You barely made it. Chandra is much more scary in real life than you’ve ever guessed. You manage to jump through the portal just as a fireball explodes behind you, into the metallic corridors of the Wizards sub-levels. MaRo is there, along with a few members of R&D.
“Ah, you’ve made it. Good. It’s almost Christmas, and we need the set. I’m afraid there were temporal differences between the plane we didn’t count on, so a few days in Svalverden ended up being several weeks here. Developement won’t have much time to run the Metagame Simulator, and we’ll need to use the Time Machine to get the set on the shelves on time.”
You look at him in disbelief. Is he seriously talking about the stupid set after all you’ve been through? “Everybody’s dead”, you say.
“Now, now” he replies, “There’s four of you left, that’s almost as good as the group from the Great Designer Search, there’s no need to fret.”
“The Sergeant is dead”, you tell him, assuming an employee like the Sergeant will merit a more empathetic response.
“Yes, that is a shame”, he says, “We’ll have to ask Momir Vig to make us a new one. He does charge quite a bit for his clones.”
You stare at him. “Oh, come on, do cheer up!” He tells you. “You’ve survived! You’ve shown you truly deserve a place here! and soon Gleemax will erase all memories of those who were lost, so there’s really no need to feel sorry about them!”
This does not cheer you. “Oh, alright, I know what will make you feel better”, he says. “You want to meet Him , don’t you? He can make it all better! Well, come now, we must not keep Him waiting!”. He walks to leave.
You don’t move. MaRo turns to you and says, a little more angrily this time: “I said, come now. We do have a Mindslaver here, if that’s what you prefer, but there’s really no need for that, I’m sure
Reluctantly, you follow him through the many corridors. Down one elevator, and then another, until you reach a different hallway than before. The walls here seem different. Not metallic, like the rest of the hidden corridors, but something else. You get the eery feeling that they’re made of something organic. There’s a simple-looking door at the end of the corridor.
“Time for your meeting”, says Maro. Then he pauses. “What? Oh, yes, yes my lord! At once!” he shouts. “Wait here.” he tells you.
He enters the door, leaving the four of you standing in the strange hall. You look at each other puzzled. “What now?” one of you ask.
“We should run”, says another.
- “Run from a telepathic alien brain in a jar? How are we going to do that?”
“Well, we have the playtest cards, and the Cardmakers, and the Imitation Matrix…”
The discussion pauses for a second as you all reach the same understanding: You have the cardmakers, a wondrous invention that can make cards you’ve designed a reality! Plus the imitation matrix can let you become almost anything. You can escape, you can be free of Gleemx and MaRo, you can find your way out, you can…
You can save everyone.
“The Time Machine!”, all of you say in unison.
Your mission: Design two cards: one to help you find your way through the labyrinth under Wizards HQ to the Time Machine.
The second to help you reach the Time Machine undetected. You may use the Imitation Matrix to craft a new persona for yourself so you can sneak past the security measures.
Make sure that both cards are of different type. Do not design Planeswalkers.
Our survivors:
Ink-Treader
theazurespirit
bravelion83
Hemlock
You have until the end of December 29th
Good Luck!
Image credit: Glen Angus, taken from Wizard's website.
Guiding Spool3
Artifact (U) 1, T: Target creature can't be blocked until end of turn. Best pray the way isn't longer than the thread.
Swift BlitzbladeRG
Creature - Elf Warrior (U)
Haste
Swift Blitzblade has hexproof as long as it's attacking. "The best defense is a good offense. And the best offense is a swift offense."
2/2
Scout’s Map2
Artifact (U)
When Scout’s Map enters the battlefield, search your library for a basic land card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library. G, T: You may play an additional land this turn. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery. “Oh, so that’s the right way!”
Then I do use the Imitation Matrix to change my persona, that becomes the following:
Mist Entity2UU
Creature — Elemental (R)
Spells that target Mist Entity cost 2 more to cast. (This includes spells you control.) U: Mist Entity can’t be blocked this turn. It’s difficult to hit or stop what you can barely see.
3/3
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.)
Bulldoze2RR
Sorcery (U)
Destroy all creatures with defender target player controls. Creatures that player controls can't block this turn. The shortest route is always a straight line.
