Each clan has access to an ancient form of draconic magic that can be used to disguise itself from its enemies, and this is represented on cards through the ability Morph. This is one of several different elements of the clans that pay homage to the extinct dragons.
Main Challenge: Design a creature with morph that has an ability that triggers when it is turned face up.
Additional Challenges:
Challenge 1: Morph cost is a single mana. (No additional costs.)
Challenge 2: Creature has an ability that allows it to be turned face down.
None currently.
Player Deadline: 23:59 EDT, 20 October 2014
Judge Deadline: 23:59 EDT, 23 October 2014
Design (X/10) – This reflects the work put into the initial concept of the card. Creativity – How original or innovative is the card? Does it present an old idea with a new twist? Does it employ an entirely new mechanic? Elegance – Is the concept easily understood at a glance? Does the design just 'click' with the flavor? Potential – Will different player demographics (Spike/Johnny/Timmy) find a use for this card? Does it stand out as a card to build a deck around?
Development (X/10) – This reflects the execution of the idea, fleshing it into a playable card. Viability – How well does this card fit into the color wheel? Does it break or bend the rules of the game? Is it at the appropriate rarity? Balance – Does the card's cost match its power? How balanced are its interactions with other cards? Can it be played in constructed, limited, or multiplayer without breaking any of those formats? Creative Writing – Does the name sound like it fits on a card? Does the flavor text feel natural and professional? Does the combination of name, flavor text, and card concept make Vorthos spout poetry?
Polish – This reflects the finishing touches made to the card, polishing it to an end product that could see print. Challenge (X/2) – One point awarded per satisfied challenge condition. Quality (X/3) – Points deducted for incorrect spelling, grammar, and templating.
Give artists credit for any renders. Also, make sure to post a text version even if you do a rendered version.
Use up to date wordings like "dies" or "enters the battlefield"
Spelling and grammar count!
Always format your cards like this:
CARDNAME 3BRG
Creature — Bear {R}
Trample
CARDNAME'S rules text goes here.
Don't forget to use appropriate line breaks! Flavor text should be in italics!
2/2
Judge Brackets: Ogonomany:
bravelion83 vs. Sagharri
Marco vs. northprophet
admirableadmiral:
Marco vs. northprophet
Flatline vs. GG Crono
Trivmvirate:
Flatline vs. GG Crono
riliss vs. doomfish
Moss_Elemental:
riliss vs. doomfish
bravelion83 vs. Sagharri
Winner of each matchup advances to the final round. Good luck!
Winterflame RitualistUR
Creature - Efreet Monk (R)
Prowess
When Winterflame Ritualist is turned face up, you may cast a noncreature spell with converted mana cost 3 or less without paying its mana cost. U, Discard a noncreature card: Turn Winterflame Ritualist face down.
Morph R
1/3
River SmugglerUB
Creature - Human Rogue (Uncommon)
Islandwalk
Morph U(You may cast this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.) When River Smuggler is turned face up, target creature gains islandwalk until end of turn.
Pay 2 life: Turn River Smuggler face down.
2/2
Riverwheel Mystic1UU
Creature — Human Monk (U)
Morph U(You may cast this card face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)
When Riverwheel Mystic is turned face up, draw a card. 1, T, Discard a card: Turn Riverwheel Mystic face down. “Enlightenment is like the waterfall: a constant flow of inspiration that never stops.”
2/2
(Jeskai watermark)
My first idea is in the spoiler below, with some of my reasoning about it. I know I can't leave any notes about my entry card, but I think I can leave this here, since it doesn't relate in any way to my submission above. Anyway, I want to stress that the following spoiler is not for judging.
My first idea was to use the 1 mana morph cost as a way to get an undercosted creature onto the battlefield, using the "turn face up" and "turn face down" abilities as drawback. The idea was you could use morph to get the undercosted creature with the drawback, or you could pay full price and not have the drawback. This train of thought gave birth to the following card, which, again, is NOT my submission for this round.
