User blog comment:Leolab/Ancient User Tourney, Round 5: William Vigiles (Alock) v Sir Bors (Elgb)/@comment-28493607-20160614041618

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, and I’ve already been loosely following this tournament and enjoyed the previous battle, I’m going to contribute to this one. But before I get into the meat of my post, may I ask what happens if a rematch is to take place in the losers bracket? If Tiberius Proditus and Ganzorig, for example, were to meet again, would they get the chance to change something about their loadouts in order to prevent a complete redo? I don’t really think there’d be much of a difference in the results if nothing changes since anyone can just copy their votes from the original battle over to the new one.

Bracket inquiries aside, let’s go ahead and get a look at who we’re comparing. Right away we’ve got more information for William Vigiles than Sir Bors. Alock definitely did a better job painting a picture of who his character is what with mentioning his wife, kids, and family history. What we have with Bors is just a quick summery of his military training/experience without really getting a feel for his personality. I’d be interested in having a few examples of the underhanded tactics he utilized and just how unsportsmanlike he behaves, but none is provided, so I can’t be quite sure what to expect out of him. For all I know he might prolong the battle just to taunt Vigiles. Playing with your food isn’t a bright idea whenever your food is intent on killing you, and overconfidence could very well be Bors’ undoing if he doesn’t take this thing seriously. That being said, Bors does have a very distinct advantage in combat experience given his battles across Europe and against the Turks. His mercenary work serves to further place him above Vigiles, who likely hasn’t seen nearly as much combat as Bors. Let’s face it, he’s a city guard. His most frequent opponents are going to be civilians committing crimes or rioting. Although he has fought valiantly against invaders (who I’m assuming are professional troops) before, the instances of him doing this likely aren’t as frequent.

At the very least Vigiles is younger than his opponent. Just how great this age gap is simply isn’t known, but since Bors is considered a mercenary in the blog’s introduction, he is 30 years old at least. That means Vigiles is at least four years younger, which is nice, but not really a game changer. Although there’s more information overall for Vigiles, most of it doesn’t help him win out outside of a morale perspective. Vigiles is the good guy fighting to protect his city and the family he loves. Bors is the bad guy that kills for gold. A fun narrative, but ultimately Bors is has the better warrior background here. Man for man, the edge goes to Sir Bors of Newcastle.

Now then, let’s get a look at what these guys are bringing into the arena. For primary weapons, Vigiles wields an oak truncheon club. Bors wields a longsword and a targe shield. Although listed as his primary weapon, I can’t help but believe that Vigiles isn’t going to seriously attempt to use it as such. Its main purpose is to incapacitate trouble makers, not for battles to the death inside an arena. That being said, should it come down to signature weapon vs. signature weapon, it’s going to favor Bors tremendously. In a battle to the death, you’re not going to want a club. It’s going to take many club strikes to kill, whereas a longsword is going to have far less trouble given its superior power and killing surface since it possesses a double edged blade. Since Bors’ longsword is apparently of average size, it’s going to be around 40-48 inches long. The truncheon is only 24 inches long, forcing Vigiles to work a lot harder to get hits. It’s practically impossible for Vigiles to get anything out of his weapon. He has to deal with a shield and deal with armor; all while avoiding a weapon with a greater reach. To make matters worse, Vigiles armor weighs 120 pounds. Agility becomes a fairy tale whenever you’re stuck lugging around all that extra weight. Don’t get me wrong, Bors certainly won’t be a ninja in his 45-55 (see armor edge) pound armor, but he isn’t the one having to commit an all-in offensive here. Bors can simply chip away at Vigiles, using his shield when needed to keep himself from taking any major hits. Vigiles lacks anything for his free hand, and with no shield or range advantage, there’s really no reason for Bors to worry here. Crippling edge to Sir Bors of Newcastle.

