Tales of a Bronze Bastard LXXI

Qualifying game 8. 

I'm going to play Anubis.  Bans: AMC, Bakasura, Freya, He Bo, Medusa, Ao Kuang, Ullr, Kali.  Since he wasn't banned, I'll take Baron instead.  I'm going into Skadi.  I think I can handle this, just gotta watch out for that dog. 

I go 5-2.  I do 16K damage to his 13K damage.  But because of this stupid 300-ping bug, I lose a fight and my objectives die.  I finish ahead in gold, kills, and XP.  And I lose.  Because some bug in the system is jacking up 300 ping.  *sigh

Tales of a Bronze Bastard LXX

Duel - Game 6 Qualifier I ban AMC, opponent bans Anubis. I respond with a Freya ban. In return, the opponent bans He Bo. My third ban is Ullr, opponent's is Kali, I use every second to ban Medusa, and the opponent responds with Bakasura. Baron, for me. The opponent picks Ra. This will be spicy. I'm going to rush Pestilence here. I overestimate my early damage and take too long to drop the blue buff, twice. This allows the Ra to get an early kill on me and take my tower as well. But once Pesti is finish, its pretty much over. I go 5-1 and force a surrender after the 3rd straight ult kill. Feels bad for the other guy, man. Game 7 Qualifier Bans this game are Chang'e, Freya, Baka, Artemis, He Bo, Kumbha, Kali, and Hou Yi. I take Anubis into Izanami. Its a close match. For 17 minutes, no one dies. Then, I get a kill. I can't take tower. A bit later, I get caught out with no mana and that's when the stalemate ends. Iza gets me and quickly takes my tower and my phoenix. Feelsbadman, game over.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard LXIX

Current Rank: Silver II - 36 TP During this week of casual-ing, I've worked on Arachne jungle. The idea started with "what other gods besides Merc can abuse Golden Blade?" I decided that Arachne would. I also envisioned Silverbranch Bow with her. I have been straight owning people. Unfortunately, my third pick doesn't get to take jungler because our 1st ELO goes Thanatos. Our second goes Ra. The enemy team has a Baron, which I figure for solo. I try to decide what might go well into him, and I decide to take Odin. I immediately second guess myself, though I think he's a random enough pick that I may be able to work it. I feel like I can bully Baron, which is a good way to approach him. The enemy team drafts an Erlang, which could spell trouble for my Odin. They still don't have a supp, so the Baron could supp and I may have to deal with Erlang in solo. The other team takes Geb with the last pick. I'm guessing Baron solo with Erlang jungle and Geb support. Well this ends poorly. I decide to start playing Duel Game 1 - Fall Qualifiers I pick Arachne, the enemy takes Tyr. I handle him pretty easily. I mess up my build. After a slow start, I stay way ahead after level 4. I use all the farm on the map, and keep him pushed back. I methodically win a 5-0 surrender at the 16 minute mark. Game 2 The second game, I draw Ullr. This guy gets me a lot. I foolishly run away from him, and get stunned from behind a lot. In retrospect, I shoudl have bought Magi's Cloak to protect against that, or been more aggressive. It was hard once he got the level edge, though. I couldn't stick to him. Game 3 I decide to go Cupid, I'll be into a Guan Yu. I get handled pretty easily. Game 4 I take Anubis into He Bo. Aye, this could be bad. For He-Bo. I dominate. I use my 2 very well Game 5 What do do here? I'm going to try Anubis again. Why not? Looks like I'll be playing against Nox. Spicy. This was by far the most competitive game. I held the edge for most of this 29-minute match, but I made a couple of mistakes in the end. That's all it took for Nox to rock me.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard LXVIII

Current Rank: Silver II - 22 TP

Sunday morning ranked.  I'm last pick, so let's just roll with whatever happens.  Bans = Freya, Pele, Mercury,  Baron.  The enemy team first picks Poseidon.  We respond with Ao Kuang and Medusa.  They go global with Athena and Cherno.  Our last pick before the next round of bans is Erlang Shen.

Bans 2 = Bakasura, Geb, Serqet, Agni.  I get Sol with Sylvanus.  The other team takes Da Ji and Janus.  We are going to be moved on, hard.  They have such a global presence. 

It turns out, they must have just picked meta gods without knowing how to play them.  But the real difference in the game is our Ao Kuang. He straight murders. Top damage in the game at 21K.  No two players on the enemy team did as much damage as Kuang.  We crush the other team mercillesly, knocking out mid and right phoenix with only one tower gone on our side.  I didn't have a great game, but I was useful in team fights.  Still, at the end of the day, I got carried.  And I'll take it. 

Tales of a Bronze Bastard LXVII

Current Rank: Silver II - 34 TP Today is the opposite of yesterday's top ELO win. This time, I'm 4th pick. Let's take what comes to us and make it happen.

 The Picks and Bans phase leave both Cherno and Merc open. (Bans: Baron, Freya, Pele, He Bo). Our enemy first picks Cherno; we get the Mercury. Our 2nd goes Iza (mid), while the enemies counter with Ao Kuang and Athena. That Athena + Cherno presence is going to kill.

The second round of bans gets rid of Kumbha, Ganesha, Geb and Agni. I decide to take Fafnir, and someone on the other team dodges lobby. Back to queue. I debate just not playing, as this may be a bad omen.

Second try, I'm second pick. Bans this time are Baron, Freya, Merc, Baka. Our top pick takes Medusa, with Pele, Cherno, and Athena available. The enemy takes Neith and Pele. I get trapped in a no bank time situation because the lobby was communicating unclearly and end up just locking in on whatever god I have. It's Ravana. I freak. I take Serqet right before 0, since she was right beside Ravana on the god pick screen.

 I decide to call supp. I've done this in casual and had some mixed results, but it could be bad in ranked. Or great. Let's do this. I actually Serqet pretty well. However, my team is a bunch of people all wanting to do their own thing. I wouldn't even go so far as to call it a team. We are pretty bad overall. We lose, as to be expected. Our Ymir jungle gets owned. Ah well, what can you do?

Tales of a Bronze Bastard LXVI

Current Rank: Silver II - 20 TP

I'm top ELO.  Oy vay.  I ban Freya and Pele, the enemy bans Merc and Cherno.  The enemy takes Freya 1st, and I respond with an Artio flex pick.  The final team comp is my team: Baka, Ullr, Athena, Anubis, Artio.  The enemy team is Freya, Hachi, Thor, Bellona, The Morrigan. 

I am flexing into solo against Bellona.  Aight, let's do this. 

Bellona and I stalemate during the first few minutes.  She started Warrior's Blessing and then went into Ninja tabi, so I go use my first back to finish CD Boots and then TP back.  I gain a bit of pressure, but she takes it back.  After another long back and forth, I go back for T2 Breastplate of Valor.  Once I finish breastplate, Bellona doesn't win a fight against me.  I can't kill her either, but she can't kill me and can't leave lane.  I do get ganked by 3, and with that one death the tower falls. 

This was a really closely matched game.   One small thing was going to flip the scales.  I felt like we could beat this team.  Once I got into a few team fights, we were just owning the opponents.  Artio solo is a beast, she levels up fast and becomes a nightmare to deal with.  I have so many options available to me and I haven't hit a really bad matchup yet.  I am sure there are some bad ones for her, but I've handled myself against Warriors, Guardians, and Mages as her, at this point. 

I positively reinforce this team, even though Baka is regularly flaming Ullr for not playing well and saying Ullr is trolling.  Knowing that I was top ELO and only Silver II, my guess is that Ullr is a newer player.  I use positive comments to try and keep the group focused.  I tell them I think we are a better team.  I tell them to group up.  I tell them when something is behind them.  I place 12 wards, top on the team.  I make FG calls and then vocalize it in the voice chat for emphasis.  I have to argue with another person who was calling to attack middle lane.  I explained my reasoning, and everyone came and helped me.  And we got FG and crushed the middle tower and phoenix. 

Another hard fought bit later, we were going for a second FG and I saw Morrigan coming in.  I call to retreat and cancel the FG, thinking she will try to steal it.  She's the only one on the other team that is even alive.  No one pulls back.  She comes out of invis, ults, and steals FG.  I sigh into the mic, but I start stunning and crippling people and we actually kill 3 of them quickly, and chase the other two down.  I am a beast right now, nothing can stand up to me. 

This is one of the funnest, most competitive games I've had in a while.  The one thing that swung this game, was my positive play and focus.  I didn't let BM got me down, I put GM out there to drown out the noise.  I finish 3-4-26.  We win in glorious fashion with a decide, a phoenix rush, and a Titan pull that involved killing 2 more that had re-spawned.  The final game was 44-48, and epic battle worthy of gods!

Tales of a Bronze Bastard LXV

Current Rank: Silver II - 18 TP This is my 65th blog of playing Ranked Conquest games in Smite during Season 5. I qualified as a Bronze IV in Spring. I made it as a Bronze II in Summer split qualifiers, before getting into Silver V briefly towards the end. I qualified into Silver V for Fall, and have climbed to Silver II. Let's see what happens. I take Baron Samedi into Zhong Kui, solo. Let's do this. Well what do you know? Just when I thought I'd seen it all, they are pulling out Anubis solo in ranked. OK. I have a feeling I will own him. I take Magi's Blessing and he takes Warrior's, so I've already got a leg up. I start with T1 Boots because I think the early power spike will help me, and because it gives me the advantage with my 3, which in can turn can really help my zoning. The plan works as expected, since he starts with Bancroft's. This does make it hard for me to kill him, but I am able to still control the lane very easily with my maneuverability. I can dodge his 2 no problem, and can hit my 3 reliably. I find out early that he plans to save his ult in response to mine, so I only pull the ult out when I'm under tower. I survive twice, just because of this positioning and the potions I pop. I go back for my full Blue boots, so I really start spiking on this guy. Our Ao Kuang jungle is doing a great job of getting my blue down, and gives me a couple key ganks. My tower takes longer to come down, but I serve the purpose of controling solo and keeping Anubis from being a factor anywhere else. I rotate a couple of times and make big impacts in the mid lane with my ult. As my build develops, I go from controlling solo to just scaring Anubis off. I build Pestilence, Void Stone, Spear of the Magus, Soul Reaver, and top it off with Tahuti. Anubis now runs away from me at first sight. Our team communicates and plays well, with the enemy team surrendering at the 29-minute mark with all 3 phoenixes still up. I can't say I blame them, we were punishing them pretty much the whole game. I go 1-0-8 without doing much damage, but you can't argue with my complete control of the solo lane. Game II: Silver I - 29 TP Our top pick takes Tyr in response to the enemy Pele. I am 2nd pick and take Athena. I have mixed results with her, but the meta says she's good. My goal on this game is to just pay attention to the minimap and ward, a lot. It will be Jing Wei and I against Ares and Hachiman. We start off in a very back-and-forth battle. We start off pretty well, but get severely outplayed in the late game. Another loss.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard LXIV

 Current Rank: Silver II - 27 TP

I'm picking second and going solo.  I'm taking Artio into a Baron, which worked out very well for me in a prior attempt.  Welp, our 4th pick decides to lobby dodge.  Back to queue I go. 

