Parties & Rivals Team Tourney - Round 2

[SnowFire]

Results from Week 1!  One tie in DQ8 vs. MK, and another near one in Indy vs. Divine Weapon.  Evil Gaia...  didn't make it as close.

Godlike
Ryu, Nina, Bleu, Puka (Breath of Fire) vs. Lady (Shadow Hearts: FTNW) (Lots -1)
Brahman (Digital Devil Saga) vs. Sulphur (Phantom Brave) (5-1)
Guv, Yangus, Jessica, Angelo (Dragon Quest VIII) vs. Vayne, Jessica, Niki, Flay, Pamela, Anna (Mana Khemia) (4-4) (Meeple tiebreak)
Zidane, Garnet, Vivi, Steiner (Final Fantasy IX) vs. Zophar (Lunar: Eternal Blue Complete) (lots-1)

Heavy
Ryu, Rei, Momo (Breath of Fire III) vs. Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, Teddie (Persona 4) (6-4)
Ulrika, Chloe, Pepperoni, Goto, Enna (Mana Khemia 2) vs. Elyon (Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter) (3-2)
Sephiroth (Final Fantasy 7) vs. Alex, Nash, Mia, Jessica, Kyle, Nall (Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete) (8-3)
Divine Weapon (Wild Arms 4) vs. Indalecio (Star Ocean 2) (5-4)

Middle
Xorn (Grandia III) vs. Kefka (Final Fantasy 6) (6-3)
Jecht (Final Fantasy X) vs. Hugo, Fubar, Sgt. Joe, Lilly (Suikoden III) (8-3)
Celes, Sabin, Edgar, Setzer (Final Fantasy 6) vs. Ramza, Agrias, Mustadio, Orlandu, Meliadoul (Final Fantasy Tactics) (7-4)
Lyn, Eliwood, Hector, Athos, Serra, Nils (Fire Emblem) vs. Lavos (Chrono Trigger) (6-4)

Light
Loki (Valkyrie Profile) vs. Daos (Lufia 2) (9-3)
Luke, Guy, Tear, Jade (Tales of the Abyss) vs. Kuja (Final Fantasy IX) (lots-1)
Crono, Marle, Lucca (Chrono Trigger) vs. Pikachu, Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Snorlax, Espeon (Pokemon) (6-2)
Ashley, Brad, Lilka (Wild Arms 2) vs. Albert Simon (Shadow Hearts) (5-3)

Bonus Match
Shion, KOS-MOS, Jin (Xenosaga Episode II) vs. Evil Gaia (Grandia) (lots-1)

We return again with more matches.  The losers from round 1 are truly on the hook now, as another loss will kick them out of the double elimination tourney.  Elyon finds himself in a strangely familiar situation, facing down a super-powered dragon, while Loki and Kuja, both of whom hold the power to destroy the world, somehow find themselves in the elimination bracket of Light.  Meanwhile, in the bonus match, we attempt to introduce a situation to hype Mana Magic for possibly the first time in the DL.

As a reminder, boss HP is unscaled for this tournament, including even for boss vs. boss fights.  In general bosses get credit for multiple parts and formchains as well.  Mana Khemia /Pokemon party size limits are enforced. 

This closes in a week.

Godlike
Brahman (Digital Devil Saga) vs. Lady (Shadow Hearts: FTNW)
Guv, Yangus, Jessica, Angelo (Dragon Quest VIII) vs. Zophar (Lunar: Eternal Blue Complete)
--
Ryu, Nina, Bleu, Puka (Breath of Fire)  vs. Vayne, Jessica, Niki, Flay, Pamela, Anna (Mana Khemia)
Sulphur (Phantom Brave) vs. Zidane, Garnet, Vivi, Steiner (Final Fantasy IX)

Heavy
Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, Teddie (Persona 4) vs. Ulrika, Chloe, Pepperoni, Goto, Enna (Mana Khemia 2)
Sephiroth (Final Fantasy 7) vs. Indalecio (Star Ocean 2)
--
Ryu, Rei, Momo (Breath of Fire III) vs.  Elyon (Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter)
Alex, Nash, Mia, Jessica, Kyle, Nall (Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete) vs. Divine Weapon (Wild Arms 4)

