October MCC Round 2 - Think inside the box

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bravelion83
MKM MCC going on now
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Post by bravelion83 » 2 years ago

MCC-2110.png
(This month's banner is my own elaboration on the art of the cards Untamed Pup and Frenzied Trapbreaker by Randy Vargas.)


October MCC Round 2

Think inside the box


Leo's set-themed MCCs are back! And it's been a long time, my last set-themed MCC month was for Ikoria, which now is not even in Standard anymore. It was more than a year ago. It was time. And it feels good to be back! This month we will celebrate the latest set, in this case Midnight Hunt, by exploring its mechanics and themes, as usual in this kind of MCC months.

Main Challenge - Design a creature card with coven. DFCs are NOT allowed.

Subchallenge 1 - Your card is a Human.

Subchallenge 2 - Your card is green and/or white and no other colors.


Clarifications
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None for now.

If you have any questions, post them in the MCC discussion thread.

DEADLINES

Design deadline: Monday, October 18th 23:59 EDT

Judging deadline: Thursday, October 21st 23:59 EDT


RUBRIC
MCC Rubric
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Design
(X/3) Appeal - Do the different player psychographics (Timmy/Johhny/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

bravelion83
void_nothing


PLAYERS

@Freyleyes
@Henlock
@kwanyeegor-ii
@Lorn Asbord Schutta
@RaikouRider
@slimytrout
@Subject16
@vishamon


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 in my signature. 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.


BRACKETS

Top 2 from each bracket advance to Round 3.

Judge: bravelion83

Freyleyes
Henlock
Subject16
vishamon

Judge: void_nothing

kwanyeegor-ii
Lorn Asbord Schutta
RaikouRider
slimytrout
Last edited by bravelion83 2 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
Author of the MCC Guidelines and FAQ. | For my projects, including Jeff Lionheart, my murder mystery story "One pierced heart, two mindful horns", and republished articles from my series "The Lion's Lair", see Leo's content index (Last updated on March 24th 2024 - Added OPHTMH Episode 4).
After I'm done republishing my articles I want to reprise the series focusing it more on editing, wording, and templating. Suggest potential future article topics here.
My CCCG Resume (Updated on February 27th 2024)
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MCC - Winner (9): Oct 2014, Apr Nov 2017, Jan 2018, Apr Jun 2019, Jan Mar 2022, Apr 2023 || Host (30): Dec 2014, Apr Jul Aug Dec 2015, Mar Jul Aug Oct 2016, Feb Jul 2017, Jun Nov 2018, Feb Jul 2019 (last on MTGS), Aug 2019 (first on MTGN) Oct 2019, Jan Jun 2020 Apr Oct 2021, Feb May Sep Dec 2022, Mar Jun Sep Dec 2023, Mar 2024 || Judge (58): 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 on MTGS), every month from Aug 2019 (first on MTGN) to Feb 2020, May Jun 2020, Mar Apr Sep Oct 2021, Feb May Sep Dec 2022, Mar May Jun Sep Dec 2023, Jan Mar 2024
CCL - Winner (4): Jul 2016 (tied with Flatline), May 2017, Jul 2019 (last on MTGS), Jun 2021 (tied with slimytrout) || Host (5): Feb 2015, Mar Apr May Jun 2016
DCC - Winner (3): Mar 2015 (tied with Piar), Feb Apr 2022 || Host (12): May Oct 2015, Jan 2016, Jun Sep Dec 2021, Mar Jun Sep Dec 2022, Mar Jun 2023

slimytrout
Posts: 1861
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Post by slimytrout » 2 years ago

Mistrustful Neighbor 1W
Creature — Human Peasant (R)
Vigilance
Ward 1
Coven — At the beginning of your end step, if you control three or more creatures with different powers, choose a nonland card name.
Spells with a name chosen by Mistrustful Neighbor can't be cast.
2/2

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Subject16
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Post by Subject16 » 2 years ago