And I'm the winner of a lucky 5th pick in this second lobby.  Our top pick is the same from last lobby, and once again takes Arachne jungle.  Our 2nd pick goes Cherno, with our third taking Nu Wa.  So, I'm getting one of my two favorite roles.  Solo goes Kumbha, so I take Ama.  I like playing Ama supp in casual, but this will be my first ranked.  Let's do this.

Cherno and I, against Sobek and Apollo.  Early game is rough with lack of pressure, but I make some good plays with my Heavenly Wings usage and extend our stay twice before I die.  But we start to turn things around at about the 15 minute mark.  The slow start gets the better of our Arachne.  She just starts talking and typing more than playing.  She leaves us hanging on a 4v5 in the jungle, and then she says she didn't want to join a group fight in the jungle.  I've been trolled.  Great. 

Tales of a Bronze Bastard LXIII

 Current Rank: Silver II - 16 TP

4.5 minute queue on a Friday night.  My guess is that this will go poorly, but maybe we'll get lucky.  I'm 2nd pick.  Merc is finally getting banned.  I like this.  Also banned: He Bo, Freya, Pele. 

And Baron is first picked by the enemy team.  Our top ELO goes with Nu Wa Mid.  I decide to take Artio solo, presumably into the Baron Solo.  The other team takes Athena and Rat.  We ban out Cherno in the second round of bans, trying to rob them of a bit of that mobility.  I suggest Apollo for a ban.  It takes the other team a while to respond, so I think it was a good ban.  The enemies last-pick Hel, so it's possible I could see her solo while Baron mids.  I'll take boots early and pick my defense later.  I decide since I'm going against a magical no matter what, I may as well take Magi's Blessing so I can up my damage on them.  My natural defenses and my Artio heals should keep me safe against Baron.

My plan works well.  I am a step faster than Baron, who took T1 Void Stone.  I am able to dodge most of his 3's and 2's.  He gets the best of me for the first 3-4 minutes, and gives me VEL spam after stealing my blue.  That was about the last chance he got to laugh at me.  I completed my early backing and got Blue boots. From here on, I pretty much run the show on this guy.  I do get some good help from my Baka jungle, but I'm also holding my side very well. 

By the 12 minute mark, I am in full control of my lane with Pestilence and Genji's finished. We get the tower.  What tends to happen is that I bully Baron back to the tower, the rest of my team is able to gank and kill the mid, then both rotate over and we 3v1.  It's pretty sweet, and possible because I'm owning the lane.  As I get my T2 void stone up, I make and advance on the T2 tower when the team gets into a fight at phoenix.  I divert to join the team fight and we end up taking phoenix.  I sacrifice myself in further skirmishing so the Baka can take the undefended right phoenix.  About two minutes later, we fight through the left tower and phoenix, with me once again leading the charge and taking a death as the phoenix days.  Total worth.  A Friday night when for the...Silver Bastard?

Tales of a Bronze Bastard LXII

Current Rank: Silver II - 27 TP Alright, let's see if this 30-second Saturday AM queue does anything for me. Nope, cannot find a match for me. Rather than be a priority for the next 9 minutes, I decide to practice an off roll in casual Casual - Role: Mid God selected - Anubis. I figure, what the hell and why not? I start with Mage's blessing and Tiny Trinket and 3 multi-pots and 2 wards. I'm going up against Thoth, who went blessing and T1 towards Chronos Pendant. I'm going to have to move quickly to stay out of position against this opponent, so I take an early opportunity and go back to get T1 boots. I end up losing the tip of my tower, but I call out that I'm returning to base and get a great cover from our Awilix, who helps defend my mid. When I get back, Thoth hasn't backed and my extra movement speed helps me juke him and gain advantage. I am hitting my wrap really well in the early game to survive an early Thana gank. I notice as I take a slow advantage that Thoth uses his 2 to get away from mine, so I decide to really start pushing the gas since he seems to be reacting to me and unwilling to attack. I learn a lesson about mid that I'm more successful when I just push minions into towers, and not go in to attack them myself. I take down the enemy T1 tower, and start rotating. Our Awilix is a force, just being everywhere and doing everything. We put on the pressure. We coordinate on two Fire Giants. We win pretty handily. Let's see how a ranked game goes. Silver II - 27 TP I'm second pick. The enemy team first picks Baron. Our top ELO takes Erlang solo, so I take Artio Supp. The enemy team has no Hunter. They are running Loki ADC, my guess. So this troll pick rolls all over my idiot Apollo, who just keeps running out and letting Loki invis behind him for a backstab. Like...literally every single time, he does the same way. This happens 4 times. I pretty much give up on the game at this point. Anyone with that much of a lack of awareness is in trouble and we're probably going to get rolled. That's pretty much what happens. I have a rough game, but the main problem is that Da Ji does no damage. She literally has less than my damage in a full tank build, when its said and done. She doesn't come and help with fights. The Apollo wants to split push, but dies numerous times by overextending himself. I try to stay positive and tell everyone we have a great late game comp. Ultimately, we have a chance to win with FG buff and their mid phoenix down. 3 of us call for retreat, and the bull-headed Erlang decides to charge in. He's 1v4-ing while literally everyone on the team is telling him to pull back because we have no health and need to regroup. If he'd listened, we would have won. As it turns out, he didn't and it was the turning point in the game. From there on, the enemies destroy us with a classic case of Loki split push. they take down all of our phoenixes and laugh on our graves.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard LXII

Current Rank: Silver II - 16 TP I'm second pick. Cherno gets through bans and 3 other picks, so I take him. I've got Athena as a partner against Neith and Xing Tian. Let's do this. We have super mobility here, so I need to remember to use my ult if we get any kind of advantage or someone is in hard trouble. Wards are extra important on this one. Their Xing DCs. I feel no mercy and just collapse on the Neith. We pressure her hard and take her buff. Our whole team proceeds to go on a rampage. Xing comes back at 4:50 and buys an item. Then, DCs again. They surrender at 10:15, as we already have an 11-2 lead. Game II Current Rank: Silver II - 25 TP I'm last pick, with one of the guys from last game in this one. I end up taking Artio support with a Neith ADC against Ganesha and Medusa. I'm going to get shell since both Neith and I have escapes. I am starting to really like Artio. I am able to really get into people's face. I am able to mess up Ganesha and Medusa on multiple occassions with my cripple + stun. I get Stone of Binding after finishing my boots, because our team is up to an early 3-0 lead. We continue to press the advantage. We ward well, I rotate often. We get good pressure and sustain it. After 25 minutes, I go 1-3-16 and we call it a win for the Bronze Bastard. Game III Current Rank: Silver II - 36 TP I am 4th pick waiting...and someone on the other side lobby dodges. 8 more minutes. Fun times. Take 2: I'm top pick. I take Cherno and trade it to our third pick, who grabs me Artio to join him in duo. We'll be going against Baron and Iza support. This is my first game against Baron in ranked as supp. I need to prioritize Pestilence. We get early pressure, as expected. We get kills on both duos, and perform the requisite purple steal. I go back to finish my boots quickly and decide to go Tank boots. We push the tower hard, and I go get the T1 towards Pesti. We get a decent advantage and then they have a DC. We get two towers, and then their DC comes back. Now, our Susano Jungle DCs. He comes back, but we get beat because he feeds 16 times. Sigh. I knew a winning streak was too good to be true.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard LXI

Current Rank: Silver II - 0 TP

2-and-a-half queue for a Friday evening.  So this will probably end badly.  But what the hell, let's give it a go!  And I'm top pick.  Uh oh.  I am first pick, so we ban out Cherno, He Bo, Freya, and Baron.  I take Merc to trade with our 3rd pick. Our 2nd pick takes Kukulkan.  I'm going to go either Supp/solo, depending on how the team shakes out.  Our last pick takes Xing Tian supp, so I'm going to take Artio solo into Erlang.  I feel good about that.  Let's do this!

I start with T1 boots and Magi's Blessing.  Today, I'm going with Fineokay's build guide for magical characters on 5.18.  I back early for T2 boots and immediately TP back.  Erlang is rushing Berserker's shield, so I'm going to have my hands full.  He's not quite getting the pressure on me, he's pushing minions to my tower and then backing.  I note this and run back to get my full boots, knowing my TP is still down. 

The gamble pays off, and I get back to lane with only a fifth of my tower damaged.  I know have full boots, and am running around Erlang.  Merc ganks and we get a kill.  I start pushing his tower, then back to get T1 Breastplate.  My TP is back up, so my gamble to back multiple times early pays off.  At this point, Erlang gets tired of matching me and decides to go to the middle.  I am able to take tower, and from there I am able to rotate.

We have a very toxic player being all manner of racist and anti-Semitic in chat, and our Merc is just handling it well by trolling him back.  I maintain my cool and stick to doing my job, but I definitely plan to report this jerk.  I get my Breastplate finished, then go Void Stone.  I'm able to really wail on people with my druid abilities. 

I finish out the build with Hide of the Urchin, Spirit Robe, and Stone of Gaia. We lead most of the game and everyone on the team finishes with a positive KDA.  I'm 3-4-16 with 12 wards placed.  Not bad, for the Bronze Bastard.  Its almost as satisfying as when I report the Kukulkan.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard LX

Current Rank: Silver II - 11 TP

I'm 4th pick. Our top pick goes Osiris solo.  Hope he/she is one of those awesome Osiris players.   Merc is open and 2nd pick asks if anyone wants it.  I think Merc is just win button, even though I missed some of his skills the last time I played him. I'm going to take him.  I hope this works, or I'll get flamed hard. 

My enemy jungler is Ne Zha.  He'll want to fight early and I'll want to maybe avoid him.  I level well, and my early game is full of good rotations and presence.  As we transition to the mid game and I go for more ganks, I get outplayed severely.  I make the right move and, but miss my skills.  This rinses and repeats for about 12 or 15 minute. We lose, and I'm the weak link.  Yay, welcome back to ranked. 

Game II
Current Rank: Silver II - 3 TP

Oh my, I'm top pick.  I end up taking Athena. Supp is my favorite position and I play her OK, I just don't have it in me to go Sylvanus at the moment. 

