Thursday, February 29, 2024

Baiken Vs Escanor: Prediction Blog

 

“The wound is the place where the light enters you.”

-Rumi


Baiken, the Samurai Slasher from Guilty Gear.


Escanor, the Strongest Holy Knight and Prideful Lion of the Seven Deadly Sins.


Since the beginning of creation, light has been born. Radiating across time and space, allowing those to glimpse with the visible eye. As of reading this, light plays a vital role in guidance because seeing in the dark is impossible. Much everything illuminates light going as far as forming colors. The two compelling examples are the sun and the moon. These two impacted cultural religions and scientific research, symbolically the balance of power. It's no wonder why the theme of the celestial against the luna plays popular in legends as two fight over control. And of all matchups presenting the light, these two warriors brought the ideals to reflection.


Having emotionally traumatic pasts, both became outsiders cast by cruel fate. Enduring magical worlds with just their weapons and brutality. Whether vengeance or arrogance kept them going, they found the true meaning of identity thanks to the love and friendship discovered along the adventure. But, the moment you challenge their blades is the accord seal with your stained blood. No matter the cost. They are the most recognizable characters in their series, debuting with almighty attention. And it is time to see if this suzuran moon has what it takes to draw against the cruel sun—one armed chested samurai against a poetic mustache knight.


With all their might, they will bring everything in this no-restriction battle as both will be given all their media materials. Starting with the originals of the games and mangas to the ending with the mobile app games and DLC cameos. But who will decide that? Only Death Battle can determine heaven or hell. Let’s Rock!!!


Background

Baiken

"You're still gonna stand up? Well, it's your choice... But you stand up, that means you're ready to die."


If one wants to predict a scenario and ask, “What if God gave mankind magic?” then Guilty Gear would be an answer to the question. After one man discovered a parallel dimension that held all existence and made a murder robot, science was combined with magic. The combination of man’s technology and all-powerful source one-day disabled devices around the world. Which would make the development of the Gears Project. This is where the events of Sol Badguy and That Man (Yes, That Man is his legitimate name) take place, yet let’s skip to the aftermath. The results were disastrous; where That Man created the Gears, humanoid artificial weapons led by Sol’s girlfriend's corpse called Justice, and word-for-word started a hundred-year Crusade. The war spread worldwide, and Japan sadly hit the hardest since day one as Justice nuked the whole country. The remaining survivors, aided by the US, prevented their genocide by forming colonies. One colony ended in a true tragedy that would birth a fighter and awaken a real demon. A girl named Baiken.


The childhood of Baiken does not matter, as she died when the Crusade came to her colony. All of her friends and parents were murdered in front of her. Losing her left eye and right arm by the Gears to remind herself of the suffering. Baiken, who lost everything and could barely recollect the blood lost, remembered from the dancing flames of death, and Gears stood a man behind the attack. After surviving the worst nightmare of a crusade, Baiken, now an orphan, only has one goal. To discover the man’s identity and send him to hell. She was going to avenge the fallen and herself.


Time passes towards the first game of Guilty Gear occurring now with Baiken mature and trained to begin her journey. While she only appeared as the secret boss, extra lore like Justice story mode in Λ Core Plus added Baiken fought the Gear and lost. She may have to recover till Guilty Gear X, but Baiken discovered the man’s name was That Man. Yeah, obvious who it was. From there, Baiken would search for her target while hunting down bounties, killing Gears, and protecting colonies. XX would finally grant Baiken after meeting with Anji Mito, where a woman named I-No was the lead needed to found That Man. Beating I-No despite Anji’s warning gives Baiken face-to-face with That Man and, at last, slashes him with a vengeance. Only to choke, not able to harm That Man. Yet, he apologizes and prays she would find peace when death comes to him. Baiken knew he was telling the truth, and That Man left with a question: should she continue her revenge or start a new life?


With Anji now as a companion, she would assist during the events of Xrd by defending The Colony, teaming up alongside Answer and May to protect a tree filled with Ki for generations. Strive, on the other hand, during the event of the main showdown against I-No, Baiken met a girl named Delilah. Thanks to Anji, Baiken forms a bond with Delilah, becoming her teacher, enlightened by seeing a mirror of the past. Delilah was blood-lusting for revenge on Happy Chaos, but the sister of Bedman could not control her power. She would have destroyed a section of Illyria by self-destruction if not for Baiken calming Delilah down with the help of the Jellyfish Pirates, Ramlethal Valentine, Sin Kiske, and Bedman himself. Now at peace with Delilah in her life and the news of That Man being dead, Baiken would lay the first stone to start the new life she questioned. With the past honored to the future, what may occur next?


The demon may be at rest from the long journey, but Baiken will still travel the road and sea of blood to mirror the world with her moon.


Escanor

“In this realm... kings such as yourself are as numerous as grains of sand. But I am no such thing. I am unlike any other existence in the world, the Lion's Sin of Pride, Escanor.”


Inside a universe where a Holy War was reaching its conclusion, a final battle between angels and demons took no mercy. Love and death affected everything, and the Supreme Deity gave four angels powers to counter the Demon King and his Ten Commandments. The strongest archangel was Mael, who was praised by all as the strongest one to end the war. Despite character flaws, he was prideful and strict with his code of honor, and even demons respected him until he was murdered by a Commandment named Estarossa. The Holy War concluded with the angels sealing the demons through sacrifice, and Mael’s Grace was lost. However, the Grace itself did not disappear. It was waiting for the next vessel worthy of its light. And after 3,000 years of patience finally found the one who can hold the sun implanted at the moment of birth. A human being named Escanor. 


Born as a Prince of Castellio, Escanor's childhood became short-lived when his brother Daymond bullied him so much until the day Grace awakened. Accidentally breaking the brother's arm, his father and mother feared Escanor's power and tried to execute him; if not a woman, Rosa helped escape the kingdom by sneaking a barrel to sea. Escanor, now a bastard to a future lost kingdom and could not find Rosa once older, the man would spend his life surviving the world, traveling, and fighting demons. During his voyage to Liones, he was attacked by Holy Knights who mistook him and thought he was the demon attacking the villages. The demons earlier nor the knights could match him till he found something unexpected, love. He would meet Merlin and Meliodas, who would capture him in order of the king and be recruited as the last member of Seven Deadly Sins. Despite Escanor’s self-esteem, he would meet Rosa’s spirit and get the pride he needed to bond with his new friends of arms. They would play essential roles as knights defending the Kingdom Liones from slaying and invading demons attacking villages. It sucks the Sins got framed for murder and had to disband and regroup. Escanor would hide in the mountains as a new barkeeper for the following years to wait for the call.


