March Magic Madness - Divisional Finals

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KrazyCaley

29 March 2013

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Welcome to the Sweet 16, where we'll determine which card is the champion of each individual category before moving on to determine ultimate supremacy.


Land Finals

(1) Original Dual Lands (e.g. Savannah )

vs.

(2) Tolarian Academy

The wheat has been separated from the chaff, as our one and two seeds easily find their way to the finals. The Dual Lands handle a spirited challenge from the Shocklands, and Tolarian Academy proves its dominance over the similar Cabal Coffers. Who will reign supreme?


Instant Finals

(1) Ancestral Recall

vs.

(3) Swords to Plowshares

Despite its attempts to bribe the ref, Counterspell is unable to finish its comeback against Swords, causing me to QUIT MAGIC FOREVER YOU GUYS I HATE YOU, while Lightning Bolt falls against the mighty Recall. Swords or Recall will be our Instants Champion.


Sorcery Finals

(1) Time Walk

vs.

(2) Demonic Tutor

Another 1 v. 2 matchup for a type crown. In a back and forth game where the lead changed hands countless times, Time Walk edges Tinker by one, while Demonic Tutor crushes Balance with few problems.


Enchantment Finals

(11) Fastbond

vs.

(3) Necropotence

The clearly under-seeded Fastbond edges by the powerful Survival of the Fittest, dropping another one-seed from our tournament, while Necropotence breezes past Land Tax, setting up this interesting green vs. black matchup of clearly busted cards.


Creature Finals

(8) Dark Confidant

Bob notches another overpowered card's scalp as he defeats Stoneforge Mystic. Now he is a win away from standing atop ALL the creatures.

vs.

(7) Birds of Paradise

"Ka-CRAW," cry the birds as they mount a huge comeback against Emrakul, the Aeons Torn to win by 1. In an unconventional Bob-Bop matchup, either a 7 or 8 seed will make it to the elite eight.


Artifact Finals

(1) Black Lotus

A very, very narrow victory for the Lotus over Skullclamp, but all's well that ends well, and now this #1 seed is where everyone expected it to be.

vs.

(3) Sol Ring

In a surprise upset, Sol Ring takes down the Moxen to advance. Now it faces The $3,000 Card, but with a defeat of another Power Nine under its belt, Sol Ring is not intimidated.


EDH General Finals

(13) Scion of the Ur-Dragon

The improbable run of Scion continues as it crushes even the all-powerful Zur under its mighty WUBRG foot, which is our third defeated #1 seed. Will this scrappy general take home the whole shebang?

vs.

(3) Thraximundar

He Who Paints the Earth Red stomps out Edric, Spymaster of Trest's bid, and might be considered the nominal favorite if Scion hadn't scored so many upsets already. Will Thrax be the one to send Cinderella home?


Planeswalker Bracket

(1) Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Ajani Vengeantfoil mounts a valiant late comeback, but it wasn't enough to topple Spire Jacer/About Jace/Cheatyjace/Thoughtjace/Echo Jacer/Battlejace Angel.

vs.

(5) Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker

No contest against Elspeth, Knight-Errant, and now we have a true clash of the titans. Will everyone's favorite Jace claim his throne, or will The Nicol Goddamn Bolas blow up him up and gain three loyalty counters?

Lands- Original Dual lands

Instant - Ancestrall Recall

Sorcery - Time Walk

Enchantment - Fastbond

Creature - Birds of paradise

Artifact - Sol ring- Look, Black Lotus Is WAY WAY WAY to expensive for actual competition.

EDH - Thraximudar.

Planeswalker - Jace.

March 29, 2013 10:11 p.m.

cartwheelnurd says... #2

Tolarian Academy as a bunch of boring lands can only go so far.

Ancestral Recall because its incredibly overpowered in every way.

Time Walk because an extra turn beats an extra card

Necropotence because a card for a life is better than an extra land play for 1 life.

Birds of Paradise because Bob is good but he isn't as influential to Magic as birds

Black Lotus because it can't just NOT win.

