Special Event: Blaseball Season 6
September 7, 2020 7:19 AM - Subscribe

Another week, another year of Blaseball: season 6 is about to kick off, with a whole new set of leagues and divisions and a lot of Sunday-election changes to players and teams. Have you chosen an idol? Come on in and let's talk blases and balls.

Season 5 thread is here; the Chicago Firefighters emerged as champs, entering the ranks of Potential Ascension Risks along with the two extant two-time champs the Philly Pies and the Hades Tigers.

The league structure has been totally reworked this season: gone are the Good/Evil leagues and Lawful/Chaotic divisions, in favor of Wild/Mild and High/Low respectively. More to the point, the teams themselves have been redistributed into new league and divisions based on regular seasons standings in season 5; Wild High are the top five teams, then Mild High, Mild Low, and finally Wild Low. But who knows how election changes will affect the strength of those teams in season 6?
posted by cortex (67 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Historically most games have been intra-league, which suggests that matchups in the Mild league with it's middle 50% of the season 5 teams will be a lot less lop-sided than the Wild league with its heavy-hitters vs. deep underdogs. Hopefully the Tacos won't get stuck playing the Lovers another few dozen times this year; alternatively, hopefully the Tacos will get to explore even deeper depths of record-breaking loss numbers. If you can't be the best, at least make history.

As a Shoes fan I'm deeply curious how we're gonna perform now that our pitchers are no longer absolutely terrible. We've had good fielding defense and some decent bats keeping us in contention in previous seasons; maybe we're well-rounded enough to have a chance to really shine? Gunther will, regardless, have a lot of fun.
posted by cortex at 7:27 AM on September 7, 2020


Interested to see what the new division shakeup brings. Had Togo with Eugenia Garbage as my idol, even though Polkadot Patterson is probably the better performer...but Garbage is my fave.

#HydrationNation
posted by nubs at 7:40 AM on September 7, 2020 [1 favorite]


We've had the first Blood Drain of the season, as a batter for the Yellowstone Magic stole a star from a player on the Baltimore Crabs. Lucky for the Crabs it was a batting star and it got stolen from a pitcher, but still. Interesting. Vampire action this season.
posted by cortex at 9:28 AM on September 7, 2020


I am amused that after the first series, Mild Low has four teams with exactly the same standings. We! Are! Mediocre!
posted by restless_nomad at 11:31 AM on September 7, 2020 [1 favorite]


I agonized a lot over the teams initially because of the Good V Evil. I'm really liking Wild/Mild, and also "Mild Low" fits me pretty well.
posted by curious nu at 11:49 AM on September 7, 2020


Also wow on the new decrees.
posted by curious nu at 11:50 AM on September 7, 2020


This new division set up is not suiting the Moist Talkers at all. I'm so mad I could spit.

Was that shakeup a permanent decree; i.e., will it happen again at the end of this season?
posted by nubs at 2:22 PM on September 7, 2020


I don't care about all you Team Momo stans, we're solidly O'Rangers and Green Ducks all the way. what?
posted by JHarris at 6:33 PM on September 7, 2020 [1 favorite]


I think that crossover happens in S12, JHarris.
posted by nubs at 7:15 PM on September 7, 2020 [1 favorite]


Man, picking an idol is hard... Choose Allison Abbot, or someone who's actually good?

Who am I kidding, I'm here for the nail bats...
posted by kaibutsu at 9:56 PM on September 7, 2020


I have talked my wife into blaseball! She is firmly Team Tacos, because they have a coyote.
posted by restless_nomad at 6:39 AM on September 8, 2020 [1 favorite]


Hex! We were so sad to lose Halexandry (which is maybe my favorite name I've ever heard and was probably 50% of why I joined the Magic) but are glad she's doing well.
posted by curious nu at 6:54 AM on September 8, 2020


This divisional realignment is really messing with my passive-income strategy (the Millennials are in last place right now…). Luckily I seem to have found a betting strategy that sort of works (if there's at least two games were one team has ≥70% odds, split my money evenly among them) and I'm getting more passive income from the Idol I picked (J. Telephone).
posted by Ampersand692 at 8:35 AM on September 8, 2020


It appears that switching idols makes you drop pendants— is anyone else seeing this happen?
posted by q*ben at 8:50 AM on September 8, 2020


This season...Two feedbacks for the Moist Talkers so far - lost Richmond Harrison, who was a fan favorite, and got Fish Summer from the Tigers. Then Antonio Wallace came over from the Shoe Thieves in exchange for Lachlan Shelton.