And to evade detection by the telepathic alien brain in a jar...
Mental Barrier1U
Enchantment (R)
Effects your opponents control can't cause cards to move from your hand or library to another zone. "The mind is an open vault. Those who are smart put locks on it." -Jace Beleren
Revealed Trails1UG
Sorcery (R)
Search target opponent's library for a land card, put it onto the battlefield under your control, then that opponent shuffles his or her library. "Every path leads somewhere"
Persona:
Weathered TravellerUG
Creature - Human Scout (U)
Weathered Traveller cannot be blocked as long as the defending player controls a land with the same name as a land you control. "I don't have a place I call home, I'm at home at every place"
3/1
It's time for critiques! everyone review everybody else. Please be done be the end of Jan 1st. If you're done earlier, the final round may be posted sooner.
Revealed Trails1UG
Sorcery (R)
Search target opponent's library for a land card, put it onto the battlefield under your control, then that opponent shuffles his or her library. "Every path leads somewhere"
Persona:
Weathered TravellerUG
Creature - Human Scout (U)
Weathered Traveller cannot be blocked as long as the defending player controls a land with the same name as a land you control. "I don't have a place I call home, I'm at home at every place"
3/1
I really like how the two cards are connected both in color identity and in the synergy they have with each other. Now I regret not having thought of doing that myself. As for the single cards, Revealed Trails is a nice original twist on the classic Rampant Growth effect (oh, how I miss a two-mana Rampant Growth in Standard right now...), even though it can find any land and not just basics. That's what makes it acceptable at three mana, otherwise I would have definitely said this looked overcosted. Having to rely on what your opponent has is a weakness, as they may not have what you want in their deck. The Traveller is really nice with the Trails: just steal a land they already have on the battlefield and go home! By itself, it has the same weakness of relying on what your opponent has. It kind of reminds me of the problem intimidate had: that ability can be either very good or useless depending on your opponent's deck, with no middle ground. Overall, two cards that taken each by itself have some weaknesses, while the strong thing here is the synergy between the two.
Bulldoze2RR
Sorcery (U)
Destroy all creatures with defender target player controls. Creatures that player controls can't block this turn. The shortest route is always a straight line.
And to evade detection by the telepathic alien brain in a jar...
Mental Barrier1U
Enchantment (R)
Effects your opponents control can't cause cards to move from your hand or library to another zone. "The mind is an open vault. Those who are smart put locks on it." -Jace Beleren
The concept of Bulldoze is very good, and I like it very much. What I don't like so much is that the two effects look too disconnected to me, like if you just took two effects in red's slice of color pie and put them together just because, but it's something that sometimes happens in real sets too, so it's not too big of a problem. Again, the concept really makes a lot of sense though, and that's definitely the strongest thing about this card.
About Mental Barrier, the flavor works, but I really don't think the mechanics do, and that's a problem. I don't think the concept of cards "moving" from one zone to another is defined in the rules, despite how intuitive it is. Probably the wording can be adjusted to work, and I'm thinking about something like "Effects your opponents control can't cause cards to leave your hand or library." To me, this looks like a very original card idea that can be definitely worked on, but could use a little more development.
Guiding Spool3
Artifact (U) 1, T: Target creature can't be blocked until end of turn. Best pray the way isn't longer than the thread.
Swift BlitzbladeRG
Creature - Elf Warrior (U)
Haste
Swift Blitzblade has hexproof as long as it's attacking. "The best defense is a good offense. And the best offense is a swift offense."
2/2
What I really like here is the simplicity and elegance of both cards. They work very well both mechanically and flavorfully with the least amount of rules text they can have, and that's not an easy thing to do. They look balanced and appropriate at uncommon. I don't have anything bad to say about these. I'm not commenting on the single cards separately as I would just repeat the above twice. The only thing I specifically say about the Blitzblade is that I really like the mirror to Ojutai's conditional hexproof.
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.)
Scout’s Map2
Artifact (U)
When Scout’s Map enters the battlefield, search your library for a basic land card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library. G, T: You may play an additional land this turn. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery. “Oh, so that’s the right way!”
