R1M18 Quality Delibs

Judge Doom (Logic)
Charlie is an incredibly capable melee combatant with the ability to affect her and her opponent’s positioning, and while his low Strength and Endurance make movement difficult on the mountain, Danny’s ｢Scar Tissue｣ is not only a menace in close range, but adds plenty of utility and projectile play. However, mobility and visibility are incredibly important in this match, especially given the players’ opponent: Hava. Climbing almost a 90 degree slope is incredibly difficult—unable to use the propulsion of your legs and having to manually look for each hand and foothold—but Hava’s skills and Stand greatly facilitate her ability to do so. The challenge of this match is how each side manages the stage conditions—the third person of the match—while *reaching* their opponent to RETIRE them, by damage or knockout.

At the risk of seeming to compare, I’m going to largely shuttle my analysis of both strats together in the interest of time. Both strats start with some initial setup, Danny quickly making light armor and projectiles while Hava sends a boulder in like a wrecking ball. Both are very aware of their initial positions and opportunities/dangers they entail, and look to jockey for positioning accordingly (Planning/Counterplay/Logistics).

Here, my analysis diverges briefly to contextualize the strengths and weaknesses of Hava and Charlie as they approach. While many argue that Boss strategies often do better in Judge scores because they’re written by those who write the categories, I think the fact that Boss straters want to “sell” the match rather than “win” it explains the difference in approaches.

Hava puts a lot of effort and emphasis into setting up a network for information gathering and mobility, relying heavily on the ability to adjust slack, color, adhesion, and elasticity for a bevy of traps and setup because of course she did—the straters made the match to engage with the stage. (Competency/Creativity) One’s analysis could flow from here to giving an 8, given the score’s emphasis on the “efficient execution of its central thesis, covering everything it needs to without bloat.”

Meanwhile, I find some of Charlie’s climbing tech a little bit suspect, and some overall tech more limited in efficacy. Belaying herself to Scar Tissue and fanning out copies are a good start, but the first presented argument is Charlie’s 445 physicals, which, as stated above, are going to be mitigated. Moreover, given the 40x15 map, the visibility makes both sides’ approaches difficult. If Danny is too far behind, even with Surgeon’s Eye, his support at a distance becomes more attenuated—especially when the fog cover rolls in. Charlie still has to contend with actually finding Hava—and they might run into each other sooner than she expects. (Logistics/Technical) This isn’t to say that the players never find her nor that no climbing tech is used, but more detail addressing this hazard and locating Hava proper would have been appreciated.

Both sides perform some amount of setup during the cloud cover, so now is as good a time as any to focus on Danny. Much of his support work is cogent (Planning), and I think burrowing into the mountain is a good way to avoid Hava’s retaliation. Tunneling is a strat that can go poorly, but I think Danny uses his stats, resources, and moderation to convince me it goes well. (Technical/Logistics) I’ll point out that due to this defensive position and the angle of the mountain, projectiles and similar support will be difficult (you will be aiming for people’s feet and the ledges will block more and more of your line of fire the greater the distance), but it doesn’t sink you here.
To back up, Hava’s more daring engagements are a bit overstated, effective if they go off, but can quickly entangle her or trip her up, especially if the players have duplicates available. (Logistics/Counterplay) While there’s a possibility that such an engagement can go poorly, the redundancies with projectiles, traps, and disengagement options protect against the worst of it. (Competency)

If I framed Hava’s plan as being in keeping with the Judge’s desire to “sell” a particular encounter and character, DHH’s strat can be framed as in keeping the players’ desire to “win”—look for particular ‘overwhelming’ plays and express them strongly. I’ve said before that Pop tends to be decided by “rhetoric” (how things are organized and emphasized) as much as what is said, and the player mindset in boss matches tends to swing for the fences in this regard, occasionally at the cost of the particulars.

