Out of all the classes the Black Eagles are arguably the weakest in terms of strength, yet they are by far the most popular among players and have the second strongest character in the game after Byleth. These residents of the Adrestian Empire are hardy warriors who primarily wield axes and black magic.
Though they’re the weakest they are still a powerful force to be reckoned with. Any player would benefit from having the fierce members of the Black Eagle house among their numbers on the battlefield.
8 Bernadetta
Of all the Black Eagle house students Bernadetta is the weakest, which is actually fairly consistent with her being the shyest student at the monastery. Bernadetta often avoids others, which includes mentors, and will often feign illness to hide in her dorm and not go to practices or training.
Her prowess in combat supports avoiding people and direct confrontation. She’s best suited to be a bow fighter with high stats in dexterity and speed with her highest skill ranking in bow weapons. Her ability is Persecution Complex which gives her +5 attack whenever she’s not at full health, which is a guarantee in battle. She's a Sniper and will do a good job at staying away from the enemy.
7 Dorothea
Dorothea had an interesting life as the daughter of nobles before being orphaned, becoming a famous singer, and now enlisting in the officer’s academy. Perhaps because of this interest in singing rather than combat she’s one of the weaker students in the Black Eagles.
Combat wise she is good at using reason and has mediocre skills in fighting with swords. Her strength isn’t that great so her focus should be on her magic, which means she is best suited to be a Mage for most of the game, with the end goal being a Dancer.
She has decent survivability and her ability Songstress allows allies to recover 10% of their health each turn. But she is terrible when it comes to attacking. Basically her job is to stay alive and heal others.
6 Casper
Casper is hot headed with a need to prove himself. On one hand this makes him a fabulous warrior as he is obsessing over his skills and working to be stronger and harder hitting, unfortunately his hot headedness means he lacks self-preservation skills and defense which is why he ranks lower.
In combat he’s a melee glass cannon ideally suited to be a hard-hitting War Master, but one that will die quickly without someone to protect and heal him while he bashes at the enemy with his axe. His ability is Born Fighter which causes enemies to have -10 avoidance meaning his powerful hits will have a better chance of striking.
5 Petra
Heir to the throne, Petra is a very intelligent student with average combat skills. Some fans compare her to the character Merida from Pixar’s Brave, albeit without the same bow skills. Her struggle with grammar makes for some amusing dialogue and many pick her for the social aspect.
Her main combat skills are flying and swordsmanship which makes her destined to becoming a Falcon Knight. Her ability Hunter’s Boon gives her a +20 critical hit chance when enemies are below 50% health. She’s your run of the mill fighter with a great personality that would find a place in anyone’s army.
4 Linhardt
Linhardt is a bit of a paradox in that he’s lazy, but also one to forget to sleep if he’s studying something that captures his interest. Finding a way to focus his attention and energy can make him the best student at the Academy, but only if he finds it interesting.
In combat he’s skilled in faith and reason putting him on path to be a magic caster in one or both of those areas. Becoming a Bishop, Dark Bishop, or Warlock is highly recommended to getting his full potential. Although an argument could be made for focusing on his faith as a Bishop as his high level spell Warp is incredibly useful for moving allies on the battlefield.
He’s not a damage dealer per say, but with Warp and a high resistance he’s a great utility mage and a must for any Black Eagle army.
3 Ferdinand
Son of a power-hungry noble Ferdinand is constantly seeking to exemplify true nobility and treat others fairly. He loathes those who displays traits his father has, although he is a sore loser himself.
In combat he is skilled in lances, bow, and riding which makes him a perfect candidate for becoming a Bow Knight which utilizes all of those abilities. He has a good spread of stats and growth which means he can take hits and dish them out just as well. His ability Confidence gives a +15 to hit and avoidance when he’s at full health which is great for first hits or if he has a healer nearby.
2 Hubert
Hubert is one of the least popular characters in the game and for good reason. He is devoted to protecting Edelgard to the point where he will consider assassinating anyone who gets in her way even if her life isn’t at risk.
He is however the second most powerful member of the Black Eagles. His luck stat is ridiculously high which has an effect on every single thing he does or has an effect on him, namely enemies’ critical hit chance. He has a high magic stat with his focus being reason, making him an ideal candidate for becoming a warlock. Although his ability Officer’s Duty raises his might by +5 with Gambits, so a case could be made for Dark Knight.
1 Edelgard
The strongest member of the Black Eagles is their leader, Edelgard. She is the current princess and future emperor of the Adrestian Empire which is where the Black Eagles hail from. She is strong headed and will not give up on her goals. She is constantly scheming for the betterment of her people and rises to the challenge of being both a leader and fighter.
She is a talented axe warrior with a proficiency in heavy armor, she has high strength, lots of hp, and high charisma. Of the Master classes she is best as a Great Knight, but it’s a stop on the way to becoming Emperor. Edelgard is a powerhouse on the battlefield and should be the player’s primary goal when recruiting from the Black Eagles.