Darth Malgus vs Darth Tyranus

I feel like this topic has some good discussion value. Without all of those hardcore movie era wankers, I feel like we can have a more sensible debate about this.

Sabers
Force
All-out

Who wins?

Malgus probably is the superior in Force/All Out. Palpatine made Vader look at Malgus as a role model, and Palpatine even respectable some of Malgus's accomplishments himself. He got some pretty badass force powers, and very comparable lightsaber skills to Dooku. He takes this.

I think Malgus would win but it would be very close.

Well then... time for my analysis...

First off, as always, their martial skills. Darth Malgus's style appears to be Djem So, given his preference for power blows, Vader's observation of him, and favoring some of the positions and maneuvers common to Djem So. Malgus's technique was very aggressive, and earned him victory over notable opponents such as the Jedi Battlemaster Kao Cen Darach, Satele Shan who had just finished up cutting down a group of Sith, and Ven Zallow who Malgus noted to be his greatest kill. Malgus was also skilled at chaining hand to hand attacks into his lightsaber sequences, kneeing, kicking, choking, and grappling in the middle of combat. As a presumed master of Djem So, this also provided him with a steady defense, though fighting on the defensive was not known to be his MO. Malgus did however manage to overcome a primary weakness inherent in Djem So practitioners, being a lack of mobility. As such, Malgus's technique was highly advanced, though one can point out certain patterns in his technique and he was known to be a little sloppy at times. Nevertheless, Malgus remained a highly effective duelist.

Darth Tyranus was a confirmed and devoted master of Makashi, arguably taking it further than any of its other practitioners. Dooku was a very precise and elegant duelist, his moves flowing with fluidity and his footwork being solid. One on one lightsaber combat was something he geared himself towards, and he has defeated and held his own against some of the greatest duelists of his time, which includes his victories over Asajj Ventress, Obi-wan, Grievous, and his holding his own against Anakin, Windu, and Yoda (albeit only for a little while). Tyranus did manage to compensate for a number of Makashi's weaknesses. He was effective against blaster wielding opponents, as that is a skill of necessity in the era he lived in. He was also effective against multiple opponents, demonstrated by his fight against Ventress and Opress, and later Skywalker and Kenobi. His duel with Skywalker and Kenobi also demonstrates, that while he does not care for acrobatics, he will not hesitate to use them when absolutely necessary, and he showed a level of aptitude with hand to hand combat. The one weakness that Tyranus compensated for, but never completely overcame was the weakness against power blows inherent in Makashi. Tyranus was able to compensate for this by using precise redirection to deal with power blows with minimal expenditure, as shown against Savage Opress on Serenno, but power blows when applied relentlessly could overwhelm him, as shown by Opress over Toydaria, and more famously by Anakin over Coruscant.

The way their saber skills compare is quite interesting considering the way they play off of eachother's weaknesses. Tyranus's elegance and precision is a perfect counter to Malgus's predictability and occasional sloppiness, while Malgus's power attacks and unrelenting aggressiveness is a perfect counter to Tyranus's weakness against power blows. Ultimately, I believe the level of skill Tyranus has makes him more capable of exploiting Malgus's weaknesses than Malgus would be in exploiting Tyranus's weakness, considering that Tyranus does at least compensate for his primary weakness. Tyranus takes the edge a duelist.

Now for their physical capabilities. Malgus was overwhelmingly strong, often battering through his opponents defenses, lifting them up with his hands, and cracking marble tabletops with his fists. Malgus was also a fucking tank. He tanks injury from explosions to being hurled and buried alive. Malgus's strength and ability to take injury were further increased by his cybernetics and the bulk of his armor. Despite being a tank, Malgus was by no means slow and unagile, being known to be a quite agile fighter, and matching/exceeding the speed of Jedi who were capable of cutting down multiple Sith in succession before they could properly react. Malgus's one weakness was his transpirator mask, and while I don't think he'd die if it were disabled, it would certainly make the fight far more difficult for him.

Tyranus was in insanely good shape for his age, but he was well past his prime. Tyranus was strong enough to fend off some power duelists and to meet Anakin in bladelocks, though strength wasn't really his thing. Tyranus's most impressive physical stats were his speed and agility, his speed enabling him to fight Grievous and Yoda, while his agility was something he was noted for, known to apply it with grace and precision. Tyranus's endurance was impacted by his age, however he compensates for this with the minimalist nature of his style.

I consider Tyranus to be faster and more agile than Malgus to an extent, however Malgus's strength and endurance blows Tyranus's out of the water, and their collective physical stats bolster Malgus's fighting style more. As such Malgus gets the physical edge.

Now on to their force abilities. Telekinetically, both are quite impressive. Both have tossed around rubble, Tyranus attempting to pelt Yoda with it, and Malgus blasting away the rubble of two buildings that threatened to bury him alive. Both were also quite adept at tooling opposing force wielders with their TK, Dooku tooling Vos, Bulq, Ventress, and Kenobi, with Malgus choking out random Jedi, and by the end of his life being able to keep Nox/Hero/Wrath/Barsen'thor in a choke hold. Both were also highly proficient in force lightning. Dooku was capable of killing some creatures with a burst of lightning, and Malgus was capable of burning holes through Jedi and even utilizing the rare power of force maelstrom. Both were also capable of defending against such a power, Dooku being able to deflect it with his hands, and Malgus being able to absorb it with tutaminus. Both were capable of hiding their presence in the force, though this will most likely not come into play in an encounter such as this, and isn't more attributable to either side anyways.

Ultimately both are very impressive force wielders, however the magnitude of Malgus's force powers is simply greater than the magnitude Tyranus has shown, and thus I attribute the edge to Malgus as a force wielder.


Sabers: Tyranus has shown himself to be more skilled, while Malgus is physically superior. Both of their physical capabilities are what they build their fighting styles around, as such the new angle their physicality provides in terms of saber combat is Malgus's armor. Malgus's armor and ability to take injury essentially renders the effectiveness of Tyranus's shi'im strikes useless, however with the transpirator as a target, Tyranus could aspire to score a hit on that and gravely weaken him. Overall, throwing in their physicality makes this fight a lot more difficult for Tyranus, but his skills would still allow him to prevail. In a lightsaber duel between the two, Darth Tyranus is the winner.

Force: Both are powerful, however Malgus is bringing more raw power to the table, and his armor and ability to tank injury allows him to withstand more than Tyranus. In a force fight between the two, Darth Malgus is the winner.

All Out: While Tyranus could handle Malgus's attempts to overwhelm him as a duelist with difficulty, he would not be able to do such a thing against Malgus's force abilities and physical overpowering at the same time, adding to the fact that Malgus's armor and endurance allows him to last longer than Tyranus. In an all out fight between the two, I declare Darth Malgus the winner!

Going with Tyranus in a tight match. His technical bladework is absolutely astonishing, and he's both faster and more cunning than Malgus. While it's true he's at a disadvantage in a bout of raw power, his consistent showings against a powerhouse as consummate as Anakin lead me to believe he is more capable of overcoming this.