Streams of Blood (Ranked)

Blitzkrieg refers to a strategy that employs concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines. In SoB, while offensive map control shuts down a party effectiveness quickly, it tends to spread units out due to multiple lane pockets. The defending party can choose to focus all attacks and blitz a single lane, thereby throwing the opponent into disarray. The blitz is also useful in creating lane pressure, forcing enemy units into giving up precious positions.

Blitzes are highly draw dependent, require calculations and foresight. Well executed blitzes can turn an attempted offensive into a simple rout in a single turn.

Figs. 7 and 8 show an example of a blitz taking out an enemy camping the left lane (purple circle in Fig. 7). Fig. 7 show units in defensive positions (3a, 3b & 3c) prior to the blitz. When the left lane is overrun, 3a moves into range of the victory terrain and combines with 3c to form a horizontal pincer. 3b then patrols the left lane providing support from the left flank. Any enemy unit camping the victory square has to decide whether to flee or fight. Alternatively, 3a and 3c can also combine to pincer the right lane while 3b moves to secure the victory terrain. In the event of enemy retreats, units can move to secure offensive map control terrains and turn the tide of the game.

While a blitz is designed to break a holding formation or a defensive line, a rush uses speed and surprise to overwhelm and/or cripple an enemy before they achieve effective buildup. The primary objective is to reduce the opponent's effectiveness as early as possible. A rush is nowhere as effective mid/late game, hence, the emphasis on speed and surprise. In SoB, there are two viable rush tactics: rushing the spawn point and rushing the victory terrain.

A7, K7: Fig. 9 show the spawn positions in the SoB map. A7 and K7 represent two spawn positions in the enemy's half. With the right starting hand (eg: Sprints, Dashes) and turn advantage, one can easily isolate A7/K7 in the early turns (see Fig. 10) leading to a kill and/or exert early lane pressure. The benefits of rushing the spawn points are two-fold. Firstly, the opponent's party effectiveness is drastically reduced by a third. Secondly, it puts pressure on the opponent forcing him to play defensively and/or make mistakes. However, rushing is not without risks. Once a rush is committed, your units are exposed and a veteran opponent is able to freely target your rushing units or develop a counter-rush strategy.

F7: As of writing, SoB is the only map with 1 victory terrain. This means that it is possible to rush for victory stars. Such positional rushing aim to keep your opponent under early pressure through denial, dictating the arena of combat. If he ignores the unit camping the victory spot, he risks winning the battles and losing the war. If he engages the victory spot, he exposes his flanks to pincers and/or ambushes.