@IcariiFA....How come you always have to try to knock new people down? (I don't mean to call you new Conntroll, for all I know, you invented Magic.) It seemed to me like Conntroll was trying to be helpful. Why dump all over him/her for that? These contests already suffer from an overall lack of participation, why not be more inviting? I'm pretty sure you could've gotten your point across in a much friendlier and less condescending way.
Always knock new people down? I think it's been two.
Maybe Conntroll was trying to be helpful, but let's be honest. A good chunk of his points amounted to "Don't do this when designing your cards even if it's totally valid with examples backing you up." I find that is both insulting as a backdoor critique, not being a guide, while simultaneously totally approaching the contest with the wrong attitude . If your design is valid, prove it. Discuss it. Get an appropriate score. Don't limit yourself because of others lack of knowledge.
I don't like when new people give backdoor criticism in the guise of a guide. That may not of even been his intent, but as written, that is what a chunk of that guide is.
I also don't like when new folks come in to these contest, expect to do better than they do, and then put more/most of the blame on the contest and next to none on themselves. That's not a point on Conntroll, but is something I make a point of calling out.
When I first started these contest many years ago on my old account before the forum transfer to curse, I was that new guy. The sooner you learn what failures are you own and not the worlds fault, the better.
I can think of Rocco, kjsharp, and now Conntroll off the top of my head.
If you want want to help new people, you could do it in a much friendlier way. I'm going to hold bravelion83 up as an example. Conntroll wasn't being hostile in any way. Why be hostile back? Everybody has room to grow in all aspects of their life, but promising new designers will never reach their full potential if they are chased away by unfriendly attacks. I find that most new designers eventually hit a penultimate moment of frustration, during which they start to question themselves, the judges, or both. At this moment, people often express their frustration by reaching out to the community for answers. If the answer they receive is basically "Go ! yourself", they are very likely to just spend their free time doing something else. If that happens, the community loses a promising new designer.
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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)
Well, I had only glanced at it before, but I just went back and re-read it, and I think it is a rather well put together beginner's guide for the contest. It is impossible for anyone to capture all the nuances of card design and it's subsequent judgment, but I can't say I disagree with most of what Conntroll is saying. It simplifies the process of judgment, and the human factors contained therein, but I don't think he was going for a be all, end all comprehensive guide, nor claiming to be the ultimate authority in such matters.
Quick story...When I first started making cards for these competitions, I hit that moment of frustration I am talking about in my post above, and thought about quitting card design. Before I did, I expressed my frustration to the community in one of the discussion threads. If my post had been answered in a way similar to how you've responded to the three people I've mentioned above, I would've have walked away before I ever really got started. Fortunately for me it wasn't responded to in such a manner. It was responded to by Rudyard. It said something like - Don't let it get you down Flatline. You're a good designer. While I'm not so sure I actually was back then, I like to fool myself into believing I'm not too horrible these days.
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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'm not saying the points from your tips haven't occurred, just that they are situational.
Which I pointed out myself.
But I don't think is really showcased well enough in your guide.
Sorry for my rudeness, but what makes you qualified to write such a guide?
Firstly, I don't think your intent or most of your post was rude at all. The only parts I felt were, if not straight up rude, then at least somewhat off, are the two below which I marked with double asterisks.
Secondly, I will be the first to admit that I'm not the most qualified person to write this guide. I will also openly admit that you would be more qualified, as an example. But I will also openly state that, qualifications notwithstanding, years have passed without anyone writing this kind of guide at all.
Fair. There is something to be said about making the contest easier to understand for newcomers.
Despite your disclaimer, it seems like another way to excuse ones own personal design shortcomings.
I really don't think that's a fair assessment, when several of the tips I've given come from score deductions given to cards that other people made, which I have personally never done or been penalized for. Hell, some of those tips come from card judgings I have read from MCC's I didn't even participate in.
That comment was more aimed at the mentality of "avoid this doing these things on the chance a judge might say something (even if you're right" more-so then you personally.
I'll admit, some of your points that come up with judging are actual mistakes by judges that need to be address and not let pass. For example, Point 1, 3, and 4 in your flavor tips are all mistakes by judges that would need to be pointed out and evaluated in context.
