Top 15 Military Commanders From The Wheel of Time

[@wadefan06]

Mat and Demandred are undoubtedly the best but I don't think anyone ever did more with less than Ituralde.

[@Siansonea]

Demandred is a JOKE. One key aspect of military strategy is Know Thine Enemy. Demandred shows up on the Fields of Merrilor calling out Lews Therin Telamon to single combat. I guess no one bothered to tell him that the real Last Battle was happening at Shayol Ghul, and 'Lews Therin' was facing off against Ishamael 2.0 with help from Nynaeve and Moiraine (and Thom). Call me a stickler, but if you show up at the wrong battle and the guy you want to fight isn't even there, and some guy who can't even channel ends up killing you because you stupidly thought you were unbeatable in single combat-you're kind of not an impressive military strategist.

[@prestokrs1]

Preach!

[@seanm6667]

@@Siansonea Don't get wrong I agree that Demandred screwed the pooch in the last battle, but it was all out of pure arrogance. The reason he believed that Rand had to be at Merrilor was because he assumed nobody living could possibly see through his strategies and counter his strokes successfully except Lews Therin. He was gonna win eventually that's why Matt needed him dead or it was all over.

[@danielmesser7812]

@@Siansonea don't forget that rand showed himself at each battlefield before going into to face the dark one so as to confuse the forces of Shadow.

[@seanm6667]

@@Rhand007 The other forsaken kept mentioning how Demandred had changed, I'd of liked to know more about him, specifically about what happened with the Sharans. I mean did they're unwavering faith in him warp his mind? Have him believing that he was destined to destroy the dragon? Maybe the dark prophecies led him to the wrong conclusions, we know little about those as well.

[@MetalMeek]

I'm just hear to give Talmanes some love. One of my favorites -- his arc through the Caemlyn battle was so, so good.

[@Zandohaha]

Yeah I loved it, and something that a lot of book series, TV series, movie series etc didn't have the time to do, devote multiple chapters to a somewhat minor side character turning into a complete badass. I was so happy when Talmanes made it through.

[@doc_adams8506]

Talmanes rocks!

[@markodumencic8734]

Rodel Ituralde's thoughts during the last battle and one of my favourites: "This was different. Ituralde wanted to see those beasts dead. He lusted after it. Without them, he’d never have been forced to suffer the nightmare at Maradon. Without them, his hand wouldn’t shake when the horns of war sounded. They’d ruined him. He’d ruin them in return"

[@guitar19971]

That’s such a raw and badass quote. Ituralde is easily one of my favourite secondary characters.

[@benguerne367]

Yess, finally some love for Ituralde. He is imo the most badass person in the whole world of WoT, it's nice to see some appreciation for him.

[@seanm6667]

Fuck yes, for a late comer in the books he was such a badass.

[@samuelhaines617]

Ben Guerne here! Here! Ituralde dominates with subtlety.

[@jacobnugent8159]

He is a realistic character, and you can see the toll that fighting the shadow had on him

[@4LegCrotch]

That man is the Rambo of WoT. Every time he’s backed into a corner or faces insurmountable odds, he just goes full Commando and pulls off a 2000 IQ move

[@vellichor7676]

Give Ituralde and Demandred both an army of 10,000. Put them at a random terrain of twenty square miles. Ituralde is taking it.

[@coreyhouse2647]

Demandred solos the army tho

[@Rellen00]

I doubt it. Not very realistic for how skill as a commander is gotten in WoT.

[@jacobnugent8159]

Take channeling out of the equation then yes

[@ziegfeld4131]

@@jacobnugent8159 no Demandred was leading armies for hundreds of years longer than Ituralde Demandred woukd crush him in hours

[@4LegCrotch]

@@ziegfeld4131 But Demandred is proud to a fault, those hundreds of years have not taken that from him. Iturralde would exploit that for sure

[@ericwhite2658]

This was always one of the best parts of the novels for me, I've always been fascinated with battle tactics and such. One of the few series that does a good job on it but it doesn't over shadow the rest of the storylines.

[@snarfmcgillicutty2616]

Agreed. I love reading those scenes for the battle writing alone.

[@jkhdfkjashdfk]

Ituralde, aka the Little Wolf, was clearly inspired by Napoleon, aka the Little Colonel, who was also renowned for his resourcefulness and made a name for himself in his 20’s both in the field in Italy and in the streets of Paris before making himself leader of France at age 27.