Then I do use the Imitation Matrix to change my persona, that becomes the following:
Mist Entity2UU
Creature — Elemental (R)
Spells that target Mist Entity cost 2 more to cast. (This includes spells you control.) U: Mist Entity can’t be blocked this turn. It’s difficult to hit or stop what you can barely see.
3/3
Scout's Map: Decent if you're not green, potentially a lot of ramp if you are.
Mist Entity: Seems like a balanced package. Probably has to be rare because limited, otherwise I feel it could get away with uncommon.
Bulldoze2RR
Sorcery (U)
Destroy all creatures with defender target player controls. Creatures that player controls can't block this turn. The shortest route is always a straight line.
And to evade detection by the telepathic alien brain in a jar...
Mental Barrier1U
Enchantment (R)
Effects your opponents control can't cause cards to move from your hand or library to another zone. "The mind is an open vault. Those who are smart put locks on it." -Jace Beleren
Bulldoze: Fairly costed, if a bit underwhelming.
Mental Barrier: Powerful hate card. I'd argue it's unnecessarily powerful. Would probably look too good on a creature.
Revealed Trails1UG
Sorcery (R)
Search target opponent's library for a land card, put it onto the battlefield under your control, then that opponent shuffles his or her library. "Every path leads somewhere"
Persona:
Weathered TravellerUG
Creature - Human Scout (U)
Weathered Traveller cannot be blocked as long as the defending player controls a land with the same name as a land you control. "I don't have a place I call home, I'm at home at every place"
3/1
Revealed Trails: Interesting. I think it's fair, seeing as it relies on your opponent's library.
Weathered Traveller: An interesting revisiting of land walk. I feel like a weathered traveler would be a 2/2 as opposed to a frail 3/1, but 3/1 definitely makes it worth considering.
Guiding Spool3
Artifact (U) 1, T: Target creature can't be blocked until end of turn. Best pray the way isn't longer than the thread.
Swift BlitzbladeRG
Creature - Elf Warrior (U)
Haste
Swift Blitzblade has hexproof as long as it's attacking. "The best defense is a good offense. And the best offense is a swift offense."
2/2
I really love the design of Swift Blitzblade. Elegant, flavorful, beautiful. Guiding Spool is a bit less so, but still decent. Both cards are eminently printable.
Scout’s Map2
Artifact (U)
When Scout’s Map enters the battlefield, search your library for a basic land card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library. G, T: You may play an additional land this turn. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery. “Oh, so that’s the right way!”
Then I do use the Imitation Matrix to change my persona, that becomes the following:
Mist Entity2UU
Creature — Elemental (R)
Spells that target Mist Entity cost 2 more to cast. (This includes spells you control.) U: Mist Entity can’t be blocked this turn. It’s difficult to hit or stop what you can barely see.
3/3
An artifact with a colored activated ability is a bit odd without context. I suppose if there were a cycle of these, it would work. But Scout's Map doesn't really feel like it needs to be green.
I quite like Mist Entity. The two abilities synergize quite well in both mechanics and flavor, without creating the oppressiveness that the pure hexproof/unblockable combo did.
Revealed Trails1UG
Sorcery (R)
Search target opponent's library for a land card, put it onto the battlefield under your control, then that opponent shuffles his or her library. "Every path leads somewhere"
Persona:
Weathered TravellerUG
Creature - Human Scout (U)
Weathered Traveller cannot be blocked as long as the defending player controls a land with the same name as a land you control. "I don't have a place I call home, I'm at home at every place"
3/1
I'm not too fond of cards that search up cards from the opponent's library, as they punish players for including powerful cards in their deck. Lands aren't as bad as creatures and spells in this regard, as they're much lower impact most of the time, but this still punishes powerful utility lands. And there can be issues with getting ownership of basics mixed up.
Weathered Traveler uses a variant of landwalk, which still has the same problem that normal landwalk has: its power level depends on factors outside the player's control, and it's strong, repeated color hosing. Wizards phased out landwalk for good reason, and I don't think Weathered Traveler does much to improve on the problems landwalk had.
