Welcome to Witch Weekly – the number one place for all of the hot and steamy VQL news and gossip!
- Issue 6
Last Week in Games
In the first Semifinal game, The Three Boomsticks took on Brooms of Doom. It was a close game. So close that when Brooms of Doom caught the Snitch, the game went into overtime. In the end, The Three Boomticks, who had a very beat-heavy game, managed a goal to win the game.
The next day, Tyrannosaurus Hex took on Knockturn Alleycats. Both teams took four shots but while T-Hex succeeded in them all, the Alleycats only managed half. Mundungus Fletcher on Tyrannosaurus Hex caught the Snitch and won the game, sending his team to the finals.
The Consolation Final was between Brooms of Doom and Knockturn Alleycats, and it was a bit of a bloodbath. Brooms of Doom were only able to pass the halfline in round 18, and by then they were down by about 50 points. But they decided to end the game with dignity and in round 20, they caught the Snitch to lose with a final score of 70-40. Knockturn Alleycats came in 3rd place.
The Season 10 Final between The Three Boomsticks and Tyrannosaurus Hex was another close one and many elixirs were used. Ariana Dumbledore on T-Hex started the game with a beat to break the record for most beats by a player in a single season. But she couldn’t beat her team to a victory as Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington caught the Snitch, securing the first ever first place win for The Three Boomsticks. Congrats!
This Week in Games
The Winter Quidlympics start next week, so this week there are exhibition games. Refresh your memory and improve your strategy ahead of the events. Each night is a different event, but if you can’t make it, be sure to read the rules and watch the videos to learn how the games work.
The deadline to sign up for Quidlympics is Friday the 11th. You can register yourself by doing the House Sorting Quiz.Witch Weekly Price Index
For everything you need to know about economics in the wizarding world, look no further than the Witch Weekly Price Index, showing you the value of some of the hottest commodities to wizardkind!
This week we are analyzing the price of Nightshade. The only plant on the Witch Weekly Price Index, it has certainly seen better days. Back in the summer of 2020, it was the top valued commodity on the index, but in the 80 weeks since then, it has only seen growth in 12 of them, and recently slipped below the price of leprechaun gold to be the lowest valued commodity today. What led to this decline in value? Mediocre performances from Azkaslam in Seasons 2 and 5 may be part of the reason, and Deathly Swallows and Mischief Managers’ continued ranking in the bottom half of all teams in Seasons 3 to 5 and 3 to 7 respectively were also likely factors. Since Season 8, without the presence of any related team, the price has continued to slip, resulting in a 22.5% price decrease from this time last year.
- Issue 5
Last Week in Games
The last week of prelims started with Saltypuffs Unite against Dead Sirius. The Saltypuffs struggled to juice up Crabbe and Goyle for their Buddy Bonus and had a tough time beating as they missed 9 out of 13 attempted beats. In the end, they lost to Dead Sirius 90-60.
Wednesday saw Shacklebolts take on Brooms of Doom. It was a close game that only lasted 12 rounds. Brooms of Doom were pretty conservative with their Babies Buddy Bonus and only attempted 2 beats with the pair, but Alicia came in clutch for them as the Seeker and pulled off a 60-20 win.
Tyrannosaurus Hex and PatrOWNus faced off next. Amazingly, Bem did not miss any goals! Tyrannosaurus Hex did an impressive amount of beating, but Roonil Wazlib on PatrOWNus ended up catching the Snitch and ended T-Hex’s goal of 3 prelim wins.
And the last game was between Knight Busters and Knockturn Alleycats. Chasers on both sides had a rough game as out of the 27 collective shots, 10 of them missed. In the end, Alleycats won 140-60.
This Week in Games
This week is playoffs! The four teams who made it in were:
- The Three Boomsticks for top-ranked team, as they won all 3 prelim games.
- Tyrannosaurus Hex for most beats.
- Knockturn Alleycats for best use of the Buddy Bonus/Class Bonus theme.
