You’ve done it! You set right what was wrong. You reclaimed what you lost. But just as that feeling of content is setting in you feel a tug, much like when you first found the time anomaly. Your senses tingle. A familiar, yet dreadful feeling sets in. Again, ripples in time, this time more like a tremor. Yes, you are absolutely sure now, you are not alone. You sense the presence of another like you. Another planeswalker! So you weren’t the only one who found and harnessed this power. Just as you start gathering mana another wave distorts the time around you, suddenly much much stronger than before. A tidal wave, pulling you under and the world goes black.
In a frenzy you turn around. You are not unconscious and you feel sand underneath your feet. It’s gnashing with every step. Now you notice a smell. Metallic. Sandy. Something prickling. Like... like aether! Just as the realization sets in a thin line of light appears. Noise breaks into your mind, roaring, shouting and the sound of the heavy doors opening before you. The line becomes wider and you gaze upon a small arena. The ranks are filled with colorfully dressed people and seeing their adornments and small metallic servants you are certain now: you are on Kaladesh. But of course! That’s where you initially wanted to planeswalk to. The intruder from before must have caused the route to snap back to the initial destination. The intruder! Across the arena another door had opened and a person appears. You see it in their eyes, they know just as well as you do: somehow, messing with time must have caused the both of you to face each other here and now in a quicksmith duel. And of course, the winner takes it all and gets away with the knowledge of the time anomaly. This will be a fight to the death! There! The other one already started crafting something and you certainly dislike the amount of spikes the other planeswalker put on it. Time is of the essence! You need to come up with something yourself!
Submission phase has ended. We are judging now.
This round will be different in the sense that there will only be a very brief period of time for the players to make their submissions.
To offer everyone the same chances I am now going to announce when that time period will begin.
We'll be doing this for 36 hours, starting halfway through TODAY.
So at 12:00 EDT of the 23rd the round will start and end at 00:00 of the 25th (so 23:59 of the 24th).
(Start is approximately when this post is 9 hours old.)
That's the time you've got for submissions.
Main Challenge: Make an artifact that has the word "damage" in its rules text, but not in the card name.
Challenge 1: Additionally has the word "destroy" in its rules text, but not in the card name. Challenge 2: Has a converted mana cost of 3 or less.
MC: Reminder text counts as rules text for this. Not sure how this would matter, but it only has to be the sequence of the letters 'd a m a g e' following each other. The card can have any number of card types, as long as artifact also appears on the type line. If it ceases to be an artifact, due to rules text, that's okay. C1: See MC. C2: Read up on converted mana cost here, but do you really have the time for that?
Schedule:
May 06th - Round 1 submission deadline.
May 10th - Round 1 judgement deadline.
May 11th - Round 2 start.
May 14th - Round 2 submission deadline.
May 15th - Brackets will be set and the judges will comment on their assigned cards.
May 16th - Judge commenting deadline.
May 17th - Players get a chance to alter their cards as much as they like to adress the worries of their judge. If the judge has had a misconception about the card, it's allowed to include a note.
May 18th - Round 2 submission alteration deadline.
May 21st - Round 2 judgement deadline.
May 22nd - Original point it time to do the announcement.
May 23rd - Announcement and start of round 3.
May 24th - Round 3 end.
May 28th - Round 3 judgement deadline.
May 29th - Round 4 start
June 2nd - Round 4 end and start of judgment
Design - (X/3) Appeal: Do the different player psychographics (Timmy/Johnny/Spike) have a use for the card? (X/3) Elegance: Is the card easily understandable at a glance? Do all the flavor and mechanics combined as a whole make sense?
Development - (X/3) Viability: How well does the card fit into the color wheel? Does it break or bend the rules of the game? Is it the appropriate rarity? (X/3) Balance: Does the card have a power level appropriate for contemporary constructed/limited environments without breaking them? Does it play well in casual and multiplayer formats? Does it create or fit into a deck/archetype? Does it create an oppressive environment?
Creativity - (X/3) Uniqueness: Has a card like this ever been printed before? Does it use new mechanics, ideas, or design space? Does it combine old ideas in a new way? Overall, does it feel “fresh”? (X/3) Flavor: Does the name seem realistic for a card? Does the flavor text sound professional? Do all the flavor elements synch together to please Vorthos players?
Polish - (X/3) Quality: Points deducted for incorrect spelling, grammar, and templating. (X/2) Main Challenge: Was the main challenge satisfied? Was it approached in a unique or interesting way? Does the card fit the intent of the challenge? (X/2) Subchallenges: One point awarded per satisfied subchallenge condition.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
—Eli Shiffrin, Rules Manager, on a design stacking lifelink instances
Spite Engine3
Artifact (M)
Whenever you're dealt damage, put that many charge counters on Spite Engine.
Remove six charge counters from Spite Engine: Destroy target permanent. "It's a machine that runs on blood and it just killed Altrus. I think we should leave."
- Marina Strokiar, last words
Noxious Gadget1
Artifact (U) 1, T: Target creature gets -2/-0 and gains deathtouch until end of turn. (Any amount of damage it deals to a creature is enough to destroy it.) "Considering the stolen goods, the Rakdos could have built a nightmarish weapon. But they're the Rakdos."
—Arrester Lavinia, Tenth Precinct
Death's Gate3
Legendary Artifact (M)
Damage can't be prevented.
All damage is dealt as though its source had deathtouch. (Any amount of damage a source with deathtouch deals to a creature is enough to destroy it.) A visible reminder of how fragile we are.
Hair-Trigger Incinerator2 Artifact - Equipment [UNC]
Whenever equipped creature is dealt damage, destroy it. It can't be regenerated.
Whenever Hair-Trigger Incinerator becomes unattached, sacrifice it. 3: Attach Hair-Trigger Incinerator to target creature.
Equip 0 WARNING: HIGHLY EXPLOSIVE
This is a perfect example of a simple concept being extremely difficult to word. I felt like I needed an equip cost even though in most situations you wouldn't want to attach it to your own creatures.
Sword of the Champion3
Legendary Artifact - Equipment [Mythic Rare]
Equipped creature gets +3/+0 and damage dealt by creatures doesn't destroy it. 3, Tap equipped creature: Equipped creature fights another target creature.
Equip 3 The sword serves only those who triumph in the arena.
Suffering Grid2
Artifact (R)
When Suffering Grid enters the battlefield, it deals 1 damage to target creature or player. 4, T: Destroy target permanent that was dealt damage this turn. 6, T: Suffering Grid deals damage to target player who was dealt damage this turn equal to the number of artifacts you control. "Our craft has exploded in efficiency ever since we discovered how to rewind a patient's memories." - Agenpash, Squorai torturer
Elixir of Divinity2
Artifact (U) T: Target creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn. Then if your devotion to a color is greater than five, it gains indestructible until end of turn. (Damage and effects that say "destroy" don't destroy them.) To a skeptic, a mere draught of strength. But to a true believer it bestows a great deal more.
