#oliver stark defense squad

[bucksbabyblues]

to everyone who’s being mean about the episode. what the hell are you doing. that was one of the most beautifully filmed and written episodes i have ever seen. i can tell just how much that episode meant to oliver stark. ok yeah eddie was barely in it, but the episode wasn’t about him. this wasn’t about buddie. this was a buck episode. we got to see inside bucks head. we got to see how he puts himself down. we got to see the impact he has on others. we got to watch buck fight for himself and realize how important he is. if you hate oliver for this episode unfollow me. if you want an eddie centric episode go watch eddie begins. oliver put his heart into that episode, and i can see it. stop sending hate to him and people who are supportive of him.

[talesofhestia]

Content

Aesthetics | Edits | Gifs | Multiships | Fics | Headcanons | Others

Marvel ⏤ Steve Rogers Defense Squad ＋ Sam Wilson Defense Squad ＋ Sharon Carter Defense Squad

DC ⏤ Core Four (Tim Drake, Conner Kent, Bart Allen & Cassie Sandsmark) Defense Squad ＋ Batfamily ＆ Superfamily

Teen Wolf ⏤ Stiles Stilinski Defense Squad

Supernatural ⏤ Team Freewill–centric

Star Wars ⏤ Luke Skywalker Defense Squad ＋ Grogu Defense Squad ＋ Pro-Jedi

One Piece ⏤ Mugiwara no Ichimi–centric ＋ ASUL Siblings (ASL Brothers + Uta) ＋ Shanks being Luffy's (and Uta's) dad

Other fandoms ⏤ Pokémon, Inazuma Eleven (Break Trio–centric), Naruto (mainly: Hyūga Hinata–centric or Team 8–centric), Fairy Tail, Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Shadowhunters, Good Omens…

Ships that are most likely to appear ⏤

All fandoms mentioned above: Nakamaship | Platonic Relationships Marvel: Samsteve | Sam Wilson 𝘅 Steve Rogers， Staron | Steve Rogers 𝘅 Sharon Carter， Stony | Steve Rogers 𝘅 Tony Stark (only in Earth-616, Earth-20051, Earth-12041, Earth-8096, Earth-TRN814 & Earth-TRN562)， Stucky | Steve Rogers 𝘅 Bucky Barnes (only in Earth-199999)， Steve Rogers 𝘅 Bernie Rosenthal， Steve Rogers 𝘅 George Batroc (only in Earth-616)， Steve Rogers 𝘅 Namor， Steve Rogers 𝘅 Namor 𝘅 Jim Hammond， Namor 𝘅 Jim Hammond， Reed Richards 𝘅 Sue Storm… DC: Timkon | Tim Drake 𝘅 Conner Kent， Timbart | Tim Drake 𝘅 Bart Allen， Timkonbart | Tim Drake 𝘅 Conner Kent 𝘅 Bart Allen， Timkonbartcassie | Bart Allen 𝘅 Tim Drake 𝘅 Conner Kent 𝘅 Cassie Sandsmark， Dickbabs | Dick Grayson 𝘅 Barbara Gordon… →Arrowverse: Supercorp | Kara Danvers 𝘅 Lena Luthor， Superflash | Kara Danvers 𝘅 Barry Allen， Superarrow | Kara Danvers 𝘅 Oliver Queen… One Piece: ZoLu | Roronoa Zoro 𝘅 Monkey D. Luffy， LawLu | Trafalgar D. Water Law 𝘅 Monkey D. Luffy， SanLu | Sanji 𝘅 Monkey D. Luffy， NamiVivi | Nami 𝘅 Nefertari (D.) Vivi， UsoKaya | Usopp 𝘅 Kaya， Frobin | Frank 𝘅 Nico Robin， Sako | Sabo 𝘅 Koala， Mishanks | Dracule Mihawk 𝘅 Shanks， Akagami no Shanks 𝘅 Makino， Nefertari (D.) Vivi 𝘅 Monkey D. Luffy… Teen Wolf: Sterek | Stiles Stilinski 𝘅 Derek Hale， Stora | Stiles Stilinski 𝘅 Cora Hale， Stackson | Stiles Stilinski 𝘅 Jackson Whittemore， Stanny | Stiles Stilinski 𝘅 Danny Mahealani， Dackson | Jackson Whittemore 𝘅 Danny Mahealani， Berica | Vernon Boyd 𝘅 Erica Reyes… Supernatural: Destiel | Dean Winchester 𝘅 Castiel， Drowley | Dean Winchester 𝘅 Crowley， Denny | Dean Winchester 𝘅 Benny Lafitte， Saileen | Sam Winchester 𝘅 Eileen Leahy， Samwena | Sam Winchester 𝘅 Rowena Macleod， Sabriel | Sam Winchester 𝘅 Gabriel… Stars Wars: Dinluke | Din Djarin 𝘅 Luke Skywalker， Mara Jade 𝘅 Luke Skywalker， Bobaluke | Boba Fett x Luke Skywalker， Dinbobaluke | Din Djarin x Boba Fett 𝘅 Luke Skywalker， Hanleia | Han Solo 𝘅 Leia Organa… Percy Jackson: Percabeth | Percy Jackson 𝘅 Annabeth Chase， Solangelo | Will Solace 𝘅 Nico di Angelo， Frazel | Frank Zhang 𝘅 Hazel Levesque， Percico | Percy Jackson 𝘅 Nico di Angelo， Jercy | Jason Grace 𝘅 Percy Jackson， Solackson | Will Solace 𝘅 Percy Jackson… Harry Potter: Hinny | Harry Potter 𝘅 Ginny Weasley， Romione | Ron Weasley 𝘅 Hermione Granger， Drarry | Draco Malfoy 𝘅 Harry Potter， Linny | Luna Lovegood 𝘅 Ginny Weasley， Nuna | Neville Longbottom 𝘅 Luna Lovegood…

AU: Earth–129916 | Cast

Earth–129916 is a universe that I have been writing for a few months for a series of stories that I will publish in AO3. The stories will be published first in my native language (Spanish); later, I will translate them into English.

This universe mixes concepts from comics, movies and series. Above all, from the following canonical universes:

Earth–616

Earth–20051 (Marvel Adventures Comics)

Earth–199999 (MCU)

Earth–12041 (Avengers Assemble)

You can see all my posts from this universe (including my face claims/fancast for each character ▬some of them match MCU actors/actresses and others don't; It should also be noted that I've chosen to give other roles to some MCU actors/actresses instead of their original roles▬) in this tag: «my au: earth 129916».

[poughkeepsies]

ill be there with ya....oliver stark defense squad

it's not much but it's honest work 😔

[superstar8363]

"You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be very different." - Number 2 of Pixar's storytelling rules.

Now if only other movies and TV shows could follow this rule. The shock and awes and twists and deaths probably read good on paper but that's not what your audiences wants. We want a story to have an ending thats makes sense and matches up with the rest of the story you have been telling.

(This is the third time I've had to type this bc for some reason tumblr is being a dick to me. And I'm really mad bc the second version sounded better but I cannot remember what it said 😑)

[aashiqeddiediaz]

evan ‘buck’ buckley does the “promiscuous-man-turned-happily-domestic-husband” troupe better than anyone i know and i’m proud of my man.

