TEAM NAME: West Knights
Infantry Grade - B+
Reasoning - I personally think that as a pair PPK and Oodle are the best infantry in North America. Otherwise, wK's infantry cohesion has sometimes been a bit off in recent months. The other infantry players in wK like Cradoc, Beer, Oenomaus and WilySly are certainly top-tier, but there's something that just doesn't click sometimes. I believe this can be pushed up to an A pretty easily if wK can work some kinks out. Even at this point very few teams can go toe-to-toe with wK's infantry.
Cavalry Grade - A
Reasoning - wK has for a while now had the best cavalry lineup in North American Warband. Picking up Boogy as a cav-focused player has only buffed the crazy cav lineup of Calamity, WilySly, Gelden, PPK, Lagstro, etc. Not only that, almost every player on the wK roster can comfortably play cavalry at a top-tier level. All of these factors overall give wK the best cav game in the scene.
Ranged Grade - A+
Reasoning - There isn't much to say other than to drop a few names here. Lagstro has for a hell of a long time been the undisputed best archer in North America. Achilles isn't too far behind Lag, and as a pair they're monstrous. Even wK's secondary archer players like Calamity, Oenomaus and myself are good enough to compete with most of the better archers in North America.
TEAM NAME: TMW Misses Whitney
Infantry Grade - B+
Reasoning - TMW has classically been a clan and team that has amazing infantry players. This hasn't changed, but the only reason their grade is sitting at a B+ alongside wK is that TMW's infantry players generally don't stick out in terms of individual skill. The team's infantry cohesion is I believe unmatched by any other in the tournament, but they sometimes get edged out by individual players more than other teams' superior cohesion. Unicorn is arguably one of the best infantry players in the game, but for me he's the only one who currently stands out as an individual.
Cavalry Grade - B
Reasoning - I probably would have given this a C+ if it weren't for a few recent pickups. Sikici, even with his 100+ ping, is a force to be reckoned with in any map situation. Can has also been doing some great work for TMW in recent months. I've observed that cavalry is often what changes the tide for TMW in their melee fights. If the cavalry players hit at the right time, it's always devastating for the other team. In contrast, I've also seen them screw up pretty royally and lose rounds for TMW.
Ranged Grade - A
Reasoning - TMW has made themselves a solid and diverse ranged lineup who I expect only have trouble with wK's ranged players. At the heart of the TMW ranged group is Sota, who I believe is one of the only ranged players in the game who can sometimes play on the same level as Lagstro. Rurin, Clockwise, Fiery and X are all solid ranged players as well. Most of TMW's players seem to be able to play decently enough with a ranged weapon, giving the team many ranged options for all sorts of different situations.
TEAM NAME: Knights of Avalon
Infantry Grade - C
Reasoning - I've seen a lot of improvement from KoA's infantry players lately. Troubadour has made himself the foundation of KoA's infantry group, but Socks and some others put in some great work as well. It would take quite some work, but I think KoA's infantry could eventually bang with TMW and wK's infantry.
Cavalry Grade - C+
Reasoning - Cru alone is a pretty amazing cavalry player. Add Brave, Bohemond and Snoop and you have yourself a solid cav lineup that can on a good day probably go toe-to-toe with some of the other more impressive cav rosters.
Ranged Grade - C
Reasoning - John is the only top-tier ranged player in KoA, and even then he's sometimes inconsistent. A few others have potential, but KoA needs more than John to take on some of the higher level ranged lineups.
TEAM NAME: Free American Gamers
Infantry Grade - C
Reasoning - I don't know what it is, but something about FAG strikes me as 100% mediocre. I believe Disco and Tito are enough to push what probably would have been a C to a C+, but KoA and FAG are pretty much on the same level in terms of infantry.
Cavalry Grade - D
Reasoning - Again, a few solid players but nothing about FAG's cavalry play stands out to push them beyond mediocre. Magerick and Rallix are both pretty great cav players, but that's about it, and even then I've only seen them do good work in certain limited situations.
Ranged Grade - C-
Reasoning - If Rocky were more active, I'd push this to a C or C+. I've seen him alone pull of some pretty amazing things as a ranged player. Aside from Rocky, none of FAG's ranged players are beyond average. They sometimes play their part in establishing crossfires and whatnot, but nothing sticks out.
TEAM NAME: Deathwatch
Infantry Grade - D
Reasoning - Most of DW's infantry players are solid and have a decent sense of how to group fight, but they're not quite there yet. Stone stands out as a solid infantry, but from what I've seen that's about it.
Cavalry Grade - C-
Reasoning - I know that Nevino and Mar are both pretty solid cav players, but I haven't seen much teamwork from either of them both in past teams and with DW. If they up their game and improve their cohesion, they could do a hell of a lot of damage.
Ranged Grade - D+
Reasoning - I know Sarakota alone is a pretty great shot, but he's also inconsistent. No other ranged players have stood out individually to me in DW, but I have seen some sparse moments of greatness between the team's ranged players.
