skill such as with her equipped with the Hardy Bearing Sacred Seal and a double attack from Bridal Harmonized Catria & Thea's [Triangle Attack], and with Save units around her she will create a Morton's Fork scenario. Because of all this, she really limits team building for players, needing a unit or two to specifically counter against her, least they will suffer a loss under the personification of Chaos.

Colorless Units

Medeus. As a Colorless Infantry Dragon, he is a Mythic Hero of Dark that brings a Mighty Glacier statline, Shadow Breath and Assured Rebirth. Shadow Breath gives him +3 Atk, deals adaptive damage against ranged foes, gives himself and all allies within 2 spaces of him +6 Atk/Res and [En Garde]^note, and if the foe either initiates combat or has at least 75% HP at the start of combat he inflicts -6 Atk/Res on the foe during combat and disables their follow-up attacks, and Assured Rebirth guarantees him a follow-up attack if he has more Res than his foe during combat, and allows him to reduces damage taken from attacks and non-Røkkr AOE specials equal 20% x the amount of Dragon or Staff allies within 3 spaces of him, as well as reduces damage by 4% (up to 40%) for each point of Res he has over his foe, where both combined has a cap of 60%. So not only is he making himself and all allies within 2 spaces of him immune to chip damage outside of AOE specials thanks to [En Garde], but the amount of Damage Reduction he gets to lower damage against AOE specials and attacks during combat makes him a pain to take down, not helped with the guaranteed follow-up attack with his high Res, and with him basically 64 Res with everything in his favor with his default statline he's going to be a very difficult adversary, and that's before going into any Elite Tweaks. While he does have some hard counters listed here such as the Legendary variants of Marth, Male Byleth and Nanna, all of them are premium units, so teams without any of them will have to feel the wrath of the Shadow Dragon.
Askr has a few things common between his variants: Be a Mighty Glacier that is hard to take down and greatly supports his allies when next to units that are not from Heroes with his Opened Domain, which grants the [Resonance: Blades] and [Resonance: Shields] effects that Harmonized Heroes grant to him and all allies within 2 spaces of him at the start of a turn if any ally within 2 spaces of him is from a game other than Heroes itself.^noteWhile Opened Domain can't be activated by a unit from Heroes, they are still able to receive the Resonance effects if it is activated by a unit from any other game. Each of his variants are problematic for different reasons:
- Regular Askr is a Colorless Infantry Beast that has a Mighty Glacier statline, Illuminating Horn and Opened Domain. Illuminating Horn gives him -1 maximum special cooldown, the standard post-6.0.0 Infantry Beast effect, and if he either initiates combat or is within 2 spaces of an ally, he gets +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res and a guaranteed follow-up attack during combat, as well as true damage and flat Damage Reduction equal to 20% of his Def. Alongside Opened Domain, these skills combined make him a phenomenal combat unit with excellent supportive capabilities, and while he's a Mythic Hero of Light, he is still a great support unit outside of Aether Raids as he comes with all the benefits that they provide by default. That being said, he's still vulnerable to Beast-effective weaponry, and his lackluster Spd means that most units will be able to double him easily, but with his high bulk, taking him out is still no easy task.
- New Year Duo Askr & Embla are a Colorless Tome Infantry with a Mighty Glacier statline that bring Opened Domain and Duality Vessel. Duality Vessel grants -1 maximum special cooldown, and if they are within 3 spaces of an ally, they gain +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat, perform a guaranteed follow-up attack, inflict -1 special buildup on the foe per attack, reduces damage taken from attacks equal to 20% of their Def and if reduces damage taken from non-Røkrr AOE specials equal to 1.5x the difference between their Def and the foe's Def at the start of combat. Not only are they going to be very durable with their default Def/Res Finish 4 and Atk/Res Tempo 3 alongside their Duality Vessel, but they are practically immune to AOE specials since most AOE spammers in the Meta Game have lower Def than them, and even going after their allies is a tough trek in itself as they are most likely be on the frontlines and protect those allies, and that's not including any [Savior] units that are near them to protect them first.
Harmonized Scion Leif & Seliph are a Glass Cannon Colorless Bow Cavalry with Legendary Leif's Njörun's Zeal and S Drink, and Bow of Twelve: it has flying effectiveness, -1 maximum special cooldown, [Canto (1)], and if they initiate combat or if a magic or staff foe initiates combat on them and their HP is at least 75%, they get +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res and a Miracle effect. This makes them harder to take down than their low defenses would suggest, and thanks to Njörun's Zeal, they can engage combat against two foes in one turn without a dancer. That being said, their defenses are still quite low, so if a foe can get past their Miracle effect, they're probably not going to survive a powerful blow.
Young Innes. A Colorless Bow Infantry, this young sniper given as a reward in the Princess's Gloom Tempest Trials+ event comes with a Glass Cannon statline and Bow of Frelia. It gives him -1 maximum special cooldown, deals effective damage against Flying units, and if he is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat, he gains +6 Atk/Spd during combat and if he triggers an offensive special during combat he deals +7 damage and ignores non-Special Damage Reduction skills with that attack. This means that his Bow of Frelia is pretty much a free unit that come with Deadeye and as such he is a common unit for players to fully invest in with Heroic Grails, with skills to have him inherit to maximize his potential commonly include Ruptured Sky, Swift Sparrow 3, Null Follow-Up and Time's Pulse, and that's not going into any merges, Dragonflowers or Sacred Seals. His main downfall is his relatively low defenses, however, but one should still be careful baiting him out.

I'm having trouble thinking of a good reason to keep him here since while he is good and common, he is not as fantastic as other units here.

Regular Yuri. He's a Colorless Dagger Infantry with a Fragile Speedster statline. What makes him so fearsome, however, is the combination of his Honorable Blade and his exclusive Assist, Foul Play. Honorable Blade has -1 maximum special cooldown, grants him +6 Atk/Spd during combat if the foe is at 50% HP or above at the start of combat, [Canto (2)] and, like the aforementioned Brave Alm, unconditional +1 movement when the turn begins. Foul Play, meanwhile, functions much like it does in Three Houses, allowing him to swap places with an ally at three range rather than Swap's one range. This means that after one of Yuri's allies acts, he can easily use Foul Play to take their position from afar and then use the Canto granted by Honorable Blade to retreat. Additionally, due to his solid offenses and easy conditional for the Atk/Spd increase granted by Honorable Blade, Yuri is no slouch on the offensive side either, making his combats very safe, and all this is before Elite Tweaks come into play. That being said, his lackluster Def means that strong physical attackers that can reach him have the potential to make quick work of the Ashen Wolves' leader.
Arval. They're a Colorless Mage that players should not underestimate, as they bring a Squishy Wizard statline, Rite of Souls and Duality. Rite of Souls gives them -1 maximum special cooldown, inflicts [Guard] on foe within 3 row or 3 columns centered on them if they have lower Res than them at the start of their turn, and grants +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat, deal true damage equal to 20% of their Res during combat and prevent the foe from making a follow-up attack, all which activates if they either initiate combat or are within 2 spaces of an ally, and Duality gives them +9 Atk/Res, grants triangle advantage and inflicts triangle disadvantage on Red, Blue and Green units, ignore the Triangle Adept effect on them and their foe, and grants them a guaranteed follow-up attack if they are at 25% HP or above at the start of combat. While Rite of Souls can be easy to deal with, Duality unfortunately is not, as it basically gives them advantage to 75% of the roster, and has too much Res for around 40% of that Colorless roster to even dent them, so only Colorless Bows, Daggers and Beast units can even put a big dent into them, with even units with Raven Tomes and similar weapons can only go neutral against them as best. Even with their low Spd and Def, team compositions on the enemy team can cover that up thanks to Save skills, especially on Aether Raids, so players are stuck with a Morton's Fork situation against them.
Fomortiis. He's a Colorless Armored Beast with a Mighty Glacier statline that will plague every player with nightmares with his Ravager and Nightmare. Ravager gives him -1 maximum special cooldown, the standard Armored Beast transformation effect, and if he is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat, he inflicts -6 Atk/Def on the foe during combat, -1 special buildup per attack, he gets +1 special buildup per attack if he transforms, and reduces damage taken from the foe's follow-up attack by 80%, and Nightmare allows him to inflict -10 Atk/Def on the foe during combat and reduces damage taken from the foe's first attack by 30% if the foe either initiates combat or is at 75% HP or above at the start of combat, and if the foe initiates combat, the nearest foes of that foe after combat lose their turn. While his default Beast Follow-Up guarantee he transforms and perform a guaranteed follow-up attack and A/D Far Save 3 combined with his skills makes him a pain already, even with effective weapons, the last part of his Nightmare is the sole reason players loathe going against him in the first place as he can potentially end the turn of all their units with just one combat, where even ending the turn of one other unit is bad enough, and as a Mythic Hero of Anima he's going to be a common sight on Aether Raids Defense teams, even on Dark Defense teams. Finally, as the winner of AHR 2023, player can receive a free copy of him, turning the Demon King into a common sight for him to inflict nightmares on players on the battlefield.

Skills/Weapons

Wings of Mercy allows the enemy to teleport next to a wounded ally. Dancers, healers, and nukers can put this to devastating effect to bounce around the battlefield, and if a strong unit catches you off guard, you'll find yourself with a corpse instead of a unit.
Null Follow-Up on Lightning Bruisers. Null Follow-Up allows the user to ignore any skills that deny the user to perform any follow-up attacks, as well as any skills that guarantee any foe's follow-up attacks. It's meant to mainly serve as a counter to the Armor-only Fighter Skills as well as against any foe that has weapons that alters the flow of combat such as Regular Tibarn and Halloween Myrrh, but it instead counters much more. Not only the Fighter skills are nullified, but also the Breaker skills and Quick Riposte, and if you see this on a Lightning Bruiser or even a Glass Cannon with decent defenses, then you're stuck to either outspeeding them during combat, using weapons that can double attack and hope that you deal enough damage to fell them, or using nukers and hope to one-shot them, and hard counters to these units are few and far between.
Null C-Disrupt. When skills and weapons that prevented enemy counterattacks such as the Firesweep weapons and Dazzling Staff became annoying for players to face against, Null C-Disrupt was released. However, said skill allowed Lightning Bruisers and Mighty Glaciers to counterattack without fear, especially those with Distant Counter. Units like Brave Ike were inheriting this skill to allow them to retaliate and sometimes get free kills and provide pressure against player units as they close in, and units that used to not fear counterattacks because of their Glass Cannon and Squishy Wizard stats often needed a free poke at the enemy to have other units finish them off or chip them down and perform Hit-and-Run Tactics on them are now nearly useless against them, especially if they have Vantage in their weapons, such as Kronya's Athame or Phina and Young Marth's Rapier.
Weapons and skills that reduce damage based on a select stat, such as Close Call or New Foxkit Fang. Depending on the stat difference, commonly the damage these units can take will be reduced by 4% for every of those specific stat point the have over their foe, up to 40%, which can turn some Glass Cannons into Lightning Bruisers, with the tier 4 skills going up to 50%. Under the right circumstances, it's entirely possible for a unit to survive a battle against a significantly stronger unit (and potentially kill them on retaliation). To put things into perspective, Escutcheon and Sacred Cowl reduces incoming damage by 30% when it activates, but take up the special slot and are limited to certain enemy attack ranges; the damage reduction skills would more likely be better than both of them combined in terms of reliability and effectiveness, as well as the extra perk of reducing damage from enemy AOE specials.
The Near/Far Save skills, such as A/D Near Save and A/R Far Save. Although exclusive to Armor units, these skills gives the user the [Savior] status, where they take the place and tile of an ally before combat and be the center of after combat effects, and gain +4 to two of the user's stats during combat, if the foe initiates combat and uses a certain weapon range against one of the user's ally within 2 spaces of them, and does not activate if there is more than one ally that has the same range Save skill that can activate it as well or the ally is on a tile that cannot be traversed by Armor units, such as water and mountain tiles. What players expect from combat is that they can at least target a specific foe to attack into; these skills will make you think twice, forcing players to check on any enemy Armored units near their allies to see if they have any of those skill activated. You might target that Brave Veronica that was out of position with a melee unit, only to be surprised that you're actually targeting a Brave Hector who's ready to ruin your day. What's even worse is that they're overlaying an ally when [Savior] activates, meaning that skills such as the Bond skills will activate, and that the ally they're protecting will not be hit by after combat effects, such as the 10 damage from Pain+ and the [Counter Disrupt] status from Candlelight+/Flash+. Prepared to pull your hair out if you lose against Armor units equipped with these alongside with any of the above units. This skill alone made the Pawns of Loki gamemode feel like Russian roulette whenever players are playing that mode, to the point that it has gotten so bad that update 5.5.0 changed it so that enemy units can no longer activate skills with [Savior] in that mode, including all forms of the Save skills. It was until the release of Embla in late November 2022 that Save units are now hard countered, but there is a reason why Embla is listed under the Red folder.
Lethality. Although exclusive to Dagger units and having a 4 special cooldown, this special skill has the potential to make any Dagger unit be able to One-Hit Kill one of your units, due to the effect of ignoring 75% of the foe's defenses during combat and any non-special Damage Reduction skills, pretty much acting like an inheritable version of Black Knight's/Zelgius' Black Luna. Volke, who introduced the skill, is one of its best units thanks to his high Atk stat and Fireman's Hook, but there are some surprises that will make you think twice when going against Dagger units, where while other good candidates include Yuri, Regular Leila and Gangrel thanks to their gimmicks with their exclusive weapons, you also have to look out for units like Summer Ursula and Ninja Igrene since their high mobility can catch someone off guard, or even units like Summer Dorothea and the very rare Regular Larum, as not only do they have access to Dance/Sing, but also to other Infantry Cooldown Manipulation skills and good daggers to inherit, such as Broadleaf Fan+ and Courtly Fan+, turning their actions into Confusion Fu when used alongside other units listed here.

Arcane Weapons

Arcane weapons are strong weapons that can be inherited to anyone that matches the weapon type, where the common features of Arcane weapons give -1 maximum special cooldown, follow-up altering effects, and finally can be refined to give extra stats and HP, at the cost of making the user unable to also equip any Secret Art skills they also have if they are not Rearmed Heroes. These weapons alone salvages a lot of units that have great statlines but no exclusive weapons, especially with high Atk, units with subpar weapons and refines, or both, while also being sighted on other great units themselves, so players have to be extra careful and see what the enemy is actually equipped with, or otherwise be caught off-guard by a unit they initially presumed be taken care of easily.

Arcane Éljúðnir, from Rearmed Líf, grants -1 maximum special cooldown, and if the user is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat they inflict -6 Atk/Def and -1 special buildup on the foe during combat, grants the user a guaranteed follow-up attack and denies any of the foe's follow-up attacks. This weapon is a common sight on Mighty Glacier and Lightning Bruiser units as the Omnibreaker and Guard ability alongside the debuffs on the foe makes the user tough to take down, even with Null Follow-Up and Tempo-like effects, helped with Rearmed Líf's Atk/Def Menace.
Arcane Downfall, from Ganglöt, grants -1 maximum special cooldown, and if the user is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat they get +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat, +1 special buildup per attack, denies any of the foe's follow-up attacks, and recovers 7 HP per attack they performed. This weapon is a common sight on Mighty Glacier and Lightning Bruiser units as the stat boosts, special buildup and HP recovery makes the user a Special spamming machine while also preventing faster units and slow units that depend on guaranteed follow-up attacks from following up on the user, helped with Ganglöt's Distant Stance and Quick Riposte 4.
Arcane Grima, from Rearmed Female Robin, grants -1 maximum special cooldown, the standard Dragon adaptive damage against ranged units, and if the user is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat they get +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat, deals true damage equal to 15% of the user's Atk, perform a guaranteed follow-up attack, and restores 7 HP after combat. This weapon is a common sight on Mighty Glacier and Lightning Bruiser units as the stat boosts, guaranteed follow-up attack, true damage and HP recovery turns the user into a strong attacker with sustainability.
Arcane Eclipse, from Rearmed Ophelia, grants -1 maximum special cooldown, grants -1 special cooldown at the start of turn 1, and if the user is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat they get +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat, neutralize any field stat debuffs on their Atk, and perform a guaranteed follow-up attack. This weapon is a common sight on Mighty Glacier and Squishy Wizard units as it allows the user to nuke a target with a precharged special and sometimes precharged for the next combat, helped with Rearmed Ophelia's Special Spiral 4 and Time's Pulse 4.
Arcane Qiang, from Alfred, grants -1 maximum special cooldown, and if the user is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat they get +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat, grants the user a guaranteed follow-up attack, denies any of the foe's follow-up attack, and if the initiator moved to a different space before combat grants the user +1 special buildup per attack. This weapon is a common sight on Mighty Glacier and Lightning Bruiser units as the Omnibreaker, stat buffs and special buildup from movement allows the user to be a special spamming machine, especially if the user is mobile, helped with Alfred's Flow N Trace 3.
Arcane Náströnd, from Rearmed Tana, grants -1 maximum special cooldown, deals effective damage against flying units, and if the user either initiates combat or is within 2 spaces of an ally they get +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat, grants the user a guaranteed follow-up attack, reduces damage taken from the foe's first attack by 30%, and grants Atk equal to 12 minus 2 x the foe's maximum special cooldown count value, with a minimum of +4 Atk during combat, and defaults to +4 Atk if the foe has no special. This weapon is a common sight on Glass Cannon, Mighty Glacier and Lightning Bruiser units as it allows the user to nuke down a foe, tank a hit and punish units with low special cooldown, helped with Rearmed Tana's Deadeye, Atk/Spd Unity and Guidance 4.
Arcane Lúin, from Rearmed Ingrid, grants -1 maximum special cooldown, and if the user is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat they get +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res, deals extra damage equal to 20% of the user's Spd, ignores any field stat buffs the foe has on their Spd/Def, and if the user is faster than the foe they ignores skills that guarantee the foe's follow-up attacks and deny any of the user's follow-up attacks. This weapon is a common sight on Lightning Bruiser and Glass Cannon, as it allows the user to nuke down a foe and punishes units that depends on follow-up altering effects and bonuses on their Spd and Def, while Rearmed Ingrid also helping flier with their bulk with her Guard Bearing 4 and extra damage and support with Spd/Def Hold.
Arcane Devourer, from Rearmed Chrom, grants -1 maximum special cooldown, and if the user is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat they get +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat, +1 special buildup per attack, 40% damage reduction from the foe's first attack, and Spd based Null Follow-Up. This makes it a perfect weapon for Lightning Bruisers running Godlike Reflexes or Glass Cannon Galeforce users, helped with Rearmed Chrom's Atk/Spd Clash 4.

