As I'm banned right now and for the next few months there's no way I can do predictions so I'm putting the vorbometer in retirement and I bring you......
The Blindometer
Hell, you didn't think I actually put any thought into my predictions did you? That's Mauler's job. So the fact that I can't enter the zone and have no idea who's playing well and who half the squads actually are shouldn't make any difference at all, it might make them better. So with the pre-season starting up I thought I'd do a squad review. As the WarRoom has disappeared and I don't have posting rights on the Premier Times I'll just do them on here. Bring back SS Impact. If you have any comments or opinions then tell them to High Voltage. He'll answer any idiotic post.
7rominence
Coming back for their second season is the wz noob troop that is 7rom. With more or less the same roster as last season you'd expect to see some improvement and a playoff spot a realistic goal for them. But if anyone has seen their development in WZL they know this is unlikely. 7rom might be the only training squad in ss history to turn out players worse than when they joined so don't expect much from them this season.
Blindometer: Below .500
Key players: Fishibaron
squad most likely to: wish they stayed in warzone
watch out for: Fishibaron looking at Betrayal tearing up Pro with a little tear in his eye
BLaCK STaR
AML this season has a real Warzone flavour to it and here's an old wz name filled with wz vets. I was going to make BS one of my favourites for the title, but I've noticed that 9-Volt is no longer on the roster. This puts a lot of pressure on a small roster to show and produce without their most aggressive player. I think BS are one of those squads that will go undefeated through the regular season or get kicked out for no-shows. I don't think there will be any in between with them, It'll be death or glory.
Blindometer: If they show final four. If they don't kicked from the league
Key players: CruelVenom, Disint
squad most likely to: Win 12-0 one week and no-show the next
watch out for: CruelVenom pissing off anyone he talks to
BlackNike
To be honest I don't know why they're even bothering. Without me this squad is nothing. They won't win a single game, they probably won't get a single kill. Without my skill and leadership this squad is dead.
Blindometer: will lose every game 12-0
Key players: Vorbis (banned)
squad most likely to: dissolve
don't watch out for: me
Blitzed
The question mark about Blitzed is the question mark. Can ploss? play as ploss? or will ploss? have to play as ploss and not ploss?. Or he could put us all out of our misery and play as borAX. The fact that morphine has been working hard on this suggests that a lot of blizted's big names are inactive. Blitzed have a great captain and a deep and experienced roster but their problem has always been activity and of course whether ChronicFlash has decided to use reps this season or not. We'll probably have a better idea where they stand after pre-season.
Blindometer: sneak into playoffs
Key players: Morphine, Plumpy, ChronicFlash
squad most likely to: forget that AML has reps
watch out for: The thrilling conclusion to the question mark debate
Damn_Yankees
The wz invasion continues with the return of the South Americans. They bring lag, they bring levs and they bring 10 man defense. This could be the first team to try a 10 man defense in a 4v4 game. A great squad to watch if you love levs in boxes or if you're an insomniac.
Blindometer: below .500
Key players: Belfast
squad most likely to: go for a majority flag win
watch out for: Lev bomb lines
Dedication
A bit of a mongrel squad here with bits from Wretcheds, Ferrum and Victimise joining together for no real reason I can see. I was on a draft league squad with Pers and he was a pretty good captain so I expect him to get this squad playing together as a team, but I don't expect them to do anything much this season. Definitely a work in progress.
Blindometer: around .500 missing out on the playoffs
Key players: Purple, scary
squad most likely to: not offend anyone
watch out for: Dedication next season
Disavowed
Seph>We're back
Except seph isn't on the roster as far as I can tell. Pretty much the same roster dis has had for the last few seasons. I'm not sure how active Kurtz , Blaze, eternal and MD yellow dancer are. If they are active then this puts dis in the title favourites bracket. If not then they'll have to rely on players like Doobie, gold, and Mailliw who are all solid pilots but only play hockey zone now. Also the last couple of time Dis have played AML they went into the playoffs as one of the favourites and choked big time. And having High Voltage on the roster for a week, what was all that about?
Blindometer: Undefeated in the regular season, lose first playoff game
Key players: Kurtz, eternal, MD
squad most likely to: be playing hockey when their match is called
watch out for: Seph saying something like 'we're back' just before choking in the playoffs
ElementalForces
The squad of Alpha newbs who stunk up AML is now almost unrecognisable now after some heavy recruiting by SkyOne. I can see them making the playoffs but not getting that deep. Also any squad that has haz-mat in it is going to have problems at some point.
Blindometer: Playoffs
Key players: Sapphire & Tonic, Something Dutch
squad most likely to: Be so nice you want to punch them
watch out for: haz-mat getting cut
EpiK
EpiK have a good starting four but haven't got the depth behind them to make a real push for the title. That's been true of them for the last couple of seasons and it looks like the same story for them again here.
