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Post by ZephyrPhantom on May 6, 2020 4:43:26 GMT
I'll be judging in the next 24-48 hours since tomorrow will be 2 weeks since the original challenge was posted.
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Post by ZephyrPhantom on May 6, 2020 21:27:24 GMT
So I just want to say before I start judging that I really liked every submission I saw here, and I'm glad that the restriction generated a lot of cool designs that showed people really put some thought into it. Thanks for being so enthusiastic about this one, guys. However, there can only be one, so let's get to judging: gamma3: Let me first get the elephant in the room out of the way - monogreen flying usually needs a very specific tribal or contextual case to be a justified on a good design. You've chosen a tribe that naturally has wings (Angel) and is very iconic within the context of Magic, so I think it passes there. What feels weird about this design is that it promotes Trample, a different type of combat keyword than Flying, yet the main card is not a trampler themselves. If I put my hand up to cover the card image and typeline and read everything else, my Vorthos and Melvin senses would both start going "Where does Flying fit into this? This sounds like an Elephant-herder type person that would naturally ride an elephant. Wouldn't it be more intuitive to have a leader of Tramplers also be a Trampler?" It feels more like this card's design is trying to justify the art by giving it flying, and while that's a reasonable move to make, it does feel like the design is almost like two different packages put together as opposed to one cohesive whole. In fact, if Flying was replaced with Trample, I'm fairly certain this could be a mono Green design, seeing as how Vigilance tends to jump between secondary and tertiary in Green. (Note: This does also give Mono-White trample, which is a risky break in hybrid design but I think the context of how the tokens are created is both expensive and plausible enough that I wouldn't question it.) The companion handicap reminds me of old Vanguard cards and I think it's a smart choice to pair it with a token generator, implying that the drawback to having less cards in hand is that you are meant to make up for it with this token producer that virtually replaces those cards. I think that's a fairly solid combination to build a Companion on and hand disadvantage is not a drawback you easily ignore, so it gets a lot of points there. Great companion idea overall, but if I look at it as just a creature there are some more specific questions I have about the design. SilentKobold: It's interesting to see a WIP design and compare it to the final one in this context. I agree that the pseudo-convoke flavor fits better than here and it feels like a reasonable way to do card advantage/draw. Maybe a little pushed compared to Tireless Tracker, Ulvenwald Mysteries, and Bygone Bishop all being similar engines that cost 3 mana, but it is a multicolor design and it does require tapping unlike those ones, so I think it gets a pass. If it somehow turned out to be too pushed, you could push up its cost and p/t as needed. I think you communicate the implied flavor of the Innistrad inquisitor discovering the giant Eldrazi creature from beyond that gets convoked out by a cult (be it his own or the one he's investigating) well and it definitely works as both a clues-matter payoff and a more general make creatures-ramp option. Great overall design, I would like to see this playtested to see if it's reasonable at 2 mana for a set. digiman619Now this is an interesting way to make use of all your overcosted draft chaff. It feels specifically aimed at those long grindy games where everyone's just waiting for one side to draw a necessary card or accumulate enough power to overwhelm the other side, and in that respect I think it does it well, using a mechanic from draft that people would understand and making for an exciting party-style guessing game of "What will it make next?" I do think removing a card from the draft pool mid-game has some ambiguity as we're no longer in the drafting phase, but otherwise I have very little issues with this design and I think it's a great example of how to attack this challenge from a different angle. I think you could consider something like "put a card from your draft pool into exile" (since exile isn't interacted with much but is an explicitly indicated rules area) but that's a tossup and it might be fit for a Conspiracy set as is. inferno390Eldritch Evolution meets Birthing Pod with a token/wish-based twist. I can see how flexible this card is going to be in a lot of decks, even just as a glorified combat trick in limited. Plays well with a large variety of strategies and captures the cult aspect very well similar to its competitor a few posts above. My only real gripes are flavor-based - there isn't much linking the Eldrazi to the number 13 on Innistrad and the flavor text seems like it missed the mark of what its trying to convey when it feels more like the implied cultists are pulling a Darkest Dungeon and transmuting themselves into Eldrazi, but it does do a decent job of tying all of Innistrad's mechanics together while creating something new. Great design, probably set-ready. viriss Good combination of keyword mechanics to help enable the middle ability - reach and deathtouch