|
Post by vizionarius on Jan 20, 2022 19:59:49 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Flo00 on Jan 21, 2022 22:38:38 GMT
I guess you mean hand and library? And you probably should put the word perpetually somewhere.
|
|
|
Post by Flo00 on Jan 22, 2022 14:36:02 GMT
Judging on Monday.
|
|
|
Post by lordpat on Jan 22, 2022 22:13:46 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Flo00 on Jan 25, 2022 0:01:43 GMT
{sdfkjgh}I think the idea is really great. Yet I'm also sharing hydraheadhunter's concern that it can be abused too easily. If you have a good reanimation scheme, you could make two Blind Hunter's haunt each other over and over. What I've seen from perpetual effects, they either reduce cost, change p/t or do not stack. They especially have no enter/leave effect that can be repeated for benefit.
{vizionarius}Good card. I like that it tells you to play your spells in multiples and also likes more expensive spells over cheap ones. I think this can be fun in draft and constructed. Reducing all the same spells might get a ittle too easy out of hand with card draw spells.
{lordpat}This is really expensive. Then again, it gives you three creatures in one for the price of the cheapest. I guess you want to play this either in a ramp deck with a lot of good creatures or in a deck that has a good combination of cheap an dexpansive creatures and a way to cheat this into play.
|
|
|
Post by vizionarius on Jan 25, 2022 21:09:05 GMT
Thanks for the win! I was on a trip without service and couldn't fix the text on the card, sorry about that. Next set: Planar Chaos
|
|
|
Post by sdfkjgh on Jan 25, 2022 22:03:07 GMT
Because Monowhite Bouncing Soldiers desperately needed a flash 2-bouncer:
Rearguard Archers Creature--Human Archer Soldier Flash Reach When Rearguard Archers enters the battlefield, return two creatures you control to their owner’s hand. When Rearguard Archers enters the battlefield, it deals damage equal to its power to target creature that was blocked this turn. 4/4
|
|
|
Post by Flo00 on Feb 4, 2022 10:02:28 GMT
Malicious Riler Creature - Goblin Spallshaper , , Discard a card: Untap target creature and gain control of it until end of turn. That creature gains haste until end of turn. 1/1 Colorshifted Overtaker
|
|
|
Post by sdfkjgh on Feb 9, 2022 3:14:16 GMT
|
|
|
Post by vizionarius on Feb 9, 2022 6:43:14 GMT
I will judge tomorrow, any last submissions?
|
|
|
Post by vizionarius on Feb 10, 2022 18:27:57 GMT
{Judging} sdfkjgh : I totally agree that something like this was needed in the set, especially during draft. The only other 2-bouncer ( Stormfront Riders) was pretty slow, and needed flash. I like your choice of removal flavor too. It may be slightly undercosted, but I like the design and fits neatly into the set. Flo00 : That's an amazing find! I'm actually very surprised that they didn't pick that card to colorshift! I like how you kept the creature type a "mirror" of a popular type for the color (Merfolk to Gobbo). {Winning}I will give this to sdfkjgh . While the colorshifted card would fit perfectly into the set, there was more design work behind sdfkjgh 's entry. If I ever do a custom Planar Chaos re-imagined set, I'd add both of these cards in it!
|
|
|
Post by sdfkjgh on Feb 11, 2022 16:51:04 GMT
Thanks for the win, vizionarius . It's a shame that there weren't more entries. That said, I feel like I just barely won by the skin of my yellow country teeth.*
I'ma go weird and theoretical again thins time.
With the compleation of Tamiyo, it seems the full Phyrexian multiversal invasion, and eventual compleation of same, is upon us. So, I want you to pick any plane, and design me 3-5 cards from that plane, but the Phyrexians have already invaded and won, completely compleating that plane.
So, that's 3-5 cards from various planes, post-Phyresis. You have two weeks.
ALL WILL BE ONE!!!