[hitchell-mope]

Rich hero: *isn’t a saint, but has righted their wrongs where they can, has suffered unimaginably yet still saved lives at the risk of their own, is basically just in need of therapy and a hug*

Fandom:

Rich villain: *all around bastard, never does anything unless they benefit from it, throws a fit when things don’t go their way, makes everyone’s lives miserable because they’re pissed off, just generally unpleasant to deal with, has cried a grand total of ONE time*

Fandom:

[waiting4kraven]

At this point I ship Buck and Christopher as BFF.

[padfootprongslet]

Proud member of the oliver stark is his own man and doesn’t need our defense, but i will defend him anyways squad.

[castellankurze]

FSF - Iron Warriors (Heresy/Pre-Heresy Era), an unconventional type of warfare/weapon.

“Their coordination is perfect,” Eutropia said.

“Virtually perfect,” the Iron Warrior across from her stated with eyes narrowed in skepticism.

“No.  I mean perfect.  I’ve never seen anything like it before,” the Alpha Legionnaire replied.  Her fingers glided over the map of the city, indicating various markings made and subsequently crossed out or smudged over.  “We’ve tried every approach we can think of.  Sewers.  Heat vents.  Camo-cloaks.  Reflex fields.  We even tried brute-forcing the east and west gates.”  Her lips thinned into a line at the admission of such straightforward tactics.

For nigh on nine weeks the XX Legion forces - five companies’ worth - had labored to take the city of Castrus Veronia, a sprawling megacity nearly a thousand kilometers in breadth.  A request for reinforcement had come recently into the ears of the IV Legion, and the chapter of Warsmith Larisa had responded, bringing with them companies of the Imperial Army and heavy artillery provided by the Adeptus Mechanicus.  All of whom were about to receive a very rude awakening.

There was a rustle of paper as Eutropia laid a translucent image over the city layout.  “The problem is this central communications hub.  As near as we’re able to determine, it’s buried several kilometers underneath the city - too hardened to hit with bombardment, we ran the simulations - and it’s jacked into Veronia’s entire communications network.”  She placed a hand atop a pict-capture of a massive combat droid near the size of an Astartes dreadnought in the midst of tearing one of her squads to pieces.  “That enables them to use their pet warbots with perfect coordination.  Any detection of invasion and they come swarming in.”

Larisa pressed her lips together and reached out with a fingertip to draw the pict across the table towards her, inspecting the image of the war droid.  “I assume you XX have gone through your usual repertoire of feints and falsehoods,” she said.  Her voice was a hoarse, rasping noise, not unlike the grinding of her Legion’s war machines.

“You assume correctly,” the Alpha Legionnaire replied, keeping her own face neutral.  “Again I must stress that their coordination is perfect.  They respond to every threat, no matter how nuanced, with overwhelming force, all directed by the central hub, and we’ve been unable to get so much as a toehold before they come swarming in.  I’ve begun to suspect that the hub houses some manner of advanced AI,” she saw the Mechanicus representative twitch- “that handles the protection of the city.  Their response times, their adaptive tactics, they’re too good for human direction.”

“Orbital bombardment.  Smash the entire thing,” Larisa stated bluntly.

Eutropia thinned her lips.  The Alpha Legion did not pride itself on trading guile for brute force.  “We would prefer to keep such an option as a last resort.”

The Warsmith grunted and looked down at the maps once more.  “Attrition tactics.”

“We considered that.  We spent a week picking off what bots we could.  They drag away the scrap for repairs and the city has factories which produce replacements.  The only way to whittle them down would be by drowning them in blood, and we don’t have enough to make that work.”

“It may come to that, even so,” Larisa said, looking back up into Eutropia’s eyes.  The Alpha Legionnaire was mildly surprised she still had both, given the scarring that lined her face and continued along the right side of her head, leaving that side shorn of hair.  Like most of the XX Eutropia had undergone routine treatments to alter her own appearance into a shaven-headed, olive-skinned warrior monk, a face in a sea of faces, but given the character of the IV Legion a Warsmith who still had her original eyes was a rare thing indeed.  Not to mention teeth.  “My chapter is but the vanguard for a larger force, and when the Lord of Iron arrives it will not matter how fine-tuned the defenses of Castrus Veronia.”

Eutropia thought for certain she had heard wrong.  “The IV Primarch is coming here?” she asked, unable to help leaning slightly over the table.

Larisa nodded.  “The Iron Blood is approximately eight days out.  Ten chapters of the IV Legion.  If we so choose, we need merely shore up our positions and await them.”  Larisa went back to studying the tactical readouts, leaving Eutropia to stew silently at the thought of the titanic figure who even now drew inexorably closer to this very world with each passing second.  A primarch.  She felt a momentary jealousy, that the IV Legion could indeed call upon such a resource-

“Electronic warfare,” Larisa said suddenly, bringing Eutropia’s attention back to the present.  “These war droids aren’t hooked directly into the grid.  They must receive their directions via wireless.”

“We’ve tried that as well.  Their firewalls are very good, and the hub appears able to supersede any local vox traffic.  Our jamming has had limited effect.”

Larisa stared across the table once more, and then lifted a hand with her index finger extended even as she started to turn away.  “I have an idea.  Come with me,” she ordered, and without waiting to ensure the Alpha Legionnaire obeyed left the command tent.  Eutropia hurried after her, too curious to bristle at being dictated to, as the Warsmith made her way through the developing strongpoint of the IV Legion.  “Ophaellos!  Ophaellos!” she called out, and a man in the crimson armor of a techmarine responded.  “Yes, Warsmith?”

Larisa waved a finger at his chest.  “Where was it.  Tauros?  Torvis?  The nebula with the electronic interference.”

“That was Torvis,” the techmarine affirmed.

“How did you rig that beacon?”

“We tuned the systems aboard the Calibos so that the entire cruiser would act as a single gigantic vox antenna.”

“Could you do it again?” Larisa asked intently.

————————–

The bridge of the Iron Blood was a cavernous chamber, a place of stark utilitarian machinery without artifice or gilding.  It buzzed with activity, men and servitors at their stations coordinating the actions not only of the massive vessel itself but also the accompanying fleet of the IV Legion and their attendant Army and Navy forces.  Four days out from planetfall, the details of the initial drop and occupation steps were being finalized, a flurry of vox and astropathic communication between the multitude of vessels.

Amidst it all, a gigantic figure sheathed in steel sat all but silent on great throne of the Iron Blood, ringed by a bodyguard of armored terminators of the Iron Warriors and attended by a legionary in more standard armor, marked with the rank of captain.  The primarch Perturabo was reading a dataslate, absurdly thin compared to the massive steel gauntlet which held it, and yet the motion of his thumb as he scrolled through its contents caused not so much as a blemish on the slate’s screen.

A voice rang out, breaking through the hum of activity.  “Wide-spectrum vox coming in from the Ironheart!” the communications officer reported.

Perturabo lifted his eyes from his dataslate and nodded slightly before returning his attention to the information in his hand.  Beside him, Captain Forrix pursed his lips.  The Ironheart was Larisa’s flagship, and the report of a widebeam transmission at this distance was unheard-of.  “Put it on,” he ordered with a nod of his head.

