Alliance Conquest Season 20: Match 2 | N0X vs MBL

N0X is preparing for the second match of this 20th season of Alliance Conquest, an event favored by all, which requires teamwork and strategy to succeed. After weeks of preparation and yearning for the season to start, N0X faced a harsh first match against RRH, which lowered the excited spirit for the start of the season. Having gained several new members and incorporated new strategies into the alliance’s gameplay, we still had many kinks left to work out in order to be operating smoothly. The first match hadn’t allowed much opportunity for stretching the team’s muscles, but match two approached with a better suited pairing. 

To aid in raising the spirits, N0X had also received a guest to play these forthcoming battles with them. Grombold, lured with the promise of cookies, had agreed to lend his spears to N0X. When it was revealed N0X would face MBL for the second match, there was resolve to prepare to the best of our abilities. Though we would stand a much better chance on this battlefield than the first match, we could not underestimate our opponent. Their participating numbers were historically lower than N0X, but they also wielded some very strong accounts that could topple our fights easily if we were not careful. 

This would be illustrated on the battlefield, as N0X forces found themselves 89 members strong compared to MBL’s 71, but no one let their guard down. Having received their orders from leadership, rally leads, racers, and fillers alike all donned their best gear and readied for the fight. From across the map of coveted buildings our scouts could spot the players who concerned us most: Bearface and Host0fDoom (previously known as HostOfDoom). Having encountered these two in other events, we knew they would be able to overtake even our strongest fighters, so we will have to work together to counter their strength. 

The first wave of buildings open, and the initial claims are split: MBL takes Mother and Warrior and both outposts are grabbed by N0X. Though this puts us in the lead for points per minute, the buffs offered by Mother and Warrior are too valuable to disregard. Before we can move to take them though, we must make sure our Outposts are secure by swapping the building leads. Belore leads the count down and all fillers are ready on their marks to speed in, as HotepRa discards the building at the perfect time allowing Belore’s army to claim the building. 

Our swap is successful, and we turn our attention to Warrior just as MBL begin a swap of their own. Many  N0X leads send out solo attacks hoping to catch the building at low reinforcements but MBL speeds in just in time. Instead, it must be taken with a wave of rallies and our Alysanne is the one to secure it just in time for the Ports to open. 

In the speedy clash, N0X comes away with both ports in our possession - Grombold in the near (where he will remain, forever immovable, hopefully enjoying his cookies) and Zacherry in the far, which means our team must prepare for another swap. 

While we were focused on this swap, MBL took advantage of our focus and began heavily solo-ing the troops in Alysanne’s warrior. Though we’re able to get more reinforcements in just in time, it quickly becomes clear that MBL will focus on our weakness here and we must find a solution to stop them from farming eliminations there. 

For now, our attention remains split on more pressing issues: the waves of rallies we’re sending to Mother and Casterly Rock opening in the next 20 seconds. For this moment to be successful we need to keep troops in the Warrior, time our rallies to hit together at the Mother, and have racers on their toes to secure CR. In this intense moment of pressure, everyone must play their role to ensure the success of the team. 

In these pivotal moments, we almost manage to pull everything off. Rallies crash against Mother and Mablung is able to claim it, subarushi wins the race for CR and we manage another clean swap to secure DYW as its holder. But the constant barrage of attacks at Warrior proves too much and MBL overtakes us there. 

The match pushes on, with MBL and N0X each securing each other’s Strongholds. N0X has held a good lead thus far, but MBL hasn’t let up. At the midway point of the match, they make a strong push for Targaryen Port.  The position of this building makes it easy for MBL to deploy wave after wave of hits, while our forces must traverse the entire map to reach it. The port survives the first wave of their rallies, but eventually succumbs to ChristianOr. 

The next high-speed race is for the Mines, offering a slew of points that could change our winning position if we allow MBL to overtake them. MBL does initially secure the Lannister Mine, but when they attempt to swap in Bearface our VERGO seizes the opportunity and steals it away. Having such a strong lead in that mine would have been difficult for us to knock out, and could have cost us a slew of points without his quick thinking. 

We’re able to hold on to each Mine through the onslaught of MBL attacks, and eventually even take back the far Port. By the scoreboard, this match is done early, but by the final moment we’ve earned 101k to MBL’s 45k. Though we had them outnumbered, MBL’s force was packed with strength, and if we hadn’t played well enough they would have been able to turn the tides on us. The real takeaway was a reminder that numbers alone won’t win the battle, but neither will brute strength.