AML Match of the week for 9/11/05

With all the matches in AML being a blow out except for one. Secret and Anarchists gave the spectators a match to talk about. This match was already selected by the predictors to be the Match of the Week with secret being the favorite 6-3 with the line 2.0 & the spread -1.0. Well both teams lived up to the hype. It wasn’t until the final 5 minutes that secret got everything together to pull off an awesome win. The final 5 minutes played out like this: Secret was down by 1 point with 5 minutes left until SwEeT pIeCe Of AsS killed nismo with Tursiops getting the assist to tie the game. Not a minute later Whirl killed anthem with Tursiops getting that assist also putting secret ahead by 1 point. Secret held onto the lead to win the Match 7-6. It was a great game by both teams.

AML Preseason Round 1

Well Miz has announced the first preseason matches for AML Season 13. With the new Ranking system in place this season promises to be a very competitive one. The preseason matches are:

-FINAL- vs. Warlords, Alcoholism vs. StarFire Academy, Anarchy vs. SkyRakers, BlackNike vs. Secret, Chaos Chronics vs. ReDS-AML, CrazyNinjas vs. Obsessed,
Externals vs. Militancy, Hitlist vs. Llamasery, Jr. Gods vs. Liquid Inc.

When the times are announced you can find them right here!

Returning AML Squads

If you want your squad to return to AML for next season hurry up and go to this link to signup http://ssleague.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=2791
Miz requests that only Captains or squad representatives post in this thread.

Deadline is June 15th. After that he will start contacting waiting list squads. No reply is an indication that you do NOT wish to return.

Thanks Miz for this information.

GOTW

Narchs vs Victimise

For victimise the pressure

Of playing must win game after must win game will tell sooner rather than later, Narchs surely have too much in the locker for Vict. Led by GBone (PT rep) and Scythe even the 3rd and 4th slots are strong, With ample backup from the bench Vict will surely have to pull the plug on some of the Narchs connections to stand a chance.
Vict could only manage a narrow squeak past Wretcheds and even then almost tried to lose it, just managing to last out the clock. The 1 cosolation for Vict is that with chaoszone and 2 makeup rounds this may not be the last chance saloon yet but "the reaper is sharpening his scythe" (TM) to axe Victs playoff hopes

Matt's Corner, Vol. II

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?

My Bi weekly

Round up of the movers and groovers of AML

Top MR points
Gazelle 375
Five O Ford 324 (AKA FoF)
Plutonium 288

Most Kills
DK 16
FoF 14
Targeter2 12

Most KO's
AcidReign 5
DK 5

Assists
Dueler 9
Chronic 7
Tertain 7

FR's
DK 38
Dueler 36
Spinoza 26

Which leads me to the conclusion that Dk is a kill grabbing whore who vulches from the back stealing the limelight while his "teammates" do all the donkey work (allegedly). FoF is on a lucky streak as whenever ive seen him he has the aim of a drunkard on the way home and Gazelle has been subbing out/in to save his record

Moving quickly on

Most WR's

Duck Tracy 13

Most Deaths
Proxy 14
Pension 13
Warengine 12

TK's
Trash Killer 2 (maybe that should read team killer??)

Least Points
Black Psycho -406
Silly_noob -342
K G B -276

On a personal note i now have 0 lag and you will see me dominate league for the next 2 weeks until we get knocked out in regular season. Unless i can kill of mizerie and take over as AML sysop lengthen the season by 6 weeks to give Secret a "2nd" chance at the playoffs

Game of the Week

Victimise V Wretcheds. Suprised ?? maybe not so much when u realise both teams playoff lives depend on a win

In the red corner Victimise who have been unlucky so far this season. Having played the 3 hardest teams straight up they can now muster up some performances against same level opponents to push on up the league. Led by Nick Rivers (7-3) they have a deep roster, My only concern would be putting Cerium into a tight game and relying on his blue bombs of TK to get you the win

Wretcheds on the other hand looked like being a good team with the roster they have. Unfortunatly the reality is quite different. Poor performances against Hitlist and LI are a real problem for teams that look to make the playoffs. With only a couple of players who have + rec's and no stand out player Wretcheds are looking down the barrel of a disapointing season. Pret needs to play as usual but players like Recreance and Street Fighter really need to raise their own personal performance levels massively..

Victimise by 4

Matt's Corner, Vol. I

Hello and good day to all you faithful Subspace players. I'd like to begin this inaugural edition of Matt's Corner by thanking Cose for giving me a forum for ranting, predictions, analysis, or whatever the hell I feel like rambling about (SS related, of course). I know less about HTML than my dead grandmother, so I could never proceed in this endeavor without his assistance.

