The Fate series is a franchise well known for its wide variety of storylines, each with its own unique features and characters, yet they are still connected through some general concepts. One of these concepts is the Noble Phantasm. Noble Phantasms are the manifestations of a hero’s legend and achievements while they were still alive
These manifestations are weapons and abilities possessing immense power that no ordinary human could ever wish to replicate. Though all are powerful, they vary from one heroic spirit to another, naturally meaning there are some that rank above the others. A Noble Phantasm serves as a trump card for a heroic spirit, with all possessing at least one. Here are some of the strongest of these abilities shown in the Fate anime franchise.
Updated November, 25, by Emedo Destiny: Power-up abilities are commonplace across the anime medium, as almost every supernaturally-abled character in anime possesses them. There are many examples of these abilities in anime, such as Super Saiyan from Dragon Ball Z and Bankai from Bleach. Power-ups act as trump cards, aiming to change the tide in close battles, and that is exactly what Noble Phantasms are designed to do—to give their owners the upper hand. Noble Phantasms are the weapons and/or talents that belong to Heroic Spirits which are mighty products of human imagination. Many powerful Noble Phantasms appear throughout the Fate series, all demonstrating tremendous and terrifying power. However, they all vary in their nature, abilities, and destructive capabilities.
15 Tsubame Gaeshi (Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works)
- User: Sasaki Kojiro
- Servant Class: Assassin
The Tsubame Gaeshi is a Noble Phantasm of Sasaki Kojiro, a legendary swordsman from the early Edo period of Japan. Although it is not the flashiest on this list, Tsubame Gaeshi’s strengths lie in its simplicity and effectiveness. It was originally a sword technique created to strike down flying swallows.
The technique consists of three simultaneous blades that trap its target from all angles without any possibility of escape or defense. The Tsubame Gaeshi, as a Noble Phantasm, is so powerful even Saber found it difficult to escape the technique.
14 Gae Bolg (Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works)
- User: Cú Chulainn
- Servant Class: Lancer
Gáe Bolg is the name shared by both the weapon and ability of Cú Chulainn’s lancer class. It is a strike that pierces the heart of its target without fail. This is possible through the lance’s ability to reverse cause and effect. Meaning once activated, the effect of the heart being pierced is actualized before the cause, which entails the lance being thrust, making it a deadly and unavoidable move.
Though it is, by design, a move that guarantees instant death, it is possible to survive an encounter with the cursed lance by staying out of its effective range. It is also possible to survive if it’s received by a person with tremendous luck and instinct, as is seen when Saber manages to avoid a fatal wound.
13 Clarent (Fate/Apocrypha)
- User: Mordred
- Servant Class: Saber
Clarent: Radiant and Brilliant Royal Sword, as it is fully known, is a sword belonging to Modred, also known as Saber of Red and the “son” of King Arthur. The sword was initially kept away by King Arthur and was characterized by many as "more dazzling than any silver" because of its glittering white silver appearance.
The sword also can raise the physical attributes of its wielder. However, because Mordred stole the sword without acknowledgment, she cannot use the abilities the sword would ordinarily bestow. Despite this drawback, Modred can imbue her sword with her overwhelming hatred and amplify it, allowing her to use a more powerful version of the sword—Clarent Blood Arthur.
12 Sword of Paracelsus (Fate/Grand Order)
- User: Paracelsus von Hohenheim
- Servant Class: Caster
While it may look like a simple sword, the Sword of Paracelsus is a powerful Noble Phantasm. It belongs to Paracelsus von Hohenheim, a Caster-class Servant. Forged out of the extremely dense Elixir, the blade of the sword is very durable, being able to withstand many kinds of attacks. The sword can also amplify the power of its wielder’s magecraft and allows the instantaneous use of ritualistic magic.
