Month's Theme — I have always felt that Wizards could open up a lot of design space, and fix some oddly flavored designs by overhauling the way they describe creatures. This month's challenges focus on the ideas I've had about different ways to describe creatures more thoroughly. Some of the challenges are pretty out there, but hopefully people will find them to be a fun exercise.
I have always felt that there just aren't enough creature classes in Magic. To remedy this, let's design some.
Main Challenge: Design a creature card that has a new creature class that could be used as an "evergreen" class moving forward. Your card's type line must be formatted as I laid out in round one. Remember: Creature — Race / Class.
Subchallenge 1: Your card has two or more colors in its mana cost. Subchallenge 2: Your card is a rare.
If you have questions about the challenge, please post in the MCC discussion thread. Best of luck!
By evergreen, I mean a class type that would be seen almost in every set moving forward. Like Wizard or Warrior.
Design Deadline: All submissions are to be final and submitted by May 15th 11:59 PM EST
Judging Deadline: All judgements are to be final and completed by May 17th 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.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
(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)
Tishe, Herosong2GWU
Legendary Creature - Elf / Bard {R}
Whenever another creature you control attacks alone put a verse counter on Tishe. That creature gets +1/+1 for each verse counter on Tishe.
Other blocking creatures you control get +0/+1 for each verse counter on Tishe.
2/2
Spiteful Ritualist1BG
Creature - Human / Witch [R] 1BG, T, sacrifice a permanent: Destroy target nonland permanent with converted mana cost less than or equal to the sacrificed permanent’s converted mana cost. If you truly desire to bring someone ruin, you’ll give anything to achieve it.
Meraz of the Five Songs3GU
Legendery Creature - Elf // Bard (Rare) T: Reveal the top card of your library until you reveal a land card and a nonland card. Put them into your hand.
0/7
Gluttonous Nobleman2WB
Creature - Human // Noble (R)
Sacrifice a non-Human creature: You gain 3 life. 1, Discard a card: Create a 0/1 white Goat creature token.
3/3
Witch in the WoodsBG
Creature - Elf // Necromancer {R}
Sacrifice a land: Add one mana of any color that the sacrificed land could produce. The land will provide to those who will it by force.
1/1
Inkfathom Imitator1UB
Creature - Merfolk / Mime {R}
Inkfathom Imitator has all activated abilities of creatures you don't control.
You may spend mana as though it were mana of any color to activate abilities of Inkfathom Imitator.
2/3
Minos Infernomancer3BR
Creature - Minotaur/ Mancer(R)
Menace
Whenever Minos Infernomancer attacks, it deals damage equal to its power to each creature defending player controls.
--- A minos infernomancer may never cast illusion or restorative spells, but with a call and a feel, he wields destruction spells the oldest of wizards can only dream of.
2/3
Tek Master Trainer1RW
Creature - Human / Soldier Mentor (r)
Whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control, set that creature's base power to 3 if it's power is 2 or less. The first toy every Tek boy gets at birth is a wooden sword. They get a steel one the day before they turn seven.
3/4
Unfortunately, round 2 is now closed. I say unfortunately because we are short three entries. Well, at least the brackets are still even.....
Flatline:
Cardz5000
StonerOfKruphix
rkhon1357
bravelion83:
Forestsguy
Freyleyes
The_Hittite
Gerrard's Mom:
RaikouRider
netn10
Hemlock
Top 2 in each bracket advance.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
(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)
Minos Infernomancer3BR
Creature - Minotaur/ Mancer(R)
Menace
Whenever Minos Infernomancer attacks, it deals damage equal to its power to each creature defending player controls.
--- A minos infernomancer may never cast illusion or restorative spells, but with a call and a feel, he wields destruction spells the oldest of wizards can only dream of.
2/3
Design (2.5/3) Appeal - Timmy likes the way this can affect the board. I don't see much for Johnny here. Spike loves the potential one-sided Wrath. (3/3) Elegance - No problems here.
Development (2.5/3) Viability - This is fine in the color pie, but it could just be monored. Rarity feels right to me. (2/3) Balance - This looks strong. Being able to one-side wrath even before the opponent is able to block in the first place looks like nothing to be undervalued. I can see you probably thought about this when choosing the stats: a 2/3 for five mana in two colors is certainly unplayable if it doesn't have a very strong ability. I also appreciate that the power is lower than the toughness and not too high by itself to have the ability degenerate into a one-sided Hour of Devastation. Still, all you need to get there is to play a simple pump spell before attackers, and that's not a lot to ask. All this without saying that this is in fact an automatic one-sided Wrath against token decks and most aggro decks in general. I'm not sure if this is too strong without playtest, but it certainly looks to me like it has the potential to be, and that's not a good thing here. Finally, menace doesn't look very relevant here, I feel like most of the time it will be much if your opponent has some creatures still alive after the trigger resolves. Even if they do, the damage is still marker on the surviving creatures, so they will still be unwilling to block with them anyway.