To Do List:

Unit that enable high mobility.
Add commented out entries.

High Tier (Old Entries)

General

Anyone who has access to skills and weapons that give the user guaranteed follow-up attacks. Normal follow-up attack rules require the user to be at least 5 Spd higher than their target, but skills that guarantee follow-up attacks allow the user to ignore that. While the enemy phase ones are tolerable, such as Quick Riposte and Regular Hector's Armads, it's often the ones that the user initiates with that are the worst, such as Bold Fighter (which is detailed in the Skill/Weapon folder) and Regular Tibarn's Hawk King Claw. If you see a foe with any guaranteed follow-up skills, watch out.
Units with weapons that deny your follow-up attacks. While guaranteed follow-up attacks are annoying on player phase focused units, this is especially annoying on enemy phase units. Being faster than the enemy rewards units with another attack, but these skills basically just make Spd matter little on units. While skills like Wary Fighter and the -breaker skills such as Swordbreaker are tolerable and counterable, it's the effect on weapons that makes them very annoying to go against if their conditions are met, such as Regular Myrrh's refined Great Flame activating if she has higher Def than the enemy during combat, or Duma's Fell Breath activating if the opponent is not at full HP at the start of combat. Even worse, it does not prevent their follow-up attacks, where they can be equipped with the other Fighter Skills and Quick Riposte to have an Omni-breaker skill set, making them large threats in the game. It wasn't until the release of the Infantry exclusive skill Null Follow-Up that players had a means of countering these types of skills, but other movement types are usually out of luck outside of guaranteed follow-up attacks to counter their denial of follow-up attacks.
Percentage damage reduction. For most units in the game, damage is a simple calculation of the attacker's Atk stat minus the defender's Def or Res, depending on what kind of unit the attacker is. The balance of the game is thus a contest between how high Atk and defensive stats rise. However, a handful of units have skills that reduce damage by a fixed percentage, which breaks that calculation over their knee: these units can be very tanky despite seemingly low defensive stats, and often have great Atk and Spd since their statline doesn't need to devote points towards those defensive stats, which means they can easily survive attacks and secure kills on the counterattack. Units such as Brave Ike and Regular Mareeta are examples listed down below precisely because of their damage reduction, but in practice any fast melee Infantry unit can become similarly fearsome, because the skills Close Call, Repel, and Spurn—which grant damage reduction based on how much more Spd they have over their opponent—can be inherited.
Anyone who can instantly charge their Special Cooldown at the start of their turn. Most Infantry heroes that can charge their special through Cooldown Manipulation at the start of their turn are popular on enemy defense teams, since when their special activates either on their first attack or before combat, it would most likely will result in one less hero on the attacking team, and as a result most likely having that player surrender that battle in the Coliseum modes. While heroes such as Ophelia, Regular Lysithea, and Legendary Lilina are the most common picks for players since they can do that on their own, other Infantry units that can do this by equipped with a weapon that gives -1 maximum special cooldown, a 2 cooldown combat special such as Moonbow, Glimmer or Ruptured Sky, and the Infantry-only Time's Pulse, since that reduces it to a 1 cooldown special which means Time's Pulse instantly charges their special at the start of their every turn. Other units can also depend on being on a specific team build to charge their specials at the start of turn 1, such as with Legendary Hector and his Ostia's Pulse, or Infantry Pulse teams, and for the latter, they often will be equipped with stronger specials such as Ignis, Dragon Fang or even the AOE specials such as Blazing Wind, which are usually considered Awesome, but Impractical under normal circumstances due to their larger cooldown than other specials. There are ways to counter to this strategy such are Pulse Smoke, the Odd/Even Pulse Tie skills, and Witchy Wand+/Melancholy+, all which are premium skills, but even then it doesn't work if they use Time's Pulse since they can just charge it up again at the start of their turns.
Anyone with weapons and skills that activate when the user is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat. Units having these skills often have the user be above this threshold most of the time during battle, meaning that being under 25% HP will rarely happen, which at that point there is no downside on those skills in the first place due to them being very easy to activate, and so a rule of thumb, any units having those skills would most likely be a powerful unit, and things gets worse if they are equipped with a Life Drain special such as Sol and Aether or any Heal Thyself skills or Sacred Seals such as Mystic Boost to top them off again to go above that HP threshold for the next round of battle. Examples include Regular Dagr and her Skinfaxi and Sun-Twin Wing, and Brave Edelgard and her Flower Hauteclere and Black Eagle Rule, both are detailed under the Green Melee folder in the High category below. Pretty much the only way to disable those skills during combat is to have an AOE special ready to activate on them, but even then it's not guaranteed to work, especially if those units have high defenses in the first place.
Units with Canto. [Canto (x)] allows user to move again after performing an action on their turn, which includes attacking an enemy or structure and using assist skills, which allows them to perform Hit-and-Run Tactics to get out of harm's way when they're done once per turn, but can only move to the amount of spaces given by x and cannot warp spaces more than what x allows, with x being either a fix number or the remainder of their unused movement, with the remainder becoming 0 if the user has warped first. While [Canto (Rem.)] is fine as is, it's the fixed number and [Canto (Rem. +1)] that can create problems, since they can move a large amount of spaces in just one turn, only being behind users that can warp spaces with skills such as Wings of Mercy, but can get out of dodge just as far. What's worse is that extra movement from other sources count to the movement they can allow and so things like Legendary Sigurd's Holy-Knight Aura and [Pathfinder] will make them go the distance and beyond. While Canto is somewhat tamer on the AI's hands, it's way worse to deal with in Summoner Duels, since all units on both sides are human-controlled. Therefore, it's already possible for human players to abuse it with hit-and-run strategies that makes a Canto user farther away from the opposing side's team, and trying to reach said Canto user takes up too much time due to how turns and phases work in this mode, which isn't helped by the limited turn count. It has gotten so unfun to go against that the status effect [Canto Control] was created just to disrupt units that use Canto.

Red Melee

Ascended Mareeta. After her Fallen and Regular variants fell in and out of the Meta Game, her Ascended variant puts her back in, bringing a Lightning Bruiser statline of 40/40/43/34/25. She comes with Atk/Spd Solo 4, Spurn and Even Tempest, alongside Vital Astra just to make her extra annoying to take down and for her to deal more damage to her foe, but her weapon takes the cake: Ascending Blade gives her -1 maximum Special cooldown, gives her -1 Special cooldown at the start of turn 1, and if she is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat, she gains +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res, Null Follow-Up and gives her -1 Special cooldown after combat. Because of this, her Vital Astra will be ready for her to instantly trigger whenever she enters combat as well as give her more Damage Reduction on top of her Spurn, and with 55 Spd with everything in her favor from her default skills alone, she will deal 15 extra damage whenever she triggers it, or 20 if she's at 75% HP or below with her Spurn, and all of this is before any Elite Tweaks. Her only real weakness is her low Res, but her large amounts of Damage Reduction will make sure that she can shrug off magic attacks if they're not fast enough.

Fallen Ike. He brings Lightning Bruiser statline of 40/35/42/32/23 on top of a dangerous skill kit. He has Darting Breath, Repel and Atk/Spd Oath 4, alongside Mayhem Aether, which is the same as Radiant Aether. His Chaos Ragnell, however, will make you think twice in debuffing him: It has Distant Counter, as well as if there is a stat debuff on him, he basically reverses it during combat, meaning that if he has -5 Atk and -7 Spd at the start of combat, he gets +10 Atk and +14 Spd during combat, essentially getting +5 Atk and +7 Spd during combat. If you initiate combat against him, he gets 51 Spd during combat, 58 Spd if he has Chill Spd inflicted onto him, and thanks to his Repel he will be taking less damage than he should if he's faster than your units. With that said, his average HP and low Res is his downfall, so any strong Blue magic attacker can take him down with ease, but they either need to be strong and/or fast enough to take him down if he has Repel equipped.
Regular Eliwood when he received the refine for Blazing Durandal, which gives +1 special buildup on the foe per attack and inflicting -1 special buildup on the foe per attack if the user initiates combat, as well as the unique refinement giving the user +7 Spd, +10 Def and deny any of the foe's follow-up attacks if the user initiates combat. He's a Sword Cavalier available as a 3-4* unit, with default a strange statline of 39 HP, 31 Atk, 30 Spd, 23 Def, and 32 Res, making him mediocre, and his default Durandal is nothing to write home about, outside of evolving into the Blazing Duranal. However, update 3.9.0 in September 2019 changed all that when Blazing Durandal got that refinement, which means that Galeforce is a viable option for him now. Even better, his good Res is actually a boon for him, since many other melee units suffer from having good Def but low Res, where the main counter for them are usually magic users and Dragons, while Eliwood actually stands a strong chance against them, especially since his once shaky Def is now covered with the unique refine of Blazing Durandal. Finally, he received an optional Resplendent upgrade in April 2020 that gives him +2 to all stats, making him that much better upgrading with his stats now at default 41 HP, 33 Atk, 32 Spd, 25 Def, and 34 Res. Eliwood now almost stands head and shoulders above most other player phase Sword Cavalry, because of his easy availability and second refine, and all of this is before he even has any Elite Tweaks. Because of all of this, he overshadows his son and the original wielder of Blazing Durandal, Brave Roy (who is just as good as Regular Eliwood, but is brought back by his 5* only rarity).
Arden went from being a joke in his home game to one of the strongest units available in Heroes starting in 2021. Because of his min-maxed statline, having massive HP and Def and serviceable Atk in exchange for hilariously low Spd and Res, Arden is one of the best options available for the Savior line of skills mentioned below in the high-tier category for skills. Using him as a Near Save unit allows for Arden to support his squishier allies without having to throw him into the frontlines, which puts him at risk of being blasted by mages that target his Res. What makes Arden especially scary as a Save unit is the fact that he comes with a dual-phase Brave weapon^noteunit gets to attack twice in combat and a personal B-skill in Follow-Up Ring^note, making him one of the few units in the game who can naturally perform a quad attack without the assistance of Bridal Catria. Arden's refined Brave weapon, the aptly-named Arden's Blade, also received a strong refine in 2021 that gives him +4 Atk and +6 Def, while also inflicting Guard^notenullifies special charge for the enemy on the foe, increasing his survivability to a substantial degree. Lastly, with the addition of the Breath line of skills^note as seals, Arden is able to retaliate with Ignis^note when the enemy initiates combat, which, given his massive Def stat, allows him to obliterate even tanky units with weapon triangle advantage and the occasional dragon. Even in spite of his main weakness of low Spd and Res, Arden more than lives up to his moniker of "Strong and Tough" in Heroes.
Legendary Sigurd. He brings a Mighty Glacier statline of 41 HP and Atk, 23 Spd, 37 Def, and 26 Res, on top of having a busted skillset by default. He has his Regular variant's Crusader's Ward, on top of having Atk/Def Catch 4 and Fatal Smoke. The worst however is his Hallowed Tyrfing and Holy-Knight Aura: Hallowed Tyrfing gives him -1 maximum special cooldown, and if his foe is at 75% HP or above at the start of combat, he gains +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat, gets a guaranteed follow-up attack, and he gains 40% damage reduced from his foe's first attack if either he initiates combat or the foe is wielding a ranged weapon, and Holy-Knight Aura is a 2 cooldown special (reduced to 1 thanks to his Hallowed Tyrfing) that gives him +1 Movement at the start of his turn, boosts his damage equal to 25% of his Atk during combat when it triggers, and if his special triggers, he gives himself and all allies +6 Atk and +1 Movement after combat, even if he was KO'd during that combat. So right from the start he is a 4 Movement Sword Cavalier with 71 Atk, 28 Spd, 51 Def and 31 Res with everything in his favor, that is not only tough to take down thanks to his Damage Reduction, but also increase the movement of his allies by +1 if he activates his special, meaning a whole lot of shenanigans can happen, such as dancers moving 1 more space and Ranged Cavaliers getting very high movement to attack. Because of that, he is very difficult to bait out without having any of his allies get increased movement and Atk as well and take down whatever target he was attacking even if he somehow was taken down, that target's not going to tank by using Life Drain specials and Heal Thyself skills to top up their missing HP thanks to Sigurd's Fatal Smoke, and he is difficult to take down first with Ranged Cavaliers because of his increased attack range and Hallowed Tyrfing and Crusader's Ward's Damage Reduction working against ranged units if they initiate against him.

Infamously one of the most powerful units introduced in 2021 (already a year notable for its immense Power Creep), he enabled the cav line defense strategy in Aether Raids to such a toxic degree that the Safety Fence was introduced within the next update to hot-check his effectiveness.