Middle
Xorn (Grandia III) vs. Hugo, Fubar, Sgt. Joe, Lilly (Suikoden III)
Ramza, Agrias, Mustadio, Orlandu, Meliadoul (Final Fantasy Tactics) vs. Lyn, Eliwood, Hector, Athos, Serra, Nils (Fire Emblem)
--
Kefka (Final Fantasy 6) vs. Jecht (Final Fantasy X)
Celes, Sabin, Edgar, Setzer (Final Fantasy 6) vs. Lavos (Chrono Trigger)

Light
Daos (Lufia 2) vs. Luke, Guy, Tear, Jade (Tales of the Abyss)
Pikachu, Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Snorlax, Espeon (Pokemon) vs. Ashley, Brad, Lilka (Wild Arms 2)
--
Loki (Valkyrie Profile) vs. Kuja (Final Fantasy IX)
Crono, Marle, Lucca (Chrono Trigger) vs. Albert Simon (Shadow Hearts)

Bonus Match
Randi, Purim, Popoi (Secret of Mana) vs. Berserk Ashnard (Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance Hard mode)

[Dark Holy Elf]

Godlike
Brahman (Digital Devil Saga) vs. Lady (Shadow Hearts: FTNW): Brahman cheats.
Guv, Yangus, Jessica, Angelo (Dragon Quest VIII) vs. Zophar (Lunar: Eternal Blue Complete): Call Team against multiple targets isn't impressive and Zophar can status out monsters to prevent the evil combo attacks. From there, the team gets overwhelmed quickly.
--
Ryu, Nina, Bleu, Puka (Breath of Fire)  vs. Vayne, Jessica, Niki, Flay, Pamela, Anna (Mana Khemia): Probably.

Heavy
Sephiroth (Final Fantasy 7) vs. Indalecio (Star Ocean 2): Similar durability and damage, but Seph has more speed and doesn't fail at damage at high HP.
--
Ryu, Rei, Momo (Breath of Fire III) vs.  Elyon (Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter): Cooouuuld be wrong about buffed Ryu3 being able to take this, but don't think so. Elyon lacks any dispel so Speed + Might on him leads to crazy shit.
Alex, Nash, Mia, Jessica, Kyle, Nall (Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete) vs. Divine Weapon (Wild Arms 4): Prismatic Laser completely fucks over the Lunar team.

Middle
Xorn (Grandia III) vs. Hugo, Fubar, Sgt. Joe, Lilly (Suikoden III): Hugo's team isn't a fan of ITE physicals in general.
Ramza, Agrias, Mustadio, Orlandu, Meliadoul (Final Fantasy Tactics) vs. Lyn, Eliwood, Hector, Athos, Serra, Nils (Fire Emblem): uh
--
Kefka (Final Fantasy 6) vs. Jecht (Final Fantasy X): Holy crap damage difference.
Celes, Sabin, Edgar, Setzer (Final Fantasy 6) vs. Lavos (Chrono Trigger): um

Light
Daos (Lufia 2) vs. Luke, Guy, Tear, Jade (Tales of the Abyss): Daos needs to get lucky with status on Tear to even have a chance. Besides that, he has terrible Def and Luke/Guy will be ripping at it nicely.
Pikachu, Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Snorlax, Espeon (Pokemon) vs. Ashley, Brad, Lilka (Wild Arms 2): Espeon + Charizard 2HKO Lilka easily enough, and the boys are below average speed so get raped by the rest minus Snorlax.
--
Loki (Valkyrie Profile) vs. Kuja (Final Fantasy IX): Reflect makes this interesting, but thinking Loki has it anyway.
Crono, Marle, Lucca (Chrono Trigger) vs. Albert Simon (Shadow Hearts): Haste to avoid any HP-1 doubleturn crap, Vigil Hats mock Status Abnormality.

Bonus Match
Randi, Purim, Popoi (Secret of Mana) vs. Berserk Ashnard (Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance Hard mode): Heh, do I assume for this that Mana Magic is needed to damage Ashnard? Amusing. Not sure how I scale Ashnard (he doubles average speed, but the PCs you fight him with are above average except the dragons... hmm).

