MTG Salvation

Yeah, you win! You've got it! As I said, it was just too evident, but it was just there before your eyes!

That's an excellent judgment, very close to perfect in my opinion. I have absolutely nothing to say about it except for the fact that you missed one intended Quality mistake, which would just bring the Quality score to a full zero, that's what I had meant for the card to get. You did catch all the other ones though, even the dissonance in flavor which was also a totally intended point of discussion that I thought would be very hard to catch, but you did. And yes, I agree that a plane like the one you propose could be very interesting.
If you were a new judge, you'd absolutely be in right now, but you were already in as reserve, so nothing changes actually. Seeing how few submissions we are getting for now, if the design deadline was right now I don't think you would actually be needed as a judge, but if we have a surge of entries in the last two days (a host can hope...) that might change, and I'd be more than satisfied to bring you in. I guess we'll see.
In the meantime, do you want to try to catch the last Quality mistake just for fun? It's very evident, probably so evident that your eyes just skipped over it. It's much more evident than the others you caught.

Quote from void_nothing »

Leo, I'd be very grateful if you could help write the MCC guidelines for Nexus when the time comes for that (very soon). Although as moderator I'll be enforcing the actual forum rules, I'd prefer not to be the sole, dictatorial source of the contest guidelines and as (I think) the one active member of the community who wrote the rubric we have today, your contribution is valuable.

Yes, I'll definitely do this, even if I'm not actually the only active member today who created the current rubric. I'd say let me know "when the time comes". (probably best via pm I guess?)

Quote from Algernone25 »

I understand that it's difficult if not impossible to convey tone just by words, and thank you for your candor. I'll follow the guidelines as set forth.

Thank you for both your nice words and your understanding. I had serious worries that you could misunderstand my tone or intentions, that's why I included that final note.

Also as promised, here is my personal view of the rubric, please say something if you have questions or concerns...

I really like this. It's very close to the intentions that the rubric has been created with, and also very close to what my own system is, even if there's obviously not a 100% overlap, but we're way more than close enough. I could write a similar thing, but I will wait for the migration to Nexus to do that.

Ok, keeping you as reserve then and keeping the signups open for now. Please let me know if you change your mind at any time before the design deadline.

Quote from Algernone25 »

I'm willing to judge again. When I get off work I'll write up how I use the rubric to grade cards and what deductions I usually apply in what amounts, since that seemed to be a source of confusion last month.

Thank you. I've also been toying with the idea to write such a note regarding myself for years, but I've never actually done it so far, and it seems pointless to me to do it right before the contests (and myself with them) migrating to Nexus. Anyway, one of the intents behind the current rubric (which I happen to be one of the creators of, by the way) was that no such things would have been needed because we thought that this rubric would have improved uniformity among judgments, which hasn't actually happened in the measure we were hoping for.
I say "one of the intents" because there were also other ones, like getting a full zero in the Main Challenge category being the only way a submission could ever get DQ'ed, but I don't want to bring up that recent discussion now (which I followed from behind the scenes willingly restraining myself from commenting, so I do know what you're talking about).
For clarity, I'll say it now as the host for this month: a card will only be DQ'ed this month if it gets a zero in the Main Challenge category, and that should only happen if it completely fails the Main Challenge (for example if the Main Challenge asks for a monowhite card and the player designs a monored one, I know this is a bad example but it's the first that came to my mind), and the rubric will be applied with all the original intents behind it, which, again, I know as one of its creators.
All of this is meant only as information, I'm not scolding you or anything like that. I'm always at discomfort in such things, because it's impossible to convey tone in writing. Please just read this as if I was talking in a friendly tone. I'm actually looking forward to work with you this month, and I'm sure you will do an excellent job. Putting you in as a judge right now.

Quote from Mr. Rithaniel »

I actually was thinking. It's been a long time since I've judged an MCC (about 7 years, by my estimate) and, looking back through my old account's post history, it seems that all MCC threads where I judged have been deleted (also, reading those posts that I made, I've realized I was a stupid kid).

Should I judge the sample card as though I were a new judge?

As far as the letter of the law is concerned, if you've ever judged in the MCC, you're fine. It's true, however, that since 7 years ago the rubric has changed, as I was just mentioning answering to Algernone25, so if you want to judge the sample card to be sure you're at ease with the new (to you as a judge, as it's been implemented for years by now) rubric, you're free to try it. I'm not requiring it though. Just do it if you feel like and if you have the will and time. Should I just put you in as a regular judge instead of reserve? If so, we have four judges, and I'll close the judge signups.
As for your posts, are you sure they haven't just been moved to the new archive?

Quote from Mr. Rithaniel »

I can step up as a judge if you end up with fewer than four and want/need an additional hand.

Thank you. For now, I'll put you in as a reserve judge. I'll let you know if I need you as the design deadline comes. Feel free to post a card as a player in the meantime, so that you end up playing if I don't need you as judge.

We all thought that June would have been the last month of contests here on MTGS. It turns out that it wasn't, but don't worry, the end is still nigh. That, the end, is the loose theme of this month. But there is a thing that never ends as long as there is an MCC somewhere: the need for judges.

A very important note - I absolutely want this month to be over and declare a winner on July 31st. This implies two things:
1. The contest will have only three rounds again this month. My current intention is to eliminate the round that traditionally gives the most trouble as a host: the versus round. My current plan is to have normal brackets in round 1 and round 2 (maybe with each player being judged by two different judges in round 2, but still using a traditional bracket structure), and have all judges judge all cards in the third and final round. There might be variations to this plan depending on the number of players and judges we get this month. The number of players that advance each round will also depend on those variables.
2. The judging deadlines will be heavily enforced. Having only three rounds will allow me to give one or two more days than I usually do in my months for the judges to do their work. If there are still any judgments missing the first time I check the site after the judging deadline has passed, I will immediately PM the judge(s) whose judgments are still missing giving them a 24-hour time extension, then if the extension has passed and the judgments are still missing, I will do them myself and move on. I don't want the contest to be delayed by judges not submitting their judgments on time, including in the final round. By signing up as a judge this month, you're accepting these terms.

If you want to sign up as a judge for the July MCC, just reply to this thread. If you've already judged before, that's enough. If you've never judged before, there is a little extra step required: please try to judge the sample card you can find below with the MCC rubric and post your sample judgment here. I will reply to you as soon as possible with my own thoughts about it and if you did good enough of a job, I will officially welcome you as an MCC judge. (Don't worry, I don't remember ever having to turn down anyone, and by the way I've also helped a number of judges on their first experience.)

As always, since I am hosting, I am also going to be a judge. We need at the very least two more, maybe three if player participation is high enough. Will you be one?

SAMPLE CARD
Assume all challenges (main and both subs) are met.

End of Knowledge 3B
Enchantment — Aura (U)
Whenever End of Knowledge enters the battlefield, if you cast it from your hand, target opponent discards two cards.
The enchanted creature gets “When this creature deals combat damage to a player, that player discards a card.”
“Are you worried to forget your keys as you leave your house? Don’t worry, soon you’ll foget everything.”
—Ashiok


Judge signups will stay open until the design deadline for Round 1 or until we get enough judges, whichever comes first. The judge signups will be going on in parallel with Round 1. You can find Round 1 here.