The Golden Game

{Judging}
Tesagk: Out of Time is an interesting card, and having a counterspell that’s better in your main phase is an interesting idea. However, I feel like there’s a reason that RNA didn’t do it - because the chance that something gets countered on your main phase is very low, and the potential payoff of drawing a card and then discarding a card is not worth it. Since, at worst, the card is a bad Ionize, and there’s a low payoff for doing what the card wants you to do, it feels like it doesn’t do enough to be worth running.

archer: Crash the Party uses Jump-Start in an interesting way that wasn’t really explored in Guilds, and I like the idea of doing things with the card that you just discarded. As for the card itself, I really like how you can get a creature from any player’s graveyard, but it works better if you target yourself, and how it pairs a classic red and black ability together to get something that feels new.

viriss: I like how Negotiation Concessions lets you draw a card to jump-start, so you don’t lose card advantage, but this card lets your opponent get ahead. Compared to the common Radical Idea in RNA, this card feels a lot worse, for more mana. The 6 life doesn’t feel like enough to make the card any better.

gluestick248: I do appreciate the simpleness of Havoc Hound, and I think the fact that a similar card in RNA was made demonstrates how printable the card is. It’s solidly balanced, and works in Rakdos pretty well!

Jartis: Thought Rend feels like a really good card in an aggressive deck, where you can play out your hand quickly and then One with Nothing your opponent while hitting them for a bunch of damage. I do think the Addendum is pretty relevant here because you can play the card after your opponent draws for turn, which I like, but I think it’s just too good.

mrlozano: As Flo00 pointed out, Swift Thunder is an invalid entry. However, I do like the idea of having a sorcery Lightning Bolt as a relevant card, but it’s better than Skewer the Critics, which is already predicted to see play in many Eternal formats, so I think it’s way too good.

Flo00: I really don’t understand Knackgussle. It seems like a really weird idea. The first part of the ability is a worse Aethersnatch, but it doesn’t feel like it should be costed at 3 mana - that seems too low, especially with the added flexibility of both the abilities you can target and the spectacle ability. The card doesn’t really feel Temur - if anything, it just feels mono blue, especially with the spectacle ability. The spectacle ability itself feels especially undercosted, as it’s a way to counter a noncreature and gain control of it, which makes that part situationally better than Force of Will, and all you need to consistently trigger it is a pinger. It’s an interesting idea that could work exceptionally well if it felt cleaner and flavorful, but as-is comes off somewhat convoluted.

Sanfonier of the Night: Riot Connoisseur seems like a bad power and toughness combination to use riot for - you almost always want to make it a 2/2, as a 1/1 for 2 with haste is consistently below par. The other ability doesn’t feel like it has any relevance in terms of the riot mechanic or anything that you can do in the red-black colors: it would feel more at home in red/blue or mono blue, since blue is a lot more about stealing creatures.

Fleur: Interesting idea, but Cover-Up has a weak effect, and the only time it’s ever good it feels oppressive. Instant speed discard one card costs 1 according to Funeral Charm / Piracy Charm, so casting the spell without the Addendum bonus is just really bad. In concept, however, this is an interesting and solid idea!

{Winners!}
The winner is archer, with runner-ups going to gluestick248 and Fleur.