The finale
20. Revolver (Dutchy, Herbal T) edited by Sor3
Outside of possibly Revenge, there are no editors out there that bring you into the song like Sor3 does. It’s funny that this montage is in my top 20 when it really only has like 7 clips in it. It’s such a beautiful edit, though. There are a lot of simple effects that are so well done and so fitting and so gorgeous that it’s impossible to not love them. The song choices are both really good, particularly the first one. The intro is really awesome. It’s clever and has that personality that all of Sor3’s edits do. Dutchy’s part is wonderful. The opening Isolation angle is so nicely done. I can’t express how much an angle can do for the feel of a montage when they aren’t overused and Sor3 does this brilliantly and I love that he continues the convict theme throughout the montage. The High Ground line into blood splatter effect is brilliant and I love the transition to Herbal T’s part with the moon on Snowbound. Just as it is with angles, using the beauty of the game like that can make a big difference. The cross effect on the Snowbound kill is so wonderful, as is the black rim around the moon effect. It’s one of those things that you may not even notice the first time, but I’m still wowed by the idea everytime I see it. It seems like he cranks the editing up a notch. The effect with the things that I forget what they are called (where the bars jump up and down with the music) on Narrows is excellent. I’m not familiar with Herbal T outside of this montage, but it’s impressive that his gameplay is up to snuff with Dutchy’s. I know this isn’t Dutchy’s best gameplay, but then again Dutchy’s worst is better than most people’s best. I love that Dutchy’s clips are mostly lower multis and are very aesthetic clips. The Pit clip on the lifts is so beautiful. I always wanted to hit a clip like that. It’s so smooth and it’s not a clip you get the opportunity to hit very often. The Isolation clips are also both just completely dirty. Herbal T’s clips are also very nice. I love the trocity shot on Snowbound, such a clean, confident shot and the Pit clip is just domination. A great effort from all three involved.
19. That’s Life (Orangeclock, Quiggy) edited by Revenge
What I just say about Revenge’s editing? There’s no way you’d think that Frank Sinatra tunes would fit for a Halo montage, but damn girl Revenge pulls it off. The mood is absolutely killer and it’s a truly artful edit. I love how he uses the lyrics in the montage, like the angle with Last Resort synced to Frank singing “spinning around” or the little “that’s life” blurb that pops up on the Guardian trocity or how he starts the second song “fly away” with a clip on a Banshee. It’s great to see Revenge keep the editing up because most of his works seem to be rather short edits. The gameplay is also terrific in this. Orangeclock has a pretty tremendous body of work so no surprises there, but Quiggy’s clips surprised me. He has some of the best sticky clips I’ve seen and it’s not like when montagers put in sticky clips where they stick someone for the exterm or the last kill in a clip only, he gets a couple in each clip it seems and they turn into tasts and shit. There’s a really nice variety to this. Aside from the aforementioned sticky clips, there are multi team exterms, high multis, team slayer exterms, that rocket killtrocity, clips on a variety of maps… and it’s almost all entirely impressive clips. There’s even a couple nasty triple kills in here that add some extra flavour. Also, fun fact – this montage inspired me to do the gifs for each video because I had made a gif of the “that’s life” blurb and sent it to a friend in response to something he said.
18. Snip3down: The Movie edited by Vidol
Another victim of the Youtube mute spree, I think this might be a controversial placement given where I put the Str8tage and the reaction the editing for this got. I know Vidol’s an excellent editor and was respected for his unique editing and people were kind of disappointed with this edit. I don’t think it’s bad at all. For having no access to angles, I think Vidol did well with it. But I really don’t care about the edit or the shitty song choices, I just care about Snip3down’s gameplay and it is phenomenal. My former roommate wasn’t much into Halo montages, but I showed him some from time to time and he affectionately referred to this one as “the one where the guy gets dressed.” His other description of this video I think sums it up. Comparing it to other montages, he said the gameplay in this is like a Picasso. It’s one thing to hit extremely ridiculous clips like he does, most of them at high level and a lot of them on pros (and a few one month clips lol) but to make it look this smooth is absolutely insane. He just oozes confidence and insane skill. A lot of shots in this that would be insane for most montagers seem just casual. I do think this montage could be shortened a bit with a couple of clips taken out, but for a 15 minute montage it’s hard to deny that the gameplay is thoroughly disgusting.
