In case Mahou Sensei-sama can't appear before the deadline, here's our other card:
Belligerent Behemoth1RR
Creature - Giant (R)
First Strike
Whenever Belligerent Behemoth attacks, you may sacrifice a creature with power 1 or less. If you do, Belligerent Behemoth deals 1 damage to target creature or player.
3/2 Segovian natives realize that bigger is only better when it is on your side.
I'm calling it right now- worst rare in the set. Even good limited players will find better bombs at common and uncommon no sweat. Worst. Episode. Ever.
I really do predict this to be our worst rare in set award winner. I'd be happier opening a jar of eyeballs, so I think anything worse is highly unlikely. This card wont just have zero constructed potential, but not be significantly better than a mass of ghouls in a draft.
All right, folks, critiques are open for business. You'll notice that you only have to critique three cards, so these should be quick and easy.
EDIT: The "you only have to critique three cards" bit will continue for the next two rounds as well. Each pair will end up having critiqued every card from the other three divisions by the time we cut to Top 8, and since Top 8 is based off your pair's combined score...
Meditative Sphinx :3mana::symu::symu:
Creature - Sphinx (U)
Flying
Whenever Meditative Sphinx deals combat damage to a player, draw two cards and then discard two cards. For each blue card discarded this way, tap or untap up to one target permanent. It knows what you'll say before you do.
3/3
I like this super loot effect, but I don't see the benefit of tapping your opponents' things after combat has already happened.
Purewater Leviathan3UU
Creature - Leviathan (C)
Islandwalk
When Purewater Leviathan enters the battlefield, if you control three or more islands, draw a card.
3/3
Interesting take on a positive landhomeish ability, but with UU in the cost, I doubt this is ever going to hit the field and not draw a card.
Origin is just about as perfect as I could imagine. It costs quiet a bit for not to big a body but for a wonderful effect, and it is still dies to removal, if it lives though, devistating. It also is perfecting counter-parted with Unlife.
As much as I like your hydra, it seems like the abilities of it and the octopus should be reversed. When I think in terms of offensive vs defensive, I think hydras are more attack and Octopi more protect.
I like the creature(s), I like the static abilities, I like that they are rare... but... the keyword abilities and creature types just don't feel right to me, how is a phoenix the opposite of a whale? Yes, they have nothing in common with one another, but still. *shrug*
Eh, that is just preference I suppose...
1) queensauce - Seems a little overcosted even at common. Maybe 4U or add a point of toughness might balance it better, but it is definitely on the weak side of the current creature builds. The possible cantrip means more times than not you are looking at mono-blue so the amount of blue in the casting cost really doesn't matter.
2) PenguinTod - Casting cost and P/T seem to be on par with an Uncommon flyer with a bonus ability...but it gets awfully complicated for an uncommon. I also think you're not going to be doing much tapping post combat.
3) Cythare - First of all, personally I do not see the flavor connection of Eldrazi to Segovia. Second it definitely seems undercosted for something with annihilator 2. The next closest in cmc is 8 for annihilator 1.
So your chosen large-type-made-small is Incarnation, which is a fruity choice. I'm interested to see how this plays out.
Your half is Unlife, which offers a powerful repeatable reanimation effect for 6 mana. I don't think there's a power level issue here, as I could pay 1 more for Sheoldred, Whispering One and get to pick the card myself, plus a whole lot more. In fact on that comparison it's possible your card is even a bit weak.
The card's name feels right for an Incarnation, although the one-word name and 6 CMC does hark to the Lorwyn Incarnations, and the card doesn't have the reshuffle clause they had.
Your card synchs up nicely with Origin, your partner's card, showing a similar mechanical feel but a different ability. It's a loose mirroring but I think an average reader would spot the pair.
Your two cards have different types, which is an interesting choice. The Arms / Heads naming is cute and well-executed to contrast the two creatures, and the flipped P/T and opposing evergreen keywords are a nice touch.