He may not have been there when the Seven Deadly Sins cleared their names, but Escanor would return when needed most. The Ten Commandments returned, and two hunted down Ban and his party. They would accidentally discover Escanor and update them on the events, and it took no time to regain his pride. He was taking down Galand and Melascula and giving Meliodas the opening he needed in the Great Fight Festival on the same day. Escanor, the next day defeated Estarossa when The Ten Commandments attacked Liones; after the celebration of defending Liones and discovering Elizabeth and Meliodas’ curses, the Seven Deadly Sins headed to Conard to disable a shield to push the counterattack of the Ten Commandments, who took Camelot. But Melascula did her job although suffering defeat as Meliodas, trapped by her cocoon, returned to his demon side. Escanor, pushing his limits, defeated Meliodas but passed out from exhaustion.  


Escanor would discover by Ludociel he carries the Grave from his brother Mael but does not care as he prepares for the New Holy War and saves Meliodas from being the new Demon King. Being on the frontlines, Escanor, Merlin, and Ludociel would fight Zeldris, Cusack, and Chandler, protecting a magical cocoon to transform Meliodas. A hard battle was fought in which Escanor would injure Zeldris with just a poke of his finger. But before he got depowered by the sun being blocked by Chandler’s magic. He would get defeated by the Original Demon combination of Cusack and Chandler but would surprisingly be saved by Mael. Elizabeth rescued Mael with the remaining Seven Deadly Sins, Growther brainwashed as Estarossa to end the Holy War. But the Demon King arrived and took everyone to return Meliodas to his form. Escanor did replace Mael’s Grace but had to get it back when the Demon King returned to finish the job. In the last battle, Escanor uses all of his power to help the Seven Deadly Sins finally kill the Demon King. Sadly, the power killed him from the grace itself, burning his body. But at last, he got Merlin's heart and thanked his friends for a beautiful life foretold by his final poem. 


The Seven Deadly Sins would never have achieved success if not the best anyone could become from the flaming light. And he was The One, and the only, Escanor.


Equipment

Baiken 

Regret

Baiken’s principal weapon, Regret, is a Japanese blade to damage aggressors within seconds. A katana used for slaughter, the edge has shown to be an actual menace where most believe it to be a sentiment, including Slayer. Nagoriyuki stated Regret was the strongest blade he had seen, and his claim was correct. Baiken killed many high-level gears over the years with Regret, cutting body parts like butter. In the spinoff games, Judgement and Isuka, she killed Megadeth's class gears, including Leopaldon and Judgement. What is most impressive is how her sword has duration since it can hold its own against the most potent weapons of Guilty Gear, such as Ky Kiske’s Thunderseal and Anji Mito’s Zussen. Those two are unique since they are charged with magic to summon magic elements like electricity and wind, going far as affecting time and space itself. But, it should have a limit since Dizzy remarked, making one small chip from Regret when blocking Baiken’s attack.


Demon Tools 

She may not be a shinobi, but enemies think twice before attacking. Baiken holds many weapons at her disposal, making openings where even professionals like Ky cannot keep track. Here are the following weapons Baiken has carried:


The rest of Baiken’s offense-related weapons will be explored later in the blog.


Escanor

Rhitta

Escanor’s single-handle ax was made only for the lion. Rhitta is the man’s Scared Treasure, a powerful relic weapon each sin attained. Rhitta's primary weapon allows Escanor to store his energy in Rhitta to maintain control of himself and his attacks. The ax is so heavy both Meliodas and Galand can barely wield the weapon. He can summon the ax at will, slash so hot to make regeneration difficult, and release his attack so strong it was daytime for seconds during the night and destroyed the center Earth-made labyrinth. Rhitta can also use various suns from other realms to charge himself like a battery.


Two flaws to mention with Rhitta. The main flaw is that Rhitta can't absorb all of Escanor’s power, as it can hold so much before being unusable and can become damaged. The second is that Rhitta's summoning can not be summoned across realms since Merlin had to create a spell to call the ax.

Equipment 

As shown in some of the links in Ritta, Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross continues the adventures and adds a lot more depth presented throughout this blog. Escanor can wear items to increase the users’ stats going from Common to SSR and later upgraded by Merlin for UR. Beaver, ring, necklace, earrings, belt, and runes are six items that can be equipped to add effects by themselves. Here are the nine pieces of equipment: 


  • Onslaught: Increase Attack by 20%

  • Iron Will: Increase Defense by 20%

  • Life: Increase HP by 20% 

  • Concentration: Increase Critical Chance by 30%

  • Mind's Eye: Increase Critical Resistance by 30%

  • Recovery: Recovery of HP increased by 20%

  • Congeniality: Increase Critical Damage by 20%

  • Fortitude: Increase Critical Defense by 40%

  • Lifesteal: Steal HP by 15%


Costumes

Like Equipment, Costumes add style to your character while increasing one's stats depending on the company's choice. There are four options, but the three concentrated in this section will be Outfit, Weapon, and Cosmetic (Head). Escanor has many costumes he can change into and enhance each one to increase their abilities, similar again to Equipment. The costumes can be found here at Netmarble

since a lot of costumes were added since Escanor’s release.


Artifacts 

The Artifacts are cards the player obtains to increase the committed team’s Attack, Defense, and HP. From C to UR, the player can carry up to five cards arranged to match the fighting style. Some cards have their own sets to gain a bonus ability, like increasing certain ally characters to decrease damage. Some cards require special quests or exclusive events but are very rewarding for gaining an advantage. You can find all Artifact Databases right here.

Holy Relics

The final costume option is the Holy Relic, a weapon made by slaying demonic beasts of Norse Mythology. They are a bitch to defeat in terms of gameplay, but the ingredients obtained to smith the relics are rewarding. Escanor has two holy relics: Forseti’s Golden Axe (left) and Laevateinn (right). 


