head to head
vs
Mount & Blade II: BannerlordvsShadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).
Mount & Blade II: BannerlordShadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 6
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun leans harder on execution: Precise timing windows on simultaneous multi-character abilities matter
Reads2 vs 1
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord leans harder on reads: Multiplayer duels add some human prediction
Variance3 vs 3
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization8 vs 8
Even - both lean on optimization about the same.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.