Ravenous Horror3BB
Creature — Horror (R)
Flying
Morph B(You may cast this card face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)
When Ravenous Horror is turned face up, sacrifice a creature. 2, Sacrifice a creature: Turn Ravenous Horror face down. Only any opponent may activate this ability.
5/5
But almost exactly 24 hours before the deadline, a sudden thought came to me. I had completely forgot about the new policy of morphs not destroying one another for morph costs under five mana, and this was going directly against it. At that point, I felt like I was taking too much risk with this card: was it really worth to go with a very strange card, with two drawbacks and that goes against that policy? It could have been from Onslaught, when that policy wasn't there, but certainly not from KTK. All these reasons brought me to decide to come up with something else for this round, which is Riverwheel Mystic. But I still liked the design of Ravenous Horror, so I decided to leave that here too.
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.)
Ambush Captain
Creature - Human Soldier (R)
First strike, vigilance
Morph
When Ambush Captain is turned face up, put two 1/1 white soldier creature tokens onto the battlefield.
Tap three untapped creatures you control, : Turn Ambush Captain face down.
2/1
(22 Total) - October 2014; December 2014; January 2015; April 2015; June 2015; August 2015; September 2015; November 2015; December 2015(T); January 2016; March 2016(T); April 2016; June 2016; October 2016; December 2016(T); February 2017; April 2017; December 2017; November 2018(T); January 2019; April 2019; June 2019
(8 Total) - May 2015; May 2016; June 2016; August 2016; October 2016; December 2016; October 2017; May 2019
(7 Total) - September 2015; October 2015; January 2016; March 2016; April 2016; July 2016(T); March 2019(T)
Design (6/10) Creativity – Nothing too ingenuitive here. Elegance – There are a lot of moving parts here. I'm not sure I can call this elegant.
Development (7/10) Viability – UB makes sense thematically; however, black isn't very represented besides the "pay life" portion. Balance – This seems really powerful in a blue-black aggressive deck that runs Spreading Seas-type effects to make this guy make all your creatures unblockable. The price of 2 life and a mana isn't insignificant, though, so I think it's safe enough. However, outside of that situation, the card is actually really weak; a two mana two color bear is very weak. Creative Writing – River Smuggler fits the card well but doesn't inspire me.
Polish Challenge (2/2) – Quality (2.5/3) – The abilities are out of order. See Mischievous Quanar
Total: 17.5/25
Design (7/10) Creativity – It's new. Elegance – Not the best, but it's pretty good.
Development (4/10) Viability – Black works, as does blue, for what it's worth. Balance – I don't like how you have to unmorph it immediately after it attacks or blocks if you want to get in 5 damage that combat. Maybe "When ~ attacks or blocks, turn it face down at end of combat."? Also, this card is waaaay undercosted even as a vanilla 5/5, let alone the ability to draw cards and fly. Lastly, unless you don't want to draw a card for 1 life, there's almost no reason to play this card face-up, which is pretty bad. Creative Writing – You could have done a lot better than "lord of the unseen".
Polish Challenge (2/2) – Quality (3/3) –
Total: 16/25
Design (9/10) Creativity – Reminds me of Battle Screech and Summon the School, but in a new way. Elegance – Not the most elegant, but hey, it's neat.
Development (3/10) Viability – Everything works here. Balance – First of all, take a look at the card without the morph ability. A 2/1 with first strike and vigilance is very strong for 1W, but possibly acceptable. Now factor in that this card is an engine capable of making almost as many tokens as Elspeth, Sun's Champion does but at a fraction of the cost and you have yourself an absolutely busted card. If this only made one soldier, I'd be fine with it, but the numbers need some serious work as-is. Creative Writing – The name fits the card well, but you could've maybe done a little better.
Polish Challenge (2/2) – Quality (2.5/3) – The tap symbol comes before the "Tap three untapped creature you control".
Total: 16.5/25
Design (8/10) Creativity – Similar to Forge Devil. Elegance – Clean and simple. I like it.
Development (8/10) Viability – It checks out as a red card. Honestly though, I would have liked it better if it dealt the 1 damage when it was turned face up. Balance – Strong, but not too strong. This card strikes a very good balance for me. I like how it's a slow engine attached to a reasonable body. Creative Writing – You probably could've fit some flavor text on there, but the name isn't bad.
