At the risk of gross oversimplification, Magic is just a game about math, and every new set that comes out attempts to provide new inputs and formulas with which to conduct that math. We've seen plenty of cards that halve things (like life totals, rounded up, that old chestnut), ones that double things, especially when Rosewater gets his way, but other than the odd Pox and Un-card, very few cards that directly "do math" in ways other than that. Maybe that ought to change.
Main Challenge: Design a card whose text contains a mathematical operation that has never before been used.
Subchallenge 1: Your card is a creature with a combination of power and toughness that has never before been used. Subchallenge 2: Your card's converted mana cost is a prime number.
Please message me about any questions you might have about the challenges. Other than that, have fun, and good luck!
A "new mathematical operation" for this challenge is simply any computation that a card has never applied to a variable before. "N times", "plus N", and "minus N" definitely work as long as that exact N has never been used before in that phrase in a card text. These are only a few examples.
Zero is prime for our purposes at the moment.
Design Deadline: All submissions are to be final and submitted by January 29th 11:59 PM EST
Judging Deadline: All Judgements are to be final and completed by January 31st 11:59 PM EST
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.
Judges:
void_nothing
IcariiFA
Remba
Pseudofate
Players Eligible:
Ink-Treader
StonerOfKruphix
Jimmy Groove
admirableadmiral
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.
Paradoxical Soverign3UB
Creature — Sphinx [M]
Flying
Each creature you control assigns combat damage equal to the absolute value of its power. (If your creature's power is negative, it assigns combat damage as though its power wasn't negative.) 1U: Another target creature gets -2/-0 until end of turn. 1B: Paradoxical Soverign gets -2/-0 until end of turn. It is the night with no dawn, the tale with no end, the riddle with no answer.
-2/6
Wistful DesireBG
Sorcery (R)
Return up to seven minus X cards from your graveyard to your hand, where X is the number of cards in your library. Exile Wistful Desire.
Exile your hand: Return Wistful Desire from your graveyard to your hand. As the future runs short, the past looks ever better.
Judging in progress. Please note, this is both the final round and a challenge that asked you to do something that inherently hurts a cards potential elegance/complexity. Don't expect perfect scores!
Design - (2/3) Appeal: Timmy takes a second, the notices a really big self pumping flier. Johnny does like that this makes weak creatures potential strong, but there isn't a whole lot to play with. The power for this comes from the activated blue ability, which attracts spike. (2/3) Elegance: Absolute value is probably not something I could ever see on a magic card, but you explain it here well.
Development - (3/3) Viability: Sure. This works as a mythic UB creature. (2.5/3) Balance: This is one of those cards that is hard to lose once you untap with it. However I feel it is mana intensive enough that it is relatively safe.
Creativity - (3/3) Uniqueness: I new Doran! Cool, feels pretty unique. (3/3) Flavor: Seems Solid all around. Almost wish is were a legend!
Total: 22.5/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.
Design - (1/3) Appeal: Johnny wants to play with this. Spike and Timmy give evil looks as they walk on. (1.5/3) Elegance: seven minus X is a tad clunky. The return from the graveyard clause will draw questions marks from a lot of players who see the card exile itself. The rest is quite fine.
Development - (3/3) Viability: This all works here. (0.5/3) Balance: So, unless you put in a lot of effort upfront, this is a blank card? This card is just... unfun. Yea sure it's busted as hell if you get 3+ cards out of it, but so what? Most of the time this is dead weight, and what you get out of it (more cards) is just not good enough. This would feel better on a creature with some abilities that encourage you to get to that low deck state, or something to not make this feel dead.
Creativity - (3/3) Uniqueness: Pretty far out there in uniqueness. (3/3) Flavor: The flavor text is great, as is the name. It flows very well with the mechanics.
Polish - (3/3) Quality: Got it. (2/2) *Main Challenge: Yeah. (1/2) Subchallenges: It's prime but not a creature. As stated in balance, putting these abilities on some kind of creature probably would of helped you.
Total: 18/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.
Design - (2.5/3) Appeal: Timmy feels great. Johnny wants to abuse the ETB and maybe make it a combo. There is a lot of value here for spike, but a lot of commitment. The lack of evasion hurts its role as a finisher. (2/3) Elegance: Divided by three? Gross. Kids want to play this game too, and fractions are no fun.
