Of the Blademasters, who are the top 5?

[capuga]

1) Gawyn

2) Lan

2a) Galad

4) Sleete

5) Rand

 

Galad and Lan are tied, because, honestly, the scenes we've seen of Galad fighting are epic. There's also the possibility of his channeling Saidin as well. Gawyn's an obvious best, being able to take out two (or was it three?) bloodknives at the same time, alone. Others are obvious.

 

Per Brandon on twitter a couple of months ago:

 

Lan then Galad then Gawyn. Rand was number two before losing a hand.

[Muad Cheade]

BS has said that Gawyn has been luckier than appears, so I find it doubtful he's the best.

[Mordaunt]

There's also the possibility of his channeling Saidin as well.

Ummm what? Galad channling Saidin? Good luck with that. Now, if Lan could learn to channel, he'd be unstoppable. Imagine him channeling distractions to get close enough to cut your head off.

[Goldstar]

I talk about the possibility because of the scene when he fights Valda, where he assumes the Void. His senses are increased much in the same way that Rand describes it, but it doesn't usually seem to have this effect when others use it. Tam only talks about increased concentration, as does Lan. Galad can actually see better, and hear better. I believe this is due to him beginning to touch the Source.

[A Rant Lord]

If it is Blademaster and not Swordsmaster and Spears and stuff work... Where is Rhuarc? I think Lan Gawyn Galad and Mat might beat Rhuarc, but I think the Aiel guy has some serious fighting skills and should defenitly be on a list somewhere. Power to Rhuarc!

[Elend]

If it is Blademaster and not Swordsmaster and Spears and stuff work... Where is Rhuarc? I think Lan Gawyn Galad and Mat might beat Rhuarc, but I think the Aiel guy has some serious fighting skills and should defenitly be on a list somewhere. Power to Rhuarc!

 

Blademaster is a swordmaster, that's what they mean. It refers to the specific style of combat used with the swords, using specific forms and their variances. So Rhuarc and Mat aren't on the list.

 

Now, if we compile most lethal melee characters, I'd be inclined to put Mat at the top.

[Mongoose]

I too would have figured Gawyn had surpassed Galad by now as well, snce his accomplishments seem more impressive, but if the author says otherwise, I stand corrected.

 

However what was impressive about Rand was how quickly he progressed. It was likely due to being Lews Therin, but he went from never having used a sword to killing Blademasters in a short period of time.

[Duskfire]

Really, Valda was better then Galad before he was beaten, skillwise anyway. He was just extremely overconfident which seems to be typical bad guy stuff :P But reading that fight, Valda was wiping the floor with him. The darkfriend that almost killed Lan in New Spring (forgotten his name) was also damn good, better then lan at the time.

[Hyronimus]

Still haven't seen Rand fight single handed, would have to wait and see out of respect for the incredible balance he has achieved.

 

but everyone knows Lan is the blade.

[DPT24]

Why does everyone think Gawyn is better than Galad? We've gotten to see more of Gawyn's fights and he did take out some bloodknives, but Galad's was a lot better in the Tower, and while Gawyn has done a lot of fighting since then, so has Galad. Add in Brandon's comment's and it's pretty clear, Gawyn is very good, but Lan and Galad are better.

[jwillis7]

BS just answered this in a Q & A.

 

Its Lan, Galad, Gawyn in that order. Rand would have been 2nd had he still had his hand.

 

i thought i had read this before i could not find the original q&a but this is from theory land

[David Selig]

Gawyn about Galad in TGH:

“Besides, he has the best hand with a sword I’ve ever seen. The Warders only need show him something once, and he’s learned it. They sweat me nearly to death to learn half what Galad does without trying.”

 

So in terms of talent at least Galad is much superior to his brother.

[Mats Spare Hat]

Why does everyone think Gawyn is better than Galad? We've gotten to see more of Gawyn's fights and he did take out some bloodknives, but Galad's was a lot better in the Tower, and while Gawyn has done a lot of fighting since then, so has Galad. Add in Brandon's comment's and it's pretty clear, Gawyn is very good, but Lan and Galad are better.