Brave Alm got a refine that fixed the bulk of his issues, making him a rather scary player phase unit, particularly for enemy phase/tank units. It changes the conditions for +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat from "needing more enemies than allies in a 2 space radius" to "attacking or having no allies adjacent". He gets another +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res if his HP is 25% or higher or above at the start of combat, as well as if Brave Alm attacks a physical (Sword/Axe/Lance/Dagger/Bow/Beast) enemy and is faster than them, any "prevent follow up attack" skills are neutralized and they're unable to counterattack. Last but not least is unconditional +1 Movement. For Brave Alm himself, he has 42 (45 with the refine) HP, 38 (57 with weapon) Atk, 35 Spd, 37 Def, and 20 Res. His A slot skill is Scendscale, which ads 25% of his Atk as true damage to his attacks (but with 7 HP recoil damage after combat if he attacked). The other slots are Chill Def 3 (highest Def enemy gets -7 visible Def) and Threaten Atk/Spd 3 (if any enemies are in a 2 space radius of unit, unit gets +5 Atk/Spd and the enemy gets -5 Atk/Spd). With all buffs active, he's effectively a Lightning Bruiser. With Scendscale, he can pack a final damage number of 90 with 18 of it being True Damage. Most tanks can't withstand two hits barring a combination of sizable damage reduction, weapon triangle, and NOT being a dragon (Seiros may still die) on top of their defense stat. He has plenty of room for Elite Tweaks with his special, and B and C slot skills. The best shots against him are mages due to his rather low Res and lack of Distant Counter. While he is currently a special 4-star, the Choose Your Legends 3 freebie banner has reran for those who haven't gotten him already from the previous runs.
Marth, the first protagonist of the entire Fire Emblem franchise, has to be given careful treatment for his reputation. While his Regular variant is a good support Drive unit, his Young variant being a good Vantage sweeper, his Groom variant being outclassed by units like Plegian Kris, and his Winter Duo variant being a great Armor unit, all that is overshadowed by what his remaining two variants have in 2021 to make them Lightning Bruisers with ridiculous skills:
- Brave Marth is a Lightning Bruiser with 41 HP and Atk, 43 Spd, 32 Def and 25 Res that has it all to be a Godsword and then some. He has Shining Emblem, which is a 2 cooldown special that gives him +6 Atk/Spd/Def/Res and +6 Atk to all allies within 2 spaces of them at the start of his turn if he is within 2 spaces of an ally, boosts his damage equal to 35% of his Spd during combat, and if it triggers he gives himself and all his allies +6 Atk/Spd/Def/Res, even if he was KOed during that combat, Distant Pressure, which gives him Distant Counter as well as giving him +5 Spd if he is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat, but deals 5 damage to him after combat, Spurn, and Even Tempest. What truly sends makes him annoying to fight, however, is his Genesis Falchion, which give him -1 maximum special cooldown, deals effective damage against Dragons, gives him +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat, and the following effects depending on the total sum of the field stat buffs among the 3 allies with the highest total field stat buffs active on them during combat: 10+ gives him Null Follow-Up, 25+ gives him an additional +5 Atk and allows him to recover 5 HP per attack he performs, and 60+ gives him Vantage, all of which triggers if he either initiates combat or within 2 spaces of an ally. So that Shining Emblem he has? It can trigger all those effects if he triggers it, and even the +6 Atk buff to allies within 2 spaces can trigger the Null Follow-Up effect if there is at least two other allies within 2 spaces of him. So with everything in his favor, he has 73 Atk, 59 Spd, 43 Def, and 36 Res, and this is before he receives any Elite Tweaks, such as any Menace and Joint Drive skills.
- Legendary Marth with a once-considered Lightning Bruiser statline of 40 HP, 34 Atk, 36 Spd, 32 Def and 21 Res that is considered a Jack of All Stats now was basically the hard counter against Dragon units while still able to serve fine on his own against other units, but was later on was overshadowed by other units. That however changed with the release of update 5.11.0 in November 2021 when he got both his Legendary Remix and his refine for his Exalted Falchion. His Binding Shield, which allows him to have a guaranteed follow-up attack, deny any of his foe's follow-up attacks, and prevent the foe from counterattacking, all which activates if he is against a Dragon foe, has Binding Shield II now also trigger that if he has 5 or more Spd than his foe during combat, acting as a pseudo-Null Follow-Up and Wind/Watersweep, and unlike most Legendary Remixes, upgrades his Fire Emblem special to the above Shining Emblem. However, the absolute worst of all is the refine for his Exalted Falchion. Exalted Falchion gives him +3 Spd, deals effective damage against Dragons, and it has the Bonus Doubler effect, the refine version also gives him +4 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat if he either has a [Bonus] or is at 50% HP or above at the start of combat, and the unique refine allows him to gain an additional +4 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat and effectively reverses any field stat debuffs he has on him during combat, all which activates if he either initiates combat or is within 2 spaces of an ally. Combined with his Shining Emblem's stat buffs and you got a Lightning Bruiser. Basically, him getting stat buffs during combat whether he buffed or debuffed makes facing him a Morton's Fork scenario. So with everything in his favor with his updated default kit, including his default Atk/Spd Bond 3, he gets 75 Atk, 64 Spd, 52 Def, and 41 Res, but that's not all: field stat debuff outside of [Panic] also counts, so with -7 Atk/Spd/Def/Res inflicted onto him as well, that goes 82 Atk, 71 Spd, 59 Def, and 48 Res, turning him into a gigantic ball of stats, and that's not going into any Elite Tweaks. With that said, the only real way to prevent him from growing to that statline is to have skills that ignore any of the foe's field stat buffs during combat, such as Close Def 4 and Dull Close, making his statline go more to a more manageable 62 Atk, 52 Spd, 40 Def and 29 Res.
Legendary Nanna. A Sword Cavalry unit, she brings a Glass Cannon statline of default 40 HP, 39 Atk, 42 Spd, 27 Def and 25 Res, and her skillkit will exploit that to the fullest. She brings Miracle, Atk/Spd Push 4 and Atk/Spd Menace, but the worst of all is her Lands Sword and Hoðr's Zeal. Lands Sword gives her +3 Atk, grants her +6 Atk/Spd during combat, allows her to ignore skills that prevent her follow-up attacks, non-Special effects that "reduce damage by X%", defensive Specials that are triggered by unit's attack, and restores 7 HP to unit after combat, all which activates if she is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat, and Hoðr's Zeal gives her [Canto (Rem. +1)], deals damage equal to 20% of her Atk during combat and has any of her follow-up attacks before foe can counterattack if she initiates combat. Because of this, her weapon can bypass all kinds of Damage Reduction skills and even the niche defensive special skills. Vital Astra? Fallen Edelgard's Armored Wall? Negating Fang? Miracle? You name it, and alongside with Hoðr's Zeal she can hit hard when she initiates combat, and with her basically getting 77 Atk and 67 Spd with everything in her favor with her default statline, this makes her be able to take down all but the toughest tanks with her dealing an extra 15 damage per attack and get out of dodge with Canto, while having the potential to never receive any damage at all, and that's before going into any Elite Tweaks, such as inheriting the Ninja Katana+ to tear though tanks with true damage, merges and dragonflowers. However, she can be easily be taken down thanks to her poor defenses and thus Anti-Cavalry weapons and Blue Tomes even the common Regular Reinhardt can beat her, but one should still be careful baiting her out.

Being able to ignore defensive specials and all types of damage reduction bar flat damage reduction gives L!Nanna a niche no other unit can replicate at the moment.

Red Ranged

Regular Lysithea, like in her home game, is a walking nuke. She has a weapon, default skill kit and Glass Cannon statline of 37/41/37/21/24 catered to killing units outright on her phase, only being barred by Blue Res tanks, and her Atk just happens to be a superasset, reaching 45 Atk. She has Death Blow 4, Lull Spd/Def and Time's Pulse, but the worst of all is her Hades Ω: it gives her -1 maximum special cooldown, +4 Atk/Spd if she initiates combat, and +6 more Atk if she has her special ready, and with her default Moonbow, she always gets her special ready at the start of her turn and there's nothing you can do about it thanks to Time's Pulse, and for some reason that she doesn't kill her target, her Spd might be high enough to give her a second attack to finish them off. Within everything in her favor, she has 76+ Atk and 44+ Spd, and things get worse with Elite Tweaks such as changing her special to Glimmer, and merges and support from her allies. Of course, her average HP and below average defenses are her downfall and her enemy phase is lacking, but good luck getting to her and trying to bait her out with tanks. No surprise she ousted Regular Lilina (Who had Death Blow 3 and Chill Res on a personal tome) for the best OHKO nuke in the game.
Summer Duo Female Byleth & Rhea. A Red Tome Flier, they bring a Glass Cannon statline of default 40 HP, 36 Atk, 42 Spd, 16 Def, and 21 Res, with their skill kit exploiting that statline to the fullest. They have Ruptured Sky, Atk/Spd Push 4, Chill Spd/Res, and Ground Orders, but the worst of all is Sun's Percussors: It gives -1 maximum special cooldown, and if the user is faster than the foe at the start of combat or the foe is at full HP at the start of combat, they gain +5 Atk/Spd during combat and Null Follow-Up. By default, if they have everything in their favor, they have 62 Atk and 54 Spd during combat. This alone is dangerous enough on them, but there is one skill that many players will inherit to them: Windsweep. Because they have poor Def, they will fall to any strong physical attacks, especially from bows, but thanks to Windsweep allowing the user to prevent the foe from counterattacking if they are faster and are against physical units, and Sun's Percussors negating the one attack limit of the user on Windsweep, they can close in and take out on of your physical units without fear with their flier movement, even with the likes of Brave Edelgard. Finally, their Duel effect allows them to score as if they have 185 BST, meaning that they will be commonly seen in high tier Arena, where normally Armor units will be seen. However, since they have average HP, low Res, and poor Def, any attacks on them will make them fold fast, but even if they're running Windsweep, any strong magic attacker will take them out easily, especially if they're Blue.
Dancing Duo Sigurd & Deirdre. They're a Red Tome Cavalier with Squishy Wizard stats of default 38/38/18/16/37, with Atk/Res Bond 4, Lull Atk/Res, Joint Hone Res, and Gilt Goblet, which gives them +3 Atk and if the foe either initiates combat or they're at full HP, the user gains +6 Atk/Res, and if they're also wielding a tome, reduces damage taken during combat and from non-Røkkr AOE specials by 50%, and their Duo Skill acts like Reposition to adjacent allies that can be activated every time, but that's not the reason they're here. The real reason they're here is they have access to Dance, which means that at the time of their release, they're the only Cavalry Dancer in the game. Combined with other powerful Cavalry units, they're going to be a pain to fight against. The only other units with 3 Movement with Dance/Sing/Play is with Reyson and Leanne, and even then they only work with other Beasts and if they are transformed; in comparison, Sigurd & Deirdre are guaranteed with 3 Movement, and while they're limited to being groundborne and having trouble with terrain, without any of those on the map, they're a menace on defense teams.
Legendary Lilina. She is a Red Tome Cavalry that has a Squishy Wizard statline with default 39 HP, 42 Atk, 21 Spd, 17 Def, and 40 Res. She also has Atk/Res Solo 4, Sabotage Res, and Pulse Smoke, but what makes her annoying to face against is her Studied Forblaze and Gifted Magic. Studied Forblaze gives her -1 maximum special cooldown, -1 special cooldown at the start of turn 1, and if she is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat, she gains +6 Atk/Res during combat, and negate her foe's skills that changes attack priority, such as Vantage, and Gifted Magic is a 2 special cooldown AOE special that deal damage equal to 0.8x of her Atk minus her foe's Res at the start of combat in a + shape. This means right off the bat, she has an AOE special ready like Ophelia, and while Gifted Magic is weaker than Blazing Wind, her high default Atk allows her to deal a large amount of damage to her foes during combat as well, and with her default 56 Atk, only high Res units can wall her off with her AOE and first attack, with 69 Atk during combat if everything is in her favor. Even worse, since Gifted Magic checks her Atk at the start of combat, players also inherit Atk boosting skill such as Life and Death 3/4 onto her, alongside the Life and Death 3 Sacred Seal, meaning by default, if she has both Life and Death 4 and the Life and Death 3 Sacred Seal equipped, she has 68 Atk, and 72 Atk with an Asset to her Atk. With that, against a unit with 40 Res, Gifted Magic deals 12 damage with 56 Atk, 22 damage with 68 Atk, and 25 damage with 72 Atk, and that's not counting her attack during combat, and all of this is before more Elite Tweaks are given to her, such as Merges, Dragonflowers, and boosts from Mythic Heroes. Of course, with her poor Def and low Spd, she is easy to take down with physical units, but good luck trying to bait her facing a pre-charged AOE special and monstrous Atk with your units.
Valentine's Duo Líf & Thrasir. They're a Mighty Glacier with a BST of 39/39/25/30/25, and a base kit consisting of Atk/Def Push 4, Lull Atk/Res 3, and Fatal Smoke 3, as well as Glimmer for their special. They're another red tome cavalry Duo Unit that is almost unfair to fight against. Chances are if you're running into 'em, they're on an Aether Raids defense team, ready to give you hell. They get a guaranteed follow-up attack if they're within 3 spaces of an ally, just like Regular Líf's Sökkvabekkr, as well as +6 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat, but they injure their closest ally (or allies) for 20 damage afterwards if they attack. With Atk/Def Push 4 and Lull Atk/Res, that's effectively even more bulk for them, and Fatal Smoke ensures that you also can't heal off any damage during or after combat, meaning any damage you sustain you just have to deal with. While their other stats are very high, their only drawback stat-wise is their lackluster Spd, which means they has to rely on their weapon's guaranteed follow-up. On top of that, their weapon pierces through half of any non-Special Damage Reduction skill, so if you've been relying on that, you're in for a world of hurt.
Valentine's Duo Chrom & Male Robin are effectively a red version of Legendary Chrom, who is mentioned in the Blue Ranged folder. They bring a Mighty Glacier statline of 40 HP, 44 Atk, 27 Spd, 40 Def, and 26 Res, with a skillkit consisting of Legendary Chrom's To Change Fate!, Deadeye, Close Salvo ^noteClose Counter with an Atk push effect, and Time's Pulse 3. What puts them here is their exclusive weapon, Destiny's Bow. It has flying and armored effectiveness, -1 special cooldown, a Link-esque effect for the first 4 turns of battle that reduces their special cooldown and the special cooldown of an ally that uses a movement assist on them or is targeted by their movement assist (which includes To Change Fate!) by 1, and +5 to all stats and a guaranteed follow-up attack when initiating combat or being within 2 spaces of an ally. Meanwhile, their Duo skill grants them an Impact effect, debuffs themselves and any nearby allies for -5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res, and then applies [Grand Strategy], which reverses debuffs a la Unity skills, to those units. Because To Change Fate! gives Duo Chrom another action, Destiny's Bow lets them spam Deadeye for those first 4 turns while bypassing their low Spd with guaranteed follow-up attacks if they don't manage to nuke the enemy outright, while their Duo skill lets them serve as a phenomenal support unit on top of that. The saving grace to facing them is their 26 Res and 27 Spd, which means blue mages with good enough Spd can easily be their undoing.

Blue Melee

Dimitri has one consistent gimmick that he has with all his variants: use his high Atk and Def to his full advantage. While his regular variant is a bit dangerous to face against in some situations and has the potential to blindsight players if they're not careful, and his Brave variant is a great enemy phase unit, their consistency are a bit shaky, unlike his Legendary and Fallen variants:
- Legendary Dimitri is the worst one to face against. He is a Lance Infantry Lightning Bruiser with default statline of 40 HP, 41 Atk and Spd, 37 Def, and 18 Res. He also has Blazing Wind and Sturdy Impact, but what makes him a pain to go against is his Areadbhar, Atrocity, and Odd Tempest. Odd Tempest gives him +1 movement at the start of odd turns, Areadbhar gives him -1 maximum special cooldown, and if he is at 25% HP or above, he gains +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat and 4% damage reduced from enemy attacks and non-Røkkr AOE specials for every point of Spd he has over his foe, up to 40% damage reduced, and Atrocity, if the foe is at 50% HP or above at the start of combat, grants him damage equal to 25% of his Atk, and inflicts -5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res and +1 special cooldown to the target and all foes within 2 spaces of the target after combat if he survives. So from Areadbhar and Atrocity alone he has Spectrum Push, Close Call/Repel/Spurn, Brave Alm's Scendscale (which would give him 17 true damage by default), Spectrum Smoke, and Pulse Smoke, and with Odd Tempest, he will move like a Cavalry unit at every odd turn, and with everything in his favor, he gets 70 Atk (87 with Atrocity active), 46 Spd, 52 Def, and 23 Res, add +5 to all of that if Atrocity debuffs are active on the foe during combat, and all of that is before any Elite Tweaks, such as changing out his Blazing Wind for another attack special like Bonfire or Ruptured Sky. Like his other variants, however, he is weak to magic attack thanks to his low Res and average HP, but with his Areadbhar's Damage Reduction, it's not going to be an easy feat.
- Fallen Dimitri. A Lance Infantry, he brings a Lightning Bruiser statline of default 40 HP and Spd, 42 Atk, 38 Def and 17 Res. He also brings Glimmer, Atk/Spd Solo 4, and Odd Tempest 3, but what makes him dangerous is his Vengeful Lance and Murderous Lion. Vengeful Lance gives him +3 Atk, and it gives him +6 Atk/Spd during combat and if he somehow is not able to perform a follow-up attack, he gains damage equal to 50% of the difference of his Atk and his foe's Def if his Atk is higher, all which activates if he's not adjacent to an ally, and Murderous Lion gives him [Canto (Rem. +1)], and allows him to inflict -3 Spd/Def on the foe during combat and prevent the foe from counterattacking if he's not adjacent to an ally. Already he brings a deadly base kit that is focused on him initiating combat, while also allowing him the option to retreat after battle with his Murderous Lion and Odd Tempest 3. With everything in his favor, he gets 77 Atk and 56 Spd during combat, and he will take no damage from all of this if he initiates combat thanks to his Murderous Lion preventing his foe from counterattacking, and if he somehow does not perform a follow-up attack, he will deal 75% of the total damage he can potentially do instead of 50% in most cases. However, unlike his Brave and Legendary variants he does not have any form of Damage Reduction and so his low Res is his major weakness.
Duo Ephraim and Lyon may not have access to their Duo Skill when faced as an enemy, but they're still a terror to fight against. They have an Atk stat of 39 that effectively becomes 58 with Reginleif or 62 with an Atk superasset, giving them one of the highest Atk stats in the game, with skills that perfectly capitalize on this massive Atk. Heavy Blade 4 charges their special faster while inflicting 5 additional damage against anyone with less Atk than them; Lull Atk/Def prevents the enemy from boosting their Atk and Def with field buffs as well as inflicting -3 Atk/Def to them during combat, making it harder to damage them and weather their attacks; and Reginleif allows them to perform a follow-up attack against anyone with less Atk than them or they have extra movement, on top of being effective against cavalry and armored units. The sheer amount of power they boast is so great that even green units with high Def can struggle to survive against them. Combined with great Def at 37, 41 HP, and a passable 30 Spd, the only units who can reliably beat them are strong, speedy mages to exploit their mediocre 25 Res.

