Ancestral Mask, taken from MTG Art from Eternal Masters by Magali Villeneuve and Wizards of the Coast
Welcome to the Card Creation League Semifinals! Everyone is free to participate in either or both of the first two rounds, but this round is open only to those who have qualified.
August's Top 4 Top 5 includes the following designers:
Card cycles have been a mainstay of Magic design since the very beginning. They accomplish many varied goals, from highlighting the themes and flavor of an expansion set to exploring different approaches to a new mechanic. Card cycles call our attention to the form and function of cards in ways that wouldn't be possible without them.
Sometimes, cycles have to wait to be completed until another set in the same block. Other times it takes years, and some incomplete cycles were never even intended to be full cycles in the first place.
This round you'll be continuing incomplete horizontal cycles while pretending that several sets have gone by. The story has moved on, and this is NOT a return to a previous plane. As such, set mechanics and set flavor are irrelevant for this challenge, though you're free to use either if you think it's a good design decision.
Challenge Your challenge is to contribute one card each to two unfinished horizontal cycles:
The first consisting of Morphling, Torchling, and Thornling,
And the second from Hour of Devastation, consisting of Supreme Will, Doomfall, and Abrade.
You'll be designing one missing card from the first cycle AND one missing card from the second cycle.
You'll design 2 total cards.
One will be either a white or black card that's part of the Morphling cycle
The other will be either a green or white card that's part of the HOU cycle.
There are no other restrictions on name, color, rarity or anything else beyond whatever conventions for cycle design you think are appropriate.
PLEASE NOTE: This month we will continue with the mandatory Top 3 rule. Your card will receive NO POINTS in any round you fail to submit a Top 3 by the judging deadline. Submitting critiques will still be optional (but encouraged!), and will be worth 2 bonus points per round on its own.
Your Round 4 submissions are due before Sunday, August 27th, 23:59 EST.
Schedule
Round 1 — Open to Everyone (July 28th – Aug 4th)
Round 2 — Open to Everyone (Aug 5th-10th)
Rounds 1 and 2 Critiques (Due Aug 15th)
Top 8 — Open to top 8 finishers (Aug 16th–20th)
Top 8 Critiques (Due Aug 22nd)
Top 4 — Open to top 4 finishers from last round (Aug 23rd–27th)
Top 4 Critiques (Due Aug 29th)
Final (End of month, winner determined by public poll)
Valorous Stance could be considered part of the Hour of Devastation "pushed modal uncommon" cycle so I guess I'll make a green one.
Shineling3WW
Creature - Shapeshifter {M} W: Shineling gains vigilance until end of turn. W: Shlneling gains lifelink until end of turn. W: The next 1 damage that would be dealt to Shineling this turn is dealt to another target creature instead. 1: Shineling gets +1/-1 until end of turn. 1: Shineline gets -1/+1 until end of turn.
4/4
Hoofsmash2G
Instant {U}
Choose one:
Destroy target artifact or enchantment.
Target creature you control gets +2/+2 until end of turn. It fights target creature you don't control.
I feel like this challenge doesn't leave very much room for creativity. Especially with the Morphling cycle. I'm pretty sure I could create every possible iteration for each cycle. There isn't even enough room on either card to include flavor text.
Deathling3BB
Creature — Shapeshifter (R) B: Deathling gains deathtouch until end of turn. B: Deathling gains menace until end of turn. B: Deathling gains indestructible until end of turn. 1: Deathling gets +1/-1 until end of turn. 1: Deathling gets -1/+1 until end of turn.
4/4
Natural Force2G
Instant (U)
Choose one —
• Target creature you control gets +3/+3 until end of turn.
• Search your library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle your library.
(22 Total) - October 2014; December 2014; January 2015; April 2015; June 2015; August 2015; September 2015; November 2015; December 2015(T); January 2016; March 2016(T); April 2016; June 2016; October 2016; December 2016(T); February 2017; April 2017; December 2017; November 2018(T); January 2019; April 2019; June 2019
(8 Total) - May 2015; May 2016; June 2016; August 2016; October 2016; December 2016; October 2017; May 2019
(7 Total) - September 2015; October 2015; January 2016; March 2016; April 2016; July 2016(T); March 2019(T)
I feel like this challenge doesn't leave very much room for creativity. Especially with the Morphling cycle. I'm pretty sure I could create every possible iteration for each cycle. There isn't even enough room on either card to include flavor text.
