[Discussion|Theory-Crafting] Heroes' boons and banes

[Raven]

After getting all of my 5* units to level 40, I'm still unsure what each of their boons/banes are, so I'll be finding out and also posting my results here and giving my opinion. I'd also encourage others to post their own unit's stats if they happen to have any at level 40.

Camilla: 5* Lv. 40
HP: 37
Atk: 38
Spd: 30 (+3)
Def: 24 (-4)
Res: 31
Despite Camilla carrying a Brave Axe+, I appreciate the increase in speed. This may prevent her from getting doubled in some cases, but with her rather low defense, I'm only willing to put her in the way of certain units. However, coupled with the Darting Blow skill, she can gain 36 speed when attacking. This would mean she will be hitting enemies with 31 speed or below four times, often resulting in a kill unless they have heavy enough defenses to also withstand a Draconic Aura hit, which raises her attack from 38 to 50 (+30% rounded up) every 3 attacks. High res is most suitable for luring out the green and blue mages, then slapping them to death at close range next turn. I'm at least grateful that her Res is untouched, however I would not mind so much if the attack was raised and Res had to take the hit. My perfect Camilla would have +Atk, +Spd, -Def, -HP/Res.
As she is, I rate her an 8.5 outta 10.

Lyn: 5* Lv. 40
HP: 34 (-3)
Atk: 44
Spd: 37
Def: 30 (+4)
Res: 29
Not bad at all, really. I think the hit on HP is worth the rather large gain in defense. This actually works in her favour for having Defiant Atk 3 (+7 Atk below 50% health) activate. Less likely to be one-shot killed with the defense increase, and more likely to be brought below half health with the lowered HP. Overall she's got some surprising bulk to her with her naturally high Res and boon'd Def, allowing her to go toe to toe with the dreaded Hectors in the arena. However, my perfect Lyn would have +Atk, +Spd, -HP, -Res.
As she is, I rate her 9 outta 10.

Robin-M: 5* Lv. 40
HP: 40
Atk: 40
Spd: 32 (+3)
Def: 29
Res: 19 (-3)
The boon in speed is most beneficial here, which means he's getting doubled by only the fastest of units (e.g. unboon'd Lyn). Even in such cases, his rather bulky defenses are normally enough to help him live through a fight - unless it's a heavy-hitting axe or any sort of green mage - and dishing out his own good damage in return. As many know, he's a nice Takumi (or any bow user) counter thanks to the high defenses, weapon advantage (thanks to his weapons' ability to have weapon advantage over colourless units), and ability to hit back hard against low-Res units (like Takumi). Also with the abundance of Red units in this game, it's always nice to have a bulky blue unit soak up the damage and dish it back twice as hard. As far as I'm concerned, this is a good, well-rounded Robin-M as-is. Good enough Atk, HP, Spd and Def, while with a bit of care, the bad Res can be mitigated. His Bonfire skill gives him +50% of his Def (15 rounded up) as extra damage every 3 turns, so a boon in Def would give him 16 damage every 3 turns, as opposed to 15. Rather minimal and unnecessary considering either the Atk or HP would have to take a bane hit to compensate.
As he is, I rate him

Spoiler

Takumi: 5* Lv. 40
HP: 36 (-4)
Atk: 46
Spd: 36 (+3)
Def: 25
Res: 18
Not happy with the lowered HP, partly because it means he can die quicker since his Def/Res are not particularly high, and that it's also easier to prevent his Fujin Yumi's "Pass" ability (pass through enemy units if own HP is more than or equal to 50%). Normally he could take 20 damage and still utilise Pass, with baned HP, if he takes 19 damage or more, he's not Passing anyone unless healed. Anyway, he's naturally squishy, but has at least good speed to prevent getting doubled and in some cases, should be doing the doubling. This should prevent him being one-turn killed and be able to at least do return damage with his Close Counter skill. Mages give him a bad time unless he's the one attacking first due to that rather low Res. My perfect Takumi would have +Atk, +Spd, -Def, -Res. This would provide him with just enough speed and bulk to survive being doubled and one-shot killed (unless it's one of those crazy Mages with 54 Atk to break through the 14 Res 40HP, or Robin).
As he is, I rate him 9.5 outta 10.