A moment later, a disembodied voice filled the bridge chamber with a full-throated bellow of “BANG YOUR HEAD” accompanied by electronic interference from the power behind the transmission, a blast of audio so tremendous it felt almost like a physical blow to the chest.  Crewmen jolted at their stations at the unpleasant sound, and in the corner of Forrix’s eye the captain even saw one of the primarch’s bodyguard raise his stormbolter.  He turned his head to glower at the reaction and the man lowered the weapon once more, his posture sheepish.

Perturabo lifted his attention once more, frowning, and lifted his hand to make a curt gesture with two fingers.  The vox officer hastened to cut the broadcast, and the bridge chamber felt positively silent in the wake of the transmission.  “And we are yet four days out,” Perturabo mused, still frowning.

“My lord?” Forrix questioned.

The primarch did not reply.

—————————

In the end, the thousand kilometers of Castrus Veronia, a technologically advanced city-fortress which had stood for nine weeks against the Astartes, fell in mere six hours.

Blasted across the entire spectrum of vox capability from the warship in orbit, activity across the city ground to a halt as communication failed, and even the mighty war droids stood still and silent even as the armored figures of the IV and XX moved to occupy the city, encountering only sporadic resistance from hardpoints and individual cells that had managed to receive localized orders.  

Warsmith Larisa and Praetor Eutropia walked into the capitol building virtually unopposed, accepting unconditional surrender from the city’s rulers.

Indeed it could be rightly said that the arrival of the Iron Blood and the full fleet of the IV Legion served little purpose other than to ensure the transition of the world to the rule of the Imperium and the establishment of one of the Legion’s ubiquitous defensive garrisons, all while the Adeptus Mechanicus swarmed the vaunted central hub with the intent of picking apart all the secrets of its advanced technology.

Warsmith Larisa met with the Lord of Iron in his quarters aboard the flagship, and he did not fail to notice that a small crest bearing the likeness of a reptilian beast had been adhered to his officer’s collar.  “You blasted them with…juvenile music,” he said, his voice emotionless.  His eyes did not meet her own, but once more scanned the dataslate he held in one armored hand.

“Pre-Imperial recordings,” Larisa confirmed.  “A selection chosen for maximum psychological and electronic disruption.”

Perturabo lifted his gaze, his expression cold.  “You are dismissed, Warsmith,” he said bluntly, and Larisa departed.

Alone, the Lord of Iron slowly pressed a thumb to the screen of the slate until its display cracked.  As the seconds passed, Perturabo tightened his hand around the device, plastic and electronics crumpling beneath his inexorable grip, until at last he had closed his fist, the dataslate crushed to pieces.

[******]

[The Siege of Castrus Veronia was not entered into the histories of the Adeptus Astartes IV Legion]

[ao3feed-oliverfelicity]

Well would you look at that?

read it on the AO3

by Loki_Lover20_6

I'm back I couldnt stay away that long. I had no courage. This is really just a dc and marvel crossover because why not?

Words: 1213, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of DC and Marvel crossovers

Fandoms: The Flash (TV 2014), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jessica Jones (TV), Luke Cage (TV), Iron Fist (TV), Deadpool (Movieverse), Arrow (TV 2012), Supergirl (TV 2015), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M

Characters: Cisco Ramon, Iris West, Joe West, Caitlin Snow, Barry Allen, Ralph Dibny, Pepper Potts, Hope Van Dyne, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Thor (Marvel), Loki (Marvel), Tony Stark, Peter Parker, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Clint Barton, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Scott Lang, Ned Leeds, Flash Thompson, Mjolnir (Marvel), Michelle Jones, Stephen Strange, Matt Murdock, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Danny Rand, Wade Wilson, Harley Keener, Author - Character, Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Happy Hogan, May Parker (Spider-Man), Friday (Marvel), Vision (Marvel), Sara Lance, Jefferson "Jax" Jackson, Martin Stein, Nate Heywood, Amaya Jiwe, Zari Tomaz, Mick Rory, Ray Palmer, Rip Hunter, Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, Kara Danvers, Alex Danvers, Brainy, Nia Nal, J'onn J'onzz | Hank Henshaw, Wally West

Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Barry Allen/Iris West, Barry Allen & Cisco Ramon, Cisco Ramon & Caitlin Snow, Barry Allen & Cisco Ramon & Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon & Iris West, Peter Parker & Cisco Ramon, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Barry Allen & Tony Stark, Cisco Ramon & Tony Stark, Iris West & Joe West, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Barry/food, Tony/Happiness, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Barry Allen & Kara Danvers & Oliver Queen, Kara Danvers & Team Flash, Oliver Queen & Team Flash, Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak

Additional Tags: Crossover, Friendship, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Feels, Parent Tony Stark, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Barry Allen Needs a Hug, Protective Barry Allen, Barry Allen is The Flash, Barry Allen and Food, Barry Allen & Cisco Ramon Friendship, Cisco Ramon Defense Squad, Cisco Ramon is Vibe, Pietro Maximoff Lives, Good Friend Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow & Iris West Friendship, Protective Pepper Potts, Awesome Pepper Potts, Peter is a Little Shit, Protective Peter Parker, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Team Bonding, Flash Family, The Author Regrets Nothing, The Author Regrets Everything, Sorry Not Sorry, I'm Sorry, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

read it on the AO3

[ao3feed-westallen]

Well would you look at that?

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2WAC7Cd

by Loki_Lover20_6

I'm back I couldnt stay away that long. I had no courage. This is really just a dc and marvel crossover because why not?

Words: 1213, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of DC and Marvel crossovers

Fandoms: The Flash (TV 2014), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jessica Jones (TV), Luke Cage (TV), Iron Fist (TV), Deadpool (Movieverse), Arrow (TV 2012), Supergirl (TV 2015), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M

Characters: Cisco Ramon, Iris West, Joe West, Caitlin Snow, Barry Allen, Ralph Dibny, Pepper Potts, Hope Van Dyne, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Thor (Marvel), Loki (Marvel), Tony Stark, Peter Parker, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Clint Barton, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Scott Lang, Ned Leeds, Flash Thompson, Mjolnir (Marvel), Michelle Jones, Stephen Strange, Matt Murdock, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Danny Rand, Wade Wilson, Harley Keener, Author - Character, Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Happy Hogan, May Parker (Spider-Man), Friday (Marvel), Vision (Marvel), Sara Lance, Jefferson "Jax" Jackson, Martin Stein, Nate Heywood, Amaya Jiwe, Zari Tomaz, Mick Rory, Ray Palmer, Rip Hunter, Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, Kara Danvers, Alex Danvers, Brainy, Nia Nal, J'onn J'onzz | Hank Henshaw, Wally West

Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Barry Allen/Iris West, Barry Allen & Cisco Ramon, Cisco Ramon & Caitlin Snow, Barry Allen & Cisco Ramon & Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon & Iris West, Peter Parker & Cisco Ramon, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Barry Allen & Tony Stark, Cisco Ramon & Tony Stark, Iris West & Joe West, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Barry/food, Tony/Happiness, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Barry Allen & Kara Danvers & Oliver Queen, Kara Danvers & Team Flash, Oliver Queen & Team Flash, Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak

Additional Tags: Crossover, Friendship, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Feels, Parent Tony Stark, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Barry Allen Needs a Hug, Protective Barry Allen, Barry Allen is The Flash, Barry Allen and Food, Barry Allen & Cisco Ramon Friendship, Cisco Ramon Defense Squad, Cisco Ramon is Vibe, Pietro Maximoff Lives, Good Friend Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow & Iris West Friendship, Protective Pepper Potts, Awesome Pepper Potts, Peter is a Little Shit, Protective Peter Parker, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Team Bonding, Flash Family, The Author Regrets Nothing, The Author Regrets Everything, Sorry Not Sorry, I'm Sorry, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2WAC7Cd

[wiresandstarlings]

a marathon runner, my ankles are sprained

Hey, my name is Allen Wu, and I top 4'd the Santa Clara RPTQ last weekend. Not a huge result, granted, but I promised my therapist I'd start writing again and this is a better occasion than most.

