hmmmmm....

[Blind Cide]

As a semi-related aside, I do however find this rather cautious, shoot-first, then score approach to TS rather boring. It really down-plays driving skills and relegates TS to Battlemode with a flag. I know it can be a very effective tactic, cuts down on the whole leroy thing, but good grief it's dull.

^ 'nuff said.

These lists are humorous and should be titled "laggy beeshes". Bolo is the only player that has been scientifically proven to be better than everyone else at some point in time (the Chicago gathering). The rest of us are part laggy beesh, part skill, and nobody can make a meaningful measurement of the ratio.

[stinkfingers]

I also like that Bolo proves M Mouse's point. As soon as he got a gal his game went straight to sh*t. Now that the novelty of marriage has worn off, he's back in game.

Sup, others: like weasel said, folks are reading too much into my post. I'm not talking about specific players (re: the robot play) but a specific tactic I guess. Again, it's just my take and others will have a different opinion.

I vastly prefer scrum with guns to battle mode with a flag. Of course BM with a flag really does work as a tactic, so hard to knock it's effectiveness. It's really just the prejudice of an old timey scrummer. I'm just not going to rate a player as superior if this is the only way he plays.

Having said this, we all know that some players specialize in goal protection and these players are always dead eyes. I do value this specialization and recognize these players as highly skilled scrummers. I hope I'm explaining the difference. I appreciate a good goal tender (w perhaps Belikin being the best, or maybe Par...Woot used to perform this role too) but it doesn't follow that these guys use the robot offensive strategy.

I hope that makes sense. I'll give another example. Say there's a team that has several good shooters on it. They approach the goal cautiously and start shooting out players, and they are getting the upper hand. Eventually they end up in a 2 on 2 situation at the goal, even odds. But then, rather then press the goal, they continue to shoot and keep the flag away, hoping to get a 2 on 0 situation. If they don't because of goal spawns or the time it takes allows the opponents to regroup, they back it out, reset and press again in the same fashion.

I'm yelling J.F.C! I'll take a 2 on 2 at the goal any day of the week. I can beat the first guy if my guy can put a block on the second. When I'm playing with someone who, rather than put the block on his guy, continues to hang back and shoot, I'm flabbergasted. It's weeny scrum, and it's boring. BM with a flag.

[parCAT]

When I'm playing with someone who, rather than put the block on his guy, continues to hang back and shoot, I'm flabbergasted. It's weeny scrum, and it's boring. BM with a flag.

Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou.

FINALLY someone says it! What has happened to pressing the goal with another player (while you have the scrum) and having them make a block instead of shooting the whole team out? It's like blocks are optional now, not as essential and critical to the game as much as before. It's a freakin shoot-out showdown at the goal the majority of the time whenever the team with the scrum heads toward it. Ridiculous.

[Master TMO]

Not being an active player, this is purely guesswork, but I would imagine it's part of a dynamic play style evolution.

Perhaps it happened something like this:
* Rushing the goal, fairly common, results in either a score for your team or the opponent.
* Teams start working on their goal defense skills. Rushing the goal starts resulting in scoring for the opponent more often.
* Teams start shooting goal defenders rather than rushing. Resulting in a higher score ratio for when you do rush, but lower scores overall since the games tend to devolve into brawls around the goals.

As a suggestion, see if you can re-engineer the poisonous gas fumes around the goal that somebody (z?) used to have. Don't make it too powerful, just enough to weaken defenders to the point that it becomes worthwhile again to move out of the goal and engage in fights across the countryside rather than camping.

[jangles]

Was that "Jangles" enough for ya?

A little more swag and you're almost there

So Weas and Woot and Stink on the same team? What were you fools thinking? Prepare to crown us, b**ches.

Bolo (or Triv) , DJ, and I await you.

