User blog comment:Kazanshin/Sun Tzu vs Hongi Hika (Maori)/@comment-422690-20180819164650

All right, EA has successfully goaded me into voting.

So...

Short Range: Toki Kaka Poto wins. Honestly, y'all are overestimating the Jian. It's not a very good cutting sword; that's a modern invention to make wushu stuff more visually appealing. Further, it's considered a gentleman's sword, something that takes a high amount of training and skill to use, not a battlefield weapon. Looking at any Chinese texts, you only really see the Jian on non-combatants or commanders who command from the back; most actual war weapons are halberds, spears, or sabres. The axe is more of a battlefield tool, and can also be use to hook and parry other weapons.

Mid Range: Tiaha wins. The Zhua is the most idiotic weapon I have ever seen. It's horrendously imbalanced, meaning a miss will require a lot of recovery, and while it has some blunt force from the head, the actual tearing motion is inconsistent at best. The Tiaha, on the other hand, is a simple, effective weapon. You slice with one end and bash skulls with the other.

Long Range: Trade Musket wins. As EA points out, the Trade Musket is incredibly useful as a psychological tool. You're ambushed by a group of yelling, massive dudes who have unknown tubes that spit thunder, fire, and lead; that's not something you're going to mentally recover from quickly. The repeating crossbow has a higher rate of fire, which is especially useful against the unarmored Maori. Another thing to note here, though, is that the trade musket has a much larger effective range than the crossbow. Even if it's less than accurate, it will still scare the hell out of Sun Tzu's soldiers.

Special: Mere wins. It's simple, compact, and plays right into the Maori's strengths. The Bishou is not going to be very useful; despite the lack of armor, the Chinese soldiers are going to have their hands full defending themselves at that range.

Armor: Sun Tzu wins. Armor > no armor, this is rather simple.

X-Factors: Well, barring the laughable inaccuracy of the tactics edge, as Sun Tzu's only real achievement is taking credit for a collaborative work, the Maori are at an advantage, as their experience and brutality make for a potent combination, allowing for psychological warfare to break Sun Tzu's ranks.

Overall: Hongi Hika wins this one quite handily. Sun Tzu's only real advantage is his armor, which doesn't take him far. Hongi has weapons that are easier to use, as most of Sun Tzu's men won't have the requisite training to use a jian, he has more experience, and is just overall better at combat. Sun Tzu's only verifiable combat feat is killing two defenseless prostitutes to make a point; he should stick to imitating a pimp and stay away from the front lines.