DeletedUser87372
Guest
As the Duke of *TLA*, reigning champion of W29 (being *TLA*, not me personally), I would like to thank all that have played W29 and made this game an enjoyable experience.
As this world has drawn to a close, I am reminded of many friends and foes alike that have made my time on TW something I wished to return to, day after day, year after year. My time with Tribal Wars began about a week after W29 had opened. I had no clue how to play, what tactics to use, and any of the more technical skills required later on in game. I will point out a few names of those who have really helped me improve as a player, person and leader over these past few years (apologies if I have left anyone off this list, it is a very long list, you will be remembered and I thank everyone alike):
- Damageboi123 (aka. Sam) – Sam brought me in to TLA on Valentines day in the first year of W29 while I was sitting in a hotel room waiting for my wife to finish getting ready to go out for a meal in Edinburgh. It was a very difficult decision to move from my previous tribe, not because of any particular loyalty to the tribe (as it was predominantly a Brazilian tribe and the forums were mainly in Portuguese which I did not speak), but because I did not want to be thought of as a tribe hopper. It was the best decision I have ever made in TW. Sam brought me under his wing and we immediately hit it off bouncing ideas off one another. I saw how he lead TLA at the time and was amazed by the political decisions, how he managed the various personalities and handled challenging situations. I was deeply upset to hear of the hardships he went through in RL and when he made the decision to leave TW (the first time) I was honoured that he had asked me to step up and take control of his baby. It was a very difficult time in TAL history, with the development of NN and the breakup of TLA for various reasons. I held it together as long as I thought I could before it crumbled. Upon his return to the game he and I worked together to rebuild the former glory of TLA based on the same ethos as before with a few improvements and tweaks, including the inclusion of some incredible players who were formidable opponents from their former days in DSL / Shadow. Once TLA had been restored, Sam again decided enough was enough with the game and left me as sole Duke of *TLA*. This was a massive task and one which I took with open arms, but decided to surround myself with the help of a varied group of players with different levels of experience, playing styles, personalities, and friendship groups. The success of TLA has only a small part to do with me personally, and a lot to do with all members of TLA and especially the select few who helped me to lead, including Mikey9Points, Logboss, Homeini, Sobaks, Slayer2292, Daryl1000, Bloodfest, then later rollo86, CliveUK and Iainr13. Sam’s direct part in TLA’s history built a tremendous foundation to which I could continue to build TLA alongside my trusted advisors and tribe mates. I only hope that I have lived up to the legacy that Sam had bestowed upon me and helped drive TLA with the same ethos and design as was intended.
- Mikey9Points – The ODA king, with a hot temper and deepest drive for TLA’s success. Mikey has inspired many (myself included) to be aggressive as a player and push forth. His many heated debates with various members certainly caused both Sam and myself it’s fair share of challenge in itself, but his drive and determination, not to mention effects on every war TLA have participated in have made him amongst the most effective and positive member of TLA throughout it’s history. Mikey has been a good friend to me and has helped me a lot. He has always been a goal for ODA to me and driven me to continue to attack the enemy with hopes (albeit impossible towards the end) of catching his incredible stats.
- Sobaks (aka Dal and CC) – I had little to do with either of these players prior to them taking over the Sobaks account, but knew that Dal in particular was a highly revered member of NME / DSL / Shadow with a great following of loyal friends. He demonstrated his leadership qualities from the get go, and it is due to this that I asked him to join me in leading TLA. It is after asking him to do this that I realised he had a co-player, CC. Together they amazed me in how effective a team they were not only ingame (being the highest ODA per village player, taking entire enemy K’s at a time, and demonstrating incredible skill in defences) but also as a leader and advisor. They have probably helped me lead this tribe more than anyone other player and have always shown me the utmost of respect and loyalty. I truly would consider them to both be friends and thank you both for your contributions.
- Logboss – Like with Dal, I had very little knowledge of Logboss prior to him joining TLA. From the stats I saw, he was a big player with a tight cluster of villages up in the north. Someone who too had a great following of friends from his time in DSL / Shadow. At first I thought he was a barb and internal nobler, but someone TLA would rather not have to take out, so he was recruited. It was after working alongside him for a short while that I realised the incredible skill he had in game play tactics (attacking and defending, as well as being the best timer in W29 history), scripting, and maturity. He has been a faithful and loyal member of TLA and has brought a wealth of knowledge and skill to the leadership team. He has always been a generous player with both his time (sitting) and his PP; all this while playing multiple other worlds with at times thousands of incomings on them. His contributions to TLA have been significant and for that I thank him greatly.
- Homeini (aka Jess or WFA) – Jess too came from DSL/Shadow and also came with a large number of close friends. She was known to me prior to being brought into the leadership team and what I knew of her as well as the main reasons for bringing her in to the team was her empathy and personality. She has been one of the most caring individuals in TLA and had a skill at being a good friend to many within the tribe. She helped to smooth over arguments and disputes and had a level head with aiding in making decisions. To top it off, she has been an incredible player with great skills in defences and timing, as well as sitting accounts regularly for both long and short terms. I plan to keep in touch with Jess long after the TW addiction ends for me.
- Slayer2292 (retired) – Slayer has been one of the longer standing barons in TLA, being a baron alongside myself, Mikey and Magisa in the early days and I believe alongside rollo even earlier than that. He has always been a well switched on individual with great skill and a willingness to teach others. He was also one of TLA’s strongest world forum personalities, fighting the verbal battles against Graylin, Bert and anyone else daring to attempt to offend TLA.
