Blood Knives vs. Fades vs. Gawyn

[Lacanos]

The best blade master in the world with 100% certainty is Lan. Lan after losing Moraine went to another level, I put it beyond Jearom.

 

Why? Simply put RJ said so.

 

RJ said that Lan was better than Rand. Subsequently he said Rand (before losing his arm) was better than Galad. Sanderson said Lan > Galad > Gawyn.

 

 

Lan > Rand > Galad > Gawyn

 

Q.E.D

 

 

As for the blood knife, it is essentially equal to 1 Fade. If the 2 blood knives were going full out on Gawyn he would be dead. Certainly Gawyn is more than a match for 1 Fade.

 

Gawyn > Blood Knife = Fade

 

Gawyn is an elite blade master, one of the top 10 in the world without a doubt, if not top 5.

 

I agree with your rankings but the 2 blood knives were def going all out at the end.

 

ToM Ch. 37

"Blood sprayed across the ground, one shadowy form falling. The two others muttered curses, and all pretense of wearing him down vanished. They struck at him, weapons flashed amid dark mist"

 

Yes at the end and that is why Gawyn was getting his rear end handed to him after that. He would have definitely died if not for taking out that 'lamp'.

 

Lan would be soooo much better than Gawyn given the fact that Rand > Galad and that Galad > Gawyn. If Gawyn last more than a minute with Lan I would be shocked.

As much as I appreciate all the hatred of Gawyn, the idea that he would be absolutely annihilated by Lan is kinda silly. I agree with the rankings, but don't think there's a huge skill-gap. Hence Gawyn beating those two warders in 12 and even earlier when Siuan was deposed.

[Suttree]

The best blade master in the world with 100% certainty is Lan. Lan after losing Moraine went to another level, I put it beyond Jearom.

 

Why? Simply put RJ said so.

 

RJ said that Lan was better than Rand. Subsequently he said Rand (before losing his arm) was better than Galad. Sanderson said Lan > Galad > Gawyn.

 

 

Lan > Rand > Galad > Gawyn

 

Q.E.D

 

 

As for the blood knife, it is essentially equal to 1 Fade. If the 2 blood knives were going full out on Gawyn he would be dead. Certainly Gawyn is more than a match for 1 Fade.

 

Gawyn > Blood Knife = Fade

 

Gawyn is an elite blade master, one of the top 10 in the world without a doubt, if not top 5.

 

I agree with your rankings but the 2 blood knives were def going all out at the end.

 

ToM Ch. 37

"Blood sprayed across the ground, one shadowy form falling. The two others muttered curses, and all pretense of wearing him down vanished. They struck at him, weapons flashed amid dark mist"

 

Yes at the end and that is why Gawyn was getting his rear end handed to him after that. He would have definitely died if not for taking out that 'lamp'.

 

Lan would be soooo much better than Gawyn given the fact that Rand > Galad and that Galad > Gawyn. If Gawyn last more than a minute with Lan I would be shocked.

 

Actually between my quote above and the lamp he is only nicked once on the shoulder which caused blood to "trickle" down his arm. He's exhausted but before that he had been fighting three men so who can say what shape he would be in he had only faced two the whole time. Eh doesn't really matter to me that he took out the lamp. Lucky or not it's still quite impressive. Again though I agree that Lan is a better swordsman.

[Entreri]

"I agree with the rankings, but don't think there's a huge skill-gap."

 

I would say there is a large enough skill gap. Keep in mind that Lan has decades of experience and was born with a sword in his hands. Lan has been wrecking Blade masters, Fades, Aiel and Trollocs before Gawyn was born.

 

Lan destroyed Toram Riatin with barely a mark on him. Riatin was nearly equal to Rand, who is better than Galad...Galad is better than Gawyn.

 

 

However, that by itself will not determine a fight every time (in the real world, see GSP vs. Serra I, WoT Lan vs. that other Malkier blade master 20+ years ago). A fight is "100% mental" (quoted from Fedor). Others would say it is 90%+ mental.

 

In comparison to Lan, Gawyn is very weak (mentally), very soft (physically), and slower (see Lan practicing and Egwene et al watching in amazement). Lan would kill Gawyn in under a minute. He would give no quarter and would not toy like Valda.

