Thoughts on Na’vi vs Alliance series

courtesy of game.ava360.com

While El Clasico isn’t what it used to be, but it’s always interesting to see these two clash.

What’s really memorable is that both teams try to stay true to their playstyle no matter what; Na’Vi go for early-mid game dominance and snowballing, while Alliance focus on split pushing and objectives.

Game 1

Alliance	Na’Vi

Case in point, Na’Vi opt for no hard carries in Game 1. Windranger could arguably fill that role, but that’s still a risky move. The Timbersaw pickup is a good counter for both Broodmother and Dragon Knight. Alliance on the other hand get more standard cores along with Bulldog’s infamous mama spider.

Na’Vi’s early game got disrupted by Alliance’s lane switch. Timbersaw started against an offensive trilane and didn’t get much early. Similarly, Slardar solo against Brood is a hard lane. By the time Na’Vi sent Timber to face Brood, Bulldog already had quite a bit of farm and could rotate to the jungle.

Na’Vi had their pickoffs and successful fights and seemed to be getting the upper hand. Alliance pulled off some successful high-ground defenses with their Chronosphere+Nukes combo and from that point their multi-core lineup was simply stronger.

Game 2

Alliance	Na’Vi

The surprise Oracle+Huskar hypes the crowd as Na’Vi decide to go pubstomp on Alliance. Surprisingly, the Sweds get a non-carry for Bulldog, which never seems to work out for them, and a Naga Siren carry.

Alliance played their game for a long time in this one, managing to farm and push around the map. Luck seemed to be on their side, as Loda also denied the Aegis after a silly mistake from Na’Vi.

Then however, came the eternal problem of Naga Siren. As frustrating as she can be, she’s not really good in direct fights. Even after having full inventory, Alliance could neither get high ground nor win a fight. After some poor decisions of going for fights instead of continuing the split push, Na’Vi took the traditional way to victory, right down the middle lane.

Game 3

Na’Vi	Alliance

Lots of trademark Heroes on this one.

I strongly believe Na’Vi outpicked their opponents in this one. Loda loves his carry Slardar, but it just doesn’t cut it. It can work with a more right-clicker mid laner, which wasn’t the case here. The Venge+Lycan combo is a lot scarier. Also, Queen of Pain doesn’t have nearly as much game impact as an Invoker. Finally, Batrider is a really hard matchup for Nature’s Prophet.

I’ll go as far as saying this was over before it begun. Slardar was even given a free lane, and why not, since he can’t really carry. Alliance played well early on, but after that point and onwards, Na’Vi simply pushed their way in with their superior force.