- Daryl1000 (rimmed) – Daryl has been my longest standing friend on TW, starting just a few squares from me on day 1. I had him brought in to my first tribe and then brought in to TLA a few days after I went over. He and I were always trying to one up each other on our points and stats giving us motivation to constantly improve. He was great at defences and equally great with attacking. He was always willing to send double the defences needed to anyone nearby. He, like with Mikey, came with a hot head at times and caused a few “challenges” to TLA, namely his final challenge when he decided to break off from TLA and establish a rival tribe, attempting to mastermind ()along with Bloodfest) an alliance with our enemy (Grind) and recruiting TLA’s biggest foe to date (BigBert) to a prior TLA account. He had his opinions against the recruitment of a number of prior enemy’s (mainly DSL / Shadow) and was not impressed with a select few players who previously seemingly contributed less than others while growing quickly off inactives and barbs. The rimming of Daryl1000 was one which has probably been amongst the hardest decisions for me to request of TLA due to my close friendship with him as a player, but regardless of the challenge I felt a duty to TLA to ensure its preservation and improvement. Throughout the fight between Daryl’s tribe and TLA he and I remained as friends and in contact both IG and on FB. I have no hard feelings to him and hope he feels the same to me.
- Bloodfest (retired) – Like with Daryl above, Bloodfest has brought both positives and challenges to TLA. He and I often saw eye to eye, but on occasion completely disagreed. Due to his RL trade, I asked him to join me in the leadership team as a trusted advisor on battle plans and OP strategy. His contributions were very helpful to TLA’s successes at the time, and our many hours of strategy discussion helped to develop a number of long term strategies and plans. With this positive also came a player who was stubborn at times for perfection in himself and TLA on a whole. He had tactics which have been proven to be very effective, but not necessarily ideal as an expectation for all players to employ. It is mainly due to this that he too broke off from TLA and work closely with Daryl on masterminding a strategy against TLA. He first attempted to recruit strategically positioned players to cause chaos within TLA and eventually lead to the decline of TLA bringing over all players who he deemed as beneficial to his greater plan. Fortunately, this plan fell through as his personal alliances were not as strong as he had envisaged and many players he was counting on decided to remain under the TLA banner. I tried time and again to end this all from happening and bring him back in, but his determination to follow through with his strategy was too strong and in the end was to put his plans to action. Due to an unfortunate string of events he lost his password and could not retrieve it again and his account went barb. Whilst I am glad we did not have to take him down 1 village at a time (as it would have likely added a month to the end game), a strategy was in place to do so upon his first strike with absolutely no escape from it. Regardless of the IG plans against one another he and I had remained civil and talked as friends. He had promised to outline his entire strategy to me once this world had ended and I do hope to hear them, to see if my expectations of what his strategy involved were accurate. Bloodfest has been a good advisor to me (and Sam previously), a good mentor to many, a good friend to others, and a beacon of motivation for quite a few.
- Rollo86 – Rollo is the longest standing TLA player and was first to take up a position of leadership (of the remaining players). He has always had his own strategies which have caused some challenge for his leadership but have always proven to be beneficial to the greater good of TLA. He has often been an individual and at times a loner in his direction with his preservation of his home K’s (K62, then later K63, and further afield into the K70’s). He has had times of inactivity throughout his history on W29, but whenever returning has always brought his account back up to a top position account. His skill in attacking and defending, whilst understated was considerable. He was always willing to help his neighbours in defending against attacks. He and I have shared many a personal conversation and I consider him a good friend who I wish to keep in contact with after this game ends. He has always had a positive outlook on TLA and been a loyal and trusted advisor on many occasions.
- CliveUK – Clive has been an incredible asset to TLA, always willing to help others in defences and nuking. He has been incredibly generous with PP when people needed it most and has, since I can remember been amongst my most loyal members; always willing to help as and when he could.
- Iainr13 – Like with Clive above has always been first to send out all his defences to those in need of them and has become a carpet nuking king for anyone who wanted it. He has always been willing to help when he could and been truly loyal to me and TLA for as long as I can remember.
- Pigou. (original) (retired) – The original Pigou. was one of my first mentor’s on W29 and someone that I think may have been forgotten by many, but his skill in attacking taught me a great deal in the early game and I want to thank him for his help those many years ago.
- Maks123456 – Maks, whilst being the youngest member of TLA for as long as I can remember, has been a very mature and level headed player. She has helped me to cool down many situations with her positive outlook and has been the first to wish people well on their birthdays. Whilst she has had her share of arguments with a few select others, she has been without doubt one of the most positive people in TLA. She has been a good friend to me, as well as to many others.
- Magisa (retired) – Was an early Baron under Sam alongside Mikey, Slayer, and I. He was willing to sit and help others defend and was always happy to teach anyone who wanted to learn how to improve their IG skillset. Magisa, when active, was a great leader and someone many trusted and was close to.
- Whallo (later Pigou.) (retired) – Whallo was a good guy and someone I could often rely upon. Whilst he had gone inactive a few times he also helped out many more times. If I were building a perfect tribe, he would play a part in that tribe.
- Erto23 – Erto has been a silent player on the forums and previously a topic of debate amongst many players. This is mainly due to his growth and village build size early game off barb’s and inactives. He has demonstrated an incredible turn around in his playing style and abilities with aiding in the removal of the threats in the Southern hemisphere of W29.
- Paladayi – Like Erto above has been a quiet member in the forums, but from as far back as I can remember been a force to be reckoned with and has consistently been growing off enemy villages for some time now. He and Erto, along with Matador and the original Ayabakan have worked together incredibly well as a team, with Mikey as their mentor.
- Matador57 – Has been the leader of the pack with Erto, Paladayi, original Ayabakan, and a few others. He has always had a good level head on his shoulders and been someone who would listen to and offer reasoning. Matador has been respectful to me and has been communicative when needed.
- Ayabakan (original) – Worked very closely in the aforementioned team and someone who had also proven himself a great player in later game.
- Ayabakan (current) – Has hit the ground running, growing the Ayabakan account greatly in an area far away from home. He may been a bit aggressive and has taken a few of others claims in the end phase of this world, but without him we would be hundreds of villages away from the end now.
- The Norwegian Nightmare – Has been a quiet member on the forums, but has consistently had his head down and continued to forge a path through enemy territory. He Mikey and I were all fighting alongside each other to take out K66, and I must say he was very difficult to keep up with. He would be on my perfect team (as would many that I may not have mentioned).
- Bill the Greek – One of the latest recruits into TLA, Bill has proven his worth and abilities. He was also one of the more controversial recruits and was brought in to cause chaos amongst Grind and ultimately give TLA a good foothold deep behind enemy lines. When he first approached me about a place within TLA I was apprehensive and set him some tasks that I assumed would be difficult and turn him in to a target (to see how well he fared when under attack). He ripped through the challenges with ease, and I continued to extend the goal posts until it was apparent he was worthy of sitting amongst the great players already within TLA. There has been an education in this process, as he has not had much of an opportunity to attack enemies and deal with multiple incomings on multiple villages in the past (being a backline Grind player for the most part), but he has risen to the occasion and really proven himself.
- Redreagan – Someone I have had little interaction with until end game, but has demonstrated in end game his maturity and drive to the end goals of TLA.
- Briciolino – An early recruit from Grind and at the time considered a tag along to bringing in District at the time, has proven himself to be incredibly effective as a player and always helped keep our internal stats alive, driving players to continue to achieve the 100% dominance to end this world. He has had many past friends and alliances, that he had kept his word on (for the most part) and I truly do respect that. When there were hundreds of enemy villages on his doorstep who belonged to friends he took the time to move to a frontline where he could morally continue to push the line on behalf of TLA.
- Rismine – A long standing TLA member and someone who has been a very quiet person on the forums. Rismine has had incredible stats on enemy takes and has always simply continued along with little need for intervention or motivation. Rismine does not like players living off the backs of others and got upset over barb and internal noblers, but had continued to prove that growth from the enemies is possible and made it seem effortless. Rismine was also a topic of controversy when it was implied by someone that BigBert had infiltrated the account and was a spy working for Daryl’s tribe, but had proven that these were all tactics to attempt to draw chaos into the TLA fold.
- Lords of the Emos – Someone I could always rely upon (when active) to push the line quickly and effectively. LOE’s only major personal battle was over the fact that he was so far from the frontlines in the last year, so had made a decision to relocate from his home in K31 to the frontlines in K67, then off to K57 where he has dominated the K ever since. He has been playing TW throughout his University career and has had to take some time away from the game (sometimes on my suggestion) to focus on his studies, so as not to fall any further behind as he has. This game has taken its toll on his education due to its extremely addictive nature, but judging from my discussions with him, he is a considerably more intelligent guy than most and I know he will finish off his degree with no problems in time. I wish him all the best in his studies and hope to keep in touch over time.
- Macadamia (retired) – Macadamia was someone I got on with well when we were together in TLA prior to the NN breakup. He was always mature, respectful, willing to listen to reason, and played a great part in the pushing of the line. He also was a ring leader to a small group of incredibly effective players who worked very well together as a team.
- Myve – Someone I had little interaction with prior to recruiting her in with Macadmia from Grind, had been unhappy in Grind for some time. She moved in along with her close group of friends at the time as it seemed the better option. When her friends began to fade out of the game, she and Macadamia made a decision to come to TLA where they had more friends and a greater chance to make an impact on W29. Since coming in to TLA she had flourished by growing exponentially, working well with many others (including those not well known to her) and as a person is a very nice girl.
- Carson Patrick – Carson has been a hot topic of debate for some time now, as he keeps his head down, but also does his own thing. Until late game he took a fair few barbs and inactives in what seemed to be random places, but as end game came about his master plan seemed to unravel and his account position had grown to be a very effective place to take down an area that seemed to take a considerable amount of effort previously. I know he and Mikey (as well as a few others) did not see eye to eye, but I thank him for his contributions and am glad to have had him as a member of TLA.
- Mitchthemakem – Mitch is someone I have had little interaction with over the first 2 years in TLA, but over the past year and especially the past few months has proven to be a reliable and helpful member. He has been working with me to try to cool down situations that have gotten out of hand, has grown his account into areas that were heavily fortified by Grind, and been a good all-around guy.
- Mekamilynn – Someone who has worked very close with Mitch and has grown very well in the aforementioned areas of fortification by Grind. I have not spoken with her much, but has been a credit to TLA’s growth in the east.
- Minoy – While he has always been known for needing PP from his fellow tribe mates, minoy has also been always willing to nuke and noble any enemy village. Having been taken under Slayers wings early on he and Slayer worked very well as a team at pushing through K54 and beyond.
- DudeofDeath – Someone who’s activity has been in and out. When active DudeofDeath has been an incredible player, very mature and someone who took it upon himself to lead his colleagues and friends into battle.
- Andrew the Great – Someone who worked very closely with Slayer and had proven himself time and again how effective he can be at taking enemy ground very quickly. Andrew has been someone who has needed very little persuasion and help, but had brought TLA along to its goals with ease.
- Shaunabeer – Shaun has been someone I would consider a friend for some time now. Has always been willing to help me with leading groups of players, taking particular areas, and being an all-around positive player. He has had his share of controversy with a few heated arguments in the past, but has always been someone I could rely on to get the job done and help me with my plans for TLA.
- Tezmo – My arch nemesis during the DSL/Shadow war in my fight for K44, has proven to be someone I am glad to have fought alongside since under TLA’s banner. Whilst his activity went in and out at times, he was always willing to help push the borders with me and often was right beside me when pushing south through K54 and beyond.