I do have some problems with your card, though. First off, blue vigilance isn't done outside of PLC, and doesn't feel necessary here. Secondly, although it calls them something else, your card uses +0/+2 counters. These aren't used in regular Magic for a reason - they complicate maths and make the board state unclear. A set with these cards in it couldn't really use +1/+1 or -1/-1 counters and I think that's a pretty serious problem.
Whale people!! !!!!!
Ok, that aside, I think the decision here to use a rare creature type that are notably physically big is fair enough. However in Segovia they'd still be whale-sized to other Segovians. You have a (roughly) humanoid whale race in a miniature sized world, which is two degrees small. Also, minor points deduction for "diciple" (which should be "disciple").
The card itself is a very efficient creature for blue, being a Hill Giant with evasion, hexproof, and a card-drawing ability. This isn't the kind of thing that blue is likely to get. The flavour isn't too strong for me but I like the "sea monsters" rider. Whale feels like a forced inclusion in the list to fit your card, as they aren't really monsters like the rest of the list, but Quest for Ula's Temple did the same for Octopus so we'll let that be.
Your card and your partner's card really don't feel like a pair - they both have 2 keywords and a saboteur ability, but play out very differently and don't feel like a harmonious duo.
3. Small Child
2. void nothing 1. Prophylaxis
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Your card and your partner's card really don't feel like a pair - they both have 2 keywords and a saboteur ability, but play out very differently and don't feel like a harmonious duo.
I made mine to hose his. We didn't exactly plan these things, and it certainly shows.
These guys are very interesting, in the way that they have clearly different synergies. Your half of the pair is pretty interesting as a weenie enabler; while you don’t benefit from tokens the way that Belligerent Behemoth does, you can definitely use it as a way to recycle little exalted dudes, and it’s big enough to be an early game beater before you drop your giant crazy angels or whatever.
Like it! I almost kind of want these guys to be even tinier, but I’m not taking points off for that bc my team made Sphinxes and they’re bigger than yours.
I am concerned that the Shah’s repeated defensive deflection is very, very strong in a control strategy, better than repeated countering, in fact. But I could be crazy. I would like best to see this in play.
Big_Cal
Ok, interesting pair choice. I wonder how large normal sized people are supposed to be in Segovia. Both of these guys are pretty strong, but well within their colors and all. Interesting flavor. Definitely someone I would like to have in a Mirrodin-like environment.
Arcel
Sure, Dragon/Sphinx. I don't think this restriction is very hard to fulfill, so you have a very hard to block 4/2. It's nice that all the 2s line up, but I think the nonbasic threshold needs to be more, maybe 4. Not entirely sure I get the flavor here, it's a very bottom-up approach.
Keltainen's sphinx is hugely worse, and has an off-color ability (block additional creatures is very white).
Ninja Caterpie
Two Sphinx/Dragon pairs this time eh. This pair basically just makes more sense in color than Arcel's pair. Interesting proposal for spells costing less in red, not sure we've seen much of that but it should work. Kind of think a Segovia Angel in white would have worked better for the blue side.
willows - A Sphinx in red? You maybe ought to have picked a different creature type for the red entry - that's really strange. Looting on the hit is certainly something a red Sphinx would do, but the whole Chandra Ablaze-style pinging thing might be too good. Anyhow, on a 3/3 for 3RR it's interesting and strong and I think it'd be okay.
Socrates - Leviathans in monoblack are unaccountably weird. I like the whole commit-to-a-color thing that I suppose got borrowed from Harbor Serpent. As it is it's a good Limited uncommon (because that's where discard and landwalk are most relevant), spesh in mirror matches.
The Angel of Elysium - One, colorless + colorless does not really a mirror make, even though one of them hates on other colorless things and the other on multicolored. Two, this is insanely, insanely, insanely overpowered. Sun Titan is a very strong card that costs 4WW and can only reanimate half the permanents this does with a restriction to low converted mana costs. Swing with this once and it's probably game.
Keltainen: Your card really needed to be white, which is both king of toughness boosting and blocking more than one creature. There's no reason for it to be blue besides being a sphinx. Also, the requirement of non basic lands feels kind of random and only makes a bit of sense in the red card.