  • Forseti’s Golden Axe: Attack 300/Defense 450/HP 1700 

When Forseti is equipped, the weapon increases Attack by a value equal to 50% of the hero’s defense at the start of the battle.


  • Laevateinn: Attack 230/Defense 700/ HP 1050

Laevateinn lets the user ignore 30% of the enemy defense when skills are used in PVP. The effect starts before the skill activation.



Abilities

Baiken

Superhuman Physically 

Baiken didn't get strong just from the code of the samurai. She has trained her body to push the limits to fight against the best fighters in Guilty Gear. Baiken can lift the heaviest fighters into combos like Bedman, including his weapon bed weighing 1,468 lbs, and Potemkin with 2,672 lbs. Her speed alone is scary since she, just for fun, can cut a single leaf or piece of paper in pieces within a second. Even her past trauma earns respect for surviving her critical childhood injuries for long hours until healed. 


Expert Swordsmanship

How Baiken was taught to wield the blade does not matter, as her actions present beauty from the enemy. Long journeys of travel helped Baiken get the experience she needed to slash anyone who got in her way. Skilled fighters like Ky Kiske, who fought Baiken occasionally, considered her skills flawless. Ky was, after all, a veteran leader who led the human race to win the hundred-year Crusade and earned respect as Sol Badguy’s rival. That’s how skillful Baiken is with the sword, whereas a war hero realizes talent when he sees it.

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Weapon Mastery

The number of weapons in the Demon Tools section demonstrates how Baiken versatility is terrible to predict. Her fighting style of defense is handy to surprise and counter by hiding weapons in her right sleeve. But, it can be limited depending on the environment where some weapons work poorly. 



Ki Manipulation

Baiken has the power of Ki or Chi; both are mostly the same—the energy of everything in life and why The Force from Star Wars exists. Because of the Japanese’s exposure to magic, their race radiated with Ki. The power is the rarest of all because of the requirements of raw emotions, training, and luck, as only a few people of Japanese descent, like Chipp Zanuff, can master. Baiken is on the same level as May in lacking training, but one of her abilities that will be explored later shows she has the potential to master areas of Ki like Chipp. Ki allows control to oppose or amplify abilities or attacks by the user. Ki can also use four elements: Fire, Thunder/Lightning, Water, and Wind to cause further damage to the opponent. 


Baiken has used Ki to manipulate her body for short-range attacks around her body to keep openings. It also increases users' senses since Baiken can detect auras nearby her, even knowing those who are Gears. In The Butterfly and Her Gale Novel, Chipp once used Ki to dispose of fatal toxins in his body and nullify enemies. 


Magic Manipulation

What do Ki and the four elements have in common? They are all magic exposed by The Backyard. The limitless natural energy of knowledge impacted the world of Guilty Gear since all the fighters and abnormalities, like the Gears, were made based on combining sorcery with science. Baiken is not a powerhouse like I-No or Sol in magic reality warping, but she does show some use. Her most recognizable trait is to summon objects at will, such as tatami mats and sometimes rope. Magic also can become supernaturally gifted as all fighters can harm souls such as Gears like Inus. What gets weirder is when the samurai goes for their Instant Kill and Overdrives, a Mortal Kombat style of “Finish Him” as an ultimate and specialized attack. Both will go into later depth in the Moveset section, but they are canon to the stories. 


Awakening

While this would be confirmed non-canon after the continuation games, the story path supports how dangerous Baiken would become. In the second path of Accent Core Plus, Baiken is pushed to her limits and accepts the demon inside her. Awakening as “Baiken, The Killer.” In the state, she gives no remorse as blood lust comes first, allowing her to go all out with her powers. Baiken becomes so intense she overpowered and inhumanly murders I-No in cold blood. Even Ky had to step in the aftermath to hunt Baiken down to stop her. Debunked as canon still does not hide the fact of how Baiken’s demon still slumbers in her soul.

Sealing/Power Nullification

Thanks to the powers of Ki, Baiken’s powerful ability to be shutting down her enemies' offensive. Baiken can disable movements or force them to break off and stagger. It can also increase the damage the foe takes for a short time. This will go into detail in the Movesets section. 

Resistances 

The following are the events Baiken has shown of tolerance:


  • Information Flare: This part is confusing because of the complicated lore of Guilty Gear. But to best summarize, Information Flares are theorized particles from the universe. And those flare particles interact with The Backyard, a superior version of reality holding all of the knowledge. Think of it as Mimisbrunnr, The Well of Knowledge that gives Odin his ability after trading his eye, being reality itself like the world tree of Yggdrasil. Because the information and magic data are so intense, it would atomize nearly all who would enter The Backyard. Thanks to Guilty Gear Judgment, all playable characters, including Baiken, survived fighting in the Underworld, which is confirmed inside The Backyard. Why there are two versions of the Underworld is up in the air. The rest of the dangers of flares are listed below.


  • Disease Manipulation: Another effect of the flare is that it can spread diseases, turning people into Gears. Baiken survived her childhood nightmare and continued to kill Gears as an adult without suffering the effects.


  • Matter Manipulation: Probably her best durability feat was in Strive-Another Story; Baiken stepped inside Delilah’s density field at the center. The deadliest part of the field was where the outer layers turned ordinary people to dust. The most impressive detail is how only her eyepatch was destroyed, where her weapons and even her clothes remained intact.



  • Transmutation: Similar to the disease section, Baiken survived the Gears without transforming as one. Fighters like Venom and Johnny can also turn foes into objects.


 


Escanor

Grace: Sunshine

The grace did not just give Escanor the powers of the sun. HE IS THE SUN! Created by the Supreme Deity for the angel Mael before mysteriously bestowed upon Escanor, Sunshine is a holy ability allowing the user to amplify in power. The closer the suns’ themselves are to him, the stronger he gets based on his time and environment. His attitude changes too, as at night he is weak and nervous till day makes him prideful and powerful, as presented above. At High Noon, his power is at maximum for a while until weakened at night. Grand Cross states when Sunshine has equipped, it increases the damage dealt to enemies by 20%, but only Mael has this ability due to special anniversary.


By using the power level system of 7DS (Magic, Strength, and Spirit), Escanor is one of the only characters to be confirmed as being unmeasurable. Sure, his nighttime is scaled as 15 while typically being 114,000, but his power can change when he wants to and fight all-powerful beings like The Demon King evidence the claim. Also, to add, in the mobile game, Grand Cros is foreshadowing Escanor Gonna Fight THOR! Who’s a girl???