5 0 hours left!
That means when this post is 5 hours old the round is closed for submission.
I'll be asleep at that time. Please be aware that the round isn't open until I post saying otherwise, but exactly at May 24th 23:59:59 EDT.
edit: And the round has ended. I'm super happy everyone's got a submission in. Then here are the brackets:
doomfish
Raptorchan vs Tesco(black)lotus
Vertain vs StonerOfKruphix
bravelion83
Vertain vs StonerOfKruphix
TheRealStinkyJoeTerry vs IcariiFA
Folza
TheRealStinkyJoeTerry vs IcariiFA
glurman vs void_nothing
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
—Eli Shiffrin, Rules Manager, on a design stacking lifelink instances
Noxious Gadget1
Artifact (U) 1, T: Target creature gets -2/-0 and gains deathtouch until end of turn. (Any amount of damage it deals to a creature is enough to destroy it.) "Considering the stolen goods, the Rakdos could have built a nightmarish weapon. But they're the Rakdos."
—Arrester Lavinia, Tenth Precinct
Design (1.5/3) Appeal - Timmy just doesn't care. Johnny might want to build some kind of infinite tap/untap plus infinite mana engine, but the reward is just bringing all opposing creatures' power to zero. You still have to actually win the game then. Spike really likes the tension between wanting to target opposing creatures to give them -2/-0 and wanting to target his own creatures to give them deathtouch. It looks like a good amount of skill is required to make the right choice in any situation, and he likes cards that require skill to be played correctly. (3/3) Elegance - No problems here.
Development (3/3) Viability - I see nothing that colorless artifacts can't do and rarity looks acceptable to me. This is certainly not a common and looks underwhelming as a rare. (2.5/3) Balance - I think the tension between the two halves of the effect is kind of a self-balancing factor. If you want to give your creature deathtouch you have to pay not just one mana but also two points of power. If you want to give an opposing creature -2/-0 you have to pay not just one mana but also giving that creature deathtouch, except in the case where the opposing mana gets to zero power or less this way (in this case it will not deal damage at all, so deathtouch won't matter). Whatever you choose there is a hidden cost, and this allows the mana costs to be lower than they would need to be otherwise. I think this is playable in limited, but I would be surprised to see this in constructed. I see no particular problem in casual and multiplayer. Actually, in multiplayer this looks very interesting, as you can activate this to interfere in a combat that doesn't even involve yourself, with potentially relevant political implications.
Creativity (1.5/3) Uniqueness - Nothing particularly original here, we see both -N/-0 and deathtouch in almost every set. It honestly feels just like one of those filler cards every set has. The score is not lower only because the exact combination of effects has technically never been done before and because deathtouch has never been paired with a -N/-0 effect before. (3/3) Flavor - The name is fine. The flavor text is very good and I could see it printed as is. It actually made me laugh as I read it.
Polish (3/3) Quality - All good. (2/2) Main Challenge - Good. The clarifications have reminder text count as if it were rules text. (2/2) Subchallenges - Both met. Again, the clarifications have reminder text count as if it were rules text.
Total: 21.5/25
Unstable Rig3
Artifact — Equipment (R)
Equipped creature gets +3/+3 and has first strike.
Whenever equipped creature is dealt damage, sacrifice Unstable Rig, then destroy all creatures.
Equip 4 "Hey, Krek, shouldn't we put the sparkspitter farther from the inflammable mud?"
"Eh, what's the worst that could happen?"
Design (2.5/3) Appeal - Even though this card destroys creatures, Timmy likes how it affects the board. Also, he likes the thrill of giving it to one of his creatures while risking them all. He wants to feel something and the thought of "will they have a way to damage my creature?" will keep him always on the edge. Johnny can definitely do something with this, and Spike too, even if the mana costs appear a bit high to him. Johnny/Spike hybrids will be the ones to willingly damage their own creature to get the Wrath effect at will. (2.5/3) Elegance - A little bit on the wordy side overall, but no other problems.
Development (3/3) Viability - The mechanics skew towards white, but I have no problem with a colorless artifact doing this. Similar precedents exist. This can't certainly be less than rare. Regular rare is perfectly fine, but I could even see reasons to make this mythic. (2/3) Balance - It's interesting that this can be triggered in different ways: you can target equipped creature with your own burn spell, your opponent can do the same, or it could happen in combat, both on attack and on defense. The fact that your opponent can trigger the Wrath effect when it's to their advantage is a downside that helps balance. It's very hard to be sure of the numbers without playtest, but at first glance they look plausible. I think this can be playable in limited and maybe make a splash in constructed. In multiplayer, I think that the playability of this card decreases as there are multiple opponents who can trigger this when it best suits them, not you, but a Wrath effect is always relevant in multiplayer.
Creativity (2.5/3) Uniqueness - Even though each effect is something we've seen before, I don't remember having ever seen a Wrath effect on an Equipment before. Worldslayer comes close, but "destroy all permanents" plays way differently than "destroy all creatures", especially because it doesn't hit lands. (3/3) Flavor - Another healthy dose of irony in flavor text. This one made me laugh too. The name is also good. I could easily see both of them printed for real.
Polish (3/3) Quality - All good. (2/2) Main Challenge - Good. (2/2) Subchallenges - Both met.
Total: 22.5/25
Hair-Trigger Incinerator2 Artifact - Equipment [UNC]
Whenever equipped creature is dealt damage, destroy it. It can't be regenerated.
Whenever Hair-Trigger Incinerator becomes unattached, sacrifice it. 3: Attach Hair-Trigger Incinerator to target creature.
Equip 0 WARNING: HIGHLY EXPLOSIVE
Design (1.5/3) Appeal - This reads quite badly to Timmy until he realizes he can attach this to opposing creatures. The first sentence by itself is very repulsive to him. Johnny loves strange cards like this. The removal aspect is appealing to Spike, but I think he's much more likely to play real removal over this. (1.5/3) Elegance - Getting that you're supposed to attach this to opposing creatures is not immediate. I expect less experienced playes to surely have problems with this until someone points it out to them. This could be alleviated by somehow explicitly saying it somewhere in the text. Options include adding "you don't control" at the end of "Attach CARDNAME to target creature", or giving it a new keyword that explicitly allows this to be equipped to creatures your opponents control. I know this because I participated in the design of a custom set that had a mechanic that played in this exact design space (Brotherhood of Ormos, you can find it in my signature). We called it "implant", and this card heavily reminds me of it.
Development (2.5/3) Viability - This ability has already been on colorless Equipment in recent times (see Uniqueness), so no problems with the color pie. Rarity can be fine even if the complexity of being able to attach this to opposing creatures might push this towards rare. (2/3) Balance - So the idea is that you cast this, attach it to the most threatening opposing creature, deal damage to it someway, probably using another spell or ability as combat looks like it's a too unreliable way, and get rid of that creature while also losing the Equipment. That looks reasonable. I expect that something like this might be worth it if it gets rid of your opponent's limited bomb, but it looks like a bit too many hoops to jump through for constructed. I see no particular problems in casual or multiplayer except for the comprehension complexity I've already mentioned in Elegance.
