Changes: Ghost Plasma

Revision as of 10:51, 19 September 2020

Ghost Plasma is a red-orange and white marble who competes in the Marble Rally. They were the first Sand Marble Rally champion. They originally come from Fantum.^[1]

History

2016

Ghost Plasma had a strong start to Sand Marble Rally 2016 with two consecutive podium finishes in 2nd place in the first two races. They claimed their first and only race win so far in Race 4, which was enough to affirm their status as title contender for the season. Their non-points finish in Race 6 notwithstanding, Ghost Plasma continued their supremacy in the Sand Marble Rally by staying at the top of the standings for the rest of the season. They finished 7th in the last race, which was enough to secure their championship title with 194 points. They were also 21 points ahead of Big Pearl, which was the largest points margin until Red Number 3 broke that record in 2018.

Screenshot 2020-02-17 at 9.24 — Ghost Plasma on the top step of the podium, winning the 2016 championship.

2017

Despite being the defending champion, Ghost Plasma was required to attend the Qualifiers for Sand Marble Rally 2017. They finished third in their group, behind Crazy Cat's Eye and Lollipop, and thus qualified for the season. As the reigning champion, Ghost Plasma was a heavily favored title contender.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the case at all. In fact, Ghost Plasma started the season poorly, with a mediocre 13th-place finish in the first race, followed by five consecutive races without scoring any points. They had four consecutive DNFs. As of Race 6, Ghost Plasma was last in the standings with only 3 points.

In the second half of the season, Ghost Plasma began to improve, even to the point where they overtook Comet in the points standings by finishing 6th in Race 10. With their third-place finish in Race 11, Ghost Plasma was 19th in the standings and 17 points ahead of Comet. But the next two races would be the unmaking of the reigning champion.

Not only was Ghost Plasma no longer eligible for the championship title, they also failed to gain any points in Race 12. The double points from the Final Race of the season would have been something Ghost Plasma could capitalize on, but they failed to do so and finished 13th. At the end of the season, Ghost Plasma was back at the bottom of the ladder in the points standings with a measly 54 points.

2018

Due to Ghost Plasma's underperformance in the last season, Ghost Plasma once again had to participate in the Qualifiers for Sand Marble Rally 2018. They finished third in their qualifier race, behind Big Pearl and Deep Ocean, which was enough for them to qualify for the A Division. Ghost Plasma was determined to redeem themselves after their performance drop in the last season, which saw them go from the inaugural champion to dead last.

This season turned out to be another tough one for Ghost Plasma. Outside of their podium finish in Race 5 and their other top half finish of the season earlier in Race 3, Ghost Plasma's overall performance in this season was terrible. They finished every other race within the bottom half. They even DNFd in Race 6. Ghost Plasma ended the season in 19th place with 35 points.

During this time Ghost Plasma had become a franchise with the launch of their Marble League team, Team Plasma. Unfortunately they failed to qualify for Marble League 2018. Most of the franchise's resources went to preparing Ghost Plasma for Sand Marble Rally 2018, leading to a drop in morale and lack of training for Team Plasma who decided to retire before Marble Legue 2019.^[2]

2019

The Plasma franchise was in poor shape going into 2019. However, the retirement of Team Plasma meant more resources, funding and training for Ghost Plasma as they prepared for Marble Rally 2019.^[1] Due to their unsuccessful previous season, Ghost Plasma had to participate in the Wildcard Race to qualify for Marble Rally 2019. They finished second behind Reflektor, earning them a spot in the A League. Given that they had two underwhelming seasons in a row, there was already fear that Ghost Plasma would once again finish the season in the bottom half of the standings, if not last place as they did in 2017.

Surprisingly, 2019 proved to be a return to form for Ghost Plasma as speed and remarkable consistency made up their season. They were able to finish every race but one within the top half, including one podium finish at 3rd place in Race 6. This made them end the season in 2nd place with 76 points. They also prequalified for Marble Rally 2020.

2020

Ghost Plasma was invited to take part in Marble Rally 2020 after the Qualifiers were cancelled.

