WARNING: I possibly spoil some upcoming Servants in Fate/Grand Order as well as characters from Fate/Stay Night and Fate/Zero. If that is something that would upset you then proceed no further!
Fate/Grand Order is probably the thing people have been recently talking about the most in Type-Moon fandom. Fate/Grand Order is a free-to-play mobile game from the creators of Fate/Stay Night and Fate/Zero. The franchise as a whole uses the premise of mystic mages summoning various heroes from throughout history to fight on their behalf. In the past this has been everything from historical figures like Alexander the Great, Vlad the Impaler, or Hassan-i Sabbah and legends like Gilgamesh, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, and King Arthur. This game lets the player actually fight in a Holy Grail War with various heroes from the established series as well as new characters introduced for the game.It has a mixture of familiar faces like the King Arthur, twists on known characters like a Saber version of Gilles de Rais, and new Servants like Ushiwakamaru. It is like letting you play a new chapter in the Fate/Stay Night animated universe.
This means the floodgates have been opened. Even before Fate/Grand Order there had been conversations about which historical, mythological, and fictional persons would make excellent servants. These conversations have been going on since the first game and things like Fate/Zero and Fate/Apocrypha have only encouraged that. Now Fate/Grand Order practically dares you to see if there is someone who they cannot make into a Servant.
I myself have been inspired to pick 12 great and terrible legends that would make outstanding additions to any chapter in the story of Fate/Stay Night. Some of them are historical characters have have sadly gone overlooked while others are twists on established characters. Each of them adds a new dimension to the already robust interconnected stories within this ever expanding universe. It is not too hard to imagine any of these choices fighting with and/or alongside Sir Lancelot or Medusa.
With ufotable's current successes and future production history with Fate related properties it is not too hard to imagine any of these characters being potentially animated in the near future.
One quick rule: There is currently a supposedly data mined list of characters who have code in the Fate/Grand Order game but have not been revealed yet. So while that list has not been fully confirmed yet some magazine spoilers and leaked images have shown that at least part of the list is correct. With that in mind I won't pick any characters from that list as I'm going to assume they are already in Fate/Grand Order. So no Heroine X, Miyamoto Musashi, or Nikola Tesla. At this point they are practically canonical.
12. Artoria Pendragon (Rider) & Galactica Saber (Caster)
OK. I already hear the complaining that there are more than enough versions or clones of Saber as it stands. Let us not kid ourselves. There will be more versions of Artoria no matter how much you complain. So the real question is how are the going to cram her into every class possible.
I am amazingly surprised that they have not made a Fate/Zero version of Saber in a suit as a separate servant yet. If you take the Saber in a Suit and give her the Motored Cuirassier as her "steed" then you have a Rider version of Saber without any muss or fuss.
Considering how many of the other female characters are dressed I don't think it would be too odd to see Galactica Saber in the game. Sure she is just a gag from Capsule Servant but since she looks like someone who stepped in off the set of Barbarella they WILL find a way to put her in game. Plus there is almost nothing known about her so she could be some sort of crazy techno wizard and it would not mess with her established character.
Unless they go with the fan theory and make Morgan le Fay look like Saber so they can have a Morgan le Fay (Caster) that fulfills the "Artoria in every class" manifesto.
Also they will probably have a Saber Lion (Berserker) and/or Mordred (Berserker).
11. Arcueid Brunestud (Berserker)
If there is any group of Type-Moon fans that is salty enough to make the Red Sea look like a fresh water lake it would Tsukihime fans. Ever since Saber has overtaken Arcueid as the blonde mascot of Type-Moon there has been more than a little resentment forward Fate/Stay Night from that part of the fandom. Fate/Extra threw the Tsukihime fans a bone by throwing in the White Princess of the True Ancestors into the game as a Berserker. There is no reason not to continue the courtesy by also giving her a place in Fate/Grand Order with the rest of the Fate/Extra cast.
Heck, they are putting in Shizuka Gozen and she is merely a character from the Fate/Extra CCC Fox Tail manga.
You could then also have a Shiki Ryougi (Assassin.)
(The more cynical part of me wonders if they are just saving the two of them for when the inevitably roll out 6 star Servants.)
10. Sebastian Moran (Assassin)
One of the servants I saw on the list of spoilers is Sherlock Holmes. Now that the Great Detective is in the game he needs some properly antagonistic Servants to oppose him. Sebastian Moran was Professor Moriarty's right hand man and personal assassin. As a crack shot, experienced solider, avid hunter, and ruthless killer it gives him the skill to be a formidable evil Servant. Plus Fate/Grand Order likes to have characters who have had a historical grudge against each other.
9. Cao Cao (Rider)
It seems odd that the Fate series has only really used Lu Bu from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms since the book has so many larger than life characters. Cao Cao made a name for himself historically by being the ruler Wei, one of the three titular kingdoms of the epic story. Cao Cao is famous for being a brilliant military mind and an equally devious political schemer. He is the closest thing the epic has to a main villain but at the same time he also possesses a great many admirable qualities. Cao Cao could be summoned as a Ruler or Saber rather easily but I picked Rider to balance out my choices it bit. Also he was so famous for the speed of his cavalry that the phrase, "Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives" has become the Chinese equivalent of "Speak of the devil."