Normally a tie would mean three people going into the finals, but Hemlock did not post his critique. Had he done so, the only possible outcome would be that Ink-Treader and Bravelion would be the top 2. I see no reason to reward someone for not posting their critique, so congrats Bravelion and Ink-Treader, you're in the finals!
Indeed bravelion and inktreadet were to pass, I'm sorry I didn't got to post my critiques but I have my whole family over to receive 2016 and an episode of 15 hours with no electricity to complicate things quite some more. Congratulations to the fomalists and my best wishes for the year that has arrived!
Bravelion: two specific cards, I'm quite fond of the map, the creature does its job but it's not that exciting.
Theazurespirit: nice flavor for the first, but a bit underwhelming as a card. I like the approach of the second, but the wording needs some work.
Inktreader: I'm not tjat sold on such a repeatable unblockability being cheap and colorless, but it does work very well with your other card.
Bravelion
Ink Treader
Theazurespirit
Excuse any odd typing, I'm on my phone
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Se murió Kung Fu
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Welcome to the December CCL Semfinals
You barely made it. Chandra is much more scary in real life than you’ve ever guessed. You manage to jump through the portal just as a fireball explodes behind you, into the metallic corridors of the Wizards sub-levels. MaRo is there, along with a few members of R&D.
“Ah, you’ve made it. Good. It’s almost Christmas, and we need the set. I’m afraid there were temporal differences between the plane we didn’t count on, so a few days in Svalverden ended up being several weeks here. Developement won’t have much time to run the Metagame Simulator, and we’ll need to use the Time Machine to get the set on the shelves on time.”
You look at him in disbelief. Is he seriously talking about the stupid set after all you’ve been through? “Everybody’s dead”, you say.
“Now, now” he replies, “There’s four of you left, that’s almost as good as the group from the Great Designer Search, there’s no need to fret.”
“The Sergeant is dead”, you tell him, assuming an employee like the Sergeant will merit a more empathetic response.
“Yes, that is a shame”, he says, “We’ll have to ask Momir Vig to make us a new one. He does charge quite a bit for his clones.”
You stare at him. “Oh, come on, do cheer up!” He tells you. “You’ve survived! You’ve shown you truly deserve a place here! and soon Gleemax will erase all memories of those who were lost, so there’s really no need to feel sorry about them!”
This does not cheer you. “Oh, alright, I know what will make you feel better”, he says. “You want to meet Him , don’t you? He can make it all better! Well, come now, we must not keep Him waiting!”. He walks to leave.
You don’t move. MaRo turns to you and says, a little more angrily this time: “I said, come now. We do have a Mindslaver here, if that’s what you prefer, but there’s really no need for that, I’m sure
Reluctantly, you follow him through the many corridors. Down one elevator, and then another, until you reach a different hallway than before. The walls here seem different. Not metallic, like the rest of the hidden corridors, but something else. You get the eery feeling that they’re made of something organic. There’s a simple-looking door at the end of the corridor.
“Time for your meeting”, says Maro. Then he pauses. “What? Oh, yes, yes my lord! At once!” he shouts. “Wait here.” he tells you.
He enters the door, leaving the four of you standing in the strange hall. You look at each other puzzled. “What now?” one of you ask.
“We should run”, says another.
- “Run from a telepathic alien brain in a jar? How are we going to do that?”
“Well, we have the playtest cards, and the Cardmakers, and the Imitation Matrix…”
The discussion pauses for a second as you all reach the same understanding: You have the cardmakers, a wondrous invention that can make cards you’ve designed a reality! Plus the imitation matrix can let you become almost anything. You can escape, you can be free of Gleemx and MaRo, you can find your way out, you can…
You can save everyone.
“The Time Machine!”, all of you say in unison.
Your mission: Design two cards: one to help you find your way through the labyrinth under Wizards HQ to the Time Machine.
The second to help you reach the Time Machine undetected. You may use the Imitation Matrix to craft a new persona for yourself so you can sneak past the security measures.
Make sure that both cards are of different type. Do not design Planeswalkers.
Our survivors:
Ink-Treader
theazurespirit
bravelion83
Hemlock
You have until the end of December 29th
Good Luck!
Image credit: Glen Angus, taken from Wizard's website.
