It's a multicolor(...ish) month here at the MCC! Not much else to explain, the challenges should be self-explanatory.
Main Challenge: Design a card with the symbols W, U, B, R, G, AND C all appearing somewhere in its mana cost and/or rules text. Subchallenge 1: Your card creates tokens or places counters. Subchallenge 2: Your card has "trinket text".
If you have questions about the challenge, please post in the MCC discussion thread. Best of luck!
Subchallenge 2: Trinket text is rules text that is almost never relevant in actual gameplay but that conveys the flavor of the card. Obviously this subchallenge is subjective but your judge should be able to know the trinket text when they see it.
Design Deadline: All submissions are to be final and submitted by April 29th 11:59 PM EST
Judging Deadline: All judgements are to be final and completed by May 2nd 11:59 PM EST
Design - (X/3) Appeal: Do the different player psychographics (Timmy/Johhny/Spike) have a use for the card? (X/3) Elegance: Is the card easily understandable at a glance? Do all the flavor and mechanics combined as a whole make sense?
Development - (X/3) Viability: How well does the card fit into the color wheel? Does it break or bend the rules of the game? Is it the appropriate rarity? (X/3) Balance: Does the card have a power level appropriate for contemporary constructed/limited environments without breaking them? Does it play well in casual and multiplayer formats? Does it create or fit into a deck/archetype? Does it create an oppressive environment?
Creativity - (X/3) Uniqueness: Has a card like this ever been printed before? Does it use new mechanics, ideas, or design space? Does it combine old ideas in a new way? Overall, does it feel “fresh”? (X/3) Flavor: Does the name seem realistic for a card? Does the flavor text sound professional? Do all the flavor elements synch together to please Vorthos players?
Polish - (X/3) Quality: Points deducted for incorrect spelling, grammar, and templating. (X/2) *Main Challenge: Was the main challenge satisfied? Was it approached in a unique or interesting way? Does the card fit the intent of the challenge? (X/2) Subchallenges: One point awarded per satisfied subchallenge condition.
Total: X/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.
A reminder to everyone: In the MCC, putting rarity on cards is mandatory! If you don't put a rarity on your card, expect huge deductions in both Viability AND Quality.
Also, you should format your text cards accordingly to the forum rules (see the "this formatting looks best" spoiler in the linked OP). Again, expect deductions in Quality otherwise.
Zendikar Adaptation4C
Creature - Eldrazi (R)
Prevent all damage Allies would deal to Zendikar Adaptation.
All creatures able to block Zendikar Adaptation do so. WUBRG: Put a +1/+1 counter on Zendikar Adaptation for each creature blocking it.
5/4
Dichotomy Engine2
Artifact (R)
Your teammates may activate Dichotomy Engine's abilities. 1WB: Each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life. 1UR: Draw a card, then discard a card. 1CG: Put a +1/+1 counter on target nonartifact creature. That creature becomes an artifact in addition to its other types.
Menia, Quirion Archdruid1G
Legendary Creature - Elf Druid (m)
Whenever you cast a spell, put +1/+1 counter on Menia, Quirion Archdruid for each , , or in that spell's mana cost.
If an artifact, creature or land would produce , it produces instead. Most elven nations are invincible while in their homelands and frail outside of them. A Quirion is hard to defeat anywhere.
2/2
Design - (2.5/3) Appeal: This obviously has multiplayer as a target. There's few popular multiplayer formats though that make use of teammates. Obviously Timmy/Tammy, the social players, will love this. (3/3) Elegance: Simple abilities, spread out across the colors is a fitting way.
Development - (2.5/3) Viability: Rare is a good fit. While it's weird to mention teammates in a draft, this actually doesn't want to be at another rarity and can still be used in a 1v1 scenario.
You don't really need red for looting, but what are you going to do, it still feels a little red.
I think it would be much better tho have the first two abilities avoid confusion. You have to know that because someone else activated the ability the 'you' doesn't refer to the controller of the card anymore.
