User blog comment:Tesla Man/Rise of the TDBU: Alexander the Great versus Xerxes/@comment-2006360-20120319100008

Close Range: Already, the Kopis is a poor cavalry weapon. The mace is good for that and has a great smashing iron head, but it's shorter, and the Kopis is not bad if you make particularly strong blows (which I did not really see in the testing on the show). Edge: Even

Medium Range: First, I wouldn't pick the sarissa. Although no complete sarissa has been found, we do know from reports about the Macedonian army that the phalangites' pikes, the sarissae, were between 15 and 20 feet. I would rather choose the Xyston because it could be used in one hand and was a lot more effective on horseback. Anyways, it has longer range against the hooked spear, and that is what matters. Who gets to who first. Edge: Alexander

Long Range: SERIOUSLY? Both weapons are horrible; the sling won't do much against Alexander's armor unless the Persian gets a certain blow in the face (rare), and the ballista takes too long to reload and is only effective against large masses of soldiers, or against enemies on a battlement. Edge: Even

Helmets: What I want to say first is that Alexander's armor, as portrayed on DW, was inspired by that he wore in the movie Alexander, which is somewhat inaccurate. The Chalcidian helmet...possibly an addition to Alexander's arsenal after his Macedonian helmet was broken in at Granicus...if it can block very well, I don't think the Spangemhelm, a much more primitive metal cap, can hold up, especially since the wearer of it still has weakness in the neck and face. Edge: Alexander

Body Armor: First, Alexander would probably wear iron. Everyone was using iron then; the kopis was made of it, the Persians were making use of it, and by now, Alexander and his bodyguards, and probably all of the Companion Cavalry, would be wearing iron. The Iron Age, needless to say, was at it's end already, with the usage of steel not far away. Still, with pretty much no piercing weapons, Cyrus will have a hard time getting bast the cuirass, while his bronze scales have the same effectiveness, yet Alexander's sarissa/xyston will do rather well against it. Edge: Alexander

Shields: Alexander probably wouldn't carry a shield into battle, but oh well. And his phalangites wouldn't carry the Hoplon; they would probably use a small buckler strapped to their arm, because they needed both hands for the sarissa. Alexander wouldn't with the smaller xyston, but anyway, he probably would have a shield on hand if he had to fight dismounted. The Hoplon's first layer is solid iron, while the Gerron is mostly wicker with minor bronze outlining and in the center of the shield. It won't stand a chance against pretty much any of Alexander's weapons. Edge: Alexander

Tactics: Xerxes never actually fought at Thermopylae, and didn't personally fight at all, I believe. Shortly after the sack of Athens, which was after Thermopylae, he left for Persia to deal with an uprising in Iraq, and left his massive 200,000-man army (which was slowly shrinking now that the plunder was gone) in the hands of minor generals. Alexander's phalanx was effective against nearly any heavily-armed soldier, and only used against chariots once by him; at Gaugamela. Other times, it was very useful to stop a cavalry charge, as a player of Rome Total War cn vouch for. Edge: Alexander

Battle: Thermopylae was won, but it is a shock that it took Xerxes THREE DAYS to beat a 7,000-man army (only 1,000 on the last day) with over 300,000 men. Alexander beat a Persian army that was almost twice his own army's size in a few hours. His flanking charge on Darius Codomannus' left that punched through the front rank of Scythian mercenary cavalry and into the center, where Darius and his Immortals were, was a risky, but effective charge, and the not-so-Immortals fled alongside their king. When the Persian army saw him turn his chariot and ride, they followed in a complete rout, very effective since Alexander's second-in-command, Parmenion, was surrounded with only a few cavalry and archers by Persian heavy cavalry. Edge: Alexander

And the Deadliest Warrior is...Megas Alexandros!!! His own weapons may not be too good, but his better protection, tactics, and mentality are more than enough to give him victory (and remember, edges don't win a battle. The DW team has stated that they are personal theories and matter not in the actual program.)