Arena of Honor Round 6: The Odds Against Us

Last Sunday, a group of friends gathered for a round of Arena of Honor that turned out to be one of the team’s best-fought matches, despite also being one of their lowest placings thus far. Approaching this 6th match of the season, our team of friends already had 4 first place wins with the Supreme Conqueror title. Fair to say they were feeling a little spoiled. But the players they would meet on today’s map would be a test of their skills, strategy, and communication. Here is a play-by-play of how this small team pulled through when the odds were against them:

Arriving on the battlefield, a quick scan of the other players reveals our House Stark to be without a doubt one of the weakest on the map. Caught between many well-known players from both BaN and WxC, the odds were looking grim. After assessing the damage it was decided that for this match to be playable, our team would need to focus on their objectives, trust in their tactics, and above all else, spend every racing boot they owned between them to secure as many points as possible.

The first, and possibly most important, strategic move made by this team is the transfer of team commandership. Whoever holds the title of Supreme Commander in the team has the ability to make choices on the construction of any stronghold, and while this title defaults to the creator of the team, sometimes it can be beneficial to transfer this power to another teammate who can focus on how the strongholds should be built throughout the match. Decisions about building troop camps versus training posts greatly impact the direction of the match, so it’s no simple matter to take over this powerful position. Atyaa transfers the title of Supreme Commander to Hannibal Yum who, despite his youth, has an incredible strategic understanding of the game. With the strongholds under his care, the other teammates are able to spread their focus to other matters of the event. 

At the onset of today’s match, knowing that the chances of battling for the Glory City were doomed on this map, the choice was made to build infantry troop camps in order to have the best chance at securing watchtowers, catapults, and maybe even another clan castle. 

As strongholds are built and the first waves of clan castle attacks start coming through, both a major threat and a major opportunity become apparent. Atyaa is holding the team’s clan castle with her spear army, but House Baratheon to the right has also made the decision to build infantry camps and will be watching closely for any opportunity to seize House Stark’s castle. The situation will have to be monitored closely to determine if and when the clan castle’s lord march will need to be switched out. At the same time, an opportunity arises with House Greyjoy to the left, who have built trading posts. House Stark will now be watching Greyjoy’s castle as closely as House Baratheon will be watching House Stark, and hoping for an opportunity to seize their castle. 

After a few tense waves of attacks, Atyaa has her first loss against House Baratheon’s army and the team knows it’s time to change holders or risk losing the castle. If one of Baratheon’s strong BaN players captured the castle there, House Stark likely would not have the strength to recapture. At this moment a tough decision has to be made, because whoever steps up to hold the clan castle limits the action they can take for the rest of the match. Knowing how high the stakes are, N0X’s Mickyvee rises as the hero. As one of the team’s strongest accounts, typically his skills are best reserved for clearing out enemy armies and rallies on the Glory City, but the risk of losing the clan castle is too severe. Micky makes the sacrifice of tying up his lord march for the good of the team, and secures the safety of the castle for the rest of the match. 

Having reached the midpoint of the match, things are looking better for House Stark than they imagined possible. With the right strategy in place they have managed to secure the towers and catapults at the center of the map, and while the stronger teams battle over the Glory City, our team miraculously holds the lead in points. 

However, their time at the top of the scoreboard just wasn’t meant to last. As House Tyrell captured the Glory City and inevitably rose to first place, strategy also had to be adjusted. House Baratheon appeared as House Stark’s main threat once more, as they had utilized their brute force to tie up many of the altars allowing them to capture the catapults. The call was made to rebuild several of the strongholds into cavalry camps, hoping to counter House Baratheon’s armies and recapture whatever structures we could in order to hold onto second place. 

In the end, House Baratheon had secured too many structures and had a solid claim on second place. But the strategy adjustment still paid off by allowing House Stark to just hold on to the third place ranking by the end of the match.  

Though the result wasn’t a cut and dry victory, the team still felt proud to have fought so well and held their own on a map that should have swallowed them up completely. It is hard-fought matches such as this one that prove strategy and teamwork can be as valuable as strength on the battlefield.