Our last UC match... Bow vs NmD!

After a tough defeat in the previous round against TFI, in a match in which we believed we had a chance to win but in the end we still suffered a tough defeat - now we face another tough task - a return match against NmD! This time there is no second chance, the loser of this match ends their UC season tonight while the winner fights for the grand final! The fact that we played against NmD just ten days ago and won does not mean much since they were weakened in that match by the absence of several players, including their strongest player - DrGreenThumB. If he plays today, and it is almost certain that he will since the stakes in this match are huge, it will be a completely different match. One thing is for sure - we are facing an extremely tough match against, after TFI, certainly the strongest opponent in the league!

Not much had changed compared to our recent match against them - we still had the same game plan as before, and once again I was left without a specific role in the match, that is, I did not have to fight for any of the Castles or run any of the races, which was already starting to bother me. Of course, not in the sense that I think I am strong enough to be one of the ones who will decide, but in the sense that it was difficult for me to just watch from the sidelines as others decide our fate. In the initial matches, this role suited me perfectly since I was mentally exhausted in the matches in 4TR and I needed a change, however, with each new match it became more and more difficult for me to be on the sidelines, I wanted to participate in the match more. But, the lack of boots and the fact that I am not one of the strongest players in the alliance clearly showed that my interference in the already created plans could only have a counter-effect and be bad for all of us. Therefore, I reluctantly had to settle for the intended role...

At the beginning of the match, or rather the first half hour, we only looked at two things - how many players we would have in the match this time, and whether DrGreenThumB would appear in the match. I have already pointed out in previous matches what our biggest problem is this season - the lack of players, which was especially felt in the last match against TFI. It must be honestly admitted that we would have probably lost even if we had had the maximum 70 players in that match, TFI was simply stronger and better than us in that match, however, that does not change the fact that we only had 60 players in that match. I knew that we were in for an extremely difficult match now and that 60 players in the match probably would not be enough for us tonight, especially if NmD had all of its strongest players in the match. And exactly what I feared the most happened - both things we were paying attention to at the beginning of the match - the number of our players in the match and the arrival of DrGreenThumb in the match - neither of those things came true for us! We managed to gather even fewer players than we had in the previous match against TFI - only 56 players, and on top of that NmD came with all the strongest players! That meant only one thing - despite our victory in the previous match against NmD - in this match we were underdogs...

Once again, I must emphasize that I cannot understand why we enter the most important matches of the entire season with such a small number of players! I understand that many players may not be able to participate in the match, but perhaps we could have composed the team differently and included someone else, perhaps a slightly weaker player than those we have registered for the matches, but I am sure that these weaker players would be very happy to participate in the match, which would certainly be an additional impulse for us to continue the season. But there is no despair, we have to fight with what we have!

Everyone got their roles and the match could have started!

Surprise!

I couldn't resist though! As the match got closer, I got more and more nervous, and the reason for that nervousness was the fact that I couldn't just watch silently as others decided our fate, so I decided to join the fight! Of course, this decision cost me, I used up the last boots I had - but it was worth it since I won the race and took the Targaryen Outpost! OK, maybe it's not one of those "most important" Castles, but even the smallest victories make me happy!

In addition to the Targaryen Outpost, we also managed to take the Temple. Unfortunately, we lost the Tower, but we knew what our first target would be! But NmD also had its own plans...

Another very bad attempt at a swap that we can't possibly do in a good way! And that's the big difference between the top alliances and the rest - the strongest alliances in the game simply do swap so well that it's a pleasure to watch their matches while the rest of us are not so well coordinated and make mistakes like this. This time, that mistake can cost us dearly, since this match is expected to be tied until the very end, so losing the Castle in such a cheap way is tantamount to disaster!

But we continued with the match, or rather with our plans! We launched an attack on the Tower and after a few rallies we managed to win it!

Unfortunately, I couldn't participate in those battles because I already had the Castle in my possession, and my teammates weren't attacking with spears, so I couldn't even get into someone's rally. But all that's irrelevant, the only thing that matters is that we managed to capture the Tower!

But that's not the only important thing that happened at the very beginning of the match... A demonstration of force followed... Just look at the next picture...

Complete domination! He's the one I feared the most, and now he's showing himself for good reason. No one has ever defeated me as much as he has right now! Scary...

Fortunately, he didn't attack me again until the end of the match, he was completely focused on fighting for some other Castles. With this attack, he just showed his superiority and that was apparently enough for him. Luckily for me...

After taking the Tower, we didn't take any other steps because the Ports were going to open very soon and we were expecting some crucial races! Just like in the match against TFI, now the races were expected to be one of the key details that would decide the winner. Of course, the huge difference is whether we have to attack one of the Castles with rallies or just have to defend ourselves. The Speeders set off and...

