Tweet
TWDT Preview and Prediction
Hi guys! I want to start off by congratulating everyone who made the playoffs. I can’t wait to finish second and lose finals again! That’ll be 4 losses in TWDTD finals in the past 6 seasons lol=D. That being said, this post is to create more interest for this Sunday, so I apologize ahead if I offend anyone, but this is my personal opinion and hopefully everyone enjoys the read.
Power vs Funk
Intro:
Power vs Funk is an interesting matchup. Power had a narrow victory in week 3 against Funk, where big Vys went off. Vys’ supporting cast did just enough to support him. Lockdown had a really well played game as well and in my opinion he’s a top 3 R2 player in today’s active warbird population. The difference in this match, was their low stars and having them go a combined 8-20, forces the high stars to make up that deficit. That would be incredibly hard to do because of how deep a team Power is. Before I go through lineups and adjustments, I want to stress that Funk made a lineup change, where Mean Gene was replaced by Heaven and has gone 3-0 since. Please keep in mind that the 3-0 stretch was against non playoff teams.
Power:
Lineup most likely used: Vys, Beam, Aagi, RageRitual, Hellzno!
Power finished with 6 wins and it’s hard to state that they didn’t have a very successful regular season. Vys is vys. You know what you get out of him. He arguably has one the most fluid movements in warbird and his aim is deadly. FUN FACT: He taught me the basics of how to fly and everything back in the early 2000s. He’s the leader of this team in TWDTD and rightfully so, finishing as the #1 warbird this season. Beam is a high IQ player and knows his role on this team. He’s the #2 guy and he usually always plays the role of a #2 and a #3 really well. Aagi is getting better for the most part and being an 8 star is the perfect star value for him. He flashes high IQ plays, but his inexperience causes him to be inconsistent. If I was to make a change in the lineup, I would start Mongrel over him. This isn’t to say Aagi is bad, but Mongrel is playing like a high 8.5 star player right now and a low 9 star player. Another player worth mentioning is Banzi. An insanely smart player and he probably has more experience in warbird than almost everyone that’s still currently playing. You don’t become a legend by being dumb. It’s a shame that it’s hard to fit him into this lineup as the 6.5 star players on Power are horrible. RageRitual and Hellzno! are the better 7 stars available in the league. I’ve seen both of them practicing and I think they’ll play their roles well. They need to stay alive to give Vys the time to get his kills, while Beam is also there to pick off the mistakes made by Funk.
Flew’s lineup: Vys, Beam, Mongrel, RageRitual, Hellzno!
Why this lineup?
I strongly feel Mongrel is playing at the top of his game and this isn’t to take an Iron Survivor on Aagi, errr a turd*. I’ve played many TWDDs the past couple weeks with both of them and in terms of the shots taken and/or movement, I think Mongrel is more locked in. Aagi also lacks the warbird playoff experience that Mongrel has and to me that’s a huge component as to why I’d play Mongrel over Aagi in round one. This isn’t to undermine the improvement Aagi has shown and he’s a top 8 star player in my opinion.
Primary sub: Aagi
Unlikely sub double sub: Mongrel and one the 7 stars for Banzi and Retroaction
Funk:
Lineup most likely used: Lockdown, Tripin, Steadman, Lee, Heaven
Funk’s in a weird spot. They’re entering the quarterfinals with an insane amount of momentum but that 3 game win streak in TWDTD was against the weaker warbird teams (according to the standings). Clutching out those week 5 wins in TWDTD and TWDTB vs Morph deserves an insane amount of props (not the player Props, that guy stinks =D). Lockdown is to Funk as Vys is to Power as they’re the leaders of their respective teams. Lockdown is a top 3 R2 player in the current landscape of warbird in my opinion and he’s playing really well. Tripinis a vet in this ship and he’s played in many big games. I’m confident he knows what he needs to bring for Funk to be successful. I’ve had the luxury to play with Steadman in TWDTD on Legio (Shoutouts to big Mythril). He’s actually a very formidable warbird for the most part. His biggest weakness is his tilt factor and it’s noticeable in the change in his play when he’s frustrated. In terms of their low stars in Heaven, Mean Gene and Lee, this will be their Achilles heel. Heaven is slightly better than Mean Gene in terms of this season’s overall TEAM performance with them in the lineup. Mean Gene is 0-3 if I’m not mistaken in the 3 games he’s played, while Heaven is 3-2 in the 5 games he’s played. In regards to Lee, my monitor keeps freezing when I type his name and I’m not sure why. In terms of their depth Attacks, Jack and Props stand out as options for me and I’ll break down why for the most part I won’t use them unless Steadman or Tripin have very poor games. Before I