It's done! You defeated Tezzeret and its Consulate, and now it's time for a new Consulate to be established, one who hopefully is more respectful of the inventors' freedom and the spirit of invention. Well, with Pia Nalaar as one of the new Consuls that should be a guarantee. But that's the future. In the meantime, the confiscated inventions have been returned and guess what? That includes yours! That was what you've been fighting for all this time. That was what led you to join the renegade movement. That was what you poured your sweat and tears in for years before all of this happened. That was a part of you, and now it's again a part of you. How does it feel to get back a part of you that you believed lost? It just has to be one of the best feelings you could ever experience in your life!
Main challenge: design a mythic rare artifact card with no other card types.You finally got your invention back! Now it's time to show it to the world!
Subchallenge 1: the card has a higher converted mana cost than your avatar from Round 1 (aka your Round 1 card). Please quote or link to your Round 1 entry in your submission. If you don't put a link or quote to your Round 1 card in your submission, this subchallenge is automatically failed. You can't expect the judges to dig for your cards from past rounds.This is what you worked on for a lifetime. You put all your soul in it to make something bigger than yourself.
Subchallenge 2: the card has an activated ability."Just wait until you see it in motion! It's wonderful! Let me activate it and show you!"
For subchallenge 1, the cmc can't be the same. It has to be higher.
For subchallenge 2, remember that an activated ability is one that is written as "COST: EFFECT". What identifies an activated ability is the presence of the colon. If the colon is not there, even if it's just a typo, the ability is not activated and this subchallenge is failed, no matter how much the ability looks like an activated one.
Feel free to ask any additional questions you might have in the discussion thread.
A friendly reminder I left everyone a few months ago but it's still valid:
A reminder to everyone: In the MCC, putting rarity on cards is mandatory! If you don't put a rarity on your card, expect huge deductions in both Viability AND Quality.
Also, you should format your text cards accordingly to the forum rules (see the "this formatting looks best" spoiler in the linked OP). Again, expect deductions in Quality otherwise.
Design - (X/3) Appeal: Do the different player psychographics (Timmy/Johhny/Spike) have a use for the card? (X/3) Elegance: Is the card easily understandable at a glance? Do all the flavor and mechanics combined as a whole make sense?
Development - (X/3) Viability: How well does the card fit into the color wheel? Does it break or bend the rules of the game? Is it the appropriate rarity? (X/3) Balance: Does the card have a power level appropriate for contemporary constructed/limited environments without breaking them? Does it play well in casual and multiplayer formats? Does it create or fit into a deck/archetype? Does it create an oppressive environment?
Creativity - (X/3) Uniqueness: Has a card like this ever been printed before? Does it use new mechanics, ideas, or design space? Does it combine old ideas in a new way? Overall, does it feel “fresh”? (X/3) Flavor: Does the name seem realistic for a card? Does the flavor text sound professional? Do all the flavor elements synch together to please Vorthos players?
Polish - (X/3) Quality: Points deducted for incorrect spelling, grammar, and templating. (X/2) *Main Challenge: Was the main challenge satisfied? Was it approached in a unique or interesting way? Does the card fit the intent of the challenge? (X/2) Subchallenges: One point awarded per satisfied subchallenge condition.
Total: X/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.
DEADLINES
Design deadline: Wednesday, March 1st 2017 23:59 EDT
Judging deadline: Saturday, March 4th 2017 23:59 EDT As soon as the last judgment is turned in.
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.)
Quicksmith General3WW
Creature - Dwarf Artificer (R)
When Quicksmith General enters the battlefield, target artifact you control gains "T: Create a colorless 1/1 Servo artifact creature token." for as long as you control Quicksmith General. "Oh, this? Production management is another expertise of mine."
3/2
Iron Preserver6
Legendary Artifact (M)
Permanents you control have hexproof and indestructible.
Permanents you control don't untap during your untap step.
Pay 5 life: Exile Iron Preserver. Return it to the battlefield at the beginning of your next upkeep. Activate this ability only as a sorcery before combat. To preserve, or to innovate is always the question at hand.
My thoughts are with the friends and family of the Orlando Shooting victims and with the rest of the LGBTQA+ community.
Check out my Newborder Peasant Cube here! http://www.cubetutor.com/draft/37467
Necarg, please don't acknowledge this in any way whatsoever.
True Name Mafia (Win),Clan Contest IX Mafia (Win), Bravely Default Mafia (Loss), BOTAS (loss), BfV (Loss), Ace Attourney (loss)
Rules Advisor before they were eradicated
Apparatus Bonder1G
Creature - Elf Artificer (R)
Fabricate 1 (When this creature enters the battlefield, put a +1/+1 counter on it or create a 1/1 colorless Servo artifact creature token.)
Sacrifice an artifact: Attach target Equipment you control to target creature you control. "Gear always has multiple options!"
1/1
Sword of the True Ruler5
Legendary Artifact - Equipment (M)
Whenever you attach Sword of the True Ruler to a creature you control, you become the monarch.
Equipped creature gets +3/+3 and has vigilance and protection from nonmonarchs. (This creature can't be blocked, targeted, dealt damage, or enchanted by anything controlled by a player who isn't the monarch.)
Equip 5
Visionary Biomimic2G
Creature — Elf Artificer (U)
Whenever an artifact creature enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on that creature if you control another creature with greater power or toughness than it.
3/2
Gigamagnus Shell5
Artifact — Equipment (M)
Equipped creature gets +X/+X and has trample, where X is the number of energy counters you have.
Whenever an artifact is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you get E. Miniaturizing the aether refinery was just the first step.
Equip 5
Apparatus Bonder1G
Creature - Elf Artificer (R)
Fabricate 1 (When this creature enters the battlefield, put a +1/+1 counter on it or create a 1/1 colorless Servo artifact creature token.)
Sacrifice an artifact: Attach target Equipment you control to target creature you control. "Gear always has multiple options!"
1/1
Sword of the True Ruler5
Legendary Artifact - Equipment (M)
Whenever you attach Sword of the True Ruler to a creature you control, you become the monarch.
Equipped creature gets +3/+3 and has vigilance and protection from nonmonarchs. (This creature can't be blocked, targeted, dealt damage, or enchanted by anything controlled by a player who isn't the monarch.)
Equip 5
Design (2/3) Appeal - Timmy likes how big and splashy the effect is. Both Johnny and Spike like the protection aspect (not in the rules meaning, but in the sense of being able to protect one of their creatures from removal), even though I don't see a lot of things for Johnny to do and Spike is a bit turned down by the high mana costs, especially the equip one.
(2.5/3) Elegance - The reminder text does a lot in this area. I could see many casual or less experienced players getting quite confused at "protection from nonmonarchs" without it, but luckily it's there. There could still be some confusion though, and the card is overall a bit wordy.
Development (3/3) Viability - These are all things that an Equipment can do. Mythic is definitely where this card belongs.
(2.5/3) Balance - This card is interesting: it involves the monarch mechanic from Take the Crown, so you'd be inclined to say it wants to be played in Conspiracy draft, but it actually plays very well even if it's the only card in your deck that cares about who has the crown. This actually looks more powerful when you play it outside Conspiracy, as if your opponents have to rely only on damaging you to get back the crown so you can easily plan for it with the knowledge that you won't lose the crown by surprise. And as long as you're able to keep the crown, equipped creature will be practically unstoppable. That's correctly accounted for with the high costs. I'm not sure how to judge this card's playability in an ordinary limited format, it should be playable as I've explained but I don't think it would be printed at all as the only card with the monarch mechanic in a Standard set. In constructed, I think it costs a bit too much to see competitive play, but I expect to see plenty of this in casual.
Creativity (3/3) Uniqueness - "Protection from nonmonarchs." Do I have to add more?
(2.5/3) Flavor - The name is very good. No flavor text. MSE shows a couple lines could have fit, but the cards looks indeed better without it. Because of that, and because of how good the name is and how well the card concept makes sense, I'll give you a little more than the half points I normally give in these cases.
Polish (2.5/3) Quality - The first ability should be "Whenever Sword of the True Ruler becomes attached to a creature you control, you become the monarch." (-0.5)
(2/2) Main Challenge - Good.
(2/2) Subchallenges - Both met. Equip is an activated ability.
Quicksmith General3WW
Creature - Dwarf Artificer (R)
When Quicksmith General enters the battlefield, target artifact you control gains "T: Create a colorless 1/1 Servo artifact creature token." for as long as you control Quicksmith General. "Oh, this? Production management is another expertise of mine."
3/2
Iron Preserver6
Legendary Artifact (M)
Permanents you control have hexproof and indestructible.
Permanents you control don't untap during your untap step.
Pay 5 life: Exile Iron Preserver. Return it to the battlefield at the beginning of your next upkeep. Activate this ability only as a sorcery before combat. To preserve, or to innovate is always the question at hand.