[@alexdownes103]

Surprised not to see Tam Al'Thor on the list bearing in mind Perrin's inclusion. He was second captin of the Illian companians so has experience from the Aiel war, also when he joins up with Perrin he provides good miltary advice and his command and use of two rivers archers in battle was always instrumental, and he does a fine job comanding a large multi-faceted force when Perrin leaves him in charge for the Last Battle. Great list tho.

[@KozarBen]

Greandahl should have been on there. She had to make up the entire battle strategy for all 5 generals under compulsion, make it look like they were doing their best while undermining the forces of the light at the same time.....

[@bruceh9780]

Did she make the battle strategies, or just give the generals the compulsion to make the losing strategies themselves?

[@Wemdiculous]

She only compelled the great captains to sabotage their own plans.

[@ssmmav10]

Wemdiculous ... quite sure that one would need to understand battle tactics to expert level to compel the generals to fail in a way which was not immediately clear I swear Greandahl is terribly underrated by so many fans

[@The_Cakeminator]

Compulsion is about telling someone what to do, not how to do it. It's not a mind control.

[@raghunandans.r8538]

She might've got the plans from demandred and just doing the execution

[@hazardsoftech]

that quote in the background is my favorite in all the books.

[@jobobminer8843]

#0 is Bela. How did you forget her? !

[@TruthWaves22]

Underrated comment. Bela was the homie the whole way through . So sad!

[@matt_9112]

100% hardest hitting death.

[@Zandohaha]

Too soon.

[@chrissnyder9681]

I think this is a great list! Probably as accurate as it could be without seeing more of these generals actually battling each other. As far as other contenders go, I think Bael, Janduin, and various other Aiel clan chiefs are probably just as skilled as Rhuarc, and collectively, the Aiel should be represented higher on the list due to their overwhelming success in the Aiel war. Yulan and Galgan from the Seanchan are compentent tacticians as well. Galad does well leading the whitecloaks. And despite how awful he is, Gawyn leads the Younglings on a ton of successful raids against Bryne’s army. Birgitte successfully withstands a siege in Caemlyn for a while, even though she hates it. And i’ve always thought Graendel would probably be an extremely clever military commander if she ever wanted to be.

[@gator7082]

You read my mind on this list. Characters like Ituralde are what make the WOT series so fantastic. The time we get to spend with some of the side characters is what I find so compelling about this universe. When we are first introduced to him, I had really hoped we would get more of him, and I was not disappointed.

[@JackofDaShadows]

Rhuarc should be giving more credit. He was a beast. Great list though. Love your channel.

[@raylopez7011]

Yea Mat is the man. I love everything about his character and background.

[@MrDrProfessor4]

This is part of why I never thought Wheel of Time would ever get a series. These monstrously huge battles are a lot to ask for, even for the big budget Amazon has given it.

[@TheSharlun]

Well in all honesty, we might not see a single big battle in the first season, besides the first one in the first book, but even that might be overshadowed. Depending on how well it does, it might get a bigger budget and be able to showcase the battles in it's full glory. Game of Thrones was in the same situation, We don't see the first battles, except for the one at the end of season 2. But then it gets a much bigger budget and is able to have as much fun as they want essentially.

[@MrDrProfessor4]

@@TheSharlun Game of Thrones really put a good foot forward. Like it or dislike it, killing off Ned Stark in the season finale gave the show a strong identity. Wheel of Time on the other hand doesn't become decent until the second book. I don't think Eye of The World is bad, but it also isn't notable in any way let alone good. Amazon might not feel confident in this show if season 1 causes too many walk-outs, even if it's not representative of the rest of the series.

[@TheSharlun]

@@MrDrProfessor4 I Loved Game of Thrones, and always will. Killing off Ned Stark was part of the story, and for a season finale it was perfect, I agree. Wheel of Time on the other hand doesn't have that kind of impact early, that's true, it's a different kind of show and a very different story, at least until you get to book 6. But I think season one is going to include both book one and two, and maybe put a big portion of the money into the battle at Falme between the White Cloaks, Seanchan, and the heroes of the Horn. I have high hopes for the Wheel of time show, as many of us do, but we have to face reality and realize that it might not be what we want for the first season, and instead have to support it in order to take off in season two and then hopefully three.

[@andrewstrongman305]

Game of Thrones spent $6 mil or more on every episode, and if done properly The Wheel of Time would have a much larger audience.

[@Aaronsbookreviews]

The Final Battle is going to a tall task. Its has like 100 plus plot relevant characters, and dozens of POVs, over several battle fields.

[@TheRacoonGhost]

i would probably put perin at 15, he is a great leader in the way he gets people to follow him but barely ever se him use any advanced tactics or strategy. i would in no way place him above say Lan and in most situations he relies on Tam's tactical knowhow, tbh you can probably just replace him in the list with Tam al'Thor.

