(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)
The dash that I used is called an em dash (-), and it's the "proper" dash to use on the type line. I didn't copy and paste it, as Piar suggested. I typed it. The forum used to accept them, and you'll find them in my old posts. I became accustomed to using them. Bravelion83 pointed the way to the thread where you can request permission to use such characters if you're running into trouble with them.
Cool, hadn't thought one could type an em dash (alt code I presume). TIL. The link is helpful as well.
So I'm trying to get the thread up, but I'm getting the stupid non-latin code error. I've been trying to figure out what it is for 1/2 hour now. I'm starting to get nervous that I won't be able to get the thread up. I'm gonna keep trying. If anybody has any ideas though, please chime in.
Yeah, that super sucked for me. There were a couple days when I couldn't find the offending characters easily, and really had to hunt.
Which, of course, is weird, because in theory those characters would have prevented the reply from being posted in the first place. But, I don't claim to know what was going on. Anyway, for me, it ultimately turned out that the characters were non-standard apostrophes that one of the posters was using. Be on the lookout for em dashes -- I think a couple of those got through one day last month, somehow.
Yeah, that super sucked for me. There were a couple days when I couldn't find the offending characters easily, and really had to hunt.
Which, of course, is weird, because in theory those characters would have prevented the reply from being posted in the first place. But, I don't claim to know what was going on. Anyway, for me, it ultimately turned out that the characters were non-standard apostrophes that one of the posters was using. Be on the lookout for em dashes -- I think a couple of those got through one day last month, somehow.
I believe it has to do with anti-spam measures. A bot generally won't have the capacity to post in that thread.
Again, just check out this thread and all your questions will be answered.
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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.)
Sorry for the confusion last night. I had to be to work 3 hrs earlier than normal today to interview someone that works C-shift. Like MDenham before me, I am not a morning person. Last night's posting had me up way later than I wanted to be. I believe I've now been granted permission to post nonlatin codes (thanks again Lion), so that shouldn't be a problem again. Also, thanks again to everyone for their help last night.
I'd also like to let everyone know that, although I have been saying Fri will be up later than normal, I intend to post the thread at the standard 11 PM EST tonight (too tired to go out). I also want to ask everyone to please try to get their cards in by 10 PM EST, as the thread will be up that early at times (not tonight though). A bunch of people snuck cards in at the last minute last night, and Legend missed (sorry Legend). I want as many people to continue posting cards as possible.
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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)
Edit: BTW, the thing I'd most like to change about any of the contests is what Lion is referring to as "strategic voting" in the DCC. I'm not trying to come down on you for doing it Lion, but I wish it wasn't even an option somehow.
One possibility, although it would be rather heavier on the organizer, would be to anonymize the entries - run the contest by PM rather than by thread. But I think this discussion more properly belongs in the DCC discussion thread?
As to the MCC rubric, obviously I'm a newcomer here, and in a discussion like this that probably has more downsides than upsides. But to me, it seems like the present rubric encourages making pushed cards over average ones (which in turn pushes you towards higher rarities, by the by), because one of the criteria is 'will this see lots of play'. I also find it rather strange that more emphasis is given on pleasing Spike, Timmy and Johnny than on really pleasing one of the three; had I the call, I would probably allocate two points for how well it pleases its best psychographic, and another two for how well it pleases the rest (one each). I realize my thoughts are both incomplete and inexperienced, but I hope they may be helpful.
Picking up this discussion from the MCC thread, because it belongs here, not there.
re: strategic voting in the DCC. Hand raised to the stars, I try my best not to do it. Last month, I was within reach of the top spot, but I kept voting for the people that eventually beat me, because they simply designed excellent cards. What use is this contest if we don't try to recognize excellence? (And I think we do.)
That said, there have been a few odd days where I looked back at my votes after it was too late to change them, and I thought... I totally picked that because I was trying to game my standings. There, confession made. Now, what are we going to do about it?