 

While fighters generally peak at 30-35 years of age, I do not ever see Galad or Gawyn catching up to Lan's level. Both of them are too soft and weak relatively speaking.

[Entreri]

"Actually between my quote above and the lamp he is only nicked once on the shoulder which caused blood to "trickle" down his arm. He's exhausted but before that he had been fighting three men so who can say what shape he would be in he had only faced two the whole time. Eh doesn't really matter to me that he took out the lamp. Lucky or not it's still quite impressive. Again though I agree that Lan is a better swordsman."

 

I agree that it was incredibly impressive of Gawyn. He has to be at least in the top 10 and I would put in the top 5. However, Lan is in a league of his own above the rest of the blade masters, only man on that level was probably Jearom.

 

"Only reason he was alive was because the three were being careful, wearing him down". After Gawyn's lucky hit, 2 left: "All pretense of wearing him down vanished. They struck at him, weapons flashing amid dark mist. Exhausted, Gawyn took another hit on the shoulder, blood trickling down his arm beneath his coat". "A last, desperate thought occurred to him..."

[RahulSingh]

Lan > Galad > Gawyn for sure.

 

Lan is head and shoulders above any other, but are we forgetting all the other blade-masters around?

 

What about Agelmar and Bryne and Davram. Also isn't Esser also a known bad ass sword fighter also?

 

Nobody ever mentions Perrin in this entire post lol...

Mat can whoop both Galad and Gawyn but what about Perrin?

He has his bad ass Power wrought hammer now.

 

I really would have liked to see Rand thump Gawyn up and down FoM with one hand, not using the OP, Gawyn has his head in the clouds thinking too highly of himself. Maybe Rand can still do it with all of the AoL info in his head now.

[gary0044187]

Lan > Galad > Gawyn for sure.

 

Lan is head and shoulders above any other, but are we forgetting all the other blade-masters around?

 

What about Agelmar and Bryne and Davram. Also isn't Esser also a known bad ass sword fighter also?

 

Nobody ever mentions Perrin in this entire post lol...

Mat can whoop both Galad and Gawyn but what about Perrin?

He has his bad ass Power wrought hammer now.

 

I really would have liked to see Rand thump Gawyn up and down FoM with one hand, not using the OP, Gawyn has his head in the clouds thinking too highly of himself. Maybe Rand can still do it with all of the AoL info in his head now.

It would have been interesting to see how perrin would do. Perrin is one of the few characters that seem to be able to take on Fades with little trouble, like Mat, Rand, Lan. We do not really see much out of the others to show their capacity with this, but I am willing to believe that after Gawyn defeated the 3 bloodknives that he would also join that number (again, after experiencing the way they die first). I expect the Borderlander Blademasters to be able to do it as well, Iturulde as well, now that he has faced them. I doubt we will ever get a satisfactory comparison for this debate of who could take who.

[RahulSingh]

Lan > Galad > Gawyn for sure.

 

Lan is head and shoulders above any other, but are we forgetting all the other blade-masters around?

 

What about Agelmar and Bryne and Davram. Also isn't Esser also a known bad ass sword fighter also?

 

Nobody ever mentions Perrin in this entire post lol...

Mat can whoop both Galad and Gawyn but what about Perrin?

He has his bad ass Power wrought hammer now.

 

I really would have liked to see Rand thump Gawyn up and down FoM with one hand, not using the OP, Gawyn has his head in the clouds thinking too highly of himself. Maybe Rand can still do it with all of the AoL info in his head now.

It would have been interesting to see how perrin would do. Perrin is one of the few characters that seem to be able to take on Fades with little trouble, like Mat, Rand, Lan. We do not really see much out of the others to show their capacity with this, but I am willing to believe that after Gawyn defeated the 3 bloodknives that he would also join that number (again, after experiencing the way they die first). I expect the Borderlander Blademasters to be able to do it as well, Iturulde as well, now that he has faced them. I doubt we will ever get a satisfactory comparison for this debate of who could take who.

oh yah forgot about Iturulde. All interesting to think about hypothetically.

Would be totally fun if they had a tourney after TG to tell us this kind of info heh..

