Captain Lust's WNL Key Match Preview - Week 6 
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| Renegades vs Apis Europae - Week 6 Match Preview - [size=10pt]LIVE on MB_tv 09/06 19:30 BST[/size] This is the headline match of the week. No question. Apis Europae ground out another predictable win against a helpless Samurai side last week. Everyone expected that result and no one considered Samurai to have any chance of taking any points from the game. This week, although AE go into their Renegades match as very much the favourites, there is a feeling that RNGD have the potential to at least shake the reigning champions. AE are sitting on 5 wins from 5 matches and are the only team to maintain a perfect record. That said, they haven't looked completely invincible this season, only managing 10-6 scores against Heroes and Saracens. The real question, though, is: Can RNGD turn that shake into a tumble? RNGD picked AE this week but it was not out of choice. Out of fear of their strength, they were the only teams remaining unpicked at the end of the night. RNGD are just below AE in 2nd place right now with 13 points after their suprisingly convincing 11-5 victory over SoE. All the Turkish teams this week will have been affected by the ongoing turmoil and protests throughout Turkey at present, so it's still not certain at what level to place RNGD. AE_Cleric_Johnson respectfully denounces the threat with this tweet: "Should be good. RNGD ain't ready though. They needed this later, they know it." - That much will become clear on Sunday. RNGD have the potential to be AE's toughest opponents so far. They've looked like a different team after their one loss to Saracens and leader Nubijuki seems to be driven by the prestige and interest around the WNL to do as best as he can. A win for them would leave them in 1st place. Most would agree that AE's players are of a higher calibre than RNGD's and their tactics are the most advanced in the scene. However, what Nubijuki can offer as a leader and a player, is a real threat for any team. His decision making is top notch and he has the competitive mindset to look at a situation pragmatically and use it to his team's best advantage. AE are no chumps in this area but they've showed signs of overthinking lately, notably on the Dry Valley map against Heroes where aggressive cavalry and archer heavy tactics punished some of their indecision. They won't be taking RNGD lightly though. Cleric spoke out before the match and seems quite confident of his team's success. Notably he firmly believes that AE won't drop any points this season and praised the performances of his teammates, touting AE_Shemaforash as "currently the best cavalry in the world". He praised opposing captain Nubijuki's abilities, stating "he's an adaptable commander and will change stuff up to directly counter what your attempting which is a rare thing in warband" but said he thinks they lack the depth and quality of infantry and archers to compete with AE. Nubijuki came across as optimistic but talked of the challenges his team will face. He is cautious of being "tactically dominated" on AE_AZAN's Verloren map and plans to spend hours in preparation. The RNGD boss consider's AE's main threat to be that "Every AEs know how to adapt their positions and tactic from what the opposit team is doing.", continuing "That make them faster to react, which generally makes the difference". Nubijuki singled out RNGD_Asgeir as a player who he can rely upon to play well under his style of leadership and also mentioned Guy and Neather as strong features in his side. RNGD look hot and it's certainly possible they could make something happen here but only a fool would bet against AE during such a long period of dominance. I predict AE will win without too much stress. Message from RNGD_Nubijuki I'd would like to wish good luck to AEs, I hope this is gonna be the sick match we are expecting for  [size=10pt]Message from AE_Cleric_Johnson I feel both RNGD and AE have a way to go before they reach [the standard of] the last WNL finals, but I think were a hell of a lot closer to that level than them, infact I think were beginning to hit our stride. RNGD on the other hand are by no means ready, they have had a rocky start to the WNL and you can see from the comments of their players that they are genuinely scared and unprepared to fight us. Kharakternyky vs Sons of the Emperor - Week 6 Match Preview What happens when an unstoppable force reaches an immoveable object? Is that an appropriate metaphor for this game? Not really, but kind of... ish. Sons of the Emperor have probably had a better start than they could ever have hoped for with 4 wins from 4 matches but finally met defeat at the hands of Nubijuki's rising Renegades outfit. SoE_Napoleon puts this down to clumsy and silly errors that he fully intends to iron out for this week's match. Kharakternyky have had one of the most interesting runs being