Fantasy sports on the surface level can be a mind-boggling thing to some. How does a player score fantasy points? What makes a specific player suitable for fantasy? What is the main objective of fantasy sports? New Coaches who dip their toe into fantasy sports are opened up to a world that's much more in-depth than what initially meets the eye.
One of the fantasy styles you’ll come face-to-face with is something called “dynasty” fantasy. In Australia this is still a relatively new concept to most players out there, with most Coaches familiar with the classic 'single season' style of fantasy or more recently, 're-draft' leagues. In America, 'dynasty' leagues have been a staple for a long time for popular sports NFL and NBA, and it’s about time the most exciting way of playing fantasy sports takes Australia by storm.
So, what actually are dynasty fantasy sports?
We will open this up with the familiar way of playing first. In a normal re-draft league on other AFL or NRL fantasy platforms, you draft a completely new and fresh team from season to season. Dynasty style fantasy sport leagues are different to this as the team owner (you) will retain your players from season to season. This means that once you obtain a player card, you will be the owner of that card and all the decisions rest with you!
Why should I play dynasty fantasy?
There are many exciting features to dynasty fantasy sports that make it the most stimulating way to play fantasy. In my opinion, the most enticing aspect of dynasty fantasy is that it enables team owners to keep players and build a team over time, creating a feeling of a stronger sense of ownership. You really do get that general manager feel as every decision you make, no matter how small it may seem at the present time, could drastically change the landscape of your team for years to come. Another alluring aspect of dynasty fantasy sports is the aspiration of stringing together multiple successful seasons, trying to maintain dominance over the seasons or building your way up to the very top. The beauty of dynasty fantasy is that every team is different, every decision is different, trying to keep ahead of the herd can be just as hard as trying to take the crown from the top.
What strategies can I use in dynasty?
There are copious amounts of avenues to building a winning dynasty fantasy team, anyone who claims they have it 100 per cent figured out should be ignored - this is because dynasty fantasy sports are an ever-evolving game that differs significantly from the classic or redraft leagues we are so used to in Australia right now. That being said, there are two tactics commonly used by coaches to lay the foundation of their squad's direction. The first is the “win now” method. This method is best used when selecting the current cream of the crop players to help you get wins as soon as possible. The other strategy commonly used is the “rebuild” or “dynasty” approach, this is where coaches select younger players, yet to reach their peak performance and hope they reach their potential to help their team-owners have success for an extended period. As I mentioned earlier, the beauty of dynasty fantasy sports is that it never rests, there is always new news, trades, player movements, injuries, role changes, and the list goes on, so it’s best to stay nimble and have your squad prepped for all scenarios!
Where does GameDay Squad fit into all of this?
At the heart of Gameday Squad, it is very similar to that of the more traditional fantasy platforms already in the market. Meaning that we follow the traditional approach of leveraging in-game stats to apply a score to players. Coaches still select a team of players each week and their individual scores aggregate to determine the team’s overall score. What’s different with GameDay Squad is that we are a dedicated dynasty fantasy sports platform for the AFL and NRL. This means that the players you pack are yours to play season after season.
Conclusion
Dynasty fantasy sports really does create the feeling of tapping into what it might feel like to be a real-life general manager of a team, every decision, every mistake, every triumph falls on the shoulders of the coach steering the ship. A year-round adventure that offers a much more in-depth fantasy sports experience. Who couldn’t love that?