N0X vs SFu: AC Round 5 – unexpected strategy brings us one step closer to UC

Lady Luck has not been kind to N0X in season 20. We faced RRH twice, so as you can guess, we are sitting at 2 wins out of 4 matches. Our most recent game was against RRH, and we managed to lose in style. Someone once said, "If you cannot win with over 100k points, it was not an easy match," and I would like to believe we were no pushover. Attendance was great, our gameplay was good, and even though we lost, we ended the night satisfied, knowing we gave it a good try.

Curiosity is killing me, who will we fight next? We have two games left this season, and the stakes are super high. If we lose even one, our chance at UC is gone. But if we win both, we still have a good shot at qualifying. Having already faced RRH twice, I am expecting more balanced matches for the rest of the season. I can already picture myself in UC and hope the rest of N0X shares the same vision. We need to give it our best for these two remaining games to keep the dream alive.

For now, we can just focus on collecting our buffs, waiting for registration, and hope Lady Luck decides to join us next time.

At least Lady Luck is on my side this time. I managed to get Annie's weapon in the Treasure Hunt event! While it is not perfect for my setup, I don't have 5 red weapons for my main march, so I'll take any help I can get. Now, if I can only roll a decent spear base attack on it... that would be amazing, but I'm not hoping for multiple miracles in a single day. I'd rather save my luck for the matchmaking!

I get home from work 3 hours before the game begins. With our opponent revealed, N0X starts preparations. Our top accounts decide which troop type they will play and who their reinforcers will be. Meanwhile, the map placement is updated to reflect today's strategy.

At the start of the game, we have the advantage with 86 accounts against their 80 and a slight lead in points.

As the game starts they manage to take our Outpost but for some reason abandon it.

We immediately snipe it leaving the map bathed in our baby blue tint within a few minutes.

A few minutes later, their plan becomes clear, they abandoned the Targaryen Outpost to steal our Mother. With a few well timed rallies, they manage to claim Mother. No matter; they take her long before Casterly Rock opens, giving us plenty of time to take her back.

We quickly reclaim Mother, but they now contest our new weakest link, their port. While we time rallies for Mother, they do the same for their port. As we take Mother, they retake their port. This building swapping will soon take a break as Casterly Rock opens. We let them hold their port, for now, as both our alliances turn their sights towards the new prize.

We win the race and execute a flawless swap, but slow reinforcements leave us with our pants down and their rallies overwhelm us in Casterly. Though we want to claim this important objective, we’re playing the long game, holding back our two strongest accounts to save them for the mines.

As the Strongholds open, the game feels much more balanced. We manage to take their Port but we lose a Stronghold.

We started strong but gradually lost our advantage. Fifteen minutes in, despite holding more buildings, we’re not the ones sitting in Casterly Rock. At this point, it’s fair to say we’re evenly matched. While a bit disappointed, since I was expecting an easier game, I’m glad the matchmaking system finally worked and gave us a balanced game.

Fast forward fifteen minutes later, at the halfway mark, we regain control of the map. Baby blue is back in style. Our personal bubbles also drop so the map is swarming with attacks and rallies. As we trade personal points, only a handful of castles remain unconquered.

Their sights turn back to Casterly Rock. Out of all the buildings on the map, they target the strongest prize. But we can’t let it go!

Waves of rallies with a sprinkle of solo attacks test our defenses, but we do not let them have it. We need this win just as much as they do. They get dangerously close to kicking us out, forcing us to use our bubble. While we’d hoped to save it for the mines, we decide it’s better to secure our position here. Rather than dealing with the trouble of retaking Casterly Rock, swapping and reinforcing again, we decide to establish dominance here and not let them have it.

A loss here means goodbye UC for both of our alliances. It seems everything we do now is around Casterly. All the arrows, one target.

We hold strong against their relentless attacks until the mines open. With a bit of luck we lay claim to both mines, one through a flawless racer swap and the other with a strong rally lead.

They attempt to contest the mine we swap, likely fueled by their earlier success at Casterly, but this time, all our members are focused on the mines. We manage to speed in more reinforcements than they speed in rallies and secure both mines. Once again, I’m proud to see the map bathed in N0X colors.

As we enter the final quarter of the game, just as things seem to be settling and I was expecting smooth sailing until the end, an unexpected twist appears. Approaching the 80k mark, leadership calls for an immediate disband of all buildings, including the mines that still had points in them. I'm once again baffled by the strategies we use. What's going on? Are we throwing the game?

Within a minute, we abandon everything, allowing SFu to claim the map. It's not a pretty sight, but the reason for this strategy quickly becomes clear, we’re intentionally limiting our points to avoid jumping too high in the rankings. While we’ve clearly won the match, securing a spot in UC still requires one more win. To increase our chances for the last game, we want to stay as far away as possible from the top tier alliances. Fearing a matchup against someone like NBe or BaN, we make the deliberate choice to disband everything.

As the match nears its end, we begin to second guess our math. We had overlooked a few castles in our hive that still had points on them. Two of them were rich with 500 each. If SFu claims those points along with the buildings, could we have accidentally thrown the match? A quick recalculation reassures us, but just in case, we scramble all dragons to reinforce the last five castles with points. Reclaiming a building or two remains an option, but the math holds, and the match ends as planned: N0X slightly under 80k and SFu just over 70k. A balanced score that gently pushed us in the mid 20s overall, keeping us well positioned to avoid an impossible matchup.

As the dust settles, we find ourselves rank 25, close to where we hoped to be. With a win on Saturday, we’re in UC! N0X is buzzing with anticipation. Once again, I’m surprised by the shot callers, but at this point, I’m used to N0X leadership keeping me on my toes. They never cease to amaze me this AC season, always focused on the end game and making bold decisions, even when it feels like we’re walking a fine line on the edge of a cliff. Their experience and ability to read the game and react exactly when it matters most have been the key to getting us where we are today.

In the end our strategy paid off, again. Hoping we'll avoid an impossible game in our last matchup, we now have the chance to score a win in the last match. We never know who we're going to get next but the odds look favorable for a decent matchup, one we’re confident we can win. It’s been a great season, full of surprise calls and questionable decisions for me, but if this all falls into place, it’ll be a season to remember for N0X. We’ve played the system, outsmarted our opponents and shown that even in the most difficult matches we are an alliance to be feared. Who will we face next in our final match? We don't know yet, but we’re ready!