Full list:

70M
1-A: MLB137452
1-B: MLB137420
1-C: MLB137408
1-D: MLB137474

80M
2-A: MLB137453
2-B: MLB137421
2-C: MLB137409
2-D: MLB137472

100M
3-A: MLB137454
3-B: MLB137422
3-C: MLB137417
3-D: MLB137481

110M
4-A: MLB137455
4-B: MLB137423
4-C: MLB137411
4-D: MLB137471

120M
5-A: MLB137459
5-B: MLB137463
5-C: MLB137462
5-D: MLB137468

255M
6-A: MLB137457
6-B: MLB137426
6-C: MLB137416
6-D: MLB137475

5 out of 6 entered… gonna state for the record no chance of the cage for me this time around… top half will be an accomplishment.

The 255 is one is extremely challenging to me.

The 255 one is extremely challenging to me.

Have been thinking about the 255 and if I choose Group B and Box 15 with Target and Yankee Stadium then my 25 man Roster will be from every other Box ?

Posted by Ribbentrop on 5/11/2023 7:07:00 PM (view original):
Have been thinking about the 255 and if I choose Group B and Box 15 with Target and Yankee Stadium then my 25 man Roster will be from every other Box ?

Yes, if you use Group B and want to use one of those stadiums from Box 15, then you take one player each from every other box (1-14 and 16-26) to fill your roster. You have to use a stadium from one of the boxes, and there are 12 choices in each Group.

Just entered my 6th and final team...challenging round of themes this year.

Posted by adsmith182 on 5/11/2023 6:09:00 PM (view original):
The 255 one is extremely challenging to me.

I spent way more time that I wanted on the $255M. Had an initial roster built and entered it this weekend. Then I started making tweaks to this roster, and ended up re-entering a completely different roster (roughly 13-14 changes made, including five of the first six boxes).

In doing my write up of the 255m I realized I could have swapped a couple players and made the team better, but I’m already locked in so it’s too late.

You’re doing better than me. I’ve realized I could have swapped all 25 players and would be better off…

But, seriously, I found this theme a lot more devilish than it seems at first glance.

Yes, and there's definitely a chain reaction. From my first version to my second, I swapped 10 players. That's not counting one box where I changed three times but wound up back with the first guy again. Oh, and yes, I also changed 5 of my first 6 boxes in Version 2.

The 255 theme and the bingo card theme are examples of my least favorite WISC themes… where the most important variable in determining success is not knowledge of the game or of baseball history, but the sheer number of hours you can put into creating a roster. Different strokes for different folks, and I am not complaining (I willingly signed up, with the themes already published). Just not my cup of tea. One of many reasons I predict to finish in the lower half of the bracket this time around.

That's an interesting viewpoint. I know some folks aren't fond of research-based themes like the "Build a Team". One could argue that this type of themes is harder to build due to the intense research necessary. And that can also very time consuming.

The two themes you mentioned are IMHO much easier to build. The time variable is simply dependent on how many different permutations you want to try. If you polled the entire tournament participation, my guess is that most people spent less time on building their 255M roster than most of the other themes.

Everyone does have their own preferences; which is what makes a varied tournament like the WISC so unique and challenging. Maybe you dominate low caps, maybe you are on open league superstar, or maybe you like super high caps. But can you do them all?

My favourite round 1 themes to build:
1. 100M - I enjoy research and the puzzle building aspect of trying to find a winning combo. I probably came up with over ten teams and if I wasn't locked into my current team as a commissioner I would still be tinkering
2. 110M Clones - Like above, a research and puzzle-type theme. Am I the only one to get so close to the perfect mix but then find myself a few hundred thousand over the cap, or just short of enough money for a DH, or left with no good shortstop option?
3. 255M - Like I said, a lot trickier than it first seems. Lots of decisions that affect other decisions. And the twist with the team salary-league alignment thing is just the extra piece of torment to stew over.
4. 80M Bingo. Do you worry about leaving yourself good options for League 2? Or do you throw all your eggs into maximizing the Round 1 basket? No way to stack your 80m team with all the cookies of an open league, so which ones do you go for?
5. 120M Franchise. Interesting but pretty straight forward.
6. 70M Khris Davis. I'm generally not a low cap aficionado. But being forced to pick through Mendoza-line garbage and limp-armed, batting-practice tossers does force the use of new players I generally wouldn't give someone in a Screw-Your-Neighbour league

$255M caps are always a crapshoot, IMO. Strategy plays into high caps more than lower caps, since everyone will high quality players, which actually makes it ideal for this type of tournament.