*I still can't believe this off-key, voice-cracking caterwauling actually got national, syndicated airtime. It just boggles the mind.
|
|
|
Post by Flo00 on Feb 11, 2022 21:43:34 GMT
vizionarius would have felt like cheating if I had won with this anyway. I looked through all old spellshapers and looked for the ones where a colorshift might make sense. Thought about a red Cackling Witch and a green Tonic Peddler, but the Overtaker made by far the most sense. Propagator of Perfection Creature - Phyrexian Elf Assiassin When Propagator of Perfection enters the battlefield, put a -1/-1 counter on target creature you don’t control. , : Destroy target creature with a counter on it. 2/2 Fraughtweft Trio Creature - Phyrexian Kithkin Soldier Fraughtweft Trio can block any number of creatures. Whenever Fraughtweft Trio blocks, you may exile another Kithkin you control until Fraughtweft Trio leaves the battlefield. If you do, all creatures blocked by Fraughtweft Trio get -1/-1 until end of turn. 3/3 Glistening Cankerer Creature - Phyrexian Treefolk As Glistening Cankerer enters the battlefield, choose an opponent. Glistening Cankerer enters the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it for each creature that player controls. Whenever Glistening Cankerer becomes untapped, move a -1/-1 counter form it onto target creature you control. That creature is indestructible until end of turn. 6/6 Tainter’s Servant Creature - Phyrexian Scarecrow All other creatures enter the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on them. , Sacrifice Tainter’s Servant: Remove all counters from target permanent. 1/3
|
|
|
Post by vizionarius on Feb 16, 2022 21:01:19 GMT
sdfkjgh That's a great challenge. I've been a bit busier of late, but I do plan to submit something before next week rolls around! Will hope to alter ed one of the arts so far to have phyrexian in them... and I need to find found art for the last 2 cards.
|
|
|
Post by gamma3 on Feb 22, 2022 6:37:41 GMT
I'll finish this entry in the next couple of days, but I wanted to get my initial ideas out thereFinished! Sheoldred's Skaab Creature - Phyrexian Zombie When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, you may exile up to one creature card from each player's graveyard. If no cards were exiled this way, sacrifice CARDNAME. 4/3 Halana, Compleated Hunter Legendary Creature - Phyrexian Human Indestructible Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may pay . If you do, put a -1/-1 counter and an indestructible counter on it, and it becomes a Phyrexian in addition to its other types. , : Target creature you control with a counter on it fights target creature an opponent controls. Remove a counter from that creature you control. She once fought for the weak. Now she makes them strong.3/2 Alena, Heartbroken Legendary Creature - Human Scout Protection from Phyrexians Whenever a spell or ability you control would deal lethal damage to a creature, exile that creature instead. , : Alena deals 3 damage to target creature. They took everything from her. Now she will do the same to them.2/3 Gastaf Innkeep Creature - Human Werewolf Daybound He keeps a watchful eye on all those who enter his establishment...2/2 // Howling InfiltratorCreature - Phyrexian Werewolf Trample Nightbound ...in order to bring the best candidates forward for compleation.4/4 My thought process on the decision of which plane to invade was pretty simple - Phyrexians are, at their core, body horror. OG Innistrad was Gothic horror, the first return was Eldritch horror, the second was back to Gothic, why not give the plane a new horror genre to work with?
|
|
|
Post by sdfkjgh on Feb 23, 2022 18:18:48 GMT
Y'all better gitterdone soon, judging on the 25th.
|
|
|
Post by Grapple X on Feb 24, 2022 18:42:28 GMT
|
|
|
Post by sdfkjgh on Feb 26, 2022 22:51:03 GMT
Shit, sorry everyone. I meant to do this last night, but I forgot.
