A Hero Rises 2020 - [UPDATE: Midway results are in]

[Zeo]

Forgive me for being a little late. Things are a bit bittersweet turns out. I'm stoked the support for Alfonse skyrocketed to the point that he went from 9 to 2. On the other hand it feels back that Edelgard is still there and that Lif got booted out. To top it off I pulled NY!Alfonse at the late minute (almost literally) which made Lif a more enticing choice. If only he'd had a little more support. Well let's take a loot.

• Altina: Like I said, I don't really need another one. I'm happy with the nature of the one I have and merging her doesn't do me much good. So it's probably the second worst outcome.
• Alfonse: The one I have has a terrible nature, so I definitely could do with a neutral copy. Either switching to that as the base, merging him or having a pretty delicious combo of CC+SS fodder. Who'd get that? Couldn't even tell you.
• Sothis (Green): While I have tons of powerful green armors, they're all axes. I don't have any colored armor dragons and W!Sothis is the cream of the crop so I'd like to grab her, even if she wouldn't exactly turn my barracks upside down.
• Sothis (Red): Been hunting her for the longest. This means I have access to a strong mixed phase inf dragon and either TP fodder for Lyn or Ross, or guaranteeing that fodder if I pull her again later. Pretty nice QoL increase.
• Azura: Worst case scenario. I'm not interested in her as a merge project so getting rid of my -ATK means pretty much nothing. Literally changes nothing in my barracks. Pretty much a waste.
• Alm: I'm happy with my +SPD/-HP one. But I hear he's a nice merge project and I don't particularly have a need for Null Followup, so better than nothing, still a pretty meh outcome tho.
• Leif: Probably the biggest QoL increase now that I have NY!Alfonse. A unit I wouldn't exactly pull for but he'd have the biggest impact on my barracks.
• Edelgard: Just why... as a unit she's cool and I wouldn't mind her. But considering the caliber of her competition she has no right to be here, especially over Lif. I'll take her but she's pretty low on the list.

Pulling NY!Alfonse changed the dynamic for me here. Regardless of that there are 3 tiers for me. The fantastic result tier: Alfonse, Leif, either Sothis. The meh tier: Altina, Alm, Edelgard and the oh God what was the point of this event tier: Azura.

It's a pretty bogus choice to limit the reward to a month rather than just making a Xenologue with the winner. This means the reward unit won't count for F2P guides due to limited availability which was a pretty huge reason why people were voting for Altina and certain other units. Wonder why they did that.

Best Semifinals possible is NY!Alfonse vs Leif and a Sothis mirror.

As for cursed? L!Alm vs Edelgard and Altina vs L!Azura. If we get an Edelgard vs L!Azura finals I'm quitting the gauntlet.

Edited February 13, 2020 by Zeo

[Nanima]

Hm, I am pretty nervous about the coming VG. There's gonna be so much salt, we'll be talking about it in the same breath as that horrible CYL1 VG disaster I am sure.

As for my thoughts on the potential winners:

Altina: My number one pick. I wanted her back when she first came out, but was short on orbs and did not want to jump into red hell too much. Tried a little and got Sothis. I would really appreciate not to have to fish her out of those godawful mythic banners. Only downside to her winning would be her increased presence in AR, where she is already toxic enough. But oh well, I'll just have to 'git good' and start using my Duo!Ephraim properly I suppose.

Alfonse: Not much for Blue Tomes, since I have dozens already, even if he is amazing. That fodder is pretty delicious though. But if I wanted to potentially feed Special Spiral to Felix once he gets into the game, it'd mean wasting CC fodder. Hm, I'd have to wait and see, but I can't deny Alfonse's appeal.

Sothis (red): Like I said, already have her. Still some really neat fodder to be had here, so I am not opposed to getting her. 

Leif: Pretty amazing unit, but not too great with fodder. I am not sure how much I'd use him, but I wouldn't be too mad.

Sothis (green): Another merge for her would be nice, although not really necessary. I don't have many armours to built up, but she could be helpful there too.

Azura: Ugh, please no. I already have a good copy, with no interest in merging. Her fodder isn't too good and we already have Peony who is nearly just as good.

Alm: Not a unit I'd use but good fodder.

Edelgard: Her C-skill isn't too bad, but hardly worth losing the chance at one of the above guys (minus Azura. I think I'd actually prefer Edelgard over her, purely as fodder). I don't want her winning, but we'll see how things play out.

So yeah, I'll be supporting Altina mostly out of self-interest. *shrugs*

[Rinco]

I'll wait to see the brackets before I choose whom to support. 

[eclipse]

My actual thoughts on everyone:

Altina - Don't have her, so she'll be welcome.
Alfonse - While I have him, he's +Res/-Atk, and I kinda like the +Res.  Wouldn't mind erasing -Atk.
Sothis - She's in the same boat as Alfonse with the -Atk, so a merge is welcome.
Leif - Don't have him, and I always want more units~!
Sothis - Don't have her alternate self, and I could use another green dragon armor.
Azura - I'm not going to argue against a merge!
Alm - Probably the best outcome for me.  Alm is one of those units I want to +10, and he has the best boon I could ask for (Atk).
Edelgard - She'll most likely be my unintended +10.  Not sure if I want to make her even stronger, or give Atk/Def Solo to Leon, so he gets that +6 Atk bonus on both phases.

For those of us that are F2P and understand why depth of roster is so important, this will be a good banner.