Eight guys decided to cap off Spring Break 2010 with some good old-fashioned Halo Night action, and it was a blast. Coming off one of the largest Halo Nights we've had to date in February, it seemed pretty light. In fact, we played as many matches with four players as we did with eight. The smaller crowd allowed us to play a few new maps, though, which is always interesting.

For the first time at Halo Night, we delved into the realm of Longshore. At least one of the players had some experience on the map (ahem, John486), but it was a first match for the rest of us. And, without a doubt, it will find its way back into a Halo Night soon. The solid balance between cramped quarters and open spaces made for an exciting match with seven players.

In another first appearance, the Foundry variant "Ephasus" proved to level the playing field a good deal. Zamurai 278 won the match, but the real star of the round was mushashi who held the lead the majority of the time. A rapid series of kills by Zamurai 278 pushed him ahead for the win, but mushashi's number two score of 23 beat out Riley Craven's 21 and John486's 20. Overall, it was an impressive performance for him.

Further in the spirit of community-found maps, we played a Team Slayer match in the Sandbox variant Utah Mambo. Despite stinklikeonion's not-infrequent Chopper splatters and Mighty Nimrod 6's repeated laserings early on, the blue team proved victorious. John486 countered with Chopper splatters and laserings of his own, supplemented by Zamurai 278's all-around slaughterdom. The 50-34 final score gives no indication as to how close the early part of the match was...

The night wasn't all new and slightly used, though. We did enjoy classics such as Slayer on Heavens Above. John486's effectiveness was as limited as his long-term exposure to his favorite sniping position. However, the counter-sniper that was focusing on keeping him at bay was the typical "other factor" on the map, stinklikeonion. His focus on John486 reduced his own exposure to his weapon of choice, the Hornet (though he did kill Zamurai 278 with debris while in the Hornet).