[@AverageAwesomeDude]

Nah man Perrin did some great strategy at Malden, it doesn’t feel as much because he took his sweet time coming up with it but it work off without a hitch. Also the charge against the whitecloaks. Perrin has a damn good feel for battle and terrain planning

[@TheRacoonGhost]

@@AverageAwesomeDude true, didn't consider the whitecloak charge, i would still put him below Lan but maybee not as far down as 15 :P

[@curtisrichards5133]

Completely disagree I would put Perrin higher, when Perrin returns to the two rivers Tam and Abell are struggling to survive in the woods Perrin takes over rescues the prisoners from the whitecloaks immediately then defends the village from the shadow spawn with inferior numbers he takes advice from others as a good commander and integrates it into his own plans

[@anomanderrake9899]

You underestimate the value of a general who commands unwavering loyalty from their soldiers. Julius Caesar was one such commander. At the start of his career, his tactical knowledge was average at best and yet he is one of the greatest military commanders to ever live

[@Tresham1]

I put Ituralde at #2 but I see why you picked Demandred and approve. But damn Ituralde is a consummate badass.

[@kaladin783]

What he did in Maradon is nothing short of incredible

[@jacobnugent8159]

@@kaladin783 it is interesting to see how much that battle took a tool on him

[@Dan-oj5ry]

I like your videos, any chance of making one on the Tower of Ghenjei /Aelfinn and Eelfinn?

[@alanjackson1691]

This channel makes me want to read the books all over again. The manner in which you become immersed in the cultures of the various nations, the building of complete societies and the struggles of the protagonists within those societies was brilliant. Finally finishing the books and reflecting over the massive amount of time involved in reaching that end left me feeling almost "bereft" and adrift after months and months (I tend to read slowly and digest) of immersion in The Wheel of Time. An incredible experience. You're doing a great job. Each list is carefully considered and constructed using the facts of the book and reveal again the significance of the characters actions. I loved the character arcs within the building plotlines and your lists and rankings hold these things up to the spotlight. Yes we may have seen them come about but again some seemingly casual or low key events are major indicators of character maturity and development. Your lists are like refreshers.

[@filam7371]

Same here. I started reading them almost 23 years ago and haven't picked them up since I finished aMoL. I wonder how different they would be for me now at this stage of my life...

[@solidhugo8855]

I finished the books for the first time this morning

[@onlirier2993]

So glad Ituralde placed high. I was worried he'd be underappreciated

[@stefiz]

I just finished the series and I’m rereading already. Excellent list! I love your content. Thank you so much!

[@benhuether5474]

I always saw Tuon as being directly inspired by Emperor Hirohito/Showa of Imperial Japan 🇯🇵, the only Axis leader to remain in power for 64 years without facing the war crimes he committed in WW2. I'm pretty sure Robert Jordan was thinking of UNIT 731 when writing scenes with the Damane and the scene were Rand contemplated destroying the entire Seanchan empire with Balefire is a reference to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

[@benhuether5474]

Just like with Tuon people are very split on Hirohito; some calling him a war criminal who had the power to stop what was happening while others say the Japanese socialist party (like Semirhage) just used his divine image as a ploy and that he had no true position of power, because he wasn’t allowed to be scene in public in order to maintain the allusion of him being a divine descendant of the Sun Goddess (similar to how Tuon is called Daughter of the Nine Moons).

[@jakebishop7822]

I think from what we have seen I would put Ituralde above Demandred, ya Demandred has a great reputation but in essence his only actually feat is losing a battle to a vastly inferior force, granted its a force commanded by Mat so its definitely excusable. Ituralde is consistently genius throughout all his PoV chapters and always uses his forces to maximum efficiency

[@georgeeast5502]

