Check out "The Lion's Lair", the article series where I specifically talk about custom card design with the intent to help you get better at it. The article index is always updated with the latest content. Oops! I did it again! After my December, I'm here again, and I'm asking your help. To run this month's MCC we need two things: players, that will hopefully come at the right time, and judges. As usual, I will be one, but we need at least three more. Are you willing to join me as a judge? If you've already judged before, just post here. If you've never judged before, please try judging the following sample card:
Sea Drinker3U
Creature - Vampire (C)
Whenever Sea Drinker enters the battlefield, target opponent mills the top two cards of their library into their graveyard. Not all vampires drink blood, some just drink water.
1/1
(Assume both subchallenges are met.)
And the following is the rubric you have to follow. I have made three formal corrections to the rubric:
- I corrected "demographics" to "psychographics" because that is the right official name.
- I ordered them in the traditional order: Timmy/Johnny/Spike, while before it started with Spike and went backwards, and I never understood why.
- I changed the "Challenge" section to refer to "subchallenges" instead of "challenges" for clarity.
These changes are only formal, and they are not functional in any way, to use the same terminology of update bulletins on the mothership.
Design (X/10) - This reflects the work put into the initial concept of the card. Creativity - How original or innovative is the card? Does it present an old idea with a new twist? Does it employ an entirely new mechanic? Elegance - Is the concept easily understood at a glance? Does the design just 'click' with the flavor? Potential - Will different player psychographics (Timmy/Johnny/Spike) find a use for this card? Does it stand out as a card to build a deck around?
Development (X/10) - This reflects the execution of the idea, fleshing it into a playable card. Viability - How well does this card fit into the color wheel? Does it break or bend the rules of the game? Is it at the appropriate rarity? Balance - Does the card's cost match its power? How balanced are its interactions with other cards? Can it be played in constructed, limited, or multiplayer without breaking any of those formats? Creative Writing - Does the name sound like it fits on a card? Does the flavor text feel natural and professional? Does the combination of name, flavor text, and card concept make Vorthos spout poetry?
Polish - This reflects the finishing touches made to the card, polishing it to an end product that could see print. Challenge (X/2) - One point awarded per satisfied subchallenge condition. Quality (X/3) - Points deducted for incorrect spelling, grammar, and templating.
Total: X/25
Post your judgment here in this thread and I'll make you know if you're ready to judge.
Round 1 will be posted on Wednesday, April 1st (and no, it's not an April's Fool).
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.)
Me and Ogonomany alone are too few to run this MCC! We need more!
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.)
Thanks Tilwin, actually you should have posted it here, but it's no problem, I'll copy and paste it here for you!
Quote from Tilwin » »
Design (5/10)
Creativity - The idea of a blue vampire is rather original. Mill on a creature entering the battlefield is not something out of the ordinary. We see a similar effect on many other cards such as Halimar Excavator, Balustrade Spy and Jace's Mindseeker. Name reminds me of Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker.
Elegance - My only complaint here would be the flavor of a water-drinking vampire leading to a mill effect, which are commonly seen as mind-draining/invasion effects. Islandwalk would have better fitted the theme.
Potential - Johnny may be occasionally interested in milling but the fact that it can only target an opponent really hurts graveyard-interactive strategies. Being blue leads to the card not being included in Vampire decks that are generally monoblack, and occasionally red/black. Spike finds the card overcosted. A 1/1 vampire with no great effect will not snatch Timmy's attention.
Development (3.5/10)
Viability - Gaining originality on the idea of a blue vampire does hurt a bit on viability. Other than that the power level is definitely at common. Blue is the primary milling color.
Balance - The card is severely underwhelming when looking at the power/cost ratio. At four mana the player needs to get much more than a 1/1 creature with an enter the battlefield mill effect. Consider only being able to target your opponents and that the ability is mandatory and sometimes it works against you - especially if the opponent has any graveyard-interacting cards or taking advantage of mechanics such as Flashback or Delve. It could be pulled down to a cost of 1, at most 2 for its current power.
I see it being a late-pick in draft (purely because of color) with little to no play there. Mill decks rarely see play in standard and require much more efficiency than a mill of two. I would definitely not see it being played in modern or older formats, nor in commander.
Creative Writing - I like the creativity regarding a water-drinking vampire. The flavor text is alright and fits the card. I am only concerned about the name of the card here which I don't feel vampiric at all and rather extremely generic.
