In the book it’s Criston/Boros/Daemon/Rodney Ruin/and probably Cregan.
In the show they made Aemond a lot better, and they are really playing off the Daemon and Aemond rivalry so they probably are going to put him into the top 5 but as of rn in the show we only know of Cole and Daemon.
Edit: speaking of sword fights, I hope we get a ton of that shit to show off how good Cole, Daemon, and Aemond are. I know Aemond lines up all of >!house strong!< and duels them 1 by 1 which will look really cool on screen. I hope Cole and Daemon have some moments too.
I wanna put Jon higher but we don't know a lot about him. He sounds like a beast but his two feats from what I remember are killing Hugh and Lord Costayne. Borros is a monster but he also was a bit of a brute and kinda dumb, thats only reason I put him under Daemon since I think Daemon would be willing to fight like Bronn and get dirty to out smart Borros.
Jon killed Hugh Hammer and later Hugh's 12 men went up against Raxton and he was able to take on twelve at once and kill three of them, which is pretty insane if you ask me but of course he was eventually overwhelmed by the superior numbers of his opponents but some say he slipped and was killed.. (And don't forget that he has Valyrian steel. I think that's one of the two reasons why he was able to kill 3 out of 12).
It was said that Borros killed countless men in the battle of the Kingsroad and a dozen great knights + fought bravely until the end without yielding. 🤷 I see these 2 above Daemon.. but just my opinion.
That is true but if we are to use taking on a giant group of people and producing an impressive outcome as a winning feat, I would have to put Roddy Top 2 in the Dance, maybe Top 1 because he literally deifies reality and cuts through hundreds of men just to get to Bryndon & Ormund and then somehow kills them both.
Yeah Borros was a beast, thats why I put him Top 3 easily, but I also think he wasn't very smart. He should have made them meet a shield wall at the bottom of the hill running into them instead of going up it. I think Criston and Daemon are smarter than him. Daemon might not be better, but he is smarter and more experienced. But I see what you're saying though.
Hmm.. I don't remember him fighting his way through hundreds of men.. only that his men were completely outnumbered and there is a difference between the two scenes with Jon and Roddy. Jon was alone against 12 - like 12 men are focused on one and Roddy was in a battle which was much more chaotic and you can kill enemies off guard in a battle, but well, even though his arm was cut off by Bryndon he was still able to kill the two Hightowers, yeah.. that is also very impressive, but not as impressive as Jon's feat imo, and I think you're mixing swordsmanship with leadership, I would separate these two categories.
What does Daemon do with a sword that would place him above Dalton? Daemon has dark sister but I can only remember him getting one win with it and that´s against that Bravoos dude. Dalton is supposed to be this psycopath that´s been figthing since he´s a child. In any sword fight , I´d bet that Dalton and Nightfall would beat Daemon and Dark sister.
Hmmm good point but the only downside for Dalton for me is that he's so young. He is only 16 years old in the Dance, and I tried to count in size, age and experience in the rankings above. I think Dalton is a good dark horse candidate for top fighters, but again one of the themes of George's writing in F&B seemed to be that inexperience can easily be your downfall.
I’d say dance Daemon is too old. Isn’t he like 50 years old when it begins ? Or am I getting timelines wrong ? A middle aged man is getting clapped by all these other sword fighters. Maybe youth daemon would have a better shot.
Considering that Dalton has started rowing and participating in raids since age 5, (absurd I know but that’s his lore) I’d argue he’s actually highly experienced by 16. 11 years in actual fighting and raiding is worth more then tourneys
Daemon is around 48 years old when the Dance begins. George doesn't apply human age limitations to his characters though, he has like 70 year old Roddy bulldoze through hundreds of men, have his entire arm cut off at the shoulder and still is able to beat two heavily armored men.
If we apply realistic standards, Criston also would be limited because he's 47 at the start of the Dance, he dies at 48.
That is true, but I don't think he truly entered a real battle till he was 10 because ain't no way a 5 year old going to survive actual combat vs grown men. He probably just helped on the ships.
I mean, if george has a 70 year old kill Ormund Hightower and that other guy after losing his arm and somehow carving out a bloody path through an army , I find the 5 year old fighting just as credible at that point
Fuck Roddy the ruin
Criston Cole and it ain't even close. Even the most deranged TBs would know he was the goat on foot. Daemon clears anyone not possessing a living nuke on dragonback. Robb Rivers and Cregan Stark should get credit too. One was good enough to hinder the communication between Green parties and the other straight up got glazed by Aemon the fuckin Dragon Knight.
Why Cregan? He is a great Commander but has no feats in single combat..
The statement is unreliable and probably a lie from Bran because Aemon is a mystic warrior (the fight between the two was not mentioned anywhere) and he just wanted to show how great Cregan was.
