Well, I can tell you guys that before base captures got harder smaller units could stop the horde. There were
many times that the Swampdragons,with only 5 or 6 players on line, would coordinate a counterattack with other units with similar availability of pilots, such as the Jokers or Rolling Thunder, and hit back at 2 or 3 bases.
The horde takes 1, we take 2 or 3, the horde disperses to defend. Did it more times than i can count. 12 to 15
guys have countered 30 or more. The harder bases are to take,the more the math flows to the horde. Also if the
horde from 2 countries attacks the third, forget about it if your the short straw.
If you don't have the numbers to stop a tactical concentration in space, the horde, the best counter is a
tactical concentration in time, multiple coordinated smaller counterstrikes. Of course the counterstrikes must have some chance of success.
Yes, a skilled pilot can get 50% in one pass, if the angle is right, but that still leaves town guns, sometimes some of the base guns, and defending against any uppers who only have to kill 1 troop. Still a good chore for a smaller or greener unit.