I am on day 4 of elimination (pray for me). I think I kind of made some mistakes days 1-3 in regards to stacking, but getting more in the groove each day. This is what I ate today:
Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs, salt and pepper to taste, coffee 10oz (Dunkin medium roast K-cup, simple syrup, splash of Fairlife whole milk)
Lunch: Sandwich (Schar GF Monash certified bread, sliced turkey, 1 slice cheddar cheese, handful spinach, djon mustard) and 1 serve of plantain chips
Snack: Fody Foods Blueberry Nut bar
Dinner: 2 chicken thighs with salt/pepper to taste, 1/2 russet potato baked into wedges with Fody Foods every day seasoning, 5 or 6 carrot sticks, club soda
Any recommendations? Is this type of menu good for elimination?
Thank you!!

Help me please! I just got a job in San Antonio without researching any aspect of actually moving to that area. I’m afraid that I might get made fun of for my Hamill wedge haircut, and my partner is also 1/32 native Californian. We’re basically afraid of being persecuted by racists Karens and roving mall gangs. Please Help!

I play with friends on an exiled lands PVE-c server. I just started a siptah play through on a PVP server. Unlike on EL, I don’t plan on making a thrall army to combat level 10 purges, or build extravagant bases.
I’m going to stick to pretty much the Bare Necessities for my play through, but I’m not going fully looted gear, I do want a functional but small base.
The problem, of course, is that other players will not know this from the outside, and I want to decrease the chances I am off-line or just clan raided. I won’t be able to be online every day, so what can I do to make my base look unappealing to would be raiders? Are there any good video guides? Should I be stacking layers of foundations, maybe wedge foundations, as walls around my walls? Layers of foundations and ceilings? I also thought about building a small tomb to log off in, so that even if my base gets raided, I can logon and have all my tools armor and weapons still available. Does it make sense to construct a little box nestled near my base to log off in as well?
Please let me know any advice or share resources on this topic. Thank you.

The 21st Hunger Games took place in an arena known as the Hera Industries Warehouse. A massive number of working class Capitalites and District 6 citizens on work visas instantly recognized this arena as it was one of the largest employers within the Capital. Located on Forde Island, (formally known as Staten Island before the Dark Days), this warehouse was renovated approximately fifteen years after the founding of the Capital when the genius businessman Forde Hera bought up the plot of land that contained the dilapidated remains of a warehouse known as Amazon. Hera would spend the next decade transforming it into a pillar of one of the world's most powerful corporations. After giving the brief history of the arena, Artemis and Luther provided to give a tour of the arena starting with packing area #1 (P1) where the podiums rose up. Most of the shelving units in the center of P1 were removed to create an open area. The cornucopia was made of several stacks of wooden pallets and contained several weapons spread out as far as the podiums. Strangely, most of the weapons weren’t the normal variety and consisted of box cutters, ball peen hammers, wrenches, label makers, and scanners. Above P1 was an upper floor known as P2. P2 was packed with shelving units that contained a wide variety of clothing products and affordable beauty products. There was also a small 40 sq ft office in the southern corner. Not to exclude the shelves found standing against the north and south walls of P1; shelves so tall it would require a forklift to use. Artemis pointed out the derelict forklifts spread around P1 and hoped they became an arena event. This area contained the largest variety of products from across the districts, mostly in boxes on the shelf.
Martin was placed between Genera (5) and Zera (9), the former giving him a death stare and the latter bawling her eyes out. Martin decided to ignore this and stared right into the cornucopia. Cameras showed him making last minute adjustments to his faux leg. He scanned all potential exits while doing so. Melonie was next to Zera as well with Violet (1) to her right. The two exchanged glances before setting their eyes on the cornucopia. Melonie set her eyes on a set of throwing knives, one of the few traditional weapons present. She searched for Martin but was unaware of how close he was.
When the gong sounded, Martin pivoted towards the exit and started to run but was tackled to the ground by Genera (5). Genera initially went towards the cornucopia but changed her mind when she saw Martin trying to retreat. She started to choke him, something Martin was futilely trying to prevent by scratching her. She suddenly stopped when someone slammed their steeled toed boot into her face with a strong kick, scattering blood and teeth on the floor. It was Melonie who did a double take after seeing Genera turn around. Melonie quickly grabbed a box cutter off the ground and slit the neck of the stunned Genera and turned back to the cornucopia as she convulsed on the ground. Martin used this opportunity to run away from the cornucopia, making him, Heather (6), Calsie and Reese (12) the only tributes to run away.
Melonie noticed the knives she was eyeing were snatched up by Lycan (7). She sprinted towards Violet (1) for protection while weaving out the way of a knife thrown by him. Violet made quick work of Tori (10) by beating her to death with a ball peen hammer. Melonie ran around the absolute pandemonium searching for more supplies, making sure to stay close to any of the careers. Atlanta (2) was blocking Poya (4)’s wild wrench attacks with a label maker and Merde (1) was beating Bergen (6) to death with one of the wooden pallets. Cicero (2) took the chance to confront Lycan (7) by tackling him to the ground. Lycan proved stronger and was about to stab him in the face. Cicero was saved when Melonie threw her box knife and it burrowed in his ear. Cicero grabbed the knife and dragged the blade down Lycan’s face and neck, showering him with blood. Melonie’s assistance distracted herself from saving Atlanta, who was overpowered by Poya and beaten to death with a wrench. Poya escaped the bloodbath but her partner Nathan (4) was unlucky as he was impaled by a broken off piece of Merde’s pallet. There were a few other deaths before the bloodbath concluded and the remaining careers gathered together. Ten cannons emanated throughout the arena.
While the four careers were catching up, Luther began the bloodbath rundown. The first death belonged to Genera (5) before being followed up by Json (3) whose throat was slit by Gertrude (7). Funny enough, Gertrude was the next casualty as she tripped over a label maker and fell onto her boxcutter, the blade penetrating her eye socket. The fourth consecutive death was Tori (10) who was beaten to death by Violet with a scanner. Bergen (6) fell at the hands of Merde (1) next and was followed up by Ayna (8) whose neck was snapped by Tusk (10). Tusk’s escape was nearly foiled by the next consecutive death that was Kernel (9), who fell victim to Lycan (7)’s knife throwing. Lycan was killed through a team effort of Cicero and Melonie as the eighth bloodbath kill. Atlanta was overpowered by Poya (4) and lastly Nathan (4) was impaled by Merde (1). Ten people died in this year’s bloodbath with Lycan’s gory “facelift” considered the highlight. Both Melonie and Cicero’s chances were raised slightly.
Violet and Merde (1) began gathering what little supplies there were while Melonie and Cicero inspected the dead bodies. Melonie expressed her condolences for Atlanta’s death to Cicero. Cicero didn’t know how to feel since their breakup was messy. He thanked her for saving him and said Violet was right to choose her. Melonie blushed and suggested they huddle together to make a plan. The careers all knew they needed to go hunting for tributes but debated as to where to go. Melonie, fearing for Martin’s life, suggested going upstairs with Cicero and Violet agreeing. Merde wanted to rule out the first floor first but Melonie realized something. Most games ended at the cornucopia so it would make more sense to start as far away as possible and work their way back. Merde was outvoted and they all decided to head upstairs. Melonie got to claim a label maker in addition to her box knife. Violet asked if she wasn’t the only one weirded out by the unusual choice of weapons. Everyone nodded in agreement. Cicero wondered if he could obtain Golden Victor status if he killed enough tributes with his scanner. Merde knew he would have to do more than that, recalling how above and beyond the previous victor went. Violet agreed, saying Laika Brown was her favorite non-career victor and was impressed with her skills. Melonie stayed silent while the three chatted, surveying the surrounding areas for Martin or any other tributes.
Martin quickly hobbled north away from the cornucopia and leaned against a shelf trying to catch his breath. He smiled to himself, relieved he survived the bloodbath. Before doing anything else, he scanned the surrounding area for any other runners. Seeing there were none, he sat down and began tweaking his prosthetic leg again. As an hour flew by, he grumbled to himself over the intricacies of finding the perfect length. Concealed microphones caught him saying, “Fixing this damn leg is more art than science.” This garnered some chuckles from the audience. Martin knew he had to consider finding supplies and tried to decide his next move. His thoughts were interrupted by nearby footsteps. Thinking quickly, Martin hoisted himself onto the shelf and climbed to the top of the shelf using his metal leg as support. Viewers were impressed by how fast he made it up. Martin wedged himself between two boxes and peered down to see who the mystery person was.
It was Rayon (8), who had managed to escape the bloodbath unscathed with a backpack and a ball peen hammer. Rayon was very on edge as he tripped over a stray box a few minutes earlier. Rayon was coming from Martin’s left and was coming closer. Martin slyly inspected the two boxes he was using to hide. One box was full of plastic tins of screws and the other was full of bricks. Artemis became excited when she saw the “thinking face” morph onto Martin’s face. Martin quickly yet quietly scooted behind the box of bricks and started pushing it towards the edge. Viewers quickly clued into what his plan was and Maximus Square was egging him on. Martin stopped just before the edge and timed it until Rayon was directly under him. With one last shove, Martin sent the box hurdling to the ground. Rayon was crushed by the weight of all the bricks, his cannon sounding nearly a minute later. The major setback was that the successful kill was very loud. Martin climbed back down and quickly moved some bricks away. He snatched the backpack and hammer before fleeing the scene. Many viewers in Maximus Square cheered and his number of supporters slightly increased. Artemis was more curious as to how he was able to push that heavy box. Luther guessed he used his prosthetic as support while noting that he’s seen skinny people display impressive feats of strength.
The career posse had made it upstairs into P2 and were taken aback by the number of shelves littering the entire floor. Merde (1) couldn’t fathom how they could find tributes with so many hiding spots. Cicero suggested they search together regardless. Violet (1) suggested they also look inside the boxes in case of something useful. Cicero agreed and assigned her and Melonie to look through the boxes as they walked through. It didn’t take long before the pack discovered most of the boxes contained designer clothes and high brand beauty products. Violet recognized some of District 1’s top brands in the boxes and began applying some of the products. Melonie wanted to try some and Violet obliged. After an endearing makeup session, the boys marveled at Melonie’s beauty. Violet commented how she could’ve been a model if she lived in District 1. Melonie made a comment that she couldn’t see herself fitting in with the bourgeois after seeing footage of Moriarty supporters assaulting Bacchus’s employees. Merde assured her they didn’t have to worry anymore as with Moriarty gone, their mentors had regained control over the training centers and Bacchus’s vision of admitting lower income teens had come to pass. Cicero assumed the sister Lorde Moriarty won the mayorship. Violet denied this but did say she was wise enough to stay out of their way. Cicero seemed impressed by this as these new changes could mean a new victor for them soon.
The in-depth conversation intrigued Capital viewers and helped them regain a newfound appreciation for their D1 champions. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Melonie spotted Poya (4) peeking from behind a shelf. She pointed and yelled before giving chase. Cicero wanted her first as revenge, but Melonie was quicker. Poya tried to lose her by cutting around the shelves but Melonie wouldn’t slow down. In a surprise move, Poya shut herself into the tiny office in the southern corner. The office consisted of a desk, a monitor, a waste bin, and a paper shredder machine sat against the wall. Poya cursed to herself for stupidly shutting herself in while tearfully awaiting her doom. Cicero and Merde began busting the door in while Violet and Melonie stood ready with their weapons. Poya suddenly remembered she had a trident and thrust it into the door. Because the office had no windows, she couldn’t see who was on the other side. She didn’t realize her trident struck true until a cannon sounded nearly a minute later.
Cicero was so hellbent on revenge that he kept ramming his side into the door. His timing was inopportune as on his ninth attempt, he practically thrust himself into the protruding prongs of the trident. The middle prong penetrated his lung and he fell to the ground choking on his blood. Merde immediately stopped his efforts upon seeing what happened. The three remaining careers and all of the Capital watched in horror as Cicero’s life left his eyes. Violet was pissed and had her own go at the door with her ballpeen hammer. She broke the knob after three tries and kicked the door down. Poya kept her at bay with her trident, proving herself quite formidable. Melonie carefully watched Poya’s attacks and timed her entrance just right. She rolled under the parrying trident, slashed Poya’s thigh with her box cutter, and punched her in the face. Poya fell back and crashed into the paper shredder, breaking the plastic top off leaving the exposed blades. Poya was about to spring back into action when Melonie dropped her box cutter and pushed her head into the shredder with all her might. Poya’s head disappeared into the machine, which whirred to life. The Capital was rewarded with blood and guts spewing out of the machine until the poor girl’s cannon sounded. Violet and Merde were shell shocked by the brutal act of violence they witnessed. Melonie was covered in blood from head to toe trembling over what she had done. Merde was praising Melonie for thinking quickly but Violet was worried she was about to crack. Violet dumped her water bottle onto her and wiped as much blood off as she could. It was at that point a sponsor gift spat out from the wall. It was for Melonie as it contained a bottle of blood loosening mixture, which was originally used by Capital soldiers to clean their bodies and better identify wounds. As Violet washed Melonie and gave her reassuring words, another similarly spectacular event was occurring.
Martin retreated to the eastern section of P1 and found another shelf. He climbed to the top and wedged himself between two boxes. He took the time to open his newly acquired backpack. Inside was a bundle of rope, a water bottle, and three sandwiches. Unfortunately, the sandwiches were smushed beyond comprehension from the bricks and were unsalvageable. Martin rolled his eyes and said to himself, “Just another normal day in District 11.” He took a couple sips of the water and tried to rest. He was about to drift off when a cannon was heard not far from his location. The cannon belonged to Reese (12), who was cornered and had his head bashed in by Simmer (5) for his backpack. Martin kept quiet and peered over his box to scan the surrounding area. Soon enough, Simmer was approaching and was keeping a close eye on all levels of the shelf. He thought to do this after Alexa (3) narrowly escaped his clutches moments before discovering Reese. Martin quickly peeked into the boxes he was hiding in but both carried blankets. Simmer spotted Martin up on the shelf and told him he was dead meat. While Simmer attempted to climb up, Martin frantically searched around the boxes for anything useful. His eyes landed on the corner of the shelf. He scooted there and put his hand under the shelf. Cameras captured his hand unscrewing the nuts that connected the shelf with the support beam. Simmer was getting closer and viewers in Maximus Square held their breaths. Martin pulled one last nut and suddenly those supports unlatched and swung downwards, smacking Simmer off the shelf. Simmer fell to the floor and was hit in the head with a couple boxes before he could get up. Martin used the distraction to sprint the opposite direction.
Unfortunately for Simmer, the career pack heard the loud creaking noise the dislodged shelf made and decided to investigate. Melonie was still shaken from the act of violence she committed. Violet (1) coaxed her back to her normal self by asking her about her district. Melonie described the large coffee fields she worked in and the rich aroma that wafted through the air every morning. Merde joked how he thought she worked with melons considering it is in her name. Violet replied, ‘Like you have room to talk. Your name literally means shit.” The entire Maximus Square erupted in laughter as it was true. Melonie wondered if the noise they heard was an arena event, but her allies thought it was too soon as the first day was barely over. The three eventually found the source of the commotion and stared in dumbfounded astonishment at the hanging shelf. Merde spotted Simmer on the ground stirring awake and walked over to kill him. Melonie stopped him and wanted to know what happened. Violet didn’t see the point, but Merde admitted he was kind of curious as well.
Merde grabbed Simmer by the neck and put his boxcutter to his neck. He tried to interrogate him roughly, but Simmer didn’t respond out of fear. Violet thought it a waste of time and stepped closer to finish him off. Melonie stopped her and knelt down to Simmer’s level. She apologized for her allies and simply wanted to know what happened here. She claimed she was searching for her district partner as she promised his parents she would bring him home. The Capital watched in awe as Melonie spun a fictitious tale of being his cousin and only friend who was constantly bullied for his metal appendage. Analysts noticed her eyes on the verge of tears and small features such as brushing her hair back and batting her eyelashes. In the commentator’s booth, Artemis couldn’t decide if she was flirting with him or trying to make him cry. Luther considered both could be right. Melonie professed her motherly instinct for her ‘cousin’ and pleaded with Simmer to let him know if he was okay. Simmer, also on the verge of tears, confessed it was indeed Martin who caused him to fall, quickly recounting previous events. Melonie thanked him and stood up. Merde then slit Simmer’s throat, cannon sounding seconds later.
Violet and Merde couldn’t believe that Martin could’ve been able to desecrate the shelf, but Melonie recalled how capable her mentor’s allies were. Violet wanted to hunt for him next as he sounded like this year’s dark horse. Merde thought he couldn’t have traveled far with his condition. Melonie considered him more capable than meets the eye and was impressed with his resourcefulness, noting the missing bolts he probably pulled. She suggested the return to P2 as there would be more shelves to hide in up there. Violet and Merde agreed and the three turned themselves around. Little did they know, Martin was in the shadows watching them from up top another shelf. Suddenly, two sponsor gifts floated down simultaneously. One was for the careers and the other stealthily landed next to Martin. The careers huddled around their gift and were elated to see it was a fruit platter and two thermoses of D11 imported coffee. As for Martin, he was confused to see a strange rubber cap. He inspected it closely and discovered it was small enough to fit on the end of his prosthetic. He placed it there and flicked the rubber cap. It made no noise and he smiled to himself. He could now move around without worrying about his fake leg making noise. As the careers were leaving for P2, Martin began hopping from shelf to shelf, following in the shadows. It was during this time that the portraits of the fallen finally were displayed on the roof of the warehouse. The fallen included Atlanta and Cicero (2), Json (3), Poya and Nathan (4), Genera and Simmer (5), Bergen (6), Gertrude and Lycan (7), Ayna and Rayon (8), Kernel (9), Tori (10), and Reese (12). This left ten tributes remaining.

