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[Erminas]

It was very nice interview to read.
I really hope RNGD does exceptionally well in WNL. Good people deserve good things

 

[Viktor]

It was very nice interview to read.
I really hope RNGD does exceptionally well in WNL. Good people deserve good things

 

 

[Aeronwen]

Another strong and witty response from Harman...
(click on the pic to see the interview)

‘There is a time when you have to sacrifice everything to have everything saved.’
Tadeusz Kosciuszko


(Thanks to OGL for the questions this week)

Today’s interview for #WNL is the leader of a team in the most anticipated match this week, tournament admin, match stats guru, the incomparable, Harman…

*MnBComp:  Many were surprised to see some old players come out of retirement to help form The Expendables. How did this come about and are the old 22nd players performing at their previous strength?

*Harman:     I don't know the details. TotalWar was the one who initiated the whole thing. He's very convincing person. All I can say: They are very intelligent players. It's a pleasure to play with them.

*MnBComp:  Other than these previously-inactive players, The Expendables is formed from a mix of Samurai, Castellans, and the Polish NC15 team. How is the team working at the moment and have you faced any challenges?

*Harman:     Although we started very late we managed to hire very talented players. Most of them were teamless at that moment or their previous commanders didn't see their true potential. We still are at early stage of team development but with our main team we are already able to get good scores in trainings. I try to limit my team’s potential by poor commanding. I believe when you win everything people get bored and loose motivation - it's a first step to self destruction. That's why we decided to lose some training matches to release the rage on our opponents in official matches.

*MnBComp:  You picked Unity this week over Freelancers and Sith. Nobody can doubt the strength of the winners of ECS2, Freelancers, but some might have rated Unity over Sith. What was the reasoning behind the pick?

*Harman:     I think Unity has some great players. We want to rekt them hard so they'll disband and than hire some of them for next tournaments.

*MnBComp:  Thorr and Brian form a strong infantry core, with some excellent shooters supporting in Unity. Fort of Honour is said to be a great map for crossfires and quick infantry fights - have you planned any specific counters, and do you feel you're stronger on either map this week?

*Harman:     Thorr and Brian are on my hire list. I think we have two classic maps this weeks. Factions are not perfectly balanced for them though and I think we'll see more even matches than last week. I won't discuss tactics publicly but we feel strong on both of them.

*MnBComp:  Looking ahead at the tournament, where do you expect to finish and who are your closest competitors?

*Harman:   Tournament is pretty long so I think every team will have some up and downs. Our plan minimum is top 8 in ladder stage. Than we'll fight for the win in the whole tournament.

~***~​

More info on the Warband Native League here  MnBComp on Twitter
Staff: Aeronwen, captainlust, Le Roux.

 

[Aeronwen]

MnBComp talked to Dof's Viglaf about the tournament so far and their upcoming match for week5:

"What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals! "
Hamlet

One of the big matches of week 5 of the #WNL5 is Teutonic v DoF. DoF are currently 4th on the league table having won 3 of their 4 matches so far. Teutonic are at 16th place having won 2 of 4 matches. Yet Teutonic picked to play DoF this week. MnBComp talked to Dof's Viglaf about the tournament so far and their upcoming match:

*MnBComp: Defenders of Faith are now one of the oldest clans in the game, celebrating their 5th anniversary recently. What is the secret to longevity as a clan, in your opinion?

*Viglaf: There are several factors that need to be in order for a clan to survive as well as last as a good clan. All of those factors points back to one thing....
Activity! Without activity from members and leaders there can be no clan. To keep the activity up, you need to have decent amount of events each week, so the clan itself is also active. Next is to have a healthy and active forum. With that, like Taleworlds forum, you can post whatever you want and know more of your members perhaps as well as talk of other things than Warband which strengthens the team spirit and you end up befriending your members a bit more. We of course also use our forum to post events and everything about the clan. Which makes it easier for members to see and that'll allow them to have an overview of things, instead of just relying on Steam or TS. Having a good clan atmosphere is also a vital part. Have clear rules and guidelines and be strict when it comes to bad behaviour within the clan to keep troublemakers out. I can keep going but I think I've made my point. DoF have lasted this long because of good leaders, such as Erminas and Darin, that have kept DoF active and strong in spirit, even in dark times when it looked bad for DoF and have had good loyal members throughout the whole way.

*MnBComp: DoF are currently 4th in the league, joint with several other teams. As we go into the 5th week with 3 matches left it looks like the top 8 spots will be hotly contested. How do you rate your performance so far and who are your closest competitors?

*Viglaf: Our performances have been superb so far. Over the past tournaments we've become better and better, and this tournament we've played much more stable and our performance have been higher than usual. So far so good. As for closest competitors? It's hard to tell. The league table as it is right now is very close and therefore I dare not try to guess whom we might have to compete with for the top 8. A lot can happen in 3 matches, so we'll just have to wait and see.

*MnBComp: It could be argued that DoF are rated relatively low vs other teams, but you manage some great results, noticeably defeating IR in the ECS, defeating RNGD this WNL, and drawing with Castellan in the last. Do you feel you're underrated and why, if so?

*Viglaf: I believe we are underrated by most players in this community, not because they don't like us (I hope!) but perhaps because we've never managed to win or get a noticeable standing in an EU tournament, like WNL, ECS, etc. But I think the tide is about to change, if we can keep our performance up in this WNL. I don't mind being a bit underrated, as it can lead to a surprise rather than a disappointment on all sides of the table.


*MnBComp: This week is the first time River Village is played in the WNL, with a mixed response from the community so far. DoF have played it in two other tournaments so far, has this affected your confidence and how do you perform on it?

*Viglaf: I'm glad that we already have experience on the map which will help us when it comes to tactics. As for the map itself, I don't think it's a bad map, but it is not one of my favourites either. We've performed quite well on it but it isn't our best map. It helps a lot when you've played on the map before so we should have our confidence at the same level as in the past 4 matches this WNL season.

