Same “slow default, wait for re-clear” drill fits both maps on paper—but info cost diverges immediately. Ancient buys vertical audio gaps off Shrine smoke; Anubis trades Cat pressure for a mid smoke contract. Fork timing, roles, and what to rehearse without memorizing nades.
Match impact
Scrim blocks that lump Ancient and Anubis into one template hide the real tax: who pays for rotation intel in the first 45 seconds, and whether your trio still has utility left when the fork hits. Misread that and you either over-stack A on Ancient or burn the team’s only mid flash in Cat on Anubis—both show up as lost mid-rounds you cannot explain with aim alone.
Player notes
Ancient — Shrine smoke is timing, not a blind
Feel: CTs who treat A Shrine as “block one angle” leave Donut and mid sync wide open. In pro defaults, that smoke delays T alignment on Donut/mid more than it denies vision.
T default (typical): one mid for info, two A hugging Temple edge—wait for CT’s second flash or HE before deciding to ride the Donut smoke edge.
| Window | Beat | Match impact |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 0–15s | CT mid smoke only, no Cave listen | Fake steps + silent Temple wall—pull rotation early scoped |
| 15–30s | Donut opened by re-clear flash | Do not instant pivot B; mid throws deep nade on Cave mouth to move B anchor once, then decide A pinch |
| 30–45s | Fork | If no deep A info, contract: one holds Temple vs retake, two swing mid–B link—not five on A |
CT default: one non-greedy rotator listens Temple→Donut for second footstep (first is often bait). Unlike Inferno banana sequencing, Ancient rewards vertical audio priority over line-of-sight wars.
Settings / habits: If your comms are noisy, fix voice ducking and callouts before adding more smokes—you need to hear the second step on Temple.
Anubis — Cat is radar; mid is the contract
Feel: “Three in Cat walk B” is the pug script. In high-level defaults, Cat occupies CT radar; the real deal is mid: whoever eats the first CT flash off mid smoke must report within ~20s—A door occupied or connector clear, pick one.
Contrast with Ancient
| Dimension | Ancient default | Anubis default |
| --- | --- | --- |
| First info | Temple / Donut audio | Mid smoke + re-flash outcome |
| Fakes | Deep mid nade, Temple steps | Cat steps, outer B fake |
| Fork | ~30–45s | ~20–35s (mid resolves faster) |
T trio contract: Cat one—pressure B, do not commit to site; mid one—flash held for CT re-clear; A door one—listen connector. Before 45s, if CT still double-holds mid, run release Cat pressure + leave fire mid instead of forcing B apps—retake paths are short; default mollys drag you into bad trades.
CT default: avoid early double on Cat mouth; single Cat + one flex connector mirrors Ancient Cave listen—one body buys half-map info. Mid width makes re-clear flash high EV, so T’s mid flash is shared round equity—do not dump it in Cat for nothing.
Settings / habits: Mid player should have a clear bind for smoke/flash order; losing that one flash is a team loss, not a solo whiff.
Train defaults, not routes
Fixed smoke spots collapse when CT early Cave on Ancient or double mid flash on Anubis.
- Lock only trio positions + fork call (45s Ancient / ~35s Anubis)—not pixel throws.
- Review: first CT smoke/flash landing and whether T got second-line “can rotate?” info before the fork.
- Custom: random CT early mid / late Donut re-clear—force audio branches, not memorized paths.
Both maps ask the same question in minute one: minimum utility for “did they rotate?” Know fork seconds and who owns the fake—that beats three extra smoke lineups under live anti-defaults.