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Post by Idea on Jul 31, 2023 1:07:20 GMT
Hello and welcome to a new forum game. In this game, one person will offer a description, as detailed as they wish, of a character, place, item, event, or whatever else, alongside a card type (or more if one wants to give options). Further restrictions can be applied for the challenge, and supertypes are welcome to be used, namely legendary which I expect to be relatively common in a game such as this. As you may have guessed, the challenge is to make a card to represent that flavor that fits within the requested card type. The person issuing the challenge should take care that the card type they request makes it feasible to do this. After a period of time, the person who issued the challenge picks out a winner to issue the next challenge, as per the standard. As a rule of thumb, the characters, places or whatever else one decides to describe should not be part of cannon magic lore nor of another franchise's lore. The flavor here should be original content, though that can be flavor you come up with specifically for this challenge or other ideas you had at some other point in time for some other purpose. So, without further ado, I'll put the first challenge:
Type: (Legendary Or Not Legendary) Creature Description: Jehold is a cowardly knight mentioned briefly in the flavor text of a card I designed a while back for another contest here called Haunting Penace. What made Jehold a coward was not his lack of getting into confrontations, but in the way he rigged the duels and jousts he got involved in. While he was exceptionally good at this - he was never caught - his soul was for an unspecified reason marked each time he won out of such cowardly means, and it began to take a toll on his health and giving him an increasingly hunched back as though carrying the weight of his guilt. |
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boxlaunch
0/0 Germ
Posts: 28
Favorite Card: Uninvited Geist
Favorite Set: Shadows Over Innistrad
Color Alignment: Black, Green
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Post by boxlaunch on Jul 31, 2023 1:52:01 GMT
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Bouncearama
3/3 Beast
Posts: 174
Formerly Known As: pistonsmcgraw
Favorite Card: Davriel, Soul Broker
Favorite Set: Unstable
Color Alignment: Blue, Black, Red
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Post by Bouncearama on Jul 31, 2023 2:03:53 GMT
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pernicious
8/8 Octopus
Posts: 440
Favorite Card: Mistmeadow Skulk
Favorite Set: Shadowmoor block
Color Alignment: Red
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Post by pernicious on Jul 31, 2023 7:53:58 GMT
A creature kills whenever a creature that was dealt damage by it this turn dies.
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Post by Idea on Aug 6, 2023 22:22:22 GMT
I will most likely be judging this on the 8th or 9th. If anyone would like to get more entries in, please feel free!
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Post by Idea on Aug 9, 2023 18:19:25 GMT
boxlaunch {Spoiler}Considering the lack of currently printed cowards or even coward-printing cards, this is essentially a 2/4 skulk creature with a half- propaganda effect that only applies to creatures with power 3 or greater. Considering the many restrictions on the second effect and that the first is a decent form of evasion though not perfect, all in all the cost is pretty excellently done. Its also a pretty fun card to play with and against especially for those who like the more creative puzzles to solve. Playing a combat trick to increase an opponent's creature's power to make them a warrior is a strategy this Jehold enables for instance. Flavor-wise I do enjoy both the ways it represents his cowardice and the use of the literal coward type no less. I am uncertain why you made him a spirit though, but I would throw a guess there was some misunderstanding based on my description, so I won't fault you for that. {Spoiler}Word of advice: Hosting the image somewhere and linking to it might be better than putting it in attachment, since in attachment it looks really really small. Also not a big fan of using the same image as the original card when the original card wasn't the creature in question per say (it was supposed to depict him, but it wasn't him) when it's not something that specific to portray. Still, these are just little side things and they facture little to nothing for the judging. Those minor things aside, considering there are better ways to gain indestructible at this mana value (see Accursed Horde), though usually conditional and in most other cases one-time-use, I think this is fairly costed or maybe just a little pushed. Mixing -1/-1 counters, one of the few things that kills indestructible, is a nice touch. I like the streamlined approach to convey the flavor where getting that indestructible (cheating) also is the source of the -1/-1 counters. {Spoiler}Kills is absolutely a term that should exist. Just throwing it out there.
