How have people found the challenges this month? Always happy for feedback so I can make better ones next time.
You know, I've given it a lot of thought the last few days. First I'd like to say that I'm enjoying the CCL and the challenges. However, while the challenges do a good job of putting forth challenges that designers will face and test good design skills, something did bother me a bit.
Here's the thing: I'm used to the CCL being a connected series of challenges, each leading slowly towards the finals. While every CCL host get to make their own rules, something is a miss when there isn't a coherent line that ties everything together. Being able to build up from a mechanic (for Melvin CCLs) or follow a story though design (for Vorthos CCLs) are important skills to design, and the CCL was the best way to test them.
Three places this bothers me the most:
1. there's no interconnectivity within the challenges, so my first round card has no effect on my round 2 design, my round 2 design has nothing to do with my round 3 design, and both the round 2 and round 3 designs are unrelated to the established parameters of the set (namely, that it has a vampire sub-theme).
2. Stemming from this, the restrictions per rounds are actually lowered. Round 1 had us taking a lot of things into consideration. We needed a common, that can answer aggressive starts on limited, without breaking the power level associated with commons and not black. Second round - An uncommon, build around me card with two color identities. Third round, a rare creature. It's creates a scaling down feeling for the entire process.
3. I feel like the lack of general restrictions (flavorful or mechanical) had caused some to imagine restrictions of their own - the source of the confusion that Bravelion and Killer of Giants were talking about. There should have been a bit more meat to the challenge to give designers some more parameters as to what their expected to do, or the creation of a story environment that would steer these decisions. An old CCL staple was the phrase "interpret as you will" - meaning the host realize there is more than one way to approach his or her challenge, and give the players the green light to experiment.
I'm sorry if this looks like I'm chewing your head of. Like I said, I do enjoy the CCL this month and I think the challenges do a good job of testing valuable design skills. I just feel like the structure of the CLL can do more to build up the challenges and make me think of what I'm about to do with the card.
Whenever enchanted player casts a spell, that player loses 1 life.
At the beginning of each end step, if the enchanted player cast 2 or more spells that turn, put a relief counter on Scintillating Scotoma.
If there are 3 or more relief counters on Scintillating Scomota, the enchanted player may discard their hand. If they do, sacrifice Scintillating Scomota.
One must empty their mind to make the pain go away.
I think you are misreading card. The enchanted player loses 1 life every time they cast a spell. If they don't deal with it, if this is dropped turn 2 it will cause a minimum of 6 life lost, before they can make it go away, assuming they meet the criteria. It's only if they cast 2 spells in a turn (2 life lost on that turn) that they can get a relief counter on it, and they need 3 relief counters on it before they can sac it (and yes, I realize they may have an empty hand before doing so). Maybe you are reading it correctly, but I'd take a2 drop that deals 6 or more damage (life lost) quite often.
First of all, I'm not really sure that it is a good card even in limited, as your library contains 23 spells, and you are probably casting 1.5 spells each turn on average. So, that's a red curse from Innistrad buffed slightly - there is one problem, though: that card was used mainly for reach, taking off that last few points of life, an this thing falls off in the lategame once you enter top-deck mode.
Curse of the Pierced Heart is a good example of why this card is not bad, but not good either. Yours is slightly better in life-losing aspect of it, but the opponent has control over the bleeding. Furthermore, timing restrictions on discarding asre weird: you can discard your hand anytime, or only when the third counter is placed?
I've played quite a lot of Limited and I'm pretty sure the card is pickable, but far from a bomb. Again, I might be wrong, but that's the reason there are multiple judges.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Wizards can start putting booster packs inside dog poo and dog owners will still complain.
Curse of the Pierced Heart is a good example of why this card is not bad, but not good either. Yours is slightly better in life-losing aspect of it, but the opponent has control over the bleeding. Furthermore, timing restrictions on discarding asre weird: you can discard your hand anytime, or only when the third counter is placed?
I've played quite a lot of Limited and I'm pretty sure the card is pickable, but far from a bomb. Again, I might be wrong, but that's the reason there are multiple judges.
There has to be at least 3 relief counters on the card in order to have the option of discarding their hand to sacrifice the enchantment.
I did not really enjoy this ccl. There were many different interpretations of each challenge, and this led to much confusion and a very unfun experience. This seems far too clique-ish for me.
I did not really enjoy this ccl. There were many different interpretations of each challenge, and this led to much confusion and a very unfun experience. This seems far too clique-ish for me.
Sadly I think these two thoughts are pretty closely related. While I think this set of challenges was a good concept for a contest, I think it would have done better as an MCC event with more clear explanation of what the challenge is and how it will be judged.