My completely earnest recommendation: nothing. The DCC has two MAJOR advantages going for it, that no other contest has: lots of judges, and the world's easiest judging criteria (because there aren't any, other than what you set for yourself). The voting process is subject to corruption, that's absolutely true, but I think the sheer number of votes counterbalances that fact. The will of the crowd tends to cancel out individual gamesmanship.
On the whole, I feel like the DCC does a much better job of rewarding good design than the MCC, even if half of the votes tallied are trying to rig the standings in favor of one person or another. When I post a card to the DCC that I think is excellent, it generally gets votes (unless its a Commander card, you all hate those). When I post a card that I think is marginal, it typically gets fewer votes. When I post something to the MCC, I'm really just throwing it at the mercy of an unknown judge. They might see things the way I do, but more often they don't. And I think that's true for everybody.
Also, having been the DCC organizer for the better part of March, let me say that we don't want to put more burden on the organizer. I got it down to where I could get the thread up in 10-15 minutes, start-to-finish, and honestly that's about the maximum time I can promise to commit to it if I'm doing it every day. So the idea of anonymizing the entries is a non-starter to me, because it would easily double the time it takes to put up the thread every day. I don't want to fix the DCC, because to me, it ain't broke.
I agree with everything you're saying Guesswork. The DCC is my favorite CCC. I wouldn't want to change it either. Talking about eliminating "strategic voting" is just wishful thinking on my part. It would be nice if it didn't exist, but I know there is no real way to make that happen.
As far as your card from yesterday is concerned, please don't think I'm trying to be a hater. Usually I'm all for pushing the bounds of what's acceptable in MTG card design, but giving white one the best counterspells in magic is just too far for me. Certain things are sacred. It would be like giving green the best burn spell. Part of the reason I bring this up though is, I really like the card otherwise. If it cost , I would've voted for it. I think it's awesome at , with as the activated ability cost. I think this is still plenty pushed actually. The card is full of neat possibilities.
Edit: As long as I'm here...I was thinking I would keep posting the DCC next month, but I've recently made plans to go to Florida with my family in May, so I'm thinking that might be kinda tough for me. If anybody would like to volunteer for May that would be cool. If not the whole month, a week or so at least? I figured it best to get these things out there early.
(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'd just like to chime in and say that, despite the possibility for corruption in the voting, I wouldn't say that the DCC needs any changes.
Agreed! Long live The DCC!
Speaking of changes, have people been liking, disliking or indifferent to the new post time?
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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)
The only real way to anonymize the DCC would be for everyone to pm their entry to a noncompeting thread organizer (and hope he's not petty enough to leak information), which would take the soul out of the game.
A Now, about MCC vs. DCC/CCL I'll be honest: I prefer MCC 1000 times more than any other contest or game around here. I feel the other two are just political games and popularity contests. There is no criteria, everyone votes based on whatever they feel they want to vote (reminds me of a famous Flamingo remark at some point that a certain trait "is simply ugly", no real arguments given there). There are no real critiques, sometimes nasty remarks or highly narrow views, and pretty much everyone has the freedom to say whatever they want to say as it's considered okay and appropriate. It's like no effs are given about something some people may take more seriously than others. One-line critique is good enough there - you just throw some critiques, get your points and move on. Or we get to the political part where people vote later those people that got the least points so they get themselves upper in the ranks. Again, this is something the format tolerates, if not encourages. And that type of competition just ain't for me - I am a perfectionist and an elitist, I enjoy putting work and effort in what I do and projecting that in the results people get to see around here. This includes both judging and participating. Some will agree with this, some will not. That whole "multiple perspectives" is important, reason why for instance I plan to continue asking for feedback from other judges regarding my critiques so I can learn and get better and correct mistakes I make. And I highly encourage other judges to do the same. We are human, we can't be 100% on point, and we want to make sure the judging is done fair and as objective as possible, so that everyone's effort is recognized and justfuly appreciated.
Oh yeah, how to remove strategic voting? Leave the votes private, have them sent via PM to the organizer, and then after deadline the organizer can just post them.
