N0X vs MBL: AC Round 2 – Redemption, more Spears and an Old Friend

Two short days after the first round of Alliance Conquest, in which N0X faced an almost crushing defeat against RRH, a new round presented us with a fresh opportunity. With our sights set on UC, alliance leadership prepared diligently with a revised plan, slightly new map placements and even a few surprises.

With ImperialRock, a maxed account and one of the strongest warriors in Westeros, leaving us to play with a different alliance, our goal seemed to be on a mountain far away with a very steep climb ahead of us. We would definitely be in trouble, specially if matched against another top tier alliance. But our leadership was well aware of these aspects and one of the surprises came in the form of new recruits like Grombold. While not a maxed account like ImperialRock, Grombold is a solid Spear player that can lead devastating rallies or hold one of the most important buildings during the game. His arrival was just what we needed as our alliance is already very spear heavy in composition, like we were somewhat shocked to notice in our first match.

With Grombold joining the battle, team morale seemed better, and we were more optimistic about the outcome of the 2nd match, especially after our performance in the first one. Saturday morning, eager with anticipation, we discovered our opponent. The matchmaking Gods smiled upon us, granting a fair game this time against MBL. This alliance is well known to us. N0X has encountered them several times before in previous AC seasons. This would be a fair game and everyone of us tried to optimize every bit we could from our accounts. Had we timed our daily activity better, some of us might have even had an extra 10k army size from the Keep of Kings skin. Alas this was not our luck. But for sure it will be useful next game😏

As the day went by, leadership finalized the roster. Again, I was not assigned any vital role, relieving me of heavy responsibility but at the same time making me wonder... should I be more invested in these types of events? They are the most important events for any competitive alliance and my only role is to be a filler. I might have to dive deeper into this, but now is not the time. I didn't recognize any heavy names in MBL but I would soon learn a few, like ChristianOr, Bearface and Host0fDoom.

Time to put my game face on. The battlefield started to fill and we gathered an impressive army of 89 warriors. On the other side of the map MBL was waiting for us with their 71. It was a good start for N0X with a clear numbers advantage. The fight opened and we raiced to the Temples and Outposts. In the first moments of the game I notice a familiar name taking Mother. An old friend I hadn't seen in a while was playing in MBL. I wanted to say Hi to him, but at the right time🙃

We managed to get both Outposts but lost Mother and Warrior. I was waiting for rallies to be announced to get them back as I consider them strategic assesses, especially with the memory of the months of healing spent last game, but no such order came.

We only held Warriors for a brief time before and never saw it again for the rest of the game.

Instead we carefully swapped the Outposts. I was unsure of this plan and why the Outposts are more important at this stage. For sure Mother and Warrior, along with their bonus, would be a better choice to start the game, but I dared not say anything as it was not my place to speak.

A few minutes later, when the ports opened, our teams superior racers claimed both under our alliance banner. Our new recruit, Grombold took the Lannister Port and we swapped VERGO in the Targaryen Port. Another decision I didn't understand. We brought a power house like Grombold to lock him in the port? I would have expected him to be "saved" for Casterly Rock or at least Mother/Warrior. This made me think, maybe I really don't know how to play this event and it's probably the reason why I don't have any important tasks, lol.

Our victory was short lived as MBL retaliated shortly. They began a wave of solos and rallies on our buildings, especially their port. At this point it more of an ego statement for us to hold their port, but apparently we were keen on keeping it as leadership was constantly asking for reinforcements there. MBL was putting up a lot of pressure on us, attacking on multiple fronts and soon enough they reclaimed three buildings. As this was close to the opening of Casterly Rock we decided to take the hit for now and focus on the new prize. Subarushi won the race, and after a close swap, we let DYW sit on the throne in Casterly Rock. Intense fighting follower with rallies and soloes from heavy hitters like Host0fDoom, but we stood our ground.

After securing CR on our side the fight intensified as MBL relentlessly attached several buildings keeping us on our toes. We didn't know where they were faking rallies and what their true objective was but one thing was clear, they really wanted Casterly Rock. Despite suffering heavy losses and again having to spend months of healing, we managed to keep CR safe and under the N0X banner.

Losing 2 consecutive games was not an option so we were committed. This time we had a real shot at winning and getting closer to our goal: Ultimate Conquest.

We were ahead when the mines opened. But this could have been a turning point so we carefully coordinated runners and slow marches to safely get both mines. VERGO and IceBear were assigned with their defense and keeping the N0X banner high. MBL launched a desperate assault on the Targaryen Mine, but N0X's reinforcements were unshakable.

We quickly filled between attacks with constant reinforcements that even bounced due to the Mines being filled 25/25.

The battle was closing with a substantial lead on points. We had all the buildings except Mother and Warrior that we gave up at the start. With 3 minutes left in the match, we claimed the 100k "dominance" score and leadership called the game.

Despite having a strategy I did not understand, we managed a clean win and clear victory.

Despite our win, victory did not come without a price. Healing costs were astounding, even more so since we never had Mother to allow for any "cheap" heals. It was a "reverse card" moment, as N0X won by the same margin we had lost in the previous match.

On a personal note, I was pleasantly surprised to spot an old friend among the opposing team. Amid the chaos, we exchanged a few "hello" attacks, adding a touch of light moments during the fierce competition.

This battle was one of my most challenging and costly AC matches from N0X. Yet, the team emerged victorious, fueled by teamwork and good leadership. With just a few days until the next round, anticipation is already building. Will the matchmaking Gods rule in our favor again? Will we take another step towards that Ultimate Conquest goal? Tomorrow we get to see our new adversary for match 3.