Death Squad Departure From SIN Possibly Fueled By Rift [UPDATED]

The so-called “Death Squad,” whose namesake is a result of Times reporting, has seemingly broken away from SIN in what may have been the result of a strategic rift between ex-Deathmonger players and SIN leadership. On December 6th, the Times noted the founding of The Death Squad [TDS], founded by ex-Death and now ex-SIN member Muad’Dib. The alliance went on to invite The Reaper, ChuckNourish, and Duran — all ex-Death members who up until recently were serving in SIN. Curmudgeon left SIN and joined TDS yesterday. The five members that SIN lost in the departure appear to have been filled by ex-TVM members Phelony, Plathus, Lorcan, DML, and Salgerluk, all of whom have moved from GATE to SIN yesterday. SIN currently has 38 members.

The Times reached out to The Reaper for clarification on why the members in TDS left SIN, and what their new alliance’s role will be in the war. “The Death Squad has and will continue to defend itself against the ongoing aggression of  SHARK and VIC forces,” explained the Reaper in response to whether TDS was at war with SHARK and VIC. The answer appeared to address SHARK sieges that landed on one of Duran’s cities in Kul-Tar, which were moved as support to He-Man’s stand there.

Duran. [TDS]	Siege landing WHOOPS?	[960|-375] in Kul Tar	murdog [SHARK]	Tue 08 Dec 06:56
Duran. [TDS]	Siege landing WHOOPS?	[958|-375] in Kul Tar	murdog [SHARK]	Tue 08 Dec 07:27

The siege now has four  separate siege armies around it and is close to razing Duran’s city.

When asked if TDS was allied with SIN in the war, The Reaper demurred, suggesting that some kind of rift may have led to his and other Death Squad members’ departure: “The Death Squad has chosen a different path to our neighbors in SIN. We are proud of our record of standing by our neighbors in the face of aggression from afar and will continue to do so.”

The Times pressed The Reaper on why he and others left SIN, but he was not forthcoming in providing details, stating: “We are a group of friends who wish to enjoy the game in our own way. Our neighbors in SIN are also friends, but for now our path diverges.”

The palpable reluctance to explain exactly what led to TDS’ departure from SIN suggests that the two parties are still loosely allied, although no formal diplomatic agreements currently exist between themselves and SIN. TDS has also eschewed diplomatic relations with The Deathmongers as well. SHARK and VIC have not issued war declarations of TDS as of this point, though their siege operations continue against Duran in the Kul-Tar desert.

The Times reached out to Josh with a similar set of questions for SHARK’s current position with TDS. “I can’t comment much on the incidents with ‘The Deathsquad,'” he noted, but adding, “Duran has been involved in the defense of SIN even after he left.” When pressed for further comment, Josh concluded, “Sorry that I can’t comment more. I have chosen that I wont involve myself with you too much. I have found things just get worse for us.”

[UPDATED, 12/11/2015, 5:15 pm ST] — the Times’ aReporter is reporting that DS and Death have finally signed a confederation agreement:

<System> ** News flash: A Confederation has been agreed between The Death Squad [TDS] and Deathmongers [Death]

DEATH BE NOT PROUD: SIN’s Death Squad Siege DOA After Tenacious SHARK Defense

DEATH SENTENCE: SIN’s ChuckNourish’s siege is smashed by SHARK troops in the final death knell for the Death Squad’s siege of Agalloch

Tenacious SHARK defense in a far-flung corner of Pawanallpa has led to an impressive siege break against SIN’s “Death Squad” this weekend, just hours after it landed. The SIN siege, which by all appearances seemed well-planned and robust, supporting two sieges and two blockades, was dispatched seemingly easily by otherwise scant SHARK forces in the region. It is likely that Agalloch, the recipient of the siege, did most of the heavy lifting in breaking both sieges.

An eyewitness watched the siege break and was able to capture this exciting “video” of the final hit, freeing Agalloch’s city of Pink Panties from the siege operation.

For SIN, this is the second siege op broken by SHARK-VIC in their previous four sieges. With only one siege being broken in November — the seemingly unsupported Deimo siege against VIC’s comus — SIN already has double the number of defeated sieges in the first week of December than they did for the entire previous month.

