—Wendell to Merric
Wendell is a playable character from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, and their remakes. He is a Sage of Khadein who disdains fighting, as well as the teacher of Merric and Arlen. He fled his country to escape Gharnef's rule.
Profile
When Marth talks to Wendell he explains his ethical values and so joins Marth's army. He appears as an enemy in Chapter 5, and is recruited by Merric or Marth.
In-Game
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light
Base Stats
| Starting Class | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bishop | |||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Wlv | Mov |
| 1 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 6 |
| Weapon | Starting Items | ||||||||
| Magic, Staves | Barrier Thunder | ||||||||
Growth Rates
| HP | Str | Skl | Spd | Lck | Wlv | Def | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60% | 10% | 30% | 20% | 40% | 70% | 10% | 0% |
Overall
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Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.
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Wendell is generally considered one of the strongest characters available in the original game. Though his stats appear poor at first glance and his growths are mediocre, the only stat he truly needs is Speed, which is one of the highest base Speeds in the game at 14. At the time you obtain him, he is by far the fastest member of the army, and due to his incredibly high Weapon Level, he can wield every single non-Prf tome and staff at his base. This allows him to two-round or one-round almost every normal enemy in the game when given the proper tome, and with 22 HP and 8 Defense, he is surprisingly sturdy. Even Gharnef can struggle against him, if Wendell has Starlight; if Wendell gains even one point of Speed, he can double the Dark Pontifex. Combine this with the ability to heal, or wield powerful staves like Warp, and Wendell boasts excellent utility, combat skill, and versatility, exacerbated further by his very early joining time. In the lategame, he may need a statbooster to keep up with fully-raised Bishops like Merric or stronger prepromotes like Gotoh and Boah, but he is never a bad unit to deploy, and can hold his own in the very last chapters as either a utility character or a magical powerhouse.
Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem
Base Stats
Growth Rates
| HP | Str | Skl | Spd | Lck | Wlv | Def | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60% | 10% | 30% | 20% | 40% | 70% | 10% | 3% |
Overall
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Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.
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Wendel has fairly high base stats and passable growths. Additionally, his Staff rank makes him an excellent healer to use throughout the game, and at base, Wendell will able to use the majority of staves and tomes in the game. His growths may be easily altered by the use of the Starsphere or Starsphere Shards in the second book.
All in all, Wendell is an above average unit in both books.
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Base Stats
| Starting Class | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Sage | |||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov |
| 1 | 22 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Weapon | Starting Items | ||||||||
| Tome - B Staff - D |  Thunder Barrier | ||||||||
Growth Rates
| HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40% | 0% | 20% | 20% | 20% | 40% | 0% | 35% |
Overall
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|
Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.
|
Wendell has unusually high base speed, as well as great Tome and Staff Weapon Rank. Due to his early join time and base stats, Wendell is a very good character to use early in the game for support. He can use the powerful Excalibur tome at base, and is also one rank away from using the Warp staff (and is particularly close if reclassed to Bishop, though this comes at the cost of some Speed and Tome rank). If reclassed to Dracoknight, he will be an excellent combat unit thanks to his great speed, flight, and Dracoknight's fairly high strength base, even if his weapon ranks will suffer somewhat. Due to his poor growths and the presence of very strong enemies, Wendell's utility will eventually waver as your other units surpass him, meaning he is mostly useful later on as a spare staff-user, but even then, having a second or third character capable of using Warp is an option that is hard to discount.
Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem
Base Stats
| Starting Class | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sage | |||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov |
| 7 | 26 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Weapon | Starting Items | ||||||||
 Tome - B Staff - D |  Blizzard Heal | ||||||||
Growth Rates
| HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40% | 0% | 20% | 40% | 30% | 50% | 20% | 25% |
Support Relationships
Supports
Supported by
Overall
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Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.
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New Mystery is Wendell's weakest incarnation, as the game very heavily favors units with high growths, which Wendell simply does not possess. While other versions could stay strong throughout the campaign, Wendell tends to struggle, particularly on Lunatic, to keep up past his join time. Fellow mages and staff units, such as Merric, Linde, and Marisha also have a much easier time of catching up to him. That said, the sheer versatility and supportive skills of his Sage class means that he is still a good idea to deploy in those chapters, even if he can be surpassed eventually. He can also stay useful somewhat longer, due to the existence of reclassing; one good potential option for him is Swordmaster, which makes good use of his high Speed and allows him to deal fairly heavy damage with a Levin Sword.