Anyway, on to the good stuff.

AML is shaping up in ways that no one could have predicted at the beginning of the season. The only two undefeated teams after Week 4 are a team that was going to dissolve if not for the dedication of SkyOne's teammates (that was a dick move btw Sky, you obviously didn't consult with your squad before attempting to dissove) and a team that nobody thought would do anything except lose, Hitlist, fresh off a victory over the highly-favored Anarchists. Warlords are also on a tear, with their only loss to (debatably) the best team in the league, Gods. Equally surprising has been the success of Reds and Crips. Reds have looked weak as hell all preseason and in practices, but somehow they have been getting it done on Sundays. P-Mav is my hero. Crips, despite Trauma's typical efforts to suicide, are also a winning team, finally living up to their potential. Bukkwild is a fiery leader who inspires his team to play aggressively for him by example, and a team that can successfully be aggressive in this lob-ass league is something to be respected. Domination (I refuse to use that gay capitalization) is a paper tiger in my eyes until they beat a top-tier team. A 12-0 loss to any team is both horrible for morale and an indication that they can't win the big games.

On the other side of the coin, a lot of teams that were popular picks as finalists and powerhouses are disintegrating like two-week-old ramen noodles. The biggest surprise for most of you is probably Wretcheds, who are 1-3 and need to win out just to make the playoffs. If you look closely, though, you could see this coming. Pretender simply does not have the patience to be a captain, and recruiting HV is the all-time bonehead move that any Subspace captain can make, even though he adds a little spice to the community. Also, other hothead players (like Chief) were openly criticizing the team in spec after just their first loss! This has been obviously devastating for morale, and I believe has done more to cause their incessant failure than lack of talent. While Pretender has taken steps to resolve this by axing trouble players, a good move, it may be too late to save this season due to its anemic length. Externals should be at least a 2-2 team based on my play time with them, and their lack of wins can probably be attributed to a lack of experience. In one or two seasons they will be a lot stronger if they don't dissolve. Anarchists probably have the best teamwork in the Lightning division, but with Tertain being their only finisher, they can't always produce kills when they need them. Look for them to bounce back against weaker teams and make the playoffs. They also have a couple dissenters who make excuses rather than analyze and improve their play, and these are the types of things that can demoralize a squad. Big question mark here.

More or less everyone else is where they should be. If you don't agree, eat my shorts.

On that note, how about this season length? 8 games is ridiculously too short to decide who the best teams are. I would recommend a 16-game schedule, like American football, with FOUR divisions of four teams each, in two conferences. Play each team in your division twice, with the rest spread out as evenly as possible among teams in your conference, with four or so inter-divisional games to spice things up. It might not be as equal as round robin, but I think it would be more interesting.

I will rank the top 10 teams as I see fit with a number adjacent to the squad name. The analysis has been done above and I see no need to duplicate it.

Squad Rankings:

1. ElementalForces
2. Gods
3. Hitlist
4. Crips
5. Warlords
6. Anarchists
7. Reds
8. Domination
9. Untarnished
10. Externals

Next edition: Salary structure.. wha?
3 reps: the downfall of aggressive league play
Updated analysis of all pertinent teams
IML: what's next?
Sex with DeathKnight's mom: my quest into the Cracks of Doom

Im a bad Mutha

4-4 On my Preds last week.. Now time to reflect on last weeks action

Wow so CRIPS win big last week. then come this week against lower opps they fuck it up.. Kinda says it all.. Dunno if Bukk was either high on drugs or pimping his ass again but lay off it on sundays your squad needs you man. Oh btw nice choke boys 6-3 up with less than 3 mins remaining and you mananged to lose it 7-6 without going into OT.. impressive i must say
LI also won a close one and also tried there best to lose it after going up a man at 6-6. Wretcheds are definetly nowhere near good enough and i retract my pre season thoughts on them.

Looking forward Gods vs Warlords and Hitlist vs Narcs looks to be the pick of the match ups this week. Predictions to follow later this week hopefully.

On a related note Matt has joined the guest posters so look out for some interesting posts there!

AML Week 2 Upset

The upset of the week for week 2 of Premier League AML goes to CRIPS for defeating Gods. The match MVP was D u e l e r with a 1-1 K/D and 12 Forced Reps. Good job CRIPS! With Chronic, D u e l e r, Trauma & Silica backing bukkwild up, CRIPS is *still* my pick of the season.