For SHARK and VIC, they have now both rebuffed BL sieges from SIN in what looks to have been spirited defensive plays. Combined with their newfound coordination to siege both He-Man and Fiona in Kul-Tar, this weekend could net them a total of five points on the Times War Score Card and being to swing the war’s momentum in their direction.

SIN’s Death Squad Sieging SHARK’s Agalloch in Pawanallpa Deserts

SIN has established a new battlefront against SHARK in Pawanallpa, setting up two sieges against ex-Stomper Agalloch. The Herald’s siege section reports that both sieges touched down near-simultneously:

Agalloch [SHARK]	.Pink Panties	[719|-1739] in Pawanallpa	ChuckNourish [SIN]	Sat 05 Dec 00:01
Agalloch [SHARK]	.Pink Panties	[720|-1739] in Pawanallpa	ChuckNourish [SIN]	Sat 05 Dec 00:01

Unlike Kul-Tar, which is characterized by vast stretches of plains desert, the desert in Pawanallpa is pock-marked with small hills. SIN’s Death Squad, led by ChuckNourish, has set up on these hills, along with two blockades.

The Times has witnessed a couple hits on both sieges, but at this time it is not known to what extent SHARK is defending the city.

SIN Breaks Catless SHARK Siege on “Death Squad” Pawanallpa Member

A short-lived, catapultless siege launched by a lone SHARK BL forces was quickly broken by SIN. The siege took place against The Reaper, one of the ex-Death members in Pawanallpa who is part of the so-called “Death Squad” for SIN. The notifications for the siege flashed both in GC and in the siege section of the Herald:

[28 Nov 02:06]<System> ** News Flash: The Siege of 3. VIC is INACTIVE belonging to The Reaper. [SIN] by longfeather [SHARK] has begun

The Reaper. [SIN]

3. Shake a LongFeather

[848|-1645] in Pawanallpa

longfeather [SHARK]

Sat 28 Nov 02:06

This was the first time that SHARK has engaged any of the SIN players in Pawanallpa. The cluster there is less isolated than He-Man in the far-flung corner of Kul-Tar, but still well enough away from the SIN homeland. SIN’s ChuckNourish provided proof of the siege break. Troop numbers have been redacted:

Victorious battle against longfeather’s forces at [848|-1645] in Pawanallpa by ChuckNourish’s forces from 1.DojoOfBruceLeeAnderthal
Sent By:	System
Received By:	ChuckNourish [SIN]
Date:	28 Nov 2015 11:30
Two opposing forces clash against each other.Cavalry comes into its own when able to strike hostile forces at will, and from unexpected directions – and nowhere is this more feasible than on open plains. Lightly armoured spear units, however, prefer terrain where there’s some cover available. Fighting defensively on open plains, cavalry draws strength from the ability to form and reform their lines of engagement depending on the direction of battle, and it is here where cavalry excels. Attackers: Unit: Quantity: Casualties: Survivors: Commander: DP 1 Death Pack 1 Damaged for 28, 522 health remains. Troops: Death Packs Commander: DP 2 Death Pack 1 Damaged for 28, 272 health remains. Troops: Death Packs Defenders: Unit: Quantity: Casualties: Survivors: Commander: jack Fang 1 Damaged for 100, 0 health remains. Troops: Fangs 0 Troops: Scrawny Wolves 1 1 0

Ad the report demonstrates, the siege force had no catapults, which means that, absent of another siege force arriving at the city, this siege army could have never reduced the city to raze population. Also, the siege army had no reinforcements, suggesting that for longfeather, the siege may have been little more than a test to see the response time and type by the Death Squad, which could be a prelude to another siege attempt on SIN in Pawanallpa in the future.

This was ChuckNourish’s first siege break. It brings his total to 3 points earned on the War Score Card, which includes his capture of Hevneren’s city of Skogstad on November 15, 2015. Chuck was also sieged and had a city of his own captured by SHARK’s Allyssar on November 16, 2015.

