Fire Emblem Three Houses is launching on the Switch this week, and as you might’ve guessed from the title, there are three Houses of students to choose from: Black Eagles, Golden Deer, and Blue Lions. If you’re wondering which House you should choose for your first run, we’re here to help you make a decision.
First off, a bit of a disclaimer: you really can’t go wrong with any of these Houses, as they all have some variety in terms of character classes. While one House might lean more towards a particular weapon type, you don’t have to be worried about being locked into that type, as you’ll always have other units with strengths in other areas, and it’s possible to recruit students from other Houses.
Black Eagles
House Leader: Edelgard
Un-recruitable: Hubert
Members: Petra, Dorothea, Bernadetta, Caspar, Ferdinand, Linhardt
The Black Eagles are a little more focused on magic users, with Hubert, Dorothea, and Linhardt starting out with heavy magic loadouts. Hubert excels in the Reason stat, making him a natural Dark Mage who can eventually become a Warlock, while Linhardt is your resident healer, who will make a good Bishop.
Dorothea, on the other hand, starts out with an affinity for Reason and swords, which would make her a good fit for the Mortal Savant Master Class. However, we’ve also had success with training her Faith stat, allowing her to become a Gremory in the end game stages, where she was proficient with both dark and white magic.
As for the rest, Petra is a sword user who can do well as an Assassin or Swordmaster. Bernadetta is your archer, Caspar’s your axe-wielder, while Ferdinand serves as your cavalry/mounted unit. Edelgard herself has an affinity for axes, and she becomes rather powerful in the second act.
The Black Eagles are part of the Adrestian Empire, where Edelgard is set to take over as emperor. She believes that Crests are an outdated concept, and she seeks to reunite the continent of Fodlan in an effort to built a meritocratic society.
Blue Lions
House Leader: Dimitri
Un-recruitable: Dedue
Members: Mercedes, Annette, Ingrid, Felix, Sylvain, Ashe
The Blue Lions are much more melee-focused, with really only one dedicated magic user in Mercedes. She starts off with a high Faith stat, which immediately makes her your main healer in the group, though she can excel in Reason later on to become a Gremory.
Annette also has the potential to be your off-healer, but you could create a pretty strong team if you focus on her axe and flying skills, allowing her to become a Wyvern Lord alongside Ingrid’s Falcon Knight.
The boys of the Blue Lions don’t really dabble in magic at all. Dimitri’s a pretty good all-rounder, Felix is your dedicated sword user, Sylvain can excel as a cavalry unit, while Ashe is your archer.
Serving almost as the direct opposite to the Black Eagles, the Blue Lions are led by Dimitri, who’s the heir to the Kingdom of Faerghus. He’s absolutely loyal to the church and Lady Rhea, and will cut down anyone who opposes their ideals. According to him, the Blue Lions walk the true path of justice.
Golden Deer
House Leader: Claude
Un-recruitable: Hilda
Members: Lysithea, Leonie, Marianne, Lorenz, Ignatz, Raphael
Unlike the Eagles and Lions, the Golden Deer seem to have a better mix of characters and classes overall, though Claude has basically been shoehorned into the archer role.
We’d be remiss not to give a special shout out to Lysithea, who we believe has the highest magic stat in the game, which means she’s all set to be one of the most powerful mages you can get. She’s pretty much completely useless in all other stats and skills that aren’t Reason or Faith, which makes her the perfect Gremory.
Marianne will likely end up being your main healer, though if you focus on leveling up her riding skill, she can end up being a pretty competent Holy Knight by the end of the game.
Leonie and Lorenz are the obvious cavalry units here, though it’s worth mentioning that Lorenz has a bit more flexibility if you focus on leveling Reason for him, and make him a Dark Knight. Leonie also works well with bows, and could double up as your secondary archer.
Ignatz serves as your archer, while Raphael excels in strength and heavy armor, making up a natural Fortress Knight or tank for your party. Lastly, Hilda is pretty melee-focused, and her natural path seems to gravitate towards the Wyvern Lord.
The Golden Deer stand out as the true neutral party in Fire Emblem Three Houses. Claude is the leader of the Leicester Alliance, and strives to remain impartial in all conflicts, while always working in the shadows to see what course of action suits him best.
So, which House should you choose in Fire Emblem Three Houses?
From a pure gameplay perspective, if you enjoy the idea of raising an army full of glass cannons and magic users, the Black Eagles are the way to go. They’re not all that squishy either, as you have Edelgard and Caspar as your bruisers.
On the other hand, if you prefer to go down the classic route of warriors and melee units who just use physical weapons, the Blue Lions should serve you just fine.
Lastly, if you just can’t make up your mind, well, the Golden Deer are there for you.
From a story perspective, however, and without giving away any spoilers, we feel that it’s worth mentioning that the Black Eagles do seem like the ‘canon’ choice to go with because of how the plot unfolds. While all three Houses have their own unique perspectives on the war, with three equally fleshed out leaders, the Black Eagles might be the way to go if you want a more comprehensive look at the overall story.
Be sure to search for Twinfinite or check our Fire Emblem Three Houses guide wiki for more tips and information on the game.
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