Alfonse

Rope-A-Dope Alfonse

I was watching some old Mohammed Ali fights and was inspired to build a unit that goes beast mode after talking a few hits. With a mid-range defense, the idea behind this build is to beef up Alfonse's defense for survivability when below 50% HP where Fólkvangr, Defiant Def 3, and Brash Assault all kick in. By giving Alf Escutcheon, it should allow him to take hits when low on HP after the first round of combat. Reciprocal Aid is to either boost Alf's HP or get him into low HP to activate all his abilities. The C ability is flexible, use whatever your team needs. Keep away from mages.

A silly loadout that throws caution to the wind and also Alphonse' defences. Sporting a more terrifying 56 Atk and somewhat useful 30 Spd he hits harder than ever and is doubled far less. The real star however lies in the 61 Atk at half health and the ability to strike first thanks to vantage ensuring he kills or maims anything that isn't attacking at range. Spectacular when played right but very, VERY difficult to keep rolling without the usual checks to keep him safe.

Alfonse isn't the fastest hero; we all know this, but, with a summer A support or higher, he reaches 33 speed with Life and Death 3. Pair this with a Hone Speed buff, and he reaches a respectable 37 speed. Finally, if you pair him with Brave Lucina, you can add an additional 6 speed, putting him at 43 speed. This build is based on that.
For the special slot, Draconic Aura stacks nicely with his already massive attack, and even moreso when he drops under half. Reposition is taken over another assist, but what it is should depend on what the team needs.
For the A skill, Life and Death 3 is preferred for the additional two speed over Fury; however, if his lowered defenses are a problem it can be run over Life and Death. It also helps him drop below half to trigger Folkvangr's passive effect, and Desperation.
For the B skill, Desperation is preferred, as any Life and Death user wants to avoid damage when possible. Alternatively, Cancel Affinity can be used for laughs and grins to beat counters that rely on Triangle Adept or Sapphire lance to beat him, such as Ninian and Azura.
Lastly, the C skill is Spur Atk 3, but is flexible for the team.

Alfonse is a weird hero. He's a little underappreciated in my opinion but he's always been one of my favorites once I started using him, and he was actually the first five star I saved up feathers to make. Tl;dr: I have a soft spot for this unit. Onto the good stuff.

Why this build? Well it's a really balanced build in my opinion, and fury also increases his rating for the arena. Fury gives him some stats he likes. Attack and defense primarily, but the speed and res boost give him a little bit more balanced stats. His speed goes from poor to acceptable, and his res becomes passable. Alfonse starts with solid attack coupled with a signature weapon that offers high might and the defiant attack 2 effect granting him 5 attack at the start of the turn if he has less than half HP. This effect synergizes well with the fury since he loses HP. Now you may be thinking, isn't this offset by renewal? Renewal activates after the defiant attack effect. Renewal and Fury have questionable synergy in that sense, but renewal can be used to regenerate HP and then re-engage a foe with a more healthy Alfonse.

Spur attack is taken because it's his base C skill but also because I don't feel like threaten defense is needed. He has fairly high attack and when draconic aura is ready to trigger, his attack goes through the roof. He can cleave through bulky blue units with this potentially from my experience, but use with caution.

Some other skill options and my opinions.
While I think brave sword is fine, it's a high investment for some players and doesn't work as well with fury since it requires death blow to keep his attack high. Without fury, his rating for the arena is also lower. Since renewal is taken on this set, I'd say ardent sacrifice is a viable support skill to make him a health dispenser. Reposition is also a fair choice, but I run swap. His C skill is open to whatever you prefer. Lastly his seal. I would suggest quickened pulse which I run on him, or attack +1 or HP+3 if you want him bulkier.

Above all, the mission!

"HAm is delicious"

Another Brave Sword build for our famous benchwarmer.

Unlike the traditional Swordbreaker set, Alfonse with Axebreaker ensures Hectors and Amelias are dead, even on defensive tiles. Axebreaker also helps Alfonse against Hector's counterattack, which can be lifesaving when Hector's down to 1 charge.

You can keep Alfonse's vanilla A and C slots. Death Blow 3 is an amazing skill, and against the Brave Heroes, spurs would be very good skills to have. For people on a budget, Brave Sword is good enough. You'll have to make your Alfonse 5* though. As for Support skills, movement based ones are highly recommended. Rallies and HP manipulation skills are better given to other units.

This build dedicates Alfonse to the life of slaying axe units on the Player Phase. Alfonse is pretty much screwed against any unit in the Enemy Phase. So if you plan on using this build, don't place Alfonse in you defense team.

Still, revel in the knowledge that a benchwarmer eats two top-tier units in Arena for breakfast.