League General Discussion Thread

Aaaaaright…

Dramatic late entries, seismic changes in the landscape.

We have @Stucifer officially and irrevocably entering the PTV fracas,

And @pacifiersboard is altering the course of history by splashing on the OOB and BM scene…

There are several hours left of 12/31/24… what more could happen? @MrRoboto ???

H-y-p-e-r-b-o-l-e

We have the top 8 seeds in both BM and PTV participating. That is extraordinary.

I’m setting up brackets now,
Had to get my sleep, of course, and I’m a long ways west of Greenwich!

First, I want to remind you that a goal/priority of the league is to try hard to provide post-season action to anyone who’s

1. met the set minimum number of games to qualify,
2. signed up/asked to participate in post-season play

It is also a high priority to balance the integrity of the main/top 8 playoff along with.

I do not want the path to the championship to be too long or too short. That is, a 3 win march to the championship has proven to be a good balance. Usually it takes about 9-12 months on average, so it’s nice when it’s over before the next year begins.

In other words. In the past, balancing these priorities sometimes leads to some odd (but sometimes fun and agreeable) compromises/exceptions, like play-in games.
This year, we have just a few more than 8 signups for each bracket. In my judgment, all things considered, I’m making the call that the top 8 signups will be seeded in their respective brackets.
I will talk to the signups beyond the top 8 to see how they can maximize enjoyment, but due to the makeup and nature of the signups, I am pretty much unwilling to consider play-in games or the like.

Even as recently as 2023, we have had a 3 player 2nd bracket, so just 2 games being played, for a 2nd bracket winner. This is fine. But I understand if you signed up and find out this is your fate and you do not want to participate, you may certainly back out.
So I’ll PM the appropriate parties, just wanted to get this out first so you’re not like “hey, I signed up, why am I not listed”

And now… the rollout of your brand-new league season 2024 playoff brackets, along with some commentary and story lines that you DID NOT ASK FOR! -> -> ->

For your expired year of 2024, we have the following statistics:

Balanced Mod - 85 completed games

Path To Victory - 83

Regular 2nd edition out of the box - 52

I don’t believe my eyes, Path to Victory nearly overtook the Balanced Mod as the most played game in the league. Therefore I would say the playoffs for these two versions are the most prestigious for 2024, this is where the cool kids are playing.

@axis-dominion Thank you,
It’s where 2 players play a game against each other and the winner gets a set at the table in the first round. You have to beat a rival just to get in.

There are more story lines than I realize, of course.
Old animosities, nasty dicings in the past that need to be avenged, who knows what.
But the following is what your master of ceremonies DOES know!

Balanced Mod matchups, we have
TWO TIME DEFENDING CHAMPION Farmboy coming in as the 3rd seed, in round 1 facing GeneralDisarray, who is also a very dangerous A&A veteran.
If you’ve been following my long-winded posts, you know this is very exciting because an unstoppable force is colliding with an immoveable object.
General D is making a bid for a TRIPLE CROWN as he is in all 3 playoffs, which is unprecedented, and Farmboy is going for a THREEPEAT, also unpredented.
They can’t both have their way! Hopes and dreams will be dashed in the first round! The ironic thing is, neither one of them may get past the second round?! Or, we will all be witnesses to history.

And that’s just ONE of the opening round matches.

We also have the Titan veteran ADAM514 as #2 seed ONCE AGAIN facing Pacifier’s board, a REMATCH of the first round 2023 playoff.
Pacifier is known to play very unconventionally and as such is a dangerous wildcard. Adam crushed the rebellion last year, but now he will have to prove it again.

Oh my goodness, we have a CLASSIC Ghostglider vs. Me1945 first round matchup, are you kidding me? These guys go waaaaay back and are VIP names in this league. Winner faces Axis-Dominion, assuming he squashes Flying Badger as a warm up (I can only say that because I now know Flying Badger is very cool and will not be offended. So if you are offended, stop it.)

That is quite the reward for the winner of the #4, #5 there. You get to face the all-time highest rated A&A player in the league, who has roared back in 2024 to make sure he was not forgotten.

Those are your first round Balanced Mod matchups, but backing up, big picture, I would say your top 6 are rock hard iron man veterans facing off, and only one. will. win. it. all.

Lunch time.

PTV and OOB hype to come

Path to Victory…

Apparently this version really agrees with Ghostglider, as he is lifetime more than 100 rating points above any other human being.

On the ratings boards, after our standout, Adam, General D, Gorshak, and the late-coming fast riser Axis-Dominion are somewhat tightly bunched. All have fantastic records.
19-3
14-2
6-0
4-0
These guys just do not like to lose. But it’s the playoffs! All will lose except one?!

Last minute peer-pressured signup Stucifer gets to face Ghostglider for a chance at a major upset.