Bors certainly seems well off in this confrontation. At medium range he wields a halberd, which beats Vigiles’ longsword in reach by around two feet. Additionally the halberd provides Vigiles with more avenues for attack. He can thrust it like a spear or swing it like an axe. Either way, it’s going to be difficult for Vigiles to really do anything about it. Given his weight, he’s going to be bearing the brunt of the attack and won’t be dodging much. Much like in the primary weapons category, Vigiles is going to have to put in far more work than Bors to land a hit. Odds are Bors will be Vigiles more often than Vigiles will be striking Bors, and I believe the halberd will do a substantial amount of damage depending on where it hits. According to medievalwarfare.info, “…when the [chain] mail was not riveted, a well placed thrust from a spear or thin sword could penetrate, and a poleaxe or halberd blow could break through the armour.” This is important because although Vigiles is wearing iron breast and back plates, he relies on chainmail that isn’t riveted to protect his arms and legs. It won’t be like a warm knife going through butter, but it can go through regardless. Being the experienced warrior he is, Bors will recognize this fact and will go after that mail if he struggles dealing with the plate/mail/leather chest area. In regards to medium ranged weapons, my edge goes to Sir Bors of Newcastle.

There really isn’t much to talk about when it comes to long range weapons. Both men utilize crossbows; however the advantage here is still in the court of Bors. This is because he is explicably stated that he is a skilled marksman and he is equipped with a multitude of specialized ammunition to choose from. While these may not have the same variety as Hawkeye, he isn’t stuck with the ordinary bolts that Vigiles uses. With both warriors incredibly well armored, the armor piercing arrows in Bors’ arsenal really stand out in ranged combat. The likelihood of Bors’ arrows going through armor is higher than that of Vigiles’. Couple that with the fact that he is known to be a talented sharpshooter and we have a clear winner here. Another edge for Sir Bors of Newcastle.

Just as I say that I click the next tab and see a bear trap. Look, I get it, he’s a cunning tactician and is all about ambushes, but there is no way in hell it’s going to be of use here. For a trap to work, you have to set it in a location where a victim wouldn’t expect it. That’s impossible whenever your opponent is standing across from you with their eyes locked on your every movement. It can only be useful if set before the battle begins and before Vigiles enters the arena, which is impossible because of the setup. The battle notes state that both warriors are equipped with their primary weapons by default. Every other weapon they have is laid out beside them, which means the trap is in no position to be used. Besides, the time spent setting it up is going to give Vigiles plenty of time to advance or get a shot off with his crossbow. Bors would be much better off firing his crossbow a few times or closing the distance just enough to use his halberd. I’m not expecting that toothpick of Vigiles to be doing much, but at the very least it’s a lethal weapon he can carry as a backup weapon for his longsword. A weapon that can be used is better than a weapon that cannot be used. Easy edge for Vigiles.

If there was anything that could turn the tide in favor of Vigiles, it would have to be this. Unfortunately for him, one key detail he included murdered his chances in this category: weight. 120 pounds of armor is impractical, and had the user omitted the exact weight or lowered it he would at least stand a fighting chance. As for the weight of Bors’ armor, it’s important to remember that the battle notes specifically state that the pictures shown are merely to represent what these items look like. Also, Deadliest Warrior has been known to rig tests and isn’t a great source, so I refer to this  article from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Arms and Armor in which Bors’ plate armor is between 45 and 55 pounds. That’d make the difference in weight at least 65 pounds. Bors is going to be moving faster and with less (if any) issue, whereas Vigiles is going to struggle. Not only that, but Vigiles doesn’t have any weapons particularly great at dealing with armor. Bors’ halberd and armor piercing crossbow can handle Vigiles’ armor much better than Vigiles’ weapons. Early plate armor isn’t perfect, but it’s good enough to protect Bors from most of what Vigiles can throw at him. Besides, he has the addition of the targe when using his primary weapon, and that’s going to offer him more protection for close range. The final edge goes to Sir Bors of Newcastle.



I sincerely hope Vigiles’ family isn’t present in the arena. Poor guy is gonna get mauled. He hasn’t got the weapons, the armor, or the combat experience to last against Bors. Really, he’s a guard going up against a seasoned veteran who has traveled the world. Vigiles’ signature weapon, his truncheon, is going to be discarded right off the bat since Vigiles knows that this engagement is to the death, so Vigiles is really handicapped since the weapon he is best with won’t be of use to him. He’ll arm himself with his longsword and quickly be taken down by the range advantage enjoyed by Vigiles. If a sword fight takes place, then Bors still has a shield to fall back on for another layer of metal that Vigiles will have to go through before he can kill. Honestly, he can only hope for a one in a million crossbow shot or Bors to be drunk in order to stand a chance. More strategy was used in putting together Bors’ arsenal, and the edges really show for it. El Alamein said there was speculating in the chat that Vigiles could take this, and I’d be interested in seeing those individuals vote since I don’t see much in favor of Vigiles here.