Creativity (0.5/3) Uniqueness - Nothing new here except for the class, which was required by the main challenge.. (2.5/3) Flavor - I have no problems with the name and I actually like the flavor text quite a lot. I'm not convinced about the Mancer class and I honestly wouldn't understand what you meant if I hadn't read the discussion thread (see also Quality on that). As I'm not supposed to be influenced by your other post there, I'm doing a little deduction here for that. I feel like it's not very clear what the new class is supposed to represent until you explain it, then you see it, but the need for an explanation isn't good. It means the creature type is not that intuitive by itself.
Polish (2.5/3) Quality - There is no space between creature types and rarity (yes, I noticed that, -0.5). All the rest is good. I'm not deducting points for the hyphens between rules text and flavor text because I understand that you wanted to represent the new bar (which I personally hate, but that's not the point) introduced in Dominaria. It's still not necessary on a written card though. While it would obviously be needed in a render if you want to follow the current Dominaria card frame, I'd personally advise against using this practice on text cards. (1.5/2) Main Challenge - Mancer is not a currently supported creature type (see rule 205.3m in the CR DOM Edition), but I'll be honest: if I hadn't already read your post in the discussion thread (which I should probably have done after judging, but that's what happened), I probably wouldn't have understood what you had meant with this new class. It doesn't help that "mancer" by itself, and not as a part of a compound noun, is not an actual English word as far as I know, and Google translator agrees for what it means. For these reasons, while it technically passes the main challenge, I feel like a slight deduction is needed here. (2/2) Subchallenges - Both met.
Total: 19/25
Witch in the WoodsBG
Creature - Elf // Necromancer {R}
Sacrifice a land: Add one mana of any color that the sacrificed land could produce. The land will provide to those who will it by force.
1/1
Design (2.5/3) Appeal - Timmy likes having more mana, but doesn't like sacrificing his lands at all. Johnny could use this as a sacrifice outlet for lands somehow at least. Spike loves the mana explosion this card allows (see Balance). (3/3) Elegance - No problems here.
Development (2/3) Viability - I understand that the "sac a land" cost was probably meant to be the black part here, but I still feel like this card could just be monogreen without any problem. Rarity is the least it can be if you consider the explosive potential here (more on that in just a moment). (1.5/3) Balance - I feel like this is more than playable in all formats, due to the fact that it allows you to get two mana from each of your lands: tap the land, then sacrifice it to this, then repeat for all your lands. You can essentially have double mana for a turn, but that's all you need if that lets you win that turn. I'm honestly a bit worried by this ability. I think it could need some kind of limitation. Adding 1 to the activation card is not the right way in my opinion, as it fundamentally changes the nature of the card, turning it from a mana producer into a color filter for dual lands, when you could just have tapped the land for the color you needed, so that's strange anyway. A sorcery speed limitation still wouldn't make it, as you can activate the ability multiple times anyway to get the mana explosion. Maybe "only once per turn" is the right one? Of course, there is still the chance that playtest says this is fine as is, even if I don't believe so at first glance. TL;DR: the ability looks a bit too strong to me.
Creativity (1/3) Uniqueness - The Reflecting Pool inspiration is obvious, and we've seen multiple cards along that line in the years. The "sac a land" cost is at least a nice new twist on that, but nothing more. (3/3) Flavor - It's curious that the creature that has "Witch" in the name is a Necromancer while the one without that word in its name is (The_Hittite's submission) in my bracket. Anyway, I have no problem with the name or the general flavor of this card. The flavor text might be a little bland, but it works with the other components of the card. I really like how well the name and flavor text each represent the card mechanics.
Polish (3/3) Quality - All good. (2/2) Main Challenge - Necromancer is not a currently supported creature type (see rule 205.3m in the CR DOM Edition) and it makes sense to me as an evergreen class. (2/2) Subchallenges - Both met.
Total: 20/25
Spiteful Ritualist1BG
Creature - Human / Witch [R] 1BG, T, sacrifice a permanent: Destroy target nonland permanent with converted mana cost less than or equal to the sacrificed permanent’s converted mana cost. If you truly desire to bring someone ruin, you’ll give anything to achieve it.
Design (2/3) Appeal - Timmy isn't really interested in this ability, he could be to the body though, who knows? Johnny might use this as a sacrifice outlet, but he probably has better options for that. Spike just loves the repeatable removal, almost regardless of what the power and toughness are. (2/3) Elegance - No problems here, except having no power and toughness is not just wrong, it also feels wrong, so it impacts here as well. More on that in just a moment.
Development (0/3) Viability - This is unprintable as is, because it's a creature without power and toughness. You probably just forgot to copy and paste them when you posted the card. I know because I also did it once, so I understand that can happen unfortunately. (0/3) Balance - The ability looks balanced, but I can't really judge this card in this area without knowing what its power and toughness are supposed to be. As a 0/1 is weak but maybe still playable, as a 4/4 or greater is just broken for its mana cost. I have no way to know, so I can't judge it. I'm sorry.