I'm not sure it's accurate to call Mat's force 'vastly inferior' though. Inferior in numbers yes, but everyone who understands warfare to some degree knows numbers isn't everything, especially in Fantasy. Trollocs are fodder troops, that die as soon as their Myrddraal is killed. They have no range or Cavalry either. Outside the comparably small force of Sharans, Demandred has no real professional army to work with. Opposed to this, every single one of Mat's forces was professional armies, with ranged troops, Cavalry, the dragons(cannons) and most importantly, localized generals and soldiers with the ability to think for themselves in the heat of battle. This isn't even addressing the most important force, Channellers. Mat has a staggering advantage here, it's not even close. The forces of Channellers on the Shadows side are Sharans, Dark Ashaman and Black Ajah (The Samma N'sei Aiel are all at Shayol Gul). At most there is around 100 Dark Ashaman(based on Logain and Androls comments, and the total strength of the BT), and less than that of Black Ajah, due to Egwene's purge. The Sharans have around 500 channellers, based on passages from River of Souls and Memory of Light. Also the Aes Sedai alone were able to keep most of the Sharans in check, so they can't have many more than 500. Compare this to the Light which has Asha'man, Aes Sedai, Wise Ones, Sea Folk, Kin and Damane. Being incredibly generous to minimize the Light's numbers, we can say that the Kin didn't take part in the battle, and that 200 Asha'man and 200 Aes Sedai and half of each other force besides the Damane, was at Shayol Gul. Based on the books, that still leaves around 600 Aes Sedai, 600 Asha'man, 100 Sea Folk, at least 800 Wise Ones(Their numbers are very badly explained, based on the Shaido they should have over 3000 Wise Ones, but let's keep it conservative) and 1000 Damane. This is on the low end of their expected numbers, removing hundreds based on a handful of deaths, and ignoring overinflated numbers in earlier books, and it's still a blowout. The Light has nearly 5x more channellers(About 2000 more), being extremely generous to the Shadow, and stingy to the Light. All this combined actually makes it seem like the Shadow is the 'vastly inferior' army, as the only advantage they have is numbers of fodder troops, and that's it. That's their only advantage. The only thing that partially makes up for it is Demandred acting as a human artillery Cannon, but even then, the Shadow is the losing force with two equals as generals imo. Sorry for the long rant, but people don't realize that the last battle was not so one-sided in favour of the Shadow as they think. Also, people tend to forget that without Lan killing Demandred, The Shadow would have triumphed, so Demandred couldn't have been that bad, he just didn't foresee his own demise, and who would? Also, imo Ituralde beats everyone based on his in books feats, even Mat, but lore wise Mat and Demandred are superior.

[@jakebishop7822]

@@georgeeast5502 there arena could problems 1. It requires Mat to not understand warfare for it to be correct. Because he is taking a risky strategy. If he actually has a vastly suoerior force he would just stomp, and call it a day. Or even if he had a somewhat superior force he would take a more straight forward approach. Obviously if that were viable, Mat would not waste lives, and take a hail mary approach, if he can just sit back and have channelers slaughter. Even if it sounds reasonable based on what we know, the way the actual battle goes tells us this is just not right. 2. It somewhat downplays the strength of Demandred, who is probably about 6 times as powerful as the average channeler for the light, and he has a sa angreal amplifying his power about a hundredfold. 3. Assumes as channelers are roughly of equal strength. When all the female channelers in Mat's army except damane are on average quite a lot weaker then Sharan channelers, and they have no forces who are practiced at making male and female combined circles. But really it is just. If Mat's army is actually much better, then why is the last battle a 80k word chapter, full of desperation and hail mary's. It would be a pretty anticlimactic battle of the army of the light is actually much stronger

[@georgeeast5502]

@@jakebishop7822 My point was not that it should have been a one sided stomp for the light, because numbers of fodder troops still matter and the Sharans are a powerful force, but rather that Mat's side is not a 'vastly inferior' force as you said, and the two sides were more equal. You can't change the fact that based on the books themselves, the light's channellers far outnumber the Shadow's many times over. And their quality of ordinary troops is superior. It appears the Light is far stronger based on numbers from the books, and the Shadow is far stronger based on how the tone was written. Ultimately, I think the root problem is that RJ inflated his numbers too much, and then still wanted an underdog battle. This leads to the disparity in numbers. I think the way the last battle should be looked at is two almost equal forces in terms of overall strength. Both controlled by two incredibly talented generals. Demandred is almost moreso the final boss for the world than the DO, and his presence supersedes that of his army. Putting Ituralde above Demandred is a silly as putting him above Mat. Yes, his feats surpass both those of Mat's and Demandred, but Mat and Demandred are essentially greater than a mortal can possibly be due to Mat's memories and Demandred's age. Ituralde also only ever deals in small scale engagements, never anything on the scale of the Last Battle.

[@debthompson5454]

I'm enjoying your content so much. I've been a fan of The Wheel of Time for so long that I had to wait for the next book...for awhile every time. Back then, we had no KZbin, so for this type of content, we followed News Groups. Starting to reread for the first time since the last book was released.

[@KalRandom]

Mat of f'n course for top slot. He's a lion on a rock looking at his prey in the valley below. Yeah know it's not a exact quote but I haven't re-read that book in a lol few years.