Escanor’s Grace makes him the Superman of his team, and that is all him.

Fire & Heat Manipulation

 

He can bring both the fire and the heat. Escanor can use his Grace to transform his attacks for dealing permanent burns. His moves and abilities are tied to make the enemy suffer, leaving nothing but ashes remaining. Escanor has style when it comes to dominating the battle, being much hotter than regular fire. He can create miniature stars with Cruel Sun, evaporate lakes with Pride Flare, and power up Rhitta to release Charge and Fire. When those are not enough, he can use his bare hands and cover them in flame. With the fires, he can also gain flight levels, either by riding Cruel Sun or using his final form for a short time. Wait later on in the Forms section for details.

Aura

When the highest demons, like The Ten Commandments, fear your presence, you know where the fight will get real. Escanor’s magic also gains him an aura so intense it affects the people and environment around him. The statement Escanor being a sun was for this section since he showed off many times. He has heated so hard to melt the ground Escanor walks, turns armor to butter, and points at weapons into dust. His aura cannot only resist attacks stealing his soul but once liquefy AN ENTIRE CASTLe along with the Vampire King.

Healing + Regen Negation

A two-in-one, in a sense, both are on the same topic; Escanor can regenerate and cancel them as well. His healing is not as great as other healers, but he has enough ego to keep going. The flames Escanor produces are so intense he can use them on himself. When HIGH NOON comes, Escanor can heal from the most potent attacks, like purgatory flames and demon fire shown above. He can surge off hits and stab wounds to later recover from them. But, it has a limit since it is tied to his grace and not as great as other methods like fairy healing or Elizabeth.


Escanor makes up for his healing by blocking regeneration to his foes—many foes of the supernatural fail to recover from the sun’s light Escanor casts. Melascula got roasted so hard after failing to eat that the woman took a while to heal, yet her four-degree burns had to be healed by Gloxinia. Even the Vampire King Izarf nor Meliodas could recover from Escanor’s attacks since the heat still takes its effects from the damage.


 All thanks to Escanor’s Grace which can cancel out the healing process, as other Graces like Sariel could negate Derieri’s arm and still could not heal after the battle. Derieri's left arm affected by the Graces never truly recovered. 

Summoning

 

As foretold in the section of Rhitta, Escanor can summon his weapon at any time. While he can not call across different realms, Escanor has to never worry about losing his sacred treasure.

Absorption

Another ability from Rhitta, Escanor can absorb his energy to bring it simultaneously. Because of all the power dismissed during the day, Escanor can imbue the heat for devastating attacks. He can even use his life force in exchange for power.


Invincibility/Immunity

The most dangerous ability Escanor has is unleashing his full power once noon hits. For one minute, his body becomes invincible, tanking all blows and receiving almost no damage. Even high-level beings like The Demon King have trouble doing damage on Escanor. He also gains immunity to any effects upon him once he is at full power in Grand Cross. This shall be explored more in the Moveset section.




Resistances 

The following are the feats Escanor has endured during the time of his presence:


  • Heat & Fire Manipulation: Escanor shows no harm by the effects of his flames. Even when his aura liquefies the whole castle, Escanor is fine.





  • Regeneration Negation: The image used for where Meliodas used his Hellblaze on Escanor. The move uses black purgatory fire, a demonic fire that burns hotter than normal fire. It can burn the Fairy King Forest and scar immortals, including Ban.



  • Curses: Because of Sunshine, Escanor can be unaffected by powerful curses. Especially the commandments given by the Demon King, as Escanor was the only one immune to Estarossa’s Love commandment. 





Movesets 

Baiken

Tatami Gaeshi

One of her classic moves, Baiken uses her magic to summon a Tatami mat. By stomping the ground or calling in the air, Baiken can keep her distance should she need space. In Epic Seven, Baiken causes bleeding to the enemy and reduces their cooldown should she suffer a critical hit. 


Triple Tatami Gaeshi

If one mat is not enough, then add two more. Baiken summons three Tatami mats to confirm the foe is a combo further away. 


Youshijin

A chain-made anchor thrust into the ground for a powerful force uppercut. Baiken can use this move to counter aerial assaults.

Zakuro

Another aerial counter, Zakuro lets Baiken unleash a pinwheel blade for a vertical or diagonal combo before breaking away.

Azami

Baiken's main move of countering goes defensive about blocking off enemy attacks. She can use the movement in the air while blocking multiple attacks, then follow up for a decisive counterattack.



Suzuran

A rush move where Baiken dashes towards the enemy while defensive and continues with Azami follow-ups without carrying.

Kuchinashi

Baiken uses her Ki to channel Regret to add energy while upward slashing, a follow-up for Azami and Suzuran.

Mawarikomi

A surprise agility move where Baiken dashes directly behind the enemy, also a follow-up to Azami and Suzuran. 

Sakura

Like Kuchinashi, Baiken channels Ki to jab with Regret—follow-ups after Azami or Suzuran. 


Kabari/Kamaitachi

Baiken’s reference to “GET OVER HERE!!!” She throws a grapple claw or ball rope to reel back foes toward Baiken and is versatile. Baiken can tether herself to force close-quarter combat, follow attacks including diagonal, or get a quick slash.

Rokkonsogi

A dash attack where Baiken runs forward gets a slash, and appears behind in one move. A follow-up to Azami, Kabari, or Suzura.

Yashagatana

A move where Baiken pulls out a gun, used after  Azami or Suzuran.  

Tsubaki

Moves forward while Baiken before performing a mid-air slash spin and uses after Azami in the air.

Ouren

Leaps across the distance and somersaults behind the enemy for a slash in the back, used after midair Azami.

Kikyou

Baiken’s downward slash in midair can be used on the ground, leaping first and then using the move.

Tetsuzansen

A moveset has two different methods of combat. In Accent Core R, Baiken would thrust her sword into the air and perform a spin slash diagonal. In Xrd, Baiken stomps on the ground so hard that she uses Ki as a pillar and is a follow-up after Kabari. 


