User blog comment:Kvant 1/Battle of the Aces: Razgriz, Galm, Garuda, and Mobius./@comment-4957086-20150208142150

I don't get why everyone ignores the fact that Mobius 1 had assistance in almost every mission. I remember the Omega, Rapier and Viper Squadrons at least, being around in a majority of the missions... he later also had his own Mobius Squadron formed as well. He was hardly alone.

OT:

Cipher:

Based on feats Cipher wins this one handsdown. He has bested the most aces out of all of them (168 according to Assault Records) - at least 5 different squadrons and Pixy if only counting a single playthrough - in an F15C. Regarding performance gaps between his plane and his opponents, Cipher inside the F15C had the largest gap to make up for through with his skill. Especially Pixy in the Morgan. Cipher had amazing wingmen in Pixy (F15C) and PJ (F16C). However, his most amazing feat against the Morgan was done on his own. On top of that, he has been experienced at the start of his game already (Pixy mentions rumors about Cipher according to your Ace style at the beginning), unlike Mobius 1 or Blaze.

The only one I see on par with Cipher is Phoenix (Scarface 1) since he has similar circumstances and has also beaten numerous amount of aces and had his own hax opponent in Z.O.E. inside several planes with special abilities like jamming etc. including a FALKEN. But well, he isn't included in this Battle Royal.

Compare him to:

Blaze:

He fought 2 Belkan ace squadrons in Ofnir (SU35, S-32) and Grabacr (F15S/MTD, S-32) and beat Hamilton (MiG-1.44) inside an F14D with 3 capable wingmen. The scale of his war seems to be the largest with several superweapons and 3 nations involved. Blaze is a very resourceful and highly talented pilot as he starts off as a rookie, but gets to be squadron leader and beats aces in superior planes within a year of service. While being a team player, his skill stood out even among the rest of the Razgriz aces as they frequently mention his skill almost in reverence, dubbed as "The Ace of Aces". However, Cipher beat the leaders of Grabacr and Ofnir back then already with similar gaps in plane performance. In terms of aerial prowess, Blaze has done nothing that Cipher hasn't already done or done more of.

Mobius 1:

He fought the Yellow Squadron inside a Raptor with the most wingmen of the 4 (the Omega Squadron alone numbered up to 11) and later also had his own squadron with 9 other members. Being inside a Raptor, the performance gap between his plane and the Su's of the Yellows is already in favor of Mobius. Additionally, if you consider that according to the story, the Su's of the Yellow Squadron were badly maintained, it just simply doesn't compare to the ace battles Cipher fought. Mobius 1 fought in a superior plane. In this Battle Royal, the OP placed them all in the same plane. He has the least chances of winning as the others all have fought and won in disadvantagous settings.

Talisman:

He fought the Strigon Squadron inside an F15E with several wingmen, Shamrock being the only one in the same Squadron as Talisman. The gap between the F15E and the CFA-44A Nosferatu of Pasternak is quite large, but not as large as Cipher's F15C towards Pixy's Morgan. Regarding this particular Battle Royal though, Talisman is the only one who has actually encountered the CFA-44A Nosferatu and seen its capabilities. But I don't see that alone as a decisive advantage over Cipher, who has beaten a similarly skilled pilot flying a much better plane than himself.

Let's face it: Cipher > the rest. His story revolves around beating other aces. Blaze is my favorite but I can happily admit that he cannot beat Cipher. I like Talisman the least and can also admit that he has the best chances out of the 3 to challenge Cipher. But Cipher has simply done everything the other 3 have done and done much more of. Considering the amount of aces he beat, he may even be more experienced than the other 3 combined.