[@reksteren10]

Why do you hate me Nae'Blis ?

[@srimposible1853]

Becouse you are the only one who could steal him that title. You are awesome.

[@jakebishop7822]

all you did was lose to a smaller inferior army, git gud scrub, maybe one day you can be close to as good at stuff as Lews Therin

[@LaBamba10001]

Because Lews Therin has a bigger penis

[@sanin3213]

Always second

[@insouciantFox]

I love you Barid, fear not.

[@shhoward71]

Rodel Iteralde was my favorite - he was just a normal dude that did what he had to do.

[@snarfmcgillicutty2616]

I definitely think Mat deserves the #1, but I agree with others on this thread that Ituralde did so much with so little. He was a beast. I might have put 1. Mat, 2. Demandred, 3. Ituralde, and then other great captains etc. I do like how you give credit to the badassery of the Seanchan. I don't love them in the story overall, but I have to admit that their ability in battle is incredible.

[@robertweber1571]

Thank you, always great content!

[@tanmad21]

I might give Rodel Iteralde 2nd place. I understand placing Demandred there, but he's always had numbers on his side. We never see him outmanned the way we see a lot of the generals for the light.

[@matthewbroestl3635]

Good stuff man, found this channel a couple weeks ago and it fills a much needed spot on KZbin. Keep up the good work, more people need to know how amazing this story actually is.

[@NaeBlis]

Thanks man. I appreciate it and obviously I agree that this story is amazing. I’m hoping the new show generates more interest!

[@matthewbroestl3635]

I would love LOVE the show to be great, cant help but feel a bit concerned about it though. There are so many ways that they could go wrong so they better have the right poeple in charge. It would be such a shame to waste a story of this caliber you know? Sadly TV has F'ed up a lot of stuff but im going to try and stay optimistic.

[@mikeince9784]

I would agree for the most part but Rand had virtually no strategic input to any of the battles that his forces won, in the battle of Cairhien the battle plan was made by the Aiel clan chiefs and Lan, Rand only gave them a list of goals and then they are the ones that figured out how to do it, same with all of his other battles, he didn't actually plan any of the grand army battles. Once Lews Therin and Rand merged then yes i can agree that Lews Therin was one of the great generals but Rand before that was not.

[@davidcardoso3525]

I almost figured Bela would be the greatest commander.

[@suepedie1]

The musical interludes made me laugh! I love it!

[@trevorlind5473]

Liked your list glad Ituralde was in the top 4, one of my favorite characters, Matrim is for sure unquestionably the greatest commander as he has the memories of almost every great captain throughout the ages, except for maybe Arthur Hawkwing as I believe the boy Matt took as a foundling is the reincarnation of Artur can't remember his name off the top of my head.

[@charlieteneyck6797]

I don’t think he could be.

[@prestokrs1]

I'd give Iteralde second. He's a beast.

[@jamescator9746]

Awesome list

[@iangreenwood5954]

I believe you’re right on point with this one!

[@alaska4939]

I have head cannon that Matt ends up tied to the Horn and every time he gets called back he's grumpy as all get out and during the in between in the World of Dreams he's drinking with Brigetta and playing pranks on the dream walkers.

[@RayVision3D]

You put my favorite quote from Mat on the white board.

[@Skocik911]

Ituralde is by far the best general in the series. His battle skill is unmatched in every single fight he does more with less, no taverin nature, no past memories no hundreds of years of experience he is hands down leaps and bounds above every single general in the series. Even Matt.

[@davedave4779]

I like your list, can discuss some minor changes (for example Rand got some bad luck in this discipline I quess, if Matt is where he is mainly because of his "memories", just don´t forget how great commander Luis Therin was and Rand know everything he knew. But I understand we just can´t see it very often in the books, so fair play in the end). But overall great job. And also wonderfull Ituralde, of course! Great character, smart, loyal, fantastic tactician and his "end" with trying to the last moment to keep his mouth shut and not shout bad orders... This was just epic. So was he.

[@blueeyedcowboy8291]

Great List, and Great category. Keep it up!

[@andrewberenson5717]

I would have added Lord Baldhere rather than the the Seanchan general who fought Rand outside of Illian. It was Baldhere who first alerted Lan to Algelmar's decisions during the Last Battle. And rather than Rhuric, I would have added the Aiel clan chief who was in charge of the forces Rand sent to Tear as the decoy to goad Sammael. I think it was Dhearic. This Aiel was said to be an excellent tactician

[@aaronoyster9627]

Just a small point: it was the decoy for Niall's spymaster who assassinated him.