Tharja: 5* Lv. 40
HP: 42 (+3)
Atk: 45
Spd: 31 (-3)
Def: 23
Res: 20
Ech. A little bit bulkier with the extra HP but also slower. When your primary job is to break things, you need all the speed you can get to either not get doubled or to double opponents. Extra health is not beneficial here, particularly against the likes of units with 36 Spd or higher who double her and would more than likely kill her. Her only redeeming feature here is her Atk and her Darting Blow 3 ability, where she has 37 Spd when attacking. Not bad, and is capable of doubling 32 Spd or below... But how nice it would be to have 40 Spd or even 43 to double even the likes of Takumi or even Lyn. When being attacked, she may have only 1 Spd less than Robin, but Robin also brings a bunch of other features and advantages to the table other than simply "damage dealer." My perfect Tharja would have +Atk, +Spd, -Def, -HP, to turn her into the true one-round wonder she should be.
As she is, I rate her 6.5 outta 10.

tl;dr: Tharja's a bench warmer, making way for Lyn, Takumi, Camilla, and Robin to be the 4 units to represent me in the Arena.

What's your boons and banes? If you don't know, post their level 1 or level 40 stats so we can tell you, or help yourself to the data here: https://fireemblem.gamepress.gg/heroes

We can also discuss them should you have a different opinion, as well as theory-craft the best units, and for fun, maybe the worst.

[Magical Glace]

Well, here's my only 40, a 5* +HP - Def Roy.

HP 47

Atk 46 (including Binding Blade)

Spd 31

Def 22

Res 28

[Raven]

That's a healthy Roy. Even with the reduced def, I'd be happy with that resistance, health and attack. I think +Atk and +Spd would be best, since he looks like a unit who specialises in dealing damage and wants it done fast. Unless you like the balanced stats, of course.

[Avestus]

Wow, two 5* gold in common!

Takumi: 5* Lv. 40
HP: 36 (-4)
Atk: 46
Spd: 33
Def: 29 (+4)
Res: 18

 

Tharja: 5* Lv. 40
HP: 39
Atk: 45
Spd: 37 (+3)
Def: 20 (-3)
Res: 20

 

Hehe, I'm really lucky with this speed-blessed Tharja then. She's indeed a beast.

Btw, it's interesting how on Takumi both HP and Def bane/boons seem to be+-4 instead of +-3. I have to say that extra tankiness is really nice for him.

[Roxachronc]

Have some blessed pulls:

Roy +SPD/-DEF

Takumi +SPD/-HP This is good but a -RES would have been better.

Lilina +ATK/-DEF best boon and bane for her IMO, even with a boon in speed she still gets doubled by everything, now with that attack boon she can one shot or dent heavy damage to a good portion of units.

 

To compensate my good luck I obtained a crappy +RES/-ATK, and is pure garbage.

[Raven]

16 minutes ago, Roxachronc said:

To compensate my good luck I obtained a crappy +RES/-ATK, and is pure garbage.

A crappy who?

[Luchi]

Lucina is a monster. Threw Luna on her instead of Aether because of the shorter charge time. Slaughters anything and everything.

Lucina Lvl 40
Boon: Def
Bane: Res

HP: 43
ATK: 50
SPD: 36
DEF: 29
RES: 16

Edited February 16, 2017 by tailfin

[pianime94]

We have the same Robin aye. I am actually a bit sad that his bane is res since that means he wouldn't be able to compete much with mages even though he could double them.

My Lyn has +Atk and -Res. I consider this a good trade because this allows her to kill Tiki without needing me to rely on blue units, which has became a part of my main anti Manakete strats. It helps that Lyn has decent Res so I'm not too miffed about it. Robin could handles her too tho it's a bit risky due to his low Res. +Spd seems to be good for her, too.

And then Ryoma. He has +HP and -Res. I sort of think that having a HP boon evens out his already bad Res (18 when bane) He got one shotted by a Linde nevertheless, lol. I wished it was +Atk so he can crush more enemies coming his way.

Wait a sec...

Why does everybody I have has bane Res....Mages will wreck me ahoy.

 

 

Edited February 16, 2017 by pianime94

[Orson]

Cool, let's see!

Robin (M): 5* Lv. 40

• HP: 40
• ATK: 36 -4
• SPD: 29
• DEF: 29
• RES: 25 +3

Seems I've got a pretty bad Robin. Oh well, he's still able to stand against takumis in Arena so we're good.