Quotes
Recruit conversation
Marth recruit
—Recruitment conversation with Marth in Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light
—Recruitment conversation with Marth in Shadow Dragon
Merric recruit
- Merric: Oh! Master Wendell? Yes, it's you!
- Wendell: Ah, Merric! How have you been, lad? You certainly look well.
- Merric: I was able to find Prince Marth of Altea! And I have joined his army as well. We are fighting the tyranny of Dolhr! Why are you here, Master?
- Wendell: How can I say this... Sadly, Khadein has fallen into darkness. A fiend called Gharnef has seized control. He has turned the city toward the shadow... I could not bear to serve him, so I fled on my own.
- Merric: What awful news! Master, please... Consider lending us your strength. If Gharnef serves Dolhr, he is our enemy! We will find a way to take Khadein back. I know the prince would be overjoyed to have so great a bishop as you as an ally, Master.
- Wendell: Hmm... Though I deplore violence, I cannot see another path... Very well, Merric. I will join your fight. Please let the prince know I am at his service.
- Recruitment conversation with Merric in Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light
- Merric: Oh... Master Wendell! Teacher!
- Wendell: Well, hello, Merric! What a surprise! Good to see you haven't blown yourself up yet.
- Merric: Not yet, sir. But I did find Prince Marth, just like I said I would. I've joined the Altean army in the fight against Doluna. ...Why are you here, Teacher?
- Wendell: Hmm... It's Khadein, lad. The land is not as you remember it. That fiend Gharnef seized power, and now he's draped the city in darkness. I fear Khadein is doomed... I could not stay and served him. So, I snuck out alone.
- Merric: Very brave of you, sir. Hmm... Why don't you join us, then? If Gharnef is helping Dolhr, then he's a bitter enemy of ours as he is yours and Khadein's. We couldn't possibly leave the city in his clutches. And I'm sure the prince would be pleased as pie to have magic as robust as yours in his arsenal.
- Wendell: Hmm, you do know how to argue a point. I've no taste for war, but war is what I've been served. Come, Merric. We'll fight together. Tell your prince of Altea that Wendell is at his service.
- Recruitment conversation with Merric in Shadow Dragon
Death quote
—Wendell's death quote in Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light
—Wendell's death quote in Shadow Dragon
Endings
Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light
- Journeys from country to country seeking to uncover great truths.
Shadow Dragon
- Wise Teacher
- Wendel became the senior mage in Khadein and embarked on a journey that took him from land to land in pursuit of truth.
New Mystery of the Emblem
- Archmage of Khadein
- Wendell returned to Khadein, as its Archmage, and spent all of his energy on restoring the City of Magic.
Non-Canon Appearances
Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)
Wendell is illustrated in the trading card game Fire Emblem Cipher with the following cards:
Choose Your Legends Placement History
| Round | Placement | Character Version | Votes |
|---|
| CYL1 | 537 |  Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light/Shadow Dragon |
178 |
| 720 |  Mystery of the Emblem/New Mystery of the Emblem |
56 | |
| CYL2 | 637 ↓100 |
Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light/Shadow Dragon |
100 ↓78 |
| 768 ↓48 |
Mystery of the Emblem/New Mystery of the Emblem |
33 ↓23 | |
| CYL3 | 463 ↑174 (From highest) |
Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light/Shadow Dragon/Mystery of the Emblem/New Mystery of the Emblem |
180 ↑47 (From combined) |
| CYL4 | 482 ↓19 |
Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light/Shadow Dragon/Mystery of the Emblem/New Mystery of the Emblem |
119 ↓61 |
| CYL5 | 454 ↑28 |
Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light/Shadow Dragon/Mystery of the Emblem/New Mystery of the Emblem |
52 ↓67 |
| CYL6 | 445 ↑9 |
Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light/Shadow Dragon/Mystery of the Emblem/New Mystery of the Emblem |
74 ↑22 |
| CYL7 | 320 ↑125 |
Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light/Shadow Dragon/Mystery of the Emblem/New Mystery of the Emblem |
114 ↑30 |
| CYL8 | 325 ↓5 |
Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light/Shadow Dragon/Mystery of the Emblem/New Mystery of the Emblem |
118 ↑4 |
Etymology
The name Wendell is a derivative of Wendel, an old short form of Germanic names beginning with the element wandal meaning "a Vandal". The Vandals were a Germanic tribe who invaded Spain and North Africa in the 5th century. Their tribal name, which may mean "wanderer", was later applied to other groups such as the Wends, a Slavic people living between the Elbe and the Oder.
Wendell's name might refer to him taking various journeys in his life - as noted in his endings in games taken place during War of Shadows.
Gallery
