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h0tchner · 3 years

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go team hotchner!

pairing: dad!aaron hotchner x fem!reader

summary: aaron is coaching jack’s soccer game & reader is in the crowd! aaron & reader are happily married, but another woman’s mean comments and blatant flirting makes the reader jealous. fluffy shenanigans ensue!

word count: 2.5k

includes: FLUFF, jack hotchner is the sweetest, you & aaron are married, jealous!reader, kissing, family planning, & AARON IN A GREY T-SHIRT

rating: 18+ (for VERY brief mentions of sex and a little smidge of cursing)

a/n: i wrote this for @ssahotchswife’s soft hotch saturday! this is my first published fic, so i hope y’all enjoy. PLS (!!!!!!!!!!!) interact if you liked this, rb, comment, like and/or send me a request if you have ideas for future fics! i love y’all! - rivka💞

“Atta boy, Jack!” Aaron yells from the side of the field, clapping his hands as his son scores another goal.

Beaming, you holler from the benches along with the crowd. You watch as your husband jogs up and down the sidelines with ease, keeping up with Jack’s soccer team. It’s a stunning Saturday morning and you are thrilled to spend every moment of it with the Hotchner boys. Your Hotchner boys.

When they asked Aaron to coach the team, how could he say no? After losing Hayley, he promised himself that he would do everything in his power to be there for Jack. When you first started dating, Aaron was hesitant to introduce you to his son. It wasn’t because he didn’t want you in Jack’s life, but rather he didn’t want to scare you away. You were a 26-year-old NCIS agent and he was a 40-something FBI agent. You knew he had a son, you knew he was a widow, and you knew he was older than you: but you didn’t care. You loved him. It took a little coaxing to get Aaron to open up to you about his fears, but once he did, you assured him then and there that you weren’t going anywhere. He introduced you to Jack the very same day. Four years later, you and Aaron are stronger than ever.

The ref blows the whistle, calling a break. Aaron motions for the kids to huddle in. He squats on the floor to get on their level, enthusiastically whispering, walking them through the next play. Your heart swells watching him talk to the group of children. Aaron Hotchner, always the hero, the role-model, the leader. Gentle yet powerful: he was intoxicating.

Your eyes dart over his crouched figure; the soft, heather grey of his t-shirt clings to his broad shoulders. You draw in a breath, a memory of last night flooding your senses, remembering how you held on to those shoulders for dear life as he pounded you into the bed. You feel your cheeks blush red, and you look up to the sky, shutting your eyes to collect yourself. Damn. Even just the thought of touching him gets your blood up.

You open your eyes, letting your gaze travel back to Aaron’s body, admiring how good his butt looks in those black Adidas track pants. You bite your lip a bit, feeling overwhelmed with joy, knowing that beautiful man, inside and out, was all yours. God, what you wanted to do to...

“Damn he is HOT. Way hotter than the old coach. I think his son is on the team?” A woman’s voice rings out from behind you.

“Yeah, I think so. Did you hear what happened to his first wife? So sad, lost her when his son was little. Apparently he’s shacked up with some 20-something-year-old now.” A second woman’s voice chimes in.

“No way. Him? Married to that? He needs a real woman, not some child. A man that experienced should be with someone his own age. I’m gonna talk to him after the game, see what his deal is.” The first woman replies, voice dripping with venom.

“I think you should!” Agrees the second.

“Oh, I will. I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.” Snickers the first.

They both laugh as you sit frozen in your seat, blinded by a wave of anger and sadness.

Some child? Someone his own age? Their hurtful words pierce right through your heart as you furiously blink back tears.

The ref blows the whistle, and the team scatters back onto the field. The ladies cheer behind you as the game starts back up. It takes all your strength not to break down under the crushing weight of their conversation. You take in some deep breaths, mulling over their comments. You weren’t “some child!” You were a grown-ass woman! You had a job! You were a federal agent! You loved Aaron and Jack: they were your whole world!

As you continue to give yourself a mental pep-talk, the hurt begins to dissipate as you realize how stupid those woman sounded. They didn’t even know you, or Aaron, or anything about your relationship. In that moment, you tell yourself that instead of wallowing in self-doubt, you would stand up to them and make it known that you were the only one for Aaron.

Just like that: you begin to feel a bit better. You focus all your attention on Aaron and Jack, letting the game fly by. You ignore the ladies gossiping behind you, and, by the time the kids are lining up to give the other team high-fives, you had pulled yourself together and come up with a plan to put these ladies right back in their place. You just had to wait for the right time to make your move.

“Wish me luck!” squeals the first woman. You can feel her getting up from the bleachers behind you.

“Go get him, girl!” sasses the second.

You watch as the woman walks down the aisle, her straight blonde ponytail swishing as she goes. She’s wearing blue-jean shorts and a white lace top: an outfit you’ve seen before on a hundred women who looked just like her. In any other circumstance you’d applaud her efforts (girls supporting girls, right?) but this was your man she had her sights on. No way. Not a chance. She wasn’t going to lay a single pink manicured finger on him.

Aaron is talking to the ref and the other team’s coach when she taps him on the shoulder.

Oh HELL no. You think, frowning.

He turns around and gives her a small, polite smile. You can’t hear the exchange, but after a few moments, she sticks out her hand to shake his, laughing. Aaron curtly returns the shake and turns back to finish up his prior conversation; but, this time, the blonde woman puts a hand on his arm again, lightly pulling him away. Your blood begins to boil. She gestures to the pack of kids, now getting drinks and snacks from the fold-up table next to the bleachers. Aaron nods, pointing over to where Jack is standing, sipping on some lemonade. She puts her hand on his arm again and tilts her head.

You decide it has been long enough. It’s go time.

You walk down the bleachers, picking up the hem of your baby blue floral sundress so you wouldn’t step on it as you descended.

The woman is still all over Aaron, clearly flirting. Aaron’s arms are crossed over his chest, lips in a terse smile. It didn’t take a profiler to know that his behaviour screamed “get me out of here.”

You fluff your hair a bit, letting it fall loosely around your face. With confidence, your feet hit the soft grass and you head towards your husband.

“Aaron!” you call out, waving and smiling as you near him, shooting daggers at the blonde woman by his side.

The moment he sees you approaching, you watch his entire demeanour change.

“Y/N!” he grins, excusing himself from the woman.

She whips around to face you with a vengeance as Aaron scoops you up, tanned arms firm around your middle. He spins you around as you laugh, surprised, looking down at him with pure elation.

He sets you down and, before you have a chance to say anything else, grabs your face in his hands, crashing his mouth into yours. You throw your arms around his neck and card your fingers in his hair, kissing him with the same fervour.

You can practically feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins. It’s hot and dominating: something about winning a game makes Aaron primal and giddy. You certainly aren’t complaining.

He breaks the kiss and lets his hands fall to your waist, squeezing lightly.

“Congrats on the win, Coach Hotchner.” You smile as you brush a lock of sweaty black hair off his forehead.

“Couldn’t have done it without my favourite cheerleader, Mrs. Hotchner.” He winks, pressing a light kiss to your forehead.

“Oh yeah?” You prod, cocking your head, looking into his gorgeous hazel eyes. “Who would that be?”

“Hm.” He pauses, looking up pensively.

He wraps his arms even tighter around your middle and dips his head down, whispering one word in your ear: “You.”

You laugh, swaying with him for a moment, capturing his lips in another kiss. As you pull apart, out of the corner of your eye you watch as the blonde woman stands frozen to the same spot, mouth agape. You smirk, feeling satisfied and self-assured knowing your little scheme was a success.

Then, like a rocket, you see Jack running towards you with a mile-wide grin on his flushed face.

“Y/N! Did you see? Did you see me make two goals?” Jack exclaims.

“Yeah buddy, I saw the whole thing!” You capture him in a bear hug, kissing the top of his head. You ruffle his hair and kneel down, looking into his soft brown eyes.

“I’m so proud of you. Did you have fun?”

“Yeah! I love soccer!” Jack nods.

“You did a great job Jack.” Aaron says, helping you stand. He wraps an arm around your waist and looks lovingly down at his son.

“You’re our soccer superstar.” You add, glancing between Jack and Aaron with unbridled joy. “Now go! Go back to your friends!” You laugh, shooing him away, back to the group of sweaty 8-year-olds and their snacks.

You stand there with Aaron, snaking your arm around his back to match his around yours. You both watch as Jack bounds off. A quick glance to the side shows that the blonde woman is long gone, probably stomping back up to her friend to whine and call you more names.

“Is she gone?” Aaron murmurs into your hair, pressing a gentle kiss to the side of your head.

You stutter, “How... how did you?” You trail off in disbelief.

“Oh please,” he smirks, “I had to stop you from practically biting her head off when you walked over.”

“Aaron!” you yelp, mocking upset. “You should’ve let me at her.”

He chuckles, lips twitching into a smile as he quirks one eyebrow up. “I couldn’t have my wife fighting with the aunt of one of my players. It’d reflect poorly on me.”

“She called me a child. Said that you should be with someone your own age. I think that warrants a free pass.”

His joking manner stops abruptly at your declaration. “That’s ridiculous and you know it,” he furrows his brow, shaking his head lightly.

You reach up and run your fingers over his scrunched forehead, soothing the lines into something softer.

“I know,” you nod.

Aaron pulls you into his side, wordless. Fingers tracing lightly over your hip. You knew he was thinking the same thing: no matter what they said, you knew in your heart that you and Aaron were meant to be. Age be damned. He was yours and you were his: forever. Simple as that.

“Mmm,” you sigh, taking in the beauty of the moment. You smile at the clear sky, the fresh air, and the feeling of the man you loved, right by your side. You two watch Jack as he talks and laughs with the other kids. He looks so happy to be surrounded by them: a natural conversationalist. You can’t help but start to think about how he would be the best big brother in the whole world. It makes your breath hitch in your throat a bit.

“What is it?” Aaron gives your side a squeeze.

Of course he could sense when your thoughts began to wander. Aaron was a man of many talents.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” You look up at him with a reassuring glance, returning the squeeze.

“Y/N...” Aaron trails off, hazel-brown eyes searing into yours.

Damn your gaze, Hotchner.

You look away, letting your arm drop from his waist and move to step away a bit: he grabs for your hand instinctively, keeping you next to him. His big hands engulf your small ones, fingers entwined.

You know he is still staring at you, but you can’t bring yourself to look at him yet. Your eyes refocus on Jack.

“I was... I was thinking,” you begin. “I love you. I love you so much, no matter what anybody else says. And I love Jack like he’s my own.”

You breathed in, prepping yourself mentally for what you were about to say next.

“Jack is so good with other kids.” You continue, “He loves being social, being a teammate.”

You gather the strength to meet your husband’s famous glare.

“And watching you coach these kids? You’re so good with them, Aaron. You make every one of them feel special. You give 110% of your heart, and I am so lucky to be your co-coach in life.” You tell him in earnest.

“Aaron,” you carry on, emboldened, “I think it’s time we added a new member to the Hotchner team” you finish, searching every inch of Aaron’s face for recognition.

You watch as he takes in the information. After a few beats, it clicks.

“Y/N,” his expression softens, “Do you want to have a baby?”

You bite your lip and nod, eyes wide and hopeful.

Aaron nearly explodes with happiness; his eyes crinkle as he smiles down at you, unable to speak. And then, his warm body envelopes yours, solid but soft: unmistakably Aaron.

You let out a shaky laugh and bury your head in his neck, breathing in the smell of cologne and light sweat.

He pulls back a little, one hand tilting your chin up to look at him.

“Oh my god, Y/N,” he shakes his head in disbelief.

“Does that mean yes?” you ask, in a small voice.

Aaron laughs again, letting out a sigh. He tucks a strand of hair behind your ear, letting his hand linger on your cheek. You lean into his touch.

“Yes,” he says, giddy. “Let’s have a baby.”

The sound of children laughing fills your ears as you grab the back of his head and pull Aaron into a soft kiss. The kiss is full of promise: a gentle pact, sealing the deal. You and Aaron were going to have a baby. Jack was going to have a little brother or sister.

You pull away, arms still around his neck.

“I love you, Aaron.” You breathe out.

“I love you, Y/N.” He whispers back.

Nobody on this planet could shake the bond you and Aaron had. Suburban soccer moms be damned.

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kevkesblog · 4 years

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Translation: kicker magazine profile about Julian Brandt (July 27, 2020)

By Thomas Hennecke and Matthias Dersch

Had he made this artistic pass during the corona pandemic with empty stands in the stadium, it would have been a pity. A week before Christmas however, there is almost no free space in the Signal Iduna Park left. Everybody is ripped off their seats – except the RB Leipzig fans – the moment Julian Brandt marks the second goal. Brandt digs deep into his toolbox. Receiving the pass by Sancho, processing the ball, shot. Three actions in one fluent move, south American suppleness with ice-cold efficiency, a master class. Goal of the month December.

This cool blonde with the jersey number 19 – he is a man for the special moments. A player who makes a difference. And a gambler. A footballer having fun and who lets the difficult things look easy and made his relaxed demeanor a trademark. You can guess why he named Diego (the Bremer, not Maradona”, like Brandt said in BVB-TV) is his idol. The Brazilian used to have the blessings to do great things on the pitch. Diego also had a dream goal in his repertoire: 62,5 meter distance on April 20, 2007 against Alemannia Aachen. End score: 3:1.

The fact Brandt coolness also comes from a sometimes fatal way of risking things, relativizes his actions. You are torn a bit. People who appreciate show, spontaneity, art and creativity will love him more than people adding statistics and all mistakes and how they translate onto the pitch. The ‘Süddeutsche Zeitung’ looks beyond that and celebrated Brandt as a “Player with the Wow-Effect”. Brandt plays passes, so precise they will find almost every gap. As if they were managed by an electronic brain. He celebrates chop passes which look good and find their goals. But he also screws up counter chances with sloppy passes. He gives goals to his opponents with carless back passes. Or he shoots x-times against the goal, without a slightest danger to the goal keepers.

2019 is the second year with coach Lucien Favre and the so-called “restart”. BVB manager Zorc took a lot of money into his hands, in order to optimize the team. Looking back he wouldn’t be as passionate about some transfers as he was back then – but the 25 million euros for Brandt are still a good and useful investment, Zorc thinks: “Julian is a talented football player and has a lot of potential. He is very active on the pitch, demanding the ball, plays in a self-confidend way and doesn’t hide.”

Then follows the “but”. Zorc follows everything very closely from his box seat on the team bench. He sees mistakes by Brandt, unnecessary mistakes – calles “unforced errors” in tennis. “He still does a lot of them”, Zorc complains. “He has still work to do when it comes to working against the ball, Julian knows that best himself.” Indeed one doesn’t have to look far to find weaknesses. He himself is his biggest critic, the professional once claimed. Yet, he never lets that sort of self-reflection get out of his hands: “I always question myself, whenever I’m not performing well. But I never question the fact that I still can do it.”

It’s easy to spot: this Brandt-guy is not Mr. Perfect nor a football-playing robot. Rather he is an un-adjusted fine spirit on the pitch. Always in a good mood, with a fresh quote on his lips. During the USA-journey to Seattle last year, he was walking interested through the Museum of Pop Culture where Borussia was celebrating its “Black and Yellow night”. He had some small talk with journalists, he seems relaxed, approachable and cool. The opposite of the footballer clicheé of being arrogant. Brandt is “a fantastic guy” says Captian Marco Reus, “he’s a funny and open guy”.

As engaging, positive and uncomplicated his persona comes across: sometimes however Brandt appears to be less serious about stuff. It’s seems as if an extra scoop of ambition is missing, based on his body language. Unlike many other professionals. “I heard from many people before, about me looking like I’m sort of listlessness I embody”, Brandt said during an interview with the former BVB-player Patrick Owomoyela. Yet he assures: “My inner drive is always there.”

