CCL December, Signups/Round 2: The Art of Fighting

[void_nothing]

CCL December Signups/Round 2

"The Art of Fighting"


Harmonic Prodigy, taken from here on MTGNexus, by Paul Scott Canavan and Wizards of the Coast

Welcome to the Card Creation League! Everyone is free to participate in either or both of the first two rounds. Come join us!

Theme

It's Loads of Spells month here at the CCL. Time to fill up the stack!

Challenge

Design a creature card with prowess.

Clarifications

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• Make sure to include a rarity.

Anyone can enter this second round! Your submissions are due Saturday, December 18th, 23:59 EST.

Schedule

• Round 1 — Open to Everyone (December 1st-8th)
• Round 2 — Open to Everyone (December 11th-18th)
• Rounds 1 and 2 Critiques (Due December 20th)
• Top 8 — Open to top 8 finishers (December 21st–24th)
• Top 8 Critiques (Due December 26th)
• Top 4 — Open to top 4 finishers (December 27th–30th)
• Top 4 Critiques (Due January 2nd)
• Final (January, winner determined by public poll)

Please note: For this month we will continue asking first and second round contestants to evaluate seven other contestants during the critique and top 3 period, in order to increase the total number of evaluations each contestant gets.

[slimytrout]

Devious Archdemon 3UB
Creature — Demon (M)
Flying, prowess (Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.)
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, up to one target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn.
Plots within plots, each one a masterwork of deceit.
4/4

[Henlock]

Farlands Recruit rw
Creature - Human Monk Soldier (u)
Prowess (Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.)
Mentor (Whenever this creature attacks, put a +1/+1 counter on target attacking creature with lesser power.)
2/2

[netn10]

Spark of Inspiration URR
Creature - Elemental (Rare)
Trample, haste
Prowess
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, draw a card.
At the beginning of the end step, sacrifice Spark of Inspiration.
5/1

[Venedrex]

Mage of Echoes
Djinn Wizard (R)
Haste, prowess
When Mage of Echoes enters the battlefield, exile each instant and sorcery card in your graveyard. For each card exiled this way, copy it, and you may cast the copy without paying its mana cost. If a spell would be cast this way, counter it instead.
2/2

WIP

[kwanyeegor-ii]

Soulfire Monastic W
Creature - Human Monk (Uncommon)
Prowess
Whenever you gain life, Soulfire Monastic gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
3, T: Reveal the top card of your library. If it's an enchantment card, put it into your hand.
1/1

[MonoRedMage]

Soulslash Berserker 3RR
Creature - Elemental Berserker {U}
Prowess, haste
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, Soulslash Berserker deals 1 damage to each other creature.
3/2

[RaikouRider]

Dragon-Style Savant URW
Creature - Human Monk {R}
Prowess (Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.)
Ward 2 (Whenever this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter it unless that player pays 2.)
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, Dragon-Style Savant gains prowess until end of turn. (Multiple instances of prowess each trigger separately.)
2/2

[void_nothing]

And that will do it for the round. Please evaluate each other contestant and provide a top 3.

[Legend]

Can I jump in since nobody's judged yet?

Cunning Drake (Common)
3U
Creature - Drake
2/3
Flying
Cunning Drake enters the battlefield with your choice of an evolve counter or a prowess counter on it.

[void_nothing]

@Legend Yes, your entry is valid.

[Legend]

Devious Archdemon 3UB
Creature — Demon (M)
Flying, prowess (Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.)
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, up to one target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn.
Plots within plots, each one a masterwork of deceit.
4/4

Great flavor. Solid design. Bummer of a mythic though. More of a rare.

Farlands Recruit rw
Creature - Human Monk Soldier (u)
Prowess (Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.)
Mentor (Whenever this creature attacks, put a +1/+1 counter on target attacking creature with lesser power.)
2/2

Cool. As always, I like ability combos like this. And these two fit together quite well. Mono white would be cool per though to so it could fit with Azorius' addendum mechanic.

Spark of Inspiration URR
Creature - Elemental (Rare)
Trample, haste
Prowess
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, draw a card.
At the beginning of the end step, sacrifice Spark of Inspiration.
5/1

Nice. A bit of a challenge but decent though on its own and the right setup or just a bunch of luck could result in a huge, rewarding turn.

Mage of Echoes
Djinn Wizard (R)
Haste, prowess
When Mage of Echoes enters the battlefield, exile each instant and sorcery card in your graveyard. For each card exiled this way, copy it, and you may cast the copy without paying its mana cost. If a spell would be cast this way, counter it instead.
2/2

WIP

Funky. This could push any prowess themed deck deck over the edge. It feels a little contrived to my old school sensibilities but not unrealistic by contemporary standards.

