MaRo taught us the importance of comfort, surprise and completion. The first three rounds should have given you a lot of comfort, as they all looked at the same thing: the characteristics of mana symbols. That means this round I'll try to surprise you by changing that while still keeping the theme of mana symbols, and in a few days you'll have completion too, as both the year and this month of MCC will be over.
Main challenge: design a card that either has chroma, has devotion, or somehow counts mana symbols (all of them or only a subset).
Subchallenge 1: The card is gold (hybrid does NOT count).
Subchallenge 2: The card has a link to the winter holidays in the spirit of the holiday cards, but it makes sense in black border.
You can interpret this in any way you want. The link can be only in mechanics, only in flavor, or in both. Anything you choose to do, the link to the winter holidays should be obvious to the judge's eyes and it has to be printable in black border. Silver border is off limits for the purposes of this challenge. For reference, all existing holiday cards are here. (Alright, this surprise may not have been a big one after all, given the period of the year we're living...)
Some more clarifications from the discussion thread:
The card has to actually count mana symbols, it just can't have a check on the mana symbols in an intervening if clause. It can't ask: "Are there mana symbols here?" so that the answer is yes/no. In my intent, "counting" mana symbols means that the number of those symbols should matter in some way, it shouldn't be the same if there are one or ten symbols. Please note that the count doesn't have to be explicit, something that says "do something for each mana symbol" is acceptable (in fact that's how Phosphorescent Feast is worded), because it scales with the number of symbols, so how many symbols are there matters.
The schedule will be a little looser this round because of New Year's Day.
Design deadline: Wednesday, December 31st at 17:59 EST, in the exact moment 2014 ends and 2015 starts! At least here in central Europe, the USA will still be in 2014 for 6 more hours, while Asia and Australia will already be in 2015.
Judge deadline: Sunday, January 4th at 17:59 EST (23:59 in central Europe).
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.
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.)
Obtain2UU
Sorcery [R]
Gain control of target nonland permanent with converted mana cost is X or less, where X is your devotion to blue. "I don't understand why the guards are always so unhappy when they find out I borrowed their favorite toys. It's better to give than to receive, after all."
—Daci Fayden
This would be a reprint as one of the IDW comic book promos.
Klos, Saint of Festivities2URW
Legendary Creature - God (M)
Indestructible
As long as your devotion to colours is less than seven, Klos isn't a creature. (Each coloured mana symbol in the mana costs of permanents you control counts toward your devotion to colours.)
At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player may give another player control of a nonland permanent they own and control. If that player does, he or she draws a card and gains 5 life.
7/7
Conflicted Miser
Creature - Human Advisor (R)
, Sacrifice another creature: Put an artifact token named Gold onto the battlefield. Activated this ability only if your devotion to black is three or more.
, Sacrifice three artifacts named Gold: Return target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield. Activate this ability only if your devotion to white is three or more.
1/4
(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)
Carol Hydra3GW
Creature - Hydra R
Carol Hydra enters the battlefield with a number of +1/+1 counters equal to your devotion to green and white. 2, Tap another untapped creature you control: Put a +1/+1 counter on Carol Hydra for each green or white mana symbol in the tapped creature’s mana cost. Now might be a good time to go get that figgy pudding.
0/0
Note on the render: I would have used a Feral Hydra alter for the card had I been able to find one as it is the source of the pun, but I was surprised I even found what I did, so I'm pretty happy with it.
Design:
Creativity – Not much here for originality, but I could see something like this being printed.
Elegance – No problems here.
Potential – Johnny might abuse it. I could see this in a monoblue devotion deck.
8/10.
Development:
Viability – No problems here.
Balance – Since it's limited to devotion, it's not like you can steal a large creature with it, so four mana seems okay.
Creative Writing – No problems here.
9/10
Polish:
Challenges – Not gold
Quality – “... mana cost X or less...” Dack, not Daci.
3/5
Total: 20/25
Design:
Creativity – Kind of reminds me of Zedruu the Greathearted, but you get rewarded for your donation.
Elegance – The wordiness is a problem but the gist of this card is clear.
Potential – Timmy and Johnny would like this.
7/10.
Development:
Viability – I think the devotion should be limited to red, white and blue.
Balance – It's possible that its mana cost is too high. Since, chances are, you'll be giving permanents you control to your opponents, it may be hard to reach that magic number for devotion. On the other hand, this helps your opponents, so I can't see this as a good card.
Creative Writing – No problems here.
7/10
Polish:
Challenges – Both met
Quality – The wording on for the last ability is questionable.
4/5
Total: 18/25
Design:
Creativity – The restrictions for using those activated abilities is new.
Elegance – No problems here.
Potential – It's a Johnny card.
8/10.
Development:
Viability – I'm assuming that leaving out what Gold does( like in Gild) was an oversight. Also, I think this could have been just monoblack.
Balance – I find this card is way too dependent on having other cards in play. You need another black permanent with BB in its mana cost to activate the first ability and, for the second ability, you need three Gold and a white permanent with WW in its mana cost. That's just too much red tape, for lack of a better term.
Creative Writing – No problems here.
7/10
Polish:
Challenges – Both met.
Quality – You left out the fact that Gold is colourless, and you forgot to add “It has 'Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any colour to your mana pool.'”
3/5
Total: 18/25
Design:
Creativity – Reverent Hunter is another card that involves devotion and +1/+1 counters.
Elegance – No problems here.
Potential – Timmy and Johnny would like this.
8/10.
Development:
Viability – I can see this as only green.
Balance – Five mana seems reasonable for this, though I wouldn't be surprised if the mana cost was higher, since white's known for getting small creaturess out and green loves mana acceleration.
