Fire Emblem Heroes' new Christmas units - Should You Summon?

Last night, Christmas-themed variants of popular characters Robin, Tharja, Chrom, and Lissa were released on Nintendo's mobile game, Fire Emblem Heroes. All four units are armored, which explains their high base stat total (BST). (Tharja's bikini being considered as armor continues to puzzle me.)

All four units are powerful in their own right, and in this post I will analyze the stats and skills of each unit.

Lissa: Pure Joy

I was very fortunate to roll Lissa on my second try. Lissa beats out fellow axe-wielding armored unit Amelia in BST, officially sporting one of the highest BSTs in the game at 175. (Christmas Robin and Chrom both match this BST.) All around, her stats are very solid-- the only bane I can think of is her SPD, which, at 30, isn't even all that bad. Her ATK stat of 33 is also very solid. 

But perhaps her biggest boons are her defensive capabilities. Prior to Christmas Lissa's release, Sheena had the highest total combined DEF and RES in the game, at 36 DEF and 33 RES, adding up to 69. Lissa's 35 DEF and 34 RES makes her a more balanced unit able to easily tank hits from both physical and magic units. She certainly won't have to worry about anybody calling her delicate anytime soon! In the current meta, this makes Lissa capable of tanking units like Brave Lyn and Reinhardt who are commonly seen in the Arena.

Lissa comes with a new skill exclusive to armors: Bold Fighter 3. This skill guarantees that Lissa will make a follow-up attack on any enemy that she initiates combat on, as well as decreasing her Special cooldown by 1, which means that she can activate Bonfire with virtually every round of combat that she initiates. Her impressive DEF stat means that Lissa will be able to add at least 16 points of damage (with a DEF bane) to her already high ATK stat for devastating damage. 

Overall, Lissa's strong stats make her one of the best candidates for Distant Counter, which, with the inclusion of Close Counter on Tharja, could possibly be made available on more units in the future.

Chrom: Festive Leader

The joyous Exalt of Ylisse returns in his second seasonal incarnation, his first being in the spring. While very strong in ATK and DEF, his SPD leaves very much to be desired, and his RES, while pretty good, isn't outstanding. All of this is made up for with his absolutely massive ATK stat, however-- at 40 base, Chrom reaches a devastating 54 ATK with his weapon at neutral IVs. His normal sword-using version having been dethroned by Soleil for highest ATK of a sword user, Chrom strikes back and takes the highest ATK of an axe user in the game, tied with Effie for the highest ATK overall.

At 35 DEF and 29 RES, Chrom is no pushover, but his absolutely terrible 19 SPD places him at a disadvantage in the current meta of very fast units. However, his base kit includes Wary Fighter, which ameliorates this problem by disabling follow-up attacks from his enemies at a certain HP threshold, which, given his massive 51 HP, shouldn't be at all difficult to stay in. Additionally, Brazen Atk/Def further bolsters Chrom's offensive and defensive capabilities, elevating his ATK to a terrifying 61 with weapon and his DEF to 42, making him fallible by only the most powerful of red mages.

Robin: Festive Tactician

Also returning in a second seasonal variant, Ylisse's sharp tactician dons a festive outfit for the winter. Appearing to also have lost memory of how a Christmas tree is used, Robin does his best with the tools provided to him and uses a tree as a lance-- very well, if his stats say anything. 

I was also very fortunate to pull Robin, this time on my first try. Robin possesses the best offensive stats out of the whole banner, sporting a very impressive 35 ATK and 34 SPD, competing with the likes of Amelia, Black Knight, and Halloween Henry for the title of fastest armored unit. Additionally, his 35 DEF signifies that he won't be felled easily. Robin's biggest bane is his low RES, which, at 25, will not do him any favors in the current magic meta.

If his already fantastic offensive capabilities weren't enough, his A-slot skill, Brazen Atk/Spd, grants him a whopping 7 additional ATK/SPD when under a very high HP threshold that is easily reached and maintained. This means that without buffs from other units, Robin has the potential to reach 56 ATK (with weapon) and 41 SPD, which is honestly just terrifying. Robin is also one of the few users with Armor March, making full-armor teams one of his best options as he can also benefit heavily from buffs from skills like Hone Armor.

Tharja: "Normal Girl"

Yes, that is considered an armored unit.

Yes, that is a bikini.

No, I have no idea who at Intelligent Systems thought this was a good idea.

Possibility of death by hypothermia aside, Tharja is like Chrom in that her defensive capabilities are solid, as is her ATK stat, but her SPD is just horrid. At 34 DEF and 36 RES, Tharja beats out Sheena and Christmas Lissa for the highest combined defensive stats in the entire game, to which I have no response, because... surely... if you're wearing naught but a bikini, a cape, and some stockings... you wouldn't be able to defend yourself better than a fully armored soon-to-be queen... right? Right?

The "Normal Girl" appears to be a unit made for the enemy phase. Her confusingly solid defense and weapon, which, like everyone else's in this focus, grants her a +2 boost to every stat but HP when attacked, grant Tharja the ability to tank hits from a large amount of units and retaliate since she's officially dethroned Takumi with Close Counter in her base kit. (Everyone, shed a tear for our pineapple prince. He's been done so dirty by the introduction of skill inheritance, and now his only niche as the sole holder of Close Counter has been ripped from his hands.) 

Additionally, Tharja's SPD stat of 19 doesn't even really matter, because her new skill, Vengeful Fighter, grants her the ability to make a guaranteed follow-up attack as well as a +1 to her Special cooldown as long as she's above or at 50% of her max HP, making it a superior armor-exclusive Quick Riposte. This makes Tharja able to take any hit and retaliate with Iceberg, adding a minimum of 16 to her damage (RES bane). 

Overall, Tharja is not meant for the player phase-- her entire base kit screams to be used on the enemy phase, which makes her a great frontline unit able to tank and kill Brave Lyn.

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Every one of these units are spectacular in DEF and ATK. The new skills introduced with this batch make me a little sad, since we don't know when they'll be re-introduced into the regular summoning pool. If you're looking for very viable armored units, this banner is a must-summon.