Development - (3/3) Viability: Yeah this is all good. (2/3) Balance: I can't see this for Seven mana. The EtB is dangerous especially since a card like this will most likely cheated into play. Even paying 7 mana this draws a ton of cards on its own with an amazing body. No. Even if were 8 mana it'd be a stretch just as a res target. Safer but a risk.
Creativity - (2/3) Uniqueness: Using toughness to draw cards this way hasn't quite been done before, particular with the divide by three... but it doesn't feel all that fresh. (1.5/3) Flavor: Generic and dull. Maybe if we still had core sets.
Design -
(2/3) Appeal: Johnny loves it. Spike loves it too, if only in Limited. This doesn't strike me as a Timmy card though.
(1/3) Elegance: This much math can be a massive headache. I'm puzzled as to why you gave it two pump/minus abilities when the card was already so wordy.
Development -
(3/3) Viability: No issues here.
(3/3) Balance: This is unplayable in Constructed, but that doesn't seem like your target audience.
Creativity -
(3/3) Uniqueness: Seems unique enough to me.
(3/3) Flavor: The name is great. This being a Sphinx is perfect. I'd give you extra points here if I could.
Polish -
(2.5/3) Quality: Should say "that creature's power" instead of "your creature's power."
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Met.
(2/2) Subchallenges: Both met.
Total: 21.5/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.
Design -
(1/3) Appeal: Strictly a Johnny card. Spike feels like there are better options for Dredge.
(3/3) Elegance: Surprisingly, this actually feels pretty elegant.
Development -
(3/3) Viability: No issues here.
(3/3) Balance: Or here.
Creativity -
(3/3) Uniqueness: This is definitely unique.
(3/3) Flavor: This feels very old-school, but in a good way.
Polish -
(3/3) Quality: No issues here.
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Met.
(1/2) Subchallenges: Not a creature, but 2 is a prime number.
Total: 22/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.
Design -
(1/3) Appeal: Timmy loves it, but I don't see Johnny and Spike having much interest here.
(3/3) Elegance: Seems elegant enough.
Development -
(2/3) Viability: Green's good, but this should have been mythic.
(3/3) Balance: This is absolutely disgusting in Limited, but costing seven mana makes that okay.
Creativity -
(2/3) Uniqueness: This is not a new effect for green.
(2/3) Flavor: Not a fan of the name, and Treefolk doesn't feel perfect here. Maybe Elemental or Avatar would have been better?
Polish -
(2.5/3) Quality: Should say "total toughness of creatures you control" instead of "total amount of toughness among creatures you control."
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Met.
(2/2) Subchallenges: Both met.
Total: 19.5/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.
Design -
(2.5/3) Appeal: Johnny definitely adores this, Timmy will use Chant of the Skifsang if he has Johnny tendencies, and Spike sort of likes that it can lock down opponents' stuff and pump your stuff.
(2.5/3) Elegance: Has a lot of abilities and doesn't need to have quite that many; I wouldn't have made a separate ability to give the Sphinx itself -2/-0. However, the crux of the card comes through.
Development -
(3/3) Viability: Blue and black feel right although red would have also been an acceptable pairing with blue here imho. Definitely needs to be mythic.
(2.5/3) Balance: Let's just say the targeted -2/-0 could get annoying, although it's certainly expensive to use to lock down combat indefinitely.
Creativity -
(3/3) Uniqueness: Super unique - the only remotely similar precedent is Doran, the Siege Tower.
(2.5/3) Flavor: The name is great, but I wish the flavor text were a little less "generic Sphinx" - those aren't examples of paradoxes in the flavor text, just things that are sort of contradictory.
Design -
(2/3) Appeal: Timmy sort of likes the bigness of the effect but doesn't want to have to mill himself out to use it properly - Johnny, Spike, and Johnny/Spike especially definitely have uses for this though.
(2.5/3) Elegance: Elegant indeed, however awkward activated abilities on instants and sorceries read. I get the need for the return-to-hand thing as part of a self-mill strategy, but it also emphasizes how this card "does nothing" except in very specific scenarios, so...
Development -
(3/3) Viability: The colors check out; rare is fine, this doesn't really seem like a truly "mythic" effect.
