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The Season 16 TWDT-J Finals will take place this Sunday between Power and Legio XI. You can checkout my TWDT-D preview here.
The Thunder Civil War is here. 8 of the 10 starters on both teams are part of the Thunder/Pandora/Burn core that has been playing together most of the last decade (Ease, Zidane, Ro, Mythril, Ogron, Steadman, Tiny, and Beam.) And that's not even including Heaven and Mcvicar, who will take part in the basing final.
In fact, the entire 2014 TWDT-J championship team of Ease, Zidane, Ogron, Steadman, and Heaven are in this Final split across both teams.
Unfortunately, Legio is on the losing side of that equation, with Ease and Zidane on Power once again. The duo won 4 straight TWLJ titles (S17, S18, S19, and S20), and have reached 3 TWDT-J finals together:
The legendary duo went 9-1 during the regular season in jav, and swept the Semis. Legio XI was almost as dominant, going 8-2 if you look at their record using a mirror.
Legio XI
Legio's javelin season was an absolute disaster, only managing to beat Curse. Tiny no showed, Steadman ragequit, low stars struggled, veterans choked. The signs were there, however. Competitive matches against good teams, some random superheroics from Tiny or Steadman here or there. JAMAL stepped up with Tiny MIA most of the season, and by Week 4 and 5 Legio was up 12 late versus Power's full line. And despite blowing it, everyone kept saying "once we make the playoffs we'll figure it out. We just need Tiny to show."
And show he did. With Tiny and Steadman finally playing together, Mythril warm, Ogron cementing the 7-Star slot, the last piece was the 6-Star position, which Beam had occupied all season. Beam refused to play after losing TWDT-D, and serendipitous event occurred: we were forced to start Rodney. And Rodney was, uh, really good, and borderline broken for a 6-Star. And like, that it all clicked.
After losing a close Round 1 game 50-46, Legio XI went on a tear against a heavily favored team, demolishing them in stunning fashion, winning round two 50-30, and taking round three 50-19!
Keep in mind Blind basically ran back their TWDT-J Championship line this season. You don't beat the defending champs 50-19 unless you've got a fucking team.
Ease, Zidane, Steadman, 24, and Dreamwin are the 5 best javs in the zone right now. If Tiny was a bit more active, he'd be in the discussion. The man has won 4 TWLJs as a starter, and a few TWDT-Js. He always shows up big in the Finals. Ease and Zidane are the GOATs of jav, but Steadman and Tiny can definitely hang with them.
So if Power has the 2 best javs of all-time, how do you make up the difference?
I think the answer lies in the low star slots. Legio has arguably the best overall slate of low-stars in jav. I'd rather have Mythril over Ro, myself over Tripin, and Rodney over Jessup. I think Legio's low-stars are slightly better. Power's depth is wasted: vys can't play at the same time as Ro, and uprise can't play if Tripin is in.
Power is still heavily favored, but that is the biased, pro-Legio argument to make if you're going to make one. Again, like the Blind vs. Power TWDT-D Final, I think Power is expected to win, but Blind and Legio XI are capable of winning if Zidane's team doesn't perform at high level.
Let's look at Legio's slate:
Steadman is indisputably a Top 5 javelin in the game right now; arguably Top 3 alongside Ease and Zidane. He is a hard carry. He can 10-0 good players in 1v1 duels. He solos games playing outnumbered and with worse teammates in bad losses and puts up 15-10. He can drop 20 on you. He's won 2 TWLJ titles as a starter, and 1 TWDT-J. His attitude is garbage, he refused to play Week 1, and half the time I've known him he's been on my ignore.txt, but the truth is that he's a winner, and a difference-maker in javelin. Talent is talent. He's active and cares, and he's crazy good. We aren't winning unless he performs.
Tiny is one of the winningest TWLJ players in TW History, behind only Ease. He has clutched multiple key finals. He's beaten Ease and Zidane in TWL, something very few players can lay claim to. He's a proven champion. He was also completely useless during the regular season, bar one jav game against Curse. But he came through when it mattered, and completely transformed our line along with Rodney, and made us look like a contender. Him and Steadman are far and away our best javs, and they'll need to play well for us to have a chance.
