Dominaria: Elite Eight, Final Four, and Championship
Series Preview
Ground rules for this tournament.
Round of 32 and Sweet Sixteen results here.
As we head into our first Elite Eight, it’s worth it to step back and examine the field of worthy creatures that’s made it past four grueling rounds to get to this point. We’ve got:
- Four explosive creatures that pump themselves: two legendary (Marwyn and Shanna), and two decidedly not legendary (Rat Colony and Sporecrown Thallid) but probably the more explosive of the four.
- Two of Dominaria‘s pushed triple-pip creatures: the Chainwhirler and the Steel Leaf Champion. Of note, these were the only two on this list who saw any kind of meaningful Constructed play.
- A cheap 1-drop (Stronghold Confessor) underdog whose pseudo-evasion has gotten it those few extra points of damage that have turned out critical here.
- A small but versatile 2/2 for three (Danika Capashen), whose unique combination of size, cost, and three keyword abilities has allowed to have a play against both early-game and late-game opponents.
Coming in, my money would be on one of the four self-pumpers taking it all. But as they say, we’ve still got to play the games. So, without further ado…
Elite Eight
(8) Rat Colony defeated by (17) Goblin Chainwhirler
Given how much the Rat Colony has steamrolled all of its opponents up until now, this one would have to be considered a bit of an upset.
It would have been an interesting battle…if not for the Goblin’s little chain-whirling ability; which just so happens to wipe the board of X/1 rats every time it comes into play.
Literally the perfect matchup for Chainwhirler, as it eliminates the rats in blowout fashion.
(10) Steel-Leaf Champion defeated by (34) Sporecrown Thallid
This one wasn’t as close as the final life totals might suggest.
While building up the size of its Fungi, Sporecrown can let Steel Leaf Champion get its three shots in during Turns 4 and 5 – bringing it down to 5 life.
This, of course, is followed by a counter-attack of four 7/7 Sporecrown’s, which kills Champion on the spot (leaving behind chump blockers only delays the inevitable).
(6) Marwyn, the Nurturer defeated by (46) Shanna, Sisay’s Legacy
As fast as Marwyn can get bigger with those +1/+1 counters and those mana abilities, Shianna gets bigger just a little bit faster.
On Turn 4, there are two attacking 4/4 Shanna. while Marwyn only has two smaller blockers (they only just got their second and third Elf into play the turn before). So there’s 8 damage, in addition to the 2 from Turn 3.
Turn 5, Shianna will be swinging with four 6/6s. All of the four Marwyn blockers are smaller than that, so they need to basically chump with their whole team to stay alive.
And that’s game.
(20) Danitha Capashen, Paragon defeats (92) Stronghold Confessor
So it’s the two underdog wildcard creatures are facing each other here, guaranteeing that one of them makes the Final Four. Which one will it be?
As it turns out, the Confessor has finally met its match in terms of speed. It only gets Danitha down to 16 before her first-striking, lifelinking double blockers put an end to any more offense. (If six Confessors attack and one is double-blocked, the end result is one dead Confessor and a net one damage dealt).
Even as the Confessor starts dropping 3/3s, Danitha has enough to hold them down. For every pair of 3/3 attackers, Danitha can double-block one and let the other through, killing a large Confessor (while Danitha survives) while gaining a net one life. And since Danitha is cheaper than the large Confessor, she’ll end up outnumbering them as well.
And that is how Danitha grinds her way to a semifinal appearance.
Final Four
(17) Goblin Chainwhirler defeats (20) Danitha Capashen, Paragon
Finally, the end of the road for the plucky 2/2 Danitha.
Chainwhirler, with its larger size, is able to hold off Danitha attacks, rendering her kitchen sink of keyword abilities essentially useless as it tries to force damage through.
Eventually, two Chainwhirlers will come down on one turn, clearing the board of all Danitha’s and giving the 3/3 Goblin a wide opening for an alpha strike and a finals berth.
(34) Sporecrown Thallid defeats (46) Shanna, Sisay’s Legacy
These two creatures are essentially the same – except Sporecrown has one more point of power and toughness. And since it’s on the play here, that leads to our inevitable result.
Turn 3 sees a 3/3s Sporecrown attacking into a 1/1 Shanna. Turn 4 has a pair of 5/5s versus a pair of 2/2 Shannas. And Turn 5 has a set of four of those 7/7 fungi totally annihilating the defense of four 4/4 Shannas.
And it’s onto the championship match for the brutally efficient Sporecrown Thallid!
Championship
(17) Goblin Chainwhirler defeated by (34) Sporecrown Thallid
And here we are. The finals: an efficient 3/3 first striking Goblin with a deceptively powerful sweeper ability vs. an cheap Fungus that gets exponentially large very, very quickly. Who will take the prize for Dominaria?
Turn 2 (Sporecrown): Cast a Thallid.
Turn 3 (Chainwhirler): Cast a Goblin. Do 1 damage. (20 to 19)
Turn 3 (Sporecrown): Cast a Thallid. They’re both 3/3s now.
Turn 4 (Chainwhirler). Cast a Chainwhirler. Do 1 damage (20 to 18). Attack with Chainwhirler*. (20 to 15)
Turn 4 (Sporecrown): Cast two Thallids. Attack with the first two for 10 damage. (10 to 15).
Turn 5 (Chainwhirler): Cast Chainwhirler. Do 1 damage (20 to 14). Attacking into a pair of 5/5s isn’t profitable.
Turn 5 (Sporecrown): Cast two more Thallids. Attack with four 7/7s. With only three blockers…Chainwhirler is done.
*If Chainwhirler holds back to double block the Sporecrown on Turn 4, Sporecrown will just skip that attack and wait until it’s barrelling in with the four 7/7s on Turn 5. If Chainwhirler tries to triple-block then (the only way they can kill a Thallid), they’ll take 21 damage and die.
The best creature in 
is Sporecrown Thallid!