Scion of the Ur-Dragon because 5 colors is way more fun than 3.

Jace, the Mind Sculptor , because the 'ole elder dragon can't put up a fight.

March 29, 2013 10:17 p.m.

Wabbbit says... #4

Lands:

Instants:

Sorceries:

Enchantment:

Creature:

Artifact:

EDH:

Planeswalkers:

March 29, 2013 10:34 p.m.

Rhadamanthus says... #5

Dual Lands win because screw Tolarian Academy
Swords to Plowshares wins because Ancestral Recall is so powerful it's boring
Time Walk wins because it's better
Necropotence wins because it's more powerful and it takes more skill and finesse to implement
Birds of Paradise win because again, they're so much more important to the game
Black Lotus wins because the comparison in this matchup is so obvious
Scion of the Ur-Dragon wins because he truly is the best Commander
Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker wins because he always wins

March 29, 2013 10:39 p.m.

Land. Original Duals

Instants. Ancestral Recall

Sorceries. Demonic Tutor

Enchantments. Necropotence

Creatures. Dark Confidant

Artifacts. Sol Ring

Generals. Scion of the Ur-Dragon

Planeswalkers. Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker

March 29, 2013 10:47 p.m.

Zen_Toombs says... #7

(1) Original Dual Lands (e.g. Savannah )

(3) Swords to Plowshares

(2) Demonic Tutor

(11) Fastbond

(7) Birds of Paradise

(3) Sol Ring

(3) Thraximundar

(5) Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker

March 29, 2013 10:54 p.m.

DeckBuilder345 says... #8

  1. original duals other choice produces only blue2.Swords to Plowshares b/c it is the most awesome original white removal.
  2. Demonic Tutor b/c it gets you what you want when you need it, and it isn't blue
  3. Necropotence wordy black cards beat out wordy green cards.
  4. Dark Confidant b/c i have no clue why you people keep voting for those damn birds.. it is criminal that ermarkul lost to them ... criminal... at this point it is anyone but the bird
  5. Sol Ring fits in every deck and ramps the mana more than just a single time.. plus you know it is affordable!
  6. Scion of the Ur-Dragon b/c go go cinderalla (my daughter would be proud)
  7. Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker B/c booooo jace.. i can't believe you guys passed on ajani and elspeth... i am disappoint in you ... Come on people don't let jace win!
March 29, 2013 11:17 p.m.

PenitentKnight says... #9

  1. Original Dual Lands
  2. Ancestral Recall
  3. Time Walk
  4. Necropotence
  5. Dark Confidant
  6. Black Lotus
  7. SCION! SCION!
  8. Jace, the Jace Jace
March 29, 2013 11:22 p.m.

Cobthecobbler says... #10

Dual Lands- What argument?

Ancestral Recall - Another "duh" choice...

Demonic Tutor - I prefer the consistency, rather than the random outcome that can come from extra turns.

Necropotence - Just a preference of mine.

Birds of Paradise - The best ramp creature, period. Fits in any green deck.

Sol Ring - I'm anti-lotus in this one, I feel like it shines too bright already.

I can't vote here. These are my two generals going head to head and if I'm forced to choose between the two, then I don't believe that you love me. If you really loved me, you wouldn't make me choose.

Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker - Why is Jace even here?

March 29, 2013 11:26 p.m.

FourEx says... #11

lands = original dual landsinstant = ancestral recallsorcery = demonic tutorenchantment = fastbondcreature = birdsartifact = black lotusEDH = scion of ur-dragonplaneswalker = nicol bolas.

March 29, 2013 11:41 p.m.
March 29, 2013 11:49 p.m.

Blakkhand says... #13

Tolarian Academy producing only blue isn't a disadvantage, it just means it is more pure. Even Island could beat any given dual, with the academy there is no contest.
Ancestral Recall is power nine
Necropotence card advantage > mana
Dark Confidant see above
Black Lotus is power nine
Scion of the Ur-Dragon , because he is a one turn clock
Jace, the Mind Sculptor is second to none, his color is pure, not contaminated by B/R

March 30, 2013 12:40 a.m.

