Oh wow, so Marlin Pie wins one major in Canada of all places. Did you know Canada was the place where Arturo won an MK tournament as well? What happens in Canada really doesn’t matter, because time and time again it’s been proven that Canadian competition isn’t that strong. I personally don’t think Marlin pie is consistent enough to be considered top. Placing at break tournaments with like 12-15 man brackets doesn’t show anyone dominant to me. Now if Marlin Pie get top 8 at a major worth a scratch I’d gladly call him the best. But I don’t see how a non-blocking player is going to get anywhere in this game. I’m sure combofiend was just being humble, no way Marlin Pie is better than him.
How many times will I need to repeat that T12 had RDK, Jago, Marlin, Detrimantix and Combofiend all in the field as well as several local Toronto area players who consistently beat or go even with RDK? Canada has 1 good MK player and that’s it, but Marvel we take that shit seriously.
It’s the southern californian factor. It’ll end quickly, and abruptly.
Is Bum better than Fooblat or Dang? Truth be told I am increasingly not sure if he is.
No offense but I just don’t think that comparing the East Coast to the West Coast is or ever was a good or fair idea. The west coast has the most populated areas of the country save for new york and florida (maybe Atlanta but not too sure about that one) and definitely is home to an area where Fighting Gamers are more prominent. I mean most of the high level tourneys that host the majority if not all the top players are hosted on that side of the country save for a few good ones like NEC, WinterBrawl, and I believe there’s another but I can’t remember at the time lol. Yes these tourneys are big but RARELY does the majority of top players show up consistently to all of them hence the reason that some of our better players win top spots. However when it comes to the West Coast tourneys EVERYBODY and their mothers show up to represent their skill.
Honestly I find their to be a true deficit of hardcore players or at least hardcore players that care to go farther then their local tourney or area that have the desire or dedication to strive and be on a top Level like they do on the West Coast and honestly that inherent nature is what perpetuates the cycle even more and thus we have so few to offer to the masses. The West however, as long as you can hold a controller and press each button you are pushed to go to tourneys, participate on streams, and travel everywhere. I truly think it to be a cultural thing to be quite honest.
Anyways, in regards to the OP, I think that while Justin is still definitely the player that’s sitting on top right now, (sigh - Here comes the hate) I truly think that in the case of Marvel 3, he’s a little bit over-rated. Now granted, I DO believe that in terms of fundamentals, spacing, reactions, and reading of the opponent, for ANY fighting game he really puts his mind to, Justin is number one. BUT I don’t know what it is; maybe nerves or inexperience, or maybe that whole “Wong Factor” thing really exists but it seems to me that in the top player matches of every tourney he enters, the top players that face him for some inexplicable reason can’t help but F*** up at some point or another giving Justin the opportunity to come back and win. Now this screw up could be something small and miniscule but usually it’s something that just doesn’t make any sense like dropping a combo that’s irrevocably easy or misjudging the damage a super would do to their opponent or forgetting the order that their team currently is; something drastic. And I always wonder the reason for this because it’s like just as consistent as Justin’s fundamentals lol. At some point the person facing Justin is going to screw something up leaving Justin that pixel of life to comeback and win.
In regards to everyone else, I think that Marlin Pie wins 1st in the character study and understanding department as well as the great team synergy award followed very closely be Danke. Those two also have the combo swag awards for not only possessing jaw-dropping execution and combos but also being more than able to perform said combos live in tourneys and on streams. ANnd that whole “Marlin doesn’t block” crap people keep throwing around… YOU try and prep reactionary EX-Seismos, Eye Lasers, Assist calls, and Back at the exact same time and see if you don’t get counter-hit or hit with a mis-spaced aerial every once and awhile.
I think Noel Brown is a very good Marvel player not do due to his absolutely “charming” personality (sarcasm… that was sarcasm there lol" but because he DOES know his stuff, and how to block VERY well against crossups and high-level pressure that many normal individuals would have probably caved under after a certain point, and knows how to convert stray hits into full fledged combos. Granted he is not the best because he usually makes a mistake that costs him a character and therefore in the long run the game by just a little but the most important and significant thing that I notice is that he LEARNS from those mistakes and he RARELY makes the same ones again the nest time he plays that player.
PR Balrog… Not gonna answer this because frankly I didn’t like his attitude the last few times I’ve watched and seen him and so I don’t want to give a biased answer due to my own inhibitions towards him. He’s talented no doubt but how talented is up for discussion in my book. I don’t know how to assess his vanilla skill level as he did use pretty high tiered characters and setups that very few had alternatives for and I strongly doubt with the changes made to the game engine and characters now, we would by no means be able to use that same team and win again the way he did before. In SF though he is definitely up there.
Viscant… He’s probably one of the most skilled players in terms of game knowledge and understanding but again not so fond of his attitude and sometimes he let’s his emotions get in the way of the game. BUT he can adjust to players very well and despite his opinions, he has very good execution. He also knows who the real threats are in this game and isn’t afraid to use them.