If the first ability drained for the team and the second one drew a card for target player, there would be no room for errors. (2/3) Balance: At 3 mana most of these abilities seem overprized, at 2 mana they'd be too strong. It's the definition of a mana sink and offering it for the entire team makes this even more valuable.
The only ability being truly worth it without excessive mana is the last one, as it helps greatly with attacking. Getting C however makes this rather difficult to pull off and there's a restriction to 1 counter per creature.
So what I'm saying is, this card has fringe usability, which seems like a disapointment for a multiplayer rare.
Creativity - (3/3) Uniqueness: There's no card yet that can be 'used by a team' and only by the team. Neat design space. (3/3) Flavor: When aiming for two-headed giant the name makes a lot of sense. It's also an engine alright. I like.
Polish - (3/3) Quality: Looks good. (2/2) Main Challenge: All there. (1/2) Subchallenges: Counters are there. "Text has no effect in certain formats" is not "trinket text" for me as it'd often be very relevant when this card would get played.
Total: 22/25
Design - (3/3) Appeal: Timmy/Tammy likes this growing fat. Johnny/Jenny appreciates the build-around-me-aspect. Spikes see good value for their 2 mana. (2/3) Elegance: The second line comes out of nowhere. Colorfixing seems off on an aggressive card like this, especially as it doesn't even tie into the colors mentioned in the first ability.
Development - (3/3) Viability: Being legendary and having the ability to grow very quickly with good starting stats can warrant mythic. Green is a good fit. (3/3) Balance: This is a bit pushed, but for a mythic rare and with creatures being better these days I can see it. There comes quite some deck requirement with running this, so it should be fine.
Creativity - (3/3) Uniqueness: Caring about the symbols in spell's mana cost hasn't been done, not even with chroma. This is a nice step for the design of Quirion Dryad to go forward. (2.5/3) Flavor: A nice throwback to Quirion Dryad. I like how the flavortext ties in with the first ability. I guess the idea behind the "trinket text" was fertilization? I don't see it for a combat oriented card like this. I also feel like you made a warrior with that effect and flavortext, but then called it a druid.
Polish - (2.5/3) Quality: There's a space missing between name and mana cost. Nevermind that. As Chroma shows, when referencing mana symbols like that you write them out. For example [mana]W[/white] means the actual mana in the manapool. "White mana symbol" means the symbol in a casting cost. (2/2) Main Challenge: It does have them. (1.5/2) Subchallenges: Places counters. I disagree about the second line being "trinket text". It turns painlands into trilands, which can be very relevant. It does add flavor and it's sometimes not relevant, but it's not quite there yet. Half a point.
Total: 22.5/25
Design - (3/3) Appeal: Timmy/Tammy has found another holy grail. Unstoppable force! Well, it makes sure it gets stopped. But what then? It just keeps coming! Johnny/Jenny isn't overly interested, except for 5 color deck application, which are challenging to build and Spike sees an acceptable card for limited. (3/3) Elegance: Very simple and everything ties neatly into another.
Development - (3/3) Viability: I very much dislike "small" Eldrazi. I'll let this one slide as it has potential for a lot of growth. Rare seems like a good fit. WUBRG cost for a huge activation is a thing. (2/3) Balance: There's quite some hoops to jump through here. Making a deck that can pay WUBRG and C is quite the challenge. Getting a 5/4 that gets traded by two 3/3s doesn't sound like a good payoff. It's an interesting card for limited and might be a cute addition for multiplayer rounds, where you can lurk for a good opportunity for an attack, but outside of that I don't see this doing enough.
Creativity - (3/3) Uniqueness: Combining a lure effect with a reward for numbers of blockers is a nice thing that hasn't been done before. Permanent buffs for getting blocked is also a good place to bring this mechanic. (3/3) Flavor: So this is an Eldrazi that has adapted to Zendikar, tapping into the colors of the plane and becoming immune to allies, hunting them down. It seems strange that following the death of the two titans the Eldrazi only became stronger, but maybe it was neccessary for them to even pose a threat.