Polish
Challenge (2/2)
Quality (1.5/3)
- It is "When ~ enters the battlefield", not "Whenever ~ enters the battlefield".
- The term "mills" does not exist ruling-wise. Instead it should be "Target opponent puts the top two cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard" (see Thought Scour for example)
- It is "his or her library into his or her graveyard" instead of "their library into their graveyard".
Total: 12/25
Very good job! I'm definitely welcoming you as a judge this month! You found all the mistakes I hid in the card, except for the fact that I personally considered a blue vampire as a mistake when creating the sample card, because Vampires are one of black's characteristic race (with Zombie being the other one), but I can see the originality in it, so no problem there. Also, nonblack Vampires have been already done in Innistrad (in red).
Many congratulations for spotting the "when" vs "whenever"! I'm very glad to see you spotting that, I think not everyone would have caught it.
And with you we have four judges. I'm going to post round 1 in a few minutes. Also, to try to satisfy a request that was done to me, I'll try to concentrate judgings in weekends whenever possible, including also one weekday for those who might have problems judging in weekends.
Thanks in advance to everyone who volunteered to judge!
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.)
I am not so eager to go all punishing when someone creates a creature into a possible off-color specifically because WotC have done it. Just like you said, in Innistrad red vampires arose - reason why you saw my "complaint" regarding Johnny tribal strategies since the broadest vampire tribal colors towards which he/she could go in the existing formats would be red-black at this point. However, I'm not sure we should always leave it to official lore to setup new things and just follow their paths - this doesn't mean of course we should start smashing the color-pie or create cards based on their creature types that go completely crazy. Otherwise how could we be truly original? So bottom line is that in my opinion at least, it's not so simple to mark an apparent creature type off-color specifically in the absence of a block or set. We don't have that kind of environment setup for these contests.
I love this paragraph. (Tilwin's not mine)
I actually wrote up a review for this card just for my own sake (unfortunately I don't have time to actually judge), and I gave the card some amount of credit for keywording mill. Just because Wizards hasn't done it yet doesn't mean it's a bad idea (I actually think it's a good one in this instance). I did discount many points for the way the card went about it though. I think it should be something like this: "Target player mills 2. (To mill 2, put the top 2 cards of your library into your graveyard.)"
Speaking of making a crit for my own sake, I found reading Tilwin's test crit, as well as Lion's crit of the crit, very informative. Reviewing other peoples cards is an idea that makes me a bit nervous. Between that fact, and the overall lack of time I have to put into it, I just don't volunteer for such things. This was actually the first time I ever even tried to review a card using the MCC rubric. I'm happy to say that my crit is almost identical to Tilwin's (I scored it at 11.5 overall), although his is worded more eloquently.
Private Mod Note
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(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 actually wrote up a review for this card just for my own sake (unfortunately I don't have time to actually judge), and I gave the card some amount of credit for keywording mill. Just because Wizards hasn't done it yet doesn't mean it's a bad idea (I actually think it's a good one in this instance). I did discount many points for the way the card went about it though. I think it should be something like this: "Target player mills 2. (To mill 2, put the top 2 cards of your library into your graveyard.)"
Speaking of making a crit for my own sake, I found reading Tilwin's test crit, as well as Lion's crit of the crit, very informative. Reviewing other peoples cards is an idea that makes me a bit nervous. Between that fact, and the overall lack of time I have to put into it, I just don't volunteer for such things. This was actually the first time I ever even tried to review a card using the MCC rubric. I'm happy to say that my crit is almost identical to Tilwin's (I scored it at 11.5 overall), although his is worded more eloquently.
I agree with both Tilwin who scored the card's originality as a blue Vampire, and with you who scored the keywording of mill, as it's something I too would really like to see Wizards do, and I would like them to acknowledge the informal use of the word by using the word "mill" itself as the keyword. Yes, I know it will never happen and I also know why, but that doesn't change the fact that I would really like it. I would do it exactly the way that you proposed, and I've actually already done it in a custom set of mine (not here, a MSE file on my pc). In the end, ours are just different points of view, and that's perfectly normal. Different points of view are not a problem, but a strength (as in real life)!
What I can do is this: while I was designing the card with the exact purpose of being a test card, I compiled in a txt file a list of all those that were meant to be mistakes I voluntarily hid in the card. I can show it to you. It goes like this (exact copy and paste):
LIST OF VOLUNTARY MISTAKES:
- Blue vampires shouldn't exist, or at least they should have a real compelling reason to do.
