Vortex of Strategy (Japanese:謀略の渦Vortex of Strategy) is a chapter inFire Emblem: The Blazing Blade; it is the eighth chapter in Lyn's tale. In this chapter,Lyndis continues her march towardsCaelin, but she is ambushed by a squad ofLundgren's troops commanded byYogi. This chapter introduces the concepts of reaver weapons andballistae.

Plot

Main article:Vortex of Strategy/Script

Lyn and her troop continue towards Caelin, andKent reveals that they are about two days away if they hurry. However,Nils senses danger and instructs Lyn to stay put—she barely avoids an attack from a ballista.Sain explains what ballistae are and warnsFlorina to stay aground lest she get shot down. Lyn asksWil if he can use a ballista, and he responds that he should be able to figure it out. The group confronts and defeatsYogi, the commander of the enemy forces. After they are routed,Matthew returns from his investigation of a nearby village and shares his findings with Lyn. According to a rumor in the village, MarquessHausen is being poisoned byLundgren. With Hausen too ill to protest, Lundgren has claimed Caelin for his own and has declared Lyn to be an imposter and Sain and Kent traitors to Caelin. Lyn realizes she needs a plan and decides to visitEliwood for help.

Chapter data

Chapter Data
Conditions	Unit Data
Victory: Rout enemy	Player	Partner	Other	Enemy	Third
Defeat:Lyn dies	1–9	{{{partner}}}	{{{other}}}	14+4	{{{third}}}
Map dimensions: 15 columns by 18 rows

Character data

Characters
New units
None
Forcibly deployed characters
Available characters
Undeployable characters

Item data

Items

Name Obtainment Method Lancereaver Visitvillage

Armory data

Armories and vendors

SwordsLancesAxesBowsAnimaLightDarkStavesItemsSecret

	Name	Cost
	Iron Sword	460

	Name	Cost
	Iron Lance	360

	Name	Cost
	Iron Axe	270

	Name	Cost
	Iron Bow	540

None

None

None

None

None

None

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Enemy data

Stats with two figures separated by a ~ are presented as a range, representing stats that vary due to random growths. The figures to the left and right of the ~ are the stat's minimum and maximum possible values respectively.

Enemy Units

Name Class Lv # HP Str/Mag Mag Skill Spd Lck Prf Wlv Def Res Cha Lck Con Mov Inventory and Skills Yogi Knight 6 1 25 9 7 3 2 11 1 12 4 Axereaver -- Caelin Soldier 2 2 20~21 3~4 0~1 1~2 0 0~1 0~1 6 5 Iron Lance -- Caelin Archer 2 1 18~19 3~4 3~4 3~4 0 3~4 0~1 7 5 Iron Bow • Mans aballista; does not move. • When ballista is exhausted, exits ballista and moves to attack units in range. Caelin Brigand 2 1 20~21 4~5 1~2 5~6 0 3~4 0~1 12 5 Iron Axe Moves to raid thevillage, then moves to attack units unprovoked. Caelin Cavalier 1 2 20 5 2 5 0 6 0 9 7 Iron Lance -- Caelin Mercenary 1 1 18 3 8 8 0 4 0 9 5 Iron Sword -- Caelin Mage 1 1 16 1 2 3 0 5 2 6 5 Fire -- Caelin Shaman 1 1 16 2 1 2 0 5 2 7 5 Flux Moves to attack units in range. Caelin Archer 1 1 18 3 3 3 0 3 0 7 5 Iron Bow -- Caelin Soldier 1 1 20 3 0 1 0 0 0 6 5 Axereaver Moves to attack units in range. Caelin Mercenary 1 1 18 3 8 8 0 4 0 9 5 Lancereaver Moves to attack units in range. Caelin Brigand 1 1 20 4 1 5 0 3 0 12 5 Swordreaver Moves to attack units in range.

Reinforcements

Name Class Lv # HP Str/Mag Mag Skill Spd Lck Prf Wlv Def Res Cha Lck Con Mov Inventory and Skills Caelin Soldier 2 4 20~21 3~4 0~1 1~2 0 0~1 0~1 6 5 Iron Lance --

Reinforcements

Reinforcements spawn at the beginning of the enemy phase rather than the end.

• Turns 3 and 4
  • 2Soldiers from the southwestern forts

Boss data

Main article:Yogi

Knight Level 6 Affinity --

Stats Max HP 25 Luck 2 Strength 9 Defense 11 Skill 7 Resistance 1 Speed 3 Constitution 12 Movement 4 Aid 11

Inventory Axereaver Weapon Levels -- C -- -- -- -- -- --

Strategy

Despite the warningsSain gives in the opening dialogue, theBallista on this map is not that big of a threat as it will likely fail to one shotFlorina. TheWeapon Effectiveness bonus in the Western localization of this game is ×2 as opposed to ×3, so as long as Florina can survive one 19 to 20 might attack—which she can at full HP with her base stats—and is out of range of all other enemies, she will survive, causing the ballista to targetNils orSerra instead. Since the ballista is not all that dangerous, you can safely use Florina to rescue drop units on the other side of the forest and have them clear out some of the enemies to clear the chapter objective quicker. If Nils plays for Florina after sherescues a unit, she can drop that unit on the same turn and usecanto to return to safety. While you move your units through the forest to the south, have eitherErk orLucius take out the mages and visit the village. You will get aLancereaver which will be useful against a later boss that only has lances and it is valuable, meaning it will contribute to your funds ranking.

The opening dialogue of this chapter suggests that the player useWil to man the ballista, however, this is of little use since Wil will need no enemies in range of him to use the ballista without taking attacks he cannot counterattack, and the ballista has aWeight of twenty, reducing Wil'sAS to zero and putting him in mortal danger against several enemies. Furthermore, the ballista does not do damage to the enemies surroundingYogi, or Yogi himself, that other units cannot deal.

Yogi is quite easy to kill. Since he is carrying anAxereaver he is incredibly weak to swords, so much so that you will likely be able to take him out in one round with Lyn'sMani Katti or theArmorslayer.

There is no forced tutorial in this chapter, meaning that the strategy for clearing hard mode is the same as the strategy for clearing normal mode.

Etymology and other languages

Gallery

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