Polish - (3/3) Quality: Looks good. (2/2) Main Challenge: They're all there. (1/2) Subchallenges: Places counters. I feel like this barely misses the qualification for trinket text. Returning to Zendikar would mean Allies being a major selling point of the set. They'd be everywhere, in all 5 colors again. As you HAVE to block this or attack into it, preventing all damage by even so much as one of your creatures is a big deal. This feels too relevant for trinket text.
Total: 23/25
22 Gerrard's Mom
22.5 Hemlock
23 IcariiFA
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
—Eli Shiffrin, Rules Manager, on a design stacking lifelink instances
Design .:. (1/3) Appeal: Timmy likes a big creature that grows even bigger through combat. (3/3) Elegance: The card is easy to understand and makes sense.
Development .:. (3/3) Viability: The effect doesn't seem unlikely for a card that's kind of colorless and five colored at the same time. It's weird and five colored cards are weird often. Rare is fine, you could argue for mythic rarity. (3/3) Balance: I see this card only really being viable in Limited and EDH. We already had a kind of similar card in Breaker of Armies that ... breaks armies. This card has basically the same function. Both the Ally thing and the activated ability can be considered trinket text. Making the last ability relevant in Standard is unlikey as five color mana bases aren't usually feasible. In Modern it probably works somehow, though you can do way more powerful stuff there if you get to wuberg. In Commander this might be funny and even decide games.
Creativity .:. (2/3) Uniqueness: Kind of half a Breaker of Armies. But not really. It's a nice design. (3/3) Flavor: Name and abilities together tell us what could have been if the Eldrazi had just had more time to do their stuff on Zendikar.
Polish .:. (3/3) Quality: No flaws detected! (2/2) *Main Challenge: Main challenge satisfied! (2/2) Subchallenges: Both subchallenges satisfied!
Total: 22/25
VS
Design .:. (3/3) Appeal: Timmy likes this card for its multiplayer aspect. Johnny and Spike both likes this for its versatile set of abilites. (3/3) Elegance: The card is easy to understand and makes sense.
Development .:. (3/3) Viability: Theoretically this card could be CUB, as drain is black, loot is blue, and transmogrifying is colorless, but as is its fine, too. Rare seems a good spot for this card. (2/3) Balance: Intended for multiplayer formats this card might be a little too powerful. The relatively cheap to activate drain and loot are very good in games that tend to go longer. Each player can focus on a specific part of the card, maximizing its potential. Due to its versatility it would still be very good if it was limited to just one activation per turn.
Creativity .:. (3/3) Uniqueness: This is certainly very unique. (2/3) Flavor: Its weird flavor that's pretty good at appearing weird. It's not so good at explaining what we are acutally looking at here or what role this machine plays in its world.
Polish .:. (3/3) Quality: No flaws detected! (2/2) *Main Challenge: Main challenge satisfied! (1,5/2) Subchallenges: Both subchallenges satisfied? I'm not fully sure if teammates is even supposed to be trinket text here. Sure, both players form a whole, hence dichotomy, that would make sense. But this card also seems to be intended specially for formats with teammates, in contrast to Surge that's worded in a way to allow for both solo and teammates. That would mean that the teammate line is highly relevant for this card's function and not so much for its flavor.
Total: 22,5/25
VS
Design .:. (2,5/3) Appeal: Timmy likes creatures that can get out of hand quickly. Johnny wants to play with those counters. Spike finds this at least somewhat interesting. (3/3) Elegance: The card is easy to understand and makes sense.
Development .:. (2,5/3) Viability: The counter ability is okey in green. But green so far doesn't really seem to be able to modify produced mana all over the field. The keywords here are "produce" and "instead". Sure, we have Ritual of Subdual for lands but that card is also pretty old. Then there's Pulse of Llanowar that only works for you, while being pretty old as well. The last card to modify produced mana is Damping Sphere. Turning C into something else doesn't really matter most of the time, it's good trinket text. But should green be able to mess with your opponent's mana sources in that way? So far we just don't have a good example for this effect. Mythic for this elf seems acceptable. (3/3) Balance: This card needs a stricktly built deck to be fully used. Given that I don't think this card is too strong. Being the first five colored elf would be nice in Commander.