Fair points. I've been picking challenges I'd personally enjoy, and that doesn't appear to be going over very well. Lessons learned. The finals will be more open-ended, at least.
Duskling3BB
Creature - Shade Shapeshifter (M) B: Duskling gains haste until end of turn. B: Duskling gains skulk until end of turn. (It can't be blocked by creatures with greater power.) B: Duskling gains indestructible until end of turn. 1: Duskling gets +1/-1 until end of turn. 1: Duskling gets -1/+1 until end of turn.
2/5
Overpower2G
Sorcery (U)
Choose one —
Target creature you control deals damage equal to its power to target creature an opponent controls.
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
Marchling3WW
Creature - Shapeshifter (M) W: Marchling gains flying until end of turn. W: Marchling gains protection from the color of your choice until end of turn. W: Create an X/X white Wall creature token with defender, where X is Marchling's power. Exile that token at end of turn. 1: Marchling gets +1/-1 until end of turn. 1: Marchling gets -1/+1 until end of turn.
1/7
Vernal Quiescence3G
Instant (U)
Choose one -
• Destroy all Auras or all non-Aura enchantments.
• You gain 7 life.
Starling3WW
Creature - Shapeshifter (M) W: Starling gains first strike until end of turn. W: Starling can block any number of creatures until end of turn. W: Exile Starling, then return it to the battlefield under its owner's control. 1: Starling gets +1/-1 until end of turn. 1: Starling gets -1/+1 until end of turn.
4/4
Inner Faith2W
Enchantment - Aura (U)
Enchant creature
When Inner Faith enters the battlefield, choose one -
• Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 and has flying.
• Enchanted creature can't attack or block.
The round is closing early. Critiques and Top 3s are due Sunday, August 27, BUT...I might not have internet access then.
If I haven't posted the final round by first thing Monday morning, someone else will have to take over. Moss Elemental has the challenge in his inbox. Wish me luck as I stare down a category 3 hurricane =|
RaikouRider: Shineling fits all the criteria for the morphling cycle. It's a solid card that swings for a lot in battle, always winning the trade. If anything, it's a little predictable even for the limited design space of the challenge.
Hoofsmash bends its cycle a little. The fact that the naturalize effect here overlaps with abrade seems incorrect. The fight option would probably be worth the three mana alone without the versatility it has with modular options, so it's a push card. Maybe a hair too much.
Flatline: Deathling again fits the morphling cycle correctly. However with how power this is, it should be a mythic rare. The guaranteed value this gets on defense and particular on offense is very high. While it can be sucker blocked, it usually will require two things to block it, and htey are both going to die while deathling survives. It is certainly pushed. I think I liked it more as a 3/3 since the keywords it chooses from here are quite powerful both offensive and defensively. I wish it didn't repeat its survivability mechanic with thornling.
Natural Force fits the Hour cycle. Its options are good and solid. I feel it's a little on the nose since both choices are clear rifs of classic cards without variation (ok rampant growth is an instant here, but that doesn't depart the feeling much). Outside of that, it works.
void_nothing Marching breaks from the morphling cycle. The uneven P/T makes the toughness gaining ability empty card space 99% of the time. I appreciate that you tried to step outside of the obvious, both with the wall ability and the uneven P/T but I don't feel either works. These shapeshifters are more about molding themselves, and creating a temp wall here is a slight step outside of that territory.
Your instant card also steps outside of its cycle. All the cards in the Hour cycle affect single targets, and this breaks that. It even has options within its options which feels really off. Unlike that other cards in its cycle, I doubt this would even see limited play.
doomfish Duskling steps outside of the cycle here, with it's imbalanced P/T. Like with Voids card, this makes it toughness adding ability much less relevant. The interaction here with skulk its quite clever, however its too similar to Thornling now to get a high voite from me.
