Bartre, Fearless Warrior

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Stats

HP: 46 / 49 / 52
Atk: 33 / 36 / 39
Spd: 22 / 25 / 29
Def: 30 / 33 / 36
Res: 10 / 13 / 16

Among axe infantry, Bartre struggles to stand up to the impressive personal weapons of Brave Ike and Dorcas, but his stat spread is near identical, save for an abysmal Res stat. He's also got a reputation of being an infantry variant of Cherche with two less points of attack. Indeed, Bartre cannot benefit from flier buffs, but he does boast one advantage over these other characters - his impressive base 49 HP which is the highest of any non-armor unit. And like Cherche, his status as a 3-4 star unit allows you to cherry pick an optimal nature for use.

Bartre The Brave (standard brave set)

Spoiler

 

"Right! Leave these mountain weaklings to me, I'm Bartre the Brave!"

• Recommended Nature: +Atk/-Res OR -Spd
• Weapon: Brave Axe+
• Assist: Flexible
• Special: Bonfire, Luna, Moonbow
• A Skill: Death Blow, Fury, flexible
• B skill, Axebreaker, Drag Back, flexible
• C skill: Threaten Def, Panic Ploy
• Seal: Attack +3, Panic Ploy, Quickened Pulse (if using Moonbow)

For A skills, Death blow naturally maximizes his player phase presence. You can stick with Fury if you lack death blow fodder, as it will boost his physical bulk a bit, as well as bonfire damage from 16 to 18. For B skills, Axebreaker helps Bartre secure the ORKO on fellow bulky axe wielders like Dorcas, Michalis, Beruka, and Cherche, or you can take drag back to help Bartre stay safe as one of your other units finishes them off for the kill, but it should be noted that axe breaker also helps Bartre survive against potentially lethal QR by negating their second attack. Bartre's C skill is ideally Threaten Def, as careful positioning can help Bartre score even more ORKOs after debuffing enemies. Panic Ploy will also free your seal slot for the other two options, even if you can only spare Panic Ploy 2, as being able to ploy units with 46 or less HP is something of a magic number. For seals, Panic Ploy is of course Bartre's primary niche, but Attack +3 and the Quickened Pulse + Moonbow combo can further improve his offensive potential.

 

Anti-Armor

Spoiler

 

• Recommended Nature: +Atk OR +Def/-Res 
• Weapon: Slaying Hammer+ with any refinement besides +Res
• Assist: Flexible
• Special: Bonfire, Luna
• A Skill: Fury, flexible
• B skill, Axebreaker, Quick Riposte, Desperation
• C skill: Threaten Def, Panic Ploy, Flexible
• Seal: Panic Ploy, Heavy Draw, Brash Assault (if using Desperation)

So I don't have much experience dealing with armor teams and thus don't know what sorts of armor C skills to expect, whether they run Svalinn Shield, or which hammer refinement would be optimal. If you go with the unique effect that nullifies armor bonuses, then I guess you wouldn't need Panic Ploy. The additional MT refinement does not impact his armor matchups. So I'd go with Def or the Spd refinement to bolster his general tankiness. All refinements award him extra HP, allowing you to compromise with Panic Ploy 2 in his C slot. For your special, Bonfire adds 18 points of damage (20 with the Def refinement). Luna can add about the same amount of damage when fighting armor units, but will be outpaced against other, weaker targets. Axebreaker is still a great pick as it allows Bartre to pick up kills on every axe armor rather than trade unfavorably against them, assuming they are not immune to Hammer's bonus damage. Quick Riposte can allow Bartre some meaner enemy phase presence against a wide variety of opponents. Just be aware that an armor unit with Wary fighter will nullify both of these options, as well as the Desperation/Brash Assault combination. The Heavy Draw seal can help Bartre build toward his special, as 56 is an impressive attack stat

 

Unshaven Brave Ike (Physical tank Steady Breath build)

 

Spoiler

 

• Recommended Nature: +Def/-Res
• Weapon: Slaying Axe+, Sack o' Giifts+, Handbell+  with +Def refinement
• Assist: Flexible
• Special: Bonfire, Ignis
• A Skill: Steady Breath
• B skill, Quick Riposte
• C skill: Panic Ploy, Threaten Def, Flexible
• Seal: Panic Ploy, Close Def, Deflect Magic

