GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000

**Everdan** Sat Aug 26, 2017 6:25 am

Everdan (Von Bolt) vs mxdcyw2000 (Sasha)

http://awbw.amarriner.com/game.php?games_id=251121
My first game in forever and it's against mxd the god-slayer >_<

Let's dive in.

Pre-Game Analysis

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Shadow10

The map this time is Shadows chase you endlessly by Airob, an excellent map that often features tech units such as Md Tanks, neotanks, bombers, stealths, fighters, and sometimes megatanks on account of its high funding (26k per side for 2 bases and 1 airport).

We're playing on top tier, so I pick my old favourite, VB. Von Bolt is an extremely solid pick on most maps due to his very strong inherent +10/10 stat boost, and this is no exception. His power is also very strong on this map due to the tendency for high-value units to appear and the relatively fast charging of the power bar.

Likewise, mxdcyw2000 picks his old favourite, Sasha. This is in my view possibly a somewhat suboptimal choice since there is no shortage of funds on this map, mitigating one of Sasha's most valuable advantages. Still, 10% extra funds is nothing to scoff at, and she's a CO that mxdcyw2000 is very familiar with.

**Everdan** Sat Aug 26, 2017 6:26 am

Day 1-3

The first three turns are fairly standard on both sides. mxdcyw2000 rushes his B-boat to block off my infantries, while I elect to keep mine within 1 day's move of the port, keeping my options open.

Game state at end of Day 3:

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen12

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen12

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen10

Day 4: Everdan

I decide to build an APC from the southern base. A few reasons:

1. I have one inf which will finish capturing this turn, within move distance of my base, with no other cities in nearby range. Building an APC will improve the position of this inf a lot.
2. An APC right now will accelerate my capture of the airport and the nearby cities, thereby paying itself off and continuing to generate value later.
3. It's fine for me to delay vehicles by a turn since the centre cities can't really be contested effectively on this map.

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen13

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen13

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen11

Day 4: mxdcyw2000

mxdcyw2000 delays vehicles by a turn. I find this decision somewhat curious, as the usual way to punish an early APC is to harass it with early vehicles, but it's not necessarily bad as it allows him to get infs out more quickly, and catch up on vehicles later.

In any case, he captures the airport 1.5 turns ahead of me, so he's still in a good position for an early copter a couple turns down the road.

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen14

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen14

Day 5: Everdan

I continue with the aforementioned plan. My infantry traverses in 1 day what would take 3 days to move by itself, accelerating the airport capture by 2 turns i.e. 2k extra funding. A small but important detail is to cover both shoals with my APC and infantry so that the B-boat can't block my path.

I have enough infs out, and mxd seems to be rather slow getting to the central cities, so I opt for a tank to harass his infantries, and more generally in preparation to form a copter-tank combo a couple turns down the road.

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen15

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen15

Day 5: mxdcyw2000

mxdcyw delays vehicles another turn, which I find interesting. Building more infs doesn't help his capture phase at this point.

I note that he finishes capturing the airport this turn, and will have 25k funds the next turn - enough for a stealth, which will have 1.5 turns of immunity until my first fighter, and will be able to harass my own capture phase. Interesting.

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen16

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen16

Day 6: Everdan

Thanks to mxd delaying vehicles for two consecutive turns I am now in position to disrupt his capture phase. My tank rushes into position and I build an AA to pre-empt a possible copter.

Of note is that the APC gets into position to transport another inf to the island, and by doing so pays off the 5k investment with interest.

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen17

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen17

**Everdan** Sat Aug 26, 2017 7:14 am

Day 6: mxdcyw2000

Surprise! mxdcyw2000 builds a neotank from the southern base, and "shocked" does not begin to convey my astonishment.

On an unrelated note, mxd decides not to block my capture of the port. If he wanted to, he could have moved it back in time to stop my inf capturing the port, but he prefers instead to use the transport, healing, and blocking capabilities of the b-boat.