 

I think every fight in the book is unique and can't be used as a bookmark or judge to place characters. A straight up One on One is the only way to put them on a ladder. That 3 BK vs Gawyn match really bugs the hell out of me though... why wouldn't they just put a bloody arrow through his face and then kill Eggy instead of going through a whole fight scene... seems totally like a fixed match. Just before entering the room maybe Gawyn had a chat with the BK's with regards to the rules of fighting in Eggy's room?

[blazetheearth]

 

I think every fight in the book is unique and can't be used as a bookmark or judge to place characters. A straight up One on One is the only way to put them on a ladder. That 3 BK vs Gawyn match really bugs the hell out of me though... why wouldn't they just put a bloody arrow through his face and then kill Eggy instead of going through a whole fight scene... seems totally like a fixed match. Just before entering the room maybe Gawyn had a chat with the BK's with regards to the rules of fighting in Eggy's room?

 

The BK fight didn't bother me as much as the fact that they ignored their orders completely. I mean here we have the Ter'Angreal Enhanced Seanchan Ninjas that are given their orders directly from the Empress herself (may she live forever) to kill as many marathdamane as possible but what do they do? Kill a total of 4 AS. They are supposed to be slaughter machines and they (between 5 of them) manage to kill 4 AS. They abandoned the order they were given and chose to concentrate on killing the marathdamane leader. Sheer idiocy. From a terror-in-the-night stand point it would wreak much more havoc among the marathdamane if several AS died in one night, not just one here and one there. Their specific orders were for a slaughter on mass scale, not assassination of one target.

 

BTW: I don't consider 1 BK to be as effective as any single blademaster and find the 3 on 1 fight closer to historically accurate depiction of a fight between actual Japanese Ninjas and Japanese Samurai. Any individual Samurai was easily capable of defeating any single ninja in a one-on-one swordfight. Like many assassins ninjas (or BK) depend on the target not knowing that they are there, and in the case of discovery commonly use escape and evasion tactics as opposed to a straight up fight. Swordsmen train almost exclusively with a single weapon and are then able to truly master that one weapon, where as assassins have to be trained in a multitude of weapons, and are usually trained in improvised weapons as well. This versatility is a great strength when attacking from the shadows, but a swordsman's focus on his weapon will generally give him an advantage over someone with a versatile skill set. It's just not possible to be as good as a blademaster with a sword if you have spent the same amount of time training with 8 other weapons also

 

IIRC the BK did not kill any AS with a Warder in order to avoid a straight up fight against him. This would seem to indicate that they did not think that they could take out a Warder in a one-on-one.

[W_A]

I voted for Lan because, although according to the duels that they've fought, they seem about equal, Lan would probably win for the same reason that he beat Ryne in New Spring who was better than him, because he doesn't give up, and again from New Spring, because of his famous luck. While not on Mat-like levels, it is compared to the Diryk (I think), who falls out of a 50 foot window and lands unharmed, IIRC. That's pretty much ta'veren level luck.

[RahulSingh]

 

I think every fight in the book is unique and can't be used as a bookmark or judge to place characters. A straight up One on One is the only way to put them on a ladder. That 3 BK vs Gawyn match really bugs the hell out of me though... why wouldn't they just put a bloody arrow through his face and then kill Eggy instead of going through a whole fight scene... seems totally like a fixed match. Just before entering the room maybe Gawyn had a chat with the BK's with regards to the rules of fighting in Eggy's room?

 

The BK fight didn't bother me as much as the fact that they ignored their orders completely. I mean here we have the Ter'Angreal Enhanced Seanchan Ninjas that are given their orders directly from the Empress herself (may she live forever) to kill as many marathdamane as possible but what do they do? Kill a total of 4 AS. They are supposed to be slaughter machines and they (between 5 of them) manage to kill 4 AS. They abandoned the order they were given and chose to concentrate on killing the marathdamane leader. Sheer idiocy. From a terror-in-the-night stand point it would wreak much more havoc among the marathdamane if several AS died in one night, not just one here and one there. Their specific orders were for a slaughter on mass scale, not assassination of one target.

 

That's right they didn't do what they were sent out to do... I felt like they were hyped up and then they fizzled out right before they were going to do something....

