On June 8th, a practice battle between the Help Force and the People’s Imperial Confederation took place. Taking all the community by shock, the battle resulted in a tie; a result that undoubtedly put a smile on the Confederates’ faces. Let us delve into the details of this battle.
DOCKS – help force
The battle began with the Helpers possessing a considerable size advantage over their opponents; for most of the room, sizes were 23-15. With the former joining first, they proceeded to form an X, while the Confederates entered an upside-down V. The judges noted the X was way cleaner than the V. For the next third of the battle, Help Force formed an upside-down V, while PIC chose an upside-down T – a risky formation for Docks. From the pictures of the battle, the uV is seen to cover most of the room; highlighting the Helpers’ size advantage. After that, HF once again followed their opponent’s formation, while PIC opted to be more creative by doing a sideways V (<). Even though this was a creative choice of formation, it resulted in them looking smaller than HF.
Because of HF’s coverage and better choices of formations, they won the first room of the combat. May this also serve as a reminder that if creativity hinders efficiency, then it is to no avail.
STADIUM – PEOPLE’S IMPERIAL CONFEDERATION
After both armies joined the ice rink, the Helpers formed an upside-down T, while the Confederation chose a T. In my eyes, this is such an interesting combination, resulting in whoever dominates the vertical taking the victory. Given HF’s size advantage – sizes were 25-16 – they successfully covered their opponents. Help Force then switched to an X, while PIC formed an upside-down Y, unexpectedly covering the former. Later, HF bombed and entered an underlined V, with PIC successfully countering it with a simple V.
This room showcased PIC taking the advantage with more creative formations and wisely using them. While the Helpers chose to play safe by repeating basic formations, PIC was braver and, therefore, took the win.
ICEBERG – TIE
This time, the Confederation joined the room first, quickly followed by the Help Force. PIC formed a Y, a formation that helped them highlight their size, while HF made a somewhat messy L. This combination of formations is not good. Why? Because no army covers each other. It is just a mere exhibition of who is faster or more consistent. In other words, it is boring! Later, HF opted to be more creative and formed a clean Z, while PIC chose an upside-down T. This time HF had the advantage. Next, the last minutes of the battle saw PIC entering a sideways T, and HF making a backward L.
Without a doubt, PIC was the most creative army in this room – and in the overall battle. However, the judges deemed this room as the closest, given neither army really outperformed the other. They also noted that HF failed to efficiently use its size advantage.
Surprisingly, PIC, a Small/Medium army, managed to tie a battle against a major army. This battle is just another example of how creativity and good choices of formation play a bigger role in battles than size by itself. Do you agree with the verdict of this battle? Will the Confederates manage to surpass the S/M army status once more?