[SnowFire]

Godlike
Guv, Yangus, Jessica, Angelo (Dragon Quest VIII) vs. Zophar (Lunar: Eternal Blue Complete)
Both Jess and Angelo have Bounce.  I guess there's still fast status hype?  Eh, leaning this way for now.
--
Sulphur (Phantom Brave) vs. Zidane, Garnet, Vivi, Steiner (Final Fantasy IX)
FF9 spoils Sulphur's elemental backup damage!  And Garnet still gets Terminated.

Heavy
Sephiroth (Final Fantasy 7) vs. Indalecio (Star Ocean 2)
Yeah, I don't respect Seph's offense nearly as much as Indy's, and about the same durability if we ignore pre-ToT.  Fly spoils Earthquake but Explode / Southern Cross are just about as good backup.  On the other hand...  maybe Seph's Wall turns it here?  According to the stat topic Indy has a Dispel but I can see an argument that Seph is slightly faster anyway.
--
Alex, Nash, Mia, Jessica, Kyle, Nall (Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete) vs. Divine Weapon (Wild Arms 4)
Form 2 has Prismatic Laser's MT status, meaning Alex will have to burn White Dragon Protects every turn.  Problematic when his MP resources aren't huge and DW is faster.  If they make it to form 3, Alex will want to use WDP again to protect Jess from getting a Boost Magic'd OHKO, and I think buffs like Kyle's offense buff will have reset?  Meaning they don't have time or resources to finish off Form 3 quickly.  Yeah, not their match.

Middle
Xorn (Grandia III) vs. Hugo, Fubar, Sgt. Joe, Lilly (Suikoden III)
Xorn will Death Knell bomb Joe, but Joe will just Defend, which would probably also beat off an attempted Dimension Gate finisher.  On the other hand, progress is going to be slow here, and Lilly is surely 2HKOed with her parry useless against Dimension Gate.  If the party tries to keep Lilly alive this means that *both* Hugo and Sgt. Joe probably have to heal her, and since Hugo will be mounted if he wants to avoid Dimension Gates at him, that's wasting Fubar's turn too.  Leaving Lilly as their sole offense.  If the team lets Lilly fall, hmm...  dunno, but that definitely makes lining up Joe's turns harder.  Once Joe falls, Hugo/Fubar can't really solo due to the risk of Death Knell + damage taking even them out.  If the team can buy enough time maybe some criticals come their way?  Leaning Xorn here but unsure.  (If you see Xorn as faster than I do he probably wins easily.)

Ramza, Agrias, Mustadio, Orlandu, Meliadoul (Final Fantasy Tactics) vs. Lyn, Eliwood, Hector, Athos, Serra, Nils (Fire Emblem)
Hmm, movement concerns.  If the FE team is allowed a starting formation that doesn't give any Lightning Stab / Holy Explosion possibilities, then they're pretty spread out and might have trouble teaming up on someone.  And if they DO team up on someone - presumably using their good weapons, which are mostly short-range with the exception of the mages - then they're DEFINITELY Lightning Stab bait.  Think it's not too necessary to think too hard about it..  if you make all FE average init, then Orlandu kills Lyn, Meliadoul kills Nils, Agrias & Ramza kill Serra, and Musty Arm Aims Athos.  Even if Arm Aim misses they're not really recovering.  I use AS personally, but hmm, this would require looking stuff up, and I don't think it matters.  Lyn can't make enough happen turn 1 and Orlandu can just kill *her* instead if necessary, and FFT is still generally faster here, which is bad for the FE team exploiting doubles.
--
Kefka (Final Fantasy 6) vs. Jecht (Final Fantasy X)
Chip Kefka near the edge of his limit, then screw around with irrelevant status.  Don't think Kefka can avoid giving Jecht an Overdrive, and Delay Sword + Ultimate Jecht Shot probably seals the deal?

Celes, Sabin, Edgar, Setzer (Final Fantasy 6) vs. Lavos (Chrono Trigger)
The form-chain is killer here as the longevity of the FF6 team is not good.  Whirlwind is fine for shoot-outs but not for endurance matches and Celes's healing MTed isn't as good as it should be.  Assuming they try to Runic-spam the first form I don't think Obstacle is magical so FF6 starts giggling.  Even assuming they all make it to the final battle...  Celes needs to do Vanish -> Runic spam to save the day, and don't think she has time to set that up before being spelled with something.