- Flavor text is at least uninspired, and anyway it's certainly too weak of a reason for a Vampire to be monoblue.
- This is way overcosted. Blue can have a 1/1 with upside at two mana, even at common if the upside isn't that big. No need for this to cost four mana.
- "Whenever CARDNAME enters the battlefield" should be "When..." because you expect this to enter the battlefield only once.
- "Mills" is wrong, it should be "puts the top..." as "mill" is just slang and not an actual keyword.
- There are no gender neutral pronoun in Magic, so "their library" and "their graveyard" are wrong. They should be "his or her library" and "his or her graveyard".
This of course doesn't mean there aren't any other mistakes, but just that if there are more, those more are not voluntary. Regarding the first two points of my list, I considered them as mistakes, but Tilwin's reasoning and yours made me reconsider that, and now I wouldn't be so harsh in considering them so.
The first time I judged I was kind of nervous too, but by now I'm much more confident, and trust me, it's strange for me to feel this confidence as it's not in my personal character at all. I found out you just need to be convinced of what you're thinking and what you're writing in your judgings/critiques, so that if someone asks you can easily explain them why you think so, to overcome that feeling nervous. By the way, now your post made me curious to see your judgings, even if you just made them as an exercise and don't want to sign up as a judge, obviously if you feel fine with making them public.
I'm glad you're finding our judgings informative. I always try to make them so and never assume anything for granted.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
MCC - Winner (6): Oct 2014, Apr Nov 2017, Jan 2018, Apr Jun 2019 || Host (15): Dec 2014, Apr Jul Aug Dec 2015, Mar Jul Aug Oct 2016, Feb Jul 2017, Jun Nov 2018, Feb Jul 2019 (last one here) || Judge (34): every month from Nov 2014 to Nov 2016 except Oct 2015, every month from Feb to Jul 2017 except Apr 2017, then Oct 2017, May Jun Nov 2018, Feb Jul 2019 (last one here) CCL - Winner (3): Jul 2016 (tied with Flatline), May 2017, Jul 2019 (last one here) || Host (5): Feb 2015, Mar Apr May Jun 2016 DCC - Winner (1): Mar 2015 (tied with Piar) || Host (3): May Oct 2015, Jan 2016
• The two public custom sets I've been part a part of the design team for: "Brotherhood of Ormos" - Blog post with all info - set thread - design skeleton / card list || "Extinctia: Homo Evanuit" - Blog post with all info - set thread - card list spreadsheet
• "The Lion's Lair", my article series about MTG and custom card design in particular. Latest article here. Here is the article index.Rather outdated by now, and based on the old MCC rubric, but I'm leaving this here for anybody that might be interested anyway.
• My only public attempt at being a writer: the story of my Leonin custom planeswalker Jeff Lionheart. (I have a very big one that I'm working on right now but that's private for now, and I don't know if I will ever actually publish it, and I also have ideas for multiple future ones, including one where I'm going to reprise Jeff.)
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April MCC Judge Signups
Check out "The Lion's Lair", the article series where I specifically talk about custom card design with the intent to help you get better at it. The article index is always updated with the latest content.
Oops! I did it again! After my December, I'm here again, and I'm asking your help. To run this month's MCC we need two things: players, that will hopefully come at the right time, and judges. As usual, I will be one, but we need at least three more. Are you willing to join me as a judge? If you've already judged before, just post here. If you've never judged before, please try judging the following sample card:
Sea Drinker 3U
Creature - Vampire (C)
Whenever Sea Drinker enters the battlefield, target opponent mills the top two cards of their library into their graveyard.
Not all vampires drink blood, some just drink water.
1/1
(Assume both subchallenges are met.)
And the following is the rubric you have to follow. I have made three formal corrections to the rubric:
- I corrected "demographics" to "psychographics" because that is the right official name.
- I ordered them in the traditional order: Timmy/Johnny/Spike, while before it started with Spike and went backwards, and I never understood why.
- I changed the "Challenge" section to refer to "subchallenges" instead of "challenges" for clarity.
These changes are only formal, and they are not functional in any way, to use the same terminology of update bulletins on the mothership.
Creativity - How original or innovative is the card? Does it present an old idea with a new twist? Does it employ an entirely new mechanic?
Elegance - Is the concept easily understood at a glance? Does the design just 'click' with the flavor?