*MnBComp: You face Teutonic, an old Turkish clan with some experienced members who have had mixed results this season. How do you rate your chances and what advantages will you be looking for going into the match?

*Viglaf: Teutonic have always been a good strong clan and I look forward to meet them in our 5th match of this WNL season. We're preparing for this match as we would against any other opponent and I believe our chances will depend on how prepared we are and how well we perform of course but we should have a decent chance of winning or at least be able to show that we want to win. I think this match will be a good one and hopefully one that'll let the best team win and as for whom that might be... We'll hopefully find out soon enough.

~***~​

More info on the Warband Native League here  MnBComp on Twitter
Staff: Aeronwen, captainlust, Le Roux.

 

[Aeronwen]

MnBComp talked to Toi about the WNL and Irish Rebels

"If speaking is silver, listening is gold"

One of the most anticipated matches of Week 6 of teh #WNL is the match between IR and Wonwonkie. you can see it at 19:15 tonight on http://www.twitch.tv/mb_tv. MnBComp talked to IR_Toi about the tournament so far

*MnBComp: Irish Rebels have notably had a defeat against Freelancers, an unexpected draw with FTW, and a strong victory against Castellans, making quite an inconsistent record. How would you rate your team at the moment and how do you explain your variable results?

*Toi: "Every team has good and bad times. Irish Rebels had some roster changes lately and I think for that reason we couldn't show our best yet. We are however learning from our mistakes and trying to improve and I'd say so far it's been good, since we started to see some results. Our training matches against some other teams and official match against Castellans were perfect examples of those results I think."

*MnBComp: IR have been around for a long time but the roster has changed quite significantly, with the old SRC additions and yourself being a new addition. How is the atmosphere inside the team? Were there any challenges to be overcome fitting everyone in, with such a large and skilled roster?

*Toi: "To be honest, I think having a big roster helps us plan our tactics. We have a variety of players who can play every role in every map. As for the atmosphere SRC members and IR were playing together for months already so we have 3 or 4 additions at most and the older members were quite accepting so the atmosphere so far has been great for me and for the other additions."

*MnBComp: Wonwokie have risen quite quickly to the top, surprising some, but are now facing you after their sound defeat last week. This will be a defining point for both teams. How are you best preparing for your opponent and what do you view as their key strengths?

*Toi: "Wonwokie finished 2nd WNL in 3rd place, so they were always a good team. To be honest I believe their key strength to be their archers. They were functioning together greatly during this season and they will be missing one against us, which I think will weaken them considerably since the both maps this week mostly depend on archers doing well. I also believe that we have prepared very well for what we have seen from them so far. We also had players who used to play for Wonwokie and some of those players are also our commanders. They know what they can expect from Wonwokie and therefore all things considered, I believe we will prevail."

*MnBComp :This week sees two maps already played in the tournament. What differences can we expect the factions and spawns to make to how these maps will play out, if any?

*Toi: "Vendetta had always been a map for crossbows and for the both weeks this season both of the factions were crossbow factions. Only their spawns were swapped and from what I have seen in our training matches it did not really make many differences if it made any. As for Reveran Village in the 2nd week it was played with Vaegirs instead of Swadia and when a bow faction is replaced by a crossbow faction in an open map it always makes a big difference. I believe we are going to see teams play with more cavalry heavier setups than the 2nd week."

*MnBComp: Looking ahead to the tournament as a whole, and with the cutoff for the knockouts just around the corner, where do you expect IR to place and who do you think will be making it ahead to the playoffs?

*Toi: "I think we will be able to qualify for knock-out stage. In the case that we don't see any surprise results, my guess would be; K****, AE, FTW, Wonwokie, **, IR, F and Unity."

~***~​

More info on the Warband Native League here  MnBComp on Twitter
Staff: Aeronwen, captainlust, Le Roux.

 

[Aeronwen]

Broomstick and Horace talk about the upcoming #WNL5 Quarter Final match
click the picture to see what they had to say...

(Thanks to Belendor and OGL for this one)​

~~~Wonwokie~~~​

*MnBComp: Congratulations on making it through to the knockouts. You had a strong performance this season, losing only two matches against the teams that finished 1st and 2nd. Are you happy with your performance so far and what were your expectations?

*Horace: First of all I would like to thank all the guys in Wonwokie for staying strong and made it possible for us to make it this far. Our performance so far has been up and down. In the beginning we faced some new and old teams, the new had not really settled down and found their "play style" and the old were rusty so we had a good beginning. We felt strong and had some really good training matches against some high tier teams, so we felt confident when going into the K**** match but we just got shut down. The next match against IR we were missing some key players, don't get me wrong every player in Wonwokie is key, but not everyone can play classes like some. We felt like we should be able to put up a good show against IR, which I believe we did, the score in the beginning 7-0 is misleading, the rounds was close and every player played their best. But overall all we really cared about was to get to this point and we're aiming to make it further.

*MnBComp: Wonwokie are a clan that seem to have come and go from the competitive scene, and you've been performing with a small roster this season. What do you think about the current state of the team?

*Horace: Having a smaller roster has pros and cons, but in my eyes there are more pros than cons, every player usually get to play the same amount of time and every player know each other which is key in a game like this when teamwork is key. Our team right now I believe is the best it's ever been. I would like to compare it too the 2013 team we had when we came 3rd. This team is working really good, everyone want to win every match, especially now that we're in the playoffs.

*MnBComp: Your map choice this week was Naval Outpost, the map you beat Freelancers on to the surprise of some in the community. What makes you confident and stronger on this map (if anything)?

*Horace: We chose Naval Outpost because at this point we played it so much that we feel confident to show a really strong performance on it, it's been played in the WNL 2 times now and we had quite a few training matches on it, which makes us feel confident on it.

*MnBComp: FTW could be considered a close competitor to you throughout this tournament, something of an underdog that has risen to the top. How are you preparing for your Quarter Final?

*Horace: We set our mind on one goal. Winning. No matter how small or how big, a win is a win.

*MnBComp: Any words for FTW right now?

*Horace: FTW, hope you been preparing for a fight, because we are not going down without one.

~***~​

~~~Ferocious Trident Wielders~~~​

*MnBComp: Congratulations on making it through to the knockouts. Klockis has said you faced an easy run and the tournament format is receiving some criticism. You lost only one match, however, and managed a draw vs Irish Rebels who were considered the favourites. How do you feel about the relative skill of your team, and the tournament as a whole?