Gorshak vs. Axis-Dominion. Gorshak should certainly not let that innocent little 4-0 record be deceiving.

General Disarray v Daaras. Daaras has a lot of recent PtV experience, and a serious 14-6 record, with 17 of those games finished in the league in 2024. Daaras loves the Path to Victory version, that is for sure. That’s a lot of recent experience, WOW

And then there’s #7 666 v. #2 Adam514
666 also loves his Path to Victory, but has slowed down in 2024. Still, with 41 games completed, he is a grizzled veteran. But Adam is 19-3 with 6 completed in 2024, good luck 666, you will need it!

I won’t make picks, that’s not appropriate, but I will say your #1 and #2 are #1 and #2 for a reason. But at the same time I will not be terribly surprised by whoever wins this thing, each of these veterans are that good.

GHOSTGLIDER is the defending champion, though, make no mistake.

And, last and least,
Out of the Box version is still being played…

For the ONLY official, out of the box, not house-ruled or made-up version…
We have TWO TIME Defending champion Arthur-Bomber-Harris looking to THREEPEAT, which has never been done in any version. It could happen, times 2, with farmboy running tables in Balanced Mod, but Arthur-Bomber-Harris is laser-focused on out of the box.

BUT
ABH is the #4 seed coming in to 2025, and faces, yes, General Disarray who (you’re tired of me saying this) is in all 3 brackets, he played the minimum games, he wants in the playoffs!
Wait, that means…

GENERAL D IS FACING FARMBOY AND ABH, who are each trying to three-peat. This is dramatic. For General D to win the triple crown he would have to topple Farmboy and ABH, going for three-peats, AT THE SAME TIME. OK, who wants to put money on that. Nobody. General Disarray, Farmboy, and Arthur Bomber Harris each have the opportunity to make history, or they could all fall miserably short. That is just some of the drama we are looking at, here.

Farmboy is lurking, at #3 seed, looking to win an unprecedented TWO championships simultaneously, wouldn’t that be something? A threepeat and also an OOB championship at the same time? Come on, guys, we can’t let that happen.

And then there’s your weaselly moderator, inexplicably abandoning the Balanced Mod to go back to the “new and fresh” OOB experience. Well, after 5 years, it is new and fresh.
In weaselly fashion, he manages to squeak out the 3rd win literally on New Years’ Eve to crash that party and claim the #1 seed by life-time ELO rating, which by HIS OWN RULES… just, wow, that is scandalous.
A paper tiger, no doubt, but at least the perpetual contenders AndrewAAGamer, Farmboy, and ABH/Disarray are not disadvantaged and the over-ratedness that comes from an era long past can quite well be exposed.

Reminders,

This is the postseason. Don’t be TOO serious, but there are certain considerations.

1. Time limits technically apply, but we just don’t bump people after 3 days or call a game after 14 or whatever it is. Ample time is given to an opponent who is AWOL for a little while. Unlike the regular season, the timing of playoff games was not really chosen. If you’re busy in May, for example, in the regular season you just wouldn’t take on more games. But you may be deep in a game in May in the postseason, and maybe that’s just not a good time of year for you to be playing some serious A&A so you struggle to play every 3 days. So we are gentlemen and try to keep things moving, but in the playoffs the time limits are not as strict.

2. Moderator support. You didn’t actually agree to play the individuals you will be matched up with (that is part of the beauty of the postseason), and maybe you don’t really get along with your “assigned” opponent. It’s the playoffs, so you try harder to make a proper game out of it, and you can always flip the board (well, actually you can’t) and quit, but nobody wants that.
   If you start to have trouble with your opponent, remember I’m here to try and help everyone have a good experience, while being fair.

3. Be mindful of your bracket. If the bracket next to you got decided pretty speedily, the whole bracket may be waiting on you. No one will really apply pressure to you, but be mindful and try to keep the pace going if a lot of other tournament participants are waiting on you.

4. Highest seed has prerogative to bid first.

5. Same as regular season, there is actually a lot of latitude for how you play your game.
   IF BOTH PLAYERS AGREE, you can even play low luck, or with house rules that significantly alter the game, but as soon as you get to the next round and they don’t agree, you have to play the game agreed upon. If not agreed upon, of course the default game and league rules (like for bidding) apply.

Again, please consult the moderator (me) when there are differences that are not being quickly resolved, before there is a forest fire.

A beautiful thing with the playoffs is you are paired up with a player you did not choose, who loves A&A, is competitive, and has played several games recently.

I said way too much! Enjoy! Happy New Year!
You may start your playoff game whenever.
The brackets are here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Larckt6iOuBZtZ-AVzDPv-HEofZJdeN8ptXXotun0Og/edit?gid=1039763555#gid=1039763555