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen18

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen18

Day 7: Everdan

mxdcyw2000's plan is clear. The neotank will advance towards the center, chasing my tank towards the north and east. A battle there will be unfavourable to me as it is much closer to his airport than mine, allowing his air reinforcements to arrive much more quickly than mine. I need to devise countermeasures immediately.

For starters the tank moves onto a city. My early tank has delayed two cities by a turn each, and now I delay one by another turn for 3k funds total. Not much on this map, but every little bit helps. As luck (or as Airob) would have it, the neotank is just barely out of range of that city, so my tank is safe for the time being.

Meanwhile my AA moves up towards the airport where it will enjoy 1.5 turns of immunity due to his tanks being delayed in the north.

I build two inf and bank the cash. I'll need it for the next turn.

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen19

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen19

Day 7: mxdcyw2000

mxd's move is good, if fairly predictable. The neotank rushes into position, an AA to pre-empt copters, and a tank to counter my AA up north. His early inf swarm is starting to make itself felt as they advance along with the neotank.

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen20

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen20

Day 8: Everdan

Full retreat in the south! Having done its job of harassing the enemy's capture phase, my tank runs away from the neotank for now.

Up north, my AA gets a free hit on an inf - always nice.

Here there are several indications for me to build a stealth:
1. Most importantly, the 24k stealth has a tangible target in the form of the enemy neotank, and will force the opponent to build a 20k fighter to counter it - very cost efficient.
2. mxdcyw won't be able to immediately counter with a fighter, meaning I have 1.5 turns of immunity.
3. It makes my AA up north very threatening and will force him to divert resources away from the centre, temporarily depriving the neotank of its support.
4. A minor point is that I already have the APC and so the stealth will only cost 24k, not 29k as it usually does.

I build a stealth and end turn.

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen10

Day 8: mxdcyw2000

mxdcyw2000 continues with his plan of forcing me to the northeast and hitting me with a double-whammy of ground and air. The neotank moves north, avoiding my stealth, and incidentally hits an inf. Meanwhile the AA advances to the south, and he backs it up with a tank.

We're roughly even on inf count now, but his fund advantage is starting to show as he overtakes me in vehicle production. Still, he will have to invest 20k in a fighter at some point, so I'm not too worried.

The B-boat moving to a better position to block my stealth is a small but elegant nuance that shows mxdcyw2000's skill.

Overall his units move quite nicely out of the way of my stealth, rendering it rather passive and wasting its 1.5 turns of immunity.

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen11

Day 9: Everdan

I decide to send my stealth north in order to counter the neotank. Possibly I could have sent it west instead, but this would require me to build a different counter unit for the neotank, which I felt would not have been cost efficient. As it is mxdcyw2000 has no way of knowing which way I send the stealth, and therefore has to take precautions against both eventualities - very useful.

Also, it turns out that my stealth is just able to protect my infantries, so I take the opportunity to net a free kill while I can. My tank remains out of range and moves to back up my AA.

I end my turn with a tank and copter build - can't fall too far behind on vehicle count.

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen21

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen21

Day 9: mxdcyw2000

mxdcyw2000 finally manages to secure his airport position with the tanks and get a fighter out safely. However, in order to do so he has had to divert 2 tanks and 1 infantry away from the centre, depriving his neotank of support.

I note that he does a bit of a search for my stealth down south with his infantry, moving it onto the forest where I could have moved my stealth. This is a nice finesse - if he had discovered my stealth on that forest, the neotank up north could have gotten another free hit on an infantry. But as he doesn't discover it, he is more or less able to conclude that I sent it 5N 1E instead of 5N 1W, and keeps all his vehicles out of attack range.

The only real mistake he makes this turn, in my humble opinion, is in his handling of the neotank. Maybe he expected me to attack near his airport up north with the few units I have there, and didn't want to get there too late. And yet alone and unsupported, the neotank really can't do much, and actually becomes a liability, as we will see in the following turns.

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen22

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen22

Day 10: Everdan

I was faced with two choices on this day: attack on the island, or retreat. At this point I had to do a more in-depth analysis to decide whether attacking was a good idea.