Creativity (0.5/3) Uniqueness - As a creature with no power and toughness it's certainly unique... Seriously, there's nothing new here. (3/3) Flavor - It's curious that the creature that has "Witch" in the name is a Necromancer (Freyleyes's submission) while the one without that word in its name is in my bracket. Anyway, what I said for Freyleyes's submission applies here too: I have no problem with the name or the general flavor of this card. The flavor text might be a little bland, but it works with the rest of the card.
Polish (1.5/3) Quality - The word "sacrifice" in the ability cost should be capitalized (-0.5). Again, having no power and toughness is a serious mistake for a creature (-1). (2/2) Main Challenge - Witch is not a currently supported creature type (see rule 205.3m in the CR DOM Edition) and it makes perfect sense to me as an evergreen class. All existing witches are either Shamans or Wizards. (2/2) Subchallenges - Both met.
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.)
Inkfathom Imitator1UB
Creature - Merfolk / Mime {R}
Inkfathom Imitator has all activated abilities of creatures you don't control.
You may spend mana as though it were mana of any color to activate abilities of Inkfathom Imitator.
2/3
Design - (2/3) Appeal: Feeding off of other players makes it hard to work with, but it reads as fun. (3/3) Elegance: Nice pairing of the abilities.
Development - (3/3) Viability: I don't see any issues here, most of the prominent ability-stealing is in these colors and they're all rare. (3/3) Balance: The size and cost seem fine. I don't feel like it would be a major Standard player unless it fit into a Dimir Merfolk deck already with other synergies, or there were a couple of rampant creatures with abilities in the meta. It's certainly worth considering for Commander though and slots into a lot of decks there. Slightly subpar for Limited but may lead to occasional fun moments like that one time in Born of the Gods when my opponent copied my Phenax with Artisan of Forms and we mill raced each other.
Creativity - (2/3) Uniqueness:Quicksilver Elemental most closely. (1/3) Flavor: I guess this is where I critique the type chosen. It's amusing for sure and I guess I won't count Goblin Mime against you, but I have a hard time imagining that Magic is going to want lots of mimes. The Shadowmoor merfolk were pretty vicious also, so miming seems like an oddly cute way of getting abilities.
Polish - (3/3) Quality: (2/2) Main Challenge: (2/2) Subchallenges:
Meraz of the Five Songs3GU
Legendery Creature - Elf // Bard (Rare) T: Reveal the top card of your library until you reveal a land card and a nonland card. Put them into your hand.
0/7
Design - (3/3) Appeal: Sounds like a fun way to load up on cards every turn. (2/3) Elegance: It's a pretty clean concept but the full package doesn't gel very well.
Development - (0/3) Viability: What do I do with all the other cards? (correct answer - put them on the bottom in a random order). As is, you see all of the rest of the cards and have to put them back in the same order, which is awful. I actually have official Wizards feedback to give you about this ability - see Verdant Ingenuity at that link. Colors and rarity are fine. (2/3) Balance: This isn't quite as bad as the GDS card because it costs 5 mana and takes a turn to get going. It's too expensive to do much work in Constructed except Commander. I guess it wouldn't really attack there anyway since the ability is so good, so being a 0/7 is weirdly ok.
Creativity - (2/3) Uniqueness: Kind of Abundance but pretty new. (1/3) Flavor: Really bugs me that she has five songs but the only five is her CMC (which doesn't even include the number 5) and she doesn't get five cards or anything. Maybe you could have bound the reveal to five cards? Bard is a fine type to choose.
Polish - (2/3) Quality: "Reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a..." (2/2) Main Challenge: (2/2) Subchallenges:
Tek Master Trainer1RW
Creature - Human / Soldier Mentor (r)
Whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control, set that creature's base power to 3 if it's power is 2 or less. The first toy every Tek boy gets at birth is a wooden sword. They get a steel one the day before they turn seven.
3/4
Design - (3/3) Appeal: Lends itself to a lot of explosive deck concepts. (3/3) Elegance: Takes a second but it's pretty easy to grasp.
Development - (1/3) Viability: It's weird to use an intervening if clause here when Brine Hag and (appropriately) Mentor of the Meek indicate that you can just say "Whenever another creature with power 2 or less enters the battlefield under your control, change the base power of that creature to 3." Pumping only power of small creatures works for red/white. I'm not totally sold on the memory issue of what happens after this dies but I imagine your flavor dictates that he teaches them when they are born and it lasts their whole life, as opposed to the mentor granting a static bonus. (3/3) Balance: This can get pretty crazy with mass token producers and is reasonably large itself. I could see it in a hypothetical Standard driving a lot of decks, kind of like Goblin Rabblemaster. It's probably safe enough for Limited and older formats, could show in Modern but I don't think it's oppressive.
