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thegeneralsnotebook · 5 years ago

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January Feature: History of Colours Part 1 -- Yellow

Welcome to another year’s worth of articles on The General’s Notebook. The time off in December, as I flew home to be with my family for the holidays, was a refreshing one, and now I have some energy to begin tackling another project. In this case, that’s a new series of posts over here, detailing the history of each colour within the entire scope of the MLPCCG metagame. For many of us, those early days of the Premier Block may be represented by nothing more than the old cards that we know were played with back then, but there was real development and real competition then too. In fact, in my opinion those days were something of a Golden Age for the game, when the subreddit was filled with excited speculation and real discussion. Sure, the cards may have been subpar, but the community was pretty great.

Of course, in my case those days were before even my time, as though I started playing the game around midway through the tenure of Canterlot Nights, I only first started paying attention to the larger trends around Absolute Discord. So some of the older decks were completely unknown to me, and I was lucky to have the expertise of my good friend Bugle to help putting this history together. To start, we’re going to be talking about Yellow, because it’s a colour that’s had a really interesting history, possibly one of the most interesting out of all the colours.

It’s also a colour that is really present in the zeitgeist of the game right now, suddenly a force to be reckoned with not just in Core, but also in Harmony. Indeed, as we’ll see, there’s a little bit of poetic justice in Yellow taking a Harmony crown this year, given its history with the format, but to understand that we’re going to have to take the whole journey first.

Yellow’s fortunes in the game have experienced some significant variations over the course of time, but in broad strokes, the story is actually very simple. In the beginning, the colour was great. Then it was bad, for a long time, and now it’s good again. Barring one or two exceptions, that’s actually a pretty good approximation of how things have gone in the years since Premier. So let’s start with those golden days of yore, when the future was bright, and the metagame barely a new thing.

The core highlights of any Premier Yellow deck.

The Golden Years of Premier

There were two notable Yellow decks in the days of Premier, and while they shared one big card (one that will be a recurring theme through these early days of Yellow decks), aside from that their playstyles couldn’t be much more different. On the one hand, we had the aggro stylings of Blue/Yellow Rainbow Dash Wins, and on the other the Yellow/Purple control of Royal Guidance.

RD Wins probably requires little introduction and explanation. While in those days the game was fundamentally different, with confronting a Problem before anyone else netting you the Problem’s bonus points, functionally aggro was still aggro. That meant that one kept their cards’ reqs low, optimized high impact for low cost, and built an insurmountable momentum through the midgame that carried on through to the end. The biggest feature of Blue in those days was the free movement available from cards like Wild Fire and Holly Dash, and the AT efficiency of Cloudchaser and Two Bits. Yellow pitched in cheap things to make finding the off-colour Problem requirements easier, as well as the best Faceoff trick in the day with Critter Cavalry. And, of course, lest she ever be forgotten, the sheer dominance that was Guidance Counselor. This wasn’t one of those decks that necessarily tried to lock the opponent out of the game with her, as RD Wins was often, er... winning before that would happen, but it was still a huge source of AT advantage, and already well-recognized as one of the best cards in the game.

By the way, those 9 Troublemakers certainly weren’t a mistake, as if you take a close read on PR Rainbow Dash’s text you’ll realize that she needed them, even if the main strategy of the deck was was to confront Problems and go fast. And hey, who would say no to the opportunity for that brilliant double YPS opening? Even if we’re an aggro deck.

To the second example, Royal Guidance was the Swiss Army Knife of decks in those days, and it was one that absolutely thrived on the idea of dropping Fluttergui Turn 2 and basically winning the game from there on out. In fact, that was where the name of the deck came from, since Royal Guidance was the card that enabled either of Fluttergui or Ursa Vanquisher to hit the board early, setting up for an extremely asymmetric early game that would be used to assert dominance through the rest of it. Generally, this would take the form of solid Purple control, hunkered down behind Troublemakers and letting the game draw out. In those days, options against Troublemakers were few, and most decks could only really gather their resolve and hope to take them down in the faceoff, and under those circumstances Purple’s tools were well-positioned to keep the walls secure.

Indeed, some builds of Royal Guidance even tried their hand at the good old Gyro toolbox, even then already in a very well-developed form, though without the Eff Stop support at least. In the late game, the deck would often transition into a farming plan once Fluttershy had been flipped over, and could usually pull it off quite well, netting the extra points needed for the last push to the finish.

The meta as a whole was fluid in those days, with a number of other decks also vying for things (as we’ll get to in future articles), but with these two Yellow was absolutely in contention. This was a state of affairs that was bound to continue, at least for a little while.

These two could kill you with a wink of their eyes.

And The Man at the Back Said “Everyone Attack”

And it turned into a Ballroom Blitz. This one is probably the most well-known Yellow deck of the Premier era. Not only did it represent a distillation of the best that Yellow had to offer from the first two sets, it represented the match-made-in-heaven that was Yellow and White. And, so far as I could tell from the history, this deck was also Rarity: Truly Outrageous’ breakout hit. Sure, it was obvious to everyone that she was an absurdly valuable card right from the start, but it looks like this was the first deck that really hit the big-time with her.

The new Fluttershy Mane represented a huge speedup in the early game, especially since at this point Starting Problems were almost all small ones with easy confront requirements, and thus CN Fluttershy could ensure a quick confront and bonus points as soon as Turn 2. Remember those first confront bonuses plus the faceoffs, and a dominant early game could easily put the game out of reach, especially once it was followed up with the White-powered midgame, consisting of Stand Still to keep the opponent off-balance, and of course RTO to seal the deal. The deck could even (and often did) obtain the extra efficiency of using Staring Contest to self-bounce a cheap Friend like Forest Owl. Why, after all, would one spend 2 AT to move it when one could transition it through the hand instead and only pay 1 AT? All of that combined to make a lightning-fast juggernaut that tore up tournaments all across the country.

Of secondary note is a list that Bugle brought to my attention which I had never even heard of, a Yellow/Pink creation of the time that went by the semi-official name of Ploofy Critters. Fundamentally, this deck is working to much the same principles as the one above, but replacing the White integration with a somewhat lighter Pink package instead, and taking more Yellow weight as a result. Pink certainly does offer a bit of more permanent removal, but this deck’s success was something of a mystery at the time of its origination, especially with this list missing the crucial power that was Snips & Snails: Problem Solvers. (Which, it pays to note, was an even better card with those old first-confront rules.) Still, this deck in combination with Ballroom cemented Yellow’s status as one of the strongest colours in the game.

Unfortunately, though, that pride was coming right before the fall.

Something tells me this isn’t the last we’ll be seeing of these two in this series.

Rock & Ruin

Crystal Games started out shaping up to be a great set for Yellow. In fact, there was a deck shaping up that looked about ready to dominate the whole meta, and it was indeed powered by a Yellow card. But it got banned. Even so, for at least a little while the old guard was able to keep on with things, mostly overlooking the cards in the new set. As time went on, though, a couple of Manes who had been introduced in a small supplemental set made their presence felt more and more, and started defining their own era, which we’ll cover in more detail once we get to the articles about Orange and Pink. Most important to this story was the final nail that came with the banning of Guidance Counselor. Yellow had lost its biggest weapon, and in a world now filled with farming and Pile combo, there just wasn’t any space left for it anymore. It fell away.

So began the Long Darkness for the colour. Indeed, it got so bad that at the second NA Continental tournament, there was a grand total of just 7 Yellow cards across the entire Top 16. The one bright spot, in its own ironic way, was the popularity of Seabreeze’s Flower, which was kind of a Yellow card, even though nobody was using it for that purpose.

From here, the history gets a little dull, because yeah, the Long Darkness continued for a long time. Years and multiple sets passed with the colour being little more than a footnote, with few good Manes to its name, no true bombs that could form a deck’s foundation, and little prospect on the horizon too.

Which isn’t to say that attempts weren’t made. A few of them even bit at the edges of viability. Equestrian Odysseys especially offered quite a bit of hope, with Fluttershy, Backup Vocals finally being the card that could maybe make Bubbly Mare work, and Bedtime offering the chance for a Yellow/White control deck. Both of those saw real experimentation, but came up short, especially in a meta that was now quickly falling under the sway of the Apple Queen.

