Special Heroes - Winter Dreamland

[Xenomata]

Figured we should take discussion of the Christmas banner to a more public thread now that it is officially revealed.

This month's Tempest Trials unit is Ignatz: Snowscape Artist.

Edited December 14, 2021 by Xenomata

[Tybrosion]

At most, I'll be sparking once (for Lysithea & Lute, and only if necessary). I'll hopefully get a Manuela copy before the spark and I can take or leave Artur. Mirabilis is still a complete waste of space character and can screw off forever. 

Though, a fun fact about her: Christmas Mirabilis is only the fourth blue dagger unit and the first since Petra (released Aug 2019).

[King Marth 64]

It's nice to see one of my favorite The Sacred Stones characters Artur in the Christmas Banner. I didn't expect Artur is getting the D/R Save as one of his skills. I do now realize why Lysithea and Lute went paired as a Duo Hero.

[Lemmy]

Is the greater than 10 effect on Lysithea's weapon designed to get around effects like Wary Fighter?

[Ice Dragon]

Mirabilis is a tad bit underwhelming. Her normal version inflicts -3 Atk, Def, and Res to enemies with Penalties in 3 columns around her, whereas this version inflicts -5 Atk to enemies with Penalties in 3 columns and 3 rows around her. This version's support is slightly better for bulky teams, but other than being able to run Disarm Trap and being usable on Aether Raids offense, there isn't really much she does that her normal version doesn't. And it doesn't look like her stat distribution is going to be any different, either. Super cute, though.

Artur is a green tome Save unit. Presumably, his stat spread is similar to Valentine Alfonse, but with more Res and maybe less Def. He has a good weapon, but it competes with Alfonse's Amity Blooms, which grants passive healing at the cost of less Atk and Res. D/R Far Save is new and is probably best-in-slot for Far Save units simply because most of them would rather have the extra defensive stats instead of Atk. Odd Fighter is trash.

Manuela looks like she'll be a legitimately fast sword armor, which is nice because the only other one is Valentine Ike. Her weapon looks like it'll be amazing for Near Save sword units because it lets you double up on Atk/Def Unity for a gigantic pile of stats (getting hit with a -9 Penalty results in a net gain of -9 + 5 + 18 + 5 + 18 = +37 points), but that's undermined by the fact that sword units have a difficult time functioning due to how common Seiros and Brave Eirika are. On the other hand, she has Special Fighter as a unit in the 4-star pool, which is pretty nice for inheritance.

Lysithea's weapon is... interesting. It gives you Desperation if you outspeed your opponent by no more than 9 Spd and switches to Brave if you outspeed your opponent by 10 Spd (and loses Desperation). She's clearly intended to be a wallbreaker, and C Feud is very notable because it blocks Caduceus Staff from functioning against her. I'm a bit worried about her bulk, though. She's ranged cavalry, meaning she's probably even frailer than Yuri, and I'm not sure her default A/R Far Trace gives her enough bulk to really be useful if she fails to kill in 2 hits.

 

Speaking of C Feud, I'm wondering what it's inheritance restrictions are. If it follows the pattern of Weaponbreaker skills, it'll be usable by everything, but there's also a small chance that it'll only be usable by colorless units.

 

Ignatz looks like he'll be a colorless bow armor, presumably with Atk/Def Unity on his weapon. That's probably the new best-in-slot bow for bulky units. Now if only there were a consistent way to inflict Penalties on your own units. They should add an Assist skill that debuffs yourself to buff your target.

 

Mirabilis is cute, but she's not particularly impressive, and as a support unit, she doesn't really benefit all that much from merges. I might just pull for one or two copies of her and then call it quits.

Lysithea looks pretty amazing, and I might end up directing my orbs to her instead. She already looks way scarier than Duo Corrin.

Lysithea, Mirabilis, and Artur are going to be my sparks. Sparking for Artur means I can ignore pulling green and just focus on the remaining colors, assuming Manuela's stat spread is actually good enough to be worth getting her to +10.

[XRay]

Okay, now that I can read Lysithea: Gifted Students' Weapon, I understand how it works now. It is Desperation OR Brave effect. I guess relying on Brave effect is easier since you want to stack Spd as high as possible rather than trying to aim for Desperation and limit your own Spd, and then you can just run Sweeps, Traces, or even good old Desperation on B.

Mirabilis: Sugarplum Vision is kind of niche. She seems geared towards helping her teammates trigger Heavy Blade checks. Flier and cavalry Galeforcers would appreciate that. I guess she can work in Save tank teams too to limit damage, and she comes with Ground Orders. She is still a freaking Dancer/Singer though, and if Olivia can still be timeless to this day, Mirabilis: Sugarplum Vision can be too.

Artur: Silver Saint is basically just Save fodder. I wish Odd Fighter and Even Fighter can be Sacred Seals, because either one by itself kind of suck big time.

