fucking hell, i got important work early in the morning and can't see these battles or participate. (Someone record them please)
If mercs are not too financially nerfed I'd say they have a good chance. They still have good players, perhaps not as leet as before, but I'm sure the old timers will show up and fight, so we'll see. Lot's of good players will sign up for their roster, while the attackers are handicapped by relatively novice clanmembers.
HRE are good players, but too 2h focused as far as I am aware, other clans fight on EU turf which might be a huge disadvantage.
Individual skill, combined with the most experienced commander (Phaz) is a dangerous mix.
If mercs have not fucked up their monetary situation, I think they will win all, if not most of these matches.
One very important factor is the amount of random spectators that will show up. If the servers get too overloaded, this will produce LAG and randomize individual skill, favouring superior numbers.
It is very important that at least 1 or even 2 admins constantly
kicks TEMP BANS spectators, also to ensure that there are no ghosting going on.
Afaik, there will be a live feed set up, so no need to spectate this.
That was my analysis. I think the mercs will kick ass, and the situation after this battle, even if the mercs win or loose, is a huge number of weakened clans around calradia. I hope the sharks are ready to bite into this soft area..
