SoW Season 18 - Match 2 - N0X vs NBe - The Dragon That Never Was

Siege of Winterfell has a funny way of balancing itself. After our flawless win in Match 1, it was only natural that Match 2 would throw us straight into the deep end. But that's how the ranking system works. Win too hard = climb too high => the matchmaking gods remind you where your place is.

This time that reminder comes in the form of NBe.

If memory serves me right, our previous encounters against them have never ended particularly well, so expectations are... realistic.😅

If we manage to bring home anything tonight, it'll already be an achievement.

Still, seeing 89 of our players show up against NBe's 98 is encouraging. Those numbers are about as close as we could realistically hope for, and it's nice to see the team showing up despite knowing full well what we're about to walk into.

Looking at the starting research points is interesting as well. NBe comes in just above 9k, which initially looks impressive. Then I remember I'm only missing the last SoW research level myself because I switched over to my AC Rally Lead project. Had I finished it, I'd also be bringing the full 100 points. Suddenly their total feels lower than I expected for an alliance of this caliber.😀Funny how numbers can look both impressive and underwhelming at the same time.

Before the gates open I double-check my assignment. Last match there was a bit of confusion over roles, but today it's straightforward. Escort my Armory lead, support where needed and don't try to reinvent the strategy. Easy enough.

The force field drops.

Within seconds NBe splits into several streams across the map. Some head straight for Armory while others immediately rush the shortcuts toward our Outposts. That's never a comforting sight.

Maybe fewer of them will reach the main objectives?

Nope.

Less than 2 minutes later all 3 of my marches are dead. They melt like T3s running into T5s: https://youtu.be/zh1TASlPgIo

I barely have time to watch the reports before I'm staring at a hospital bill worth over 26 days of healing. Well... that escalated quickly.

After healing up we adjust expectations. Armory and Hot Springs are lost to us. The next logical defensive line is our Strongholds. Surely they can't have overwhelming numbers everywhere... right?

Wrong again!

Before I even arrive, the same red wave that rolled through Armory is already crashing into our Stronghold. They leave just enough defenders behind to secure the middle while the rest continue marching toward our base.

The result is exactly what you'd expect: Armory results all over again.

Our Outposts begin falling at the same time, so there isn't much point running there either. Instead, all eyes turn toward the dragon on "our" side of the map.

And when I say "our" dragon... I really mean the dragon that spawns in our half. Because NBe is already camping it long before we can even organize ourselves.

Still, with 6 minutes before it lands, we have time. Time to heal and time to regroup. Time to make one last coordinated push.

At this point we're fully aware we're not winning the match. We knew that the moment we saw NBe on the loading screen.

That being said, not even 10 minutes in and the game starting barrier is now replaced with an NBe embargo. We can't even leave our base without having to cross the full wrath of the NBe playerbase.

But there is one mechanic that actually favors numbers over account strength.😶

The dragon doesn't care how strong your marches are. It only counts how many are escorting it.

For the first time all game, we have an angle. Everyone is getting ready inside our base, waiting for the dragon to land. The countdown finishes and we charge together in one massive wave, hoping sheer numbers can accomplish what raw power couldn't.

And for a brief moment... it actually looks promising. Our marches flood across the battlefield, pushing farther than I expected, and I think I hear someone in voice saying, "What a nice turkey shoot!"

Unfortunately... they were talking about us. Because we were the turkeys!😂

One by one our marches disappear. We make it surprisingly far, but nowhere near far enough to convince the dragon to follow us home.

But since we're already our of our base, someone calls for a quick Stronghold attempt as well. Might as well try, right?

That lasts about as long as you'd imagine.

Within moments the battlefield is wiped clean again and no more N0X echoes can be heard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAXwb-3A3VU

Not even a quarter of the match has passed, but the outcome is already decided.

And Discord makes it official as I hear the words: "Stop healing."

From that point on we're only looking for positive trades, and against NBe that's easier said than done. I throw a few desperate hits at smaller marches lingering around our base, die mostly to counter damage, and with my final marches dead... my SoW match is effectively over.

The rest of the game becomes spectator mode.

There won't be any miracle comeback. No surprise strategy can save us now.

The match end while we finish with roughly 4k points... of which about 3k came from research before the gates even opened.😅

A brutal defeat, but not an unexpected one.

That's simply how these events work. You dominate one round, climb into the upper bracket, get crushed by an alliance that's playing on an entirely different level, and then settle back into matchmaking where the games become competitive again.

But this means... the real season starts now. With 4 matches still to play, if we can win 3 of them we'll be sitting in a very respectable position by the end of Season 18.

So let's see what the next opponent has in store.