The Mockers

T he Mockers are an old name in Thievery circles. From the mayhem of public play to the tense pitched battles of TurfWars and frenzy of Tournaments of Darkness, Mocker guildsmen have helped shape the landscape of TUT. When the community voted upon the greatest players of the era, the list included every member of the Mocker war team, an unrivaled feat. At the height of Thievery's competitive era, the Mockers were known, respected, and above all - feared.


From the humble beginnings of the Australian Thievery Guild under founder shadow-rodent, it seemed the motley collection of guildsmen were destined to wallow in mediocrity. Disparaged by powerhouse North American and European veterans for their DeathMatching ways, the team lacked credibility as a competitive Thievery outfit and were never considered a serious threat in the original TurfWars. Shortly before the commencement of play, ATG became the Mockers, adopting the now infamous .:m. tag, shedding inactive players and opening their doors to players outside of Australia. Initial upset victories over Tears of Blood and The Chosen Ones were due largely to individual player skill, and the team didn't truly come together until back to back TurfWar losses against TuF and TSG.


The controversial match on Spider saw The Unforgiven use the lower vents to gain access to the apartments in both thief and guard rounds, an exploit unknown even to map creator Joel, a member of Mockers. Despite an incredible objective snatch in the camped apartments by Rodent, the handicap was too large to overcome and M crashed to a 2 - 0 defeat. Poor DM play in the following game against ghosters TSG cost M the first round on Breakout, and despite a ferocious guarding effort to tie the map, it was simply a delaying of the inevitable as TSG were handed the opportunity to thieve Nostalgia in a 2 vs 2 player situation -an almost certain victory in early versions of the map.


A disheartened Mocker war team vowed never to be caught unprepared again. The bitter defeats hardened the unit like a sword thrust into the forge, and created a famous rivalry with The Unforgiven that was to last years. With renewed purpose, the Mockers reached another level of tactical awareness and team-play to complement the high levels of individual skill. Spurred by mortal enemies TuF, they entered every competitive Thievery tournament thirsting for revenge. After that initial disappointing 4th place finish with the dissolution of TurfWars I, the Mockers went on to compete in six Tournaments of Darkness and the sole other guild war, TurfWars III. Mocker members were involved in teams that won five of the six ToD crowns, as well as four second-place finishes. When the dust settled on a fiercely contentious TurfWars III, the Mockers were atop the leaderboard with a commanding win/loss record of 7 to 1 amidst the toughest field of players Thievery had ever seen.


After the slowing of competitive Thievery tournaments, the Mockers moved on to compete in other games including Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Source, Team Fortress 2, and Guild Wars. Ultimately, these games could not match Thievery for clever design and fulfilling gameplay, despite their large player bases. For this reason the Mockers have returned after years in the wilderness to reclaim their place in the world of Thievery, and can be found playing on Krondor Thievery Server.