November MCC Round 4: Battle Royale

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slimytrout
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Post by slimytrout » 4 years ago

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This round's banner is my elaboration on the art of Sigarda's Aid, by Howard Lyon.

November MCC Round 4

Battle Royale
This month, we're going to be focusing on an important (and perhaps underappreciated) aspect of the game of Magic: its zones. We've already done graveyard, hand, and library, so last but not least is the battlefield.

Your name is spoken in hushed tones in the halls of Renton. The library set proved a little too ambitious, so Wizards is trying something that's been proven to work: an event set based around an enormous battle. But when a hole opens in the file at the last minute, everyone knows it's time to call in the fixer.


Main Challenge: Design a card that has the word "battlefield" in its rules text but not "enter" or "leave."

Subchallenge 1: Your card does not contain the name of any other zone.

Subchallenge 2: Your card has some form of the word "battle" in its flavor text.
Clarifications
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Main Challenge
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The rules text (excluding the reminder text) has to include the word "battlefield," but it can't include any form of the word "enter" or "leave" (enters, leaves, entering, entered, etc.).

P.S. The word "left" is allowed if it somehow refers to the direction opposite to right but not if it's used as the past tense of "leave."
Subchallenge 1
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The other zones are hand, library, graveyard, command zone, exile, stack, ante, and absolutely-removed-from-the-freaking-game-forever zone.
Subchallenge 2
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This includes the use of "battle" as a noun, verb, adjective, or part of a compound word like, say, "battlefield."
If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask.
DEADLINES

Design deadline: Monday, December 2nd 23:59 EST

Judging deadline: Saturday, December 7th 23:59 EST (Moved 24 hours later due to extension of design deadline)



RUBRIC
MCC Rubric
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Design
(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
void_nothing

PLAYERS

Flatline
Blydden
Subject16

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.
Last edited by slimytrout 4 years ago, edited 2 times in total.

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Flatline
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Post by Flatline » 4 years ago

Jeskai Recruiter 2ur
Creature — Human Monk (R)
Enlighten (When this becomes the target of spell or ability you control, if it isn't enlightened, put a +1/+1 counter on it and it becomes enlightened.)
When Jeskai Recruiter becomes enlightened, gain control of target creature for as long as Jeskai Recruiter remains on the battlefield. Untap that creature. It gains haste until end of turn.
"Battles are often decided by who has the greater number fighters."
2/2
Last edited by Flatline 4 years ago, edited 2 times in total.
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Subject16
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Post by Subject16 » 4 years ago

Borderlands Champion WW
Creature — Human Knight (Rare)
Lifelink, protection from creatures on the battlefield with the greatest power
3, Sacrifice Borderlands Champion: Untap each creature you control. Those creatures gain protection from creatures on the battlefield with the greatest power until end of turn.
"You focus on stopping those orcs. I'll fight the dragon."
2/2

slimytrout
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Post by slimytrout » 4 years ago

Blydden has had 24 hours of extension without an entry or further communication, so I'm afraid we're going to have to proceed with a 2-person finals. Time for the judges to go to work.
Blydden wrote:
4 years ago
Somehow I feel even worse than I did yesterday.
Best of luck to both Flatline and Subject16!
I still plan on judging for December. First, I just need to get well, so I can properly focus.
Sorry you're still not feeling well! Get better soon!

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bravelion83
MKM MCC going on now
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Post by bravelion83 » 4 years ago

I'm also not well, but it's just something temporary. In a few days I should be back stronger than before! But no, I won't leave here. I'm still there, just not at the top for a few days.

EDIT: I'm still not well, I strive to make these on time (and slimytrout, you were right, it being only two cards definitely helped), as a consequence the level of detail is slightly lower than usual, and what's the end result? A tie! It's like I didn't do these at all! Oh, well, here we go anyway.
Flatline
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Flatline wrote:
4 years ago
Jeskai Recruiter 2ur
Creature — Human Monk (R)
Enlighten (When this becomes the target of spell or ability you control, if it isn't enlightened, put a +1/+1 counter on it and it becomes enlightened.)
When Jeskai Recruiter becomes enlightened, gain control of target creature for as long as Jeskai Recruiter remains on the battlefield. Untap that creature. It gains haste until end of turn.
"Battles are often decided by who has the greater number fighters."
2/2
Design
Appeal 2.5/3 - This is the kind of cards that Timmy loves if he's the one playing them and hates if played against him. I could see things for Johnny to try to do. Spike traditionally likes this kind of cards.
Elegance 3/3 - I see no problems here.
Development
Viability 3/3 - Renown was Naya (I checked), but this is a variant that absolutely makes sense in Izzet. Definitely rare. No problems with the rules.
Balance 2.5/3 - The cost might look disappointing but I'm actually a fan of this kind of cards getting high costs. As a player, I hate cards that steal my stuff, but that's my own personal preference. And you also have to remember you will also get a 3/3 out of the steal, and the steal is not just until end of turn. The best comparison is Sower of Temptation, that did see Standard play at the time, so I guess this would too in both limited and Standard. This kind of effects aren't the most fun in casual, but except for that no problems either there or in multiplayer.
Creativity
Uniqueness 2/3 - Yes, enlighten is new. Yes, it's just a variation of renown. Yes, Sower of Temptation already exists.
Flavor 3/3 - No problems with the flavor of this card. Name, flavor text, and concept all work just fine.
Polish
Quality 2/3 - In the reminder text, two things to say: first, I'm convinced today they'd write "this creature" and not just "this", but no deduction for that, it still works. Second, the article "a" is missing in "...target of spell..." (-0.5). Another little word, this time "of" is missing in the flavor text: "...greatest number fighters." (-0.5).
Main Challenge 2/2 - Good.
Subchallenges 2/2 - Both met.
TOTAL 22/25
Subject16
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Subject16 wrote:
4 years ago
Borderlands Champion WW
Creature — Human Knight (Rare)
Lifelink, protection from creatures on the battlefield with the greatest power
3, Sacrifice Borderlands Champion: Untap each creature you control. Those creatures gain protection from creatures on the battlefield with the greatest power until end of turn.
"You focus on stopping those orcs. I'll fight the dragon."
2/2
Design
Appeal 2/3 - Timmy wants to have the creatures with the greatest power himself. The only thing on this card that might catch his attention is the untapping. That's also the part Johnny is most interested in, and it's on a convenient sac ability for recursion. Spike mostly sees this as a bear with lifelink that she can sacrifice to give her creatures pseudo-vigilance.
Elegance 2/3 - The text is not the shortest one (7 lines by itself without flavor text). Also, I can see the protection ability being slightly confusing to less experienced players. ("Why does this say on the battlefield?", "What if there are two or more creatures tied for the greatest power?", etc...)
Development
Viability 3/3 - No problems with the color pie, rarity, or the rules.
Balance 3/3 - I was going to say this reminded me of Mistmeadow Skulk because it was a 2/2 for WW with lifelink and protection. Then I checked. Oh, it's actually a 1/1 for 1W. My brain is sick and currently all the rest of my body is sick too, so maybe it was that. Anyway, you will always play this in limited, period. I can see this in Standard, especially if White Weenie is viable in the format. Is it in Pioneer? Man, despite not playing it (my format of choice keeps being Modern, without a doubt), I still have to document myself on that format more than just reading the weekly banned list updates mostly just for fun since I don't play it. White Weenie is not a top tier deck in Modern, but if some players are playing it, they could consider this card. I don't think you'd see this in formats older than Modern, but that's not a problem. No problems in casual or multiplayer.
Creativity
Uniqueness 3/3 - That protection ability just deserves full points here by itself.
Flavor 3/3 - Oh, what you brought back to my mind! The videogame "Borderlands"! I've played the first one and I've had so much fun with it! Up to this day still one of my favorite ones ever, maybe not the absolute top one (that's either GTA V or the original GTA: San Andreas), but still in the top 10 definitely. Especially the modded version. So much fun! Sweet memories! Thank you! In other news, no problems with the flavor of this card. Name, flavor text, and concept all work just fine.
Polish
Quality 3/3 - There are no precedents for the protection ability, but the wording you've chosen looks realistic enough to me.
Main Challenge 2/2 - Good.
Subchallenges 1/2 - Subchallenge 1 met. Subchallenge 2 is NOT met. While the flavor text clearly talks about a battle and has a synonym of "battle" ("fight"), the word "battle" is still not there.
TOTAL 22/25
Results
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Flatline: 22
Subject16: 22
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).
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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
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slimytrout
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Post by slimytrout » 4 years ago

