The Cirques have a bunch of clowns, CDG Dolphn, LegendCalledJim, Viktim Viktor, PooBone, Pharaoh Bender, and Krazy Keworth, that all piled out of that little VW Bug over there. While the TTL Gunslingers formed up strong-man TTL Xerxdeej with L0coM0tive, TTL Big Country, Sunburned Goose, TTL testa killz, and TTL DDay. CDG came to the booth wanting some crazy ball and hill gametypes. We gladly oblidged…

Game 1: Lowball on Longshore

The name of the game is to have everyone touch the ball for 25 seconds. TTL just couldn’t seem to get control of the map for long enough to do that. CDG held it down. CDG wins 25 – 0…

Game 2: Team KotH on the Pit

Sequentially moving hill. Slaying is just a must on the Pit no matter what gametype you are playing. CDG got the edge in that category, and then the game. CDG wins 200 – 165…

Game 3: Shotty/Sniper KotH on Blackout

TTL ran around a lot. CDG sat a good sniper back. Trying to dodge bullets is not something I like to give out for homework. A trapeze artist can only flip so many times before they begin to fall. CDG wins 200 – 44…

Game 4: Two-Flag CTF on Sandtrap

CDG scores on their first flag grab. They never looked back. While TTL tried valiantly, neither team ever got the flag past the other’s vehicle spawns for the rest of the game. CDG wins 1 – 0…

Game 5: Hog Fiesta on Rat’s Nest

Xerxdeej pulled out some crazy gametype with gauss hogs, chain-gun hogs, and everything else imaginable. 4 teams, mix-up the teams a little and have at you. It’s 4 team Fiesta and a CDG team still wins 50 – 27 – 26 – 22…

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present you with… The White Wash. That’s right, the clowns came in and mopped the floor with the Gunslingers. It’s ok though, good times were had by all. We’d like to extend a thank you out to the Geezers for giving us some Halo smiles for the night. We will see you again.

Good Game!

TTL threw out the big names that we could find with TTL Big Country, TTL BulletProof, TTL L Askan, TTL kyli3, TTL Diddy, TTL Stasis, TTL Los Jacklos, and A Large Bear (one of these things is not like the other…). The 40 and above crew decided that they would send out dillan0007, Vetoed, RippinHeads, Surpriser, Sh0ck3n, Obi Wan Stevobi, HC Spurs, and CobraShikari. Each group picked a CTF game and did battle.

Game 1: Multi-Flag CTF on Valhalla

While being outslayed, 169 to 114, TTL had more flag grabs than the members of 40A. However, 40A took advantage of one of their grabs. That would be all that need. HC40A wins 1 – 0…

Game 2: One-Flag CTF on Longshore

Unlike game one, scores seemed to be easy to come by when a team only has to focus on one half of the objective. Grab it and run. And that, these two teams did. They met their paths of least resistance through the bottom middle of the map back home… Tie game 2 – 2…

Game 3: Slayer on Standoff

When slaying became the objective, the kill differential gap closed a good bit. However TTL still could not keep up with the HC40A firepower. HC40A wins 100 – 92…

For those who want the math done, that’s 2 games to HC40A, none to TTL and 1 tie. We’d like to thank the members of HC40A for showing us what the competitive nature of Halo is again. The Games were Good! Rest assured that there will be more games with Halo Charts soon.

Good Game!

Pony: Eisen?
Eisen: Yep whats up
Eisen: I need to get new screen names
Pony: I don’t use AIM as much lately, but I still have it.
Eisen: So whats up?
Pony: Actually, I’m eatin’ a pizza lunchable, like a boss.
Eisen: Like a boss
Pony: You ready to do this thing?
Eisen: Yep whenever you’re ready
Pony: Hell yeah. Starting off: What’s the history on the gamertag Eisenzahn?
Eisen: Actually to be honest I took it from another game I know that zues plays alot of, Final Fantasy 11. The name is actually German for “Iron Tooth” and it just sounded like a badass Halo name I suppose.
Eisen: There is a possibility I may be selling out soon though.
Pony: Will TTL Eisenzahn fit? Iron Tooth is almost too badass to change.
Eisen: I was thinking of changing it to just TTL Eisen since everyone seems to just say the first part anyway.
Eisen: Or hear the randoms say Eisenhower lol
Pony: *Insert political joke here*
Eisen: Indeed. Vote for me because what would be more awesome than a Presidential gamer
Pony: Eisen in Oh-Twelve!
Pony: Okay okay, next question…

