One thing that just about every fan of Star Wars loves is the lightsabers. Force users across the galaxy, be they Jedi or Sith, have used lightsabers to protect the galaxy for centuries. The deadly weapon is one of the most iconic parts of the franchise and has appeared in just about every piece of Star Wars media.
Star Wars lightsaber duels are some of the series' biggest draws, proving the deadliness of the lightsaber. Jedi and Sith alike have been using them for millennia, with a few racking up pretty impressive kill counts.
Updated on March 16th, 2023 by David Harth: Lightsabers in Star Wars set the franchise apart from other sci-fi media. Over the years, fans have been party to mighty lightsabers and their battles, whether they be in movies, TV shows, comics, or books. The Mandalorian has added to the history of a legendary lightsaber, and while canon lightsabers are great, there are several from Star Wars Legends that should be included in the conversation.
20 Jaina Solo
Jaina Solo was the daughter of Han and Leia in Star Wars Legends. She trained at Luke's Jedi Academy with her twin brother Jacen and younger sibling Anakin. She was the best pilot of the three and the most martial. When the Yuuzhan Vong War started, she was a fighter pilot, but an injury caused her to leave Rogue Squadron. She started her own squadron, fighting alongside the Jedi, and using unconventional tactics.
Janina Solo was also responsible for the death of Warmaster Tsavong Lah and was instrumental in defeating Supreme Overlord Shimrra and Onimi. Jaina became known as the Sword of the Jedi. Her entire life was battle and her purple lightsaber killed many enemies, from Yuuzhan Vong to Killiks to Sith from the Lost Tribe. She was even responsible for the death of her brother Jacen when he became the Sith Lord Darth Caedus. Janina became the greatest lightsaber wielder of her generation of Jedi, only surpassed by Luke himself.
19 Darth Bane
Darth Bane's canon status has always been interesting. Introduced in Star Wars Legends, he joined up with Lord Kaan's Brotherhood of Darkness to fight the Jedi a thousand years before the Battle of Yavin. However, as the war went on, he decided the Brotherhood was the antithesis of the Sith, acting more like Jedi. Working from within, he destroyed both the Brotherhood and the Jedi army they were fighting on Ruusan at once, and disappeared into the shadows.
Darth Bane was the originator of the Rule of Two, finding and training an apprentice, Darth Zannah, and teaching her all he knew about the Dark Side. He was also a fierce killer with his red-bladed, claw handled lightsaber. Jedi, Sith, and mundane soldiers all fell to his blade. Bane has been introduced in canon, but his history is almost certainly going to differ from the Legends Bane.
18 Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker's first lightsaber wasn't his own — it was his father's and would also later be used by Rey. Luke's personal lightsaber was the green one he built after The Empire Strikes Back. He used the lightsaber during the tail end of the battle against the Empire. It served him well in many fights from both Legends and the official canon.
Skywalker's green-bladed lightsaber design was reminiscent of Obi-Wan Kenobi's weapon. It featured a longer hilt length and a different emitter than the one he got from his father. His new lightsaber worked better with Luke's personal fighting style, as he designed it according to his own strengths and weaknesses as a swordsman.
17 Qui-Gon Jinn
Obi-Wan's master was Qui-Gon Jinn, who first appeared in 1999's The Phantom Menace. He was more known for his role as a peaceful negotiator, which is why he used the green lightsaber of a Jedi Consular. He preferred to study and research the Force instead of partaking in battles and lightsaber duels.
With that being said, Qui-Gon Jinn definitely knew how to use his lightsaber effectively. He held his own against Darth Maul, though he was ultimately killed by the Sith Lord. Obi-Wan Kenobi then used Qui-Gon Jinn's lightsaber to cut Darth Maul in half, presumably ending Maul's life.
16 Count Dooku
Count Dooku eventually fell to the dark side and under the manipulations of Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious. He was a Jedi trained by Jedi Grand Master Yoda, but Dooku became Darth Sidious's apprentice and took on the role of Darth Tyrannus. He wielded a curved-hilt red lightsaber and set about dividing the galaxy and preparing armies for war.
While Dooku's lightsaber doesn't have the highest kill count, it was responsible for slicing off Anakin Skywalker's hand in combat. Dooku also used it to train both Asajj Ventress and General Grievous in the art of lightsaber, indirectly contributing to his overall kill count. His lightsaber was blue in episodes of Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi but became red when he turned to the dark side.