Overpower seems perfect for the cycle. If I had to choose between all four green cards, I'd choose yours without a second thought. It makes both old and new refrences while still feeling fresh, and feels aggressively costed but fair as a sorcery.
RaikouRider -
Morphling - 3 of the 4 abilities are as expected, which is good as far as I'm concerned. The third ability is interesting. It renders the -1/+1 ability all but use useless though.
Modal - I think the +2/+2 in the fight ability should probably be be +1/+1 at the most, although it probably shouldn't give a boost at all. Everything else seems fine.
doomfish -
Morphling - Haste and skulk huh? Neither one of those abilities seems synonamous with black. I do like how skulk interacts with the P/T manipulation that is inherent in the Morphling design though. I'm not sure the -1/+1 does all that much here due to the high toughness that the card starts out with. Also, the unequal P/T is a bit of a break from the cycle.
Modal - This card seems a bit pushed for the cycle, but it's not totally out of control.
void_nothing -
Morphling - If I made the white card, 4 of the five abilities would've been the same as this card. Of course, it's the middle ability that would have been different (I think it would be the obvious choice: lifelink). Your middle ability seems creative, but would probably be a bit too powerful if the card had a symmetrical P/T, which I think it should. The extremely high toughness on this card makes the -1/+1 ability seems a bit useless, and is a pretty big break from the cycle.
Modal - The first choice is weird. Partially because it's weird to have a choice within a choice. Why not just list three choices? I'm just not sure I could see this being printed as part of the cycle. The boardwipe aspect just seems out of place.
IcariiFA -
Morphling - Solid design. I could see this being printed, although it's not the obvious choice.
Modal - This is a cool riff on Bonds of Faith, but it completely breaks with the cycle as far as I'm concerned. So much so that I don't think it technically passes the challenge.
It was very difficult to come up with a top 3 for this challenge. I had a hard time choosing between the top 2, and it would've been even more difficult if IcariiFA hadn't basically ignored the modal challenge by making an enchantment for an instant/sorcery challenge. I feel like people tried too hard to be different. While I usually enjoy uniqueness and creativity in a design, I don't think that this a challenge that lends well to that. If I was heading up development, and I asked for someone to complete these cycles, I would be looking for consistency within the cycle and balance, not creativity. People need to understand, there are times when R&D is just not trying to create something that is wildly creative and unique. I think this would be one of those times.
1st: RaikouRider
2nd: doomfish
3rd: void_nothing
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
(22 Total) - October 2014; December 2014; January 2015; April 2015; June 2015; August 2015; September 2015; November 2015; December 2015(T); January 2016; March 2016(T); April 2016; June 2016; October 2016; December 2016(T); February 2017; April 2017; December 2017; November 2018(T); January 2019; April 2019; June 2019
(8 Total) - May 2015; May 2016; June 2016; August 2016; October 2016; December 2016; October 2017; May 2019
(7 Total) - September 2015; October 2015; January 2016; March 2016; April 2016; July 2016(T); March 2019(T)
RaikouRider -
Morphling - 3 of the 4 abilities are as expected, which is good as far as I'm concerned. The third ability is interesting. It renders the -1/+1 ability all but use useless though.
Modal - I think the +2/+2 in the fight ability should probably be be +1/+1 at the most, although it probably shouldn't give a boost at all. Everything else seems fine.
doomfish -
Morphling - Haste and skulk huh? Neither one of those abilities seems synonamous with black. I do like how skulk interacts with the P/T manipulation that is inherent in the Morphling design though. I'm not sure the -1/+1 does all that much here due to the high toughness that the card starts out with. Also, the unequal P/T is a bit of a break from the cycle.
Modal - This card seems a bit pushed for the cycle, but it's not totally out of control.
void_nothing -
Morphling - If I made the white card, 4 of the five abilities would've been the same as this card. Of course, it's the middle ability that would have been different (I think it would be the obvious choice: lifelink). Your middle ability seems creative, but would probably be a bit too powerful if the card had a symmetrical P/T, which I think it should. The extremely high toughness on this card makes the -1/+1 ability seems a bit useless, and is a pretty big break from the cycle.