Killer Grips: Anne Maria, Brick, Jasmine, Justin, Millie
Screaming Gaffers: Chase, Izzy, MK, Ripper, Scott
Episode 9: The Sand Witch Project
"Last time, on Total! Drama! Action! A girl with vision. Vision that took her past everyday thinking. But when the chips were down, and even when the chips came back up again, she was the only one who could rescue them."
"Searching for a cure to the disease that was afflicting her dearest friends, a challenge was won. A cure found."
"But will-" Chris began to munch and crunch on something, though, so the rest of his sentence was completely muddled and unintelligible. The recap footage ended and the shot cut to Chris sitting on the amphitheater bleachers with popcorn at his side.
"Hey, what can I say? Gross disease movies make me crave a little corn!" He picked up his snack and smiled. "But, it's time to put the snacks away, kiddies," he tossed the bag over his shoulder, "because after this totally terrifying episode," the scene cut to a nighttime shot of him walking past a portable toilet near the cast trailers, "there won't be a stomach left unturned!" A horrible growling noise came from inside the toilet that made the host flinch, but he recovered his composure quickly and walked over to a nearby campfire. "Hold on to your buckets. It's time for some Total! Drama! Action!"
(Theme Song)
The episode began with a shot of a soccer ball rolling across the shot and the camera zoomed out to show Jasmine and Justin kicking it back and forth to each other. Brick was also in the background sleeping on a lounge chair.
The camera panned to the right to show Anne Maria, Izzy, MK, Ripper, and Scott playing cards at a picnic table. "Sorry, wimps," Ripper said with a triumphant grin, "but I won this round!" The bully put his cards on the table. "Whose turn is it to deal?"
"Mine," Izzy said, grabbing the cards. “Watch this!” She then did a number of intricate moves to shuffle them, much to her competitors’ amazement.
Confessional: Scott
"Izzy's such a showboat," Scott told the confessional camera. "She's always there to demonstrate how “cool” she is, but can she smash twenty kitchen rats in under a minute? No.”
“I just wish that my team loses the next challenge so we can vote her off, and I know how to handle that if it comes down to the wire,” the farmer said sneakily.
Confessional Ends
The footage cut back with Millie and Chase sitting on the steps of the boys’ trailer, Millie holding a small basket of sandwich wedges.
"I can't believe how many of these were leftover after lunch!" Millie said before tossing one of the sandwiches into her mouth.
“I can't believe you managed to steal these in the first place!” Chase chuckled.
"I can't help it," Millie said giddily. "Egg salad sandwiches are super tasty, and it's not like Chef will notice."
“I clearly taught you well,” Chase said. “You know, it's great to hang out with each other given all the times we've been separated.”
“We still have to manage until the merge, Chase,” Millie reminded her boyfriend. “Things have been crazy though with Trent's jealousy over you and Sky and his challenge throwing.”
“I didn't even know about all that until you told me a few days ago,” Chase said.
“Sky told me all about it, and I didn't have the time to inform you,” Millie admitted.
“I'm still cool with Trent, but if anybody thinks that I'll drop you for another chick, then they don't know a thing about me,” Chase declared. “I'd rather get poison ivy then cheat on you.”
“Your loyalty is one of the reasons why I'm in love with you,” Millie admired before giving Chase a peck on his cheek.
"I wouldn't be Chase without that, Millie!" Chase smiled. "Now watch this!" A fast-paced and hectic tune began as he did a front handspring, landed, then jumped into the air, twirled a few times, and landed in splits. "This is how you speed eat, folks," he said as he did his routine. He stood up from his splits, took out a few sandwiches from his pockets, and tossed his snacks into the air, catching them all with his open mouth. He took a bow after he finished swallowing.
The contestants applauded politely. "Nice one," Anne Maria said. “I've seen monkeys swallow less bananas than we do with these sandwiches."
"Chef's food has gotten so good," Justin said with a mouthful. The sound of loud snoring filled the air and everyone looked over at Brick, the camera zooming in on him as a ripple effect transitioned the scene.
It was a dark and stormy night on the film lot, and a rat scurried by past the craft services tent before lightning flashed and the camera zoomed in on the light coming from the kitchen window. A few jarringly tense notes played as the shot focused on a kitchen knife in Brick's hand before the music softened out and the knife was used to spread egg salad on a slice of bread. Cheese and lettuce were added next, followed by another slice of bread, and Brick was shown looking at the sandwich with a smile on his face – a stack of similar sandwiches was on the counter nearby.
Just then, Chef made his presence known in the background after another flash of lightning and shouted "Lunch!".
Brick squeaked and held his knife out in front of him in an attempt to protect himself, and Chef began to slowly clap his hands in a deadpan manner.
"We need to stop all this cheating," Brick begged. "Being in this alliance is seriously going against everything I stand for as a cadet."
"This is not about right or wrong, son," Chef declared remorselessly. "It's about you and me winning that cool mil."
The footage rippled back to the present.
Brick was still snoring peacefully as the camera panned away from him and back to the picnic table where Millie and Chase had joined most of the others.
"So, what're you guys doing?" Chase asked the card players.
"We don't think there's gonna be a challenge today," Ripper explained, "so we've just been playing cards against each other."
“And it's kinda getting borin’ with Big and Blue winning a majority of our games,” Anne Maria shot a grim look at Ripper.
“It's not my fault I'm better than you all at Go Fish, Rimmy, and the sort,” Ripper scoffed.
“Now I wish there is a challenge,” Izzy grumbled.
“I second that,” Scott nodded.
The background music became tense as the loudspeakers squealed on. "Attention Total Drama victims!" Chris announced dramatically. "Please meet me in the northeast corner of the studio-palooza! Bring lozenges!" he added over a shot of Chase chewing and swallowing one of his sandwiches while looking up. "The screaming is gonna hurt!"
"Wishes do come true," Izzy laughed humorously as she looked at the others around her.
The footage cut to a view of MK and Izzy through a small monitor looking unamused. "We walk all the way out here," the techno girl said, "yet Chris hasn't arrived yet!" The camera pulled out to show that the monitor was part of a larger recording device pointed at the Gaffers, who along with the Grips had assembled at an open-air set in what looked to be the middle of nowhere.
"Maybe he's racked up too much overtime figuring out new ways to torture us," Justin suggested, leaning against a light in the middle of the shot.
As if on cue, a familiar shout came from above that startled the handsome boy. He and the other castmates looked up in time to see none other than the host falling back-first from above, a small square of red just barely visible on the bottom of his shirt. He landed just below the screen with appropriately dramatic music and a burst of something thick and red that splattered the horrified contestants.
The camera cut to a tilted shot of Chris McLean impaled on the same light which Justin had just been leaning up against. All of the castmates screamed.
"Huh. Guess the producers don't like paying overtime," Justin commented.
"I'm worth every dime!" Chris said, suddenly sitting up with a grin and a shrug.
"I was just about to go out looking for your car and hightail it out of here," Chase spoke up in disappointment.
"It's the magic of cinema, boys and girls!" Chris declared, ignoring the comment. "I'm absolutely, perfectly, Chris-ily fine!" He took the top of the light off his body, revealing that, in fact, he hadn't been impaled at all. "Wanna see how it's done?"
"NO!" every contestant shouted and scowled angrily at the host.
Chris explained anyway, and blood appeared to pour down over the camera turning the whole screen red before the shot zoomed out to show the red was all inside a small square packet similar to what had been on the host's shirt. "Our cracker-jack effects team seals fake blood into a thin membrane of plastic," Chris said before the shot of him falling was shown again, "called a 'squib'." A top-down view of the fall appeared on the top half of the screen that showed the host smiling, while a yellow-and-black silhouette scene on the bottom depicted two interns carrying a mattress to the landing sight.
"This baby bursts on impact," the host said as the screen was splattered red again, which dripped away to show footage of the mattress being lowered into a hole in the ground behind the light, Chris falling down into it with a burst of blood before the ground the light was on descended into the ground and a platform with Chris on the fake light rose to take its place. "An old-fashioned optical illusion helps sell that I get impaled!" the host said as another silhouetted scene slid in from the right showing the fall from a side-view, with the quick change of platforms and lights.
"Can you not make like a sloth right now?" Jasmine groaned. “Get on with it.”
"Time for today's totally terrifying, blood-curdling, Horror Movie Challenge!" Chris announced before starting to walk around in front of the castmates. “To figure out which team gets which challenge, a scream-off! Think of every great horror movie you've ever seen.”
Izzy gasped in excitement. “Oh my gosh, you guys. Did you see that one with the possessed rug that learns to walk and smother cats? Or did I make that up?”
"All horror movies have one thing in common: fantastic screaming from actors. And," Chris added as he walked back past the Grips and lingered in front of Justin, "the killers that snuff them." The pretty boy looked nervously shocked, but Chris paid him no heed. "Each team, pick a serial killer," he told the castmates. "The rest of you will be the screamers. If your serial killer can make you scream the loudest, your team wins!"
A roaring chainsaw swiped down across the screen, accompanied by a sudden but dramatic twist to the background music as the screen was splattered red again.
The 'blood' effect drained away, transitioning the scene to Jasmine talking to the Killer Grips outside the numbered studios while holding the mask and bottle of ketchup. "We have to go with Anne Maria. I'd do it, but my height would be a dead giveaway."
“She scares me on a daily basis,” Millie agreed with the plan.
“And though the mask offers good protection for my beautiful face, I already performed a role in the third challenge,” Justin added.
Jasmine was about to give the mask to Anne Maria until Chef came in and grabbed the object. "Brick's gotta do it!" he claimed furiously.
"But we already agreed to a plan," Jasmine argued.
"Brick… is doing it." Chef said again.
"I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to tell us what to do in the challenges," Anne Maria talked back.
Chef grabbed her hair and held her off the ground. "Do you like having your hair shaved off of your head? Cause I can make that happen," the large man said to Anne Maria threateningly.
Confessional: Anne Maria
"I love my pouf," Anne Maria said. "Not only do I get to style it into whatever the heck I want, but I can also stash things in like spray cans, phones, food. Anything goes as long as it's not overly big. And the last thing I want right now is to lose my hair because of a dumb decision."
Confessional Ends
Chef dropped Anne Maria onto the floor, grabbed Brick by his collar, and shoved the mask onto his chest before stomping off in a satisfied manner.
"Since when does Chef buzz into challenges?" Jasmine asked. "This smells fishy to me."
"Oh, my bad," Anne Maria pulled a sandwich out of her pouf. "I was saving this for later."
“You guys have to let me be the killer!” Chase told his four teammates. “I have a lot of experience with scaring people on Halloween.”
“Okay, I am such the better scarer,” Izzy interjected. “My own dog is terrified of me, okay?”
“Most of my classmates are terrified of me, so I think that triumphs more over that,” Ripper argued.
“I wanna be the killer,” Scott grunted. “This is a role I was born to play.”
MK cleared up her throat. “Can everyone just-”
“But I was the one who scared my teammates last season with the bear costume,” Izzy pouted.
“I was one of them, and I won't be fooled by you again,” Ripper huffed.
MK gritted her teeth before shouting “I'm going to be our serial killer and that's final!!” Everybody stopped arguing and looked at the shortest member of the team. “You guys being the killer would be predictable and boring, and I'm just as worthy of being scary as you all.”
Confessional: MK
“I haven't done much lately other than puke my guts out and sweat uncontrollably,” MK admitted. “If we were to lose this challenge, no way would they consider voting me off if I do my best as the killer.”
Confessional Ends
The footage skipped ahead to night, showing a close-up of Chase walking somewhere around a wooded part of the film lot.
“Looks like we've been lumped into this together,” Jasmine said as the shot pulled back to show the Australian woman wandering around the woods as well.
"Who would've thought?" Chase asked rhetorically.
"Alright, Jasmine and Chase," Chris announced as the shot pulled out yet again to show the host sitting in a director's chair just off what was revealed to be an indoor forest set. "Prepare yourselves for your killers to enter!" The viewpoint shifted in front as he continued excitedly. "And then, I want huge, massive, ginormous screams! We'll be measuring the volume on our Scream-o-Meter!" He pointed above him as a bright green volume icon appeared; a stock screaming sound effect was played that caused the volume meter to rise from left to right, green to yellow to red.
"Lights!" Chris commanded, a dramatic note playing as a stage light was shown turning on. "Camera!" a camera was shown popping up and turning on to another dramatic note. "Action!" A film slate was held in front of the camera filming Chris and clapped.
Chase was shown in the distance with his back towards the camera just before a hockey mask was put 'on' over the shot. The camera moved forward a few steps towards some bushes as tense music built in the background, and the viewpoint shifted to show what was obviously a masked MK watching her teammate from hiding.
The music peaked as she jumped into the open with a roar, prompting Chase to scream… for a few seconds before stopping himself.
"Seriously?" MK asked in annoyance.
“I told myself that you'd be coming any time, so I had to prepare my scream,” Chase told his teammate.
The Scream-o-Meter only registered a few bars.
The camera cut to Brick peeking out of a tree. "I would've preferred if Anne Maria was performing this rather than me," the cadet said, making Chef pop up and scare Brick away with a roar.
Brick bumped into Jasmine while running away. "Oh, hello Brick," Jasmine greeted after turning around.
Brick looked at Chef one last time before putting the mask on and growing, leading Jasmine to scream and make the Scream-o-Meter register all the way to the first red tick.
"With a solid 55 on the Scream-o-Meter, let's notch one up for Brick, Jasmine, and the Killer Grips!" Chris announced.
The scene changed to a portable toilet set up in a smaller indoor forest set. “They cannot be serious," Anne Maria said as the camera cut inside to her filing her nails. "Who do these people think they are filming us in here?" The shot zoomed out slightly, showing that she was, indeed, sitting on the toilet. "I'm not giving them the satisfaction of using the toilet."
A flash took the scene to Scott's turn alone in the portable toilet. "Why don't we just give up now?" Scott scoffed. "There ain't nothing that can scare the Scottmeister much, and MK is no exception."
As if on cue, the techno burst into the toilet and growled loudly, causing Scott to let out a blood-curdling scream.
The camera cut back to Anne Maria, and Brick came into the toilet. "Were you in the middle of…."
"Wasn't even thinkin’ about it. Now do the scene," Anne Maria encouraged Brick, who let out a simple roar.
Scott was still screaming as the camera cut back to him and MK to the point where the Scream-o-Meter topped out.
Suddenly, the sound of peeing was heard, and Scott became quiet in his moment of embarrassment.
"I bet you never made anybody wet themselves like I did to you," MK took her mask off while snorting.
"Sorry, Brickhouse," Anne Maria said as the shot cut back to her and Brick. "You just don't scare me at all. You're kinda a marshmallow."
"I am large and in charge," Brick pointed out. “You're too tough to frighten.”
"And that's round two to MK, Scott, and the Screaming Gaffers!" Chris announced as the camera cut to him in the director's chair. "With a pee-fueled 85 on the Scream-o-Meter!"
After Chris left, Chef snuck out from behind the potty. "If Brick won't step up, the other half of the alliance has to."
The footage flashed ahead to another set, this time a couch in what appeared to be a small cottage in the woods. Ripper and Izzy were sitting on it together with scripts in their hands, while Chris stood a few feet away. "Alright guys," he told the two, "this is the tiebreaker scene. You're gonna have to act your faces off!"
Ripper read the script and his eyes went wide in excitement. "We get to make out! Brilliant!" he grinned.
"Those are one of my favorite parts of any horror movie," Izzy added.
"I love movie life!" Ripper smiled as Izzy sat on his lap and they began to kiss.
As the sounds of their make out session got louder, the camera panned over to Chris standing there with an awkward look on his face. "Awkward," he told the camera.
Millie and Justin were on the couch for the Grips, the camera focusing on the writer as she scanned the papers in her hand. Her eyebrows shot up and she dropped the papers. "No," she said. "Not this. Especially when I'm already dating Chase."
"I'll let you know that I'm a pretty good kisser," Justin told her.
Chris poked the top of his head up from behind the couch, looked between the two teens, and raised himself even further with a grin on his face. "Don't forget, kiddies," he told them, "it's a million bucks!" He ducked back behind the couch again.
With no other choice, the two leaned towards each other with their eyes clenched shut and puckered up. Their lips only barely touched before they recoiled.
“Glad I got that over with," Millie said frantically.
“It was a millisecond kiss, not a kiss of death,” Justin stated as Brick popped up from behind the couch and growled, but the two ignored the killer.
The camera cut to Izzy still making out with Ripper. MK crept up from behind them, brandished her knife, and said, "Ready to be chopped into sushi?!" She was ignored. "Uh, hello?!" she asked in irritation.
The duo looked over at her and gave half-hearted screams that barely stayed green on the Scream-o-Meter, making MK facepalm.
The shot panned over to the three sulking Grips until they looked up and saw a hockey mask wearing Chef brandish a revved up chainsaw and they all screamed. It was enough to put the Scream-o-Meter all the way in the red, and Brick managed to pass out and fall forward onto the couch.
"Well, looks to me like Brick and the Killer Grips have won this one," Chris announced as he walked onto the set, "seeing as they buried the needle. Join us after the break to see if Brick is still alive," he said as Justin and Millie looked over at Brick with concern. "Brick!" Chris called lightly. "Come in, Brick!"
(Commercial Break)
The footage came back with a bottom-up shot of the other nine campers looking down in a circle; counterclockwise from a gap at the top of the screen were Scott, Jasmine, Izzy, Millie, Ripper at the bottom, Anne Maria, Chase, MK, and Justin.
"Is he still breathing?" Anne Maria asked.
"I think he's saying something," Jasmine said before the viewpoint moved to a close-up of the unconscious cadet.
"I'm sorry. I can't take this anymore…" Brick murmured before his face turned scared and he shouted "NO NO NO NO NO!" while turning around.
“Okay, time to wake this doof up,” Ripper said before grabbing Brick's body and sitting him on the couch. The moment he did so, the bully smacked Brick hard on the face.
This act woke Brick up, and he looked around in confusion. "What happened? Why am I here? And where's Chef?"
"Chef's in a meeting with the producers," Chris explained. "A disciplinary meeting. He's in trouble! Not allowed to mess with the challenges."
"I had a feeling something smelled fishy, and not the sandwiches," Jasmine said suspiciously.
"Moving right along," Chris interrupted as the camera pulled out to show the full cast. "It's time to pack up those overnight bags, loser Gaffers!" The camera focused on the five in question. "You and your sleeping bags are spending the night in the dining hall!" All five of them slumped in disappointment. "Grip winners, back to the comfort of the trailers for a little R&R! I'll see you there in half an hour."
The scene flashed over to the craft services tent, the lights within already on. “The craft services tent isn't a bad place to spend the night,” Chase was heard saying before the camera cut inside. "We still have some good memories of the food we ate in here."
Izzy popped out from under a nearby table. "More than memories. I just found half a piece of cheesecake under here," she demonstrated the food.
“Could you split that into one-fourth so I could at least take a piece?” Chase suggested as he looked over the cheesecake.
"Guys!" Chris called from off-camera. "You mind joining us here?" A creepy tune began as the shot moved onto the host on a stool in the middle of the tent, the other three Gaffers seated on the floor around him as Izzy and Chase walked up.
"I'm about to tell you why this film lot was abandoned and closed!" he told the teens in a low voice.
"Because it's a death trap?" MK deadpanned.
"Hush, my child," Chris told her. "This film lot is perfectly safe! On this plane. But in the other dimension...," he trailed off, picking up a flashlight and shining it dramatically up from under his chin, making Izzy, Chase, and MK's eyes widen as they gasped.
"Juanita Rentacop, a dedicated security guard who worked here for twenty-five loyal years, until her mysterious death," he told them slowly. "Right here...," the music built quickly and sharply as the camera pulled back and he stood up and pointed at the ground. "ON THIS VERY SPOT!" Even Ripper and Scott flinched slightly from his sudden exclamation.
"Now," Chris continued as he looked from Gaffer to Gaffer, "her desperate and uneasy spirit walks the lot." He tilted his flashlight towards the wall and doorway, shadows of the bare tree branches falling on the outside of the tent. "No one has ever managed to spend a whole night in this craft service tent!"
"Because the falling sets killed them?" MK asked in a dry tone.
"'Cause," Chris told her as he returned the light to under his chin and the background music rose again, "of the HAUNTING!" he leaned away from her and turned off his flashlight. "Your task," he said with a grin in the center of the group, "spend the whole night here, without leaving this tent. If all or one of you manage to do so," he began to walk off to a table near the kitchen, "your team gets invincibility, and nobody goes home."
"Track any psychic phenomenon using these ghost meters," the host said as the camera zoomed in on a trio of handheld electronic devices resting on the table along with a ouija board. "And just in case," he added as Scott walked over to him, holding out his flashlight before clutching it to his chest and handing the boy a tiny keychain flashlight instead.
"Gee, thanks," Scott said as he held up the light and turned it on, completely unimpressed.
A flash took the scene to the campfire in front of the cast trailers, where the five Grips awaited an approaching Chris McLean. "The Screaming Gaffers are sitting in the craft services tent like sitting ducks," he told them as the camera panned from his close-up to eager Brick and confident Justin, then excited Millie and smirking Jasmine. "Your task is to make like special effects gurus, and frighten the pants off them!" He laughed, then told a skeptical Anne Maria "Or at least scare them enough to get them out of the tent before sunrise."
"How are we supposed to scare them?" Anne Maria asked.
"It's your call," Chris answered. "But if you get them out, your team wins invincibility and nobody goes home. Oh," he added as an afterthought, "just so you know, I told them some cockamamie story about a security guard who died on set." He chuckled, then walked away.
"How are we going to pull this off?" Brick asked his teammates.
"Chase is probably going to get mad at me for this, but I say we turn out the lights," Millie suggested. “Me and him experienced a blackout when we hung out at his house and he couldn't handle it.”
"I've got it!" Jasmine declared with a snap of her fingers. "Let's go. We have work to do." The others shrugged and followed the Outback girl away from the trailers.
The footage skipped ahead to the Grips outside of the tent watching Jasmine hold a white sheet, pillow stuffing, and a red bird in her arms. “Now that we have our things required, allow me to tell you the plan.”
“Why is a bird even on a film lot?” Justin asked.
“This bird just tends to fly around and rest on my branch,” Jasmine explained. “More importantly, I'm going to place the bird in-between the stuffing in order to give it some space to flap its wings, and with the sheet covering both the bird and the stuffing…”
“...the Screaming Gaffers will think that a ghost is haunting them!” Millie realized.
“You hit the nail right on the head,” Jasmine said while ripping some of the stuffing off before placing the bird inside.
“Let's get down to business then,” Brick agreed.
Inside the tent, Ripper, Izzy, Scott, and Chase were shown playing cards at the table nearest the closed-up meal counter while MK sat in front of them feeling bored.
“Do either of you have a seven?” Ripper asked attentively.
"Augh! How did you even know I had that?" Scott groaned as he put a card from his hand down on the table. “I hate to say it, but you really are good at cards, Rip Van Winkle."
Chase noticed something behind him and began to scream, and his teammates looked at him oddly. "Is something wrong?" Izzy asked as her teammate pointed to the air behind him. A few deep notes played as the shot cut to the flapping ghost moving left and right by itself.
Scott, Izzy, and Ripper joined Chase in screaming before they dashed towards the exit.
"Hold on!" MK cried out, but they didn't listen. "I said HOLD ON!!!" This made the team come to a dead stop just as they were about to exit outside. "The ghost meter's aren't reading a thing." She held the ghost detector up.
“Then how do you explain that thing hovering over us?” Chase raised an eyebrow in annoyance.
“Something has to be inside that sheet, and it has to be…” MK said before she took the stack of cards and chucked it at the stuffed sheet, making it drop to the ground.
MK approached the “ghost”, and her teammates gasped in horror as she grabbed hold of the sheet and threw it off, revealing the stuffing inside it and the bird escaped from the stuffing and flew away.
"Great Scott!" Scott declared while the bird flew past him. "It was just a hoodwink!"
Confessional: Chase
"If the Grips are trying to scare us so bad, then they must be doing a great job doing so," Chase told the confessional camera. "Putting a bird inside a sheet was genius."
Confessional Ends
The scene cut back outside, where the Grips turned away from the window they'd been watching from.
"Well, that didn't work," Brick sighed. "Sorry about your bird, Jasmine."
"It's no big deal. I'm not the bird's mother," Jasmine said.
“Does anybody else have any better ideas that don't involve stuffing animals into sheets?” Anne Maria asked impatiently.
“Leave that to me,” Brick spoke up.
"Don't you tend to get scared easily?" Jasmine wondered.
“Admittedly, I do, but I want to provide cooperation for this team,” Brick said. “And I will not take no for an answer.”
The team looked at each other for a brief while before giving in. “You are a Grip after all. What's our plan?” Jasmine asked.
Back in the craft services tent, the Gaffers had resumed their card game. "Give me all your two's!" Chase said.
The lights in the tent then shut off. "Uh, I'll give my two's later," Izzy said frightfully as she and the other Gaffers were shown looking around in confusion.
The scene moved outside, to where Brick was standing by a power box. He had already pulled the main switch down and took out a walkie talkie. "The power has been cut," he whispered into it.
As the Gaffers looked around their tent, the camera panned to Justin watching them just outside a window. "Nice work, Crew Cut," he whispered into a walkie talkie of his own. "Speed Writer, are you there?"
"At the ready, Dashing Devil," Millie replied from outside the tent.
"Remember, this is just Chris or the Killer Grips trying to scare us," MK warned her team.
“Yeah, you may be right,” Chase said optimistically. “This team doesn't give up.”
“Or die trying,” Scott added.
An odd, scratchy moaning began around them. The camera cut back to Millie, the author holding a megaphone and producing the moans.
Inside the tent, the viewpoint shifted to reveal Jasmine dressed in a security guard's uniform swaying in the air above them, her hat conveniently lowered over her eyes. She was obviously in a makeshift harness, and the camera followed the rope attached to her up to the rafters of the tent where Anne Maria was shown clinging to a beam with the other end of the line in one hand and a walkie talkie in the other.
"That's a go from Metal Hair and Long Legs," Anne Maria whispered.
The Gaffers all watched the supposed ghost sway about. “Now THAT is a ghost!” Ripper freaked out.
"I'm too hot to die!" Chase shouted before the team started to run off screaming.
"Are you serious?!" MK hissed. "The ghost meters are not going off!"
From his position, Justin threw a fork intending to aim for the detector, and just when the fork was about to hit its target, MK quickly saw the silverware hit the button on her detector, and despite it going off, the AV girl simply stood still and did not move.
“Yeah, nice try!” she laughed with a smirk after picking up the fork. "I know you're not a ghost, Jasmine!" MK pointed at the 'ghost'. “You can come back now, team!”
Jasmine lifted her hat and revealed her surprised face. "Abort now! We failed!" she said above her.
Up in the rafters, Anne Maria's eyes went wide as she began to pull up. At ground level, MK's teammates returned to the tent and watched in bewilderment as the 'ghost' began to ascend.
“How are you so good at not being scared?” Scott asked MK.
“To make it short, sweet, and to the point, I'm not a dummy,” MK said smugly.
An air horn was sounded off as Chris entered the tent with one in his possession. "The Screaming Gaffers win the challenge. And the Killer Grips are heading to the elimination ceremony!"
The Gaffers all cheered for their victory.
The scene cut to the communal bathroom where Brick was in the middle of washing his hands. After finishing, the cadet was about to step out until he saw Justin enter.
“Hey man. I want to talk to you,” Justin said.
“What could it be about, Justin?” Brick wondered.
“Earlier today, you were mumbling something while you were unconscious,” Justin mentioned. “You even sounded frightened like a bear was coming to kill you.”
“You still remember that?” Brick felt embarrassed.
“I do, but I feel like now is the perfect time to bring it up,” Justin continued. “You've been avoiding us lately and it's confusing us.”
“That is true,” Brick sighed, “but it's not…”
“Jasmine's really concerned about you,” Justin cut him off. “You and her have a bond going, Brick, and is hiding whatever you're doing worth ruining it?”
This caused Brick to fall silent for a bit as he reconsidered his actions before he opened his mouth. “I think I know what I have to do,” he said with a stern look on his face.
The footage faded straight into the opening sequence of the Gilded Chris Awards, followed by a flash to a long-distance shot of the amphitheater as the host approached his podium. The five losing teens were shown voting, with the trio of Millie, Justin, and Anne Maria in the upper row while Brick and Jasmine sat in front.
"And now, fraidy cat Grips," Chris said as the Gaffers were all standing on the stage alongside him, "it's time to announce who will not win a Gilded Chris this week. Who deserves to go home bitterly disappointed, tears in their eyes?"
“I hope someone takes a picture if that happens,” Ripper whispered to his team with a snicker.
“Watching the elimination ceremony is already our reward, but that would be sweeter,” Scott said.
Chef arrived in his usual dress with several golden awards. He bitterly took out an envelope, to which Chris quickly snatched up.
"And! The Gilded Chrises go to...," he announced as the Grips were seen sitting anxiously. "Anne Maria, Millie, Jasmine!" One by one, the three caught the awards that were tossed to them. "Still on the chopping block, Justin and Brick!" The camera panned from one boy to the other, the former looking calm and the latter feeling settled.
"Chris, I'll have to stop you there!" Brick stood up and walked onto the stage, much to everyone's confusion. "I volunteer for elimination. I do not deserve to stay. I did not follow my own code."
"Brick!" Chef yelled in frustration, but quickly chuckled nervously and walked over to the guilty boy. "Why don't you and I have a chat before you do anything stupid!" he whispered menacingly.
"I'm done listening to whatever you tell me to do!" Brick declared to the taken back man and then turned to the others. "Ever since the third challenge, me and Chef were in a secret and illegal alliance."
Everyone gasped at the dropped bombshell as Chef smiled nervously. "He's been attempting to build me up and coach me through the challenges just so we could split the money, and I do not want any part in this." As Brick spoke, Chris could be shown sending an outraged look at his assistant.
"Wait a minute!" Chase cried out. "All the food we've been eating. The pizza, the cheesecake, the sandwiches. That was you?"
"Why leave when you've been making our stay here better?" MK questioned with genuine sadness.
"Yeah!" Justin said in agreement while he and the Grips got on stage with the others. "Can't we just vote Chef off instead?" The model ignored the glare he was receiving from Chef.
"I'm sorry, but I have to make my conscience clean again," Brick responded. He then noticed Jasmine looking at the ground with disappointment. “Jasmine, are you feeling-”
“Like you said, it's best that you stay away from the film lot,” Jasmine said with an upset glare. “And more importantly from me. You lied to me, and a long distance apart is what's best right now.”
Brick hung his head in shame. “Understood!” he obeyed dejectedly.
The scene flashed to Brick stepping into the waiting limo with a sad wave. Chris walked up to it just as the door slammed shut and it drove off, leaving the host standing at the end of the red carpet with a vague smile on his face.
"Well folks," he told the camera. "Looks like everyone just lost their best chef and most moraled man. Now that they've survived this week's fright fest, they'll be forced to bear the most horrific, stomach-churning, gut-wrenching challenge ever! Chef's cooking!” The man laughed gleefully. “I love this game.”
(Roll the Credits)
(Bonus Clip)
“I know I did the right thing, and I don't regret admitting to my wrongdoings, but that doesn't mean that I can ignore the consequences,” Brick said inside the limo. “My fellow competitors will have to go back to eating Chef's less than quality food, and cooking is something I've taken passion in doing now, and my friendship with Jasmine is more or less strained.” He frowned sadly. “I never meant to hurt her at all. I could've told her the truth earlier on, and she still would've been disappointed, but at least she'd see that I was the noble man I told her I am. Now all that's left for me to do is hope that she wins the season.”
Eva - 14th
Geoff - 14th
Izzy - RETURNED
Trent - 12th
Sky - 11th
Brick - 10th
Killer Grips: Anne Maria, Jasmine, Justin, Millie
Screaming Gaffers: Chase, Izzy, MK, Ripper, Scott

We got reports of more Ultra Beasts ripping through portals into our communities, folks! As the header image asks, how do they stack up in PvP? Worth grinding for? Well, let's let our Bottom Line Up Front answer that and then get into the deets. Here we go!

