How high do you rank Luke Skywalker as a duelist?
So, in the few threads I've seen that have featured Luke going up against powerful duelist, he's usually given the win based on his force powers alone(which is impressive) but as a duelist, many seem to underrate him. so i got curious.
Personally, i rate him at maybe Dooku or Anakin level.(this is subject to change of course) your thoughts?
Re: How high do you rank Luke Skywalker as a duelist?
Originally posted by Fated Xtasy
At his best, I'd rank him above everybody else in the mythos.
"Gaalan struck Luke, high, low, a series of subtle and sophisticated blows that would have bewildered any lesser duelist. He was good; Luke gave him that. He might have been a match for an expert sword master such as Kyp or Kyle Katarn...He parried each of Gaalan's blows, and his ripostes-his blade skittering off Gaalan's and thrusting now at the Sith Lords's face, now at shoulder or knee or torso-came increasingly close to touching flesh. Luke smiled at the man."
--Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi- Backlash
Before his prime, with or without an amp from Leia he managed to outduel DE Sidious, so I'm kinda with psmith81992 on this. I also made an interesting fighting style post for Luke: http://www.killermovies.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=593095&pagenumber=2
it's my most recent one.
As of FotJ? Probably among the best in the mythos.
In DE? I'd rank him pretty high.
Luke isn't a dominating swordsmen and he fights somewhat defensively.That doesn't mean that he's bad with sabers. Only that he won't dominate someone with that alone. That changed during FotJ, but still it's not really his style.
His battle precognition is stated to be superior then even the greatest Echani:
"The Echani rely heavily on hand-to-hand combat and personal shield technology, and they had their asses handed to them by Revan during the Jedi Civil War, because, not surprisingly, there weren't many people able to face Revan across a battlefield and survive the encounter. The greatest among the Echani are said to be able to read their opponent's moves so ell they can predict the path of a battle several seconds, sometimes even minues in advance, by gauging their opponent's fighting style, heart rate, and ther movements in combat. In many ways, the Echani see combat as a rapid dejarik game, calculating feints, attacks, and dodges with a speed that few can surpass."
―Chris Avellone (KOTOR Designer)
"It is the way of the Echani to be able to read their opponents - to know where an opponent is going to strike before it connects, anticipate it, and then strike against them. Echani battles are fought several minutes in advance - in many ways, it is much like the game of dejarik played in the core systems. The most advanced among the Echani are able to predict the course of battles by months, and the most revered are said to be able to predict the path of wars. Only Revan ever demonstrated such a skill in war. And even as he slaughtered us, the Echani still respected him."
―Brianna (Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: The Sith Lords)
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He demonstrated this by utterly slaughtering the Imperial Guard:
"Still, the slight stumble gave Revan enough time to draw his lightsaber and go on the offensive. He came in with a high, overhand chop-obvious feint meant to draw the defenses of his opponent downward, leaving his legs exposed to quick slash follow up.
The guard recognized the familiar ploy, countering it by parrying the overhand chop then quickly dropping his blade low to intercept the inevitable slash at his legs. Only Revan didn't go for his legs. Anticipating that his opponent's defenses would go low, he kept his blade up high, allowing him to end the battle with horizontal cut across the man's exposed throat."
―Star Wars The Old Republic: Revan
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He also slaughters countless Echani thanks to his precognition:
"Only Revan ever demonstrated such a skill in war. And even as he slaughtered us, the Echani still respected him."
―Brianna (Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: The Sith Lords)