Merlinus Builds and Best IVs

This is a ranking page for the hero Merlinus - Pherae's Clerk 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 Merlinus.

New Heroes - Princess of Bern Featured Heroes
Melady [9.0/10]	Guinivere [9.0/10]	Dieck [9.0/10]	Merlinus [7.0/10]

Merlinus Rating and Basic Information

Overall Rating	7.0/10
Reroll Ranking (excluding Inherit Skill)	Unranked (▶Reroll Ranking)
Ranking (including Inherit Skill)	C (▶FEH Tier List)

Merlinus - Pherae's Clerk: Basic Information

Color / Weapon Type / Move Type	Colorless / Dagger / Cavalry
Rarity	4 Star 3 Star
What Kind of Character Are They?	・Rare colorless dagger cavalry unit ・Inflicts Spd/Def debuffs with weapon skill ・Can warp to weakened allies with B skill

Merlinus Skills at 5★

Smoke Dagger+ Might: 9　 Range: 2 After combat, if unit attacked, inflicts Def/Res -6 on foes within 2 spaces of target through their next actions.

Reposition Range: 1 Moves adjacent ally to opposite side of unit.

Wings of Mercy 3 Enables unit to warp adjacent to any ally with HP ≤ 50%.

Distant Guard 3 Allies within 2 spaces gain: "If foe uses bow, dagger, magic or staff, grants Def/Res +4 during combat."

Merlinus Best IVs

Recommended IVs

Stat	Superboon/Superbane	IV Recommendation
HP (20)		★★★★★
Atk (14)		★★☆☆☆
Spd (9)		★★★★☆
Def (7)		★★★☆☆
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.

+Spd/-Atk

The best IVs for Merlinus are +Spd and -Atk. A higher Spd stat allows Merlinus to get a ton of follow-up attacks on his foes. It also protects him from hostile follow-up attacks. Merlinus has an abysmally low Atk stat and it is not worth raising to increase his damage by a tad bit so it should be the bane you take. Since he is a 4★ demote, it is fairly easy to get another copy of him so make sure to get that 1st merge to eliminate his bane.

As tempting as it might be to run a dagger cavalry unit as an offensive unit, Merlinus' Atk just can't make the cut! He is a debuff-type support and not a primary offensive option.

+Spd for a +10 Merge

We recommend a +Spd IV when merging Merlinus to 10. This is for the same reasons as above. With this IV, he can reach 42 Spd which is at a range where he can score lots of follow-up attacks if he has ample support from allies.

If you plan to run Merlinus as a unit in Pawns of Loki where HP is very important, you can go for a +HP IV instead. He has a superboon in this stat so your IV choice will be put to great use.

Merlinus Best Builds

Make sure to upgrade Smoke Dagger+ to access a more powerful debuffing effect for Merlinus!

Close Counter Merlinus

： Smoke Dagger+ ： Reposition ： Ruptured Sky ： -

： Close Counter ： Guard 3 ： Panic Ploy 3 ： Close Def 3 ： -

How to Use, Explanation

Compared to the budget build, this Close Counter build is very high investment. Close Counter allows Merlinus to spread debuffs frequently by baiting attacks in the enemy phase. Ruptured Sky allows him to deal more damage as it leverages foe's Atk stats to deal damage. Panic Ploy 3 leverages his high HP to inflict even more debuffs to the enemy! Guard 3 and Close Def 3 provides him with some stats to survive longer and inflict tons of debuffs into the enemy team.

It can be said that this is a more offensive take to Merlinus compared to the budget build.

Budget Merlinus

HOT
： Smoke Dagger+ ： Reposition ： Vengeance ： -	： Armored Blow 3 ： Wings of Mercy 3 ： Distant Guard 3 ： Close Guard 3 ： -

How to Use, Explanation

The goal of this build is to improve Merlinus' bulk to allow him to spread debuffs as safely as possible. He already has decent HP so getting Armored Blow 3 will pad him with some stats to make good use of his HP. Distant Guard 3 and Close Guard 3 works well with Wings of Mercy 3 as it allows Merlinus to warp to allies in need and provide them with some defensive stats.