The Elixir the Sword of Paracelsus is made from serves as a quantum computer that has the power to analyze and incorporate any magical properties thrown at it. It essentially steals the power of its opponents. The power of the Noble Phantasm does not stop there, as it can also neutralize magical properties. For instance, it neutralized the Noble Phantasm—Ramesseum Tentyris.
11 Ionioi Hetairoi (Fate/Zero)
- User: Iskandar
- Servant Class: Rider
This Noble Phantasm perfectly represents the nature of Iskandar’s conquest. It is a reality marble within which warriors that fought alongside the great conqueror in his life once again come to his aid. However, what makes this Noble Phantasm truly stand out is the profile of each warrior within it. They all qualify as servants, with some possessing greater individual skills than Iskandar, a testament to his tremendous charisma.
He displays the strength of this power best when he decimates an army of Assassin class servants, vanquishing them within mere seconds. Though it was no match for Gilgamesh and his Ea, it remains one of the few Noble Phantasms that has received praise from the Golden King.
10 Bellerophon (Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel III)
- User: Medusa
- Servant Class: Rider
Named after a man in Greek mythology believed to have ridden the Pegasus, Bellerophon is a Noble Phantasm able to amplify the power and change the nature of Medusa’s version of the divine beast. This ability strengthens the Pegasus, complimenting its divine properties and altering its general passive nature, turning it into a beast with immense offensive capabilities.
The strength of this Noble Phantasm is manifested through an unstoppable charge directed at its target, obliterating everything in its path. The proof of its power is shown on two occasions when it manages to push Saber to her limit. On one of these occasions even completely defeating her, though with the help of Emiya Shirou.
9 Knight of Owner (Fate/Zero)
- User: Lancelot
- Servant Class: Berserker
Knight of Owner is the name given to the Noble Phantasm of the Berserker-class Servant—Lancelot. It is a manifestation of when he was forced to battle Phelot without a weapon and gives him the ability to turn anything that he deems and wishes to wield as a weapon into a Noble Phantasm. His fight against Artoria Pendragon in Fate/Zero, where he used a pole as a Noble Phantasm, demonstrates this ability.
Lancelot’s ability also extends to the Noble Phantasms of other servants, as he can gain control of them once they are in his possession. For instance, he was able to wield the sword, Durandal, from Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon to annihilate a spear.
8 An Gal Tā Kigal Shē (Fate/Grand Order: Zettai Majuu Sensen Babylonia)
- User: Ishtar
- Servant Class: Archer
This Noble Phantasm demonstrates the level of authority Ishtar has as a goddess of Venus. She opens a gate to Venus with her Boat of Heaven Manna and, harnessing the planet’s power, fires a beam at her target, essentially hitting them with a blast possessing the force of a celestial body.
The power of this ability was displayed during the fight against Tiamat. Though Ishtar could not completely defeat the Beast class Servant, she managed to slow her down, even forcing her to emerge in a completely different form.
7 Xiuhcoatl (Fate/Grand Order: Zettai Majuu Sensen Babylonia)
- User: Quetzalcoatl
- Servant Class: Rider
As one of the most important Aztec gods, it’s no surprise that Quetzalcoatl possesses one of the most devastating Noble Phantasms. Incorporating her other Noble Phantasm, Piedra Del Sol, and her trademark Lucha libre moves, Quetzalcoatl jumps into the sky and unleashes a kick on her target after reaching a thousand-meter distance. On impact, the force of the attack is said to replicate that of the meteorite that wiped out the dinosaurs.
This attack shows the difference in power between it and the An Gal Tā Kigal Shē by damaging Tiamat in her evolved form and even breaking off one of her horns. After using the attack, however, she runs out of magical energy, revealing she had to sacrifice herself in the process.
6 Age of Babylon (Fate/Grand Order: Zettai Majuu Sensen Babylonia)
- User: Enkidu
- Servant Class: False Lancer
Kingu inherited this Noble Phantasm after he was born into Enkidu's body. The user is granted the ability to create weapons from clay, each possessing exceptional quality that rivals the weapons used by heroes in legend.
