AMIIBO WARS: (S6 PRESEASON) WILDCARD #8

AMIIBO WARS WILDCARD #8 (SEASON 6 PRESEASON)

(COMPLETED)

*UPDATED 4/10*

THE REAMAINING 6 amiibos who have yet to compete are ready to battle it out for a shot at the Top 20. In the last group, more shocking eliminations and some interesting advancements, made it pretty clear that this season is going to look a lot different than the last. (Check it out here!) This group will have a good mix of Amiibo Wars Legends and the a few newer amiibos as well. Mario/Lucario/Pikachu have been doing this for a long time, so obviously we will expect to see them advancing, but as the past has shown us, anything can happen and we could even see a legend sent out early. Wildcard #8 is on the way!

WILDCARD #8 COMPETITORS

LAST SEASON we saw legends continue to flourish, a wildcard make a surprising push to the top, an old veteran struggled to make an impact and two newbies fail to make a good first impression. LUCARIO maintained his reputation he's been making for himself since Season 2. A consistent veteran who has time and time again showed his strength. That being said, Season 5 wasn't his highest point. Even though he managed to make it to the Top 20, he didn't get quite as far as he typically does. Amiibo Wars has some serious competition now, can he maintain his position or will he fall to the wayside? PIKACHU's golden days have seemed to come and go. During his first few seasons, Pikachu seemed to have a top spot in Amiibo Wars. But as time has gone by, Pikachu's effectiveness has dwindled and he fell off the radar. Can Pikachu finally make a comeback and make it to the Top 20 this season? SHIEK shocked us all last season by making it to the Top 20. She was the first to drop to the bottom 2 and fought for her life multiple times, saving her spot in the competition. Shiek is a fighter and you have to give credit where credit is due, she outlasted some of the best in the business and I think she will only continue to get better. This season will suit her strengths, so if she makes it again to the Top 20, she could very well have a strong finish. MARIO has been the poster child of Amiibo Wars for a while now. The first to rank #1 in the new standings system because of his excellent placements in recent seasons. He has proven to be a mentor to many of the newer amiibos, sparring with them to help them improve their skills and has consistently landed Top 10 scores in 4 out of 5 of the previous seasons. Mario is a shoe in for the Top 20, but the current stipulation being geared towards team could set him back and may really damage his ranking if he doesn't perform. R.O.B has yet to compete in Amiibo Wars. Judging from his training time, I don't really see him as a top contender, but he could definitely improve with time. Considering the competitors in this group, I really don't see him making it out, but I could be wrong. ZERO SUIT SAMUS made her debut last season and her experience in Amiibo Wars was cut short. She was out so early we didn't really get to see too much of her, but her scores in the Challenger Series were above most of the newcomers. ZSS is a true wildcard, I don't really know what to expect out of her. This is the final Wildcard heading into the beginning of Season 6, where we decide the final 3 to enter the S6 Challenger Series. Phase 1 is on the way!

WILDCARD PHASE 1

LUCARIO gets the ball rolling, only dropping 2 matches. Not his most impressive score considering Zero Suit Samus isn't even on the Amiibo Wars radar and he threw away his match with Mario that he was going to win. Mario vs Lucario is a matchup he's had to play multiple times which in most cases he would win. But for some reason he decides to up b on stage randomly and off the stage to his death, giving up the win to his long time rival. Hopefully this glitch isn't something that happens all the time because something like that can really ruin him. Right now I think he's sitting in a pretty good spot to advance, it's just not quite as good as I expected from him.

PIKACHU's glory days seem to have come and gone. This pokemon went from the top of the list, to bottom feeding. Not really sure if there's anything I can do to help him, he struggles to finish stocks and he's just too squishy to risk getting behind. I think he's overshadowed by a lot of the newer amiibos and he may not ever get back to the strength he once had. Pikachu got at least one win so he's not out of the game just yet. If he can manage all 3 matches in phase 2 he could still save himself, but that isn't really likely in this group. I feel like Pikachu may be out early once again.

