Part 85: Kaze

Kaze
Ninja (HS: Samurai)
A+ Support Classes: Silas (Cavalier), Xander (Cavalier)
Personal Skill: Miraculous Save (When a partner in a support pair, grant lead unit a Luck% chance of surviving a fatal hit with 1 HP remaining if HP > 1. In other words, it gives the lead unit the Miracle skill (luck stat used is lead unit's, not Kaze's))
Growths (With default class):
HP: 55% (60)
STR: 40% (45)
MAG: 0% (0)
SKL: 45% (65)
SPD: 65% (85)
LCK: 20% (20)
DEF: 20% (25)
RES: 35% (50)

It's Kaze! The Hoshidan counterpart to Silas, Kaze will always join you, no matter the route. And unlike in Birthright, he's not going to get killed off by the plot if you don't have an A support with him!

Sometimes classes that are very annoying when used by the enemy turn out to mediocre in your own hands, but thankfully that is not the case with the Ninja. 1-2 range, debuffs, and great speed are all things you can use with great effectiveness, and Kaze is pretty much the quintessential ninja. He's fast, he's got great skill and great res, but his strength and physical bulk are lacking. His HP growth is deceptively high for an otherwise squishy unit, but don't expect it to make him into any sort of physical tank. Do expect him to absolutely tear enemy mages apart though, "mage killers" might be a bit of a meme in the Fire Emblem community but Kaze is absolutely built for being one thanks to his amazing res, 1-2 range, and weapon triangle advantage against tomes. His Luck is pretty bad though so you might want to feed him a Goddess Icon if you can spare one.

Debuffs and Poison Strike might make Kaze well suited for player phase combat and setting up enemies for kills, but the mechanics of dual guard make him a surprisingly good enemy phase tank, so long as he's got a good partner to help shore up his defense a little. If Kaze doubles every enemy, then he'll fill up the dual guard gauge entirely after two rounds of combat, effectively blocking 1 in 3 attacks. Combine this with his high tendency to dodge, and his bad bulk might end up mattering deceptively little. Kaze makes for a pretty good user of the Sol Master Ninja combo, and unlike Silas he's got a lot more flexibility in who he can support to use it. He will however struggle to deal as much damage as Silas can, and he is quite a lot more fragile too. Charlotte is a pretty great support partner for Kaze if you want him to pull it off (although Charlotte is a great support partner for nearly everyone), but Selena can also give him Sol access while also increasing his bulk a little.

Unfortunately, Kaze is lacking some of the tools that make ninjas so good that you would normally have in abundance in any other route. Shurriken weapons all give the user + 2 speed, but the only one Kaze has access to is the Steel Shurriken he joins with, which will slightly lower his avoid and make him require 1 more point of speed to double than a knife would. There is also the Flame Shurriken, but Kaze's non-existant magic makes it pretty much a joke weapon in his hands. Not having weapons such as the Dual and Sting Shurriken make him underperform compared to his Birthright self too, although at least in Conquest he won't have to compete with the amazing Saizo.

Kaze's only Friendship Seal options both give Cavalier, but it's not a bad source of skills for him. Reclassing into Paladin and leveling until he gets Defender will give him the three skills he wants the most. As an actual combat class however he'll function pretty mediocrely. Samurai also has some interesting skills for Kaze - Vantage can help with a Sol Master Ninja build, while Seal Strength and Duellists Blow make him great for softening up foes on player phase. Again however he'll be pretty underwhelming as a Samurai in combat.

Lastly, Kaze's kid comes with a great join chapter that is both an easy source of EXP and provides exclusive access to the Dragon Herbs, a stat booster that increases every stat by one. His daughter is also one of the few units to be able to access the Spendthrift skill, and her personal skill means she'll pick up Gold Bars more often than even Mozu can. As an actual combat unit she's pretty mediocre without a good mother so don't expect much from her in that department.

TL;DR:

Pros

• Not the only unit with Ninja access (or Lockpick access) in Conquest, but a great one and the only one with a starting Knife rank and no seal required
• Blazingly fast speed, one of the few units who can reliably double enemy Ninjas with support
• A good support partner for increasing speed and providing access to the Ninja class
• One of the few units capable of easily accessing the Sol Master Ninja combo
• Good and both tanking and defeating mages
• Can unlock a child paralogue that comes with a unique and powerful stat booster

Cons

• Mediocre strength and underwhelming physical bulk require tonics or certain support partners to fix
• Bad luck undercuts dodging ability and makes him susceptible to crits

...hmm, I feel like Kaze's huge list of pros and small list of cons might make him seem a little better than he actually is. He is good though, but maybe not that good!

My Rating: More handsome than his brother but not quite as powerful.