Top 5 Fate Servants (sans. Saber)- Fate February

One of the things that really makes the world of Fate interesting is the concept of summoning legendary heroes from either myths or history and having them do battle against each other in mortal combat.

Yeah, kinda like that.

So far, there have been 14 different servants across the Fate/Stay Night, Unlimited Blade Works, and Fate/Zero series altogether, each one classified into 7 classes.  Some are pretty cool, some are pretty OP as all hell, and some of course are lame and get one-shot about as easily as Yamcha.

And while I would love to have any servant at all and participate in the Holy Grail War to attain the omnipotent wish-granting device of the same name in order to wish for a lifetime supply of bubble-wrap, there are some that would be awesome to have on my team, either because of their reliability or they’re ridiculous abilities, or both, in many cases.

And so without further fanfare,

What’s up, everyone, my name is Ken, from thebuttonsmashers.com Anime Reviews, and today I present to you my Top 5 Servants from the Fate Series (sans. Saber)

A bit of a disclaimer before we start:  these aren’t all based on strength.  While pretty much every single servant on this list is certainly strong,  I will also be looking at compatibility and whether or not I can use them to their fullest potential.

Also, I am not including Arturia Pendragon, a.k.a Saber, in this list, as I feel that she’s a definite #1 anyway and it would be redundant for me to say that she’s my number one choice for a servant. 

Also:  SPOILERS AHEAD.  Travel with caution!

Alrighty, shall we begin?

5.)  Hercules (Berserker Class, Fate/Stay Night & F/SN:  Unlimited Blade Works)

I’m sitting here trying to write something to say about this guy, when it hit me:

He’s a behemoth with 12 lives and an OP healing-factor who smashes everything in his path and takes no shit from no one.

Why wouldn’t I put him on this list?

I don’t know what else I have to say.  It’s the legendary Hercules reborn as a rampaging titan with a massive club.  Is there any other reason why I would want this guy on my team?

4.)  Diarmuid Ua Duibhne (Lancer Class, Fate/Zero)

Noble, loyal, and a great fighter to boot, Diarmuid is one sexy mofo of a servant who is also capable of being a badass.

Being an expert lance-wielder to the point of being able to match-up to Saber’s sword skills, Diarmuid is defintiely up there with the most skilled close-quarters combatants of the Fate universe.  Add that to the fact that his spears have special abilities that are pretty broken in and of themselves (one negates all kinds of magic that it pierces, and one creates wounds that never heal), and you’ve got one ladykiller who’s great and sticking his spear into people.

Kinda like yours truly, to be honest.

3.)  Gilgamesh (Archer Class, Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Zero, & F/SN:  Unlimited Blade Works)

Ah yes yes I can already hear people saying how dumb I am for placing arguably the most overpowered servant in the Fate universe in the middle of the list, but hear me out.

This is where the “compatibility” rule comes into place:  I don’t think Gilgamesh and I would be able to settle our differences in a productive manner.  He would be too busy waltzing around like he owns the place, calling me a mongrel at every turn, threatening to blast me to smithereens with his Gate of Babylon if I don’t do his bidding.  It would be a REVERSE situation, and I don’t really want that, I didn’t sign up to be ordered around by Golden Boy.  That’s why I even considered not putting him on this list in the first place.

But then I thought, “Hmmm, Gil is pretty much a guaranteed win though….”, and really it’s all a matter of trying to please him so he can do favors for you.  His strength is essentially unrivaled by about 95% of all servants out there, just because of how strong his Noble Phantasm is, being able to counter a whole bunch of other Noble Phantasms, as well as being super destructive and potent.  you have the classic projectile weapons, then you have the heavier stuff for bigger targets, then he can expand the Gate of babylon further for greater distances or numbers, and he even has strong suppressing chains that can lock down even Berserker.

BERSERKER.

HERCULES HIMSELF.

Oh, and he also has this thing called Ea, which essentially is a Noble Phantasm that, to put it bluntly, can wipe out everything in existence.

So yeah.  He may be a giant prick and he might be an extremely difficult being to command.  But hey, if you have a level-99 pokemon that you got from trade and it doesn’t obey you everytime, it can still mop the floor against every single level-2 pidgey out there, right?

