Armored units tend to get a bad rap throughout the Fire Emblem community. Characterized by their incredible defense and resilience toward physical attacks, Armored units can ideally be used in the front lines or to choke points, soaking up tons of damage. However, due to their low speed and movement, these units tend to slow down a player's momentum significantly, hindering any player seeking to finish a given entry with a low turn count.
Luckily, while their are numerous lackluster armored units in Fire Emblem's history, their have also been some diamonds in the rough. So today, we're going to examine the ten best armored units players have had access to across the Fire Emblem series.
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10 Tauroneo
While mediocre in Path of Radiance, Tauroneo serves as an excellent pre-promoted general in Radiant Dawn. Standing head and shoulders above any other available units in the Daein portions of the game, Tauroneo's key weakness comes in the form of his low availability, as he frequently will be unable to be deployed by the player. However, once a player reaches Part Four of Radiant Dawn, if they are looking to utilize an armored unit, few stack up to Tauroneo.
9 Effie
Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest is notably one of the more difficult entries in the series, possessing excellent map design paired with ability-toting hordes of enemies.
In the context of Conquest, Effie is an incredibly durable unit that players gain access to relatively early into the game. While many units will be at risk of death after only a handful of attacks from enemies, Effie can reliably protect key units and block enemies paths. Additionally, Effie has the flexibility to gain a player's choice of additional defense or additional mobility upon promotion, catering to different player's tastes.
8 Lukas
One of the earliest units players have access to in Shadows of Valentia, many problems that are traditionally associated with armored units are rendered irrelevant due to this particular game's structure. While one of the most relevant cons of armored units is their low movement, for the majority of Alm's route in Shadows of Valentia, a large portion of a player's army has equivalent movement. This allows Lukas to better serve his role as a more bulky unit that can tank hits in the front lines.
7 Duessel
Duessel is an ideal example of a pre-promoted unit in Fire Emblem. Appearing in Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones, Duessel is a Great Knight who is recruited by players on different chapters depending on which route they selected.
As a Great Knight, Duessel possesses above average movement alongside solid base stats and access to the entire weapon triangle. This is important as Duessel joins a player's army with an A rank in every weapon type he has access to, allowing him to wield silver weapons with no investment on a player's part.
6 Hector
One of the three lords of Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, Hector is initially not considered an armored unit, but becomes one upon promoting into a Great Lord.
Toting excellent availability paired with solid bases and growth rates, Hector is easily one of the strongest axe-wielders in The Blazing Blade, capable of dealing absurd amounts of damage and soaking up many hits.
5 Oswin
While Oswin may suffer from the same mobility issues as many of his contemporary armored units, his early join time and impressive base stats can make up for this shortcoming. Joining a player's army early into Eliwood and Hector's stories in The Blazing Blade, Oswin's immediate strength makes him similar to characters from the "Jagen" character archetype.However, unlike traditional Jagen characters, Oswin's solid growth rates allow him to be utilized throughout an entire playthrough without his usefulness dwindling.
Even in the game's hardest difficulties, Oswin's high defense can still be utilized to absorb numerous hits safely without perishing.
4 Dedue
A student in Three Houses who is only recruitable in the Azure Moon route, Dedue's highly defensive personal ability allows him to gain +4 defense whenever he ends a turn without attacking. This allows Dedue to reliably hold off any point he needs to, increasing his already high defense growth.
Additionally, due to the free-form nature of the class system of Three Houses, Dedue's stats and ability allows him to serve this defensive role in many useful classes, such as the potent and mobile Wyvern Lord.
3 Frederick
While Fire Emblem Awakening's Frederick is often associated with the previously mentioned "Jagen" archetype, as a Great Knight, he's technically considered an armored unit.
Frederick is easily one of the most useful units in Awakening, and he is absolutely essential for players looking to play the game's hardest difficulty, capable of taking plenty of punishment, while setting up kills for weaker units. Additionally, while many other characters in the "Jagen" role possess terrible growth rates that hinder their longevity, Frederick's growths are quite impressive, enabling him to maintain his spot in a player's army.
2 Edelgard
One of the potential primary protagonists in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Edelgard is a phenomenal armored unit with a lot to appreciate. As one of the most durable units in the game, Edelgard is one of the few characters who can reliably survive rounds of combat in the earliest stages of Maddening Mode.
Furthermore, once Edelgard gains access to her personal weapon, Aymr, she gains the ability to use one of the most broken abilities in the entire series: Raging Storm. After using Raging Storm, Edelgard is able to move and fight again, doubling her combative ability and movement in a single turn.
1 The Black Knight
While The Black Knight's low availability may detract from his longevity as a playable unit, no armored unit in the series history can compare to his raw power and defense.
Possessing unparalleled base stats and the sword, Alondite, The Black Knight is completely invulnerable, and deals such high sums of damage, that he can be used to erase any enemy unit in a second. The Black Knight is the ultimate unit both offensively and defensively, and is easily one of the most overpowered units in the entire series, only hindered by his temporary status in a player's army.