User blog comment:IamJakuhoRaikoben/Sorcerer Magazine, Issue 41: May 2015/@comment-50.136.186.104-20150624080746

I'm gonna vote for Minerva. One of the things that made her so deadly was her ability to easily read her opponents strengths and weaknesses and form a plan around them. As others have noted, Laxus isn't a very flexible fighter, and he's rather hotheaded at times. Minerva is really good at using stuff like that to her advantage. Basically, while Laxus trumps her in terms of sheer power, I think Minerva would emerge victorious due to her cunning and insight.