Special Heroes: Sage of Khadein?

[Ghostface233]

 

 

The seasonal banner sent to die.

 

And with a Demote M!Byleth alongside a TT! Soren, seems to be attempting to sabotage their CYL chances.  Other banner units are Nino, Ursula, and Harmonic Linde.

Edited January 8, 2023 by Ghostface233

[Tybrosion]

Well, I guess this why Linde wasn't the Ascended Hero on that last Archanea banner. 

And damn, they're really working Julie Ann Taylor to the bone lately. Are we about to get Resplendent Nephenee or Flora in the not too distant future too?

[Othin]

Sigurd's odds got an even better boost than I expected, I guess. Although if M!Byleth's fans hate this art as much as I do, maybe they'll give him even more votes out of spite.

Not much to say here, but it's great to see a seasonal Sara, even just as a backpack - and especially with color sharing. Her original version has been evading me for two years now, so I'll have to take a shot at the double red here.

[Sunwoo]

I'm surprised they put spd/res finish 3 already on a demote. That was just released the level 4 version on Ascended Tiki, didn't they?

Honestly, if I have any issue with this banner, it's that the characters are very ... same-y? Nino at the very least could've been Mae or some other mage girl with no alt instead of the one who's had a normal seasonal pool alt and a seasonal already. (Yes, I know both are slightly outdated now.) And even disregarding the potential tanking of Soren's CYL ranking, he literally got a good seasonal alt back in 2022. We could've given this to Kliff or Hubert/Linhardt/Erk/Azelle/a male mage with no alt.

Ursula, uh ... like, I don't know. Her base form is pretty terrible and her summer seasonal alt is a bit outdated now, but really. She gets a second alt while Lloyd is still ugly and has a terrible refine and no alt and little chance of a Resplendent with terrible stats? Okay. I think I would've preferred Olwen here or something.

[Ice Dragon]

Time's Pulse 4 finally makes Vital Astra's damage reduction actually reliable on every unit with a Slaying weapon. That's cool.

Byleth having Sublime Heaven instead of Ruptured Sky is annoying since it means we still don't have a good source of Ruptured Sky. Spd/Res Finish 3 is at least pretty nice, though, given that Spd/Res Finish 4 is actually in the standard summoning pool.

Linde and Sara are cute. Getting another Thracia Harmonized Hero is also pretty nice. Remote Sparrow finally gives ranged units another A skill that isn't Ideal or Catch since they don't have access to Surge, and non-infantry units don't have access to Finish. The skill name sounds dumb, though, and doesn't sound like it'll work for any other stat combination. ("Sturdy Remote"? "Remote Sturdy"? Yeah, not happening. They're going to have to pull something out of their ass yet again for this one.)

And Soren gets to wear a pointy hood.

 

Both Nino and Linde on red is rather convenient since it means I can feasibly spark for Ursula, pull for a 4-star copy of Byleth, and then just snipe red for the rest of the banner, which means fewer orbs wasted on first copies of the characters I'm not merging.

It also means I could feasibly +10 both Nino and Linde while spending the same number of orbs normally needed for a single +10. Or the game can troll me and give me a million of one of them and none of the other, like on the Thorr-Eitri banner, though that's functionally and statistically no different from just being pity broken over and over again.

Edited January 8, 2023 by Ice Dragon

[Diovani Bressan]

Not a bad banner. There is no inheritable weapon here, so I don't know what to expect for Soren. He could get a Prf as well, or not.

Nino looks to be very similar to Brave Byleth in her role. However Brave Byleth's damage reduction cannot be nullified by Deadeye, Lethality or others skills that nullify damage reduction, while Nino can have her damage reduction nullified by those skills.

I can see this Byleth being a popular merge project.

[Fire Emblem Fan]

Remember when I predicted that Brom wouldn't be on the Christmas banner (he wasn't), Caineghis wouldn't be on the New Year banner (he wasn't), and that this banner wouldn't feature Elibe's desert? Well, it doesn't. I'm 3-for-3 on my predictions, and I'm not happy about it.

Anyway, this banner is...eh? Setting aside the potential it has to ruin certain characters' chances of winning this year's CYL, I'm kinda mixed on it. I like Nino and all, she's awesome, but I kinda wish they had used someone like Mae, who didn't have an alt yet. Or, heck, Nino's spot could have gone to Merric! Stop with the anti-men bias, IS. Soren's spot could have gone to Kliff or Canas, and why is Ursula here? Oh, right, boobs. Eh. I like Nino, and Linde, and Sara, and Soren, but...eh?

[Ice Dragon]

And the usual translation notes:

 

The banner name, "Sage of Khadein?", is "カダインの大司祭？" (kadain no daishisai?), "Archbishop of Khadein?".