*Broomstick: First of all, thanks.
At the start of this WNL we had set our objective to end the ladder stage in the top 8, so we could advance into the knockout stage. When we formed FTW, I already had the feeling we’d definitely be up there with the top 8 teams skill-wise. That being said, I do have to agree with Klockis that we had quite an easy run. Out of the current top 8 teams, we have only played 2 of them. I think this shows a flaw in the system. We haven’t really gotten the chance to prove our skill yet, but I’m confident we can display it in the upcoming match(es), and prove we deserve the top 8 spot.

*MnBComp: How did FTW come to be created, and what does the future hold?

*Broomstick: After the ECL the FF members kind of had the feeling we played a tournament with a team, rather than with a clan. Most people on our roster weren’t actually a part of FF. So for the WNL we decided to create a new clan together with Robin. The idea for this clan is to be competitive and have a small roster, so we wouldn’t be sitting our players loads during matches. Next to that we want to have a fun atmosphere in our TeamSpeak, so even during matches it’s not all serious business, even to the point we should probably start focussing again. Our future plans are to keep existing and become stronger for any upcoming tournaments (or Bannerlord whenever that releases).

*MnBComp: Wonwokie have had a similarly strong run through the tournament and looks to be one of the closest match-ups in the Quarter Finals. How are you preparing for your first knockout match?

*Broomstick: Wonwokie is a team that was extremely underrated at the start of the tournament. Before the WNL, we played a lot of training matches with them. This showed me what they were capable of, and I think that FTW was the only team to respect their skill before they beat Freelancers. Wonwokie is definitely a strong team, so we are very cautious going forward. Last week we’ve been in a slump, and I think it’s important we aim on reaching our full potential skill-wise for this next match up. So our preparation will focus on regaining our flow which we had earlier in the tournament.

*MnBComp: Both of your bans were maps from your one lost match, yet your map pick, Desolation Valley, was from the only other match you didn't win. Was this a conscious decision in banning maps from the Freelancers match, and what makes you confident on Desolation Valley?

*Broomstick: When we decided to ban Vendetta, this was not because we lost on it. We actually kind of like playing Vendetta, but we know Wonwokie are extremely reliant on their archers, and Vendetta is a map full of great archer spots, so we decided to ban it. On the other hand we aren’t confident enough on Reveran Village to pick that map against Wonwokie.
Desolation Valley is a map I didn’t really classify as a great archer map, although there are a few good spots to position your archers. Next to that we’ve played that map versus IR, who have really strong archers aswell, and I think we got a good result on it. This is also one of the maps we have some tactics set out already, so we know how to deal with most situations on that map.

*MnBComp: Any words for your opponents, Wonwokie?

*Broomstick: After a three month long research project, I've been able to conclude that Wonwokie doesn't negatively affect the environment at all. A Wonwokie did not seem to result in waste products and couldn't be found in forests, jungles, rivers, lakes, oceans, etc... In fact, Wonwokie produced some positive effects on our sweet little nature that is called the WNL. Wonwokie seem to be a much more important team that most give credit for. Next time you see or think of Wonwokie, think about what you just read and realize what is really going on. It is likely you undervalued Wonwookie before, but will now start to give the credited needed and deserved
Hagrid (aka Doori) once told me I wasn’t good enough to get the hero achievement on mercenaries, so I guess I’m gonna have to prove him wrong with a 1v5 clutch in our upcoming match.

~***~​

More info on the Warband Native League here  MnBComp on Twitter
Staff: Aeronwen, captainlust, Le Roux.

 

[Aeronwen]

Semi Final 2  of the #WNL5 is between Irish Rebels and Wonwokie, who already met in week 6 of the League stage (you can see that match here: https://youtu.be/0b_rD1NrxcY). MnBComp bring you the the pre match thoughts of IR_Dragz and Wonwokie’s Horace...
(click the pic)

​

(Thanks to Belendor for the graphic and OGL for the interview)​

~~~ Irish Rebels~~~ ​

*MnBComp: Congratulations on making it through to the semi final. This week you face Wonwokie, whom you defeated the last time you met. Does this give the team confidence and what do you expect in surprises?

IR_Dragz:  Thanks, although we beat them last time, we are aware of the fact that they were missing two important players. That’s why we will prepare well for the match. It’s not going to be an easy match. I was amember of Wonwokie for quite some time and I know they will do their best to beat us this time.

*MnBComp: You banned Vendetta this week - worried about archer perhaps? What made you pick River Village?

IR_Dragz:  We played Vendetta in our last encounter with Wonwokie and they managed to beat us, so banning this map is a pretty logic conclusion. One problem for me with Vendetta is that everyone has to be
extremely focussed every second of a round due to the variety of possible archer positions. I do think our archers are pretty even if not better than Wonwokie´s but the map itself doesn’t suit our playstyle very well. We designed numerous different tactics for the map but didnt manage to perform a single one without flaws. At this stage of the tournament we can’t afford to make silly mistakes because it will cost us.
Regarding River Village, we have played this map a lot during the last weeks and we never lost in official matches on it (talking about the map not rounds).

*MnBComp: It's been said that Sandiboush, closed and simple, is the map where skill matters most. Do you agree, and how does your team stack up against your opponent?

IR_Dragz:  Skill obviously matters on every map, but the main factor on Sandi is, in my opinion, teamwork and the right timing of tactical manoeuvres. Skill won’t save a team when you don’t find the right approach for the final engagement on this map. I could tell you our infs are way better or our archers will destroy them. but that's nothing I would want to claim because I'm not sure its true, since many people in IR seem to lack the dedication/time to assure this is the case.

*MnBComp: If you win this week, who would you expect to face in the final?

IR_Dragz:  Although it would be refreshing to see Unity beat AE and advance to the final, I highly doubt this will be the case. Unity managed to surprise their quarter final opponents but AE is usually not a team to underestimate their opponents. If they do, it’s their own fault and Unity might manage to deliver another upset victory.

*MnBComp: Any words for Wonwokie?

IR_Dragz:  GL in the Bronze Final
PS: Please don’t bench Horace

~***~​

~~~ Wonwokie~~~​

*MnBComp: Congratulations on making it through to the semi final. A pretty comfortable win vs FTW last week, however the last time you faced your opponent this week, IR, you lost. How will you get a different result this time?