Herald of the Dawn 1GG
Creature — Human Warlock (R)
When Herald of the Dawn enters the battlefield, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature.
Coven — At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control three or more creatures with different powers, create a token that's a copy of Herald of the Dawn.
"Together, we shepherd Innistrad towards a brighter future."
1/3

kwanyeegor-ii
Posts: 1912
Joined: 4 years ago
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Post by kwanyeegor-ii » 2 years ago

Sungold Seal-Master 3WW
Creature - Human Warlock (Rare)
Lifelink
Sungold Seal-Master can't be blocked by creatures with power 4 or greater.
Coven - Whenever Sungold Seal-Master deals combat damage to a player, if you control three or more creatures with different powers, exile target permanent that player controls until Sungold Seal-Master leaves the battlefield.
3/4
畫龍點睛

I'm a simple Magic player since several years ago from China. Now I live in New Jersey.

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vishamon
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Post by vishamon » 2 years ago

Sungold Healer 2W
Creature – Human Cleric (R)
Lifelink
Coven – Whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control, if you control three or more creatures with different powers, you gain life equal to that creature's toughness.
2/2

Henlock
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Post by Henlock » 2 years ago

Garlanded Ox 1w
Creature - Ox (u)
Whenever Garlanded Ox attacks, you gain 1 life.
Coven- Garlanded Ox assigns combat damage equal to its toughness rather than its power as long as you control three or more creatures with different powers.
0/4

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RaikouRider
Posts: 265
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Post by RaikouRider » 2 years ago

Township Commander 2WW
Creature - Human Soldier {R}
When Township Commander enters the battlefield, create a 1/1 white Human creature token for each different power among creatures you control.
Coven - 1W: Remove target creature you control from combat and untap it. Activate only if you control three or more creatures with different powers.
4/3

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Freyleyes
Posts: 96
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Post by Freyleyes » 2 years ago

Sisters of the Woods 2WWW
Legendary Creature — Human Cleric {R}
When Sisters of the Woods enters the battlefield, create a 0/0 black Human creature token and a 2/2 green Human creature token.
Sacrifice another Human: Return Sisters of the Woods to your hand.
Coven — Humans you control get +1/+1 and have hexproof as long as you control three or more creatures with different powers.
1/1

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Lorn Asbord Schutta
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Post by Lorn Asbord Schutta » 2 years ago

Baleful Matron 1bbb
Creature — Human Warlock (R)
Ward — Discard two cards.
Coven — Whenever Baleful Matron or another creature enters the battlefield under your control, if you control three or more creatures with different powers, each player sacrifices a creature.
In Stensia, an old women with a young one are not mother and daughter, but a misfortune for you and your neighbours.
3/2

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bravelion83
MKM MCC going on now
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Post by bravelion83 » 2 years ago

The round is closed. Here are the brackets.

Top 2 from each bracket advance to Round 3.

