Non-Hector Axes

[jameslove001]

So...I am finding myself to be pretty flush with lances and swords of all types, and a ton of green mages, but I am stumped when it comes to a trusty axe user, especially for the special "axe" missions. I am curious about those of you who don't have Hector...who are using? How are you filling that gap in your roster?

For me, the unfortunate best I have is Spring Chrom. He is an overall decent draw, but not the most convenient to use in all scenarios. I have undeveloped Hawkeyes, Barst, Anna and Bartre and a couple of cavalry and flyers, they just haven't taken the time for them as I have been trying to do all of the quests.

[Nightmayre]

For me the axe MVPs tend to be seasonals, unfortunately.

PA Azura is of course the one I use most, due to Dance utility making her able to fit in any team (and I practically never run teams without a dancer). It helps that she is the best dancer, too.

Summer Tiki is a very good unit, which I don't use as much exactly because I have Hector. But she works well as a more mobile physical tank.

Brave Ike is also very strong, though for some reason I can't seem to build a proper team around him. I only use him when I run into a blue-oriented team in AA.

Winter Lissa is mostly Hector lite, but I found she requires a PP-oriented Armor team, rather than an EP-oriented, so I don't use her much.

Frederick and Minerva shine in Horse and Flier Emblem respectively.

And finally there's Anna, who is neither bad nor awesome. With some dedication she can do very good, but I'm waiting for an Askr trio update before dedicating resources.

Overall I've found the easiest Axe user to use for quests and such (assuming none of the above seasonals) is Frederick in a basic Horse emblem team.

[coldhand25]

I think Anna is your best bet from the ones you said you have, and most of the f2p guides use her as an axe unit. I personally use my NY!Azura, since I got super lucky and got her on my free summon, but I don't really use her for anything else then her dance. I used Brave Ike before, but switched him since Fjorm can take on the role of the enemy turn unit.

[Sasori]

I often find myself struggling to find a good non Hector axe user as well. Outside of a seasonal here and there they don't seem to be added to the game much.

Michalis is kinda decent if you keep him very far away from any sort of mage. He's pretty tanky and he has a legendary killer/slaying weapon.

From the axe users you named I guess Anna might be your best bad. She's pretty fast and with decent resistance if I recall correctly. Hawkeye sadly isn't impressive and I don't believe Barst or Bartre where either.

[Vince777]

Yeah I don't have Hector (damnit) and my collection of 5* axe users is indeed pretty unimpressive. Anna, Sheena, Michalis, Flying Azura & Titania. That's it despite having 73 5* units overall.

I use Titania and her Emerald Axe most of the time whenever I need an axe. Sheena & Michalis do fine in their armor/flying teams and Azura I now use more than any other dancer I have (well, the two others). 


 

[Korath88]

Aside from Hector I've also used Michalis on my flier team, and more recently, NY!Azura, though she's more of a support unit than an attacker. None of them really come close to Hector combat-wise though.

I haven't had too much success with player phase axes. Raven used to be alright until the great speedcreep happened. I hear Cherche is a good one but I don't have one built.

Edited January 25, 2018 by Korath88

[Cute Chao]

Honestly, even with Hector, my most used axe is Bunny Chrom. I have no problems using him at all.

The second most used is Frederick, who is a really good 3* unit, I find. I use PA!Azura a bit, but not as much as I expected I would, since I'm trying not to max HM on my dancers too quickly.

Naked Xander's pretty strong as well. He's the my third most used axe. Again, I have no problems with him, although my playstyle is pretty much a counter one, which doesn't work well for chain challenges but usually works pretty well for AA.

[Michelaar]

My other axe users are Brave Ike, Minerva and Beruka. Brave Ike is all around awesome, ditto for Minerva, Beruka is very bulky.

[Usana]

Raven is actually an Axe I have been getting a decent amount of use out of. He has proven very useful in AA's and such. That said I don't make any illusions that he is an A team Axe. A good secondary axe that can smack stuff. Cherche is my other good axe that isn't 5* exclusive. My Freddy isn't fully built or I may use him more. He mostly gets used to smash Effie's face in.

And of course Amelia is my biggest axe and the one I rely on when no else will do.

