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#1 2015-10-02 23:51:28

Black Adder
League Administrator
From: Praha, Czech Republic
Registered: 2007-11-15
Posts: 7470

Count's Analysis of AoT Season 25

http://i.imgur.com/R63d0iJ.png

The new season of RTS League's Age of Mythology: The Titans Clan League has just recently started, and it's already producing spectacular games and inciting speculations everywhere it goes. Will JSS successfully defend the Gold? Will Magic+TheMista with Titou carry BeaSt to the Title? Is DoD ready to retake what is theirs? Leader of the reigning Champions 2k for jesus Count_Von_Count has put his thoughts on paper and you can now see what does he think about the 25th RTSL Season and how will it play out according to his experience and knowledge - read on to glimpse the possible future!

Division 1

Division 1 is in my opinion the toughest division in the League. I think four teams are able to advance: DoD|B, TSM, JSS and PK. Let's take a closer look at the teams and their strengths.

DoD|B: This season DoD decided to equally divide the best players over the A & B teams, resulting in DoD|B becoming a very well-rounded team. I expect them to play with quite aggressive god+map combination. Fox has a very aggressive Isis gameplay and also Shelty is known for his Loki. Furthermore, we have BriefKeese and Jollyman, both decent players who should not be underestimated.

The player to watch: DoD_BriefKeese

JSS: The winners of Season 24 will be participating without TheMista this time around, which is obviously a big loss, as last season he was JSS' key player - both Ert and VonCount had more of a supporting role on the team. The question is: Are they capable of changing their playstyle? Whatever the answer, I still think JSS is the team with the best teamplay around - in contrast to most other clans, they play as one team, not as a sum of separate parts. Smoort, Elmo or Hellenic will be the 3rd players to complete the teams, all three of them being solid 18++ players, but having little experience with big team-tourneys like RTSL.

The player to watch: JSS_Ert

TSM: TSM is a long-time participant and always performed really well. So far they have played Medit as their home map in almost every confrontation. The team is featuring Player, Fen, Sensuy and Atlantis - Player is one the best Zeus-players of modern time, and also Fen is playing rather well lately. Sensuy will probably be the one completing the team. The combination of multiple Zeus' in one team has been proven very successful in RTSL's history, and I expect no different this season.

The player to watch: TSM_Player

PK: PK is another clan that should not be counted out. Kye, 7up and pops play and improved a lot, and I expect them to come up with some crazy strategies. I honestly have no idea what home map they will play, or which gods they will go for - as far as I know, all of them can play multiple civilizations. I am not sure if they have a chance to advance out of this tough division, but they might be able to take some games from the stronger clans.

The player to watch: PK_Kye

I expect that TSM will end up first in the division. They are familiar with playing high-level teamgames, and the gods they like to play fit really well together. JSS is the team I expect to qualify as second. Ert and VonCount are both really experienced teamplayers, and as long as the 3rd player on the team delivers, they should not have a problem qualifying. I expect DoD|B to perform better than PK, they have a great potential to play aggressively, and I don't think PK will be able to deal with that. For the more experienced clans (like TSM and JSS) this will be less of a problem.

Division 2

Group 2 seems to be the easiest group. I think there are three clans which have a chance on qualifying - DoD|A, AoL and BrT.

AoL: I find it really hard to judge this clan. The core players are Iron_Maiden, Recon and Berserker, all of whom have a really aggressive style of playing. I have been watching Berserker's stream lately, and his APM is rather high compared to most other streamers. Also Recon (ex-nilla player) is a player that prefers to win by himself rather than waiting for his opponent to make a mistake. If Iron_maiden can step up, I think AoL should be able to qualify for the play-offs.

Player to watch: AoL_Berserker

BrT: The Brazilian squad is also present this season. Seattle, Giovan, GoldenLion, Playhrd, Ninho and Metallo all know how to play in a team. I expect them to produce a lot of mercenaries and hopefully make J4Jc3 rage-quit during one of their games. I am not sure how much of a chance BrT has in the play-offs - their core-strategies have been rather abusive in the previous seasons and therefore counterable by teams able to play multiple gods. At any rate, I am quite sure they will end top 3 in this division, they have overall a decent team and clear game-plan.

Player to watch: BrT_Playhrd

DoD|A: Without Fox and Titou, DoD|A will be slightly weaker than they were in Season 24. However, Rangers, Spoeft, Hellsravage, Killerboy and Brickhead should have no problem coming first in this group. DoD|A plays as a team, is able to pull of different strategies and features numerous expert-players, and even though Spoeft and Killerboy might be a little rusty, DoD|A should still be the strongest team in this division.

Player to watch: DoD_Spoeft

For obvious reasons I expect DoD|A to finish first in this division, skill-wise they are just a step above the other teams. BrT will most likely end up in the 2nd seat, as I don't think any of the other clans in this group (besides DoD) can take any games from them. Only AoL has a chance, but I'm not sure how Norse players (like Iron_Maiden) can deal with BrT's core-strategy.

