Last time I did Space Battles, with the winner, not surprisingly, being Warhammer.
But another point of contestation is ground battles. Who would win with boots to the dirt?
The Contestants:
Warhammer 40k
Star Wars
Star Trek
Halo
Starship Troopers (Book, not that horrible movie
Predator/Alien
Japanese Mecha (Gundam for example)
Okay, so I put my money on 40k once again. I love star wars, really I do, but as far as the military is concerned, 40k outshines everything. So I am going to walk through and compare it against each contestant and say why it wins.
40k vs Japanese Mecha
This is for all the anime watchers out there. While I think things like mobile suits could give parts or 40k a run for its money, there are some problems to consider.
Size. I am basing this off the most popular mecha series: Gundam. So a Mobile Suit isn't actually that big. Basically, think of a tractor trailer standing up. Thats basically it. Warhound titans are about as tall, but are significantly more powerful. Then there are larger Titans still. So why are Titan's better? Shields for one. Next is the destructive capacity of their weapons. I never once saw a Mobile Suit level a city, but Quake cannons can.
Then there is support elements. Mecha can't occupy buildings or search through underground networks. What did I always see supporting the mech in gundam. Normal soldiers with machine guns and things that look like modern day tanks. Here I believe 40k wins again with tank and infantry superiority. And I always saw the tanks lose to the mobile suits, but I know in 40k that sometimes titans get thrashed by 40k tanks. So I am going to say that 40k has an edge there.
Then there is numbers. Jap Anime usually is only earth or alternate earth. They just don't have the resources to compete, even if everything I said above is a bunch of misguided mumbo jumbo.
40k vs Predator/Alien
This didn't get to show up in the space battle for 2 reasons.
1- You never get to see a space battle in their movies
2- The ships are really small compared to Star Wars and Warhammer
BUT they are cool enough to be in this post. They wouldn't win though.
Sure Predators would own the face of most things they came across in 40k, but they are solo guys for the most part and just kinda hunt. And a normal human always manages to triumph over them. There are things in 40k that can cloak, have cool sharp swords, and are big and strong. So put them up against a predator, and see what happens. Oh, and I bet a lictor could sniff one out.
Then there are the aliens. I think of them like Guants that act like Genestealers. They hide on ships and impregnate other species. Oh, and a normal person always manages to best them. They are cool and could own a bunch of Guardsmen, but a deathwatch kill team could make short work of them. They board hiveships and walk away. A group of 20 aliens is a joke to them.
Then the Pred/Alien Human Space Marines. These guys are like normal guardsmen. Just a lot less of them. Bill Paxton is cool and all, but to be a space marine you have to look like this:
Not this:
So yeah, case closed there.40k vs Star Trek
I am going to make this short and sweet. Phasers are strong (everyone who gets hit once dies it seems), but the soldiers are very vulnerable. I think if a squad of terminators boarded a federation vessel, the game would be up. Klingons may be brutal, but so are orks. Borg can't assimilate Necrons, and probably would fail to stop nids. They move so slow, they'd all be eaten before they could absorb them. Plus I can't imagine you can sever one hive mind in favour of another. Then there is all the military vehicles. The only thing I remember ever seeing is the Argo from one of the movies (nemesis). Never mind tanks or giant walkers. They had a jeep. Just doesn't compare. Star Trek needs to stay in space.
40k vs Halo
I think this one is a little bit more interesting. I still give 40k an edge, but the soldiers in this just generally seem more competent and better equipped than the above universes, as well as have more resources (equivalent to the Federation, but more militarized). The Covenant is a pretty beastly opponent as well, lots of plasma weaponry. While not equivalent to Imperial Plasma, I'd relate it to tau weapons. But I still don't think the numbers and tech keep up. While advanced, the humans still rely on bullets, and in the fluff they often beat the covenant. And they don't have too many super soldiers so while Master Chief may be kick butt, there aren't enough spartans to compete with the super soldiers of 40k.
40k vs Starship Troopers
The bugs and Tyranids are almost exactly the same. The mobile infantry is like a tactical squad crossed with an assault squad. This would be a fight. The one issue is the mobile infantry deploy regularly in far less numbers than SM can, and then there is the vast amounts of laser toting guardsmen to think about. It would be like the Badab war I imagine. Really strong frightening opponent equivalent to yourself, but destined to lose by playing the numbers game (once again). Then take titans and such into consideration and it becomes even more unbalanced. Oh, and if you haven't read the book GO DO IT NOW! Great book. Never watch the movie afterwards, you will only be disappointed.
40k vs Star Wars
This is the closet IMO because of the numbers game and tech level.
I am going to operate that a lasgun is for the most part equivalent to your standard blaster rifle from star wars. Maybe a little weaker, but close enough. That is going to be our technology point of reference there. So I'd say most planetary militias are like PDF and the Stormtroopers are like guardsmen, albiet in carapace armour (making up for the disadvantage in numbers). Droids can further make up the numbers. Then there are Jedi as well, or sith, or whatever force using sect you want to consider. They are beastly. Then there are Mando's as well. Beastly enough to take on Jedi for breakfast.
So Much Metal!There are equivalents in war machines. AT-AT are only 15m tall, so same as a warhound, and with less destructive weapons, but there are a lot of them, and they all carry a bunch of soldiers. So I give 40k an edge in machinery, but Star Wars has military vehicles at least. Really they are just able to play the numbers game as well.
But where I think I break the tie is Space Marines. There is no equivalent. Jedi and Mando's don't have the numbers, and can't block/absorb bolter shells. And in a fist fight, an SM would definitely win. Thus tipping things in 40k's favour IMO.
Okay, tell me what you think over there --> in the Poll! If you have any others, post in the comments!
POLL RESULTS:
Which Sci-fi universe would win in a ground battle?:
Warhammer 40k 17 (73%)
Star Wars 2 (8%)
Star Trek 2 (8%)
Halo 0 (0%)
Predator/Alien 1 (4%)
Starship Troopers (Book) 0 (0%)
Other 1 (4%)Warhammer 40k 17 (73%)
