|
Welcome!
Welcome to Cirque D'Geezers, a co-ed videogame clan built of Geezer Gamers.
Our mission is to gather as many mature Xbox-lovin' Geezers for friendly competitive play on Bungie.net and other gaming venues, regardless of rank, shoe size or mortgage payment. Feel free to browse around in our public forum for more information on how to join. Upcoming Events Caught on Film |
News
It isn’t everyday you can get to play with dolphins, but luckily for the Cirques, we can say we do just that. Dolphan117 has been a fixture in many a Cirque party, so when he formally applied to join the Cirques, the decision process was both an easy and swift one.
What would you do if you saw this if it came knocking at your door looking for a home? Well, this just happened to us, and we couldn't resist. This past week, Dolphan117 was formally invited into the clan, and he accepted, becoming the newest Cirque. Though Dolphan is a new Cirque, he’s been a familiar face for months now in Cirque parties. Always up for some Halo games, Dolphan is usually found jumping into Cirque parties and being a great contributor to all our games, be they victories or defeats. In addition to his skills in matchmaking, Dolphan has also been one of our best resources when needing to assemble a scrimmage team to go against our challenge squad when they are preparing for an upcoming clanmatch. Time after time again, Dolphan was one of a few non-Cirques who graciously gave up time to help our teams practice and ultimately make them better. It was when helping these teams prepare for Challenges that I think convinced Dolphan to apply. Dolphan joins us from one of our fellow GeezerGamer clans. With the Cirques playing so much Halo, and his current clan not playing it quite so often, Dolphan made the decision to move over and become a Cirque full time, with his clan overlord's blessing. The added appeal and allure of clan matches were a big factor as well, so be sure to look out for Dolphan in future challenge matches. Dolphan is one of the easiest going guys to play with, and it is always been a pleasure to team up with him. He’s felt like a Cirque for months now, so we are delighted we can now make it official. His wide range of skills, ranging from sniper and laser accuracy, to solid communication skills, will be an invaluable asset and a boost to our challenge squad depth. His personality already meshes well with ours. He now inherits all the newbie clan chores until we find a new victi..er recruit who can relieve him of his duties. We look forward to many more years of playing with da Dolphan. Spirits of Fire, a fledgling Halo clan starting to find its way online by way of challenges and cultivating new friendships and developing renown, recently threw down the preverbial gauntlet to the Cirques, challenging them to a five game skirmish. Led by Captain Apollo Running (no, not he of Battlestar Galactica fame), the Spirits of Fire roared into battle, and took on the Cirques for some spirited and frenetic fighting.
The matches were drawn up and rosters announced, with the two teams arranging to meet on the field of battle this past Saturday night for some Halo goodness. Mission accomplished! The Spirits of Fire, led by Apollo, were the challengers, with the Cirques looking to add to their most recent clanmatch win. It was a big match for both sides, but the overriding theme for the night was good sportsmanship, good fun, and great games. Oh..and to make the occasion even more special, it also happened to be bsangel's birthday. Happy birthday angel! For the Spirits of Fire, they went into battle with:
For the Cirques, they went into battle with a pool of 7 players. Their lineup was:
Game 1: Squad Slayer on Standoff Result: CdG wins 98-56 Summary: Ballistic mayhem as a raging battle was fought around a couple of rows of rocks. The map and gametype was not much of a surprise. What did become a bit of a surprise was how each side was able to negate the ability of either enemy warthog to dominate this map initially. With a combination of good lasering, drainers, grenades, brute shots, blind luck and good shooting, it was not a day to take a warthog for a spin. This game seemed to become all about rock possession and control. The team that was able to control the rock lines seemed likely to win, and this proved to be the case. The Cirques were able to keep the Spirits warthog pretty much down for the count for every respawn, and managed to keep the rocks for the majority of the game. The Spirits of Fire did fantastically well considering they were without warthog support for most of the entire match, and I will freely admit I don’t really feel the final scoreline was indicative to how the game went. There were times when the Spirits were clawing their way back into the game only for the Cirques to find another gear and run off a stream of kills to ensure their lead never was lost. The Cirques were also able to finally get some success with their wartie to help seal the game, with the deadly combo of Addict3d and Sleeveen proving to be menaces. The warthog threat helped the Cirque ground troops to be able to prey on the Spirits who were trying to stop the wartie. The game