Sauron has the ability to shapeshift too! And he commands werewolves. He conquered the elvish isle of Tol Sirion. But then, Lúthien and Huan the Wolfhound defeated Sauron(as Huan was blessed by the Valar to never die until he met the mightiest wolf to ever live)… but Luthien was equally masterful in illusion as Sauron was, and Huan the Wolfhound combated his chief werewolf Draugluin. Sauron was described as one of the strongest, if not the mightiest, of the Maiar. Sauron’s weapon is a black mace used against the Last Alliance to kill both Gil-galad and Elendil. The mace is extremely powerful (or Sauron uses magic to strengthen his might), as it can blast back and kill entire battalions in one hit. Against powerful foes like Aragorn in Battle for Middle-earth II, Sauron only needs a few hits (2 or 3) to defeat them. The extent, nature, and specifics of Sauron’s power are largely left to the imagination. It is known that his mere presence can drive all but the greatest of Middle-Earth to madness. Like his master Morgoth, he is capable of altering the physical substance of the world around him by mere effort of will. Although he was utterly defeated because the One Ring was cast into the fires or Orodruin, Sauron will arise during the Dagor Dagorath when Morgoth returns to Arda at the end of times, as he is with Morgoth in the Void.

Now for the Reaper. As said in the Elfstones
“If the Changeling was to be judged dangerous, the Reaper was ten times more so. The Reaper was a killer. Killing was the sole function of its existence. … [It] feared nothing. It was a monster who cared nothing for life, even its own. It did not even kill because it enjoyed killing, though in truth it did enjoy killing. It killed because killing was instinctive. It killed because it found killing necessary.”

The Elfstones were pointed at the Reaper’s face and he was ultimately killed. In the Terry Brooks novels, the Elfstones are powerful elven artifacts that could only be used by people with Elven blood(people who have less than full elf blood will recieve side effects–just like Wil Ohmsford who killed the Reaper), to kill any but the most strongest of Magical beings. But that doesn’t mean that the Elfstones are the only way to defeat a demon such as the Reaper. As far as we know, the Reaper just kills. And it seems about as powerful to me, as Bane in the Forgotten Realms series, that’s how I see him…

As far as I know, depending on the circumstances of this fight, Sauron would win. He controls the elements of the Earth(and also fire) and his power is unmeasurable when he uses his mace(also has the ability to shapeshift, although he is not shown to use it since he became the Dark Lord of Mordor). I have little doubt that Sauron would defeat the Reaper in a battle… The Reapers claws would not be able to cut the Ring from Sauron’s fingers if he did not have leeway to do so, as Isildur probably did(as shown in the movie).

All in all, I’m happy with either of these guys winning since they are both awesome (and yes I have read both series).

Sauron never scared me, he was a shadow a ghost story to tell kids about, the “Boogie Man” under the bed even as Frodo enters Mordor it’s his armies that brought that fear, his minions would have killed Frodo and returned his “Precious Ring”.
When you think of the reaper hunting you or anyone else down there’s a sense of dread even thinking about it.

End of “The Reaper” gets my vote

On the other hand…

The Mountain rides closer to an actual, legit victory.

Main point:

Nope. “One guy” didn’t beat Sauron. Those were the movies. Two kings, both superhuman, both likely capable of sorcery, beat him. They both died doing it.

Sauron’s regard alone is generally considered capable of shattering the will of all but the most strong-hearted individuals.

Don’t underestimate Tolkien’s creations because they aren’t as flashy.

Sauron is a low-level god. He was capable of darkening the sky for hundreds of miles, and of (dumbing this down) putting an entire city under a spell of fear. The full force of Sauron’s regard alone is supposed to be enough to shatter the will of all but the most strong-hearted. The ring was not chopped off his hand by one guy. Those are the movies. Two kings, both of them superhuman and likely capable of sorcery themselves, fought with him and eventually defeated him, but both died in the act. Isildur took the Ring only after Sauron was defeated, when the danger was past.

This is a being who destroyed entire civilizations, dominated the minds of kings and wizards, and was once overlord of nearly all the world.

Whereas the mighty Reaper, in person, can be stopped by cutting a bridge. Scary.

I second that… Sauron sucks!!

An he talks too much.