Brandt shows both faces during the game against Leipzig. Magical and faulty. He serves Timo Werner the 2:2-goal on a silver platter with his horrible wrong pass. “Perhaps someday there will be the award: wrong pass of the month”, says the 24 year-old. “I’m sure, I’ll get into the top 5.” BVB-boss Hans Joachim Watzke is face-palming on the stands in that moment. With some distance he likes Brandt’s way of playing. The BVB-boss says: “Julian makes extraordinary mistakes, because you can only play extraordinary if you take risky passes or have risky ideas.”

Five months later, both major teams in Germany play against each other on the evening of May 26. Borussia against Bayern; light house 2 against light house 1. Dortmund has to win, otherwise the Bundesliga title will be gone and Dortmund starts in a rush. Erling Haaland gets the ball in the midfield after 17 seconds, by winning a head ball against Joshua Kimmich. From the back Brandt storms in front like a speed train, captures the situation, speeds up the game and passes over to Thorgan Hazard with his left foot. The clock ticks – 19 seconds into the game – Manuel Neuer gets out of his goal and saves the situation for Bayern at the last moment. But he passes the ball into Haalands feet. His shot rushes through Neuers feet until Jerome Boating saves it for Bayern on the goal line. Brandt goal celebration dies on his lips. The blitz goal after just one minute – it would have been his act as well.

Same game, 43rd minute. Mats Hummels defending for Dortmund, the ball moves a few meters to the left. Kimmich gets the ball, looks up, sees Roman Bürki standing a bit too far away from the goal, shoots and scores. The guy standing the closest to Kimmich: Brandt. It would have been unfair to make him responsible for the goal alone, half of the team is responsible as well. Yet some people who’s heart is beating for black and yellow would have preferred Brandt at least trying to hinder Kimmich on making his genius shot. He does: nothing.

He's a day dreamer, Brandt once said. Day dreamers keep strolling through their thoughts. A study found out: day dreamers are capable finding time to dream because their brains have enough space left. In the past day dreaming was understood as a sign of lack of concentration and attention – today people see it as a sign of intelligence and creativity. Like a lost professor: brilliant, sharp mind, yet sunk into his own world.

It is however no explanation for him being passive in front of the goal in May that basically pre-decided the German championship. Brandt made his day dreamer confession in a different context – when asked about a career plan. He doesn’t have one, he said: “Everything that happens in my life, happens spontaneously. I don’t even know what I will be doing in three weeks from now.” Brandt lives his live as free and individual as possible and as disciplined as necessary. He likes to sleep long in the morning and only leave “shortly” in order to just barley making it on time at the training ground. “Every minute is sacred” he says with a wink of an eye. “I don’t know how often I had to pay a penalty for being too late.”

A year Brandt is employed in Dortmund. The statistics are showing respectable numbers. 42 games, seven goals, 13 assists, ten second-pass assists. The season prior in Leverkusen he had seven goals and 15 assists – just in the Bundesliga. He added six scorer points in the DFB Cup then and the Europa League. “I had to find my place during the first months. I played on many positions and didn’t know many of the boys yet. It’s why it was a bit un-harmonic”, says Brandt. “Nevertheless, now I’m “in”. I had a nice year with great moments. I have to say: I’m really satisfied. Everything can get much better. However its was fine for the first year.”

Brandt wanders through the BVB team, gets put into five different roles. The center midfield is the place where he can show his class the best – whenever he has the game in front of him. He can put his instincts and creativity into force and can create chances with his passes. He is basically a lost force when playing way in front. Except against Slavia Prag in the Champions League he confirmed with two assists, Favre decision putting him into the front as a striker. His abilities are also limited once he plays on the wings.

He never has a lack of commitment and engagement. Brandt is running on average 11,85 kilometers in 90 minutes. Nobody of the permanent Dortmund players is running more. He wins 52,4 % of his one-on-ones – more than Sancho (45,6%), Marco Reus (44,6%), Hazard (42,0%) or Haaland (41,4%). His passing with a 84 percent accuracy however still has room for improvement compared to the other specialists like Axel Witsel (94,1%), Dan-Axel Zagadou (91,1%) or Raphael Guerreiro (89,2%).

Brandt is brilliant in games like against Gladbach (DFB Cup, kicker-grade: 1,5), against Fortuna Düsseldorf or Schalke in the Bundesliga (both 1,5). He has personal low points in Freiburg (sub in and out of the same game; grade: 5), in Munich (grade: 6) and against Milan in the Champions League, where he basically loses the ball in almost every scene. Every game becomes a personal balancing act for the highly skilled national player: he dances on a high wire – here and there he loses his grip and crashes down.

His time in Dortmund started with a glitch. He makes a mistake and drives onto the parking lot of the youth time at 7.45am in the morning. A BVB employee has to show him the way. Brandt decided to leave the comfort zone Leverkusen on purpose. “Dortmund” – he says, “Dortmund is much bigger in terms of media interest, the stadium, the number of fans and in terms of pressure. It’s a different game here. It could make a mark on me and will serve me good.” And then there is the wish to win a title which made him to transfer to Dortmund. It’s about a basic attitude in sports, Brandt said a year ago, “everybody should have the drive to win every game.”

Because Dortmund only won 28 of their 46 games this past season (seven draws, eleven defeats) a lively debate about coach Favré heats up as well as a discussion about the mentality of the team. No fans will get together in Dortmund and celebrate the fifth second place finish of the team since 2013. Nobody will fill extra pages in historic club chronicles, some BVB players are now suspecting. “We are not satisfied to finish second”, Brandt confesses. “We aren’t angry, but also not satisfied. We want more.” He then sticks up for his colleagues who get criticized for some bad performances and whenever there are doubts about their mentality and the harsh criticism: “We want to the big price. The team is hungry, they are in for it to win titles. The team is capable of that. You have to always aim high.”

Children who are having their first day of school this year, have lived a life only knowing Bayern Munich as German football champions. In order for them to understand that other teams can be successful as well, Dortmund needs to win the “all-or-nothing”-games, Brandt thinks. The duels with the other Bundesliga havy weights: Bayern Munich, Leipzig, Mönchengladbach, Leverkusen. “You have to win those games, if you want to stay on top”, he says. “Yet you also have to take smaller teams seriously. Something like a 3-3 draw against Paderborn is fatal.”

Borussia Dortmund gave the players four weeks vacation. This Thursday the team will come back together well rested. The months during the corona crisis, the tough hygiene rules of the German Bundesliga, left a mark on Brandt. “It does something to you”, he confesses, “you don’t see many people. You see your family, perhaps a few friends. Otherwise: nobody. You are happy to be able to go out and have some freedoms again.” Now he can go out again – at least a bit.

#julianbrandt #julian brandt #bvb #BVB09 #borussiadortmund #borussia dortmund #Bundesliga #dfb #diemannschaft #German NT

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skylanders-after-the-end · 6 years

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Undead Club Adventure

Roller Brawl, Cynder and Hex have just arrived at the Darklight Crypt. The self-proclaimed Undead Club used a portal at the Academy to get to the gloomy island. They are supposed to find an airship in the nearby village and use it to travel further in hopes of finding the Doom Raiders. The stop at the crypt spared them a lot of time, and it was a rather distant location as well.

“Let’s see…” Roller Brawl held a map of the huge island and turned it in every possible direction while trying to figure out how to get to the village. “It looks like we’re right here, so we have to go there and then-“

“RB, we know the way.” Cynder sighed. The dragoness and Hex both visited the location before and didn’t need a map to find the town.

“Hey, don’t be like that!” Roller Brawl rambled while still figuring out her map. “It’s my first time being here, I want to find it myself.”

“We shouldn’t waste anymore time, the Doom Raiders are not going to wait for us.” Hex wanted to find the villains as soon as possible and make sure that there aren’t anymore threats in Skylands.

The heroes looked up in surprise when they heard a screaming citizen in the distance. “We have to help!” Cynder didn’t hesitate to flap her wings and soar towards the distressed person.

Roller Brawl and Hex made their way through the fog, looking for the one in need. “There!” Roller Brawl pointed at Batterson, who was being attacked by small floating creatures.

Cynder charged at the foes with her lightning breath and managed to get one of them away from the baker. Hex conjured two orbs from her hands and aimed them at the monsters. Meanwhile Roller Brawl skated at the remaining enemies with high speed and slashed them with her claws, slicing them into multiple pieces.

As soon as the threat vanished, Batterson removed his hands from his face and cherished the Skylanders. “Oh, thank you Skylanders! Thank you so much!” He proceeded to shake Roller Brawl’s hand as a sign of his gratitude and then repeat that with Cynder. The molekin’s smile faded as soon as he saw Hex. The small creature gulped and carefully backed off while looking at the sorceress with fear. “T- thank you too, miss.”

Cynder and Roller Brawl were confused about his behavior towards Hex, but the Skylander herself didn’t seem surprised in the slightest. She looked at one of the monsters that Roller Brawl disaggregated and realized that they were made from wood. “Are those… puppets?”

“They are.” Cynder looked at the lifeless beings as well and wondered where they came from. “They look familiar.”

“These things started to appear here a few days ago.” Batterson sounded scared and didn’t want to get any closer to the wooden figures. “They are terrorizing the whole town.”

Finally, Roller Brawl picked a puppet which was still whole up. The Undead Skylander gasped after recognizing the look of it.

Cynder directed her sight to her ally. “What is it Roller?”

“I know who sent those puppets.” The vampire skater gave the thing in her hand a worried look before staring back at her companions. “Mesmeralda.”

Soon, the Undead Club started to look for the wicked puppeteer Mesmeralda in order to stop her tyranny over the Darklight Crypt. They were met with many closed gates and had to take multiple detours which lead them to hordes of enemies. They finally arrived in front of the town gates, unfortunately they were blocked as well.

“Darn it! How are we supposed to get in?” Roller Brawl attempted to open the heavy steel door with violence, but it wouldn’t move an inch.

Cynder already tried flying over the entrance, but the entire town was protected by a powerful forcefield, which prevented her from entering it. The only way to get in was through the main gates.

After a hopeless search, Roller Brawl discovered something which caught her attention. It was a mystical shrine with dark features and a moon symbol on top of it. The vampire approached the peculiar ornament and saw something which resembled a button on top of it. The Skylander wasn’t sure about it at first, but after realizing that there might not be any other way into the town, she finally pressed the button. The shrine emitted a circular wave which spread across the entire island. The dark night sky became light blue, the fog covering the place disappeared, and the entire atmosphere shifted from dark and spooky to light and inviting.

Cynder and Hex looked around themselves wondering what happened, until they saw Roller Brawl on top of the world shifting shrine. “Roller, what did you-”

Cynder abruptly ended her question after seeing the spunky vampire, only that she wasn’t a vampire anymore. Her hair went from neon pink to a chocolate brown color and instead of glowing purple irises, the Skylander gained natural green eyes. Her fangs were gone, and her skin was a tanned color instead of the usual pale pink. Roller Brawl looked at her arms and hair with disbelief and couldn’t recognize herself. “Woah! Did that shrine turn me into a human?” Her assumption was right, and the Skylander had difficulties balancing herself on her roller blades now that she didn’t have her undead nature anymore.

Her shock was refreshed as soon as she laid eyes on Hex. “Hex, you’re-”

“A mortal.” The witch finished her friend’s sentence after she examined herself as well. The sorceress transformed back into her old self before becoming an undead. Her skin was a minty green color, her eyes shimmered in an icy blue tone, and her robes went from dark ashy colors to pale blues. Strangely enough, her headdress disappeared as well, revealing raven black hair which would go a little further than shoulder length. The purple cloud of smoke underneath her dress wasn’t there and the Skylander couldn’t float either.

Cynder however didn’t change in the slightest. She never truly was an undead, only her spectral powers allowed her to become a Skylander of the Undead Element. The dragoness looked over to the gate next to them and noticed that it was open. “Hey guys, the gate opened up!”

The two transformed Skylanders looked over to the entrance as well and decided to enter right after Cynder. The townspeople greeted the heroes happily, as they knew that they arrived to save them. Even Hex received smiles and hopeful eyes, which was unusual for her since normally everyone was afraid to death when they saw her. The trio walked for a short distance until they heard an echoing laughter filling the entire town. The Skylanders readied themselves and watched out for any dangers.

A cloud of pink smoke appeared in the middle of the town, out of which the villainous Mesmeralda emerged. “What do we have here? The Skylanders decided to visit my show!” The show woman summoned her loyal puppets and controlled them to attack the innocent citizens. The Undead Skylanders immediately attacked the wooden creatures to protect the people. After attempting to rid themselves of the puppets, the team noticed that their powers are noticeably weaker than before.

“I can’t fight them off! My attacks aren’t working properly!” Roller Brawl complained while dodging an incoming dash attack.

“It must be the transformation!” Hex created a wall out of rocks from the ground instead of her regular bones to shield herself. “We’re not undead anymore, our powers are weakened!”

“Well then change it back!” Cynder shot a rather weak burst of lightning at the minions of the spider-like villainess, but it wasn’t enough to destroy them.

Mesmeralda enjoyed the show she set up and couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, poor little Skylanders! Seems like you haven’t properly prepared for my act!” The puppeteer proceeded to create giant hands resembling her own to attack the heroes herself. The team took heavy hits and had to retreat.

“What are we supposed to do?” Roller Brawl grabbed the top of her injured arm with her other hand. “She’s too powerful!”

“We have to activate the Spectral Shifting Platform, so we become undead again.” Hex explained to the others while looking out for danger nearby.

“I’m on it!” Cynder already ascended into the air after spotting the platform which Roller Brawl used earlier. The dragon was about to land and activate it until Mesmeralda noticed her attempt.

“Not so fast!” The diva created another giant hand and used it to crush the platform.

Cynder was able to avoid being hit, but the shrine was destroyed and couldn’t be used anymore. “No.” Cynder looked around herself and saw countless giant hands appear all over the island. Mesmeralda used them to get rid of every shifting platform she could find and thus make it impossible for the Skylanders to get their powers back.

Meanwhile the puppets kept on messing with the townspeople. Roller Brawl and Hex tried their best to fight them off, but their decreased powers made it far more difficult. As she was creating weak bursts of light magic, Hex noticed a frightened little girl in a corner. She started to scream as soon as a puppet dashed towards her. Hex quickly used her magic to shoot the doll and slam it against the wall. She walked over to the terrified girl to make sure that she wasn’t injured.

“Are you okay?” The witch asked with a much lighter voice than in her undead form.

“Yes, thanks to you!” The little girl smiled and was overly grateful for Hex’ help.

Hex didn’t experience gratitude from someone she rescued for a long time and felt happy yet also strange to receive such a reaction.

The Undead Club assembled once again and worked together to fight off Mesmeralda’s incoming attacks. The trio soon started to realize that they stood no chance against the puppeteer and that they had to find a way to switch to the ghost world again. For a short moment, Roller Brawl didn’t focus on the fight and instead saw a familiar symbol representing the sun in the distance. The transformed human soon realized that it was a shrine which hasn’t been destroyed yet.

“Guys, look!” The Skylander pointed at her discovery and the others were filled with hope after seeing it. “We have to get to it!”

“But what if Mesmeralda sees it?” Cynder sounded unsure and didn’t want to waste their last chance. “She will destroy it before we can get to it!”

“Not if you distract her.” Hex looked her teammates dead in the eye while slowly removing herself from the battle. “Make sure she doesn’t look into my direction!”