Design (1.5/3) Appeal - Timmy likes giving his creatures hexproof and indestructible, but he just hates the second ability and he also doesn't like having to pay a lot of life to avoid it for himself. This is one of those strange cards some Johnnies will like. Spike likes this card until he reads the restriction on the activated ability. He was already dreaming to use this on his opponent's end step to be able to untap himself, and for 5 life, which is a lot, he feels like he should have been able to do that. Talk about broken dreams! Well, it probably would have been a broken card then... What's better, broken dreams or a broken card? The broken dreams hurt here... (*)
(2/3) Elegance - The text is clear, even if it's a bit long. The complexity here is not so much in understanding what the card does, but in playing it correctly.
Development (3/3) Viability - There's nothing here colorless artifacts can't do. This does indeed feel mythic to me.
(1.5/3) Balance - (*) ...but the broken card would have hurt here. Even for six mana, locking all your opponents out of the game for three whole turn cycles at least while you continue to do stuff, because that's what this card does without the restriction on the activated ability, would have clearly been too much (and a straight-up zero here). So that restriction is necessary for balance, but it also generates an interesting tension: do you keep your permanents safe or risk them to have untapped mana on your next turn? You have to plan ahead, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. New players will have to learn to plan ahead, and this might be a good chance to teach them, provided they're not so turned down by the "no untap" ability that they let go. That might be a problem in casual, a barrier to overcome to want to play with this card. I also honestly can't see this card played competitively in any format, even if of course I might just be wrong.
Creativity (1.5/3) Uniqueness - The whole package is new and it does feel like it has a strong and memorable identity, but all the single parts are things we see very often.
(3/3) Flavor - Both name and flavor text work very well with the overall concept of the card. I really like how cohesive the card feels from a flavor perspective.
Polish (2/3) Quality - There are problems in the wording of the restriction. First, it should be worded "only any time you could cast a sorcery" instead of "as a sorcery" (-0.5). I searched Gatherer for "before combat" in the rules text, and that wording has a single precedent in Oracle in the whole history of Magic: Maddening Imp. Nowadays, it would be worded "only before attackers are declared" instead, but as there is precedent for the wording you used, I can't deduct any points for it, even though I'm convinced it wouldn't be printed like this today. In the flavor text, I honestly see no reason why that comma is there, separating two parts of the sentences that have to go together logically. If you really want to put a comma in the sentence, put it after "innovate", but then you have to change the verb: "To preserve or to innovate, that's always the question at hand." Leaving "is" by itself after the comma wouldn't work either. To be honest, I would just use no comma. This has to be a typo in my opinion (-0.5).
Dabbling Novitiate1WR
Creature - Dwarf Artificer (R)
Haste T: Exile target artifact card from your graveyard. If you do, you get EE(two energy counters). T, Pay EE: Target vehicle you control becomes an artifact creature and gains trample and haste. Sacrifice it at the end of your turn. "I take trash and turn it into treasure. It's a gift few appreciate, let alone bring to fruition."
2/4
Aether Reactor4
Artifact (M)
Artifact creatures you control get +1/+1 for each charge counter on Aether Reactor.
Pay EE: Add 1 to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to cast artifact spells or activate abilities of artifacts.
Pay EEEE: Put a charge counter on Aether Reactor. 2, T: You get EEEE(four energy counters). "Aether is pure energy. Succeed in materializing that energy and the possibilities are infinite."
— Galvanius, Renegade Inventor
Design (3/3) Appeal - Timmy likes every part of this card. This card is very open-ended and there are a lot of things Johnny could potentially do. Spike likes this as an efficient energy generator with the nice side effects of pumping creatures and generating mana.
(2.5/3) Elegance - Long, but easy to understand.
Development (3/3) Viability - I see nothing here that colorless artifacts can't do. This card has so many things going on that I can easily see it being mythic.
(3/3) Balance - I like the fact that two mana turn into four energy and four energy can give you back two mana, even if only for artifacts. In effect, if it were unrestricted it would definitely be too easy to cast too big things in energy dedicated decks. I also like that the amount of energy produced and that required to put a charge counter on are equal. I can see that quite a lot of thought has gone into deciding the numbers on this card, and I really like that. I expect this to be definitely playable in limited, and maybe in some energy/artifact Standard decks too. I see no problems in casual and multiplayer.
Creativity (3/3) Uniqueness - No existing cards mix energy counters and charge counters, and I really feel this is allowable, unlike +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters in the same limited environment, let alone the same card. The fact is that here the counters go on different things: energy counters on you, charge counters on the artifact itself. That makes this particular mix of counters acceptable, and that's new design space. Maybe not splashy or groundbreaking, but still new and original.
(2.5/3) Flavor - The name and flavor text are both very good. My only remark in this area is that while the flavor text still fits in the acceptable range (nine lines total in MSE with a quite small font while I consider the limit to be ten lines in the M15 frame), the card looks much better and cleaner without it. Maybe a shorter flavor text would have looked better in the framed card.
Polish (1.5/3) Quality - In all of Kaladesh block, the energy-producing abilities have always come before the energy-costing ones, so I think that the last ability should be the first activated one, or the second overall after the static one, followed by the "pay EE" and the "pay EEEE". In short, I think the three activated abilities have been put in the wrong order (see Consulate Turret for an example of a card that gives energy and lets you spend energy both as an activated ability, -0.5). In the flavor text, the attribution should be in italics too (very well known thing so -1).
Visionary Biomimic2G
Creature — Elf Artificer (U)
Whenever an artifact creature enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on that creature if you control another creature with greater power or toughness than it.
3/2
Gigamagnus Shell5
Artifact — Equipment (M)
Equipped creature gets +X/+X and has trample, where X is the number of energy counters you have.
Whenever an artifact is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you get E. Miniaturizing the aether refinery was just the first step.
Equip 5
Design (2.5/3) Appeal - Timmy likes pumping and trample. He also likes getting something in return (one energy) when one of his artifacts is destroyed. Johnny can use the trigger in some kind of energy engine. Spike likes the effect but not the costs, he thinks they're too high, especially the equip cost.
(3/3) Elegance - No problems here.
Development (2/3) Viability - I see no problems here from a color pie perspective. About rarity, I think this would be fine as a regular rare. I don't think this has the splash, complexity or power level we've come to expect from a mythic.
(2/3) Balance - The costs look high enough to be safe. Actually, the costs look too high to me for this to see play outside of limited, where it'll be fine. The fact that the energy-producing trigger is always on even if this is not attached to a creature, that is without having to pay its equip cost, helps a little but I still don't think that's enough to take this out of strict limited-only playability. This might also be played in casual, of course, and I see no problems there.
Creativity (3/3) Uniqueness - Having scaling effects based on the number of energy counters you have is new and feels original.
(2.5/3) Flavor - I don't think "Gigamagnus" is a word we'd ever see in the name of a Magic card. All the rest is good.
Polish (1.5/3) Quality - The reminder text (an energy counter) is missing (-0.5). The flavor text should come after the equip ability, which is part of the rules text (serious mistake, -1).
MCC - Winner (6): Oct 2014, Apr Nov 2017, Jan 2018, Apr Jun 2019 || Host (15): Dec 2014, Apr Jul Aug Dec 2015, Mar Jul Aug Oct 2016, Feb Jul 2017, Jun Nov 2018, Feb Jul 2019 (last one here) || Judge (34): every month from Nov 2014 to Nov 2016 except Oct 2015, every month from Feb to Jul 2017 except Apr 2017, then Oct 2017, May Jun Nov 2018, Feb Jul 2019 (last one here) CCL - Winner (3): Jul 2016 (tied with Flatline), May 2017, Jul 2019 (last one here) || Host (5): Feb 2015, Mar Apr May Jun 2016 DCC - Winner (1): Mar 2015 (tied with Piar) || Host (3): May Oct 2015, Jan 2016
• The two public custom sets I've been part a part of the design team for: "Brotherhood of Ormos" - Blog post with all info - set thread - design skeleton / card list || "Extinctia: Homo Evanuit" - Blog post with all info - set thread - card list spreadsheet
• "The Lion's Lair", my article series about MTG and custom card design in particular. Latest article here. Here is the article index.Rather outdated by now, and based on the old MCC rubric, but I'm leaving this here for anybody that might be interested anyway.
• My only public attempt at being a writer: the story of my Leonin custom planeswalker Jeff Lionheart. (I have a very big one that I'm working on right now but that's private for now, and I don't know if I will ever actually publish it, and I also have ideas for multiple future ones, including one where I'm going to reprise Jeff.)
Design - (2/3) Appeal: Johnny would like the deck building incentive. I think Spike doesn't like paying 4 mana for an anthem that he has to turn on as well. (1.5/3) Elegance: There's a lot crammed into this card. The abilities go in circles for no apparent reason. It feels like the mana ability could have easily been cut without hurting the card at all.
Development - (1.5/3) Viability: Take a look at the existing two mythic rare artifacts that exist. One lets you cast a spell for free, the other generates insane amounts of energy and can give you an extra turn.