Host, December 2015: A Winter Wonderland? - R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL April 2014: A Game of Fate - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinal|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL December 2012: Spy Games - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL November 2010: The Perfect Crime - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL August 2009: A Commander's Journey: Signups|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
I've got tons of art from the web. Want art for a render? PM me! Want to create your own collection? Start here!
Artifact (U)
1, T: Target creature can't be blocked until end of turn.
Best pray the way isn't longer than the thread.
Swift Blitzblade RG
Creature - Elf Warrior (U)
Haste
Swift Blitzblade has hexproof as long as it's attacking.
"The best defense is a good offense. And the best offense is a swift offense."
2/2
Choose one of these judge of creation:
Make Strionic Resonator shine!
You can not grasp the true form of Ashiok's attack!
Host, December 2015: A Winter Wonderland? - R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL April 2014: A Game of Fate - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinal|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL December 2012: Spy Games - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL November 2010: The Perfect Crime - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL August 2009: A Commander's Journey: Signups|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
I've got tons of art from the web. Want art for a render? PM me! Want to create your own collection? Start here!
Scout’s Map 2
Artifact (U)
When Scout’s Map enters the battlefield, search your library for a basic land card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library.
G, T: You may play an additional land this turn. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.
“Oh, so that’s the right way!”
Then I do use the Imitation Matrix to change my persona, that becomes the following:
Mist Entity 2UU
Creature — Elemental (R)
Spells that target Mist Entity cost 2 more to cast. (This includes spells you control.)
U: Mist Entity can’t be blocked this turn.
It’s difficult to hit or stop what you can barely see.
3/3
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.)
Bulldoze 2RR
Sorcery (U)
Destroy all creatures with defender target player controls. Creatures that player controls can't block this turn.
The shortest route is always a straight line.
And to evade detection by the telepathic alien brain in a jar...
Mental Barrier 1U
Enchantment (R)
Effects your opponents control can't cause cards to move from your hand or library to another zone.
"The mind is an open vault. Those who are smart put locks on it." -Jace Beleren
Revealed Trails 1UG
Sorcery (R)
Search target opponent's library for a land card, put it onto the battlefield under your control, then that opponent shuffles his or her library.
"Every path leads somewhere"
Persona:
Weathered Traveller UG
Creature - Human Scout (U)
Weathered Traveller cannot be blocked as long as the defending player controls a land with the same name as a land you control.
"I don't have a place I call home, I'm at home at every place"
3/1
Host, December 2015: A Winter Wonderland? - R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL April 2014: A Game of Fate - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinal|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL December 2012: Spy Games - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL November 2010: The Perfect Crime - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL August 2009: A Commander's Journey: Signups|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
I've got tons of art from the web. Want art for a render? PM me! Want to create your own collection? Start here!
Go get 'em!
Host, December 2015: A Winter Wonderland? - R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL April 2014: A Game of Fate - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinal|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL December 2012: Spy Games - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL November 2010: The Perfect Crime - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL August 2009: A Commander's Journey: Signups|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
I've got tons of art from the web. Want art for a render? PM me! Want to create your own collection? Start here!
I really like how the two cards are connected both in color identity and in the synergy they have with each other. Now I regret not having thought of doing that myself. As for the single cards, Revealed Trails is a nice original twist on the classic Rampant Growth effect (oh, how I miss a two-mana Rampant Growth in Standard right now...), even though it can find any land and not just basics. That's what makes it acceptable at three mana, otherwise I would have definitely said this looked overcosted. Having to rely on what your opponent has is a weakness, as they may not have what you want in their deck. The Traveller is really nice with the Trails: just steal a land they already have on the battlefield and go home! By itself, it has the same weakness of relying on what your opponent has. It kind of reminds me of the problem intimidate had: that ability can be either very good or useless depending on your opponent's deck, with no middle ground. Overall, two cards that taken each by itself have some weaknesses, while the strong thing here is the synergy between the two.
The concept of Bulldoze is very good, and I like it very much. What I don't like so much is that the two effects look too disconnected to me, like if you just took two effects in red's slice of color pie and put them together just because, but it's something that sometimes happens in real sets too, so it's not too big of a problem. Again, the concept really makes a lot of sense though, and that's definitely the strongest thing about this card.
