Lurker > ShatteredElysium

Getting tired so these might start getting shorter

Pick 21 - Falcon

Not too sure on this one. Could be a CB or HB I guess. With Lonta Hobbs aging, I'll peg them as taking HB Mike Gillislee

Pick 22 - Seahawks

Another new user who may or may not turn up (I'll remind him) leaving it to KCF to draft. The team actually looks pretty solid all around and the only position I see starting is CB alongside an already strong CB 1/2. CB Robert Alford

Pick 23 - Dolphins

The Dolphins are up again if they don't trade out of the pick. Already discussed earlier, if they keep this pick then they possibly double dip at OT in the 1st round. OT Luke Joeckel

Pick 24 - 49ers

The 49ers are up for the second time this round and given that they took a HB earlier, lets go with the other option that was mentioned of DT Nick Fairley

Pick 25 - Packers

The Packers seemingly let some key pieces go this offseason and I don't see the offensive options on the board to replace them. A CB would be a likely starter for them though and might be the next best option to improve an already decent defense. Although reaching for WR Keenan Allen remains an option too now that I relook at thing.

Pick 26 - Giants

The Giants are one of the teams in the league that actually could use the OT's available that everyone else is ignoring. However, they also have a need at CB and given how many OT's they have seen overlooked they may want to take a chance there instead. CB Kyle Fuller probably makes more sense than an OT given how many OT's are available plus FA.

Pick 27 - Bills

The Bills are up again and now I relook at their roster, they probably take an OLB with their earlier pick and pick up a DE here but no way am I revising everything for that possibility (Emerald would take a WR Marvin Jones, Stan takes a CB probably in that scenario) when I'm already tired as hell. I'd have them taking the future replacement for Benson if there was a HB on the board. So Let's just say they reach for an OLB here and I'll take the hit on a very likely bad pick. OLB Shaq Thompson. Reaching for a DT and cutting someone for cap space is also a possibility.

Pick 28 - Jets

CB Bene Benwikere

Pick 29 - Jaguars

I am clueless as to what they do with this pick given their roster strength and lack of holes. I guess technically they could take a QB but that seems a waste given their starting QB. Let's go with CB Logan Ryan given the age and contract of CB3 Tracy Porter. Would make him cuttable/tradable and without a cap hit.

Pick 30 - Broncos

Aging QB and a hole at the position. Let's give them QB Jameis Winston

Pick 31 - Titans

Really weak at the position and there's something on the board so we will go with DT Kawann Short although I wouldn't be surprised if they take an OT

Pick 32 - Cowboys

They don't have an obvious need at any position and even if they fill their hole with a 1st, it will likely be bench fodder. Best available OT Jake Matthews

Pick 13 - Bears

Before the above revisions I was debating whether or not the Bears reach for a WR or DT here and if they didn't then do they take a CB. However, with those revisions it freed up WR Marvin Jones here who is likely the most attractive option available to them so I'll peg them in for him.

Pick 14 - Lions

I think there's 2 possible options here. The Lions could snag a CB to help shore up the secondary, something they already did via RFA. They could also use a pick here on a DE where they aren't great and also lack depth. I think the pick at DE makes a little more sense but it could come down to who is higher on the board. Let's say DE Melvin Ingram

Pick 15 - Ravens

The Ravens are under AI control this season and are already a pretty solid team. I think the position that stands out most is DE where they would likely find a starter so we will go with the other DE on the board Whitney Mercilus. Although I wouldn't rule out the AI taking the value pick of a falling OT.

Pick 16 - Redskins

With holes at CB and QB either could be a possibility. Or again they could take advantage of a value pick from a falling OT with what I believe is an aging O-line. However, we will go with the CB A.J. Bouye

Pick 17 - Panthers

Panthers are up for their second pick of the round. OLB and WR were discussed earlier so they could take the one remaining however it would be a stretch. The other option I see is that they have a starting OT possibly on the verge of retirement and no heir apparent on the roster. So a falling OT Greg Robinson may not be the flashiest of picks but could have the most long term benefit. Whilst it's possible they take an OT earlier, I would think Emerald can see via his own mock that OTs are going to be available. So it's entirely possible he waits until later to grab one too

