Swordmaster

The Swordmaster (ソードマスター Sōdomasutā) is a combat physical class that recurrently appears across the Fire Emblem Series, beginning from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. The promoted form of the Myrmidon class, Swordmasters, like their name suggests, are unparalleled masters of the Sword.

History in the Series
In its original inception in Genealogy of the Holy War and Thracia 776, the Swordmaster acts as one of two classes that the then newly-introduced Sword Fighter class can promote into, the other being the Hero class. Arming Swords as its sole weapon of choice, the Swordmaster class can only be accessed by Ayra, her daughter Larcei, Shiva, Mareeta and Trewd in these titles.

Beginning from Binding Blade, the Swordmaster class is cleanly separated from the Hero class, instituted as the staple promoted form of the Sword Fighter/Myrmidon class.

The Blade Lord Lyndis from Rekka no Ken and the Great Lord Eirika from The Sacred Stones are widely considered to be variations of the Swordmaster class, given the fact that they share similar stat caps.

In Radiant Dawn, the Swordmaster ( 剣豪ソードマスター Sōdomasutā) class is further able to promote into the Trueblade class when the necessary requirements are fulfilled.

In Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE, the Swordmaster class is one of the promotion class for Navarre.

Combat
While the Defense of Swordmasters has risen since their promotion from Myrmidon, it is still considered to be comparatively lower than a number of other classes. While this remains a glaring weakness that the class carries over from its previous form, so too do its strengths. More prominent amongst these are its high Skill and Speed and generally average Strength, making for the delivery of attacks that are strong, swift and accurate. The high Speed of Swordmasters also renders them experts of evasion, allowing them to engage in very effective combat when facing against tougher bosses.

The two skills Swordmasters can learn in Awakening and Fates are Astra and Swordfaire. When Astra is activated (the trigger percentage equals Skill divided by 2), the user unleashes five consecutive strikes at half damage, dealing a maximum of 2.5 times the normal damage. However, units with Astra should be especially careful around Counter units if they are engaging in melee combat, because the individual half-damage strikes from the skill's activation are less likely to secure kills on their own, and thus, are more likely to incur damaging - and possibly, even fatal - backlash. Swordfaire boosts the user's Strength by 5 if they are wielding a sword (Magic is upped by 5 if the user has a Levin Sword). Swordmasters tend to have average or below average Strength and poor Magic growths, so this skill is good for rectifying that problem.

Attacking these units outside their range with other high-accuracy classes with Magic or Bows is recommended, but only if the ranged unit in question is also blocked by a stronger class to prevent the Swordmaster's advance. Exploiting their flaws is therefore effectively easier when attacking behind walls, as their Resistance is generally quite low. However, the new Weapon Triangle in Fates puts bows at a disadvantage against swords, so attempting to hit them with arrows can now prove unwise, even for Snipers. Additionally, if Swordmasters carry Wakizashi, they can counterattack bow units (and rather accurately at that).

Swordmasters gain a critical boost upon promotion that varies depending on the game played (e.g. 30% in Binding Blade and 15% in Rekka no Ken, Sacred Stones, the US version of Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, where Trueblades, promoted Swordmasters, have a 20% boost, and Fates where Swordmasters gain a 10% critical boost along with a 10% avoid boost). In Awakening, Swordmasters do not receive a critical boost, but with the Swordfaire skill, the damage increase will usually make up for it.

During the Swordmaster class's debut in Genealogy of the Holy War, it holds the position of possessing the highest Strength (tied with the traditional high strength classes such as Wyvern Lords), Skill and Speed caps, alongside a fairly decent Defense cap. The Swordmasters in this title also boast excellent growths in these areas as well, further enhancing their formidability as compared to other classes. With the onset of Thracia 776 and beyond, the strength of the Swordmaster class is considerably lowered for strength-balancing purposes.