Creativity - (3/3) Uniqueness: Nothing like this really. (3/3) Flavor: Sweet flavor text and the fact that he teaches them up to his own power, and has enough toughness to take a hit from them (sparring) is subtly awesome. Bigger than 2/3 is weird for a human but happens occasionally. Also is this a whole people dedicated to Tek? As I always say, "Tek in every deck." Mentor is a bit weird but could have some fun flavorful applications and is broad enough for many colors. I like the notion that whoever showed up before him is too old to teach also.
Tishe, Herosong2GWU
Legendary Creature - Elf / Bard {R}
Whenever another creature you control attacks alone put a verse counter on Tishe. That creature gets +1/+1 for each verse counter on Tishe.
Other blocking creatures you control get +0/+1 for each verse counter on Tishe.
2/2
Design -(1.5/6) (0.5/3) Appeal: It seems a bit costly and slow for Spike. Timmy wants more out of a color-intense 5 drop. Johnny might like to speed up the verse counters in some way. (1/3) Elegance: I assume the first ability was meant to last until end of turn? 'Cause, as written, this is a nightmare to track. The second ability can make for a somewhat complex combat step, but nothing too bad. The abilities work fairly well together - the people that stay back are inspired by the heroic efforts of the solo adventurer.
Development - (3.5/6) (1.5/3) Viability: Bant is the original colors for exalted, so the colors make some sense, but I could also see this being mono-white. The rarity is fine. The tracking issue I mentioned in the elegance section would prevent this from being printed as is though. (2/3) Balance: Assuming you fixed the tracking issue, I could easily see this costing 2ww and having a base P/T of 3/3 or 2/4. As it is, it seems a bit slow and costly, not to mention the color requirements. Due to its relative power, I don't see this seeing much play in any format really. The fact that it requires three colors even makes it a bit of stretch for limited.
Creativity - (4.5/6) (2.5/3) Uniqueness: This certainly borrows from exalted, but there is enough new stuff here to make this feel pretty unique as a whole. (2/3) Flavor: Everything comes together rather nicely here. I'm pretty sure some short flavor text would've fit though.
Polish - (6.5/7) (2.5/3) Quality: There should be a comma after alone. (2/2) *Main Challenge: Bard is very good choice for a new evergreen class IMO. (2/2) Subchallenges: Good.
Total: 16/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.
Gluttonous Nobleman2WB
Creature - Human // Noble (R)
Sacrifice a non-Human creature: You gain 3 life. 1, Discard a card: Create a 0/1 white Goat creature token.
3/3
Design -(4.5/6) (1.5/3) Appeal: I'm not sure there's enough power here for Spike. Timmy isn't a very big fan of cards with downsides. Johnny always loves a sac outlet, as well as a discard outlet. Putting both on the same card certainly gets his attention. (3/3) Elegance: No problems here. The abilities go together quite nicely.
Development - (5.5/6) (3/3) Viability: Colors and rarity work for me. Nothing here that breaks any rules. (2.5/3) Balance: I wish this was just a tad more powerful, but it's not too bad. This would find a home in some EDH decks since it enables a lot of different strategies - self sacrifice, self discard, lifegain, tokens, but I'm not sure it's strong enough to see much play anywhere else. Perhaps Standard, if there was a need for its sac or discard abilities.
Creativity - (2.5/6) (1/3) Uniqueness: Everything here has been done in some form before. (1.5/3) Flavor: The flavor works well enough here, but I'm pretty sure some flavor text would have fit.
Polish - (7/7) (3/3) Quality: I'd love to deduct a 1/2 point for the extra forward slash in the type line, but I'm not going to since it's close enough to format I made up anyway. (2/2) *Main Challenge: Noble works for me. I could see this being printed as an evergreen class. (2/2) Subchallenges: Good.
Total: 19.5/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.
Lavenzo, Shrewd MediatorGWU
Legendary Creature - Human // Diplomat (R)
At the beginning of your end step, each player may draw a card. If a player does, creatures that player controls can’t attack you or a planeswalker you control until your next turn. If a player doesn’t, that player can’t cast spells that target you or permanents you control until your next turn.
Your opponents play with their hand revealed. "Clarity is crucial for cooperation."
2/5
Design - (4.5/6) (3/3) Appeal: Johnny is falling all over himself. Spike loves the value. Timmy likes drawing cards and the fat butt, but wishes the card draw wasn't symmetrical. (1.5/3) Elegance: There's a lot going on here. It definitely takes a few reads to grasp everything this card can do. I'm generally not a fan of the chaos created in multi-player by players playing with their hand's revealed, but I don't think it's appropriate to discount points for that.
Development - (5/6) (2.5/3) Viability: This card seems like it could easily be mythic. It's complex, it's a legend, and it's quite strong. I suppose rare isn't totally impossible though. I could see a card with these abilities existing without the green, but it certainly isn't out of place. (2.5/3) Balance: I think the toughness on this might need to be reduced by one. Maybe not, but it seems pretty pushed. I could see this becoming a favorite in EDH. I could also see it getting a look in Standard. I don't know that it would make much of a splash in any other constructed formats though. The rarity and color restriction make this fine for limited.