Flo00: I love Lorwyn/Shadowmoor block, so this was a bold choice, as was matching 1:1 past cards and their compleated versions. For the most part, that equivalency is readily apparent, but Fraughtweft Trio feels like a big letdown. I've lost to the original, so I know just how powerful it is, but if you're gonna compleat a powerful card, it should feel equal or greater in power, not less. Mebbe if you'd kept first strike, this wouldn't have been such a falter. The best of the bunch is Propagator of Perfection, but then again, it's pretty hard to improve on an already excellent card.
vizionarius: Your entry was very 50/50. Sharuum and the Archmage1 are both excellent and scary, as all Phyrexians should be. The Charm's name is rather uninspired (I guess it could be used as a placeholder name during Design/Development), and while you properly adjusted for the decrease in mana cost, it feels like you stuck a little too close to the original. Yes, this critique is possibly a bit confusing (especially after my glowing review of a compleated Hunter of Eyeblights), but let me explain: it's the difference between innovation and imitation, and this difference is HIGHLY subjective. If you stick too close to the original, it can feel stale and derivative, but sometimes you can change just one thing to make it feel almost completely different. Contrarywise, you can change nearly everything, and still feel like you're playing follow the leader. I'm afraid I'm not really explaining myself very well, so let's just move on. Having seen the original art, I absolutely love the slight change you made (hopefully you got permission from the original artist). The design itself, however, is very meh, and might not actually work. I would've preferred if it cost and instead of adding mana, gained you 2 life. This does everything your design intended, while also having the lenticularity of a fridge brilliance moment when players connect the lifegain with the life payment of Phyrexian mana.
gamma3: Ok, you slipped your final entries in under the wire, and I gotta say, their emotional punch hurts. Bravo. The Skaab is a nice, if a little boring, utility creature for graveyard hate, but I really wanna talk about what you did to my lesbian babies, you bastard!
Halana is a very interesting design, especially with the counter removal, and so far, it feels the most compleated out of all the previous submissions. Alena's protection ability seems a little difficult to explain, but I'm sure it can be handwaved away, story-wise. The fact that both have abilities that negate the other's, oh my god, it's like no matter how much they fight and hurt each other, they just can't seem to ever bring themselves to kill the other, giving us hope. Umph!
Your Werewolf could've stood to lose off the mana cost, but other than that, a pretty solid entry, carried almost entirely by what you did to my lesbian babies, you bastard! Sorry, it's just those two entries are eliciting such a huge emotional response, and that's a sign of excellent design.
Grapple X: Oh, dear god. From here on out, if any of you provide more than the prompt calls for2, that will not get points deducted. Quite the opposite, in fact; the more submissions, the greater the chance of winning, as more information is always better. As such, I'ma be Judging each of your submissions.
1) Artful Dissection: Perfectly feels both Phyrexian and oldschool Rakdos, from original Ravnica block (the "thrill-kill cult" that was just as likely to disembowel you as tell a joke3).
2) Treasury Vassal: You took two broken mechanics, and somehow managed to combine their strengths and weaknesses to balance each other out. How is such perfection possible?
3) Compleated Charger: Infect and bloodrush is dangerous, making the defending player just as nervous as if they were playing against Ninjas. Numbers are all correct, especially for the rarity.
4) Shattering Ram: Living weapon seems perfect for Boros, as a sword that can wield itself would be an invaluable asset for any military, and mentor has already proven itself to be a pretty decent ability. I'm just a little disappointed that you couldn't find any appropriate images of male sheep, for the puns.
5) Skinless Evangel: I'm sure we've all heard horror stories of Selesnya Evangel being unbeatable in Limited, so giving the activated ability a bit more of a restriction and an increase in rarity is a much needed change. Adding in infect ups the scariness a bit, and makes it feel Phyrexian. This might still be the terror it was in its first go-round.
6) Spliced Hussar: You should know that in detain's first go-round, monocolored could only detain creatures, whereas multicolor could detain any nonland permanent. You should very much continue this design, and expand the activated ability to be able to destroy any detained permanent. As for the potential Color Pie questions, I see it as more of an acceptable and flavorful bend than a break, with the flavor being that you're deciding that the detained permanent is too dangerous to ever allow out of detainment, so you kill it. VERY much like our criminal (in)justice system & capital punishment.
