Starting out as the king of the FGO meta, Buster fell off drastically once Skadi and Castoria were released. And now that we’re seeing somewhat of a resurgence in the Buster meta (thanks to newcomers such as Koyanskaya of the Light), we feel it’s time to offer up some recommendations for excellent Buster supports. Note that we’ll be focusing on the NA side of things for this list. So while Koyanskaya is a top-tier Buster Assassin, she’ll have to settle for being an honorable mention at the time of this writing.
5. Romulus (Lancer)
Buster supports are hard to come by in FGO. Romulus is a prime example of how little DW cared about the Buster meta before a certain wizard came along. Romulus can provide a mix of damage and utility by buffing not only his own attack, but also an ally’s Buster effectiveness (including a one-turn Guts as well). Unfortunately, Romulus offers very little else aside from these skills. And while he can be used for budget or free-to-play players, there are other (cheaper) options out there.
4. Leonidas (Lancer)
Leonidas is a great support Lancer – and is often used for solo runs due to the utility of his skillset. While Leonidas comes with the patented Buster effectiveness buff we’ve seen before, his true potential comes with his first and second skills. Leonidas’ first skill is a taunt: something very rare in FGO (as all those who failed to summon Guda Guda Poster Girl will attest to). He can draw attention away from your damage-dealers with this skill. And when that’s coupled with his Guts ability to revive after suffering fatal damage, he can survive for an annoyingly long time.
3. Nightingale (Berserker)
A Berserker support Servant?! Truly, Buster memes prove this matches with the mindless caveman-style of gameplay it’s always referred to – as if a Berserker is one of the key support Servants for the class! Nightingale provides a single party member with a Buster buff. And she’s one of the few servants with a targetable health restoration skill. Boring! Luckily, FGO knows exactly how Buster players like to play. They like to hit things as hard as possible with red cards whenever they can! Nightingale, being a Berserker, has a class advantage against all classes except Foreigners. When you also consider the buff to her damage against humanoid enemies, you can see how even if you feel forced to take a support Servant into battle, you can still do a lot of damage every turn.
2. Shakespeare (Caster)
Shakespeare, despite being only a two-star Servant, is a surprisingly effective budget Buster support Servant. Shakespeare can buff an ally’s Buster effectiveness, and also provide a useful 20% NP charge as well. Should you have a starting NP gauge CE such as Kaleidoscope, this final 20% charge will be just what you need to fire off that first nuke. While you could always use a Mystic Code to gain that final 20% NP charge, using Shakespeare frees up your options to invest in a Mystic Code that can buff your damage even further!
1. Merlin (Caster)
What is there to say about Merlin? He singlehandedly created the “red card go brr” Buster meta of early FGO. His massive Buster steroid that also increases the target’s max health was integral to his success as a viable support Servant. Not only this, but his 30% NP battery is nothing to scoff at. And his party-wide invincibility (yes, you read that correctly) can come in very clutch in extended fights. While not related to the metagame of FGO, Merlin has also gone down in infamy as a fan-favorite character due to his jovial personality, and his skill with a… magic wand. Unfortunately as FGO became more about three-turn looping and enemies continued to appear with multiple break bars, a single-turn nuke just wasn’t going to cut it anymore. Still, for fights against enemies with a singular health bar that need to be taken out in one strong hit, Merlin and Jalter can still provide you with incredible damage.