SHIEK shows that her hard work and perseverance pays off. It's looking as though her Top 20 placement last season wasn't a fluke. Shiek is the only one to take a game off Mario, something she's done more than once in the past. She also fought Lucario to the bitter end, even having a full stock advantage at a time. Unluckily, he managed to pull things around before it was too late. Shiek has placed herself in a good position here, and judging from her FFA/Team records in past seasons, Shiek is in a great spot for landing in the Top 3 here.

MARIO once again showing the youngsters how it's done. Only dropping 1 match to Shiek, who seems to be a thorn in his side as of late, Mario lands the best Phase 1 score of the group and may be sitting pretty for a Top 3 spot. That being said, if Mario doesn't manage any wins in the next phase, he could very well land in 4th or lower, so he's not safe just yet. I feel like if he manages atleast 1 win, he will be fine. We've already seen Dr. Mario bite the bullet this season, will Mario see the same fate?

R.O.B manages an impressive 3 out of 5 wins in Phase 1. I can honestly say I wasn't expecting much, but he put up an excellent fight in all matches, just falling short to the Amiibo Wars Legends, Lucario and Mario. Considering he's still pretty green, I'm impressed that he matched the majority in this group considering it's his debut season. I think R.O.B could very well be a rival in Amiibo Wars as he gains some more experience.

ZERO SUIT SAMUS sadly doesn't make an impact. In her match with Lucario she was looking incredible but he strength fizzled away after that. I think Pikachu threw her off her game. His small stature was really effecting her ability to land attacks and she had to revert to a more basic playstyle. I'm not really sure if she has what it takes to make it out of this group considering how behind she is, I don't think her FFA/Team Fight abilities are going to be up to par. But I could be wrong, you never really know. A lot of amiibos are close in scores in this Wildcard, so Phase 2 is going to be interesting, it's up next!

WILDCARD PHASE 2

AS ALWAYS Phase 2 is going to decide a lot, even more so than other groups considering how close the scores are coming out of phase 1. Mario with the highest score out of Phase 1 seems to be in the best spot. All he has to do is win one match and he will be fine. I think he has what it take to win at least one. Lucario/Shiek/R.O.B are sitting at the same score in 2nd place. Judging from the past, Lucario has had some spotty performances in Phase 2 matches, so I'm not sure how well he's going to do. Shiek actually has a pretty good record with Team/FFA matches, so she may have a good chance her. Considering R.O.B is new to the scene, I'm not so sure about where he will stand at the end of this. He's still a little green so it's up in the air where he might land on the scoreboard. Pikachu/ZSS will have a lot of work to do if they want to advance. With only 1 win each in Phase 1, advancement is looking pretty far out of reach. Anything is possible though if they manage to win all 3 in the next phase. It's been done before, it could happen again. The Results are up next! Stay Tuned!

THE RESULTS ARE IN!

WILDCARD #8 MVP

MARIO prevails once again. Surprisingly even manages to win all of his Phase 2 matches for an outstanding score of 16 points. Mario is giving us hope that he may actually be able to perform in the Top 20 this season. Hopefully he will be able to protect his current rank in the standings from taking too much damage and keep himself in the Top 10. Mario is proving he's a powerhouse and has even improved upon his weaknesses. I don't think he has a chance of winning this season, but I hope he atleast earns a decent placement.

SHIEK PROVES HERSELF, 3RD PLACE TIE!

SHIEK shows us that her Top 20 placement last season was no fluke. She manages an impressive score of 9 points, putting her in 2nd place. She scored in the higher majority in her Phase 1 and Phase 2 matches against some fierce Amiibo Wars contenders. Shiek dominated her Team Matches and proves she has what it takes to make it to the Top 20. The question is, can she win a tournament and secure her position at the top? LUCARIO and R.O.B tie for 3rd place, getting the exact same scores from their Phase 1 and Phase 2 matches. This means the tie must be broken, and there will be a Best of 5 to determine who moves on and who joins the eliminated competitors.