Creative Writing – Not too crazy about the name or the flavour text.
7/10
Polish:
Challenges – Both met.
Quality – The second ability could be considered Chroma.
4/5
Total: 19/25
As always, no complaints, and the numbers are not final until after the deadline.
The round is closed. Happy new year everyone! Judgment follows.
Judgments are final.
Design/development: I mentally divide points equally among subsections, assign them, then add them up.
Challenges: what counts is always the letter of the law.
Quality: half a point deducted for any error in wording, spelling, or grammar; a whole point for particularly serious errors.
No complaints unless I got something objectively wrong.
Obtain2UU
Sorcery [R]
Gain control of target nonland permanent with converted mana cost is X or less, where X is your devotion to blue. "I don't understand why the guards are always so unhappy when they find out I borrowed their favorite toys. It's better to give than to receive, after all."
—Daci Fayden
Design (7/10) Creativity – Spells that let you take control of permanents are nothing new. Most often they're auras, sometimes they're sorceries, but every block has at least one, if memory serves me well. The only novelty is using devotion to restrict the target, and that doesn't shine for originality. Elegance – Very elegant, all it takes for this card to work is a single sentence. Potential – Timmy doesn't care. Johnny and Spike may try to do something with this, finding ways to maximize devotion.
Development (8.5/10) Viability – The effect is clearly monoblue. Also, it's no longer uncommon but it's at least rare these days (see how Domestication was bumped from uncommon to rare with the reprint), so everything's fine here. Balance – Compared to Volition Reins, this costs two mana less but can't target lands, the target is limited by devotion, and doesn't untap the permanent you steal. Compared to Mind Control, this costs one mana less and can target any nonland permanent, not just creatures, but again the target is limited by devotion. In addition to this, it's not that easy to get a high devotion count because this doesn't add directly to that, as it's a sorcery. All of this reasoning leads me to believe the mana cost can be right. I feel this is very playable in a limited deck that has enough blue cards to have a high enough devotion, where it would be playing a role similar to Act of Treason, letting you take the opponent's bomb. I don't think this would be playable in constructed, as most cards like this usually aren't. When's the last time we saw a Mind Control effect in constructed? I can't remember seeing one ever. Creative Writing – Name is very good, so that I actually had to check Gatherer to make sure it doesn't exist yet. Flavor text is fine and it feels spot on to me for the character. There's a typo in the attribution (see "Quality").
Polish Challenge (1/2) – This isn't gold, so subchallenge 1 is NOT met. The link to toys and "better to give than to receive" in the flavor text is enough to me for subchallenge 2 to be met. Quality (2/3) – The "is" between "mana cost" and "X or less" shouldn't be there (half a point deducted). In the flavor text, "Daci Fayden" should obviously be "Dack Fayden" (just a typo, half a point deducted). Finally, I would have liked very very much the reminder text "This effect lasts indefinitely" to be there, but there are examples of it sometimes not being there on real cards (Captivating Vampire and others, most recently Siren of the Fanged Coast) so I can't deduct points for this.
Klos, Saint of Festivities2URW
Legendary Creature - God (M)
Indestructible
As long as your devotion to colours is less than seven, Klos isn't a creature. (Each coloured mana symbol in the mana costs of permanents you control counts toward your devotion to colours.)
At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player may give another player control of a nonland permanent they own and control. If that player does, he or she draws a card and gains 5 life.
7/7
Design (6.5/10) Creativity – Devotion to colors is innovative, but it's an easy place to go after having seen devotion to multiple colors on BNG and JOU gods. The triggered ability somehow reminds me of Zedruu the Greathearted, but it's different enough. Elegance – Too wordy to get full score here, but the mechanical representation of the intended flavor is there. Potential – Timmy is excited by the size of the creature and doesn't look too much into the downside of it sometimes not being a creature. Johnny is very excited by the triggered ability. Spike is the one to be least attracted by this card: all he sees is an enchantment that's rarely a creature and that makes him give away his permanents, and he doesn't like that.
Development (6/10) Viability – I don't like that this costs Jeskai colors and has devotion to all colors. I would have liked it to either be five colors or have devotion to blue, red, and white. Between the two, I would have preferred the latter. Rarity is right. Balance – It's very hard to cost a card like this. You have to take into account the fact the often it's not a creature, but it can be. Here we also have an ability that's symmetrical and somewhat hard to evaluate. Given these premises, the cost looks plausible to me. Obvious bomb in limited. Playable in constructed provided you have a way to keep this a creature most of the time. Another factor that may lower the probability of this showing up in constructed is the symmetry of the triggered ability. You don't want your opponent to give you a useless permanent while drawing cards and gaining life. You want to be the only one doing that in constructed, even if that obviously would require bumping up the cost. Creative Writing – The (actually little) Vorthos in me is somewhat disappointed by the fact that the name isn't "Klos, God of Festivities". No room for flavor text.
Polish Challenge (2/2) – Both met. The name and the mechanical flavor of the triggered ability (giving gifts) is enough to me for subchallenge 2 to be met. Quality (2/3) – The words "colours/coloured" are spelled "colors/colored" on Magic cards (half a point deducted). The wording "give a player control" has never been seen on a Magic card (half a point deducted). It should be "that player may have another player gain control", but it would get confusing with the multiple instances of "that player". It could have been the following, though:
At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player may choose a nonland permanent he or she both owns and controls and have another player gain control of it. If he or she does, he or she draws a card and gains 5 life.
Not elegant at all, but at least it has no ambiguities.