Creativity (1/3) Uniqueness - This essentially gives a creature reverse deathtouch: any amount of damage it takes is enough to destroy it. This feels like a twist on deathtouch, but it has actually already been done way before deathtouch was even keyworded: Death Pits of Rath was originally in Tempest, and an Equipment version of the same effect also already exists (Hot Soup). Two Aura versions also exist (Mire Blight and Mortal Wound). I concede that none of those are memorable cards on their own, and in fact I had to check Gatherer to find them, but they still exist. (2.5/3) Flavor - I'm honestly not a big fan of the card name. It's fine but it feels a bit forced to me, but it might just be me. At the contrary, I do like the use of all caps in flavor text, it gives it an added feeling of danger that fits very well with the overall flavor of the card.
Polish (2.5/3) Quality - I'm sorry but even though my quote about card formatting is no longer in the OP, the rule about following the card format advised in the forum rules still applies. This means I have to deduct points for the underlined type line and the non-standard way of noting rarity (-0.5). Using all caps in the flavor text is obviously an intended style choice, so it's fine. (2/2) Main Challenge - Good. (2/2) Subchallenges - Both met.
Total: 17.5/25
This is a perfect example of a simple concept being extremely difficult to word.
I totally agree. I will just point out that when this happens, it's usually a sign that the design is not good enough to stand on its own, and you should probably just kill the card if we're talking about a set design or change submission if we're talking about a contest such as this. Sometimes simple ideas generate complicated cards, it's just the nature of the hungry monster that Magic design is. It's something that we custom card designers need to accept and respect, we just need to recognize that and act consequently when it happens. If this ends up costing you elimination, I hope this can be a learning chance for you to get better as a custom card designer and I really hope to see you again soon.
Elixir of Divinity2
Artifact (U) T: Target creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn. Then if your devotion to a color is greater than five, it gains indestructible until end of turn. (Damage and effects that say "destroy" don't destroy them.) To a skeptic, a mere draught of strength. But to a true believer it bestows a great deal more.
Design (2.5/3) Appeal - Timmy likes giving bonuses to his creatures, and he particularly likes indestructible. Johnny could build an infinite damage engine around this: if he can find a way to tap and untap this repeatedly, he can give a creature +N/+N, when N is an "arbitrarily large number" (the way infinite values are actually treated in the rules). Then, just give the creature trample and attack, or just Fling it at your opponent's head. Spike appreciates this as insurance against removal, but this isn't a card that makes him too excited. (3/3) Elegance - Just perfect.
Development (3/3) Viability - I see nothing that colorless artifacts can't do and rarity looks fine to me. (2/3) Balance - The restriction on indestructible allows the ability to have no mana cost. I guess having the creature always get indestructible in addition to the +1/+1 would be a little too much for a free ability. It would instantly nullify all removal. You could always use two removal spell in sequence, but then you're 2-for-1'ing yourself and it doesn't look like a good idea. It's certainly best to avoid all of this and just have the indestructibility be conditional. This card looks certainly playable in limited. In constructed, I expect to see this only in devotion decks like those that were in Theros Standard, if it appears at all. I see no problems in casual and multiplayer.
Creativity (2.5/3) Uniqueness - I don't remember devotion to any color having appeared in Theros block, it was always devotion to a specific color. This is a very nice twist on devotion. The amount of devotion required for indestructibility being five is a nice throwback to the monocolored Theros gods. The rest of the effects (+1/+1 and indestructible) are nothing new though. (3/3) Flavor - Name and flavor text are both very good and I could easily see both of them printed as is. I particularly like how well the flavor text reflects the mechanics: if you don't have enough devotion, thus you are "a skeptic", it just gives the +1/+1 bouns, but if you have enough devotion, being a "true believer", it also grants indestructible. Very good!
Polish (2.5/3) Quality - The rules text is singular ("Target creature gets... it gains indestructible...") but the reminder text is plural ("...don't destroy them", it should be "...don't destroy it", -0.5). (2/2) Main Challenge - Good. The clarifications have reminder text count as if it were rules text. (2/2) Subchallenges - Both met. The clarifications have reminder text count as if it were rules text.
MCC - Winner (6): Oct 2014, Apr Nov 2017, Jan 2018, Apr Jun 2019 || Host (15): Dec 2014, Apr Jul Aug Dec 2015, Mar Jul Aug Oct 2016, Feb Jul 2017, Jun Nov 2018, Feb Jul 2019 (last one here) || Judge (34): every month from Nov 2014 to Nov 2016 except Oct 2015, every month from Feb to Jul 2017 except Apr 2017, then Oct 2017, May Jun Nov 2018, Feb Jul 2019 (last one here) CCL - Winner (3): Jul 2016 (tied with Flatline), May 2017, Jul 2019 (last one here) || Host (5): Feb 2015, Mar Apr May Jun 2016 DCC - Winner (1): Mar 2015 (tied with Piar) || Host (3): May Oct 2015, Jan 2016
• The two public custom sets I've been part a part of the design team for: "Brotherhood of Ormos" - Blog post with all info - set thread - design skeleton / card list || "Extinctia: Homo Evanuit" - Blog post with all info - set thread - card list spreadsheet
• "The Lion's Lair", my article series about MTG and custom card design in particular. Latest article here. Here is the article index.Rather outdated by now, and based on the old MCC rubric, but I'm leaving this here for anybody that might be interested anyway.
• My only public attempt at being a writer: the story of my Leonin custom planeswalker Jeff Lionheart. (I have a very big one that I'm working on right now but that's private for now, and I don't know if I will ever actually publish it, and I also have ideas for multiple future ones, including one where I'm going to reprise Jeff.)
Design - (2.5/3) Appeal: Definitively a Johnny card. Very heavy build around me card. (2/3) Elegance: The card is rather simply written and one might count cutting words by using familiar keywords as elegant. But this has to go somewhere, so: Using a keyword when it doesn't actually grant the keyword is troubling. Why not just write "Whenever a creature is dealt damage, destroy it."? It's shorter and to the point. No confusion as to whether spells can have deathtouch or how this matters when it's not targeting a creature.
Development - (2/3) Viability: The effects strike me as red and black, but I guess they are universal enough to end up on an artifact. I feel like this shouldn't be a mythic rare. It's neither strong nor splashy enough. Rare does a good enough job of keeping weird cards out of limited. (3/3) Balance: I love seeing Johnny cards at viable mana costs.
Creativity - (0.5/3) Uniqueness: This is just Death Pits of Rath on an artifact. The damage prevention clause is nice, but hardly relevant these days. (3/3) Flavor: So I guess the proximity to the afterlife makes people die more easily. Sure, why not.
