> EM News 4th Edition
published by CarlySunshine24
> EM Headlines
Next week will be a special week for the news...
We have decided to dedicate next week's news to the ones who make Epic Mafia possible, the mods! This means a mod poll, mod poetry, and much more!
What's with the bows?
The newest avi trend in EpicMafia, the hello kitty bow. It can be in any color or print, and for some reason, it's going around EM very quickly! But who started it and why is it so popular? Here's an interview with the one who started it all, b0oty!
Why did you choose that for an avi?
I like hello kitty cuz shes cute and pink and cute!
So...if you like pink...why isn't your bow pink?
My bow was pink but I went to blue to mourn the loss of KHNM as a bow wearer (he was blue).
How did others catch on to your style?
BECAUSE ITS FAKIN CUTE N THEY WANA B CUTE LIKE ME
**If you want to know what these avatars look like, just visit Eric's profile! Also, b0oty has offered to make you a hello kitty avatar, if you ask politely and say please. ;) **
> Notable Account Changes
Riddler has reached a whopping 100,000 points!
Giga has reached 70,000 points. Congratulate Giga and read his thank you to the community...
Thank you all who helped teach me and also to those who supported me! You guys rule. I'd be nowhere without you all. There are so many people to mention, but you all know who you are. :) Thanks again!
> Bans
- trolhaxor was banned from Training lobby.
- KarmaPyro was banned from Training lobby.
- TheHungerGames was banned from Training and Competitive lobbies.
- Spartacus was banned from Training, Competitive, and Sandox lobbies.
- TheJewishTailor was banned from all lobbies.
- Sirius was banned from Competitive and Training lobbies.
- Godly was banned from Competitive and Training lobbies.
- hammersharks was banned from Training lobby.
- DrJackShepard was banned from Competitive lobby.
- Konata was banned.
- Cirno was banned.
- Recon was banned from Training lobby.
- children was banned from Training, Competitive, Sandbox lobbies.
- VapoRub was banned from Training lobby.
- IAmPetri was banned from Training, Sandbox, and Games lobbies.
- Rape was banned from Training lobby.
- Effervescence was banned from Training, Sandbox, and Games lobbies.
- MikeyRu was banned from Training and Competitive lobby.
> Notable Threads
SGRaaize: http://www.epicmafia.com/topic/50844 "Friends are playing" (A great new feature by Lucid!)
Riddler: http://www.epicmafia.com/topic/50829 What's worse: Burning or Drowning? (Your input, please?)
SpiderBoom: http://www.epicmafia.com/topic/49634 EM Hearts Arms Collage (Wait this isn't finished yet? Join in on the fun and send a spot into SpiderBoom! Get those pictures in!)
> Blade's Corner
by blade12344:
Today I'm reviewing Swapper by TriAft
http://www.epicmafia.com/role/3945 Okay so this role is alright but it needs a bit of a boost in my opinion. I don't think the town should be alerted when the swapper has swapped with his partner because it could ruin the game and would thus make the swapper one of those roles that never gets used because it's too under-powered. (Like the siren, for example) The role would be good for sandbox and I could also see it in competitive at a stretch. It would be a massive help for mafia by protecting a role that is getting lynched (e.g. when the wrong cop gets lynched the swapper could swap with the hooker and then the hooker would become nilla, get lynched as nilla) Or it could be used to bluff town (They think that the hooker has been swapped so they don't bother lynching them and instead look for the swapper, who actually hasn't swapped.) So I think I'd give this role a very good 8/10. TriAft just needs to touch it up a li'l and it'll be perfect! :)
> EM Poems
Are you great with literature? Submit a poem related to mafia for next week's edition. Next week's topic is...drumroll, please....the moderators! Please submit a nice poem thanking the moderators, or really any poem mod-related. Remember, only nice poems will put in the News!
Here's our official judge review of last week's poems...by none other than the lyrics contest winner, xXEpicGodfatherXx!
