Let's face it: Bashers aren't very good. They are the last guy to get picked for the King of Primus team, their most popular opponent in basic is the Dark Arena, and people make jokes about their weapons. So why run them? Two reasons, really. The first is because it is fun to try to master all ten styles. The second is because there is a tiny subset of roll-ups that make better Bashers than anything else.
In "The 7 DF Slasher", I mentioned how it is important not to cannibalize good roll-ups of better styles in order to try and make your Slashers win. The 11 DF set-ups make better Strikers and Lungers, but there is a sweet spot at 7 DF that allows for great weapon selection and better performance by SLs than those other styles. For a Basher, it is even harder to find the right set-ups.
Maybe you are making a high ST, high CN, high WL sponge Basher. If the set-up has 7+ DF, you are better off making it a Total Parry, which is a much better style and can use ME/ME with that Deftness without penalty.
Perhaps you want to make a high WT speed Basher? If the set-up has an 11+ DF, it is almost certainly better off as a Striker or Lunger. If the set-up has 7+ DF, it is very likely better off as a Slasher. Even on 9 WL/7 DF set-ups, there is a very good argument that Strikers are superior to Bashers, as Khorvinus' TC Lady Vashj (9-9-17-21-9-12-7 ST) can attest, not to mention the once famous Doc LeGrand Striker.
The sweet spot for Bashers turns out to be 5 DF. A very small group of set-ups naturally lend themselves to 5 DF. You want to get to 21 WT or 21 WL and other important breakpoints, and you just don't have any points left over at the end for Deftness. That's okay, because there is a style that can work with that. There are only six weapons that are well suited at 5 DF, and one is the clear winner.
Fist -- It is only really good for Aimed Blows, and ABs need more DF.
Shortsword -- It is a fine utility weapon for 3 DF warriors, but it is terrible against armor.
Small and Medium Shields -- Any warrior who wants to use one of these, wants to use one in the off-hand and that requires more DF.
War Flail -- This is the weapon that everyone jokes about.
That leaves just one weapon: The Mace.
The Mace is not a popular weapon. It suffers from the same problem as the Broadsword and the Longspear. The Broadsword is slower than the fast slashing weapons like the Hatchet and less damaging than the big damage slashing weapons like the Scimitar and the Battle Axe. So in most cases, it is correct to use something else. The Longspear, similarly, is slower than the Short Spear and less damaging than the Long Sword. In a vacuum, both the Broadsword and the Longspear are pretty good, but you need a specific set of circumstances to make them the best choice. The Mace has a similar problem. It is a bit slower than the War Hammer and Quarterstaff, and it does less damage than the heavy bashing weapons like the Maul and the Halberd, so it rarely gets used.
In fact, the Mace is never going to be the best weapon. Lunging weapons knock people down. Slashing weapons have big damage criticals. It is not even the best Bashing weapon. But unlike most other weapons, the Mace is balanced and versatile enough to be used in every situation. It is fast enough to get the jump on a naked Striker, and it is damaging enough to batter a plate clad Total Parry. And it has one more perk: as the classic Bashing weapon, it is twice as likely to be your Basher's favorite weapon. If I had to pick only a single weapon to give to my basic Basher, this is the one.
I didn't even set out to prove that 5 DF Bashers were good, but it happened nonetheless. I have two Basher TCs with two different types of Bashers, and both happen to be 5 DF designs.
SURLY DECKHAND of SEA DOGS, started out as a 15-16-12-5-21-10-5 sponge BA. He earned his first Freshmen runner-up in October 2013, his second Freshmen runner-up in April 2014, and finally a Freshmen TC in January 2015. He now competes in the ADM class, where his highest finish so far is a TV.
UPSILON CETI of CETUS, a 14-7-6-21-20-11-5 speed BA, earned an Adepts TC in October 2019 with her trusty Mace. She is now in Home Guard prepping for a Freshmen bust-out, and is still using that same Mace.
Two TCs isn't ironclad proof, but that is two more Basher TCs than most managers have. And because of the success I've had, I'm going to keep examining new set-ups to see if a 5 DF Basher is the best choice, and continue trying them as they present themselves. And while I hope to find additional success with 5 DF Bashers, they are already my 6th most successful tourney style.
If you are struggling to find success with Bashers, I wouldn't waste your money making an excellent Striker into an okay speed Basher, or a good Total Parry into an adequate sponge Basher. I would keep my eye out for set-ups that don't make good Strikers, or Lungers, or Slashers, or Total Parries, but make solid 5 DF Bashers. You won't end up with a lot of them, but you could end up with a few good ones and the opportunity cost will be zero.