Alfonse

This Alfonse set is designed as a sword counter making use of Heavy Blade to proc a Bonfire every PP encounter with a sword. The Brazen Boosts when active give an effective 65 Atk and 50 Def when active, making Alfonse an exceptional physical duelist and making his Bonfires more powerful as well. Draconic Aura is also an option here, but Bonfire will do more damage due to the higher Def boosts. Ignis is also an option if you prefer to simply nuke an opponent instead of firing specials consistently. Atk Smoke is self explanitory in adding to his bulk, and Swordbreaker is there to let him cover both red and green threats. This set is weak to dragons and magic users, though the Heavy Blade lets him fire specials more consistently and may help in one shotting an opponent. Overall, this is a budget but effective build for arena.

This set aims to capitalize on the new effect of Folkvangr: Brazen Atk/Def 3. Using the prf weapon along with Brazen Atk/Def 3 as an A slot allows for a +14 to Attack and Defense when within the threshold, which is conveniently within 10 damage, so Ardent Sacrifice allows you to reach the mark without combat. Alternatively, you can use Reposition or another movement skill and sustain the necessary damage in combat. The refinement for attack allows for more wins, and the Attack/Def +2 seal gives him more bulk and attacking power. Another option for the seal is Deflect Melee 3, which can help against speedy units.

Chill Def 3 works well to soften up bulky opponents, but Swordbreaker 3 is another option if the former is unavailable, as it prevents doubles and allows for easy kills on sword lords. The C slot is flexible, but Threaten Atk 3 is recommended to nullify some damage. However, Threaten Def 3 can be used instead, as it makes opponents easier to kill. Alternatively, you can use Smoke skills, like Atk Smoke 3 or Def Smoke 3, but that depends on your preference. Finally, Bonfire's nuking potential can wipe almost any unit off the map with the +14 to the Defense stat, going from a decent 32 to a whopping 46, allowing him to annihilate almost anything. If you want to ensure your victory, you can use Ignis instead.

This build makes Alfonse one of the most terrifying units in the game, and that's saying a lot, considering him before the update. With this power, the Prince of Askr can finally become the warrior that his kingdom needs.

A strong mixed-phase Alfonse that takes advantage of Fólkvangr's new refinement. It's got a few interesting features to it that make it worthwhile, and make the former benchlord quite formidable as a hard-hitting sustain tank.

Fólkvangr's refine gives it a built-in Triangle Adept, which, in conjunction with Swordbreaker, gives him the ability to take down almost every green in the game and a fair number of reds.

Alfonse's base 51 attack is strong enough that it can regularly proc Heavy Blade, giving him a strong option to charge his specials on both phases. If you want a pure enemy phase Alfonse, it can be substituted for a Breath skill.

Fólkvangr's Brazen Atk/Def refinement kicks in at 80%, and Quick Riposte activates at 70%, thus there is a sweetspot where both QR and Fólkvangr are active. One Ardent Sacrifice can bring him directly into this range.

While this build is somewhat expensive, if you have a vanilla Ike sitting around on your bench, this is a great way to make use of Heavy Blade, and an Alfonse build that can actually carry a team in the Arena.

Thanks to Fólkvangr’s new refined effect, Alfonse went from bench lord to god, especially after the recent arena changes *shudders in disgust*. Anyways, the highlight of this build is the Brazen atk/def 6, which lets him release incredibly powerful Bonfires. Without further ado, here is the rest of the build:

Fólkvangr (+DEF)
While Alfonse’s base weapon effect made him the most viable of the Askr trio, he got shafted in terms of his (eff) refine. To reach higher scores, Alfonse needs to KO as many units as he can, but the TA refine only makes it harder to kill blues. He does not need any help against Green Melee whatsoever, so TA doesn’t do much. However, if you frequently manage to roll and build other bonus units and need Al as a simple green check, go for it. The DEF refine boosts both his special damage and tankiness, so I went with this over ATK. You could also do that, for more consistent damage, but with his seal a alfonse will proc Bonfire a lot.

Ardent Sacrifice/Reciprocal Aid
At first, this seems like a strange assist skill, but Alfonse greatly appreciates being able to quickly get in Brazen range. Plus, healing teammates is nice too.

Bonfire
+25 special damage? Heck yeah. Procs faster than Ignis, but you can swap if you feel like he activates Heavy Blade enough.

Brazen Atk/Def
I don’t need to explain this, do I?

Brash Assault/Chill Def
I used to run Chill Def on Alfonse from before the refine, and when I kept it I found it made everything easier. Since my Alfonse got below 50% from the first combat a lot against blue units, I switched it for Brash Assault because of the doubling property. With only 1 pre-charge, you can proc Bonfire if this and the seal both activate. This also helps him crack bulkier blues such as Shiro, Oboro, and Lukas (even with his high attack, he still needs specials against these guys)

Threaten Def/Odd Atk Wave
To increase damage output. Threaten is cheaper and helps he team more if they’re spread out, so I run this personally.

Heavy Blade
Thanks to Alfonse’s +14 Attack below 80% HP, he is an excellent candidate for Heavy Blade. This lets him unleash Bonfires more frequently.

Folkvangr's refinement that gives Alfonse Brazen atk/def 3 built into his weapon allows him to stack it with the same skill on his A slot, this grants him massive firepower while also being very physically tanky. His unique refinement is not very useful in the slightest so it's preferable to go for either +atk for raw damage or +def for extra tankiness. Bonfire if you go with +def gives Alfonse 25 bonus damage when he procs it below 80% of his HP.