Ninian

• Preferred IV: +SPD / -HP
• Weapon: Water Breath+ (+Spd) 
• Assist: Dance 
• Special: Aether / Noontime 
• Passive A: Steady Breath / Fury / Triangle Adept
• Passive B: Chill Spd / Wings of Mercy
• Passive C: Infantry Rush / Flexible
• Sacred Seal: Drive Atk / Quick Riposte / Close Def / Distant Def

This set focuses entirely on Ninian’s survivability during the Enemy Phase, as her main goal should always be to stay alive as long as possible and support her teammates with Dance. By opting to forego the tried-and-tested Lightning Breath for Water Breath, Ninian gains an invaluable +4 to her Defense and Resistance stats should she be attacked. Though this comes at the cost of being unable to counterattack against ranged opponents, the additional bulk she gains is well worth it. Taking a Speed-refine here elevates her survivability further and when coupled with a Speed boon, it is unlikely that she’ll ever need more than a single buff to avoid being doubled through normal means. 

For her A slot, Steady Breath is a fantastic choice, granting Ninian another additional +4 to her Defense when attacked as well as faster Special cooldown in the Enemy Phase. The latter effect is particularly powerful in this build as it gives her considerable sustain through frequent healing Special procs. On a budget, Fury and Triangle Adept are acceptable alternatives but keep in mind that her sustain will be greatly lowered as a result. 

With Steady Breath, Aether’s long cooldown is a non-issue and will be fully charged after a single round of combat in which Ninian doubles back. In addition to simultaneous healing and damage output increase, Aether also scores well in Arena. For more frequent healing, Noontime is also an option and will be fully charged after she is hit just once. 

Chill Spd is a powerful skill that lets Ninian provide team support in the form of a considerable -7 Speed debuff to the fastest unit on the opposing team. Not only does this allow her allies to deal with pesky speedsters who could otherwise pose a threat, it also enhances her own survivability as opponents who have enough Speed to double her naturally are likely to be the ones targetted by Chill Spd's debuff. Wings of Mercy is also a common staple on dancers, and for a good reason. At the cost of her B skill, Ninian gains incredible flexibility in the way she can support the rest of her team, often allowing her teammates to get out of a tough bind. 

Ninian's C slot is flexible and is open to any skill that complement's her team's needs -- there are, however, a few standout options. Infantry Rush is a particularly effective choice when using her alongside fellow infantry allies and circumvents the need for such allies to run the Heavy Blade seal, allowing their seal slot to be open to other strong alternatives. Her innate Fortify Dragons is also a fantastic choice for her C slot but should only be used when running her with other dragonstone users.

As for her seal, Drive Atk is a strong choice to enhance the support she offers to her allies. Should one choose to run Wings of Mercy over Chill Spd, Quick Riposte is a good seal slot to allow her to make the most use out of Steady Breath’s cooldown effect -- this is especially effective if running Aether since her Speed will often be to prevent doubles instead of causing them. Lastly, Close or Distant Def can be used as alternatives to enhance her tanking capabilities. 

• Preferred IV: Any
• Weapon: Lightning Breath+ (+Spd) / Light Breath+ (+Spd)
• Assist: Dance 
• Special: Luna / Moonbow / Iceberg
• Passive A: Triangle Adept 
• Passive B: Swordbreaker / Wings of Mercy / Escape Route
• Passive C: Hone Atk / Fortify Dragons / Flexible
• Sacred Seal: Close Def / Distant Def

A relatively budget friendly build that allows Ninian to take the role of both a dancer and a dedicated check against red foes. Since Ninian will be entirely reliant on Triangle Adept for both taking and dealing damage, any IVs can work with this build. For her weapon, Lightning Breath is a great choice and grants her the ability to deal with the occasional red mage. However if one wishes to not invest too heavily, then her innate Light Breath is also a decent weapon on Ninian; the buff it provides to her and her teammates may prove to be useful in certain scenarios. 

As for her Special, Ninian has several different options here. Luna is a particularly powerful option and helps mitigate Ninian’s rather low Attack stat. Moonbow can also be considered should one desire more frequent, albeit weaker, Special activations. For more consistent damage output increase, Iceberg scales decently with Ninian’s Resistance stat and grants +13 damage on every activation if assuming neutral Resistance. 

Using Swordbreaker in conjunction with Triangle Adept allows Ninian to deal with even Falchion wielders with relative ease. It also has the added benefit of counteracting skills such as Bold Fighter and Wary Fighter; keep in mind that Swordbreaker makes such instances a regular Speed contest, making a Speed-refine on her weapon much more impactful. For more overall utility, Wings of Mercy is again another fantastic option, or if wanting to invest as little as possible, her innate Escape Route is an option as well. 

Ninian’s C slot is relatively flexible and can be filled by a buff or Spur of one’s choice. Her seal choice ultimately comes down to the types of red units one wishes her to counter harder. Since red mages are rather scarce in the current meta, Close Def will almost always be the preferred option but she can still run Distant Def to decent effect.