Thank you!
I think the entries would need to be PMed to the organizer, not the votes. Unless you think people are refusing to vote for people that aren't voting for them. Either way, that's a olt more work than I'm willing to do as organizer.
As far as the rest of what you're saying about the DCC goes, I HATE it. Particularly the things I've bolded. I find it insulting. Perhaps I'm just naïve but, I think most of the people posting in the DCC regularly are not voting politically, but for the cards they like best. Obviously the DCC has a bit of an issue with people trying not to vote for people ahead of them in the standings, but I don't think it's so bad that it should call the validity of the entire contest into question. The cards that end up doing well on any given day may not always be what you think are the best cards from each day, but I think that can just be chalked up to difference of opinion and difference in evaluation. Some people that play real Magic are better card evaluators than others, and so it is here as well.
What do the rest of you DCCers think of this? CryoZenith, are voting politically on a daily basis? How 'bout you Guesswork? Rudyard? Piar? I'm not going to keep listing people off, but I would be disappointed and shocked to hear any of these people (there are more also) are just voting to manipulate the standings. I guess I could be wrong. It makes me a bit sad if I am though. It amazes me how cut-throat people can be about a friendly competition with nothing really at stake. I thought we were all kinda friends here just trying to have some fun. Again, maybe I'm just being naïve.
EDit: BTW Tilwin, please don't take this as an attack on you, it is not intended to be. I am just trying to defend the DCC and the people that post in it regularly. Also, what I am saying only applies to the DCC, I haven't participated in CCL or Flamingo contests, perhaps the issues you speak of are major problems there.
The only real way to anonymize the DCC would be for everyone to pm their entry to a noncompeting thread organizer (and hope he's not petty enough to leak information), which would take the soul out of the game.
Not worth it.
Any word from MDenham?
Agreed. (I would hope nobody could be that petty. Seems crazy to me.)
I haven't heard anything about MDenham myself, but I continue to hold onto hope that he will return someday. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
(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)
Ok, now I definitely feel like I've detonated two major bombs lately here in the CCC forum: the MCC rubric (but I'll talk about it in that thread) and the strategic voting in the DCC. I'm feeling quite bad right now because of this. I'm feeling responsible for this. Maybe I should have said nothing and keep it all for myself. But as in real life, that's just not me, at least not anymore. Now I can't keep anything for myself. Sorry if that side of myself has taken over lately. I'm really sorry.
Also, I can assure you, and I'd be ready to swear it, that I only did strategic voting in the last few days of March, when I had the chance to win. Except for those few days, I've never done that since I'm participating in the DCC (all months since last October if I remember well). I also don't think that anybody does that regularly. Surely somebody else has also done that occasionally, but not regularly. In the end I agree that nothing needs to change in the DCC.
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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.)
Please don't feel badly Bravelion, I don't think you've done anything wrong at all. It's probably best to discuss these things if people truly feel these ways. I like to see the people that frequent these threads as a cohesive community. A community can only be made stronger by having robust and truthful conversation. Right? I'm giving people like yourself the benefit of the doubt that their intentions are good. If my last post sounded like I was upset, it's only because some of the things that are being said are making me feel like people seem to think it's stupid to give people that benefit. I don't think it is. Hopefully I'm not just an idiot.
Edit: Also, I believe you Lion, I feel like your integrity as a judge of cards is too strong to "vote strategically" too often. It's only human nature to want to win though, so I'm not fooling myself into thinking this doesn't play a factor more and more as the month progresses. I think that it is probably ok though. There are a lot of good cards being posted everyday in the DCC. It's not hard to justify voting for many of them on any given day, so it's not like people are voting for garbage just because they want to win. It kinda works like Mario Cart, better things are given to the people that are behind in the race to help keep the race interesting, but in the long run, the best players still tend to win more frequently. Like Guesswork said earlier, a lot of it comes out in the wash due to the nature of the voting.