I get Anhur for a partner, and we'll be going against Baron and Iza.  Pressure city. And the enemy Ne Zha has about 15 stars.  Wonderful. 

Yadda yadda yadda, we lose.  I play about an even game, but this Anhur is trash in a bag.  He gets himself killed every other play.  Worthless. On to some casual to polish up.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard LIX

Current Rank: Silver II - 3 TP

OK, my first game in Silver II.  Sigh.  Friday night ranked, let's see what happens.  I'm 4th pick, so this should be a nice fill-in-the-gap-and-not-worry mode.  The enemy team first-picks Merc, and we get a top-pick Janus.  Second pick on our team goes Nemesis, while 3rd goes....nowhere.  Bank time expires.  As angry as it makes me to go back to queue for 9 more minutes, I'd ultimately rather not play with someone who is so childish and limited that they won't play if they don't get the role they want.  A selfish player that can't play multiple roles isn't worth having on your team, it could only be trouble. 

So I've got 5 minutes to kill, so I'll watch Weak3n and the boys probably beat CLG. I feel like I got robbed by CLG this season.  I bought their badge like 3 weeks into the Spring split when it looked like they were going to be hot.  I think they've literally lost every game since.  Or at least, its gotta be close.  Anyway, that's the kind of babble you get from me when we get a lobby-dodger and there's some SPL on. 

I come into the second attempt as last pick.  If I thought 4th was no pressure, last is definitely not.  Our third pick is setting off my troll alarm.  He's playing solo.  Hopefully he's not horrible.  Sigh, at least it will be a game.  I end up getting Sylvanus, going with Hachiman against Hou Yi and Kuzenbo.  Let's do this.

The mid lane loses both towers before 11 minute.  But the story of this game is easy: Mercury runs this game, pure and simple.  He's level 20 when our solo is level 16.  I'm 12.  We get crushed hard.  Mid lane gets destroyed and that's basically it.  Mercury and Sol feast.

Game 2
Current Rank: Silver II - 0 TP

One more try.  I decide to get nuts and take Merc from 2nd pick.  Hope it works. I have played a lot of Merc, but not recently.  This could be bad.  I'll do my Weak3n start, Assassin's blessing with T1 Katana.

I DC on loading screen.  The team pauses.  This is great...except for the fact that our top-pick Erlang lags out and DCs about 1.5 minutes later.  We are down 4v5, so I move into solo lane and try to hold on.  Our Medusa secures first blood.  I manage to hold my own against Cu Chu.  I start to bloom ideas of hope that we could win a 4v5, but I'm missing my moves and getting crushed. 

Then, Erlang comes back!  I feel good about our chances, despite the fact that Cherno is ulting everywhere and crushing us.  Now, I think he's going to 1v5 us.  Then, one of the enemies DCs, so we now have a 5v4 advantage.  Cherno continues to make it interesting for a very long while, but eventually I get my feel for Merc back and hit my stuff.  Then, we just crush them.  It isn't fair, but I'll take a win. 

Tales of a Bronze Bastard LVIII

Current Rank: Silver V - 93 TP

OK.  I'm last pick.  This has to be a good sign. I'll take what I can get, and let's do this. 

I am taking Sylvanus with an Artemis, into Cherno and Bacchus. The other team has Cherno and Pele, but we have a Plat SWK with Gold Ne Zha, so maybe we can balance it out.   (I'm still Gold Sylvanus)

We start off solid, but the Chaac on the enemy team rolls over our supposed Plat SWK.  We get beat hard early, but we fight back strong and take over.  I give lots of helpful advice without BM-ing, and our team responds and we play well.  We have 2 phoenixes down by the 30 minute mark.  An ill-advised fight for FG, that I advise against trying, ends up costing us the game. 

Frustrating, I shape a subpar team up with great leadership, only to have them quit following my lead at the end.  And the enemy team crushes our Titan.  At this point in the game, one mistake is fatal. Overall, though, this was a good game.  No one was a dick, we rallied, it was competitive.  Good Game.

Game II -85 TP

OK, I've been playing catch-up the last few games.  My goal for this game: get ahead.  I'm just going to get a god that can get ahead.  Well, I'm first pick.  So here's my chance. We ban out Baron, Cherno, He Bo, and Freya.  I take Erlang for solo.  Here's my chance to get ahead.  The 2nd pick BMs the 3rd pick by calling him a noob, so I tell them not to worry about it and hope for a better game. Hopefully this defuses some tension.  The enemy team has 1 second of bank time after the 3rd pick.  I feel a lobby leave coming on. Second round of bans is Artemis, Geb, Athena, Pele. 

I'm going to use a trick I picked up yesterday from an enemy Erlang I played, skipping a starter item and working towards a Berserker's shield rush: shield T1, TP, Health chalice. I get the shield at 2 minutes and score an early kill.  I handle the lane and am able to go get full boots and TP back at 6 mins.  Really good use of time, here. I push tower, and eventually Thanatos just gives up and leaves.  I take T1 tower.  I keep pushing T2, and make a couple of guest appearances in the mid lane.

As I'm prepping to take the T2 tower, the enemy team just ups and surrenders.  Feels good, man.  The Bronze Bastard gets promoted to...Silver II.   #Grindy

Tales of a Bronze Bastard LVII

Current Rank-- Silver V: TP 98

I'm the #1 Silver V in the land, with a Fall split record of 18-19.  I gotta win this game.  Saturday morning Smite, after a series of fairly good casual games in multiple roles.  Has to be OK, right?  I'm 3rd pick, this works for me.  It takes our top pick 45 seconds to decide on Arachne.  We have 14 seconds of bank time left.  Our 2nd pick takes Scylla Mid and I grab Sylvanus for Support.  Hello, old friend.  Top ELO lets bank go to 4 while deciding the last ban.  Our last pick fails to select someone before bank time expires.  What a group to miss a ranked game with.

I took a chance and stayed in queue with a 5 minute wait.  I take it as a good sign that no one from the last lobby is in this one.  I'm 4th pick.   No pressure, I'll just go with what the comp hands me.  Standard bans of Baron, Cherno, Pele, and Freya.  The other team first-picks Merc.  Our Top ELO goes Erlang.  Our 2nd pick goes Rat jungle.  The enemies take Agni and Bellona.  Our last pick before second round of bans is Discordia.  Bans: Athena, Geb, Ullr, Terra.  I take Sylvanus, why not? The other team rounds out with Nu Wa and Sobek.  What kind of team comp is that?  I guess Nu Wa ADC with Sobek?

I am going with Guardian's Blessing, T1 boots, and Shell.  5 Health pots and 1 Multi.  Our Rat is a troll, refusing to help anyone.  And to make it worse, he starts talking BM to everyone in the game.  And that's pretty much how it goes, we get owned by a better team and Rat just makes it worse by being a complete pain.  A loss, go figure.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard LVI

Current Rank: Silver V - 83 TP

Friday night ranked Smite. I'm a glutton for punishment, I guess.  I pop a 1-minute queue and end up as 2nd pick...hmmm.  We get He Bo, Freya, Merc, and Baron banned.  Our top pick is talking about being ganked in lane by a hacking opponent in their last game, and I grow disheartened.  He waits until 6 seconds of bank time are left and picks Poseidon.  I hang my had in pain and shake it from side to side.  It appears this top ELO is a troll.  That's what I get for trying Friday Night Smite. 

Well, the last pick in this lobby only had 3 seconds of bank time left and did not make a selection before it ran out.  I am saved to lobby.  I am going to play a casual game while that group of lobby jockies clown into the next wave of Ranked. 

--Non-Ranked Game--
So this is something a little different, my run through a Casual game.  I'm just going to fill whatever role doesn't get called.  I've decided to focus on one thing in each gaming session to work on.  This game, I'm going to work on keeping my cool, making good calls, and helping people in a positive way.  Now, let's see how this group sorts itself out.

And...the system cannot find a match for me.  Rather than wait another 3 minutes still within the window of the Ranked group I left moments ago, I decide to switch over to a 37-second Joust queue  We end up with Anubis, Apollo (me), and Odin; going against Ra, Loki, and Cu Chulain.  Let's do this.

My starting build is Hunter's Blessing and Dev T1.  I opt for 4 health pots for max sustain.  I go with Aegis because I fear the burst. I go back at 2 minutes for T2 boots.  at 3:30, I go back for Ninja tabi and T2 Dev. I ult back in and get a double kill.  I slowly maintain pressure for the next 8 minutes, finishing an Executioner along the way, before I die for the first time taking their T1 at the 11 mintue mark. I pick up the T1 Rage after this death, then I run out and get ulted by Loki and Ra both. And I'm dead for the second time. 

I come out and farm long enough to get the gold for Deathbringer instead of Rage, so I take it.  We roll to BDK and claim it.  After that, we chase them back into their phoenix and I just knock it down so fast.  Odin jumps in and I get a quick kill on Chu Chulain and Anubis cleans up the Loki.  Ra puts up a solid defense and we can't push, so we back.  I go ahead start T1 Malice, but we ultimately don't need it. We win another team fight at the titan, but have plenty of health this game.  I finish a pedestrian 3-2-4 with only 4K player damage in 18 minutes, but I do all of the structure damage.  A win is a win, feels good man. 

Ranked Game - Take 2
Current Rank: Silver V - 83 TP

I am third pick with our 2nd pick taking Ama support.  I think about locking in Erlang solo, but then someone calls out Cerberus was open.  I really almost had selected Cerberus as a guardian since we had Ama supp, so I take this as a sign and change my selection.  It looks like I'll be going into a Loki solo. 

I strongly consider building Cloak first so I can get into Magi's blessing and absorb the ult.  But maybe I should go towards Breastplate or Nemian.  I decide to go with the safer play, taking the T1 breastplate.  This Loki with his 2 is basically pinning me in place.  It takes everything of all I got to match his clear.  I get an early lull and immediately back for T2 boots. 

I TP in and lay down some hurt as Loki is just pushing into my tower, and I defend well.  The extra power spike from the boots help me push him, until he's backing and I've got my minions up to his tower.  The game proceeds pretty much like this, with Loki 2-ing my minions and me using all my time to kill his.  I'm basically just treading water. 

Along the way, I pick up Reinforced boots, Nemian, Breastplate of Valor, and Magi's Cloak.  I am vigilant with my VF1 calls, which I have to make often because Loki is always disappearing into the jungle and proxying almost every one of my waves.  This effectively forces me to stay in lane for as long as possible, as I have to full clear each wave just to keep the tower up.  Eventually the Loki sort of gives up on lane and just commits to ganking Mid and Right.  I take the opportunity around minute 17 to push in and take his T1 tower.  Only a couple of minutes later, the other team F6's.  I tell you what, that feels good man. 

