Who is the finest Dancer in all the realms?

For the first time in Fire Emblem history, Three Houses lets you choose which character you want to turn into a Dancer. You'll want to have a Dancer handy because they can double the range of any unit. With access to both offensive and healing magic and an automatic boost to their Avoid stat when using swords, this character class has a lot to offer.

So, who makes the best Dancer in Three Houses? It all comes down to your personal playing style. Some players want Dancers that double as healers, while others want Dancers they can send to the frontlines beside their best units. It's a big decision to make, and a choice you're only given once in the game. To help you choose, we've compiled a list of the five best Dancers in Three Houses and what exactly makes them great.

5. Ferdinand

Ferdinand as a Dancer

Introduced as a student of the Black Eagles house, Ferdinand is recruitable on any route. His base stats suggest he'd make a great physical combat unit, specifically a Great Knight, so it might be surprising to find him on this list. But, if you look past his head of gorgeous orange hair and at the canons set up for his character, you'll see he's a pretty obvious choice for a Dancer. 

What Makes Ferdinand a Great Dancer

• Dodge-tank. High Speed and Avoid stats are incredibly useful for a Dancer. Ferdinand's high Speed growth rate is perfect for this class. His character-specific battalion, the Aegir Astral Knights, also grants him a bonus of +20 Avoid. (It's like the game developers secretly wanted you to turn him into a Dancer!)  Combined with the Avoid boosts granted by the Dancer class, Ferdinand has the potential to become untouchable by dodging all enemy attacks.
• Durable. Ferdinand can weather attacks well. This means you can send him to the thick of battle beside your best unit. While you’ll have to work on his Resistance stat a bit, he can stand enemy blows better compared to most magic units that might seem like more obvious choices for this class.

4. Marianne

Marianne as a Dancer

This blue-haired girl from the Golden Deer house makes for an all-rounded dancer. Her base stats push her towards becoming a magic-based unit, but with her average stat growth rates, it's unlikely that she'll be the best healer or magic-user in your group. She's a powerful unit, but you won't be sacrificing too much by making her a Dancer.

What Makes Marianne a Great Dancer

• All-rounded. As a Dancer, Marianne has the potential to be a good healer and a good offensive unit. She has an impressive white magic spell list, and the potential to be a great sword user. 
• Strength in Swords. Marianne has a Crest, which allows her to wield Heroes’  Relics without taking damage. Her personal relic is a sword called Blutgang. This goes perfectly with the Avoid stat boost granted by the Dancer class

3. Ashe

Ashe as a Dancer

This aspiring knight from the Blue Lions house fits the Dancer class surprisingly well. Ashe is initially geared towards becoming an archer, which is why his Speed stat is so impressive. But, the rest of his stats are below average, and his Strength stat growth rate is frustratingly slow. This means he typically won't be the best physical or magic unit on your team at any point.

Committing a character to the Dancer class means you'll have to give up the class they were initially set up for. Ashe isn't a standout magic or physical combat unit, which is what makes him the perfect choice for a Dancer. If you promote Ashe to the Dancer class, you won't be giving up much, but you will be getting a lot.

What Makes Ashe a Great Dancer

• Physic. Ashe can learn the move Physic, which allows him to heal allies from a distance. This is especially useful if you want a Dancer who doubles as a healer.
• Utility. Besides having Physic, Dancer Ashe can be an all-in-one character with many unique skills. This depends on his class progression before being promoted to the Dancer class. If you develop Ashe well, you'll have multiple units in one. Some good routes to go are the thief or flyer route; this will give Ashe a bunch of useful abilities, and also boost stats that he needs as a Dancer.

2. Dorothea

Dorothea as a Dancer

Dorothea, the Black Eagles' resident diva, seems like the most obvious choice for a Dancer. Not only does it make sense with her storyline as a professional performer it also aligns with her base stats. She has incredibly high Charm, and boasts decent Speed and Magic stats. On top of this, Dorothea also has the potential to be a proficient sword user. With all these stats, and Dorothea's post-time skip clothes, which look very similar to the Dancer class' clothing, the game can't be more obvious with who you should pick as your Dancer.

What Makes Dorothea a Great Dancer

• Physic and Meteor. Dorothea can learn Physic and Meteor, which makes her a great unit for long-distance healing and offense.
• Songstress. Her personal skill, Songstress, allows her to heal allies by 10% of their maximum HP if they start their turn adjacent to her. It's no coincidence that a Dancer is most effective when standing directly adjacent to another unit.

1. Flayn

Flayn as a Dancer

Flayn is another obvious choice for the Dancer class, and not only because she explicitly and repeatedly states in the game that she wants to be a Dancer. Similar to Dorothea, Flayn's base stats gear her towards the Dancer class. She has high Charm, and while her Speed stat isn't too impressive, she makes up for it with high Dexterity and Resistance. 

Like Ashe, Flayn's slow stat growth rates can make her a pretty frustrating unit to develop. You don't lose a standout unit when you promote Flayn to the Dancer class. Her attack stats aren't too high, which means making her Dance every turn instead of attacking doesn't feel like a wasted move.

What Makes Flayn a Great Dancer

• Healer. Flayn can learn Rescue and Fortify, which makes her useful as a Dancer and a Healer standing near the action. This is where the Dancer should typically be as they should ideally stick close to the best combat unit.
• Supports. Flayn has a decent number of supports. Supports are important to have for a Dancer, as a Dancer will spend all their time standing and performing moves adjacent to other units.

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