Edited January 25, 2018 by Usana

[Javi Blizz]

Appart from Hector and PA!Azura, I use Michalis and Beruka. The first one is currently 5*+1 with refined Hauteclare, Draw Back, Aether, Heavy Blade 3, Quick Riposte 3, Goad Fliers and Distant Defense sacred seal. Beruka is 4*+5 with DEF refined Slaying Axe+, Pivot, Ignis, Close Defense 3, Quick Riposte 3, Goad Fliers and Iote's Shield sacred seal (in a defense tile, BH!Lyn does 0*2 damage to her)

[Humanoid]

For a cheap option since you're just looking for tools for quests, the most expedient and low-investment route would be to just use a 4* Frederick and Cherche, give them both Brave Axes and go to town with their type buffs. Give Cherche Hit and Run or Drag Back too. These will do just fine for everything (and easy to add a few merges to) until you find an axe unit you really want to invest heavily in. In many cases that's be the same two units but with Brave Axe+ instead. :P

Even cheaper if the goal is just to have an axe unit on the map to meet quest requirements, then Gunter is even cheaper, all he needs is his default Hone Cavalry and he's worth taking just as a buffbot for three other horses.

Edited January 25, 2018 by Humanoid

[Ice Dragon]

Frederick, Titania, Minerva, Camilla, and Cherche are pretty good with budget builds (Frederick and Cherche can keep their Hammer or switch to Brave Axe depending on what you need them to hit). Beruka wants Bonfire/Ignis and Quick Riposte.

Of the infantry, Anna and Raven are pretty good on a budget, too. Bartre can also take Brave Axe to do the same things Frederick and Cherche do.

[Alkaid]

Spring Chrom's actually not bad. He's got a pretty well-rounded stat line, so you can run him however you like for the most part(also depending on his IVs). A simple budget enemy phase set with cheap QR2 can let him function pretty well if you aren't interested in building him much. Anna can do pretty well too, with her niche of high res for an axe unit letting her bait some mages and deal with dragons better than most. Fury+Desperation is what I run on her, and it's pretty effective. As a bonus her higher res lets her use a ploy C skill or seal if you want too, which can be nice for the team.

Aside from Hector, I personally use Summer Tiki, Beruka, Cherche and Camilla(DC build) a lot. My PA and NY Azura ssee a lot of use too, but they mostly just dance and buff. I'd recommend Cherche for offense and Michalis for defense. Cherche needs a Brave Axe and Death Blow ideally, but then she becomes a monster. Michalis over Beruka since he admittedly takes less work to build and you don't need to wait on good IVs for him. Just slap Bonfire, QR and the Close Def seal on him and he should be good to go.

Edited January 25, 2018 by Alkaid

[Shoblongoo]

Good ones I've managed to pull or build out: Hector, Amelia, NY! Azura, P! Azura, and Micaelis


If you did the Micahelis grand hero battle and didn't pull minerva, he's worth promoting to five stars.

He has a pretty component budget build  with hautecleare, bonfire, quick riposte 2, and iota's shield (decently tanky + good damage output). He can make use of the heavy blade seal to become even more of an offensive monster, or close defense for improved tankiness.

And hes a unit that actually has decent A-Team potential later on when you start expanding your roster, and get the tools you need to build a proper flier emblem squad.

[NekoKnight]

Michalis is a great, affordable option. Give him Quick Riposte, the Close Defense seal and Fortify Fliers support and you're looking at a guy with 47 defense who can automatically activate Bonfire, or even Ignis if he gets doubled. He can get even stronger with more investment.

[jameslove001]

Thanks everybody! This gives me some direction to start spending some effort on Cherche and Frederick before Titania. I appreciate it. I may do one more draw on the New Years summon to see if I can get Azura.

[Usana]

I really do need to build up Michalis someday.

I completely forgot about Barst. He keeps getting foddered off. That's what he gets for having BOTH brave axe, Reposition, and Spur Attack(if that is your thing, but really there are likely better sources of that). It was like IS wanted to make a unit purely to fodder and then gave him a fairly solid statline just to make you have to think about it. Sadly, I give him the axe and turn him into fodder. So I can't actually speak of what a well built one is capable of.

