Teamwork gets us down our flank fairly smoothly and, with no purple ink to the side, I start sending ink towards the Splat Zones. One inkling gets nicely in my line-of-fire, but another appears from my flank, probably having gone the long way around. It's a good move, which flusters me a little, but a Disruptor lets me at least trade splats.
I head back to where my squidmates seem to be nicely in control, and push to the edge of the Splat Zones and send ink forwards, to make it difficult for the purple team to return. Having done that, I hit the corridor, to stop them sneaking this way, and use a Disruptor again to catch my previous splatter, jinking to avoid the trade this time.
I help keep the Splat Zones green for a while, half by pushing the purple team back, half by keeping the Splat Zones inked. Both are good tactics, but avoiding losing control prevents gaining a buffer to work through. I use my Disruptors to suppress the purple team, and my Bubbler to keep me safe briefly.
An Inkstrike lets me squid close to a perch to splat a purple inkling from below when he's not expecting it, which illustrates quite well our dominance in the battle to win by a quick knockout. Woomy!
That wasn't a great Seeker across the grate, but it exploded against the wall close enough to splat my target anyway. That'll do. And the grate once again catches me out, as I miss-time my squidding and fall through. I pop back up to hassle the E-litre 3K, but she's gone, hassling our Rainmaker. I join in, but the best I can do is act as an ink-shield.
We nearly get the dunk immediately anyway, but our squidmate is just stopped short. I super-jump back and look for the Rainmaker, finding it as a squidmate splats the carrier. I let my Seekers do the work for now, as I try to keep tabs on the orange team, but when the opportunity arises I drop down to ink a path ahead. It's not as easy as it looks.
My Seeker Rush helps me survive a Suction Bomb Rush and keeps some turf inked, but I don't grab the Rainmaker when I try. Never mind, I'll ink the path ahead again. It's good I bounce off the Splattershot, as it stops the other Roller from ambushing me effectively. I push forwards again and splat and ink the way clear to the podium, but once again we're stopped short.
The Roller splats me this time, but doesn't get much further. My only regret is not seeing the dunk, my squidmate stumbling on the podium. But she dunks it! Woomy!
That Seeker does a good job at compensating for my lack of lightning reflexes. Flanking at the start doesn't go as planned, though, but it rarely does. Still, we seem to get the jump with the Rainmaker, even if my initial support does little more than put me back in to danger. So it goes.
At least I get lucky against the Kraken, as I try to hide on uninked turf. But things go awry again soon enough, when coming from behind the purple team is not as unexpected as I would have liked. I come back trying to take a different tack to the Rainmaker, so that we don't bunch up, and to catch purple inklings doing the same. No one appears, but I see one inkling holding back, probably to avoid the Rainmaker shield's burst. What he's actually doing is preparing an Inkzooka strike.
Coming back has my heading straight for another Inkzooka, but that does not concern me. I forge ahead, splat the Inkzooka, now carrying the Rainmaker, and a guard of his, before bursting the Rainmaker free again, getting another splat, and finding the fourth inkling with one Seeker out of a Rush. The Seekers also ink a path towards the podium, and a jink inside clears another inkling out of the way. Surely a dunking isn't far behind.
I'm not sure what our squidmate was waiting for. But it isn't always obvious when the way ahead is clear, and blasting the Rainmaker is a good feeling. We also have a massive lead, so it's all good. Super-jumping back seems safe enough, but the purple team are wily and do well to prevent us access to the Rainmaker. The manage to reset it back to the centre of the Port too.
To be honest, I don't realise the Rainmaker was reset and go looking for it. Not helpful in itself, but it distracts an inkling or two, and I manage to catch up with my smarter squidmates quickly enough. I get another timely Seeker Rush, which splats the Inkzooka out of the way this time, and another path ahead is inked. I hit the flank, just in case, and this time manage to prevent being splatted from the side.
We get a second shot at dunking the Rainmaker, and our squidmate is not going to squander it. The way up to the podium is inked, and he squids up to dunk the Rainmaker for the knockout victory. Woomy!
My previous battle gets me warmed up for this one, where I try to apply what worked. I get a couple of early splats, then head to where I can send my Seekers to ink and splat. Going in to the corner gets me cornered by the E-litre 3K, but I manage to get clear when he gets distracted. I can't get rid of him, though, so do my best to support the team, before backtracking to prevent a green-team push.
The Rainmaker is stopped, so I head back around to provide forward support, but it turns out to be a little early. Thankfully, my squidmates are on the ball and stop the push before they green team takes the lead, and I make it back to in time to follow the Rainmaker back to the other side. My Seeker Rush works well to try to maintain our possession, but even with a path inked, the green Suction Bomb Rush discourages me from making a grab for the Rainmaker.
Possession of the Rainmaker is a succession of blips, contested early and often. I look for a different route, to tip the balance, but the E-litre 3K spots me just before I cause mayhem. The Rainmaker comes back our way, is stopped, and is pushed forwards again, before I spot an opportunity to squid with it. I think maybe I increase our lead, but our early push was actually quite good.
