Gustav

Glad to see you recreate

Yeah I honestly don't have a problem with NY in its current form. Something I don't love is that it feels like we get someone wanting a rebrand every season--granted, I wouldn't put this in that category because it's actually an old logo rather than a different concept, but I still wouldn't want to change any logo unless I actually dislike the current one.

I'm honestly not sure I would have. I did need a future goalie at some point and UnGuri was right there at 3--plus there were plenty of great players available at 9. It's certainly something I'd look into, but I don't think I would have broken the bank for it or anything. Probably depends on team need. I'd like to play it out for selfish reasons but if me being there hurts the team down the road I'd be fine with hanging up the skates. Sir, this is a professional team event. Call family back in Japan and turn on some music. It would have to be Miracle, wouldn't it? That's a hockey player's dream right there. I want to set some sort of record. What it is, I don't know yet--but I want to be able to point to something in an obscure forum thread somewhere and say "hey, I did that". In recent memory, probably Podrick Cast. He's retired, though, so I'll have to go with a different center--Ola Vikingstad (Helsinki) has a build that's about what I'm going for. It would have to be Dan Dan (@MMFLEX), a teammate of mine last season. He leads the team in points and TPE, and should make quite the mark on the VHL in a few seasons. I've always had a soft spot for penguins, so it would have to be Piplup. 8-year-old me had like 50 different favorite Pokemon, though. Hey, anything is possible! I remember Saskatoon had a win streak close to 50 back in S69. I mean, I've never changed the color of my own hair...as for what my "type" is, I don't think I really have one. I belong to brown hair gang so I'll represent that, I guess. In general, savory, but of course there are exceptions. Any ice cream with cookies in it is heavenly. Thank you for the questions! Happy to answer.

Taking a break from asking about sim results (for reasons). For the week ending 12/6: 1. What's your wildest VHL conspiracy theory? 2. Which VHL team do you want to play for the LEAST? 3. Which commissioner do you trust the most to handle league matters? Which one do you trust the least? 4. What's your favorite pizza topping? 5. Which sports have you played in real life? 6. Last week, we celebrated Thanksgiving in America. What are you thankful for in your own life? @Jer_Lefebvre @studentized @Sonnet @Velevra @McWolf @Big Dee @Lefty_S @Ahma @Advantage @Grape @PadStack @Berocka

Week 2; thank the lord for multiclaims.

WEEWOO

I think most people who have paid attention for long enough would recognize that I'm putting in effort; still not worried about general consensus. Just more slightly worried about first impressions on new people and such.

Honestly, fair. I came in expecting to get memed more, and I'm glad that this is an actual evaluation of things (negative as it may be) rather than the "Gustav sucks" article I've seen once or twice. I can actually say I enjoyed reading this, so good on you @hedgehog337. We've had our share of ridiculously awful luck--notably, the past two seasons, we've had a roster that should have put us right up there with the best of them (in my opinion), but got slammed by STHS and ended up going nowhere. I'll also take some of the responsibility for simply not having enough knowledge and experience to properly manage the fat load of assets that got dumped in my lap at the beginning. I probably took things too quickly and impatience and a weird trade or two led to a bit of mismanagement on my part. Davis leaving in free agency this season was certainly a blow (not that I blame Josh at all given how the sims have treated our team during his time with us). I continue to argue that getting negotiations up to a sign-and-trade for a 1st and then flipping that for Walker was as close to perfect as I possibly could have handled the situation, but that doesn't mean our defensive core didn't take a step back because of it (and because of OQuinn retiring due to general lack of interest). I did see a step back coming this season, actually, but wasn't planning on tearing everything down because we're young enough as a whole. Retooling a bit and shifting around assets, rather than going all-in or having a fire sale, is probably best this season. Obviously a nice combination of "roster isn't as good on paper at the moment" and "Simon still hates us" hasn't been doing Davos any favors. Easily my biggest concern in my time as GM so far is whether or not people even take me seriously as a GM anymore. I'm not saying you don't and I'm not saying that anyone else in particular doesn't, but from a pseudo-outside perspective, I was (semi-controversially) brought in to fix up a team, and so far it's been a giant flop. So, to anyone reading this who thinks I'm shit and doesn't want anything to do with me--I don't think your opinion is unwarranted (even though I'd disagree with it). I've learned quite a bit up to this point about running a team and obviously still have quite a bit to learn. Things aren't good now, but I believe we've got what it takes to break through soon.