*Horace: Thank you.
Last time we faced IR we had some roster problems. We were missing two pretty big impact players. RD and Hagrid. RD as we all know has an exceptional shot, and Hagrid is a really strong cav, and that is a problem we are having. We are missing solid cavs. We have 3 guys on our roster that we use as cav, and those 3 is probably 3x better then the rest of the team on cav, so if we are missing one cavalry player we'll have a tough time, as some might seen in the last match we played. The rounds were pretty close on Reveran Village but they got out on top. This time we really want revenge, we want to show what we are capable of and go to the finals.

*MnBComp: Two of the top three rated teams (prior to the WNL) have been knocked out; your chances look better than ever. What is the atmosphere in the team right now?

*Horace: We were surprised by Unity's win and kinda relieved, knocking out K**** was a big mountain to climb and they succeeded.
Facing K**** in training matches and in a official match has given us a better view on them, before we just knew them as the team that beat AE, we didn't know anything about their playstyle, but now after, we know, and at least I’m happy that they are out because I felt that they had a playstyle that we had a very hard time to play against. So right now we are feeling a bit like we have a bigger shot at the finals. Freelancers vs AE was already a match which was won even though Freelancers won the ECS against AE in the finals. AE showed why they are the top dogs with strong showings against K****. There ain't much more to say about that match in general, AE strong as ever and Freelancer didn't have that luck they did last ECS.

*MnBComp: You picked San’di’boush this week, how confident are you in your infantry to match the likes of Error, Sebek, and lovca, and what are your thoughts on IR's pick, River Village?

*Horace: We picked Sandi just because of that reason, we feel really confident with our infantry, that was one of the key factors on Vendetta when we faced IR last time. Sandi is also a map where archers are pretty close to the fight, so javelins can do some work, and so can the infantry itself. River Village is pretty close to Reveran village in layout. You have the town in the middle and some open areas around it, which is one of the reasons they picked it, if you recall back to the last time we faced they went 6-0 on that map.

*MnBComp: If you win this week, who would you expect to face in the final?

*Horace: Well, I would say AE, but now that Unity just beat K**** you never know, would be nice to see a new team make it to the finals. But yet again we haven't faced Unity that much so we don't know how they play. I almost think it'll be a 50/50 between AE and Unity.

*MnBComp: Any words for Irish Rebels?

*Horace: Revenge is a dish best served cold.

~***~​

More info on the Warband Native League here  MnBComp on Twitter
Staff: Aeronwen, captainlust, Le Roux.

Semi Final 1 of the #WNL5  is between Unity, who surprised us all with their giant killing act last week, and tournament favourites Apis Europae. MnBComp bring you the fighting talk from Unity_Paulo and AE_Shema...
(click the pic)

​

(Thanks to Belendor for the graphic and OGL for the interview)​

[anchor=PauloWNL5] ~~~ Unity_ Paulo ~~~ [/anchor] ​

*MnBComp: Congratulations on making it through to the semi final. Unity just made it into the Top 8, with the same points as 9th only making it through Bucholz. You then defeated the top place team – it's fair to say you were the underdogs. How do you explain such an unexpected victory?

*Paulo: "Unexpected victory" yes but not for us, we were ready for this match, with River village, one of our favorites, we were sure to win the first map. The problem was Desolation Valley, a map we didn't win in any tournaments, so we trained it during our preparation week with some difficulties at the beginning on our choice of strategy, but that was quickly solved, we were ready at the end of the week.
My minds during this match was it was our last chance to show to the Warband community our real level, by the way I think K**** underestimated us a little and we didn't play against their best.

*MnBComp: Once again this week your opponents will be considered the favourites. How is the team preparing for a second upset?

*Paulo: During the middle of the tournament, I said to Unity a thing like "You know guys, we will need to play against K**** or AE if we want to win this tournament, this day we will need to be ready". It was "unlucky" we need to play against these two titans in quarters and Semi but it is just the best thing to show us and make our Legend ! (#OneGoal)

*MnBComp: You picked Castellum this week, which hasn't been played since week 1 where you seemed to struggle a little with aD. What makes you so confident?

*Paulo: There is not a random choice, we studied all the maps, we studied the results of AE in this tournament, for example we know San’di’boush is really a good map for AE, on Fort of Honor the two teams are really good on this, but the picks maps is not here for try things, it is here to take the most of the rounds possible.

*MnBComp: If you win this week, who would you expect to face in the final?

*Paulo: A really good question, Wonwokie and IR are two teams I really like, first, Wonwokie always show us really good matches in all tournaments they played, it is a team you need to never underestimate, they show us they are here to win! But Irish Rebels are here for the same things, win. IR are for me (personally) my rivals, we faced them many times in other tournaments with Legends and it always was really intensive matches.
In my opinion, in any case, if we (or AE) go in the Final, I promise you really good final to watch.

*MnBComp: Any words for Apis Europae?