Pick 18 - 49ers

The board state at this point is likely to be full of OT's, CB's, HB's and then possibly like a DT or G or K or QB or something. Scare already has a monstrous and young O-line so we can rule out OT. Whilst DT would possibly give a boost in OVR it would involve a flip to 4-3 which had poor results for Scare in the past. So that likely leaves a HB to develop a year behind Tatum Bell before he likely retires or a CB who would slot straight into the starting line-up. I'm not sure if Scare wants to harbor an extra CB or cut one so drafting the next in line to Tatum Bell to develop for a year and hit the ground far higher rated makes a lot of sense. So lets go with HB Devonta Freeman

Pick 19 - Dolphins

The Dolphins are up again and I wouldn't put it past them to actually draft another OT given they usually stock their O-line deep. DT would be another possibility given whether they start 3-4 or 4-3 they are utilizing an 81 and a 1st round DT will likely come in or around that rating and could face a significant bump after the first season. They also have another pick coming up so they might just take whoever is higher out of the OT and DT.

Lets say DT for now as I know Dolphins have tried to trade out of one of those picks. DT Fletcher Cox

Pick 20 - Raiders

The Raiders have 2 holes ta OT and there's a litany of OT's on the board. I'm going to try not to overthink this and say they take OT Morgan Moses. Although if a QB has dropped maybe they take their chances with that too

Pick 7 - Vikings

The Vikings already shored up their O-line via trades this offseason but it may still make sense for them to take an OT. They do also have a hole at HB and with Courtney Lewis aging (I think) that also remains a possibility. They could also look a little further down the board and take a CB in a position where they aren't that strong.

I wish I paid more attention to how the AI treats holes versus positions of weakness. I think they opt to take HB Giovanni Bernard rather than reach down for a CB.

Pick 8 - Bills

The Bills would actually benefit from Bernard dropping if he's still there given the age of their starting HB but alas I have the Vikings taking him 1 spot above. I know they also wanted an elite WR but with Hopkins off the board, I'm not sure they reach down for Marvin Jones. So with multiple holes at DE and an aging starter, I think they take DE Chandler Jones.

Pick 9 - Buccaneers

I don't think KCF has heard from Chris so this will likely be a KCF pick so I'd like to think KCF will get them a starter and likely at a hole. The OT's on the board are good value but not a hole. The Buc's have 3 holes at CB and a hole at MLB with any person drafted very likely to instantly become their best available option at the position. The tricky part is I have no idea which is further down the board, the nearest MLB or the nearest CB. Given there's 3 CB's I'm inclined to think it will be a CB rather than MLB but KCF could also play it by numbers in a deep CB draft and opt to draft those in later rounds knowing a late round MLB might not be there.

This is a dilemma. Despite the CB likely being higher, I'm going to say he takes MLB Alec Ogletree with the view to taking CB's in like the 2nd and 3rd (although CB > CB > MLB is also possible)

Pick 10 - Dolphins

Originally I had the 49ers taking a WR here before being informed I hadn't taken into account traded picks. So with the Dolphins owning this pick and them having a hole at OT plus expecting departures in RFA next year I think they take the chance to restock at OT with the falling pick of OT Taylor Lewan

Pick 11 - Panthers

Originally I had the Patriots taking an OLB here and despite what was said in chat, I still think the Panthers take that same guy even if it's a little bit of a reach. The alternative would be a WR but that is also possibly the same reach. OLB Hau'oli Kikaha. I know Emerald has mentioned wanting a WR so it's also possible he takes Marvin Jones here.

Pick 12 - Hawks

At some point someone has to take an OT and without knowing how old the Hawks OT's are, I'm not sure they are that team. However, the only other possibility I see for them is CB or QB and they have a ton of CB's on the roster. I'd guess Rivers is aging so we'll go with QB A.J. McCarron without any confidence whatsoever.

Shattered's mock draft!

Pick 1 - Chiefs

The Chiefs are in need of starting caliber talent at a lot of positions. Without even looking at who is aging on their roster they look to be below league average at OT, G, LOLB, CB and a lower end MLB/DT tandem. The Chiefs need a lot of help across the board and I firmly believe they would be better trading back here given they could do so and still snag 1st round talent at a lot of those positions.

