Lords are the single most important unit archetype in Fire Emblem. They’re one of their game’s protagonists and central to its story. A Lord usually has to be deployed in all or most missions. It is always a game over if the player loses their Lord. As such, they are uniquely relevant to both the narrative and the gameplay.
A Lord’s power can affect a player’s strategy, gameplay, and even overall enjoyment of the game. Some Lords are weak and frail. They need to be babysat through the whole game. Others are reasonable units, keeping pace with others in the game. Some Lords, however, are complete combat monsters. Most of these are capable of soloing their entire games.
Updated 24th of January, by Isaac Williams: Fire Emblem Engage is out. With it, it’s brought several new Lords to the franchise. They’ve always been some of the games’ most powerful units, and the newest title is no exception. As such, this list has been updated with some more of the franchise’s best Lords.
15 Hector Is A Slow Powerhouse
Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade
Hector is one of Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade‘s three Lords. He’s a supporting character in Eliwood Mode and the starring protagonist of his own Hector Mode. The Blazing Blade‘s Lords all have clear weaknesses, but Hector’s are the least impactful to the overall game. Hector is slow and has the worst mobility of the three Lords.
In addition, Hector’s speed stat is lower than many of The Blazing Blade‘s units. Nonetheless, his strengths overcome this. He uses axes, the game’s best weapon type. In addition, his defense and hit points make him unkillable. After his promotion, Hector will be fast enough to double the game’s final boss. He’s also the only Lord who can easily wield his late-game unique weapon due to his Constitution.
14 Alear Combines Two Powerful Archetypes
Fire Emblem Engage
Alear is Fire Emblem Engage‘s protagonist. They combine the roles of Lord and Avatar, the player’s customizable character. Both of these are known for being very powerful archetypes. Despite this, Alear is remarkably balanced with the other units of their game. There is no doubt that they’re powerful, but they don’t dominate their game.
Alear’s stats are more reasonable than most Avatars. On top of that, they’re less versatile than many of their ilk. However, they get stronger in other ways. Alear gets unique benefits from using Fire Emblem Engage‘s Emblem Rings, such as new abilities. Through the right build and Emblem Rings, Alear can be one of Engage‘s best units.
13 Marth Sets A High Bar
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon And The Blade Of Light & Fire Emblem: Mystery Of The Emblem
Marth is Fire Emblem‘s very first Lord. He’s the protagonist of the very first game, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. He also reappears in its sequel and the remakes of both games. Marth is a powerful Lord in all four games. However, it’s in Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light that he sets his most impressive showing.
Marth is one of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon‘s best units. He uses swords, the best weapon type. On top of that, he gets access to three powerful personal weapons over the course of the game. Marth’s hard to kill and capable of dishing punishment back out. He also has unique utility. Enemies go out of their way to attack Marth. If the player uses him as bait, it offers many tactical opportunities.
12 Ike Goes From A Good Unit To A Fantastic One
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance & Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
In the lore of Fire Emblem, Ike is a notoriously powerful figure. He’s described in Fire Emblem Heroes as one of the most powerful heroes in all of existence. In his own games, Ike is considered more powerful than most of Tellius’ most powerful figures. He goes on to beat many of these figures in duels.
In-game, it’s not quite as clear-cut. In Path of Radiance, Ike is simply a good unit. He has an excellent sword and reasonable defenses, but can be hindered by low bases and poor Speed growth. In Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, Ike stands out as one of the best units in the game. Ike’s an all-rounder with access to powerful unique swords, and the best weapon type in axes. Only units like the Laguz Monarchs overshadow him.
11 Chrom Shines In A Game With A High Power Ceiling
Fire Emblem: Awakening
Fire Emblem: Awakening has a particularly high power ceiling. It has class changes, skills, and a second generation. These make it possible to create some obscenely powerful units, as long as the player will put in the time and effort. Almost any character can be made overpowered with time.
Despite this, Chrom stands apart from many of the game’s units for more reasons than just being the Lord. With the right combination of skills, classes, level-ups, and equipment, he can become almost unkillable. Chrom does have some weaknesses, like a low magic stat. Nonetheless, his strengths more than compensate.
10 Corrin Outshines Most Other Units
Fire Emblem Fates
Corrin is one of the best-known Avatar units in Fire Emblem, and also a Lord. They combine several useful archetypes. On top of everything else, Corrin is part-dragon. They carry a dragon stone and have the ability to transform in combat. Being a Lord, an Avatar, and similar to a Manakete, makes them an incredibly effective unit.
Corrin isn’t Fire Emblem Fates‘ best unit. However, they’re still very clearly in the upper tier. Only some of the game’s other royals manage to match their usefulness. In particular, Corrin is more useful on the Conquest route. As experience is limited, the player can’t simply grind other units up to match Corrin in power.
9 Diamant Is A Powerful Late Joiner
Fire Emblem Engage
Fire Emblem Engage‘s Diamant is an unusual Lord. He is not his game’s main character. Instead, he is one of a pair of Lords who join in Chapter 8 as optional party members. Although Diamant lacks a Lord’s traditional role in Fire Emblem, it’s still his class. He bears many of its hallmarks, such as a preference for swords.