Blindometer: Playoffs
Key players: Passplay, Intelli
squad most likely to: appreciate early 80's British Goth bands
watch out for: Passplay destroying a squad on his own at least once this season (don't make him angry, you won't like him when he's angry)
Krieger
A merger of WarGods and Sail boats. So why Krieger? why not WarBoats or Sail Gods? Warsailgodboats, I would be proud to fly for a squad named that. There's a lot of egos in this squad and a few people who have been responsible for their former squads collapsing. If they can get on they could have a real chance of making the final four or they could self destruct in pre-season. I'm guessing at least one player will quit during their first game. The favourite being Blinky with Airwalkr a close second. Oh, and Tech is a [sexual biggotry].
Blindometer: Final four
Key players: Crumbs, Fat, Phat
squad most likely to: self destruct
watch out for: Tech refusing to attack anyone with a bty over 50
Liquid Inc.
More or less the same roster as last season although the loss of more marjorum is a big hole to fill. Picking up Bob D'Mule will help some. A combination of experience, teamwork and euro lag will take them into the playoffs but not as far as last season.
Blindometer: Playoffs
Key players: Malmox, Bob D'Mule, Faid
squad most likely to: break the ?lag command
watch out for: Sabretooth starting Pension, Proxy and Speed in the same game and the server exploding.
OldShift
Even with Jaakko moving on up to pro with Redshift, Oldshift look a stronger squad than last season and should be a final four contender. Evar, Air, Shikaa and Genocide make an excellent starting four and with people like Eldritch, Rayjay and Megus coming off the bench I expect them to go far in the playoffs.
Blindometer: Final Four
Key players: Air, Shikaa, Genocide
squad most likely to: Be called the new Dissent
watch out for: people calling OldShift the new Dissent
ReDs
A lot of familiar names, but I can't see them doing anything. The average age of this squad is 78 and they're just not physically up to it anymore. It's hard to rep when you have osteoporosis and even harder to spot mine reps with cataracts. And how are you supposed to schedule games when it's lights out at 6pm at the Sunshine Home for the Elderly and Bewildered? Guys, stick to chugging around in terriers in Warzone. You don't want any excitement at your age now, do you?
Blindometer: Playoffs
Key players: nivaG, treetop
squad most likely to: all die of a heart attack mid-match
watch out for: Rak'kars kung fu death grip
Secret
I don't know why Secret are still running two rosters in AML and IML. They looked pretty thin last season and even more so now since Nocarbon became a llama. I can't see the AML version of Secret doing much if anything this season.
Blindometer: around .500 missing the playoffs
Key players: Whirl, Nerve Impulse
squad most likely to: spread themselves too thin
watch out for: A single Secret roster in IML by the start of the regular season
SkyRakers
If the Premier League staff were Charlie Brown then SkyRakers would be the football. No matter how many times SkyRakers no-show the staff still let them back in and guess what happens? And guess what will happen this Sunday?
SS CRIPS
I'm worried about Crips this season. They have a roster of six. Bukk won't know what to do with himself. He might have to choose starting lines and even make subs. Crips always do better when their roster is Bukkwild and macksks. They need to cut everyone else now.
Blindometer: Below .500
Key players: bukkwild, macksks
squad most likely to: show two
watch out for: bukk scheduling in caps
StarFire Elite
What can you say about StarFire Elite that hasn't been said every season since the dawn of time? It's the same players playing the same way and grinding out the wins just like last season and the season before that and the season before the season before that. Expect another solid season although I doubt they'll get as far as the final like they did two seasons ago.
Blindometer: Playoffs
Key players: The Diest-, Alperri
squad most likely to: Finish the regular season unbeaten without anyone noticing
watch out for: Maulers crap predications
Undermined
This is Nightbane's AML name for this season, although they haven't got the depth that they've had in the last couple of seasons. Sister, Imposter and Hobbes.fu make a good three but after that things start to get a bit thin and unless they can improve that depth I think Nightbane will have to get used to the way things were when Nightbane were known as Nightbane.
Blindometer: Around .500 missing the playoffs
Key players: Sister, Imposter, Hobbes.fu
squad most likely to: Change their name mid-season
watch out for: Imposter challenging the ref to a name duel when he's asked for his starters.
Unit
I'm not sure about this squad. First of all there's the pro roster which looks a lot weaker than their AML roster. Then there's the size of the squad. That's a lot of people to keep happy and it's not easy, I know. One of the reasons I finally pulled the plug on Victimise was that is was just too big to manage. Finally there's Dre as captain. I played on Dre's DSBL squad which folded in pre-season. All that makes me think that Unit won't make it. a 23 man AML roster competing for playing time with a Pro roster getting hammered as a millstone round their neck plus a dodgy squad captain all added together equals chokus maximus.
Blindometer: Below .500
Key players: merce, Trismo
squad most likely to: blow it
watch out for: The threads on the forum after the season is over
Warlords
I think Warlords is Latin for stagnant. Since Dissent was first formed and Warlords lost their entire starting four they've been treading water. The roster is pretty much the same as last season and the season before. And I expect the same result. They'll show, they'll even compete but without that spark they'll lose. So if you're looking for fun and excitement then find out which arena Warlords are playing. Then go somewhere else.
Blindometer: Below .500
Key players: Mizerie, Fuzzy
squad most likely to: Empty the spec freq
watch out for: The apocalypse