Then, suddenly, a spark. From a most unexpected direction, the colour came to life in High Magic, this time partnering with Purple and White in the form of Zipporwhill control. Granted, it was a mere 4 Yellow cards that made it into the deck, but that was the most that had been seen in a top deck in years, and more importantly they were the key cards that made the deck work. The piles of critter tokens that often accumulated over the course of a Zipporwhill game were a testament to that. The deck’s ability to turn a merely efficient Power Event in Rise and Shine into a control tool was its main strength, and cycling it repeatedly with Eff Stop turned out to be just the ticket. While Zippo’s time at the top turned out to be brief, with Defenders heralding the rise of Pink decks with more removal than she could stand, it was a bright, shining moment. Maybe, just maybe, Yellow was back to being something worth playing around with.

The heralds. Surprisingly, it still took a few sets for Yellow to emerge again.

A Silent Renaissance

Defenders of Equestria absolutely was the point of rebirth for the colour, though one wouldn’t necessarily have known it at the time. This was, after all, the meta made famous for Hot Wings and Vinyl’s Bag of Tricks, a time of Pink ascendancy almost unparalleled save maybe for the grand old days of Pile (again, more on that in the Pink article). But quietly, important seeds had been sown for Yellow’s resurgence later. Most importantly, after literal years of waiting, the colour received not only one but two exceptional Mane Characters in Nurturing Nature and Thorax. With that came extremely efficient point acceleration in the from of Tri-Horned Bunyip, and new tools against both Resources and Troublemakers, themes that had been building in the colour for a while, and were now getting close to a critical mass. Indeed, the colour was getting back to its roots for the first time in a while: prepping for a game plan of speedy confronts and aggression.

You might think, then, that it was only a matter of time before things turned around. Seaquestria & Beyond certainly had enough good cards that one would think the colour couldn’t help but see play. Day Shift once again gave the colour some brutal AT efficiency, its efficacy against Resources became unmatched with the introduction of Brian, and we even saw multiple effective multicoloured cards added in: like Pirate Fluttershy and Treading Water. Yet even so, Yellow remained under the radar, with the Seaquestria meta being first dominated by the Apple Queen (prior to her forcible removal) and then by Tempest Shadow and Purple/Pink.

Nay, it was indeed not until Friends Forever that the colour finally threw off its bonds and re-emerged as a true contender. Little wonder that this was accompanied by a true monster card in Mage Meadowbrook. In this set, Yellow was not taking any prisoners, and it was time for everyone else to feel the weight of the long years it had spent in irrelevance. Suddenly there were more Yellow than one could shake a stick at, with the most prominent being the Thorax/Orange aggro pioneered on the West Coast, and the pure mono style that first made waves in the Midwest. It also featured, at least tangentially, in the alicorn tribal that saw some play around this time.

Fast-forward now to Leaders & Legends, and suddenly the colour is everywhere again. It has prospects with Purple thanks to Pegasus Royal Guard, is still going strong in Orange, where it now regularly trots out Novo for the surprise faceoff edge, and even just captured a tournament in Harmony, at this most recent Vanhoover Pony Expo. Remember how I said there was a little poetic justice in Yellow’s tourney win this year? Well, Yellow dropped off in the old CG meta due to the prevalence of Pile of Presents and Orange farming. Which deck did Yellow have to beat to take the crown at Vanhoover this year? Yeah, it was Pile, albeit in an updated form. What was taken first from Fluttershy, Thorax has now reclaimed.

Conclusion

That thus wraps the discussion of Yellow for this month. Truly, this colour has had a very bumpy ride over the course of the history of the game. Yet, at the moment, the horizon looks bright. It’s a future that once looked nearly impossible, but those of us with a soft spot for the colour are now happy to see it come. May many more like this follow!

As for this series, the next colour in the line will be White, as we walk backward through the normal colour order. That may be in February, or later if something else demands attention first. But in any event, I’ll see you all back here next month for another post!

#mlpccg #history

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tyrias-library · 5 years ago

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Thought I'd try a different type of alternate universe

The Twitch Streamer AU

Subtitle: One small change can make a huge difference

I’m Kazukoh, and I guess you can say I’m a leynet celebrity. Despite being born with a metabolism-afflicting chronic illness, I’ve managed to blossom in my own right.

I guess you can say much like another prodigy born a season or so after me.

Though outside of my diagnosis, my life was fairly average. My Grandma Miimii was horribly injured during a lab accident, and we thought she wouldn’t make it, but she pulled through. If anything, I owe my success to her for being there for me when Mom and Dad can’t.

Went to college, Dynamics, specifically, did an internship with Terranexic after my graduation, as my revolutionary power source that was my final project had all of the Golemancy Krewe’s eyes on me. I remained with Terranexic after my internship as a lab assistant until a position in a relatively small Krewe opened up.

The Krewe I joined was one that made custom Golems for people who were less versed in Golemancy-or were physically unable to put them together. We occasionally also got bulk orders of standard issue Golems, since we could put together simple ones in a relatively quick manner.

It was on one of those bulk-order days that Golemancer Klikk asked the Krewe Chief if we could use the projection-screen terminal to play some videos in the background, since today’s bulk order was extremely simple. Our Krewe Chief, being the generous leader she is, approved. Klikk navigated to a leynet site called “Stream.Ear”, and put on a Calamity tournament, between a handful of Statics-backed teams. Given that I enjoyed playing videogames in my spare time, I thought perhaps I could do such a thing.

~~~

Headset, check. Terminal, check. Motobox and capture card, check. Layout. Check. Leycam, check. Going live now.

“GOOOOD EVENING, GENIUSI AND GENIUSETTES! Golemella here, coming at you live with Super Adventure Box! Yes, folks, the home edition of Super Adventure Box, with 8 completed worlds-but only normal difficulty! I’m not just going to beat it, I’m going to attempt to beat it as fast as possible!

And beat the game, I did, since I’ve been playing for as long as I can remember. While it wasn’t even close to a top 100 on leynet records, it was a fairly decent time.

“And that’s that! Sorry it’s so short, I’m just here to test the waters, but I’ll be back tomorrow night! May all your games be winners, and may all your theories be sound!”

~~~

I’ve gotten quite into the groove regarding content releasing, especially now that I have affiliate status and can get money from this. While my job with this Krewe has good pay and decent benefits, I often allot most of my paycheck to an emergency funds account, given my medical issues, so there isn’t much left for leisure. I do have time for leisure, my Krewe is off 3 days a week, but which days vary depending on scheduling and tasks, but I stream all 7 days a week because I find it fun. I even have a schedule-at least for 6 days. Fun Fridays are party games with my viewers, Speedrun Saturdays are speedrunning games I grew up with, or have played a ton of-not trying for Tyrian records, but just for personal bests, Storytime Sundays are for visual novels, Mondays…I’m not sure yet, so I mainly just play what I feel like that day, Teamwork Tuesday is cooperative Leynet games, Wildcard Wednesdays I pick 3 random games and let my viewers vote on them, then play that for an hour before the process starts again, and finally, ‘Thunder’ Thursday, which is competitive leynet games.

What I’m about to dictate happens on one of those Thursdays.

A viewer of mine gifted me “Tyrian All-Star Battle”, a PVP game where you play as major figures in Tyria’s history, heroic or villainous…well most figures. One great hero has not enough records of their battle style, and the Pact Commander declined their role. Destiny’s Edge and Dragon’s Watch are in, however, as are many high level Pact members from recent history. I tend to alternate between Taimi, Snaff, and Dragon’s Watch!Rytlock, depending on if we need a support, DPS, or tank, respectively. You play in teams of 6, you have a main and secondary of each role (I often play secondary since my mains can take other roles if needed), and winning depends on different win conditions-either most points after a set time limit, or last team standing after a limited set of lives.

