*MnBComp: Hi Tardet. Firstly thanks for agreeing to the interview, and congratulations on making it to the semi-finals. Let's look back at the group stage - France had arguably one of the tougher groups with both Sweden (previous finalists, kind of...) and last year's 2nd, BeNe. You came through undefeated! What was your view on the group stage?
*Tardet: Thanks, I'm glad to be here. Regarding the group, I think we had a hard one, but definitely not the hardest. At the beginning, people started thinking that Sweden could potentially take the win over us, and if you look at the past results, that might have been logical, however, from the inside, we never considered Sweden able to beat us. Surely, we didn't really dominate them on the open map, far from it but it's also arguable to say that France has been gaining strength and momentum trough the different phases of the competition and that if Sweden hadn't all their best members, we were also far from having the automatism we showed against Russia for example. As for Czechoslovakia, they were the weaker team of the group and sadly they didn't manage to demonstrate a lot during those 3 matches. Our real goal since the beginning was consequently BeNe, without any doubt the top 1 of our group, and the fact we managed to draw them was a huge accomplishment, an amazing moral gain, but also made people to slightly change their minds about our team. As for the match itself, what I said during the after match interview still remains true. We had the upper hand but we didn't manage to capitalize on it, too bad for us. If we ever have to face them again, I don't think we'll make the mistake twice.
*MnBComp: You mention people changing their view of your team - do you think France has been underestimated?
*Tardet: Well, at the beginning, from what I've heard people we were far from thinking we could go that far. And like, I'm not blaming them on that. Since the team led by Nubijuki reached the final in 2011 and won in 2012, France's record wasn't the great. Incapacity to make it out of the group in 2013 and 2014, and we when we finally managed to reach the quarter in 2015 we got stomped by BeNe. So yeah, I think France has been underestimated, but probably with reason according to the past results.
*MnBComp: Glad to hear you're not bearing a grudge! Moving onto the quarter finals, you faced Russia&Ukraine, another team with a strong record in previous years, and who also had just defeated the always-scary German team. How was that match for you guys, did you go in confident or any nerves on show?
*Tardet: Our feelings about the match vs Russia were mixed. On one hand, we knew that it was a really scary team, which after a shaky start vs Norway&Denmark, proved all its potential and went to beat a favourite, Germany, in the group phases. However, where Russia probably gained a lot of confidence, we also had our momentum going on after the draw vs BeNe and to be fair, the disappointment of not being closing the match was forgotten once we got the Russians in front of us. I could use all the vocabulary I got to describe the atmosphere during the match, but I guess a video would be the best to show it and Paulo will probably publish one once the competition is over (in French, naturally). All I could say is that in term of in game leading, decision making, focus, and discipline, it was by far our best match of the competition and one of the match I enjoyed the most in my short Warband career. You really felt that we were here to win and nothing less, thus, everyone gave his maximum, remained focused and it's probably what won us the match, regardless of any deep analysis you could make about the game itself.
*MnBComp: Sounds like the team is improving match to match. A late addition to the team in the form of one of the best players around, Peter, surely helped also?
*Tardet: It definitely did. As everyone know, the team is at 90% composed of Unity players and if those are surely great players, they lack a bit of discipline in certain situations. Peter brings this aspect (As well as Merzhin and I) because he is a calm player who knows his tasks and how to execute it perfectly. He is definitely helping and played a huge part in our victory vs Russia. No wonder he is also gonna be of a great help versus Turkey.
*MnBComp: Yeah it must be key to have that unity core with their natural teamwork. Looking to turkey for this week's semi-final, they had a shaky moment losing to Finland in their group, but looked strong beating the last champions in the quarter-finals last week. How are you preparing?
*Tardet: We're preparing as much as it is possible to do. We have made our homeworks, prepared the map and we obtained some decent results vs BeNe and UK in scrims while being far from performing at our best. We're playing our map first so it really does help a lot and we'll have to capitalize on that. I guess it once again gonna come down to Castellum where we expect Turkey to give us a hell of a battle, one more reason to take as many rounds as possible on FoH.
*MnBComp: Indeed. You think you'll do stronger on FoH I guess then? You believe in the inf?