THE END OF THE ROAD

PIKACHU sadly didn't perform in his 1v1 matches, ultimately putting him in a position that made it almost impossible for him to advance. If he had done a little better in Phase 1, I think he would've had a chance to advance. His Phase 2 matches went a lot better but you have to be able to perform in both to get anywhere in this tournament series. Hopefully we will see improvements next season. ZERO SUIT SAMUS seems to be a victim of the newbie curse. She performed very poorly in both phases. She seemed to be pretty outmatched, but did manage to get a win off of Lucario, which is pretty impressive. I seen signs of potential in her, I just think she needs some more time to develop. After her match with Pikachu, I seen a decline in her performance, I think she struggled a lot with the smaller targets, unable to land some of her attacks. Now it's time for the tie breaker, Lucario and R.O.B are set to compete for the 3rd Place spot!

3RD PLACE TIEBREAKER

LUCARIO vs. R.O.B

Bo5

AFTER matching scores, Lucario and R.O.B must now battle it out in a Best of 5 to advance in the competition. The match types are selected at random to keep things fair. LUCARIO is no stranger to an elimination match. He's seen quite a few in his career, and put quite a few amiibos out of commission. Will his experience be the deciding factor in this matchup? Can Lucario claim another elimination victory to advance? R.O.B is new to Amiibo Wars, never being placed into an elimination round. This is his chance to make a name for himself by eliminating an Amiibo Wars Legend. The Best of 5 is up next!

MATCH 1 was rolled to be an Item Match. R.O.B starts out strong, racking up percent on Lucario. Unluckily for him, this gave Lucario an edge to even things out because of his rage mechanic, and he takes the first stock. R.O.B keeps things even most of the match, but that early lead ultimately give the victory to the veteran, LUCARIO.

MATCH 2 is rolled to be a 1v1 Omega Match. Without any platforms to hide behind, this may put R.O.B at a disadvantage. R.O.B comes out like a rabid dog, taking Lucario into the red before even being touched. He's looking great, takes the first stock off of Lucario and puts him at a major disadvantage. R.O.B maintains his lead for the majority of the match but ultimately a fire lights under Lucario and he brings it back. It comes down to the last stock, one last hit on both amiibos.... LUCARIO takes his 2nd win of the series. Things aren't looking too good for the newcomer, he has one more chance to turn things around.

MATCH 3 is rolled to be a 1v1 Smash Ball Match. R.O.B has to win this one to stay in the game. R.O.B starts out playing a little more safe, waiting on opportunities to punish. He quickly takes Lucario to 70% before taking a hit. Entering rage mode, Lucario tries to take that opportunity to catch back up. Then, a Smash Ball falls. R.O.B does everything in his power to grab the hovering advantage.. landing his final smash and gaining a stock lead. Lucario realizes he's in danger and pushes to finish R.O.B's stock before taking too much damage. The fight evens out once again until another Smash Ball falls from the sky. This time Lucario is in the driver seat. R.O.B manages to  dodge his Final Smash for the most part, making it pretty much useless. Lucario still manages a percent advantage and pulls a stock ahead. R.O.B fights hard to even the stocks back out, with success. It's down to the final stock and percents are even once agian but LUCARIO grabs another Final Smash, this time using it to secure his 3rd and final win of the series.

VALIANT effort from the newcomer, R.O.B. But the veteran was too much for him to handle. I don't think he had the tools to deal with Lucario's rage mode advantages. (Most don't) However, he definitely gave him a run for his money. R.O.B proved he isn't a pushover and I think in future tournaments we will see good things from him. He was very close to advancing, he just didn't have the experience to handle the Best of 5.

LUCARIO may not be the most consistent but when placed in the face of elimination, he can certainly redeem himself. Lucario adapts well in Best of 5's and he proved it here once again. Lucario will be joining Mario and Shiek, who were all three Top 20 Competitors in Season 5. Will they be able to do it again? This is the final Wildcard of the season, we've seen some major players out early and some unexpected upsets. 24 amiibos are left, but only 17 spots remain, are you ready for The Season 6 Amiibo Wars Challenger Series? The groups will be smaller, the stakes higher, and it will be Best of 5's that determine who stays and who goes. How will they be able to manage against an opponent in a 3-5 match series? It will be interesting, Keep an eye out!

AMIIBO WARS SEASON 6 CHALLENGER SERIES IS HERE!!