Polish Challenge (2/2) – Quality (2.5/3) – The abilities are out of order; see Mischievous Quanar
Mardu Torchtosser1R
Creature - Goblin Warrior (U)
When Mardu Torchtosser is turned face up, it deals 1 damage to target creature or player.
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may turn Mardu Torchtosser face down. If you do, it deals 1 damage to you.
Morph R
2/1
Lord of the Unseen3B
Creature - Demon {R}
Flying
Morph B
Whenever Lord of the Unseen is turned face up, target player loses 1 life and draws a card.
Whenever Lord of the Unseen attacks or blocks, turn it face down. 5/5
Temur RioterG
Creature - Human Berserker (U)
Whenever Temur Rioter is turned face up, it gets +3/+3 and trample until end of turn.
Whenever a creature you control deals 5 or more damage, you may turn Temur Rioter face down.
Morph G He delivers an unexpected blow and conceals himself in the ensuing chaos.
1/1
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
For the record, Mischievous Quanar shows that the order should be the "turn this face down" ability, followed by the morph cost, followed by the trigger when it's turned face up, in that order. and it looks like nobody got it right.
riliss vs. doomfish
Design:
Creativity – Not been done before.
Elegance – No problems here.
Potential – Spike might play with it.
8/10.
Development:
Viability – I think it should say “you may cast a noncreature spell with converted mana cost 3 or less from your hand.” Compare to Maelstrom Archangel or Oracle of Bones
Balance – I don't know. One mana is a bit low for what it can do when flipping over.
Creative Writing – No problems here.
8/10
Polish:
Challenges – Both met
Quality – The face up ability should be listed after the morph cost.
4/5
Total: 20/25
Design:
Creativity – The trigger where it checks how much damage a creature dealt has been done before.
Elegance – No problems here.
Potential – Johnny has no problems with this card. Spike might play with it.
8/10.
Development:
Viability – No problems here.
Balance – Good thing this doesn't become a 5/5 when it flips, otherwise it would be broken. Still, it's not hard to put a +1/+1 counter on it. Maybe it should be whenever another creature you control deals 5 or more damage.
Creative Writing – Flavour makes me think this should be red.
8/10
Polish:
Challenges – Both met
Quality – “... and gains trample...” Also, the face up ability should be listed after the morph cost.
3/5
Total: 19/25
bravelion83 vs. Sagharri
Design:
Creativity – No problems here.
Elegance – No problems here.
Potential – It's a Spike card, no doubt.
9/10.
Development:
Viability – No problems here.
Balance – While it's more complicated than “1U, t, Discard a card: Draw a card,” this would interact with cards like Secret Plans. Come to think of it, I think the morph cost is too low because of this.
Creative Writing – No problems here.
9/10
Polish:
Challenges – Both met
Quality – Mischievous Quanar shows that the activated ability to turn the card face down should be before the morph cost.
4/5
Total: 22/25
Design:
Creativity – It's Vesuvan Shapeshifter with the serial number filed off.
Elegance – No problems here.
Potential – Any player would play with it.
7/10.
Development:
Viability – The wording on Vesuvan Shapeshifter shows that the wording can't be like it is on your card. It should be “When CARDNAME is turned face up, you may choose a creature on the battlefield. If you do, until CARDNAME is turned face down, it becomes a copy of that creature and gains 'At the beginning of each player's end step, you may pay 3. If you do, turn this creature face down.'”
Balance – Its morph cost is cheaper, but the Vesuvan Shapeshifter is better in that it becomes a copy when it enters the battlefield face up, no matter how it entered the battlefield. It's especially good if the copied creature has a “comes into play” ability. Your card can only be cast face down, so you can't take advantage of any “comes into play” ability.
Creative Writing – No problems here.
6/10
Polish:
Challenges – Both met.
Quality – See Viability.
