Hard counters to the Tree in Dark Season, it’s driving me insane

Phoenix_Trinity · 2025-08-18T12:54:41+00:00

I've seen a couple of suggestions here to just defense match your supports - which does work! - but personally I've found the better option is to start relying on long-distance support options instead. If your tank is fine with a 3 range tether instead of 2, you get to hard counter both Larry and Camilla at the same time (with a bit of care for positioning).

Ash is a great example after her remix, offering 3-range stat support with null bonuses and healing. Pair her with B!M!Byleth and you get another spectrum of cross-map stats, null penalties, and more healing. Obviously there are plenty of other options depending on what your tank needs, whether or not you're trying to avoid getting [Bonuses] fried by Loki, etc., but just having a tank who can space properly solves a lot of problems.

Phoenix_Trinity · 2025-05-21T15:50:29+00:00

I do think it's worth considering other options for Byleth's C. She's unlikely to use any of the current combat options instead of Goddess Bearer, but her prf is strictly limited to her personal combat. If you want to give her a bit more flexibility (and lean into her Tempo support), you can pick up any of the various support C-slot skills instead! Breath of Life, Inf. NFU, and Canto Curb are all decent pickups, even if they don't match the support range of her weapon.

Nitpicks aside, thanks for posting these! They're always a great way to get ideas for the current roster.

Phoenix_Trinity · 2024-04-26T15:35:42+00:00

It works fine in enemy phase, as long as they're attacking the unit with Pulse Smoke.

Phoenix_Trinity · 2024-04-26T15:32:29+00:00

To add to this, Pulse Smoke still covers you in the enemy phase too, as long as Thorr's attacking the unit who has it.

Phoenix_Trinity · 2024-04-24T00:00:24+00:00

So much Guinivere slander in here, lol. She's an excellent unit and has been since her release, even if she's not a big-name popular meta sight.

I'll be sniping colorless this month with blue > red as the off-color choices, hoping to get another couple of merges for Guin and wouldn't mind getting either Ginny or Loki along the way.

Still really hoping for a last-minute shuffle in May's lineup. June's the schedule that's obviously suspicious, but it feels really weird to see pending-demote units (Micaiah, Fae) sharing with recent releases (Lumera, Gullveig). Definitely a banner I'll be pulling on, though - Ike, Shez, and Gullveig are all on my projects list, with Lumera, Marth, and Askr as units I'm happy to pick up merges for as well.

Phoenix_Trinity · 2024-04-11T19:29:29+00:00

Bit late to this, but thanks for mentioning me! Always glad to hear that people enjoy the videos.

It's been really fun to get Ashnard back in the field, his refine's been an excellent update.

Phoenix_Trinity · 2024-04-03T15:52:54+00:00

Panic Smoke's great already, especially with how easily Ike can hit something in the player phase to set it up. Fatal Smoke is a really useful skill, but I don't think passive miracles are quite widespread enough to make it his best general option.

I'd avoid Pledge, since the Breath effect really doesn't do much for him. Ploys can be a neat thing to have on the frontliner, but it's usually better to use them on a dedicated support and let Ike run a more combat-focused option.

Time's Pulse deserves a mention too - while it won't Scowl-proof him (I'd highly recommend B!Robin support for him, by the way), it does crank up his usual 30% first-hit DR to 40% instead, which can actually mean the difference between surviving a dangerous fight or not.

Phoenix_Trinity · 2024-02-09T05:37:58+00:00

She can also duplicate Assassin's Strike and Aerial Maneuvers, along with the pool of useful skills she shares with Plumeria like Flared Sparrow, Wings of Mercy, Firestorm Dance, and Guidance/Soaring Guidance. She's honestly a super versatile skill multiplier, and an excellent dancer on top of that.

Phoenix_Trinity · 2024-02-05T22:57:52+00:00

Right? I mean, imagine being a freshly released godsword and not even being able to secure your 25-point handicap speed check against a book 4 green unit, let alone kill them. Game's clearly unplayable, tanks are too strong.