Manuela: Silver Caroler is real hard sell. Special Spiral is pretty niche outside of Blazing nukes. There is only a handful of nukes with Desperation and/or guaranteed follow-up on their Weapons that may want Special Spiral, and literally three Counter-Vantage units that may want it (I have shit eyesight). Special Fighter is cool.

Edited December 14, 2021 by XRay

[Florete]

Lysithea gonna screw over my F Edelgard in Summoner Duels.

[Sasori]

Yup Manuela is a armour unit and Ignatz will likely be one too. I'm A bit annoyed Mirabelis gets to break tradition while the units I do like don't. I know she's a dancer and all that, but still. I'm not a fan of still no inheritable daggers either. So all in all i'm a bit frosty towards this banner.

Remembering that Christmas is a dumping ground for armour units makes me even more pleased that Roy got to skip this one.

Edited December 14, 2021 by Sasori

[Hilda]

9 minutes ago, Florete said:

Lysithea gonna screw over my F Edelgard in Summoner Duels.

i see a big weakspot on Lysithea. Just equip Deflect Magic on your tank (or far save tank).

If she activates desperation the 2. hit deals only 20% damage. If she activates brave the same thing happens you better just kill her on retalliation before hit 3 and 4 come out.

[Florete]

5 minutes ago, Hilda said:

i see a big weakspot on Lysithea. Just equip Deflect Magic on your tank (or far save tank).

If she activates desperation the 2. hit deals only 20% damage. If she activates brave the same thing happens you better just kill her on retalliation before hit 3 and 4 come out.

That's an idea, though then I'd be using it just for her (and ninja Corrin). I'm actually wondering if I could stack enough Spd to avoid the brave effect entirely...Yeah never mind that's not happening.

Edited December 14, 2021 by Florete

[Ice Dragon]

The usual translation notes:

The banner title, "Winter Dreamland", is "冬祭りの使者は夢の中" (fuyu-matsuri no shisha wa yume no naka), "The Envoy of the Winter Festival is in Your Dreams".

Mirabilis's epithet, "Sugarplum Vision", is "温かな白夢" (atatakana hakumu), "Warm, White Dream".

Dreamflake is "白き夢のかけら" (shiroki yume no kakera), "Fragment of a White Dream".

Spd Cantrip is "速さの魅了" (hayasa no miryō), "Spd Charm". "Charm" as in "to fascinate" or "to mesmerize".

Artur's epithet, "Silver Saint", is "白銀の修道士" (hakugin no shūdōshi), "Silver Monk". The word "白銀" (hakugin) literally translates as "white silver" and can mean both "silver" and "snow".

Snow Globe is "スノードーム" (snōdōmu), "Snow Globe". The word is a loanword from English "snow dome".

D/R Far Save is "盾の護り手・遠間" (tate no mamori-te: tōkan), "Guardian of the Shield: Distant". I've mentioned this before, but the Save skills in Japanese are named for pieces of armor rather than the names of the affected stats. D/R is "盾" (tate), "shield". A/R is "兜" (kabuto), "helmet". A/D is "鎧" (yoroi), "armor". The corresponding piece of armor appears in the skill icon, and color of the piece of armor indicates the range (Near is red, Far is blue).

Manuela's epithet, "Silver Caroler", is "白銀に響く聖歌" (hakugin ni hibiku seika), "Hymn that Echoes in Silver".

Winter Rapier is "冬祭の突剣" (fuyumatsuri no totsuken), "Winter-Festival Rapier".

Lysithea's epithet, "Gifted Students", is "優秀な二人の聖夜", (yūshū na futari no seiya), "Superior Duo's Christmas Eve".

Sweet Yule Log is "幸運ぶ冬の聖菓" (sachi-hakobu fuyu no seika), "Christmas Cake of the Fortune-Bringing Winter".

Ignatz's epithet, "Snowscape Artist", is "絵筆が描く冬景色" (efude ga egaku fuyugeshiki), "The Paintbrush that Paints the Winter Scenery".

[Name of Ignatz's weapon in English] is "聖樹の弓" (seiju no yumi), "Christmas Tree Bow".

 

1 hour ago, XRay said:

Manuela: Silver Caroler is real hard sell. Special Spiral is pretty niche outside of Blazing nukes. There is only a handful of nukes with Desperation and/or guaranteed follow-up on their Weapons that may want Special Spiral, and literally three Counter-Vantage units that may want it, 

She has Special Fighter, not Special Spiral.

Edited December 14, 2021 by Ice Dragon

[Etrurian emperor]

Everyone act surprised! 

Its a good thing Ignatz is a freebie. He's the only unit I really want so I can get to keep my orbs. 