Takumi: 5* Lv. 40

• HP: 41 (+1 Merging)
• ATK: 47 (+1 Merging)
• SPD: 33
• DEF: 22 -3
• RES: 21 +3 

Extra resistance isn't that helpful and extra defense isn't that hurtful, but whatever its boons/banes Takumi is just an amazing unit to have. I guess he's slighly better at mage killing.

Camilla: 5* Lv. 40

• HP: 37
• ATK: 38
• SPD: 24 -3
• DEF: 28
• RES: 34 +3

That speed is not nice, though the wonderful +6 ATK/SPD grantend by Hinoka in my team setup make up for it. 

Hinoka: 5* Lv. 40

• HP: 41
• ATK: 46 +3
• SPD: 27
• DEF: 25
• RES: 21 -3

Turns out that my best takumis killer is a Pegasus Knight. She hits really hard and her special boost to flying units is amazing, worth equipping even if like me you're only using another flier alongside Hinoka.

Edited February 16, 2017 by Orson
Mistakes.

[Ryuke]

Roy: 5*

Boon: Atk, Bane: Res.

No comment. Literallly my team carry. Famous for being a Tiki/Chrom/Marth killer in Arena. (Sometimes Lucina if she cannot double). Really detest blue mage.

 

Raven: 5*

Boon: Atk, Bane: HP

He suffers alot against magic user because his res is the same as my Roy. His attack isnt even as good as Roy. Brave Axe+ is pretty much 16mt like Roy. And only activate when you attack first. (Threaten Def -5 is where he gets most of his points from)

Tharja: 5*

Boon: Spd, Bane: Res

Literally doubles and kill in first hit (Red/Green). Then would get massacred in the opponent turn due to low def and res. Considering AI looks to group together... it usually happens. This is where Roy and Raven try to shield their way.

 

 Last member is a 4* Corrin(F). No data on boon/bane. Seems to have high def and low res. Not a good res tank. (Hones Atk is life)

[Sire]

These are my 5* units that I am actively using.

Ryoma, +SPD, -ATT: My main man and tank. He can handle almost any threat 1 on 1: Takumi, Tiki, Lyn, Lucina, and so on. However, if he begins to get swarmed or is caught in a bad position, Ryoma perishes. His greatest threats are magic users and Azura.

As for his stats, I enjoy having his extra speed as he will double almost anyone while never be doubled himself. As I use him as a tank, I don't mind the -ATT, especially since Ryoma enjoys a naturally high ATT stat anyway.

Cain, +DEF, -HP: My off tank and flanker, mainly due to Threaten ATT. He was a main unit in my team to catch out of position greys (save Takumi) and greens as well as take on Lyn and Lucina. However, as I have been seeing more Dragons in the Arena of late, I had to replace Cain for Marth.

As a Brave User, offensive Cains will no doubt want +ATT as their boon. However, as I use my Cain somewhat defensively and to handle lower DEF units, he does not really need the extra ATT.

Marth, +RES, -DEF: While sounding crazy at first glance, this is not a bad setup for Marth. He has 25 DEF and 26 RES, which is fairly balanced, and Marth's SPD makes it difficult for enemies to double him. The extra RES makes it easier for Marth to handle magic users (such as Dragons) and if things get out of control, Marth can use Escape Route and flee to safety.

My main reason to use Marth is due to all the Dragons I have been encountering in the Arena and the lesser amount of Lyns and Lucinas. Marth can still handle Lyn and Lucina, but he is not as good at this task as Cain was.

Camilla, +RES, -DEF: Not the best setup, but for most of the game Camilla was my primary anti-magic unit. I still use her in Arenas as I have no better units available and she can counter Blues which is one of Ryoma's weaknesses, despite the prevalence of Takumi.

I personally would prefer a +ATT, -HP (or even -DEF) Camilla, and while I leveled my current one up to 40, I would take the +ATT one immediately since Camilla can take advantage of it due to her Brave Axe and Darting Blow.

* * * * *

These units are only 4*, but I calculated their Level 1 5* stats by checking through Unlock Potential

Chrom, +SPD, -HP: An excellent choice for Chrom due to his naturally lower SPD and naturally high HP. SPD is far more important than HP, and Chrom still remains tanky due to all of his skills (Falchion Heal, Sol, Defiant DEF).

