Arknights: Should You Pull? Standard Banner: Eyjafjalla and SilverAsh (!!!)

The new Standard Banner features the following Operators:

Featured Operators:

Rarity	Operator
6★	SilverAsh - Ranged Guard Eyjafjalla - ST Caster
5★	Sora - Aura Supporter Croissant - Normal Defender Liskarm - Normal Defender

• Based on previous patterns, it is likely but not 100% certain that the Operators for purchase in the Distinction store will be SilverAsh and Croissant.
• 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★

YES. ABSOLUTELY.

Eyjafjalla and SilverAsh are two of the best Operators in Arknights. Liskarm and Sora are extremely potent support Operators (Liskarm is widely useful because she generates SP for allies; Sora is more for min-max strategies, but her ATK buff can be gamebreaking). Croissant is probably the weakest Operator on this banner, and she’s still a very serviceable Defender who pulls double duty with Push utility. This is a phenomenal Standard banner.

Even if you own every Operator on this banner already, you may want to do Headhunt x1 on this banner until you pull a 5★ or higher Operator, since one is guaranteed in the first 10 rolls. Pulling a dupe of one of these Operators and increasing their Potential wouldn’t be a bad thing!

ST Caster

+ Burns everything

+ Moonlights as an AoE Caster, but still has the DP cost/ attack speed of a ST Caster

+ Powers up other allied Casters with her Talent

+ Can provide consistent damage with S2 or heavy burst damage with S3

- Uh…

Ranged Guard

+ Usual advantages of archetype: can be deployed on ground squares, yet attack at range and hit aerial units

+ Reduces the redeploy time of allied Operators

+ Reveals invisible enemies within his attack range

+ S2 makes him into a serviceable off-tank

+ S3 (also known as schwing-schwing) unleashes incredible multi-target burst damage that absolutely deletes waves

- Long cooldown on S3… that’s about it

Aura Supporter

+ Trait passively heals allies within her attack range, including Summons and Enmity Units that cannot typically be healed by other units.

+ Very low DP cost

+ S1 puts enemies to Sleep (cannot act but also cannot take damage), giving you time to charge Skills and run down redeploy timers

+ S2 is an amazing AoE ATK buff—perfect for Operators with low base ATK or high multiplicative ATK modifiers (i.e., Exusiai)

- Has no damage potential whatsoever; relies on her allies to affect the field 

- Limited attack range makes it difficult to deploy her on some maps

Normal Defender

+ Talent makes her and adjacent allies more durable

+ S1 is a good tanking Skill that also helps adjacent allies

+ S2 deals good damage, Stuns, and knocks enemies away from her

- Can’t tank with S1 and push enemies with S2 on the same map; you have to pick one

- S1 activates automatically and S2’s knockback can push enemies in directions you don’t intend if not used carefully

Normal Defender

+ Has ranged attacks that can hit aerial enemies—very rare for a Defender

+ One of the few Normal Defenders with innate RES (thanks to her Talent)

+ Generates SP for adjacent allies when she is attacked

+ S1 is a powerful defensive tool, and S2 is a powerful offensive tool that deals Arts damage

- Has to choose between defense (S1) and offense (S2)

- S1 activates automatically and thus can’t be timed; S2 self-Stuns upon completion and thus can be dangerous

Eyjafjalla, ladies and gentlemen. At this point, is anybody unaware of the phenomenal cosmic power that this gentle goat vulcanologist wields? She’s technically a ST Caster, with the attack speed and DP cost to match. However, her gamebreaking S2 and S3 give her unparalleled AoE Arts damage that can bring the toughest of opponents to their knees.

I highly recommend pulling for Eyjafjalla.

SilverAsh is renowned as one of the best Operators in Arknights, and with good reason. He is incredibly versatile, combining ranged physical attacks with an S2 that helps him soak damage, an S3 that nukes everything within range, an anti-stealth Talent just because, and another Talent that reduces redeployment time for your other units.

Even though there are other Operators infringing on SilverAsh’s niche at this point, the sheer power of the “schwing schwing” S3 has to be respected. It’s one of the most effective delete buttons in Arknights, and it’s absolutely worth getting, using, and M3ing.

I highly recommend pulling for SilverAsh or buying him in the Certificate shop.

Sora is an idol singer, so it’s to be expected that she’s no great shakes at combat. Instead, she supports her allies with the power of her singing voice! She passively regenerates HP to nearby allies rather than attacking, and her S2 grants a percentage of her ATK to allies within her range, amping up their damage output to 11 for the duration.

The damage spike that Sora’s S2 grants the rest of your team is enormous. However, the Skill’s duration is pretty short until it’s at M3, and even then it’s shorter than you’d prefer. Because Sora can’t Block or attack enemies herself, the rest of your team needs to be able to handle enemies in between her S2 activations without her help. It can be a bit tricky to time at first, but once you get the rhythm down, Sora’s song will sweep the critics off their feet.

If you’re a gamer who likes to min-max, then Sora is well worth pulling for. If you’re a more casual kind of player, I don’t recommend pulling for Sora, but she may still be worth investing in if you pull her.

Croissant is a Defender who can pretend she’s a Pusher. She can Block-3 and has a defensive Talent and S1, but her S2 is a strong hammer slam that inflicts damage, Stun, and knockback, Pushing her enemies away from her.

Croissant has a lot of power, but she’s not the most reliable Operator around. Her Talent runs on RNG, her S1 triggers automatically (so it can’t be saved for exactly when you want it), and her S2’s Push can backfire on you if enemies end up in unexpected positions. It’s also worth noting that her S1 is purely defensive (no Pushing utility) and her S2 is pure utility (no damage mitigation whatsoever), so you have to choose what role you want her to fill before you start a fight. She’s a strong Defender, and her versatility is nice, but the lack of control can be a stumbling block.

If you already have two or more strong Defenders, I don’t recommend pulling for Croissant, but she may still be worth investing in if you pull her (especially if you like the idea of having a Defender who can Push).

Liskarm does not have time for your shenanigans. She’s got bullets in her pistol, lightning in her shield, and Arts Resistance in her blood, and you’ll only have time to see the first one if you’re getting in her way. A unique Defender with a ranged regular attack, great Skills for either survivability or Arts DPS, and passive SP generation for adjacent allies, Liskarm is definitely an Operator worth noticing.

Despite her dynamic power, Liskarm suffers from masochistic tendencies. Both of her Skills have the [Getting Hit] SP charge type, and her SP-recovery Talent also relies on getting hit. Her Skills also have fairly short duration and can take a while to charge due to the [Getting Hit] SP, even with her Talent to help out. In the worst case scenario, Liskarm’s Skills won’t be ready to use until it’s too far into a wave for them to be useful. But when they come online at the right time, Liskarm accomplishes her job like a well-oiled machine. A well-oiled machine full of lightning bolts.

I don’t recommend pulling for Liskarm if you’re a beginner, because she can be tricky to use. I also don’t recommend pulling for Liskarm if you’ve already raised two or more strong Defenders. However, she’s worth pulling for if you understand her Skill interactions and are eager to add another Defender to your roster.