Modal - The first choice is weird. Partially because it's weird to have a choice within a choice. Why not just list three choices? I'm just not sure I could see this being printed as part of the cycle. The boardwipe aspect just seems out of place.
IcariiFA -
Morphling - Solid design. I could see this being printed, although it's not the obvious choice.
Modal - This is a cool riff on Bonds of Faith, but it completely breaks with the cycle as far as I'm concerned. So much so that I don't think it technically passes the challenge.
It was very difficult to come up with a top 3 for this challenge. I had a hard time choosing between the top 2, and it would've been even more difficult if IcariiFA hadn't basically ignored the modal challenge by making an enchantment for an instant/sorcery challenge. I feel like people tried too hard to be different. While I usually enjoy uniqueness and creativity in a design, I don't think that this a challenge that lends well to that. If I was heading up development, and I asked for someone to complete these cycles, I would be looking for consistency within the cycle and balance, not creativity. People need to understand, there are times when R&D is just not trying to create something that is wildly creative and unique. I think this would be one of those times.
1st: RaikouRider
2nd: doomfish
3rd: void_nothing
Your reasoning in your top three explains why this challenge is a bad one.
RaikouRider - The damage redirection effect on Shineling is very clever but also feels like the sort of thing that pushes it from strong to completely unfun to play against. Hoofsmash is a bit too close to being a "better Abrade" for my taste considering this is a cycle challenge.
Flatline - Deathling is pretty bog-standard for what you'd expect for the black entry to this cycle but there's nothing wrong with it. Deathtouch seems unnecessary at first but it's pretty clever as a way to win at combat even if you have to use the -1/+1 ability a lot. Natural Force is nondescript, which is, again, part of the cycle.
Doomfish - I love the use of skulk and 2/5 on Duskling. Natural Force seems like an extremely high Limited pick, it's a just plain strong card.
IcariiFA - Starling doesn't make much sense as a Shapeshifter name when you consider... The card itself is pretty clever but I wish the activated ability that allowed it to block any number of creatures only gave one additional block per activation, to give a little more tension to it. Inner Faith sort of breaks the cycle and pretty cleverly gets around potential memory issues by having one positive and one negative effect (and therefore being relatively easy to remember based on whether it's on your or an opponent's creature), so well done there, but it's still not feeling like part of the cycle. Feels a lot like Bonds of Faith.
On Shineling: The name is a bit hard to pronounce. Vigilance is a good pick for the "ready" ability. Lifelink falls out of the scheme, as it doesn't help with attacking, but it incentivizes attacking, so it's fine. The third ability is in line again and very cool.
On Hoofsmash: A bit specific on the hoof, but nicely aggressive. The card has a nice destructive vibe to it. It's certainly on the strong side, stronger than the others in the cycle. Sorcery speed might have been better here.
On Deathling: The name is a bit over the top. Deathtouch falls out of line with the first ability being something to "ready" the 'ling. Menace and indestructible are perfect clean choices to continue the cycle.
On Natural Force: Good name, it has this destructive feeling to it. Strong card that most likely has good gameplay. 3 mana is a lot to keep open, but if you end up not needing it you always have the possibility to turn it into ramp tempo instead. That's cool.
On Starling: It's a cute name and I feel like it's in line with the others. As the "ready" ability is usually the first one, I think the "block" ability on yours should be first, but whatever. It's a different take on "readying" your creature, but it plays in the same flavor. First Strike to attack is nice and it's nice how it also helps with blocking. Flickering also works well for that. Usually the "attack" ability allows for bypassing creatures. You have a different take on a 'ling here I feel, one that's better at blocking, but can still apply pressure by attacking.
On Inner Faith: The name is more positive than the others. I think most people would miss this being a part of a 'delayed' cycle, as it's an enchantment, even it it were to show up with just a green addition in the next set. The thing with white is that it doesn't get aggressive effects so much outside of enchantments. Maybe a white part of the cycle needs to deal damage to attacking or blocking creatures. The card does have a nice aggressive vibe to it though, which I feel is part of the cycle.