This is easily one of the best articles I've read in recent memory--and it's got some damn good jersey concepts. Great stuff and can't wait for NA

FREEZE HORNY POLICE

I feel like this can be answered in just about the same way but interpreted differently from how @JeffD said it (not saying he's wrong, just giving my own opinion on the matter). I actually like this rule change and would still like it if I weren't able to claim my own player in the last draft (due to a bit of lucky/convenient timing--I wasn't aware this would be happening until after I'd already decided to do it). For the team's sake, I'd LOVE to go to my own team. I scrape up every bit of TPE I can and I'm on top of the draft class--if not for the GM rule, it wouldn't be a giant stretch of the imagination to think that Tsujimoto would have gone #1 overall. So, yeah, I'd be an idiot to not want a 1OA-caliber player at #9 (and I could have traded down more, but I was at work when the pre-draft offers came in), especially one who's happy to take minimum salary and do things like switch position if I, the GM, will it to be so. Because of that, making this rule change does screw over any GM who's set to create and be drafted after that point. Something else to note about that, though, is that there's no way to do this at any point in time without screwing over somebody. From a team perspective, hell yeah, I'm taking my own player--but from a player perspective, I'll be honest and say that it's a little boring. There's no pre-draft hype for me, I don't get to wonder when or where I'm getting drafted, I don't really get to have fun with my own career because literally everything I do with my player is in the best interest of my team. I might end up doing something like throwing myself on a lower line if we end up with another good center, switching position because the team needs a defenseman, or even possibly slowing my earning at some point to fall into a certain salary bracket in a given season. All of these things can hurt my chances at success with my own player. So, I really think that I'll end up having more fun with whatever recreate is down the line than I will with Taro, for those reasons.