[Midnox]

Festival Azura is a good support option due to her dance, which is already useful in itself, buff your refreshed unit with +3 in all stats. Problem lies on her being a seasonal unit, so you won't get her just laying around.

Brave Ike is the best replacement for Hector. He has virtually one weakness, which are red mages due to his bad res. He has a rather average speed, but he comes with threaten spd, so it can be remedied somewhat. He has high att, but his def is where he shines. Not only that, but each attack he receives in enemy phase will take away his special counter like mad, so he can reliably use aether (which he can learn naturally), and a heavy blade sacred seal helps a lot as well

I don't have these but I know for experience they can be deadly:

New year Azura. I don't think she's that much useful as her festival version, but she's a flying unit, so she "process" better mobility, refreshing units easier

Orphan cute bruiser waifu, or Amelia XD. I don't think she really has a low stat, maybe res, but I think it's above armor average, but even she can kill a sword user in head on combat due to her slaying axe giving her low special count, high att and speed. Maybe it's because my Ike has -def, but she can kill Ike head on quite often. Pair her with another armored unit, maybe Zelgius or Black Knight, as she comes with armor march 

[Xenomata]

This takes me back... back then, the only Axe unit I even had at a viable level of strength was actually Hector, and he was who I tugged along on all my missions.

Now my Axe army, plus Hector, includes Anna, Dorcas, Brave Ike, Summer Tiki, PAzura, Amelia, WE Lissa, Frederick, Minerva, Cherche, HNY Azura, and Beruka...

[Shoblongoo]

 

8 minutes ago, Xenomata said:

This takes me back... 

...Indeed...

In the beginning the closest thing I had to a decent axe user was camilla at 4-stars. Lunatic maps beat me to a pulp, every arena team one-shotted her with Takumi, and life was shit. Hector seemed like a God when I finally got him to hit the field.  

We're all noobs at some point. 

Edited January 25, 2018 by Shoblongoo

[EricaofRenais]

Well I don't have Hector, I mostly use my B!Ike for quests.  I also use Fredrick, Michalis, C!Chrom, Amelia and Anna when I feel like it.  But yeah B!Ike is my go to for quests since I have a color balanced infantry team that is my story quest team.  Hawkeye is honestly pretty good, since you say you have several look up a good build for him and see if it works for your play style.  Brast can also be good I have seen some nice builds for him.

[Magical Glace]

Summer Xander is oddly fun for tanking and stuff.  He’s probably my most used Summer unit and second most used axe overall after PA Azura.  

“I cannot swim!” Being the best special quote in the game helps.

[Silith13]

Narcian is great for me. He also substitutes for Arthur when he's used in F2P guides. Otherwise I find that Frederick or Bartre work wonders for me. And of course Dorcas is good if you got him.

[Xenomata]

2 minutes ago, Shoblongoo said:

 

...Indeed...

In the beginning the closest thing I had to a decent axe was camilla at 4-stars. Lunatic maps beat me to a pulp, every arena team one-shotted her with Takumi, and life was shit. Hector seemed like a God when he finally got him to hit the field.  

We're all noobs at some point. 

Early on I had a Camilla to, but she was 5*, +Spd -Res. She absolutely sucked and may as well have had 0 attack with her default Brave Axe+, and eventually she was fed to a certain Brave Knight.

It is said that she does not taste like bear meat.

I suppose she did her job kinda well... but actually I don't think so, there was probably a reason I didn't think much of feeding her and her twins to Freddy.

[Tsak]

I use Axura (saved up orbs for this lucky gal) she easily is the best for axe objectives because she doesn't actually have to see combat, she is tough to get however being only on the peforming arts banner.

Raven (Quad strike LnD, First 4* now he's 5*+2), Like to go all out offensive with him, have galeforce and can toss heavy blade on him for shenanigans. He fairs well

Hector (because i got lucky enough, and by lucky i mean i pulled a kajillion times), Good for sniping weak enemies from a distance, also quite stocky

Brave Ike (actually got lucky on this one as a free summon), when you need to actually tank melees with an axe unit, he's your man