ended with time running out. The margin of victory did not feel as large as it looks on the scoreboard. Star of the game: CdG’s AWOL34, just narrowly over the warthog pairing of Addict3d and Sleeveen, who definitely deserve to share the spotlight. AWOL managed to lead the line in both kills and was only 2nd in assists to wartie driver Addict3d. Actually, the entire team acquitted itself well, as Addict3d only missing out on the kills because she was racking up wheelman medals. For Spirit of Fire, rowboat000 proved to be the top dog in this one ,leading his teams in both kills and assists. He also managed to notch a positive in K/D for the match. Well played, sir. Match Score: CdG leads 1-0-0 Game 2: Multi Flag CTF on Orbital Result: CdG wins 3-0 Summary: Chaotic positional battle in the narrow halls of Orbital. Being down 1-0, the Spirits of Fire were ready to hit back in the narrow confines of Orbital. In the pre-game lobby, we heard some discussions about bs angel and her grenade throwing skills. Apparently, her own team were as worried for their safety as the Cirque team should have been. We cannot say we were warned, but of course, one of the first kills of the game was F1at1ined dying to a well thrown grenade pitched by bs angel. Angel later said in the lobby that she probably was throwing it at a teammate and it bounced onto me. Ah well. Fortunately, the rest of the Cirque opening rush went well, establishing Rockets. This proved to be a key factor in this game, as the Cirques were able to control the Rockets area for key times in the match. Once the Spirits base was breached and their door opened, it became a tough battle to stop the relentless Cirques who could smell blood…er..flag. On Orbital, you aren’t going to get a clean grab and unmolested score without some serious teamwork, a bit of luck, and good timing. Fortunately for the Cirques, they had all three elements present for each score. With some good slaying done before flag grabbing, some timely touches, and some effective covering fire from teammates protecting flagbearers, the Cirques were able to inch the Spirits flag out three times. RoVino happened to be the lucky Cirque carrying the flag to safety each time, but it was a total team effort. The Spirits of Fire did really well in managing to do keep the Cirques at bay as well as they did, and they still made sure they kept trying to grab the Cirques flag, managing to touch it a couple of times. However, the Cirques seemed to always have numbers when it mattered, and were able to punch home for the win, with each grab going by Sniper Low. Star of the game: CdG's RoVino. Well, he did score 3 times after all. The game doesn’t lie, right? Honorable mentions to AWOL and RevDotNed, who provided some good support killing. For the Spirits, bs angel did prove to be deadly with a grenade, and all the Spirits had their moments. CrazedOne top scored in kills for his side, with all Spirits managing to chip in with kills and assists. Match Score: CdG leads 2-0-0 
Game 3: Neutral Assault on Avalanche Result: CdG wins 3-1 Summary: Cirques battle their way to a hard fought 3-1 win in the icy horseshoe canyon codenamed 'Avalanche' This game was the second longest game of the night (the longest being the next one). Watching the scoreboard from afar, it seems that both teams basically neutralized each other for more than half the match. I dont believe there was any score til maybe 8 mins to go. The Cirques were able to finally finish off a resolute and stubborn Spirit resistance, winning with just about 30 seconds left to go. Quasar took ownership of the Laser for a long time in this one, and he was pretty much able to nullify any sustained vehicle dominance by the Spirits. He managed to get 14 kills with the Laser, and his performance with the Laser allowed the other Cirques to focus on trying to push through for a plant. Rev managed to achieve an oddly noteworthy achievement - he notched 11 kills but his best tool of destruction was a frag grenade, which netted 2 kills. This means he utilized 6 different ways at least to kill a Spirit of Fire. Nice variety. In the end, after much hammering at the door, Addict3d, Rev and RoVino managed to plant successfully, with rowboat000 replying for the lone Spirits score. CdG statistically might have appeared to dominate this one, but the Spirits of Fire proved to be very determined and tough in their defense of their base. All in all, another competitive encounter, but sadly for the Spirits of Fire, another loss. Star of the game: CdG's IXI Quasar IXI. Quasar basically was able to neutralize any long term success vehicle wise for the Spirits. Toting his trusty Laser, he used it to deadly effect all game. I guess all those hours plotting and trying to laser Sro really paid off. Quasar managed 25 kills to only 4 deaths, notching an impressive 14 kills by Laser. He left the scoring up to his teammates. RoVino and AWOL also posted strong kill totals. For the Spirits, bs angel led the way with 15 kills, and rowboat000 was successful with one detonation for his side. Apollo (the star of our opening piccie) proved to be a force with the Rocket Launcher. Match Score: CdG wins 3-0. Match called. 