Fallen Male Corrin. First of all, he is a Gen 4 Infantry Trainee, meaning he reaches 177 BST, beating out many Armored units released beforehand with a statspread of 42/38/38/33/26, which his Atk and Spd are also Superassets, Power Creeping his Adrift version by a lot, but the worst is his weapon and skills. He has Atk/Spd Solo 4, which gives him +7 Atk/Spd during combat if he's alone, Null Follow-Up, Rouse Spd/Def, and Brutal Breath: it gives him +3 Spd, and gives him +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat, reducing by 2 for every ally within 2 spaces of him, and if there is one or no allies within the same range, he inflicts -1 special buildup on the foe during combat. With everything in his favor, he reaches 66 Atk, 59 Spd, 46 Def, and 31 Res, creating a Morton's Fork scenario where if you should eliminate his allies first or not. However, his weakness is his average HP and low Res, and unlike his Female variant, he is Blue, meaning that he is vulnerable to Green threats, and moreso if they have dragon effective weapons, such as Regular Julia and Thrasir.
Brave Hector when he received his refined Maltet. Brave Hector at the time of his release is a strong mixed-phase unit with Mighty Glacier stats of default 48 HP, 37 Atk, 22 Spd, 39 Def, and 28 Res, with a strong kit of Maltet, which gives -1 maximum special cooldown and allows the user a guaranteed follow-up attack if the foe initiates combat and the user is at 50% HP or above at the start of combat, Ignis, Ostian Counter, which combines Sturdy Stance 2 and Distant Counter, Bold Fighter, and Even Res Wave. His presence in the Meta Game did a good amount of impact, but not as much as other heroes released later on, such as Brave Edelgard. Update 4.9.0 in September 2020, however, changed that when his Maltet received its refine. The refined Maltet now has -1 maximum special cooldown, removes his armor weakness, and if the foe initiates combat and the user is at 25% HP or above, the user gains a guaranteed follow-up attack and ignores any penalties inflicted on the user, and the unique refine allows him to inflict -6 Atk/Def and denies any enemy follow-up attack if the foe either initiates combat or is at full HP. His refined weapon alone is worth an entire skill kit of a hero, and combined with his default skillkit, he is one of the most powerful mixed-phase units in the game. With 2021's introduction of Save skills and Hardy Fighter later on in the year, Brave Hector would instead shift towards a purely enemy phase build with Far Save, combining Hardy Fighter with Aegis and Deflect Magic to become one of the game's premier Mage Killers alongside Ascended Fjorm. With that said, like most units, he is vulnerable to AOE specials.
Dancing Eldigan. While certainly not the first Lance Flier with a high Def stat, he is the first Lance Flier with Dance and still has that high Def stat to give him some survivability. Outside of Courtly Candle+, his inheritable weapon^note, his base kit isn't anything to write home about aside from maybe Def Opening - but it's when the Elite Tweak starts that he gets scary; Courtly Candle+ combined with other Def-boosting skills like Atk/Def Bond, Distant Foil, Atk/Def Solo, and other skills that boost the Atk and Def stats can turn him into a incredibly strong physical tank that still retains Dance. Dedicated players of Aether Raids were also quick to note that his unique class and statline made him a perfect counter to Mila and her Turnwheel skill; on top of having the highest potential Def or all refreshers and being a flier with extra movement tech, being a Lance-user means he can equip Wagasa+ for its innate Chill Def effect to further stack the stat check in his favor.
Seiros. She is a Mighty Glacier Blue Infantry Dragon with a default statline of 40 HP, 42 Atk, 71 Spd, 37 Def, and 40 Res, and with a strong skillkit as well, with Glacies, Mirror Impact, Dragon Wall, which gives her 4% Damage Reduction from attacks and non-Røkkr AOE special for every point of Res she has over her foe, up to 40% damage reduced, and Wings of Light, which gives all other Mythic Heroes on her team X Atk/Spd/Def/Res, with X equal to 2 plus the current Turn number, up to Turn 5, going up to +7 Atk/Spd/Def/Res, and does not activate if the Turn number goes beyond 5 or there is more than 3 Mythic Heroes on her team, including herself. All that makes her a great support unit that is bulky, but what makes her a pain is her weapon and her status as a Special Slot Mythic Hero. Her Aurora Breath gives her +3 Atk, grants her a guaranteed follow-up attack and +6 Atk during combat if she initiates combat, and denies any of the foe's follow-up attacks and gives her +6 Def/Res during combat if her foe initiates combat. Her weapon alone makes her a great mixed-phase unit that can give out a lot of hurt while also taking less damage than usual while at the same time making her poor Spd matter little. With everything in her favor, she gains 67 Atk and 50 Res if she initiates combat, and 43 Def and 46 Res if her foe does. Finally, her status as a Special Slot Mythic Hero means that including her in an Anima Season Defense team in Aether Raids allows trap setups to give her team the initiative, explained under the Unit Types folder for the High Tier category below. All of this is before she receives any Elite Tweaks, such as inheriting Distant Counter, Dragon's Ire, and Lull Atk/Res.
Regular Ingrid. A Lance Cavalier, she brings a Glass Cannon statline of default 37 HP, 35 Atk, 40 Spd, 28 Def and 27 Res. She also packs Moonbow, Atk/Spd Solo 4, Lull Spd/Def and Rouse Atk/Spd, making her an absolute powerhouse, but what makes her dangerous is her Lúin. Lúin give her -1 maximum special cooldown, and gives her +6 Spd, boost her damage by 20% of her Spd during combat, and if she has 5 Spd or more than her foe, she prevents her foe from counterattacking, all which activates if she either initiates combat or is within 2 spaces of an ally. With Spd going up to 62+ with everything in her favor, she's going to deal an extra 12 damage on top of what is essentially 67+ Atk, trying to get a unit to go up to 57 Spd during combat without the use of buffs to have a chance to counterattack without Null C-Disrupt is not going to be an easy feat. All of this is before she gets any Elite Tweaks, such as S/D Near Trace to increase her mobility and Flow Refresh to ignore skills that deny her follow-up attacks. She can thankfully can be taken down with ease with her below average HP and defenses, but good luck trying to bait and approach her first with her high mobility.
Regular Nótt. She is a Lightning Bruiser with a default statline of 40 HP and Spd, 41 Atk, 28 Def, and 27 Res. She also packs Dragon Fang, Distant Counter, and Atk/Spd Menace. What's more dangerous is her Hrímfaxi, which gives +3 Spd, and if she is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat she gains +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat and the Bonus Doubler effect^note, which synergizes with her Atk/Spd Menace, and Moon-Twin Wing, which if her HP is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat she inflicts -5 Atk/Spd on her foe during combat and reduces damage taken from attacks and non-Røkkr AOE specials by 4% for every point of Spd she has over her foe, up to 40% damage reduced, making her hard to take down. The worst, however, is her utility she gives in Aether Raids Defense teams. Not only she is a Special Slot Mythic Hero of Dark, especially since her debut banner in June 2021 also made her an option for players to Spark to get a copy of her for free, which, at the time of her release, the only Mythic Hero of Light with the Special Slot is her twin sister Regular Dagr, which means that unless you summoned Regular Dagr and use her on your Light Offense team, you're limited to a 5 unit Offense team against a team of 7 until the release of Ash in November 2021, but her Hrímfaxi also has [Pathfinder], where any ally that passes through her space get +1 movement. The former is already bad enough, but the latter combined with any of the High-Tier heroes here and you go someone you're going to dread going against. Regular Lysithea and Brave Edelgard with 3 movement? Legendary Dimitri, Legendary Lilina and Young L'Arachel with 4 movement? Legendary Sigurd with 5 movement? Regular Nótt can make that happen to make any Dark Defense team very difficult to bait and take down, especially if there are more than one of her to face against. This has gotten so bad that update 5.8.0 in August 2021 released the Safety Fence structure for Offense Teams to immediately end the turns of all units on the Defense Team if all the Offense Team is within a certain range of the Safety Fence just so they have a chance to defeat any Defense Teams that include Regular Nótt alongside those heroes listed as well.
Regular Nifl. The very first Dragon Cavalier in Heroes, she will bring a chill to player's spines whenever they face against her. She brings a Glass Cannon statline of default 39 HP, 38 Atk, 40 Spd, 27 Def and 23 Res. She also brings Rally Def/Res+, AR-D Atk/Spd 4 and Atk/Spd Lull, which makes her great on an Aether Raids Defense team already, but her Frostbite Breath and Domain of Ice is what makes her a pain to go against. Frostbite Breath, alongside the adaptive damage against ranged foes, gives her +3 Spd, and she inflicts -5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res on her foe during combat and inflicts [Counter Disrupt] to her target and all foes within 2 spaces of that target after combat if she attacked, all which activates if she's at 25% HP or above at the start of combat, and her Domain of Ice allows her to give all allies within 2 spaces of her and to herself if she is within 2 spaces of an ally +4 Spd/Res and reduces damage taken from the foe's first attack by 30% during combat. This makes her not only difficult to take down on both phases if she's near an ally, even with her Glass Cannon statline, but she can also make sure that the player's units cannot counterattack other foes she comes with if she attacks at all, especially in Aether Raids where the above-mentioned Nótt giving great mobility to all her allies so that even a hard counter against Nifl like Regular Julia will just easily fall to the next enemy that attacks them and can sometimes create unwinnable defenses. Finally, since she is not a Mythic Hero, she can have Mythic Blessings to get the stat boosts from other Mythic Heroes on defense teams, further bolstering her already good statline.
Brave Eirika. She has a Glass Cannon statline of default 39 HP, 40 Atk, 42 Spd, 28 Def and 24 Res, but her skillkit will make you think twice about that. She has Luna and Atk/Spd Menace, as well as Surge Sparrow, which gives her +7 Atk/Spd during combat, as well as recover HP equal to 10% of her max HP + 20 x the maximum special cooldown her equipped Special has when her special triggers, all which activates if she initiates combat, which means that she'll recover 70% of her max HP when she activates her Luna, but her weapon and exclusive skill is the worst of the bunch. Binding Reginleif gives her -1 maximum special cooldown, deals effective damage against Armored and Cavalry foes, and she gains +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res, reduces damage taken from the first attack by 30%, and if she initiates combat she ignores skills that deny any of her follow-up attacks, all which activates if she is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat, and Moonlight Bangle gives her [Canto (2)], allows her to ignore skills that inflict -1 special buildup on her per attack, and if she trigger a special during combat she deals damage equal to 20% of her foe's Def +10 x the maximum special cooldown she has equipped, meaning with her default Luna she will deal 50% of her foe's Def when Luna triggers. Because of this, she is designed to be a wallbreaker that uses Hit-and-Run Tactics to take down even the likes of Fallen Edelgard. So with everything in her favor, she effectively has 74 Atk, 66 Spd, 39 Def and 35 Res, and that's not going into Elite Tweaks, such as merges, assets and Dragonflowers. Her only real weakness is her low defenses, but good luck trying to catch her off guard thanks to her Canto and Damage Reduction.
Ascended Idunn, for similar reasons with Brave Hector post-refine. She brings a Mighty Glacier statline of default 45 HP, 43 Atk/Def, 26 Spd and 38 Res, and has the skillkit to exploit it to the fullest. She has Bonfire, Sturdy Stance 3, Wily Fighter, and D/R Near Save, but what brings it all together is her Dew Dragonstone. It gives her -1 maximum special cooldown, deals effective damage against Armored foes, removes her Armor weakness, deals adaptive damage against ranged foes, and if she is within 3 spaces of an ally she inflicts -5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res on the foe during combat, ignore any penalties on her stats during combat, and prevents her foe from performing a follow-up attack. Because of this, she can be seen as a hybrid of Brave Hector and Legendary Fae, and her default skillkit makes her the best user of Wily Fighter's bonus neutralization effect on the foe. With that all together, by default she has what is basically 70+ Atk, 31+ Spd, 58+ Def and 47+ Res, and this is before any Elite Tweaks she can receive, such as any variant of Distant Counter, Special Fighter and Ascended traits. Her main weakness however is that she is still weak against Dragon effective weapons, especially from Green units, but with her bulk and Dew Dragonstone preventing her foe's follow-up attacks it's not going to be easy to take her down.
Legendary Caeda is a flying nightmare for Cavalry and Armored units who are not immune to effective damage. She bring a Glass Cannon statine of 39 HP, 38 Atk, 42 Spd, 27 Def and 31 Res, bringing Moonbow, Distant Storm, and Rein Atk/Def 3, but the worst of all is her Wing-Lifted Spear and Faithful Loyalty. Wing-Lifted Spear gives her Atk+3, [Canto (2)], deals effective against Armor and Cavalry units, and grants +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res to unit during combat, basically steal her foe's field stat buffs, all which activates if she either initiates combat or is within 2 spaces of an ally, and Faithful Loyalty allows her to ignore skills that prevent her follow-up attacks, allows her to counterattack first if the foe is an Armored and Cavalry unit, and gives her [Vantage] after combat. Because of this, she is an Armor and Cavalry unit nightmare since she will counterattack those units first with effective damage, and her Wing-Lifted Spear has you think twice about using buffs on your units while also granting her Hit-and-Run Tactics thanks to Canto (2), and with her going to 73 Atk and 47 Spd with everything in her favor with her default statline before any buffs she steals from her foe, she's going to counterattack hard, and this is before she receives any Elite Tweaks. Her main weakness however is her low defenses, meaning that she can go down against the likes of Bows that are also not Armored or Cavalry, but one should still be wary if she has [Vantage] active.