Polish - (3/3) Quality: Already adressed templating concerns, so this is fine. (2/2) Main Challenge: Check. (2/2) Subchallenges: Both satisfied.
Total: 20/25
vs.
Design - (3/3) Appeal: Certainly quite a big effect, so Timmy is excited. Spike might get a kick out of this in limited. (3/3) Elegance: Very simple and to the point. The effects make lots of sense with eachother without overcomplicating things.
Development - (2/3) Viability: Nothing out of the ordinary. Fighting is a very limited ability, so artifacts should be able to grant that. Mythic rare seems like a stretch. It's a strong effect, but it's not quite splashy enough. A bit of fighting going on. The prevention clause saves it in that regard. It sounds special enough to maybe push it over the edge into mythic territory. However the way you've done this is troubling. What happens when I cast a spell to deal 3 damage to a 5 toughness creature and then deal an additional 2 damage with a creature? Does my creature die? Is the order in which the damage is dealt important? This is confusing and could have very easily been resolved by just preventing the damage dealt by creatures. Pretty sure that's almost the same effect. (2.5/3) Balance: 9 mana to activate it. That's quite a bit. However you can pay it across multiple turns and equipments are on the stronger side for getting to stick around. Still I feel like you could have cut 1 mana here somewhere to make this more appealing. After all it's a mythic rare.
Creativity - (3/3) Uniqueness: Interestingly there's no equipment yet that lets creatures fight or even just deal their damage at their choosing. Makes me wonder if it's even okay for an equipment to do this as it seems like an obvious design. That doesn't lessen the creativity of your design though. (1/3) Flavor: Sword of the Champion is a very generic name for a legendary card. The flavortext sounds good for a story, but it doesn't reflect the mechanics very much. It's equippable to anything and then enables it to fight.
Polish - (2/3) Quality: Fairly sure you meant for the second ability to work like this:
Equipped creature has "3, T: This creature fights another target creature." Your way you can just keep tapping it, as it doesn't need to be untapped for this. (2/2) Main Challenge: Check. (2/2) Subchallenges: Both satisfied.
Total: 20.5/25
Design - (3/3) Appeal: Spikes like getting more out of their creatures. Mel will appreciate all the mechanical implications of the card. There's bits of potential for a lot of players here. (3/3) Elegance: Very simple text with much to discover. Excellent.
Development - (1.5/3) Viability: Deathtouch is not out of the question for artifacts, so this should be fine. What is a big issue though is big time board complexity that comes with this card. Estimating the effects this card has on attacks and blocks when there's a few creatures on the board is quite challenging. This can absolutely not be done at uncommon under the NWO. (2/3) Balance: Turning each creature with power 3+ into a trading machine or rendering 2 power creatures your opponents control useless for this little cost is going a bit far. This needs to cost more.
Creativity - (3/3) Uniqueness: I think there's been a couple of "power for something else tradeoff" cards, but this still feels very unique. The gameplay seems very exciting. (2/3) Flavor: The name is really very general. This could be anyting. Which is probably what you went for, since it's supposed to be makeshift. I don't quite understand the flavortext. Wouldn't the Rakdos build nightmarish weapons at every oppurtunity they get? How is this NOT a nightmarish weapon? Am I missing something?
Polish - (3/3) Quality: Looks good. (2/2) Main Challenge: Check. (2/2) Subchallenges: When I saw that deathtouch satisfies both the main challenge and the subchallenge and you figured that out, I muttered under my breath "****, that's clever!"
Total: 21.5/25
vs.
Design - (1.5/3) Appeal: Since it's a one-use item it might be a bit hard for Johnny to use. Timmy might actually find this to be useful, but it might make their big creature weak to removal. Spike probably doesn't like the cost and drawback on this. There is a small audience for people who like these blow-up effects. Overall this seems to have a very narrow application though. Maybe the destoying part should happen just whenever this "dies". Makes for a lot more interesting interactions. (3/3) Elegance: Two rather simple effects that shape an interesting dynamic together. Very nice.
Development - (3/3) Viability: Very equippy and artifacty things to do. Rare seems like a good fit. (2/3) Balance: 7 mana for a card that most likely has only a one-time use is a lot. I imagine it being very hard to get value of the Wrath. After all, the card needs creatures and wants to be aggressive. That's a bit anti-thematic. So I'd have treated this as a drawback and considerably lowered mana costs here.
Creativity - (2.5/3) Uniqueness: The effect is reminiscient of Volatile Rig and +3/+3 and first strike has been done before, but the combination ventures into some interesting design space. (2.5/3) Flavor: Comparing to Volatile Rig, this is a bit weird to be an equipment. But I guess it's a combat suit? The flavor text is cute. Didn't even know you could make a Rig from mud.
Polish - (2.5/3) Quality:Standstill and my intuition tell me that this should have been worded "[...]dealt damage, sacrifice Unstable Rig. If you do, destroy all creatures." (2/2) Main Challenge: Check. (2/2) Subchallenges: Both met.
Total: 21/25
Raptorchan 20 vs Tesco(black)lotus 20.5
Vertain 21.5 vs StonerOfKruphix 21
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
—Eli Shiffrin, Rules Manager, on a design stacking lifelink instances
Design
(1.5/3) Appeal: Johnny wants to pair this with something like Electrickery for a one-sided board wipe. Spike is somewhat interested in using this creatively in his deckbuilding (perhaps in an aggro deck with all fragile creatures?)
(2.5/3) Elegance: On the surface, this card is very elegant. My only issue is that it's a legendary card that has no effect in multiples.
Development
(2.5/3) Viability: This is a very black effect, but it can work in artifact form. This doesn't feel like a mythic rare; rare is a much better place.
(3/3) Balance: I think three mana is about right for this kind of card.
Creativity
(2/3) Uniqueness: Very similar to Everlasting Torment
(2.5/3) Flavor: The flavor's good, but I'm not a fan of the flavor text. You could have been more creative with it.
Polish
(3/3) Quality: Wording is good.
(4/4) Challenges:
Total: 21.5/25
Design
(2/3) Appeal: Johnny and Spike are both in.
(2/3) Elegance: "Damage dealt by creatures doesn't destroy it" is a very confusing phrase.
Development
(3/3) Viability: It checks out.
(0/3) Balance: This card is completely unbeatable in limited. For three mana, you can kill almost any creature once a turn.
Creativity
(3/3) Uniqueness:
(2/3) Flavor: The flavor's a bit generic for my liking.
Polish
(2/3) Quality: The first ability doesn't make sense within the rules. Better would be "Prevent all damage that would be dealt to equipped creature by creature sources."