I chose Taimi for this set of matches, since I was playing with a team I signed on with, called Damsels in Dynamics, which is all female Asura streamers whom graduated from Dynamics, and we commonly play a team of all Asura heroes-and we already had a Snaff. My other teammates were Zojja, Warmaster Efut, Agent Zrii, and Steward Gixx. Our first matchup was against Team IGD-Inquest Gaming Division, a meta-team for the meta-krewe, though thankfully this was just six of them. They were playing Kudu, Kuda, Teyo, Tazza, Vebis, and Frizz. Kudu’s player was also a streamer, known as “TheBloodyDirector”, and was pretty much the ‘face’ of IGD. We were completely destroyed. TBD took out all of the Snaff and Zojja players’ lives alone, thanks to Teyo’s player taking out Gixx’s player early on. I was pretty much the only one healing, and since Taimi is not a high tier support, led to Zrii’s player getting wiped fast as well. It was down to me, and Efut’s player. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see my chat was blowing up to the point that my own fans could barely even speak. While I was trying to figure out the chaos, my last life was taken. Efut’s player struggled to hold on while I sourced this bomb. It was not a raid at all-TBD’s fans decided to swarm my chat. And he did nothing. This. Means. War.

Every day I would check his channel, and it seems he streams on Mondays and Thursdays, but only plays competitive games on Thursdays (Mondays seem to be clearing single player feats in said games). Every Thursday, I’d rally viewers to help defeat him as one of the matches/games of the night. And every time, I would fail. The closest I got was 4 members defeated before I, as the last one standing, was wiped out, and yes, this was in Tyrian All-Star Battle. That seems to be the game we usually battle in, though we’ve occasionally duked it out in others.

~~~

Another Thursday, another battle. I checked TheBloodyDirector’s stream…and turns out, he’s not streaming today. Instead, he’s hosting another Inquest member. I didn’t catch her name, but she’s advertising doing something called a ‘mukbang’…but she’s just slowly eating a single cup of instant noodles while doing paperwork. I then looked up what a mukbang really was….and immediately hit paydirt. People watch others eat monstrous amounts of food? Sign me up! Now I know what to do on Mondays!-well that, and social eating, depending on my funds during the week. But for now, I’ll just play some casual competitive matches with my viewers.

~~~

Monday came, and I had some extra money stored up, so I ordered 25 family sized buckets of Metrica Fried Moa, sides included, some curtains to obscure the hospital related things in my room, and a fancy leycamera. Hung up the curtains, my multipurpose Golem (A project from my spare time that transforms into various mounts, a hoverchair, or a Scruffy-like Golem) carrying the food, and I installed the leycam, running a quick test with it. The test was perfect, let’s go.

“GOOOOD EVENING, GENIUSI AND GENIUSETTES! Golemella here, and now I know what I’m doing on Mondays. Every Monday is food related! Normally this’ll be social eating, but today I’m doing something special. Some days, like today, will be mukbangs.” I then pulled each and every one of the buckets and sides closer. “I’ve got 25 buckets of Metrica Fried Moa here, and I’m going to eat ALL OF IT. RIGHT HERE. ON STREAM.”

I was shocked. People were HYPED in chat. Some people were worried that I’d fall ill, some others were concerned about my appearance, but nobody was mean. Most people were hyped up to see me eat all this food, and I sure gave them such. I ate ALL of the food on stream, engaging with viewers all the way. However, if anyone asked how I could do this, I kept it a well-guarded secret.

~~~

TBD wasn’t streaming this week, so I organized a spontaneous tournament between myself and a handful of my viewers in Tyrian All-Star Battle. Rest of the week was uneventful, as was Sunday. Monday on the other hand, was my first normal social eating stream. I sent my Golem out to bring back takeout-this time from the Canthan place near Mom’s lab-I moved out and into an apartment owned by the hospital out in Soren Draa, but visit often-and then started up the stream.

“GOOOOD EVENING, GENIUSI AND GENIUSETTES! Golemella here, we’re doing social eating tonight! I won’t be eating as much as I did last Monday, but it’ll still be a sizable amount, since there’s more focus on you, the viewers, my intellectual fans.” I smiled, waving at the camera. I began to interact with everyone, and things were going well. At least, they started out well. The food hadn’t come yet, and I was starting to grow hungry. I kept speaking with fans, answering questions, engaging in conversation, but it was not to last. My stomach growled. Loudly. And the mic picked it up. My face went dark purple and I was completely silent…but the chat. Alchemy’s Catalyst, the chat! Someone made a BETSEAR emote and uploaded it, and the entire chat was spamming it. That did get a slight chuckle out of me. The Golem soon arrived, with food, and I dug in, profusely apologizing as I did. But they didn’t seem to mind, thankfully.

~~~

I started feeling horrific after work one day, but I felt I was still up to streaming. Thought I’d do a Just Chatting stream since I didn’t think I could play a game, either competitive or otherwise-thankfully it wasn’t a Thursday.

“Hey, everyone. Sorry for no game today. I haven’t been feeling the greatest today, so I’m just going to take it easy. But enough about me, how was your day?” I asked, my voice still on the weak side. Questions and answers didn’t go super fast, unfortunately, as my vision started blurring a bit, and I was growing more and more confused.