[@danielbonin1530]

Literally just wanted to see Matt was number 1. And I was not disappointed

[@davidcampbell4174]

Liked and subbed.

[@anomanderrake9899]

I get it that Demandred messed up at the last battle, but that was due to his own arrogance and the hurt he felt from his assumed betrayal from Lewis Therin. Even before he defected to the shadow Lews Therin remarks him as the finest commander the forces of Light had during the War of Power in the Age of Legends and if not for his rivalry and jealousy of the Dragon leading him to defect, which by the way was a devastating blow, could have greatly improved the forces of light chances during the war. The Demandred we saw from the current age was a pale shadow of his original self because let’s be honest the guy was insane when he came back. Tbh I’m greatly fascinated by his story and he is one character I would love to read more about if we get to see an Age of Legends prequel.

[@FnRenner]

Even on rereads Talmanes in Andor (green spoiler) hits me in the feels. Remember Never Ending Story? Yeah... No apologies!!!

[@errtu123]

Awesome list, but Perrin? He is a good enough leader (only because he is taveren) but a military commander he is not. He doesn't come up with the battle plans, he has people do that for him - Tam, Faile, Gaul, the Aiel, Berelein, Winged Guards commander, Ghealdan commader - they all come up with the plan, Perrin just executes it. Talmanes is a way better commander, because he actually knows what he's doing.

[@tylerb.8866]

piotr jurkowski I think that is the perfect place for him, but I could see him dropping all the way to fifteen. It think that he deserves a spot on the list because he is a strategic mind, but he struggles to change battle plans on the fly, the way that the great captains do. This is both because of his careful thought process and because of the points Naeblis made. That is the main thing that holds him back. As for your point of other people doing it for him, no, that isn’t how it went at all. They showed the planning meetings for him more than in other POVs because that was where the full strategy was formed and it rarely changed. What you are remembering is people advising him/holding the wolf back. He builds the plans out of recommendations and his own ideas.

[@sdube001]

Have to agree with Tyler on this, except for the "on the fly" part. Perrin that realized the Whitecloaks were in danger, and made a plan, on the fly, to rescue them. No one else knew his plan until they were there. It was Perrin who came up with forkroot in the water against the Shaido, showing that he can, at the very least, come up with the bones of a battle plan.

[@tylerb.8866]

Sandra Dube I’m not sure I was clear, but you are right about that. I mainly meant during the thick of the battle. The only time I can remember him changing the plan that was laid out was to charge for Galad when the white cloaks were pinned down, and that wasn’t the smartest battle decision (though it was the right one).

[@dediguise0018]

Sandra Dube plan yes tactics and strategy no

[@SH-qs7ee]

Perrin is a great strategist; his strength is in his planning. He looks at something and figures out the problems, then works on them, then works back on problems his solutions come up with. He is a poor tactician however, as he finds it hard to change plans on the run, and no plan ever survives contact with the enemy.

[@bradveach4832]

I like it but move perrin up at least 1 spot . For his careful planning and great attention to the feet and socks of his army. Plus others things like that. P.s thanks

[@Violetsoul6]

I did not see number 1 coming. lol

[@paultribbett7765]

matt #1

[@angrypat858]

How could you not if you read the books Matt and Perron are in my opinion the two best characters in the WoT 😁

[@Violetsoul6]

@@angrypat858 If you can't sense the sarcasm in that, I can't help you.

[@angrypat858]

Sorry it’s hard to type sarcasm 😁😁

[@Violetsoul6]

@@angrypat858 You're right, it is, sorry. I just assume that my love for Mat is so strong that everyone could sense it and I expect all to follow suit. LOL

[@matttonkthetank5619]

Top 2 were spot on!

[@abigailslade3824]

If Matt is not number 1 I will never watch another of your videos.

[@nobodya1585]

One thing I would like to see you discuss and like to see in the tv show is that an Asha'man is able to see the female ta'veren. Egwene Nynave Elayne ...its late and my spelling comes second to the concept.

[@brianmotter8150]

Knife of Dreams Mat #1; Brandon Sanderson Mat? Maybe top 10.

[@the2ndprotectstherest582]

I thought this was a good list but I like your reasonings behind each placement

[@bandoftheredhandmtg]

No credit for the video idea ;), but thanks for doing the video. I love Ituralde! he is my favorite general. The battle of Maradon is sooooo good.

[@diljeetsinghnarwal]

#0 Robert Jordan #0.5 Brandon Sanderson. These two generals were geniuses when it comes to military tactics and commanding armies. Glad that Tylee made the list. I think Karede and she are the only Seanchan that I like.

