Damn it, Another One!

[FML|Mage]

Round 3

Map: FML Twisted Meadows.

Map Download: here or here

Wow... I literally just finished my last write up.  This is not fair, and before any of you wise asses suggest my punishment for being late was that this round ended early... Fuck You!  I don’t want to hear it.

F9
Magadansky
Sk2flash
FiRel)rAgOn
Ugrilainen

A very Undead heavy matchup, we’ll see if this creates any interesting hero combinations.  We’ll start off with Magadansky.  Honestly I’m running out of things to say about him.  He’s won both of his games in a pretty easy manner, the second even more so than the first.  For some reason people seem to ignore him despite being such an obvious threat.  I see that changing this match.  He’s with two experienced FFA players and another who is adapting quickly.  I also suspect that this will lead to Maga’s play stepping back up and showing everyone why he’s a three time champ.  Flash has gotten off to a rough start, and his 10 points certainly don’t reflect his skill level.  I’d be shocked if he got 5 again, and I think he has a good chance to float under this match that features 3 old school players.

FD was in position to win last game and choked it away.  That bears some good news and some bad.  The good being he’s been in the position once and will certainly get there again.  The bad being that he didn’t manage to clinch it last time.  Which aspect will show through this time, and how will he deal with a much smaller map?  Only time and the game shall tell.  Our last player managed to play the last game at 1 in the morning his time despite having food poisoning.  He fought like a trooper (I think, didn’t actually watch the game).  That’s some dedication right there, and good things get rewarded!

F10
Persuade
Whoguess / GM
Lightweight
j33.

The game with the most interesting points for sure.  Persuade is in dead last with 10.  And not even getting 5 for not showing up for a game, he got last in both of his actual games.  My personal hope is that he’ll manage to get an even 20 and finish the season with the worst record of any player to play all 4 games.  History is history right?  Whoguess managed to pick up his first win of the season, though not in the fashion that he would have liked probably.  An unfortunate drop from Mog[Skynet] in a pretty sure win allowed Whoguess to clean up and grab a win from the jaws of defeat.  Still, a win is a win and if he can string a few together no one will remember the circumstances.

Lightweight has 22 points, quite the interesting total to end up with after two rounds, or any round really.  He’s played two great games so far that just haven’t ended properly for him.  This could very well be his game though, or possibly he’ll manage to get himself 11 more points.  Regardless though expect lightweight to add some serious entertainment value to the game!  Out last player may have a little trouble adapting to the map.  J33 has a great macro game but never has been known as a micro prodigy.  However, that could work well for him and he could be left as an afterthought on this map.  If that happens expect him to play it well and clean up in the end!

F11
Seksi
WaN
Humans7ar
Fail.Life

F11 is arguably the best and most interesting match of the round.  All 4 players have above average to great micro and are capable of playing high intensity games.  Seksi currently is tied for the overall lead in point totals, and a win here would secure him another automatic trip to the finals.  A good feat in itself, but it would also allow him a shot at chasing the perfect season.  Something I’m sure he’d like to do.  Our newest solo pro, Wan, may or may not be playing Undead in this game.  While he’s made great strides since starting he still has trouble dealing with tanks.  Which is understandable because they’re imba as fuck it’s a hard strategy to deal with.  So look for him to be thinking about transitioning to another race that doesn’t suck so badly.

Humanstar is off to his usual solid start.  Winning one game and getting 10 points in another.  He’s on cruise control for the semi-finals, but could be looking at an automatic qualification for the finals if he picks up the win here.  Twisted Meadows is being played in the league pool for the first time ever so it will be interesting to see if how small it is makes Mass TP less useful, or increases how hard it is to fend off tanks since they don’t have to go that far.  Our last player, Life, took a bit of a step backwards in his last game partially due to the other players.  However if he can pull out some more Night Elf tricks the way he did in Round 1 then he could be a serious threat in a game filled with stars.

F12
Gears-
DarkFlameMaster
Svedirko
Mog[Skynet]

Phew, finally at the last matchup.  That took a little while.  This map should suit Gears very well presuming that he doesn’t hit any and everyone.  However a solo map means that he’ll have a pretty good advantage over some of the players.  DFM is definitely a player who can take on a solo Orc if he’s prepared though.  As long as he scouts properly then he’s probably the pretty heavy favorite in this match.

Svedirko couldn’t play last round so I really don’t have any new analysis on him.  All I can say is don’t get sucked into work for this match too!  Mog is fresh off an awesome game and a disastrous disconnect.  With his easy win being thrown away you can bet he’ll be looking to make up for it this game, and if he continues his level of play he should be able too.  On the other hand if he doesn’t make the semi finals then maybe he can cast them with me!  See, win win Moggy <3

In addition to this round of games I also had time to sit down with Seksi for an interview.  The two time FML Ladder winner had a lot of insightful points to make, and a sample of it can be found below:

FML|Mage: You're pretty well known for playing Random, what's your favorite race to play?  Or do you really not have one?>
Seksi: Yes, I think I would get bored playing the same race always.  I have always played all races so I think I am about equal skill with all.  I really don't have a favorite, but depending on my mood and the matchups some I would favor one over another.  Undead is my strongest 1v1 race so I like playing with them in FFA, but as you know it is tough to win FFA games (even if you win battles) with UD.  I enjoy playing Orc, while Elf and Human are probably the most boring.  But it all just depends.
...
FML|Mage: Now, let's move onto a tougher question or two.  A lot of people feel that while your play style is effective, it can be not fun to watch and annoying.  That you use manip too much, and take advantage of players who don't know the game very well in addition to teaming people even when you could just clean up both players and win the game that way.
FML|Mage: This is the most public forum that you'll get to answer these critics.  Do you have anything you'd like to say?
SeksiClick Here to Continue!

Lastly, don’t forget to check out our most recent “showmatch” and place your bets on the matches using FML Bets

[NoMercy2]

Good Job!!! Mage
I love ur writes very accurate.

[everyhope]

Good job Mage, keep your writings up!

[FML|Mage]

Thank you kindly you two

[FML|WorpeX]

I'll read it on my lunch break today but thanks for doing the write up! I look forward to reading this stuff. :D