Once more the Rainmaker is taken over the short-cut ledge, but this time I'm waiting and stop it. I try to sneak around the back again, but the Rainmaker doesn't go that way this time, and all I can manage is a circuit before I can be useful again. At least I catch up with the Rainmaker when it matters, trying to sneak past us from the middle.
From the splat-cam, it looks like the green team have plenty of ink to grab the Rainmaker again, and not a huge distance to go to sneak the lead and victory. But my squidmates are canny, and are simply waiting to splat the Rainmaker and claim the win for ourselves. Woomy!
Why am I looking up? I dunno. It's easily corrected, and I get on track immediately. It's a bit of a miss at the inkling right in front of me, but at least I don't get splatted instead, not even by the Rainmaker's shield bursting. I prefer splatting Inkzookas anyway. We grab the Rainmaker, lose it, and grab it again, so I press ahead. My flicking is pretty poor, but so is the Hero Replica's aim, and I live on to help burst the Rainmaker free once more. I get splatted in the process, but my Seekers avenge me immediately.
Super-jumping back looks like a good idea, and the Rainmaker is deep enough in green territory that I decide to hit the flank, to destroy a Beakon and hopefully appear from an unexpected angle. I'm not quite as quick to be immediately helpful, but the unexpected angle does work. The Rainmaker is dropped, but close enough to the green team taking the lead to be dangerous. To prove the point, the green team grab the Rainmaker, let me run in to its blast, and squid in to the lead. So it goes.
My squidmates take the Rainmaker away from our base, and I take the opportunity to do some tidying up. If the green team want to come back this way, they'll have to work for it. And it doesn't hurt to have a Seeker Rush charged. It comes in handy quickly, squelching the green ink hitting the Rainmaker's shield to burst it blue. I sneak an opportunity to gain a few more metres closer to the podium.
My next attempt to sneak around the back goes poorly. And the next. But maybe I help by distracting the green team a little, as my squidmates push the Rainmaker forwards once more, and I super-jump back to support them. I protect the rear to start with, before heading forwards at the right time to exact revenge. My squidmate made a good choice heading up that block too, as it puts the Rainmaker in a good position.
I move up to support, pausing for a bit of defence, and ink the way to the podium. Stirling work from the previous carrier almost hands us the lead, and my Seeker Rush looks like it will help guide the Rainmaker home. But the green team come back flinging ink everywhere, and all but me and one green inkling are left standing.
My Seeker Rush continues as the Rainmaker's shield reforms, and it only takes a couple of burst the shield immediately. My proximity and the explosion of blue ink leaves me the simplest of dunks to win us the battle. Woomy!
Follow that Seeker! Our speed doesn't help us burst the Rainmaker's shield, but it doesn't seem to matter that the green team do it. Nor does it seem to matter much that I can't hit anything early on. I give up on splatting inklings, and go for the open Rainmaker instead. I just need to work out what that seeking sound is.
A squidmate helpfully inks the wall for me, but I have to dodge back and away from the Rapid Blaster. Thankfully, a squidmate helps me out there too. If only I could repay them by actually getting up the wall. Maybe that delays helps, though. Or maybe it doesn't. It lines two inklings up, just right for a Rainmaker blast, but I'm too weighed down to dodge the Seeker this time. Still, if the Seeker didn't get me, the Inkzooka would have.
I super-jump back, as we seem to remain in a positive position, and pick up where I left off. My squidmates are there for some excellent support, splatting the Rapid Blaster and inking all the way up to the podium. It's a simple matter to squid under some green pressure from above, and dunk the Rainmaker for a quick victory. Woomy!
Holding back to start with seems to work quite well. Even if we lose early control, it's easily got back when the other team are splatted away. A bit of luck helps too, like the Splatterscope just missing my dangly ear. I wisely stay away from him, and head across the bridge to see what disruption I can cause amongst his squidmates.
Quite a lot! A bit of height helps, and look at me just about manage to stick to the wall, as does a Bubbler help. As the Splat Zones stay purple, I stick around on this side of the Museum, which admittedly is a bit annoying, but it's effective. Getting some height helps again, particularly with the wall giving me cover.
My Bubbler charges again to keep me annoyingly unsplatted, and I just about stay on the right side of a green Inkstrike to keep going. The Splatterscope is at my back, but I'm still ignoring him, apart from lobbing the occasional Disruptor his way.
My luck finally runs out against the Mini Splatling, although it is a mutual splat and so still a little lucky. And I run in to another splat immediately on my return, a rather desperate green inkling launching an Inkstrike right in front of us. That'll do!
There's just enough time for a little victory jig. I don't often press so high for so long. Maybe because I'm splatted away sooner. Even so, I know it can be frustrating for the pressed team, so I try to remember this and offer some room in most battles anyway.
It is a nice move to get around the side of the platform to start with, and nearly gets me the drop on an inkling, but once I was spotted I should have moved backwards. So it goes. I look more towards the Splat Zones on my return, which helps, but am aware of how vulnerable I must be. Moving to the side must help, but walking towards a Splattershot won't.