Creativity .:. (1/3) Uniqueness: A legendary Quirion Dryad is not very unique. (3/3) Flavor: A nice card that tells us something about the Quirion we did not know.
Polish .:. (2/3) Quality: The list of mana symbols and the list of card types both should have a comma before the "or" e.g. Abzan Banner, Icy Manipulator. No other flaws detected! (2/2) *Main Challenge: Main challenge satisfied! (2/2) Subchallenges: Both subchallenges satisfied!
Design - (2.5/3) Appeal: The Timmy appeal is obvious. Johnny would like to give it trample and deathtouch, and possibly force extra blockers with the likes of Forbidden Orchard. Spike likes an efficient and very threatening beater like this - however, it's got restrictive costs associated with it and is somewhat vulnerable to removal, which slightly turn Spike off. (2.5/3) Elegance: A pretty wordy and ability-heavy card, but nothing that doesn't make sense here.
Development - (2.5/3) Viability: Eldrazi/colorless in the cost/rare all make sense. WUBRG on an Eldrazi is initially odd but makes sense in context. (3/3) Balance: Not as much of a Limited all-star as it could be due to, yknow, the costs. Definitely a fun and very strong Commander card in Constructed terms.
Creativity - (2.5/3) Uniqueness: Nothing totally unprecedented but still a rather unique card in the Taunting Elf tradition. (3/3) Flavor: No flavor text but there's little room - a perfect flavor picture with a great name and trinket text that seals the deal.
Design - (2/3) Appeal: Timmy likes a useful sink for big mana but some of the effects are too marginal for him. Johnny is all over these different effects. Spike loves v e r s a t i l i t y but most decks can't make full use of this card. (2.5/3) Elegance: A little inelegant with four abilities and mouthful wording on the last one.
Development - (3/3) Viability: Five-color-associated, supplemental format, artifact, rare. All feels good. (2.5/3) Balance: A cheap and extremely versatile card to be sure, but I don't think any of these effects individually has anything wrong with it. Definitely a control deck's dream as it's a relatively low vulnerability win con that can just be sat on and activated all day long.
Creativity - (2.5/3) Uniqueness: Cribs from the likes of Staff of Domination and even lifts directly from Ashnod's Transmogrant but otherwise a highly creative card. (2.5/3) Flavor: While the effects do have a dichotomy/opposites flavor, the name is probably too on-the-nose.
Polish - (3/3) Quality: Good. (2/2) *Main Challenge: Good. (1.5/2) Subchallenges: The pseudo-trinket text (teammate access) has too much gameplay relevance to be properly considered thus.
Total: 21.5/25
Design - (3/3) Appeal: Timmy loves a growing mana fixer. Johnny practically touches himself at the thought of cheat-casting Progenitus with this out. Spike loves something that effectively negates the drawback of things like painlands on a Grizzly Bears body with that extremely gravy pump ability in a multicolor deck. Oh, and she's a two-mana five-color commander... (2.5/3) Elegance: Wordy-yet-elegant.
Development - (3/3) Viability: This is a very green card and mythic is almost a given. (2.5/3) Balance: Strong stuff. Like, really strong - she's fragile in the early goings and not removal-proofed so there's vulnerability there, but oowee I think this card might do a bit too much for two mana. 1/1 starting stats would be more comfy.
Creativity - (2/3) Uniqueness:Quirion Dryad is the obvious inspiration here but otherwise the package is pretty unique. (3/3) Flavor: Great stuff.
Polish - (3/3) Quality: Good. (2/2) *Main Challenge: Nice. (1.5/2) Subchallenges: The trinket-ness of the mana greenifying is borderline.
April MCC 2018 Round 4 - Hexagonal Prism
It's a multicolor(...ish) month here at the MCC! Not much else to explain, the challenges should be self-explanatory.