Savia: The card is good but doesn't feel a perfect mirror of the red card: The red card puts an equipment in the grave as a cost for its true ability, deal damage, while your card focuses on interacting with the equipment. I'd have liked to see a "Shieldhurler" that sacrificed an equipment to prevent damage and/or gain life.
Polendino: Wow what are the chances that someone else in the same group made a sphinx with abilities that would be more at home in a white card? At least this one is a slightly better fit.
Top 3 5:
1. N/A
2. N/A
3. Savia
4. Polendino
5. Keltainen
Poor show this round, guys.
Quote from Willows »
I guess I like these guys okay, but they don’t feel like a balanced mirrored pair, because Compassionate Colossus is so much stronger than Belligerent Behemoth. Sacrificing your weenies isn’t always going to be worse than getting new weenies from the yard (esp. since that means you need to have your yard filled with dudes) but it’s often quite good.
You forget that is damage what wins a game and also serves as repeatable removal. Moreover, red's ability can benefit from tokens, while white's don't. I think that makes both abilities stand on equal ground in terms of power.
I'm calling it right now- worst rare in the set. Even good limited players will find better bombs at common and uncommon no sweat. Worst. Episode. Ever.
I really do predict this to be our worst rare in set award winner. I'd be happier opening a jar of eyeballs, so I think anything worse is highly unlikely. This card wont just have zero constructed potential, but not be significantly better than a mass of ghouls in a draft.
Just a reminder that we've got 24 hours and change left until crits and Top 3s are due. I'll PM the whole lot of you slackers shortly to remind those people who are really being lazy about reading the thread.
Cardz5000: Clever, and a nice mirror with Proph's card. Good name for an incarnation and a cool ability, although it does sound a bit too similar to Genesis in meaning. With that tiny of a body, it does feel like it could be cheaper.
Saagn: The body shape feels a bit weird to be a Hydra - 3/1? The ability seems a bit weird with uneven power addition, but it's fine, I guess. I dislike that it can grow to a large non-Segovian size, though.
CrustaceanCrusader: A third of all phoenixes are 2/2s, and the great majority are 3/3 or less. While some can get bigger, it feels a bit weird considering phoenixes aren't really a 'big' race. Card itself is fine, nice mirror with the blue card and their different forms of looting.
#1 - Cardz5000
#2 - CrustaceanCrusader
#3 - Saagn
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If you're having creature problems I feel bad for you son
You got 99 attackers but I'm blocking with 1.
The Winner is Judge | 7
This Winner is Also Judge | 6
Club Flamingo | Lots
Good card. A good mirror from your bud's card. I don't have much to comment here, I must say.
The card is well designed, and they are good mirrors, except for one thing: the defensive pump. And it really bothers me, as it screams white, and there are no evidence of it in blue. A solution: U: -1/+1, R:+1/-1.
Another Blue Sphinx with an off-color ability. Why? Why not a curiosity mechanic? Also, nowadays 2 nonbasic lands is nothing I think. And for nowadays I mean today magic, not RTR magic.
1. Savia
2. Polendino
3. Keltainen
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Trophyless guy.
Thought of the Month: I gave up from trying to require the 'i' on my name: SolesticIo
U// Sedris and the Traitor Kings U// G Seshiro, the Appointed G B// Vaevictus Asmadi - "I'm 'exy and I know it" B// W// Treva, The Renewerer W// B/ Rakdos, Lord of Grouphate B/ W//// Cromat the Charmer W////
I'm on a weird schedule and I don't have time to coordinate or collaborate with anyone in a reliable fashion.
Belligerent Behemoth 1RR
Creature - Giant (R)
First Strike
Whenever Belligerent Behemoth attacks, you may sacrifice a creature with power 1 or less. If you do, Belligerent Behemoth deals 1 damage to target creature or player.
3/2
Segovian natives realize that bigger is only better when it is on your side.
