2025 SWTVC March Madness

[Nicklab]

The guys who run the @SWTVC Instagram page are back with the 2025 edition of their Vintage Collection March Madness tournament.  They are asking TVC collectors to submit their Top 25 most wanted Vintage Collection figures.  The 64 characters with the most votes move on to the TVC March Madness bracket tournament. 

Nominations are now open via this Google form:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeqDohyhsIguvZdypxB98c75xRfUI7YgnJw7Rlpq-mPqrelLA/viewform

[Dave]

Looks like YakFace is doing a Top 25 for TVC and TBS as well.

[Nicklab]

Looks like YakFace is doing a Top 25 for TVC and TBS as well.

The Yakface Top 25 polls are the culmination of their Top Ten series of polls that ran throughout 2024, much like the ones that were run over here.  It's a tournament of champions.  I tried to pick as many of the characters that made my March Madness Top 25 as I could, but I think my list only wound up having about a dozen of the eligible choices in the Yakface polls.

It's been interesting to see how this year's March Madness is playing out.  And it's also been cool to see how this kind of opinion polling has lined up with what Hasbro has chosen to produce in The Vintage Collection since it started in 2021.  Some quick stats?  Every year the bracket tournament has 64 entries.  So what kind of progress has been made?


2021
MADE - 37
ANNOUNCED - 3* (*denotes the entry - the Tonnikas account for one entry, but two figures)
UNMADE - 20


2022
MADE - 28
ANNOUNCED - 5* (*denotes the entry - the Tonnikas account for one entry, but two figures)
UNMADE - 31
REPEAT APPEARANCES - 42
POLL DEBUTS - 22


2023
MADE - 21
ANNOUNCED - 6* (*denotes the entry - the Tonnikas account for one entry, but two figures)
UNMADE - 37
REPEAT APPEARANCES - 51
POLL DEBUTS - 13


2024
MADE - 2
ANNOUNCED -11* (*denotes the entry - the Tonnikas account for one entry, but two figures)
UNMADE - 51
REPEAT APPEARANCES - 45
POLL DEBUTS - 19


2023 and 2024 accounted for a lot of the progress made with the poll entries.  But I think it goes without saying that you have to participate to really let your voice be heard.

[Nicklab]

Check it out!

"The SWTVC Show" - 2025 TVC March Madness Bracket Reveal [LIVE!]

It seems that they might be holding up the printed bracket graphics until after the Hasbro livestream on Wednesday.  The potential is always there that Hasbro might reveal some character(s) that made the bracket, and other characters could potentially move up on account of the changes.

[Nicklab]

So has anyone been taking part in the voting?

[Dave]

So has anyone been taking part in the voting?

I managed to do the Wednesday and Friday vote.  Missed the Monday vote.

[Nicklab]

The Southeast region voting is happening today.  These are the matchups:

CROSSHAIR VS GALACTIC MARINE

PLO KOON VS QUI-GON JINN

OBI-WAN KENOBI (JEDI MASTER) VS ENDOR REBEL COMMANDO

SIM ALOO VS SUPREME LEADER KYLO REN

PELI MOTTO VS PADME AMIDALA (BATTLE OF GEONOSIS)

CARSON TEVA VS DASH RENDAR

NEEL VS PIRATE CAPTAIN BRUTUS

TECH VS EZRA BRIDGER (PERIDEA)

[P-Siddy]

I submitted my list and have been voting in the past few rounds.  I might get half of my picks if I'm lucky each round.  I'm one of the guys that wants new figures from old sources, or old figures on TVC cards, and non-EU, so I know that I'm in the minority in most of them.  That's fine, though.

[Nicklab]

It's down to the Sweet Sixteen!  Here are the matchups

THE WEST
THE STRANGER  VS  MARA JADE
ARLEIL SCHOUS  VS  ECHO (The Bad Batch)
LUTHEN RAEL  VS  SAW GERRERA
PONG KRELL VS  BAZE MALBUS


THE EAST
WRECKER  VS  TWO TUBES
AGENT KALLUS  VS  ASAJJ VENTRESS
CROSSHAIR  VS  ENDOR REBEL COMMANDO
PADME AMIDALA (Geonosis)  VS  TECH


Voting commences tomorrow, Monday, March 17 at 12:01 AM ET.

[Jeff]

I voted...

THE STRANGER
ARLEIL SCHOUS
LUTHEN RAEL
BAZE MALBUS
WRECKER
AGENT KALLUS
CROSSHAIR
TECH

[Nicklab]

Here's how I voted:

THE STRANGER 
ARLEIL SCHOUS
LUTHEN RAEL
BAZE MALBUS
TWO TUBES
ASAJJ VENTRESS
ENDOR REBEL COMMANDO
PADME AMIDALA (Geonosis)


While I really enjoyed The Bad Batch as a series?  I feel like Hasbro's neglect of the show in The Vintage Collection led to me just checking out on them.  Sorry, not sorry.

[P-Siddy]

Mine’s almost the same as yours, Nick, except I went with Tech over Padme. I’m just tired of that version of her as I personally think it’s a boring design (but it fits the action figure outfit). But that’s subjective and others may love it.  Plus, she’s already been done, though not in a tvc card.

In hindsight, I thought perhaps I should vote for her so she can finally be crossed off the list.

[Dave]

Mine were pretty similar to Jeff's.  I generally only vote for all new characters when I have the chance.  That meant a lot of Bad Batch, which I agree are probably a lost cause.  If Hasbro couldn't find a way to create a marked up exclusive five pack in the past couple of years I'm not sure they're going to go back and revisit it unless we get a radical change in how they operate.

[P-Siddy]

Yeah, we need a #FinishtheTeams campaign like we had #Backthe Barge to get the rest of the Batch and Rogue One, etc.

I guess I didn't vote for Crosshair because I thought he was on Jayson's latest rumor list... so hope is there that we'll get them eventually.

[Nicklab]

I think a big contributing factor to the absence of The Bad Batch from TVC has been a very vocal minority in the TVC collecting community that is super focused on the OT.  And the numbers bear that out in terms of the number of characters from each entertainment source.  With the exception of The Mandalorian, the OT movies are much better represented than any other media.  And that’s almost certainly why we don’t have figures of Clone Force 99.