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Oh I know how awesome Sigurd is. The dude kicks a** from the moment you get him, then again so does FE10 Ike. What puts my pick of FE10 Ike over Sigurd is the fact that Sigurd has usage of Tyrfing the last chapter you get to use him for AND it comes BROKEN. That means you have to fix the sword. Ike get Ragnall while still in 2nd tier, he gets to use it for many chapters, and it's not broken. Tyrfing though is the better sword, at least in my mind.

I used Lyn for the example simply because you mentioned her having higher strength and weren't sure if it was normal. Because it's not. Comparing Eirika's stats would actually be closer competition because she's statistically an improved version of Lyn (Eirika actually beats Eliwood in everything but HP, Str, and a smidge of Def, and naturally has Lyn completely beat in raw stats).

It just seems to me that Eliwood gets a bad rap when he has a lot going for him. He SHOULD be able to take out enemies without any issues unless you get RNG screwed with him, and he gets a horse post promotion (which is a pretty huge advantage over both Hector and Lyn). He's got more durability than Lyn and enough speed to double so that his comparatively lower speed than Lyn's shouldn't matter (if Hector doesn't have issues doubling, there should be no way Eliwood does). Plus, Lances give him access to reliable 1-2 range without being stuck at one or the other like Lyn usually is (without the help of certain rare swords) and more control over the weapon triangle. Horse utility alone is better than what Lyn and Hector get from their promotions. His affinity is also superior in terms of boosts.

Best: Karel (FE6)
Worst: Radd (Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon)

Best: Rutger
Worst: Eyvel

I had a tough time deciding who to vote as best. Rutger, Lakche, Shanan, and (FE10) Zihark all seemed like good candidates.

Rutger wins primarily because of the innate 30% crit boost Swordmasters get in FE6, which combined with his excellent availability, the fact that he’s a member of the single best support triangle in the game series (boosting his crit another 25%), and the crit he gets from his actual stats (eventually another 14%). Add a Killing Edge and he literally gets 99% crit (Wo Dao would go over 100%, but due to a programming error, it goes back to 9% instead). And since Killing Edges are so easily purchased in this game and money is so excessive, he can rape virtually everthing (plus, he’s one of the better options you have for dealing with a lot of bosses early on).

Shanan was a close second (Balmung + Meteor will always be better than anything Lakche or Ayra can come up with thanks to the skill boost, increasing Meteor's activation rate), and performs comparatively as well as Rutger does in a number of ways, but he lacks horse movement in a game where that really matters.

Meanwhile, Eyvel (FE5) is essentially the Jeigan, but also has the disadvantage of disappearing rather early in the game for a very long time, so a lot of the use she might have had when she was actually decent is wasted.

Hmm. This is hard because I've really only ever played four of the FE games, watched a Let's Play of FE 6 (after playing through the first chapter and a half before my laptop borked and I lost the data), and heard things about the other games (mainly 4 and 10). Therefore, I'm not going to vote for anyone from FE 1-5 or 11 (as I've only played 11 once).

Best: This is kind of a hard category to decide on, as there are quite a few really good Swordmasters in the FE series. It's fairly simple to pick the best one from each game (like Karel, Rutger, Joshua, and whatnot--in my opinion anyway), but the best overall . . . I'm gonna have to go with Rutger, if only because with a Clarine support--yeah. Plus he absolutely pwned in the Let's Play and I've heard mostly good things about him from just about everywhere and everyone. And who doesn't love a through-the-roof critical hit percentage?

Worst: Bwah, I really have no idea. I'm gonna say Karla because for me personally, she was completely useless except for getting killed, getting in the way, and getting supports. (And it's been WAY too long since I've played FE 9, and I don't remember Lucia at all. >_>;; )

You get her part 2, get her back in some chapters in part 3, then you get everybody in part 4, unlike in FE9 where you get her near the very end with Bastion. That's why I chose FE9 Lucia.

...You play Crimea in several chapters. Lucia's not with them? neutral

Even if she's not, my point still stands.

Out of all the ones I have played (4,6-9, and 11), I would say that:
Best: Ayra, mainly because I found her so useful during Siglud's story in FE4.
Worst: Radd, Couldn't really find any use for him.