NO GIF. FUCK YOUTUBE
17. Fatrat H3M1
Fatrat is one of the people on this list that I’ve been having the hardest time placing. I certainly think he’s one of those very few players whose biggest competition is himself. Before this came out, I’d never heard of Fatrat and I’m still not really sure about his chronology when it comes to the montage scene, but what a way to introduce yourself to viewers. The first song is perfection. It’s kind of contradictory to what I’ve said about Fatrat before because it isn’t really the same style of song he usually has, but it’s just so well done. I love how it starts with just a wall of ridiculous exterminations. Seriously, how many multi team exterms are in this fucking thing? The first four or so exterms on Narrows are all absolutely insane (there’s a straight up sticky that I believe fusion coils two kids for the double then turns into an exterm, a dirty no scope exterm from lift to lift, that whip exterm on the dino and of course the MLG quickscope), there’s an introduction to one of his themes with a bank shot over on Guardian and of course there’s that fadeaway tastrophe clip that still makes me hard. Fatrat isn’t known as an editor, but he does a very good job with the song and making it fit perfectly with the gameplay. The second song is a little more personal, I think, and for me it doesn’t quite have the same effect but it’s still good and the gameplay remains absolutely stupid. More ridiculous high multis, more multi team exterems, that 3 for 1 over, that Citadel trocity, the Long Shore sticky exterm, the Construct MLG exterm… it’s all ridiculous and he has some very significant angles in this, too. I also really love how he edited the final clip, setting up the naire on Guardian. It kind of makes me sad, though. His credit footage is better than my very best clips.
16. The Animatage by thestrangestick
The only way you could have below standard gameplay and make it this high on my list is to have insane editing and that’s what thestrangestick brings to the table. I really appreciate stick putting out montages because even if your gameplay isn’t Kampy or Dkhare level, you should put out montages if you enjoy it. His editing, as I mentioned on WittyQ’s montage, is always really fun to watch and for that reason I was close to having both The Baketage and JAM on this list. Still, I don’t think there will ever be a more unique edit than this montage. It would get a place on this list just for the custom HUD alone. Of course The Animatage goes beyond that. The intro is simply gorgeous with the custom drawn Assembly and the part, also on Assembly, that syncs with the start of the main song is wonderful. The little camping part on Avalanche is wonderful and there are very few transitions as imaginative as the extermination medal going into the Spartan helmet for the next clip. Again, the second song comes with a cute little sync section and then another brilliant drawing transition on the Pit followed by the blood splatter going into the “ooh!” It’s just so creative and full of personality. While I did say the gameplay was a bit substandard, it’s honestly pretty solid and there’s a nice bit of variety to it. There’s a nice trocity on the Pit, a nice little ninja over on Guardian and a couple of BR overkills that I quite enjoy. It’s just such a creative, fun montage.
