Enter criteria and click Find Words
19 five letter words start with ED, and a third of them take I as the third letter.
I leads at about thirty two percent, G at twenty one, a second D at sixteen and U at eleven.
EDGES, EDITS, EDGED, EDICT and EDEMA are the entries a player would recognise, with EDIFY and EDUCE behind them.
A good share of the rest are first names, which is what pushes the count to nineteen.
EDITS is the sensible opener. It covers the leading branch and its T and S are the two commonest endings in the group.
If the I misses, EDGES covers the G branch and brings three fresh letters with it.
They differ in the last box alone, so landing either one settles the other immediately.
It is a real word for an official order and it sits on the I branch alongside EDITS, so it is a reasonable second move.
Around a third of the list. Setting those aside leaves roughly seven entries you could realistically play.