Light
Daos (Lufia 2) vs. Luke, Guy, Tear, Jade (Tales of the Abyss)
Fear Aggro Tear's super holy damage?  Well, Daos doesn't quite die *instantly* in game (even if he's still ultimately an easy fight) and spamming that MT 20% confusion + 3HKO damage move three times might get somewhere if the confused person...  yeah, the confused person has to attack Tear.  Closer than it should be, though.

--
Loki (Valkyrie Profile) vs. Kuja (Final Fantasy IX)
Yeah, Kuja could theoretically win a slugfest if he had Reflect up immediately, but thinking that they're about equivalent sluggers and forfeiting that first turn loses it for Kuja.

Crono, Marle, Lucca (Chrono Trigger) vs. Albert Simon (Shadow Hearts)
Don't think status abnormality goes anywhere fast enough, Vigil Hats, Marle Haste.  

Bonus Match
Randi, Purim, Popoi (Secret of Mana) vs. Berserk Ashnard (Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance Hard mode)
...Ashnard doubles average, but on the other hand Ike's not average?  Think I do give him last strike, though, even Berserk.  Anyway...  think this really does turn on if Ashnard doubles or not.  If he doesn't, open with Lucid Barrier-All, then ST Lucid Barrier whoever's Barrier got knocked over.  If Ashnard switches to someone else, then Lucid Barrier them ST (which is stronger than the MT version); if he keeps at the same person, he's not 1HKOing the ST version of the Barrier which screws him over.  This gives Purim an extra turn to cast Mana Magic with the Sprite.  Randi starts charging up, Purim goes back to making sure everyone doesn't die, eventually a horrible lvl. 8 Mana Sword strike of doom kills Ashnard through his blessed armor.

If he does double...  okay, Purim has to open with Speed-Up now, which I will be generous and say lets the SoM crew avoid doubles (it increases both Hit and Evade, like FE speed, as well as doubling movement speed).  Problem is he still has crushing damage and probably just OHKOs Purim.  If the "expected to be vs. Ike" scaling helps enough to reduce his damage as well, then SoM pulls through anyway, but yeah, that seems like a slimmer thread than the "does Ashnard double?" question.

Tentatively going with the SoM team for now, but could easily change my mind.

[dude789]

Godlike
Guv, Yangus, Jessica, Angelo (Dragon Quest VIII) vs. Zophar (Lunar: Eternal Blue Complete) Jessica opens with magic burst and the team unloads on the magic hand and they should be able to take it out in the first turn. Guve then uses both CTs and by the end of the CT chain Zophar has taken to much damage to make a comeback.

Heavy
Sephiroth (Final Fantasy 7) vs. Indalecio (Star Ocean 2)
--
Ryu, Rei, Momo (Breath of Fire III) vs.  Elyon (Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter) Elyon uses Ryus transform turn to kill Rei+Momo. Ryu can't win this alone, but it's a very good match.

Middle
Xorn (Grandia III) vs. Hugo, Fubar, Sgt. Joe, Lilly (Suikoden III)
Ramza, Agrias, Mustadio, Orlandu, Meliadoul (Final Fantasy Tactics) vs. Lyn, Eliwood, Hector, Athos, Serra, Nils (Fire Emblem) Orlandu can kill Lyn or Nils but that's it. Mustadio and Ramza are the only other ones who are above average and they can't kill anyone. The FEers then gang up on Orlandu and someone else and kill them. At this point the FFT team is too far behind to catch up.
--
Kefka (Final Fantasy 6) vs. Jecht (Final Fantasy X) Damage difference is too great.
Celes, Sabin, Edgar, Setzer (Final Fantasy 6) vs. Lavos (Chrono Trigger) I think the FF6 team can get enough healing through elemental absorbtion nonsense to win this.

Light
Daos (Lufia 2) vs. Luke, Guy, Tear, Jade (Tales of the Abyss) Doas sucks and Loki got horribly spoiled.
Pikachu, Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Snorlax, Espeon (Pokemon) vs. Ashley, Brad, Lilka (Wild Arms 2) Sweeper types take out Lilka and the others get worn down by the numbers difference.
--
Loki (Valkyrie Profile) vs. Kuja (Final Fantasy IX)
Crono, Marle, Lucca (Chrono Trigger) vs. Albert Simon (Shadow Hearts) Status immunity.

