Things every player on every team needs to hit the next level, stay in the league, or win the league, and who to learn from.

A Blockwork Orange

OMB - Near the top tier of elite, but is held back by his lack of a mic, an obvious fix is using a mic, but if he doesn't want that, learning OD mechanics other than grabbing would be his next best path. Learn from players such as Warriors and Crippy when to rush out, when to sandwich, when to grab.

Button - Ascending player with 2 Super appearances in the last 2 seasons, appears to have figured out the mechanical side of defense but this is his first season as an undisputed lead defender, to reach a first ball level Button has to learn the “rest” of defense: manufacturing resets, generating and converting capping opportunities and carrying his partner. Learn from players such as Mex and Alphachurro, historic 1st ball defenders.

Anti re - Returning to majors after a couple seasons in minors, Anti-re appears to be in a 3rd/4th ball role supporting Button and OMB. As ABO’s most 2-way ball this season Anti must learn the best times to “flex” offense to help generate and keep momentum and create chances. Learn from players such as d0pe and Sluff, who have had success in flex roles in the past.

Sadness - Another returning majors ball, Sadness is in his familiar 4th ball role supporting OMB, where he has had success in the past. If Sadness wants to elevate his game, he should learn how to be more self-sustaining on offense, generate his own grabs and his own capping chances rather than relying on his O partner all the time. Learn this from 1st ball offenders such as Messi or Fender.

Capaliers

Messi - Perennial majors offender Messi is back in a 1st ball offense role where he has had mixed success leading an offense. Definitely a capable player individually, but doesn’t often elevate his partner and teammates’ games. To reach the next level Messi must learn how to extend his impact to others through comms and other methods, learn from successful O first balls such as DT and tng.

Syn - D farmer Syn back in majors under a new name, but the same vibes, no grabs during the reg season but “trying” during the playoffs. Syn is a special case because his level depends on many factors from ping to how much he likes his teammates. Can be elite if the stars align but if they don’t, it’s a recipe for a crashout. I don’t have someone he can learn from, but it’s really just on him if he decides it’s a tryhard season or not.

Magnolia - A season under the Magnolia name. Is waterwheel running out of new names to use? Again in his customary 3rd/4th ball role water is a swing player with very high highs but also very low lows, to reach a consistent level, water should work on his mentality. Often tilted out of games by teammates' mistakes, he needs to find a balance between correcting mistakes, and playing through them. Learn from strong mental players such as Alphachurro, who keep calm in comms and continue playing even though mistakes are happening.

Taurus - Taurus gets another shot at majors here after many seasons in minors. He plays an aggressive brand of defense that can often get him in trouble with missed snipes and swipes leading to chain caps for the opponent. On this team Taurus doesn’t need to do all that extra stuff, but needs to focus on a 4th ball role supporting the 3 playmakers on the roster. Learn from successful 4th ball defenders such as Nameless in the past.

Rolly Polies

BDL - Boomer BDL is back with a hefty 70tc price tag befitting the pillar, with more seasons than just about anyone under his belt, BDL handily beats less experienced players. But when faced with stronger competition his splitting O style and grab D defensive style can bleed caps. BDL should learn when it’s time to disrespect opponents and when to reel his style back in, something I think tng found a balance with in past seasons.

Arby - Another boomer BoFer, Arby is coming off another superball, lauded for great aggressive defense mechanics and always showing up on gameday regardless of drama he’s been a great low maintenance player. However low maintenance comes with the cost of being non-vocal in comms, to improve Arby should focus on communicating, learning from players such as okthen.

Nameless - Nameless gets his chance to prove the dwf haters wrong with an O restricted season, there’s a lot to improve on offensively for nameless, but I think it starts with grabbing for him. He should look to keep his flaccid% down and to try generating dangerous outs, his teammate BDL is a good ball to learn from for these things.

Bam - Final piece of boomer exodia, I’m not sure what position Bam is playing this season, but much like anti-re whatever position Bam finds himself in it seems like he’s going to be rotating a lot. I’d also watch players like d0pe and Sluff to learn effective rotations and where he can fill in on the map, especially considering Nameless will probably also want to find himself on defense as much as his restriction allows.

