MTG Salvation

Mergatroid_Jones - Teenage Schoolgirl & Yaoi Pairing
SAC: In terms of printability, these would clearly be un-cards. In that context the first is more fun but the second is more funny & indeed interesting. I can see plenty of suitably frivolous arguments over whether particular creatures "look male" or not. A nod to the height rule could have been fun here. 2.5/5
ANM: Not sure I get why the schoolgirl heroine has black colour identity? Sure, she kills things. But she kills EVIL things. Doesn't that make her a good person? Both very good tropes to call out though. Happy with this. 3/5
+0.5 bonus points for a recommendation that I'll genuinely check out. Thanks!
TOTAL: 6/10

Subject16 - Motorized Amalgam
SAC: Paying 5 & meeting the condition of having 5 power of crewed Vehicles seems like it should yield more reward than +5/+5 and an "extra life". Daybreak Coronet gave +3/+3 (plus actively granting multiple new abilities) for CMC 2 with a less arduous condition. By that measuring stick, this seems underpowered for something which is thematically implied to be your wincon. 2/5
ANM: "Motorized Amalgam can only be crewed by Vehicles" is my favourite line of text on any entry into this round. That is all. 4.5/5
TOTAL: 6.5/10

Legend - Vampire Hunter
SAC: On one hand, I traditionally dislike "win more" designs. But I also like "life gain matters" so long as it doesn't just stall the game. Huh. I'm kind of conflicted here. All in all 4/4 hybrid lifelink for CMC 4 seems reasonable & strong enough to be fun even if the (massive) upside will only rarely make a difference to who wins. 3.5/5
ANM: This just FEELS romantic through and through. For some reason I imagine that when the ability is activated, it stands up like a tree falling in reverse. The traditional over-cinematic "vampire arising from the crypt" motion. So that's a lovely piece of bonus flavour. 4/5
TOTAL: 7.5/10

Stille_Nacht - Omai Wa//Shinderu
SAC: Okay, this is neat. Elegant & powerful if cast together, but with a colour-intensive enough total cost that it doesn't feel overpowered. The second half really needs to either target or confirm that it hits all opponents. I think it targets - which again keeps it from being overpowered. This is a just-plain-good design. 4/5
ANM: Meme, but also something I laughed at 20yrs ago. Awesome entry all round. 4/5
TOTAL: 8/10

mirrislegend - Stupid But Tough
SAC: That's a lot of cost & a lot of words for an effect which doesn't have a great deal of upside over Shielded by Faith. Also not really feeling this as red. Green can grant Trample on its own just fine, and everything else here is protective. 2/5
ANM: STRONG reminder of Yasutora Sado & other similarly archetypical indestructible bros. So that's a big success. Wow, I wish that Ichigo had full-on died about 3 series in & he'd taken over as main character. Not sure I get why this doesn't just remove ALL pre-existing abilities? That would seem more memorable, flavourful & useful. Ultimately I do have a lot of affection for this though. 3.5/5
TOTAL: 5.5/10

Sephon19 - One Punch
SAC: Whoa. That's some VERY effective green card draw. Not sure that what this does when dropped for G on the largest creature in play is anywhere near okay, especially when benchmarking against Soul's Majesty's cost. That said, this is a sorcery & that introduces a lot of situational conditions to actually getting this to work. So it's closer to okay than it could have been... & if I set my worry aside then I'll admit this is an inspired design. 3/5
ANM: Okay. I get the reference in the name. I haven't watched the show yet, so I don't know whether it's appropriate that this draws cards so effectively. Better give it a fairly upbeat neutral rating & move on. 3.5/5
TOTAL: 6.5/10

void_nothing - Humming with Power
SAC: Fun, flavourful, splashy & viable as a wincon for the right deck (probably involving a swarm from e.g. Elemental Mastery or Pyrohemia/Shivan Hellkite style effects). Nothing to dislike here. 4/5
ANM: Snrk. It's that whole thing about DBZ multi-episodic fight pacing, isn't it? And the like. Made me chuckle. 4/5
TOTAL: 8/10

kwanyeegor - Heirloom Katana
SAC: Strongly reminded me of Door of Destinies, just more concentrated. Probably weaker overall but more mechanically interesting. Absolutely fine as an omni-tribal beatstick. 3.5/5
ANM: You could print several alt art versions of this before I'd get tired of it. Really evocative design. Maybe not so much anime as it is Japanese storytelling generally... but that's splitting hairs. This trope turns up in plenty of anime & is captured beautifully, so it deserves a good rating. 4/5
TOTAL: 7.5/10

Aaaaaaad we end this episode with a climatic standoff between the overblown fighting techniques of two epic rivals. Seems apt.

WINNER: void_nothing, because I've gone against you in several tie-breaks since I came back. And also because you channeled all the fighting spirit of your proud warrior ancestors into a single punch. Obvs.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Stille_Nacht & Legend

Flour 0
Artifact- Food
Cycling 1

Sugar 0
Artifact- Food (C)
Cycling 2
Sacrifice Sugar: Gain 2 life.
Sacrifice Sugar and Flour: Gain 7 life.

Meat G
Artifact- Food (C)
Cycling 1G
Sacrifice Meat: Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature. That creature gains trample until end of turn.
Sacrifice Meat and Flour: Put 2 +1/+1 counters on target creature. That creature gains trample and haste until end of turn.

Bread W
Artifact- Food (C)
Cycling W
Sacrifice Bread: target creature gets +0/+2 and vigilance until end of turn. Untap that creature.
Sacrifice Flour: Return Bread from your graveyard to your hand.

Pie 2R
Artifact- Food (C)
Cycling 1R
R: Sacrifice Pie: Creatures you control get +2/+0 until end of turn.
Sacrifice Flour and Sugar: Return Pie from your graveyard to your hand.

Poison B
Artifact- Food (C)
Cycling 2B
Flash
When a player discards or sacrifices another Food card, that player loses 2 life.
3B, Sacrifice Poisoin: Target creature gets -2/-2 until end of turn.

Fish 1U
Artifact Creature- Fish Food (C)
Cycling 2
Sacrifice Fish: Add C and scry 1.
Sacrifice Fish and Flour: Add CC and scry 2.
2/1

Jovial Chef 2W
Creature- Human (C)
Cycling 2W
When you sacrifice a Food card, put a +1/+1 counter on Jovial Chef.
2/3

Corpulent Courier 4G
Creature- Orc (C)
Cycling 1G
When you discard a Food card, put a +1/+1 counter on Corpulent Courier.
"My mum always told me to get a job by the food. My mum never told me wrong."
4/4

Venerable Farmers 3G
Creature- Human (U)
Cycling 1G
1G, Exile a Food card from your graveyard: Search your library for a basic land card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Shuffle your library.
2/4

Stern Miller W
Creature- Human (U)
Cycling 1W
W,T: Create an artifact Food token named Flour.
Sacrifice 3 Flour artifacts: Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt this turn.
"We'll need more if we're to survive the winter."
1/1

Goblin Chef R
Creature- Goblin (R)
Cycling 2R
R,T: Return target Food artifact from your graveyard to your hand.
T, Discard or sacrifice a Food card: Goblin Chef deals 1 damage to any target.
1/1

Of course you could get Poisonberry Pie back by sacrificing Flour, Sugar, and Poison. That was the inspiration for this whole mess.