I understand Twitter is absolutely losing their marbles right now about Ace Race and being extremely rude to Scott which sucks. (I’m not surprised.)
Anyways, I want to be a little more positive!
The NoxCrew and Scott have majorly improved MCC and having one game not go as planned is great! In particular, compare last seasons BuildMart to this season. It’s was soooo much more fun to watch and from what I’ve heard so far the CC’s enjoyed playing it more. (I was watching Pink Parrots so that where I’m getting my opinions from.)
And overall I really enjoyed watching this MCC. My expectations were high and I was satisfied. This MCC was a test run for Season 2. What did some people think? I love seeing people talk about this being their first MCC and I hope they really enjoyed it. But, for some people you can’t expect this to be a step by step planned out event. I’ve seen some people compare it to regular sports and you know what...there are always games that might be unfair or not go as planned or even a ref making the supposed wrong call. Over the past 14 MCCs we’ve had dozens of glitches and technical difficulties. From the Wilbur glitch in Rocket Spleef (which Quackity has also done) to the issues with Hole in the Wall and streams crashing or freezing. Who knows what will happen in an MCC and it almost always turns into a funny clip later on.
MCC is/can be competitive and it’s fun to strategize who might win and run the statistics. But, we can’t belittle or harass players/teams for winning or preforming worse. It’s for fun! You can enjoy your team winning or be disappointed about them preforming worse, but we can’t attack other CC’s because of those reasons. Seeing people frustrated and angry at smaller creators won compared to their favorites is disappointing. Luckily, I feeling like Tumblr isn’t getting as angry which is nice to see and why I use this platform compared to twt.
For those wondering, my opinion on Scott’s supposed advantage. It might seem like a major advantage to some that Scott has seen the map beforehand and got first place. But, MCC is based on overall performance. Even if Scott placed first it didn’t win the Aqua Axolotls the entire competition. They played very well throughout the entire MCC and absolutely destroyed in DodgeBolt. So, the outrage I’ve seen is totally out of proportion compared to what happened. Also, a large portion of the teams followed Phil the wrong way which is hilarious.
okay so mcc team analysis time, actually only green guardians analysis lol
so i’ve heard many say that quackity has been training a lot on the server but during his mcc mini tournament, he was not great tbvvh. but hear me out, i have a feeling that he was purposely playing like that so that the others would be thrown off the fact that he might actually be really good.
but also, looking at the team i’m worried, cause first, george is known to be inconsistent with the way he plays, second, there’s the captain’s curse and third, there’s quackity who i feel like gets distracted v easily and focuses more on content.
dream’s build mart strategy: what it is and why it didn’t pay off
want to preface this with the fact that i’m a huge fan of dream’s and this isn’t negative toward him or his teammates. this is only a review of his strategy and why it didn’t work in mcc 18. (actually this is quite positive, for the most part!)
First, let’s talk about what the strategy is. In my mind, this can actually be a very good strategy if all of the moving pieces align correctly, even if it hasn’t worked out perfectly for Dream in the past.
Basically, Dream’s strategy is an attempt to overcome what I like to call “momentum-based scoring”, which is the scoring system currently used by Build Mart and formerly used by Grid Runners.
In this scoring system, teams get more points for completing a certain build before other teams complete it, regardless of how long it takes them to complete that particular build overall. This means that a team that has a quick start and gets new builds more quickly will have more time to complete these new builds while still getting a first or second-place bonus. With the addition of golden builds in season 2, which are worth double the points of a regular build, this grows even more important.
Dream’s strategy is basically as follows: all four players work together on one build, starting with whichever build looks easiest, to complete it as fast as possible and get the new builds sooner while neglecting the other two starter builds. By pooling resources together to make sure that they get the first build done as fast as possible, with three players going to get resources and one staying back to take charge with crafting and building (the exception is the first build: even the “manager” gathers resources for that), they get access to the next build, which is the first golden build, before other teams and can complete that as soon as possible. This sets them ahead and allows them to maximize points. It’s vital that they don’t switch back to one of the original builds with this strategy no matter how difficult the new build looks because they will get minimal coins for that build.
That being said, it’s not a perfect strategy.
The first issue with this strategy is that it works well in the first few minutes of Build Mart but not so well later on. They will get a speed advantage on the first few builds but, as other teams complete their builds, that advantage dissipates because, say a team completes their original set of builds around the same time, which means that they have three fresh builds to work with. In Dream’s strategy, you get new builds one by one. That’s why speed is critical in the first minute or so before other teams can finish the original builds. It’s important to note that this doesn’t mean that the strategy has no merit against any other strategy as it still gives them the opportunity to finish the first golden build before other teams can, which offers them a fair share of points. Whether this advantage is negligible at the end of the game or not is less clear. When done right, Dream’s Build Mart strategy stands up just as well as even Grian’s strategy. However, it leaves very little room for error, especially in the first few minutes of the game.
Now, let’s talk about what went wrong in MCC 18 in particular because I think it’s important to highlight these issues to start a discussion about how this strategy can work better.