Targaryen Port! Not bad, but not ideal either...

Since there was still a lot of time left until the opening of Casterly Rock, we didn't want to just sit around and wait for our opponent's reaction - we decided to go on a full-scale assault! We decided to attack the weakest target - the Lannister Outpost, and they simply weren't ready for our attacks so we took that Castle!

At this point we finally got into a position where we were getting more points than NmD and the initial point advantage they created based on the points their players brought into the match slowly but surely started to melt away! We only need a few minutes to reach them completely, just before the CR opens! However, once again what I feared happened - DrGreenThumB...

With the help of a few teammates, he attacked our Targaryen Port with a rally and once again completely destroyed us... I knew that from now on until the end of the match we could forget about that Castle - we were simply too weak to attack it. On the other hand, it meant that he could no longer attack our other Castles! At least some good things came out of losing that Port...

Just before the opening of the CR, the situation in the match was not good for us - NmD was in possession of both Ports, which guaranteed them a large distribution of points, so the race and fight for CR was of extremely great importance to us. If we lose CR too, we can easily start packing our things and leave the competition! But if we manage to get possession of CR, it will once again completely change the entire situation in the match and suddenly we will be the ones who will get more points per minute! In addition, their strongest player can no longer attack our Castles, which is also very important, although it does not guarantee our safety since NmD has several other extremely strong players who can cause us big problems. The moment has come! The runners are on their way!

Not again...

The situation is really bad now... To make matters worse - H A Z Z Y is also one of their strongest players, which means we'll have to spend a lot of effort to take away CR from them...

It's already clear how huge the difference is between this match and the one from ten days ago - in that last match at about the same time we had already built a nice points lead and could have entered the rest of the match much calmer. But this time we are the ones who are behind in points and have to catch up with our opponents! We shouldn't have waited too long! Since we can forget about Targaryen Port, and the race for CR has just ended, we only have one target left - Lannister Port!

We quickly created a few rallies and went on the attack!

Although we failed to take that Castle from them in the first wave of attacks, we immediately created a new wave of rallies that they couldn't survive and we managed to take that Port!

Although we were still behind in points and NmD was still getting more points than us, this was definitely a step in the right direction! However, as the old saying goes - one step forward, two steps back... We were left without the Lannister Outpost... We were too focused on the fight for Lannister Port, which our opponents took advantage of and took that Castle from us...

But that wasn't the end of our problems... Soon after, their frantic attacks on Lannister Port began, which we managed to defend, but that's not what we need at this moment, we need to attack their Castles and not just defend ours! As icing on the cake came the races for the last two Castles - Strongholds, both of which we lost!

This ended a very painful period for us! A period in which we lost two extremely important Castles - Ports, as well as CR. And in return we got almost nothing! Despite that, the match was still quite even and we could easily achieve a big turnaround, but we urgently need to implement something! Finally, the time has come for us to go on a big offensive!

I knew this would be an extremely difficult task - out of 2 of the 3 most important Castles, i.e. the ones that carry the most points, NmD has its strongest players! But I believe in us and my teammates, we can turn things around! And the situation finally started to change in our favor!

Once again, we decided to attack their weakest defended Castle, i.e. the Lannister Outpost, which could not withstand our attacks for long...

But just like in the previous case - as soon as we conquered one of their Castles, NmD immediately attacked us and took one of our Castles... Only this time it was especially painful since we lost - Lannister Port... The only Castle we absolutely should not have lost...

Even though there was still a lot of time left until the end of the match, at this moment I felt as if the match had completely slipped through our fingers! In addition to the fact that we were already behind in points, we can now add to that the fact that NmD has both Port and CR in possession! I knew that we were very close to defeat and that we had to make one of the biggest turnarounds ever in order to achieve victory! But with all that, we had to react quickly - we had to try to at least get closer to them in terms of points if we wanted any chance in the fight for the Mines! I knew that the plan to be ahead in points before the Mines opened was gone, but we had to try to reduce the gap as much as possible and after we collect all the points that are in the Mines, we tried to achieve the final turnaround in the last minutes! But as I said - we had to be very fast in our attacks!

Miracles happen! Even though H A Z Z Y is one of their strongest players - he couldn't defend against our numerous rallies and we finally managed to gain possession of CR!

And not only that - right after CR we attacked Lannister Port, another one of those key Castles, and we managed to take it too!!

In the meantime, while the battles for those two Castles were being fought, we also managed to take the Lannister Stronghold, which doesn't mean much to us, but even the 100 points that that Castle brings in a minute is a significant thing for us, and that speaks volumes for how desperate a situation we are in...