 

The Empress (may she live forever) is going to be pissed at this sub-standard performance from what is supposed to be the elite of the elite in the Seanchan arsenal.

 

Even the last BK who tried to do her/his thing after this 3v1 match didn't really do much. what was it....1 warder and 1 AS + and some Tower guards?

[capuga]

In comparison to Lan, Gawyn is very weak (mentally), very soft (physically), and slower (see Lan practicing and Egwene et al watching in amazement). Lan would kill Gawyn in under a minute. He would give no quarter and would not toy like Valda.

 

While fighters generally peak at 30-35 years of age, I do not ever see Galad or Gawyn catching up to Lan's level. Both of them are too soft and weak relatively speaking.

 

Lan is definitely the best blademaster but to say that he would beat another blademaster (Gawyn) in under a minute is a bit of a stretch. The two times I can think of that we get a lengthy description of blademaster vs blademaster fighting is Rand vs Toram and Galad vs Valda. In both of those cases, their elite skill levels kept the fights going for pretty long periods of time as they "danced" with each other. I would think someone as good as Gawyn could last more than a minute.

 

Also, wanted to point out that while fighters peak at 25-35 years old, the Warder bond will keep Lan at peak physical condition for another decade or two so its going to be hard for Galad and Gawyn to catch him any time soon. I believe that RJ said that the bond doesn't lenthen a Warder's life but it does keep them in top physical shape until they die of old age.

[Entreri]

In comparison to Lan, Gawyn is very weak (mentally), very soft (physically), and slower (see Lan practicing and Egwene et al watching in amazement). Lan would kill Gawyn in under a minute. He would give no quarter and would not toy like Valda.

 

While fighters generally peak at 30-35 years of age, I do not ever see Galad or Gawyn catching up to Lan's level. Both of them are too soft and weak relatively speaking.

 

Lan is definitely the best blademaster but to say that he would beat another blademaster (Gawyn) in under a minute is a bit of a stretch. The two times I can think of that we get a lengthy description of blademaster vs blademaster fighting is Rand vs Toram and Galad vs Valda. In both of those cases, their elite skill levels kept the fights going for pretty long periods of time as they "danced" with each other. I would think someone as good as Gawyn could last more than a minute.

 

Also, wanted to point out that while fighters peak at 25-35 years old, the Warder bond will keep Lan at peak physical condition for another decade or two so its going to be hard for Galad and Gawyn to catch him any time soon. I believe that RJ said that the bond doesn't lenthen a Warder's life but it does keep them in top physical shape until they die of old age.

 

 

Look at how quickly Lan took out Toram Riatin who was nearly as good as Rand. Rand > Galad > Gawyn according to RJ an Sanderson. So Lan taking out Gawyn under a minute is not a stretch at all.

 

As for the bond, it grants a Warder greater stamina and physical prowess. There is no way somebody or anybody for that matter will be in top physical shape when they are 50-60 as they were 20-30...unless one wields the OP...then the age process has slowed considered so they are physically not 60 or 100 but more like 20-30.

 

In the real world, a fighter peaks at 30-35 years of age. Gawyn and Galad have close to a decade to peak, however both lack the mental fortitude to reach the top. There is no way they will ever reach Lan's level. The Dragon Reborn would have been another story, certainly.

 

In practical terms, after the Last Battle there will be peace and hardly anybody to fight against.

[Elan Tedronai]

Lan > Galad > Gawyn for sure.

 

Lan is head and shoulders above any other, but are we forgetting all the other blade-masters around?

 

What about Agelmar and Bryne and Davram. Also isn't Esser also a known bad ass sword fighter also?

 

Nobody ever mentions Perrin in this entire post lol...

Mat can whoop both Galad and Gawyn but what about Perrin?

He has his bad ass Power wrought hammer now.

 

I really would have liked to see Rand thump Gawyn up and down FoM with one hand, not using the OP, Gawyn has his head in the clouds thinking too highly of himself. Maybe Rand can still do it with all of the AoL info in his head now.

