ByDanielD
Throughout Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series, it’s the eponymous Allomancers who get most of the screen time. It makes sense — the series is named for them, after all, and at first glance, the powers of a Mistborn are much more impressive than those of a Feruchemist. I know that was my take after reading the books for the first time.
But after spending a lot of time thinking about the 16 metals and how Allomancers and Feruchemists use them, I’m now convinced Feruchemistry is actually stronger than Allomancy. While both magic types have their advantages and disadvantages, a full Feruchemist can do so much more than a Mistborn. But there’s also Mistings and Ferrings — people with access to only one type of metal — to consider. So we’ll talk about having all the powers of each magic type, and having just one, as we discuss why being a Feruchemist would be the better option.
This article contains spoilers for the Mistborn series, and assumes the reader has a general understanding of how the magic system in the Mistborn series works. If you don’t, check out the section on magic and then come back — or better yet, read the books!
One of the key differences between Feruchemistry and Allomancy is in how the two magic systems access the fuel for their power, their Investiture. Allomancers can consume a specific metal or metals and then burn it to fuel their powers, while Feruchemists have to be in contact with an object made of a specific metal in order to store an attribute that they can later access from that metalmind.
On the surface, this would seem to favor the Allomancer. As long as you can afford metals, you can theoretically use your powers forever, which is an undeniable advantage. But for anyone who isn’t wealthy, or who has to travel places where there isn’t easy access to metals, it can end up being worse than the Feruchemical alternative. Additionally, it’s possible for your metals to be pushed away from you by a Coinshot, or otherwise taken away from you. Heck, you might accidentally drop them! If you secure your metals too well, you’ll be pushed or pulled along with them by an Allomancer, so it’s a delicate balance to strike. You also can’t keep them in your stomach for too long (you’ll get sick), so it’s a “use it or lose” it kind of thing in combat. Besides, there’s also the fact that unkeyed metalminds can be made by Era 2; it’s easy to imagine a world where it’s possible to purchase filled metalminds as a Feruchemist if you really need to.
Conversely, Feruchemists can wear a bunch of metalminds on (or even in) their bodies, and only an incredibly powerful Allomancer would be able to push or pull on them at all. This makes it much safer to bring a lot of Investiture into combat with you as a Feruchemist. Plus, once a metalmind has been purchased, it can be filled and emptied infinitely, so there’s no need to purchase metal over and over, or to find new sources while traveling. While a mistborn could probably make themselves quite rich, for Mistings — or anyone who doesn’t want to worry about funding their powers — Feruchemistry is superior.
Having to store attributes in metalminds can be an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on the power. While storing health or breath is unpleasant, tin Ferrings probably appreciate being able to dull their sense of touch, taste, or smell at times. Many of the storage considerations are minimal, like moving a bit slower or being slightly weaker. The ones that aren’t, well, they tend to be more than worth it, like storing luck.
Sometimes it’s truly a blessing, however. Storing calories or weight are two good examples of how storing an attribute can be considered a power unto itself — eating as much as you want, or being able to strap some wings on and fly like a bird, doesn’t sound too difficult to me. Really, it’s like having two powers instead of one.
Now that we’ve established Feruchemistry is superior in how you store and access the power, let’s move on to the actual powers in question. There are 16 powers each for the two types, with some overlapping, and many being unique to their respective magic types.
Let’s get the advantages Allomancy has out of the way first: there’s no Feruchemical equivalent to a Coinshots or Lurchers, and being able to Steelpush is awesome (Steelpulling is only OK). The emotional Allomancy of Soothers and Rioters is also not available to Feruchemists. But besides that, there isn’t anything useful Allomancy can do that Feruchemistry can’t do better. Coinshot was number one, so let’s look at the rest of the top four from our ranking of Allomantic Powers.
Tineyes are the same as Windwhisperers, except that Windwhisperers can also dull their senses by storing that attribute. Thugs and Brutes do the same thing (although it isn’t totally clear if Brutes can heal the same way, to be fair). Sliders can only move quickly in a speed bubble, while Steelrunners can be fast anywhere as long as they have speed stored. So with the possible exception of pewter, Feruchemistry outperforms Allomancy in all the premiere metals.
The Allomantic powers we haven’t covered are either niche or generally useless. Meanwhile, Feruchemistry offers a bunch more utility, with the ability to to store everything from health, memories, and alertness to breath and weight. Could a Mistborn beat a full Feruchemist in a fight? With enough metal reserves, maybe, assuming they can stay in the air and the Feruchemist cant reach them — a Feruchemist with meaningful amounts of weight and speed stored is going to win on the ground. And could a Mistborn hold their breath underwater for thirty minutes, stay awake fully alert for days on end, travel to a new country and immediately speak the language, or build a complex combustion engine from memory? Definitely not.
Mistings and Ferrings will obviously vary in strength and utility based on the powers they have — some individual Mistings will be more powerful than individual Ferrings. There’s actually an argument to be made that Mistings are more useful, on average, than Ferrings. Someone being able to use Emotional Allomancy is going to be far more useful than almost any Ferring, for example. It’s really the combination of all the Feruchemical powers that makes Feruchemists more useful and flexible than a full Allomancer (AKA a Mistborn).
Allomancy offers psuedo-flight, and depending on how much attribute a Feruchemist has stored, Allomancers might be able to outlast a Feruchemist in an endurance battle, especially against multiple opponents. But the flexibility of Feruchemistry, in both the breadth of powers and the fact that you can always access your powers given the time to store it, far outweighs any short term advantages Allomancy has in a fight. Some Mistings may be more useful than any equivalent Ferring, but the utility of a Full Feruchemist is simply unmatched.
Hopefully, it’s obvious to you now as well just how superior Feruchemistry is. If for some reason it isn’t, let me know why I’m wrong in the comments!
Featured image at the top of the article borrows its Sazed and Kelsier from Shayndl Art on Instragram
Welcome to Beyond Hogwarts!
Beyond Hogwarts is a site primarily about the Wizarding World, including the Harry Potter franchise and Fantastic Beasts but also covers a wide variety of other series including The Lord of the Rings.
You can also find news, editorials, features, list, and reviews for other movies, TV shows, and books!
Our Communities
