Beyond Expectations

BDR had finished the regular AC season in fifth place (you can read our path through the regular season here: https://forum.gtarcade.com/topic/263094) and had a good playoff run so far.

Beating LEG in the first round and FDH in the second was a solid start, but a defeat against WxD in the third round pushed us into the lower bracket. Every match would be do or die from now and our next opponent was RRH.

Just like FDH, we had already beaten RRH during the regular season. Without any surprises we secured another win and therefore our season was not over yet.

Here we are – facing NBe in the match for a spot in the semifinal.

Reaching this stage of the playoffs had already secured our place among the top four alliances in the game. But we still had something to prove: we hadn't beaten any of the top three alliances so far. Two losses against RoD during the regular season, a defeat against WxD in the third round, and now NBe standing in our way – an alliance that clearly saw itself a step above us and was determined to live up to that reputation.

For Biff, finishing in the top four had never really been in doubt. And despite the ups and downs throughout our matches, he was happy that we had lived up to those expectations.

Speaking of expectations: For some, reaching this stage had been the bare minimum. For others, we had already achieved more than we deserved. And those voices were now expecting our playoff run to end against NBe.

But expectations are one thing. What happens on the battlefield is another one.

The Opening Moves

The countdown was running and both alliances were ready for the fight ahead. There was no room for hesitation or mistakes. A place in the lower-bracket semifinal was at stake, and neither side could afford to let the other take control early. It was win or go home, and our shot callers made sure everyone understood that as they walked us through the match plan.

The first races were our opening opportunity to gain an early advantage – and we made the most of it. BDR won all four races, giving us a clean start. We were happy with the players holding the buildings, but NBe had no intention of sitting back. Their first major rally wave was heading straight for Warrior Tower, and they were bringing enough pressure to make it clear that this would be anything but an easy fight.

We tried to hold off those rallies with a constant stream of reinforcements but eventually lost the Warrior Tower. NBe then managed to get TheOnlyKing into the building – arguably one of the strongest spear accounts in the game.

With another rally wave, NBe captured our Lannister Outpost next, probably gaining confidence from these early successes before the Ports opened.

When they did, we were faster once again and managed to win both races. We decided to swap at one of the Ports and executed it cleanly. At the same time, we also managed to defend a rally wave on the Targaryen Outpost – not once, but twice.

Slowly but surely, we were finding our rhythm and also started making progress on the offensive. We managed to recapture the Lannister Outpost, but NBe knew they couldn't let us hold on to all those valuable buildings and turned their attention to our Lannister Port.

Our defence wasn't bad, and we held off most of their rallies, but eventually couldn't prevent them from breaking through. Maybe an additional solo attack by Quinryss made the difference, but however it happened, the Lannister Port was gone for now.

The first ten minutes were almost over, and another major strategic position was about to open: Casterly Rock. Generating 300 points per minute, it was even more valuable than either of the two Ports individually. Both alliances knew that securing this position could have a significant impact on the score and the course of the battle.

The Battle For Control

Shortly before Casterly Rock became available to attack, NBe launched another rally wave against our Targaryen Outpost. Whether this was intended to distract us from the upcoming race for Casterly Rock or simply another attempt to put pressure on our defense, it certainly kept us busy. However, we managed to hold the Outpost.

And when Casterly Rock opened, multiple BDR marches headed towards it. NBe, on the other hand, sent only a single march.

We won the race and secured another valuable building, giving us an important boost in points per minute. Whatever NBe had planned with their attack on the Outpost, it seemed to have worked out rather differently than intended.

Shortly afterwards, NBe showed why they were such tough opponents. Missing out on Casterly Rock hadn't thrown them off their game. They remained focused on the long game and struck back with a successful rally wave on Targaryen Port, followed by the recapture of Targaryen Outpost. If it wasn't already, the match had now turned into an intense back-and-forth exchange of blows.

Now it was our turn to put pressure on NBe and prevent them from gaining too much momentum and control. While we launched a rally wave on the Lannister Port, we also went for a rapid wave of solo attacks on the Targaryen Port. NBe managed to defend Lannister Port, but our solo wave on Targaryen Port may have caught them off guard, allowing us to break through their defense before the focus shifted back to Casterly Rock.

While some of our rally leaders kept up the pressure on Lannister Port, Casterly Rock became NBe's primary target. Even though there were still 45 minutes left to play and our lead was still relatively small, they couldn't afford to let us keep scoring an additional 300 points per minute without a fight.

They launched a wave of 26 rallies to break through our defense. As the attacks arrived one after another, millions of troops disappeared from our defensive numbers, only to be replaced by millions almost instantly. Our defensive numbers fluctuated wildly throughout the attack. They dropped to 18.2 million, recovered to over 40 million at one point, and then started falling again – eventually reaching just 7.9 million. At one point, we had only four reinforcements left before additional forces arrived.