[Ice Dragon]

Just saw the Tempest Trials announcement, and it looks like Ignatz is going to be another fast bow armor, given that he comes with Spd/Def Form 3.

As expected, his weapon has Atk/Def Unity on it. He also comes with Rally Atk/Spd and Def Tactic.

 

The Sacred Seals are Spur Spd/Res and Darting Breath.

[XRay]

42 minutes ago, Ice Dragon said:

She has Special Fighter, not Special Spiral.

I am freaking blind as a bat.

[Xenomata]

I'll be honest, when I saw the video thumbnail I thought Lute was Bernadetta and was about to be pretty mad. Wasn't looking hard enough...

• Mirabilis is... not a unit I would look forward to summoning. Being herself but free to take whatever blessing she wants (and also has a slightly less strict trigger area) and minus the Def/Res debuff just isn't interesting to me. It's also kinda disappointing that this is the path they chose for all the dream fairies: basically the same unit but only buffing/debuffing Atk.
• Artur exists.
• So does Manuela.
  ...what? I'm not particularly attached to either of them. Manuela is sexy I guess? Big woop, half the female cast of this game falls under that category.
• Lysithea and Lute are interesting. If the difference in Spd between her and the enemy is less than 9 she gets Desperation, but if it is 10 or more then it becomes a Brave effect... which kinda begs to question why they gave her A/R Far Trace and not S/R Far Trace, hell A/S Far Trace would have been fine too, but whatever. She seems like she will have the Brave effect triggered a lot more often than the Desperation effect. Her duo effect is also neat. It could be paired with the new Rouse Atk/Spd 4 and give Lysithea an easy +12 Atk/Spd that is also immune to being Panicked, if C Feud wasn't considered important to a player.
• Ignatz exists.

So that's 3 units I have no opinions on, 1 unit I'm not interested in at all, and the duo unit. Hm... not exactly a great Christmas for me this year... Maybe I'll just do a single spark, get Lysithea, and call it a day...

[Ice Dragon]

37 minutes ago, Xenomata said:

which kinda begs to question why they gave her A/R Far Trace and not S/R Far Trace, hell A/S Far Trace would have been fine too, but whatever.

The extra Spd from a Spd Trace is actually not that useful to her as long as she already out-speeds her opponent by at least 5 points to get a natural follow-up.

She is clearly designed to two-hit kill most enemies, so against faster, frailer enemies, getting the Desperation effect and getting the Brave effect are functionally identical; the enemy is still dead after the second hit.

The only time the 10-point threshold is designed to matter is against slow, bulky units that won't die in two hits. Against these opponents, the difference in Spd is going to be so much higher than 10 that the extra 3 points from a Spd Trace simply won't matter, whereas the extra 3 bulk from an Atk Trace might make a difference.

 

EDIT: At +10+5, Lysithea has 70 physical bulk with her base kit, which is not unsalvageable, and is in the range where that 3 bulk from an Atk Trace could very much be enough to keep her alive after a counterattack from a bulkier unit (at least for units that don't fully charge their Specials after two hits).

Edited December 14, 2021 by Ice Dragon

[Some Jerk]

Sparkable seasonal dancer? Yes. Two more sparkable things on top of that while I can keep fishing for merges? Yes please.

Though while I say that, I have to admit that Mirachristmas is a touch underwhelming. Her new PRF trades the multiple stat debuffs for solely Atk debuffs in a wider area, and Whimsical Dream drops Atk yet further, and she's debuting Spd Cantrip to seriously cripple enemy offenses. Ground Orders feels a little redundant on the unit usually moving second unless she's partnered with an Armorball though. I expect to be fully overhauling her kit with Close Reversal and Atk/Def Rein, though I'm not sure what B Skill she'd like (I do have an A/D Far Trace, but it's on my only A!Laegjarn who is also +Spd/-Def).

Lutesythea sounds like an unholy terror to be on the wrong side of. Desperation effect if she doesn't have enough Spd, Brave effect if she does, and 60+ Atk with a Trace either way; this is not a unit you want to tank without Damage Reduction or a TAR build. I can easily see people stapling the Blade Session seal onto her to make it easy to change her weapon's function. On the other hand, true to Lysithea being Lysithea, her defenses are paper, so having an Atk Trace confuses me too; the only reason I can imagine her not having S/R Far Trace in her base kit is because Ninjorrin supplied it not that long ago.

Not much to say about Santartur, Manoela and [insert witty Christmas portmanteau of Ignatz's name that I can't figure out here]. Aside from the former bringing D/R Far Save, they seem to all have generic kits and are just showing off their inheritable Unity weapons.

Edited December 14, 2021 by Some Jerk

[Diovani Bressan]

This banner is very mediocre in my opinion. Mirabilis is meh, the armors exists I guess, and Lysithea & Lute are the only interesting unit there but not enough to make me summon.

