Gotta Catch Em Dubs had a great draft night. No doubt they were disappointed after missing out on the playoffs last year but re-tooled and are in a great position to make that leap in season 2. Their Pokemon core is still there but got an upgrade. After keeping Pokemon Trainer, they were able to snag Mewtwo with a late pick. Mewtwo was not only the strongest Pokemon last season, but one of the strongest fighters in the league. Plus they further strengthened the roster with Meta Knight, who was very strong for House Nolson last season.

The two question marks are Incineroar and Olimar. The fire-wrestler Pokemon only had 6 appearances last season, and was about average in them. Olimar is completely new to the FSL and his small size may force him to have the same struggles as fellow small fighters such as Pikachu and Sonic. But there is hope, season 1 MVP Ness uses strong magic attacks to overcome his size disadvantage.

Young Bucks completely retooled after an up-and-down season 1 as Jules' Angels. Their draft is especially hard to grade, considering they took a lot of unknown fighters and appeared to pursue a strategy placing value on youth and cuteness above proven fighting ability.

Getting Toon Link late was a massive win for the Young Bucks. He was a great fighter last year and provides a consistent presence to steady this young team. Two other picks that I really liked were Lucas and Villager. Lucas is new to the FSL and Villager only appeared in one game last season. They both are overflowing with upside, since they project to be very similar to their franchise-mates, Ness and Isabelle. If Lucas and Villager both hit their upside, Young Bucks will have one of the strongest big-3s in the league.

Unfortunately I have a hard time getting too excited about this roster because their other two picks: Inkling and Pichu. They each only played in 5 games last season, but didn't do anything to make me think they could be elite. Pichu has the same problems as Pikachu and Inkling was one of the lowest damage fighters in the league. Ultimately there is a lot of upside on the team but having two liabilities puts a ceiling on what they can be.

Strong Squad had the worst record in the league last year, but are in a position to completely flip that around this year. Donkey Kong was a force last year, so keeping him was absolutely the right choice. Last year the team could just not surround their necktie-wearing superstar with any talent but that is different now.

Samus, King Dedede, and Ganondorf are all heavy hitters who each have the potential to single-handedly turn a match around. Samus was one of the best fighters in the league last year and will be a huge loss for her old team. Dedede is prone to accidentally jumping off the stage, but when he focuses is quite powerful. Ganondorf was inconsistent but has a strong enough punch that he a threat to KO any fighter as soon as they enter the match.

A little surprising was the decision to also keep Zero-Suit Samus. She had 11 appearances last season and despite showing flashes, was overall disappointing and clearly the worst fighter from the Metroid franchise. Maybe the thinking is that with 4 big slow fighters they need a fast & agile presence on the team. But one questionable decision doesn't change the fact that Strong Squad went from the weakest roster in the FSL to one that actually fits their name.

Last season Extra Ranch finished 8-8 and barely missed the playoffs. Their team was made up of 5 solid fighters but lacked a real star. They traded some of that security for more risk, but I would argue higher upside as well.

Keeping Peach and Young Link made sense, they were both pretty good last season and you need fighters who can hold their own. The big addition though is Dark Samus. She wasn't as good last season as classic Samus, but the fighters have a very similar style and maybe playing with this solid supporting cast will allow Dark Samus to reach the superstar potential she clearly has.

Falco is another solid pick. Good ranged attacks and the ability to get close and launch enemies. Certainly able to be a part of a good team. The thing holding me back from loving this draft is the decision to take Sonic. There isn't a nice way to say it, the hedgehog was bad last season. It is especially glaring since Extra Ranch could have returned Yoshi, one of their best fighters last season. A lot of Extra Ranch's previous success came from having no weak links and they might have introduced one to the team by drafting Sonic.

Another team that is going through a lot of changes is Poogs. They kept Bowser, which is a no-brainer since he is was one of the best in the FSL in season 1. And then I guess it is wise they drafted four new fighters because last season they couldn't get the big man any help.

First off, the positives. I don't know. Joker, Banjoe Kazooie, Mr Game & Watch, and Dr Mario are all totally new to the FSL so I don't know much of what to expect from them. At least I have an idea for Dr Mario that he could be similar to Mario who was pretty average, nothing inspiring about his performance last year. Will getting his MD give him an advantage in fights? IDK maybe??? Joker is a total wildcard, I don't know what he will do and I'm not even sure he knows himself. He's kind of like a dog chasing cars in that way.

And Banjoe Kazooie could be good or bad I don't know. Duck Hunt is a double character in a similar way and had struggles but that doesn't mean BK can't be good. Mr Game & Watch seems like he will be weird. Maybe that is good. But hey, four totally new fighters around Bowser is worth a shot.

The champions will have their hands full defending the title this season. It doesn't mean it is impossible but in my eyes their roster got a slight downgrade this off season. Keeping Isabelle was a good and obvious move. She is a wickedly talented fighter and the heart of the team. The decision to keep Zelda is also easy to understand, the finals MVP came up clutch and delivered STALK the first ever FSL championship. That said, it does hurt that they had to let Snake, Mewtwo, and Wolf go.

Their new draftees aren't going to be pushovers though. Captain Falcon's ability to launch even the heaviest opponents off the screen is very valuable. Cloud is another big hitter while Fox brings some agility and ranged damage to the roster.

The team is without any obvious weak points, and Isabelle has the potential to carry average teammates but I'm just worried that the overall talent drain will hurt STALK too much.

The team formerly known as You Gotta Be Kiddin Me has changed their name to Responsible Fighters and is surely looking to respond after losing the championship last season. They had to lose one of their big 3 and the team will definitely feel the loss of Samus. That said they recovered pretty effectively. Yoshi is probably as-good-as-you'll get for a Samus replacement. That green dino hits surprisingly hard and the egg KOs are the most disrespectful KO in the game.

Exchanging Cloud for his antagonist, Sephiroth, is interesting and I like it. Cloud was a solid fighter, but didn't quite have the survivability to be a real star. Maybe Sephiroth's wings mean he can combine Cloud's big sword hits with staying on the stage longer.

Now the obvious downside of the draft is re-drafting Pikachu. Management at Responsible Fighters obviously has a soft spot for the famous Pokemon, let's see if Pikachu can repay the loyalty with some KOs this season.

2 Easy had their playoff run cut short last season but they were a great team. Ridley was the best free agent pickup of the year and of course 2 Easy chose to keep their spooky superstar. Giannis was another great choice to return. He was easily the strongest of the Mii fighters and one of the best ranged attackers in the FSL.

Ice Climbers with the last pick was a really good choice. They didn't play in a lot of games last season but were very effective in the action they saw. That is a high-upside pick that 2 Easy can easily dump if it doesn't work out.

Steve and Piranha Plant are both new to the FSL this season but I think they are high upside picks. Piranha Plant especially, since it is a very large fighter has potential to be a KO machine. Steve from Minecraft is totally unknown but in my opinion a worthy risk. If he doesn't work out 2 Easy hasn't been afraid to cut under-performers.

Last season House Nolson owed much of their success to the unexpected stardom of Robin, who was an unknown fighter at the time. They seem to have doubled down on that strategy, adding three fighters with a lot of potential and unpopular names.

Kazuya, Byleth, and Hero are all new to the FSL and I don't know at all what to expect from them. The reason I still liked this draft though, is that I see a lot of upside in it. House Nolson is returning two elite fighters in Robin and King K Rool, so if they just hit on one of their rookies they will have a tough team. If two of the new fighters turn out to be stars, they will be competing for a championship.

Maybe I am grading this draft too high because I'm just excited about the potential of the unknown, but it is a risky strategy that I think could pay out in a big big way.