Chrysalis

It was often stated by Jordant that her greatest regret was not being able to play against the Eldest. She was there when they played their one and only game, and could only say the match was… indescribable.

- Excerpt from ‘History of the Greatest’ by Commentant.

[Hello Peter, it’s nice to see you again for another live recording of this history-making match.]

“Commentant. Wonderful to be with you, as always, and I must say I can’t begin to describe the excitement here in the Stadium as these two teams make their final preparations.

“It’s a full house here, as you might expect, and to you, the listener at home, just listen to the rumbling and clacking of this crowd. I can barely hear myself speak and the match hasn’t even started yet.”

[Interesting you say ‘these teams’, when in fact, we only have one team here today. The Endless, undefeated, of course, have fielded a mage-heavy lineup, hoping to counteract the superior mana control of their singular opponent. The Eldest, of course, is totally by themself! The strongest, most highly evolved, and the first of the formica sapiens, the Eldest holds a special place in the Colony, and I dare say most of my siblings are here today in support of their senior.]

“It’s a fascinating arrangement. This could be the only time in history that this Stadium sees a one-ant team take to the pitch. Tunnel Ball, as we all know, is a game of skills, strategy, cooperation and teamwork, but how could you put anyone on the same team as the… uh… Great One… as some humans refer to them?

“As large and powerful as they are, I’m not sure anyone else would fit on their end!”

[And who could keep up with them? As a tier seven monster, the Eldest is overwhelmingly stronger than any other ant in the Colony. The Endless, as we know, are all tier four. Such a massive disparity means that even ten against one, the odds are against them. We’ll need to see some strategic brilliance from them if they hope to succeed.]

“It looks… yes, it looks like we are just about to begin. The Great One is starting on offence, and I’m telling you, folks, the ball looks absolutely tiny in those gigantic mandibles.”

[The Endless are taking an aggressive formation on defence. High up the pitch. Looking at their double soldier frontline, I can’t help but feel sorry for them. The Eldest towers over the pair of them, making them look like hatchlings.]

“The Great One has taken position. Ready to start their attack!”

CRUNCH!

ROAR!

ball in their mandibles,

up even the slightest opportunity against the Endless and here we have the Great One making a bold statement, right from the beginning of the match. ‘I don’t even need all of my turns on offence against you’. The Great One stares down the smaller ants before turning back to their own

a statement that was. The crowd here is still going

mind games with their opponents, but now the script has been flipped! I’m fascinated to see how the elite, undefeated team

to say, they appear unfazed as they take up their formation. This looks like a variation of the spear. Soldiers up front, with deep flanks to protect the ball and a solid

the ball early and lose their turn without learning something of what the Eldest is going

I really thought they’d play wide and try to utilise their advantage in numbers. The Eldest is large and powerful, but can’t be in multiple places

could flip to all-out offence in the blink of an eye. More than any other,

are set. And

holds the ball as the team advances steadily. The mages are working double time, locking down the mana around the ball to defend it against interference. So far, the Eldest hasn’t so much as twitched a muscle and it is DEAD SILENT here in the Stadium. The tension is as thick as a Brood Tender’s affection, ladies and gentlemen. The Endless

“Sudden moves!”

ROAR!

flanks open up, and what’s this? A decoy ball! I have no idea when they made one, but they

Eldest to cover the whole field and there are two balls. Which

CRACK!

what did

ROOAAAAAR!

I didn’t see it. One second, they were standing in defence, the next, they had

the correct ball and are returning to their end. Just like

and I was there when the Blitz invented their patented Ant Rush. Before I could even blink my eyes, it was

alone! Nobody in the crowd knows