Saber is a bit of an interesting choice for a main character in red. The color doesn\u2019t exactly have the same cohesion as a lot of the others in Cipher, so you see a decent bit of experimentation with red cards in each new set they\u2019re featured in. Saber is part of the \u201cFire Emblem Gaiden\u201d units that debuted in pack 9, but these cards wouldn\u2019t come into their own until a few sets later when \u201cOverclass\u201d was introduced as the archetype\u2019s main mechanic. Overclass is a special kind of class change where instead of the class change effect being cheaper, it costs more than the deployment cost. The benefit of Overclassing is that the unit either gains access to a new continuous ability or an incredibly strong automatic when they change. A lot of these Overclass abilities make red a decent splash color.<\/p>\n

Saber\u2019s overclass card was released in set 16. It\u2019s a base 70 4-cost\/5-overclass with two different effects. The first, Armorpiercer, states that when he\u2019s class changed he can destroy an enemy unit in the frontline, but this effect does not happen if he was class changed by an effect.<\/p>\n

Second, when saber destroys the enemy main character through either an attack or his first ability, they lose 20 power until the end of the turn.<\/p>\n

Saber is one of the few cards that can indiscriminately destroy an enemy main character outside of battle. His second ability sweetens the deal if he\u2019s not dealing the killing blow by weaken the enemies main character for his support cast to then clean up. The problem is that 5-bonds is pretty far into the mid-late game. Where most decks are starting to stabilize out, Saber wants to be killing and ending matches. His overclass also lacks any kind of advantage generation or extension, so he needs his deck to pick up the slack and give him combos and plays to work with until he can go in for the kill.<\/p>\n

Also, only being able to class change by being played means it\u2019s easy to dodge his destruction effect, since the opponent needs to only move their MC to the backline before ending their turn while having another unit up front.<\/p>\n

The first ability is the generic swordmaster skill, where he can flip 3 bonds over to make his attacks undodgeable until the end of the turn. If you\u2019re really concerned about your opponent dodging a killing blow, you can just class change into the 2-cost, play some kind of attack booster to pump Saber, and then swing in for game, but it\u2019s the second effect that really makes Saber a weird type of tech choice against certain decks.<\/p>\n

Whenever a tome enemy fails to destroy saber through an attack, the player can discard a copy of Saber to then destroy that enemy. It\u2019s gimmicky at best, and probably never going to happen, but Saber is in fact one of the only 2 units in the game that can end a game on the opponent\u2019s turn. The downside here is that his opponent probably won\u2019t throw any unit at him that they think can\u2019t destroy him, and even if the attack fails, you still have to pitch a copy of Saber to get the effect. A more realistic way for this effect to go off will involve discarding two copies of Saber, one to dodge the attack, and then the second to destroy your enemy, but going minus 2 for a pop really isn\u2019t worth it unless it is that game-ending move. I kind of wish he had a way to recover a copy of himself from the grave, but I get that slapping 3 effects on a 2-cost promotion would probably be too much.<\/p>\n

Saber has 2 different 1-cost variants, both are base 40s, and both have similar abilities. His set 9 can exhaust another red ally to boost himself by +20 power until the end of the turn, and his set 16 can exhaust another red ally to make his attacks undodgeable by non-main character units until the end of the turn. I\u2019m a bigger fan of the set 9, since it will probably be doing more on the draw, as many people tend to not deploy anything turn 1 if they\u2019re going first. The base 60 can at least guarantee a pop on an enemy main character, barring a dodge.<\/p>\n