One major pitfall that this strategy can succumb to during the event is a too many cooks in the kitchen type situation, so to speak. With three people gathering resources for one build, sometimes it’s difficult to clearly communicate who should get what and when. Multiple times throughout the game, Quackity was left unsure of what to do because George was already getting his assigned blocks for him or there were no blocks left to get once assignments were given out.
I personally wouldn’t fault George for this. I actually think that George is a much better Build Mart player than people, including himself, give him credit for. After playing the floater role in MCC 16, he’s gotten even better with this game and seems to have a decent familiarity with this map as well as being able to better judge the time it takes to gather materials. George got Quackity’s blocks for him because he was already there and recognized that he could gather them and return to spawn before Quackity would have a chance to since he was less familiar with the map and mechanics of the game. He was more flexible with his role which probably saved them a few seconds.
That brings me to another vital part of not just this strategy, but with Build Mart as a whole: flexibility. This is a strategy that assigns people with particular roles but there will always be times where it is more efficient to break from those roles. This didn’t come up very often in this Build Mart because, overall, they were able to be flexible when necessary. The only glaring example of when rigidity resulted in a loss of efficiency was due to a very small mistake at the end that ended up costing them a fair share of coins. Even though Sam was taking on a “manager role” and doing a lot of the crafting, George should have been the one to craft the piston right at the end of the game. He had all of the materials in his inventory already and, even if he didn’t know the recipe by heart, it would have been quicker to click on the book on the side and look up the recipe than it would be to toss Sam all the materials and have him craft it, even if Quackity hadn’t picked up the cobblestone by mistake. Given the high stress in the last minute of Build Mart, this is a very understandable mistake but worth pointing out nonetheless.
There were a few other small mistakes throughout the game as well but it’s hard to have a clean run of Build Mart without a few mess ups. Quackity had some confusion with the map layout and misheard some directions early on and there was a moment early on where Sam gets purple concrete when it wasn’t needed because it was part of the floor and then collects the purple glass without telling anyone, which George also gets. It’s important to have clear communication in this game but it’s also okay to acknowledge that can be difficult for almost all teams during the stress of the competition and those things are bound to happen.
Now, how could this strategy be improved? Beyond just closer study of the maps and better communication, it would be good to have something set for a player to do when they’re in a place where they don’t have anything to get due to either a lack of different materials in a build or a teammate already being in the area of what they’re intended to get.
The first of two suggestions that I wanted to put forward is something that Quackity actually attempted. When he wasn’t sure what to do, he moved to one of the original builds and started trying to work on it, though he seemed unsure of whether that was the right thing to do given it goes against their strategy, which I think tripped him up and made it difficult to focus in on that build enough to get anything done past gathering materials.
My suggestion is for the team to pick a designated “back-up” build at the start of the game. That way, if there’s ever a time where a player doesn’t have anything to do, they know what build they should gather resources for and work on. Sure, they would get less points for this build because theoretically it would be finished late in the game, but when Build Mart is played so late in the tournament as it has been recently, any extra coins matter a whole lot, even if it only amounts to a couple of coins for a partially completed build.
The second suggestion is for any player that has nothing to do to play a more traditional “floater role” and start grabbing blocks commonly needed for builds and to store them in the chests, clearly communicating what they grabbed. Blocks that would be useful to grab ahead of time would be wood (notably oak, spruce, and birch), stone, and iron. Having these blocks ahead of time might save time getting them later or, at the very least, some of them could probably be used on the other original builds at the very end of the game to get partial completion coins.
Overall, Dream’s strategy has merit and he seems to be getting better and better at Build Mart as an individual, even though it might not seem that way if you aren’t watching his streams. Since Build Mart is such a team game, it’s hard to see a player’s individual process if they’re consistently playing with other players that aren’t particularly great at it, which can be said about other games but is glaringly obvious here.
Besides, Dream’s team tied for sixth in Build Mart, which exceeded what a lot of people expected from him, even if it wasn’t what they needed to be more successful in the tournament. I expect to see more growth from him in terms of his skill at this game and I think we’ll be seeing his strategy pay off in an upcoming MCC, perhaps even All-Stars!
alright! now that we've gone over the games, it's time to get into the nitty gritty stuff- the analysis.
first of all, let's address the elephant in the room: THERE IS NO ACE RACE THIS MCC. this means no wilbur monologue... :(
more importantly, it means players like pete, fruit, and teams that overall perform well at the game (which includes wilbur's team, funnily enough), don't have the extra coin boost from ace race. the only team that's hugely affected by this is the pink presents (sadly)- most other teams aren't affected.
the games we do have in the event are split this way:
- 3 PvP focused games (Sky Battle, SG, Battle Box)
- 3 team synergy focused games (Grid Runners, Build Mart, SoT)
- 3 movement focused games (TGTTOS, Hole in the Wall, Parkour Tag)
there are only two games based on individual performance- TGTTOS and Hole in the Wall- and TGTTOS has team bonuses, so overall team performance is still a huge part of it.
