Flavor/Creativity - So we have two legends and three others here. flavorful, nothing I can deduct points from. 5/5
Wording - Nitpicking again, the last two instances of Faelamil in the text box should be just his name instead of his name and title. 4.5/5
Balance - The Naturemage seems strong for XG, and Faleamil just seems weak. 3.5/5
Round fulfilment - Let's see here... three of the creatures have essence counters, another two are legendary, three of them have activated abilities... the only thing that connects them together is that they all have X in their cost, which is a very loose cycle. 3/5
Bonus - All boni obtained. 5/5
Total ----- 21/25
#13 requinox (Silk Rangers cycle)
Flavor/Creativity - All five cards are very white - punishing people for their wrongs. However, I can't really imagine someone carrying a scythe made of silk.... and Silkrobe Wearer just sounds... mundane. 4/5
Wording - Nothing wrong with it. A minor nitpick though, I think the flavor text should be in quotes. 4/5
Balance - All are well-costed. 5/5
Round fulfilment - That's a cycle alright. 5/5
Bonus - Not a five color cycle? Check. Used mana symbols? Check. Rendered cards? Check check check check check. 5/5
Total ----- 23/25
#16 Casual vs #21 yoyamine
#16 Casual (I Can't See What's Going On cycle)
Flavor/Creativity - I've never seen a Human card with 'Yavimaya' in its name before. Their names follow the [place name][race/class] template except for Cephalid Shade. And shouldn't all these have race/class creature types? 2.5/5
Wording - Nitpick on Cephalid Shade. Do I "draw two cards and discard two cards" unless I pay 4 life, or do I only "discard two cards"? And I don't think keyworded abilities should be on the same line with nonkeyworded ones. And you got all the mana symbols in the wrong order. 2.5/5
Balance - For three mana, you get a Stone Rain and a regeneratable Tim on a stick? 4/5
Round fulfilment - You call this a cycle? The only thing I see in common are their 1(C1)(C2) mana costs. 1/5
Bonus - 4/5 Here's a little bonus for you: Although it's not mentioned, it would be extremely helpful if you could include your player number along with your entry. It makes the judges happy.
Total ----- 14/25
#21 yoyamine ('Slowmotion' cycle)
Flavor/Creativity - Nothing much creative about it, though they go together very well. 4/5
Wording - Another nitpick, if both abilities on Devise are on different lines, then the abilities on Cancel Out should too. 4.5
Balance - Meet Devise, the better Thoughtcast! And Aura Mage just seems weak. 3.5/5
Round fulfilment - That's a cycle alright, but I think you could do better. 4.5/5
Bonus - Bingo. 5/5
:::::Salubrious vs Wanderer359::::: 23 - Wanderer359 - ___-___ Land Cycle Flavor/Creativity - 5/5 - Lands with trigger abilities, cannot complain there. Each land has its own 'colored' ability. Wording - 3.5/5 - "Play this ability" doesn't work for triggered abilities, only activated... "Whenever a player plays a land" should be "Whenever a land comes into play" Balance - 3/5 - Blue and White and Green are balanced. Red has an unhealthy tendency to combo into a crazy engine to effectively make sure the opponent plays no more lands. It's almost like turning all your lands into stripmines... Black land also seems to clear the board all too well given enough fodder to feed the engine to begin with. Round fulfilment - 5/5
Bonus - 5/5
25 - Salubrious - Theft of _____ Cycle Flavor/Creativity - 4.75/5 - Unlike what I expected to see, you kept on-color the entire time for black. Black didn't 'steal' any abilities it normally wouldn't have, yet the abilites it does 'steal' would mimic what the color would usually do... If anything, the names get annoying after reading them all.
Wording - 3/5 - "...creature, then...", "under your control" is unneeded", "deals two damage to target creature or player", "counters among any number of target creatures you control"
Balance - 2.5/5 - All the cards are severely on the weak side. They are narrow in their use, and really overcosted even for that. If anything, the 'Theft of Wisdom' is the strongest of the three with its ability being worth its mana cost.
