The Springtime Smackdown 2 Conclusion: To the victor(s) go the spoils!

First and foremost: If you prefer no spoilers, you can jump directly to the
FINALS BATREP HERE

One Hundred and Nine blog posts ago, I had an itch. A tic in my mind. A compulsion that wouldn't subside. A nagging urge.

The VS System itch.

VS System has always latched onto me in a way I am unsure I will ever fully comprehend. I met my wife playing it. My daughter's first christmas ornament contribution was a lightly chewed Power-girl she found on the floor. At its best and worst, This game nurtured fond memories of a fantastic game, great sportsmanship, and long reaching coverage granting me close allies, lifelong collegues, and of course, some bitter farewells that I will carry with me to the end of my days.

It doesn't strike that often, to be honest, every 2 to 3 years maybe. But that itch, though.

God bless her, my wife doesn't understand it entirely. She patiently, perhaps even wisely allows it to run it's course. Every time I seek to "one-up" the previous one. Adding something to make it just a tad more convoluted or involved than the last time.

This is the origin story of the Springtime Smackdown.

 

And as long as there is a community to share it with, it will continue re-appearing every few seasons on your facebook feed asking a question, and doing its utmost to grant a good answer.

This year we asked: Which deck is king of the monster format we call "golden age"?

Well I have your answer for 2018:

Winning the best of 3 finals with a final match result of 2 to1, Touting a Game 3 score of an insane -32 to - 47 on turn 5... It was CAPTAIN ITALY, crushing its way to a victory over the Ever-deadly TNNB build. securing itself as the one true King of the Monsters!

...for now.

But that was not our only winner.

Concluding the springtime Smackdown 2: Kingmaker betting series, We have our final standings:

RESERVED FOR LUCA INVERNIZZI

Luca Invernizzi (spider-stall)
This Week- 50 pts
Total     -235 pts

Alessio Menzella (Spider-Stall)
This Week- 30 pts
Total     -231 pts

DJ Foley (Wolverine Direct)
This Week- 20 pts
Total      -219 pts

Aaron Atwood (Randomizer)
This Week-  0 pts
Total     -101 pts

Chad Jackson (Spider-Stall)
This Week-  0 pts
Total      - 50 pts

Joseph Corbett
This Week- 40 pts
Total     - 42 pts

Alessandro de Cossini (Spider-Stall)
This Week-  0 pts
Total     - 23 pts

Adam Miller (Just ONE)
This Week-  0 pts
Total     - 20 pts

Aaron Atwood
This week- 10 pts
Total     - 10 pts


It was Lucca's pick that shot him from 3rd place to 1st overall only missing the endurance total options in his picks!

The official results were as follows:

****FINAL RESULTS****

Series Winner - Captain Italy

Coin-toss - Captain Italy (Aaron)

First Blood - TNNB

Last turn - turn 5

Series result - 2 games to 1

life of winner - -32 endurance

life of loser - -47 endurance

I hope you readers out there had some measure of enjoyment reading these match reports and following along as a grown man skirted his duties to host a tournament of champions and share it with the world with as much detail as he could manage.
I'd like to thank my wife for her unwavering patience as we worked on this for what became 2 straight months, My playgroup, none of this happens without you. And the community. Still proving that Upper Deck was wrong all these years later.

So get building those Captain Italy variants folks! There's a new Big Nasty on the block.

And he is Italian.