Main Challenge: Design a card with the symbols W, U, B, R, G, AND C all appearing somewhere in its mana cost and/or rules text.
Subchallenge 1: Your card creates tokens or places counters.
Subchallenge 2: Your card has "trinket text".
If you have questions about the challenge, please post in the MCC discussion thread. Best of luck!
Subchallenge 2: Trinket text is rules text that is almost never relevant in actual gameplay but that conveys the flavor of the card. Obviously this subchallenge is subjective but your judge should be able to know the trinket text when they see it.
Design Deadline: All submissions are to be final and submitted by April 29th 11:59 PM EST
Judging Deadline: All judgements are to be final and completed by May 2nd 11:59 PM EST
(X/3) Appeal: Do the different player psychographics (Timmy/Johhny/Spike) have a use for the card?
(X/3) Elegance: Is the card easily understandable at a glance? Do all the flavor and mechanics combined as a whole make sense?
Development -
(X/3) Viability: How well does the card fit into the color wheel? Does it break or bend the rules of the game? Is it the appropriate rarity?
(X/3) Balance: Does the card have a power level appropriate for contemporary constructed/limited environments without breaking them? Does it play well in casual and multiplayer formats? Does it create or fit into a deck/archetype? Does it create an oppressive environment?
Creativity -
(X/3) Uniqueness: Has a card like this ever been printed before? Does it use new mechanics, ideas, or design space? Does it combine old ideas in a new way? Overall, does it feel “fresh”?
(X/3) Flavor: Does the name seem realistic for a card? Does the flavor text sound professional? Do all the flavor elements synch together to please Vorthos players?
Polish -
(X/3) Quality: Points deducted for incorrect spelling, grammar, and templating.
(X/2) *Main Challenge: Was the main challenge satisfied? Was it approached in a unique or interesting way? Does the card fit the intent of the challenge?
(X/2) Subchallenges: One point awarded per satisfied subchallenge condition.
Total: X/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.
Judges:
void_nothing
Antiantiserum
doomfish
Contestants:
Gerrard's Mom
Hemlock
IcariiFA
A helpful tip for those formatting their cards:
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Creature - Eldrazi (R)
Prevent all damage Allies would deal to Zendikar Adaptation.
All creatures able to block Zendikar Adaptation do so.
WUBRG: Put a +1/+1 counter on Zendikar Adaptation for each creature blocking it.
5/4
Artifact (R)
Your teammates may activate Dichotomy Engine's abilities.
1WB: Each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.
1UR: Draw a card, then discard a card.
1CG: Put a +1/+1 counter on target nonartifact creature. That creature becomes an artifact in addition to its other types.
Legendary Creature - Elf Druid (m)
Whenever you cast a spell, put +1/+1 counter on Menia, Quirion Archdruid for each , , or in that spell's mana cost.
If an artifact, creature or land would produce , it produces instead.
Most elven nations are invincible while in their homelands and frail outside of them. A Quirion is hard to defeat anywhere.
2/2
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
(2.5/3) Appeal: This obviously has multiplayer as a target. There's few popular multiplayer formats though that make use of teammates. Obviously Timmy/Tammy, the social players, will love this.
(3/3) Elegance: Simple abilities, spread out across the colors is a fitting way.
Development -
(2.5/3) Viability: Rare is a good fit. While it's weird to mention teammates in a draft, this actually doesn't want to be at another rarity and can still be used in a 1v1 scenario.
You don't really need red for looting, but what are you going to do, it still feels a little red.
I think it would be much better tho have the first two abilities avoid confusion. You have to know that because someone else activated the ability the 'you' doesn't refer to the controller of the card anymore.
If the first ability drained for the team and the second one drew a card for target player, there would be no room for errors.
(2/3) Balance: At 3 mana most of these abilities seem overprized, at 2 mana they'd be too strong. It's the definition of a mana sink and offering it for the entire team makes this even more valuable.
