After a month based on top-down design, it only feels appropriate to go for a month dedicated to its opposite. So, the theme of this month will be bottom-up card design. For those who might not know, what that means is a card design that starts with a mechanical idea and only then finds a flavor that suits it. This time, rounds will differ, but they will all be based on some kind of mechanical idea.
Challenge: design a colored(*) card with CMC exactly 1, no color indicator, and no alternative or additional costs.
(*) No colorless cards! No colorless artifacts, no colorless spells (All is Dust), no C.
You have until Wednesday, May 11th 23:59 EDT. You will have until the critique deadline for round 3 to post critiques and top 3. Seeing as it went last month, I will not do a projected schedule this time.
In the first three rounds, entry is free for anyone. Come join us! We are waiting for you!
First place gives 3 points, second place 2 points, third place 1 point.
1 bonus point for posting critiques.
1 bonus point for posting a top 3.
The points received by each player will be added up and calculated as a percentage of the maximum points that player could have obtained, which are given by 3 * (number of critiques received) + 2
The percentages will then be ordered in decreasing order and that will be the standings for the round.
The percentages from the first three rounds will be added up at the end of round 3 to determine the top 8 or top 4 (see schedule above).
The same system will be used in top 8 and top 4 rounds.
As usual, the final winner will be determined by a public poll.
CRITIQUES
As usual, critique the six names below yours and rank a top 3. You have until the critique deadline for round 3.
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.)
Harry(W/U)
Instant (C)
Tap target creature. It doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step. There is no resource as valuable as time. Keeping your foe too busy to have time to respond is as good as slaying them, and far easier.
Cruel ResurrectionB
Sorcery (R)
Return target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield, then sacrifice that creature. “He wished for a second life, but never specified how long he wanted it to be.”
-Suljhet, Juzam djinn
Arboreal MightG
Instant (U)
Target creature gains +2/+2 until end of turn. If you control five or more lands with the same name, that creature gains an additional +3/+3 until end of turn. The vines give me strength... more vines, more strength!
- Andoran, Arborist
Ominous ThunderR
Sorcery (C)
Ominous Thunder deals 2 damage to target creature or player. Delirium — If there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard, Ominous Thunder deals 2 damage to up to one additional target creature or player.
Take a ChanceR
Sorcery (C)
Shuffle the cards from your hand into your library, then draw that many cards. Once you’ve taken a chance, you’ll need a little luck.
Duelist of the VeilsW
Creature - Human Warrior (U)
Morph - Reveal a white card from your hand.
When Duelist of the Veils is turned face up, put two +1/+1 counters on it.
1/1
Incarnate of Vengeance
Creature - Avatar (Rare)
Flash
Whenever a source an opponent controls deals damage to you, put a +1/+1 counter on Incarnate of Vengeance. Born by sadness, driven by zealously, can't rest until justice is done
0/1
Power Arbirter
Creature - Human Advisor(R)
Whenever a creature enters the battlefield Power Arbiter does X damage to that creature's controller where X is that creature's converted mana cost.
1/2
Sewage Thrull B
Creature - Thrull (U)
Sewage Thrull can't be sacrificed. "No.. just no" - Asmoranomardicardaistinaculdacar, author of the Underworld Cookbook
2/1
Follow a LeadU
Sorcery {C}
Investigate twice. (To investigate, put a colorless Clue artifact token onto the battlefield with "2, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.") For every answer, a myriad of questions.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A mere ten days after the Mending, a young knight of Valeron and a young ranger of Eos made a discovery that would change Alara forever.
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.)
Take a ChanceR
Sorcery (C)
Shuffle the cards from your hand into your library, then draw that many cards. Once you’ve taken a chance, you’ll need a little luck.
Well that's certainly in red's wheelhouse. Pretty solid, even if I can't find a use for it off the top of my head. Although it is kind of a Windfall for one mana in a dredge deck. This essentially ports Breakthrough into Modern, which I'm a bit hesitant about.
