The Fire Emblem franchise possesses a storied legacy full to the brim with iconic characters and archetypes. Few of these character archetypes are as crucial as each game's "lord," the main character whom the narrative of a given entry is often centered around. However, not every lord in the series is as powerful as their status in the story may suggest.
Though a fan favorite in the Super Smash Bros. community, Roy is not nearly as capable in the game in which he originates, often being considered more of a hinderance than an asset. So today we're going to delve into the cream of the crop when it comes to Lords in the Fire Emblem series.
10 Eliwood
While possessing flaws such a a late promotion like many other lords in the series, Eliwood serves as the benchmark of of passable lord. Possessing relitively balanced (albeit lackluster) stats and growth rates, though he can initially only wield swords which limits his two-range availability, upon promoting, Eliwood redeems himself in nearly every way.
Once a player promotes Eliwood, the lord gains access to a mount which greatly increases his movement, as well as access to lances. This gives Eliwood access to the much desired javelin which lets him attack much more safely from two spaces away from his targets.
9 Ephraim
Effectively a direct step up from Eliwood, Ephraim comes alongside a similar late promotion which can hinder his growth as a unit. Additionally, like Eliwood, Ephraim has the benefit of receiving a mount upon promotion, giving him more flexibility and utility in regards to movement and rescuing.
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However, unlike Eliwood, Ephraim has the added bonus of immediately starting with lances as his primary weapon, meaning that he can hurl a multitude of javelins at his enemies from the word go.
8 Seliph
While not possessing the impressive starting base stats found within his father, Sigurd, Seliph's appeal comes in the form of his phenomenal potential. Sporting solid growth rates and an excellent promotion (mount included), Seliph is capable of being one of the best units in Genealogy of the Holy War via the use of the game's inheritance setup, which when paired with his holy blood, is capable of making him one of the most optimized units in the game.
7 Hector
Hector is perhaps one of the most bulky and resilient lords in the history of Fire Emblem. Possessing notably high strength and defense, Hector is an extremely capable physically oriented unit. Unlike the majority of lords, rather than using swords, Hector uses axes as his primary weapon, giving him access to hand axes. This reliably lets Hector fight enemies from two spaces away, which can help in counter attacking enemy arches as well as safely attacking enemies on a player's turn.
Additionally, Hector's starting weapon, the Wolf Beil, is incredibly useful, dealing extra damage to cavaliers and knights alike.
Upon promoting, Hector becomes yet even more of a tank with high strength, HP, and defense. The only reason Hector doesn't rank higher on this list is due to his lack of a mount, Hector suffers from a significant lack of movement which can often slow down a player's strategy.
6 Celica
One of the few lords in Fire Emblem capable of using magic, Celica possesses a significant amount of utility, making her one of the best available units in her respective route in Shadows of Valentia. Able to cast spells to deal with foes both near and far, Celica learns useful spells such as Seraphim which allows her to easily deal with the large sums of monsters in her route.
Additionally, Celica learns Recover at level nine, making her one of the only lords in fire emblem capable of healing allies, providing her with yet even more utility.
5 Alm
When it comes to reliably dealing damage in Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, few can compare with the game's lord and protagonist, Alm.
Possessing some of the most consistent and high growths in the game, Alm is the only unit in the game capable of learning the absurdly powerful "Double Lion" skill. This skill not only raises the accuracy and power of Alm's attack, but it ensures that he will always attack consecutively, allowing him to defeat the majority of enemy units within the game with ease.
4 Corrin
The protagonist of each version of Fire Emblem: Fates, Corrin makes their way onto this list via sheer flexibility. Capable of serving any role a player may need in their strategy, at the beginning of a playthrough, players can alter Corrin's stats and even enable Corrin to become any class of their choice.
Furthermore, Corrin's access to numerous tools such as magic (the type of which depends on the version of Fates being played) and a dragon stone allow Corrin to adapt on a whim as a level progresses.
3 Ike (Radiant Dawn)
Phenomenal base stats? Check.
Excellent personal weapon with infinite uses and the ability to hit enemy units at "two range?" Check.
When it comes to combat in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, one would be hard pressed to find a character as capable as Ike. Only really suffering in the areas of resistance and movement, Ike's biggest problem can be easily patched up via the use of the Celerity skill, or the use of flying units to simply transport Ike into the front lines.
While it isn't expected of all players, if one were to utilize Radiant Dawn's ability to transfer character data from the previous game in the series, Path of Radiance in order to boost the stats of units which had capped their stats, Ike may rank even higher on this list.
2 Claude
While the flexibility allowed by the various systems within Fire Emblem: Three Houses allows for players to build and customize their units in any way that they see fit, Claude's unique classes he has access to after the time-skip skyrocket his strengths into the stratosphere.
Being a mounted flier immediately provides Claude with great utility between high movement and the ability to fly over terrain such as water and mountains. However, Claude's personal class skill propels him yet even further in an ability that is effectively "Pass," allowing him to maneuver past enemy units as if they weren't even there.
1 Sigurd
Sigurd isn't just one of the strongest lords, nor is he merely one of the strongest units within Genealogy of the Holy War. Sigurd is one of the strongest units in the entire Fire Emblem franchise.
Genealogy of the Holy War is notably one of the few Fire Emblem games that does not feature a pre-promoted mentor character to help players through the early game. That's because the inclusion of Sigurd as a protagonist completely invalidates the inclusion of such a unit. Possessing incredible movement, weapon access, holy blood, and even solid base stats and growth rates, their are few units who are as readily available and powerful throughout their entire run in a game as Sigurd.
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