The next thing I noticed was I was in my bed, hooked up to IVs, and there was a bowl of soup being placed in front of me, atop a tray. I glanced over to the terminal as I ate, and the stream feed was off, but the chat, there were people constantly asking if I was alright. I didn’t get a chance to even let them know what happened until a few days later, since I was resting, not working or streaming, and was under care of a new doctor-one whom watched my streams.

~~~

Even despite everything, I still practiced and practiced, getting better and better at Tyrian All-Star Battle. I was determined to beat TheBloodyDirector at his own game. Loss after loss, some completely wipeouts, others just close. Until that fateful day, where I decided to try Zojja out. I’ve found another hero I love to play. I got into a 1x1 match…against TheBloodyDirector, as, you guessed it, Kudu. And yes, he was streaming this day. Someone suggested in my chat that we hook up, and I was shocked. I heard him splutter over voice comms as well, so I suspect he got the same suggestion. No, random viewer, not happening. But despite this, the match was HEATED. And it was CLOSE. We were neck and neck, if he killed me, I’d kill him shortly after. And given that this was a time match and not a stock one, it was tense. But finally, the timer was up…and I had won. By one kill. Finally…sweet victory against TheBloodyDirector.

(A/N: You thought I was some random writer, but it was me, Kazukoh, this entire time!

Also I'd like to thank ProtonJon, StephenPlays, and Wahnthac for (unintentionally) showing me how Twitch works, and @lewn-acies for the idea for this AU!)

#asura anon #gw2 fanfiction #week five #au / free #asura #gamer au #long fic #...i want to play dragon’s watch! Rytlock #submission

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fakemuggle529-blog · 5 years ago

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"HARRY DID YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN THE GOBLET OF FIRE?!?!"

I could go on for days about the differences between the HP books and the movies (just ask my wife). 7 books, 8 movies, 4 directors, 2 screenplay writers, a myriad of actors or varying levels of talent, but this 1 line haunts every single Harry Potter fan. One comment about this line was "we're never going to get over this, are we?" That one comment sparked this post, which was originally meant to be a list of my least favorite movie moments and why.

But Harry Potter is my favorite subject, and my rant about this became a separate post to answer that rhetorical question.

Simply put, no, we're not going to get over it. But why won't we?

As with any adaptation, since the world isn't ready for a 10 hour movie based on 1 book, bits and pieces of the Harry Potter books needed to be cut out. (I'd be down for that movie, but I digress)

Things like the Draco/Pansy romance, Rita Skeeter being an unregistered Animagus, or winning the Quidditch cup ultimately don't have an impact on the plot of "evil wizard finds path to immortality, boy wizard must stop him with the help of his friends," so they can get cut pretty easily.

Even things like the Marauders' full moon adventures and creation of the Map, Umbridge setting the dementors on Harry, and Neville's parents' fate are secondary material, meant to give more weight to the main story:

- The world would still be in mortal danger without four teenagers creating a map of their school, but that map helped stop that danger;

- Umbridge would still be a cruel bitch if we hadn't known she sent the dementors, but that tidbit show her own demented state of mind and how far she'll go to get what she wants.

- and we'd still want Voldemort dead even if we'd never heard of Neville Longbottom, because we've seen the impact he had on Harry. The info about the Longbottoms just gives more depth to the characters involved.

But regardless of what they left out, the basics stayed the same: "evil wizard finds path to immortality, boy wizard must stop him with the help of his friends" continued, except the written version had more information than the visual. The fans already knew what was missing, so our brains filled it in for us. And leaving out that bit of info for the adaptation process allowed people who hadn't read the books to know what was going on and how the information fit together, even if they had less information than the fans.

(I think of the miniseries Chernobyl, when the general asks how a nuclear reactor works. He gets a bare bones explanation, and can parrot it back to his subordinates later. He might not me able to do the math or understand all of the technical jargon, but that simple explanation has given him enough info to get things going.)

As the movies progressed, we saw more and more get left out since the books only got longer, or more in depth, or both which each new addition, but no matter what, that skeleton was still there, "evil wizard finds path to immortality, boy wizard must stop him with the help of his friends." And the 'friends' part was even more accurate with supporting characters!

Hermione was the nerd from the books, Ron was the goofy best friend, Neville was the underdog, Draco was the bully!

Every single character was fitting their book counterparts perfectly, they just couldn't be as in depth in this medium!

Lucius was the oily bastard you knew he was, Sirius was the Godfather who wanted to be there but couldn't, Bellatrix was the psychotic fanatic who'd do anything to earn Voldemort's praise, Dumbledo--

And that's where the similarities stop.

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is a lot of things: he's the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot (the Wizard High Court), honoree of the highest medal of Honor possible for Wizards, one of the most notable contributors to the field of alchemy, and from what I understand a PHENOMENAL dancer.

He's human, and fallible like any other human, but he is definitely not stupid.

Just in book 1, before Ms. Rowling had even gotten into her stride as a storyteller, we see Dumbledore:

Send Harry to the safest place possible; watch over him as much as possible; send updated owls to Harry with every change of address; send Hagrid as the most friendly way to introduce Harry to his true world; Send Harry the invisibility cloak as a connection to his dad; say that he 'doesn't need a cloak to become invisible;' RETURN the cloak after Harry lost it; and turned around on his trip to London on some intuition, barely managing to save Harry's life.

While he might not be the warmest of people, probably due to a tendency to think too deeply, Dumbledore shows the strongest of power when he needs to fight, the quickest of words when he needs to talk, and what seems to be a clear sense of right and wrong (the waters get a little murky with that last one, but he stands up for what he sees is wrong, regardless of what he thought at 18), and a calm dignity, even while getting his feathers ruffled.

And that's exactly why this gets under our skin so much.

As fans of the books, we see Dumbledore do it all, in great detail. Even that infamous line is ended with "he asked CALMLY" (All Caps is my addition). We see Dumbledore:

-sit next to an 11-year old who nearly died recently and promise to some day tell him about the first time he nearly died as an infant AT THE HANDS OF THE SAME GUY... Calmly, because this is a conversation he's been dreading for years, so he's prepared.

- hire a clear fraud just to fill his staff; have two 12-year olds crash an illegal flying car into a living tree AND talk down the teacher that wanted to skin them alive; deal with an unknown threat that was attempting to kill his students; get forcibly removed from the school, only return ready to console grieving parents AND watch the same 12 year olds from earlier emerge from an unfindable chamber WITH the 11 year old who was thought to be dead....calmly, because he's lost loved ones, and he knows what it is to grieve.

- Hire a werewolf; keep that a secret from his students, their parents, and maybe even the government; and have two 13 year olds illegally time travel to save an animal an a convicted felon...calmly, because an innocent man's life is important.

- Host a death tournament specially designed to 'not kill;' and slowly watch a plot to revive to worst wizard ever unfold before his eyes....calmly, because he didn't have all of the information yet.

- Get slandered by the entirety of the government, and forcibly removed from his position in the Courts; have a government spy forced onto his staff; purposefully pissed her off; evade arrest and go on the lam...calmly, because he knows he's right, and the truth will out. THEN come back, fight every Death Eater in the ministry, fight Voldemort, convince the government not to arrest him, then talk Harry through his Godfather's death....calmly, because he knows he messed up, he even says that Harry show be so much angrier, and 'please, by all means, destroy my possessions'.

- Find out he's dying; find out there's a hit on him; recruit an old colleague, and use Harry as a means to reveal a crucial part of Voldemort's past, which he's been teaching to Harry all year; find a horcrux as well as pass on as much info about them as possible; AND get psychologically tortured mere moments before being murdered....

- AND, postmortem, we find out that Dumbledore has been playing pretty much everybody, but especially Harry....calmly, because for once, it really was "the greater good."

But he was fun loving too, maybe childishly so due to the fact that he had to grow up so fast.

- Some of His first words after Harry starts school are, "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! And tweak!"

- He did what was best for the school AND Firenze by hiring the centaur, but he clearly enjoyed shoving it in Umbridge's face.

- and let's not forget the night he picked Harry up front Privet Drive. He obviously made those glasses hit the Dursleys as some small payback for how they treated Harry.

That's Dumbledore. Serious, wise, and seriously wise, with a penchant for mischief.

The movie Dumbledore gave none of that, especially with that terrible, terrible reading of that line.

