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Sacrament Of The Waooru [SotW] vs. I Black Widow I [Wi] — May 21, 2006
I Black Widow I struggles for another upset as Sacrament Of The Waooru dominates match nine.
By Michael Thompson


Match Nine of the Guild Wars Factions Championship Season Two Playoffs featured I Black Widow I [Wi] and Sacrament Of The Waooru [SotW]. I Black Widow I entered this match after beating The Last Pride 2-0 in Round One – a victory considered by many to be the greatest upset in the history of Guild Wars championship play. That same round, Sacrament Of The Waooru beat Idiot Savants 2-0, coming from behind to win before going on to dominate in Round Two.

Game One

Here we saw more heroics from the I Black Widow I Assassin. The rest of the team was unable to make use of their NPC advantage against the full force of their opponents.

Sacrament Of The Waooru [SotW] I Black Widow I [Wi]
W/E – "Charge!" Sword Warrior W/A – Death's Charge Axe Warrior with Eviscerate
Ele/Mo – Ether Prodigy flagger with Aegis W/E – "Charge!" Sword Warrior
Me/Mo – Energy Surge energy denial Mesmer R/E – Crippling Shot Ranger
Me/Mo - Energy Surge energy denial Mesmer M/E – Fast Cast Air Magic with Blinding Flash and Mantra Of Resolve
W/E – Hammer Warrior with Devastating Hammer A/E – Aura Of Displacement Assassin with Shock
Rt/Me – Ritual Lord, Shadowsong, Union Mo/Me – Boon Protector with Energy Drain
Mo/Me – Boon Protector with Mantra of Resolve Mo/Me – Boon Protector with Energy Drain
Mo/Me – Boon Protector with Mantra of Resolve E/Mo – Air/Water Elementalist with Heal Party and Resurrect
Morale Boosts: [SotW] – 15:45, 20:18, 27:28 Morale Boosts: [Wi] – None

Guild Hall: Warrior Isle

The start of this game saw I Black Widow I sending their Assassin and Guild Thief to the back gate of Sacrament Of The Waooru. At first, it appeared as if SotW missed the fact that they had an enemy in their base eliminating their archers. Once the flag stand was captured, their flag runner was accompanied by a Warrior to retrieve the next flag, clearly showing that they had noticed the threat. During this time, Wi had already managed to kill several archers.


Ritual Lord 		For 30 seconds, your Rituals recharge 15...63% faster.

Using this skill, the Ritualist from Sacrament Of The Waooru ensured that Union and Shelter were constantly present on the battlefield. This dramatically reduced the damage output by I Black Widow I and helped SotW stay alive as they put pressure on Wi.

At the flagstand, Sacrament Of The Waooru appeared to have the upper hand, making several kills early on. They lost more NPCs until 8:20, when their second bodyguard went down and left their Guild Lord totally unprotected. SotW chose the option of putting extra Death Penalty onto the enemy Monks over defending their NPCs. This finally paid off when they made a fourth kill on one of the I Black Widow I Monks, putting that Monk at a 60% Death Penalty. With a Monk down, Wi was forced to retreat back into their base, allowing SotW to get more kills along the way.

At 15:02, Sacrament Of The Waooru pushed into I Black Widow I's base, killing some archers and both bodyguards. They gained a further advantage when they got a morale boost at 15:45. Shortly afterwards, Wi managed to pull SotW out of their base by splitting and sending several players to the enemy Guild Lord. SotW returned to defend, and the battle resumed around the flagstand area. However, Wi was already heavily weakened. Despite the flagstand trading hands a few more times, SotW once again pushed into Wi's base.

After several more deaths, I Black Widow I was left at their Guild Lord with no Monks. It didn't take long before their Guild Lord was taken down, ending the game at 29:09. Game one went to Sacrament Of The Waooru.

I Black Widow I faced Sacrament Of The Waooru in a 7v8 (and at times 6v8) battle for most of the first game. With their Assassin away killing NPCs, the rest of the team struggled under pressure. On the other hand, SotW had things under control, even when they had lost all of their NPCs. Whenever Wi tried to split, SotW stayed focussed, dealt with each threat, and then continued to push Wi back into their base. Taking full advantage of their weakened opponents, they pressed Wi hard and won.

Game 2

Sacrament Of The Waooru came prepared and earned a flawless win against I Black Widow I.

Sacrament Of The Waooru [SotW] I Black Widow I [Wi]
W/E – Axe Warrior with Eviscerate and Shock R/W – "Bunny Thumper" with Charge
E/Mo – Extinguish, Ward against Melee, Heal Party R/W – "Bunny Thumper" with Backbreaker
Me/Mo – Spirit Shackles, Energy Surge R/W - "Bunny Thumper" with Backbreaker
Me/Mo – Energy Surge, Draw Conditions Me/Mo – Blackout, Psychic Distraction, Resurrect
W/E – Hammer Warrior with Devastating Hammer N/Mo – Tainted Flesh, Draw Conditions
N/Mo – Curse Necromancer with Offering Of Blood Mo/Me – Boon Protector with Energy Drain
Mo/Me – Boon Protector with Mantra Of Recall Mo/Me – Healing Light, Ethereal Light, Distortion
Mo/Me – Boon Protector with Mantra Of Recall E/Mo – Ether Prodigy, Heal Party
Morale Boosts: [SotW] – 7:05, 9:05, 11:05 Morale Boosts: [Wi] – None

Guild Hall: Burning Isle

For game two, I Black Widow I switched to a build almost identical to the one that defeated The Last Pride [EvIL]. However, Sacrament Of The Waooru appeared to have done their homework. They replaced their Ritualist with a Curse Necromancer using Suffering, Life Siphon, Shadow of Fear, and Faintheartedness. They also added Spirit Shackles to one of their Mesmers, Extinguish to their Elementalist, and Channelling to their Monks.


Shadow Of Fear 		Target foe and all adjacent foes attack 50% slower for the next 20...39 seconds.

Facing six melee attackers, Shadow Of Fear proved ever useful for Sacrament Of The Waooru, reducing their opponents' damage output. As an area-of-effect Hex, it also worked very well in covering the other Hexes used in their build.

It was clear from the start that Sacrament Of The Waooru was going to dominate in this game. They managed five kills in as many minutes. By the sixth minute, Wi had already retreated back to their base. SotW captured the flagstand at 5:05 and held it for the rest of the game.

From there, Sacrament Of The Waooru continued to pressure I Black Widow I, scoring more kills. Before twelve minutes had elapsed, they had killed both bodyguards and the Guild Lord. Wi was unable to break through the enemy defenses and didn't even manage a single kill.

In this game, Sacrament Of The Waooru's build had a counter for every bit of pressure exerted by I Black Widow I. By using Faintheartedness, Shadow Of Fear, Spirit Shackles, and Ward Against Melee, they countered three Rangers and their pets. Their Elementalist used Extinguish to remove the disease caused by Tainted Flesh, and with so many foes around, the SotW Monks avoided energy problems thanks to Channelling.

I Black Widow I didn't play badly. They simply played a predictable build against an experienced team. SotW correctly predicted what their rivals were going to do and adjusted their build accordingly. Full marks to Sacrament Of The Waooru for a flawless win in game two… and for winning a match against the team that knocked out the current champions.

Michael Thompson is 23-year-old gamer who originally hails from South Africa. He now lives in the UK. A proud member of The Amazon Basin guild, Michael enjoys both the PvE and PvP aspects of Guild Wars. His favorite classes are the Warrior and Necromancer, and he admits to being "pretty rubbish at playing a Monk." Michael's in-game name is Mickey of the Basin.