BCL

[Toarobot18]

Just so you know, your last post did say, "It's crunch time. Lineups for Game 3 are due by 12:00am EST on July 24th. The winners of Game 3 will go on to face one another in the BCL Finals." I sent mine in early just to be safe since you had mentioned 24-hour rounds previously, and I really should have asked you about it, which is my bad. In any case, that might be why Burnmad missed the round.

[Fighty]

Yeah, sorry that was some bad mental math on my part. But no, he clearly indicated that he was "done with the game" due to the fact that he was leaving for summer camp.

[Blessed Blade]

Burnmad didn't miss the round, Underscore did, and Underscore explained why he did a few posts earlier; since he's away. =P

[Fighty]

Yeah, I figured that Toarobot meant Snubby, not Burnmad.

[Toarobot18]

Yeah, I just messed up the team names/players in my head. Alright. In that case, onward to the finals!

[Fighty]

THE BCL FINALS: GAME ONE RESULTS

 

TA-METRU TAHTORAKS 56

Takanuva (14 / +0 / -0) 14

Lhikan (13 / +3 / -0) 16

Vakama (8 / +3 / -0) 11

Jaller (10 / +5 / -0) 15

 

THE ROBOTIC TOA 65

Kopaka (11 / +8 / -0) 19

Nuju (12 / +5 / -0) 17

Matoro (8 / +7 / -0) 15

Kualas (7 / +7 / -0) 14

 

Recap: It was a hard-fought match, but the Robotic Toa ultimately won out, beating the Tahtoraks by nine. It was the Robotic Toa's superb team chemistry that won them the game in the end, with each player averaging ~7 points in affinity bonuses. 

 

Tonight's MVP: By scoring a game-high 19 points, thereby propelling his team to victory, Kopaka earns tonight's award. He was just one of several standout performances in tonight's game.

 

Tonight's LVP: It's hard to fault him too much, but Vakama simply didn't show up enough in tonight's game. He notched a game-low 11 points, with only 3 of those coming from affinity bonuses.

 

Tonight's Most Interesting Play: What might be lost in this match is a look at one of its key players: Matoro. Heretofore, Matoro has been a juggernaut for the Robotic Toa, regularly reaching scores in the high teens / low twenties. However, in his first Finals appearance, he had only eight points, with his score being inflated by affinity bonuses. While it may be a fluke, here's hoping this performance isn't marking a downward trend for the young star.

 

----------------------------------

 

The Robotic Toa win Game One and take the 1-0 series lead. Lineups for Game 2 of the Finals are due by 12:00am EST on July 25th, 2014.

[Burnmad]

Ahh, I forgot TRT sent their B-team in game one of the semi-finals, or I'd have resigned last game.

 

gg

 

Edit: Actually, no, I'm not going out without a fight. Lassen Sie uns dies tun!

 

-

Edited July 24, 2014 by Burnmad: Toa of Emoticons

[Toarobot18]

Aye, good game, Burnmad! Our teams are pretty evenly matched and our fans will definitely be on the edge of their seats for this next game!

 

EDIT: This probably doesn't affect anything, and it might turn out better for me anyway that he has to be rested next game instead, but Lhikan appears to have played four games in a row.

Edited July 24, 2014 by Toarobot18

[Fighty]

That was actually my mistake. I simply swapped Vakama and Lhikan's names. In Game 3 of the semifinals, Lhikan's results were supposed to be Vakama's. I even put in Vakama's numbers and everything when running the simulation, but for some reason when they came out I attributed them to Lhikan and not Vakama.

 

So yeah, that was my bad. And just for the record, Lhikan is rested enough that he will be available to play both in Game 2 and (if it's necessary) Game 3.

[Fighty]

THE BCL FINALS: GAME TWO RESULTS

TA-METRU TAHTORAKS 36

Tahu (13 / +2 / -0) 15

Lhikan (12 / +1 / -0) 13

Pahrak (4 / +0 / -0) 4

Reidak (6 / +0 / -2) 4

THE ROBOTIC TOA 21

Dume (9 / +1 / -0) 10

Tahnok (6 / +2 / -0) 8

Kohrak (6 / +0 / -3) 3

 

Recap: Despite a relatively low score turnout, the Tahtoraks managed to crush the Robotic Toa by 15 points, surviving elimination in Game 2. The Tahtoraks' fire starters turned in solid numbers, while Reidak acted as a capable antidote to the Robotic Toa's Kohrak.