- Madlax. (original) – Was THE force to be reckoned with prior to her sudden departure from W29. She was one of the masterminds behind NN, which shook up W29 greater than any other single action. Whilst I cannot recall actually fighting against her personally, she was someone who I know grew off enemy villages incredibly quickly, was not afraid to nuke and could time her defences well. I believe she had inspired many players both in her tribe and enemy tribes to be better players.
- Rebelherb – Someone who has been in TLA for a very long time and always someone who was great to chat with. He has been great at taking enemy territory and always willing to help others when needed in defences.
- Shorty22193 – Shorty has been someone that is very caring for the large number of friends she has made. She worked extremely well with her closest friend Oshman when he was active and together they helped to secure the southern front for TLA. She has helped me to bring past players back to ensure their accounts did not go barb when they began to show inactivity.
- Kristofski – Always someone to bring the mood up in any heated debate. In my opinion, Kris has been less bothered with the game itself then with the social aspect to the game. This attribute is all too often overlooked when considering the success of a tribe, but it is this personality who helps to keep a tribe together at its most challenging times. In the end game phase he suddenly broke into action taking K59 by storm.
- Mihajlo1990 (both Kieth and his dad) – It was deeply regretful to hear of the news of Keith’s death over the holiday season over a year ago, not for the loss of a good player, but for the loss of a good person at such a young age. He is present on more profiles in this game than anyone else I have seen in remembrance of him. When his father decided to continue to play his account on his behalf afterwards I was honoured to extend the same respect we had given his son for the time when he was with us all. As players both he and his father were always willing to help others and played very well. I wish Kieth’s family my deepest condolences and hope that they feel reassured that Kieth had touched many people lives without ever meeting them, simply through his personality.
- Jvtro (current) – While known by a select few, the most controversial recruit to date within TLA is in fact Liz (formerly known as Icklepickle). She came to me asking for an account to pass some time a few months after she had deleted her account from Grind. Grind seemed to be divided on opinion about her, and she was often kept firmly under the wing of BigBert. When he retired from TW she saw no point to continue to play at the time. I had been chatting with her for a few months before this had occurred and to me she seemed a very nice person, albeit a bit head strong and pain at times. Since taking the jvtro account she has grown it considerably and been always happy to continue to seek out the ultimate goals of TLA. She has likely passed some information on to Bert in his various accounts he had taken since his initial departure, but I am confident nothing was terribly important to divulge. She has never given any information on her past friends and I respect her loyalty on this. She may have steered me in the wrong direction once or twice (either maliciously or without knowing), but again this has not affected the outcome as we have succeeded well and her contributions have helped get us here. She has been a good friend and is always up for a chat. I hope she and I remain in contact beyond this game and wish her all the best in RL.
- BigBert24 (retired and then reincarnated a few times, then rimmed a few times) – Bert has been the arch nemesis and poster villain for TLA for some time now. Being the most outspoken Grind member in the world forums and someone I have had the pleasure of fighting against (albeit when he or I was sitting other players accounts). He was a very skilled player and someone I respect greatly IG. He has had a bumpy ride in RL and for that I am very sorry. I hope you have the courage to continue to work through the challenges that have faced you and that you have as positive a life from here on out as possible. If I were building a super tribe, I would want you on it, even if I hate your world forum presence (likely because it was against me and not with me).
- Perv3rt – Someone who has seemed to be an inactive in TLA for years, is also someone who I think has been more active than the vast majority of the tribe all along. Like Kris, his contributions have been more in lightening the mood and being a fun guy to chat with, but quietly he has also been a great contributor in nuking and sending defences. He has been someone I could trust and someone I could bounce ideas off for some time now and his advice and thoughts have been very welcomed and often acted upon.
- Sidewinder (rimmed) – Harvey has been someone who has shown great respect and kindness to both friends and foe’s alike. He held out a strong front against TLA for a long time and TLA needed to rally its forces to remove him from W29. He had said he would not allow us to rim him before the end of January and I am glad to see he was wrong, but it was not for lack of trying. He had grown his skills as a player mainly due to the heat that TLA brought to him and continued to fight back as best he could. Under the same amount of pressure many players with greater amounts of skill would have folded far sooner than he did and for this he has my respect. He will be a valuable team member of any tribe he continues on with in other worlds.
- Shaggey (rimmed in a couple days) – Like with Harvey above, Shaggey was the last standing obstacle for TLA to overcome in the finalisation of W29 dominance. I underestimated him as a player when fighting against him first in K65 and think he has held out better and played better than many would have imagined. He was a credit to Grind and W29.
- Sweenster04 (rimmed) – A name from the past, but our battles over K54 were epic. Hundreds if not thousands of nukes would be flying between us for months on end. He gave me a massive boost in my ODA and ODD while I was forcibly removing him from K54. Meanwhile his civility and respectfulness was incredible. From a fellow Canadian (though I now live in the UK) to another having grown up very close together I am honoured to have fought against you and Grind was a better tribe for your presence.
- Littlemisscsq2 (rimmed) – Like with Sweenster above, the battle over K65 was mainly against Linda. Her activity may have been in and out at times, but she was always annoying in her attempts at recaps and sniping. She, like with many others, has had a tough ride in RL during this world’s time and I wish her and her family all the best in the future.
There are many others who have made a huge impact on me as a player, leader and person, but in hopes of not competing with “War and Peace” I must end the thank you to all here. My time on W29 has been a great one that I will cherish, but one which I am glad to be rid of. I will be attempting to rid myself of this addiction and do not plan to continue on to any further worlds (after all it is nice ending on a positive note as the duke of the winning tribe on such a tumultuous world).