Round fulfilment - 5/5
Bonus - 5/5
Wanderer359 - 21.5
Salubrious - 20.25
:::::sk.Quincy vs AlphaInsidious::::: 29 - sk.Quincy - Katana Cycle Flavor/Creativity - 2/5 - Katana Cycle doesn't seem all that special... All creatures are pumped +3/+3 which is okay for a sword, but why do they ain all those other abilities, especially flying... It seems the names were assigned from random words describing the color having nothing to do with the rest of the card, and the _____ of _____ is a cliche D&D thing... Wording - 4.25/5 - 2nd line of ach card should read: "Equipped creature has "XXXXXXXX"" a la Viridian Longbow... Heh, I had to look that one up myself... Balance - 4/5 - Perhaps all are on the terribly weak side. Costs 3 mana to play the equipment, and 4 to equip it. then 3 mana of a single color to use the abiility in it. It is not very splashable at all, but perhaps that's a good thing as the card could only be used in that level with dedication to a color... The activated abilities are powerful, especially the white one paired with vigilance, but the mana output in the end is 5CCCCC... Round fulfilment - 5/5
Bonus - 2/5 - No render
31 - AlphaInsdious - Crimes Cycle Flavor/Creativity - 3.75/5 - White is not the 'Good Guy'... The flavor texts tend to mirror each other slightly with red being a total outlier. As nobody else I judged used flavor text, no points off for flavor texts... Blue one is rather cool with the permanent effect, the rest are rather typical for their color...
Wording - 3/5 - "and lands that can produce that color" is a little shifty... White and Green need 'target'... Red should have "turn. They" and "X is the number of..." should be included as part of the first clause. Balance - 4.75/5 - Competitively priced, all work excellently, if anything, the one one being a sorcery and a rather boring effect makes it the weakest of all... Tapping creatures as a sorcery is rather weak, thus it's costed the least of all five in terms of mana demandance...
Round fulfilment - 3.5/5 - Mana costs are severely differing, Effects are incredibly differing, only the names and dependance on lands is what keeps the cycle together.
Bonus - 4/5 - 5-color cycle
Uh...have you LOOKED at equipment cards? Most equipment cards don't use colored mana to equip. And yes, the abilities do have different 'colors', as I was careful to avoid doing a WUBRG cycle like so many other people did. Each equipment got an ability to match its element...shaking the earth, a tempered blade, a captured foe, a dizzied opponent, and a blade of pure ether, respectively. I think you judged my Flavor/Creativity round 100% on your version of creativity, and 0% on flavor.
For that matter, why are you factoring power level into my Flavor/Creativity rating? No, they're not amazingly strong. But especially in the Hammer of Earth case, I felt that it shouldn't be too easy to have this effect occur repeatedly. Imagine the Hammer or the Nunchaku on a Lantern Kami early-game in Limited if they DIDN'T bounce. Can we say 'Lock'?
And yes, we do have a cycle. Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, and Soul. (Go watch some Captain Planet sometime.)
Read the wording on Furnace of Rath. Then come back and read the wording on Katana of Fire.
I believe that I fell victim to personal bias in this round. But whatever.
My comments because the judging is pretty much over anyways... And i want to say stuff... Hooray for my opinions!
Quote from Istanbul »
Frankly, I'd like a second opinion.
Even if you did recieve a second opinion, I do not think it would make any difference... The judge you are assigned to has final say... This is a curious thing to say from someone saying this:
Quote from Istanbul »
Deliberately waiting until the very last second prolongs the round for everyone and makes our already-tight time constraints even that much tighter.
Quote from Llan »
Oh, sure, Flavor. I think I have to substract the last point then, because weapons you throw away after your attack to do something really sound flavorful!
Seriously, be a better loser or design better cards...
This is a bit harsh and unnecessary...
Quote from Wanderer359 »
...You've got to be kidding me. I was waiting till tommorow to post (I've been looking for art as of late), as it is the actual due date for it. Then this occurs. I don't want to be out on a technicality because the round ended suddenly.
I was just as confused as you in terms of round endings and such... It's forgivable...
Quote from Mr Bloody Minded »
Defender's Gambit 1WW
Instant
Flip a coin. If you w...
...ve just seen that I have a bye - great, just like at a tournament, wasted time
I must say now that your card names are rather amusing, yet not really serious enough... Hooray for Byes!
