@Chimera @MelonHeadWas hoping to get Skalla and Rilla help when it came to this part, but Rilla isn't around and Skallagrim didn't answer the PM I sent him about judging. So basically, for the purposes of the tournament, I'll have to look over this myself... I don't have the authority to judge for rankings, though, so this is technically just for the tournament.
Anyways, I'm gonna have to give this one to Sigurd.
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Both sides here gave a pretty good showing, and clearly knew their stuff. I seeded Chimera quite low while setting this up, since she was new to the guild and I was not aware of any previous experience on her part... I think I probably should have put her higher up. Still, this match happened, so let's get to it:
I reread the entire fight post-by-post before writing this, and when taken as a whole it's pretty clear who had the advantage throughout. Iolanthe started off strong, making a quick attack from a good range that held relatively little risk for her and let her glean some information about her opponent. Sigurd likewise moved well, waiting for a good chance to attack before making any moves that might expose him.
However, Iolanthe immediately moved onto the offensive after that, and it was there that things started to go Sigurd's way. The tactics behind Chimera's attack were sound, trying to disable her opponent's legs so she could take advantage of her superior reach, but the way she went about it created an opening for Melon to move in, which he immediately caught on to and seized.
From there on out, he kept on pushing. Sigurd launched a lot of attacks over the next few turns, some of them with a fair degree of success. Although the attacks themselves were not the ones I would have chosen himself, they were still coordinated, fluid, and to some extent effective, fitting in well with Sigurd's fighting style and allowing him to do some damage (I'll get to that in a bit). Iolanthe, meanwhile, defended very well using her super-perception and her shield, but wasn't really doing much in return. Other than perhaps that single Gladius stab, her counterattack consisted of repeating a tactic that had already proven fairly ineffective, and holding a position that was fairly counter-intuitive given the situation. Her main weapon was weaker at that range, her opponent was a brawler type, and she had super legs that were just begging to be let loose, helping her get away and move around him. I don't mean to tell Chimera how to play her character, I would have used Sigurd quite differently as well. However, the flow of Iolanthe's actions ended up trapping her in a disadvantageous position, and Melon took full advantage of this.
And, of course, there's battle damage. Sigurd received several burns and cuts to his legs, but not much else. He was not unprotected, there was relatively little power behind the strikes, and Iolanthe was largely relying on a magic that was reduced in potency by the stone arm. Iolanthe, meanwhile, would have a deep cut in one arm, a bruised leg from where her plated skirt took a strong hit, and quite likely a sword to the face near the end there. I doubt that last one would have been a killing blow, since Chimera was next up to post and would well have mitigated it, but it was a very strong attack in itself. I feel that if the fight had gone on much longer, it would only have been a matter of time until Sigurd hit something vital.
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... so there you have it. The fight actually made for quite a good read, going back through it, with some great posts from both sides throughout. I'll admit, I was less than pleased about having to sort out all the OOC disputes :P but this was a highly complex battle at times, and I guess sometimes you just get two personalities together who just can't easily agree. Either way, I intend to remember the fight for the writing and expertise on display, rather than any arbitration I ended up doing.
@MelonHead, you are free to advance to the next round, and challenge
@Vordak. I can understand if you'd like a break before the next fight, so if you'd like to wait a few days before starting, that's fine. Well done, and best of luck!
@Chimera, though you're out of the bracket for now, you are free to challenge others who have lost, should you so wish. It's a shame so many OOC issues came up, but I'm glad you still gave it your all. Hope to see you kicking ass around the arena in the future!
