[Brujah]

Please allow me to cut this intro short, so with no further adieu, we have two of the better swordsmen in the series.

Tool, T'lan Imass and First Sword against Brys Beddict, King of High House Life.



Vote away.


This poll pairing is being utilized to help rank the tiers for a group of mostly melee characters. I find it easier to separate the relevant characters into smaller groups, then work on their tier rankings separately. After I've gotten most of the main and most powerful characters in the series ranked into their smaller, individual groups, I'll combine them all.

[Esa1996]

Did you forget to add the poll? I can't see it. While Brys ain't bad, I'd say Tool is better. Though I must say that I still have a hard time accepting that Tool lost to Mok, so I might be a bit biased

[Brujah]

Yes, I did forget. I was moving a bit too fast on this one. Good catch. Poll should be up now.

This post has been edited by Brujah: 27 March 2015 - 08:18 PM

[Esa1996]

Brujah, on 27 March 2015 - 08:16 PM, said:

Yes, I did forget. I was moving a bit too fast on this one. Good catch. Poll should be up now.

Well, it's not much of a catch when a poll thread is missing the poll Anyway, thanks for editing, vote posted.

[melonhead]

I vote Brys.
He is the perfect swordsman. efficient, accurate, clinical. (by clinical i am talking about the way he cut down Rhulad, that was hardcore). I am of the opinion that he would be close to the top in sheer skill.

[Andorion]

I vote Tool. Not because of skill, but durability. Tool in T'lan form can take a lot of hits and keep going, but Brys couldn't take more than a couple of hits from the heavy stone sword.

[melonhead]

Andorion, on 28 March 2015 - 02:48 AM, said:

I vote Tool. Not because of skill, but durability. Tool in T'lan form can take a lot of hits and keep going, but Brys couldn't take more than a couple of hits from the heavy stone sword.

True, but how long before all the hits he is taking start to affect his speed and skill?
Also, something i didnt think about before, what sort of power would Brys get from being the keeper of the names?

[Andorion]

melonhead, on 28 March 2015 - 03:14 AM, said:

Andorion, on 28 March 2015 - 02:48 AM, said:

I vote Tool. Not because of skill, but durability. Tool in T'lan form can take a lot of hits and keep going, but Brys couldn't take more than a couple of hits from the heavy stone sword.

True, but how long before all the hits he is taking start to affect his speed and skill?
Also, something i didnt think about before, what sort of power would Brys get from being the keeper of the names?

Good point. Brujah should specify if its pre or post Kepper of the names status.

But how long can Letherii steel stand against a heavy flint blade? It might break and then its all over.

[melonhead]

Andorion, on 28 March 2015 - 03:32 AM, said:

melonhead, on 28 March 2015 - 03:14 AM, said:

Andorion, on 28 March 2015 - 02:48 AM, said:

I vote Tool. Not because of skill, but durability. Tool in T'lan form can take a lot of hits and keep going, but Brys couldn't take more than a couple of hits from the heavy stone sword.

True, but how long before all the hits he is taking start to affect his speed and skill?
Also, something i didnt think about before, what sort of power would Brys get from being the keeper of the names?

Good point. Brujah should specify if its pre or post Kepper of the names status.

But how long can Letherii steel stand against a heavy flint blade? It might break and then its all over.

I was talking to Brujah yesterday i think, and he said each person is at their most powerful for the poll.
Yeah true that. Letherii steel is meant to be really strong, but against the stone blade of the First Sword, its hard to imagine it holding up for a long fight.

[Brujah]

melonhead, on 28 March 2015 - 03:58 AM, said:

Andorion, on 28 March 2015 - 03:32 AM, said:

melonhead, on 28 March 2015 - 03:14 AM, said:

Andorion, on 28 March 2015 - 02:48 AM, said:

I vote Tool. Not because of skill, but durability. Tool in T'lan form can take a lot of hits and keep going, but Brys couldn't take more than a couple of hits from the heavy stone sword.