Thank you to everyone in TLA for your work and attitude. Thank you to everyone who has played W29 and made this a great experience.
As this world has drawn to a close, I am reminded of many friends and foes alike that have made my time on TW something I wished to return to, day after day, year after year. My time with Tribal Wars began about a week after W29 had opened. I had no clue how to play, what tactics to use, and any of the more technical skills required later on in game. I will point out a few names of those who have really helped me improve as a player, person and leader over these past few years (apologies if I have left anyone off this list, it is a very long list, you will be remembered and I thank everyone alike):
- Damageboi123 (aka. Sam) – Sam brought me in to TLA on Valentines day in the first year of W29 while I was sitting in a hotel room waiting for my wife to finish getting ready to go out for a meal in Edinburgh. It was a very difficult decision to move from my previous tribe, not because of any particular loyalty to the tribe (as it was predominantly a Brazilian tribe and the forums were mainly in Portuguese which I did not speak), but because I did not want to be thought of as a tribe hopper. It was the best decision I have ever made in TW. Sam brought me under his wing and we immediately hit it off bouncing ideas off one another. I saw how he lead TLA at the time and was amazed by the political decisions, how he managed the various personalities and handled challenging situations. I was deeply upset to hear of the hardships he went through in RL and when he made the decision to leave TW (the first time) I was honoured that he had asked me to step up and take control of his baby. It was a very difficult time in TAL history, with the development of NN and the breakup of TLA for various reasons. I held it together as long as I thought I could before it crumbled. Upon his return to the game he and I worked together to rebuild the former glory of TLA based on the same ethos as before with a few improvements and tweaks, including the inclusion of some incredible players who were formidable opponents from their former days in DSL / Shadow. Once TLA had been restored, Sam again decided enough was enough with the game and left me as sole Duke of *TLA*. This was a massive task and one which I took with open arms, but decided to surround myself with the help of a varied group of players with different levels of experience, playing styles, personalities, and friendship groups. The success of TLA has only a small part to do with me personally, and a lot to do with all members of TLA and especially the select few who helped me to lead, including Mikey9Points, Logboss, Homeini, Sobaks, Slayer2292, Daryl1000, Bloodfest, then later rollo86, CliveUK and Iainr13. Sam’s direct part in TLA’s history built a tremendous foundation to which I could continue to build TLA alongside my trusted advisors and tribe mates. I only hope that I have lived up to the legacy that Sam had bestowed upon me and helped drive TLA with the same ethos and design as was intended.
- Mikey9Points – The ODA king, with a hot temper and deepest drive for TLA’s success. Mikey has inspired many (myself included) to be aggressive as a player and push forth. His many heated debates with various members certainly caused both Sam and myself it’s fair share of challenge in itself, but his drive and determination, not to mention effects on every war TLA have participated in have made him amongst the most effective and positive member of TLA throughout it’s history. Mikey has been a good friend to me and has helped me a lot. He has always been a goal for ODA to me and driven me to continue to attack the enemy with hopes (albeit impossible towards the end) of catching his incredible stats.
- Sobaks (aka Dal and CC) – I had little to do with either of these players prior to them taking over the Sobaks account, but knew that Dal in particular was a highly revered member of NME / DSL / Shadow with a great following of loyal friends. He demonstrated his leadership qualities from the get go, and it is due to this that I asked him to join me in leading TLA. It is after asking him to do this that I realised he had a co-player, CC. Together they amazed me in how effective a team they were not only ingame (being the highest ODA per village player, taking entire enemy K’s at a time, and demonstrating incredible skill in defences) but also as a leader and advisor. They have probably helped me lead this tribe more than anyone other player and have always shown me the utmost of respect and loyalty. I truly would consider them to both be friends and thank you both for your contributions.
- Logboss – Like with Dal, I had very little knowledge of Logboss prior to him joining TLA. From the stats I saw, he was a big player with a tight cluster of villages up in the north. Someone who too had a great following of friends from his time in DSL / Shadow. At first I thought he was a barb and internal nobler, but someone TLA would rather not have to take out, so he was recruited. It was after working alongside him for a short while that I realised the incredible skill he had in game play tactics (attacking and defending, as well as being the best timer in W29 history), scripting, and maturity. He has been a faithful and loyal member of TLA and has brought a wealth of knowledge and skill to the leadership team. He has always been a generous player with both his time (sitting) and his PP; all this while playing multiple other worlds with at times thousands of incomings on them. His contributions to TLA have been significant and for that I thank him greatly.
- Homeini (aka Jess or WFA) – Jess too came from DSL/Shadow and also came with a large number of close friends. She was known to me prior to being brought into the leadership team and what I knew of her as well as the main reasons for bringing her in to the team was her empathy and personality. She has been one of the most caring individuals in TLA and had a skill at being a good friend to many within the tribe. She helped to smooth over arguments and disputes and had a level head with aiding in making decisions. To top it off, she has been an incredible player with great skills in defences and timing, as well as sitting accounts regularly for both long and short terms. I plan to keep in touch with Jess long after the TW addiction ends for me.
- Slayer2292 (retired) – Slayer has been one of the longer standing barons in TLA, being a baron alongside myself, Mikey and Magisa in the early days and I believe alongside rollo even earlier than that. He has always been a well switched on individual with great skill and a willingness to teach others. He was also one of TLA’s strongest world forum personalities, fighting the verbal battles against Graylin, Bert and anyone else daring to attempt to offend TLA.
