User blog comment:MilenHD/Mayan Soldier vs Gladiator (Season 2 Opener)/@comment-4661256-20160110033201

El Alamein's Edges:

 Close Range: Flint Knife vs. Sica:  Okay, well, the Sica is longer than the flint knife, giving it more reach; it's heavier, giving more cutting power behind each blow; and it's made of a better material, making it more durable. Easy edge for the sica.

Edge: Gladiator

 Mid Range: Maquahuitl vs. Trident:  The trident might have a longer reach thanks to its longer handle, but that's not necessarily an advantage. If the Mayan soldier can close that distance, then the gladiator will be hard-pressed to make effective use of a weapon with very limited surface area dedicated to killing (just the points on those barbs). The Maquahuitl might be shorter (not by much), but it more than makes up for this with pure killing surface area. To top it off, I'm fairly certain that even if the gladiator is able to negate the effect of a Maquahuitl strike by virtue of blocking the obsidian shards with what little armor he has, he'll still receive substantial blunt trauma because he'd still be getting beaten by a huge piece of heavy wood. The trident won't be able to deliver a comparable amount of blunt trauma in addition to its piercing capabilities. For these reasons (and the fact that the Maquahuitl is the primary weapon of a Mesoamerican warrior, whereas only the retiarius class of gladiator would be specifically trained with the trident) the edge goes to the Mayan.

Edge: Mayan Soldier

 Long Range: Mayan Bow vs. Sling:  Right, even though a bow is always superior to a sling, the Mayan's weapon deserves special mention thanks to its poisoned arrows. Since the Maya lived in southern Mexico and Central America (including Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador) this "poison" likely refers to the poison dart frog's secretions (batrachotoxin), which affects the nervous system. It also affects the heart. Note that the gladiator's armor covers his head and arm (meaning his torso, perhaps the biggest and easiest target to hit on a human, is exposed). He might have a shield, but even so--the point of the poison is that the arrow doesn't need to actually kill its target since the toxins do the work instead.

My whole "poison dart frog toxins" is speculative of course, since Milen didn't specify in the blog, but I think it's a likely contender for what the Mayan will be applying to his arrows. Even if that's not the case, bow and arrows are still better than a sling.

Edge: Mayan Soldier

 Special Weapons: Sickle vs. Scissor:  To be honest, I don't think the scissor will be a wise choice for the gladiator to use in an actual fight. It's big and cumbersome and covers one hand entirely--a hand he could be using to hold a shield or use a much better weapon instead. It's showy, it's slow, and its method of attack is limited to very predictable and (for a warrior as nimble as the Mayan) easily avoidable forward punches. The sickle might not be made of bronze or iron, but its curved blade might allow the Mayan to hook around the gladiator's armor or snag one of his weapons and disarm him. Either way, by virtue of not being an ancient world's WWE weapon, the sickle gets the edge.

Edge: Mayan Soldier

WINNER: MAYAN SOLDIER

The gladiator stands no chance. Like, seriously--he's gonna get owned. Hard. The Mayan has far superior weapons, and it makes sense when you think about it. He's a trained warrior fighting in difficult terrain (jungle), utilizing his enviornment to his advantage (i.e. poison for his arrows). The gladiator, on the other hand, is a warrior in the loosest sense of the term--unless he was a soldier who was taken as a prisoner of war, he likely has no real combat experience on the field of battle, and is instead groomed to provide a spectacle for the audience. That's why his armor is showy and flashy but limited in where it protects, and that's why his weapons look cool and cause gory wounds when they hit their target but are slow and not designed for real combat. I mean, after all, if the trident and scissor were such great weapons, why didn't the Romans equip their legions with them? To top it off, the Mayan dominates long range so hilariously that I doubt the gladiator will have a chance to close that distance. With arrows laced with neurotoxins, the Mayan doesn't even have to pierce the heart to kill his foe. Because the Mayan is better trained, has better combat experience, and brings better weapons, he wins this fight.