*Tardet: I think we have demonstrated a lot of positive things on this map vs BeNe so yeah, I'm quite confident on that. Concerning the infantry part, I personally believe we have got one of the best pair of the Warband competitive scene, Brian and Thorr. Playing with them is a pure pleasure and I'm always on what they're capable of doing with their natural born team play. Another big addition to the infantry core is Merzhin, my RNGD comrade. Merzhin is a complete beast when it comes to close map, especially when he gets to use his so loved hammer. On top on that we have also Peter capable to be an amazing infantry as well so it will depend where we prefer to put him as. The only weak point in the composition I see is myself.
*MnBComp: Brian and Thorr are beastly no doubt, but I've seen them multiclassing a lot. Will this weaken their performance?
*Tardet: On close maps, Brian and Thorr play infantry. Anything other than that would be madness. But yeah, it happens a lot that when we're playing 4 cavalry, Brian steps in as one. Mainly because we have no other cavalry as good as him when Ncromancien, Subzero and Peter are on the field as well. I don't think it will weaken his performance still if it ever has to happen. He has been doing well lately and I'm sure he will keep doing so.
*MnBComp: Looking forward to the finals, and assuming your confidence is warranted...who do you see yourself facing?
*Tardet: Well, I'm not one to see further than I should and for now I of course prefer remain focused on the challenge to come, Turkey. Concerning BeNe vs UK I really can't see a clear winner between both. I expect it to be a really tense match where it will probably come down to details. However as some of my some important virtual money is placed on BeNe (cause I still had to make a choice) I'm gonna go with them as a finalist. But I'm sure UK will be more than happy to make me regret it!
*MnBComp: I hope so! Well Tardet thanks for the interview. Any last thoughts?
*Tardet: I just wanted to use this interview to give a big thanks to all the French team. Whatever the result will be, it's been an absolute pleasure and honour to play alongside the elite of my country. For the little story, it's Ryurk who first brought me in the team as a trial and back then I would have never imagined to play in a Line-Up against and with people I've always admired. I'm extremely grateful of the chance which has been given to me and I hope to prove tomorrow that it was worth it. Thanks for having me and best of luck to the 3 other remaining teams.
I'm convinced it's gonna be some top class Warband. The one we like.
~***~
Follow MnBComp: | | |||||
Contact MnBComp Staff:
| Aeronwen
|
|
|
| ||
| Captain Lust |
|
|
| |||
| Le Roux |
|
|
| |||
| OGL |
|
|
| |||
*MnBComp: Thanks for agreeing to the interview Watly. Congratulations on making it to the final! It's been a difficult road for BeNe so far, with France, Germany, and UK all being fought. How would you rate the team's performance so far, and can we expect more?
*Watly: Hey MnbComp and thank you for having me. It has been a great NC for us so far and we hope we can continue to overcome the obstacles on this bumpy road you just described. While there is always room for improvement, BeNe has shown time and time again that we definitely have the stones to keep on winning and I hope we'll be able to continue winning all the way until the end. All of the teams we fought were good teams and we already feel proud for being able to play again in the finals this year.
*MnBComp: Indeed, it's the 2nd finals for you, two years in a row. Must be a good feeling! Will things go differently than last year though?
*Watly: I personally feel more confident about this year than the previous year, since there are a lot of things that we have going for us that we didn't have going for us last year. Last year, we were a new-comer to the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the finals and we are far more capable of dealing with that pressure right now. We also have a somewhat better line-up than last year, since we basically have the previous year's line-up with some new faces added in. We are also fighting Turkey, which has shown to use more traditional tactics than for example Poland. Last year, the effectiveness of the Polish triple archer set-up really surprised us and we had no answer to it. This is by no means an implication that it will be simple, since the Turkish team has also proven themselves to be an impressive force in both officials as well as training scrims so far. Overall, I'd say our chances are slightly better than last year, but it will be a nail-biter for sure.
*MnBComp: Let's look at those new faces - who would you say has stood out more this year round? Kane has impressed as an archer but that was arguably one thing BeNe never lacked.
*Watly: Ciiges and Surkan have also done their parts this year, and especially Ciiges has stood out. While BeNe is by no means a really strong cav nation now, the situation is already far better than the previous years, where our best bets at 4 cavalry would have been putting one of our best infantries on a horse or a mercenaries player.
*MnBComp: Still, Surkan though...
*Watly: He is by no means a bad cav and is also recognized by many list-makers as at least a decent cavalry player. He has also shown this year that it is possible for him to function within a team.
