Polearms, meme wars, and declarations of love. This year Carolina Carnage Fest hosts nine femme teams across North America who are all looking for the chance for glory and gold. We'll be highlighting each of the teams, showcasing where they've been the past year and where to follow them as the year goes on.
According to the BI Licensed Competitors page, femme fighters comprise less than 25% of the fighter population. Due to this comparatively smaller number of fighters compared to some of the men's teams, many team rosters are often not based on specific locations but are much more organic. There are some "hot spots" in the country where few location-based teams exist, and those teams tend to dominate the league. Yet even those teams can incorporate the various hedge knights of the sport, who travel from event to event and fight with whoever needs an extra sword.
2024 saw a significant change in the landscape of the femme teams. Several teams have either gone defunct or changed names/locations. Several other teams have formed in the past month or two, combining multiple teams' rosters or brand-new fresh fighters. Due to this dynamic nature, we may refer to some events and fights where the original team or roster was present, but the team was under a different name. Some examples include Athena's Wrath and Vandals, who were both at Carnage 2024 as Cerberus Venefica and Banshees.
Team Name: Dallas Mythics
Fighting out of: Texas
Captain: Kayla Scarponi
Last Year's MCUSA Record: 10-0
BI Ranking: 1
The Dallas Mythics have been the most dominant force in the femme league, achieving a perfect record throughout the year and several first-place finishes in the MCUSA and AMCF leagues.
At Carolina Carnage last year, the Dallas Mythics defeated all challengers in the round-robin tournament, including the now-defunct #2 Order of the Pegasus, the Knights Hall-trained Vandals, and the #3 Ordo Obelios. Achieving six wins and another gold medal to hang on their wall, the Dallas Mythics started their 2024 season with a bang.
Later that year, at the multi-genre convention Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia, the Dallas Mythics fought in the aptly named Dragons Cup. They continued their win streak, adding another two notches to their belt as they stood atop the podium. Their final season tournament was Whacksgiving 2024, held near their home city. Another two wins, including over the veteran Matagots team, had them end their season with a perfect 10-0 record.
Three first-place finishes in the MCUSA league weren't enough for the Dallas Mythics, who decided to fight for a spot on Team USA at the AMCF Qualifiers. A first-place finish in the 5v5s was only the beginning for them that day, and a first-place finish in the 10v10s seemed to finally sate the glory-hungry Mythics.
The Dallas Mythics are led by Kayla Scarponi, Team USA Captain for the 3s, 5s, and 10s at the 2025 IMCF World Tournament. Last year, the team had a season-long win streak and did so without losing a single round. At Carolina Carnage Fest this year, they'll be looking to repeat that performance.
Photos from Snapping Dragon Photography and Dallas Mythics Facebook Page
Dallas Mythics Social Media
Team Name: Ordo Obelios Fighting out of: Various Captain: Madison Hartke Last Year's MCUSA Record: 7-4 BI Ranking: 3 | Team Name: Secta Surrepo Fighting out of: Various Captain: Sophia Rigg Last Year's MCUSA Record: N/A |
Ordo Obelios (Order of the Waffle) is a unique team in the already incredibly unique sport of Buhurt. Their roster encompasses most of the East Coast, a few others scattered amongst the West and Midwest regions, and even fighters overseas have joined the Waffles. Their creation comes from the camaraderie of the sport's various hedge knights.
Due to the lower number of female fighters in the sport, many regions suffer from not having enough fighters to form an official team. Aspiring combatants can still compete, but they must find a team or register as "mercs" prior to an event. Upon registration, they are placed in a merc pool. Teams with available roster slots can then recruit these individual merc fighters to fill their ranks for that specific event. Think of mercs as the "free agents" of this sport; they compete with a team for one tournament and then return to the merc pool for the next opportunity.
Roughly 4 years ago, these mercs decided to form Ordo Obelios, which would be the new compass that would guide their way. A team that would always accept merc fighters as one of their own and ensure that fighters would always have a team of familiar faces.
The 2024 season for the Waffles started slow. Their Carnage round-robin last year ended in a 3-3 run, and they came just short of reaching the podium. A second-place finish at Cincinnati Siege later in the year showed signs that the Waffles were gaining traction. While a gold medal from Tournament of the Tower 2024, including a successful rematch against the Vandals, had Ordo Obelios prove they were a force to be reckoned with.