Pony: What do you think about doin’ an interview? Eh? Eh?
Radio:I’m down. Fire away, good sir.
Pony: Excelente. First things first. What’s the back story on the gamertag TTL Radiomond?
Radio:Ah, right. I remember Deej counseling me on how to pick a good gamertag (which is weird….Xerxdeej…really?)
Radio:Anyway, I’m a huge Radiohead fan and, with my last name being Arimond, some of my friends here used to call me Radiomond whenever we’d go see Radiohead in Chicago. So it just seemed to fit.
Pony: And luckily for you, TTL Radiomond was enough characters that you didn’t have to be TTL Radio, which would have welcomed a few Cuba Gooding Jr. jokes.
Radio: Oh trust me. Stu is good for that.
Pony: I would expect no less. Now, some of us may know the answer to this one, but what brought you to the steps of Tied The Leader?
Radio:I took many calls from several agents. I said I’d either surf or ski. It was Denver or San Diego. And at the last minute, my co-worker, some guy who goes by the name of TTL Xerxdeej, made an offer I couldn’t refuse. The last game console I owned was the N64 and Deej spent two years here in the office blabbing about his Xbox and some game with a lot of spaceships and aliens and guns and warthogs… He would drop something in about somebody called a Gunslinger or how they would gather in Chicago or Florida to play a few games.
Pony: Man, that guys was weird, right?
Radio:You said it, man. Weird guy in the office – stay away from me! So I finally (and happily) caved and bought an Xbox.
Radio:Before I knew it, I’m the noob running with a full party of Gunslingers…last man standing trying to figure out how to disarm the bomb in World At War (S&D, of course) and then…..BOOM! Radiomond’s all blown up.
Pony: It’s the only way to be broken in, really.
Radio:Pretty much.

Well, at least a few loyal Allies.

You see, we here at Tied The Leader like Call of Duty: World at War, as as turns out we are quite alone in that. So when the rumblings from within for some organized opposition grew to painful proportions we contacted several GGN clans who have a good COD following. COD4 that is.

So we turned to those we play with on a regular basis to supply some resistance, fun and a well aimed grenade and the World at War Embassy Challenge was born.

Field promoted Captain FaithKeeper fielded his team of loyal badasses, ticktockterror, Gimmic2, Zipstor, Eisen and xXxSn1pezxXx. The TTL squad consisted of Cuteness, (MLG) Max, Balzy, Gunny, Ma Deuce 50 and Pachango. While being cheered on by their comrades from the TTL B team which won by default since nobody bothered to show up they took on the crack Embassy ‘A’ squad.

A certain Challenge Captain on TTL already had tried to sneakily sabotage the opposition and tell Gimmic that the challenge was an hour later. (I did tell him not to trust a European with timezones, I did!) So BSG Mb filled in for the first game while Gimmic was blissfully unaware his friends were taken advantage off.

Game 1: Hardcore Search & Destroy Asylum

Tight and tense, people on both teams played enough with each other to know where everybody likes to go. Offense is hard and as such the 7th, overtime round decided this one in TTL’s favor.

TTL wins: 4-3

Game 2: Hardcore Team Deathmatch Upheaval

We introduced Deathmatch for variety’s sake into the Challenge, if you asked any off the TTL guys who signed up for this. We could play HCSD all day. With the caliber of players on their team we knew the Slayer matches would be though and it showed.

Allies win: 530-488

Game 3: Hardcore Search & Destroy Nightfire

Game 3 continued where game 1 left off. 2 evenly matched teams who know the maps and routes well and have the patience to defend. The Allies got the Defense on the 7th round and took what was in hindsight the decider.

Allies win 4-3

Game 4: Hardcore Team Deathmatch Knee Deep

With next to no experience on Knee Deep with Deathmatch TTL got their lovely behinds handed to them nice and red.

Allies win: 480-240

Game 5: Hardcore Search & Destroy Castle

With the Challenge already decided both teams loaded into Castle and TTL started on Defense and went up 3-0. Then on Offense Max couldn’t conceal his pro-skills anymore any went on a mad rush cutting down the Allies from the flank and behind. TTL took the first round on Offense and closed out Castle 4-0.

TTL wins 4-0

So overall 3-2 to the Allies and it sounded like everybody had a good time with very close, tense moments in all games. The Nightfire game looked like it decided the whole affair.

Thanks to everybody who signed up.