*Paulo: After the ECS, we played for fun between french guys (FraG + Legend). During this period, we played with the tag : Avengers without our real names. After some matches played all together, we feel like we were really strong and we could go really far, so we play against AE, at the end of the match, we were really happy (I thought it was a draw) and since this moment we saw our real potential and we maked our final decision, the creation of Unity. AE directly trust in us after this match, (Like Deacon said in Horse&Sword before the WNL), It was hard for me to disband the Legend, after 3 amazing years with them, but this new story we are writing with the Unity is really fabulous too!

So, Apis Europae, expect us, we will give you our best for this

~***~​

[anchor=ShemaforashWNL5]Apis Europae_ Shemaforash[/anchor]​

*MnBComp: Congratulations on reaching the semi-finals. AE have faced a tough run this tournament, facing K* three times and Freelancers twice, which isn't necessarily the same for other teams in the playoffs. Why do you think AE walks the hard road and how would you rate your team's performance so far?

*Shemaforash: It's safe to say this WNL has been exciting, fun, tough and frustrating at several times. The stream coverage has been superb and even though we're been through some tough times with these matchups it's been one of the best tournaments so far. Since WNL is running with a picking system we're either too far back to pick for ourselves, or we've been drafted the team that also hasn't been picked. You could say that there's a mob mentality of common sense to avoid picking us as there's no real incentive to pick us or KURWA for that part. We've had a few rough performances but also strong ones so saying that we've been inconsistent would be my answer.

*MnBComp: Your opponent this week defeated your fiercest rival K*, who you had a losing record vs this WNL, yet you beat Unity fairly comfortably in Week 5. How close are the top teams at this stage in the tournament, and has Unity's victory given you any cause for concern?

*Shemaforash: Unity's looking strong for sure, but I can't say K* did so writing it off as a clear win for Unity doesn't seem completely right to me. Perhaps I'm underestimating Unity but to me K* has some of the best cavalry and infantry teamwork out of any team and in the quarter final match this wasn't shown one bit. Their tactics weren't looking quite right either so clearly something went wrong that I'm not aware of. It's safe to say it's at least a bit concerning but given the history with Paulo's teams and our match record I'm willing to say we'll be entering the match expecting to win.

*MnBComp: You banned River Village yet picked Desolation Valley - Unity proved themselves on both last week. What makes you confident on one but not the other?

*Shemaforash: I think we disregarded how their performance went and focused more on ourselves but I can't speak for more than my own analysis as I wasn't directly part of making the decision. Desolation valley is historically a great map for us and River Village is not so much. I suppose losing twice to K* on the same maps twice even if we weren't necessarily bad on Naval Outpost makes you reconsider and makes for quite a clear ban, as it is our only clear losses.

*MnBComp: If you win this week, who would you expect to face in the final?

*Shemaforash: Wonwokie.

*MnBComp: Any words for Unity?

*Shemaforash: #OneGoal

~***~​

More info on the Warband Native League here  MnBComp on Twitter
Staff: Aeronwen, captainlust, Le Roux.

 

[Aeronwen]

With the #WNL5 #GrandFinal imminent we talked to Apis Europae’s M and Irish Rebels’ Attila about their experience of the tournament. Watch the match on Warband’s premier channel http://www.twitch.tv/mb_tv on Sunday at 19:30 GMT where you can enter the raffle to win a tournament T-shirt

​

(Thanks to Belendor for the graphic and OGL for the interview)​

First up…Legendary for his fury fuelled flair play, [anchor=AtillaWNL5]Atilla[/anchor] is the Raging Bull of the Irish Rebels:​

*MnBComp: Congratulations on making it to the finals! You defeated Wonwokie for the second time to make it here, how was the match and overall how do you think your team has performed so far?

*Attila: That we won against Wonwokie was really intense it gave the team a boost for the finals and that we showed everyone that 1 player can't make the difference its teamwork that makes this work for us. How my team performed this WNL was in inconsistent because we had to win matches that we lost but I think these last weeks we really made it work together winning important matches and now we are in the finals.
 
*MnBComp: Which players have been the biggest surprise for you this WNL, in your team and in others?

*Attila: For me RD really surprised me this WNL because I am used to see him play as a inf and that he changed to archer was good for him as a player. As a Irish Rebels player I feel like that our team got better and better not just 1 player the whole team did..
 
*MnBComp: You are affectionately known as "Madtilla". What are your top three rage-inducing Warband things?

*Attila: 1 HIT!, He went through my kick! I hitted him 5 times but I die 1 hit!
 
*MnBComp: San’di’boush can be seen as a bold pick against what is often termed the best infantry force in Warband. What gives you the confidence to pick this map, and what are your thoughts on the very open Desolation Valley?

*Attila: Although AE has a very strong inf team its no secret that their inf has been struggling throughout the last tournaments. We don’t underestimate the value of AE inf but its pretty obvious the strongest part of their team is cavs like Peter and Shema as well as rangers like LeRoux, Razer and Nea. This means we expect Desolation Valley (and other open maps they could have picked) to be harder than the closed map. Time will tell if we were right with that or if AE inf will prove us wrong.
 
*MnBComp: This is the Grand Finals. What are your last words to Apis Europae?
*Attila: I hope for both teams it will be a good match!

~***~​

 

And now… Decorated with duelling accolades and doubling-down his dynastic reputation with Apis Europae, [anchor=MWNL5]M[/anchor]:​

*MnBComp: Congratulations on making it to the finals! That was an extremely confident victory in the semis against what must have been an unexpected opponent; do you think the tournament has played out as expected and why?

*M: Thanks. It definitely hasn't played out how I expected. At the start of the tournament I imagined we'd face K**** or Freelancers if we reached the final. Freelancers struggled after losing some key players but I don't know what caused K****'s weirdly inconsistent results. Although I think Warband is a game where the best team will usually win (ie, a good game), it's also unforgiving and only a few mistakes roll into a lost set, lost map, lost game.

I don't think it's due to other teams throwing that we're meeting IR in the finals though. They've performed consistently all tournament and none of us expect them to be a pushover.
 
*MnBComp: So far this WNL, if you had to pick (and you do), who would you say has made the greatest contribution to your team's success?

