Alliance Conquest: Match 4 | N0X vs RRH

The 21st season of Alliance Conquest surged on, and N0X’s second victorious match was soon followed by the team’s first loss. Our third match paired us against RoD, whose strength was no match for ours. Such battles are tough, but N0X’s team morale was too high to be completely knocked down by it. This first loss also marked the halfway point of the season, meaning that the upcoming battle could be pivotal. When the announcement came that our fourth match would be against RRH, we knew we’d have a great fight ahead. After clashing with them in some tense fights in the previous conquest season, RRH had come out on top each time before. But this time around we were a more cohesive team and had some growth in our roster, and this matchup would be our chance to settle the score. If we could rise to the challenge, this would be the perfect battle to wash away the bitter taste of the last match and secure a winning season for N0X.

As our members filed onto the battlefield, Belore went over the war plans with a reassuring reminder to “get your heads in the game,” and only a few seconds later the race gates were opened. With great relief we see that we’ve come away with every building in the first round! But that also means it’s time to swap in our rally leads at the first chance. Our first swap on the Temple of the Mother is a bit too rusty, and RRH’s Andir1981 swoops in at the right moment to capture it. After successfully completing a swap on the Tower of the Warrior, we focus our attention on winning back our Mother. 

A wave of rallies are opened at the first chance, but they don’t land with as much impact as we were hoping for. To make matters worse, RRH managed to kick us from both Outposts while we were rallying. So far, our standing in this match is definitely shaky, and with the opening of the Ports just seconds away we need to lock our focus in quickly or risk being completely swept away in this match. 

Once again, our racers take each building (who knew Shado could race?!). But thankfully, there is no repeat of the failed swap this time. With the Ports secure, Belore wastes no time calling for offensive rallies on the near Outpost. This is looking to be tense match, and every second that passes could mean the difference in a win or loss. RRH seems to be thinking the same thing, as they launch their own rallies against our far Port at the same time. Simultaneously rallying and defending can get tricky sometimes, but thankfully the previous matches this season gave us plenty of practice, and we’re able to take over the Outpost and maintain both Ports. 

We seem to be recovering from our unsteady start, and continue our upwards momentum with another try of rallies on the Mother. This time though, Ser Enki is able to take it over, leaving us with just a few seconds to prepare for the opening of the map’s center building: Casterly Rock. This time, RRH are the fastest to arrive, but all fine because our dear racers had earned a break by now and Shado was probably out of boots. Instead, we focus on defending our Mother while Belore calls for rallies on the far Outpost. This time our defense fails, but our rallies land with success.

By now, Casterly Rock has re-opened, and we’re eager to test our rallies against its holder. Aroxxor is the rally to win the building, but our preferred holder MAKIMA is ready to be swapped in if we can manage one more swap. Belore makes the call and our lines speed in just in time. What we’re not in time for however, is RRH’s rallies on our far Port. Amidst the chaos, our reinforcements didn’t make it in time and it was lost to Marvel GR.

The tension in this match continues, as Outposts continue to swap hands, RRH keeps us constantly defending NIGHTKING’s Port from their rallies, and we keep up our rallies on the far Port until it’s finally ours (only to lose it again not long after). But, through all that chaos we’ve managed to maintain just enough of a lead in points per minute. It will be imperative for us to hold onto what we have until the opening of the Mines, which will bring a real potential to completely overthrow our match.

As we reach that pivotal point in the battle, RRH trails our 61k points with 52k, meaning that we have to ensure RRH doesn’t capture both Mines. Otherwise, our hard-fought battle will be lost in the last moments. Our leaders offer words of encouragement to help us regain focus, and the air is eerily still as everyone holds their breath to see who will capture the Mines.

Our luck with races thankfully chose this moment to re-appear, as Araxxor and NIGHTQUEEN each capture a Mine. RRH will not be giving up their chance to tip the battle, so now is the time that our reinforcements will have to be most on-point. Through wave after wave of RRH’s rallies, we keep our armies on constant rotation, speeding home, healing, and sending to the Mine again. It was a great show of teamwork, and finally RRH seems to accept their defeat. Their attacks slow as it becomes clear that the Mines are ours and so is the match.

The battle concluded with a score of 95k to 60k, making it our closest points margin and definitely the tensest match of the season. There was a palpable wave of relief when the battle ended, followed by the surge of excitement as we realized we had finally overcome this enemy. It was verifiable proof of our growth as an alliance, and the perfect battle to have as our third win of the season.