Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 8:59 pm
A noob's perspective
SysX vs PK
These two are, I am told, the best squads in Allegiance. Aarm and Spidey are, in my opinion, clearly the best commanders in Allegiance.
My impression of PK is that they are a bunch of excellent people who are all beyond competent dogfighters. My impression of SysX is that they are a group of pilots who will get the job done. I've never seen a team more dedicated to nanning/htting/bombing/whatevering. Even in PuGs most of these guys are more likely to be in a scout than anything else, doing what needs to be done.
I'm almost 100% sure PK will go IC expansion, and then get a sy for the win. Aarm's done it twice in a row, and no one's been able to stop it.
Spidey's choice will be interesting to see. Spidey is, in my opinion, the most creative commander Allegiance has to offer. I recall him taking Rix Supremacy against Dreg Expansion in a pug once (granted, it was a pug) and he's the first commander I've ever seen use giga's special mines, and still the only commander I've seen use special mines effectively. Personally I'm expecting some kind of Belter flavor, though I would not be surprised to see any of the factions from Spidey.
I haven't a clue who will win. Based on what I saw last week, one might say that SysX doesn't stand a chance. But everyone knows that Rix is hard to fly, and Spidey himself thinks of rix as his squad's worst faction. It'll be quite close, I think, and either way Aarm will have to hold back on the assault mining a bit. Also, _SRM_Nuke@SysX is weird to see.
RT vs XT
I've watched XT lose twice now, which I find surprising. They're a great squad full of very knowledgeable pilots. In addition, they're all excellent int pilots, which apparently is an entrance requirement. I do not know who will command, but off the top of my head I can recall flying for both Guitarism and Virulence at one time or another. Both of them are excellent commanders with very different styles.
RT, I know next to nothing about them. Well, except that their motto is "with your shield or on it," which by a startling non-coincidence is my battlecry whenever I stick someone with C4 in Super Smash Brothers: Brawl. Commanders... DasSmiter and Death3d are the only two pilots I can recall commanding for that squad. I feel like Das is a good commander, as is Death3d, but I don't have enough experience with either commander or the game to say for sure either way. As for the squad overall... my impression is that they know their @#(!, but I can't seem to recall flying with, for, or against anyone other than DasSmiter or Death3d. Oh wait, Grav and Gandalf are also excellent pilots, and Grav is also a good commander. Hmm...
I am going to lean towards XT because I think Virulence feels like he has something to prove, and when Virulence jumps out, kicks ass, and takes names I'm not sure any team can face him. Also because XT flies a fantastic IC Expansion.
ACE vs GB
I used to think of ACE as the 'it' list of pilots in Allegiance. I thought that the @ACE meant that the community recognized them as the best or something, and this was all before I knew anything about squads. Learning more about squads, I now realize @ACE means they are good and experienced pilots who seem to draw their ranks from disgruntled defectors of other squads. Also MrC is hilarious. With Drizzo commanding they lose what I think is their best int pilot, but he is also an exceptional commander. When I saw Ace beat XT, Drizzo commanded TF expansion, commenting at one point that "TF is a natural counter to IC as it has better interceptors" and he also gave another reason, which I promptly forgot.
GB is also a good squad, and many of their pilots are exceptionally friendly and welcoming. From Champyx down they're mostly a bunch of people who have been exceptionally nice and flown pretty well. However I think they're outgunned in both the pilot's and commander's seats for this game.
Overall, I would expect ACE to win this game.
Good luck and have fun to everyone flying! I hope to fly in the next tournament and be podded by each of you in turn
SysX vs PK
These two are, I am told, the best squads in Allegiance. Aarm and Spidey are, in my opinion, clearly the best commanders in Allegiance.
My impression of PK is that they are a bunch of excellent people who are all beyond competent dogfighters. My impression of SysX is that they are a group of pilots who will get the job done. I've never seen a team more dedicated to nanning/htting/bombing/whatevering. Even in PuGs most of these guys are more likely to be in a scout than anything else, doing what needs to be done.
I'm almost 100% sure PK will go IC expansion, and then get a sy for the win. Aarm's done it twice in a row, and no one's been able to stop it.
Spidey's choice will be interesting to see. Spidey is, in my opinion, the most creative commander Allegiance has to offer. I recall him taking Rix Supremacy against Dreg Expansion in a pug once (granted, it was a pug) and he's the first commander I've ever seen use giga's special mines, and still the only commander I've seen use special mines effectively. Personally I'm expecting some kind of Belter flavor, though I would not be surprised to see any of the factions from Spidey.
I haven't a clue who will win. Based on what I saw last week, one might say that SysX doesn't stand a chance. But everyone knows that Rix is hard to fly, and Spidey himself thinks of rix as his squad's worst faction. It'll be quite close, I think, and either way Aarm will have to hold back on the assault mining a bit. Also, _SRM_Nuke@SysX is weird to see.
RT vs XT
I've watched XT lose twice now, which I find surprising. They're a great squad full of very knowledgeable pilots. In addition, they're all excellent int pilots, which apparently is an entrance requirement. I do not know who will command, but off the top of my head I can recall flying for both Guitarism and Virulence at one time or another. Both of them are excellent commanders with very different styles.
RT, I know next to nothing about them. Well, except that their motto is "with your shield or on it," which by a startling non-coincidence is my battlecry whenever I stick someone with C4 in Super Smash Brothers: Brawl. Commanders... DasSmiter and Death3d are the only two pilots I can recall commanding for that squad. I feel like Das is a good commander, as is Death3d, but I don't have enough experience with either commander or the game to say for sure either way. As for the squad overall... my impression is that they know their @#(!, but I can't seem to recall flying with, for, or against anyone other than DasSmiter or Death3d. Oh wait, Grav and Gandalf are also excellent pilots, and Grav is also a good commander. Hmm...
I am going to lean towards XT because I think Virulence feels like he has something to prove, and when Virulence jumps out, kicks ass, and takes names I'm not sure any team can face him. Also because XT flies a fantastic IC Expansion.
ACE vs GB
I used to think of ACE as the 'it' list of pilots in Allegiance. I thought that the @ACE meant that the community recognized them as the best or something, and this was all before I knew anything about squads. Learning more about squads, I now realize @ACE means they are good and experienced pilots who seem to draw their ranks from disgruntled defectors of other squads. Also MrC is hilarious. With Drizzo commanding they lose what I think is their best int pilot, but he is also an exceptional commander. When I saw Ace beat XT, Drizzo commanded TF expansion, commenting at one point that "TF is a natural counter to IC as it has better interceptors" and he also gave another reason, which I promptly forgot.
GB is also a good squad, and many of their pilots are exceptionally friendly and welcoming. From Champyx down they're mostly a bunch of people who have been exceptionally nice and flown pretty well. However I think they're outgunned in both the pilot's and commander's seats for this game.
Overall, I would expect ACE to win this game.
Good luck and have fun to everyone flying! I hope to fly in the next tournament and be podded by each of you in turn
It's good to hear reviews from other people too. Pheonix1 that's a pretty good review for someone new to the community. 