Incarnate of Vengeance
Creature - Avatar (Rare)
Flash
Whenever a source an opponent controls deals damage to you, put a +1/+1 counter on Incarnate of Vengeance. Born by sadness, driven by zealously, can't rest until justice is done
0/1
Hmm. If your opponent is a swarm type deck, or even just attacks with two creatures, this card is kind of insane. Then again, the importance of a small (potentially) creature in the midgame isn't that big of a deal. This thing is problematic just because it disincentivizes your opponent from attacking in the early game before they remove this guy, which is a direction Magic is trying to head away from.
Power Arbirter
Creature - Human Advisor(R)
Whenever a creature enters the battlefield Power Arbiter does X damage to that creature's controller where X is that creature's converted mana cost.
1/2
Now that is a pretty damn cool idea. Makes battlecruisers kind of terrible, and works incredibly well in weenie (or even better, token strategy) decks. I would love to see this card printed. Some templating/grammar issues that I won't knock any points off for because that isn't the spirit of this competition.
Sewage Thrull B
Creature - Thrull (U)
Sewage Thrull can't be sacrificed. "No.. just no" - Asmoranomardicardaistinaculdacar, author of the Underworld Cookbook
2/1
Huh. Kind of a nice effect, and this is very aggressively costed for black. Two power one drops in black generally have severe drawbacks. Not even going to remotely try to pronounce that author's name, ha. But I think this is very pushed for an uncommon.
Follow a LeadU
Sorcery {C}
Investigate twice. (To investigate, put a colorless Clue artifact token onto the battlefield with "2, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.") For every answer, a myriad of questions.
Not the most exciting thing in the world, but I can see it.
The fleeting, infamous one mana casting cost, power 2 creature with haste. I like this attempt. I think it does a good job with the sacrifice, and it fits Red so perfectly.
(The render is missing a mana cost. It should be (R/W).) Power Arbiter packs a punch. And maybe too much punch. It makes players not want to cast creatures, which means let’s everyone play more spells. I’m not sure I like this, even at rare. It does so much direct damage, it’s stackable with multiples and is too good of a creature denial.
I totally didn’t understand this card until a moment ago. It can’t be sacrificed, meaning I can’t use it for fodder for other spells or abilities. Still, I think this is too powerful. 2/1 for B without an obvious downside spells trouble. It works for white, and maybe for green, but not for black.
Shock with an upside. We can’t have Lightning Bolt, but can we can have a Shock that occasionally deals 4 damage. (It’s interesting we didn’t see this card in SOI. But hey, there’s still Eldritch Moon…)
I like this idea. I like the flavor. But etb triggers (and to a lesser extent, ltb triggers) will make this just much too broken, and especially for one mana, despite the increased rarity.
Harry(W/U)
Instant (C)
Tap target creature. It doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step. There is no resource as valuable as time. Keeping your foe too busy to have time to respond is as good as slaying them, and far easier.
Cruel ResurrectionB
Sorcery (R)
Return target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield, then sacrifice that creature. “He wished for a second life, but never specified how long he wanted it to be.”
-Suljhet, Juzam djinn
Arboreal MightG
Instant (U)
Target creature gains +2/+2 until end of turn. If you control five or more lands with the same name, that creature gains an additional +3/+3 until end of turn. The vines give me strength... more vines, more strength!
- Andoran, Arborist
Sure, this is fine, it looks like some set's Giant Growth variant.
Take a ChanceR
Sorcery (C)
Shuffle the cards from your hand into your library, then draw that many cards. Once you’ve taken a chance, you’ll need a little luck.
This is nice and clean, and I think strong without being too-strong. Rarity may be too low for handling time reasons.
Duelist of the VeilsW
Creature - Human Warrior (U)
Morph - Reveal a white card from your hand.
When Duelist of the Veils is turned face up, put two +1/+1 counters on it.
1/1
I like how this really embraces the extra mana investment of morph.
Incarnate of Vengeance
Creature - Avatar (Rare)
Flash
Whenever a source an opponent controls deals damage to you, put a +1/+1 counter on Incarnate of Vengeance. Born by sadness, driven by zealously, can't rest until justice is done
0/1
This feels like it incentivizes a boring line of play to me — definitely Shock this guy immediately before you do any other things!
Harry(W/U)
Instant (C)
Tap target creature. It doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step. There is no resource as valuable as time. Keeping your foe too busy to have time to respond is as good as slaying them, and far easier.