B.L.U.F.

• Let's not string this out: Blacephalon and Stakataka both enter the game too late to likely overtake other options already in use in PvP, and even big hyped-all-season Naganadel fails to overcome the one other Poisonous Dragon we already have.
  
• Blacephalon may have the most promise of the three, as it's roughly on the same level as Chandelure, which sounds good until you consider other Ghostly Fires like Skeledirge and Alolan Marowak in front of it, and that's not to even mention the other Incinerate users out there too. If I were to consider building one of these up, Blacephalon would probably be it... but it's far from necessary.
  
• Stakataka is basically a worse Aggron, not to even mention stuff like Bastiodon and Probopass (for if Staka ever becomes Great League eligible). Awesome design, but it is otherwise very flawed.
  
• Naganadel has been teased for months now, but its typing and moves leave much to be desired. It doesn't really have a place in PvP, and where eligible, Dragalge is flat out better.
  

Well isn't ol' JRE just a ray of sunshine! Sorry about that, just telling it like it is. If you're still here after THAT rainy intro, come with me as we examine the facts and figures.

BLACEPHALON

Fire/Ghost Type
ULTRA LEAGUE:
Attack: 227 (224 High Stat Product)
Defense: 115 (114 High Stat Product)
HP: 106 (109 High Stat Product)
(Highest Stat Product IVs {Best Friend Trade}: 5-14-14, 2496 CP, Level 27.5)
MASTER LEAGUE:
Attack: 277
Defense: 137
HP: 131
(Assuming 15-15-15 IVs; CP 3727 at Level 50)
We've had several Fiery Ghosts in the game already — Skeledirge, Alolan Marowak, Chandelure among them and all with a history of PvP success — but I think many still don't understand how good a typing combination Fire and Ghost is. Yes, there are single-level weaknesses to Water, Ground, Rock, Dark, and Ghost, but look at all the resistances! There are nine of them, in fact: Fairy, Fire, Grass, Ice, Poison, Steel, and 2x resistances to Normal, Fighting, and Bug damage.
That strong overall defensive typing is certainly noticable with Skeledirge and Alolan Marowak, who have good bulk to go with it. But on the other end, we have Chandelure with poor bulk... and now Blacephalon which makes Chandelure look downright tanky in comparison. In Ultra League, Chandelure has about 13 more HP, and over 20 more Defense. In Master League, it's "only" 11 more HP, but nearly 30 more Defense. Blacephalon's overall stat product is so low that it doesn't even make the list in Ultra League when sorting by stat product, putting it outside the top 700! This thing is made of wet tissue paper, folks. And I mean the single ply kind you find in the bathrooms of cheap restaurants, government buildings, and most middle schools. 🚽
Fast Moves

• Incinerate (Fire, 4.0 DPT, 4.0 EPT, 2.5 CoolDown)
  
• Astonish (Ghost, 3.0 DPT, 3.33 EPT, 1.5 CD)
  

Yes, Astonish is a better move these days, finally viable! But you know that given this choice, it HAS to be Incinerate. It's a little awkward to use with that longest-in-the-game cooldown, but I mean, it's 4.0 DPT and 4.0 EPT. It's an abusive fast move that can shred things without even needing charge moves in many circumstances.
But of course, we DO have charge moves to consider, so let's get right to them.
Charge Moves

• Mystical Fire (Fire, 60 damage, 45 energy, Reduces Opponent Attack -1 Stage)
  
• Shadow Ball (Ghost, 100 damage, 55 energy)
  
• Overheat (Fire, 130 damage, 55 energy, Reduces User Attack -2 Stages)
  

Been a little while since we got a new Pokémon with only three charge moves, eh? We're long past the days when that was the norm!
All three can work too, though considering Blacephalon's glassy nature, you probably ALWAYS want Mystical Fire slotted in. Not only does its lower cost allow your best shot at stringing multiple charge moves together, but the nerf to the opponent's Attack power means you're essentially propping up Blace's awful (complete lack of) bulk.
I can absolutely see the case for Overheat as charge move #2, and I won't say it's wrong. I am sure there are cases where it will gets wins that Shadow Ball cannot. But Shadow Ball, of course, provides great coverage and comes with no drawback at all. And when you're sporting more Attack power than even things like Mewtwo, Thundurus, and Hoopa Unbound, does the lower on-paper damage of Shadow Ball REALLY matter, especially considering that Incincerate has already softened targets up first? Again, if you wanna run Overheat instead, go for it. But for my money, it's Shadow Ball or bust, and I will be using it in most sims below.

IS THERE EVEN A PLACE FOR BLACEPHALON?

Normally I'd break down the sims by League, but this is going to be relatively quick, so I'm just going to kind of mush it all together.
Because there's a big problem Blacephalon has, and its name is Chandelure.
No, they're not exactly the same. Both run off of Incinerate and Shadow Ball, but Chandie comes with the 50-energy Flame Charge that buffs its own Attack, while Blace comes with the 45-energy Mystical Fire that instead slashes the opponent's Attack. Blace, in may ways, should have the advantage with 45 energy nicely setting up the 55-energy Shadow Ball (or Overheat). But for the most part, that's just not the case.
Let's start with the best realm for most big Legendaries/Mythicals/Ultra Beasts like this: Master League. Chandelure isn't great, but Blacephalon is no better. There ARE differences — Blace beats Excadrill and Zacian, and Chandie instead overcomes Dialga and Ursaluna — but they're basically the same.
And actually, that's not even true. Chandelure has more upside... as a Shadow. It's able to beat Excadrill too, leaving Zacian as Blacephalon's only unique win, and manages to overcome Ursaluna, Snorlax, Yveltal, and Ho-Oh too. Speaking of which, it's worth a reminder that Ho-Oh blows BOTH Chandelure and Blacephalon away, beating everything they can except Lugia, and carving out half a dozen wins that neither Ghostly Incinerate users can replicate.
Maybe Ultra League is kinder to Blacephalon?
At first, the comparison between Blace and Chandie looks favorable for Blacephalon, with a loss to Gliscor that Chandelure can beat, but exclusive wins versus Talonflame, Skeledirge, and even Tentacruel. But the Chandelure you want to be using in Ultra League is ShadowLure, and now Blacephalon is no better than a sidegrade, beating Talonflame, Skeledirge, and DDeoxys while Shadow Chandie instead takes down Pidgeot, Toxicroak, and Trevenant. Thanks to Mystical Fire, Blace does pull ahead a bit in 2v2 shielding, taking down Pidgeot, Poliwrath, Obstagoon, and DDeoxys (while ShadowLure instead has only Trevenant and Ampharos as unique wins), but with shields down, Shadow Chandelure is ALL upside, beating everything Blacephalon can PLUS Walrein, DDeoxys, and Altered Giratina (with Dragon Breath, that is).
And of course, they both still mostly pale in comparison to other established Fire types like Talonflame, Charizard, and fellow Ghostly Fire type Skeledirge. All of those are just better and more versatile, and of course are available in Premier formats whereas Blacephalon would be on the outside looking in, making it an even shakier investment in my eyes.
So where does that leave us? I think there's enough good going on to say that building up a Blacephalon for PvP is not a waste, but I think it's probably fair to say that it's unnecessary, and it arrives to GO behind several other, better options that exist in the game already. When even Chandelure is pacing or outright outclassing you, that's not a great place to be.

STAKATAKA

Rock/Steel Type
ULTRA LEAGUE:
Attack: 154 (154 High Stat Product)
Defense: 218 (219 High Stat Product)
HP: 120 (120 High Stat Product)
(Highest Stat Product IVs {Best Friend Trade}: 5-12-14, 2500 CP, Level 28)
MASTER LEAGUE:
Attack: 192
Defense: 263
HP: 143
(Assuming 15-15-15 IVs; CP 3724 at Level 50)
So if you're wondering why no Great League stats here (or with Blacephalon, for that matter), the reason is simple: as they're coming to us in raids, there's simply no way to get them to 1500 CP or less. If that changes in the future, I'll take another look, though I can tell you now that they're not great even in that League. We'll get to that on Stakataka more specifically in a bit.
The typing is well-worn territory, as others like Bastiodon and Probopass share the same Rock/Steel combo. It resists quite a bit: Dragon, Fairy, Ice, Psychic, and Rock, 2x resistances to Flying and Normal damage, and a 3x resistance to Poison. However, it also carries some well-known weaknesses, first to Water, but also double vulnerabilities to both Fighting and Ground, the banes of Bastiodon. All of that translates to Stakakataka as well...
...but the bulk does not. Bastiodon is obviously one of the bulkiest 'mons in PvP (trailing only evil incernate Chansey in Great League), and Probopass ain't bad either, being within the Top 20 in bulk in GL, ahead of things like Lickitung, Steelix, Defense Deoxys, the Stunfisks, Araquanid, Alomomola and many more. Stakakakataka trails far behind them, having bulk more in alignment with things like Drifblim, Goodra, and Cloyster... not bad at all, but a BIG dropoff from the Bastiodons and even Probopasses of the world.
Cloyster is actually a very close comp, with nearly identical Attack, lowish HP, but HUGE Defense... Stakakakakataka is in the Top 30 in Defense in Great League (or would be if it could fit there, of course) and Top 20 in Ultra League. So this isn't a matter of being glassy like Blacephalon, just a noticeable drop from other Rocky Steels already performing in PvP.
Fast Moves

• Rock Throw (Rock, 4.0 DPT, 2.5 EPT, 1.0 CoolDown)
  
• Take Down (Normal, 1.66 DPT, 2.66 EPT, 1.5 CD)
  

Here comes another difference, and another wedge between Staka and the established Rock/Steel types. While Bastiodon (and even Aggron) get to run with Smack Down, Stakakakakakataka is stuck with Rock Throw, which deals the same damage as Smack Down but generates less energy. (2.5 EPT as opposed to Smack Down's 2.66.) Probopass is also saddled with the inferior Rock Throw, though you'll often find it running Spark instead for superior energy generation. Staka, however, doesn't have a second fast move it can even run, with Take Down continuing to be inexplicably AWFUL in PvP. It's Rock Throw or bust here!
Charge Moves

• Stone Edge (Rock, 100 damage, 55 energy)
  
• Bulldoze (Ground, 80 damage, 60 energy)
  
• Flash Cannon (Steel, 110 damage, 70 energy)
  

Yay, just three charge moves again. But uh... here again we have unfavorable comparisons with the other Rocky Steels. Bastiodon at least gets Flamethrower for good (and affordable, at 55 energy) coverge. Probopass has a variety of intriguing charge moves across several typings. Even Aggron gets the same Stone Edge Bastie and Staka do, with some pretty awesome second move choices (Heavy Slam or Thunder for affordable-enough coverage, Rock Tomb for debuffing hijinks, or Meteor Beam for a great boomstick). Stakakakakakakataka still gets Stone Edge, but after that? Ew. Flash Cannon isn't a bad move, but you usually only see it with Registeel (and only rarely these days) or Ferrothorn, both of whom have great energy generation to bring it to bear early and often. The synergy between a 70-energy charge move and a 2.5 EPT fast move is... awkward, at best. Even the 60 energy for Bulldoze can be a stretch, especially considering how little damage it deals for that cost. And again a reminder that you're talking noticeably less bulk here than with Bastiodon or Probopass, so that means less breathing room to rush to a big expensive charge move in the first place.
Add it all up, and a (theoretical, for now) Stakakakakakakakataka in Great League badly trails both Bastiodon and Probopass. Like, it's not even close, with those two beating everything Staka can and adding a ton of new wins on top of it.
It's so bad that even in Ultra League, where Probopass doesn't even hit 2500 CP, it still dances circles around poor Stakakakakakakakakataka. Laughingstock Aggron dunks on it even harder, beating everything Staka can and adding on Cresselia, Guzzlord, Umbreon, and Altered Giratina. This is AGGRON we're talking about. I mean... ouch.
Even in Master League, where Stakakakakakakakakakataka exceeds Aggron by over 300 CP (and all other Steely Rocks all fall completely away), it doesn't pull ahead, losing to things like Yveltal and Altered Giratina that Aggron can beat. About the only thing it really does better than Aggron is beating Reshiram in 1shield, Zekrom in 0shield, and Mewtwo (without Focus Blast, anyway) in 2shield. Otherwise, Aggron is at least the same, if not better, and costs significantly less. Remember that Aggron's second move is only 10,000 stardust (as opposed to 100,000 for Staka) and the required XL Candy to max it out is something you may already have on hand. Or back in Ultra League level, of course, no XL is required at all and Aggron puts in a notably superior performance.
In short: barring a major move shakeup... heck, even that may not help! I don't see a great path forward for Stakakakakakakakakakakataka, if I'm being honest. The territory it wants to occupy is filled with far better and far more established options, even moreso than Blacephalon trying to break into the Fire/Ghost niche. I don't see a great reason to burn resources on it, which is a shame as its design is pretty dang cool.
That just leaves one....

NAGANADEL

In the interest of time — and the fact that many analyses have already come out on Naganadel over the course of the season with POIPOLE being here for nearly three months now — I'm going to skip the full list of stats and moves and just cut to the chase.
What I will say by means of introduction is... it's hard to figure out what Naganadel is supposed to be doing for you in PvP. It has good Poison moves, but one of the primary purposes of Poison is to slay Fairies, and it's shaky there with its Dragon side making Fairy damage neutral instead of resisted... so while it can and does generally win those matchups, it takes quite a pounding in the process. It's also a Dragon that is still weak to Dragon damage, as well as Ground and Psychic damage that are prevalent in Master League especially.
None of this is helped by the fact that it's quite glassy. Not quite on Blacephalon levels, but way behind other established Poisons like the Muks, the Nidos, the Bats, the Dark/Poisons, fellow Ultra Beast Nihilego, and even things known for their glassiness like Roserade, Victreebel, and Sneasler.
Add it all up, and even with Naganadel being eligible in Great League (thanks to Poipole beign a research reward, and thus at Level 15), it seems to be dead on arrival. It can beat a handful of Water, Electric, and Grass types thanks mostly to resistances (Water, Electric, Grass, and Fire on its Dragon side, and Poison, Fighting, Bug, and Grass again on its Poison side), but that's really about it. At this level, it even loses to the big name Fairies! There's not a ton of competition for the Poisonous Dragon niche, but the one that IS in place already, Dragalge, remains far better. And that goes for Ultra League as well, where Dragalge is close to full-on meta, but Naganadel just stinks up the joint. And no, running alternative charge moves like Dragon Pulse or Acrobatics (as opposed to the normally-recommended Sludge Bomb) does not help at all either.
Even in Master League, where Naganadel has a strangehold on the Poisonous Dragon niche, there's just not much it can do. It beats several of the Fairies, albeit in a war of attrition, as well as Kyogre, Zarude (for rather obvious reasons), and sometimes Yveltal. But that's it. I mean, what do you want it for? Nihilego gets TWICE as many wins and practically nobody runs that. Do I suspect some brave soul will try out Naganadel in Master League anyway? Of course they will. But I also suspect they will immediately regret their life choices. This is just not a Pokémon poised (poipoised?) for PvP success. Dragalge can kinda sorta pull it off with FAR better bulk and a bait move that actually deals decent enough damage and provides some coverage (Aqua Tail) as opposed to Naganadel's low-power Fell Stinger. Yes, Stinger makes each subsequent Poison Jab hurt more, but is it likely to live long enough to really capitalize on that? I'm not betting on it.
And in my opinion, neither should you, dear reader. Get it for the collection, maybe for PvE, and then invest your time and resources into something better instead. Like maybe the Necrozma Fusions coming up in my next analysis article.... 👀
Alright, that's it for today. Wish it was better news, but hey... at least now you know, right?
Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter with regular GO analysis nuggets or Patreon.
Happy raiding, folks! Stay safe out there, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!

We got reports of more Ultra Beasts ripping through portals into our communities, folks! As the header image asks, how do they stack up in PvP? Worth grinding for? Well, let's let our Bottom Line Up Front answer that and then get into the deets. Here we go!

B.L.U.F.

• Let's not string this out: Blacephalon and Stakataka both enter the game too late to likely overtake other options already in use in PvP, and even big hyped-all-season Naganadel fails to overcome the one other Poisonous Dragon we already have.
  
• Blacephalon may have the most promise of the three, as it's roughly on the same level as Chandelure, which sounds good until you consider other Ghostly Fires like Skeledirge and Alolan Marowak in front of it, and that's not to even mention the other Incinerate users out there too. If I were to consider building one of these up, Blacephalon would probably be it... but it's far from necessary.
  
• Stakataka is basically a worse Aggron, not to even mention stuff like Bastiodon and Probopass (for if Staka ever becomes Great League eligible). Awesome design, but it is otherwise very flawed.
  
• Naganadel has been teased for months now, but its typing and moves leave much to be desired. It doesn't really have a place in PvP, and where eligible, Dragalge is flat out better.
  

Well isn't ol' JRE just a ray of sunshine! Sorry about that, just telling it like it is. If you're still here after THAT rainy intro, come with me as we examine the facts and figures.

BLACEPHALON

Fire/Ghost Type
ULTRA LEAGUE:
Attack: 227 (224 High Stat Product)
Defense: 115 (114 High Stat Product)
HP: 106 (109 High Stat Product)
(Highest Stat Product IVs {Best Friend Trade}: 5-14-14, 2496 CP, Level 27.5)
MASTER LEAGUE:
Attack: 277
Defense: 137
HP: 131
(Assuming 15-15-15 IVs; CP 3727 at Level 50)
We've had several Fiery Ghosts in the game already — Skeledirge, Alolan Marowak, Chandelure among them and all with a history of PvP success — but I think many still don't understand how good a typing combination Fire and Ghost is. Yes, there are single-level weaknesses to Water, Ground, Rock, Dark, and Ghost, but look at all the resistances! There are nine of them, in fact: Fairy, Fire, Grass, Ice, Poison, Steel, and 2x resistances to Normal, Fighting, and Bug damage.
That strong overall defensive typing is certainly noticable with Skeledirge and Alolan Marowak, who have good bulk to go with it. But on the other end, we have Chandelure with poor bulk... and now Blacephalon which makes Chandelure look downright tanky in comparison. In Ultra League, Chandelure has about 13 more HP, and over 20 more Defense. In Master League, it's "only" 11 more HP, but nearly 30 more Defense. Blacephalon's overall stat product is so low that it doesn't even make the list in Ultra League when sorting by stat product, putting it outside the top 700! This thing is made of wet tissue paper, folks. And I mean the single ply kind you find in the bathrooms of cheap restaurants, government buildings, and most middle schools. 🚽
Fast Moves

• Incinerate (Fire, 4.0 DPT, 4.0 EPT, 2.5 CoolDown)
  
• Astonish (Ghost, 3.0 DPT, 3.33 EPT, 1.5 CD)
  

Yes, Astonish is a better move these days, finally viable! But you know that given this choice, it HAS to be Incinerate. It's a little awkward to use with that longest-in-the-game cooldown, but I mean, it's 4.0 DPT and 4.0 EPT. It's an abusive fast move that can shred things without even needing charge moves in many circumstances.
But of course, we DO have charge moves to consider, so let's get right to them.
Charge Moves

• Mystical Fire (Fire, 60 damage, 45 energy, Reduces Opponent Attack -1 Stage)
  
• Shadow Ball (Ghost, 100 damage, 55 energy)
  
• Overheat (Fire, 130 damage, 55 energy, Reduces User Attack -2 Stages)
  

Been a little while since we got a new Pokémon with only three charge moves, eh? We're long past the days when that was the norm!
All three can work too, though considering Blacephalon's glassy nature, you probably ALWAYS want Mystical Fire slotted in. Not only does its lower cost allow your best shot at stringing multiple charge moves together, but the nerf to the opponent's Attack power means you're essentially propping up Blace's awful (complete lack of) bulk.
I can absolutely see the case for Overheat as charge move #2, and I won't say it's wrong. I am sure there are cases where it will gets wins that Shadow Ball cannot. But Shadow Ball, of course, provides great coverage and comes with no drawback at all. And when you're sporting more Attack power than even things like Mewtwo, Thundurus, and Hoopa Unbound, does the lower on-paper damage of Shadow Ball REALLY matter, especially considering that Incincerate has already softened targets up first? Again, if you wanna run Overheat instead, go for it. But for my money, it's Shadow Ball or bust, and I will be using it in most sims below.

IS THERE EVEN A PLACE FOR BLACEPHALON?

