User blog comment:Wassboss/Ancient Real Life Holy Grail War!/@comment-379205-20180403021456

119's "Richenda is Best Girl!" Edges


 * First Eliminated/7th Place: Rashad ad-Din Sinan may have had extensive assassination experience, however, the version of his in this fight will be of advanced age, and his weapons are not particularly good against armored opponents. The composite bow requires a strong user and a high draw weight to have a chance at piercing armor, and I'm not sure Rashad is the kind of man to do that. Add to that the saif, which is unsuited for thrusting, and the Khanjar, which, while poisoned, would only be able to get that poison into his foe if it pierces the armor, an unlikely event, likely the only option would be to thrust through the relatively narrow gaps. If he doesn't pull this off on his first attempt, Rashad will likely get finished off by his better armor and armored enemy's counterattack.


 * Second Eliminated/6th Place: Genghis Khan was a skilled tactician and master of cavalry warfare, however, while, like all Mongols, he would no doubt be a skilled horseman and archer, really archery would be the only skill he could use in this fight as this takes place in an area unsuited for cavalry. Add to that his light armor, and the Great Khan will be among the first to fall.


 * Third Eliminated/5th Place: Harald Hardrada was a skilled and experience combatant, having fought for much of his life, and has pretty good armor, however, his weapons leave something to be desired for close combat inside the castle. Only the longsword will really be effective indoors. Harald might take out a few foes early on, but in the end, he will be defeated by better-armed and armored adversaries.


 * Fourth Eliminated/4th place: Richard the Lionheart proved himself a skilled tactician in the crusades and in his wars in France, however, he has not fought as long as some of the other participants, and I'm not sure he saw as much personal combat as some of the others, being a king and all. His weapons suited for close combat such as in a forest or castle interior will get him a long way, but in the end, he will fall to better armored and/or more experienced foes.


 * Fifth Eliminated/3rd place: Yue Fei was as skilled combatant and a master of personal combat, especially archery, and his short bow will prove more effective in the close confines of the forest and would still be viable in at least the larger rooms of the castle. The Jian is a sword design balanced for both thursting and cutting. Fei is also master archer, he must be very strong (as war bows had high draw weights), and would be able to put considerable force behind both his arrows and his sword thrusts. The Qiang will probably be the least useful of his three weapons, with it being almost completely useless in the close confines of the castle- it's nice foot length would easily get caught on doorways. Fei's armor is also less protective than some of his foes, and scale armor offers less freedom of movement than chain mail. Fei's skill will get him through against even some of the previous opponents, in spite that fact that some have better armor, but in the end, he will fall to one of the two below.

Sixth Eliminated/Second Place: Gilles de Rais will make it far in this battle primarily because of his plate armor. While he had not fought as long as some of the others, his armor will afford him greater protection than any other warrior in this battle, likely rendering arrows and possibly even crossbow bolts ineffective. The longsword is an effective weapon which can be used in a variety of techniques, including methods of hooking an armored enemy with the guard and forcing them to the ground, before finishing them off by targeting the weak points in their armor. The Hand Cannon has the firepower to blast through the armor of any combatant on this list, provided he employs it at close enough range to use it with any accuracy, and the spike on the back has very high potential to pierce armor. The braquemard would be the least effective, but it still could probably punch through the weak points of chain or scale armor if used to thrust.


 * Winner/First Place: Honda Takakatsu take the victory in spite of having only the second-best armor and a sword poorly suited to piercing. While Tonbokiri will be next to useless inside the castle, it could still be useful in more open area to keep an enemy at a distance, and Honda will no doubt know this and plan accordingly. In addition, he could use the Chigiriki both to disarm and as a blunt weapon- indeed, flails were some of the most effective weapons against plate armor. He would also be familiar with firearms, and thus would know that once Gilles fires, to attack while he is reloading. While he had never face a European-style swordsman before, his sheer talent in combat suggests he would be able to adapt to an unfamiliar opponent, winning him the battle.