This seems very strong, especially since white doesn't generally have access to the 'It doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step' part.
Arboreal MightG
Instant (U)
Target creature gains +2/+2 until end of turn. If you control five or more lands with the same name, that creature gains an additional +3/+3 until end of turn. The vines give me strength... more vines, more strength!
- Andoran, Arborist
It'd feel more arboreal if it checked for 5 or more Forests. Nice though
Take a ChanceR
Sorcery (C)
Shuffle the cards from your hand into your library, then draw that many cards. Once you’ve taken a chance, you’ll need a little luck.
Winds of Change, without the fiendish possibility of ruining your opponent's opening hand. Or murdering them with draw pain.
Incarnate of Vengeance
Creature - Avatar (Rare)
Flash
Whenever a source an opponent controls deals damage to you, put a +1/+1 counter on Incarnate of Vengeance. Born by sadness, driven by zealously, can't rest until justice is done
0/1
Follow a LeadU
Sorcery {C}
Investigate twice. (To investigate, put a colorless Clue artifact token onto the battlefield with "2, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.") For every answer, a myriad of questions.
Heh. I almost wonder if this could try and pretend to be an Ancestral Recall and investigate thrice.
Duelist of the VeilsW
Creature - Human Warrior (U)
Morph - Reveal a white card from your hand.
When Duelist of the Veils is turned face up, put two +1/+1 counters on it.
1/1
Not terribly exciting, but I suppose a vanilla 3/3 for (mostly) 3 is actually rather efficient.
Power Arbirter
Creature - Human Advisor(R)
Whenever a creature enters the battlefield Power Arbiter does X damage to that creature's controller where X is that creature's converted mana cost.
1/2
White should not get this level of direct damage. And red really shouldn’t, either. This is way too punishing for almost any deck to deal with, since almost every deck runs on creatures.
Sewage Thrull B
Creature - Thrull (U)
Sewage Thrull can't be sacrificed. "No.. just no" - Asmoranomardicardaistinaculdacar, author of the Underworld Cookbook
2/1
It’s not common for black to get a creature at this level of efficiency, though it’s allowable with a drawback. I suppose “can’t be sacrificed” is a drawback, though not one that’s likely to matter, as the majority of decks won’t care about it. It’s flavorful to read, but with very narrow abilities or drawbacks, the flavor seldom comes through in actual gameplay.
Ominous ThunderR
Sorcery (C)
Ominous Thunder deals 2 damage to target creature or player. Delirium — If there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard, Ominous Thunder deals 2 damage to up to one additional target creature or player.
Delirium is a good way to give early-game cards utility in the late game, and this does it quite well. A Shock is already quite powerful on its own and doesn’t really need to be boosted, especially if it’s common. But I like the principle behind this.
Cruel ResurrectionB
Sorcery (R)
Return target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield, then sacrifice that creature. “He wished for a second life, but never specified how long he wanted it to be.”
-Suljhet, Juzam djinn
This is cute. Sometimes you just want to get an extra ETB/death trigger. Might want to cantrip this, as it’s quite narrow and doesn’t do anything on its own, and there are generally better cards to retrigger ETBs with.
Harry(W/U)
Instant (C)
Tap target creature. It doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step. There is no resource as valuable as time. Keeping your foe too busy to have time to respond is as good as slaying them, and far easier.
The most basic version of the standard tap-and-hold. They probably haven’t printed this because it’s too low impact, but I can see this as a filler card for limited. This effect is pretty deeply ingrained in blue. White could get access to it if the set really needs hybrid cards for some reason, but I think it would feel much better as a monoblue effect.
Duelist of the VeilsW
Creature - Human Warrior (U)
Morph - Reveal a white card from your hand.
When Duelist of the Veils is turned face up, put two +1/+1 counters on it.
1/1
There’s very little reason to ever play this face-up, as a 1/1 is extremely low impact. It’s a 3/3 morph that costs no mana to flip as long as you’re in white. That violates the 5-mana principle established in Tarkir, which was set for a very good reason, to alleviate the problem of morphs discouraging attacks. This card would cause too many blowouts on the block, and it’s really far above rate.