8. Guan Yu (Lancer), Zhang Fei (Lancer), Liu Bei (Ruler)
Why stop with just Cao Cao when you can also throw in the famous brothers of the Oath of the Peach Garden? These three warriors would go on to be Cao Cao's greatest nemeses. Lu Bei would be the ruler of Shu Han and his sworn brothers would be his greatest warriors. While Guan Yu and Zhang Fei never defeated Lu Bu they were often able to fight with him on equal terms and if you have ever played a Dynasty Warriors game you will know that is no small feat. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were often considered one man armies able to single handily tun the tide of a battle.
Liu Bei is far more famous for his virtuous nature, rags to riches story, and sharp mind than his skill with a sword. While he has a famous pair of twin swords he would probably work better as a Ruler than anything else.
Considering how famous these three are for their amazing devotion to each other it would be a little odd to throw in one of them but not the other two.
7. Longinus (Lancer)
Since they put Saint Martha into Fate/Grand Order I feel a lot more comfortable adding him to my list. As the Roman solider who wielded the Spear of Destiny it only makes sense for him to be a rather powerful Lancer. Longinus is one of those characters who has gained a good deal of apocrypha and occult lore surrounding him you can take your pick of which interpretation of him you want. Plus everyone is going to think of Evangelion when you talk about the Lance of Longinus.
6. Grigori Rasputin (Caster)
Few historical characters feel so much like fictional characters out of a fantasy novel. Famous for being a supposedly holy healer he was brought into the service of the Russian royal family to save their sickly son. He became infamous for his fearsome appearance, wild debauchery, and hypnotic influence. His insane lifestyle is one of the key factors in the fall of the Russian royal family. The fact that he was notoriously hard to kill when they assassinated him only added to his legend. More fantastical accounts say that he had to be poisoned, beaten, repeatedly shot, strangled, downed, burned alive for him to finally die.
Considering he also supposedly had all sort of magical powers that sounds like the life of a person destined to be a Servant in a Holy Grail War.
Also there is a groovy song by Boney M. about him.
5. Belisarius (Archer)
Probably one of the greatest classical generals that few people know about. He is one of the people who gained the title Last of the Romans due to his great military accomplishments despite often having extremely limited resources. He often feels like the Yang Wen-li of the Byzantine Empire. He was able to help Emperor Justinian restore much of the land the Roman Empire had lost and even was able to briefly reunite the two halves of the fallen Roman Empire. He even has a tragic downfall and a book of secret history about him. A tragic story is always a bonus when picking Servants.
I choose to put him under the class of Archer since he has a rather famous story of him using a bow during the siege of Rome.
4. Megaera (Avenger), Tisiphone (Avenger), Alecto (Avenger)
I need to get some more Avengers in the mix so Angra Mainyu is not so lonely. These three sisters make up the classical Greek Furies. If anyone demands to be placed into the category of Avenger it has to be these three. Plus they would make an excellent contrast to the Gorgon Sisters of Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale who are already Servants in the game. You might even have a little Greek pantheon rivalry and/or friendship. Plus the three Furies are defined enough that there is a solid base to work from but leave a lot of room for personal interpretation from the Type-Moon staff.
3. Hercules (Archer)
Speaking of the Greek pantheon I figured I should bring this one up as well. Ever since it was revealed that Servants could be summoned under other classes one of the most requested class changes was Hercules as an Archer. He was just as famous for his skill with a bow and arrow as he was for his unrivaled strength. Antoine Bourdelle's sculpture Hercules the Archer is a testament to this fact. Plus as a Berserker you never really get to know Hercules as anything but a force of nature. If he were summoned under another class Hercules would actually be capable of engaging in conversation and discourse. Considering what a classic hero he is many fans of the series have always been curious what he would be like if he was a sane character.
Plus it would give you an Archer people would FEAR.
2. Sun Tzu (Ruler)
Sun Tzu's The Art of War is one of the most famous military texts of all time. While it is a short book it is a treatise studied by everyone from generals to business people. If anyone could be someone who Correctly Guides the Holy Grail War is would be Sun Tzu. Plus The Art of War just sounds like such a fantastic Noble Phantasm.
1. Everyone in the Strongest Servant Contest from Fate/school life
Let us be honest. When push comes to shove Fate/Grand Order is a free-to-play mobile game. That means you constantly need new Servants to keep people interested. You also need low-level Servants for players to pull as they try to get the higher level Servants. When the author of Fate/School Life held a contest for readers to submit their own Servants to the magazine he got a slew of entries and drew some of his favorites. There is a mixture of everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Ibn al-Hasan. Best of all they already have their own Noble Phantasm. It would be a great little nod to the fans and half the work is already started on creating a whole slew of new characters.
Plus who would not want to pull H. P. Lovecraft or Benjamin Franklin?
If any of you Type-Moon fans (or hardcore historians and masters of mythology) liked this list let me know. I could easily serve up another list somewhere down the line. There are still a ton of historical and fictional legends to choose from.
