Stories to follow during AC VI

Hello readers! My name is Niku, and I am one of the newest guest writers. I look forward to making articles about what everyone else seems to ignore, but for now, let’s talk about the topics that shall be hot in AC VI. There has never been a time I remember without some type of talk on something new this year. The AC VI is no different, and it may just be more dramatic than usual.

First off, the yooyuball. TNT literally had a full year to code the new game, test run the new game, edit the game as needed, test run it again, finish it off, and release it to some premium users for feedback. And what do we get? A sloppy mess that’s just simply horrible. TNT rushing frantically to fix all these changes by today (Or tomorrow) for when the cup begins. This gives us no practice whatsoever, a rushed main game, and not to mention that this yooyuball change will throw even the best teams into the bottom tier. And let’s not forget how the users are reacting! The official Yooyuball petition has over 3000 names on it (And climbing!) and the boycotting yooyuball petition has over 200 names on it (And climbing!) . Obviously users aren’t all so happy. And then there’s the users that are downright devastated by this. Some neopians are physically disabled, and can’t play this new yooyuball with a keyboard without causing harm to themselves. And what do they get? An automatic response, saying “With more practice, you’ll get a feel for the game and the new controls!”

Next, the change in lineup. This has seemed to have died down a bit, but it’s still going to be a hot topic. How will these switched up players preform? How will the rookies do, being new to their team and all? How will ______ team preform without _____? Krawk Island no longer has a Krawk, and are instead replaced with a shoyru who’s name is Dinksy. Literally. Speaking about krawks, Tyrannia lost Elbin Kroe in favor of “Spikes” Barmie, a pretty epic looking krawk if you ask me. Since Elbin Kroe left Tyrannia, he went to Faerieland, and replaced a favorite, Babolino. Lost Desert lost their kiko, and got… you guessed it! Another kiko! Her name is Rhee Solters, and some neopians think she looks too much like a certain past New Jersey resident. But if Lamelle Turow, LD’s previous kiko, had to leave, where would he go? Straight onto Maraqua, booting off favorable Dorina Hals. How will the teams do without these players?

Third, but lastly, SOTAC. I mean, honestly, I know that some neopians don’t really care about SOTAC. But whether you like it or not, their team selection will influence the cup in one way or another. Some say they’re going with a bigger team, like Kreludor, Maraqua, or another powerhouse. Others say they’ll join a medium team, like Virtupets. Then there are some saying they’re joining a smaller team like Kiko Lake. Honestly, it seems like so far, they’re going with Kreludor. How will this affect their scores (If it even has any affect?) ? How will this affect their sportmanship? How will they place in the cup? Also, how will Darigan Citadel preform with their new DARK reinforcements? How will SOTAC preform without the few members that formed DARK? I could continue with questions, but that’d take too long.

There’s obviously way more hot topics going on right now, but those seem like the biggest three going on so far. If you disagree with any of the following statements or just wish to state your opinions, please feel free to leave a comment below.

I wish you all luck tomorrow, and may the best team win!

Pre-Season Predictions

The 6th Altador Cup starts tomorrow! So today I figured I would make some pre-season predictions, which I will compare to the actual results and reflect on how accurate I was after the cup ends.

 

1st Tier

1: Kreludor~ KD has always been an underdog sort of team, They seem to grow stronger year after year, and having only narrowly missed the gold trophy last year, I see nothing being able to stop them from winning this year.

2: Darigan Citadel ~ DC is nearly unstoppable when they work hard, But with more freeloaders joining this year, i don’t see them taking home a second gold trophy just yet.

3:  Maraqua ~ MQ was very impressive last year, They barely missed 1st tier, But won overall in the 2nd tier. I could easily see them making 1st tier this year, but it wont be easy.

4: Meridell ~ MD had a rough year last year, Finishing in only 8th place. They have a very good YYB record, and if they work on their side games they might be able to make it into 1st tier, but I don’t think they can hold their own against the others, putting them in 4th.

 

2nd Tier

5: Roo Island ~ RI is a really strong team, They should be able to win their tier

6: Krawk Island ~ KI did really well last year considering they had won the previous year, I don’t see them doing any worse than last year, But I don’t think they will place much higher.

7: Mystery Island ~ MI is extremely unpredictable, They are known for upsets and finishing 6th, last year they fell hard. If they try as hard as they did the previous cups, work on their side games. they should narrowly make it into 2nd tier again, And upsetting their rivals, Lost Desert, Placing them 1 rank lower than their usual 6th.

