RagX/Syl7 Team and Player Power Rankings - Week 4

RIP: Our inboxes.  JerryDamage, iCon and Donde are here with some more power rankings.

Ragnaros Team Power Rankings - iCon

1. Hearthstone Academy
   The only currently undefeated team in Ragnaros League, it has now become a question of not when, but if anyone can stop Sage and his teenage mutant Hearthstone turtles. MMI finally proved he could be beaten when Slimsch of The Cabal went grandaddy on him last week, but overall the team shows no signs of stopping their consistent, impressive winning record
   
   
2. Collective Mayhem
   The strongest team in Blue division, and a strong contender for the championship going into week 5, Collective Mayhem boasts an impressive record against solid teams like RNG and MSI and a 3-0-1 scoreline. It remains to be seen if they can keep dominating their division, or if the robot chickens of AP4K can manage to catch up.
   
   
3. Dirty Mike and the Boys
   Slowly proving themselves to be the top team in Gold division, the Boys have an impressive winning record against teams like ATL, Cabal, and Xnergy. This week they look to take down AskHS and keep their spot as the gold team with the greatest pedigree of opposition.
   
   
4. Noob Central
   A surprise Gold team that rose out of nowhere to challenge the Boys, Noob Central is proving to be Good Central when it comes to putting up match wins. With a 3-1 record vs teams like Stubbs, AskHS, and Defias Brotherhood, it remains to be seen if tougher opponents such as DMB or the iron giant of HSA will give this rising star any trouble.
   
   
5. Auto-Pecker 4000
   A solid contender in Blue Division, AP4K has had some seasonal ups and downs, but ended up on top with a 3-1 score and some impressive performances against the likes of RNG and SPG.
   
   
6. Xnergy
   Xnergy took their first loss of the season week 4 to DMB, following arguably one of the easiest first 3 weeks a team in Red-Gold could have possibly gotten. They’re sporting a 3-1 scoreline, but whether it was a honeymoon performance or something consistent is something we’ll have to find out over the next few weeks.
   
   
7. The Pod People
   Leading up Purple Division, the Pod People’s blazing start has only been slightly stymied by an incredibly close loss to the Really Nice Guys. RidiculousHat is still in the best form of his life, and is rapidly approaching the PR cap. All teams looking at playing the Pod People best watch out.
   
   
8. Really Nice Guys
   A pleasant surprise and arguably one of the upset teams of the season, RNG came swinging out of nowhere, beating teams like AP4K and the aforementioned Pod People. Once hailed as “Really Unknown Players” to some, RNG is quickly making a name for themself as a team you can’t count out of anything.
   
   
9. The Cabal
   The author of this unbiased article’s team took a smashing from HSA in week 4, with Slimsch being the only player to take a win off of the Academy. In much of the same situation as MSI (two losses to division leaders), the Cabal looks to cement their place as the Red Division wildcard this week with a key match vs ATL.
   
   
10. Maple Syrup INCThe second of two 2-2 teams in our top 10, MSI is still a strong contender team for playoffs, especially as a wildcard spot. Their losses are to Mayhem and AP4K, and MSI still has time to turn it around and show the Peckers who’s boss.
    ​
    
11. AskHS
12. Always Topdeck Lethal
13. Glitter Baes
14. DadLegend
15. Saronite Pain Gang
16. Hot_Pepper
17. Defias Brotherhood
18. Da Stubbs
19. Team Mox
20. Team Next Level

 Sylvanas Team Power Rankings - Jerry

1. Faithless Lumi
   One of the few teams in Sylvanas that technically hasn’t lost yet, The Faithless Lumi take over our top spot for the week. The Lumi tied Bomb Voyage last week in what looked to be a very competitive series between two top five teams. This week the Lumi take on Argent Terminus Legion as they look to stay out of the loss column for the season.
   
   
2. Bomb Voyage
   The other team in Sylvanas that’s not lost yet, Bomb Voyage showed that they can hang with the best teams in Blurple when they took the Faithless Lumi to a tie. This week they take on TapLast.
   
   
3. Smells Like Steam Spirit
   Smells like Steam Spirit rebounded from their first loss on the season to defeat The Big Deck Bandits in Week 4. This week they take on Team Black Lotus.
   
   
4. Tan Pam’s Surf Slam
   Like Steam Spirit, Tan Pam’s Surf Slam also suffered their first loss in Week 3 and rebounded with a win over a top 10 team, Hero Power Rangers, in Week 4. This week they face The Fearless Hearth.
   
   
5. The Ugly Mucklings
   The Ugly Mucklings are on a 2 week win streak after having defeated Floop’s Gloop’s Bloops in Week 4. This week they face a team trying to make their way into the top 10, The Insomniacs.
   