Spells your opponents cast cost 1 more to cast.
U: Segovia Sphinx gets +0/+1 until end of turn.
It's still a god of the skies, but here its subjects are only insects.
Spells you cast cost 1 less to cast.
R: Segovia Sphinx gets +1/+0 until end of turn.
Pulled through the Æther, its fearsome breath now razes only flowers.
It looks like Ninja's not going to make it in before deadline. Here's both our cards. Would you prefer we go full-pretty-boxes mode, or no-boxes mode?
EDIT: Ninja's card is the Dragon, mine is the Sphinx.
Level 1 Judge
EDIT: The "you only have to critique three cards" bit will continue for the next two rounds as well. Each pair will end up having critiqued every card from the other three divisions by the time we cut to Top 8, and since Top 8 is based off your pair's combined score...
(Probably NSFW) So you may have heard I'm trying to write a TV series...
Eh, that is just preference I suppose...
2) Saagn
3) CrustaceanCrusader
Artist: //gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?action=advanced&artist=[%22Daniel%20Ljunggren%22">"]Daniel Ljunggren
2) PenguinTod - Casting cost and P/T seem to be on par with an Uncommon flyer with a bonus ability...but it gets awfully complicated for an uncommon. I also think you're not going to be doing much tapping post combat.
3) Cythare - First of all, personally I do not see the flavor connection of Eldrazi to Segovia. Second it definitely seems undercosted for something with annihilator 2. The next closest in cmc is 8 for annihilator 1.
Your half is Unlife, which offers a powerful repeatable reanimation effect for 6 mana. I don't think there's a power level issue here, as I could pay 1 more for Sheoldred, Whispering One and get to pick the card myself, plus a whole lot more. In fact on that comparison it's possible your card is even a bit weak.
The card's name feels right for an Incarnation, although the one-word name and 6 CMC does hark to the Lorwyn Incarnations, and the card doesn't have the reshuffle clause they had.
Your card synchs up nicely with Origin, your partner's card, showing a similar mechanical feel but a different ability. It's a loose mirroring but I think an average reader would spot the pair.
I do have some problems with your card, though. First off, blue vigilance isn't done outside of PLC, and doesn't feel necessary here. Secondly, although it calls them something else, your card uses +0/+2 counters. These aren't used in regular Magic for a reason - they complicate maths and make the board state unclear. A set with these cards in it couldn't really use +1/+1 or -1/-1 counters and I think that's a pretty serious problem.
Ok, that aside, I think the decision here to use a rare creature type that are notably physically big is fair enough. However in Segovia they'd still be whale-sized to other Segovians. You have a (roughly) humanoid whale race in a miniature sized world, which is two degrees small. Also, minor points deduction for "diciple" (which should be "disciple").
The card itself is a very efficient creature for blue, being a Hill Giant with evasion, hexproof, and a card-drawing ability. This isn't the kind of thing that blue is likely to get. The flavour isn't too strong for me but I like the "sea monsters" rider. Whale feels like a forced inclusion in the list to fit your card, as they aren't really monsters like the rest of the list, but Quest for Ula's Temple did the same for Octopus so we'll let that be.
Your card and your partner's card really don't feel like a pair - they both have 2 keywords and a saboteur ability, but play out very differently and don't feel like a harmonious duo.
2. void nothing
1. Prophylaxis
I run a Tumblr for Magic-related statistics, graphs, and quizzes. Come check it out!
2. Solesticio
3. Noatz
Ok, interesting pair choice. I wonder how large normal sized people are supposed to be in Segovia. Both of these guys are pretty strong, but well within their colors and all. Interesting flavor. Definitely someone I would like to have in a Mirrodin-like environment.
Arcel
Sure, Dragon/Sphinx. I don't think this restriction is very hard to fulfill, so you have a very hard to block 4/2. It's nice that all the 2s line up, but I think the nonbasic threshold needs to be more, maybe 4. Not entirely sure I get the flavor here, it's a very bottom-up approach.