There's a trend in tournament reports these days to focus on stories rather than the grit of Magic gameplay, and I appreciate that trend. Magic is a fun game, but the real appeal of tournament Magic is good times with friends in cities all over the world. Narrative reports are not only more entertaining, they're also more true. And there's so much magic content out there these days that nobody really needs another deck breakdown.

That said, there's not much of a story here. I live in Mountain View, which is a twenty minute train ride away from the ChannelFireball Game Center in Santa Clara. I qualified via Silver pro level. I woke up at eight, ate yogurt and some coffee cake for breakfast, played a match on Magic Online to warm up, and biked to the train station. I picked up some cards and sleeved my deck, and the tournament started shortly after.

My deck choice was, however, a little unusual. I inched my way into standard following the Pro Tour, and I couldn't find a deck I liked for a long time. BG with Mindwrack Demons and 4 Verdurous Gearhulk was too clunky, and I lost so many games because I drew a Blossoming Marsh, Traverse the Ulvenwald, or Hissing Quagmire when I needed an untapped land to cast a finisher. 4c Saheeli flooded a lot,  played so many low-impact cards, and everyone on Magic Online was ready for the combo. The mana and inherent inconsistency of the vehicle mechanic scared me away from Mardu. Every other deck felt an order of magnitude less powerful than these three, though I did enjoy a brief flirtation with a 5c Improvise brew.

Recent builds of the three big decks have obviously solved many of these problems, but since I didn't have much time to test I was looking to find rather than innovate.

The first deck I really liked was Oliver Tiu's BG build with Oath of Nissa, Sylvan Advocate, Nissas, no Mindwrack Demons, and a full 25 lands. Tiu's build maintained the power of the Delirium builds but played Gearhulk on 5 far more consistently, and it had even more nut draw potential with the full squad of Nissas. However, as 4c Saheeli decks began playing more copies of Chandra and her Oath, and as players began to figure out the control decks, I found I ultimately flooded too often with Oliver's list. When my opponents always killed my turn 2 Snake, my other cards were just too slow or too low-impact to do anything.

I shelved testing for a while, until I saw the list Ben Stark played in SCG Baltimore. It looked like Ben had solved all the problems of previous BG lists. By playing only 2 cards that cost 4 or more mana, Ben's list could play 4 Traverse the Ulvenwald while rarely missing key land drops. Gnarlwood Dryads helped break serve and further ameliorated the cost of playing so many tapped lands (counting Traverse as a land that comes into play tapped), and Grim Flayer was a real threat even without a Snake in play. Flayers and Traverses both mitigated flood. The list I ultimately played at the RPTQ was only a few cards off from Ben's:

4 Blooming Marsh 4 Evolving Wilds 4 Hissing Quagmire 6 Forest 4 Swamp

2 Gnarlwood Dryad 4 Grim Flayer 4 Winding Constrictor 4 Walking Ballista 2 Scrapheap Scrounger 3 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar 3 Rishkar, Peema Renegade 2 Tireless Tracker 1 Gonti, Lord of Luxury 2 Verdurous Gearhulk

4 Fatal Push 4 Traverse the Ulvenwald 2 Grasp of Darkness 1 Grapple with the Past

Sideboard: 1 Blossoming Defense 1 Gonti, Lord of Luxury 1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet 2 Natural Obsolescence 1 Natural State 1 Noxious Gearhulk 1 Ob Nixilis Reignited 2 Ruinous Path 1 Scrapheap Scrounger 1 Tireless Tracker 3 Transgress the Mind

By the week of the RPTQ, my friends were largely off BG because they didn't like its 4c Saheeli matchup and weren't sure how it fared against the new Mardu builds with Oath of Liliana in the sideboard. An actual conversation from the day of the RTPQ:

Still, I was winning these matchups way more often than I was losing online. I felt comfortable with the deck, I liked how it played, and I'd put a lot of practice into it. So I borrowed and bought some cards and was locked in by Thursday night.

My matches in the RTPQ:

loss 2-1 vs. BG win 2-0 vs. 4c Saheeli win 2-0 vs. Mardu Ballista win 2-1 vs. Mardu Ballista win 2-0 vs. Jeskai Saheeli draw win 2-0 vs. Jeskai Saheeli

Starting off with a loss was a little unfortunate, but thankfully my opponents all crushed their remaining matches and I not only could draw into top 8, but wound up third seed. My finals match was mercifully anticlimactic. In the first game, my opponent mulliganed to a mediocre hand and I had a great draw with little removal, a good distribution of lands and threats, and – most importantly – an unanswered Winding Constrictor on the play. In the second game, he mulliganed again but had a Radiant Flames on turn 4 for my 2 Grim Flayers. But I had a third Flayer which he couldn't answer after a Traverse and Evolving Wilds gave me Delirium, and that Flayer smoothed my draws for the remainder of the game. I had a Grasp of Darkness in hand for either combo or Torrential Gearhulk, but I only had 3 black mana, so for most of the game I forewent attacking with Hissing Quagmire to leave up Grasp. On the last turn, I drew a Trangress the Mind to see my opponent's hand of Immolating Glare and Negate, then activated my Quagmire and minused Nissa for lethal.

There were a few interesting spots in the tournament proper. In the first game of the second round, I had a mana-light draw and my opponent answered my first few threats, so all I had going was a Nissa against my opponent's Saheeli. My opponent's turns were so weak he almost certainly had Felidar Guardian in hand, but he didn't have white mana or a fourth land. So when he scried an Attune to the top and found Plains, I knew I was dead the following turn. I had both Grasp of Darkness and Fatal Push in hand, but only a single black mana and no way to trigger Revolt. So I minused Nissa to 1 on my two plants and attacked his Saheeli to 1, hoping he would kill Nissa with Saheeli's +1 before going for the combo. Thankfully he did, so I was able to Push his Guardian and then kill his Saheeli. I drew the lands for my Gearhulk, which carried me the rest of the way.