15. Double Dragon by Hyena and Mantis
First off, what a beauty of an intro. I love the use of clips that are in the intro only. Some intros kind of spoil the gameplay and I don’t think it’s a problem at all here. With the voiceover and the insane sniping of both of these gentleman, I think it works wonderfully. Seriously, that Narrows double kill is absolutely insane, as is that Valhalla sticky into snipe double. For Mantis’ part he does an excellent job hanging with one of the all time greats. His clips are a little bit more traditional, but he shows he’s got some chops for hitting some impressive shots (ie the first clip on MLG Construct). His music choice for this is wonderful, very fitting of a Hyena collaboration. The pickup snipe exterm on Narrows, the bank jaro on Zanzibar, the quickscope tac on Guardian and the run of 2 for 1 clips (particularly the bank triple to over on Pit) are all incredibly special clips. I also love the use of the Hyena styled techniques, which are excellent clips as well. Hyena’s part is, well, Hyena. I love the muted gameplay minus the sniper shots. It makes everything so much more destructive. His MLG multis in this are completely ridiculous, like the Pit clips back to back with the triple on the guy on S3 and then the two person over. Seriously, that second clip he’s looking at training by the time the shot has registered. Then you’ve got that Narrows double exterm, the Last Resort coil launch triple, the off the map lightning snipe triple on Narrows and of course the final snipe of death. Above all, I think my favourite clip in this is the Last Resort over where he launches for the triple and then has the most insane reaction time on the poor kid in the mongoose. I think when Ishii uploaded this, he got it right with the title – beautiful.
14. Kampy’s Final (but not really his final)
I think of all the great montagers, Kampy is probably the best at answering those dumbasses that go “lol social clips r bad”. Then again, I kind of look like one of those dumbasses for having Kampy’s Final Final Final Final montage as my top video of his. I just really love the feel of this montage. It’s got no editing and is just dominant gameplay put to a fun, poppy, let’s face it, cheesy song. The clips in this are outstanding. I always like seeing a montage start with a clip that’s at the start of a game and I know this is gonna sound lame, I love the first clip because it’s just an all-around Halo clip – cleaning up a couple of kills with the BR, turning and BRing the triple and then turning back around for a nice overkill snipe and then the unreal killtac no-scope. The gameplay that follows is really strong, but it’s around the 2:30 mark where Kampy gets an exterm on Narrows that the gameplay suddenly turns on the Nos. Following that are a couple of disgusting doubles, then it builds in a stream of dominating triples (my favourite being the one on Narrows that ends on be Flawless) and then kind of rises with the song into that nasty overkill on Pit on the kid on platform. The clips that round out the song are all fantastic. I love the little twitch no-scope over on Narrows on that kid that I still can’t even see. The Pit triple on Rejekt that was moments away from being an over is also disturbing and of course the final no-shields out BR is completely unfair.
13. Todd H3M2 edited by Tunney
Oh no, I just found out this montage has been blocked in my stupid country. I guess that kind of makes placing it easier because I’ve been stuck on this #13 spot all day and each montage I put there I end up watching and moving higher. This montage is absolutely insane. I’m not gonna be able to pick out particular moments because I can’t watch it, but the gameplay in this is unbelievable. I know that sometimes seeing similar clips too many times in a montage can hurt its value for some people, but the amount of crazy bank shots and cannon snipes in multis in this is ridiculous. The editing from Tunney is also great. Tunney is one of the most overrated editors around (and his gameplay is underrated, too). He really shines on this one. I think he does a great job with the syncing and creating an overall atmosphere with his editing. Man, I’m really sad this was blocked.
NO GIF. FUCK YOUTUBE
12. Good Morning (Foley) edited by Phurion
I know Roadblock’s Final is pretty much universally loved and with the gameplay it has, there’s good reason for it. When I think of that montage, though, I think about what it could have been with a different song choice or better editing and when I think about that would look like, I think of… well, I don’t think of this one in terms of better song choice. Yet somehow Phurion’s gentle touch of an edit has taken away what should be viewed as a terrible song and made it absolutely perfect for this montage. All I’ll say about the editing is that Phurion has some really nice syncing at points and basically lets the gameplay shine and shine it does. When Joey Clutch’s montage comes out, this will be one of the montages that it’s up against in terms of best MLG gameplay. One of the biggest surprises in Halo history was just a few weeks ago when I found out El Town is a Halo 5 pro because anytime I watch this montage and the part where he gets abolished, I think about how if that was me it would be bathtub and razor blades no joke. Foley’s clips are just so disgusting and I love that he shows the clips where he gets the snipe just too late to keep the multi going because that shit is still impressive. Standout clips include the triple from OS on Pit, the no scope triple from flag on Pit, the final Guardian exterm, the Narrows triple where he quickscopes the guy at top mid and sends him into oblivion, the Narrows no scope trip on Ferret Fighter, the lift triple and most of all the unbelievable reaction time triple kill from sword on Pit. Seriously, this guy doesn’t snipe kids, he banishes them to another dimension.
