your local snake expert here to throw out my takes on the last two weeks, let's keep this discussion going bc we look like a bunch of clowns w no forum activity lmao
POWER RANKINGS (?)
these are.. well, darn near impossible right now. not for the reason that everyone is close together, but rather the ludicrous amount of substitutions the past few weeks have me thoroughly unable to get a solid read on the caliber of the players any week- but if I had to throw one together, it'd look something like
this. take it with a grain of salt, though.
1- Kink (Nagas, 5-2): Kink's play has gone from okay to pretty decent to solid to nothing short of excellent, be it a result of opponents underpreparing for him or his firm grasp on the current meta, or both. Regardless, he's 5-2 and it's time to credit him with what he deserves.
2- Ajna (Lindworms, 4-3): The goat of RU comes off a weird loss to TDK week 7, but frankly I don't think it diminishes his skill overall. He's still just as solid as ever.
3- Roman (Leviathans, 2-1): After the obvious first two, I seriously struggled to figure out who the hell to put here, and eventually settled on Roman after some deliberation. I think he's a threatening opponent, with his ability to read his foes quite well.
4- TDK (Rattlers, 4-3): This one is also pretty fair. TDK has finally got back to his old self it seems, and with a win over the floundering Averardo, seems to have found his footing in a new environment. Probably finishing strong.
5- Alpha Rabbit (Taipans, 4-3): Rabbit, like TDK, seems to have found his footing too after struggling early on. Rabbit holds a respectable 4-3 record, and while not being one of the Tapians' trophy players, has quietly contributed his fair share to the team's incredible success.
6- UltraBallz (Cobras, 3-4): UB's record and general level of inconsistency keep him just out of my top five once again, but this isn't to say he's bad. Sitting damn average isn't always a bad thing, with pools this close. He'll probably end similarly, unimpressive, but just good enough to pose a threat and be someone you need to prepare for.
7- DurzaOffTopic (Serpents, 2-2): The Serpents are already down and out, but Durza entered the RU pools with a bang, slamming Averardo with very few cracks in his debut armor. Not playing for his team, but for his own sheet record, Durza finishes strong for sure. Only reason he isn't higher is because we haven't seen much from him, but what I've seen is promising.
8- Averardo (Mambas, 3-4): Despite seeming promising the first few weeks of Snake, with every feasible factor working against him, it's no wonder he succumbed to the pressure and tilted as hard as he did after his week 7 game. However, even with all that said and done, future opponents dismissing Averardo as not a threat might seem like something to bank on- until you realize he plays Harris and Kink.
9- HarrisIsAwesome (Astrotias, 0-0): After a disastrous 2-5 record, Feli bows out and Harris takes his place, to secure enough wins to try to push the Astrotias back into contention. While I've no doubts about Harris' skill, his ability to stack up against our current pool of players hasn't been tested at all, so I'll keep him near the bottom for now. Consider this ranking more of a "I don't know where he goes" and less of a "Harris is bad."
10- z0m0g (Bushmasters, 4-3) Similarly to Harris, I'm placing this brand-new roster swap at the bottom because I don't know how he stacks up vs our pools. While his 4-3 record in OU is respectable, he's also... the, uh, highest-scoring member of the Bushmasters. At 4-3. His final game versus Roman should be interesting.
GAMES
not going to cover too many of these, but I'll plug the links for my video coverage of them
here (week 5 recap) and
here (week 6 recap). I go over each of the games in reasonable depth, and week 7's recap will be up in a couple days.
Roman vs Ajna (week 5) and
vs Feliburn (week 6)
I've cited Roman's ability to scout his opponents ahead of time as part of what makes him such a dangerous opponent, and here's where that stems from. Watching over this game felt like Roman was just one step ahead the entire time, and what made me feel like he's a top threat in our current pools. Brutalizing Feliburn the following week only made this clearer, and his concrete and solid play is a great weapon in the Leviathan's all-but-playoffs-assured arsenal.
Feliburn vs SPACE FORCE meeps (week 5)
Okay, you already know what I'm gonna talk about here. Feli's Togedemaru was a sight to behold, and outplaying Meeps in godly fashion was the biggest feather in Feli's cap all season. Despite his evidently lackluster play all the rest of Snake, it's hard to ignore the Togedemaru showing as one of the best moments all season, for RU.
TDK vs Averardo (week 6)
If you want to watch a game and witness nothing but a brutalization, this is probably the one to watch. From preview, it almost looked like a cteam, and for me, was what marked TDK's return to form we witnessed over the past two weeks. Every play Ave made, he got harshly punished for, as TDK's Roserade got much more than it should have gotten. I know the game had a negative effect on Ave's mentality, so I won't drag him any more than I already have. However, to ignore and say TDK's skill wasn't on display here is foolish.
Alpha Rabbit vs Nat (week 5)
Brandishing a team starring recent metagame superstars Necrozma and Mandibuzz, Alpha Rabbit comes into his own with a well-executed win over Nat to solidify his place in the upper echelons of RU play with this win. It's not the flashiest, but it showcased perhaps the most undervalued part of that week- we'd all been sleeping on Rabbit, myself included.
some ending questions for anyone reading to consider and comment on: what would your own rankings look like, who are your favorite players to watch, and what mons do you want to see more of/see at all? for me, the answer to the first is that I love watching Roman's games, and as for the second, one of you cowards needs to bring a Hoopa one of these weeks or I'm going to riot (: