Fate/strange Fake what are the “unorthodox summons”?

If you love Fate for its rules… Fate/strange Fake exists to break them. And honestly? That’s what makes it so fun.
Unlike a normal Holy Grail War, the Snowfield ritual is a sloppy imitation of the Fuyuki system—built by humans who almost understood magecraft. That “almost” is where things go completely off the rails.

In Fate/strange Fake, “unorthodox summons” are Servants (and even Masters) that should never exist in a standard Grail War. The system’s loose definition of what counts as a “hero” allows concepts, anomalies, and outright impossibilities to slip through.

What Makes These Summons Unorthodox?

In a normal Grail War, Servants are:

• Clearly defined historical or mythological figures
• Summoned by human Masters
• Bound to strict class rules

In Snowfield? None of that is guaranteed.

The Fake Grail War treats legends, ideas, and even phenomena as valid summoning targets.

Standout Unorthodox Servants

• Pale Rider (False Rider)
  Not a person—not even close. Pale Rider is the embodiment of pestilence itself, most closely associated with the Black Plague. It has no true body, existing instead as a conceptual disaster. This is something the real Grail system would normally reject outright.
• Jack the Ripper (False Berserker)
  This version isn’t a single murderer. Instead, it’s the idea of Jack the Ripper—the fear, rumors, and countless imagined forms surrounding the name. Because no one knows what Jack truly was, this Servant can become almost anything.
• Enkidu (False Lancer)
  Already an unusual Heroic Spirit, Enkidu becomes even stranger here. Summoned by a chimera wolf, not a human, Enkidu also ignores the traditional “lancer with a spear” idea. His body itself manifests the Chains of Heaven, making him both weapon and restraint.
• The Watcher (Special Class)
  This Servant doesn’t fit into the normal class system at all. Rather than fighting, The Watcher exists to observe and guide, pushing its Master toward becoming a “True Lancer.” It’s less a warrior and more a living system administrator.
• No-Name Assassin (False Assassin)
  A failed Hassan candidate who somehow manifests all 18 Zabaniya techniques of past Hassans. Normally impossible. In Snowfield, it happens anyway—because the system simply doesn’t know when to say no.

Ritual-Level Anomalies

The Servants aren’t the only broken part of the war.

• Two Holy Grail Wars at Once
  The Fake ritual destabilizes the land so badly that a real Grail War activates alongside it. This results in 13 Servants instead of the usual seven.
• Missing Saber Class
  The Fake War initially can’t summon a Saber at all—a massive red flag. The class only appears once the True Grail War overlaps.
• Class Corruption and Shifts
  Because the system’s restrictions are weak, Servants can undergo rare transformations, including Knight-class spirits degrading into Avengers.

Why Fans Love This Chaos

From an anime fan’s perspective, Fate/strange Fake feels like watching the Nasuverse push its own limits. It asks:

What if the Grail stopped caring about tradition and just said “yes”?

Discover more: Will Kyouka Uzen get a power up in Chained Soldier Season 2?

The result is a war where legends blur into ideas, rules are optional, and every summon feels unpredictable. It’s messy, dangerous, and wildly creative—exactly what makes Fate/strange Fake stand out from every other Grail War.