Special Forces: Showdown

None. Because a squad of Space Marines would wipe the floor with all of them. 😜

I will need some time to think about this. In a 1v1 match, the winner of an actual fight would probably come down to whoever attacks first. In a free-for-all, it would probably come down to whoever gets luckiest, or whoever gets ignored during an initial skirmish.

During the Reaper Wars I believe N7 took in other races to train them right?  Rachni do have elite broods apparently haha.  

I do think location is a big deal.  Assuming a level playing field though, I think N7 comes out on top. Also numbers do play a role, but I wanted just a standard squad vs squad; obviously races like the Drell Assassins would have fewer people in a squad.  Style of fighting is different for each one, which makes this interesting.  

I voted STG because they would find a way to sabotage their opponents before the fighting ever started.

Also Hunk would wipe the floor with all of them, because no one can keep down the Grim Reaper or get in the way of his extraction point,not even Mr X. 😉

In modern militaries, special forces are the best soldiers in the world. They have gone through a rigorous selection process, and are given the best training and equipment. In the Mass Effect universe, the various special forces units are much the same, but with more 'space magic'.

I find the question of "which race's special forces unit would win in a tournament" hard to judge because how would you construct such a tournament?

TOURNAMENT SETUP:
In the opening post, the tournament rules include "Assume Squad v Squad scenarios". This rule infers that it will be a bracket tournament system, not a series of "team versus environment" scenarios that would be scored by time or a panel of judges.

So we would have to assume that these would be non-lethal team-versus-team combat scenarios, similar to paintball. So this assumes an Armax Arsenal Arena or Pinnacle Station virtual combat arena with non-lethal firearms. The rules also state "Take into account weapon differences if any" so these would have to take into account non-lethal rounds or non-lethal weapon replicas. I repeatedly state "non-lethal" because it is assumed that such a tournament was designed to avoid injuries and death as much as possible while remaining fiercely competitive.

One slight change I have to make: I will only consider 8 of the 10 given units for this tournament. Using only eight units allows for a three-round bracket without needing to figure out first-round or second-round byes. Therefore, I will remove two of the following units:

• Drell Assassins, on the grounds that one race cannot compete on behalf of another race (in this case, the Hanar)
• Geth Primes, on the grounds that since Artifical Intelligence banned in Citadel space, the Geth are prohibited from competing in the tournament. (Note that Batarians are not a Citadel species any more, but we can fudge their inclusion.) NOTE: It should be noted that Legion was considered a unique platform hosting over a thousand programs. It is unclear if one Geth Prime platform = one Geth program, especially if we want to limit unit size to 12.
• Rachni Brood Warriors, on the grounds that none exist anymore.

Of the preceeding three units, I will eliminate Geth Primes and Rachni Brood Warriors from the tournament.

One last thing: Matchups will be based on the order that teams appear in the poll.

ASSUMPTIONS:
One assumption I will have to make is unit size. We will have to assume that all units are restricted to the same number of soldiers, no more or less.

Another assumption I will make: in each tournament match, each team will be at their best. I make this assumption to avoid the 'luck factor'. It also allows me to assume that the winner will be the same for a single-elimination as it would be for a best-of/first-to series.

Another assumption: Since I made a previous assumption that such a tournament would be as non-lethal as possible, we will assume that any use of biotics would be banned or strictly limited in how they are to be used in the tournament. Since biotics can potentially injure or kill an opponent, biotics would have to be banned or strictly limited to prevent injury or death of an opponent.

One last assumption: Like biotics, tech would also have to be limited to non-lethal uses.


ROUND 1:
1. Alliance N7 -versus- Asari Commandos

With biotics restricted or banned, the Asari Commandos are entering into the tournament at a disadvantage. The Alliance N7 would also have some biotics in the unit, but only a few members would be affected by this rule.

Some tech-heavy users may also be affected by strict tech limits, but these restrictions should affect the Alliance N7 more than it would the Asari Commandos.

The Asari have much more vast experience than the human Alliance squad, measuring experience in centuries instead of years.

WINNER: Alliance N7. The N7 unit are able to overcome the biotic and tech restrictions, but the biotic restrictions prove to be too detrimental to the Asari Commandos


2. Batarian SIU -versus- Krogan Aralakh Company

The Batarians are essentially a third-world, uh,... world, having cut themselves off from the rest of the galaxy. As a result, the Batarians would lack proper resources for training that would be on par with other races, even the Krogan. While Krogan would be more reckless, even non-lethal replicas of their weapons would be devastating. This would be a one-sided fight.

