March Commandness West Conference Round Two Brings Upsets, Open Community Voting

The West Conference of EDHREC's March Commandness bracket delivered its biggest shock yet when Atraxa, Grand Unifier, seeded 12th, knocked out Esika, God of the Tree, the fifth seed, with 53.6% of the community vote. EDHREC editor in chief Andy Zupke didn't mince words about it: "This is easily one of the biggest shockers of the tournament. Esika is immensely popular, while Atraxa, though also popular, pales in comparison to her earlier version."

That result headlined a round full of close finishes. Glarb, Calamity's Augur, a ninth seed, took out Aragorn, the Uniter (8) with 54.6% of the vote. Zupke had Aragorn picked to win, but said "Glarb's top-deck advantage was just too strong" in a matchup he called "the battle of the Nobles." Fire Lord Azula, seeded fourth, was the lone higher seed to come through cleanly, defeating Helga, Skittish Seer (13) by 55.7%.

Now West Round Two is live, with four fresh matchups open for community voting through Wednesday, March 18 at 8:00 am EST. The bracket has top seed Lathril, Blade of the Elves (1) facing that same Glarb, Calamity's Augur (9) who just upset Aragorn. Atraxa (12) draws Fire Lord Azula (4) in what looks like a collision of two survivors who both pulled upsets of their own. The hobbit partnership of Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit and Sam, Loyal Attendant (6) squares off against Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm (3), and Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER (7) takes on Kotis, the Fangkeeper (15) in the fourth match.

Zupke's reminder to the community: "You have until 8:00 am EST on Wednesday the 18th to get your votes in for this set of matches. Then check in on March 18th to see the winners and vote for the matches in round three." If the polls aren't loading, EDHREC says to try reloading the page.

After back-to-back rounds where the bracket's favorites have taken hits, round three promises to be even messier.