In this episode we have:

a fully armed and operational battle station,

a cockroach on a rampage,

and a Sniper who refuses to give up. Go!

Let's start with that Sniper, who is fredstera,

playing on the European servers.

The battleground is Abbey,

where a Rheinmetall Skorpion G is already idling, ready for the hunt.

It's a solid pick, combining mobility with serious stopping power.

As we can see from the first shot.

Firing through the bushes is tricky, resulting in missed shots.

Nevertheless, our Sniper is delivering solid fire support.

When the flank looks clear, fredstera heads back to secure the home base.

A teammate's in a spot of trouble,

but it's nothing a high velocity shell wouldn't fix.

There's also an Indien-Panzer on offer.

Might as well reach out and touch it, once or twice.

Has the Skorpion put on weight?

Maybe there would be an easier route up there.

The flankers have started a capture,

but they seem to be facing heavy resistance.

So much for that attempt.

The team is down to just three, against ten Reds.

A Sniper's instinct makes fredstera seek cover. Just in time.

With a platoon-mate for a spotter,

our Sniper is in a perfect position to wreak havoc.

The odds look a little desperate, but there's a well known cure for that.

Things quiet down for a while, until a T32 pops up, disturbingly close.

It manages to beat the spotter up quite badly, before giving up the ghost.

With the platoon mate licking their wounds,

the next opponent manages to sneak in as well.

This one is much easier to put down, however.

Is somebody really going to try a capture?

Do they expect our Sniper to come out into the open?

Good luck with that.

With the odds narrowing down to two vs. four, this is starting to look winnable.

Especially after fredstera picks off another foe with cool professionalism.

With all remaining Reds closing in, taking a safe shot becomes impossible.

After the spotter goes down as well, our Sniper is left alone.

fredstera abandons the nest, managing to take out the Defender.

Unfortunately, there's no hiding from the T28 Prototype.

Even setting it on fire won't be enough. Goodbye, cruel world.

fredstera put up an amazing fight, clawing back the enemy's lead,

until a comeback was possible.

Unfortunately, no matter how well you play, it can still end in heartbreak.

Invader

Our Invader of the Week is HempAbteilung from the American region.

The event is held at Mountain Pass,

with Hemp bringing an FV215b (183) to the party.

This is the first time we're featuring the infamous Death Star in a lead role.

Let's see if it lives up to its reputation.

The first HESH shell flies out,

shattering armour like the hammer of Thor.

You'd think the Reds would wake up to the threat, but it doesn't look like it.

And so the next shell strikes even harder.

It's not like this is a god-mode vehicle, of course.

Reloads are long, and the damage is somewhat unreliable.

As you can see.

But the threat of a penetrating hit is always there.

It's a bit like facing a tier 10 version of the KV-2.

Oh, and there's one more thing.

You only get 12 shots, so make sure you don't miss with any of them.

Hmm, I wonder if this game's going a bit poorly.

Blowing up some more stuff probably wouldn't hurt.

Artillery, how unpleasant.

Thanks for the help, buddy, I've got this now.

Wait, no! Why did you charge in there?!

What a mess, and that enemy arty needs to die.

Also in the news, the team is still doing badly.

And more importantly, our Death Star is down to just three shells,

two of them high explosive.

A brave tier 8 invades the enemy circle… but isn't that Hemp's job?

It manages to take care of the pesky SPG.

But what should our champion do now?

Another bottom tier heavy rolls into view.

It should be easy prey…

unless Hemp decides to just lob a shell at it without aiming.

Not your finest moment there, buddy.

How are you going to deal with it now?

You'll have to try the HE and hope for the best…

yes, that will do nicely.

The last teammate is still alive,

apparently winning its duel with an AMX 50B.

Its capture marches on,

while Hemp is busy taking shells from another VK 100.01 (P).

Uh, guys? Are we even showing the correct replay here?

Well, ok, we probably are. But how does our champion

get out of this mess, never mind pulling off a capture?

Remember how I said facing this thing can be intimidating?

The VK certainly seems to agree.

So scary in fact, that Hemp is free to exit the scene,

leaving the opponent stewing in paranoia.

That still leaves one problem. A nasty, tier 10 problem.

Hemp pulls the trigger, blowing up the massive TD with the last shell.

Driving towards the capture circle is a torturous ordeal,

as the Death Star isn't built for speed.

Here at last. A few seconds pass, securing the capture against a draw.

Hemp prepares as best they can to bounce a shot or two.

If we're lucky, the opponent was right on the edge of the green circle.

And that might be the case, since it never shows up to contest the capture.

What an interesting game. HempAbteilung gave us a demonstration

of the Death Star's armour shattering power,

as well as some comedy with the hasty shots. Good stuff.

Crucial Contribution

Now we'll cross over to the Asian region,

for a Crucial Contribution by _Chihaya_.

Looks like we'll get to witness a T-54 cockroach scurrying across Malinovka.

Sprinting ahead of the pack, the T-54 takes a sniper's position on the hill.

After a cautious start, _Chihaya_ gets serious

about improving the ventilation of enemy armour.

Some return fire is happening,

but if anything it just inspires our champion to fight harder.