(4/4) Challenges:
Total: 18/25
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Art by Chris Rallis
You’ve done it! You set right what was wrong. You reclaimed what you lost. But just as that feeling of content is setting in you feel a tug, much like when you first found the time anomaly. Your senses tingle. A familiar, yet dreadful feeling sets in. Again, ripples in time, this time more like a tremor. Yes, you are absolutely sure now, you are not alone. You sense the presence of another like you. Another planeswalker! So you weren’t the only one who found and harnessed this power. Just as you start gathering mana another wave distorts the time around you, suddenly much much stronger than before. A tidal wave, pulling you under and the world goes black.
In a frenzy you turn around. You are not unconscious and you feel sand underneath your feet. It’s gnashing with every step. Now you notice a smell. Metallic. Sandy. Something prickling. Like... like aether! Just as the realization sets in a thin line of light appears. Noise breaks into your mind, roaring, shouting and the sound of the heavy doors opening before you. The line becomes wider and you gaze upon a small arena. The ranks are filled with colorfully dressed people and seeing their adornments and small metallic servants you are certain now: you are on Kaladesh. But of course! That’s where you initially wanted to planeswalk to. The intruder from before must have caused the route to snap back to the initial destination. The intruder! Across the arena another door had opened and a person appears. You see it in their eyes, they know just as well as you do: somehow, messing with time must have caused the both of you to face each other here and now in a quicksmith duel. And of course, the winner takes it all and gets away with the knowledge of the time anomaly. This will be a fight to the death! There! The other one already started crafting something and you certainly dislike the amount of spikes the other planeswalker put on it. Time is of the essence! You need to come up with something yourself!
Submission phase has ended. We are judging now.
This round will be different in the sense that there will only be a very brief period of time for the players to make their submissions.
To offer everyone the same chances I am now going to announce when that time period will begin.
We'll be doing this for 36 hours, starting halfway through TODAY.
So at 12:00 EDT of the 23rd the round will start and end at 00:00 of the 25th (so 23:59 of the 24th).
(Start is approximately when this post is 9 hours old.)
That's the time you've got for submissions.
Main Challenge: Make an artifact that has the word "damage" in its rules text, but not in the card name.
Challenge 1: Additionally has the word "destroy" in its rules text, but not in the card name.
Challenge 2: Has a converted mana cost of 3 or less.
C1: See MC.
C2: Read up on converted mana cost here, but do you really have the time for that?
Befittingly this is the versus round.
Judges:
doomfish
bravelion83
Folza
Tilwin
admirableadmiral
(8) Players:
glurman
IcariiFA
Raptorchan
StonerOfKruphix
Tesco(black)lotus
TheRealStinkyJoeTerry
Vertain
void_nothing
Schedule:
May 06th - Round 1 submission deadline.
May 10th - Round 1 judgement deadline.
May 11th - Round 2 start.
May 14th - Round 2 submission deadline.
May 15th - Brackets will be set and the judges will comment on their assigned cards.
May 16th - Judge commenting deadline.
May 17th - Players get a chance to alter their cards as much as they like to adress the worries of their judge. If the judge has had a misconception about the card, it's allowed to include a note.
May 18th - Round 2 submission alteration deadline.
May 21st - Round 2 judgement deadline.
May 22nd - Original point it time to do the announcement.
May 23rd - Announcement and start of round 3.
May 24th - Round 3 end.
May 28th - Round 3 judgement deadline.
May 29th - Round 4 start
June 2nd - Round 4 end and start of judgment
(X/3) Appeal: Do the different player psychographics (Timmy/Johnny/Spike) have a use for the card?
(X/3) Elegance: Is the card easily understandable at a glance? Do all the flavor and mechanics combined as a whole make sense?
Development -
(X/3) Viability: How well does the card fit into the color wheel? Does it break or bend the rules of the game? Is it the appropriate rarity?
(X/3) Balance: Does the card have a power level appropriate for contemporary constructed/limited environments without breaking them? Does it play well in casual and multiplayer formats? Does it create or fit into a deck/archetype? Does it create an oppressive environment?
Creativity -
(X/3) Uniqueness: Has a card like this ever been printed before? Does it use new mechanics, ideas, or design space? Does it combine old ideas in a new way? Overall, does it feel “fresh”?
(X/3) Flavor: Does the name seem realistic for a card? Does the flavor text sound professional? Do all the flavor elements synch together to please Vorthos players?
Polish -
(X/3) Quality: Points deducted for incorrect spelling, grammar, and templating.
(X/2) Main Challenge: Was the main challenge satisfied? Was it approached in a unique or interesting way? Does the card fit the intent of the challenge?
(X/2) Subchallenges: One point awarded per satisfied subchallenge condition.
Total: X/25
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
—Eli Shiffrin, Rules Manager, on a design stacking lifelink instances
Artifact (M)
Whenever you're dealt damage, put that many charge counters on Spite Engine.
Remove six charge counters from Spite Engine: Destroy target permanent.
"It's a machine that runs on blood and it just killed Altrus. I think we should leave."
- Marina Strokiar, last words
Artifact (U)
1, T: Target creature gets -2/-0 and gains deathtouch until end of turn. (Any amount of damage it deals to a creature is enough to destroy it.)
"Considering the stolen goods, the Rakdos could have built a nightmarish weapon. But they're the Rakdos."
—Arrester Lavinia, Tenth Precinct
Legendary Artifact (M)
Damage can't be prevented.
All damage is dealt as though its source had deathtouch. (Any amount of damage a source with deathtouch deals to a creature is enough to destroy it.)
A visible reminder of how fragile we are.
Artifact - Equipment [UNC]
Whenever equipped creature is dealt damage, destroy it. It can't be regenerated.
Whenever Hair-Trigger Incinerator becomes unattached, sacrifice it.
3: Attach Hair-Trigger Incinerator to target creature.
Equip 0
WARNING: HIGHLY EXPLOSIVE
This is a perfect example of a simple concept being extremely difficult to word. I felt like I needed an equip cost even though in most situations you wouldn't want to attach it to your own creatures.
Legendary Artifact - Equipment [Mythic Rare]
Equipped creature gets +3/+0 and damage dealt by creatures doesn't destroy it.
3, Tap equipped creature: Equipped creature fights another target creature.
Equip 3
The sword serves only those who triumph in the arena.
Artifact (R)
When Suffering Grid enters the battlefield, it deals 1 damage to target creature or player.
4, T: Destroy target permanent that was dealt damage this turn.
6, T: Suffering Grid deals damage to target player who was dealt damage this turn equal to the number of artifacts you control.
"Our craft has exploded in efficiency ever since we discovered how to rewind a patient's memories." - Agenpash, Squorai torturer
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Artifact (U)
T: Target creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn. Then if your devotion to a color is greater than five, it gains indestructible until end of turn. (Damage and effects that say "destroy" don't destroy them.)
To a skeptic, a mere draught of strength. But to a true believer it bestows a great deal more.
50 hours left!That means when this post is 5 hours old the round is closed for submission.