Heading back to the moving platform has a better outcome, as I show a bit of patience, and moving only when the moment is right. And even though I'm splatted at the end again, again whilst Disrupted, I take two other inklings out with me. Nice! Sadly, I find I'm battling a little more than the yellow team with my next splatting, when splatted by the Dual Squelcher shortly after I've already splatted him. There's not much to be done about that!
The side route gets me another splat, and I wisely disengage when things get inky, which lets us keep the Splat Zones blue a bit longer. But a nice Killer Wail pushes two of us in to the Mini Splatling, and the Splat Zones change tentacles soon afterwards. And not just the Splat Zones, but most of the turf looks yellow. That makes it difficult to get much done. I try to ink the edges first, to give us easier movement, but with not much success.
Even inking the Splat Zones directly is troublesome with such strong yellow control. I don't last much longer the next outing either, the Mini Splatling getting a bit lucky by delaying her Bubbler, but surviving and splatting me easily when she finally does. We lose the lead that looked so good not too long ago, so I try to keep some height advantage and focus on the Splat Zones.
The height works well, particularly with my Tri-slosher, and I get bolder as my Bubbler charges. I cross the Splat Zones and get on the other platform, getting a couple of splats and helping to recapture the Splat Zones. We have a big buffer to work through, but maybe we can still win this battle. I'll need to hide better from the Mini Splatling, though.
Just as it looks like we're getting close to recovering the battle, the Splat Zones switch tentacles again. My squidmates capture the Splat Zones just before the battle ends, pushing us in to extra time, but with a new, big buffer to work through. This is looking tricky, given that the yellow team managed to wrest control of us just now. But there's no giving up yet.
The Splat Zones come first, and I do my best to keep them blue, whilst balancing angling for splats to prevent the yellow ink flowing. I go back around the side to look for splats on returning inklings, but am caught out. At least I don't get splatted in the Splat Zones, and my puddle doesn't contribute to a loss.
The Splat Zones are still neutralised, but only for a second. My squidmates are keeping the blue ink flowing in to the Splat Zones, and just as I am making a return, we pull ahead of the yellow team. That was a long period of extra time, and quite tense! A good battle, but even better extra time. Woomy!
My little bucket can reach quite far from the top of the Depot, managing to cover an entire quadrant of the Splat Zones. That's not enough, though, so when I spot a target I dive down, Disrupt, and get a bit lucky not to be splatted. I run with that luck, and get messy with the green inklings, happy to come out the other side just a bit inky.
Rather than stick around the Splat Zones, I head back up to the top. This lets me ink the wall our colour, not that it was green at the moment, and gain some perspective. It makes a change from rushing to the other side of the Depot and getting splatted quickly. More opportunity comes to me, though, when the green team return.
I push forwards with a charged Bubbler, and, boy, do I need it. I find myself in the middle of a Suction Bomb Rush, and although my Bubbler saves me, I am being pushed back effectively. My Bubbler doesn't last forever either, so I try a different tack. Ducking back and gaining some height is apparently not expected, and I splat the Killer Wail, Inkzooka, and turn to catch an ambusher. From there, I calmly recapture the Splat Zones, wondering where my squidmates are.
Back up the top, and looking for opportunity. It's mostly covering green ink, which is fine. I probably could have inked over my splatted squidmate a bit earlier, though, and we lose the Splat Zones briefly. My Bubbler helps us neutralise them, but doesn't last quite long enough to keep me entirely safe.
I return to throw caution to the wind, and am straight across the Splat Zones and on the green side of the Depot. Have I not learnt from my successful start? Nope, seems not. Thankfully it doesn't affect our score, and gives me an opportunity to wait for an ambush splat. That goes well.
A few seconds later, the battle is won. Sadly, looking back, it seems that the green team lost an inkling fairly early, which explains their lack of presence. That's a shame.
Hammerhead Bridge is a bit busy with obstacles. I don't consider there to be any great reasons to dash ahead, so I take it slow and steady, building a path, and some charge for my Bubbler. I then use cover sensibly, and try not to give away my intentions with my sloshing. I think I do quite well, particularly when turning away from the gaze of the E-litre 3K.
I approach the E-litre 3K head-on instead, Bubbler charged. Maybe she could have super-jumped away, but I rarely remember to do that either. Now for the Splat Zones, which are currently yellow. I get lucky as the Splatling's charge runs out, and with the timing of the super-jumper, but we ink the Splat Zones as a team.
I head for the flank now, but again am cautious about being spotted. I ink the wall as a diversion and head around the side, and although I am spotted and tracked by the E-litre 3K, my Bubbler keeps me safe to start with, and hiding behind the wall works wonders after that. Being hit with an Echolocator doesn't make me want to find that active Inkzooka, though.
I get my comeuppance when trying to be clever sitting on a wall. It was the wrong place to do that, but a nice Killer Wail. I head back down the side route, which lets me drop down through the grate without being seen, which I like, and show the importance of covering your opponents' ink on your side of the Splat Zones. I get to move freely, and a couple of splats because of that.
And that is it. Once we took control of the Splat Zones, we stayed in control of the Splat Zones. And I got some nice splats out of the battle. Woomy!
