2009 was a big year for Spike Flail. Initially unsure if we'd even be a 25man raiding guild come WoLK, the more casual raiding schedule, coupled with solid performances giving us time off, allowed us great success while not burning ourselves out on hardcore progression. While other guilds complained, whined, and became jaded with WoLK's Hard Mode system, we took advantage and jumped out the gate in Ulduar, securing a server first and top 50 US position that we've been fortunate enough to maintain over the following 6 months. We look forward to 2010 and the progression races it brings, as after three years of raiding, we'll finally begin a year near the top of the pack, competing at the level we've been striving for since Karazhan.
2009 was also a year of rebuilding for us. It seems no matter what level you play at in this game, you can't get away from the constant cycle of attrition and recruitment. We were hoping WoLK would keep us a more long-term stable roster, but the strains of raiding and real life took its toll on us as well. Just take a look at our raid setup during our first Sarth +3 kill a little over a year ago to see the difference in our roster then and now:
With fond hearts we say goodbye to our fallen friends. The likes of Payload, Swole, Mish, Facts, Actovision, Solkid, Ettoo, Nox, Denic, and Naosu were mainstays in our raids for a great period of our history, and we wouldn't have achieved the success we did without them. You guys are missed.
That being said, with every attrition cycle, we gain the opportunity to meet new friends and add them to our family. We've been blessed with great recruits who have made their home with us in 2009, and we're honored to have them with us: Ngata, Meaning, Apoc, Neonjoe, Cptn, Genuin, Cheroba, Nello, Martyr, Kaleena, Ippon, Methios, Rallik, Cptn, Eightseven, Nikolaii. You've all been wonderful and welcome additions to our guild, and we're glad to have you guys in our family as we start the new year.
Of course, we cannot forget our veterans either, who's stabilizing and long-term presence kept us going no matter what roster attrition was thrown at us over the year. Big thank you to our guys who've been here forever: Tier, Melbu, Zepp, Aelin, Nightfright, Qou, Rejekt, Patty, JC, Rill, Wolves, Varn, Book, Killa, Ello. It's been an amazing ride raiding with you guys over the years, and I sincerely hope that I'll be repeating all your names again in next year's post. Thank you for everything!
So I'll end this tribute to 2009 by again thanking every member of our guild, both past and present, who helped us have the wonderful 2009 that we did. No one expected what we achieved out of this year, or even how much fun it may be. Here's to an even better 2010. Happy New Year!
Edited for swole nig