User blog comment:Lasifer/1001 Days: Merle Dixon vs. Trevor Philips/@comment-5465602-20140505144013

BeastMan14's "ABOOT?!?" Edges

Melee: Trevor Phillips. While Merle's hand blade is certainly a more lethal weapon, Trevor's bat takes a major range advantage with its 40 inches to Merle's 13, alongside there being a major advantage in its favor, and that's it's stunning power. One blow to the head, and Merle's staggering around, disoriented. One to to the stomach, and Merle's completely winded and gasping for breath. Also, Trevor, even without his bat, is a superior melee fighter, enabling him to easily overpower Merle up-close, capable of stomping a man's head in and outfighting a group of cops with just his hands, dangerous blade hand or no.

Pistol 1: Merle Dixon. While the weapons are largely similar, Merle's has a slight one round advantage, which could be semi-critical in the heat of combat, though they're both skilled gun fighters.

Pistol 2: Trevor Phillips. While Trevor's pistol may not have as much range as the M1911, and I don't really see either of them using their pistols at that range anyway, Trevor's H&K has significantly more ammo, enabling him to put a cap in Merle's ass while he's reloading.

Assault Rifle: Merle Dixon. After some debate, I've decided to give it Merle's M4A1 Carbine on this one. The Norinco may have more ammo and stopping power, sure, but the M4 is a more accurate weapon with better range, which I think gives it a large enough advantage to take the edge.

X-Factors: Trevor Phillips. Despite your scorings, Trevor takes the majority of X-Factors when one really thinks about it. Let's break it down:
 * Experience: Trevor Phillips. Merle's a trained soldier, but that doesn't mean as much as a lot of people make it out to be. My dad's a trained soldier, and he still didn't spend a whole of time fighting, and he mostly just guarded and patrolled bases and towns. Trevor's fought private military companies, gangsters, the FIB, cops, biker gangs, and even the Air Force at one point. Merle, on the other hand, has "war experience", with some fights against walkers, a biker gang, and some other armed conflicts on the side as part of the Woodbury army.
 * Training: Merle Dixon. I agree with you on this one.
 * Creativity: Trevor Phillips. Trevor may come off as a dumb brute, but he's a genius planner of heists and competent enough to be running a drug business. Merle's mostly a bit of the "dumb hick" stereotype, though he subverts when he attacks the Governor and his men with a genius strategy.
 * Brutality: Trevor. I agree with what you say here.

Deadliest Warrior: Trevor Phillips. This is a close one, much closer than I thought it would be, but Trevor takes it because he's a more experienced warrior, with superior fighting skills up-close, with a smarter, more creative mindset. Merle's well-trained, certainly, but Trevor's superior experience fighting foes like Merle (and two hands) enables him to triumph in this clash of the crazy druggies. Overall Score: 580-420