- Daryl1000 (rimmed) – Daryl has been my longest standing friend on TW, starting just a few squares from me on day 1. I had him brought in to my first tribe and then brought in to TLA a few days after I went over. He and I were always trying to one up each other on our points and stats giving us motivation to constantly improve. He was great at defences and equally great with attacking. He was always willing to send double the defences needed to anyone nearby. He, like with Mikey, came with a hot head at times and caused a few “challenges” to TLA, namely his final challenge when he decided to break off from TLA and establish a rival tribe, attempting to mastermind ()along with Bloodfest) an alliance with our enemy (Grind) and recruiting TLA’s biggest foe to date (BigBert) to a prior TLA account. He had his opinions against the recruitment of a number of prior enemy’s (mainly DSL / Shadow) and was not impressed with a select few players who previously seemingly contributed less than others while growing quickly off inactives and barbs. The rimming of Daryl1000 was one which has probably been amongst the hardest decisions for me to request of TLA due to my close friendship with him as a player, but regardless of the challenge I felt a duty to TLA to ensure its preservation and improvement. Throughout the fight between Daryl’s tribe and TLA he and I remained as friends and in contact both IG and on FB. I have no hard feelings to him and hope he feels the same to me.
- Bloodfest (retired) – Like with Daryl above, Bloodfest has brought both positives and challenges to TLA. He and I often saw eye to eye, but on occasion completely disagreed. Due to his RL trade, I asked him to join me in the leadership team as a trusted advisor on battle plans and OP strategy. His contributions were very helpful to TLA’s successes at the time, and our many hours of strategy discussion helped to develop a number of long term strategies and plans. With this positive also came a player who was stubborn at times for perfection in himself and TLA on a whole. He had tactics which have been proven to be very effective, but not necessarily ideal as an expectation for all players to employ. It is mainly due to this that he too broke off from TLA and work closely with Daryl on masterminding a strategy against TLA. He first attempted to recruit strategically positioned players to cause chaos within TLA and eventually lead to the decline of TLA bringing over all players who he deemed as beneficial to his greater plan. Fortunately, this plan fell through as his personal alliances were not as strong as he had envisaged and many players he was counting on decided to remain under the TLA banner. I tried time and again to end this all from happening and bring him back in, but his determination to follow through with his strategy was too strong and in the end was to put his plans to action. Due to an unfortunate string of events he lost his password and could not retrieve it again and his account went barb. Whilst I am glad we did not have to take him down 1 village at a time (as it would have likely added a month to the end game), a strategy was in place to do so upon his first strike with absolutely no escape from it. Regardless of the IG plans against one another he and I had remained civil and talked as friends. He had promised to outline his entire strategy to me once this world had ended and I do hope to hear them, to see if my expectations of what his strategy involved were accurate. Bloodfest has been a good advisor to me (and Sam previously), a good mentor to many, a good friend to others, and a beacon of motivation for quite a few.
- Rollo86 – Rollo is the longest standing TLA player and was first to take up a position of leadership (of the remaining players). He has always had his own strategies which have caused some challenge for his leadership but have always proven to be beneficial to the greater good of TLA. He has often been an individual and at times a loner in his direction with his preservation of his home K’s (K62, then later K63, and further afield into the K70’s). He has had times of inactivity throughout his history on W29, but whenever returning has always brought his account back up to a top position account. His skill in attacking and defending, whilst understated was considerable. He was always willing to help his neighbours in defending against attacks. He and I have shared many a personal conversation and I consider him a good friend who I wish to keep in contact with after this game ends. He has always had a positive outlook on TLA and been a loyal and trusted advisor on many occasions.
- CliveUK – Clive has been an incredible asset to TLA, always willing to help others in defences and nuking. He has been incredibly generous with PP when people needed it most and has, since I can remember been amongst my most loyal members; always willing to help as and when he could.
- Iainr13 – Like with Clive above has always been first to send out all his defences to those in need of them and has become a carpet nuking king for anyone who wanted it. He has always been willing to help when he could and been truly loyal to me and TLA for as long as I can remember.
- Pigou. (original) (retired) – The original Pigou. was one of my first mentor’s on W29 and someone that I think may have been forgotten by many, but his skill in attacking taught me a great deal in the early game and I want to thank him for his help those many years ago.
- Maks123456 – Maks, whilst being the youngest member of TLA for as long as I can remember, has been a very mature and level headed player. She has helped me to cool down many situations with her positive outlook and has been the first to wish people well on their birthdays. Whilst she has had her share of arguments with a few select others, she has been without doubt one of the most positive people in TLA. She has been a good friend to me, as well as to many others.
- Magisa (retired) – Was an early Baron under Sam alongside Mikey, Slayer, and I. He was willing to sit and help others defend and was always happy to teach anyone who wanted to learn how to improve their IG skillset. Magisa, when active, was a great leader and someone many trusted and was close to.
- Whallo (later Pigou.) (retired) – Whallo was a good guy and someone I could often rely upon. Whilst he had gone inactive a few times he also helped out many more times. If I were building a perfect tribe, he would play a part in that tribe.
- Erto23 – Erto has been a silent player on the forums and previously a topic of debate amongst many players. This is mainly due to his growth and village build size early game off barb’s and inactives. He has demonstrated an incredible turn around in his playing style and abilities with aiding in the removal of the threats in the Southern hemisphere of W29.
- Paladayi – Like Erto above has been a quiet member in the forums, but from as far back as I can remember been a force to be reckoned with and has consistently been growing off enemy villages for some time now. He and Erto, along with Matador and the original Ayabakan have worked together incredibly well as a team, with Mikey as their mentor.
- Matador57 – Has been the leader of the pack with Erto, Paladayi, original Ayabakan, and a few others. He has always had a good level head on his shoulders and been someone who would listen to and offer reasoning. Matador has been respectful to me and has been communicative when needed.
- Ayabakan (original) – Worked very closely in the aforementioned team and someone who had also proven himself a great player in later game.