They were changed like half a day into the contest when it was brought to my attention someone had been left off the original list (I was working off WW's list of who had been eliminated), so everyone got shuffled up a little bit.
C'mon gerg, your round is the last left...
As a note to remaining players, the last round will likely be a free-for-all versus, with summed points from all judges deciding the final standings (to try and finish this month near on time)
Well than you should have updated the player list...
Combo well? Do all cycles of cards "combo well"? They all combo with the gauntlet, but that's it. They're made to be stand alone when in play, though a few have synergy.
(They're based on Heroes of Might and Magic)
I'm just unhappy with some of the judging, but wtf can i do? I just like to complain. :/
Eh. It occurs to me that Llan makes decent cards, but makes a simply awful judge. He can't keep categories seperate, wouldn't know flavor if it bit him in the butt, and generally doesn't have an eye at all for any creations but his own (and I question that much). If I participate in another one of these, I'd like for someone else to judge my cards, assuming Llan even tries to judge again.
Then again, what should I expect from a guy who makes a crapulent Licid wannabe as his card of the month? What, couldn't think of a decent Sliver? Was a creature enchantment that gave Flanking too complex?
I also notice you didn't even look at the Furnace/Katana comparison (which, y'know, proves you wrong) or address the fact that it was not only a cycle, but a cycle I didn't see anywhere else in this competition, which should have earned me at least SOME points for creativity.
To be blunt, Llan is unfit as a judge. (And I'm willing to bet that the only reason he won January's FCC is that the site was just starting out, so his competition was limited.)
Istanbul, you may disagree with Llan and think that he's wrong, but he's the judge and even if he is demonstrably so, it doesn't matter. He's the judge and he determines the value in this context. Instead of griping about how you lost, perhaps next time you can look ahead to see who's judging you and check their history. Then you can see what their preferences are and design cards that'll appeal to them. Think of it as picking up a few "hidden" bonus points.
Private Mod Note
():
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:symtap:, sacrifice White Privilege: Destroy economic injustice.
Feh. A card is or is not well-designed based on its own merits, not based on the prejudices of the one judging it. And yes, if you can demonstrate that a judge is wrong, it SHOULD matter. Otherwise, why even bother having judges? Why not just say, "This is the one I like the best out of all the entries, because I say so, I don't need a reason"? Why even bother having a rating system? Just say "This is the one I like more because of my personal preferences".
Oh well. It's not like it matters anyway. At this point, even if I WAS allowed to move on, I wouldn't due to the personal bias Llan has against me. I've made my point.
Thank you for agreeing with me, SOS. And, in fact, he DID grade that one portion correctly: none of my cards are broken, and he recognized that. It's just that that's the only thing he did right.
Oh well. When *I* judge this coming month, the people I judge can be assured that I'll be judging based on the cards' merits alone, not my personal preferences.
Sorry, no Grimclaw, you're late and already judged out.
gerg, you need to not do that next round. Finish the round, it takes like 4 seconds:
45-47:
BenGreen-Angelique:
BenGreen
Flavour/Creativity - 4/5 - Interesting tie-in between the cards, but the abilities are somewhat far apart... Also, a new Artifact type is a bit much.
Balance - 3.5/5 - Not bad, but the cheap effects are too cheap, the draw effect is too expensive, and the win effect is both memory (which is bad to begin with) and concievably too abusabale.
Wording - 5/5 - Everything looks fine.
RF - 5/5 - You did what you were asked to.
Bonus - 5/5 - Everything's there.
Total - 22.5
Angelique
Flavour/Creativity - 4/5 Fun idea, scrolls that teach an individual creature to do something, or he can use em' up on everyone.
Balance - 3/5 Not ending at end of turn is a bad start, plus the variance in cost (and the red one's a bit powerful). :slant: Sorry.
Wording - 4/5 - Should either say "until end of turn" or "(This effect doesn't end at end of turn)" (in which case they are horribly off balance)
RF - 5/5 - You did what you were asked to.
Bonus - 0/5 *sigh* A WUBRG cycle without mana or card art...
Total - 16
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Always trading for more Kezzerdrixes...drixen...drixii...for more!