I know they expressed an interest in drafting a QB and there certainly has been some shiny 1st round QB's in recent years but given the caliber of QB available in Free Agency and their needs elsewhere, I personally would not draft a QB here. With the O-line they have, they are potentially setting him up for failure and with 2 pricey QB contracts already on the books, they may be better waiting until next year where they will likely get a high pick again.

Trading back is their best bet, OLB Shaquil Barrett is their best bet if they stand firm. However, I think they roll the dice on QB Jimmy Garoppolo and hope he changes their fortunes.

Pick 2 - Wildcats

The Wildcats will be hoping that the Chiefs opt not to go with OLB Shaquill Barrett as he would be a perfect fit on a team that needs severe help at the position. Possibly even to the point where they reach down for the next best OLB if Shaquill Barrett isn't there.

The other top end picks just don't quite fit as well. The Wildcats already have a high flying offense and don't really need the services of a WR or HB. Whilst an OT would still potentially be an improvement, it isn't a high end need as they are serviceable there. They drafted a DE high last season and whilst they lack a superstar there, they certainly have depth and it isn't an aging position. They traded for a DT and could create a formidable DT combo but it doesn't offer the same improvement as an OLB.

They could potentially take a CB if Shaquill isn't there but given the depth of talent at CB this year, they'd be better trading down to do so. Which may also be the case for the next best OLB.

Either way I think they take OLB Shaquill Barrett as he should still be there

Pick 3 - Bengals

This is a potential wildcard with it being a new user. However we haven't heard from him this offseason (nor does he really reply to me on messenger either) so this will likely be a KCF pick. OT, DT and CB are all possibles but given the age and ratings of their existing DT's, I think that DT Mike Daniels makes the most sense. He'd instantly slot in as their best DT probably and after drafting Brockers high last season I believe, they would potentially be set at DT for a very long time.

Pick 4 - Pioneers

The Pioneers not only have a hole at CB but also very likely have the weakest CB crop of the league as of right now so it would make sense for them to take one of the Top 10 available CBs. With 2 in that bunch I've just flipping a coin and saying they take CB Trumaine Johnson

Pick 5 - Pumpkins

The Pumpkins are a tricky one as they have no obvious need at any of the positions available listed in the top 10. On the whole they are also a relatively young team too. They do have a hole at CB so with no confidence at all, I'm guessing they go there to potentially create one of the better CB groups in the league. CB Darius Slay

Pick 6 - Browns

It seems like for years we have been saying the Browns need help on the O-line and they still lack a top end guy at that position so taking an OT is a possibility. However OT looks very deep this year and with a Top 10 WR sitting right there and lacking a true elite WR they would be better taking DeAndre Hopkins

My work xmas party is tomorrow. Undecided on if I'm going but I probably will so likely won't be able to make it. If I do it will be the very tail end of the draft

Chiefs

LusterSoldier posted...

Cloud managed to complete his salty runback against Mario that first started 16 years ago. It took us about 16 years to get another 1v1 Cloud/Mario match, and they also haven't faced each other in 4-ways or 3-ways either. Cloud pulled off his salty runback by out-rallying Mario. Here were the rallies that I spotted for both characters.

https://www.reddit.com/r/FinalFantasy/comments/a5d7oi/cloud_vs_mario_on_gamefaqs_best_character_contest/
https://www.reddit.com/r/FinalFantasy/comments/a5mcg4/cloud_needs_your_help_in_the_gamefaqs_character/
https://www.reddit.com/r/FinalFantasyVII/comments/a5m7a5/cloud_needs_your_help_in_the_gamefaqs_character/
https://www.reddit.com/r/FFRecordKeeper/comments/a5m2ko/cloud_needs_your_help_in_the_gamefaqs_character/

https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/a5lym2/mario_vs_cloud_on_gamefaqs_vote_now/
https://www.reddit.com/r/SuperMarioOdyssey/comments/a5lktb/mario_is_losing_in_the_gamefaqs_character_battle/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Mario/comments/a5lgyw/mario_is_losing_in_the_gamefaqs_character_battle/

While the rally on the gaming subreddit was a neutral rally, it was clearly going to favor Mario a lot more than Cloud. The most successful Mario rally was on the Mario subreddit, where it reached the number 1 spot on the subreddit at one point.

