Technically, this is early since I posted it Monday morning, but everything is usually in by now (and it looks like everything is), so I'm ending the deadline early this week since the results are already announced and I'll be busy through tomorrow and would miss my usual Tuesday morning contest posting.

It was as close as it could possibly come. At the time of casting, UFJ was tied with Karlinn for first place, but after reviewing the rules for the casting of Victory, I decided that didn't invalidate its casting as I never said that the contestant had to be in first place by himself. Fortunately for UFJ, the bonus points are added in after spellcasting. Thus, UFJ wins the contest.

So, excellent job, UFJ, and it was a great effort by all participants. As I stated in earlier updates, the contest will now being coming to an end. While it was originally planned that this would be an ongoing contest, I need to free up the time, and a new Saving Throw curator will eventually be coming your way at any rate. It's been fun, guys. I'll see you in standard Saving Throw columns for the meantime. The post-mortem is below for your reading pleasure.

I was pretty sure that Invisibility and Victory would be the winning combination, but despite only a seven-point lead from last week, UFJ is lucky enough to just barely hold onto the lead and make the successful cast. It shows that even as host, this contest was a beast that was simply hard for anyone to predict. Thanks to all who participated; you all played well.

Shawn "Wishing you the best of luck" Bruckner