"Of course I'm crazy, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong. I'm mad but not ill." - . _Werewolf Bridge_, Robert Anton Wilson
CHAMPION of Survivor MTG News vs. MTG Salvation!
WINNER of DC5 #1!
WINNER of Sept. '06 DCC!
Owner of Stax's Soul!
Think.
#12 Altivolus (Tree Huggers cycle)
Flavor/Creativity - So we have two legends and three others here. flavorful, nothing I can deduct points from. 5/5
Wording - Nitpicking again, the last two instances of Faelamil in the text box should be just his name instead of his name and title. 4.5/5
Balance - The Naturemage seems strong for XG, and Faleamil just seems weak. 3.5/5
Round fulfilment - Let's see here... three of the creatures have essence counters, another two are legendary, three of them have activated abilities... the only thing that connects them together is that they all have X in their cost, which is a very loose cycle. 3/5
Bonus - All boni obtained. 5/5
Total ----- 21/25
#13 requinox (Silk Rangers cycle)
Flavor/Creativity - All five cards are very white - punishing people for their wrongs. However, I can't really imagine someone carrying a scythe made of silk.... and Silkrobe Wearer just sounds... mundane. 4/5
Wording - Nothing wrong with it. A minor nitpick though, I think the flavor text should be in quotes. 4/5
Balance - All are well-costed. 5/5
Round fulfilment - That's a cycle alright. 5/5
Bonus - Not a five color cycle? Check. Used mana symbols? Check. Rendered cards? Check check check check check. 5/5
Total ----- 23/25
#16 Casual vs #21 yoyamine
#16 Casual (I Can't See What's Going On cycle)
Flavor/Creativity - I've never seen a Human card with 'Yavimaya' in its name before. Their names follow the [place name][race/class] template except for Cephalid Shade. And shouldn't all these have race/class creature types? 2.5/5
Wording - Nitpick on Cephalid Shade. Do I "draw two cards and discard two cards" unless I pay 4 life, or do I only "discard two cards"? And I don't think keyworded abilities should be on the same line with nonkeyworded ones. And you got all the mana symbols in the wrong order. 2.5/5
Balance - For three mana, you get a Stone Rain and a regeneratable Tim on a stick? 4/5
Round fulfilment - You call this a cycle? The only thing I see in common are their 1(C1)(C2) mana costs. 1/5
Bonus - 4/5 Here's a little bonus for you: Although it's not mentioned, it would be extremely helpful if you could include your player number along with your entry. It makes the judges happy.
Total ----- 14/25
#21 yoyamine ('Slowmotion' cycle)
Flavor/Creativity - Nothing much creative about it, though they go together very well. 4/5
Wording - Another nitpick, if both abilities on Devise are on different lines, then the abilities on Cancel Out should too. 4.5
Balance - Meet Devise, the better Thoughtcast! And Aura Mage just seems weak. 3.5/5
Round fulfilment - That's a cycle alright, but I think you could do better. 4.5/5
Bonus - Bingo. 5/5
Total ----- 21.5
Winners:
#13 requinox
#21 yoyamine
Level 2 Judge
Token and Playmat Store
Beyond the Guildpact
23 - Wanderer359 - ___-___ Land Cycle
Flavor/Creativity - 5/5 - Lands with trigger abilities, cannot complain there. Each land has its own 'colored' ability.
Wording - 3.5/5 - "Play this ability" doesn't work for triggered abilities, only activated... "Whenever a player plays a land" should be "Whenever a land comes into play"
Balance - 3/5 - Blue and White and Green are balanced. Red has an unhealthy tendency to combo into a crazy engine to effectively make sure the opponent plays no more lands. It's almost like turning all your lands into stripmines... Black land also seems to clear the board all too well given enough fodder to feed the engine to begin with.
Round fulfilment - 5/5
Bonus - 5/5
25 - Salubrious - Theft of _____ Cycle
Flavor/Creativity - 4.75/5 - Unlike what I expected to see, you kept on-color the entire time for black. Black didn't 'steal' any abilities it normally wouldn't have, yet the abilites it does 'steal' would mimic what the color would usually do... If anything, the names get annoying after reading them all.
