I don't think so, the Warders don't have to actually die for the AS to engage in the battle. It's not like they are going to stand there and do nothing! They can use defensive weaves to block fireballs and lightning etc and as soon as lethal weaves start being woven I'm willing to bet the AS Oath goes out the window. All it would take is one Damane throwing down some lightning directed at the AS forces and the gate is wide open really.

What we've seen is AS heading into a battle against swordsman in order to feel threatened enough to fight, against other Channelers it's a whole new game! If AS stop to think for a minute they'll realize that the damane being there immediately puts them in mortal danger!



RJ told us flat out that Cyndane came out ahead in that fight because she was dramatically more skilled in the OP than Alivia. Alivia knows only how to form a variety of combat weaves, until she was freed and hanging around AS she didn't have the skill to do something as simple as make an air umbrella! Seems to me that damane are used in rather specialized ways based on their individual abilities. Certainly they are all taught combat weaves, but they are certainly not "students of the Power" like some AS. AS lack of skill with the OP is not why they are inferior in combat situations, it's really a mentality problem. They clearly know how to use the Power to kill, they just aren't trained to deal with combat situations.

Egwene using Vora's sa'angreal in a circle just highlights the AS advantage if they choose to pull their heads out of their asses and use it! Imagine what the raid would have looked like if there had been even 10 good circles formed with sa'angreal or multiple angreal? The Seanchan raid would have been crushed in minutes. Even if 3 or 4 women link and have no angreal they are going to outmatch nearly any damane group.



Not really true. We have heard from the Borderlanders that AS of the Green sometimes go into the blight and every Sister is taught the basic combat weaves of Fireball and Lightning bolts... they got their asses handed to them in TGS because they were not organized and were fighting as individuals against a foe that had time to plan out an attack and were fighting as units. Look at Saerin's response and her exasperation in talking to the Mayener Green (Moradry?) who was just eager to go back out and fight rather than help organize an operations center.

Egwene and Sieane seemingly did something similar and once the AS started to get organized the Seanchan left the fight.



Of course it's horrifying to suddenly realize that after thousands of years with only a handful of men to deal with in any given year they now have hundreds to deal with. In addition, why wouldn't they be horrified at the prospect of 500+ men who can wield the power going insane ... it's not like it's going to be just a few terrorized villages at a time. With that many men the AS would be spending the next decade doing little else but hunting down insane Channelers. No one believes that there will be some sort of military confrontation between between the AS and the AM, that would be as bad as the Breaking! What Elaida sent was considered an unprecedented number of AS, and she didn't think there were more than a dozen men at the BT. Even the Whites insisted on having a presence in such an unorthodox expedition.

Circles would be the only way to stop even small groups of the men. RJ has driven home time and again that women's ability to link is a huge advantage! I'm not saying the AS would not come together to form the circles necessary to defeat an opponent. I'm saying it's not in their nature to work together. We've been told on any number of occasions that AS are not much more than a collection of hermits.



It's possible, but we've not seen any of the AS use it and Verin seemed surprised by Graendal using reversed flows during the Cleansing.