Cynder and Roller Brawl nodded before getting back to defending themselves against puppets and giant hands. Hex was holding her dress, so it wouldn’t get in the way of her running. The Skylander hasn’t used her legs to walk for years, but that didn’t stop her to head for the shrine. As she was only a few moments away from reaching the platform, Mesmeralda noticed her absence and turned around with fury.

“You’re not going to ruin my show!” Mesmeralda yelled in rage and was about to smash the platform with another giant hand.

Before the puppeteer could reach it, Hex already pressed the button of the platform and shifted everything back to the ghost world. Roller Brawl became a vampire again, the sky turned dark and everything was back to its cryptic design. Hex was able levitate again, leaving purple smoke underneath her. She turned around and immediately shot a rain of skulls at Mesmeralda.

The panicking sorceress used two of her giant hands to dodge the attack, but nevertheless took direct hits. The villain was thrown to the ground and coughed from all the smoke the attack created. “The show is cancelled!” The host exclaimed before disappearing in another smoke cloud.

Hex returned to the village, but instead of cheering, she was greeted with terrified faces moving backwards with caution. Even the little girl she rescued earlier hid behind her mother with greater fear in her eyes than ever before.

Hex didn’t seem to care about the town’s reaction and instead floated towards her companions. “She escaped, I suggest you two go back to the Academy while I look for her.”

“Are you sure?” Roller Brawl was uncertain about leaving Hex alone after seeing the faces of the people they just saved.

“She’s not here anymore.” Hex directed her speech at the citizens of the town. “You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

The people remained to cower in fear, even though Mesmeralda and her puppets were gone. They only stared at Hex and wondered what a witch with her amount of power could do to them.

“You should go.” Hex turned her back to the town and the Skylanders to begin her search for Mesmeralda.

Cynder and Roller Brawl felt bad for their friend, but they knew that they couldn’t change the way others looked at her. The Undead Skylanders used the portal to return to the Academy. Roller Brawl immediately speeded to the hospital of the Academy while Cynder approached a crowd of Skylanders nearby. They all formed a circle around something and the dragoness wondered what it could be. After she rose into the air to see what the fuss was about, Cynder was shocked to see Sprocket surrounded by her allies and seeming like nothing happened.

#skylanders #skylanders after the end #original story #fanfiction #hex #roller brawl #cynder #mesmeralda

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packernet · 4 years

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New Post has been published on https://www.packernet.com/blog/2020/04/23/final-mock-draft/

Final Mock Draft

I did a mock on the podcast earlier this week but considering I just released my final big board it makes sense to at least use it once to do a FINAL final mock draft. But enough with the formalities…

1. Bengals – Joe Burrow QB LSU

If this isn’t Burrow, all bets are off on this draft and this will go down as one of the biggest draft stunners in a long time.

2. Redskins – Chase Young EDGE Ohio State

I would say there is a slightly higher chance of a shocker here, especially with rumors that the Redskins are currently being offered some pretty sizable offers, but I’m still fairly confident this is the pick.

3. TRADE: Dolphins Receive Pick 3. Lions Receive Pick 5 and 26 Dolphins – Tua Tagovailoa QB Alabama

According to the trade charts, this is a massive over payment as a 2nd round pick would more than suffice but teams are pushing really hard to move up and the Dolphins will likely have to give up another first to get this done. Also, it makes round one more interesting so here we are. As for the pick, I feel as though I shouldn’t really need to elaborate. There are rumors that they are going to trade up for an OT, but that is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Not that it isn’t going to happen… just saying it’s stupid.

4. Giants – Jedrick Wills OT Alabama

The pick makes sense for several reasons. First, despite talk of other needs, tackle should be at or near the top. Add in the love Gettleman has for trench guys as well as big guys, the only real intersection of those factors is Wills and Becton. Wills is ranked #8 on my latest board. Becton is 14.

5. Lions – Jeffrey Okudah CB Ohio State

I’ve always felt a little iffy on this pick for several reasons and wouldn’t be surprised at all if they go another direction but at the very least it gives the Lions the ability to have to have a lock down corner group headed up by Okudah, with Trufant and the #2, and Coleman, who had success in Seattle, as their nickle corner.

6. Chargers – Justin Herbert QB Oregon

It’s a new era for the Chargers. Assuming they like Herbert, this is cut and dried. On the flip side, how many games does this team win with that terrible OL, Tyrod Taylor at QB, and a continually decreasing defense? My guess is not many. With that, I would probably draft either Simmons, Brown, or an OT and see what we can do at QB next year.

That’s me though, not what I expect the Chargers to do.

7. Panthers – Isaiah Simmons LB Clemson

The Panthers have a lot of needs but as I said in my mock earlier this week, this pick feels right. The guy who was fired the same year he drafted Luke Kuechly is now back with the Panthers and has the opportunity to draft the next freak LB.

8. TRADE: Jets Receive Pick 8. Cardinals Receive Pick 11 and 79 (3rd) Jets – Andrew Thomas OT Georgia

First off, there has been talk about a lot of teams looking to move down including the Cardinals but with who? Most will look to the Falcons with all the rumors of moving up but they aren’t going to do it just to do it. Rumor is they want to get up to 2 for Chase and I would guess they’d be willing to move up for Okudah but with them gone I’m not going to just move up for anyone. Henderson and Chaisson are great options but I’m not going up to 8 for them.

That leaves the fact that there are some top tier tackles available and the Jets feel the need to get up in front of the Jaguars and Browns, both OL needy teams, to get their guy who in this case I’m going to say is Thomas. I do have Wirfs higher on my board but I’m sticking with my gut.

9. Jaguars – Derrick Brown DT Auburn

This is a really tough pick. My first thought is to watch for Jacksonville to trade up because they have a ton of ammo including 2 1st round picks and 3 4th round picks. That said it really just came down to OT or DT. My hang up with OT is the fact that we’ve invested in a RT just last year and LT the year before. They aren’t good but are we giving up already? Beyond that, Brown is the better player, we love strong DL’s, we are getting thin there and might lose Ngakoue. We’ll be responsible and take the best available.

10. TRADE: Falcons Receive 10. Browns Receive 16 and 78 (3rd) Falcons – Javon Kinlaw DL South Carolina

The rumor about the falcons is that they want to trade up for an impact defender. In my book that’s a corner or pass rusher. Kinlaw, in my book, qualifies as a pass rusher. If we don’t want Kinlaw I don’t see a need to move up here but Kinlaw could legitamately be the pick for the Cardinals, Raiders, 49ers, and Bucs. He isn’t making it much longer. Now or never.

11. Cardinals – Tristan Wirfs OT Iowa

This might seem odd to trade away the pick that saw Andrew Thomas go just so we could take Wirfs, but in reality, Thomas, Brown, Kinlaw, and Wirfs are all great picks and we were offered a 3rd to move back 3 spots. We can’t miss. Wirfs was the last left on the list so that made our decision pretty simple.

12. Raiders – Ceedee Lamb WR Oklahoma

The Raiders surprised us last year but with the board the way it is, I’m comfortable going WR here (I took Kinlaw in my last mock). The question is who. For my money, I would take Jeudy but I’ll stick with my board that has Lamb as the 7th best prospect in this draft.

13. TRADE: Vikings Receive 13. 49ers Receive 25 and 58 (2nd) Vikings – Jerry Jeudy WR Alabama

I probably shouldn’t but the 49ers want to go back BAD. They have 2 1st round picks and nothing after that until the 5th. I wouldn’t be surprised if they trade back again. Still, the question is with who. The Jaguars and Eagles make sense but they have way too many needs to trade up for something they can get by staying put.

It really came down to the Vikings or make the pick and with the deep desire to move back I figured why not. Vikings are going to swing for the fences in 2020.

14. Buccaneers – Xavier McKinney S Alabama

We went out and got Tom Brady and Gronk to add to our group of Evans and Godwin. The offense is fine. Defense is now the biggest need and safety seems to be the most lacking. Even if it isn’t, with regard to value, this makes the most sense to me.

15. Broncos – Henry Ruggs WR Alabama

This has been speculated for some time and with Ruggs at the top of my board this has literally been the easiest pick since pick 2.

16. Browns – Patrick Queen LB LSU

I really hate all this nonsense about the Browns wanting to move back but I’m playing along. Seriously though, why? It’s a huge need and you’re in a great spot to get an elite tackle… but you’re going to wait for Ezra in the 2nd round? Dumb.

Anyways, need and value intersect nicely at Patrick Queen. The pick makes me sick but again, I’ll play along.

17. TRADE: Jaguars Receive 17. Cowboys Receive 20 and 116 and 157 Jaguars – Mekhi Becton OT Louisville

I said I didn’t want the Jags to trade up for Jeudy but at 17 we have to offer less (1 of our 3 4th round picks and 1 of our 2 5th round picks) and we get a bigger need in OT. I’m actually really happy with this from the Jaguars perspective. Also, Mekhi is very unlikely to make it past the Dolphins and there’s a big drop off at tackle after him.

As for the Cowboys, I just don’t ever feel good about anyone I pick for them here. Hopefully the decision will be easier at 20.

18. Dolphins – Justin Jefferson WR LSU

This isn’t my favorite pick in the world (thanks a lot Jaguars), but at the end of the day we need offensive help for our new QB. OL is the biggest need but there aren’t any that are a good value. The decision was Jefferson or trade back. Sorry Packers fans, but the decision was to stay put.

19. Raiders – C.J. Henderson CB Florida

Pretty solid value for a guy that is getting potential top 10 buzz. And that really is what it came down to. The Raiders have a good amount of needs and at the top is a talented corner. That’s the whole story…

20. Cowboys – K’Lavon Chaisson EDGE LSU

It’s a strange pick but I’m sticking with it. Bottom line, although we have a great edge rusher already, having two is not something anyone should complain about. He’s also one of very few talented rushers in this class so let’s do it.

21. Eagles – D’Andre Swift RB Georgia

I’m going out on a pretty massive limb here but essentially, I don’t see WR as as big of a need as everyone is making it out to be. Jackson, Whiteside, and Alshon are there and are locked up for some time. I thought hard about Murray here but there’s a glimmer of hope in TJ Edwards and plenty of prospects in the later rounds.

Swift to me makes sense from the perspective that he’s not just another weapon but a receiving weapon, which seems to be a thing, we have no RB options that are remotely exciting, and let’s not forget last year we traded for Jordan Howard who is now a Dolphins which should signal our need and desire for a RB.

22. Vikings – Kristian Fulton CB LSU

The biggest need for the Vikings is corner so this isn’t a terribly difficult decision. The fact that we can trade up for Jeudy and not completely abandon being responsible makes me feel even better about moving up.

23. Patriots – A.J. Epenesa EDGE Iowa

I made this pick in my last mock and it still makes the most sense to me. The Patriots lived off defense last year and the DL is certainly beginning to erode. Epenesa is also a versatile inside outside guy which fits what the Patriots like to do.

24. TRADE: Ravens Receive 24. Saints Receive 28 and 106 (3rd) Ravens – Denzel Mims WR Baylor

This definitely isn’t holding true to my board which has Mims at 41 behind Higgins, Aiyuk, and Reagor but I can’t exactly set aside all the rumors about Mims possibly going before 20. It’s also a good fit for the Ravens who need more WR help and a big body compliment to Hollywood.

As for the trade, the Ravens have a ton of ammo (2 2nds, 2 3rds, 2 4ths) and the Saints only have 5 picks this year with no 2nd round picks.

25. 49ers – Cesar Ruiz IOL Michigan

There is a lot of talk about the 49ers wanting to get some DT help to fill the void left by Buckner but they still have a stacked DL and also have another pick at 31. I’m looking at an interior OL that is sub par at best and filled with guys in the 28-30 year old age range.

With running the ball being as important as it is and IOL being as weak as it is in this draft, let’s just pull the trigger now.

26. Lions – Yetur Gross-Matos EDGE Penn State

The Lions just keep swinging at DL in the hopes of having something that resembles a competent unit with the ability to get the the QB. It’s funny to laugh about but in all seriousness if he pans out, with Okudah and Trufant… I don’t know. They might be not the worst ever this year.

27. Seahawks – Josh Jones OT Houston

Who knows what in the world the Seahawks will do but let’s just keep it simple. They still haven’t fixed the offensive line. Still. After all these years. So here I am again for the 50 billionth time in a row suggesting the Seahawks should look to improve the offensive line.

28. Saints – Ross Blacklock DL TCU

As I’ve said in every mock this year, the Saints don’t have a ton of needs. DL would be one area where some improvement wouldn’t kill them. They got some good players on the edge but the middle is a little soft. Blacklock should be an improvement against the run and also boost the pass rush moderately.

29. Titans – Zack Baun LB Wisconsin

This is an unusual pick with Murray still on the board but I struggled taking LB after the Ravens took Rashaan Evans in the 1st round just 2 years ago. Still it’s a big need and with Baun’s ability to rush off the edge I felt it was a good compromise with the Titans struggling off the edge as well.

30. Packers – K.J. Hamler WR Penn State

Ya that’s right I said it. Granted I’m doing what I want in this pick as opposed to what I think will happen but I can’t hype the guy up all year and not do this in my final mock. Ultimately I think Gute and his staff will look at Hamler and see 5’9″ and say “hard pass” but they also said they want a receiver that can do everything and to me that’s Hamler.

Hamler wouldn’t be the only 5’9 receiver to have success in the NFL by the way. Hollywood Brown is 5’9″ and nobody had an issue last year. Cole Beasley is also 5″9″ and Tyreek Hill is just an inch taller.

31. 49ers – Jalen Reagor WR TCU

I can feel the anger from Packers fans who are fans of Reagor, and for that I’m sorry. As for the pick, again, DT is supposedly a big want for the team but I just don’t like the value here. Reagor will make a solid replacement for the departed Emmanuel Sanders.

32. Chiefs – Kenneth Murray LB Oklahoma

There’s been a good amount of hate for Murray lately but this would be a great scenario for the Chiefs. They need help badly and Murray should be an instant upgrade.

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junker-town · 4 years

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Our 10 favorite predictions for the 2020 NFL Draft

Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Where does Tua Tagovailoa go? What are some trades that could happen? We have some guesses.

The NFL Draft is one of the most unpredictable events in all of sports. Just when you think your mock draft is perfect, a wild trade happens. Or Aaron Rodgers nearly free falls completely out of the first round.

But the fun of the league’s annual selection process is making predictions, and the 2020 NFL Draft will be no different.

Below, I’ve assembled an all-star draft roundtable featuring writers from SB Nation NFL and several team sites, asking them to submit their favorite draft prediction this year. Let me start things off with my own first-round guess.

The 49ers make two first-round picks

After trading defensive lineman DeForest Buckner to the Colts, the 49ers now have pick Nos. 13 and 31 in the first round. The belief by many is that the team will trade down at least once to acquire more picks. After No. 31, San Francisco isn’t scheduled to pick until the fifth round.

Trading back is plausible. But what if it doesn’t happen? Coming off a Super Bowl run last season, San Francisco’s roster is loaded up pretty well. The 49ers go into the draft with few needs, wide receiver and cornerback chief among them. They could find starters at both positions in the first round. Maybe it’s a combination of cornerback CJ Henderson at 13 and wide receiver Jalen Reagor at 31. Or maybe it’s wide receiver Jerry Jeudy at 13 and cornerback Trevon Diggs at 31.

The fact is, more impactful players are found in the first round of the draft. Accumulating draft capital is fun, but getting instant starters to make another Super Bowl push is more so. — Dan Kadar

The Dolphins trade up, but not for Tagovailoa

When the Miami Dolphins trade up to the third overall selection, everyone will know that it is to take Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Everyone will be wrong.

In the first shocker of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Dolphins will select Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert.