This is a defensively-oriented build for Merlinus as it uses his great mobility to improve his and his allies' bulk. If you need a more offensive build, check out the Close Counter Merlinus build.

Source Heroes for All Skills

Merlinus Stats

Stat Rankings

Neutral Stats at Lv. 40 (5★)
163
HP	50	Rank: 9/1171
Atk	20	Rank: 1170/1171
Spd	35	Rank: 557/1171
Def	31	Rank: 455/1171
Res	27	Rank: 539/1171

Stat Values

Lv 40+10 Stats (5★)

	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res	Total
+10 Merges W/ Skill Bonuses	55	33	40	36	31	195
Lv.40 +10	55	24	40	36	31	186

Stats at Lv 40

	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res	Total
5★- Adjusted for Skills	50	29	35	31	27	172
5★ Lv.40	50	20	35	31	27	163

Initial Stats (with Skills)

	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res	Total
5★ Lv.1	20	14	9	7	5	55

Stat Comparison of Similar Heroes

Hero	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res	Total
Ice Tribe Flora	40	47	21	31	46	185
Ginnungagap	40	47	31	30	32	180
Winter Yunaka	39	43	47	21	30	180
Yukimura	40	46	16	33	45	180
Wind Tribe Kagero	43	47	45	20	23	178
Ascended Eir	35	42	45	16	35	173
New Year Fafnir	40	43	39	31	16	169
Hatari Deen	43	36	39	27	23	168
Thief Nina	38	37	43	18	32	168
Merlinus	50	20	35	31	27	163
Summer Mia	38	35	41	17	25	156
Summer Gunnthrá	39	33	37	17	24	150
Summer Ursula	36	36	34	16	28	150
Summer Lilina	35	38	25	16	35	149
Hostile Springs Elise	34	33	37	18	22	144
Summer Linde	33	34	35	16	26	144

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

Merlinus Roles, Strengths, and Weaknesses

Merlinus Roles

Merlinus - Pherae's Clerk 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

Merlinus is a ranged physical attacker (range = 2). 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.

Merlinus Strengths

Very high HP stat

Merlinus currently (November 2020) holds the title as the highest HP cavalry unit. This allows him to run skills like Panic Ploy 3 fairly easily as it relies on having a great HP stat. Check out our Close Counter Merlinus build to learn how to run Panic Ploy on Merlinus.

This also makes him an obvious choice for a cavalry unit in Pawns of Loki as scoring in that game mode relies heavily on units having high HP stats.

The mentioned Close Counter Merlinus is an offensive take to Merlinus and the Budget Merlinus build is a defensive one. Check out the builds section for an explanation on how both builds work.

Debuff opponents with Smoke Dagger+

Smoke Dagger applies a -6 Def/Res debuff after combat on all foes within 2 spaces of Merlinus' target. Once upgraded, it will instead inflict -6 Atk/Spd/Def/Res so make sure to get that upgrade as that debuff is massive! It allows Merlinus' allies to swoop in and finish off those weakened enemies.

Buffs Allies Using Distant Guard 3

A very easy to trigger buff, Distant Guard 3 grants +4 Def/Res in combat to all ally units within 2 spaces of her if the foe is using a bow, dagger, tome or staff weapon. The fact that the range for this weapon is 2 spaces makes it very easy to utilize as it can help keep Merlinus safe from units that can easily take him out.

Can Warp to Allies in Need

Wings of Mercy 3 allows Merlinus to teleport to spaces adjacent to allies if their HP ≤ 50%. This allows Merlinus to potentially turn the tides of battle together with that ally using the his debuffs and buffs mentioned above. This is especially important in Grand Hero Battles where all allies need to survive for you to clear the map.