Bonus Match
Randi, Purim, Popoi (Secret of Mana) vs. Berserk Ashnard (Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance Hard mode) Definate no to only comparing Ashnard to Ike since he can and will attack other units. As a result he doubles the SoM units and due to his range he wins the tiebreak and goes first. Even if you don't see him as doubling he still OHKOs Purim with his 90% PCHP damage. Even with everything favoring the SoMers, Ashnard 2HKOs Randi and counters every hit thrown at him. Level 8 charges ram into the damage cap and Ashnard is immune to non wrath criticals which means that Moon Energy is unhelpful. The team struggles to break past his Renewal regen and eventually Purim is going to run out of resources.

[Dark Holy Elf]

Think I do give him last strike, though, even Berserk.

Why? Ashnard is actually more likely to have first strike in-game, since he moves as soon as you're in his attack range, so unless you use Reyson to rush in and hit him first (which is totally impractical in-game for a number of reasons) he'll be landing the first blow. Agree with the rest of the analysis. Also if the party is opening with buffing that's a good case for them to go first, in -both- systems, so it's moot.

Vanish -> Runic spam

This tactic doesn't work. Runic'd spells still hit Celes, they just heal MP instead of doing damage. Still, that removes Vanish.

Both Jess and Angelo have Bounce

Bounce doesn't get enemy-only magic, so it's not getting anything Zophar uses aside from the right hand's attack magic. Status Ball wrecks the team if they stay out.

[Monkeyfinger]

Godlike
Brahman (Digital Devil Saga) vs. Lady (Shadow Hearts: FTNW)
Guv, Yangus, Jessica, Angelo (Dragon Quest VIII) vs. Zophar (Lunar: Eternal Blue Complete): Magic burst, like, barely 2HKOs the magic hand, and they can't really hurt it otherwise. It rapes called teams and puts too much pressure on the actual party. Not to mention how dangerous the other hand's MP draining is, so the fighters need to kill it first, so the head has a lot of time to combo damage with the magic hand and just keep killing.
--
Ryu, Nina, Bleu, Puka (Breath of Fire)  vs. Vayne, Jessica, Niki, Flay, Pamela, Anna (Mana Khemia): Nina gets blitzed fast and while Puka and Bleu can manage a kill at the start, supports control the BoFers damage too well after that. They only need to protect Pamela until Bleu is down, then Pamela can just solo the rest.

Heavy
Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, Teddie (Persona 4) vs. Ulrika, Chloe, Pepperoni, Goto, Enna (Mana Khemia 2): Cannonball is... um... yeah. Ulrika has a decent shot at beating the P4 crew 4v1 with that move - this matchup is just cruel.
Sephiroth (Final Fantasy 7) vs. Indalecio (Star Ocean 2)
--
Ryu, Rei, Momo (Breath of Fire III) vs.  Elyon (Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter): Ryu gets 2 turns before the clones get 1, so he keeps them under wraps, and without the clones Elyon can't kill Momo except with his 3-turn charge move. That's kind of insurmountable from him.
Alex, Nash, Mia, Jessica, Kyle, Nall (Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete) vs. Divine Weapon (Wild Arms 4)

Middle
Xorn (Grandia III) vs. Hugo, Fubar, Sgt. Joe, Lilly (Suikoden III): Xorn gets too much time to play with his limits here. I'm thinking that simply spamming the MT move is too overwhelming, and 2 dimension gates on Joe on a doubleturn makes a nice trump card if that doesn't work.
Ramza, Agrias, Mustadio, Orlandu, Meliadoul (Final Fantasy Tactics) vs. Lyn, Eliwood, Hector, Athos, Serra, Nils (Fire Emblem): Excalibur + flame shield means Athos can't really do anything to Orlandu, and the shield even has decent physical evade so it saves him from hector, and Lyn dies before she can move. That means Eliwood is the only person who can really attack Orlandu, so... no. No, Orlandu doesn't get ganged up on and killed. Then he doubles next turn and starts with the night sword rape train. Oh, and like Ulrika he has teammates too.
--
Kefka (Final Fantasy 6) vs. Jecht (Final Fantasy X)
Celes, Sabin, Edgar, Setzer (Final Fantasy 6) vs. Lavos (Chrono Trigger)

