News

Community Roundup #12

Welcome back for the latest community roundup, where we highlight our favorite fan-made Rivals music, art, general community happenings, and more.

ART

We’re kicking off this week with some lovely art from Twitter:

We’ve seen plenty of pizza Absa on the discord, but how about this pizza delivery Absa by Alva.

MUSIC

Here’s another awesome metal take on a piece from the Rivals soundtrack by TsrifElddimTsal.

GAMES

VexX | AZCards has just put out a combo video showcasing some dunk-centric Kragg play. Hopefully this is the first of many to come!

VhansRoA has been posting around looking for clips for a community combo video lately and here’s the result. This turned out awesome and we can’t wait to see the next one. If you want to get your clip in one of his montages, make sure you check out how to submit yours in the YouTube video description.

Here’s Windows laying the hurt on someone with a triple scraw. This keyboard Wrastor has been crushing the ranked ladder in season 2, and is currently first place with a margin of over 200 points. If you’re interested in seeing some of his games he also has a great stream on twitch.

OTHER GOOD STUFF

Sawtooth made this sweet visual power rankings for the Colorado Rivals scene.

Here’s Fraggle275’s cool custom box for Rivals. Some people go hard to get that perfect button layout!

Sparx21 was reminded of something else when he passed this truck on the highway…

That’s it for this community roundup! Let us know in the comments if we missed any of your favorites, and make sure to give the creators some love.

AU Top 20: #5 – 1

By: Callisto, SNC, and Gabe.

This is part of an article series highlighting the Australian Rivals of Aether community, focusing on the top 20 AU players. Get to know more about our newest RCS region as we release their write-ups over the next three days.

If you’re an AU player make sure you show the online scene your support by signing up for online monthlies on smash.gg. Get to know the community and play for points and prizes, including a travel voucher to our finals event in North America for the top ranked AU player.

Articles in the Series:

Rank Results Rivals
05 local-icon 1st expand2-icon 3rd
Summary

What would a national PR be without an Etalus main? There’s no better bear around than the second hand Vsauce himself. Coming into the spotlight at the start of the year with more top finishes, Callisto’s bear has slid it’s way into 5th with no signs of wavedashing back.

5th is a fitting place for Callisto, considering he has been a consistent top 5 at every event he’s entered this year, both local and interstate. Placing 3rd at Expand Gong, 5th at BAM9 and 5th at the May RCS, all these numbers add up to one excellent Etalus player.

Rank Results Rivals
04 local-icon 2nd BAM9-icon 2nd
Summary

While Neeson started off strong in the early days of the Australian scene, it wasn’t until a pilgrimage to Nepal to train with the buddhist monks (seen here with his mentor) that Neeson truly ascended to become one of Australia’s best players. While Neeson’s hyper aggressive play style (and less than humble nature) may seem contradictory to his buddhist teachings, it does get results.

Now onto his fourth main in his time as a player, Neeson’s careful study of his opponents has lead to him being an innovator in the scene for multiple characters (with many combos being locally referred to as “The Neeson”). Having a solid showing locally and online this past season, Neeson cashed in his karma and placed 2nd at BAM 9.

Rank Results Rivals
03 local-icon 2nd expand2-icon 4th
Summary

Possibly the most patient player in the scene, Dave (MD) uses his innate ability to read and understand players to expose their flaws. Maining Maypul at launch, the skills he developed there transitioned perfectly into his zone-heavy Orcane. He walls out both unfamiliar and skilled players alike to capitalize on an otherwise tricky punish game.

An expert at controlling the pace of a match, it is the very rare player that can match him in neutral, with only few players proving themselves capable of taking a set off this seasoned veteran. Dave’s losses are few and far between which is why he has earned his place in the top 3.

Rank Results Rivals
02 local-icon 1st BAM9-icon 3rd
Summary

Head TO and contributor to the Rivals of Aether Australia YouTube channel, SNC (standing for Super Nintendo Chalmers) has made as much of an impact on the Aussie community as any. A Zetterburn main initially, SNC showed early signs of potential despite having no previous competitive Smash experience. He caused some minor upsets in his first few months of play and quickly made a name for himself after placing second at his first local.

After 5 months of Zetter practice never granting him the 1st place finish that he sought, he decided it was time to reevaluate his choice of main. Taking inspiration from Kragg players both locally (Dreadtech) and abroad (MSB), his swap to Kragg in early 2016 was the change he desperately needed. SNC went on to win his first tournament just two weeks later, and although his results for the remainder of the year varied, his understanding of the game grew through both study and play. Looking at 2017 his improvement is unquestionable. SNC has dominating results at his local scene and loses to very few online – placing 2nd at Expand Gong 2 and 3rd at BAM 9.

Rank Results Rivals
01 local-icon 1st BAM9-icon 1st
Summary

The undisputed champion of the Australian Rivals scene since Project Melbourne 2, Gabe has effortlessly dominated almost every offline event that he’s attended. His losses are scarce against the best of the best, even playing with secondary or tertiary characters against other members of the top 20 with great success.