**So, from your point of view, I am arrogant for writing a guide that boils down to "appease the judges to not potentially lose points in these specific ways; I'm not actually debating whether these are mistakes by judges", but YOU are not arrogant for straight up saying "these are mistakes by judges that need to be addressed"? No offense, but that's self-contradictory.
No, it's not. Depending on the context (like I said in the qoute) those could certainly be mistakes by judges that would need to be addressed at the time of the contest. And it's less arrogant coming from me as someone who has much more experience with the contest.
Trying to avoid doing what people may not like in order to do better won't get you to win in the end. It limits your growth as a designer.
I can tell you personally I don't go into a challenge going "Ok, this is what people may doc me for in this category. This is something I've seen judges not like." With that mentality, you're going to design subpar card just because you think it fits in the boundaries of what people might say. Learning good design habits will put you father ahead then worrying about caveats with how something might be judged.
People go into the MCC with different goals and expectations. You will think, design and behave differently if your #1 goal is to improve as a designer; you will think, design and behave differently if your #1 goal is to win the MCC (as I said, I firmly believe that the skill sets for those two do not perfectly overlap). You lean strongly towards the first category. That's okay. Not everyone does.
Yes, but my results speak for themselves.
With that said, I think it would be a stronger approach to have an expanded explanation of the current rubric instead of a "situational tips that sometimes come up with certain judges to do a little better but not actually win."
**This, once again, confuses me. So it is arrogant of me to write a guide that is separate, standalone and optional (because I DO think I'm not good or experienced enough to suggest actual structural changes), but not of you to propose an expansion of the official rubrics.
Considering I've be around a while, judged the MCC multiple times, organized it multiple times, won it several times, and even help write the current iteration of the rubric it is NOT equally arrogant or arrogant at all.
That said, there is plenty of good advice in your guide, but I feel a good chunk of it points out problems with the contest that should be addressed going forward as some of your tips should not be true in practice. Make sense?
What is a better way to showcase that something is situational than frequently using words like "sometimes" and "may"?
By ensuring you list counter examples.
Why is it a bad mentality to have? (as a contest-focused designer, not as a designing-focused designer)
Both because it limits yourself as a designer and because your contest success is more directly influenced by your raw design ability than focus on winning.
Okay, but put yourself in the shoes of someone who doesn't have your experience for a second here. Wouldn't you say that you would be less likely to see a weird judging decision as an individual judge's mistake, but rather as the judge being right and you being wrong in your design choice? And wouldn't that, subsequently, cause you to stop going for that design choice? And then, what would help you more, as a new player in this position,a guide telling you "hey, judges can make mistakes too", or a guide telling you "here's a collection of design choices that could get you in trouble, similar maybe to the experience you've just had, in case you want to skip on it"?
I'm not suggesting writting a guide about "mistakes judges make." In fact, that's what I've argued you've done in part already. I suggested having a guide that futher expands on the rubric, the intent behind each category, and the correct way things should be judged and evaluated. Which benefits both judges as a way to review their choices and be more consistent as well as giving players a firmer basis of what to expect.
A guide like yours can be valuable too, but as previously mentioned, a number of your tips amount to things I consider mistakes by judges that limit designers in unfair ways. Those need to be addressed. I think it's important to point out when a judge objectively makes a statement in their review that is not true, even if you're not the one being judged. The goal here isn't to make the judge look bad, but for everyone to learn what's correct and permissible in designing cards. Judges are learning too.
To get mathy about it through an analogy, let's say that everyone has three stats/attributes, A,B, and C, where A is their strength as a card designer, B is their strength as an audience pleaser, and C is their strength as a contest winner. A and B would be standalone stats, and C would be a variable that scaled with both the value of A as well as B.
In my own words, the people in the first category I mentioned (whose primary goal is to improve as designers) would convert to people whose primary goal is to have a higher A (A-focused individuals). They wouldn't care about B, and it wouldn't increase; and they wouldn't care about C either, but that WOULD increase anyway, simply because it scales with A.
However, the people in the second category (whose primary goal is to win) would convert to people whose primary goal is to have a higher C (C-focused individuals), which is most efficiently done by trying to have a higher A as well as a higher B.