Creativity - (6/6) (3/3) Uniqueness: There are some cards that do similarish things, but it still seems very unique to me. (3/3) Flavor: Love it. Everything really comes together nicely here.
Polish -(7/7) (3/3) Quality: Looks good to me. (2/2) *Main Challenge: One of the main classes I'd like to see is some sort of government-type official/politician. I almost think they would go with something a little more diverse, like maybe even just Official, but Diplomat makes some sense too. (2/2) Subchallenges: Good.
Total: 22.5/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.
(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)
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
May MCC 2018 Round 2 - What do you do for work?
Month's Theme — I have always felt that Wizards could open up a lot of design space, and fix some oddly flavored designs by overhauling the way they describe creatures. This month's challenges focus on the ideas I've had about different ways to describe creatures more thoroughly. Some of the challenges are pretty out there, but hopefully people will find them to be a fun exercise.
I have always felt that there just aren't enough creature classes in Magic. To remedy this, let's design some.
Main Challenge: Design a creature card that has a new creature class that could be used as an "evergreen" class moving forward. Your card's type line must be formatted as I laid out in round one. Remember: Creature — Race / Class.
Subchallenge 1: Your card has two or more colors in its mana cost.
Subchallenge 2: Your card is a rare.
If you have questions about the challenge, please post in the MCC discussion thread. Best of luck!
By evergreen, I mean a class type that would be seen almost in every set moving forward. Like Wizard or Warrior.
Design Deadline: All submissions are to be final and submitted by May 15th 11:59 PM EST
Judging Deadline: All judgements are to be final and completed by May 17th 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:
Flatline
bravelion83
Gerrard's Mom
Contestants:
netn10
IcariiFA
StonerOfKruphix
RaikouRider
Seeonee
Cardz5000
Forestsguy
rkhon1357
Jimmy Groove
The_Hittite
Hemlock
Freyleyes
A helpful tip for those formatting their cards:
Legendary Creature - Elf / Bard {R}
Whenever another creature you control attacks alone put a verse counter on Tishe. That creature gets +1/+1 for each verse counter on Tishe.
Other blocking creatures you control get +0/+1 for each verse counter on Tishe.
2/2
Creature - Human / Witch [R]
1BG, T, sacrifice a permanent: Destroy target nonland permanent with converted mana cost less than or equal to the sacrificed permanent’s converted mana cost.
If you truly desire to bring someone ruin, you’ll give anything to achieve it.
Legendery Creature - Elf // Bard (Rare)
T: Reveal the top card of your library until you reveal a land card and a nonland card. Put them into your hand.
0/7
Creature - Human // Noble (R)
Sacrifice a non-Human creature: You gain 3 life.
1, Discard a card: Create a 0/1 white Goat creature token.
3/3
Creature - Elf // Necromancer {R}
Sacrifice a land: Add one mana of any color that the sacrificed land could produce.
The land will provide to those who will it by force.
1/1
Creature - Merfolk / Mime {R}
Inkfathom Imitator has all activated abilities of creatures you don't control.
You may spend mana as though it were mana of any color to activate abilities of Inkfathom Imitator.
2/3
Emille, Seven-Sting Dancer Shalin Nariya
Creature - Minotaur/ Mancer(R)
Menace
Whenever Minos Infernomancer attacks, it deals damage equal to its power to each creature defending player controls.
---
A minos infernomancer may never cast illusion or restorative spells, but with a call and a feel, he wields destruction spells the oldest of wizards can only dream of.
2/3
Creature - Human / Soldier Mentor (r)
Whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control, set that creature's base power to 3 if it's power is 2 or less.
The first toy every Tek boy gets at birth is a wooden sword. They get a steel one the day before they turn seven.
3/4
Flatline:
Cardz5000
StonerOfKruphix
rkhon1357
bravelion83:
Forestsguy
Freyleyes
The_Hittite
Gerrard's Mom:
RaikouRider
netn10
Hemlock
Top 2 in each bracket advance.
Minos Infernomancer 3BR
Creature - Minotaur/ Mancer(R)
Menace
Whenever Minos Infernomancer attacks, it deals damage equal to its power to each creature defending player controls.
---
A minos infernomancer may never cast illusion or restorative spells, but with a call and a feel, he wields destruction spells the oldest of wizards can only dream of.
2/3
Design
(2.5/3) Appeal - Timmy likes the way this can affect the board. I don't see much for Johnny here. Spike loves the potential one-sided Wrath.
(3/3) Elegance - No problems here.
Development
(2.5/3) Viability - This is fine in the color pie, but it could just be monored. Rarity feels right to me.
