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Where do you draw the line - The Battle of Division A Posted by live1991 1756 reads )

Where do you draw the line - The Battle of Division A



Dropship 5, a team with an established underdog reputation since its inception a little more then two years ago, had a knack for snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. However, this time they would snatch victory in a way no one would ever expect.



Dropship 5 entered MRBC as the third-ranked team according to MRBC prediction guru Mrpetzold. His sentiment was not alone. Several different users from Reddit such as Lpmagic and others pegged D5 as a team that had immense talent, but questionable work ethic. It was a valid criticism after the MWOWC where the team made a decent showing against Osiriz but later bottomed out against Australia's marquee competitive team, First Jaguar Guards.



It was a criticism that Dropship 5 had to shake off, and they shook it off well. The beleaguered team showed that they were still a force to be reckoned with after gaining three convincing wins against three strong, talented teams. D5 pulled out near shutouts against228th Swamp Foxes,, a team that recently re-hauled its roster and game plan into something that has shown great potential, and Isengrim, a team well regarded for it's strong, centralized and disciplined leadership, along with it's core of highly skilled, veteran pilots. The season came to a high point for Dropship 5 after shutting out-42-, a veteran team that possessed a great amount of Division A experience and was well known for catching teams off guard with unconventional tactics.



Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle 228th Black Watch's, predicted dominance was considered all but certain. After getting to the MWOWC finals and playing valiantly against Mechwarrior's giants in Empyreal and EON Synergy, 228th get back to the grindstone and came up with new ideas, while bringing in a few fresh faces. This caused many including Mrpetzold to declare 228th the predicted winner of MRBC, and they did not disappoint. 228th went into the Dropship 5 match with a nearly undefeated record, giving up only one drop to Smoke Adders, a team that was highly regarded going into the next season of MRBC anyway.



228th strode into the match with confidence and swagger. They possessed a nearly perfect record. They had a winning combination of airtight strategies and ace level pilots who were battle tested against the best this game could offer. What would they have to worry about?



Quite a bit, actually. D5 hit the ground running in the first drop on Rubellite, by opening up the first match with a risky gamble of sending their ace light pilot C H A R L E M A G N E in the back to try and dislodge any range mechs that he could. while the maneuver didn't go exactly as planned, it forced 228th's lights to get overly aggressive and commit to a bad push. Dropship 5 capitalized on the push, giving them first blood in the series.









The drop from D5 side



The drop from 228 side



The second drop on Terra Therma, 228th tried a split maneuver to try and dislodge Dropship 5 from their strong trading positions at the Theta cap point. While 228th got an early victory by neutralizing Xioz, one of Dropship 5's best mediums, his sacrifice allowed Dropship 5 time to re-form their lines and focus fire on 228th's Left flank. Dropship 5 grounded the flank into submission and won the match, starting out the series with a convincing 2-0.









The drop from D5 side



At this juncture point, lesser teams would have begun a full tilt and thrown in the white towel. 228th Black Watch, however, burned their white towel. Surrender was not in their dictionary and 228th Black Watch was anything but a team that went quietly into the night.



The third drop on Caustic Black Watch took advantage of their superior coordination to maneuver against Dropship 5's positions on the Caldera. They spread their lines wide and took winning fights where they could get them, forcing Dropship 5 to move into unfavorable positions. After a final sweeping push on the north side of the Caldera Black Watch wiped the floor with Dropship 5, putting the match at 2-1.









The drop from D5 side



228th Black Watch's win streak didn't stop there, as on Tourmaline Desert 228th opted to leave Kappa open and force all their strength on Epsilon and Theta while using their lights as cap control. Dropship 5 did not have a proper response, as they were too dug in to their trading positions and too slow to react to the moving situation. Black Watch's Krizzman and Defunkedecon led the way to a grinding win, out-trading the best Dropship 5 had to offer.









The drop from D5 side



The match was tied up at 2-2. River city was next. After a fierce trade war between both sides that led to a mass bleeding of armor and ammo, Dropship 5's lights made a last minute scramble to gather caps. The cap timers at the top of the menu ticked down to the last, and it looked like the proclaimed underdogs could walk away with a cap victory despite losing five mechs to 228th Black Watch's three mechs. Victory depended on a fight at Gamma to keep the cap points moving in Dropship 5's favor, but Blaketown made a fatal mistake- he dropped off the point at the wrong time. Panicbutton, a man who gloriously led 228th since it's inception, stood victorious with his trusted light virtuoso Edmeister on the point, confident victory was theirs.



But it was not meant to be. the timers eventually equalized out. The points on the timers were the exact same. 228th and Dropship 5 both had two cap points and one cap point was neutralized. both teams watched as the timers continued their onward march to the inevitable tie. 745, 747, 749, and then..... a tie.



It was unprecedented. Both teams stood incredulous to the fact. Ties were unheard of ever since MRBC embraced conquest as it’s flagship format. Both teams didn't know what to do. Originally Dropship 5 thought they lost as Black watch had more kills and more points. Black Watch thought the same and began to disperse, pleased with their victory.







The Draw from D5 side



Unfortunately, fate would not make it easy. MRBC refs were contacted, rules were conferred. According to the book, if there was a tie, the match had to be played again.



Dropship 5 found new life in their step. They knew this was their second chance, their saving grace. Black Watch, on the other hand, renewed their vigor, reconvened, and steeled themselves for a final match.



The saving grace, however, found itself in dire straits starting the match. One Last Byte along with edmeister made a mad rush to Theta that seemed to pay off- they legged C H A R L E M A G N E, and set the tempo of the match in their favor. Smelling blood in the water, 228th Black Watch pushed their mechs closer to the action in river city to solidify their map presence and ensure the cap win.



Dropship 5 sounded a bit dejected but they were not defeated. Kippers, a man who lives and dies by his summoner, stayed to the left despite the danger to the star port flank. Dropship 5 stayed cool and collected, and formed a concave to keep range pressure and not allow 228th to further capitalize on their advantage. Krizzman and Defunked shot like mad from their positions, but it was not enough. Archon Adam Steiner brought surgical laser shots from mech into the torsos of Snapstyle and Raginbanana, but it was not enough. Even PanicButton and Edmeister tried their damnest to work the flanks, but it was still, not enough.



Bows3r, an Empyreal veteran who knew the scent of a good position all too well, rained down fire and brimstone from the pits of mechwarrior hell to ensure that Dropship 5 would not lose again. supported by Kippers they made sure 228th paid double for every shot they took.



228th's attempt to solidify the cap win through aggression was losing its hold. The withering firepower Kippers and Bows3r brought down on 228th combined with the solid combination of range play and survival skills brought by Snapstyle and Raginbanana, helped Dropship 5 regain position. Even C H A R L E M A G N E managed to find a way to get back into the game by limping to starport and assisting in deterring the delayed light push by One Last Byte, Edmeister, and PanicButton.



228th ran out of gas. Dropship 5 gave the deathblow after their mechs finally began to counter-push 228th's center position and close the noose. The assaults in the middle were killed, namely Krizzman and Defunkedecon. Archon Adam Steiner tried valiantly to bring the game back but was unable to swing the momentum and died shortly after. One Last Byte was destroyed at star port and Edmeister and Panicbutton, who tried to spread and cap, were cleaned up shortly after.



The tie ended on a capping spree led by Blaketown, whose constant cap control helped save the day. It was a hard-fought match that had to be played twice, but Dropship 5 won in the end. MRBC made history through Dropship 5 once again snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in a way never seen in MRBC- by tying up one game and then winning the other.







The Redrop from D5 side

The Redrop from 228 side







-Saruman from D5





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