Can confirm this is why we did it. Also I like meatloaf too

(somewhat per the request of the ToS crowd) It would be unfair to start this article without making mention of the fact that this has been done before (in this article, though I don't know why I should care as I wasn't on the list--the sheer and utter disrespect! Let's not talk about my only having played one game over there at the time). But, with that being said, let's talk about my experience as moderator of this lovely game in the VHL. So far, we've played a whole thirteen games, not counting a couple prototypical mafia-ish things that happened a while before either of those, and it has proven itself to be: -A hell of a fun time for a lot of people. Sure, it hasn't been the cup of tea of everyone who's played, but we've got us a devoted group of people who legitimately enjoy the game and are here on our forum more because of it. Also, along those lines, it's been... -A surprisingly effective tool for crossover between affiliate leagues. I myself am not active in the SBA and, as such, haven't had the opportunity to push Town of Salem down people's throats over there, but the common ground of there being the same activity on both the VHL and EFL forums (with our games usually being advertised in each other's Discord servers) has led to multiple VHL members joining the EFL for Town of Salem and sticking around. The effect isn't as pronounced over here, but I've definitely seen at least one EFL --> VHL Town of Salem crossover and I'd argue that the game has positively contributed to the forum activity of at least one other EFL member here. -I thought I had more things to say here but I don't. Let's move on and get into the list. My stat spreadsheets are here. I think I'm too much of a nerd for my own good. 10. @BarzalGoat Record: 5-6 Barzal has often been an overlooked player, and that's because he isn't a particularly flashy one. Looking back on every game he's played, there isn't really one that jumps out as impressive on the surface--but he's generally managed to be on top of things with night actions and has quietly become one of the VHL's better players. He's the only Tracker (Game 3) to record two evil visits in the same game, the longest-lived Medusa (Game 4) and has managed to weed out and kill an evil player as Jailor (Game 6). As behind-the-scenes as he is, he's actually on top of the leaderboard in investigations, having looked into more players than anyone else (and generally being there to report results during the day phase immediately after and keeping a good will). So, sure, not a whole lot that would constitute a claim to fame, but a good group of parts that sum together into a pretty solid whole. 9. @solas Record: 2-3 I did exclude everyone who's played fewer than five games from this list, and was a bit surprised to see that solas has only played five of them--because the five that he's been involved with have been generally noteworthy. On top of boasting the second-largest average duration of survival out of anyone with five or more games under their belt, he's also sixth on the all-time kill list and has made the most out of a few difficult roles. A relatively short-lived Escort in Game 1, he followed up an unimpressive exit with arguably the best cornered Neutral Killing play I've ever seen in Game 2, claiming Lookout as the Juggernaut as the last non-Town member left and actually somehow providing entirely correct results with his fake claims for a few days before getting lynched at random to end it. After that point, he led the Mafia to its first-ever win in Game 6. As a whole, his performances with the Town haven't been as worthy of mention, but when he's been evil he's been one of the most interesting and dynamic players to watch. 8. @MMFLEX Record: 3-5 Flex has a fairly low average duration of survival, and seven of his eight games can more or less be chalked up as unimpressive overall. For the statheads, he ranks 7th in K/D among qualifying players, and that's just about the only number that officially warrants his being here. So why is he here? First of all, let's not forget that the deck has often been stacked against him (he's only been town once, and one of those losses was due to a modkill that wasn't his fault but the forum's). He's on this list most of all because of his performance as Coven Leader in the last game, bringing the Coven to victory in a showing which was quite possibly the best single game I've ever seen from anyone. Every use of his ability was instrumental to the Coven's success, from using the Godfather as his own personal assassin to controlling the Escort into the Doctor to help out the Poisoner and avoid detection from the Lookout in doing so in one move, to finally presenting a winning argument to swing a majority vote against the Pestilence to seal the deal at the end, the game could not have been played any better than it was. Before then, he likely wasn't on the minds of many, but as of right now he's firmly on the map. 7. @Ricer13 Record: 4-8 Record-wise, this isn't very impressive. Stats-wise, this isn't very impressive either--oh wait, he's second on the leaderboard for kills. He's got what's probably the most kills in a single game (with 7 as Arsonist in Game 12), and has put together the fourth-highest qualifying K/D ratio because of it. Apart from this, probably his most noteworthy game is a very quick victory as Jester in Game 5, where he managed to get lynched on Day 3. He's also someone who I can't point to a whole lot in particular for, but something that sticks out to me is that he's one of the more active voices in game threads, arguing to the very end when voted up and always doing what he can to find new and unique ways to play his role. Because of this, despite his record, he's deserving of a spot on the list. 6. @Mr_Hatter Record: 5-7 Hatter figured out the game more quickly than most, reading up on some rules and becoming one of the more recognizable faces of the first few games. Leading off with the best-ever game from a Sheriff (three found suspicious out of five investigations in Game 1), he established himself as a strong addition to any Town's role list when he followed that up by catching an evil player in the act as Tracker in Game 2 and as yet being the only Transporter to directly cause the death of an evil role over a townie in game 6. As an evil, he's been slightly less effective, but probably ranks in the top five for town. 5. @jhatty8 Record: 5-7 From one hat to another, from one 5-7 to another, hatty is someone who's been able to establish himself as a strong player in leading roles. Twice a Godfather, he was able to take the Mafia deep into Game 1 and ended up winning Game 9--and on the town side, won as Mayor in Game 10. On top of that, he's the only Vampire Hunter to succeed in killing a Vampire (and killed the Mafioso as Vigilante after that), one of two Retributionists under the old Retri role setup to successfully revive someone, and is currently fourth in all-time kills. There have been a share of games where he's died early on, but when left alive he's proven himself to be a danger to the other team. 4. @omgitshim Record: 6-7 When I made this ranking I was a bit surprised that I didn't have omg in the top 3, but results-wise I'd say it makes sense not to. On the whole, he hasn't managed to get a lot done that's particularly impressive, but has made a couple brilliant moves worth mentioning, saving himself and killing an evil role in one move as Retributionist in Game 11, catching a killer on the first night as Tracker in Game 5, and picking up investigative results galore as Lookout in the last game, leading to the lynchings of the Hex Master and Serial Killer. He's also easily the most knowledgeable player we've got (myself included) and it's not at all a stretch of the imagination to say that VHL Town of Salem would never have been possible without his help at the start. Bringing a respectable record to the table on top of that (4th among qualifying players), it's quite clear that he's deserving of a spot on our list. 3. @Mike Record: 5-6 NOBODY else has ever been on top of the all-time kills leaderboard. Mike jumped on top with six kills as Werewolf in a Game 1 that he lost under a hugely unlucky set of circumstances and has stayed in the lead since, with 15 to date. He's also the only Witch to win a game (game 7), one of two players to record a perfect three executions of evils as a Jailor (Game 3), and would be on top of the kill list by a much wider margin had he managed to ignite in time in Game 5 as Arsonist. Known for a somewhat unusual play style in the game threads, he gets his actions done effectively at night and is respected and feared by just about any other player who has been around the block a few times. 2. @Berocka Record: 8-4 With a record like this in a game where the majority often loses and sometimes only one or two people win, I was surprised to see that Berocka hasn't had many super-noteworthy games. Easily his biggest claim to fame is our one and only win as Pestilence back in Game 3, but after that it's his effectiveness as a neutral player, as he's 3-1 with neutral roles. Aside from the win as Pestilence, he's also the only player to ever win (and the only player to ever lose) as Pirate, and managed to pile up a win as Amnesiac as well. Generally doing enough for town to be of legitimate help when he's on the good side and doing enough on the other side to throw a monkey wrench into daily discussion, his results have reflected his contributions, and for that reason he's all the way up at #2 on the list. 1. @chatfan036 Record: 8-4 This should come as absolutely no surprise whatsoever. Eagles is someone who came in already experienced with Town of Salem, and that's been more than reflected in both his play and the outcomes of his games. His first "I'm not as dumb as I look" moment came with a perfect game as Jailor in Game 5 (something he repeated in Game 10), and he's been on the map ever since, only interrupting an 8-game win streak with a loss in the last game in which he died early on. Tied for the best win percentage out of all qualifying players, and with the third-highest qualifying K/D ratio, eagles is widely recognized as the best player we've got, and it would be foolish to have him anywhere else on this list. So there we have it--there are some very dedicated people who I legitimately believe are good players and who didn't end up making this list, too! What we've got now is a fun game that's managed to bring together quite a few members of the league and been a positive contribution to the league--so for anyone who hasn't played yet, if you're able to be consistently active on both the forums and Discord, give it a shot! For those who have, I hope you'll find this list fair and I hope you'll see it as a bit of an incentive to keep at it. And, as always, a great big thank you goes to the VHL for being a community so good that there's even a reason to write articles like this in the first place. 2,047 words; I guess I can claim this for 4 weeks if I want but I plan on having something else out in good time...so don't be surprised if this doesn't last that long.