Round 4, I lost a quick game 1 after mulliganing into a hand with a bunch of Traverses that needed an instant or artifact for Delirium but never got there. On the play for game 2, I boarded into a fairly greedy configuration with all my Nissas and all my Scroungers because my opponent's sideboarding looked pretty involved and I figured I could afford to be more aggressive on the play even if my opponent didn't sideboard into planeswalker midrange. My hand for game 2 had a bunch of tapped lands and I skipped playing Grim Flayer on 2 to guarantee a turn 3 Nissa, which is normally an awful play because of Heart of Kiran, but I got rewarded when opponent curved Ballista into Oath of Liliana on my plant. Game 3, my opponent didn't touch his sideboard so I boarded even greedier despite being on the draw, removing my 2 remaining Fatal Pushes. That ultimately didn't matter though, after my opponent risked a one-lander on the play rather than mulligan to 5.

The game I'm most proud of this tournament was game 2 of round 5, against end boss Harold Chow. He surprised me with a Fevered Vision on the play which ultimately dealt me 12 damage, and I had to walk a tightrope of managing my hand size, beating him down, and playing around Torrential Gearhulk over a protracted game. The game was too long and complicated to describe in detail, and I may or may not have forgotten about a Scrapheap Scrounger in my graveyard for a couple turns during that balancing act. Even so, I was happy with how I'd played.

To conclude, a brief sideboarding guide against the major decks of the format. The usual caveat emptor of how sideboarding should depend on the exact cards in your opponent's deck, how your opponent plays, and how you think he'll sideboard applies in this format even more than others because of how much variation there is within archtypes. Still, I hope this guide will illustrate what's important in each matchup.  

BG on the play: -2 Walking Ballista -2 Gnarlwood Dryad -1 Rishkar, Peema Renegade -1 Grapple with the Past

+1 Ob Nixilis Reignited +1 Noxious Gearhulk +1 Gonti, Lord of Luxury +1 Tireless Tracker +2 Ruinous Path

on the draw: -1 Rishkar, Peema Renegade -1 Verdurous Gearhulk

+2 Gnarlwood Dryad

Basically, you want all your removal for big creatures and all your cards that are resilient to removal, since your opponent will likely be on a similar plan. Verdurous Gearhulk is a lot worse in this matchup postboard, as making an 8/8 is asking to get blown out by Ob Nixilis or Noxious Gearhulk and smaller creatures will often have traded or gotten picked off by turn 5.

Mirrors and pseudo-mirrors are defined by BG's high density of 2-drops. The player going first will almost always have a play on turn 2, and the player on the draw will often have to spend their second turn answering that threat rather than developing their own because leaving a Flayer or Snake in play is so risky. The Gnarlwood Dryads are excellent on the draw as they let you break that parity, but on the play you want to get ahead and stay ahead.

Mardu max greed: -4 Fatal Push -2 Grasp of Darkness -2 Rishkar, Peema Renegade -1 Verdurous Gearhulk -1 Walking Ballista

+3 Transgress the Mind +2 Ruinous Path +1 Natural State +1 Scrapheap Scrounger +1 Gonti, Lord of Luxury +1 Tireless Tracker +1 Blossoming Defense

min greed: -3 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar -2 Scrapheap Scrounger -1 Grapple with the Past -1 Gonti, Lord of Luxury

+2 Ruinous Path +2 Natural Obsolescence +1 Natural State +1 Blossoming Defense +1 Tireless Tracker

Sideboarding in this matchup is tricky because you have to guess whether your opponent is sideboarding into a midrange deck or if she'll stay aggressive with Hearts of Kiran. The max greed configuration is if you know your opponent is playing the exact GP Utrecht list and will always transform. The min greed configuration is if you think your opponent will resubmit her game 1 deck. In practice, you want to be somewhere between the two configurations based on what cards you saw from your opponent, whether you're on the play or the draw, and how far you think your opponent will commit to the planeswalker plan. (Eg. if you think they might leave in Hearts or Scroungers but also board in Oath of Lilianas.) The cards you want against the two setups are wildly divergent, so the key is trimming rather than cutting for game 2 and reconfiguring again for game 3 if the match comes to that.

4c Saheeli on the play: -2 Gnarlwood Dryad -2 Fatal Push -1 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar -1 Rishkar, Peema Renegade -1 Grapple with the Past -1 Gonti, Lord of Luxury

+3 Transgress the Mind +2 Ruinous Path +1 Kalitas, Traitor to Ghet +1 Scrapheap Scrounger +1 Tireless Tracker

on the draw: -2 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar -1 Verdurous Gearhulk

+2 Gnarlwood Dryad +1 Rishkar, Peema Renegade

Push is unreliable as it only kills Servant without Revolt, and Nissa dies quite easily between thopters, Oath of Chandra damage, and Saheeli. Gonti and Grapple are just weak cards in the matchup. I leave a couple Push in because I value the tempo a Revolted Push on a 3-drop or Guardian generates, and Nissa on the play is still quite powerful. I want to max out on interaction with planeswalkers, as that's how 4c Saheeli usually wins. Kalitas is a little vulnerable to Chandra, but while he's in play 4c Saheeli can no longer block favorably.

Gnarlwood Dryads again show up on the draw but not the play because on the draw they let you develop against a Servant of the Conduit without mortal fear of a turn 3 Chandra. Even if 4c Saheeli doesn't have a Servant, the Dryads will still let you break the parity of 2-mana removal for 2-mana creatures and make it more difficult for your opponent to set up Chandra against a single creature. The Dryads aren't necessary on the play because you'll have had more opportunities to develop before Chandra becomes relevant.  

Temur Tower -4 Fatal Push -2 Gnarlwood Dryad -2 Walking Ballista -2 Rishkar, Peema Renegade -1 Verdurous Gearhulk

+3 Transgress the Mind +2 Natural Obsolescence +1 Natural State +1 Ob Nixilis Reignited +1 Gonti, Lord of Luxury +1 Tireless Tracker +1 Blossoming Defense +1 Scrapheap Scrounger

No shenanigans here, just bad cards out and good cards in. The only debatable part of this plan is leaving in Grasps of Darkness, but I like them because they both kill the Whirler Virtuosos and Shielded Aether Thieves the Tower deck will have postboard and let you win combat against Torrential Gearhulk.

I'm not playing GP New Jersey because of school, but if I were I'd likely play the same 75. The only change I'd make is moving the Kalitas to the maindeck over either the Gonti or a Verdurous Gearhulk. Kalitas is an excellent game 1 card against almost everything, and the mirror, where Gonti and Gearhulk are best, is much less common now.

Thanks for reading. I didn't think I'd qualify for the Pro Tour again after starting school, so I'm pretty ecstatic.

props: Jake, for lending me Grim Flayers and his luckiest Grapple with the Past Nathan, for reminding me play-draw matters the group chat, for being great CFB, for an excellently run tournament Tireless Tracker, for never getting tired slops: Hunter, for ever doubting medium GB Felidar Guardian, Winding Constrictor, and Heart of Kiran, because why

[ao3feed-harleykeener]

by Loki_Lover20_6

I'm back I couldnt stay away that long. I had no courage. This is really just a dc and marvel crossover because why not?

