Welcome back Commanders. That rumbling you hear is not just another T-72 coming down the road, but the fevered excitement for Warno SDL Season 5 which starts in just a few short days. Now is the perfect time to take a look at our array of competitors (80!) and perhaps prognosticate on who will be the top finishers in Season 5. Join me for this preview.
Last season's Division 1 finals were Epic, with a capital E. Pro_Kommyhuct and Tmanplays faced off in an Epic 5 game series. If you have not already watched I encourage you to find the link (HERE) as well as versions from Tman and Pro_Kommy's point of view (HERE and HERE). This is top level Warno action and as such there is no reason to believe that Tman and Pro_Kommy will not return to these levels. Who could possibly dethrone them? My dark horse candidate for Division 1 this season is SnowWolfe. In a period where many creators are burning out from the game and uploading less to YouTube the SnowWolfe train keeps on chugging. They have the passion and the desire, now they just need the results. Nevertheless, Fortitude Fence's Canadian F-18s and Ben Dover's mobs of Abrams may prove to be the better armies in the end. WARNING. WARNING. WARNING. A new challenger(s) approaches. At various points in the last few months both Hippie "the World's Actual Number 1 Warno Player" and [FOB][Never Lose Again] SneakyBlackGuy have held the rank of #1 on the Warno ladder. Their inclusion into Division 1 this season adds a new layer of intrigue; does your ranked level translate to tournament success?
The difference between Division 1 and Division 2 in terms of skill level is small. Which means the battle to get promoted from Division 2 should be awfully tight. Each Commander in Division 2 has their preferred division but has slowly increased their repertoire over time. A true deep knowledge of numerous divisions will be crucial for success this season, and the group stage should help weed out those competitors that are one trick ponies. My dark horse candidate for Division 2 this season shines brightly amongst the competition. An aficionado of tanks in Warno, goldenpanzer30 might be in a position to utilize the hordes of T-55s coming to the WWIII battlefield better than anyone else. That is if he can beat the Nighthawks of Pasta La Vista and the 8th Infantry of Penne.
Sigh, Division 3. A place near and dear to my heart, as that is the Division where I currently reside. The Commanders in Division 3 are all very talented but flawed; hence we are in Division 3. Have these players been practicing in the off-season to improve on some of their weaknesses or are they still ripe for exploitation? Division 3 includes various Commanders that only excel at their macro map management, while others have the micro to keep their units alive all game. All of these conflicting skills will be put to the test. The forerunners in Division 3 this season are 5_luuk_5 (blokto) and fcm2c (Marechal_Autisme) but in reality Division 3 is wide open. Get your popcorn ready!
Welcome to the wildness that is Division 4. The breeding ground of next year's top Warno players, Division 4 harbors the hopes and dreams of the newest members of SDL. Commanders will stick to the armies and play styles that they know the best, who cares about the meta! But slowly, as the group stage progresses, certain Commanders will rise to the occasion. We saw it last season with MagicYang and ZuGrex (currently in Division 3) who hit their strides and enjoyed 20th Pancerna a lot in the playoffs. I will say one name that sticks out to me is faridachaemenidfoxes, famed member of the Foxes HQ gaming discord. They have been around the block a few times and have the experience to do some damage in Division 4.
Think that you have a better grasp on the skill level of the competitors for this season of SDL? Well now is your chance to prove it! Coming back strong this season is SDL WARNO Fantasy League Season 5. Using a salary cap you will be tasked with filling out a roster of the top commanders for this season. Points will be awarded for map wins with a 1.5x multiplier for playoff wins. The rules and rosters can be viewed HERE with picks needed to be emailed to warno.dispatch@gmail.com by October 8th. You do NOT need to be in SDL Season 5 to play in fantasy; all are welcome.
Prizes for this season of SDL WARNO Fantasy League will include SDL merchandise!! You will be the coolest person on your block, in your town, and just in general by sporting the SDL merchandise that you could win.
Next week the Warno Dispatch will return with a review of some of the first matches of SDL Season 5. May the air RNG be ever in your favor and let the meta developments begin!
Protoss's FAQ Video Here
Draft Tool Here