Judge: bravelion83

Freyleyes
Henlock
Subject16
vishamon

Judge: void_nothing

kwanyeegor-ii
Lorn Asbord Schutta
RaikouRider
slimytrout



Judgments complete.
Freyleyes
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Freyleyes wrote:
2 years ago
Sisters of the Woods 2WWW
Legendary Creature — Human Cleric {R}
When Sisters of the Woods enters the battlefield, create a 0/0 black Human creature token and a 2/2 green Human creature token.
Sacrifice another Human: Return Sisters of the Woods to your hand.
Coven — Humans you control get +1/+1 and have hexproof as long as you control three or more creatures with different powers.
1/1
Design
Appeal 3/3 - Timmy likes creating tokens and creature pumping. Johnny could use the return to hand ability someway. Spike likes this if I've correctly seen that it creates six power over three bodies for five mana (see Balance).
Elegance 1/3 - I'd make it clear that the second ability doesn't return this card from graveyard to your hand, but only from the battlefield to your hand. I can see some less experienced players having this in their graveyard and going "Now I'll sac a Human to return this" while they obviously can't. It's not a Regrowth. There is precedent for your wording though. Also, I get that the 0/0 token will probably survive because of coven, if I've understood the card correctly, but it reads really bad. Again, I can see less experienced players going "So now I make a 0/0 token... but wait, doesn't it die immediately? What's the point of this?" Finally, having a white card create a black and a green token might perplex some players.
Development
Viability 2/3 - White can do everything here except giving hexproof to permanents. White gives hexproof to you, green and blue give it to your permanents. Green was allowed for the Main Challenge, so I see no reason to not have this card be green-white gold. No problems with rarity or the rules.
Balance 2.5/3 - I'm trying to understand what happens if you cast this on an empty board. The coven ability is active as soon as this enters, before the trigger resolves. So it goes: this enters, coven ability is looking for different powers, sees only 1 so it's not active, SBA check, trigger to the stack, trigger resolves, coven now sees three different powers (0, 1, 2) so it pumps them all as a static ability to 1, 2, 3, SBA check, no creature has 0 power now, so the original 0/0 token doesn't actually die. I think it goes like this, also because if it doesn't, I don't see the point of creating a 0/0 token. I'm not an actual judge, I'm just a player who likes the rules and I haven't got the experience of a real judge, and I checked all existing cards with coven but none helped me, so please correct me if I'm wrong. I've spent quite some time thinking about it and I still wouldn't be surprised if I got it wrong. Another relevant point is that you can sacrifice one of the token to save this by returning it to your hand. So you get a 1/1, a 2/2 and a 3/3, six power for five mana, three of which colored. Plausible, especially at rare. I can see this in limited, not sure about constructed, but maybe, the tokens are immediate impact, and you still have the rescue ability if something goes wrong. I see no problems in casual and multiplayer.
Creativity
Uniqueness 1.5/3 - There is really nothing new here but the most original things are what's problematic in Elegance and Viability: creating tokens of other colors, having white give hexproof to your permanents instead of you, etc... This card does feel as a whole but it touches area it shouldn't touch.
Flavor 2/3 - The name immediately reminded me of Sisters of Stone Death even if it has nothing to do with this card obviously. It's also strange to see a non-green card using the word "Woods". Yet another reason to make this green-white. MSE shows me there is really no room for flavor text here.
Polish
Quality 3/3 - All good technically. I only wish there was a way to solve the potential ambiguity I talked about in Elegance.
Main Challenge 2/2 - Good.
Subchallenges 2/2 - Both met.
TOTAL 19/25
Henlock
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Henlock wrote:
2 years ago
Garlanded Ox 1w
Creature - Ox (u)
Whenever Garlanded Ox attacks, you gain 1 life.
Coven- Garlanded Ox assigns combat damage equal to its toughness rather than its power as long as you control three or more creatures with different powers.
0/4
Design
Appeal 1.5/3 - Too small for Timmy. Maybe Johnny could do something with the life gain? Spike likes this with coven, a 4/4 for two mana, but if she can't have coven reliably she won't play this.
Elegance 3/3 - No problems here.
Development
Viability 3/3 - No problems with the color pie, rarity, or the rules.
Balance 3/3 - I can see this card in limited but honestly not in competitive constructed. The coven ability affecting only itself helps at lower rarities. No problems in casual or multiplayer.
Creativity
Uniqueness 1/3 - Nothing new here. The coven ability is even known as the Doran ability.
Flavor 2/3 - I like the name, it makes me imagine the art, and it could be beautiful. MSE shows me there is room for a couple lines of flavor text.
Polish
Quality 2.5/3 - A missing space right after the ability word "coven". (-0.5) Hyphen should be em dashes but no deduction for that.
Main Challenge 2/2 - Good.
Subchallenges 1/2 - White but not a Human.
TOTAL 19/25
Subject16
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Subject16 wrote:
2 years ago
Herald of the Dawn 1GG
Creature — Human Warlock (R)
When Herald of the Dawn enters the battlefield, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature.
Coven — At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control three or more creatures with different powers, create a token that's a copy of Herald of the Dawn.
"Together, we shepherd Innistrad towards a brighter future."
1/3
Design
Appeal 2/3 - A bit on the small side for Timmy, but he likes both +1/+1 counters and tokens. I expect him to like this card but he won't go crazy about it. Johnny appreciates how open-ended the first ability is, and he will definitely try to do something with the coven ability. Spike probably wants a bit more.
Elegance 3/3 - No problems here.
Development
Viability 3/3 - No problems with the color pie, rarity, or the rules.
Balance 2.5/3 - This can be a 1/3 that puts a counter on another creature or a 2/4 by itself for three mana. Being able to choose which option you want will help you get coven if you haven't got it already. It's a very versatile card. I can see this in limited, but I think this isn't enough for competitive constructed, unless some combos arise, maybe to get infinite tokens or something like that. No problems in casual and multiplayer.
Creativity
Uniqueness 1.5/3 - No existing coven abilities do this, but several existing cards create a token copy of a creature, for example Sprouting Phytohydra, Cackling Counterpart, Giant Adephage among many others.
Flavor 3/3 - Name and flavor text are both good and printable as is in my opinion. Goob job.
Polish
Quality 3/3 - All good.
Main Challenge 2/2 - Good.
Subchallenges 2/2 - Both met.
TOTAL 22/25
vishamon
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vishamon wrote:
2 years ago
Sungold Healer 2W
Creature – Human Cleric (R)
Lifelink
Coven – Whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control, if you control three or more creatures with different powers, you gain life equal to that creature's toughness.
2/2
Design
Appeal 2/3 - Timmy likes this. Johnny could try to do something with the coven ability, trying some infinite life combo. Life gain by itself isn't enough for Spike.
Elegance 3/3 - No problems here.
Development
Viability 2.5/3 - No problems with the color pie or the rules. I wonder if this could be uncommon.
Balance 2.5/3 - I can see this in limited, but I think this isn't enough for competitive constructed, unless some combos arise, maybe to get infinite life or something like that. No problems in casual and multiplayer.
Creativity
Uniqueness 1/3 - Nothing new here. We see lifelink and life gain in literally every set.
Flavor 1.5/3 - The name is fine even if a bit generic. No flavor text despite there being room for a couple lines of it.
Polish
Quality 3/3 - All good.
Main Challenge 2/2 - Good.
Subchallenges 2/2 - Both met.
TOTAL 19.5/25
Results (bold advance)
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Subject16: 22
vishamon: 19.5