About Mental Barrier, the flavor works, but I really don't think the mechanics do, and that's a problem. I don't think the concept of cards "moving" from one zone to another is defined in the rules, despite how intuitive it is. Probably the wording can be adjusted to work, and I'm thinking about something like "Effects your opponents control can't cause cards to leave your hand or library." To me, this looks like a very original card idea that can be definitely worked on, but could use a little more development.
What I really like here is the simplicity and elegance of both cards. They work very well both mechanically and flavorfully with the least amount of rules text they can have, and that's not an easy thing to do. They look balanced and appropriate at uncommon. I don't have anything bad to say about these. I'm not commenting on the single cards separately as I would just repeat the above twice. The only thing I specifically say about the Blitzblade is that I really like the mirror to Ojutai's conditional hexproof.
1st place: Ink-Treader
2nd place: Hemlock
3rd place: theazurespirit
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.)
Scout's Map: Decent if you're not green, potentially a lot of ramp if you are.
Mist Entity: Seems like a balanced package. Probably has to be rare because limited, otherwise I feel it could get away with uncommon.
Bulldoze: Fairly costed, if a bit underwhelming.
Mental Barrier: Powerful hate card. I'd argue it's unnecessarily powerful. Would probably look too good on a creature.
Revealed Trails: Interesting. I think it's fair, seeing as it relies on your opponent's library.
Weathered Traveller: An interesting revisiting of land walk. I feel like a weathered traveler would be a 2/2 as opposed to a frail 3/1, but 3/1 definitely makes it worth considering.
1. bravelion83
2. Hemlock
3. theazurespirit
Choose one of these judge of creation:
Make Strionic Resonator shine!
You can not grasp the true form of Ashiok's attack!
I really love the design of Swift Blitzblade. Elegant, flavorful, beautiful. Guiding Spool is a bit less so, but still decent. Both cards are eminently printable.
An artifact with a colored activated ability is a bit odd without context. I suppose if there were a cycle of these, it would work. But Scout's Map doesn't really feel like it needs to be green.
I quite like Mist Entity. The two abilities synergize quite well in both mechanics and flavor, without creating the oppressiveness that the pure hexproof/unblockable combo did.
I'm not too fond of cards that search up cards from the opponent's library, as they punish players for including powerful cards in their deck. Lands aren't as bad as creatures and spells in this regard, as they're much lower impact most of the time, but this still punishes powerful utility lands. And there can be issues with getting ownership of basics mixed up.
Weathered Traveler uses a variant of landwalk, which still has the same problem that normal landwalk has: its power level depends on factors outside the player's control, and it's strong, repeated color hosing. Wizards phased out landwalk for good reason, and I don't think Weathered Traveler does much to improve on the problems landwalk had.
2. bravelion83
3. Hemlock
Ink-Treader: 6
Bravelion: 5
Hemlock: 5
Theazurespirit: 2
Normally a tie would mean three people going into the finals, but Hemlock did not post his critique. Had he done so, the only possible outcome would be that Ink-Treader and Bravelion would be the top 2. I see no reason to reward someone for not posting their critique, so congrats Bravelion and Ink-Treader, you're in the finals!
Final round shall be posted shortly.
Host, December 2015: A Winter Wonderland? - R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL April 2014: A Game of Fate - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinal|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL December 2012: Spy Games - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL November 2010: The Perfect Crime - Signup|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
Host, CCL August 2009: A Commander's Journey: Signups|R1|R2|R3|Top 8|Semifinals|Finals|Poll
I've got tons of art from the web. Want art for a render? PM me! Want to create your own collection? Start here!
Bravelion: two specific cards, I'm quite fond of the map, the creature does its job but it's not that exciting.
Theazurespirit: nice flavor for the first, but a bit underwhelming as a card. I like the approach of the second, but the wording needs some work.
Inktreader: I'm not tjat sold on such a repeatable unblockability being cheap and colorless, but it does work very well with your other card.
Bravelion
Ink Treader
Theazurespirit
Excuse any odd typing, I'm on my phone