Racer analysis and profile

Screenshot 2020-02-17 at 9.17 — An overview concerning Round 4 of the 2016 SMR Championship. Notice the incredibly tight field congestion behind Ghost Plasma, who is currently in second.

Ghost Plasma's great success comes from their ability to defend their track position. Especially evident in their 2016 Race 4 victory, Ghost Plasma's expertise at dominating in the front row thwarted any attempts to overtake them, blocking off all conventional lanes of attack and canceling clean drafts/slingshots as well. While not the fastest or most technically gifted, Ghost Plasma is a very intelligent racer, using splits and unrimmed curves to their advantage by always taking the fastest route, and they also use their body to physically push off others attempting to either pass cleanly or push them off the track themselves. While their form has not fully recovered from the bombed 2017 and 2018 season, they have shown an immense amount of their former self, using both splits and great defense to gather 7 straight top 10s, a podium and a 2nd place table finish to top it off.

Marble Rally results

Season	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Pos	Points
2016	R1 2	R2 2	R3 4	R4 1	R5 15	R6 24	R7 5	R8 5	R9 2	R10 9	R11 14	R12 7		1st	194
2017	R1 13	R2 DNF	R3 DNF	R4 DNF	R5 DNF	R6 16	R7 9	R8 16	R9 4	R10 6	R11 3	R12 17	F‡ 13	20th	54
2018	R1 13	R2 18	R3 10	R4 18	R5 2	R6 DNF	R7 20	R8 11						19th	35
2019	R1 8	R2 4	R3 9	R4 4	R5 4	R6 3	R7 7	R8 14						2nd	76
2020	R1 9													9th*	7*

* - Season is still in progress

^‡ - Double points

Trivia

Ghost Plasma is the inaugural Marble Rally champion.
- However, Ghost Plasma is also the only Marble Rally champion who had to qualify for the next season.
Ghost Plasma has had a significant drop in performance from the champion in 2016 to dead last in 2017. The reason why is unknown.
Ghost Plasma is one of only five marbles to participate in all Marble Rally races held to date, along with Comet, Dragon's Egg, Slimer and Summer Sky.

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Stynth (13th September 2020). Who’s Tearing Up the Sand in 2020? – Part 2. Marble Sports.
↑ Skystrykr (2nd January 2019). The teams not participating in 2019 MarbleLympics Qualifiers.. Reddit.

[SMR-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Stynth (13th September 2020). Who’s Tearing Up the Sand in 2020? – Part 2. Marble Sports.

[2] Skystrykr (2nd January 2019). The teams not participating in 2019 MarbleLympics Qualifiers.. Reddit.

