The Consortium and Assurnasirbanipal often refer to different warrior types. They each believe there are three basic ways to win (which are not completely exclusive of each other). These three warrior types are called by Assur: Offensives, Defensives, and Hybrids.
Offensives win (as you might expect) by taking down their opponent through damage and sustained attack. They really should do AT LEAST good damage with a blow (which typically requires around 20 or more points on strength and size total). Wit is the most important stat, since they need to learn skills fast and wit gives all three of the skills they care most about (initiative, decisiveness, and attack). Do not undervalue will, as it is the primary contributor to endurance. Deftness of 11 is perfect, 7 acceptable. Speed is preferred to be even. Traditional styles are Strikers, Bashers, and Slashers. Lungers, Parry Strikers, and Aimed Blows are also often run as offensives.
Defensives win by letting their opponent get tired. They almost always want to wear heavy armor, take damage, and have decent defensive skills. The most important stats are strength, constitution, and will. Speed is virtually useless. Size is much preferred to be very small. Deftness of 11 is again perfect. The traditional style is Total Parry, but any of the parry learning styles (Parry-Strike, Parry-Riposte, Parry-Lunge, Wall of Steel) or lungers work well. However, almost any style can win fights with lots of hit points, high will, and the best armor in the game (APA/F). You'll notice I don't mention wit. That is because defensives can come very stupid (3 wit) or Geniuses (21 wit). Wit is always good, but defensives can win without it.
Hybrids are the hardest type of warrior to learn and win with. There are many different ways to make them. They win by combining some combination of offense and defense to win fights. They normally have at least a moderate amount of constitution. Assur prefers to have 11 strength on hybrids in order to carry decent weight, but many managers are fine with 9 strength. It is difficult to win with 'big' hybrids because they need the points elsewhere. Wit is always desired. Will depends more on style and design than being required. Speed is completely unnecessary and you'd rather have points elsewhere. Deftness should be at least 11 for most hybrids. The traditional best hybrid styles are Lunger, Total Parry, Wall of Steel, and Parry Riposte, but once again, there are many ways to make hybrids and any style can fight like one.
I will go into much more detail into the different types of warriors in the coming weeks, but you'll see some patterns that arise.
-- By Assur