I'll be asleep at that time. Please be aware that the round isn't open until I post saying otherwise, but exactly at May 24th 23:59:59 EDT.
edit: And the round has ended. I'm super happy everyone's got a submission in. Then here are the brackets:
doomfish
Raptorchan vs Tesco(black)lotus
Vertain vs StonerOfKruphix
bravelion83
Vertain vs StonerOfKruphix
TheRealStinkyJoeTerry vs IcariiFA
Folza
TheRealStinkyJoeTerry vs IcariiFA
glurman vs void_nothing
Tilwin
glurman vs void_nothing
admirableadmiral
Raptorchan vs Tesco(black)lotus
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
—Eli Shiffrin, Rules Manager, on a design stacking lifelink instances
Noxious Gadget 1
Artifact (U)
1, T: Target creature gets -2/-0 and gains deathtouch until end of turn. (Any amount of damage it deals to a creature is enough to destroy it.)
"Considering the stolen goods, the Rakdos could have built a nightmarish weapon. But they're the Rakdos."
—Arrester Lavinia, Tenth Precinct
Design
(1.5/3) Appeal - Timmy just doesn't care. Johnny might want to build some kind of infinite tap/untap plus infinite mana engine, but the reward is just bringing all opposing creatures' power to zero. You still have to actually win the game then. Spike really likes the tension between wanting to target opposing creatures to give them -2/-0 and wanting to target his own creatures to give them deathtouch. It looks like a good amount of skill is required to make the right choice in any situation, and he likes cards that require skill to be played correctly.
(3/3) Elegance - No problems here.
Development
(3/3) Viability - I see nothing that colorless artifacts can't do and rarity looks acceptable to me. This is certainly not a common and looks underwhelming as a rare.
(2.5/3) Balance - I think the tension between the two halves of the effect is kind of a self-balancing factor. If you want to give your creature deathtouch you have to pay not just one mana but also two points of power. If you want to give an opposing creature -2/-0 you have to pay not just one mana but also giving that creature deathtouch, except in the case where the opposing mana gets to zero power or less this way (in this case it will not deal damage at all, so deathtouch won't matter). Whatever you choose there is a hidden cost, and this allows the mana costs to be lower than they would need to be otherwise. I think this is playable in limited, but I would be surprised to see this in constructed. I see no particular problem in casual and multiplayer. Actually, in multiplayer this looks very interesting, as you can activate this to interfere in a combat that doesn't even involve yourself, with potentially relevant political implications.
Creativity
(1.5/3) Uniqueness - Nothing particularly original here, we see both -N/-0 and deathtouch in almost every set. It honestly feels just like one of those filler cards every set has. The score is not lower only because the exact combination of effects has technically never been done before and because deathtouch has never been paired with a -N/-0 effect before.
(3/3) Flavor - The name is fine. The flavor text is very good and I could see it printed as is. It actually made me laugh as I read it.
Polish
(3/3) Quality - All good.
(2/2) Main Challenge - Good. The clarifications have reminder text count as if it were rules text.
(2/2) Subchallenges - Both met. Again, the clarifications have reminder text count as if it were rules text.
Total: 21.5/25
Unstable Rig 3
Artifact — Equipment (R)
Equipped creature gets +3/+3 and has first strike.
Whenever equipped creature is dealt damage, sacrifice Unstable Rig, then destroy all creatures.
Equip 4
"Hey, Krek, shouldn't we put the sparkspitter farther from the inflammable mud?"
"Eh, what's the worst that could happen?"
Design
(2.5/3) Appeal - Even though this card destroys creatures, Timmy likes how it affects the board. Also, he likes the thrill of giving it to one of his creatures while risking them all. He wants to feel something and the thought of "will they have a way to damage my creature?" will keep him always on the edge. Johnny can definitely do something with this, and Spike too, even if the mana costs appear a bit high to him. Johnny/Spike hybrids will be the ones to willingly damage their own creature to get the Wrath effect at will.
(2.5/3) Elegance - A little bit on the wordy side overall, but no other problems.
Development
(3/3) Viability - The mechanics skew towards white, but I have no problem with a colorless artifact doing this. Similar precedents exist. This can't certainly be less than rare. Regular rare is perfectly fine, but I could even see reasons to make this mythic.
(2/3) Balance - It's interesting that this can be triggered in different ways: you can target equipped creature with your own burn spell, your opponent can do the same, or it could happen in combat, both on attack and on defense. The fact that your opponent can trigger the Wrath effect when it's to their advantage is a downside that helps balance. It's very hard to be sure of the numbers without playtest, but at first glance they look plausible. I think this can be playable in limited and maybe make a splash in constructed. In multiplayer, I think that the playability of this card decreases as there are multiple opponents who can trigger this when it best suits them, not you, but a Wrath effect is always relevant in multiplayer.
Creativity
(2.5/3) Uniqueness - Even though each effect is something we've seen before, I don't remember having ever seen a Wrath effect on an Equipment before. Worldslayer comes close, but "destroy all permanents" plays way differently than "destroy all creatures", especially because it doesn't hit lands.
(3/3) Flavor - Another healthy dose of irony in flavor text. This one made me laugh too. The name is also good. I could easily see both of them printed for real.
Polish
(3/3) Quality - All good.
(2/2) Main Challenge - Good.
(2/2) Subchallenges - Both met.
Total: 22.5/25
Hair-Trigger Incinerator 2
Artifact - Equipment [UNC]
Whenever equipped creature is dealt damage, destroy it. It can't be regenerated.
Whenever Hair-Trigger Incinerator becomes unattached, sacrifice it.
3: Attach Hair-Trigger Incinerator to target creature.
Equip 0
WARNING: HIGHLY EXPLOSIVE
Design
(1.5/3) Appeal - This reads quite badly to Timmy until he realizes he can attach this to opposing creatures. The first sentence by itself is very repulsive to him. Johnny loves strange cards like this. The removal aspect is appealing to Spike, but I think he's much more likely to play real removal over this.
(1.5/3) Elegance - Getting that you're supposed to attach this to opposing creatures is not immediate. I expect less experienced playes to surely have problems with this until someone points it out to them. This could be alleviated by somehow explicitly saying it somewhere in the text. Options include adding "you don't control" at the end of "Attach CARDNAME to target creature", or giving it a new keyword that explicitly allows this to be equipped to creatures your opponents control. I know this because I participated in the design of a custom set that had a mechanic that played in this exact design space (Brotherhood of Ormos, you can find it in my signature). We called it "implant", and this card heavily reminds me of it.
Development
(2.5/3) Viability - This ability has already been on colorless Equipment in recent times (see Uniqueness), so no problems with the color pie. Rarity can be fine even if the complexity of being able to attach this to opposing creatures might push this towards rare.
