This version was done by Aviously, Itachi and Ultimate Welcome to the Season 8 Hero Series Preseason Power Rankings, brought to you by Ultimate, Itachi and Aviously! You can expect a lot of these rankings to change as the season goes on, we found it especially difficult to rank the teams outside of the top 8, and are excited to see how these rankings develop as different teams win and lose. Good luck to everyone and have fun in Season 8 of Hero Series!
1. BBY The Booty Bay Yacht Club is here to plunder! This team is very similar to last season's HSA in Legacy Series, a team that nearly broke the format's all time point record. The only difference between the rosters is that Ultimate and Sage have been replaced with Bluesombrero and BOOZASAURUS, two players that have seen success in the 1 seed in the past. The power level on paper of the team is absurd, and while they will be playing in a different format, we think that their coach Ultimate (a writer for this post) along with BOOZASAURUS will work with the team to prepare them for the shift. 2. Ugly Mucklings This roster is another one that is very powerful on paper. The Mucklings are back and hope to Muck up some title dreams! Wolfmack has been replaced with kd1215, and Starden with TheChronic. While kd1215 didn't have the best of seasons in either format, we expect him to perform well dropping from the 1 seed to the 2 seed. Not much needs to be said of TheChronic, who was an MVP hopeful going 8-1 in Legacy. We expect every single seed on this team to win more than they lose and their 1, 2, and 5 seeds to be the seeds that can carry them to a possible championship. 3. Diffuse to Dharma Rounding out the top three teams is the third team we have pegged as a major title contender, DTD. This is a new roster, but not one that is to be taken lightly. Looking at each player's primary format from last season, they sport an absurd combined 35-10 record! They also are not facing one of the biggest problems often faced by such all star teams, over-seeding. The only "over-seeded" player compared to where they were playing last season is Wildfire8010, but this is offset by Jyak being under-seeded in the 2 seed. Watch out for this team's regular season match against the Mucklings in week 4, it very well may be the best match of the regular season. 4. The Cult The Cult returns, and they are now a proven quantity. They've gone from 20th in the last preseason power rankings all the way up to 4th. Every member of their semifinals team from last season returns, except Syn has been replaced with Alvarkhalon, a solid player. They weren't able to pass up the powerful new teams in our preseason power rankings, but look out for their teamwork to pass up the newly formed teams, at least in the early weeks of the season. 5. Bomb Voyage DoctorDr8del has done it again. His top two seeded players are both new to THL as a whole, and he's brought in another Doctor in Zephyr and jimphilos to help him make another playoff run. We expect the rookies on this team to perform well based on their high initial PR if the vets on this team can help ease their transition, and jim and Dr8del have proven they are solid players on a team that may look top heavy on paper. As Dr8del says, they're on a voyage to a championship, and anyone facing them is going to be in for a ride. 6. TBH JOOD TBH JOOD is one of the most interesting teams in all of Hero Series this season. On one hand, the fact that they are more than 130 PR below the cap is concerning. On the other, they have many THL veterans that have proven they have what it takes to win. The key players we want to highlight are markshire and Durden. Markshire has proven himself in the 1 seed in the past, and we see him as possibly the strongest point on TBH JOOD this upcoming season. Durden is the biggest question mark on this roster. He is under PR for his seed but has a wealth of THL experience, even with taking last season off. Watch out for TBH JOOD to pass some higher ranked teams if they can find their way in LHS. 7. askHS askHS is headlined by FUEL, who went 6-2 in the 1 seed last season. They have solid players from top to bottom, with one question mark square in the middle: Khell. In his eight played matches, Khell has only won one in the past. He'll be looking to prove himself early on in the season, and if he performs well askHS could be a very serious title contender. Until then, look for this team to be on the bubble for playoffs. One thing's for certain, nobody is going to be getting a bye week against this team! 8. Hero Power Rangers This is a very different HPR from that of last season. They have only retained their top two seeds, but their other players aren't entirely new to THL. Our expectation is that BritBulldog continues to improve now that he's more experienced in THL than he was in his rookie season and helps coach his teammates to the playoffs. They have lots of other skilled players on their team that will make it easier for him to perform at a high level as well. 9. 65,340,285 Boars These boars are the same as those from last season except they've replaced Runhesaid with THL Star Rebobson. Rebobson brings preparation ability, technical skill and teamwork to the former championship squad. He's definitely going to be the player to look out for on this rejuvenated roster if they hope to return to the playoffs in this upcoming season. 10. Tap Last This team has both a fantastic one and two seed in Myth and Ace103. They will look to be the focal point of this roster, but their bottom three are also strong players. The only reason this team is this low right now is due to their inexperience, they could rise quickly if they perform up to their potential in the early weeks. 