Several gacha games nowadays release only offering female units to players – which makes sense, considering gacha gaming’s target demographic. But FGO can give us a little of both. And we’re here to praise the badass male characters that we’re willing to spend our hard bought ahem farmed currency for.
15. Ozymandias (Rider)
Let’s start things off with- “DAJAKU DAJAKU!” Ozymandias is a Rider who- “Watch, the divine might of a pharaoh!” Ozymandias is–!! “Fufu… fuhahahahahahahahahahahhahaha!!” Ozy is a king and is not shy about letting both his opponents and the Master know this. Most of his voice lines spill over into the victory screen, and his attack animations are some of the loudest in the entire game. He also had a starring role in the Camelot movie, and it was nice to see him fully animated alongside our heroes. As a Servant, Ozy can both dish out heavy damage aided by his attack buffs, while also supporting the team with a party-wide 20% battery. A great king shares his wealth…
14. Enkidu (Lancer)
Enkidu is the clay-formed best friend forced upon Gilgamesh. Luckily, the two found a way to make things work, as Enkidu is cited as the main catalyst for Gilgamesh’s transformation from his cocky Archer form into his regal Caster form. Throughout Babylonia, we see Enkidu struggling to fight back against Gorgon’s influence. What happened in the end? You’ll have to watch the anime to find out.
13. Bedivere (Saber)
Bedivere really makes a name for himself in Camelot, acting as somewhat of a surrogate guide through this new world that Fujimaru and co. have yet to experience. And he’s exactly what you would want from a real husbando: Nice and caring, as opposed to bloodthirsty and always in search of a Holy Grail. Bedivere may not be the strongest Servant canonically. But he will always hold a special place in our hearts.
12. Arjuna Alter (Berserker)
Arjuna is a fairly old Servant – which means he hasn’t been able to receive the same excellent writing over recent years. However, Arjuna has risen from being an Archer spook you would rather do without, into a gloriously overpowered farming machine in his alter form. This guy’s a likely candidate for strongest overall Servant in the game next to competitors like Super Orion. And Arjuna Alter is capable of dishing out crazy damage with a simple world-ending sword swing.
11. Karna (Lancer)
I had to place Karna together with Arjuna, it just makes sense. So let’s discuss Karna. Karna is one of your supporting Servants in the Yuga Lostbelt, but has been a Servant in FGO since almost the very beginning of the game. He has received much-needed animation updates over the years – and his NP is now finally up to par with some of the bombastic NPs of recent servants. Ever faithful and always dependable, Karna is a great Servant to have with you in a crisis.
10. Arthur Pendragon (Saber)
Arthur had to place on this list somewhere, at least for being the very incarnation of everything Fate as a franchise stands against! Fate is best known to outsiders for one thing and one thing alone: Genderbending historical figures into cute anime girls. Well, Arthur is here with his blade to administer a firm bonk to all waifu-loving Masters before sending them straight to horny jail. He is, as you would expect, our version of King Arthur. As an incarnation of the poster character, Arthur deserves a spot in this ranking, seeing as he shares fairly similar personality traits to our beloved Artoria. Now we just need to wait for the inevitable Proto-Merlin release date…
9. Iskandar (Rider)
Broskander, as his colloquial name would imply, is the kind of Servant you’d love to go on a bar crawl with. Iskandar’s relationship with Waver throughout Fate/Zero is what placed him highly in the hearts of husbando lovers across the globe. He’s not one to back down in the face of (arguably) the strongest Servant to walk the planet, Gilgamesh. And Iskandar protects Waver to the bitter end – unfortunately giving his life for his Master. What a bro.
8. Sherlock Holmes (Ruler)
Sherlock has risen up the ranks of the husbando tier list after being introduced as a mainstay cast member once the Lostbelt saga began. Since then, it has always felt comforting to be in the presence of Sherlock – just knowing that he’ll likely have the answer to any question you have about these strange new worlds. He’s humorous with the typical dry wit associated with Brits, and he’s also no stranger to a fight or two. Sherlock does get badly injured while defending you against Sigurd, but after some quick nursing from Da Vinci, he’s back at it and not to be deterred.