Blue Ranged

Regular Reinhardt, despite his stats being a Mighty Glacier statline with default 38 HP, 32 Atk, 23 Spd, 27 Def, and 25 Res, is considered to be one of the most aggravating units to see in the Arena. Thanks to his 3 movement, 2 range, and Dire Thunder, when combined with stuff like Death Blow, Quickened Pulse, and Moonbow (a fairly low investment cost), he can charge in and pop one of your units without you being able to safely approach him, and then an ally can Reposition him back into safety. While there are countermeasures against him like a Lightning Breath+ Fae, as well as the introduction of trench tiles to slow him down, he's still a threat that any player needs to watch out for. He is the main reason why it is difficult to field more than one red unit at once due to the sheer number of advantages he has. Unlike many units who generally get phased out as time goes on, with the introduction of new skills like Death Blow 4, Lull Atk/Res, and the introduction of new ways of increasing stats, Reinhardt remains one of the top dogs of the game despite his stats being low compared to other characters, and even if those stats are a problem, he received a Resplendent version in late March 2021, which means he gets +2 to all his stats, raising it to 40 HP, 34 Atk, 25 Spd, 29 Def, and 27 Res, meaning he's going to hit a bit harder. With all of that, Reinhardt remains a scary unit still.
Legendary Azura. As a flying dancer, she should be already be feared to face against, but it's her skills that really makes her the best dancer in the entire game. She has Aerobatic and B Duel Flying 3 but the combination of three of her other skills makes her a real problem to face against: Atk Tactic 3, Grey Waves, and Prayer Wheel. Grey Waves allows any Flying or Infantry ally refreshed by her to move one more space, Atk Tactics 3 allows that unit to have +6 Atk if they are within 2 spaces of her and do not share more than one of the same movement type with any other ally, and Prayer Wheel allows any ally refreshed by her have all of their stats increased to the highest one they currently have. That means +6 to all of their stats and +1 movement to Infantry and Flying allies if she refreshes them, also making her one of the best -blade tome buffer in the game^note. She can also use the Earth or Water Dance Sacred Seal to give +5 to all their stats when she refreshes another unit, giving buffs without any limitations of either team setup or positioning. With her remix with update 6.3.0 in March 2022, things get worse as not only she receive Atk/Spd Push 4, her Gray Waves II now also gives [Null Panic] to her Infantry or Flying ally whenever she uses it, but the unique refine for her Prayer Wheel allows her to give +6 Spd to all allies within 2 spaces of her at the start of her turn, as well as give her +5 Atk/Spd during combat and the Triangle Adept effect if she is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat, meaning not only she doesn't need Atk Tactics 3 to buff her allies to give the +6 to the rest of her ally's stats, but the Triangle Adept effect makes it more beneficial to her to not only deal more damage against Red foes if she needs to attack, but the decreased damage against Green foes means that her AI has her more likely to actually dance a unit instead of attacking a green foe instead.
Ophelia is very sought after for defense teams in Aether Raids thanks to her high Atk and great weapon. She has by default a Squishy Wizard statline of 38 HP, 37 Atk, 33 Spd, 20 Def, and 23 Res. Her Missiletainn reduces her maximum special cooldown by 1, and at the start of turn 1 gives her -1 special cooldown for every Tome ally on the team, including herself. Due to how defense team compositions can go up to 7, she can be on a defense team specifically made with her in mind^note while also balancing it with other hard hitters or tanks, and have her special ready to annihilate any foe she attacks with a Blazing special to deal massive damage to enemies before combat, and with Hardy Bearing equipped, she can negate Vantage, so anyone who is trying to risk baiting her attacks and is not Green and does not possess high enough Res to survive her attack may as well be nothing to her. Even worse is that this is before any Elite Tweaks are put into play: Life and Death 3/4, Special Spiral, Res Smoke, the list goes on. Considering that some Tome users include dancers, she is the top priority for players to take out as fast as possible, otherwise by the time that you do eliminate her, your remaining units may be unable to eliminate the rest of the enemies on the map, making those defense teams unwinnable. And like the aforementioned regular Reinhardt, she's set to receive a Resplendent outfit, which comes with +2 to all of her stats, making her even more of a threat than she was before.
Legendary Chrom. He's a Mighty Glacier with default 41 HP, 42 Atk, 26 Spd, 34 Def, and 25 Res, but his weapon and skills will exploit this statline. He has Close Counter, Lull Atk/Def, and Rouse Def/Res, making him a physical tank that can counterattack melee unit, but its his weapon and assist skill that makes him annoying to face against. His Randgríðr grants him +3 Atk, is effective against Flying and Armor units, and if the foe has full HP before the start of combat, he inflicts -6 Atk/Def on the foe and allows him to ignore any penalties inflicted on him, so not only will be at full strength if his foe is healthy, but he's hitting harder and making himself more tankier than normal, but the worst is his To Change Fate! assist skill: It functions as the same as Reposition, but also gives him (and his paired up ally) +6 Atk and another action once per turn, but both are inflicted with the Isolation status, which doesn't really matter that much because it only lasts through his second action, meaning that he can be danced again after his second action. With all those skill active and everything in his favor, he has what is basically 74+ Atk, 49+ Def and 40+ Res, and all of this is before he receives any Elite Tweaks. Finally, his Duel Effect allows him to score as if he has 180 BST before merges in Arena modes, meaning that he scores as much as Armor units, which means that he will be common in high tier Arena defense teams, and with his Randgríðr being effective against Armor units...
Guinivere. She's a Squishy Wizard with default statline of 36 HP, 35 Atk, 40 Spd, 16 Def, and 38 Res, but her dedicated role with her default skillkit is to be a Mage Killer and a somewhat Dragon Slayer. She has Iceberg, Atk/Res Push 4, Atk/Res Lull, and Joint Drive Res, but the worst of all is her Aureola. Aureola gives her +3 Res, restores 7 HP toward her and any allies within 2 spaces of her after combat, gives her +5 Atk/Spd/Res during combat and ignore skills that let the foe target the lower defensive stat of the user if she either initiates combat or is within 2 spaces of an ally, but the most dangerous thing about Aureola is it deals effective damage against Tome units. Unlike most effective weapons, there are no ways to make units remove their weakness from tome effectiveness, so any mage unit trying to defeat her by initiating will most likely be dead from her counterattack, especially if she's near an ally, while at the same time she will be safe when she initiates on Tome and Dragon units thanks to her high Res, with her Res going up to default 60 Res if everything is in her favor. With the presence of Elite Tweaks, she can change her A Skill for an Atk/Spd Push 4 where she'll get +7 Atk/Spd instead in order to take down units that uses Spd-based Damage Reduction skills by the likes of Fallen Ike and Mareeta. However, her low physical bulk and below average HP is her main downfall, so any physical unit that attacks her or any Green physical unit that can counterattack her from range and have good Res will defeat her easily.
Regular Sacred Stones Selena. She has a Glass Cannon statline of 40 HP, 39 Atk and Spd, 16 Def and 23 Res. She also brings Rally Atk/Res+, Life and Death 4, and Rouse Atk/Res, but what makes her dangerous is her Tome of Storms. Tome of Storms gives her +3 Spd, and if the foe is at 75% HP or above at the start of combat, she gains +5 Atk/Spd during combat and the Null Follow-Up effect. A great weapon by itself, but the Null Follow-Up effect is a great boon to her since not only Cavalry units does not get Null Follow-Up due to being Infantry-only, but thanks to the effect being on the weapon it allows her to run Windsweep as her B skill to allow her to deny any of the foe's counterattacks if they wield a physical weapon to alleviate her poor Def, and with 65 Atk and 54 Spd with everything in her favor she'll be hitting hard and fast, and that's not going into what Sacred Seals she can equip as well. However, since she has low average HP and low defenses, anyone that can attack her at all with high Atk will take her down easily, but good luck taking her down on the enemy phase without Null C-Disrupt on your physical units.

Green Melee

Regular Surtr. He is a Mighty Glacier taken to its logical conclusion with at default 50 HP, 39 Atk, 40 Def, 33 Res, but 17 Spd, but it's his base skill kit that makes him a menace to face against. Like in the story, he still has Sinmara equipped, but comes with his exclusive skill Surtr's Menace, which means that any enemies within 2 spaces of him take 20 damage and are debuffed by -4 Atk/Spd/Def/Res while Surtr himself is buffed by +4 Atk/Spd/Def/Res at the start of his turn. Anyone not bulky enough will die if they try to bait him into attacking your units. He also has Wary Fighter, meaning unless you have skills that guarantee your follow-up attacks, you're probably not going to KO him in one round of combat, and he has Steady Stance 4, which gives him +8 Def and -1 special buildup to the enemy if the enemy initiates attack, meaning that physical attacks alone will not do the job of taking him down on the player phase. With those skills, he creates a Morton's Fork scenario where if you attack him, you must use more than one unit to finish him, or bait him and hope that your unit survives and deals enough damage to finish him on your turn. And this is before any Elite Tweaks are put into play, such as Distant Def Sacred Seal, Bold Fighter, Distant Counter... In short, like his story counterpart, he is to be feared when faced against.
Edelgard. As expected from the emperor of Adrestia, she is a fearsome foe with skills that makes her stronger if she is going in solo. While her regular variant is strong and has the potential to blindsight players if they're not careful, her Legendary variant takes her gimmick to another level, while her Brave variant breaks away from that trend, but in the most horrifying way possible:
- Legendary Edelgard is a One Woman Army in the strongest sense of the word. Her weakest stat is her measly 17 Spd, but she more than makes up for it with an amazing mixed bulk of 45 HP, 39 Def & 36 Res, as well as a whopping 42 Atk. Her weapon, Aymr, inflicts -6 Atk/Def on the foe and denies follow-up attacks if she's by herself, on top of giving her an extra 3 Atk. She's also packing Atk/Res Solo 3 and a new skill in Armored Stride 3, which gives her +1 movement if she's by herself (noticing a trend here?); And then there's her B Skill, Raging Storm. This not only gives her a guaranteed follow-up attack against dragons and beasts, but is essentially a built in Galeforce, allowing her to move again if she initiates combat with no one nearby (And yes, it actually stacks with Galeforce, meaning she can potentially act 3 times by herself without any dancers). If you don't have a ranged unit or armor effectiveness, your team is as good as dead. Most of these skills only work if she's not adjacent to an ally, creating a diabolical Morton's Fork of deciding if you should take her out first or pick off her allies.
- Brave Edelgard breaks away from her being strong without allies, to being strong, even near allies. As an Armored Axe with Mighty Glacier stats, she has by default 46 HP, 45 Atk, 16 Spd, 43 Def, and 35 Res, reaching 185 BST, but her entire skill kit will make you forget that being a slow armored unit for her is a downside. She has Distant Ward, to give her +5 Atk/Res during combat if the foe initiates combat and they wield Tome, Staff, or Breath weapons, Joint Drive Res to give her +4 Res to herself and any allies within 2 spaces of her during combat if there is an ally within the same range, Black Eagle Rule to give her a guaranteed follow-up attack if she's at 25% HP or over, and reduces damage taken from any follow-up attacks by 80%, and Flower Hauteclere: it gives her -1 maximum special cooldown, and if she's at 25% HP or over, she inflicts -6 Atk/Def on the foe during combat, and gives her +1 Movement, as well as the Orders status effect, which allows her to move to an adjacent space of an ally within 2 spaces of her. Already from her basekit, she's dangerous, and if she has an ally 2 spaces away from her, she moves like a cavalry unit, and with everything in her favor, she has 72 Atk, 49 Def, and 50 Res, and thanks to her Flower Hauteclere and Black Eagle Rule, her abysmal Spd and initial 1 Movement matters little. And all of this is before any Elite Tweaks.
Brave Ike after his Urvan refine. While Ike was already a decent unit before with a Mighty Glacier statline of default 43 HP, 36 Atk, 28 Spd, 35 Def, and 20 Res, his refine dialed his strengths up. In addition to reducing the damage of the first attack he takes by 40%, he also forces enemies initiating on him to make their follow-ups before his counterattack. This may sound like a bad thing... but Urvan reduces damage of consecutive attacks after the first by 80%, effectively making all foes faster than him deal a mere fraction of their original damage to him^note. Not only does this make his low Res almost irrelevant, but Urvan's retained special acceleration means that he'll often be able to recover all of his lost HP with Aether. Because of all this, he can run Distant Counter to tank and retaliate ranged enemies as well. Even worse is the B skills he can run alongside Distant Counter: Null C-Disrupt, to make sure that units with weapons and skills like Dazzling Staff and the Firesweep weapons cannot chip down his HP without retaliation, and Close Call/Repel/Spurn, to boost his Damage Reduction further during combat, as to make sure his decent Spd will be useful against slow Squishy Wizards that run skills like Axebreaker, and to make things worse, he received a Resplendent boost in February 2021 where he receives +2 to all of his stats, reaching to 45 HP, 38 Atk, 30 Spd, 37 Def, and 22 Res by default, increasing his bulk even further. Because of this, Brave Ike becomes a nigh-unkillable, self-sustaining wall that's downright impossible to player-phase without something like Hardy Bearing or an AOE special stopping him in his tracks.
Hel, like in Story Mode, will be hell to face against. She brings a Lightning Bruiser statline with default 40 HP, 38 Atk, 41 Spd, 30 Def, and 18 Res, but her skillkit and weapon will what makes her a pain to go against. She has Luna and Distant Counter, alongside Guard Bearing, where it reduces the first attack to the user by 50% during the first battle on each enemy phase, and Inevitable Death, which inflicts -4 Atk/Spd/Def/Res to all foes within 2 spaces of the user, but the worst of all is her Hel's Reaper. Hel's Reaper is a stronger version of her enemy variant's Hel Scythe, which gives -1 maximum special cooldown, and if the foe is not using a Tome or Staff, the user targets the foe's Res and has built-in Miracle, but the Hel's Reaper adds the effect of removing the user's flying weakness. So right off the gate you have someone who will target the lower defensive stat of the majority of the roster while also becoming one of the tankiest unit in the game against them as well, with the only reliable way to KO her in one round of combat is to basically either oneshot her twice with non-Tome and Staff units, or have enough Atk to deal over double her HP with one attack with Tome and Staff units. Even worse is if she inherits Mystic Boost and/or Noontime/Sol, to recover her HP to keep activating her Miracle on the enemy phase. Finally, she is a Mythic Hero of Dark, which means that she will be a common sight on defense teams in Aether Raids. However, as stated with her Hel's Reaper, her Miracle effect will not activate against Tome and Staff foes or if she's just at 1 HP remaining, and with her average HP and low Res, she will fold against them easily, especially if they have an AOE special ready, but with her default skillkit, it's not going to be an easy feat.
Regular Freyja, like in Story Mode, is nightmare incarnate, especially if she's alone. She's a Green Beast Cavalier with a Glass Cannon statline of default 40 HP, 38 Atk, 44 Spd, 24 Def, and 22 Res, but her entire skillkit will make you think otherwise. She brings Luna, Atk/Spd Solo 4, and Pulse Smoke, but the worst of all are her Nightmare Horn and Binding Necklace. Nightmare Horn, on top of the standard Cavalry beast effect of -4 Atk/Def on the foe during combat and denying any of their follow-up attacks, gives her +3 Spd, Distant Counter, and if she faster than her foe, she gains 4% Damage Reduction from their attacks and non-Røkkr AOE specials for every point she has over her foe, up to 40% damage reduced, and Binding Necklace gives her these effects if she's not adjacent to an ally: +2 Atk/Spd/Def/Res on her during combat, -2 Atk/Spd/Def/Res inflicted on the foe during combat, and if the foe has any bonuses on them, she ignores them on the foe and gain stats equal to their value on each of their stat during combat. So right off the gate with her default offensive statline of 54 Atk and 47 Spd when she's transformed, with everything in her favor she has 69 Atk and 58 Spd, and with that high Spd, she will most likely be having 40% Damage Reduction all the time, and things get worse if any of your units have any bonuses on their stats. In short, before any Elite Tweaks, she's a mixed-phase Lightning Bruiser who steals stats from your units when she's not adjacent to an ally whose only real counter is Red units who can exploit her Cavalry weakness like Brave Lysithea, but such units are few and far between.
Regular Dagr. An Axe Infantry, she brings a Lightning Bruiser statline of default 41 HP and Spd, 40 Atk, 30 Def and 25 Res. She also brings Dragon Fang, Atk/Spd Push 4 and Even Tempest 3, but the most dangerous of them all is her Skinfaxi and Sun-Twin Wing. Skinfaxi gives her +3 Spd, [Pathfinder], and if she's at 25% HP or above at the start of combat she gains +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res as well as essentially reverse any field stat debuffs she has during combat, and Sun-Twin Wing allows her to inflict -5 Spd/Def and gain Null Follow-Up if she is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat. Her Skinfaxi makes her stronger if she is inflicted with stat debuffs while also making her nearly impossible to prevent her from having a follow-up attack with her getting 61 Spd alongside 73 Atk with everything in her favor, and if she's inflicted with -7 to her Atk and Spd that goes to 68 Spd and 80 Atk. Finally, she has [Pathfinder], which allows units who go through her space to move 1 extra space, which means a lot of movement shenanigans. To put things into perspective, before Regular Nótt was released, players were putting Regular Dagr on their defense teams in Aether Raids despite her being an Offense Mythic Hero and created some nearly impossible to defeat defenses as a result. However, with her average HP and Def and below average Res she can be taken down by strong hitters, but with her Even Tempest 3 and [Pathfinder] on her weapon, it's not going to be easy to bait her out first.
Harmonized Summer Caeda & Plumeria. This beach dwelling Axe Cavalier duo has a Fragile Speedster statline of 39 HP, 33 Atk, 42 Spd, 26 Def and 28 Res. They also bring Harsh Command+, Atk/Spd Catch 4, Flow Refresh 3 and Panic Smoke, but what makes them annoying to face against is their Dolphin-Dive Axe. Dolphin-Dive Axe gives them +3 Atk, [Canto (2)], gives them +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat if they either initiate combat or is within 2 spaces of an ally, and, more importantly, allows them to deal effective damage against Sword, Lance, Axe, Colorless Bow and Armor units. Like Young Caeda's Feather Sword, the effective damage will bolster their average Atk to a more threatening level with over half the roster fitting those conditions, not helped that with their skills giving them more Atk, with them getting 64 Atk with everything in their favor, that goes to 96 Atk if they can deal effective damage, and thanks to their Flow Refresh you'll need to at least go near their Spd to prevent a double attack from them, but with their Spd going up to 56 it's not going to be an easy feat. Furthermore, since they have [Canto (2)] they're going to perform Hit-and-Run Tactics after attacking one of your units, so even if one of your units survive an encounter against them they're going to have a hard time trying to catch up with them. Finally, this is all before any Elite Tweaks they can receive such as merges, an Atk Asset, and inheriting skills such as Lull Spd/Def and Atk/Def Menace. However, with their average HP and low defenses, they can be taken down with ease, but any Sword, Axe or Armor units that try to initiate on them should be careful with their Dolphin-Dive Axe least they get taken out by their counterattacks if they're frail enough.
Bridal Harmonized Catria & Thea. They have a Glass Cannon statline of default 40 HP and Atk, 41 Spd, 28 Def and 21 Res. They also have Moonbow, Atk/Spd Push 4, A/D Near Trace and Spd/Def Rein, but all of that is overshadowed by their weapon, Wedding-Bell Axe, which is the worst of it all. Wedding-Bell Axe gives them -1 maximum special cooldown, and gives the following status effects at the start of their turns: [Orders], which allows a unit to warp to an adjacent space of an ally within 2 spaces of them, and [Triangle Attack], which allows the unit to double attack if they initiate combat and there is at least two other units with Triangle Attack within 2 spaces of them. The problem is that they give this status effect not only to themselves, but also to all allies within 2 spaces of them, regardless of who they are. Regular Shinon? Ophelia? Fallen Edelgard? They will give [Orders] and [Triangle Attack] to them to create a team of mobile double attackers or potentially quad attackers, making their presence on the enemy team alone a dreadful experience, and things get even worse if they're on the Defense Team in Aether Raids, where they can potentially give those status effects to the entire team with the right setup, making them top priority to take down, but with how Defense Teams are usually setup it falls into a Morton's Fork scenario if you should take them down first or any of their allies, and since themselves are a Harmonized Hero, their presence will activate the Defense Team's Duo's Hindrance, meaning that your Duo and Harmonized Skills will not activate as long as them and any other Duo or Harmonized heroes on the Defense Team are alive within a certain amount of turns.
Ascended Fjorm has the honor of being the first ever Ascended Hero, and she lives up to the title with flying colors. Despite being an Axe Armor, she's a Jack of All Stats in everything except Spd, with 43 HP, 39 Atk, 31 Spd, 31 Def, and 36 Res, but her skillset and her signature weapon, Nifl's Bite, make her one of the most fearsome Armored units in the game. Alongside Steady Posture 3, her Nifl's Bite gives -1 maximum Special cooldown, Distant Counter, and 7 HP restored after combat as well as Null C-Disrupt against ranged foes if she's within 2 spaces of an ally. Combined with Hardy Fighter ^note and her regular version's Ice Mirror, she serves as the premier Far Save unit, another part of her base kit in the form of A/R Far Save, tanking hits from ranged opponents while giving herself guaranteed counterattacks that hit exceedingly hard. And since she's an Ascended Hero, she doesn't need an Ascended Floret to give her what is effectively a second boon, raising her already high base stats even higher.