- Brooms of Doom as the wildcard pick.
Semifinals A on Monday is the battle of the brooms: Three Boomsticks and Brooms of Doom. This is only the second time these teams have played. The last time was in the S3 playoffs, and the Boomsticks won. Brooms of Doom haven’t made it to the semifinals since S4 (where they came 3rd) and Three Boomsticks last made it in S7 (where they also claimed 3rd place).
Semifinals B on Tuesday is between Tyrannosaurus Hex and Knockturn Alleycats. They’ve only played each other once before in S5 where the Alleycats lost in overtime. Both teams do have a first place win under their belts (T-Hex in S3 and the Alleycats in S8).
The consolation game will be on Wednesday and the S10 finals will be on Thursday!
Get Voting!
Voting for awards this season is open and will stay open until Thursday at 7pm when the final game will begin. Cast your ballots now! Click here to vote!
Would You Rather?
Witch Weekly Price Index
For everything you need to know about economics in the wizarding world, look no further than the Witch Weekly Price Index, showing you the value of some of the hottest commodities to wizardkind!
This week is all about diamondl. The price of this gem started off relatively close to that of other commodities back in the summer of 2020. However, with its correlation to the performance of PatrOWNus, it saw its prices decline as PatrOWNus debuted in the VQL in 9th place in Season 2. PatrOWNus struggled to make it into the semifinals with 5th place finishes up until just before the Summer Quidlympics, which is better than some teams can say, which resulted in the price of diamond slowly seeing an increase. However, in the months since, the price of diamond has taken off with PatrOWNus’ strong performance – it to the playoffs 3 out of 5 seasons and making an appearance in the 2021 Championships. Despite a 6th place finish this season, the price of diamond continues to rise and has outpaced emerald as the most valuable commodity on the market since December 2021.
- Issue 4
Last Week in Games
The week began with Ravenclobber shutting out Eliter Beater 70-0. Eliter Beater started the game fairly aggressively and managed to take a shot, but after a miss, they retreated to a defensive strategy.
PatrOWNus and Dead Sirius played on Wednesday with both teams passing a lot because of their Buddy Bonuses. In the end, Dead Sirius’ Seeker Cadmus critically failed on an attempted Snitch grab, which gave Roonil on the other team a chance. PatrOWNus won 80-60.
Friday saw Brooms of Doom take on $wagrid. Despite Cedric Diggory’s Ghost being invisible on $wagrid, he missed both of the shots he took, and $wagrid closed out their prelim run with zero wins.
The week ended with a fast-paced game (14 rounds per hour; everyone should aim for that!) between The Three Boomsticks and Knight Busters. Three Boomsticks matched the existing goal record (13 goals and a Snitch catch, set by Dead Sirius in S6) and matched the record for most beats in a game (set by Horrorcruxes in S4). Knight Busters set their own record too, as they scored the longest distance goal in VQL history at a whopping 10 spaces away. In the end, The Three Boomsticks won 160-90 and secured all three prelim wins.
This Week in Games
This is the last week of prelims, so it’s the last chance to fight for a playoff spot.
Saltypuffs Unite will take on Dead Sirius first. Both teams have one win and one loss. However, these teams have played six times before, and Dead Sirius hasn’t won against the Puffs since S4.
Also with one win and one loss is Shacklebolts and Brooms of Doom, who play on Wednesday. This will be their 3rd game against each other, with each team having won once before (with 50-40 scored both times).
On Friday, Tyrannosaurus Hex will play against PatrOWNus. T-Hex has two wins so far, so winning this could beat out The Three Boomsticks for the top-ranked playoff position. But PatrOWNus has won 3 of the 4 against Tyrannosaurus Hex, so it could be an uphill battle.
And lastly, Knockturn Alleycats will take on Knight Busters. Despite good use of the Twins Buddy Bonus, the Alleycats haven’t managed to secure a win this season. Last season, these two teams played, and Knight Busters couldn’t manage a single goal.