*M: I have the luxury of finding this question difficult to answer.

Do I pick AZAN who's responsible for how we approach the majority of maps tactically?
Do I pick Peter who dominates every match and who in my humble and correct opinion is the best Warband player in the world?
Do I pick Cleric for continually getting people online to practice or axL for keeping the atmosphere fun when things aren't going our way?
Do I pick any one of our other dedicated players who turn up match after match and pull out top quality Warband?

I suppose if I can only pick one it's best to be realistic and pick myself.
 
*MnBComp: In ECS2 you and others placed a great emphasis on the universe's messages to you regarding victory or defeat; what are the bee omens telling you for the finals?

*M: Well the UK continues to use pesticides that decimate the honey bee population to maintain food production levels that are only necessary because we waste 14 million tonnes of food every year. As a result we haven't seen many omens lately. I'm trying to see it as a good thing -- that our fate is finally in our own control rather than in the scrying of apparently infallible bees -- really the uncertainty is just stressful.
 
*MnBComp: Irish Rebels picked San’di’boush against you, what do you make of this challenge to your infantry, and what was the reasoning behind your own pick, Desolation Valley?

*M: We have four good reasons to pick Desolation Valley: Peter, Shema, AZAN and axL. I don't think there's a team with a cavalry lineup that can deal with them on a map like that. Desolation Valley is the open map that puts the most emphasis on cavalry, our greatest strength, and puts the least emphasis on ranged, IR's greatest strength.

For similar reasons Sandi makes sense as their pick. It's seen as an infantry meatgrinder but in reality all three flags give great crossfire positions that need to be broken up if infantry want to be able to operate at all. I think it gives IR their best chance to use their rangers and is actually quite an astute pick, although with two crossbow factions the pressure will be on them to make every shot count.
 
*MnBComp: This is the Grand Finals. What are your last words to Irish Rebels?

*M: What Irish Rebels? All I see are German ones.. GLHF

~***~​

More info on the Warband Native League here  MnBComp on Twitter
Staff: Aeronwen, captainlust, Le Roux.

 

[Aeronwen]

For anyone that missed them on Facebook the Nations Cup interviews (with new format by OGL) will be posted, starting with...

The #NC2016 is underway and we have a new team this year in the gallant Ireland led by the irrepressible Kiano. MnB Comp caught up with him to ask about the Irish Team…

"When anyone asks me about the Irish character, I say look at the trees. Maimed, stark and misshapen, but ferociously tenacious.”
EDNA O'BRIEN,

​

(Thanks to Kohath for the graphic.)​

*MnBComp: Thanks for agreeing to answer a few questions. This is the first time Ireland have signed up for an NC, it's pretty awesome to see a new team. How did you guys go about forming the team?
*Kiano: Thanks for taking the time to interview me. Yeah it's great to be able to add a new team to a fantastic tournament. Well, it was originally Bradley who approached me about joining an Irish team. As a spectator of the last few NC's I jumped at the chance. However Bradley had amassed a team that included some players that weren't Irish. When we were told they would not be allowed play, he called the team off. Not sure if this is the reason he left but that's how it played out.

With Bradley having also gathered many Irish players, I thought it a shame to let all the effort go to waste. I got a few more Irish players. I also got help from Aeronwen and Captain Lust. Tallie and Blackhawk also told me about some Irish players who might be interested.

*MnBComp: I think with some other less experienced teams happy to grab players from outside their nation it's nice to see you being more legitimate. You had a look at the mod communities I guess?
*Kiano: I guess don't really see the fun out of putting together a team if they don't adhere to the spirit of the tournament.

I knew mod communities were where I would get most of our players. Aldro and Leofric are the only native Irish players I can think off hand. The Facebook post on the Warband page really did most of the work for me though, most of the players got in contact with me, rather than the other way around.

*MnBComp: Oh that's nice to hear, I guess we can often be an insular community, most teams pick out players based on reputation but doesn't really help the community grow. How's the team atmosphere?
*Kiano: Well that's true I guess. I didn't have the choice to pick certain players over other however, as Ireland does not have that many players, at least not that many well-known. I don't completely see that as a bad thing however, it allowed the team to attract players who had never played competitive Warband ever and they also have the chance to not just be a part of a team but to play in it as well.

The team atmosphere is, as I expected from a group of Irish players, great. The only downside about our group is that very few of the players have microphones. On a good day we'll have five microphones, but usually it's more like three.

However, the atmosphere is still great, as every player knows that the team is pretty much just for fun and for a new experience. Without any real goals, we just get together, play, and have fun no matter what result we achieve.

*MnBComp: Well you guys had the previous champion for your first match so I guess you need that positive attitude! That said you had a strong start against them with a close 1st set - did your team perform better than expected, or was it more Polish errors?
*Kiano: Yeah, it was certainly being "thrown in the deep end" for our first ever match in an NC.

Our goal was to take at least one round, as sad as that sounds. While it didn't seem likely, we had a good chance to achieve this goal as Nords against Rhodoks on Naval outpost. It was as good as a start as we could have hoped for, with 3-2 being a bit surreal. Of course it was short lived, but most Irish hopes are I find


Whether it was good play on our part, or Polish errors, I'm not too sure. Our cav really put in a good shift and we were able to take advantage of that in the first set. I'm sure the Polish feel they gifted those rounds to us, but we still did well I feel, it's not that easy to take rounds off the Polish after all. Something that was all too clear after the first set.

*MnBComp: Any players in the team we should be keeping an eye on, performance wise? You're a great archer but I've seen Posh doing some nice infantry work.
*Kiano: I think we have players with promise, but there are certainly some players who get important kills. I would not count myself amongst them, my performance in matches, Ireland or IG are often subpar. While all of our team do their best, I think we have 3-4 players in particular who get attention from anyone who watches them play. Macco - a fantastic cav from Mercs, his only let down being the fact he has no mic. Posh - equally capable as inf or cav (a late find for us, his father is Irish and he played for Ireland in the NW NC), PotatoLogic - Our main inf, calm and collected he always puts in 100%. Crazed Hobo - He has being doing great as our primary ranged player, along with SlyFox who has also proven to be a skilled player.

