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Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
It seems that as soon as I think I have the players in this league worked out, something like Week 5 happens and the whole house of cards comes tumbling down. Given, about half the games played out as they should. Anarchists uneventfully beat LI, more or less assuring LI's demise this season. Time to start rebuilding. Secret beats Externals in the Battle of Who Could Care Less, and Warlords tarnish Untarnished's record with another L.
Anyone could have seen that coming.
What people didn't see coming was a very flaky-looking Elemental Forces team losing to the above-average Domination. I mean, come on, guys, they played Krogoth for Christ's sake. If EF is going to continue to struggle like this against even decent teams, one of the popular AML finals picks might get bumped out against a high seed early in the playoffs. It's still too early to tell, but they need a doctor and a flashlight to find their heads and pull them out after Sunday.
Then there's the big one. Lame, you cry. They ran the clock out, you said? They're a bunch of pussies, you said? Well, unfortunately, all those statements won't wipe the big L off of Gods' record, delivered at the hands of Reds, led by Oberic with 75k of damage in twenty minutes. The problem with Gods is twofold: everyone shows up with their A game against them, and they never bring their own A game in return. Sure, if you just want to have fun and fuck around, start whoever you want, but if you're interested in winning, you need your best, most proven players to get as much playtime as is possible. It's a simple equation that seems to elude whoever is making the decisions in the Gods camp. Reds, on the other hand, ran wild pythons all over Gods until they had the lead (and Weezie choked), and then ran the clock out.
You can say whatever negative things you want about Reds' strategy, but I have a few things to say as well:
1) It is the endgame strategy that gives your team the BEST chance of winning, almost 100% chance if performed correctly, and
2) With the inclusion of three repels, even mediocre teams (which Reds are not) can make this work with great success, certainly much better than stupidly charging the opposing team and giving them any chance to win at all.
Say you're playing basketball. There is a regular-sized hoop, and a hoop that's three feet wide. They both give you the same amount of points if you make a basket. Your opponent only has one hoop, regulation size. Which one would you shoot for? Reds chose correctly. End of story.
Touching upon the point of three repels brings up another point. Why doesn't AML conform to the rest of the leagues and use two repels? There are several reasons we should:
1) With a full three repels, you are almost forced into a defensive, lobbing posture, waiting for the other team to make a mistake. It has made AML look like Season II in Pro, with the ridiculous 2-1 scores and very little gunfighting at all. This is not a good primer for newbies who, upon making the jump to a higher league, all of a sudden have to deal with a different, more attacking strategy that is forced by having two repels. It is a hard adjustment for some.
2) Most newbies don't use all three repels anyway! You have to have some modicum of skill to be able to judge when you need to use them, and many times, newer players will die with two or even all three of their repels. The better players use them all (usually).
THIS GIVES BETTER PLAYERS AN EVEN GREATER ADVANTAGE OVER NEW PLAYERS THAN EVERYONE WITH TWO!! They will use all of their repels when they need them, effectively granting them 12 lives against a newbie's 7-8, at best. Some newbs are looser with their repels, and use them all, but they are still not being used properly. This creates a situation where it is all but impossible for beginning teams to compete against proper repel use, due to the proliferative nature of said repels.
With two repels, the playing field will be significantly leveled. Newbies won't use all their reps, still, but vets will have a harder time staying without the third, and it will give newer players valuable kill-finishing experience, as well as making for more exciting and aggressive league play. It will also prime newbs for the step up to IML and Pro, which are the leagues that really need an influx of players.
My commentary on IML will have to wait until next week as I have been thwarted in my attempts to interview Blur about it. I'll have to save the rant on salary-based league for next time as well, as this talk about repels has exhausted me. Fuck Tuesday. At least it's not Monday.
Updated rankings:
01) Hitlist - the only undefeated team in the league is the only team that should be here.
02) Crips - bukkwild and his 26-inch pythons are making short work of all comers.
03) Reds - with Oberic and P-Mav behind the wheel, anything is possible.
04) Gods - I cringe to put them this high after witnessing firsthand the mediocre captaincy and uncaring demeanor of some of their players, but I feel I must.
05) Domination - Made EF look very weak on Sunday. Krogoth, DK! WTF!
06) ElementalForces - As I said above, they need to stop playing like they did on Sunday or reap the whirlwind.
07) Warlords - Why so low? I'm not sure. Their record is good, but the only really good team they played, they lost in a big way. I'm very uncertain about these guys.
08) Anarchists - Need another season or two to gel.
09) Victimise - Better than their record suggests, but not enough team players to go far.
10) Untarnished - Tough to actually say there's 10 good teams here, but Untarnished took the underestimated Reds to OT. I guess that's saying SOMEthing.
Next week:
The Defendant assumes the position - hilarious court transcription excerpt
Updated rankings
Salary structure: filet mignon or chopped steak?