Keltainen's sphinx is hugely worse, and has an off-color ability (block additional creatures is very white).
Ninja Caterpie
Two Sphinx/Dragon pairs this time eh. This pair basically just makes more sense in color than Arcel's pair. Interesting proposal for spells costing less in red, not sure we've seen much of that but it should work. Kind of think a Segovia Angel in white would have worked better for the blue side.
Top 3:
1. Big_Cal
2. Ninja Caterpie
3. Arcel
willows - A Sphinx in red? You maybe ought to have picked a different creature type for the red entry - that's really strange. Looting on the hit is certainly something a red Sphinx would do, but the whole Chandra Ablaze-style pinging thing might be too good. Anyhow, on a 3/3 for 3RR it's interesting and strong and I think it'd be okay.
Socrates - Leviathans in monoblack are unaccountably weird. I like the whole commit-to-a-color thing that I suppose got borrowed from Harbor Serpent. As it is it's a good Limited uncommon (because that's where discard and landwalk are most relevant), spesh in mirror matches.
The Angel of Elysium - One, colorless + colorless does not really a mirror make, even though one of them hates on other colorless things and the other on multicolored. Two, this is insanely, insanely, insanely overpowered. Sun Titan is a very strong card that costs 4WW and can only reanimate half the permanents this does with a restriction to low converted mana costs. Swing with this once and it's probably game.
3. The Angel of Elysium
2. Socrates
1. willows
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Savia: The card is good but doesn't feel a perfect mirror of the red card: The red card puts an equipment in the grave as a cost for its true ability, deal damage, while your card focuses on interacting with the equipment. I'd have liked to see a "Shieldhurler" that sacrificed an equipment to prevent damage and/or gain life.
Polendino: Wow what are the chances that someone else in the same group made a sphinx with abilities that would be more at home in a white card? At least this one is a slightly better fit.
Top
35:1. N/A
2. N/A
3. Savia
4. Polendino
5. Keltainen
Poor show this round, guys.
You forget that is damage what wins a game and also serves as repeatable removal. Moreover, red's ability can benefit from tokens, while white's don't. I think that makes both abilities stand on equal ground in terms of power.
(Probably NSFW) So you may have heard I'm trying to write a TV series...
Saagn: The body shape feels a bit weird to be a Hydra - 3/1? The ability seems a bit weird with uneven power addition, but it's fine, I guess. I dislike that it can grow to a large non-Segovian size, though.
CrustaceanCrusader: A third of all phoenixes are 2/2s, and the great majority are 3/3 or less. While some can get bigger, it feels a bit weird considering phoenixes aren't really a 'big' race. Card itself is fine, nice mirror with the blue card and their different forms of looting.
#2 - CrustaceanCrusader
#3 - Saagn
You got 99 attackers but I'm blocking with 1.
The Winner is Judge | 7
This Winner is Also Judge | 6
Club Flamingo | Lots
Good card. A good mirror from your bud's card. I don't have much to comment here, I must say.
The card is well designed, and they are good mirrors, except for one thing: the defensive pump. And it really bothers me, as it screams white, and there are no evidence of it in blue. A solution: U: -1/+1, R:+1/-1.
Another Blue Sphinx with an off-color ability. Why? Why not a curiosity mechanic? Also, nowadays 2 nonbasic lands is nothing I think. And for nowadays I mean today magic, not RTR magic.
1. Savia
2. Polendino
3. Keltainen
Thought of the Month:
I gave up from trying to require the 'i' on my name: SolesticIo
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Curse Premium1. ced395
2. Gerrard's Mom
3. MagicProfessor28
Custom Race: Guaroga
G Seshiro, the Appointed G
B// Vaevictus Asmadi - "I'm 'exy and I know it" B//
W// Treva, The Renewerer W//
B/ Rakdos, Lord of Grouphate B/
W//// Cromat the Charmer W////
This. Bleh.
Generals meant to be drafted first in a single pack of 6 cards.
And here is the actual cube, meant to be drafted in 4 regular sized packs. (60 card decks)