AML Predictions

Predictions for this weeks engrossing 1st round of the new and stale season of Premier league AML STYLIE

Anarchists vs Chaos*Zone

Anarchists look good allready this season slipping into gear effortlessly. Scythe and ender are hot property and whoever Tertain is (im so out of touch with gay name changers) is ruling the roost for them allready
CZ look like they will be amedium tier squad, but they only played 1 preseason game so not much to report here

Anarchists to win by 7

DOMINATION vs Liquid INC

Domnation could be an all conquering team aliasers or a bunch of no hopers.. they might not even show Korgoth is trying to make a name for himself on the forums and in game but nothing much else known
LI have deteriorated badly in the last few seasons losing both preseason games this season. Maybe it was just preseason blues, they still have the roster just maybe not the desire

LI by 4

Gods v Untarnished

Gods are the team to beat this season allready.. it will take a mammoth effort/choke for this team to lose a game any time soon. Look to Genocide to provide the spectateable moments this season

Untarnished have allready had the pleasure of facing up to gods and got thumped. Expect more of the same i Just hope freakmonger doesnt get hurt too badly. Its not that they are that bad, its just gods will probably roll everyone over this season

Gods by 7

EF v Victimise

Ef have struggled allready this season without 2 of there best players this might be a season too far without key talent. Aramen will hold the line ably but needs 2 pilots to step up from the bench to make EF playoff candidates

Vict seem to be getting the "scheduling stick in the ass" award at the moment with dodgy times being set by staff. if Vorb carries thru on his threat Vic lose by 1

Reds vs Sfa

Reds have oberic reds have not a less else.. its good to see old squads come back with new faces its not so good seeing them struggle so badly. Hopefully next season they will all be better for the experience

SFA are the cast offs from Sfe that got forced up after winning AML last season.. shame exceptions couldnt be made cause Mauler surely belongs in AML where his skills are more suited

Sfa by 9

Secret vs Warlords

Secret great squad great guys great lag just we dont have a whole of commitment anymore.

Warlords have a good chance of being a top squad this season led by Mizerie and his sysop powers (its a joke ok) these should make the playoffs comfortably. Shame they will be startig 0-1 after i break open the can all over their heads

Secret by 6

Crips v Externals

Dont u love Crips same roster every season same result every season. Bukk is like the old man who is still with his childhood sweetheart even though her tits are near her ankles and her arse covers the moon.. he could do so much better, But its his 1 and only love ah how sweet

Externals look good on paper look good in practicing but have stumped up 2 defeats allready, That should change this week though and will set them on the road to the playofs nicely

Externals by 5

Hitlist vs Wretcheds

Hitlist have performed ok in preseason and with a nicely assembled roster should cause some upsets along the way giving better squads tough games along the way
Wretcheds will easily make the playoffs this season from the lighting division which looks considerably weaker than Thunder this could harm there chances come playoff time if they dont get enough challenges along the way

Wretcheds by 6

AML Playoffs. (Version Carthage)

The 10th season of aml ALREADY? But yet, this proves to be one of the best ones yet! Here are my amazing predictions that will be obviously right.

[1]ReDS vs [8]Secret
Oh my LORD, ReDS have obviously killed everyone this season and are the favorites for the season 10 AML Championships. They have the best offense (11.66 Kills per game) and defense (2.88 deaths per game). Secret, on the other hand, has only won 2 games out of 9. There chances of winning this are slim. No to mention that they would have been eliminated from the playoffs if 7rominence didn't lose as bad as they did against Unit.
Ideal Lineup for ReDS: 9-volt, PINOYPOWER, kril, Jeo
Ideal Lineup for Secret: Doesn't matter, they lose.
ReDS over Secret 12-2

[2]BlackNike vs [7]OldShift
Hmm, OldShift hasn't played good this season. Especially the last 5 rounds. But who can blame them? They faced Llamasery, Disavowed, ReDS and BlackNike. Not an easy task to get by. BlackNike, on the other hand, is playing amazingly during the whole season only losing once, and it was to power house ReDS. They show a strong lineup to every game and can go really far in this playoffs.
Ideal Lineup for BlackNike: shortbow, ManDude, A.W.O.L, Cojones!!
Ideal Lineup for OldShift: Jam-Z, Eldritch, Cerium, Anyone else.
BlackNike Over OldShift 12-5

