User blog comment:Leolab/Ancient User Tourney, Round 3: Gaius Leopold (Skully) v Jacob Bauer (BG)/@comment-4661256-20160602044628

El Alamein's Edges:

 Primary Weapons: Salt vs. Zweihänder:   This is kind of an interesting comparison. Salt, a bastard sword, will be much more maneuverable in close-range spaces, and can probably lend itself to effective slashes as well as thrusts. The zweihänder, alternately, much more reach thanks to its awesome length. The problem with that, though, is that the zweihänder doesn't have enough weight to back up its impressive reach, meaning the more compact bastard sword will be able to parry far more easily. This means that despite the larger size of the zweihänder, Salt will be able to hold its own in a straight-up duel, and this will enable the Salt Eagle to close that distance and get up in Bauer's face. Ultimately, it comes down to that fatal flaw in weight balance for Jacob Bauer's zweihänder that will likely end up costing him dearly.

Edge: Gaius "the Salt Eagle" Leopold

 Close Range: War Axe & Viking Shield vs. War Hammer:  Basically, the axe and the war hammer are capable of doing the same thing. They have a wider blunt end to smash with, and a narrow, pointed pick to pierce armor with. I feel like the war hammer would probably do a better job at delivering blunt trauma damage through armor simply because of its design (the axe probably has more of an edged blade, which wouldn't deliver as much crushing damage), but this is balanced out by the Salt Eagle's shield. This means that Bauer won't necessarily be denting Leopold's armor, since the privateer can simply block the blow with his shield (granted, the shield will take damage, but better that than Leopold himself). Bauer doesn't have that option--his armor will be absorbing all the hits. Still, the war hammer's arguably superior design evens it out against the Salt Eagle's better defensive options.

Edge: Even

 Mid Range: Halberd vs. Zweih  änder:  The halberd is longer and it does have more attack options with regards to its triple-threat axe, spear, and spike, but I think the zweih änder wins out here. Its design gives it more killing surface area--Leopold has that whole length of blade to contend with, while Bauer only has to worry about the halberd's head itself, since the rest of the shaft is harmless. In fact, the shaft might even be broken by the zweih änder (depending on how both warriors use the two weapons). While the halberd's longer reach is still going to give Bauer something serious to contend with, ultimately, the zweih änder's deadlier blade gets it the edge.

Edge: Jacob Bauer

 Long Range: Composite Bow vs. Recurve Crossbow:  Edge, bow. It has a faster rate of fire, and that's pretty much why it gets the edge. There's no point in trying to load a crossbow in a one-on-one when your opponent can just walk right up to you and kill you mid-process.

Edge: Gaius "the Salt Eagle" Leopold

 Special Weapons: Salt vs. Katzbalger:  Easy win for Salt. It's longer, heavier, and deadlier. Bauer has less experience with the katzbalger anyway, but it probably won't see much use, and will probably see even fewer kills. Salt is almost twice as long as the katzbalger, and this is one of those times where the reach advantage is pretty important, since the katzbalger is so short that it doesn't even matter.

Edge: Gaius "the Salt Eagle" Leopold

 Armor: Cheap-Ass Skyrim Bullshit vs. Munition Half-Armor:  Okay, so firstly I'd just like to bitch a little because Skull's armor is pretty cheap (and I'm mostly bitching because I'm probably gonna lose to him assuming I make it that far). But, that aside, there's something to be said for the psychological factor of seeing some crazy privateer all decked out in demonic armor. Everyone else has pretty much summed up how the two armors are functionally rather similar (with some variational differences in terms of shoulders/arms/legs), but I just think that WS' armor looks the part, which might actually help him out quite a bit. We'll see, I guess.

Edge: Gaius "the Salt Eagle" Leopold

WINNER: GAIUS "THE SALT EAGLE" LEOPOLD"

Basically, that bastard sword Salt is the key to victory. It's so versatile that it can go up against anything from the katzbalger to the bloody zweih änder and still hold its own. It's also heavy enough to threaten Bauer's armor, and Bauer doesn't really have any effective way to prevent the Salt Eagle from closing that distance. When you combine this with the superior reach of the halberd (the longest reaching weapon present on the field) and the obvious superiority of the composite bow to that horrible crossbow, plus whatever psychological benefits the Salt Eagle can reap from his cheap but effective armor, you end up with a winning combo. Congrats, Salt Eagle, you win this round.