Hello, I’m Luke Kneller
and welcome to Best Replays of the Week.
In this episode we have: tanks switching roles,
the little TD that can, and a return
to the North American wilderness.
Let’s get to it.
Ok, before you say anything,
I promise you can still get on the show
by scouting with an actual light tank.
Now, with that out of the way,
here is our Scout of the Week.
The heavily armed T-34-3,
driven by herbertherbert of the EU region herberts.
The battle starts and Herbert
heads straight to the middle ridge of Fiery Salient.
The first couple of shots give a taste of what’s to come.
This medium tank has an alpha strike
that puts many tier 8 heavies to shame,
as well as a remarkably tough turret.
Herbert stays on the ridge,
bouncing shots and dishing out damage.
The Reds aren’t entirely happy with the situation,
so they push in close,
and make their displeasure known.
Our Scout doesn’t get discouraged however,
and responds with an un-eyed kill.
Then a Sturer Emil comes into view
and becomes the next victim.
A KV-5 sneaks in a shot from the side,
but it’s the last gasp of a mortally wounded foe.
The tide has turned in the team’s favour.
Now all that remains is hunting down the stragglers.
That’s no reason to ease up though.
There’s still assistance damage to be had,
Herbert doesn’t waste any of it.
By the numbers, this was a carry and a half!
4.3k damage dealt, nearly 3k blocked,
and an impressive 7.3k assisted.
It would be quite a trick to match
that with a light tank.
This week’s Crucial Contribution comes from the Asian region,
and it features the incredibly cute
Swedish tank destroyer Ikv 65 Alt II.
Just look at this thing!
Where was I? Oh yes.
Our champion is TE_Bohan,
and the little TD defends Erlenberg
against an Assault, from the bottom tier.
The Landsverk TD covers the ground quickly,
reaching the Western flank well ahead of the pack.
And speaking of the opposition,
they’re out in force.
The drawback of the cute and nippy TD becomes apparent,
when it starts taking fire.
It’s got the armour thickness of a snow blower.
Bohan engages a M41 Bulldog,
which becomes the first kill of the match.
Artillery does its worst,
but doesn’t manage to end the little machine.
The second kill is a Cromwell,
quickly followed by an IS.
“Hey Jagdpanzer, wanna play some more?”
“Ow, not so rough!”
“Ha, you still lose”
So much for the hit-point buffer.
The next mistake will be the last.
It’s probably best to pick the rest off at a distance.
Like this.
As long as they hold still,
it shouldn’t be too difficult.
The T-44 has some integrity left,
so Bohan finishes it off with an incendiary round.
Turretless TDs aren’t the best arty hunters,
but this one was actually
meant to be a light tank.
Bohan even carries a pair of HE shells,
for these special occasions.
Here we go. Boom!
And here’s the other one, too bad our arty hunter
swapped back to AP.
See, it’s just not the same.
Not that it matters of course.
You just need an extra shot.
The end is near,
as the enemies are going extinct.
The last one is an AMX CDC.
Bohan lands a shot,
but it’s the last one the Swedish TD gets to take.
The opponent decides on the better part of valour,
and makes itself scarce.
Victory for the defenders.
That was a pretty amazing display from a bottom tier combatant.
4k damage, nine kills,
and with plenty of assistance on top.
Well played, TE_Bohan.
We had a heavily armed med for a Scout,
so naturally our Top Gun
drives a WZ-132 light tank.
The player is ABSURD_Pomsti from the EU region,
in a tier 10 game at Redshire.
Early on, Pomsti doesn’t actually do
anything too absurd.
The WZ parks behind a shrubbery,
spotting a handful of foes
and racking in some spotting damage.
“Guys, are you sure this is the Top Gun game?
Did they get switched around, or…?
Oh, ok, something’s happening.
That’s a kill. Maybe this is starting now.
Yes, we’re on the move.
Now that I look at it, the full APCR loadout
suggests something other than passive scouting.
High penetration ammo is wasted on a T49,
but the aggressive takedown is very promising.
Meanwhile, in the time it took our Top Gun to warm up,
the rest of the team seems to have gotten themselves killed.
“Hello, Emil. Don’t bother trying to run”
“Bye-bye, Pershing”
Pomsti engages a T34, aborting the attack
when the heavy gets ready to return fire.
Another friendly falls, but the T34 gets finished off.
That makes Top Gun.
Whether the SPG can help with the rest remains to be seen.
Is this guy attempting a capture?
I guess we’ll never know.
That’s a nice, big silhouette.
Taking a hit from the 150mm cannon is not an option,
so Pomsti is very careful with the E 100.
The ISU is dangerous as well,
but its slow pivot rate renders it helpless.
Both SPGs fire, turning themselves from a deadly threat,
to harmless fish in a barrel.
Now back to you, E 100.
Our Top Gun doesn’t want to risk getting killed,
so it’s time to make the arty earn its keep.