Mythril burned some very early picks on Steadman and Tiny, believing the long-term investment was worth it and would pay off. After finishing the season 2-8 in jav, I was skeptical. I definitely remember saying I thought he should draft basers instead. Well, Mythril proved me wrong and showed his captaining acumen, singlehandedly assembling a line that came together at the right moment and looks primed to contest the TWDT-J Finals with vigor. He's one of the best 8-Star javelins in the league, a very underrated player in javelin who pushes constantly, applies pressure, teams well, and is a natural born leader. He's our third best player and a known finals performer, and I expect he'll continue to play well.
Ogron is Legio XI's 7-Star jav, and a very streaky player. You might get a 2-10 or a 10-2 from me. Legio got a 10-2 in Round 3 of the Semi-Finals from me. If I start well, I usually play much better. If I start badly (like Round 2), I tend to play pretty soft and bullet for others and hope they carry (which they did). Zid claims I cost him the 2015 TWDT-J Finals with a bad round on a sub-in. That may very well be true (it's not.) I also dropped 13-9 and 10-9 games in the Round 3 of the Semi-Finals and Finals of our 2014 TWDT-J title. I think I'm a better jav than Tripin, my 7-Star counterpart, and spent a lot of time hunting him in TSLJ for free kills. Zid says he's gotten better since then, but I don't buy it. Still, no idea what you'll get from me. I'm the Mystery Box of low-star javelins!
Rodney was discovered by accident after beam refused to play in the Semi-Finals. It turns out he's great! He is maybe the best 6-Star out there, and a huge upgrade over Henry Saari and Jessup, and gives us a nice edge, which we desperately need against a juggernaut like Power.
Here's to happy accidents! (like Heaven)
Power
Power are the heavy favorites, after crushing the competition during the entire season. Zidane has constructed a nearly-unstoppable monstrosity that has only dropped a single round all season. Zid, Ease, Ro, and vys are all excellent veteran players.
Let's take a look at their roster in greater depth.
Ease has won 9 of the last 12 TWLJ championships. What else do you need to say? When you have the Michael Jordan of the game on your team, it's hard to lose. That said, if anyone can tilt Ease in jav, it's Tiny.
Zidane has been 1A to Ease's 1B in the jav conversation the past 8 years. He's the greatest TWDT captain in history, and scary as hell in jav. I won't waste time on superlatives.
Ro is a solid 8-Star javelin who has helped propel Power to the Finals with aplomb. He's got great aim and is talented, although I think if he has a weakness, it's definitely that he applies zero pressure and isn't scary to play at all. Probably doesn't matter while next to Zidane and Ease, but I'd still rather have Mythril. vys is also a very strong option at the 8-star. He's not as good as Ro, but he definitely brings a lot more push, so gives them a different dimension if they want to make a stylistic change.
Tripin is Power's 7-Star. Zid says he's good now. When he was in TSL in December, he was a beast in warbird and a trainwreck in javelin. I have trouble seeing someone turning it around that fast, but we'll see. Definitely a WB style and shift-heavy.
Jessup is their 6-Star. He is pathologically afraid and the safest player to ever play the game. You don't have to worry about him dying out, which is good. He will also be 1-2 when the game is 40-40, which is very bad. Rodney is a massive upgrade over him or Henry Saari.
Prediction
I won't issue a prediction with my own team in base and jav, but suffice to say, Power is favored by virtually every player in the zone, and with good reason. Power players placed their odds of winning this at 98% in chat.
Ease and Zidane are the two best javs to ever play the game. That's reason enough. Ro is a very good javelin. Tripin isn't going to throw. Jessup is safe.
There's no sugarcoating it -- this is going to be an uphill battle for Mythril's team.
The case for Legio XI is that the difference between Mythril/Ogron/Rodney and Ro/Tripin/Jessup is arguably larger than the difference between Ease/Zidane and Steadman/Tiny.
That may not be enough, even if true. I thought I was going through to the TWDT-J Finals with Baratheon in 2013, and Ease dropped a 20-5 with his entire team negging to win Round 3.
Steadman is legitimately as good as them right now, though, and very active. Tiny won the last TWLJ Final against both.
I think Legio's 50-19 and 50-30 wins over the defending champs definitely put Power on notice. Namely, they're still going to have to perform to win, and if they don't they can kiss their Triple Crown aspirations goodbye.