Herbert has some critics in the media, but big, tall quarterbacks with cannon arms still get NFL execs all hot and bothered. Herbert’s arm talent is what made him a top prospect all along, and nothing has changed.

This may not have been Miami’s plan nine months ago, but at the end of the day, the Dolphins will not be willing to risk drafting Tagovailoa without being able to have him on site and examined by their medical staff.

The Dolphins will be thrilled to get their guy, but the fans who have coveted Tagovailoa will not be happy and will complain that if they wanted Hebert, they could have stayed at No. 5.

— Matt Minich, Cincy Jungle

The Dolphins end up with the QB they wanted all along

To say this NFL offseason has been unordinary would be a grave understatement. Free agents were unable to visit team facilities, and draft prospects have put their NFL fate into virtual interviews.

Sure, this impacts every team. But for the Dolphins, things have turned bizarre, during the most critical offseason in franchise history.

By the time you’re reading this, the Dolphins have now been linked to every QB under the sun. And what once seemed like a forgone conclusion — they would try to move heaven and earth to land Tagovailoa — has slowly shifted to Herbert and Jordan Love by the masses.

No one knows what Chris Grier’s master plan is. But when all is said and done, I think Tagovailoa will still be the Dolphins’ pick. And whether they need to trade up a few spots to make it happen, or they stay at No. 5 and let him fall mercifully into their lap. Miami will get the QB it’s always desired.

Tagovailoa, no matter what.

— Josh Houtz, The Phinsider

Tagovailoa gets drafted in the top three

Of all the interesting storylines and surprises that are sure to unfold at the 2020 NFL Draft, Tagovailoa’s landing spot may be the most fascinating one.

Much has been made of Tagovailoa’s medical status. The spread of Covid-19 has made this draft process the most unique in NFL history. NFL teams just haven’t had many chances to get up close and personal with the prospects, and they certainly haven’t been able to get their doctors to form an opinion on the long-term medical outlook of these young players

It’s no secret that Tagovailoa suffered three lower-body injuries during his time at Alabama, and there are still questions surrounding his recovery from last year’s hip surgery. Of all the rumors and speculation circulating around this year’s top prospects, a slide for Tagovailoa has been the most popular projection.

My bold prediction is that we will not see that happen. In fact, I am predicting that Tagovailoa will be selected within the first three picks of the 2020 NFL Draft. I believe that the need for a franchise quarterback always wins out, and a desperate team like the Miami Dolphins or Los Angeles Chargers will complete a draft-day trade with either the Detroit Lions or Washington in order to secure Tagovailoa’s services.

— Justin Melo, Music City Miracles

The Patriots shock everyone and trade up for a quarterback

The New England Patriots have done nothing outside of bringing back Brian Hoyer to help replace the major void that Tom Brady left at positions after he signed with the Buccaneers. They have to be eyeing one of the top quarterbacks in this year’s draft and calling around seeing how much it would cost to move up. Picking 23rd will make it tough, but some team looking to trade back and acquire 2020 and 2021 picks could be enticed to make this deal.

My crazy prediction is New England trading up with the Cleveland Browns to 10th overall and selecting its new franchise quarterback. That quarterback will be Tagovailoa. Teams will feel iffy about his medicals and Bill Belichick will pounce.

— Scotty Payne, Mile High Report

The Falcons trade up to draft Jeff Okudah

It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Falcons traded up from the No. 16 pick. After all, there’s been lots of speculation lately about them jumping up to get cornerback. It also wouldn’t be a surprise if the Lions — the most projected landing spot for Okudah — traded out of the No. 3 pick.

But could Atlanta trade up high enough to get the clear-cut No. 1 cornerback in this draft class? Don’t count out the possibility.

The Falcons have been tied to CJ Henderson, who is a very good player in his own right and widely considered the second-best cornerback after Okudah. If they’re going to give up valuable draft capital to fix one of their biggest needs, though, why not go with the guy who’s elite?

Okudah was in coverage for 865 snaps in his three years at Ohio State, and per Pro Football Focus, he gave up only two touchdowns. TWO. When opposing quarterbacks dared to throw his way during Okudah’s All-American season in 2019, they had just a 45.3 passer rating.

That kind of lockdown ability might remind the Falcons of another cornerback from Ohio State: Marshon Lattimore, who is currently a thorn in their side with the Saints. Building a secondary out of Buckeyes has worked out well in New Orleans. Maybe the Falcons have taken notice and want to do the same with Okudah and his former college teammate Kendall Sheffield.

— Sarah Hardy

The Bills trade up on Day 2

The Buffalo Bills will trade up on Day 2 of the draft. Their roster is filled with quality depth, but do they have enough high-end playmakers to run to the Super Bowl? That’s part of the logic that led the Bills to trade a first-round pick and change for Stefon Diggs last month. I expect the pattern to continue when they begin picking on Friday — packaging picks outside the top 100 to move up in Rounds 2 or 3 and snatch falling talent.

Buffalo doesn’t have room for a handful of late-rounders, but positioning to add Jonathan Taylor or Trevon Diggs or Terrell Lewis? It makes too much sense.

— Dan Lavoie, Buffalo Rumblings

The Chiefs trade out of the first round and select a RB in the second

It’s not what I would do, but it’s what I think will happen. There is simply too much buzz surrounding the Chiefs’ affection for this running back class and their desire to get Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes another talent in the backfield with an early selection.

With limited assets, the Chiefs should be active in looking to move out of the first round to gain additional picks. If they do trade back and wind up with their first selection in the late 30s/early 40s, there is likely to be a talented running back available. A player like Clyde Edwards-Helaire would be a high-floor, low-ceiling move but would likely provide production in a year that will not have the same kind of offseason program to catch most rookies up to speed.

— Kent Swanson, Arrowhead Pride

Laviska Shenault Jr. lands in Round 3 — or later

Shenault, the hard-running, do-anything wideout and offensive weapon, may shrug off the pain from his numerous injuries at Colorado, but football staff, deprived of reassuring medical exams, won’t.

At one point Shenault was considered maybe the best receiver in this draft, but now has a long list of injuries. Let’s review: turf toe and a torn labrum in 2018, both needing surgery. A core muscle injury in 2019, requiring surgery and hampering his combine workout. The stats, talent, and character all suggest a potential star, but I can’t see him getting drafted early given those ailments.

— Dan Lavoie, Buffalo Rumblings

Something wacky happens during the first round

The coronavirus has obviously impacted the way we live our daily lives as well as the 2020 NFL Draft. Teams will be attempting to go through the draft from their homes and communicating via Zoom or whatever route they decide to go. Even commissioner Roger Goodell will be announcing the picks from his basement. So things are going to be much different than we are used to.

I think some teams are going to do something wacky. Maybe we’ll see someone’s internet crash, computer freeze up, or something crazy to cause shenanigans while a team is on the clock (looking at you Cleveland). Maybe, we’ll even see a Goodell pet (does he have pets?) do something funny in the background. Either way, I think we’ll come out of Day 1 of the draft talking about something unforeseen happening.

— Scotty Payne, Mile High Report

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aja154ever · 7 years

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GRANRODEO LIVE 2017 G12 ROCK☆SHOW Pierrot Carnival - 09/23/2017

Set List

Pierrot Dancin’

恋は mirage

Punky Funky Love

Glorious days

Fake lover’s true heart

ナミダバナ

FAT SHAPER

チキン・ヒーロー

君に one way love

Can Do

move on! イバラミチ

Y.W.F.

エンドレスサマー

少年の果て

CRACK STAR FLASH

silence

カナリヤ

modern strange cowboy

We wanna R&R SHOW

Infinite Love

Go For It!

UNDER THE SKY

G12 AAAAAAHHHHHHH. It’s my first time to attend the G series. I was so excited as I saw this as a chance to hear more GR songs live outside the PieDan album, but somehow the set list turned out to be very similar to the PieDan tour. But it’s okay, I'm not really complaining. And I was just so happy to see that many people gather for the love of GRANRODEO. Long post under the cut!

Honestly, I didn’t think I can get all pumped up because I was far on the 2F and GR live shows are best enjoyed in small, intimate places like Zepp. But the seats actually gave me more space to move and groove, and the sight and energy of the people around me convinced me to be free and lose myself.

Pierrot Dancin’ - Okay I died from the acapella intro. That’s it. No words.

恋は mirage - Really good considering it’s the first (well second ‘cause it’s the second day) time Kiiyan sings this live

Glorious days - The bridge part. OMG what is it in Budokan’s sound system that makes Kiiyan’s voice sound so better argh. Anyway messed up lyrics in the last part, but then okay, it can pass as intended miss

チキン・ヒーロー - Uwaaaa. Who expected this?? I admit that I didn’t like this song compared to other GR songs but now hearing it live, just WOW. It’s impossible not to enjoy this.

君に one way love - OMG I didn’t expect this would make the list so I was just so feeling blissful waving my hands. Really one of my favorite GR songs. Got the lyrics wrong in the last part again and I shouldn’t be reporting about this anymore because that’s just normal for the lyrics writer himself, Kishow

move on! イバラミチ - My 3rd time to hear this live. So far, the best performance out of the three.

In Y.W.F.’s last “boku wa yoi ko”, e-zuka comes to pat Kiiyan on his head. SO PRECIOUS!!

エンドレスサマー - Best production performance for the night, with the dancers and effects *slow clap*

CRACK STAR FLASH - silence - カナリヤ - modern strange cowboy - We wanna R&R SHOW - Classic exhausting line-up. You’ll really know the difference when Kiiyan sings their older songs vs the latest ones. Well it’s basically the years of knowing those songs so he really performs them way better than the new ones. And this is coming from me who has heard him sing PieDan songs live for 3-5 times than classic songs I heard him sing once or twice.

ナミダバナ, silence, We wanna R&R SHOW - long stretch part (I still don’t know what to call it) but his voice, his skills, his everything, *me gets down on one knee, presents a small black box* Marry me, Kiiyan. Now.

Infinite Love - AAAAAHHHHH. This was the most unexpected song for me. I was so happy!! I got into tears as my heart overflowed of infinite love for GR.

Go For It! - My first time to participate in IGPX!!!

UNDER THE SKY - Kiiyan why did you have to end this happy night with a sad, slow song??? Argh. I wanted a third encore please.

MC and Other Points

I think there was little talk than in the PieDan live.

G12 was broadcasted live and e-zuka-san said that they were given a 4-hour time slot, so in the first MC part he joked, “From now, we’ll go talk for one hour!” Then in the IGPX part, he said that they’ll be doing it for 30 minutes!

Shin-kun didn’t use a mic at first. He went on to shout his greetings, “Konnichiwa!” Oh this kid is so adorable ^.^

Shin-kun’s parents came to watch him live.

When Takita-san turned the television on the night before, it was just in time for the broadcast of the PieDan live. Apparently, he fell asleep on the 月に抱かれて眠りたい part.

e-zuka-san shares that the music for BSD movie’s theme song is close to getting done. Kiiyan worried about writing the lyrics. e-zuka-san said that he was just lying; he’ll cut the encore short and make the song immediately!

e-zuka-san was so nervous as he was playing the piano in the We wanna R&R SHOW intro. Worse, he got distracted by Kiiyan’s sudden ‘insert hum’ that he thought he forgot the next notes. “Don’t go putting in fakes suddenly! You didn’t do that yesterday! My mind got lost!” He blamed Kiiyan for getting too hyped because of the live broadcast.

Kiiyan loved how the crowd called for encore too soon that they haven’t even gone down the stairs yet. He even imitated how the RB first shouted the GRAN part as he got amazed, “You can make such voice?” He was laughing because seriously, the GRAN shout sounded really crazy, in a good way. Thanks RB!

Kiiyan tried to throw his towel on the 1st floor seats but it failed to reach. Lol. He dramatically got down on his knees as the towel just fell on the ground. Ow cute Kiiyan, there, there. But yeah, that was such a waste :(

e-zuka-san played the fool in throwing his wristband to the crowd as it ‘accidentally’ fell behind him several times. Shin-kun ended up getting the wristband.

And lastly, the HUG awwwww T.T

Photos/Posts from Official Accounts:

More photos on GRANRODEO’s official Facebook page

What more can I say? This is my 6th GR event this year and probably the last? So there’s that loneliness in my heart as I cherished every G12 moment. G7 will be in Okinawa so I can’t go T.T I just have to haunt Kiiyan in other events then.

It just makes me reflect on how I got dragged into this paradise. I first learned about this Taniyama Kishou seiyuu when I first heard his singing voice in UtaPri. I was just starting to get into the seiyuu world at that time, and I didn’t really notice him as Natsuki. But when I heard his beautiful singing voice, I immediately searched about the seiyuu. I got to watch him on Maji Love Live (DVD) and I was convinced that this man has the best singing voice I’ve ever heard. I got into other seiyuu anyway, and it was months after again when I got to watch him perform as GRANRODEO’s Kishow in the KuroBas event (DVD). It was so lively and looked so fun, and there’s something about his performance that draws you in. I started learning the KuroBas songs. Yet I was still into other seiyuu at that time lol. Honestly, I admit that I’m not much of a fan of Kiiyan as a seiyuu. Simply because I like the others’ voice more and then there’s the fact that he doesn’t get to play major anime roles often.

But then, but then. OMG. I don’t why, how, what, but Bungou Stray Dogs came crashing into my life and I fell in love with the most vicious duo in Yokohama, Double Black. Let it be known that I actually decided to watch BSD because of the seiyuu in it but putting that aside, I then learned to love the story and the characters so much. But the Mamo-Kiiyan combi is just too much for me to take in esp after watching their Uemura tanteisha episode. And Nakahara Chuuya. *takes a deep breath* Of all the characters I’ve watched Kiiyan play, Chuuya came to be an easy favorite even if he only appeared in very few episodes. And I said I wasn’t into Kiiyan’s seiyuu voice but his Chuuya voice AAAAAHHHHH, which is actually close to his real voice AAAAAHHHHH

And while I was starting to drown in the BSD fandom, it was just in time for GRANRODEO’s new album release: Pierrot Dancin’. You know, I’m a poor being and I don’t really buy things for myself like goods, but I just really wanted to buy the new album because I wanted to support Kiiyan. And I’m glad I did.

Then the AniUta app got released and it was such a blessing because all GR songs were there so just in a few months, I learned most of their songs in their 12-year long career. Now I’m proud of myself. *wipes corner of my eyes*

Taniyama Kishou, as seiyuu and GR, has been saving me from my depression this year. Our love story sure took some time to develop, but now I just feel so much admiration, love, and gratitude towards this person. As sappy and crappy as it may sound, but Kiiyan became the most important person to me this year.

