So the playoff game between war machine and BiA adds a little interesting context to all of this. Clearly War machine had seen something very specific in BiA's defense that they (correctly) thought they could exploit, and liked their chances better in that game.
It reframes the question a bit. Is it okay for a team to purposefully throw a game if they, totally encapsulated within their team, think that gives them a strategic advantage to advance in the playoffs?
I don't know the right answer. And I also don't really know how I feel about it. It's a really weird lien to draw. Like, you could make the argument that simply positioning yourself so that you don't have to play RC teams three times in a row (potentially) is in and of itself simply a tactical move to increase your chances, and while I agree that it's nigh impossible to beat RC teams three times in a row, that still feels icky to me and I don't like it. But purposefully dropping a game because you've scouted a weakness in a specific oppenent and want to align yourself against them in teh playoffs doesn't feel as bad.
overall I still don't think I like it...you leave a standard gameplan in and let the chips fall where they may. But I see the gray area here.
Not that it matters at the moment
, but I would still absolutely sign something to never throw a game on purpose and stick by it. But we have AI issues more frequently than others so I can't promise that we won't every now and then lay an egg. It just won't be on purpose.