That one line changed the entire character of Albus Dumbledore. Instead of the cool, calm, and collected man he always was, he lost control. In front of his foreign and governmental guests nonetheless. That would never happen to Dumbledore. He's seen the signs, and can tell something is up. That's WHY he hired "Mad-Eye."

Even that stupid Christmas scene added to the HBP movie, as much as I freaking HATE it, doesn't CHANGE anything. The Death Eaters attack and for some reason burn the house down. Boo hoo. Nobody gets hurt, nobody dies, the house is back to normal the next movie. No big deal. They just wanted to add to the drama some, instead of the usual deduction from the cuts.

This change is why we hate SO many other adaptations, or "cuts" as they call them.

-Those of us who are old enough to remember will freaking riot over the "Han shot first" argument, because we knew that there was no way in hell Han would sit and let Greedo take a shot at him, ESPECIALLY since they freaking showed it first, then changed it later.

-It's why we all hate M. Night. Shyamalan's fucking guts, because he took the single greatest cartoon masterpiece ever created, and tried to make it better. The one scene that sticks out to me is when they're trying to escape the earth-bending prison camp. First, they had to be removed from the land entirely, or their pride would cause a rebellion instantly; second, 6 benders did what we see Toph do her first lesson as a blind toddler. Unlike Lucas, Shyamalan wasn't trying to appease anyone. He just wanted a name for himself, so he decided to take on the most popular cartoon ever. Pass or fail, he has that fame now.

Some of the fault might lie with the director, or possibly even the actor himself. Michael Gambon is a respected actor, and probably had a sense for how the character would play, even if that sense might not have been based in the books. Couple that with multiple directors by this point, multiple actors having playing Dumbledore, and the books still gradually coming out, and the information and range for the character of Dumbledore might have been quite limited.

And let's not forget those cuts that needed to be made. With a shorter story comes a need to get the information across faster.

Instead of mulling it over for a moment while the rest of the group argues (and probably for a good year or so by this point), and calmly asking Harry if he entered himself in the tournament, the quick explosion both saves time by cutting the opening argument AND gives the audience a cue for suspense. They know something is wrong NOW, and they don't know what, but they'll find out as the people on screen do.

Personally, I believe that this system can be broken by a rather simple solution: TV show.

Instead of one movie, each book gets one Season, and every couple chapters or so gets an episode. I foresee problems as we get to the later books as opposed to the early one, since they start getting thick AF with GoF.

But I think the pros outweigh the cons.

-The locations for HP are actually incredibly limited. They pretty much go back and forth between the same dozen locations all seven books, so you could make sets to switch out whenever needed, and just reuse the exact same sets for seven straight years, with little to no change in between.

- We have all of the books now, and then some, and then some extra BS on top of that, and the plethora of headcanon out there, so we have more than enough information for every single thing about this place, excluding literal physical dimensions. Find a kid who looks like Harry, another actor who can flawlessly pull off Snape, and some old guy who wants to be goofy sometimes, and you've got gold.

- We could actually include the minor characters too. Peeves could pop in and out every few episodes, Dobby can play the role he was meant for, Kreacher can exist as more than 3 lines. The vanishing cabinet could actually be introduced in year 2, then addressed in Year 5, then revealed properly in year 6. Moaning Myrtle has her scenes, Bill Weasley has his, Tonks could be the most important female character besides Hermione or Ginny.....

Anyway, you get the picture. This whole thing was inspired by one comment, and I've been working on this for almost 6 hours now. Pretty sure I've worked harder in this post than any papers in high school...

Hollywood, if by some miracle you see this, I'll totally be a screen writer for the Harry Potter TV show. In the meantime, goodnight.

#harry potter series #harry potter #albus dumbledore #dumbledore #draco malfoy #ron weasley #hermione granger #sirius black #molly weasley

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kristallioness · 7 years ago

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A few days late, but as promised, I'm finally answering this. Thanks goes to @hailkuvira and @mindatworkk for tagging me! ^_^

Rules: Answer these 92 statements and tag 20 people

THE LAST: 1. Drink: Forest berry (including strawberry, raspberry and blueberry) flavoured Nestea, yum! A new brand of Nestea that I bought for the first time this weekend. Reminds me of regular berry juice. 2. Phone call: My mother. 3. Text message: Does the messenger on Facebook count? Cause then it'd be a chat about how we're doing with my former classmate, K.H. 4. Song you listened to: "Stay" by Hurts, their last song during the concert at Õllesummer. 5. Time you cried: Last week during a senseless row, after which everybody made up.

HAVE YOU: 6. Dated someone twice: Not yet. 7. Kissed someone and regretted it: No. 8. Been cheated on: No. 9. Lost someone special: Yes, of course - a close family member, a schoolmate from our parallel class, famous Estonians who were and continue to be close to our hearts. 10. Been depressed: I haven't had depression (as in the mental illness that needs medical attention), but I've been through some hard times, sure. 11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: No, and this is something I'm proud of. I've never been drunk and intend to keep it that way because I simply don't like alcohol.

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS: 12-14: Red, blue, black (black especially when it concerns clothing because it makes me look thinner).

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU: 15. Made new friends: Yes. 16. Fallen out of love: No. 17. Laughed until you cried: Definitely, many times! Most likely while watching/reading something funny. 18. Found out someone was talking about you: I don't think so. 19. Met someone who changed you: Again, I don't think I've changed. 20. Found out who your friends are: I've always known who they are. 21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: No.

GENERAL: 22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: All of them I believe, since I don't have many friends and I don't add random strangers who I know nothing about. 23. Do you have any pets: No. I wanted to get a dog or a parrot when I was a little girl though, so whenever we passed our local pet store, my mom and I would go inside to look at those pretty colourful birds in the cages on sale.

24. Do you want to change your name: Definitely not, because it's really beautiful (for a reason)! I'm worried that my future husband and I would have a serious talk about which surname would stay, ha-ha! (Nah, I'm always ready to discuss our options.) 25. What did you do for your last birthday: Just stayed home with my parents, ate some special cake and enjoyed my day.. Wait, WHAT AM I EVEN SAYING!? It was another Kataang Week, for goodness' sake! I was busy participating and browsing through the quality content! 26. What time did you wake up: Today, around 2:45 pm. Just in time to see the start of the Formula 1 Austrian GP. 27. What were you doing at midnight last night: Putting away most of the stuff I brought home from my rented apartment/bought yesterday. 28. Name something you can't wait for: Umm.. Kataang Week (+ my birthday) in two weeks? Also, the first part of "Turf Wars" coming out soon. 29. When was the last time you saw your mom: She's sleeping in the bedroom, so an hour ago. 30. What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: If I were younger, I would've answered by listing a dozen things. But honestly, nothing, because then it wouldn't be my life. I've learned to accept things as they are and that I can only change them when I do something about it. 31. What are you listening right now: Nothing. 32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: I.. think.. not. 33. Something that is getting on your nerves: The state of the world, the current American President, minorities not being taken seriously (such as the LGBTQ+ community and their human rights; smaller countries and their people not being respected like the bigger ones - what Jean-Claude Juncker said when Malta was handing over the presidency to Estonia in the European Union last week), politicians provoking unnecessary xenophobia or hate towards refugees (the EKRE party in Estonia - gosh, I HATE THESE MORONS!), the political situations in many countries, how our certain neighbour is trying to restore its former glory by occupying small parts of its neighbouring countries (one by one) and we're all LETTING IT HAPPEN IN THE FRICKING 21ST CENTURY!.. Politics in general. 34. Most visited website: Ooh! I have so many: Gmail, Facebook, Neopets, YouTube, Tumblr...

LOST QUESTIONS. I JUST PUT IN RANDOM INFO ABOUT ME 35. Mole/s: I have quite many all over my skin. 36. Mark/s: I have my dad's birthmark on the inside of my right thigh. 37. Childhood dream: To become a doctor. 38. Haircolor: Blonde. 39. Long or short hair: Long, very long. 40. Do you have a crush on someone: No. 41. What do you like about yourself: That I'm well-educated and intelligent, I worked really hard to get a gold medal and graduate with straight A's during secondary school. 42. Piercings: None, and I have no intention of letting any be done. 43. Bloodtype: A+, I think? Definitely A. 44. Nickname: Don't have any. 45. Relationship status: Single. 46. Zodiac: Leo. 47. Pronouns: She/her. 48. Favorite TV show: "Avatar: The Last Airbender". 49. Tattoos: None (yet). 50. Right or left hand: Right. 51. Surgery: Twice - to have my adenoids and tonsils removed. 52. Hair dyed in different color: No. 53. Sport: Chess (I've won a trophy, 5 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze medal from tournaments). 54. (question wasn't here) 55. Vacation: I always looked forward to my summer vacations during school/university. 56. Pair of trainers: Black and white Nike ones, though I have a few more in the cupboards.

