Leo, Sorcerous Prince

[LordFrigid]

3 hours ago, BANRYU said:

Like seriously, just the fact that he's red and has the defense-over-speed-doubling-threshold thing works really well for him, since there are NO substantially bulky blue mages-- Robin and Rein are about it-- that can really threaten him much with a 2HKO besides the obvious Rein (which we're still waiting to see about given the effects). 

He can survive some, but not all, variants of Reinhardt. Even if he's Res-stacked (+Res, Distant Def 3 in both A and Seal slots, and Fortify Cavalry for 51 Res when attacked from a distance, Reinhardt can still take him out with a pretty standard +Atk/Death Blow/QP/Moonbow set if he has Hone Cavalry.

Also, regarding your set above, I think it's worth at least looking into: +Atk, Mirror and/or Sturdy Stance, and Dull Ranged+QR Seal (assuming Dull Ranged is inheritable by Cavalry). If you want him to fight bows, then yeah, +Def is a solid pick...but if you're DD-stacking and care more about mages, I would think that 37 Def (neutral with 2x Distant Def), before a potential Fortify Cavalry buff, is good enough for that.

[Ice Dragon]

13 hours ago, LordFrigid said:

(assuming Dull Ranged is inheritable by Cavalry)

Yep. Having pulled Morgan last night, I can confirm there are no inheritance restrictions on Dull Ranged.

[XRay]

@Zeratul@BANRYU@LordFrigid@Ice Dragon

Have you guys used Leo's Brynhildr Refinement in Arena yet? Based on the fact that it can survive even 6/6/0/0 buffed Blárblade mages, and it can kill many red mages on the counter, I think its usage label should be upgraded from Arena Assault to Arena, but I do not have much experience with Enemy Phase units, so I am not really sure if his niche as a magic wall justifies being a bit weak on the physical side to deal with tough green units like Hector/LA!Hector.

[BANRYU]

8 minutes ago, XRay said:

@Zeratul@BANRYU@LordFrigid@Ice Dragon

Have you guys used Leo's Brynhildr Refinement in Arena yet? Based on the fact that it can survive even 6/6/0/0 buffed Blárblade mages, and it can kill many red mages on the counter, I think its usage label should be upgraded from Arena Assault to Arena, but I do not have much experience with Enemy Phase units, so I am not really sure if his niche as a magic wall justifies being a bit weak on the physical side to deal with tough green units like Hector/LA!Hector.

I'm still working on collecting Dew for the Brynhildr upgrade (we're in a bit of a refining stone drought at the moment SMH, maybe we'll get some more soon...), but I do run a lot of EP or EP-versatile units, and given how strong the refinement effect is combined with his natural access to QR and DD being easy to slap onto folks, I think it's safe to call it Arena-worthy, at least in theory. 

I'll get back to you on testing when I'm able to build him. (mine just so happens to be +Def/-Spd so I'm excited for the possibilities haha) Since I don't have DD fodder I'll probably be going with Earth Boost, since my one spare Steady Stance is promised to my Beruka. 

[LordFrigid]

4 hours ago, XRay said:

Have you guys used Leo's Brynhildr Refinement in Arena yet? Based on the fact that it can survive even 6/6/0/0 buffed Blárblade mages, and it can kill many red mages on the counter, I think its usage label should be upgraded from Arena Assault to Arena, but I do not have much experience with Enemy Phase units, so I am not really sure if his niche as a magic wall justifies being a bit weak on the physical side to deal with tough green units like Hector/LA!Hector.

I haven't yet, no. I could give it a whirl, though. I did pick up the refinement, I just haven't used it yet. I wonder if I could get away with keeping CC on him...I don't think I gave him any other A Passives.