Nino's epithet, "Spirited Sorcerer", is "魔道精霊の寵児" (madō seirei no chōji), "Darling Child of the Sorcery Spirits".

Child's Compass is "魔道の寵子の羅針盤" (madō no chōshi no rashinban), "Sorcery's Darling Child's Compass".

Time's Pulse is "始まりの鼓動" (hajimari no kodō), "Pulse of the Beginning". The word "鼓動" (kodō) means "pulse" as in a "beat".

Ursula's epithet, "Royal-Blue Crow", is "高雅端麗の蒼鴉" (kōga tanrei no sōa), "Elegant and Beautiful Blue Crow".

Crow's Crystal is "魔宿す蒼鴉の水晶球" (ma-yadosu sōa no suishōkyū), "Magic-Containing Blue Crow's Crystal Ball".

Chill Spd/Res 3 is "速さ魔防の封印" (hayasa mabō no fūin), "Spd/Res Seal". As usual, "封印" (fūin), "seal", a noun, is used for the Chill skill series, whereas "封じ" (fūji), "sealing", the verb stem of "to seal" used as a gerund, is used for the Seal skill series.

Byleth's epithet, "Fount of Learning", is "師資流転の宿運" (shishi ruten no shukuun), "Fate of Continually Changing Instruction".

Guide's Hourglass is "導きの教師の砂時計" (michibiki no kyōshi no sunadokei), "Guiding Teacher's Hourglass".

Linde's epithet, "Bound by Fate", is "天涯奇縁の双輝" (tengai kien no sōki), "Dual Radiance of a Coincidence of Distant Shores".

Celestial Globe is "魔継ぐ少女の天球儀" (ma-tsugu shōjo no tenkyūgi), "Celestial Globe of the Girls That Inherit Magic".

Remote Sparrow is "鬼神飛燕の離撃" (kishin hien no rigeki), "Fierce Deity and Flying Swallow's Distant Strike". As usual, "鬼神" (kishin), "fierce deity", is the term for the Atk-boosting Blow/Stance skills and "飛燕" (hien), "flying swallow", is the term for the Spd-boosting Blow/Stance skills.

Soren's epithet, "Wind of Tradition", is "古格伝統の風使い" (kokaku dentō no kaze-tsukai), "Wind User of Old Customs and Traditions".

Magical Lantern is "魔道のランタン" (madō no rantan), "Lantern of Magic".

 

On 1/7/2023 at 9:57 PM, Diovani Bressan said:

There is no inheritable weapon here, so I don't know what to expect for Soren. He could get a Prf as well, or not.

Whether it ends up being exclusive or inheritable, the theme for this banner appears to be the nullification of terrain movement penalties, referencing the fact that infantry magic units have no movement penalty through deserts in the main series, so Soren's weapon will almost certainly have at least that as an effect.

Edited January 9, 2023 by Ice Dragon

[Humanoid]

None of the art grabs me, but the two best units on the banner sharing red is pretty nice. But almost certainly immaterial, as even if this month's New Heroes banner is a skip, the anniversary event Hero Fest, AHR and miscellaneous banners around it are just around the corner.

[Florete]

Nooo, not Soren, I want him to win CYL.

[Sasori]

Mostly I like this banner. Khadain is looking pretty nice and while I don't love anyone, I do like most of the characters on this banner. I'll be interested in seeing how Soren pulls the look off.

But uh deserts, magic, movement based tomes?  Would't that be a nice fit Tormod? Especially since he's still nowhere to be seen.

[Sunwoo]

4 minutes ago, Sasori said:

Mostly I like this banner. Khadain is looking pretty nice and while I don't love anyone, I do like most of the characters on this banner. I'll be interested in seeing how Soren pulls the look off.

But uh deserts, magic, movement based tomes?  Would't that be a nice fit Tormod? Especially since he's still nowhere to be seen.

I guess IS legitimately hates Tormod or something

[Xenomata]

...meh.

Nino getting 3 move is pretty good, but it seriously calls into question why she, Yuri, Brave Alm, not to mention freaking Sigurd who is on a horse get +1 move on all turns when Duo Ephraim's refine only gives it to him on even-numbered turns.
Ursula looks cruel.
Don't like Byleth's art, don't like he doesn't have an inheritable weapon, don't even like that he's here at all...
Linde and Sara are good.
If I were able to care any less about Soren, I'd probably just uninstall.

All units mentioned (probably including Soren) get the ability to ignore the movement penalties of terrain. Ursula and Linde being on horses means that they can go past the ever-common trenches presumably, while Nino, Byleth, and Soren will all be able to ignore forests.

...nothing exciting to me. Nino is pretty neat I guess.

