Hello, I’m Luke Kneller and welcome to Best Replays of the Week.
In this episode we have: a T-54 platoon on a rampage,
a WZ 111 5A pulling the weight of a whole team,
and a T-54 Lightweight wishing for an ammo drop.
Roll out!
Our first replay comes from Cations from the SEA region.
This little T25 pilot is heavily outgunned in this matchup.
But with good gun depression, even the smallest of tanks can have a big impact.
10 degrees gun depression should be enough
for a standard battle on Westfield though…
The northern ridges will be the perfect place to get stuck in!
Amazing aim, Cations!
Constantly hitting this Emil 2’s tiny cupola, and chipping away at its HP.
Well, the battle’s not going too badly over here.
Until a penning HE shell from the IS-3
takes away a third of our heroe's hitpoints… urgh.
This Foch B seems keen to simply stare at the ridge line.
Fine, you do that and I’ll take the damage.
Since the Foch is AFK, let’s farm it for… ouch! OK, not AFK!
Whilst licking their wounds,
Cations notices a Tiger II in the middle of the town. And this 30B!
Really? Another TD… How many TD’s are there anyway?
Five?! Great.
Well, that’s the last of our hitpoints gone, so no more risky peaks from now on…
after this revenge shot!
Now if you’ve ever wanted to know how to abuse a hill, pay attention to this!
The battle situation doesn't look too bad,
Cations team is a tank up, but the capture has started.
So it’s time to perform a cleanup at the base!
Just like fish in a barrel.
Some overeager teammates are throwing away the hard-won advantage.
Time to start dealing damage again and retain control of the base.
This Foch can't fight on two fronts
and chooses to aim at the lumbering German monster.
That’s our opportunity to strike!
Now it’s a 1 vs 1
as the last of the attackers assaulting the base have been slain.
Time to start looking for this WZ.
Eh, never mind…
Nice, the WZ wasn't even in position behind the building yet!
All control is given to the defender if you cap from a known location.
Perfect reset.
Some hasty shots miss their mark but eventually the gun executes its purpose.
A masterful display of baiting and damage dealing,
netting our hero almost 7 thousand damage in a tier 10 match-up
and a very commendable base XP.
Brothers in Arms
Staying on the SEA region, we are now joined by a platoon of T-54s on Erlenberg.
Named Veterans, lets see what their experience can show us.
Heading east is unwise from this spawn, so our platoon heads west
to try and secure it as rapidly as possible.
This RU is spotted but the shots fail to connect.
Never mind, he won't last long there.
Super heavies trundling over the field find themselves totally exposed.
Let’s teach them how the map works by quickly cutting them down.
Most of the enemy team are on the eastern flank
so our platoon swoops in to quickly mop up these stragglers.
No hiding there, FV!
Now this Erlenberg battle has progressed to the usual East-West divide.
The enemy has tried to make a break in the North however,
so the first objective is shut that down first!
This T34 and WZ are quickly overwhelmed
by the raw damage output of 3 tier 9 mediums.
Time to proceed into the enemy’s lines.
Wise decision to leave the lowest HP back to support.
Digging out this SuperPershing will be tough at this range.
Time to close the distance and gain some elevation!
Danger! The AMX 30 has rushed to the Super Pershing's aid, it’s 2 vs 2.
An overpeak by the AMX! Here’s our chance!
Charge!
Oh no, another contender joins the fray.
No time to panic. Quick! Focus fire!
Great teamwork allows the combined might of the T-54’s to crush the enemies 1 by 1.
In the meantime, the T-54 left in support
has been resisting an assault upon the base, but needs help, and soon!
Looks like reinforcements are just on time.
More focus fire on the T-44-100 drops him from full HP
and the T26E5 soon follows.
Now, everyone is severely damaged
and that Bat-Chat is able to one shot the whole platoon.
This should be done with precision as not to… throw away the game…
Will the Bat-Chat be able to do this?!
Oh. Well, err… that’s a questionable route of retreat.
I guess the end was an easier fight than expected
but the battle before was hard won.
A monstrous carry with 14 combined kills
shows that this platoon lives up to their names
of Verteran_OHo, Tiger_205 and 222.
Great teamwork, guys, worthy of our Brothers in Arms award!
Top Gun
We travel now to Fjords on the EU region.
Lellena is driving the recently added WZ 111 5A.
This Chinese powerhouse is a jack of all trades,
which is perfect for those players who like to carry against the odds.
The North pass is a good place to put this powerful gun to work, me thinks.
This T-54 lightweight is being troublesome but no retaliation is possible…
yet! Not so fast!
With the T-54 Light abandoning the crossfire,
there is nothing to stop Lellena farming their way
through these lovely, lovely hit points.
A nice 2 kills accompanied by decent damage is not a bad start to this match.
But there's more work to be done elsewhere on the map.
That bush won’t hide you from this close, T30.
The enemies here are not so easy to pick off.
A better shooting location is required.
Hey! That's the T-54 Light from earlier.
It's impossible to remain here in the field with 3 arty still in play,
and the base needs to be defended.
There is solid cover in the base, so… let's kill two birds with one stone.
Finally, this troublemaker does something useful. Provides a perfect hulldown!
That 597 HE roll just makes you feel good, doesn't it?
But back on track… it’s 1 vs 9.
This situation couldn't be any worse, really.
Remaining safe from the arty will be top priority here.
As well as punishing mistakes like that one…
and that one…
and wait… oh, that one, too.
I’m guessing they’re a bit overconfident.