So the first thing to know about the Brave Ike build is that Bartre will never have access to Urvan, so you won't mitigate damage from all opponents the way he can. With this refined Slaying Axe, Bartre does bring 11 HP to the table, and two more points of defense over neutral Ike. The seasonal axes can boost Bartre's Atk/Spd/Def/Res by 2 on enemy phase at the cost of cooldown count -1. If you choose those weapons, then Ignis becomes a good alternative proc, as it will activate as frequently as Bonfire assuming QR is active and assuming opponents that can double Bartre. Bonfire is ideal for Slaying Axe as you can reliably count on it for each counterattack thanks to steady breath. As an enemy phase focused build, you can add Close Def to further bolster his defenses, including his Res against Manaketes. Or Deflect Magic in order to allow Bartre to survive enemy mages in tough scenarios where there is no way to extract him from the front line. An ignis or Bonfire proc can also help Bartre break down red units in a pinch. In general, the rest of the team should be geared toward checking all the ranged enemies that Bartre simply cannot defeat on his own on enemy phase.

Thanks to @Ice Dragon for notes on seasonal axes and how they affect special selection.

 

Edited January 11, 2018 by Glennstavos

[Poimagic]

Interestingly, I was thinking of building up a Bartre. Also, curious, but why isn't a slaying axe build with steady breath, qr, deflect magic done? I think the build I talk about makes Bartre a discount b!Ike

[Javi Blizz]

6 hours ago, Poimagic said:

Interestingly, I was thinking of building up a Bartre. Also, curious, but why isn't a slaying axe build with steady breath, qr, deflect magic done? I think the build I talk about makes Bartre a discount b!Ike

I suppose that it’s because you’re killing a Brave Ike to make a discount Brave Ike, which seems bad business, while Bartre can find his niche in other roles where he has less competitors

[Ice Dragon]

1 hour ago, Javi Blizz said:

I suppose that it’s because you’re killing a Brave Ike to make a discount Brave Ike, which seems bad business, while Bartre can find his niche in other roles where he has less competitors

That doesn't make the build any less effective, though.

And you can't use a second Brave Ike in Arena Assault.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Updated with the steady breath build

[bottlegnomes]

Would a Brash Desperation be worth considering with the brave axe build? It'd mean 4 guaranteed hits which means a Luna proc on top of a lot of attack. The logistics of getting him to half health are a bit iffier, but once he's there, it seems like he could do some damage.

[BANRYU]

1 hour ago, bottlegnomes said:

Would a Brash Desperation be worth considering with the brave axe build? It'd mean 4 guaranteed hits which means a Luna proc on top of a lot of attack. The logistics of getting him to half health are a bit iffier, but once he's there, it seems like he could do some damage.

I came to say this lol. Consider it echoed. I think he also has the Def to run Bonfire, even with a bane. 

[XRay]

1 hour ago, bottlegnomes said:

Would a Brash Desperation be worth considering with the brave axe build? It'd mean 4 guaranteed hits which means a Luna proc on top of a lot of attack. The logistics of getting him to half health are a bit iffier, but once he's there, it seems like he could do some damage.

I think it is worth considering if it is paired with Desperation.

2 minutes ago, BANRYU said:

I came to say this lol. Consider it echoed. I think he also has the Def to run Bonfire, even with a bane. 

And I agree with Bonfire. I think it is generally more effective than Luna considering Bartre's decent Defense.

[Ice Dragon]

18 hours ago, Glennstavos said:

Unshaven Brave Ike (Physical tank Steady Breath build)

• Special: Ignis, Bonfire

Bonfire has the advantage of activating on the first counterattack and also on the second counterattack if Bartre is double attacked.

Ignis hits on the second counterattack always regardless of your weapon, meaning you can substitute the Slaying Axe+ for Sack o' Gifts+ or Handbell+ for even more Def.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

2 hours ago, bottlegnomes said:

Would a Brash Desperation be worth considering with the brave axe build? It'd mean 4 guaranteed hits which means a Luna proc on top of a lot of attack. The logistics of getting him to half health are a bit iffier, but once he's there, it seems like he could do some damage.

So when thumbing through non-red melee matchups in which +Atk Bartre w/Death Blow and +Atk seal gets a draw or loss, it's just axe users. Add axebreaker to the equation and we go from 3 losses and 10 draws to 0 losses and 2 draws. Brash won't activate against ranged units unless they're packing close counter, so Bartre adds pretty much all the ORKOs he'd get with the Brash/Desperation combo without having to get dropped to 24 or less HP.  So I just didn't see it as a crucial addition for the brave build.

Also it seems I didn't consider the order of specials in my builds, so I'll edit them. Bonfire is superior to Luna, and @Ice Dragon I'll add your note about the choice between Bonfire and Ignis on the tank build, as well as the christmas axes since I forgot those were in the game.

Edited January 11, 2018 by Glennstavos