Now, for the card, I do very much enjoy how this card portrays his cowardice. It's quite visceral I suppose how first strike AND deathtouch feel like cheating when put together. If it had trample too that would be even better (from the standpoint of that feeling. Probably wouldn't go as well together on this card specifically). The drawback and consequence is flavorful and justifies the high stats, as most of the time even chump blocking him will weaken him without you getting anything those stats wouldn't bring you regardless. The one thing I fear is this is a bit too good of a blocker as it is hard to kill with direct damage at this mana value and it has four hits before it finally dies, meaning it can bring in massive card advantage as a blocker. I love it from a flavor perspective and as a control player, but I can also see the issues with it seeing play. Winner {Spoiler}The top entries here were really close, though all the entries were pretty good. pernicious 's entry I felt best captured the flavor of the card in both how it shows things and the feeling it invokes. It's also I felt got the most inspired design for the card's layout, and was more streamlined as well as more individualized than boxlaunch 's. boxlaunch did hvae a good use of an interesting but barely utilized old mechanic though, and a card I felt was overall better balanced than pernicious 's entry especially considering it's potential impact on a game. I will give this win to pernicious because while I did feel the card was a bit weaker on the balance side, I think it overall had several other elements where it did better, and the issue of balancing it might easier to fix than it would be for box's entry to capture the feeling and flavor in the same way pernicious 's does.
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pernicious
8/8 Octopus
Posts: 440
Favorite Card: Mistmeadow Skulk
Favorite Set: Shadowmoor block
Color Alignment: Red
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Post by pernicious on Aug 10, 2023 19:33:54 GMT
Thank you for the win, Idea. Yes, I should have lowered my entry's toughness by 1 or 2.
For the next challenge, I'd like to expand your story...
Type: (Legendary Or Not Legendary) Creature or Sorcery Description: Cahd Ua Diabh was a stereotypical white knight: Blonde, tall, handsome, noble-hearted and with a hearthy personality. He was appreciated wherever he went, and he was famous for devolving most of his joust winnings to charity and for regularly offering many rounds of drinks at the taverns. One day, Cahd had the unluck to face Jehold and soon the white knight met his end as the cheat knight's lance tip (that was designed to detach and push forward on impact) pierced through his armor and through several of his internal organs. Many came to mourn Cahd at his funeral: the king and the queen, bandits and guards, peasants and nobles; the social ranks didn't matter; they were all willing to walk together to accompany the good white knight's casket. Even Gremry, the feared bog hag, emerged from her swamp and somberly followed the procession. Due to her clairvoyance, Gremry was the only one (aside from Jehold) that knew what really happened at the fatal joust; but she decided to keep the truth to herself, for she had already punished the cheat knight in her own special way... |
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Post by Idea on Aug 10, 2023 21:56:59 GMT
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pernicious
8/8 Octopus
Posts: 440
Favorite Card: Mistmeadow Skulk
Favorite Set: Shadowmoor block
Color Alignment: Red
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Post by pernicious on Aug 19, 2023 12:04:36 GMT
Bump for more entries.
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Post by Idea on Aug 26, 2023 10:40:00 GMT
(extra bump)
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Post by ZephyrPhantom on Aug 27, 2023 12:45:07 GMT
Fual-Fae's Curse  Sorcery  (Futureshifted)Put a -1/-1 counter on target creature. Obsession with White - Repeat this process if a white spell was cast this turn. Morbid - Repeat this process if a creature died this turn. "Fae become singularly obsessed with all manners of emotions. Hers is vengeance, as ugly as the sinners she punishes." - Knockarel
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Post by Idea on Aug 27, 2023 16:40:56 GMT
Fual-Fae's Curse Sorcery (Futureshifted)Put a -1/-1 counter on target creature. Obsession with White - Then do it again if a white spell was cast this turn. Morbid - Then do it again if a creature died this turn. "Fae become singularly obsessed with all manners of emotions. Hers is vengeance, as ugly as the sinners she punishes." - Knockarel Perhaps “repeat this process” or “put another counter” rather than “do it again” would be more accurate wording? As far as I can tell “again” seems to be mostly used when repeating a names action (like proliferate) and usually involves repeating the action’s description (i.e. “then proliferate again” or “then pay that much life again”). |
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Post by ZephyrPhantom on Aug 27, 2023 16:47:42 GMT
Fual-Fae's Curse Sorcery (Futureshifted)Put a -1/-1 counter on target creature. Obsession with White - Then do it again if a white spell was cast this turn. Morbid - Then do it again if a creature died this turn. "Fae become singularly obsessed with all manners of emotions. Hers is vengeance, as ugly as the sinners she punishes." - Knockarel Perhaps “repeat this process” or “put another counter” rather than “do it again” would be more accurate wording? As far as I can tell “again” seems to be mostly used when repeating a names action (like proliferate) and usually involves repeating the action’s description (i.e. “then proliferate again” or “then pay that much life again”). supports your point, thanks for highlighting that wording. I've updated the card. |
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pernicious
8/8 Octopus
Posts: 440
Favorite Card: Mistmeadow Skulk
Favorite Set: Shadowmoor block
Color Alignment: Red
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Post by pernicious on Aug 27, 2023 18:10:39 GMT
Idea - Good in both flavor and mechanics. I only have to nitpick about the wording: In the first phrase, it should refer to creature cards and enchantment cards instead. In the second phrase, it should say "whose total mana value is equal to or less than.." instead. You forgot the "put those cards into your hand, then shuffle." final part.