 

Tonight's MVP: Tahu, in his Finals debut, led the way for his team's blowout victoy. He led the team both in points and affinity bonuses, scoring a game-high 15 points.

 

Tonight's LVP: By scoring a mild six points, and then losing 3 of those due to his Earth weakness, Kohrak earns tonight's LVP award, scoring a game-low 3 points.

 

Tonight's Most Interesting Play: With some wise roster decisions, Burnmad has put himself in a good position for Game 3. By playing Tahu and Lhikan and resting his other starters, Burnmad has allowed himself to possibly go with an all-fire lineup in Game 3, which could prove devastating, seeing as the Tahtorak's' all-fire squad currently holds the record for second-most points scored in a game (70). The Robotic Toa's all-ice lineup currently holds the number-one spot (77).

 

---------------------------------

 

Alright, the Finals are knotted up at 1-1! Tomorrow night the BCL Season One Champions will be crowned. Lineups for the final game are due by 12:00am EST, July 26th, 2014.

 

[Toarobot18]

Good game, Burnmad.

 

And now for the final game. Some say it will end in fire. Some say in ice . . .

 

EDIT: I just noticed that the team logo has mysteriously changed from the previous version:

(I like the new logo, though. )

Edited July 25, 2014 by Toarobot18

[Burnmad]

I think he made them more red and blue, respectively, to accentuate the fire vs. ice theme. =P

 

-

[Toarobot18]

But . . . wouldn't that be water vs. fire?

[Blessed Blade]

No; think Avak's colour scheme...

[Toarobot18]

Well, I'm thinking Kopaka, Nuju, Matoro, and Kualas's color schemes, primarily.

 

EDIT: Wait. What? Avak?

Edited July 25, 2014 by Toarobot18

[Blessed Blade]

Didn't Avak have ice blue in his colour scheme?

[Burnmad]

I think you mean Thok? =P

 

-

[Blessed Blade]

... Who was Avak, then...? But yes, I probably did mean Thok; whoever the ice dude was. xP

[Burnmad]

Avak was stone. =P

 

-

[Toarobot18]

Ah. I was really confused for a second. Yes, Thok was ice and had some blue, though he was primarily white and gray, I would say. Certainly, the secondary color for ice is usually gray or blue or both.

[Fighty]

THE BCL FINALS: GAME THREE RESULTS

TA-METRU TAHTORAKS 66

Tahu (16 / +7 / -0) 23

Lhikan (11 / +6 / -0) 17

Vakama (8 / +5 / -0) 13

Jaller (9 / +4 / -0) 13

 

THE ROBOTIC TOA 70

Kopaka (11 / +5 / -0) 16

Nuju (12 / +9 / -0) 21

Matoro (12 / +5 / -0) 17

Kualas (9 / +7 / -0) 16

 

Recap: It's a testimony to the strength of these two teams that the final matchup of their A-squads was decided by just four points. But in the end, the Ta-Metru Tahtoraks simply couldn't overcome the Robotic Toa, despite a powerhouse performance by Tahu. The Robotic Toa put on a well-balanced offensive effort, with no player scoring fewer than 16 points.

 

Tonight's MVP: Tonight's award is shared by members of both teams; on the one hand, Tahu was completely dominant, scoring a game-high and personal best 23 points. On the other hand, Nuju got more out of his team, with a staggering 9 points in affinity bonuses. As such, these two players will share the MVP award for Game 3.

 

Tonight's LVP: Tonight's award is also a shared one, but unfortunately both recipients played for the same team. Tahu and Lhikan set a blistering pace for the Tahtoraks with 23 and 17 points respectively, but it was a pace that Vakama and Jaller were unable to match, with both of them scoring only 13 points.