(2/3) Balance - This looks strong. Being able to one-side wrath even before the opponent is able to block in the first place looks like nothing to be undervalued. I can see you probably thought about this when choosing the stats: a 2/3 for five mana in two colors is certainly unplayable if it doesn't have a very strong ability. I also appreciate that the power is lower than the toughness and not too high by itself to have the ability degenerate into a one-sided Hour of Devastation. Still, all you need to get there is to play a simple pump spell before attackers, and that's not a lot to ask. All this without saying that this is in fact an automatic one-sided Wrath against token decks and most aggro decks in general. I'm not sure if this is too strong without playtest, but it certainly looks to me like it has the potential to be, and that's not a good thing here. Finally, menace doesn't look very relevant here, I feel like most of the time it will be much if your opponent has some creatures still alive after the trigger resolves. Even if they do, the damage is still marker on the surviving creatures, so they will still be unwilling to block with them anyway.
Creativity
(0.5/3) Uniqueness - Nothing new here except for the class, which was required by the main challenge..
(2.5/3) Flavor - I have no problems with the name and I actually like the flavor text quite a lot. I'm not convinced about the Mancer class and I honestly wouldn't understand what you meant if I hadn't read the discussion thread (see also Quality on that). As I'm not supposed to be influenced by your other post there, I'm doing a little deduction here for that. I feel like it's not very clear what the new class is supposed to represent until you explain it, then you see it, but the need for an explanation isn't good. It means the creature type is not that intuitive by itself.
Polish
(2.5/3) Quality - There is no space between creature types and rarity (yes, I noticed that, -0.5). All the rest is good. I'm not deducting points for the hyphens between rules text and flavor text because I understand that you wanted to represent the new bar (which I personally hate, but that's not the point) introduced in Dominaria. It's still not necessary on a written card though. While it would obviously be needed in a render if you want to follow the current Dominaria card frame, I'd personally advise against using this practice on text cards.
(1.5/2) Main Challenge - Mancer is not a currently supported creature type (see rule 205.3m in the CR DOM Edition), but I'll be honest: if I hadn't already read your post in the discussion thread (which I should probably have done after judging, but that's what happened), I probably wouldn't have understood what you had meant with this new class. It doesn't help that "mancer" by itself, and not as a part of a compound noun, is not an actual English word as far as I know, and Google translator agrees for what it means. For these reasons, while it technically passes the main challenge, I feel like a slight deduction is needed here.
(2/2) Subchallenges - Both met.
Total: 19/25
Witch in the Woods BG
Creature - Elf // Necromancer {R}
Sacrifice a land: Add one mana of any color that the sacrificed land could produce.
The land will provide to those who will it by force.
1/1
Design
(2.5/3) Appeal - Timmy likes having more mana, but doesn't like sacrificing his lands at all. Johnny could use this as a sacrifice outlet for lands somehow at least. Spike loves the mana explosion this card allows (see Balance).
(3/3) Elegance - No problems here.
Development
(2/3) Viability - I understand that the "sac a land" cost was probably meant to be the black part here, but I still feel like this card could just be monogreen without any problem. Rarity is the least it can be if you consider the explosive potential here (more on that in just a moment).
(1.5/3) Balance - I feel like this is more than playable in all formats, due to the fact that it allows you to get two mana from each of your lands: tap the land, then sacrifice it to this, then repeat for all your lands. You can essentially have double mana for a turn, but that's all you need if that lets you win that turn. I'm honestly a bit worried by this ability. I think it could need some kind of limitation. Adding 1 to the activation card is not the right way in my opinion, as it fundamentally changes the nature of the card, turning it from a mana producer into a color filter for dual lands, when you could just have tapped the land for the color you needed, so that's strange anyway. A sorcery speed limitation still wouldn't make it, as you can activate the ability multiple times anyway to get the mana explosion. Maybe "only once per turn" is the right one? Of course, there is still the chance that playtest says this is fine as is, even if I don't believe so at first glance. TL;DR: the ability looks a bit too strong to me.
Creativity
(1/3) Uniqueness - The Reflecting Pool inspiration is obvious, and we've seen multiple cards along that line in the years. The "sac a land" cost is at least a nice new twist on that, but nothing more.
(3/3) Flavor - It's curious that the creature that has "Witch" in the name is a Necromancer while the one without that word in its name is (The_Hittite's submission) in my bracket. Anyway, I have no problem with the name or the general flavor of this card. The flavor text might be a little bland, but it works with the other components of the card. I really like how well the name and flavor text each represent the card mechanics.
Polish
(3/3) Quality - All good.
(2/2) Main Challenge - Necromancer is not a currently supported creature type (see rule 205.3m in the CR DOM Edition) and it makes sense to me as an evergreen class.
(2/2) Subchallenges - Both met.
Total: 20/25
Spiteful Ritualist 1BG
Creature - Human / Witch [R]
1BG, T, sacrifice a permanent: Destroy target nonland permanent with converted mana cost less than or equal to the sacrificed permanent’s converted mana cost.
If you truly desire to bring someone ruin, you’ll give anything to achieve it.
Design
(2/3) Appeal - Timmy isn't really interested in this ability, he could be to the body though, who knows? Johnny might use this as a sacrifice outlet, but he probably has better options for that. Spike just loves the repeatable removal, almost regardless of what the power and toughness are.
