Thunderbird/Strategy

NOTE: This page currently under construction.

(This page is for Thunderbird strategy guide. For the standard Thunderbird page, click here.)

Overview

☆3/☆4 Thunderbird

Adapted with permission from the Housamo Gameplay-Based Tier List. Remove this disclaimer when Overview is sufficiently modified.

Thunderbird’s selling point lies on his Crit+Concentration combo, in which he can proc the former rather frequently regardless of the rarity while exponentially increasing his own damage output. That alone is incredibly powerful, so the rest of his skills are mostly welcome bonuses. His LB2 makes him very resistant provided he doesn’t suffer huge burst damage on the first hit and LB3 lets him mainly ignore Evasion, allowing his damage not to be denied by such broken defensive buff. Finally his Charge works for what it does, it takes no particular scaling to be effective since Status Barrier is a non-scaling effect and rarely does CP Up scale, making it a very effective one in that regard. However, bear in mind that 3☆ defaults him to be a frontline and 4☆ a backline, the latter especially if you’re looking for an ally to exploit his Crit, which should be considered a bonus at best, his Charge isn’t affected by his Crit either, leaving him reliant on his Default and/or his own massively hurting attacks.

Variant ☆4 Thunderbird

Thunderbird (Summer) keeps certain gameplay traits from his base card, such as moderately high damage potential and some team support, and gains other traits that his base card lacks. His main strength is his unique ability to “target” enemies in specific areas, rope them in, debuff them with WeaknessDEF Down by 1.2x ~ 2.4x for 1 turn (Debuff) and BindCannot activate skills, ATK Down by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns. CS effects still apply. (Debuff), and deal high damage to them with Weakness and CritATK Up by 2x ~ 4x for 1 turn (Buff). He can also remove allies’ debuffs whenever he moves through Remove DebuffRemove one debuff (Buff), and reflect negative statuses through his Reflect DebuffReflect debuff once for 4 turns. Vanishes after use. (Buff) that he grants himself every Phase, but these are small bonuses that supplement his main role of facilitating speedy Phase clears.

Highlights

☆3/☆4 Thunderbird

Adapted with permission from the Housamo Gameplay-Based Tier List. Remove this disclaimer when Highlights is sufficiently modified.

Class: Bruiser, Offensive Support

Gameplay Role:

Pros

+ Default greatly complements the rest of his skills, especially LB1 thanks to increased damage and proc rates through Concentration.

+ LB1 Critical to him, paired with Default makes for a tremendous damage output, coming with the bonus of affecting vertically adjacent allies. Consider him as leader in order to approach Crit given its short-lived nature.

+ LB2 allows him to be ridiculously sturdy past the first hit he takes.

+ LB3 prevents his damage from being denied by Evasion and lets him reach his Charge faster thanks to his attack range.

Cons

- There’s a certain dichotomy between 3☆ and 4☆, optimally, you’ll be affecting someone in front (4☆) or behind (3☆) you for LB1 due to each of his versions having different attack ranges, thus defining him as a frontline or backline.

- Can be countered by burst damage on the first hit, requiring meticulous management of what he’ll be hit with in order to fully approach LB2.

- Charge is amazing for the CP bit and maybe damage, but Status Barrier can prove anywhere from amazing to underwhelming depending on what ailment it blocks, making LB3 slightly situational.

Variant ☆4 Thunderbird

Class: DPS, Support

Gameplay Role: Damage Dealer, Debuffer, Debuff Cleanser / Mitigator, Positioning

Pros

+ LB1 and LB2 give him high damage output through WeaknessDEF Down by 1.2x ~ 2.4x for 1 turn (Debuff), bonus damage to it, first-turn CritATK Up by 2x ~ 4x for 1 turn (Buff), and his Charge.

+ Relatively high skill proc chances, which is appreciated on the ones that require him to move.

+ LB3 gives him expanded horizontal movement, which lets him easily reposition your team. He has numerous on-move skills that encourage this.

+ VALIANT typing reduces the damage he’ll take from many opposing elements.

+ Magic range gives him a wide berth to position himself.

+ Default lets him pull enemies in, and this can facilitate easier clears on certain maps.

