^{In the other room, brother and sister banter back and forth, the hum of an air conditioner whispering of a comfortable summer day, indoors. “If you live in a house made of glass, one rock is gonna go a long way.” The kids know, I cannot snap at my team if we’re playing a game. Cooperation, morale and things deeper than ‘gold deaths’ versus ‘gold eliminations’ suffer the consequences. Frustration follows a natural course, typically after a disagreement, but it chases away the fun. Many times, the hardest route, you realize, is the way back rather than the way forward. Picture me writing out the scenarios depicted in our everyday, to picture other possibilities, as a welcome to my reality, just a minor detail in a major motion picture. Coach’s Corner came out of a brainstorm of epic proportions, brought about by countless discussions over perspective, the battle of wills. Here lies a written record of observations on play, open to contest, like a good game out to be.}

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Coach’s Corner

^{Written by Hive account@min-joon and Hive account@thatkidsblack}

^{Ilios: 3:23}

Mechanical skill, as demonstrated by the enemy Sombra encouraged Hive account@min-joon to speak up. “It doesn’t hurt to try,” he added, suggesting practice to increase accuracy and consistency. Coach covered the gameplay several times; he kept quiet and invited me to cover the minutes. Target priority, Faker would explain, meant calls on which heroes to go after, but the team misses “real follow-ups”. Additionally, one of Faker’s preferences include Ana and Brigitte as an alternative, though the choice between heroes, the team showed with their decision to lead with Lucio and Mercy, remains a personal one. After Ilios, Coach didn’t mince words. He reflected ultimately, sooner switches could save the day.

^{King’s Row: 21:00}

Given the task to observe the gameplay on King’s Row, I wanted to remain objective and observant. Reinhart runs over the map well, but at times, the team lags. To retreat and recover must be decisive – the Nano boost to Genji’s Dragonblade was an ace up the team’s sleeve on defense, yet it presses into an outnumbered situation. Lucio can be heard far off, somewhere sighing, “Suboptimal.” Weak coordination leads to dropped opportunities, like forgetting a speaker for the picnic, but bringing six tablecloths. On King’s Row, the defense uses Graviton Surge without warning, from the spectator’s seat, as Nano boosts on Reinhart fly from too far. The economy burns three ultimate’s, as Earthshatter comes out last to salvage the play. Coach knows the team manages their abilities with greater efficiency than this.

The team attacks beautifully, with three enemies down from the first push. NBK catches Sombra, Winston, and Brigitte, albeit a distraction from Sombra allows the defense to return for an excellent retake. Coordination grew over time, but still a disconnect with ultimate abilities persists. Less of an orthodox composition trumps, but one wonders what more synergy in hero selection could mean. Torbjorn stands proudly, a good counter pick to Genji. Notably, the tanks make their presence felt as PAUL4MTEKKEN produces multiple ultimate’s. Following the King’s Row match, Faker might agree the game paints an excellent example of good teamwork. Strong tanks lead proficient team play during this skirmish.

^{Anubis: 45:19}

The defense of Anubis offers curious decision-making to the viewer, as a sign of an earlier issue surfaces. The lack of follow-up during moments with an advantage leads to a reversal, falling back, retreating from a disadvantage, a result of the confusion. However, the defense responds with a great economy – three ultimate abilities to handle attackers’ five. Attacking Anubis’ second point left more to be desired. The value from dives feels real, but the defense opposes with high value picks. Widowmaker earns big points for nabbing the support, a deal-breaking win condition for the team’s attack.

^{Rialto: 1:08:36}

Running to Rialto, the team rallies around a flexible, mobile defense to create difficulty for the attack. A pointed focus on big potential threats freezes the enemy tempo. Big rotations protect the support, additionally. Good attention, the defense pays to enemy cooldowns, so good, NBK follows but tactically retreats from chase-down finishes, a sign of growing discipline. A close combat composition consists of Lucio-enabled dives, alongside Ana, Hammond, Doomfist and Genji.

^{Blizzard World: 1:28:20}

The fifth map, Blizzard World feels very flashy due to the difficulty of some ultimate ability combinations. The enemy responds with a huge loyalty attack. EMP from Sombra robs the defense of shields and abilities, leaving them vulnerable to the damage of D.va’s powerful Self-Destruct. Yet, strong counter picks disrupt the rhythm and utility of the attackers. Moira and McCree both answer Genji and Sombra.

Player Spotlight

MonkeyFace	Vertzatile
SAimNE	PAUL4MTEKKEN
Octome	Tag

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Hero Spotlight

Widowmaker	Sombra	Genji
D.va	Roadhog	Zarya
Ana	Lucio	Brigitte

_{Stay tuned for more gameplay, in-depth reviews and highlights from the NBK team!}