Ok, opponent commentary continues..
Group 2: Strong Contenders
Commodore, Gavagai, GermanJoey, Pindicator, Plako
In the second group we have quite different profiles, but the common nominator is that all the players have skills to take the trophy if things go a tiny bit their way.
GermanJoey and Gavagai have to my knowledge performed well in the recent games and deserve to be considered key challengers for the favorite group. GJ would in addition be the worst possible neighbor for us. Competent player + too much bad blood from previous games would very likely lead to us both losing after a non-enjoyable game.
Plako is an interesting animal. Plako has extremely strong civ understanding and instincts, but I haven’t really seen impressive early games from him (during the past couple of years) and in PB13 when the early game was a success I think he should have taken the game with his position. Previous observations are probably linked to an overall casual attitude. To put it simply (and assuming plako does not change his casual attitude), if plako does not get an above average start (land quality / neighbors) Plako might end up in a non-relevant position like in PB18. However, give plako an easy neighbor for eating, he immediately becomes a powerhouse with his vast mid/late-game knowledge.
With Commodore and Pindicator I was actually not 100 % sure if they should be in this group. It’s a somewhat similar story as with plako. Enough potential and skill? Yes. Casual attitude losing the game? Maybe. I have seen more engaged performances from Pindicator and Commodore than from plako, so I guess it’s more likely that these guys will be in a good position when the mid game starts. However, regarding the ability to convert the position in to the actual win, I’m slightly more concerned.
Group 2: Strong Contenders
Commodore, Gavagai, GermanJoey, Pindicator, Plako
In the second group we have quite different profiles, but the common nominator is that all the players have skills to take the trophy if things go a tiny bit their way.
GermanJoey and Gavagai have to my knowledge performed well in the recent games and deserve to be considered key challengers for the favorite group. GJ would in addition be the worst possible neighbor for us. Competent player + too much bad blood from previous games would very likely lead to us both losing after a non-enjoyable game.
Plako is an interesting animal. Plako has extremely strong civ understanding and instincts, but I haven’t really seen impressive early games from him (during the past couple of years) and in PB13 when the early game was a success I think he should have taken the game with his position. Previous observations are probably linked to an overall casual attitude. To put it simply (and assuming plako does not change his casual attitude), if plako does not get an above average start (land quality / neighbors) Plako might end up in a non-relevant position like in PB18. However, give plako an easy neighbor for eating, he immediately becomes a powerhouse with his vast mid/late-game knowledge.
With Commodore and Pindicator I was actually not 100 % sure if they should be in this group. It’s a somewhat similar story as with plako. Enough potential and skill? Yes. Casual attitude losing the game? Maybe. I have seen more engaged performances from Pindicator and Commodore than from plako, so I guess it’s more likely that these guys will be in a good position when the mid game starts. However, regarding the ability to convert the position in to the actual win, I’m slightly more concerned.