[phrontist]

God this thread is old, but here goes.

<devil's advocate>

Are you trying to win a single match, or win a tournament? Winning competitions is in large part about cultivating relations with teams, subtle inter-team politics, and though I've never seen it myself, I'd guess a fair amount of backstabbing. It's part of the game as much as scoring tetras or poof balls is.

So yeah, I'd say always try your hardest to win. Win the compeition!

How is it at all un-GP to try to promote your allies by choosing which matches to do really well in? It is a nash equilibrium (well, it's game theoretic anyway) Mr. Neun!

If you aren't thinking like this, you aren't trying as hard as you can. That's rather un-GP if you ask me.

</devil's advocate>

*twirls mustache, cackles*