Registered: Mar 2014
Location: The Proud Nation of Kekistan
This should be an interesting match-up.
Kolar has the better accolades, but only being definitively above Early CW Vos and below Sidious leaves a lot of ambiguity as far as pinning down his actual skill level. His fighting style also hasn't really been looked into and elaborated in depth, so it's difficult to assess his combat effectiveness.
Gnost on the other hand lacks the same height of accolades that Kolar has, but he has everything else. He has some pretty impressive speed feats, he has some description implying that he is an expert or maybe even a master of all seven forms, and he dominated a Dark Council Member and her apprentices in combat, and threw down with a group of Sith after being severely tortured mentally and physically for a while. Ant to top that, he still has some good accolades, even if not on Kolar's hype level.
This is honestly a match-up that vexes me. Kolar's one point in his favor is the greater hype in his accolades, but that is a pretty damn hard thing to ignore...
I might give this one to Gnost by a slim margin.
__________________
Shadilay my brothers and sisters. With any luck we will throw off the shackles of normie oppression. We have nothing to lose but our chains! Praise Kek!
THE MOTTO IS "IN KEK WE TRUST"
Gnost is adept with the Force, but he's admittedly not a master practitioner of it. I don't really see it playing any significant role in the fight. He has good speed feats, but they aren't anything the average elite isn't capable of--Kolar could easily replicate it. Dural's talents as a spy and historian will obviously not come into play.
What it ultimately boils down to is a contest of martial skill. Gnost is impressive, he has displayed proficiency in multiple forms--and is perhaps learned in all of them, which gives him a variety of options in combat. He has also displayed multiple accounts of incorporating physical attacks into his dueling sequences, as has Kolar. However, there is no evidence to suggest Kolar practiced more than one form, and the likelihood is that he specialized in Ataru, making him an expert of single combat specifically.
The argument here is generalization vs specialization. Gnost has greater variety, while Kolar has greater focus on a singular area, which can be both beneficial and harmful depending in the situation. I would say for this fight, Kolar's fighting style is more beneficial to his current needs.
However, this is not absolute--The largest factor is still the level of skill of each combatant. Both have proven themselves admirably, Kolar is one of the greatest bladesbeings the JO has ever produced, and was capable of completely dominating a notable Jedi Master in single combat. Similarly, Gnost was a notable warrior who commonly clashed with Sith Lords, and himself was able to make short work of Karrid's apprentices.
Ultimately, Kolar has the better hype, and Quinlan has feats whereas The Sith he faced do not. Still, its also hard to write off fully fledged Sith Lords and disciples of a Dark Councillor as well, so it's plausible that Gnost could be no less skilled than Agen. For the time being however, I'm not inclined to give him the edge, though.
While It can be argued that Gnost has greater pain tolerance feats, but the Zabrak Jedi Master was also singled out exclusively amongst the council for his tolerance to pain. While Gnost may be even moreso due to the virtue of feats, in this battle I don't really see either side being significantly hindered by pain inflicted by the other.
Ultimately I agree with Emperor in saying this is not the easiest battle to call. But I'm siding with Agen until further notice.
Registered: Mar 2014
Location: The Proud Nation of Kekistan
Indeed. By me if I recall correctly. You challenged my motives for creating it LOL.
Nor do I.
4-6 strikes per second after being tortured to the brink of insanity with both his mind and body ravaged strikes me as a more impressive speed feat than either Kolar or Vos have to their name. Not calling speed a trump card here, but it could possibly play some role as a contributing factor.
Nor do I
Eh if Ataru were the case, there is quite a bit of energy expenditure involved with that form, whereas Gnost could adapt to the needs of defending against it, parrying against it, or striking at an opening. Of course the Ataru thing is only speculation, and there is really very little out there regarding Kolar's own style. As such I find it difficult to award Kolar the style edge when Gnost's style and it's advantages are actually fleshed out beyond a one dimensional extent.
Yeah Agen's hype is the biggest point in his favor, but Gnost's performance while not in peak shape, his technical proficiency demonstrated by the text, and Gnost's own considerable accolades lead me to believe that the two are in fact very close in skill.
Agreed.
Indeed.
And I can respect your opinion.
__________________
Shadilay my brothers and sisters. With any luck we will throw off the shackles of normie oppression. We have nothing to lose but our chains! Praise Kek!
THE MOTTO IS "IN KEK WE TRUST"
Kolar was significantly faster than pre-Vaapad Quinlan, who has produced multiple afterimages. Considering its his best speed feat regardless, I'm doubtful that his torture affected him as much as you imply.
Fair point, though I'd also like to point out it's an overrated and overused one. While Ataru is the most physically demanding of all forms, Qui-Gon Jinn was still able to fight out a fifteen minute duel with Maul before waning, and his stamina is hardly greater than the younger and fitter Agen.
Kolar has demonstrated common use of acrobatics, and seamless incorporation of physical strikes in his lightsaber sequences--both of which are core elements of Ataru. Not to mention that it's a rather common choice amongst elite Jedi.
It is speculation, but my argument was focused more on how Kolar has evidently specialized in a style that strongly focuses on single combat, while Dural was something of a generalist in his fighting style, similarly to Even Piell. Both have advantages and disadvantages in their effectiveness.
Registered: Mar 2014
Location: The Misty Mountains
Qui gon Jinns application of Ataru was far different than the standard. He didn't use acrobatics very often and I feel that his style is more energy effective than the more common applications of ataru. Hence him being able to fight Maul for so long.
Jul 8th, 2014 02:24 AM