On Marchling: I like the name. It's strange, but fitting. The abilities are a bit shifted compared to the other three cards. Flying and protection are good picks for the second and third ability. The traditional ready ability has been replaced by a Wall. It's a unconventional solution, but instead of readying itself to block it gets you other blockers, which is good as well. It'd be very hard to attack into this however. Just one mana per attacker seems strong. This is already very hard to beat with the protection. Being 1/7 it takes a lot of mana to fully control the game just with this, which is interesting. I think your innovation paid off.
On Vernal Quiescence: A lot more narrow in application that the other 3. The name seems off, as the others have such a destructive vibe to them. It's weird how this is actually 3 modes. Would have destroying all enchantments be that different? 4 mana seems a lot for either effect. I don't think this is nearly as strong as the others. For me this is a miss.
I feel like all of our entries are more or less equally good. How do I even pick a 4 tiered ranked here?
1. RaikouRider
2. IcariiFA
3. Flatline
Decided on teeny tiny things. Very hard to weight those.
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
Flatline: I echo your sentiment about the challenge being too restrictive. This seems like a card Wizards would inevitably print, though I don't know if indestructible would repeat from Thornling. I think the existence of Natural Connection should probably put this at 1GG, but 2G is fine considering this is part of a pushed-for-constructed cycle.
doomfish: Skulk with the power-rolling ability is a really potent combination. This card would be perfect for the cycle other than that its typeline breaks the tightness of the cycle. I'm really surprised Overpower hasn't been used as a name yet. I think it's about as pushed as you can make the effect for Constructed, but it would be difficult to say how much play it would see.
void_nothing: No square P/T? The wall-creation ability is certainly unique, though. The modal spell is fine in power level, but the modal choice within a modal choice is cheating a little bit.
IcarriiFA: Starling I can't really find anything wrong with - this is probably the best of the five morphlings. The big issue I have is with your modal Aura - I think it causes too many memory issues. =/
1) doomfish
2) icarriFA
3) void_nothing
RaikouRider -
Morphling - 3 of the 4 abilities are as expected, which is good as far as I'm concerned. The third ability is interesting. It renders the -1/+1 ability all but use useless though.
Modal - I think the +2/+2 in the fight ability should probably be be +1/+1 at the most, although it probably shouldn't give a boost at all. Everything else seems fine.
doomfish -
Morphling - Haste and skulk huh? Neither one of those abilities seems synonamous with black. I do like how skulk interacts with the P/T manipulation that is inherent in the Morphling design though. I'm not sure the -1/+1 does all that much here due to the high toughness that the card starts out with. Also, the unequal P/T is a bit of a break from the cycle.
Modal - This card seems a bit pushed for the cycle, but it's not totally out of control.
void_nothing -
Morphling - If I made the white card, 4 of the five abilities would've been the same as this card. Of course, it's the middle ability that would have been different (I think it would be the obvious choice: lifelink). Your middle ability seems creative, but would probably be a bit too powerful if the card had a symmetrical P/T, which I think it should. The extremely high toughness on this card makes the -1/+1 ability seems a bit useless, and is a pretty big break from the cycle.
Modal - The first choice is weird. Partially because it's weird to have a choice within a choice. Why not just list three choices? I'm just not sure I could see this being printed as part of the cycle. The boardwipe aspect just seems out of place.
IcariiFA -
Morphling - Solid design. I could see this being printed, although it's not the obvious choice.
Modal - This is a cool riff on Bonds of Faith, but it completely breaks with the cycle as far as I'm concerned. So much so that I don't think it technically passes the challenge.