Is there another? Of course there is! Four kills in a single minute.
That brings the total up to 8, but Lellena isn't done yet.
That Grille is still managing to protect allies from the grave…
Focus. This STRV must be dealt with to remove the crossfire!
I know the GW is on reload, so this T30 is safe to dispatch.
Blast, but I forgot about the SU still in the enemy base.
There goes the last of the HP reserve.
This Mauschen is caught side on.
And stays side on… Hello? Angling?
Two arties remain, so the best thing will be to catch them unaware with a flank.
Side on! Perfect! Only… urgh!
Never mind, as bringing a 1 vs 9 situation so close
was a feat of brilliance in and of itself.
11 kills in such circumstances certainly qualifies as our Top Gun of the week.
Great job, Lellena!
Crucial Contribution
Sticking with the EU region, next up is Ragean driving their E-50.
Malinovka is a great map for this accurate damage dealer,
so let's see how it goes.
Their advanced scout and a SuperPershing are spotted really early,
so I don't mind if I do!
And a good HE shell finishes the job.
Now back to business on the hill.
Who’s up first? Not so confident now, O-Ho.
Better wait for backup next time!
The windmill offers some cover from arty
and is a great structure to sidescrape off.
These enemies don’t stand a chance when they are on the downward slope.
The hill was almost too easy, with almost 8,000 damage in just 6 minutes,
although half of which was just driving into position!
That WZ is being a bit overzealous, down boy!
Some side shots on this VK don't hurt either.
Okay… the FV was passive spotting this whole time.
Talk about a waste.
Ragean’s commander has been knocked out,
so it's better to act as a sniper for the team as spotting is almost impossible.
The forest is clear and the med kit comes off cooldown.
It's time to drive back in again. Forward!
Hey! Who put this here?
This position offers the perfect rear shots on the enemy base campers.
You’re not going anywhere, M53. That HP is mine.
Same goes for you, WZ. Boom!
Well, Ragean, that seems to be all of them.
You weren't gonna let your team lose this one, were you?
As you dealt more damage than your entire team combined!
Eleven thousand in a mostly tier 8 match.
Now that's what I call a crucial contribution.
Heartbreak
Finally, we’ve arrived at the pinnacle of the show: the best replay of the week.
This time Naras from the EU region
will be commanding their T-54 Lightweight on Windstorm.
Not the best map around for light tanks,
but Naras knows a useful boost to get some better opening spots.
Nice few shots of damage to boot!
The familiar sound of arty signals it’s time to move on.
Might as well help take down this IS-2.
Looking at the minimap shows that this side of the river is pretty much secured.
A KV-3! Time to hunt!
Urgh, that bounce on the KV-3 is painful to watch.
This T-54 lightweight’s accuracy isn’t the best, even at medium range.
But shooting at a 13 90 four hundred meters away is no problem…
Naras knows that attempting to shoot the T28 HTC at this range
would just be a waste of ammo, so it’s better to move on.
Counter boosting the church might not be a bad idea.
It provides lots of good spotting angles.
Voila, arty destroyed.
Will these TDs ever learn?
Well that was fun. But this positions usefulness is basically exhausted now
so relocating quickly is a great move.
Nothing to stop our hero using this boost twice now, is there?
Well, 1 shot was better than nothing, I suppose… but what to do now?
What?! The town was lost? Urgh…
This position works a wonder to halt the Löwe and Jadgpanther’s advances.
The lion is isolated from the pack now!
Consider yourself outplayed with the one-two combo.
Remember that trick everyone, it’s always good!
Our hero is down to 11 shells that do 250 damage.
With a quick calculation, this one will be very close.
The enemy team are scrambling to tear our Borsig to pieces!
Not if we can help it!
A hit and run on the Strv knocks one gun out of the game,
but not before they managed to get the last friendly. Damn.
5 against 1, 10 shells. Run!
Nice ambush on the FCM! A much needed high roll.
Over-eagerness from the enemy team has cost them another tank.
Wait, what?!
Oh! I forgot they had arty! Hello!
7 shots left for 3 enemies. Is this doable?
Move, move, move! Reposition is key to victory here!
Down to 6 now.
5! No no no, don't rush the shots! You need them!
The 5th remaining shell goes to the T-43 during some very acrobatic maneuvering.
Not again! Panic has settled in a little.
Three shots remaining now,
and it doesn't take a mathematician to work this one out.
A ram or a push in the water will be needed
as both of these tanks are far too close to the cap.
Third time on this boost, maybe Naras should construct a house up here.
The WZ fluffs their shot, time to pounce.
That's that sorted, but eh, small problem. Actually a very big problem.
No more shells. Where’s an ammo drop when you need one?
What else is there to do other than go for the cap?
Maybe these bushes will let us cap this out without being spotted?
Oh no, our hero’s bottom was slightly out of the bush and the cap fails.
Well there goes the last chance to win. It’s going to be a draw.
Some heartfelt chat between teammates
as Naras drives around praying for a miracle.
Thinking about those two missed shots
must be about as painful as aiming at this oblivious T28 right now.
Unfortunate to be so close to a win and have it swept away like that.
But maybe it’s some consolation that we recognized the skill shown in this battle.
Trying to scrabble together a win in such a situation was not easy,
so we award Naras our Best Replay of the Week!
That’s all for this week.
Let me know what you think of these battles in the comments down below
or on our weekly Reddit thread!
I’m Luke Kneller, thanks for watching, and I’ll see you next time!