Soulfire Monastic W
Creature - Human Monk (Uncommon)
Prowess
Whenever you gain life, Soulfire Monastic gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
3, T: Reveal the top card of your library. If it's an enchantment card, put it into your hand.
1/1

Hard to believe, but there isn't yet a 1 mv 1/1! It's basically a thoughtful design that could use some development.

Soulslash Berserker 3RR
Creature - Elemental Berserker {U}
Prowess, haste
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, Soulslash Berserker deals 1 damage to each other creature.
3/2

Something about this seems off balance to me. It has real exciting potential that would fit well on a dragon that deals the damage to creatures without flying.

Dragon-Style Savant URW
Creature - Human Monk {R}
Prowess (Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.)
Ward 2 (Whenever this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter it unless that player pays 2.)
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, Dragon-Style Savant gains prowess until end of turn. (Multiple instances of prowess each trigger separately.)
2/2

Math! I love the flavor and like the card. It's times like these that I wish prowess had a variable, prowess 2, prowess 3, etc. of course that gets really potent / hard to balance really quick.

All good but there can be only three:

1. Henlock
2. Net
3. Mono

[MonoRedMage]

1 - RaikouRider
2 - Venedrex
3 - Legend

[slimytrout]

Henlock

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Fun! Not the strongest card but there's nothing wrong with that, especially when it's nice and elegant.

netn10

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Hmm, definitely an unusual fit for most decks, but maybe works in some sort of Wee Dragonauts-type spellslinger aggro. I like it though.

Venedrex

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Not a fan of this sort of thing. I'm sure it's very fun for some Johnnies, but that's not me. Also, I don't think you can counter a spell that hasn't been cast, so it's odd/wrong to have this as a replacement effect rather than a triggered ability ("Whenever you cast a spell this way, counter it.").

kwanyeegor-ii

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Not quite sure I get all these pieces -- it feels like it's pulling in a lot of different directions.

MonoRedMage

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Not sure I love this on an uncommon -- they shouldn't really be repeatedly wiping the board, even if it's symmetrical and damage-based. A fun idea though.

RaikouRider

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I actually designed a similar card for my first-ever CCL, but as an aura. All of which is to say, I'm definitely partial to this sort of thing, although I would've loved if it had more of the flavor of things getting out of control, which is very much what would happen if you went off with this.

Legend

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A neat little card, but I don't feel that it really has prowess, rather, it has an ability that (sometimes) gives itself prowess, which isn't quite the same thing.

T3

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1. Henlock
2. RaikouRider
3. netn10

[void_nothing]

If possible, please get in a top 3 (with critiques being optional but well-rewarded as always) by 23:59 Eastern tomorrow.

[RaikouRider]

slimytrout: This looks like a rare and reads like a rare. Negative prowess is something different, and appropriate for black. I'm not sure why this is a mythic rare.
Henlock: Elegant and beautiful. Could use a line or two of flavor text.
netn10: Reminds me of Lightning Skelemental. Storm players would love you. I think that this is just right in terms of power, but could be dangerous in big formats.
Venedrex: This card doesn't work as worded. The final sentence in the ability should use a delayed triggered ability, not a replacement effect. I do like how the cards are supposed to return to your graveyard by virtue of them being cast, then countered. Unique, but needs better execution.
kwanyeegor-ii: This does a lot for one mana, but it doesn't feel that cohesive. Yes enchantments will trigger prowess, but being pumped by life gain is a little random I feel. I'm not sure this is comparable to existing options for one-mana prowess creatures.
MonoRedMage: This could be a bomb in Limited, provided you have enough cheap cantrips to keep fields cleared. Maybe could use an extra point of power?
Legend: Do the rules as they stand support keyword counters other than evergreen keywords? This is a cool expansion of that idea, but unfortunately I cannot vote for this as it technically does not meet the challenge.

1) Henlock
2) netn10
3) MonoRedMage

[Legend]

@Legend Yes, your entry is valid.

Does my card not meet the challenge?

[Venedrex]

Top 3.

1. Henlock
2. netn10
3. slimytrout

[Henlock]

1. netn10
2. Venedrex
3. RaikouRaider

[void_nothing]

And your top 6 -

RaikouRider
Henlock
netn10
Legend
Venedrex
slimytrout

Round to come later tonight or tomorrow.