It was very difficult to come up with a top 3 for this challenge. I had a hard time choosing between the top 2, and it would've been even more difficult if IcariiFA hadn't basically ignored the modal challenge by making an enchantment for an instant/sorcery challenge. I feel like people tried too hard to be different. While I usually enjoy uniqueness and creativity in a design, I don't think that this a challenge that lends well to that. If I was heading up development, and I asked for someone to complete these cycles, I would be looking for consistency within the cycle and balance, not creativity. People need to understand, there are times when R&D is just not trying to create something that is wildly creative and unique. I think this would be one of those times.
1st: RaikouRider
2nd: doomfish
3rd: void_nothing
Your reasoning in your top three explains why this challenge is a bad one.
How many more times does this need saying? It's moved beyond critical feedback into being just mean.
Raikou: This hurricane has thrown a wrench into my attempts to streamline things. I'll wait till the original deadline after all because of the confusion.
EDIT: Scores will be final as of about an hour from now. Check back soon for the final round.
Your August finalists are RaikouRider and doomfish, by a pretty big margin, actually. Good luck in the final round, guys. It'll be posted momentarily.
“Revisitation”
Ancestral Mask, taken from MTG Art from Eternal Masters by Magali Villeneuve and Wizards of the Coast
August's
Top 4Top 5 includes the following designers:RaikouRider
Flatline
IcariiFA
void_nothing
doomfish
Theme
Card cycles have been a mainstay of Magic design since the very beginning. They accomplish many varied goals, from highlighting the themes and flavor of an expansion set to exploring different approaches to a new mechanic. Card cycles call our attention to the form and function of cards in ways that wouldn't be possible without them.
Sometimes, cycles have to wait to be completed until another set in the same block. Other times it takes years, and some incomplete cycles were never even intended to be full cycles in the first place.
This round you'll be continuing incomplete horizontal cycles while pretending that several sets have gone by. The story has moved on, and this is NOT a return to a previous plane. As such, set mechanics and set flavor are irrelevant for this challenge, though you're free to use either if you think it's a good design decision.
Challenge
Your challenge is to contribute one card each to two unfinished horizontal cycles:
The first consisting of Morphling, Torchling, and Thornling,
And the second from Hour of Devastation, consisting of Supreme Will, Doomfall, and Abrade.
PLEASE NOTE: This month we will continue with the mandatory Top 3 rule. Your card will receive NO POINTS in any round you fail to submit a Top 3 by the judging deadline. Submitting critiques will still be optional (but encouraged!), and will be worth 2 bonus points per round on its own.
Schedule
Shineling 3WW
Creature - Shapeshifter {M}
W: Shineling gains vigilance until end of turn.
W: Shlneling gains lifelink until end of turn.
W: The next 1 damage that would be dealt to Shineling this turn is dealt to another target creature instead.
1: Shineling gets +1/-1 until end of turn.
1: Shineline gets -1/+1 until end of turn.
4/4
Hoofsmash 2G
Instant {U}
Choose one:
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Deathling 3BB
Creature — Shapeshifter (R)
B: Deathling gains deathtouch until end of turn.
B: Deathling gains menace until end of turn.
B: Deathling gains indestructible until end of turn.
1: Deathling gets +1/-1 until end of turn.
1: Deathling gets -1/+1 until end of turn.
4/4
Natural Force 2G
Instant (U)
Choose one —
• Target creature you control gets +3/+3 until end of turn.
• Search your library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle your library.
Fair points. I've been picking challenges I'd personally enjoy, and that doesn't appear to be going over very well. Lessons learned. The finals will be more open-ended, at least.
Creature - Shade Shapeshifter (M)
B: Duskling gains haste until end of turn.
B: Duskling gains skulk until end of turn. (It can't be blocked by creatures with greater power.)
B: Duskling gains indestructible until end of turn.
1: Duskling gets +1/-1 until end of turn.
1: Duskling gets -1/+1 until end of turn.
2/5
Overpower 2G
Sorcery (U)
Choose one —
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
Creature - Shapeshifter (M)
W: Marchling gains flying until end of turn.
W: Marchling gains protection from the color of your choice until end of turn.
W: Create an X/X white Wall creature token with defender, where X is Marchling's power. Exile that token at end of turn.
1: Marchling gets +1/-1 until end of turn.
