Celestial Tournament LiveBlogging: tag vs acid

what I like to see

14:35GMT: An hour and a half until the day's events kick off. I am so not getting this done before then. Ah well.

Before I start, I'd like to say a little bit about what I like to see this tournament. I've already mentioned what I expect to see but let's talk a little about the kind of matches I like to watch. Like most people, I think, I like to see a closely placed game. Watching someone roll or get rolled isn't very thrilling. So, if the result isn't in much doubt, it's not quite as exciting as it is when it's anyone's game as the Lords are walking. Beyond that, I find the type of match where everyone meets up in the center and proceeds to beat on each other to be less interesting than the ones with a lot of splits and movements. The first type of match is all about doing the little things well and the type of player skill involved in executing your chains and spikes and heals is the sort of thing that's hard for anyone who hasn't played the game to catch. Even then, it's hard to see on obs mode unless you happen to be watching the right thing at the right time. I like to flick around a lot, myself, rather than just camp on one player. On the other hand, a match with a lot of movement is more about the tactical calls. When to push, when to retreat, whom to send where. The sort of thing that interests me, generally speaking are such higher level tactics rather than the more ground level (but by no means unimportant) matters of target calling. It's solving those kind of puzzles that give me a lot of enjoyment from playing Guild Wars, after all, so I like to see how the really good teams handle things. So, basically, my dream match would be one with a lot of crazy splits that ends with a mind-blowing last second victory. One that leaves me going, 'wow, how the did they know to pull that off?"

Anyway, that said, let's revisit my not so secret shame and check out [tag] and [acid]. We'll get to [iPod], the day's biggest spoiler, soon enough.

Match Five - Game One
#5 Ominous Latin Name vs #12 Temporal Flux Reality
Druid's Isle

tag
W/A - Dev Hammer
W/E - Eviscerate Shock/Axe
E/Mo - Water runner with E-prod, Blinding Flash (Or is is Air runner with water snares?)
Mo/E - BLight? O-kay...
Mo/E - LoD
R/Mo - BA
A/W - Shadow Prison BoA
Rt/E - Weapon of Remedy Rit

acid
W/E - Shock/Hammer
W/E - Shock/Hammer
E/Mo - Fire Runner
Mo/E - Does it really matter? Something not henchie.
A/W - Meobius BoA Sin
A/W - Shadow Prison BoA
Rt/A - Weapon of Remedy Rit with Wielder's Remedy
Mo - Healer Henchman!?!?

I can't process anything after seeing that henchie. The teams are running builds of...some sort. With players and skills which, no doubt, do stuff. I expect to see particle effects at some poin in this match.

14:46GMT: Oh, great. Well, here's why I'm out some Beetle time. A Healer Henchman? Seriously? You couldn't get 8 people together for the tournament? Well, there's the game right there.

14:48GMT: About two minutes in. Henchie can't heal for crizzap, and [acid]'s paying for it.

14:49GMT: And, yep, the henchie is now wnadering in a circle around the flagstand while the rest of the team pulls back to their base.

14:50GMT: [acid]'s base is now cleansed of those dirty, dirty NPCs. Nice of [tag]'s split to rid them of that filth. The base is now much more quiet with a pleasant decor.

14:43GMT: Well, I give [acid] credit for making a push here. They're not going to quit. There's a reason I like them, after all. They make it to [tag]'s base before being pushed back.

14:44GMT: Eight minute mark and three [acid] players didn't autorez. The morale chart is not a pretty sight. Unless you're [tag], of course.

14:45GMT: Party wipe and [tag] has just under a minute and a half free and clear on the Lord. Game over, man.

14:46GMT: Sigh, I need to rewatch to get the builds down.

15:00GMT: An hour 'til game time. Woo? Yeah. Woo.

Match Five - Game Two
#5 Ominous Latin Name vs #12 Temporal Flux Reality
Isle of Jade

tag
W/Mo - A sword. Seemed to spend most of the match running around or lagging so, who knows? Had Final Thrust so probabbly a YAA
W/E - Backbreaker
Me/E - Didn't catch the elite but had Blackout and Mirror of Disenchantment. Probably an Expel.
N/Mo - Tainted
E/Mo - Water with Icy Shackles
Mo/E - Didn't see
Mo/E - Didn't see
R/Mo - BA


acid
W/A - Steady Stance/Fear Me hammer
W/A - Steady Stance/Fear Me hammer
W/A - Steady Stance/Fear Me hammer
P/Mo - Something that dies a lot. With Purge Signet. (Okay, I'm guessing Cruel Spear)
P/Mo - Crippling Anthem with Purge
Mo/W - RC
Mo/W - LoD/Infuse
W - Fighter Henchman

[acid] apparently got really sick of knockdowns last round. First time I've seen slash W Monks this tournament. It's an interesting build. And I say that in the same tone as your friends do when you tell them your significant other has, in fact, learned their lesson from the restraining order and you're willing to give them a second chance. In fact, you're going to loan them the rest of your lifesavings to get them back on their feet since they just got out of prison and all. I mean, I know they didn't have much to work with and all but, still. [tag] goes with hex/pressure and it's sure to eat this build up. I didn't catch a lot of the build, especially the healers, since, you know, they didn't have to heal much.

13:03GMT: Blargh, somehow my obs mode got stuck on "select a game for me". It took me like five minute to realize that my game was not, in fact, going crazy whenever I tabbed back into it to find myself watching some random HA fight. I probably would have noticed this sooner if it wasn't for my habit of alt-tabbing out in the first place.

13:05GMT: Okay, so [acid] wised up a bit and went with a Fighter henchie here. It'll follow targets and put out damage, not as well as a real player, but at this level you really need good Monks to stay alive - a Fighter henchie isn't ideal but it's much less of your overall team's output. It's maybe a quarter of your damage as opposed to half your healing. If you only have one, Fighter henchie is the way to go. Why do I know this? Well, lots of planning for what happens when people can't show up thanks to crazy CT Swiss Scheduling, that's why! I'm still just stunned they needed one at all.

13:08GMT: Um, yes, in case you wre wondering this does not go at all well for [acid]. I believe, yes, I believe they manage to wand a few targets down to 95% health or something. Meanwhile their backline wishes there was a ay to infuse six people at once.

13:10GMT: I will be literally stunned if this match lasted longer than eight minutes and ended in anything less than a flawless for [tag].

13:13GMT: How do I feel about my prediction that [acid] wins this game and the next now? Shut your goddamn pie hole, that's how I feel.