Words: 1213, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of DC and Marvel crossovers

Fandoms: The Flash (TV 2014), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jessica Jones (TV), Luke Cage (TV), Iron Fist (TV), Deadpool (Movieverse), Arrow (TV 2012), Supergirl (TV 2015), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M

Characters: Cisco Ramon, Iris West, Joe West, Caitlin Snow, Barry Allen, Ralph Dibny, Pepper Potts, Hope Van Dyne, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Thor (Marvel), Loki (Marvel), Tony Stark, Peter Parker, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Clint Barton, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Scott Lang, Ned Leeds, Flash Thompson, Mjolnir (Marvel), Michelle Jones, Stephen Strange, Matt Murdock, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Danny Rand, Wade Wilson, Harley Keener, Author - Character, Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Happy Hogan, May Parker (Spider-Man), Friday (Marvel), Vision (Marvel), Sara Lance, Jefferson "Jax" Jackson, Martin Stein, Nate Heywood, Amaya Jiwe, Zari Tomaz, Mick Rory, Ray Palmer, Rip Hunter, Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, Kara Danvers, Alex Danvers, Brainy, Nia Nal, J'onn J'onzz | Hank Henshaw, Wally West

Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Barry Allen/Iris West, Barry Allen & Cisco Ramon, Cisco Ramon & Caitlin Snow, Barry Allen & Cisco Ramon & Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon & Iris West, Peter Parker & Cisco Ramon, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Barry Allen & Tony Stark, Cisco Ramon & Tony Stark, Iris West & Joe West, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Barry/food, Tony/Happiness, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Barry Allen & Kara Danvers & Oliver Queen, Kara Danvers & Team Flash, Oliver Queen & Team Flash, Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak

Additional Tags: Crossover, Friendship, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Feels, Parent Tony Stark, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Barry Allen Needs a Hug, Protective Barry Allen, Barry Allen is The Flash, Barry Allen and Food, Barry Allen & Cisco Ramon Friendship, Cisco Ramon Defense Squad, Cisco Ramon is Vibe, Pietro Maximoff Lives, Good Friend Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow & Iris West Friendship, Protective Pepper Potts, Awesome Pepper Potts, Peter is a Little Shit, Protective Peter Parker, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Team Bonding, Flash Family, The Author Regrets Nothing, The Author Regrets Everything, Sorry Not Sorry, I'm Sorry, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

[ao3-lukecage]

Well would you look at that?

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/2WAC7Cd

by Loki_Lover20_6

I'm back I couldnt stay away that long. I had no courage. This is really just a dc and marvel crossover because why not?

Words: 1213, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of DC and Marvel crossovers

Fandoms: The Flash (TV 2014), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jessica Jones (TV), Luke Cage (TV), Iron Fist (TV), Deadpool (Movieverse), Arrow (TV 2012), Supergirl (TV 2015), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M

Characters: Cisco Ramon, Iris West, Joe West, Caitlin Snow, Barry Allen, Ralph Dibny, Pepper Potts, Hope Van Dyne, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Thor (Marvel), Loki (Marvel), Tony Stark, Peter Parker, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Clint Barton, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Scott Lang, Ned Leeds, Flash Thompson, Mjolnir (Marvel), Michelle Jones, Stephen Strange, Matt Murdock, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Danny Rand, Wade Wilson, Harley Keener, Author - Character, Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Happy Hogan, May Parker (Spider-Man), Friday (Marvel), Vision (Marvel), Sara Lance, Jefferson "Jax" Jackson, Martin Stein, Nate Heywood, Amaya Jiwe, Zari Tomaz, Mick Rory, Ray Palmer, Rip Hunter, Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, Kara Danvers, Alex Danvers, Brainy, Nia Nal, J'onn J'onzz | Hank Henshaw, Wally West

Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Barry Allen/Iris West, Barry Allen & Cisco Ramon, Cisco Ramon & Caitlin Snow, Barry Allen & Cisco Ramon & Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon & Iris West, Peter Parker & Cisco Ramon, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Barry Allen & Tony Stark, Cisco Ramon & Tony Stark, Iris West & Joe West, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Barry/food, Tony/Happiness, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Barry Allen & Kara Danvers & Oliver Queen, Kara Danvers & Team Flash, Oliver Queen & Team Flash, Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak

Additional Tags: Crossover, Friendship, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Feels, Parent Tony Stark, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Barry Allen Needs a Hug, Protective Barry Allen, Barry Allen is The Flash, Barry Allen and Food, Barry Allen & Cisco Ramon Friendship, Cisco Ramon Defense Squad, Cisco Ramon is Vibe, Pietro Maximoff Lives, Good Friend Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow & Iris West Friendship, Protective Pepper Potts, Awesome Pepper Potts, Peter is a Little Shit, Protective Peter Parker, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Team Bonding, Flash Family, The Author Regrets Nothing, The Author Regrets Everything, Sorry Not Sorry, I'm Sorry, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/2WAC7Cd

[ao3feed-lokiangst]

Well would you look at that?

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2WAC7Cd

by Loki_Lover20_6

I'm back I couldnt stay away that long. I had no courage. This is really just a dc and marvel crossover because why not?

Words: 1213, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of DC and Marvel crossovers

Fandoms: The Flash (TV 2014), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jessica Jones (TV), Luke Cage (TV), Iron Fist (TV), Deadpool (Movieverse), Arrow (TV 2012), Supergirl (TV 2015), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M

Characters: Cisco Ramon, Iris West, Joe West, Caitlin Snow, Barry Allen, Ralph Dibny, Pepper Potts, Hope Van Dyne, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Thor (Marvel), Loki (Marvel), Tony Stark, Peter Parker, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Clint Barton, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Scott Lang, Ned Leeds, Flash Thompson, Mjolnir (Marvel), Michelle Jones, Stephen Strange, Matt Murdock, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Danny Rand, Wade Wilson, Harley Keener, Author - Character, Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Happy Hogan, May Parker (Spider-Man), Friday (Marvel), Vision (Marvel), Sara Lance, Jefferson "Jax" Jackson, Martin Stein, Nate Heywood, Amaya Jiwe, Zari Tomaz, Mick Rory, Ray Palmer, Rip Hunter, Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, Kara Danvers, Alex Danvers, Brainy, Nia Nal, J'onn J'onzz | Hank Henshaw, Wally West

Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Barry Allen/Iris West, Barry Allen & Cisco Ramon, Cisco Ramon & Caitlin Snow, Barry Allen & Cisco Ramon & Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon & Iris West, Peter Parker & Cisco Ramon, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Barry Allen & Tony Stark, Cisco Ramon & Tony Stark, Iris West & Joe West, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Barry/food, Tony/Happiness, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Barry Allen & Kara Danvers & Oliver Queen, Kara Danvers & Team Flash, Oliver Queen & Team Flash, Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak

Additional Tags: Crossover, Friendship, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Feels, Parent Tony Stark, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Barry Allen Needs a Hug, Protective Barry Allen, Barry Allen is The Flash, Barry Allen and Food, Barry Allen & Cisco Ramon Friendship, Cisco Ramon Defense Squad, Cisco Ramon is Vibe, Pietro Maximoff Lives, Good Friend Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow & Iris West Friendship, Protective Pepper Potts, Awesome Pepper Potts, Peter is a Little Shit, Protective Peter Parker, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Team Bonding, Flash Family, The Author Regrets Nothing, The Author Regrets Everything, Sorry Not Sorry, I'm Sorry, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2WAC7Cd

[junker-town]

Why Texas’ decade of mediocrity will likely end under Tom Herman

Look at this chart, which shows the Horns have been a totally average Big 12 team for years. That’s probably ending soon.