7) Suture Courier: Transmute (that's also secretly a pseudo-transfigure) has been deemed a repetitive and dangerous mechanic, as has transfigure (both are a 9 on The Storm Scale). I'm not sure what would be a better mechanic to replace it with, so I'll just say let's keep it in, and keep an eye on it. The costs to activate are high enough that I'm hopeful it'll be balanced.
8) Simic Abomination: While the name of the ability leaves much to be desired, it does remind me of my ability, devolve. Mebbe graft-versus-host would've been a better name, but the design itself is pretty solid.
9) Funguous Grafting: Funguous isn't a word (you want Fungal), and grafting is more Simic's bag, but the design itself is something we've seen before, so a pretty dependable card. Good job on adjusting the speed to match the cost.
10) Biomizzium Surge: In a Treasure, Food, Clue, Blood, or even trinket deck, this just ends games. Art is appropriately horrifying (pun).
This was an especially strong Challenge, with a very tight race; it seems like you all were very inspired by the prompt. Mebbe we can explore more of this in future Challenges.
In a close fourth, vizionarius, who was just edged out on good vs meh designs by our third place, Flo00. In a very close, very emotional second, we have gamma3, whom I will never forgive for hurting Hal & Alena. I also look forward to making their corrupting of this pure couple canon when I finally get into WotC.
And the winner is:
C'mon, we all knew as soon as they posted the full 10 Guild designs, it was gonna be Grapple X. How could it be anything else? Fret not, the rest of you posted some superb designs, but both the sheer volume and quality thereof cinched it.
Congrats to you all. These were some of the best designs I've seen in a while.
1That sounds like a great name for an acoustic Indy band. I can't tell if it would be better if Archmage was plural. Sharuum and the Archmagi?
2Just think of the provided limit or range as a required minimum.
3During the Return to Ravnica prerelease, I came4 up with The Official Rakdos Joke: "What are the last words you'll ever say?", then whatever they answer, stab them in the jugular. I got some pretty interesting responses, like "Hopefully not these."5
4Giggity.
5No, I didn't actually stab anyone.
|
|
|
Post by vizionarius on Feb 26, 2022 23:26:26 GMT
sdfkjgh Thanks for the detailed feedback! I agree with your final ranking assessment. This really was an awesome prompt and I wish I had more time to put towards it. My Bant Charm started off as granting ward, but I realized it wouldn't work as a counter. Also played with the idea to have it be only a choose out of 2 options... alas it ended up being a bit too meh, I agree. And I tried to find a new art but nothing struck as a fit. For the Obelisk, I tried to do something new (my intent was to just show the Phyrexian symbol without any generic circle around it, and maybe add a bit or rules text to clarify how it worked, which is what WotC would do. And added the reminder as a shortcut for it). Your gain 2 life idea is nice, but it just doesn't feel very Phyrexian to me. If you ever have more challenges like this, I'll be on it!
|
|
|
Post by Grapple X on Feb 27, 2022 23:17:37 GMT
And the winner is:
C'mon, we all knew as soon as they posted the full 10 Guild designs, it was gonna be Grapple X . How could it be anything else? Fret not, the rest of you posted some superb designs, but both the sheer volume and quality thereof cinched it.
Congrats to you all. These were some of the best designs I've seen in a while. Thanks! That's my first time winning a contest here; very glad my nonsense appealed. Looking back I think the Golgari card really wanted to do something with scavenge and -1/-1 counters but everything is a learning experience.
|
|
sorsal
2/2 Zombie
Posts: 102
Color Alignment: White, Blue, Red, Colorless
|
Post by sorsal on Feb 28, 2022 12:30:27 GMT
Speaking of learning experience, when you win a challenge, you propose the next one. So, what's the next challenge, puzzle master?
|
|
|
Post by Grapple X on Feb 28, 2022 14:21:18 GMT
Speaking of learning experience, when you win a challenge, you propose the next one. So, what's the next challenge, puzzle master? Right you are. In light of Neon Dynasty bringing Kamigawa thousands of years into the future from the first time we saw it, let's follow that thread: Design a cycle, either vertical (common/uncommon/rare in the same colour) or horizontal (five across the colour wheel) showing an existing plane at another point in history. It could be in its far future like Neon Dynasty, or in its distant past instead. Bonus consideration for showing the evolution of its known mechanics.