ZephyrPhantom - Very nice, it really feels like something out of Future Sight due to its peculiar combination of mechanics. I really like the "obsession with" ability word. I'd only make it an uncommon instead, due to its complexity.
The winner is ZephyrPhantom!
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Post by ZephyrPhantom on Sept 5, 2023 23:34:57 GMT
Thanks. Sorry, been busy. Obsession is a mechanic I designed for a set I never finished but I like it enough to bring it back when I can.
All this talk of witches and knights and fae that aren't quite Eldrainian is interesting, let's continue this plotline:
Type: Enchantment
Flavor: Once, Gremry was a young fae given two fates: "You shall die an early, glorious death, or you shall live a slow-winding, ugly life." It is said that her response to the seer Cathain would be repeated and distorted for many years to come. Some whisper that it was a trick, and that by seeking one fate she was doomed to gain the other, and others still claim that she sought to live to spite many around her - or perhaps the feelings of one that whispered through them, the fairy noble Muli.
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Post by Idea on Sept 6, 2023 12:40:40 GMT
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Post by Idea on Oct 18, 2023 16:16:35 GMT
(a little bump here)
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Post by ZephyrPhantom on Oct 22, 2023 6:17:26 GMT
I'm going to declare Idea as the winner by default since I don't know how much time I'll have to judge in the coming weeks, and I'd like to keep the thread moving. I really like the effect overall. Get a bunch of nasty abilities, likely to make it a soft removal, but end up sacrificing the creature in the process. Essentially a very pumped up Bone Splinters. |
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Post by Idea on Oct 31, 2023 11:27:52 GMT
Thank you for the win, even if it was a default, and apologies for the delay. Shame this challenge hasn't been more popular, but oh well... Next entry: Type: Legendary land or creature (creature can be legendary or not) Description: Melfia is a city that is mentioned in a few cards I made, namely Gate of Sacrifice and Melfia's Protection. This is an affluent city whose magical shielding keeps it inhabitants safe from the threats of the surrounding lands. The problem - a very known and public one - is that the magical barrier requires a period human sacrifice to maintain. "Volunteers" are frequently recruited and through one means or another "convinced" to in public view walk through the gate where their body is consumed by the magic and turned to ash. |
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Post by fluffydeathbringer on Nov 1, 2023 16:19:51 GMT
Creature - Dog Advisor  When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, gain control of target creature with power less than the number of creatures you control until end of turn. Untap that creature. It gains haste until end of turn. "Of course you have a choice: die to protect the ones you love, or live with them knowing you refused to."
3/1
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Post by Idea on Nov 18, 2023 11:39:36 GMT
Any more entries are welcome!
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Post by Idea on Nov 25, 2023 1:27:36 GMT
No new entries unfortunately, but the show goes on. I do very much enjoy Gatekeep Persuader it's definitely on flavor both in flavor and rules text, using the strength in numbers of act of treason a creature. I think this may be a little hard to set off for more high-value targets and given it's body wouldn't be ill-fitting in a 2 mana creature, probably could reduce costs by  . The winner, naturally, is fluffydeathbringer . |
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Post by fluffydeathbringer on Nov 26, 2023 17:28:20 GMT
thanks, I think the FT was one of my better ones so glad to see it recognized, even if under the circumstances
Type: Creature, Planeswalker, or Enchantment Description: Selfless devotion to a cause that does not reward the devotee, or even give acknowledgment of the devotion -- either because it won't, or because it can't.
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Post by ZephyrPhantom on Nov 26, 2023 21:51:10 GMT
The Oppression of Fae Britain   (The Slaying of the Seelie)Enchantment - Saga  (As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter. Sacrifice after III.)I: Create a 1/1 white Faerie creature token. II: You may sacrifice a Faerie you control. If you do, target creature gets -3/-3 until end of turn. III: You may pay and 3 life. If you do, remove all lore counters from ~. IV: Target player loses life equal to the number of creature cards in their graveyard. The sacrifice of an innocent stains an aspiring hero, and she spends the rest of her life controlling the lives and deaths of the populace as a tyrant until they overthrow her in turn. If I was going full artistic here I'd make IV hurt each player but I feel like recent WOTC design would rather prefer everything could be used as a sensible upside. The plotline applies regardless of whether you use the UB or UW title, though the UB title is a reference to Fate Grand Order's Lostbelt 6 chapter. A big twist there was finding that most faeries were ultimately lawless sociopaths and tyranny was essentially the last resort after many increasingly failed attempts to peacefully unite them under a single nation; something that was lost in the 20,000 years of history that had passed since the Fae Britain (alternate) timeline had started. The UW version would probably reflavor it as a more straightforward hero loses their morals arc when they witness an innocent sacrifice and their devotion to rooting out foul elements from the Seelie causes them to be feared as an oppressive jailor or hunter until they themselves are finally hunted down.
