T6R1M19 Quality Delibs

Judge Pyrophobia (Cory)

Really fun strats here! I'm noticing a bit more T4 in the writing style of these ones than I have across the rest of T6 so far; the contingencies and flavor in specific spots were pretty much a dead ringer for how we did things at the time.

For Cerise, I think you lean on your advantages here really well, setting up a really fun plan to knock Winona off her bike and backing it up well. It's just about the only hypothetically ropey part of the strat, given the smoke and possible parries by Winona, but that may have always been the case so I don't think it's too much of an issue. Once that parts done, I think your cqc plans here are pretty much airtight, with the Death Grip being so much fun and the focus on winona's stand being a really good play. Frankly, the only criticism i can level at this strat is that one move may be hard to hit, and that's really high praise. Cerise gets an 8!

Onto Winona, I have similar things to say. Your tactics here lean super well on the bike, but I think the big strengths of this strat are the plans you set as defenses provided that plan doesn't go well. The tracking gel is such a fun application of the specifics of gelling things, easily on par with the Death Grip in terms of fun factor (if subtler), and I think having an entire subsection devoted to Cerise planning to throw you off the bike is super inspired Counterplay in my opinion. I liked this one more and more as I read it, and y'all should be proud of the work here. Another 8!

Judge Claustrophobia (Rocket)

Let's get things started with Cerise. When designing this match I expected you to play a brutal game, but you really went above and beyond on thai one. Rather than split this into three sections I believe just to will be needed to get my full thoughts out. So let's begin with section 1: The Approach. This is a section where if you make some common mistakes it can be very easy for you to come out looking dismissive and overconfident, but I think you manage to be pretty damn convincing. Many teams have laid out what the ideal situation looks like for victory, but in a pretty comprehensive way you have accounted for everything from the ideal to the fully scuffed.  Playing around the damage that you might take and adjusting the amount of risk you take based on how much of an advantage position you are in is also really clever. In some cases I think some clever use of the ability could have enhanced some of your defensive or mobility plays, but overall your adaptive positioning and risk taking and intelligent defense against a fair few vectors of attack are impressive. I could nitpick about small and relatively unimportant things, but as a whole product I have no real complaints here, great job.

Now we can examine your second general section: The Crushdown. In full honestly I have little to say here other than this is a pretty textbook on how to handle this kind of matchup. Disabling the opponent's main way of attacking and then focusing on dealing damage that takes advantage of any strike the opponent makes and make it more difficult for them to both attack and deal damage is really solid, and by making a turbo grapple that keeps your opponents from easily making spac you place this type of fight about as well as can be done. Ultimately This delib is extremely short, but that's just because your strategy leaves me with little to say. It is both simple in its brutality but complex in its adaptability. Something that can be understood on first read but with enough nuance to only get better on repeat read throughs. I feel that a solid 9 is totally fair here.

Moving onto Winona I have to say I am very impressed here. I know you guys put a lot of effort into preplanning and it shows in how you handle your opponent. I think that in your early sections you play really intelligently around your opponents capabilities. Positioning and pathing are all really solid here, and your focus on funneling your opponent is something that I think is both done in a way that minimizes risk and maximizes effect. Otherwise playing a hit and run game is pretty smart. Your clear consideration for how your opponent fights shows through well in your tactics, and your relative adaptability is commendable. I do think that throughout this section you do rely on having full access to your bike in order to keep yourself in an advantageous position, and that a few more characters could have been dedicated to safety, but otherwise I think that your early sections are really solid.

Moving more into your dedicated combat and defensive sections you  definitely play a brutal game. The gas tank is a fine initiator, though using it as a more reactive play in your back pocket instead of as an initiating play of sorts might have gotten you a bit more bang for your buck. Playing to disable your opponents mobility is also done really well, and playing around the low visibility to enhance traps that you lay is definitely smart. Again, a little much of your defensive play relies on having access to your bike, but even with those nitpicks I think a solid 8/10 is more than fair. You play a simple and effective game that has really great counterplay, and this is easily some of the best work I have seen from you. This is definitely one to be proud of, and with a little more defensive comprehensivity could have easily been a 9. Awesome work guys, I look forward to yall continuing to raise and surpass my expectations.

Judge Trypanophobia (Brianna)
Wow– this was a great concept for a match, and I think that both strategies absolutely blew me out of the (Smoke on the) water. I absolutely loved each showing here, and both competitors should absolutely be proud of what they put out. These strategies were a joy to read– and more than that, I think they’re both really solid and hold up mechanically as well. I’d say “I wouldn’t want to judge this match”-- but I am a judge, and scores have to be chosen. So without further ado, let’s start with quality!

Quality:

I’ll start with HMB– going into this tournament, I had high expectations for Ron, who has delivered several incredible strategies from seemingly unassuming builds. This is no different. You put out an exceptionally simple and brutal strategy– but more importantly, you put out a simple and brutal strategy that works.

One of the biggest things I take into account when it comes to matches is action economy, and I think that this strategy executes a high-speed initiative in a way that’s creative, believable, and incredibly efficient. I definitely think that the plan to throw caution to the wind and engage in CQC with the woman who’s riding heavy machinery and has pretty much equal CQC skills is a risk that pays off, and things such as the Death Grip or utilizing The Object as a bludgeoning tool to knock her off her bike and defend from potential attacks is an underrated play as well.

Another part of this strategy that’s incredibly admirable is the variety of contingencies– while you make a couple of minor assumptions on what Winona will do or how she will respond to being damaged, I don’t think it’s enough to ding you more than a point or so. You really properly respected her kit and the damage she’s capable of dishing out with her motorcycle skills, and that’s something that I also value. You make this a fast-paced, high-octane battle and play to your strengths very well, and for that, I’m going to give you a high 8/10.

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On the topic of BTA– I know that Spookie has had a less than stellar track record with only one match win under her belt, and as someone who’s known her for over three years (Almost 4 now), I’ve been watching her gradually get better and better as a writer and a strategist. It’s not an exaggeration when I say that both the flavor and execution of this strategy is your best work so far, and like I said earlier, you should be absolutely proud of what you’re putting out here.

Onto the actual strategy– right off the bat, I like your accounting for the environmental hazard of smoke and fire. While I wouldn’t have expected you to properly maneuver a motorcycle on a 25x25 meter stage, I think you managed to present an incredibly convincing case. Like I stated on HMB’s strategy, I highly value using your action economy wisely and getting off to quick starts; and this is something that Winona is the absolute queen of, given her motorcycle. Just like your opponents, you really respected Cerise’s kit and generally accounted for what he was capable of, delving into hit and run tactics to properly prevent him from dragging you down to play his game. Your covering of the pool cue in metal and using it to break through his defenses by merit of engaging in modern jousting is equally creative and the result of outside the box thinking– and just like Cerise, I admire how willing you are to dive into CQC with the A Power fighter, using said pool cue to extend your reach in a ‘disjointed hitbox’ of sorts.

Another thing I appreciate is the emphasis of gel to control the arena and gradually use choke points to corner Cerise and force him into a smaller area so you can land a solid hit on him. While I think that this takes a little bit of time that he can use as an opportunity to attack, it’s definitely nothing that would be worth dinging more than a point or two off. More than that, I think that this perfectly plays into your explosive plays, ensuring that what would normally be easily avoidable due to D Precision turns into a deadly ball of flame. While you overestimate your capabilities just a little over the course of this strategy, I don’t think I can grade this any lower than a high 8/10. Excellent showing from both teams.