Would You Rather?
Witch Weekly Price Index
For everything you need to know about economics in the wizarding world, look no further than the Witch Weekly Price Index, showing you the value of some of the hottest commodities to wizardkind!
This week we examine the value of opal. The price of this gem stayed relatively consistent until the third quarter of 2020, when it began to rise with the strong performance of The Three Boomsticks in Season 3. The price began slipping, however, at the beginning of 2021 as The Three Boomsticks fell from 3rd place to 14th place in Season 4, though Diagon Alleycat’s strong performance in Season 4 and Shacklebolts’ in Season 5 helped prevent the price to really tank. Prices leveled out in the summer with The Three Boomsticks returning to the playoffs in Season 7. It wasn’t until Season 9 with the introduction of the Antipodean Opaleye in the Fire & Ice expansion that the price of opal began to really pick back up, surpassing its previous high set in December 2020.
- Issue 3
Last Week in Games
The week started with a pretty intense game. Dead Sirius used the Maeldictus Buddy Bonus to score 11 times, and ended up winning 140-40 against Ravenclobber. There was only one actual beat in the game, which occurred in round 19. The only other team to ever win by 100 points was Azkaslam in Season 2.
On Wednesday, Eliter Beater forfeited their game, so Shacklebolts were awarded the win and racked up some impressive beats with Hagrid and Madame Maxime.
In the Tyrannosaurus Hex versus $wagrid game, the game almost ended in round 11 when Swagrid caught the Snitch to win, but Tyrannosaurus Hex used a Stocking Stuffer to force the Snitch to reroll, and it was a successful move. The game went on for another 7 rounds and ended with Tyrannosaurus Hex winning 80-0.
On Friday, PatrOWNus took on The Three Boomsticks. Though Bem continued his tradition of missing shots, PatrOWNus used their Buddy Bonus well and had everyone aside from their seeker touch the quaffle at least once. On The Three Boomsticks’ side, James Potter and the Fat Friar both scored hat tricks, which helped them win 90-40.
Lastly, in the first afternoon game of the season, both Brooms of Doom and Knight Busters played their first game of the season. It was a close game, but Knight Busters pulled off an 80-50 game.
This Week in Games
For the first time ever, Ravenclobber will face Eliter Beater. Both teams are looking for a second win of the season. And Eliter Beater, despite their name, are looking to make just one successful beat this season.
On Wednesday, PatrOWNus and Dead Sirius will play. Both teams have Buddy Bonuses that rely on passing chains and avoiding beats, so it’ll be a spicy game.
In $wagrid’s last prelim game and therefore last chance to win, they will take on Brooms of Doom. These two teams played against each other once before, in game 13 of Season 9. Can you guess what game this is of Season 10?
And the week will end with another noon game between The Three Boomsticks and Knight Busters. This will be their first game against each other, and The Three Boomsticks will be looking for their 3rd win which could put them in contention for playoffs.
Don’t forget about your Witch Weekly Subscriber bonus!
With so many great bonuses, it’s hard to keep track of them all! This season, your in-game perk allows you to copy and use the other team’s Buddy Bonus on your own team, once per game.
Would You Rather?
Witch Weekly Price Index
For everything you need to know about economics in the wizarding world, look no further than the Witch Weekly Price Index, showing you the value of some of the hottest commodities to wizardkind!
This week we are looking at the value of Leprechaun gold. Leprechaun gold was on the rise in mid- to late-2020, riding the high of Snitches Get Stitches winning the Season 1 tournament and taking the silver medal in Season 2. It fell in Season 3 with Snitches Get Stitches plummeting to 12th place, although our top financial analysts suggest that the price would have fallen even further if not for Saltypuffs Unite taking the silver medal in December 2020. A strong performance from the Butterbears was not enough to keep prices slipping through the first half of 2021, and Hufflepuff’s poor performance at the Summer Quidlympics tanked the price below 1000 knuts/kil for the first time in almost a year. Prices began to pick back up with the Butterbears and/or Saltypuffs Unite making it into the playoffs in the three seasons following Quidlympics, but the price has again begun to decline over the last month.