Conflicted Miser
Creature - Human Advisor (R)
, Sacrifice another creature: Put an artifact token named Gold onto the battlefield. Activated this ability only if your devotion to black is three or more.
, Sacrifice three artifacts named Gold: Return target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield. Activate this ability only if your devotion to white is three or more.
1/4
Design (6.5/10) Creativity – Innovative use of Gold tokens (from Gild and King Macar, the Gold-Cursed), letting you sacrifice them for something other than mana. But wait, these Gold tokens don't sacrifice for mana… this seems more of an oversight than an innovation to me. At the contrary, having devotion as a restriction on activated abilities is something that has not already been done in Theros block. Elegance – The sequence of costs and effects of the abilities makes this very elegant. The wordiness takes something out of that elegance but not much. Potential – This is a Johnny card at heart. Timmy and Spike don't care.
Development (5.5/10) Viability – This could have been monoblack, there's no need to have white in it. Gold tokens are in black (both Gild and King Macar are monoblack), and reanimation is primary in black. It's only in white if it's limited to low converted mana cost or low power. Also, it feels really strange to have Gold tokens that do NOT sacrifice for mana. That's an estabilished feature from both Gild and King Macar. Rarity is fine. Balance – Without external help, you have to activate three times the first ability before you can activate the second, and you have to do that during the course of three turns during which you keep your devotion to black to at least three. And when you finally get to activate the second ability, you have to have a high enough devotion to the other color. That's a lot of hoops to jump through to get to reanimate a creature from your graveyard. You can't even reanimate an opponent's creature after all these hoops. Yes, these days a reanimation spell costs at least five mana while this is both repeatable and costs two mana less, but I feel like the devotion requirements and/or the mana cost could have been lower, obviously adapting power and toughness if you change the mana cost. I'd play it in limited but I wouldn't be excited to play it. Way too many hoops for constructed. Creative Writing – Name is fine. No room for flavor text.
Polish Challenge (2/2) – Subchallenge 1 met. I'm not 100% sure, but I think this is meant to represent Scrooge from "A Christmas Carol", so I'll say subchallenge 2 is met too, but we're walking on a thin line here. Quality (2/3) – It should be specified that the tokens are colorless (again, see Gild and King Macar, the Gold-Cursed, half a point deducted). In the first ability, "Activated" should be "Activate" (half a point deducted).
Carol Hydra3GW
Creature - Hydra R
Carol Hydra enters the battlefield with a number of +1/+1 counters equal to your devotion to green and white. 2, Tap another untapped creature you control: Put a +1/+1 counter on Carol Hydra for each green or white mana symbol in the tapped creature’s mana cost. Now might be a good time to go get that figgy pudding.
0/0
Design (7.5/10) Creativity – I can't remember anything already existing that puts +1/+1 counters based on mana symbols. The inspiration from Feral Hydra is clear though. Elegance – A better name and flavor text would have helped in better selling the overall concept of the card. Other than that, all good here. Potential – Timmy doesn't immediately see how big this can be, but once he realizes it, he approves. Johnny likes the challenge to maximize the size of this. I don't think Spike would care.
Development (6.5/10) Viability – I can't see much white in this, I'd like this more if it was monogreen (obviously with devotion only to green and checking only green mana symbols). Hydras are green's iconic race and there's nothing on this card that green can't do by itself. Tapping creatures is a cost that any color can pay, it doesn't require white. It's acceptable anyway as a GW card, as there's also nothing in this card that white can't do. Rarity is fine. Balance – Costs feel good to me. At first I would have said that this could cost one mana less, but taking into account the fact that you could both ramp into it very easily and have a decent devotion by the time you cast this, it's probably better to play it safe and have this cost five mana indeed. Very good in limited. I wouldn't be surprised to see this popping up here and there in constructed, but I can't see it being played heavily there. Creative Writing – The name is a nice pun but it feels more silver border than black border to me. The flavor text feels somewhat out of context with the rest of the card, it feels to me like it's there just to pass subchallenge 2.
Polish Challenge (2/2) – Both met. References to the "Carol" and pudding are more than enough to me to pass subchallenge 2. Quality (3/3) – All looks good here.
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 (7/10) Creativity – A nice idea, surprising we didn't get something similar out of Theros. Elegance – Clean and easy to understand. Potential – Playable in a monoblue deck but the fact it's dead without cards on the board makes hard to imagine it'll see much play out of Spike's. Some interest from other players.
Development (9/10) – Viability – Works in blue and at this rarity. Balance – Four mana is fair for this effect in my opinion especially with the hoops the player has to jump through. Creative Writing – Sounds like something Dack would say. Could be snappier though.
Polish – Challenge (0/2) – Not gold. Not holiday related. Quality (1/3) – Daci Fayden? Is she meant Dack's little sister or something? No reminder text for devotion.
Total: 17/25
Cardz5000
Design (7/10) Creativity – A nice novel hydra design. Elegance – The flavour is completely lost on me. Why does tapping a creature get me another head on my hydra? Why is it only green and white creatures? Potential – Definately a fun casual card for Timmy and perhaps Johnny.
Development (6/10) – Viability – Works for these colours and this rarity. Balance – No threat to any formats as far as I can tell. Creative Writing – Does it send people to sleep or something? I really don't understand the flavour one bit.
Polish – Challenge (2/2) – Quality (3/3) –
Total: 18/25
Flatline
Design (8/10) Creativity – We haven't seen devotion used this way and I like the design space opened up. Elegance – Rather complicated and I dislike requiring both devotion and specific tokens as I feel actually returning a creature will rarely happen. I feel the gold token should have been the same as Theros. Potential – A clear Johnny card, which could also see play in commander.
