MERCEDES VON MARTRITZ SUPPORT RANKINGS
Interesting character; she often plays a supporting role in her supports rather than being the driving force. She likes to inquire about the feelings and hopes and dreams of others, rather than expressing her own. She is mild but is able to cut through the bullshit of various people, including Dimitri, Sylvain, and Lorenz.
Mercedes/Byleth
Rating: Low 3.
It’s a pretty typical Byleth support, giving us information about the character’s motives and the way they tick without really exploring the relationship, but I like this one more than some for two reasons. 1) it has an S support for both genders and 2) the A support has some masterclass flirting and I find it endearing.
Best line: “I’m choosing to live my life how I want, in pursuit of my own happiness. I need you to accept that. I’m in charge of my own destiny. Not you, not anyone else. Just me.”
Mercedes/Dimitri (four part)
Rating: 5
I really like how this support starts out in a pretty lighthearted, humorous way, where Mercie, who forgot about training she needed to do, enlists Dimitri to help her. Mercedes almost kills Dimitri (whoops) but he still resolves to help her because he’s a polite guy who wants to be helpful. Then we get into Dimitri’s non-existent sewing abilities, which are funny on the surface, but the support reveals how frustrated he is with his own deficiencies and inability to be ‘delicate’ (which ties in with his own character arc). Mercedes tries to get him to open up about his family, which he does, and then he gets her to open up a bit too.
They both have this thing in the chain where each of them deflects talking about themselves to the other by trying to change the conversation to the other’s feelings. I think it is very cute.
The A support is maybe one of the single best supports in the game for understanding both characters. It explores Dimitri’s shame and relationship with death, and Mercedes’ ability to rationalize someone’s murderousness using -logic-, obviously derived from her own rationalizing of her brother’s actions. Really good exploration of Azure Moon’s themes, with the discussion of living in the present instead of the past, and Mercedes just wanting Dimitri to forgive himself.
This support is one of the reasons I get so annoyed when people say that Dimitri is ‘magically cured of mental illness’ because it’s so obvious here that he is struggling mightily with self-image and being haunted by his past.
Best line: “Please, I can’t hear any more of this self-deprecation! I just want to be by your side. Is that so much to ask?”
Mercedes/Dedue
Rating: 5
What an amazing support. Mercedes really is able to get Dedue to open up about Duscur, and not just its death and the discrimination he faces, but its culture and lifestyle. She is sensitive to his feelings and relates to him by talking about sharing her own family’s recipes, when her family is also gone and she uses this to allow him to open up about his feelings I think it’s so sweet and well-handled and they just have such a loving, wonderful dynamic. (Also, Dedue almost asks her on a date but is too shy. Booo!)
I love this because it’s a rare place where we learn about Duscur’s culture and we really break Dedue’s heavily built barriers. He is able to comfortably express himself to someone who is non-judgmental and who legitimately cares for both him and his people. Sob. Wonderful. I cried while reading it again.
Best line: “Duscur is gone, but I’m still here…”
Mercedes/Felix
Rating: High 4.
God this support is raw, really cutting to the heart of both characters and their collective mourning over their brothers. Felix is upset about feeling like someone’s brother replacement / traumatized from his own brother’s death, and Mercedes is coping / dealing with her own brother’s mental illness. Very good stuff all around; love this support chain. At first I thought Felix was just being a huge dick but now I understand why he is the way he is, this chain makes a lot of sense and I feel a lot of empathy for both of them as they struggle with their sibling problems. Ugh, good stuff.
Best line: “I’ve already spent years filling in for someone who’s dead. My older brother inspired love and respect—he was a great knight. He died. Since his death, his memory has followed me around like a shadow.”
Mercedes/Ashe
Rating: 2.
This support is about cooking or baking or something. Too many of the Blue Lions support chains boil down to women being bad at cooking, to be honest!
Best line: no
Mercedes/Sylvain
Rating: 5
Another great Mercedes support with a male Lion. This time, Mercedes and Sylvain resonate with each other very strongly because of their opposition to the Crest-based system that they both navigate as Crest-bearers. Mercedes expresses her sadness, Sylvain expresses his rage.
Sylvain hits on her a few times in this support, but she consistently deflects his bullshit, but in a nice way.
Sylvain: Of course! I think I love you! And I mean that. With all my heart. I love you, Mercedes! Let’s get married and have Crest babies!
Mercedes: Sure, sure.
Sure, sure always makes me laugh; what an amazing way to just tell Sylvain he is full of shit.
The A support is stellar. Sylvain takes off the mask, and we see he true feelings. Mercedes is just relieved that the mask is gone after all of this time, and they bond over their feelings.
Sylvain: Mercedes… Was my sad smile really that bad? Did it ruin my dashing good looks?
Mercedes: Not at all. You actually look more handsome to me with honesty on your face.
Augh, what a great line. I love this support. They are so sweet. They both deserve to live in a world where they feel comfortable about being honest.
Best line: “Don’t be ashamed of crying. I’m here to protect you. Will you protect me in return?”
Mercedes/Annette
Rating: 2.