Meanwhile, IcariiFA is an A-focused individual who has a high C despite his near-zero B, simply on the grounds of how unusually high his A has gotten over time. And if C-focused people would try to emulate IcariiFA's path, they would find themselves quite discouraged in the short to mid-term (because they would rise, but their rise would get steeper than before, and as I said, I already think the MCC has a steeper learning curve than it can or should have).
I'm not quite sure what you mean by "audience pleaser." If you mean how I get along with others on these forums, then sure, I'm not the most likable poster on here. But what does that have to do with success in these contest, which judge you on designs (not personality)? You'd have to explain what you mean by that term more for me to really understand your analogy (and whether I'd agree).
So what you are basically saying (and please tell me if I'm reading this the wrong way, I don't want to offend) is that you partially disagree with the way something you previously wrote is spelled out?
No. I disagree with some peoples interpretations of the rubric and sometimes I even disagree with their design evaluations in an objective sense, separate from the scope of the rubric.
For example (using your flavor tips as reference) if there was a challenge based in Ravnica flavor and a player submitted a UG card with a science/biology term referenced in the name, that should be fine. If a judge were to say "this science terminology doesn't fit the setting", they would be objectively wrong and should be corrected.
Outside of your A,B, C analogy, I think I get most of where you're coming from.
@IcariiFA...With the amount of time you have spent bashing Conntroll for his guide and arguing about who is and isn't qualified to make statements about card design, I feel like you could have written a new, more thorough guide that could be used as a reference for both judges and contestants alike. It certainly would be a more constructive use of time. Honestly, I feel like Conntroll's guide would be a decent starting point. I think you're overstating how much of his guide is just mistakes made by judges. There are certainly portions of his guide that would fall into this category (such as "Avoid cards that have a sci-fi instead of a fantasy flavor, even if that is appropriate for the setting"), but statements such as, "Avoid memory issues" and, "Cards may get penalized if their final result is off-color, even if they achieve it through on-color means," are design fundamentals that should always be kept in mind.
(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)
@IcariiFA...With the amount of time you have spent bashing Conntroll for his guide and arguing about who is and isn't qualified to make statements about card design, I feel like you could have written a new, more thorough guide that could be used as a reference for both judges and contestants alike.
You seem more offended then Conntroll. In fact at this point I think he and I were having a good discussion.
I'd be more than happen to write a guide to that effect, but it'll have to be next month. I'm moving this week so my prime focus is elsewhere. I can do a draft early october.
I'm not sure offended is the correct word. I'm just trying to let new people know that not everybody thinks their thoughts are unwanted and unworthy. I suppose it could just be a coincidence that the last two new people you felt the need to rag on have both decided not participate in these contests anymore. But you're right, Conntroll doesn't seem too upset that you responded to his post by asking him who he thinks he is to have an opinion, so I'll stop interfering with the discussion.
Edit: BTW, I'm not trying to put words in anybody's mouth. I have no idea why the two people I'm referring to no longer participate in the contests. But I do know that IcariiFA was rather uninviting to both of them before they decided to leave.
(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)
...except maybe a little outdated by now. It still has the old rubric in it! The general principles still apply of course, but I might need to revise those someday. I honestly don't know when that might be though. Real life is always an angry beast to deal with, and it requires attention if you don't want it to eat you like a dinosaur its prey! (Can you guess what my favorite tribe by far in Ixalan is?)
And speaking of that (real life), I want to apologize for not having be as active as I used to be this month. I will not enter into details, but I've had health issues at the beginning of the month and I've undergone surgery exactly seven days ago. Nothing serious and all went well, but I'm still in the process of healing. That's why you haven't been hearing a lot from me lately, and also why I didn't apply as a judge this month. I'll come back to participate and judge in contests as soon as I get better, hopefully next month already.
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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.)
...speaking of that (real life), I want to apologize for not having be as active as I used to be this month. I will not enter into details, but I've had health issues at the beginning of the month and I've undergone surgery exactly seven days ago. Nothing serious and all went well, but I'm still in the process of healing. That's why you haven't been hearing a lot from me lately, and also why I didn't apply as a judge this month. I'll come back to participate and judge in contests as soon as I get better, hopefully next month already.