Development (7.5/10) – Viability – The white feels somewhat off (black is technically better at getting stuff back from the graveyard in the first place) but it feels rare. Balance – Slow enough not to be a threat. In fact I would even knock it down to WB, given that neither ability activates without devotion. Creative Writing – So he's a miser because he collects gold but conflicted because he brings back creatures. I kinda get the name, but flavour text might help keep the card together.
Polish – Challenge (1/2) – Not Christmassy. Quality (2/3) – Gold tokens should be colorless.
Total: 18.5/25
Ninja Caterpie
Design (8.5/10) Creativity – We've seen simpler effects with Zedruu but nothing quite like this. Devotion to all colours is also new. Elegance – I don't like that he RWU and yet has devotion to all colours. His Father Christmas flavour is really nice though. Potential – The universal swapping feels good to Johnny and he's a big fat indestructible for Timmy. Casual players will love him, particularly in multiplayer.
Development (8/10) – Viability – Fits the three colours chosen. Definately a mythic. Balance – The devotion required to turn him into a creature should be higher than the two colour gods in my opinion. His price is a bit too steep considering he doesn't actually offer any advantage as a noncreature enchantment. Creative Writing – Loved the name.
Polish – Challenge (2/2) – Quality (1.5/3) – A less lazy judge would fix the wording for you, but this is simply not templated correctly.
Design (8.5/10)
Creativity – A card that steals based off of devotion is new, though otherwise the mechanics of it doesn't broach much.
Elegance – Quite on point here.
Potential – Timmy wouldn't care. Johnny likes tinkering with ways to make devotion work. Spike likes the permanence of the effect as well as the versatility.
Development (8/10)
Viability – This seems right on on all counts of colors and rarity.
Balance – The devotion tie in works perfectly for the powerful effect at 4. Sorcery speed is right for this too.
Creative Writing – Daci Fayden? You mean Dack, Right? Might be odd for him on a devotion card that cares about one color when he focuses on several.
Polish
Challenge (1/2) – This card is not a gold card. Additionally, you went for subtlety in referencing toys and giving and receiving. I almost feel it's too vague. However, as the sub challenge asked for a “link” “in the spirit of” the holidays, I'll go with it. I find this more acceptable then something that wouldn't be black bordered.
Quality (2/3) – You misspelled the name of a iconic character in Magic. I find that more egregious that the usual typo since it messes with more than grammar.
Total: 19.5/25
Ninja Caterpie
Design (7/10)
Creativity – A god doing something like this is unique. URW toys with the effects a decent bit since commander played with the idea.
Elegance – The fact that this looks at any color for devotions is a strange discord for me. Additionally, what is your god when it's NOT a creature, as you missed defining it as an enchantment.
Potential – Timmy likes how big it is, but not the effect. Johnny loves abusing control changes and figuring out ways to benefit the most. Spike likes how easy it easy to get an indestructible 7/7 and the control/stall aspects in the draw
Development (8/10)
Viability – The color and rarity are spot on as a god with Zedruu influenced theme.
Balance – This may be tri colored, but it is perhaps the easiest god to maintain devotion to since it cares about all colors and provides three of its required seven. It's symmetrical effect that asks to be abused, and a 7/7 body on top of it is too much for standard. I'm not sure it fits into modern power level though, but it just might.
Creative Writing – The Claus reference is obvious as well as the gift giving. Good play on the theme here.
Polish
Challenge (2/2) – Both challenges met.
Quality (2/3) – This creature ceases to be anything when you don't have devotion.
Total: 19/25
Flatline
Design (5/10)
Creativity – The concept of trading creatures for gold and gold back for reviving creatures is far out there.
Elegance – This is really clunky with a lot going on and strange requirments for abilities. Devotion here mechanically seems overwrought, even If I think I get the flavor of the idea. Gold artifact tokens have been defined with a mana ability.
Potential – Timmy hates this. Johnny might have fun with this as a weird looping sac/res engine somewhere obscure. He'll like the challenge at least. Spike appreciates the sac outline on already dying critters, but dislikes the devotion requirements and the overall inefficiency.
Development (8/10)
Viability – This fits into it's colors well enough and a rarity based on (probably unneeded) complexity.
Balance – Honestly, this is very weak with all the hoops you jump through to make gold-do-nothing tokens to revive back on creature in the long run. At least it has a tough body.
Creative Writing – I get the conflict here between being wealth and doing whats right, selling people out versus bring people on, black v. white. It's a neat idea even though I feel it loses out in execution.
Polish –
Challenge (2/2) – It is gold. The link to the holiday spirit is weak, but I'll say permissible.
Quality (1.5/3) – It should be a colorless artifact token. Gold tokens are an already defines concept in MTG that is used differently here and that causes unneeded confusion.
Total: 16.5/25
Cardz5000
Design (7.5/10)
Creativity – The effects arn't particularly new (the adding more counters afterward effect is slightly different), but together on a hydra is.
Elegance – Are other creatures singing with the hydra to make it stronger? Is that the idea? That's...weird. but ok.
Potential – Timmy likes how big it can be. Johnny likes all the counter adding and abuses of devotion here. Spike is probably disinterested at a big 5 costing fatty that can be sucker blocked all day.
Development (8/10)
Viability – This could be mono green honestly. White just seems to be on the card to satisfy the subchallenge.
Balance – I think this card is spot on power level wise as fun limited/casual card.
Creative Writing – Christmas puns just because don;t work for me. The connecting between carolers and figgy pudding are lost on me.
Polish
Challenge (1/2) – This is gold, and the flavor, while knocking on silver bordered, doesn't automatically put there. However, while I imagine you enjoyed making the render, you shot yourself in the foot by adding to the art in a way that could only be done for a silver border.