Credit where credit is due.

The Red team's assault shows courage and tenacity.

But there's a point when those virtues turn into suicidal folly.

So far the attempts to step on our cockroach haven't really done anything.

Hits like this just slow it down for a moment.

Some fool goes for a capture, but the attempt is doomed from the start.

Maybe this Red roach would offer more of a challenge.

Doesn't seem like it. It's practically a free kill.

But while we're here, let's send that Lorraine a little gift.

Maybe it's time to finish this.

Assaulting their base should do the trick.

Ok, flubbing a shot on an AFK machine is a bit embarrassing.

Quick, pick up another kill to make us forget it.

Finishing off the zombie tank secures a slightly dubious Top Gun.

There are still three targets out there, of course.

So maybe there's still time for a proper 6th kill.

This UDES 03 would do nicely,

but the teammates are too hungry for a piece of the pie.

One last chance.

Nope. Close, but no biscuit.

But hey, that Top Gun still counts, right?

And in any case this was a Crucial Contribution, which _Chihaya_

definitely received with that monstrous pile of damage. It's all good.

Top Gun

Now let's kick things into an even higher gear,

with a Top Gun rampage from the American region.

The city of Kharkov is about to feel the fury of AgentePM22's E 50.

It's nice at the top tier,

especially in a match without any tier 9 TDs or heavies.

In these conditions, Agente can rely on the armour quite a bit.

Within reasonable limits, of course.

There's a steady exchange of fire, until our Top Gun grows impatient.

Die already, why don't you.

Now that Agente's appetite has been whetted, the feeding frenzy can start.

This big boy is too sturdy to go down with a single shot,

so it gets another one.

At this point Agente is forced to slow down a little,

simply because there's nothing else to shoot at.

A short bit of driving later,

the cliché about a target rich environment comes to mind.

Would you prefer another saying? How about “a fox among the chickens”?

Bang! You're dead.

It seems that there are cappers, trying to ruin the fun.

The SuperPershing will do nicely for the Top Gun kill,

even though it seems a little catatonic.

What were we doing again?..

Oh, yes. Killing dudes.

Has this FCM rage quit as well? What's wrong with these people?

The remaining Reds are gathering.

Maybe they'll finally put up a proper fight.

Like that. Nice try from the 13 90.

There goes the last friendly, followed into the garage by its killer.

The remaining pair put up a good show,

even though they can't really get through the E 50's armour.

Eventually, the faster machine zigs when should have zagged,

leaving the Czechoslovakian machine all alone.

And speaking of that one,

why waste a shell when all you need is a swift kick.

That was certainly impressive.

13 kills, 7.6k damage, and with almost a thousand hit points remaining.

I get the feeling that AgentePM22 didn't even break a sweat.

Defender

And now, we've come to the episode finale.

This time the replay, which impressed us the most

was a Defender game from the EU region.

Our champion is VikingMD,

who commands a T25 Pilot Number 1 in an Encounter at Ensk.

This catchily named medium tank is thinly armoured, but fairly mobile.

Its strong points lie in gun handling, accuracy and a high rate of fire.

Which comes in handy if, for example,

you need to clear some obstacles before the action starts.

Aside from the demolition work,

the opening moves aren't particularly noteworthy.

Things heat up nicely when our Viking Defender squares off against a KV-4.

The Soviet heavy is a tough nut to crack.

Let's crack a few of these softer ones first.

Crunchy, but what to do next?

Maybe give the KV-4 a parting shot or two, and then head for the city.

Come on KV, you really need to watch where I'm going!

Hello, AT 7! Can you guess what happens next?

And look at this, another free kill.

I wonder why they seem to be ignoring Viking?

On the other hand, the overall situation is starting to look pretty grim.

Wait, what was that? Back up a little and…

Dammit! That could have been a clean kill.

And again. This is getting messy.

There's still a solid buffer of hit points,

but trading shots in such a thin skinned machine just doesn't feel right.

The capture siren begins to wail,

but in an encounter there's no actual hurry to respond.

Not when it's just a single capper, anyway.

A second one drives through the circle, revealing their position.

I guess it was this guy, whom Viking swats aside with contemptuous ease.

And here's the actual capper.

The first reset attempt is a little embarrassing,

but as I said, it's not like there's an actual hurry.

With a teammate to distract it, the Tiger P is easy to put down.

Sadly, the friendly isn't long for this world. But neither is the KV-4.

So it's a duel then, for the endgame, and not a fair one.

Or would you like to take on a KV-3 in perfect repair,

with what is left of this thin skinned med tank?

The heavy settles into the capture zone like a dragon guarding its treasure.

There's plenty of time for Viking to pick the perfect approach.

And yes, this is the time to start using APCR ammo. Good thinking.

The first shot punches clean through the armour,

but Viking doesn't feel like hanging around.

A second attempt works as well,

but this time the KV is ready for it. Careful now.

Now that the dragon is alert, how do you kill it?

Viking has the longer view range,

so it should be theoretically possible to… ok, there it is.

Did it spot you? I guess not. Fire at will!

It's a great setup. The resets prove that the shots are going through.

The KV refuses to take a blind shot,