TEAM NAME: The Regulators
Infantry Grade - C+
Reasoning - I was quite impressed by TR's infantry players when I first encountered them. They're quickly learning how to fight cohesively and I don't think it'll take them long to play at a top-tier level. Picking up ThunderGodThor and Creed certainly helped with their infantry lineup as well.
Cavalry Grade - D
Reasoning - I only noticed a single good cav player on TR's roster when I myself played against them, but unfortunately I can't even remember his name :l. TR tends to rely pretty heavily on this single cav player to support their ground troops, but I think many of the aspects of playing cav competitively is still very new to TR.
Ranged Grade - D
Reasoning - With so many infantry-focused players, TR doesn't have many players who can play ranged very well. Even so, I've seen them play pretty effectively from time to time. Picking up Core will hopefully push their ranged game up to a more competitive level.
TEAM NAME: Kingdom of Faith
Infantry Grade - D
Reasoning - I haven't really ever seen much impressive infantry play from GK or DoF, the two clans that formed this team. I imagine their cohesion is hurting a bit from playing with new teammates, as well.
Cavalry Grade - C-
Reasoning - From past scrims and matches, I know Darin, Odo and Chainsaw are both pretty decent cav players, but it doesn't seem to have clicked for them. And again, cohesion is probably hurting.
Ranged Grade - D
Reasoning - I hate to presume anything about a team, but I don't see any significant ranged players from either GK or DoF on this roster. I could be proven wrong, though.
TEAM NAME: Defenders of Gold
Infantry Grade - D
Reasoning - Again, in the past I haven't a whole lot from either GK or DoF in terms of infantry play. As far as the PRT players go, I know very little. Same reason as KoF, even with a few individually great infantry players, I think it'll take a while before DoG's infantry cohesion will snap into place.
Cavalry Grade - C
Reasoning - As individuals I know quite a few players on the DoG roster are actually pretty great cav players. Alec and Erminas have historically been the core of DoF's cav lineup, and Viglaf, Varangian and Marquis are all solid players. I'd like to see how DoG fares on a heavily cav-oriented map, because I think they would actually be able to play it very well if the right players are in.
Ranged Grade - D+
Reasoning - Again, I can only really judge DoG based on individual players on the roster. Sparhawk is a great shot, but I don't know very much about the rest of the roster.
TEAM NAME: Made To Win
Infantry Grade - C-
Reasoning - MTW has a pretty solid roster, but so many of the players are European that it hurts their melee a lot. Arys is quickly becoming a great infantry player, and Vitus and Madoc are solid, but the team seems to be lacking a strong anchor player for the rest of the infantry to play around.
Cavalry Grade - C
Reasoning - Blacktide has for years now been one of TMW's only cav players, even with his 100+ ping. He tends to make a big difference in matches, but I'd like to see who else on the MTW roster can step up and play cav.
Ranged Grade - C
Reasoning - A few scary names on the roster, but I have doubts about their ability to actually attend matches. Hard to give anything but a C until I see more.
TEAM NAME: Four Feet of Hard Wood
Infantry Grade - C
Reasoning - I see Kelquethas as the core of FFoHW's infantry. Generally, they seem to be solid. A few players may be dealing with rust, and I don't think too many of them are infantry-focused players.
Cavalry Grade - B
Reasoning - Between Cheese, Hero and Volpel, FFoHW has a good cav lineup. I think they could pretty easily trump most of the other cav lineups in the tournament.
Ranged Grade - C+
Reasoning - Quantum is individually a fantastic ranged player, and Cheese is well-rounded enough to play ranged at a high-tier level. I do think FFoHW could use a few more dedicated ranged players, though.
TEAM NAME: Just the Tip
Infantry Grade - C-
Reasoning - There seem to be quite a few older players on this Wappaw roster. I expect after some rust is shaken off, this grade could possibly be bumped up. Green, Ender, Hossa and Nickdean are all solid infantry players, but all four have been pretty inactive.
Cavalry Grade - B+
Reasoning - Between Redknight, GreenKnight, Blade and Black FFoHW has the potential to have a cav lineup as lethal as wK's, but again I think many of the roster's players are out of practice. Even so, they're a great group of cav players that would have no trouble with most other cav players in the tournament.
Ranged Grade - C
Reasoning - Between Zacty, Scope and Dodge, FFoHW's ranged lineup is great on paper, but I'd like to see a few of their matches before I can comfortably grade them higher.
TEAM NAME: Praetorians of Neapolis
Infantry Grade - D-
Reasoning - Unfortunately, I've seen so little of PoN that I can only really talk about their infantry players. From what I have seen, they're pretty much what I would expect; new to the competitive scene and still trying to find their way.
Cavalry Grade - N/A
Reasoning - Haven't seen any
Ranged Grade - N/A
Reasoning - Haven't seen any