It was suggested that because the match was now won, that we mix up the teams and play the final two games as a mixer, with three CdG and three Spirits per side. This was readily agreed, teams were formed, and the match continued, but this team, as Teams Red vs Blue. Game 4: Neutral Assault on Valhalla Result: Team Red ties with Team Blue 0-0 Summary: A whole lot of dying, and some Banshee mastery at work. A couple of near misses was as close as it got to breaking the deadlock. With the match won at 3-0 in CdG's favor, it was suggested that we mix up the teams and put three CdG and three Spirits on each side, to let us get to know the Spirits even more, and they in turn get to know us. Team Red consisted of RoVino, CrazedOne1988, RevDotNed, IXIX Quasar IXI, Das Kalk and bs angel. Team Blue consisted of Apollo Running, AWOL34, F1at1ined, Sleeveen, rowboat000 and GreySpark. We apparently did not plan well for the map, as somehow, we ended up with the two best Banshee pilots on the same side, with RoVino and CrazedOne1988 lining up for Team Red. Fortunately, there was only one Banshee for them initially, but at various times, one side was able to procure both Banshees. The Banshees were deadly in this game for Team Red, and really their play deserved to be rewarded with a win. However, to give credit where due, Team Blue were able to mount some ferocious and fierce defense, and if they couldn’t always find ways to kill the Banshee, they made sure they killed all the Banshee’s teammates before the bomb could be detonated for a score. There was one super close arming moment, where RevDotNed was able to prime and arm the bomb, but after killing the defenders, the bomb was defused literally at the last second. In one other close call, in a moment of relatively clear skies (clear as in no Banshee vultures), the besieged Team Blue managed to get a fully laden ‘Hog all the way to an emptied enemy base. A certain score was imminent but for a last second, timely long range triple kills with the laser by IXI Quasar IXI, killing the wartie just as it was nearing safety. Time ran out, with neither base succumbing to a blast. The bomb was much travelled but ultimately was never detonated. The match report made for some scary reading if you did not have CrazedOne1988 and his mad Banshee skills on your side, but all the credit in the world goes to resolute Team Blue opponents, who managed to keep their base from being blown up. Star of the game: Team Red’s CrazedOne1988 (Spirits of Fire). We were told beforehand that he was handy with the Banshee, but until you actually saw him fly one, words did not do it justice. He was at one with the machine, and was especially hard to kill, knowing lots of tricks to avoid missile pod fire, and not risking his machine to skyjacks. He was ably supported by all of his teammates, and as mentioned above, Rev came closest to a detonation. For Team Blue, considering the Banshee tormenting, the stats arent that bad. AWOL, F1at1ined and rowboat000 all managed 14+ kills. Mixer Score: Team Red is tied with Team Blue 0-0-1 Game 5: Multi Flag CTF on SandsCrypt Result: Team Red wins 3-1 Summary: Multi level/tiered flag grabbing carnage seemed a fitting way to end the challenge. The final game saw the three Cirques switch sides, giving them a chance to play with the other three Spirits. Team Red for this game was Apollo Running, Das Kalk, bs angel, F1at1ined, AWOL and Sleeveen. Team Blue consisted of RoVino, RedDotNed, CrazedOne1988, IXIX Quasar IXI, rowboat000 and Grey Spark. This map is quite a unique variant, with the teams starting on the main floor, and descending down to crypt level to try to grab the flags, and then bring them back up to the surface by way of one of two teleports. The crypt level has some toys down there, but the real success to this map seems to lie with which team is able to control the ground level waaaaaay up above. I believe the first two grabs were nearly simultaneously scored, suggesting this game wasn’t going to last too long. However, the game did turn into a series of hectic battles for area control. The key, pivotal moment, came when teams were trying to bring home their second flag. Team Red was successful in getting their flag through the teleport, but some deadly shooting from two Team Red members meant they were able to prevent Team Blue from getting their flag through one of the teleports. This proved to be key, as Team Blue had to split their efforts to stopping the Team Red flagbearer and still try to burst through to get down to the Crypt level to try to make a grab. However, the surface proved to be a hot zone, and though one of the Team Red flag returners, Apollo Running, was killed, F1at1ined was able to stay alive to return his flag and then move to the Blue flag spawn area to