(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)
No, you're not! Absolutely! Nobody is! And I assure you my intentions were good, and still are, and that I welcome the discussion, it's just that I feel like I've taken it all too far, both here and in the MCC discussion. But it's surely just a momentary feeling, don't be afraid. It'll pass soon. It's just the weakest part of me showing up, I'm used to this in real life by now... it probably just never showed up here on the forum, at least not like this. Well, now you also know this part of me. It was this what I referred to when talking about "confidence issues" in response to my first article. But I'd be able to continue for a long time, so let's end it here. Everything's right!
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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.)
One less burdensome way to cut down on strategic voting would be to conceal the standings until the end of the month. Obviously anyone really inclined to do so could go through and tally votes to recreate the standings themselves, but it becomes much harder to see at a glance who you 'ought' to be keeping down - and I think the general concern here is not malice, but temptation. There may still be a general feeling of who's doing well and who isn't, but I think it would be an improvement on the strategic voting issue without seriously damaging the nature of the game or putting an undue load on the organizer.
Oh, basically, my thought process when churning out the card was to just use the Isochron Scepter template, since it's already something that is correct wording and clearly defined. But your way makes more sense.
The difference is with the Scepter you can do multiple copies of the exiled card, so the copy has to stay in exile to be available to be copied again. But as you sacrifice the token to be able to cast the exiled card, you will have a single use of that spell vith your ability. At that point, you might as well directly cast the card itself from exile, making the ability much simpler and easier to read.
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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.)
Grave Denial1UB
Instant (U)
Counter target spell unless its controller sacrifices a creature. If that player does, put a 2/2 black Zombie creature token onto the battlefield.
I find it amusing that the people who commented on this disagreed. FortuitousEntitiy and CryoZentith both found it overcosted, while bravelion83 thought it was undercosted. It's interesting to see how people's thought process differs.
My original version of this card cost UB. I added one mana for submission to the DCC because I thought more people would think like bravelion83. In the future I'll keep it in mind to further push what I think is acceptable power level. If this were to see print in a Standard set, I fear it would almost certainly cost more than two mana.
I find it amusing that the people who commented on this disagreed. FortuitousEntitiy and CryoZentith both found it overcosted, while bravelion83 thought it was undercosted. It's interesting to see how people's thought process differs.
My original version of this card cost UB. I added one mana for submission to the DCC because I thought more people would think like bravelion83. In the future I'll keep it in mind to further push what I think is acceptable power level. If this were to see print in a Standard set, I fear it would almost certainly cost more than two mana.
May this also be due to the fact that it takes a moment to realize that YOU get the Zombie token and not the countered spell's controller? I had to stop a moment myself when reading that card to understand it well. At first I read it as though the countered spell's controller got the token in exchange for his or her spell, kind of like Path to Exile gives THEM a land in exchange for the creature (ignore power level for the sake of this discussion). If Grave Denial worked like Path, it would definitely be overcosted. As it is, I don't see any realistic way this could less than three mana, when today's base for counterspells, Cancel, costs three mana, whether you like it or not. At the contrary, I wouldn't be surprised to see R&D increasing the cost of this if it was to be printed for real, seeing the trend counterspells have taken in the last few years (and note that I'm one of those players who agrees with that). That's why I said what I said. But here in Italy we have a saying that goes "The world is beautiful because it's varied" ("Il mondo è bello perché è vario")! I see this in a way and other people see it in a different way, and there's nothing wrong with that!
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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.)
The thing is that Grave Denial is strictly worse than Cancel, by a fair margin. It gives your opponent the option of treating it as a cancel, or sacrificing a creature to give you a zombie. I'd be pretty comfortable with either of those effects at three mana, so I'd be comfortable giving the opponent the choice of either at two multicoloured mana. Perhaps if it had some other upside regardless, but having a card harder to cast than Cancel which is strictly worse than Cancel leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Conversely, if it gave you both of those effects, I wouldn't want to see it below five mana.