4/5
Total: 17/25
Design (7/10) Creativity – It's kind of a looter and a cantrip built into one. Pretty cool. Elegance – I feel like there is very little reason to want to play this face up. I think the extra card makes it so that this will almost always be played face down. Still, the abilities work very nicely together. Potential – Looters are fun. So there's that.
Development (8/10) Viability – Everything here seems pretty realistic. Balance – As is, it's probably a really solid limited card that doesn't do much for constructed. I think it would have been more interesting at 1U, but this is probably fine. Creative Writing – Pretty solid overall.
Design (6/10) Creativity – Kind of just feels like Vesuvan Shapeshifter with a different trigger to turn it face down. Elegance – Fine, I guess. Potential – Clones are fun cards to build around, and this one can change itself, so there's potential.
Development (8.5/10) Viability – Seems viable. Balance – It's pretty much automatically better than Clone since it can be cast face down and flipped for the same amount. I don't think letting it change what it clones makes it that much better, but it is still interesting. Creative Writing – Ehh. I think this could use some flavor text explaining why he can (or wants to) constantly change form.
Polish Challenge (2/2) – Good. Quality (2/3) – Should be a "you may copy" and should only copy until it is turned face down again. (see Vesuvan Shapeshifter)
Total: 18.5/25
Design (9/10) Creativity – I really like this. It's an interesting way to give your creatures evasion. Elegance – All of the abilities fit well with the idea of a smuggler/thief. Potential – Not the most exciting card potential-wise, but giving mast evasion to your team could be pretty good.
Development (8.5/10) Viability – Seems fine here. Balance – Even as just a bear with evasion it's good for limited. Probably not constructed playable, but still interesting. Creative Writing – The flavor and the name and the mechanics all mesh very well here.
Design (6/10) Creativity – I seems to me like a weird morph-y version of Bloodgift Demon. Not the most original, but still good. Elegance – The last ability seems super clunky and annoying. I know it's the "demon drawback," but it seems more obnoxious than it's worth. Potential – It's a demon that draws cards. It's fine.
Development (7.5/10) Viability – Everything here seems good. Balance – Seems OK. It's probably a bit weaker than Bloodgift Demon since it's more mana intensive, but it's essentially the same power level. Creative Writing – Not thrilled with the name, doesn't really fit with the card for me.
Round 3 - Morph
Each clan has access to an ancient form of draconic magic that can be used to disguise itself from its enemies, and this is represented on cards through the ability Morph. This is one of several different elements of the clans that pay homage to the extinct dragons.
Main Challenge: Design a creature with morph that has an ability that triggers when it is turned face up.
Additional Challenges:
Challenge 1: Morph cost is a single mana. (No additional costs.)
Challenge 2: Creature has an ability that allows it to be turned face down.
Player Deadline: 23:59 EDT, 20 October 2014
Judge Deadline: 23:59 EDT, 23 October 2014
Creativity – How original or innovative is the card? Does it present an old idea with a new twist? Does it employ an entirely new mechanic?
Elegance – Is the concept easily understood at a glance? Does the design just 'click' with the flavor?
Potential – Will different player demographics (Spike/Johnny/Timmy) find a use for this card? Does it stand out as a card to build a deck around?
Development (X/10) – This reflects the execution of the idea, fleshing it into a playable card.
Viability – How well does this card fit into the color wheel? Does it break or bend the rules of the game? Is it at the appropriate rarity?
Balance – Does the card's cost match its power? How balanced are its interactions with other cards? Can it be played in constructed, limited, or multiplayer without breaking any of those formats?
Creative Writing – Does the name sound like it fits on a card? Does the flavor text feel natural and professional? Does the combination of name, flavor text, and card concept make Vorthos spout poetry?
Polish – This reflects the finishing touches made to the card, polishing it to an end product that could see print.
Challenge (X/2) – One point awarded per satisfied challenge condition.
Quality (X/3) – Points deducted for incorrect spelling, grammar, and templating.
Total: X/25
For a full FAQ please see the MCC Discussion Thread but a few general tips:
Give artists credit for any renders. Also, make sure to post a text version even if you do a rendered version.
Use up to date wordings like "dies" or "enters the battlefield"
Spelling and grammar count!
