Should You Pull? Angel Beats! - Yuri SS1 and Kanade SS1 (May 16, 2025)

Discussion and Question

Angel Beats Collab 1 is here! This Collab introduces two new units: Yuri SS1 (Fire Blaster) and Kanade SS1 (Light Attacker). This banner will not include Irie SS1 (Defender), who was included on the first rerun of the banner. There was also no mention of Collab 2, which is now more likely to arrive in November during our Anniversary.

Although the details aren't out, the special 10-step banner will likely include Yuri and Kanade, with a collab unit likely guaranteed at steps 5 and 10, so spenders may want to aim there before considering pulling on these new banners (final details pending, this is just a guess based on JP server).

#Read this if you are a new player

Welcome to Heaven Burns Red! Some of the things I talk about in this guide require a bit of game knowledge, so I wanted to give a brief overview of terminology to fully prepare you.

ST = Single Target, AOE = Area of Effect (multi-target)
DR = Devastation Rate, the percentage on an enemy that goes up to 300%+ and increases damage multiplied by that amount.
SS1, SS2, ect = This is how we refer to SS Memoria by order of their release. So SS1 = the first SS for that character, SS2 = the second SS for that character, and so on.
Spark = Pulling on a banner grants you currency, and after a certain amount of currency, you can buy one of the units on the banner. This is called Spark, and for normal banners it is 150 pulls. For collab banners, it is 200 pulls.
HP Effect Modifier = If a skill has this, it does bonus damage to the HP bar of an enemy.
OD = Overdrive, the gauge on the top-right that grants bonus turns once activated. OD gauge is built through attacks and skills, and the higher number of hits a skill does, the more gauge is built.
EX Skills are the special skills that can only be used by that Memoria. Common skills can be used on any of that character’s Memoria.
LB = Limit Break. Owning multiple copies of a Memoria allows you to Limit Break them,making them stronger and sometimes granting them access to new passive skills.

#Should You Pull Yuri SS1 / Kanade SS1?

Spender: Sure, if you like Angel Beats

Low-spender: Sure, if you like Angel Beats

F2P: Probably not, but if you are playing this game for Angel Beats, then sure

If you are new: ONLY if you REALLY like Angel Beats

Yuri and Kanade (Angel) are here from Angel Beats. This banner is our first limited banner, meaning these units will not show up as off-rates beyond this banner. You should not pull limited banners just because they are limited. This is likely not your only chance to pull for these units, as in the JP server, this banner reran in subsequent Angel Beats collabs. We are also expecting this banner to be a 200 Spark (60k Quartz), rather than our usual 150 Spark (45k Quartz). Considering that this collab is appearing on our half-anniversary, it's a fair estimate to guess that Angel Beats Collab 2 will be on our anniversary in November, which may include the rerun of Collab 1. It's also worth noting that the rerun of this banner includes Irie SS1, a limited (and very decent) Defender, so if you're looking to maximize your collecting value, you may want to gamble on the potential rerun. Additionally, rerun Angel Beats banners may share Spark with the new Angel Beats banners.

Yuri SS1 and Kanade SS1 are strong, but they are not meta-defining. We are also getting a copy of Yuri SS1 for free after a 10-day login bonus, so the real crux here would be pulling for Kanade SS1 (and hoping for Yuri SS1 copies). Yuri SS1 is a Fire Blaster who, like Adel SS2 and SS3, is actually your main Fire damage dealer. She houses a 10-hit EX with high Devastation Rate and a 30% HP Eff modifier, giving her strong role compression and a high damage ceiling. Kanade SS1 is a Light Attacker and is our first unit able to give themselves Tactical Vision (bonus damage when attacking an enemy weak to that Memoria’s weapon type or element). She is the strongest Light Attacker for a very long time, and owning a copy of her is important if you want to use Ice Attacker Kanade SS2 (Ice Attacker) in the future.

So whether you should pull hinges on asking yourself a series of questions:

How much do you like Angel Beats?
How much do you value having these units now rather than waiting for a rerun?
How interested are you in running Kanade SS2?
Do you have enough savings to pull on this banner and still aim for the extremely important Tama SS5 in 1-2 months?

You are not missing anything by skipping this banner. You can still play the game just fine, especially if you just pulled for Inori SS2, who should be getting buffed with this update. But these units are fun, good, and cool, and you can absolutely feel safe pulling this banner, especially if you really like Angel Beats.

#Yuri SS1:

Yuri SS1 is a strong ST Fire damage dealer. She is a Blaster by class, but easily performs the role of Blaster, Attacker, and Overdrive Generator all by herself. Her EX skill is a 10-hit Fire attack with 15 Devastation Rate and a 30% HP Mod. This skill is strong and will be your go to for Fire damage for a while. She is considered best-in-slot (with equal investment) until Ruka SS4, but she is still very usable far beyond that. As an Attacker/Blaster hybrid, she allows for easy role compression in your party, much like Adel SS2 with Ice.

As an SS1 with no S Memoria, Yuri comes with two common skills. One is a cheap 2-hit AOE attack with higher-than-usual Devastation Rate. The other is a 1-hit ST attack with good Devastation Rate. Neither of these skills are particularly important to her kit, although the AOE can be useful for Dungeons.