Quality (3/3) – Looks fine to me.
Thanks again to everyone who participated in my first MCC ever, all players and judges! I hope you all had fun and will be there again for my next one.
Private Mod Note
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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.)
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December MCC - Round 4
"A devoted surprise!"
MaRo taught us the importance of comfort, surprise and completion. The first three rounds should have given you a lot of comfort, as they all looked at the same thing: the characteristics of mana symbols. That means this round I'll try to surprise you by changing that while still keeping the theme of mana symbols, and in a few days you'll have completion too, as both the year and this month of MCC will be over.
Main challenge: design a card that either has chroma, has devotion, or somehow counts mana symbols (all of them or only a subset).
Subchallenge 1: The card is gold (hybrid does NOT count).
Subchallenge 2: The card has a link to the winter holidays in the spirit of the holiday cards, but it makes sense in black border.
You can interpret this in any way you want. The link can be only in mechanics, only in flavor, or in both. Anything you choose to do, the link to the winter holidays should be obvious to the judge's eyes and it has to be printable in black border. Silver border is off limits for the purposes of this challenge. For reference, all existing holiday cards are here. (Alright, this surprise may not have been a big one after all, given the period of the year we're living...)
Some more clarifications from the discussion thread:
The card has to actually count mana symbols, it just can't have a check on the mana symbols in an intervening if clause. It can't ask: "Are there mana symbols here?" so that the answer is yes/no. In my intent, "counting" mana symbols means that the number of those symbols should matter in some way, it shouldn't be the same if there are one or ten symbols. Please note that the count doesn't have to be explicit, something that says "do something for each mana symbol" is acceptable (in fact that's how Phosphorescent Feast is worded), because it scales with the number of symbols, so how many symbols are there matters.
The schedule will be a little looser this round because of New Year's Day.
Design deadline: Wednesday, December 31st at 17:59 EST, in the exact moment 2014 ends and 2015 starts! At least here in central Europe, the USA will still be in 2014 for 6 more hours, while Asia and Australia will already be in 2015.
Judge deadline: Sunday, January 4th at 17:59 EST (23:59 in central Europe).
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
JUDGES:
bravelion83
Moss_Elemental
IcariiFA
Antny223
PLAYERS:
admirableadmiral
Cardz5000
Flatline
Ninja Caterpie
As usual, all judges will judge all entries and the winner will be determined by the sum of the scores. May everyone have a happy new year!
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.)
Sorcery [R]
Gain control of target nonland permanent with converted mana cost is X or less, where X is your devotion to blue.
"I don't understand why the guards are always so unhappy when they find out I borrowed their favorite toys. It's better to give than to receive, after all."
—Daci Fayden
This would be a reprint as one of the IDW comic book promos.
Legendary Creature - God (M)
Indestructible
As long as your devotion to colours is less than seven, Klos isn't a creature. (Each coloured mana symbol in the mana costs of permanents you control counts toward your devotion to colours.)
At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player may give another player control of a nonland permanent they own and control. If that player does, he or she draws a card and gains 5 life.
7/7
You got 99 attackers but I'm blocking with 1.
The Winner is Judge | 7
This Winner is Also Judge | 6
Club Flamingo | Lots
Creature - Human Advisor (R)
, Sacrifice another creature: Put an artifact token named Gold onto the battlefield. Activated this ability only if your devotion to black is three or more.
, Sacrifice three artifacts named Gold: Return target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield. Activate this ability only if your devotion to white is three or more.
1/4
Creature - Hydra R
Carol Hydra enters the battlefield with a number of +1/+1 counters equal to your devotion to green and white.
2, Tap another untapped creature you control: Put a +1/+1 counter on Carol Hydra for each green or white mana symbol in the tapped creature’s mana cost.
Now might be a good time to go get that figgy pudding.
0/0
Note on the render: I would have used a Feral Hydra alter for the card had I been able to find one as it is the source of the pun, but I was surprised I even found what I did, so I'm pretty happy with it.
Creativity – Not much here for originality, but I could see something like this being printed.
Elegance – No problems here.
Potential – Johnny might abuse it. I could see this in a monoblue devotion deck.
8/10.
Development:
Viability – No problems here.
Balance – Since it's limited to devotion, it's not like you can steal a large creature with it, so four mana seems okay.
Creative Writing – No problems here.
9/10
Polish:
Challenges – Not gold
Quality – “... mana cost X or less...” Dack, not Daci.
3/5
Total: 20/25
Creativity – Kind of reminds me of Zedruu the Greathearted, but you get rewarded for your donation.
Elegance – The wordiness is a problem but the gist of this card is clear.
Potential – Timmy and Johnny would like this.
7/10.
Development:
Viability – I think the devotion should be limited to red, white and blue.
Balance – It's possible that its mana cost is too high. Since, chances are, you'll be giving permanents you control to your opponents, it may be hard to reach that magic number for devotion. On the other hand, this helps your opponents, so I can't see this as a good card.
Creative Writing – No problems here.
7/10
Polish:
Challenges – Both met
Quality – The wording on for the last ability is questionable.
4/5
Total: 18/25
Creativity – The restrictions for using those activated abilities is new.
Elegance – No problems here.
Potential – It's a Johnny card.
8/10.
Development:
Viability – I'm assuming that leaving out what Gold does( like in Gild) was an oversight. Also, I think this could have been just monoblack.
Balance – I find this card is way too dependent on having other cards in play. You need another black permanent with BB in its mana cost to activate the first ability and, for the second ability, you need three Gold and a white permanent with WW in its mana cost. That's just too much red tape, for lack of a better term.