Green Ranged

Legendary Celica. She is very similar to Legendary Alm, only being both magical and green. She has a statline of 40 HP, 38 Atk/Spd, 18 Def, and 28 Res, but what makes her annoying to face against is her skills and weapon. She has Swift Sparrow 3, which gives her +6 Atk and +7 Spd if she initiates combat, and Atk/Spd Oath, which gives her +5 Atk/Spd at the start of her turn if she's adjacent to an ally, but the worst of her is her Soul of Zofia and Saintly Seraphim. Soul of Zofia gives her both Desperation and Null Follow-Up, while Saintly Seraphim gives her +3 Spd and if she initiates combat, deal damage equal to 25% of the foe's Res during combat. Like Legendary Alm, she will be punching holes in your tanks. With that said, her main weakness is her average HP and low Def, so any decent physical red unit that can counterattack her can take her out, but if the Desperation part of Soul of Zofia is active, then you better have that Hardy Bearing Sacred Seal equipped on that unit.
Legendary Male Byleth, for similar reasons as Regular Lysithea. He has a Squishy Wizard statline of 40 HP, 39 Atk, 41 Spd, 25 Def and 21 Res. He also has Atk/Def Ideal 4, Lull Atk/Res and Time's Pulse, but his weapon and special will make you watch out for him. His special Sublime Heaven is a 2 cooldown special that allows him to deal damage equal to 25% of his Atk during combat, or 50% if he's against a Dragon or Beast foe instead, and allows him to ignore non-special Damage Reduction skills when it triggers. Meanwhile, his weapon, Professorial Text, gives him -1 maximum special cooldown, and if he either initiates combat or is within 2 spaces of an ally, he gets +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat and the Null Follow-Up effect if he has more Spd than his foe, and he gives all allies within 2 spaces of him the Null Follow-Up effect if that ally has more Spd than the foe during combat. With all of that, not only do you have someone that has their special ready at the start of their turn that is comparable to a 3 cooldown special, but that goes to a 4 or even 5 cooldown special if they're against a Dragon or Beast foe. So with everything in his favor, he has 70+ Atk, 46 Spd, 42+ Def, and 29+ Res, and that's not going into Elite Tweaks, such as merges, assets and Dragonflowers. His only real weakness is his low Res, but one should still be careful baiting him out.
Ninja Duo Female Corrin & Elise, for similar reasons with Regular Reinhardt. They have a Glass Cannon statline of 38 HP, 41 Atk, 40 Spd, 23 Def and 20 Res, and they have Rally Up Def+, Atk/Spd Push 4, S/R Far Trace, and Joint Drive Atk, but the worst of it all is their Ninjustu Scrolls. It's a 9 Might weapon that gives them +4 Spd and inflicts -4 Def/Res on them, allows them to double attack if they initiate combat, and allows them to deal damage equal to 70% of the difference in between their and their foe's Spd if they are faster than their foe, up to +7 true damage, and combined with their double attack they will deal up to 14 true damage alone from their first double attack, and up to 28 true damage if they quad, but considering that they will gain the maximum benefits if they have 10 or more Spd than their foe during combat, they will quad with the full benefits if they reach that Spd threshold in the first place, which is easy for them. So with everything in their favor they have 64 Atk and 54 Spd, and that's not going into Elite Tweaks, such as merges, assets and Dragonflowers, as well as a free special slot. However, since their defenses are poor, anyone that lands an attack on them at all would most likely take them down easily, especially if they somehow survive their double attack, but good luck trying to bait them out in the first place. As the winner of A Hero Rises 2022, they were given as a free hero to all players for a certain amount of time.
Eitri. As a Flying Green Mage, while she has a Glass Cannon statline of default 37/40/29/30/31, her skill kit will make you think otherwise. She has Dragon Fang, Atk/Res Solo 4 and Atk/Res Rein, but her Grim Brokkr and Divine Recreation are the one players have to look out for. Grim Brokkr gives her +3 Atk, gives her [Canto 2] during turns 1 to 4, and if she either initiates combat or is not adjacent to an ally she inflicts -6 Atk/Res on the foe during combat and she gains a guaranteed follow-up attack, and Divine Recreation has her inflict -4 Atk/Spd/Def/Res, reduces damage taken from the foe's first attack by 30% and boost her next attack equal to the damage reduced if the foe is at 50% HP or above at the start of combat. So right from the bat she inflicts -14 Atk/Res and -4 Spd/Def on her for during combat from all her skills alone, making her statline with everything in her favor 70 Atk, 33 Spd, 46 Def and 54 Res, and that's not going into any Elite Tweaks. However, her biggest weakness is against bows, since she is a flying unit alongside her below average HP, and especially so if said bow unit is also Red.
New Year's Duo Dagr and Nótt. They're a Green Bow Flier with a Glass Cannon statline of 40 HP, 41 Atk, 42 Spd, 27 Def, and 22 Spd, with Atk/Spd Push 4, Regular Dagr's Sun-Twin Wing, and Atk/Def Rein 3. Their weapon, Jötnar Bow, however, makes you think otherwise, as it gives them -1 maximum Special cooldown, is effective against Flying foes, inflicts -5 Atk/Spd/Def on the foe during combat as well as additional debuffs on their Atk, Spd, and/or Def on the foe equal to the total bonuses they have on each of those respective stats during combat if they either initiate combat or are within 2 spaces of an ally, as well as Pathfinder, the same effect that makes Regular Dagr and Regular Nótt annoying to face against. Combined with Sun-Twin Wing and Atk/Def Rein 3, with +7 Atk/Spd/Def/Res on them, they inflict -16 Atk, -17 Spd, and -21Def on their foe during combat, meaning that unless you're running skills that removes the foe's field stat buffs during combat, you're facing a unit that by default effectively has 91 Atk, 66 Spd, 50 Def and 45 Res with everything in their favor, making them into Lightning Bruisers, and that's before they receive any Elite Tweaks. However, their low defensive stats and Flier status mean that strong mages and Archers in particular can take them down with ease if they're not running Iote's Shield and have no field stat buffs on their Atk. Just be thankful that they cannot trigger their Duo Skill if they're in the computer's control, where they can otherwise enable shenanigans like this to happen.

Colorless Melee

Female Corrin, while having 6 variants, has the first three be at best mediocre to good, but not really impactful at the time of their release, and her Ninja variant already described in the Green Ranged folder above. Her two Colorless variants, however, have one consistent gimmick: be a ball of stats. How she achieves it depends on her weapon and skill kit, but overall is difficult to approach, since she becomes a deadly Lightning Bruiser if everything is in her favor.
- Fallen Female Corrin. To start off, at her release, she was a Gen 3 Infantry unit with Trainee bonuses, meaning that she has 173 BST, 1 point lower than most Gen 2 and 3 Armored units. With a default stat spread of 42 HP, 35 Atk, 37 Spd, 31 Def, and 27 Res, you think she's a Jack of All Stats, right? It's her weapon and A Skill that's the problem: Savage Breath gives her +3 Atk, and if there are no allies within 2 spaces of her, she gains +6 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat, lowering by 2 for every ally within 2 spaces of her, and she has Atk/Spd Solo which gives her +6 Atk/Spd during combat if she's not adjacent to an ally. So instead of the good and balance stat spread, if she's alone, she's a Lightning Bruiser instead. You though you were going to double attack her with 42~53 Spd? Think again with her increased stat spread of 66 Atk, 49 Spd, 37 Def, and 33 Res if she's alone, and this is before any Elite Tweaks. Even if she has a few allies next to her in certain modes like Arena, they're more likely going to be buffing her with Ward Dragons and Drive skills anyway, so she creates a Morton's Fork: do you eliminate her as fast as possible, wasting a few actions to take her down while still worrying about her allies, or pick off her allies first, making her more powerful in the process?
- Legendary Female Corrin. First of all, she a Gen 5 Infantry unit with Trainee bonuses, with her BST reaching 182, surpassing Gen 4 Armored units, and because of that, she's going to be a common sight in very high tier Arena. She has by default 41 HP, 38 Atk, 40 Spd, 34 Def, and 29 Res, and her skill kit is nothing to sneeze at. She has Distant Counter, Shield Pulse, and Joint Drive Atk, but her Primordial Breath and Negating Fang are the skills you have to worry about. Negating Fang allows her to reduce damage taken by 30% when it activates, as well as boost her next attack by 30% of her Atk until the end of combat, pretty much combining Sacred Cowl, Escutcheon, and Draconic Aura into one Special, and Primordial Breath gives her -1 maximum special cooldown, adaptive damage against ranged foes, and if either the foe initiates combat or is at full HP at the start of combat, she gains +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res and gains +1 special buildup for every attack she performs, giving her great mixed-phase potential, and unlike her Fallen variant, she's powerful near a group of allies thanks to her Joint Drive Atk. With everything in her favor, she has 63 Atk, 45 Spd, 39 Def, and 34 Res with her Negating Fang ready off the bat, and if she activates her Negating Fang, she gets an additional 18 Atk for her next attack, raising that to 81, which can potentially one-shot many units in the game. Worse, thanks to her Primordial Breath's accelerated special cooldown and buildup, that next attack will fully charge her Negating Fang again if somehow the foe has another follow-up attack, in which she can get that +18 Atk again if she's faster than them. And all of this is before any Elite Tweaks, such as Null C-Disrupt and Null Follow-Up to make sure that her matchups are in her favor.
Pirate Tibarn. While his regular variant was bad enough to face against, Pirate Tibarn is even worse, being a Flying Colorless Beast, overshadowing his regular variant in many ways. He has by default 42 HP, 41 Atk, 30 Spd, 36 Def, and 18 Res, and right off the gate he has everything he needs to be a menace like his regular variant. He has Galeforce, Heavy Blade 4, and Atk Smoke, but the worst of all is his Dive Bomb and Sky-Pirate Claw. Dive Bomb allows the user to have any of their follow-up attacks before the foe can counterattack if both the user and the foe are at 80% HP or above at the start of combat and the user initiates combat, and Sky-Pirate Claw, on top of the +1 Movement if he's transformed, gives him -1 maximum special cooldown, and if he's not adjacent to an ally, he gains +5 Atk during combat, inflicts -5 Atk on the foe during combat, and he gets a guaranteed follow-up attack. Because of this, Galeforce is at 4 cooldown, and thanks to Heavy Blade 4 giving him extra special charges and damage thanks to the 10 Atk swing from his Sky-Pirate Claw, and Dive Bomb activating most of the time, especially at the start of the map, he's activating Galeforce unscathed. His only weakness is his low Res, but if he's transformed, he's going to be tough to both approach and bait out.
Harmonized Spring Myrrh & Nah. They're a Colorless Flying Dragon with a Mighty Glacier statline of default 40 HP, 38 Atk, 25 Def, 40 Def, and 35 Res. They also bring by default Noontime, Distant Counter, Dragon's Ire, and Atk/Res Rein, but the worst out of her skills is their Lilac-Jade Breath. It gives -1 maximum special cooldown, adaptive damage against ranged foes, and if the foe either initiates combat or is at full HP at the start of combat, they gain +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat and reduce damage taken from attacks and non-Røkkr AOE specials by 40%. Unlike the other Damage Reduction skills, which often can be countered if their opponent has a higher specific stat during combat, the 40% reduce damage is flat, meaning that outside of skills such as Deadeye and Young Innes' Bow of Frelia, it's very difficult to bypass the stat boosts and damage reduction, especially with those easy-to-activate conditions, with the only way to bypass that is to have them initiate on one of your already damaged units. Because of that, they are very tanky while also having great sustainability, with them going up to 63 Atk, 49 Def and 44 Res if everything is in their favor, and all of this is before they have any Elite Tweaks, such as Dragon's Wall and Iote's Shield.
Fallen Edelgard brings what gimmicks her Legendary variant, Caineghis, Fallen Tiki, and Valentine Rudolf have and amps them up to the extreme. As a Colorless Armor Beast, she brings a Mighty Glacier statline of default 45 HP, 42 Atk, 13 Spd, 44 Def, and 39 Res, but her very busted skillset will make sure that her very low Spd is not a big problem for her. She has Bonfire, Atk/Def Ideal 4, and Armored Stride. Her weapon, Twin-Crest Power, and exclusive B skill, Armored Wall, however, are the worst of it all. Twin-Crest Power gives her -1 special cooldown, Distant Counter and +2 Atk if she is transformed, and if she is at 25% HP of above at the start of combat, she inflicts -6 Atk/Def on the foe during combat, she and her target cannot perform a follow-up attack, and if she initiates combat and is transformed at the same HP threshold, she gains an Extra Turn (which stacks with Galeforce). Meanwhile, Armored Wall gives her +1 special buildup per attack, inflicts -1 special buildup on the foe per attack, heals her for 7 HP after combat, and if she is transformed, she reduces damage taken from the foe's first attack by 40% in the first combat she participates in each player and enemy phase, all which activates if she is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat. With that, she is a nigh-unkillable tank that will hit very hard with what is effectively 73 Atk, 59 Def, and 45 Res if everything is in her favor, and she will counterattack with a 26 power Bonfire by default if players initiate on her. She's so tanky that it will sometimes take the player's entire team to take her down, especially if she is the last foe on the map. Finally, all of this is before any Elite Tweaks are given to her. There are ways to take her down, but she's so bulky that at that point you're pretty much building an entire team solely dedicated to taking her down and sometimes not good enough to take down her other allies as well, and even with multiple counters released later on such as the aforementioned Legendary Male Byleth and Thórr, Fallen Edelgard is despised for how much constraint she puts on teambuilding, with one being required to have a dedicated hard counter to the Hegemon lest they suffer a Total Party Kill.
Medeus. As a Colorless Infantry Dragon, he is a Mythic Hero of Dark that brings a Mighty Glacier statline with default 40 HP, 44 Atk, 18 Spd, 38 Def and 43 Res, and has the skillkit to exploit that to the fullest. He has Glacies, Def/Res Ideal 4 and Canto Control 3, but his Shadow Breath and Assured Rebirth takes the cake. Shadow Breath gives him +3 Atk, deals adaptive damage against ranged foes, gives himself and all allies within 2 spaces of him +6 Atk/Res and [En Garde]^note, and if the foe either initiates combat or is at 75% HP or above at the start of combat he inflicts -6 Atk/Res on the foe during combat and prevents the foe from performing any follow-up attacks, and Assured Rebirth allows him to perform a guaranteed follow-up attack if he has more Res than his foe during combat, and allows him to reduces damage taken from attacks and non-Røkkr AOE specials equal 20% x the amount of Dragon or Staff allies within 3 spaces of him, as well as reduces damage by 4% for each point of Res he has over his foe, up to 40%, where both combined has a cap of 60%. So not only is he making himself and all allies within 2 spaces of him immune to chip damage outside of AOE specials thanks to [En Garde], but the amount of Damage Reduction he gets to lower damage against AOE specials and attacks during combat makes him a pain to take down, not helped with the guaranteed follow-up attack with his high Res, and with him basically having 75 Atk, 53 Def and 64 Res with everything in his favor with his default statline he's going to be very difficult to take down, and that's before going into any Elite Tweaks. While he does have some hard counters listed here such as the Legendary variants of Marth, Male Byleth and Nanna, all of them are premium units, so if one does not have any of them on their team they're going to feel the wrath of the Shadow Dragon.