Charlie’s ability to duplicate Hava and Quantum Boxing are very potent techniques, but much of my criticism comes from my earlier points to Logistics, especially with respect to the stage. Being able to guarantee a hit by the superposition of two clones sounds very effective, but this is contingent on being in the position to “swarm” Hava and the footing to engage in close quarters combat. If they are out on the cliff face, then Charlie is focused on her hand/footholds; you have a general approach, but getting into striking distance is incredibly important in this match. (Planning/Competency)

Second, Charlie has 3 duplicates which she allocates between own-defense, strike-offense, and mispositioning Hava. The three seconds isn’t just a cooldown but a cast-time, processes that take time, and can leave Charlie without resources. If duplicates have been burnt through, then she can lose major progress or take major damage. (Technical/Logistics) Meanwhile, while mispositioning Hava has its uses in combat or if Hava overcommits to movement, I’m not as swayed that she can be duped off the map that easily, given her ease in creating tethers and general setup. In sum, the more generalized plan works well in the abstract, but runs into some questions of particulars and overstates its efficacy at parts.

(I’ll say in passing that being able to decide to “disarm” someone of their defenses when repositioning them, especially since Charlie having been belayed to Scar Tissue makes copies of herself. It could be argued from C PRE, but it doesn’t immediately follow from the text of “make copies” ability—I don’t immediately buy that you can strip Hava of all of her setup, or duplicate out of traps for nothing, but this ultimately doesn’t affect my delib score.)
While I think the avalanche is only plausible (rather than likely, due to difficulty with Danny’s line of fire and some presumption of the amount of snow), my main issue with it is one I share with Hava’s finisher; needing to ensure the target clears the ledge at the bottom. Both sides could have paid more attention to getting their opponent to the sides, but another factor is whether the opponent would be sufficiently restrained; both sides have means to keep them in a safe position (duplicates or tethers), but Hava’s more holistic commitment to restraint and trapping gives it more credence.

After much back and forth, I’ll go with high [7] in Hava’s favor, high [6] in players’. Both did well in Planning, but flubbed a few of the direct engagements (Competency/Counterplay/Logistics) and players had a few more Competency/Technical/Logistical. It's important to recognize the particulars of engagements and the circumstances under which they occur, and as strats continue to improve, it will be those kinds of details that will decide deltas.

Judge Wundagore (Archerous)
This truly is an uphill battle. Charlie Hoosier and Danny California form a shaky alliance against the enraged guardian of Mt. Parapollah, Hāvā! When fighting in such a dangerous location, one must be ready for anything, so how do our fighters hold up?

Starting with the rebellious duo, Charlie and Danny prepare themselves for the coming climb, giving themselves armor and gathering supplies. Charlie goes for an immediate hike towards Hāvā while Danny stays behind to provide climbing resources and cover fire. It’s a resourceful opening, though a risky one. The seconds they spend setting up could be interrupted at best, and detrimental to the plan at worst if Hāvā decides to get aggressive. This isn’t to say they won’t be able to recover, they definitely would. But a little more awareness of the team’s surroundings can go a long way in the beginning of the game. Just something to keep in mind. Other than that, there are some really good plays in this opening that pay off later on. Sending Charlie with Cops & Robbers and Scar Tissue is an aggressive strategy that will keep Hāvā on her toes, giving Danny some room to set up further. The bone creation is also very tactical, acting as both weapon and support item.

Onto the next section, Danny starts carving out a cave while Charlie keeps the sherpa’s attention. I find this to be especially effective, as Charlie is a menace to deal with in close quarters, though so is Hāvā. Thankfully she’s just the distraction, and she employs a lot of fun tactics to achieve this. The Quantum Boxing is a fun way to keep Hāvā’s attention on Charlie, meaning she’ll need to keep track of what is and is not an illusion to deal any serious hits to her, all while avoiding any surprise strikes herself. Duplicating Hāvā for further control is also an unexpected play, but an exciting one, all the same. Very well done.

Finally, with the final attack, Charlie and Danny bury Hāvā in an avalanche, while they stay relatively safe inside Danny’s makeshift cave. It’s a bold strategy, for sure, but I think the setup pays off.