1: Marchling gets -1/+1 until end of turn.
1/7
Vernal Quiescence 3G
Instant (U)
Choose one -
• Destroy all Auras or all non-Aura enchantments.
• You gain 7 life.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Creature - Shapeshifter (M)
W: Starling gains first strike until end of turn.
W: Starling can block any number of creatures until end of turn.
W: Exile Starling, then return it to the battlefield under its owner's control.
1: Starling gets +1/-1 until end of turn.
1: Starling gets -1/+1 until end of turn.
4/4
Inner Faith 2W
Enchantment - Aura (U)
Enchant creature
When Inner Faith enters the battlefield, choose one -
• Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 and has flying.
• Enchanted creature can't attack or block.
If I haven't posted the final round by first thing Monday morning, someone else will have to take over. Moss Elemental has the challenge in his inbox. Wish me luck as I stare down a category 3 hurricane =|
Hoofsmash bends its cycle a little. The fact that the naturalize effect here overlaps with abrade seems incorrect. The fight option would probably be worth the three mana alone without the versatility it has with modular options, so it's a push card. Maybe a hair too much.
Flatline: Deathling again fits the morphling cycle correctly. However with how power this is, it should be a mythic rare. The guaranteed value this gets on defense and particular on offense is very high. While it can be sucker blocked, it usually will require two things to block it, and htey are both going to die while deathling survives. It is certainly pushed. I think I liked it more as a 3/3 since the keywords it chooses from here are quite powerful both offensive and defensively. I wish it didn't repeat its survivability mechanic with thornling.
Natural Force fits the Hour cycle. Its options are good and solid. I feel it's a little on the nose since both choices are clear rifs of classic cards without variation (ok rampant growth is an instant here, but that doesn't depart the feeling much). Outside of that, it works.
void_nothing Marching breaks from the morphling cycle. The uneven P/T makes the toughness gaining ability empty card space 99% of the time. I appreciate that you tried to step outside of the obvious, both with the wall ability and the uneven P/T but I don't feel either works. These shapeshifters are more about molding themselves, and creating a temp wall here is a slight step outside of that territory.
Your instant card also steps outside of its cycle. All the cards in the Hour cycle affect single targets, and this breaks that. It even has options within its options which feels really off. Unlike that other cards in its cycle, I doubt this would even see limited play.
doomfish Duskling steps outside of the cycle here, with it's imbalanced P/T. Like with Voids card, this makes it toughness adding ability much less relevant. The interaction here with skulk its quite clever, however its too similar to Thornling now to get a high voite from me.
Overpower seems perfect for the cycle. If I had to choose between all four green cards, I'd choose yours without a second thought. It makes both old and new refrences while still feeling fresh, and feels aggressively costed but fair as a sorcery.
2nd: RaikouRider
3rd: doomfish
Morphling - 3 of the 4 abilities are as expected, which is good as far as I'm concerned. The third ability is interesting. It renders the -1/+1 ability all but use useless though.
Modal - I think the +2/+2 in the fight ability should probably be be +1/+1 at the most, although it probably shouldn't give a boost at all. Everything else seems fine.
doomfish -
Morphling - Haste and skulk huh? Neither one of those abilities seems synonamous with black. I do like how skulk interacts with the P/T manipulation that is inherent in the Morphling design though. I'm not sure the -1/+1 does all that much here due to the high toughness that the card starts out with. Also, the unequal P/T is a bit of a break from the cycle.
Modal - This card seems a bit pushed for the cycle, but it's not totally out of control.
void_nothing -
Morphling - If I made the white card, 4 of the five abilities would've been the same as this card. Of course, it's the middle ability that would have been different (I think it would be the obvious choice: lifelink). Your middle ability seems creative, but would probably be a bit too powerful if the card had a symmetrical P/T, which I think it should. The extremely high toughness on this card makes the -1/+1 ability seems a bit useless, and is a pretty big break from the cycle.
Modal - The first choice is weird. Partially because it's weird to have a choice within a choice. Why not just list three choices? I'm just not sure I could see this being printed as part of the cycle. The boardwipe aspect just seems out of place.
