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[Review] Analysis of ICE vs ARC in IBL in Infinity Kingdom

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Article Publish : 07/19/2026 12:39

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💠Introduction

What’s up, folks? Welcome back to my Illusion Battlefield League(IBL) series, where I take a closer look at different matches. The IBL tournament differs from regular IB in that everyone will construct marches and skill builds using a fixed set of skills. At different stages of the tournament, more immortals and skills will become available. Everyone has access to the same immortals and the same skills. Castle skins and Lord Talents do not affect the more fast-paced battles of IBL. Relocations and marching speed are also faster. The event is one of the most entertaining events in Infinity Kingdom, and players enjoy spectating, almost like a sporting event. In this article, I’m going to take a closer look at the match between Server M16’s Ice Cold Enforcers(ICE) and Server 73’s The Arcane(ARC).

💠Table of Contents

Overview
Starting Positions and Talents
ICE
ARC
Tower 1
Tower 4
Central Tower
Altars
Home Towers
Play-by-Play
Summary

💠Overview

ARC enters this matchup with a perfect 3–0 record and the experience edge after years of competing at a high level in IBL. They consistently field 30 or more players, rotate well between objectives, and have shown throughout the season that they can leverage their attendance to overwhelm opponents. ICE also comes into the match undefeated at 3–0 and enjoyed a strong campaign last season, proving they are a legitimate contender. However, compared to ARC, ICE typically fields fewer players and lacks the same level of IBL experience. Unless ICE can find a way to offset those disadvantages through superior execution, ARC should have the upper hand and enter the match as the favorite.

💠Starting Positions and Talents

ICE

Started with 21 players and ended with 26
14 Attack talents
6 Defense talents
1 Support talents

ARC

Started with 32 players and ended with 37
13 Attack talents
14 Defense talents
6 Support talent

💠Tower 1

At Tower 1, ICE committed six players to the opening fight, though a couple of their relocations were slightly misaligned, leaving them one tile away from the tower. ARC responded with nine players, with one overlapping relocation. Given the attendance disparity, ICE would have been better served conceding Tower 4 and concentrating their forces at Tower 1. Trying to contest all three objectives while already outnumbered is usually a losing proposition unless you can decisively win one of the engagements. By spreading their players too thin, ICE handed ARC numerical advantages across the map before the fighting had even begun.

💠Tower 4

At Tower 4, ICE committed seven players, with one overlapping relocation. Three additional players positioned themselves to block ARC's incoming relocations, but that strategy was unlikely to succeed from the bottom side of the map. Because the top-side team has a shorter path to Tower 4, ARC's relocations arrive first, allowing them to establish control before ICE's blockers can have much impact. ARC sent nine players despite one player overlapping two teammates, giving them another clear numbers advantage at the objective.

💠Central Tower

At the Central Tower, ICE committed just six players compared to ARC's twelve, putting themselves at an immediate and overwhelming disadvantage. With such a large numbers deficit, their initial force was always going to be zeroed long before reinforcements could arrive. A stronger strategy would have been to concede Tower 4 and redirect those players to the Central Tower. Even if ARC captured both outer towers early, controlling the Central Tower would have given ICE a much better opportunity to stabilize the match and eventually retake the outer objectives.

💠Altars

ICE didn’t send anyone to either altar. ARC sent one player to the Moon Altar.

💠Home Towers

Both teams stationed one guard at their respective home towers.

💠Play-by-Play

ARC immediately seized control of Tower 4 by destroying one of ICE's relocations before turning their attention to the two closest defenders, rallying both while simultaneously beginning the siege. With ICE forced to focus on surviving the opening assault, ARC activated their support talent and captured the tower before the 6-minute mark. ICE attempted to reinforce the objective with a couple more players, but ARC struck first by zeroing one of the reinforcements as soon as they arrived. From there, ARC methodically picked off the remaining ICE players one by one, leaving no opportunity for a meaningful counterattack.

ARC blocked all three contested relocations, immediately creating an 8-to-3 advantage around the objective. They opened rallies on two of the three nearby ICE defenders while beginning the siege. Although three more ICE players arrived as reinforcements, they landed too far from the tower to prevent ARC from capturing it at the 5-minute mark. After securing the objective, ARC quickly zeroed the three defenders closest to the tower, surrounded the objective to deny additional reinforcements, and turned their attention to the incoming ICE players. Every remaining attacker was zeroed before the 9-minute mark, giving ARC complete control of the area.

In the center, ARC seized the initiative by destroying a late ICE relocation and forcing another player to shield almost immediately. As soon as the shield expired, ARC zeroed that player along with two nearby teammates. With the immediate resistance eliminated, the rest of ARC spread out to surround the Central Tower and systematically zeroed the remaining ICE defenders before the objective even opened. ARC then captured the Central Tower uncontested at the 11-minute mark, giving them early control of four of the five objectives and establishing a commanding lead.

Just six minutes into the match, ARC shifted their attention toward ICE's home tower, where only two defenders were stationed. Although ARC failed to block or destroy ICE's incoming relocations, the initial reinforcements were not enough to halt the push. ARC continued sending more players to the objective, gradually overwhelming the defenders through sheer numbers. They finally captured the home tower 22 minutes into the match, stealing the last remaining objective and forcing ICE to divert players from their attempted attack on Tower 4 to defend their base. With ICE unable to regain the initiative, ARC comfortably cruised to victory.

💠Summary

ARC defeated ICE 100,000 to 15,100, with NoLove earning MVP. ICE's low opening attendance left them at a disadvantage before the match even started, and they compounded the problem by dividing their already smaller force across all three objectives, allowing ARC to establish numerical superiority everywhere on the map. ARC capitalized with faster rallies, stronger coordination, and enough players to quickly overwhelm every engagement. Even if ICE had fielded more players, ARC was also winning a large number of one-on-one battles, suggesting ICE may have had issues with their builds or overall combat effectiveness. With the convincing victory, ARC improved to 4–0, while ICE dropped to 3–1.