Was Mace Tyrell simply unbeatable?

[Lady Blizzardborn]

14 hours ago, Nihlus said:

They effectively were alone at the Blackwater. Tywin's army was dwarfed by their's and didn't arrive until the battle was mostly over. Tyrion's army had already been routed.

The Reach troops also fought at Duskendale and are currently occupying the Riverlands. Though I don't see why that particularly matters. Mace has just been smart in needing to do little fighting despite possessing the most powerful army by far.

<snip

Ah. Thank you. I maintain that Tyrion's wildfire plan did make an appreciable difference in the overall outcome. If Stannis' navy hadn't been crippled by that, the army from the Reach might have gotten there too late to save the city. 

It matters in an academic sense. Yes it's smart to keep them out of as many battles as can be avoided, but at the same time it makes it harder to assess the true level of unbeatability (I think I just invented a word) they have.

[Trigger Warning]

"“If that is so, why is the Knight of Flowers not among you? And where is Mathis Rowan? Randyll Tarly? Lady Oakheart? Why are they not here in your company, they who loved Renly best?" 

I think the army that gathered had more to do with Renly than you give him credit for, this line from Penrose suggests that Renly had been cultivating alliances in the Reach and not just with Highgarden, if anything I doubt Mace could raise an army that large considering the disunity of the Reach without a popular figurehead to rally behind. 

[Nihlus]

1 hour ago, Trigger Warning said:

"“If that is so, why is the Knight of Flowers not among you? And where is Mathis Rowan? Randyll Tarly? Lady Oakheart? Why are they not here in your company, they who loved Renly best?" 

I think the army that gathered had more to do with Renly than you give him credit for, this line from Penrose suggests that Renly had been cultivating alliances in the Reach and not just with Highgarden, if anything I doubt Mace could raise an army that large considering the disunity of the Reach without a popular figurehead to rally behind. 

1. Penrose is just delusionally pro-Renly, what he says doesn't count for much. Note also that he says Stannis is lacking men because he doesn't have those who loved Renly best, but in the process he's admitting that those who truly cared about Renly are an extreme minority of the army given 80% of the host joined Stannis.

2. Mace Tyrell brings 50,000-70,000 men to the Blackwater to fight in the name of seating one of Renly's enemies and the person who Renly started the whole rebellion against. He didn't need Renly to raise an enormous host.

[Loose Bolt]

Why Renly did not invade Westlands ? After all Tywin took most of his own men with him when he invaded Riverlands. So if Renly had send even part of his army against Crakehall and Silverhill those castles would have fallen.

[Kytheros]

10 hours ago, Loose Bolt said:

Why Renly did not invade Westlands ? After all Tywin took most of his own men with him when he invaded Riverlands. So if Renly had send even part of his army against Crakehall and Silverhill those castles would have fallen.

Because Renly and his forces didn't actually do any fighting whatsoever until after Renly was dead. They spent their entire time marching around throwing tourneys and showing off.

If Renly had actually bothered, he probably could have taken King's Landing, or at the very least, placed King's Landing under siege, if he declined to press home the attack and storm the city.