IcariiFA -
Morphling - Solid design. I could see this being printed, although it's not the obvious choice.
Modal - This is a cool riff on Bonds of Faith, but it completely breaks with the cycle as far as I'm concerned. So much so that I don't think it technically passes the challenge.
1st: RaikouRider
2nd: doomfish
3rd: void_nothing
Your reasoning in your top three explains why this challenge is a bad one.
RaikouRider - The damage redirection effect on Shineling is very clever but also feels like the sort of thing that pushes it from strong to completely unfun to play against. Hoofsmash is a bit too close to being a "better Abrade" for my taste considering this is a cycle challenge.
Flatline - Deathling is pretty bog-standard for what you'd expect for the black entry to this cycle but there's nothing wrong with it. Deathtouch seems unnecessary at first but it's pretty clever as a way to win at combat even if you have to use the -1/+1 ability a lot. Natural Force is nondescript, which is, again, part of the cycle.
Doomfish - I love the use of skulk and 2/5 on Duskling. Natural Force seems like an extremely high Limited pick, it's a just plain strong card.
IcariiFA - Starling doesn't make much sense as a Shapeshifter name when you consider... The card itself is pretty clever but I wish the activated ability that allowed it to block any number of creatures only gave one additional block per activation, to give a little more tension to it. Inner Faith sort of breaks the cycle and pretty cleverly gets around potential memory issues by having one positive and one negative effect (and therefore being relatively easy to remember based on whether it's on your or an opponent's creature), so well done there, but it's still not feeling like part of the cycle. Feels a lot like Bonds of Faith.
1. Doomfish
2. RaikouRider
3. Flatline
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
On Hoofsmash: A bit specific on the hoof, but nicely aggressive. The card has a nice destructive vibe to it. It's certainly on the strong side, stronger than the others in the cycle. Sorcery speed might have been better here.
On Natural Force: Good name, it has this destructive feeling to it. Strong card that most likely has good gameplay. 3 mana is a lot to keep open, but if you end up not needing it you always have the possibility to turn it into ramp tempo instead. That's cool.
On Inner Faith: The name is more positive than the others. I think most people would miss this being a part of a 'delayed' cycle, as it's an enchantment, even it it were to show up with just a green addition in the next set. The thing with white is that it doesn't get aggressive effects so much outside of enchantments. Maybe a white part of the cycle needs to deal damage to attacking or blocking creatures. The card does have a nice aggressive vibe to it though, which I feel is part of the cycle.
On Vernal Quiescence: A lot more narrow in application that the other 3. The name seems off, as the others have such a destructive vibe to them. It's weird how this is actually 3 modes. Would have destroying all enchantments be that different? 4 mana seems a lot for either effect. I don't think this is nearly as strong as the others. For me this is a miss.
I feel like all of our entries are more or less equally good. How do I even pick a 4 tiered ranked here?
2. IcariiFA
3. Flatline
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
doomfish: Skulk with the power-rolling ability is a really potent combination. This card would be perfect for the cycle other than that its typeline breaks the tightness of the cycle. I'm really surprised Overpower hasn't been used as a name yet. I think it's about as pushed as you can make the effect for Constructed, but it would be difficult to say how much play it would see.
void_nothing: No square P/T? The wall-creation ability is certainly unique, though. The modal spell is fine in power level, but the modal choice within a modal choice is cheating a little bit.
IcarriiFA: Starling I can't really find anything wrong with - this is probably the best of the five morphlings. The big issue I have is with your modal Aura - I think it causes too many memory issues. =/
1) doomfish
2) icarriFA
3) void_nothing
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
How many more times does this need saying? It's moved beyond critical feedback into being just mean.
Raikou: This hurricane has thrown a wrench into my attempts to streamline things. I'll wait till the original deadline after all because of the confusion.
EDIT:
Scores will be final as of about an hour from now. Check back soon for the final round.Your August finalists are RaikouRider and doomfish, by a pretty big margin, actually. Good luck in the final round, guys. It'll be posted momentarily.