I think Clockwork and Shady K are VERY well versed in this game however I do feel that I don’t see Clock as a player striving to be number one anymore as he had in Marvel 2 and Marvel 3 Vanilla. It looks to me like his fire for competition has died down a tiny bit in my opinion. Hopefully I am wrong and we will get to see a lot more of him but idk. Shady is def still a threat though along with in my opinion, Dacidbro and Rowtron
Champ is def top 3 and I always thought this. He in my opinion had the best Phoenix in Vanilla and might still despite the very talented and remarkable Flocker, and I truly believe he also had the best Dorm no questions asked. No hard feeling CJ but while you have great rushdown, Papa Champ knows EVERYTHING about that character and utilizes it all too which I feel all phoenix players have done due to their “restrictions” on meter and need to acquire as much hyper-free damage as possible. His Mags might have been the best but I think it’s Mine that has the best mags in all honesty. (At least I think it’s Mine… Hope I didn’t name the wrong player…)
Combofiend I believed to be the best Marvel 3 player in Vanilla but I haven’t really gotten to witness that much from him since Ultimate so I really can’t say at this point.
Chris G… when I see his Morrigan play I want to shoot him through my television screen and pray the glass removes my sight. BUT damn he’s good and consistent. His spacing and aerial grabs are insane and his ability to escape inescapable or unblockable crap is unparallelled. Don’t know about first place but he is definitely top 5 for sure.
Besides them we got some other Second Tier yet high level players but again not that many due to our lackadaisical disposition on this side of the country. Hopefully that will change soon.
Also, We really need to make a thread about who has the most skills with each particular character because I think we would have one interesting conversation and number of lists.
EDIT: DOn’t know how I forgot about this guy as I watch him every week but Jago is definitely up their on the list of top players. Not top 5 but maybe top 10/12. SKill and Fundamentals are their but inability to change up his game at times due to his team structure sometimes holds him back from getting that win he deserves. Also Yipes and Fanatiq… well yall history and skills speak for themselves. No need to elaborate any further.
Honestly, I doubt ABEGEN is going to get pretty far at FRXV. He and others have been doing quite well in Japanese tournaments, but America is a scene where Marvel is played more and where American players in general have more knowledge about the game than them, and ultimately have the more skilled players.
I think you’re just overrating the Japanese players based on accomplishments in a scene that has never really embraced the Marvel series as much as the US has. In that context, I can’t see how Japan can be considered to have players that surpass the likes of JWong and Combo and others.
Honestly, the farthest a Japanese player has gotten in an American tourney is Tokido, but after that he dropped off and failed to be a threat (although he resurfaced for a third place win at CC). Yes, I am aware that he is not one of the Japanese players that you mentioned, but it’s something to think about.
To add that post. Mago, Tokido, Daigo, RF, Freida when in Marvel 2011, none of them got in TOP 32. People like Flocker, PR Balrog, Stone, Xian,etc who became future top Marvel players were completely overlooked. A lot people are sleeping some of America’s underrated scenes(the midwest,The south, Seattle).
Ever seen Flocker in action? He is even better in Ultimate. Be careful.
Where can we see the latest vids of flocker? I havent seen him play in ultimate since that cali tourney a few months back…
I just rate them based on what I’ve seen. As I mentioned, I made the assumption before that the interest in marvel 3 was practically non-existent in Japan and never expected their level to be as high as it is until I tuned in randomly to a few recent tournaments. They definitely have a scene going and there is nothing particularly special about Marvel 3 itself (as a game) that would make it America’s game. In fact, Japan is known for being the best at fast, mixup heavy, execution heavy games so Marvel 3 is right up their ally, assuming they’re interested (which it seems that they are).
Another thing to consider is that a lot of the current Japanese that are the top players in Marvel 3 are grandmaster guilty gear players. Even Ogawa is starting to get into the game, though he sucks at the moment since I think he JUST started playing.
Well he was the only Japanese player out of like…3 maybe, that actually came to an American tourney. I honestly don’t know much about Tokido’s play in Japan itself…like who he was training with and how he attained his skill in the game so yeah I didn’t list him. I have no idea if he’s playing now even.
Bottomline is, people are really sleeping on this scene or just aren’t aware of it’s existence. There’s a ton of things to be learned from watching them and their Vergils, Striders and Zeros are the best at the moment.
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…I don’t think so…
Not enough majors to tell right now. Everything is really the same from vanilla. Chris G and Marlin Pie are looking to be some of the top players right now, along side justin combofiend and fanatiq
Still, despite experience in somewhat similar games, Marvel also requires a knowledge of good team structuring, something I feel that the Japanese lack. Doesn’t ABEGEN or another JP player run a Joe/Frank/RR team? He wins with it sure, but I have doubts about that team’s quality. The US still has more experience in dealing with this type of team game that only recently seems to be gaining popularity in Japan.
But I suppose all this talk is theory. ABEGEN earned the right to come down to FRXV for Marvel, so I guess we can wait and see how he performs.