Disclaimer 1: first, I must say I feel it hard to be objective with myself or my coaching, so will avoid rating myself, so will only rank 31 other DLE franchises.

Disclaimer 2: when set for the task I never thought it would be such extraordinary effort and so difficult. I am pretty sure there will be teams not rated correctly. Will try to improve when the power rankings are redrawn later in the season but for a first time, it is a ton of work.

Disclaimer 3: last 6 teams are ranked in alphabetical order (not considering the city) instead of an actual ranking. Not trying to hurt feelings. This is just for fun (hope everyone´s fun), but believe it is good enough to pool them together.

Here we go:

#26-31: Ubersreik Unicorns
Unicorns losing record in S12 let them draft a new set of interesting rookies. With a massive 6 +ST increases (tied-most in the league), you would expect them to be higher in the rankings but as of now, they are not yet able to deliver. If their coach keeps working on them, Unicorns can become a very fearsome squad but for the time being, you cannot expect to see them in post season any time soon.

#26-31: Fools Point Rangers
Rangers should be a team to be considered for a division win. They have a superb leader in Josh Allen, quick and able receivers and a core mix of blitzers that can deal with any situation. So... Why not delivering? Well the recent Rangers record (1/4/10) is not a promising start. Granted that their coach is one of the most experienced ever (5.700+ games in total) which means he should know what he is doing. We do not. May be an October horse this season, but I would not bet my money.

#26-31: Mordheim Legion
Legion is lacking punching power, balling skills and a clear roster focus. It is hard to predict what they will do and how they will do it. In the first 2 rounds of S13 they lost miserably playing downhill 500TV and won uphill vs one of the main league contenders. How can you predict the season performance? Guess Kondor still needs some depth thought about DLE and I predict despite being in an “easy” division, I find it hard to see them making the post season any time soon.

#26-31: Nuln Gunners
Gunners were in the run for the last spot in this power rankings and they hit the #26-31 spot. But with their performance of the season 0/0/2 with 4 key players out for next round which can easily lead to a 0/0/3 start, they can easily retain the spot for the season. Good news is, pressure is over. After a 6/3/8 season in which they were the third most scoring team (and very close to the top 2, one of them another KFC E contender), you should expect them to behave in the first few games of S13, but unfortunately due to Nuffle´s will, the results were simply horrible. Truth is they faced very nasty opponents but still their potential for the season is affected for good.

#26-31 Bel Aliad Griffins
Griffins are an average team. Full of skills instead of stat increases. The kind of team you will be comfortable with but not too excited. Yes, they can do well in any game, but you will not expect them to win a championship. They will most probably be seen as underdogs in most of their games despite TV difference. On the other hand, they will be the favorite of the specs and have hardly any pressure to deliver. That is good news. Hope the new coach make a good trade in terms of time spent and experience gained so we can have a contender any time soon.

#26-31: Grenzburg Greenskins
Despite theirs being one of the most experienced coaches in DLE, Greenskins fall short of their expectations S12. Individual figures for Art Monk and Martin will keep growing setting unbeatable records but the team does not seem to benefit from that numbers. The 4 new rookies do not seem to tackle any of the former liabilities of the team and thus we can expect another mediocre season for Grenzburg fans.

#25: Wolfenburg Wolfskins
Last season, Wolfskins were predicted to win their division by some. Not even close. SCH N in S12 saw 2 of the best teams in the Conference head-to-head to clinch the division which allowed small room for others. I am afraid, it will be similar in this season. They have AG increases here and there, but no player to play the ball other than run it to the end zone. But for the attrition war they are hardly suited. 6 rookie players in the roster means almost 40% of it is new and you have to find the way to play again. May be next season, dudes.

#24: Flashfurt Universe
You can see the potential in the roster. Good throwers and receivers. The lack on hitting power covered by extra fouling skills. But a very similar roster performed 4/6/7 last season. Hard to imagine them beating Foxes or Cardinals or anywhere near a wild card spot from the third spot in the division. I would rather suggest to protect the important pieces in the roster and wait for a better chance when Foxes or Cardinals suffer through the season.

#23: Averheim River Bandits
Bandits are in a weak shape for the beginning of the season (may be rebuild time?). But still they achieved 3 points in 3 games playing vs 3 more than decent teams. Last season they also qualified for post season with below average TV. They do not field any sexy superstar (Jolly Jumper…. sic), but you can see good enough squad under a delivering coaching. Might be enough for S13 or if things turn grim they can sit back, relax, and develop for S14.