The Crabs are on a 21 game win streak.

Nothing is the same anymore.
posted by nubs at 8:55 AM on September 8, 2020


Richmond Harrison, the ultimate wet boi, going to a team that lives in the fires of hell, feels very weird. Real unstoppable force vs. immovable object thing there; can Richmond stay wet in those conditions? Can Hades stay dry in his presence?

Losing Tony is a big heartbreak for the Shoes. He's a very good batter but he's also OUR good skeleton boy. And the transfer is gonna really mess up the rehearsal schedule for the Esme Ramsey Quartet.

On the flip side, Gunther threw a shutout!!!
posted by cortex at 9:08 AM on September 8, 2020 [1 favorite]


There’s been some lore work this morning about Richardson and various rivers of the underworld so he should be ok
posted by curious nu at 9:33 AM on September 8, 2020


Protip: Turned out I was a 1%er at the end of Season 5 and got cleaned out to zero by Eat the Rich. Turn your money into votes at Election time. You can't take it with you.
posted by whuppy at 9:57 AM on September 8, 2020 [2 favorites]


Richmond Harrison, the ultimate wet boi, going to a team that lives in the fires of hell,

That being said, Fish Summer probably is feeling some relief with his new team.
posted by nubs at 11:32 AM on September 8, 2020


I had about $5000 at the end of last season and was still in the 99%. I think the best bet is to make as many votes as you can and ride into the new season with just enough seed money to get back up to full betting strength. Not very anti-capitalist of me but what can I say?
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 11:40 AM on September 8, 2020


So this is my second season and I think I'm getting to the swing of things. The division shuffle is really hurting the Mils, but Blood Pity might end up being good for us at the end of the season.

I'm not sure how I feel about the idols right now. The amount of coins you have to spend to max out your pendants and earn a decent return doesn't seem worth it to me. What is interesting though the the dotted red line on the top idols chart. I'm hearing some people talk about bad things happening if the three Peanut players aren't above that red line by the end of the season.

Anyways, this is all turning into some great fun, and I'm really enjoying the community aspect of it.

Gunther threw a shutout!!!

WHAT!?!?!? How'd that happen???
posted by noneuclidean at 2:46 PM on September 8, 2020 [1 favorite]


So, someone figured out you could call up incinerated players' pages and use them with the new idol system.

Currently, Jaylen Hotdogfingers, the first player to be incinerated, is #19 on the idol board.

Lots of speculation about this being the Third Strike, what if they get above the red line, what if they're at #14 when that blessing kicks in, etc.
posted by curious nu at 4:51 PM on September 8, 2020


I love that the fandom keeps finding these little cracks, and then that the devs respond by making custom icons and leaning into the crazy. This is what keeps me coming back.
posted by q*ben at 5:17 PM on September 8, 2020


Lots of speculation about this being the Third Strike, what if they get above the red line, what if they're at #14 when that blessing kicks in, etc.

...Aaaaaand, he's at 14th at the time of this posting. Now to see if people can keep him there. Nothing good can come from this, so it should be fun.
posted by noneuclidean at 5:19 PM on September 8, 2020


The blaseball commissioners response on Twitter was amusing.
posted by nubs at 5:26 PM on September 8, 2020


So, trying to explain blaseball to my wife and realizing its gone from a funny, offbeat betting sim to a league with deep lore from a passionate fanbase and now that fanbase is attempting necromancy
posted by nubs at 7:03 PM on September 8, 2020 [3 favorites]


Not just attempting necromancy, but there was pretty much a microsecond to switch from "hah look at this it works" to "oh wow we can maybe raise the dead" to "WE MUST RAISE OUR LOST LOVE, AND BURN THE WORLD FOR IT"
posted by curious nu at 7:28 PM on September 8, 2020 [2 favorites]


I'm here for the necromancy.

"Protip: Turned out I was a 1%er at the end of Season 5 and got cleaned out to zero by Eat the Rich. Turn your money into votes at Election time. You can't take it with you."