The weapons produced are of such high quality that during his battle against Gilgamesh, Enkidu kept the King of Heroes at bay for several days, matching his output using weapons created with the Noble Phantasm. It is said to have been the original inspiration for the projectile form of the Gate of Babylon Gilgamesh uses now.
5 Gate of Babylon (Fate/Zero & Unlimited Blade Works)
- User: Gilgamesh
- Servant Class: Archer
The Gate of Babylon serves as a universal portal with which Gilgamesh can access the countless treasures he collected in his life whenever he pleases. The treasures in this vault include weapons that qualify as high-grade Noble Phantasms on their own, signifying the tremendous amount of power he holds just by being able to access them freely.
Gilgamesh can use this ability in multiple ways, the most popular being the projectile method. Using this method, he can fire his weapons as projectiles toward his target from any direction without doing as much as lifting a single finger, leaving his enemies to deal with an endless barrage of Noble Phantasms.
4 Unlimited Blade Works (Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works)
- User: Emiya
- Servant Class: Archer
This Noble Phantasm allows the user to physically manifest a space from their mind within which they can replicate almost any weapon of their choice, possessing a higher success rate with swords. The only exceptions are weapons created by beings not of human origin, otherwise known as Divine Constructs.
In the battle against Gilgamesh, the Noble Phantasm is shown to immediately replicate each treasure the King of Heroes fired out of the Gate of Babylon. In addition, this space, also known as a reality marble, grants the user the ability to project weapons from anywhere within it, allowing them to overwhelm entities even as strong as Gilgamesh.
3 Excalibur (Fate/Zero & Unlimited Blade Works)
- User: Artoria Pendragon
- Servant Class: Saber
The holy sword Excalibur is considered by many as the strongest Noble Phantasm that has existed throughout the history of mankind. It is a Divine Construct created by the fairies of Avalon, the greatest holy sword that serves as the physical representation of King Arthur’s ideals. It is famously dubbed the Sword of Promised Victory, indicative of the countless battles won with it in the hands of the King.
In its strongest form, it serves as a weapon that amplifies the magic power of its user and projects it in the form of light onto its target. It is a sword that has been used to destroy the Holy Grail on two separate occasions, though in their incomplete states, showing its extraordinary destructive power. Though not able to face off against Ea directly, it has shown that it is also a Noble Phantasm capable of defeating Gilgamesh.
2 Ars Almaden Salomonis (Fate/Grand Order)
- User: King Solomon
- Servant Class: Caster
Ars Almaden Salomonis is a Noble Phantasm of immense and devastating power and a weapon fit for a person of King Solomon’s stature. It serves as his third and most powerful Noble Phantasm. It initially appears to be a ring of light encircling the Earth. However, it is actually a combination of hundreds of millions of light beams cast over the Earth's satellite orbit and almost the size of a continent.
Each light beam also possesses a destructive force similar to Excalibur. Despite being blocked by Mash Kyrielight’s Lord Camelot in Fate/Grand Order, the beams were powerful enough to still eviscerate her body.
1 Enuma Elish (Fate/Stay Night & Fate/Zero)
- User: Gilgamesh
- Servant Class: Archer
Enuma Elish is an ability unique to the Sword of Rupture Ea. Ea is a Divine Construct, existing even before the age of man and exclusive to Gilgamesh’s treasury. Unless specific conditions are met, it is certain to deliver an unstoppable blow as it is a sword with the ability to rupture space itself. Consequently, it is Gilgamesh’s most prized possession, so much so that he refuses to use it on opponents he does not deem worthy of witnessing its power.
It is a strike that almost certainly guarantees instant victory, but Gilgamesh’s aversion to using it due to his excessive pride has cost him dearly once before, as seen in his battle against Emiya Shirou. However, not many can stand in his way once he chooses to use this ability, as shown when delivering a mortal blow to Saber and decimating Iskandar’s army.