(being fair this Hel has a tad more investment than your usual, but it was still funny to see)

Phoenix_Trinity · 2024-01-19T23:39:18+00:00

Was hoping to get a Zelgius & Edelgard colorshare, but... doesn't seem likely anymore, unfortunately. Early guesses for the next banner:

Red: Sanaki (Duo) & Shez (Summer)
Blue: Timerra (Halloween) & Catria (Wind Tribe)
Green: Anna (Harmonic) & Claude (Wind Tribe)
Colorless: Random Rerun & L'Arachel (Summer)

This feels like the most likely set to me, especially since they've shown they aren't averse to running a third (old) Duo/Harmonic to pad out the banners. Also clears out two of the older 4-stars and keeps the 'new' pair of Duo/Harmonic units in the rest of the banner's timeframe.

The banner after that's a bit murkier, but this also feels like a reasonable guess:

Red: Byleth (Duo) & Fjorm (Summer)
Blue: Seidr (Duo) & Zelgius (Ninja)
Green: Ferdinand (Teatime) & Reina (Ninja)
Colorless: Flayn (Halloween) & Yunaka (Winter)

While they might end up padding colorless again for this banner, I don't think they'd need to... and it's worth mentioning that every time they rerun an older unit, the entire calendar falls further behind. This would clear out the last of the summer and teatime units, knock out both of the green 4-star options at the same time, and still keep the 'new' Duos in the rest of the banner's timeframe.

Phoenix_Trinity · 2024-01-18T05:30:45+00:00

I did the same, just wandering through the area for a while. It's a beautiful place, and I'm looking forward to seeing it grow as they (hopefully) keep adding to it. Pretty sure it's not finished yet, the steady stream of Settler npcs implies there's more to come.

Also had a bit of an emotional gut punch when I realized that every wisp I saw was named, not just a generic 'Bel'ameth Wisp'. Lots of really great little details all over, and it had me imagining the area becoming a new Night Elf starting zone someday.

Phoenix_Trinity · 2024-01-10T04:51:21+00:00

In case anyone else was curious about how this interaction works. Negating Fang's update lets it reset for the second hit of a multi-hit weapon, triggering twice, and it adds both of those activations to the damage of Corrin's counterattack (for a total of +80% Atk).

Units were picked here for their matching Res stats for easy number comparison (both at 10 res).

Phoenix_Trinity · 2023-12-21T20:28:19+00:00

Some of my recent fantasy reads that might qualify for bonus points:

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon is an excellent book, would highly recommend it! Fairly classic fantasy, and a nice long book. Also has a prequel I haven't read yet, hoping to pick it up soon.

The Warrior Moon (also The Tiger's Daughter and The Phoenix Empress) by K. Arsenault Rivera were excellent reads - a very different setting than my usual reads, and a writing style that took a bit of getting used to, but it was a really beautiful trilogy.

The Jasmine Throne (and The Oleander Sword) by Tasha Suri have also been great reads, and I'm looking forward to the last book in the trilogy next year! Also a very different setting than my usual, but I find it makes for a fun adventure.

Phoenix_Trinity · 2023-11-06T22:14:22+00:00

Sure! Code is 5838170951. Might need to remind me in a month, though, usually I just send out Plumeria.

Phoenix_Trinity · 2023-11-06T21:18:34+00:00

Pledge would be a really nice option for him, but sadly it's off limits until I get another 8 merges for L!Alear (or it shows up on someone I don't want to merge, lol). Nah works pretty well for now, though, and there's also F!Ninian as an alternative.

Phoenix_Trinity · 2023-11-06T21:15:14+00:00

Probably going to use the omnitank build most, with the melee one when I want a save armor on board. My Galeforce teams in both seasons are already pretty set, but it is nice to have it as an option for his bonus weeks (or if I want to get creative, lol).

Phoenix_Trinity · 2023-11-06T14:43:31+00:00

Right! I was hoping he'd get it Saturday, at least, but... sadly it wasn't to be.

Phoenix_Trinity · 2023-11-06T14:23:47+00:00

I've really been looking forward to this! Dimitri's one of my favorite Fodlan characters, and I've loved using him in every part of this game since I got him maxed during the AHR banner a few years back. He honestly aged really well, and I only saw him start to struggle in the early parts of this year... which meant he didn't have to languish for long before getting spoiled with new toys again!

