The Oni Chieftain (修羅 Shura, lit. Shura in the Japanese version) is a combat physical and magic class that is introduced in Fire Emblem Fates. One of the possible promotions of the Oni Savage class, Oni Chieftains wield Clubs and Scrolls as their weapons of choice and are treated as a Hoshidan class.
Overview
Combat
Oni Chieftains are the replacement of the Warrior class from the previous games, the axe equivalent of the Basara class (Naginata/Clubs and Scrolls/Tomes), and are the Hoshidan version of Nohr's Dark Knight and Malig Knight.
Upon promotion from Oni Savage, the Oni Chieftain retains their fearsome HP, Strength, and Defense, making them one of the sturdiest classes in Fates (particularly out of the Hoshidan classes); Only Great Knights and Generals surpass them in physical Defense now, and though their HP and Strength are beaten out by quite a number, most don't have the same Resistance, another boon of this class. Their growths sacrifice their previous version's higher HP for a boost in Magic and Resistance, a welcome change as their Resistance stat is now above average and their Magic - while still below average - is made up for the decently high growth. These changes make them much more effective at handling magical attacks than before on top of being able to dish out somewhat respectable magical damage themselves with the addition of the Scrolls being added to their weapon repertoire (also meaning they can take advantage of their own Seal Resistance more often). Once more, their Speed is average in growth and stat cap as before, leaving mostly the faster of the units able to follow up against them (made more difficult to kill them this way as their bolstered Defense and Resistance extends their survivability). They also provide excellent boosts to an ally's Strength and Defense; these boosts are particularly enjoyed by the Master Ninja
Of course, they are not without weaknesses to take advantage of; just as before their number one weakness is their pitiful Skill that is far below any other classes (compounded that the Dark Mage - the only other class who tied it in low skill - gains Skill boosts that beats the Oni Chieftain's on promotion), marring their chances at getting in many accurate attacks (especially against fast units like Swordmasters, Master Ninja, Adventurers, etc.), critical hits, or combat skill triggers. Another weakness made worse upon promoting is their atrocious Luck, leaving them faring off worse against high critical classes or accurate staff/rod wielders in comparison to their previous selves (not helped by every S-Ranked weapon user bar the Butler/Maid having an innate critical rate boost). This low Luck also makes their accuracy and evasion worse off as before, and against their spiritual counterpart in the Berserker as the primary promotion option of the Fighter, they are highly susceptible to netting critical hits against themselves with the Berserker's exceptionally high critical boost to go along with their actually decent Skill this time around. Onmyoji and Sorcerers remain their most deadly adversaries as before, and with more potent magical wielders cropping up the Oni Chieftain must still be on the lookout to avoid a premature end at the hands of magic.
The two skills Oni Chieftains learn are Death Blow and Counter. Death Blow increases the Critical hit rate by 20% during the user's phase. Combined with high critical hit-rate weapons like the Great Club, this will result in the wielder inflicting massive amounts of damage. On an Oni Chieftain, their low Skill may still rob them of many chances of making this particularly deadly, but with just about any Club and especially the aforementioned Great Club, their criticals will prove to be very lethal should they trigger thanks to their high Strength. Applying this skill against a low-Luck unit such as a Berserker with their low luck and innate dodge penalty (especially if said Berserker happens to be the infamously unlucky Arthur) fixes the issue particularly well about a low chance to score criticals against the enemy. This skill is active during the user of the skill's turn, meaning that critical rates are not reduced if they are a supporting attacker on their own turn, letting them help score kills for their allies. Counter, the second skill they can learn on the other hand, can be used well against a melee-oriented army as they are either forced to use throwing weapons (which reduce their Speed and prevents the performance of double attacks) or risk getting hit for high damage. A strategy that can prove sadistic is equipping an Oni Chieftain (or any other unit) with a weapon that can't attack at point blank such as a Tomahawk or a Battering Club; while this prevents the Oni Chieftain from performing follow ups themselves, this forces enemies to be far more careful about their attack plan; they risk attacking from a distance to avoid Counter but take a powerful ranged weapon from the Oni Chieftain, or they avoid the Oni Chieftain's weapon and hope that they take out the Oni Chieftain with as much HP left over from the battle.
Ultimately, the Oni Chieftain still fulfills the former class's role as a powerful tanking unit against enemies, and with their boost in Magic and Resistance to go along with their new Tome/Scroll proficiency they can now hold their own much better against both physical units who often lack decent Resistance and Magical units who are often defensively poor. They still must watch out for speedy units such as Swordmasters and Onmyoji, units who are particularly accurate themselves such as Snipers and Heroes, critical classes like Berserkers, and sometimes a combination of the above like Master Ninjas.
Uniform
The Oni Chieftain class wears the basic Oni Savage class's outfit underneath their new outfit additions (sans the previous oni mask, arm guards, and prayer beads). The new additions are the chest and shoulder armor (the former of which resembles an oni's face), likely human skulls attached to the waistline guards, a tattered shawl wrapped atop the chest armor, multiple gold bands across their arms, a water gourd on the back (which can be worn as an accessory), and a fiercer oni mask that covers the entirety of the face for the generic units. Generic units appear to have their hair grown out much like Ryoma's own mane at first glance, but their stripped model reveals that their long "hair" is attached to their masks, and that their actual hair is short and white like various other generic units.
In-Game
Base Stats
| HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov | Con | Wt | Wlv | Cha | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FE14 | 19 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 6 | - | - |  E  E |
Maximum Stats
| HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov | Con | Wt | Wlv | Cha | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FE14 | 60 | 34 | 28 | 25 | 30 | 25 | 36 | 31 | 6 | - | - | A B |
Growth Rates
| HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov | Con | Wt | Wlv | Cha | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FE14 | 10% | 20% | 15% | 0% | 10% | 0% | 20% | 5% | - | - | - | - |
Class Skills
| Skill | Requirements | |
|---|---|---|
| FE14 |  Death Blow Counter | Learnt at Level 5 and above. Learnt at Level 15 and above. |
Promotions
| Base Class | Promotion Method | Promoted Class | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FE14 |  Oni Savage | Use a  Master Seal on a Level 10+ Oni Savage. |  Oni Chieftain |
Notable Oni Chieftains
Fates
- Kumagera - A merciful Hoshidan general tasked with assassinating King Garon; can be captured.
- Possible promotion for: Rinkah.
Etymology
Shura (修羅) literally means a "scene of carnage", befitting of the barbaric design of the Oni Chieftain class.
Trivia
- The generic enemy portrait resembles a legendary Oni originating from the Heian Period, Shuten Doji (酒呑童子).
- The name for this class in the Japanese localization, Shura, was changed in part due to a character already having that name in foreign releases.
- The generic Oni Chieftain's hair is actually a part of the Oni Mask he wears. If removed in the Accessory Shop, it will be revealed the class uses a generic Male Nohrian's head based on the ones that are used for the larger built units.