#22: Verezzo Razorbacks
On paper, best elf baller around with 7 +AG players. Means the positioning game can be controlled and they can negate the full contact strategy to their opponents…. Or not. On paper, it might work but results are not seen yet. And considering how the team started the season, we can not expect the Razorbacks to be a divisional contender. Lot of skills and stat upgrades but it is a team hard to predict. 5/7/5 last season seems like a good prediction for the current one (0/2/0 so far). Last season was enough for a #19 spot. Not this time.

#21: Skar Bay Sharks
Only the fact that Rictor is one of the top coaches of the league avoids the Sharks to fall very deep in the power rankings (deeper I mean). But due to heavy losses last season, they needed to replace 7 new players and will be able to hire FA for a foreseeable future. Still, playing uphill by a huge amount every game of the season is not the best status to achieve goals. Being Rictor a sensible coach, he will probably set long term goals and he will be able to run again for the title in the mid future when team is fully rebuilt.

#20: Nörden Wreckers
Wreckers new management took momentum in the first games of this season but theirs is a very hard division with all 4 teams performing good enough in SoS to keep them in the fight for the division. Wreckers have a nice roster but are missing some hit power to pose a serious threat in their division and wild card in SHC might be worth 20+ points. May be too great a target to achieve for them.

#19: Kislev Cardinals
Cardinals changed coaching staff very often in the last couple of seasons. Current coach lead them in last post season and he performed outstanding. But the regular season is the long run shot and there everything is still to be shown. This might be worst prediction in current power rankings, but so far post season hang over for Cardinals (0/0/2). Special is a good and experienced coach and there can be a surprise, but lacking punching power and missing important points might make it hard for them to meet the expectations at the beginning of the season for a semi-finalist from S12.

#18 Talabheim Sluggers
Sluggers is a great team in the making. Still some skills are missing to round a team that can run for the championship. Hopefully, last seasons frequent changes in management and coaching are over and thus the new one can focus on developing the last drops needed for greatness. Will this happen in the current season? Hard to believe Sluggers are already ready for such a step, but Rags has the chance to prove me wrong.

#17: Broekwater Patriots
Patriots won 5 SBs. But that was long ago. Patriots today are quite a different team. Nice they have a lot of lino +AV players (6 in total) for the LOS duty and risking markings. But most of the AV linos are expendable while the rest of the squad are very valuable but more fragile, which increases the opponent incentive to target them at any exposed chance (should there be one). Bortles keep in shape to be the most legendary DLE player ever (347 spps is it?? Omg) but wonder his individual performance is already handicapping the team as of now. That avoids new talent to be developed, I am afraid. May be time to let him go?

#16: San Luis 49ers
49ers are a solid team season after season. They have average players for the main positioning game and super stars for very special plays. Still their performance is below average (5/5/7 in season 12) consistently. Being under puccios’ shadow might be hard to overcome, but San Luis fans should be more demanding to their current coach. With 8 TDs in their final 9 games of the season and only 1 win, it is very hard to expect any post season for the team. May be more ambitious and aggressive attitude would improve team performance in this power rankings.

#15: Carroburg Crimson Cascade
Best passers of the league deserve a reasonable set of receivers which… they simply do not have. Truth is SoS vs Bucs took its toll on them even playing downhill (which might lead to a third-round loss easily). This might give the Grizzlies a very big edge in this division and force everyone else to fight for the second spot (in the hope a wild card is attached). Can´t see Cascade squad as candidates for the spot over the Vikings. DLE not a passers environment but, definitely, if you make the bet, make it count. I predict Cascade reigning in the pass yards for the season, but no post season spot is attached to that title.

#14: Middenheim Classics
Should be a well rated team. Experienced coach but unbalanced team. Uziel is a ball hawk menace, they have a trustworthy OT option in Jair (though they do not have a reliable player to get him the ball) but that is it. They luck any proper developed receiver outside Jair, no backup ball carrier and no passing skills to allow for an option when things look grim. That means Achilles talon will be Jair himself. He is too fragile and a top target for most opponents (specially divisional ones) and thus I find it hard for him to survive long enough. They have some potential but will have to work hard for a chance in the postseason.

#13: Brionnian Buccaneers
After a S12 SB hang over, Buccaneers are back on track. They did some trading in the postseason and drafted well but loses in S12 will be hard to recover. Despite being a contender for their own division, it is less likely to see them with a long post season run. And that is if they are able to make it that far in the season, which we can´t forsee with certainty. All in all, we expect a lot for a champion franchise and experienced coach, but most probably we will see an average and developing season to build a championship runner in the near future.

#12: Altdorf Thunderbolts
Best roster of KFC West. Very solid and strong. They lack any receiver and main ball carrier is -MA (not having a back up quality carrier in the team). Though they should be able to win their division but will only show that one-eyed is king in the land of the blind. The potential is there but they hardly deliver. 6/4/7 last season kept them off post season. Probably underperforming again in S13. We will see.