A common question that gets asked is whether Yuri SS1 is worth building if you already have Ruka SS1, especially evolved and with 3 31-A members in the squad. This is a somewhat complicated question, but it boils down to a few things:

Whoever has the higher Limit Break will likely do more damage.
Ruka will perform better when the enemy is slash-weak, and Yuri will perform better when the enemy is pierce-weak.
Yuri is a far more convenient unit to use with her high DR and 10-hit EX, allowing you to compress squad slots, especially against enemies with high DR caps.

So given the choice, unless your Ruka is several LB's above Yuri, you will probably prefer Yuri for your fire damage dealing purposes.

Honestly, there is not much else to say about her. If you have a strong Fire party already (owning Megumi SS3 and Yotsuha SS1), Yuri will perform extremely well for you, even at LB0 with the free copy we will get. New players especially will rejoice at having this extremely strong unit for free.

EX Skill: 10-hit Fire Attack (STR scale) with 15 DR and 30% HP Eff

Common Skill: 2-hit AOE attack with okay DR

Common Skill: 1-hit ST attack with good DR

Relevant A/S/SS Skill: N/A

LB0: Party Fire Attack Up 10%

LB3: Self Fire Attack Up 25%

Pros: She is a Blaster/Attacker hybrid who will perform extremely well in Fire parties and best of all, she's FREE!

Cons: No real downside, except that she is not entirely future-proof. Loses in damage to a Ruka SS1 with higher LB.

Conclusion: Yuri SS1 will be an excellent addition to everybody's Fire roster, performing the role of Blaster, OD generator, and Attacker, and she's FREEEEE!

#Kanade SS1:

Kanade SS1 is a strong Light Attacker. She is the pinnacle of Light damage dealing for a long time. Her EX Skill is a small Light Enhance followed by an 8-hit ST Light attack with 50% HP Eff modifier. This skill hits HARD. The small Light Enhance is nice, but if you're running Tsukasa SS3 (Light Buffer), you're going to prefer using two of her stronger Light Enhances instead.

Unfortunately, being the best Light Attacker is like being the best hitter in Junior league. Light is pretty good right now, but will soon be overshadowed as the other elements introduce much stronger options. Light is also last to receive Weakness Overwrite. That's not to say it's unusable, you can absolutely play Light and find yourself successfully dispatching enemies.

Her first common skill is a decent 2-hit AOE with SP recovery. Nothing worth noting.

The most impressive thing about Kanade SS1 is her second common skill. This skill grants herself Tactical Vision (bonus damage when attacking weakness), a fairly rare buff in the Global server only found on Minori SS1, Muua SS1, and soon Tama SS5. Only 2 other future units have the capability of self-granted Tactical Vision - Ruka (with SS4) and Monaka (with SS3). This self-buff allows for fairly good role compression - a Light team with Tsukasa SS3 won't even need to run Tama SS5 or Muua SS1 to gain tactical vision. But one cool thing about this skill is that it scales by level. So while normal Tactical Vision caps at a 50% multiplier, Kanade's (at skill level 10) caps at 59%, allowing you to squeeze out even more damage. This skill is also vital for her SS2 Memoria, currently the best Ice Attacker on the JP server (with the right setup).

If you want to run Light, you'd do well to pick up Kanade SS1. If you want to run Ice with Kanade SS2, you absolutely need to pick up Kanade SS1. But do note, she will likely rerun when Kanade SS2 comes out in the Angel Beats second collab and will most likely share a spark.

EX Skill: Small Light Attack Up followed by 8-hit ST Light attack with 50% HP Eff

Common Skill: 2-hit AOE Light attack with SP Recovery

Common Skill: Self-Tactical Vision

A/S/SS Skill: N/A

LB0: Party Light Attack Up 10%

LB3: Self Light Attack Up 25%

Pros: She is an extremely strong ST Light attacker with great role compression by being able to give herself Tactical Vision.

Cons: Light itself is an element that will become overshadowed by elements with stronger supports and houses the last Weakness Overwrite.

Conclusion: Kanade SS1 is an amazing Light attacker with a rare self-buff who will lead your Light team for a long time, and owning a copy of her is vital if you want to run Kanade SS2 in an Ice party. However, if you are pulling Kanade SS1 to empower your Kanade SS2, it may be recommended to pull on the rerun.

#Should I build Irie S?

I want to add a small mention to Irie S, the free welfare unit we will get from this upcoming Collab. New players and veterans alike can find great use for her. She is a Defender who is able to heal the party and give Frontline Defense Up for only 9 SP. This can be an extremely good addition to your party if you are struggling with survival, especially if you don’t own Aoi SS1. Make sure to grab all of her copies in the Event shop as well as her skill upgrade items.

#Looking ahead:

I created a guide to help you plan your pulls, and I keep it updated. That's Pulling Paths, baby.

#Who's next?

We just don't know, but we are overdue for the brides Ichiko SS2/Mari SS3.

Archive

Special thanks to Seraph Database and Tojo Files for their excellent work in compiling information.

Posted May 10, 2025, 2:45 PM UTC

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