How Does Brienne of Tarth Rank in ASOIAF?

[lancerman]

Alright, I'm sold. Word of mouth goes a long way in this world, so I'm okay with him being top/god tier. I'm guessing Tyrion would be singing a new song if this guy was his champion against the mountain.

What about Ned Stark? Is he considered a strong swordsman by that world's standard? He kind of sort of held his own against Jaime, which I would think counts for something. Then there's all of his history.

And Jorrah Mormont? He effortlessly lead that cou' de tat in that slave city (although, this was really, REALLY fast).

And what about the Boratheon? Robert was talking a LOT of shit in season 1 about the glory days of war, killing his first man, usurping the throne from Raegar and such.

Stannis is also pretty badass, from what I gather. Plus he has an insane follow.. Stannis the Mannis, Stan the Man, Boratheon Master Race, and so on...

Finally, the Targaryen. They would have to be top tier to conquer Westoros, I would think. Dragons make a lot of difference, but in a war, I'm sure they had to have been badass on their own.

Ned was competent but he wasn't known for fighting. Jamie didn't want to kill him, and quite frankly, Ned and his men had the advantage of being on horseback in the books during that encounter. Jamie would have one. Ned is a capable fighter, he killed some Kingsguard at the Tower of Joy, so he has some skills. He was also a leader during the Rebellion.

Jorrah was knighted as a result of heroics during Greyjoy's Rebellion. He's probably on Ned's tier to be honest.

Robert was the man. He slayed Rheagar, who was capable of winning tourney's and was known to be accomplished at nearly everything. He was a great fighter who had tremendous physical prowess.

Stannis also was on Robert's level. He was crucial in holding down the fort during Robert's Rebellion. Dude is probably a tick or two under Robert, but he's no slouch.

It's worth noting these guys were all much older when the book starts and guys like Robert were a shadow of their former selves.

The Targaryen's (Aegon, Rhaenys, and Visenya) only conquered Westeros because of their dragons. I'm sure Aegon and Visenya were high tier and respectable, but they had neither the numbers nor the logistical advantages necessary to do anything without Dragons. It was just nobody could compete with Dragons.

[Iron_Twister]

Ned was competent but he wasn't known for fighting. Jamie didn't want to kill him, and quite frankly, Ned and his men had the advantage of being on horseback in the books during that encounter. Jamie would have one. Ned is a capable fighter, he killed some Kingsguard at the Tower of Joy, so he has some skills. He was also a leader during the Rebellion.

Jorrah was knighted as a result of heroics during Greyjoy's Rebellion. He's probably on Ned's tier to be honest.

Robert was the man. He slayed Rheagar, who was capable of winning tourney's and was known to be accomplished at nearly everything. He was a great fighter who had tremendous physical prowess.

Stannis also was on Robert's level. He was crucial in holding down the fort during Robert's Rebellion. Dude is probably a tick or two under Robert, but he's no slouch.

It's worth noting these guys were all much older when the book starts and guys like Robert were a shadow of their former selves.

The Targaryen's (Aegon, Rhaenys, and Visenya) only conquered Westeros because of their dragons. I'm sure Aegon and Visenya were high tier and respectable, but they had neither the numbers nor the logistical advantages necessary to do anything without Dragons. It was just nobody could compete with Dragons.

Very much so. Though the events of the Tower of Joy is still kind of iffy, the fact that Ned even survived when 5 of his 6 companions died in a 7 (of capable warriors from the sound of things) on 3 (against the best of the Targaryen's Kingsguard) melee is pretty amazing.

Yeah, these men in the list aren't exactly what they used to be (though they are still capable) but damn did Robert took the shadow of his former self to near rock bottom if it weren't for the fact he had rare moments of strength.

And finally...yeah, the Targaryen's got the edge over everyone thanks to the dragons. Nothing that says they were hopeless and they are probably top tier, but really, it's an edge nobody in Westeros has against them. The whole deal with Harrenhal wouldn't be easy without one and the Lannister/Gardner alliance nearly stopped Aegon's conquest if it weren't for resorting to all three dragons in the battle.

[hydro123456]

Ned said he only survived at the Tower of Joy due to Howlend Reed, who was almost certainly a warg. Not a very impressive feat for a 7 on 3 battle, even if the 3 were some of the best fighters ever.

[NK1988]

Barristan claims he could kill the entire current Kinsguard and said men seem to believe him.

And as good as Ser Barristan is, he has nothing on the reputation of the Sword of the Morning. 7-on-3 when the three contains Arthur Dayne isn't that bad.

[lancerman]

Yeah Jamie's quote about Dayne: "I learned from Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning, who could have slain all five of you with his left hand while he was taking a piss with the right".

Jamie was saying this to knights including Loras Tyrell (who is well accomplished) and Meryn Trant.

Also Ned said Dayne was the finest knight he ever saw.

[hydro123456]

Dayne may be the best swordsman in the entire book, but it's still not a good feat for Ned. He didn't survive because he was good, he survived because Reed did something that he won't talk about, most likely warging.

[Endless_Legend]

One thing to keep in mind though is that no one is really "god tier" in the ASOIAF universe. There's been plenty of instances of guys beating far more skilled knights. Selmy even made it a point to tell Daenarys that any man can beat any other man on any day. On their own no one really matters that much on the battlefield. The true worth of someone like Robert, Raegar, or Selmy is the prestige and respect they bring to the table.

This. I think we forget that most fictional universes (as well as real life) do not operate the way a Rumble does. Any man can kill any other man, if circumstance, luck, and cunning is on their side. This fictional universe operates that way as well. "Tiers" don't really exist. A peasant with a longbow and some passing amount of practice with it could kill the Mountain, if he had a little bit of range to work with and a few arrows.

Things like that don't happen to the Important(tm) characters because they're usually surrounded by loyal men, their own archers, etc. But even then, sometimes it does happen.

[HFMM]

Brienne of Tarth is one of the best female fighters in GoT. However, the top fighters are heavily implied to be Dayne and Barristan. In that order. They are like
1a and 1b. Ser Barristan is commonly describe as the greatest knight, while Ser Dayne is consider the deadliest. I just interpretated that as Ser Barristan is Captain America while Ser Dayne = Wolverine.

[HFMM]

Very much so. Though the events of the Tower of Joy is still kind of iffy, the fact that Ned even survived when 5 of his 6 companions died in a 7 (of capable warriors from the sound of things) on 3 (against the best of the Targaryen's Kingsguard) melee is pretty amazing.

Those kingsguards that they were in, was a dream team of kingsgaurd. So while it's 7 vs 3, odds still flavors those 3. If it was a clean fight. We don't know what kinda of shenanigans Reed pull that day. But I am willing to bet money that crannogmen don't fight clean.

That's probably why he is the only one of Ned's buddy to survive the ordeal.