15 Plo Koon
The Jedi Master named Plo Koon was an esteemed member of the Jedi Council. He was also a Jedi General during the Clone Wars who fought alongside other heroes like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. Plo Koon worked with a regiment of Clone Troopers he defended with his life. Unfortunately, they were the ones who killed him after Order 66.
While Plo Koon was best known for his skills as a star pilot and his contributions during the Stark Hyperspace War that made him a hero of the Republic. He also earned some acclaim for his fighting skills as well. Plo Koon wielded a blue-bladed lightsaber, which he used in Tales of the Jedi when he recruited Ahsoka Tano to the Jedi Order.
14 Aayla Secura
Jedi Master Aayla Secura first appeared in the prequel trilogy, though her character was further explored in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. She was a powerful Jedi who became a General during the Clone Wars. She trained her own padawan and worked closely alongside the Clone Troopers under her command, though she was one of the first casualties after Order 66.
Aayla Secura was skilled with her lightsaber, which used a blue-hued blade. She fought in several battles in the Clone Wars that took her across the galaxy. Aayla Secura's lightsaber claimed quite a few kills during the Clone Wars, and she was renowned for her athleticism and fighting ability.
13 Ahsoka Tano
Anakin's padawan Ahsoka Tano found herself on the frontlines of some of the Clone Wars' most brutal battles. Her training lightsaber had more than its share of battle droid kills. She later upgraded to a unique double lightsaber style that allowed her to attack and defend more easily, making her a very hard target to take down.
After Order 66, Ahsoka left her first two lightsabers behind but later built new ones with white blades. She used them in her later battles against the Empire. While she was still quite proficient with these, their kill count couldn't touch her sabers from the Clone Wars. However, her return in The Mandalorian and her own series could reveal more memorable kills.
12 Asajj Ventress
The Clone Wars introduced a new Sith threat named Asajj Ventress. She was a Dathomirian Nightsister who became Count Dooku's dark apprentice after her Jedi Master was killed. Ventress wielded dual red-bladed lightsabers with curved hilts like Count Dooku that she used as an assassin for the Sith.
Asajj Ventress was too dangerous for any single Jedi to fight alone. She eventually lost her dual sabers and replaced them with a pale yellow-bladed lightsaber. The change in color symbolized Ventress' freedom from Dooku when she struck out on her own.
11 Darth Maul
Darth Maul may not have had many on-screen kills compared to others, but his years spent as Palpatine's chief enforcer must have racked up a rather impressive kill count. The Sith's plan took a lot of work behind the scenes, which meant Maul was secretly killing anyone who got in the way of Palpatine's Empire.
Darth Maul also has one of the most iconic lightsabers in the entire Skywalker Saga. His double-bladed weapon remains a fan favorite and becomes one of the best lightsabers in the Star Wars franchise. The lightsaber's reveal in The Phantom Menace is one of the movie's biggest high points and shocked fans in 1999.
10 Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi was one of the finest Jedi Generals in the Clone Wars. The Jedi Council and the Senate sent him on dangerous missions and he was always at the forefront of every battle with his blue lightsaber leading the charge. Obi-Wan fought some of the most dangerous opponents in the war, including Sith Lords.
Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber style was highly defensive, and it allowed him to survive many battles against all kinds of enemies. He ran through battle droids like they were nothing and it's just about impossible to say how many he destroyed. Obi-Wan's lightsaber is one of the deadliest when adding in all the Mandalorians, bounty hunters, and flesh and blood Separatists he killed.
9 Inquisitors
Following the devastating Order 66 that turned the Clone Troopers against the Jedi, a group of Force-sensitives was trained as Inquisitors by the Empire. They were raised in secret and trained in the dark side as Jedi hunters.
The Inquisitors wielded a special rotating dual lightsaber that proved to be too much to handle for most of the Jedi who managed to escape the great purge. The mysterious Grand Inquisitor was the highest-ranked member of the dark order. He claimed several Jedi kills prior to his first appearance in Star Wars Rebels.
8 Anakin Skywalker
Anakin Skywalker gave one of the best performances in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. He was one of the highest decorated Jedi Generals. Anakin was on the frontline of some of the fiercest battles in the Clone Wars. His lightsaber was responsible for the destruction of countless droids and saved him in battles against incredibly deadly foes.
What really puts Anakin's lightsaber's kill count over the top is his lead role in storming the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. It's hard to know how many Jedi he took out that day, ranging from adults to younglings, but his lightsaber definitely racked up a few kills to add to his count.
