Board Thread:News and Events/@comment-933831-20160127201216/@comment-25389303-20160127211418

As a heads up, I'm basing what I'm about to say solely off of the characters' weapons, abilities and fighting styles. Feel free to correct me if I make any mistakes.

I think what this fight will more or less boil down to is teamwork and coordination between teammates, since both teams seem to comprised of a close-combat orientated fighter, and a ranged supporter. Ulric and Orion are heavy-hitters in melee, and Viridis and Liath seem more geared towards holding back and waiting for an opportunity at a range.

Firstly, the arena. Not much cover for ranged attacks, and from what I can tell the only quick and nimble person who could effectively dodge said attacks is Viridis. Meanwhile, Ulric's shield provides the best form of mobile protection in this fight. Liath could, from what I can tell, create a rock shield or something, but nothing he can move around with him, so he could easily be pinned down.

Now, for the fighters. If I were to simulate the battle, I would think that Ulric and Orion would end up beating each other up pretty badly, both using their strength-based Semblances in an attempt to overpower the other. Based off of that, I think Ulric has the edge simply because of superior base strength (that is, without Semblance), and the fact that his shield-and-axe combination is the best of both worlds, and his lance is the powerful one-hit weapon, while Orion is stuck with just his axes. That being said, I honestly think that without intervention from the other fighters, it could go either way.

As for Viridis, he has the mobility which Liath simply seems to lack. Liath's strength seems to rely almost solely on his glyphs, while Viridis is a crack shot with a bow even without his Semblance giving him a boost. And if things were to go into close combat, Viridis has the advantage there as well, since his Semblance can be used both at range and in melee, while Liath needs time to create enough Semblances to be able to pin him down.

That is to say, if both pairs were to fight each other, which I can assure you, is very unlikely to occur throughout the fight. Though, I can't see Liath's Glyphs being able to break through Ulric's defense on their own, and when Ulric reaches him its pretty much over. Meanwhile, Viridis can go toe-to-toe with Orion, at least until Ulric drives off Liath long enough for it to become a two-on-one.

So, yeah, that's all from me for now. Sorry to bore you with the essay. Like I said, I could be wrong on a few things, but hey, rebuttal exists for a reason, right?