Freyleyes: 19
Henlock: 19
Author of the MCC Guidelines and FAQ. | For my projects, including Jeff Lionheart, my murder mystery story "One pierced heart, two mindful horns", and republished articles from my series "The Lion's Lair", see Leo's content index (Last updated on March 24th 2024 - Added OPHTMH Episode 4).
After I'm done republishing my articles I want to reprise the series focusing it more on editing, wording, and templating. Suggest potential future article topics here.
My CCCG Resume (Updated on February 27th 2024)
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Blue = MTGSalvation Green = MTGNexus
MCC - Winner (9): Oct 2014, Apr Nov 2017, Jan 2018, Apr Jun 2019, Jan Mar 2022, Apr 2023 || Host (30): Dec 2014, Apr Jul Aug Dec 2015, Mar Jul Aug Oct 2016, Feb Jul 2017, Jun Nov 2018, Feb Jul 2019 (last on MTGS), Aug 2019 (first on MTGN) Oct 2019, Jan Jun 2020 Apr Oct 2021, Feb May Sep Dec 2022, Mar Jun Sep Dec 2023, Mar 2024 || Judge (58): 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 on MTGS), every month from Aug 2019 (first on MTGN) to Feb 2020, May Jun 2020, Mar Apr Sep Oct 2021, Feb May Sep Dec 2022, Mar May Jun Sep Dec 2023, Jan Mar 2024
CCL - Winner (4): Jul 2016 (tied with Flatline), May 2017, Jul 2019 (last on MTGS), Jun 2021 (tied with slimytrout) || Host (5): Feb 2015, Mar Apr May Jun 2016
DCC - Winner (3): Mar 2015 (tied with Piar), Feb Apr 2022 || Host (12): May Oct 2015, Jan 2016, Jun Sep Dec 2021, Mar Jun Sep Dec 2022, Mar Jun 2023

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void_nothing
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Post by void_nothing » 2 years ago

kwanyeegor-ii
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Design
(2/3) Appeal - Txmmy likes lifelink, evasion, AND saboteur rolled into one. Jxnny finds it kind of a blunt instrument although there might be some creative uses for it. Spike thinks it's kind of expensive for 3 power but would probably use it as a curve topper in a dedicated coven deck.
(2/3) Elegance - A bit text-heavy and also has some tracking associated with it given the potential to exile multiple permanents.