Ulti also attempted to rally for Cloud on Twitch by donating money to a streamer who really loves FFVII in exchange for a shout out to his subscribers to go vote for Cloud. The effect of the shout out produced a small spike for Cloud for about 15 minutes, confirming that Twitch rallying is fairly ineffective.

I estimated there were about 800 rallied votes, with about 600 for Cloud and 200 for Mario. At the 12 hour point in the match before most of the rallying started, Mario had 51.91% with registered users and 46.63% with anonymous users, which is still slightly over a 5% difference.

What I'm reading here is that rallies cost me $1000. Thanks B8!

I don't actually care

Link - 58.5%

INTERWEBUSER posted...

ShatteredElysium posted...

Ok so with Zelda pulling ahead it looks like I might maintain 3rd depending on how many have her winnings the losers final (I feel that can't be many). And I can always hope that the 2 people above me might not be prize brackets.

Do you have a different name on the leaderboard?

Yes. Lukejalil. I was leading until Mario lost, had Mario in my bracket. Have nothing today so kind hoping for the lowest percentage winner. A Cloud win probably drops me a decent chunk. A zelda win will drop me hardly nothing, maybe not even at all

For sure he was rallied. Discussed on discord.

I hope in the aftermath, people at least acknowledge that Cloud was rallied too. Like I haven't seen much mention of it in this topic

Obviously Mario was rallied too but I only saw people talking about Mario rallies/stuffing without acknowledging Cloud was too

I don't care either way, just that it was one sided

Link - 63%

Ok so with Zelda pulling ahead it looks like I might maintain 3rd depending on how many have her winnings the losers final (I feel that can't be many). And I can always hope that the 2 people above me might not be prize brackets.

I would 100% take Samus > Cloud without a second thought given what we have seen this contest

Ok, now I'm hoping to just stay Top 5 or something. Might be possible I guess

94 votes in 14 updates is a huge ask when both sides are only pulling ~40 an update. That's going to need Mario to have some huge spikes or start lopping off consistently which he's showing no sign of doing

Of all the times that Mario has performed shenanigans to win, this is like the only time I've wanted/needed him to win and he's going to fail me.

When he beat Samus I didn't actually think I had a shot of winning so didn't care then

70 votes up? Yeah Cloud has this

RIP my bracket and my hopes of winning this. Needed Mario > Cloud and Zelda > Mario to finish 1st

EpsteinBarr posted...

And Mario is already up to his very shady votestuffing shenanigans in the weaning hours of the match.

Cloud 48 > 57 > 25 > 25
Mario 41 > 26 > 50 > 36

Nothing suspect

RIP my 1k prize money. Hopefully I'll still stay in the Top 5 or something

Zelda - 51%

Well Mario has all the US/Canada and Clpud has the bulk of Europe so this could just be a case of Europeans getting home from work. So it could still swing back in a few hours to favor Mario

Down to 40 votes now so I'd expect a lead change soon

I really wish I knew how many people in the Top 10 has a Cloud win here. At least 1 of them has to I would assume

Down to 63 votes now. This is trending towards a Cloud win unless there's the usual Mario shenanigans

Yuri_LowelI posted...

QJD1381 posted...

And here we have yet another example of "rallies are okay if it's for a character I like". HypocriteFAQS.

Rallies are fine if it means Mario losing.

Rallies are fine if they don't cost me $1000

Honestly I don't care though

I mean really it doesn't matter who goes up against Link, they are going to get stomped regardless

That being said, Cloud is currently carving through that lead and if he keeps up this pace he will have caught Mario within the hour

There's a reddit for everything nowadays. I'm sure you could find something in the same field as hentai that relates to Cloud given some of the ships plus Don Corneo scene

It will actively hurt my chance to win money if that works but it would be funny at least

They would also have to get Mario past Zelda (which is very doable) in order for XIII to leapfrog me for the record

I hope that if Mario wins it's XIII that's behind me on the leaderboard so we are likely guaranteed a B8 winner

Trade to announce

Lions Receive
OLB Junior Galette (77 - 27yo)

Steelers Receive
DT Karl Klugg (79 - 27yo)

Both are rated the same in relation to their position. Lions get a better starting OLB. Steelers fill their DT hole and get 1m in cap space. They also create a hole at OLB but getting an OLB in draft is more flexible than DT given projections

Man, I was going to apply for a username change to try consolidate my forum name with my account name. As someone pointed out I'm eligible because the non forum name is my real name but also my account is older than 10 years

Except I can't keep my forum username if I do because apparently it's over the character limit. Well that sucks.