11. The Montage (ManWithoutModem) edited by Muggsy
My god, what an intro. Best of all time? It’s a possibility. I also love how the intro leads into the first clip with that absolutely perfect angle and the screen slowly getting bigger. Then the clip itself with that amazing triple kill medal effect in the sky. Muggsy setting shit up. His editing in the first song is also insanely on point. I especially enjoy the part where he gets the snipe/melee overkill and he cuts to that angle that pushes between the POV. Actually, no. I especially love the part where the kid gets sniped so hard the words above his head scatter. That’s a brilliant idea. The second song keeps up with the excellent edit, particularly the last clip with the body covering the screen. Mmm. The third song is definitely the worst song but it’s also Muggsy’s best edit. It’s so well synced, both to shots and effects. I love the life force draining out of Ace and Snip3down in this part. Another brilliant idea and brilliant delivery from Muggsy. The little bits in between each of the songs are nice touches, especially the very last one. The last part is a continuation of the strong edit. I particularly like the Falco Punch add in and the delivery on that semi ninja double kill thing on Narrows. MWM’s gameplay is outstanding of course. Usually I get bored with seeing man-cannon snipes in a montage, but the sheer volume he has and usually for more than just a single kill is ridiculous and I think the fact that he has so many ridiculous clips to go with those being sprinkled in, it’s a great touch. It’s hard to pick standout clips, but aside from cannon clips, a few favourites include the Construct double in closed purp, the aforementioned Narrows pick up snipe noscope/melee over, the Guardian ball over exterm near the start of song 2, the Pit over jumping off of sword ramp, the Pit noscope whip triple, the Narrows noscope double in lobby into triple kill, the Pit CTF triple from green box, the Pit long hall over that starts with two no scopes, the Construct rocket dodge triple, and fuck, that final clip is so nasty. Just a top notch, highly energetic MLG montage with amazing gameplay and editing. Hard to dislike.
10. Dutchy H3M2 edited by Exus
I’ll probably lose points for not having this in my top 3, but the montages between 12 and 6 have been so hard to place that it might as well just be seven way tie. First off, that intro is absolutely stunning. What a way to build up the hype. Exus does a phenomenal job with possible the best clips reel and then some just gorgeous angles before the wicked title. Overall, Exus’ edit is fantastic. To keep such a high energy edit going for so long and to keep it flowing and not interfering too much with the gameplay is an impressive feat. His effects are on point, his use of the song is wonderful and his Chris Puckett voiceover certainly set some trends. As for Dutchy, I think I’ve said enough times over the course of this list how insane his gameplay is and there’s a really good case for this still being his best gameplay. I think montages around this time have the advantage of clip variety and I certainly think it’s wonderful to see MLG clips, social clips and objective clips all lined up beside each other. Obviously his run of jaros that comes out of the bridge of the song and “the best shot is coming up” is one of the most celebrated moments in any montage. Just about every single clip in this is insane, but I’m still in disbelief about that poc exterm he gets on High Ground. It’s truly wonderful to see a montage where the editor and the player are performing at such a ridiculous level.