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 |image1 = Ghost Plasma.png
 |caption1 =
+|color = Slightly transparent red/orange
+|years = 2016 - Present
 |hashtag = <nowiki>#GHO</nowiki>
+|appearances = 5 (first in 2016)
-|years = 2016 - present
-|entries = 41 entries
+|entries = 41
+|best_result = 1st ([[Sand Marble Rally 2016|2016]])
 |champions = 1 ([[Sand Marble Rally 2016|2016]])
 |wins = 1
 |podiums = 7
 |points = 359 points
-}}'''Ghost Plasma''' is a red-orange and white marble who competes in the Sand Marble Rally (now called Marble Rally). He is the first ever Sand Marble Rally champion.
+}}'''Ghost Plasma''' is a red-orange and white marble who competes in the [[Marble Rally]]. They were the first Sand Marble Rally champion. They originally come from [[Fantum]].<ref name="SMR">{{cite web|url=https://jellesmarbleruns.com/2020/09/13/whos-tearing-up-the-sand-in-2020-part-2/|title=Who’s Tearing Up the Sand in 2020? – Part 2|publisher=Marble Sports|date=13th September 2020|author=Stynth}}</ref>
-==Sand Marble Rally career==
+==History==
 ===2016===
-Ghost Plasma started the [[Sand Marble Rally 2016|inaugural Sand Marble Rally season]] strong with two consecutive podium finishes in 2nd place in the first two races. He claimed his first and only race win so far in Race 4, which was enough to affirm his status as title contender of the season. His non-points finish in Race 6 notwithstanding, Ghost Plasma continued his supremacy in Sand Marble Rally by staying at the top of the standings for the rest of the season. He finished 7th in the last race, which was enough to secure his championship title with a whopping 194 points. He was also 21 points ahead of [[Big Pearl]], which was the largest points margin until [[Red Number 3]] broke that record in 2018.
+Ghost Plasma had a strong start to [[Sand Marble Rally 2016]] with two consecutive podium finishes in 2nd place in the first two races. They claimed their first and only race win so far in Race 4, which was enough to affirm their status as title contender for the season. Their non-points finish in Race 6 notwithstanding, Ghost Plasma continued their supremacy in the Sand Marble Rally by staying at the top of the standings for the rest of the season. They finished 7th in the last race, which was enough to secure their championship title with 194 points. They were also 21 points ahead of [[Big Pearl]], which was the largest points margin until [[Red Number 3]] broke that record in 2018.
 [[File:Screenshot 2020-02-17 at 9.24.37 PM.png|thumb|220x220px|Ghost Plasma on the top step of the podium, winning the 2016 championship.]]
 ===2017===
-Despite being the defending champion, Ghost Plasma was required to attend the Qualifiers for the [[Sand Marble Rally 2017|2017 Sand Marble Rally season]]. He finished third in his group, behind [[Crazy Cat's Eye]] and [[Lollipop]], and thus qualified for the season. As the reigning champion, Ghost Plasma was a heavily favored title contender.
+Despite being the defending champion, Ghost Plasma was required to attend the Qualifiers for [[Sand Marble Rally 2017]]. They finished third in their group, behind [[Crazy Cat's Eye]] and [[Lollipop]], and thus qualified for the season. As the reigning champion, Ghost Plasma was a heavily favored title contender.
-Unfortunately, this wasn't the case at all. In fact, Ghost Plasma started the season poorly, with a mediocre 13th-place finish in the first Race, followed by five consecutive races without scoring any points. In fact, he had four consecutive [[DNF]]'s. As of Race 6, Ghost Plasma was dead last in the standings with only 3 points.
+Unfortunately, this wasn't the case at all. In fact, Ghost Plasma started the season poorly, with a mediocre 13th-place finish in the first race, followed by five consecutive races without scoring any points. They had four consecutive [[DNF]]s. As of Race 6, Ghost Plasma was last in the standings with only 3 points.
-In the second half of the season, Ghost Plasma began to improve, even to the point where he overtook [[Comet]] in the points standings by finishing 6th in Race 10. With his third-place finish in Race 11, Ghost Plasma was 19th in the standings and 17 points ahead of Comet. But the next two races would be the unmaking of the reigning champion.
+In the second half of the season, Ghost Plasma began to improve, even to the point where they overtook [[Comet]] in the points standings by finishing 6th in Race 10. With their third-place finish in Race 11, Ghost Plasma was 19th in the standings and 17 points ahead of Comet. But the next two races would be the unmaking of the reigning champion.