Oops! I think I missed the "unless" then... In my mind I had it counter the spell and in addition to the spell being countered the opponent could choose to sacrifice a creature, and if he did you got a Zombie. So this is EITHER counter a spell OR opponent may sacrifice a creature and if he does you get a Zombie, and the opponent gets to choose which one it is? Oh well, in that case everything changes... you're right, it could probably be at just UB then, even if I agree that R&D wouldn't probably print it for less than three mana. I misread the card, sorry. And also, I didn't realize that the first time. My bad! I'm sorry but today hasn't exactly been the simplest of days to me.
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.)
It's tricky; I wouldn't want to see it for more than two mana, but at the same time I can see why it might be problematic at two mana. Perhaps it could have cost three mana and caused the opponent to lose some life as a guaranteed rider. Or cost two mana and a little life. That kind of marginal adjustment seems necessary here.
Legend— Your wording is quite off, and frankly it's not quite in the right colors. White gets flash creatures, but blue and green are the colors that grant flash. This needs to read "You may cast creature cards as though they had flash," with a separate line that reads "Creatures you control have haste." Despite both being flavored as fast, the two don't really go together that well. Flash is often used so that creatures can "pretend" to have haste.
You're right about the wording. Thanks for the errata. I was more about the pun than the Mango. As far as flash and haste going "together that well", that's a matter of opinion. Personally, I think it would be highly advantageous for all of my creatures to have flash for playing around counterspells, combat tricks, and leaving mana open for other options; or for haste to gain or maintain the tempo advantage (especially in limited).
Which, of course, is weird, because in theory those characters would have prevented the reply from being posted in the first place. But, I don't claim to know what was going on. Anyway, for me, it ultimately turned out that the characters were non-standard apostrophes that one of the posters was using. Be on the lookout for em dashes -- I think a couple of those got through one day last month, somehow.
Again, just check out this thread and all your questions will be answered.
MCC - Winner (6): Oct 2014, Apr Nov 2017, Jan 2018, Apr Jun 2019 || Host (15): Dec 2014, Apr Jul Aug Dec 2015, Mar Jul Aug Oct 2016, Feb Jul 2017, Jun Nov 2018, Feb Jul 2019 (last one here) || Judge (34): every month from Nov 2014 to Nov 2016 except Oct 2015, every month from Feb to Jul 2017 except Apr 2017, then Oct 2017, May Jun Nov 2018, Feb Jul 2019 (last one here)
CCL - Winner (3): Jul 2016 (tied with Flatline), May 2017, Jul 2019 (last one here) || Host (5): Feb 2015, Mar Apr May Jun 2016
DCC - Winner (1): Mar 2015 (tied with Piar) || Host (3): May Oct 2015, Jan 2016
• The two public custom sets I've been part a part of the design team for:
"Brotherhood of Ormos" - Blog post with all info - set thread - design skeleton / card list || "Extinctia: Homo Evanuit" - Blog post with all info - set thread - card list spreadsheet
• "The Lion's Lair", my article series about MTG and custom card design in particular. Latest article here. Here is the article index. Rather outdated by now, and based on the old MCC rubric, but I'm leaving this here for anybody that might be interested anyway.
• My only public attempt at being a writer: the story of my Leonin custom planeswalker Jeff Lionheart. (I have a very big one that I'm working on right now but that's private for now, and I don't know if I will ever actually publish it, and I also have ideas for multiple future ones, including one where I'm going to reprise Jeff.)
I'd also like to let everyone know that, although I have been saying Fri will be up later than normal, I intend to post the thread at the standard 11 PM EST tonight (too tired to go out). I also want to ask everyone to please try to get their cards in by 10 PM EST, as the thread will be up that early at times (not tonight though). A bunch of people snuck cards in at the last minute last night, and Legend missed (sorry Legend). I want as many people to continue posting cards as possible.
re: strategic voting in the DCC. Hand raised to the stars, I try my best not to do it. Last month, I was within reach of the top spot, but I kept voting for the people that eventually beat me, because they simply designed excellent cards. What use is this contest if we don't try to recognize excellence? (And I think we do.)