Hiiragi



One of Baiken’s new moves, in the move of a parry. When an opponent hits Baiken, she grabs them and aggressively slams them to the ground for heavy damage. The parry can even repel attacks for distance, but can be punished by throws and projectiles due to the shot window.


Hamawari

Baiken rush grabs the enemy, leaps in the air, and head drops them so hard they spin through the air multiple times. Used as a follow-up to Kabari.

Youzansen

Baiken’s central aerial move is where she slashes through the air with a bladed fan-like sword. Spins in the air and can be used on the ground.



Baku


Baiken’s Force Break, or combo breaker, Baku makes the enemy stagger back thanks to the red kanji. The move can go further by advancing to Baku XXX, which gets a hanafuda card to disable the enemy’s movement for about 14 seconds.


Here are the three different types of Baku XXX:


  • Sakura (桜): Disables dashing, back dashing, or jumping


  • Tsuki (月): Forces the enemy into a counter-hit state, increasing damage received by Baiken.


  • Tsuru (鶴): Prevents blocking Baiken’s upcoming attack.

Tsurane Sanzu-watashi

Also named Tsurane Zanzuwatashi, Sanzu-watashi is Baiken’s most popular Overdrives, slashing three times resembling the moon. In Epic Seven, Baiken adds three bleed effects and gets an extra turn when getting a critical hit.


Metsuda Kushoudou

Another Overdrive where Baiken uses her grapples to hook onto the fighter and turns into a slingshot for a powerful slash.


Kenjyu

An Overdrive pulls out a gun like Indiana Jones and fires out fireworks that shoot in the air.




Koubouissen

Also called Beam of Light Brandish, Koubouissen is Baiken’s Super Special Move during her appearance in 2019’s Samurai Shodown. Baiken stuns the opponent by hitting them with Regret’s hilt, then runs at her target, slashes them, and makes them drop to the floor once her sword is sheathed.





Tate Shunmaku

Before becoming a super move, Tate Shunmaku was Baiken’s first Instant Kill. Instant Kills are the highlights of Guilty Gear, the finishing move to immediately take the win. In the first Guilty Gear, Baiken couches down to dash right behind the enemy. Sheathing her sword, the foe launches in the air and slices multiple times as gravity catches up. Tate Shunmaku ends a fight in seconds, where game professionals like Maximilian get DESTROYED by Baiken.




Garyou Tensei

The final move of Baiken’s fighting and her most iconic finisher. Baiken rushes past the opponent, cutting them unharmed before sheathing her place. Just then, for the foe to spill blood seconds later, dropping to the ground. How both teleport to different locations is beyond thinking, but it is so cool to watch. In Epic Seven, Baiken multiplies the damage based on bleed effects on the enemy and gains Combat Readiness, including allies, which is increased when getting a critical hit. 


Escanor

 Note: The movesets explored will be in Grand Cross mobile, so all gameplay functions bold will receive a bulletin point to explain its mechanic in order. To avoid confusion for the reader.

Elegant Blow

Escanor jump drives toward the enemy and slashes the enemy. Deals damage about 264%,300%, or 550% to the enemy and fill the Ultimate Gauge by one or two. 


  • The character’s most potent attack, once charged

Cruel Sun

Escanor throws a sun at the target. Deals 180% or 300% to the enemy and removes Buffs. Can also stack Ignite one or two times for three to four turns.


  • Powerup like strength or evade

  • Burns victim by 10% increase for each stack


The Person Who Stands on The Pinnacle 

Allows Escanor (Green) to remove both buffs and debuffs on himself when his Ultimate Gauge is full. Grants Debuff Immunity. When Legendary, Escanor at the end of the turn applies 1 Eternal Flame for three turns on enemies that have not used a skill during the enemy's turn. If all allies including the Secondary Slot hero are Humans, apply one additional Eternal Flame on all enemies at the start of the allies' turn for 3 turns. The hero's Attack-related stats increase by 5%, up to 30%, for each Eternal Flame applied to enemies. 


  • Immune to debuffs like decreasing strength or bleed

  • Add 15% more damage taken, but maximum stack is four


Blazing Sun

A move where Escanor rises Rhitta as heat erupts from the ground. The attack is Amplified by 180%, 270%, or 450% to one enemy.


  • Increases attack damage dealt by 30% per buff on self

Charge And Fire

Like the manga, Escanor uses Rhitta and unleashes his energy for a mighty wave attack. Can deal damage between 150 or 250% and depletes one or three orbs from Ultimate Gauge.


Hellfire

When Escanor (Red) enters battle, Escanor increases all HP-related stats by 50% at the start of the match for three turns.

Super Slash

Escanor slashes downward with Rhitta so hard his ax glows, presenting the power put into the attack.


Pride Flare

Escanor turns the Cruel Sun into C4 and detonates the heat large enough to evaporate a lake.

Super Slash

Escanor does a 360 spin trick shot to the enemy by cutting. Inflicting Flood for about 200, 300, or 500% to one enemy. 


  • Adds 0.8% of damage for every remaining HP health on self

Supernova 

Escanor straight-up punches the enemy with his aura focused on his fist. The damage inflicted can be between 240, 360, or 600%, equal to Attack.

The One

Gains one Buff effect, increasing all stats by 6% at the start of your turn. Once the effect adds three stacks, Escanor removes all debuffs on himself and gets Debuff Immunity for one turn. After that, the stack buffs are depleted back to one and repeat the cycle.

Divine Spear Escanor

One of the most disrespectful moves ever performed. Escanor pokes the enemy so hard his finger punctures the target.

Burning Spear 

The superior move of Divine Spear Escanor. Burning Spear allows for inflicting Scorch when dealing damage of 200, 300, or 500% of Attack on one enemy.


  • 1.3% additional damage for every percent of remaining HP on self. Further damage is equal to 30% of the final damage to all enemies in battle.

Crazy Prominence

A move where Escanor hurls multiple Cruel Suns at the enemies. While Escanor has used this move in the manga at random, the mobile game shows he can control them. Inflicting Overpower based on Attack damage of 120, 180, or 300% of all enemies.


  • 0.8% additional damage for every percent of HP missing from self. Further damage equals 35% of (Crit Damage - 100%).

Final Flame

Final Flame has two parts. This part will discuss the Character's Unique feature. At the start of the battle, Escanor gets Holy Flame on himself. Increases the hero's damage dealt by 15% after using a skill up to 4 times. The hero's stats do not drop below their values at the start of the battle.