Edit:

@XRay I tried out the set, using this team:

• 5* +3 Leo (+Atk/-Spd): Brynhildr (Eff), Reposition, Glimmer, Close Counter, Quick Riposte 3, Hone Cavalry, Distant Def 3
• 5* +10 L'Arachel (+Spd/-Res): Ivaldi, Reposition, Growing Light, Life and Death 3, Desperation 3, Fortify Cavalry, Squad Ace D 3
• 5* +4 Gunnthrá (+Spd/-Def...I think): Blizzard, Reposition, Death Blow 3, Chilling Seal, Hone Cavalry, Squad Ace E 3
• 5* +0 Alfonse (neutral, obviously): Fólkvangr, Reposition, Death Blow 3, Wings of Mercy 3, Spur Atk 3, Spur Atk 3

1 death suffered when an enemy Ninian danced an Ike into Leo's face (whoops). Enemy team scores were 700-710ish. My observations were:

• He one-rounded green mages pretty easily.
• Alfonse needed to be next to him for bulkier red mages ("Normal Girl" Tharja).
• He only survived blues and failed to counter-KO, taking a pretty good chunk of damage when not on a defense tile.
• I saw significantly more green armors and dragons (and green armored dragons) than I saw mages. He did alright on the EP thanks to Close Counter, but had negligible player phase against them.

He also KO'd a 45-Res Felicia almost exactly with Hone Cavalry and Alfonse next to him, which I thought was pretty funny. Overall, it was about what I expected to get out of him. For a dedicated mage-check set, the AA designation is probably fine...he might also want Mirror Stance for that to help out his lower firepower.

If you want me to try more comps/non-expensive skills I'm totally fine with that. Team testing in AA is fun. I could also change his special out for Iceberg or something.

Edited March 12, 2018 by LordFrigid

[XRay]

4 hours ago, BANRYU said:

I'm still working on collecting Dew for the Brynhildr upgrade (we're in a bit of a refining stone drought at the moment SMH, maybe we'll get some more soon...), but I do run a lot of EP or EP-versatile units, and given how strong the refinement effect is combined with his natural access to QR and DD being easy to slap onto folks, I think it's safe to call it Arena-worthy, at least in theory. 

I'll get back to you on testing when I'm able to build him. (mine just so happens to be +Def/-Spd so I'm excited for the possibilities haha) Since I don't have DD fodder I'll probably be going with Earth Boost, since my one spare Steady Stance is promised to my Beruka. 

I think Fury is fine for his A slot and Distant Def on his Sacred Seal slot. It is cheaper and it gives Leo more bite. I recommend Fury with +Atk together if possible so Leo can kill things more easily instead of just walling things. I think purely walling mages is a bad idea since if you leave enemy mages alive in Desperation range accidentally, they could bite you in the butt on Enemy Phase, especially if their Special is charged too or have Wings of Mercy shenanigans.

Hone Cavalry does fix all of that though, so Fury and +Atk might not be necessary on a pony team.

I think I will try it out once my Stones refill too. I spent my last batch on Ephraim recently, so I am a bit low at the moment.

4 hours ago, LordFrigid said:

I haven't yet, no. I could give it a whirl, though. I did pick up the refinement, I just haven't used it yet. I wonder if I could get away with keeping CC on him...I don't think I gave him any other A Passives.

Edit:

@XRay I tried out the set, using this team:

• 5* +3 Leo (+Atk/-Spd): Brynhildr (Eff), Reposition, Glimmer, Close Counter, Quick Riposte 3, Hone Cavalry, Distant Def 3
• 5* +10 L'Arachel (+Spd/-Res): Ivaldi, Reposition, Growing Light, Life and Death 3, Desperation 3, Fortify Cavalry, Squad Ace D 3
• 5* +4 Gunnthrá (+Spd/-Def...I think): Blizzard, Reposition, Death Blow 3, Chilling Seal, Hone Cavalry, Squad Ace E 3
• 5* +0 Alfonse (neutral, obviously): Fólkvangr, Reposition, Death Blow 3, Wings of Mercy 3, Spur Atk 3, Spur Atk 3

1 death suffered when an enemy Ninian danced an Ike into Leo's face (whoops). Enemy team scores were 700-710ish. My observations were:

• He one-rounded green mages pretty easily.
• Alfonse needed to be next to him for bulkier red mages ("Normal Girl" Tharja).
• He only survived blues and failed to counter-KO, taking a pretty good chunk of damage when not on a defense tile.
• I saw significantly more green armors and dragons (and green armored dragons) than I saw mages. He did alright on the EP thanks to Close Counter, but had negligible player phase against them.