*MnBComp: You say your performance is subpar - who commands usually, yourself?
*Kiano: Well it started out that way but commanding has been split between myself and Potato. It was actually him in charge of our successful two rounds. This partnership works well, I don't have all that much experience leading a team so being able to take one map while Potato will take the other map (and does a much better job I must say) keeps the stress low I think.

*MnBComp: Yeah it definitely helps to share the burden, easy to burn out. So continuing with your "thrown in the deep end", you're facing the UK this week. All of the groups had the lower pots facing the top pots, was this fair in your opinion?
*Kiano: Well I don't really see a problem with that. We all have to play each other eventually, I doubt waiting would have improved our chances against Poland. I do feel we were a little unlucky to get the UK as a pot two team as they are arguably a pot 1 team, this year anyway.

*MnBComp: If I wasn't restrained by neutrality I'd fully agree...well, regardless best of luck in the tournament. Any final thoughts or words for your opponents?
*Kiano: Well to Poland, it was a fun match and good luck in the rest of the tournament. To the UK we're looking forward to our match, I'm sure the meeting will be an interesting one, if a brief one. To Spain, sorry lads but we're not going to be stuck with the wooden spoon in our first year lads!

~***~​

Check out the #NC2016 here and Irelands group stage here

Follow MnBComp:
Contact MnBComp Staff:	Aeronwen	Steam		TaleWorlds		Twitter
	Captain Lust	Steam		TaleWorlds		Twitter
	Le Roux	Steam		TaleWorlds		Twitter
	OGL	Steam		TaleWorlds		Twitter

 

[22nd_TK_Ceasar]

#HYPED

Bit late no ?XD

 

[TheShinrog]

HYPE FOR THE POTATO FARMERS

Spoiler

not really meant to be offensive, take it anyway you want xD

 

[Aeronwen]

Yes it is late to add these but they were all up on Facebook at the time, this is just a record for those that didn't see it at the time or might want to refer to the interviews for some reason (there is a handy index in teh OP) sooo continuing with...

In week 3 of the Nation's Cup Sweden the 3rd seed of Group A will play Czechoslovakia, neither team can go through so they are playing for 3rd place. MnBComp talked to Warband veteran, one of few who knows the tiniest secrets of teh game, long time member of the oldest competitive clan (IG) and all around lovely person. Oliveran...

"And we played and played and played. It’s a wonder we didn’t play ourselves to death!"
Astrid Lindgren

​

(Thanks to Kohath for the graphic.)​

*MnBComp: Thanks for agreeing to the interview Oliveran. You captain Sweden, a nation that was last seen playing alone in 2012. You've been through a lot of these incarnations, from Sweden to Scandinavia to Sweden & Denmark, how would you compare them?
*Oliveran: I'd say SWE is a lot more relaxed and it's more chill to hang out with only Swedish guys, most of us known where we got each other and have known each other for a long time, so it's nice I'd say more relaxed, less skilled because there's more to pick from with SCA

*MnBComp: Yeah you've had quite a consistent roster too so you guys must get along for the most part
*Oliveran: Well yeah. Pretty much only new people this year, though!

*MnBComp: Right, well you have Robin, gubbo, Blixn also though. Who would you say standouts from the new players however?
*Oliveran: Rodriguez is quite new, so I'd say him and Slash maybe (?)

*MnBComp: Yeah I've played with Rodriguez, enthusiastic guy!
*Oliveran: He is

*MnBComp: You guys had a tough group with previous finalists BeNe, and always strong France. Some would've said you had a chance however, and were the strongest Pot 3 team. What can you say about those matches?
*Oliveran: : Well, we had 1 training match in total, that says all.
We have no practice as both me and Robin don't really have time, and nobody else wants to take responsibility The year we won was the only year we had training matches for real, actually.

*MnBComp: So the goal this time was more just to have fun and participate?
*Oliveran: Yeah

*MnBComp: That's fair enough! Gonna go out with a bang this week however? I bet 1000 on you in the betting thread...
*Oliveran: :O Yeah, we'll win at least one

*MnBComp: Good good! What do you think about the nation's cup in general? Any predictions for this one?
*Oliveran: I think this year feels a tiny bit more dull, like a tiny bit less tryharding than 2014 and 2015.
But I think it's nice. I've enjoyed playing these last years and being active, and people always been nice and hyped. So it's great fun!

*MnBComp: Any reason for the lack of tryharding do you think? I think some nations have been, Turkey for example were playing a match every day!
*Oliveran: Well, I've played this game for YEARS, and always been responsible for the team. This year I've been caught up in studies, life in general, family stuff, and without me, Shema wanting to play for GER (*sigh*) and Robin not having much time either...Well yeah

*MnBComp: What you're saying is, you need a Scandinavian apprentice, to pass on the torch!
*Oliveran: Hm... Yeah, probably, I've played for too long, an old fox by now

*MnBComp: Think you're still younger than me...so any predictions for this NC? Who do you see winning, any surprises?
*Oliveran: Hm, BeNe looks a tad bit messy, Turkey seems to be doing less good than supposed. Germany have no clue. Either UK (if you stop using saddle horses), Germany, BeNe or Poland
My bet is probably on GER, BeNe or PL but who knows UK might use inf for once

*MnBComp: I can't divulge state secrets. Well thanks for the interview Oliveran, Sweden's run may have been short but wouldn't be the same without you.
*Oliveran: :O
Yeah, I know, I miss them too so <3, but you know..Bannerlord!

