My husband just posed that question at dinner. I told him I’d check here in the thread that was certainly posted at some point in the past. I am shocked, SHOCKED to find no such thread.
So, what do you think? Who would win? I’m thinking Dumbledore has the Unforgivable Curses on his side, but I certainly know of no instances of him using them, so it’s hard for me to say. I’m sure some of you will have an opinion or this isn’t SDMB!
Someone is going to pop in here and say “so-and-so, if he’s prepared.”
Before someone gets the chance to use this tired old joke, I’d like to take this opportunity to preempt it.
Prepared or not, Yoda would destroy Dumbledore.
IANASWF but Yoda is far more powerful than Dumbledore for combat.
Even if Dumbledore used a spell to paralyze Yoda, Yoda would still end up winning. I don’t think Dumbledore would use an incapacitating spell quick enough to win. I assume neither would actual kill the other.
Yoda has the edge is dexterity, weapons and a mental power that does not require movement or vocalization.
Jim
Dumbledore would eradicate Yoda.
Dumbledore is obviously a creative fighter: he can do most anything with his magic and uses this power in highly intelligent ways. He could turn Yoda into a toad, make his lightsaber explode: almost anything he could think of.
Yoda, and indeed all Jedi, have what boils down to a pretty simplistic power (simple telekensis) that they seem hellbent on NOT making intelligent usage of. Despite repeatedly being shown to have the power to knock people and things around with the force, they only rarely use this power in direct battle with each other. Consider Dooku fighting Anakin and ObiWan. He clearly has the power to lift them up and bash them against stuff. Yet he only tries this once, and never exploits it as any decent sword-fighter would: to more subtly knock his enemies off balance, trip them up, deflect their hands, and so on. No Jedi ever seem to do this, even though it would radically alter the way sword combat proceeds.
Given this lack of creativity, I have a hard time seeing how a little green troll that can move things with his mind… albiet usually very slowly, could ever stand against a dude who’s powers and control over reality are limited mostly only by his imagination… and he has quite an imagination.
Are you kidding? Then what’s all the massive hand, straining mumbo jumbo that Yoda does whenever he moves something?
Can Dumbledore cast a spell before Yoda whips out his light saber and lops his head off?
Can Dumbledore do anything when the only thing on his mind is “This isnt the little green man i’m looking for.”
Jedi Mind Tricks over spells/curses any day.
Dumbledore would think Yoda was a House Elf.
And then he’d be beheaded.
Spoiler from book Six, do not read if you have not read book 6. Spoiler about Dumbledore’s powers.
Let’s see the all-powerful Dumbledore is already dead, makes it hard to defend the people offering up what a great fighter he is.
I like the Harry Potter movies and books a lot. I do not like Star Wars and I think Yoda is silly. However Lucas has seemed to envisioned him with more power than Dumbledore has.
Jim
Spoiler from film Six, do not read if you have not seen film 6. Spoiler about Yoda’s powers.
Let’s see the all-powerful Yoda is already dead, makes it hard to defend the people offering up what a great fighter he is.
Oooh, also: 
Now I am baffled, I just don’t remember that happening. What do you mean by film six? Could you elaborate? Which film 6, the 6th one made or Return of the Jedi. I have not seen the 6th film made.
:smack: I forgot, you do mean **Return of the Jedi ** and I haven’t seen that film in so long, I completely forgot about that happening. I withdraw my statement. Sorry Revenant Threshold and everyone else. I spoke out of my backside.
Mutter’s to self and wanders off confused. Gandalf would take either one, he comes back from the dead anyway.
Jim
The “old Jedi mind trick” only works on the weak-minded. Dumbledore is many things, none of which is weak-minded.
Still, I think Yoda has far more combat skills than Dumbledore. I think Dumbledore probably makes a significantly better “headmaster”-type than Yoda though. Can you imagine them reversed? Yoda would refuse to train Harry at Hogwarts. Someone would train him anyway, and eventually he’d join Voldemort. Good going, Yoda, ya bastard.
Well, know we know how Rowling is going to get another seven books written. She has said over and over again that people with a theory that Voldemort is actually Harry’s father have watched too much Star Wars. Fair enough, but how about this plot line:
While fighting Voldemort, Harry becomes Voldemort. Remember the old adage that we become what we fight (or something about an abyss looking back.) He fights Voldemort, knocks up whomever the shippers have got the odds on–human female only, please!–and becomes evil all in Book 7. Harry may even scream NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Now, with the start of the new series, it is twelve years later (we’ll place the pregnancy right at the end of Book 7.) No one knows that the kid is the child of the now-evil Harry Potter. We now spend the next seven books watching the new kid going to Hogwarts where he proves to be nearly as good or better as Harry at everything but without the notoriety, because the characters in the series don’t know what we know, though I suppose some of them could suspect. They only slowly start to catch on as the series progresses. Double points if the kid doesn’t know either, at least not for several books.
I’m not sure about this logic. Though Star Wars says this, it seems to be more or less limited by race and not strong or weak mindedness. In just about every example we saw, humans and most humanoids are suceptable to the Jedi Mind Trick. The only people who it didn’t work on were Jabba and Watto…and presumably other Jedis. Of course there aren’t enough examples of it working or not working to draw a certain conclusion.
The bigger thing to me is the fact that more than likely Occlumens skills would prevent its use.
Still, I think Yoda would win primarily because spells (especially offensive ones) in the HP universe are universally targeted and can be simply avoided. Poor and inexperienced magicians seem to have quite a lot of trouble aiming them. If Yoda is pretty much invincible to laser blasts and so quick and agile as to be able to avoid most anything, I see no reason why even Dumbledore would be able to hit him with any offensive spells. Spells are apparently easier to avoid than Blasters.
In the end, it’d probably be a stalemate since Dumbledore would be able to apparate out of harms way, but Yoda would kick his ass if they were someplace where it was impossible to apparate.
Drat. I was going to do something like that.
We learn in Book 6 that Dumbledore (and others) also has the power to perform magic without vocalization - I don’t remember if he has to move or not, but I’m thinking not.
Take that, Yoda lovers! 
Dumbledore’s spells could turn Yoda’s lightsaber into a noodle. Then he could transform Yoda into a noodle. Again, advantage Dumbledore.
Jedi have swords that can cut through anything except each other. They have some impressive powers, but they never use them very impressively or intelligently. And that’s pretty much it. Dumbledore can transform anything in the environment and shape it to his will, including Yoda’s sword. What could Yoda possibly do against any of that? Sure, Yoda can leap around, has a sword, and can move stuff. Yeah, and? Dumbledore is a WIZARD.
Jedis don’t have to say “MOVE THE ROCK” either. They just look and do it.