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Updated without Cadets. 1. Blue Devils (Tier 1) 2. Boston Crusaders (Tier 1) 3. Bluecoats (Tier 1) 4. Carolina Crown (Tier 2) 5. Mandarins (Tier 3) 6. Santa Clara Vanguard (Tier 3) 7. Cavaliers (Tier 4) 8. Phantom Regiment (Tier 4) 9. Troopers (Tier 5) 10. Blue Stars (Tier 5) 11. Colts (Tier 5) 12. Crossmen (Tier 6) 13. Blue Knight (Tier 6)

1. Blue Devils (Tier 1) 2. Boston Crusaders (Tier 1) 3. Bluecoats (Tier 1) 4. Carolina Crown (Tier 2) 5. Mandarins (Tier 3) 6. Cadets (Tier 3) 7. Santa Clara Vanguard (Tier 3) 8. Cavaliers (Tier 4) 9. Phantom Regiment (Tier 4) 10. Troopers (Tier 5) 11. Blue Stars (Tier 5) 12. Colts (Tier 5)

That scores tells me the ring can go to anyone in the top 4. This ain't a race for 2 anymore.

It's been awhile since I've seen boston on flo. Plus a week of mostly rehearsal days. Excited to see how the show has evolved!

BD is in a different tier visually imo

Maybe we're underestimating Cavies.

Shorter season than normal. Maybe preferable to come out the gate with less dirt than usual or gotta hope you have a gem of a show that won't need too many changes.

Crown has a strong vehicle. Not crazy about the visual package yet (e.g. the "pizzas") but they'll develop it. The music is great. I can see this medaling. Felt the same last year but some choices held them back. To be frank though, this ain't no 2016. But lets see where the season takes us.

Trumpet soloist is great

Phantom's visual design is a huge step up from last year. Music is great too. Maybe update the closer so that it rivals last years in energy. Blue Stars were great too. Very literal show theme. Dense and challenging content and I like the color change although I hope the green stands out enough. Troopers I enjoyed and seem like solid finalists to me. Didn't really get Colts. The amount of red seems like a detriment - almost horror like. Cavies have a lot of competition ahead of them in PR and BS.

My official pre-season predictions, after only having seen about half of these shows on the field in some form. 1. Blue Devils (Range of 1-2): Championship level show, but will they be alone? 2. Boston Crusaders (1-3): I expect it'll be one of the better designed shows this team has done yet. 3. Bluecoats (2-4): Isn't really pulling me in like last year, but should be a great show. 4. Carolina Crown (3-5): Music is medal worthy, but not yet sold on the visual package. 5. Blue Stars (4-6): I'm hearing great things. They've been consistent. Breakout year? 6. Cadets (5-6): Not quite sure it's designed quite as tight as last year but has a higher ceiling with the right adjustments. 7. Phantom Regiment (7-9) 8. Mandarins (7-9) 9. Cavaliers (7-9) 10. Troopers (10-12) 11. Blue Knights (10-12) 12. Colts (10-12)

Finalist-level corps with finalist-level design for another year. Troopers should be proud.

Blue Stars over Crown for 4th. Calling it now.

So clearly we have a brass/perc => ocean, guard => crewmen situation. It's clean, and if I can get used to 2018's unis this shouldn't be a problem.

Based on the Paradise Lost novel/poem really, which isn't from the Bible unlike Adam and Eve. But related.

Prop reveal

Pre-Spring Training Predictions 1. & 2. BD or Boston - I expect it to be close. Boston will undoubtedly have the talent, but they need a design that is not just great but undeniable for that last inch. 3. Bluecoats 4. Crown - Staff changes will be good. I'm getting Beast mixed with a more 2000s Crown vibe from what little I've heard. Don't know if that'll be enough for a top 3 finish. --- gap --- 5. Blue Stars - Can't deny their momentum. Only 0.14 behind 5th place last year. 6. Phantom Regiment - The corps where we'll probably see a bit of the spirit of SCV live on. 7. Cavaliers - Hopefully not overdesigned, but I think the new staff will be quite a positive change. 8. Cadets - Music selection seems very strong. Not sure where they'll take the concept, hopefully in a creative and unique way and not just lots of running around. Cadets are a bit of a wildcard for me. Last year was a well rounded show, other recent years have been weak imo. What will we get this year? --- gap --- 9. Mandarins 10. Blue Knights - They'll be a solid finalist again. 11. Colts 12. Crossmen

Fantasia on a Theme By Thomas Tallis is a beautiful piece and can't wait to hear what they do with those shanties. Should be an amazing show.

New Year, New Early Prediction 1-2: Blue Devils, Boston 3-4: Bluecoats, Crown - Top 4 are a lock. 5: Blue Stars 6-7: Cavaliers, Phantom 8: Cadets - Top 8 are a lock. 9-10: Mandarins. Troopers 11-12: Blue Knights, Colts

I wonder who, if anyone, will be picking Aungst up. It would be a huge win.

Whoever wrote 2019, that's what they needed more of. I guess consistency was an issue. I'm not convinced Saucedo is necessarily a step up, but should be interesting to see.

Early prediction, and I'll do another one after we hear about staff changes. 1. Boston - Talent is there and design team has really started cooking. 2. Blue Devils - The pattern dictates a silver. 3. Bluecoats - Only 2nd to BD in consistency. 4. SCV - Design held them back a bit this year, and yet the final product was fantastic. Tells me they have a high ceiling. 5. Crown - Perpetually stuck as the 4th place corps. A solid top 3 and strong SCV makes things difficult. 6. Blue Stars - Momentum has been building these last few years. They were only 0.138 away from 6th. 7. Cadets - Great design this year while 2019 was rather poor. So jury's still out whether the design team has hit their stride. 8. Cavaliers - Losing some key staff will probably hurt, but I think they can only go up after this past year. 9. Phantom - They're going to have a crazy amount of auditionees. Give them another year or 2, but they'll continue to be fan favorites. 10. Mandarins - Solid corps. I see them as sturdy gatekeepers to the top 10. If a corps above them stumbles Mandarins will be ready. 11. Colts - Design team figured something out here. I think they can repeat success. 12. Blue Knights - Falling from 7th to 14th is quite dramatic. I have to give them the benefit of the doubt.

BEAST OF THE EAST !!!

SCV has grown and evolved much greater than Crown has this season and it seems to me like SCV has way more room to grow still. They can get 4th

The added reflective dots on the white unis give me a BK vibe