Normally I'd break down the sims by League, but this is going to be relatively quick, so I'm just going to kind of mush it all together.
Because there's a big problem Blacephalon has, and its name is Chandelure.
No, they're not exactly the same. Both run off of Incinerate and Shadow Ball, but Chandie comes with the 50-energy Flame Charge that buffs its own Attack, while Blace comes with the 45-energy Mystical Fire that instead slashes the opponent's Attack. Blace, in may ways, should have the advantage with 45 energy nicely setting up the 55-energy Shadow Ball (or Overheat). But for the most part, that's just not the case.
Let's start with the best realm for most big Legendaries/Mythicals/Ultra Beasts like this: Master League. Chandelure isn't great, but Blacephalon is no better. There ARE differences — Blace beats Excadrill and Zacian, and Chandie instead overcomes Dialga and Ursaluna — but they're basically the same.
And actually, that's not even true. Chandelure has more upside... as a Shadow. It's able to beat Excadrill too, leaving Zacian as Blacephalon's only unique win, and manages to overcome Ursaluna, Snorlax, Yveltal, and Ho-Oh too. Speaking of which, it's worth a reminder that Ho-Oh blows BOTH Chandelure and Blacephalon away, beating everything they can except Lugia, and carving out half a dozen wins that neither Ghostly Incinerate users can replicate.
Maybe Ultra League is kinder to Blacephalon?
At first, the comparison between Blace and Chandie looks favorable for Blacephalon, with a loss to Gliscor that Chandelure can beat, but exclusive wins versus Talonflame, Skeledirge, and even Tentacruel. But the Chandelure you want to be using in Ultra League is ShadowLure, and now Blacephalon is no better than a sidegrade, beating Talonflame, Skeledirge, and DDeoxys while Shadow Chandie instead takes down Pidgeot, Toxicroak, and Trevenant. Thanks to Mystical Fire, Blace does pull ahead a bit in 2v2 shielding, taking down Pidgeot, Poliwrath, Obstagoon, and DDeoxys (while ShadowLure instead has only Trevenant and Ampharos as unique wins), but with shields down, Shadow Chandelure is ALL upside, beating everything Blacephalon can PLUS Walrein, DDeoxys, and Altered Giratina (with Dragon Breath, that is).
And of course, they both still mostly pale in comparison to other established Fire types like Talonflame, Charizard, and fellow Ghostly Fire type Skeledirge. All of those are just better and more versatile, and of course are available in Premier formats whereas Blacephalon would be on the outside looking in, making it an even shakier investment in my eyes.
So where does that leave us? I think there's enough good going on to say that building up a Blacephalon for PvP is not a waste, but I think it's probably fair to say that it's unnecessary, and it arrives to GO behind several other, better options that exist in the game already. When even Chandelure is pacing or outright outclassing you, that's not a great place to be.

STAKATAKA

Rock/Steel Type
ULTRA LEAGUE:
Attack: 154 (154 High Stat Product)
Defense: 218 (219 High Stat Product)
HP: 120 (120 High Stat Product)
(Highest Stat Product IVs {Best Friend Trade}: 5-12-14, 2500 CP, Level 28)
MASTER LEAGUE:
Attack: 192
Defense: 263
HP: 143
(Assuming 15-15-15 IVs; CP 3724 at Level 50)
So if you're wondering why no Great League stats here (or with Blacephalon, for that matter), the reason is simple: as they're coming to us in raids, there's simply no way to get them to 1500 CP or less. If that changes in the future, I'll take another look, though I can tell you now that they're not great even in that League. We'll get to that on Stakataka more specifically in a bit.
The typing is well-worn territory, as others like Bastiodon and Probopass share the same Rock/Steel combo. It resists quite a bit: Dragon, Fairy, Ice, Psychic, and Rock, 2x resistances to Flying and Normal damage, and a 3x resistance to Poison. However, it also carries some well-known weaknesses, first to Water, but also double vulnerabilities to both Fighting and Ground, the banes of Bastiodon. All of that translates to Stakakataka as well...
...but the bulk does not. Bastiodon is obviously one of the bulkiest 'mons in PvP (trailing only evil incernate Chansey in Great League), and Probopass ain't bad either, being within the Top 20 in bulk in GL, ahead of things like Lickitung, Steelix, Defense Deoxys, the Stunfisks, Araquanid, Alomomola and many more. Stakakakataka trails far behind them, having bulk more in alignment with things like Drifblim, Goodra, and Cloyster... not bad at all, but a BIG dropoff from the Bastiodons and even Probopasses of the world.
Cloyster is actually a very close comp, with nearly identical Attack, lowish HP, but HUGE Defense... Stakakakakataka is in the Top 30 in Defense in Great League (or would be if it could fit there, of course) and Top 20 in Ultra League. So this isn't a matter of being glassy like Blacephalon, just a noticeable drop from other Rocky Steels already performing in PvP.
Fast Moves

• Rock Throw (Rock, 4.0 DPT, 2.5 EPT, 1.0 CoolDown)
  
• Take Down (Normal, 1.66 DPT, 2.66 EPT, 1.5 CD)
  

Here comes another difference, and another wedge between Staka and the established Rock/Steel types. While Bastiodon (and even Aggron) get to run with Smack Down, Stakakakakakataka is stuck with Rock Throw, which deals the same damage as Smack Down but generates less energy. (2.5 EPT as opposed to Smack Down's 2.66.) Probopass is also saddled with the inferior Rock Throw, though you'll often find it running Spark instead for superior energy generation. Staka, however, doesn't have a second fast move it can even run, with Take Down continuing to be inexplicably AWFUL in PvP. It's Rock Throw or bust here!
Charge Moves

• Stone Edge (Rock, 100 damage, 55 energy)
  
• Bulldoze (Ground, 80 damage, 60 energy)
  
• Flash Cannon (Steel, 110 damage, 70 energy)
  

Yay, just three charge moves again. But uh... here again we have unfavorable comparisons with the other Rocky Steels. Bastiodon at least gets Flamethrower for good (and affordable, at 55 energy) coverge. Probopass has a variety of intriguing charge moves across several typings. Even Aggron gets the same Stone Edge Bastie and Staka do, with some pretty awesome second move choices (Heavy Slam or Thunder for affordable-enough coverage, Rock Tomb for debuffing hijinks, or Meteor Beam for a great boomstick). Stakakakakakakataka still gets Stone Edge, but after that? Ew. Flash Cannon isn't a bad move, but you usually only see it with Registeel (and only rarely these days) or Ferrothorn, both of whom have great energy generation to bring it to bear early and often. The synergy between a 70-energy charge move and a 2.5 EPT fast move is... awkward, at best. Even the 60 energy for Bulldoze can be a stretch, especially considering how little damage it deals for that cost. And again a reminder that you're talking noticeably less bulk here than with Bastiodon or Probopass, so that means less breathing room to rush to a big expensive charge move in the first place.
Add it all up, and a (theoretical, for now) Stakakakakakakakataka in Great League badly trails both Bastiodon and Probopass. Like, it's not even close, with those two beating everything Staka can and adding a ton of new wins on top of it.
It's so bad that even in Ultra League, where Probopass doesn't even hit 2500 CP, it still dances circles around poor Stakakakakakakakakataka. Laughingstock Aggron dunks on it even harder, beating everything Staka can and adding on Cresselia, Guzzlord, Umbreon, and Altered Giratina. This is AGGRON we're talking about. I mean... ouch.
Even in Master League, where Stakakakakakakakakakataka exceeds Aggron by over 300 CP (and all other Steely Rocks all fall completely away), it doesn't pull ahead, losing to things like Yveltal and Altered Giratina that Aggron can beat. About the only thing it really does better than Aggron is beating Reshiram in 1shield, Zekrom in 0shield, and Mewtwo (without Focus Blast, anyway) in 2shield. Otherwise, Aggron is at least the same, if not better, and costs significantly less. Remember that Aggron's second move is only 10,000 stardust (as opposed to 100,000 for Staka) and the required XL Candy to max it out is something you may already have on hand. Or back in Ultra League level, of course, no XL is required at all and Aggron puts in a notably superior performance.
In short: barring a major move shakeup... heck, even that may not help! I don't see a great path forward for Stakakakakakakakakakakataka, if I'm being honest. The territory it wants to occupy is filled with far better and far more established options, even moreso than Blacephalon trying to break into the Fire/Ghost niche. I don't see a great reason to burn resources on it, which is a shame as its design is pretty dang cool.
That just leaves one....

NAGANADEL

In the interest of time — and the fact that many analyses have already come out on Naganadel over the course of the season with POIPOLE being here for nearly three months now — I'm going to skip the full list of stats and moves and just cut to the chase.
What I will say by means of introduction is... it's hard to figure out what Naganadel is supposed to be doing for you in PvP. It has good Poison moves, but one of the primary purposes of Poison is to slay Fairies, and it's shaky there with its Dragon side making Fairy damage neutral instead of resisted... so while it can and does generally win those matchups, it takes quite a pounding in the process. It's also a Dragon that is still weak to Dragon damage, as well as Ground and Psychic damage that are prevalent in Master League especially.
None of this is helped by the fact that it's quite glassy. Not quite on Blacephalon levels, but way behind other established Poisons like the Muks, the Nidos, the Bats, the Dark/Poisons, fellow Ultra Beast Nihilego, and even things known for their glassiness like Roserade, Victreebel, and Sneasler.
Add it all up, and even with Naganadel being eligible in Great League (thanks to Poipole beign a research reward, and thus at Level 15), it seems to be dead on arrival. It can beat a handful of Water, Electric, and Grass types thanks mostly to resistances (Water, Electric, Grass, and Fire on its Dragon side, and Poison, Fighting, Bug, and Grass again on its Poison side), but that's really about it. At this level, it even loses to the big name Fairies! There's not a ton of competition for the Poisonous Dragon niche, but the one that IS in place already, Dragalge, remains far better. And that goes for Ultra League as well, where Dragalge is close to full-on meta, but Naganadel just stinks up the joint. And no, running alternative charge moves like Dragon Pulse or Acrobatics (as opposed to the normally-recommended Sludge Bomb) does not help at all either.
Even in Master League, where Naganadel has a strangehold on the Poisonous Dragon niche, there's just not much it can do. It beats several of the Fairies, albeit in a war of attrition, as well as Kyogre, Zarude (for rather obvious reasons), and sometimes Yveltal. But that's it. I mean, what do you want it for? Nihilego gets TWICE as many wins and practically nobody runs that. Do I suspect some brave soul will try out Naganadel in Master League anyway? Of course they will. But I also suspect they will immediately regret their life choices. This is just not a Pokémon poised (poipoised?) for PvP success. Dragalge can kinda sorta pull it off with FAR better bulk and a bait move that actually deals decent enough damage and provides some coverage (Aqua Tail) as opposed to Naganadel's low-power Fell Stinger. Yes, Stinger makes each subsequent Poison Jab hurt more, but is it likely to live long enough to really capitalize on that? I'm not betting on it.
And in my opinion, neither should you, dear reader. Get it for the collection, maybe for PvE, and then invest your time and resources into something better instead. Like maybe the Necrozma Fusions coming up in my next analysis article.... 👀
Alright, that's it for today. Wish it was better news, but hey... at least now you know, right?
Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter with regular GO analysis nuggets or Patreon.
Happy raiding, folks! Stay safe out there, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!

We got reports of more Ultra Beasts ripping through portals into our communities, folks! As the header image asks, how do they stack up in PvP? Worth grinding for? Well, let's let our Bottom Line Up Front answer that and then get into the deets. Here we go!

B.L.U.F.

• Let's not string this out: Blacephalon and Stakataka both enter the game too late to likely overtake other options already in use in PvP, and even big hyped-all-season Naganadel fails to overcome the one other Poisonous Dragon we already have.
  
• Blacephalon may have the most promise of the three, as it's roughly on the same level as Chandelure, which sounds good until you consider other Ghostly Fires like Skeledirge and Alolan Marowak in front of it, and that's not to even mention the other Incinerate users out there too. If I were to consider building one of these up, Blacephalon would probably be it... but it's far from necessary.
  
• Stakataka is basically a worse Aggron, not to even mention stuff like Bastiodon and Probopass (for if Staka ever becomes Great League eligible). Awesome design, but it is otherwise very flawed.
  
• Naganadel has been teased for months now, but its typing and moves leave much to be desired. It doesn't really have a place in PvP, and where eligible, Dragalge is flat out better.
  

Well isn't ol' JRE just a ray of sunshine! Sorry about that, just telling it like it is. If you're still here after THAT rainy intro, come with me as we examine the facts and figures.

BLACEPHALON

Fire/Ghost Type
ULTRA LEAGUE:
Attack: 227 (224 High Stat Product)
Defense: 115 (114 High Stat Product)
HP: 106 (109 High Stat Product)
(Highest Stat Product IVs {Best Friend Trade}: 5-14-14, 2496 CP, Level 27.5)
MASTER LEAGUE:
Attack: 277
Defense: 137
HP: 131
(Assuming 15-15-15 IVs; CP 3727 at Level 50)
We've had several Fiery Ghosts in the game already — Skeledirge, Alolan Marowak, Chandelure among them and all with a history of PvP success — but I think many still don't understand how good a typing combination Fire and Ghost is. Yes, there are single-level weaknesses to Water, Ground, Rock, Dark, and Ghost, but look at all the resistances! There are nine of them, in fact: Fairy, Fire, Grass, Ice, Poison, Steel, and 2x resistances to Normal, Fighting, and Bug damage.
That strong overall defensive typing is certainly noticable with Skeledirge and Alolan Marowak, who have good bulk to go with it. But on the other end, we have Chandelure with poor bulk... and now Blacephalon which makes Chandelure look downright tanky in comparison. In Ultra League, Chandelure has about 13 more HP, and over 20 more Defense. In Master League, it's "only" 11 more HP, but nearly 30 more Defense. Blacephalon's overall stat product is so low that it doesn't even make the list in Ultra League when sorting by stat product, putting it outside the top 700! This thing is made of wet tissue paper, folks. And I mean the single ply kind you find in the bathrooms of cheap restaurants, government buildings, and most middle schools. 🚽
Fast Moves

• Incinerate (Fire, 4.0 DPT, 4.0 EPT, 2.5 CoolDown)
  
• Astonish (Ghost, 3.0 DPT, 3.33 EPT, 1.5 CD)
  

Yes, Astonish is a better move these days, finally viable! But you know that given this choice, it HAS to be Incinerate. It's a little awkward to use with that longest-in-the-game cooldown, but I mean, it's 4.0 DPT and 4.0 EPT. It's an abusive fast move that can shred things without even needing charge moves in many circumstances.
But of course, we DO have charge moves to consider, so let's get right to them.
Charge Moves

• Mystical Fire (Fire, 60 damage, 45 energy, Reduces Opponent Attack -1 Stage)
  
• Shadow Ball (Ghost, 100 damage, 55 energy)
  
• Overheat (Fire, 130 damage, 55 energy, Reduces User Attack -2 Stages)
  

Been a little while since we got a new Pokémon with only three charge moves, eh? We're long past the days when that was the norm!
All three can work too, though considering Blacephalon's glassy nature, you probably ALWAYS want Mystical Fire slotted in. Not only does its lower cost allow your best shot at stringing multiple charge moves together, but the nerf to the opponent's Attack power means you're essentially propping up Blace's awful (complete lack of) bulk.
I can absolutely see the case for Overheat as charge move #2, and I won't say it's wrong. I am sure there are cases where it will gets wins that Shadow Ball cannot. But Shadow Ball, of course, provides great coverage and comes with no drawback at all. And when you're sporting more Attack power than even things like Mewtwo, Thundurus, and Hoopa Unbound, does the lower on-paper damage of Shadow Ball REALLY matter, especially considering that Incincerate has already softened targets up first? Again, if you wanna run Overheat instead, go for it. But for my money, it's Shadow Ball or bust, and I will be using it in most sims below.

IS THERE EVEN A PLACE FOR BLACEPHALON?

Normally I'd break down the sims by League, but this is going to be relatively quick, so I'm just going to kind of mush it all together.
Because there's a big problem Blacephalon has, and its name is Chandelure.
No, they're not exactly the same. Both run off of Incinerate and Shadow Ball, but Chandie comes with the 50-energy Flame Charge that buffs its own Attack, while Blace comes with the 45-energy Mystical Fire that instead slashes the opponent's Attack. Blace, in may ways, should have the advantage with 45 energy nicely setting up the 55-energy Shadow Ball (or Overheat). But for the most part, that's just not the case.
Let's start with the best realm for most big Legendaries/Mythicals/Ultra Beasts like this: Master League. Chandelure isn't great, but Blacephalon is no better. There ARE differences — Blace beats Excadrill and Zacian, and Chandie instead overcomes Dialga and Ursaluna — but they're basically the same.
And actually, that's not even true. Chandelure has more upside... as a Shadow. It's able to beat Excadrill too, leaving Zacian as Blacephalon's only unique win, and manages to overcome Ursaluna, Snorlax, Yveltal, and Ho-Oh too. Speaking of which, it's worth a reminder that Ho-Oh blows BOTH Chandelure and Blacephalon away, beating everything they can except Lugia, and carving out half a dozen wins that neither Ghostly Incinerate users can replicate.
Maybe Ultra League is kinder to Blacephalon?
At first, the comparison between Blace and Chandie looks favorable for Blacephalon, with a loss to Gliscor that Chandelure can beat, but exclusive wins versus Talonflame, Skeledirge, and even Tentacruel. But the Chandelure you want to be using in Ultra League is ShadowLure, and now Blacephalon is no better than a sidegrade, beating Talonflame, Skeledirge, and DDeoxys while Shadow Chandie instead takes down Pidgeot, Toxicroak, and Trevenant. Thanks to Mystical Fire, Blace does pull ahead a bit in 2v2 shielding, taking down Pidgeot, Poliwrath, Obstagoon, and DDeoxys (while ShadowLure instead has only Trevenant and Ampharos as unique wins), but with shields down, Shadow Chandelure is ALL upside, beating everything Blacephalon can PLUS Walrein, DDeoxys, and Altered Giratina (with Dragon Breath, that is).
And of course, they both still mostly pale in comparison to other established Fire types like Talonflame, Charizard, and fellow Ghostly Fire type Skeledirge. All of those are just better and more versatile, and of course are available in Premier formats whereas Blacephalon would be on the outside looking in, making it an even shakier investment in my eyes.
So where does that leave us? I think there's enough good going on to say that building up a Blacephalon for PvP is not a waste, but I think it's probably fair to say that it's unnecessary, and it arrives to GO behind several other, better options that exist in the game already. When even Chandelure is pacing or outright outclassing you, that's not a great place to be.

STAKATAKA

Rock/Steel Type
ULTRA LEAGUE:
Attack: 154 (154 High Stat Product)
Defense: 218 (219 High Stat Product)
HP: 120 (120 High Stat Product)
(Highest Stat Product IVs {Best Friend Trade}: 5-12-14, 2500 CP, Level 28)
MASTER LEAGUE:
Attack: 192
Defense: 263
HP: 143
(Assuming 15-15-15 IVs; CP 3724 at Level 50)
So if you're wondering why no Great League stats here (or with Blacephalon, for that matter), the reason is simple: as they're coming to us in raids, there's simply no way to get them to 1500 CP or less. If that changes in the future, I'll take another look, though I can tell you now that they're not great even in that League. We'll get to that on Stakataka more specifically in a bit.
The typing is well-worn territory, as others like Bastiodon and Probopass share the same Rock/Steel combo. It resists quite a bit: Dragon, Fairy, Ice, Psychic, and Rock, 2x resistances to Flying and Normal damage, and a 3x resistance to Poison. However, it also carries some well-known weaknesses, first to Water, but also double vulnerabilities to both Fighting and Ground, the banes of Bastiodon. All of that translates to Stakakataka as well...
...but the bulk does not. Bastiodon is obviously one of the bulkiest 'mons in PvP (trailing only evil incernate Chansey in Great League), and Probopass ain't bad either, being within the Top 20 in bulk in GL, ahead of things like Lickitung, Steelix, Defense Deoxys, the Stunfisks, Araquanid, Alomomola and many more. Stakakakataka trails far behind them, having bulk more in alignment with things like Drifblim, Goodra, and Cloyster... not bad at all, but a BIG dropoff from the Bastiodons and even Probopasses of the world.
Cloyster is actually a very close comp, with nearly identical Attack, lowish HP, but HUGE Defense... Stakakakakataka is in the Top 30 in Defense in Great League (or would be if it could fit there, of course) and Top 20 in Ultra League. So this isn't a matter of being glassy like Blacephalon, just a noticeable drop from other Rocky Steels already performing in PvP.
Fast Moves

• Rock Throw (Rock, 4.0 DPT, 2.5 EPT, 1.0 CoolDown)
  
• Take Down (Normal, 1.66 DPT, 2.66 EPT, 1.5 CD)
  

Here comes another difference, and another wedge between Staka and the established Rock/Steel types. While Bastiodon (and even Aggron) get to run with Smack Down, Stakakakakakataka is stuck with Rock Throw, which deals the same damage as Smack Down but generates less energy. (2.5 EPT as opposed to Smack Down's 2.66.) Probopass is also saddled with the inferior Rock Throw, though you'll often find it running Spark instead for superior energy generation. Staka, however, doesn't have a second fast move it can even run, with Take Down continuing to be inexplicably AWFUL in PvP. It's Rock Throw or bust here!
Charge Moves

• Stone Edge (Rock, 100 damage, 55 energy)
  
• Bulldoze (Ground, 80 damage, 60 energy)
  
• Flash Cannon (Steel, 110 damage, 70 energy)
  

Yay, just three charge moves again. But uh... here again we have unfavorable comparisons with the other Rocky Steels. Bastiodon at least gets Flamethrower for good (and affordable, at 55 energy) coverge. Probopass has a variety of intriguing charge moves across several typings. Even Aggron gets the same Stone Edge Bastie and Staka do, with some pretty awesome second move choices (Heavy Slam or Thunder for affordable-enough coverage, Rock Tomb for debuffing hijinks, or Meteor Beam for a great boomstick). Stakakakakakakataka still gets Stone Edge, but after that? Ew. Flash Cannon isn't a bad move, but you usually only see it with Registeel (and only rarely these days) or Ferrothorn, both of whom have great energy generation to bring it to bear early and often. The synergy between a 70-energy charge move and a 2.5 EPT fast move is... awkward, at best. Even the 60 energy for Bulldoze can be a stretch, especially considering how little damage it deals for that cost. And again a reminder that you're talking noticeably less bulk here than with Bastiodon or Probopass, so that means less breathing room to rush to a big expensive charge move in the first place.
Add it all up, and a (theoretical, for now) Stakakakakakakakataka in Great League badly trails both Bastiodon and Probopass. Like, it's not even close, with those two beating everything Staka can and adding a ton of new wins on top of it.
It's so bad that even in Ultra League, where Probopass doesn't even hit 2500 CP, it still dances circles around poor Stakakakakakakakakataka. Laughingstock Aggron dunks on it even harder, beating everything Staka can and adding on Cresselia, Guzzlord, Umbreon, and Altered Giratina. This is AGGRON we're talking about. I mean... ouch.
Even in Master League, where Stakakakakakakakakakataka exceeds Aggron by over 300 CP (and all other Steely Rocks all fall completely away), it doesn't pull ahead, losing to things like Yveltal and Altered Giratina that Aggron can beat. About the only thing it really does better than Aggron is beating Reshiram in 1shield, Zekrom in 0shield, and Mewtwo (without Focus Blast, anyway) in 2shield. Otherwise, Aggron is at least the same, if not better, and costs significantly less. Remember that Aggron's second move is only 10,000 stardust (as opposed to 100,000 for Staka) and the required XL Candy to max it out is something you may already have on hand. Or back in Ultra League level, of course, no XL is required at all and Aggron puts in a notably superior performance.
In short: barring a major move shakeup... heck, even that may not help! I don't see a great path forward for Stakakakakakakakakakakataka, if I'm being honest. The territory it wants to occupy is filled with far better and far more established options, even moreso than Blacephalon trying to break into the Fire/Ghost niche. I don't see a great reason to burn resources on it, which is a shame as its design is pretty dang cool.
That just leaves one....