(1.5/3) Balance: There's no "fair" way to use this card even if the design itself is fair. Only a degenerate deck would really be able to use this to power out its wincon - whether that's dredge or just a deck that goes infinite for free with a discard effect using the return-to-hand ability.
Creativity -
(2.5/3) Uniqueness: Owes something to both Doomsday and Praetor's Counsel, but definitely has its own flair.
(3/3) Flavor: Pretty solid flavor.
Polish -
(3/3) Quality: Fine.
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Met.
(1/2) Subchallenges: Two is prime, but this is not a creature.
Total: 20.5/25
Design -
(3/3) Appeal: Timmy has obvious reasons for liking such a big effect on such a fat and combat-strong body. Johnny wants to max out toughness and get a whole lot of cards out of this. Spike likes the idea of getting at least three creature cards in hand out of dropping this.
(1.5/3) Elegance: That ETB ability is a serious mouthful - there are much more elegant ways to put never-before-seen math in Magic than that. The evergreen keywords may be necessary for playability and combat relevance but they feel tacked-on.
Development -
(3/3) Viability: Very much feels like the Big Dumb Green Mythic of the Set.
(3/3) Balance: That cost is hard to pay even with lots of ramp around - the best way to use this is probably reanimator/another way to power or cheat this out, and even then you probably have better options in most Constructed environments.
Creativity -
(2.5/3) Uniqueness: There's a lot of precedent for looking at the top N cards of your library for a certain number of creatures (or lands, or other cards) but not a lot for counting total toughness. The unique power and toughness also help.
(2/3) Flavor: The name and flavor text both feel a bit generic, and a Treefolk calling fauna (as opposed to flora) feels like a slight disconnect.
Paradoxical Soverign 3UB
Creature — Sphinx [M]
Flying
Each creature you control assigns combat damage equal to the absolute value of its power. (If your creature's power is negative, it assigns combat damage as though its power wasn't negative.)
1U: Another target creature gets -2/-0 until end of turn.
1B: Paradoxical Soverign gets -2/-0 until end of turn.
It is the night with no dawn, the tale with no end, the riddle with no answer.
-2/6
Design -
(2/3) Appeal: Timmy might be scared off until he realizes this is big dumb flying beater. Johnny finds some build around potential. Probably to weak for spike.
(3/3) Elegance: Good thing that reminder text is there, cause idiots like me who just barely got past Math2 would just run into traffic upon reading this. Easily understandable otherwise.
Development -
(2.5/3) Viability: Such an oddity is right at home in UB. This could be a rare though.
(2/3) Balance: I don’t see any balance issues here. If anything, this might come off as a bit weak. 2/6 flyer for 5 is fine, and its self pump ability isn’t going to break the bank. The pump others ability, and it’s absolute value clasue doesn’t seem like it is going to be very viable outside of whatever block this would find itself in. But figuring that out is for those more Johnny then I.
Creativity -
(3/3) Uniqueness: The absolute value clause is very creative, which is it’s most unique aspect. This thing has firebreathing, a tradtionally red mechanic , but flavor wise (especially regarding the name) allows the color-swap to work. And clearly blue has has dominon over P/T swap, and Black owns “shade” pump.
(3/3) Flavor: The name, the abilities and the flavor text all work so well together.
Wistful Desire BG
Sorcery (R)
Return up to seven minus X cards from your graveyard to your hand, where X is the number of cards in your library. Exile Wistful Desire.
Exile your hand: Return Wistful Desire from your graveyard to your hand.
As the future runs short, the past looks ever better.
Design -
(1.5/3) Appeal: Timmy is uninterested, has Johnny written all over it. Some Spikes, not all.
(3/3) Elegance: No comprehension issues.
Development -
(2/3) Viability: Fits fine into BG I suppose. Though it feels a little bluey to me.
(1/3) Balance: I’m trouble figuring out what this card is even supposed to do. It’s so strange. Reading it the first time it looks like it does absoloutely nothing due to the parameters required to obtain maximum effect. There must be some shenanigans you can pull off as drawing 7 cards has historically been uhhhhhh, strong, banhammer inducing text.
Creativity -
(2/3) Uniqueness: We just got Wildest Dreams, this feel like a weird re-thinking of that card.
(3/3) Flavor: Love the name, love the flavor text.
Polish -
(3/3) Quality: Points deducted for incorrect spelling, grammar, and templating.