[3]Disavowed vs [6]Llamasery
Can you say "Match of the week?". Both teams have played well during the season, The reason why Llamasery is ranked so low is because of the obvious fact that they entered the season mid way. Disavowed has really surprised alot of people this season. Some washed up vets comming back to own, you don't see that everyday. Llamasery is having a tough time in IML, but a pretty decent time in AML. Although Disavowed will probably win this one, you will be sure to see a fight from Llamasery and might surprise some people.
Ideal Lineup for Disavowed: B|aze, Silver, Kurtz, Nyte
Ideal Lineup for Llamasery: d i g i, Crunchy, mortok, Nocarbon
Disavowed over Llamasery 7-6

[4]EpiK vs [5]Unit
Will be a very close match. Unit has struggled at the begining of the season but has shown alot of improvement since then. They went 1-3 in their first 4 games of the season and then went 4-1 in the final 5. Epik on the other hand, has been a streaky squad... They might lose against Disavowed 12-1 one game, and win 12-0 against 7rominence the next round. Thats why I am going for Unit, they are hot as of late, but don't be surprised if EpiK takes this one.
Ideal Lineup for EpiK: Magic, Killing Joke, schlong, plareplane
Ideal lineup for Unit: Lecktrik, Fog, Snail, Trismo

AML Predicitions

AML Predictions by Illuminus (written 10/22/04)

AML Season 10 Squad Analysis
Written by: Illuminus
Date: January 22, 2003

Carthage Division – Has a few strong squads but I feel that the average squad in Carthage is weaker than the average squad in Rome.

Predicted Playoffs Teams:
(not in order)
BlackNike
OldShift
EpiK
Unit
ReDS

Predicted Non-Playoff Teams:
Disavowed
7rominance
BLaCK STaR
Secret
SS Crips

BlackNike: Strong squad. I have never personally faced them but I know they were a tough team last season. I don’t know a whole lot about them, but from what I have heard they are loosing a little strength. However they are still undeniably good, and should defiantly be making the playoffs again this season.

BLaCK STaR: Old squad name that carries a lot of power. They have some good guys on their roster for sure. However I don’t know how much dedication to playing this squad has. I think if they really tried this squad would be one of the best in this division, playoffs for sure, and I hope that they do. But this early on in the season I’m going to have to say that they won’t be making playoffs, but I very well may be wrong on this one.

Disavowed: To be perfectly honest I don’t know a thing about this squad. But from what I see on other peoples predicitions, they are going to drop ½ way through this season. Therefore they wont be making playoffs on my predictions. Sorry Fellas.

EpiK: Well Well Well…it appears that some people are still overlooking this obvious stacked team. I have quite a bit of faith in this team, and I’m going to go ahead and say they will win this division, and quite possibly AML. I sure hope I’m right about this or else I’m going to look like a fool….but I’m pretty sure that I’m right. Carthage, these are your guys to beat.

OldShift: Good squad. Few new recruits. AML division of last seasons IML champs. Some power in these guys for sure. Sometimes underestimated, sometimes overestimated, however formidable either way. I don’t see these guys not making playoffs in this division. Good Luck to OS.

7rominance: Not a bad squad, lot of players, but no real stand out starters to own in matches. I think they’ll pull off victories against the lower squads, but once they play the starters of this divisions leaders, they’re not going to be able to hold it together. Possibly playoff spot for them, but I’m leaning towards no at the moment.

ReDS: Such an old name in subspace. One of the best Warzone squads ever, also the same squad who had RaDaR in pro. However RaDaR seems a long time ago, and I wasn’t even around to see that. I think this squad has a lot of strength, and if they keep at it will dominate AML before anyone even realizes it. However I think they are going to need a season to warm up. Playoffs yes, AML Champs, no.

Secret: Unfortunately these guys are nothing like their IML team. Secret as some good players but they are not deep enough to secure a playoff position. I don’t’ know a whole lot about these guys however so I can’t say much more than that.

SS Crips: No clue. From what everyone says, AML dropouts. See Ya. No Playoffs here.

Unit: Good squad, not great, but I think because this is Carthage that they will end up making playoffs in one of the lower slots. If they had their players from Pro I think they’d be a lot better off, but they don’t. Good luck Unit.

Rome Division – Much stronger division for sure. I think many of the AML power houses lie here.

Predicted Playoffs Teams:
(not in order)
Krieger
Warlords
Dedication
StarFire Elite
Liquid Inc.

Predicted Non-Playoff Teams:
(not in order)
Blitzed
ElementalForces
Starseed TR.
Undermined
DAMN_Yankees

Blitzed: Blitzed, from what I have seen, is a good squad. Lot of potential here with a decently strong roster. We just played Blitzed preseason round 1 and won 12-2, however even though the score looks bad, they played a lot better than the score hints to. I expect this squad will be close to grabbing a playoff spot but most likely not, not in Rome anyway.