I did have a 5* Chrom I leveled up to 32 or so, only to discover he had terrible Boon and Banes. Since leveling past 20 takes forever, needless to say I was not too happy investing my time and effort into merging fodder...

Nino, Balanced: A character that actually doesn't have a Boon or a Bane! The good thing is, I don't actually mind having a balanced Nino. Sure, most players will likely want Nino to have +ATT and sacrifice HP, DEF, or RES, but Nino is already fragile as is and the extra ATT may be overkill.

Also, now that I understand how the (name)blade actually works (It adds buffs from the user to ATT. So, if you Rally ATT Nino, she gets +4 ATT from the rally and an additional +4 from the buff, for a total of +8 damage!), she just shot up my list of characters to use.

Adult!Tiki, +SPD, -RES: The extra SPD helps Tiki here. While she will still be doubled by the super speedy characters, if the current party has a speed buff (Rally SPD, Hone SPD, Spur SPD), then Tiki has a chance at not being doubled by speedsters.

The negative RES hurts a bit, but one should not be using Tiki to tank magic characters in the first place, even with her ranged counter.

Felicia, +ATT, -HP: Perhaps it is strange to see +ATT on Felicia given her main role is to debuff units, but the extra ATT actually helps out in her supporting role in taking out magic users (as Felicia naturally has high RES) and even provide some chip damage that can turn the tide of a near kill to an actual one.

Felicia is squishy as is, so I don't mind the HP sacrifice. Min-maxers may want -DEF, but I want Felicia to take a hit from other Dagger users and Bow users as well.

Nowi, Balanced: A balanced Nowi. Considering her niche as a Dragon Tank, I would like her to have more SPD, but can't see her sacrificing anything besides HP. However, by checking the numbers, Nowi can still function just fine as a balanced build since most speedsters (Lucina, Lyn, Linde) will double her anyway even with the extra SPD.

If I happen to get a +SPD, -HP Nowi, I would probably pick that one up instead, but my Balanced Nowi seems "2nd best" to me and I am content. This is especially the case due to the RNG nature of obtaining Heroes and their particular natures (or IVs).

Caeda, +SPD, -HP: Not really an exciting combination since Caeda is naturally fast and does not need extra Speed (she just has an Armorslayer), but I suppose it can be useful when dueling the speedsters. I mostly plan on using Caeda on my hypothetical "Flier Team" (Caeda, Camilla, Catria, Hinoka), so I would have prefered if she had extra RES (which I thought she had originally).

* * * * *

I don't have these characters (or that particular Boon & Bane), but since I do want to mix-max a bit, here are my notes.

D!Camilla, +ATT, -HP: Discussed as above, Camilla can really make use of the extra ATT due to her Brave Axe and Darting Blow skill.

D!Hinoka: +ATT, -RES: Brave weapon user so she will benefit from extra ATT. I chose -RES as Caeda should fill the mage hunter role.

D!Catria: +HP, -RES: My "flying tank" unit. She is meant to deal with physical units as well as dive in and weaken targets before the other fliers go for the killing blow.

D!Leo: +ATT, -HP: One cannot salvage Leo's poor speed, but one can take advantage of his Quick Riposte by taking +ATT. It also makes him just hit harder in general being a "single nuke" character.

D!Cecilia & D!Gunter & D!Hector, +SPD, -HP: To fix their poor SPD issues.

[Roxachronc]

9 hours ago, Raven said:

A crappy who?

Oh it erased somehow, is a Camilla, is pretty bad with a -ATK, like she cannot kill some Robin variants, that is how bad she is.

[TheNiddo]

Robin:
HP: 40
Attack: 40
Speed: 32 (+3)
Def: 29
Res: 19 (-3)

Speed is helpful, but that lack of Res has gotten me killed a lot. Not sure what I would have rather have it taken out of, but there are some times it absolutely kills me.

Roy:
HP: 44
Attack: 46
Speed: 31
Def: 22 (-3)
Res: 31 (+3)

At least he can tank magic on turns he's not shoving... along long as its not blue magic. Which is common. Really wish he had more speed, would have happily taken -HP +Speed on him just to shore it up. 

Takumi:
HP: 40
Attack: 46
Speed: 36 (+3)
Def: 22 (-3)
Res: 18

Good news: He can double everything! Bad news! A stiff breeze kills him!