+ Default lets him essentially shut down one specific unit with BindCannot activate skills, ATK Down by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns. CS effects still apply. (Debuff).

Cons

- Damage output, while potent, takes a steep nosedive after CritATK Up by 2x ~ 4x for 1 turn (Buff) runs out.

- Pulling enemies can be tricky to accommodate for.

- Lackluster ranges on LB1 WeaknessDEF Down by 1.2x ~ 2.4x for 1 turn (Debuff) infliction and LB3 Remove DebuffRemove one debuff (Buff) bestowal limits team placement and general utility.

- BindCannot activate skills, ATK Down by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns. CS effects still apply. (Debuff) infliction, while an asset, can be greatly outclassed by other units.

Gameplay Role

☆3/☆4 Thunderbird

Example gameplay role breakdown.

Variant ☆4 Thunderbird

Damage Dealer

Essentially, Thunderbird (Summer)’s offense is based around a crosshair located right in the middle of his Magic attack range. He can pull enemies in that second row towards the crosshair and apply nearly-guaranteed WeaknessDEF Down by 1.2x ~ 2.4x for 1 turn (Debuff) at the crosshair and its sides.

This is further coupled by his bonus damage to Weakness and his first-turn CritATK Up by 2x ~ 4x for 1 turn (Buff). Stacking Crit, Weakness, the bonus damage, and possibly his Charge together lets him easily and significantly damage anything in a wide range.

However, as mentioned above, once Crit runs out, his damage output is mostly limited to his sole debuff exploitation. While he'll always be able to deal adequate damage, thanks to that exploitation and/or with other buffs, this role unfortunately only shines each opening turn.

In addition, the debuff exploitation itself is, frankly, quite limited. Weakness can only be applied in one specific three-square row within the area Thunderbird attacks. Due to his VALIANT typing, he'll only deal paltry damage in the squares where the debuff isn't applied, so carefully choosing where and how to attack is key.

Debuffer

Thunderbird (Summer)’s debuffing capabilities are through his WeaknessDEF Down by 1.2x ~ 2.4x for 1 turn (Debuff) and BindCannot activate skills, ATK Down by 0.9x ~ 0.45x for 4 turns. CS effects still apply. (Debuff) infliction, and the aforementioned crosshair also comes into play here.

The square in which the crosshair rests is the exact spot where Thunderbird can inflict Bind, which prevents that enemy from using their skills and reduces their attack. It has a fairly good chance to trigger, but if you want to capitalize on that debuff, you're limited to one enemy per move. Other cards, such as Benten or Marduk, can do a much better (and more reliable) job at inflicting debuffs to lock enemies' skills.

With that said, it's still a nice option to have if you're utilizing his full skillset. In addition, his somewhat-limited Weakness infliction will always see use; Thunderbird will always be able to reduce defenses for other strong attackers on your team.

Debuff Cleanser / Mitigator

While a lesser part of his kit, Thunderbird (Summer) can remove debuffs from the teammates that are at his sides every time he moves by granting them Remove DebuffRemove one debuff (Buff). This can be a quite reliable and frequent source of debuff cleansing if you are using him to reposition your team, which is something he should be doing often.

However, much like his Weakness infliction, he has a limited range on this ability. Because he can only bestow this buff to his sides and not to his front/back, the flexibility in which he can reposition and support his teammates is somewhat restricted. Carefully planning how Thunderbird flies, attacks, and lands is crucial.

He can also reflect debuffs through Reflect DebuffReflect debuff once for 4 turns. Vanishes after use. (Buff), but this is a very minor part of his kit. He can only apply it to himself, and only one time per Phase, so once he uses it up, that's it. Thunderbird supplies this buff at a much more frequent rate and does so to your entire team, so if you want to utilize this, consider using his base card over his variant.

Positioning

Thunderbird (Summer) is a unit who excels at positioning. His expanded horizontal movement and his ability to rope in enemies into the veritable crosshair both support this role; Thunderbird can easily adjust your team's formation while simultaneously moving enemies into optimal positions for your attack ranges. These advantages can greatly speed up your ability to clear Phases, especially ones that feature enemies out of range or require ample movement to reach.

He can also synergize particularly well with units who function by both hitting and missing, such as Marduk or Astaroth.