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Post by Idea on Nov 27, 2023 23:19:52 GMT
Not entirely sure I understood the "assignment", but there's my best shot: In the final days of the great empire of Pelandria, one young soldier stands against the horde of horrors that came to bring it down. They can't do anything about the great titan, but to prevent its spawn from reaching the town is their mission. With expertise in time acceleration magics, Olamzaar fights endlessly by accelerating his mind and body. A young soldier disappears from sight, and in a moment and old one appears, joining with his dying breath a thousand years worth of invader corpses.  |
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Post by fluffydeathbringer on Dec 6, 2023 23:04:08 GMT
judging in 24
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Post by kingofohio on Dec 7, 2023 1:15:37 GMT
I'm not sure if I got it either, but here's my attempt at flavor.  Fixed the art credit. Sorry, again. |
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Post by fluffydeathbringer on Dec 7, 2023 20:01:51 GMT
yeah I think I just didn't express what I wanted clearly enough or made the prompt too specific, that's on me. thanks for entering nonetheless
anyway,
ZephyrPhantom: not super into needing to do homework to understand why the card fits the prompt, even if I do appreciate you providing the reasoning. as a card, it's tricky to evaluate: while the saga would be underpowered without the chapter III trick, repeatable fliers and removal are certainly an advantage worth a higher fee. that said, the advantage of Sagas is being able to provide these kinds of effects cheaper because of the staggered triggers, so 3WB may still be too much even with the repeatability. the III cost seems balanced for what you get out of it, but the last ability's fairly underpowered for something the Saga itself will only feed once every three cycles, and that's if there's an X/<=3 for your opponent to deal with. definitely a casual EDH card. in that sense, I would want to play it just to see how it pans out. conceptually interesting way of playing with chapters as well; just on the border of how much complexity is still interesting and how much is exhausting and the wrong kind of "cute" that detracts from the concept, ultimately falling on the better side. would get a 3/5 if not for the "you need to play Fate to get why it's appropriate for the contest" aspect, but gets a 2/5 with it.
Idea: this is just overstuffed, to be honest, both in terms of text volume and mechanics. the multi-combat-damage trick is conceptually neat, but the costly multi-block aspect could and should be done in one different ability so that it doesn't 1) require this much text 2) require you to keep track of counter amounts for what's essentially a combat trick, a type of card that is by nature a one-and-done sort of deal. at MV5 and with the sac drawback, this is also fairly underpowered: could at least give a power boost. wish I could give this more than a 1/5.
kingofohio: this kind of on-board combat trick should be higher than a common for draft complexity reasons, and the statline's worryingly high even for a defender, especially considering it can save your board too. most cohesive flavour, though, so that's a 2/5.
ZephyrPhantom's design ultimately gave me more to think about, so they win with kingofohio as runner-up
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Post by ZephyrPhantom on Dec 7, 2023 21:01:24 GMT
Fair turnabout, I was honestly considering just cutting the UB aspect of the card out and presenting the UW version: it's a bit (un)fortunate to see my concerns turned out to be correct and I'll probably keep that in mind going forward. I think my takeaway here is that things like these simply don't work outside of sets or without some kind of context to build them up and it's rather telling that WoTC UB designs tend to focus on characters that 'make sense' in a vacuum (aside from the fact Creature is the typical Commander type). It seems like lately I kneecap the general power of more complicated cards in general when I make them so I'll keep an eye out on that too.
Type: Roll a d5. Whatever number you get is the following type: 1. Creature 2. Planeswalker 3. Artifact 4. Sorcery or Instant 5. Battle Description: Let's do something a little more open-ended: Create or adapt a story/myth/fable of some kind where the lesson involves the importance of listening to other people somehow (e.g. Icarus's ignorance of Daedalus out of pride contributes to his death). I'll leave the premise itself open to whatever story you want to create or adapt, but your card must be structured as a story - see Lovestruck Beast for a simple example. |
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Post by Idea on Dec 9, 2023 19:32:05 GMT
 Based on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice |
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