OMG this went on longer and more dramatic than expected but I just love Kiiyan, my Darlin, my BIG SUN. I’ll do my best to keep seeing you. Cheers to more years to spend together. ♪＼(*＾▽ ＾*)／＼(*＾▽ ＾*)／

#thank God #granrodeo #taniyama kishou #kishow #kiiyan #谷山紀章 #iizuka masaaki #e-zuka #飯塚昌明 #G12 #granrodeo live #nippon budokan #music #japan #seiyuu #precious smiles #my original content

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franeridart · 7 years

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hi. hello. this is a bit embarrassing but i'm trying to buy my bf a tablet sort of thing so he can draw his arts. he's been wanting one forever but hasn't rly shown me which one he wants. i want to surprise him n buy a good one worth the money n was just curious if you had any suggestions. i've looked into wacom products, but i'm just such a noob to these things n was hoping you can help... i understand if this is silly, you don't have to reply! ur just so amazing, ur opinion is trustworthy 😅☺️

Okay, so, this is just my opinion and since it’s based completely on personal experiences it’s gonna possibly be incredibly different from other people’s opinions, so I just wanna make clear from the start that this is a personal preference and isn’t in any way meant as an absolute truth

Anyway, as far as I’m concerned when you’re just starting out you don’t need anything fancy at all. As an aspiring digital artist your bf might have looked up tablets and cried tears of blood over how much he’d like a cintiq or anything similar, but my very personal opinion is that fancy stuff is gonna be pretty much useless to you and be generally a waste of money? You’re just learning, you don’t need anything more than the basics. My suggestion is that you pick something simple and easy to use - I own this wacom intuos, had it for a long while and I like it a lot, but there’s also less expensive options you can go for too that people seem to like just as much! I’ve lately read on my dash about the Huion H610, they say it doesn’t cost much at all but it’s just as good as the Intuos, that could be a good option for you~

Anon said: Hey!!! I was wondering if its ok to rb your oc art? I realized a lot less people rb those and i get anxious easily so... also i really don't want to disrespect either! But i always thought of rebloging as a way of saying "i appreciate your art" and i really really (really ) like yours (both the style and itself in general). (I hope you dont mind my bad english ha ha) i hope you don't mind this stupid ask! Im still kind of new to tumblr

It’s 100% okay!!!! *O* Thank you for liking them enough to want to reblog them ;A; !!!!

Anon said:i miss ur bokuroteru so much 😭💕 i love ur art but whenever i see ur header, i just remember ur bokuroteru comic and my heart cries storms for them to be seen again.

Aw anon I’m super happy you like my stuff for those three but as of now inspiration in that department is... super low... and tbh the haikyuu fandom is being incredibly unresponsive and non-vocal about their appreciation of fanworks in this period so even when I do have ideas for that fandom I sort of. Let them go. Or just sketch them out and never finish them.

Like, you know the whole deal about having to draw for yourself and not for others? That’s what I do 100% of the times when I’m starting a drawing, but to draw for myself I don’t exactly need to finish a drawing, you know? Sometimes there’s a scene I wanna see and I sketch it out in a super rough way and as far as my personal desire to see it goes I’m satisfied with that, and everything after that - the cleaning and lining and maybe even coloring - I put the effort in it because I want to share it with people. And the deal with the Hq!! fandom lately is that they don’t share my excitement for it. They either only like it, or don’t comment on it, or comment only to complain about this or that thing. In the worst case posting hq!! only ends up with people asking me to draw something else (ie I feel like drawing Karasuno so I draw it and post it and no one comments/rb/says anything about it but there’s 20 asks in my inbox asking me why I haven’t drawn any bok*ro lately)

When I think about posting stuff for hq lately I automatically compare it to posting stuff for bnha where I could draw a background character that appeared once 120 chapters ago and there’s still gonna be people that go “yes! that character!! I love that character!!! can’t believe there’s actual art for it oh my god!!!!” - that’s... that’s the sort of reaction that makes you wanna share stuff

I dunno, maybe I’m just expecting too much out of the hq fandom. But anyway, sharing for bnha makes me way happier and glad I decided to finish a drawing lately, so I guess that’s what’s happening there.

Anon said:Every time your soft doods art shows up on my dash I have to pause and take a deep breath and just thank god for all the good in the world because I'm blown away every single time

This is s o s w e e t oh my god ;A; thank you so much!!!!

Anon said:Johnny is a fucking angel dammit. Have you read the new DGM already?? I'm in tears. I love this manga so much. The frequency of the releases are killing me... it has such a great story and great characters. It needs more love

I did read it!!!! And yeah the fandom used to be way bigger, but honestly I’m glad it’s just the couple dozens people it is. Like a small town where everyone knows everyone else. No drama, no discourse. Everyone ships what they want and we all pass each other tissues to dry the tears. The only argument that happens regularly is people complaining about the relase schedule and the old fans telling them to let Hoshino live. A good place, this fandom’s a good place.

DGM was my playground for most of my experimenting as far as creating art goes, I really did reach in all directions with it through the years and it helped me shape myself a lot, so I really want it to stay quiet and nice and peaceful, that’s my dream for it haha smaller fandoms have a better chance to keep that freedom

Anon said: Oh man, I live for that Togata x Amajiki interaction

You talking about the color spread cause yes that was adorable!!! ;A;

Anon said:I look a little, and do you still draw Bakugo x Kirishima x Kaminari?

Sure, it’s still my main ship for Kaminari and my main ot3! Just wait for Denki to start being relevant in the manga again, I’ll probably fall headfirst into it all over again haha

Anon said:Your art is so wonderful you're wonderful everything's so wonderful i'm crying omg

SOB no anon you’re wonderful!!!!

Anon said:Due to my brain not wanting to cooperate with me (ever), Bakugou Katsuki is now Batsuki Katsuki in my head.

This is the funniest thing I’ve read today and I’m in t e a r s hahaha

Anon said:Artistic!Mina making pop art and colorful paintings :o what are ur thoughts

HELL YES that’s my main headcanon for Mina, she’s definitely an artsy girl!!! I like the idea of her sharing it with Bakugou t b h

Anon said:I'm still just repeatedly looking at your newest KiriBaku because hot damn.

I’m super glad you liked it!!!!!!! oh my gOD!!!!!!!

Anon said:Heyy please rec Kami comics please! I'm in a Kami art shortage and I currently can't find art as awesome as yours...

I’m so sorry I wish I could help you with this but I don’t know anyone who draws lotsa Kaminari either ;---;

#fran answers #about the tablet #personally i started with a tablet that wasn't a wacom #it was okay to learn the basics but it lasted maybe six months top #and then i had to change it #which is why now im sorta wary about giving my money to other brands #considering that after that i only bought two tablets #both wacoms #and technically i didn't even have to change the first one my family just bought me a new one out of the blue #so yeah people can say whatever they want about wacom but they ARE quality and durable #that said that experience with other brands happened over ten years ago #and the brand wasn't great anyway #so like it's totally possible that new brands are WAY better #check for the reviews! most people are saying they love them #so i guess if your budget is limited you CAN go for another brand #the one i linked is pretty damn huge too im #really tempted to buy it myself t b h #anonymous