The critique deadline has passed. No more critiques for round 1, 2, and 3 will be accepted. Top 4 will be posted soon, with scores from the previous rounds in the OP.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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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"Being cheap"
After a month based on top-down design, it only feels appropriate to go for a month dedicated to its opposite. So, the theme of this month will be bottom-up card design. For those who might not know, what that means is a card design that starts with a mechanical idea and only then finds a flavor that suits it. This time, rounds will differ, but they will all be based on some kind of mechanical idea.
Challenge: design a colored(*) card with CMC exactly 1, no color indicator, and no alternative or additional costs.
(*) No colorless cards! No colorless artifacts, no colorless spells (All is Dust), no C.
You have until Wednesday, May 11th 23:59 EDT. You will have until the critique deadline for round 3 to post critiques and top 3. Seeing as it went last month, I will not do a projected schedule this time.
In the first three rounds, entry is free for anyone. Come join us! We are waiting for you!
First place gives 3 points, second place 2 points, third place 1 point.
1 bonus point for posting critiques.
1 bonus point for posting a top 3.
The points received by each player will be added up and calculated as a percentage of the maximum points that player could have obtained, which are given by 3 * (number of critiques received) + 2
The percentages will then be ordered in decreasing order and that will be the standings for the round.
The percentages from the first three rounds will be added up at the end of round 3 to determine the top 8 or top 4 (see schedule above).
The same system will be used in top 8 and top 4 rounds.
As usual, the final winner will be determined by a public poll.
CRITIQUES
As usual, critique the six names below yours and rank a top 3. You have until the critique deadline for round 3.
RaikouRider
theazurespirit
RedGauntlet
drewdagreek
willows
Ink-Treader
Jimmy Groove
Asrama
glurman
netn10
proudawesome
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.)
Instant (C)
Tap target creature. It doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step.
There is no resource as valuable as time. Keeping your foe too busy to have time to respond is as good as slaying them, and far easier.
Sorcery (R)
Return target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield, then sacrifice that creature.
“He wished for a second life, but never specified how long he wanted it to be.”
-Suljhet, Juzam djinn
Choose one of these judge of creation:
Make Strionic Resonator shine!
You can not grasp the true form of Ashiok's attack!
Instant (U)
Target creature gains +2/+2 until end of turn. If you control five or more lands with the same name, that creature gains an additional +3/+3 until end of turn.
The vines give me strength... more vines, more strength!
- Andoran, Arborist
Sorcery (C)
Ominous Thunder deals 2 damage to target creature or player.
Delirium — If there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard, Ominous Thunder deals 2 damage to up to one additional target creature or player.
Sorcery (C)
Shuffle the cards from your hand into your library, then draw that many cards.
Once you’ve taken a chance, you’ll need a little luck.
( ancestral on Custom Magic Discord server )
( mproud on reddit )
Creature - Human Warrior (U)
Morph - Reveal a white card from your hand.
When Duelist of the Veils is turned face up, put two +1/+1 counters on it.
1/1
Host, December 2015: A Winter Wonderland? - R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL April 2014: A Game of Fate - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinal|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL December 2012: Spy Games - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL November 2010: The Perfect Crime - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL August 2009: A Commander's Journey: Signups|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
I've got tons of art from the web. Want art for a render? PM me! Want to create your own collection? Start here!
Creature - Avatar (Rare)
Flash
Whenever a source an opponent controls deals damage to you, put a +1/+1 counter on Incarnate of Vengeance.
Born by sadness, driven by zealously, can't rest until justice is done
0/1
Creature - Human Advisor(R)
Whenever a creature enters the battlefield Power Arbiter does X damage to that creature's controller where X is that creature's converted mana cost.
1/2
Creature - Devil (R)
Haste
Whenever Arson Fiend deals combat damage to a player, it deals 1 damage to you.
2/1
Creature - Thrull (U)
Sewage Thrull can't be sacrificed.
"No.. just no" - Asmoranomardicardaistinaculdacar, author of the Underworld Cookbook
2/1
Sorcery {C}
Investigate twice. (To investigate, put a colorless Clue artifact token onto the battlefield with "2, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.")