SIN Captures Another City Easily; SHARK Sieges on He-Man, Chuck Becoming Protracted

SIN continues to make sieging look easy, with its “Death squad” capturing the second city from SHARK for the alliance and raising its total successful siege count between the SHARK/VIC confederacy to 5 in just 10 days of war. SIN leadership provided details of the capture to the Times via its forum messaging account:

From: System
Subject: FW: Skogstad captured!
Received: 15 Nov 2015 22:15
Original Message:
Skogstad, belonging to Hevneren which was located at 924|-1742 has been captured by ChuckNourish.

The Death squad-led siege operation on Skogstad was executed in similar SIN fashion with what looks like a high level of planning and accuracy, bringing the city down in less than 24 hours. In the Newlands War, SHARK showed amazing skill in being able to stretch its limited Broken Lands-based armies to break sieges in even remote places of the BL map. In the early going of the war, however, neither SHARK nor VIC have had an answer for SIN siege operations in the BL. Only Deimo’s failed siege against VIC’s comus, which according to Times eyewitnesses did not appear to include additional SIN reinforcements or timed arrivals, has failed to complete a siege in the war thus far.

Meanwhile, SHARK is looking to get on the board with razes of their own, however, success has proved elusive thus far. As of yesterday, the Times reported on the ramshackle condition of He-Man’s besieged city of I WILL TAKE YOU ALL ON! in Kul-Tar, believing that the city was indeed close to falling. However, a new review this morning shows that in spite of the city likely being well past its raze population, SHARK have still not stormed its gates. The protracted nature of the operations casts doubt on whether SHARK truly has a handle on the operation, or the confidence to take on what remaining form He-Man has maintained inside the city limits.

On the other end of the server, SHARK’s siege of ChuckNourish’s outpost of StonetoothPeak has also taken much longer than expected, since it is perceived that SIN has likely conceded that siege to SHARK. And yet, a new siege camp that arrived yesterday may indicate that the first round of siege armies were crippled:

ChuckNourish [SIN]

4. Stonetooth Peak

[-626|-2656] in Kingslands

Allyssar [SHARK]

Sat 14 Nov 00:55

For SHARK and its supporters, the top-ranked alliance’s inability to to execute successful sieges at the same pace as SIN could mean a long-term pacing issue in the war, allowing SIN to raze and capture multiple cities in the time that it takes them and VIC to siege only one city. The Times will follow these sieges closely.

 

Be sure to check out the War Score Card to see who’s winning!

 

SIN “Death Squad” Stages Siege Op Against SHARK in Pawanallpa

SIN has re-engaged SHARK in its war for strategic conquest in the Broken Lands, breaking out its “Death squad” — a group of players from the Deathmongers who joined The Hashashin prior to the war — to target SHARK’s city of Skogstad in a operation with four siege armies. The Herald’s siege section posted the tightly-timed arrivals, spearheaded by Muad’Dib and ChuckNourish:

Hevneren [SHARK]	Skogstad	[925|-1741] in Pawanallpa	Muad’Dib [SIN]	Sat 14 Nov 23:59
Hevneren [SHARK]	Skogstad	[923|-1741] in Pawanallpa	ChuckNourish [SIN]	Sat 14 Nov 23:59
Hevneren [SHARK]	Skogstad	[923|-1742] in Pawanallpa	ChuckNourish [SIN]	Sun 15 Nov 00:00
Hevneren [SHARK]	Skogstad	[925|-1742] in Pawanallpa	Muad’Dib [SIN]	Sun 15 Nov 00:02

Hevneren’s city of Skogstad has questionable placement of a city for a militarized alliance such as SHARK, sporting a building and five small forests surrounding the city. The Death squad is taking advantage of the favorable terrain.

Pawanllpa was the site of several major battles in the STOMP/Claimers war, and while it is a BL territory, is more susceptible to defensive cavalry clears from Elgea, depending on the proximity of the Elgean city and the besieged city’s ability to prolong the siege. SHARK does have a cluster of cities in Tallimar that could possibly reach the battlefield, however, with four siege camps firing at once, Skogstad’s population is bound to drop rapidly.