Light
Daos (Lufia 2) vs. Luke, Guy, Tear, Jade (Tales of the Abyss): Daos was forced to unfocus vs. a party, right?
--
Loki (Valkyrie Profile) vs. Kuja (Final Fantasy IX)
Crono, Marle, Lucca (Chrono Trigger) vs. Albert Simon (Shadow Hearts)

[Random Consonant]

Sephiroth (Final Fantasy 7) vs. Indalecio (Star Ocean 2)  - Kneejerk

Ramza, Agrias, Mustadio, Orlandu, Meliadoul (Final Fantasy Tactics) vs. Lyn, Eliwood, Hector, Athos, Serra, Nils (Fire Emblem) - Think I see Orlandu living past turn one.

Celes, Sabin, Edgar, Setzer (Final Fantasy 6) vs. Lavos (Chrono Trigger)  - Right, no revival.  That's a bummer here.

Pikachu, Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Snorlax, Espeon (Pokemon) vs. Ashley, Brad, Lilka (Wild Arms 2) - Surely.
Loki (Valkyrie Profile) vs. Kuja (Final Fantasy IX) - I don't even care here.

[superaielman]

Godlike
Brahman (Digital Devil Saga) vs. Lady (Shadow Hearts: FTNW)

--
Ryu, Nina, Bleu, Puka (Breath of Fire)  vs. Vayne, Jessica, Niki, Flay, Pamela, Anna (Mana Khemia)- Roast Nina, no one else is that scary.
Sulphur (Phantom Brave) vs. Zidane, Garnet, Vivi, Steiner (Final Fantasy IX)

Heavy
Sephiroth (Final Fantasy 7) vs. Indalecio (Star Ocean 2)- Superior damage and durability.
--
Ryu, Rei, Momo (Breath of Fire III) vs.  Elyon (Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter)


Middle
Xorn (Grandia III) vs. Hugo, Fubar, Sgt. Joe, Lilly (Suikoden III)
Ramza, Agrias, Mustadio, Orlandu, Meliadoul (Final Fantasy Tactics) vs. Lyn, Eliwood, Hector, Athos, Serra, Nils (Fire Emblem)- Think so. Snipe and Orlandu can each disable a PC before the FE team gets a turn, should be enough of a lead.
--
Kefka (Final Fantasy 6) vs. Jecht (Final Fantasy X)
Celes, Sabin, Edgar, Setzer (Final Fantasy 6) vs. Lavos (Chrono Trigger)- FF6 team lacks revival.

Light
Daos (Lufia 2) vs. Luke, Guy, Tear, Jade (Tales of the Abyss)- Terror wave is MT and the TotA team has nothing for status curing IIRC.
Pikachu, Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Snorlax, Espeon (Pokemon) vs. Ashley, Brad, Lilka (Wild Arms 2)
--
Loki (Valkyrie Profile) vs. Kuja (Final Fantasy IX)- Carnage Anthem's enough.
Crono, Marle, Lucca (Chrono Trigger) vs. Albert Simon (Shadow Hearts)- Double revivers.

Bonus Match
Randi, Purim, Popoi (Secret of Mana) vs. Berserk Ashnard (Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance Hard mode)

[Yoshiken]

Kefka (Final Fantasy 6) vs. Jecht (Final Fantasy X) - Not too sure where my respect falls here. Kneejerk.
Celes, Sabin, Edgar, Setzer (Final Fantasy 6) vs. Lavos (Chrono Trigger) - Probably pretty close. The "remove all status immunity" and "MT confusion" probably settles this one, since that prevents any tricks/magic as well as forcing them to miss/attack each other.

[SnowFire]

Note: I somehow screwed up the Godlike loser's matches; it should've been BoF vs. Sulphur & FF9 vs. MK.  But whatever, I don't think it matters that much.

Dark Holy Elf: Interesting, didn't know that about Vanish / Runic (it's not like you'd need to set up such a combo in-game really).  Well I was voting Lavos anyway.  As for Ashnard...  hmm, MOV of 10 really is ridiculous.  By default I do tend to give all FE bosses last strike (even if letting PCs go by AS) due to them always going later than your PCs but point.  (Don't really follow you on the buffing, though, SoM cast is all average speed to me whether they're attacking or casting spells or what).  Think I'll have to switch my vote, too many interps have to go SoM's way here.  dude also has a point about the damage cap - I don't buy this getting Randi killed on the counter (if the situation stabilizes and SoM avoids doubles, then they can set up some defensive setup with LB and defense buffs to not die), but since Randi's moves take forever to charge up, Purim might well run out of MP when she's constantly casting Lucid Barrier every other round.