DAMN_Yankees: Good squad of warzoners that don’t play 4v4. Could be good w/ some work. Give them 6 months and they’ll be a different team. However they got placed in the wrong division and I lack faith in not so much their dedication, but they’re interest in 4v4 to give it a real honest effort. Probably not playoffs, sorry fellas.

Dedication: Not going to say much here. This is my own squad. I have faith in my guys, to make playoffs, however I have no further comments.

ElementalForces: Not even the same squad as last season, just same name. SkyOne has gathered a huge roster of mediocre pilots backed by an extremely fierce starting line up, but due to the large roster I still see depth in the squad. I think this squad has decent playoff possibilities, but not a definite. If their bench throws in some effort to back their starters up, watch out for EF.

Krieger: Krieger is defiantly a strong squad. No doubt about that. Defiantly a division champion contender if they can stay active and play together. Krieger has some old pro players and some other strong players to assist them. My only fear is this squad either loosing their drive to win, or loose key members. At any rate, a force to be reckoned with, and definite playoff team.

Liquid Inc: Warzone master laggers and lobbers. They were very good last season, and everyone says they are loosing their skill, but I know these guys are solid players who will bounce back. If they want to do well this season they will. Liquid Inc. lost first round to Krieger, but I think if they had actually put some effort into it, it would have been a much closer game. Don’t overlook these team players. Playoff possibilities.

StarFire Elite: A very good squad. No doubting that, they showed some real competition last season. However I can’t seem to help but feel that they have lost some of their skill that made them such a formidable squad. That added with the fact that the competition for them is a lot harder this season than last season might make for a rougher season than they predict. I think they will be competing for a playoff position. Good luck though, I have a lot of respect for this squad.

Starseed TR: Don’t know a whole lot about this squad. From my nosing around I have gathered that this squad Is led by Gmonkey and is mostly composed of warzoners. This squad probably have some skill, however I know personally, since I am an warzoner, I know the transition to successful teamwork in 4v4 takes more time than a week. As for playoffs, I don’t know cause I haven’t seen them play, but since there are a lot of good squads in Rome, I am going to have to say most likely not playoffs, but close.

Undermined: Warzoners. Got smoked by Warlords round 1 preseason. Not counting these guys out yet though. Some definite skill on this squad. If they can bring all their talent together into a functioning team these guys could be a force to be reckoned with. However I don’t know if they have the dedication in their squad to actually do it. I see them getting disheartened by losses mid season and fading out. Doubting playoffs for Undermined.

Warlords: Holy Cow. That’s all I have to say. Came outta nowhere with some new recruits and now these guys absolutely rock. If they want to they can slaughter most squads that they will face, and I think they will. Mizerie is a good captain and I have a lot of faith in his squad. I don’t see them loosing interest mid season, and even if they did they’ve got enough roster to run three teams. This squad will be in competition for division title, and will ease through most of their games.

AML thoughts

Here we are at the beginning of a new AML season. The number of squads has been trimed to a mere 20 making the competition that much more fierce.

I'll run through this squad by squad. And then conclude with some general thoughts.

7rominence - Fishi's squad is back and better than ever? 7rom once again has a very large roster filled with WZ players who know teamwork. While they pracced hard last season, I have not seen them around very much this season. With a team of medium skill level players who will need to rely on teamwork to win, this feels like disaster to me. Some players such as Silly n00b have continued to prac and as a result have gotten much better, but I don't think it'll be enough to offset the lack of practice. If 7rom's premier inactivity continues, I expect them to miss the playoffs by a good margin in the tougher AML that is this season.

Black Star - Black Star is a relatively old squad I know that much. More than that I could not tell you. I've seen them prac a few times and they have decent pilots and decent teamwork. At this point they look like they'll sneak into the playoffs. With more premier 4v4 practice, look for this evaluation to change for the better. Without practice, they could definitely drop from the last few playoff spots.

BlackNike - BN has noticeably lost pilots and on paper looks weaker than they were last season. This does not however, mean that they are weak by any stretch of the imagination. The nikes had so much talent last season that even losing Super.fly and a slew of other very talented pilots will not put a major dent into this team's playoff hopes. With the current roster and a goodly level of activity by tthe top pilots(That means you Sony =P) this squad could once again go far in the playoffs. If the activity remains at its current level, BN is projected to go out in the second round of the playoffs.