*MnBComp: This neutral interviewer will take your word for it. You mention your preference for playing Turkey - last year you had an extremely close (and exciting) match with them, going into the overtime map. Can we expect more of the same or you planning to stomp?
*Watly: We never intend for a scrim to go to overtime, but we've had a lot of difficulty getting started so far. As for expectations, I have frankly no idea how it will end up in the finals, whether our measures against a slow-start work or whether we'll see Winterburg, or even whether we'll get over-run by the Turks. I know it sounds a bit anti-climactic, but I wouldn't be able to give a proper expectation no matter how hard I'd try: the match is just that hard to predict.
*MnBComp: Yeah, both teams have looked a little shaky at points but have overcome strong teams too. Looking at last week, what did you make of the big deficit versus UK, only to come back and win so strong on the second map?
*Watly: I'd say that UK's unbalanced roster was mostly to blame, with their incredibly strong inf roster supplemented by a small number of good archers and cav. When we got to the open map, the UK inf started to have less impact on the match and the lack of versatility in UK's roster started to show. A combination of this and some other minor, less relevant factors caused a huge difference in results when comparing the maps. What made us come back so strong was also our will to win: people started to sober up after the first map and people were pushing themselves to the limits to not have it end here (and be forced to listen to horrible UK bants for the rest of the year).
*MnBComp: A terrible punishment indeed. Well thanks for the time, glad to have you. Any final thoughts about the tournament, or words for your opponents? You should know that Turkey refused to be interviewed as they believed it would curse them.
*Watly: I'd like to give a shout-out to the admins who, despite facing some controversy, managed to deal with every situation that arose in a satisfactory manner. I'd like to finish this interview with: ALLEJOPPPAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Follow MnBComp: | | |||||
Contact MnBComp Staff:
| Aeronwen
|
|
|
| ||
| Captain Lust |
|
|
| |||
| Le Roux |
|
|
| |||
| OGL |
|
|
| |||
Ceasar 说:Its raining co's, hallulejah,
its raining co's, amen!
*MnBComp: First of all congratulations on your win, how do you feel?
*Rayden: Hello, thanks. I feel like winner
*MnBComp: Turkey have come close to the championship many times before, what were your expectations going into this year’s tournament?
*Rayden: Turkey is a team that plays for top 3 every year with very strong teams, that being said this year most of the Turkish players went passive and were waiting for bannerlord to come out, which made the first spot pretty hard for us. Main cause for this was since we were lacking the depth in our roster compared to last years, some of our players were participating in the Nations Cup for the first time, which is a big disadvantage. We also had a hard time finding players so some of our players had to play two classes depending on the situation.
*MnBComp: Getting to the final was a huge achievement in itself, but you must have been really hungry for the win, what preparations did you make before the final match?
*Rayden: The Turkish national team started their practices in the first of December and until March 6th we played 70 matches in a total of 100 days. I think this alone shows how hungry we were for a victoryTo talk about the preparation before the final match, we didn't necessarily do anything different but to get into detail, we watched videos of the matches BeNe played and did a lot of practice. The day of the final, we went over the tactics once again and talked about how we should play and after that we duelled in the infamous map that's on Turkish server, the Arena
First map, Naval outpost
*MnBComp: The first round was actually one of the closest rounds in the entire game, ending in a 2 vs 1 and you won by flag. What made that round so close? What were your expectations for the final result at this point?
*Rayden: The Bene team started the match with 3 archers 3 inf and 2 cavs and went straight towards the boat to wait for that flag. It was taking a bet, however it paid off and they got the best possible flag. They had an insane crossfire. If you're going into such a crossfire, it's normal to start with losing a player. However they couldn't protect their archers enough, and if they were able to do that the match would have started much different for us. After this round, we confirmed that the things we talked amongst ourselves were all true, they were going to try crossfires where ever they could.
*MnBComp: As Nords on Naval outpost, you had a mixture of aggression and passive tactics, using passive and defensive play in the beginning and then switching to a more aggressive tactic once the flag spawned. How did this compare with your preparations for the match?
*Rayden: After this first round, we thought we should have used Nords power earlier(before the flag spawn) but to be able to achieve that, you have to prevent their archers from setting up and try to fight at a closed space. However if you can't make your enemy fight in such a situation, then there isn't much you can do to force them. Especially a team such as BeNe who has good archers, you have to avoid taking unnecessary risks. For that reason we thought about forcing this not after flag spawned, but right when it did. If we let them set up like the first round, the result could have been different.