Creative Writing – No problems here.
7/10
Polish:
Challenges – Both met.
Quality – You left out the fact that Gold is colourless, and you forgot to add “It has 'Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any colour to your mana pool.'”
3/5
Total: 18/25
Creativity – Reverent Hunter is another card that involves devotion and +1/+1 counters.
Elegance – No problems here.
Potential – Timmy and Johnny would like this.
8/10.
Development:
Viability – I can see this as only green.
Balance – Five mana seems reasonable for this, though I wouldn't be surprised if the mana cost was higher, since white's known for getting small creaturess out and green loves mana acceleration.
Creative Writing – Not too crazy about the name or the flavour text.
7/10
Polish:
Challenges – Both met.
Quality – The second ability could be considered Chroma.
4/5
Total: 19/25
As always, no complaints, and the numbers are not final until after the deadline.
Judgments are final.
Design/development: I mentally divide points equally among subsections, assign them, then add them up.
Challenges: what counts is always the letter of the law.
Quality: half a point deducted for any error in wording, spelling, or grammar; a whole point for particularly serious errors.
No complaints unless I got something objectively wrong.
admirableadmiral
Design (7/10)
Creativity – Spells that let you take control of permanents are nothing new. Most often they're auras, sometimes they're sorceries, but every block has at least one, if memory serves me well. The only novelty is using devotion to restrict the target, and that doesn't shine for originality.
Elegance – Very elegant, all it takes for this card to work is a single sentence.
Potential – Timmy doesn't care. Johnny and Spike may try to do something with this, finding ways to maximize devotion.
Development (8.5/10)
Viability – The effect is clearly monoblue. Also, it's no longer uncommon but it's at least rare these days (see how Domestication was bumped from uncommon to rare with the reprint), so everything's fine here.
Balance – Compared to Volition Reins, this costs two mana less but can't target lands, the target is limited by devotion, and doesn't untap the permanent you steal. Compared to Mind Control, this costs one mana less and can target any nonland permanent, not just creatures, but again the target is limited by devotion. In addition to this, it's not that easy to get a high devotion count because this doesn't add directly to that, as it's a sorcery. All of this reasoning leads me to believe the mana cost can be right. I feel this is very playable in a limited deck that has enough blue cards to have a high enough devotion, where it would be playing a role similar to Act of Treason, letting you take the opponent's bomb. I don't think this would be playable in constructed, as most cards like this usually aren't. When's the last time we saw a Mind Control effect in constructed? I can't remember seeing one ever.
Creative Writing – Name is very good, so that I actually had to check Gatherer to make sure it doesn't exist yet. Flavor text is fine and it feels spot on to me for the character. There's a typo in the attribution (see "Quality").
Polish
Challenge (1/2) – This isn't gold, so subchallenge 1 is NOT met. The link to toys and "better to give than to receive" in the flavor text is enough to me for subchallenge 2 to be met.
Quality (2/3) – The "is" between "mana cost" and "X or less" shouldn't be there (half a point deducted). In the flavor text, "Daci Fayden" should obviously be "Dack Fayden" (just a typo, half a point deducted). Finally, I would have liked very very much the reminder text "This effect lasts indefinitely" to be there, but there are examples of it sometimes not being there on real cards (Captivating Vampire and others, most recently Siren of the Fanged Coast) so I can't deduct points for this.
Total: 18.5/25
Design (6.5/10)
Creativity – Devotion to colors is innovative, but it's an easy place to go after having seen devotion to multiple colors on BNG and JOU gods. The triggered ability somehow reminds me of Zedruu the Greathearted, but it's different enough.
Elegance – Too wordy to get full score here, but the mechanical representation of the intended flavor is there.
Potential – Timmy is excited by the size of the creature and doesn't look too much into the downside of it sometimes not being a creature. Johnny is very excited by the triggered ability. Spike is the one to be least attracted by this card: all he sees is an enchantment that's rarely a creature and that makes him give away his permanents, and he doesn't like that.
Development (6/10)
Viability – I don't like that this costs Jeskai colors and has devotion to all colors. I would have liked it to either be five colors or have devotion to blue, red, and white. Between the two, I would have preferred the latter. Rarity is right.
Balance – It's very hard to cost a card like this. You have to take into account the fact the often it's not a creature, but it can be. Here we also have an ability that's symmetrical and somewhat hard to evaluate. Given these premises, the cost looks plausible to me. Obvious bomb in limited. Playable in constructed provided you have a way to keep this a creature most of the time. Another factor that may lower the probability of this showing up in constructed is the symmetry of the triggered ability. You don't want your opponent to give you a useless permanent while drawing cards and gaining life. You want to be the only one doing that in constructed, even if that obviously would require bumping up the cost.
Creative Writing – The (actually little) Vorthos in me is somewhat disappointed by the fact that the name isn't "Klos, God of Festivities". No room for flavor text.
Polish
Challenge (2/2) – Both met. The name and the mechanical flavor of the triggered ability (giving gifts) is enough to me for subchallenge 2 to be met.
Quality (2/3) – The words "colours/coloured" are spelled "colors/colored" on Magic cards (half a point deducted). The wording "give a player control" has never been seen on a Magic card (half a point deducted). It should be "that player may have another player gain control", but it would get confusing with the multiple instances of "that player". It could have been the following, though:
Not elegant at all, but at least it has no ambiguities.
Total: 16.5/25
Design (6.5/10)
Creativity – Innovative use of Gold tokens (from Gild and King Macar, the Gold-Cursed), letting you sacrifice them for something other than mana. But wait, these Gold tokens don't sacrifice for mana… this seems more of an oversight than an innovation to me. At the contrary, having devotion as a restriction on activated abilities is something that has not already been done in Theros block.