-BlitZed- - :)

Damn_Yankees - Old school squad here. DY has been around premier before but are primarily a WZ squad like several others this season. The only player I see praccing this season though is Riptide. He's not a bad pilot but they'll need more than him to be successful this season. This is certainly not the strongest rendition of DY that we've seen but with some hard work they will probably make the playoffs as a lower seed.

Dedication - This is a squad that has reloaded from last season's Wretcheds squad that started out the first half of the season perfect. With an aggressive talented roster that is improving every day and pracs hard, look for Dedication to go far this season. With a touch of luck, I would not be surprised to see them in the semifinals/finals. Excellent pickups in the finisher that is forklift and the weasel presence that is Purple. Tenet is also an asset off the bench. This on top of a strong Wretcheds team from last season spells trouble for the rest of AML.

Disavowed - So Disavowed is back after that embarrassing loss to SFE a few season ago. If you'll remember back with me, Dis was dominant that season. I don't expect them to repeat that success this season, but I do expect them to be an upper level AML squad. King Seph is hiding behind an alias but he's a good captain with a group of very experienced(read:old and rusty :)) pilots who are around to give it one more go.
Looking through the log from the first preseason game v. BN I found this nugget of wisdom:
morphine> joe wishes he wasn't in a terrier right now
morphine> he'd trade a testicle for a WB i'll bet
Look for Disavowed to be a force this season but lose in a hardfought loss in the playoffs to a team that practices more than they do.

ElementalForces - Well Sky is back with his group of veterans who've had a season under their collective ss playing belts. Gone are the inactive alpha scrubs sky had last season; in place of them he has seasoned league talents in Symbsters, Something Dutch, and Aramen(I don't know who's behind the alias) to name a few names. Sky's newbs have also grown up. Technocop looks better every time I see him. Look for VT_Hunterkiller to be a dominant cloaker and top 25 AML pilot by the end of the season. This squad still has a lot of growing to do together and some bad elements on roster may cause problems along the way, but I consider them a definite lock for the playoffs.

EpiK - EpiK was a surprise last season led by the tandem that was FEAR and EAR. This season those two aliases are gone but in their place Passplay has dug up inno and a couple more aliases. On paper Epik looks stronger than last season(they look like a finals contender) but in reality, I haven't seen Inno very many times in the last half year they'll need him to make it that far. With or without their ringers, look for Epik to be a playoff team. They've finally rediscovered that winning flavor and I don't see them giving that up any time soon.

Krieger - Sailboats is in AML with a different name. Looking at the roster they have several standout names but again, I don't know the activity level of this squad. I have never seen their top 4 praccing and this could very well be the way the rest of the season turns out. Truthfully though, even without their top 4, Kreiger is a solid playoff team given even a whiff of teamwork. If they can stop from exploding that is. We'll see, but I fully expect them to win and win often.

Liquid Inc. - LI was a success last season, posting one of the best winning percentages in all of AML. Their style that emphasizes slow deliberate teamwork and concentrated lobbing is a tough one for an AML squad to crack. That being said though, I have not seen very many LI pilots praccing in 4v4. Simply put, without practice this team does not make the playoffs as evidenced by their loss last week to Krieger in a game that should have been a toss up. I expect them to slowly regain their momentum though and regain their form of last season halfway through this one. One other note, the loss of more majorum is a crushing blow. Even if they regain all the lost teamwork of last season, without him LI is not a finals contender.

OldShift - OldShift is back. The inactivity is back. Genocide is back(though I haven't seen him for a long long time). On paper OldShift looks stronger than they were last season. Last season they looked very strong. Activity level will decide where this squad ends up. A starting 4 of Shikaa Jam-Z Geno and Street Fighter can play with anyone in AML. Given how this season seems to be unfolding, look for this starting 4 to never appear. Oldshift should still make the playoffs, but that and how far they go should they make it will depend on how much drive is left in Oldshift players.

Reds - My first thought after seeing Reds announced as an AML squad was: wow, Reds in AML. That is still my thought. Reds have been around a long time(I feel like I'm saying that for quite a few squads this season) and bring to AML a dedicated sense of teamwork and quality pilots at all 4 positions as well as on the bench. Even with a weaker roster than Reds squads of the past and seemingly Inactive pilots in Asterix and zoe, Reds will be very strong. Look for them to be an upper level AML squad.

Secret - Secret is back for their second season in AML. Last season they snuck into the playoffs as a wild card squad and maximized their potential doing so. This season they are back with a weakened and smaller roster. This looks like nothing but misery and trouble for Secret AML. They do not have 4 pilots on roster that can compete with playoff bound AML squads and given the small roster, any inactivity will just result in a complete disaster. They are very nice people and I wish I could say differently, but I don't see them making the playoffs.

