Alliance Conquest: S24M2 | N0X vs 31O

N0X was coming off a strong opening victory against IlI as the second round of this season of Alliance Conquest approached. The first match had given us plenty to be optimistic about, and we were eager to keep that energy up as the season progressed. Of course, experience had also taught us not to get too comfortable. A successful first round would usually mean matchmaking would have something much less pleasant waiting for us in the second round. As happy as we were, we were already bracing ourselves for the possibility of facing one of the top alliances, which would mean facing a fight where even our improved strength and coordination wouldn’t be enough. To our surprise, when the day of the fight came, we saw that our next opponent was to be 31O. 

Though this enemy would have some powerful players, they weren’t quite the overwhelming force we had been expecting. Still, with our sights set on returning to the Ultimate Conquest playoffs, we wouldn’t be able to afford to waste any opportunity to keep building up our points. As each team took their places on the battlefield, our leadership made it clear that we would approach this team with the same seriousness as any other opponent. We knew that underestimating an opponent was often an easy mistake to make. But with 310 only bringing 31O players versus our 93, it was definitely going to be tempting.

Winning the First Wave

As the battlefield opened, our racers immediately set off for their assigned buildings, and N0X wasted no time establishing control of the fight. We won all four opening races and began pulling off our building holder swaps right away. It was thrilling to watch as perfectly timed reinforcements filled up each building, and having played with N0X for several years now I can always enjoy witnessing how much our coordination has improved over time. Aside from a few brave solo attacks, 310 made no move to test our defenses in this first round, which we could only hope meant they were saving their energy for some of the more important objectives. 

When the Ports opened, our racers continued their impressive performance by winning both the Targaryen and Lannister Ports. However, this time as we attempted another round of seamless swaps, it seemed that 31O had been watching us closely enough to time their own attacks perfectly. The far Port was intercepted, which in this match was really only a small interruption, but we felt the sting of the mistake anyway. Scythe’s voice called out to cheer us up, “Hey, something to rally!” 

31O Claims the Port!

The call to rally the Port was made as soon as the protection bubble dropped, but not long after Belore made the call to focus on the opening of Casterly Rock instead. So rallies were cancelled, and 31O would get to hold onto that Port for just a few more minutes. Unfortunately for the enemy team, their opportunity to establish a stronger foothold was short-lived. As soon as Casterly Rock opened, we had won the race and were able to redeem ourselves by pulling off one more perfect swap. With that out of the way, the rallies for Targaryen Port were restarted, and with little resistance the Port was ours again.

Redemption After Casterly

Before long, the same process of N0X winning races and holding buildings continued with the Strongholds, meaning that every building on the map was blue as we waited for the Mines to open. Thankfully 31O seemed to have gotten bored enough to try some offensive rallies. Their chosen target was our nearest Port, held by Belore, and we all readied our reinforcements as their armies marched towards us. It was a respectable effort, but as each of the rallies landed it was clear they would be no match for our reinforcements. After this attempt, 31O returned to a passive style of gameplay, but we had hope that would change again when the Mines were opened.

With 20 minutes left in the match, we finally got the reaction from them we had wanted. Though both Mines were once again won and swapped by N0X, 31O seemed to sense an opportunity for themselves against our Targaryen Mine, and they appeared prepared to make a final stand. They began organizing rallies, more than we had seen yet this match, hoping to break through our defenses and claim some much-needed points before the match ended. 

This time, when their first wave of rallies crashed into our defenders, several attacks landed hard enough to get our attention. We had definitely grown too comfortable in this match, as several reinforcement mistakes left openings that a more experienced opponent would have exploited. In our haste to get reinforcements into the Mine, we were dangerously capped at 25/25 armies a few times. When a second wave of rallies began forming, we knew we needed to be more careful. This time, 31O’s attacks were better coordinated, but our defenses continued to hold against the pressure. Despite the newfound determination from the enemy, both Mines remained under N0X’s control until they were drained of points.

The Mines

This fight was certainly a change from the exhausting battles we had come to expect in Alliance Conquest, but of course there were no real complaints from us. With every objective in this match now secured, the final minutes offered us some valuable time to practice. Rather than simply waiting for the timer to end, leadership organized players to test march speeds and rally timing against the now-empty Mines. By the time the clock ticked down, N0X had brought our season record to two wins in the opening rounds of this Alliance Conquest. With our hopes still high for reaching Ultimate Conquest, every victory would be important. Matchmaking would likely not be so generous in the next round, and we had no intention of letting two early wins make us forget how much work was still ahead of us.