9. Fatrat H3M3
I don’t know if Fatrat read through my write ups when he commented on one of these threads but I hope he did because I imagined him reading my shit about Vitality and seeing the Sigur Ros mention and then just rubbing his dainty little hands together. I said on Dutchy’s M2 that it had the advantage of being older and therefore having more access to more playlists for more variety in clips and you’d think the same would be true for Fatrat, but not only does this montage live up to the standards (the very very high standards) he’s set for himself, they actually surpassed it for me. The gameplay is naturally outstanding. I like the first few clips, but shit gets real for me on that first Construct jaro and the on point noscoping on the next clip on Guardian. This montage is littered with insane multi kills and essentially more naires than your body has room for. I remember watching this for the first time, hanging out with my girlfriend. She’s not into this stuff, but I remember her having a jump scare when I saw that Narrows off the roof shot and fucking screamed. Now I’m single again, which explains why I’ve written a bunch of shit about other people playing video games. That clip is unreal. The gameplay takes a decided jump in improvement in the second song. That first Guardian naire is one of the most complete naires I’ve seen and I love the clip on Unscope You that follows it. The way he uses the song on the Epitaph naire with the black and white is wonderful and the back to back no scopes for the jaro on Guardian are disgusting. He has that Dutchy thing down where he always seems to go one multi higher after you think he’s done, like the Guardian poc. I love the throwback part to his other montages, raises the hairs a little and the last naire in the second song is so wonderful. Love seeing players fighting through bullshit AR shots to hit nice clips. After all that, it’s just completely blown out of the water on the last song. What a great song choice. Very much a Fatrat song and the atmosphere of it is amazing. It’s a perfect send off song. Again he seems to crank the clips up a notch right off that first clip where he abolishes the kid when he snipes him for the trocity (then gets the jaro). Then you’ve got that no scope trocity on Guardian from a spot that you almost never see clips from, the whip tastrophe on Epitaph and the lift tac on Narrows. My favourite part of the entire montage is the clip where he shows himself getting killed and then going back and getting the sniper. I remember listening to Twitchy when he first watched this and his reaction was just “don’t let him get the sniper!” and it pretty much sums it up. There’s a great use of the Spartan screaming in this clip and the way the song feels during it so beautiful. This whole montage is just beautiful in every way. This is definitely the best piece Fatrat has ever put out in terms of all categories and I feel it was a deserving comp winner.
8. Spawn H3 Final edited by TranQ
This list should have made it clear that I have a huge boner for TranQ’s editing and this is definitely the best edit he ever did. The intro is beautiful with a really dark Western feeling theme to it and just a perfect tease on the clips (which aren’t actually in the main tage, leaving me curious as fuck). It’s a perfect set up to the montage, song choice and editing wise. As soon as that title screen pops up (well done title screen, too), shit just seems so real. As per TranQ’s usual, the editing focuses on doing the little things well with great syncing, great angles, a perfect colour correction and, above all, using the song with the gameplay beyond just matching up sync points (for example using the slower section on a longer clip on the Sandbox naire). Speaking of that naire, what the fuck, right? I still can’t believe he got that and I only just recently ran into the Holmbolm video where they have the live reaction. If you haven’t seen that yet, find it because it’s also a wonderful video and Spawn’s reaction after it is so adorable. The gameplay throughout this is stellar. The clips aren’t all just high multis, either. I like the use of clips like the Narrows no scope tac or the tac on Blackout. I think there are only two MLG clips in this, but both are wonderful with domination on Narrows and a nice sticky over on Pit. The Heretic over exterm is also insanely sexy and I’m really glad he used his clips from Together at the end of this. I know that’s contradictory because I usually hate seeing re-used clips, but it was great to see those clips edited in a more serious project and since it is Spawn’s final, it would suck if those clips were left out because they are all ridiculous. Then to end it with a stunning naire on Epitaph, it’s just the cherry on top of the treat that is this montage.