My Chrom is only level 38 but:
HP: 46
Attack: 54 (+1 already)
Speed: 24
Def: 27 (can't hit norm of 31)
Res: 17

He's most likely +attack/-def. Which sucks. So, so, so much. He basically needs +speed to be usable. I'll finish leveling him up one day and then probably bench him.

[Raven]

Wow, Chrom has terrible speed, and not even decent resistances to back it up. Just a pile of Atk and HP, with a sprinkle of Def.

[XeKr]

My Linde is +Def/-Atk but it works out fine since base 46 Atk/39 Spd is still ridiculous, and can be buffed by Eirika. And +Def may narrowly avoid some Brave orkos or straight ohkos. Can you imagine +Spd/-notAtk Linde though? 52 atk/46 Spd with Eirika’s buff.

Robin is looking to be +Spd/-Res which works out nicely. Prevents doubling by the 35/36 Speed crew, which is a lot of the red lords. Can double a lot of “average” Spd (30-31) units with Eirika. Linde can generally handle mages.

Not sure about Eirika, but she’s probably not –Spd unless the later levels are really terrible for her. I think +Def/-Res but again not totally sure. But that’s pretty solid, if it’s the case, since she’s largely a support who sometimes fights greens head on.

I thought my Nino was +Atk before (as a 3*/4*) and was fairly excited but now I’m not very sure. It depends on how the wiki is calculating Atk/Res with her weapons/skills. Still potentially 49 Atk/36 Spd or 56 Atk/40 Spd with Eirika sounds fun (60 with Linde’s Fortify Res too). +Spd might be better, since Atk gets boosted so much by her Tome, but maybe this nets some ohkos. If I check the unlock potential screen for 5* and she’s -Atk or -Spd I might not use the feathers on her.

I think Chrom is +Spd/-Hp. So that’s 29 Spd or 33 with Eirika. Pretty decent as he doubles Hector at base, doubles Fae with Eirika’s buff, and isn’t doubled by Takumi at neutral Spd, loliTiki at neutral/boon, or after Eirika’s buff, the red swords around 35/36. But I might not use the feathers on him either, since the team would appreciate a Green/Grey to balance things out. We’ll see.  

Edited February 17, 2017 by XeKr

[eclipse]

The only one of note I have is a +Atk/-Res Camilla.  Since she's 4*, this meant that I had a bit of extra training to do, so she'd be able to take on Narcian's map.  She'll be quite the unit once she hits 5*.

[Apples]

+Hp/-Spd Lucina 5*

• Still a great unit even knowing that she could be better. 33 speed at least lets her trade blows with most threats before taking them out. Extra hp has never been useful.

+Atk/-Hp Tiki 5*

• Hands down my best unit. More attack actually seems unnecessary but is nice to have. Probably the best bane as to keep damage high, have a borderline fast 30 speed and tank hits from both spectrums. Can't recall a situation where 3(6) more hp would have saved her.

+Res/-Hp Nino 4*

• This one actually bothers me since a neutral hp, def Nino can take a hit from an unboosted neutral Takumi and mine can't. 34 speed as a level 40 4* is quite impressive and kinda makes me jealous for a speed boon. The added res makes her an even better stop to Robin and the like but that's half her job anyway. I also have a 3* neutral that I'll probably raise over the long term out of boredom. 

+Atk/-Def Jakob 5*

• Not much to say on this one. This guy's job is to debuff for others to come in and finish the job. Even with the plus he usually does some chip and that's all. 

[Birdy]

5*

Julia: +RES -ATK | Brrr, -ATK is never nice, especially on units that can do effective damage, since you'll be losing out on more than 3 or 6 (doubling) damage, but more like 5-9 damage because of the 1.5 modifier. Her already high Resistance got even higher though, so I guess she could tank some mage hits with this.

Seliph: +HP -RES | Not the best, not bad either. The higher HP let's him activate Tyrfing's +4DEF <50% at a higher HP as well as Brash Assault (Auto follow-up at <50% against foe that can counter).

Fae: +SPD -DEF | The speed will help a lot, but keep her away from Falchion users or get one-shotted x).

Roy: Neutral | Nothing exciting.

Marth: +DEF -HP | 32 Def is really high, not too shabby. I do have a +SPD -RES 4* version though which if I find myself having leftover feathers (Hahah...ha...) I might use it on him.

