Agree with Kyan all around. I think the scariest team is actually the Tropical Trolls team - novice, spaceman, uberfish, Plako... If they all are active, that's a really strong team. Read PBEM17 - Novice and Spaceman used Sury of India and lapped the field so badly that a 4v1 happened - and considering the talent in that game that was an achievement.
On paper Team Pirate might not seem terrifying, but don't discount the cheerleader effect. Oledavy has an enthusiasm for big events and it's contagious. I do believe the biggest factor in T3's excellent PB6 performance was because oledavy was so enthusiastic that it caught on for StM and WarriorKnight. Both of those guys are underrated players IMO, and Pindicator is very strong too. They also tend to have the "most likable" team, and I think if they choose their diplomat wisely that'll be an advantage for them.
I think team Menagerie is actually the "weakest" team on paper, and I think that says more about the quality of this game than it does about them... Lord Parkin is a very strong player and he has Huayna which he loves, so I still expect them to play very well unless LP doesn't participate much. They'll get to dictate a lot of which wonders they'll get, so we'll need to spend some serious time thinking about which they're likely to target. Good thing to discuss actually - which wonders appeal to which teams.
Not much to add about TEAM. If Ruff is playing for real, he may take charge of diplo, otherwise, no idea. I think the performance of this team is heavily tied to how much Krill participates.
On paper Team Pirate might not seem terrifying, but don't discount the cheerleader effect. Oledavy has an enthusiasm for big events and it's contagious. I do believe the biggest factor in T3's excellent PB6 performance was because oledavy was so enthusiastic that it caught on for StM and WarriorKnight. Both of those guys are underrated players IMO, and Pindicator is very strong too. They also tend to have the "most likable" team, and I think if they choose their diplomat wisely that'll be an advantage for them.
I think team Menagerie is actually the "weakest" team on paper, and I think that says more about the quality of this game than it does about them... Lord Parkin is a very strong player and he has Huayna which he loves, so I still expect them to play very well unless LP doesn't participate much. They'll get to dictate a lot of which wonders they'll get, so we'll need to spend some serious time thinking about which they're likely to target. Good thing to discuss actually - which wonders appeal to which teams.
Not much to add about TEAM. If Ruff is playing for real, he may take charge of diplo, otherwise, no idea. I think the performance of this team is heavily tied to how much Krill participates.