just one of two unbeaten sides (the other AE) from the start of the WNL, however with 2 draws and 3 wins, sitting only on 11 points. A win against SoE will grant them 4 points in the league which could potentially leave them in the top 2. Kharakternyky official, Chonyi Voron told of his teams joy upon taking their convincing 12-4 win against Turkish side, Teutonic Knights last week, also commenting "I hope we proved that we could take high places in WNL". He claimed their reasoning for picking SoE was to give everyone the RNGD AE clash that they wanted but is highly focused on getting a win this week and confirms "Our plan is to use some unusual tactics" but doesn't go delve into details to avoid revealing plans to their opponents. SoE_Tirtil and SoE_Napoleon get singled out by Chonyi Voron as strong players but he doesn't believe they're unstoppable. Talking to SoE's Napoleon, he reveals he's not particularly familiar with KHR s a team but says he'll watch their previously streamed matches and base preparations off of that. The Turkish protests are still going strong but it should be easier for SoE to adjust schedules around them this week, as their nature has become more predictable. Directly quoting Napoleon, he says "I hope it will be a good match, and we'll win" SoE didn't look themselves last week against RNGD. There's no telling how they'll recover for this week but reassured by Napoleon's determination, I'd back SoE for a win. Message from KHR_Chornyi_Voron Believe in us, and we will win =) -Tnx to Volshen for good and quick translate ) [size=10pt]Message from SoE_Napoleon [size=8pt](translated from Turkish) The league is going very well. I hope that the number of teams leaving will decrease and that the league will continue to its end.[/size] Heroes vs Order of the Rising People - Week 6 Match Preview - [size=10pt]LIVE on MB_tv 09/06 18:30 BST[/size] Heroes don't pick AE for the second week running and we see a team that appears more focused now on doing their best in the League. Order of the Rising People are flying the flag for German teams at the moment but come off a tough loss to SRC last week. Both of these teams are teetering just below the top level of play at the moment and crucially, this match will decide which team is more fit to challenge for some of those top spots. Heroes bounced back from two straight losses with a win last week against, now disbanded, PE but in spite of a good showing against AE, they haven't looked like a team capable of getting results against the top teams. oRP can probably be pitched around the same level as FIN, based on what we've seen and if Heroes 7-9 result against FIN is anything to go by, we're in for another close game. Heroes leader, Grifon, hails his team's strength in open maps and even though Reveran Village isn't the most open of open maps, he states his team is confident and experienced on it. Grifon says of oRP "really well played,agressive game,but in open map its not a good one thing)". Both Grifon and oRP skipper, Gawain are weary of fighting on new map, Verloren. Gawain goes so far as to say "we don't like the map" so it's hard to predict what will happen there. Furthermore, Gawain claims his archers prefer bows to crossbows and offers his thoughts on their upcoming opponents simply as "we respect Heroes". Each leader talks about their team's cavalry and archer strength while downplaying the abilities of their infantry. In spite of that Heroes_Dennor and oRP_Fisk are hero infantrymen that can produce magic to shift the advantage of a round in their team's favour. It will be interesting to see how the teams match up with one another as in trainings they say they have played two matches and the score stands at 1-1. Heroes_Rafkin and Heroes_Alexander face the prospect of matching up with oRP favourite Vivar in the cavalry battles. This could prove decisive in determining the outcome of the match. Both sides have shown in the tournament so far that they're willing to take risks and show an aggressive style during matches so this will surely be a firey and thrilling match whatever the result. The most difficult result to call of the week. Both sides have shown strength on the new maps but my gut tells me Heroes might just be a step of oRP when it comes to the chaotic all-bets-are-off rounds that I'm expecting to see a lot of between these two teams. Heroes win by a whisker. Message from Heroes_Grifon well...let it be the best MB tournament) [size=10pt]Message from oRP_Gawain good luck for them. full article written by @captainlust |
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The caster's curse... is it bad that I actually want RNGD to win? I'm a massive fan of both KHR and SoE so whatever the result there, I'll be happy. As for Heroes vs oRP, I just think that has the makings of an explosive (was the word I was trying to think of writing the article I think...) match and should be a thrill to watch.
