Brave Ephraim IV suggestions

I’ve pulled two B!Ephraims so far, both with very mediocre IVs. Hopefully I’ll pull another with something better, but I’d like to get thoughts on the ones I already have.

One of these is +hp/-spd. The +hp is probably the worst boon I could get, but the -spd is undoubtedly the best bane. I’d even go as far to say that -spd is beneficial on B!Ephraim, since it further ensures the enemy will get two hits instead of one so a 4 count special is guaranteed to trigger every combat. That said, the hp boon is still a bummer. The only redeeming quality there is that, rarely, it might mean the difference between the 50% threshold of Garm and Special Fighter 3’s effects.

The other is +atk/-def. As sexy as 41 base atk may look at first glance, I don’t know if it counters the insult that is -def. Two reasons for this: A; I intended to run a build with ignis. The -def would obviously lower the damage output dealt by ignis, on top of the fact that I will take more damage. B; Units with Fighter skills are already very dependant on special triggers. Since specials deal a huge percent of the damage on these guys, the +3atk is far less important since ignis deals damage based on defense and not attack. Yes, I know I could run Dragon Fang for the same +30 damage based upon base stats, but keep in mind Ephraim has Close Defense 3 and all units on my armor team run Ward Armor, adding +18 to defense and thus +15 to ignis, and even more if I give him SS Close Defense 3.

I’m sure it’s clear I’m leaning more towards the +hp/-spd one, but I’d like some other opinions for this one. Is the +atk/-def Ephraim salvagable? If so, how? If not, what should I do with him? My first instinct is to merge, but Special Fighter 3 may have some uses on other units.

 

The fact that -spd is a superbane is a very good point. I completely forgot how that would affect arena scoring.

It’s a shame about the -def, but having read this it feels like he’s the better option. Especially considering that special fighter gives +1 special charge on both when the unit attacks and takes damage. I figured it behaved like the other fighter skills instead of the breath line. Since that’s the case, it would still be able to trigger a 4 count regardless of whether the enemy doubles or not, so -spd may not be the advantage I thought it was.