Edited January 8, 2023 by Xenomata

[Ice Dragon]

14 minutes ago, Xenomata said:

Nino getting 3 move is pretty good, but it seriously calls into question why she, Yuri, Brave Alm, not to mention freaking Sigurd who is on a horse get +1 move on all turns when Duo Ephraim's refine only gives it to him on even-numbered turns.

Obviously an excuse to release the Odd Tempest Sacred Seal.

Also, since he has Odd Atk Wave on his default kit, Even Tempest on his weapon gives him a Bonus to activate his weapon's other effects on every turn. It's not a good reason, but it's a reason.

[KMT4ever]

Well, this banner looks interesting. Mostly because the two best units are both red, which means I can dump orbs here pretty freely in my hunt for Harmonics, but it's nice to see Linde get another alt after so long. Being able to ignore terrain is cool, although it shouldn't apply to the two cavalry units on this banner if we're being truly accurate to the games.

[Some Jerk]

Time's Pulse 4 has me wondering if it runs its after-combat check before, simultaneously with, or after Special Spiral. I know from unfortunate firsthand experience (as in an SS fodder was wasted for this) that Spendthrift Bow's check procs after Special Spiral to ensure the Special always gets uncharged, so it wouldn't surprise me if IntSys did something similar here to prevent people from making 3CD/4CD Special spam builds.

I'd very much like SS and TP4 to synergize though. Sanaki with Glacies ready every combat or Phina Vantage-spamming Draconic Aura sounds hilarious.

Edited January 8, 2023 by Some Jerk

[Kori]

2 hours ago, Florete said:

Nooo, not Soren, I want him to win CYL.

So do I, and I hope that people realise by now that a seasonal doesn't replace what a brave alt (or, for units that aren't in a position to win, a good CYL score) can do for a character. There is no real reason for this to be an Eirika situation, except for the argument of giving other characters a chance to shine, but with Soren's presumed CYL competition being Byleth and Felix who are from most recent game and extremely popular 3H, well, that'd be a bit dishonest. (Yeah, Felix only exists in FEH as one meh alt, but again, i hope by now we know when they're intentionally sitting on potential banner-sellers... something something Lysithea in 2020 something.)

 

2 hours ago, Sasori said:

Mostly I like this banner. Khadain is looking pretty nice and while I don't love anyone, I do like most of the characters on this banner. I'll be interested in seeing how Soren pulls the look off.

But uh deserts, magic, movement based tomes?  Would't that be a nice fit Tormod? Especially since he's still nowhere to be seen.

It would be a good fit, and he should really be in by now.

On the other hand, maybe it's too similar to what he would naturally have, and they will use him as one more unit with a movement-boosting gimmick but one that they can put on a regular banner, since he doesn't need the excuse of a seasonal to be able to do that. 🤞

[Sunwoo]

Unlike Felix and m!Byleth though, Soren literally had a good alt in 2022. Male Robin got nothing in 2022 (backpack isn't an alt) and "Grima" doesn't really count.

I have no issue with people wanting a Soren alt because they like him, but if we're just voting people for Brave alts because they need alts, Soren arguably needs it the least of m!Robin, m!Byleth, Felix, and himself.

Edited January 8, 2023 by Sunwoo

[Ice Dragon]

33 minutes ago, Some Jerk said:

Time's Pulse 4 has me wondering if it runs its after-combat check before, simultaneously with, or after Special Spiral. I know from unfortunate firsthand experience (as in an SS fodder was wasted for this) that Spendthrift Bow's check procs after Special Spiral to ensure the Special always gets uncharged, so it wouldn't surprise me if IntSys did something similar here to prevent people from making 3CD/4CD Special spam builds.

There's a difference between when the condition is checked and when the effect is activated. If Time's Pulse 4's after-combat effect behaves like start-of-turn effects, all conditions are checked before any effects activate.

The only skill that behaved differently was Prayer Wheel before the bug fix. After the fix, the skill description (and effect) was changed so that the condition is unambiguously checked before any effects activate, like all other conditions.

[DefyingFates]

51 minutes ago, Ice Dragon said:

There's a difference between when the condition is checked and when the effect is activated. If Time's Pulse 4's after-combat effect behaves like start-of-turn effects, all conditions are checked before any effects activate.

So it's possibly pairing the two abilities could let you instantly recharge a 3CD special?

Anyway, I did a double take when I saw Nino on this banner. She has such a great kit too... but she's colorsharing so of course if I do pull on this banner I'm bound to get Linde instead. I'm shocked Byleth is the insta-demote given he comes with Sublime Heaven, but Ursula's a woman and wearing a glorified bikini so I guess she takes precedence. I'm curious about Soren though, will he be getting a Prf too? Even if not, IS is really baiting us with the promise of a future Arcane green or blue Tome...