the split in the game roster is fully even, and so in terms of strengths, all-around and balanced teams have a good shot at doing well. this could also tip in any team's favor, really, depending on the game order- i would recommend checking out all things mcc's keys to victory video to look at which game orders statistically benefit which teams!
the event always relies on team coordination, cooperation and synergy, but this time that's especially emphasized (doubly so by the absence of ace race.) grid runners especially might decide a lot of teams' fates if it's played late- it's quite a polarizing game, with most teams either being really good at it or not good at it at all. now that the games have been announced, i'm leaning more towards a teal turkeys / red reindeer dodgebolt rather than teal turkeys / emerald elves, with emerald coming in third in lieu of first. also, i think that based on the composition of the teams, all three pvp games will get played, which is especially good for teal and red. the audience lockout will for sure be controlled by the emerald elves, so it'll be fun to see what they choose to go with.
all in all, this is a really interesting combo of games- i'm intrigued to see how mcc goes without ace race!
p.s. noxcrew please add rocket spleef back i need rocket spleef content rocket spleef is king please noxite ple
I think with mcc tommy always takes leadership roles without really considering his teammates strengths and weaknesses. I think he’s a good team captain but think especially with this months team having the leader rotate off for strengths would’ve helped a lot more. For example wilbur leading sot, and Ranboo taking point at the beginning of grid runners worked well!
Ranboo and Phil talked briefly after the event on how Tommy’s over preparing may have been part of a downfall due to stress and how they feel they play through what’s currently happening rather than sticking directly to a predetermined plan before stream. I always find analysis after interesting and for the past few mccs have seen more talk anout leadership roles especially with Tommy
this is really interesting! youre right, a rotating leader role wouldve worked best instead of the uncertainty they seemed to have had regarding who was in charge of what. a more fluid plan seems to be more phils and wilburs style as opposed to whatever tommy had on his doc since wilbur seemed very opposed to following whatever was on it. the over preparing bit is right, i also make lists and crap when im stressed but maybe trying to follow something to a T isnt the best decision. im still thinking about what went exactly wrong in sky battle, i think that was the game with the most conflicting leadership in what direction they were going- ranboos win was very hype tho. i love analysis a lot too especially mcc stuff
So about mcc16 bc I do kinda like mcc analysis but also it’s just my opinions tbh (this will be red rabbits and tommy focused)
I think tommy and wilbur still make a good duo. i think wilbur just had an off day and their team just had really shit luck. I think tommy’s energy probably overwhelmed wilbur a little when he was upset, but he did end up thanking tommy for keeping his energy up. I think ultimately they need another leader to balance them out a little. I think phil was maybe supposed to serve that role like they appointed him team leader and he just didn’t communicate well. (I think maybe Punz could serve this spot? Maybe tapl? idk yet)
I also think phil doesn’t really like the leader role. He feels much better suited to give the tips he knows and then have someone else just tell him what to do or let him do his own thing. I’m not blaming Phil I think communication was rough all around, but he was very quiet.
On to allium duo my shining stars. I really they have the potential to be a strong duo (and tbh they already are). Tommy ends up kinda taking the lead, but he make sure to get ranboo’s input. Ranboo would also to make sure to hear tommy out if he accidentally got spoken over. Ranboo also spoke up when he thought tommy’s plan wouldn’t work and tommy was willing to hear him out. Their communication was so good. Like survival games was super impressive. Plus tommy tends to play the moral booster, so it was fun to see ranboo match that energy and help motivate tommy. They were incredibly funny and it would be a crime to not put them together again.
So focusing on a team I’d like to see tommy with. I think tommy does best when he has someone to listen to his ideas, but he doesn’t have to play team leader the whole time. Tommy I think does his worst when he feels like he needs to carry or prove something. I think then it would be interesting to see him with someone like dream who will likely listen to him, but will also probably take on the team leader role and take some of the pressure off tommy. I also think people like ranboo and niki who help keep the team motivated and will feed off tommy’s positivity. They also help reel tommy in some and make jokes with him. Also maybe someone like tapl who’s got a more relaxed presence, but plays really well and would vibe with tommy. Maybe punz could be interesting too. idk I haven’t fully decided beyond dream, ranboo, and niki.
Yea sky battle seemed to be the beginning of the end for red rabbits. I too am not sure what exactly happened, they had a plan and pretty much stuck with it. I think the plan while good in theory just wasn’t executed well? On paper perfect but day of just didn’t go as well as expected.
It was after the initial fail in the first round you could sort of tell spirits were dropping and continued down for a while. Ranboos pearl clutch to then winning the round was sick though! Even with their attempts at team moral and boosting Wilburs mood it wasn’t until ace race it turned around.
Bad day for the red rabbits they just didn’t preform amazingly. I had fun watching and hope they had fun playing even if it wasn’t their best event.
good summary! youre right about that ace race pick me up, it definitely lifted everyones moods and was fun to watch overall :D wasnt the best performance but i think everyone definitely had a good time at least