Game ONE: Multi-Flag on Valhalla. Outcome: GBG wins 2-0.
Well, we didn’t let them have all of our flags. Anyone want to grant us a moral victory for sticking up for ourselves? Didn’t think so… GBG swarmed all over us in this match. Banshees rained fire from the heavens. Warthogs circled our base like sharks. Battle-riflemen dominated the map, marching as to war. When our flag left our base, it never came home. When their flag left their base… wait. Did their flag ever leave their base?

Game TWO: Neutral Bomb on Standoff. Outcome: GBG wins 3-0.
At the outset of the match, the Gunslingers had the Gracers on the run! That was, until we realized that they were taking the Spartan Laser back to their base. Once there, it wrecked every vehicle that we tried to roll. With map control like that, it was only academic that they would arm that bomb in our house repeatedly. TTL played defense for the entire match. The GBG offense was methodical and ruthless, clearing a path for three bomb carriers in rapid succession.

Game THREE: Team Slayer on Rat’s Nest. Outcome: GBG wins 100-82.
At no time did the Gunslingers tie the leader. GBG established an early lead, and held onto it for the balance of the match. There were glimmers of hope for TTL. On rare occassions, their lead shrank to 2 or 3 kills. In the end, their control of the center territories of the map, complimented by some impressive runs on the vehicles, solidified them as the victors in this bout.

Say goodnight, Gracie! And say Good Game. The Gunslingers were bested by gentlemen. These christian soldiers certainly do put the “grace” in Gaming By Grace, and they bring the game, too. Should you cross the path of this clan, don’t expect a bunch of mild altar boys. The heart of a killer beats beneath each robe.

Tied the Leader knew little of this new clan making its way up the ranks of the Halo Nation. Their reputation carried with it the threat of fierce competition, having cultivated their roster from some of the more dangerous and combative corners of the Big Team Battle playlist. A match-up of 8 gamers versus 8 gamers was their poision. The Gunslingers took to Xbox Live to see if they had the proper antidote.

Game ONE: Multi-Flag on Valhalla. Outcome: The Gunslingers tie the leader.
…And the leader was Team Master Theory. This was our one shot at defending our namesake. MT ruled the center hill, and proved to be impalacable for the majority of the duration. An early capture of TTL’s flag put us on the offensive, with a compromised initiative. Only through repeated rushes, crashing onto the ramparts of their base, were we able to wear down their defense. In the final moments of the match, a lucky flag pull was marched home to even the score.

Game TWO: Multi-Flag on Sandtrap. Outcome: MT wins 2-0.
With the Albatross base in their favor, Master Theory pitched their Elephant at an impossible angle, stacked against their landing craft like a virtual wall that had to scaled in the interest of their banner of war. Waves upon waves of Gunslingers scaled their ramparts, only to have our quarry returned by diligent defenders. On our side of the map, agile Warthog teams dismantled our defenses.

Game THREE: Slayer on Standoff. Outcome: MT wins 101-67?
This was far from a Standoff. MT pulled away in the opening clash, and extended their lead with every passing moment. The Gunslingers fell into disarray, as our Warthog offensive was neutralized by laser blasts on every respawn. The killing circle closed in around our base, and grew tighter as the score reached its limit.

Of course, even in defeat, there were moments to savor. Team Master Theory was a passionate bunch – jovial even in their prosecution of a skillful victory. Hearing their cries of “Nooooooooooo…!” were welcome moments of respite from this mollywhomping, as Warthogs attempting to escape with our flag were smashed by Brute Shots. In the end, we found their game to be good – very good, in fact. Not because they won, but because they allowed us to retain our dignity in defeat. It was a pleasure to behold such a refined exhibition of teamwork. On this bout, theory was proven as fact.

Good Game, MT.

Written by Bunny:

It was about a year ago when the Gunslingers entertained the likes of Fallen Unity in the Challenge Arena. The last time they wanted to fight us, it was over supremacy of the brand new Legendary maps. But, on Mother’s day of all times, the same group came with their war cries. This time TTL has a score to settle from losing the Legendary show down. This time, this will be know as the battle for Mother’s Day!

We had quick three game slaughter-fest to show each other our skills. Special thanks to the members of Fallen Unity that participated: Fall3n Syth, Howdy06, Fall3n Jdon, beccoid23, rodeojones95, JDinthewind, and SPYING SCISSORS. Also, I would like to to thank the TTL members that joined me on the battlefield: TTL Tortacular, TTL Chicka, TTL Crim, TTL Dweezle, NCC SMNR, Booster MPS and last but definitely not least, TTL L Askan. We played all of the matches at 6 v 6 and rotated some members in and out.

