Which lord would you follow into battle?

[secondworld]

Of all the main characters in the series, who would you trust the most to be your leader?

To clarify, I'm looking at the leaders. So if you're wanting a certain tactician for your vote, go with the lord they work under. Elincia and Lucina have been argued over whether they count as true lords or not in the past, but I'd say they're close enough and they fall under the leader criteria so I am allowing them.

[onvars]

I'd follow Roy. He may be a fairly simple character, but he's always struck me as one of Fire Emblem's most competent leaders, and he is one of the few lords implied to serve as his own tactician.

[Anacybele]

Ike, of course! I can't admire anybody's morals or level of passion and strength more than his. Ike doesn't judge people based on anything but their character. Not even the nobles he generally dislikes. He didn't automatically push Elincia away when she revealed that she was a princess, he wanted to help her. People right now could learn a thing or two from this guy, there's too much hate for race or lifestyle in this world. And Ike doesn't risk innocent people's lives, even those in the country he's fighting against. He stopped a flood from destroying homes in Daein, and he tried to give food and gold to the people! What's more, he's said to be the strongest of all the lords story-wise (See Old Hubba's quote of "the mightiest hero of them all" in Awakening when he talks about Ike). Ike's a real leader and hero.

Edited September 27, 2016 by Anacybele

[Moblin Major General]

I would follow Seliph. Tactically adept, like Roy; tolerant, like Ike; a liberator, like Marth; and uncompromising, like Chrom, although you also say it runs in the family (read: Leif and Quan in addition to Sigurd.) Honestly, there is no more of a noble cause than restoring hope to such a broken land as Jugdral. Not to mention the final boss is one of the most despicable villains in the entire series.

[Jave]

Honestly I can't pick one. Every Lord seems to have made blunders at some point that could have gotten their whole armies killed.

I guess Corrin? He/She has a portable Castle... Yeah, I'll take Corrin.

[Nym]

Ike's a real leader and hero.

​Why is Ike on the list if he's a Hero and not a Lord?

Hector or Lucina for me.

[Anacybele]

Honestly I can't pick one. Every Lord seems to have made blunders at some point that could have gotten their whole armies killed.

So? If they were all perfect and made zero mistakes, they'd all be boring Sue/Stu characters. xP And many of them learn from their mistakes.

[Jave]

So? If they were all perfect and made zero mistakes, they'd all be boring Sue/Stu characters. xP And many of them learn from their mistakes.

Hey, it's how I feel when I read the question. It's not like I didn't pick one in the end.

[Etrurian emperor]

Maybe Corrin. I could walk all over him if some supports are anything to go by. Should make the salary discussions very easy.

Other then that its Roy for what people already said. He comes off as a very competent lord.

[The Draco Knight]

Ephraim because he never pick up fight he can't win is an excellent leader and a very smart tactician.

I know, It's not really the best reason

[Magical Glace]

Roy, probably. The kid may be rather naive in his no casualties mindset, but he's portrayed as being prodigy-level competent at leading overall. If I remember right, even his more-rational enemies seemed to respect him (people like Narcian don't count because, well, they're kinda dumb)

...He actually comes off as literally the most mature character in the game. He never seemed to lose his temper, did a good job of recognizing and acknowledging errors (Chapter 24), and always took information rather rationally (Elphin explaining the rumors).

Roy for president.

[Anacybele]

How is Roy competent? He's a terrible unit and doesn't promote until way late. Or are you talking about some other kind of competence? Either way, I'm surprised at how many votes he's getting. He's just a kid. And realistically, I thought nobody here would follow children.

Edited September 27, 2016 by Anacybele

[ChibiToastExplosion]

How is Roy competent? He's a terrible unit and doesn't promote until way late. Or are you talking about some other kind of competence? Either way, I'm surprised at how many votes he's getting. He's just a kid. And realistically, I thought nobody here would follow children.

While widely regarded as a tough lord to use in combat thanks to late promotion, Roy has pretty universally been seen as a good tactician through various supports and story elements.

Because, after all, you don't just like Ike because he's a good combat unit, do you? There's more to every character than just stats.

[Anacybele]

While widely regarded as a tough lord to use in combat thanks to late promotion, Roy has pretty universally been seen as a good tactician through various supports and story elements.