To be a dissenting voice, I found this CCL to be enjoyable and challenging. It was unfamiliar for sure, but isn't that what CCL is supposed to be? We have new judges and new themes every month. We don't have a strict scoring rubric, and I for one have never been in a CCL where at least one team wasn't mostly voided by drops. Nothing weird is going on here.
The big thing is that Doombringer is testing skills the CCL does not usually test, but I hardly think that expanding the scope of the activity justifies all the grumpy posts we have been getting about it. I liked this CCL!
Eh, I liked the challenges. They don't feel bloated which is usually the case(and the reason I don't really participate in CCL) - the requirements were very to the point. Of course they could be interpretated in a lot of ways, but that is the reason why there are several judges. When you limit designer's options to a distinct flavor, the end result usually feels artificial.
My big gripe is with late who-judges-who tables. This is obviously a begginers mistake and nothing that can't be fixed.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Wizards can start putting booster packs inside dog poo and dog owners will still complain.
For reference, putting the previous round's judging assignments in the following round's OP caused a lot of confusion.
In the future, I'd recommend keeping each round's judging assignments in the actual round thread they belong in. Having the judgings assigned to teams before the submissions end can be helpful as well, as it allows people to start judging even if you're late to announce the beginning of the judging period.
Private Mod Note
():
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I'll bet you wish you had a non-unglued/unhinged card that shared your first name.
The will sure is there. Are there any strict guidelines/rules to hosting or do I just base off last few months' CCLs? OP of this thread seems really dated.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Wizards can start putting booster packs inside dog poo and dog owners will still complain.
As per usual CCL rules, this is sadly not a possibility. There are at least four judges for each entry, so I suspect "the trick" is going to be noticed.
Actually, its completely acceptable to edit your judgings (before the round closes) when you feel you've overlooked something important about a card that is revealed to you later. It's also completely acceptable to leave it, saying a better design wouldn't have been confusing.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I'll bet you wish you had a non-unglued/unhinged card that shared your first name.
Since I didn't make it in time for August round 1, I thought I'd post my intended submission here just for fun.
For casual players:
Llanowar Ancestors3G
Creature - Elf Spirit (Mythic Rare)
Elves you control have all activated abilities of all Elf creatures in your graveyard. By their council, we remember our ways.
3/3
Round 3 thread is open!
Judging for round two is open!
Judging for round one is closed, although if you forgot to post your critiques, there's still time until judgings for round two finish. Exclamation mark!
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Wizards can start putting booster packs inside dog poo and dog owners will still complain.
You know, I've given it a lot of thought the last few days. First I'd like to say that I'm enjoying the CCL and the challenges. However, while the challenges do a good job of putting forth challenges that designers will face and test good design skills, something did bother me a bit.
Here's the thing: I'm used to the CCL being a connected series of challenges, each leading slowly towards the finals. While every CCL host get to make their own rules, something is a miss when there isn't a coherent line that ties everything together. Being able to build up from a mechanic (for Melvin CCLs) or follow a story though design (for Vorthos CCLs) are important skills to design, and the CCL was the best way to test them.
Three places this bothers me the most:
1. there's no interconnectivity within the challenges, so my first round card has no effect on my round 2 design, my round 2 design has nothing to do with my round 3 design, and both the round 2 and round 3 designs are unrelated to the established parameters of the set (namely, that it has a vampire sub-theme).
2. Stemming from this, the restrictions per rounds are actually lowered. Round 1 had us taking a lot of things into consideration. We needed a common, that can answer aggressive starts on limited, without breaking the power level associated with commons and not black. Second round - An uncommon, build around me card with two color identities. Third round, a rare creature. It's creates a scaling down feeling for the entire process.
3. I feel like the lack of general restrictions (flavorful or mechanical) had caused some to imagine restrictions of their own - the source of the confusion that Bravelion and Killer of Giants were talking about. There should have been a bit more meat to the challenge to give designers some more parameters as to what their expected to do, or the creation of a story environment that would steer these decisions. An old CCL staple was the phrase "interpret as you will" - meaning the host realize there is more than one way to approach his or her challenge, and give the players the green light to experiment.
I'm sorry if this looks like I'm chewing your head of. Like I said, I do enjoy the CCL this month and I think the challenges do a good job of testing valuable design skills. I just feel like the structure of the CLL can do more to build up the challenges and make me think of what I'm about to do with the card.