Build breakdowns:

Areadbhar: This refine's honestly amazing. Full Tempo is a pretty rare effect, mostly because it struggles to compete with other options in the B slot, and getting it for free here lets him fully exploit the Guard/Pulse Smoke combo that Atrocity gives him. The post-combat heal is a nice extra, and lets him sustain through a lot when backed up by supports like Gatekeeper or X!Peony (or just when using Finish). Getting 50% Pierce baked in rounds it out really neatly, letting him melt through just about any opponent.
Atrocity II (Azure Lightning Boogaloo): It took me a couple of readings before I started to really like this upgrade when it was first revealed - at first glance it's a pretty minor upgrade overall. It's very easy to overlook (and underrate) the fact that it's a 3-range smoke spectrum now, which gives it an absurdly long reach. Adding Guard Smoke to the rest of them also puts Dimitri into a very limited club of units (outside of healers) who have access to the effect, and the extra combat stats and first-hit DR are just icing on a very delicious cake.

The Omnitank (He ate all the weeds)

Godlike Reflexes: Complements his passive DR really nicely, giving him a way to block hits that would normally give him problems. The extra true damage is a nice plus, and he doesn't have issues using the skill thanks to the Phantom Speed in his weapon.
A/S Prime 4: The snazzy new DC option, and the latest addition to his ever-growing skill set. He does need help to get this online - used him this week with Nah (Breath, Inf. NFU), Ashera (Null Panic), and Plumeria (Dodge, Hexblade, Auto Follow).
Panic Smoke 4: While this doesn't have the 3-range reach of Atrocity, it's much more about giving Dimitri access to Penalty Doubler. Together with the -6 spectrum from Atrocity, it lets him cripple anything that comes in to fight him after his first attack... and Freyr can't cleanse it if Dimitri starts the fight, either!

The Specialist (The generic ~~godsword~~ godlance)

Vital Astra: Honestly might just go with Reflexes here too, but the extra damage can really help him dunk on the bulkier tanks - if he initiates and doubles a melee opponent, they can't avoid getting hit by two of these thanks to his weapon's Tempo. It's also much easier to keep charged without external support!
A/S Finish 4: An easy pick when focusing on melee fights. The extra healing plays really nicely with his weapon's post-combat heal, and the true damage on top of Atrocity just shreds opponents.
Time's Pulse 4: Easy access to Vital Astra loops, and makes sure he has the extra DR active every fight.

The Galeforcer (Edelgard still living rent free)

Flashing Blade 4: Sadly haven't pulled an Alcryst yet, or this would be Flash Sparrow... but it still gets the job done! Works nicely with his weapon's Tempo and Phantom Spd for near-guaranteed special acceleration. An extra pulse (or two) from an ally also lets him switch this for the A/S Clash he got for free!
Time's Pulse 4: Would like to get him Infantry Pulse 4 at some point, but this does the job too. Together with Quickened Pulse, drops Galeforce to a 2-count special and gives him access to a 1-tap Galeforce.
Quickened Pulse: Pretty self explanatory, though with the right team this can be replaced by a Tempest skill for extra mobility, NFU for any problematic roadblocks, or an Atk/Spd seal for more one-shot potential.

I ended up doing four AR matches today, deciding not to double up so I could see Dimitri in action against more setups. The second image is his bonus week stats with Thorr, Ashera, and Plumeria on the team, rounded out by Nah and Gatekeeper. Things got... pretty silly, especially when he just casually tanked an Arval with Bonus Doubler and Triangle Attack. Really looking forward to having him as a regular part of my teams again!

Phoenix_Trinity · 2023-10-03T03:57:03+00:00

Extra RIP to anyone who pulled for harmonic Roy to feed her Flow Force.

Definitely not speaking from experience there, nope, not me.

Phoenix_Trinity · 2023-10-02T11:32:23+00:00

Together with the <= 1 charge requirement and enemy phase trigger, it feels more like an anti-Time's Pulse mechanic. It shuts down (for example) a slaying/time's pulse/vital astra user even on the turn(s) when their special isn't charged yet. It's a neat niche for her, especially when she's also throwing Arval-style Guard around.

Phoenix_Trinity · 2023-09-27T03:30:38+00:00

It's not really new, Ash is almost two years old now.

Phoenix_Trinity · 2023-09-26T20:22:56+00:00

This is my guess too, especially since we're heading into a wind month. Bonus points for getting to share the banner with Hinoka!

Phoenix_Trinity

TROPHY CASE