His knowledge and understanding of this game is unmatched, earning him a spot in the Rivals beta team and allowing him to find obscure (and often useless) advanced techniques. There are a few excellent players that can challenge Gabe in the Australian scene but time and time again Gabe has shown that his skills are as unrivaled as his fashion sense.

AU Top 20: #10 – 06

By: Callisto, SNC, and Gabe.

This is part of an article series highlighting the Australian Rivals of Aether community, focusing on the top 20 AU players. Get to know more about our newest RCS region as we release their write-ups over the next three days.

If you’re an AU player make sure you show the online scene your support by signing up for online monthlies on smash.gg. Get to know the community and play for points and prizes, including a travel voucher to our finals event in North America for the top ranked AU player.

Articles in the Series:

Rank Results Rivals
10 zetterburn@32
Summary

Known internationally for his record breaking story mode speedruns and discovery of the “Fel-Smash”, Fel also has competitive leanings. A strong player in his own right, he’s pocketed some unpredictable wins over the Australian scene. His fluid movement and readiness to learn took him far and after many months of pushing his fingers to their limits the New Zealand keyboard warrior swapped from Zetterburn to Kragg.

Through strong fundamentals and consistent but deadly combos Fel has maintained strong placings throughout all of our online brackets. Some may question how he’d fare locally, but for now Fel remains the illusive online champ that he is.

Rank Results Rivals
09 local-icon 5th BAM9-icon 5th
Summary

One of the best Forsburns in the business, D-money the durry-munching king has consistently offered an unconventional style of Forsburn. Even though he’s missed a few local events this year, his practice and understanding of the game appears to have paid off well for him. His confidence in his character and his ability to compete with the best has taken him to a respectable 5th place finish at BAM 9, losing to Splice in a tense yet confusing ditto set.

Rank Results Rivals
08 local-icon 2nd BAM9-icon 9th kragg@32
Summary

Eigth place on this list and the most skilled Wrastor player in Australia, Jet has made clear improvements in 2017 that can only be attributed to many hours of practice. Jet thrives off his knowledge of players habits and ‘tricks’ and forces you to adapt or face his fast and punishing combos.

Placing second in his first two local brackets for the year, him and sparring partner SNC took their ambitions interstate to attend Expand Gong 2, where Jet placed a respectable 5th after losses to the NSW talent. His secondary Kragg has helped him circumvent some of the mental fatigue that he suffers in our more tough tournaments, but his Wrastor is still the character to fear.

Rank Results Rivals
07 local-icon 1st BAM9-icon 7th
Summary

The ACT’s ruscur (with a lowercase ‘r’) is still fresh to Rivals, only picking up the game back in April this year. That being said, it didn’t take him long to make a huge splash with his Absa. Through daily practice and a willingness to learn, he quickly made his mark as a top player. So far he’s taken sets off most of the top 10 in the space of a few weeks, including knocking Gabe out at a local event. It is unquestionable that ruscur’s rank will only continue to rise with more practice.

Rank Results Rivals
06 local-icon 3rd BAM9-icon 4th
Summary

In the beginning of Rivals of Aether’s early access journey, Splice was thought to be unbeatable. His natural ability and unparalleled understanding of Forsburn created a huge gap that took players many months to cross. Although largely inactive, Splice returns every now and then to prove his previous dominance in the scene was not unjustified, learning in the space of a few days what would take many players months of practice.

His impressive 4th place finish at BAM after 6 months of not competing is a true testament to his skill as a player and earns him the spot of 6th place on this list.

The Road to Shine: What’s Next

The Road to Shine was not a short or easy one for Rivals players hoping to earn a free plane ticket to the Boston major. Taking place over a period of 2 months and including more than 750 entrants, the event ended in a fiery grand finals last Saturday between Kisuno and LBO. In the end Kisuno was able to take home first place and earn that travel voucher for Shine – one of our biggest event stops for Rivals this year.

If you missed the action you can catch the vods on Big Blue Esports’ YouTube channel

What’s next for Rivals at Shine

twitter-nominationsToday at 3PM PDT marks the start of player nominations for Shine! If you missed MDZ’s post this means fans get to give their say on who they think should be in the Shine compendium for Rivals.

The player with the most votes on Friday will be added and people can support their travel needs with shop purchases. Once that player is funded, it moves on to the player with the next highest votes. If you’re a player that needs some help traveling to Shine make sure you opt in here.

Don’t forget to visit the nominations page to vote starting at 3PM PDT!

We’ve got a ton of exciting stuff planned for Shine this year. Local events are some of the best gaming experiences you can have so make sure you don’t miss this one. If you haven’t signed up yet you can join Kisuno and everyone else coming along by registering for Shine on smash.gg.

Shine takes place at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston from August 25th – 27th. Make sure you sign up before July 23rd, since after that the late registration fee will start to kick in.

 

AU Top 20: #20 – 11

By: Callisto, SNC, and Gabe.

This is part of an article series highlighting the Australian Rivals of Aether community, focusing on the top 20 AU players. Get to know more about our newest RCS region as we release their write-ups over the next three days.

If you’re an AU player make sure you show the online scene your support by signing up for online monthlies on smash.gg. Get to know the community and play for points and prizes, including a travel voucher to our finals event in North America for the top ranked AU player.