Your card isn't very splashy by comparison. It's more on the level of Dynavolt Tower or Collective Blessing, both rares. I don't think mythic rare is justified here.
It's very artifacty and doesn't do anything harmful. The text gets very small with all these lines plus the flavortext, this could have done with less. (3/3) Balance: 6 mana for an artifact anthem. But it gets stronger from there. It's a really good sink for your energy. There's not too many artifact creatures that produce energy, but a lot of energy producers that make artifact tokens.
I think this sits at a perfect spot for those.
Creativity - (3/3) Uniqueness: With so much going on you're sure to hit unexplored space. It's daring to translate energy into mana this way, pretty cool. (3/3) Flavor: All that energy feels very much like a reactor and the flavortext does a great job at answering any leftover questions.
Polish - (3/3) Quality: Between — and the name in the flavortext there's no space. Just a heads up, not going to deduct any points for that. (2/2) Main Challenge: Check. (2/2) Subchallenges: +1 mana and a couple of those activated abilities.
Total: 21/25
Design - (3/3) Appeal: Johnny will most likely try to build a deck around this. Hits just the spot. Timmy should have strong feelings towards hexproof and indestructible. The drawbacks mights just be too much though. (2.5/3) Elegance: Upside. Downside. A way to get rid of both. Pretty straightforward. The exile ability needs some awkward extra words to avoid abuse, which isn't too pretty.
Development - (3/3) Viability: I guess artifacts can have access to these keywords. It's splashy enough for a Mythic Rare. (1/3) Balance: 6 mana is a steep prize. So are 5 life. Not getting to untap is brutal of course after you tap out like that. Here's some concerns though:
Life-payment isn't a good way to balance a card, as time has shown again and again. Prophet of Kruphix and Seedborn Muse are a thing.
This card sits in that super awkward spot of being completely devastating or completely awful. Not something you want to do.
Creativity - (3/3) Uniqueness: Yeah, this seems new. (2.5/3) Flavor: The idea behind the flavortext is nice, even though it could have been a bit more eloquent. I like the name, it gives off a good strong and unmoving vibe.
Polish - (2/3) Quality: No idea where you got that "Activate this ability only as a sorcery before combat." from. It's wrong in so many ways.
For the 'speed' part it's supposed to be 'only any time you could cast a sorcery'.
'Before combat' is written as "precombat main phase".
At this point I'm super confused if you meant before combat as in anything that comes before combat and thus needed sorcery speed to take care of upkeep and draw step and such.. (2/2) Main Challenge: Check. (2/2) Subchallenges: +1 and an activated ability.
Total: 21/25
Design - (3/3) Appeal: Timmy LOVES this. Spike is a bit appalled by the high cost. Don't think Johnny cares too much. (3/3) Elegance: Makes a lot of sense with only two lines. Good job.
Development - (3/3) Viability: Protection is reserved for these kinds of occasions these days I think. So that's okay. That's what makes it splashy and mythic as well. Seems fine. (2.5/3) Balance: Becoming the monarch can be done for under 10 mana. +3/+3 and protection from anyone else is a big deal, but it's nice how that can be fought over.
I feel like the cost is too high. Cards with comparable costs come with a way to get a use out of it without paying the equip cost. I'm quite certain this needs to cost 1 less somewhere.
Creativity - (3/3) Uniqueness: Protection from players hasn't been explored much and this is something that did that beatifully. (3/3) Flavor: This doesn't even need flavortext. Damn. Maybe the absence of flavortext is even the best you could go for. "Yeah, you know what's going on here. No more words needed."
Polish - (2.5/3) Quality: The wording on nonmonarchs strikes me as wrong. At the very least it makes for weird interactions as soon as someone else becomes the monarch.
I think it should be more along the lines of "protection from players that are not the monarch." or "opponents of the monarch".
I mean Crown-Hunter Hireling doesn't say "Can't attack nonmonarchs." (2/2) Main Challenge: Artifact. (2/2) Subchallenges: 3 more. Technicially Equip is an activated ability.
Total: 24/25
Design - (3/3) Appeal: Timmy is very excited. Johnny might try a theme deck, it's quite build-around-me as well. I think Spike won't bother paying 10 mana. (3/3) Elegance: Pretty simple.
Development - (2/3) Viability: Doesn't do anything out of the ordinary. Which is healthy for the game, but you'd expect a Mythic Rare to do something more splashy. Just +X/+X and trample isn't enough for it I'd say. Other mythic rare energy artifacts get you extra turns or a free spell. (3/3) Balance: 10 mana is a steep prize to pay to get an equipment running. This becomes pretty tough as soon as you gather about 5 energy. Yet something strong that you have to work for is fine in my book.
Creativity - (3/3) Uniqueness: There's no reward so far for lingering energy if I remember correctly. So that's something new. (1.5/3) Flavor: Gigamagnus as in very very big? I guess. It's an animal right? That's why there's a shell? But it's a minimized aether refinery?
In what way does it refine aether? And this seems pretty good as far as end-products go. How's this only the first step? I'm sorry, I don't get it at all.
Polish - (2.5/3) Quality: You split the card text in two with your flavortext. (2/2) Main Challenge: Check. (2/2) Subchallenges: +2 and Equip in an activated ability.
Total: 22/25
IcariiFA 24
Necarg 21
Tilwin 21
willows 22
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
—Eli Shiffrin, Rules Manager, on a design stacking lifelink instances
Design
(2/3) Appeal: This is very appealing to Johnny and contextually appealing to Spike.
(1/3) Elegance: Your card is extremely complex. If I was a new player at a prerelease seeing your entry for the first time, I feel like I could read the card three times and still not have a sense of everything it does.
Development
(3/3) Viability:
(2/3) Balance: Your card is so complex that it's extremely difficult to evaluate. It has three core functions: generating energy, acting as an anthem for artifact creatures, and converting mass amounts of energy to mana for artifacts. All three of these seem cute enough when evaluating the card in a vaccuum, but when you put them all together and take them in the context of a synergistic energy deck, I feel like this card has high potential for abuse.
Creativity
(3/3) Uniqueness:
(2/3) Flavor: Your card does so many different things that the flavor takes a hit too. I feel as though the card deserves more than "well, it's a reactor, so it messes with energy" in terms of flavor.
Polish
(3/3) Quality:
(5/5) Challenges:
Total: 20/25
Design
(1/3) Appeal: Johnny might be interested in this.
(1.5/3) Elegance: Not only is the card wordy and complex, it also features mechanics that feel out of place in modern card design, not dissimilar to Necropotence.
Development
(2.5/3) Viability: Though this isn't too much of a reach for artifacts to get this effect, this feels strongly like it should be a black effect, if not a black/white one. Paying life for hexproof and indestructible just doesn't feel like something an artifact does.
(1.5/3) Balance: This card has two modes: dead weight that greatly hinders you due to its hefty drawback, or oppressive and uninteractive, because the deckbuilder managed to find a way to bypass the drawback. There is no middle ground.
Creativity
(3/3) Uniqueness:
(2/3) Flavor: This feels out of place in Kaladesh, especially as an artifact. Had your flavor explained that the technology was Phyrexian or even Tezzeret's, then I would have given you a higher score in this area. Also, the mechanics feel disjointed, and as a complex card with so many moving parts, it takes a very strong flavor aspect to get a perfect score in this area, which I do not believe your card delivers.
Polish
(2/3) Quality: I believe the best way to phrase the timing restriction on the activated ability is "activate this ability only during your first main phase."
(5/5) Challenges:
Total: 19/25
Design
(1.5/3) Appeal: This is definitely a Timmy card. Johnny might want to mess around with using Brass Squire or Quest for the Holy Relic with this.
(3/3) Elegance: It's not hard to grasp.
Development
(3/3) Viability:
(3/3) Balance: Yeah, I could see this being in a Conspiracy set. The fact that you can reequip to become the monarch at will is strong, but for five mana it's not too bad. Giving any creature protection from all opponents is very powerful, but the fact that usurping the monarch or targeting the sword itself both circumvent that means that most decks shouldn't be dead in the water to this card.
Creativity
(2/3) Uniqueness: This isn't doing anything too crazy, but it doesn't play out too much like other cards.
(3/3) Flavor: The flavor forms a strong package.
Polish
(3/3) Quality:
(5/5) Challenges:
Total: 22.5/25
Design
(1.5/3) Appeal: Timmy wants to go huge with this, Johnny might be interested in cheating the mana costs.
(3/3) Elegance: Having an equipment with an ability that doesn't care about the equipped creature is a bit weird, but it's not out of place.
Development
(3/3) Viability:
(1/3) Balance: This card is too expensive to see constructed play. 5 and 5 is a huge amount for an equipment, and on top of that you have to generate a massive amount of energy for this to even be worth it. You'd be hard pressed to get more than one or two energy out of this card's ability naturally, so you're putting in a lot of work to get... a big equipment? I can't even see this in a Commander deck, where generating the 5+ energy to make this worthwhile is no small task. Compare to Argentum Armor; at similar mana costs, that card unconditionally gives +6/+6 and a Vindicate every attack. Your card isn't even good enough to see play in limited.