Wording - 3/5 - "...creature, then...", "under your control" is unneeded", "deals two damage to target creature or player", "counters among any number of target creatures you control"
Balance - 2.5/5 - All the cards are severely on the weak side. They are narrow in their use, and really overcosted even for that. If anything, the 'Theft of Wisdom' is the strongest of the three with its ability being worth its mana cost.
Round fulfilment - 5/5
Bonus - 5/5
Wanderer359 - 21.5
Salubrious - 20.25
:::::sk.Quincy vs AlphaInsidious:::::
29 - sk.Quincy - Katana Cycle
Flavor/Creativity - 2/5 - Katana Cycle doesn't seem all that special... All creatures are pumped +3/+3 which is okay for a sword, but why do they ain all those other abilities, especially flying... It seems the names were assigned from random words describing the color having nothing to do with the rest of the card, and the _____ of _____ is a cliche D&D thing...
Wording - 4.25/5 - 2nd line of ach card should read: "Equipped creature has "XXXXXXXX"" a la Viridian Longbow... Heh, I had to look that one up myself...
Balance - 4/5 - Perhaps all are on the terribly weak side. Costs 3 mana to play the equipment, and 4 to equip it. then 3 mana of a single color to use the abiility in it. It is not very splashable at all, but perhaps that's a good thing as the card could only be used in that level with dedication to a color... The activated abilities are powerful, especially the white one paired with vigilance, but the mana output in the end is 5CCCCC...
Round fulfilment - 5/5
Bonus - 2/5 - No render
31 - AlphaInsdious - Crimes Cycle
Flavor/Creativity - 3.75/5 - White is not the 'Good Guy'... The flavor texts tend to mirror each other slightly with red being a total outlier. As nobody else I judged used flavor text, no points off for flavor texts... Blue one is rather cool with the permanent effect, the rest are rather typical for their color...
Wording - 3/5 - "and lands that can produce that color" is a little shifty... White and Green need 'target'... Red should have "turn. They" and "X is the number of..." should be included as part of the first clause.
Balance - 4.75/5 - Competitively priced, all work excellently, if anything, the one one being a sorcery and a rather boring effect makes it the weakest of all... Tapping creatures as a sorcery is rather weak, thus it's costed the least of all five in terms of mana demandance...
Round fulfilment - 3.5/5 - Mana costs are severely differing, Effects are incredibly differing, only the names and dependance on lands is what keeps the cycle together.
Bonus - 4/5 - 5-color cycle
AlphaInsidious - 19
sk.Quincy - 17.5
Always trading for more Kezzerdrixes...drixen...drixii...for more!
"Of course I'm crazy, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong. I'm mad but not ill." - . _Werewolf Bridge_, Robert Anton Wilson
CHAMPION of Survivor MTG News vs. MTG Salvation!
WINNER of DC5 #1!
WINNER of Sept. '06 DCC!
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Think.
For that matter, why are you factoring power level into my Flavor/Creativity rating? No, they're not amazingly strong. But especially in the Hammer of Earth case, I felt that it shouldn't be too easy to have this effect occur repeatedly. Imagine the Hammer or the Nunchaku on a Lantern Kami early-game in Limited if they DIDN'T bounce. Can we say 'Lock'?
And yes, we do have a cycle. Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, and Soul. (Go watch some Captain Planet sometime.)
Read the wording on Furnace of Rath. Then come back and read the wording on Katana of Fire.
I believe that I fell victim to personal bias in this round. But whatever.
Always trading for more Kezzerdrixes...drixen...drixii...for more!
"Of course I'm crazy, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong. I'm mad but not ill." - . _Werewolf Bridge_, Robert Anton Wilson
CHAMPION of Survivor MTG News vs. MTG Salvation!
WINNER of DC5 #1!
WINNER of Sept. '06 DCC!
Owner of Stax's Soul!
Think.
Frankly, I'd like a second opinion.
Always trading for more Kezzerdrixes...drixen...drixii...for more!
"Of course I'm crazy, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong. I'm mad but not ill." - . _Werewolf Bridge_, Robert Anton Wilson
CHAMPION of Survivor MTG News vs. MTG Salvation!