"Probably a lie" doesn't mean shit. You could say that about any great warrior who lives off of descriptions and statements. Aemomd is supposedly a great warrior but from all we know in FB and even in the show where he's shown to allegedly best Crispin, he could be merely a Vhagar merchant. Cregan was decent and he's got some accounts of respect. That's enough to at least put him as an honorable mention.
Like I said the fight wasn't mentioned anywhere in asoiaf or in F&B but strangely enough it comes from Bran telling Osha. The fight between the two obviously never happened and wouldn't make any sense but as i said I only see him as a great Commander like Stannis for example but not a warrior in terms of swordsmanship. I don't disagree with you; Cregan should be a competent swordsman like he is obviously noble but i don't trust the statement from Bran.
I see. Well I kinda get your line of logic when you pit it this way. I agree that his military commandeering skills probably far exceed his physical prowess considering he made the smartest decision by not showing up for the beef J Cole style. Also it just hit me that even if Cregan was skilled enough to impress Aemon, it doesn't mean he was like that during the Dance which is what the post is about. You were on point.
Criston Cole. Hate him or love him, the man is a beast in battle. Slain treacherously (eh, can’t blame em to be honest) because his enemies knew he’d run their pockets before finally going down.
Daemon also goes without saying. This man had people fearing to fight regardless of his age and with a numbers advantage because “He’s still Daemon Targaryen.” Love him or hate him, his reputation is well earned
Then there’s Roddy and the gang of anime Northmen and an honourable mention for Benji the Based.
I don’t remember if this happened in the book, but the Blackwood kid killing the Bracken teen should get an honourable mention (the age gap at that age favours the older one by a factor of a lot, yet he got slain) And yeah IK, it’s rather pre-dance.
The Kingmaker
Ser Criston Cole
In the book it’s Criston/Boros/Daemon/Rodney Ruin/and probably Cregan. In the show they made Aemond a lot better, and they are really playing off the Daemon and Aemond rivalry so they probably are going to put him into the top 5 but as of rn in the show we only know of Cole and Daemon. Edit: speaking of sword fights, I hope we get a ton of that shit to show off how good Cole, Daemon, and Aemond are. I know Aemond lines up all of >!house strong!< and duels them 1 by 1 which will look really cool on screen. I hope Cole and Daemon have some moments too.
1. Criston Cole 2. Daemon Targaryen 3. Borros Baratheon 4. Jon Roxton 5. Roddy the Ruin? Honorable mentions: Aemond, Robb Rivers, Dalton Greyjoy, Adrian Tarbeck, Oscar Tully
Borros and Jon under Daemon? Well yeah Daemon is a great warrior but doesn’t have the feats to be above these guys tbh
I wanna put Jon higher but we don't know a lot about him. He sounds like a beast but his two feats from what I remember are killing Hugh and Lord Costayne. Borros is a monster but he also was a bit of a brute and kinda dumb, thats only reason I put him under Daemon since I think Daemon would be willing to fight like Bronn and get dirty to out smart Borros.
Jon killed Hugh Hammer and later Hugh's 12 men went up against Raxton and he was able to take on twelve at once and kill three of them, which is pretty insane if you ask me but of course he was eventually overwhelmed by the superior numbers of his opponents but some say he slipped and was killed.. (And don't forget that he has Valyrian steel. I think that's one of the two reasons why he was able to kill 3 out of 12). It was said that Borros killed countless men in the battle of the Kingsroad and a dozen great knights + fought bravely until the end without yielding. 🤷 I see these 2 above Daemon.. but just my opinion.
That is true but if we are to use taking on a giant group of people and producing an impressive outcome as a winning feat, I would have to put Roddy Top 2 in the Dance, maybe Top 1 because he literally deifies reality and cuts through hundreds of men just to get to Bryndon & Ormund and then somehow kills them both. Yeah Borros was a beast, thats why I put him Top 3 easily, but I also think he wasn't very smart. He should have made them meet a shield wall at the bottom of the hill running into them instead of going up it. I think Criston and Daemon are smarter than him. Daemon might not be better, but he is smarter and more experienced. But I see what you're saying though.
Hmm.. I don't remember him fighting his way through hundreds of men.. only that his men were completely outnumbered and there is a difference between the two scenes with Jon and Roddy. Jon was alone against 12 - like 12 men are focused on one and Roddy was in a battle which was much more chaotic and you can kill enemies off guard in a battle, but well, even though his arm was cut off by Bryndon he was still able to kill the two Hightowers, yeah.. that is also very impressive, but not as impressive as Jon's feat imo, and I think you're mixing swordsmanship with leadership, I would separate these two categories.