> After consideration I think Levity did the best hands-down. His > free-verse was timed excellently, grouping each subtopic by moving to > another line. I also loved his metaphors, stretching through multiple > lines. Reminds me of The Odyssey, Homer often used the same method in > his epic.
And the moment you've all been waiting for...this week's New Year's poetry!
Also my poem is The fight of the night Who is who, whisper to the tree NL so the jailer can jail NL for the Caroler to sing Claim to the naked HEY, you leaked! Any claims, please? Haha, I win!
--------AlexKapranos
The villagers plan their parties, large and fun, While the Sheriff stays back, prepping his gun. The granny baking fruitcakes galore, The town drunk, drinking some more. The templars have an intervention, While the governor rigs his election. The chef baking something delicious, The mafia becoming ever malicious. Godfathers pretending to be nice, An actress backed by spies. A lawyer defending his partner, Villagers being followed by a stalker. The voodoo lady doing her worst, But the fabricator giving fake vests first. However the third parties the weirdest of all, Like the creepy girl always passing her doll. Fools finding ropes to fit their necks, The killer wondering who will be next. Angels protecting with their lives, The clockmaker sharpening his knives. Though these may all cause you fear, They all wish you a happy new years.
--------Hyperro
So wondrous on a New Years Day To Epic Mafia come and play Perhaps you’ll even want to stay Even if you don’t, we’ll find a way
--------SheaAnneth
Thanks to the authors for submitting these wonderful works! ;)
> Member of the Week
Phantomatrix conducted this interview of Data, our Member of the Week! Congratulations to Data!
"Why did you join EM?" I heard it was close to slasher, and slasher has long since been retired on the-n.
"What inspired you to become a mod?" First I got bored with sandbox, then training, then comp. So I decided I'd do reports.
"Does being a mod ever get in the way of having fun on EM? How so?/ Why not?" Nah, actually they make EpicMafia fun.
"Who is 'Data'?" The cutest guy on star trek. I wanted a four letter name so Alex suggested some (like xena) but I came up with data and we agreed.
Congratulations, Data!
Know an EM player that deserves a kudo, forum-style? Submit your nominations (via PM, please) for next week's MOTW! You are allowed to nominate yourself, but give a few reasons as to why you deserve it! Please submit by this Thursday, 1/3/12!
> TriAft's Comp Lobby Update
by none other than the great TriAft!
Hey guys, Tri here with an Analysis of the ongoing of Round 81! We're getting close to the end of the round and the few people jockeying for a chance to win are clear. This round is the first version of these Special Rounds. For those who don't know, these rounds are only allowed to use setups that have not been in a competitive round since round 66, 15 rounds ago. This narrows down the pickings from much of the popular and overplayed setups, including Overturn 2 Riddler, Stalk Disguise and Sue, Janitorial 2.0, Politics as Usual, and many more. This has forced the Round 80 winners (Peta, Toph, and Loser) to pick new setups that could introduce new setups to comp and see new strategies appear. Let's take a look at the setups:
Setups chosen by Peta: http://www.epicmafia.com/setup/637998 Reeling the Liars In
This setup is a spinoff on the popular setup Trust each other. Both setups are multisetups revolving around the fact that the mafia knows which town pr is not in the game while the town does not. While TEO has the roles Doc, Cop, Watcher, and Bomb, RLI has Doc, Nurse, Cop, and Tracker with the mafia roles switching from Guiser, Stalker, and a variety of what the third mafia could be to three of Godfather, Hooker, Stalker, and Ninja. This setup has done fairly poorly this round, generally being overshadowed by some of the bigger setups this round. My take on the reason why this didn't work out as well is because town does not have enough power. The fact that town only has two investigating roles, and that there are only two setups with both of them AND that there is a mafia role to counter each of them is just too much. Sure, the town has both a nurse and a doctor. But with the mafia's ability to get a stalk and possibly a hook, even if someone is saved outing is just asking to be killed. In my opinion, whispers would be a welcome addition to this setup, and the possibly removal of miller would help to balance the town out. Overall, this setup is underplayed from its generally scumsidedness and its difficulty to have a successful town play with the amount of mafia play against.