It would have been interesting to see how perrin would do. Perrin is one of the few characters that seem to be able to take on Fades with little trouble, like Mat, Rand, Lan. We do not really see much out of the others to show their capacity with this, but I am willing to believe that after Gawyn defeated the 3 bloodknives that he would also join that number (again, after experiencing the way they die first). I expect the Borderlander Blademasters to be able to do it as well, Iturulde as well, now that he has faced them. I doubt we will ever get a satisfactory comparison for this debate of who could take who.

oh yah forgot about Iturulde. All interesting to think about hypothetically.

Would be totally fun if they had a tourney after TG to tell us this kind of info heh..

 

I think every fight in the book is unique and can't be used as a bookmark or judge to place characters. A straight up One on One is the only way to put them on a ladder. That 3 BK vs Gawyn match really bugs the hell out of me though... why wouldn't they just put a bloody arrow through his face and then kill Eggy instead of going through a whole fight scene... seems totally like a fixed match. Just before entering the room maybe Gawyn had a chat with the BK's with regards to the rules of fighting in Eggy's room?

 

 

Gawyn is lethal with the sword. His exploits from book 4 to dumai wells to book 12 have showed a man who is sick with the a blade. At this point in time he's second only to lan who i think now would not have an easy time if he faced the andoran prince. Sanderson can say all he likes. But like i said if you read the books from start to finish without sanderson's input you would say at this current rate of progression gawyn will surpass lan as the numero uno of blademastery in randland

[capuga]

Gawyn is lethal with the sword. His exploits from book 4 to dumai wells to book 12 have showed a man who is sick with the a blade. At this point in time he's second only to lan who i think now would not have an easy time if he faced the andoran prince. Sanderson can say all he likes. But like i said if you read the books from start to finish without sanderson's input you would say at this current rate of progression gawyn will surpass lan as the numero uno of blademastery in randland

 

And you can continue saying all you like. And you will continue to be wrong. Yes, Gawyn has more on-screen accomplishments with the blade than Galad does. All that proves is greater opportunity, not greater skill. We have a word of God - Lan>Galad>Gawyn. That is not an opinion. That is fact. Whether you like it or not.

[samataim]

I think it depends. In defense of Nynaeve, for example, Lan is probably one of the best swordsmen in the books. Rand, in defense of Min or whatnot, would use the One Power ... it isn't necessary for him to push himself to his absolute limits, so his true strength is hard to judge. Galad is extremely strong, obviously, but hasn't gone head to head with the type of competition that Gawyn has. Gawyn (who I voted for in the poll) seems to be the strongest, besting three Bloodknives at once, before becoming a Warder and having the added benefits. This was, of course, in defense of Egwene, so he was probably on kamikaze-sacrificial-go-for-broke overdrive mode. So I think that under the highest duress, Gawyn is probably the strongest. I wonder, incidentally, how Mat would fare against both of them at once now ... Galad + Gawyn (the two strongest Blademasters in the world, imo) versus Mat (an increasingly ta'veren luck machine who would probably keep tripping and evading their blows).

 

Edit: Hasn't Mat defeated numerous Fades without really trying? I seem to remember him hardly expending any effort to defeat one in Fires of Heaven, to say nothing of going toe-to-toe with the gholam.

 

Mat is the MAN!!!!

 

Though not a blade master. Plus, his memories now make him very, very good with his spear (not that he needed any help before).

 

We have been told that Quarter staff can trump sword too. Hammar said that the best blade master of all time was bested by a farmer with a stick.

I bet Mat could still thump Gawyn and Galad. True they have both gotten better but then so has Mat.

 

Though with his luck he could probably close his eye and strike randomly and take them out in two swings but i bet he could do it with his eye open too.

 

-Cap

 

when Mat beat them the first time he was really weak, and he didn't have access to the memories of past generals. I think he was only a day after getting healed? Anyway, Galad and Gawyn had been trained prior to coming to the tower, granted they weren't as good as they are now, but still, I bet Mat would beat them both again just as soundly as he did the first time.

[RahulSingh]

Gawyn is lethal with the sword. His exploits from book 4 to dumai wells to book 12 have showed a man who is sick with the a blade. At this point in time he's second only to lan who i think now would not have an easy time if he faced the andoran prince. Sanderson can say all he likes. But like i said if you read the books from start to finish without sanderson's input you would say at this current rate of progression gawyn will surpass lan as the numero uno of blademastery in randland

 

And you can continue saying all you like. And you will continue to be wrong. Yes, Gawyn has more on-screen accomplishments with the blade than Galad does. All that proves is greater opportunity, not greater skill. We have a word of God - Lan>Galad>Gawyn. That is not an opinion. That is fact. Whether you like it or not.