It will never happen but the contest I'd be most interested in would be one with some sort of handicap like how Vegas odds work

I mean he did get BotW and everybody else got basically nothing. Some of them even being actively hurt by their devs just putting on a shit show over the last few years. I'd also assume that the less outsiders we get, the more it favors Link too

There's no way Mario gets to 55% before the end of the power hour. He'll struggle to keep percentage nevermind gain it

LusterSoldier posted...

ShatteredElysium posted...

I feel dirty wanting Mario to win for my brackets sake despite far, far preferring Cloud. Not going to vote though

Or you could hold off until near the end of the match and then vote for Cloud if the match is not close at all.

I never bracket vote so yeah I guess that's an option. Either that or just don't vote

I'm not sure how much a Cloud win or double win would drop me. I guess I'd potentially still stay in the prizes

I feel dirty wanting Mario to win for my brackets sake despite far, far preferring Cloud. Not going to vote though

Mario - 51.5%

I mean really there's 4 options I'd say.

Draft a QB to be your starter and get an OLB deeper in draft
Draft an OLB to be your starter and grab a QB in FA
Trade back for a starter plus a 1st if you can (I think there's enough positions in the 1st that could start for you)
Trade even further back (or completely out) for multiple starters

KCF probably could offer you better advice than me but if I were in your boots I think I'd be inclined to trade as you need starters at multiple positions and I'm not sure even a superstar at number 1 turns things around for you (or rather not as quick as trading for more starters). Whereas if you can get a bonafide starter plus a later 1st or like 2 starters plus a 2nd or 3rd then that might outweight what a high pick would do.

I would throw in that I have never picked high enough to be in that dilemma though and when I had the 9th pick last year I traded out for 2 starters.

Keep in mind that people signed as the 1 pick also get a 7 year contract so if you get a QB and he comes out at like 83-85 and doesn't develop, you will be lumbered with a monstrous contract by the end of it.

But if you really need a QB, the last few years of high picked QBs at least make for very good reading

Looks like my support ticket prompted a change on the bracket display

Message From Lukejalil on 12/11/2018
Hi,

I an currently leading the contest and wanted to make sure my entry is prize eligible. I filled out the entire bracket and selected prize entry but my tiebreaker does not show up so presumably I did not fill it in?

I just wanted to make sure that not filling in a tiebreaker would not exclude me from a prize, it would merely mean I lost all tiebreaker scenarios right?

Thanks,

Luke

Message From GameFAQs on 12/11/2018
The entry type is now visible from your bracket page.

Mine now shows the below when previously it showed only score no tiebreaker

Character Battle X - My Bracket
Your Score: 391
Your Tiebreaker: 0
Entry Type: Prizes

Lukejalil is the same account as Shattered so I'm leading the main bracket. My second chance is garbage as I set it to cover my main bracket.

For whatever reason it displays lukejalil rather than Shattered, something to do with when they merged yeara ago I think. I wish it displayed Shattered instead of my real name

Put in a feedback ticket to make sure I am prize eligible and wouldn't be excluded for an 'incomplete' bracket for not filling in a tiebreaker

I would hope it just means I lose all tiebreaker scenarios rather than outright excludes me

Plus look at what happened with FF7 related things getting wins. Lifetime of anti-votes and boosts by Link/LoZ to get revenge

Magic have been god awful last 2 games. I hope it's just a blip and not a sign of things to come

Mario - 52.5%

I think Cloud wins but my bracket needs Mario to win

Well I'm not tied with anyone right now so it isnt in play. If they say my bracket is ineligible due to being 'incomplete' then yeah that would suck. Hopefully that's not the case. I guess I can ask?

I filled out my bracket quickly before deadline which is why I didn't fill in the tiebreaker. I think like 5 minutes before lockdown

I don't think I'll win anyway as I don't think Mario loses to Zelda a second time whic is what I would need to happen

It looks like Advokaiser would pip me by 1 point if Cloud runs through losers bracket. I have no idea about the non Guru people between me and him though