http://www.epicmafia.com/setup/649718 armed & retarded
This setup was subject to much controversy because while this is technically a new setup, it is almost identical to the setup Armed and Dangerous, a popularly played run-on setup in multiple rounds. There were several plans boycotting this, as this special round shouldn’t contain a setup which is so close to a setup in many other rounds, Rondar admitted that he didn’t specify the rules clearly enough and it could stay. This setup Is so popular from the great blend of scumhunting, cc battles, and ability to be carried easily. Many players will flock to this setup as it allows a great point yield to town wins and relatively simple mafia wins. The replacement of the Bulletproof with a Bomb greatly changes the flow of the game, the ability to replace the D2 shot and lynch by sacrificing your Nilla onto the bomb (assuming the bomb is gunned) adds an interesting twist to a relatively set in stone setup. Overall, while this is a great setup, the credibility of it being in this special round is questionable and left other setups with a lot less plays.
Setups chosen by Toph: http://www.epicmafia.com/setup/11784 Evil mans must die
This setup is an old setup, dating back to the beginning of 2009, long before I myself was here. Being one of the most played setups, it is surprising that this setup has not been played in a competitive round recently. This is the second most played setup this round, after A&R, with 173 plays at the time of this writing. It is interesting that this setup is being played so much, primarily because it closely resembles the widely played Classic Mafia setup. The bodyguard role allowing mafia to die n1 instead of a doc, and a stalker to give mafia that added advantage and to generally stop town from nling d1 are the only changes that keep Evil mans from being CM. This setup is slightly mafia sided, as if cop dies n1, mafia can continually nl until they find the bodyguard. It is still a fun setup keeping the mechanics relatively identical to CM, having cop, bodyguard, and blue cc battles, always leaving someone clear. Overall, while this setup may be criticized for being too similar to CM, it is an easy to grasp concept that is a good addition to the round.
http://www.epicmafia.com/setup/29125 Classics as Usual III
It seems that this round will be known for the round of spinoff setups. This setup is a blend of two popular setups, Politics as Usual and Classic. The alterations occurred are very simple: adding a fourth blue to keep the day one mylo away, replacing the watcher with a bomb to create an unjannable role, adding a gallis to discourage selfvotings, and replacing the disguiser with a hooker to increase the mafia’s chance to win. This setup is fairly old, back to the summer of 2009, but has barely been seen in recent times. It has been relatively underplayed, mostly showed up by the more familiar setups. The addition of bomb renders the setup slightly townsided, giving the janitor only two useful roles to jan, three if you argue that janning gallis makes it so that the town can never selfvote in confidence. While the hooker is a good attempt to balance out the setup, the ability to roleblock isn’t as useful with the tracker and the bodyguard, as both these roles won’t out unless cc’d, in which case they will most likely be killed. Adding a Stalker instead of a Hooker may increase the mafia’s odds, especially with a gallis stalk to avoid killing him. Overall, this is a good twist on some classic setups that while overlooked is really quite fun.
Setups picked by Loser: http://www.epicmafia.com/setup/621942 Traitor Training 3 Loser had some trouble comping his setups, removing both of his original ones, Cult Assault (heh) and Retro Setup, for one reason or another. His remaining setup, Traitor Training 3, is a balanced addition to the Traitor Training series. This setup, from my standpoint, is pretty much completely balanced. Leaving traitors to cc d1 leaves mafia up to claim blues, while lynching town d1 doesn’t automatically mean it is game over for town. It is a fun setup, no matter what you are, especially with vig shots, cop reports, and doc saves flying all over the place. Overall, there is not much to say about this setup except that it is fantastic and it should be played much more than it has been currently. The fact that it is known more from the Training Lobby may be turning players away, but I do enjoy this setup.