[Xenomata]

I forgot there were new skills.

Time's Pulse seems... alright I guess? I dunno, it's not actually adding much besides triggering a Quickened Pulse effect after combat if the Special Charge is at it's maximum value. It does better enable the Spd Preempt skill and other 1-cooldown specials, and it does better enable the Vital Astra special's DR% effect, but it really doesn't feel all that special of a Tier 4 effect.
Although now that I think about it, this does technically enable Owain to finally be a useful unit, since all he wanted was Special Spiral and Vantage at the same time, but TP4 enables the same without sacrificing the SS slot...

Chill Spd/Res, makes fast/strong mages more potent, not a lot to say there.

Remote Sparrow is... a thing. I guess IntSys liked Swift Sparrow enough to give it three Tier 4 variants, which is... something.

Edited January 8, 2023 by Xenomata

[DefyingFates]

1 hour ago, Xenomata said:

Remote Sparrow is... a thing. I guess IntSys liked Swift Sparrow enough to give it three Tier 4 variants, which is... something.

I would say they're overcorrecting for the lack of a "Sparrow Impact", but we got a second Surge skill so I think they're just experimenting with the Blow line of skills and they keep choosing Swift Sparrow first because that version's always going to be a hit?

[Etrurian emperor]

Wow IS doing some hardcore Felix propaganda by kneecapping both of his rivals like that. Especially a shame for Soren if he exchanges a Brave for a mediocre freebie. 

I don't really understand the facination IS has for Ursula. They might as well just have Sonia take her place, especially since they decided to replace her Blazing Blade's personality with one closer in line to Sonia. 

[X-Naut]

That question mark in the title... yeah, that's nice way of saying "Sage of Khadein my ass", Linde's association with Khadein is threadbare at best. It's pretty insulting when Merric, Wendell, Arlen and even Yuliya and Jubelo have stronger ties to the city and yet she's the only one "repping" it. Especially when she has major ties to Archanea and they continually get shafted in favor of other things... I didn't have anything against her getting another alt but this is the last seasonal I wanted her on.

Also I feel like it's premature to say Soren is screwed out of CYL7. If he's a Prf-less loser then that might incite more CYL support out of spite.

[Kori]

6 hours ago, Sunwoo said:

Unlike Felix and m!Byleth though, Soren literally had a good alt in 2022. Male Robin got nothing in 2022 (backpack isn't an alt) and "Grima" doesn't really count.

I have no issue with people wanting a Soren alt because they like him, but if we're just voting people for Brave alts because they need alts, Soren arguably needs it the least of m!Robin, m!Byleth, Felix, and himself.

He got a good alt because it was Tellius's turn on the children banner, yes, and I didn't expect him to get another one in the same year (especially now, sigh), but i think for a lot of people the voting isn't "because they need alts", specifically, but to show popularity and, hopefully, get good treatment for their faves out of it. Getting alts is a sign of good treatment in FEH, yes, but personally, I'm voting less because i want "more alts", but because if he gets alts I don't want him to be saddled with the throwaway art or skills, and because getting the win does mean something (in terms of popularity/"the fanbase is here, we still care about this more than about the latest waifu"), and in hope that he will stay on the radar as a "liked character" and benefit for it (merch if they do merch that include more than the lords like that one tome pouch at that one expo, no less focus than in the original games if they remake Tellius, that kind of thing). CYL may be FEH-focused, but it's still the only popularity contest we have for the franchise. In the same way, I voted for Dorothea last year less to get her an alt, and more in the hope that when her base version would get in, there would be more thought put into it than just "boobs sell, we can draw her like her plegian alt and slap watever on her".

Of course, we've seen with adult Tiki last year, and arguably we're seeing with the current banner that reads like a targeted reaction to two of last year's scores, that ultimately they do whatever they want, so...

(Replying because this was prompted by reading your post, but this isn't me taking offense at it or really disagreeing, and I hope it doesn't come off aggressively; it just made me think "true, but it's not the same" and i felt the need to unpack that reaction a little.)

 

Quote

That question mark in the title... yeah, that's nice way of saying "Sage of Khadein my ass", Linde's association with Khadein is threadbare at best. It's pretty insulting when Merric, Wendell, Arlen and even Yuliya and Jubelo have stronger ties to the city and yet she's the only one "repping" it. Especially when she has major ties to Archanea and they continually get shafted in favor of other things... I didn't have anything against her getting another alt but this is the last seasonal I wanted her on.

Oh, true, another missed opportunity here. A Merric alt that isn't just due to "Archanea is doing the kids banner" would be nice, Wendell is still missing, and I like Yuliya.

Edited January 8, 2023 by Kori