AoH doesn't go as planned: We Lost Center, But Found Solace in the Mines

At noon, we had trouble putting together a full 10 man premade group. Despite my personal preference for that slot, it usually means cleaner games with fewer top-tier accounts and more fun overall, only four of us were available. And none of us felt like bringing in alts or playing with randoms, so we voted to skip the slot.

That worked out just fine for me. I had a few errands to run anyway and got home just in time for the vote to skip the match. The decision to skip was unanimous.😅

Now it’s time for the 18:00 group. The lineup looks solid, our usual mix of superstars and fillers, just like any other event.😏

Judging by our team rating, though, this won’t be an easy game. At nearly 100K points team score, we’re bound to face some tough opponents. I was secretly hoping for an easier ride, just enough to secure my King rank upgrade. Not really for the rewards, it’s more the prestige that matters. I know I’ll never reach Glory King, but keeping the King title each season is a personal goal. And I’m just one point away. This could be the match that gets me there.🙏

Of course, my headphones battery dies right before the match starts, so I’m stuck using a wired pair with no mic. Great start!

But the map looks promising: lots of Cav players. Maybe this time we can actually take center? We haven’t had center in a while, that alone would make the game interesting.

As we step into the arena, the atmosphere feels calm. For once, we’re hoping for a nice, chill match.

We get a clean start, taking all our initial Outposts without overlap. I’m clicking so fast it feels like the game can’t keep up with me.

Now comes the choice: do we go for Trade Camps as usual, or try something different with Troop Camps? We decide to wait and see what others are doing first.

While waiting, we start capturing Altars to test the waters, but surprisingly, nobody contests us. Not a single house. We even take a few enemy Altars uncontested. Maybe this really will be a relaxed match?

Troop Camps seem to be taken already, so to avoid throwing the game we stick to our default Trade Camp strategy. Still, the idea of taking center lingers in the back of my mind.

As more rows of Altars open, we’re already planning to go after extra Maidens. That’s new for us, and I’m starting to like this game. We even claim first place early on.

But then reality kicks in. I can’t find those Cav players we saw earlier, and I keep running into slightly stronger Spear opponents. My solo impact is limited, but that’s fine, it’s a team game so I switch to reinforcing rallies, like the filler that I know I am.😒

Even when I capture something, I can’t hold it for long. Every time I’m seconds away from locking in, I get kicked out. It’s frustrating, but at least our faction stays in first place and we even take a Dragonpit. The team’s doing great, even if I’m not shining individually.

Eventually, the City of Glory opens and we decide to go for it. This could be the moment that seals our victory, or the one that breaks us.

We rally hard on center, with two rallies and constant healing reinforcements, but that focus leaves everything else exposed. The other houses react quickly, attacking our Altars and trying to cut off our points. Soon, it feels like the entire map is against us. We’re defending center under heavy fire and losing ground everywhere else.

We manage to take the City of Glory three times, but each time we fall short of holding it for the full four minutes. I'm multitasking like crazy and I still feel like I'm not able to keep up with everything that's going on. The frustration builds and it seems out strategy is turning into a tragedy. This shall be know as our "stragedy" AoH game.😅

After 10–15 minutes of chaos, we fall from first to fifth place. At that point, we realize it’s time to abandon the City of Glory attempts and salvage what’s left of the game or it's not going to end well for us.

Our best chance to turn things around is still ahead of us in the form of the small mines. If we can secure those, we can climb back fast, especially with Maidens to boost our points intake.

As the small mines open, our rally leads react instantly. One by one, we capture three, then four mines in quick succession. With minimal reinforcements, we manage to hold them all. And the cherry on top: after depleting one of our own, we snipe a nearly full mine from the house next to us.

That double mine combo changes everything. Our score shoots up, launching us from fifth back to second place. The comeback is real. The "stragedy" is no more.

The house holding center, the one that went for Troop Camps, now controls almost everything on the map: all Dragonpits, all Catapults, all Towers. They seem untouchable. But for us, second place is a massive win after such a rough middle game.

Now it’s all about holding second place. We focus on cleaning up any remaining points around the map, and making sure nothing slips through the cracks.

As we move into the final two minutes of the game, we’re still barely ahead of third place. The tension eases a bit, and we can finally breathe. Our failed push for center didn’t cost us the entire match.

When the dust settles, we’re firmly in second place, and that’s enough to earn my long awaited King rank upgrade.

It wasn’t the easy game I’d hoped for, but it was intense in a completely different way. We weren’t struggling to survive, we were overconfident, spread too thin, and paid the price for it. Many great leaders in history have done the same. The difference is, we still managed to regroup and finish strong.😊

Check out the match highlights here: