October CCL, Top 8: Signs of a Presence

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void_nothing
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Post by void_nothing » 4 years ago

CCL October Round 3/Top 8

"Signs of a Presence"


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Deadapult, taken from EchoMTG, by Mark Brill 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 October, and we all know what that means in both Custom Card Contests and out in the real world: Are you ready to get spooked? This month will be tribal themed, around the creepiest creature types Magic has to offer.

Challenge
Design a noncreature card that mechanically references one of the creature types of either your round 1 or 2 card (please include that card in your entry post).
Clarifications
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  • If your card had two or more creature types in either round, the type referenced can be any of its creature types.
  • This can be a positive reference or a negative one - Blazing Torch and Vampire's Zeal would both be valid for Vampire.
  • Make sure to include a rarity.
Contestants:
Raptorchan
spacemonaut
Ink-Treader
Gateways7
barbecube
netn10
slimytrout
kwanyeegor-ii
Your submissions are due Sunday, October 20th, 23:59 EST.
Schedule
  • Round 1 — Open to Everyone (September 30th-October 7th)
  • Round 2 — Open to Everyone (October 8th–14th)
  • Rounds 1 and 2 Critiques (Due October 16th)
  • Top 8 — Open to top 8 finishers (October 17th–20th)
  • Top 8 Critiques (Due October 22nd)
  • Top 4 — Open to top 4 finishers (Ocrober 23rd–26th)
  • Top 4 Critiques (Due October 28th)
  • Final (End of month, winner determined by public poll)
Psst, check the second page of Custom Card Contests & Games! Because of the daily contests, a lot of games fall down to there.

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slimytrout
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Post by slimytrout » 4 years ago

Rise of Shadows 2BB
Enchantment (R)
Whenever you activate an ability of a Shade you control, copy that ability.
Whenever a Shade you control deals 6 or more damage, you draw a card, lose 1 life, and put a darkness counter on Rise of Shadows. Then, if there are 6 or more darkness counters on Rise of Shadows, target player loses the game.
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Subtle Shade 1B
Creature - Shade (U)
1B: Subtle Shade gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
Whenever Subtle Shade deals combat damage to a player, that player sacrifices a creature.
It seems like just a harmless shadow on the wall, until you turn away...
0/3

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Gateways7
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Post by Gateways7 » 4 years ago

Eldritch Discord BRG
Legendary Enchantment (Rare)
When Eldritch Discord enters the battlefield, destroy target permanent. It's owner reveals the top card of their library. They may cast it without paying it's mana cost.
Whenever you activate an ability of an Avatar you control, copy that ability. You may choose new targets for the copy.

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Previous Entry
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Soul of Amonkhet 4BB
Creature - Avatar (Mythic Rare)
Cycling 2
4BB, Exile a creature card from your graveyard: Create a token that's a copy of it, except it's a 4/4 black Zombie in addition to it's other colors and types.
Eternalize 4BB
6/6

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Ink-Treader
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Post by Ink-Treader » 4 years ago

Drawn From Dread 3B
Sorcery (U)
You may cast Drawn From Dread from your graveyard by discarding a Horror or Nightmare card in addition to paying its other costs.
Return target creature card from a graveyard to the battlefield under your control. It gains haste. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step or if it would leave the battlefield.
Like death, fear is life's constant companion.
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Lamentation of the Intrepid BB
Creature - Horror (R)
Deathtouch
Whenever a land enters the battlefield under an opponent's control, if that player had another land enter the battlefield under their control this turn, they sacrifice a creature and lose 2 life.
1/3
Last edited by Ink-Treader 4 years ago, edited 1 time in total.

netn10
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Post by netn10 » 4 years ago

Previous Card
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Caller of the Void 2GU
Creature - Eldrazi (Rare)
Devoid (This card has no color.)
You may look at the top card of your library any time.
You may play the top card of your library if it's a colorless card.
4/4
Silencing Presence C
Enchantment (Rare)
Whenever a player casts a spell with converted mana cost equal to the number of Eldrazi creatures you control, counter that spell.
1CC: Create a 3/2 colorless Eldrazi Horror creature token.
Last edited by netn10 4 years ago, edited 1 time in total.

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Raptorchan
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Post by Raptorchan » 4 years ago

Entry
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Spooky Visitor 3{u/b}
Creature - Zombie (U)
Spooky Visitor can't be blocked by creatures controlled by enchanted players.
You have to learn the difference between being cursed, being damned and being doomed.
3/3
Stitcher's Duty 2ub
Enchantment (R)
1, Sacrifice a non-Zombie creature: Reveal the top card of your library. If a nonland card was revealed this way, put it into your hand. Otherwise, put it into your graveyard and create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.

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barbecube
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Post by barbecube » 4 years ago

Round 1 Card
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Crooked Sommelier bb
Creature — Vampire (R)
When Crooked Sommelier enters the battlefield, target opponent gains control of it.
At the beginning of your upkeep, if you don't own Crooked Sommelier, put a +1/+1 counter on it.
Damage dealt by Crooked Sommelier also causes its owner to gain that much life.
3/3
Merciless Banquet 1BB
Enchantment (R)
1B, Sacrifice a creature: Creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn. Vampires you control gain indestructible until end of turn.
formerly willows

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spacemonaut
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Post by spacemonaut » 4 years ago

Fright Knight 3WB
Creature — Horror Knight (R)
Trample
Whenever a Horror you control attacks, tap target creature defending player controls.
Whenever a Knight you control deals combat damage to a player, that player discards a card.
4/4
Round 2 card
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spacemonaut wrote:
4 years ago
Hack-o-Lantern BBRR
Creature — Horror Knight (R)
Menace
Whenever Hack-o-Lantern and at least two other creatures attack, Hack-o-Lantern gains double strike until end of turn.
Whenever a creature dies, its controller loses 1 life.
3/3
(I know I can do just one type, but I couldn't resist.)

kwanyeegor-ii
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Post by kwanyeegor-ii » 4 years ago

from round 2
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Plowshare Impaler 8
Creature--Eldrazi Scarecrow (Rare)
Double strike, vigilance
When you cast Plowshare Impaler, you may exile target creature. If you do, you gain life equal to that creature's power
Emerge 6W
4/2
Growth-Imbued Farmtools 5
Artifact (Uncommon)
Creatures you control have vigilance and "T: Add C"
Scarecrows you control have "T: Add two mana of any one color"
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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void_nothing
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Post by void_nothing » 4 years ago

And with that the round is closed. Please critique and T3 all the other contestants.
Psst, check the second page of Custom Card Contests & Games! Because of the daily contests, a lot of games fall down to there.

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Ink-Treader
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Post by Ink-Treader » 4 years ago

And done
slimytrout
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I'm trying to figure out how best to break this. Honestly the first line of text alone is pretty exciting, just thinking of what Equipment or other sources of activated abilities pair well.I really don't think the part involving making players lose the game is even needed in the second part, and would let this maybe be 1 cheaper.
Gateways7
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Neat, though unlike the above card, there aren't that many activated abilities among Avatars, but I'm guessing you had the Soul of Plane cycle in mind. The first effect is nice to have, though dangerous, since casting a card is usually a lot better than what most of these kinds of effects do.
netn10
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Hmm. I think it might as well say players can't cast spells with converted mana cost equal to the number of Eldrazi you control, since adding (or subtracting) an Eldrazi doesn't do anything once the spell has been cast. And I know C is a little weird to focus on, but this seems like an overly efficient token generator.
Raptorchan
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Compared to Infernal Tribute, this seems fine, if a little tough to build around.
barbecube
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Strong payoff for Vampire tribal. Makes them very difficult to deal with. Mayhaps it wants a sorcery speed rider.
spacemonaut
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Cute how that what you get for a Horror attacking and a Knight attacking is backwards from what you'd expect. I feel like the Horror bonus could be stronger, since it's a type lacking in tribal to begin with. But alas, it does not pass the challenge
kwanyeegor-ii
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This seems probably fine, maybe even slightly overcosted. The payoff for Scarecrows is pretty sweet, though as an artifact this is borderline an auto-include in certain decks. Mass vigilance is a little worrying for no colors though.
Top 3
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1. slimytrout
2. Gateways7
3. Raptorchan
Last edited by Ink-Treader 4 years ago, edited 3 times in total.

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barbecube
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Post by barbecube » 4 years ago

Crits
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slimytrout: This seems really easy as an alternate wincon since Shades are pumpable. If you've got two Shades online, it takes only three turns to start bumping players off!

Gateways7: You want its owner in the first ability. There are only 14 cards in BRG that can proc the ability-copying effect this card has; is that worth it?

Ink-Treader: This is an innovative use of the tribal restriction for this challenge. I like it. I'm a little less comfortable with how it sets up a loop! Still, interesting and fresh design.

netn10: It's counterintuitive and disappointing that the token-making ability on this card nonbos with the triggered countering ability. Also I think that's a sight too cheap for repeatable token production.

Raptorchan: This is quite Spikey in an odd way.

spacemonaut: I like the way that the black tribe triggers a white effect and vice versa on this card. It's pleasingly symmetrical and does cool things.

kwanyeegor-ii: This is a lot of ramp but it's only accessible at a late stage of the game where it's less relevant.
Revised Top 3:
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1. Ink-Treader
2. slimytrout
3. kwanyeegor-ii
Last edited by barbecube 4 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by slimytrout » 4 years ago

Gateways7: Eldritch Discord – You might be aware that I like the ability copying part :). I'm not totally sure why this is legendary, or why it's red (other than that the inspiration seems to be Vaevictis Asmadi, the Dire, but he gets to be red cuz he's a dragon). Render art is pretty dope though.

Ink-Treader: Drawn from Dread – This kinda reminds me of Recurring Nightmare, in that it's a repeatable reanimation effect that's very difficult to interact with. In fact, it might even be more difficult, since countering it doesn't do much, so you basically need graveyard hate. Obviously, the Horror/Nightmare restriction, the temporary tokens, and the unearth exile clause make the card a lot weaker, so good job making it not busted, but I still think it would have been better to beef up the effect and just add a self-exile clause if it's cast from the graveyard, a la flashback. Without that clause, it definitely shouldn't be uncommon.

netn10: Silencing Presence – Cool card, but I think it might lead to a lot of confusion. You can't respond to spells in time to make the cast trigger go off, but I have the feeling people might go "Oh, I have 3 Eldrazi and they cast a 4-drop, so I'll just make a token to counter it." I do like that it lets you adjust the number so you can cast your own spells. In fact, I think an Eldrazi-sacrifice ability (perhaps with a corresponding increase in CMC) might have made it appeal even more to both Johnnys and Spikes, and probably would have gotten it into my T3.

Raptorchan: Stitcher's Duty – Another fun card. My one complaint is that the way it works doesn't feel entirely zombie-like to me. Like, why is a zombie card only filling up your graveyard with lands? Compare it to, say, Cellar Door, which cares about creatures getting put in graveyards, which is typical zombie flavor. But I otherwise like it a lot.

barbecube: Merciless Banquet – Strong card, makes combat math really hard for your opponent, especially if you have any vampires. Fairly flavorful just with name and abilities, but would have loved some juicy flavor text.

spacemonaut: Fright Knight – I like the card a lot, feels very flavorful and fun. However, it seems like you (and maybe some of the other judges?) missed that the challenge explicitly called for a noncreature card, so I'm afraid I can't consider your submission, which otherwise would have easily been in my T3.

kwanyeegor-ii: Growth-Imbued Farmtools – Bit of an awkward name. Interesting card, but I don't necessarily think that these abilities should really be in colorless, even if they're probably within color pie. Also, is so expensive that you'd only play it if you were doing something really busted.

1: Raptorchan
2: Ink-Treader
3: barbecube

kwanyeegor-ii
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Post by kwanyeegor-ii » 4 years ago

Only time for top 3

1. Raptorchan
2. netn10
3. slimytrout
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void_nothing
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Post by void_nothing » 4 years ago

Going to extend the critique period by a day - as has been noted, please remember that spacemonaut's entry unfortunately did not pass the challenge when making your top 3s.
Psst, check the second page of Custom Card Contests & Games! Because of the daily contests, a lot of games fall down to there.

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Post by spacemonaut » 4 years ago

void_nothing wrote:
4 years ago
Going to extend the critique period by a day - as has been noted, please remember that spacemonaut's entry unfortunately did not pass the challenge when making your top 3s.
Oh damnit. I completely missed the noncreature part.

Completely fair. I look forward to seeing what y'all do in the next rounds.
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slimytrout wrote:
4 years ago
Rise of Shadows 2BB
Enchantment (R)
Whenever you activate an ability of a Shade you control, copy that ability.
Whenever a Shade you control deals 6 or more damage, you draw a card, lose 1 life, and put a darkness counter on Rise of Shadows. Then, if there are 6 or more darkness counters on Rise of Shadows, target player loses the game.
Review updated since slimytrout thankfully pointed out my calculation errors. (One of the times it's fair + important to re-evaluate a review, I think.)

This lends itself to a longer, defensive, controlling game, and could win the game in a frame that seems permissable to Standard wincons (turn 8 or 9). I'm concerned about a proliferate victory breaking the card.
Gateways7 wrote:
4 years ago
Eldritch Discord BRG
Legendary Enchantment (Rare)
When Eldritch Discord enters the battlefield, destroy target permanent. It's owner reveals the top card of their library. They may cast it without paying it's mana cost.
Whenever you activate an ability of an Avatar you control, copy that ability. You may choose new targets for the copy.

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Soul of Amonkhet 4BB
Creature - Avatar (Mythic Rare)
Cycling 2
4BB, Exile a creature card from your graveyard: Create a token that's a copy of it, except it's a 4/4 black Zombie in addition to it's other colors and types.
Eternalize 4BB
6/6

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This doesn't feel like an Avatar card, and the two halves don't seem to go together. Although, the first ability feels like a decent kicker effect on a more permanent card, and that does feel like a suitably Avatar-y ability.
The main problem for me is Avatars aren't strongly mechanically tied to activated abilities. Of the game's 80 avatars, only 21 have them, and only a handful make sense being doubled. Souls' abilities only get doubled on the battlefield.

I note you made a Soul of ___ card in your last challenge and I like the Eternalize interaction, but that'd be stronger on an Eternalize matters card. The card you submitted this week also strongly wants to be able to double abilities activated from the graveyard too.

Thematically this would do its best work in a set that pulls the flavor together, one with a handful of Avatars with activated abilities at rare. This coexisting with cards like the Souls would be neat, though it needs stronger flavor than core sets can offer.
Ink-Treader wrote:
4 years ago
Drawn From Dread 3B
Sorcery (U)
You may cast Drawn From Dread from your graveyard by discarding a Horror or Nightmare card in addition to paying its other costs.
Return target creature card from a graveyard to the battlefield under your control. It gains haste. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step or if it would leave the battlefield.
Like death, fear is life's constant companion.
This is a really wonderful mechanical package and it sticks the flavor landing.

The trinket text lover in me wants to add "it's a Nightmare in addition to its other types" for more flavor, but it's perfectly fine without.
netn10 wrote:
4 years ago
Silencing Presence C
Enchantment (Rare)
Whenever a player casts a spell with converted mana cost equal to the number of Eldrazi creatures you control, counter that spell.
1CC: Create a 3/2 colorless Eldrazi Horror creature token.
This one's pretty interesting, and wants me to hover around 3-4 Eldrazi creatures. I could do that.

Edit following slimytrout pointing out my error: this seems a lot more viable, and alongside Eldrazi Scion generators it's goign to help me manage the right numbers early game. I'm still concerned about how powerful it is but playtesting would need to work it out: I could see adding "for the first time each turn" at the very least, or "unless the opponent pays ".
Raptorchan wrote:
4 years ago
Stitcher's Duty 2ub
Enchantment (R)
1, Sacrifice a non-Zombie creature: Reveal the top card of your library. If a nonland card was revealed this way, put it into your hand. Otherwise, put it into your graveyard and create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.
This is great. Flavorful and lovely.
barbecube wrote:
4 years ago
Merciless Banquet 1BB
Enchantment (R)
1B, Sacrifice a creature: Creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn. Vampires you control gain indestructible until end of turn.
Lovely function and flavor. I feel like the numbers need tuning given the significance of the pump + indestructible for the cost. That's tuneable by numbers and/or making the indestructible more limited (e.g. "up to one target Vampire").
kwanyeegor-ii wrote:
4 years ago
Growth-Imbued Farmtools 5
Artifact (Uncommon)
Creatures you control have vigilance and "T: Add C"
Scarecrows you control have "T: Add two mana of any one color"
(You didn't quote your last round entry but it was a Scarecrow so this checks out fine.)

This is a pretty interesting utility tool in general, especially for scarecrows. Identifying them with mana dorks makes a lot of sense somehow (especially since they can power out other scarecrows).
Top 3
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(Picking was hard this round. Y'all made my job hard, and I wish I could assign at least one of these spots to two people.)

1. Raptorchan
2. Ink-Treader
3. barbecube
Last edited by spacemonaut 4 years ago, edited 1 time in total.

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Raptorchan
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Post by Raptorchan » 4 years ago

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slimytrout
Rise of Shadows - I can see this card being super nasty, it probably will easily make Shade deck a top deck in Standard with relatively high amount of Shade creatures. Less scary in Commander but still.

Gateways7
Eldritch Discord - well, Avatar tribal is probably not the best idea to build around activated abilities, I guess. Not a dead card but rather unexciting.

Ink-Treader
Drawn From Dread - huh, it's possible to build around it, but I would prefer this card exiling itself like all Flashback/Jump-start cards do. Super flavorful though.

netn10
Silencing Presence - wish it was a Tribal Enchantment - Eldrazi, but it would be probably too strong control card then. Super cool flavor though, nice work.

barbecube
Merciless Banquet - seems super dangerous compared to Maw of Obzedat. I would think again about the balance.

spacemonaut
Fright Knight - feels bad you failed the main challenge. The card itself feels like a Chinese menu, not good, not terrible.

kwanyeegor-ii
Growth-Imbued Farmtools - ah, Scarecrow tribal. I like it. Not sure what are we going to do with all this mana, but...
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1. netn10
2. Slimytrout
3. kwanyeegor-ii

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Gateways7
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Post by Gateways7 » 4 years ago

Only got time for a top 3 right now, but I'll update later, hopefully.

1. barbecube
2. Ink-Treader
3. Raptorchan

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void_nothing
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Post by void_nothing » 4 years ago

And here are your top 4 scorers:

Raptorchan
Ink-Treader
slimytrout
barbecube

Next round up shortly.
Psst, check the second page of Custom Card Contests & Games! Because of the daily contests, a lot of games fall down to there.

The greatest (fake) pro wrestling on the internet - Collaborative Create-A-Booster - My random creations (updated regularly)

Important Facts: Colorless is not a color, Wastes is not a land type, Changeling is not a creature type

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