This preview originally published May 17 and has since been updated.

Around this time of year, with the preview series moving to the power conferences, my radio requests begin to pick up a bit. And on a lot of these radio hits, one common question is: who do I see as a sleeper? If I don’t have anybody immediate in mind, I can lean on the numbers to see who’s projected to improve by a good margin. Basically, then, my answer will lean on who’s been recruiting well recently and who returns a ton of last year’s production.

I can use that returning production data to paint a story about the potential rise of the SEC East, which has four of the top 10 in that regard. And I can note TCU and Oregon are in the top three of returning production and were awesome as recently as 2014.

I usually note the No. 6 team on the list as well, that squad in Austin with top-20 recruiting, a ton of sophomores and juniors, and a hot new coach.

On January 7, 2010, Texas’ Blake Gideon intercepted a pass by Alabama punter P.J. Fitzgerald two minutes into the BCS National Championship in Pasadena. The Longhorns converted a third-and-1 to the Bama 27, then Tre’ Newton rushed 16 yards for another first down.

Texas entered a four-point underdog, but the quick turnover and an early touchdown would have evened the tables. Texas’ win probability would have been about 50 percent at worst. The Horns were within shouting distance of a second national title in five years.

Instead, those plays were the last of the Mack Brown dynasty, if we can call it that. Brown’s Horns had finished in the AP top 15 for 10 straight years and in the top five for four of the last six. After some early disappointments in the Brown era, results were matching recruiting.

Two minutes after Gideon’s interception, on the sixth play of the ensuing drive, quarterback Colt McCoy was hit by Cory Reamer and Marcell Dareus. His arm went numb, he couldn’t throw, and freshman quarterback Garrett Gilbert entered.

Despite aggressive underdog tactics — following a field goal that put them up 3-0, the Horns successfully attempted a pop-up onside kick of sorts and kicked another field goal after a three-and-out — Texas’ next nine drives produced seven punts and two interceptions. Alabama went on a 24-0 run and won, 37-21.

That was the moment Nick Saban’s dynasty (by any definition) began. It was also the moment Texas became a disturbingly average Big 12 program.

That’s a stunning chart, isn’t it? Texas plummeted in 2010 and has spent the last seven seasons playing at an almost perfectly average level within the conference. The offense has seen ups (12th in Off. S&P+ in 2012) and downs (90th in 2014); the defense (seventh in 2011, 62nd in 2015) has done the same. But aside from a stark dip in 2015, the product under both Brown and Charlie Strong was blah-worthy. Average record: 6.6 wins, 6 losses.

Three years of Strong produced a 16-21 record. He was able to instill a culture change of sorts, but the results never came.

Herman was a graduate assistant under Brown in 1999-2000 before moving on to Sam Houston State, Texas State, Rice, Iowa State, and Ohio State. He won a title ring as the Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator, then took the Houston job and proceeded to go 22-4 with wins over Oklahoma, Florida State, and Louisville (twice).

The Texas job is one of the most unique and demanding; we never know how someone will handle it until we see it. But on paper, it’s hard to imagine a better candidate.

More than half his career has taken place within the state, and he spent two years in Austin.

He learned the Art of the Close Game under Urban Meyer.

He generated headlines with high-level recruiting at Houston; his parting gift to the Cougars was two more years of blue-chip defensive tackle Ed Oliver, among others.

His first full-year recruiting class is beginning to look awfully strong.

Hell, even his wife seems to have some UT swagger.

He checks virtually every box. And he inherits a team that, through virtue of massive returning production, likely would have improved by quite a bit even if Strong had remained. He brought his awesome defensive coordinator, and while there are plenty of questions — there always are on a team that just went 5-7 — it’s not hard to talk yourself into Herman turning things around quickly.

Then again, it’s been easy to talk yourself into a turnaround ever since McCoy got hurt.

2016 in review

2016 Texas statistical profile.

Strong couldn’t get all of the pieces pointed in the right direction at the same time. After a first-year collapse, his offense improved in 2015, then improved again in 2016. Meanwhile, his defense was awesome in 2014, then mediocre for most of the next two years.

A team with Strong’s 2014 defense and 2016 offense would have ranked 11th in the country in S&P+; a team with his 2014 offense and 2016 defense would have ranked 78th. Hell, that kind of dichotomy existed within just last year’s team.

First 5 games (2-3): Avg. percentile performance: 66% (68% offense, 43% defense) | Avg. yards per play: Opp 6.4, UT 6.0 | Avg. score: UT 41, Opp 40

Last 7 games (3-4): Avg. percentile performance: 64% (45% offense, 65% defense) | Avg. yards per play: UT 5.8, Opp 5.2 | Avg. score: Opp 26, UT 25

Texas lost tight early games to Cal and Oklahoma because its defense allowed nearly 50 points per game and over 7 yards per play. The Horns lost later tight games to Kansas State, West Virginia, and (gulp) Kansas because their offense averaged barely 20 points per game and 5 yards per play.

Strong demoted defensive coordinator Vance Bedford a month in, and the defense turned itself around just in time for the offense to collapse.

There was a brief offensive renaissance against Baylor and Texas Tech, when D’Onta Foreman rushed for a combined 591 yards and five touchdowns. But the offense was piloted by a true freshman quarterback (Shane Buechele) working behind a line that was both banged up (nine different linemen started at least one game) and young (38 starts went to freshmen and sophomores). That’s the perfect recipe for diminishing returns.

Offense

Full advanced stats glossary.

In hindsight, the 2016 offense looked exactly as you’d expect in terms of when it did (and didn’t do) well. I mean that in two different ways.

It looked good in September and mostly bad in November.

It looked good on standard downs and woeful on passing downs. The Horns ranked 12th in standard-downs success rate and 114th in passing-downs success rate. If they could keep their freshman quarterback on schedule, things were fine. The moment they couldn’t, the drive ended. Not even McCoy was ready to pull off constant passing-downs magic as a freshman.

Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Shane Buechele

So now here comes the quarterback whisperer. Herman helped Ohio State win a national title with a third-string QB in 2014 and turned Houston’s Greg Ward Jr., a part-time receiver who caught 15 passes in 2014, into one of the most valuable quarterbacks in the country.

Major Applewhite — Herman’s coordinator at Houston, who took over as head coach when Herman left — had a role to play in Ward’s success. And Herman’s new coordinator, former Ohio State co-coordinator Tim Beck, didn’t exactly leave Buckeye fans crying when he left.

Still, Herman gets the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise, and Buechele is an exciting lump of clay. Even with the second-half fade, and even while taking a few too many sacks and throwing too many interceptions, he threw for nearly 3,000 yards, complete 60 percent of his passes, and hinted at decent scrambling ability (46 percent of his non-sack carries gained at least five yards).

Eight of nine linemen with starting experience return, including left tackle Conor Williams. [Update: One of them, tackle Brandon Hodges, is transferring to Pitt.]