Deciding how much money to leave at the end of the season is a great little push-your-luck game... I think I saw that the 3rd season cutoff was around $6k; I'm curious where it actually landed in the last couple seasons. If the ceiling descends over time, it will be glorious.
posted by kaibutsu at 9:23 PM on September 8, 2020 [1 favorite]


So I woke up to construction on a ritual to raise the dead, that's a thing. I'm here for it, though.

I just spend all of my coins every season - I don't have the patience to try to game out the money side of things, and frankly (see above) the community is doing way more interesting things than I could possibly imagine.
posted by restless_nomad at 6:44 AM on September 9, 2020


I was thinking this morning how glorious this is, in terms of the creators of Blaseball entering into such a fun, creative dialogue with the fans of their game; the fans have found a loophole and the creators seem quite prepared to run with it, along with enjoying all of the fan-created lore, art, etc. I think it's the fact that this (is becoming/always was) some kind of weird storytelling game is what makes it compelling for me. If it was just the betting, I would be losing interest - like restless_nomad, I have no patience to play the money game, I bet and invest in ways to either earn more income or I buy votes; that's about it.
posted by nubs at 7:14 AM on September 9, 2020


I'm not 100% convinced that the appearance of Mx. Hotdogfingers isn't kayfabe, but it's fun, so whatever.

One of the things I like about this is that in real sports, random and/or unfair things happen all the time and people get upset about it. When something random and/or unfair happens in Blaseball, it's just "this is baseball in hell, what did you expect?"
posted by Ampersand692 at 7:26 AM on September 9, 2020


One of the things I like about this is that in real sports, random and/or unfair things happen all the time and people get upset about it. When something random and/or unfair happens in Blaseball, it's just "this is baseball in hell, what did you expect?"

uh, depending on where you're hanging out, I can confirm that many people are 100% taking blaseball very seriously and getting het up. =/
posted by curious nu at 7:39 AM on September 9, 2020


depending on where you're hanging out, I can confirm that many people are 100% taking blaseball very seriously and getting het up. =/

Yeah, I've backed out of the discord channels; people are getting very invested which is maybe good for them, but I don't need stress over a random digital sport infecting my life.
posted by nubs at 8:26 AM on September 9, 2020 [2 favorites]


I'm not 100% convinced that the appearance of Mx. Hotdogfingers isn't kayfabe, but it's fun, so whatever.

Honestly, given that it's a small team with apparently zero web dev experience as a group, I'd be very surprised if the initial bug (player cards still exist and aren't specially-coded after incineration, just stop being linked anywhere) wasn't a genuine thing. The commissioner is for sure leaning into the narrative, though, and that's why blaseball is so great.
posted by restless_nomad at 9:13 AM on September 9, 2020


What I want to know is if we successfully resurrect Jaylen Hotdogfingers what is going to happen to the poor sucker she replaces? Are they going to get incinerated?
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 1:02 PM on September 9, 2020


Oh I fully expect things to get weird.
posted by restless_nomad at 2:43 PM on September 9, 2020


Surely at least 14 players have been incinerated by now, yes? We could have an expansion Team of the Dead.
posted by Ampersand692 at 3:19 PM on September 9, 2020 [2 favorites]


Incineration is just the beginning
posted by nubs at 8:02 PM on September 9, 2020




Yeah, I've backed out of the discord channels; people are getting very invested which is maybe good for them, but I don't need stress over a random digital sport infecting my life.

Join us marble sport fans! Our athletes are injured only occasionally!
posted by JHarris at 8:24 AM on September 10, 2020 [1 favorite]


Even in real baseball, teams are prohibited from suing the Commissioner. I don't know how a Blaseball team suing the Blaseball Gods would relate to that exactly, but it can't be good.
posted by Ampersand692 at 11:40 AM on September 10, 2020


Why am I buying pitching related pendants when my idol isn't a pitcher?
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 1:33 PM on September 10, 2020


HMFS Randall Marijuana got incinerated. We now have a necromancy battle on the horizon. This season guys
posted by q*ben at 9:08 PM on September 10, 2020


The rumour making the rounds is that idols will be locked in after the regular season ends, which makes life interesting for those of us engaging in bringing someone back to life
posted by nubs at 8:31 AM on September 11, 2020