True, but how long before all the hits he is taking start to affect his speed and skill?
Also, something i didnt think about before, what sort of power would Brys get from being the keeper of the names?

Good point. Brujah should specify if its pre or post Kepper of the names status.

But how long can Letherii steel stand against a heavy flint blade? It might break and then its all over.

I was talking to Brujah yesterday i think, and he said each person is at their most powerful for the poll.
Yeah true that. Letherii steel is meant to be really strong, but against the stone blade of the First Sword, its hard to imagine it holding up for a long fight.

Melon is correct. And if anyone interested in these polls would read them all, it does state in one or more that each combatant is said to be either as is as of the latest book in the series, OR at its most powerful state if said character isn't at its strongest at the end.

I felt it was the safest way to have these battles, having such a simple rule.

Each character at the peak of its power. Enough said.


I'm leading towards Tool. Brys is a pinnacle swordsman, but he's no Mok. So far, Mok is above Tool, as this is pretty much stated by the scenes in which Lady Envy(or was it Spite) kept having to put Mok to sleep so he wouldn't defeat Tool. And Tool even stated how badass Mok was when Mok cut that K'Chain Che'Malle to pieces so effortlessly. So even without an official poll, I think it's safe to say Mok beats Tool.

Mok also beat Brys Beddict in a poll in a landslide. 32 votes to 4, which equates to Mok really, really beating the crap out of Brys.

We have a poll with Karsa at 24, and Tool at 21. So either Karsa above Tool or equal tiers. We'll have to see.

So for this pairing, I'm guess I'm going with Tool. It don't hurt that I'm also not very fond of Brys Beddict. I've never forgiven the site for allowing Brys to at first be claimed above Yedan Derryg, and then end up with a tie as of now. As I believe Yedan is one of the baddest mofo's in the series.

But I'm rambling off topic.


Summary: Melon was right. I told him thus in chat the other night. Characters are at peak power as far as the stories go.

[melonhead]

You make some good points Brujah. Although I do believe that Brys is quite often underestimated. I mean, even Trull, who held off Icarium in in full rage mode was in awe of his skill. That has got to mean something. And Fear, who is said to be almost as good as Trull, had no doubts that Brys would defeat him.

Edit: oh, and does anyone know what Brys could do with the names? Could he do the same thing to Tool as he did to that Forkrul Assail? or something similar?

This post has been edited by melonhead: 01 April 2015 - 05:55 AM

[Andorion]

Icarium was not so much skill as power. Sheer unreasoning destructive power. That said Trull is probably one of the most skilled fighters in the book and he may have been able to take Brys

[melonhead]

Andorion, on 01 April 2015 - 05:48 AM, said:

Icarium was not so much skill as power. Sheer unreasoning destructive power. That said Trull is probably one of the most skilled fighters in the book and he may have been able to take Brys

A lot of Icariums impact was his destructive power, I will admit. But he also had serious skill with his sword. If he could attack fast enough that Trull could only fight defensively with no time to attack, that means that Icarium is pretty talented too.

[Brujah]

Andorion, on 01 April 2015 - 05:48 AM, said:

Icarium was not so much skill as power. Sheer unreasoning destructive power. That said Trull is probably one of the most skilled fighters in the book and he may have been able to take Brys

Well, I agree, and also voted for Trull.

However, we have a poll with Trull vs Brys.

http://forum.malazan...hy-of-the-gods/


Trull has 15 votes.
Brys has 20.


Therefore as of now, Brys is the better man, as well as higher tier.

Can't argue with the poll results. Believe me, I try.

[Kanese S's]

I think Tool would win, at least in T'lan form.

The reason isn't so much that I think he's necessarily a better swordfighter than Brys... it's that a T'lan can shrug off melee combat blows that would be lethal even to ascendants. He can afford far riskier moves than Brys can in this fight, for that reason.