A new beginning

A new beginning

BDR and N3O, two names which are known throughout the kingdoms as examples of both coordination and power, each striving to achieve top results in the various alliance events taking place. With the recent game changes and the consolidation of strength being a distinct advantage, talks of a merge began - two similar alliances in many ways, but historically also competing against each other, they knew well about the strengths and weaknesses of the respective teams, and a merge definitely made sense. 

That brings us to the Siege of Winterfell season, GB was one final hurrah for the individual alliances, before merging for the Siege of Winterfell seasons start. Eager for the first match to begin - of course BaN would be playing against one of their biggest opponents in many events - WTF. However full of energy and excitement with all the changes, all 100 members had shown up to the match, a great start to this new team. WTF as always showed up well too, with 96 participants, but the score difference of over 3 million clearly showed the match in favor of BaN, and as the timer hit 0 and the match began with the opening fights, the first collective event was underway. 

Ur Candy, Falconn, Meridanos and other powerful warriors led the charge, eager to meet the opposing forces and they would clash at hot springs and armory - in Siege of Winterfell this was the mid point between the map, where opening fights always took place and this match would be no different. With a higher focus on hot springs due to the healing buff thats where the majority of the forces headed to. “Fight in the circle” the standard command came and the troops followed, initially it was not fully clear which side would win, but as the seconds passed, more and more WTF troops were falling - faster than the BaN troops. The occupation of both buildings began well and they turned blue, continue marching we were told and that is what we did. 

As we approached the WTF side bases, there was not much resistance as the fallen troops from the opening fights were still redeploying, so we continued on to their closest buildings - the outposts. And there the final large scale fights of the match took place, the BaN forces were like a wave, taking down everything in their path as they marched to victory. Finally, as quickly as it had begun, the match ended and the first test of our collective strength was completed successfully.

The second round followed after, the matchup was uncertain but as the timer ended and our opponent was revealed as HOH, we were once again thrilled to enjoy an exciting matchup and test of the new alliances coordination. HOH had a similar score to WTF, which meant BaN forces once again had a distinct power advantage, and this was reinforced by the numbers too - 97 for BaN and 92 for HOH. 

After our first round victory was so swift, the HOH forces called to save on heals, and only play using the free resources - a smart tactic as the cost of healing troops in Siege of Winterfell is high, and if there is no aim for victory it is better to conserve the limited resource for future matches. Nevertheless, they bravely began the fight in the same way as WTF, with one small difference - HOH committed much larger portion of their troops to hot springs compared to armory, hoping to win this early, use the free heals from the initial troops lost more effectively and play to get more kills. The battle at Hot Springs was indeed a challenge, but BaN forces adapted accordingly, Falcon and the flexible players who were not committed to one side, reinforce the Hot Springs fight and marches were dying left right and center, HOH started with a higher initial troop count, but then the score difference began to show, as the BaN forces had on average stronger accounts and thus could inflict more damage before dying than HOH troops the tide was turning. 

The armory team meanwhile had almost free reign to continue and march towards the bases, capturing the left side before the Hot Spring fight was even decided - however eventually the BaN forces broke through and also pushed forward. HOH meanwhile was going for a more strategic approach, taking their entire forces to the left side first, winning back their base - BaN forces reacted and HOH withdrew, then did a full charge on the right side, a play on coordination and their movement was faster. We reacted accordingly and managed to defend the right side, sealing the match and our forces gathered at the furthest point we could, by HOHs base to avoid more such tactics where they would be able to take buildings back by committing all of their forces. Xoica and Grombold shone as brave fighters, achieving 1st and 3rd in eliminations as they strived to inflict as much damage as possible. 

For BaN, the mood was positive, excited for the upcoming Siege of Winterfell playoffs as this was the first time we have seen such an event. And Mightylemon and his troops returned home safely, preparing for the fights to come.