Weasel, I applaud you for your rabble rousing. You're obviously getting so good and not getting laid enough that you've run out of peeps to challenge you. If it weren't for that dang dj, you'd definitely be tops. I mean we all see it, right? Plus, your competitive prowess in all the organized tourneys for the last 7 years shows us that you are most definitely number...errrr....2?

These lists are really, really stupid. We ALL know who, if it weren't for wives/girlfriends, kids and careers would be at the top. Pick up games, Psychoscrum and TBM may give you some idea. But 3 on 3 is the ultimate test - defeats the spawn ( to some extent), shows you team play and shooting and running prowess. There's a reason Psychoscrum isn't 3 on 3 and it's because you'd have only a handful of teams mowing down the rest.

All time best players in no particular order: HankstaTanksta (no more dominate player in the first 3 years), Bolo (took over the reins and as BC said and RX told me face to face, completely pwned at the Chicago convention), DJ Breaka (he's number one now right?) and Triv/trash (He and Wiz dominated EVERYBODY 2 on 2). Funny how these guys are all my teammates, eh?

HankstaTanksta, Bolo, jangles 40-0 over a 3 year period. (And Bolo was just a noob when we signed him up!)

Bolo, DJ, jangles 15-0 over a 2 year period (RX covered for Bolo during one of the finals and we won)

Triv, DJ, jangles 1-1 (we played T-34, Magenta, RX and these were the best games I've played over the last year! Drenched in sweat, heart-poundingly good!) Where's Magenta and RX in that list?

Get Some, Fishtank, Memphis 8-0 (I believe that was their record, would still love to play these guys.) Why aren't Fish and Memph at the top?

So Weasel, you got the response you wanted. Man up and play us. I've asked you in game for years now. I'll happily take a few hours to brush up just so I can get to the top of your list.

J

[stinkfingers]

Jangles flips over his rock!

There it is! That's what we're talking about. Jang, for you new guys, was a member of the fearsome tanksta/dj/jang and dj/bolo/jang 3v3 dynasties, as he said. These were the first true dominating forces in TS. Really the first scrummers to bust out the guns big-time.

there was a time that his name belonged in all discussions of top 5s.

sadly, that time has passed, though when he drinks enough -- he forgets. and blaming this on your wife, J? why not blame the beer? canadian beer has a lot to answer for. how much beer is there in the candian intelligence anyway?

J will need to find some excuse to spend more time in the basement on the computer before he can really live up to those challenges, but perhaps we will see...

I do agree also that hanksta tanksta (though a bigger wankster never existed) really was a pioneer in this game, and was the top dog for a year or so. all hail, etc. jang, not everyone here has as long a memory, so fish, memph, rx and others you mention aren't on the list because they haven't been playing much of late, that's all. this is a two sided coin of course: while they haven't been playing, others have. meaning that others have gotten better as the absentees have gotten rusty. hard to compare anything from different eras. magenta has been playing lately, and is every bit as good as he's always been. I don't really make lists of players, but if i did he'd be right up there...

see what you got all riled up Weas? just like the old days! Sweet!

[Weasel]

Wow maybe some old rusty players will post now since this thread is in full force.

Calm yourself jangles no need to write an essay. I'll assemble my team cause you're dying to challenge me. You arent the problem, it's easy to see and say that Weasel is better than jangles.

[stinkfingers]

par: i see what you mean. after playing again after a protracted absence, I was sort of befuddled by the lack of blocking at the goal. that's what i've been saying: people have gotten too conservative and too reliant on guns. i had a hard time getting back into my flow. start to doubt myself. then i play a game with some of the old scrummers and i'm right back into it. fast paced, balanced but semi-chaotic scrum. i love that style. of course, it's heavily reliant on blocking at the goal.

and there are some folks out there that have forgotten about blocking. so useful.

[Weasel]

true but you have to adjust when your team cant block and you're on the short bus or the games are so intense that a play with nice blocks at the goal is a rarity so you have to resort to shooting.

[stinkfingers]

all bets are off when you're riding the short bus. shooting and backing off is probably the only option left.