ensures that even if you just use her for combat in Limited, you're going to get at least one Treasure in the long run. It's interesting that while your competitors all choose to put it onto the battlefield, you opted for the probably much safer route of putting it into your hand. I think that was a pretty wise choice is it's very easy for your color combination to sacrifice a bunch of tokens or little creatures and encourages a different style of play especially as a Commander - you're probably trying to tutor out various small answers and play them when the time is right instead of slamming a giant creature onto the battlefield. I think the third ability's wording is a bit iffy ("Sacrifice X Treasures:... with converted mana equal to..."), but other than that this is a pretty solid design. Could be worth making a custom Commander precon that features this card. hydraheadhunterSo with everyone's favorite nightmare Lurrus currently taking over older formats, I think it's become clear that how much of a drawback a Companion is to a deck is an important factor in balancing it and that you need to be conscious of pretty much all the formats as long as they're involved. Vindameq feels like a card that is hyper-focused on Standard and Limited, where his drawback actually has impact due to a significant lack of ability to get other lands, to the point I worry he might actually be unplayable in Limited unless Wastes were part of the infinite land pool (normally they aren't). Once he hits pioneer, though, you can use something like a combination of the Shefet Dunes cycle, the Shivan Reef cycle,, the Spirebluff Canal cycle, Mana Confluence, and some mix of 8 'strong-enough' lands ( Needle Spires cycle, Spire of Invention, Mutavault, etc...) to create a still-functioning manabase with minimal drawbacks, and this drawback only gets easier to avoid the further back you go into a format. That said, Vindameq's saving grace from overrunning every deck is probably the importance of fetches (which rely on basic land types) in older formats, meaning he still does have a significant drawback in getting rid of those as well - however, this does mean he's 'just' limited to being strictly better in decks like Eldrazi Stompy, Tron, and similar decks who already didn't care much for fetches, which is a wider range of influence than Zirda and maybe Jegantha. If we look at him as just a creature, his range of influence is probably comparable to somewhere in between Gyruda and Yorion. His biggest impact is likely that he gives Tron a guaranteed game 1 3/3 that lets them fight against dedicated land hosing and build the board/rush out bigger plays instead of being completely dead in the water. That's not a bad thing in vacuum, but it does provide an already strong deck a noticeable leg up on covering up its usual biggest weakness. That said, I think it's time to look at his kit - Vindameq basically churns out a land every turn, effectively giving you more mana the longer he stays out on the field. Again, great idea in a vacuum, but I think this probably helps Tron /Eldrazi Stomy cover up a weakness they maybe shouldn't be able to so easily via having a guaranteed 3/3 in hand that'll give them extra lands and fix their mana in a pinch. He may not be a Thought-Knot Seer, but he does come down on turn 2 thanks to Eldrazi Temple, and I think that's the little push that slides him from Gyruda and Yorion territory to "uncomfortably closer to Lurrus" territory. Flo00Soul Mirror was a cool design, so nothing wrong with this one here. My only gripe is that for a mechanic that seems exciting to mix up multiple draft picks for the card for but its sheer complexity demands that it stays at a high rarity. Perhaps downshift it to ? Cogwork Grinder got away with being at and while this card would be pushed I think having a player have a chance to draft 2 is an interaction you want to be possible. BoogymanjuniorI just want to say it is a damn good thing this card costs 7, lol, as it puts him out of reach from being an easily spammed boardwipe via two Lion's Eye Diamonds. XD I like the choice of restriction and the payoff a lot - you pretty much have to use token makers that are either slower or less P/T value than their creature counterparts, and you are also kneecapped out of mana dorks and Sakura-Tribe Elder so paying 7 mana for this guaranteed boardwipe is not an insignificant drawback. A great example of how mana cost and restricting how quickly a card be played can help balance a card - the third ability may be a bit too self-functioning as a package but he is expensive enough that I think he could get away with being printed as-is. Excellent companion design, and set-ready for sure. 1st: Boogymanjunior, great synergy between companion drawback and payoff while using mana cost to balance it out. 2nd: SilentKobold - I think the Innistrad flavor here pushes you just a cut above your competitors because it uses both the implicit lovecraft horror element of an Eldrazi and the 'scared humans' theme. 3rd: viriss and inferno390, for otherwise incredibly solid designs, and Flo00, for what I feel was the more interesting party game potential draft card. Honorable mentions to everyone else. There were a lot of small errors that I probably harped on but I just wanted to emphasize that no one's design was truly bad and there is a lot of potential in all the submissions here.