get to that, it’s good note that if one of the starting 9 stars gets subbed out for one of the 8 stars, that opens up the ability to sub out Lee (my monitor just froze again), for Mean Gene, fielding a line of 10/9/8/7/7. Key to this if Mean Gene gets subbed in, he needs to understand that he’s entering a game where his team’s down and his lives are considerably more important than his kills. Steadman and Tripin, in my opinion, are better than Attacks and I usually would never do a straight sub for a 9 for a 9. Main reason being is if I’m making the sub in the first place, it means we’re most likely losing and the 9 star isn’t my only concern. A double sub, getting my 6 star out, who’s most likely not playing well would be my priority. Jack is a legend but his focus is Hockey Zone and the Jack I’m getting now might not be the Jack of old. Props is a good warbird and I drafted him last season when I capped TWDT, with the intentions of him being a big part of my warbird line up. The issue I have with his game is he doesn’t know how to change gears. Sometimes you just aren’t hitting your shots, but your teammates are. You’re winning and the game 35-30, but you’re high on deaths. It might be a good idea to adjust and position better. I strongly feel that this understanding is what sets an 8.5 apart from an 8. One of the exceptions here is Mongrel, but we’re talking about Funk so whatever Mongrel.
Flew’s line up: Lockdown, Tripin, Steadman, Lee, Heaven
Why this line up?
Why fix what’s not broken. There’s a big asterisk behind this “not broken” factor though. 3 warbird wins against 3 teams who didn’t make the playoffs is a bit of a concern for me, but the more glaring factor is their 6 star. If you try to field a more balanced line of say for example, Lockdown, Tripin OR Steadman, Props, Heaven and Mean Gene, you alleviate the deficit of a 6 star, remove 1 of your well playing 9 stars and put in an 8 star who hasn’t proven himself in TWDTD. MHZ is handcuffed in terms of his starting line up, but he does have a double sub option that he might pull out if one of the 9 star starters are playing poorly and that in turn would get the 6 star out as well.
Primary subs: Attacks
Double Sub: Props and Mean Gene in for underperforming 9 star and Lee
Prediction:
Power advances with a 2-1 series win
Hi guys! I want to start off by congratulating everyone who made the playoffs. I can’t wait to finish second and lose finals again! That’ll be 4 losses in TWDTD finals in the past 6 seasons lol=D. That being said, this post is to create more interest for this Sunday, so I apologize ahead if I offend anyone, but this is my personal opinion and hopefully everyone enjoys the read.
Power vs Funk
Intro:
Power vs Funk is an interesting matchup. Power had a narrow victory in week 3 against Funk, where big Vys went off. Vys’ supporting cast did just enough to support him. Lockdown had a really well played game as well and in my opinion he’s a top 3 R2 player in today’s active warbird population. The difference in this match, was their low stars and having them go a combined 8-20, forces the high stars to make up that deficit. That would be incredibly hard to do because of how deep a team Power is. Before I go through lineups and adjustments, I want to stress that Funk made a lineup change, where Mean Gene was replaced by Heaven and has gone 3-0 since. Please keep in mind that the 3-0 stretch was against non playoff teams.
Power:
Lineup most likely used: Vys, Beam, Aagi, RageRitual, Hellzno!
Power finished with 6 wins and it’s hard to state that they didn’t have a very successful regular season. Vys is vys. You know what you get out of him. He arguably has one the most fluid movements in warbird and his aim is deadly. FUN FACT: He taught me the basics of how to fly and everything back in the early 2000s. He’s the leader of this team in TWDTD and rightfully so, finishing as the #1 warbird this season. Beam is a high IQ player and knows his role on this team. He’s the #2 guy and he usually always plays the role of a #2 and a #3 really well. Aagi is getting better for the most part and being an 8 star is the perfect star value for him. He flashes high IQ plays, but his inexperience causes him to be inconsistent. If I was to make a change in the lineup, I would start Mongrel over him. This isn’t to say Aagi is bad, but Mongrel is playing like a high 8.5 star player right now and a low 9 star player. Another player worth mentioning is Banzi. An insanely smart player and he probably has more experience in warbird than almost everyone that’s still currently playing. You don’t become a legend by being dumb. It’s a shame that it’s hard to fit him into this lineup as the 6.5 star players on Power are horrible. RageRitual and Hellzno! are the better 7 stars available in the league. I’ve seen both of them practicing and I think they’ll play their roles well. They need to stay alive to give Vys the time to get his kills, while Beam is also there to pick off the mistakes made by Funk.