Tales of a Bronze Bastard LV

Game 1
Current Rank: Silver V - 95 TP

 Well, I've arrived. The promotion game. IF I win, I can rank up. If I lose, I will rage with the fury of a dying sun, about how awful my team was and what noobs they all were.  I'll probably be the top-pick lord to a team of scrubmasters.  I just need to accept it. 

 Just kidding. I needed to get that out of my system, in hopes that it will help me keep my cool if any of those things do happen.  And if they do, I'll consider them challenges to overcome and not the result of some ridiculous conspiracy to hold me down in the depths of Silver ranks. 

Anyways, I'm second pick. Someone throws out almost every boost, so I drop a skin and FP boost to  try to start some goodwill in the lobby.  Hopefully it carries through to the game.  I pick Erlang just because he's open and I've played well with him in casual on this patch.  I offer to trade if someone else wants to run him solo, but no one speaks up.  The enemies third-pick Sobek, which I assume will be played into me.  I've not gone against a lot of Sobek lately, so this could be tricky.  OK, their last pick of Skadi to go with Ravana, Kuku, Sobek, and Xba has me confused.  My guess is Skadi tank?  I don't know what to build against this, so may go with boot rush. 

Instead, I go with cloak.  This was a huge mistake because I got Skadi as an opponent.  She got Berserker.  I hold my own for about 8 minutes, but eventually lose my tower without dying.  This team breaks down.  Duo is very weak.  We lose.  Of course we do. 

Game 2
Current Rank: Silver V - 90 TP

Let's see if I can get back to even.  I am second pick and due to calls in lobby,  I end up taking Artemis ADC.  Let's see if I can make her work.  My lane partner will be the supp from the other team in the last game. I am going to zone in.  Let's do this. 

I'm with Xiang Tian, into Ullr and Sobek.  I once again get a good laning phase through. Unfortunately, I start getting crushed as we move into the mid game.  And then the jungle and tank decide its more fun to use the in-game chat to BM than to make useful calls.  I'm getting really stressed out by the hate. 

I pick it up as we transition to the late game, but our team lacks focus.  We get it together great at moments, but can't stay focused.  And I die way too much.  Life sucks, when you're a Bronze Bastard.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard LIV

Current Rank: Silver V -  79 TP

Time to see if this 10.5 minute queue was worth the wait. Our top ELO picks a Gold Mercury jungle.  I'm second-picking Athena into Hercules and Scylla.  My 3rd pick decides to pair with me as Anhur, and the enemies take Neith.  Our team rounds out with Aphrodite and a Gold Sol.  The last-pick supp for the other team is Ganesha.  Let's do this. 

This is my first time playing Athena in ranked in a while.  I've been doing OK with her in casual, so I am hoping this time around feels better than last.  I start with Guardian's Blessing, then T1 boots.  I go 4 Health Pots with 2 Multi Pots, down from my usual 5/1 split. 

Laning phase goes smoothly, as we stalemate duo.  Our solo laner gets crushed in the early going.  Our jungler gets frustrated and starts giving the solo Aphro major BM.  I remind everyone we are a late game team and try to stay cool.  Eventually, the Aphro starts getting under my skin too.  I don't maintain my cool and I fuss back. 

I end up getting shook and stuck at level 10 for what seems like forever.  I'm more worried about Aphro lecturing me than I am at what the enemy's might be doing.  I decide to remain quite after a struggle, because some of what Aphro was saying made sense.  He was just being holier-than-thou about it and it made it difficult.  However, when I swallowed my pride and listened, he was making good calls. 

We ultimately turn around a rough start and begin dominating team fights.  My weak 0-4-1 start becomes a 1-5-6 finish and our late game team comp really shines through.  We methodically crush the other team and win in convincing fashion.  The Bronze Bastard gets a win.  My return to Athena in ranked is fruitful, if frustrating. 

Tales of a Bronze Bastard LIII

Current Rank: Silver V - 69 TP

Well, my new mic started crashing my PC into a restart loop.  So that's new.  Back to using a gaming mic from a certain well-known video game where people come together in a group and perform songs.  So, yeah.  Let's dive into the shallow end that is Saturday AM ranked.

Alright, I'm fourth pick.  At least the top pressure is not going to be a factor. Everyone calls in chat what they want during planning.  I don't make a call and fill as ADC.  OK, let's see what happens.  He Bo, Agni, and Erlang all go unbanned.  I take Artemis and I'll be laning with a Fafnir. It looks like I'll be going against an Ares Rama enemy lane.

I'm going to start with Hunter's Blessing and level 1 Dev gauntlets.  And some health pots. Classic ADC build.  I play pretty safely early and avoid major damage.  The Rama is out by himself in our lane, and both Bell and Pele decide to start red buff.  Since there are 4 of us, we chase Rama and secure an early kill.  Bell ports back to solo, and gets a kill against the Athena solo.

This is a great start, and we maintain the momentum most of the way.  I get my T2 gloves and then push hard before I go back to finish them ahead of Rama.  I have to buy some extra potions that slow my build down a bit, but they keep me alive on at least 2 occasions so I deem them worth it.  Ultimately our mid takes the enemy tower first.  The other team lacks coordination, and can't compete with the pressure Pele is getting everywhere.  Bellona feeds big time on the enemy solo and jungle.  We take Gold Fury twice and a FG twice.  Great coordination, awesome work and a Saturday morning win in only 24 minutes for the Bronze Bastard. 

Current Rank: Silver V - 85 TP

OK, I could potentially rank up, here.  So I'll probably be top ELO with a bunch of morning trolls.  Ah well, if it is then it is.  I just got to keep it from bringing me down.  Well, what do you know?  I'm last pick.  Totally no pressure here.  This makes me happy to no end. Well, our less-than-smart team decided to burn all the bank time with the 2nd pick and then the 2nd ban.  And our 4th pick knows he's going to be ADC because we talk it out, and yet he still can't figure out who to pick after 20 seconds.  And so we are back to queue.  With people that are paying so little attention, I have to say I'm happy to be out of that group. 

Game II - Take II

Let's see what the Smite gods send me, this time. I'm 2nd pick.  Our top ELO goes Athena, and 3rd and 4th pick both want to go solo.  I think Artemis is good with Athena, so I just decide to double down on ADC Artemis this morning.  Let's see if we can get through the lobby.  And if we do, let's see if we can do this.  Nope, a bunch of idiots and we are back to queue again.  This is ridiculous.  

Game II - Take III

I'm 2nd pick this time.  Good news, none of the prior lobby people are in this lobby. The first round of picks and bans goes quickly.  I have hopes we could actually play a game, this time.  I'm taking Sylvanus with Ullr against AMC and Athena/Guan.  The other team has Pele, Athena, Ra...I'm not liking the look of this. 

I think the best build for me is usually Thebes second, if I don't get behind.  I also like going Stone of Binding second, if we get an early kill.  Let's see which I do here.  OOF, their Athena has 10 stars, lol.  Guess she gonna do what she do.  Let's do this!!!!

Well, no promotion for me.  Nu Wa mid was one of the worst players I've seen.  She wen 0-7-3.  Typed the whole game.  Had excuse after excuse for being bad.  Baka let the enemy Pele run wild. We get routed hard, the solo lane goes down early.  Duo lane played well this game, but solo mid and jungle all had a rough go.  We lose.  I waited through 3 lobbies for that shit game. 

Tales of a Bronze Bastard LII

 Current Rank: Silver V - 75 TP

Friday night ranked.  This could be bad.  I'm top ELO.  Oh no.  I take Erlang first pick after He Bo, Freya, Cherno, and Baron are banned. Well, someone on the other team quits.  I think this is a good thing.  There's a guy in my lobby typing without the space key, so I'm not sad to leave that behind.  I am sad to see an 8 minute queue, though.  Deathwalker is streaming, so I'll try one more and kill the time watching him.  If the second attempt breaks down in lobby, I'm taking it as a bad sign and getting out.

I'm 4th pick this time.  I like this slot a lot better. It somehow feels like less pressure.  I'm just going to take what role falls to me and embrace it.  Well, I'm going to supp for a Loki ADC.  Spicy.  I'm going to take Slyvanus.  Why not?  Let's do this.

Artio and Ullr are on the other side.  I haven't played against many Artio's.  I'm going to need to use my CC to keep her as stalled as possible. Well, I put in 3K more damage than our ADC; who does basically nothing.  I should have known Loki ADC was a troll pick.  Oh well, what can you do? 

Tales of a Bronze Bastard LI

Current Rank: Silver V - 81 TP

Its the first day of 5.17, so we'll see how this goes.  I'm 3rd pick.  Got my Slyvanus.  The enemy team responds with a 3rd-pick Geb.  Artemis teams up with the Geb and my last-pick ADC takes Cernunos.  I've played with some good Cern's lately, and hopefully the new buff will help him.  On the laoding screen, I see that neither Cern nor Pele have any wins.  The enemy team has 4 X's.  Guess I can go ahead and chalk this one up...

Cernunos goes in front of tower and just stands there.  He doesn't attack minions.  He doesn't attack Artemis or Geb.  They both converge and kill him.  He says he was fixing key bindings.  After he comes back, he goes to the front of the next minion wave and lets them kill him again.  He tells the rest of the team that I wasn't helping.  I instantly become as mad as I've ever been playing Smite.  Intentionally feeding in ranked in one thing, but trolling to lose on purpose and ruin other people's games is just the most awful thing you can do in ranked play. 

The game doesn't get much better.  Cern continues to feed.  He starts BM-ing Ra as well.  We lose a 4v5 and I am so incensed that I actually report this player and also file a support ticket.  I want this account banned.  I need to go cool off, I'm so pissed right now. 

Tales of a Bronze Bastard L

Current Rank: Silver V - 62 TP

OK, last time out I had 3 straight did-not-select-in-lobby that wasted 30 minutes of my precious time.  Please god, let me just get into a game that actually happens.  And I'm top pick.  Sigh.  Baron, Freya, Cherno, He Bo.  I take Sylvanus first, the enemy takes Ao Kuang.  I feel like I'm about to get stomped.  I get Rama as my partner.  We've got an Athena/Ullr pair playing into us.  Let's do this.

I had a hard time starting out with this Rama. He doesn't press when I expect, and he wants to push when I want to retreat.  Also, he's kind of toxic.  Not radioactive, but not a healthy bit, either.  I end up 0-5 and down a few levels.  I get BM-ed.  I BM back, but I don't press it.  Luckily, it ends up being one of those one-time affairs.  The Rama makes it clear he wants lane to himself, so I start rotating way earlier than I normally would.