MORE GENERAL: 57. Eating: I try to vary my menu, but recently it goes like: main dish, fruit and dessert along with milk, juice and tea. 58. Drinking: Anything non-alcoholic. 59. I'm about to: Finish answering these questions. 62. Want: To find a job, finish my WIPs. 63. Get married: I hope I will in the future. 64. Career: An IT-specialist, my second choice will always be a doctor.

WHICH IS BETTER 65. Hugs or kisses: Hugs. 66. Lips or eyes: Eyes. 67. Shorter or taller: Any height is okay. Though when it concerns me, then I've always liked that I'm much taller than most of my friends. Also, it gives me the advantage to seem more threatening. 68. Older or younger: Umm, both are okay? 70. Nice arms or nice stomach: Probably arms. 71. Sensitive or loud: Sensitive. 72. Hook up or relationship: Relationship. 73. Troublemaker or hesitant: Hesitant.

HAVE YOU EVER: 74. Kissed a stranger: No. 75. Drank hard liquor: Nope, already covered that earlier.. 76. Lost glasses/contact lenses: It's not even possible because I don't wear any. 77. Turned someone down: Yes. 78. Sex on the first date: No. 79. Broken someone's heart: I'm not sure.. Maybe unintentionally? 80. Had your heart broken: Yes. 81. Been arrested: No. 82. Cried when someone died: Yes. 83. Fallen for a friend: Without him knowing and me getting over those mixed feelings - once.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN: 84. Yourself: Yes. 85. Miracles: I suppose in a way, yes. 86. Love at first sight: Yes. 87. Santa Claus: Yes, because I know there is a person like that who lives very near - in Lapland, Finland! 88. Kiss on the first date: Is this really something to believe in? If two people really match so well or have known each other for a long time before even going out on a date, then yes, it could happen.

OTHER: 90. Current best friend name: I don't think I have a best friend (just a lot of close friends), but the girl I met during 1st grade and who was my main deskmate during school throughout the years - J.K. 91. Eyecolor: Light greyish blue. 92. Favorite movie: There are so many! Mostly I like cheesy romantic comedies, plain comedies, good dramas or cartoons. How about "Cars" since its 3rd part is coming out in Estonian movie theatres on my birthday this July? (And yes, I'm thinking of going to see it as a birthday present.)

Tagging: @aconfusionoffandoms @cassidy-alice @chel-burr @cutiecount3 @erinchaaaa @eskalations @feelz-this-moment @interessantisanders @iroh-is-god @jinoras-light @jooliescorner @kataracy @kyeshirosaki @letthepickaxedothetalking @nautiscarader @obbsessedturtle @reducetoabsurdness @satanonatoilet @snotpup @teammeganftw

(Btw, questions 54, 60, 61, 69 and 89 are missing!)

#personal #shards of Kristal

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buddyrabrahams · 6 years ago

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Eight teams that could make a surprising run to the Final Four

No one ever wants to be the boring person who picks all top-ranked teams to reach the Final Four in their bracket. I’d much rather lose taking my chance at finding the needle in the haystack than not even really trying. History, both recent and ancient, suggests this is the way to go. Every single March we see a team or group of teams advance further than expected and shock the basketball world. How easy is it to find those teams who aren’t name brands and won’t be the favorites to win their region?

We can start with this list of eight teams, all of which are projected (by BracketMatrix.com) to be a 3-seed or lower, but who have the resumes, styles of play, and the attitude to potentially make a run this month.

LSU (Currently considered 3 seed)

For as good as LSU has been this season, the Tigers have been overshadowed by controversy in their largest wins of the season. When LSU defeated Kentucky at the buzzer, all of Big Blue Nation moaned about what should have been a basket interference call on the game-winning bucket. Later, when the Tigers topped Tennessee, the game was mired by a slog of strange calls, endless replay reviews, and an ugly overtime period.

After the Bayou Bengals beat two of the best teams in all of college basketball, there was almost no conversation about the strength of those wins or the LSU team that had won the games. Instead, each game was clouded by conversations about the sport, the refs, and the rules, leaving two of the best wins of the season as an afterthought.

Let’s remedy that problem. LSU is really good at basketball, as they proved in monster wins over SEC rivals. Will Wade has the Tigers playing aggressive, attacking offense every time down the floor. LSU has made more free throws than all but one team in college basketball. Unlike other teams who live at the charity stripe, there isn’t one or two players who do the Tigers’ heavy lifting from the free throw line. LSU has seven players averaging at least two free throws per game. Contrast that to a free throw deficient team like Wisconsin, which has just two players attempting two foul shots per game.

Buffalo (Currently considered 7 seed)

There’s no reason not to include a real wild card on this list, though maybe this isn’t as wild as it seems.

Ten of the last sixteen Final Fours have featured a mid-major program. Those numbers are slightly inflated, including some programs that have since joined power conferences in recent years. Regardless, in the recent era of college basketball, the Cinderellas have earned their way far more often than not. If fact, each of the last six Final Fours has included a team seeded 7th or worse.

So if there’s no systemic reason a team like Buffalo couldn’t pull off a run into the tournament’s third weekend, is there any basketball evidence holding them back? I certainly can’t find any.

KenPom pegs the Bulls as a top-20 team, thanks to how well they’ve played this season. Buffalo has lost just twice in the Mid-American Conference and represented itself well in the non-conference schedule, with wins over San Francisco, West Virginia, and Syracuse.

Coach Nate Oats has implemented an effective system, built around a high-tempo offense. The Bulls play at the 7th-fastest pace in the nation, but do so efficiently. Buffalo ranks in the top 25 nationally in 2-point shooting percentage and turnover rate. Despite pushing the pace, the Bulls are still finding the right shot every time down the floor. In a tournament setting, a team that has a defined identity like Buffalo can be a tough test. The Bulls will charge into March, ready to run teams off the floor.

VCU (Currently considered 10 seed)

Despite the program’s past success, the Rams have stayed under-the-radar this season. VCU is 22-6 with wins over (possible) tournament teams like Texas, Temple, Hofstra, and Dayton (twice).

Just like they did back in their Cinderella days, the Rams are winning with high-pressure defense. Head coach Mike Rhoades has “Havoc” back in action in Richmond. VCU is ranked in the top 5 in defensive efficiency, mainly due to its ability to force turnovers. Opponents cough up the ball on more than 23 percent of their possessions, good for 9th-highest in the country. Many teams that force turnovers press too hard or over-stretch their abilities at times, giving up good looks in exchange for the turnovers they create. VCU is careful not to do so. The Rams allow the 2nd-worst 3-point percentage in the nation and the 6th-worst shooting percentage from the field.

It’s not that hard to imagine the Rams blitzing their way through a region, riding Havoc to four wins and a trip to Minneapolis.

Syracuse (Currently considered 9 seed)

We don’t have to do the thing every single year where Syracuse surprises everyone with a run in March. At a certain point, in the same way we all look for Tom Izzo’s March magic to lead Michigan State further than we expected, Jim Boeheim’s Orange need to command the same respect. It’s not hard to understand why that should be the case.

No program in college basketball is more committed to one specific strategy than Boeheim is to his zone defense. Boeheim’s teams have been stumping opponents with zone since the year Virginia coach Tony Bennett was born. Preparing for a zone defense during the short period teams have between tournament rounds is a near death sentences for some teams.

Beyond that, this Orange team has the talent and the skill to push opponents. Syracuse has already beaten Duke, Ohio State, and Louisville this season. The Orange make any team change how they play. The gameplan from every other game has to be thrown out the window and even traditional stats lose value. The zone has Syracuse ranked as the 21st-best defense in the nation, despite allowing the 2nd-highest rate of assisted field goals. Teams are working against the zone to find a shot, but for some teams, who rely on isolation or pick-and-roll play, that style can feel unnatural and clunky.

This Orange team is far from Boeheim’s best, yet with high level athletes and the tallest team in the nation by average height, the legendary coach can guide this roster through the perils of March.

Washington (Currently considered 7 seed)

While you were sleeping, a few things have happened out West in the Pac-12. First, most of the league has been a disgrace. Per KenPom’s metrics, the conference has slipped not just to the back of the power conference pack, but beneath the American Athletic Conference as well. Those numbers show a narrow gap between the Pac-12 and the usually inferior West Coast Conference. When the two have matched up this season, the WCC has won 10 of 17 meetings. The entire situation is less than ideal for Pac-12 fans.

Except those in Seattle. Washington, in the program’s second season under Mike Hopkins, has been the best team in the Pac-12 by a wide margin. The Huskies have just two conference losses, on the road versus Arizona Stat, the only other possible tournament team in the conference, and at lowly Cal. Other than that, they’ve mopped up wins against the rest of the league.

