Repatriation

Summary

Repatriation is the endgame of fire emblem 9 (path of radiance). The boss of the chapter is the "Mad king" Ashnard. It takes place in the Crimean castle courtyard, against the last

Daein soldiers. In easy/normal mode, there are 50 enemies. In hard mode, there are 40 enemies and 4 paladins plus a Bishop that appear around turn 10. In all modes, the goal of the chapter is Defeat Boss. You get to use 14 people for the battle, and must include Ike and whichever dragon you got.

Strategy

In all modes, 20/20 Ike is extremely useful. He can hold his own against most enemies easily, and heal if you gave him Aether.

Easy/Normal

The enemies are in 3 groups in these modes (Left, Right, and Center). You gain Tibarn, Naesala, or Giffca on the second turn, and personally, I prefer Tibarn, as he has greaater power than Naesala and he can fly. Ike and your king should be the front line of your party, and can probably take the center on their own. Split up your other allies amongst the two sides, and try to plow through the enemies. You should engage Ike with Bryce, who shouldn't cause him too much trouble. Ashnard won't move, and Ike plus the Laguz king (the only people who can hurt him) should finish him quickly with some healing. A lot of people talk about stealing the Rexaura, but I don't really see the appeal. You are moving a thief into a dangerous position, and Rhys is the least preferable healer to fight with.

Hard

Once again the foes are in the same 3 groups, but the same strategy doesn't work. Ike on his own can hold the middle group, but you don't yet gain the Laguz King. What I did was move all of my people to attack the left group, then after they were down had them all attack the right group, led by Nasir who had transformed. I found Tanith's reinforcements very useful for stalling the right side while I took out the left. Bryce and the feral dragons are the only ones who can deal significant damage to Ike, so make sure they don't all attack him at once. In this mode, Ashnard moves if you enter his range, so don't until you beat Bryce, and at least one dragon. In some ways, the paladins who come in are actually helpful, as Ike can use Aether to heal on them. With constant long range healing from both Mist and Elincia, Ashnard can be taken out, so long as you kill the bishop so he doesn't heal Ashnard. After he's defeated, he goes berserk, giving him boosts to HP, strength, skill, and speed (though not enough to double Ike). However, this battle is actually easier than defeating the first Ashnard, as you get a laguz king to help you. I recommend a flier, so they can enter combat quickly. Just use the same strategy, and make sure Ike (and preferably the laguz king) doesn't die.