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Iron's TWLD writeup gave me a lot of nostalgia because when I was younger I used to really enjoy reading these prediction/overview type threads on forums year after year before the season started.
Therefore, I decided to do one for TWL-B to spark some discussion in anticipation for games today and to bring an old tradition to the newer generation. If I got your squad's lineup wrong and you feel strongly about it, you can message me and I can change it for you and re-assess. I was pretty neutral/PC with this, but if you disagree with anything I write that's fine since this is just my opinion. If I didn't include you in your squad's starting line and you're upset about it, I honestly don't care. I'll review the squads in the order of the rosters on zidane's excel sheet.
TWL-B Season 23 Overview
Prelude: What an insane pre-season for TWL-B 2020. From Suspiria to Kamikaze to Pandora, from Rage to Gun, from Spider to Plade, from Accuracy to RIP to Rapid (I guess?), and from Thunder to Fire, we saw the rise and fall and rise again of numerous squads. Behind the scenes, there were robust discussions and negotiations about roster development and movement. Thanks to the global pandemic, TW is seemingly more active than it has been in the last 8 years, with tons of oldies coming back and hungry to win a title.
Fire
Terr: Ogron
Sharks: zidane mcvicar
Spiders: Ease Ro hellkite kado Steadman
I have a strong feeling that over the next 5 reviews I may get the urge to say something along the lines of "this looks like the team to beat" or "they will probably make finals" for every single squad, so I'm going to refrain. With Ease predictably returning to Fire, their line finally looks complete. Kado did great last season in under, but the only hesitation I have about this line is that Steadman is highly unproven. He did well in DT-B so I wouldn't be surprised if he rose to the occasion, but I also wouldn't be surprised if he didn't because TWL-B is a higher level and he didn't specifically practice under as rigorously as some other unders did. Otherwise, there aren't any real holes in this lineup. Ogron is a great terr and has been on. fucking. fire lately. Zidane and mcvicar is an expertly controlling, aggressive, and seasoned combo. Ease, Ro, hellkite are definitely going to cause some issues for other teams over flag. Do I even have to say they are a contender?
Spastic
Terr: Pure_Luck
Sharks: porkjet Oder
Spiders: JAMAL Cripple Stayon wbm Undercut
On paper this team looks good. JAMAL, Cripple, Stayon, these 3 alone are enough to make a squad a contender. All legends, all highly experienced in finals, all bonafide winners. wbm has been playing well in TWD and is a great addition to this already dominant spider line. Undercut is a very strong overspid and is capable of big games, but that may be harder alongside high killing spiders cripple and JAMAL. Either way, he'll do well this season for sure. However, while Stayon is an absolute legend, they'll have some trouble assigning unders, which will be problematic as most other teams will be using 2 designated unders. Not that all 5 of those spiders wouldn't make great unders, I just don't think any of them will want to. I'd say PL is the biggest question mark on this roster. They have arguably one of if not the best spider lines and porkjet and order are very good sharks. Is TAB playing? I don't know who he'd partner with, but obviously if he plays and he is up to par he will be a huge factor. If their spiders actually show, if they can figure out their under situation, and if PL has a good season, Spastic actually has a shot at doing true damage this year.
Plade
Terr: Mikkiz
Sharks: Commodo Mythril
Spiders: Trasher dreamwin squallFF8 kess Bacon
Another extremely good lineup. A top terr, one of the best shark combinations, and some great new additions to their roster to beef up their spider line. Kess and Bacon has the potential to be a lethal under combination, but their performance together is totally dependent on whether Bacon practices and wants to do well. Trasher, Dreamwin, and newly added squallFF8 are another force to reckon with over. I'm pretty sure everyone except Bacon has played in and won a TWL-B title on this team, and they may do it again this year.
Rapid
Terr: Zizu
Sharks: Riverside Morph/violence
Spiders: RUCCI Frozen Throne Caos Banks paradise
Riverside has been playing great in shark, and Zizu great in terr, so if their spiders can pull it together this team has the potential to cause upsets. Banks has become a pretty dependable spid, especially with a solid team around him. Morph or violence will partner with Riverside, both are reliable and have been doing well in TWD. FT coming back is huge for them, as this guy used to tear it up (no, like actually 140-70 consistently tear it up) on the more mid-tier squads before he retired, and I bet he has the potential to do it again. RUCCI, Caos, and now-basing paradise have all done well in pre-season TWD and it will be exciting to see what this lineup can do when they're all playing together in the high-pressure environment of LB.