~***~​

Check out the #NC2016 here and Swedens group stage here

Follow MnBComp:
Contact MnBComp Staff:	Aeronwen	Steam		TaleWorlds		Twitter
	Captain Lust	Steam		TaleWorlds		Twitter
	Le Roux	Steam		TaleWorlds		Twitter
	OGL	Steam		TaleWorlds		Twitter

 

[Oliveran]

Thanks for interviewing me

#Hype for the next NC with #TeamSweden

 

[Rodriguez]

enthusiastic guy. That would be my first name!
Great interview!

 

[Snusmakaren]

#Sweden

 

[Bsur]

taleworlds give ranked matchmaking or riot

-your official king

 

[Namakan]

taleworlds give ranked matchmaking or riot

-your official king

Nein. Mod it if you want it.

 

[Alene]

taleworlds give ranked matchmaking or riot

-your official king

Go to riot somewhere else, this is not the place.

 

[Aeronwen]

Next up was Bene, who got sooo close...

Nations Cup 2016 sees the 3 remaining Quarter Finals tonight, after last night's incredible match where reigning champions Poland were taken out by a determined Turkish Team.

We talked about the impending match with Germany with one of Warband’s most skilled and most loved rangers, Captain of Bene, Le Roux

“Belgium, where there occurred one of the rare appearances of the hero in history, was lifted above herself by the uncomplicated conscience of her King and, faced with the choice to acquiesce or resist, took less than three hours to make her decision, knowing it might be mortal.”
Barbara W. Tuchman, The Guns of August

​

(Thanks to Kohath for the graphic.)​

*MnBComp: Hello LeRoux! Thank you for doing this interview!
*LeRoux: Hello! Thank you for having me.

*MnBComp: Last week you tied with France, what happened? Many people were expecting you to beat them.
*LeRoux: Well we had some focus issues on the first map. We couldn't really get our minds in the game and once we noticed that issue and tried to solve it we had already lost a couple of rounds. Credit to France for their fast play, it caught us off-guard a couple of times. In that first map, they really gave us no room to breathe and just play our game.

*MnBComp: But you fixed that focus on the second map? You were down 2-6 and managed to make a comeback, what changed?
*LeRoux: We came into that match expecting to win, we had been playing well all week and thought it'd be a clean and fast victory for us. In the minutes we had during the maps we all took a little mental break and told ourselves that we just had to play as well as we possibly could. Although we were already through groupstage, the first seed was important to us. Tying with France would still give us first seed, so that was our goal.

*MnBComp: And you succeeded! Even though some of the rounds were very close, are you planning to do something different in your prematch approach for this week's match?
Yes, some of the rounds were very close. Especially the last one came down to the wire. And yes, after the match we had a big and long talk about what happened on that first map. We came up with some things that we'll change in our prematch to make sure we enter the official with the proper state of mind. BeNe can't afford to lose rounds in such a way. A 3-0 is so devastating for the rest of the match that it's just not an acceptable result.

*MnBComp: This week you're facing Germany, how do you feel about that?
*LeRoux: Germany is a strong team, and it's still hard for me to understand why they lost to Poland in the way they did. They have the key ingredients to be the best team in NC. I don't know why it just doesn't happen. Our game plan is basically what it always has been, round by round we grind until we have a victory. I'm very happy to say that this year in BeNe we have a couple of players that are capable of just turning rounds and matches in our favour. We'll still have to play flawless, but I think we have more "explosive" players than Germany has.

*MnBComp: What do you mean when you say explosive players?
*LeRoux: For me that means players that can consistently get a couple of important kills in moments when you don't expect them to do so. Doener getting a penta kill, Ceasar getting two early couches as cav. Plays like that are, obviously, very good for that particular round. But more so it's very good for our morale and it makes us motivated to keep on grinding rounds.

*MnBComp: Your maps are Verloren and Frosthaven. How do you feel about Frosthaven, it being a newer map?
*LeRoux: I really enjoy Frosthaven. It has a very nice layout that allows teams to very quickly move from one side to the other. I also feel that the flagspawns are very well balanced. There are usually two or three very strong positions surrounding the flags, but none of these positions is too dominant. There's not really one position you have to capture in order to win the flag. That makes for some very dynamic, very enjoyable Warband!

*MnBComp: Let's talk picks and bans! You banned San'di'Boush, Naval Outpost, and picked Frosthaven. What was your reasoning?
*LeRoux: We considered Germany as a team, and came to the conclusion that their infantry scare us most. That's why we banned Sandi and Naval Outpost. Two maps where inf can make the difference and where our archers would be least effective. We picked Frosthaven because it's a map where we feel we can move quite comfortably. Our inf can play a supporting role while our cav and archers make the difference.

*MnBComp: Germany banned Ruins, followed by a Castellum ban, and ended up picking Verloren. Do you have any idea why? Can you give us some insight in their reasoning?
*LeRoux: I think they banned Ruins because they feel we're a good open map team. They probably banned Castellum because they noticed our comeback versus France and didn't want that to happen to them! As for why they picked Verloren... I think it's because they're looking for a big infantry fight, and since we had already banned Sandis and Naval, Verloren is their best shot in accomplishing that goal.

*MnBComp: Well said! Is there anything else you'd like to add, a message to BeNe, or to Germany?
*LeRoux: To BeNe, just keep doing what you're doing. This NC is ours, and if it isn't everyone can be damn sure we tried our hardest. And to Germany... I have many friends in Germany, many people I've played with or against many times before. I hope this match will be one to remember, but of course BeNe will eventually be victorious!

~***~​

You can see streams of Bene v Germany
with Darin, Cleric & Thunderbeu here: https://youtu.be/H5ugpfxR4ug
with Greed & Raven here https://youtu.be/qNmWn7YRA1c

Check out the #NC2016 here and the Knockout stage here

Follow MnBComp:
Contact MnBComp Staff:	Aeronwen	Steam		TaleWorlds		Twitter
	Captain Lust	Steam		TaleWorlds		Twitter
	Le Roux	Steam		TaleWorlds		Twitter
	OGL	Steam		TaleWorlds		Twitter

 

[22nd_TK_Ceasar]

co-cpt*******

Pls get ur facts straight XDDDD