Hydra News from DZN

RoH Sporting News

Hydra 2016 - The Halfway Mark
Posted on Tuesday August 02, 2016 by Kalamere
Going into week 4, we have hit the halfway mark of the 2016 Hydra season. Two teams advance to the winner take all final, but with 3 weeks left they all have potential to make it to the dance.

Hydra-Foil tops the league at an impressive 3-0, not to mention 14 wildcard points tallied. That's twice the count of the next closest team (RPN). Eden's team holds a record of 7-2 in duels and is an obvious favorite for post season festivities. If they win two of the remaining 3 matches, or win 1 and the Misfits fail to go undefeated in the back half of the season, they're in.

Royal Pain sits just below Hydra-Foil at 2-1, their loss coming at the hands of Eden's crew in week two. The two are set up to meet again this week with entirely different matchups, so we'll see if Jewell's team can even the score or if the Foils take one more step towards a spot in the final. A win puts the Pains in good shape to make the final, but they have the potential still either way. Lacking a big run by the Rock Hards in the weeks to come, this could come down to a week 5 re-match with the Misfits.

Kirost's Misfits dropped 2 of 3 in the opening weeks, their one victory coming in week 2 with a dominant shutdown of the Rock Hards. Week three against the Pains was awfully close though, losing by 2 points in a split decision. If Noah can rally the troops to another W against Kruger's team this week they can be set up for a week 5 Pains battle that could decide who moves on.

The Rock Hards have had better seasons. Dropping all three of their matches so far makes the road to the playoffs an uphill climb and then some. It can be done, but they're going to have to be close to perfect from here out. They hit week 4 with a rematch against the Misfits and this is going to be big for them. Lose that and have RPN pull out a win over the Foils and that'll be the end for Kruger's team.

We're halfway through and getting to a point where every duel counts. Don't miss the action!

Playoffs - Round 1 Wrapping Up
Posted on Sunday August 16, 2015 by Kalamere
The Annex should be hopping tonight as we see the final duels in both our round 1 matches. It's all about the magic skills as we wait to see who will advance.

Chemical Burn holds a commanding lead over Hydra-Foil after wins in both the swords duel and 3 WC value fists bout. Layla and Bile brought their A game and only gave up a combined 4.5 points to Eden's underdog crew, taking their lead up to an near insurmountable 13 - 4.5. Juliane Smith takes the ring against Xanth tonight at 9:30 needing to keep Xanth off the board entirely in order to push her team into the second round. That's no easy task against any duelist, let along the league individual stat leader. Juliane is a respectable 1-1 with a +2 differential in magic, but Xanth is 2-0 and +6 1/4, holding more WC points to his individual accomplishment than three full teams secured this season. I wish her luck, but have already chalked CHM into the next round.

At 10pm, Matt and Spider take the ring to conclude a much more closely contested Team Fist vs The Rock Hards match. Kruger started his team off nicely with a fists win over Lilith earlier in the week, but Apple made up the ground and then some with a drumming of Noah Bird in swords to give the Outback favorites a 2 point advantage. Both the previous bouts held a 3 WC value, so this final duel carries no extra weight. Matt finds himself in much the same position as he did in week 1 when TMF bested ROC; holding his team's hopes in a duel or arcana. Of course, the last time he was matched up against Kruger, who doesn't have quite the same arsenal as does the reigning Archmage. On the upside for the brawlers though, Matt doesn't actually need to win this one. If he can put up 4 points in a losing effort, TMF will still take the match. The smart money is probably on the drow here, but I like Matt's chances for making round 2.

Playoff Update - Aug. 9th
Posted on Monday August 10, 2015 by Kalamere
Sunday fight night was huge for Hydra this week! All but one of the remaining Week Five bouts took place and answered a host of our playoff questions. We now know the top two seeds and have a pretty solid idea of who's fourth, leaving only third to be settled tonight in the Outback.

In the battle for first place, Chemical Burn and The Rock Hards fought their final two duels. The first fight was Bile v Red in a fists bout that carried no extra weight. The pair started out slow, tied at 1 through six rounds before Red went on a scoring spree to bring the score to 4-2 in the 10th. It looked over, but Bile staged an impressive three round comeback to take the match 5-4 in 13 and extend CHM's match lead. The second bout was Deathlord's Minion and Kruger in swords. The Anvil was slow out of the gate, allowing Minion to take an early lead and keep it through a 2-1.5 fifth round. Starting in the sixth though, this was his show. In the 13th round he caught Minion cutting low with a well timed thrust and took the duel 5-3. Add in the three extra WildCard points and that was enough for ROC to win the match by a single point and seal up first place for the season.

The Rock Hards will move on to face the 4th seed in the playoffs and right now that's looking like its going to be Team Fist. TMF, by the way, is the team to account for the 1 in ROC's 4-1 record. Will Kruger and team be looking to make up for that mark on an otherwise perfect season, or do the Outback's favorites know something about this crew that the rest of the league wasn't able to figure out?