await the respawning of the Blue flag. This duly happened, and F1at1ined was able to get the winning flag through teleport and up to ground level. From there, it was just a brutal battle trying to inch the flag closer and closer against determined and desperate Team Blue defenders. Sadly for Team Blue, the respawns worked against them, allowing Team Red to punch home the third and final flag to end this game and this challenge. Star of the game: Team Red's Sleeveen, who managed two scores. Honorable mention to teammate bs angel, who led her team in kills with 6. The birthday girl led the way, and allowed the Red Team to prevail against a strong Blue Team. Speaking of the Blues, rowboat000 again proved to have a nose for objectives, notching their lone flag cap. RoVino and CrazedOne1988 showed they could kill without the aid of a Banshee, being the top slayers for the Blues. Mixer Score: Team Red wins 1-0-1 
Cirques were able to prevail but they were tested every step of the way. For a relatively new clan, the Spirits of Fire were able to stand toe to toe with the Cirques through every game, and it will be only a matter of time before they will get to enjoy victory themselves. It took the Cirques a few tries to break their clan match ‘duck’, and this writer is in no doubt that they will get a win sooner rather than later if they keep fighting like they fought this past weekend. We would like to thank the Spirits of Fire for squaring off against us on the Halo battlefield. Before this challenge, we had not had much, if any, interaction with the Spirits of Fire, but after this fun night of gaming, we feel we got to know them much better, and they play the games with the same ethics and spirit as we do. Though the match score might not be pleasant reading for them, so much good came out of this match, most notably new friendships. Even though when the games started, the battles were intense affairs, both teams were very sporting and maintained a great attitude, win or lose. It was indeed an honor to play them. Additionally, we would like to congratulate Addict3d 2Cha0s and Apollo Running for captaining the two sides and setting up this fun challenge, with an extra congrats going to Captain Cha0s for leading her team to victory. Finally, kudos go out to our fellow Cirques and Cirque friends, who graciously donated their time and efforts to help us practice for this match. THANKS! PS: Thanks to Addict3d for the great screenshot piccies capturing this match! June 14th was Flag Day, and what better way to celebrate a day of Flags than to have a Cirquetacular where flag grabbing was the order of the day? Eight teams signed up for this event: Praetoria Guard, Buddy System Gaming, 8-Bit Brigade, WillClan4Food, Spirits of Fire, Allies FTW, and two Cirque teams, dubbed Team Awesome and Team Stinky. What transpired??? Read on!
What: Cirquetacular III - A Fistful Of Flags When: Sunday, June 14th, 2009 Where: Xbox Live Why: Because "All Your Flag Are Belong To Us" How: As always, the sun rested low on the horizon of Sandbox. The "white zone" on The Pit continued to be for loading & unloading only. Rats scurried about the empty shipping containers on Rat's Nest. Silence reigned. Then Blue and Red flags suddenly appeared, and the digital realms braced themselves for another Spartan onslaught. So it was that eight teams from six clans met for a randomly seeded Halo 3 CTF only tournament. Two rounds of three timed CTF games apiece with no limit on the number of captures were played, with the two lowest scoring teams being eliminated each round. Round 1 saw WillClan4Food facing off against 8-Bit Brigade. The Cirque's Team Awesome went toe-to-toe with the Spirits Of Fire, while Cirque Team Stinky played against Buddy System Gaming. Lastly, Allies FTW confronted PraetoriaGuard on the digital field of battle. Bullets splintered on impact, energy shields flashed, grenades flew. The fist game was a straight up Multi-Flag on the default Valhalla map. Next was Multi-Flag on Sanctum, a Crypt based re-make of the old Halo 2 standby Sanctuary. Rounding out the first...uh...round, was Multi-Flag on High Pit. In High Pit, the flag spawn is in the familiar default location but the capture point dwells in the sniper room upstairs. Grav lifts have replaced several weapons & power-ups on the map. Team work and communication was even more important here than usual, lest players found themselves left holding the flag with no way to score. PraetoriaGuard and Buddy System Gaming both scored an intimidating number of captures, not-so-subtly foreshadowing who the final match-up would come down to. Unfortunately, Team Stinky & WillClan4Food got the short end of both of these straws and were eliminated from the competition. In Round 2 the various participants abilities to perform