JJOCT7 R3M6 Quality

Judge Alph (Alphamon)

Alright, park cleaning, cleaning the park! I’ve never played (or watched someone play) Pikmin before, so I had the strats teach me how the game works before I passed hard judgement on them.

Speaking of hard judgement, because of the JoJolity being inexorably linked to the process of the match- namely, the tech- my quality delibs will be solely focused on my perception of the quality of mechanical writing at hand.

We’ll start with team Windwaker, for the Gamecube. The strat opens with how the rest of the strat follows- the team splits, one side is using tech to cover trails and catch out opponents before moving, while the other side is constantly on the move- and it stays on this basis.

While the teams may re-integrate at points, or otherwise divide and conquer for the majority, most of the perpetual motion machine is set up from the word go. This is fine, of course, but it never really feels like it evolves much from there:

Mallory is constantly on the move, Raspberry is providing information, cover, and utility, and the Bloomin are picking up trash. This is, as they say, enough: The Bloomins are covered, Mallory is covered, Raspberry is covered- the bases are adequately covered, so why load more onto them?

Moving onto Good Wuck (have) Run, we have a different opener that serves the same purpose as WW’s: gaining momentum.

To speak on both strats for a moment, these are very strong opening plays in matches that have extra ‘time limits’, aside from the actual time limit, this match has: either party reaching 56 points. With that in mind, momentum needs to be created and built up from the word go, so it’s not bad to see similar thinking between different teams.

The strat then follows that pattern while rolling forward: both team members stick together with their twenty Bloomin, lay traps for their enemies, do setup for their friends, and generally try to keep everyone and everything around them alive. Again, this is fine, this covers the objective succinctly.

The reason I haven’t given scores yet is the same reason why these quality delibs have been a bit short. Both of them cover the match’s intent quite well, but I didn’t feel anything that really gripped me about either piece of writing. They came, they did their job- and there’s nothing wrong with that- and they went home, taking **7**s for both teams.

Judge Brittany (Logic)

“Logistics” matches are always fun, this one more a collectathon hybrid rather than the usual “ensure a process goes smoothly” as olive pressing and apartment building. Maybe we’ll call ‘em dandori matches in the future, but I digress. With Bloomin tending to both teams, GWF has high mobility as well as Paranoia’s surveillance with Roxanne’s run-and-gun construct versatility, while WW has higher range from Raspberry’s Stand and Mallory’s own suit versatility, as measured as it is.

Starting with WW, each player takes 10 Bloomin and focuses on tasks suitable to their kits: Mallory using burst mobility to gun for the highest value target as Raspberry sets up to control center stage. (Planning/Logistics) I’m a little unsure of some of the finer details of Raspberry’s Stand use—whether each bullet can be commanded to fall at C POW or whether it’s aggregated over an area, what is the actual smoke production rate—but that may be due to my shakier understanding of Raspberry precedent. (Technical) Given the obstacles that face them, Mallory meanwhile has a more robust set of enemies to manage, which they do so Competently.

The interplay of Section 2 coheres, but I find it somewhat generalized due to the high level at which it occurs. Given the size of the map and the need to invest resources into particular plays (particularly smoke coverage and Mallory’s meter), some further prioritization beyond “when it’s viable” would elevate this section. (Planning/Logistics) I’ll reiterate that arson plays require more particularly than “fire and forget,” especially given the inflammability of living plant matter due to its water content.

The strat closes out with modular priorities to clean up and close out WW’s lead. While I find them coherent as callouts, I would have appreciated more specificity in precedent conditions and priority, especially since the section is stated to done “longside a ramping-up in frequency of Section 2 tactics” (Planning/Logistics)

Although the prioritization of tactics and strategic priorities could have been made clearer (Planning/Logistics), the challenges are sufficiently met on the micro scale and the strat coheres on the whole (Planning/Competency), a [7] seems fair.

GWF starts with opening sabotage before taking the center from the north, focusing their efforts on the central and southern caches of points. (Planning) Of particular note is the interplay between the two squads, reallocating Bloomin on the fly if one party is having difficulty with their tasks. (Logistics)

After this initial sortie, GWF looks to play the map, looking to set up positions where interactions with WW result in positive (often positional) trades in their favor in addition to various harassment plays. (Planning/Competency/Counterplay) I’ll say that I think these sections run a little bit long due to the combined focus on sabotage and map directing (Formatting), but they nonetheless read well and get their point across.

The final section is a similar clean up, giving another endgame route with some conditioning on the size of their lead. While the more linear progression within sections seem less adaptable, it’s clear that much thought was given to those paths and the optionality they present on the broader, strategy scale in addition to the interactions on the narrower, tactical scale. A light [8] seems in order.

Judge Charlie (Arch)

It would seem we have quite the fun challenge on our hands. Item collection, little helpers; this can only be… Dandori. Our junk collectors for this event are Roxanne and Paranoia from the Gallery of Wayward Reverie, competing against Mallory and Raspberry Beret of the Willow Wisps! This is a battle not only of collections, but of tactical pathing and obstacle management, as well. How did our trash collectors do?

Starting with the Gallery, they begin with immediate interference, taking advantage of the confusion to get a headstart on the Wisps. It's a bold first move, one fortune would certainly approve of. From there it's a matter of collection, the pathing of which they make quite clear. There are some fun combos, such as the two using the Bloomin to attack the Munchers while blinded and the Bloomin working with Roxanne’s Safety Gloves to stay in the fight for a ‘tug o war’.

However, the meat of the match is in how they deal with their opponents, and by extension secure their points. The Gallery has many methods to dealing with their competitors, including sap traps, junk obscuration with Paranoia’s VBs, and the aforementioned Safety Gloves. Their Snipe and Swipe maneuver is also quite fun, denying their enemies of resources by not quite putting the flung Bloomin in danger, but not easily accessible. A smart play.

Overall, I’m giving this strategy an 8! I found this strategy to be highly efficient in grabbing points. They waste no resource in securing their victory, even using their opponent’s own need to path through the bushes to their advantage. The Gallery ran a tight ship. Well done!

Onto the Wisps, we start off with a rush, with Mallory immediately gunning for the doll with their Squad M, making sure to fly ahead and clear any obstacles that would be in their way. Meanwhile, Raspberry provides support, building up a collection of smoke with Cigarette Rain, building up to a Bullet Rain to cover both Squad M and Squad R wherever he’s needed. It’s a solid opening, giving them the set up they need to secure a win.

Though their pathing is sufficient, the real meat is once again in their securing of points once gained. Mallory’s Heat Lamp is a pretty clever way to get opposing Bloomin to drop an object, making sure to cool it with a Jet Turbine or Purple Rain before letting their own Squad pick it up, of course. The Burning Branch Rain offers a little more heat, giving them some further map control, accompanied by Raspberry’s smoke signals. I especially loved the Blooming Black Ops as a removal option, as it not only limited the opponent’s resources, but gave me a fun visual to think about, as well.

Overall, I’m giving this strategy a 7! It was to the point, if not a little smudgy with the details. But it's nothing serious, especially given the nature of the match. Well done!