That said, there have been a few odd days where I looked back at my votes after it was too late to change them, and I thought... I totally picked that because I was trying to game my standings. There, confession made. Now, what are we going to do about it?
My completely earnest recommendation: nothing. The DCC has two MAJOR advantages going for it, that no other contest has: lots of judges, and the world's easiest judging criteria (because there aren't any, other than what you set for yourself). The voting process is subject to corruption, that's absolutely true, but I think the sheer number of votes counterbalances that fact. The will of the crowd tends to cancel out individual gamesmanship.
On the whole, I feel like the DCC does a much better job of rewarding good design than the MCC, even if half of the votes tallied are trying to rig the standings in favor of one person or another. When I post a card to the DCC that I think is excellent, it generally gets votes (unless its a Commander card, you all hate those). When I post a card that I think is marginal, it typically gets fewer votes. When I post something to the MCC, I'm really just throwing it at the mercy of an unknown judge. They might see things the way I do, but more often they don't. And I think that's true for everybody.
Also, having been the DCC organizer for the better part of March, let me say that we don't want to put more burden on the organizer. I got it down to where I could get the thread up in 10-15 minutes, start-to-finish, and honestly that's about the maximum time I can promise to commit to it if I'm doing it every day. So the idea of anonymizing the entries is a non-starter to me, because it would easily double the time it takes to put up the thread every day. I don't want to fix the DCC, because to me, it ain't broke.
As far as your card from yesterday is concerned, please don't think I'm trying to be a hater. Usually I'm all for pushing the bounds of what's acceptable in MTG card design, but giving white one the best counterspells in magic is just too far for me. Certain things are sacred. It would be like giving green the best burn spell. Part of the reason I bring this up though is, I really like the card otherwise. If it cost , I would've voted for it. I think it's awesome at , with as the activated ability cost. I think this is still plenty pushed actually. The card is full of neat possibilities.
Edit: As long as I'm here...I was thinking I would keep posting the DCC next month, but I've recently made plans to go to Florida with my family in May, so I'm thinking that might be kinda tough for me. If anybody would like to volunteer for May that would be cool. If not the whole month, a week or so at least? I figured it best to get these things out there early.
Agreed! Long live The DCC!
Speaking of changes, have people been liking, disliking or indifferent to the new post time?
Not worth it.
Any word from MDenham?
I think the entries would need to be PMed to the organizer, not the votes. Unless you think people are refusing to vote for people that aren't voting for them. Either way, that's a olt more work than I'm willing to do as organizer.
As far as the rest of what you're saying about the DCC goes, I HATE it. Particularly the things I've bolded. I find it insulting. Perhaps I'm just naïve but, I think most of the people posting in the DCC regularly are not voting politically, but for the cards they like best. Obviously the DCC has a bit of an issue with people trying not to vote for people ahead of them in the standings, but I don't think it's so bad that it should call the validity of the entire contest into question. The cards that end up doing well on any given day may not always be what you think are the best cards from each day, but I think that can just be chalked up to difference of opinion and difference in evaluation. Some people that play real Magic are better card evaluators than others, and so it is here as well.
What do the rest of you DCCers think of this? CryoZenith, are voting politically on a daily basis? How 'bout you Guesswork? Rudyard? Piar? I'm not going to keep listing people off, but I would be disappointed and shocked to hear any of these people (there are more also) are just voting to manipulate the standings. I guess I could be wrong. It makes me a bit sad if I am though. It amazes me how cut-throat people can be about a friendly competition with nothing really at stake. I thought we were all kinda friends here just trying to have some fun. Again, maybe I'm just being naïve.
EDit: BTW Tilwin, please don't take this as an attack on you, it is not intended to be. I am just trying to defend the DCC and the people that post in it regularly. Also, what I am saying only applies to the DCC, I haven't participated in CCL or Flamingo contests, perhaps the issues you speak of are major problems there.