I am officially participating in the Necronut Strategy. These are not words I ever expected to type.
posted by restless_nomad at 8:56 AM on September 11, 2020 [1 favorite]


The regular season just ended and the "200 New Idol" button is still active, so I don't think the idols are locked in.
posted by Ampersand692 at 11:45 AM on September 11, 2020


I take that back. They may be locked in at the top of the hour (3:00 EDT).
posted by Ampersand692 at 11:47 AM on September 11, 2020


NO HALF MEASURES. Next season, guys.
posted by q*ben at 12:00 PM on September 11, 2020


It says STRIKE THREE now. That can't be good.
posted by Ampersand692 at 12:04 PM on September 11, 2020


ONE MORE AND YOU ARE OUT. Also McDaniel and Telephone are SHELLED. Gods i love this game.
posted by q*ben at 12:06 PM on September 11, 2020


welcome to the ILB's newest team, the Wexico City Mild Wings!
posted by curious nu at 12:09 PM on September 11, 2020 [2 favorites]


I think... I think justice might have been done.
posted by restless_nomad at 12:36 PM on September 11, 2020


So the two players who are SHELLED are the one just above, and the one just below, the three Peanut-named players...I don't know what that means.
posted by nubs at 2:28 PM on September 11, 2020


They were #1 and #2 at the time that the shelling happened, then idols were unlocked again.
posted by restless_nomad at 2:44 PM on September 11, 2020


Supposedly, 'shelled' means that the players have been encased in giant peanut shells, which would presumably impact their blaseballing abilities.

I don't pay that close attention to things, and was planning to swap idols to a Peanut during the postseason. Was there any indication that I should have jumped earlier?
posted by suckerpunch at 3:23 PM on September 11, 2020


oh I didn't read the comments above, it was rumored, so I guess the devs are going out of game to get the points across

guess I have to pay attention
posted by suckerpunch at 3:24 PM on September 11, 2020


Consequences.
posted by restless_nomad at 6:37 AM on September 12, 2020


who wants pancakes
posted by cortex at 9:10 AM on September 12, 2020


This playoff has been a thing of legend. "Happy to finally break 0.500" Garages get the second-to-last seat, manage to unseat the Pies and the Tigers back to back, and now we're facing the 0.800+ Crabs??
posted by CrystalDave at 2:49 PM on September 12, 2020


I'm so hoping for a great big upset for the Garages to take the series. Would be delighted for you. But mostly hoping the whole resurrecting Jaylen Hotdogfingers thing works out.
posted by cortex at 2:50 PM on September 12, 2020


Yeah, I was just happy the garages made it to the playoffs, and then they swept the tigers?! Quaaaaaaaaaaa? But given the Crabs record this season, the semi finals felt like a competition to see who would get clawed.
posted by kaibutsu at 12:44 AM on September 13, 2020


So we've got the Shadows, now, which Discord rumormill sez is essentially a bullpen but an as-yet-unused feature -- Mike Townsend and a couple of others are now there as a result of blessings for various teams.

Jaylen's back! Returned, and owing a Debt.

Crabs might have a less-good season coming up due to Nagomi still being Shelled, but the rest of the team is so solid it may not matter.

WE ARE ALL GOING TO ENJOY ENHANCED PARTY TIME (especially the Dalé).

And the blood bath was postponed, which.. I was looking forward to. =(
posted by curious nu at 2:39 PM on September 13, 2020


This was a pretty good writeup on some of what's been going on with the Season 6 Garages storyline. Keep a close eye for the official writeup on Jaylen & Mike, it's hot stuff.
posted by CrystalDave at 6:24 PM on September 13, 2020 [1 favorite]


So, in the few hours left ahead of S7, the red line is back on the idols page - this time, below #10. Ominous or menacing?
posted by nubs at 6:30 AM on September 14, 2020


If I were writing fanfic (which, aren't we all, really?) I would be speculating about the creation of a team from all the incinerated/shelled/shadowed players, captained by Mike Townsend.
posted by restless_nomad at 8:39 AM on September 14, 2020


That's what I was thinking, restless_nomad.
posted by nubs at 8:58 AM on September 14, 2020


Season 7 thread is up!
posted by cortex at 9:17 AM on September 14, 2020


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