 

Tonight's Most Interesting Play: There was nothing particularly unexpected in tonight's game. It was simply pure, unadulterated competition between the best teams in the league. It was a hard-fought match with standout performances and all the thrill we've come to expect from BCL. And at the end of it all, the Robotic Toa have emerged triumphant. Congratulations to this year's BCL Champions!

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

THE BCL SEASON-IN-REVIEW

 

With BCL Season One now over and the Robotic Toa crowned champions, it's time to look back at the moments this past season that made us laugh, cry, bite our nails in suspense, etc. To celebrate the conclusion of this year's BCL season, I bring you the BCL Season-In-Review, a compilation of the best this season had to offer.

 

THE BEST TEAM: This goes without saying, but as the 2014 Champions the Robotic Toa receive our pick for this year's Best Team. The Robotic Toa were dominant right out of the gate, scoring 64 points in their season debut. Their four principal players remain the highest-scoring squad in the league. 

 

THE MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: While there were several key players in contention for this award, it ultimately has to go to Matoro. It's worth noting that Matoro's baseline is 5 points. FIVE POINTS. And yet, despite that extremely low baseline Matoro has never had a game in single digits, and twice has scored twenty points or more. Matoro has always been a team player; he's stepped out of the limelight when it was necessary, and he's hoisted his team on his shoulders when they needed it. For his outstanding team chemistry and personal achievements, Matoro is this year's BCL MVP.

 

THE MOST EXCITING GAME: It may be a cop-out to go with the final game of the season, but it was a game with incredibly high stakes that was, essentially, a toss-up. Both teams were able to play their star lineups, and when those lineups had met before the game had been decided by just two points. So, for being an intense, high-stakes game, Game 3 of the Finals receives our award for Most Exciting Game.

 

THE BIGGEST UPSET: It was David v.s. Goliath. Or, more accurately, the Metru-Nui Time Force v.s. the Ta-Metru Tahtoraks. MNTF, a team which stayed mainly in the 40-50 point range, was facing a team that regularly scored 60+ points. And yet, somehow, the Time Force rallied to beat a more-than-competent Tahtoraks squad in the second game of the semifinals. Though they would go on to lose the playoff series, MNTF's improbable win proved that the Tahtoraks weren't untouchable.

 

THE LONGEST STREAK: The Ta-Metru Tahtoraks willed themselves to a 6-game winning streak, and might've gone undefeated had they opted to play in the last game of the season. While two of those wins came off of technicalities, they were wins nonetheless.

 

THE BEST COMEBACK: They had lost their first two games. Their team was struggling to scrounge up points, and they seemed destined for a losing season. But the Oncoming Storm pulled themselves together, and through sheer force of will won four of their next five games before losing to the Metru-Nui Time Force in their wild card play-in game.

 

THE BIGGEST "WHAT-IF?": One game. One game could've turned this season, and the playoffs landscape, on its head. By missing its first game, Team Chryptic was cursed with a losing season and elimination from playoff contention. But, had it played that game, it would've won, and with that win it could've played in a wild card game, and with the right trades and roster moves Team Chryptic could've been a true competitor for the BCL championship. But what may have happened, we will never know.

 

THE BEST SPORTSMANSHIP: It's hard to be the perennial punching bags of the league. It's hard to accept defeat with dignity. But the Enlightened Shadows exhibited stellar sportsmanship every game, even if they couldn't quite come up with a win. They never stopped playing, they never quit, and they always did their best, even in the face of imminent defeat.

 

So that's it, the best of the first season of BCL. I wish I could stick around longer to work on this game more; I certainly enjoyed it but, given the time, there are things that I would definitely tweak and improve. But thank you to all who participated and for the effort and enthusiasm that you put forth for this game. Your passion is what makes me enjoy hosting these games so much, and it's what keeps me coming back.

 

[Toarobot18]

Congratulations, everyone, and especially to the chief rival of the Robotic Toa, the Ta-Metru Tahtoraks. One slightly different roll of the dice and that game could easily have gone the other way. And thanks be to Fighty, for being such a great host and thorough commentator! 
 
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
 

[Burnmad]

gg, TR.

(My team had the same max output as yours, but one higher minimum output, so this was just a fluke. =P)

Edit: By the way, what happens to BCL, now?

