Death Knight Builds and Best IVs

This is a ranking page for the hero Death Knight - The Reaper from the game Fire Emblem Heroes (FEH). Read on to learn the best IVs (Individual Values), best builds (Inherit Skill), weapon refinement, stats at Lv 40, and more for Death Knight.

Death Knight Rating and Basic Information

Overall Rating	7.5/10
Reroll Ranking (excluding Inherit Skill)	N/A (▶Reroll Ranking)
Ranking (including Inherit Skill)	C (▶FEH Tier List)

Death Knight - The Reaper: Basic Information

Color / Weapon Type / Move Type	Blue / Lance / Cavalry
Rarity	4 Star 3 Star
What Kind of Character Are They?	・Obtainable through Grand Hero Battle ・Special is easy to trigger ・Stats increase with active enemy buffs

Death Knight Skills at 5★

Scythe of Sariel Might: 16　 Range: 1 Accelerates Special trigger (cooldown count-1). If a bonus granted by a skill like Rally or Hone and/or extra movement granted by a skill like Armor March or Armored Boots is active on foe, grants Atk/Spd/Def/Res+4 to unit during combat and foe cannot make a follow-up attack.

Blazing Flame Cooldown Count = 4 Before combat this unit initiates, foes in an area near target take damage equal to 1. 5x (unit’s Atk minus foe’s Def or Res).

Escape Route 3 Enables unit whose own HP ≤ 50% to warp adjacent to any ally.

Close Guard 3 Allies within 2 spaces gain: "If foe uses sword, lance, axe, dragonstone, or beast damage, grants Def/Res+4 during combat."

Death Knight Best IVs

Recommended IVs

Stat	Superboon/Superbane	IV Recommendation
HP (18)		★★★☆☆
Atk (25)		★★★★★
Spd (6)		★★☆☆☆
Def (8)		★★★★☆
Res (5)		★★★★☆

◯ = Stat gains +4 with a superboon, ✕= Stat goes down by -4 with a superbane, - = No assets or flaws

See the IV Checker for All Units

Trait Fruits—How to Change IVs

When using an Ascendant Floret, we recommend getting the next superboon if it fits the hero. If not, consider what stat your hero needs most.

Neutral IVs by default!

As a hero obtainable only through Grand Hero Battle, Death Knight will always have neutral IVs by default. The only way to access IVs for this unit is through using Trait Fruits.

+Atk/-Spd

The best IVs for Death Knight are+Atk and -Spd. A +Atk IV will effectively raise this units' ability to deal damage. His Spd is not important as it is very unreliable. Additionally, his weapon can protect him from follow-up attacks. This is another reason why his Spd is of less importance. With all that said, Spd is the ideal bane for Death Knight.

+Atk for a +10 Merge

We recommend a +Atk IV when merging Death Knight to 10. With this high Atk stat, and his ability to block follow-up attacks, he becomes an effective enemy phase unit if he inherits Distant Counter and Quick Riposte 3. Check out his best builds section below to learn more.

If you are planning to use this build, you can also opt for a +Res IV to be able to tank more magic attacks.

Death Knight Best Builds

Distant Riposte Death Knight

HOT
： Scythe of Sariel ： Reposition ： Noontime ： -	： Distant Counter ： Quick Riposte 3 ： Atk Smoke 3 ： Def/Res Solo 3 ： -

How to Use, Explanation

This skillset uses both Distant Counter and Quick Riposte. With his exclusive weapon, he can prevent follow-up attacks from foes that have active bonuses and use Quick Riposte to gain a follow-up of his own. Def/Res Solo 3 boosts his defenses when he's not adjacent to an ally.

Source Heroes for All Skills

Death Knight Best Weapon Refine

Effect of Death Knight's Refined Weapon

Exclusive Weapon Effect from Refining (Special Effect Type)
Scythe of Sariel	SP: 400
Might: 16　Range: 1　HP: 3 Accelerates Special trigger (cooldown count-1). If【Bonus】is active on foe or if foe's HP ≥ 75% at start of combat, grants Atk/Spd/Def/Res+4 to unit during combat and foe cannot make a follow-up attack. At start of combat, if unit's HP ≥ 25%, grants Atk/Spd/Def/Res+4 during combat, and unit makes a guaranteed follow-up attack. ：500　：200

We do not recommend the Special Effect Refine for Scythe of Sariel

Refined Scythe of Sariel grants bonus stats, a guaranteed follow-up attack, and denies the foe's follow-up attack.

This refine is incredibly lackluster compared to modern day refines. As of the time of his refine's release, an Arcane Lance hasn't been released yet. However, when one is eventually released, there is a high chance it will be better than this weapon.

Death Knight Stats

Stat Rankings

Neutral Stats at Lv. 40 (5★)
157
HP	40	Rank: 489/1171
Atk	35	Rank: 736/1171
Spd	25	Rank: 938/1171
Def	30	Rank: 501/1171
Res	27	Rank: 539/1171

Stat Values

Lv 40+10 Stats (5★)

	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res	Total
+10 Merges W/ Skill Bonuses	45	56	29	35	31	196
Lv.40 +10	45	40	29	35	31	180

Stats at Lv 40

	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res	Total
5★- Adjusted for Skills	40	51	25	30	27	173
5★ Lv.40	40	35	25	30	27	157
4★ Lv.40	37	33	23	28	24	145
3★ Lv.40	36	31	22	26	23	138

Initial Stats (with Skills)

	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res	Total
5★ Lv.1	18	25	6	8	5	62
4★ Lv.1	17	20	5	8	4	54
3★ Lv.1	17	19	5	7	4	52

Stat Comparison of Similar Heroes

Hero	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res	Total
Emblem Sigurd	41	48	37	47	17	190
Summer Hríd	40	47	27	47	24	185
Mycen	40	46	16	45	37	184
Alfred	40	45	25	43	27	180
Geoffrey	40	46	40	29	25	180
Jeralt	41	43	26	39	30	179
Duessel	41	39	18	39	31	168
Zeke	40	40	15	38	35	168
Fernand	45	41	26	32	23	167
Conrad	40	31	22	34	35	162
Fallen Berkut	40	35	17	35	30	157
Dimitri	40	36	29	34	18	157
Death Knight	40	35	25	30	27	157

Note: Stats bonuses from skills are not taken into account.