This support is really strange. It feels like it should be a good support, since Mercedes and Annette have such a close bond plotwise and there is a lot of pre-existing bonds, but the support is just kind of a dud. The B has some fake melodrama which feels artificially produced to create some sort of problem, and then the A support ends in an unsatisfying way. I think there’s a reason why this ship isn’t popular, and one of those reasons is because this support is kinda underwhelming, sorry.
(I have heard that this support is better in Japanese. Please don’t DM me about the Japanese version, because I genuinely don’t give a fuck.)
Best line: no
Mercedes/Ingrid (two part)
Rating: 4
One of those supports I definitely curse the game for not having an A support and ending, this could have been an amazing WLW ship but the game robbed us. Regardless, great support, explores the relationship between two women who have been trapped in the patriarchal, Crest-obsessed culture and are both coping with it in their own way; Mercedes is more traditional and feminine, whereas Ingrid is more drawn to knighthood, but both share the commonality of being tired of being used for their lineage.
Best line: “I’m not a tool for furthering my family’s fortunes. I’m a knight at heart. Regardless of what my father desires.”
Mercedes/Ferdinand (four part)
Rating: High 3
I would qualify this as one of the modestly funny supports in the game; it has Mercedes falling asleep as Ferdinand talks, and then Ferdinand trying his best to do the right thing but not really thinking very hard about it. It’s sweet and Ferdinand is such a cutiepie. Very romantic ending.
Best line: “Of course I do. Let me try that again in a way you might understand. Ahem. A true noble cuts their own path, seizing freedom from the clutches of tyranny!”
Mercedes/Lorenz
Rating: Lowish 4
Okay so the first time I watched this support it made me laugh pretty hard because Mercedes, who is usually so nice and sweet, just really slits his throat in this support. “You can’t even see us of lower birth?” Holy shiiit. And then in the A “Your lack of tact is probably what women find irresistible about you” She really calls out his unfortunate value system in a frank and blunt way. Actually, that’s one of the things I like about her.
With that being said, I think that the support shows a pretty human and understandable side of Lorenz as well; he just wants to fulfill his perceived duty to his family, even at the cost of his own personal happiness, and Mercedes convinces him that perhaps that is not the only way. I think it’s very heartwarming, ultimately.
Best line: “I find myself growing irritated just looking at you.”
Mercedes/Ignatz
Rating: Low 3.
Sweet support that develops a cute relationship between Mercedes and Ignatz. Nothing too groundbreaking but it’s heartwarming. Definitely looked this up to remember it!
Best line: “You’re making this out to be much bigger than it is. I mostly just don’t pay attention. Being like me is more trouble than it’s worth.”
Mercedes/Hilda
Rating: 2
Honestly not much going on here. Hilda is manipulative, Mercedes is nice. Treads mostly already tread ground for both characters, and it is trod better in other supports.
Best line: no
Mercedes/Alois
Rating: Lowish 4.
Interesting support. On the surface it seems silly, since it’s about ghost stories, but there are some things about both characters that are pretty cool that are revealed here! Alois, like many of the other characters in the cast, has to grapple with mortality, death, and killing as part of his job. I would be interested to learn more about Faerghus’s culture with respect to the dead haunting people because it is a bit of a recurring theme, both literally and metaphorically.
Mercedes, on the other hand, can just dispense scary stories with a straight face. I have always interpreted her blasé stance on death as part of her backstory and the fact that she’s had to reconcile with her brother being a serial killer and her family being so fucked up, but that might just be me reading more than is there. Regardless, I really like this one!
Best line: “As a knight myself, I slew countless foes. I shudder at the memory of my own deeds. The corpses I made, heaped in a pile, would be like a mountain. I suppose that’s why I’m so frightened of ghosts. What if they appear before me, seeking revenge?”
Mercedes/Cyril (two part)
Rating: High 2.
It’s kinda sweet and shows you Mercedes’ motherly side and shows a friendlier side of Cyril, but it’s not too groundbreaking. I definitely had to look this up to remember it.
Best line: nah
Mercedes/Jeritza
Rating: 4
This support is vital in understanding both of these characters and chalk full of meaningful and impactful conversations about their past, as well as serving as a wrap-up to both of their characters with respect to their relationship with each other.
Best line: “You saw it yourself. The demon that lives within bears his fangs indiscriminately. You… know all of this, and still you wish for me to remain?”
Mercedes/Constance
Rating: Low 3
It’s fine. I like their familiar familiarity and Mercedes’ sisterly love for Constance. Some backstory stuff for Constance, some exploration of their relationship with each other in the backstory. Never gonna be a big fan of Constance supports though.
Best line: “Our names shall ring out across Fódlan, earning us the titles we rightly deserve!”
Three supports Mercedes should have had:
Edelgard. If someone does not support Edelgard, they should. Simple. I could see either a discussion about the Empire/her brother or some philosophical discussions about the role of religion and church in society, a variant on the Manuela one.
Flayn. They both are free-spirited and a little bit odd, so I think they would get along well.
Manuela. Discussion of how being treated as a piece of meat has affected them both in different ways. Could be with Dorothea as well but I think Manuela deserves good supports.