Potential - Will different player psychographics (Timmy/Johnny/Spike) find a use for this card? Does it stand out as a card to build a deck around?
Development (X/10) - This reflects the execution of the idea, fleshing it into a playable card.
Viability - How well does this card fit into the color wheel? Does it break or bend the rules of the game? Is it at the appropriate rarity?
Balance - Does the card's cost match its power? How balanced are its interactions with other cards? Can it be played in constructed, limited, or multiplayer without breaking any of those formats?
Creative Writing - Does the name sound like it fits on a card? Does the flavor text feel natural and professional? Does the combination of name, flavor text, and card concept make Vorthos spout poetry?
Polish - This reflects the finishing touches made to the card, polishing it to an end product that could see print.
Challenge (X/2) - One point awarded per satisfied subchallenge condition.
Quality (X/3) - Points deducted for incorrect spelling, grammar, and templating.
Total: X/25
Post your judgment here in this thread and I'll make you know if you're ready to judge.
Round 1 will be posted on Wednesday, April 1st (and no, it's not an April's Fool).
I'm waiting for you!
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.)
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.)
Thanks Tilwin, actually you should have posted it here, but it's no problem, I'll copy and paste it here for you!
Very good job! I'm definitely welcoming you as a judge this month! You found all the mistakes I hid in the card, except for the fact that I personally considered a blue vampire as a mistake when creating the sample card, because Vampires are one of black's characteristic race (with Zombie being the other one), but I can see the originality in it, so no problem there. Also, nonblack Vampires have been already done in Innistrad (in red).
Many congratulations for spotting the "when" vs "whenever"! I'm very glad to see you spotting that, I think not everyone would have caught it.
And with you we have four judges. I'm going to post round 1 in a few minutes. Also, to try to satisfy a request that was done to me, I'll try to concentrate judgings in weekends whenever possible, including also one weekday for those who might have problems judging in weekends.
Thanks in advance to everyone who volunteered to judge!
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.)
I love this paragraph. (Tilwin's not mine)
I actually wrote up a review for this card just for my own sake (unfortunately I don't have time to actually judge), and I gave the card some amount of credit for keywording mill. Just because Wizards hasn't done it yet doesn't mean it's a bad idea (I actually think it's a good one in this instance). I did discount many points for the way the card went about it though. I think it should be something like this: "Target player mills 2. (To mill 2, put the top 2 cards of your library into your graveyard.)"
Speaking of making a crit for my own sake, I found reading Tilwin's test crit, as well as Lion's crit of the crit, very informative. Reviewing other peoples cards is an idea that makes me a bit nervous. Between that fact, and the overall lack of time I have to put into it, I just don't volunteer for such things. This was actually the first time I ever even tried to review a card using the MCC rubric. I'm happy to say that my crit is almost identical to Tilwin's (I scored it at 11.5 overall), although his is worded more eloquently.
I agree with both Tilwin who scored the card's originality as a blue Vampire, and with you who scored the keywording of mill, as it's something I too would really like to see Wizards do, and I would like them to acknowledge the informal use of the word by using the word "mill" itself as the keyword. Yes, I know it will never happen and I also know why, but that doesn't change the fact that I would really like it. I would do it exactly the way that you proposed, and I've actually already done it in a custom set of mine (not here, a MSE file on my pc). In the end, ours are just different points of view, and that's perfectly normal. Different points of view are not a problem, but a strength (as in real life)!
What I can do is this: while I was designing the card with the exact purpose of being a test card, I compiled in a txt file a list of all those that were meant to be mistakes I voluntarily hid in the card. I can show it to you. It goes like this (exact copy and paste):
This of course doesn't mean there aren't any other mistakes, but just that if there are more, those more are not voluntary. Regarding the first two points of my list, I considered them as mistakes, but Tilwin's reasoning and yours made me reconsider that, and now I wouldn't be so harsh in considering them so.
The first time I judged I was kind of nervous too, but by now I'm much more confident, and trust me, it's strange for me to feel this confidence as it's not in my personal character at all. I found out you just need to be convinced of what you're thinking and what you're writing in your judgings/critiques, so that if someone asks you can easily explain them why you think so, to overcome that feeling nervous. By the way, now your post made me curious to see your judgings, even if you just made them as an exercise and don't want to sign up as a judge, obviously if you feel fine with making them public.
I'm glad you're finding our judgings informative. I always try to make them so and never assume anything for granted.
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.)