Originally posted by Nephthys
Why is that wishful thinking? There really aren't any other duelists I would have said were above or on par with him in the Empire even before I brought in that quote and the Hero of Tython is his only rival in the galaxy by the end of the game imo.
Sorry I meant
the most, one of is definitely a possibility but
the most is, again, wishful thinking.
Which, to remind you, is that "unrivaled skill" would entail.
Malgus, Satele and others are rivals for that title. Among others. Its just not clear cut, even among Sith.
And like I said, that means that the Wrath is a Sith Warrior and thus is the pinnacle of the group with the best lightsaber skills in the empire. If Warriors are highly skilled fighters then it stands to reason that THE Warrior would be highly skilled. Not just some brute-force thug.Hell, Inquisitors are said to be just as skilled with a blade as with the Force, so by this interpretation a warrior would be more skilled with a lightsaber than an Inquisitor would be with the Force.
Malgus is a Sith Warrior to, as are several other members of the DC, including likely Marr. So again no, if we take the statement as a collective and general testament to the Sith Warrior's skill it can't put any one
individual above another.
And the fact is it refers to Sith Warriors as a whole, not the Wrath specifically, whatever you might feel is implied.
😕Um, yeah. Shien and Djem So are focused on fast, powerful, efficient attacks. Being able to perform in such a manner effectively makes someone a good Djem So/Shien fighter. That doesn't make them less skilled or effective than someone using other forms. Anakin is a Djem So user and everyone fellates his skills despite all his idiotic flourishes and twirling that detract from the effectiveness of the form.
You're also pretty off-point in your assessment. Take the first video, Malgus reverses his grip on his second saber to give him less power but greater defense and he shows impressive finesse in blocking a strike and then quickly turning into a thrust of his own. After he gets Darach on the back-foot he switches to offense sure but his attacks are still fluid and skillful rather than clumsy. Earlier in the fight he performs flips, hops, fluid turns, at one point he pushes off from some debris to give him more height on his jump and is very quick on his feet in general. And in the second video a lot of his movements are more elegant that furious power-attacks, mostly using a one-handed style. And in the last video he's fairly defensive in his approach and he's able to feint Zallow by taking the hit and reversing through his guard. Malgus' style is focused on power, but it's also very efficient and he's still a very fast, mobile fighter who's able to surprise his opponents. His victories in all his video's owe exactly to him outmaneuvering his opponents in some manner.
"But anyway I'm not claiming the Sith Warrior is unskilled"
You need to pay attention that that. Djem So duelists are not unskilled or clumsy, but they are predictable, and their moves are often basic, effective and definitely powerful, but basic. Because when your goal is to essentially batter you opponent down, nothing works better than really swinging your blade right at them like a club. Flourishes and unnecessary finesses, detract from the effectiveness of the form, and in fact are likely rendered difficult by the unwieldiness of heavy armour.
So what I'm saying is Djem So is very much reliant of the force of the wielder behind it, and if Maul can handle that force, Djem So/strong style really doesn't have much else going for it. Its not the kind of style designed to outmaneuver, feint, dismantle etc. its all brute force. Applied effectively, but still brute force. The point is the Wrath doesn't have much else he can bring to the table.
And I'd encourage you to look these breakdowns if you're going to pick them apart:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-FOIhd7IDM&t=0m55s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69FjDDeYq50
By paying close attention, its clear Malgus is using predominately Zone 1 attacks again and again in fairly similar and basic manner. And Maul will have little difficulty predicting, anticipating and weathering those kinds of attacks. Anything else Malgus employs is all merely to make his attacks hit with more force, there is really nothing that will catch Maul off guard. Nor does Malgus outmaneuver any of them in those fights, in fact he gets outmaneuvered by Satele on several occasions, but recovers. Nor do I see the Wrath outmaneuvering Maul who is ultimately a more agile duelist with better defensive capabilities.
His primary tactic is always to batter them into submission.
That's kind of a giant assumption.
The point is Malgus and the Wrath will have similar styles, because they are cut from the same cloth.
The only difference is, the Wrath won't have Ataru, so he can't even bring agility to the table.
Personally I don't see any or much more finesse in Mauls fights than in Malgus'. He uses the exact same simplistic blocks and slashes that Malgus does until he goes dual-blade and Malgus can rival him in agility at points. He also uses an aggressively offensive style in Juyo. He's never tried to "baffle, trick and outmaneuver" anyone. In fact, as I recall he's constantly been ****ed over by his arrogance making him attempt a clean fight and been drawn into traps and underestimated opponents. I've already pointed out that you are seriously undervaluing Djem So, Juyo has no inherent advantage over it and I'd actually say the Wrath is much smarter and more levelheaded than Maul.
Its not a question of advantages, its just that the strengths of Djem So are ones Maul can handle. The Wrath will attempt to overwhelm Maul with brute force, and that strategy is very unlikely to work, and when it fails, the Wrath has nothing, and that includes superior skill, because Maul is definitely the superior duelist.
Vice versa the Wrath can handle Maul's strength, but Maul's style isn't so focused on strength has the Wrath's is likely to be. At is core is Juyo, which is designed to be chaotic, erratic and unpredictable. Maul is also a master of Niman and Jar'Kai, Niman being a form that draws on all seven styles of lightsaber combat, and Jar'Kai just gives him more options. The point I'm trying to get at is that Maul is just more versatile than the Wrath, he can't defeat him in a contest of pure strength (but neither can the Wrath), but he has plenty of other perfected ways in which he can take him down.
I'd note at this point Maul has never defeated an opponent through sheer strength. He outmaneuvered Qui-Gon, he defeated Kenobi with a well timed Force push, he got the upper hand against Vader through superior agility, and he frequently off balances his opponents with physical attacks, Teras Kasi being another of his many talents.
Now I find your comments that Maul is "arrogant" and the Wrath more level headed to be unsubstantiated. As far as I'm aware on one occassion, when his opponent was dangling above a frikken pit, can you blame him.
Other than that he is extremely level headed, and rarely underestimates an opponent. After his first engagement with Qui-Gon he is described as knowing instantly and exactly how to defeat him, and later proves as much by luring him into a trap, he adopted the saberstaff as a means of tactically overcoming his enemies and he has been described as being able to recognise spot the weaknesses of character and constitution in those he meets.
And outside of lightsaber combat he demonstrated the tatical ingenuity to lead a small underworld army that gathered the attention of Sidious himself, and he even managed to outwit and capture Grievous and Dooku.
This notion that Maul is an arrogant or unintelligent at all is myth tbh.
In your opinion. Or the Wrath will outlast him.I actually really doubt Maul takes hand to hand. The Wrath does wear heavy armor afterall. So I doubt his kicks and punches will have much effect, especially given the Wrath's endurance. Maul has been staggered by blows a few times, however. If anyone's blows will be relevant, it won't be his imo.
Probably true, but his face might be unmasked, its a target. On the other hand aside from the "b**** slap" I haven't seem much hand to hand ability from the Wrath. Maul can handle a b**** slap.
In terms of stamina I don't see the Wrath outlasting him. Maul's stamina and pain tolerance is pretty profound.