Chemical Burn earns 2nd place on the season, despite having the best duels won and PDPD stats in the league. Their shortfall? Wildcard points. Bile's crew played lowball this week and only put a single point up on the magic duel. Had they thrown a full three point value at that one it would have been the 2 points they needed to take the match. They're most likely facing the winner of the DCK v HFO match, which is still in progress. They beat both those squads this season, so probably aren't all that worried. Given their match against HFO was the most dominant victory by any team recorded this season though, I expect they're hoping for Eden to pull out the win.

In the lower seeds, the most important duel of the night was Matt v April in a 3 WC fists bout. News of a renewed playoff hope had Matt firing on all cylinders from the jump and he sailed to a 4-0 lead in the first four rounds. Perhaps kicking himself for pulling back on a snapkick in the fifth that would have closed things out, he faltered slightly in the next few rounds, allowing April to get 2 on the board with a snapkick in the 6th and a nice duck and counter combination in the 8th. It proved too high a hill to climb for April though and Matt brought this to a close in the 9th with a chop to take her out of the air. Team Fist takes the match 21-6 and pulled in 6 WC in the process, practically ending the aspirations of Royal Pain.

TMF and RPN end the season tied at 2-3 and holding 9 WC a piece. Matt's brawlers secured the higher points per duel differential though and, with that, secure themselves a playoff bid!

The final playoff spot is up for grabs still and hinges on tonight's Sal v Eden fists bout. This fight carries a league maximum 6 WildCard points and should be enough to catapult the winner into 3rd place on the season, while the losers begin a long off season vacation. There is one small caveat though and it's the one slim chance Jewell has of seeing her ladies make the post season. Sal and Eden could fight to a draw. If that happens, neither of their teams make the playoffs! TMF would jump up to 3rd and RPN would find renewed life at the 4 seed, since they would then hold the WC tie-breaker over the DCK squad.

I'll end with the quick wrapup of what the first round of the playoffs may look like based on the Deathcake v Hydra-Foil outcome, for those that weren't following along.

If Sal wins:

  • ROC (1st) vs. TMF (4th)
  • CHM (2nd) v DCK (3rd)

If Eden wins:

  • ROC (1st) vs. TMF (4th)
  • CHM (2nd) v HFO (3rd)

If they tie:

  • ROC (1st) vs. RPN (4th)
  • CHM (2nd) v TMF (3rd)

Hit the Outback tonight folks, this ought to be a good one!

Winterfest Happening Now
Posted on Monday December 11, 2023
Winterfest has come again! Celebrate all week long!

For all the news and happenings of the week, keep an eye on the schedule!
Former King's Gambit Fighter Killed in Animal Attack
Posted on Tuesday November 28, 2023
A press briefing announced Dockside businesswoman and prominent former Iron Fists League fighter, Sophia Song, of King's Gambit fame was killed in a suspected animal attack in her Little Asia home earlier this month. Reporting officers were mum on the details, save to say that the attack occurred sometime on or around November 5th and that the perpetrating animal was allegedly dead as well. No further comments were provided by the Watch or the family of Ms. Song.


((Tied to viewtopic.php?t=35565 ))
Dueler Appreciation Week
Posted on Sunday November 12, 2023
It's the second (full) week of November and time for Dueler Appreciation Week! Come one and all to the dueling venues for twin wins this week, and then stop by the RDI on Saturday for Armsgiving!

Dueler Appreciation Week Schedule - https://www.rhydin.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35554

Armsgiving - https://www.rhydin.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35555
Attack of the (mo)Drones!
Posted on Friday October 27, 2023
At approximately 10:00 PM rips in space and time (gates) of various shapes and sizes appeared throughout Rhy'Din. Waves of modrones emerged, with their chiefs announcing "PLANET X$JSL@J, aka Rhy'Din, you are being shut down for unlawful use of time and space passageways."

Drones are attempting to plant little silver cylinders with a spinning wheels on the top into the ground. Experts say these devices could halt all space-time travel to, from, and within Rhy'Din.

There is a Call to Action! Help close the gates and destroy the waves of drones.

((A playable inspired from events at the Fall Gala!))
The Return of a Very Haunted House
Posted on Sunday October 01, 2023
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In the dead of night, among the modern facades of businesses lining the streets of the marketplace, an old house has seemingly appeared out of nowhere, dark and looming. Any who try to approach find the dilapidated memory of past affluence terribly foreboding, wrapped in a sense of waiting. Long dead trees rattle their branches, and a gate hanging by a single hinge creaks with each autumnal breeze that tries to move it, yet remains unmoved by those brave enough to dare try to open it.

The haunted house returns! Will you be brave enough to peer into the mysterious front door when it opens? Anyone finding themselves wandering in the marketplace at 8pm on Sunday, October 29th may just have such a chance!

((This is a live playable event and will take place on the above date. Keep an eye out for more details in the future!))