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Challenge satisfied.
(1/2) Subchallenges: Not a creature.
Total: 18.5/25
Faunacaller Treefolk 3GGGG
Creature — Treefolk Shaman (MR)
Vigilance, reach
When Faunacaller Treefolk enters the battlefield, look at the top ten cards of your library. You may reveal up to X creature cards, where X is equal to the total amount of toughness among creatures you control divided by three, rounded down, and put them into your hand. Put the rest of the revealed cards on the bottom of your library in any order.
Everyone hears the call of the wilds.
7/9
Design -
(3/3) Appeal: Trifecta secured. Yuge green Timmy buddy, Johhny is going to go through the effort to get max value. Spike is gonna ramp this guy out ASAP and start swinging and casting the backup he generates.
(2/3) Elegance: It’s not hard to comprehend, but there sure is a hell of a lot going on. Might be one extra comma in here (divided by three rounded down)
Development -
(3/3) Viability: No question this is a green mythic and would be out of place any other way.
(3/3) Balance: Seems balanced. Huge dude and huge effect for huge cost. Wouldn’t surprise me that if something like this ever got printed the creatures would got directly into play. But I’m happy that isn’t the case here.
Creativity -
(2.5/3) Uniqueness: Big fat green creature does big fat green things. We’ve seen it before, we have not seen this math twist
(3/3) Flavor: I have no problem imagining this as a printed card.
Polish -
(2.75/3) Quality: Final round super nitpicks, extra comma as far as I can tell (aformentioned).
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Challenge satisfied.
(2/2) Subchallenges: Subchallenges met. Thanks gatherer: power = + = 7, tough = + = 9 (0)
At the risk of gross oversimplification, Magic is just a game about math, and every new set that comes out attempts to provide new inputs and formulas with which to conduct that math. We've seen plenty of cards that halve things (like life totals, rounded up, that old chestnut), ones that double things, especially when Rosewater gets his way, but other than the odd Pox and Un-card, very few cards that directly "do math" in ways other than that. Maybe that ought to change.
Main Challenge: Design a card whose text contains a mathematical operation that has never before been used.
Subchallenge 1: Your card is a creature with a combination of power and toughness that has never before been used.
Subchallenge 2: Your card's converted mana cost is a prime number.
Please message me about any questions you might have about the challenges. Other than that, have fun, and good luck!
A "new mathematical operation" for this challenge is simply any computation that a card has never applied to a variable before. "N times", "plus N", and "minus N" definitely work as long as that exact N has never been used before in that phrase in a card text. These are only a few examples.
Zero is prime for our purposes at the moment.
Design Deadline: All submissions are to be final and submitted by January 29th 11:59 PM EST
Judging Deadline: All Judgements are to be final and completed by January 31st 11:59 PM EST
(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.
Judges:
void_nothing
IcariiFA
Remba
Pseudofate
Players Eligible:
Ink-Treader
StonerOfKruphix
Jimmy Groove
admirableadmiral
A helpful tip for those formatting their cards:
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Creature — Sphinx [M]
Flying
Each creature you control assigns combat damage equal to the absolute value of its power. (If your creature's power is negative, it assigns combat damage as though its power wasn't negative.)
1U: Another target creature gets -2/-0 until end of turn.
1B: Paradoxical Soverign gets -2/-0 until end of turn.
It is the night with no dawn, the tale with no end, the riddle with no answer.
-2/6
Sorcery (R)
Return up to seven minus X cards from your graveyard to your hand, where X is the number of cards in your library. Exile Wistful Desire.
Exile your hand: Return Wistful Desire from your graveyard to your hand.
As the future runs short, the past looks ever better.
Choose one of these judge of creation:
Make Strionic Resonator shine!
You can not grasp the true form of Ashiok's attack!
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
(2/3) Appeal: Timmy takes a second, the notices a really big self pumping flier. Johnny does like that this makes weak creatures potential strong, but there isn't a whole lot to play with. The power for this comes from the activated blue ability, which attracts spike.
(2/3) Elegance: Absolute value is probably not something I could ever see on a magic card, but you explain it here well.
Development -
(3/3) Viability: Sure. This works as a mythic UB creature.
(2.5/3) Balance: This is one of those cards that is hard to lose once you untap with it. However I feel it is mana intensive enough that it is relatively safe.