SS Crips - SS CRIPS ARE BACK WITH A ROSTER OF 6. THIS IS HUGE. BUKK MAY HAVE TO SUB. THEY SHOWED TO EVERY GAME LAST SEASON AND I HOPE THEY WILL SHOW TO EVERY GAME THIS SEASON. DO NOT EXPECT VERY MANY VICTORIES, BUT DO EXPECT SCHEDULING IN CAPS.

StarFire Elite - SFE is back. The roster is relatively unchanged except for the additions of 89sweaper and Vial, both of whom could fill the 5 and 6 slots for this squad admirably if needed. Solar is still captain with a more active preussie as assistant captain. AML may have gotten tougher but don't expect SFE to go anywhere from their perch atop the standings. As long as Deist's lag(err skill) and Alperri still show to games, SFE's baffling teamwork and toughness will win the day much more often than not.

StarseedTR - A late addition to AML and a squad I don't understand. Most of the names are alien to me and the names that I do know are only decent AML pilots. I don't expect teamwork to be very good at the beginning of the season and should that shoddy teamwork continue, I do not see this squad making the playoffs.

Undermined - Corrupt/AP/NB is back with a vastly weakened roster. All of their starters from last season have moved up to IML to play for zanny on FF. Sister is very good and Hobbes.fu is a tough pilot, but the story of this season will be told by the rest of the roster. This will mean a lot of playing time for career bench pilots with good potential such as Imposter, Talion and Nature calls. Look for a lot of growth during the season for this squad if they do not get discouraged by the losses. By they end of the season, I could very well see them playing at a playoff level, but their record at that point will doom them to simply watching the playoffs on 8025.

Unit - Unit has an AML and a PRO version and I honestly do not know which one is stronger. Unit came out with a stronger showing than I thought they would last week and defeated Secret rather handily. I still think the roster is a little thin though with no truly exceptional pilots. Should their current practice schedule and attitude continue look for Unit to definitely make the playoffs. They should be one of the better blue collar stories in AML this season.

Warlords - Last but certainly not least we have Warlords. WL have been mired in mediocrity since their inception it seems. That will change this season. Tarnished Silver is back from Dissent and he has brought both Dissent's teamwork and Dissent's winning swagger back with him. WL has responded to this like no squad in recent memory. They are now practicing all the time and display a teamwork that is already one of the best in AML. What will keep them from a deep playoff run is still the lack of dominant individual pilot skill, but this is a squad that has certainly turned the corner. Look for them to be an upper level AML squad.

Final thoughts:
1)A helluva season is coming up and should be one of the toughest AML seasons in a long while. Look for very close games every week as there is no single favorite to win it all.
2)It's kinda fun seeing all the old names on AML rosters. I wonder if Gavin is still any good.
3)Llamaplayoffs?
4)I respect Unit PRO for having the balls to move up there, but I don't understand what they were thinking? They have no chance to earn a win. CRnewbs will destroy them. They should gain a lot of experience though. I fully expect every pilot on that roster to be at least twice as good by the end of the season.
5)Llamaplayoffs? Llamas are much more than just Nocarbon. They need to practice more, but IML is not ready for depth of solid talent that is llamasery this season.
6)My squad needs to practice more, those lazy bastards :)
7)What is with the lagging out that has become prevalent the last few days. I can no longer stay in a prac. Have the lag settings been changed?
8)Cashew needs to get his ass off FFXI and start writing more predictions/praccing.
9)Saw The Magnificent Seven again the other day. God damn that movie is awesome. I wonder why they don't make good westerns any more. I figure it's just a lost artform.
10)GL to all squads in AML this season :)

AML Look Over - Tweaked vs BlackNike

This is the round two of the aml playoffs and there are 4 really good matches. No single match favors one squad to much and most are too close to really call, but everyone has their gut instincts. Here's what I, Cashew can tell you to expect in Tweaked vs BlackNike.

Match-One
Tweaked (1 - 13-1) vs BlackNike (5 - 10-4)
This match-up was last played out to a close 11-7 victory for Tweaked. In the previous match-up Tweaked started out by hammering the hell out of BlackNike's weasels Super.Fly and SonyRed while BlackNike focused on taking out VoodooBen. Tweaked eventually capitalized by knocking out Super.Fly and then stool in a slow match.

This match-up will probably be more or less the same and played out late on Sunday when lag is at peaks on the internet. Recently BlackNike has had positive momentum after several key wins late in the season while Tweaked's momentum has never really stopped or suffered a loss since early in the season.