The only ability being truly worth it without excessive mana is the last one, as it helps greatly with attacking. Getting C however makes this rather difficult to pull off and there's a restriction to 1 counter per creature.
So what I'm saying is, this card has fringe usability, which seems like a disapointment for a multiplayer rare.
Creativity -
(3/3) Uniqueness: There's no card yet that can be 'used by a team' and only by the team. Neat design space.
(3/3) Flavor: When aiming for two-headed giant the name makes a lot of sense. It's also an engine alright. I like.
Polish -
(3/3) Quality: Looks good.
(2/2) Main Challenge: All there.
(1/2) Subchallenges: Counters are there. "Text has no effect in certain formats" is not "trinket text" for me as it'd often be very relevant when this card would get played.
Total: 22/25
(3/3) Appeal: Timmy/Tammy likes this growing fat. Johnny/Jenny appreciates the build-around-me-aspect. Spikes see good value for their 2 mana.
(2/3) Elegance: The second line comes out of nowhere. Colorfixing seems off on an aggressive card like this, especially as it doesn't even tie into the colors mentioned in the first ability.
Development -
(3/3) Viability: Being legendary and having the ability to grow very quickly with good starting stats can warrant mythic. Green is a good fit.
(3/3) Balance: This is a bit pushed, but for a mythic rare and with creatures being better these days I can see it. There comes quite some deck requirement with running this, so it should be fine.
Creativity -
(3/3) Uniqueness: Caring about the symbols in spell's mana cost hasn't been done, not even with chroma. This is a nice step for the design of Quirion Dryad to go forward.
(2.5/3) Flavor: A nice throwback to Quirion Dryad. I like how the flavortext ties in with the first ability. I guess the idea behind the "trinket text" was fertilization? I don't see it for a combat oriented card like this. I also feel like you made a warrior with that effect and flavortext, but then called it a druid.
Polish -
(2.5/3) Quality: There's a space missing between name and mana cost. Nevermind that. As Chroma shows, when referencing mana symbols like that you write them out. For example [mana]W[/white] means the actual mana in the manapool. "White mana symbol" means the symbol in a casting cost.
(2/2) Main Challenge: It does have them.
(1.5/2) Subchallenges: Places counters. I disagree about the second line being "trinket text". It turns painlands into trilands, which can be very relevant. It does add flavor and it's sometimes not relevant, but it's not quite there yet. Half a point.
Total: 22.5/25
(3/3) Appeal: Timmy/Tammy has found another holy grail. Unstoppable force! Well, it makes sure it gets stopped. But what then? It just keeps coming! Johnny/Jenny isn't overly interested, except for 5 color deck application, which are challenging to build and Spike sees an acceptable card for limited.
(3/3) Elegance: Very simple and everything ties neatly into another.
Development -
(3/3) Viability: I very much dislike "small" Eldrazi. I'll let this one slide as it has potential for a lot of growth. Rare seems like a good fit. WUBRG cost for a huge activation is a thing.
(2/3) Balance: There's quite some hoops to jump through here. Making a deck that can pay WUBRG and C is quite the challenge. Getting a 5/4 that gets traded by two 3/3s doesn't sound like a good payoff. It's an interesting card for limited and might be a cute addition for multiplayer rounds, where you can lurk for a good opportunity for an attack, but outside of that I don't see this doing enough.
Creativity -
(3/3) Uniqueness: Combining a lure effect with a reward for numbers of blockers is a nice thing that hasn't been done before. Permanent buffs for getting blocked is also a good place to bring this mechanic.
(3/3) Flavor: So this is an Eldrazi that has adapted to Zendikar, tapping into the colors of the plane and becoming immune to allies, hunting them down. It seems strange that following the death of the two titans the Eldrazi only became stronger, but maybe it was neccessary for them to even pose a threat.
Polish -
(3/3) Quality: Looks good.
(2/2) Main Challenge: They're all there.