and excel under adverse conditions were well tested. Game one was Multi-Flag Rockets on the Sky-box based Antiquity map. Confusion and explosive death reigned as teams explored the tunnels beneath the central expanse of carnage separating the two adjacent bases. Game two was Multi-Flag on Rat's Race, a Rat's Nest variant with no Warthogs and all access to the "living rooms" completely blocked. Mongoose flag runs were the order of the day here. The much maligned Ninja-Flag on Orbital completed the Action Sack trifecta. In Ninja-Flag, everyone was armed with Energy Swords, SMGs and Active Camo. The only time the camo came down was if you happened to be carrying the flag. Then you suffered from no active camo and a way-point visible to all. Reception to this round was as frosty as the vacuum of space outside Orbital's windows, but teams played the hand that was dealt them, and multiple assassinations and impalings were quickly racked up. Into the mouth madness flew Team Awesome, facing the might of Buddy System Gaming, while 8-Bit Brigade drew battle lines against PraetoriaGuard. Neither fared well against the juggernauts of this tourney. So it came to pass that the Buddies and the Praetorians would face one another for the over all title. Meanwhile Allies FTW played a hard-fought battle against Spirits of Fire, both earning themselves a spot in the final contest for third place. The final game was a 20 minute Multi-Flag game on a heavily modded version of SandsCrypt. The players spawned on the surface but the flags spawned down below in The Crypt. Teams had to fight their way to center, drop down into The Crypt to secure their opponent's flag, take a teleporter back upstairs and then fight their way back across the map to the capture point in the desert beside the opponent's base. While 'tis an over-used word in gaming circles, I think "epic" is an apropos choice here. Spirits of Fire earned themselves a third place finish with 10 captures against Allies FTW on this map while PraetoriaGuard and Buddy System Gaming fought for the title. The final score? PraetoriaGuard's 19 captures over 12 caps for Buddy System Gaming. So many bodies. So much virtual death. All for a little piece of cloth. Well, a piece of cloth and some nice bragging rights. Congratulations Praetorians. Well met and well fought. Hold your heads high. And thank you to all the teams who joined the Cirques on a summer Sunday night for some camaraderie, some laughs, and as always, Good Games. Viktim Viktor CdG Challenge Captain and Cirquetacular Co-ordinator This past weekend, the Cirques re-opened their doors for challenges, and turned to their good friends 8-Bit Brigade to get their challenge 'feet' wet once again. It was a tough fight, with death around every corner over a five match battle. What went down? Read on!
This past weekend, the Cirques re-opened their doors for challenges, and turned to their good friends 8-Bit Brigade to initiate their two new challenge captains and our new challenge protocols. CzarCastic and his battle hardened 8-Bit crew were our first challenges after we initiated our new protocol. We knew we wanted a tough challenge and good camaraderie to boot, and 8-Bit fit the bill on both counts.
The matches were drawn up and rosters announced. For 8-Bit, they went into battle with:
For the Cirques, they fielded from a pool of 8 players. Their lineup was:
After a crazy three team KOTH mixer featuring all match participants, as well as Viktim Viktor, the match got underway. Game 1 - LowBall SWAT on Sanctum Result: 8BB wins 50-26 Summary: Crazy SWAT action on Sanctuary remake. A whole lotta killing just for the right to hold Yorick's noggin. Trying for a bit of nostalgia, the Cirques suggested LowBall SWAT on a map that held fond memories for them - Sanctuary. However, because Bungie have not yet made an official Halo 3 version, we used one of the better remakes currently found on Bungie.net. Sanctum is more foreboding, being located in the crypt level of Sandbox. It also proved to be the resting place for too many Cirques, as 8-Bit executed some devastating teamwork to take control of the map. F1at1ined got off to a great start, being protected by teammates as he racked up a quite 35 second score. However, it fell apart under withering 8BB fire, as 8BB swept into control of the skull and the map. Their accurate fire stopped the Cirques cold, and though there were times when the Cirques rallied furiously, the Cirques were never able to establish their perimeter defense. The Cirques managed to get 4 people to the required 50 second mark, but were well beaten. Star of the game: 8BB's CzarCastic, for his devastating BR fire. Czar went 57-26, good for a staggering +31. He was also one of the first to get his fifty, which meant he could focus on what he