Centurions VS Tin Woodsmen- who wins?

Question

Fantasy Faceoff II, round 9- a detachment of centurions meet a unit of Tin Woodsmen in pitched battle, who wins, and why?

Answer 1

A Tin Woodsman could almost be considered to be type of golem, or even a clockwork creature, and as such are not susceptible to most forms of mortal death. However they are constructed of a relatively soft metal, and seem to be fairly hollow with no real internal support - as we saw when Dorothy rapped on the Woodsmans' chest - it actually dents in a bit. A really hard strike to any part of their body would probably cave it in and crease the metal, possibly crippling them permanently - as we saw with the rust factor they seem to have a slow regeneration ability i.e. the rust just kept him "stuck" it did not pit or corrode his surface. In time even dents, folds, and creases would probably repair themselves magically, but this would not be fast enough to make a difference in a fight. They are armed with a single bitted axe, and per their status as "Woodsmen" are not given any real martial knowledge or skill upon creation except the ability to swing their axe. They can think and reason, are fairly brave, and are possessed of seemingly normal human levels of strength, dexterity, and speed, although their endurance and stamina are limitless as they don't get tired, don't need to eat or sleep, and are probably immune to fire (but being dumped in a smelter would destroy them) and poisons, having no physiological functions. (The notion of the Tin Woodsman that he did not have a heart was proven to be false by the Wizard, as he showed the Woodsman that a heart's function is from the soul, not from an internal organ, which the Woodsmen do not have.They do have emotion, as they can cry and feel sorrow, so they are definitely not "heartless")
Roman Centurions on the other hand, while being mortal humans and possessed of the normal human ranges of mental and physical ability, are superbly trained in warfare and excel in physical combat, both alone and as part of a team. They are armed with spiral-welded short swords called gladii, sing. gladius, longswords called spatha, two thin shafted iron spears called verutum, one thick spear called pilatum, a large rectangular shield called a scutum, and wear iron armor of a type generally known as lorica segmentata as well as thick iron helmets. Their strength and stamina are at the top of human ranges, having trained for years with all the weight of their armor and weapons, day in and day out.
As the two groups meet the Woodsmen would first be run through at range by thrown verutum, which bend from the weight of their wooden shaft, cannot easily be pulled out, and weigh down any woodsman encumbered by one. (at this point the Romans may be a bit unnerved by the obvious supernatural nature of their foes, but would be bolstered by the visual evidence that their foes have no martial skill) The Woodsmen close with the front shield wall and swing their axes, which being designed to chop green wood, dull quickly trying to destroy the Roman scutums, which are made of several plys of glue-hardened wood, covered in leather, rimmed with iron, and protected in the middle by a large iron dome called a boss. As the axes thud into the shields the Romans turn their shields left, step in, and swing with their gladii while spearmen in the second rank thrust with their pilatums. The axe is a fairly straightforward weapon, but has only a small striking head, does not recover as fast as a sword from a missed swing, and is definitely not a sure kill against iron armor - you have to have the skill to back it up. (Trust me on this one - I fight in real armor, yes my avatar is real - a lot.) The Romans have seen axe attacks before, and know how to counter them.
A good steel sword (the Roman gladius was made with a spiral-welded iron core for tensile strength, with a tack-welded steel edge for durability and sharpness.) can cut thru sheet tin like a hot knife thru butter, and within ten minutes the ground would be littered with tin limbs, heads, and mangled metal bodies. Any woodsmen still moving would probably be stomped or hammered flat by the Romans and later gathered up for meltdown to be used for other things.
Winner: Romans.

Answer 2

Tin Woodsmen, of course. Cents are men, made of flesh and blood. Capable of doing evils, and waging wars, but not like the Tin Woodsmen. Tin Woodsmen have no hearts as you recall from the movies, therefore would make a very worthy adversary on the battlefield. An army of heartless, metal, bipeds with axes. No sir, regardless of armor, the Cents wouldn't have a chance.

Answer 3

The Tin Woodsmen would win because:

- They would have watched the 'power rangers' on tv and will have learned how to combine together becoming a Mega-Tin-Zord-Man! They are magical and would be able to work some kind of arrangement out.

- In case of any problems they would have more tin men than they would need for each part - e.g 2 left arms, 2 right arms (in case of casualties - the thought of combining with peices missing is just embarrasing).

- They would be painted different colours to avoid confusion as to which tin man is which body part.

Although the centurions would be better trained and would manage to mangle a few tin men before they had the chance to combine, after the tin men combined they could just either pick up the remains of their mangled fellows, crush them into balls and hurl them at speeds of up to 150km at the centurions, smashing their shields and splattering them. Alternatively they could just trample the centurions!

Mega-Tin-Zord-Man wins.

Answer 4

I have to agree with lord b on this one - the woodsmen just don't know enough about warfare to stand up to the roman war machine. remember rome conqured the whole known world at one point. romans all the way.

Answer 5

The Woodsman was a peaceful being who could barely raise his axe to threaten the Lion, let alone the Witchs' army. Even with his brothers behind him it is doubtful they would be able to make a dent in a Roman battle formation. Romans win.

Answer 6

Maybe I should know that, but I don't.