In WiFi battles, Swordmasters are often used for their simplicity. Their high Speed and lack of obvious weaknesses make them decent units to deploy in the frontlines. Their main flaws take the form of their low Movement, lack of ranged weapons and Weapon Triangle rigidity. Swordmasters are among the easiest units to obtain, although some care needs to be taken with their generally low Defense.

In-Game

 * &#9733; - FE10 SP Class.

Genealogy of the Holy War

 * Shanan - The crown prince of Isaach, the son of Mariccle and the nephew of Ayra. He is also the cousin of Ulster and Larcei.
 * Lamia - A cruel swordwoman hired by Duke Daccar.
 * Simia - One of the Twelve Deadlords.
 * Promotion for: Ayra and Larcei.

Thracia 776

 * Eyvel - The leader of the Fiana Freeblades who is actually an amnesiac Briggid.
 * Shanam - A mercenary from Silesse who impersonates Shanan.
 * Promotion for: Mareeta, Shiva and Trewd.

TearRing Saga: Utna Heroes Saga

 * Yoda - The Dark Swordmaster of Zoa and one of the Twelve Heroes.
 * Temsin - The king of Arial and father of Katrina.
 * Katrina - The daughter of Temsin and wife of Samson.
 * Promotion for: Julia, Vega, Shigen, and Krisheenu.

Binding Blade

 * Gel - Brunnya's lieutenant, he defends the Sacaen city of Bulgar under her orders.
 * Karel - The former "Sword Demon", he is known as the "Sword Saint" in this title. Brother-in-law of Bartre and the uncle of Fir.
 * Promotion for: Rutger and Fir.

Rekka no Ken

 * Karel - A man known as the "Sword Demon", Karla's older brother.
 * Karla - Karel's younger sister.
 * Lloyd Reed - The "White Wolf" of the Black Fang, one of the Four Fangs, and the older son of Brendan Reed.
 * Promotion for: Guy.

The Sacred Stones

 * Ismaire (Creature Campaign only) - The queen of Jehanna and Joshua's mother.
 * Carlyle - the former leader of Jehanna's army who betrays Jehanna and sides with Grado.
 * Promotion for: Joshua and Marisa.

Path of Radiance

 * Stefan - A Branded who resides in the Grann Desert.
 * Lucia - Older sister of Geoffrey and Elincia's milk sibling.
 * Homasa - A Swordmaster who is one of Petrine's subordinates.
 * Promotion for: Mia and Zihark.

Radiant Dawn

 * Zihark - A citizen of Daein who fights against the Begnion Occupational Army,
 * Lucia
 * Mia - Member of the Greil Mercenaries,
 * Tashoria - A mercenary employed by Ludveck to lure the Crimean Liberation Army away from Melior.
 * Promotion for: Edward.

Shadow Dragon

 * Promotion for: Navarre, Radd and Athena.

Shin Monshō no Nazo

 * Promotion for: Navarre, Radd, Athena, Malice and Samto.

Awakening

 * Say'ri - Former princess of Chon'sin and Yen'fay's younger sister.
 * Yen'fay - Former king of Chon'sin and Say'ri's older brother.
 * Seliph (DLC)
 * Lyn (DLC)
 * Deen (SpotPass)
 * Simia- One of the twelve Deadlords.
 * Promotion for: Lon'qu and Owain.

Fates

 * Sumeragi - The former king of Hoshido and the father of Ryoma, Hinoka, Takumi and Sakura.
 * Ryoma - The military leader and oldest royal child of Hoshido.
 * Promotion for Hana, Hinata and Hisame.

Trivia

 * In Fates, if a Swordmaster is given a weapon such as the Axe Splitter or Venge Katana, they will be observed to wield two, instead of one, katanas in battle. This makes them the only class capable of dual-wielding weapons. It will also give them a different death animation, similar to giving a Merchant a Naginata.
 * The full list of dual wieldable katanas include:
 * Venge Katana
 * Axe Splitter
 * Spirit Katana
 * Hagakure Blade
 * Daikon Radish
 * Sunrise Katana
 * Hana's Katana
 * Hinata's Katana