Creativity
(1.5/3) Uniqueness: Giving +X/+X for X amount of a resource you have isn't very new, and the energy generating ability is just a narrower version of Aetherworks Marvel.
(3/3) Flavor:
Polish
(2/3) Quality: The flavor text should go after the equip cost. Also, every Energy card has reminder text describing what the energy symbol is.
(5/5) Challenges:
Sword of the True Ruler5
Legendary Artifact - Equipment (M)
Whenever you attach Sword of the True Ruler to a creature you control, you become the monarch.
Equipped creature gets +3/+3 and has vigilance and protection from nonmonarchs. (This creature can't be blocked, targeted, dealt damage, or enchanted by anything controlled by a player who isn't the monarch.)
Equip 5
Design - (3/3) Appeal: This is a Timmy mythic through and through and through. Perhaps that is just a bit of an understatement.
Johnny can surely build around this with cards that care about equipment.
This is a possible, if situational, curve topper for Spike in the right deck. She does not hate it, but it does not necessarily appeal to her, either. It asks for a lot of mana yet it may actually be game-winning enough to be worth it. (2.5/3) Elegance: Admittedly, there are only two lines of rules text here. Yet, the rulings can become just a little tedious whenever this equipment is equipped to a creature you control while you are not the monarch. A creature having protection from its own controller is inherently inelegant, and protection was never the most elegant keyword to begin with. Thank goodness for the accompanying reminder text, though.
Development - (2.5/3) Viability: This equipment is fine existing as a colorless card, although white mana would theoretically have been nice, even if only for flavor reasons. Still, such is possible at a rarity of Mythic Rare. Fortunately, the rarity here is still well-placed.
The one, albeit minor, relevant concern that I have for this card is the protection ability. Protection is a mechanic that Wizards seems to be phasing out more and more over time at this current juncture. As a result, (2.5/3) Balance: This card may be just a smidge overcosted, but I would much rather this card be overcosted rather than undercosted. This protection ability is very powerful, especially when it is accompanied by extra power and extra toughness along with vigilance. Not to mention that it also continuously accrues card advantage over time. Still, for ten mana, even my inner Spike wonders how I am ever going to actually play this other than in Conspiracy. Though, this is still the sort of card that demands an answer in response.
All said and done, this is the balance score that I believe that I can give this card in good conscience.
Creativity - (3/3) Uniqueness: The phrase "protection from nonmonarchs" is worthy of full points for this criterion alone. (2.5/3) Flavor: The name is superb, despite the lack of flavor text. However, these mechanics alone are great at communicating this card's flavor. Hence, here is an almost perfect score in this regard.
Polish - (2.5/3) Quality: The first half of the first line of the rules text should be replaced with "Whenever Sword of the True Ruler becomes attached to a creature you control," (minus half a point). (2/2) Main Challenge: Main challenge met! (2/2) Subchallenges: Both subchallenges met!
Total: 22.5/25
Final thought: So, how exactly did Excalibur end up on Kaladesh, again?
Iron Preserver6
Legendary Artifact (M)
Permanents you control have hexproof and indestructible.
Permanents you control don't untap during your untap step.
Pay 5 life: Exile Iron Preserver. Return it to the battlefield at the beginning of your next upkeep. Activate this ability only as a sorcery before combat. To preserve, or to innovate is always the question at hand.
Design - (1/3) Appeal: Tammy likes the first line of rules text, yet that is unfortunately cancelled out by a dislike of both the second and the third lines of rules text.
Spike feels that this card is too restrictive to do much of anything particularly for useful. For five mana, adding a decent power and toughness would have been nice at the very least.
No, this is a Jenny card. Is it a worthwhile build-around card? Maybe? Is it a worthwhile building block, at least? Mayhaps? Is it total rubbish? Perhaps? Who knows! (2/3) Elegance: This card significantly changes how your side of the board plays out, yet it also turns on and off in the process of doing so. The inelegance of the third line of rules text unfortunately adds insult to the injury of tracking complexity.
Development - (2.5/3) Viability: Paying life on a colorless card is a little strange, but that it only a minor color pie quibble. Otherwise, the rarity of Mythic Rare is indeed appropriate. (1/3) Balance: This card is either completely useless or completely game-breaking. If one does not build around it, it is overcosted when one could have had a gearhulk or a titan for the same rarity and converted mana cost. Moreover, if one does build around it, one's own board state ceases to be meaningfully interactive for the opponent.
The restriction on the third line of rules text goes a long way, but only so far in keeping this card in check. It is what prevented this card's balance score from simply being a zero, yet it seems to have cost more points elsewhere for this judgment. My apologies.
Creativity - (1.5/3) Uniqueness: Simply put, this is a new card built out of old and somewhat familiar pieces mashed up together. (2/3) Flavor: I like the name of this card, yet I am lukewarm about this flavor text. This card is very mechanically complex; simplistic flavor falls short here of having this card make flavorful sense for myself as a Vorthos.
Polish - (1.5/3) Quality: The last sentence of the third line of rules text is qualitatively incorrect. My current best attempt at rewriting would be "Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery and only during your precombat main phase." (minus one point).
Also, the comma in this card's flavor text is unnecessary and ungrammatical (minus half a point). (2/2) Main Challenge: Main challenge met! (2/2) Subchallenges: Both subchallenges met!
Total: 15.5/25
Final thoughts: I cannot help yet think of the historical Iron Age when reading this card's name. What about "Bronze Preserver" or "Stone Preserver"?
Aether Reactor4
Artifact (M)
Artifact creatures you control get +1/+1 for each charge counter on Aether Reactor.
Pay EE: Add 1 to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to cast artifact spells or activate abilities of artifacts.
Pay EEEE: Put a charge counter on Aether Reactor. 2, T: You get EEEE(four energy counters). "Aether is pure energy. Succeed in materializing that energy and the possibilities are infinite."
— Galvanius, Renegade Inventor
Design - (2/3) Appeal: Timmy kind of likes this card. Spike somewhat likes this card as well.
This is more of a Johnny card otherwise because it is one of those cards to specifically build around; in this case, with both energy and artifact creatures. He could definitely build something with this as a center piece. (2/3) Elegance: This is the exact sort of card that could have been significantly improved in terms of elegance by splitting into two (or possibly three) separate card concepts. The pieces that make up this card are not necessarily inelegant by themselves, yet the sum total of all of those pieces ends up being inelegant with too many lines of text trying to all fit onto the card.
Development - (2/3) Viability: This artifact is viably colorless without uncertainty.
However, this card's rarity seems to misappropriated to me; there is nothing about this artifact that is Mythic Rare except for its power level. (See Balance.)
For the record, I believe that these individual effects could all exist at Rare or perhaps even Uncommon. (0/3) Balance: I am of the opinion that this is one of those cards that just does far too much for too little mana.
Even if it is only once per turn, a continuous generator of four energy counters for two generic mana on only a four mana artifact carelessly breaks the careful balance of the energy economy. Being able to convert energy back into mana as an energy sink also allows for imbalanced shenanigans like ramping out gearhulks or other large artifact creatures. Then, this card can also serve as a game-ending anthem if need be for a wide army of servos, thopters, and the like.
Creativity - (3/3) Uniqueness: No card has yet mixed charge counters and energy counters together. This criterion is definitely this card's strong suit. (2.5/3) Flavor: The name of this card is alright; the flavor text of this card is nice.
The main qualm that I have with this card's intended flavor is that it suffers from the same problem as its intended design does. That is to say, the flavor of this card also falls short of combining the two (or more) separate card ideas here together into one unified card.
Polish - (1/3) Quality: The fourth line of rules text should instead be the second line of rules text, directly underneath the first line of rules text (how a card accrues energy counters always goes before how it could spend them, see Consulate Turret, Aether Hub, et cetera; minus half a point).
There is an unnecessary space between the long dash and the name 'Galvanius' (minus half a point). Furthermore, the second line of flavor text should definitely be italicized in order to keep it meaningfully differentiated from actual rules text (minus one point). (2/2) Main Challenge: Main challenge met! (2/2) Subchallenges: Both subchallenges met!
Total: 16.5/25
Final thoughts: If I were to choose one of these two halves of this card to build a mythic rare artifact card upon, I would have gone with the anthem effect. There is a way to create a mythic rare with that serving as a building block. Not so much the mana to energy and back again conversions.
Gigamagnus Shell5
Artifact — Equipment (M)
Equipped creature gets +X/+X and has trample, where X is the number of energy counters you have.
Whenever an artifact is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you get E. Miniaturizing the aether refinery was just the first step.
Equip 5
Design - (2.5/3) Appeal: Timmy loves this card. Simply put, giant power and toughness buff plus trample is big.
Johnny can use this as a building block or maybe even a build around card for the right deck.