 

 

With Gawyn, it's probably a case of 'what have you done for me, lately.'

 

In the last book that was published we see some of Gawyn's deeds highlighted & featured. It's fresh & new, all shined up with something we haven't read about before, so it's kind of predictable that people would flock to his banner, so to speak.

[Mongoose]

Why does everyone think Gawyn is better than Galad?

 

I guess for me it's that Gawyn's opponents were not only skilled, but physically enhanced. Warders, Bloodknives. He killed the people who train Warders

He also not only fought enhanced opponents, he fights them two or three at a time.

 

Does that mean Valda, and by extension, Galad could have slain Hammar and Coulin, three Bloodknives, defeated Sleete and that guy? Yes, possibly.

 

I guess it's like comparing strength in the Power. The only gague they have for measuring strength is comparison 'X is stronger than Y is stronger than Z who is very strong'. I feel it's kind of the same way here. At the very least, I'd say if I were looking to hire a Blademaster, Gawyn seems to have the much stronger resume, even if he isn't neccessarily better.

[Elan Tedronai]

At the rate gawyn is progressing, he would surpass galad and lan in terms of skill. Still a dick though for killing coulin and hammar

[Kal11]

Personally reading the books I never thought it was in question that Lan is the top dog when it comes to killing things with a sword. It is pretty clear he is in a class all by himself and a legend. Gawyn killed a couple Blademasters, big deal. Lan has killed Blademasters and fades both with relative ease, not to mention a darkhound. He also fought the Aiel and afterwards was treated like a legend by them even. I think he might have even taken that pack of worms had Moiraine allowed him to in TEOTW.

 

Gawyn has improved as the series progressed but he is still a relatively inexperienced kid that has led an overall priveleged and protected life, most of his experience has come in training. Lan is in an entirely different league not just in swordsmanship but personality and life experience, the guy has been tempered and tested in every way imagineable. There is a lot of weight carried by practical experience in any kind of violence.

[Sleeper]

Personally reading the books I never thought it was in question that Lan is the top dog when it comes to killing things with a sword. It is pretty clear he is in a class all by himself and a legend. Gawyn killed a couple Blademasters, big deal. Lan has killed Blademasters and fades both with relative ease, not to mention a darkhound. He also fought the Aiel and afterwards was treated like a legend by them even. I think he might have even taken that pack of worms had Moiraine allowed him to in TEOTW.

 

Gawyn has improved as the series progressed but he is still a relatively inexperienced kid that has led an overall priveleged and protected life, most of his experience has come in training. Lan is in an entirely different league not just in swordsmanship but personality and life experience, the guy has been tempered and tested in every way imagineable. There is a lot of weight carried by practical experience in any kind of violence.

That's the one thing I need to dispute, everything else is solid. Gawyn has actually had a ton of practical experience, from the fight in the WT to Dumai's Wells to the three Bloodknives. He's gotten his feet wet.

[Nygma]

Riatin beat Rand pretty convincingly, Lan killed Riatin with hardly a heavy breath (but did he get gashed or something?)

 

There are several issues against it:

1) Rand was wearing gloves to hide his tatoos;

2) Rand was not fighting, but practicing, which was obvious by the way he approached the duel;

3) Bubble of evil distracted him that Riatin was able to deliver the last blow.

 

So, I'd say it's not correct example.

 

I'd call those excuses not issues.  Either he is or isn't the best, and he lost.  :)

Just wanted to point out that this was not a battle.

It wasn't even really practice - it was a demo for entertainment with both contestants coming in with different motivations. Toram wanted to punish Rand for talking to "his" girl, while Rand... wanted to see what would happen.

Rand was going with his ta'veren mojo flow. After seeing progress with Darlin, he was hoping he could "touch" Toram similarly. He wasn't trying to win, just interact with Toram. Take into account the circumstances of this arranged swordplay, Rand's attitude and approach to this fight, his confining coat, his slippery gloves, and the bubble of evil attack, and you really can't draw any conclusion other than that he was of blademaster quality since Riatin couldn't crack his skull like he wanted.