That’s how strong this servant is.  Regardless of his massive hubris, he’s still easily the strongest servant out there, and who wouldn’t want such a ridiculously over-powered guy to win you the best wish-granting device out there?

And that’s why Gilgamesh, the first hero and King of Heroes and all-around king of fab, is #3 on this list.

2.)  Heroic Spirit Emiya (Archer Class, Fate/Stay Night & F/SN:  Unlimited Blade Works)

What happens when you take Kiritsugu, one of the more badass masters in the Fate universe, give him Shirou’s Trace ability, and then make him a Heroic Spirit?

You get the Heroic Spirit Emiya.

Being an alternate version of Shirou, this Emiya became a Heroic Spirit by making a deal with The World, after realizing the futility of his ideals and adopting in its place a more nihilistic approach to saving humanity.  Being a sort of an on-call hero who gets called upon certain eras of human history, Emiya has a whole bunch of experience and has received the distinction of being a Heroic Spirit, although one without any sort of honor or pride in his “legend”.

However, what he does have is the ability of Trace, which allows Emiya to copy the structure of any weapon he sees and then replicate them, albeit in an imperfect, weaker state.  This makes him extremely versatile, being able to whip out weapons of his choice, from blades to swords to his bow, but usually he settles for his twin swords and his bow and arrow.

Oh, and much like Gilgamesh, he has the ability to physically manifest weapons and shoot them at high speeds as an attack.

Oh, and he has a shield called “Rho Aias” that can even block Lancer’s Gae Bolg (albeit barely, but it’s still worth noting).

Oh, and he has this thing called “Unlimited Blade Works” where he creates a Reality Marble that allows him to gain access to every weapon he has replicated over the years, and just spam the shit out of it a la projectile missiles.

On top of the fact that Emiya is a sarcastic but loyal and reliable ally (for the most part at least), and you’ve got yourself someone that may not be on the same strength-level as Gilgamesh, but comes pretty close.  All while being simply a badass servant.

1.)  Alexander the Great/Iskandar, King of Conquerors (Rider Class, Fate/Zero)

You people should have seen this coming.

If I had to ride into battle with any servant in the Fate universe, it would have to be aboard the chariot of ISKANDAR, KING OF CONQUERORS (you have to shout it out, it’s almost obligatory).

In terms of strength, Iskandar is definitely no pushover.  His chariot is able to not only fly at high speeds, but can be rammed into opponents like a locomotive.  He is also quite proficient in melee combat, seen when he casually deflected blades thrown by Assassin, actually making them withdraw from confronting him.  And, of course, he has his Noble Phantasm, “Ionian Hetaroi”, which creates a Reality Marble revealing his greatest accomplishment ever:  a whole army of noble heroes and soldiers as wide as the eye can see, each with their own Noble Phantasms, that he charges into battle with.

All of these things make Iskandar a pretty beast servant in and of themselves.  However, that’s not why I put him as my top servant pick.

I chose him because of his ability to lead and to inspire.  His protective stature and his complete confidence in himself and in his subjects allows him to dispel any kind of worry and motivates people to the extreme.  He makes it certain that he becomes the embodiment of extremes as well to become an example for his subjects, thus being able to create such a vast army who all look up to and respect his leadership.  With his upbeat and big-hearted nature combined with his immense pride in his kingship and jovial magnificence, I feel that Iskandar would make not only a great servant, but also a good mentor and leader as well.

Being a capable and inspiring leader while also being a legitimate and really strong contender for the Holy Grail makes Iskandar, King of Conquerors, my number one pick to be my servant.

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Of course, as always with these sorts of lists, these are all my opinion and do contain a sort of bias.  I would like to see who you guys would summon for the Holy Grail War, let me know in the comments below.

As per usual, leave a comment down below pertaining to your thoughts on this list, on the show s themselves, or if you would like me to review/make a list of anything.  And, speaking of liking, give the review a thumbs-up if you enjoyed it and follow me on twitter @tbs_ken for updates and general shitposting, if you feel like doing so.

Aaaaaaand, with that, I bid you all adieu.  This has been Ken for thebuttonsmashers.com Anime Reviews, and I’ll see you guys in the future!