11. ATL This is a totally different ATL team from the one in Hero Series last season. ATL is looking to bounce back from a couple of their weaker seasons historically and contend for the playoffs. They've combined forces into a single team and created a roster that is strong from top to bottom that lacks any obvious weaknesses. They'll be hoping that BlueSpartan can be one of the key players the propels them to the playoffs by repeating or even improving on his 6-3 season. 12. Xplosive Sheep The first prior playoff team that we have missing is Xplosive Sheep. The biggest reason for this is their only new player in Xfector, a rookie to THL. Erajp was a consistent 5 seed for the Sheep last season, and we can't be sure that Xfector will be that before the season has even began. If he or the other Sheep can step it up a notch from last season in what we believe to be a more competitive Hero Series, expect them to be in playoff contention throughout the season. 13. The Fearless Hearth This team has a clear strength and weakness coming into the season: Their strength being their middle seeds in Kuthroat and Tues, and Gelguy being the biggest question mark on the roster. Kuthroat and Tues have both played in the two seed and higher in Legacy, and we think that if they succeed these two will be the main reason behind it. Gelguy unfortunately didn't perform great with a 2-6 performance in the 5 seed last season, but if he can bounce back and provide consistency in the 5 seed this team would be a tough cookie to crack. 14. Spell Stoners Spell Stoners is a team that was universally ranked 20th in the reveal stream, and we can understand why, but we think they have some strong points that teams need to watch out for. Their most obvious strength is Freeloader, who we already have penciled in for the purple all star team. He has a questionable track record in THL, but he's made a strong start in Legacy and we believe he is more focused than ever on winning in this season of Hero Series. However, he alone will not be enough to propel this team to the playoffs, they're going to need strong performances all around the board if they wish to compete in this season. Their biggest weakness may be their inexperience, expect them to struggle early and make a late surge as they learn what works best for them. 15. Team Black Lotus You may be surprised to see Team Black Lotus this low on our rankings after they made the playoffs last season, but this isn't the same team from Season 7. They've only retained Force Of Will from the prior season, and have four players that were not in Hero Series last season. As a result, they were one of the hardest teams to predict coming into this season and may quickly rise (or fall) in our rankings depending on their level of success in the first few weeks. 16. DadLegend DadLegend may have the most seasons of any team ever between the two PR formats, and they're back at it again in Hero Series Season 8 (as well as Legacy Season 11). The players that stick out the most on their roster at first glance are Yellowdart and Crashcoptr. Yellowdart has performed in the 1 seed in Legacy in the past, and while he didn't have the best performance last season in Hero Series, he'll be looking to bounce back at a lower seed this time. Crashcoptr is entirely new to THL, and if he can perform at a high level, could help the Dads secure some dubs. 17. Big Deck Bandits The Bandits are back! They've managed to keep the entire team together from last season as well. A strong point for this team will definitely be cohesion, all of them already know each other and have played alongside each other before. However, at the lowest PR in hero series and without an astounding track record from last season, they start out at 17th in our initial rankings. 18. Booty Bay Boners The lower of the two Booty Bay teams on our rankings, the Boners have four players we believe can compete (and win) at their seeds in their top four slots. The big question mark on this team is bee76. If bee76 can stay competitive in the 5 seed, we believe the Boners can become a playoff team or even a top contender. 19. Tan Pam's Surf Slam This may be the biggest surprise on these rankings to those who followed the Surf Slam last season. Their roster is focused on strength in the lower seeds while still being competitive in the 1 seed, and they have solid players in every seed. However, durtymike and lefty2111 haven't yet proven that they can compete at their new seeds this season, and for that reason we weren't able to justify them over some other teams. If durtymike and lefty2111 start out strong, expect to see this team leap up the rankings. 20. B12 Unfortunately, someone has to be 20th in our initial power rankings and that just happens to be B12. B12 has some of the core of DMB on their roster, including TonyMontana, BrushyTuna and Ericokey as their captain. This team has only one player that played in Season 7 of the hero series in shunsui21. If he can help his teammates learn the ropes and they put in the work on the decks, B12 could be a team to fear. Conferences and Playoffs Based on our power rankings, Teal looks to be the more well rounded conference while Purple is the more top heavy. Teal, astoundingly, has 7 of our top 9 teams, but Purple has 2 of our top 3. We expect Teal to be a bloodbath throughout the season, but based purely on these rankings, we predict BBY, The Cult, Bomb Voyage and TBH JOOD to be the top 4 teams. For Purple, the third and fourth spots are wide open for anyone to come and take, but watch out for Tap Last and ATL especially.
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