In the morally grey world of Fire Emblem: Three Houses the leader of the Black Eagles Edelgard has a much darker shade of gray than the other House Leaders. She has an ideal vision of the world and she’ll stop at nothing to achieve it.
That being said there is a case to be made for why she makes the best lord in the game. Between her military and political prowess, willingness to make sacrifices, her ambition, and even some of her goals here is why Edelgard might be the best leader in Three Houses.
10 Most Ambitious
Right out of the gate Edelgard is much more ambitious than any of the other House leaders. Claude of the Golden Deer simply wants open borders and peace between nations, Dimitri of the Blue Lions seeks to be king and affect change, but Edelgard of the Black Eagles wants to dismantle and destroy the entire system before rebuilding everything back up from scratch.
That’s not to say her ambitions are necessarily a good idea or even just, but the level of work and planning a complete revolution would take is impressive. It takes a bold person with a lot of determination to want to achieve something so extraordinary.
9 Willing To Make The Greatest Sacrifices
To achieve such a revolution required an incredible cost that Edelgard was understandably reluctant but ultimately willing to pay. In her mind the cost of not changing the system would lead to more lives destroyed and ruined than what would occur through her actions.
Over the course of her campaign, she sacrificed her relationships, the ones she loved, alliances, her reputation, and her very soul. She even resorted to losing her humanity in the Azure Moon path when she became a monster as a last-ditch effort to win the war. For Edelgard the cost of failure was greater than any sacrifice she was asked to make.
8 Combines Military Tactics With Political Cunning
While Claude was a skilled strategist and Dimitri was a brilliant leader, Edelgard was a Machiavellian genius who employed both military tactics and political cunning to achieve her ends. If carrying out an assassination meant fewer lives lost she’d do it, if victory required aligning with a sworn enemy it was done even if it meant stabbing them in the back later.
There was no strategy, no tactic too underhanded or abhorrent for Edelgard to pursue if it led to fewer lives lost or a swifter victory.
7 Does Not Want The Power And Control
While some saw her as an egotistical wannabe dictator the truth was that Edelgard never sought power or control beyond what was needed to affect the change she sought. During a tea time interaction with Byleth, she revealed that her plan was to sit on the throne long enough to ensure someone kinder and more qualified would take her place.
If the player sides with her on the Crimson Flower path they’ll see she abides by this statement when she forms a Meritocracy and gives up the throne. It’s an interesting layer to her character that although she was willing to do whatever it took to achieve revolution, it was never an entirely selfish decision.
6 Destroys The Corruption In The Church of Seiros
Whatever your stance on the Church Of Seiros it’s clear that they resorted to some vile methods to maintain power and influence. Perhaps the biggest offense is the church’s obsession with Crests, items of incredible power stolen from the Gods themselves and distributed among the people to determine their worth. Those with Crests are blessed and those who don’t are inferior.
Because of this and the horrible eugenics and experimentation carried out as a result, Edelgard saw fit to revolutionize the Church itself rather than make peace with some of their more shady acts.
5 Working To Destroy All Crests
On her path to revolution, she resorts to using not one but two Crests to have enough power to conquer her foes. But given her tragic experience with them and the horrors they’ve created, it’s clear that once her other goals are realized she’ll destroy all Crests.
This is likely part of the reason she kept the Church of Seiros intact. They’d be the perfect organization to collect all Crests from the populace and then have the means to destroy, contain, or neutralize them in some way.
4 Remove Fodlan’s Caste System
While the origin and blame for the caste system in Fodlan are unclear and debatable at best what is undeniable is that it exists and it’s a problem. Under this caste system, those who are born poor remain poor and those who are born to noble houses become nobles with little if any movement between these castes.
Edelgard, someone born into the highest caste, sees this system as unjust and eradicates it. Admittedly she creates a new type of caste system where a person’s power and authority are determined by their level and access to formal education, but some could argue it’s an improvement to what existed before.
3 Recognizes The Toll Her Goal Takes
While Edelgard has resorted to an undeniable level of evil to achieve her ends, she’s not blind to the cost. If Byleth is by her side she’ll express a number of times her regrets and worries that what she’s doing will ultimately fail and the loss of life and the destruction will have all been for nothing.
She also admits her concerns that even if she succeeds the cost might be too great and it won’t be worth it. Even though she’s cutthroat and clam on the surface she’s a deeply empathetic person troubled by the evil she’s resorting to.
2 The Strongest Character In The Game (Apart From Byleth)
Another reason Edelgard might be the best leader in the game is that she’s the strongest character in the game, aside from Byleth. Admittedly her path to power is slow at the beginning of the game, but as the story progresses and her skills improve, she becomes an absolute powerhouse in the endgame.
Her true power comes from the relic Aymr which allows her to perform an extra turn after using the combat art. On some maps this allows her to jump between targets and clear the area of all enemies single-handedly in a single turn. Not to mention her magical prowess is unbelievable when compared to the other leaders.
1 Eradicates TWSITD
While the other entries may be more subjective the biggest point in Edelgard’s favor is that she is the only House leader who completely eradicates Those Who Slither In The Dark. Claude manages to slay the resurrected Nemesis and Dimitri will leave their organization leaderless, but it is only Edelgard who manages to remove every trace of the group.
Sure she sides with them temporarily, but once she achieves her revolution she uses every resource at her disposal to remove these agents of darkness permanently.
NEXT: Fire Emblem Three Houses: 5 Reasons Why Golden Deer Is The Best Route (& 5 Reasons Why It’s Blue Lions)