Because, after all, you don't just like Ike because he's a good combat unit, do you? There's more to every character than just stats.

Yeah, but Roy's still just a child and therefore would realistically have more to learn than the older lords. Also, just because other lords don't have tactical prowess doesn't mean they can't be great leaders to follow as well. And Isn't Ephraim implied to be his own tactician too? By people's logic here, they should be just as willing to follow him as they are Roy.

I dunno, I just don't see what makes Roy so much better than other lords. And I just don't follow children. Sure, Ike's technically not quite an adult yet in PoR, but he turns 18 by the end of the game and he's 20 in RD.

Edited September 27, 2016 by Anacybele

[ChibiToastExplosion]

I dunno, I just don't see what makes Roy so much better than other lords.

Roy doesn't fall for obvious traps, is able to work himself through politics, and ultimately have his army take on Bern, who was pretty much known as the badass nation of unstoppable wyvern lords. The thing about FE 6, is that it's a continent wide war, and Roy comes out on top despite being a weenie.

Roy spends the entire game telling Merlinus to shove it, and rightfully so.

In addition to this, I would in fact rather work for a Lord who wouldn't sacrifice troops willy nilly - I vote for Roy's "perfect victory".

Also, most other lords are like... 18, if that. That's not enough of an age difference to really matter, and precocious is precocious.

[Anacybele]

So you have to be good with politics to be a good leader? That makes no sense. Ike never needed politics to lead effectively. Sure, he wasn't a good leader to start, but that's what made him feel human. He developed into a great leader and strong hero. PoR and RD were continent-wide wars as well that Ike came out on top of.

Begnion was known as the unstoppable Imperial Army (which also has a lot of wyverns, btw) led by Zelgius and Ike and his gang still take them on. I don't see your point.

Ike also gained the trust of several people who wanted to see him freaking dead at first. Reyson, Tibarn, Lethe, and arguably Jill as well all were his enemies and the laguz hated him until he showed them that he's not a horrible villain that hates laguz. Reyson tried to wipe out all of humanity, even!

Where does it ever say that Ike is willing to sacrifice troops "nilly willy?" Also, a "perfect victory" mindset like Roy's is dumb to me. It's impossible not to have any casualties during war.

Edited September 27, 2016 by Anacybele

[saisymbolic]

I feel like I would probably follow Ike.

It could be my bias as FE9 was my very first, but I found Ike to be a pretty capable leader. He has a pretty stable foundation of support in Soren and Titania, which would make me feel somewhat more comfortable being in his command. While he does have moments of jumping into battles based on his own moral beliefs and emotions, my own morals seem to fall in line with his own so I would likely have little qualms with following him into certain battles. From what we see of him, he doesn't cut any corners and, when it comes to advice, he tells it like it is, making it easier to trust his words. I would find him a bit more relatable and approachable, being that he isn't a noble, and he seems to have a good grasp of the struggles of the "little people."

That's just me, though,

[Zelgius]

Lord Zelgius.

...

But since he's not on the poll, it would be Ike. If someone is going to lead me into a battle they need to tick all the boxes. Ike can run through almost anything and has the strength to lead as well as fight.

[ChibiToastExplosion]

So you have to be good with politics to be a good leader? That makes no sense. Ike never needed politics to lead effectively. Sure, he wasn't a good leader to start, but that's what made him feel human. He developed into a great leader and strong hero. PoR and RD were continent-wide wars as well that Ike came out on top of.

Begnion was known as the unstoppable Imperial Army (which also has a lot of wyverns, btw) led by Zelgius and Ike and his gang still take them on. I don't see your point.

Ike also gained the trust of several people who wanted to see him freaking dead at first. Reyson, Tibarn, Lethe, and arguably Jill as well all were his enemies and the laguz hated him until he showed them that he's not a horrible villain that hates laguz. Reyson tried to wipe out all of humanity, even!

Where does it ever say that Ike is willing to sacrifice troops "nilly willy?" Also, a "perfect victory" mindset like Roy's is dumb to me. It's impossible not to have any casualties during war.