Tweaked
Tweaked is the number 1 seed in Carthage and a favorite to win AML or at least the Carthage division. Under the helm of Savage, Tweaked has put for a valid roster with much improvement in its players. For the most part Tweaked has come ahead from last season where they were good as well, but many of their old starters have not. Overall Tweaked biggest aspect is its ability to offensively press a squad into seperating a single pilot and then taking them out. I'd rate their offense as #1 in AML, but their defensive abilities when being pressed tend to be lower. The key to beating Tweaked I often see is energy management to make sure they can take out Savage when he redlines, focus on their usually shaky 4th, and avoiding Br'er's random lanc bombs.

Major Individual Pilots
Savage: - Captain - Offensive Warbird/Weak Weasel. Savage tends to generate his own kills and not really set-up or follow anyone else. Sometimes he tends to struggle, but overall he usually goes MVP range. Targetting him usually just generates him pulling off kills.

Coastal: Flanker/Follow-Up Warbird. Coastal is a beast. There is no real difference between Savage and Coastal except you'll often see him packed in tightly with his teammates to follow-up or flanking to generate the random off ware kill.

Salami Swammi: Offensive/Defensive Warbird. Salami Swammi tends to be a pivotal pilot and can often times be targetted into choking. With pressure and minimized contact from other teammates Salami can be taken out.

Br'er: Lobbing Lancaster. Br'er tends to generate random kills and come thru in the end of matches during a chase, but in the end if effectively chased will often fall. Currently it seems Br'er and Savage are on the outs and may affect whether he is played or not.

DukeHazardDefensive Warbird. DukeHazard is a very solid experience pilot that is usually the set-up and mover of the bunch. Don't expect him to get too many kills, but don't expect him to die either.

Bad-News: Offensive Weasel. Bad-News is a weak point on Tweaked's line-up. As one of the few weasels they ever fly he only appeared for playoffs. Skill and talent wise he's strong, but he is not together like the rest. Effective targetting can break him apart where the others tend to group together.

VoodoBen: Defensive Warbird. Voodoo is by far every team's dream player to put in. Constantly targeted and often chocking Voodoo is an easy target to hit and in the end usually just turns into bait.

BlackNike
BlackNike is #5 in Carthage and tends to play rather flaky. With a roster that should be able to generate massive wins, they acquired 4 losses due to poor player shows and a few bad player choices. BlackNike's offense varies, but usually I'd see it as a forward press offense that tends to generate confusion and break-up a squad. This often splits the squad in half with two flanking either side making it easy for BlackNike to continue a push. BlackNike is usually broken by pushing back and focusing on a single pilot forcing them into defense instead of offense.

Individual Pilots
Stool: Offensive Warbird. Stool tends to be the kill generator for BlackNike. Due to unpopularity with captains he may not see play time, but in order for BlackNike to win they will need his ability to generate the KO's and clutches. Stool however is not immune to the chokes. But he almost never does.

Super.Fly:Follow-Up weasel. What Tweaked lacks in weasel power, BlackNike has. Super.Fly will be the pivot for this match as he either generates kill after kill or gets targeted into 0-3ness. Super.Fly is my player to watch on Sunday.

ManDude:Set-Up weasel. ManDude is a rogue cannon. Put a rocket on him and you got a kill, target him and you got a death. ManDude is often a crux pilot but usually is the main reason the BlackNike death toll gets so high.

A.W.O.L:Random defensive pilot. AWOL plays a few ships, but never really performs that well. I'd expect to see him in any match and not do much of anything besides take damage.

Felony: Choking Pilot. Felony is the pilot most who play against BNike want to see in with a bad record and even worse performances he is easily targeted and frequently singled out. Felony is one pilot BlackNike does not need to fly.

Frowzy: Follow-Up Bird. Frowzy is a crazy kill generator being where he needs to be when he needs to be. Frowzy however does not have much experience playing with the rest of his team this season so it may be easy to break him off he is plays.

Prediction
Tweaked to storm over BlackNike. Tweaked is a team of kill generators and offensive pushers with the ability to single out a pilot easily. If Tweaked can force Super.Fly or A.W.O.L to being by themselves I don't see BlackNike keeping 4 pilots in for long.

My Player to watch: Super.Fly
My line-up's:
Tweaked
Savage - Rogue Pilot + Offensive Pusher
Br'er - Random lobing and confusion generating
Coastal - Offensive Pusher and Kill Generator
DukeHazard - Anti-Warp and defender
5th Man - Bad-News to change up offensive with a weasel
6th Man - Salammi Swammi to finish it out if repels needed