Standard Banner: Schwarz & Siege
The new Standard Banner features the following Operators:
Featured Operators:
| Rarity | Operator |
| 6★ |  Schwarz - Close Range Sniper
 Siege - Skill-DP-Recover Vanguard
|
| 5★ |  Skyfire - AoE Caster
 Texas - Skill-DP-Recover Vanguard
 Reed - DP-On-Kill Vanguard
|
- Based on previous patterns, it is likely but not 100% certain that the Operators for purchase in the Distinction store will be Texas and Siege
- 6★ Rate-Ups have a 50% chance of appearing when pulling a 6★
- 5★ Rate-Ups have a 50% chance of appearing when pulling a 5★
Should You Pull?
Probably not. If you really need more Vanguards or you’re severely lacking in damage, then this is an okay banner for you—Schwarz is a strong anti-DEF Operator, and Siege and Texas are generally good in most circumstances. Otherwise, this isn’t a particularly stand-out banner. It’s a decent starter banner for new players, but it doesn’t have as much to offer for established Doctors (other than waifu potential).
Even if you’re not very enthusiastic about this banner, it might not be a bad idea to do Headhunt x1 until you pull a 5★ or higher Operator, since one is guaranteed in the first 10 rolls.
Quick Overview
+ High ATK, critical damage, and large multipliers give her incredible burst DPS
+ Buffs the ATK of allied Snipers while deployed
+ From E1 onward, she debuffs the DEF of her target when she triggers a critical hit
+ One of the best Snipers for killing high-DEF enemies; this can be especially important on CC or Challenge stages where Casters are banned
- High DP cost
- Her normal attack range and S3 attack range can be a little tricky to position
+ Great stats all around and has Block-2; she puts the “Guard” in “Vanguard”
+ E1 Talent buffs ATK and DEF of allied Vanguards while deployed
+ Has strong, consistent AoE physical damage from her S2
+ E2 Talent recovers SP when an enemy dies adjacent to her
= S3 inflicts very high single target damage and Stun, but does NOT generate DP
- Her DP cost doesn’t seem high, but sometimes she can’t be deployed first on maps because of her DP cost
- S2 can hamper her DP generation if there are no enemies to attack; however, if using S1, her DPS and uniqueness suffer dramatically, and with S3, she doesn’t create DP at all!
+ High RES due to her Talent, which helps her to survive on the frontlines against Arts damage or assassinate enemy Casters
+ Doubles her DP gain with S2
= Deals Physical and Arts damage with S2; unfortunately, this also means her S2’s damage is reduced by both DEF and RES
- Typical weaknesses of her Archetype: Block-1 and has to land the killing blow to earn DP
- DPS output is not particularly high compared to Bagpipe (at 6*) or Vigna (at 4*)
+ Respectable damage output
+ The bonus initial DP from her E2 Talent is a big help on maps with fast start requirements
+ S2 combines DP generation, AoE Arts damage, and crowd control
= Her S2 can force tough choices when you need DP but there aren’t many enemies around; do you use it anyway and risk not having it later, or hold onto it and hope you can manage without the DP?
- Lower DEF means she dies fairly easily vs stronger enemies
+ Usual strengths of AoE Casters: AoE Arts damage
+ Can Stun enemies with her S2, making her valuable in stall teams
- The usual weaknesses of AoE Casters: high DP cost, low attack speed
- S2 does a lot of damage per hit, but it actually does less DPS than S1 due to dramatically slowing her already slow attack speed
Schwarz
Schwarz is a straight-up delete button for anything stupid enough to walk in front of her. Her Talent gives her a chance to crit and reduce her target’s DEF, and the chance becomes 100% while her S3 is active. Her S3 also gives a massive buff to ATK, and considering how high Schwarz’s base ATK is, this turns each critical hit into an armor-piercing grenade. The burst damage Schwarz outputs during her S3 is phenomenal, and she’s no slouch the rest of the time either.
That being said, Schwarz tends to be a bit limited in her application. Yes, she generally deletes any target during her S3, but so do SilverAsh and Eyjafjalla, and they can delete multiple things at a time. Schwarz does add a little team utility with her Sniper ATK buff and the DEF debuff she applies with her critical hits, but she’s first and foremost a DPS unit, and there are other 6* units who can fill her role fairly easily.
I don’t recommend pulling for Schwarz, but she’s well worth raising if you pull her.
Siege
Siege is an interesting unit who stands on a sliding scale between “Vanguard” and “Guard.” Her S1 is pure Skill-DP-Recovery Vanguard, generating a large batch of DP at a time. Switch to her S2 and she becomes more offense-oriented—each S2 charge triggers an AoE physical attack that also generates DP, but only when enemies come into her range, limiting her DP generation when she’s not in combat. Switch to her S3 and Siege goes pure Guard. She stops generating DP at all, but she can activate her S3 to increase her damage and add a Stun effect to her attacks, turning her into a vicious duelist.
I recommend pulling for or buying Siege. You can get by without her, but she brings so much DP, damage, and survivability to the team that she’s worth the investment.
Reed
Reed was overshadowed pretty quickly after her release by 6* DP-on-Kill Vanguard Bagpipe, who is well-known to be ridiculously powerful. This is understandable, but is it fair? Well, Reed has terrific RES due to her Talent, so she’s great for dueling Arts-DPS enemies, and her S3 causes her to gain an extra DP every time she gets a kill, making her DP recovery potential unmatched among her Archetype. Gaining 2 DP per kill (or 3, if Zima is also on the field!) is a massive boon at the start of a map.
Unfortunately, Reed’s big downside is her DPS, which isn’t very high at all. In fact, it’s fairly comparable to 4* DP-on-Kill Vigna. Considering that Bagpipe is a loose cannon who has more DPS than she knows what to do with, and considering that Vigna is cheaper to deploy, to level, and to increase in Potential, it’s difficult to rationalize raising Reed instead.
I don’t recommend pulling for Reed, especially if you have Bagpipe.
Texas
Texas is a famously popular Operator, and it’s not hard to see why. Not only does she have a great design, but she has an outstanding S2 that deals Arts damage in an AoE, Stuns all enemies hit, and generates a bunch of DP in the bargain. What more could you ask for?
Texas is a very appealing Operator for many, but it’s debatable how necessary she is, especially on a banner where Siege can be bought in the Certificate Store. Texas’ S2 is great, but you often have to choose between spamming it for DP (potentially forgoing its combat benefits) or saving it until an important enemy is actually in its range. Her low HP and DEF are also a liability. Sometimes Texas can’t hold the frontline long enough for other Operators to be deployed, even with her Stun to help her buy time.
If you need another Skill-DP-Recovery Vanguard and don’t have the Gold Certificates to buy Siege, then I recommend pulling for Texas. Otherwise, you can probably skip her.
Skyfire
Poor Skyfire is a famously undertuned Operator. She isn’t useless by any means, but she’s something of a noob trap. When you read the description of her S2, she sounds like a harbinger of mass destruction due to its gargantuan ATK boost (+240% damage at max level!) It looks like it when you use it, too: a huge flaming meteor tears out of the sky and crushes things into a fine paste! It looks and feels amazing.
Unfortunately, what you may not notice at first is that Skyfire’s S2 actually has lower DPS than her S1 (which is just a vanilla ATK buff, and not a particularly good one). How is this possible? The problem is how the Skill slows down Skyfire’s already-low ASPD. At such a slow speed, Skyfire’s S2 isn’t actually very good for damage. It still has use for stalling strategies due to the Stun it causes, but even there the sluggish ASPD can be a big inconvenience.
I don’t recommend pulling for Skyfire.
