User blog comment:Pygmy Hippo 2/Pier Gerlofs Donia vs. Zhu Yuanzhang/@comment-32516697-20190102052207

Laq's "In Defense Of The Pike" Edges

Katzbalger vs. Dao: I'm going to say the same thing that everyone else has said so far. The dao has the length, the lightness, the curve, while the katzbalger has the two edges, the crossgaurd, and the stabbiness. Both have their strengths and weaknesses, and neither is fundamentally better. Edge: Even

Pike vs. Qiang: The pike is hardly any longer than the qiang, only by a single foot, so the qiang is long enough to be considered a pike itself, and besides the tassel, they're hardly different. Now, it's rather popular on the wiki to discount the pike because it's so long, and it's supposed to be used against cavalry. First of all, pikemen are infantry, and they will fight whatever kind of enemy decides to attack them. They're not kept in reserve until someone sees some cavalry because only the pikemen can deal with them. As for the length making it unwieldy and only fighting in groups, if you were talking about Macedonian pikemen or medieval Scottish pikemen, I wouldn't disagree. However, this is the 16th century we're talking about here, when fencing techniques involving the pike were becoming increasingly popular. In his book Paradoxes of Defence, fencing master George Silver declared the pike to have an advantage over all other weapons in single combat, due to its length. That being said, I'm still going to call this edge even, because each weapon having one distinct advantage: the tassel for the qiang, and the length for the pike. Edge: Even

Arquebus vs. 3-Barrel Pole Gun: Not much to say here. The pole gun is easily inferior to the technologically-advanced arquebus. It's heavy, inaccurate, and lacks that glorious matchlock and steadying mount that the qrquebus wears so proudly. Edge: Pier Gerlofs Donia

Zweihander vs. Mechanical Landmine: Another easy edge. Zhu is going to need a lot of luck for his mine to work, as in order for it to work properly, one of Pier's men will need to ignore the enemy, see the mound of spears, decide his current weapon is garbage in comparison to one of those beautiful spears, walk over to it, and take out a spear. I just can't see any of those things happening. And while Zhu is waiting for his trap to be sprung, Pier will be happily decapitating the Ming soldiers with his iconic sword. Edge: Pier Gerlofs Donia

X-FaCctors and Conclusion: Yep, this was all building up to be a crushing victory for Grutte Pier. Zhu has been fighting for longer, and against more varied opponents, but he mostly won his victories while sitting safely on a horse on a hill far from the actual battle. Pier himself was leading his men into battle against the Habsburgs, so he will be much more comfortable in a fight like this. His armor absolutely blows Zhu's out of the water. His weaponry is either equal to that of the Ming, or infinitely better. Zhu's going to need some incredible luck just to come out of this match alive. Winner: Pier Gerlofs Donia!