He also KO'd a 45-Res Felicia almost exactly with Hone Cavalry and Alfonse next to him, which I thought was pretty funny. Overall, it was about what I expected to get out of him. For a dedicated mage-check set, the AA designation is probably fine...he might also want Mirror Stance for that to help out his lower firepower.

If you want me to try more comps/non-expensive skills I'm totally fine with that. Team testing in AA is fun. I could also change his special out for Iceberg or something.

Alright, I think I will leave it at Arena Assault for now until players use him more and want to vouch for his Arena worthiness.

I will put Close Counter and Mirror Stance down. Close Counter seems really helpful, especially if Leo got enough stats from merges to not require A slot stat boosts.

Edited March 12, 2018 by XRay

[Lewyn]

Guys I pulled my first Leo with the free summon on todays banner.  However he is -atk/+res.  Yes really awful IV, however again my only Leo.  What would be the optimal way to build him, and is he worth building with so little attack.  I would prefer he use his PRF weapon, just a quirk of mine that I never replace PRF weapon and always try to make it work with the character.  

What I was thinking, but I certainly don't want to invest if it isn't effective, is putting the single distant defense fodder I have for Leo's A slot, then the distant defense 3 seal, Iceberg special run him in horse team.  He would have 45 attack/51 res when fully buffed, so hopefully that would be able to kill a lot of reds and greens in enemy phase.  However again, only one spare Celica, and this is a horrible IV for Leo so I don't want to waste such rare fodder if Leo is still bad after that.  

[XRay]

36 minutes ago, Lewyn said:

Guys I pulled my first Leo with the free summon on todays banner.  However he is -atk/+res.  Yes really awful IV, however again my only Leo.  What would be the optimal way to build him, and is he worth building with so little attack.  I would prefer he use his PRF weapon, just a quirk of mine that I never replace PRF weapon and always try to make it work with the character.  

What I was thinking, but I certainly don't want to invest if it isn't effective, is putting the single distant defense fodder I have for Leo's A slot, then the distant defense 3 seal, Iceberg special run him in horse team.  He would have 45 attack/51 res when fully buffed, so hopefully that would be able to kill a lot of reds and greens in enemy phase.  However again, only one spare Celica, and this is a horrible IV for Leo so I don't want to waste such rare fodder if Leo is still bad after that.  

I would just make him an Arena Assault unit. Let Leo ravish Selena for Triangle Adept 2 and Reposition and call it a day.

Distant Def on the A slot is a huge no-no if he is -Atk. Tanking and counter killing is good, but walling and letting enemies survive is bad (enemies get their Special charged along with being put into Vantage and Desperation range).

If you plan on Refining Brynhildr, Leo needs Moonbow, not Iceberg.

If you really want to use him, I would give him this build and make sure he receives Attack buffs:
Bryhildr [special], Moonbow
Fury, Quick Riposte
Distant Def

[Lewyn]

19 minutes ago, XRay said:

I would just make him an Arena Assault unit. Let Leo ravish Selena for Triangle Adept 2 and Reposition and call it a day.

Distant Def on the A slot is a huge no-no if he is -Atk. Tanking and counter killing is good, but walling and letting enemies survive is bad (enemies get their Special charged along with being put into Vantage and Desperation range).

If you plan on Refining Brynhildr, Leo needs Moonbow, not Iceberg.

If you really want to use him, I would give him this build and make sure he receives Attack buffs:
Bryhildr [special], Moonbow
Fury, Quick Riposte
Distant Def

 

I could see moonbow with the refine cause it could prevent many doubles, but I won't refine.  Not with that bad bane/boon, dew is to precious.  I only refine for characters with good bane/boon.   So without refine he is going to get doubled even with horse buffs, and thanks to QR3 he will double back.  Yeah it doesn't work if the enemy survives, that is my big question mark.  Likely I'll go low investment for now, and if for some reason I pull him off focus or something in the future with better IVs invest more heavily.  TA is good in that it at least boosts the damage greatly against opposite color.

Man -atk is brutal on so many units, probably the worst overall bane.  There are plenty of slow units that can dump their speed stat, not many want to dump their attack stat.  Super bane at that for Leo which hurts.  Such a fan of mixed tank type units, so was very excited about Leo (particularly with the refine that makes him even tankier), until I checked his bane/boon.