(Play of the GamePlay of the Game | Jung Park)

We are almost in the endgame of our March Magic Madness tournament. The final round, which takes place inside our regions, is upon us. By now, you know the teams and the matchups, and I do not want to delay the action any longer.

So I will send it to our other esteemed announcer the Arena RectorArena Rector for any final words before we dive into the matchups.

Arena Rector: All I can say about these matchups is that they will be explosive. We have some incredibly intriguing matchups that should be fun for everyone involved. Without anything further, let's go down to the action for the Elite 8.

Scoring:

• Color Multipliers
  • Colorless 1.6x
  • Mono 1.5x
  • Two-color 1.4x
  • Three-color 1.3x
  • Four-color 1.2x
  • Five Color 1.1x
• Deck Count < or > 15 Thousand
  • > 15 Thousand 15.1x
  • < 15 Thousand 14.9x
• Original Print Date
  • Over five years ago, 5.9x
  • Printed in 202, 5.5x
  • Printed less than five years ago, 5.1x
• Was it a "Design Mistake"
  • Yes 6.9x
  • No 7x
• Game Changer
  • Yes 2.5x
  • No 7x
• Salt Score <, > or = 1.2
  • < 1.2 avg. Salt score 2.1x
  • > 1.2 avg. Salt score 1.9x
  • = 1.2 avg. Salt score 2x
• Basketball scores are made with a generator to align with the "math" used.

Shards Region

(8) Ghyrson Starn, KelermorphGhyrson Starn, Kelermorph vs. (6) Arcades, the StrategistArcades, the Strategist

What a matchup to kick off the Elite 8 here today. The Kerlmorphs, led by Ghyrson Starn, is the only remaining Universes Beyond team in the tournament. This team beats you with a "death by a thousand cuts" style.

A point or two at a time is all they need to make sure that they get the win. A key product of the Universes Beyond region Exalted Flamer of TzeentchExalted Flamer of Tzeentch showed what this lesser known division is really about this game.

Backed up with game changers like Jeska's WillJeska's Will and Mystical TutorMystical Tutor, the Kerlmorphs came out the gate fast and furious, relying on a strategy built around pingers.

Not to go down without a fight, Arcades leads the long-standing Walls. Unlike past tournaments, Arcades took a more strategic approach, which served them well until now.

Early on, with a well-timed Crystal BarricadeCrystal Barricade, it looked as if the walls would stand the test of time yet again. Unfortunately for them, a good, or in their case, a great defense was not enough, and the Walls started to crumble.

The Kelermorphs finished off this contest with a potent combo of Niv-Mizzet, ParunNiv-Mizzet, Parun enchanted with the Ophidian EyeOphidian Eye. They will be moving on to the Final Four as the champion of the Shards Region.

Final Score: Kelermorphs 147 - Walls 101.

Wedge Region

(9) Sidar Jabari of ZhalfirSidar Jabari of Zhalfir vs. (2) Yuriko, the Tiger's ShadowYuriko, the Tiger's Shadow

A battle of design mistakes. Commander Ninjutsu vs. Eminence: Who will come out on top? These teams know how to gain an advantage from their game plans.

Yuriko and the Ninjas make you have to guard every angle of attack or suffer the consequences. Sidar Jabari and the Knights make card after card work in their favor and can make all of your removal feel like it is a part of a losing battle.

The Ninjas controlled this battle from the very start. No other team has come close to dealing with the idea of presenting too many threats for an opponent to deal with all tournament long. Led by a fiecersome foursome of Yuriko themselves and three key players

The Ninjas quickly became too much to handle. They rounded out their starting five with Fallen ShinobiFallen Shinobi, who picked off key cards when it mattered most and did not allow the Knights to close the gap.

The Knights did come with a good game plan; they just ran into a bad matchup.

Built around the Monument to EnduranceMonument to Endurance, the Knights did their best to leverage newcomer Vodalian Wave-KnightVodalian Wave-Knight and Knights' ChargeKnights' Charge to overwhelm the opposition.