Articles in the Series:

Rank Results Rivals
20 local-icon #5th orcane@32zetterburn@32etalus@32
Summary

To start our list we have young Saraxxus, fresh to the competitive Rivals scene and swiftly proving that he’s no pushover. It’s evident that he is still learning his place in the game, discovering strategies and bouncing between a few characters on the roster. That said, there’s no doubt that his two top 5 placings at Sydney local events weren’t a fluke. His online placings in both our amateur and pro brackets alike suggest that he may be a player to watch.

Rank Results Rivals
19 local-icon 2nd zetterburn@32
Summary

A consistent face in the NSW rivals scene, William (aka ‘BoyLips’) has achieved solid results at local Sydney tournaments. While William is a melee player at heart, he flawlessly transitions his melee fundamentals to Rivals of Aether, using his patient and grounded Zetterburn to keep Sydney’s newer players in check.

Rank Results Rivals
18 local-icon 5th BAM9-icon 9th zetterburn@32
Summary

A relatively new player to the scene, MAST began entering local tournaments at the start of 2017 before appearing in our online brackets. Although he was unable to match up to our regulars it was clear he was eager to learn. Through persistence his placings have slowly risen and his Zetterburn is becoming a real threat to our mid-level players. Peaking with a very solid 7th place finish in May’s RCS bracket, it’s clear that MAST is not done climbing the ranks just yet.

Rank Results Rivals
17 local-icon 3rd expand2-icon 9th etalus@32
Summary

The bear from Australia’s capital, Glacier has been showing the rest of Australia that the ACT has talent. Coming from a Smash 4 background, Glacier has placed high consistently in his local scene while also getting good results when traveling out of his territory with limited practice. Having recently taken a set off Dave at a local Sydney event, it’s already evident that the fresh ACT team will promptly make their mark on the competition.

Rank Results Rivals
16 local-icon 9th expand2-icon 9th zetterburn@32
Summary

The only player from Queensland to make this list, Chats has come very close to taking sets off a number of the players above him, and even clutched out a few along the way. With his signature pink skin, he has been a top contender in every amateur bracket and slowly rising through our pro brackets. His Zetterburn has become more disciplined since a rough 9th place finish at Expand Gong 2, something he attributes to a far too aggressive playstyle. Hopefully with some practice Chats can start consistently winning more of those close last game sets.

Rank Results Rivals
15 local-icon 5th expand2-icon 5th orcane@32
Summary

One of the most well-practiced players from Sydney, Karito has developed his Orcane over the past eighteen months into a formidable foe. He’s performed well against many of the top players in the community, using his hasty and volatile approach to catch competitors off guard. The young gun has always had his eyes on the top position, but has fallen a little short on the podium finish in a handful of online and local events this year.

Rank Results Rivals
14 local-icon 3rd
Summary

OSU is always the first player to provide gameplay tips when asked, mentoring many of the players rising through our amateur ranks. Originally a dedicated Maypul main, OSU has been bringing secondaries into each bracket he plays lately, counterpicking and switching characters as he feels necessary.

After taking a short break from the scene late last year OSU has returned and made himself a player to be respected. By working on his punish game and matchup knowledge he’s been able to push his local results to greater heights. With sights on taking those results even further in the RCS series, he is definitely a player to watch out for.

Rank Results Rivals
13 local-icon 2nd BAM9-icon 9th absa@32etalus@32
Summary

Fiskit (known previously by many as Palirock) has been a prominent yet polarizing player in the Australian community since late 2015. He has developed his playstyle to adapt to the opponent he’s facing off with, exercising no restraint in playing almost every character on the roster to get an advantage in battle.

Although a strong competitor for much of 2016, Fiskit has since recorded the most varied placements in Australia. His play swings wildly from winning online tournaments undefeated to being knocked out of a competition in first round loser’s bracket. Time will tell this year how he steps up to further cement his diverse and malleable playstyle.

Rank Results Rivals
12 local-icon 2nd BAM9-icon 7th absa@32
Summary

A veteran of the Aus smash scene, Jamwa has relatively little playtime in Rivals. Despite this, it cannot be argued that the impact he makes in the rare event he attends is extremely noteworthy. His deliberate and highly adaptive style of Absa makes up for his limited matchup knowledge, and his cloud use is without equal. Surprising everyone by coming back from a round 1 loss at CoM 8 to place second and a week later upsetting Palirock to make top 8 at BAM, Jamwa is worthy of a placing of 12th on this list.

Rank Results Rivals
11 local-icon 3rd
Summary

Stutter has had a very steady rise in the scene over the past year, making clear efforts to minimize the weaknesses of his neutral whilst also enhancing his own style of Forsburn. He now stands as one of the more adaptable players in the scene with his reactive neutral proving deadly to some of our more careless players and his stylish cape combos constantly surprising the competition.

Though he unfortunately wasn’t able to attend BAM 9, the May RCS event soon after provided him with his the opportunity to demonstrate how far he’s come. He ended up placing 7th after losing only to Dave’s Kragg and SNC early in losers side of bracket, two very worthy opponents. His improvement so far has been substantial and looks to only continue as the year progresses.