This may be just a tad tardy, but please get well soon!
Side-note: I am hopefully moving this week, so I might not be able to judge next month. I did not judge this month mainly because of that, though I hope that I can judge next month (regardless of "saving the day" or not).
I am doing the CCL this month - anyone who wants can step in for the MCC ahead of me but if nobody does, I'll just go ahead and post the thread on 10/1.
Judgements are in, and it looks like IcariiA is once again our winner. Congratulations!
(Man why did we have to end on Merfolk, the "**** it let's just do +1/+1 counter matters again" tribe? Yall made the best of it, but we should have just repeated dinos or pirates imo.)
I wish I had a few more hours of sleep last week, but I was running all over town trying to make some arrangements for LSAT prep, and didn't have time to double proofread my card (so I missed the UG vs GU distinction). That said, regarding the capitalization thing that two judges dinged me for in my flavor text, in that case, "Intruder" is a proper noun and should be capitalized in the same way as "What's for dinner, Honey?" should be capitalized. Merfolk were generally super hard since the stories about them hadn't come up yet.
Either way, this was a great month and I never expected to make it this far. Thanks for hosting!
I decided to distribute tribes based on popularity. Maybe I shoud have exchange Vampires with Merfolks, but I am sure putting Dinosaurs into round 1 and Pirates into round 2 was a right decision. Prerelease showed how it's true.
Congratulations IcariiFA! Thanks to all participants for your designs and judges to your work.
I am not going to judge again, at least this month. It was kinda harder than I imagined.
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Maybe Conntroll was trying to be helpful, but let's be honest. A good chunk of his points amounted to "Don't do this when designing your cards even if it's totally valid with examples backing you up." I find that is both insulting as a backdoor critique, not being a guide, while simultaneously totally approaching the contest with the wrong attitude . If your design is valid, prove it. Discuss it. Get an appropriate score. Don't limit yourself because of others lack of knowledge.
I don't like when new people give backdoor criticism in the guise of a guide. That may not of even been his intent, but as written, that is what a chunk of that guide is.
I also don't like when new folks come in to these contest, expect to do better than they do, and then put more/most of the blame on the contest and next to none on themselves. That's not a point on Conntroll, but is something I make a point of calling out.
When I first started these contest many years ago on my old account before the forum transfer to curse, I was that new guy. The sooner you learn what failures are you own and not the worlds fault, the better.
If you want want to help new people, you could do it in a much friendlier way. I'm going to hold bravelion83 up as an example. Conntroll wasn't being hostile in any way. Why be hostile back? Everybody has room to grow in all aspects of their life, but promising new designers will never reach their full potential if they are chased away by unfriendly attacks. I find that most new designers eventually hit a penultimate moment of frustration, during which they start to question themselves, the judges, or both. At this moment, people often express their frustration by reaching out to the community for answers. If the answer they receive is basically "Go ! yourself", they are very likely to just spend their free time doing something else. If that happens, the community loses a promising new designer.
I have noticed you haven't said anything about my opinion on his guide though, only my tact in approaching it. Any thoughts?
Quick story...When I first started making cards for these competitions, I hit that moment of frustration I am talking about in my post above, and thought about quitting card design. Before I did, I expressed my frustration to the community in one of the discussion threads. If my post had been answered in a way similar to how you've responded to the three people I've mentioned above, I would've have walked away before I ever really got started. Fortunately for me it wasn't responded to in such a manner. It was responded to by Rudyard. It said something like - Don't let it get you down Flatline. You're a good designer. While I'm not so sure I actually was back then, I like to fool myself into believing I'm not too horrible these days.
Great basic primer, dude. You did a great job of keeping it real without being critical. Note that I clicked like the day you posted it.
But I don't think is really showcased well enough in your guide.
Fair. There is something to be said about making the contest easier to understand for newcomers.
That comment was more aimed at the mentality of "avoid this doing these things on the chance a judge might say something (even if you're right" more-so then you personally.
No, it's not. Depending on the context (like I said in the qoute) those could certainly be mistakes by judges that would need to be addressed at the time of the contest. And it's less arrogant coming from me as someone who has much more experience with the contest.
Yes, but my results speak for themselves.