Pandora
Terr: Tim
Sharks: Markmrw Joe
Spiders: renzi Sarger MousE Diakka temporary
We all have to hand it to renzi. This guy took a 5 year hiatus and came back to TW ready to play. Augmented by the borrow system, he put together what was realistically a farm/training squad and played hundreds of games prior to COVID-19, single handedly reigniting TWD. As the pandemic occurred and activity spiked, renzi continued to thrive in the highly active environment, bringing older pandora players around him like sarger, MousE, and Diakka. These guys were all animals back in the day and are playing at a high level right now, too. They also have a lot of TWL-B finals experience. Temporary was one of the best spiders on penetrate back in his glory days and I've seen him play now and he still has it. Thankfully renzi found Markmrw and Joe because he was actually about to lose his fucking mind over not finding sharks. These two have improved tremendously and are now an actual TWL-B capable shark combo, with a particular nod to Mark. Similar to spastic, the biggest question mark will be Tim. I've seen some pretty great moments from Tim in TWD, but I've also seen some pretty bad ones. Who am I to talk, though, considering that I do some pretty atrocious shit in TWD and still perform in TWL. Tim is the wildcard, but I wouldn't be surprised if he buckles down in TWL-B and has a good season, especially with the substantial team that he has around him.
Gun:
Terr: Mitch
Sharks: fireballz Hannes
Spiders: Domi Spybreak! 2dragons Jack Ruby
You didn't think I'd actually write about my own team did you?
In conclusion, it seems that every team has close to 8 elite basers in their lineup, which means the balance of the games, and ultimately the season, may fall in the hands of the "weak" links in each lineup. I don't know about you all, but 6 strong teams in LB is a hell of a lot better than the 4 max we've had for the past 10 years. I'm excited and I hope you all are as well. Good luck everyone.
P.S. - I will likely make minor edits throughout the day.
Therefore, I decided to do one for TWL-B to spark some discussion in anticipation for games today and to bring an old tradition to the newer generation. If I got your squad's lineup wrong and you feel strongly about it, you can message me and I can change it for you and re-assess. I was pretty neutral/PC with this, but if you disagree with anything I write that's fine since this is just my opinion. If I didn't include you in your squad's starting line and you're upset about it, I honestly don't care. I'll review the squads in the order of the rosters on zidane's excel sheet.
TWL-B Season 23 Overview
Prelude: What an insane pre-season for TWL-B 2020. From Suspiria to Kamikaze to Pandora, from Rage to Gun, from Spider to Plade, from Accuracy to RIP to Rapid (I guess?), and from Thunder to Fire, we saw the rise and fall and rise again of numerous squads. Behind the scenes, there were robust discussions and negotiations about roster development and movement. Thanks to the global pandemic, TW is seemingly more active than it has been in the last 8 years, with tons of oldies coming back and hungry to win a title.
Fire
Terr: Ogron
Sharks: zidane mcvicar
Spiders: Ease Ro hellkite kado Steadman
I have a strong feeling that over the next 5 reviews I may get the urge to say something along the lines of "this looks like the team to beat" or "they will probably make finals" for every single squad, so I'm going to refrain. With Ease predictably returning to Fire, their line finally looks complete. Kado did great last season in under, but the only hesitation I have about this line is that Steadman is highly unproven. He did well in DT-B so I wouldn't be surprised if he rose to the occasion, but I also wouldn't be surprised if he didn't because TWL-B is a higher level and he didn't specifically practice under as rigorously as some other unders did. Otherwise, there aren't any real holes in this lineup. Ogron is a great terr and has been on. fucking. fire lately. Zidane and mcvicar is an expertly controlling, aggressive, and seasoned combo. Ease, Ro, hellkite are definitely going to cause some issues for other teams over flag. Do I even have to say they are a contender?
