Alliance Conquest | Season 21 Round 1 | SFu vs PQL | Close Calls

After what felt like an endless wait, the new season of Alliance Conquest was finally about to begin. Last season had left a bitter taste for SFu. Despite high expectations, the ending was far from victorious. So this time, instead of bold declarations and grand predictions, the alliance kept quiet. Focused. Prepared.

Behind the scenes, preparations were in full swing. Strategies were being drawn up, rally leaders were selected, and players were double-checking their gear and lineups. Among them was Lux—who this time, was more ready than ever. She had just unlocked her T5 troops and had already trained a staggering 2 million T5 bowmen. Her lineup was all bow commanders now, with Cersei finally replacing Sansa, a long-awaited swap. While she had started quietly collecting Cossomo fragments, he still wasn't ready for deployment. And having just come out of CCS with a hard-earned 5 million merit points—at the cost of nearly all her non-bow troops—she knew there wouldn’t be enough time to retrain spear or cavalry troops for reinforcements.

SFu had always leaned heavily on infantry and spear lineups, with few dedicated bow players. That meant Lux had only one real path to personal glory: go solo, strike hard, and rack up points with every opportunity. Then came Wednesday. The matchmaker revealed their first opponent: PQL. An alliance they once fought alongside in the AoW season—but this time, they stood on opposite sides. PQL wasn't to be underestimated. Their power was nearly identical to SFu’s, and the whispers in voice chat were all the same: this one was going to be close. Leadership issued a simple command: show up and be ready. As the countdown ticked, players equipped their best gear. Lux quickly realized her war gear was still missing a few stars and wasn’t quite at Ancient quality. “First the dragon skills, and now the gear...” she muttered to herself, rushing to equip the best she had. She chose Melisandre as her lord, acknowledging the synergy with female commanders, though her own tests had proven that a pure bow lineup performed better defensively—especially with her current build.

The match began. SFu entered with 86 players, while PQL fielded 80. Close. Very close.

SFu had a trick up their sleeve: most of their players had equipped the Northern Pine castle skin, hoping to confuse PQL and mask their key players. The first race began—and SFu was faster. They captured 2 out of 4 initial buildings, including The Mother. A strong start. But PQL wasn't slow to respond. Rallies came quickly—one after another—yet The Mother stood strong thanks to fast reinforcements and solid coordination. Then the outposts opened. These were crucial, offering 200 points per minute each. Once again, SFu’s racers dominated, capturing both.

At one point, the score difference swelled to 5,000 points in favor of SFu. A comfortable lead—but no one was celebrating yet. Everyone knew: this was just the beginning. Calm settled across the map. Almost too calm. Then, Casterly Rock opened. Once more, SFu was quicker. Beha claimed it for the team—a significant win.

Historically, SFu had struggled in high-pressure situations, often freezing up against stronger enemies. But this time, something was different. Maybe it was the lack of pressure from top 16 expectations. Maybe it was the new sense of quiet confidence. But then came the retaliation. PQL assembled over ten rallies for Casterly Rock. Meanwhile, the battlefield began shifting. Bubble protection dropped, and Lux saw her chance. She prepared her lineup—Cersei now at 3 stars—and began targeting cavalry players. Every strike was precise. “So this is what T5 really means…” she thought as enemy after enemy fell under her bows. Her doubts about the strength of T5 vanished with every solo victory. Then, retaliation came her way. A PQL player launched an attack—800,000 cavalry troops with hybrid synergy—straight at Lux’s castle. She braced for impact. But her 3 million bowmen held strong. “The defense power of bows is insane…” she whispered, watching the enemy burn away.

But back on the battlefield, the tide was turning. PQL had captured Casterly Rock, the strongholds, The Mother, and even the Warrior Towers. The map turned red, and the once-comfortable lead shrank to a mere 2,000 points.

The shadow of last season’s late-game collapse loomed over SFu once again. And the mines—high-point objectives—were about to open in under 5 minutes. PQL was assembling again. SFu’s bow players, including Lux, were mostly assigned to strongholds and couldn't assist much with rallies. The situation looked grim. But just when it seemed like another collapse was inevitable, SFu regrouped. Strong players launched a coordinated offensive across multiple buildings. One by one, they took them back—everything but Casterly Rock, which remained fiercely in PQL's hands. With less than a minute to the mines, the score was nearly even. The outcome would likely be decided by who got the mines.

“3...2...1...GO!” Racers sprinted.

Both mines turned BLUE. SFu had done it. Reinforcements poured in instantly. PQL tried to rally them, but it was too late. They had concentrated too much strength at Casterly Rock and couldn't pivot fast enough. SFu held the mines—and with them, the victory. In the final minutes, the score read: SFu: 81,000+, PQL: 72,000+

Lux stayed back in base, her internet too unstable to risk more solos. But the attacks kept coming her way, giving her extra elimination points and pushing her into the Top 30 for individual alliance scores. “Not bad for a first T5 run,” she joked in chat, congratulating her teammates. The win marked a strong start to the new season. But as always with SFu, the future remained uncertain. Momentum can shift quickly in Alliance Conquest—and everyone knew that. Still, for now, the team had earned a reason to celebrate. Lux glanced at her incomplete Cossomo and smiled. Soon, she thought. And with the newly released bowmen war badges pushing her bow attack to over 2000%, she was more ready than ever. The season had just begun. And so had her journey.