(1/2) Subchallenges: Places counters. I feel like this barely misses the qualification for trinket text. Returning to Zendikar would mean Allies being a major selling point of the set. They'd be everywhere, in all 5 colors again. As you HAVE to block this or attack into it, preventing all damage by even so much as one of your creatures is a big deal. This feels too relevant for trinket text.
Total: 23/25
22.5 Hemlock
23 IcariiFA
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
Multiple instances of lifelink on the same creature are redundant.
—Eli Shiffrin, Rules Manager, on a design stacking lifelink instances
(1/3) Appeal: Timmy likes a big creature that grows even bigger through combat.
(3/3) Elegance: The card is easy to understand and makes sense.
Development .:.
(3/3) Viability: The effect doesn't seem unlikely for a card that's kind of colorless and five colored at the same time. It's weird and five colored cards are weird often. Rare is fine, you could argue for mythic rarity.
(3/3) Balance: I see this card only really being viable in Limited and EDH. We already had a kind of similar card in Breaker of Armies that ... breaks armies. This card has basically the same function. Both the Ally thing and the activated ability can be considered trinket text. Making the last ability relevant in Standard is unlikey as five color mana bases aren't usually feasible. In Modern it probably works somehow, though you can do way more powerful stuff there if you get to wuberg. In Commander this might be funny and even decide games.
Creativity .:.
(2/3) Uniqueness: Kind of half a Breaker of Armies. But not really. It's a nice design.
(3/3) Flavor: Name and abilities together tell us what could have been if the Eldrazi had just had more time to do their stuff on Zendikar.
Polish .:.
(3/3) Quality: No flaws detected!
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Main challenge satisfied!
(2/2) Subchallenges: Both subchallenges satisfied!
Total: 22/25
(3/3) Appeal: Timmy likes this card for its multiplayer aspect. Johnny and Spike both likes this for its versatile set of abilites.
(3/3) Elegance: The card is easy to understand and makes sense.
Development .:.
(3/3) Viability: Theoretically this card could be CUB, as drain is black, loot is blue, and transmogrifying is colorless, but as is its fine, too. Rare seems a good spot for this card.
(2/3) Balance: Intended for multiplayer formats this card might be a little too powerful. The relatively cheap to activate drain and loot are very good in games that tend to go longer. Each player can focus on a specific part of the card, maximizing its potential. Due to its versatility it would still be very good if it was limited to just one activation per turn.
Creativity .:.
(3/3) Uniqueness: This is certainly very unique.
(2/3) Flavor: Its weird flavor that's pretty good at appearing weird. It's not so good at explaining what we are acutally looking at here or what role this machine plays in its world.
Polish .:.
(3/3) Quality: No flaws detected!
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Main challenge satisfied!
(1,5/2) Subchallenges: Both subchallenges satisfied? I'm not fully sure if teammates is even supposed to be trinket text here. Sure, both players form a whole, hence dichotomy, that would make sense. But this card also seems to be intended specially for formats with teammates, in contrast to Surge that's worded in a way to allow for both solo and teammates. That would mean that the teammate line is highly relevant for this card's function and not so much for its flavor.
Total: 22,5/25
(2,5/3) Appeal: Timmy likes creatures that can get out of hand quickly. Johnny wants to play with those counters. Spike finds this at least somewhat interesting.
(3/3) Elegance: The card is easy to understand and makes sense.
Development .:.
(2,5/3) Viability: The counter ability is okey in green. But green so far doesn't really seem to be able to modify produced mana all over the field. The keywords here are "produce" and "instead". Sure, we have Ritual of Subdual for lands but that card is also pretty old. Then there's Pulse of Llanowar that only works for you, while being pretty old as well. The last card to modify produced mana is Damping Sphere. Turning C into something else doesn't really matter most of the time, it's good trinket text. But should green be able to mess with your opponent's mana sources in that way? So far we just don't have a good example for this effect. Mythic for this elf seems acceptable.
(3/3) Balance: This card needs a stricktly built deck to be fully used. Given that I don't think this card is too strong. Being the first five colored elf would be nice in Commander.