Lucina: +ATK -SPD | I won't lie, the SPD hurts, she doesn't double nearly as much as she could. She can one-shot almost every Manakete though without getting counterattacked.

Robin: +HP -DEF | Kinda meh, but I have a +SPD -RES 4* I'm bringing up that might replace him soon.

Takumi: +HP -ATK | Auch, this one hurt. I had another Takumi that was +HP -SPD that I merged into this one. Hardest decision of my life.

Abel: +RES -HP | Not too bad, would have loved +ATK, but the -RES will really make him decent against mages if he can also activate Aegis (-50% damage from ranged attack).

Hinoka: +SPD -RES | +ATK would be the best for a Brave Lance user, but definitly not complaining about this one.

 

Edited February 17, 2017 by Birdy

[Dual Dragons]

5*

Robin - +Atk/-Spd. Say goodbye, Takumi. Hone Attack 3 + Bonfire = Armageddon. Tanky enough but Speed bane drops his offense and takes double hits often. I wouldn't know what his optimal Bane would be. Perhaps -Res since he's already poor against magic anyways? Don't want to lower Def because Bonfire.

Camilla - +Spd/-HP. Best on initiation. Brushes off magic attacks but makes it hard to rely on her as an all-around tank. Would take another Boon since she has Darting Blow and Brave Axe access.

Marth - +Spd/-Def. Not many can outspeed him so he's at least on equal ground. Decent Attack to put to good use. His -Def is still higher than his neutral Res. Similar to Robin in tankiness except won't be taking double hits often.

 

4* currently

Olivia - +Res/-Atk. Makes it hard to raise her, considering Dance doesn't give EXP. At least it makes her a mage-killer. If she's a hard support, Boon/Bane won't matter as much.

Abel - +HP/-Res. -Res isn't a huge problem with Aegis access. +HP works with Swordbreaker 3 but +Atk would also be great. As a hard Sword counter, Speed doesn't matter as much.

Fae - +Def/-HP. As long as she can take hits, HP doesn't matter as much with Renewal access. Would rather take a different Boon, though.

Adult Tiki - +Def/-Res. Well... she's not getting damage from WTD Armors. Dragons are already not great against magic so -Res is eh. Could be worse. 

Shanna - +Def/-Atk. Didn't learn about Boon/Banes until after the upgrade. I'll probably raise another Shanna. -Atk really hurts her except against magic-users not Dragons and fliers not Subaki.

Chrom - +Atk/-HP. Strike first. That natural 56 Attack with Falchion, phew. He needs support from someone who buffs Speed because his medium 25 Speed is the same as -Spd Robin's.

[TheNiddo]

Here's the next 5* 40 I've gotten with several more coming in the next few days:

Female Corrin:
HP: 41
Attack: 40
Speed: 37 (+3)
Defence: 34
Res: 18 (-3)

One veeeery nice unit. Can completely nuke things with weak res, has enough HP to survive one magic encounter still due to high speed meaning she doesn't get doubled

[eclipse]

Next notable boon/bane combo I have is +Spd/-Atk Young Tiki.  Turns out she synergizes VERY well with Virion.  Anything with less than 36 speed is doubled the minute she reaches them.

[TheTuckingFypo]

I have a perfectly balanced Lyn.... (lvl.40)

My lvl 40 tacomeat has -ATT, +RES...... ummm.. at least i wont get OHKO'd by a mage.... about 90% of the time.

I have two Marths. The first one is lvl 40, and has +ATT, -DEF, the one I haven't touched has +HP, -DEF.

 

 

[LordFrigid]

5*

I've got more than just the four, but these make up my main offense team and play really nicely with each other.

Lucina (+Res/-HP): Neither stellar nor horrible, imo. +Atk or +Spd would have been nice, but at least neither of them got hit with a bane.

F!Corrin (+Atk/-Res): Probably my favorite unit in the entire army. Swings hard, can eat most physical damage like nobody's business, and comes with some incredible buff/debuff power. Also, when I feel like turning animations on, dragon breath attacks always look hilarious. I don't think -Res hurts her too much because her Res is pretty shoddy to begin with. +Atk is awesome, but tbh I would have preferred +Spd. Most notably she wouldn't be doubled by +Spd Lucina. Not that I have her eat Falchions regularly or anything, but it's nice to have the option, since she won't get one-shot and can 2HKO them.

