CP REWRITTEN, United Media Headquarters – A few days ago, the army community witnessed the two semi-final battles, of which the winning two armies proceeded to the final round. A total of 6 judges, were in charge of refereeing these two battles. What are their thoughts on the two battles?
Recently, the community witnessed the two semi-final battles taking place between the four armies. On February 5th, the first battle between the Rebel Penguin Federation and the Templars happened. In the following week, on February 13th, the second battle between the Help Force and the Ice Warriors took place. The results of both battles can be found here.
Rebel Penguin Federation vs. Templars | AUSIA Arena – Semi-finals.
Help Force vs. Ice Warriors | AUSIA Arena – Semi-finals.
United Media had the opportunity to talk to Joe and Light about the battle between the Rebel Penguin Federation and the Templars, and to Mare, Popcorny, and Yvng about the battle between the Help Force and the Ice Warriors.
Interview
What are your thoughts on the battle?
Joe: I thought it was a good, fast-paced battle well fought by both sides.
Light: I thought it was a really fun battle to judge, particularly because of the context that went into it. Obviously, TCP is challenging for the top spot in CPA which has been held by RPF for so long, and even though this was an AUSIA tournament which isn’t entirely indicative of either army’s strength, this battle represented a chance for either TCP to really establish themselves as the best or for RPF to shut the door on TCP taking the top spot (for now).
Mare: Honestly, it was a very close battle the entire time it was really exciting to judge!
Popcorny: I thought the battle was as expected, an extremely close affair with both armies performing to a very good standard, not their best I wouldn’t say, but overall the battle didn’t disappoint.
Yvng: The battle was extremely close and exciting that it honestly could have gone either way. Both armies performed at a high and equal level that overall it was tough to point out stuff to pick out between the two armies to see if anyone had a slight edge or not especially in rooms 1 and 3.
Any particular moment(s) in the battle that you liked?
Joe: I would probably point out the upside-down V from TCP at Docks, and the X by RPF at Ice Rink, both forms covered very well.
Light: The defining moment of the battle was really the first room (stadium). The maxes were impressive during warmups, with both armies hovering in the 40s, but RPF came out and managed to cover in almost every formation. They were cleaner, and that first room, particularly their A form vs TCP’s + really was a good show of solid tactics and set the tone for the battle.
Mare: My favorite moments during the battle I’d say would be the beginning. It’s always interesting to see which army right off the bat takes control of the room. Also, the end of the battle as well I feel like is extremely important. Most people give up towards the last 1-2 minutes of the battle, but I feel like it’s important to push through. Especially with room changes, if you still have 20 seconds left and are still doing tactics before the next room that’s very risky, but it’s awesome.
Popcorny: I quite enjoyed that both armies looked similar, made counting a much more entertaining prospect than it usually is. At the same time, however, because they looked quite similar, I wouldn’t be lying to say I was glad when it was over.
Yvng: I liked the whole atmosphere of the battle as you can tell both armies put in a lot of energy and work into trying to win and move on to the final round.
What do you have to say about both the armies’ tactics, formations, speed, and creativity?
Joe: Definitely RPF’s speed and form choice were much better throughout the battle, other than that though pretty similar.
Light: Both armies were somewhat scattered, which is to say their troops were not always doing the tactic or the same tactic. But RPF managed to improve on that throughout the battle and were overall slightly faster and much cleaner with their formations. More than how they executed their formations, RPF made a great choice of formations by choosing how to best maximize their space and cover TCP.
Mare: For the armies, they both are the same when it comes to switching from word tactics to emotes. Both these armies were extremely fast and quick with the word to emote tactics. I really liked the way Ice Warriors had creative/risky bombs and would get a few formations in before the next room. I also really liked how Help Force had clean formations, however, they were a bit slower in moving/bombing. Not saying that armies should bomb every two seconds, but it’s interesting to see what types of bombs they use and how fast they get into certain formations. Both armies performed outstanding and weren’t afraid to show creativeness throughout the battle which made it enjoyable to watch.
Popcorny: both armies had periods of bliss in terms of their overall performance. At times they were excellent with their speed and formations however of course with the chaos of these battles it’s easy to slip up. For sure both armies lacked tactical diversity however IW was the better of the two in that regard and bombs although not aplenty, were not awful but not brilliant by any metric.