Edit2:
Agreed. (I would hope nobody could be that petty. Seems crazy to me.)
I haven't heard anything about MDenham myself, but I continue to hold onto hope that he will return someday. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
Also, I can assure you, and I'd be ready to swear it, that I only did strategic voting in the last few days of March, when I had the chance to win. Except for those few days, I've never done that since I'm participating in the DCC (all months since last October if I remember well). I also don't think that anybody does that regularly. Surely somebody else has also done that occasionally, but not regularly. In the end I agree that nothing needs to change in the DCC.
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.)
Edit: Also, I believe you Lion, I feel like your integrity as a judge of cards is too strong to "vote strategically" too often. It's only human nature to want to win though, so I'm not fooling myself into thinking this doesn't play a factor more and more as the month progresses. I think that it is probably ok though. There are a lot of good cards being posted everyday in the DCC. It's not hard to justify voting for many of them on any given day, so it's not like people are voting for garbage just because they want to win. It kinda works like Mario Cart, better things are given to the people that are behind in the race to help keep the race interesting, but in the long run, the best players still tend to win more frequently. Like Guesswork said earlier, a lot of it comes out in the wash due to the nature of the voting.
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.)
The difference is with the Scepter you can do multiple copies of the exiled card, so the copy has to stay in exile to be available to be copied again. But as you sacrifice the token to be able to cast the exiled card, you will have a single use of that spell vith your ability. At that point, you might as well directly cast the card itself from exile, making the ability much simpler and easier to read.
MCC - Winner (6): Oct 2014, Apr Nov 2017, Jan 2018, Apr Jun 2019 || Host (15): Dec 2014, Apr Jul Aug Dec 2015, Mar Jul Aug Oct 2016, Feb Jul 2017, Jun Nov 2018, Feb Jul 2019 (last one here) || Judge (34): every month from Nov 2014 to Nov 2016 except Oct 2015, every month from Feb to Jul 2017 except Apr 2017, then Oct 2017, May Jun Nov 2018, Feb Jul 2019 (last one here)
CCL - Winner (3): Jul 2016 (tied with Flatline), May 2017, Jul 2019 (last one here) || Host (5): Feb 2015, Mar Apr May Jun 2016
DCC - Winner (1): Mar 2015 (tied with Piar) || Host (3): May Oct 2015, Jan 2016
• The two public custom sets I've been part a part of the design team for:
"Brotherhood of Ormos" - Blog post with all info - set thread - design skeleton / card list || "Extinctia: Homo Evanuit" - Blog post with all info - set thread - card list spreadsheet
• "The Lion's Lair", my article series about MTG and custom card design in particular. Latest article here. Here is the article index. Rather outdated by now, and based on the old MCC rubric, but I'm leaving this here for anybody that might be interested anyway.
• My only public attempt at being a writer: the story of my Leonin custom planeswalker Jeff Lionheart. (I have a very big one that I'm working on right now but that's private for now, and I don't know if I will ever actually publish it, and I also have ideas for multiple future ones, including one where I'm going to reprise Jeff.)
I find it amusing that the people who commented on this disagreed. FortuitousEntitiy and CryoZentith both found it overcosted, while bravelion83 thought it was undercosted. It's interesting to see how people's thought process differs.
My original version of this card cost UB. I added one mana for submission to the DCC because I thought more people would think like bravelion83. In the future I'll keep it in mind to further push what I think is acceptable power level. If this were to see print in a Standard set, I fear it would almost certainly cost more than two mana.