NAGANADEL

In the interest of time — and the fact that many analyses have already come out on Naganadel over the course of the season with POIPOLE being here for nearly three months now — I'm going to skip the full list of stats and moves and just cut to the chase.
What I will say by means of introduction is... it's hard to figure out what Naganadel is supposed to be doing for you in PvP. It has good Poison moves, but one of the primary purposes of Poison is to slay Fairies, and it's shaky there with its Dragon side making Fairy damage neutral instead of resisted... so while it can and does generally win those matchups, it takes quite a pounding in the process. It's also a Dragon that is still weak to Dragon damage, as well as Ground and Psychic damage that are prevalent in Master League especially.
None of this is helped by the fact that it's quite glassy. Not quite on Blacephalon levels, but way behind other established Poisons like the Muks, the Nidos, the Bats, the Dark/Poisons, fellow Ultra Beast Nihilego, and even things known for their glassiness like Roserade, Victreebel, and Sneasler.
Add it all up, and even with Naganadel being eligible in Great League (thanks to Poipole beign a research reward, and thus at Level 15), it seems to be dead on arrival. It can beat a handful of Water, Electric, and Grass types thanks mostly to resistances (Water, Electric, Grass, and Fire on its Dragon side, and Poison, Fighting, Bug, and Grass again on its Poison side), but that's really about it. At this level, it even loses to the big name Fairies! There's not a ton of competition for the Poisonous Dragon niche, but the one that IS in place already, Dragalge, remains far better. And that goes for Ultra League as well, where Dragalge is close to full-on meta, but Naganadel just stinks up the joint. And no, running alternative charge moves like Dragon Pulse or Acrobatics (as opposed to the normally-recommended Sludge Bomb) does not help at all either.
Even in Master League, where Naganadel has a strangehold on the Poisonous Dragon niche, there's just not much it can do. It beats several of the Fairies, albeit in a war of attrition, as well as Kyogre, Zarude (for rather obvious reasons), and sometimes Yveltal. But that's it. I mean, what do you want it for? Nihilego gets TWICE as many wins and practically nobody runs that. Do I suspect some brave soul will try out Naganadel in Master League anyway? Of course they will. But I also suspect they will immediately regret their life choices. This is just not a Pokémon poised (poipoised?) for PvP success. Dragalge can kinda sorta pull it off with FAR better bulk and a bait move that actually deals decent enough damage and provides some coverage (Aqua Tail) as opposed to Naganadel's low-power Fell Stinger. Yes, Stinger makes each subsequent Poison Jab hurt more, but is it likely to live long enough to really capitalize on that? I'm not betting on it.
And in my opinion, neither should you, dear reader. Get it for the collection, maybe for PvE, and then invest your time and resources into something better instead. Like maybe the Necrozma Fusions coming up in my next analysis article.... 👀
Alright, that's it for today. Wish it was better news, but hey... at least now you know, right?
Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter with regular GO analysis nuggets or Patreon.
Happy raiding, folks! Stay safe out there, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!

Sorry I couldn't get a better photo. I'm not going until tonight lol Subbing in the impossible or gardein veggie burger, also having fries with it. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!
https://preview.redd.it/0y09njxgwz1d1.png?width=797&format=png&auto=webp&s=4cf28135ad32daaf58601827b962d008a775111d
https://preview.redd.it/fsfxk66jwz1d1.png?width=1354&format=png&auto=webp&s=d7a875b724f3746de9d0cca331d962ec45f7cd2b

"Don't you ever get tempted?"
It's not a question the locals ask. Thirty years might have passed since the death of the last Payne, but they still remember the family.
Occasionally, though, a tourist will come to stay in one of the cottages the locals have been priced out of, to stroll around the lakes that have been ours for centuries and drink themselves sick on our ale. Inevitably, they'll end up in The Red Lion, where someone who should know better will tell them the peculiar story of the house on the hill.
When I arrive - as I'm inclined to do most nights, after I've locked up for the evening - the pub will fall silent when I push through the door. Although no words are spoken, I can read the darkly significant looks that pass between them. "That's the one," they seem to say. "The woman I was telling you about."
I don't blame the locals. The story's good for a free drink, and I take advantage of it every bit as much as they do.
Once I'm ensconced with a glass of wine or shandy, the clumsy dance begins. The tourist remarks about the weather; asks about my day. After a few minutes, they steer the conversation towards how I make my living.
Of course, they feign surprise when I tell them.
"I don't think I could resist it," they say. "A massive house sitting empty like that - I'd have moved in by now."
Inevitably, I'll respond with some guff about duty - some notion about not wanting to abuse the trust my former employers placed in me.
From time to time, a woman - somehow, it's always a woman, usually leaning into her partner's shoulder as she shudders - will come close to the heart of the matter in her response. "I get it," she'll say. "It'd be too creepy."
She doesn't feel the weight of history - not mine anyway. But, yes; creepy pretty well sums it up.
Like my mother and grandmother before me, I began working for the Paynes as a young girl. Although they were modern in their pursuits and industry, their idea of service was firmly lodged somewhere around 1904.
"New money," my mother once explained to me with the air of a dowager duchess. "They feel they've got something to prove."
I stoked fires made redundant by central heating. I dusted figurines saccharine enough to make sentimental old ladies retch. When their friends - old names, no money - visited, I served tea and cake in the parlour.
The work was hard going. My parents' home was a fifteen-minute walk down the lane, but long hours forced me to live in. In the winter, I was hard at work by dawn. In the summer, long before that. Only after Mrs Payne had been seen to bed with a cup of hot chocolate was I permitted to retire for the night.
But the money was good. Servants might have been ten a penny ninety years prior, but in 1994, you had to pay a decent amount for that level of service. And at least I didn't have to wear a corset.
Just a few years, I promised myself. I had left school with a handful of dismal qualifications and no sense of direction. All I really wanted was to leave - to move somewhere bustling and anonymous, where my neighbours wouldn't hold grudges over someone's grandfather knocking down their fence in 1947. I would save every penny of the Paynes' money and use it to get to the big city. Once I was there, I could figure out what I wanted to do with my life.
Exhausting though it was, life was tolerable - sometimes even pleasant. Mrs Payne was a sweet woman, if generally oblivious to the world around her. A seventy-hour work week kept Mr Payne in the city most nights, but when he returned at the weekend, he took a keen interest in the minutiae of the household. He was a man who liked things just so. During my first few weeks, he drove me nearly out of my mind complaining that a chair hadn't been moved exactly back into place after hoovering, or that cutlery hadn't been evenly spaced on the dining table. Once I had committed his rules to memory, he wasn't so bad; you just had to be able to meet his standards.
My favourite member of the Payne household - though not a Payne herself - was Elena. Her family name was old in our village. Not in the same way as the impoverished aristocrats the Paynes so favoured, but her surname was inscribed on every war memorial and appeared in the very earliest parish records.
She was a rare example of someone who had left the village and then returned. In her youth, she had gone to train at culinary school. She had worked in the finest restaurants in the country, even some overseas. Decades on, when Mr Payne approached her with an astronomical offer, she came home.
"I don't get it," I once said to her. "Giving up travelling the world and cooking for celebrities just to come back here."
"I'm tired, Ruthie," she said. "If I'd have stayed in those kitchens much longer, it would have done me in. Besides," she dropped me a wink, "there's a magic in this place not quite like anywhere else."
I didn't understand her. Not then.
As incomprehensible as I found her decision, I was grateful for it. She always had a spare treat for me, and each night I took my dinner with her in the kitchen. My mother was an excellent cook, but somehow Elena's food tasted more like home than anything I'd ever eaten.
Those meals were the highlight of my evening for more than just the food. Elena was wickedly funny and swore like a docker. I'm sure Mr Payne would have heard her in the dining room, but she was the only person he didn't dare criticise.
If life had continued in that fashion, I'm sure I would have stuck to my plan. I would have squirrelled away my money for five years or so then, as much as it would have pained me to leave Elena, left to find whatever destiny awaited me in the city.
But Charles returned from university.
The Paynes' only child was breathtakingly handsome. I had no doubt he had his pick of women - or, at least, those who were able to ignore his eyes. They reminded me of a shark's. Black and glittering and wholly predatory.
I met him when I served dinner on the night of his return. He was nothing less than perfectly polite, thanking me as I set each course before him, but the way his eyes lingered on me made my skin crawl. I tried to fade into the background, eyes locked on the floor, only moving when it was time to bring out the next dish or one of the Paynes needed their glass refilled.
"Will you be coming to church with us in the morning, darling?" Mrs Payne asked as I uncorked another bottle of wine.
Charles scoffed. "You know I don't believe in all that nonsense. Besides, I have some reading to do."
"As commendable as I find your dedication to academics, you have the whole summer to do that," said Mr Payne. "You'd do better to get out into the grounds; you're looking a bit peaky."
"You might be right." Although I was turned away from Charles, I could feel his eyes raking over my back. "Perhaps I can show Ruth around."
I jumped so hard I sloshed red wine onto Mrs Payne's expensive cream skirt. I blushed and stammered apologies throughout the ensuing chaos, but it provided enough of a distraction that I was able to slip away without giving a response to Charles.
That night, for the first time, I locked my bedroom door.
At breakfast the next morning, he showed none of his earlier interest in me. Nose buried in a book, he paid little attention to anyone at all, acknowledging his parents’ comments only with an occasional grunt. Still, after the older Paynes had departed for church, I put off cleaning the dining room for as long as I could. It was only the thought of Mr Payne’s reaction should he return and find the breakfast plates still on the table that propelled me into action.
I checked all up and down the long corridor. Cracked the dining room door, peered into every corner. It was all quite empty. Whatever Charles had decided to do in lieu of church that morning had taken him far away from there.
Yet, as I bustled around the table stacking the dirtied crockery and cutlery, I was seized by that heavy, prickling sensation of being watched. After I placed the last plate on the pile, I could no longer resist the urge to peep over my shoulder.
Charles stood mere inches away, watching with a placid smile.
The logical part of my mind said I had just missed him in the corridor, and I hadn’t heard the door open when he entered the room. But I couldn’t shake the image of him squatting behind the furniture – or, worse, somehow clinging to the corner of the ceiling – watching me with those glittering eyes.
“Running late today, Ruthie?”
A surge of annoyance. Only Elena and my mother were permitted to call me Ruthie.
“I suppose you can afford to be a little lazy while my parents are gone.” He sauntered over to the table, wrinkling his nose at the breadcrumbs and flecks of orange juice on the linen. “Or perhaps you’ve been avoiding me.”
“It’s been a busy morning, sir.” The words came automatically, my voice flat. I was grateful that this was, at least in part, the truth; the same part of me that urged me to lock my door last night now told me not to lie.
He hummed noncommittally, his eyes still roaming the table. They fixed upon the stack of plates and the leftover food I had scraped onto the very top one. “If you’ve been so busy, you mustn’t have had the chance to have breakfast.” He plucked a slice of black pudding off the plate, already nibbled and slicked with tomato juice, and thrust it towards me. “Here. Eat.”
Instinctively, I stepped backwards. He followed me, holding the half-eaten thing under my nose. “I’m not hungry, thank you.”
It was the truth again; my stomach had been so knotted all morning that food had been the furthest thing from my mind. He discarded it anyway. “Don’t be ridiculous, I can practically hear your stomach rumbling. Eat.”
His face taut with anticipation, he nudged the black pudding against my lips. My palms itched to slap his hand away, job be damned. But that whispering voice of instinct, which had never had cause to speak to me before I laid eyes on Charles Payne, warned me that the consequences would be more severe than unemployment.
This was a win-win for him. If I conceded to his demand, it would fulfil whatever warped desire fuelled him. If I refused, it would give him an excuse. For what? I had no intention of finding out.
I made to take it from him but he tutted, swatting me away with his free hand. Instead I had to eat the thing from his fingers.
I hated black pudding. I was never able to forget what it was made of long enough to enjoy it. My stomach tried to revolt before I even swallowed the first bite, but I managed to choke it down. I tried not to look at Charles, but time and again my eyes were drawn back to his, and the burning excitement I saw there made me feel sicker than the food.
As I forced down the last bite, I heard the sound of an engine. Charles’s face contorted with the fury of a child denied his favourite toy, and I flinched away. When I looked up again, he had moved to the window, now the picture of that boredom peculiar to the wealthy.
“Better hurry up, Ruthie,” he said, staring down at his parents’ car winding up the drive. “Father will be furious if he sees this mess.”
Seizing the stack of dirty plates, I all but ran from the dining room. By the time I reached the kitchen, there was no more fighting my stomach. I made it to the sink just in time for the first heave, and remained hanging over it for the best part of ten minutes, tears streaming down my cheeks, silently apologising to Elena for splattering the pristine ceramic with vomit.
I almost shrieked when a hand fell on my shoulder, but it was only Elena. Instead of scolding me for the mess, she took a tea towel from the counter and wiped the tears from my face. “My poor love,” she murmured. “You look like death.”
“I don’t feel too well,” I said weakly, leaning against the sink for support.
“I can see that much for myself.” She glanced sideways at the contents of the sink before sliding an arm around my shoulder and steering me towards the door. “Get yourself to bed. You’re no good to anyone like this.”
“The breakfast things - ”
“Leave that to me. If Mr Payne has any complaints, he can live on bread and water for the next week.”
She saw me as far as the stairs and then bustled off to the dining room, her face set as if she was going to war. Sides aching and a headache blooming behind my eyes, it seemed to take an age to reach the bathroom to rinse my mouth and face, and then stagger on to my bedroom. I had just succeeded in swapping my now stained uniform for clean pyjamas when the door opened to admit Elena bearing a tray.
After setting it down on the bedside table, she peeled back the covers and helped me into bed. “I want every bit of that gone,” she said, pointing at the tray. It held a piece of dry toast and a mug of steaming tea. “It doesn’t look like much, but it’ll help settle you.”
I didn’t think my stomach would be able to cope, but not wanting to disappoint her, I nibbled at the toast. As usual, she was right. The more I ate, the more my nausea eased. What’s more, the fear that had seized me the moment I saw Charles began to ease its grip.
Elena stood over me as I slowly devoured my meagre meal. A few times, she opened her mouth, as if on the verge of asking a question. But when I looked at her quizzically, she only shook her head and urged me to eat up.
With the tea drained and the toast reduced to crumbs, I laid my head on the pillow. Sleep had seemed impossible, but I suddenly found myself bone-weary – and a good sort of weary. Not the type that floors you after fear-induced adrenaline wears off, but the sort you earn from a long day of good work, which promises deep, dreamless slumber as a reward for your labours.
I closed my eyes and knew I would be gone within seconds. Teetering on the brink of sleep, I heard Elena whisper, “Steer clear of Charles. The old cook told me some things, and – well, best just to steer clear, Ruthie.”
I wasn’t certain whether she really spoke or I dreamed it. When I returned to the kitchen the next morning, after sleeping a full eighteen hours, she gave no indication of having issued any warnings. Instead, she gave me a brisk examination, announced herself pleased at the colour in my cheeks, then rustled up a far more substantial breakfast than the one she had served me the previous day.
An hour later, serving in the dining room, Charles had returned to ignoring me. That did nothing to prevent the tremor in my hands as I placed his plate in front of him.
“Are you feeling better today, Ruth?” asked Mrs Payne. “Elena told us you were under the weather.”
I expected Charles to smirk at me, or make a remark hinting at what had passed between us in that very room, but he remained engrossed in another thick tome. He didn’t so much as glance at me all throughout breakfast.
In fact, feigning ignorance of my existence became his new routine. In front of his parents, at least. At the table, he might as well have been served by a ghost. But my duties extended beyond the dining room.
Every day, I bided my time. Dusting or hoovering, I would find excuses to linger by the windows, waiting until I saw Charles stride off into the grounds or hop into his father’s Mercedes. Then I would race to his room, determined to make his bed and collect his dirty clothes from the floor before he returned.
Most of the time, I succeeded. But there were occasions – even when I was certain I had seen him leave the house – when I found him waiting for me, smile gleaming and eyes glittering.
He didn’t touch me again – not when I cleaned his room – but he found ways to make me uncomfortable. Sometimes, he would follow behind me as I went about my work, lingering so close I was certain I could feel his breath on the back of my neck. Other times, he lounged in his bed, clearly naked beneath a thin sheet. On a couple of occasions, he asked me to pass him an open book from his desk. They were written in a language I neither understood nor recognised, but the etchings – I can’t bring myself to talk about them. I still see those twisted, agonised faces in my nightmares.
Even in his absence, he felt present. Thick stenches permeated the room. Often, it was the reek of stagnant water or decaying leaves. More rarely, it was blood.
As bad as that was, the nights were worse. While locking my door had become a habit, I could do nothing to block out the whispers that seeped through the keyhole. Most of it was unintelligible, but I could pick out my name – always Ruthie, never Ruth. In the morning light, I could almost convince myself I had dreamed it. Lying in my bed – repulsed by the very sight of the door, too frightened to look away – I knew Charles stood mere feet away, grinning at the thought of my discomfort.
Once, I woke in the night with my bladder full to bursting. I put it off until my whole abdomen seemed to throb, but eventually I had to go to the bathroom. Before opening the door, I peeped through the keyhole – although I was certain I would see Charles’s eye staring back at me, the corridor seemed to be empty.
I neglected to check the floor. The moment I stepped outside, searing pain jolted through my foot. I looked down and saw a handful of broken glass. After wrapping my bloody foot in an old shirt, I hobbled to the bathroom to clean the wound. When I returned, there was no sign of either the glass or the drops of blood I had left in my wake.
I couldn’t shake the image of Charles curled up in his bed, licking my blood off the jagged shards.
After that, I made sure not to drink so much as a sip of water in the evening so I wouldn’t be forced to leave my room.
By this point, I know what you’re thinking: why didn’t I leave?
I tried.
I tried.
Rucksack on my shoulder, I would make it as far as the gates, and then – well, it all got a bit foggy. I would forget why I had left the house, and seeing no reason to remain in the garden, return to my work. Back indoors, my memory would flood back, but if I made another run for the gate, I was seized by that same haziness. On my last couple of attempts, the sudden eclipse of my senses was so complete that I had no memory of the journey back to the house. One moment I stood at the gates; the next I was dusting in the parlour.
Those gaps in my memory terrified me so much that I abandoned any attempt at escape.
Call someone? This was in the days before everyone had a mobile phone, and the house’s sole telephone resided near the entrance. Between Mr Payne examining the bill for the slightest excess in expense and doing my level best to avoid Charles, my opportunities to use it were few and far between. When I managed to muster the courage to call my parents, I heard only static on the line – even though Elena had reported no issues when she called the local grocer earlier that afternoon.
Tell the Paynes? I never considered the idea. How many times had I served at the dinner table, listening to Charles recount a run in with a lecturer over a bad grade, or a fistfight he had provoked with another student? No matter how grievous his offence, his parents always found a way to discharge him of any blame. I had no doubt that they would take his side over mine, and maintaining their ignorance of his behaviour seemed to be the only thing holding Charles in check – I dreaded to think what he would do should they give their tacit approval.
Of course, there was Elena. Not wanting to burden her – what could she do that I hadn’t already tried? – I didn’t confide any of my fears. But she saw me grow thinner and paler despite her hearty meals and the blazing sun. Increasingly as the summer wore on, I caught her studying me, her face drawn and contemplative.
My only hope was to make it to September, when Charles would return to university for the autumn term. Perhaps when he left, whatever spell he had cast over the house would vanish, and I would be able to flee. Although my savings were meagre, I only needed enough to buy a coach ticket. Under the Paynes’ roof, my dreams of life in the big city had collapsed; all I wanted was to put as much space between myself and that wretched family as possible.
Somehow, I made it. The leaves were finally beginning to turn, and Charles was due to leave the following day. The tension I had carried with me for weeks at last began to ease.
Perhaps that’s what made me careless.
I had developed a habit of checking every corner of a room before I entered it, but that evening, all three Paynes had gone into the city for a farewell dinner at a fancy restaurant. Perhaps it was because he was in the company of his parents, but I disregarded all the times I had seen Charles leave the house only to appear in front of me moments later. After all, how could be execute such a stunt from miles away, when he was meant to be eating hors d'oeuvres with mother and father?
For a moment – a second – I let my guard down. I breezed into my bedroom as if I hadn’t spent the last two months living in fear.
That was all it took.
Hands seized my shoulders and spun me around. I looked up into Charles’s face. He was there and yet not, like looking at a photograph that had come out blurry. But the force of his grip was very real.
He shoved me against the nearest wall, one hand clamped over my mouth, the other darting out to wrap around my wrist. His fingernails dug into the tender skin there, clouding my eyes with tears. The place where he pierced my flesh burned with a fierce iciness.
Even thirty years later, I still have those silvery crescent scars. They flare with pain every time I allow my thoughts to dwell on Charles for too long. I’m sure you can imagine how uncomfortable it has been to tell this story.
I tried to hit him with my free hand but my blows bounced off him. Wedging the heel of his hand between my teeth, I bit down with all the force I could muster. His flesh gave way beneath my teeth, but what spouted from his wound wasn’t blood. It tasted of decay; of your first grief; of nightmares so terrifying you wake in a pool of your own sweat and urine.
I fought in earnest now, with a strength I never knew I possessed. I knew if I had to keep swallowing that vile stuff, my mind would snap beyond repairing.
When he took his hand from my mouth, I could have cried with relief. But it was not mercy. He wrapped his hands around my throat and began to squeeze.
I knew I would die there, looking up at the wild joy in his blurred eyes. Although my heels thrashed against the wall as he lifted me off the ground, and I pounded the top of his head with my fists, I found a measure of acceptance in that fact. At least this ghastly ordeal would come to an end. Finally, I would be free of fear.
Just as my vision began to dim, his hands yanked back. I crashed to the ground, smacking my head off the wall hard enough to tilt the world on its side. Through this new view, I saw Elena, rolling pin held high above her head.
Charles growled and slunk away, but it wasn’t the rolling pin he feared. In her other, outstretched hand, she held a glimmering heap of green powder. He watched it as though it was a snake baring its fangs.
Elena took several swift steps towards him and blew the powder in his face. He shrieked, hands flying up to protect his eyes, and stumbled from the room. She followed after him, still brandishing the rolling pin like a club.
When she returned, moments later, she trembled all over as she helped me up off the floor. “It’s okay, my love,” she murmured, though she could not control the tremor in her voice. “He’s gone now.”
For the second time, she put me to bed. No toast this time, but she did bring a tea that helped soothe the throbbing in my throat. While I drank it, she locked the door and slid onto the bed next to me.
I had questions for her: how had she known I was in danger? What was the powder that had banished Charles? Even if I had been able to summon the energy to ask, I doubted I would have been able to force so much as a whisper from my swollen throat.
Instead I allowed her to stroke my hair, trying to silently argue against her mumbled regrets.
“I should have known something like this was happening.”
I gripped her hand, urging her to read the thought in my face: You saved my life.
She shook her head, mouth turned down in misery. “I should have stopped it getting this far.”
Several hours later, we heard the Paynes return from the city. They gave no indication that anything was amiss; we only heard them laughing and bidding each other goodnight.
There were no whispers at my door that evening, but neither of us was able to rest. We remained sleepless, hand-in-hand, until dawn.
Three things happened the next day.
Charles returned to university. Elena was dismissed from her position. And they found the girl’s body in a field outside the village.
But that’s all I have in me for now. I need to let this story lie for a while, if only to ease the miserable throbbing in my scars.
More importantly, my coach is due to arrive any minute, and I daren’t run the risk of missing it tapping away on my phone.
It might be decades later than I originally envisioned, but it’s finally time to leave.