Elegance – The sequence of costs and effects of the abilities makes this very elegant. The wordiness takes something out of that elegance but not much.
Potential – This is a Johnny card at heart. Timmy and Spike don't care.
Development (5.5/10)
Viability – This could have been monoblack, there's no need to have white in it. Gold tokens are in black (both Gild and King Macar are monoblack), and reanimation is primary in black. It's only in white if it's limited to low converted mana cost or low power. Also, it feels really strange to have Gold tokens that do NOT sacrifice for mana. That's an estabilished feature from both Gild and King Macar. Rarity is fine.
Balance – Without external help, you have to activate three times the first ability before you can activate the second, and you have to do that during the course of three turns during which you keep your devotion to black to at least three. And when you finally get to activate the second ability, you have to have a high enough devotion to the other color. That's a lot of hoops to jump through to get to reanimate a creature from your graveyard. You can't even reanimate an opponent's creature after all these hoops. Yes, these days a reanimation spell costs at least five mana while this is both repeatable and costs two mana less, but I feel like the devotion requirements and/or the mana cost could have been lower, obviously adapting power and toughness if you change the mana cost. I'd play it in limited but I wouldn't be excited to play it. Way too many hoops for constructed.
Creative Writing – Name is fine. No room for flavor text.
Polish
Challenge (2/2) – Subchallenge 1 met. I'm not 100% sure, but I think this is meant to represent Scrooge from "A Christmas Carol", so I'll say subchallenge 2 is met too, but we're walking on a thin line here.
Quality (2/3) – It should be specified that the tokens are colorless (again, see Gild and King Macar, the Gold-Cursed, half a point deducted). In the first ability, "Activated" should be "Activate" (half a point deducted).
Total: 16/25
Design (7.5/10)
Creativity – I can't remember anything already existing that puts +1/+1 counters based on mana symbols. The inspiration from Feral Hydra is clear though.
Elegance – A better name and flavor text would have helped in better selling the overall concept of the card. Other than that, all good here.
Potential – Timmy doesn't immediately see how big this can be, but once he realizes it, he approves. Johnny likes the challenge to maximize the size of this. I don't think Spike would care.
Development (6.5/10)
Viability – I can't see much white in this, I'd like this more if it was monogreen (obviously with devotion only to green and checking only green mana symbols). Hydras are green's iconic race and there's nothing on this card that green can't do by itself. Tapping creatures is a cost that any color can pay, it doesn't require white. It's acceptable anyway as a GW card, as there's also nothing in this card that white can't do. Rarity is fine.
Balance – Costs feel good to me. At first I would have said that this could cost one mana less, but taking into account the fact that you could both ramp into it very easily and have a decent devotion by the time you cast this, it's probably better to play it safe and have this cost five mana indeed. Very good in limited. I wouldn't be surprised to see this popping up here and there in constructed, but I can't see it being played heavily there.
Creative Writing – The name is a nice pun but it feels more silver border than black border to me. The flavor text feels somewhat out of context with the rest of the card, it feels to me like it's there just to pass subchallenge 2.
Polish
Challenge (2/2) – Both met. References to the "Carol" and pudding are more than enough to me to pass subchallenge 2.
Quality (3/3) – All looks good here.
Total: 19/25
admirableadmiral: 18.5
Cardz5000: 19
Flatline: 16
Ninja Caterpie: 16.5
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.)
Creativity – A nice idea, surprising we didn't get something similar out of Theros.
Elegance – Clean and easy to understand.
Potential – Playable in a monoblue deck but the fact it's dead without cards on the board makes hard to imagine it'll see much play out of Spike's. Some interest from other players.
Development (9/10) –
Viability – Works in blue and at this rarity.
Balance – Four mana is fair for this effect in my opinion especially with the hoops the player has to jump through.
Creative Writing – Sounds like something Dack would say. Could be snappier though.
Polish –
Challenge (0/2) – Not gold. Not holiday related.
Quality (1/3) – Daci Fayden? Is she meant Dack's little sister or something? No reminder text for devotion.
Total: 17/25
Cardz5000
Creativity – A nice novel hydra design.
Elegance – The flavour is completely lost on me. Why does tapping a creature get me another head on my hydra? Why is it only green and white creatures?
Potential – Definately a fun casual card for Timmy and perhaps Johnny.
Development (6/10) –
Viability – Works for these colours and this rarity.
Balance – No threat to any formats as far as I can tell.
Creative Writing – Does it send people to sleep or something? I really don't understand the flavour one bit.
Polish –
Challenge (2/2) –
Quality (3/3) –
Total: 18/25
Creativity – We haven't seen devotion used this way and I like the design space opened up.
Elegance – Rather complicated and I dislike requiring both devotion and specific tokens as I feel actually returning a creature will rarely happen. I feel the gold token should have been the same as Theros.
Potential – A clear Johnny card, which could also see play in commander.
Development (7.5/10) –
Viability – The white feels somewhat off (black is technically better at getting stuff back from the graveyard in the first place) but it feels rare.
Balance – Slow enough not to be a threat. In fact I would even knock it down to WB, given that neither ability activates without devotion.
Creative Writing – So he's a miser because he collects gold but conflicted because he brings back creatures. I kinda get the name, but flavour text might help keep the card together.
Polish –
Challenge (1/2) – Not Christmassy.
Quality (2/3) – Gold tokens should be colorless.
Total: 18.5/25
Creativity – We've seen simpler effects with Zedruu but nothing quite like this. Devotion to all colours is also new.