However, as described above, many of his skills have limited application and range. It bears repeating: make sure to consider the exact ranges of his debuffs and buffs before having him take flight.

Stats and Seed Usage

Unit	Max HP (unseeded)	Max HP (seeded)	Max ATK (unseeded)	Max ATK (seeded)	Max normal ATK per square (unseeded)	Max normal ATK per square (seeded)	Max CS ATK per square (unseeded, SALV1)	Max CS ATK per square (seeded, SALV1)
	6679	8733	3302	4826	1486	2172	1849	2702
	7280	9281	4103	5675	1846	2554	3446	4767
	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

☆3/☆4 Thunderbird

Example description

Variant ☆4 Thunderbird

Thunderbird (Summer)'s main appeal lies in not only his ability to move enemies, but his immediate burst damage. As such, Attack Seeds would be your first priority. After that, HP Seeds would supplement his VALIANT typing and ensure he survives attacks. Skill Seeds are always a welcome bonus, but only consider them if you'd like to make his lesser skills more consistent.

Team Synergy

☆3/☆4 Thunderbird

Example synergy class

Example description

Variant ☆4 Thunderbird

Damage Boosters

Thunderbird (Summer) can use his high first-turn damage, relatively-high general damage, and position manipulation to make quick work of enemies. Units who can boost his damage even further, such as Claude (Christmas), would work well.

Defense Boosters

While his element typing provides a slight layer of defense, Thunderbird has no real means of providing it to himself nor his team. Units who can, like Akiha Gongen or Daikoku, are recommended.

Debuff Exploitation

Thunderbird counteracts said element typing and reaches his damage potential through inflicting and exploiting WeaknessDEF Down by 1.2x ~ 2.4x for 1 turn (Debuff). Thunderbird's Charge even exploits this debuff to a greater extent (full Magic-range and a x2.5 multiplier as opposed to a disjointed Slash-range and a x2 multiplier).

With that in mind, units who can inflict the debuff in a wider range than Thunderbird will help him exploit the debuff quicker and easier. Think about using Hephaestus or Astaroth.

CP Chargers

Thunderbird's Charge serves as an amped-up LB1. It only stands that he will greatly benefit from frequent Charges, so units who can provide extra CP, such as Ziz or Horkeu Kamui, are very useful.

AR Equipment

☆3/☆4 Thunderbird

Example description

Variant ☆4 Thunderbird

Thunderbird (Summer) has quite a few AR options that compliment his gameplay.

If you'd like to expand the range of his on-move debuff removal, use OJT: The Gyumao Way, which lets him grant it to the ally to his front in addition to his sides.

If you'd like a quick but potent attack and proc rate boost, consider Spirit of Zen, which gives him ConcentrationATK Up by 1.1x ~ 2.2x, skill activation rate +10% for 2 turns (Buff) every Phase and should help him clear Phases even faster.

If you'd like to ramp up his CP for his Charges, think about using Eyes on the Prize, which gives him a chance to earn a whopping +50 CP every time he moves.

As a final example, if you'd like for him to provide a more supportive role for your team, look at Chocolate Dynamite!, which, post-move, lets him restore HP to adjacent allies.

Checks and Counters

☆3/☆4 Thunderbird

Example counter

Example description

Variant ☆4 Thunderbird

Status Resistance

If presented with an enemy who resists or benefits from WeaknessDEF Down by 1.2x ~ 2.4x for 1 turn (Debuff), Thunderbird (Summer)'s offensive capabilities, barring the first turn, are effectively zero.

Units Who Benefit From Debuffs

While it may not come up often, Thunderbird's ability to remove debuffs every move may clash with certain other units and skillsets. Be wary when using him with the likes of Shennong (Summer) or Jugo (Summer), whose kits benefit from having or bestowing particular debuffs.

Teambuilding Options

This section consists of user-submitted builds that may not necessarily be viable for high level quests.

Arbitrary Team Name

Team Details (submitted by UserName)
Thunderbird 【Debuffer】	Thunderbird 【Moveslut, CP Battery】	Thunderbird 【Healer, Tank】	Thunderbird 【Support unit】	Licht 【example of variant call】	Anyone / no one 【Flexible】
Cost: ≥X

Example team function description.

Gameplay examples

• Example external link