Mavis
Banned deucer.
Everyone knows our council member Feliburn- and if you don't, there's no better introduction than this one. Known for his Felinterviews, rivalry and friendship with fellow council member Ajna, unshakeable competitive drive, and incredibly flex-ey play, Feli isn't afraid to claim "it's my home tier and I am sure I know it better than anyone." On a hot path to a winning record in this year's Smogon Snake Draft under tier leader EviGaro and the Astrotias, Feliburn has been a face of RarelyUsed for years now, and looks to stay that way- and we'd all be sad if he didn't.
So, I had the pleasure of looking over several of his proudest USM RU replays, which will be linked in YouTube form below. I also got to interview him, asking him a handful of questions about Snake, RarelyUsed, and other subjects. Now, without any further ado, let's go!
bkdrew
1.) You've been a prominent community figure for a long time, but where did it all begin? What was the first tier you specialized in, and why?
Feliburn
-o I thought u'd send them all together
-Ok hmmm
-First tier I specialized was RU, in BW specifically, I started playing it a couple of months before ORAS RU was introduced to PS, but I was never rlly good at bw
-By the start of 2016 was when I started clicking with the game and got some nice wins under my belt, to the point where I was drafted in LTPL, which was the tour they created for lower tier players to participate in since SPL was not having lower tiers that year
-After that I just got the confidence to be more vocal in the community, the discord change helped that a lot since it was always a p relaxed environment
-Before that I didnt even like commenting on sets I liked cause I was afraid the bigger players would shit talk me rofl
bkdrew
2.) Why did you settle on RU as opposed to other potential main tiers?
Feliburn
-Well, first Ig I'll mention that the reason I touched RU in the first place was cause my global mod friend Scene rlly liked me, so one time I joined the room for like half a second and he voiced me in it, after that I stuck around cause I felt forced to but I met rlly cool people like Ajna and the other RU kids, and I learned the tier bit by bit by playing and messing around w/ them, so I just stuck in it due to having friends in there, later I started getting better at it and set my goal to be at the top and make a name for myself
bkdrew
3.) What are your personal aspirations, both as a competitor and as a council member?
Feliburn
-I dont have much aspirations as a council member other than to try to keep the tier I like balanced and fun, as a competitor tho I rlly wanna make a name for myself and do well, currently my set goal is winning the RU circuit playoffs cause I think it's cool to win such a large individual ru tour like that one
bkdrew
4.) When drafted to play for the Astrotias in SSD3, wwhat did it feel like? Hype/pressure/excitement, etc.
Feliburn
-Well, maybe a bit excitement and personal pressure, however I knew beforehand I was getting drafted :p and, this is gonna sound cocky, I knew rn I was on par with the top competition so I kinda expected it, however it felt nice to finally be picked in snake after not getting drafted in snake 1 and skipping snake 2
bkdrew
5.) Out of the three generations of RU, which one was your favorite and least favorite?
Feliburn
-least fav will always be BW, fav is ORAS, despite the current meta be centralized around trapping and such, tho USM is getting up there with oras due to how nice it feels rn
bkdrew
6.) If you had to pick two RUBL/UU mons to either drop to RU or be unbanned for use and have a positive impact on the meta, which would you pick? (Examples being, I want Empoleon and Chesnaught to drop.)
Feliburn
-I'd like crobat to drop, I like the typing and utility, feel like it¿d be a solid grass and pod check, other would have been chesnaught back, I actually liked it a lot in regular SM(edited)
bkdrew
7.) Who do you consider to be among the best players in RU right now, besides yourself?
Feliburn
-rofl tricky question, ajna nat evi are players I know can give me competition when I'm playing on top form
bkdrew
-shoulda said bkgoat
-smh
Feliburn
-the rest of the newcomers like rabbit, ave and roman are also getting p good as time goes by
bkdrew
-roman counts as a newcomer?
Feliburn
-yea
bkdrew
8.) What are your favorite aspects of RU right now, and why? (See: meta, our wide variety of usable mons, the community, etc etc.)
Feliburn
-I've always liked the community in terms of chill aspect, however I dont like how non competitive the community actually is, also yea the meta rn is great with so many options and unexplored mons u can freely use
bkdrew
9.) What was your favorite period of USM RU meta, and why?(sm/usm)
Feliburn
-Current meta due to the alrdy mentioned aspects, it¿s just more fun to build and play
bkdrew
10.) Earlier, you mentioned a dislike for how uncompetitive RU is. Assuming you had all the power possible, what steps would you take to change this?
Feliburn
-Nothing really, I could try shoving the discussions thread on everyones face but that'd just not work, the tours like ruwc and rupl are a good start for people to see how fun actual competitive is and how chill being on a team can be
bkdrew
11.) Now, for the last question, a fun one- what is your favorite song, and musician/group?