Spike finds this card to be overcosted for her needs. (2.5/3) Elegance: Only two lines of rules text, but counting up the number of energy counters that one has can become really tedious really quickly once one has a double digit number of energy counters or so. Especially since the number of energy counters that one has can possibly change at instant speed while in combat.
Development - (2/3) Viability: This colorless equipment is fine, color-wise. The viability problem here is that this card could almost certainly exist just fine as a Rare card. (1.5/3) Balance: This card is doubtlessly overcosted. Though, it is weird to exactly gauge by just how much. It discourages one from actually spending the energy that one accrues as well, which also has to be factored in as a part of this card's cost. The amount of energy that this card passively generates is rarely, if ever, going to make up for the amount of energy that has to be withheld for this equipment to start being worthwhile to equip onto a creature. I am honestly hedging with this score; it is one of those cards that I would have to play with to be able to better tell just how overcosted it actually is.
Creativity - (3/3) Uniqueness: Payoffs that count the number of unspent energy counters that one currently possesses has never been done before on an official card. Maybe such never will be done. (1/3) Flavor: I dislike the name of this card; the flavor text is interesting.
I feel as though I can only imagine what this card's art would actually look like. The mechanics make more sense than the flavor for this card. Simply put, the flavor of this card feels very incomplete and disjointed; it takes creative leaps for a Vorthos like myself to figure out as to what could possibly be going on in there. Is it a reactor? Is it a recycler? Is it a piece of artillery? Is it a suit of power armor?
Polish - (1.5/3) Quality: The reminder text (an energy counter) which belongs after E is missing (minus half a point).
The flavor text should be underneath the rules text rather than in the middle of it (minus one point). (2/2) Main Challenge: Main challenge met! (2/2) Subchallenges: Both subchallenges met!
Total: 18/25
Final thoughts: Two equipment in the same final round that each cost five, while each having an equip cost of five. Coincidence?
I don't have much time now, so I'm just going to post the final totals:
IcariiFA: 91
willows: 80.5
Tilwin: 80
Necarg: 74
Our winner this month is IcariiFA. Congratulations!
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.)
(This month's banner is my own elaboration on the art of the cards Chandra's Revolution and Pia's Revolution, both by Clint Cearley)
February MCC Round 4
"Reclamation"
It's done! You defeated Tezzeret and its Consulate, and now it's time for a new Consulate to be established, one who hopefully is more respectful of the inventors' freedom and the spirit of invention. Well, with Pia Nalaar as one of the new Consuls that should be a guarantee. But that's the future. In the meantime, the confiscated inventions have been returned and guess what? That includes yours! That was what you've been fighting for all this time. That was what led you to join the renegade movement. That was what you poured your sweat and tears in for years before all of this happened. That was a part of you, and now it's again a part of you. How does it feel to get back a part of you that you believed lost? It just has to be one of the best feelings you could ever experience in your life!
Main challenge: design a mythic rare artifact card with no other card types. You finally got your invention back! Now it's time to show it to the world!
Subchallenge 1: the card has a higher converted mana cost than your avatar from Round 1 (aka your Round 1 card). Please quote or link to your Round 1 entry in your submission. If you don't put a link or quote to your Round 1 card in your submission, this subchallenge is automatically failed. You can't expect the judges to dig for your cards from past rounds. This is what you worked on for a lifetime. You put all your soul in it to make something bigger than yourself.
Subchallenge 2: the card has an activated ability. "Just wait until you see it in motion! It's wonderful! Let me activate it and show you!"
For subchallenge 1, the cmc can't be the same. It has to be higher.
For subchallenge 2, remember that an activated ability is one that is written as "COST: EFFECT". What identifies an activated ability is the presence of the colon. If the colon is not there, even if it's just a typo, the ability is not activated and this subchallenge is failed, no matter how much the ability looks like an activated one.
Feel free to ask any additional questions you might have in the discussion thread.
A friendly reminder I left everyone a few months ago but it's still valid:
(X/3) Appeal: Do the different player psychographics (Timmy/Johhny/Spike) have a use for the card?
(X/3) Elegance: Is the card easily understandable at a glance? Do all the flavor and mechanics combined as a whole make sense?
Development -
(X/3) Viability: How well does the card fit into the color wheel? Does it break or bend the rules of the game? Is it the appropriate rarity?
(X/3) Balance: Does the card have a power level appropriate for contemporary constructed/limited environments without breaking them? Does it play well in casual and multiplayer formats? Does it create or fit into a deck/archetype? Does it create an oppressive environment?
Creativity -
(X/3) Uniqueness: Has a card like this ever been printed before? Does it use new mechanics, ideas, or design space? Does it combine old ideas in a new way? Overall, does it feel “fresh”?
(X/3) Flavor: Does the name seem realistic for a card? Does the flavor text sound professional? Do all the flavor elements synch together to please Vorthos players?
Polish -
(X/3) Quality: Points deducted for incorrect spelling, grammar, and templating.
(X/2) *Main Challenge: Was the main challenge satisfied? Was it approached in a unique or interesting way? Does the card fit the intent of the challenge?
(X/2) Subchallenges: One point awarded per satisfied subchallenge condition.
Total: X/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.
DEADLINES
Design deadline: Wednesday, March 1st 2017 23:59 EDT
Judging deadline:
Saturday, March 4th 2017 23:59 EDTAs soon as the last judgment is turned in.JUDGES
bravelion83
doomfish
admirableadmiral
Blydden
PLAYERS
IcariiFA
Necarg
Tilwin
willows
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.)
Iron Preserver 6
Legendary Artifact (M)
Permanents you control have hexproof and indestructible.
Permanents you control don't untap during your untap step.
Pay 5 life: Exile Iron Preserver. Return it to the battlefield at the beginning of your next upkeep. Activate this ability only as a sorcery before combat.
To preserve, or to innovate is always the question at hand.
Check out my Newborder Peasant Cube here! http://www.cubetutor.com/draft/37467
True Name Mafia (Win),Clan Contest IX Mafia (Win), Bravely Default Mafia (Loss), BOTAS (loss), BfV (Loss), Ace Attourney (loss)
Rules Advisor before they were eradicated
Legendary Artifact - Equipment (M)
Whenever you attach Sword of the True Ruler to a creature you control, you become the monarch.
Equipped creature gets +3/+3 and has vigilance and protection from nonmonarchs. (This creature can't be blocked, targeted, dealt damage, or enchanted by anything controlled by a player who isn't the monarch.)
Equip 5
Creature — Elf Artificer (U)
Whenever an artifact creature enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on that creature if you control another creature with greater power or toughness than it.
3/2
Gigamagnus Shell 5
Artifact — Equipment (M)
Equipped creature gets +X/+X and has trample, where X is the number of energy counters you have.
Whenever an artifact is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you get E.
Miniaturizing the aether refinery was just the first step.
Equip 5
Will do, as usual. In the meantime, the round is officially closed and judging can begin.
Judgments complete, not final until deadline.
Design
(2/3) Appeal - Timmy likes how big and splashy the effect is. Both Johnny and Spike like the protection aspect (not in the rules meaning, but in the sense of being able to protect one of their creatures from removal), even though I don't see a lot of things for Johnny to do and Spike is a bit turned down by the high mana costs, especially the equip one.
(2.5/3) Elegance - The reminder text does a lot in this area. I could see many casual or less experienced players getting quite confused at "protection from nonmonarchs" without it, but luckily it's there. There could still be some confusion though, and the card is overall a bit wordy.
Development
(3/3) Viability - These are all things that an Equipment can do. Mythic is definitely where this card belongs.
(2.5/3) Balance - This card is interesting: it involves the monarch mechanic from Take the Crown, so you'd be inclined to say it wants to be played in Conspiracy draft, but it actually plays very well even if it's the only card in your deck that cares about who has the crown. This actually looks more powerful when you play it outside Conspiracy, as if your opponents have to rely only on damaging you to get back the crown so you can easily plan for it with the knowledge that you won't lose the crown by surprise. And as long as you're able to keep the crown, equipped creature will be practically unstoppable. That's correctly accounted for with the high costs. I'm not sure how to judge this card's playability in an ordinary limited format, it should be playable as I've explained but I don't think it would be printed at all as the only card with the monarch mechanic in a Standard set. In constructed, I think it costs a bit too much to see competitive play, but I expect to see plenty of this in casual.
Creativity
(3/3) Uniqueness - "Protection from nonmonarchs." Do I have to add more?
(2.5/3) Flavor - The name is very good. No flavor text. MSE shows a couple lines could have fit, but the cards looks indeed better without it. Because of that, and because of how good the name is and how well the card concept makes sense, I'll give you a little more than the half points I normally give in these cases.
Polish
(2.5/3) Quality - The first ability should be "Whenever Sword of the True Ruler becomes attached to a creature you control, you become the monarch." (-0.5)
(2/2) Main Challenge - Good.
(2/2) Subchallenges - Both met. Equip is an activated ability.