Creativity -
(3/3) Uniqueness: I new Doran! Cool, feels pretty unique.
(3/3) Flavor: Seems Solid all around. Almost wish is were a legend!
Polish -
(3/3) Quality: Yup!
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Absolutely!
(2/2) Subchallenges: Done and done.
Total: 22.5/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.
(1/3) Appeal: Johnny wants to play with this. Spike and Timmy give evil looks as they walk on.
(1.5/3) Elegance: seven minus X is a tad clunky. The return from the graveyard clause will draw questions marks from a lot of players who see the card exile itself. The rest is quite fine.
Development -
(3/3) Viability: This all works here.
(0.5/3) Balance: So, unless you put in a lot of effort upfront, this is a blank card? This card is just... unfun. Yea sure it's busted as hell if you get 3+ cards out of it, but so what? Most of the time this is dead weight, and what you get out of it (more cards) is just not good enough. This would feel better on a creature with some abilities that encourage you to get to that low deck state, or something to not make this feel dead.
Creativity -
(3/3) Uniqueness: Pretty far out there in uniqueness.
(3/3) Flavor: The flavor text is great, as is the name. It flows very well with the mechanics.
Polish -
(3/3) Quality: Got it.
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Yeah.
(1/2) Subchallenges: It's prime but not a creature. As stated in balance, putting these abilities on some kind of creature probably would of helped you.
Total: 18/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.
(2.5/3) Appeal: Timmy feels great. Johnny wants to abuse the ETB and maybe make it a combo. There is a lot of value here for spike, but a lot of commitment. The lack of evasion hurts its role as a finisher.
(2/3) Elegance: Divided by three? Gross. Kids want to play this game too, and fractions are no fun.
Development -
(3/3) Viability: Yeah this is all good.
(2/3) Balance: I can't see this for Seven mana. The EtB is dangerous especially since a card like this will most likely cheated into play. Even paying 7 mana this draws a ton of cards on its own with an amazing body. No. Even if were 8 mana it'd be a stretch just as a res target. Safer but a risk.
Creativity -
(2/3) Uniqueness: Using toughness to draw cards this way hasn't quite been done before, particular with the divide by three... but it doesn't feel all that fresh.
(1.5/3) Flavor: Generic and dull. Maybe if we still had core sets.
Polish -
(3/3) Quality: Fine
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Yeah.
(2/2) Subchallenges: Yup
Total: 20/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.
(2/3) Appeal: Johnny loves it. Spike loves it too, if only in Limited. This doesn't strike me as a Timmy card though.
(1/3) Elegance: This much math can be a massive headache. I'm puzzled as to why you gave it two pump/minus abilities when the card was already so wordy.
Development -
(3/3) Viability: No issues here.
(3/3) Balance: This is unplayable in Constructed, but that doesn't seem like your target audience.
Creativity -
(3/3) Uniqueness: Seems unique enough to me.
(3/3) Flavor: The name is great. This being a Sphinx is perfect. I'd give you extra points here if I could.
Polish -
(2.5/3) Quality: Should say "that creature's power" instead of "your creature's power."
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Met.
(2/2) Subchallenges: Both met.
Total: 21.5/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.
Design -
(1/3) Appeal: Strictly a Johnny card. Spike feels like there are better options for Dredge.
(3/3) Elegance: Surprisingly, this actually feels pretty elegant.
Development -
(3/3) Viability: No issues here.
(3/3) Balance: Or here.
Creativity -
(3/3) Uniqueness: This is definitely unique.
(3/3) Flavor: This feels very old-school, but in a good way.
Polish -
(3/3) Quality: No issues here.
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Met.
(1/2) Subchallenges: Not a creature, but 2 is a prime number.
Total: 22/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.
Design -
(1/3) Appeal: Timmy loves it, but I don't see Johnny and Spike having much interest here.
(3/3) Elegance: Seems elegant enough.
Development -
(2/3) Viability: Green's good, but this should have been mythic.
(3/3) Balance: This is absolutely disgusting in Limited, but costing seven mana makes that okay.
Creativity -
(2/3) Uniqueness: This is not a new effect for green.
(2/3) Flavor: Not a fan of the name, and Treefolk doesn't feel perfect here. Maybe Elemental or Avatar would have been better?