Development
(3/3) Viability - Definitely a white rare.
(2.5/3) Balance - The exile ability is slow and conditional but I can see the potential to exile lands getting tiresome in some situations.

Creativity
(1.5/3) Uniqueness - Definitely a mashup of very familiar things although presented in a new combination.
(1.5/3) Flavor - Name is a bit on the nose for the mechanics but the Sungold Lock does seal things away.

Polish
(3/3) Quality - Fine.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Done.
(2/2) Subchallenges - And done.

Total: 19.5/25
Lorn Asbord Schutta
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Design
(3/3) Appeal - Txmmy/Jxnny love the potential to basically wrath the table by putting a token swarm onto the battlefield. Spike likes the high-level self-protection of the ward ability and the sheer effectiveness.
(2.5/3) Elegance - Not much to complain about here except for slight wordiness.

Development
(3/3) Viability - Color and rarity correct for sure.
(2.5/3) Balance - You could set up a soft lock of sorts with this card but it's relatively fragile and takes some doing.

Creativity
(2/3) Uniqueness - Nothing all that groundbreaking, but an unusual ward ability plus an interesting and tense mass-ETB trigger (that is hopefully also self-limiting).
(2.5/3) Flavor - Just the Maiden and the Crone on the card, missing the Mother, feels slightly off, but I guess that's what the coven ability is for, right?

Polish
(2.5/3) Quality - Flavor text a bit ungrammatical.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Done.
(1/2) Subchallenges - Human, but not GW.

Total: 21/25
RaikouRider
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Design
(3/3) Appeal - Txmmy likes the masses of tokens. Jxnny has interesting things to do with the coven ability. Spike likes being able to get all that for their 2WW.
(2/3) Elegance - ETB ability is pretty alright elegance-wise - the calculation is simple - but boy would that coven activated ability make combat math frustrating and complicated.

Development
(3/3) Viability - Definitely white and rare.
(1.5/3) Balance - That ETB ability is probably too efficient - it's not hard to imagine this card consistently being 7-plus power for four mana. The activated ability is just gravy - while not overpowered, as I noted above it can easily be frustrating by effectively providing invincible chump blockers.

Creativity
(1.5/3) Uniqueness - Both abilities are newish twists on old stuff - basically a Gustcloak Savior + mass token maker mashup/variant.
(1.5/3) Flavor - The name is fairly generic and, this is sort of minor, but for most of the existing creature cards with coven I feel like that creature would have a reason to join the Dawnharts. I don't get as much of a sense of that with this card (although the latest version of Sigarda herself has the ability).

Polish
(3/3) Quality - Good by me.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Done.
(2/2) Subchallenges - And done.

Total: 19.5/25
slimytrout
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Design
(2.5/3) Appeal - Locking people out of things isn't much of a Txmmy thing, although they appreciate the abilities and body they get for only two mana. Jxnny has plenty they could do here. Spike loves the efficiency and how incredibly good the ceiling is for this card.
(2.5/3) Elegance - Requires quite a bit of tracking, but writing down all the names is easy enough.

Development
(3/3) Viability - No doubt that the color and rarity are right.
(2/3) Balance - Being able to stop multiple different card names from being cast is obviously very, very, very strong. However, it takes multiple turns, requires a full coven, and happens on a delay, giving your opponents a window. Still, this card would stand out among Meddling Mage cousins for its efficiency and overall power.

Creativity
(2/3) Uniqueness - The predecessors are obvious but there are not a lot of cards that require multiple cards to be named in the first place.
(3/3) Flavor - Perfect - name ties together literally every mechanical aspect of the card.

Polish
(3/3) Quality - Looks good.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Done.
(2/2) Subchallenges - And done.

Total: 22/25
Totals (Bold advance)
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slimytrout 22
Lorn Asbord Schutta 21

RaikouRider 19.5
kwanyeegor-ii 19.5
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