May this also be due to the fact that it takes a moment to realize that YOU get the Zombie token and not the countered spell's controller? I had to stop a moment myself when reading that card to understand it well. At first I read it as though the countered spell's controller got the token in exchange for his or her spell, kind of like Path to Exile gives THEM a land in exchange for the creature (ignore power level for the sake of this discussion). If Grave Denial worked like Path, it would definitely be overcosted. As it is, I don't see any realistic way this could less than three mana, when today's base for counterspells, Cancel, costs three mana, whether you like it or not. At the contrary, I wouldn't be surprised to see R&D increasing the cost of this if it was to be printed for real, seeing the trend counterspells have taken in the last few years (and note that I'm one of those players who agrees with that). That's why I said what I said. But here in Italy we have a saying that goes "The world is beautiful because it's varied" ("Il mondo è bello perché è vario")! I see this in a way and other people see it in a different way, and there's nothing wrong with that!
MCC - Winner (6): Oct 2014, Apr Nov 2017, Jan 2018, Apr Jun 2019 || Host (15): Dec 2014, Apr Jul Aug Dec 2015, Mar Jul Aug Oct 2016, Feb Jul 2017, Jun Nov 2018, Feb Jul 2019 (last one here) || Judge (34): every month from Nov 2014 to Nov 2016 except Oct 2015, every month from Feb to Jul 2017 except Apr 2017, then Oct 2017, May Jun Nov 2018, Feb Jul 2019 (last one here)
CCL - Winner (3): Jul 2016 (tied with Flatline), May 2017, Jul 2019 (last one here) || Host (5): Feb 2015, Mar Apr May Jun 2016
DCC - Winner (1): Mar 2015 (tied with Piar) || Host (3): May Oct 2015, Jan 2016
• The two public custom sets I've been part a part of the design team for:
"Brotherhood of Ormos" - Blog post with all info - set thread - design skeleton / card list || "Extinctia: Homo Evanuit" - Blog post with all info - set thread - card list spreadsheet
• "The Lion's Lair", my article series about MTG and custom card design in particular. Latest article here. Here is the article index. Rather outdated by now, and based on the old MCC rubric, but I'm leaving this here for anybody that might be interested anyway.
• My only public attempt at being a writer: the story of my Leonin custom planeswalker Jeff Lionheart. (I have a very big one that I'm working on right now but that's private for now, and I don't know if I will ever actually publish it, and I also have ideas for multiple future ones, including one where I'm going to reprise Jeff.)
MCC - Winner (6): Oct 2014, Apr Nov 2017, Jan 2018, Apr Jun 2019 || Host (15): Dec 2014, Apr Jul Aug Dec 2015, Mar Jul Aug Oct 2016, Feb Jul 2017, Jun Nov 2018, Feb Jul 2019 (last one here) || Judge (34): every month from Nov 2014 to Nov 2016 except Oct 2015, every month from Feb to Jul 2017 except Apr 2017, then Oct 2017, May Jun Nov 2018, Feb Jul 2019 (last one here)
CCL - Winner (3): Jul 2016 (tied with Flatline), May 2017, Jul 2019 (last one here) || Host (5): Feb 2015, Mar Apr May Jun 2016
DCC - Winner (1): Mar 2015 (tied with Piar) || Host (3): May Oct 2015, Jan 2016
• The two public custom sets I've been part a part of the design team for:
"Brotherhood of Ormos" - Blog post with all info - set thread - design skeleton / card list || "Extinctia: Homo Evanuit" - Blog post with all info - set thread - card list spreadsheet
• "The Lion's Lair", my article series about MTG and custom card design in particular. Latest article here. Here is the article index. Rather outdated by now, and based on the old MCC rubric, but I'm leaving this here for anybody that might be interested anyway.
• My only public attempt at being a writer: the story of my Leonin custom planeswalker Jeff Lionheart. (I have a very big one that I'm working on right now but that's private for now, and I don't know if I will ever actually publish it, and I also have ideas for multiple future ones, including one where I'm going to reprise Jeff.)
You're right about the wording. Thanks for the errata. I was more about the pun than the Mango. As far as flash and haste going "together that well", that's a matter of opinion. Personally, I think it would be highly advantageous for all of my creatures to have flash for playing around counterspells, combat tricks, and leaving mana open for other options; or for haste to gain or maintain the tempo advantage (especially in limited).