did best - dropping Cirques. Special mention must go out to Brikenjon, who managed 14 assists in a SWAT game. Noone else managed more than 8. Jennos chimed in with 38 kills for the Brigade. For the Cirques, A Mad Bloke managed 43 kills, and FaceBlast added 37. Match Score: 8BB leads 1-0-0 Game 2: Neutral Assault on Orbital Result: 8BB and CdG tie 0-0 Summary: Close quarters fighting in the narrow halls of Orbital. Lots of dying. Lack of scoring. Being down 1-0, the Cirques hoped to even the match by planting bombs inside 8BB's base. A good idea, except 8BB did not care too much for the idea. This is quite a chess game when two well matched teams go at it, and it proved to be the case for this one. Thrust was met by grenade and counter charge. Rockets were devastating. Heck, even the bomb itself proved to be a tool of destruction. After 15 minutes of this frenetic tug of war, time ran out with neither team able to push through for a plant. Looking at the stats, both teams were able to kill and assist well, indicating teamwork, offense and defense was on display the entire time. No one player was able to dominate or take over this game. I'm sure there were moments of individual heroics and brilliance for both sides, but the bottom line is neither team were able to score, and the game ended with the same score that it began - 0-0. Star of the game: CdG's Face Blast. With no-one scoring, I picked the player who was involved in the most kills. Face joint top scored in kills, and chipped in 18 assists. He even killed 7 people with his bare hands. Addict3d gets an honorable mention for her devastating use of grenades, as does RoVino for managing to plant the bomb. For 8BB, Cappin Mike decided if he couldnt plant the bomb, he'd just club Cirques to death with it. Good job the bomb doesnt explode under heavy blow-to-helmet impact. Match Score: 8BB leads 1-0-1 Game 3 - Multi Flag CTF on Sandbox Result: CdG wins 3-0 Summary: Cirques storm the sandstone bases, scoring three quick captures and overwhelming dogged resistance to even the match. This proved to be a key win for the match. The hours (well, OK, a couple of practices) on the practice field really paid off, as right off the bat, the Cirques stormed the 8BB defences with their aggressive style. Led by deadly BR fire from RoVino and A Mad Bloke, the Cirques were able to establish control in key areas, and nullify the 8BB offense, who had to try to keep the Cirque offense off the board. The Cirques moved swiftly into attack, and soon had the 8BB flag out of their base and headed back to the Cirque cap point. 8BB fought hard but the Cirques threw themselves into the fray, and were able to force the flag home despite flag carriers being dropped by determined and resolute 8BB foes. The Cirques repeated the same bullying tactics for the 2nd and 3rd scores, not letting 8BB get too comfortable, or able to amount a furious counterstrike of their own. 8BB did get the Cirque flag, but their assaulter was cut down by Pharaoh Bender, and 8BB were not able to get the Cirque flag home. The Cirques managed to secure the final two grabs of the game, and the match was now perfectly balanced at 1-1-1. Star of the game: CdG's Pharaoh Bender. An argument could be made for both A Mad Bloke and RoVino for their slaying skills, but Pharaoh got two flag captures, chipped in 11 kills himself, and saved the Cirque flag to boot. For 8BB, Ry Jen, Jennos and CzarCastic managed to kill no less than seven Cirques trying to accost their flag. However, once the flag hits the floor, it can be tough to get a return. Match Score: Match tied 1-1-1 Game 4 - One Flag on Last Resort Result: CdG wins 1-0 Summary: A whole lot of dying, and the flag proved to be very hard to steal. Apparently frustrated at not capturing the flag, Rev and RoVino played a mini game of Capture the Shotgun and Capture the BR inside a bubble shield... With the match tied 1-1-1, the next arena proved to be a non Mythic one. In fact, this was the only non-Mythic map of the night. This was definitely the game that worried the Cirques the most, and truth be told, our practices did nothing to ease the worry. However, when it mattered most, the Cirques were able to prevail. Cirques were on offense first, and after a deadly use of a power drainer, the Cirques initial rush was blunted. The Cirques altered their strategy, and proceeded to get as many of their assaulters inside or around the perimeter of the base as possible. A Mad Bloke stole in for a grab, and took it upstairs. Two 8BB defenders stormed up after him, but both were taken down by F1at1ined, who ambushed one with a grenade, and the other by a stealthy assassination. Bloke toted the flag home, covered by his teammates. This proved to be the one and only time the flag was to ever make it past the wheel. 