SwiftDeath says... #14

Land - Original Duals

Instant - Ancestral Recall

Sorcery - Time Walk

Enchantment - Necropotence

Creature - Dark Confidant

Artifact - Black Lotus

EDH General - Scion of the Ur-Dragon

Planeswalker - Jace, the Mind Sculptor

March 30, 2013 2:02 a.m.

AlexOAwesome says... #15

This is by far, the easiest March Madness. No competition whatsoever.

  1. Original Duals- Duh in my opinion. Tolarian Academy is stronger when you have it out, and will win you the game basically, but ir requires a deck built around it, while Duals are always good. Either way they both die to Waste land

  2. Ancestral Recall - Because, people might say, Swords to Plowshares the best removal spell ever invented, which is true in my opinion, however, it doesn't compare to being able to draw three cards with one mana, instant speed. If you play Vintage, you will understand how crazy Ancestral Recall is, and how essential it can be for combo-ing off.

  3. Time Walk - This one is tough. Demonic Tutor , while great, and can fetch you that very important bit to make your combo go infinite, and make your opponents want to flip the table, is no match for the skeleton people. Only two mana, to play an extra land, get an extra combat phase, draw and extra card, and get that much closer to winning. It puts you ahead by that much in the game.

  4. Necropotence - I don't have TONS of experience with this card, so I can't really explain my reasoning thoroughly, but I know it's broken.

  5. Dark Confidant - The almighty Bob. Ever wonder why he's at $50? Birds of Paradise is beautiful. Great art, great flavor, and fantastic design. Adding any mana, and being a Flyer for just one mana, is nothing short of magnificent. but, while Birds can give you that extra mana to set you ahead, Bob, in the right deck, can make it so you can lose a maximum of 4 life, and keep filling your hand with options.

  6. Black Lotus - While Sol Ring CAN be more consistent, the only format where Black Lotus sees play is Vintage, and leads to turn one Jace, the Mind Sculptor .

  7. Scion of the Ur-Dragon . - I just like Scion a lot, I think he is wonderuflly made, and his ability is very flavorful.

  8. Jace, the Mind Sculptor - As much as I love Bolas, I respect how much better Jace TMS is. Brainstorming, Fatesealing, Unsummoning, Winning. Haha.

March 30, 2013 2:07 a.m.

The only card left worth voting for

Birds of Paradise

Never Forget.

March 30, 2013 2:32 a.m.

BuLLZ3Y3 says... #17

1) Original Duals - Tolarian Academy is very good, and this is a tough choice, because Academy combines my two favorite things; Blue Mana and Artifacts. But alas, the duals are eternal.

2) Ancestral Recall - I don't believe this needs explaining.

3) Time Walk - Recall the explanation above. (Get it!? =D )

4) Necropotence - It was called the Black Summer for a reason. Or was it the Black Winter? I can't remember, I've blocked it out.

5) Birds of Paradise - Bob is fantastic, but I feel like a turn one land, BoP is one of the most iconic plays in all of MTG History.

6) Black Lotus - Again, no contest. I'd have a lotus in the place of my Sol Ring any day.

7) Scion of the Ur-Dragon - Cause Thrax sucks.

8) Jace, the Mind Sculptor - At the end of the day, Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker can just be Celestial Purge 'd by any ole' white mage. Take that Puff.

-BuLLZ3Y3

March 30, 2013 2:45 a.m.

Cdawg44 says... #18

  1. Dual Lands- You need artifacts for Tolarian Academy to be good, the duals are just awesome on their own

  2. Ancestral Recall . Although Counterspell SHOULD be here

  3. Time Walk

  4. Fastbond

  5. Birds of Paradise because honestly, I don't see the strength in Dark Confidant .... am I missing something? Emrakul, the Aeons Torn SHOULD be here

  6. Black Lotus . This is an obvious matchup. Who cares about price we are going off of card power?

  7. Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker seeing as he can destroy Jace with his +3.... lol

March 30, 2013 3:17 a.m.