This works well with Distant Guard and Close Guard 3. Check out the builds section to know how to utilize Wings of Mercy 3 to easily provide allies with more bulk.

Merlinus Weaknesses

Very weak Atk stat

Merlinus has a very weak Atk stat. It only reaches 29 with Poison Dagger+ at level 40. It is recommended that you strategically treat him as a debuff-type support instead of a primary offensive option.

Weak to Cavalry Effective Weapons

Merlinus takes 1.5x damage from cavalry-effective weapons like Ridersbane, and one blow from this type of weapon is sure to take her 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 Do Not Recommend Unlocking Potential for Merlinus - Pherae's Clerk!

We cannot recommend you to Unlock Potential to make Merlinus - Pherae's Clerk a 5 Star Hero. Merlinus - Pherae's Clerk is difficult to make use of except under specific conditions. Unless Merlinus - Pherae's Clerk is a favorite character of yours or you have excess Hero Feathers to spare, we recommend you pass on Unlocking their Potential.

Unlock Potential Tier List

Merlinus - List of Skills

Weapons

Skill Name	Might	Range	Effect	Learned At
Iron Dagger	3	2	After combat, inflicts Def/Res -3 on foe through its next action.	3★
Steel Dagger	5	2	After combat, inflicts Def/Res -3 on foe through its next action.	3★
Smoke Dagger	6	2	After combat, inflicts Def/Res -4 on foes within 2 spaces of target through their next actions.	3★
Smoke Dagger+	9	2	After combat, if unit attacked, inflicts Def/Res -6 on foes within 2 spaces of target through their next actions.	5★

Assists

Skill Name	Range	Effect	Learned At
Reposition	1	Moves adjacent ally to opposite side of unit.	4★

Specials

This Hero has no Special skills that can be learned.

Passives

Skill Name	Effect	Learned At
Wings of Mercy 1	Enables unit to warp adjacent to any ally with HP ≤ 30%.	3★
Wings of Mercy 2	Enables unit to warp adjacent to any ally with HP ≤ 40%.	3★
Wings of Mercy 3	Enables unit to warp adjacent to any ally with HP ≤ 50%.	4★
Distant Guard 1	Allies within 2 spaces gain: "If foe uses bow, dagger, magic or staff, grants Def/Res +2 during combat."	3★
Distant Guard 2	Allies within 2 spaces gain: "If foe uses bow, dagger, magic or staff, grants Def/Res +3 during combat."	4★
Distant Guard 3	Allies within 2 spaces gain: "If foe uses bow, dagger, magic or staff, grants Def/Res +4 during combat."	5★

Merlinus as a Source Hero

Value of Skills	★★★★★

Inheriting Wings of Mercy 3 and Distant Guard 3

Merlinus can be used to inherit the skills Wings of Mercy 3 or Distant Guard 3. Please take note that Distant Guard 3 can only be inherited at 5★ so you would need to spend some feathers before being able get it off him if you have a 4★ copy.

• List of Source Heroes
• The Best Fodder Units

How to Get Merlinus / Illustrations / Voice Actor / Quotes

How to Get Merlinus

Obtain Through Regular Summon

Merlinus is a Hero who can be pulled from any summon.

Note: Not currently a featured hero in any Summon events.

Current Focuses and Which You Should Pull From

Voice Actor and Illustrator Information

Voice Actor (English)	Brad Venable
Illustrator	DAI-XT
Appears In	Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade

Illustration

FEH: Related Guides

New Heroes: Princess of Bern

Heroes from New Heroes - Princess of Bern
Melady [9.0/10]	Guinivere [9.0/10]	Dieck [9.0/10]	Merlinus [7.0/10]

See All Colorless Heroes

▶︎Return to the Colorless Heroes Page

All Types of Colorless Weapons

Close-Range	Ranged
Colorless Breath	Colorless Dagger
Colorless Beast	Colorless Bow
Colorless Tome	Staff