Total: 22/25
Design
(1.5/3) Appeal - Timmy likes giving his creatures hexproof and indestructible, but he just hates the second ability and he also doesn't like having to pay a lot of life to avoid it for himself. This is one of those strange cards some Johnnies will like. Spike likes this card until he reads the restriction on the activated ability. He was already dreaming to use this on his opponent's end step to be able to untap himself, and for 5 life, which is a lot, he feels like he should have been able to do that. Talk about broken dreams! Well, it probably would have been a broken card then... What's better, broken dreams or a broken card? The broken dreams hurt here... (*)
(2/3) Elegance - The text is clear, even if it's a bit long. The complexity here is not so much in understanding what the card does, but in playing it correctly.
Development
(3/3) Viability - There's nothing here colorless artifacts can't do. This does indeed feel mythic to me.
(1.5/3) Balance - (*) ...but the broken card would have hurt here. Even for six mana, locking all your opponents out of the game for three whole turn cycles at least while you continue to do stuff, because that's what this card does without the restriction on the activated ability, would have clearly been too much (and a straight-up zero here). So that restriction is necessary for balance, but it also generates an interesting tension: do you keep your permanents safe or risk them to have untapped mana on your next turn? You have to plan ahead, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. New players will have to learn to plan ahead, and this might be a good chance to teach them, provided they're not so turned down by the "no untap" ability that they let go. That might be a problem in casual, a barrier to overcome to want to play with this card. I also honestly can't see this card played competitively in any format, even if of course I might just be wrong.
Creativity
(1.5/3) Uniqueness - The whole package is new and it does feel like it has a strong and memorable identity, but all the single parts are things we see very often.
(3/3) Flavor - Both name and flavor text work very well with the overall concept of the card. I really like how cohesive the card feels from a flavor perspective.
Polish
(2/3) Quality - There are problems in the wording of the restriction. First, it should be worded "only any time you could cast a sorcery" instead of "as a sorcery" (-0.5). I searched Gatherer for "before combat" in the rules text, and that wording has a single precedent in Oracle in the whole history of Magic: Maddening Imp. Nowadays, it would be worded "only before attackers are declared" instead, but as there is precedent for the wording you used, I can't deduct any points for it, even though I'm convinced it wouldn't be printed like this today. In the flavor text, I honestly see no reason why that comma is there, separating two parts of the sentences that have to go together logically. If you really want to put a comma in the sentence, put it after "innovate", but then you have to change the verb: "To preserve or to innovate, that's always the question at hand." Leaving "is" by itself after the comma wouldn't work either. To be honest, I would just use no comma. This has to be a typo in my opinion (-0.5).
(2/2) Main Challenge - Good.
(2/2) Subchallenges - Both met.
Total: 18.5/25
Design
(3/3) Appeal - Timmy likes every part of this card. This card is very open-ended and there are a lot of things Johnny could potentially do. Spike likes this as an efficient energy generator with the nice side effects of pumping creatures and generating mana.
(2.5/3) Elegance - Long, but easy to understand.
Development
(3/3) Viability - I see nothing here that colorless artifacts can't do. This card has so many things going on that I can easily see it being mythic.
(3/3) Balance - I like the fact that two mana turn into four energy and four energy can give you back two mana, even if only for artifacts. In effect, if it were unrestricted it would definitely be too easy to cast too big things in energy dedicated decks. I also like that the amount of energy produced and that required to put a charge counter on are equal. I can see that quite a lot of thought has gone into deciding the numbers on this card, and I really like that. I expect this to be definitely playable in limited, and maybe in some energy/artifact Standard decks too. I see no problems in casual and multiplayer.
Creativity
(3/3) Uniqueness - No existing cards mix energy counters and charge counters, and I really feel this is allowable, unlike +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters in the same limited environment, let alone the same card. The fact is that here the counters go on different things: energy counters on you, charge counters on the artifact itself. That makes this particular mix of counters acceptable, and that's new design space. Maybe not splashy or groundbreaking, but still new and original.
(2.5/3) Flavor - The name and flavor text are both very good. My only remark in this area is that while the flavor text still fits in the acceptable range (nine lines total in MSE with a quite small font while I consider the limit to be ten lines in the M15 frame), the card looks much better and cleaner without it. Maybe a shorter flavor text would have looked better in the framed card.
Polish
(1.5/3) Quality - In all of Kaladesh block, the energy-producing abilities have always come before the energy-costing ones, so I think that the last ability should be the first activated one, or the second overall after the static one, followed by the "pay EE" and the "pay EEEE". In short, I think the three activated abilities have been put in the wrong order (see Consulate Turret for an example of a card that gives energy and lets you spend energy both as an activated ability, -0.5). In the flavor text, the attribution should be in italics too (very well known thing so -1).
(2/2) Main Challenge - Good.
(2/2) Subchallenges - Both met.
Total: 22.5/25
Design
(2.5/3) Appeal - Timmy likes pumping and trample. He also likes getting something in return (one energy) when one of his artifacts is destroyed. Johnny can use the trigger in some kind of energy engine. Spike likes the effect but not the costs, he thinks they're too high, especially the equip cost.
(3/3) Elegance - No problems here.
Development
(2/3) Viability - I see no problems here from a color pie perspective. About rarity, I think this would be fine as a regular rare. I don't think this has the splash, complexity or power level we've come to expect from a mythic.
(2/3) Balance - The costs look high enough to be safe. Actually, the costs look too high to me for this to see play outside of limited, where it'll be fine. The fact that the energy-producing trigger is always on even if this is not attached to a creature, that is without having to pay its equip cost, helps a little but I still don't think that's enough to take this out of strict limited-only playability. This might also be played in casual, of course, and I see no problems there.
Creativity
(3/3) Uniqueness - Having scaling effects based on the number of energy counters you have is new and feels original.
(2.5/3) Flavor - I don't think "Gigamagnus" is a word we'd ever see in the name of a Magic card. All the rest is good.
Polish
(1.5/3) Quality - The reminder text (an energy counter) is missing (-0.5). The flavor text should come after the equip ability, which is part of the rules text (serious mistake, -1).
(2/2) Main Challenge - Good.
(2/2) Subchallenges - Both met.
Total: 20.5/25
IcariiFA: 22
Necarg: 18.5
Tilwin: 22.5
willows: 20.5
MCC - Winner (6): Oct 2014, Apr Nov 2017, Jan 2018, Apr Jun 2019 || Host (15): Dec 2014, Apr Jul Aug Dec 2015, Mar Jul Aug Oct 2016, Feb Jul 2017, Jun Nov 2018, Feb Jul 2019 (last one here) || Judge (34): every month from Nov 2014 to Nov 2016 except Oct 2015, every month from Feb to Jul 2017 except Apr 2017, then Oct 2017, May Jun Nov 2018, Feb Jul 2019 (last one here)
CCL - Winner (3): Jul 2016 (tied with Flatline), May 2017, Jul 2019 (last one here) || Host (5): Feb 2015, Mar Apr May Jun 2016
DCC - Winner (1): Mar 2015 (tied with Piar) || Host (3): May Oct 2015, Jan 2016
• The two public custom sets I've been part a part of the design team for:
"Brotherhood of Ormos" - Blog post with all info - set thread - design skeleton / card list || "Extinctia: Homo Evanuit" - Blog post with all info - set thread - card list spreadsheet
• "The Lion's Lair", my article series about MTG and custom card design in particular. Latest article here. Here is the article index. Rather outdated by now, and based on the old MCC rubric, but I'm leaving this here for anybody that might be interested anyway.
• My only public attempt at being a writer: the story of my Leonin custom planeswalker Jeff Lionheart. (I have a very big one that I'm working on right now but that's private for now, and I don't know if I will ever actually publish it, and I also have ideas for multiple future ones, including one where I'm going to reprise Jeff.)
(2/3) Appeal: Johnny would like the deck building incentive. I think Spike doesn't like paying 4 mana for an anthem that he has to turn on as well.
(1.5/3) Elegance: There's a lot crammed into this card. The abilities go in circles for no apparent reason. It feels like the mana ability could have easily been cut without hurting the card at all.
Development -
(1.5/3) Viability: Take a look at the existing two mythic rare artifacts that exist. One lets you cast a spell for free, the other generates insane amounts of energy and can give you an extra turn.
Your card isn't very splashy by comparison. It's more on the level of Dynavolt Tower or Collective Blessing, both rares. I don't think mythic rare is justified here.
It's very artifacty and doesn't do anything harmful. The text gets very small with all these lines plus the flavortext, this could have done with less.
(3/3) Balance: 6 mana for an artifact anthem. But it gets stronger from there. It's a really good sink for your energy. There's not too many artifact creatures that produce energy, but a lot of energy producers that make artifact tokens.
I think this sits at a perfect spot for those.
Creativity -
(3/3) Uniqueness: With so much going on you're sure to hit unexplored space. It's daring to translate energy into mana this way, pretty cool.
(3/3) Flavor: All that energy feels very much like a reactor and the flavortext does a great job at answering any leftover questions.