Chubbub says... #20

  1. Tolarian Academy
  2. Swords to Plowshares-Screw Power Nine!
  3. Demonic Tutor-See Above
  4. Fastbond
  5. Bob
  6. Sol Ring-See 3&4
  7. Scion
  8. Nicol Bolas-Screw Jace
March 30, 2013 7:43 a.m.

DaShPrime says... #21

  1. Original dual lands
  2. Ancestral recall
  3. Demonic tutor
  4. Fastbond
  5. Dark confidant
  6. Black lotus
  7. Scion of the ur-dragon
  8. Nicol bolas, planeswalker
March 30, 2013 12:32 p.m.

yousquiddinme says... #22

Land: Original Duals. Academy is broken in combo, but the original duals are just very good fair magic cards.

Instant: Swords to Plowshares is a very powerful removal spell. While Ancestral Recall is the best card drawing spell, removal, in my opinion, is a lot more important in most games.

Sorcery: Demonic Tutor puts CARD in your HAND.

Enchantment: Necropotence is the best black card in the game, pretty much.

Artifact: Sol Ring is a long lasting buff, Lotus is only a temporary burst. Ring wins.

EDH General: Scion of the Ur-Dragon might as well win the whole thing at this point. Thraximundar is only a sorta good general and was seeded a bit too high.

Planeswalker: At least Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker is fun to play against. You just feel bad after playing Jace.

March 30, 2013 1:20 p.m.

Aelfstan says... #24

Original Dual Lands

Ancestral Recall

Demonic Tutor

Fastbond

Dark Confidant

Black Lotus

Scion of the Ur-Dragon

Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker

March 30, 2013 4:26 p.m.

alpinefroggy says... #26

Tolarian Academy - the original duals are amazing but Tolarian Academy is so broken. Everyone saying it just produces blue needs to realize that where the academy is legal, Blue is the only viable color save a few decks. So only blue duals are played alongside the far superior academy.

Ancestral Recall - swords just doesn't cut it, Ancestral is just to broken for its own good but deserves its spot.

Time Walk - explanation needed?

Necropotence - Fastbond is amazing in the right deck, but necro outright wins you the game with no setup at all.

Dark Confidant - for all my love for birds there really is no competition here, bob doubles card drawing and is a creature for almost no cost at all

Black Lotus - fast mana vs. fast mana. Lotus superior in almost every way

I have no stake in the comandeer one.

Jace, the Mind Sculptor - Bolas is powerful but way to exspensive to play in constructed and jace has proved time and again that he is broken. Sorry Bolas.

March 30, 2013 5:23 p.m.

megawurmple says... #27

1) Tolarian Academy , just because I like lands that make tons of mana. And the original duals are just plain boring.

2) Ancestral Recall . Let's be honest, 3 card advantage for 1 mana is awesome. I find it funny that at the time of printing, this was considered to have the same power level as Giant Growth . This is why blue always beats green.

3) Demonic Tutor wins this one because I don't like Time Walk at all. Just a personal preference.

4) This one was tough, but I'm going to have to go Necropotence . Life is a resource and the only life point that matters is the last one. If you use this properly and don't kill yourself with it, it wins you games.

5) Although Bob is awesome, Birds of Paradise wins the day for me. My 2 best decks both run him: one for ramp and the other for mana fixing. Proof of just how versatile the Bop really is. Besides, it's hilarious when I use him as an evasive beatstick in both the aforementioned decks.

6) Sol Ring is far cooler than Black Lotus and has many advantages: it is re-usable, it's not too broken and it doesn't burn a $3000 hole in your wallet when you buy one.

7) I've never played Commander, so my vote isn't very well educated, but I'm going to vote for Thraximundar , just because he seems cooler and I like his flavour.