I guess, since there are sparks here, that Sacred Stones and Three Houses weeks in Resonant Battles will be ruined, just like what happaned to PoR/RD weeks thanks to Altina & Sanaki.

At least I can keep saving orbs.

[Etrurian emperor]

So is there any news on Ignatz art?

[DefyingFates]

4 hours ago, Ice Dragon said:

Darting Breath

I missed that, cool! I'm glad we're getting another one so soon, though I suspect we'll be waiting quite a while for the rest.

Also, I said this on Reddit yesterday too, but Lute + Lysithea as a pairing is sheer genius and I want to pull them for that alone (though the spark makes it more tempting). It's a pairing a lot of people wanted too, isn't it? The only other pairings I can think of that would be just as fitting would be any two tacticians (Robin + Katarina perhaps) or Dimitri + Lif.

[Rinco]

1 hour ago, DefyingFates said:

I missed that, cool! I'm glad we're getting another one so soon, though I suspect we'll be waiting quite a while for the rest.

Also, I said this on Reddit yesterday too, but Lute + Lysithea as a pairing is sheer genius and I want to pull them for that alone (though the spark makes it more tempting). It's a pairing a lot of people wanted too, isn't it? The only other pairings I can think of that would be just as fitting would be any two tacticians (Robin + Katarina perhaps) or Dimitri + Lif.

Also Anna+Anna

[Mercakete]

Man, the leaks never do the actual reveal justice. I'm a lot happier with this banner now that I've seen the release vid. Presentation really does change a lot. Anyway, I want Artur, and I do love that they thought of caroling for Manuela, but it's strange that, despite clearly being a singer, she doesn't have "sing." Anyway, I may pull a bit for Artur. We'll see. That little snow dragon is just too cute!

[Use the Falchion]

WOOT WOOT MANUELA IS IN THE GAME! And finally, a Harmonic I actually can get behind! The last one I even remotely liked was Veronica/Xander, and even that one felt a little like a waste of Xander's one good Harmonic opportunity. It stinks that Manuela is an armored unit, but I'll live. I don't really plan on using her too much, so it should be fine. 

 

9 hours ago, Tybrosion said:

At most, I'll be sparking once (for Lysithea & Lute, and only if necessary). I'll hopefully get a Manuela copy before the spark and I can take or leave Artur.

Same. I'd love it if I didn't have to spark for either unit, but I think it may be worth it here. 

 

[Etrurian emperor]

Its kind of a shame that IS seems so skittish about introducing more varied Christmas banner. Even if they absolutely don't want to move away from the santa gimmick than they could at least stand to introduce some Christmas elves. Ignatz would have been nice as one. So far all IS wants to do are Santa outfit and maybe a slight reindeer gimmick. But the ideas for santa outifts ran out about five banners ago so every Christmas unit feels samey. 

There's so much more to do with Christmas. Why not have Scrooge Felix meet several cute girls dressing up as spirits to show him the true meaning of the Winter Festival? Why not have ice queen Lysithea trapping Askr in winter to make the season of sweets never end? Or have Grinch Grima try to spoil Christmas so the heroes must band forces for a Winter Festival miracle. Or some other santa variants like Father Christmas or Sinterklaas.

There are far more interesting things to do than just put everyone in a generic santa outfit

 

[Mercakete]

52 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Its kind of a shame that IS seems so skittish about introducing more varied Christmas banner. Even if they absolutely don't want to move away from the santa gimmick than they could at least stand to introduce some Christmas elves. Ignatz would have been nice as one. So far all IS wants to do are Santa outfit and maybe a slight reindeer gimmick. But the ideas for santa outifts ran out about five banners ago so every Christmas unit feels samey. 

There's so much more to do with Christmas. Why not have Scrooge Felix meet several cute girls dressing up as spirits to show him the true meaning of the Winter Festival? Why not have ice queen Lysithea trapping Askr in winter to make the season of sweets never end? Or have Grinch Grima try to spoil Christmas so the heroes must band forces for a Winter Festival miracle. Or some other santa variants like Father Christmas or Sinterklaas.

There are far more interesting things to do than just put everyone in a generic santa outfit

 

I think the constant Santa suits have more to do with Japanese Christmas than anything else. Personally, I really like the design they gave Lysithia and Lute. It still fits that Japanese Christmas time aesthetic, and even includes Poinsettias, so it's a step in the right direction and one we can reasonably expect from IS. I agree, though -- it would be fun to see other Christmas themes from around the world here. I'd argue, however, that "Father Christmas" was represented with Sephiran last year. His outfit had that feel a lot more than another Santa suit.

So, they're trying, and they are making progress, but it's just a little bit at a time. Personally, I think it'd be cool if there were outfits sporting more Russian designs. Like, Christmas ornament patterns and colors on thick, warm outfits.