Flatline
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Jeskai Recruiter 2ur
Creature — Human Monk (R)
Enlighten (When this becomes the target of spell or ability you control, if it isn't enlightened, put a +1/+1 counter on it and it becomes enlightened.)
When Jeskai Recruiter becomes enlightened, gain control of target creature for as long as Jeskai Recruiter remains on the battlefield. Untap that creature. It gains haste until end of turn.
"Battles are often decided by who has the greater number fighters."
2/2
Design
(2/3) Appeal – Timmy likes combat tricks and stealing creatures, so they're very down for this. Johnny doesn't like one-shot mechanics like this – too hard to go off with. If you can get the trigger without wasting a spell, this is a 3-for-1, and Spike is always down for those.
(3/3) Elegance – Clever way to do a one-time stealing that doesn't involve an ETB. Makes total sense.

Development
(3/3) Viability – Yeah, it's got aspects of both red stealing (untap, gain haste) and blue stealing (until ~ leaves the battlefield). Definitely rare.
(3/3) Balance – Would require some support (i.e., good spells that target your creatures), but I assume those would be printed along with enlighten. With those, though, this would be a strong card in both limited and standard.

Creativity
(2.5/3) Uniqueness – We've never seen anything quite like this before, although obviously monstrous and renown have done the one-shot ability before. Also, I'm not taking away points for this, but the mechanic does bear some resemblance to what @Zero_Origin was discussing in his Return to Tarkir custom set.
(2.5/3) Flavor – Mostly good, but the quote in the flavor text isn't very Jeskai at all – much more Abzan. The Jeskai aren't interested in assembling a massive army, they're much more about training and perfecting the people they have.

Polish
(2/3) Quality – A couple small missing words: "a" in the reminder text (-0.5) and "of" in the flavor text (-0.5).
(2/2) Main Challenge – Yep.
(2/2) Subchallenges – Double yep.

Total: 22/25
Subject16
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Borderlands Champion WW
Creature — Human Knight (Rare)
Lifelink, protection from creatures on the battlefield with the greatest power
3, Sacrifice Borderlands Champion: Untap each creature you control. Those creatures gain protection from creatures on the battlefield with the greatest power until end of turn.
"You focus on stopping those orcs. I'll fight the dragon."
2/2
Design
(2/3) Appeal – Timmy would prefer to have the biggest creature themselves, but they don't have any problem with this. Johnny likes weird things like this, but it's hard to see exactly how to build around this. Spike definitely likes it – it's a fine card on its face, and I imagine would lead to very tough board states and hard-to-see lines.
(2.5/3) Elegance – Lot of text, and I'm not sure this is the cleanest way to phrase the protection ability (not necessarily wrong, but a lot of words). Nevertheless, still pretty clear what's going on.

Development
(3/3) Viability – I mean, it's definitely white and definitely rare, so no problems here.
(3/3) Balance – A 2/2 lifelink for WW is solid in limited, but nothing special. But the extra abilities make it good sideboard tech in constructed against creature decks, so if white weenie was a viable deck this would definitely be in it. Just barely strong enough to earn full points here – an extra point of toughness would have made it more of a sure thing.