[@tylerpreston6695]

I would like to see a bit more time given with pictures and examples of the number one or even top 3 spots. I feel like they are given as much time as the bottom 7 or 12 etc. People checking these videos out are probably familiar with the books but they may be newcomers hearing about the new tv show. Fleshing it out a bit more may make people more interested and likely to check out some of you're history focused videos.

[@tysonschymizek5432]

OMG I love those maps. Seriously WHERE do you get them?

[@thomaswillis8565]

I like your list for sure, but I don't think your giving Lan his due. Planning a battle is hard. Seeing that a great captain is subtlety planning for failure, then taking control of said army and countering a great captains machinations is super impressive. That feat alone would put him in top ten for me at least, if not top 5.

[@krbrown948]

Debate? I can only assume you mean about some others besides number one. Mat is un paralleled. Liked your video you now owe me one Gold mark (Tar Valon please)

[@korritaranis672]

I would've put Perrin and Rand further down on the list. While Rand may have been good at the end, he did not seem more than barely competent as a field commander otherwise.

[@ziegfeld4131]

Once Rand merges with LTT theres really nothing you can say against him

[@Jenixar]

The Ituralde disrespect...

[@quantgeekery6358]

Rahvin should be on the list for the sheer amount of work he put in in Book 5. Certain people would not be on the lost withouthe help of Balefire.

[@toportime]

Thanks to the memories forced on him, hands down Matrim is the GOAT Commander of the Light.

[@carolbriscoe9337]

Glad to know Mat turns out to be good andcworks against the Shadow. The only one of the 5th left without explanation is Perrin. How is he important?

[@smack5075]

If you are counting "Zen Rand" I feel he should have been higher on this list. I realize that his low position is probably due to lack of actual battles in the books. I think while Demandred is a better general than Lews. It was close with Demandred being willing to take risks being what separated the two. With all that said I would still think "Zen Rand" should be three. I really enjoyed your list though, and could see the reasoning with every pick.

[@mattbinkowski2095]

Ikr the reason why he thought mat was rand was because nobody could be as good except for rand

[@christopherpetty3320]

Its time to roll the dice

[@TruthWaves22]

I'm felt like rhuarc got screwed over in the last book anyone else agree?

[@Robbini0]

Messed up the divider between Bashere and Ituralde, it only shows as Bashere on the timeline.

[@AvrohomH]

It's a good list

[@feirceraven1249]

Rodel Ituralde for me.

[@nerdzone]

Although I hate Gawyn as much as the next guy, he should have been in the list unlike Perrin.

[@prestokrs1]

You left off the Seanchan General. Honestly the Seanchan you mentioned just had demoni and numbers. General Half in planned the raid on the white tower and every battle after Falme.

[@davos6039]

constructive criticism on your videos. often like to play them as i go to bed, however the tune that plays between points is too loud. if i can hear your voice clearly, the tune becomes annoying. thanks for the vids i really enjoy them.

[@cdubbau135]

Everyone knows the best tactician is Elayne. All her moves are pure genius.

[@doc_adams8506]

Ituralde is the WOT version of Robert E Lee

[@Apathetish]

Who ended up winning the Wheel of Time Companion book? I didn’t see it listed anywhere. I must have missed it somehow.

[@NaeBlis]

The username was Dubs. I announced it in my Q&A video!

[@NaeBlis]

I’m going to be running a new contest here soon

[@Apathetish]

Nae'Blis oh, i didn’t watch the Q&A that’s why. I’ll watch the upcoming ones though. I really enjoy what you’re doing!

[@lexalious47]

I got one question. We know and see the generals in the series leading the forces by watching the battlefield, giving commands with their ways of communication. But Demandred in the last battle? He was walking around looking for a duel? How did he command his army in the last battle?

[@dorvinion]

I love old comments Demandred believed Rand was with the Army of Light and in command of the Army because of the skill in tactics he saw on display once Matt took over. He believed no living human except someone from the Age of Legends(LTT) could know enough of battle to counter his moves. He was of course unaware of Matt's skill in battle. His arrogance and overconfidence in thinking he was the more powerful, his personal grudge against Rand/LTT, his belief that Rand was somewhere on the field, and his intimate knowledge of LTT's personality is what kept him calling for the Dragon to engage him in single combat.

[@davidgonzalez816]

Mat was for sure going to be Numba 1

[@jakebishop7822]

I already know whos 1 before watching

[@dpolaristar4634]

How about a top ten state craft people?

[@paulcourtemanche3549]

Goaturalde. That is all.

