Escape From Alcatraz:

This match is fairly straight forward, some nice asymmetric game play where one of the potential win conditions is beating each other up.

I'm going to start with FF on this one. The set up needed to do their initial flash bang attack should take a bit to teleport, find all the necessary supplies, and perform the ambush. I imagine by this point Scott would have gotten to threatening some of the prisoners and Adam getting the blood and oil at least partially ready. Now for the ambush itself, I think it could have been planned out a lot more smoothly, there were a few unnecessary risks taken here even though I see the idea behind the pincer maneuver shown here. The fact BLS do have some ranged options(note while the riot shield would probably be used here, effectively using it would limit your ability to shoot making the trade out about even) while also being mobile make the bait plan risky as well as delaying the flashbang sneak attack. Not to mention shooting at somebody while your ally is near them isn't a good look, not saying that Stefan will accidentally shoot Ric or his stand, more just that it would have to be accounted for in his aim/caution.

Onto the flashbang, you would have to effectively time the pull and usage of it with the way you are planning to use them after climbing out of D-Code, just an extra factor to think of. Also after a bit of research, while the flash bang and tear gas is very disorienting, with 3/4 endurance respectively there is a high likelihood that BLS could start thrashing or swinging wildly on the grapple attempt, with this plus their stands in mind it is also a fairly risky thing. This could have been handled in a less risky manner, either waiting around a corner instead of baiting, maybe using a magnetic toss/ setting up a magnetic homing grenade on them or a nearby object, or setting up other less risky attacks/maneuvers.

The riot shield is good in theory, but on Stefan it doesn't work too well as mentioned before that he still has to be able to shoot, basically he can trade DPS for partial cover (as even a riot shield isn't full protection at about four feet tall, they at full utilization can cover head to knees.). On Ric it is much more useful since he can have his stands carry them, and riot shields by design are more effective for protecting multiple bodies rather than personal shields in a fight.

Side thing about the blood contingency: The blood outside his body is technically a separate object from the blood inside his body, similar to Josuke's homing missile against Kira. Not a big deal, just was worth mentioning for future reference.

Onto the rest of the strat, the car strategy sounds pretty strong, but I think it might be a bit limited in terms of where it could be used on the map and given the set up time again. The last ditch rush ric play along with the car being set up in the background is also fairly risky given that he could have just as easily stalled them instead of going for a headlong rush which is already a 50/50 gamble for winning outright or failing completely, not the result they were going for either way. The general plans to stall BLS with hacking was about expected, but everything could add up. Overall the strat is decent, but I think it could have been polished and executed a lot better.

I think that ric's ability to magnetize objects was heavily under utilize considering the traps and magnetic locks that could have been set up. The location usage also seemed a bit poor as you guys could have utilized it to set up the ambushes, it probably also could have been better stated if you anticipate what direction BLS is heading because as of reading the strat is seems a bit too reactionary for the way you set things up such as " when spotting BLS in an open area" rather than seeing them heading there to give yourself more time. While the strat talks about fighting BLS together, I don't see where/what exactly the plan is for if they split up or how it is mentioned. In theory that advantage could be pressed, or even just state which one you would go after, but I don't see it on the strat. Just in case I missed it though on the 5th reread, I'm not going to count it to much as it's not that big a deal, more a quality of life thing.

I am going to give a 7 here, you guys make two really large pushes and a good bit of general stalling, but it comes off as a bit over reliant on those pushes that could be potentially overturned and put FF in the bad situation. I could see a lot more efficiency in drawing out confrontations, planning hit and runs, strategically put blockages , or a number of other smaller-medium plays that could round out your pushes/wear down BLS rather than going all in. It wouldn't be the most flashy thing admittedly, but it would give a much better fallback/cushion for the big plays.

Now onto BLS - well Automod still doesn't like you guys, I see. You will probably take more time than stated, at best the route you take is probably the minimum estimate when the longest would be pretty variable given FF's actions and some of your own set ups. Taking out the cameras was about expected, it helps to limit teleport positioning from your opponent and serves its purpose as just that. The blood armor/movement is a nice bit of extra utility, while making grapples more difficult, do note that for the surface area measurement you used, that is for about 1 layer of the armor, so that estimate is a bit off since having complete armor would need at least an inch or 2 of thickness, not too big a deal as you can shift it around to block just something to keep for reference. From there the car set up on this team is also fairly strong with both a ram and projectile set up.

I think this strat is fairly well rounded, not too many points that put them in a too vulnerable position. The main slowdowns will come from the doors that have to be broken through as well as the few encounters with FF that have to be dealt with. The biggest flaw I can point to would be a lack of a way to dealing with prolonged encounters and a bit of an under preparedness to dealing with Ric's potential abilities, but those don't really come up.

I feel safe giving this strat an 8, there isn't too much that I can point at flaws wise, but I don't see anything that warrants a higher score.

The Shanksaw Redemption:

Some pretty great strats this time around, lots of doing their own thing but some pretty crucial crossover points that'll make or break it for either team.

FF -

I found this strategy very solid and pretty entertaining. You certainly put a lot of character into your plays and the dialogue between Ric and Stefan is great. Now for mechanics.

Stefan's hacking skills are put to great effect to hinder and harass your opponents, shutting doors on them with the hopes of trapping them or literally hit their ass on the way in/out, using the dreaded sprinkler strat to wash Adam's blood away (I'm not sure how connected these would be to the systems that Stefan can access but I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt here.), and using him well for general environmental control and surveillance.