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Post by Boogymanjunior on May 7, 2020 20:12:27 GMT
Many thanks for the win and the elaborate judging! LIMIT #12: You and me baby, we ain't nothin' but mammals... Your card is a creature. LIMIT #63: Far out, man! Your card has a celestial or spacial flavor. (Thanks, Inanimate!) LIMIT #143: Malleable Label - Your card has an alternative casting cost (this includes cost reduction, but excludes additional costs). (Thanks, Boogymanjunior!) Please keep in mind that the last limit does not include additional costs, as mentioned- for this, there is Limit #41 (although of course you can somehow add an additional cost besides the alternative cost). Have fun!
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digiman619
1/1 Squirrel
Posts: 87
Favorite Card: Extinction
Favorite Set: Dominaria
Color Alignment: Blue, Red
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Post by digiman619 on May 7, 2020 21:05:19 GMT
Protector Angel Creature-Angel Warrior If you are being attacked by three or more creatures, you may pay rather than pay this spell's mana cost and cast it as though it had flash. When ~ enters the battlefield, if you didn't pay its mana cost, prevent all combat damage that would be dealt to it this turn. Flying, vigilance ~ may block any number of creatures. 4/2
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Post by gluestick248 on May 7, 2020 21:58:26 GMT
Blackhole Elemental Creature — Elemental You may pay and sacrifice eight lands rather than pay Blackhole Elemental’s mana cost. At the beginning of each player’s upkeep, that player sacrifices a permanent. 8/8
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Post by SilentKobold on May 8, 2020 2:07:48 GMT
Does this count? It's cost reduction but technically isn't an alternate cost.
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Post by Flo00 on May 8, 2020 15:33:42 GMT
Came up with something better: Space-Stone Dwellers Artifact Creature - Gnome Sacrifice Space-Stone Dwellers: Draw a card. Assembled for science in decades, flown through space for research for centuries, taken apart for spare parts in seconds.1/1 -------- Meteor Sorcery - Adventure Destroy target land unless its controller sacrifices a creature. (Then exile this card. You may cast the creature later from exile.){old}I'm not entirely sure this counts. Whip-Spine Hellkite Creature - Dragon Flying : Whip-Spine Hellkite gets +1/+0 until end of turn. Morph 5/5
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Post by Lady Mapi on May 8, 2020 15:52:05 GMT
Starhelm Navigator - Creature - Human Scout When Starhelm Navigator enters the battlefield, you may put a land card from your hand onto the battlefield tapped. Basic Landcycling Madness 2/2 Pricing this guy was a pain, and I'm only 90% sure that the timing actually works.
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Post by Daij_Djan on May 8, 2020 16:28:04 GMT
When in doubt..
(only using the template to fit the artwork better)
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MacabreAurora
0/0 Germ
Ezuri, Claw of Progress + 5 Experience + Sage of Hours = ? Game 2 ?
Posts: 28
Favorite Card: Master Biomancer
Favorite Set: Unstable
Color Alignment: Blue, Green, Colorless
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Post by MacabreAurora on May 8, 2020 19:08:06 GMT
Lady Mapi If by the timing works you mean the land you get off the basic landcycling can be put onto the battlefield from the enter the battlefield effect, unfortunately it does not. {If interested in timing. Not trying to be pandering or rules lawyer.}1. Activate basic landcycling: Discard as part of cost and ability goes on stack
2. Madness triggers off of discard: Can cast for madness cost
3. Cast off madness - Goes on stack - Resolves - Hits battlefield
4. ETB ability goes on stack before landcycling ability resolves
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Post by Boogymanjunior on May 9, 2020 10:37:35 GMT
Flo00 being merely in the air doesn't really strike me as "spacial" flavor (that's more outer space or spacial distortion stuff), but I will let it pass. Just know that it downgrades the flavor justification by a tiny bit. Lady Mapi unfortunately, your card doesn't work like it seems to supposed to be, as outlined by MacabreAurora . I mean, the card itself still functions with the abilities not working together, just know that I would criticize it bc of the caused confusion between the working's expectation and real applicability.
