 |   Territories on Shuffle Off This Mortal Coil (dark) This is one of my favorite game/map combos in this tournament. With a good balance of units that are just plain fun to play with, these first two games of the match should be a great way to start off the Double Elimination. There are many types of strategies that can work well on this map, but I'm going to focus on the two extremes, a strategy involving mostly artillery units, and one that depends on a large melee backbone. The artillery strategy will be the choice of large, well coordinated teams. It includes maximum fetch and warlocks, about 20 or so archers, and a balance of melee units, preferably the fast ones, myrkridia and berserks. As is typical, you split up into three groups of about equal strength and make sure to block the enemy from crossing over to your side. If you can coordinate well, patience and a keen sense of timing will make this strategy work against nearly anything. If both teams use this and are good, you could be exchanging petty fire for the bulk of the game. Don't lose your cool or your opponent will take advantage. The second strategy of course is the melee-heavy one, where you'll take as many myrkridia and berserks as you can, and a large number of mauls to back them up. When the mauls arrive, spread out as much as you can and push across. The key to this strategy will be getting a couple krids/serks across the water early so that later they can harass archers and fetch. This will be the best strategy for small teams, but remember that you must be very well aware of your teammates to pull this off. If anyone decides to retreat at the wrong time, the whole game goes down the tubes and you'll lose with a huge differential. An interesting twist on these is to unbalance the melee/artillery ratio on your flanks, so you'd have one flank with enough melee to successfully punch through, and another flank with enough artillery to defend for as long as necessary. This is great for the more impatient teams, as it lets you push immediately and start killing things, but it's also quite a bit safer than an all-out rush. Flag Rally on Drowned Empire Another personal favorite. (See, I'm getting them all out of the way early so I can't be accused of too much cheating later on :) My favorite strategy on this map involves a full complement of 16 soulless, about 4 dwarves, and as many melee as I can get, with 8 thrall for flag defense. The only real choice you have to make here is what to send to the middle. I'm accustomed to sending nothing - there are no flags in the middle; however, many others prefer to send a token force across to try and take the opponent's home. I've never seen anyone succeed against a good team sending the bulk of their troops through the middle. Above all, remember that the last game is Captures. Every flag you keep the other team from tagging here will set you on a higher point slope going into the last game, where you can sit on a few balls for the match win if necessary. Captures on Dead of Winter This map/game pick was the product of an individual who thinks doing a sit up out of bed in the morning is an excellent workout. There's nothing better than lazily sitting on a big hill, with just as many balls as you need to win the match, laughing your butt off at the enemy as he executes his futile assault. Then again, you might be the on the wrong end of that transaction, in which case you'll need a plan, and lots of pus. The key to any light map assault is well-used pus. I'd recommend letting 2 or maybe even 3 players handle nothing but pus, while you send the rest of your army in small groups to position themselves all around the enemy camp. In the waning moments of the game, come from every direction and do your best to keep the enemy guessing. Chances are they've gotten a bit lax just sitting on that hill with no action, so if you come fast and steal a ball in the confusion, it won't be hard to come out on top. Good luck to everyone in your matches! |