When taking fatal damage, the hero's Attack-related stats increase by 30%.


  • Increases all stats by 4% with each passing turn for five turns.


Punishment 

Escanor’s first Ultimate Attack, where he attacks a single target with an almighty strike. The damage can do 840, 924, 1008, 1092, 1176, or 1260% of attacks. Ignores 100% Critical Resistance. 


Gentleman’s Dignity 

A Combine Attack where Escanor and Merlin team up, destroying an area and then sealing the destruction. The move is a single attack and can do 960, 1056, 1152,  1248, 1344, and 1440% of damage.


  • An ultimate gauge attack where the character teams up with the Association hero (character to increase stats or damage).

Divine Sword Escanor

Escanor’s high noon attack, where he chops so hard he slices the air and cracks his environment. He attacks one target inflicting 720, 792, 864, 936, 1008, or 1080% of damage, and adds more damage with Death.


  • 20% of final damage as additional damage. (Random damage on death) Has a multiplier of 20, 30, 40, 55, 70, or 100%  per Ultimate Level.


Final Prominence

Escanor’s most powerful Ultimate, where he creates his giant version of Cruel Sun and slams it toward the targets. Final Prominence inflicts Immolation damage equal to 500%, 550%, 600%, 650%, 700%, or 750% of Attack on all enemies.

When the hero dies, he removes all effects, fully depletes the Ultimate Move Gauge, then applies 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, or 4 Final Flames. (Survival from other Unique abilities or skills does not apply when dying.)


  • 0.2% additional damage for every percent of the hero's remaining HP, and

0.2% additional damage for every percent of the hero's diminished HP.

  • The second part of the Final Flame. The hero's HP is fixed at 1, becoming immune to all effects. 1 Final Flame is removed when taking damage during the enemy's turn or when the hero uses a skill, and the hero dies after all Final Flame effects are removed.



Forms

Baiken


Baiken has no transformation, so let's skip to the next combatant. 

Escanor

The One

Look at the time. When the sun is closest to Escanor, he receives Sunshine at full power—becoming “The One” with his grace. For one minute, Escanor can unleash his might on foes. Merlin best summarizes Escanor’s form as “the invincible incarnation of power,” which grants him invincibility like Super Sonic. The condition is Escanor’s full potential of Sunshine as he can go toe to toe with Meliodas and The Demon King at their peak. In Grand Cross, The One is a Speed Attribute focusing on fast, powerful attacks to add damage based on his HP.


The downside is once that minute is up, he loses his invincibility, and Sunshine degrades Escanor’s power as the sun goes down.


“The One” Ultimate Escanor 

Should the fate of his pride and loved ones be at stake, Escanor activates his trump card to risk it all. By fueling Sunshine with his life force, the man evolves “The One” into the Fire of Life: Ultimate Escanor. Escanor keeps his powers from the previous form but maintains a longer timeframe. Ultimate Escanor also multiplies his strength beyond anything seen in the series, where he was single-handedly beating the Demon King and might have won if not for Meliodas and the Sins’ assistance.


In Grand Cross, Ultimate Escanor is one of the game's best characters because of his aggressive damage abilities based on his HP. His moves depend on health status, increasing the damage thanks to his untouchable stat and skills on every foe with Scorch or Overpower. 


Sadly, this is a one-time use as Escanor loses his life after the exchange of transforming as Ultimate Escanor.

Before We Get to Feats


There are factors to point out in how the achievements and successes will be presented. Guilty Gear is already a hurdle with its confusing stories, but it also had “multiverse” ending events to add to the boot. Escanor did have easier scaling and calculations to add from his series… until the Mobile Game added exclusive content, including fighting gods of Norse Mythology. And adds “creative” changes from the original, like the World Serpent being an earthquake rather than a snake. Don't think about it too much.


So, here is how the work shall be done. Both will gain their respective scalings to the universes contributing to the stories first. Meaning Baiken will get her multiverse feats as proven accountable achievements. While Escanor can scale to the enemies he fought and his upcoming challenger Thor. The Norse scaling only stands accomplished by the religion itself and its original stories, so no fictional views of the mythology foretold like Marvel nor God of War. 


And that's it. Let's get to the center of the blog.


Feats

Baiken

Overall

  • Survived the Crusade destroying her village and begun the long journey of vengeance

  • Became the secret boss during the Second Sacred Order Tournament (GG1)

  • Fought Justice, Slayer, and That Man, living to fight another day

  • Stalemated Ky Kiske (Xtra)

  • Killed many high level gears over her career

  • Achieve the many following feats the entire cast has done:

    • Defeating Testament and Dizzy in GGX

    • Killed Megadeth Gears Leopaldon (GG Isuka) and Gig (GG Dust Strikers)

    • And murdered Inus and Judgment (GG Judgment)

  • Defeated in many path endings: I-No, Anji, Robo-Ky, Johnny, and Pokemkin

  • In non-canon endings, killed I-No and discovered the existence of Post-War Administration Bureau

  • In canon fought Answer and Bedman (Xrd Rev2 and Strive)

  • Protected the Kum Haehyun alongside May and Answer (Xre Rev2)

  • Saved Delilah from destroying a city of Illyria with outside help (Strive)

  • Crossover to many worlds including Samurai Shodown 2019, Brave Frontier, Chain Chronicle 3, #COMPASS, Last Period, Crusaders Quest, Epic Seven, Elemental Story, Code Shifter, The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match Online, and The King of Fighters All-Star.