Spastic
Terr: Pure_Luck
Sharks: porkjet Oder
Spiders: JAMAL Cripple Stayon wbm Undercut
On paper this team looks good. JAMAL, Cripple, Stayon, these 3 alone are enough to make a squad a contender. All legends, all highly experienced in finals, all bonafide winners. wbm has been playing well in TWD and is a great addition to this already dominant spider line. Undercut is a very strong overspid and is capable of big games, but that may be harder alongside high killing spiders cripple and JAMAL. Either way, he'll do well this season for sure. However, while Stayon is an absolute legend, they'll have some trouble assigning unders, which will be problematic as most other teams will be using 2 designated unders. Not that all 5 of those spiders wouldn't make great unders, I just don't think any of them will want to. I'd say PL is the biggest question mark on this roster. They have arguably one of if not the best spider lines and porkjet and order are very good sharks. Is TAB playing? I don't know who he'd partner with, but obviously if he plays and he is up to par he will be a huge factor. If their spiders actually show, if they can figure out their under situation, and if PL has a good season, Spastic actually has a shot at doing true damage this year.
Plade
Terr: Mikkiz
Sharks: Commodo Mythril
Spiders: Trasher dreamwin squallFF8 kess Bacon
Another extremely good lineup. A top terr, one of the best shark combinations, and some great new additions to their roster to beef up their spider line. Kess and Bacon has the potential to be a lethal under combination, but their performance together is totally dependent on whether Bacon practices and wants to do well. Trasher, Dreamwin, and newly added squallFF8 are another force to reckon with over. I'm pretty sure everyone except Bacon has played in and won a TWL-B title on this team, and they may do it again this year.
Rapid
Terr: Zizu
Sharks: Riverside Morph/violence
Spiders: RUCCI Frozen Throne Caos Banks paradise
Riverside has been playing great in shark, and Zizu great in terr, so if their spiders can pull it together this team has the potential to cause upsets. Banks has become a pretty dependable spid, especially with a solid team around him. Morph or violence will partner with Riverside, both are reliable and have been doing well in TWD. FT coming back is huge for them, as this guy used to tear it up (no, like actually 140-70 consistently tear it up) on the more mid-tier squads before he retired, and I bet he has the potential to do it again. RUCCI, Caos, and now-basing paradise have all done well in pre-season TWD and it will be exciting to see what this lineup can do when they're all playing together in the high-pressure environment of LB.
Pandora
Terr: Tim
Sharks: Markmrw Joe
Spiders: renzi Sarger MousE Diakka temporary
We all have to hand it to renzi. This guy took a 5 year hiatus and came back to TW ready to play. Augmented by the borrow system, he put together what was realistically a farm/training squad and played hundreds of games prior to COVID-19, single handedly reigniting TWD. As the pandemic occurred and activity spiked, renzi continued to thrive in the highly active environment, bringing older pandora players around him like sarger, MousE, and Diakka. These guys were all animals back in the day and are playing at a high level right now, too. They also have a lot of TWL-B finals experience. Temporary was one of the best spiders on penetrate back in his glory days and I've seen him play now and he still has it. Thankfully renzi found Markmrw and Joe because he was actually about to lose his fucking mind over not finding sharks. These two have improved tremendously and are now an actual TWL-B capable shark combo, with a particular nod to Mark. Similar to spastic, the biggest question mark will be Tim. I've seen some pretty great moments from Tim in TWD, but I've also seen some pretty bad ones. Who am I to talk, though, considering that I do some pretty atrocious shit in TWD and still perform in TWL. Tim is the wildcard, but I wouldn't be surprised if he buckles down in TWL-B and has a good season, especially with the substantial team that he has around him.
Gun:
Terr: Mitch
Sharks: fireballz Hannes
Spiders: Domi Spybreak! 2dragons Jack Ruby
You didn't think I'd actually write about my own team did you?
In conclusion, it seems that every team has close to 8 elite basers in their lineup, which means the balance of the games, and ultimately the season, may fall in the hands of the "weak" links in each lineup. I don't know about you all, but 6 strong teams in LB is a hell of a lot better than the 4 max we've had for the past 10 years. I'm excited and I hope you all are as well. Good luck everyone.
P.S. - I will likely make minor edits throughout the day.
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