[@aaronhuff9689]

That's true

[@christianefiorito3204]

I also miss Tam al Thor in the last battle

[@CMGaming]

Seanchan guys seem under rated here. Only Mat and Ituralde were able to annoy them. Talmanes also deserves an higher rank. Rand and Lan (Samael also?) seem over rated here considering what they did as army commanders in the books.

[@Zandohaha]

Lan I think deserves his spot. Rand I agree maybe a little over-ranked. His battle plans end with "crap, guess I'll have to do it myself" and then nukes an army on his own. Carhien wasn't going well for him until Mat intervened. His push for Ebou Dar failed and he started nuking things. His plan for defending Maradon was bust, the city in ruins, only somewhat recovered by the fact he was able to solo 100k+ Trollocs. His battle plans generally don't go that well apart from when he leaves Bashere in charge of it.

[@adib3011]

Seanchans depended heavily on their numbers. The way they fight cost them hundreds of thousands of men even with superior forces. Yes they never repeated mistakes, but each mistake was very costly. Once their homeland was embroiled in civil war, they could hardly maintain their costly way if fighting.

[@CMGaming]

@@Zandohaha For Rand it was a disaster against the Seanchan, he nuked his own troops with Callandor... I don't recall the book showing Lan many times as a "military commander".

[@CMGaming]

@@adib3011 They just conquered half a continent by the sea...and more than that in the future...I don't remember the book showing that they are bad and rely only on their number...

[@anomanderrake9899]

General Ituralde is Hannibal of Carthage 😀

[@jaceross7648]

Omg I never considered that Niall that does make since except for one thing he is a moral monster no way he was worthy even tho he undeniably has the skill

[@justdave9610]

So Niall is a moral monster but no mention of Sammael or Demandred? 🤔

[@nerdzone]

What is so monstrous abou Niall?

[@jaceross7648]

@Nerd Zone the fact he lead a pseudo religious cult of mass murderers

[@barryryan7777]

I have all the wheel of time books on audible

[@KozarBen]

Barry Ryan lol me too, but I’ve bought the paperbacks probably 4-5 times each, books that big fall apart!

[@dane3038]

Mat is the greatest Military Commander in the history of Fantasy Fiction.

[@SH-qs7ee]

To be fair, in a lot of fantasy thats not hard to match, just look at LotR; "lets ride our unarmored cavalry directly into the elephants on steroids"

[@Siansonea]

Well, techinically the commanders whose memories he was given are the greatest military commander in fantasy fiction. Mat was just the guy who was given free access to all the cheat codes.

[@KozarBen]

Jay 1066 Mat is ALL of the greatest commanders in the history of Fantasy fiction lol.

[@williamdennett1418]

i like the cheat codes comment!! but, yeah, his memories helped.

[@paultribbett7765]

the best way is listen to michael kramer and his wife kate redding as you read along.. can you imagine a romantic conversation between mk and kr . would equate to matt and tuon or perrin and faile or furyk karede and elaida do avriny a'roihan LOL

[@Poopisfunky]

WHAT?!???? Have you even read the books?!???? You put Perrin above Lan. Perrin. The guy who’s always like “I wasn’t even supposed to be here today” (Perrin is totally the guy from Clerks) above a Malikieri Diadamed. Dai’Shan himself. An anointed Malkeri Battle Lord. Yer fricken high

[@filam7371]

I 100% agree with #s 1 & 2. I like that Perrin wasn't top 10 for exactly the reasons you stated. I disagree with Rand's placement. Because of his "merging" with Lews Therin, he is a brilliant tactician, but he really doesn't do much leading, leaving it for his generals to handle. I wouldn't have put him on the top 10...probably just behind Perrin actually.

[@wcouch8]

No debate about Matt

[@jeremiahnoe5361]

I think you have Pedron Niall way too low. He got assassinated, yes, but he never came anywhere close to losing a pitched battle. I think the chances are he was better than Ituralde, who was nigh untouchable in his own right.

[@chistaffan9023]

not gonna lie if u didn't put mat at number one i was gonna be pissed

[@joeleonard1314]

Dude.. Rhuarc is top 5. He's a bad ass and a genius. BTW, did you just say Pedron Niall is a better General than Lord Tywin Lannister...? And Bashere is better than Gareth Bryne?? Madness!!!

[@ziegfeld4131]

Lol Tywin Lannister gets fucked in the ass by Rob Stark a boy who had almost no formal training

[@adib3011]

@@ziegfeld4131 robb definitely had a lot of formal training. He was the heir to Eddard Stark, of course he was rigorously trained in battle tactics. He merely lacked experience.