Polish -
(3/3) Quality: Between — and the name in the flavortext there's no space. Just a heads up, not going to deduct any points for that.
(2/2) Main Challenge: Check.
(2/2) Subchallenges: +1 mana and a couple of those activated abilities.
Total: 21/25
(3/3) Appeal: Johnny will most likely try to build a deck around this. Hits just the spot. Timmy should have strong feelings towards hexproof and indestructible. The drawbacks mights just be too much though.
(2.5/3) Elegance: Upside. Downside. A way to get rid of both. Pretty straightforward. The exile ability needs some awkward extra words to avoid abuse, which isn't too pretty.
Development -
(3/3) Viability: I guess artifacts can have access to these keywords. It's splashy enough for a Mythic Rare.
(1/3) Balance: 6 mana is a steep prize. So are 5 life. Not getting to untap is brutal of course after you tap out like that. Here's some concerns though:
Life-payment isn't a good way to balance a card, as time has shown again and again.
Prophet of Kruphix and Seedborn Muse are a thing.
This card sits in that super awkward spot of being completely devastating or completely awful. Not something you want to do.
Creativity -
(3/3) Uniqueness: Yeah, this seems new.
(2.5/3) Flavor: The idea behind the flavortext is nice, even though it could have been a bit more eloquent. I like the name, it gives off a good strong and unmoving vibe.
Polish -
(2/3) Quality: No idea where you got that "Activate this ability only as a sorcery before combat." from. It's wrong in so many ways.
For the 'speed' part it's supposed to be 'only any time you could cast a sorcery'.
'Before combat' is written as "precombat main phase".
At this point I'm super confused if you meant before combat as in anything that comes before combat and thus needed sorcery speed to take care of upkeep and draw step and such..
(2/2) Main Challenge: Check.
(2/2) Subchallenges: +1 and an activated ability.
Total: 21/25
(3/3) Appeal: Timmy LOVES this. Spike is a bit appalled by the high cost. Don't think Johnny cares too much.
(3/3) Elegance: Makes a lot of sense with only two lines. Good job.
Development -
(3/3) Viability: Protection is reserved for these kinds of occasions these days I think. So that's okay. That's what makes it splashy and mythic as well. Seems fine.
(2.5/3) Balance: Becoming the monarch can be done for under 10 mana. +3/+3 and protection from anyone else is a big deal, but it's nice how that can be fought over.
I feel like the cost is too high. Cards with comparable costs come with a way to get a use out of it without paying the equip cost. I'm quite certain this needs to cost 1 less somewhere.
Creativity -
(3/3) Uniqueness: Protection from players hasn't been explored much and this is something that did that beatifully.
(3/3) Flavor: This doesn't even need flavortext. Damn. Maybe the absence of flavortext is even the best you could go for. "Yeah, you know what's going on here. No more words needed."
Polish -
(2.5/3) Quality: The wording on nonmonarchs strikes me as wrong. At the very least it makes for weird interactions as soon as someone else becomes the monarch.
I think it should be more along the lines of "protection from players that are not the monarch." or "opponents of the monarch".
I mean Crown-Hunter Hireling doesn't say "Can't attack nonmonarchs."
(2/2) Main Challenge: Artifact.
(2/2) Subchallenges: 3 more. Technicially Equip is an activated ability.
Total: 24/25
(3/3) Appeal: Timmy is very excited. Johnny might try a theme deck, it's quite build-around-me as well. I think Spike won't bother paying 10 mana.
(3/3) Elegance: Pretty simple.
Development -
(2/3) Viability: Doesn't do anything out of the ordinary. Which is healthy for the game, but you'd expect a Mythic Rare to do something more splashy. Just +X/+X and trample isn't enough for it I'd say. Other mythic rare energy artifacts get you extra turns or a free spell.
(3/3) Balance: 10 mana is a steep prize to pay to get an equipment running. This becomes pretty tough as soon as you gather about 5 energy. Yet something strong that you have to work for is fine in my book.
Creativity -
(3/3) Uniqueness: There's no reward so far for lingering energy if I remember correctly. So that's something new.
(1.5/3) Flavor: Gigamagnus as in very very big? I guess. It's an animal right? That's why there's a shell? But it's a minimized aether refinery?
In what way does it refine aether? And this seems pretty good as far as end-products go. How's this only the first step? I'm sorry, I don't get it at all.
Polish -
(2.5/3) Quality: You split the card text in two with your flavortext.
(2/2) Main Challenge: Check.
(2/2) Subchallenges: +2 and Equip in an activated ability.
Total: 22/25
Necarg 21
Tilwin 21
willows 22
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
—Eli Shiffrin, Rules Manager, on a design stacking lifelink instances
(2/3) Appeal: This is very appealing to Johnny and contextually appealing to Spike.
(1/3) Elegance: Your card is extremely complex. If I was a new player at a prerelease seeing your entry for the first time, I feel like I could read the card three times and still not have a sense of everything it does.
Development
(3/3) Viability:
(2/3) Balance: Your card is so complex that it's extremely difficult to evaluate. It has three core functions: generating energy, acting as an anthem for artifact creatures, and converting mass amounts of energy to mana for artifacts. All three of these seem cute enough when evaluating the card in a vaccuum, but when you put them all together and take them in the context of a synergistic energy deck, I feel like this card has high potential for abuse.
Creativity
(3/3) Uniqueness:
(2/3) Flavor: Your card does so many different things that the flavor takes a hit too. I feel as though the card deserves more than "well, it's a reactor, so it messes with energy" in terms of flavor.
Polish
(3/3) Quality:
(5/5) Challenges:
Total: 20/25
(1/3) Appeal: Johnny might be interested in this.
(1.5/3) Elegance: Not only is the card wordy and complex, it also features mechanics that feel out of place in modern card design, not dissimilar to Necropotence.
Development
(2.5/3) Viability: Though this isn't too much of a reach for artifacts to get this effect, this feels strongly like it should be a black effect, if not a black/white one. Paying life for hexproof and indestructible just doesn't feel like something an artifact does.
(1.5/3) Balance: This card has two modes: dead weight that greatly hinders you due to its hefty drawback, or oppressive and uninteractive, because the deckbuilder managed to find a way to bypass the drawback. There is no middle ground.
Creativity
(3/3) Uniqueness:
(2/3) Flavor: This feels out of place in Kaladesh, especially as an artifact. Had your flavor explained that the technology was Phyrexian or even Tezzeret's, then I would have given you a higher score in this area. Also, the mechanics feel disjointed, and as a complex card with so many moving parts, it takes a very strong flavor aspect to get a perfect score in this area, which I do not believe your card delivers.
Polish
(2/3) Quality: I believe the best way to phrase the timing restriction on the activated ability is "activate this ability only during your first main phase."
(5/5) Challenges:
Total: 19/25
(1.5/3) Appeal: This is definitely a Timmy card. Johnny might want to mess around with using Brass Squire or Quest for the Holy Relic with this.
(3/3) Elegance: It's not hard to grasp.
Development
(3/3) Viability:
(3/3) Balance: Yeah, I could see this being in a Conspiracy set. The fact that you can reequip to become the monarch at will is strong, but for five mana it's not too bad. Giving any creature protection from all opponents is very powerful, but the fact that usurping the monarch or targeting the sword itself both circumvent that means that most decks shouldn't be dead in the water to this card.
Creativity
(2/3) Uniqueness: This isn't doing anything too crazy, but it doesn't play out too much like other cards.
(3/3) Flavor: The flavor forms a strong package.
Polish
(3/3) Quality:
(5/5) Challenges:
Total: 22.5/25
(1.5/3) Appeal: Timmy wants to go huge with this, Johnny might be interested in cheating the mana costs.
(3/3) Elegance: Having an equipment with an ability that doesn't care about the equipped creature is a bit weird, but it's not out of place.
Development
(3/3) Viability:
(1/3) Balance: This card is too expensive to see constructed play. 5 and 5 is a huge amount for an equipment, and on top of that you have to generate a massive amount of energy for this to even be worth it. You'd be hard pressed to get more than one or two energy out of this card's ability naturally, so you're putting in a lot of work to get... a big equipment? I can't even see this in a Commander deck, where generating the 5+ energy to make this worthwhile is no small task. Compare to Argentum Armor; at similar mana costs, that card unconditionally gives +6/+6 and a Vindicate every attack. Your card isn't even good enough to see play in limited.
Creativity
(1.5/3) Uniqueness: Giving +X/+X for X amount of a resource you have isn't very new, and the energy generating ability is just a narrower version of Aetherworks Marvel.
(3/3) Flavor:
Polish
(2/3) Quality: The flavor text should go after the equip cost. Also, every Energy card has reminder text describing what the energy symbol is.
(5/5) Challenges:
Total: 20/25
(3/3) Appeal: This is a Timmy mythic through and through and through. Perhaps that is just a bit of an understatement.
Johnny can surely build around this with cards that care about equipment.
