In reality 3 (not to be confused with the reality from last CW) Tampa Bay leaked that they found a game breaking glitch in SimonT, prompting the move to FHM even earlier, with no refined update scale, and all of the GM’s have been scrambled about because not all of them have the software. With complete randos taking over the lines and strategies (but not the trades or contracts), the league is in chaos for the majority of the season. Stats are all over the place because there is no meta and no one has had the chance to test lines, pairings, or strategies. Starting playoffs with a new engine is similar to the NHL switching to their fancy new pucks! In that reality, the Challenge Cup is between the San Francisco Pride, and Hamilton Steelhawks (who had anticipated this change and already schemed something up). Both teams have great rosters, full of creative leaders.


I am giving the best odds to the Los Angeles Panthers for a few reasons. The new management is going to shake things up and get things done immediately before starting the rebuild. They have a ton of elite weapons on the roster with a lot of TPE to work with in sample tests. High TPE combined with a bunch of free build changes is going to be very important, this season, and Los Angeles has a lot of high earners that are in need of cups. The last reason that i believe Los Angeles will be dominant immediately, is because I don’t believe the goalie update scale is very accurate. Knox Booth, who is a fine young goaltender, will have around 900 TPE at the start of the season which is enough to cap some major attributes. The worst odds to win are the Minnesota Chiefs, because they just started their rebuild and sold a lot of high end pieces. They will bounce back in a season or two, as they have a younger team who will be able to improve their builds gradually, as opposed to jumbling a 2000 tpe build and hoping that they got it right.


“Offensive Awareness” really gets me going. Particulary when compared to STHS, where “defense” was the positioning in all zones, offensive awareness will take over and get me speedy cow where he needs to be. Obviously this is based on light reading and zero tests, but even after those are done, we will not be able to see what is actually happening. A player occupying a zone, or being in place to make a good play is not an easy metric to track or to calculate. I imagine the attribute will have an effect that modifies the other players that share the ice with him or her. “Defensive awareness” is another attribute that i am interested in, as i imagine a defender’s awareness is to be contrasted with offensive player’s awareness.


There is a team from Hamilton
Whose known for removing all the fun
But with new rules in place,
They still came in 2nd place,
Maybe they deserved it in S51.

A power-forward named Cameron Carter
Believed himself to be a martyr
“Where’s my Dar nom?”
“Just show some aplomb.
When we list memes you're the starter."



1- Both teams will have an equal advantage, as both have been equally graced by GeckoeyGeck. As a player responsible for building one team, and being the finishing touch in another, he’s got a real Sophie’s Choice of who he should mentally will to win. As for the current actual GM’s, I’m picking Manhattan’s LukeTD and and DaftRaincloud because JayWhy and Grapehead passed on me in the S47 SHL entry draft. I can’t imagine being more fortunate than falling to Edmonton, but I’m a salty bastard.
2- Manhattan’s balanced approach is going to give them the edge in the challenge cup series. Resting your players (no matter the endurance levels) is important in keeping the ice even and not committing penalties/giving up power play opportunities. As the ice shifts throughout the series, it will be easier for Manhattan to make adjustments, be it in ice time or line building, while San Francisco will be a little more handcuffed.
3- The pride’s color scheme and jerseys are far superior. But for the logo itself, the advantage goes to the Rage. The Pride’s lion’s eyes are crossed (big detractor), and the strokes of the outer white seem a little off, limiting it to 4 core colors is good though, and they are used effectively, as opposed to Manhattan’s. Manhattan’s logo has a superior shape to it, but the dark red is pretty weak, as it is only used as an accent color. Also the Rage’s logo cant be translated to a one color logo. On the internet, that’s fine, but in real life it's a nightmare for marketing.
4- My favorite player name on the San Francisco Pride is Leopold Lockhart. It is such a “liony” name, and the impression that his signature has had on me over the past few seasons makes it synonymous with his franchise. Leo the Lion. I bet everyone got a free 0.5 uncapped during that draft. For the Manhattan Rage, I like Backdoor Barnacle. I’m not sure if its a reference to genital warts, possibly herpes around the anus, or even hemorrhoids (didn’t need spell check! Because im smart, not because i have them), but potty humor makes me giggle.
5- I don’t know raincloud too well, but i think I would opt for his/her internet history. I choose this because I am a context whore. I like long meandering stories, i like unnecessary background, and i think true detective season 2 is a perfectly fine season of television (it's not television, its HBO). The couch hang where someone has to put their ipod on shuffle is great. It’s a bunch of raised eyebrows as the ipod owner explains why that song is on their ipod. The internet history is similar. You get to know a person and what’s important to them, and the explanations are always fun stories.

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