Attacking in the north obviously entails attacking his tank with mine, leading to a 8-5 split. From there I can either hit the tank again with my AA, giving a 9-2 split or hit the capturing inf. My 8 health inf can continue capturing. It seems quite probable I will get the city. The 10 health inf can hit the 1 health inf.

On the other hand, he has one tank to reinforce. Whatever my AA does, the most likely response seems to be to use both tanks to attack my AA, crippling it severely, and then building a copter to counter my tank. That seems bad for me.

The other option, retreating, seems quite promising. I have quite a number of infantry in the area, and can trap his neotank on this turn. Since it is alone and lacks support, he will be unable to rescue it on this turn. Meanwhile my stealth will get into position to hit the neotank, and I can regroup and reinforce with more vehicles. retreating now negates the use of his two tanks up north and now makes them seem awkward and misplaced.

The only downside is I give up the city I was capturing, but that's not really of huge importance since I have so much money already.

I retreat, trapping his neotank with my inf swarm and getting an incidental hit on his inf with my tank.

Down south my BC makes its way north and gets an incidental hit on the black boat that's been a thorn in my side for so long. I debate whether to send the southern tank north or south, and eventually decide on south to make a push for his cities. Builds are an arty up north to solidify my formation and a tank down south to quickly reinforce the north.

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen23

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen23

ichbinsehselber Sat Aug 26, 2017 7:35 pm

Very interesting. At the time of writing this comment, the commentary is written up to day 9. I will be interested in reading the rest.

It definitely looks like a top quality match!

**Everdan** Sun Aug 27, 2017 1:38 pm

Day 10: mxdcyw2000

mxdcyw2000 clearly realises that the situation is critical. He wastes no time in rushing all his infs and vehicles up north, in anticipation of a large-scale battle. He makes sure not to provide any major openings - the tank on the city is protected from BC assault by the AA, which is just within move range. Meanwhile the B-boat retreats while it can.

His moves up north are less optimal, I feel. The neotank stays on the plain when it should really have moved onto the forest, and the tank attacks my inf from the shoal instead of the plain. Minor mistakes, maybe, but they make my life easier, and every little bit helps.

He ends his turn with an arty down south, and a copter + tank up north. While I personally would have opted for a stealth, I can't really fault his choices - the arty will defend his southern cities quite cost-efficiently, while the copter + tank provide much-needed cheap reinforcements to clear my unit mass efficiently.

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen24

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen24

Day 11: Everdan

This turn marks the start of the decisive battle. I have a few things going for me, the biggest and most important being that I was able to initiate the fight on my own terms. Additionally, the fight will occur near my base, meaning quick reinforcements, and on top of that I will get to make the first strike. As VB it was my goal all along to steer the battle into a brawl where my boosted stats will really shine through, and so I can't really ask for any more than that. The fight does end up being on the side closer to his airport, but I'm confident I can deal with any air units before they become troublesome.

I capitalize on his mistakes up north while I can. Tank and AA get the 2hko on the shoal tank, and are immediately backed up with an arty. The stealth hits his neotank for 6 damage. That's a total of 20k funds damage, with minimal losses on my part. Thanks to the neotank staying on the plain I am also able to protect it with a fresh AA from the base, in anticipation of his tank crippling my existing AA. Seeing as his main army has arrived, it's also no longer realistic for me to expect to trap his neotank, so I pull back out of range of attack.

My southern forces rush up north to reinforce. The BC gets an incidental hit on an inf, and a tank routes upwards as well. I build an AA up north to cover the stealth, and another copter and tank which will be able to reinforce the north within 2 days. Meanwhile I continue my southern push for his cities. I probably won't get them, but at the very least I'll tie down some of his troops defending those cities.

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen25

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen25

Day 11: mxdcyw2000

To retreat now would be to accept the loss of 20k worth of units for absolutely no compensation. mxdcyw2000 decides to counterattack, which is in my opinion the only reasonable choice.

