DC Season 3

I've been having so much fun with my Druid Cycle league in Sensible Soccer that I've started Season 3 well ahead of schedule. Two new squads join the league as expansion teams, bringing us up to eight total franchises across the three main human nations of this campaign world. 

Team Name	City	Nation	Season Joined
Defenders	Caer Eurfryn	Teyrnas	3rd
Gauntlets	Riverton	Southern Principalities	2nd
Golden Dragons	Prifddinas	Teyrnas	1st
Imperials	Troya Nova	Troya Nova	1st
Navigators	Liminia	Troya Nova	3rd
Paladins	Troya Nova	Troya Nova	1st
Pioneers	Prospect	Southern Principalities	2nd
Racers	Riverton	Southern Principalities	1st

The Paladins won the coveted Thaler Cup in Season 1, followed by the Golden Dragons in Season 2. Who will claim this year's prize?

DC Season 2 Championship

Prifddinas Golden Dragons (2nd place) vs. Troya Nova Imperials (4th place)
With an all-time record of 3-0-1 against the Imperials, the Dragons were confident, but also wary; they had come this far last season, as well, only to suffer a heartbreaking loss in extra time. In this game, in front of their roaring fans, the Dragons jumped out to a 2-0 first-half lead authored by Niall and Luaran. The real story of the game, however, was the Dragons' midfield: Huwcyn, Daithi, and Ederyn absolutely dominated the center of the pitch. The Imperials found themselves unable to break through and get clean scoring chances, and a frustrated Agrippa even picked up his first-ever yellow card. It was more of the same in the second half, and midfielder Huwcyn put the game away with a goal that made it 3-0 for the home side. Huwcyn, the heart and soul of the Dragons, had atoned for his ill-timed red card in the Season 1 championship game against the Paladins. There would be no such mishap in this contest. The Golden Dragons played a nearly flawless game and have won their first Thaler Cup!

DC Season 2 Playoffs

Semifinal 1: Troya Nova Paladins (1st place) vs. Troya Nova Imperials (4th place)

In the brief, two-season history of this league, the Paladins were a perfect 4-0-0 against their crosstown rivals. Easy win for the defending champions? Not so fast! The Imperials came right at their foes with a relentless attack that tested goalkeeper Zeno early and often. In front of him, the Paladins responded to the pressure with unruly behavior that earned them three yellow cards. The Imperials' Agrippa scored midway through first half to put fear into the hearts of the Paladins' faithful, while keeper Primus made huge stops before and after the midway mark to preserve the visitors' slim lead. When Julus tacked on an insurance goal in the 88th minute, it was game over. The final was 2-0 for the Imperials, who will now vie for their first league championship.

Semifinal 2: Prifddinas Golden Dragons (2nd place) vs. Prospect Pioneers (3rd place)

This year, the expansion Pioneers went 2-0-0 against the Dragons, winning those games by a combined score of 7-1. Prifddinas didn't want that trend to continue any further. They dominated ball possession from the opening whistle, picking up early goals by Niall and Finan. Josias cut the Dragons' lead in half, but Niall tallied his second of the game as the first half came to a close. The second half featured a lot of exciting back-and-forth action, but no more scoring. Prifddinas held on for a 3-1 win and will face the upstart Imperials for the Thaler Cup.

DC Season 2 Awards

In Season 1 of my Druid Cycle soccer league, Agrippa of the Troya Nova Imperials and Niall of the Prifddinas Golden Dragons shared the scoring title with 6 goals over the brief 6-game regular season. Midfielder Nicephorus of the Troya Nova Paladins won the MVP trophy as the best all-around player. 

This year, with two new teams and a 10-game regular season, there were many more players and many more opportunities for those players to demonstrate their skills. Star forward Belisarius of the Paladins won the scoring title with 10 goals, well ahead of Agrippa (8), Niall (7), and Belisarius's teammate Apollonius (5). The MVP award, however, was not as clear-cut as it was last season. Belisarius finished  third in the MVP race on the basis of his incredible offensive season. The MVP runner-up was goalkeeper Meilir of the Riverton Racers, who blocked a league-best 13.4 shots per game (well ahead of the second-most-tested keeper, Giles of the Riverton Gauntlets, who blocked 10.8 per game), but Meilir's case would have been stronger if his team hadn't been in the cellar. Ultimately, the MVP award went to Agrippa, who scored a remarkable 42.1% of his team's goals; as the Imperials faded down the stretch, Agrippa almost single-handedly dragged them into a playoff spot.

Fingers Crossed...

Wizards called it One D&D for a while, and others are calling it 5.5. Call it whatever you want, I just hope it's good. Here's the review from EN World.

DC Season 2

Shortly after completing the first, I moved right in to a second season of my Druid Cycle league in Sensible Soccer. Two new teams have joined the mix -- the Riverton Gauntlets and the Prospect Pioneers -- giving us six franchises in all. To accommodate the larger number of teams, the regular season increased from 6 games per team to 10 games per team.

For the second straight year, the Troya Nova Paladins and Prifddinas Golden Dragons finished first and second, respectively, while the expansion Pioneers and the Troya Nova Imperials claimed playoff spots as the third- and fourth-ranked teams. Both of Riverton's franchises brought up the rear, with the Gauntlets squeaking past the hapless Racers. Among individual performers, Belisarius of the Paladins led the way with an astounding 10 goals in 10 games, followed by Agrippa of the Imperials with 8 and Niall of the Dragons with 7. 

The first-round playoff pairings will be really compelling. In one matchup, the two teams based in the sprawling metropolis of Troya Nova will duke it out for a spot in the finals. The Paladins had the league's best offense (2.40 goals per game) and best defense (1.30 goals against per game), but the Imperials were surprisingly stingy as well, with only 1.50 goals allowed per match. If superstar striker Agrippa can work his magic, the Imperials might just upset the defending champions. In the other first-round contest, the Dragons have a nightmare matchup against the expansion Pioneers, who went 2-0-0 against the Prifddinas side during the regular season, outscoring them by a total of 7-1. The Pios don't have a star of Niall's caliber, but they come at you with a balanced and relentless attack; forwards Remi, Josias, and Vico each had 4 goals, and the slick Siriano led all the league's midfielders with 3 tallies. 

The playoffs begin later this week!