Bump.
Originally posted by Zampanó
(For argument's sake, as per the rules of the forum, I'll be considering the peaks of these characters: RoT Bane and DoE Zannah.)
That's not what the OP says...but go ahead. 😉
In each case, the individuals' specific fighting styles will prove decisive. Moreover, their relative level of experience and general approach to combat will greatly influence the outcome of the battle. However, I feel that one of the matchups is significantly more likely than the other.
Luke and Yoda are far faster than Bane and Zannah. They will determine matchups. Particularly since Zannah, being a soresu practitioner, isn't exactly going to be able to dictate terms.
Yoda faces a unique disadvantage when fighting Darth Bane because, well, Bane is huge. When combined with the Orbalisks, this means that Yoda's already exhausting form will have to cover even more distance simply to launch a successful attack.
But this argument works both ways; Bane's going to have a tough time taking out a small and agile opponent, something he has never encountered before...and Bane doesn't bode well against fighting styles he's never encountered before. Remember that Dooku has sparred Yoda before, and chances are Palpatine had prepared for such a contingency.
This difficulty is compounded because Bane is at least as fast as is Yoda,
Hardly, considering Yoda's ability to confuse Sidious, who has blitzed three high level Jedi Masters and dispatched them in seconds. Remember that Bane's being slowed considerably by his orbalisks, if he has them here.
and considerably stronger physically.
True, but Yoda's ataru and agility minimize the importance of this. Indeed, his fighting style sort of renders Bane's djem so mastery moot.
Given Bane's tendency to mix Force attacks with his saber play, and Yoda's demonstrated inability to deal with both theaters of combat at once (see AotC and EpIII) there is a very small chance that Luke will arrive in time to provide the doubleteam necessary to take the win.
I don't see why you're bringing up AotC and RotS as examples here...
anyhow, Yoda is faster, far more technically skilled/experienced (8+ centuries), and is facing a Bane that has never encountered a duelist of such physicality before.
Oh...and Luke would kill Zannah in a matter of seconds, so Bane's certainly getting doubleteamed, especially since Yoda could arbitrarily prolong the fight for pretty much as long as he wants. 😉
This requires Luke to confront the behemoth. Yoda's age remains a handicap; Zannah's tendency to prolong fights interspersed with Sith Sorcery again put Yoda onto uncertain terrain. Yoda must finish Zannah quickly, something that even an enraged Bane (under the influence of Orbalisks) could not do.
Said enraged Bane was hardly as efficient as Yoda would be here. He's simply massively above Zannah as a saber duelist, and would pick her defenses apart quite easily. She falls within 30 seconds.
Or, Yoda, who has taken Ventress's lightsabers from her like a bad joke, could just take her out with the Force.
Luke, then, must match Bane blade to blade consistently enough to keep the Sith from doubleteaming Yoda (as is their general strategy, according to Zannah's musings in RoT). This limits Luke's leeway in battlefield theatrics. Guerrilla tactics like those Mara used against Caedus are not a valid option.
Doubleteaming someone as agile as Yoda would be pretty difficult, especially since Zannah would have to go on the offensive.
And Luke crushes Bane. He might even be able to eliminate his armor via shatterpoint.
ince the Jedi ideal of humility seems to preclude Yoda from attacking the man mountain of Bane, the above factors suggest a fight between Luke and Bane and Zannah against Yoda.
???
Zannah v Yoda on even ground likely leads to a dead Zannah. Yoda gets that much credit. What is worrisome is how long it would take. Zannah does a very good job with her Soresu. In fact, her entire style probes for weaknesses over a longer style of match than Yoda can handle.
Yoda has 8 centuries of experience and is the most powerful foe the darkness has ever known. He is far above Dooku, who has taken out Obi Wan quite quickly, who has himself demonstrated far greater mastery of soresu than anything Zannah has ever done. I'd even argue that Yoda probably knows soresu better than Zannah does.
Of the Bane line, only Sidious has matched or surpassed Yoda.
Zannah uses roundabout tactics like mental attacks (via Sorcerry) that could fatally impair Yoda, especially given the added pandemonium of a Luke/Bane clash. This is dragging on, so I'll cut this short. Zannah 6/10 in this matchup.
Yoda has studied extensively from the largest collection of Force knowledge ever gathered, including the sith holocrons. He's not getting overwhelmed by sith sorcery.
Yoda crushes Zannah.
Luke v Bane deals mostly with the problems listed above. Luke must keep Bane's attention, and so must confront Bane on Bane's terms. Those terms incorporate a paradigm that Luke is very unfamiliar with. Force attacks as powerful as any seen in the mythos are interspersed with combat at least as technically skilled as Luke's own. When factoring in the powerful advantage of the orbalisks, I don't think Luke can take Bane out in time to save Yoda, so that means Yoda's ratio is unchanged. However, Yoda may come to help Luke.
Actually, I'd argue with some level of conviction that either of the Jedi could take on the duo alone. Luke's emerald lightning could possibly instakill Bane by eliminating the orbalisks and causing them to inject fatal quantities of toxins into the sith that probably doesn't expect lightning to come from a Jedi's hands.