Game One: Multi-Flag CTF on Standoff:

While this game looks like it may have been one-sided, it was anything but. While TTL was able to capture 3 flags, it did not go without a fight. Also, Fallen Unity pulled TTL’s flag to the middle of the map on two separate occasions where TTL was able to ward them off. TTL wins 3 – 0…

Game Two: Multi-Flag CTF on Rat’s Nest

Yes, two out of three games, capture the flag. TTL had a set strategy to stick to the living rooms and FU looked like they wanted to stay to the perimeters of the map. Unfortunately for FU, TTL filled their team with their Honor Guard, which if you can’t guess, guards our flags. While they pulled to flag to their warthog in the back of the Gunslinger’s base once. The offensive rush came from TTL. TTL wins 3 – 0…

Game Three: Team Slayer on Last Resort:

The slayer game is usually reserved for a tie breaker, but we were having fun so we decided to play on. TTL rode the wings of their Strike and Honor Guard captains. Fallen Unity made this a great fight however. TTL wins 101 – 73…

The Gunslingers would like to extend a slight apology for the discrepancy in ranks for this challenge but with the challenge on Mother’s Day, we had a few people drop out last minute. Fallen Unity is a long time friend of TTL and I would personally suggest that everyone check them out. We hope to see the great people of Fallen Unity on this and other battlefields soon. Good Games.

Tied The Leader sent out some fun loving ‘slinger with the names of TTL Tortacular, TTL Fate, TTL L Askan, TTL Balzy, ChubbyHands and TTL Milk. The Swat Krue brought out big hitters along the lines of SK DrUnKeN, DaPeRfEcTGaMeR, SK Doobie, SK Mystic Young, SK Yaddy and DaStOnEdGaMeR. The two groups decided on game-types and proceeded to meet on the Halo 3 battlefield.

Game 1: One-Flag CTF on Last Resort

While SK got into TTL’s base and grabbed the flag from it’s home numerous times, TTL only needed two grabs to bring the flag home for two scores. Being blue, TTL had a gut wrenching time to defend the lead, but they held on while killing off the competition. TTL wins 2 – 1…

Game 2: Two-Flag CTF on Avalanche

Just the opposite of game one. While TTL could get into the SK base to rack up 10 flag grabs, they were unable to whether the storm back home. SK took a lead and out defended the ‘slingers. SK wins 1 – 0…

Game 3: Slayerball on Isolation

This is such a crazy game-type. Points for kills, unlimited points, unexplained points, as well as points for time that you hold the time as usual for Oddball. While SK had out assited TTL, the extra 20 kills that TTL recieved boosted them up a little more. TTL wins 638 – 608…

Game 4: Neutral Bomb on Standoff

TTL loves to dominate any area that a warthog can fit in. That is the story to this game other than the fact that they could only keep the bomb armed for one score. TTL wins 1 – 0…

Game 5: Slayer on Valhalla

A typical slayer match. Kill each other until the game ends. What more can one say? TTL wins 91 – 70…

Overall TTL takes the match home with a 4 – 1 rating. A great thanks goes out to all of the participants and especially to the members of the Swat Krue Marines. The time was made, the fight was planned and the Games were Good! We can’t wait to see you again Swat Krue.

If anyone is interested in exploring the Swat Krue Marines in more depth, please check out their website. They are a fine bunch of people. Good Game!

Game 1: Multi flag on Avalanche

C1nder had a really good and constant offensive push. They controled laser for pretty much past half the game. The Gusnlingers maged to get the flag more times than the score admits, but that’s half the battle. Getting it back is a another thing.
C1nder wins 3-2

Game 2: Slayerball on Guardian

C1nder took the lead at first, but the Gunslingers managed to regroup and take control of the ball for the most part of the game. Protecting the carrier and killing every C1nder player they saw brought this game to a fast catchup and eventual win.
TTL wins 1137-951

Game 3: Team Slayer on Last Resort

Before halfway thru the game we lost Iming to conection issues. A bit after that we lost Deuce. Mondo Titan and I tried to get them back, but for some reason only Deuce was able to do so. C1nder had 1 player circling around in the water on the beach because of this, and we say Thank Ya. A great demostration of what sportsmanship is all about. Slowly TTL reduced the score difference until a few seconds before the end to get a lead for a few seconds. The final score was nothing more or less to what the challange, a very tough fight.
Final result is a tie game 66-66.

Thanks to Night and Deuce for subbing last minute, it was a great series of games. You all fought good and remembered the face of your fathers. I thank you specially and personally as well, for making this a very special return to my own Halo experience and leading a team after a long time. I bow before you all.
Good Games everybody!