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Post by kefke on May 9, 2020 16:04:49 GMT
Lady Mapi - I assume the intent is that you cycle the card, then play it for its madness cost, and it brings the land along too. In which case, no. It wouldn't work. Madness would resolve first, putting it onto the battlefield, and then cycling would add a land to your hand. Technically, it still works to get all three effects if you already had a land in your hand, but if you're going for a "cast it at a higher cost to get everything" combo, you'd need to change the effect to something like, "When @ enters the battlefield, you may play an additional land this turn."
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Post by ameisenmeister on May 11, 2020 18:55:35 GMT
EDIT: I didn't come up with this mechanic. It's made by the forum user thehuw back in the old forums and I just slightly tweaked it. So props to them!
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Post by ZephyrPhantom on May 11, 2020 20:10:44 GMT
Oishin Braggart Creature - Elemental Citizen Haste Glory — You control three or more creatures with haste. (If you control three or more creatures with haste, you may cast this card's transformed half.)"Just wait and see! I'll change the world the blink of an eye."1/1 /// Ado Edora, The Setting Sun Legendary Creature - Elemental Samurai Haste, trample Whenever a creature you control with haste dies, ~ deals 1 damage to target player. 5/1 Even as his provinces burned, he reached to conquer the stars.
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Post by Boogymanjunior on May 15, 2020 1:02:36 GMT
Judging will arrive on Sunday.
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Post by Boogymanjunior on May 17, 2020 19:38:20 GMT
{ digiman619} digiman619 Nice card all about protection, but still having reasonable power 4 to attack as well. It seems to me that it is a bit too hammered on it's alternative casting version, which highlights the weak spot that it's low toughness of 2 undermines it's "can-block-all" ability when played normal (since it always dies when blocking multiple and can only then serve as a one-turn fog-like effect), which should be an attractive way of casting as well. I think making it a 4/4 would balance this out, while still being reasonably powered. All in all, a good card which can give you a good advantage, especially against small aggro. On a side note, the wording should be "If three or more creatures attack you [or a playeswalker you control?], ..." { gluestick248} gluestick248 A Black Hole Elemental, that sounds frightening. And it's abilities reflect the flavor quite well. I'm not a big fan of such effects that grind the board with such lock-down potential. The potential of sacrificing later needed upkeep fuel for it's alternative casting to have mana for more quality cards in the present is quite nice, although it still feeds into the above critique I have. { SilentKobold} SilentKobold Yes, it counts and actually is technically an alternative cost, as for example Convoke is listed amongst those. This is a cool card, which uses combat deaths and more prominent, board wipes from either player, to come in cheap, either as a way for you to gain track again after much loss or to double down on your opponents who have suffered from the loss. Simple but useful in many circumstances, good job. { Flo00} Flo00 I really like the flavor of the Gnomes (while I imagine the Meteor's as silly, in that some random dude jumps in front of a Meteor hitting the ground, hehe). The halves don't connect thematically, but the flavor binds them together enough. The Gnomes are sweet and can fit in many decks, the Meteor I find too dangerous to potentially destroy a land on (your) turn 2, where it's not that common for the (turn 1) opponent to have a creature, to even out this potential hard hit. { Lady Mapi} Lady Mapi As stated, unfortunately the nicely thought mechanics combination don't function the way they seem to be intended to, thus creating confusion between expectation and applicability. Otherwise it is a pretty cool card though. I think that the pricing is right and it's versatility is good. If you don't have another land on hand on turn 3, you will be sure to have one. I'm not quite sure if he would be rare-worthy, even if his abilities could function together. { Daij_Djan} Daij_Djan While I really don't like ability counters, you couldn't know that, so