8: Lost Desert ~ LD was nearly unstoppable last year, but after winning, A lot of people may leave. KI finished 7th last year after winning. I don’t think LD can top that, but they will come close.

 

3rd Tier

9: Virtupets ~ VP Slipped under the rader last year. Many thought of them only as side-game players. This year they won’t be underestimated, and the competition is fierce. They will narrowly miss 2nd tier, but will win 3rd tier.

10: Shenkuu ~ SK, The former powerhouse, Also fell hard last year. If they can get organized and motivated, they should be able to rise in the rankings

11:Terror Mountain ~ TM has always been side game strong, They have never made it into 2nd tier, and I think it will stay that way this year

12: Haunted Woods ~ HW is almost as unpredictable as MI. They should be able to make it into 3rd tier.

 

4th Tier

13: Tyrannia ~ TY has normally been 11th place. They rose a few spots the year before last, but declined last year. they are a 3rd tier team, but they haven’t been showing much improvement, while other teams have. They should win the tier.

14: Brightvale ~ BV has never been in the 3rd tier (AC1 and AC2 didnt have tier systems) I just don’t think they will be able to make it this year, They are still the best 4th tier team.

15: Faerieland ~ FL has always been close to last, but with their new earthly home, they might attract more players, but I think 15th is where they will stay.

16: Moltara ~ MT finished dead last on their first year. Hopefully they have lost a lot of freeloaders, leaving only dedicated players. maybe it will be enough to place them a little bit higher, though not much

 

Consolation Tier

17: Altador ~ AL can’t seem to catch a break, they have finished poorly in nearly every cup, despite the home-field advantage. I just don’t see them improving just yet.

18: Kiko Lake ~ KL hasn’t shown any improvement, if anything they have gotten worse. Their team is full of nice people, and I’d love to see them prove me wrong. But as far as I’m concerned, Kiko Lake will finish last.

 

The new YYB change could really affect how things could turn out, anything could happen! Good luck to everyone!

~Tanner

 

 

My Introduction

Hey everyone! My name is Tanner and I am the new guest writer. Starting Wednesday I will be writing predictions and analysis daily.

But as for now, I figured I would tell you all a little about myself. I have supported Mystery Island since the first Altador Cup.  I am a really easy-going, friendly guy, I love making people laugh. I am a big Indie/Alternative music fan. I play guitar and sing.

My forum username is Tanner. My Neopets username is LeoTanner

Feel free to comment here if you want to know anything else about me, PM me on forums to talk about music/guitar or anything else, And If you want to add me as a neofriend go ahead. I don’t bite. 🙂

~Tanner

My Altador Cup VI Predictions

1. Darigan Citadel: I can find no fault in this team. They’re huge, they’re powerful, they know how to play, and they’re in it to win it.  Yooyuball is their forte, beating everyone at least once last year with the exception of slippery old Maraqua. Not only can they play yooyuball though, they can beat you in the side games at the same time having a more than adequate grip in Make Some Noise and Slushie Slinger. Look for us to have our first repeat this year….

2. Krawk Island: Man, if this happens. I don’t think I’ll be able to take my eyes off of it. Could anything be more perfect than Darigan/Krawk Island championship game?  Regardless, Krawk Island is back. Just one year after Dasher brought home gold, Krawk Island barely missed making the finals yet again. As reigning champions, Krawk Island beat Darigan,  future champions Lost Desert, Roo Island, and tied Kreludor in the second round. Now out of the watchful eyes of the curse, a new, younger Krawk Island will look like the KI of old.

3. Maraqua: Finally. After years of being one of the most powerful yooyuball teams, being inconsistent in play, big wins, and tragically missing the finals just by the hair on their chinny-chin-chin, Elon has finally made it to final four. We know Maraqua can play yooyuball, the chain keeping them back was always those pesky side-games. There appears to be progress though; WAM seems to be more than able to handle teams they’re better than and pick up draws against teams that made/will be competing for spots in the finals. If any progress is made Elon can say ‘Free at last; free at last; thank God Almighty we are free at last (from the second tier)’

4. Virtupets: I know I told myself that Kreludor would make the finals, but I think Virtupets has a lot more to gain while Kreludor has a lot more to lose.  Virtupets hasn’t peaked yet and will keep going up. This is kinda crazy and mostly just a gut feeling, but I’m calling a Virtupets invasion of the finals.