Flew’s lineup: Vys, Beam, Mongrel, RageRitual, Hellzno!
Why this lineup?
I strongly feel Mongrel is playing at the top of his game and this isn’t to take an Iron Survivor on Aagi, errr a turd*. I’ve played many TWDDs the past couple weeks with both of them and in terms of the shots taken and/or movement, I think Mongrel is more locked in. Aagi also lacks the warbird playoff experience that Mongrel has and to me that’s a huge component as to why I’d play Mongrel over Aagi in round one. This isn’t to undermine the improvement Aagi has shown and he’s a top 8 star player in my opinion.
Primary sub: Aagi
Unlikely sub double sub: Mongrel and one the 7 stars for Banzi and Retroaction
Funk:
Lineup most likely used: Lockdown, Tripin, Steadman, Lee, Heaven
Funk’s in a weird spot. They’re entering the quarterfinals with an insane amount of momentum but that 3 game win streak in TWDTD was against the weaker warbird teams (according to the standings). Clutching out those week 5 wins in TWDTD and TWDTB vs Morph deserves an insane amount of props (not the player Props, that guy stinks =D). Lockdown is to Funk as Vys is to Power as they’re the leaders of their respective teams. Lockdown is a top 3 R2 player in the current landscape of warbird in my opinion and he’s playing really well. Tripinis a vet in this ship and he’s played in many big games. I’m confident he knows what he needs to bring for Funk to be successful. I’ve had the luxury to play with Steadman in TWDTD on Legio (Shoutouts to big Mythril). He’s actually a very formidable warbird for the most part. His biggest weakness is his tilt factor and it’s noticeable in the change in his play when he’s frustrated. In terms of their low stars in Heaven, Mean Gene and Lee, this will be their Achilles heel. Heaven is slightly better than Mean Gene in terms of this season’s overall TEAM performance with them in the lineup. Mean Gene is 0-3 if I’m not mistaken in the 3 games he’s played, while Heaven is 3-2 in the 5 games he’s played. In regards to Lee, my monitor keeps freezing when I type his name and I’m not sure why. In terms of their depth Attacks, Jack and Props stand out as options for me and I’ll break down why for the most part I won’t use them unless Steadman or Tripin have very poor games. Before I get to that, it’s good note that if one of the starting 9 stars gets subbed out for one of the 8 stars, that opens up the ability to sub out Lee (my monitor just froze again), for Mean Gene, fielding a line of 10/9/8/7/7. Key to this if Mean Gene gets subbed in, he needs to understand that he’s entering a game where his team’s down and his lives are considerably more important than his kills. Steadman and Tripin, in my opinion, are better than Attacks and I usually would never do a straight sub for a 9 for a 9. Main reason being is if I’m making the sub in the first place, it means we’re most likely losing and the 9 star isn’t my only concern. A double sub, getting my 6 star out, who’s most likely not playing well would be my priority. Jack is a legend but his focus is Hockey Zone and the Jack I’m getting now might not be the Jack of old. Props is a good warbird and I drafted him last season when I capped TWDT, with the intentions of him being a big part of my warbird line up. The issue I have with his game is he doesn’t know how to change gears. Sometimes you just aren’t hitting your shots, but your teammates are. You’re winning and the game 35-30, but you’re high on deaths. It might be a good idea to adjust and position better. I strongly feel that this understanding is what sets an 8.5 apart from an 8. One of the exceptions here is Mongrel, but we’re talking about Funk so whatever Mongrel.
Flew’s line up: Lockdown, Tripin, Steadman, Lee, Heaven
Why this line up?
Why fix what’s not broken. There’s a big asterisk behind this “not broken” factor though. 3 warbird wins against 3 teams who didn’t make the playoffs is a bit of a concern for me, but the more glaring factor is their 6 star. If you try to field a more balanced line of say for example, Lockdown, Tripin OR Steadman, Props, Heaven and Mean Gene, you alleviate the deficit of a 6 star, remove 1 of your well playing 9 stars and put in an 8 star who hasn’t proven himself in TWDTD. MHZ is handcuffed in terms of his starting line up, but he does have a double sub option that he might pull out if one of the 9 star starters are playing poorly and that in turn would get the 6 star out as well.
Primary subs: Attacks
Double Sub: Props and Mean Gene in for underperforming 9 star and Lee
Prediction:
Power advances with a 2-1 series win
Comment