Full shardbearer vs plate and blade

[CosmereMaths]

If you were the general of an army on Roshar and your army had 1 set of plate and 1 blade. Would you see it better to deploy them separately or together? I didn’t make this a poll because I think it is too situational but still want to hear opinions. I think if the enemy army has shards, then keeping the set together seems correct but if not I think it is more effective albeit more risky to split them up. As an aside, I also think back to the 2 times Kaladin gave away a full set of shards and wonder why both times he gave them as 1 rather than split them up, especially since he could’ve elevated 2 darkeyes to brightlords instead of 1 each time. 

[Kansas Stormcursed he/him]

I think it would depend on the skill levels of the people you have. Splitting them up means that you have both a tank and lethal mobility unit, but that also means the lone Shardbearer is vulnerable. That said, typically I would probably split them up.

[Green Hoodie Mistborn he/him]

Are we talking vs normal troops or against Singers/Fused? 

Ultimately I think the smart move is to keep them together because a full bearer is a small army unto themselves and split up there is (to me) too much chance to lose the blade to overwhelming force. 

If against Singers/fused, definitely keep them together. If against another human army I'd be more inclined to split them up. 

Even if I do split them up though, the person wearing the plate is the one I'd have bonded to the blade, so that IF the blade's bearer goes down, the plate wearer can summon it back at any moment

[Duxredux he/him]

Probably depends on the tactical situation and maybe even the Blade's shape. I could see a benefit where you have the Plate user equipped with a Shardhammer with their honor guard captain equipped with the Blade. A regular soldier equipped with a Shardblade may be able to provide better support than someone conventionally equipped. Going along with @Green Hoodie Mistborn, should the captain fall, the Plate user summons the Blade back and hands it off to the next in command. The size of the Blade, how heavy it is, the styles that accommodate the shape, and more probably will determine how effective it can be used without Plate's enhancement - since frankly Plate lets you use enemy combatants as improvised weapons in a pinch.

A Blade shaped like a cleaver probably wouldn't work for this, but one like Taln's shaped like a spike (yes, I know that was probably his Honorblade, but his spren fans probably copied him, right?) could have been used as ammunition for siege engines by summoning it back after each shot.  A ballista repeatedly firing a Shardblade at the base of a tower or the hinge of a gate could be terrifying. Might be able to take down a Chasmfiend or Thunderclast as well - possibly more effectively than a full Shardbearer just charging the behemoth. Plate would make winding the ballista faster, but it wouldn't offset its effectiveness at the front line.

It's not pretty, but a Shardblade works well as a Connection-based tethered weapon - so long as you trust your troops to not turn it against you or to try to remove or damage the gemstone. Rather than having the Plate wielder be the one bonded to the Blade, have it bonded to your head tactician and equip them with a spyglass. As the battle flows, the tactician can identify sections that require reinforcement and can pull the Blade back to the command tent and send it off with the reinforcements to that area as well as summon it back should the currently equipped soldier falls. 10 second summon after dismissal isn't too bad, particularly if the tactician is mounted and can ride to the weakened section. 

Another scenario is when you want long range heavy duty suppressive fire from the Plate user equipped with a Shardbow while the Blade user slices terrain or fortifications. 

 

Yeah, there's a host of situations where splitting the strength enhancement and durability of the Plate from the supernatural durability, sharpness, and summonable Blade seems tactically sound. Really the biggest risk is if the gemstone that allows you to dismiss the Blade gets damaged meaning these strategies become substantially less risky with a living Blade. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see Kaladin equip someone with his Plate, send Syl to arm another, all while he went to town with Stormlight healing, Lashings, and conventional spears.

[IcedOutPenguin He/Him]

The strategy I would probably go with in most situations has/is used on Roshar, where you give the blade to someone else but have it bonded to the person wearing the shard plate so they can summon it in an emergency. 

• The situations where I believe it would be better to use both together include attacking a fortified position, engaging in confined spaces (like a canyon or cave—maybe not that one, but it depends on the circumstances—there are a lot of parentheses here), or when facing another shardbearer. 
• If you are trying to hold a fortified position, I would utilize the plate as a tank to cover any gaps in the defenses, and I would place the blade on top of a wall (if possible) or near a chokepoint. 
• When attacking on a flat battlefield with roughly equal forces, separate them. If their line is wavering, send one in with both to break through. If you are outnumbered or losing, keep them apart. In a last stand where the outcome guarantees everyone’s demise, separate them. 
• If you are charging an army, keep the plate and blade together. A blade alone won't protect you from many threats—lots of spears for one and arrows for another. However, a plate and blade together can decimate a line of soldiers who aren't prepared.
• If the opposing army has a shardbearer you should probably send in your plate and blade together to fight them, or you could try to be sneaky and lure in the opposing shardbearer by separating your blade and plate and encouraging the opposing shardbearer to attack one (preferably the plate) and then cutting off the support and surrounding the shardbearer or similar trap.                 

   This went way longer than I expected, but I think it contains a lot of good strategic info about how to best use your blade and plate in a battle. If you have any more strategy-related questions, you know where to find me.

[Terrisman]

I notice no one answered your question about Kaladin yet. In my mind you have to separate both cases where he gave them away. When he gave it to Moash he gave it to him to go along with the plot to kill the king. Therefore it makes sense that he gave both to him. In addition having one full Shardbearer is better for bridge four than having one person with Plate and one with Blade due to the risk of losing the Blade. The better question is why he gave them both away the first time. You probably do need to say again he was trying to do what was best for his squad and didn’t want to risk losing one of them. He also didn’t exactly plan it out and was just reacting, sort of pushing them away to the nearest friend.