Shifting to a defensive role in Splat Zones (8-3, Tri-slosher)

28th April 2017 – 7.00 pm

Ink and capture our Splat Zone, and back off from trouble. That's a pretty good start. I couldn't quite anticipate that the Splash-o-Matic would sit and wait in his corner for inklings to come past, and get splatted a little cheaply, I think.

But back I come and start inking turf, not just the Splat Zones. The freer we are to move, the easier we can control more turf. I have to back off in the face of a Bubbler, but I survive, which is the main thing. But I don't survive the Splat Roller's flick, wherever it came from.

I go the other way, to the yellow Splat Zone, where my squidmates are on top of inking, and squid back around to see what's happening in the other direction. I spy the Sloshing Machine and try to get a height advantage, but voluntarily give it up to go for the splat and instead get splatted.

My lack of patience seems to be a factor in my getting easily splatted, and also frustrated. If I am to do better, I need to be more measured in my moves. So it is that I decide to focus on a more defensive posture. Sure, I face the Sloshing Machine head-on to start with, but after a Disruptor throw at least.

I take my position to keep our Splat Zone purple, and aim to control the turf in and around it, whilst denying opportunities to the yellow team with Disruptors. I venture out a little early on, spying what looks like a good chance to keep the yellow inklings away, and get a couple of splats before retreating. Maybe it helped that it was a measured, focussed move.

More Disruptors help slow down the yellow team, and hopefully discourage them from sticking around our Splat Zone too much. I realise that I am not doing much directly to secure the other Splat Zone, and when all looks safe, and I have my Bubbler charged, I push forwards to make a more positive contribution.

I get a splat on the Roller and push back the Sloshing Machine before an Echolocator encourages me to retreat, but it's a good time to do so, with yellow ink coming in to our Splat Zone. A Bubbler comes and goes, and all looks still. But there is stillness before a storm, and the whole yellow team comes storming in to our Splat Zone, fresh Bubbler protecting a couple of them, distance protecting another, and we are pushed back as a team.

We weather the storm pretty well. Even though we lose control of the Splat Zones, we don't panic and throw our lead away, but push back against the yellow inklings until they are forced back. It helps to duck underneath a Splat Bomb Rush and splat its Disrupted thrower, who just happens to have two inklings trying to rejoin the fray by super-jumping in.

It's still a bit messy right up to the end of the battle, but continuing my defensive posture by throwing Disruptors and popping my Bubbler before it's needed helps keep our lead intact and our Splat Zone purple, preventing the battle entering extra time. Victory is ours! And after the early splats, starting 0-3, I manage to stay unsplatted for the remaining almost-four minutes to end 8-3! Woomy!

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