I'm voting for Hector the best Lord of FE7 too.
Hector is actually known for his strength in canon, while Ephraim is known for his tactical prowess. Hector would have the advantage in a duel.
For fun I will also give you a stat comparison, which is actually viable thanks to FE7 and FE8 having the same stat caps and similar stats for basic weapons which allows for easy scaling.
Since this is supposed to be a training matchso I will assume Iron weapons in the calcs and will use the average 20/20 calcs.
https://serenesforest.net/blazing-sword/characters/average-stats/hector/
https://serenesforest.net/the-sacred-stones/characters/average-stats/ephraim/
Hector's HP:
56
Hector's Might: 30+8=
38
Hector's Defense:
28
Hector's Accuracy: 23*2+14+75=
135
Hector's Evade: 21*2+14=
56
Ephraim's HP:
55
Ephraim's Might: 27+7=
34
Ephraim's Defense:
21
Ephraim's Accuracy: 26*2+26+80=
158
Ephraim's Evade: 24*2+26=
74
Hector has WTA on Ephraim.
Hector does (38+1-21)
18 damage at a (135+15-74)
76% hit rate.
Ephraim does (34-1-28)
5 damage at a (158-15-56)
87% hit rate.
Hector KOs Ephraim in
4 hits, and requires
5 attacks on average.
Ephraim KOs Hector in
12 hits, and requires
13 attacks on average.
Gameplay wise the result is clear with a Hector win thanks to significant strength advantage, massive defense lead, and WTA giving him some consistency at landing hits.
If you were to ignore the stat cap ramming on Ephraim he would have near 100% accuracy (97%), would do 2 more damage per hit (8 HKO now, and 8 attacks on average), and would receive 5 speed, which is more than enough to double Hector and would really start to mess with Hector's hit rate (drops to 66% hit rate, and 6 attacks on average).
All of this would actually give Ephraim a significant advantage.
TLDR: Hector is a wall of a man and Ephraim's toothpick won't be able to stop him canon wise or gameplay wise.