 

-

Edited July 26, 2014 by Burnmad: Toa of Emoticons

[Fighty]

I would love to continue it, like I said. But I'm afraid I just don't have the time. If some brave soul does opt to take it over, I have a couple of suggestions for how to do so:

 

- Have another draft, complete with new characters like the Barraki or perhaps some Rahkshi or Glatorians, etc.

- Give current teams the option to come back again. If they choose not to come back, put their entire roster back into the draft and have someone else come in to take their place.

- Force teams that return to put all but a few (3 or 2) of their players back in the draft. This keeps teams that are currently stacked (*cough* Burnmad, Toarobot *cough*) from continuing their dominance.

- Increase maximum roster size and eliminate one-to-one trading.

 

Those are the changes I would make if I had the time. But if someone wants to take over BCL or reboot it and do something completely different that's totally cool. 

[Toarobot18]

Another possibility would be to give affinities a Rock, Paper, Scissors-like character, where instead of Fire and Water both decreasing the bonuses of each other, Fire might decrease Water, but Water might decrease Earth, and so on. That way you couldn't win just by grabbing all the characters of one element without fear that another team might exploit your weakness. The way it worked in this game, that weakness didn't really exist, since while those with Earth affinities hurt Ice players, those with Ice affinities also hurt Earth players, and the damage canceled itself out. That meant that affinities only really had an affect in a positive direction. There were a few players who were an exception to the rule, for example, Lhikan (which is why I picked him initially) and Lesovikk, but for the most part it held true.

[Fighty]

Another possibility would be to give affinities a Rock, Paper, Scissors-like character, where instead of Fire and Water both decreasing the bonuses of each other, Fire might decrease Water, but Water might decrease Earth, and so on. That way you couldn't win just by grabbing all the characters of one element without fear that another team might exploit your weakness. The way it worked in this game, that weakness didn't really exist, since while those with Earth affinities hurt Ice players, those with Ice affinities also hurt Earth players, and the damage canceled itself out. That meant that affinities only really had an affect in a positive direction. There were a few players who were an exception to the rule, for example, Lhikan (which is why I picked him initially) and Lesovikk, but for the most part it held true.

Also a great idea. Not going to lie, that was my original intention. But then, when we were halfway through the draft, I realized that I had brainfarted and that things weakened each other, which was pretty pointless. But it was too late to change it at that point.

[Blessed Blade]

I throw my hat into the ring, but it migt take a fee days or a couple weeks to make the edits I've been interested to make.... Which includes the one that Fighty and Toarobot mentioned. =P

 

Gonna ask here, though, would a six element wheel work, or just a three element wheel?

[Underscore]

Sorry, I've been away for a couple of days. What's currently happening?

[Toarobot18]

The game is over and we are planning the next one.

 

I think a six-element ring could work, though it would decrease the chances of running into the element that weakens your players/that your players weaken. You could always do five elements but give each element two elements that it weakens and two elements that weaken it, a la Rock-paper-scissors-lizard-spock, or invent a similar setup for a greater number of elements.

 

EDIT: If you search "RPS - 7" you will find a Rock-paper-scissors variant that could be used for seven elements. Each has three strengths and three weaknesses. You could do the standard six plus light.

Edited July 26, 2014 by Toarobot18

[Blessed Blade]

Well, I figured that we need two six rings at least, plus ways to handle stuff like Light and Shadow.

 

The two weaknesses/strengths idea is intriguing, though, that's for sure.

[Portalfig]

gg burn and TR. While not unexpected, it was a really fun game and I loved to see how it turned out. 

 

I am quite happy with how my team played, and had a blast with this game! Tanks, Fighty! (typo but my goodness that is great)

[Voltex]

This game looks totally awesome. Hopefully there will be a spot open once the summer ends and I have time again.

[Blessed Blade]

Considering it'll be closer to the summer's end when I get everything all down and ready, that shouldn't be a problem, iBrow. =P

 

(Though, with that said, if anyone wants to host an interim game, that's fine by me. =P)

Edited July 28, 2014 by Colette Llyan