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I hope Dave doesn't mind if I start this thread, but very soon one of the Wizard message board's biggest games is coming to PoP! in Survival of the Fittest. The way the game works is people contact Dave (shining knight) with a list of draft picks of anyone from the realm of fiction where generally it works from who you want most at top and lesser picks below in order of desire (keep lists private or someone can steal your group). Teams are made and pitted against each other for votes from forum members. The earlier your list is submitted, the better your shot. I think submissions start soon, so start your research and keep your eyes peeled. Thing is, often times people make teams of favorites and then watch them crash and burn much to their chagrin. So, I wanted to take this opportunity to try and help people build their teams. First, my credentials; in the first SOTF, my team came in second place, in the three subsequent tournaments I came in first including the one to just end. For SOTF V, I have decided to bow out and retire though winning teams move on to the next game and in the next installment two of my teams will move on (the two I created for SOTF IV). Now, on to how to build a team.
You have to imagine your group will come across any multitude of threats. For example, in past games Dave has had rounds where those with powers lose them. Thus, if a team is made of super-beings, they become a group of hopeless losers. Other times, setting has played a part where characters of certain origins receive bonuses (anime, fantasy, technology, martial artists, etc); if the fight took place in Japan, an anime character got bonuses; if in Faerun, fantasy characters receive bonuses, etc. Sometimes, you might lose one of your fighters for a round. So, teams must be diverse in background and abilities. My formula has been: magic user, technology user, martial artist/spy, power house, psionic, and wild card. I recommend trying to draw characters from comic books, anime, cartoons, films/television, video games, and books (if possible, drawing at least one from each medium).
Next comes a warning: NEVER pick favorites. Rarely does it ever work out. Simply put, you have a biased view of a character you love. This bias can mean a fatal mistake in picking your team. Further, pick recognizable characters; Superman, Batman, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Luke Skywalker, Jason Vorhees, Godzilla, Jack Bauer, He-Man, Optimus Prime, Aragorn Strider (LoTR), Harry Potter, Gandalf the White, Merlin, Goku (DBZ)... everyone knows who these people are. If people have to look your character up, they won't. There could be an awesome story with a character out there, but if everyone knows him/her for being a joke, they're a joke.
Now that you got an idea of how to start, next consider if your team of world beaters takes on another team of world beaters, how will that play out? Well, first consider if your team can work together. If you got Darkseid, Apocalypse, Sauron (LoTR), Megatron, Ganon (Legend of Zelda), and Orochimaru (Naruto), a truly terrifying team, how come they fall to Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Martian Manhunter, and Flash (Wally West)? Well, a few reasons. The chief is that the villain group I described is a bunch of alphas, or leaders, who will have about zero team work. That may work with many teams, but if someone puts a lot of thought into a team that could work well as a team, if someone is trying to decide who to go with, they'll probably note the better team than a group of individuals. Next, the hero group I listed has worked together in the past, they know each other intimately, so there's no missteps in getting their bearings. Finally, time and again especially towards the finale, voters turn on obvious killers like the villain group I listed. Simply put, there's no fun if the entire group has people that can wipe out a team single-handedly. So, you want to make a team of strong, diverse, and recognizable fighters, they had also better seem to work well as a team.
Finally, marketability. Image is about as important as everything else. Pick a team name that stands out, seems to denote strength, and is memorable. Make a banner with their images on it and put it in your signature to bring them attention. Campaign for your team, say why they'd win their fight in the battle; it rarely makes a difference for that battle, but it makes people better remember them next round and shows your interested in the game because I'd say many of the consistent voters are either players or people who follow the game and if your team is attached to your energy, they go up in others' rankings. Although, this can be a double-edged sword. Out-and-out bad mouthing an opposing team or player generally see people turn on a player. Blowing up if losing to a team shows poor sportsmanship and will be remembered next round. Provide intelligent, well written reasons why your team would win. These are by no means all the tools at your disposable, though. Heck, often times in game finales, I'll PM friends to vote for my teams. I think that PMing people in the final round won me SOTF III when going against several other really strong teams.
Below is a list of my teams:
SOTF I
The End
Shuma-Gorath (Marvel), Maelstrom (Marvel), Midara Uchiha (Naruto), Hoondarrh (Dungeons & Dragons), Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII), Apocalypse, Kid Buu, and High Evolutionary (Marvel)
SOTF II
The Nightmare
Djinn (Wishmaster), Dracula, Bomb Queen (Image Comics), Brother Eye (DC Comics), Light Yagami (Death Note), Roy Batty (Blade Runner), Trypticon (Transformers), and Sauron (LoTR)
SOTF III
Justice Avengers
Captain America, Doctor Strange, Professor Xavier, Wolverine of Earth X-Men Millennial Visions, Iron Man, Vision, Immortus (Marvel), Hulk of Earth-Wolverine was an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Silver Surfer of Earth-7888/Earth-M/Earth-Moebius, and the Pre-Crisis JLA of Earth-One founding members (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash and Green Lantern)
The Revelation
Yu-Law (Jet Li's the One), Cyborg Superman, Dark Samus (Metroid), Thanos, Lord Palpatine (Star Wars), Kang (Marvel), Baby Vegeta (DBGT), Kyuubi (Naruto), Homunculi (Full Metal Alchemist), and Lord Voldemort (Harry Potter)
SOTF IV
Brotherhood of the Bat
Batman, Green Lantern (Bruce Wayne, In Darkest Knight), Dark Claw (Amalgam Comics), Batman 1,000,000 (DC One Million), Superman (Bruce Wayne, Speeding Bullets), and Batmage
The Empire
Apocalypse, Midara Uchiha (Naruto), King Ghidorah (Godzilla), Perfect Cell (DBZ), Dark Phoenix, and Freddy Krueger (Nightmare on Elm Street)
You have to imagine your group will come across any multitude of threats. For example, in past games Dave has had rounds where those with powers lose them. Thus, if a team is made of super-beings, they become a group of hopeless losers. Other times, setting has played a part where characters of certain origins receive bonuses (anime, fantasy, technology, martial artists, etc); if the fight took place in Japan, an anime character got bonuses; if in Faerun, fantasy characters receive bonuses, etc. Sometimes, you might lose one of your fighters for a round. So, teams must be diverse in background and abilities. My formula has been: magic user, technology user, martial artist/spy, power house, psionic, and wild card. I recommend trying to draw characters from comic books, anime, cartoons, films/television, video games, and books (if possible, drawing at least one from each medium).
