Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-4519633-20141022032431/@comment-24674051-20170322035513

Emma's light blast did nothing, but Regina's fireball melted the Snow Man. While this is true, let's examine something else. Emma was still (or maybe again) questioning her magical ability at the time of that incident, and it was evident in how she approached her actions in that situation. If we accept the story line, she had, at that time, accepted Storybrooke as her home, but she had not yet fully embraced her magical ability. So, even with her raw power, her lack of confidence can have a very detrimental effect on her ability to cast spells.

Let's fast forward a few episodes, where it took Emma and Regina's combined power to destroy Ingrid's ice monster, and even a little later, when she light blasted the Evil Queen, er...Regina, while not even being touched by her fireball (except for the ribbon that she wanted destroyed). She also did other feats. and her time as the dark one helped hone both her confidence and her ability. She is definitly at least on par with any of the magic users, possibly even Rumple.

And fast forward to the end of Tougher than the Rest. Her magic is not wanting to cooperate (as a result of the shaking, or maybe the shaking is a visible effect of her magic's uncooperativeness), but she finds the internal confidence to control her magic even then. That one scene there speaks volumes on Emma's control over her magic. We saw something similar in The Other Shoe, when she healed Ashely, in spite of her shaking.

Yes, Regina has the ability to beat Emma, and Zelena. I think on any given Sunday, any one of the witches could best the others. There are probably a lot of factors (some of which really need to be fleshed out, as the magic system is definitly broken). But given what has been said and shown, Emma is on par powerwise with Rumple, and surpasses any of the other enchantresses overall.