You don't even want to think about escalation against someone who can call in orbital turbolaser strikes on your ass, pal. As for the subject, you were talking about a Balrog, so don't blame me. I'm just pointing out that against that type of opponent, I'm sure Yoda would go for a ranged weapon.
Then I call down the Valar and Ilúvatar from on high to smite ye infidels
It doesn't have to. It only has to destroy the head of the solid creature inside the fire.
Except the head of the creature is also mostly fire covered in rock, except for some parts like the tusks.
No, it isn't. A flamethrower or Molotov cocktail is not even a remote comparison to a lightsabre. This is more like using an anti-tank weapon against a Balrog.
And would be just about as successful as using an anti-tank weapon against the Balrog. A lightsaber gives off a lot of thermal energy, otherwise it wouldn't have melted the blast doors. Talk about feeding the fire
Ah, so now we're talking about Gandalf again, eh? Stop changing combatants; if you want to start seamlessly switching between Balrogs and Gandalf to attack Yoda, I'll call in some fucking LAAT air support and get medieval on your ass
Anyway, Gandalf's parlour tricks didn't seem to be available when confronted by Orcs. Try again. If he can't kill orcs by simply lighting them on fire, he can't do it to Yoda, particularly when Yoda can absorb energy.
The point remains that Yoda has much more powerful TK than Gandalf, and Yoda can take Gandalf's staff away from him with that TK, thus removing much of his ability.
I was keeping it on the original subject

. The reason the Valar sent the Istari to Middle Earth was to guide the younger races, not fight their battles for them. This is why people ask "Well, why didn't he kill all those orcs?" It's because the Valar don't want the races of Middle Earth to become dependant on them to save the day. Besides, that was Gandalf the
Grey in Moria, and we never had to see wither he would have used his powers or not
It really becomes a contest of who's faster: Could Yoda pull away Gandalf's staff before he becomes a fried frog? Can Yoda force the staff out of Gandalf's hand (Saruman was more powerful when he pulled Gandalf's staff away)? And would Gandalf need his staff to turn Yoda on fire (Saurmon didn't use it to pull the staff away)
No, Gandalf would lose, since Ian Mclellan is a cool guy but your average CGI department has many guys who are much younger. A half-dozen graphic arts people may not be the toughest hombres in the world, but they can still kick one old guy's ass
Bah, I've seen those CGI guys that worked on Yoda, they're a bunch of geeks that could get beaten up by the local elementary school football team much less a talented old man
