My son the Dalek fan is convinced that a single Dalek could withstand an assault by a troop of Cybermen, because they’re armoured, more intelligent and, basically, way cooler.

I, on the other hand, am convinced one well-placed Cyberman with a gun and a blowtorch could do the job nicely.

Any thoughts?

Hmm…

Depends on where the Cyberman is in relation to the Dalek. And what type of gun the Cyberman has.

What about the mechanical condition of said Dalek? Obviously one with worn or seized bearings isn’t going to be as quick on his wheels.

Tinfoil versus sink plunger.

Tough call.

Depends on how close the nearest flight of stairs are?

Cybermen, theyre everywhere 😀

Depends on how close the nearest flight of stairs are?

Apparently they can fly now, dontcha know? Which complicates things.

Depends on where the Cyberman is in relation to the Dalek. And what type of gun the Cyberman has

Let’s say it’s an old, disused warehouse at an undisclosed location in Cardiff. And it’s a generic Cyberman gun. Whatever that is.

Daleks would win everytime, hands down. Proved on TV.

Proved on TV.

Yeah, but this time a single Dalek’s been isolated from its command and there’s no chance of reinforcements. A group of Cybermen is closing in with guns and blowtorches from all directions. They’re in Cardiff. It can’t be as simple as Dalek victory guaranteed, can it?

A lone Dalek has the slight disadvantage that it only has a gun at the front, so potentially a mass Cyberman attack could get it from behind.

But some Daleks have shields so.. erm…

It can’t be as simple as Dalek victory guaranteed, can it?

A lone Welsh Dalek fighting on home turf would still be a force to reckon with.

Apparently they can fly now, dontcha know

Thats just special effects for television, real daleks can’t fly.

Which is why, if the Daleks set up their base in Paris, the sensible thing for the cybermen would be to set their base in Roubaix, they would be impenetrable to Dalek attack there and could just sit back and watch the daleks rattle themselves to pieces.

Ooooo, what Dalek wheels for Champs Elysees?

Daleks would win everytime, hands down

I think I see a flaw in your reasoning

See, my strategy would be to sacrifice a couple of Cybermen – they’re the ones tasked with listening patiently as the Dalek makes all the expected extermination threats – and have the rest of them jump it from behind, using their blowtorches to sever the kitchen plunger.

My estimate of Cybermen required to take down a Dalek is 6 – 2 to listen to the threats, four to pounce avec blowtorches.

Finis.

I think you need to clarify what sort of Dalek we are talking about:

Standard, Imperial, Cult of Skaro, Supreme or New Paradigm Eternals?

Hmmm… but if the Dalek has the same capability as the one in Van Staten’s bunker it could go for the suicide option and detonate itself with the Cybermen in close proximity – best result for the whole Universe(s).

Also, what era of cybermen are we talking about here? Early ones were, let’s be frank, pathetic, but the modern ones are pretty hardcore and even the Victorian ones were quite handy.

I reckon, if it was a generic Dalek vs. modern Cybermen, the Cybermen might take it, but anything tilting the balance the Dalek’s way and the result would be a win for the home side.

Right. Let’s tighten the parameters of the… [drumroll] Cyberman vs Dalek Smackdown [/drumroll]:

The Cybermen:

Modern-era Cybermen as witnessed in the episode “The Age of Steel”

The Dalek:

Here we have a modern-era Standard Dalek, which is probably red, and certainly is nothing particularly fancy.

Well of course yer modern-era Standard and Age Of Steel Cybermen already duked it out in “Doomsday” (finale of series 2).

As I recall the Daleks were generally kicking cyberbutt. 🙂

As I recall the Daleks were generally kicking cyberbutt.

Daleks, maybe, but Dalek?

When I get home tonight I’m telling my boy that six Cybermen is the definitive answer and I’ll no doubt feel pleased about another day well spent sourcing answers to life’s big questions. 😆

Just extrapolate the odds from that episode. As I recall the “Army of Ghosts” revealed itself to be Cybermen as they materialised in everywhere, all across the world. Whereas the Ark prison ship only contained around 10,000 Daleks.

And they generally seemed to be winning.