#11: Volksgrad White Wolves
Wolves are a well balanced team with enough of every skill relevant for a DLE team. Nice OT meance, several strong players, a vamp, extra Av linos for LOS duty and Guard spamed around. What can go wrong? Well, first of all, punching power might be lacking a bit if your oppo comes full contact. Second, there seems to lack any expendable player in the roster. It looks good as it is but might suddenly change with 1 or 2 missing players. They are good enough to be good but may be not enough for superb.

#10: Barboza Bruisers
If not for the first game of the season Bruisers might have been ranked among the top five teams of the League. But SoS games tolling high to some teams. Still enough deposit to make it to post season? Our guess is they will. But coach will have to extract the very last drop of play to his squad to remain competitive through the season. Hard fought season can earn them a spot in post season, but on paper not a main contender for the ring.

#9: Carcassone Eagles
Eagles might be a SB hang over case study. The 0/1/2 start of the season might be very hard to overcome. Besides, the skill swap changed the team completely from being a very feared one due to 3 killers in the roster to a more average team (that is an average 6 +ST increase). Still, the new management still need to get used to the DLE environment and that might take a time for Eagles. They still have a fearsome squad that can deliver any time, but probably S13 not Eagles time.

#8: Aarnau Manticores
Current DLE champion is a solid team but not the power house of the league. Winner of its division with the second lowest number of points despite having 2 teams in the division ranked among the lowest 7 of the season, Manticores made it to the superbowl and won it. They resort to run the ball and have good weapons for that but hardly any other option available. They are a very flexible squad but will struggle to beat best teams in the league.

#7: Erengrad Vikings
Well balanced, well coached and experienced both in regular and post season the Vikings should be a top contender for the ring. But they will be pursuing the Grizzlies for most of the season, fighting to secure a wild card spot in a very competitive SHC conference. The poor start will be a stone in their way. Well. The demanding environment is exactly the one the Vikings like the most and, as long as they keep any ogre in the roster for several games, that might help them to reach greater levels of performance. They will need it.

#6: Aldente Scimitars
Most DLE fans would be disappointed not seeing Scimitars in #1 of the power rankings after a 15/2/0 record season and a 2/0/0 start for this season. And yes, definitely, puccios is clearly one of the best coaches around so hard to bet against him. But despite they will probably clinch their division “easily” and with good win margins, they do not feel as ready for a title run as some of the big contenders. You will need to prove us wrong, puccios.

#5: Los Cabos Marauders
Marauders were a sensation back in S12 and made a run into the post season defeating the mighty Grizzlies in the wild card round but with a big CAS cost which eventually led to a second round loss against fresher Vikings. But the team was made and the coach is an experienced one. They focus in mauling opponent teams and run the ball when pitch is cleared but this tactic might not work vs some of the big league contenders. Will Marauders develop a tactic to beat the mamooths? We will see.

#4: Irrana Avalanche
Avalanche was a clear champion contender last season only beaten by the current champion. They are again one of the clear contenders. Core players are there again. Mr. Irving is one of the brightest stars of the league and they even have an OTT menace. So yes, they should “easily” (as if anything was in BB) clinch their division and expect to have some luck in the post season. Most of their opponents will surely feel the Avalanche effect.

#3: Marienburg Foxes
Foxes have the best star of the league. Last regular season they underperformed and Cardinals took the division and went on to beat Foxes again in the post season. Very disappointing for Foxes fans, I guess. Still they have the best game of the league, 6 +ST increases, good passer and several possible receivers and ball carriers. On paper, a very competitive bunch. Nuffle, nonetheless, might decide otherwise. Cardinals will hardly be a contender in the division this season and that should allow Foxes to clinch the division well ahead of deadline.

#2: Praag Grizzlies
Despite the short post season drive last season, the Grizzlies did a very good season in S12 losing their first game in week 16 which was enough for them to not clinch division and having to qualify with a wild card for post season. Weird if you consider that 8/8/1 record was 5th best in the league. But this season they are ready to roll again. Their core players are there and the skills in them are fearsome for most opponents. SoS games will give them an edge in their division and will surely stroll easily to postseason.

#1: Kemperbad Knights
Knights did an awesome job in the postseason draft and trade window to build a superbowl contender. With 4 new players in the team (3 of them +ST gifted and another +ag/+ag), Knights expect to return from a 1/5/11 losing season directly to superbowl. And they may be well able to achieve it. They become so strong that went over the cap and they had to fire their Apo due to “budgetary” issues. If Nuffle respect the team CAS-wise, you can see a champion in the making.