For the week ending 11/29: 1. If there's one thing that we've learned over the past few seasons, it's that the start of the season can be an indicator of how the rest of the season will go...or it can be the complete opposite. Do you think we've learned anything from our start? 2. One of the more concerning aspects of our sims have been shot differentials--even in games we win, we're often seeing much more shots thrown at our net than what we're generating ourselves. How can we work to improve on this? 3. We've actually got a fair bit of cap space to play with! Where could we use an upgrade the most, and what type of player do you think would benefit us? 4. The VHLPA (a sort of players' union that's been tried and more or less failed a couple times) boots up again. Who would you want to see as the representative for Davos, and are there any issues you'd like to see them work on? 5. Just about every company you can think of hits you up with a huge sponsorship deal. Who do you sell out to? 6. One of the biggest things to remember about virtual interaction is that everyone you come across is a unique person of their own. Describe your personality here to the best of your ability. @Jer_Lefebvre @studentized @Sonnet @Velevra @McWolf @Big Dee @Lefty_S @Ahma @Advantage @Grape @PadStack @Berocka

I despise the narrative that pass-first players are worthless, and I hate it when someone joins the league and they're immediately told they need to make a scorer. Pass-first players do tend to put up lower numbers on the scoreboard in general, so it's probably not in your best interest to make one if you're out to win MVP. But they can be valuable in a lineup and it's perfectly OK to build one.

ID: 20436775223929395 5 uncapped (11/22) Doubles week (11/29) $1m cash (11/22)

Well time to start the "tagging every member individually" thread then.

Oh look, Sonnet is doing stuff! @Sonnet: says something weeby Some things never change smh still love u tho

D - Jiggly Gumballs @fishy we done

This season, our captain selection process got a bit of an overhaul--now, instead of being in a captain spot until departure from the team, a player may be elected as captain for three seasons (or however long before that point they end up spending with the team), with the captain slot opening up to team votes (and re-election being possible) at the conclusion of that time. As this was the first season this was done, ALL three captains were elected this season. Ties were broken on the basis of seniority. C - Fernando Jokinen @Ahma A - SS Hornet @McWolf A - Tyler Walker @Advantage Congratulations to our captain team!