This game is full of early-and-often rotations.  I have to start farming jungle because I am waaaay behind.  I build out CD Boots, Lotus crown, and Stone of Binding to start.  I finish with Rod of Aescelpius, Pythag's Piece, and Heartward because Agni is bombing us all. 

I actually learn a lot of things this game: how to ignore trash talk, how to focus and catch up, how to coordinate with a team showing different calls. I finish 0-6-14, just north of 0 KDA and feel good about getting a win for the Bronze Bastard.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XLIX

Current Rank: Silver V - 62 TP

First Attempt - I am third pick and take Sylvanus.  Someone on the other team leaves the lobby, so we get to start again. 

Oh no, this time I am top ELO.  Freya, Cherno, He Bo, and Baron are the bans.  I take Sylvanus to go with Anhur.  And once again...we have 8 of 10 picks made and someone dumps from lobby.  This is highly annoying.  I guess I'll watch 5 more minutes of Obey v. Dignitas.

Alright, the third and final try.  I'm not playing "wait in queue" any more today.  I'm second pick this time. 

OOOOOOKAY.  3 straight lobby leavers, I'm out of here. 

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XLVIII

Current Rank: Silver V - TP 60

Well our top ELO goes Baron support.  I'm taking Bellona solo from the third spot.  My lane opponent looks like it will be Athena.  Interesting.

I haven't played Bellona in solo yet on patch 5.16, but I plan for reinforced shoes and then Berserker's. Nope, its Fafnir.  And their Freya is DC.

And the other team surrender's at 5.  I dig it. 


Game II

Current Rank: Silver V - TP 68

I am once again the third pick.  The enemy team kicks of P&B with Ne Zha.  He-bo, Freya, and Cherno join him on the bench.  With the first pick in game II the enemies select...Ra.  We top pick Baron for the last pick, who is running him in Support.  Pele is our second pick. I go with Artemis.  We'll be going against Ares and Xba, so should be able to be patient like I want with Art.

I go my standard build of Hunter's Blessing and T1 Dev gloves.  We get an early kill from Pele gank, and I take the chance to go back and get T2 Dev gloves.  I ran back to join Baron support, and this makes a difference.  I feel the extra power.

I play well.  The idiot Baron makes a call to go up the left lane when we've killed 4.  I call FG.  What happens?  I go with the idiot Baron, who gets killed by the Xba who is up.  By then, two of res'd and come after me.  I die in the 34th minute.  We lose.  This is the life of the Bronze Bastard. 

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XLVII

Current Rank: Silver V - TP 44

Well, the last week or so was humbling.  I'm 4th pick this evening, in my first ranked game in a few days.  And my first on patch 5.16.  Well, we have a non-speaking Chang'e locking in third...after solo and mid were locked in first two.  I ask multiple times if she is Supp, she doesn't answer.  We have a Baron solo, so three mages.  I take Artemis, and our last pick takes post-nerf Ne Zha.  Let's do this.  Or whatever.

The enemy lane this match is Terra/Ullr.  And our brilliant Chang'e just stays in base.  We call a Pause vote.  Sigh. The pause works, she returns!  This actually starts working out OK.  The Ne Zha jungle is smooth.  We steal the enemy purple buff.  We get a gank and a kill.  I go back for T2 Dev Gauntlets and get T1 boots, since I have exactly 500 left. 

We roll pretty consistently, with each lane taking a tower. The enemy Ravana jungle seems to be DC'ing.  Not sure if it's an Internet thing or a rage quit thing, but we are continuing our slow creep.  We get an 11-minute Gold Fury.  I do a respectable 2-3-7 with 11K damage in a < 20 minute game.  I'm happy with that.  The Bronze Bastard finally on the good side of things again. 

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XLVI

Current Rank: Silver V - TP 50 (Gold Matchmaking)

Well I have to say, this Gold Matchmaking tier has been total crap.  That, or its the Labor Day holiday weekend traffic.  Or a combination.  But whatever it is, I'm down now for like 4 games.  I need a bounce back.  Give me something good, Gods of Ranked Conquest.

I'm 4th pick and the whole team has coms.  This could be good... I have option for support, with Geb on the other side.  I'll take Sylvanus and we'll see which blink+ult rules the day.  I have an Anhur for ADC and the enemy team has Chronos.  I've got a good feeling about this.  Let's do this.

I will build Heartward early, since they have 4 magic damage dealers.  Well, I did 1K less damage than the crap Anhur.  Ne Zha is the worst jungler top ELO I've ever seen.  Zhong Kui is just plain terrible.  2-8-12.  How do you break even as Zhong?  How do we lose with two of the most brain-dead easy OP stomp gods?  I hate being a Bronze Bastard. 

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XLV

Current Rank: Silver V -- 56 TP (gold matchmaking)

I've been getting some backswing after my very strong start to the split. Oh shit, I'm first pick. Alright, I take Hun Batz to trade with our fourth pick for my Sylvanus supp.  My last-pick ADC goes with Anhur.  Aight, I think we can make this work against Hou Yi and Ares.  At any rate, its better than the last 3 hours doing yardwork.  Let's do this.

I have exactly 1700 gold on my first back, after securing a assist on Hou Yi. We are doing pretty well against this team, when suddenly both Anhur and Tyr DC.  And I pause.  And they don't come back.  5v3?  no thanks.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XLIV

Current Rank: Silver V -- 69 TP (gold matchmaking)

OK, let's see if Saturday AM ranked is looking any better.  Last night was insane.  Two people actually intentionally trolling the whole time, and I was on the wrong end of it in two straight games.  Two losses because people just wanted to ruin games. I hope they can ban these people, and any related accounts they might have. 

OK, enough complaining about yesterday.  Its out of my system.  I'm still 12-9 this split.  Let's do this.  Well I'm fourth pick, so this helps.  I'll probably get to be supp.  The other team starts off with Cama and Baka.  We have a Janus, Fenrir, and Guan lock in on our side.  Guan calls supp.  I am bad at ADC and Jung.  I take Sol since our tank is a phys.  I'm not excited about this group comp.  I pull up smiteprobuilds and decide to try Zyhroes's build from earlier in the week.

The other team has ADC for the first 7 minutes. And we're still down 3-1 because the trolling in the lobby led to a horrible group comp.  We have 2 assassins and a Fenrir who is trying to play solo.  Good sport taking over for the lobby troll, but he gets owned.  T1 and T2 solo towers go down in about 9.5 minutes.  We are severely outclassed by a hard carry Baka and a good team on the other side.  This is embarrasing.  We lost in the lobby.  I end up 4-10-8, with a team 2nd damage and 2nd most wards placed.  I suck at ADC, but I'm not the reason we lost this game. 

Well, at least it was just awful players and not trolls intentionally ruining the game.  So that's something.

Game II
Current Rank: Silver V -- 62 TP (gold matchmaking)

I'm last pick.  The best position from which to go with the flow.  Two of the three from last game are back.  Ugh.  At least this time the troll Guan supp goes Cernunos, so I can supp.  He probably sucks though.  Cern is the worst ADC in the game right now.  I take Sylv.  Into probably Nox/Chernobog. 

Well, Cern does fine.  We get a kill early.  The enemy Arachne just stomps, though.  She's too good.  She crushes everyone.  The only person on our team managing anything is the Chang'e solo.  I play maybe my worst ever game as Sylvanus.  I'm a Bronze Bastard.  Screw this holiday weekend, gold matching making BS. 

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XLIII

Current Rank: Silver V - 81 TP (Gold Matchmaking)

Well, I'm playing during daylight.  This is usually a good thing.  I'm 2nd pick. Our top pick is slurring African Americans in lobby, so I'm already done with this match.  Getting out of it without smashing my hand through a wall will be a Win.

46 minutes of agony.  Sad thing is, the SWK is pretty good.  If he/she weren't a racist asshole and set a horrible tone from the beginning, we probably would have won.  I have a break-even game with more deaths than I'd like, but what can you do.  I didn't put a hand through the wall, so I'm ok.

Current Rank: Silver V - 75 TP (Gold Matchmaking)

My Cherno lane partner from last game is top pick this time.  Fun times.  Let's see how it goes.  I'm 2nd again.  Do I chance another supp game, or try solo for a change? I decide to go Hercules solo.  I haven't played ranked solo in a while, but I think it will be a nice change.  Our 5th pick takes Kukulkan instead of a support.  I guess I'll never be playing ranked on a Friday again.  This is two straight games of complete troll.

Good god, kill me now.  This Kuku suicides 7 times in the first 10 minutes.  We mercifully get an F6 at 10:03.

Well, I guess I know what kind of people play ranked in the early evening on Fridays.  And they are not for me.  I'll get some games in tomorrow, maybe.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XLII

Current Rank: Silver V - 87 TP

I run the draft as top ELO and ban out He Bo and Zhong Kui.  I take Ne Zha for our 3rd pick, who grabs me Sylvanus.  We have a strong heal and damage output, with Loki solo and Hel mid rounding out the comp.

We play amazingly early on.  I finish boots before the enemy Kumba can even get T2.  We get multiple early kills in duo.  After about 30 minutes of what looks to be a dominant victory, we get tunnel vision and allow Bakasura to split push and take both Phoenixes.  Too much teamfighting on this one, we needed more split pushing.  I finish a strong 3-4-19, though.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XLI

Current Rank: Silver V - TP 71

I'm 2nd pick.  I go Sylvanus.  We've got a Baron first pick, so I hope he's good. We gotta couple infighters in lobby.  Is this what Sunday afternoon ranked Smite is, now?  Sheesh.  I throw in some positive vibes and motivation, with Baron backing me.  I'm going to get a Neith lane partner against Cerberus/Rama.

I think my motivation worked!  The team stayed chill.  Apparently, the solo and jungler on our team had their roles reversed in their last match together.  They were each trashing the other.  They decided to swap roles.  Whatever they did, worked.  Ama solo went 5-0-11 and crushed.  The Baka went 18-4-8 and was a force of nature.  I went a solid 4-3-12 and took a stride back towards Gold.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XL

Current Rank: Silver V - TP 77

I'm first pick.  Uh oh.  Freya gets through picks and bans.  This could be very bad.  I'm going with Sylvanus. Our last pick says "mid pref" and takes Anubis even after 3rd pick went Poseidon.  THANK GOD, someone left lobby and crashed us back to queue.  I don't have to play with this troll, praise the Sunday Smite Ranked gods. 

OK, let's go with take 2. I'm third pick.  This ends up being the most troll comp, ever.  We have Agni, Janus, Ne Zha, Chang'e and my Sylvanus.  I don't even know where to start.  I wish I had the last group back, now.  These kids are talking in the lobby like 12 year olds. 