Ric on the other hand is used for more directly offensive purposes, and I think that not might've been the best bet. Don't get me wrong, Ric has incredible offensive potential and we definitely see that demonstrated in your strat. However, I think that teleporting in and bumrushing them wasn't the best move for you here, and ultimately put a damper on your overall plan.  Directly attempting to RETIRE them is definitely a valid attempt, but I feel as if you could've used more setup here, and a more generally airtight plan to execute this.

I can see the reasoning for going in when you did; you're up against a pretty strong scaling team and the earlier you can execute an attack against them the better. However, I feel as if you didn't adequately prepare for the opponents offensive capabilities vs. your own. Even if you've donned gas masks, the flash bangs and the tear gas are going to be pretty disorienting for you as well, and going to combat against your opponents in these conditions is going to be difficult for you; not to mention firing a gun under these conditions and accurately hitting your target is going to be pretty hard. You may not be quite as disoriented from these tools given your preparations, but they'll still hinder you to a degree and I feel as the benefit you gain from them doesn't account for your opponents' ability to counter enough to make this plan of attack as solid as it needed to be.

This ambush doesn't sink your strat, you do have solid plans of hindering your opponents and attacking them further given your open combat section and the section in response to BLS' tactics. I just think that you would've been better off keeping to a less direct approach for longer and doing more preparations for this attack to help it reach the full potential that it has.

Overall, I'm going to give this strategy a 7/10. You did a pretty good job of hindering BLS and accounting for their actions, but a direct offensive play that was, in my eyes, executed too soon with too little preparation prevented it from scoring as high as it could of. Still though, good work, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

BLS -

This was very entertaining as well! Both these strats seem to have great narrative and character moments, very fun to read.

This strategy takes more of a play-by-play approach which, given your objective is pretty fair and a good format.

Adam's scaling potential is put to great usage here, and BLS' status as the villain team furthers as you absolutely slaughter all the cops around you to add to your blood pool and improve your offensive, defensive, and mobile potential. You put good focus on each of these vital aspects, and get a move on quick and keep moving and picking up the pace.

Scott gets to work employing the prisoner as an element of chaos, all of them donning masks that might help add some confusion to the Fellers' tracking methods. To compound on this you also take out cameras, helping hinder your enemies' teleporting capabilities as well as make you harder to track.
From here I think you both have good plans for if things come to combat, Adam continuing to use his great blood constructs and scaling to keep offense and defense up, and Scott using his great mobility and speed to his advantage.

As for the final plays, the car thing is pretty cool, a great tool for both blasting through whatever Stefan and Ric has in store for you, and getting the hell out of dodge.

Overall, I don't have many gripes with this strat. You do well to account for your enemies' plans of attack and movement, have good methods of offense, defense, and escape. My main thing would probably be that you kind of oversell the time you can do all this in and definitely should've accounted for it taking longer since doing all that in almost 6 minutes is kinda unfeasible. That said, I feel comfortable giving this strategy an 8/10, because it did well to account for FF's more direct offensive plan early on and used both characters' scaling and mobility potential to great effect to quickly get out of the jail and make sure to keep themselves safe while doing so. Not putting the prisoners in as much danger as you did and a bit more to account for your individual plans going wrong would've netted you a higher score, but great work overall.

Toy Story 3:

FAIRY FELLERS:

As a sidenote, I have to agree with concerns that others have voiced— certain out of character portions of your strategy come across as unneccessarily condescending, repetitive, and downright mean. Not really a good look.

However, behind this complaint is a well-made strategy. Even if I doubt the veracity of some of your attempted points (the sprinklers being hooked up to wifi, mainly), your strategy consists of a few strong moves, with sidenotes and contingencies to fill in the rest. Honestly I was hoping for a bit better of a contingency section, giving the vast amount of variables in this match, but I’ll take what I can get. At the match’s beginning, both teams take time for set up, and while coding a facial recognition program is very important for the strategy, as is raiding the armory, I definitely think BLS’ hustle from the get go will throw a slight wrench in the execution of your plans, and I don’t think the tear gas and flashbang would totally shut them down.

I don’t have much more to comment on, aside from the ending move, the 100 car tower of pain. It’s a cool visual, with jojo-esque bizarreness, and definitely a play that belongs in a this tournament, even if I find that setting it up won’t be as much of a cinch as promised. Overall, I’m going to give this strategy a **6.** It’s above average for sure, but the Feller’s have put out better strategies, and I think this one was missing a few touches that could’ve made it watertight (see the delibs of the other judges).

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY:

Right off the bat, good hustle. You guys don’t stay in place for long after the initial set up, masking yourself and coercing the other prisoners, and that decision is one that’s key to various successes in your strategy. Going for the crisco was a unique decision that made me think for a moment, and it works to your advantage, the oil content repelling the water from the sprinklers, although admittedly I was expecting more moves with the fire, such as attempting to torch certain areas of the building, or the Fellers, but that’s alright, because the techs for both the blood armor and SS work in a similar vein of chaos, and while I definitely think that the strategy will take longer than proposed, given the immense amount of variables in this match, but it’s a minor gripe, as the timer was simply flavor text.

I think this strategy has earned an **8** out of ten, as the strat is well balanced, meaty, and packing plenty of contigencies for situations that may occur, perhap save for extended encounters, but given how you’re always on the move, it’s a minor problem.