Planet Fitness (Logic)

In the interest of time, I’m going to try to keep this one brief while still hitting main points. Similar to M3, this is a 2v2 deathmatch composed of high power combatants in a relatively small arena to encourage consistent engagements, with many more items and terrain variation to interact with.

CdK continues to be on the up and up with this 2v2, going for the more technically challenging strategy of isolating and 2v1ing. The opener is efficient enough, covering an approach to the net with shrapnel baseballs to space out EEP before trying to entangle Errok with BS net balls to break through cover so Diane and Rocco can 2v1 Midori, using CENTERFIELD to continue to wall off Errok in the south. While I think more paths to netting Errok could be given (what if the first salvo fails?), I think that this play is cogent enough.

However, that the isolation play is solely “reaching Errok, Diane grabs his ankles and performs a hammer throw (after prepping for his Putrid Aura)” is very insufficient. (Competency/Logistics). Even granting the net lands, Errok is still a capable combattant by raw stats and to grapple and throw requires finesse to land in the first place. If you’re going to go for an isolation-and-mob strategy, it is quintessential that you properly explain how you do the former; this is where many similar strategies stumble.

Fortunately for the latter, the plans to 2v1 mob Midori while staving off Errok are nicely comprehensive (Competency). Various responses to each RAT’s melee and range options are given, and comboed off of each other. I think more respect could have been given to Seymour’s B SPD vines strikes beyond dodging out, as the pair forgo CENTERFIELD’s defense to ward off Errok and Diane breaks off to get the tire, but the pressure game is otherwise strong (Counterplay). There’s a bit of lack of direction in how it’s done (Planning), but the goal of Diane tearing away vines to give Rocco the opportunity to attack Midori is clear enough.

Regardless of whether or not the 2v1 is successful, the second section is a game of keep away, using BS balls to blast through defenses and WS balls for push back. I had to ask myself whether Rocco or CENTERFIELD threw them, but given the velocity is preserved from the original baseball throw, it doesn’t matter too much. After sufficient harassment, Rocco goes in for CQC and Diane sets up the wall to collapse onto him, similarly strong engagement play as against Midori.

Before I give my score, I want to quickly discuss the formatting and contingencies (Planning/Formatting/Counterplay). While I think each of the three sections are strong on their own, I think they don’t quite play as well in the event that things do not go according to plan (if a CdK is downed early, if a RAT isn’t separated, if a RAT isn’t downed), as the contingencies are only an additional paragraph that when the dynamic of the fight has drastically changed.

This isn’t me saying “you needed X, Y, Z contingencies” more than more robust plans were needed than those given to better account for alternate states of the world that were already considered. For example, if Errok isn’t kept at bay, “Diane leave Rocco to deal with Midori whilst she will go to confront Errok;” leaving Rocco on his own to contend with Seymour’s incredible power and zone control. Much of the fall back plan is in Section 3>2 given the relevant contingency at the end of Section 1, but we again have a similar problem of Rocco’s 1v1 Seymour being similarly underdeveloped.

If I could grade these sections in isolation and at their best, I would give an easy 7/8, but the aforementioned structural gaps for alternate states of the world and especially Diane’s underdeveloped separation of Errok earns CdK a strong 6/10; if those flaws had been addressed, this would be a strong 9. However, let me reiterate the Rubric's point that a 6 is still good, and given the high executionary bar of 2v2s, much less isolate-and-mob 2v2s, this is some of CdK’s most technical and comprehensive work yet.

Moving onto EEP, the opening is understandably simple: split up to get Seymour fed and to clear out the south side of the gym, using Errok’s BO to box out CdK. From there, EEP plans a pincer attack with YAB and Seymour.

I had similar commentary on M12 where it was occasionally difficult to disentangle narrative from mechanics, and here, bouncing between Midori and Eerok makes that a bit more difficult. (Formating) Part of this is due to the narrative of the strat, but there aspects that weren’t immediately obvious on first blush. Many of the more mechanical sections are squished into one paragraph, dumping a lot of information at once and making it a bit harder to keep track of how parts work.

Errok’s defense of Midori comes to mind: playing a sort of interference with the size and reach of his attacks. However, much of this content is at the end of Section 1 so it does not immediately read as applying in Section 2, as Errok’s next mention (positioning wise) is again at the end, as a follow up for Seymour’s attack. Putting this information together—as well as interjecting Seymour’s offense—to understand Errok’s gameplan took a few rereads.

