Little Big Tengu - Tier List Change Log

Tier A

Taira-no-Kagekiyo, also referred to as Ushiwakamaru Alter, is a single target Quick Avenger that doubles as an excellent last stand Servant. Their second skill has a unique "Grudge" mechanic that gives a buff stack that boosts their NP damage (up to +100% from 4 stacks) every time their Guts activates. Their NP itself notably removes buffs from the target before dealing damage, and inflicts Curse for minor damage over time. With a 30% charge skill, they have relatively quick access to their NP. They also have a plethora of self-offense buffs, including Crit Damage, ATK, and bonus damage against Genji-trait enemies. Their crit performance is also boosted by their ability to lower Star Gather Rate for all allies except themselves. Defensively, aside from the 1-time 3-turn Guts ability, Kagekiyo also has a 2-time, 3-turn Evade, along with up to 100% resistance to Instant Death for 3 turns, making them tough to take down. When combined with premiere Quick Support, Kagekiyo becomes a force to be reckoned with. Alternatively, due to their Evade and Guts skills, they also make for a decent last slot Servant, which makes it easier to activate their Guts for more "Grudge" to enhance their NP damage. Their kit's Guts effect also stacks with other Guts (such as CE or other support buffs), which can be used to further increase the number of damage-boosting stacks that are potentially active. With their Avenger Classing, Taira-no-Kagekiyo makes for a rather flexible damage dealer or last stand choice, since they very rarely have clear Class disadvantage (only against Moon Cancers). When up against an enemy with Genji trait in particular, Taira-no-Kagekiyo's damage multiplier is extremely high (up to +200%), so if Masters are lucky enough to have them in their roster, it's very much worth remembering to bring their resident Genji-slayer to make short work of the opponent.

Tier B+

Kiichi Hogen, the welfare of the Little Big Tengu event, is an excellent AoE Quick Assassin that also provides the party with a dash of offensive support. Their NP is loopable with setup, dealing damage to all enemies after a Quick buff, and removes defensive buffs after damage, coming in handy for some challenging encounters. They have a targetable 20% NP charge that also boosts star gather rate for the ally, and an ATK and NP Gain buff for the entire party. For themselves, they also have a 3-turn Quick buff and Evade as their defensive option. Their damage is quite good for the Quick AoE Assassin archetype, thanks to their ease of reaching NP5, and they loop more easily than most other existing Servants in the same niche. Although the Assassin Class damage multiplier hurts their viability as an all-around farmer, they still make for an excellent wave clearer against Riders or Berserkers, and additionally provide a modest array of offensive support for the party, making them an excellent balanced addition to the roster. Kiichi Hogen is especially helpful for Masters in need of an AoE Assassin farmer.

Tier B+ > B+

Yagyu Munenori received an upgrade during the Saber Wars 2 rerun, improving his Evade skill's base cooldown by 1 turn. In addition, the skill now grants a sizable 1 turn 50-100% Crit Damage buff, giving him an even more powerful burst of damage for a turn. It was generally agreed that this upgrade is quite strong, especially given the values, although it doesn't quite revolutionize his current 1-turn-and-done gameplay, so most agreed that his tier remains unchanged.

Tier B > B+

Ushiwakamaru gets an upgrade to her Charisma skill, finally rounding out the party ATK buff values from an odd 8.5-17% to the more standard 10-20%, and although the bump is small, it's certainly welcome. She also gets a 3 turn 30-50% Crit Damage buff, and a nice sum of 10-20 Stars, enhancing her critical damage potential at the same time. Her innate Rider-Class star absorption is on the high side, making it more likely that Ushi can take advantage of the Stars she generates from this skill. Overall, most agreed that this upgrade would be worth a tier bump, and she was slightly raised as a result.

Tier D > D

Benkei's NP is rather (in)famous for being somewhat underwhelming and niche, given it does no damage and only stuns (which isn't guaranteed) and curses (very minor damage over time). He receives an upgrade to his NP during the Little Big Tengu event premiere, adding a buff removal effect to all enemies, and bumping up the curse damage from 500-2500 to 1000-5000. The buff removal is certainly very nice, although it doesn't quite help with how situational and unreliable his NP is; the Curse damage also in practice is very little, but is nice to keep in mind if searching for candidates for a Curse damage stacking team (which is not entirely practical but can be fun to toy with). Overall, since his NP is still rather inconsistent and niche in application, his tier remains the same.