User blog comment:BeastMan14/Anarchy in the UK: MI-13 vs Stardust Crusaders!/@comment-3189283-20191202135215

Let’s see shall we

Leader

In terms of powers I can’t really give much of an edge. Pete has the more powerful ability with his energy manipulation, as Hamon isn’t really meant to be used against humans and thus doesn’t have a whole lot of offensive power in this battle. His energy shield should also be able to hold off a lot of the Crusaders stand attacks and as an added boost I think he probably will be able to absorb Hamon and use it to power his attacks. Joseph meanwhile is lacking is raw power but he makes up for it in versatility, Hamon can be used in a limitless number of ways including less potent versions of Pete’s energy manipulation and Hermit Purple gives him greater mobility and another dimension of his attack to use.

Since we powers are roughly even it more comes down to if Pete or Joseph’s own personal attributes are better for this battle. I’d say both are even when it comes to leadership, they both have the respect and loyalty of their teammates and will be able to command them effectively. When it comes to tactical ability however I think Joseph is the one with the tactical mind better suited to this battle. As Laq said below, Pete’s type of tactical ability is more long term rather than on the fly thinking, which isn’t really suited to a small squad engagement like this with little planning time. Joseph’s whole battle style is based around adapting to the scenario and using the environment to aid him which is much more useful in this scenario.

Edge: Stardust Crusaders

The Tank

This is another close one. At his strongest Brian outclasses Star Platinum in terms of strength and durability however even when at his strongest he still can’t match Star Platinum in speed of attacks (while he gets close in terms of flying speed this doesn’t translate to attack speed.). This makes it hard for him to actually land a hit on his the Stand and it’s self preservation instinct towards its user means he won’t be able to hit Jotaro either. Granted Jotaro is going to struggle to actually damage Brian himself but here’s where the source of their power comes into play. Brian’s strength comes from his own self confidence and when he’s struggling to keep up with Star Platinum’s speed that confidence is undoubtedly going to take a hit, which weakens him further and makes him even less able to keep up. Let’s not forget Jotaro was able to drive a man completely insane through sheer bluffing alone, despite the man in question having rigged the contest completely in his favour and his unflappable demeanour in the face of adversity will really dent Brian’s confidence and his powers with it. Edge: Stardust Crusaders

The Swordsman

Once again this match-up comes down to power vs speed. Dane’s Ebony blade has way more cutting power than Silver Chariot’s blade and Dane’s armour is specifically resistant against magic and so should be able to reduce the damage output Polnareff can put out. However Dane himself is not fast enough to keep up with its speed, even with its armour on Silver Chariot is still comparable in speed to Star Platinum and if it takes its armour off then Dane has no hope of keeping up. Dane himself is a lot smarter than Polnareff and will probably have an easier time coming up with a way to get around his weaknesses than Polnareff will and he could always just try and target Polnareff himself, who has none of Silver Chariot’s speed or protection. Much like the Leadership edge I’m giving this to Dane because of his own personal qualities rather than his abilities.

Edge: MI-13

Support

This is a much easier one to decide for me. Kakyoin has some good options when it comes to combat and out of everyone here he probably has the longest effective range due to Hierophant Green’s long stretching tentacles but Faiza has him utterly outclassed when it comes to a support role. The biggest asset she has is her Living Cross-Section which allows her to heal her teammates, which is especially important as the Crusaders have no healer of their own and her paralysis ability could take Kakyoin out of the fight right away. Excalibur also gives her a passive healing ability of her own on top of great offensive power with it’s ability to kill anything. While that last point might not be too important as Faiza doesn’t seem like she’d kill people eagerly her asset to her team is far greater than Kakyoin’s is to his.

Edge: MI-13

The Fire User

If the last edge was a pretty easy edge for MI-13 then this one is an easy edge for the Crusaders. Magician’s Red is one of those Stands which doesn’t look too special until you realise it can move at speeds comparable to Silver Chariot and grapple with Star Platinum. This is enough to match Jacqueline’s vampire physicality and that’s without talking about its main power of being able to control flames which will easily be able to roast Jacqueline before she can even get close enough to harm Avdol. Jacqueline does have her regeneration ability which is always helpful but that won’t make much of difference when she’s been burned to a crisp.

Edge: Stardust Crusaders

The Recruit

Blade seems like he’s the MI-13’s best warrior in this match judging from his set of abilities. He’s quick and strong enough to go up against most of the Stands on show here, his Word Sword allows him to harm Stands directly and his healing factor means he can take a brutal beating and still continue fighting. Iggy however is not to be underestimated, the Fool lacks the damage sharing that other Stands do meaning he can use it as recklessly as he wants and because Iggy runs on instinct his Stand is quick to respond to what he needs and when. Blade will have serious trouble with the Fool and Iggy himself is not afraid to get in on the action if needs be, so he’d be focused on two opponents at once.

However, as with any battle involving the crusaders, one must mention that Iggy barely cares about his team or their objective and is likely to get bored and wander off or just decide to sleep through the battle. Only if he thought he was in danger is he likely to fight although he has been known to step in to save his allies from time to time. Nevertheless he can’t really be counted on as a teammate and more often than not the Crusaders will be fighting one man (or dog) short. Blade meanwhile is a pretty good team player and with his impressive arsenal and set of abilities he’ll be a force to be reckoned with.

Edge: MI-13

Final Verdict

This is honestly a really tough one to call. A lot of the edges in this battle are pretty marginal and overall they roughly even out, with MI-13 having a better set of supporting powers overall whereas the Crusaders have better offensive powers overall. The X Factors aren’t a huge help in deciding the victor either. The Crusaders have better team experience but it’s not as if MI-13 don’t know how to work with each other and brutality I don’t think makes much of a difference as I can’t see MI-13 not killing the crusaders if they don’t have another option. MI-13 has better Solo Experience due to them being around for longer but the Crusaders are not exactly inexperienced themselves and I don’t think they’ll have trouble adapting. M-13 also wins out in terms of team experience but again it’s not like the Crusaders can’t work together, the only reason they don’t most of the time is because they get separated and in fights such as against High Priestess they’ve shown they can synergies their powers together well.

With it being so close in terms of everything even the smallest advantages can help and as much as it pains me, I think MI-13 have this battle by the slimmest of margins. Part of this is because of Iggy not being much of a team member, the Crusaders are going to be outnumbered most of the time and with how skilled the members of MI-13 are this is going to be a serious problem for them. The Crusaders also lack a healer so if any of them get seriously injured then that’s them out of the battle whereas MI-13 has Faiza to patch up their wounds, not to mention Blade and Jacqueline have their own healing factors to fall back upon. If Iggy was more loyal or if somehow Josuke was in this group then the Crusaders might have won this but as is they just about lose out.

MI-13: 2,530

Stardust Crusader: 2,470