Death Knight Roles, Strengths, and Weaknesses

Death Knight Roles

Death Knight - The Reaper Roles
Close-Physical	Ranged-Physical	Close-Magic	Ranged-Magic
Physical Wall	Magic Wall	Effective Weapon	Movement Assist
Exclusive Skill	All-Range Counter	Recovery	Refresher
Legendary	Mythic	Duo / Harmonized	Resplendent

Death Knight is a close physical attacker (range = 1). Therefore, when not accounting for the Weapon Triangle, the amount of damage he deals will be equivalent to his Atk minus the foe's Def stat.

Death Knight Strengths

Scythe of Sariel counters line-ups that utilize bonuses

If the foes have bonuses active on them, Scythe of Sariel grants him +4 to all stats and blocks the ability of foes to score follow-up attacks on him. Since the presence of bonuses as part of team strategies is very common especially in more difficult maps or in player-owned teams, Death Knight will have no trouble utilizing Sythe of Sariel's effects. Additionally, it accelerates his special trigger by 1 count.

Buffs Allies Using Close Guard 3

A very easy to trigger buff, Close Guard 3 grants +4 Def/Res in combat to all ally units within 2 spaces of her if the foe is using a sword, axe, lance or dragonstone weapon. If you aren't using Death Knight as your main offensive character, he can fill a support role using this skill.

Death Knight Weaknesses

Weak to Cavalry Effective Weapons

Death Knight takes 1.5x damage from cavalry-effective weapons like Ridersbane, and one blow from this type of weapon is sure to take him down. Make sure you know what weapons you are up against before hopping too far into the line of battle!
Heroes with Effective Skills

Should you Unlock Potential?

Should You Unlock Potential for this Hero?

We Recommend Unlocking Potential for Death Knight - The Reaper!

We recommend that you use Unlock Potential to bring Death Knight - The Reaper from 4 Stars to 5 Stars. Death Knight - The Reaper is very useful as a ace lance knight, so you may find using Unlock Potential on Death Knight - The Reaper helpful if your team lacks a party member with this role.

Unlock Potential Tier List

Death Knight - List of Skills

Weapons

Skill Name	Might	Range	Effect	Learned At
Iron Lance	6	1	No Effect	3★
Steel Lance	8	1	No Effect	3★
Silver Lance	11	1	No Effect	3★
Scythe of Sariel	16	1	Accelerates Special trigger (cooldown count-1). If a bonus granted by a skill like Rally or Hone and/or extra movement granted by a skill like Armor March or Armored Boots is active on foe, grants Atk/Spd/Def/Res+4 to unit during combat and foe cannot make a follow-up attack.	5★

Assists

This Hero has no Assist skills that can be learned.

Specials

Skill Name	Effect	Learned At
Rising Flame	(Cooldown Count = 4) Before combat this unit initiates, foes in an area near target take damage equal to (unit’s Atk minus foe’s Def or Res).	3★
Blazing Flame	(Cooldown Count = 4) Before combat this unit initiates, foes in an area near target take damage equal to 1. 5x (unit’s Atk minus foe’s Def or Res).	4★

Passives

Skill Name	Effect	Learned At
Escape Route 1	Enables unit whose own HP ≤ 30% to warp adjacent to any ally.	3★
Escape Route 2	Enables unit whose own HP ≤ 40% to warp adjacent to any ally.	4★
Escape Route 3	Enables unit whose own HP ≤ 50% to warp adjacent to any ally.	5★
Close Guard 1	Allies within 2 spaces gain: "If foe uses sword, lance, axe, dragonstone, or beast damage, grants Def/Res+2 during combat."	3★
Close Guard 2	Allies within 2 spaces gain: "If foe uses sword, lance, axe, dragonstone, or beast damage, grants Def/Res+3 during combat."	3★
Close Guard 3	Allies within 2 spaces gain: "If foe uses sword, lance, axe, dragonstone, or beast damage, grants Def/Res+4 during combat."	4★

Death Knight as a Source Hero

Value of Skills	★★★★☆

Inheriting Close Guard 3

Death Knight can be used to inherit the skill Close Guard 3. However, you can only acquire Death Knight from Grand Hero Battles or from using Heroic Grails, so think carefully before foddering him off.

• List of Source Heroes
• The Best Fodder Units

How to Get Death Knight / Illustrations / Voice Actor / Quotes

How to Get Death Knight

Obtain through a Grand Hero Battle

Death Knight is a Hero who, for a limited time, can be obtained through completing a Grand Hero Battle for the first time. They do not appear in regular summons. After the event has ended, they can be obtained by using Heroic Grails.

Voice Actor and Illustrator Information

Voice Actor (English)	???
Illustrator	やまお
Appears In	Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Illustration

Quotes: Special Triggered

Special Triggered Quotes are voice lines that play upon activating a Special attack.

Lv 40 5★ Dialogue

Lv 40 5★ Dialogue become available when a hero attains Lv. 40 at 5★ rarity.

FEH: Related Guides

See All Blue Heroes

▶︎Return to the Blue Heroes Page

All Types of Blue Weapons

Close-Range	Ranged
Lance	Blue Tome
Blue Breath	Blue Dagger
Blue Beast	Blue Bow