Elegance – I don't like that he RWU and yet has devotion to all colours. His Father Christmas flavour is really nice though.
Potential – The universal swapping feels good to Johnny and he's a big fat indestructible for Timmy. Casual players will love him, particularly in multiplayer.
Development (8/10) –
Viability – Fits the three colours chosen. Definately a mythic.
Balance – The devotion required to turn him into a creature should be higher than the two colour gods in my opinion. His price is a bit too steep considering he doesn't actually offer any advantage as a noncreature enchantment.
Creative Writing – Loved the name.
Polish –
Challenge (2/2) –
Quality (1.5/3) – A less lazy judge would fix the wording for you, but this is simply not templated correctly.
Total: 20/25
Creativity – A card that steals based off of devotion is new, though otherwise the mechanics of it doesn't broach much.
Elegance – Quite on point here.
Potential – Timmy wouldn't care. Johnny likes tinkering with ways to make devotion work. Spike likes the permanence of the effect as well as the versatility.
Development (8/10)
Viability – This seems right on on all counts of colors and rarity.
Balance – The devotion tie in works perfectly for the powerful effect at 4. Sorcery speed is right for this too.
Creative Writing – Daci Fayden? You mean Dack, Right? Might be odd for him on a devotion card that cares about one color when he focuses on several.
Polish
Challenge (1/2) – This card is not a gold card. Additionally, you went for subtlety in referencing toys and giving and receiving. I almost feel it's too vague. However, as the sub challenge asked for a “link” “in the spirit of” the holidays, I'll go with it. I find this more acceptable then something that wouldn't be black bordered.
Quality (2/3) – You misspelled the name of a iconic character in Magic. I find that more egregious that the usual typo since it messes with more than grammar.
Total: 19.5/25
Ninja Caterpie
Creativity – A god doing something like this is unique. URW toys with the effects a decent bit since commander played with the idea.
Elegance – The fact that this looks at any color for devotions is a strange discord for me. Additionally, what is your god when it's NOT a creature, as you missed defining it as an enchantment.
Potential – Timmy likes how big it is, but not the effect. Johnny loves abusing control changes and figuring out ways to benefit the most. Spike likes how easy it easy to get an indestructible 7/7 and the control/stall aspects in the draw
Development (8/10)
Viability – The color and rarity are spot on as a god with Zedruu influenced theme.
Balance – This may be tri colored, but it is perhaps the easiest god to maintain devotion to since it cares about all colors and provides three of its required seven. It's symmetrical effect that asks to be abused, and a 7/7 body on top of it is too much for standard. I'm not sure it fits into modern power level though, but it just might.
Creative Writing – The Claus reference is obvious as well as the gift giving. Good play on the theme here.
Polish
Challenge (2/2) – Both challenges met.
Quality (2/3) – This creature ceases to be anything when you don't have devotion.
Total: 19/25
Flatline
Creativity – The concept of trading creatures for gold and gold back for reviving creatures is far out there.
Elegance – This is really clunky with a lot going on and strange requirments for abilities. Devotion here mechanically seems overwrought, even If I think I get the flavor of the idea. Gold artifact tokens have been defined with a mana ability.
Potential – Timmy hates this. Johnny might have fun with this as a weird looping sac/res engine somewhere obscure. He'll like the challenge at least. Spike appreciates the sac outline on already dying critters, but dislikes the devotion requirements and the overall inefficiency.
Development (8/10)
Viability – This fits into it's colors well enough and a rarity based on (probably unneeded) complexity.
Balance – Honestly, this is very weak with all the hoops you jump through to make gold-do-nothing tokens to revive back on creature in the long run. At least it has a tough body.
Creative Writing – I get the conflict here between being wealth and doing whats right, selling people out versus bring people on, black v. white. It's a neat idea even though I feel it loses out in execution.
Polish –
Challenge (2/2) – It is gold. The link to the holiday spirit is weak, but I'll say permissible.
Quality (1.5/3) – It should be a colorless artifact token. Gold tokens are an already defines concept in MTG that is used differently here and that causes unneeded confusion.
Total: 16.5/25
Creativity – The effects arn't particularly new (the adding more counters afterward effect is slightly different), but together on a hydra is.
Elegance – Are other creatures singing with the hydra to make it stronger? Is that the idea? That's...weird. but ok.
Potential – Timmy likes how big it can be. Johnny likes all the counter adding and abuses of devotion here. Spike is probably disinterested at a big 5 costing fatty that can be sucker blocked all day.
Development (8/10)
Viability – This could be mono green honestly. White just seems to be on the card to satisfy the subchallenge.
Balance – I think this card is spot on power level wise as fun limited/casual card.
Creative Writing – Christmas puns just because don;t work for me. The connecting between carolers and figgy pudding are lost on me.
Polish
Challenge (1/2) – This is gold, and the flavor, while knocking on silver bordered, doesn't automatically put there. However, while I imagine you enjoyed making the render, you shot yourself in the foot by adding to the art in a way that could only be done for a silver border.
Quality (3/3) – Looks fine to me.
Total: 19.5/25
Cardz5000
Here are the final scores:
Cardz5000: 19 + 19 + 19.5 + 18 = 75.5
admirableadmiral: 18.5 + 20 + 19.5 + 17 = 75
Ninja Caterpie: 16.5 + 18 + 19 + 20 = 73.5
Flatline: 16 + 18 + 16.5 + 18.5 = 69
@Cardz5000: Congratulations for your victory!
Thanks again to everyone who participated in my first MCC ever, all players and judges! I hope you all had fun and will be there again for my next one.
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.)