Our numbers recovered to 14.7 million. We successfully defended the entire rally wave and even managed a hard swap at Targaryen Port, bringing in Tholking, one of our strongest cavalry players.

NBe responded immediately with a second rally wave – this time, 30 rallies were being prepared for another strike. And it didn’t take them long to fill and start them. 37.5 million troops in defense when the first rallies arrived, 34.3 million, 32.3 million, no change, no change. It seemed they had added fake attacks, waiting for our reinforcements to reach the 25/25 limit. Any additional reinforcements would bounce, temporarily leaving our defense unable to receive further troops. Their delayed rallies were planned to exploit exactly that window.

When the delayed rallies finally hit, we had 36.7 million troops in defense, but our numbers dropped rapidly. The number of available reinforcements dropped to just six, while the actual number of troops defending the building was changing too quickly to keep track of. But within seconds, the numbers started climbing again: 10, 13, 14, 12, 15, 18, 24 and finally 25 reinforcements available. Despite coming dangerously close to being overwhelmed, we successfully defended against the second wave as well.

With their third rally wave, NBe went all in. No more strategic tricks this time. They simply threw everything at us, and with all 31 rallies landing almost simultaneously, they finally managed to push us out of Casterly Rock. However, during that third wave, we managed to capture Targaryen Stronghold, helping us maintain our advantage in points per minute. At the 20-minute mark, we held everything except Lannister Port, Warrior Tower and Casterly Rock. We had built an 8,810-point lead and were still generating 100 more points per minute than NBe.

Fighting For The Upper Hand

Just two minutes later, our second rally wave broke through and we recaptured Casterly Rock, completing a successful swap to Ganicus, one of our strongest infantry players.

Our next success came around the 25-minute mark at Targaryen Outpost. Capturing it pushed our points production to 780 per minute, compared to just 280 for NBe and the score stood at 34.800 to 23.240.

Things were beginning to stabilize, and we were no longer just keeping up with NBe. We had established a strong position and were increasingly able to control the game.

However, the Mines could still change everything. The next few minutes were a constant back-and-forth across the map. Whenever we lost a building, we often managed to capture another one in return. NBe reacted just as quickly, shifting their focus and looking for new opportunities to put us under pressure. We were repeatedly challenged on the defensive but continued to create opportunities of our own on the offensive. There was hardly any time to catch a breath, and both alliances were trading punches across the map.

You could tell that everyone was fully engaged and focused on the match. We had the feeling that we were maintaining control and were in a strong position to win. Still, the Mines remained a question mark. NBe, of course, didn't let up for a second – after all, the last spot in the lower-bracket semifinal was at stake. And perhaps even more importantly, they wouldn't want to lose to BDR, an alliance they clearly saw as a step below them.

Closing It Out

With the Mines about to open, the score stood at 58.050 to 31.120. Our points production was still higher, at 640 per minute compared to NBe's 540, but capturing both Mines and regaining control of additional buildings could still give them enough points per minute to turn the match around.

The races were split, and both alliances completed their swaps successfully. Each side then tried to capture the opponent's Mine, but both defenses held firm. Time was now definitely on our side.

We managed to capture Lannister Stronghold but then were sloppy on the defense of our own Mine and eventually lost it. NBe completed their swap and now had another 7,000 points to collect from it. Still, our overall map control remained strong enough that we didn't necessarily need the Mines to win. We continued our attacks nonetheless, but during our second wave of attacks, NBe protected their mine with a bubble for one minute, leaving our attacks without effect.

NBe still refused to give up and launched another rally wave on Casterly Rock, but we defended it without too much trouble. They eventually managed to regain some influence across the map, but we kept finding ways to counter their moves. Recapturing Targaryen Mine was particularly satisfying. It felt as if we had finally broken their spirit.

After another solid defense on Casterly Rock, the score was 70,480 to 48,910 with just under ten minutes remaining. At that point, the match was effectively decided. We were heading for the semifinals, and even losing Targaryen Mine again shortly afterwards wouldn't change that anymore.  And when we managed to intercept NBe's swap attempt at Targaryen Mine, there was no doubt left.

Knowing that victory was secured brought a wave of excitement. Everyone cheered in voice chat, and our shot-caller thanked us all for the effort and discipline we had shown throughout the match. We also knew that this victory had just proved a lot of people wrong.

For us, winning had never been guaranteed. But unlike many others, we knew we had a real chance if we could bring enough focus and energy to the battlefield. And that's exactly what we did. We had secured the win, claimed the last spot in the lower-bracket semifinal and earned ourselves a chance to fight for a place in the final.

Our next opponent would be RoD – an alliance we had already faced twice during the regular season, losing both matches.

Was our journey finally destined to end there?