I agree, we do have word from GOD and that issue is not a debatable one...

 

@ Elan = what did Gawyn do so notable in Dumai's that makes him sooo good?

its all a matter of screen time man... Gawyn has more screen time than Galad.

[capuga]

In comparison to Lan, Gawyn is very weak (mentally), very soft (physically), and slower (see Lan practicing and Egwene et al watching in amazement). Lan would kill Gawyn in under a minute. He would give no quarter and would not toy like Valda.

 

While fighters generally peak at 30-35 years of age, I do not ever see Galad or Gawyn catching up to Lan's level. Both of them are too soft and weak relatively speaking.

 

Lan is definitely the best blademaster but to say that he would beat another blademaster (Gawyn) in under a minute is a bit of a stretch. The two times I can think of that we get a lengthy description of blademaster vs blademaster fighting is Rand vs Toram and Galad vs Valda. In both of those cases, their elite skill levels kept the fights going for pretty long periods of time as they "danced" with each other. I would think someone as good as Gawyn could last more than a minute.

 

Also, wanted to point out that while fighters peak at 25-35 years old, the Warder bond will keep Lan at peak physical condition for another decade or two so its going to be hard for Galad and Gawyn to catch him any time soon. I believe that RJ said that the bond doesn't lenthen a Warder's life but it does keep them in top physical shape until they die of old age.

 

 

Look at how quickly Lan took out Toram Riatin who was nearly as good as Rand. Rand > Galad > Gawyn according to RJ an Sanderson. So Lan taking out Gawyn under a minute is not a stretch at all.

 

As for the bond, it grants a Warder greater stamina and physical prowess. There is no way somebody or anybody for that matter will be in top physical shape when they are 50-60 as they were 20-30...unless one wields the OP...then the age process has slowed considered so they are physically not 60 or 100 but more like 20-30.

 

In the real world, a fighter peaks at 30-35 years of age. Gawyn and Galad have close to a decade to peak, however both lack the mental fortitude to reach the top. There is no way they will ever reach Lan's level. The Dragon Reborn would have been another story, certainly.

 

In practical terms, after the Last Battle there will be peace and hardly anybody to fight against.

 

Here is the RJ quote I was referring to regarding the Warder's physical condition. Taken from Terez's interview database on Theoryland:

 

RJ's blog 10 December 2005 "THIS AND THAT"

 

- Warders don’t slow. They age at a natural pace, but they do maintain vitality and vigor beyond the levels associated with most ordinary men. That said, I recently saw a photograph of a man in his seventies who had an absolutely ripped six-pack. In fact, from the neck down, if you were told you were looking at somebody in his 20s or 30s, you’d just think he was in incredible shape. And he wasn’t bonded to anyone. Also, Aes Sedai can release a Warder from the bond. In fact, I have said that most Aes Sedai who have time to realize that they are dying will release any Warders they have in order to spare them the effects. I’m pretty certain I have said that publicly, by the way.

 

I guess it doesn't give specific ages but it does seem to imply that with the Warder bond Lan would have similar physical vitality as a man in his prime (25-35).

 

Not really arguing with you just pointing out that it is not unreasonable that a 47 year old with a Warder bond could be the physical match of a 22-25 year old. This would not normally be the case (you are old and physically declining at about 35 in professional sports).

[randsc]

Gawyn is lethal with the sword. His exploits from book 4 to dumai wells to book 12 have showed a man who is sick with the a blade. At this point in time he's second only to lan who i think now would not have an easy time if he faced the andoran prince. Sanderson can say all he likes. But like i said if you read the books from start to finish without sanderson's input you would say at this current rate of progression gawyn will surpass lan as the numero uno of blademastery in randland

 

And you can continue saying all you like. And you will continue to be wrong. Yes, Gawyn has more on-screen accomplishments with the blade than Galad does. All that proves is greater opportunity, not greater skill. We have a word of God - Lan>Galad>Gawyn. That is not an opinion. That is fact. Whether you like it or not.