Polish -
(2.5/3) Quality: Should say "total toughness of creatures you control" instead of "total amount of toughness among creatures you control."
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Met.
(2/2) Subchallenges: Both met.
Total: 19.5/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.
Design -
(2.5/3) Appeal: Johnny definitely adores this, Timmy will use Chant of the Skifsang if he has Johnny tendencies, and Spike sort of likes that it can lock down opponents' stuff and pump your stuff.
(2.5/3) Elegance: Has a lot of abilities and doesn't need to have quite that many; I wouldn't have made a separate ability to give the Sphinx itself -2/-0. However, the crux of the card comes through.
Development -
(3/3) Viability: Blue and black feel right although red would have also been an acceptable pairing with blue here imho. Definitely needs to be mythic.
(2.5/3) Balance: Let's just say the targeted -2/-0 could get annoying, although it's certainly expensive to use to lock down combat indefinitely.
Creativity -
(3/3) Uniqueness: Super unique - the only remotely similar precedent is Doran, the Siege Tower.
(2.5/3) Flavor: The name is great, but I wish the flavor text were a little less "generic Sphinx" - those aren't examples of paradoxes in the flavor text, just things that are sort of contradictory.
Polish -
(2.5/3) Quality: It's spelled Sovereign.
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Passed.
(2/2) Subchallenges: Both done.
Total: 22.5/25
Design -
(2/3) Appeal: Timmy sort of likes the bigness of the effect but doesn't want to have to mill himself out to use it properly - Johnny, Spike, and Johnny/Spike especially definitely have uses for this though.
(2.5/3) Elegance: Elegant indeed, however awkward activated abilities on instants and sorceries read. I get the need for the return-to-hand thing as part of a self-mill strategy, but it also emphasizes how this card "does nothing" except in very specific scenarios, so...
Development -
(3/3) Viability: The colors check out; rare is fine, this doesn't really seem like a truly "mythic" effect.
(1.5/3) Balance: There's no "fair" way to use this card even if the design itself is fair. Only a degenerate deck would really be able to use this to power out its wincon - whether that's dredge or just a deck that goes infinite for free with a discard effect using the return-to-hand ability.
Creativity -
(2.5/3) Uniqueness: Owes something to both Doomsday and Praetor's Counsel, but definitely has its own flair.
(3/3) Flavor: Pretty solid flavor.
Polish -
(3/3) Quality: Fine.
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Met.
(1/2) Subchallenges: Two is prime, but this is not a creature.
Total: 20.5/25
Design -
(3/3) Appeal: Timmy has obvious reasons for liking such a big effect on such a fat and combat-strong body. Johnny wants to max out toughness and get a whole lot of cards out of this. Spike likes the idea of getting at least three creature cards in hand out of dropping this.
(1.5/3) Elegance: That ETB ability is a serious mouthful - there are much more elegant ways to put never-before-seen math in Magic than that. The evergreen keywords may be necessary for playability and combat relevance but they feel tacked-on.
Development -
(3/3) Viability: Very much feels like the Big Dumb Green Mythic of the Set.
(3/3) Balance: That cost is hard to pay even with lots of ramp around - the best way to use this is probably reanimator/another way to power or cheat this out, and even then you probably have better options in most Constructed environments.
Creativity -
(2.5/3) Uniqueness: There's a lot of precedent for looking at the top N cards of your library for a certain number of creatures (or lands, or other cards) but not a lot for counting total toughness. The unique power and toughness also help.
(2/3) Flavor: The name and flavor text both feel a bit generic, and a Treefolk calling fauna (as opposed to flora) feels like a slight disconnect.
Polish -
(3/3) Quality: Fine.
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Done.
(2/2) Subchallenges: Hit both.
Total: 22/25
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Creature — Sphinx [M]
Flying
Each creature you control assigns combat damage equal to the absolute value of its power. (If your creature's power is negative, it assigns combat damage as though its power wasn't negative.)
1U: Another target creature gets -2/-0 until end of turn.
1B: Paradoxical Soverign gets -2/-0 until end of turn.
It is the night with no dawn, the tale with no end, the riddle with no answer.
-2/6
Design -
(2/3) Appeal: Timmy might be scared off until he realizes this is big dumb flying beater. Johnny finds some build around potential. Probably to weak for spike.