8) I don't like either of these Planeswalkers. I'd rather Elspeth, Knight-Errant win, but she's not an option. If I had to pick between these two, however, I'd go for Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker because he's a cool fat dragon thingy that can kill Jace and has Mind Control on a stick. I like Mind Control on a stick.

March 30, 2013 7:29 p.m.

Goody says... #28

Duals.
Recall.
Walk.
Necro.
BoP.
Lotus.
Thrax.
Bolas.

March 30, 2013 7:46 p.m.

TridenT says... #29

Well, I missed basically every round after the first, so now I'm back to vote some more, I suppose. Stupid vacations, making me forget websites I only visit from work. :)

Land
The original dual lands are some of the best cards Magic has to offer. I will be very surprised if they don't make it a long, long way. I really hope WotC finds a way to get more lands out that rival their usefulness, so people don't have to pay out the nose for mana bases, which by definition must be in all decks.

Instants
I think, if it had only said "Draw three cards", Ancestral Recall might not have been run out of town by the fairness committee so quickly. I'm lying, of course. That's broke as all get out. But "Target player draws three cards" is even more so! Of course this beats the pants off Swords.

Sorceries
I've never gotten to take a free turn for two mana. Maybe it's more awesome when you do it that way. But it always feels like, when I take extra turns in Magic, I'm disappointed by the freebie turn. The card I draw sucks, or the combat isn't favorable, or I've messed up somehow. But with Diabolic Tutor , I can just.. get whatever! I need a dude? Tutor! I need a spell? TUTOR! Definitely the better card, to me.

Enchantments
For the longest time, I never paid attention to the tactical options that your life total allows. Only recently did I really get how useful it can be to spend life on something. Interesting, then, that two old-ass 'Chants with life payment options are all up in this final. The only thing, to me, that puts Fastbond on top is that land makes the world go 'round, whereas card draw is only as good as the cards in your deck.

Creatures
Sorry, Bob. Birds of Paradise and I go way back. Like, WAY back. We tight, dog.

Artifacts
I'm going to go momentarily crazy here and ignore monetary value. Do I want a 0 cost artifact that will one time give me three colored mana, or a 1 cost artifact that can put me 2 mana ahead of the curve this whole game? To me, Sol Ring is the better pick simply due to longevity.

Generals
Scion of the Ur-Dragon is Mega Man. And if you don't understand that sentence you have been playing EDH wrong.

Planeswalkers
Jace, the Mind Sculptor is going to win this whole crap, just you watch. And then everyone will groan, and not want to play this next year. It's GameFAQs' Character Battle and Link, all over again.

March 30, 2013 7:50 p.m.

Cobthecobbler says... #30

I am very happy about the EDH General matchup.

My only two EDH generals are Scion and Thraximundar. in my Five-color Beatdown and Reanimator: Scion control. deck, I use Scion of the Ur-Dragon . And in my All aboard the Thraxi Taxi I use Thraximundar .

Recasting my vote, I think I choose Scion of the Ur-Dragon because in my opinion, he is the most combo heavy and scariest general to go up against when a skilled player is behind the wheel.

March 30, 2013 8:25 p.m.

legion says... #31

Tolarian academy because it can make T1 Stroke of Genius wins that are just embarrassing to play against

Ancestral Recall just because no one in the history of the game has every used "force opponent to draw 3 cards"

Time walk because who doesn't love an always-miracled temporal mastery?

Necropotence because the FtV art looks SO awesome

Dark confidant because bob

Sol ring because its a permanent mana accelerant

Thraximundar because zombie assassins

Nicol bolas because jace can't kill nicol bolas, but Nicol bolas can kill Jace.

March 30, 2013 8:26 p.m.

r2d551 says... #32

Land - Original Duals

Instant - Ancestral Recall

Sorcery - Time Walk

Enchantment - Necropotence

Creature - Dark Confidant

Artifact - Black Lotus

EDH General - Scion of the Ur-Dragon

Planeswalker - Jace, the Mind Sculptor

March 31, 2013 7:58 p.m.

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