For every answer, a myriad of questions.
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
RaikouRider
theazurespirit
RedGauntlet
drewdagreek
willows
Ink-Treader
Jimmy Groove
Asrama
glurman
netn10
proudawesome
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.)
Well that's certainly in red's wheelhouse. Pretty solid, even if I can't find a use for it off the top of my head. Although it is kind of a Windfall for one mana in a dredge deck. This essentially ports Breakthrough into Modern, which I'm a bit hesitant about.
Hmm. If your opponent is a swarm type deck, or even just attacks with two creatures, this card is kind of insane. Then again, the importance of a small (potentially) creature in the midgame isn't that big of a deal. This thing is problematic just because it disincentivizes your opponent from attacking in the early game before they remove this guy, which is a direction Magic is trying to head away from.
Now that is a pretty damn cool idea. Makes battlecruisers kind of terrible, and works incredibly well in weenie (or even better, token strategy) decks. I would love to see this card printed. Some templating/grammar issues that I won't knock any points off for because that isn't the spirit of this competition.
Oooh. I love these aggressive one drops with drawbacks. I see no flaws at all here.
Huh. Kind of a nice effect, and this is very aggressively costed for black. Two power one drops in black generally have severe drawbacks. Not even going to remotely try to pronounce that author's name, ha. But I think this is very pushed for an uncommon.
Not the most exciting thing in the world, but I can see it.
2) RedGauntlet
3) RaikouRider
( ancestral on Custom Magic Discord server )
( mproud on reddit )
I love this effect but it cannot be this cheap.
Sure, this is fine, it looks like some set's Giant Growth variant.
This is nice and clean, and I think strong without being too-strong. Rarity may be too low for handling time reasons.
I like how this really embraces the extra mana investment of morph.
This feels like it incentivizes a boring line of play to me — definitely Shock this guy immediately before you do any other things!
2. proudawesome
3. glurman
1st: RaikouRaider
2nd: RedGauntlet
3rd: proudawesome
This seems very strong, especially since white doesn't generally have access to the 'It doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step' part.
It'd feel more arboreal if it checked for 5 or more Forests. Nice though
Winds of Change, without the fiendish possibility of ruining your opponent's opening hand. Or murdering them with draw pain.
Seems fine when compared to Retaliator Griffin.
Heh. I almost wonder if this could try and pretend to be an Ancestral Recall and investigate thrice.
Not terribly exciting, but I suppose a vanilla 3/3 for (mostly) 3 is actually rather efficient.
1. netn10
2. RaikouRider
3. Jimmy Groove
Choose one of these judge of creation:
Make Strionic Resonator shine!
You can not grasp the true form of Ashiok's attack!
White should not get this level of direct damage. And red really shouldn’t, either. This is way too punishing for almost any deck to deal with, since almost every deck runs on creatures.
It’s not common for black to get a creature at this level of efficiency, though it’s allowable with a drawback. I suppose “can’t be sacrificed” is a drawback, though not one that’s likely to matter, as the majority of decks won’t care about it. It’s flavorful to read, but with very narrow abilities or drawbacks, the flavor seldom comes through in actual gameplay.
Delirium is a good way to give early-game cards utility in the late game, and this does it quite well. A Shock is already quite powerful on its own and doesn’t really need to be boosted, especially if it’s common. But I like the principle behind this.
This is cute. Sometimes you just want to get an extra ETB/death trigger. Might want to cantrip this, as it’s quite narrow and doesn’t do anything on its own, and there are generally better cards to retrigger ETBs with.
The most basic version of the standard tap-and-hold. They probably haven’t printed this because it’s too low impact, but I can see this as a filler card for limited. This effect is pretty deeply ingrained in blue. White could get access to it if the set really needs hybrid cards for some reason, but I think it would feel much better as a monoblue effect.
There’s very little reason to ever play this face-up, as a 1/1 is extremely low impact. It’s a 3/3 morph that costs no mana to flip as long as you’re in white. That violates the 5-mana principle established in Tarkir, which was set for a very good reason, to alleviate the problem of morphs discouraging attacks. This card would cause too many blowouts on the block, and it’s really far above rate.
2. willows
3. Jimmy Groove
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.)