Colm: Capable Thief

Submission #373

Date: 29 Dec 2022

Credit: piaochong

Friend Code: 9617171068

Description from creator: An Arena-focused Windsweep-NFU build to chip away at physical units without fear of being killed on the counterattack.

- Courtly Fan gives partial NFU on initiation, which is huge in getting past follow-up denial from slower foes.

- Ruptured Sky is the only 2-CD special Colm can equip that scores well for Arena. Another option is Lethality, though its 4-CD may be iffy without other means of charging special, given most tanks which would require Lethality to break are likely to have Guard as well.

- Swift Sparrow 3 fits with the initiation requirement for Courtly Fan. If Ruptured Sky was inherited from any female Byleths, their respective A slots - Fury 4, Atk/Spd Push 4 and Atk/Spd Ideal 4 respectively - are also options to make the most out of fodder.

- Joint Drive Spd further boosts Colm's speed around allies while also increasing their speed, which can make a large difference in matchups between 2 speedy units especially when speed-based damage reduction is factored in. D!Ethlyn comes with this skill in addition to CF, so, again, make the most out of fodder. Other skills such as Time's Pulse, Oaths and Smoke 4s (Panic, Pulse and Spd especially) are good options as well if you don't mind using even more fodder.

- Flashing Blade 3 helps charge RS on the first hit, to pop it on the second. If other sources of special acceleration are present (e.g. B!Lucina), Form skills and Swift Sparrow 2 are also options. If the NFU seal isn't already taken, Colm can also use it in lieu of CF and use a different weapon such as Armorpin, Broadleaf Fan, Caltrop etc.

Pros:

- Colm is fairly fast, so Windsweep will be active quite often.

Cons:

- Very frail. Don't expect him to survive on enemy phase, even against older red mages such as vanilla M!Morgan.

- His attack is also pretty low, so he may not be much use against common bulkier foes such as F!Edelgard despite being able to initiate safely.

Usage tips:

- As a fast attacker, being outsped is the death knell for him especially given speedcreep. Use him alongside other units who can boost his speed and defenses.

- DO NOT USE AS A TANK. Unless you invest heavily into his resistance, he's not likely to survive most attacks - the entire point of this build is to not be attacked. His defense is too low to viably run a physically defensive build even with investment.