WINNER of DC5 #1!
WINNER of Sept. '06 DCC!
Owner of Stax's Soul!
Think.
Even if you did recieve a second opinion, I do not think it would make any difference... The judge you are assigned to has final say... This is a curious thing to say from someone saying this:
This is a bit harsh and unnecessary...
I was just as confused as you in terms of round endings and such... It's forgivable...
I must say now that your card names are rather amusing, yet not really serious enough... Hooray for Byes!
wait a sec...is there a new vs list? i thought i was paired with 39...
C'mon gerg, your round is the last left...
As a note to remaining players, the last round will likely be a free-for-all versus, with summed points from all judges deciding the final standings (to try and finish this month near on time)
Combo well? Do all cycles of cards "combo well"? They all combo with the gauntlet, but that's it. They're made to be stand alone when in play, though a few have synergy.
(They're based on Heroes of Might and Magic)
I'm just unhappy with some of the judging, but wtf can i do? I just like to complain. :/
Then again, what should I expect from a guy who makes a crapulent Licid wannabe as his card of the month? What, couldn't think of a decent Sliver? Was a creature enchantment that gave Flanking too complex?
I also notice you didn't even look at the Furnace/Katana comparison (which, y'know, proves you wrong) or address the fact that it was not only a cycle, but a cycle I didn't see anywhere else in this competition, which should have earned me at least SOME points for creativity.
To be blunt, Llan is unfit as a judge. (And I'm willing to bet that the only reason he won January's FCC is that the site was just starting out, so his competition was limited.)
Always trading for more Kezzerdrixes...drixen...drixii...for more!
"Of course I'm crazy, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong. I'm mad but not ill." - . _Werewolf Bridge_, Robert Anton Wilson
CHAMPION of Survivor MTG News vs. MTG Salvation!
WINNER of DC5 #1!
WINNER of Sept. '06 DCC!
Owner of Stax's Soul!
Think.
Oh well. It's not like it matters anyway. At this point, even if I WAS allowed to move on, I wouldn't due to the personal bias Llan has against me. I've made my point.
Always trading for more Kezzerdrixes...drixen...drixii...for more!
"Of course I'm crazy, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong. I'm mad but not ill." - . _Werewolf Bridge_, Robert Anton Wilson
CHAMPION of Survivor MTG News vs. MTG Salvation!
WINNER of DC5 #1!
WINNER of Sept. '06 DCC!
Owner of Stax's Soul!
Think.
Oh well. When *I* judge this coming month, the people I judge can be assured that I'll be judging based on the cards' merits alone, not my personal preferences.
Always trading for more Kezzerdrixes...drixen...drixii...for more!
"Of course I'm crazy, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong. I'm mad but not ill." - . _Werewolf Bridge_, Robert Anton Wilson
CHAMPION of Survivor MTG News vs. MTG Salvation!
WINNER of DC5 #1!
WINNER of Sept. '06 DCC!
Owner of Stax's Soul!
Think.
gerg, you need to not do that next round. Finish the round, it takes like 4 seconds:
45-47:
BenGreen-Angelique:
BenGreen
Flavour/Creativity - 4/5 - Interesting tie-in between the cards, but the abilities are somewhat far apart... Also, a new Artifact type is a bit much.
Balance - 3.5/5 - Not bad, but the cheap effects are too cheap, the draw effect is too expensive, and the win effect is both memory (which is bad to begin with) and concievably too abusabale.
Wording - 5/5 - Everything looks fine.
RF - 5/5 - You did what you were asked to.
Bonus - 5/5 - Everything's there.
Total - 22.5
Angelique
Flavour/Creativity - 4/5 Fun idea, scrolls that teach an individual creature to do something, or he can use em' up on everyone.
Balance - 3/5 Not ending at end of turn is a bad start, plus the variance in cost (and the red one's a bit powerful). :slant: Sorry.
Wording - 4/5 - Should either say "until end of turn" or "(This effect doesn't end at end of turn)" (in which case they are horribly off balance)
RF - 5/5 - You did what you were asked to.
Bonus - 0/5 *sigh* A WUBRG cycle without mana or card art...
Total - 16