And it ends up being as bad as you'd think it would be.  We take two phoenixes and have a shot, but the in-fighting proved too much. We lost in the end, with a troll comp.  We lost in the lobby, when the top pick bans Cupid and let's the other team take Zhong.  Another loss for the Bronze Bastard.  This is more familiar territory...

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XXXIX

Current Rank: Silver V - 67 TP (Gold Matchmaking division)

So I'm top 20 Sylvanus player in the world, on the Leaderboard.  How/when did that happen? Top 10 in N/A.  I see NotGeno and EmilZy on the Leaderboard.  And while I know these pros spend a lot more time scrimming and stuff than playing ranked, its cool to see them in the same ranking system I am in.  Let's see what happens on this Saturday afternoon, following two fantasy football drafts.  Feels like it could be a Bronze Bastard kind of afternoon...

I have Hachiman with me as Sylv.  This is usually a very strong lane for me.  We'll be going against Chernobog and Aphro/Herc. I'm just going T1 boots first.  It's Aphrodite.  This Hachiman does not do what you expect him to do.  Thrice, we could have killed but he fled.  After 2 deaths, I decided to play very cautious and rotate mid early.  A hunter this unwilling to engage is unlikely to get himself killed if I roam a bit earlier than I would, normally.

It ended up being the right move.  I find some ganks early that help me stem the tide in our favor.  I make a few mistakes here during phoenix sieges, and the players I'm with explain it in comms.  I was pushing their backline too much, when I should have been protecting ours and letting our Cu Chulain do the engage.  Because we were in comms and they explained what to do, I was able to adjust my next siege to much better effect. I learned a lot about how to define these roles at this specific juncture in the game, and I feel like I'm a better player for it.  I fight back for another come-from-behind-with-Sylvanus game.  3-11-20.  Its good KDA, even though I did get caught out a lot here and need to fix that. 

Game II
Current Rank: Silver V - 83 TP (Gold Matchmaking division)

I take Baron from the 3 spot, to trade with our last pick for Sylvanus.  I'm currently the 16th ranked Sylvanus in the world.  I've got an Ullr lane partner and we will be going against Ganesha/Rama.  Also, the enemies had a first pick Thana.  I fear the pub stomp.

Well, we don't get crushed.  We win early. We get the first tower.  We get an FG.  But we start falling back.  This team does not function well in team fight situations.  Its very frustrating.  We lose a fair match.  I needed my bubble burst, any way.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XXXVIII

Current Rank: Silver IV - 51 TP (Gold MM Division)

My history of ranked in the app shows 3 wins with Sylvanus, and nothing else. I'ma try and get support on this. OK, I'm second pick. I take my boy, the opponents respond with Athena.  I've got a Thana jungle and Poseidon mid on my side, so far. My lane partner will be Neith, and we round out our team with a Tyr Solo.  The enemy ADC pairing with Athena will be Rama.  I feel good about our comp; we got CC.  I'm going to need to be wary of this Athena, and pour on pressure to the duo so she can't just ult away on the reg.  Should be fun, let's do this.

Wow, the Neith is as toxic as anyone I've played with.  ALL CAPS MESSAGES INSTEAD OF PLAYING.  I didn't have a great game, many deaths.  I had a strong late game, though.  And I won.  Stay patient, stick to it, win a game you should have lost.  That doesn't sound like something a Bronze Bastard would do...

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XXXVII

Current Rank: Silver V - TP 35

Our first attempt, the last pick is ADC and chooses to dodge lobby.  We had a good comp with an easy win.  What a shame.

I'm now 4th pick in a group with names like a 13 year old might pick.  This is concerning.  Sylvanus with Xbalanque into Apollo and last pick Ares.  Spicy. What's not so hot: our 2nd and 3rd pick both picked a mage for mid.  2nd pick graciously offered to take Kukulkan solo.  Oy vay.

Well this is an even match early, and I'll even tip the hat in favor of Ares and Apollo.  They use chains'n'dash to perfection.  We play patient and wait for our chance.  This comp actually ends up working fairly well, all said and done.  I have to tinker with my build and I've certainly had better games, but 2-7-18 is fine enough for rock and roll.  Another win for the Bronze Bastard.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XXXVI

Current Rank: Silver V - TP 19

I am fourth pick.  This is the first game I've played since mid-season where Ne Zha wasn't banned.  The enemy team takes him.  I hope this isn't a bad sign. I take Sylvanus to pair with Cupid.  The enemy lane is either Ne Zha or Xiang Tian with Medusa.  Its Xing.

Well, I run another game where I just dominate with Sylvanus.  What I usually do is go Guardian's, then I get my first level of boots.  I get 5 health pots and 1 ward.  I situationally choose Blink or Heavenly Wings, depending on whether I plan to be aggressive or defensive.  Most games, I get an early kill in duo and immediately back for my T2 boots to help the spike. 

My second item is Thebes if its a slow game, Stone of Binding if we are snowballing hard, and Lotus Crown if its neutral.  Sov is usually next.  The last two items are always situational. 

We take this game pretty easily.  I go 1-5-15, another divine win for the Bronze Bastard. 

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XXXV

Current Rank: Silver V - TP 0

I am first pick.  No one has a pet pick, so I just stick with Sylvanus supp.  I really pay attention to ban phase here and do it right.  I ban out He Bo, Freya, and later I ban Cerb and Odin to stop the anti-heal.  My lane partner is Hachiman and have a Ganesha and Artemis play into us.

I go hard after this Artemis.  I'm good early, she's good late.  We need to stay on top of her.  Boy, do we.  Pressure hard.  We get many kills on this duo and easily take tower.  This is a Thebes game, so I'm particularly tanky.  We have dual hunters, so I tack on a Shogun's Kusari and round out my build with a luxury Stone of Binding. 

I go 3-4-17 and finish second in total damage.  A win for the Bronze Bastard.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XXXIV - Fall Split Qualifiers

Current Record 5-2

I'm fourth-pick.  Let's see what happens.  So far, its a communicative group in lobby.  I'm cautiously optimistic. I'm Sylvanus working with Izanami, playing with Athena and Hou Yi playing into us.  Let's freaking do this! Let's get the BB into his first-ever + .500 qualifier!!!!

Well, I start strong and play well.  We get a two-minute early kill.  Iza fails to follow me when I ping the map to the Purple buff.  That is the default, winning play if you kill the lane.  Instead, Iza wanted to push more minions into the tower.  End result?  The jungle He Bo shows up and steals the kill from me.  Literally one basic and I would have stolen the enemy purple buff.  What happened instead?  Enemy gets buff, Iza gets killed because she wasn't paying attention, and I get crushed by 3v1.  

That's pretty much how this game went.  We played well, but the other team was better and He-Bo went 28-3.  We got all phoenixes down, but still managed to lose on a team wipe to He Bo.  

Ban He Bo.  How do you get top ELO without learning to ban He Bo?  Stupid.  

Game II Current Record 5-3

 

Of course, the universe must have decided I was doing to well and I needed to get screwed by He Bo.  Hopefully this game, the top ELO will understand that banning He Bo is necessary.  OK, so He Bo doesn't get banned.  The other team passes on all bans and somehow He Bo is not picked.  I am stunned.  The other team has Ao Kuang top pick.  My only guess is that this Ao Kuang is a god.  I better watch out, but Let's go.  

We get crush by a 39-0 Ao Kuang top ELo who didn't ban a single god.  Smoked.  Smurf.  Let's Move on. 

Game III Current Record 5-4

Well, one last try at a W.  I get put into position to take solo.  I end up going Cu Chulain.  I am despartely complaining in lobby chat about banning He Bo and Ao Kuang, after my last two games.  Fourth pick tells me they don't think either should be banned and that I'm probably going to feed.  I tell the player that's fine, I'm just offering suggestions.  Top ELO ends up banning He Bo and Ne Zha.  The enemy top pick takes Ao Kuang.  I tighten up.  But I also see this person is banning gods, so that's a good sign it may be a different player.  The discussion between myself and the doubter continues, with the insinuation being that I'm too tilted if I'm worried about one god.  I issue an ultimatum to this person that if the opposing Kuang goes 30-2, I'll admit I was wrong. 

I am going against an Agni.  Ok.  Sure.  He stuns me quite a bit.  I get rocked.  I am steadily losing to this guy.  Until I finish my Genji's Guard.  I then hold even with him.  I have to take the opposite tact I normally would wih Cu Chu, and play him cautiously.  I end up playing very passively and getting levels back.  Our jungle Awilix is an absolute, beast.  By the by, this was the person that was telling me I would probably feed, and to whom I'd issued an ultimatum.  

I get level, and help in team fights.  All we really need to do is give Awilix space. We have a 36K Awi win the game for us, and the Bronze Bastard goes 6-4 in Fall split qualifiers.  Woot!  Final Ranking?  Silver V.  Aight.  I guess I should start a new blog. 

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XXXIII - Fall Split Qualifiers

Current record 4-2

I'm 3rd pick.  I take my boi Sylvanus.  My lane partner is Hachiman and we are going into Kumbakharna and Rama.  Let's do this!

We should have early pressure with this comp, and boy do we.  Hachi is on point.  We get a kill in the first minute and a half.  We go on to just completely pour it on these people.  Hard.  

We get a 25-minute victory. We only lost 1 T1 tower along the way.  Absolute and utter domination.  I hit multiple great pulls, and even get called out on it by Hachi.  We just dominate.  Another win for the Bronze Bastard.  Wow. 

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XXXII - Fall Split Qualifiers

Current record 3-2

So, with the new Timer queue system I have a lot longer to wait for a match.  I'm feeling pretty awful today, and hoping a good ranked game will take my mind off it.  Of course, a bad ranked game will probably make it worse, but what can you do?  I'm going to go back over some older blogs and update the capitalization.  When I started, I was just writing straight thoughts as I had them, but I know that lack of punctuation can turn away potential readers. 

I'm 4th pick.  I take trusty ole Sylvanus. I'm going to have Hou Yi as a lane partner, into Freya/Achilles or Freya/Odin.  Interesting.  Saucy. Freya.  We let Freya through.  Ouch.  Sigh.  Let's do this, I guess.

My Medusa is not very good, probably why she went last pick.  She dies literally before the first minute is up.  This looks bad.  Fortunately, Nike and Agni are both absolute beasts, as is the Susano.  As long as I can keep this Medusa somewhat alive, we may be OK. 

We roll pretty hard over this team, despite the dysfunction of our Medusa. Its a 28 minute Titan kill, and the end was never really in doubt.  The Bronze Bastard is back.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XXXI - Fall Split Qualifiers

Current W/L - 3-1

I'm third pick.  This will be my first qualifier not being top ELO.  Let's see how that works out.