Considering I've be around a while, judged the MCC multiple times, organized it multiple times, won it several times, and even help write the current iteration of the rubric it is NOT equally arrogant or arrogant at all.
That said, there is plenty of good advice in your guide, but I feel a good chunk of it points out problems with the contest that should be addressed going forward as some of your tips should not be true in practice. Make sense?
Both because it limits yourself as a designer and because your contest success is more directly influenced by your raw design ability than focus on winning.
I'm not suggesting writting a guide about "mistakes judges make." In fact, that's what I've argued you've done in part already. I suggested having a guide that futher expands on the rubric, the intent behind each category, and the correct way things should be judged and evaluated. Which benefits both judges as a way to review their choices and be more consistent as well as giving players a firmer basis of what to expect.
A guide like yours can be valuable too, but as previously mentioned, a number of your tips amount to things I consider mistakes by judges that limit designers in unfair ways. Those need to be addressed. I think it's important to point out when a judge objectively makes a statement in their review that is not true, even if you're not the one being judged. The goal here isn't to make the judge look bad, but for everyone to learn what's correct and permissible in designing cards. Judges are learning too.
I'm not quite sure what you mean by "audience pleaser." If you mean how I get along with others on these forums, then sure, I'm not the most likable poster on here. But what does that have to do with success in these contest, which judge you on designs (not personality)? You'd have to explain what you mean by that term more for me to really understand your analogy (and whether I'd agree).
No. I disagree with some peoples interpretations of the rubric and sometimes I even disagree with their design evaluations in an objective sense, separate from the scope of the rubric.
For example (using your flavor tips as reference) if there was a challenge based in Ravnica flavor and a player submitted a UG card with a science/biology term referenced in the name, that should be fine. If a judge were to say "this science terminology doesn't fit the setting", they would be objectively wrong and should be corrected.
Outside of your A,B, C analogy, I think I get most of where you're coming from.
@everyone....If you want a thorough beginner's guide to card design, bravelion's series on the topic is quite good...... http://www.mtgsalvation.com/userblogs/the-lions-lair/42320-article-index
I'd be more than happen to write a guide to that effect, but it'll have to be next month. I'm moving this week so my prime focus is elsewhere. I can do a draft early october.
Edit: BTW, I'm not trying to put words in anybody's mouth. I have no idea why the two people I'm referring to no longer participate in the contests. But I do know that IcariiFA was rather uninviting to both of them before they decided to leave.
...except maybe a little outdated by now. It still has the old rubric in it! The general principles still apply of course, but I might need to revise those someday. I honestly don't know when that might be though. Real life is always an angry beast to deal with, and it requires attention if you don't want it to eat you like a dinosaur its prey! (Can you guess what my favorite tribe by far in Ixalan is?)
And speaking of that (real life), I want to apologize for not having be as active as I used to be this month. I will not enter into details, but I've had health issues at the beginning of the month and I've undergone surgery exactly seven days ago. Nothing serious and all went well, but I'm still in the process of healing. That's why you haven't been hearing a lot from me lately, and also why I didn't apply as a judge this month. I'll come back to participate and judge in contests as soon as I get better, hopefully next month already.
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.)
Side-note: I am hopefully moving this week, so I might not be able to judge next month. I did not judge this month mainly because of that, though I hope that I can judge next month (regardless of "saving the day" or not).
Consider me the organizer if no one else wants it more, since I volunteered.
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
(Man why did we have to end on Merfolk, the "**** it let's just do +1/+1 counter matters again" tribe? Yall made the best of it, but we should have just repeated dinos or pirates imo.)
I wish I had a few more hours of sleep last week, but I was running all over town trying to make some arrangements for LSAT prep, and didn't have time to double proofread my card (so I missed the UG vs GU distinction). That said, regarding the capitalization thing that two judges dinged me for in my flavor text, in that case, "Intruder" is a proper noun and should be capitalized in the same way as "What's for dinner, Honey?" should be capitalized. Merfolk were generally super hard since the stories about them hadn't come up yet.
Either way, this was a great month and I never expected to make it this far. Thanks for hosting!
Congratulations IcariiFA! Thanks to all participants for your designs and judges to your work.
I am not going to judge again, at least this month. It was kinda harder than I imagined.