[Zhipp]

Based solely on events in the series, I'd put them in this order.

 

Gawyn

Lan

Galad/Valda/Rand

 

 

If Galad's on the list, I think Valda has to be as well. Seriously, I kinda hate Gawyn, but it seems pretty clear to me that he could probably take on Galad and Rand at the same time. He killed 3 Bloodknives! Burn me, but I don't see why he wouldn't be able to best Lan as well. And no, I couldn't care less what Sanderson has to say on the matter.

[Entreri]

If it is Blademaster and not Swordsmaster and Spears and stuff work... Where is Rhuarc? I think Lan Gawyn Galad and Mat might beat Rhuarc, but I think the Aiel guy has some serious fighting skills and should defenitly be on a list somewhere. Power to Rhuarc!

 

First off, RJ confirmed that Rand > Galad. BS confirmed that Lan > Galad > Gawyn.

 

Thus Lan > Rand > Galad > Gawyn

 

I would wager that Lan could take on both Galad and Gawyn at once.

 

No. Rhuarc with possibly Gaul are the best Aiel fighters. Aiel as a people are the best fighters. The best Aiel should easily equal the best Warders, if not surpass them. Rhuarc is likely nearly as good as Lan > anybody else. I would say that Lan reached another level after Moraine "died".

 

 

 

Perrin comparing Lan and Rhuarc: "Perrin was not sure which of the two men was more deadly, but he thought a mouse could starve on the difference" (Book 4, 96).

 

 

If we were to compare real fighters....Lan is like Anderson Silva, unstoppable. Meanwhile, Rand is more like GSP.

 

 

All time list would be:

 

 

1) Lan/Jearom

 

2) LTT

 

3) Rand (Rand not having received all of LTT's experience prior to losing hand)

 

4) Valda/Ryne/Galad

 

5) Gawyn/Riatin/Be'lal

[ryanphlp2002]

If it was practice or competition I'd say Gawyn with speed of hand, but if it was life or death I'd rather have Lan and his years of experience beside me (or better yet, in front of me! ).

[Entreri]

At the rate gawyn is progressing, he would surpass galad and lan in terms of skill. Still a dick though for killing coulin and hammar

 

 

You are assuming that Galad skill will remain constant...unlikely. Battle, practice...forget it. Galad comes from Rand's bloodline...superior.

 

Plus Lan is many levels beyond Gawyn. Gawyn is too soft and does not train enough to ever reach Lan's/Jearom's level. Lan had a sword in his hand as a baby. Currently Lan would likely take less than a minute to kill Gawyn.

 

 

Lan would defeat both Galad and Gawyn at once.

[Entreri]

If it was practice or competition I'd say Gawyn with speed of hand, but if it was life or death I'd rather have Lan and his years of experience beside me (or better yet, in front of me! ).

 

Lan is very likely faster than Gawyn or possibly anyone else for that matter. He almost flows like the gholam. Rand vs. Riatin...and look how easily Lan finished off Riatin.

[ryanphlp2002]

True, but now that Gawyn has the warder bond too will he not be "enhanced"?

Anyway by the time Gawyn decided if he was on my side or not I'd be long dead, I'd rather trust Lan's single minded decisiveness.

[Finnssss22]

The difference between Lan and Galad to Gawyn imo is that Lan and Galad are fully subdued and without emotion when fighting. Gawyn is more emotional than both of them put together and that can lead to over confidence.

Sometimes, that is a source of strength for Gawyn but against Lan and Galad, that strength would be turned against him in much the same way Lan did to Ryne and Galad to Valda.

Remember, both Ryne and Valda were actually technically superior than Lan and Galad respectively but Lan and Galad were superior emotionally and mentally.

It's the same with Gawyn.

 

I think BS hinted at this very thing when he said "Gawyn isn't as good as he thinks he is."

You would never relate such a statement to Lan or Galad, neither of them ever think that way.