I agree, we do have word from GOD and that issue is not a debatable one...

 

@ Elan = what did Gawyn do so notable in Dumai's that makes him sooo good?

its all a matter of screen time man... Gawyn has more screen time than Galad.

 

 

Egh. If Galad had ended up with Egwene, certain people would argue as passionately for him as they do for Gawyn.

 

When you have an explicit rnaking from the author(s), it seems silly to debate further. Also, frankly, the question is pretty well moot at this point, isn't it?

 

The original question is more interesting. I would say from what we saw in the EotW that a single fade is all that even a blademaster can handle. Two would mean a dead human. But of course all of the shadow's creatures have become diminished as the series continues, so who really knows?

[benny the ball]

Lan is by far the best swordsman in the series followed closely by Rand back when he could still clap. Then its Galad. Why is it in this order?

 

The author said it is.

 

Now hears a question for you. Who would win in a fight. Lan or Matt

 

i know who i'd put my money on.

[capuga]

Lan is by far the best swordsman in the series followed closely by Rand back when he could still clap. Then its Galad. Why is it in this order?

 

The author said it is.

 

Now hears a question for you. Who would win in a fight. Lan or Matt

 

i know who i'd put my money on.

 

That's a good question. I assume that we are going to disregard Mat's supernatural luck so that it is a fair fight?

 

I would probably still bet on Mat, because of the weapon he uses. The quarterstaff type weapon wielded by someone who is very good with it (which Mat is) seems like it would be superior to the sword. We see this in the story of Jeorom and the farmer with the quarterstaff (and also the way I've seen it written in other fantasy series for what that's worth).

 

That said, its hard for me to bet against Lan in any fight. He just has a ferocious will to win and is just a human weapon.

[benny the ball]

Totaly agree with you Marky and yeah you'd have to discount his luck or Lan would just slip and break his nek or something i suppose. Lan does have one hell of a hard-on for winning a fight but you could say the same about Matt. Fella's pretty determined most of the time.

[Rookie.Rider]

About Jaerom Gaidin. I wonder if he's been reincarnated and currently living. Little has been said about Jaerom. This is an important point in time, I would think all of the important "threads" in the Pattern would be active.

[randsc]

About Jaerom Gaidin. I wonder if he's been reincarnated and currently living. Little has been said about Jaerom. This is an important point in time, I would think all of the important "threads" in the Pattern would be active.

 

 

If that's true, the Mat blows the Horn and...what? Nothing, because all of the heroes have been re-incarnated? I find that unlikely.

 

Besides, the Horn binds Heroes. Not those who are technically proficient. We have no particular reason to believe that Jeorom did anything especially heroic.

[Entreri]

Lan is by far the best swordsman in the series followed closely by Rand back when he could still clap. Then its Galad. Why is it in this order?

 

The author said it is.

 

Now hears a question for you. Who would win in a fight. Lan or Matt

 

i know who i'd put my money on.

 

Minus his luck, Mat would get his rear end handed to him by Lan. While Mat is right up there with the elite warriors in terms of abilities with said weapon...Lan is on a league of his own.

 

With Mat's luck, Lan probably trips and falls on his own sword.

[randsc]

Lan is by far the best swordsman in the series followed closely by Rand back when he could still clap. Then its Galad. Why is it in this order?

 

The author said it is.

 

Now hears a question for you. Who would win in a fight. Lan or Matt

 

i know who i'd put my money on.

 

Minus his luck, Mat would get his rear end handed to him by Lan. While Mat is right up there with the elite warriors in terms of abilities with said weapon...Lan is on a league of his own.

 

With Mat's luck, Lan probably trips and falls on his own sword.

 

When Hammar asks the Warder candidates, "Who is the greatest blademaster of all time?" they don't shout "Lan Mandragoran."

 

And Jearom was defeated by a farmer with a quarterstaff.

 

So there is really no reason at all to think that Mat couldn't defeat Lan in single combat. Theyy use entirely different weapons. Wil al'Seen could probably defeat Lan also, if they started the fight standing at least 30 feet apart.