# 13 - Oscar and Kieran (Path of Radiance)

    

 Oscar and Kieran. One of the greatest Christmas Cavalier duos in the entire series (if we were to compare their personalities to all the other Christmas cavs Oscar and Kieran would be # 1). Between the two of them Oscar is the better unit since he joins way earlier but that doesn't mean that Kieran isn't awesome and doesn't deserve to be on the list too.

          I guess I'll start with Oscar and then talk about Kieran. Oscar for starters has some FANTASTIC availability in Path of Radiance. The only levels where he's not available are Chapters 3 & 4 so he'll be sticking around for basically forever. Oscar also has good base stats (he has the second highest defense out of your starting team) and basically doubles anything that isn't a speedy sword user (and he usually doesn't care about those units due to weapon triangle advantage, having a vastly superior defense and usually being able to 2 hit KO them).

          He also has the lolsy Earth affinity so he's going to be dodging A LOT. To go along with his Earth support he supports two other characters with the same affinity: Ike and Tanith. Both Ike and Tanith are among some of your best units so there's a high probability of Oscar getting a support bonus from both of them. He also happens to support Kieran as well who is another fantastic unit so the guy's definitely got options for good support boosts. 

           Oscar does have a similar problem that Cuan and Finn had in the first generation of Holy War: He's a lance knight who starts out in axeland. It's a tad rough for him, but it isn't as much of a problem for Oscar as it was for Cuan and Finn since the enemies will be using different weapons soon and unlike Cuan and Finn, Oscar will still be sticking around long enough to benefit your army. I only have one other nitpick about the guy and it's that his sub 50 % strength and speed growths lead to RNG screwage, but then again Fixed mode and bands fix that "problem" so it's not even a legitimate issue. So basically Oscar doesn't even have any real major problems.

        So to sum it up Oscar is a great unit that really doesn't have any major issues game-play wise. He's awesome as a unit and he even cooks too. What's not to love? 

 

                   (Not only are Oscar and Kieran great units, but they also have awesome supports together. Talk about icing on a very scrumdiddlyumptious cake. + 100 points to anyone who can tell me who originally coined the term without looking it up)

  

                 Now to Kieran. Kieran is one of my favorite characters in the Fire Emblem series ever! He's awesome on the battlefield and he's freaking hilarious! I love reading his supports. Another reason why I like him as much as I do is because of his wonderful combat prowess.

                 Kieran shows up later than Oscar, but his availability isn't bad. Kieran uses axes which in Path of Radiance are actually pretty good weapons unlike Sword of Seals where they suck. Kieran, like Oscar, will get to choose what extra weapon he can use after promotion so that's nice too. What stands out to me about Kieran besides his hilarious personality is his defense. Kieran's tanky, but unlike most tanks in Fire Emblem, Kieran also has actual speed so he can double things too.

              Speaking of speed, one minor nitpick I have with Kieran is that his starting speed isn't the best. It'll get better with additional level-ups (a 40 % speed growth ain't the best, but fortunately Path of Radiance enemies suck so Kieran WILL double enemies soon enough). I should also add that Kieran has access to the Knight Ward which gives him a 30 % boost to his speed growth in addition to giving him more defense and resistance so there's that. If you don't want to give Kieran a Knight Ward there are different bands that can help boost his speed growth too so the point is that Kieran's "problem" is minor and easily remedied.

                While Kieran's support pool and affinity aren't as good as Oscar's (the wind affinity isn't very good) he does support Oscar and Marcia so he's not doing bad. 

 

So to sum up why I like Kieran: "combine his in-game performance and his... *ahem* personality that knocks me off my chair laughing till I explode like a nuclear missile" (Lord of the Cactus - http://serenesforest.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=31889&pid=1939382&st=0&#entry1939382 Rate the Unit: Kieran) and you have one fantastic and unforgettable character #Kieranfanboy