7. Into the TranQ edited by SillyGoose
While I’m happy with Fatrat winning the last movie comp, my personal favourite entry was Into the TranQ. That’s actually saying a lot because we’ve seen a lot of these clips before and some of the few I hadn’t were spoiled in the (albeit amazing) trailer by Mayhem. One of the things about this montage that really strikes me is the song choice and more specifically the song progression. The more traditional, high paced first song leading into a second song that’s kind of got an edge to it but a more restrained chorus and then into the final song which feels like a perfect farewell song. The way they flow into one another is absolutely beautiful. SillyGoose’s editing in this is really excellent. There might be a few too many angles, but it’s always a treat to see the angles he does come up with. I love how he uses the song in this part, syncing with angles ad shots and using the bridge section for that ungodly sniper spree on Pit. The way he abruptly jumps into the second song with that grenade effect is one of the most gorgeous moments in montage history. Again, he uses lots of really simple effects incredible well like the shaking angle on the Pit when the kid hits the ground (I believe used for the stick overkill). The falling medals effect is also really well done and leads wonderfully into the final song. TranQ’s clips are phenomenal, even if that one tac (you know which one) showed up in this. I love that he has a lot of double kill clips or spree clips that give the montage a lot more flavour. There are so many disgusting clips that it’s hard to pick them out, but pretty much all of the ones in the trailer (the Pit double from S1, the Pit double by OS, the Narrows cross cannon over exterm, the Construct triple jumping to open street, the final clip) are standouts. There also tons of other great clips. As H3 progressed, TranQ kind of became the main guy when it came to MLG montaging and it really shows in this. So many unbelievable triple kills in this and so many dirty overs. Once again, it’s hard to argue with a montage where the player and the editor are both at such a high level.
6. Blizzard from the Netherworld II by Hyena
It’s funny that I kind of get annoyed by people trying to play like other people and so many people try to hit shots like Hyena, but on the other hand when I play Skyrim I try to lightning snipe people with my bow. I know Hyena is a community icon and his early montages are great, but I like his more recent stuff where the capturing and quality are so clean and you can just fully enjoy his ridiculous clips. There are so many options for Hyena montages and I guess it’s kind of disappointing I’ve only got a couple of his in this list, but again he’s one of those guys that has so many high quality clips that he almost makes his standards too high. Some of the MLG triples he has that he’s just thrown into little videos like the ones that led up to Mastery are absolutely insane. The clips in this particular montage just really tickle me the right way. I love the variety and so many of the clips are just pure nastiness. What a way to set the tone with that nasty lightning snipe killtac and the jaro after it (when Hyena says he can’t get high multis). Man, the snipes on Guardian and Epitaph where he jumps up and just hits the tiniest bit of opponent you can see are absolutely ridiculous and then he throws in little bits like the invis/regen glitch where he just disappears on that poor kid (great use of the song here and with the hammer launch double btw). Then you’ve got a couple of clips on community members that are nasty (P Frenzy, God of Forge, Marskman) and that unholy triple kill getting knocked out of scope continuously by the power drain. And yet the motherfucker still hasn’t engaged legendary mode. Naw, he’s saving that to lightning snipe the fucking floor for a triple kill. And if I ever used a term like lightning snipe this many times for anyone other than Hyena, I’d feel really fucking nerdy. I giggle everytime I see him spinning around on Pit, looking so lost before destroying that kid with the fusion coil ninja. Of course it keeps getting better when he just swats those kids on Guardian for that overkill and then hits the most robotic looking ghost triple on High Ground. I love how Hyena gets clips like that brute shot across cannon clip. He’s so skilled at the game, yet he always seems to be discovering new shit like that just to fuck with people. Then he closes it off with an icicle snipe, which was just a tease it turns out. Just the most ridiculous shit possible.