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sneakyhomunculous · 5 years

Text

Last PT Report PT 2

Day 2: After day 1 we went to a nice dinner, 5 of us somehow spent 600$ [it may have had something to do with Rocky ordering 3 Apps a Salad a Soup 2 Entrees 3 Sides multiple glasses of wine and dessert) and we ended up staying pretty late. Continuing my hot run I got to pay for the whole thing! I didn’t get to bed until 12ish and unfortunately woke up around 4:30 to some obscene snoring. By around 5 it calmed down and I was able to sleep until 7:30. I woke up OK, but not fresh like the previous day. I went through the same routine as before and managed to catch the shuttle at the last second with Wily Edel and fellow Embercleavers. Draft 2, Pod 1 Featured Pod I was excited going into this draft because what I percieved as the toughest players Eli Brad and Hauck all drafted non blue decks day 1. In fact in all the drafts I did with Brad over the years he was basically never blue! He’s allergic to non green cards. I sat down to find the seating. Hauck was on my left and Brad and Eli were sort of across the table. Max Mick was feeding me, and I knew very little about him. Hauck and Brad’s drafts were both covered and you can watch them on the VOD. Unfortunately there is no draft viewer. They recorded every pick from every player, but unlike the old days they don’t really post the draft viewers anymore. It’s hard to do these draft caps off memory but I will do my best. The draft starts with a high, as I see many blue backgrounds on the magic cards in my first pack. Charmed Sleep, SecretKeeper, Didn’t Say Plz, Apprentice, and Vantress Gargoyle. I like Gargoyle more than most (I always have at least 4 cards in my hand) so I take it hoping one of the 3 good cards will wheel. There was a RW knightlord and not much else in other colors so a bit worrysome of a signal to send (and in fact Hauck 2nd picked the Charmed Sleep) Pack 2 was one of the worst packs I’ve ever laid eyes on. There was a steelclaw Lance and a B and G Paladin, and luckily a Frogify as the clear best card (Frogify isn’t very good). I take the Frogify Pack 3 is interesting; outmuscle improbable alliance tome raider covetous urge. It’s not that interesting, covetous Urge is completely busted. Alliance is a bit overrated and just fine, I do always have lots of opts and tome raiders so I like them I have it, but I know I will never play less than 11-12 blue sources and Urge is just so good. 4th pick Opt!!! This is the only blue card in the pack that otherwise really stinks. It was the last card I looked at and a huge sigh of relief for me. 5th pick didn’t say please and sage of the falls, a good sign. This is somewhat of a close pick but I value hard counters very highly and sage is just a much worse draw 3 scry 3. Take the counter 6th pick only one blue card tome raider, there is a henge walker as well but otherwise a weak pack. I take the raider as it sends a better signal and I don’t see myself being particularly aggressive after this start. I honestly don’t recall the rest of this pack but I know none of the 3 good cards tabled. I think maybe the overwhelming apprentice did but I don’t find that much of a playable magic card. I got a few playable like wishful merfolk and a forever young etc but nothing exciting. Pack 2 is where we make our living. Now I don’t want to go divulge off into a long theory piece, as this is supposed to be a silly fun report that is already bound to go absurdly long. But I have to say this. (and boy is it going to be fucking long. I just came back up to add this disclaimer. I am about to go on a massive rant about throne of eldraine limited. About how good Blue is. About how good unexplained visions is. About the theory of everything, and how Ben Stark is sometimes even wrong. If you don’t care about it you can skip past it. But you do care. That’s why you clicked this. Read it. You’ll laugh. You’ll learn something too; I think.) Rant on Drafting and Eldraine and Theory- Shoutout to Ben Stark the 🐐, and all the lovers of booster draft out there. Ben is great and much better than me. Shoutout to Marshall and Eduardo. They are both great players and great commentators as well, and they definitely understand limited and booster draft on a deep level. That being said... Ben Stark may tweet PT trophy records and shoutout his piece on “drafting the hard way”. Eduardo and Marshall may mention it multiple times during every draft. [See almost any draft ever, or specifically see Haucks draft on day 2 where he is completely handcuffed on my direct left “staying open” while ending up with a really embarrassing collection of cards after pack 1.] Multiple times throughout his draft Eduardo mentions how he and other good players and great drafters like to “stay open” by taking the “best card” in every pack. Well you see what Eduardo didn’t tell you and what Ben stark didn’t say in his trophy tweets or his piece on drafting the hard way is that... EVERY DRAFT FORMAT IS EXTREMELY UNIQUE [bolded and italicized for effect, but idk how] (Again Ben, Marshall, Eduardo, Riley, and Paul are all great. Commentating is absurdly hard and they do an unreal job. This stuff I’m talking about is way too deep for live on air stuff, and I can tell you that all 5 of them know most all of what I’m about to say already. “Drafting the hard way” is a great lesson for drafters, even experienced good drafters can learn a ton and will do well to remember it.) Throne of eldraine happens to be very dynamic. There are a TON of viable color pairs and options and “decks” but the thing is, some of them fucking suck. Shoutout again to Marshall for letting everyone know that RG was not really a thing when Brad was taking red and Green cards. Now we just need to admit that all the non U color pairs are not things either! The other thing is, a ton of the decks are really reliant on very specific cards. And of course the decks all have varying degrees of malleability. The fact of the matter is, 2 color decks just almost do not work at all. GB food is not a deck. Shoutout to Collin for somehow drafting it every time GW adventures isn’t a deck. RB and RW and BW knights are not decks. GR grumgullies isn’t a thing. UR draw 2 isn’t a deck. They are all complete traps and most people sort of understand this, but they don’t seem to know what to do about it. What you need to do is focus on the good decks, and then develop a draft strategy that gives you the best chance to end up with a “good version” of one of the [playable at all] decks. Now I’m not going to sit here and pretend like it’s easy. A magic the gathering 8 man booster draft with 3 of the same large set packs is one of the purest art forms to ever exist in our universe. Eldraine draft is mostly dead, but I’ll give you the [short; for how much I could write about this format] rundown anyway. It may help you develop a strategy in future formats. I can only hope R&D continues to make formats even close to as good as this one or Khans or Ravnica City of Guilds. Rule number 1: Blue is so much better than every other color. It would honestly make the format super awkward/Interesting if everyone was aware of this, but what I gathered before the PT and certainly during it, was that most people are not aware of this. And that’s despite the arena bots being so bad they force everyone into being blue every draft, and all the spreading of that info and complaining on Twitter still led to no1 really figuring it out. Rule Number 2: The color pairs are traps, fixing is very scarce and also very good, many cards look good but are TRAPS as early picks because the completely pigeonhole you into only 1 or maybe 2 playable decks/archetypes whatever you want to call it. If you watch theHamTV draft you’ll see him say it all the time. He first picks a card, and then by pick 2 or 3 he’s already tilting off because he says “I am never going to play these 2 cards in the same deck” this is not standard for a draft format by any means, but Throne is its own animal. Searing Barrage isn’t good unless you are Mono Red. That isn’t intuitive at first glance. Red white or Red Black are just not playable as color pairs. Same for Red Green or Green Black or Green White. You can obviously always splash, but the mana requirements are too heavy and the incentives to staying mostly one color are so high. This means you cannot afford to first pick Bake 2nd pick Charmed Sleep and then decide to take like Outmuscle over decent artifacts and U or b cards, and then decide to take Lochtwain Paladin over other blue cards and artifacts. The Paladin and to a lesser extent Bake are only good in mono black exactly (Bake is fine in UB). If this is the way the packs break that’s fine, what can you do? But Christian had a few better options I believe, and then soon I think he takes a red card. And then a malevelont Noble, And then another green card and then maybe a white card!? And look, I feel for him. The packs were weak overall and Throne of Eldraine is hard. He was also on my left, with Max on my right. Max and I both drafted Mono U. Christians draft is a perfect example of what many poor players drafts would look like if everyone realizes how good blue is. We probably don’t have time for it all here. But I’ll give you the short rundown. Exhaustive list of playable decks in throne of eldraine limited. Uxxxx Unexplained Visions Bury Their So Tiny Asses Alive I try to force this every single draft, but I do it in a delicate manner making sure to keep myself open to any of the other 10 or so good decks. After all we may not open any Vision, and they may not get passed to me. I sure as hell wont pass one. This deck is a malleable machine. It is so good because you can just take whatever nobody else is taking. If you get late pixies, you go green, if u get late mad ratter or alliance, u play those, if u get late Wicked guardians or a 6th pick lochmere Serpent or u open epic downfall and Bakes, you play those. If you get danse and have artifacts, you go dansing in the wind. If u get secretkeepers and counters you go mill. If you get stuck with Fae vandal and henge walkers and Vantress paladins you can even salvage with some runnaway together and tempo them out with fliers (I don’t recommend this tempo plan, but some drafts 5-6 people are blue and u gotta make it happen anyway. Your deck will still be better than the average deck in other colors) But ultimately all this deck truly needs is 2-4 visions/into the story (visions strongly preferred. Story only great if u have 3+ secretkeepers and or didn’t say please type stuff) You also would like some number of opts and witching wells (not necessary though). I’d play 6 opts at least and usually 2-3 wells. The less visions and into the stories you have the more wells I’d play. But even with 3 visions I’d play 4 Opt and a well or two. Any cheap magic cards that preferably block really well or gain more advantage in themselves like opt witching well clockwork servant wicked guardian etc etc, and then stuff like secretkeeper so tiny Charmed Sleep 1/4s and 3/2s for 2. and finally some good way to end the game (this doesn’t need to be a traditional big flier. It’s nice to have lochmere serpent or something absurd and easy to kill with, but a few secretkeepers and didn’t say pleases and mystic sanctuaries also works just fine, or some weird danse kill, or ratter/alliance army (watchout for revenge of the ravens!)) The real beauty of this deck is getting absurdly mileage out of other players dregs. Lochtwain Gargoyle is just actually a good card in this deck usually. Crashing drawbridge type stuff is not ideal, but totally serviceable. Corridor monitor and wishful merfolk can both be fine to actively good. You can see quickly how easy it is to consistently end up with this deck when you can play 5-8 cards nobody else would ever even take and other people are passing visions and playing non blue decks. Just wait until you hear what BEN STARK thinks about Unexplained Vision Ux Mill This is usually splashing black, sometimes mono. You know the deck. The arena bots give it away. In real life it doesn’t actually happen, a pipe dream. Sometimes my Visions Bury em decks end up winning via mill, bc secret keeper is just a fine to good card if u have drown in the Loch/into the story/ lots of visions and need 1-2 drops/the combo didn’t say pleases and no good finishers. But sure if no1 takes any secretkeepers and u get lucky clover or Folio and lots of didn’t say pleases this can be a great deck that’s hard to beat. Ug This is usually splashing for some very specific cards like maraleaf pixie, trail of crumbs, some rares I’m not thinking of, maybe Edgewall inkeeper/maraleaf rider and some eggs and some weird 3 color thing. I’ve had some wonky decks like this. It doesn’t come together often but I’ve had at least 3 drafts where I get multiple maraleaf pixies for free bc no1 can ever take them, and you can see how having an early trail of crumbs/outmuscle can lead to some weird mono u splash these cards shell Uw This deck has multiple different routes, you never want to shinechaser really, but you certainly always want owl. I think the best versions play a few plains for things like all that glitters and trapped in the tower or Danse of the manse type stuff. It’s silly but realm cloaked giant or that archon are other good reasons to end up this deck. Emry and eggs and witching wells any cheap artifacts you know what I’m saying. Ub This is mostly just an extension of the bury em visions deck. One note almost all of these decks want 11+ blue sources. Mystic sanctuary is busted in all of these decks. Clockwork servant type stuff is busted. Blue is completely busted! Now I know all these decks I just mentioned are sort of the same thing. But they really aren’t. And the big takeaway is that blue has all the best cards, and is also the deepest color by a lot, while also being able to support 3-4 different types of strategies in a single draft. It’s a crazy revelation when you realize it. Blues 8th best common is better than the 2nd best common in all of the other colors. Syr Elenora Urge Loch dragon Owl Snapper Vandal all great, so many more I’m leaving out basically every blue card in the set is a dreamboat. Tier 2 decks Mono Red aggro Searing barrage and embreth Paladin are not good in any other deck, but great here. Same goes for weaselback redcap and oftentimes even fling. The issue is lots of people don’t know that about searing barrage, so u may not get them for free. This deck just wants to curve out but have some serious burst potential with the haste Paladin/fling/barrage and then just fill in with any of the henge walker/joustin dummy type stuff and play redcap raiders/barge in/scorching dragonfires etc. I find it’s hard to get enough early creatures so prioritize them when you can. Mono G aggro This is a spicy deck that lots of people considered the best and so it’s well known and out there how to draft it. Go to Hamtv on twitch to watch Kyle play it all the time. Green has some good cards that no1 else wants like wildwooftracker the halberd gingerbrute maraleaf rider garenbrig Paladin etc. and while people do want outmuscle and Witchstalker, those are really strong. You can splash here, but you would almost always prefer to not have to. Henge walker etc can help you avoid having to. Mono W or Wx aggro. Tactician and cheap plays. White has no shortage of 1-2 drops and good value pump spells like guidemother and the squire. Flutterfox with some things to turn it on happens often, I think Banner and Wheel are just always great but they shine here in the flutterfox versions of this deck. Fliers/evasion is massive to get around my pesky corridor monitors and wishful merfolk and sectretkeepers. You can certainly have a knights theme and even splash black or red for some knights or removal/good cards. But you really want to prioritize actually being able to play your cards and being able to pick up Hybrid WWWWxxxx uncommons and cast henge walkers and ritual and Paladin and stuff with adamant. Same goes for all the mono color aggro decks, you really have to do your best to stay as mono as possible throughout the draft, and ultimately you don’t ever want to end up with a 10-7 or 9-8 manabase. It will obviously happen and with fine to great decks sometimes, but it’s super rare and you should actively be trying to avoid it. Some players have success with Knight strategies. I believe they need lots of uncommons and rares and then to get lucky to end up with a distribution that lets them play 11-6 to have good mana. I’ve 3-0ed with quite a few mostly white knight decks that splash the drain guy, epic downfall, reave soul, maybe some black rare idk. Things like that are fine. But taking the RW Knight uncommon 2/2 or the steelclaw Lance are recipes for disaster. I didn’t see Eli’s Draft, but see our round 10 match for an example of a steelclaw Lance deck. Mono B value/midrange I haven’t drafted this much but it’s mostly self explanatory. Usually it comes about by first picking bake into a pie or getting passed an ayara in a weak pack and just having black be wide open. You play the Lochtwain Paladin and the reave souls and bakes and whatever Hybrid Uncommons u can find and usually some rares and fill in with dummies and henge walkers as needed. Can splash for things like garruk or serpent obviously, and this comes up quite a bit, this is another good reason to try and stay mono going into packs 2 and 3. That is the end of the playable throne of eldraine draft decks list. Every other deck is a pipe dream. They do exist, but rely heavily on exact uncommons/rares like troll king or savy hunter in BG food. And even if u get them you will still lose to an average U deck with 3 unexplained visions. Avoid like the plague. Ok yeah, rule number 3 time I promise this is the last rule. Draft as though you know what the good decks are and you know how the format works. Stop acting like everything is a vacuum and Throne of Eldraine limited is just another Magic the Gathering Set that can be easily mastered by following the guidelines outlined in Ben Starks Timeless Piece “Drafting the Hard Way”. Taking random ass cards in different colors throughout pack 1 bc they are powerful is a recipe for absolute disaster in this format. It is true that Ben is right about draft theory in general terms, and in most formats drafting by taking the “best cards” you see in the first few packs is a sound strategy. Because you wait for a “signal” and then u move into what deck you are “supposed” to be in for your seat. Losing a few early picks is nothing when you end up in the perfect color pair that neither of the 2 players on your right or even the player on are touching at all. Right??? Yes it’s right, but not in throne of eldraine. Throne rewards cutthroat discipline of sticking to the blue cards and artifacts. You want to leave yourself open to being able to draft blue as long as possible, while at the same time not forcing it in case it just isn’t there. It’s very delicate and not easy, but some sample picks could probably illustrate my point better. Maybe review my 2 drafts from the PT and checkout my decks. I’ll try and post the pics again underneath the tweet linking these. Im exaggerating blue (a very small amount, it’s the best by miles), but sticking to cards that are good in multiple decks is huge. Youthful knight and flutterfox and tactician and guidemother and any other fine white card are fine white cards. There is only one deck that wants fine white cards. Mono white aggro. If this deck is not 100% wide open and you are taking these cards you will train wreck. I have drafted mono white 5+ times, but it was always because I started with a blue card, an egg, a banner or spinning wheel, a henge walker or dummy, and then started seeing late trapped in the tower or tacticians and the flutterfoxes or other white commons tabled. So this being said if you are faced with the decision of outmuscle or Tactician or Scorching Dragonfire or Even Reave Soul/Bake VS golden egg or banner/spinning wheel/Fabled Passage/clockwork servant always take the latter card. In their respective mono color decks the top cards are a bit stronger than the bottom cards. The problem is this isn’t a normal format. When you take a tactician in a normal format u can play it in 5-6 different decks. Any white deck. There is only one white deck here but 15 other decks. Don’t take tactician until it’s clear u are the only white drafter. Take opt. Or take run away together. Or if you’re lucky take spinning wheel. If you’re the luckiest person alive take Unexplained Vision The player on my direct right was Mono U in this day 2 draft. I drafted Mono U right behind them and 3-0ed with a great deck. It isn’t because I got lucky. The pack distributions were kind of ugly, and many players were blue or taking blue cards. None of my cards tabled. But it doesn’t matter. I stayed strong and took artifacts and fixing high, and I never let a good blue card go by. It’s a simple strategy really, but certainly hard to execute perfectly Some weeks before the PT, shortly after I had come to the realization that blue in throne of eldraine was approaching mandatory force levels; I saw Ben the 🐐 Stark first pick Emry Lurcher of the Loch and then 2nd pick a BOG NAUGHTY over a DRAW 3 SCRY 3! The best limited player of all time!! I certainly believe Ben is unbelievable and a very strong player and incredible mind. His willingness to search for the truth above all else is what I believe really makes him special. But Bog Naughty is not remotely pickable in any early pack 1 scenario. You have to be mono black and also have some food? It’s just not reasonable. GB food again isn’t a thing, and even if it is it’s likely heavy green. If it’s heavy black sure u can use the naughty to some good fun magic. But even if you do it’s like a slightly better card than what a filler card like henge walker or tempting witch? Don’t take Bog Naughty if you want to win your matches. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing anything so I asked him about it. I said “Yo Ben, you passed the literal dreamboat card for a Vantress Paladin that cost 5 mana double black after first picking one of the most busted rares in the set that is guaranteed to make your deck after first picking it, being as it is in the best color and it’s now so easy to prioritize artifacts in the draft.” What gives??? His response: “Not a big fan of vision. Especially when you already have Emry milling 4 giving you a source of end ess card advantage. I’ll play 1-2 copies of vision in my deck if I don’t have other card advantage, but it’s near unplayable vs mill and aggro and I don’t draft it highly.” Now I always look to give someone like Ben the benefit of the doubt. And this is twitter where nuance is obviously lost easily as we are limited to a few sentences. But breaking down what he said; he starts with saying he’s not a fan of visions, later saying it’s near unplayable vs mill and aggro and that he doesn’t draft it highly. This is when I realized I made a mistake asking him about it. The PT is still 3 weeks away and I don’t want him to realize he’s wrong and teach all of his friends. It is true that Visions have diminishing returns. Most decks can not afford to play the 5th, or even 4th copy. A lot of decks may end up not really wanting a 3rd either, but I think that is extremely rare. This is such a minor thing though, and it’s the literal most important card in over half the blue decks. You don’t say “oh I’m not going to take the best card ever because I can’t play more than 3 of them”. Like imagine a 5 mana card that said draw 10 cards. Sure you cant fill your deck with 8 of them. But now you want to fucking pass it because of that? No you fucking slam it to guarantee you have it. And if you get more, you slam those too and you play those too. And yes, once u get your 4th or 5th copy you can chill out, or you can bear down and play those too while figuring out a way to find some cheap shit to stay alive until you cast your first draw 10 and win by default . But the fact that you have this card, combined with the mere fact that it exists and you value it highly (properly) means you can now literally draft whatever u want, so long as you draft a sufficient number of cheap/defensive cards. More about his statement. Just because you have 1 Emry doesn’t mean you can’t take more card advantage??? He says Emry is an endless source. Yes it’s a 1/2 that needs an artifact stream and you also have to draw it and have it live. I would prefer to have 10 Emry type cards in every deck. If you’re tired of reading about this I’m truly sorry, but not really sorry because there’s no fucking way anyone is still here this deep in and not absolutely loving it. “It’s near unplayable vs aggro and Mill”. While the card is usually somewhat weak against mill (it actually ends up being the best card against mill a bunch of the time. I say this because I have a ton of experience with visions against busted mill decks in the arena streets. If you have 2-3 visions and you play against mill; There will obviously be games where visions is awful and you cannot even realistically cast it. But in the other games, the games you actually have good chances to win; you usually do so by burying your opponent in cards and killing them by default before they can mill you. No slow blue deck is going to aggro through a secretkeeper deck. You beat it by hoping they draw too many secretkeepers/defensive weak cards and don’t draw the counterspells. Mill vs U Visions control literally comes down to who resolves the visions! (I will concede that drafting like this means you are absurdly soft to Folio of the fancies/didn’t say please/Mystical Dispute and any really fast milling. But this is why I prioritize the counterspells very highly myself, along with cards like covetous Urge and cards that can kill efficiently thru walls of defense and kill alone like Syr Elenora/ratter/alliance and sB options like Vantress Paladin/steelhaze griffins or forever young, and also sbing in 8 more islands and 6 more blue cards if I need to.) But saying it’s “bad vs aggro and mill” is just silly. On its “bad vs aggro”- “Aggro” is a weird concept in limited. You really want to avoid being pidgeonholed into “aggro” at all costs. Being aggro means you are relying on having a strong opening hand with a good curve while also relying on your opponents to not have sufficient defenses against your onslaught. In theory this sounds like a fine strategy when executed properly. You fill your deck with powerful 2 and 3 drops with high power or menace or flying or haste or first strike, maybe even some one drops. Cheap burn and plays that help removal blockers/push through damage. And then u top it off with whatever powerful finishers you can find. In reality this is an inferior draft strategy to taking cheap/defensive cards, card advantage, and busted magic cards like the RARE MYTHIC RARE and UNCOMMON type cards. The reason is twofold, the draft portion + the games portion. In the draft, ending up with a great aggro deck is hard. You have to be in the exact right color for your seat, get the necessary amount of aggressive 2-3 drops, the right pump/cheap removal/burn/reach and the right mana base to be able to function well. In the games you have to avoid mulliganing, avoid stumbling on lands, and avoid drawing your 2 drops on turn 10 when you need your few finishers. Meanwhile you have to also avoid your opponent having any of the Stonewall Jackson type cards you dread facing. Like say Corridor Monitor into Clockwork Servant into Wicked Guardian. But this is the beauty of drafting. In a perfect world, we’d sit down for an 8 man where most of the players agree that being “aggro” is inherently bad, and we all lean towards being defensive and open to whatever the best ways to gain incremental advantage we can come up with in the draft. In this world the player(s) who recognize what’s going on and moves into the aggro lane will be rewarded and end up with a completely busted deck that has the highest win expectancy at the table. In many formats, this is actually exactly what happens. Aggro is [slightly] worse than just drafting a good defensive curve removal busted cards and card advantage. So if no one is drafting aggro you will end up with a broken deck that should crush everyone. That hidden factor is that you still have to avoid mulliganing and or flooding/stumbling/drawing weak cards in the mid game/overcoming stonewall Jackson so despite maybe having a slightly higher winrate than decent defensive decks, you still have to run well in your games and the medium deck can still stonewall you. You’re often prone to flooding as well. Look, I’m not saying aggro is unplayable. But I am saying you should do everything in your power to not draft it. Now back to the point. I would argue that visions is the BEST possible common you could ever have against aggro. (I wouldn’t actually argue that, I’d prefer wrath of god and moat and shit... but it is a very sound and good strategy of playing defense and then burying them with one broken draw spell. And this card is really really good, even vs aggro) Ben has this notion that in limited magic, card draw is often cheapened because of the low value of extra lands. I challenge this proposition in most scenarios, as finding a use for extra lands is easy when you are drawing tons of cards. And “getting past the lands” to find your specific answers/good cards is often very useful. But that is not super relevant here anyway. Visions isn’t just a draw 3... You then scry 3!! It’s a fucking common!!! Personal wheel of fortune!!!! End Rant Recap I have Hauck now feeding me for pack 2 My picks so far are Vantress Gargoyle Frogify Covetous Urge Opt Didn’t say please Tome raider Forever young Wishful merfolk Some dregs I forget Pack 2 I think I opened Fae of Wishes and 1-2 other decent cards. Fae is Busted so I slammed it. I am passed a pack lacking in good cards. It has a pixie, a queen of ice (not a good card, like the 10th best or worse U common) a Corridor Monitor (a good card, but obviously not happy to take early) and luckily a Fabled Passage that I slam! 3rd pick is full of busted stuff. Charmed Sleep So Tiny Danse of the Manse Trail of Crumbs Pixie (have to consider the other pixie tabling now) Ultimately I settle on charmed Sleep. I like So Tiny more in some decks, but you need multiple visions and preferably some mill stuff before I start taking my first So tiny over my first Charmed Sleep. 4th pick Covetous Urge number 2 over Opt and Mystic Sanctuary Urge is completely busted 5th Charmed Sleep over So tiny and Egg 6th pick So Tiny! Over wishful merfolk (Sorry Max) 7th pick Loch Dragon! Over So Tiny (You’re Welcome Max) 8th Pick Castle Vantress over nothing (Truly Sorry Max) 9th Pick Skullknacker Ogre over nothing (I boarded this in vs Brad who was Gr with no pump spells no removal. He had 2 Syr faren a few merchant of the vales and a bunch of Fierced witchstalkers a henge walker etc. I drew it and played it t4 and won bc of it!) 10th Pick the pixie tables but I’m Worried about my cheap creatures and plays and feel it’s unlikely I play G at this Point. I honestly may be confusing a pick in the draft and may have already had a mad ratter or improbable alliance bc I somewhat confidently took queen of ice over this pixie (2 Urge and Loch dragon mana requirements also weighed on my mind) 11th pick the other Pixie tables too. And I am on massive tilt bc I just pulled up the viewer to check this pack thru Christians eyes. There was a so Tiny in this pack he hate drafted here 😂😩😬 12th Pick he hate drafts Opt 🤦🏻‍♂️ But there is a mystic sanctuary anyway! He hates a Runaway Together with 3 cards in the pack and I don’t get anything Pack 3 I open a weak pack but it has a secretkeeper and an Into the Story. I timebanked this pick to the max and wasn’t confident. I really need early plays but also really need some more ways to draw extras. Bc of my two urges giving me some advantage in long games I decide to take the secretkeeper and pray I’ll see an Unexplained Vision Pick 2 Max does me a favor and passes me Syr Elenora. There is like a slaying fire and Yorvo as notables. But Syr Elenora is preeeeemium. Pick 3 I think I take either Mad Ratter or Improbable Alliance over Animating Fae and Nothing. Pick 4 Mystical Dispute over Moonlit scavengers Pick 5 Tome Raider over Queen of Ice Pick 6 Either Improbable Alliance or Mad Ratter (I ended with 1 of each, forgot which was which pick they are the same card in my brain) over Merchant of the Veil no Blue cards Pick 7 Opt over nothing Pick 8 Run away Together over nothing Pick 9 Into the Story Tables!!!! I end up deciding it’s my best Fae of wish Target and I only have 1 secretkeeper one Didn’t say please to mill, my removal is 2 Charmed Sleep So Tiny, so I figure the Into the Story being in my sideboard makes a lot of sense. I end up wishing for it 3-4 times and it was gas. Final deck is 12 islands 1 Mystic Sanctuary 1 Castle Vantress 1 Fabled Passage 2 Mountain 2 Opt 1 So Tiny 1 Merfolk SecretKeeper 1 Vantress Gargoyle 1 Fae of Wishes 1 Wishful Merfolk 1 Queen of Ice 1 Improbable Alliance 1 Run Away Together 1 Frogify 2 Tome Raider 2 Charmed Sleep 1 Didn’t Say Please 1 Mystical Dispute 2 Covetous Urge 1 Loch Dragon 1 Mad Ratter 1 Syr Elenora 1 Steelhaze Griffin (23rd card and I was torn on this. Card is whatever not good at all, but it can block and it can attack) R9 Dylan Lerch (The only White Drafter) Because we were the feature pod, we exchange pools. We don’t have decklists, but pools of all 42 cards drafted. Quickly I see that Dylan has a completely busted mono white deck, well likely splashing red. Dylan was two on my left. I figured Hauck was probably white, but since he wasn’t it all got to Dylan. Dylan was certainly the only white drafter. I am trying to imagine my gameplan for beating this deck, and I’m failing to come up with scenarios where I win any games. 4 Fairie Guidemother 2 Giant Killer 1 Worthy Knight 2 Youthful Knight 1 Inspiring Veteran 1 Shepard of the Flock 1 Glass Casket 1 Ardenvale Tactician 1 Clockwork Servant 1 Linden the Steadfast Queen 1 Brimstone Trubuchet 1 Slaying Fire 1 Outlaws Merriment 1 Archon of Absolution 1 Resolute Rider 1 Oakhame Ranger 2 Fireborn Knight 13 Plains 4 Mountain I know I clown aggro, but this deck is no joke. My wishful merfolk is downright embarrassing vs this. My queen of ice too. My charmed sleeps aren’t very good vs 1/1 fliers. As a matter of fact without Fae of Wishes I don’t see how I stop this onslaught. Game 1 starts off about the only way I could ever imagine for a game that I’ll win. I play turn 2 Fae of Wishes after Dylan played a turn 1 Fae Guidemother. Soon after he plays out a giant killer, and then some 2 power thing. He starts tapping my Fae and Building a force, but I find some tome raider chain into some real cards I can’t remember exactly, but I know I stabilize and then bounce my Fae with Run away Together and then Granted for Into the Story. I draw 4 then covetous Urge him a little bit behind now and at around 8. He still doesn’t have a mountain, so his Outlaws Merriment is stranded and I kill him with it over a few turns after I stabilize around 5 life. I feel I got very lucky that game with his draws being poor and being able to steal his merriment. G2 he plays 1 drop 2 drop turn 3 2 drop plus giant killer and turn 4 I am left conceding with no outs. Disgusted while shuffling for G3 I wonder where it all went wrong. How is Dylan’s deck so good? Why am I paired vs him now? I know I can beat the other 6 decks! I have a decent hand but slow, luckily he makes no play turn 1. He plays a few creatures over the next few turns and misses his 4th land drop. I have a singleton medium blocker I forget what it was but it’s getting tapped bc It’s facing down vs his now worthy knight giant killer Fae guidemother and I think Youthful Knight plus 1/1 as i cast my Covetous Urge, assuming I am just dead with no outs. Dylan is stuck on 3 plains and reveals his hand of fireborn Knight Outlaws Merriment another 2 drop anddddddddddddddddddddddd Archon of Absolution hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaa I go ahead and take that. He doesn’t draw a land and makes some attacks putting me to 12 and plays another 2 drop. I untap and casually place his protection from white ghostly prison into play hahahhahahahahahah he has 7 creatures and 3 plains and draws land, but it’s plains. So all he can muster is fireborn Knight. He plays it then lines up attacks and there is under 10min in the round and a big crowd is watching. After a bit more of him thinking about who to attack with I just finally say you cannot attack they all cost a mana and he realizes it and shakes his head and passes. I untap and covetous Urge him again and take Merriment! His only out from here is mountain then slaying fire, but he doesn’t find them. I actually cast didn’t say please the next turn after playing Merriment and he mills a mountain and the slaying fire! Turns out Archon of Absolution is good against Mono White aggro 1 drops and tokens!! 8-1 and ecstatic to steal one. Round 10 Vs Eli Kassis on RB ~18 Playables??? Eli and I are featured as the backup match and a few parts of our games ended up on camera. When we exchanged pools we have 1 minute. I scan through and see he’s clearly black. He has rankle malevelont noble and some random assortment of ok black cards. He has Covetous Urge and Memory Theft. He also has like 5 red cards and a Steelclaw Lance. A crashing Drawbridge and maybe one other artifact. But overall if he plays every single black card artifact and red card that I deem playable it wasn’t even 20 cards. I ran out of time confused how he built his deck. It seemed that he was in fact just red black so maybe I miscounted or missed something. The games are somewhat interesting. Game 1 I kind of flood and awkward covetous Urge his hand of covetous Urge and weak cards, and he already has some 4 power attacker and shortly produced another. I had to urge his urge and I eventually get to Urge again to play something OK but I am just a little to much behind and can’t get a foot on the game before I’m forced to chump and then die. I’m still confident as his deck seems weak. Games two and 3 are pretty straightforward. He keeps drawing crashing drawbridge and steelclaw Lance and I’m Able to deal with his actual cards one at a time while producing a board of stupid little fliers. I did get lucky g3 on camera. His t2 crashing drawbridge I t2 Vantress Gargoyle He t3 memory theft and my hand is 6 spells no land. But it’s wishful merfolk Fae of Wishes charmed Sleep Run away Together tome raider and something else cheapish. So I don’t really need lands too badly and I also don’t have anything that broken. I think he takes my Fae or maybe a diff good card, but I immediately peel a land and tome Raider. I draw into another raider. He t4 covetous Urge off quad swamp and takes my Charmed Sleep and uses it on my Gargoyle the next turn. I’ve been milling with Gargoyle and I play tome raider 4th land go. From there I don’t miss lands for a few more turns and end up burying him beneath fliers once i draw Loch dragon and he only has some anemic beats with a solo rimrock Knight. 9-1 2-0 in the draft At this point I know Brad is playing vs Max Mick and I’m really hoping Brad wins. Max was on my right and I know he’s mono U with Folio gadwick. Unfortunately he won. But the good news is Brad Started 8-0 so he’s also 9-1, and we get paired!!! R11 Mike Sigrist on Gr Monsters His deck is a steaming pile of large creatures and bad mana. I kept going over the list looking for a spell and all I could find was a crystal slipper, 3 Fell of the pheasant, a Sundering Stroke and a Thrill of possibility. He’s mostly Green with 2 Syr Faren 2 Fierce Witchstalker 3 Garenbrig Paladin. He has a henge walker and a rosethorn acolyte, and then like multiple merchant of the Veils and Ogre Errants. I don’t even see how he has 23 cards either, he must be playing all these pheasant plummets (he is) We are main feature match. The whole thing was on camera. Brad won the die roll and mulligans to 5. I have 3 lands perfects with like a tome raider charmed Sleep counterspell and some 2 drop. I sort of draw only lands for the first lot of turns but Brad has a mono green deck and starts mountain mountain mountain henge walker. I charmed Sleep it. My plan was to save those for paladins, but with his mull to 5 and triple mountain start I figure I can race easily. He does put up some fight but I just take it slow and have Dispute and didn’t say plz and eventually find like an Urge and or a Loch dragon to close the game in short order. Game 2 is really interesting as I have to let him filter 10 times with merchant over the game but I maneuver my way to a winning position eventually on the back of both my Covetous Urges. 3-0 GG Y0 10-1 I know it’s way too late for subway or anything as the lines will all be unreal. So I pack up and find a message from Collin that he is grabbing convention center pizza. He grabs me a slice and it’s so terrible I can’t take more than a few bites. I’ve been staying really well hydrated and eating a decent breakfast at least, but these no lunches are brutal. Luckily I’m riding the adrenaline today and feel completely fine. R12 Vs Josh Utter Leyton on UG food Josh has 4 Growth Spiral instead of paradise Druid and is playing 2 Kraul harpooner I think. He has 25 lands but is on a pretty normal list otherwise. No Mass Manipulation or anything. Game 1 he’s on the play I think but starts tapped land tapped land goose. He has a turn 3 Oko I think but I have a decent hand with vraska and grasp and I think I end up vraskaing his Oko and Grasping a nissa and winning with my Own eventually. G2 is blurry but I think he mulliganed and or had a bad hand. I do remember having to take a big risk though. I could use my vraska and make a big attack to guarantee his nissa died, and he had no hand, but I would leave myself dead to a topdecked nissa Oko or aether gust. I decided to go for it anyway as I didn’t see any other way to guarantee nissa dying. He drew a kraul harpooner which was not good enough and I got to untap and put the game out of reach with a krasis or something. 11-1 I know that one more win should lock top 8, and I have at least 3 rounds to find it, maybe even 4. No pressure. I honestly didn’t it feel much. I’ve been here before after starting 8-0 in a PT a few years back. That time I went 1-1-1 in the draft and started 2-2 in constructed so I had a win and in the last round, and lost it in rather unfortunate fashion. But I didn’t really feel too nervous that day either. I think it gets to me more when my back is against the wall. When I’m just winning every round, I just keep going! R13 Mack Smith Bant Food He is playing Stock Bant from the European GP. 3 Maindeck Mass Manipulation Growth spirals etc. G1 I get ahead and I think I am fading mass manipulation in the later turns (nothing I can do about it) but he doesn’t have it and I win. G2 I feel ahead but have no answer to manipulation and the turn I thought he would play it he didn’t so I got excited, but he played it the following turn and I died. G3 i play t1 goose he t1 goose. I play Druid t2 and he just untap and says go. I go for t3 Nissa but he has a Negate to counter, down to just goose forest no food though. I think I have to spend a turn doing not much because I may be missing land as well, and he actually discards to hand size and then I wolf his goose. I win that one a couple turns later 12-1 and locked with 1 more match point. I feel like I would have been more excited if it were a few years ago. My first PT Top 8! But honestly it felt all a bit weird. The PT is moving to the Players Tour, and so much history is fading away. This PT top 8 literally means nothing if I don’t win first place. Just 2 years ago a PT top 8 would mean almost all the points you need for gold and over half of the way to platinum. Getting 2nd in a PT would all but assure you could make Platinum if you played some magic. Plus everyone was around and into it, the hall of fame talks etc etc. Now with the MPL and the PT going away everything is a bit cheapened and everyone is sort of automatically Jaded and unsure of the future. I was still feeling good; I just expected to feel more. I also know I still have to find a draw. My instinct says even if I lose r14 I’ll get the draw R15 with another X-2 though. R14 Andrew Cuneo on GW adventures This match was main feature and all on camera. Cuneo is great and we have some banter before the game about die rolling procedures. He also tilts off when I mulligan and say I’m going to keep before putting a card back. That’s not actually how that works he says. What does work is noxious grasp maindeck against GW little kid. I play multiple and Andrew draws plenty of lands and dies. In game 2 I keep a very sketchy hand of Wolf Massacre Girl Krasis 4 lands on the draw. I only have 1 Massacre Girl, He mulliganed, I’m locked for top 8, what the fucking hell could go wrong K3333pp! He puts a card to the bottom and announces keep. OUAT finds inkeeper, forest inkeeper. I draw land 5 and say to myself u are the dumbest fucking shit in the 7 kingdoms for keeping this. Land go; He untaps, aggressively pushes his inkeeper up at me and I right the 1 life, he shuffles his hand briefly and says GO. Wait what? He took inkeeper with OUAT and then didn’t play a 2nd land turn 2. How unlucky can this guy be??? I continue to draw only lands and he does hit a land next turn, but it’s a forest and no play. He eventually does find plains and puts up a fight. Eventually marching for 5 or 6 and convoking loxodon with a card still back. I have tons of Mana at this point, still have Massacre girl and can cast it + wolf to wrath everything. But I drew legions end the turn before and realize there is no reason to kill my own 6/6 krasis, just legions end the tokens and I’m ahead on board anyway. He dies shortly after. 13-1 R15 ID with Louis Deltour! 13-1-1 1 Seed Locked up R16 vs Paulo Vitor Damo Da Rosa Right before the match I had been talking with Tom Ross and I see the pairing and he says you should dream crush no? He won’t make it if you beat him. I honestly hadn’t even looked at the standings and wasn’t considering playing before talking with Tom. But then I started thinking. This last Pro Tour Ever here... it is so Top Heavy. True winner take all scenario. What do I have to lose by playing and trying to knock out the best player in the room? Well for starters I like Paulo. He’s just really likeable, and has always been friendly with me. I know he will be upset, and it will cause some drama as this type of situation is rare and they have probably already considered him in after seeing pairings. But the more I think about it the more it makes so much sense to play. I don’t owe Paulo anything, and this old mentality on the etiquette of IDs/Scoops makes a lot of sense in the old Pro Points/Level System. Or when PT top 8s really meant something. But what the hell does letting Paulo in the Top 8 actually do? Make it that much more unlikely I win the tournament is about all I can think. Greg Kowalski and his non green deck will be in if I beat Paulo. If I draw with him Paulo and his perfect mass manipulation gadwick list will be in. So anyway, I tell Paulo I want to play. He is obviously a bit surprised. And a huge crowd is forming. Shahar is behind Paulo and giving me the absolute stare of death throughout the whole thing. I tell Paulo the truth. I think he is great, and a random player making t8 would be very beneficial for me. I said this tournament is winner take all for me. If I go on to get 2nd not one person will care. In 6 months no1 will remember my name. They won’t know I got 2nd. I’ll get my 42 Mythic points and they will be worth nothing. I’ll be qualified for the next PT only and that is it. 20k and a fuck you have a nice day. But if I manage to win? 50k an invite to worlds (62,500$ in equity). All the clout, the trophy. There is an Arena PT in a month I’m Not qued for. Odds I get invited if I win? Not as high as Ondrej’s odds since he won (100%) but pretty high. You get the point. Winning first matter a lot. I told Paulo this. I said 3 years ago we would high five he’d say yay PT t8 number whatever triple digit number. I’d be happy I’m locked gold tons of pro points everyone cheers everyone happy. But we ESports baby. T8s don’t mean shit. So I ask to see his list and of course, it’s great. I told him this isn’t looking good for you. U got mass manipulations no shitty colorless land only 2 temples this shit is perfect. Let’s play. But I was not in it. I felt a slight bit of pain for Paulo in the moment, and I also was just tired. LSU was beating up on Alabama and I had planned on watching the 4th quarter before Tom mentioned I should play. But at this point I felt I had to at least go through with a game or two. I may just write ID on the slip even if I win, we will see. He beats me in a game 1 where I play ok, but not great. It’s a short game and I go to put my Sb Into my deck. As I’m shuffling through trying to find cards to cut I realize I forgot his SB. And I also can’t even think and don’t care anymore, so I offer him the draw and of course he happily accepts. I tell him I just couldn’t do it to him, sorry I made him sweat! 13-1-2 1 Seed going into Sunday. Paired vs 8 Seed Sebastian Pozzo on stock UG food, Paulo V Cuneo are the other match on my side. I will write about day 3 and the T8 games in another post. This one is a LOT of words and it’s unreal if anyone read this whole thing straight through with no breaks. I’ve been typing this all day, and I don’t feel like proofreading. Thanks for reading; GG Yo