I pick Chang'e into Tyr.  I do really well and get good advantage, until about the 15 minute mark when I lose out.  At 25 minutes, I go from 90 ping to 300 ping.  We lose

I hate this gdamn game. 

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XXX - Fall Split Qualifiers

Game 3 - Qualifying 1 -1

Both of my first two matches were as top ELO.  I hope I can just roleplay somewhere down the chain and take Sylvanus supp.  And nope, I'm top pick again.  This team doesn't talk in the lobby and I have to first-pick Sylvanus.  Not feeling good about it, but let's do this. I spend my second round of bans on hunters after they took a hunter 2nd.  FML. 

I am afraid of this Cerberus countering me hard.  As it turns out, this was misplaced fear.  I own him pretty hard.  I use blink and 1 to surprise them, as I usually do.  People underestimate Sylvanus.  It happens this game multiple times.  I secure no kills, but I rotate early and often and get to a nice 0-5-15 line with 2.0 KDA.  I'll take that any day.  I also drop some sweet CC hits and I'm sure I'm really frustrating the enemy team. 

I play solid, the team plays well, the Bronze Bastard is 2-1 in qualifiers.  Dare I press again?

Game 4 qualifying 2-1

I forgot to queue, then queue up in the last minute.  Sweet!  Wait, I go to suggest Sylv pick and I actually end up locking up him.  WTF? Oops...I queued normal instead of ranked.  Oh well.  We straight roll this team.  They surrender at 10 minutes and 11 seconds, lol.  Onward and upward.

OK, once again I'm top ELO.  I take Achilles for the last pick, who gets my Sylvanus.  Thoth mid, AMC ADC and Thana jungle.  Let's do this. 

Well, the enemy team takes Khumba support and DC's after we connect.  The other team is matching us kill for kill, and I figure they are just pushing early surrender to the breaking point.  Surprisingly, they keep pace with us and do not go for early surrender to save TP.  I build luxuriously, going for Thebes to be really tough in the late game in case stuff gets out of hand.  We end up taking this one down easy. 

Not the most graceful of runs, but the Bronze Bastard is 3-1 in Fall qualifying.  Sweet.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XXIX - Fall Split Qualifiers

I am taking Freya because I hear she's OP and I leave her open while drafting from top ELO.  Yolo.  Odin support, I hope I don't S the bed here.

I die early.  I don't understand how new Freya's kit works.  I have made a huge mistake.  My Odin starts calling me out in chat.  And while I don't like his rude style, his criticism isn't entirely wrong: I suck this game.  And I get behind, so my build suffers.  We lose our tower, and it's my fault.  I did not figure out how to clear wave with her.  Using the 2 didn't work, I ran out of mana and was worthless. 

Despite my struggles, we have a strong Janus and a strong Ao Kuang jungle.  They carry the team hard.  I eventually sort this kit out and play a bit better, firing off some useful relics and planting wards to make myself relevant.  We start to finally control objects in the 35+ minute range, and Freya's late game is allowing me to be much more potent.  I direct a couple of split pushes and we get all the phoenixes.  Approaching minute 52, the Bronze Bastard wins a game he should have lost.  I guess that's the world shooting me some karma for that last one.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XXVIII - Fall Split Qualies

The Bronze Bastard qualifies for Fall Split - Game 1

Queue pops in 45 seconds.  Sweet!  Oh...it can't find me a match.  I'm a priority for the next pop.  Drats.  OK, 11:25 later, I have a match!  Oh no...I'm top ELO.  Feels bad man.  I direct a draft in the lobby and take Agni to trade for Slyvanus later on.  My partner in lane will be Jing Wei.  Let's do this.

Well, I start off strong and this Jing is the perfect partner.  We push at the right times.  This Magic Shell is super useful, saving us many times early and letting us really pour on pressure.  This team gets ahead on the strength of a dominant Bellona in solo lane. 

I am cruising to an absolutely dominant opening match for the Fall split, moving around and rotating perfectly to help my team.  We push down the entire map.  We get all of their phoenixes down and and I'm cruising at a brutal 5-4-20 just dealing out death and CC to everything in my path.  I even solo a respawned phoenix, way ahead of the enemy Athena.  Then my internet drops during a storm.  I have to wait 5 minutes for it to return and have to reboot my PC to get online again.

We lose the game.  FML.  Deserter for 30 minutes.  Fuck this stupid shit.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XXVII

Current Rank Silver V TP: 61

I am 4th pick and go solo.  I take Chang'e into a Zhong Kui.  I end up playing it pretty well, but our mid and duo are very weak.  A pretty close game goes evenly until about minute 25, when it is clear the opposing team is much more tactically sound and aware of what is happening the map.  They collapse like a swarm and crush us handily.  I play well and am one of the two bright spots on my team, but of course we lose. 

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XXVI

Current Rank: Silver V Current TP: 51

I am 3rd pick and I'm going Sylvanus.  As of last update, I'm Plat II on Sylvy leaderboard and just learned from EmilZy that I should be building Stone of Binding early on him.  My lane partner is Xba.  We are up against Athena and Artemis.  We should be fairly even.

As predicted, we stalemate Athena and Artemis.  We each go for our own purple buffs.  The game goes to the 6 minute mark with no kills.  This looks like it will be an epic matchup, but someone on the enemy team DCs.  The match continues for a while, and while the teams are equal, the enemy who DC'd never comes back and we eventually just wear them down until they surrender about the 18 minute mark.  Cheap win, but I'll take it.

Game II Silver V Current TP: 61
I'm last pick, so things are looking good here.  I get stuck with Supp, so that's also good.  I can keep rocking Sylvy.  My lane partner will be Artermis.  We are going into Ares and probably Iza, though possibly Chronos.  Let's do this, Artemis!

It's Iza.  We get pressure early.  I notice Ares got T1 void stone and no boots. I'm going to have a big advantage over him early.  We work Ares and Iza down and gain a slight advantage.  Then, the most glorious of things happened: our jungler showed up and ganked when Ares was at half health and we got the kill.  We got the advantage and I manage to push up to tower and back for full Cooldown boots.  Ares comes back with T2 void stone, so I decide to press hard with my movement speed advantage. 

We really poor the pressure on and get the enemy T1 tower down quickly.  Our Rat is everywhere, bringing pain to our enemies. I go a solid 3-4-14 and earn a well-fought victory for the Silver Bastard.

Silver V Current TP: 72

I'm last pick again and happy to go Sylv.  Unfortunately, he doesn't get through the 2nd ban phase.  I've got a Rama carry for a partner and ultimately decide to go with  Cerberus.  I've been having mixed results with him in duo, but I'm going to see if early Stone of Binding helps.  Going against Geb and Medusa.  Let's do this.

Well, I get destroyed.  In spectacular fashion.  I'm certainly the reason we lose.  Screw Cerb in supp, never doing it again. 

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XXV

Current Rank Silver V: TP 60

I take a classic pick for me, Cerberus solo.  The other team takes an unorthodox comp, and I'll be facing either Zhong Kui or Chaac.

Zhong Kui rips me.  Our first-pick Loki proceeds to go 2-7 while looking like he's allergic to ganking.  I get trying to farm, but this guy is the lowest level person on the board and every single lane complains about his lack of gank. 

We lose, very very hard. 

Current Rank Silver V: TP 47

Well screw me.  I've been on a losing streak.  I'm taking Sylvanus as 2nd pick with hopes that I can carry these craplords.

My Neith wants to go purple buff first.  We get it, then run into our opponents in the corridor to lane.  I drop a perfect tree to stun them, pop my magic shield, and prepare to get the kill.  What happens?  Neith turns around and runs the other way.  Thanks a lot, Neith.  That was basically the entire game in a nutshell: Neith runs away from every team fight.  We feed a 19-0 Chernobog that wins it for the other team.  FML

Game III: Current Rank Silver V TP 32

Oh god, this last-pick ADC also goes Neith.  How do I just know this is going to end poorly? We pause as soon as the game starts.  Oh no. 

Actually, this team rolls pretty hard.  We communicate well with VGS.  The Ravanna jungle is on point.  We get solid and consistent pressure.  The enemy duo is clearly overwhelmed.  We get a solid win here, and the elephant bestows many kills.  I also wore my Rival badge this game, I think it helped.

Silver V Current TP: 42

Ok, back on the elephant.  This time with an Artemis, going against Athena and Medusa.  Should be an interesting matchup. 

We get rolled early.  Our team comp is built for the lategame teamfight.  We struggle early and duo definitely loses.  However, we stay positive as a group and no one gets toxic.  After losing both mid and duo tower, we fight back and get a deicide.  We take Fire Giant.  We storm mid towers and get phoenix.  We make a great comeback, so the Bronze Bastard ends today at 2-2.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XXIV

Current Rank - Silver V: TP 69

I'm 4th pick. There's a guy explaining to his friend how to jungle and he suggests toward duo or mid gank instead of solo.  That's cool.  Free input.  He's logic is sound.  They all work our that the 5th guy wants to go supp.  After Artemis got banned, I decide to go Hachiman. They have Xba and Terra.

Well, 50 mintues of an evenly matched fight is not bad.  I end up going only 3-9-18, but I do 35K pace and am only a few off the enemy carry.  We end up losing one we were winning early.  The enemy team had too much sustain.  We did more damage with less kills, and we lost a close one.

Game II - Silver V : TP 58

4th pick again, let's hope this one goes a little better. My second game ends in the lobby when the ban screen gets to 01 on the bank time and nothing happens.  We literally sit in the lobby for at least 5 minutes with the clock stuck at 01 and the game not crashing.  I check the Hi Rez status page and find everything is operational.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XXIII

Game I - Silver V - Current TP: 59

I take Sylvanus third pick and end up with an Izanami lane partner.  We go against a rather forgettable Khepri/Hou Yi pair that we handle pretty well.  We get kills on each early, and surge out to a strong lead in the duo lane. 

It's a slower paced game, so I'm able to get Thebes and level it well.  I add in a lotus crown, and really play Sylvanus CC well.  The laning phase seems to stretch just beyond 15 minutes, with the enemy supp never rotating.  I decide to just primarily stay with him, since our Mid is managing pretty well and our jungle is being enough of a presence to continue pushing right. 

The game does stretch into the 39th minute and is fairly well contested throughout, though we keep the primary advantage.  Good coms and awareness made this a win for the BB.  woot!

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XXII

Game I: Silver V - Current TP 80

OK.  I'm 2nd pick.  Our top ELO goes Xba.  I'm going to go Sylv supp.  The enemies first pick Cama and Janus.  I suggest an Artemis ban, and top ELO agress its a good call after banning Athena.  That's one duo I don't want to see, gone.  My opposing duo lane will end up being AMC & Sobek.  I'll take that and feel a lot better than what we banned out.  Let's do this.