- Ayabakan (current) – Has hit the ground running, growing the Ayabakan account greatly in an area far away from home. He may been a bit aggressive and has taken a few of others claims in the end phase of this world, but without him we would be hundreds of villages away from the end now.
- The Norwegian Nightmare – Has been a quiet member on the forums, but has consistently had his head down and continued to forge a path through enemy territory. He Mikey and I were all fighting alongside each other to take out K66, and I must say he was very difficult to keep up with. He would be on my perfect team (as would many that I may not have mentioned).
- Bill the Greek – One of the latest recruits into TLA, Bill has proven his worth and abilities. He was also one of the more controversial recruits and was brought in to cause chaos amongst Grind and ultimately give TLA a good foothold deep behind enemy lines. When he first approached me about a place within TLA I was apprehensive and set him some tasks that I assumed would be difficult and turn him in to a target (to see how well he fared when under attack). He ripped through the challenges with ease, and I continued to extend the goal posts until it was apparent he was worthy of sitting amongst the great players already within TLA. There has been an education in this process, as he has not had much of an opportunity to attack enemies and deal with multiple incomings on multiple villages in the past (being a backline Grind player for the most part), but he has risen to the occasion and really proven himself.
- Redreagan – Someone I have had little interaction with until end game, but has demonstrated in end game his maturity and drive to the end goals of TLA.
- Briciolino – An early recruit from Grind and at the time considered a tag along to bringing in District at the time, has proven himself to be incredibly effective as a player and always helped keep our internal stats alive, driving players to continue to achieve the 100% dominance to end this world. He has had many past friends and alliances, that he had kept his word on (for the most part) and I truly do respect that. When there were hundreds of enemy villages on his doorstep who belonged to friends he took the time to move to a frontline where he could morally continue to push the line on behalf of TLA.
- Rismine – A long standing TLA member and someone who has been a very quiet person on the forums. Rismine has had incredible stats on enemy takes and has always simply continued along with little need for intervention or motivation. Rismine does not like players living off the backs of others and got upset over barb and internal noblers, but had continued to prove that growth from the enemies is possible and made it seem effortless. Rismine was also a topic of controversy when it was implied by someone that BigBert had infiltrated the account and was a spy working for Daryl’s tribe, but had proven that these were all tactics to attempt to draw chaos into the TLA fold.
- Lords of the Emos – Someone I could always rely upon (when active) to push the line quickly and effectively. LOE’s only major personal battle was over the fact that he was so far from the frontlines in the last year, so had made a decision to relocate from his home in K31 to the frontlines in K67, then off to K57 where he has dominated the K ever since. He has been playing TW throughout his University career and has had to take some time away from the game (sometimes on my suggestion) to focus on his studies, so as not to fall any further behind as he has. This game has taken its toll on his education due to its extremely addictive nature, but judging from my discussions with him, he is a considerably more intelligent guy than most and I know he will finish off his degree with no problems in time. I wish him all the best in his studies and hope to keep in touch over time.
- Macadamia (retired) – Macadamia was someone I got on with well when we were together in TLA prior to the NN breakup. He was always mature, respectful, willing to listen to reason, and played a great part in the pushing of the line. He also was a ring leader to a small group of incredibly effective players who worked very well together as a team.
- Myve – Someone I had little interaction with prior to recruiting her in with Macadmia from Grind, had been unhappy in Grind for some time. She moved in along with her close group of friends at the time as it seemed the better option. When her friends began to fade out of the game, she and Macadamia made a decision to come to TLA where they had more friends and a greater chance to make an impact on W29. Since coming in to TLA she had flourished by growing exponentially, working well with many others (including those not well known to her) and as a person is a very nice girl.
- Carson Patrick – Carson has been a hot topic of debate for some time now, as he keeps his head down, but also does his own thing. Until late game he took a fair few barbs and inactives in what seemed to be random places, but as end game came about his master plan seemed to unravel and his account position had grown to be a very effective place to take down an area that seemed to take a considerable amount of effort previously. I know he and Mikey (as well as a few others) did not see eye to eye, but I thank him for his contributions and am glad to have had him as a member of TLA.
- Mitchthemakem – Mitch is someone I have had little interaction with over the first 2 years in TLA, but over the past year and especially the past few months has proven to be a reliable and helpful member. He has been working with me to try to cool down situations that have gotten out of hand, has grown his account into areas that were heavily fortified by Grind, and been a good all-around guy.
- Mekamilynn – Someone who has worked very close with Mitch and has grown very well in the aforementioned areas of fortification by Grind. I have not spoken with her much, but has been a credit to TLA’s growth in the east.
- Minoy – While he has always been known for needing PP from his fellow tribe mates, minoy has also been always willing to nuke and noble any enemy village. Having been taken under Slayers wings early on he and Slayer worked very well as a team at pushing through K54 and beyond.
- DudeofDeath – Someone who’s activity has been in and out. When active DudeofDeath has been an incredible player, very mature and someone who took it upon himself to lead his colleagues and friends into battle.
- Andrew the Great – Someone who worked very closely with Slayer and had proven himself time and again how effective he can be at taking enemy ground very quickly. Andrew has been someone who has needed very little persuasion and help, but had brought TLA along to its goals with ease.
- Shaunabeer – Shaun has been someone I would consider a friend for some time now. Has always been willing to help me with leading groups of players, taking particular areas, and being an all-around positive player. He has had his share of controversy with a few heated arguments in the past, but has always been someone I could rely on to get the job done and help me with my plans for TLA.
- Tezmo – My arch nemesis during the DSL/Shadow war in my fight for K44, has proven to be someone I am glad to have fought alongside since under TLA’s banner. Whilst his activity went in and out at times, he was always willing to help push the borders with me and often was right beside me when pushing south through K54 and beyond.