This year, Carolina Carnage Fest has nine femme teams jockeying for a spot on Team USA, but Carolina Carnage 2023 saw several teams with roster shortages. That year, the Order of the Waffles members temporarily disbanded to fulfill their duties as mercs once more to fortify the ranks of the other teams. Although Ordo Obelios as a team earned no accolades at Carnage that year, six of their members stood amongst the three teams that did. When Carolina Carnage Fest begins, Ordo Obelios will take the field in full force alongside their sibling team, Secta Surrepo. Thoughts of the team this year being thought of as "Just another merc team" should be quickly cast aside.
Ordo Obelios Social Media
Team Name: Vandals
Fighting out of: Massachusetts
Captain: Amari Brooks
Last Year's MCUSA Record: 4-4
The Vandals are based in New England, where they train at the iconic Knights Hall, one of the first Buhurt academies in the country. Their roster includes multiple veterans of the sport, and all have had overseas experience, including a few on Team USA for IMCF 2023. The Vandals captain, Amari Brooks, a seven-year veteran of medieval combat and instructor for the Knights Hall, leads this pack of hyenas from the front.
Carnage 2024 saw them fighting as the Banshees, where they achieved a record of 4-2 in the round-robin 5v5s tournament. They defeated Steel Coven, Cerberus Venefica, the Ohio-based Barbarians femme team, and the ever-changing roster of Ordo Obelios. The Vandals suffered defeat against the eventual 1st-place winners, the Dallas Mythics, and lost a very close 3-round match against the now-defunct Order of the Pegasus, so they left that year with bronze medal hardware and a hunger for more.
Seeking more glory and experience for some of their newer fighters, the Vandals sent not one but two entire teams to the Way of Honor tournament in Germany. There, they faced stiff competition from some of the best teams around the world, including the English teams White Company (w) and the Knightmares, who are ranked in the European conference as #2 and #3, respectively. Their combined roster for the 12s resulted in a third-place finish that included a victory over the Prague Vixens.
In November later that year, at the Tournament of the Tower in Virginia, the Vandals fought for everything they could. All of their fights that day went for all three rounds, but they were unable to secure a victory against the Crimson Tulips and Ordo Obelios, ending their MCUSA season with a 4-4 record.
The Vandals are known for being some of the heaviest hitters in the femme leagues, and their captain, being the 2022 and 2023 AMCF Polearm champion, probably has something to do with that. This team spent a lot of time training their rookie fighters and honing the skills of their veterans last year. The Knights Hall regularly runs duels and melee events throughout the year, and the Vandals have been armoring up for all the kit time they can get. With their rookies fully steeled, the Vandals look ready to tear apart the competition this year.
Vandals Social Media
Team Name: Crimson Tulips
Fighting out of: Eastern Canada
Captain: Geneviève Drouin
Last Year's MCUSA Record: 1-1
Descending from the frigid mountains of eastern Canada, the Crimson Tulips debuted at Tournament of the Tower 2024 last year with a second-place finish. They are led by Geneviève Drouin, who recently wrote an article about the growing femme teams in Canada and the experience of attending Carolina Carnage.
Their first round against the Vandals ended in a 3v1 stoppage, with the American team demonstrating their axe-centric style in a victory over this new team. The Crimson Tulips struck back in the second round, cinching a close win after the melee ended in a 1v1 matchup. The third round saw the Crimson Tulips return the favor to the Vandals, with heavy striking at the end of the round forcing the Americans to concede the round with a 3v1 stoppage.
Their next bout was against the seasoned fighters of Ordo Obelios. The first round saw the Crimson Tulips try to utilize their heavy striking to forcibly comply the agile Waffles to the ground. Yet Ordo Obelios withstood the blows and took advantage of the bodies of fallen fighters to trip their foes to the ground and force a 3v1 stoppage. The Crimson Tulips stood defiant in the second round, dragging the round to a 1v2 brawl. But again, the cunning Waffles used the bodies of the fallen to bring the last of the Tulips down.
The Crimson Tulips took silver at their first event as a team and, in the process, demonstrated their knack for heavy striking and quick takedowns. Carolina Carnage Fest is a much bigger stage than Tournament of the Tower was, but the Crimson Tulips are confident in their ability to take the center of it.
