#l!leif

[tacticsroom]

Leif: Unifier of Thracia (Unit Review)

Available at 5★ (Legendary Hero)

Lvl 40 Stats (Flaw/Neutral/Asset)

HP: 36/40/43 Atk: 35/38/42 Spd: 19/22/26 Def: 25/29/30 Res: 24/27/31

Neutral BST: 156

Max Dragonflowers: 5

Legendary Effect: Water Ally Boost: HP+3

Standard Effect 1: Duel If unit is 5★ and level 40 and unit’s stats total less than 175, treats unit’s stats as 175 in modes like Arena. (Higher-scoring opponents will appear. Stat total calculation excludes any values added by merges and skills.)

Standard Effect 2: Pair Up An ability that can only be used under certain circumstances. Pair Up can be accessed from the Interact with Allies menu, and allows this unit to join battle in a group with another ally.

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Skills

Weapon: Meisterbogen (400 SP)

Mt: 9. Rng: 2. Effective against flying foes. Inflicts Spd-5. Unit attacks twice (even if foe initiates combat). When under player's control, unit gains: "If unit initiates combat, foe cannot make a follow-up attack."

Bow. Cannot be inherited. Cannot be refined.

Assist: None

Special: Njörun's Zeal (500 SP)

CD: 3. If unit initiates combat, grants unit another action after combat. (Once per turn.) When Special triggers, inflicts "restricts movement to 1 space" on unit and Pair Up cohort through their next action.

Cannot be inherited.

A: Atk/Res Push 4 (300 SP)

At start of combat, if unit's HP ≥ 25%, grants Atk/Res+7, but after combat, if unit attacked, deals 5 damage to unit.

Can be inherited.

B: S Drink (300 SP)

If unit's HP ≥ 50% in combat against a blue tome foe, unit makes a guaranteed follow-up attack and foe cannot make a follow-up attack.

Cannot be inherited.

C: Def Smoke 3 (240 SP)

Inflicts Def-7 on foes within 2 spaces of target through their next actions after combat. 

Can be inherited. Cannot use: Staff.

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Analysis

Legendary Leif presents a new long-ranged threat to the meta of FEH, equipped with his own unique weapon Meisterbogen and plenty of Atk to make good use of it, as well as access to a Galeforce effect, setting him apart from any other cavalry archer, let alone any ranged unit.

L!Leif’s BST is concentrated mostly on his Atk at 38 neutral, with poor Spd and mediocre defenses. This works well with his niche with Meisterbogen being a 9 Mt Brave Bow as L!Leif really doesn’t need much else besides Atk, and its ability to deny enemy follow-ups allows L!Leif to take on fights without worrying as much about being taken out by counterattacks. However, what really lets L!Leif shine is his unique Special, Njörun's Zeal, which is essentially Galeforce on a cooldown of 3. This is a huge deal for L!Leif as no other ranged unit is capable of using such an effect and heavily increases his presence in the player phase. Although it does restrict his movement on his second action, L!Leif would be incredibly difficult to deal with as enemy AI otherwise, and it can even be circumvented with a skill like Restore+ or Harsh Command+. L!Leif’s default S Drink puts Njörun's Zeal on a cooldown of 2 for its first activation, meaning L!Leif can activate it with only two hits.

Meisterbogen also has the benefit of being usable in the enemy phase as well, although with L!Leif’s range and Njörun's Zeal, he thrives far more in the player phase, and pre-existing units like Keaton or WoT!Reinhardt can essentially fulfill the same role but better. Though, being in effect in both phases will of course make L!Leif quite difficult to deal with safely as an enemy.

L!Leif prefers a boon/asset in Atk (superboon). His preferred banes/flaws are Spd, Res, and HP (superbane).

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Similar Units

Roy: Youthful Gifts (34/35/19/27/30)

Leif: Unifier of Thracia (+6/+3/+3/+2/-3)

Jakob: Devoted Monster (42/35/23/33/32)

Leif: Unifier of Thracia (-2/+3/-1/-4/-5)

Lilina: Beachside Bloom (35/38/25/16/35)

Leif: Unifier of Thracia (+5/+0/-3/+13/-8)

Reinhardt: Thunder’s Sword (40/35/23/31/28)

Leif: Unifier of Thracia (+0/+3/-1/-2/-1)

Keaton: Lupine Collector (45/41/24/38/19)

Leif: Unifier of Thracia (-5/-3/-2/-9/+8)

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Builds

Budget/Low Investment:

Atk/Res Push 4 is a fine A Skill for Leif as it provides him significant Atk in either phase, and while the Res isn’t especially needed it serves as a nice bonus. Def Smoke has nice synergy with Njörun's Zeal, softening enemies after his first attack to secure extra kills in the same turn. The first build is more player phase-oriented, adding the Sturdy Blow seal to increase his damage on initiation. The second is more flexible, simply using Atk+3 to increase his damage overall and with Vantage to keep opponents at bay in the enemy phase when he’s vulnerable.

Meisterbogen:

The first build maximizes Leif’s damage output in the player phase to make him as difficult to avoid as possible. Death Blow 4 and Lull Atk/Def provide him with an effective +11 Atk and will also negate enemy Def buffs. Heavy Blade allows him to charge and activate Njörun's Zeal in two hits without S Drink and thus significantly increases its consistency. Njörun's Zeal can be replaced with a 2 CD damaging Special to secure more kills, though Leif will of course miss out on Njörun's Zeal’s unique refresh potential.

Leif can also take Close Counter to become an even greater enemy/mixed phase threat. Once within Vantage’s and Brazen’s HP threshold, Leif’s aggressors will have to be able to tank two 58 Atk hits and potentially Ruptured Sky before getting the chance to hit him.

Guard Bow Enemy Phase:

While not hardly as optimal as L!Leif’s normal kit, his mixed defenses are decent enough to stack Distant Def effects to become a ranged tank, similar to how Roy: Youthful Gifts is often used either as a Brave Bow nuke or a Guard Bow tank.

With Guard Bow+ and Distant Def 4/3, Leif gains +20 Def/Res in the enemy phase against ranged enemies for 52 and 51 total on top of a Dull Ranged effect. This makes it quite difficult for ranged enemies to ORKO him, and with Quick Riposte, Leif can double and retaliate with Bonfire for 26 burst damage.

Arena Core:

While Leif lacks the supporting capabilities of many other high-scoring units, if already investing in Leif, he may be able push your maximum score up quite a bit thanks to his legendary Duel effect. The skills used in this example are all used for their high SP costs and are flexible.