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newsever24-blog · 7 years

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Fantasy Football Week 8 waiver wire pickups

New Post has been published on http://newsever24.com/fantasy-football-week-8-waiver-wire-pickups/

Fantasy Football Week 8 waiver wire pickups

The 2017 RotoExperts Xclusive Edge In-Season Fantasy Football Package is here! It gives you access to all of our Premium content throughout the 2017 Fantasy Football season right up to your Fantasy Super Bowl. Enter promocode nydailynews at checkout for a special discount.

This article appears courtesy of RotoExperts.com

REMINDER: Fantasy Football Week 8 waiver wire pickups are going to be more quick-hitting since no one likes reading for more than two minutes.

Second reminder: I’m using dollars out of a 100-dollar budget the rest of the way. Percentages at this time of the year are tougher given remaining budgets, and you know your league best. If it’s an aggressive league, you may have to spend more or vice versa.

Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups: QBs – Quarterback Streamers

Tyrod Taylor, BUF (58%) – Taylor proved once again why he’s among the safest options when it comes to streaming quarterbacks. A 30-point game isn’t part of his appeal, but putting up enough rushing to total 15-20 points nearly every week is… especially against the Raiders.

Andy Dalton, CIN (55%) – Dalton hasn’t been great this year, but he is averaging 22 points per game over his last four with nine touchdowns. This week, the Bengals host the Colts, and it’s a matchup that gives Dalton a chance to repeat his Week 4 performance.

Josh McCown, NYJ (12%) – This just in, but McCown is actually a pretty good Fantasy quarterback. McCown has 15-plus points in all but one game and 27.8 and 28.6 in the last two games. The Jets host the Falcons this week, giving McCown the potential for his third straight high-20s score.

DON’T: Matt Moore, MIA (0%) – Moore is an aggressive downfield thrower similar to Jay Cutler, but the Dolphins head to Baltimore in a short week. The Ravens have held every quarterback under 15 points except for Blake Bortles in that London bonanza. In fact, Bortles was the only quarterback to throw for multiple touchdowns against the Ravens. As for Jacoby Brissett (13%), he’s a dicey option in Cincinnati, and Case Keenum (9%) is headed to London now – that always adds a bit of risk.

Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups: RBs

LAST CHANCE: Dion Lewis, NE (29%) – Normally, I put a player in the “last chance” section as their ownership tops 40 percent and make for an obvious addition. In Lewis’ case, I just don’t want to talk about Patriots running backs anymore. The only one that you can “trust” is James White in PPR, but Lewis is leading the way (for now) and will have use during the byes (until Bill Belichick benches him for Rex Burkhead just because).

FAB Dollars: $15-20

Marlon Mack, IND (40%) – The shift is happening, as Mack out-snapped Frank Gore last week 33 to 22. Mack is obviously more explosive at this point with Gore averaging just 3.4 yards per carry, a career low.

FAB Dollars: $15

DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard, OAK (3%, 11%) – Marshawn Lynch looked to be hopped up on Mountain Dew and Skittles, as he ran off the sideline to push and shove some people, including a referee. With Lynch suspended a game, Washington and Richard are must-adds for RB-need owners. Washington will likely see the higher use in the split, but Richard also has some appeal, especially in PPR leagues. Just be forewarned that both are likely one-week options, as Lynch will create a committee headache when back.

FAB Dollars: $10-15

Latavius Murray, MIN (41%) – Jerick McKinnon is still the running back to own in Minnesota, but as seen, Murray has some upside, especially if the Vikings are using a more traditional, between-the-tackles run game.

Wendell Smallwood, PHI (40%) – The 49ers run defense is basically non-existent. Ezekiel Elliott helps skew the numbers, but it was the second time a running back has topped 30 Fantasy points against the 49ers (Todd Gurley, Week 3). The 49ers have allowed six other double-digit performances with two more reaching that level in PPR scoring. Smallwood shares enough of the work with LeGarrette Blount to have Flex value in a gravy matchup.

FAB Dollars: $10-15

Chris Ivory, JAX (55%) – Leonard Fournette is expected back after the bye, but as mentioned last week, Ivory still has plenty left to offer. If Fournette were to have a setback or miss more time, Ivory would be right back in the RB2 conversation.

FAB Dollars: $5-10

FOR THE FUTURE: Handcuffs – Darren McFadden, DAL; D’Onta Foreman, HOU; Matt Breida, SF; Austin Ekeler, LAC; Devontae Booker, DEN; James Conner, PIT; Wayne Gallman, NYG; Mike Tolbert, BUF; Akeem Hunt, KC; Malcolm Brown, LAR

Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups: WRs

LAST CHANCE: Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods, LAR (42%, 37%) – Similar to Todd Gurley last year, when can we finally say that Sammy Watkins is a lost cause. Both Kupp and Woods have been more productive and reliable than Watkins has. Woods is actually one of the most-consistent receivers of late, despite the low ceiling. Kupp is more boom or bust, but he is seeing good volume in the red zone. Both need to be owned and even started… at least over Watkins.

FAB Dollars: $15-20

Marvin Jones and Kenny Golladay, DET (62%, 15%) – Jones was here last week, and this is a friendly reminder to grab him if out there. Make sure you pick up Golladay too, as while he was overrated to start the season, Golladay is still a nice red zone presence. If Golden Tate is out (sounds likely) Golladay is startable in most formats as the Lions No. 2 receiver.

FAB Dollars: $25-30 for Jones, $20 for Golladay

Corey Davis, TEN (25%) – Reports have Davis returning after the Titans bye. Davis was the most talented receiver in the draft and has Terrell Owens ability. If healthy, he’s the best receiver on the team and is exceptionally talented. Grab Davis if available!

FAB Dollars: $15-20

Josh Doctson, WSH (13%) – It’s happening. Terrelle Pryor was benched in the first half, and Doctson saw his highest snap count of his career. It would be nice to see more targets from Kirk Cousins, but at least Doctson is trending in the right direction, and he’s the most talented receiver the Redskins have.

FAB Dollars: $15-20

Kenny Stills, NYJ (21%) – If Stills’ ownership wasn’t so low, I’d put him in the “last chance” group, but apparently, people continue to dismiss Stills. Once again, Stills outplayed DeVante Parker last year and proved that he’s just as big of a big-play threat. Stills carries more bust potential this week with the matchup, but as mentioned with Moore, there is upside.

FAB Dollars: $15

Mohamed Sanu, ATL (38%) – I’ve always loved me some Snu Snu, and when healthy, Sanu has been quite productive for the Falcons. He’s healthy for now, and Sanu had more targets, receptions and yards in the first half last week, finishing with 10/6/65. The Jets just let Stills and Jarvis Landry – on the arms of Cutler and Moore – to total 20/13/178/3 against them.

FAB Dollars: $10-15

Ted Ginn, NO (51%) – Willie Snead will return at some point… we assume… but even so, it’s Coby Fleener’s value that takes the hit, not Ginn’s. Sure, Snead will steal some targets, but as Ginn showed once again, he’s filling Brandin Cooks’ role and is good for about 80 percent of his value.

FAB Dollars: $5-10

JuJu Smith-Schuster, PIT (14%) – Martavis Bryant is practically begging to get out of Pittsburgh. Unfortunately for him, there is little reason for the Steelers to bend. Either way, Smith-Schuster has outplayed Bryant. Complaining, whining or deleting inflammatory tweets isn’t going to get Bryant back in the Steelers good graces.

FAB Dollars: $5-10

Deonte Thompson, BUF (2%) – Jordan Matthews is still the best receiver for the Bills, but due to the offense and Matthews’ injuries, he hasn’t got on track yet. Thompson just signed with the team and immediately caught all four of his targets for 107 yards. The Raiders are right up there with being the weakest against receivers. Thompson is a deep flier.

FAB Dollars: $5

FOR THE FUTURE: Dede Westbrook, JAX (2%) – Westbrook is due back after the bye, and while Allen Hurns and Marqise Lee had solid Week 7 performances, they haven’t been overly impressive or consistent. Westbrook flashed his potential in the preseason and is great at finding open space/being the reliable, middle of the field weapon for his quarterback. He could end up with nice PPR value.

FAB Dollars: $5

DON’T: Travis Benjamin, LAC (5%) – Buy the cake, not the icing. Predicting the Chargers receivers is nearly as difficult as the Patriots running backs. Honestly, they’re worse than the Patriots backs this year, as Benjamin has three double-digit games and four with 3.2 or less, including a goose egg last week.

Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups: TEs

LAST CHANCE: Jack Doyle, IND (44%) – Doyle has 25 targets in his last three games with only Evan Engram and Zach Ertz having more for tight ends. Additionally, Doyle is tied for fifth in receptions per game during his last three games (last four weeks). Doyle is averaging six catches, just one half reception less per game than Antonio Brown, Jarvis Landry, Christian McCaffrey and James White during that time. Jacoby Brissett is making Doyle a high value in PPR.

FAB Dollars: $10

Benjamin Watson, BAL (13%) – Watson is a pure PPR tight end, but he’s TE15 in that format with 29 receptions in seven games. That’s even with having no involvement in Week 1. Watson doesn’t have a great ceiling, but if you are searching for some help, Watson has at least 8.8 PPR points in all but one game since Week 2.

FAB Dollars: $5-10

George Kittle, SF (22%) – Kittle proved the risk that comes with a rookie tight end and/or a tight end in a woeful offense. After two solid games – in fact Week 5 was pretty great – Kittle had just two targets for one catch and 16 yards. Nevertheless, tight end is thin, and Kittle’s boom is better than most other waiver options.

FAB Dollars: $5

Vernon Davis, WSH (6%) – Jordan Reed is fortunate to finish any game at this point, and even when he produces (like in the Eagles game), Davis still has upside. He’s risky as the TE2 in Washington, but Davis has nice upside, especially if Reed loses a body part.

FAB Dollars: $5

Tyler Kroft, CIN (15%) – Kroft is entirely touchdown reliant, but that’s not terrible news when a team specifically looks for said target during most red zone trips.

FAB Dollars: $5

DON’T: Austin Hooper, ATL and Jared Cook, OAK (59%, 40%) – Hooper’s two games without Mohamed Sanu (Week 4, the Falcons were without Sanu most of the game) saw 16 targets and 12 receptions. The other four games with Sanu? Just seven targets and six receptions. As for Cook, once again he proves to be one of the biggest gambles in Fantasy. If you enjoy gambling, then sure, pick up Cook, as I dare you to predict when his next good game is.

Week 8 Buy Low and Sell High

Buy Low

Matt Ryan, ATL

Ben Roethlisberger, PIT – Showed a bit of promise that the home game splits will return

C.J. Anderson, DEN

Christian McCaffrey, CAR – More for PPR, as he’s on pace for 100 receptions despite poor use

DeMarco Murray, TEN

Joe Mixon, CIN

Ty Montgomery, GB

Keenan Allen, LAC

Demaryius Thomas, DEN

Alshon Jeffery, PHI

Willie Snead, NO

Sell High

Cam Newton, Jerick McKinnon and Cameron Brate (with an O.J. Howard warning) were here last week. Take note.

Derek Carr, OAK – Always been a better real-life quarterback than Fantasy, and people will go gaga after last week

Aaron Jones, GB – Was here last week, and that didn’t work out, but his value is even higher. The Packers offense will be inconsistent with Brett Hundley, and it’s still hard to trust Jones’ weekly volume

Dion Lewis, NE – Yes, you need to pick him up, but if already own, you can also sell high if an owner thinks “this is the Patriots running back to change everything”

Amari Cooper, OAK – His fans already thanked me, but said “can’t wait for him to dominate the second half” at the same time. He’s Brandin Cooks! Inconsistency is their middle names

Tyreek Hill, KC – Look at his game log. Those offering WR1 value ignore the downside

Jarvis Landry, MIA – Is just two touchdowns short of his career best as a rookie and will take a hit when Parker returns

Will Fuller, HOU – Same as last week/reminder: eight catches, five touchdowns… you tell me if you think that’s sustainable

Jordan Reed, WSH – One of the most talented tight ends in football… one of the most injury prone players in football

#Football #Sports

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usnewsaggregator-blog · 7 years

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Fantasy Football: Week 8 waiver wire pickups

New Post has been published on http://usnewsaggregator.com/fantasy-football-week-8-waiver-wire-pickups/

Fantasy Football: Week 8 waiver wire pickups

This article appears courtesy of RotoExperts.com

REMINDER: Fantasy Football Week 8 waiver wire pickups are going to be more quick-hitting since no one likes reading for more than two minutes.

Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups: QBs – Quarterback Streamers

Josh McCown has a favorable matchup against the Falcons this week.

(Rob Foldy/Getty Images)

Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups: RBs

FAB Dollars: $15-20

FAB Dollars: $15

FAB Dollars: $10-15

Wendell Smallwood can help out RB-needy teams.

(Elsa/Getty Images)

FAB Dollars: $10-15

FAB Dollars: $5-10

Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups: WRs

FAB Dollars: $15-20

FAB Dollars: $25-30 for Jones, $20 for Golladay

FAB Dollars: $15-20

FAB Dollars: $15

Mohamed Sanu is fully healthy now.

(Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)