In no particular order, this is a list of players whose skills and potential contributions to a team fly under the radar and might not be widely recognized. Every single player on this list would be an asset to their teams in more ways than one, and your chances of winning the league will be better for having drafted any of them.
ilikeeatingcrayons
Ilikeeatingcrayons is relatively new to 35 Pokes, especially compared to some other players on this list, but she's proven to be very strong as both a builder and a player. She
almost won the recent 35 Ubers tournament (payed in the Ubers April 2024 format), defeating current council members and former finalists to do so. If you're looking for someone to fill the Ubers April 2024 slot while still providing valuable support and insight for the rest of the team's matches, Crayons is the uncontested top pick.
Kizaco
Kizaco has been involved in 35 Pokes since the very beginning, and made her tournament debut as the runner-up in August 2023. Her gameplay is very solid, as is her ability to analyze a metagame and quickly identify the winning strategies. Her combination of specific metagame experience, general format familiarity, and strong fundamentals will make her an asset to any team which chooses to draft her.
chickenburger
Chicken is another 35 Pokes veteran, with many strong playoffs placements, an appearance in the May 2024 finals, and 4-2 record in February 2024 from season 0 of this league. His playoffs results alone bely his true skill level, as his tournament runs have frequently been ended by particularly challenging player matchups. Chicken is a very strong teambuilder and player and has only improved since achieving impressive resulst last year.
Aviivix
Aviivix was a member of a semifinalist team in the recent 35 Trios tournament, during which they demonstrated a knack for both building and playing 35 Pokes formats. Signed up for a metagame they had little prior experience in, Aviivix's skills truly shown through in teambuilding, theorycrafting, and quickly picking up a new format. If you're in need of a strong flex and support player, Aviivix is perfect fit.
Spore4ever
Spore has good experience in the March 2024 format, and her theorycrafting is second to none. She peaked at #2 on the October 2024 spotlight ladder and is adept at seeing metagame trends clearly which most others fail to spot. If you want to stay one step ahead of the competition and really bolster your team's odds of winning more weekly matches, Spore will be a valuable draft.
honeyuuu
Honey is the newest player to 35 Pokes on this list, but has come out of the gate incredibly strong with a top 16 placement in her first-ever tournament (February 2025). More impressive than how she placed though, is who she fought. Her tournament run was ended by Shifty, the most decorated player in the tier who needs no introduction, in a very close 1-2 set. The *team* she used in that tournament was reminiscent of ones built by highly decorated top players. Her talent for sizing up a metagame and doing so *quickly * is something that every team would greatly benefit from -- even if she's not playing the slot herself, Honey will be an important part of your matchup prep (if you intend to win, that is). Especially given the extra Feb 25 slot, it would be a mistake not to include her in your draft plans.
Krishy2007
Krishy, like a few others on this list, has been around 35 Pokes for a very long time. He has strong experience in the August 2023 meta, making him one of only a few people with prior experience in August 2023, and has the type of meta knowledge that came into play last year in one of the defining matches of the entire finals. This type of meta-specific knowledge is invaluble in events like this, and grabbing one of the few original August 2023 players is definitely going to be a winning move for your team.
Beps
Beps is another player whom I don't have as much to say about, but that's because his skills and results are as simple to explain as they are incredibly good. In the October 2024 tournament (the spotlight ladder format), Bepswent 1-1 against
BIGSHOT_ranger (another incredibly decorated player who needs no introduction), defeating him in winners' semifinals but falling to him in their grand finals rematch. He's also a consistent analysis writer and our newest council member!