Colorless Ranged

Brave Veronica. Cavalry healers are often a pain to face against, but Veronica takes the cake, with her Hliðskjálf giving her target and enemies 2 spaces of them -4 in all their stats while giving herself and any ally +4 in all their stats, on top of having Dazzling Staff built into it, as well as having Wrathful Staff by default, all alongside her great offensive spread. While battles with her are survivable, the fact that there is a 8 stat swing between her and her targets when she attacks means that affected units attempting to eliminate her will have a very difficult time without assistance from other allies. Even worse, the 4.9.0 update in September 2020 also upgrades her staff to give any allies within 3 spaces of the user +3 Atk/Spd during combat, and inflicts -3 Def/Res to all foes within the same range.
Legendary Alm. This fast Colorless Bow Infantry will more likely bring pain to you if you're not prepared to take him on, with his default 37 Atk/Spd and his default Darting Blow 4 giving him +9 Spd when he initiates combat, not many heroes will outspeed what is practically 49 Spd with his weapon equipped, and Null Follow-Up just to make sure all but the fastest units can prevent his follow-up attacks. His Luna Arc gives him +3 Spd and allows him to deal damage equal to 25% of his foe's Def if he initiates, and his exclusive special Lunar Flash allow him to both ignore 20% of his foe's defenses and adds 20% of his Spd into his attack, so if he initiates on one of your allies, he's punching through their defenses like they were made of butter. The only downside is his low Res of 23, so any strong magic nuker would take him down in one shot, especially if they have a -Raven tome equipped.

Update in Progress: Legendary Alm's remix turns him into an incredibly dangerous player phase unit who can take down nearly all Def-targeting units with ease, and with the recent addition of Null Follow-Up as a seal, can run Watersweep as an Elite Tweak to get an uncontested double attack on every single unit in the game provided he clears a Spd check.

Brave Camilla, for reasons similar to Brave Lyn and Brave Veronica before her, the two other Colorless winners of Choose Your Legends. First of all, she's a Flying Healer Glass Cannon with 33 Atk and 37 Spd. Her Sanngriðr not only functions the same as Gravity+, but it also gives her +3 Atk/Spd if she initiates combat, and has Dazzling Staff built into it. She also has Wrathful Staff as one of her default skills, but the worst of it all is her Atk/Spd Push 4, which she is the first hero to be released with the Tier 4 version of the Push skills. The Push 1~3 skills required the user to be a full HP to receive the buffs during combat, but damages the user by 1 HP. Not Atk/Spd Push 4: it gives the user +7 Atk/Spd during combat if the user is at 25% HP or above, but damages the user by 5 HP if they attacked, and since Camilla's preventing counterattacks with her Sanngriðr, she's always going to stay healthy enough for the next attack. With her Sanngriðr getting a refinement in update 5.9.0 in September 2021, it gets worse as not only does the unique refinement gives her +10 Atk/Spd during combat if she initiates combat, but she also inflicts -7 Def/Res to all foes within 3 rows or 3 columns centered on her at the start of her turn, also turning her into a strong debuff bot. Her only real weakness is her low defenses, so she will go down easily against Anti-Air units if they attack her.
Legendary Leif. He's a Colorless Bow Cavalier with a Glass Cannon statline of default 40 HP, 38 Atk, 22 Spd, 29 Def, and 27 Res, and he has the skillkit to exploit it to the fullest. He has Atk/Res Push 4, S Drink, which recovers 99 HP and grants him -1 maximum special cooldown when turn 1 begins, and Def Smoke. His weapon and special, however, are what make him very dangerous: Meisterbogen, which is an 9 Might weapon that is effective against flying foes, inflicts -5 Spd on the user, allows the user to attack twice in one round, regardless of phase, and if he is under the player's control, deny any of the foe's follow-up attacks if the user initiates combat, and Njörun's Zeal, a 3 cooldown special where once per turn, if the user initiates combat, inflicts the Gravity status on the user and their Paired-Up ally and grants the user one more action after combat, making it basically Galeforce with a lower cooldown and a relatively minor downside. Because of that, thanks to S Drink putting Njörun's Zeal at 2 cooldown at turn 1, if he initiates on your units and attacks twice, he moves again to potentially move one space closer and take out another one of your heroes near the initial target with reduced Def thanks to Def Smoke, and with 54 Atk with everything in his kit, all but the tankiest units will fall to him, especially if Njörun's Zeal makes him attack the same unit with up to 4 attacks onto them, and thanks to Meisterbogen double attacking on both phases, any ranged attacker that can't one-shot him will meet a double attack from him, giving him a high chance to eliminate them in retaliation, and all of this is before any any Elite Tweaks. Finally, with his Duel effect treating him as if he has 175 BST in the Coliseum modes before merges apply, he's going to be a common sight to see in high tier defense teams.
Eleonora. She has a Glass Cannon statline of default 42/37/38/25/24, but what makes her annoying is her weapon and A skill. She has Atk/Spd Push 4, which gives her +7 Atk/Spd during combat if she is at 25% HP or over before the start of combat, and her Mirage Bow gives her +3 Spd and if she is faster than her foe, prevents them from counterattacking. With everything going for her, she has 48 Spd, meaning that she will negate counterattacks from the majority of the roster, meaning that she has a better Firesweep Bow thanks to her Mirage Bow allowing her to counterattack, while her fragility does not matter if she's faster than her foe, and this is before any buffs are applied to her Spd. If she inherits Lull Spd/Def, you're in a lot of trouble. With that said, her defenses are low, and coupled with her average HP, she will go down if any nuker attacks her.
Valentine Faye. She's a Gen 4 trainee Armored Colorless Bow with a Mighty Glacier default statline of 43/40/23/35/38, reaching 179 BST, but what makes her annoying to face against is her skill kit. She has Death Blow 4, Bold Fighter, and Armor March, which means she will close in on your units if has an armored ally, on top of her having Moonbow and Budding Bow+, which give +4 Atk/Def as well as denying any enemy follow-up attacks if the user initiates combat. That's not the worst of it out of everything she can do: it's her inheriting Brave Bow+. Believe it or not, she Power Creeps Halloween Jakob with this skill kit, as she needs what made him powerful right off the bat when she just inherits Brave Bow+ and having more HP, Atk, Def and Res than him, while Halloween Jakob needs to inherit Brave Bow+, Moonbow, Death Blow 3/4, Bold Fighter, and either Armor March on him or an Armored ally in order to reach his maximum potential on the player phase. With that said, she still shares the same weaknesses as him, being slow and vulnerable in the enemy phase.
Legendary Claude. He has a Glass Cannon statline of 41 HP, 37 Atk, 41 Spd, 23 Def, and 24 Res, but like his Brave variant, his entire skillkit would make you think otherwise. Not only does he have Atk/Spd Catch 4, Luna, and Spd/Def Rein, but the worst of all is his Failnaught and Fallen Star. Failnaught gives him -1 maximum special cooldown and if he is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat, he gains +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat, as well as Null Follow-Up. Fallen Star, if he initiates combat, gains 80% Damage Reduction from the foe's first attack, as well as allowing him to inflict the Gravity status onto the target and all foes adjacent to the target after combat, as well as granting him the [Fallen Star] status after combat, where when it applies, he gains 80% Damage Reduction from the foe's first attack in the first combat the user participates in each player and enemy phase for one turn. With that, only a double attack can bypass his Fallen Star, but with his Failnaught having Null Follow-Up, you need to outspeed him without a Brave weapon, but with everything in his favor, he has by default 59 Spd, on top of having 60 Atk. Because of that, he is nearly Nigh-Invulnerable, with a statline that can shoot down your units with a skillkit that makes him a Lightning Bruiser, and all of this is before he has any Elite Tweaks. Like his Brave variant, however, since he has low defenses and is a Flying unit, without Iote's Shield as his Sacred Seal, he is weak to weapons like the Brave Bow+, making his Damage Reduction matter little. He is also vulnerable against multiple enemy attacks in a single turn, since [Fallen Star] will only activate once in each turn, but the Gravity effect of Fallen Star will make that difficult as well.
Regular Shinon is dangerous when he is not adjacent to an ally. He has by default 40 HP, 38 Atk, 40 Spd, 27 Def, and 24 Res, making him a Glass Cannon. His skill kit, however, will make you think otherwise. He has Atk/Def Solo 4, Lull Atk/Spd, and Time's Pulse, on top of having his Double Bow and Deadeye. Deadeye, a 3 special cooldown exclusive to Bow units, allows him to deal double damage and negates any non-special skills on the foe that do Damage Reduction when it activates, such as Repel and Brave Edelgard's Black Eagle Rule, and Double Bow gives him -1 maximum special cooldown, and if he is not adjacent to an ally, he gains +5 Atk/Spd/Def/Res and allows him to counterattack, regardless of range, meaning he has Close Counter when he is solo. One of the main reasons Regular Takumi was a menace early in the game's life until the metagame shifted was his access to Close Counter as his A skill; Shinon basically Power Creeps him with a stronger statline and skill kit. With everything in his favor, he gets 67 Atk, 48+ Spd, 39+ Def, and 29+ Res. His only real weaknesses are his average HP and Res.
Ninja Duo Lyn & Florina. They are a Colorless Dagger Flier with a Glass Cannon statline of default 40 HP, 38 Atk, 42 Spd, 21 Def, and 26 Res, with a strong skill kit to boot. They have Moonbow, Swift Sparrow 3, Chill Atk/Def, and Spd/Def Rein, which the user inflicts -4 Spd/Def to any foes within 2 spaces of the user during combat, but the worst of all is their Tailwind Shuriken. Tailwind Shuriken is a 9 Might weapon that gives the user -1 maximum special cooldown, +4 Spd, inflicts -4 Def/Res on the user, the standard [Dagger 7] debuff effect, and if the user initiates combat, they can attack twice in one round. This means that they are the first dagger unit in the game that has access to a Brave weapon, and they're no joke thanks to their Tailwind Shuriken letting them able to activate Moonbow every attack, while also having flier mobility to close in and attack one of your units, and with everything in their favor, they have 61 Atk and 57 Spd, and 66 Atk if the foe is inflicted with -5 Atk/Def from their Chill Atk/Def. Finally, their Duel effect allows them to score as if they have 190 BST, meaning that they will be a common sight in high tier Arena, where Armor units usually score, and all of that is before any Elite Tweaks, such as Atk/Spd Push 4 and their Atk Superasset. However, with their average HP and low defenses thanks to their Tailwind Shuriken, they will go down with ease if any strong attacker initiates on them, but good luck trying to close the gap between them thanks to their flier movement and being able to attack from range. They were even gifted to players for free as part of A Hero Rises 2021.
Young L'Arachel. She has a Squishy Wizard statline of default 36 HP, 37 Atk, 38 Spd, 16 Def, and 30 Res, and while she brings Rescue+, Windfire Balm+, Atk/Spd Push 4 and Spd/Res Far Trace, which gives her [Canto (Rem.)] and inflicts -3 Spd/Res on her foe during combat, her Staff of Rausten is the worst of all them to face against. Staff of Rausten allows her to deal normal damage instead of half and gives her +6 Atk/Spd during combat if she initiates combat, but more importantly at the start of her turn she will inflict the nearest foe within 5 spaces of her -6 Res and the [Counter Disrupt] status, meaning not only the nearest foe will be weak against magical attacks, but will be unable to counterattack her and other units, especially in Aether Raids where dancers and other annoying units reign. This makes baiting her out to defeat her very difficult without Null C-Disrupt, an Infantry only skill, while also forcing a Morton's Fork to players who have to face against her and her allies.
Young Innes. A Colorless Bow Infantry, this young sniper given as a reward in the Princess's Gloom Tempest Trials+ event comes with a Glass Cannon statline of 43 HP, 37 Atk, 38 Spd, 26 Def and 27 Res, and while he has unremarkable default skills with Glimmer, Swift Sparrow 2 and Distant Guard 3, his weapon makes up for it in droves. His Bow of Frelia gives him -1 maximum special cooldown, deals effective damage against Flying units, and if he is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat, he gains +6 Atk/Spd during combat and if he triggers an offensive special during combat he deals +7 damage and ignores non-Special Damage Reduction skills with that attack. This means that his Bow of Frelia is pretty much a free unit that come with Deadeye and as such he is a common unit for players to fully invest in with Heroic Grails, with skills to have him inherit to maximize his potential commonly include Ruptured Sky, Swift Sparrow 3, Null Follow-Up and Time's Pulse, where with that skillkit he reaches 63 Atk and 51 Spd, and that's not going into any merges, Dragonflowers or Sacred Seals. His main downfall is his relatively low defenses, however, but one should still be careful baiting him out.
Legendary Micaiah. A Colorless Tome Infantry, she brings a Squishy Wizard statline of default 38 HP, 42 Atk, 31 Spd, 19 Def, and 41 Res, and has the weapons and skills to exploit this. She has Maiden's Solace, which acts like a Harsh Command+ of her Sacrifice assist skill her other variants have, Fury 4, and Joint Distant Guard. Her most troubling features about her, however, is her New Dawn and Prescience. New Dawn gives her +3 Atk, deals effective damage against Armored and Cavalry foes, grants her +6 Atk/Res during combat and a guaranteed follow-up attack if she either initiates combat or is within 2 spaces of an ally, and has any of her follow-up attacks go before the foe can counterattack if she initiates combat and is at 50% HP or below at the start of combat, and Prescience allows her to inflict -5 Atk/Res on the foe during combat, and reduces damage taken from the foe's first attack by 30% if either she initiates combat or the foe wields a ranged weapon. So with everything in her favor, she has 74 Atk, 35 Spd, 28 Def, and 56 Res, an extra +4 to her Def/Res if her foe wields a ranged weapon, on top of a weapon that deals effective damage to Armored and Cavalry units, making her a bane to those units, as well as making her a great tank for Tome and Staff units, and all of this is before she receives any Elite Tweaks. However, her major weakness is her poor Def, so any good physical attacker can take her down, even with the 30% damage reduction.
Yuri. He's a Colorless Dagger Infantry with a Fragile Speedster statline of 40 HP, 39 Atk, 43 Spd, 26 Def, and 29 Res. What makes him so fearsome, however, is the combination of his Honorable Blade and his exclusive Assist, Foul Play. Honorable Blade has -1 Special cooldown, grants him Atk/Spd+6 in combat against foes with HP ≥ 50%, [Canto (2)] and, like the aforementioned Brave Alm, unconditional +1 movement when the turn begins. Foul Play, meanwhile, functions much like it does in Three Houses, allowing him to swap places with an ally at three range rather than Swap's one range. This means that after one of Yuri's allies acts, he can easily use Foul Play to take their position from afar and then use the Canto granted by Honorable Blade to retreat. Additionally, due to his solid offenses and easy conditional for the Atk/Spd increase granted by Honorable Blade, Yuri is no slouch on the offensive side either, making his combats very safe, and all this is before Elite Tweaks come into play. That being said, his lackluster 26 Def means that strong physical attackers that can reach him have the potential to make quick work of the Ashen Wolves' leader.

Winter Harmonized Lysithea & Lute, with similar reasons with Regular Reinhardt and Ninja Duo Female Corrin & Elise. As a Colorless Tome Cavalry unit, they bring a Glass Cannon statline of default 38 HP, 40 Atk, 42 Spd, 19 Def and 23 Res, with the skillkit to exploit it. They have Moonbow, Swift Sparrow 3, A/R Far Trace, and C Feud 3, but the absolute worst is their weapon. Their Sweet Yule Log gives him -1 maximum special cooldown, and if they are at 25% HP or above at the start of combat, they gain +6 Atk/Spd during combat and if they initiate combat and they 9 or less Spd over their foe they have any of their follow-up attacks go before the foe can counterattack, and if they have 10 or more Spd they instead attack twice in one round. Not only will they be hitting hard, with their skillkit they have a chance to hit hard twice, and with everything in their favor they get 69 Atk and 55 Spd during combat, and that goes to 73 Atk and 59 Spd if they're against a colorless foe. However, their Glass Cannon statline is their biggest downfall, where any strong counterattacks can fell them in one hit, but one should still be careful baiting them out.
Jamke. A Colorless Bow Infantry, Jamke has a Glass Cannon statline of 38 HP, 36 Atk, 32 Spd, 29 Def and 17 Res, and brings an unremarkable default skillkit. However, update 6.2.0 changes that with it giving him a great weapon with the Bow of Verdane. It gives -1 maximum special cooldown, grants him +5 Atk/Spd during combat if he either initiates combat or is not adjacent to an ally, and the unique refine gives him an additional +5 Atk/Spd during combat, as well as if he initiates combat grant him a guaranteed follow-up attack if he has 3 Spd or more than his foe during combat and have any of his follow-up attacks go before the foe can counterattack if he has 7 or more Spd than his foe during combat, all which activates if he is at 25% HP or above at the start of combat. With significant investment from Heroic Grails, this gives him a nasty player phase if no one expects it with it not only making him be able to catch passable fast units with a guaranteed follow-up attack, but it also allows him to beat down on slow units with a double attack before they can counterattack, and so with skills are as Deadeye, Atk/Spd Ideal 4, Lull Spd/Def 3 and Time's Pulse inherited on him to maximize his potential, he effectively has 70+ Atk and 50+ Spd with his default statline, and that's not going into any merges, Dragonflowers or Sacred Seals. However, his main weakness is his poor Res and below average HP, so any strong magic attackers can take him down, but one should still be careful to not let him initiate at all.