- Issue 2
Last Week in Games
Despite both Crabbe and Goyle maxing out their Accuracy on Saltypuffs Unite, the team lost to The Three Boomsticks 70-30 on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Tyrannosaurus Hex faced off against Shacklebolts and used their Other Dumbledores Buddy Bonus to score several times from across the field—even once with the Keeper. Shacklebolts had great luck with critical successes, but still lost 80-20.
Thursday saw Knockturn Alleycats take on Eliter Beater. In round 6, the Alleycats subbed in Flora to use the Twins Buddy Bonus, though it wasn’t enough to secure a win, as a lucky Snitch catch gave Eliter Beater (who, by the way, did not actively beat a single player) their first win in 150 days.
$wagrid and Ravenclobber played on Friday and Ravenclobber pulled off a 70-20 win. Ravenclobber did place two Whiz-bangs, and they were both triggered by an invisible Cedric Diggory’s Ghost, which helped in locating him on the field.
And lastly, Saltypuffs Unite took on Knockturn Alleycats. After Saltypuffs made it known that they wanted to focus on Beating in this game and put Crabbe and Goyle as Beaters, the Alleycats did a stellar job of keeping the bludgers out of reach as a result. However, the Puffs still managed a 110-60 win.
This Week in Games
Ravenclobber will take on Dead Sirius for the fourth time. Dead Sirius has never won against this team, but hopefully the combo of the Maledictus Buddy Bonus with some Hufflepuff and Working Class bonuses will shake things up. Ravenclobber should be a bit scared, as Dead Sirus has the highest stats overall while they have one of the lowest.
Shacklebolts and Eliter Beater, who haven’t played each other since S5, will play on Wednesday. Will Shacklebolts make one of their Buddies a Seeker again? Will Eliter Beater actually make a beat? Only time will tell.
On Thursday, $wagrid will play Tyrannosaurus Hex for the second time ever. $wagrid won that game via a Snitch catch, so T-Hex will likely be working hard to build up a cushion of goals in this game. Both teams are fans of using Elixirs, so it’ll be a spicy game. Fun fact: this will be the 250th regular season game!
Friday will see PatrOWNus take on The Three Boomsticks. This is the first prelim game for PatrOWNus so they’re itching to try out their Like Father, Like Daughter Buddy Bonus and utilize some of the following classes: Gryffindor, Ministry of Magic, Order of the Phoenix, and Ravenclaw. Fun fact: PatrOWNus is the only team with enough players to make use of the Ministry of Magic class bonus.
And the week will end with a noon game between Knight Busters and Brooms Of Doom. This is the first time they’ll face each other and the first prelim game for both teams. Knight Busters coincidentally have the Knight Bus Buddy Bonus, plus the Death Eaters and Working Class Bonuses to use, whereas Brooms Of Doom has the Babies Buddy Bonus to lower opponents’ agility plus a lot of Gryffindors and Order of the Phoenix members. The Mandrake Baby is the only character on Brooms Of Doom not a part of either class.
Would You Rather?
Witch Weekly Price Index
For everything you need to know about economics in the wizarding world, look no further than the Witch Weekly Price Index, showing you the value of some of the hottest commodities to wizardkind!
This week we are looking at the price of ruby. This crimson gemstone was on the decline back in 2020, plunging late in the year when Brooms of Doom dropped to 11th place in Season 3. 2021 however saw prices begin to climb again with Brooms of Doom making a 3rd place finish in Season 4 and Gryffindor later taking the silver medal in the Summer Quiddlympics. The back half of the year brought further gains with the rise of the Knockturn Alleycats in Season 8, which brought the price of ruby back up to the highest price it had been since the inception of the VQL, and it has continued to rise through to the start of 2022.