Hey all, looking for some advice or maybe just validation for sleeping at night. I’m about 8 days post op and found sleeping upright/on my back is the most comfortable for me right now. I bought a wedge pillow and love sleeping with it. My problem is it seems like when I wake up to empty my bag during the night I have very minimal output and it all seems to be stacked on top of the stoma. I’ve tried putting myself as upright as possible in bed but still having the same problem. The last 2 nights I’ve had nothing to empty at my 2am check. One morning I woke up and a bunch of gas and liquid had gotten through the stool stuck to the stoma and I had about 1/2 the bag to empty. The other morning I still had very little output and it was all around the stoma. Both mornings once I was up and had gone to sit somewhere else in the house or walk around a bit I had a ton of output.
Is this normal? Something I should be concerned about?

Edit: Encore.moe appears to have updated their numbers for 1.0 preload. They use the same source, the Arikatsu github repository linked below, and thus should be reliable.
Edit 2: Done making updates, unless someone finds something I missed.
TL;DR: Plunge spam is dead. Nerfs for the better standard-banner DPSes, except Danjin who somehow got a minor buff instead. Possible animation changes are not accounted for, so there may be additional buffs/nerfs not listed here.
Edit 3: Added weapon ability changes.
Edit 4: Hotfix 1.0.14 was just released, but it appears to be mostly text changes, with no significant number changes (https://github.com/Arikatsu/WutheringWaves_Data/commit/2330710a54711f6391b18d58166728a50605bf95).
I am omitting purely text changes and only listing functional changes. I will update this post as more discoveries are made.
Source: https://github.com/Arikatsu/WutheringWaves_Data

Characters

• Aalto
  • Resonance Liberation - Flower in the Mist - Gate Of Quandary ATK Increase
  • OLD - 1% - 10%
  • NEW - 10% - 10%
  • Intro Skill - Feint Shot - Skill Damage
  • OLD - 152.01% - 302.22%
  • NEW - 100.02% - 198.81%
  • Resonance Chain 6
  • OLD - The attack of the Resonance Liberation Flower in the Mist is additionally increased by 10%, and when Aalto's Heavy Attack passes through the Gate of Quandary, the damage is additionally increased by 50%.
  • NEW - Resonance Liberation Flower in the Mist now additionally increases Crit. Rate by 8%. When Aalto's Heavy Attack passes through the "Gate of Quandary", the damage dealt is additionally increased by 50%.
• Baizhi
  • Basic Attack - Destined Promise - Mid-Air Attack
  • OLD - 76.16% - 151.42%
  • NEW - 39.68% - 78.89%
  • Resonance Chain 3
  • OLD - Increases Fusion DMG by 3%.
  • NEW - Intro Skill Overflowing Frost increases Baizhi's Max HP by 12% for 10s.
  • Resonance Chain 6
  • OLD - When the Character picks up Heavenly Sound, the Glacio damage bonus of all characters in the nearby team increases by 12%, lasting for 12 seconds.
  • NEW - When Euphonia is picked up, increase the Glacio DMG Bonus of all characters nearby by 12% for 20s.
• Calcharo
  • Basic Attack - Gnawing Fangs - Heavy Attack
  • OLD - 129.00% - 256.50%
  • NEW - 104.00% - 206.80%
  • Basic Attack - Gnawing Fangs - Mid-Air Attack
  • OLD - 163.00% - 324.07%
  • NEW - 62.00% - 123.27%
  • Resonance Liberation - Phantom Etching - Hounds Roar Part 1
  • OLD - 52.63% - 104.64%
  • NEW - 44.30% - 88.07%
  • Resonance Liberation - Phantom Etching - Hounds Roar Part 2
  • OLD - 107.18% - 213.06%
  • NEW - 88.60% - 176.14%
  • Resonance Liberation - Phantom Etching - Hounds Roar Part 3
  • OLD - 128.72% - 255.91%
  • NEW - 82.41% - 163.84%
  • Resonance Liberation - Phantom Etching - Hounds Roar Part 4
  • OLD - 171.24% - 340.38%
  • NEW - 105.12% - 208.92%
  • Resonance Liberation - Phantom Etching - Hounds Roar Part 5
  • OLD - 174.38% - 346.68%
  • NEW - 151.08% - 300.38%
  • Resonance Liberation - Phatom Etching - Heavy Attack Damage
  • OLD - 193.50% - 384.70%
  • NEW - 156.00% - 310.15%
  • Resonance Liberation - Phantom Etching - "Necessary Means" Damage
  • After Resonance Liberation Deathblade Gear state ends, Calcharo's next Intro Skill is replaced with Intro Skill "Necessary Means", which deals Electro DMG, considered as Intro Skill damage.
  • OLD - 100.00% - 198.84%
  • NEW - 200.00% - 397.62%
  • Forte Circuit - Hunting Mission - Heavy Attack: "Mercy"
  • OLD - 221.70% - 440.80%
  • NEW - 196.70% - 391.10%
  • Forte Circuit - Hunting Mission - "Death Messenger" Damage
  • OLD - 554.29% - 1101.99%
  • NEW - 491.79% - 977.69%
  • Resonance Chain 2
  • OLD - After the Resonance Liberation Armed Slaughter state ends, the next Intro Skill of Calcharo will be replaced with the Intro Skill "Necessary Means", causing 200%*2 Electro Damage, this damage is Intro Skill damage.
  • NEW - After Calcharo casts Intro Skill Wanted Criminal or Intro Skill "Necessary Means", his Resonance Skill DMG Bonus is increased by 30% for 15s.
  • Resonance Chain 4
  • OLD - When casting the Outro Skill Shadow Raid, the attack of the characters in the team is increased by 20% for 15 seconds.
  • NEW - After casting Outro Skill Shadowy Raid, Electro DMG Bonus of all team members is increased by 20% for 30s.
• Chixia
  • Forte Circuit - Heroic Bullets - Thermobaric Bullets Damage
  • OLD - 14.67% - 29.16%
  • NEW - 10.00% - 19.89%
  • Forte Circuit - Heroic Bullets - POW POW Damage
  • OLD - 200.00% - 397.62%
  • NEW - 220.00% - 437.39%
  • Resonance Chain 6
  • OLD - After triggering Resonance Skill Boom, increases Basic Attacks of all party members by 17.5%, lasting for 15s.
  • NEW - Resonance Skill Boom Boom increases the Basic Attack DMG Bonus of all team members by 25% for 15s.
• Danjin
  • Resonance Skill - Crimson Fragment - Sanguine Pulse Part 2 Damage
  • OLD - 56.40% - 112.14%
  • NEW - 64.80% - 128.85%
  • Resonance Chain 2
  • OLD - Increases HP by 3%.
  • NEW - When Danjin attacks a target with Resonance Skill's Incinerating Will, her damage dealt is increased by 20%.
• Encore
  • Basic Attack - Wooly Attack - Mid-Air Attack
  • OLD - 120.00% - 238.57%
  • NEW - 62.00% - 123.26%
  • Resonance Liberation - Cosmos Rave - Cosmos: Frolicking Part 1 Damage
  • OLD - 108.32% - 215.36%
  • NEW - 90.72% - 180.36%
  • Resonance Liberation - Cosmos Rave - Cosmos: Frolicking Part 2 Damage
  • OLD - 101.61% - 202.02%
  • NEW - 85.11% - 169.2%
  • Resonance Liberation - Cosmos Rave - Cosmos: Frolicking Part 3 Damage
  • OLD - 158.52% - 315.16%
  • NEW - 132.76% - 263.96%
  • Resonance Liberation - Cosmos Rave - Cosmos: Frolicking Part 4 Damage
  • OLD - 349.56% - 694.95%
  • NEW - 292.77% - 582.03%
  • Resonance Liberation - Cosmos Rave - Cosmos: Heavy Attack Damage
  • OLD - 130.68% - 259.80%
  • NEW - 109.44% - 217.58%
  • Resonance Liberation - Cosmos Rave - Cosmos: Dodge Counter Damage
  • OLD - 158.52% - 315.16%
  • NEW - 132.76% - 263.96%
  • Inherent Skill - Angry Cosmos
  • OLD - During the Resonance Liberation Cosmos Rampage, when Encore's health is above 70%, damage is increased by 12%.
  • NEW - During the Resonance Liberation Cosmos Rampage, when Encore's health is above 70%, damage is increased by 10%.
  • Inherent Skill - Woolies Cheer Dance
  • OLD - When using Resonance Skill Thermal Wooly or Resonance Liberation Cosmos Rampage, Encore's Fusion damage bonus is increased by 15%, the effect lasts for 10 seconds.
  • NEW - When Resonance Skill Flaming Woolies or Resonance Skill Cosmos: Rampage is cast, Encore's Fusion DMG Bonus is increased by 10% for 10s.
  • Resonance Chain 1
  • OLD - Increases Fusion DMG by 3%.
  • NEW - When Basic Attack hits a target, Encore's Fusion DMG Bonus is increased by 3%, stacking up to 4 times for 6s.
  • Resonance Chain 2
  • OLD - Increases Resonance Liberation - Let It Burn’s damage by 10 to targets with HP lower than 10.
  • NEW - Encore additionally restores 10 Resonance Energy when casting Basic Attack Woolies Attack or Resonance Skill Energetic Welcome. This can be triggered once every 10s.
  • Resonance Chain 4
  • OLD - When casting Resonance Liberation: Cosmos - Flame of Rampage, the ATK of the characters in the team increases by 20%, the effect lasts for 30 seconds.
  • NEW - Resonance Liberation Cosmos: Rupture increases the Fusion DMG Bonus of all team members by 20% for 15s.
  • Resonance Chain 6
  • OLD - During the period of Resonance Liberation: Cosmos Rampage, each damage dealt will stack 1 layer of [Lost Lamb] for yourself, each layer increases the attack by 5%, the effect lasts for 10 seconds, and can stack up to 6 layers.
  • NEW - During Resonance Liberation Cosmos Rave, Encore gains 1 stack(s) of "Lost Lamb" every time she deals damage, each stack increasing her ATK by 5% for 10s, stacking up to 5 time(s).
• Jianxin
  • Basic Attack - Fengyiquan - Part 1 Damage
  • OLD - 43.44% - 86.36%
  • NEW - 34.94% - 69.46%
  • Basic Attack - Fengyiquan - Mid-Air Attack Damage
  • OLD - 50.00% - 99.41%
  • NEW - 62.00% - 123.27%
  • Intro Skill - Essence of Tao - Skill Damage
  • OLD - 100.00% - 198.84%
  • NEW - 85.00% - 169.00%
  • Forte Circuit - Primordial Chi Spiral - Minor Zhoutian Final Shield
  • OLD - 1750 + 68.25% - 3325 + 143.33%
  • NEW - 875 + 34.13% - 1662 + 71.66%
• Jiyan
  • Basic Attack - Lone Lance - Mid-Air Attack Damage
  • OLD - 120.00% - 238.57%
  • NEW - 62.00% - 123.26%
  • Inherent Skill - Heavenly Balance
  • OLD - After casting the Intro Skill Tactical Strike, Jiyan's ATK is increased by 8% for 14s.
  • NEW - After casting the Intro Skill Tactical Strike, Jiyan's ATK is increased by 10% for 15s.
  • Inherent Skill - Wind Gathering
  • OLD - When hitting a target, Jiyan's critical hit increases by 1%, lasts for 8 seconds, and can stack up to 10 layers.
  • NEW - When Jiyan's attacks hit a target, Jiyan's Crit. DMG is increased by 12% for 8s
  • Resonance Chain 2
  • OLD - After casting the Intro Skill Surprise Attack, Jiyan accumulates 30 points of [Vanguard Value], the damage bonus of Jiyan's Basic Attack and Heavy Attack is additionally increased by 36%, lasting 14 seconds, and can be triggered once every 15 seconds.
  • NEW - After casting Intro Skill Tactical Strike, Jiyan gains 30 "Resolve" and his ATK is increased by 28% for 15s. This can be triggered once every 15s.
  • Resonance Chain 4
  • OLD - When Jiyan's Resonance Liberation Vanguard State ends, the Heavy Attack damage of the characters in the team is increased by 17.5%, and the effect lasts for 10 seconds.
  • NEW - When casting Resonance Liberation Emerald Storm: Prelude or Resonance Liberation Emerald Storm: Finale, the Heavy Attack DMG Bonus of all team members is increased by 25% for 30s.
  • Resonance Chain 5
  • OLD - Outro Skill Self-Discipline damage multiplier increases by 165.40%. Inherent skill Gathering Winds Bonus: When hitting the target, Jiyan's Aero damage increases by 2.5%, the effect lasts for 8 seconds, and can stack up to 20 layers.
  • NEW - The DMG multiplier of Outro Skill Discipline is increased by 120%. When Jiyan's attacks hit a target, his ATK is increased by 3% for 8s, stacking up to 15 times; this effect is immediately maxed after he casts Intro Skill Tactical Strike.
• Lingyang
  • Basic Attack - Majestic Fists - Mid-Air Attack Damage
  • OLD - 113.20% - 225.06%
  • NEW - 62.00% - 123.27%
  • Forte Circuit - Unification of Spirits - Feral Gyrate Part 2 Damage
  • OLD - 31.96% - 63.54%
  • NEW - 95.88% - 190.62%
  • Resonance Chain 4
  • OLD - When Lingyang casts Outro Skill Trace: Step on Snow and Point to Stars, increases party members' ATK by 20%, lasting for 15s.
  • NEW - Outro Skill Frosty Marks increases the Glacio DMG Bonus of all team members by 20% for 30s.
• Mortefi
  • Resonance Chain 6
  • OLD - When casting Resonance Liberation Violent Finale, the attack of the characters in the team is increased by 20%, lasting for 30 seconds.
  • NEW - When Resonance Liberation Violent Finale is cast, ATK of all team members is increased by 20% for 20s.
• Rover (Spectro)
  • Basic Attack - Vibration Manifestation - Mid-Air Attack Damage
  • OLD - 63.75% - 126.75%
  • NEW - 52.70% - 104.78%
  • Resonance Chain 1
  • OLD - Increases Fusion DMG by 3%.
  • NEW - Rover's Crit. Rate is increased by 15% for 7s when casting Resonance Skill Resonating Slashes or Resonance Skill Resonating Spin.
  • Resonance Chain 2
  • OLD - When casting the Resonance Skill Echoing Thousand Cuts, recover 20 points of Concerto Energy.
  • NEW - Rover's Spectro DMG Bonus is increased by 20%.
  • Resonance Chain 5
  • OLD - Increases Fusion DMG by 3%.
  • NEW - Rover's Resonance Liberation DMG Bonus is increased by 40%.
  • Resonance Chain 6
  • OLD - After releasing Resonance Liberation - Let It Burn, immediately resets Resonance Skill - Fighting Spirit's CD.
  • NEW - Resonance Skill Resonating Slashes and Resonance Skill Resonating Spin reduces the target's Spectro DMG RES by 10% on hit for 20s.
• Taoqi
  • Basic Attack - Concealed Edge - Mid-Air Attack Damage
  • OLD - 145.00% - 288.28%
  • NEW - 62.00% - 123.27%
  • Resonance Skill - Fortified Defense - HP recovery
  • OLD - 1900 + 90.00% - 3610 + 189.00%
  • NEW - 950 + 45.00% - 1805 + 94.50%
  • Forte Circuit - Power Shift - Timed Counters Part 1 Shield
  • OLD - 15.00% - 31.5%
  • NEW - 300 + 11.25% - 570 + 23.62%
  • Forte Circuit - Power Shift - Timed Counters Part 2 Shield
  • OLD - 22.50% - 47.25%
  • NEW - 450 + 16.87% - 855 + 35.43%
  • Forte Circuit - Power Shift - Timed Counters Part 3 Shield
  • OLD - 37.5% - 78.75%
  • NEW - 750 + 28.12% - 1425 + 59.06%
• Verina
  • Basic Attack - Cultivation - Mid-Air Heavy Attack
  • OLD - 72.15% - 143.45%
  • NEW - 31.00% - 61.64%
  • Forte Circuit - Starflower Blooms - Mid-Air Attack: Starflower Bloom Part 1 Damage
  • OLD - 28.35% - 56.37%
  • NEW - 34.02% - 67.64%
  • Forte Circuit - Starflower Blooms - Mid-Air Attack: Starflower Bloom Part 2 Damage
  • OLD - 26.75% - 53.19%
  • NEW - 32.10% - 63.82%
  • Forte Circuit - Starflower Blooms - Mid-Air Attack: Starflower Bloom Part 3 Damage
  • OLD - 38.37% - 76.26%
  • NEW - 46.02% - 91.50%
  • Resonance Chain 4
  • OLD - When Verina casts Heavy Attack Starflower Bloom, Resonance LiberationGrass and Trees Growth or Outro SkillBlossom, increases all party members' Spectro DMG Boost by 15%, lasting for 20s.
  • NEW - Heavy Attack Starflower Blooms, Mid-Air Attack Starflower Blooms, Resonance Liberation Arboreal Flourish and Outro Skill Blossom increases the Spectro DMG Bonus of all team members by 15% for 24s.
• Yangyang
  • Basic Attack - Feather as Blade - Mid-Air Attack Damage
  • OLD - 90.00% - 178.92%
  • NEW - 46.50% - 92.44%
  • Resonance Liberation - Wind Spirals - Skill Damage
  • OLD - 511.65% - 1017.26%
  • NEW - 468.62% - 931.66%
  • Resonance Chain 3
  • OLD - The damage caused by Resonance Skill Wind Carrier increases by 40%, and the traction effect of the wind field on the surrounding targets is enhanced.
  • NEW - Resonance Skill DMG Bonus is increased by 40%. The Wind Field's pulling effect on surrounding targets is enhanced, and the pulling range is expanded by 33%.
  • Resonance Chain 6
  • OLD - After casting the Mid-air Attack Feather Release, the ATK of all characters in the team is increased by 20%, and the effect lasts for 14 seconds.
  • NEW - After casting Mid-Air Attack Feather Release, the ATK of all team members is increased by 20% for 20s.
• Yinlin
  • Basic Attack - Zapstring's Dance - Mid-Air Attack Damage
  • OLD - 72.00% - 143.15%
  • NEW - 62.00% - 123.27%
  • Resonance Chain 1
  • OLD - When the Resonance Skill Thunder Summoning hits a target with a "Sin Binding Mark", the damage is increased by 70%.
  • NEW - Resonance Skill Magnetic Roar and Lightning Execution deal 70% more damage.
  • Resonance Cahin 3
  • OLD - "Punishment Mark" can be triggered once every 0.75 seconds, and the damage of "Judgment Thunder" is increased by 15%.
  • NEW - Forte Circuit Judgment Strike's DMG multiplier is increased by 55%.
• Yuanwu
  • Basic Attack - Leihuangquan - Mid-Air Attack Damage
  • OLD - 98.56% - 195.95%
  • NEW - 49.60% - 98.61%
  • Resonance Chain 3
  • OLD - When the Resonance Skill Thunder Wedge hits the target with a coordinated attack, the damage is additionally increased based on 60% of Yuanwu's defense.
  • NEW - When the Coordinated Attacks of Resonance Skill's Thunder Wedge hits a target, the damage is additionally increased by 20% of Yuanwu's DEF.