7. El Melloi II (Waver) (Caster)
Waver went from “I’ll have her home by 7, Sir” to “your daughter calls me Daddy too”. In terms puberty, I don’t think we can claim anyone had a better glow-up than Waver. He debuted in Fate/Zero, but has since become headlining in his own series (we won’t delve into spoiler territory to explain how that’s possible). Lord El Melloi Case Files is just as entertaining as any other Fate franchise! Not only this, but Waver is arguably the best all-around Caster in the whole game – that’s gotta be worth something.
6. Napoleon (Archer)
Napoleon is the muscle-bound gentle giant that always makes you feel safe in his company. Playing a vital role in the Scandinavian Lostbelt, Napoleon’s final scenes in the story certainly had us welling up. Not only that, but Napoleon’s Rainbow Blast has to be in contention for one of the coolest cutscenes in all of FGO’s stories to date.
5. Merlin (Caster)
Merlin is your trusty neighborhood magician. And he played a pivotal role in the Babylonia storyline, along with its subsequent anime adaptation. While his combat prowess leaves much to be desired, Merlin’s buffing capabilities quickly catapulted him into the higher echelons of the FGO tier list. He now stands as one of the best Caster Servants, and he also stood (until very recently) as the undisputed best Buster support as well. So he’s clearly got a lot going for him. Merlin is quirky, upbeat, and it’s always fun to watch him throw down with Fou whenever the two are in a disagreement.
4. Edmond Dantes (Avenger)
Everyone’s favorite edgelord just has something about him that people love. Could it be the fedora? Could it be the overcoat? Or could it be the slew of chuunibyou monologues he spouts whenever given the chance to speak? Whatever it is that people like about Dantes, there’s no denying that he’s a pretty cool Servant. Dantes never faces his opponent, instead choosing to turn his back on enemies unless attacking. This is until he receives the Monte Cristo selection skin which has Dantes face his enemy – menacingly staring them down. And he’s also (debatably) the best Quick looper in the game, so he stands at the very top of most people’s tier lists (at least, in a pre-Castoria meta).
3. Cú Chulainn (Lancer)
Oh, Cú. Poor, sweet, death-prone Cú… Cú just can’t seem to catch a break no matter what iteration he’ll be summoned in this time. Even in the Fate spinoffs, Cú may not die – but he certainly gets a rough ride for the sake of a simple joke. Still, due to the impact Cú has had in Fate we have to favor him strongly for this list. Not to mention that, despite being only a three-star Lancer in FGO, Cú is actually incredibly strong. That’s something we’d want from an anime husbando, right?
2. Emiya (Archer)
Mommy Emiya is still technically a man – and therefore, he earns a spot on this list! Emiya is not the greatest Servant to play with, being available as early as the first tutorial summon. However, Emiya’s role in Fate/Stay Night is what drew many people towards him. People want to play as the main character of a series they love. And until Muramasa finally dropped in JP fairly recently, Emiya was the closest that FGO players could get to playing as Shirou! That alone cements Emiya as one of the most iconic husbandos among this cast – and probably as one of the greatest characters in all of Fate.
1. Gilgamesh (Archer)
Gil had to take the top spot here, simply due to the legions of adoring mongrels hanging on his every word. Gil, to this day, is still considered to be one of the best Archers in FGO. That is astounding to think about. Especially in terms of gacha games which are usually flippant when it comes time to power creep. But Gil really has a little something for everyone. He can be your bad boy, leather jacket-wearing biker in his Archer form. Or he can be your mature and refined older gentleman in his Caster form. Gil is a staple of Fate– and it wouldn’t feel right to place him anywhere but the top.