(2/3) Balance - So the idea is that you cast this, attach it to the most threatening opposing creature, deal damage to it someway, probably using another spell or ability as combat looks like it's a too unreliable way, and get rid of that creature while also losing the Equipment. That looks reasonable. I expect that something like this might be worth it if it gets rid of your opponent's limited bomb, but it looks like a bit too many hoops to jump through for constructed. I see no particular problems in casual or multiplayer except for the comprehension complexity I've already mentioned in Elegance.
Creativity
(1/3) Uniqueness - This essentially gives a creature reverse deathtouch: any amount of damage it takes is enough to destroy it. This feels like a twist on deathtouch, but it has actually already been done way before deathtouch was even keyworded: Death Pits of Rath was originally in Tempest, and an Equipment version of the same effect also already exists (Hot Soup). Two Aura versions also exist (Mire Blight and Mortal Wound). I concede that none of those are memorable cards on their own, and in fact I had to check Gatherer to find them, but they still exist.
(2.5/3) Flavor - I'm honestly not a big fan of the card name. It's fine but it feels a bit forced to me, but it might just be me. At the contrary, I do like the use of all caps in flavor text, it gives it an added feeling of danger that fits very well with the overall flavor of the card.
Polish
(2.5/3) Quality - I'm sorry but even though my quote about card formatting is no longer in the OP, the rule about following the card format advised in the forum rules still applies. This means I have to deduct points for the underlined type line and the non-standard way of noting rarity (-0.5). Using all caps in the flavor text is obviously an intended style choice, so it's fine.
(2/2) Main Challenge - Good.
(2/2) Subchallenges - Both met.
Total: 17.5/25
I totally agree. I will just point out that when this happens, it's usually a sign that the design is not good enough to stand on its own, and you should probably just kill the card if we're talking about a set design or change submission if we're talking about a contest such as this. Sometimes simple ideas generate complicated cards, it's just the nature of the hungry monster that Magic design is. It's something that we custom card designers need to accept and respect, we just need to recognize that and act consequently when it happens. If this ends up costing you elimination, I hope this can be a learning chance for you to get better as a custom card designer and I really hope to see you again soon.
Elixir of Divinity 2
Artifact (U)
T: Target creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn. Then if your devotion to a color is greater than five, it gains indestructible until end of turn. (Damage and effects that say "destroy" don't destroy them.)
To a skeptic, a mere draught of strength. But to a true believer it bestows a great deal more.
Design
(2.5/3) Appeal - Timmy likes giving bonuses to his creatures, and he particularly likes indestructible. Johnny could build an infinite damage engine around this: if he can find a way to tap and untap this repeatedly, he can give a creature +N/+N, when N is an "arbitrarily large number" (the way infinite values are actually treated in the rules). Then, just give the creature trample and attack, or just Fling it at your opponent's head. Spike appreciates this as insurance against removal, but this isn't a card that makes him too excited.
(3/3) Elegance - Just perfect.
Development
(3/3) Viability - I see nothing that colorless artifacts can't do and rarity looks fine to me.
(2/3) Balance - The restriction on indestructible allows the ability to have no mana cost. I guess having the creature always get indestructible in addition to the +1/+1 would be a little too much for a free ability. It would instantly nullify all removal. You could always use two removal spell in sequence, but then you're 2-for-1'ing yourself and it doesn't look like a good idea. It's certainly best to avoid all of this and just have the indestructibility be conditional. This card looks certainly playable in limited. In constructed, I expect to see this only in devotion decks like those that were in Theros Standard, if it appears at all. I see no problems in casual and multiplayer.
Creativity
(2.5/3) Uniqueness - I don't remember devotion to any color having appeared in Theros block, it was always devotion to a specific color. This is a very nice twist on devotion. The amount of devotion required for indestructibility being five is a nice throwback to the monocolored Theros gods. The rest of the effects (+1/+1 and indestructible) are nothing new though.
(3/3) Flavor - Name and flavor text are both very good and I could easily see both of them printed as is. I particularly like how well the flavor text reflects the mechanics: if you don't have enough devotion, thus you are "a skeptic", it just gives the +1/+1 bouns, but if you have enough devotion, being a "true believer", it also grants indestructible. Very good!
Polish
(2.5/3) Quality - The rules text is singular ("Target creature gets... it gains indestructible...") but the reminder text is plural ("...don't destroy them", it should be "...don't destroy it", -0.5).
(2/2) Main Challenge - Good. The clarifications have reminder text count as if it were rules text.
(2/2) Subchallenges - Both met. The clarifications have reminder text count as if it were rules text.
Total: 22.5/25
Vertain: 21.5
StonerOfKruphix: 22.5
TheRealStinkyJoeTerry: 17.5
IcariiFA: 22.5
MCC - Winner (6): Oct 2014, Apr Nov 2017, Jan 2018, Apr Jun 2019 || Host (15): Dec 2014, Apr Jul Aug Dec 2015, Mar Jul Aug Oct 2016, Feb Jul 2017, Jun Nov 2018, Feb Jul 2019 (last one here) || Judge (34): every month from Nov 2014 to Nov 2016 except Oct 2015, every month from Feb to Jul 2017 except Apr 2017, then Oct 2017, May Jun Nov 2018, Feb Jul 2019 (last one here)
CCL - Winner (3): Jul 2016 (tied with Flatline), May 2017, Jul 2019 (last one here) || Host (5): Feb 2015, Mar Apr May Jun 2016
DCC - Winner (1): Mar 2015 (tied with Piar) || Host (3): May Oct 2015, Jan 2016
• The two public custom sets I've been part a part of the design team for:
"Brotherhood of Ormos" - Blog post with all info - set thread - design skeleton / card list || "Extinctia: Homo Evanuit" - Blog post with all info - set thread - card list spreadsheet
• "The Lion's Lair", my article series about MTG and custom card design in particular. Latest article here. Here is the article index. Rather outdated by now, and based on the old MCC rubric, but I'm leaving this here for anybody that might be interested anyway.
• My only public attempt at being a writer: the story of my Leonin custom planeswalker Jeff Lionheart. (I have a very big one that I'm working on right now but that's private for now, and I don't know if I will ever actually publish it, and I also have ideas for multiple future ones, including one where I'm going to reprise Jeff.)
(2.5/3) Appeal: Definitively a Johnny card. Very heavy build around me card.
(2/3) Elegance: The card is rather simply written and one might count cutting words by using familiar keywords as elegant. But this has to go somewhere, so: Using a keyword when it doesn't actually grant the keyword is troubling. Why not just write "Whenever a creature is dealt damage, destroy it."? It's shorter and to the point. No confusion as to whether spells can have deathtouch or how this matters when it's not targeting a creature.
Development -
(2/3) Viability: The effects strike me as red and black, but I guess they are universal enough to end up on an artifact. I feel like this shouldn't be a mythic rare. It's neither strong nor splashy enough. Rare does a good enough job of keeping weird cards out of limited.
(3/3) Balance: I love seeing Johnny cards at viable mana costs.