Creativity .:.
(1/3) Uniqueness: A legendary Quirion Dryad is not very unique.
(3/3) Flavor: A nice card that tells us something about the Quirion we did not know.
Polish .:.
(2/3) Quality: The list of mana symbols and the list of card types both should have a comma before the "or" e.g. Abzan Banner, Icy Manipulator. No other flaws detected!
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Main challenge satisfied!
(2/2) Subchallenges: Both subchallenges satisfied!
Total: 21/25
(2.5/3) Appeal: The Timmy appeal is obvious. Johnny would like to give it trample and deathtouch, and possibly force extra blockers with the likes of Forbidden Orchard. Spike likes an efficient and very threatening beater like this - however, it's got restrictive costs associated with it and is somewhat vulnerable to removal, which slightly turn Spike off.
(2.5/3) Elegance: A pretty wordy and ability-heavy card, but nothing that doesn't make sense here.
Development -
(2.5/3) Viability: Eldrazi/colorless in the cost/rare all make sense. WUBRG on an Eldrazi is initially odd but makes sense in context.
(3/3) Balance: Not as much of a Limited all-star as it could be due to, yknow, the costs. Definitely a fun and very strong Commander card in Constructed terms.
Creativity -
(2.5/3) Uniqueness: Nothing totally unprecedented but still a rather unique card in the Taunting Elf tradition.
(3/3) Flavor: No flavor text but there's little room - a perfect flavor picture with a great name and trinket text that seals the deal.
Polish -
(3/3) Quality: Good.
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Done.
(2/2) Subchallenges: Both (unambiguously) done.
Total: 23/25
(2/3) Appeal: Timmy likes a useful sink for big mana but some of the effects are too marginal for him. Johnny is all over these different effects. Spike loves v e r s a t i l i t y but most decks can't make full use of this card.
(2.5/3) Elegance: A little inelegant with four abilities and mouthful wording on the last one.
Development -
(3/3) Viability: Five-color-associated, supplemental format, artifact, rare. All feels good.
(2.5/3) Balance: A cheap and extremely versatile card to be sure, but I don't think any of these effects individually has anything wrong with it. Definitely a control deck's dream as it's a relatively low vulnerability win con that can just be sat on and activated all day long.
Creativity -
(2.5/3) Uniqueness: Cribs from the likes of Staff of Domination and even lifts directly from Ashnod's Transmogrant but otherwise a highly creative card.
(2.5/3) Flavor: While the effects do have a dichotomy/opposites flavor, the name is probably too on-the-nose.
Polish -
(3/3) Quality: Good.
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Good.
(1.5/2) Subchallenges: The pseudo-trinket text (teammate access) has too much gameplay relevance to be properly considered thus.
Total: 21.5/25
(3/3) Appeal: Timmy loves a growing mana fixer. Johnny practically touches himself at the thought of cheat-casting Progenitus with this out. Spike loves something that effectively negates the drawback of things like painlands on a Grizzly Bears body with that extremely gravy pump ability in a multicolor deck. Oh, and she's a two-mana five-color commander...
(2.5/3) Elegance: Wordy-yet-elegant.
Development -
(3/3) Viability: This is a very green card and mythic is almost a given.
(2.5/3) Balance: Strong stuff. Like, really strong - she's fragile in the early goings and not removal-proofed so there's vulnerability there, but oowee I think this card might do a bit too much for two mana. 1/1 starting stats would be more comfy.
Creativity -
(2/3) Uniqueness: Quirion Dryad is the obvious inspiration here but otherwise the package is pretty unique.
(3/3) Flavor: Great stuff.
Polish -
(3/3) Quality: Good.
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Nice.
(1.5/2) Subchallenges: The trinket-ness of the mana greenifying is borderline.
Total: 22.5/25
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Gerrard's Mom 22 + 22.5 + 21.5 = 66
Hemlock = 22.5 + 21 + 22.5 = 66
What a close final! Congrats on your win IcariiFA and thanks to all the finalists for a great round and month!
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