First he fires off a much-needed COP, giving his units a stat boost and bringing my power bar down. Even with that though, his fighter doesn't manage to score a KO on my stealth, leaving it at 1hp instead. This is in fact incredibly annoying for him as a 1hp stealth is invisible, immune to attack from regular units and will be very useful as a shield to stop up any gaps in my formation. Meanwhile to kill it off he will have to commit to at least one more attack.

The fighter now becomes the focal point of all his next moves. The B-copter and Neotank move into position to guard it, and infantries patch up the gaps with a nice line-shaped formation to deny me attacking space. The tank sacrifices itself to cripple the AA, thereby guarding the BC. The southern AA also rushes up, shadowing my copter. In total he has dealt 9 damage to my stealth and 7 damage to my AA for approximately 27k funds of damage this turn and leaving him temporarily up 7k in damage.

A second arty down south ensures he will be able to guard both cities at the cost of committing 12k worth of troops. The neotank up north, though, I don't care for very much - a stealth or an Md tank + copter would have been better.

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen26

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen26

Day 12: Everdan

It's the second turn of the attack. It's going very well for me - I have more units in the area, a better formation, more troops arriving quickly from the south and quick reinforcements from the base up north. It should be no surprise that I feel extremely comfortable continuing with my attack.

My arty hits his tank, the 3hp AA retreats to heal, and the 8hp tank finishes off the enemy tank. My BC hits the neotank for another 2 damage, the full health AA hits the fighter for 7 damage and my remaining units take the chance to get some hits off on his infantry. Notably I manage to disrupt the capture of both cities. In total my attack this turn does about 27k funds worth of damage, leaving me at a very healthy +20k damage advantage.

In response to his neotank I build another stealth, which will force out another fighter to deal with it. A 24k unit that gets 42k worth of value is an investment I'd make any day, and in this game I even got to do it twice.

I rush my southern reinforcements up and end turn.

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen27

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen27

Day 12: mxdcyw2000

By this point mxdcyw2000 probably realises things have gone very sour, very quickly. He finally gets around to building the stealth, and desperately tries to make something happen with an all-in attack. This, I think, is the decisive mistake - it's too little, too late, and he only does about 10k worth of damage, leaving me clearly ahead on damage dealt while exposing his entire army to counterattack.

For the record, I think he would have still had decent chances had he retreated due to his capture of my northern city and the imminent capture of the neutral one allowing him to gradually recoup his economic losses.

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen28

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen28

Day 13: Everdan

I counterattack strongly in the centre, wiping out all his infantries and crippling all his vehicles, at the same time consolidating my unit count advantage, and build a fighter to counter the stealth.

The position after my attack is more or less won.
GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen29

GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen29

Day 13-15

The last few turns are but a mere formality as I clean up and consolidate.

The final game position:
GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000 Screen30

With his second neotank dead, his stealth lacking targets, his troops at a huge unit count disadvantage, his army fragmented, and his funding advantage soon disappearing, mxdcyw2000 wisely resigns.

Conclusion

In this commentary I aimed to use my own game as an example to showcase my own decision making process as one of the top league players and introduce gameplay concepts that other players may not have seen before. I hope this has been both entertaining and informative for everybody reading! Smile

**WalkerBoh** Sun Aug 27, 2017 3:19 pm

This is excellently done, thanks for taking the time to present such an in-depth analysis!

ichbinsehselber Sun Aug 27, 2017 3:59 pm

Awesome! Thank you!
Your clear writing with the screenshots allows the reader to follow your train of thought (at least partially).
I think I learned something from it. And it was also very entertaining to read.

Kais93 Tue Sep 12, 2017 11:18 am

Amazing game and amazing comentary! It encourage me to learn to play and enjoy AWBW. Nice job dude!

valuo Sun Oct 01, 2017 8:29 am

It was an excellent report,and it's both entertaining and informative for me,
but I still can't figure out how someone can win if he firstly build an APC instead of a tank.
Will this work in another map?How many tanks should I build before building an APC in a normal map?(If I intend to build an APC to help with mech transportation)

sulla Sun Oct 08, 2017 10:50 pm

could make a good youtube video out of this

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GL Game Report: Everdan vs mxdcyw2000