(2/3) Elegance - No problems here, except having no power and toughness is not just wrong, it also feels wrong, so it impacts here as well. More on that in just a moment.
Development
(0/3) Viability - This is unprintable as is, because it's a creature without power and toughness. You probably just forgot to copy and paste them when you posted the card. I know because I also did it once, so I understand that can happen unfortunately.
(0/3) Balance - The ability looks balanced, but I can't really judge this card in this area without knowing what its power and toughness are supposed to be. As a 0/1 is weak but maybe still playable, as a 4/4 or greater is just broken for its mana cost. I have no way to know, so I can't judge it. I'm sorry.
Creativity
(0.5/3) Uniqueness - As a creature with no power and toughness it's certainly unique... Seriously, there's nothing new here.
(3/3) Flavor - It's curious that the creature that has "Witch" in the name is a Necromancer (Freyleyes's submission) while the one without that word in its name is in my bracket. Anyway, what I said for Freyleyes's submission applies here too: I have no problem with the name or the general flavor of this card. The flavor text might be a little bland, but it works with the rest of the card.
Polish
(1.5/3) Quality - The word "sacrifice" in the ability cost should be capitalized (-0.5). Again, having no power and toughness is a serious mistake for a creature (-1).
(2/2) Main Challenge - Witch is not a currently supported creature type (see rule 205.3m in the CR DOM Edition) and it makes perfect sense to me as an evergreen class. All existing witches are either Shamans or Wizards.
(2/2) Subchallenges - Both met.
Total: 13/25
Freyleyes: 20
Forestsguy: 19
The_Hittite: 13
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.)
Design -
(2/3) Appeal: Feeding off of other players makes it hard to work with, but it reads as fun.
(3/3) Elegance: Nice pairing of the abilities.
Development -
(3/3) Viability: I don't see any issues here, most of the prominent ability-stealing is in these colors and they're all rare.
(3/3) Balance: The size and cost seem fine. I don't feel like it would be a major Standard player unless it fit into a Dimir Merfolk deck already with other synergies, or there were a couple of rampant creatures with abilities in the meta. It's certainly worth considering for Commander though and slots into a lot of decks there. Slightly subpar for Limited but may lead to occasional fun moments like that one time in Born of the Gods when my opponent copied my Phenax with Artisan of Forms and we mill raced each other.
Creativity -
(2/3) Uniqueness: Quicksilver Elemental most closely.
(1/3) Flavor: I guess this is where I critique the type chosen. It's amusing for sure and I guess I won't count Goblin Mime against you, but I have a hard time imagining that Magic is going to want lots of mimes. The Shadowmoor merfolk were pretty vicious also, so miming seems like an oddly cute way of getting abilities.
Polish -
(3/3) Quality:
(2/2) Main Challenge:
(2/2) Subchallenges:
Total: 21/25
Design -
(3/3) Appeal: Sounds like a fun way to load up on cards every turn.
(2/3) Elegance: It's a pretty clean concept but the full package doesn't gel very well.
Development -
(0/3) Viability: What do I do with all the other cards? (correct answer - put them on the bottom in a random order). As is, you see all of the rest of the cards and have to put them back in the same order, which is awful. I actually have official Wizards feedback to give you about this ability - see Verdant Ingenuity at that link. Colors and rarity are fine.
(2/3) Balance: This isn't quite as bad as the GDS card because it costs 5 mana and takes a turn to get going. It's too expensive to do much work in Constructed except Commander. I guess it wouldn't really attack there anyway since the ability is so good, so being a 0/7 is weirdly ok.
Creativity -
(2/3) Uniqueness: Kind of Abundance but pretty new.
(1/3) Flavor: Really bugs me that she has five songs but the only five is her CMC (which doesn't even include the number 5) and she doesn't get five cards or anything. Maybe you could have bound the reveal to five cards? Bard is a fine type to choose.
Polish -
(2/3) Quality: "Reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a..."
(2/2) Main Challenge:
(2/2) Subchallenges:
Total: 16/25
Design -
(3/3) Appeal: Lends itself to a lot of explosive deck concepts.
(3/3) Elegance: Takes a second but it's pretty easy to grasp.
Development -
(1/3) Viability: It's weird to use an intervening if clause here when Brine Hag and (appropriately) Mentor of the Meek indicate that you can just say "Whenever another creature with power 2 or less enters the battlefield under your control, change the base power of that creature to 3." Pumping only power of small creatures works for red/white. I'm not totally sold on the memory issue of what happens after this dies but I imagine your flavor dictates that he teaches them when they are born and it lasts their whole life, as opposed to the mentor granting a static bonus.
(3/3) Balance: This can get pretty crazy with mass token producers and is reasonably large itself. I could see it in a hypothetical Standard driving a lot of decks, kind of like Goblin Rabblemaster. It's probably safe enough for Limited and older formats, could show in Modern but I don't think it's oppressive.
Creativity -
(3/3) Uniqueness: Nothing like this really.
