User blog:AtheistUntoDeath/Which of these champions would win? part 7

First off, if there is anyone who is upset by the lateness of this post, please address your complaints to the people who created this Wiki, who left it with a glitch that, upon someone trying to publish a long and well written blog post, logs them off and deletes the post, despite an hour straight of work and saving twice. But moving away from that negative sentiment, it is time to actually deal with last weeks champions, Pantheon and Olaf.

This is by far the closest match to date. I do not recall switching sides more often than I did in this one. Nonetheless, after much soul searching and tooth-grinding, I have finally arrived at who I believe is the victor. The winner, by a slim margin, is...

...Pantheon, The Artisan at War!

Ok, explantion time. Both champions are warriors nearly without peer. They have butchered armies and risen to become paragons of bravery and skill at arms. So what could possibly compel me to choose one over the other? In a word, it was their weapons.

Pantheons Relic Spear and Shield are certainly very special. They have been passed down from generation to generation and are probably centuries old. it is not unheard of for weapons to last this long, but that is because they are consigned to becoming decarations. Weapons and armour undergo wear and tear the longer they are used. And despite all the maintanace that could possibly be done, most weapons would be worn down to uslessness after centuries of use (Especially by the Rakkor, who use them more frequently and intensly than most others). The fact that Pantheons spear and shield are still in pristine condition after such rigors, combined with the fact that they are strong enoug to counter the armour and weapons of Noxia and Demacia (whose metallurgy and technology would have improved over said centuries), speaks to the fact that these weapons are magical and nigh-indestructable. Nothing Olaf does is going to damage either of these artifacts, which means that Pantheon can keep himself safe from harm as long as he can keep his shield between himself and Olaf.

But shouldn't Olafs berzeker rage be powerfull enough. If the rage removes the restrictions on his strength that his brain imposes, his strength would triple upon entering the rage. But this is not as great an advantage as it seems. Olaf can only enter the rage upon nearing death ("Each time he charged headlong toward his coveted death, only to be spared by the frenzy that washed over him while on its brink"). This means that Olaf will spend most of his battle at a strength level comparable to Pantheons, who is better equipped and trained. This increases the chance of Pantheon stiking a mortal blow. Even if said blow was not enough to kill him immediatly, and only force Olaf into the rage, all Pantheon would have to do at that point would be keep his shield up and weather the attack until Olaf wore himself out and either died or became an easy kill.

Olafs options are limited at this juncture. The shield is pretty much indestructable, so he cannot hope to pierce it. He cannot hope to get around the shield because Pantheon is skilled enough to keep the shield where it needs to be and the rage will prevent him from thinking strategically anyway. His only option would be to hit the shield with enough force to break Pantheons arm behind the shield, forcing Pantheon to let go of his shield and his life shortly after. Unfortunatly for him, His own weapons defeat him here. Duel axes are great for cutting off heads, but not so great at imparting kinetic energy through shields. They do not possess much in the way of mass, even put together. The shape of the axe also means they will likely deform/deflect upon hitting the shield, losing considerable amounts of energy. Even hitting both axes simotaniously with all of Olafs might, I do not see Pantheon getting more than a bruise. If Olaf had carried a weapon better suited to this task, such as a warhammer, I would have definatly given this battle to him. But, as things stand, Olaf dies.

He probably would prefer it that way anyway.

That battle got pretty heated, so lets cool off with two champions from the Freiljord!

These next two combatants are big, tough and know the value of artifacts stolen from the Ice Witch. Trundle, The Troll King and Braum, The Heart of the Freiljord are no strangers to cold, and not just because they live in a place where urine will freeze before it leaves your body. They both carry weapons empowered by True Ice and both know how to get the most out of it. But who knows more?

The arena these two will be fighting in is a square Kilometre of Tundra. There are some shoots of dying grass spring up from the permafrost, but in general the man-sized boulders are far more common. Our combatants will start at opposite ends, perfectly in view of the other.

It is nearly time to argue, but it would be unfair not to explain the rule to the newcomers.

''Any who want to participate will state which champion would win in the comments section. This is not a straight up vote. The winner will be selected on the best argument presented in their favour. So if you think your selected champion would win, give a detailed explanation why. The winner will be selected by me next Friday, unless this post gets a lot of attention, in which case I will render judgement sooner. After the winner is picked I will announce the next two champions to go at it, although I am happy to take suggestions. ''

''To make things easier, I will also provide the enviroment in which the two champions will fight. This arena will be around 1 square mile in area, and the terrain and objects the arena consists of will be made to accomodate both champions fighting styles without giving advantage to either. It will also be assumed that both champions know that the other is in the area, but they will sometimes not know their exact position. Finally, neither Champion may use Items that are purchasable ingame (so no health potions or Rabadans deathcap or the like). A couple of rules for your arguments...''

''Be aware of the practical limitations of the champions arsenal would be outside of the fields of justice. Guns and crossbows have limited ammo and can only fire so fast. Poison would not affect a mechanical being. Swords will not go through a certain thickness of armour and so on.''

''As I have pointed out above, gameplay is highly unreliable at judging the ability of particular champions. While you can use in game abilities to judge the general things particular champions can do (with some exceptions. I'm looking at you, Miss Fortune), do not take the effectiveness of these abilities as proof. Stick to lore as much as possible (which includes observations, judgements and the journal of justice)''

As this occurs in Runeterra, assume that magic exists and can be used.

''Aside from the champions, the only otheir beings present may be pets that the champion directly controls (such as Tibbers or Voidlings). Help from sentient allies (such as Gangplanks Cannon Barrage) are forbidden.''

''Hextech devices are assumed to work. It is pretty obvious that Corkis' ROFLcopter would never get off the ground and The legs on Rumbles mech would never support the rest of its body in our world. But as Runeterra is home to Techmaturgy, which we don't really understand, It can be assumed that Hextech devices find a way to function in a way that is not obvious to the naked eye.''

Thats all. Good hunting!