Another "Villain" Poll

[Donut]

Ok this poll is bascially the same idea as The Shadow Knight's thread about Knight's Kingdom villain. I thought it be interesting to hear what you guys have to say seeing how well everyone defended their argument. Without futher ado, the question is: Who in your opinion is the stronger of the two: Majisto or the Necromacer. They both control dragons and they both have an army. An advanced thanks for participating.

[Odysseus]

Was Majisto a villain?

I am not asking because I disagree, I just simply do not know.

Jonathan

[Adam]

I chose the Necromancer because he has a horde of undead warriors! did Majisto even have any troops?

[Blixen]

I voted the necromancer as well because of his army. His dragon is also bigger and everyone knows your power is determined by how big your dragon is!

[Count Blacktron]

Well, the Necromancer has bigger dragons and he can make his army bigger after each conquest...

[Damien]

I never viewed Majisto as a villain, so I guess I have to default to the Necrowussy. But all things being equal, Necro is probably the stronger of the two. Larger dragons (I consider the original LEGO Dragons to be 'drakes' just to draw some distinction now), and undead warriors. Let's face it, an army of skeletons and (possibly) trolls is infinitely tougher and generally more resilient than an army made of normal 'humans.'

A man who can walk at the head of a legion of animated skeletons is going to pretty much mow down anyone in his way. Barring the occasional Greek or Quasi-European hero type, that is. Haha.

[architect]

I am currently voting for Majisto. He was always popping up everwhere in sets. Does the new magician have a house, a shop, a chariot, a castle, a cart, headgear in three accessory packs, a magnet figure, and his own keychain? No, but Majisto/Merlin has all of this.

Ben

[Donut]

My apologies you guys, I should have clarified as to why I categorized Majisto as a villain. I was thinking in the perspective of the Black Knights, who are Majisto's rival.

[ottoatm]

Haven't decided yet... In some way, I am not yet impressed by the new wizard necromancer, although I do agree with Damien's points... however, I also am not sure that Majisto is an evil wizard, although I know TLG portrayed him that way at least occasionally, and maybe always...

... thinking, thinking....

[Escape The Fate]

Personally I really like the necromancer. Majisto is alright, but the necromancer, is totally more powerful. Besides his staff has lightning shooting ouf of it, and not some little wand with a star at the end of it.

[Sibley]

Majisto's role was always really ambiguous. Sometimes he controlled the dragon and the Dragon Masters were trying to stop him. Other times the Dragon Masters were his army in addition to the dragon. The similarity between the shield designs of the Black Knights and Dragon Masters made me think they're allied or related, so Majisto's relationship with the Black Knights depends on his relationship with the Dragon Masters.

Either way, control of a dragon generally puts one square into the "villain" category unless one uses said dragon to oppose some other, more obviously evil force. Because no such force existed concurrently with Majisto, I'd say he's a villain. (The Wolfpack and Dark Forestmen are petty thieves; neither the Black Knights nor the Royal Knights have the arcane power necessary to be more obviously evil than a dracomancer. The Fright Knights are the first faction that could make Majisto good, though they never coexisted and thus could be allied for all we know. Vladek and the Necromancer likewise make Majisto look like Santa Claus.)

All that just to argue that Majisto is, in fact, a villain; a point which is ultimately irrelevant to the discussion at hand, namely: which villain is more powerful? In fact, the entire argument could have been avoided merely by asking which wizard, or which magic-user, is more powerful, rather than which villain. But debates have a life of their own, and each in turn seeks its own resolution.

Now, onto the question that we have taken upon ourselves: Which magic-user is more powerful? Our first task should be to determine what it means for one to be more powerful. The obvious choice is to say that the more powerful one should be able to do at least one thing the other can't, or do more easily at least one thing the other can, without being unable to do anything the weaker can with the same amount of ease. However, it is easy to see that this metric would not necessarily imply that either is more powerful; the lion cannot match the house-rat's ability to hide in the walls, but only a fool would say that the lion is not more powerful.

It is also tempting to compare the two by their accomplishments; one might argue that the villain who conquered more lands, swayed more hearts and minds, and held his throne the longest was the more powerful. Unfortunately, this attractive approach largely ignores historical context; although both wizards fought against highly-organized royal armies, differences in local population, religion, underground resistance movements (Majisto's exact relationship with the Wolfpack is unknown), and even royal family makeup (notably the Necromancer's kidnapping of the Crown Princess) all affect the respective successes or failures of the wizards in question.

To truly judge in the abstract the relative powers of these two magic-users is nearly impossible, and highly subjective. It is impossible to force either into the other's historical situation, and though it may be interesting to wonder how the Necromancer might handle the cloak-and-dagger politics of the Wolfpack and the Dark Forest, it is largely a futile exercise. Thus I shall abstain from voting.

[Odysseus]

I voted for the Necromancer because he seems more evil. He has a skeleton army, dragons, a skull fortress, and evil-looking colors. To me, Majisto is not menacing. Sure he leads a faction and controls dragons, but that does not make him bad. He seems tame to me.

Jonathan

[ottoatm]

I haven't checked the sets so I'm not sure, but does Majisto control more dragons than the Necromancer's huge two dragons? Not sure if that would make a difference or not...

[Jojo]

Hello!

I haven't checked the sets so I'm not sure, but does Majisto control more dragons than the Necromancer's huge two dragons? Not sure if that would make a difference or not...

There are two large dragons in the current Castle line. And there are three smaller green dragons in the former Dragon Masters line.

Majisto didn’t controll an army of undead, but he had an army of living men. Personally I never encountered any undead but I’m pretty sure they have their own weak spot, too. Maybe sunlight, maybe water, maybe fire. There must be something to stop them. At least undead don’t have any will nor intelligence, they only react to their masters will. That’s the huge advantage of human beings (alive): They are able to think and make decisions. So Majisto, if he is the chief of the dragon masters, can rely upon the intelligence of his soldiers, while the Necromancer has to controll and plan everything himself. If he makes a mistake (and since he IS human he likely makes mistakes) there’s nobody to make up for it.

Controlling dragons isn’t that easy, either. They in fact have their own freewill, and they don’t care much for the will of their masters but rather care for treasures. So even if Majisto and the Necromancer put spells upon them to controll them they are not entirely loyal to their masters. Thus controlling dragons is a risk.

In summa I’d say: The Necromancer appears to be more powerfull, having an army of undead and two scary dragons, but he doesn’t have that much wisdom. Majisto, not necessarily a villain, does not try to controll unnatural power like undead. For me that seems to be wiser, and I hold wisdom over sheer power.


Bye
Jojo

[Sir Kohran]

Reminds me of a Gandalf vs. Majisto poll a few years ago

Majisto/Merlin was never developed beyond a basic wizard with some magic powers. He was implied to be the leader of the Dragon Masters and the enemy of both the Black Knights and perhaps also the Royal Knights. He appears to have defeated the black Knights, because after Majisto/The Dragon Masters' introduction in 1993, no more Black Knight sets were produced. However, Royal Knight sets continued to be produced after the Dragon Masters disappeared (1996), so presumably Majisto was defeated by the Royal King. So whilst he definitely had power, he was not that great.

The Evil Wizard is quite an ambiguous villain; we don't really know anything about him other than his magical power, the dragons he controls and the skeletons he has to serve him. As the year's not over yet, we have no idea what happens to him and his forces, so maybe this question is best left alone for now.

- Matt