Place 7: Brienne of Tarth
In medieval Westeros, women are generally not allowed to learn to fight. Against all odds, Brienne has become an extremely skilled swordswoman. In the series, she is even knighted by Jaime as the first knight of Westeros.
In direct combat, she held her own against Loras Tyrell, which made her a member of King Renly’s Rainbow Guard. She was also able to defeat Jaime Lannister and Sandor Clegane, although the two were in poor condition at the beginning of the fight.
She is very tall and strong, which gives her an advantage in combat. However, her greatest weakness is her virtue. Where others would resort to “dirty tricks” in battle, she is always mindful of her honor. She also lacks practical experience, as many opportunities have been denied to her as a woman.
Place 6: Gregor Clegane
Gregor Clegane is known as “The Mountain” for good reason. He is a behemoth of a man: tall, strong, and durable. This allows him to wield his heavy two-handed sword with ease, like others wield a one-handed sword. At the same time, he is also skilled and agile, at least for his size.
However, he could not match the agility of Oberyn Martell. In their duel, Oberyn gained the upper hand and inflicted a fatal wound on Gregor Clegane with his poisoned spear. After that, Gregor was able to kill his tormentor, but only because Oberyn was eager to force a confession and became reckless.
After this incident, “The Mountain” is mysteriously resurrected or kept alive on Cersei Lannister’s orders. He is certainly no longer the same and resembles more of a zombie. In the series, he eventually is thrown to his death by his younger brother Sandor Clegane.
Place 5: Syrio Forel
A good student also needs a good teacher. And that’s exactly what Syrio Forel was for Arya. He taught her the “Dance of Water”, an elegant yet deadly form of sword fighting.
There were good reasons why Ned Stark chose Syrio as a teacher for his daughter. Syrio was a well-known sword master from Braavos. For nine years, he served as the head guard of the local ruler and held the title “First Sword of Braavos”.
When he is attacked by Lannister guards, he bravely faces the unfair fight. Armed only with a wooden sword, he kills five fully armored opponents. One can easily imagine how dangerous he would have been with a real weapon. Unfortunately, he does not appear again later, which leads one to assume he was overwhelmed and killed.
Place 4: Sandor Clegane
Sandor Clegane, also known as “The Hound”, is a feared warrior that not many would dare to confront. For a long time, he was a soldier in the Lannister army and even a member of the Kingsguard before deserting.
He is strong, battle-hardened, and does not shy away from rough violence. While he is not quite as strong as his big brother Gregor, he is smarter and more agile. In the fight against Beric Dondarrion with his burning sword, Sandor even overcame his greatest weakness, his fear of fire.
Only Brienne was able to narrowly defeat him in a duel. Although he was in poor condition – exhausted, undernourished, and with an infection – he put up a hard fight against her. Under balanced circumstances, the fight would probably have turned out differently.