As for DQ8 Bounce, I'll have to check, but my recollection is that unlike, say, WA1 enemy magic vs. Parasol, there's very little identifiable "enemy magic" in DQ8.  The stuff that beats bounce are things like "breaths fire everywhere."  There is also the Magic Burst->Call Team blitz, too, though DQ8 has to worry about Guv dying Round 1 to pull that off.  (DQ8 definitely wants to Magic Burst sooner rather than later to kill the damn hands faster so that the teams focus on Zophar's head.)

On MK vs. BoF:
No MK so no vote, but as a reminder Bleu has fast double-average-damage MT in Comet, and Puka is *very* fast.  Unsure if this is enough - lots of D-support hax can certainly turn it, but it helps.

[Bardiche]

Snowfire: MK can just D-Support Jessica, who'll cast an MT healing spell so Comet doesn't really help. Alternatively, if Puka goes before Bleu, they D-Support Anna in, who can mitigate damage by halving Fire/Lightning and... one more element, Earth? She takes her turn immediately on D-Support, so it's quite good.

Godlike
Ryu, Nina, Bleu, Puka (Breath of Fire)  vs. Vayne, Jessica, Niki, Flay, Pamela, Anna (Mana Khemia) - Open with Nikki, Pamela, Flay. Take one hit from Bleu, switch in Jessica for heals. Switch in Anna for fast damage, or Vayne to just outright null a physical attack and you have a winner on your hands.

Heavy
Sephiroth (Final Fantasy 7) vs. Indalecio (Star Ocean 2) - Sephiroth.
--
Ryu, Rei, Momo (Breath of Fire III) vs.  Elyon (Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter)
Alex, Nash, Mia, Jessica, Kyle, Nall (Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete) vs. Divine Weapon (Wild Arms 4)

Middle
Ramza, Agrias, Mustadio, Orlandu, Meliadoul (Final Fantasy Tactics) vs. Lyn, Eliwood, Hector, Athos, Serra, Nils (Fire Emblem) - Athos starts with three tomes. That's enough to make Orlandu weep. Hector just uses a Swordslayer if his accuracy is made suspect, but I think Garm makes him quite able here.

Kefka (Final Fantasy 6) vs. Jecht (Final Fantasy X) - ...
Celes, Sabin, Edgar, Setzer (Final Fantasy 6) vs. Lavos (Chrono Trigger) - Heh. Setzer.

Light
Daos (Lufia 2) vs. Luke, Guy, Tear, Jade (Tales of the Abyss) - Not Daos.
Pikachu, Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Snorlax, Espeon (Pokemon) vs. Ashley, Brad, Lilka (Wild Arms 2) - Ow.
--
Loki (Valkyrie Profile) vs. Kuja (Final Fantasy IX) - Not an FF boss.

[Monkeyfinger]

Puka is the fast one in that fight. They don't get to support against his first turn, but they do against Bleu's.

I figure the best strategy is to lead with Vayne/Flay/Anna, then support Jess in vs. comet. Comet will kill whoever Puka hit, but everyone else gets to be at full health. At worst, Nina gets a turn, holds someone, then 2 more people gang up on her and kill her (any combination of Vayne/Flay/Nikki/Anna 2HKOs and Nikki gets to replace a corpse, immediately acting on its turn.) Held person gets their turn and gets switched out for whoever Jessica saved (this cures hold), Puka/Deis do their combo again, someone dies, held person switches back in and helps kill Bleu with the 2 survivors. Then Pamela gets to mop up.

[Talaysen]

Snowfire: MK can just D-Support Jessica, who'll cast an MT healing spell so Comet doesn't really help. Alternatively, if Puka goes before Bleu, they D-Support Anna in, who can mitigate damage by halving Fire/Lightning and... one more element, Earth? She takes her turn immediately on D-Support, so it's quite good.

Ice/Water, not Earth.