Weapons

• Broadblade
  • Lustrous Razor (5⭐)
  • OLD - Energy Regen is increased by 12.8% - 25.6%. When Resonance Skill hits a target, Resonance Liberation Damage is increased by 8% - 16%. This effect can stack up to 2 time(s) and last for 12s.
  • NEW - Increases Energy Regen by 12.8% - 25.6%. When Resonance Skill is released, increases Resonance Liberation DMG by 7% - 14%, stacking up to 2 times. This effect lasts for 12s.
  • THERE MAY BE A TYPO IN THE NEW DESCRIPTION TEMPLATE STRING. The new string still says it stacks 2 times, but weapon config says it now stacks 3 times.
  • Dauntless Evernight (4⭐)
  • OLD - When HP is above 80%, ATK is increased by 8% - 16%. When HP is below 15% - 30%, hitting enemies with Basic Attacks and Heavy Attacks restores 15 HP. This effect can be triggered once every 8 seconds.
  • NEW - When Intro Skill is released, increases ATK by 8% - 16% and DEF by 15% - 30%, lasting for 15s.
  • Helios Cleaver (4⭐)
  • OLD - The Character's attack increases by 3% - 6% every 2 seconds within 12 seconds of the Character's appearance, and can be stacked up to 4 times. When the number of layers reaches 4, all layers are reset within 6 seconds.
  • NEW - Within 12s after Resonance Skill is released, increases ATK by 3% - 6% every 2s, stacking up to 4 time(s). When the number of stacks reaches 12, all stacks will be reset within 1s.
  • THERE MAY BE A TYPO IN THE NEW DESCRIPTION TEMPLATE STRING. New description makes no sense. Given similarity, old description may be more accurate.
  • Autumntrace (4⭐)
  • OLD - After the Basic Attack or Heavy Attack hits, the Character's attack increases by 10% - 32%, the defense increases by 18% - 58%, and lasts for 10 seconds. It can be stacked up to 3 times.
  • NEW - Increases ATK by 4% - 12.8% upon dealing Basic Attack DMG or Heavy Attack DMG, stacking up to 5 time(s). This effect lasts for 7s and can be triggered 1 time(s) every 1s.
  • Broadblade of Night (3⭐)
  • OLD - Within 12 seconds after the wearer enters battlefield, ATK is increased by 8% - 16% for every 2 seconds, up to 4 times. This effect is reset 6 seconds after 4 stacks are gained.
  • NEW - When Intro Skill is released, increases ATK by 8% - 16%, lasting for 10s.
  • Originite: Type I (3⭐)
  • OLD - When entering the battlefield and triggering a Concerto Effect, ATK is increased by 3% - 6% for 5s.
  • NEW - When Resonance Skill is released, restores HP by 3% - 6%. This effect can be triggered 1 time(s) every 12s.
• Sword
  • Sword#18 (4⭐)
  • OLD - When HP is below 40% - 80%, the damage of Heavy Attack is increased by 24% - 48%. When Heavy Attack hits a target, restore 5% - 10% HP. This can be triggered 1 times every 8 seconds.
  • NEW - When Equipped Resonator's HP drops below 40% - 80%, increases Heavy Attack DMG by 18% - 36% and restores HP by 5% - 10% upon dealing Heavy Attack DMG. This effect can be triggered 1 time(s) every 8s.
  • Commando of Conviction (4⭐)
  • OLD - When HP is below 15% - 30%, DMG is increased by 15 for Heavy Attacks. Hitting enemies with Heavy Attacks restore HP for the current character. The healing effect can be triggered once every 8 seconds.
  • NEW - When Intro Skill is released, increases ATK by 15% - 30%, lasting for 15s.
  • Sword of Night (3⭐)
  • OLD - Every 12 seconds, the wear gains 6 stacks of Oathkeeping upon entering battlefield. Each stack of Oathkeeping increases ATK by 8% - 16%, up to 6 stacks. 1 stack is removed every 2 seconds. Additionally gains 6 stacks of Oathkeeping upon defeating the target.
  • NEW - When Intro Skill is released, increases ATK by 8% - 16%, lasting for 10s.
  • Originite: Type II (3⭐)
  • OLD - When entering the battlefield and triggering a Concerto Effect, ATK is increased by 5% - 10% for 5s.
  • NEW - When Resonance Skill is released, restores HP by 5% - 10%. This effect can be triggered 1 time(s) every 20s.
• Pistols
  • Undying Flame (4⭐)
  • OLD - ATK is increased by 20% - 40% every 5 seconds while the Character does not receive DMG, stack up to 2 times, lasting for 8 seconds. Taking damage removes 1 stack and restore 15 HP to the Character.
  • NEW - When Intro Skill is released, increases Resonance Skill DMG Bonus by 20% - 40% for 15s.
  • Pistols of Night (3⭐)
  • OLD - When the wearer Dodges or Dashes, ATK is increased by 8% - 16% for 8 seconds. Stack up to 3 times.
  • NEW - When Intro Skill is released, increases ATK by 8% - 16%, lasting for 10s.
  • Originite: Type III (3⭐)
  • OLD - When entering the battlefield and triggering a Concerto Effect, ATK is increased by 1.6% - 3.2% for 5s.
  • NEW - When Resonance Skill is released, restores HP by 1.6% - 3.2%. This effect can be triggered 1 time(s) every 6s.
• Gauntlets
  • Amity Accord (4⭐)
  • OLD - ATK is increased by 20% - 40% and Parry DMG is increased by 15 for 8s when Dodging or Dashing. Restore HP when hitting enemies with Parry. Can be triggered once every 6 seconds.
  • NEW - When Intro Skill is released, increases Resonance Liberation DMG Bonus by 20% - 40%, lasting for 15s.
  • Gauntlets of Night (3⭐)
  • OLD - Gains 3 stacks of Armor after releasing Resonance Liberation. Each stack increases ATK and DEF by 8% - 16%, up to 3 stacks. Loses 1 stack when receiving DMG.
  • NEW - When Intro Skill is released, increases ATK by 8% - 16%, lasting for 10s.
  • Originite: Type IV (3⭐)
  • OLD - When entering the battlefield and triggering a Concerto Effect, ATK is increased by 0.5% - 1.1% for 5s.
  • NEW - When Resonance Skill is released, restores HP by 0.5% - 1.1%. This effect can be triggered 1 time(s) every 3s.
• Rectifier
  • Stringmaster (5⭐)
  • OLD - All Resonance damage is increased by 12% - 24%. After casting Resonance Liberation or Outro Skill, the attack is increased by 12% - 24%, the effects are independent and can be stacked up to 12% - 24% layers, and the effect lasts for 2 seconds.
  • NEW - Increases the DMG Bonus of all Resonance Attributes by 12% - 24%. When Resonance Skill hits a target, increases ATK by 12% - 24%, stacking up to 2. When the equipped character is not on the field, increases their ATK by an additional 12% - 24%.
  • OLD weapon config says 2 stacks and lasts 18 seconds. NEW weapon config says 2 stacks and lasts 5 seconds.
  • Rectifier#25 (4⭐)
  • OLD - When entering the battlefield and triggering a Concerto Effect, ATK is increased by 60% for 8s.
  • NEW - When Resonance Skill is released, if the Resonator's HP is below 60%, restores their HP by 5% - 10%. This effect can be triggered 1 time(s) every 8s; if the Resonator's HP is above 60%, increases ATK by 12% - 24%, lasting for 10s.
  • Jinzhou Keeper (4⭐)
  • OLD - When casting Intro Skill, your own attack increases by 8% - 16%, HP increases by 15% - 30%, lasting 15 seconds.
  • NEW - When Intro Skill is released, increases the caster's ATK by 8% - 16% and HP by 10% - 20%, lasting for 15s.
  • Rectifier of Night (3⭐)
  • OLD - Healing effect increases by 8% - 16% when Basic Attacks or Heavy Attacks deal DMG for 8 seconds. Stack up to 3 times. Can be triggered once every 0.6 second.
  • NEW - When Intro Skill is released, increases ATK by 8% - 16%, lasting for 10s.
  • Originite: Type V (3⭐)
  • OLD - When entering the battlefield and triggering a Concerto Effect, ATK is increased by 5% - 10% for 5s.
  • NEW - When Resonance Skill is released, restores HP by 5% - 10%. This effect can be triggered 1 time(s) every 20s.

Hello legends, as the title says I'm after advice and encouragement as I'm on the cusp of jacking in a job I'm getting nothing from and starting a business. My idea is a UK based compliance services business as I used to manage a sub department for a facility owned by an international household name. I've a good idea what businesses need to remain compliant with the law, 35 years of engineering knowledge built in several different industries. I've a nebosh gen cert as well as a stack of other quals. I've also spent several years managing small and large teams of people, delivering projects, driving change and continuous improvement in production and manufacturing. I have a wedge of savings that could potentially pay my small mortgage for up to a year and I am running out of reasons not to do this. I've spoken to a former colleague about going in together but he had slightly different ideas about what the business should be, not terrible and real food for thought, but not what I had envisioned. He's also not financially in a position to jack it in and go 100% with me. So I guess I'm looking for feedback based on first hand experience. I don't know a single person with a bit of common sense that hasn't started and made a success of a business, I even know a few divvies that have succeeded. I'm fairly sure I can do this, what can you tell me to help me out...?

Hello! I've seen that a lot of people are confused about ENFJs and how exactly we work, and considering that there are many websites with different —even contradictory— concepts and definitions of ENFJ, I wanted to provide one closer to what Carl Jung first described in Psychological Types in 1921. I hope this will help people gain a wider perspective of our type, and clear up some associated misconceptions.
But, before we begin, there are some concepts and questions that need to be addressed first:
❓ Are websites like 16 Personalities reliable? What about tests?
📣 No, they aren't. 16 Personalities has wildly different concepts about types, and most importantly: while it's not outright stated, their personality model isn't based on jungian functions or the types Myers-Briggs described in Gifts Differing in 1980. Their test and type description is based on the Big Five personality model, which is something else on its own. You can check this in more detail on their FAQ page. If you used 16p to discover your type, there's a high chance it may not be the same type as what Jung or Myers-Briggs describe in their respective books. Other websites and tests may also handle different concepts, so take their results with a grain of salt.
❓ If tests and websites are unreliable, how can I be sure of my type?
📣 By reading! I'm afraid that there isn't a quick shortcut to instantly know yourself and what type best fits you. Knowing your type is a journey in itself, full of self-reflection and doubt. It's hard, but very rewarding. However, if you are doing this just for fun, feel free to take any popular tests floating around.
❓ I am friendly and outgoing, but sometimes I need space. Am I INFJ or ENFJ?
📣 Social extraversion/introversion and cognitive extraversion/introversion are two different things. Jung managed his concepts and descriptions of different psychological phenomena and gave them different meanings from what we're familiar with. I know, it's confusing. But I'll do my best to clear up what he actually meant later on, so don't worry!
❓ Where are you getting all this information?
📣 Psychological Types, by Carl Jung. I also have Gifts Differing: Understanding Personality Type by Isabel Briggs Myers with Peter B. Myer, however, I am not fond of Myers-Briggs' interpretation of Jung's writings. In my opinion, it's an oversimplified version of types and functions, and she displayed an obvious intuitive bias in her book. Another book that's popular is Lectures on Jung's Typology by Marie-Louise von Franz, who also worked together with Jung to describe types and functions. However, be warned: by her own admission, she dislikes Fe-dom types and her description of ExFJ is rather insulting, so expect some bias as well.
Before we begin talking about what is ENFJ, we have to understand Jung's word salad and what he meant with all these concepts and descriptions. It takes a lot of patience and effort to understand Psychological Types, because as you may know (or not!), psychology is a relatively new science, and many of its roots come from philosophy, anthropology, and even religion. Jung refers to a lot of other authors, philosophers, and other literary figures to describe what he believed were "personality types".
What was the goal with all this? Well, Carl Jung was a Swiss psychoanalyst, and by associating certain patterns of behavior with different mental illnesses, he aimed to make their diagnosis easier for other psychiatrists. So, understandably, Psychological Types is full of technical language that may be hard to understand for anyone who isn't already familiar with the field of psychology. This is why a lot of other websites and other authors, while relying on Jung to describe types, tend to water down concepts and inevitably miss some important context that can't be properly explained until you take the effort to read the entire thing. That's why we have like 10 different descriptions of the same type or functions floating around.
Jung associated Fe-types like ENFJ or ESFJ with hysteria. Of course, this was back in the 19th century, and the target of this diagnosis was almost always women. Thankfully, it's no longer an official mental illness.
⚠️ An important consideration: most of the original texts that laid the foundation for MBTI to exist are from the early 19th century. Expect a lot of sexism and traditional gender roles.

"It may seem superfluous to the reader if I add a special chapter on definitions of terms to the text of my study. However, I have had ample experience of the fact that it is precisely in psychological works that one cannot be careful enough with terms and expressions, since it is precisely in the field of psychology, as nowhere else, that the greatest variations of terms occur, which often give rise to the most stubborn misunderstandings." Jung, Carl. Psychological Types (p. 476).

I will not be listing every single concept, because it'd take the entirety of this post and even more to explain what everything means. I'll list the most common ones that show up when describing types.
🫂 Extravertion and Intravertion:

"If we look at the course of a human life, we see how the destinies of one person are more conditioned by the objects of his interests, while the destinies of another are more conditioned by his own inner being, by his subject. As we all deviate somewhat more to one side or the other, we are naturally inclined to understand everything in terms of our own type." Jung, Carl. Psychological Types (p. 4)

As I said before, extraversion and introversion have different meanings in this area, so when we talk about an extraverted type, we mean to say that it's a type whose dominant function is an extraverted one. To understand better what is an extraverted function, we need to have two vital concepts in mind: subject and object.
🌎 The object, in this concept, is anything that exists outside your mind: it may be the world, it may be people, it may be experiences, it may be sensations, anything that is not inherently part of you. It may be what's happening in your environment, or the environment in itself. It's the external, that which exists without needing any additional interpretation or guessing.
👤 The subject is you. Your mind, your feelings, your values, your logic, your impressions, your subjective interpretation of ideas or people or what's happening around you. Anything that is purely personal, be it your inner understanding of how things fit together, your interpretation of a painting, your like or dislike of a song, etc. Your subjective experiences or thoughts, that's the subject.
In a way, it's you, the subject vs. the world, the object. Of course, there's much more to this, but this is the easiest way I can explain it. You'll see these two concepts popping around because they're the very foundation of functions.

"But every human being possesses both mechanisms, extraversion and introversion, and only the relative predominance of one or the other determines the type." Jung, Carl. Psychological Types (p. 5).

Extraversion and Introversion, as I was saying before, are defined by what's your disposition towards the external world vs. the inner self. If your decisions are mostly influenced by what's happening outside your mind, then we are talking about an extrovert. If your decisions are influenced by your own inner world, regardless of what's happening outside of it, then we talk about an introvert.

"If the orientation towards the object and the objectively given prevails in such a way that the most frequent and most important decisions and actions are not conditioned by subjective views but by objective conditions, we speak of an extraverted attitude. If this is habitual, we speak of an extraverted type. If someone thinks, feels and acts, in a word, lives in a way that directly corresponds to objective circumstances and their requirements, in both a good and a bad sense, then they are extraverted. He lives in such a way that it is obvious that the object as a determining factor plays a greater role in his consciousness than his subjective view. Certainly he has subjective views, but their determining power is less than that of external objective conditions." Jung, Carl. Psychological Types (pp. 384-385).

It's important to know that Jung initially described only four functions: Feeling, Thinking, Intuition, and Sensing. These functions would be either extraverted or introverted depending on how they relate to the external, objective world vs. the inner, subjective world. For example, Extraverted Feeling (Fe) is an extraverted feeling function because it favors the external feeling environment over more personal, subjective feelings that only belong to the subject.
In contrast, the introvert prefers to make decisions based on their inner self, on their personal views and convictions, regardless of what's happening around them. Someone whose function is introverted will not value the outside world a lot, and feels like is a threat to them:

"The introvert has an abstract attitude towards the object; basically, he is always anxious to withdraw his libido from the object, as if he had to prevent the object from overpowering him." Jung, Carl. Psychological Types (p. 380).

Now that we have some basic concepts cleared out, I hope understanding the Extraverted Feeling type is a bit easier. I want to start by how Jung described Fe:

"Feeling in the extraverted attitude is oriented towards the objectively given, i.e. the object is the indispensable determinant of the way of feeling. It is in accordance with objective values. Whoever knows feeling only as a subjective fact will not readily understand the nature of extraverted feeling, because extraverted feeling has freed itself as far as possible from the subjective factor and has instead subjected itself entirely to the influence of the object." Jung, Carl. Psychological Types (p. 411).

❗️We have to understand here that feelings are not emotions. Under this context, feeling is what we either accept or reject, what we value or not, how do we feel about something. An emotion, in this context, is something that causes a bodily response: if you feel angry, your heartbeat increases, your arms shake, and your face turns red. If you feel sad, you'll start crying and shaking. If you feel happy, your heartbeat increases and you smile. In contrast, just liking or disliking something may or may not make you react in any way. For example, let's say that you have an intense dislike of a celebrity. You don't start shaking and crying just because you dislike that celebrity. But what if you're a fan of a certain band? If you listen to one of their songs, you may start feeling happy. In both of these cases, we have two concepts floating around: a "feeling" (disliking a celebrity or liking a band) and an "emotion" that may be a reaction to that feeling (feeling happy when listening to your favorite band).
Feeling types usually have this misconception going around that we're emotional wrecks and can't think logically. This misunderstanding comes from the confusion that Feeling means being emotional. And while a feeling can give rise to an emotion, it's not emotion in itself, these are two different things. To put it simply: Feelings are values, and emotions are reactions to those values.
Now, to continue on how Jung described Fe, he gave a great example of how this type of Feeling is influenced by the outside world:

"I can feel compelled to use the predicate "beautiful" or "good", not because I find the object "beautiful" or "good" out of subjective feeling, but because it is appropriate to call it "beautiful" or "good"; and appropriate insofar as a judgment to the contrary would somehow disturb the general emotional situation. Such an appropriate emotional judgment is by no means a simulation or even a lie, but an act of fitting in. Thus, for example, a painting may be called "beautiful" because a painting hung in a salon and signed with a well-known name is generally assumed to be "beautiful", or because the predicate "ugly" could offend the family of the happy owner, or because the intention on the part of the visitor is to create a pleasant emotional atmosphere, for which it is necessary that everything is felt to be pleasant. Such feelings are directed according to objective determinants. As such, they are genuine and represent the entire visible feeling function." Jung, Carl. Psychological Types (pp. 411-412).

A common misunderstanding surrounding Fe, and by extension Fe types, is that Fe is by nature insincere and fake, and that we're double-faced and superficial. But I think of it differently: if your friend got a bad haircut and they look terrible, is it dishonest to say that it isn't that bad if it comes from an honest intention of not wanting to hurt their feelings over something they can't change? Do you always need to tell people what you think, regardless of how it may affect them? I think honesty without kindness is just cruelty.
But, moving on!

"The evaluations made through the act of feeling correspond either directly to objective values or at least to certain traditional and generally accepted standards of value. It is largely due to this kind of feeling that so many people go to the theater or to a concert or to church with properly measured positive feelings. It is also to thank for the fashions, and what is far more valuable, the positive and widespread support of social, philanthropic and other cultural endeavors. In these things, extraverted feeling proves to be a creative factor. Without this feeling, for example, beautiful and harmonious sociability is unthinkable. In this respect, extraverted feeling is just as beneficial and rational a power as extraverted thinking." Jung, Carl. Psychological Types (p. 412)

To me, Fe represents that desire for human connection, to feel community, to think about others. We live in an age where hyperindividualism is encouraged everywhere, to care about yourself only, to isolate and disregard anyone who doesn't make you feel good. If that kind of mindset is pushed constantly by corporations and influencers, a lot of people will have a hard time understanding something like Fe, since it opposes everything hyperindividualism stands for. It's frustrating, but I think it's also not surprising to see a lot of people in the MBTI community having an intense dislike of Fe types, especially Fe-dom types, because of this. The idea that only you, as an individual, matter, is so prevalent that for some people, caring about something other than yourself is just dumb.
⚠️ Another thing to take in mind is that Jung determines the dominant function by what we value the most. By this, it means that your intention is what matters, not the results. For example, a socially awkward person can be an ENFJ as long as they value the outside feeling environment over everything else, no matter how clumsy they may be at it. We tend to think of ENFJ as mind-readers, masters of socialization, or community leaders, and it certainly can be the case! But, just as the ENFJ can be a well-loved, charismatic therapist, it can also be the nervous shrinking violet who awkwardly tries to please people around them. We often make the mistake of measuring someone's preference of a function by how "skilled" they are at it, by how much positive results come from them using that function, when in reality, you can be an absolute dimwit and still be a Ti-dom. Your dominant function is always the one that dictates your decisions, regardless of the results of those decisions.
Now, as with all functions, Extraverted Feeling has its dark side.

"However, this beneficial effect is lost as soon as the object gains excessive influence. In this case, the overly extraverted feeling draws the personality too much into the object, i.e. the object assimilates the person, whereby the personal character of the feeling, which is its main stimulus, is lost. This makes the feeling cold, objective and untrustworthy. It betrays a secret intention, or at least arouses such suspicions in the unbiased observer. It no longer makes that pleasant and refreshing impression which always accompanies a genuine feeling, but one senses posturing or acting, when perhaps the egocentric intention is still quite unconscious." Jung, Carl. Psychological Types (pp. 412-413).

It's possible to care too much. When Fe gains excessive influence over the psyche, it places so much value on harmonious relationships that it comes at the detriment of the subject. Unhealthy Fe demands that you adapt to every single social environment, to make sure to please everyone, and to sacrifice your personhood in favor of the external feeling world. This is why the unhealthy Fe user comes across as fake and dishonest: it's impossible to be a different person to fit in with different social settings without sacrificing your integrity.

"Since situations in life constantly alternate with one another, triggering different or even contrasting emotional tones, the personality dissolves into just as many different feelings. One time you are one thing, the next time something completely different - apparently, because in reality such a diversity of personality is impossible." Jung, Carl. Psychological Types (p. 415).

When we talk about types turning unhealthy or acting in erratic or destructive ways, we also have to talk about their inferior function. After all, is your inferior function that keeps your dominant function in check, so to speak. Your inferior function is a sensible counterpart that, while it opposes your dominant function, it provides a different perspective, like another voice that says "yes, but..." to anything you say. This is the role of Introverted Thinking (Ti).
❗️Contrary to popular belief, inferior Ti is not when you lack intelligence, logic, or intellect. To begin with, Thinking isn't related to intelligence. It can lead to it, but just like Feeling can lead to emotions, it ultimately isn't emotions in itself. In the same way, Thinking can lead to intelligence, but it isn't intelligence in itself. It's a process of thought, not the result of that thought. For example, you can think about a math problem, but that thinking may not necessarily lead to a correct answer.
The relationship between the dominant function and the inferior function is the most important one. If the balance between the two functions is disturbed, it leads to destructive or toxic behaviors, or as how Jung called it, neurosis. So what is the relationship between Ti and Fe?

"You can only feel "right" if nothing else disturbs your feelings. But nothing disturbs feeling as much as thinking. It is therefore easy to understand why thinking is suppressed as much as possible in this type of person. This is by no means to say that such a woman does not think at all; on the contrary, she may think a great deal and very intelligently, but her thinking is never sui generis, but an epimetheic appendage of her feeling. As far as feeling permits, she can think very well, but any conclusion, however logical, which might lead to a result disturbing to feeling, is rejected a limine. It is simply not thought." Jung, Carl. Psychological Types (p. 414)

Thinking is the opposing force to Feeling. And for a type that values Feeling the most, it's only to be expected that it tries to suppress Thinking the most. If a logical thought has the power to disturb the social harmony, the average or unhealthy ENFJ will do their best to pretend it isn't there. But it's impossible to completely suppress a part of your mind. The thoughts that you're desperately trying to push away, will always come back in different forms:

"Unconscious thinking reaches the surface in the form of ideas, often of an obsessive nature, whose general character is always negative and devaluing. There are therefore moments in women of this type when the worst thoughts attach themselves to the very objects that the feeling values most highly. Negative thinking makes use of all infantile prejudices or comparisons that are suitable for casting doubt on the value of feelings, and it draws on all primitive instincts in order to be able to explain feelings as "nothing but". Jung, Carl. Psychological Types (p. 417).

By this, Jung means that the suppressed Ti will leak out in the form of harsh criticism, prejudice, or comparing people according to unreasonable expectations of them, destroying the previously positive feelings about them. Basically, Ti will turn destructive, making the usually pleasant ENFJ assume the worst out of someone.
All of the above paints a picture of a dishonest, paranoid, and troubled ENFJ. They're desperate to win people over, to make everyone happy, but they have lost themselves in this desire and sacrificed their integrity to the point they sound hollow, they lack substance, and the more they try, the less convincing they are. At the same time, their inferior Ti makes them think all sorts of terrible things about the people around them, and they start doubting their relationships and the sincerity of the people they love.
🫂 I will be making a part two later describing Ni from Jung's perspective and how to tell ENFJ and INFJ apart. Ni is kind of tricky to describe, especially as an auxiliary function, but I'm sure it'll help a lot of people who may be confused about their type! Also, the majority of what I described above can be applied to the ENFJ's sensor counterpart, ESFJ. And as I said before, Jung only described four functions and eight personality types, which later expanded to 16 personality types under Myers-Briggs system, therefore there isn't a "function stack" to speak of right now, but I can do my best to describe the closest thing we have to it from Psychological Types.
I hope this was helpful. Thank you for reading! 💖

Choosing the right golf set is essential for anyone looking to improve their game, whether you're a beginner or an enthusiast. The Strata Men’s Complete Golf Set promises to deliver a comprehensive experience with high-quality clubs designed for various skill levels. In this review, we’ll provide an in-depth analysis of this popular golf set, evaluate its performance on the course, and compare it with similar products in the market. Our goal is to help you determine whether the Strata Men’s Complete Golf Set is the right choice for you.

Overview of Strata Men’s Complete Golf Set

The Strata Men’s Complete Golf Set is designed to offer versatility and performance. It typically includes:

• Driver: A 460cc forged driver with a large sweet spot and a titanium head, designed for maximum distance and forgiveness.
• Fairway Woods: A 3-wood and a 5-wood, known for their forgiveness and high-launch capabilities.
• Hybrids: A 4-hybrid and a 5-hybrid, which are great alternatives to long irons and provide more confidence when facing tricky shots.
• Irons/Wedges: Stainless steel irons (6-9) and pitching wedge, built for control and precision.
• Putter: A mallet putter with alignment aids to enhance accuracy.

Key Features and Benefits

• Versatility: From the driver to the putter, each club is designed to cater to different aspects of the game, making it suitable for various skill levels.
• Forgiveness: The design of the driver and fairway woods focuses on forgiveness, which is crucial for beginners who may not always hit the ball perfectly.
• High Launch: The hybrids and fairway woods help in achieving higher launches, making it easier to get the ball airborne.
• Control and Precision: The irons and wedges provide excellent control, allowing for precise shots.
• Alignment Aids: The putter’s alignment aids are beneficial for improving accuracy, particularly for those new to the game.

