A SHIPWRECKED SAILOR (Kit):

Eight Melodies: Jojolity
Oh, this strategy just makes me so happy. It lives and breathes its Jojolity from start to finish, never once leaving it as an afterthought, and all of it just feels so natural. It never feels like Finni is acting out of character or against the interests of his own strategy to engage with what she engages with - it never feels tacked on or like it goes into awkward divergences just to meet the criteria - it just is its Jojolity, and I genuinely had a wonderful time with it. ‘Have fun’ Jojolities are some of my favourites, and watching someone so fully embrace that is always a treat.

If there’s one gripe I have with the execution, and I’ll admit that this is a difficult one to reckon with, it is that sometimes the fun feels a little more about the flavour than the strategy itself. Don’t get me wrong, it absolutely pervades through all as it should, but I feel as though a lot of the actual strategic decisions could have been given a completely different flavour and still remained the same at their core (kind of like reskinning a DnD build, if you’ll excuse the reference - it’s a fantastic job that stands well by its own merits, but it would be nice to see more mechanical ramifications moving forwards). It also lacks that special spark of genius which truly elevates a Jojolity from great to spectacular, but those really are once in a blue moon, and if inspiration is going to strike you, it’s probably not going to be for your first ever strat of the tournament, so I wouldn’t worry about that too much.

On another match I would probably score this a 7, but for this match, I’m giving an 8; creativity just means something different in the context of a first match that has no established precedent, and I think that deserves to be taken into account. Literally just take this and turn the dial up even further. Something delightful is stewing.

Atrocity Exhibition: Jojolity
Ohhhh, I just cannot gush enough about how much I love the way that character bleeds from these strategies. Here, the skill of your narrative strat really shines through, and every step of the way feels genuinely focused towards teaching this young whelp a lesson in PAIN. The structure really plays into this - contingencies are a normal part of any strategy, but the vivid presentation here of Finni tangibly making those mistakes and being punished for them does a delightful job of solidifying that mental image. All the plays made feel characterised by their methodical patience, and it’s just. I love this. I love this a lot.

This easily hits 8, and if I’m making first-match-of-the-tournament allowances for creativity, I think this has to make the bump up to a 9. In future you’ll need a few more truly stand-out plays to reach this level and beyond, with that spark of crazy creative genius that surprises me and makes me want to yell at the screen; but as it stands, there’s very little to complain about what’s already there. This was a treat. Thank you.

A PIRATE WHO DOESN'T DO ANYTHING (Flamechar):

Eight Melodies - Jojolity
This strat is very lively and joyous! It starts off likening the match to a game of Tag (the music chosen highlights the playfulness of this), as well as moving to excitedly open up some containers, likened to unboxing. I feel that Finni having fun and enjoying himself is integrated into the strat very nicely, with the realisation in section 3 that Elliot is attempting torture further highlighting that. Not as if you’ve already been tying him up with bomb chains but ok. The music is a more menacing pick here though which is neat. Thus overall I feel this was greatly done! The other judges have noted that you haven’t really done much with the front of the ship, but to be honest did anyone reading or writing these strats remember it was a thing? While having some fun with the radio tower could have given you more points certainly, I’m not going to dock points for you not doing something. As such, this gets a solid 8, well done!

Atrocity Exhibition - Jojolity
Overall, quite…is macabre the word? Certainly is setting the tone for, well, everything. Most of the strategy involves beating down the carefree Finni and making them suffer, which it does a good job at. There isn’t much else to say that I haven’t touched upon in Quality, so another 8.

SHIP OF THESEUS (Orblet):

Eight Melodies
Finni plays a lot of fun games during the match, starting off with a tag hanging off the side of the ship, can’t forget playing dress up and hide and seek, all capped off with a trip to Davy Jones’ locker. My only complaint would be that there were elements of the map unexplored such as the front of the ship. The cargo crates were used well with the clothing and as places to hide, although the elevation aspect wasn’t played with much at all. I will give props to making use of going overboard, I was interested to see if anyone would make use of that ruling, being able to jump off ship and come back on. The elements that got used were done well but I felt like there was more to play with in this match, this feels like another firm 7/10

Atrocity Exhibition
Really great work on display here, especially for a first showing, the strat is geared towards its flavor so it’s only natural that the jojoility would be so well baked into it. Working a lot of attacks and traps as punishment for Finni messing up in stealth and approaching is really good. The finisher was the cherry on top for me, leaving it up to Finni of whether or not they come back from the fight, whether or not they learn from the mistakes they made in the fight. It all feeds towards this narrative of forcing him to experience life more seriously despite his usual carefree nature. My only complaint is that the flavor isn’t reflected as much in the tactics and strategy of the strat asides from the finisher. All in all, I’d give this a solid 8/10 good job!