----

Godlike
Brahman (Digital Devil Saga) vs. Lady (Shadow Hearts: FTNW)
Guv, Yangus, Jessica, Angelo (Dragon Quest VIII) vs. Zophar (Lunar: Eternal Blue Complete)
--
Ryu, Nina, Bleu, Puka (Breath of Fire)  vs. Vayne, Jessica, Niki, Flay, Pamela, Anna (Mana Khemia)
Sulphur (Phantom Brave) vs. Zidane, Garnet, Vivi, Steiner (Final Fantasy IX)

Heavy
Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, Teddie (Persona 4) vs. Ulrika, Chloe, Pepperoni, Goto, Enna (Mana Khemia 2)
Sephiroth (Final Fantasy 7) vs. Indalecio (Star Ocean 2)
--
Ryu, Rei, Momo (Breath of Fire III) vs.  Elyon (Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter)
Alex, Nash, Mia, Jessica, Kyle, Nall (Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete) vs. Divine Weapon (Wild Arms 4)

Middle
Xorn (Grandia III) vs. Hugo, Fubar, Sgt. Joe, Lilly (Suikoden III)
Ramza, Agrias, Mustadio, Orlandu, Meliadoul (Final Fantasy Tactics) vs. Lyn, Eliwood, Hector, Athos, Serra, Nils (Fire Emblem)
--
Kefka (Final Fantasy 6) vs. Jecht (Final Fantasy X)
Celes, Sabin, Edgar, Setzer (Final Fantasy 6) vs. Lavos (Chrono Trigger)

Light
Daos (Lufia 2) vs. Luke, Guy, Tear, Jade (Tales of the Abyss)
Pikachu, Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Snorlax, Espeon (Pokemon) vs. Ashley, Brad, Lilka (Wild Arms 2)
--
Loki (Valkyrie Profile) vs. Kuja (Final Fantasy IX)
Crono, Marle, Lucca (Chrono Trigger) vs. Albert Simon (Shadow Hearts)

Bonus Match
Randi, Purim, Popoi (Secret of Mana) vs. Berserk Ashnard (Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance Hard mode)

[DjinnAndTonic]

Godlike
Brahman (Digital Devil Saga) vs. Lady (Shadow Hearts: FTNW)
Guv, Yangus, Jessica, Angelo (Dragon Quest VIII) vs. Zophar (Lunar: Eternal Blue Complete)
--
Ryu, Nina, Bleu, Puka (Breath of Fire)  vs. Vayne, Jessica, Niki, Flay, Pamela, Anna (Mana Khemia)
Sulphur (Phantom Brave) vs. Zidane, Garnet, Vivi, Steiner (Final Fantasy IX)

Heavy
Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, Teddie (Persona 4) vs. Ulrika, Chloe, Pepperoni, Goto, Enna (Mana Khemia 2)
Sephiroth (Final Fantasy 7) vs. Indalecio (Star Ocean 2)
--
Ryu, Rei, Momo (Breath of Fire III) vs.  Elyon (Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter)
Alex, Nash, Mia, Jessica, Kyle, Nall (Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete) vs. Divine Weapon (Wild Arms 4)

Middle
Xorn (Grandia III) vs. Hugo, Fubar, Sgt. Joe, Lilly (Suikoden III)
Ramza, Agrias, Mustadio, Orlandu, Meliadoul (Final Fantasy Tactics) vs. Lyn, Eliwood, Hector, Athos, Serra, Nils (Fire Emblem)
--
Kefka (Final Fantasy 6) vs. Jecht (Final Fantasy X)
Celes, Sabin, Edgar, Setzer (Final Fantasy 6) vs. Lavos (Chrono Trigger)

Light

Daos (Lufia 2) vs. Luke, Guy, Tear, Jade (Tales of the Abyss) - Force Field + Taunt hype! Once they all have Overlimits gauges, blitzing happens.

Pikachu, Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Snorlax, Espeon (Pokemon) vs. Ashley, Brad, Lilka (Wild Arms 2)
--
Loki (Valkyrie Profile) vs. Kuja (Final Fantasy IX)
Crono, Marle, Lucca (Chrono Trigger) vs. Albert Simon (Shadow Hearts)

Bonus Match
Randi, Purim, Popoi (Secret of Mana) vs. Berserk Ashnard (Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance Hard mode) - Neat match to think about.

[Dhyerwolf]

TotA beats Daos.

[SnowFire]

This closes tomorrow.