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Kaden
Kitsune (HS: Diviner)
A+ Support Partners: Hayato (Diviner), Azama (Monk), Hinata (Samurai)
Personal Skill: Reciprocity (Allies who heal this unit heal 50% of the damage recovered themselves)
Pair-Up Stats (C B A S): Spd Res Lck Spd+Res
Growths (With Default Class):
HP: 45% (55)
STR: 40% (50)
MAG: 10% (10)
SKL: 25% (40)
SPD: 45% (65)
LCK: 50% (60)
DEF: 35% (35)
RES: 40% (60)

Kaden! Fox boy. I've actually been worrying about this analysis for a short while... I don't really think I have much of a good read on this guy and how useful he is. Until a short while ago I would have called him one of the worst first-gens in the game - he's stuck at 1 range, his bulk and power are both questionable while his good speed and res don't stand out so much in a cast of fast and resistant units, and Beastbane's only giving him 6 extra might against mounted units... He's been kicking butt in this playthrough, but did I underestimate him or is it just because of his great levels and support from Rinkah? I don't really know...

From looking at Kaden's base stats you'd think he's got quite a good start - he joins at a high level compared to other units, and he's got a whopping 15 strength and 19 speed... Unfortunately his join chapter isn't that friendly to him, and unlike Keaton he's stuck with the crappy Beaststone as his only form of offense for a while. At base Kaden will be like a lot of your other units, defeating most foes in 2 rounds while being defeated in 2 or 3 rounds himself. With his Beaststone he'll be able to 1-round the Cavaliers he'll face in the chapters shortly after he joins, but he'll take a lot of damage in return. With tonics and a good defensive pair-up (so Rinkah) he'll be able to shred groups of riders and even Wolfskin without dying himself, although units such as Ryoma or Scarlet or any decently bulky lance user with the Beast Killer will likely be able to do the same with less investment. Once he's got the Beastrune Kaden's bulk and offense will start to look much better, and unlike Keaton he won't have to worry as much about the cost of sacrificing speed for power.

Speed and potential killing power aside, Kaden's still stuck with 1 range and once you start getting to the enemy-infested meat grinder maps of Chapter 23 and onward his inability to counterattack from a distance will become much more of a liability, even if the number of promoted enemies also increases. His huge resistance and power against mounted units will still be nice, but ninjas and of course Ryoma will have an easier time cutting through the hoards of Dark Knights and Bow Knights and Javelin-tossing Paladins.

Diviner's not a great class for Kaden - his natural 10% magic growth isn't going to get him anything. Basara is nice for Rend Heaven, especially since Kitsune don't get any offensive skills naturally, but otherwise he's got no reason to go into it. Great Master from Azama could be good to get Kaden the Renewal skill, which combined with Even Better will add up to a whopping 60% HP recovered every even-numbered turn, and 20% on the odd-numbered ones. Samurai has some nice skills and Duellist's Blow pairs well with Nine-Tail's instrinsic avoid bonus, but otherwise I think Kaden would prefer to fight in his default class.

Recriprocity is an okay skill, although I tend to forget it exists and therefore not take advantage of it. I'm sure there are cases where it could save you from a restart or enable some master strategy if you plan around it, but I've never really benefitted all that much from it.

Really though I don't have much knowledge about Kaden or what he's good for so I'm interested to know what other people think of him... He's definitely seeing a lot more success than I normally get from him this time around, but it's hard to imagine him turning into a complete monster in the endgame like other units can. We'll see!

Pros
Cons

My Thoughts: It would have owned if he could have become a Wolfskin by supporting Keaton in Rev, even if it would have made no sense.