Division 3

I expect this group to be really close. There are four different clans competing for the 3 top spots - ArF, Lad, ONU and ReGen.

ArF: The best player on ArF's team is for sure Adhafang - he is a very solid random-god teamplayer. However, I don't think the other players on this team will be able to perform on the required level to advance. But if Grandmonster, BzH and Laior can surprise us, they might have a chance to reach the play-offs.

Player to watch: ArF_Adhafang

Lad: Lad has a really strong team on paper - IkillUdie, NyanCat, Ayah, JohnnyWalker and Aurelien have all been doing quite well on the Voobly ladder. Lad did not do bad last season either, but they could not compete with DoD in the semi-finals, and also LNC turned out to be stronger than them when they faced each other for the 3rd place. It is hard to predict how well they will perform this season, but I would not be surprised if they made it to the semi-finals.

Player to watch: Lad_IkillUdie

ONU: ONU did not participate in the last seasons. Back in 2009, ONU's top-players Piske and Sparx performed really well across several seasons, but can they adapt to the current meta? We'll see, but with Highlander recently joining the ONU-squad, his Set might be a great addition to the team. I predict that ONU will do fine in this group, but I don't think they will play at the same level as ReGen and Lad.

Player to watch: ONU_Highlander

ReGen: Magic and TheMista are without a doubt the two best 1v1 players of today, both have crushed every other top-player multiple times. However, we have not seen them playing that many teamgames, and TheMista has shown a really solo-oriented style last season. Will that fit Magics style as well? Will there be any synergy between the two of them? If so, ReGen will most definitely come first in this group, if not, things might get really interesting in group C.

Player to watch: ReGen_Magic

If TheMista and Magic find a way to play together, I don't think any other clan in this group can stop them. Lad is my number two in this division, they have a lot of sup-topplayers and will therefore come out on top of ONU and ArF. I expect ArF vs ONU to be the candidates for the 3rd seat. It will be a rather close fight.

Gods and Maps

Last season there were two gods who have been played way more often than the rest: Oranos and Zeus. Due to the balance-patch 1.02, I expect the meta to slightly change. The Shockwave is one of the reasons why Oranos used to be very strong - especially vs Greek Oranos was a decent choice, because that one godpower could kill about 3 Centaurs if used correctly. Due to the Shockwave nerf, Oranos is now weaker, especially versus Zeus, and therefore I think we will see less of him this season.

Zeus has also received some nerfs - the Bolt godpower cannot be used on villagers and also the repair speed of the Underworld Passage has been reduced, and on top of that, Centaur-raiding became less effective due to the change on their passive. Even though all 3 changes will affect Zeus' strength in teamgames, I do not think we will see less of him - Zeus is in my opinion the best god in team games, plus the nerfs to Oranos are rather beneficial for Zeus players.

Loki will be one of the gods that will be played more often than last season. I expect most teams to opt for more aggressive strategies compared to last seasons, and Loki will fit this style perfectly. A decent amount of hero Hersirs in a team can be a great addition by itself, as Isis players will have to be more thoughtful with casting A+E when there is a Loki on the opposite team. Also Centaur raiding becomes less effective when facing Loki.

Furthermore, I expect a very small increase of Egyptian picks this season. Egyptians have always been a risky choice since you are not able to help your allies in the early phase of the game, but if a team decides to play a defensive map, the Egyptian gods fit in perfectly.

This season RTSL introduced a few new maps: Blue Lagoon, Frozen Wastes, Painted Desert and Sacred Pond. Using these maps might be a great opportunity for the less experienced clans to catch a strong opponent off guard.

Mediterranean will be one of the maps we will see a lot. Good multi-tasking and water-micro are key factors to play this map successfully, which usually benefits the more experienced players. The new Midgard might also become a popular choice due to the fact that Atlanteans naturally suck at this map. Tundra and Blue Lagoon are maps I expect to be picked by the more aggressively-oriented teams, as both maps are rather open, which is necessary to raid. Marsh has been a very popular map last season, and I still think some teams will play Marsh as their home map, but not as often as last season. Most players are familiar with this map, which makes it harder to execute special strategies.

The Semi-finals

I do not precisely know how the RTSL will format the play-off brackets, but I think the following clans have a good chance of making it into the semi-finals:

ReGen: If TheMis and Magic perform, no one will stop them from hitting the semis!
Lad: Active, diverse and solid. I don't see them winning this season, but I don't count them out either.
TSM: Player, Sensuy and Fen might go straight to the top. It would surprise me if they didn't reach the semis.
DoD|A: Easy group stage and lots of experience. This should be no problem for the grandpas.
DoD|B: Talent and aggression, if they do well in their division, they will do well in the brackets, too.
JSS: Extraordinary teamplay. JSS has proven itself already and surely will again this season.

So, do you think he's right? Has he hit the nail on its head? Or do you think he's wrong and your predictions are entirely different? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

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[nex]Black__Adder (@BlackAdderPlays)

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