*MnBComp: The BeNe team are well known for their archers, especially their crossfires. What were your plans to deal with this and did it go as you expected?
*Rayden: We knew they'd use 3 archers all along. In our trainings throughout the week, we found out that 1 archer, 2 cav and 5 inf is a better composition in shutting down their archers. The reason we picked to go forwards this comp was also defined by the fact that we would have javelins. If you are using them well there's a good chance you can disrupt their archers. We also told Menethil to lock down their archers and my duty was to help him in that and disturbing their cavalry. That way our team would be able to do without any problems. Although I cannot say that everything went as planned, most of it indeed did.
*MnBComp: As Nords you went heavy infantry, can you go into detail why?
*Rayden: A simple answer would be this; to be able to pressure the enemy more.
*MnBComp: You won the first set 3-0. How did the team react to that, how did it compare with your prematch expectations?
*Rayden: We knew that we would win Nord side 3-0 unless if we did a stupid mistake. It was a result we expected.
*MnBComp: In set 2 you were Vaegir, arguably the weaker side. You switched over to a more standard class setup of 4-2-2. What was the reason for this?
*Rayden: This actually has a couple reasons; we have to play against Nords as Vaegirs and there is an obvious disadvantage. Our priority in map picking was to be able to use our cavalry and archers more effectively. Verloren was one of the maps we played the best however they banned that towards us and the only viable option was Naval Outpost. Since we don't have an effective 3 archer strategy, our main goal was to survive as long as we could on inf and let our cavalary and archers finish up the work. As Vaegirs, if things didn't go so well, we knew we had to change something. At the 4th round of the second set we swapped to 1-5-2 and force them to something they wouldn't expect. Thankfully they took the bait. (XDDD)
*MnBComp: Are there any rounds on Naval Outpost you regret? For example the push through middle after the flag spawned on the second round as Vaegir? What would you have done differently?
*Rayden: Yes actually there is a round that I regret. The 3rd round of the second set. When the flag spawned they send 2 archers and 2 inf to lock us down and 2 inf were at the mid side of tunnel. We had a miscommunication and we didn’t' know they were so split up. We should have caught the left group and killed them fast. In the second round, right after the flag spawned we sent Menethil from our spawn and we knew they'd push us mid. Menethil’s mission was to come back and help the team if we got pushed but the BeNe team had great timing and they waited until Menethil was all the way in then pushed. They didn't give us much time to react.
*MnBComp: Which players or class in particular you would like to mention when it comes to the first map?
*Rayden: First of all I'd like to congratulate our infantry and cavalry. They played as if they've been playing together for years. That was the key to us winning that map(team play). If we think about individuals, Menethil, Gordioss and Arthur did great.
First map, 6-2 in favour of Turkey.
Second map, River Village
*MnBComp: This map was BeNe's pick, what were your plans for this map and did it go as planned?
*Rayden: I was honestly surprised when I saw that they picked that map. Because after the Poland match, I thought they'd think that we were good in this map and not pick it. To speak about our plans, we always choose to wait for the flag on open maps because we have a better inf-cav coordination than the other teams on flag fights. We knew that we had the upper hand to the BeNe team when it came to archers and cavalry. I can say that pretty much everything we expected came to reality.
*MnBComp: You won the first round, starting out as Vaegir, by most considered the superior faction on an open map, how much do you think that helped you?
*Rayden: Of course Vaegir has an advantage vs. Rhodoks however I believe that if we played serious/wanted to could have beaten them with Rhodoks as well.
*MnBComp: Cavalry and archers, as expected, did a lot of work on River Village, what did you think of BeNe's tactics?
*Rayden: We expected them to play 3 xbows and bet on the flags with crossfires on the Rhodok side, however they choose to go with 4-2-2. BeNe was really lucky with the flags the whole match and they got the flags just like they wanted to. First round they chose to be more aggressive and tried to hold us upfront but we countered them immediately and started by killing the two of their xbows.
*MnBComp: As Vaegir you only lost one round, the flag in the village. What do you think happened?
*Rayden: The flag spawn for them again (Hax XD) Since one of the BeNe cav was raising the flag early, we didn't have much time to react. Since Menethil was ninja from behind them, I think we engaged them a little early but we should have waited a little longer for Menethil.
3rd set ending in 9-3 to Turkey, they have now officially won The Grand Finale of Nations Cup 2016!
