SX Phase 1 Week 3
Top Four Solidifies
#1
Camelot Kings
4-0 (1st Order)
Previous ranking: 1
What is it like to face the Kings? Picture you’re the Eldritch Hounds—a scrappy, up-and-coming team that just clawed its way to a Fire Giant advantage over the defending champions. You start your siege of their base; you can taste the upset victory. Suddenly, the game is over. You lost.
The Kings aren’t a perfect team. It’s not interesting to say that the Kings make mistakes sometimes. What is interesting is how consistently they seem to limit the damage from the mistakes they do make. There is a sense of dread that comes with watching their opponents play a lead. 2000 gold, 5000 gold, a Fire Giant. It just never feels like enough. The entire time the Kings appear to be bending and decidedly not breaking. Eventually, they’re dancing around the Fire Giant meticulously; their opponent appears to have a window. They do not. Not even seconds after they seize the opportunity do the Kings slam it shut. You thought, maybe, for a second, the Kings were vulnerable. We all did. But it was only for a second.
This week: Gladiators, Ravens
#2
Oni Warriors
4-0 (1st Chaos)
Previous ranking: 2
The Warriors find a way. It is already overplayed at this point to call the Warriors chaotic, but it fits all too well. Their results have run the gamut. A wire-to-wire victory, a loss where they scarcely led, surprise comeback wins, near comebacks that weren’t meant to be. The Warriors haven’t played a clean set yet; their only 2-0 came on the strength of a game 2 three-phoenix comeback. Yet, they still manage to win. In fact, these Warriors have yet to lose a set since their inception. There’s nothing clean about it. I’m not entirely sure they even fully understand what they’re doing, but they’re going to beat you anyways.
This week: Ravens, Gladiators
#3
Highland Ravens
3-1 (2nd Order)
Previous ranking: 3
Okay, the Ravens lost last week to the Dragons. Simple logic would suggest that when a team defeats the team directly above them in the standings, they should perhaps switch places. However, I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility for a marginally worse team to upset a better team in the head-to-head, especially when the set was as close as it was and that margin of separation is as razor-thin as the Dragons and Ravens. And to be clear, when I say razor thin I mean vanishingly thin.
Why so bullish on the Ravens, then? Their wins over the Ferrymen were particularly convincing. In game 1, the Ravens had a stalwart comeback where the advantage seemed to change hands several times until it looked like the Ferrymen, on the strength of Paul’s heroics, had finally won out. But the Fire Giant dances from the Ravens were almost Kings-esque in their patience and coordination, ultimately allowing them to steal the match. In game 2, the Ravens led from the jump and never let their boot off of the Ferrymen’s necks. That series showcased both their resolve and their pace, cementing, in my mind, that they are still a top three team. This week, the Ravens face a massive test against the Warriors and Kings. If they can steal one of those sets, it will dispel a lot of doubt.
I mean, just watch this play.
Absolutely bonkers.
This week: Warriors, Kings
#4
Jade Dragons
2-2 (2nd Chaos)
Previous ranking: 4
Don’t despair, Dragons fans. If I am wrong to rank them at #4, we shall all soon know, after which I invite you to mock me. It wouldn’t be surprising, either. There is plenty to love about this Dragons team. The pace and macro are dramatically improved from their S9 Warriors iteration. A huge part of that is LASBRA, who gets involved earlier and more often than QvoFred of last year. PolarBearMike, of course, plays at a pace leaps and bounds faster than NeilMah, which thus far has seemed to benefit Vote more than anyone else. Either 3rd or 4th, the Dragons are clearly a top team right now, and this week they will have the chance to further cement that status against the Leviathans and Ferrymen. Yes, the Dragons are favored in both sets, but posting two clean victories against the “best of the rest” this week would be a statement nonetheless. We’re just two weeks in, but are these Dragons legitimate contenders? So far, a resounding yes.
This week: Leviathans, Ferrymen
#5
Atlantis Leviathans
1-3 (3rd Chaos)
Previous ranking: 6
There isn’t much to say about this Leviathans team. Sheento still isn’t stateside, and his absence seems to be costing this team more than other players on other teams who have yet to make it to Georgia, perhaps due to greater ping difficulties
That said, there’s plenty to like. Their matches have been competitive. The talent is obviously there. I said sleeping giant last week, this week I will say they are something of a ticking time bomb. We will see how many of these metaphors I can muster before the promise of this team comes true. Godspeed, Sheento.
This week: Hounds, Dragons
#6
Styx Ferrymen
1-3 (T-3rd Order)
Previous ranking: 5
It would be unfair for me to use this space to talk solely about Cyno, so let me ask you, readers, for forgiveness in advance.
It’s not entirely his fault he struggled so mightily last week. Sometimes the game just doesn’t like you. It’s nobody’s fault. Cyno is unorthodox in a meta where jungle is full of orthodox picks and builds. He’s a set-up jungler in a meta where junglers are pace-pushers. He has earned a lot of goodwill in his career playing this style. Will it eventually click? Will he suffer all season? If so, how long is his leash? Sure, the Ferrymen want to win, but they aren’t pressed about a few losses in April. Cyno and the Ferrymen have a long time to sort it out, but it looked rough last week.
This week: Hounds, Dragons
#7
Eldritch Hounds
1-3 (T-3rd Order)
Previous ranking: 7
BennyQ is like the Cyno of the mid lane—unorthodox. Only BennyQ doesn’t have the track record of success that Cyno does. If the meta hates Cyno, then BennyQ hates the meta. He doesn’t play off-picks because that’s what has worked for him; they have decidedly not worked. He seems to play them because the meta mages are completely uninteresting to him. It cost the Valkyries, and it may be costing the Hounds. Sure, beating the Kings was always a tough call, but with a Fire Giant and a lead, BennyQ’s Atlas mid looked more like a liability than an asset as they gave away their advantage and ultimately lost. Incidentally, against the Gladiators, his Agni and Merlin looked much more consistent, albeit against weaker competition.
Outside of BennyQ, the rest of the Hounds are still rough around the edges. Quig and VaporishCoast have performed admirably as an all-rookie duo lane, but have struggled to dominate opponents. Oathhh has been the definition of feast or famine, carrying a teamfight one engagement and selling it the next. Duck3y is perhaps the most frustrating player on this roster, however. Against the Kings he made plays that seemingly sparked hope for the Hounds, only to whiff a Thor ult and over-commit, losing costly fight for the Hounds on more than one occasion.
This week: Leviathans, Ferrymen
#8
Gilded —iators
0-4 (4th Chaos)
Previous ranking: 8
Nothing glad about this team. They still have yet to win a match, and their one shot at the fellow play-in Hounds has slipped away with a depressing 2-0. Kyrmi seemed to rise to the occasion, posting 12 of the team’s 24 total kills that set, but it was so, so far from enough. Stuart, usually stingy with respect to giving up kills, died 6 times in game 1. Absolutely nothing is working for this team right now. It’s the kind of hole nearly every last place team in SMITE has experienced—and almost none have escaped. This week, the Gladiators will face the Kings and the Warriors. Woof.
This week: Kings, Warriors