(3/3) Elegance: Good thing that reminder text is there, cause idiots like me who just barely got past Math2 would just run into traffic upon reading this. Easily understandable otherwise.
Development -
(2.5/3) Viability: Such an oddity is right at home in UB. This could be a rare though.
(2/3) Balance: I don’t see any balance issues here. If anything, this might come off as a bit weak. 2/6 flyer for 5 is fine, and its self pump ability isn’t going to break the bank. The pump others ability, and it’s absolute value clasue doesn’t seem like it is going to be very viable outside of whatever block this would find itself in. But figuring that out is for those more Johnny then I.
Creativity -
(3/3) Uniqueness: The absolute value clause is very creative, which is it’s most unique aspect. This thing has firebreathing, a tradtionally red mechanic , but flavor wise (especially regarding the name) allows the color-swap to work. And clearly blue has has dominon over P/T swap, and Black owns “shade” pump.
(3/3) Flavor: The name, the abilities and the flavor text all work so well together.
Polish -
(3/3) Quality: No issues
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Challenge satisfied.
(2/2) Subchallenges: Subchallanges met.
Total: 22.5/25
Sorcery (R)
Return up to seven minus X cards from your graveyard to your hand, where X is the number of cards in your library. Exile Wistful Desire.
Exile your hand: Return Wistful Desire from your graveyard to your hand.
As the future runs short, the past looks ever better.
Design -
(1.5/3) Appeal: Timmy is uninterested, has Johnny written all over it. Some Spikes, not all.
(3/3) Elegance: No comprehension issues.
Development -
(2/3) Viability: Fits fine into BG I suppose. Though it feels a little bluey to me.
(1/3) Balance: I’m trouble figuring out what this card is even supposed to do. It’s so strange. Reading it the first time it looks like it does absoloutely nothing due to the parameters required to obtain maximum effect. There must be some shenanigans you can pull off as drawing 7 cards has historically been uhhhhhh, strong, banhammer inducing text.
Creativity -
(2/3) Uniqueness: We just got Wildest Dreams, this feel like a weird re-thinking of that card.
(3/3) Flavor: Love the name, love the flavor text.
Polish -
(3/3) Quality: Points deducted for incorrect spelling, grammar, and templating.
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Challenge satisfied.
(1/2) Subchallenges: Not a creature.
Total: 18.5/25
Creature — Treefolk Shaman (MR)
Vigilance, reach
When Faunacaller Treefolk enters the battlefield, look at the top ten cards of your library. You may reveal up to X creature cards, where X is equal to the total amount of toughness among creatures you control divided by three, rounded down, and put them into your hand. Put the rest of the revealed cards on the bottom of your library in any order.
Everyone hears the call of the wilds.
7/9
Design -
(3/3) Appeal: Trifecta secured. Yuge green Timmy buddy, Johhny is going to go through the effort to get max value. Spike is gonna ramp this guy out ASAP and start swinging and casting the backup he generates.
(2/3) Elegance: It’s not hard to comprehend, but there sure is a hell of a lot going on. Might be one extra comma in here (divided by three rounded down)
Development -
(3/3) Viability: No question this is a green mythic and would be out of place any other way.
(3/3) Balance: Seems balanced. Huge dude and huge effect for huge cost. Wouldn’t surprise me that if something like this ever got printed the creatures would got directly into play. But I’m happy that isn’t the case here.
Creativity -
(2.5/3) Uniqueness: Big fat green creature does big fat green things. We’ve seen it before, we have not seen this math twist
(3/3) Flavor: I have no problem imagining this as a printed card.
Polish -
(2.75/3) Quality: Final round super nitpicks, extra comma as far as I can tell (aformentioned).
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Challenge satisfied.
(2/2) Subchallenges: Subchallenges met. Thanks gatherer: power = + = 7, tough = + = 9 (0)
Total: 23.25/25
How you should approach every game of Magic.
Mod Helpdesk (defunct)
My Flawless Score MCC Card | My Other One | # Three!
admirableadmiral - 22.5 + 21.5 + 22.5 + 22.5 = 89
Ink-Treader - 18 + 22 + 20.5 + 18.5 = 81
StonerOfKruphix - 20 + 19.5 + 22 + 23.25 = 84.75
The winner of the month is admirableadmiral!
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