Nobody expects us to win, so there's no pressure.
Good luck to both teams!
The Thunder Civil War is here. 8 of the 10 starters on both teams are part of the Thunder/Pandora/Burn core that has been playing together most of the last decade (Ease, Zidane, Ro, Mythril, Ogron, Steadman, Tiny, and Beam.) And that's not even including Heaven and Mcvicar, who will take part in the basing final.
In fact, the entire 2014 TWDT-J championship team of Ease, Zidane, Ogron, Steadman, and Heaven are in this Final split across both teams.
Unfortunately, Legio is on the losing side of that equation, with Ease and Zidane on Power once again. The duo won 4 straight TWLJ titles (S17, S18, S19, and S20), and have reached 3 TWDT-J finals together:
The legendary duo went 9-1 during the regular season in jav, and swept the Semis. Legio XI was almost as dominant, going 8-2 if you look at their record using a mirror.
Legio XI
Legio's javelin season was an absolute disaster, only managing to beat Curse. Tiny no showed, Steadman ragequit, low stars struggled, veterans choked. The signs were there, however. Competitive matches against good teams, some random superheroics from Tiny or Steadman here or there. JAMAL stepped up with Tiny MIA most of the season, and by Week 4 and 5 Legio was up 12 late versus Power's full line. And despite blowing it, everyone kept saying "once we make the playoffs we'll figure it out. We just need Tiny to show."
And show he did. With Tiny and Steadman finally playing together, Mythril warm, Ogron cementing the 7-Star slot, the last piece was the 6-Star position, which Beam had occupied all season. Beam refused to play after losing TWDT-D, and serendipitous event occurred: we were forced to start Rodney. And Rodney was, uh, really good, and borderline broken for a 6-Star. And like, that it all clicked.
After losing a close Round 1 game 50-46, Legio XI went on a tear against a heavily favored team, demolishing them in stunning fashion, winning round two 50-30, and taking round three 50-19!
Keep in mind Blind basically ran back their TWDT-J Championship line this season. You don't beat the defending champs 50-19 unless you've got a fucking team.
Ease, Zidane, Steadman, 24, and Dreamwin are the 5 best javs in the zone right now. If Tiny was a bit more active, he'd be in the discussion. The man has won 4 TWLJs as a starter, and a few TWDT-Js. He always shows up big in the Finals. Ease and Zidane are the GOATs of jav, but Steadman and Tiny can definitely hang with them.
So if Power has the 2 best javs of all-time, how do you make up the difference?
I think the answer lies in the low star slots. Legio has arguably the best overall slate of low-stars in jav. I'd rather have Mythril over Ro, myself over Tripin, and Rodney over Jessup. I think Legio's low-stars are slightly better. Power's depth is wasted: vys can't play at the same time as Ro, and uprise can't play if Tripin is in.
Power is still heavily favored, but that is the biased, pro-Legio argument to make if you're going to make one. Again, like the Blind vs. Power TWDT-D Final, I think Power is expected to win, but Blind and Legio XI are capable of winning if Zidane's team doesn't perform at high level.
Let's look at Legio's slate:
Steadman is indisputably a Top 5 javelin in the game right now; arguably Top 3 alongside Ease and Zidane. He is a hard carry. He can 10-0 good players in 1v1 duels. He solos games playing outnumbered and with worse teammates in bad losses and puts up 15-10. He can drop 20 on you. He's won 2 TWLJ titles as a starter, and 1 TWDT-J. His attitude is garbage, he refused to play Week 1, and half the time I've known him he's been on my ignore.txt, but the truth is that he's a winner, and a difference-maker in javelin. Talent is talent. He's active and cares, and he's crazy good. We aren't winning unless he performs.
Tiny is one of the winningest TWLJ players in TW History, behind only Ease. He has clutched multiple key finals. He's beaten Ease and Zidane in TWL, something very few players can lay claim to. He's a proven champion. He was also completely useless during the regular season, bar one jav game against Curse. But he came through when it mattered, and completely transformed our line along with Rodney, and made us look like a contender. Him and Steadman are far and away our best javs, and they'll need to play well for us to have a chance.