Yvng: Both of the armies tactics were great as they kept taking shots at each other in a playful way and formations were pretty good (besides for some slipups and penguins out of form) but other than that they were overall very clean as well as the speed of both armies were also equal to each other as they both kept up a fast pace. Also got to give major creativity points for the range of tactics from bwbs, to emotes, and phrases.
Which tactic(s), in your opinion, stood out to you?
Joe: RPF’s consistently fast emotes.
Light: I wouldn’t say a tactic specifically, but RPF showed really good awareness of when they had outgrown their formation. There were several moments where they were in an upside-down V and changed to an A or a triangle, or they were in an L and they changed into a surround. Things like that, where the army is adjusting and is aware, are what judges want to see.
Mare: So my favorite tactic through the battle was when Help Force said, “YOUR EGO’S BIGGER THAN YOUR MAX EVER COULD BE IN THIS GENERATION” I actually laughed LOL and was like I need to write that one down for roasts.
Popcorny: The tactic that stood out the most to me was when IW did ‘Ice Family Forever’. This is because it is said pretty much all the time it seems to me and if they don’t say it what’s the point really. It’s a fun waiting game.
Yvng: None of the tactics really stood out to me, the ones that would catch my attention though were all the jabs that the two armies took at each other throughout.
What could have gotten better during the battle?
Joe: Probably TCP’s size, after the first room it substantially went down.
Light: I think tactic creativity could have maybe been better in the battle, neither side really stood out from the other in that regard.
Mare: I guess I do wish that there was less lag on CPR because I feel like it gives the armies a disadvantage when battling in a room with so many people in it.
Popcorny: Help Force at times struggled with their troop:tactic ratio at times which hurt them. Even though they had size advantages at times it felt like with the troop:tactic ratio lacking, it didn’t feel like it.
Yvng: I think the battle was perfect the way it was and nothing could have gone better. As I mentioned earlier, both armies performed at a very high level that there is nothing to complain about.
Do you feel that both the armies could have done better than how they performed in the battle? If yes, how?
Joe: Absolutely, you can always do better, whether it be size, speed, or tactic and form choice.
Light: I think RPF was not perfect, they could have been faster and they did get off to an eh start with some troops not being in sync, but overall, they were great. TCP has much more room to improve with their form choice and execution particularly.
Mare: I think all armies always have room to progress and that it’s important to learn from each other. You learn most when you’re battling against other armies and gain techniques from one another.
Popcorny: Even though they were the victors, I think IW certainly could have done better in rooms 1 and 3. I felt HF definitely had them in the first room and their size disadvantage showed with HF putting on a good showing there. Definitely for IW getting more size into the room should be the main priority for the final. In my opinion, the Help Force definitely suffered from troops sleeping on the job, in room 2 primarily and it cost them dearly in the end. However, I would say, the biggest sin they committed was using the same forms as IW in room 3. HF definitely looked their best surrounding IW and showed off their size in a much more effective manner than when they were in the same forms as IW, due to the colors being very similar and both spamming bwbs, it was difficult to really ascertain who was ahead in those scenarios. If they had committed to differing forms, for example when IW entered a V they used an upside V, they could have displayed their size in a much more prevalent way.
Yvng: Like my answer to the last question I think both armies couldn’t have done better than how they performed.
Any final comments that you would like to make to the two armies?
Joe: No.
Light: Not that I can think of.
Mare: Amazing job to both Help Force and Ice Warriors! Both armies worked extremely hard and performed great. Thank you for letting me judge your battle!
Popcorny: I think it’ll be a tight contest and am eagerly awaiting to watch or judge the final!
Yvng: Thank you both Help Force and Ice Warriors for giving me and my fellow judges an exciting and close battle to judge as you both did amazing. Also Good Luck to Ice Warriors in the Finals against RPF this weekend!
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From the conversation above with the judges, it seems that these two battles were certainly interesting to be a witness to and judge. With the finals just around the corner, we cannot wait to see what happens and who takes this trophy, home. On behalf of the United Media, wishing the Rebel Penguin Federation and the Ice Warriors all the very best for the final round. And, may the odds be ever in their favor!