Creativity -
(0.5/3) Uniqueness: This is just Death Pits of Rath on an artifact. The damage prevention clause is nice, but hardly relevant these days.
(3/3) Flavor: So I guess the proximity to the afterlife makes people die more easily. Sure, why not.
Polish -
(3/3) Quality: Already adressed templating concerns, so this is fine.
(2/2) Main Challenge: Check.
(2/2) Subchallenges: Both satisfied.
Total: 20/25
(3/3) Appeal: Certainly quite a big effect, so Timmy is excited. Spike might get a kick out of this in limited.
(3/3) Elegance: Very simple and to the point. The effects make lots of sense with eachother without overcomplicating things.
Development -
(2/3) Viability: Nothing out of the ordinary. Fighting is a very limited ability, so artifacts should be able to grant that. Mythic rare seems like a stretch. It's a strong effect, but it's not quite splashy enough. A bit of fighting going on. The prevention clause saves it in that regard. It sounds special enough to maybe push it over the edge into mythic territory. However the way you've done this is troubling. What happens when I cast a spell to deal 3 damage to a 5 toughness creature and then deal an additional 2 damage with a creature? Does my creature die? Is the order in which the damage is dealt important? This is confusing and could have very easily been resolved by just preventing the damage dealt by creatures. Pretty sure that's almost the same effect.
(2.5/3) Balance: 9 mana to activate it. That's quite a bit. However you can pay it across multiple turns and equipments are on the stronger side for getting to stick around. Still I feel like you could have cut 1 mana here somewhere to make this more appealing. After all it's a mythic rare.
Creativity -
(3/3) Uniqueness: Interestingly there's no equipment yet that lets creatures fight or even just deal their damage at their choosing. Makes me wonder if it's even okay for an equipment to do this as it seems like an obvious design. That doesn't lessen the creativity of your design though.
(1/3) Flavor: Sword of the Champion is a very generic name for a legendary card. The flavortext sounds good for a story, but it doesn't reflect the mechanics very much. It's equippable to anything and then enables it to fight.
Polish -
(2/3) Quality: Fairly sure you meant for the second ability to work like this:
Equipped creature has "3, T: This creature fights another target creature." Your way you can just keep tapping it, as it doesn't need to be untapped for this.
(2/2) Main Challenge: Check.
(2/2) Subchallenges: Both satisfied.
Total: 20.5/25
(3/3) Appeal: Spikes like getting more out of their creatures. Mel will appreciate all the mechanical implications of the card. There's bits of potential for a lot of players here.
(3/3) Elegance: Very simple text with much to discover. Excellent.
Development -
(1.5/3) Viability: Deathtouch is not out of the question for artifacts, so this should be fine. What is a big issue though is big time board complexity that comes with this card. Estimating the effects this card has on attacks and blocks when there's a few creatures on the board is quite challenging. This can absolutely not be done at uncommon under the NWO.
(2/3) Balance: Turning each creature with power 3+ into a trading machine or rendering 2 power creatures your opponents control useless for this little cost is going a bit far. This needs to cost more.
Creativity -
(3/3) Uniqueness: I think there's been a couple of "power for something else tradeoff" cards, but this still feels very unique. The gameplay seems very exciting.
(2/3) Flavor: The name is really very general. This could be anyting. Which is probably what you went for, since it's supposed to be makeshift. I don't quite understand the flavortext. Wouldn't the Rakdos build nightmarish weapons at every oppurtunity they get? How is this NOT a nightmarish weapon? Am I missing something?
Polish -
(3/3) Quality: Looks good.
(2/2) Main Challenge: Check.
(2/2) Subchallenges: When I saw that deathtouch satisfies both the main challenge and the subchallenge and you figured that out, I muttered under my breath "****, that's clever!"
Total: 21.5/25
(1.5/3) Appeal: Since it's a one-use item it might be a bit hard for Johnny to use. Timmy might actually find this to be useful, but it might make their big creature weak to removal. Spike probably doesn't like the cost and drawback on this. There is a small audience for people who like these blow-up effects. Overall this seems to have a very narrow application though. Maybe the destoying part should happen just whenever this "dies". Makes for a lot more interesting interactions.
(3/3) Elegance: Two rather simple effects that shape an interesting dynamic together. Very nice.
Development -
(3/3) Viability: Very equippy and artifacty things to do. Rare seems like a good fit.
(2/3) Balance: 7 mana for a card that most likely has only a one-time use is a lot. I imagine it being very hard to get value of the Wrath. After all, the card needs creatures and wants to be aggressive. That's a bit anti-thematic. So I'd have treated this as a drawback and considerably lowered mana costs here.
Creativity -
(2.5/3) Uniqueness: The effect is reminiscient of Volatile Rig and +3/+3 and first strike has been done before, but the combination ventures into some interesting design space.
(2.5/3) Flavor: Comparing to Volatile Rig, this is a bit weird to be an equipment. But I guess it's a combat suit? The flavor text is cute. Didn't even know you could make a Rig from mud.
Polish -
(2.5/3) Quality: Standstill and my intuition tell me that this should have been worded "[...]dealt damage, sacrifice Unstable Rig. If you do, destroy all creatures."
(2/2) Main Challenge: Check.
(2/2) Subchallenges: Both met.
Total: 21/25
Vertain 21.5 vs StonerOfKruphix 21
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
—Eli Shiffrin, Rules Manager, on a design stacking lifelink instances
(1.5/3) Appeal: Johnny wants to pair this with something like Electrickery for a one-sided board wipe. Spike is somewhat interested in using this creatively in his deckbuilding (perhaps in an aggro deck with all fragile creatures?)
(2.5/3) Elegance: On the surface, this card is very elegant. My only issue is that it's a legendary card that has no effect in multiples.
Development
(2.5/3) Viability: This is a very black effect, but it can work in artifact form. This doesn't feel like a mythic rare; rare is a much better place.
(3/3) Balance: I think three mana is about right for this kind of card.
Creativity
(2/3) Uniqueness: Very similar to Everlasting Torment
(2.5/3) Flavor: The flavor's good, but I'm not a fan of the flavor text. You could have been more creative with it.
Polish
(3/3) Quality: Wording is good.
(4/4) Challenges:
Total: 21.5/25
(2/3) Appeal: Johnny and Spike are both in.
(2/3) Elegance: "Damage dealt by creatures doesn't destroy it" is a very confusing phrase.
Development
(3/3) Viability: It checks out.
(0/3) Balance: This card is completely unbeatable in limited. For three mana, you can kill almost any creature once a turn.
Creativity
(3/3) Uniqueness:
(2/3) Flavor: The flavor's a bit generic for my liking.
Polish
(2/3) Quality: The first ability doesn't make sense within the rules. Better would be "Prevent all damage that would be dealt to equipped creature by creature sources."
(4/4) Challenges:
Total: 18/25