Week One Previews
Written By Wynn Whittaker for the Rhydin Review
I woke up to the best surprise this morning. Not only have I not been fired, but we’ve also got our Hydra Week One Matchups! And since it’s such a beautiful Monday in Rhydin, I think I’m going to give you all the professional Wynn Whittaker treatment and lay down some previews for you all. We’ve got some great matchups, some terrible matchups, and some WTF-worthy matchups. And I’m here to break it all down for you.
Ready for this?
Up first we’ve got Chemical Burn at Deathcake. So this matchup gets me in my spooky, scary feels center. Like I’m watching Freddy vs. Jason all over again. It’s like a battle of the scary bad guys and edgy bad guys and man is it awesome. Thank you Hydra gods for gifting us such a glorious pairing right off the bat.
In Fists, we’re looking at Anubis Karos versus Skid. On one hand, we’ve got former Diamond and frequent Opal holder Anubis. On the other, we’ve got wild card Skid who was an Iron Fists League standout and managed to end up almost at the top of the heap, even with a loss on his record, taking home the Rookie of the Year award. I think this one will be a close call but at the end, I believe Anubis’ experience will win out.
Prediction: Anubis Karos defeats Skid, 5-4.
Next on the docket, we’ve got Xanth van Bokkelen up against Canaan Devillier in Magic. Xanth is known for having been Archmage as well as the holder of all four elemental keepers. Canaan is known for wearing shirts a size too small and throwing some badass DoS events. All in all, it’s a veritable David and Goliath but trust me, I don’t see this going in David-Canaan’s favor. I think Cane will be lucky if Xanth doesn’t blow him to smithereens. And not in a good way.
Prediction: Xanth van Bokkelen defeats Canaan Devillier, 5.5-1.5
And last but certainly not least, we’ve got a curious pairing of Layla Paine versus Aoife Duggan for Swords. As expected Layla bumped up to Warlord over the past week and Aoife is a fresh face in the venues, though I can’t remember seeing her duel other than in Fists so far. They’re both arguably the least experienced on both of their teams but I think Aoife’s inexperience is greater than Layla’s and therefore a cause for concern. In the end, I think Layla squeaks this one out.
Prediction: Layla Paine defeats Aoife Duggan, 5.5-4.5
Barring any unforeseen circumstances (looking at you substitutes!), this should be an easy sweep for Chemical Burn. The match to watch will be the Magic set, regardless of my prediction, if only because it could mean big points for whoever does end up winning.
Next up: Royal Pain at Hydra Foil. It’s the battle of the pretty people in this one, so hopefully they plan on avoiding the face. I’d make another comment about avoiding faces but my editor said Rhydin Review won’t pay for my security detail if I get more death threats, so I guess I’ll behave for now.
For Fists, they’re pitting April Brell from RPN against Mason Harrigan from HFO. Now, I’m not the sort to condone domestic violence, but am I the only one who was really hoping to see Eva versus Mason? Oh well, it isn’t happening so I suppose I can cover April and Mason instead. April’s been pretty hot lately… duel wise, not just looks wise, so quit giving me that look. That said, Mason’s just a brick house. I wouldn’t want to hit him, trust me on that much. Despite April’s rank advantage, I think Mason takes this one.
Prediction: Mason Harrigan defeats April Brell, 5-4.
In Magic, we’ve got a pairing of lovely ladies. Shae from RPN brings some witchy moxie while Juliane Smith from HFO is the sort of fireball that we can all appreciate. This really should be a good fight. While both are relatively inexperienced in the sport, both have shown a canny aptitude for the arcane. Expect a lot of spell slinging, plenty of boom, and hopefully some leg. This one could very well be a toss up, so let me flip a coin real quick. Shae it is!
Prediction: Shae defeats Juliane Smith, 5.5-4.5
Finally in Swords, we’ve got Jewell Ravenlock against Jolyon Gardiner. Soo… I don’t have much I can say about Jolyon and plenty I can say about Jewell. For that alone, I pretty much am obligated to give Jewell the win, though for the record I think she is capable of winning it regardless. That said, if Jewell wants to win, she’ll have to beware the curse of Beginner’s Luck. Those new folks are tricky, stab them as such. And Jewell, if you lose for some reason and wanna commiserate? Give me a call.
Prediction: Jewell Ravenlock defeats Jolyon Gardiner, 5-2
If Royal Pain is careful, they should get by Hydra-Foil just fine. I’m a little worried about their picks and honestly, HFO’s Captain Eden did a stellar job of placing her people exactly where they need to be. I think. Beware RPN, they might be trouble. It is with great hesitation that I predict that Royal Pain beats Hydra-Foil.
Rounding out the dance card, we have Team Fist at the Rock Hards. Let’s see how they fare.
In Fists, we’ve got current Diamond Andrea “Apple” Anderson up against former Opal holder Rachael Douglas. Of those on Rock Hards, I think Rachael or Red would have been the best pick in this spot so it’s good to see Kruger’s got his head on straight. That said, I think Team Fist anticipated it well and put up their best bet at overcoming what ROC throws at them. Apple has been en fuego as of late, and I don’t just mean her hair. Andrea ought to make quick work of Rachael.
Prediction: Andrea Anderson defeats Rachael Douglas, 5-3
Up in Magic, we see Colonel Simon up against L’Elghinyrrok… can I just call him Spider? Please? Thanks. So you know how I was saying in my preseason rankings that Matt would be Team Fist’s best bet in Magic? Well… The Anvil managed to pick the one person on Rock Hards that I think Matt will really struggle with. Spider is fresh off of an Archmage Tournament win and if Rena of RPN isn’t careful, he might be the next Archmage. Riding high on that momentum, I give this one to Spider.
Prediction: Spider defeats Matt Simon, 5-3.5
Now the fight I’m most excited about in this match up… for Swords we’ve got Kalamere Ar’Din against Red urThorne. Red recently won a Warlord Tournament though current Overlord Rand al’Tan kept her from the belt. Kalamere’s been in the Overlord hot seat a couple of times, though he’s been on what looks like a hiatus for the better part of the past year, having only dueled once or twice in that time. I think we’re looking at another close match that could honestly make or break the week for either team. I believe Kalamere might edge this one out if only because I owe the Line a few silver. So don’t let me down Kalamere, I’m betting on you!
Prediction: Kalamere defeats Red urThorne, 6-5
With what should be surefire wins from both Apple and Spider, TMF/ROC really will come down to the swords match. My wallet is counting on Team Fist for the win but never underestimate the ingenuity of the Anvil and his crew. Maybe we’ll see a wrench thrown into the mix here, you never know.
Critical Matches to Watch:
Anubis & Skid (DoF-CHM/DCK)
Shae & Juliane (DoM-RPN/HFO)
Kalamere & Red (DoS-TMF/ROC)
At last Hydra is here and good gods is it going to be a wonderful week! Be sure to come out to the venues for all of your violent bloodsport needs and if you’re a caller or have interest in being one, now is a great time to get into it. I know they’ll need the extra hands! With that, Wynn is out so until next time, Hail Hydra!
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Week One Previews
The Second Best Dueling Event of the Year!
- Wynn Whittaker
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