- Issue 1
Team Overview
After a rather exciting and slightly different Draft Pick night, here’s how the teams are looking going into S10:
Dead Sirius and Knockturn Alleycats are the strongest teams whereas Ravenclobber and Saltypuffs Unite are the weakest. Similarly, Dead Sirius leads for accuracy while Ravenclobber is the least accurate. $wagrid and Knockturn Alleycats will be the hardest to beat as they are the most agile, while Tyrannosaurus Hex has the least overall agility. Lastly, Dead Sirius has the most overall Speed and Tyrannosaurus has the least.
Fun fact: Dead Sirius has no characters with negative stats. They are the defending champions and with their top-tier team of overall stats, so they’re looking for another first place ranking. With the lowest overall stats is a four-way tie between Ravenclobber, Saltypuffs Unite, Shacklebolts, and Tyrannosaurus Hex.
Of course, the class and Buddy Bonuses will be real game-changers this season, so this overview doesn’t mean as much as it did in previous seasons.
This Week In Games
The first game of S10 is on Tuesday with the Three Boomsticks and the Parent’s Love Buddy Bonus taking on Saltypuffs Unite and the Henchmen Buddy Bonus. This is the third time they’ll be playing each other (previously in S3 and in S6) and both times, the Puffs won. The Three Boomsticks have 6 ghosts at their disposal, plus 3 each of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and the Order of the Phoenix members, while Saltypuffs have five Ravenclaws and 3 each of Order of the Phoenix and Slytherin, so it will be interesting to see which class bonuses get used in the game.
Wednesday will see Tyrannosaurus Hex against Shacklebolts. Tyrannosaurus Hex with their Other Dumbledores Buddies will be able to choose from the Muggle/Squib, Non-Human, Order of the Phoenix, and Ravenclaw classes, while Shacklebolts and the Half-Giants could max out their Order of the Phoenix and Professor class bonuses, with a few Gryffindors sprinkled in too. This is also the third time they’ve faced each other, with each team winning once. One of those games was the infamous 4 hour game from the S3 quarterfinals, but rest assured, that will not happen again.
On Thursday, Knockturn Alleycats will play Eliter Beater. These two have played before, but only once, and it was back in S4 when both were doubles teams and going by a different team name. The Alleycats did win that one, and given that Eliter Beater hasn’t won a game in several months, they’re likely feeling optimistic about this one too. Alleycats have an all-female team again this season, with plenty of Slytherins plus a few Gryffindors and Order of the Phoenix members too, while Eliter Beater looks to be relying on the few Gryffindors (led by the Dream Team Buddies) and Working Class team members for their bonuses.
Lastly, on Friday, Ravenclobber and $wagrid will play for the first time. $wagrid has a few ghosts (including those from the Prefects’ Bathroom Buddy Bonus) and Ravenclaws plus a full set of Professors to use, while Ravenclobber will likely make use of some combination of Death Eaters, Professors, and Working Class characters with their Durmstrangler Buddy Bonus.
Season of Giveaways Answers
The Season of Giveaways has now come to an end! If you tried to do the trivia from Day 26, here are the answers:
Arabella Figg – 16 goals saved
Blaise Zabini – 13 goals saved
Doris Crockford – 11 goals saved
Ariana Dumbledore – 10 goals saved
Nicholas Flamel – 8 goals savedPrize money for correct answers has already been deposited into your account! Thank you to everyone who participated in the Season of Giveaways!
Would You Rather?
Witch Weekly Price Index
For everything you need to know about economics in the wizarding world, look no further than the Witch Weekly Price Index, showing you the value of some of the hottest commodities to wizardkind!
This week we focus on the price of emerald. The jade gem saw its biggest jump in the summer of 2021 at the height of the Summer Quidlympics thanks to the strong performance of the Slytherin house. It later briefly overtook sapphire as the hottest commodity on the market in October 2021 thanks to SlytherWin’s reappearance in the All-Star Championships until the price of diamond surged towards the end of the year.
Virtual Quidditch League 