*MnBComp: After you won, rather convincingly, were the team able to continue to continue to play seriously? What was the atmosphere like in the teamspeak channel?
*Rayden: The TS atmosphere was amazing. Everyone yelling in celebration, congratulating each other. I gave serious tactics even after we won however people were too hyped up and were in a celebration and no one had the focus left for the match, therefore we stopped playing.
*MnBComp: You have been so close to winning the Nations Cup in the past, but now it’s finally yours. How does it feel to finally have the gold?
*Rayden: Yes, the 2013 team that I captained lost to Germany because of an unlucky flag on the last round. But we showed that we deserved the gold medal the most this year by having 1 silver and 3 bronze medals. This meant a lot for us and we deserved the win. To speak about how I personally feel; I consider myself lucky to be the first Turkish captain to bring gold back home, and I'm happy that we were able to accomplish this with our weakest team yet. I dedicate this gold medal to all Turks that have played the game until now.
*MnBComp: How do you feel about Nations Cup as a whole?
*Rayden: This year’s NC was the last one in Warband (probably) and was the best one yet due to the fact that every year till now there were favourites to win, and the matches weren't this exciting. This year it wasn't certain who'd win, there were 6 teams around the same levels (TR ,BeNe, UK, FR, PL, RUS). Also I should mention Finland. They surely made the tournament more colourful.
*MnBComp: Is there anything you`d like to comment on from the match, or the tournament?
*Rayden: I would like to talk about the USA match. To be honest, it was by far the hardest match we played this tournament. Those guys deserve some respect.
As a last thing, I'd like to congratulate my team, then congratulate BeNe on their second position. Also thank you to all the admins, referees, other teams, players and every one that had something to do with this Nations Cup.
~![]()
~![]()
Calamity 说:Good luck with everything. You guys definitely made an impact on the scene, hopefully you come back for Bannerlord.
Aeronwen 说:IG has been a positive force in Warband and other games. I met a lot of really wonderful people there. So I really hope IG returns for Bannerlord.
Liwi 说:Goodbye, always had high respect for IG and a lot of hard matches against you over those 6 years. First two years were the hardest^^
The problem is, they can only make a comeback in Bannerlord if Istiniar already exists on the map!
it should and TW should build a memorial easter egg in that village!
sadnhappy 说:The 22nd salute you. We had some great matches and especially in the latter days of Warband IG_Battlegrounds was the place to be for sure.
Can't wait for Bannerlord, never say never, right guys?![]()
Captain Lust 说:Good luck IG! While most associate the team with its strong organisational structure, and community efforts, there's no denying that IG achieved a great deal competitively, and helped breed some of the scene's finest talent. It was a pleasure to be thrashed by you, more than once, over the last six years.![]()
Sir Galahad the Pure 说:Probably the most legendary clan in Warband. You'll be missed and never forgotten!
~PhoSPhoruS 说:It was a pleasure to play with you guys. Hope to see your members around. And thanks for everyone who's involved. You made Warband - Warband !
Scar 说:It's a shame to see you leave, I always enjoyed playing against you. You were undoubtedly one of the fairest teams in the scene, and your positive impact on its development is undeniable. I hope you'll come back for Bannerlord.
Follow MnBComp: | | |||||
Contact MnBComp Staff:
| Aeronwen
|
|
|
| ||
| Captain Lust |
|
|
| |||
| Le Roux |
|
|
| |||
| OGL |
|
|
| |||
Aeronwen 说:*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
Shemaforash 说:Aeronwen 说:*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
Since some people brought it up to me (as being accurate when it's not), I applied to Germany after permission from the nations cup administrators in what 2012 or 2013 and then it was rejected and that was the end of it? Just because you can't be arsed finding out what the actual reason is Oliveran doesn't make the made up one you thought would be the funniest the correct one. I played nations cup since 2011 to 2014 and I get **** because I choose to not participate after I've won one? **** you.
Follow MnBComp: | | |||||
Contact MnBComp Staff:
| Aeronwen
|
|
|
| ||
| Captain Lust |
|
|
| |||
| Le Roux |
|
|
| |||
| OGL |
|
|
| |||
Follow MnBComp: | | |||||
Contact MnBComp Staff:
| Aeronwen
|
|
|
| ||
| Captain Lust |
|
|
| |||
| Le Roux |
|
|
| |||
| OGL |
|
|
| |||