From niche specialists to all-around supports, to damage-dealing nukes, it isn’t tricky to find a caster to fit your playstyle. Casters have had a rough ride over the years – especially with their animations. Originally dedicated to more of a supporting role, their attack animations featured the dreaded “Caster Ball” that has come to be synonymous with useless DPS. Still, this is slowly being remedied. And Casters continue to be the best source of NP batteries, heals, and debuff removal in FGO. So let’s take a look at some of the best 5-star Caster class servants that FGO has to offer.
5. Tamamo-no-mae
Just because Castoria effectively blew Tamamo out of the water, doesn’t mean that Tamamo doesn’t still have her uses – namely being a backup support to your Castoria farming team! Tamamo’s bond CE increases Arts effectiveness of your party whenever she’s on the field. This means that with a single plug suit, you can swap Tamamo in to deal even more damage with your Space Ishtar or Summer Musashi. Not only this, but Tamamo’s NP reduces skill cooldowns, thereby increasing Castoria’s potential to fire off another round of buffs for a pesky raid boss. Don’t be disheartened about acquiring Tamamo just because Castoria is arguably better. You may live to regret it when you wake up with an angry Mikon lying beside you…
4. Scáthach-Skadi
Many people would argue that Skadi doesn’t belong so high up in a top 5 ranking like this. People might argue that her only role is dedicated to looping, and she’s useless in all other forms of content like challenge quests or raids. To those people, all we have to say is: FGO is 99% farming! If you plan on spending most of your life repeating the same three turns in the hopes of acquiring that coveted CE drop, you may as well streamline the process. That’s exactly what Skadi is here to accomplish.
3. Merlin
Merlin probably falls just short of greatness. And he’s arguably better than Skadi for a few reasons. Skadi is the queen of quick looping, but other than farming, she has very little use anywhere else other than to supply a 50% battery. Merlin cannot loop – but what he lacks in that department, he makes up for in his crazily overloaded skillset! With a massive Buster steroid, an HP up, an attack up, 20% charge, and an NP that gives healing and NP charge over time, Merlin’s kit is overflowing with value. However, where this really gets ridiculous is with his second skill, which grants party-wide invincibility for one turn. Pair Merlin with a Tamamo to reduce cooldown on skills, and be able to not take any form of enemy damage, and then officially stop playing the game!
2. Caster Artoria
Now, despite everything we just mentioned about looping not being the be-all-end-all, Caster Artoria will be snagging the number two spot due to her incredible looping capabilities. Hear us out: Firstly, let’s touch on just how significant the introduction of Castoria was for the meta. Sure, Skadi revitalized a dying card and breathed fresh new life into Quick servants. However, the requirements for a lot of Skadi system servants required multiple NP levels, batteries from other sources, and/or Master skills – and Kaleidoscopes as well. Castoria requires virtually none of these things. And select servants can even loop with a Black Grail CE! Castoria also has a lot more versatility in her kit, and an NP that can increase the power of your team even further while using it. So when this little Caster comes to NA, make sure you pick her up. No exceptions!
1. Zhuge Liang (Lord El-Melloi II)
Summoned as a pseudo-servant into the body of Waver Velvet (and often referred to as such), Waver is your go-to support Caster no matter the situation. Sure, his buffs don’t offer any specific card-type buffs like Merlin or Skadi. But where those respective servants can only reach their full potential in a Buster or Quick team, Waver slots in just about anywhere! With a 50% charge spread over his three skills, an attack up, and an NP that isn’t entirely useless (cough cough Skadi cough cough), Waver can push your lacking farming team over the edge with that final spurt of NP charge. Waver is the OG Caster support – and one with just as much relevance now as he had when the game first started. Waver is also much more accessible than his limited support Caster peers, and can spook any of your rolls from the general pool. Furthermore, everyone in NA will have their chance to acquire Waver for free with the free SSR selection ticket! Waver is the overall best Caster in FGO – so grab him whenever you get the chance.