|
|
|
Post by vizionarius on Mar 1, 2022 8:58:18 GMT
|
|
|
Post by vizionarius on May 4, 2022 21:50:09 GMT
Anyone else?
|
|
|
Post by Idea on May 8, 2022 13:42:46 GMT
Long ago, in the plane of Amonkhet, the god-pharaoh Nicol Bolas arrived and with the aid of a collaborator subjugated its gods, slew everyone above an age to where they could remember how things used to be, and twisted the leylines of the plane to his will, and through them the gods of that plane. Thus Amonkhet was made to become a place dedicated to the ritual that would prepare his undead army in generations to come. Of the twisted gods, three were laid dormant and their very names forgotten...So, this is the topic I decided to tackle. I took some creative liberties to fill out a cycle, giving some made-up names and backstories in addition to making two new gods, to flesh out a bit Amonkhet before Nicol Bolas's take-over. I will give some info on the flavor behind what I made. Mechanically, I mostly tried sticking to the Amonkhet mechanics as opposed to making proto-versions, but with some hints of opposition to what it would later become. After all this Amonkhet is not a place where people are trained to die a glorious or inglorious death, but a plane of hopeful travelers of the desert, finding the beginning of a flourishing civilization, which unknownst to them is about to face disaster. First up, we have Kozilet the guide, in the present known as the Locust god. Perhaps in the future its aggression and urge to devour are an ironic twist on the ideals of dedication and self-control, the peace and wisdom many sought Kozilet for. If the insect gods were taken and twisted by Nicol Bolas, this angel god was simply slain. After all, she was the original god-pharaoh, who commanded the foundations of the cities in the desert. To the many who sought refuge from the curse of Wandering and the harshness of the desert, she was indeed a blessed existence. A figure of salvation. Someone they would die for. Someone whose place a certain Elder Dragon might desire. (note: On the image credit, after searching around with googles images, saucenao and tinyeye, I was only led to dead sites and wallpaper sites. I put the link to a wallpaper site that most places seemed to back to on the credit) If you travelled through the horizon, desperate to find any place, anywhere to rest, to sate your thirst... you'd probably become another victim of the desert. But dreams can compel many to venture out, and to keep going when things look most dire. Dreams like mirages, faint yet pushing you forward. Such was the gift of the faint sight of Umino, a god who both led mortals astray and guided them to where they needed to be. His favored were even granted a gift of lazotep, preserving their heart even after being touched by the curse of wandering. This expertise was desired by Nicol Bolas, who twisted this god into the one at the center of the making of eternals, the Scarab god. Mortals are fragile things. Even if Umino were to pull them forward, their legs might give out before they minds or hearts could drive them. But a god has no such restrictions, and their findings may still bless all with known paths to the little food and water there is. To a new life. Na'Ohr was given the title of the finder as he loved nothing more than to explore and find the oasises hidden all throughout Amonkhet. He bolstered those who travelled and adventured at his side, giving them strength to keep up with his journey and find new homes. He would later be twisted into a fine killer indeed as the scorpion god. On the opposite end, there was the harsh judge of the dead, Uncrosi. Indeed, such was this god love for the plane that he began to embody it, down to the darkest elements. His power binded the dead into decay, but also unlife, just as the curse of wandering. He was ominously even the master of any undead bound by the curse, and he used this power to keep the people safe from attacks in settlements, as that destruction would be unnatural and meaningless. Those judged worthy could even be free of unlife at his hands, and this perhaps was the biggest reason Nicol Bolas slew him rather than twisting him to his will. And finally, though this isn't part of the cycle I couldn't go without addressing the original five gods of amonkhet. Though they were not as great or accomplished as the rest at the time, they were very much present, and were changed as well. They were later went on to rebuild Amonkhet, and thus deserve at least a little bonus here together. {Spoiler}
|
|
|
Post by vizionarius on May 26, 2022 21:54:45 GMT
Grapple X , it's been quite some time now, even though there are only 2 submissions. Do you wish to vote? Daij_Djan to the rescue?
|
|
|
Post by Daij_Djan on Jun 5, 2022 18:05:05 GMT
Sure, no problem - will look at the entries tomorrow!
