I've always been a bit down (and at times a bit loud) on cheesy lameness. If you've a birthday team, or you're playing 30ts up against n00bs, or you heavily elfball, or you’re Sillysod, chances are I'll have spent a bit of time booing you in the past. There are good teams and races, and there are cheesy exploits. I used to think the line was clear.

One form of perceived cheesiness (at least to me) is the primed Undead SMACK team. Somewhere between Vet and Elite, these pixels become a bit hardcore when they have the backup of a certain 90k Vampire and a few shuffling, booting Zombies. But when does a good team become a cheesy one? The edges of the boundaries are pretty well defined. A TR175 Undead team with no money in the bank thrown at a Pro SMACK is a good team, if coached well and they get a slice of luck, they'll have a chance. There are a few cheesy teams. You know the sorts, a couple of Mummies, 8 DP Zombies, 200k banked, no positionals (or very few), and ready to steamroller whatever has the gaul to stand in their way. Tight at the limit, Count (at least) a certainty for every round, got a few in the bag already, etc, etc.

Back when I was a n00b and I'd lost considerably more games than I won, I started my first Undead team in [R]. This hardy bunch of chaps dragged me back to average CR back in the day, and introduced me to the joy of 30k Linos that could be relied upon. 91 games played and -13 CAS on the differential tells half of the story, but in the recent past, they've been entered in a few things, the odd SMACK here, the odd Minor there, when I've had the time or inclination. Because of the way I treat [R], I've never seen them as a cheesy team. I mean, I've entered Vampires in SMACKs, Woodies, am running a terrible Rotter team currently, don't Elfball, rarely if ever pick, start real teams in RRRs, you know how it is, I try and play in the 'right' way. But today, I had a day off work and fancied a SMACK. Trimming the lads to Elite meant dropping a Ghoul and a few quid, and in they popped. At the end of their first game, my oppo remarked he'd been happy to do well against an obviously primed and managed SMACK team, despite losing.

This smacked me (pun intended!) between the eyes a bit. Moi? Cheesy? True, some good form / fortune has bought the lads a FF of 25 and the Count every game if I like. True, the Mummies don't bump the TR too much, the DP Zombies are pretty prevalent at the moment, even though I tend not to foul much... They've won three tournaments... Hey! Maybe I _am_ cheesing it a bit! When did I cross the line from good team to cheesy win chaser?! I certainly wasn't looking when the powergame fiend snuck up behind me and possessed my hither-to pure of heart form...

I mean… I like playing Undead, I fancied a SMACK on my day off, where did this subliminal fromage sneak in?

My conclusion is that it hasn’t. My paranoia has been checked for now. It’s a good team, and I’m not intentionally using them to crank out tournament wins weekly with their Count-a-game fans and their filthy Zeds. After all, I hardly ever play [R] tournies! What the episode has taught me is that maybe I’m quick to judge some days. Cheese is evident in [R]anked, where people perceive the rewards to be greatest, they’ll go after them. I can see why people churn out 20 SMACKs with a team, raise birthday teams to win Majors, and so on. But not everyone is chasing the rainbow anyway they can. Some of those guys just like to play with a good team that happens to be looking hawt on that day of the week. Chatting to Piggy on the weekend, some people are after his Orcs just because they're looking good, despite the fact they've been bred almost totally on SMACKs, as an example.

Note to self; next SMACK entry, something tier 2 or lower. I think if everyone spread it about a bit, that layer of cheese would be a little bit thinner, and we’d all be that little bit less cynical.

Just a thought. Good is fine, we all like running good teams. But the line to cheesy is blurry and easy to drift towards... Intentional or not! ;)