Because the Huskies are skating through a weaker than expected conference, they have been overlooked. Let’s not forget: Washington is still 13-2 in the 7th-best conference in the country. Though they haven’t collected a top of the line, resume-defining win, the Huskies are 8-5 versus the KenPom top 100. Washington pushed Gonzaga to the buzzer in a two-point loss on the road at the Kennel. Clearly they are capable of hanging with top teams.

Washington’s success is built on defense, as the Huskies force the third-highest rate of turnovers in the nation. They also swat away the 2nd-most blocks in Division I. A team built on defense that’s won 14 of its last 15 games absolutely has a path to the Final Four.

Houston (Currently considered 3 seed)

I’d nominate the Cougars as the most undervalued team entering the month of March. Casual fans seeing them listed as a 3-seed when the brackets drop may be confused, but those who have seen the Cougars in action — including coaches — know that they are the real deal.

Houston is the final one-loss team in college basketball and hasn’t been coasting against an easy schedule. The Cougars have played the 114th-toughest slate in the nation, posting wins over opponents like Oregon, Oklahoma State, LSU, BYU, Utah State, Memphis, Temple, and Cincinnati.

Kelvin Sampson has his team succeeding in old fashioned ways, with defense and production from upperclassmen. Houston allows the lowest effective field goal rate in the entire country. The Cougars’ defense is relentless, allowing no easy buckets or even a moment of peace for an offense to operate.

JUCO transfer Corey Davis has turned from a solid secondary piece on last year’s squad to a real alpha dog scorer. He can get hot in a hurry, like when he hit 8 of 11 from long range at Tulane. Davis is also capable of attacking the paint, with multiple games shooting double-digit free throws. He’s joined in the backcourt by senior Galen Robinson, who dishes more than 5 assists per game, and Armoni Brooks, who hits 40 percent on more than 8 long range shots per game.

Guard play has always sparked runs in March. This trio has been excellent all season and is fully capable of keeping things rolling into the Big Dance.

Kansas State (Currently considered 5 seed)

It seems odd that the team currently tied atop the standings of the deepest conference in college basketball is looking at a 5 seed and a brutal first round match-up with a 12 seed. If this is the year a team like Kansas State can snap Kansas’ streak of Big XII titles, that would be quite the unfortunate reward.

The Wildcats deserve a bit more respect due to how they have traversed the brutal Big XII schedule this season. They find themselves tied at the top of the league in part because they have played well not just at home, but also in tough road games. Four of Kansas State’s wins in conference have come in the gym of a top 40 KenPom team. Come March, wins like that are proof of a team’s worth.

Kansas State’s success on the road has validated the age old cliché that “Defense travels”. Bruce Weber has his team playing elite defense, ranked in the top 10 in the nation. The Wildcats slow teams down with perimeter pressure that funnels to rim-protector Makol Mawein. Every player in Weber’s rotation is strong on the defensive end, challenging opponents for 40 minutes.

This program surprised people with a run to the Elite Eight last year. If they go as far or further this year, we shouldn’t be as shocked.

Texas Tech (Currently considered 4 seed)

Kansas State is joined atop the Big XII standings, and in the top 10 of defensive efficiency in the nation, by Texas Tech. In fact, Chris Beard’s Red Raiders are the top defensive team in college basketball this season, allowing just .85 points per possession. Texas Tech is a driven, physical, and well-coached team that has stumped most of its opponents this season.

The Red Raiders’ five losses this season have come to Duke at a neutral site, Iowa State at home, and three road games versus tournament level Big XII teams. Beard has the Red Raiders playing the kind of defense that is so strong it is effective against any level of competition or style of play.

Tech holds a leg up on Kansas State when looking forward to tournament play thanks to its best player, Jarrett Culver. The sophomore swingman is starting to earn legitimate buzz about being drafted in the top 10 in June’s NBA Draft, for good reason. Culver has the body, tools, and skills to get his shot against anyone. He finds ways to the rim, but can also step out to hit a jumper.

Few teams in all of college basketball can rely so heavily on a go-to-guy like Culver in crunch time. Texas Tech wouldn’t be the first team to ride one star and a strong defense to the promised land.

Shane McNichol covers college basketball and the NBA for Larry Brown Sports. He also blogs about basketball at Palestra Back and has contributed to Rush The Court, ESPN.com, and USA Today Sports Weekly. Follow him on Twitter @OnTheShaneTrain.

from Larry Brown Sports https://ift.tt/2VobyOw

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mechagalaxy · 8 years ago

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Sten Hugo Hiller - KOTM Ogguns

Mountain Climbing Mecha Combat

Interview with 959777 Ila Mari Antonsen

Brought to you by ANN, A News channel for Mecha Combat

Highlighting the December 3319 Oggunners

My last day on K2 for a while, at least as long as the brackets are set the way they are now. Oggunners this time. Bruno had gotten some mechs out from under the tarpulin. There wasn’t enough to fill my formation so a Megazome and a Smilidon were added.

Arriving at the mountain with my Oggun`s I noted that my Imechs had held a position on the slopes for me. Good work. Now I set my sight on the top. Sherriff Leary Wretham held it, but I shot the sheriff. Luxuriating at the nice view, I was totally unprepared when Paulzilla blew me off the top. Star League frown on that kind of behavior, but... He had joined the Spirit of Bunny.

Hopefully he had chosen some experienced and respected member to take over, there were many to choose from. But checking my updates brought horrible news.

I was in command now. Hmmmm. Nice office, soft chair, huge desk, normally filled to overflow with... PAPERWORK!!!!

How could he do this to me? Anger filled me and I ran top tilt to the top. There was only room for one formation there ,so I pushed him down. The other Contestants started to arrive with correct formations. I was pushed down to the slopes, and eventually to the higher foothills. Counterattacking brought me to the lowest slope after displacing Fleet. But a bit later Ross claimed my position. I had to make a guess. My opponents had variable weight, generally 30-40 mechs against my 30. Problem was their mechs had 60-70% better armor than mine. A few attacks against Don Lindley was partially successful, I killed 36, 34, 29 and 38 mechs. As he had 40 my 30 still lost. Deciding on a late blitz, say at the 55 minute mark when they had exhausted them self against each other I sat back to watch. Scramble came, and ended after two minutes. Those who had gambled on early endings and held the top spots to receive Gold, Nephilax and invitations to higher Mountains this time were:

Div 1 (13 Players): Sal Vezzosi Jr, Fusion (55s) Div 2 (20 Players): Sherriff Leary Wretham, Fusion (1h,1m) Div 3 (17 Players): Bernhard Johnson, Death`s Decievers (19h,34m) Div 4 (20 Players): Christine Mainer, Avengers of Bunny (31s) Div 5 (30 Players): Eric Loar, Star League (1m,57s) Div 6 (25 Players): Alyssa Bunnys, Protectors of Bunny (30m,39s) Div 7 (23 Players): Drake Hunter, Thunderbird (19h,35m) Div 8 (28 Players): Herve Bertolli, Thunderbird (6h,47m) Div 9 (38 Players): Ila Mari Anthonsen, today and tomorrow 1 (4m,40s) Div 10 (25 Players): Recoil, T.B. 2nd Kearney Highlanders (16h,24m) Div 11 (17 Players): Casandra Proctor, Wrecking Crew Too (6m,6s) Div 12 (17 Players): LionOThundera, Karma (1h,37m)

Total Participants: 273, Total Medals: 178 (of 180 possible)

Still tight brackets in div 1. Perhaps a small change of the Gold rule, all gold winners in div one spend the upcoming four fights there?

Scramble lasted only around two minutes, even so there were some fighting. Two Golds changed hands last minute, three more during the last seven. Three Golds were held for more than 15 hours.

Fusion claimed top two Golds again, Thunderbird claimed two as well. No one managed to get two Gold in row this time.

Blown away from Gold hope I sat and gathered myself, while my command played jigsaw puzzles with my Oggun parts to reassemble the mechs. Feeling sorry for the readers who probably would be left without an interview again. I rechecked my comm. Still no volunteers. Even Eric Loar had decided to keep away from me, command is truly a lonely spot. A hug from behind and "Hi dad" saved my day. Behind me was my family. Wife with bronze, Ann had gotten a Silver, and Ila Mari Anthonsen(#959777) had won her second Gold.

Sten Hugo Hiller Congratulations, well done.

Ila Mari Anthonsen Thanks dad, but it was a team effort again.

Sten Hugo Hiller You have changed clan, today and tomorrow 1, or did the clan change name again?

Ila Mari Anthonsen No we didn’t, but we were too many for the Squad war, so we split up into 1 and 2.

Sten Hugo Hiller You made your first entry into the Kotm in Porktober `09 and won your first gold in the September `10 Point mech. This was your second, which one is most special to you?

Ila Mari Anthonsen I have to say the first that proved I had what it took to be successful.

Sten Hugo Hiller what is your preferred format, limited or unlimited?

Ila Mari Anthonsen Limited. Other at my level have formations almost twice my weight, can’t really compete against that.

Sten Hugo Hiller You have a medal collection that makes me want to disagree, but you are probably right. There are several types of limited, what do you think of weapon types?

Ila Mari Anthonsen They are essentially unlimited, I might get a medal, but have to work hard for it.

Sten Hugo Hiller Hard work is needed for success. How do you feel about the rainbows?

Ila Mari Anthonsen A bit better, but still same problem. Opponents outweigh me, sometimes they have almost twice my weight.