CARDNAME 3BRG
Creature — Bear {R}
Trample
CARDNAME'S rules text goes here.
Don't forget to use appropriate line breaks!
Flavor text should be in italics!
2/2
Judge Brackets:
Ogonomany:
bravelion83 vs. Sagharri
Marco vs. northprophet
admirableadmiral:
Marco vs. northprophet
Flatline vs. GG Crono
Trivmvirate:
Flatline vs. GG Crono
riliss vs. doomfish
Moss_Elemental:
riliss vs. doomfish
bravelion83 vs. Sagharri
Winner of each matchup advances to the final round. Good luck!
Creature - Efreet Monk (R)
Prowess
When Winterflame Ritualist is turned face up, you may cast a noncreature spell with converted mana cost 3 or less without paying its mana cost.
U, Discard a noncreature card: Turn Winterflame Ritualist face down.
Morph R
1/3
GWU Bant Manifest - The Future Is Here. Or it will be at the end of turn. GWU
Creature - Human Rogue (Uncommon)
Islandwalk
Morph U (You may cast this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)
When River Smuggler is turned face up, target creature gains islandwalk until end of turn.
Pay 2 life: Turn River Smuggler face down.
2/2
Riverwheel Mystic 1UU
Creature — Human Monk (U)
Morph U (You may cast this card face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)
When Riverwheel Mystic is turned face up, draw a card.
1, T, Discard a card: Turn Riverwheel Mystic face down.
“Enlightenment is like the waterfall: a constant flow of inspiration that never stops.”
2/2
(Jeskai watermark)
My first idea is in the spoiler below, with some of my reasoning about it. I know I can't leave any notes about my entry card, but I think I can leave this here, since it doesn't relate in any way to my submission above. Anyway, I want to stress that the following spoiler is not for judging.
My first idea was to use the 1 mana morph cost as a way to get an undercosted creature onto the battlefield, using the "turn face up" and "turn face down" abilities as drawback. The idea was you could use morph to get the undercosted creature with the drawback, or you could pay full price and not have the drawback. This train of thought gave birth to the following card, which, again, is NOT my submission for this round.
Ravenous Horror 3BB
Creature — Horror (R)
Flying
Morph B (You may cast this card face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)
When Ravenous Horror is turned face up, sacrifice a creature.
2, Sacrifice a creature: Turn Ravenous Horror face down. Only any opponent may activate this ability.
5/5
But almost exactly 24 hours before the deadline, a sudden thought came to me. I had completely forgot about the new policy of morphs not destroying one another for morph costs under five mana, and this was going directly against it. At that point, I felt like I was taking too much risk with this card: was it really worth to go with a very strange card, with two drawbacks and that goes against that policy? It could have been from Onslaught, when that policy wasn't there, but certainly not from KTK. All these reasons brought me to decide to come up with something else for this round, which is Riverwheel Mystic. But I still liked the design of Ravenous Horror, so I decided to leave that here too.
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.)
Creature - Human Soldier (R)
First strike, vigilance
Morph
When Ambush Captain is turned face up, put two 1/1 white soldier creature tokens onto the battlefield.
Tap three untapped creatures you control, : Turn Ambush Captain face down.
2/1
Creativity – Nothing too ingenuitive here.
Elegance – There are a lot of moving parts here. I'm not sure I can call this elegant.
Development (7/10)
Viability – UB makes sense thematically; however, black isn't very represented besides the "pay life" portion.
Balance – This seems really powerful in a blue-black aggressive deck that runs Spreading Seas-type effects to make this guy make all your creatures unblockable. The price of 2 life and a mana isn't insignificant, though, so I think it's safe enough. However, outside of that situation, the card is actually really weak; a two mana two color bear is very weak.
Creative Writing – River Smuggler fits the card well but doesn't inspire me.
Polish
Challenge (2/2) –
Quality (2.5/3) – The abilities are out of order. See Mischievous Quanar
Total: 17.5/25
Creativity – It's new.
Elegance – Not the best, but it's pretty good.
Development (4/10)
Viability – Black works, as does blue, for what it's worth.