- Madlax. (original) – Was THE force to be reckoned with prior to her sudden departure from W29. She was one of the masterminds behind NN, which shook up W29 greater than any other single action. Whilst I cannot recall actually fighting against her personally, she was someone who I know grew off enemy villages incredibly quickly, was not afraid to nuke and could time her defences well. I believe she had inspired many players both in her tribe and enemy tribes to be better players.
- Rebelherb – Someone who has been in TLA for a very long time and always someone who was great to chat with. He has been great at taking enemy territory and always willing to help others when needed in defences.
- Shorty22193 – Shorty has been someone that is very caring for the large number of friends she has made. She worked extremely well with her closest friend Oshman when he was active and together they helped to secure the southern front for TLA. She has helped me to bring past players back to ensure their accounts did not go barb when they began to show inactivity.
- Kristofski – Always someone to bring the mood up in any heated debate. In my opinion, Kris has been less bothered with the game itself then with the social aspect to the game. This attribute is all too often overlooked when considering the success of a tribe, but it is this personality who helps to keep a tribe together at its most challenging times. In the end game phase he suddenly broke into action taking K59 by storm.
- Mihajlo1990 (both Kieth and his dad) – It was deeply regretful to hear of the news of Keith’s death over the holiday season over a year ago, not for the loss of a good player, but for the loss of a good person at such a young age. He is present on more profiles in this game than anyone else I have seen in remembrance of him. When his father decided to continue to play his account on his behalf afterwards I was honoured to extend the same respect we had given his son for the time when he was with us all. As players both he and his father were always willing to help others and played very well. I wish Kieth’s family my deepest condolences and hope that they feel reassured that Kieth had touched many people lives without ever meeting them, simply through his personality.
- Jvtro (current) – While known by a select few, the most controversial recruit to date within TLA is in fact Liz (formerly known as Icklepickle). She came to me asking for an account to pass some time a few months after she had deleted her account from Grind. Grind seemed to be divided on opinion about her, and she was often kept firmly under the wing of BigBert. When he retired from TW she saw no point to continue to play at the time. I had been chatting with her for a few months before this had occurred and to me she seemed a very nice person, albeit a bit head strong and pain at times. Since taking the jvtro account she has grown it considerably and been always happy to continue to seek out the ultimate goals of TLA. She has likely passed some information on to Bert in his various accounts he had taken since his initial departure, but I am confident nothing was terribly important to divulge. She has never given any information on her past friends and I respect her loyalty on this. She may have steered me in the wrong direction once or twice (either maliciously or without knowing), but again this has not affected the outcome as we have succeeded well and her contributions have helped get us here. She has been a good friend and is always up for a chat. I hope she and I remain in contact beyond this game and wish her all the best in RL.
- BigBert24 (retired and then reincarnated a few times, then rimmed a few times) – Bert has been the arch nemesis and poster villain for TLA for some time now. Being the most outspoken Grind member in the world forums and someone I have had the pleasure of fighting against (albeit when he or I was sitting other players accounts). He was a very skilled player and someone I respect greatly IG. He has had a bumpy ride in RL and for that I am very sorry. I hope you have the courage to continue to work through the challenges that have faced you and that you have as positive a life from here on out as possible. If I were building a super tribe, I would want you on it, even if I hate your world forum presence (likely because it was against me and not with me).
- Perv3rt – Someone who has seemed to be an inactive in TLA for years, is also someone who I think has been more active than the vast majority of the tribe all along. Like Kris, his contributions have been more in lightening the mood and being a fun guy to chat with, but quietly he has also been a great contributor in nuking and sending defences. He has been someone I could trust and someone I could bounce ideas off for some time now and his advice and thoughts have been very welcomed and often acted upon.
- Sidewinder (rimmed) – Harvey has been someone who has shown great respect and kindness to both friends and foe’s alike. He held out a strong front against TLA for a long time and TLA needed to rally its forces to remove him from W29. He had said he would not allow us to rim him before the end of January and I am glad to see he was wrong, but it was not for lack of trying. He had grown his skills as a player mainly due to the heat that TLA brought to him and continued to fight back as best he could. Under the same amount of pressure many players with greater amounts of skill would have folded far sooner than he did and for this he has my respect. He will be a valuable team member of any tribe he continues on with in other worlds.
- Shaggey (rimmed in a couple days) – Like with Harvey above, Shaggey was the last standing obstacle for TLA to overcome in the finalisation of W29 dominance. I underestimated him as a player when fighting against him first in K65 and think he has held out better and played better than many would have imagined. He was a credit to Grind and W29.
- Sweenster04 (rimmed) – A name from the past, but our battles over K54 were epic. Hundreds if not thousands of nukes would be flying between us for months on end. He gave me a massive boost in my ODA and ODD while I was forcibly removing him from K54. Meanwhile his civility and respectfulness was incredible. From a fellow Canadian (though I now live in the UK) to another having grown up very close together I am honoured to have fought against you and Grind was a better tribe for your presence.
- Littlemisscsq2 (rimmed) – Like with Sweenster above, the battle over K65 was mainly against Linda. Her activity may have been in and out at times, but she was always annoying in her attempts at recaps and sniping. She, like with many others, has had a tough ride in RL during this world’s time and I wish her and her family all the best in the future.
There are many others who have made a huge impact on me as a player, leader and person, but in hopes of not competing with “War and Peace” I must end the thank you to all here. My time on W29 has been a great one that I will cherish, but one which I am glad to be rid of. I will be attempting to rid myself of this addiction and do not plan to continue on to any further worlds (after all it is nice ending on a positive note as the duke of the winning tribe on such a tumultuous world).
Thank you to everyone in TLA for your work and attitude. Thank you to everyone who has played W29 and made this a great experience.