7 General Grievous
The devious cyborg General Grievous was a vicious warlord who pledged his allegiance to Count Dooku. He became the leader of the Separatists army after most of his body was replaced with cybernetics. Grievous's disdain for the Jedi led him to challenge them in battle in order to claim their lightsabers. He then used them to kill more Jedi to further add to his collection.
The total kill count of his assembled lightsabers would likely be high even before Grievous stole them. He then continued to increase those numbers during the Clone Wars. Grievous was trained in the use of his lightsabers by Count Dooku, and his robotic body allowed him to wield multiple lightsabers at the same time to increase his threat level.
6 The Darksaber
The unique black-bladed lightsaber known as the Darksaber was created by the first Mandalorian Jedi. It then became an important artifact that represented the leadership of the planet Mandalore. The Darksaber moved through a few rulers who used it throughout a number of bloody wars, including one with the Jedi. The Darksaber eventually ended up in the hands of the ruthless Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian. He used it in his attempts to bring about the return of the Empire following the events of Star Wars' original trilogy.
Unfortunately for Gideon, his kidnapping of Grogu spurred Din Djarin to come after him. With help from Cara Dune, Bo-Katam Kryze (a former wielder of the Darksaber herself), Koska Reeves, and eventually Luke Skywalker, Djarin took the Darksaber from Gideon. He now wields it, using it in a battle against Paz Viszla and Alamites on Mandalore, although he's still not very good with it. The Darksaber is a legendary lightsaber with a lot of blood in its history that continues to impact the Mandalorian people.
5 Mace Windu
Mace Windu was a senior member of the Jedi Council and a fierce lightsaber combatant. He was with the Jedi Order for a long time and had ample opportunities to use his lightsaber during the Clone Wars. The fact remains that for most of his time as a Jedi, peace reigned in the galaxy.
Windu didn't participate in nearly as many frontline battles, but he had years of experience over other Jedi Generals. Mace Windu's purple-bladed lightsaber represented not only his combat efficiency but also his ability to balance both the light and dark sides of the Force.
4 Darth Sidious
Emperor Palpatine's lightsaber is another that didn't see many on-screen kills. However, it must have seen a lot of use in his early years as a Sith apprentice. He was extremely proficient when facing other Jedi, showing he definitely had a lot of practice.
Sidious's lightsaber is probably one of the most efficient in terms of kills, as only Darth Maul and Yoda were ever shown to have survived it. While Sidious would lose his saber during the battle against Yoda in the Senate, he was still quite deadly with it.
3 Yoda
Yoda was the Grand Master of the Jedi Council during the Clone Wars and had been a Jedi for almost nine hundred years at that point, having trained some of the coolest Jedi in the Star Wars universe. While his on-screen kill count is lower than some others, someone with Yoda's experience had to have developed an impressive scorecard.
While the years directly preceding the Clone Wars were peaceful, Yoda undoubtedly fought many battles in the centuries before that and was responsible for the destruction of many battle droids during the Clone Wars as well. A Jedi who had served as long as Yoda did must have had a legendary kill count, even if killing an enemy was always a move of last resort.
2 Kylo Ren
As Supreme Leader Snoke's right-hand man and enforcer, Kylo Ren's lightsaber has definitely shed a lot of blood. Ren was out doing his master's bidding and fought in the First Order's conflicts. He enforced their rule by committing unspeakable acts and delivering one of the best performances in the Star Wars sequels.
Kylo Ren's lightsaber killed characters like Han Solo, which added some prestige to its kill count. The former Ben Solo spread evil across the galaxy, with his red crossguard lightsaber becoming a burning symbol of oppression and death to his enemies. It helped cement his status as one of the most dangerous beings of his era.
1 Darth Vader
After his battle with Obi-Wan on Mustafar, Darth Vader had to build a whole new lightsaber. The hilt was identical to the one he used as Anakin Skywalker before he became Darth Vader. He used this new saber over the next few decades as he hunted down any remaining Jedi and slaughtered scores of Rebel troops during the Galactic Civil War.
Darth Vader was one of the most dangerous beings in the galaxy during his time as the Emperor's right-hand man. He was responsible for so many deaths it would be difficult to tally an accurate count. While countless fell to his Force skills, most were killed by Vader's crimson lightsaber, which became one of the most feared weapons in the galaxy.