Tawara Touta

Great Survivability

Tawara’s three skills all have aspects that help him survive. He has a heal (up to 2000 HP) tied to his first skill, both a Cu-esque evade (lasts for 2 attacks) and a defense up tied to his second, and a party-wide max HP increasing (+2000 HP) skill for his third. Tawara’s second skill, like Cu’s, can immediately be used upon entry to help him sponge up some damage while refreshing the cooldown as soon as possible. His third skill can be used either preemptively or reactionary, as the HP gain it gives doesn’t have a cap. Overall, Tawara arguably can be used as a substitute to Cu against Saber enemies.

Good Damage Against Demonic Trait

Before Tawara deals damage to his enemies via his NP, he first buffs himself to deal bonus damage against enemies with the Demonic trait. As there are quite a few enemies with this trait, it increases his versatility.

Some Party-Wide Support

Something of interest to note with Tawara is that his third skill which increases max HP is party-wide. It gives “additional” health to your fellow Servants, raising both their current and max HP by an equal amount, allowing them to tank more damage. Upon the skill expiring, only their max HP will drop down back to its normal cap, with excess HP disappearing (if they had taken more damage than their default max HP value, then only their max HP decreases without decreasing their current HP). Not only can it be used as a heal, but as the health gain doesn’t have a cap, it can also be used proactively.

Unusual Niche

Tawara’s niche is weird. He has an AoE Buster NP which deals bonus damage to enemies with the Demonic trait, but he has average attack stats and NP gain. He also has multiple skills which help in survivability, but as most stall teams are Arts-centric, his kit may not be the most optimal for those teams. Overall, it leaves Tawara in limbo where he isn’t the most optimal Servant for the two jobs he can do. 

Skills can be Conflicting

Tawara has a heal which is tied to his Buster Performance Up, so there may be certain situations where both effects can’t be used to their full extent (e.g. powering up his NP when he’s still at full HP, healing without having his NP up).

• Protection of the Dragon King should be increased first as it has a Buster Performance Up and a heal which enhances both of Tawara’s niches. More damage is always nice for farming as well. 
• Protection from Arrows should be leveled second. Not only does the Defense Up improve in value, but reducing the cooldown on this skill will allow Tawara to refresh his dodge faster and minimize moments in which he is vulnerable. 
• Inexhaustible Straw Bag can be left for last as while it is beneficial for the team as a whole, it doesn’t really contribute a lot to Tawara’s kit compared to the other two skills. The increase per skill level also isn’t as powerful as it is for the other two skills.  

• Limited/ Zero Over / Verdant Sound of Destruction: Tawara has a Buster NP, and these CEs increase Buster Performance. Nothing much else has to be said.  
• Volumen Hydrargyrum: This CE gives even more survivability to an already tanky Servant. In addition, as this CE’s invulnerability hitcounts takes priority over the dodges from Protection from Arrows, Protection from Arrows can be activated as sooner to start its cooldown timer earlier. 
• Nightless Rose/ Star of Altria/ Necromancy:  One advantage Tawara has compared to other survivability-focused Servants is that due to his kit not having a built in Guts, Tawara can equip a Guts CE and not have to worry about his skills going to waste.