November MCC Round 1
Grave Concern
This month, we're going to be focusing on an important (and perhaps underappreciated) aspect of the game of Magic: its zones. This post is going up on Halloween, so for Round 1 we'll be looking at the scariest zone: the graveyard.
Imagine this: you just received an urgent Tumblr message from Mark Rosewater. WotC needs your help designing their next set. It's an old standby, graveyard-matters, but there's a hole that R&D has been unable to fill and the deadline to send the set to the printers is just five days away. Will you answer the call?
Main Challenge: Design a card for a graveyard-matters set with an ability that triggers when that card dies and/or is put into your graveyard.
Subchallenge 1: Your card is not black.
Subchallenge 2: Your card has an existing keyword ability or ability word.
Reminder text does count for this challenge (although I hope it won't spoil too much if I warn you that it won't count for future rounds). In other words, it is acceptable if the trigger is written into the Comprehensive Rules and isn't explicitly written in the card's rules text, although it should be clear to judges that this is the case, which probably means it should be in reminder text.
N.B.: The fact that this card is going in a graveyard-matters set is part of the challenge itself, so be aware of that when designing your card. That is to say, the flavor, balance, and viability judgements of your card might be affected by whether your card would fit well in a graveyard-focused set.
Design deadline: Wednesday, November 6th 23:59 EST
Judging deadline: Sunday, November 10th 23:59 EST
RUBRIC
(X/3) Appeal - Do the different player psychographics (Timmy/Johnny/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
slimytrout
bravelion83
Dragonlover
PLAYERS
Everyone can enter this round. Just reply to this thread posting a card that meets the Main Challenge and any number (that includes zero) of Subchallenges. Future rounds will only be open to those who advance. Come join us!
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.
Please check out the MCC Guidelines and FAQ if you have the will and time. Link here. Among the many things you can find there are a detailed explanation of the rubric (section 6.2) and the recommended card formatting (section 4) that you should use to format your text cards. Expect deductions in Quality otherwise.
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BRACKETS:
Slimytrout:
Kypster
netn10
Koopa
Ink-Treader
Flatline
ForestsCarl
Stankweed Imp
(Also judging DragonLover outside of competition, but might not get to it until after the judging deadline - hope that's okay.)
bravelion83:
void_nothing
Sojourner Dusk
Jimmy Groove
barbecube
Gateways7
Ryder
Icarii
DragonLover:
Legend
The_Hittite
blydden
Freyleyes
Subject16
RaikouRider
Top 4 from each bracket advance to Round 2