Ultimate Conquest (Season 21, Round 4) - HOH vs. WAO

The wait has finally come to an end!

A long Alliance Conquest season has concluded, where HOH, completed the gruelling journey with a score of four victories and two defeats. The final round was nothing short of exhilarating and decisive for them, ending with the brave fighters securing a spot among the top sixteen alliances in the realm.  

Their efforts have been rewarded, and thanks to them, they now find themselves here, among the sixteen participants in the final act: Ultimate Conquest!

The Ultimate Conquest is less predictable than the regular season, with several factors changing from what we've become accustomed to in recent weeks. The biggest hurdle teams have to overcome - aside from opponents - is that battles have to be fought at different times - which can make roster construction very difficult and may result in fighters not being able to join. For this very reason here is a quick summary of what happened in the first 3 UC rounds.

 Of course, in the first battle, we didn't mobilise too much energy - against RoD, who were also the favourites to win the final. And the next two battles did not cause any serious problems, HOH won them easily, against LEG and FDH.

And so we arrived at the fourth round…

The goal of every single member of Spimmer's team was to fight to carry the name of their alliance as far as possible in the tournament. Fighters, with adrenaline pumping, couldn't wait for the match to begin. The battlefield was ready to host the start of the battle; on one side was HOH, commanded by fearless leaders who needed no introduction, as their fame preceded them.

On the other side, their fiercely competitive opponents were ready to fight for victory in this fourth round. They were...

 The alliance which secured their UC spot in the last round of Alliance Conquest – just like HOH – their present here might surprise some, but WAO has showed real character during the regular season, what they brought over to the UC as well by winning their first three battles! Today they face a tough opponent in presence of HOH. But of course, HOH was not expecting an easy encounter either, as WAO has strong and experienced fighters like CCK, korilion2, Achille and Makhulu.

A defeat for any of the teams would significantly impact their fate, since they would not have another chance to correct the mistake. The winner of this match would go to the next round, the other one would be eliminated.  

HOH had no intention of considering defeat as an option. Their goal was clear: to replicate the success of the previous edition and reach the top 4 positions. To achieve this milestone, they could not afford a defeat in a match where they were somewhat favoured.

“The battle is about to begin. Don’t expect an easy victory today; our opponents have added some very formidable members to their ranks in recent weeks, and they will challenge us with 67against our 70 available members. I want all of you to stay completely focused and adhere to the strategies with the utmost attention,” warned leader Spimmer before the battle began.

The air was crispy and fresh, dark glooming clouds were gathering slowly above the battlefield, the sun, weak and distant, failed to adequately warm the environment, and a strong breeze whipped across the fighters’ heads, making the cold even more penetrating.  A storm was on it’s way…

A truly explosive start to the match!

At the start HOH captured all 4 buildings, thanks to their amazing racers! The alliance first objective was to secure those buildings, by placing stronger accounts in defence. It’s part of the usual HOH tactic, so the opponents were ready to intercept if they had a chance. WAO was reading perfectly HOH’s plan and with their perfect timings, managed to occupy the Mother and Lannister Outpost. WAO brought the match to a tie, with two buildings for each side!

But HOH decided not to just stand by, as soon it was possible dozens of solo attacks were hitting the walls of the Mother and after a short siege, WAO’s defence failed. 

When the ports became available, HOH was the fastest, once again to reach them first. In the opposite port, Xoica would be holding the fort – after a flawless swap. Meanwhile, the Targaryen Port has fallen into the hands of WAO – after their successful interruption.

At the same time, WAO increased their activity and simultaneously attacked the Mother and tried to besiege the Lannister Port. HOH was focusing on the defensive side of the game, but Spimmer’s reminded everyone that we needed to get back out Port and more importantly we had to get CR!

“Good reinforcements guys, now we are going to place Tardis to CR – if we get it, then let’s rally the Port, and hopefully we won’t lose it this time”

HOH fulfilled the half of the plan,secured Casterly Rock and now the full focus was on the Port. It was harder than expected, the first rally waves were not enough to break through the defence of WAO, they were playing well high level, this was especially true for their reinforcing skills. After HOH’s troops returned from the first attacks, without any hesitation, we were on the attack again. This time even more rallies were filled and launched by precisely timed, this time they were better coordinated and after the long incoming attacks, WAO defence crumbled under the huge pressure.

After the initial phases of the match, the advantage was firmly in HOH hands.

In the middle phase of the battle, the advantage was entirely with HOH, which was steadily moving toward final victory. To ensure this outcome, after some desperate attempts by the opponents to capture buildings and reverse the match's course, Spimmer ordered the attack the enemy bases! The siege continued until the rivals were completely exhausted and depleted of their forces. This move completely broke the WAO fighters, who had been fighting so well, until this point. 

The capture of the mines was merely a formality at this point, but WAO tried hard to reignite the spark, when they intercepted HOH’s swap and sent all their available troops into the defence – gaining some extra points – but at the end HOH was able to recapture it, boosting their points and securing the victory. 

HOH’s dominance was evident on the battlefield after two-thirds of the match had passed. With the capture of the mines, HOH secured victory against such a formidable opponent who tried their best to keep the final result in balance but could do nothing against an opponent in such form. HOH had clearly demonstrated their advancement to the next round of the tournament.

"An incredible match! I didn’t expect such smooth ride in this battle, WAO fought very well, but we were able to repel all their attacks, the only mistakes what we made, were the dodgy swaps, we have to get better at it. But if we fight like this, I’m sure we’ll go far this season," the leader exclaimed enthusiastically before leaving the battlefield.

The next match would take place in just a few days. Time for preparation was short, but we’re sure the warriors of HOH would be ready for the next round. Who will be their opponent? We’ll find out together soon!