Graphic by the author
EDHREC's March Commandness Bracket Tournament continues to round two! In this article, we'll look at who won the matchups from round one in the South conference, and then kick off the voting for round two.
But first, in case you missed the announcement article explaining what this all is, head here to get the lowdown. TL;DR, we're doing a bracket system tournament, but instead of college basketball teams, we're battling the top 64 new commanders from the last five years.
And you decide the winner by voting.
We're well into the tournament now, but if you still want to grab your bracket to print and fill out, head here. If you wanna share your bracket picks or chat with other people on socials about the tournament, use hasthtag #RECMadness.
South Conference - Round One Winners
Before we get into round two for the South conference, let's take a look at the winners of round one.
Match One - Pantlaza, Sun-FavoredPantlaza, Sun-Favored (1) vs Kuja, Genome SorcererKuja, Genome Sorcerer (16)
Winner: Pantlaza (64.0%)
The most popular Dinosaur commander, and #7 overall, had no problem clawing up Kuja, who was a bit of a sleeper hit from Final Fantasy.
Match Two - Cloud, Ex-SOLDIERCloud, Ex-SOLDIER (8) vs Hearthhull, the WorldseedHearthhull, the Worldseed (9)
Winner: Hearthhull (71.7%)
I wasn't surprised at who won this one, but I was surprised at how poorly Cloud performed. I expected the Final Fantasy fans to give him a bit more push. But the Equipment commander completely broke apart against the most popular Jund commander.
Maybe he just couldn't breathe up there...
Match Three - Hakbal of the Surging SoulHakbal of the Surging Soul (5) vs Henzie "Toolbox" TorreHenzie "Toolbox" Torre (12)
Winner: Henzie (57.9%)
"Henzie and Hakbal" sounds like a pretty rad buddy cop/detective show, no? A 12 seed beating a 5 seed is pretty exciting, especially when that 5 seed is an easy-mode Simic typal commander, and the 12 is a unique commander built around a lesser known mechanic.
Match Four - Baylen, the HaymakerBaylen, the Haymaker (4) vs Zinnia, Valley's VoiceZinnia, Valley's Voice (13)
Winner: Baylen (64.4%)
This was always gonna be an uphill battle for Zinnia. Both are token commanders, and Baylen is just so much stronger and more popular.
Match Five - Mr. House, President and CEOMr. House, President and CEO (6) vs Tom BombadilTom Bombadil (11)
Winner: Tom (51.5%)
This was one of the closer matches, with fewer than 100 votes between the two. In the end, the five-color Saga guy from Lord of the Rings (though not the movies) took the win. This makes sense to me, since we get new Sagas in almost every set, and new dice-rolling cards are far more rare.
Match Six - Teval, the Balanced ScaleTeval, the Balanced Scale (3) vs Urtet, Remnant of MemnarchUrtet, Remnant of Memnarch (14)
Winner: Teval (72.2%)
No surprise here. Same thing I said about dice-rolling cards applies to Myr, though those are even more rare - unless you count changelings.
Match Seven - Caesar, Legion's EmperorCaesar, Legion's Emperor (7) vs Ygra, Eater of AllYgra, Eater of All (10)
Winner: Ygra (61.1%)
This one surprised me a lot, especially with how big the gap was. In fact, I had it going the other way on my bracket. But there's something to be said about how unique Ygra is, while Caesar is just your everyday, powerful Token commander.
Match Eight - Giada, Font of HopeGiada, Font of Hope (2) vs Marneus CalgarMarneus Calgar (15)
Winner: Giada (50.1%)
We were this close to having ourselves a real Cinderalla story here. Giada (2) and Calgar (15) were neck-and-neck for the entire matchup. But in the end, Giada took the victory by a mere four votes.
Stand proud, Marneus Calgar. You put up a hell of a fight.
South Conference - Round Two Matchups
Now on to the second round of matches for the South conference. Voting goes for two days, so this round will end on Saturday the 14th at 8:00 am EST. (If you're having trouble seeing the polls below, try reloading the page.)
Match One - Pantlaza, Sun-FavoredPantlaza, Sun-Favored (1) vs Hearthhull, the WorldseedHearthhull, the Worldseed (9)
Match Two - Henzie "Toolbox" TorreHenzie "Toolbox" Torre (12) vs Baylen, the HaymakerBaylen, the Haymaker (4)
Match Three - Tom BombadilTom Bombadil (11) vs Teval, the Balanced ScaleTeval, the Balanced Scale (3)
Match Four - Ygra, Eater of AllYgra, Eater of All (10) vs Giada, Font of HopeGiada, Font of Hope (2)
Remember, you have until 8:00 am EST on Saturday the 14th to get your votes in for this set of matches. Then check in on March 17th to see the winners and vote for the matches in round three.
And don't miss the rest of the voting! The second round of voting for the North conference is still live until March 13th, so go get your votes in for that set if you haven't already.
Andy Zupke
Andy's the editor in chief for the EDHREC blog content. He's been playing Magic on and off since Fallen Empires. He loves to travel, drink, eat, and spend time with family and friends.
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