5. Best Man H3M edited by Sor3
So much can be said about how good this montage is based on the amount of imitations it’s had over the years. Sor3’s edit is absolutely flawless here. The way he builds the atmosphere around the clips, it almost feels like it’s a completely different world and it also feels like Best Man is playing a different game. Even on clips where he’s getting shot, it feels like such a calm, peaceful game in Best Man’s mind. The way Sor3 starts out the clips is wonderful, going from a single to a double to a triple to an over. Putting the Puckett commentary in the start with a black screen and then slowly revealing it as the music picks up is also just a perfect idea. Again, I’m in love with angles as I so often am and the ones Sor3 uses are so important because of the editing style. His slo-mo is excellent and one of my favourite angles is the one on Narrows where Best Man gets a triple and then the angle shows the kid he killed before he sniped him, still shooting, instead of the usual dead body angle. He does such an amazing job with subtle syncing in this that it just feels so natural. The running riot section is easily one of the most universally loved sections in any montage, complete with the Puckett “oh my goodness” which is basically what you think of the edit (and gameplay) at that exact moment. Speaking of gameplay, it’s fantastic, too. Best Man has some really gorgeous snipes that I didn’t expect going in. The Narrows killtac and triple I previously mentioned, the Pit riot, the Construct over on the kid top closed, the double on FB, the Pit noscope exterm at S1, the over on Naded on Guardian and the dominating overkill on Pit at mauler are all ridiculous. Then you’ve got the final clip, the Pit over on Instinct which is one of the most iconic MLG montage clips of all time. I also love when the final song kicks in for the credits. It feels like a victory song. This is by far the best pro player montage out there.
4. Phresh (Elite C56, Wafflebrains) edited by OrphanSlayer
I think one of the reasons funtages don’t stick with me is because of how they are presented. A lot of the time they’re really all over the place and a lot of the humour in them seems to come out of what the players themselves are saying. I get it, Halo is supposed to be about having fun but when it comes to montages, things stick with me more when they have a better style of editing. That’s what I love so much about Phresh. Okay, the clips aren’t necessarily funtage clips, but a lot of them are definitely in that line of unique, crazy clips. They are definitely fun clips to watch and having such a severe edit with such a severe song that is in complete contrast is a beautiful thing. In terms of editing, OrphanSlayer could not have done a better job. He really lets the clips speak so that even his effects kind of just go over clips instead of getting in the way of them. Above all, he uses the song wonderfully not just in syncing but in using the build up of the song to work with the build up of the clips. And what marvelous clips they are. There’s a very interesting mix of those unique, funtagey clips and some straight up dirty multis. Pretty much any clip in this montage that involves a vehicle is absolutely nasty, particularly the banshee clip on Valhalla where he flips the banshee, hops out and snipes the fucking overkill. There are so many awesome launch clips, notably the warthog hammer clip to splatter that banshee driver. I also love the little parts like the “betraytacular” text or that random ass clip with the snipe from the warthog that’s sitting on top of the hornet. It’s just such an entertaining montage with such lovely, unique clips and such perfectly opposite editing.
3. Mastery by Hyena
What a way to go out. I’m kind of sad Hyena didn’t stick with his working title for this project, Masturbatory, but that’s fine. I remember watching this the first time and just the first note of music on the THF logo graphic and I already had chills. It’s hard not to feel a little heavy hearted reading that first text, though. “Prepare your lightning snipe one last time”. While Hyena still continues to make H2 videos (stupidly good ones, of course), he’s one of the few montagers who I could actually say I was sad to hear when they released their H3 final. As soon as the Spartan walks out of the mist and the music gets going at a higher pace, shit just feels so tingly. With a project of this magnitude, it’s important to set a tone with the first clip and holy shit does that 2v2 exterm ever do that. As the Halo community’s clip standards got higher and higher, it was always refreshing to see the increased infatuation with Hyena’s style and that’s on display here, too, with clips like the triple on what looks a THF lobby and the Narrows straight up whip over into trocity. Oh my god, though. The first time I watched this and I’m thinking “this is really good” and he’s got the double on Pit and the music kind of grinds to a halt and he’s looking 80 feet right of the guy and I’m like “that’s gonna be a crazy whip snipe” and he just shoots and hits the bank triple I had to immediately go back and watch it. I still can’t believe that clip. Hyena uses very few angles, but he uses them in that story telling manner so it’s nice to see good angles on clips like the elite with the sword getting fucked up by the overshield/sticky trick. Then you’ve got the snipe block on Salaya which is basically a hint at what he’d be up to on Wizard. I always am astounded by his ability to hit just the most aesthetically pleasing looking shots to finish a multi, like that no-scope over on Zethic on Narrows and the over exterm on Katalyst right after it. Then he always seems to take it up a notch with his ability to outplay kids, baiting the poor kid for that equipment jump QS on construct or deciding it’s suddenly okay to shoot rockets and stickies out of the air to get kills (especially love the sticky snipe on Valhalla). I love how he gets that icicle jump on Snowbound into like a tastrophe and nobody was even talking about it. The subtle syncing of the bass of the song to his shots on Platano on Pit is so perfect and it’s just a fun little clip that he’s able to make fit right in with his persona (complete with sinister laugh. The way he sets up for that final clip is just ridiculous, too. You could have all the expectations in the world and Hyena still blows you away. I think Holmbolm’s reaction video sums it up where they see him look at the icicle and just go “no, no, no” because you just can’t believe the shit this guy does. It’s just too ridiculous.