Creativity
(3/3) Uniqueness – We have definitely never seen a protection ability like that before, so full points.
(3/3) Flavor – Yeah, he goes out and takes on the biggest, scariest guy, and he can sacrifice himself to protect everyone else from it. Nice.

Polish
(3/3) Quality – As stated earlier, I don't love the phrasing of the protection ability, but I can't find anything to prove that it's wrong, so no points off.
(2/2) Main Challenge – Yep.
(1/2) Subchallenges – Doesn't actually say "battle" in its flavor text, even if it seems to be driving at it – the challenge definitely called for the word "battle" itself, especially in the clarifications.

Total: 22.5/25
Results
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With both bravelion and my scores so tight, it's likely to come down to void_nothing's judgement.
Subject16: 22.5
Flatline: 22

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void_nothing
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Post by void_nothing » 4 years ago

Flatline
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Design
(1.5/3) Appeal - Primarily a Txmmy/less so Jxnny thing - Spike is concerned that the "as long as this is on the battlefield" clause is total 2-for-1 bait, as if you enlighten this dude, your opponents can just immediately remove it and also get their creature back. And before that, it's a 2/2 virt-vanilla.
(2.5/3) Elegance - Both enlighten and the enlighten trigger are kind of wordy but nothing too high in complexity there.

Development
(3/3) Viability - Interesting Chinese-menuing to produce a "true multicolor" creature stealing effect and I would definitely prefer this card to be rare.
(3/3) Balance - Seems fair, erring maybe even on the weak side just because the floor of a 2/2 for four mana is so bad.

Creativity
(2/3) Uniqueness - "Gain control for as long as you control this creature" is an old old old idea but the addition of haste is an interesting twist - similarly, enlighten is obviously a combo of heroic and renown but at the same time the addition of triggering on abilities (as well as spells that weren't cast) makes it different.
(2/3) Flavor - That flavor text does not feel very Jeskai, does it? "Throw cannon fodder at them" is a Mardu thing and "strength in numbers" is Abzan - the Jeskai don't feel as pragmatic or callous and I think they might be the clan who would be most likely to say a smaller number of superior fighters could win.

Polish
(2.5/3) Quality - It's not "remains", it "is" in clauses like that.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Done.
(2/2) Subchallenges - Done.

Total: 20.5/25
Subject16
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Design
(2/3) Appeal - Mostly a Txmmy/Spike card for reasons of potentially broad-spectrum protection. Jxnny sees it as "just" a hoser, but might want to do something wacky with p/t setting?
(2.5/3) Elegance - That is one inelegantly phrased protection ability, but necessarily so I suppose to avoid weirdness with creature sources outside the battlefield that would otherwise have the highest power of creatures.

Development
(3/3) Viability - That's a white rare, alright.
(3/3) Balance - Looks good. Nice little blocker with an extra hoser ability, not doing too much for two mana to be overpowered.

Creativity
(1.5/3) Uniqueness - Plenty of precedent - it's part of the WW Knight "genre" as it were - but the protect-everybody ability is new.
(3/3) Flavor - I really like the feel of this card. It feels like it could be a "resonant" generic-fantasy card to put in a core set.

Polish
(3/3) Quality - Looks alright to me.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Done - I at first thought you superfluously put "battlefield" on there but then realized it was needed.
(1/2) Subchallenges - No "Battle" in the flavor text although it could have easily been swapped for "Fight."

Total: 21/25
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slimytrout
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Post by slimytrout » 4 years ago

Final Results:

Flatline: 22+22+20.5=64.5
Subject16: 22+22.5+21=65.5

Congrats to Subject16 for his (narrow) November MCC victory! And thanks to everyone who participated -- I had a great time hosting my first MCC, and I'm sure I'll be back doing it soon.

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