-In fact, not only was Ghost Plasma no longer eligible for the championship title, he also failed to gain any points in Race 12. The double points from the Final Race of the season would have been something Ghost Plasma could capitalize on, but he failed to do so and finished 13th. At the end of the season, Ghost Plasma was back at the bottom of the ladder in the points standings with a measly 54 points.
+Not only was Ghost Plasma no longer eligible for the championship title, they also failed to gain any points in Race 12. The double points from the Final Race of the season would have been something Ghost Plasma could capitalize on, but they failed to do so and finished 13th. At the end of the season, Ghost Plasma was back at the bottom of the ladder in the points standings with a measly 54 points.
 ===2018===
-Due to his underperformance in the last season, Ghost Plasma once again had to participate in the Qualifiers for the [[Sand Marble Rally 2018|2018 season]]. He finished third in his qualifier race, behind Big Pearl and [[Deep Ocean]], which was enough for him to qualify for the A Division. Ghost Plasma was determined to redeem himself after his performance drop in the last season, which saw him go from the inaugural champion to dead last.
+Due to Ghost Plasma's underperformance in the last season, Ghost Plasma once again had to participate in the Qualifiers for [[Sand Marble Rally 2018]]. They finished third in their qualifier race, behind [[Big Pearl]] and [[Deep Ocean]], which was enough for them to qualify for the A Division. Ghost Plasma was determined to redeem themselves after their performance drop in the last season, which saw them go from the inaugural champion to dead last.
-This season turned out to be another tough one for Ghost Plasma. Outside of his podium finish in Race 5 and his other top half finish of the season earlier in Race 3, Ghost Plasma's overall performance in this season was terrible. He finished every other race within the bottom half. He even DNF'd in Race 6. Ghost Plasma ended the season in 19th place with 35 points.
+This season turned out to be another tough one for Ghost Plasma. Outside of their podium finish in Race 5 and their other top half finish of the season earlier in Race 3, Ghost Plasma's overall performance in this season was terrible. They finished every other race within the bottom half. They even DNFd in Race 6. Ghost Plasma ended the season in 19th place with 35 points.
+During this time Ghost Plasma had become a franchise with the launch of their [[Marble League]] team, [[Team Plasma]]. Unfortunately they failed to qualify for [[Marble League 2018]]. Most of the franchise's resources went to preparing Ghost Plasma for Sand Marble Rally 2018, leading to a drop in morale and lack of training for Team Plasma who decided to retire before [[Marble Legue 2019]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Marblelympics/comments/abxvso/the_teams_not_participating_in_2019_marblelympics/|title=The teams not participating in 2019 MarbleLympics Qualifiers.|publisher=Reddit|date=2nd January 2019|author=Skystrykr}}</ref>
 ===2019===
-After one more unsuccessful season, Ghost Plasma had to participate in the Wildcard Race to qualify for the [[Marble Rally 2019|2019 season]]. He finished second behind [[Reflektor]], earning him a spot for the A League. Given that he had two underwhelming seasons in a row, there was already fear that Ghost Plasma would once again finish the season in the bottom half of the standings, if not last place as he did in 2017.
+The Plasma franchise was in poor shape going into 2019. However, the retirement of Team Plasma meant more resources, funding and training for Ghost Plasma as they prepared for [[Marble Rally 2019]].<ref name="SMR"/> Due to their unsuccessful previous season, Ghost Plasma had to participate in the Wildcard Race to qualify for [[Marble Rally 2019]]. They finished second behind [[Reflektor]], earning them a spot in the A League. Given that they had two underwhelming seasons in a row, there was already fear that Ghost Plasma would once again finish the season in the bottom half of the standings, if not last place as they did in 2017.
+Surprisingly, 2019 proved to be a return to form for Ghost Plasma as speed and remarkable consistency made up their season. They were able to finish every race but one within the top half, including one podium finish at 3rd place in Race 6. This made them end the season in 2nd place with 76 points. They also prequalified for [[Marble Rally 2020]].
+===2020===