I'll ignore this side of criticism. Which leaves a clean and nice common, except that it is kinda weird to see an angel with wings in it's picture but having the chance to lack Flying (no flaw, just saying). Good versatility with Evoke and distributing the Flying. { ameisenmeister} ameisenmeister Triangulate is a very interesting keyword which probably turns many Johnny's gears, but I don't know if a keyword is really fitting. There should be quite some cards with this keyword to warrant it on Uncommon, but I don't see a set being able to support Triangulate's specific/"unhinged" essence. And building a deck around it might look like smart fun, but to make it worth, even a few of them in a deck seem to make a deck tangled up with too many cards existing simply to work with Triangulate. On the other hand, you can always just put very few in your deck for the chance, but then I don't quite see the cohesiveness a keyword should bring. All that only being said mostly against the keywording of the ability, the ability itself on this card is really cool. The card not terrible on it's own, it becomes pretty nice if you get to fully use it. { ZephyrPhantom} ZephyrPhantom Glory is an interesting keyword, although probably confined to a cycle of Legendaries or something, because as a normal keyword in a set, it needs too much material to work with I would say. So, a little bit ability-matters is cool, either it's just a Raging Goblin, or you wait and get a powerful lord. I think there might be some tension between Ado Edora wanting to attack with it's hasting, trampling body, while the low toughness means attacking would very probably stop it from utilizing other haste creatures dieing in the future. But the ping ability itself fuels into a good way of bashing with small hastys and/or Ball Lightnings. { and the winner is...} SilentKobold! With close runner-ups Daij_Djan and ameisenmeister. Yours had the best ratio between having no design flaws and level of versatible utility. Still, all entries were quite nice, and they all were not far behind each other.
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Post by SilentKobold on May 18, 2020 4:57:37 GMT
Thanks for the win And your next challenge is... LIMIT #77: Murder is cool! Your card has a single-word (not yet taken) name. (Thanks, Daij_Djan!) LIMIT #19: The sincerest form of flattery: your card is an homage to another card. LIMIT #144: Snow Joke! Your card contains or interacts with snow permanents. (Thanks, SilentKobold!)
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digiman619
1/1 Squirrel
Posts: 87
Favorite Card: Extinction
Favorite Set: Dominaria
Color Alignment: Blue, Red
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Post by digiman619 on May 21, 2020 8:23:08 GMT
Iciness Snow Creature- Elemental Incarnation Lifelink Whenever a spell or ability would target a creature you control, you may copy that spell or ability. You must choose new targets for the copy. When Iciness is put into a graveyard from anywhere, shuffle it into its owner’s library 6/6 It's a reference to the Guile cycle from Lorwyn.
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Post by Lady Mapi on May 21, 2020 18:29:37 GMT
SnowfieldSnow Land - : Add . Snowfield enters the battlefield tapped unless you control three or more other snow permanents. When Snowfield enters the battlefield untapped, it gains " : Add one mana of any color" until end of turn. A reference to the common Eldraine land cycle, obviously. And yes, snowfield is an actual word.
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Post by viriss on May 22, 2020 0:46:32 GMT
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Post by Flo00 on May 26, 2020 16:29:02 GMT
Melt Instant Destroy target snow permanent. Theme-shifted Cast Down. I felt it was a bit too weak to just target snow creatures.
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Post by Boogymanjunior on May 27, 2020 23:05:46 GMT
Reference to Thermopod. "Pod" is the taxonomic affix for "foot", while "dactyl" is for "toe" (or "finger"). And yeaaah, while slugs have a foot but apparently no toes, maybe, you know, it's just... their children, and... you know, err, yeah.
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Post by Boogymanjunior on Jun 1, 2020 22:33:43 GMT
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Post by SilentKobold on Jun 2, 2020 8:36:46 GMT
Judging tomorrow, get those last entries/edits in.