This is a pretty evenly matched duo.  We slowly get the edge, but I die early.  I am able to rotate throughout the game and make my presence felt with 10 assists and good CC.  I miss a few of my 3's, though. Our mid really struggles against a slippery Janus on the other team.  We still manage to gain a slight edge.  They take our mid tower, we take the duo tower.  Our solo DCs and they take his tower, we take the Gold Fury. 

It looks like we will just lose 4v5, but eventually Sun Wukong reconnects.  He's down levels, though.  We can't make up for the lost time, and I drop a sad one. 

Game II

Well, last Sunday I rattled off 3 victories.  Today, a loss got me started.  I will give it one more try before playing a casual game to hold onto sanity.  I take Cerb solo with the 3rd pick, into Cu Chulain.  Let's do this. 

50 minutes of pure hell.  An ADC Medusa who wants to farm minions.  A Ne Zha jungle that wants to run away every time there's a kill potential.  I play horribly.  Another loss for the Bronze Bastard. 

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XXI

Current Rank - Silver V TP 92

The dreaded "promotion game."  I'm last pick.  Hope I can run Sylvanus supp.  Oh god.  I get left to my worst role.  I'm mid against Agni.  I decide to pick Vulcan, but I'm not confident about it.

Well, as it turns out Vulcan is a great counter to Agni.  I'm able to use my 1 all during the laning phase to position myself out of his reach.  I keep popping him with my 3 and using my cannon to control space.  I defend my tower well.  I keep two wards out on either side and I have vision and I don't get ganked.

I take his tower before he gets mine.  I am crushing it.  I am really feeling where to drop his ult. I end up running roughsod on this game and beating a gold leaderboard Agni during laning phase and at top damage.  I ended up going 12-7-10 with 58K player damage and 19 wards placed.

This was a really close game.  It went 45 minutes deep and had prolonged sieges of phoenix on both sides, and I was arguably the superstar of my team from last-pick in my worst role.  I crush with my ult in teamfights late-game. I'd like to say it feels bad man, but at the same time it was a well-fought game where just a couple things went the other team's way and they ended up with the W. 

Maybe I'll get that promotion soon, but it won't be tonight.  The big lesson I learn here is to start trusting my instinct.  I was trying to come up with a counter to Agni, and I thought Vulcan's ability to hunker down, hop around, and control the location of the fight would make a difference.  It did.  If I can't get a win, I can at least learn something.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XX

Current Rank Silver V: TP - 59 

I'm last pick.  Let's see what happens. I'm Sylvanus with Ullr into Kumbha and Iza. This should be a bit of stalemate early.  I hope this is a good Ullr.  Let's do this.  Daddy needs some TP.

Well we straight pwn duo lane.  3 kills early.  We get both towers by 8 minutes.  The enemy Iza just quits.  They surrender in under 11 minutes.  That's a good start. 

Game II: TP - 70

The jungle and carry from my last game are back.  I'm 3rd pick.  I'm going with Sylvanus again. The ADC is 5th pick and takes Apollo, with the Ullr being banned.  My guess is that someone predicted we'd be playing together again, and so they banned Ullr in the second round of bans.  Interesting.  Let's do this. 

This is a much more competitive game.  This ADC and I are on a rhythm, though. Jing Wei is playing in the jungle early, and Apollo catches here.  I am almost there, and Blink through to nail her with my 1. We don't kill her, but we force her back as the lane arrives and are easily able to take the purple buff.  

The enemy Thanatos is a factor early, and swings solo in favor of the other team and does a pretty good job of salvaging what we're doing to his outmatched duo.  The game is close and teeters back and forth.  It is pretty obvious we are the better team, though we are not grouping up well and Thanatos and Cu Chulain are keeping the other team alive.  Ultimately, its not enough as we just steamroll the late game and get the Bronze Bastard a win!

Game III - 81 TP

I get Izanami as the last pick.  Wow, I get destroyed this game. Its clear I am not practiced with her. My supp is BM-ing me minute 3, so I have to mute him.  Turned out to be a good move.  I was behind and not hitting hard early, but I finished OK.  This was just a bad build with an out-of-practice god.  But the teamfight was strong, and we were better than the other group.  GG.  

3 wins for the Bronze Bastard, lets call it a nice afternoon.  

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XIX

Current Rank: Silver V -- TP X

I wait 7 minutes and am last pick.  This should be a good sign for me.  I can usually hold my own well from last ELO, but usually have a rough time when I'm the best on my side. 

Apollo goes Solo.  Calls it three times.  Then 3rd pick takes Zhong and calls solo.  These saturday jokers are just clowning around on smurfs.  Ironically, Apollo is the only person to take his tower and we surrender because the team is horribly outleveled. In the disarray of the loss-in-lobby, I built T2 boots and no blessing because I didn't know if I was going to have to play the mid role because they were talking about duo-ing solo.  I ended up dying as a result of this decision.  FML. 

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XVIII

Current Rank Silver V TP 73

I'm fourth pick, our top ELO goes Cu Chu for solo.  I'm going to lock in Sylvanus against an unknown supp.  My ADC is our last pick and goes with Cernunnos.  We'll be up against Fafnir and Hou Yi. 

We bully these guys off the map.  We don't get a kill, but we push them way back.  We steal their purple buff.  We put pressure on the tower.  Our whole team gets pressure.  We're up 15-2 and about 5K gold when we start taking towers down.  Sylvannus may be my new BAE.  He's fun.  A win's a win. 

Game II

I'm 2nd pick and the top ELO gives me Guan Yu for solo.  I debated just sticking with Sylv support since it is going so well, but an OP god at my favorite role got through bans and my top ELO wanted someone to have him...so I think this is a sign from the Universe.  Let's do this.  The opponents take Cerberus.  Maybe these signs were of the warning variety...

I'm going to get T1 Genji to start.  Welp, I dominate solo and our duo gets absolutely pubstomped by a troll Anhur Susano enemy comp.  I take both my towers and we are pushing for a win. Then, the enemy team clears an FG and pushes my entire right side all the way through phoenix.  I literally dominated this match, 4-0-11 at the 18 minute mark.  But the only other person on my team with any competence was the Serqet.  We could not carry this trash.  Frustrating, for sure.  A loss.  blah.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XVII

Current Rank: Silver V -- TP 59

I'm last pick.  Recent history makes this a loss for me.  Sylvanus supp.  This has actually gone well.  Can the good luck of Sylv supp overcome the bad luck of last pick?  Tune in!!!

I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but I'm just missing everything.  My mechanics are way off.  I make 5 or 6 plays that are totally the right play, but I just miss.  I die once early, and then stay out in lane too long and get behind on the power curve.  With only T2 boots, I'm having a hard time hitting my moves.  Sylv is a lot like Herc, I have worked out the mechanics expecting to be moving at a certain speed. Before I have it, the movements I make are wrong.  That's my main problem here, as I'm just missing things a lot. 

I also take a couple of bad paths through the jungle, and our Hou Yi and Ravanna complain about it in chat and VGS spam "OK".  I tell them I was distracted by the VGS spam and took a bad path.  Yes, I made a mistake.  I can admit it.  From there, I eventually finish my boots and get a Healing Crown. 

Our Ravanna jungle is on point, and our Nu Wa is rock solid.  Despite the early rockiness, we fight well as a team in the midgame.  Around the 17 minute mark, we really start hitting hard.  We take an FG.  We push all the way through the left lane and take the phoenix fairly easily. 

I've been doing well with Supp, another win for the Bronze Bastard.

Tales of a Bronze Bastard XVI

Current Rank: Silver V 70 TP

I am last pick on a Tuesday evening when SK is playing Mouse.  First two picks are going Supp and Jungle.  I am Nike into a Herc. 

Oh man, the duo gets rolled.  Our jungler is weak.  Our Supp trolled in lobby, and just BMs all game.  And this person was first pick.  Yay.  Ranked is fun.  -11 TP me. 

The Bronze Bastard - Summer Split XV

Current Rank: Silver IV 0 TP

I didn't have many to begin with, but have become a victim of TP decay.  Can I save it on this Saturday AM ranked?  I end up being last pick and take Sylvanus supp, which has been working well for me in casuals.  Our 4th pick goes The Morrigan solo and claims "I counter Loki".  The team is skeptical, but I personally am relieved to see the enemy team first-pick Loki.  That's usually a recipe for losing. 

My Chernobog ADC dies a couple times early, but per my usual I survive.  People really underestimate Sylvanus's survive-ability and damage early.  I get a couple of early kills, per usual.  People just don't see the stun and damage, especially the ranged damage that Syl can do.  I start my rotations to mid early, and we have a back-and-forth of kills.  I drop my flower behind the mid T1 tower for Ra mid, something I'd never done but the Mercury suggested.  Good suggestion, I will do this moving forward. 

I get a sick pull on Agni and get him under tower and wail on him to save our Mercury.  It was so smooth even Merc calls it out in chat.  We eventually just coordinate and play a team comp that is better than the enemies.  We have healing, and they take no Anti-Heal.  I go a healthy 6-5-22.  I think I've found my new supp main.  Score a win on return to action, for the Bronze Bastard.

The Bronze Bastard - Summer Split XIV

Current Rank Silver IV TP: 15

I take Bacchus with Cernunos into Sobek/Xba.  But the real story of this game is the 2nd pick who autolocks and snipes the top ELO's role, who had picked Janus to trade for a jungler with the fourth pick.

Yadda yadda yadda, we lose after the Serqet farms with no ganks and DCs at minute 8.  Yay, ranked is fun.  My friend jumps on and we decide to play casuals. 

The Bronze Bastard - Summer Split XIII

Current Rank: Silver IV TP 28

OK, let's see what happens this morning.  *throws dice.  I'm 4th pick.  Bans are Xba, Achilles, Guan,
He Bo.  Our top goes Raijin Mid with our 2nd pick Aphro solo.  Tyr Jungle, so I take Fafnir Supp.  Last pick will be our carry, Neith.  We'll be going against Sobek/Anhur.  Let's do this.

This Neith is so toxic.  She can't chase down kills that would be easy autos.  And as it turns out, Sobek is going solo and the enemy supp is Fenrir.  I underestimate how effective the Fenrir supp can be, and he catches me numerous times early and through great coordination with this Anur, chop me down. 

I get down levels and struggle to be relevant early.  However, I item up pretty well and become a good team fighting supp in the end game. Only problem is my team has a tendency to run away from problems instead of converge on a single target.  We are repeatedly separated by enemy peels, with everyone too focused on chasing a fleeing target while a healthy one swoops in behind.  We hold our own for a bit, but eventually lose left tower and phoenix.  A loss is a loss.  Ouch.