Host, December 2015: A Winter Wonderland? - R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL April 2014: A Game of Fate - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinal|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL December 2012: Spy Games - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL November 2010: The Perfect Crime - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL August 2009: A Commander's Journey: Signups|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
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Team #1(who reviews team Team #4)
Koopa
CasualR
Freshmeat
CardLurd
Killer of Giants
Team #2(who reviews team Team #5)
Ninja Caterpie
Moss_Elemetnal
GenesisMan
Chemtrails
Mix Master Mikaeus
Team #3(who reviews team Team #6)
net10
glurman
Bravelion83
Ryder052 (Dropped)
Rithaniel
Team #4(who reviews team Team #7)
Badfiend
Asrama
SelesnyaNewLife
PsyOp
Tactical Celebrant
Team #5(who reviews team Team #1)
Prophylaxis
Folza
KoolKoal
Am Shegar
RaikouRider
Team #6(who reviews team Team #2)
Doomfish
scrad_the_wanderer
Eskimo_Rage
Charm_Master3125
willows
Team #7 (who reviews team Team #3)
Sagharri
Hemlock
Piar
Lef
Jimmy Groove
Are you designing commons? Check out my primer on NWO.
Interested in making a custom set? Check out my Set skeleton and archetype primer.
I also write articles about getting started with custom card creation.
Go and PLAYTEST your designs, you will learn more in a single playtests than a dozen discussions.
My custom sets:
Dreamscape
Coins of Mercalis [COMPLETE]
Exodus of Zendikar - ON HOLD
I think you are misreading card. The enchanted player loses 1 life every time they cast a spell. If they don't deal with it, if this is dropped turn 2 it will cause a minimum of 6 life lost, before they can make it go away, assuming they meet the criteria. It's only if they cast 2 spells in a turn (2 life lost on that turn) that they can get a relief counter on it, and they need 3 relief counters on it before they can sac it (and yes, I realize they may have an empty hand before doing so). Maybe you are reading it correctly, but I'd take a2 drop that deals 6 or more damage (life lost) quite often.
First of all, I'm not really sure that it is a good card even in limited, as your library contains 23 spells, and you are probably casting 1.5 spells each turn on average. So, that's a red curse from Innistrad buffed slightly - there is one problem, though: that card was used mainly for reach, taking off that last few points of life, an this thing falls off in the lategame once you enter top-deck mode.
I've played quite a lot of Limited and I'm pretty sure the card is pickable, but far from a bomb. Again, I might be wrong, but that's the reason there are multiple judges.
There has to be at least 3 relief counters on the card in order to have the option of discarding their hand to sacrifice the enchantment.
I did not really enjoy this ccl. There were many different interpretations of each challenge, and this led to much confusion and a very unfun experience. This seems far too clique-ish for me.
Sadly I think these two thoughts are pretty closely related. While I think this set of challenges was a good concept for a contest, I think it would have done better as an MCC event with more clear explanation of what the challenge is and how it will be judged.
The big thing is that Doombringer is testing skills the CCL does not usually test, but I hardly think that expanding the scope of the activity justifies all the grumpy posts we have been getting about it. I liked this CCL!
My big gripe is with late who-judges-who tables. This is obviously a begginers mistake and nothing that can't be fixed.
In the future, I'd recommend keeping each round's judging assignments in the actual round thread they belong in. Having the judgings assigned to teams before the submissions end can be helpful as well, as it allows people to start judging even if you're late to announce the beginning of the judging period.
EDIT calculating scores is hard
Are you designing commons? Check out my primer on NWO.
Interested in making a custom set? Check out my Set skeleton and archetype primer.
I also write articles about getting started with custom card creation.
Go and PLAYTEST your designs, you will learn more in a single playtests than a dozen discussions.
My custom sets:
Dreamscape
Coins of Mercalis [COMPLETE]
Exodus of Zendikar - ON HOLD
Has anyone offered to run next month's CCL? I would prefer that it was someone other than me, as I have yet to learn the current rules.
Much more important than your name's fame is the willingness to run a month and a good set of challenges.
Go and vote!
Are you designing commons? Check out my primer on NWO.
Interested in making a custom set? Check out my Set skeleton and archetype primer.
I also write articles about getting started with custom card creation.
Go and PLAYTEST your designs, you will learn more in a single playtests than a dozen discussions.
My custom sets:
Dreamscape
Coins of Mercalis [COMPLETE]
Exodus of Zendikar - ON HOLD
For casual players:
Llanowar Ancestors 3G
Creature - Elf Spirit (Mythic Rare)
Elves you control have all activated abilities of all Elf creatures in your graveyard.
By their council, we remember our ways.
3/3
Judging for round two is open!
Judging for round one is closed, although if you forgot to post your critiques, there's still time until judgings for round two finish. Exclamation mark!