Here's the breakdown of the playoff teams in terms of card strength.
The team that I admire most (all are great teams) is NC2 (Thalion). My own team (0/13/12) is not far from his in card strength, but he won 93 games and I won 68. Well done, my friend!
Thalion's success makes me realize that my team is not out-classed in this league. There's no reason why I couldn't win it. However, there is no question that Thalion was better than me because of his management skill and not just luck. The key to success is to deploy your troops in a manner such that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Thalion did just that this year. I am impressed and better yet, I am inspired.