Crimson Tulips Social Media
Team Name: Matagots
Fighting out of: Various
Captain: Katherine (Zog) Herzog
Last Year's MCUSA Record: 0-2
The Matagots were absent for Carolina Carnage 2024 and most of the MCUSA season last year; they were sorely missed by all who remember their undefeated run back at Carolina Carnage 2020. The team could not practice and train for years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a scattered roster, but seem to be riding to Carolina Carnage Fest in full force. We hope their return to Carolina Carnage Fest also marks a return to the team's glory days of Black Claw and Red Claws.
Only making an MCUSA appearance in the Texas run Whacksgiving 2024, Team Matagot faced off against two separate Dallas Mythics teams. The Matagots fought valiantly, but they had no answer to the coordinated teamwork attacks of both the Dallas Mythics and the Dallas Mythics Red team.
Team Matagot then tried out for a spot on Team USA at the AMCF Qualifiers in December, where they went 2-1 and secured a place on IMCF Team USA. In the process, they defeated the NYC Armored Combat Merc team and the Steel Coven. Wanting to sharpen their claws for the IMCF World Champions later this year, Carolina Carnage Fest is the perfect hunting ground for Team Matagot to prowl.
The Matagots Social Media
Team Name: Athena's Wrath
Fighting out of: Arizona
Captain: Belinda Qualls
Last Year's MCUSA Record: 1-5
Athena's Wrath fought last year as Cerberus Venefica when they attended Carolina Carnage 2024. Their team was 1-5 last year, defeating only the Steel Coven in a quick two-round sweep. While the team unfortunately did not see a podium finish at their appearance last year, we would like to focus on a specific fight that day.
Athena's Wrath fought the Dallas Mythics in the last femme match of the day when their record stood at 1-4, and the Mythics were 5-0. Athena's Wrath stood toe-to-toe with the undefeated Mythics and gave it their all, but in the first round, the Dallas Mythics did what they do best with a 5v1 stoppage. In the second round, with a Mythics takedown off the rail in the first few seconds of the fight, it looked like it would be a repeat of the first. Athena's Wrath endured the initial Mythics surge and, with a series of takedowns, ground their opponents down to an even 2v2 fight, then a 1v1 fight before finally ending in a draw.
While the Dallas Mythics did not lose a single round last year, they did not win every round. In fact, only Athena's Wrath has come close to drawing blood on the undefeated Mythics, being the only team that went three rounds with the sport's titans last year.
While the Mythics would go on to win the 3rd round, and Athena's Wrath would not appear for the rest of the season, there was a brief moment of triumph in that draw. With a new name but hopefully the same heart and determination, Athena's Wrath is ready to storm the field and draw blood on a few more titans.
Athena's Wrath Social Media
NEWCOMERS TO THE FIELD:
Team Name: Chaos Cryptid Fighting out of: Michigan Captain: Lisa Hoy Last Year's MCUSA Record: N/A | Team Name: River Sirens Fighting out of: Ohio Captain: Jordan Shelton Last Year's MCUSA Record: N/A |
The Chaos Cryptids and the River Sirens are newly formed teams debuting at Carolina Carnage Fest. Based out of Detroit, Michigan, and Cincinnati, Ohio, these independent teams are looking to make their mark on the biggest stage in the country. Their roster includes a variety of veteran fighters from multiple states, many of whom have fought overseas on other teams. These veteran fighters bring an additional advantage that is strangely more important off the field; the annual meme war.
The annual meme war occurs every few weeks before Carolina Carnage. The war is meant in jest, as the femme teams involved are on good terms with each other. Instead, the meme war is waged in the spirit of friendship and in the excitement of getting to fight each other for another year. While we look forward to these two teams fighting at Carolina Carnage Fest and beyond, we recommend giving both teams a follow for their content alone.
River Sirens and Chaos Cryptids Social Media
WRAPPING UP:
That's it for the femme teams at Carolina Carnage this year. Next week, we'll look at the Gold Tier Men's teams competing for a spot on Team USA this year. In the next few days, we'll also host the event runner for Carolina Carnage Fest on our Facebook page to talk about exciting matchups to watch. If you missed our Silver Tier highlights, you can find them linked below, and we'll see you next week.
Back to the Carolina Carnage Hub.
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