Bit of a controversial opinion here, but I think that if Young Innes stays, Jamke should stay as well. Jamke has a somewhat higher skill floor than Innes but roughly about the same skill ceiling, and both are excellent tankbursters. Despite competition in his niche with Legendary Alm, Jamke (and Innes by proxy) has a notable advantage in being entirely free to build up.

Skills/Weapons

Wings of Mercy allows the enemy to teleport next to a wounded ally. Dancers, healers, and nukers can put this to devastating effect to bounce around the battlefield, and if a strong unit catches you off guard, you'll find yourself with a corpse instead of a unit.

Anyone who has access to skills and weapons that punishes units being adjacent to other friendly units. Hone and Fortify skills are common on units and thus were the go to skills to buff allies, but the introduction of these skill make Hone and Fortify skills less worthwhile to use, while Tactic skills shot up in usefulness due to buffing allies even from 2 spaces away, despite the strict activation limitations.
- The Sabotage skills are bad enough with comparing if the user's Res is 3 or higher than the enemy's Res and if they are adjacent to other enemies to debuff one stat, such as Sabotage Spd inflicting -7 Spd, but units like Brave Micaiah's Secret Art Yune's Whispers Regular Lute with her refined Weirding Tome, and the weapons Fortune Bow+ and Temari+ have the same conditions, but debuff 2 stats instead of one, and the former two naturally have high Res to exploit those skills.
- Sudden Panic and Virion's Dignified Bow have different comparison conditions and debuff effects, but is still bad nonetheless: instead of Res, they compare if their current HP is higher to any of their targets if they're adjacent to any other foes, and they inflict the Panic status, which can be potentially worse than just debuffing one or two stats, as it could mean that they can debuff all of their stats.
- Aversa's Night, wielded by Aversa. It inflicts -3 Atk/Spd/Def/Res and the [Panic] status to all foes adjacent to another one and has under 3 HP or more than the user, and with update 6.4.0 in April 2022 the refinement raised it to inflict -4 Atk/Spd/Def/Res instead. This weapon alone in the past made going against Aversa in Aether Raids a pain to position against since stacking HP is easy for her, but she has fallen out of favor in that gamemode since penalty neutralization or even reversal has become more common on units as a result.
Null Follow-Up on Lightning Bruisers. Null Follow-Up, an Infantry-only skill, allows the user to ignore any skills that deny the user to perform any follow-up attacks, as well as any skills that guarantee any foe's follow-up attacks. It's meant to mainly serve as a counter to the Armor-only Fighter Skills as well as against any foe that has weapons that alters the flow of combat such as Regular Tibarn and Halloween Myrrh, but it instead counters much more. Not only the Fighter skills are nullified, but also the Breaker skills and Quick Riposte, and if you see this on a Lightning Bruiser or even a Glass Cannon with decent defenses, then you're stuck to either outspeeding them during combat, using weapons with brave effects and hope that you deal enough damage to fell them, or using nukers and hope to one-shot them, and hard counters to these units are few and far between.
Weapons and skills that reduce damage based on a select stat, such as Close Call or New Foxkit Fang. Depending on the stat difference, the damage these units can take will be reduced by 4% for every of those specific stat point the have over their foe, up to 40%, which can turn some Glass Cannons into Lightning Bruisers. Under the right circumstances, it's entirely possible for a unit to survive a battle against a significantly stronger unit (and potentially kill them on retaliation). To put things into perspective, Escutcheon and Sacred Cowl reduces incoming damage by 30% when it activates, but take up the special slot and are limited to certain enemy attack ranges; the damage reduction skills would more likely be better than both of them combined in terms of reliability and effectiveness, as well as the extra perk of reducing damage from enemy AOE specials. Thankfully (aside from the weapons) the skills are extremely restrictive as to who can actually use them (Only Infantry Sword, Lance & Axe for Close Call/Repel/Spurn, and Dragons for Dragon Wall), but can be an absolute pain to deal with if they're there.
Null C-Disrupt. When skills and weapons that prevented enemy counterattacks such as the Firesweep weapons and Dazzling Staff became annoying for players to face against, Null C-Disrupt was released. However, said skill allowed Lightning Bruisers and Mighty Glaciers to counterattack without fear, especially those with Distant Counter. Units like Brave Ike were inheriting this skill to allow them to retaliate and sometimes get free kills and provide pressure against player units as they close in, and units that used to not fear counterattacks because of their Glass Cannon and Squishy Wizard stats often needed a free poke at the enemy to have other units finish them off or chip them down and perform Hit-and-Run Tactics on them are now nearly useless against them, especially if they have Vantage in their weapons, such as Kronya's Athame or Phina and Young Marth's Rapier.
Spendthrift Bow+. If you see a bow unit in the Coliseum modes, prepare to see this bow a lot. The weapon, in addition to dealing effective damage against flying units, gives the user +7 Atk during combat and inflicts -7 Atk on the foe during combat, but if the user attacked, they get inflicted with +2 special cooldown after combat. Normally, the downside is supposed to be a major flaw, but in practice it's not a downside at all if the user activates their special during combat, especially with a 2 cooldown special equipped and the user can double attack their foe or have Special Fighter equipped. Having what is basically a 21 Might weapon that inflicts -7 Atk on the foe during combat is already a big boon for bow users, with a "downside" that can be mitigated with the right user and special equipped.
Close Foil. Distant Foil and Distant Ward give the user +5 to their Atk and a specific defensive stat as well as being able to counterattack from range if the foe initiates combat and they wield a specific weapon, with physical weapons for Distant Foil, and magical weapons for Distant Ward. Normally, those skilled are balanced over Distant Counter by only working against specific foes, with the ranged units being equal in variety between physical and magical, while also acting like Sturdy Stance and Mirror Stance against certain units as well. Close Foil, on the other hand, is a major improvement over Close Counter, as it turns out that a majority of melee units are physical units, while at the same time still allowing the user to counterattack ranged magical units thanks to the user already being equipped with a ranged weapon, with Dragon units being the only magical melee unit in the game, and the inability to counterattack those units at close range is a good enough trade off for the +5 Atk/Def during combat against physical units. Combined with bow units equipped with the above Spendthrift Bow+, both which comes from Midori (who is considered a Demonic Spider in Heroes because of the combination of those two skills), and you got a unit that is a pain to deal with. Close Ward, in comparison, despite having the ability to prevent the foe from targeting the user's lower defensive stat during combat, is seen as a downgrade, as it is a Highly Specific Counterplay against Dragon and magical units.
The Near/Far Save skills, such as A/D Near Save and A/R Far Save. Although exclusive to Armor units, these skills gives the user the [Savior] status, where they take the place and tile of an ally before combat and be the center of after combat effects, and gain +4 to two of the user's stats during combat, if the foe initiates combat and uses a certain weapon range against one of the user's ally within 2 spaces of them, and does not activate if there is more than one ally that has the same range Save skill that can activate it as well or the ally is on a tile that cannot be traversed by Armor units, such as water and mountain tiles. What players expect from combat is that they can at least target a specific foe to attack into; these skills will make you think twice, forcing players to check on any enemy Armored units near their allies to see if they have any of those skill activated. You might target that Brave Veronica that was out of position with a melee unit, only to be surprised that you're actually targeting a Brave Hector who's ready to ruin your day. What's even worse is that they're overlaying an ally when [Savior] activates, meaning that skills such as the Bond skills will activate, and that the ally they're protecting will not be hit by after combat effects, such as the 10 damage from Pain+ and the [Counter Disrupt] status from Candlelight+/Flash+. Prepared to pull your hair out if you lose against Armor units equipped with these alongside with any of the above units. This skill alone made the Pawns of Loki gamemode feel like Russian roulette when players are playing that mode, to the point that it has gotten so bad that update 5.5.0 changed it so that enemy units can no longer activate skills with [Savior] in that mode, including all forms of the Save skills.
The Odd/Even Recovery skills on Aether Raids Defense Teams. The Recovery skills, inheritable only to Staff units, allows the user to remove all [Penalty] statuses and recovers 20 HP to the user and all allies within 2 spaces at the start of odd or even turns, depending on the one used. The removal of all [Penalty] statuses is the big kicker since many useful status effects that can be inflicted on the enemy makes going against them easier to beat, the most being [Isolation] since it neuters the utility aspect of Dancers, Staff users and Rally bots, disabling those Dance, Restore and Rally Traps in the process, and therefore makes them easier to bait out on the enemy phase, but these skills will make sure that those status effects will not hinder Defense teams in the slightest, and because of this you got a skill that makes units like Mila and Offense Structures like the Panic Manor deadweight against them. While Even Recovery allows a turn of setup on the player's side to tackle those defense teams, Odd Recover is the one players have to watch out for since it immediately allows units on the Defense teams be at their best condition immediately while they can also start inflict debuffs on the player's team, and the combination of both will make users and any units between them immune to all forms of debuffs. Odd Recovery alone will often make certain setups sometimes unwinnable to go against since it create Morton's Fork situations since those Defense teams will often be setup to immediately attack your Offense Team on turn 1 and create extreme pressure on your units, regardless if players attacked any units or not. This was later remedied with the Safety Fence structure against Odd Recovery, which allows players to force the enemy team to skip their first turn, but this means that Even Recovery will be the new bane for players, though not as much as Odd Recovery before the release of the Safety Fence.
Lethality. Although exclusive to Dagger units and having a 4 special cooldown, this special skill has the potential to make any Dagger unit be able to One-Hit Kill one of your units, due to the effect of ignoring 75% of the foe's defenses during combat and any non-special Damage Reduction skills, pretty much acting like an inheritable version of Black Knight's/Zelgius' Black Luna. Volke, who introduced the skill, is one of its best units thanks to his high Atk stat and Fireman's Hook, but there are some surprises that will make you think twice when going against Dagger units, where while other good candidates include Yuri, Leila and Gangrel thanks to their gimmicks with their exclusive weapons, you also have to look out for units like Summer Ursula and Ninja Igrene since their high mobility can catch someone off guard, or even units like Summer Dorothea and the very rare Larum, as not only do they have access to Dance/Sing, but also to other Infantry Cooldown Manipulation skills and good daggers to inherit, such as The Cleaner+, Broadleaf Fan+ and Courtly Fan+, turning their actions into Confusion Fu when used alongside other High Tier units listed here.
Any unit that inflicts the "unit cannot counterattack" status effect on multiple targets in Pawns of Loki. Pawns of Loki is a game mode where players have up to 8 of their heroes clutter together to win against the other team by having more total HP than them, with players usually having dual or enemy phase units on the nearest row to the foe, but there are a few heroes that breaks the game apart by simply inflicts the "unit cannot counterattack", or [Counter Disrupt], on multiple targets, and are often the highest Level to allow them to attack first so that the rest of their allies can safely attack without any fear of retaliation outside of a few standouts, and their most common placement is the center two tiles of the team. While Flash+/Candlelight+ initially seem to be the go to weapon since it's inheritable to any Staff units, having any Staff units at all is not recommended since the bonus combo system rewards many colors of the same weapon types on the same team, but a few standouts, which includes Nifl (who is detailed in the High Tier Blue Melee folder) have become popular picks for players in their Pawns of Loki teams:
- Kempf is one of the most common sources of this effect, as he was released as a Grand Hero Battle unit, and so is easy for players to +10 merge him. His Venin Edge gives him +3 Def and if he attacked he inflicts [Counter Disrupt] and 10 damage to the target and all foes within 2 spaces of the target. So if you let him attack once he's not only letting the rest of his allies safely attack your units, but the damage he deals also subtracts from your score in that turn, so even if your survive that onslaught you're down at least 70 points, and since Savage Blow is common on him as his C skill and Sacred Seal, letting him initiate at all is just asking for trouble.
- Rhajat, while less common due to being 4* special locked, is still a menace to face against. Her Obsessive Curse deals effective damage against Cavalry foes and inflicts -5 Spd/Res on all foes within 2 spaces of her during combat, and the unique refine allows her to inflict [Counter Disrupt] and 7 damage to the target and all foes within 2 spaces of the target if she attacked. While she deals less damage than Kempf, she makes up for it for dealing effective damage against Cavalry foes, as well as being ranged and therefore does not fear anyone that cannot counterattack her at all.
- Walhart is the absolute worst of all due to him being a Grand Hero Battle unit to allow easy +10 merges and the refine for his Wolf Berg in update 6.0.0 in December 2021. His refined Wolf Berg grants him +3 Def, +6 Atk/Spd/Def/Res at the start of his turn if he is within 4 spaces of a foe, grants him +4 Atk/Spd/Def/Res during combat if he either initiates combat or is not adjacent to an ally, and the unique refine allows him to inflict -5 Atk/Def on the foe during combat if the foe is at 75% HP or above at the start of combat, and at the start of his turn inflicts -7 Atk/Def and [Counter Disrupt] to all foes within 4 spaces of him. The last part is the major reason he is a major pain in Pawns of Loki as an enemy, since start of turn effects start with the players first then the foe, meaning that even having Odd/Even Recovery on your team is just a waste of both a C slot and unit slot since the recovery acts first then his Wolf Berg acts second. With Kempf, Rhajat and Nifl at least you can shut them down quick if you prevent them from attacking at all and eliminate them first, but Walhart is another story as you need to have you first line of defense act first to shake off the penalties inflicted on them to allow them to counterattack, meaning that you need to prioritize leveling them up to be a higher level then the foe opposite to them, but even then the -7 Atk/Def will still cripple units that do not have stat penalty neutralization. The only real way to hard counter his Wolf Berg is with the [False Start] status effect inflicted on him, which is currently inflicted only by Elimine's Staff of the Saint (detailed in the Colorless Ranged section), but even then you're relying on a Staff unit with below average HP in Pawns of Loki that has a chance to show up and be placed in the same column he is in, which sometimes may not be optimal at all depending on his other allies.

Unit Types

Dancers like Silvia and Bridal Ninian. Having dancers on your side is fun; Having dancers on the enemy's side is definitely not. Having any of the above units and units with those skills alongside dancer units will make you want to pull every hair out whenever you lose against them. The AI often move in a predicable manner, but add a dancer unit in the enemy team, and predictability goes right out the window. Even worse, any of them having Wings of Mercy will warp to their wounded allies and/or any of that have higher than average movement such as Dancing Duo Sigurd & Deirdre, Hatari Harmonized Azura & Leanne and ones that can equip Odd/Even Tempest may make enemy units initially far from them to move again, sometimes with their specials ready to finish the job, or to bypass units to target a more vulnerable one. They are a high priority target, but the fact that when they dance, they're more likely are behind enemies who moved again, so getting to them is difficult, and even trying to lure them to attack will more likely create some Morton's Fork situations for the players. The only hard counter to their dancing skill is sources of [Isolation], where those inflicted with the status effect cannot use or be the target of Assist Skills, including Sing/Dance/Play, but such sources are few and far between, but even then, the above mentioned Odd/Even Recovery skills will remove that status.
Special Slot Mythic Heroes on Defense Teams. Mythic Heroes with the Special Slot Blessing in Aether Raids gives the player the ability to field one special unit, with it going up to 6 units on the Offense team, and up to 7 units on Defense, with the downside being that are not calculated for Lift gain and Lift lost on that team if they survive or not, and on the Defense team that unit cannot move until one member of their team is eliminated; However, the last downside is not a problem if they field a dancer next to that unit, because how they were program to "not move" means that when their turn starts, they immediately end their turn, making them a legitimate target to be danced and now move, and the first downside means little if they can move and attack the player's units within their range, regardless if they can eliminate them or not, but as long as they can attack units they allow other units in their team to move and close in on the player's units, putting up sudden pressure on the Offense team. Because of this, players will exploit this and build their Defenses to give them the initiative if the player's Offense team does not, ending the battle sooner, whether it benefits the Offense team or not due to them being unable to destroy the enemy Aether resources in that battle if it does not go as planned. Update 5.8.0 in August 2021 later helps players against this strategy with the release of the Safety Fence structure for Offense Teams, which allows the structure to immediately end the turns of all units on the Defense Team if all the Offense Team is within a certain range and a certain turn has not passed yet, allowing players to have a good chance to tackle Defense Teams that uses this strategy.

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