Balance – I don't like how you have to unmorph it immediately after it attacks or blocks if you want to get in 5 damage that combat. Maybe "When ~ attacks or blocks, turn it face down at end of combat."? Also, this card is waaaay undercosted even as a vanilla 5/5, let alone the ability to draw cards and fly. Lastly, unless you don't want to draw a card for 1 life, there's almost no reason to play this card face-up, which is pretty bad.
Creative Writing – You could have done a lot better than "lord of the unseen".
Polish
Challenge (2/2) –
Quality (3/3) –
Total: 16/25
Creativity – Reminds me of Battle Screech and Summon the School, but in a new way.
Elegance – Not the most elegant, but hey, it's neat.
Development (3/10)
Viability – Everything works here.
Balance – First of all, take a look at the card without the morph ability. A 2/1 with first strike and vigilance is very strong for 1W, but possibly acceptable. Now factor in that this card is an engine capable of making almost as many tokens as Elspeth, Sun's Champion does but at a fraction of the cost and you have yourself an absolutely busted card. If this only made one soldier, I'd be fine with it, but the numbers need some serious work as-is.
Creative Writing – The name fits the card well, but you could've maybe done a little better.
Polish
Challenge (2/2) –
Quality (2.5/3) – The tap symbol comes before the "Tap three untapped creature you control".
Total: 16.5/25
Creativity – Similar to Forge Devil.
Elegance – Clean and simple. I like it.
Development (8/10)
Viability – It checks out as a red card. Honestly though, I would have liked it better if it dealt the 1 damage when it was turned face up.
Balance – Strong, but not too strong. This card strikes a very good balance for me. I like how it's a slow engine attached to a reasonable body.
Creative Writing – You probably could've fit some flavor text on there, but the name isn't bad.
Polish
Challenge (2/2) –
Quality (2.5/3) – The abilities are out of order; see Mischievous Quanar
Total: 20.5/25
Creature - Goblin Warrior (U)
When Mardu Torchtosser is turned face up, it deals 1 damage to target creature or player.
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may turn Mardu Torchtosser face down. If you do, it deals 1 damage to you.
Morph R
2/1
Creature - Demon {R}
Flying
Morph B
Whenever Lord of the Unseen is turned face up, target player loses 1 life and draws a card.
Whenever Lord of the Unseen attacks or blocks, turn it face down.
5/5
Creature - Human Berserker (U)
Whenever Temur Rioter is turned face up, it gets +3/+3 and trample until end of turn.
Whenever a creature you control deals 5 or more damage, you may turn Temur Rioter face down.
Morph G
He delivers an unexpected blow and conceals himself in the ensuing chaos.
1/1
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
riliss vs. doomfish
Creativity – Not been done before.
Elegance – No problems here.
Potential – Spike might play with it.
8/10.
Development:
Viability – I think it should say “you may cast a noncreature spell with converted mana cost 3 or less from your hand.” Compare to Maelstrom Archangel or Oracle of Bones
Balance – I don't know. One mana is a bit low for what it can do when flipping over.
Creative Writing – No problems here.
8/10
Polish:
Challenges – Both met
Quality – The face up ability should be listed after the morph cost.
4/5
Total: 20/25
Creativity – The trigger where it checks how much damage a creature dealt has been done before.
Elegance – No problems here.
Potential – Johnny has no problems with this card. Spike might play with it.
8/10.
Development:
Viability – No problems here.
Balance – Good thing this doesn't become a 5/5 when it flips, otherwise it would be broken. Still, it's not hard to put a +1/+1 counter on it. Maybe it should be whenever another creature you control deals 5 or more damage.
Creative Writing – Flavour makes me think this should be red.
8/10
Polish:
Challenges – Both met
Quality – “... and gains trample...” Also, the face up ability should be listed after the morph cost.
3/5
Total: 19/25
bravelion83 vs. Sagharri
Creativity – No problems here.
Elegance – No problems here.
Potential – It's a Spike card, no doubt.
9/10.
Development:
Viability – No problems here.
