SoW Playoffs; GCM vs UTB!

SoW season has been relatively easy for us at GCM. We didn't have too much trouble to get into top 12 and make it to the first ever SoW playoffs. I wasn't keen on joining GCM after the merger of BDR and N3O left me homeless. But with SoW just a day away I more or less dragged EldaS with me to GCM. I had an inkling that this move would give us the best chance of getting a chance at Play Offs.

Turned out my prediction was spot on. So, I was in a great mood. I didn't know a great deal about UTB's current strength but I was confident that with the newly bolstered strength from a bunch of newly joined accounts from both BDR and N3O, we had a good chance of making it past UTB and into the next round. I had very confidently put us down as the winner for this match in the overall predictions. Luckily I was selected as one of the 70 players who would have the honour to face off against UTB.

We had Tanalyn join us today as a shotcaller which was a pleasant surprise. As warriors from both alliances filtered onto the battlefield, the atmosphere in GCM voice chat was pretty positive. I could tell that everyone expected a close game but a win for us, Both sides fielded 69 warriors. so there should be no advantage for any side. however with the new researches that allows players to bring in extra troops there was no telling which side had more troops available.

I was assigned to the Winterfell squad alongside EldaS and we were already on our way to Hot Springs when the order for the WF squad to support the Hot Springs squad came through from Tanalyn. UTB had spent a large group at Hot Springs and we were sorely outnumbered. The battle at armoury wasn't going too easy for us either but it did look like we had the upper hand there. Hot Springs on the other hand looked like a killing grounds for GCM troops. All my marches were killed off not once but twice. By the time I was on my

way to Hot Springs for a 3rd time, it was almost time for the WF package to drop so I changed my route and got to WF instead. By the time I got there the battle over the package was in full swing. Base 4 was designated as the delivery place while UTB had clearly picked base 2 for their drop off. the fight over the package was bloody, brutal and long drawn out. The package kept changing hands and being pulled from one direction to another. But slowly yet surely UTB were gaining the upper hand in the fight with the package moving towards base 2 inch by inch.

When it became clear that even if we capture the package, there was no way to take it to one of our already occupied bases, we were ordered to flood base 2 with superior numbers so when UTB brings the package to Bas 2, we could take it off of them and deliver to base 2. But UTB had an advantage here, Base 2 was closer to their homebase than ours, it meant they were getting reinforcements faster. They had also held on to Hot Springs this whole time, making healing quite punishing for us GCM folks. So, unfortunately but unsurprisingly we failed to capture base 2 and UTB were able to deliver first package.

We had lost most of the objectives in our single minded focus to take home the package so before the second package became available we would have to take back as many objectives as we could, boosting our points per minute tally. UTB were 12k ahead of us, but if we maintained our hold on the map and took the second package, we could still win. Of course that plan sounded easier in my head than it would be to execute.

We were already in a lot of trouble and needed a miracle to make it all fall into place. But it was not to be. the higher healing cost was forcing more and more GCM warriors to stop healing and calling it a day. So, we were overwhelmingly outnumbered during the package fight. I spent speeds to heal like there was no tomorrow but I could see that we were very much on the backfoot.

Even as whatever GCM forces could be spared hurried towards the package we began to lose whatever objectives we still held. Every building was blinking and we were besieged from every direction. With defeat staring us in the face we desperately dragged the fight even as UTB's points per minute score swelled.

Unsurprisingly all our desperate attempts amounted to nothing. We tried to take the base that UTB was bringing the package to but they outnumbered us 2 to 1 making it impossible for us to secure the second package.

We lost the game by almost double the points but truth be told it felt like a much closer game. It was probably the most fun we had this SoW season. Unfortunately because SoW doesn't have the double elimination format so we were out of the play offs and my overall predictions were in ruins. But this was a very fun and competitive game