You all know what RvB is about, you know what we try to achieve every minute that the server is online, for those that do not, basically we want to explode merlins and rifters all day long! And speaking of explosions, every year alliances from all over EVE, big or small, null/low/empire based are given the chance to prove they have the skill to kill, in the pinnacle of explosions in EVE Online known as the Alliance Tournament, an in game competition hosted by CCP with prizes also provided by CCP, and streamed live to viewers all over the world!
The EVE Online Alliance Tournament is the ultimate battlefield in which the top pilots in EVE Online fight for the glory and honour of their alliance. 64 Alliances compete over 4 weekends of intense, explosive action.
And for the 10th AT, RvB has been drawn as one of the contenders in the 10th Alliance Tournament. However, this is not the first time Red & Blue have entered the AT, last year we also entered and had a damn good showing in the opinion of those who hold the AT dear. Blue had a hard opener being drawn against Outbreak – eventual Finalists, and Red ended up 1 kill shy of advancing to the Finals weekend, but all the same RvB got it’s name and identity out there in one of the best ways you can in EVE.
This year RvB has been allowed to fly as “Purple”, which means pilots from both Red & Blue will be flying in our team, this is all because of the shenanigans that last years 1st and 2nd place winners got up to in the form of meta-gaming the Final, shenanigans I will not go into in this post. RvB having the option to fly under our “purple” state basically means that we have a larger pool of experienced pilots to draw from, giving us a much better chance at taking home the prizes on offer this year.
So down to the nitty gritty of why everyone is here – the prizes. This year the tournament is sponsored by the Caldari State who has spared no expense in creating two extremely powerful and versatile ships in their class. These ships will be based on the Osprey and Merlin hulls.
The Osprey hull is Etana. The name is drawn from the same branch of mythology as the Gallente Ishtar and the AT8 Utu, and has a nice connotation with some ancient Caldari-Gallente history involving Caldari Prime. This variant, which is the first prize, is a pioneering logistics ship with the added capacity to fit a covert ops cloak along with some very powerful skill bonuses.
The Merlin hull is Cambion. The name comes from a half-demonic entity which ties in nicely in with the description of a crazy, fiery rocket brawler with mad overheating bonuses plus it’s believed that the Merlin of wizard fame was either a cambion or descended from one.
I know by now, those of you still reading will be wondering “How do I get in on this?”, and while I and RvB as a whole salute your enthusiasm, we already have a pool of experienced, bloodthirsty and Tech 1 capable pilots ready to roll for our matches and show the rest of EVE that we know how to make their merlin’s & rifter’s explode! However, should you still be with us come the next Alliance Tournament, then you may just get a tap on the shoulder and be offered a chance to represent us, so don’t go away now!
Others may be asking “How can I show my support?”, and to those who are I say you can do this in many ways:
1) WATCH ALL THE MATCHES as they happen and cheer RvB on in both our public channel and the RvB Community channel!
RvB’s first match is set for 30th June @ 19.00 EVE versus the mighty “Get off my Lawn”
2) Add the words “RvB – Alliance Tournament 10 – We will rock you” to your bio’s. I will be checking!
3) Donate to your corp wallet, every little helps our campaign, and generosity is its own reward.
Please add the reason “AT X” as the comment.
4) Keep exploding each other, its what we do and we do it well!
In other news, RvB’s At 10 campaign has been part funded via sponsorship from Somer.Blink, so take some time to enjoy their lotteries!
And folks, if you like a flutter, BIG Games will be running the main betting site for AT10 as they have in the past, so check out http://at10.big-eve.com/default.aspx and maybe throw a few iskies on RvB!
I will be updating this thread at regular intervals both before and after matches, so keep checking back. Feel free to ask any questions you may have here and I shall endeavour to answer them to the best of my ability. If any outside parties come to you with questions, please direct them to me, do not go answering them yourselves.
TL;DR: RvB has an opportunity to expand our profile by doing what we do best and I hope you all will be there to support the “purpleness of our cause” throughout Alliance Tournament 10!