And Buechele gets his top three targets back. Granted, Dorian Leonard, Armanti Foreman, and Colin Johnson combined for merely 7.1 yards per target with a decent but unspectacular 48 percent success rate. But continuity is huge for a passing game. Plus, other options like converted quarterback Jerrod Heard, inconsistent junior John Burt, and blue-chip sophomore slot Devin Duvernay (13.3 yards per target) could play more of a sustained role.

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Brandon Shackelford (56), Connor Williams (55), and Armanti Foreman (3)

So that leaves two primary questions: What does UT have at running back now that Foreman is a Houston Texan, and what happens if Buechele gets hurt? Ward was always dealing with nagging injuries, as Houston’s QB-intensive offense got him hit quite a bit, and the Horns’ QB situation is perilous after Buechele. There’s four star freshman Sam Ehlinger ... and that’s about it.

There are more options at running back, at least. Big Chris Warren III was nearly as efficient as Foreman but lacked explosiveness due to some combination of nagging hamstring injuries and being 250 pounds. Four-star sophomore Kyle Porter showed a little pop in limited carries, and four-star freshman Toneil Carter was in (and hurt) for spring. UT doesn’t boast quite as many blue-chippers at running back as you’d guess, but three four-star guys is more than most have.

Defense

A quick perusal of Texas’ returnee data tells you quite a bit about the Longhorns’ early-2016 defensive struggles.

Seven of the top nine linemen return, and six are either sophomores or juniors. [Update: One of them, big DT Jordan Elliott, is transferring to Missouri.]

Seven of the top eight linebackers return, and six are either sophomores or juniors.

Eight of the top 10 defensive backs return, and seven are either sophomores or juniors.

The trend smacks you in the face. This was an absurdly young defense, one that was awful early but decent over the second half of the season. It wasn’t disruptive against the run — 93rd in stuff rate, 81st in power success rate, 78th in rushing success rate — but did a lovely job of combining big-play prevention with a top-notch pass rush.

Now coordinator Todd Orlando takes over a unit with extreme continuity. Two years ago, in prepping for his first year at UH, Herman told me, “I've gotta tell you, I think I hit a home run in getting Todd Orlando.” Orlando proved his boss right. Houston ranked 25th in Def. S&P+ last year, combining solid (if passive) pass defense with dominant run D.

Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports

Breckyn Hager (44) and Charles Omenihu (90)

Oliver was a major force in that run defense, and nobody that good will be wearing burnt orange this fall. But the Horns have options, that’s for damn sure. Four returning linemen recorded at least 4.5 tackles for loss in 2016 — they’re all at least 270 pounds, too, which means the shift to a system with three down linemen might hold — and three returning linebackers logged at least 8.5.

While the line doesn’t boast as much blue-chip talent as you would think (only one of the top four returnees was a four-star), the linebacking corps is loaded with both athletic potential and increasingly proven production. And last year’s sophomores are this year’s juniors.

Between Breckyn Hager and Anthony Wheeler, a reliable middle linebacker/anchor should emerge, freeing up Malik Jefferson and either Naashon Hughes, Edwin Freeman, or Jeffrey McCulloch to make plays on the outside. Jefferson was maybe Strong’s biggest get as a recruiter, and Freeman/Hughes/McCulloch combined for 14.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, and lots of tackles in space.

It appears Texas will operate from a base nickel defense, and if the OLBs and defensive ends like Malcolm Roach, Charles Omenihu, and Chris Nelson can make some distracting plays, the secondary should be able to do some damage.

The cornerback position is less proven than you’d prefer; Kris Boyd is a keeper, but neither Holton Hill nor Davante Davis were successfully aggressive, and despite an awesome pass rush, the Horns still allowed a 61 percent completion rate with only 10 interceptions.

Granted, the pass defense improved immensely — 179.7 passer rating allowed over the first five games, 113.6 thereafter. And safety could be a massive strength; the trio of Jason Hall, John Bonney, and P.J. Locke III combined for seven tackles for loss and 20 passes defensed last year.

Still, if the pass defense disappoints, it will be because of the corners. I don’t expect it to, though; after ranking 41st in Rushing S&P+ and 38th in Passing S&P+ last year, I’m betting the Horns move into the top 30 in each category.

John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

Kris Boyd (2) and John Bonney (24)

Special Teams

Part of the curriculum at Urban Meyer’s School for Gifted Game Closers is creative, relentless special teams. Ohio State has one of the better units in the country as often as not, and Houston ranked a decent 29th in Special Teams S&P+ last fall.

Texas, meanwhile: 68th. Michael Dickson’s punting was incredible, but Texas gave away points in the place-kicking department and in kick returns. Perhaps it isn’t the end of the world, then, that UT will have a new kicker and new kick returner this year. Dickson and his 47-yard punting average are back. I

t’s hard to guarantee improvement, but UT almost certainly won’t get worse at special teams.

2017 outlook

2017 Schedule & Projection Factors

Date Opponent Proj. S&P+ Rk Proj. Margin Win Probability 2-Sep Maryland 72 18.7 86% 9-Sep San Jose State 105 28.0 95% 16-Sep at USC 7 -9.7 29% 1-Sep at Iowa State 57 8.8 70% 7-Oct Kansas State 35 9.8 71% 14-Oct vs. Oklahoma 5 -8.1 32% 21-Oct Oklahoma State 22 4.5 60% 28-Oct at Baylor 28 3.2 57% 4-Nov at TCU 21 -0.6 49% 11-Nov Kansas 107 28.4 95% 18-Nov at West Virginia 69 11.7 75% 25-Nov Texas Tech 66 15.0 81%

Projected S&P+ Rk 16 Proj. Off. / Def. Rk 12 / 36 Projected wins 8.0 Five-Year S&P+ Rk 7.5 (37) 2- and 5-Year Recruiting Rk 19 / 15 2016 TO Margin / Adj. TO Margin* -3 / 2.0 2016 TO Luck/Game -2.1 Returning Production (Off. / Def.) 82% (84%, 80%) 2016 Second-order wins (difference) 6.8 (-1.8)

“Texas might turn things around!” is neither an exciting nor new response to a common radio question, but it’s what I’ve been coming up with. The Horns have all the experience they lacked a year ago, and they are now being led by a guy who turned Houston around so quickly that he nearly got them into the Big 12.

If Buechele gets hurt, or if the run game can’t produce a lot of big plays, you could see a Texas offense that is limited in the same ways that Houston’s was at times. But I would be shocked if the defense didn’t take sustained steps forward, and I’m willing to bet that the Buechele-Herman marriage works.

S&P+ is even more confident than I am. The combination of returning production and recruiting has UT poised to rise all the way to 16th this year, which would make them the favorites in about nine to 10 games. And considering that there are still almost no seniors projected to start — two to three on defense, three to four on offense — that would set the table for massive hype in 2018.

We don’t know yet about how Herman will perform at program maintenance. And hell, while he’s maybe the most amazing underdog coach in the country, he wasn’t all that great as a favorite at UH. The Cougars did lose to UConn in 2015 and get hammered by SMU last year, after all.

Still, there’s so much to like about this marriage, and it’s not hard to see Texas somewhat deserving major hype in 2018. That’s a scary thought.

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