2. Prime edited by Hwnt
It’s too bad GunShiii stole clips, because Hwnt’s edit on his final was glorious. That being said, this one is even better. I wanted to include The Precursor on this list, but decided against it based on length, but you might as well just attach it on to Prime because it’s a similarly phenomenal edit. One of the impressive things about this montage is how Hwnt manages to keep it as a singularity despite the varying styles of songs throughout. I love how the first part of the montage is just a very restrained edit with lots of nice angles and then suddenly the songs switch with one of the most epic transition angles of all time and then suddenly it’s an effects heavy behemoth. I’m mixed on Hwnt’s use of text throughout this montage because it goes by so fast that some of it is useless, but it still has its desired effect of looking cool. Of all the text pieces, I love “ignorance is bliss” and the one with Mikwen’s hair. The syncing on this second song is flawless. The whole edit is flawless. Hwnt shows off his syncing chops with the sniper on the first clip and then does a gorgeous BR sync with the second clip. He has a large number of effects that last such a short period of time, but they add so much to the edit (like the little box around the grenade on Pit .exe style). Again, the syncing blows you away as the song continues (the Pit clip with the 2 for 1 triple into over for example) and the energy is just impressive. The edit for the final clip in the song, the jaro exterm on Onslaught, is beyond perfection. Then the third song comes in and he somehow manages to keep it going. The angle of the guy going across the lift on Narrows from underneath is genius and I love how it moves out so creepily. The gameplay in this is also phenomenal. I love that despite it being MLG, there is good variety which is also helped by the community clips. Nayr’s overkill exterm on Pit is so nasty, so are most of Rowan’s clips. Kifflom’s jaro is one of my all time favourite clips and it always adds to a montage to see clips on known names (the Norwegians including TranQ, the PLU guys, Frywod, Cpt Anarchy, Ant, Dersky, Fearris, eR kids, Foley, Nickel 9, Ryanoob, Mikwen, .etc). It’s all around such an artful experience and in my mind criminally underrated in terms of views.
I literally can’t make a gif for this one and I don’t know why
1. Tizoxic H3M edited by Wanny Legacy edited by Zola
If you were hoping for a shocking pick for #1, you are not in luck. I don’t really have much to say about Legacy because it is perfect in literally every way. The timing for this montage to come out was absolutely astounding. Zola did an amazing job with the edit, working with a few different song choices and progressing through them very nicely with a fast paced first song, a second song that kind of reels it in, a third song that has a much more serious feel and then the emotional closing song. I still consider Velvet one of my favourite songs and even just listening to it I can see the clips from this in my head every time. The clip selection in this is wonderful. I know when it came out a lot of people cried about the clips because they were expecting a montage that was just MLG naire after MLG naire. I think Zola did an amazing job selecting clips. I’m not saying there are any bad clips in this because there actually are no bad clips to be found, but it’s really important to let the most impressive clips shine and that’s what he does. I’m not gonna list off a bunch of my favourite parts because they’re all spectacular, but I will say that the rain falling going into the final song is one of the most beautiful moments in any video and I’m not referring to just Halo videos. This is unsurpassable.