First point: Unfortunately, yes. Yes you do. Elincia was terrible at politics, and look what that got her leadership. That's just the reality of any leadership; if you are going to throw out Roy's perfect victory mindset, then you have to throw out not needing to be good at politics to be a good leader. Hell, I can't go to a day job and completely avoid politics.

PoR was mostly a war against one country, Dein. In RD, it was Gallia vs. Begenion, and by the end it was everyone left vs. Begnion. The difference in the wars between 6 and 10 are that Lycia is like... Crimea. The small dumb nation. Eturia was already corrupt and on Bern's side, Illia went where the money was (hint: Bern), Ostia was crushed, the western isles were lawless. Lycia was against.... everyone else. Imagine Crimea vs. the rest of Tellius - oh and let Elincia lead, because politics didn't matter, right?

And, let me be frank - take away Zelgius' plot mcguffins and stick him against Murdock or even Zephiel and I don't have Zelgius favorable to either of them, lore wise.

As you said earlier, every lord has their moments as a tactician. Well, if that logic holds, then so does the fact that every lord recruits enemies and the like. It's a main mechanic in FE, just so ya know.

No one accuses Ike of sacrificing troops willy nilly. It was, however, pointed out specifically in 6 that Roy tried to avoid casualties whenever possible. Ike is more of an act first, think later kind of lord, and that's okay - he'd be fun to fight with. But Roy cares deeply for his troops and allies, and this is reflected in both supports and gameplay - it's no coincidence, in my mind, that Roy is not a juggernaut - relying on your allies is a strong theme in both 6 & 7.

Ike did some cool stuff, that's not in question. And it's funny, because I never compared Roy vs. Ike at all, or attacked Ike. He's solid. I just said why Roy was good... but your Ike fanaticism is legend. I'm sorry that this is the one thing the fanbase doesn't just adore Ike for. Us Roy fans take what we can get, you know.

[Anacybele]

Ike's not a noble or prince though, he's just a commander in the army. Why does he need politics for that? The other lords, sure, they probably do need it since they ARE nobles/royals.

I also don't consider Elincia a lord.

I wasn't saying you were comparing Ike to Roy, I was just trying to point out that what you're applying to Roy can also apply to Ike and Ephraim and other lords.

But yayz, glad to see Ike catch up in votes. ^^

Edited September 27, 2016 by Anacybele

[onvars]

I agree with Chibi (although Ike makes a strong runner-up). Roy's intelligent and level-headed, and while his personal combat feats aren't too noteworthy, his feats of leadership might be the most impressive of the franchise. The fact is, he took the fantasy equivalent of France from WWII and actually managed to win despite all odds.

Edit:

Ike's not a noble or prince though, he's just a commander in the army. Why does he need politics for that? The other lords, sure, they probably do need it since they ARE nobles/royals.

The problem with this is something I'm pretty sure Mordecai and Ike discussed in PoR: sometimes, words can prevent unnecessary battles. Take the fight against Muarim in the desert of PoR. I don't want to fight and die in a battle that could have been prevented if my leader had just had better negotiating skills and had talked to someone he had reason to believe was on his side.

Edited September 27, 2016 by onvars

[deleted35362]

ana pls your first post was so good and then now um this

roy as a gameplay unit is irrelevant. he just has good leadership qualities. if hes not preferable to you though thats fine

[Anacybele]

Sorry, I just wasn't understanding what people were getting at with Roy.

Edit:

The problem with this is something I'm pretty sure Mordecai and Ike discussed in PoR: sometimes, words can prevent unnecessary battles. Take the fight against Muarim in the desert of PoR. I don't want to fight and die in a battle that could have been prevented if my leader had just had better negotiating skills and had talked to someone he had reason to believe was on his side.

Negotiating is different from politics, I thought? Politics is government and negotiating is just that, talking it out.

[Fire Emblem Fan]

I would really love to vote for Lyn, but I think I have to give this one to either Roy or Ephraim. They're the two most competent protagonists in the series, tactically speaking. Roy in particular is shown to be brilliant in other areas besides fighting, whereas Ephraim is shown as less of a leader and more of a fighter.

[MCProductions]

Roy's our boy.

Dude's a fucking genius, has the mindset I'd want the leader of an army to have, and gets access to the second most awesome sword in the series

Also wouldn't mind fighting under Corrin or Marth tbh