Balance – While it's more complicated than “1U, t, Discard a card: Draw a card,” this would interact with cards like Secret Plans. Come to think of it, I think the morph cost is too low because of this.
Creative Writing – No problems here.
9/10
Polish:
Challenges – Both met
Quality – Mischievous Quanar shows that the activated ability to turn the card face down should be before the morph cost.
4/5
Total: 22/25
Creativity – It's Vesuvan Shapeshifter with the serial number filed off.
Elegance – No problems here.
Potential – Any player would play with it.
7/10.
Development:
Viability – The wording on Vesuvan Shapeshifter shows that the wording can't be like it is on your card. It should be “When CARDNAME is turned face up, you may choose a creature on the battlefield. If you do, until CARDNAME is turned face down, it becomes a copy of that creature and gains 'At the beginning of each player's end step, you may pay 3. If you do, turn this creature face down.'”
Balance – Its morph cost is cheaper, but the Vesuvan Shapeshifter is better in that it becomes a copy when it enters the battlefield face up, no matter how it entered the battlefield. It's especially good if the copied creature has a “comes into play” ability. Your card can only be cast face down, so you can't take advantage of any “comes into play” ability.
Creative Writing – No problems here.
6/10
Polish:
Challenges – Both met.
Quality – See Viability.
4/5
Total: 17/25
Creativity – It's kind of a looter and a cantrip built into one. Pretty cool.
Elegance – I feel like there is very little reason to want to play this face up. I think the extra card makes it so that this will almost always be played face down. Still, the abilities work very nicely together.
Potential – Looters are fun. So there's that.
Development (8/10)
Viability – Everything here seems pretty realistic.
Balance – As is, it's probably a really solid limited card that doesn't do much for constructed. I think it would have been more interesting at 1U, but this is probably fine.
Creative Writing – Pretty solid overall.
Polish
Challenge (2/2) – Good.
Quality (3/3) – Fine.
Total: 20/25
Creativity – Kind of just feels like Vesuvan Shapeshifter with a different trigger to turn it face down.
Elegance – Fine, I guess.
Potential – Clones are fun cards to build around, and this one can change itself, so there's potential.
Development (8.5/10)
Viability – Seems viable.
Balance – It's pretty much automatically better than Clone since it can be cast face down and flipped for the same amount. I don't think letting it change what it clones makes it that much better, but it is still interesting.
Creative Writing – Ehh. I think this could use some flavor text explaining why he can (or wants to) constantly change form.
Polish
Challenge (2/2) – Good.
Quality (2/3) – Should be a "you may copy" and should only copy until it is turned face down again. (see Vesuvan Shapeshifter)
Total: 18.5/25
Creativity – I really like this. It's an interesting way to give your creatures evasion.
Elegance – All of the abilities fit well with the idea of a smuggler/thief.
Potential – Not the most exciting card potential-wise, but giving mast evasion to your team could be pretty good.
Development (8.5/10)
Viability – Seems fine here.
Balance – Even as just a bear with evasion it's good for limited. Probably not constructed playable, but still interesting.
Creative Writing – The flavor and the name and the mechanics all mesh very well here.
Polish
Challenge (2/2) – Good.
Quality (3/3) – Good.
Total: 22.5/25
Creativity – I seems to me like a weird morph-y version of Bloodgift Demon. Not the most original, but still good.
Elegance – The last ability seems super clunky and annoying. I know it's the "demon drawback," but it seems more obnoxious than it's worth.
Potential – It's a demon that draws cards. It's fine.
Development (7.5/10)
Viability – Everything here seems good.
Balance – Seems OK. It's probably a bit weaker than Bloodgift Demon since it's more mana intensive, but it's essentially the same power level.
Creative Writing – Not thrilled with the name, doesn't really fit with the card for me.
Polish
Challenge (2/2) – Good.
Quality (3/3) – Fine.
Total: 18.5/25
40 Marco vs. northprophet 34.5
34.5 Flatline vs. GG Crono 42.5
39 riliss vs. doomfish 38
42 bravelion83 vs. Sagharri 35.5
Next round will be up in a bit.