Nino (+Def/-HP): My anti-Takumi, who also doubles as an anti-most-people. Also another one of those neither stellar nor horrible combos. I think her best boon is, situationaly, +Atk or +Spd, depending on the rest of the team. For example, with Lucina and F!Corrin, I'd prefer +Spd; this would let her double just about anything not named +Spd Linde after Dark Breath's debuff. Doubling on top of Gronnblade's already ridiculous damage buff is just...ouch. On another planet, running someone that can buff her Spd through a Hone or Rally, I'd prefer +Atk, since the effect of the Spd buff is basically the same as having +Spd gotta go find an Eirika. As it stands, +Def/-HP isn't bad, not hitting her Atk or Spd, and not significantly impacting her durability (she can still eat a single hit from any non-Limit Broken Takumi before nuking the living daylights out of him).

Azura (+Awesomeness/-Self Control +Spd/-Res): Literally the only reason I can no longer (truthfully) claim to be F2P. On the plus side, my pull wish list is now completely empty so my wallet is safe. Anyways, as far as combat boons go +Spd is great, letting her double up to 39 Spd foes after a Dark Breath debuff. I'd go so far as to say that this is probably her best boon for the team I'm running. Since her main goal is to sing to people, I don't think there's a significantly better boon for her to have. -Res hurts a little bit, but 24 is still respectably high, and I don't usually have her fighting anyone outside of Falchion users anyway.

4*

A few more of my personal favorites that I'd love to bump up and use more actively some day.

Selena (+Def/-HP): The first unit I ever pulled, and one of my favorites from my Awakening & Fates experiences to boot. +Def/-HP suits her pretty well, actually. If the GamePress page is to be believed (iirc she's a pretty recent addition to it), she'd finish with a stat spread of 34 HP, 41 Atk, 35 Spd, 32 Def, and 28 Res. 35 Spd means it'll be hard for anyone to double her, and high defenses on top of her Triangle Adept will make just about any green run for the hills (and she's got an Armorslayer to boot. R.I.P. every Hector, ever). I'm not sure if there's a better bane for her, but she definitely loves the boon. I've also got a +Spd/-Atk variant, and even though 38 Spd is pretty sweet on paper, I think +Def/-HP is better for her (and, of course, there's the first unit pulled ever factor).

M!Robin (+Atk/-Spd): Probably lower on my priority list than Selena, because favoritism. +Atk is good on him, -Spd kinda sucks, but his Spd is low anyway, so having it bane'd isn't necessarily the worst thing in the world. Like others have said before, -Res would probably be preferable because it wouldn't interfere with his proc and would probably escape doubling from a reasonable number of threats.

Catria (+HP/-Atk): I think this is the only boon/bane combo listed here that I actually dislike, all the others are at least palatable for me. With her role as a physical unit counter, I think I'd prefer +Def (although that might be overkill on top of Armored Blow). That or +Spd, since doubling a 1-range opponent gives her a guaranteed Luna every combat. As far as the bane...I think -HP would probably be best. She definitely doesn't want -Atk, -Spd, or -Def, and her Res is actually pretty solid, so I don't think I'd want that hit.

[TheNiddo]

Lyn:
HP: 41 (+4)
Attack: 44
Speed: 37
Defence: 23 (-3)
Res: 29

Bleh. Defence is a lot better than HP. Not a good mix. At least it wasn't minus Speed or Attack.

Cain:
HP: 42
Attack: 40
Speed: 27
Defence: 24 (-3)
Res: 24 (+3)

Again, not great. Would have rather had a speed or attack boost for him. The fact he doesn't fold to magic is nice enough I guess but, bleh.

Chrom:
HP: 47
Attack: 56 (+3)
Speed: 25
Defence: 28 (-3)
Res: 17

Why -defence, whyyyyyyyyy? +Attack is good, but Chrom lives and dies by Attack and Defence.

[Katrisa]

Very nice analysis.  I've been putting thought into this as well.  I'm fairly happy with all of my own rolls.  But it does pose questions about what exactly do you want especially when you encounter well rolled units.

One particular unit I HATE is Def+ and (Att/Res/Speed-)Takumi.  Because my Att+ Cordelia can't always oneshot him.  If I carry an Attack buff to him she can.