   
6. Cult of Mecha’thun
   Last week the Cult of Mecha’thun were ranked number 1. They faced the defending champions, the Boars, who were ranked 20th at the time. There’s a few ways to look at the loss and why Cult fell down to number 6. One is that the Boars are a team who just won the championship and are a tough team and could be trending upward. Only time will tell. The Cult have another test this week though when they take on Big Deck Bandits.
   
   
7. Big Deck Bandits
   Big Deck Bandits lost to Smells like Steam Spirit in Week 4. For Week 5 they have a chance to make some noise and move up the rankings though as they take on Cult of Mecha’thun.
   
   
8. AskHS
   AskHS beat the Fearless Hearth in Week 4. They could finally start to gain momentum if they can take care of business when they face Black Ops Elves.
   
   
9. Xplosive Sheep
   The Sheep had a very solid win against Eon in Week 4. This week they face a team who could prove to be dangerous, as they take on 65,340,285 Boars.
   
   
10. Hero Power Rangers
    Hero Power Rangers suffered their second loss on the season when they took on Tan Pam’s Surf Slam last week. This week they look to get back in the win column when they take on DadLegend.
    ​
    
11. Tap Last
12. The Insomniacs
13. Team Black Lotus
14. 65,340,285 Boars
15. DadLegend
16. The Fearless Hearth
17. Black Ops Elves
18. Floop’s Gloop’s Bloops
19. Eon
20. Argent Terminus Legion

Ragnaros League Player Rankings - Donde

Thanks to everyone who tuned in to last night's inaugural episode of HearthCenter.  We had a blast doing it even with some of the technical difficulties.  As always, we'll try to keep improving.  That being said, you can find the VOD here.

There's a lot more description in the video than I can hope to proffer in a short blurb for each player, so I think on a weekly basis I'm going to let our discussion speak for itself and use this space to correct egregious errors or otherwise espouse thoughts I happened to miss.  In case you missed it last night, here are the Ragnaros Week 4 Player Ranking:

1.  SirLos 4-0 (12-5)
2.  TwoStarMako 4-0 (12-2)
3.  DoctorZephyr 4-0 (12-5)
4.  Edelweiss 3-0 (9-1)
5.  RidiculousHat 3-1 (11-4)
6.  Itachi 3-1 (9-4)
7.  Rizen 3-1 (10-4)
8.  Skritch 4-0 (12-3)
9.  BlueSombrero 3-1 (11-6)
10. TheChronic 4-0 (12-3)

Assorted Thoughts

As I mentioned last night, missing Aviously (4-0, 12-6) was just a straight up oversight on my part and I sincerely apologize.  Avi, I love you and you know that.  In the interest of consistency, I wanted to post the list as it was last night but if I could do it all over again, I'd have Aviously ranked 3rd which would bump everyone else down 1 spot.

Jammies took some umbrage with my ranking of Itachi.  Despite him not being undefeated and taking a sweep in that loss, I find myself most impressed by the body of work in the wins themselves.  Apexpredador in a sweep win.  Catman was handed his only loss of the season also in a sweep win.  Crovan in a 3-1 win.  That's firing out of the gate and despite the loss to YellowDart, I find him worth of the top 10.

Rizen was my other pick for the most impressive wins thus far.  SmileyKris in a sweep.  Stephieee in a 3-1 win.  And a sweep over Alvarkhalon in handing him his only loss.  No shame in a loss to Nated4444.  Another strong start for Rizen.

Sylvanas Player Rankings - Donde

1.  BillSnyder 4-0 (12-0)
2.  The_bigted 4-0 (12-2)
3.  ClarkHellscream 4-0 (12-6)
4.  Boozasaurus 3-1 (11-6)
5.  Rizen 4-0 (12-4)
6.  Myth 3-1 (10-4)
7.  KillerVeebs 4-0 (12-6)
8.  Finnickodare 3-1 (10-6)
9.  jyak 3-1 (10-6)
10. ironFIRE 3-1 (11-4)

Assorted Thoughts

Finnickodare was Jammies' main concern in this list.  Once more I find myself impressed by the win quality.  3-2 win over FollowDurden.  A player who has a much higher PR in conquest.  A 3-1 win over a struggling Brasky.  A struggling Brasky is still a very tough opponent.  And lastly a sweep over the Diamond Award winner himself, DexterHS.  I maintain his spot on the rankings is valid.

​The four seed seems pretty loaded in Sylvanas as I felt like The_bigted's quality of wins was also quite high.  He too defeated Brasky 3-1.  FollowDurden 3-1.  The power rankings own JerryDamage also fell in a sweep.  And finally another sweep, this time over Force of Will.

But damn, BillSnyder's a killer huh?