The WZ races across the countryside like a dirt bike,
making it impossible
for the opponent to predict its location.
The tactic pays off.
The Lorraine would be ready to fire,
but its help is not needed.
Nice. Eleven kills is an impressive feat with a light tank.
However, I’m sure some of you will laugh
when you see the bill for the APCR ammo…
Now it’s time for some tag-team action,
with myke_take, TR_SLauGHTeR_TR
and Glamdring_TURKEY
from the EU region.
The map is Kharkov.
Each one finds their own way north,
and the platoon-mates open the tally
by ganking an M 41 Blackdog.
Myke trades shots with a Bat,
and the trio press onwards.
Slaughter damages an SPG,
and a Waffenträger goes down with a team effort.
Myke pushes ahead, attacking a Jagdpanzer E 100,
while Glamdring and Slaughter bring down
an E 100 on a parallel street.
Myke finishes off the second E 100,
and the non-autoloaders dismantle
a TD version of the giant heavy together.
The Red team seems to have an endless supply of E 100’s,
but apparently they are easy to kill.
An E 75 doesn’t do much better,
but it does cause a bit of damage before blowing up.
Unlike the other machines,
Glamdring’s TVP has practically no armour.
It’s been losing hit-points all game,
and this is where they run out.
The remaining platoon-mates battle on,
as Myke destroys a rival TVP,
and Slaughter avenges their fallen comrade.
The opponents are down to four,
which Myke soon brings down to three.
Slaughter wins a duel with an E 50,
while Myke dukes it out with a T-54.
Let’s tag the STB back into the fight.
This is a team sport after all.
Ok, that could have gone more smoothly,
but it’s the end result that counts, right?
That’s pretty much it now.
All that remains is finding that tier 10 SPG,
and not getting killed by it at this stage of the game.
The search takes a while,
but eventually the arty is found and eliminated.
Fourteen kills between our three champions,
and an impressive comeback.
Too bad about Glamdring,
but in combat, even heroes fall.
For the finale, we return to the North American wilderness,
where a Luchs named Jman1125 defends
its turf by the Highway.
The autumn day seems normal,
but Jman senses something is wrong.
The other creatures go about their business,
as the lynx heads out to the edge of its territory.
It settles in a bush and waits,
senses alert for any sign of danger.
Our camera crew haven’t spotted anything,
when the lynx explodes into action.
There really is something there.
The smaller predator isn’t much of a threat,
but it’s not welcome here.
A second interloper manages to give a nasty scratch.
Presently, the weather turns bad as lightning strikes.
Jman runs away, upset by the painful experience.
After regaining its composure,
the lynx comes back to take revenge.
The Sav proves too tough to kill,
so the feline heads back towards its nesting ground.
A cautious attack on a Pz IV isn’t enough to bring it down,
but leaves it easy prey for another hunter.
We don’t know what has caused this incursion,
but our feline hunter seems determined to defend its territory.
Some of the interlopers are bigger and heavier,
but they aren’t fighting for their home.
The Lynx is usually a cautious creature,
but this one isn’t backing down.
Could there be cubs hidden in its nest?
That must be it.
Jman wouldn’t normally take on something as big as a Type 95.
The slaughter is devastating.
Of all the creatures on its turf,
only the Lynx is still alive.
Should Jman turn tail and run?
Perhaps, but it’s not going to.
What is the invader doing?
Is it trying to force its way into the nest?
The Covenanter is a stubborn beast,
and keeps digging until the Lynx puts it down for good.
An M2 charges straight into the hunters claws,
but there’s already another threat
sniffing around at the nest’s entrance.
It’s a Lago, but the Sav needs
to be dealt with before it can be driven away.
The Lago must be close to finding the cubs,
as yet another beast forces Jman to defend itself.
There’s no time to rest,
as the exhausted Lynx charges in to defend its offspring.
The desperate attack works,
wounding the opponent just enough to distract it.
The furious creature tears away at the cover,
as Jman gets ready to pounce.
The attack is swift and deadly.
The cubs are safe.
Another Sav comes into view,
landing a painful strike on the lynx’s paw.
Jman shakes off the injury and strikes back.
The strange predator doesn’t give up,
but it’s far from home.
A second strike, and the invader lies still.
The fields seem quiet,
but the Lynx isn’t leaving anything to chance.
Lynx prowls through its territory, it comes across a wasp.
So that’s what stung it so fiercely before.
After the Wasps’ nest is destroyed,
our brave Lynx can sleep safely once again.
Calm has returned to the North American wilds.
An unusual situation to be sure,
but the fierce little Luchs has clearly established its dominance.
That’s it for this episode,
I promise that’s the last nature dramatization we’ll do…
this season.
2 is enough, don’t ya think?
I’m Luke Kneller. Thanks for watching
and I’ll see you next time.