  • One of Maximilian Dood’s favorite characters in gaming 


Power


Speed



Durability

 


Escanor

Overall

  • Joined the Seven Deadly Sins and became the strongest member of the group on many adventures 

  • In his youth killed many demons and lived on his own for many years

  • Killed the Vampire King Izraf while liquifying the entire castle they fought in

  • Saved Ban and his party from the Commandments Galand and Melascula

  • Charged in the frontline assault in the events of the New Holy War

  • Helped Elizabeth and the Seven Deadly Sins kill the Demon King

  • Traveled to Norse Mythology and foreshadowed to fight Thor near the future in Grand Cross

  • Defeated Meliodas, Mael/Estarossa, Zeldris, Derocchio, Izraf, Galand, Melascula, and The Demon King

  • Interacted with crossover collabs including: TenSura, King of Fighters ’98, Attack on Titan, Stranger Things (It happened), Shield Hero, Jobless Reincarnation, Overlord, and Tower of God

  • Ranked number 4 in the popular poll for his series since debut, and one of the most played characters in Grand Cross

  • One of Nux Taku’s favorite characters in anime

Power


Note: While crossovers/non canon events would most likely be excluded , Grand Cross gets an expectation because of Lillia’s added content throughout the mobile game despite not being debuted in the manga. (Basically getting the Android 21 treatment) 


  • Fought The Demon King at full power, who could cast a death spell on a city and was going to destroy all of Britannia by becoming one with the land. Britannia was stated to be based on the country of the United Kingdom, which the fanbook supports.

  • Going to fight the God of Thunder, Thor, who in mythology killed the world-sized snake Jormungand and destroy mountains and giants on the daily

  • Fought the following monsters in Norse mythology:

    • Hraesvelgr, the shapeshifting eagle who creates wind itself

    • Eikthyrnir, a stag that can eat parts of Yggdrasil itself

    • Skoll and Hati, wolf that changes night and day until RAGNAROK swallowing the sun and moon

    • And Nidhoggr, a dragon that eats the roots of Yggdrasil


Speed



Durability




Weaknesses

Baiken

Let’s overcome the apparent flaws, so cue the Mighty Python jokes here. 


Baiken may have been in the original roster of her series, yet she has gotten the least amount of appearances booted now to DLC. Yes, Baiken has mastered her fighting despite losing her arm and eye to take on the best of Guilty Gear. But when you fight against humans and magical Gears that can erase you from existence or nuke your whole culture in seconds, EVERY advantage matters. And this flaw is shown in Baiken’s gameplay since her Obi-Wan fighting style of waiting for openings for combos gives her minimal range offense. Her demon tools prove the claim when Ky moves the fighting into a forest, making her weapons linear. Many gaming experts who played Baiken have ranked her as close to the worst defensive/stun characters of the cast over her years of playability.  


Her biggest weakness is her characteristics. Baiken was still a child who lost everything in one night. So much trauma from the event made her extremely antisocial, which only Anji and Delilah took a long time to tolerate at best. Being a warrior worsens it since Baiken is impulsive and stubborn, often taking principles of action instead of critical thinking. Lastly, she accepts her faith in death and the consequences of her efforts to do anything to achieve her goals.




Escanor

Out of all the members of The Seven Deadly Sins to officially die first, it had to be the best chad of the entire team. 


Escanor is, without a doubt, the Superman of his universe, but one who never could control his powers. He allocated Sunshine back to Mael because Escanor was a human who could never maintain an ability meant for divinity. Once he activates the full power of Sunshine as “The One” Ultimate Escanor, his death is sealed. His body becomes the wax of the candle. Sunshine is also a flaw in its conditions based on environmental changes, as Escanor is weakest at night or the sun is blocked by the atmosphere. Enemies have manipulated the sky to counter Escanor. 


Escanor himself is the biggest hurdle as well. It’s in his title. His arrogance has him confirmed as being the most muscular man over his head, willing to let his foes go full power before blitzing with his skills and passion. The only time this bit him in the sass was when he lost his only fight against Meliodas to decide if Escanor would join the team. But, Esacnor’s years of loneliness and poems were rewarded with a lover and a family he was proud of having. And in his final moments, Escanor made sure the Seven Deadly Sins would continue their lives happily as they disbanded, his last poem of giving thanks for his sun to shine as he gives the torch to Sunshine’s next successor for their new adventures. 




Summary

Baiken

“Inquisition! Judgment! The Law of the Emperor!

Vengeance unleashed inevitably throughout the lowest levels of Hell!

Pay the respects to the Palace of Yama,

Pay the respects to the Palace of Yama...”


Advantages:

  • Close to even in strength and durability, but takes the categories should Grand Cross be excluded 

  • Faster thanks to Instant Kills and Scaling

  • More versatile in weaponry 

  • Could resist Escanor’s Aura for a while

  • Regret would be unaffected by Sunshine

  • Baku is still influential on Escanor before he gets serious 

  • Has the skills and power to force Escanor to go Ultimate

  • Guilty Gear soundtracks rocking so hard

  • Satomi Koorogi, Miho Sudou, Chizu Yonemoto, Mayumi Asan, Patty Mattso, Seonhye Jeong, and Bona Kim

  • Maximilian Dood



Disadvantages:

  • Lacks the endurance and healing is pointless 

  • Does not have the range nor destructive power 

  • Escanor can still harm Baiken 

  • Demon Tools could plausibly melt by Sunshine

  • Has to struggle against Escanor’s invincible immunity 

  • Ultimate Escanor’s abilities makes him more difficult to kill

  • Can lose her weapon and have to retrieve, unlike Escanor

  • Came from the series that tested Wiz and Boomstick’s friendship 

  • From the original roster to DLC (seriously, how and why)

  • The terrible habit of smoking and drinking, yet understandable 



Escanor

"My mighty attacks cannot reach thee? And who decided that? My blazing sun was swallowed up by a speck of darkness? And who decided that? The only one who gets to decide such things is me."


Advantages:

  • Including Grand Cross “could” closely match Baiken’s strength and duration…

  • His battles show him to have better endurance and heal himself while countering Baiken’s healing methods

  • Abilities like Cruel Sun gives superior range and destruction

  • Aura and holy fire is very effective against Baiken

  • Escanor can be argued to melt Baiken’s Demon Tools

  • Escanor gains invincible and immunity for one minute as The One

  • Ultimate Escanor gives a more extended timeframe and is harder to take down

  • He never has to worry about losing his weapon

  • Tomokazu Sugita and Kyle Hebert

  • A high seat of the Black Air Force

  • Just him, beating the sh!t out of Perfect Cell, for two minutes 

  • Nux Taku



Disadvantages:

  • … But without Grand Cross, utterly destroyed in power and duration

  • Quick, but not way near faster than Baiken

  • Does not have a lot of weapons 

  • Baiken resist his aura at the start

  • Baiken’s sword is safe from being melted

  • Baku could still affect him until The One activates

  • Baiken can push him to the limit of going Ultimate Escanor

  • Escanor dies after using his ultimate form

  • No Nipples?  