Well, me and my deadlines – but with merely one day delay.. Here we go! { vizionarius} I'll be honest, I completely forgot Alara once started of as a single plane – the more you know I guess^^ That aside, I really like how each of the five legends indeed nicely hints as the upcoming shard mechanics, very well done. The one thing that slightly buggs me, is how three of them have an attack trigger – yet the other two work completely different. I know cycles don't have to be that mechanically tied to one another – but especially when the first three ones I see all follow the same pattern, the two outliers are hard to ignore One wording issue: Ruya needs to reveal the card since it goes to your hand. And one nitpick: I'd love to see the (You still pay its costs) clause added to Marah. { Idea} Really like the idea of showcasing the five gods prior to their corruption / death and the backgrounds you provided. Nice choice. Mechanicaly, the five gods all follow the same four ability pattern despite how completely different they are otherwise, which I like. (Small nitpick: Umino having the only attack/block restriction not tied to controlling permanents of some kind is a bit weird. To a lesser degree Uncrosi having a static rather than a triggered third ability as well.) My only complaint would be how this four mechanics pattern has led to some rather wordy designs. Nhamatt in particular has too many lines for my tastes – then again, WotC sadly doesn't care much about this anymore nowadays as well, so.. As far as the wordings are concerned, Uncrosi aside the third mechanics are all repetitive triggered ones, so they need to use „whenever“ rather than „when“. Also there are quite a few capitalization errors, I'm not going to g through them all. General advice: Subtypes are always capitalized. Not sure whether Nhamatt really works the way it is now since it doesn't check whether the Aura can even enchant the creature in the first place? Na'Ohr needs a shuffle clause. Only two entries, but both had very interesting concepts – nice work to both of you In the end, I decided to give the win to vizionarius in the end.
|
|
|
Post by Idea on Jun 5, 2022 18:39:20 GMT
|
|
|
Post by vizionarius on Jun 6, 2022 22:04:40 GMT
Thanks for the win Daij_Djan ! (And thanks Idea for the amazing designs, and the congrats) I originally had Marah an untap trigger, so it would have been less of an imbalance... now that you mention it, I could have made Kadin a dies trigger, and then each would have a different trigger condition. And you're right on Ruya with the reveal! >.< Next challenge: Take one of the eight major races in Lorwyn/Shadowmoor (elves, kithkin, merrows, flamekin, boggarts, treefolk, giants, and faeries), and make a card of each rarity (C, U, R, M) that fits their culture/identity, but as they would be on another plane. They can be depicted as foreign travelers (through Planar Portals), or as an alternate native race on another plane.
|
|
|
Post by Idea on Jun 8, 2022 22:22:54 GMT
Thanks for the win Daij_Djan ! (And thanks Idea for the amazing designs, and the congrats) I originally had Marah an untap trigger, so it would have been less of an imbalance... now that you mention it, I could have made Kadin a dies trigger, and then each would have a different trigger condition. And you're right on Ruya with the reveal! >.< Next challenge: Take one of the eight major races in Lorwyn/Shadowmoor (elves, kithkin, merrows, flamekin, boggarts, treefolk, giants, and faeries), and make a card of each rarity (C, U, R, M) that fits their culture/identity, but as they would be on another plane. They can be depicted as foreign travelers (through Planar Portals), or as an alternate native race on another plane. So just to be clear: 1. Only 8 of the tribes are allowed, changelings aren't. 2. Do we have to keep their culture/identity as it is on Lorwyn/Shadowmoor, but potentially changing the race, or the reverse? (Keeping the race but changing culture/identity to fit the new plane)
|
|