Against most opponents, this would have been a winning strategy, but without finding the Herald of HoofbeatsHerald of Hoofbeats, the Fatal BlowFatal Blow was unable to land.

Final Score: Ninjas 138 - Knights 95.

Guild Region

(13) Urza, Lord High ArtificerUrza, Lord High Artificer vs. (14) Oloro, Ageless AsceticOloro, Ageless Ascetic

A battle of two double-digit seeds to see who will escape from the wildest quadrant of the tournament we have ever seen. If you know your magic history, you will agree that this is a battle of giants against one another.

Urza and his High Artificers look to lock down the competition with Winter OrbWinter Orb and TrinisphereTrinisphere. Olor and the Giants also like to make life difficult for the opposition thanks to PropagandaPropaganda and the Aura of SilenceAura of Silence.

The Giants found themselves on the side of David against Goliath as Urza was not going home without the win.

Even with a variety of taxes being levied against his team, Urza, Lord High ArtificerUrza, Lord High Artificer has a unique way of taking even his stax pieces like Pithing NeedlePithing Needle and Static OrbStatic Orb as a way to generate resources.

After overcoming the lock pieces, Urza utilized the Simulacrum SynthesizerSimulacrum Synthesizer to march to victory and a spot in the Final Four.

Final Score: High Artificers 121 - Giants 91.

Blind Eternities Region

(13) Kinnan, Bonder ProdigyKinnan, Bonder Prodigy vs. (7) Teysa KarlovTeysa Karlov

The final battle before the Final Four features Kinnan and the Prodigies against Teysa Karlov and the Oligarchs. These two teams could not be more opposite in their play.

With Kinnan, it is all about the big play all the time. It is the epitome of the go big or go home game plan. With Teysa, small bodies are being used and reused to Eliminate the CompetitionEliminate the Competition with an onslaught of AttritionAttrition.

This game was tight. Teysa and the Oligarchs played a beautiful game from the first whistle, and key contributors Blood ArtistBlood Artist and Elas il-Kor, Sadistic PilgrimElas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim showed they were not to be underestimated.

Kinnan, however, got off to a lightning-fast start thanks to Enduring Vitality letting all the entire team pitch in so that the big flips off the top got out Tidespout TyrantTidespout Tyrant and Koma, Cosmos SerpentKoma, Cosmos Serpent way ahead of schedule.

The Oligarchs could clean up the battlefield time and time again thanks to Dictate of ErebosDictate of Erebos, but the sacrificing of creatures secretly doomed them to defeat.

The unlikely combination of Fade AwayFade Away with an on board It That BetraysIt That Betrays turned the tide for the Prodigies, and they never looked back.

In the closest finish and the only competitive bout from start to finish in this Elite 8, Kinnan and the Prodigies punch their way into the final spot in the Final Four.

Final Score: Prodigies 87 - Oligarchs 80.

Once More Into the Breach

Wow, what a way to take us to the Final Four. The penultimate field is set with competitors who proved they are their region's champions. We have as follows:

Shards Region: Ghyrson Starn, KelermorphGhyrson Starn, Kelermorph

Wedge Region: Yuriko, the Tiger's ShadowYuriko, the Tiger's Shadow

Guild Region: Urza, Lord High ArtificerUrza, Lord High Artificer

Blind Eternities Region: Kinnan, Bonder ProdigyKinnan, Bonder Prodigy

Who comes out on top? Will the two-seed Yuriko continue their dominant and seemingly unstopable run through the tournament?

Will the only remaining Universes Beyond representative in Ghyrson Starn take it home?

Or will either of our 13-seed teams, the Prodigies or the High Artificers, pull off the biggest upset and make their way to the finale, potentially against one another?

Join us as we move into the final battlefield inside the Strixhaven StadiumStrixhaven Stadium as we come closer to crowning a champion of March Magic Madness.