Sten Hugo Hiller So weight limit is your preference then, do you like weight limit or mechtype, say 50 ton or Oggun?

Ila Mari Anthonsen Mechtype. This was an max weight tournament for me. Going in with all Ogguns would probably have gone worse. As it was, mum and Ann shielded me and I got a win, but if it had lasted longer there were several who were at least as strong as me.

Sten Hugo Hiller That is the way it is, sometimes sitting back and wait is the best strategy, other times grabbing the top early is the best. How do you like the Chrono type of event?

Ila Mari Anthonsen I am not a big fan. Yes, enter early and check in and beat some to climb and get points, I can get a bronze where I couldn’t get it in a sudden death. On the other hand, getting enough points for a silver or a Gold requires both a good formation and more time than I can normally give.

Sten Hugo Hiller That seem to be a general attitude, at least among the younger generation. Some have complained of a lack of resources to upgrade their mechs, how do you manage?

Ila Mari Anthonsen About a third of my mechs are 10 to 15 levels behind, adding some ferrite to the KOTM to replace the lost medals might be an idea.

Sten Hugo Hiller Yes, the reduced medal count, how does that please you?

Ila Mari Anthonsen I am in a division where there often are three contestants for each medal, this time 38 fought over 15. I normally have to struggle really hard just to get in sight of a bronze. I understand you can’t give medals to everyone, but perhaps medals could be given according to number of participants. In the upper divisions it seem all you have to do is join up, and there will be perhaps one or two without a medal.

Sten Hugo Hiller It is an idea, but not sure how to get it implemented. Back to the KOTMs, What format would you like to see, past, current or future?

Ila Mari Anthonsen Anything? How about a first blood contest. Any mech that is primary target of a hit is eliminated, all secondary effects are ignored.

Sten Hugo Hiller From your lips to the Developers ears. As you have been around for a decade, and gotten a nice medal collection, I am sure your tips on what mechs/equipment/weapons are best will be listened to.

Ila Mari Anthonsen I would say you have to plan ahead, and decide early if you want to be a specialist, or not. Buying the mechs you will need 5 levels from now when they get available and have they already upgraded when the base extends is a good idea. For equipment, you need to destroy opposing mechs. Having the best precision you can get is my priority. As for weapons, critkill. Focus on the mech in front before you try to get the next.

Sten Hugo Hiller Good advices, do you have any final words?

Ila Mari Anthonsen Yes, take us out to dinner. Your treat.

So we had a private family dinner. Not the normal wild party I have gotten used to. But we would wake up rested and ready to participate in the

Upcoming Event: Lightening strike LIGHT MECHS ONLY this time, any mech heavier than 25 ton will just leave a hole in your formation

Event ends February 10 between 1800 and 1900 New York Time You can’t win unless you join

tnogem��7X��

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beverlymunoz · 8 years ago

Text

Meet Georgia Tech, which misses a lot of shots and forces a lot of missed shots, too

How to watch or listen to the game

Tip time: 6:30 p.m. ET, Sunday, Jan. 15

TV: ESPNU (Anish Shroff, Cory Alexander)

Online streaming: WatchESPN

Radio: Wolfpack Sports Network (affiliates)

Georgia Tech vitals

Record: 10-6 (2-2) Pomeroy ranking: 128 Best win***: 75-63 over UNC (No. 7 in Pomeroy Ratings) Worst loss***: 67-61 to Ohio (No. 83 in Pomeroy Ratings)

(***Based on opponent's Pomeroy Rating, not margin of victory/defeat.)

Adjusted tempo: 68.2 poss/40 minutes (ranks 239th) Adjusted offensive efficiency: 100.7 (ranks 243rd) Adjusted defensive efficiency: 96.8 (ranks 47th)

GT roster GT schedule GT stats 2016 / 2017

The GT offense and starters

GT Offense -- Four Factors eFG% TO% OR% FT Rate 2016-17 overall (nat'l rank) 45.7 (306) 20.3 (283) 32.4 (102) 40.1 (67) 2016-17 ACC only (ACC rank) 41.5 (15) 19.9 (13) 29.0 (10) 40.2 (5)

Georgia Tech has had a confused start to ACC play, beating UNC and Clemson at home by identical 75-63 scores, and also getting blown out by a million at Duke. The Yellow Jackets have managed to crack 1.0 points per trip in only one of their four league games--this is a team that needs its defense to be solid in order to win, and against Duke, for example, the bottom fell out at both ends of the floor.

The Yellow Jackets' offense finished last season at No. 38 in adjusted offensive efficiency, but the 2016 Jackets were also one of the oldest teams in the country. They lost their top four scorers to graduation, all four of them starters, and five rotation players in total. There are not many programs that can recover from that type of personnel loss.

So new head coach Josh Pastner inherited an empty cupboard and it is showing. Tech's offense ranks 243rd in offensive efficiency this year, a drop of more than 200 spots. The problem, as you can tell above, boils down to poor shooting, but more specifically, Georgia Tech's problem is that it is completely one-dimensional.

Tech was not exactly flush with perimeter scoring threats last season, and its most credible outside shooters--Marcus Georges-Hunt, Adam Smith--are gone. A team that was already averse to three-point attempts is now extremely averse to threes. Only 20.8% of the Jackets' attempts this season have been threes. That proportion ranks 350th out of 351 D-I schools. The national average is 36.2%.

This is a below-average outside shooting team, so it is wise to shy away from threes to some degree. Thing is, though, Georgia Tech ain't any good at making twos, either. They're ignoring the most efficient shot in basketball, probably a little too much, even for them. They are instead focusing on a lot of the least efficient shots in basketball, and they're only hitting 45% inside the arc. That is a rough combination.

At this point you may be confused as to how Georgia Tech has a pair of 12-point wins over NCAA tournament teams, and so am I, man, so am I. But we know the ACC is exceptionally deep, and we've learned that winning on the road is going to be extremely difficult. Just about every team has learned that lesson just a handful of games into league play.

Starters

Justin Moore (6-4, 162) -- Truly an impressive crafter of bricks, as he is shooting only 46.9% at the stripe, 43.3% from two, and is 1-6 from three. He has a good assist rate, at least, but the rest is gross. To his credit, he is not taking a ton of shots, but the freshman struggle is on full display here.

Tadric Jackson (6-2, 209) -- I always want to call him Tantric Jackson. Now that would be a sweet-ass name right there. I bet Tantric Jackson would be a way better basketball player too. Give Tadric credit: this is a man who stares blatant reality in the face and inexplicably wins. As a freshman, he shot 16-89 (18%) from three. Sixteen out of damned 89! Was he deterred? Heck no. The next season, he shot 18-65 (27.7%). Still bad, still perhaps an indicator of one's limitations, but hey, improvement. This season? He is 19-44 (43.2%), making him the most effective outside shooter on the team. And this is a fluke most likely, so Tech's three-point shooting is likely to get even worse. Anyway, let us all give Tadric a round of applause--he spat in the face of his own obvious limitations, and for now at least, he is victorious.

Josh Okogie (6-4, 207) -- If you were to look simply at Okogie's 14 PPG average, you would think he's having a nice freshman year. And to be fair, he's not been terrible, but he's taking a ton of shots to get those 14 points. He's only 8-28 from three and has made only 43.6% of his twos. He has shown a knack for using his frame to draw fouls and he's been solid defensively.

Quinton Stephens (6-9, 196) -- Quinton Stephens has spent an eternity at Georgia Tech toiling in averageishness. It's impressive in its own unfortunate Georgia Tech basketball way. When he's dead and gone, his headstone will read "Here lies Quinton Stephens, who attempted some shots in basketball a while back."

Ben Lammers (6-10, 227) -- The bright spot for the Jackets is Lammers, who is in the midst of a breakout campaign. He spent is first two seasons in Atlanta as a bench player who rarely took shots, and now he is the linchpin of the entire offense. Both his minutes and his workload have skyrocketed, to no ill effect to his efficiency. He is shooting 80% at the line this year and is a career 58.3% scorer in the paint. Blocks a lot of shots, rebounds well at both ends. Really good player.

The GT bench and defense

Reserves: Josh Heath (6-2, 175), Corey Heyward (6-1, 212), Abdoulaye Gueye (6-9, 212). Georgia Tech is unlikely to get much offense from this trio, as they are not only poor shooters, but they are also deferential, tertiary options. Gueye is raw and foul-prone but probably necessary for some minutes defensively. Heyward at least has a decent career three-point shooting percentage (35.0) but shoots so rarely you'd hardly notice.

GT Defense -- Four Factors eFG% TO% OR% FT Rate 2016-17 overall (nat'l rank) 45.5 (32) 19.2 (153) 33.6 (307) 27.4 (37) 2016-17 ACC only (ACC rank) 48.3 (4) 16.4 (14) 37.5 (14) 26.7 (5)

Georgia Tech's defense is good because it does one very basic thing well: it shuts down the paint. Opponents have made only 42.6% of their two-point attempts this season (national average on twos is 48.9%). The Jackets' defense is one of the best in the country at blocking shots. NC State, by the way, is the second best team in the country at avoiding blocks. Something's gotta give!

Shooting trumps all, which is why Tech's defense is well above average despite their poor defensive rebounding and average turnover rate. Gotta make shots. That's the key every night, the rest is just in the margins--some of it prominent, mind you, but still secondary.

When you consider that Tech's offense shoots 45.7% and limits opponents to 45.5% shooting, you can't help but tip your cap to a team that creates bricks at an insatiable rate. This Georgia Tech team does not mind playing in the mud.

KenPom has State by nine.

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