This is a possible, if situational, curve topper for Spike in the right deck. She does not hate it, but it does not necessarily appeal to her, either. It asks for a lot of mana yet it may actually be game-winning enough to be worth it.
(2.5/3) Elegance: Admittedly, there are only two lines of rules text here. Yet, the rulings can become just a little tedious whenever this equipment is equipped to a creature you control while you are not the monarch. A creature having protection from its own controller is inherently inelegant, and protection was never the most elegant keyword to begin with. Thank goodness for the accompanying reminder text, though.
Development -
(2.5/3) Viability: This equipment is fine existing as a colorless card, although white mana would theoretically have been nice, even if only for flavor reasons. Still, such is possible at a rarity of Mythic Rare. Fortunately, the rarity here is still well-placed.
The one, albeit minor, relevant concern that I have for this card is the protection ability. Protection is a mechanic that Wizards seems to be phasing out more and more over time at this current juncture. As a result,
(2.5/3) Balance: This card may be just a smidge overcosted, but I would much rather this card be overcosted rather than undercosted. This protection ability is very powerful, especially when it is accompanied by extra power and extra toughness along with vigilance. Not to mention that it also continuously accrues card advantage over time. Still, for ten mana, even my inner Spike wonders how I am ever going to actually play this other than in Conspiracy. Though, this is still the sort of card that demands an answer in response.
All said and done, this is the balance score that I believe that I can give this card in good conscience.
Creativity -
(3/3) Uniqueness: The phrase "protection from nonmonarchs" is worthy of full points for this criterion alone.
(2.5/3) Flavor: The name is superb, despite the lack of flavor text. However, these mechanics alone are great at communicating this card's flavor. Hence, here is an almost perfect score in this regard.
Polish -
(2.5/3) Quality: The first half of the first line of the rules text should be replaced with "Whenever Sword of the True Ruler becomes attached to a creature you control," (minus half a point).
(2/2) Main Challenge: Main challenge met!
(2/2) Subchallenges: Both subchallenges met!
Total: 22.5/25
Final thought: So, how exactly did Excalibur end up on Kaladesh, again?
(1/3) Appeal: Tammy likes the first line of rules text, yet that is unfortunately cancelled out by a dislike of both the second and the third lines of rules text.
Spike feels that this card is too restrictive to do much of anything particularly for useful. For five mana, adding a decent power and toughness would have been nice at the very least.
No, this is a Jenny card. Is it a worthwhile build-around card? Maybe? Is it a worthwhile building block, at least? Mayhaps? Is it total rubbish? Perhaps? Who knows!
(2/3) Elegance: This card significantly changes how your side of the board plays out, yet it also turns on and off in the process of doing so. The inelegance of the third line of rules text unfortunately adds insult to the injury of tracking complexity.
Development -
(2.5/3) Viability: Paying life on a colorless card is a little strange, but that it only a minor color pie quibble. Otherwise, the rarity of Mythic Rare is indeed appropriate.
(1/3) Balance: This card is either completely useless or completely game-breaking. If one does not build around it, it is overcosted when one could have had a gearhulk or a titan for the same rarity and converted mana cost. Moreover, if one does build around it, one's own board state ceases to be meaningfully interactive for the opponent.
The restriction on the third line of rules text goes a long way, but only so far in keeping this card in check. It is what prevented this card's balance score from simply being a zero, yet it seems to have cost more points elsewhere for this judgment. My apologies.
Creativity -
(1.5/3) Uniqueness: Simply put, this is a new card built out of old and somewhat familiar pieces mashed up together.
(2/3) Flavor: I like the name of this card, yet I am lukewarm about this flavor text. This card is very mechanically complex; simplistic flavor falls short here of having this card make flavorful sense for myself as a Vorthos.
Polish -
(1.5/3) Quality: The last sentence of the third line of rules text is qualitatively incorrect. My current best attempt at rewriting would be "Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery and only during your precombat main phase." (minus one point).
Also, the comma in this card's flavor text is unnecessary and ungrammatical (minus half a point).
(2/2) Main Challenge: Main challenge met!
(2/2) Subchallenges: Both subchallenges met!
Total: 15.5/25
Final thoughts: I cannot help yet think of the historical Iron Age when reading this card's name. What about "Bronze Preserver" or "Stone Preserver"?
(2/3) Appeal: Timmy kind of likes this card. Spike somewhat likes this card as well.
This is more of a Johnny card otherwise because it is one of those cards to specifically build around; in this case, with both energy and artifact creatures. He could definitely build something with this as a center piece.
(2/3) Elegance: This is the exact sort of card that could have been significantly improved in terms of elegance by splitting into two (or possibly three) separate card concepts. The pieces that make up this card are not necessarily inelegant by themselves, yet the sum total of all of those pieces ends up being inelegant with too many lines of text trying to all fit onto the card.
Development -
(2/3) Viability: This artifact is viably colorless without uncertainty.
However, this card's rarity seems to misappropriated to me; there is nothing about this artifact that is Mythic Rare except for its power level. (See Balance.)
For the record, I believe that these individual effects could all exist at Rare or perhaps even Uncommon.
(0/3) Balance: I am of the opinion that this is one of those cards that just does far too much for too little mana.
Even if it is only once per turn, a continuous generator of four energy counters for two generic mana on only a four mana artifact carelessly breaks the careful balance of the energy economy. Being able to convert energy back into mana as an energy sink also allows for imbalanced shenanigans like ramping out gearhulks or other large artifact creatures. Then, this card can also serve as a game-ending anthem if need be for a wide army of servos, thopters, and the like.
Creativity -
(3/3) Uniqueness: No card has yet mixed charge counters and energy counters together. This criterion is definitely this card's strong suit.
(2.5/3) Flavor: The name of this card is alright; the flavor text of this card is nice.
The main qualm that I have with this card's intended flavor is that it suffers from the same problem as its intended design does. That is to say, the flavor of this card also falls short of combining the two (or more) separate card ideas here together into one unified card.
Polish -
(1/3) Quality: The fourth line of rules text should instead be the second line of rules text, directly underneath the first line of rules text (how a card accrues energy counters always goes before how it could spend them, see Consulate Turret, Aether Hub, et cetera; minus half a point).
There is an unnecessary space between the long dash and the name 'Galvanius' (minus half a point). Furthermore, the second line of flavor text should definitely be italicized in order to keep it meaningfully differentiated from actual rules text (minus one point).
(2/2) Main Challenge: Main challenge met!
(2/2) Subchallenges: Both subchallenges met!
Total: 16.5/25
Final thoughts: If I were to choose one of these two halves of this card to build a mythic rare artifact card upon, I would have gone with the anthem effect. There is a way to create a mythic rare with that serving as a building block. Not so much the mana to energy and back again conversions.
(2.5/3) Appeal: Timmy loves this card. Simply put, giant power and toughness buff plus trample is big.
Johnny can use this as a building block or maybe even a build around card for the right deck.
Spike finds this card to be overcosted for her needs.
(2.5/3) Elegance: Only two lines of rules text, but counting up the number of energy counters that one has can become really tedious really quickly once one has a double digit number of energy counters or so. Especially since the number of energy counters that one has can possibly change at instant speed while in combat.
Development -
(2/3) Viability: This colorless equipment is fine, color-wise. The viability problem here is that this card could almost certainly exist just fine as a Rare card.
(1.5/3) Balance: This card is doubtlessly overcosted. Though, it is weird to exactly gauge by just how much. It discourages one from actually spending the energy that one accrues as well, which also has to be factored in as a part of this card's cost. The amount of energy that this card passively generates is rarely, if ever, going to make up for the amount of energy that has to be withheld for this equipment to start being worthwhile to equip onto a creature. I am honestly hedging with this score; it is one of those cards that I would have to play with to be able to better tell just how overcosted it actually is.
Creativity -
(3/3) Uniqueness: Payoffs that count the number of unspent energy counters that one currently possesses has never been done before on an official card. Maybe such never will be done.
(1/3) Flavor: I dislike the name of this card; the flavor text is interesting.
I feel as though I can only imagine what this card's art would actually look like. The mechanics make more sense than the flavor for this card. Simply put, the flavor of this card feels very incomplete and disjointed; it takes creative leaps for a Vorthos like myself to figure out as to what could possibly be going on in there. Is it a reactor? Is it a recycler? Is it a piece of artillery? Is it a suit of power armor?
Polish -
(1.5/3) Quality: The reminder text (an energy counter) which belongs after E is missing (minus half a point).
The flavor text should be underneath the rules text rather than in the middle of it (minus one point).
(2/2) Main Challenge: Main challenge met!
(2/2) Subchallenges: Both subchallenges met!
Total: 18/25
Final thoughts: Two equipment in the same final round that each cost five, while each having an equip cost of five. Coincidence?
willows — 18
Tilwin — 16.5
Necarg — 15.5
IcariiFA: 91
willows: 80.5
Tilwin: 80
Necarg: 74
Our winner this month is IcariiFA. Congratulations!
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.)