Good evening all.
Here I'll post my 'wanna-be' Lineup for the second season of Spike's Deadliest Warrior series. Over time, after having done the proper research, I'll post up my own match-ups in blogs, detailing the culture, tactics, and weapons of my chosen warriors. But that comes later - for now, let's see what who I've picked to square up against one another.
mike's Season Two:
Episode One - Armies Battle: Roman Legion versus German Landsknecht. An Imperial war-machine of steel, leather, and men travels through time to face off against the garishly-dressed mercenaries of Sixteenth-Century Europe. While possessing firearms and their trademark pikes, the altogether shrewd and quarrelsome pikemen are up against the Gods of the Ancient World in a titanic struggle for military dominance.
Episode Two - Individuals Battle: Ottoman Janissaries versus Russian Cossacks. The scrupiously-chosen and -trained Christian elilte of the Ottomans take on the world-reknowned brutal horsemen of Mother Russia. The immovable bodyguard of the Sultan take a stand against the ruthless cavalry of Siberia.
Episode Three - Individuals Battle: Egyptian Mamluk versus Lakota Dog Soldier. Regarded as the "true defenders of Islam", having fended off both Crusader and Mongol, the prestigious Mamluk horsemen of Egypt face a unique threat in the highly militaristic Dog Soldiers of the Lakota. Extremely agile, stealthy, and fearless in the face of adversity, the Lakota that slaughtered General Custer at Little Bighorn turn towards Cairo.
Episode Four - Armies Battle: Swiss Pikemen versus Spanish Tercios. Having cultivated a military regime that was seemingly impossible to stop, the Swiss enjoyed a reputation as the top-of-the-line mercenary soldiers of Renaissance Europe. In Spain, however, learning from their tactics and proven doctrines arose a system of the mixed-infantry units of Spanish Tercios. This is a true conflict between students and masters, but who will come out on top?
Episode Five - Individuals Battle: Indian Mughal Warrior versus Anglo-Saxon Housecarl. The Islamic rulers of the Indian subcontinent, who used both religion and military to subdue their foes are assaulted by the unmitigated ferocity of an Anglo-Saxon professional soldier. Despite having several centuries and half a planet to separate the pair, these warriors have surprisingly similar gear of war. Their tactics and intelligence will decide superiority here.
Episode Six - Individuals Battle: Persian Cataphract versus Polish Winged Hussars. Here a pair of heavy cavalry warriors come into conflict - one the one hand waits the maille-clad mounted elite of the Persian Empire, and on the other are the legendary "Winged" Hussars, the prized descendant of medieval knights. Both similar in use on the battlefield, but both horsemen bring a unique set of weapons and tactics which will decide the course of thier battle.
Episode Seven: Loser's Bracket Tournament. The glorious fallen return from beyond the River Styx to fight again in the land of Valhalla, where the dead may live forever.
Episode Eight: Winner's Bracket Tourtanment. The victorious masters of battle from earlier installments face new threats in their fellow victors, to see who is the deadliest warrior.
Episode Nine - Heroes Battle: Robin Hood versus Vlad Dracula. An English Longbowman, the very symbol of Britain's military superiority for more than four centuries, takes on the Wallachian boyar. The outlawed nobleman ambushes the Son of the Dragon, a terrifying warrior trained in the arts of war by the Ottoman Turks.
Episode Ten - Season Finale: Achilles versus Beowulf. Two of literature's greatest champions go toe-to-toe and sword-to-sword in a true clash of titans. Will the rebelious chieftan of the Myrmidons be able to challenge the epic warrior-king and Grendel-bane of Gotland?
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Hopefully I can get some good feedback going for this. Any and all comments are welcome; I'll try to respond to all that I can. I'm still open for suggestions for match-ups, so don't be afraid to make a suggestion or two. I still have to do a lot of research, as I'm unsure if some of the matches above (mainly the Swiss and Spanish) did not actually occur in history :P if anyone can help with things like that, I'd really appreciate it. I'm also rather dubious that I couldn't find better opponents for some of the others (Legion and Landsknecht, Mughal and Housecarl...).
Special Thanks goes to DaRaginCajun, DexterGrif, and vnflcards for helping out here, with suggestions or otherwise, whether they're aware of it or not :P more will be added in time, I am sure.