Secure, Contain, Prevent

Meowza - A newer player to the scene, meowza hasn’t found the same success in the past two seasons as he did in his breakout S36. Meowza has all the mechanical tools on O and D, but something feels missing from him. I think being thrust into a leading role has hindered meowza from achieving his full potential, he must learn how to do “role player” things on the map, whether it be blocking, dying as FC in optimal positions or when to push as FC even though the cap seems unlikely. Learn from role player balls such as Sadness or king krule to do the necessary dirty work on the map and communicate.

Fender - Back to offense after a forced D season on the Baseball scenes. Gifted holder and capper fender has shown he can lead an offense regardless of the season strength, the next level for him is the same as it has always been, defensively, but he already knows that. On the offensive side I think his biggest improvement is in blocking and coming into the opposing base with a blocking for his own FC mentality vs grabbing for himself. Learn from DT who strikes this balance perfectly.

FM - Supreme CRC leader Fly is back with meowza for another season of defense. Relentless in grinding her mechanics through spike mazes and boost maps she can farm stats with the best of them. The next step defensively for her would be learning when to leverage those defensive mechanics, and when is best to just chalk it up and get ahead. Learn from defenders such as Agency who strike a balance between playmaking and safe play.

Omni - Coming off a muper win omni gets another shot at majors. Omni has shown some lead ball tendencies in the lower leagues, but this season will be focused on supporting fender and playing off of him. I see a role similar to Sadness this season where role playing will be important and he should focus on filling those gaps vs trying to be a star.

The Land Before Timers

Carrot - A top tier player already mechanically and in his decision making, Carrot has little to improve on in those fronts. However, there is more to MLTP than individual play, because of the team carrot has drafted (mechanically strong players with other holes) his strongest improvement this season will be in developing and leading his players. He knows how to play the game already, but an okthen role of teaching and leading his players will yield the most success.

NoSwag - NoSwag is back after a season off after being traded for d0pe in a controversial deal. He often shows great first ball D potential and that potential will be necessary paired with Irony. I think his best learning resource is his teammate Carrot who has led defenses in the past and I would advise him to be a sponge and take as much of Carrot's advice as possible.

Irony - Another ranked grinder, Irony fits the exact mold of many past Carrot draftees. I think Irony will have room to play freely and make mistakes but also be a playmaker playing defense behind a strong Carrot offense but he should learn the style from past teammates such as Madoka and Sugar.

Mac - Grinding ranked lately under weedwizard, Mac has always been one of the most gifted OFMers in the game, and it seems like he hasn’t lost any of that form. His biggest adjustment will be to the modern meta, learning no-kiss nuances, pup play meta etc. There’s not a specific player I would watch, but I’d just watch any playoff games from last season to see how the mechanics work and how the meta has evolved since his last season.

Trippin' Balls

Alpha - Alpha falls into the same boat as Carrot, we all know he’s a top tier player, winning the super on both sides of the map while leading his team, but lately in ranked and tournament settings he has looked a little rusty mechanically from peak form. I’m sure he will regress back to or close to his peak form as the season goes on, I don’t have a player he should learn from, maybe just watch his old gameplay to remember who he is.

ASAP - Former MVB ASAP here again with Alphachurro, ASAP is very up front about his “always be grabbing” playstyle, but assuming he is on O with Saget (another very liberal grabber), he will have to curb those tendencies just a little to have success. ASAP could learn some tricks from another former MVB Suchit, who is also naturally aggressive but finds a little more balance.

Jazzz - Another expected Alphachurro pick, I think jazz is a solid player and capable of playing both ways. More confidence in her game is the way to improve here, she clearly knows what to do on the map she just needs to consistently apply it in gameplay and I’d watch gameplay of consistently confident balls such as BDL to see where she can get that edge.

BallSaget - After a last place season playing with DBOS DanP, Saget gets another chance with Alphachurro. Saget is a gifted open field holder, but the other aspects of his game can be lacking. His offensive creation will likely be needed on this team, but to be a Super contender Saget cannot throw away caps and leads with ill-advised grabs like he was allowed to last season. He should watch gameplay from O balls like Rina on how to generate chances while not being a liability in the rest of the game.