But now comes the final showdown - Mines! Unfortunately, the situation is not good for us - NmD still has a big point advantage, which means that we have to take both Mines if we want to achieve a turnaround. Since DrGreenThumB is in the match and can leave Targaryen Port at any moment and attack our Mine if necessary, it puts us in an even more difficult position. But we counted on that - if that happens, it means that he will leave the Targaryen Port, which we will then be able to attack, and anyway we counted on not being able to take and keep both Mines, so in that case, they would look for a chance for a turnaround at the very end of the match through CR and both Ports that they would then have under their control! And there it is - our whole season came down to the last two races for Mines!

The situation was crystal clear - losing races for both Mines means we no longer have any chance of winning, winning one of the races still gives us a chance to fight for the win as we still have the option to attack the other Mine, while winning both races guarantees total chaos at the end of the match! Which of those 3 scenarios will it be??

Cold shower... Game over...

I had already started saying goodbye to my temporary teammates, thinking about how to thank them for giving me the opportunity to play UC once again - when a big change happened!

My teammates took advantage of the opportunity that NmD gave them by not sending troops to the defense in time, which gave my teammates plenty of time to take Targaryen Mine with numerous solo attacks!

Suddenly we are back in the game! Although the point difference is huge in favor of NmD, the fact that the Mines give a lot of points and the fact that we are in possession of more Castles, including both Outposts, Lannister Port and CR - opens up the possibility for us to do exactly what we have planned and what we have been going for since the middle of the match - to look for a reversal in the last minutes of the match, after we collect all the points from the Mines! But that was not the end of the excitement and incredible twists and turns!

We took the other Mine too!!

Suddenly the match is completely open! Although we finally got possession of both Mines, there were still not enough points left to take the lead through Mines alone, so we had to start another, final offensive! The directive came to launch a general attack, attack all Castles that are not under our control! So first we retook the Lannister Outpost…

And right after that, the Targaryen Stronghold!

During that time, I bought points from their cities, since I had a Targaryen Outpost I couldn't attack Castles so that was the only thing left for me...

But finally the decision on the winner of the match begins! Although NmD is still in the points advantage, we have come to a situation where, if we defend all the Castles we have, at least the most important ones - by the end of the match we will collect enough points to win! The opponents, of course, realized this, and started the final showdown - I guess they started the maximum rally they could do and started attacking CR!

Once again, our entire season comes down to this one single battle! If we defend ourselves, it would not only bring us the same distribution of points, but it would also greatly damage the morale of our opponents, while it would be a huge boost for us! All we have to do is defend against these attacks, send our troops to defend in time and be extremely quick in reactions! That's it! This is the battle we have been waiting for, for which this event is played!

Unfortunately, we didn't make it...

To make matters worse, at the very end and our final farewell to this season, they also managed to take Lannister Port from us, but at that moment we already surrendered, completely demoralized by the fact that we lost the fight for CR...

And that was the end of our story this season. Although we managed to take CR once again by the end of the match and pick up a few more points, there was no longer any chance of getting back into the match and NmD took a magnificent, fully deserved victory!

What can I say at the end of this long season? I will remember this season for many things. The first thing that sticks in my mind is how I decided some of our matches in 4TR by attacking whoever I could with solo attacks, which I could not even dream of before! Of course, I will also remember this UC in which I met some new people, made new friends, as well as the fact that this is the third time I have played UC for someone else and the first time that I have not won the title! As for the UC itself, when I came to Bow and saw what kind of team we had, I was convinced that we were the main favorites for the title along with TFI. However, it turned out that the players from NmD were of the same opinion and fully deserved this victory! From the beginning of the match, they went on the offensive, especially the period at the beginning of the match of a few minutes in which they took three Castles from us and thus made a huge step forward for the rest of the match, after which we really could not recover. At the very end, they broke the match by taking the CR, they played smart and calm throughout the match and they fully deserved to advance! I wish them luck in the rest of the season, I have no doubt that they will overcome the next obstacle, whoever gets in their way, and that we will watch the grand finale between them and TFI!

As for us, I think that our biggest problem was the number of players we had in the matches. Once again, I have to emphasize how incomprehensible it is to me that we cannot have more than 60 players in the match in the two decisive matches. I also have to emphasize the fact that in many matches we did not do the swaps properly, which cost us a lot of time, and that is definitely something that this team needs to change or fix. It's a shame that such strong and good players waste precious time on such things that should become routine for them... In any case, I would like to thank them all once again for the opportunity they gave me when they invited me to join them, and although we didn't achieve the planned plan, I'm glad I joined them, even for a short time, because I met new friends, which is the most important thing in the game. This season ended with this match, but there will certainly be more opportunities in which we will hang out again and fight together, side by side! Until then, I wish them all the best in the rest of the game!