I’m going to give this strategy a 7. Barring the shaky start, I think the rest of the plays made by this team are robust and play to each other’s strengths very well. Well done!

Moving onto Hāvā, we start with an immediate effort to keep the intruders in her sights, using visual cues from her opponents' Stands to not only inform herself about their capabilities, but to keep their positioning throughout the fight, as well. And in a visually-taxing environment as a mountain, this is incredibly important. In fact, Hāvā takes great lengths throughout the strat to maintain this information, be it through Beacons thrown around the map, or using Spider Threads to reel an opponent in on touch. I have no doubts that this sherpa has the means to keep tabs on her opponents, which is especially important when you’re looking for complete battlefield control.

Hāvā’s main bread and butter is locking down her opponents, disrupting their efforts with traps and Grenades, and keeping pressure on Charlie’s illusions. She knows to keep her distance from Scar Tissue until she can properly deal with it, and constantly forces it to choose between attacking or rescuing its much weaker user. Hāvā does a good job of maintaining the heat on the intruders, all while using the environment against them with rope traps and rocks, ensuring that they are not only seen, but exposed on this frigid slope.

Finally, once she’s got her opponents right where she wants them, she goes in for a classic: roll a big rock down the mountain while the opposition can’t escape. At this point, she has full control over the match. I appreciate that even in this final section, Hāvā takes care to not underestimate her opponents, taking into account their various strengths as she moves in for the final blow.
Overall, I’m going to give this strategy an 8. It’s incredibly thorough, and I think it does a lot of work to show just how competent this sherpa is within her element. Well done!

Judge Silver (Extra)
To waste no time, I'm giving both strats a **7** here. Really, I don't have much new insight to offer into either; they're both well-conceived, well-executed strategies that accomplish everything they need to. Hava's bag of tricks is as terrifying as it is spacious, and she really makes the most out of the different properties of her ropes; beacons are a clever way of navigating fog cover, and the Rockslide is a pretty devastating move that plays to her high-ground advantage well. If there were any realy complaint I would levy, it's the structural rigidity of the plan presented. That is, I feel like Hava plays too much into her strengths here and doesn't quite do enough to cover her weaknesses, something especially critical in a 2v1. As it stands, if Hava can grab and keep the momentum on her side, the strategy is near perfect, but if things start getting out of hand, the plan to recover and return to neutral is a bit lacking. That said, it's no fatal flaw, more of a nitpick; after all, the strategy itself does an admirable job of trying to wrestle that momentum away from the players. I hesitate to call Hava's plan rushdown, since that carries a lot of connotations that certainly don't apply, but more of a high-pressure zoning game. It does share one aspect of a typical rushdown strategy, however, which is eschewing traditional defense in favor of a rapid and constant offense, arguing that you can't really be hit if the other guy doesn't have time to hit you. Because of that approach, and how nicely it's executed, I think it earns itself that 7 comfortably.

As for the players, the interplay between these two wildly different characters is very interesting. Charlie decides to just start ranning, relying on her sheer physicality (and some illusions for cover) to carry herself up the mountain and her fist straight into Hava's face. Danny, meanwhile, uses Charlie as little more than a distraction, laying down occasional covering fire while preparing himself for the real win-condition: a whole avalanche. Charlie's combat tech in particular is a lot of fun, her constant use of illusions turning her from an above-average brawler to a near-prescient CQC threat. With Scar Tissue acting as a constant backup, it's a very convincing offense. That said, even with Charlie's illusions providing some baseline level of cover, I would have liked to see more about the "getting in" part of the plan. Charlie has an innate predisposition to recklessness, and a way to prevent herself from being punished for it to some extent, but I think a little more care could have been taken considering how powerful Hava's high ground is. 25 meters is a fairly long climb, and even with some climbing gear it isn't quick or easy, not to mention that even a fog-covered Charlie is generally exposed on the mountain face. It's not a major gripe, and the rest of the plan flows nicely from there, but it does throw a small wrench in things that I think could have been better accounted for. With that, I'm also giving this one a 7.