Mythril burned some very early picks on Steadman and Tiny, believing the long-term investment was worth it and would pay off. After finishing the season 2-8 in jav, I was skeptical. I definitely remember saying I thought he should draft basers instead. Well, Mythril proved me wrong and showed his captaining acumen, singlehandedly assembling a line that came together at the right moment and looks primed to contest the TWDT-J Finals with vigor. He's one of the best 8-Star javelins in the league, a very underrated player in javelin who pushes constantly, applies pressure, teams well, and is a natural born leader. He's our third best player and a known finals performer, and I expect he'll continue to play well.
Ogron is Legio XI's 7-Star jav, and a very streaky player. You might get a 2-10 or a 10-2 from me. Legio got a 10-2 in Round 3 of the Semi-Finals from me. If I start well, I usually play much better. If I start badly (like Round 2), I tend to play pretty soft and bullet for others and hope they carry (which they did). Zid claims I cost him the 2015 TWDT-J Finals with a bad round on a sub-in. That may very well be true (it's not.) I also dropped 13-9 and 10-9 games in the Round 3 of the Semi-Finals and Finals of our 2014 TWDT-J title. I think I'm a better jav than Tripin, my 7-Star counterpart, and spent a lot of time hunting him in TSLJ for free kills. Zid says he's gotten better since then, but I don't buy it. Still, no idea what you'll get from me. I'm the Mystery Box of low-star javelins!
Rodney was discovered by accident after beam refused to play in the Semi-Finals. It turns out he's great! He is maybe the best 6-Star out there, and a huge upgrade over Henry Saari and Jessup, and gives us a nice edge, which we desperately need against a juggernaut like Power.
Here's to happy accidents! (like Heaven)
Power
Power are the heavy favorites, after crushing the competition during the entire season. Zidane has constructed a nearly-unstoppable monstrosity that has only dropped a single round all season. Zid, Ease, Ro, and vys are all excellent veteran players.
Let's take a look at their roster in greater depth.
Ease has won 9 of the last 12 TWLJ championships. What else do you need to say? When you have the Michael Jordan of the game on your team, it's hard to lose. That said, if anyone can tilt Ease in jav, it's Tiny.
Zidane has been 1A to Ease's 1B in the jav conversation the past 8 years. He's the greatest TWDT captain in history, and scary as hell in jav. I won't waste time on superlatives.
Ro is a solid 8-Star javelin who has helped propel Power to the Finals with aplomb. He's got great aim and is talented, although I think if he has a weakness, it's definitely that he applies zero pressure and isn't scary to play at all. Probably doesn't matter while next to Zidane and Ease, but I'd still rather have Mythril. vys is also a very strong option at the 8-star. He's not as good as Ro, but he definitely brings a lot more push, so gives them a different dimension if they want to make a stylistic change.
Tripin is Power's 7-Star. Zid says he's good now. When he was in TSL in December, he was a beast in warbird and a trainwreck in javelin. I have trouble seeing someone turning it around that fast, but we'll see. Definitely a WB style and shift-heavy.
Jessup is their 6-Star. He is pathologically afraid and the safest player to ever play the game. You don't have to worry about him dying out, which is good. He will also be 1-2 when the game is 40-40, which is very bad. Rodney is a massive upgrade over him or Henry Saari.
Prediction
I won't issue a prediction with my own team in base and jav, but suffice to say, Power is favored by virtually every player in the zone, and with good reason. Power players placed their odds of winning this at 98% in chat.
Ease and Zidane are the two best javs to ever play the game. That's reason enough. Ro is a very good javelin. Tripin isn't going to throw. Jessup is safe.
There's no sugarcoating it -- this is going to be an uphill battle for Mythril's team.
The case for Legio XI is that the difference between Mythril/Ogron/Rodney and Ro/Tripin/Jessup is arguably larger than the difference between Ease/Zidane and Steadman/Tiny.
That may not be enough, even if true. I thought I was going through to the TWDT-J Finals with Baratheon in 2013, and Ease dropped a 20-5 with his entire team negging to win Round 3.
Steadman is legitimately as good as them right now, though, and very active. Tiny won the last TWLJ Final against both.
I think Legio's 50-19 and 50-30 wins over the defending champs definitely put Power on notice. Namely, they're still going to have to perform to win, and if they don't they can kiss their Triple Crown aspirations goodbye.
Nobody expects us to win, so there's no pressure.
Good luck to both teams!
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