I'm going with the Black Eagles and Edie on my first playthrough. I've been stuck for a few days though because I realized (big mid-game spoilers) I'm gonna be fighting and killing a lot of past students. I only recruited two (Mercedes and Lysithea) and I dread encountering their friends, especially Anne. I can't bring myself to continue the game yet.
Next time around I'm going to try to recruit everyone I possibly can.
Poll stuff!
-I really like the game. It's now my favorite Fire Emblem (not that I've played many). The on-foot portion between battles is pure love <3
-Dislike..I don't like how hard it is to earn money, and I don't like that the school exploration sections are the same through the month, so if you finish everything on the first weekend there isn't much left to do the rest of the month. I also don't like that dancer is limited to one character. I didn't research ahead of time to avoid spoilers and put it on a character who left after a big story point.
-Female Byleth all the way, though I might do a male run later to get some endings with other girls. (I love her outfit, btw.)
-Horseriders tick me off a bit. Nice range of movement on normal ground, TERRIBLE range nearly everywhere else. Ferdie is my horseguy, and he's just about useless most of the time. I gave him a battalion with Stride so at least my other characters can move around better. I need to get him flying ASAP.
-Besides Edie, I really like Bernie. She's adorable, has a gut-punching backstory, and is consistently MVP with her bow. Mercedes is great too, but I haven't gotten deep into her supports yet.
-There aren't really any characters I hate in particular. I can't really dislike any of the students, and the adults are mostly ok too. I didn't get many supports outside of my house, though, so there's always room for something to change.
-Favorite supports..probably Dorothea and Petra, and some of Bernie's supports with various characters as she came out of her shell.