8BB's first offensive push was furious but the Cirque defense proved its equal. A wartie rush ultimately cost them the vehicle, and the Cirques added it to their defensive arsenal. The rest of the turn, the Cirques thwarted repeated rushes, and though the flag was touched a lot, it didnt advance further than the stairwell landing. Highlight in this round was Rev and RoVino sharing a bubble shield and both trying to pick up the flag but only ending up grabbing discarded weapons instead. The 2nd round of the Cirque offense proved to be a polar opposite of their first. 8BB were very aggressive defending, and the Cirques were not able to get anywhere near the flag in numbers. In fact, the Cirques did not really move the flag far at all, and the round ended with the flag safely inside. The final round saw 8BB storm in once again like gangbusters, but the Cirques wanted to preserve their precious score. 8BB touched the flag a lot this round, but they were never able to steal it with backup or escort, and so the flag was never able to advance too far from respawning defenders. The game ended with the flag by generators, guarded by Rev, who was using a Ghost with deadly profiency. Star of the game: CdG's A Mad Bloke. In a game where only one flag was captured, the Star has to be the guy who did the grabbing and scoring. In addition to his surprising flag grabbing skills, Bloke provided his usual slaying skills. Bloke went +14. RoVino was part of 40 kills, finishing 27 on his own. Rev provided some timely Ghost piloting, securing the win for the game. For 8BB, Czar and Jennos in particular were matching our best slayering. The game stats on Bungie.net fail to show how many grabs were made, but it seemed like all of 8BB held the flag at some point. Match Score: CdG leads 2-1-1 Game 5 - Team Slayer on Pivotal Result: CdG wins 100-60 Summary: Practice makes perfect for the Cirques, who used their practice and map knowledge to full effect, finally able to secure the win in this deciding game. With the outcome of the match still at stake, both sides squared off on this cleverly designed and tricky Mythic map variant. The Cirques had been practicing this map a few times, and had quickly identified High Base as a perfect place to fight from. Fortunately, they were able to quickly secure this key stronghold, and started to pull away from 8BB. High Base does not have power weapons, but it is tough to assault and is very defendable. Pivotal also has two obvious power weapons - rockets and a sniper rifle. It also has power ups. However, those are not much use if you have a stronger position to fight from, and this proved to ultimately be the key. Practicing against our team was rough for us, and it was unfortunately tough for the Brigade, who were not able to keep pace with the Cirque slayers. They battled courageously to the end as all participants did, but the Cirques were not ready to relinquish their lead, and were able to pull away to secure a third win and the overall match 3-1-1. With BR starts, not surprisingly, it proved to be the weapon of destruction for all twelve slayers in this game. In fact, the stats do not seem to indicate there was much sniping done at all. There was a lot of team shooting done by the Cirques though, who managed to double up the Brigade on assists. I guess those hard lessons on team shooting paid off for the Cirque combatants. Star of the game: CdG's RoVino. RoVino finished up with 24 kills and added 18 more assists to lead everyone in the game in both categories. He did have lots of support though, with every Cirque managing double digit kills and assists...well, except Face, who needs more team shooting lessons. Addict3d also proved to be a deadly force, adding 19 kills and 15 assists. For the Brigade, Czar, SlittVicious and Jennos led the way in kills, with Slitt managing to lead all combatants in grenade 'sticks' with 3 kills. Match Score: CdG wins 3-1-1 Cirques are able to prevail but they were tested every step of the way. It was nice to see some of the Mythic maps in play. If only they can come up with something useful to play on Assembly heh. We would like to thank the fine folks at 8-Bit Brigade for squaring off against us on the Halo battlefield. This fine folks are fellow GGN allies of ours, and we are proud to call them allies and especially friends. Though our battles were intense, they were very sporting and enjoyable, and win or lose, it is an honor to play them. Additionally, we would like to congratulate Face and Viktor for organizing and executing their first challenge, and to Rev for captaining the Cirques to victory. Finally, kudos go out to our fellow Cirques and Cirque friends, who graciously donated their time and efforts to help us practice for this match. THANKS! |
Pinky Swear
 | |||