Click Here To Check the discounted price

Performance Review

On the Course Performance

The Strata Men’s Complete Golf Set performs admirably on the golf course. Here’s a breakdown based on personal experiences and feedback from both beginner and intermediate golfers:

• Driver: The large sweet spot and titanium head offer significant forgiveness and distance, even on off-center hits.
• Fairway Woods: These clubs are easy to hit and provide excellent distance control, particularly useful for long fairway shots.
• Hybrids: The hybrids instill confidence in players, offering a reliable alternative to long irons and making challenging shots more manageable.
• Irons/Wedges: The stainless steel construction delivers consistent performance, with a good balance of control and distance.
• Putter: The mallet putter’s alignment aids are particularly beneficial, helping golfers achieve more accurate putts.

Feedback from Golfers

• Beginners: Many beginners found the set easy to use and appreciated the forgiveness of the driver and fairway woods.
• Intermediate Golfers: Intermediate players praised the set for its balanced performance and versatility, noting that it helped improve their overall game.

Value for Money

When compared to similar golf sets in the market, the Strata Men’s Complete Golf Set offers excellent value for money. Here’s how it stacks up:

• Price Point: The Strata set is competitively priced, making it accessible for beginners and those looking to upgrade from a basic set without breaking the bank.
• Quality: Despite its affordable price, the quality of the clubs is commendable, with durable materials and thoughtful design.
• Comprehensiveness: The set includes everything a golfer needs to get started, offering a well-rounded experience without the need for additional purchases.

Click Here To Check the discounted price

User Testimonials

Here are some real user experiences and testimonials from Strata Golf Set users:

• John D., Beginner: “I’m new to golf, and the Strata set has been perfect for me. The clubs are forgiving, and I’ve seen a noticeable improvement in my game.”
• Sarah M., Intermediate Golfer: “Upgrading to the Strata set was one of the best decisions I’ve made. The clubs are well-balanced and versatile, making them suitable for various situations on the course.”
• Mike R., Golf Enthusiast: “I was skeptical at first, but the Strata set has exceeded my expectations. The quality and performance are comparable to more expensive sets I’ve used in the past.”

Improvements and Enhancements

While the Strata Men’s Complete Golf Set is impressive, there are areas for potential improvement:

• Grip Quality: Some users have noted that the grips could be more durable and comfortable.
• Bag Design: The included golf bag could benefit from additional pockets and a more robust design.
• Customization Options: Offering more customization options in terms of shaft flex and length would make the set even more appealing to a wider audience.

Suggestions for Enhancing User Experience

• Upgrading Grips: Consider upgrading the grips to enhance comfort and durability.
• Additional Accessories: Adding a few extra accessories like headcovers for all clubs and a rain cover for the bag could provide added convenience.

Click Here To Check the discounted price

Conclusion

In summary, the Strata Men’s Complete Golf Set is an excellent choice for both beginners and intermediate golfers. Its well-thought-out design, versatility, and affordability make it a standout option in the market. While there are areas for improvement, the overall value offered by this set is hard to beat.
If you’re looking for a golf set that provides a comprehensive and enjoyable experience, the Strata Men’s Complete Golf Set is definitely worth considering. It’s a great investment for anyone looking to improve their game and enjoy the sport to the fullest.
For more in-depth reviews and tips on choosing the right golf equipment, be sure to follow our blog and join our community of passionate golfers. Happy golfing!

NB: If you prefer to read this article from Google Docs, with embedded Scryfall card images, follow this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ipGx-NpPmVbRfnmiNpMlB4V6YA341UuZrBYQFSyyHrE/edit

INTRO

Hello! My name is GlosuU (https://x.com/GlosuUMTG). I'm a Limited MTG enthusiast with a humble portfolio: I qualified for and participated in the AC4 and AC5, and will be participating in PT Amsterdam at the end of June. In the AC5 I teamed up with Ryan Condon (AC5 runner-up) and Ethan Saks (Lord Tupperware), all 3 of us bringing Quintorius Combo as our Explorer deck of choice for the AC5. I was in a feature match versus the AC5 champ, Toni Ramis Pascual, where I lost my win-and-in to the top 8, and ended 12th out of 32. You might also know me for the "Ode to WAR'' article that I wrote and posted when WAR came as a flashback format some months ago: https://www.reddit.com/lrcast/comments/1bhpxb2/an\_ode\_to\_war\_of\_the\_spark/ . I'm not a content creator, but I do produce some stuff here and there when I feel like it (deep analysis of my AC5 matches are posted in my YouTube channel, I had Ryan Condon analyze them together with me - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jhdl85xrunw&list=PLtfDMdAYlZqlVE-Bo_Gh5FsxujrFTEUyK&ab_channel=GlosuUMTG ). With my "credentials'' out of the way, I'm back with a new article, this time to praise IKO! We are getting IKO Premier Drafts on MTGA this Tuesday, so hopefully I can get you excited!
Disclaimer: WAR was my favorite set when I wrote the previous article, and I have to admit the flashback on Arena soured my experience of it a bit (Grixis colors were too open in the pods I felt, and the vanilla creatures in WAR stood out like a sore thumb compared to the FIRE ones). IKO is an all-timer for me and I'm really hoping the cycling deck will not be consistently open in the flashback pods, because that would be a bummer… Regardless, I do truly believe that WAR and IKO are amazing sets, and I hope I can convince you to love IKO in the same way I do, similarly to how I tried to convince you to love WAR!

My 17L tier list

If tier lists are your thing, I have no problem sharing mine with you: https://www.17lands.com/tier_list/dfdd3d0c69664a0b8ffbd7372848ab5f
NOTE: creating the tier list for IKO felt more difficult than for WAR. There are a LOT of cards that are contextually powerful, and it was hard to decide for me if I would P1P1 a Fire Prophecy (floor is extremely high, ceiling is pretty good too) or a Chevill (ceiling much higher, but gold card). Still, I did my best.

IKORIA: Lair of Behemoths setting

The main theme that inspired the IKO setting was giant monsters (Godzilla, King Kong, Mothra… you name it). Many of the mythics and rares had some silly Godzilla alt-arts, so if you are a fan of this genre, do NOT skip this set! The flashy new mechanic for the set was Mutate, which has some complex rules, but did its best to capture the flavor of beasts and creatures mutating into scary abominations. In opposition to the giant, wild monsters are the nimble humans that need to group together to stand a chance. Now, whenever the MTG team tries to design a battlecruiser-like format (giant creatures clashing with each other), it has been very difficult for them to balance it well for sweaty spikes. Most recently, we had BRO, where the theme was supposed to be giant robot machines clashing with each other, but the Prototype mechanic flopped really hard, and playing small, dinky creatures and getting value with Unearth was the way to go. Similarly, Mutate pales in comparison to the small humans and the cycling strategies, but I'm happy to say that it's still a viable strategy if open, it is much better than Prototype in BRO!
The set was also designed with wedges in mind (3 color combinations where one color and its enemy colors are present), but it was NOT marketed as a 3 color set. The big support is for the enemy color pairs, allied color pairs are just lightly supported with keyword themes. Do not expect to draft 3-color decks constantly like in KTK, but do expect to draft enemy color pairs (with and without splash) frequently. Colors are a bit loose in IKO anyway, since the focus is on archetypes and synergies.

MECHANICS

I. Cycling (and the Tier 0 RW cycling deck)

Let's start with the elephant in the room: the infamous cycling deck. MTG, as a card game, has variance baked in, especially with the mana (lands) system. The designers have made some mechanics that feel really good to play with because they smooth out your draws. For example: scrying, looting and… yes, cycling. Topdecked a useless card? Well, it's a great feeling to pitch it to redraw another card. Ask those who played with Blood tokens in VOW. Cycling has made its appearance here and there, and they made it a big part of IKO. But… they went overboard with it in this set. Not only did they design plenty and powerful cycling payoffs (which… honestly, does cycling need payoffs? Cycling is just a good mechanic, period, why does it need payoffs?), but they also put cycling in a lot of cards and, most importantly, they put SINGLE COLORLESS cycling in a lot of cards. This means that a dedicated RW cycling deck could be running an uncastable Memory Leak and still be stoked about it, because you don't ever have to cast the card, you just need to cycle it to trigger all the payoffs. Also for some reason many of the cycling payoffs have cycling themselves, so it's a no brainer to include them in your deck (sometimes you have to balance the amount of payoffs and enablers, for example the Chalk Outline/Insiduous Roots decks in MKM, but with cycling it's just easy mode). And yeah. Then there's Zenith Flare. Which is an uncommon. Which is easy to find in most games because cycling decks churn through their library fast. And they will dome you for 10 and you'll be left scratching your head. My personal rule to keep my sanity: assume the opposing cycling deck has only one Zenith Flare. If I die to a second Zenith Flare, I usually consider it a non-game, one of those you can't really do much about (like a deck with multiple bombs in OTJ).
Now, everything I said sounds dull and gloomy. And I'm sure that the designers would probably add a color requirement to the "Cycling 1" cards in hindsight, maybe make Zenith Flare a rare (or heck, a mythic). Nowadays they would probably make the triggered abilities trigger only once per turn. But… there's also good news! Personally, I think playing with and against cycling decks is FUN (especially if it's not a broken cycling deck, but a reasonable one). Cycling decks play like combo decks, where you try to set up during the first 3 turns of the game, and then watch the fireworks from turns 4+. Opponents can disrupt the key pieces, build their decks to counter the cycling plan (hello, lifegain!), and, most importantly, often cycling decks lose to themselves. Excusez-moi? Yes, you heard right. Because cycling decks skimp on lands (more on that in a sec), sometimes they will have an opener of 2 lands, 1 payoff and 4 cycling cards. That's a keep, but it's very beatable if the opponent answers the only payoff, and then the cycling deck cycles and cycles endlessly to find lands while falling behind on tempo on board. Cycling decks also mulligan badly, because one less card in hand means the cycling chain is more likely to brick. In a way, I feel like cycling decks are overall balanced in the format (!), as long as cycling is contested in the draft pods (as it should be!) and as long as non-cycling decks also pick cycling cards in their colors highly! You're in B? Please don't let that Memory Leak wheel! It's a good card in your deck too!
So why do cycling decks cut lands? I'm a big fan of Opt/Consider effects in Limited MTG. Increasing the consistency of your deck for a measly single mana draws you to your good cards more often and it also means less mana screw and flood. My general rule of thumb is that I cut one land every 2 Opts I have in my deck, as long as I don't go below 9 blue sources. Now, "cycling 1" cards don't scry like Opt, but they cantrip all the same. The general rule of thumb is to cut one land for every three "cycling 1" cards you have in your deck. And how low can you go? Some psychos have gone down to 12 lands, although I generally do like to have at least 13-14 lands. But if you run 17 lands in your dedicated cycling deck, you're gonna flood out A LOT. Enjoy cutting lands in your Limited decks for no reason? Try out IKO! 🙂

II. Companions

From controversial deck to controversial mechanic: Companions! Only 10 IKO cards had this mechanic, and they were all rares… how impactful could it have been? Well, so impactful that Constructed formats were broken in half and WotC had to errata the mechanic: to cast a Companion from the sideboard, you first had to pay 3 at sorcery speed to put it in hand. Drannith Magistrate, the Companion hate card, was left looking silly. Turns out that getting an extra card in your opener, a card you also had built around, was one way to break the game. While Companions were really bad for Constructed, they were AMAZING for Limited. Why? Because picking up one early and building around it made for very unique drafts! Many desirable cards would need to be foregone to meet the companion requirement, whereas other less desirable cards suddenly skyrocketed in your pick order. And who hasn't built around one sweet rare only to never draw it and your otherwise sketchy deck go 0-3, all your dreams crushed? Companions fixed that, since you built around them and you always had access to them. Some were more powerful (ahem Lurrus, Gyruda), others were usually not worth it to companion them (Yorion, Zirda…), but regardless they were all high picks because even in the maindeck they were great (and balancing the tension whether to companion them or maindeck them was really skill testing). Companions came back in the bonus sheet in MOM and they were as fun as they had been in IKO, leaving many of us wishing that they would come back more often, because they really improve the draft format they are in. I personally would also love for WotC to print new companions, but of course seeing how they broke Constructed in half, they probably would need to be super careful about them. 🙁 WotC, if you're reading this: bring more Companions!
Ethan Saks (aka Lord Tupperware) is quite well-known for his love of Companions, so if you want a deeper dive on them and what makes each of them tick, here's a video you can watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmmOWYVAzbw&ab_channel=LordsofLimited (DISCLAIMER: this video is for the Companions in MOM, not IKO, but most of the stuff still applies)

III. Mutate (and the UG Mutate deck)

Mutate was the new flashy mechanic for IKO and supposed to charm the Timmy players out there by voltroning a creature and creating an unfathomable monster. Mutate creatures can be found in every color, but are most prevalent in U and G, where there's also payoffs for mutating. In essence, a creature with Mutate could behave like an Aura on an existing creature (keeping the stats of one of the two creatures plus all the abilities of both creatures) or a creature by itself. While you can't blow out a creature mutating onto another on the stack (killing the creature on the battlefield means the creature on the stack still resolves as a standalone creature), putting two creatures together does mean a big tempo swing if the opponent removes the mutated stack. For example, playing a Thieving Otter on T3, then mutating a Dreamtail Heron on top of it on T4 and getting in, drawing 2 cards… All of that sounded mouthwatering great in spoiler season (a flying Scroll Thief? Who doesn't like that?). But, when you assembled that in a game, and the opponent then removed the mutated creature, that meant that with one single spell they had removed both your T3 and T4 plays, so even though you had accrued card advantage, you could be very behind on board.
Was Mutate as bad as Prototype in BRO? Thankfully not! If open, a good UG Mutate could be a great deck, and stacking mutates on top of each other, each of them accruing incremental value, was a lot of fun when it worked. In essence, Mutate decks were A + B decks, with a good balance of A and B (A = 1-2 mana creatures you were happy to Mutate on, e.g. Essence Symbiote, Pollywog Symbiote; B = mutate creatures, preferably strong ones like Archipelagore or Auspicious Starrix). Playing a mutate payoff on T2 followed by a mutated Migratory Rendhorn on T3 was key to ramping, fixing and getting on good footing in the game (since you would also splash some powerful Mutate rares in other colors usually). Since A + B was so tight and you'd rather not include stuff that wasn't one or the other in your deck (to improve consistency), ideally your interaction would come in the form of Pouncing Shoresharks. But you'd still usually squeeze some space for some removal.
Mutate cards are also not unplayable outside of UG, but be mindful of how many non-human creatures you have in your deck and what creatures you are happy mutating on top of. Forbidden Friendship was great at providing some Mutate fodder in non-UG decks, for example, and you would be happy mutating a Cloudpiercer on top of it on T4 (you got a mana discount and a hasty 5/4 rummager, sweet!). BTW, do not confuse Forbidden Friendship with Cathartic Reunion, the arts on those cards are too similar!

IV. Keyword Counters

IKO was the first time that we got keyword counters. Apart from mutating, you could still build monsters by giving your creatures extra keywords. Some IKO tricks look like traditional tricks we see in Limited, but the counter hanging around can be quite important! For example, Unexpected Fangs creating a big lifelinker could be game-swinging. Be mindful of these tricks when having a Heartless Act in your deck, since you can get blown out very easily if they respond by giving a counter to their creature, and your removal will fizzle. Also, always roll Hexproof counter on a T3 Crystalline Giant - if you don't, you need to get better at MTG! (thank goodness Covid was around when IKO came out, imagine Giant in a paper MTG game)

FORMAT OVERVIEW

There's tons of draft guides out there, so I'll try to keep this brief. We already mentioned that a nuts RW cycling deck can be considered Tier 0. A reasonable RW cycling deck is still Tier 1-2, so it's definitely worth getting into if you get enough of the good cycling payoffs. UG Mutate is like Tier 2-3, so what other decks are out there?

I. Tier 1: Black, Humans and the Mardu Wedge

When cycling is not absurdly open, I have a strong bias to end up in a Mardu-esque deck (any of the color pairs, with or without splash). I love B in this set, even though it's not a cycling color. IKO has my favorite common ever printed: Bushmeat Poacher! The card doesn't look super strong at first glance, and 4 mana for a 2/4 is quite bad these days but… it resists a Fire Prophecy, for starters. And once you see the card in action on the opposite side of the battlefield, you're going to understand how ANNOYING it is. You'd be surprised how often the engine of Durable Coilbug + Bushmeat Poacher can grind out games in this format. Block, sac, gain life, draw cards, rinse, repeat. Honestly, it's as annoying as Cauldron Familiar in Constructed or Lampad of Death's Vigil in THB. And let me remind you that you gain life equal to the creature's toughness. Wanna remove my Honey Mammoth? Well, that will cost you your removal spell, and I gain 6 life and a card, thank you very much! One of the things I enjoy most in Limited is making opponent's removal look bad, and boy, oh boy, does Bushmeat Poacher do that!
So yeah Poacher might be my favorite common, but B has even better stuff to offer with Blood Curdle (that menace counter is super relevant) and Whisper Squad (which also combos nicely with Poacher). And Memory Leak should be taken as a great B common, I've mentioned this already.
Mardu decks can be built in a myriad of ways and synergies. There's the straight forward Human go-wide and pump your team theme out there. There's sac synergies. There's go-wide Mutate synergies: Forbidden Friendship is a premium R common in most R decks except for dedicated RW cycling decks ("Rally at the Hornburg"-lite is still very good!), and then you have stuff like Regal Leosaur. There's menace + removal synergies… And you have some sweet buildarounds like Weaponize the Monsters, Bastion of Remembrance and Offspring's Revenge. All in all, I love getting into Mardu decks in this format, and the aristocrats gameplay speaks to my heart.

II Tier 2: BG Reanimate, UR spell matters, Ultimatum decks

BG Reanimate is probably my favorite deck of the format. If I start B, and then see Mardu being contested (as it should), but G dummies coming to me, I'm very happy to jump into BG. We've seen that Back For More is still great in OTJ, but whereas in that set you only have Spinewoods Armadillo to easily combo with it, this set has several big dumb uncommons that cycle. Back For More is even better here in IKO! Getting back a Tytanoth Rex with it can usually net you a 3-for-1 (fight something and ambush something in combat, Rex still surviving). It is also the perfect home for Honey Mammoth (that card was a surprising overperformer back in the day, since then we know how good this style of cards can be for G decks looking to stabilize and turn the corner). Also, Bushmeat Poacher gaining you tons of life when opponents try to remove your big dummy creatures is very satisfying.
UR spells can also be powerful when open. Sprite Dragon can get out of hand quickly, and T3 sequencing Forbidden Friendship into Of One Mind feels super good. A key roleplayer for the deck is Spelleater Wolverine, and PSA: you can meet the condition by cycling instants and sorceries to the GY too, no need to actually cast them! Wolverine can fit other decks too if you get a good amount of instants and sorceries (e.g. in Rakdos with cycling and removal spells). I'm not super high on U in the format and thus don't get into UR spells often, but if you start R and U flows, it's a possible path to get into. There are also UJeskai cycling decks with Ominous Seas as the payoff.
Finally, a word on the Ultimatums: they are more powerful than they look! With the exception of Emergent Ultimatum (which has an important failcase: drawing your single-color big spells before it), resolving any of them in the late game will often put you in a winning position. Think of them a bit like Cruel Ultimatum in OTJ: fun cards to draft early and build towards the late game, prioritizing the dual lands in order to cast them.

III Tier 3: Allied color pairs/Keyword decks

With the exception of RB, which is a good deck, all other allied color pairs feel weaker. UB Flash and UW flyers can be a thing if you draft the rares that support them, but don't expect them to be super powerful. I do want to mention the WG Vigilance deck, because it is one of the counters to the cycling deck. Get a couple Alert Heedbonders, put some big butts on the board and laugh at your opponent trying to Zenith Flare your face when you're at 40 life! 2/4 also survives Fire Prophecy, so cycling decks often have to point a Flare to one of the Heedbonders, which is sweet! RG Trample is not really a deck, if you see the RG rare, it's a good card, but you can just splash it in any G deck. Beware also of the Wedge buildaround enchantments at rare, except for Offspring's Revenge, they are all generally quite bad!

SAMPLE DRAFTS AND TROPHIES

It has not been easy to get "clean" 17L trophy logs: 17L was in infant stage when IKO was the main format, so no game replays back then, and during the IKO flashbacks Arena pushed some log updates that made 17L struggle to log everything correctly. Still, thanks to some friends, I have gathered a few:
TROPHY 1 (courtesy of Sheesh): https://www.17lands.com/draft/263832207ed749b7947e7a40149f7380 - a typical RW cycling trophy
TROPHY 2: https://www.17lands.com/deck/ac08eb9f76874eafb67c4e201a5bb21e/1 - Lurrus Companion (this quick draft trophy got me into Mythic for the first time back in the day!)
TROPHY 3 (courtesy of TripleB): https://www.17lands.com/deck/c7fb935d7ac443b4bb895f43622accc7 - BW Humans, some games missing
TROPHY 4: https://www.17lands.com/draft/19b4a66cbec5484d8d3b0acd54f61787 - Golgari Reanimate/grind, sadly only shows the first two games
TROPHY 5 (courtesy of TripleB): https://www.17lands.com/deck/d0d77324997f45478a7b853067a0f438 - UR spells/mutate, no game replays available since it was a Traditional Draft from when IKO was the main format
TROPHY 6: https://www.17lands.com/deck/96ffb9ab71144753bb87496e33e32545/1 - UB Flash/Mutate, also a Trad Draft

CLOSING THOUGHTS

While I think I covered most of the format, I feel that there's a lot of things I didn't have space to cover. I truly believe that this format plays and feels amazingly well, just as long as the RW cycling deck is contested enough. Sweet buildarounds, companions, all-in synergies, Mutate, and a load of other nonsense. This is a Dave Humphreys set you really don't want to miss! I am stoked to spam it and (hopefully) see it hold up after all these years!

Original Post here
Hey everyone,
I've located the source of the mystery sound and, surpringly, it was coming from inside my own apartment. It just sounded as though it was coming from an adjoining unit.
If this vent (located above the stacked washer) is pushed flush with the ceiling (as it is supposed to be) it creates a booming, rhythmic, THUMP sound that permiates my entire townhouse. If it is pulled down a few inches from the ceiling the booming stops, it just turns into a low-level hum - which is far less annoying and is akin to a fridge running. It is the strangest thing.
When I pulled the vent out for the first time I could see it's actually a secondary lint trap and it was clogged with lint to an insane degree. It looked like a giant wedge of cheese. The previously owner must have never emptied it in the 3 years they lived here. I cleaned it all off but, once again, if the vent is pushed flush with the ceiling the booming, rhymic sound returns. Sometimes turning on a lightswitch or another electrical device (stove, hairdryer) with cause a one time THUMP from the same area, as well.
Does anyone know what could cause this?

Original Post here
Hey everyone,
I've located the source of the mystery sound and, surpringly, it was coming from inside my own apartment. It just sounded as though it was coming from an adjoining unit.
If this vent (located above the stacked washer) is pushed flush with the ceiling (as it is supposed to be) it creates a booming, rhythmic, THUMP sound that permiates my entire townhouse. If it is pulled down a few inches from the ceiling the booming stops, it just turns into a low-level hum - which is far less annoying and is akin to a fridge running. It is the strangest thing.
When I pulled the vent out for the first time I could see it's actually a secondary lint trap and it was clogged with lint to an insane degree. It looked like a giant wedge of cheese. The previously owner must have never emptied it in the 3 years they lived here. I cleaned it all off but, once again, if the vent is pushed flush with the ceiling the booming, rhymic sound returns.
Sometimes turning on a lightswitch or another electrical device ( hairdryer) with cause a one time THUMP from the same area, as well. If I run the stove top thr thumping becomes rhymic again, but only THUMPS once every 26 seconds instead of 2 seconds as when it was at its worst.
Does anyone know what could cause this?