Feliburn
I dont really have have a fav song or group, however I've had a band named Saint Asonia on repeat lately if thats anything
Approved by MrAldo 10/4
So, I had the pleasure of looking over several of his proudest USM RU replays, which will be linked in YouTube form below. I also got to interview him, asking him a handful of questions about Snake, RarelyUsed, and other subjects. Now, without any further ado, let's go!
bkdrew
1.) You've been a prominent community figure for a long time, but where did it all begin? What was the first tier you specialized in, and why?
Feliburn
-o I thought u'd send them all together
-Ok hmmm
-First tier I specialized was RU, in BW specifically, I started playing it a couple of months before ORAS RU was introduced to PS, but I was never rlly good at bw
-By the start of 2016 was when I started clicking with the game and got some nice wins under my belt, to the point where I was drafted in LTPL, which was the tour they created for lower tier players to participate in since SPL was not having lower tiers that year
-After that I just got the confidence to be more vocal in the community, the discord change helped that a lot since it was always a p relaxed environment
-Before that I didnt even like commenting on sets I liked cause I was afraid the bigger players would shit talk me rofl
bkdrew
2.) Why did you settle on RU as opposed to other potential main tiers?
Feliburn
-Well, first Ig I'll mention that the reason I touched RU in the first place was cause my global mod friend Scene rlly liked me, so one time I joined the room for like half a second and he voiced me in it, after that I stuck around cause I felt forced to but I met rlly cool people like Ajna and the other RU kids, and I learned the tier bit by bit by playing and messing around w/ them, so I just stuck in it due to having friends in there, later I started getting better at it and set my goal to be at the top and make a name for myself
bkdrew
3.) What are your personal aspirations, both as a competitor and as a council member?
Feliburn
-I dont have much aspirations as a council member other than to try to keep the tier I like balanced and fun, as a competitor tho I rlly wanna make a name for myself and do well, currently my set goal is winning the RU circuit playoffs cause I think it's cool to win such a large individual ru tour like that one
bkdrew
4.) When drafted to play for the Astrotias in SSD3, wwhat did it feel like? Hype/pressure/excitement, etc.
Feliburn
-Well, maybe a bit excitement and personal pressure, however I knew beforehand I was getting drafted :p and, this is gonna sound cocky, I knew rn I was on par with the top competition so I kinda expected it, however it felt nice to finally be picked in snake after not getting drafted in snake 1 and skipping snake 2
bkdrew
5.) Out of the three generations of RU, which one was your favorite and least favorite?
Feliburn
-least fav will always be BW, fav is ORAS, despite the current meta be centralized around trapping and such, tho USM is getting up there with oras due to how nice it feels rn
bkdrew
6.) If you had to pick two RUBL/UU mons to either drop to RU or be unbanned for use and have a positive impact on the meta, which would you pick? (Examples being, I want Empoleon and Chesnaught to drop.)
Feliburn
-I'd like crobat to drop, I like the typing and utility, feel like it¿d be a solid grass and pod check, other would have been chesnaught back, I actually liked it a lot in regular SM(edited)
bkdrew
7.) Who do you consider to be among the best players in RU right now, besides yourself?
Feliburn
-rofl tricky question, ajna nat evi are players I know can give me competition when I'm playing on top form
bkdrew
-shoulda said bkgoat
-smh
Feliburn
-the rest of the newcomers like rabbit, ave and roman are also getting p good as time goes by
bkdrew
-roman counts as a newcomer?
Feliburn
-yea
bkdrew
8.) What are your favorite aspects of RU right now, and why? (See: meta, our wide variety of usable mons, the community, etc etc.)
Feliburn
-I've always liked the community in terms of chill aspect, however I dont like how non competitive the community actually is, also yea the meta rn is great with so many options and unexplored mons u can freely use
bkdrew
9.) What was your favorite period of USM RU meta, and why?(sm/usm)
Feliburn
-Current meta due to the alrdy mentioned aspects, it¿s just more fun to build and play
bkdrew
10.) Earlier, you mentioned a dislike for how uncompetitive RU is. Assuming you had all the power possible, what steps would you take to change this?
Feliburn
-Nothing really, I could try shoving the discussions thread on everyones face but that'd just not work, the tours like ruwc and rupl are a good start for people to see how fun actual competitive is and how chill being on a team can be
bkdrew
11.) Now, for the last question, a fun one- what is your favorite song, and musician/group?
Feliburn
I dont really have have a fav song or group, however I've had a band named Saint Asonia on repeat lately if thats anything
Approved by MrAldo 10/4
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