Additionally, while I certainly buy that Errok can tend against both of CdK, given the more spacing based nature of his tactics, I’m not fully sure whether he keeps them engaged with him, and thus away from Midori. (Logistics) The grapple swing to escape/engage can get him into the mix, but more was needed on how he keeps them both focused on him, especially if one runs away. As a grappler with projectiles, he does have the tools to keep them occupied—and they are used effectively in the pincer—so I think that EEP’s defense and relative positioning could have been more clearly explained with some slightly different formatting choices and more developed and explained, even considering the broader Narrative focus of the strat.

Returning to the pincer attack proper, I believe the midgame offensive tactics are broadly effective—using vines and YAB spam to pin CdK down and option forcing with multiple angled attacks—but they are a bit mixed in and somewhat reliant on best-case scenarios of pressuring CdK for Seymour to churn the earth and Errok going in for brawling. Going from stage to stage and giving the offense more of a flow would help orient the offense towards its finisher, but this is a more minor note. (Planning)

With that a cinematic show of force to close out the match defined by an initial buildup into full court pincer-and-press, and thus this delib. I’ve front loaded much of my negative sounding criticism (and mentioning the positives only in passing, sorry about that!), so I can focus on the strength’s high point: juggling a technically competent strategy with a creative narrative (Planning/Narrative). I mused post M10 that there was an easily high scoring strat in Futura’s underneath its executionary insufficiencies and lapses given its unorthodox approach to how narratives are depicted in strats, concluding that it would take a team being incredibly in sync to focus on a particular sense of humor and style to pull such scores off. My proof? EEP: ARAT’s commitment to the broader-narrative of Midori on a hapless mission to create a workout tape, as Errok and Seymour eventually take it off the rails. Given the context of that strongly executed thesis, my criticisms, while material, hold less weight: 8/10.

Crossfit (Cory)

Lets get those glutes going!

Starting with EEP, this is a strat dripping with a lot of fun Creativity and flavor. Phrasing the whole thing like a workout tape gone wrong is something I'll go into more detail for in jojolity, but you guys made a super entertaining read here and I'll give that much props before I go into mechanics.

And let me just say that this strat is nasty, leveraging Errok's range advantage into a ranged game thats quite ironic to throw against a baseball man. All in all this is a good plan executed just as well, with any worries I might have had about underestimating your opponents in the early stretches more or less goes away entirely by the end. Were this another strat, I would have simply left it at that, but I really do think the flavor here pushes it above a simple 8. You guys get a 9!

As for CDK, Rocco sure is a man after my own heart. Your combat plans here start well enough; the opening is suitablly explosive, and catches your opponents a little more off guard than I think they planned for. I also really dig the use of the equipment here, it's all in all well-executed across the strat.

Further on, I do have issues with the Errok 1v1 plan as is, but other judges have mentioned their concerns there as well and I won't harp much on it. The 1v1 against Midori is much better executed, and the finisher is done well enough if a bit unfocused in such a large section. Tiny little issues throughout the strat prop up here and there, but I think that by and large they don't detract too too much from it being an effective one. 7/10!

Gold's Gym (Flamechar)

Starting this later than ideal, but I guess this will help refine my delibs one way or another.

EEP: The Narrative is strong with this one (and the framing of it as an exercise tape is an angle of Creativity that I personally like). They also immediately take to removing as many of the objects in play away in one fell sweep (hehe), taking note that both opponents are object manipulators of different kinds [Counterplay]. Errok then plays distraction by harassing both opponents as Seymour has his greens, taking note to outrange them as well as noting the high end of these two foes won’t be hindered by the Rancid aura as much with their high END stats. Once Seymour has enough plant matter, they then surround the opponents, while making sure they are able to jump out of combat if needed, before reaching a frenzy and rushing down the enemy once they’ve tired out both them and the map supplies. This is a great strat! It’s Narrative and Creative approach certainly lends it to a **9**.

CDK: These two start out with collecting objects for Rocco to use for area denial to split up Errok and Midori before focusing on the latter, using white-snaked rubble to push Errok away and black-snaked rubble. Like Logic has previously mentioned, I don’t think the hammer throw of Errok will be sufficient to keep him away - not necessarily even out of range since that arm can be 20m long! The contingency helps in that regard, and the rest of the strat is…fine. Nothing stands out particularly as bad, but nothing is standing out in a way that makes the strat “undeniably solid” - although we discussed that damage isn’t doubled by WS, I’m not gonna negate anything for that - so I think this can sit at a high 6.