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Good day, folks of the Forest. This thread is inspired by some of the discussion that took place on the Sacred Stones subforum. However, the talk diverged significantly from the original intent of the topic at hand, so I thought it would make sense to spin if off into its own topic. Basically, the question is, which units qualify for the "Est" archetype? The Archetype, of course, is named after Est, a Pegasus Knight who has appeared in at least five mainline Fire Emblem titles. In her first appearance in FE1, she isn't recruited until chapter 18 (out of 25). She shows up as a level 5 Pegasus Knight, at a point when most of your units are of a much higher level, or else promoted. Her bases aren't too impressive, although her Speed and Weapon Level start out pretty solid, at least. Where she stands out, however, is in terms of growths: at 410% across eight stats, she has some of the highest growths in the game. This includes 70% in four areas (Strength, Skill, Speed, and Luck), with her only poor growths being in Defense (20%) and Resistance (0%). Est reappears in Gaiden, joining Celica's army after she conquers Grieth's Citadel in Act III. She comes as a level 3 Pegasus Knight, with decent starting Speed and Resistance, but rather lackluster bases otherwise. However, her growths are again some of the best in the game, even if they're lower than they were last time. This trend continues in Mystery of the Emblem - her Book 1 appearance is roughly synonymous with her FE1 appearance, but in Book 2, she joins from chapter 15 (out of 24). She still comes underleveled, with low-to-moderate bases and high growths. Her next mainline appearance doesn't come until Shadow Dragon, the remake of FE1, and things have certainly changed. Her bases are similar to what they were before, but her growths are lower, with a total of 285% (this is notably lower than her sister Catria's own total, of 320%). Then, in New Mystery, a remake of FE3 Book 2, she shows up in chapter 15 (which is the 19th out of 30 chapters, including the paralogues but excluding the prologue). Here, her growths are boosted to be broadly comparable to how they were in the first couple Archanea games. Est's most recent mainline appearance is in Echoes, where she appears at the same point as before, and her growth total is boosted somewhat relative to the original FE2 (to 283%). Through all of these appearances, and particularly the first three (Japanese-exclusive) ones, the name "Est" came to transcend the character. It came to refer to an "archetype", a template by which units in other games could be understood. Broadly speaking, an "Est" is a unit who joins fairly late into the game, with a relatively low level and/or bases for her join time, but the chance to make up for it via high growth rates over lots of levels. A widely-recognized example of an "Est" is Nino, a playable mage in FE7. She joins as a level 5 Mage, in "Battle Before Dawn", which is chapter 28 of Hector Hard Mode, and the 23rd out of 31 chapters in HHM). Her growth total of 330% is one of the best in the game, and it's higher than that of the other Mages, Erk and Pent. But her bases are quite poor, mostly within (or barely above) single-digits. When it comes to other games, however, there's a lot of debate over who constitutes an "Est", and who does not. In Genealogy, Tailtiu joins late within the first generation and low-leveled, but her growths aren't particularly compelling, and she has a lot of problems that stick with her no matter how many levels she gets (no horse, no Pursuit). In FE6, Sophia comes at a low level with low bases, and higher growths (280%) than her same-class comrades. But she joins in the chapter 14 (the 16th out of 31 total), so roughly halfway assuming the "good end", and notably before Fae (chapter 15, 18th out of 31), who joins with much higher growths (600% total, albeit over fewer levels). In Radiant Dawn, Pelleas joins with just 3 chapters left to go (one of which is the Tower, admittedly), as a level 12 tier-2 when most of your units will be tier-3 or comparable, but with much higher bases than "Est"s in any other game, and with a growth total (335%) that's respectable, but not standout for RD. So, what makes an "Est"? Is Tailtiu one? How about Sophia, or Pelleas? Delthea, Coirpre, Charlot, PoR-Tormod, Kurthnaga, Fae, Ewan, L'Arachel, Myrrh, Rev-Nyx, SS-Cyril? What's the most important factor: low base level and stats, high growth rates, or late jointime? Is there some other factor that should be considered? Is it possible for a game to have multiple Ests? I'd be curious to know what people think. To be honest, I'm starting to question whether anyone aside from Nino and Est are even "Est"s... and to be honest, I'm not even sure about SD-Est. Looking forward to the comments!

So, who it'll be? My bet is on Cyril