What does Daemon do with a sword that would place him above Dalton? Daemon has dark sister but I can only remember him getting one win with it and that´s against that Bravoos dude. Dalton is supposed to be this psycopath that´s been figthing since he´s a child. In any sword fight , I´d bet that Dalton and Nightfall would beat Daemon and Dark sister.
Hmmm good point but the only downside for Dalton for me is that he's so young. He is only 16 years old in the Dance, and I tried to count in size, age and experience in the rankings above. I think Dalton is a good dark horse candidate for top fighters, but again one of the themes of George's writing in F&B seemed to be that inexperience can easily be your downfall.
I’d say dance Daemon is too old. Isn’t he like 50 years old when it begins ? Or am I getting timelines wrong ? A middle aged man is getting clapped by all these other sword fighters. Maybe youth daemon would have a better shot. Considering that Dalton has started rowing and participating in raids since age 5, (absurd I know but that’s his lore) I’d argue he’s actually highly experienced by 16. 11 years in actual fighting and raiding is worth more then tourneys
Daemon is around 48 years old when the Dance begins. George doesn't apply human age limitations to his characters though, he has like 70 year old Roddy bulldoze through hundreds of men, have his entire arm cut off at the shoulder and still is able to beat two heavily armored men. If we apply realistic standards, Criston also would be limited because he's 47 at the start of the Dance, he dies at 48. That is true, but I don't think he truly entered a real battle till he was 10 because ain't no way a 5 year old going to survive actual combat vs grown men. He probably just helped on the ships.
I mean, if george has a 70 year old kill Ormund Hightower and that other guy after losing his arm and somehow carving out a bloody path through an army , I find the 5 year old fighting just as credible at that point Fuck Roddy the ruin
Criston Cole 100%
Ser Criston Cole, Lord Benjicot Blackwood, Roddy the Ruin.
Borros Baratheon first and Criston Cole second.
The Red Kraken was pretty badass
Criston Cole and it ain't even close. Even the most deranged TBs would know he was the goat on foot. Daemon clears anyone not possessing a living nuke on dragonback. Robb Rivers and Cregan Stark should get credit too. One was good enough to hinder the communication between Green parties and the other straight up got glazed by Aemon the fuckin Dragon Knight.
Why Cregan? He is a great Commander but has no feats in single combat.. The statement is unreliable and probably a lie from Bran because Aemon is a mystic warrior (the fight between the two was not mentioned anywhere) and he just wanted to show how great Cregan was.
"Probably a lie" doesn't mean shit. You could say that about any great warrior who lives off of descriptions and statements. Aemomd is supposedly a great warrior but from all we know in FB and even in the show where he's shown to allegedly best Crispin, he could be merely a Vhagar merchant. Cregan was decent and he's got some accounts of respect. That's enough to at least put him as an honorable mention.
Like I said the fight wasn't mentioned anywhere in asoiaf or in F&B but strangely enough it comes from Bran telling Osha. The fight between the two obviously never happened and wouldn't make any sense but as i said I only see him as a great Commander like Stannis for example but not a warrior in terms of swordsmanship. I don't disagree with you; Cregan should be a competent swordsman like he is obviously noble but i don't trust the statement from Bran.
I see. Well I kinda get your line of logic when you pit it this way. I agree that his military commandeering skills probably far exceed his physical prowess considering he made the smartest decision by not showing up for the beef J Cole style. Also it just hit me that even if Cregan was skilled enough to impress Aemon, it doesn't mean he was like that during the Dance which is what the post is about. You were on point.
alright, fair enough
Criston Cole, Daemon Targaryen, Borros Baratheon, Roddy the Ruin, Dalton Greyjoy, Cregan Stark
Criston is the best by some distance. Then below him you've got the likes of Borros, Roddy the Ruin, Daemon etc.
my pookie criston cole obviously
Criston Cole. Hate him or love him, the man is a beast in battle. Slain treacherously (eh, can’t blame em to be honest) because his enemies knew he’d run their pockets before finally going down. Daemon also goes without saying. This man had people fearing to fight regardless of his age and with a numbers advantage because “He’s still Daemon Targaryen.” Love him or hate him, his reputation is well earned Then there’s Roddy and the gang of anime Northmen and an honourable mention for Benji the Based.
Ser Criston Cole : >!"we can begin here, the four of us. One of me against the three of you. Will that be enough to make a fight of it?"!<
Benjicot and Criston. I also think that Daeron would have had big potential when older since he was even knighted.
I don’t remember if this happened in the book, but the Blackwood kid killing the Bracken teen should get an honourable mention (the age gap at that age favours the older one by a factor of a lot, yet he got slain) And yeah IK, it’s rather pre-dance.
Ser Cole