5. Shenkuu: Returning from the cellar, Shenkuu will have something to play for. They won’t be seeded highly going into the finals, but Shenkuu will be playing for respect after a horrible year in AC V.

6. Kreludor: It’ll be close, but they might barely miss the finals. I think Kreludor may have peaked? They’ll have the top seed in the second tier for sure.

7. Lost Desert: The returning champs will be a power this year, the rankings might not show it though.

8. Roo Island: I just don’t have faith that they’ll have the same force they did last year. (Fun fact, if my predictions ring true, Darigan will be the only top eight team from last year to be in the same tier this year.)

9. Meridell: I just don’t have much faith in Meridell either. I don’t like their side games and they don’t seem consistent enough to me. Someone has to miss out on the top 8.

10. Terror Mountain: TM will gain some power this year. Look for them to break into the top eight in AC VII.

11. Brightvale: Kind of like Terror Mountain, but I have more faith in TM evolving into something that might break the wall that is around the top eight.

12. Haunted Woods: The goons will never be consistent. They’re a good team, but they just need to get their act together.

13. Tyrannia: More of the same from Tyrannia.

14. Mystery Island: I have no reason at all to have any faith in this team.

15. Kiko Lake: Better than AL, FL, and MT.

16. Moltara: Surely they have to get better, right?

17. Faerieland: I think they can beat Altador when it counts.

18. Altador: Hi.

Before we think I’m horribly crazy, I was right about the top three last year. Cut me some slack.

Altador.com now hiring

Altador.com is now taking applications for writers and podcast hosts.

To apply for a writer’s position, send Alex a PM titled “Writer application”on Altador.com forums with the following details:

Username on Neopets:
Age:
Your Altador Cup History:
Why you want the job:
Your availability throughout the cup season:

And provide a sample of your writing.

 

To apply for a position as a podcast host, send Alex a PM titled “Podcast host application” on the Altador.com forums with the following details:

Username on Neopets:
Age:
Skype username:

Your Altador Cup history:
Why you want the job:
Your availability through the cup season:

Audio recording software is required for this position.

Soley to retire. Collibridge to play.

Krawk Island favourite, and veteren Yooyuball player “Dasher” Soley has inevitably hung up his sling, and walked away from the game of Yooyuball. The former Krawk Island captain, the oldest yooyuball player on the field, has been speaking of retiring for many years now, in fact, he was set to retire last year, but due to a last minute injury of his replacement, he returned for one more year.

In his retirement, Soley plans to teach his petpet new tricks, and to becoming world-class players at both Deckball and Amarda. Do not be surprised to see Soley cheering from the sidelines whenever his beloved Krawk Island play.

Though adored by supporters from every team, Dasher is set to be replaced by bright new Yooyuball talent, Feldon “Dinksy” Collibridge.

First look at Altador Cup

Today, the first images of the new Altador Cup teams were released, further adding to the pre-season hype that comes every year around late April-early May.

So what changes have been made?

Team Faerieland has changed their team colours,  to better suit their new earthy position on the ground, as caused by a certain speckled xweetok late last year. Rather than a pink and purple motif, Team Faerieland is now sporting forest green, symbolising their new spot in a crater near Haunted Woods, and purple, symbolising the reign of their beautiful, but powerful queen, Queen Fyora.
Elbin Kroe has changed teams for the second team in a row. Now sporting a snazzy green and purple uniform, for Team Faerieland. He replaces Faerie Kacheek, and favourite Babolino, much to many dedicated Faerielander’s disappointment.

 

Kroe was not the only player with a team change, as former Lost Desert defender Lamelle Turow joins the Maraqua squad, replacing Maraquan Aisha Dorina hals. A little fact for Maraqua, every year Turow was on Team Lost Desert, they won a trophy.

 

With Kroe’s departure from Tyrannia, he has been replaced by a Tyrannian Krawk, leading up more speculation of  Krawk Island’s Dasher Soley being replaced.

 

Nope, still here. HURRY UP AND RETIRE YOU OLD MAN!!!!

 

Finally, Lost Desert has replaced Lamelle Turow with a Desert Kiko. When asked for a statement, forwards Derbi Azar and Vonde Cayle had this to say.