These setups this round, while they are technically setups that have not been played in competitive recently, are all relatively close spinoffs of other popular run-on setups. While they are not bad, it is of my opinion that they do not belong in this round. A special round should be setups of new original ideas, attempting to hone the power of an unusual role, or something that hasn’t yet surfaced to the top of Competitive. While Classics as Usual comes the closest with the rare Gallis role, most of these setups are fairly regular.
My overall rating of this round’s setups – 7.5/10
> Player Beware
During this round, we suggest being on your toes for Antidote. He wasn't able to pull off a top-3 spot, but worked hard all the way and cam close! Be on watch for him in the future, though. With his subtle tactics and sly moves, when he's maf-sided, he's as tricky as they come! So be on guard for Antidote! Here is an interview with the star...
How did you find EM? I used to be really into this flash game called haxball (kind of a soccer/air-hockey mashup type game) and became a member of one of the "leagues" there. Long story short I ended up becoming really good friends with some of the people from there, and one of them got us all into playing sandbox lobby games on here. The rest of them don't play anymore as far as I know, but I liked it so much I decided to stick around :v
Why do you like EM/find it addicting? I'm minoring in psychology atm (I'm a junior at Central Michigan University) and I love figuring out the best ways to persuade people I'm town regardless of my role. How the mind works in regards to distinguishing someone lying from someone telling the truth is fascinating to me. I suppose I find EM addicting because of the dynamic nature of the game. Every game plays out completely differently, so it's basically impossible to "master" this game no matter how much you play.
What was the most fun game you've ever played in, and why was it so fun? About two months ago Lucid made a 25-person game with one maf and 24 villagers (just to talk to people about whatever the hell he was doing at the time), and of course I rolled maf. It took 10 days (and a couple vegges, admittedly) but I eventually won and (even better) got to kill lucid. It was a good day.
What is your favorite role and why? Any maf-sided role. It seems like most people prefer to roll a town role, but I'd much rather lie and deceive my way to a victory than scumhunt ;)
How are you so good at EM? What are you doing well? Do you have any suggestions for up-and-coming players? The biggest trick to winning I've found so far is to always project confidence. People are naturally drawn to others who seems self-assured and in charge of things rather than a someone that lets themselves be pushed around or is too apathetic. With that said, you have to be careful to not go overboard and become cocky or obnoxious, as that will only turn people against you. Generally, I've found that appearing confident and acting respectful is the best mindset to have if you want to convince people to side with you.
What is your favorite thing about EpicMafia as a site? The community, of course. I've made quite a few good friends on this site and I wouldn't enjoy the game nearly as much without them.
> Village Debate
by PhantomPride This is the question of the week section. Send in your answers to PhantomPride to be published in next week's edition!
What was the most exciting thing that happened over your holidays?
> Shoutouts
From SoulDiaglaXD to Bekidding:
Me and Bekidding are good friends, I guess.
From AlexKapranos to YOLO:
SWAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!
From b0oty to khnm:
My dearest kilibutt you are so extremely manly, not cute at all. Always n 4ever b0ots mcg0ots.
From Anonymous to skullzkkz:
You are awesome!
From Antidote to SimplyJade:
You're a wiener. (It's official now)
NEXT WEEK'S SHOUTOUTS: ONLY FOR MODS! WE WOULD LIKE AS MANY EM PLAYERS AS WE CAN GET TO PUT IN A KIND MESSAGE TO ALL THE MODS!
(You may do this to all the mods in general or to a specific mod/mods.) Just PM CarlySunshine24!
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this edition!
> Current News Team
CarlySunshine24: Trial Publisher, Chief Editor
Phantomatrix: Journalist
PhantomPride: Journalist {Question of the Week}
blade12344: Journalist {Roles}
TriAft: Journalist {Comp Analysis/Game of the Week}
wakemeupxo: {Quote of the Week/Mafia Advice}
~* Not accepting new team members at this time, but thanks anyway! ;) *~
*Settling out of court: We would like to apologize to Laexio for misprinting his gender in the last edition :) *