-Surprisingly, 2019 proved to be a return to form for Ghost Plasma as speed and remarkable consistency made up his season. He was able to finish every race but one within the top half, including one podium finish at 3rd place in Race 6. This made him end the season in 2nd place with 76 points. He also prequalified for the [[Marble Rally 2020|2020 season]].
+Ghost Plasma was invited to take part in [[Marble Rally 2020]] after the Qualifiers were cancelled.
 == Racer analysis and profile ==
 [[File:Screenshot 2020-02-17 at 9.17.26 PM.png|thumb|385x385px|An overview concerning Round 4 of the 2016 SMR Championship. Notice the incredibly tight field congestion behind Ghost Plasma, who is currently in second.]]
-Ghost Plasma's great success comes from his ability to defend his track position. Especially evident in his 2016 R4 victory, Ghost Plasma's expertise at dominating in the front row thwarted any attempts to overtake him, blocking off all conventional lanes of attack and canceling clean drafts/slingshots as well. While not the fastest or most technically gifted, Ghost Plasma is a very intelligent racer, using [[Split (Sand Rally)|splits]] and [[Unrimmed Curve (Sand Rally)|unrimmed curves]] to his advantage by always taking the fastest route, and he also uses his body to physically push off others attempting to either pass cleanly or push him off the track themselves. While his form has not fully recovered from the bombed [[Sand Marble Rally 2017|2017]] and [[Sand Marble Rally 2018|2018]] season, he has shown an immense amount of his former self, using both splits and great defense to gather 7 straight top 10's, a podium and a 2nd place table finish to top it off.
+Ghost Plasma's great success comes from their ability to defend their track position. Especially evident in their 2016 Race 4 victory, Ghost Plasma's expertise at dominating in the front row thwarted any attempts to overtake them, blocking off all conventional lanes of attack and canceling clean drafts/slingshots as well. While not the fastest or most technically gifted, Ghost Plasma is a very intelligent racer, using [[Split (Sand Rally)|splits]] and [[Unrimmed Curve (Sand Rally)|unrimmed curves]] to their advantage by always taking the fastest route, and they also use their body to physically push off others attempting to either pass cleanly or push them off the track themselves. While their form has not fully recovered from the bombed [[Sand Marble Rally 2017|2017]] and [[Sand Marble Rally 2018|2018]] season, they have shown an immense amount of their former self, using both splits and great defense to gather 7 straight top 10s, a podium and a 2nd place table finish to top it off.
-== Sand Marble Rally results ==
+== Marble Rally results ==
 {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
 ! Season
@@ Line 127: / Line 134: @@
 | style="background:#DFDFDF;" | '''76'''
 |-
-|[[Marble Rally 2020|2020]]
+| [[Marble Rally 2020|2020]]
+|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[Marble Rally 2020 - Race 1|R1]]<br /><small>9</small>
 |
 |
@@ Line 140: / Line 148: @@
 |
 |
+| style="background:#EFEFEF;" | '''9th*'''
-|
+| style="background:#EFEFEF;" | '''7*'''
-! colspan="2" |Yet to begin
 |}
+<nowiki>*</nowiki> - Season is still in progress
 <sup>‡</sup> - Double points
@@ Line 150: / Line 159: @@
 **However, Ghost Plasma is also the only Marble Rally champion who had to qualify for the next season.
 *Ghost Plasma has had a significant drop in performance from the champion in 2016 to dead last in 2017. The reason why is unknown.
-*Ghost Plasma is one of only five marbles to participate in all 41 Sand Marble Rally races held to date, along with [[Comet]], [[Dragon's Egg]], [[Slimer]] and [[Summer Sky]].
+*Ghost Plasma is one of only five marbles to participate in all Marble Rally races held to date, along with [[Comet]], [[Dragon's Egg]], [[Slimer]] and [[Summer Sky]].
+==References==
+<references/>
 {{Marbles SMR}}
+[[Category:Marbles]]
+[[Category:Sand Marble Rally]]
 [[Category:Competing Marbles in Sand Marble Rally]]
-[[Category:Marbles]]
+[[Category:Sand Marble Rally 2016]]
+[[Category:Sand Marble Rally 2017]]
+[[Category:Sand Marble Rally 2018]]
+[[Category:Marble Rally 2019]]
+[[Category:Marble Rally 2020]]

Marble Rally Competitors
Active	Amethyst · Big Pearl · Black Knight · Blazing Fireball · Blizzard Blaster · Blue Moon · Cobra · Comet · Cool Moody · Crazy Cat's Eye · Deep Ocean · Dragon's Egg · Ducktape · El Capitan · Ghost Plasma · Grasshopper · Green Turtle · H2 Blue · Lollipop · Marbly McMarbleface · Nemo · Phoenix · Pollo Loco · Quicksilver · Red Number 3 · Reflektor · Silver Bolt · Slimer · Summer Sky · Superball · White Widow · Wisp of Darkness
Retired	Blue Smoke · Fantasy · Glassy · Mocha Madness · Oddball · Olympia · Rastafarian · Snake's Tub · Starman · Tarantula · The Flash