WINNER: Krogan Aralakh Company. (For the record, I think all other units in this tournament would beat the Batarians.)


3. Salarian STG -versus- Turian Blackwatch

A Turian Blackwatch unit would have few biotics if any, since biotic Turians tend to be put into their own Cabal units. Turians are a more militaristic society, with mandatory military service. This mentality permeates their entire society, with the Turian Blackwatch being exemplary examples of Turian military might.

Salarian STG's motto is to win a fight before it even begins. However, that philosphy is impossible in a bracket-style tournament such as this one. Restrictions on tech would also likely hinder the Salarian STG unit more than the Turian Blackwatch unit. The Salarian STG is more capable at fighting than some people give them credit for, but in this bracket, they pulled a bad matchup.

WINNER: Turian Blackwatch.


4. Drell Assassins -versus- Quarian Migrant Fleet Marines

The Hanar-trained Drell Assassins have been trained since childhood in all matter of combat. While assassins typically operate alone instead of a group, it is not inconceivable that they would occasionally fight as a unit when needed. However, acting as a unit is not their standard method of operation.

The Quarian marines on the other hand, are trained as a unit, going up against Geth, pirates, and slavers. Their weakened immune system will not be a factor in this tournament, but the tech restrictions will hurt Quarians more than the Drell.

The biotic restrictions are more likely to hurt the Drell than the Quarians, but it is unclear how many Drell are biotic. Biotic Quarians are extremely rare almost to the point of non-existence.

WINNER: Quarian Migrant Fleet Marines. The Quarians are used to training fighting more as a unit than the Drell, which gave them the edge in this matchup.


ROUND 2:
1. Alliance N7 -versus- Krogan Aralakh Company

After an easy first-round matchup, the Krogan are now pitted against a more difficult opponent. Aralakh Company remain the same reckless, fearless group they always are, but now they are up against a better trained, better equipped, and better disciplined group in the Alliance N7.

Despite the tech and biotic handicap, the Alliance N7 unit is more disciplined than the Krogan, and would exploit the reckless behavior of the Krogan unit.

WINNER: Alliance N7


2. Turian Blackwatch -versus- Quarian Migrant Fleet Marines

Battle of the Dextro units! The Quarians would have an edge in tech, but Turians outmatch the Quarians in every other category. This match was never really a contest.

WINNER: Turian Blackwatch.



ROUND 3 (FINAL ROUND):
Alliance N7 -versus- Turian Blackwatch

It is a First Contact War/Relay 314 Incident rematch/re-enactment. Who will win? It is a close match, but the Alliance N7 is hampered by the tech and biotic restrictions, and Turian society gives the Turian Blackwatch unit a native edge in unit cohesiveness.

WINNER: Turian Blackwatch

Nice.  Question though, I get that you can assume non-lethality.  But that is no reason to exclude the most powerful biotics or tech.  Under an arena simulation, the most powerful biotics or tech would still work, just as a non-lethal simulation.

I would totally do a 10 team bracket as I did above because the Arena is just a simulation and so could indeed simulate Rachni and Geth.  I also think that The Alliance N7 have come a long way since the Contact War.  So yes Turians are more disciplined as a whole, but in terms of tech and biotics, Alliance have caught up.  N7 also has more flexibility and better utilization of combined squad roles in their tactics (as opposed to putting biotics in "Cabal" units and not using them in tandem with the Blackwatch)

I do think the Batarian SIU, judging from the success of their methods via the Blue Suns, would be a very hard challenge for even the Turian Blackwatch.  I agree that 1v1 Turian Blackwatch operative outclasses SIU.  I agree also that equal members of squad vs squad SIU loses too b/c Blackwatch would be far better pound for pound.  SIU is interesting b/c I suspect that they would show up with more guys though, in any given situation.

Out of all the special forces, I think the Batarians have found a way to come as close as possible to mass producing Special Forces.  Even in the real world, nobody can do that.  But the success of the Blue Suns hints that the SIU has the potential to train more people than all the others.  Which in a realistic scenario, there would be a smaller number of Turian Blackwatch operatives versus SIU.  The outcome then would be in doubt.  Turians might have more reliable weaponry, but Batarian State Arms really packs a punch.  It would come down to just how much force can the SIU bring to the field to overwhelm the Blackwatch.  Interesting thought.