Next comes a warning: NEVER pick favorites. Rarely does it ever work out. Simply put, you have a biased view of a character you love. This bias can mean a fatal mistake in picking your team. Further, pick recognizable characters; Superman, Batman, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Luke Skywalker, Jason Vorhees, Godzilla, Jack Bauer, He-Man, Optimus Prime, Aragorn Strider (LoTR), Harry Potter, Gandalf the White, Merlin, Goku (DBZ)... everyone knows who these people are. If people have to look your character up, they won't. There could be an awesome story with a character out there, but if everyone knows him/her for being a joke, they're a joke.
Now that you got an idea of how to start, next consider if your team of world beaters takes on another team of world beaters, how will that play out? Well, first consider if your team can work together. If you got Darkseid, Apocalypse, Sauron (LoTR), Megatron, Ganon (Legend of Zelda), and Orochimaru (Naruto), a truly terrifying team, how come they fall to Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Martian Manhunter, and Flash (Wally West)? Well, a few reasons. The chief is that the villain group I described is a bunch of alphas, or leaders, who will have about zero team work. That may work with many teams, but if someone puts a lot of thought into a team that could work well as a team, if someone is trying to decide who to go with, they'll probably note the better team than a group of individuals. Next, the hero group I listed has worked together in the past, they know each other intimately, so there's no missteps in getting their bearings. Finally, time and again especially towards the finale, voters turn on obvious killers like the villain group I listed. Simply put, there's no fun if the entire group has people that can wipe out a team single-handedly. So, you want to make a team of strong, diverse, and recognizable fighters, they had also better seem to work well as a team.
Finally, marketability. Image is about as important as everything else. Pick a team name that stands out, seems to denote strength, and is memorable. Make a banner with their images on it and put it in your signature to bring them attention. Campaign for your team, say why they'd win their fight in the battle; it rarely makes a difference for that battle, but it makes people better remember them next round and shows your interested in the game because I'd say many of the consistent voters are either players or people who follow the game and if your team is attached to your energy, they go up in others' rankings. Although, this can be a double-edged sword. Out-and-out bad mouthing an opposing team or player generally see people turn on a player. Blowing up if losing to a team shows poor sportsmanship and will be remembered next round. Provide intelligent, well written reasons why your team would win. These are by no means all the tools at your disposable, though. Heck, often times in game finales, I'll PM friends to vote for my teams. I think that PMing people in the final round won me SOTF III when going against several other really strong teams.
Below is a list of my teams:
SOTF I
The End
Shuma-Gorath (Marvel), Maelstrom (Marvel), Midara Uchiha (Naruto), Hoondarrh (Dungeons & Dragons), Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII), Apocalypse, Kid Buu, and High Evolutionary (Marvel)
SOTF II
The Nightmare
Djinn (Wishmaster), Dracula, Bomb Queen (Image Comics), Brother Eye (DC Comics), Light Yagami (Death Note), Roy Batty (Blade Runner), Trypticon (Transformers), and Sauron (LoTR)
SOTF III
Justice Avengers
Captain America, Doctor Strange, Professor Xavier, Wolverine of Earth X-Men Millennial Visions, Iron Man, Vision, Immortus (Marvel), Hulk of Earth-Wolverine was an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Silver Surfer of Earth-7888/Earth-M/Earth-Moebius, and the Pre-Crisis JLA of Earth-One founding members (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash and Green Lantern)
The Revelation
Yu-Law (Jet Li's the One), Cyborg Superman, Dark Samus (Metroid), Thanos, Lord Palpatine (Star Wars), Kang (Marvel), Baby Vegeta (DBGT), Kyuubi (Naruto), Homunculi (Full Metal Alchemist), and Lord Voldemort (Harry Potter)
SOTF IV
Brotherhood of the Bat
Batman, Green Lantern (Bruce Wayne, In Darkest Knight), Dark Claw (Amalgam Comics), Batman 1,000,000 (DC One Million), Superman (Bruce Wayne, Speeding Bullets), and Batmage
The Empire
Apocalypse, Midara Uchiha (Naruto), King Ghidorah (Godzilla), Perfect Cell (DBZ), Dark Phoenix, and Freddy Krueger (Nightmare on Elm Street)
