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Here's why I chose Dante for the win. Senesia put forth the best arguments in Squalls favor. The SeeD argument was a good start people, but you can't just say "He was a SeeD" and think that it will win the argument for him. If I had been in your positions, I would have said something to this effect:
SeeDs and Garden Cadets in general are trained extensively in how to be absolute, hardcore badasses. Particularly in combat, and even without the use of GFs or magic. One of the cornerstones of SeeD training is knowing your opponent inside and out. Hence the reason that SeeDs take written exams based on monster and combat knowledge in order to recieve promotions, as opposed to actual combat experience. The thing that the Gardens want to instill most heavily in a SeeD is a near-limitless fountain of combat knowledge and opponent information to draw off of in battle. Much like Batman.
Since Squall is certainly at the top of his class (why the hell else would Cid put so much faith in him?) it is reasonable to assume that he has an incredible ability for combat analysis and weakness-exploitation. Since this is a tournament, it is also reasonable to assume that Squall would know who he was fighting in advance, and therefore would be capable of gathering intelligence on Dante and then forming a battle plan ahead of time. Now, honestly, I couldn't tell you what his plan would entail, but then again, I haven't been trained in combat tactics at a futuristic boot camp for the better part of my life. Rest assured, he would come up with something, and it would most likely work.
Another argument I would like to address is Senesia mentioning Dante's "taunts." What in the world would make you think name-calling would affect Squall at all? Squall Leonhart is a black hole of emotion. He is cold, calculating and heartless, particulalry in combat. Emotion plays no part in Squall's approach, so why would taunting him have any effect? One would have to assume that there is a reason for why Dante becomes more powerful the more frequently he taunts an opponent, and it's certainly not because he likes to hear himself talk. The most obvious reason would be because he "gets off" on angering his opponents. He's half-demon, so it would be natural to estimate that his "demonic" side takes joy in bringing his opponents mental unrest. In other words, by taunting and angering his opponents he empowers himself, feeding off the negative reaction to his verbal assaults. Squall wouldn't react to it at all. As I stated before, he's a vacuum of emotion, so it's not entirely realistic to imagine that Dante would become more powerful simply by taunting the boy.
With that handful of arguments, I'm confident that Dante's few mental advantages would be neutralized, and considering that their physical characteristics are damn near equal, Squall would be able to pre-plan and outsmart Dante. One well-placed Lionheart would be more than enought to tip the scales in Squall's favor and set Dante up for the fall of his life. Squall wins, Dante cries himself to sleep tonight.
You see what I've done there guys? Most of that is assumption, but all of it is backed with hard evidence. Make assumptions based on concrete fact, look beyond the Limit Breaks and Materia combinations, think outside the box. When you start thinking about the entire character and not just how much equipment and magic they can sling around, you'll start convincing the judges. Had any of you said something to this effect, you would have convinced me to give the win to Squall. Senesia's arguments were quite thorough, but they adhered almost entirely to what Dante was physically capable of demonstrating in the game.
I didn't want to do this, I didn't want to have to give examples, but I'm tired of hearing people complain. I can come up with a myriad of arguments that work within the confines of the new rule, and I happen to think that the above argument is pretty damned persuasive. I can do it, and so can all of you.
 
Last edited by Raziel; 2003-09-19 at 07:00 AM.
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Dante, Dante, Dante...
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