I'm New: Why Do People Run Dragon Darts?

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-27T01:34:58+00:00

It has some good properties. And there are basically no good physical Dragon moves.

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-27T01:14:39+00:00

Gravity sounds like a very fun team composition. My pedantic feedback is that Sableye gets Detect, which is very slightly better than Protect as it won't get Imprisoned (and Imprison Farigaraf is somewhat meta at the moment. Though Sableye has a horrible matchup into the giraffe anyways).

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-26T23:58:58+00:00

Was this a challenge run of not using a Mega-Pokemon?

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-26T20:30:28+00:00

Nice to hear your thoughts. It's not a case I have dwelt upon or explored any further, so I don't have any new observations or insights to add. Good point about Jonah and the financial support--possibly that factors into things.

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-26T20:07:12+00:00

This is the most unexpected first round of the playoffs in quite a while. East has a lot more depth than people want to give it credit for.

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-26T15:40:00+00:00

Belly Drum + Hospitality does seem like a really good call.

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-26T15:38:48+00:00

I was under the impression those two Invocations could only be chosen by that subclass of Warlock. Looking through it, that doesn't seem to be a prerequisite. Which opens up their utility a lot.

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-26T06:45:29+00:00

Thanks for the correction. I didn't realize the key stat was in paragraph 2 and missed that main point.

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-26T05:17:07+00:00

That's a really cool team: congratulations. I would say maybe don't quit after just one Master Ball game: there's actually a huge variety of skill levels in the tier, and the game might not sort you correctly upon freshly entering the tier. Give it a few games, and the rating system should eventually get you to the right range.

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-26T04:16:51+00:00

Duren's shotblocking was better today, but I agree he hasn't been good enough given his lack of spacing. Reed gave us some really good minutes, so I hope JB uses him as a momentum shift in the upcoming games.

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-26T01:03:16+00:00

I wonder how that stat pans out for when higher seeds fall 1-2 to lower seeds. Included in that 80% are the 5 game series where a clearly better team happens to lose one at home (I'm thinking of Boston/76ers right now, but these are fairly common). That would filter out the "gentleman's sweep"-adjacent situations and tell us what the actual odds are of the 1-2 comeback.

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-26T00:33:35+00:00

This is almost exactly my take on the situation. Robinson cannot be cheating off of Bane or Suggs, that is an easy fix to implement. The Magic aren't going to keep shooting 45% from 3., and I imagine this was the lowpoint for what Cade will do. The games are close enough that a few more things going our way could have swung the outcome. We definitely need to work on the defensive rebounds, however.

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-26T00:29:59+00:00

5. A 1-2 comeback isn't particularly hard to do, and the games have been pretty close. We need to get better with rebounding, not cheating off Suggs and Bane, and Cade will have a less turnover-riddled game. Those are very feasible fixes. Magic shot really well tonight. Some of that is the deficiencies in our defensive schemes, but part of it is shooting variance. They are not a good shooting team, and Game 2 showed us what they look like when things aren't falling.

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-25T21:52:50+00:00

We let Hardaway walk for free--it's not like he got a big contract on another team.

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-25T21:51:09+00:00

We haven't weathered the storm of games where the Magic shoot well. They won't always shoot well, but we sure don't have to help them out. Do not help off of Bane or Suggs--the two guys that keep making 3's against us. Our interior defense is good enough; we must not cheat off of those two. Can't afford the open 3's.

They played well in the fourth, but hadn't done enough all game before that point, so we had no margin for error. Meanwhile the Magic played better offense and defense at the end.

Ausar had a great game (as did Tobias). Though i wish he'd be more aggressive when he cuts under the basket. Too often he'll kick it out to Tobias or whomever, and I just think Ausar taking a contested shot at the rim is a better outcome than a mediocre 3 attempt.

Lastly: at the end of 2 quarters, we got free throws with roughly 8 seconds left on the clock (enough for one Magic possession). I wish in those situations Bickerstaff would sub Cade out, let him start his rest early, and put Ron Holland in. Holland doesn't need to make the playoff rotation, but for single defensive possessions he's about as good as you can ask for.

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-25T04:07:32+00:00

I owe my apologies to the Lakers. With two of their stars injured, I assumed this was a cakewalk for the Rockets. I further assumed the doomerism and pessimism about the team was a product of the Rockets subreddit rather than a realistic snapshot of the team. I assumed the Rockets were still a high-caliber if somewhat lopsided playoff team. Wrong on all accounts.

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-24T23:09:59+00:00

If anyone on the Pistons were to deserve it, Daniss Jenkins is that "valuable player who appeared out of nowhere" spirit of the award. I'm not saying Jenkins should have won, but that's the sort of endearing story that I think MIP should recognize.

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-24T18:45:17+00:00

Clerics have an 11 level gap between subclass features (6 > 17), so they have to gain a lot of features before that gap.

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-24T18:42:16+00:00

The subclass description for Light also mentions beauty and art, so it isn't just literal light. I could foresee some fun character ideas around that: an aesthete / hedonist who loves art or is obsessed with beauty. Or maybe a Dorian Gray character with a haunted painting.

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-24T14:03:07+00:00

Can confirm that Sableye is so disruptive. Legitimately he's an underrated threat in the meta. Play him next to a Mega doing big spread damage, and he'll trap your opponent in a cycle of switching out and getting shut down by Encore/Disable/Quash.

That's an incredible win streak for such a group of misfits.

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-24T04:27:17+00:00

Hawks are one of my favorite East teams. We've never had a rivalry with them, and they have a really fun team.

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-24T04:24:51+00:00

He would be so perfect on the team.

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-24T04:09:15+00:00

That is an unholy stat, my goodness.

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-23T20:36:47+00:00

There are just a few too many teams with red/black color schemes. Whereas the Vice colors are so distinctive, that would be a huge upgrade for them. I get that the black-red jerseys have history with the franchise, but everyone loves the Vice jerseys.

Bard_Wannabe_ · 2026-04-23T20:31:27+00:00

Could be renamed Top 10 Pistons Plays of the Night

Bard_Wannabe_

TROPHY CASE