Despite his unusual nature, Diamant is more than worth using. He’s noted for outclassing several units in similar roles the moment he appears. New characters in Fire Emblem Engage can often rival units the player has been building for a while. However, Diamant will likely remain a party mainstay for the game’s length.
8 Ephraim Is A Direct Improvement On Other Lords
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Ephraim is one of the two main characters of Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones. He’s unusual in that he is a spear-wielder, while most Lords make use of swords. Despite this oddity, he is considered one of the most effective Lords in the game. In particular, Ephraim is considered better than his sister Eirika, and more effective than the series’ previous lance-using Lord, Eliwood from Blazing Sword.
Although Ephraim only becomes fully playable later in the game, he benefits from very good growths. He also gets to bypass the low starting stats of Eirika. If chosen as the character to follow, he can grow into one of his game’s most effective units and a powerhouse who could stand up to other Lords.
7 Alm Can Be His Game’s Best Unit With Some Luck
Fire Emblem: Gaiden & Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows Of Valentia
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is another game with two Lords, Alm and Celica. Neither is a bad unit, with Celica being considered a thoroughly usable character. However, she is overshadowed by Alm. He is, in the eyes of many, potentially the best unit in the game.
Although Alm needs some lucky level-ups to stay that way, he’s likely to remain a powerhouse throughout. He has access to the game’s wide list of swords as well as its bows. As a result, Alm can have an answer to almost any situation. At the same time, he has the sheer power to overcome most threats.
6 Lucina Nearly Overshadows Her Game’s Main Protagonists
Fire Emblem: Awakening
Lucina isn’t the central protagonist throughout Fire Emblem: Awakening. Nonetheless, she is the Lord of that game’s second generation and one of the game’s most important characters. In many ways, Lucina resembles her father, Chrom. However, she also gets the perks of being a second-generation unit.
With the right choice of mother, Lucina can be built into almost anything. She retains all the strengths of a Lord on top of unique abilities and weapons like the Parallel Falchion. Ultimately, the only thing that stops Lucina from being the most powerful unit in her game is the ludicrous potential of units like Robin and Morgan.
5 Seliph Is Nearly As Powerful As His Father
Fire Emblem: Genealogy Of The Holy War
Selph is the protagonist of the second half of Genealogy of the Holy War. He’s the son of the infamous powerhouse Sigurd and inherits many of his father’s strengths. He starts off slightly weak but has high growths in nearly every stat. These are enough to make him a nightmare to the enemy in just a few levels.
What really sets Seliph apart, aside from the powerful weapons he can inherit from Sigurd, are his skills. Between Pursuit and Nihil, he can attack nearly any enemy in the game twice, while also shutting down counterattacks. After some powering up, Seliph can solo his half of a very difficult game.
4 Claude Is Invaluable In The Early Game And Powerful Throughout
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is an unusual entry in the series. Byleth is its protagonist, but the game’s Lord can be one of three characters, including Claude von Riegen. Much like the others, Claude is an immensely capable unit throughout the game.
Claude’s is unusual for a Lord in that he favors bows. Nonetheless, his ability to use them, coupled with his skill with a sword, makes him invaluable throughout the early game. Even after that, Claude doesn’t experience much drop-off. He can almost be a match for Byleth, the game’s incredibly powerful Avatar.
3 Dimitri Is Nearly Unkillable And Vicious In The Enemy Phase
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Three Houses’ three Lords are well-balanced between themselves. Each is considered the most effective unit in their route. Despite very different playstyles, they can all tackle nearly anything that comes their way. Dimitri Blaiddyd, Lord of the Blue Lions, shines in one of Fire Emblem‘s most useful places. He’s invaluable in the enemy phase.
Dimitri has high defense and hit points, the ability to counter at range, and overall high stats. He can kill more enemies in their turn than he ever can in his own. The best use of Dimitri is to park him at a chokepoint or even in the middle of an enemy crowd. He’ll decimate them with little threat to himself.
2 Edelgard Can Clear Maps In A Single Turn
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Edelgard is Fire Emblem: Three Houses‘ third lord. Compared to the other two, she’s considered the most powerful in the high-tier group. She has the high stats and versatility of her fellows and can excel in nearly any combat situation. Where Edelgard truly shines, however, is with her relic: Aymr.
This relic allows Edelgard to take additional turns. This ability is so powerful in Fire Emblem that it’s usually restricted to a specific noncombatant class. Through judicious use of Amyr, Edelgard can easily destroy an entire enemy army. It’s not unheard of for her to clear maps in a single turn. Even without Amyr, Edelgard’s an unstoppable combatant.
1 Sigurd Has Never Been Topped In Terms Of Power
Fire Emblem: Genealogy Of The Holy War
In the long history of Fire Emblem games, no Lord has outdone Sigurd. He’s the lord of the fourth game, Genealogy of the Holy War. When he’s available, Sigurd is unmatched in power and usefulness. It’s well-known that he can solo the game’s entire first half by himself.
Sigurd starts off powerful and only becomes more lethal with time. Genealogy of the Holy War even encourages the player to make heavy use of Sigurd. Doing so improves the capabilities of his son, Seliph. Sigurd’s only stopped from dominating the entire game by his sudden death at the end of the first half.
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