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Post by ameisenmeister on Jun 2, 2020 16:18:35 GMT
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Post by ZephyrPhantom on Jun 2, 2020 19:16:51 GMT
Cryofreeze Snow Instant Exile target creature with three time counters on it. If it doesn’t have suspend, it gains suspend. (At the beginning of its owner’s upkeep, remove a time counter from that card. When the last is removed, the player plays it without paying its mana cost. If it’s a creature, it has haste.)"We pray in our dreams that Maek's golden sun ever rises again upon our frosted bones." - Sus'val, DreamlichA Delay colorshifted into White as its latest Oblivion Ring/ Path to Exile knockoff of sorts. In a pinch, it can be a bad flicker that saves creatures as well.
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Post by SilentKobold on Jun 3, 2020 8:19:52 GMT
Lots of excellent designs this week. Not an easy choice for a winner but here goes... { digiman619}A solid control finisher for snow decks with a pretty clear homage to the Lorwyn incarnations, particularly guile in the redirection ability. Not really feeling the icy flavour here aside from the snow type though, maybe it could use some sort of extended tapping ability in place of the lifelink. { Lady Mapi}A nice spin on the Eldraine lands in a time with a more active snow queen. I do think this is a little underpowered though as the initial cycle was (except for one exception) unimpactful. This is more often worse than the snow basics you'd expect to see in an environment where this would see print, even considering the ability checks nonland permanents too. { viriss}With flavour text like that this could definitely find a place in a more modern un-set. However, in it's current black border, I can't get behind the design decision of granting access to such a universal protection ability outside of ( Astrolabe was bad enough with efficient cantriping and fixing outside and .) {@ Flo00}I'm a big fan of simple clean designs, though destroying a nonsnow creature may have made for a better homage to Cast Down (maybe name it Frostbite). That being said it's generic enough to pay homage to Feast of Dreams and Ultimate Price instead, so there's no real issue there. { Boogymanjunior}Pretty serviceable down-scale for the Thermapod, though it perhaps generates snow mana a little too quickly. Perhaps this might be safer as a 3 mana 3/2. { ameisenmeister}Pretty much exactly what you'd expect from a rare auroks but there's no problem there. The craterhoof on attack trigger is a little concerning though it's probably fine without haste. { ZephyrPhantom}Simple clean design. Exactly the sort of design to facilitate the debut of the snow type on nonpermanents. {Podium}Winner:ZephyrPhantom Runner-up:ameisenmeister
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Post by ZephyrPhantom on Jun 5, 2020 4:04:27 GMT
Thanks for the win! Looks like it's that time of day again, to update the limit list.
LIMIT #105: Waka, waka! Your card has flavor derived from real world's Africa. (Thanks, ameisenmeister!) LIMIT #47: Stake your Claim! – Your card cares about (or is a) land! (Thanks, Styrofoamking!) LIMIT #145: In the end, there can only be one! Your card gets better if it's alone or if only one of something is present in a zone! (Thanks, ZephyrPhantom!)
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thaneofglamis
8/8 Octopus
Thane's activated abilities can't be activated
Posts: 444
Favorite Card: Slimefoot, the Stowaway; Phyrexian Rager; Swarm Shambler
Favorite Set: Midnight Hunt
Color Alignment: Green
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Post by thaneofglamis on Jun 5, 2020 6:30:48 GMT
Baobab ClusterLand ~ enters the battlefield tapped. : Add or . Foremost -- : Add one mana of any color. Activate this ability only as long as you control exactly one creature. "The baobab dryads bestow marvelous gifts, but only to those who come alone."
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Post by kefke on Jun 6, 2020 3:26:19 GMT
Not happy with the art, but I didn't feel like looking harder for a picture of a huntress with her head bowed to the ground. I'm not sure how authentic it is, but the card is based on a short story "The King of Togo Togo", about a huntress who is hired to be a king's barber and live in luxury so long as she can keep the secret of his horns. In the end, the burden of keeping the secret eats at her until she travels to a distant land, digs a hole, speaks the secret into it, and buries it. Upon returning home, the king is furious and everyone knows about the horns on his head. The final lines of the story, referenced in the flavour text are; Do you know who told the King's secret? Each piece of grass whispered to the other, "The King of Togo Togo has two horns." Each piece of grass whispered to the other, "The King of Togo Togo has two horns." In Africa they say, everything is alive. Everything speaks. It's not easy to keep a secret.
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