(3/3) Flavor: Sweet flavor text and the fact that he teaches them up to his own power, and has enough toughness to take a hit from them (sparring) is subtly awesome. Bigger than 2/3 is weird for a human but happens occasionally. Also is this a whole people dedicated to Tek? As I always say, "Tek in every deck." Mentor is a bit weird but could have some fun flavorful applications and is broad enough for many colors. I like the notion that whoever showed up before him is too old to teach also.
Polish -
(2/3) Quality: "its power"
(2/2) Main Challenge:
(2/2) Subchallenges:
Total: 22/25
netn10: 16
Hemlock: 22
Design -(1.5/6)
(0.5/3) Appeal: It seems a bit costly and slow for Spike. Timmy wants more out of a color-intense 5 drop. Johnny might like to speed up the verse counters in some way.
(1/3) Elegance: I assume the first ability was meant to last until end of turn? 'Cause, as written, this is a nightmare to track. The second ability can make for a somewhat complex combat step, but nothing too bad. The abilities work fairly well together - the people that stay back are inspired by the heroic efforts of the solo adventurer.
Development - (3.5/6)
(1.5/3) Viability: Bant is the original colors for exalted, so the colors make some sense, but I could also see this being mono-white. The rarity is fine. The tracking issue I mentioned in the elegance section would prevent this from being printed as is though.
(2/3) Balance: Assuming you fixed the tracking issue, I could easily see this costing 2ww and having a base P/T of 3/3 or 2/4. As it is, it seems a bit slow and costly, not to mention the color requirements. Due to its relative power, I don't see this seeing much play in any format really. The fact that it requires three colors even makes it a bit of stretch for limited.
Creativity - (4.5/6)
(2.5/3) Uniqueness: This certainly borrows from exalted, but there is enough new stuff here to make this feel pretty unique as a whole.
(2/3) Flavor: Everything comes together rather nicely here. I'm pretty sure some short flavor text would've fit though.
Polish - (6.5/7)
(2.5/3) Quality: There should be a comma after alone.
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Bard is very good choice for a new evergreen class IMO.
(2/2) Subchallenges: Good.
Total: 16/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.
Design -(4.5/6)
(1.5/3) Appeal: I'm not sure there's enough power here for Spike. Timmy isn't a very big fan of cards with downsides. Johnny always loves a sac outlet, as well as a discard outlet. Putting both on the same card certainly gets his attention.
(3/3) Elegance: No problems here. The abilities go together quite nicely.
Development - (5.5/6)
(3/3) Viability: Colors and rarity work for me. Nothing here that breaks any rules.
(2.5/3) Balance: I wish this was just a tad more powerful, but it's not too bad. This would find a home in some EDH decks since it enables a lot of different strategies - self sacrifice, self discard, lifegain, tokens, but I'm not sure it's strong enough to see much play anywhere else. Perhaps Standard, if there was a need for its sac or discard abilities.
Creativity - (2.5/6)
(1/3) Uniqueness: Everything here has been done in some form before.
(1.5/3) Flavor: The flavor works well enough here, but I'm pretty sure some flavor text would have fit.
Polish - (7/7)
(3/3) Quality: I'd love to deduct a 1/2 point for the extra forward slash in the type line, but I'm not going to since it's close enough to format I made up anyway.
(2/2) *Main Challenge: Noble works for me. I could see this being printed as an evergreen class.
(2/2) Subchallenges: Good.
Total: 19.5/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.
Design - (4.5/6)
(3/3) Appeal: Johnny is falling all over himself. Spike loves the value. Timmy likes drawing cards and the fat butt, but wishes the card draw wasn't symmetrical.
(1.5/3) Elegance: There's a lot going on here. It definitely takes a few reads to grasp everything this card can do. I'm generally not a fan of the chaos created in multi-player by players playing with their hand's revealed, but I don't think it's appropriate to discount points for that.
Development - (5/6)
(2.5/3) Viability: This card seems like it could easily be mythic. It's complex, it's a legend, and it's quite strong. I suppose rare isn't totally impossible though. I could see a card with these abilities existing without the green, but it certainly isn't out of place.
(2.5/3) Balance: I think the toughness on this might need to be reduced by one. Maybe not, but it seems pretty pushed. I could see this becoming a favorite in EDH. I could also see it getting a look in Standard. I don't know that it would make much of a splash in any other constructed formats though. The rarity and color restriction make this fine for limited.
Creativity - (6/6)
(3/3) Uniqueness: There are some cards that do similarish things, but it still seems very unique to me.
(3/3) Flavor: Love it. Everything really comes together nicely here.
Polish -(7/7)
(3/3) Quality: Looks good to me.
(2/2) *Main Challenge: One of the main classes I'd like to see is some sort of government-type official/politician. I almost think they would go with something a little more diverse, like maybe even just Official, but Diplomat makes some sense too.
(2/2) Subchallenges: Good.
Total: 22.5/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.
rkhon1357: 19.5
StonerOfKruphix: 22.5