  • May be a god, but not a Symbol 

  • Studio DEEN, they deserved this mention like their god awful animation


Verdicts


CEWinick


It's Time For A Verdict!


So, the interesting thing about the matchup, I didn't plan it. It was an accident. I have loved playing Grand Cross for years after its launch as a fun mobile game. Escanor is hands down my favorite character of 7DS because of his charming characteristics and pure definition of manly badass. He’s on par with Broly for being so darn cool. And I am surprised he doesn't have a lot of matchups for him. Besides Escanor vs. Whitebeard, a unique Pirate vs. Knight fight, he didn't have a genuine challenger that felt just right. Then, I listened to Guilty Gear music and found Mirror of The World. This song made the decision clear and made Baiken the perfect matchup; their stories and character are almost the same. While I am not a hardcore fan of Guilty Gear, I enjoyed the content and honestly love Baiken for the same reasons. 


To the point: The battle was another close call. It all came down to question two factors. Skills and abilities, who will be the last man standing? And can Baiken survive against Ultimate Escanor? So let’s quickly summarize.


The fight between the prideful mirrors of light was complicated to decide. The problem was finding their maximum potential following the stories and their worldbuilding. And, oh boy, was that pain on Baiken’s part. It was crazy enough with her fights against those who can punch you out of the Milky War or nuke a target. Which was great for feats… Then came The Backyard. The biggest hurdle was the larger alternative universe and exploring the primary magic system to determine the statements held together. While Sol and Justice have stated to “collapse their universe” if they stopped existing, there was no solid evidence of any character having that level of universe-destroying power. Until I-No fought Sol and warped time and space itself, conforming to power level, Baiken can match thanks to her stalemate against Ky in the manga Xtra. Even if that fight is debated, her victories against I-No and Robo-Ky are backed up to support scaling to Sol and Ky.


How does Escanor compare to Baiken? Well, it's debatable. What is saving the Lion Sin from getting clapped in stats is the mobile game-exclusive content. Without getting to the detail, Escanor could ideally be close to matching strength and durability in scaling to Norse Mythology. But, Baiken is still faster. None of the Seven Deadly Sins could show the light speed of Justice and Jacko going to outer space in seconds. Even if Escanor gets scaled from crossover characters like Rimuru, who is FTL, and Norse beasts Skoll and Hati, Baiken defeats a guitar woman who warped time and space in a single fight within a short time. Baiken also matches Escanor in skills since both are experienced fighters with years of mastery and fought foes who destroyed them in training and thousands of battle expeditions. But Escanor sadly can not fully scale to Mael because of following the story structure since Mael has superior control of his powers and long training. Two big examples of Escanor never using Sunshine is create pocket realms or shooting light beams. And while he killed Izraf, who had reality-warping abilities, Escanor was nowhere close to what Baiken had fought.


Baiken has the stats and skills to give Escanor the challenge of his pride, but Sunshine gives a different story. His abilities of the sun allow Escanor a comeback, thanks to making his body a destructive tank. Throwing miniature suns grants him more range firepower, his aura is so hot it burns those close to him, he can heal himself while canceling Baiken’s healing options, and he becomes invincible for one minute. And the timeframe, like waiting til night, does not matter since he just uses his lifeforms to go Ultimate, making his Holy Fire harder to kill. Baku could still work on Escanor since Gowther has affected the body, including movement, but Baiken weapons and magic all rely on getting up close and personal. And her weapons could be argued to melt from the heat by Escanor. Escanor also has insane stamina taking on high-level demons despite the pain and magic system.


So again, can Baiken make Escanor go ultimate and live through the fire and flame? Have to go with a yes.


The holy fire will seriously injure Baiken since it differs from his magic to information flares, but she has the critical counters she needs. For starters, Baiken can force Ultimate Escanor to come out. Since the Demon King forced him to activate Ulitmate in the main story and made him bleed while The One was active. Neither Gods by The Demon King nor Supreme Deity showed the raw power contrast to those in Guilty Gear. Baiken also is still faster and can use her bursts, force breaks, and weapons to maintain better openings. But the most significant factor of Baiken’s victory call is her resilience. Her moment of saving Delilah gave essential details of tolerating powerful information flare fields that show her body unfazed. Regret was the only weapon seeable to confirm it could resist pressure that could atomize one to dust, unlike the eyepatch. Again, her clothes were never affected by the effects, proving the small facts matter. It also shows her body should endure Escanor’s fire long enough to get an Instant Kill. Even if Escanor uses his Final Flame, Baiken can use Instant Kills like Tate Shunmaku to use them up or let Escanor kill himself since he still uses the flame upon action. 


In conclusion, Baiken would allow the remaining warrior to come out on top with tolerance and by the samurai code.


There were a lot of holes to decipher the victor of these warriors of light. The fight can go either way because it is an armed samurai against a tanker knight. And in terms of power, both can be argued to almost match each other. The main word is almost. Baiken had some crucial advantages to turn in her favor. Being faster is a big one since she can get the openings to parry Escanor’s offense. Baiken will have trouble adjusting to Escanor's abilities and holy fire from Sunshine, but she has already proven she can match and most highly overpower the lion. It would be a hard battle, especially when Escanor enters his second boss phase. However, Baiken excelled in having the resistance and weapons to get one Instant Kill to set the match. And having her primary weapon not melted is all Baiken needs to take down the strongest holy knight in a final draw of respect, illuminating the moon over the sun. 


Escanor brought the cruelest sunshine to make himself a man lightning the day, but Baiken had the speed, arsenal, and flaring counters to put the lion to rest. Giving the Samurai-slinging Slasher a warrior worthy of fighting and reflecting the world's mirror.


The lion sin may sadly never “Esca”pe fate, at least he won his pride and brought ho”Nor.” All thanks to a ghost who said good-Bai and put to rest her own Ken of vengeance.


The winner is Baiken!


Author’s Ending Note

My fourth blog is done within my third year of making predictions. Happy with the progress and hope you enjoy the blogs so far. I am excited to making each one with passion and respect to the series that brought joy to myself as an audience. Thank you for reading, and Next Time will be a special fight for the fifth prediction blog.
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