January MCC Round 1
Adventures in the Underworld
If you've read the judge signup thread, you should know that I'm going to tell you a story this month. A story that I've already told you, but from another point of view. It's strange how a simple change of perspective can change a story. I have also said that Jeff Lionheart, from the July and August 2015 MCCs on MTGSalvation would have been involved but it's not his story this time. But we've already met the protagonist back then. So, have you guessed who's the protagonist of this story? Of this MCC month? If you want to know whether you've guessed right, or check for yourself if I've gotten better as a writer after four years and a half, and after writing a 1200 pages long story (I think I have, and a lot, even if I still have definitely a lot of room for further improvement), well, just read the following spoiler. Really, all the answers are just one click away! Well, not all... I have to keep some for future rounds, haven't I?
"Proceed."
"What?"
"Move on. Pretend you didn't hear that voice, you know."
"Why?"
"Please, I can't believe you don't know it. We leonin have no god to share with the humans, and that human is invoking a god's name!"
"So what?"
"So he has nothing to share with us. He's not one of us."
"So you want to leave him here to die?"
"Yes. And anyway, you're worrying too much about him. It's not like his soul will stop existing as he dies. There is an Underworld, you know?"
"Of course I know!"
"So let him go there. He only deserves it if he's invoking one of those so-called gods."
"I don't care about such details! He's suffering and I'm going to help him!"
His boss replied, not without a bit of sarcasm:
"Lionheart! You're not going to do that! This is an order! If you disobey, I'll fight you as our enemy and King Brimaz will banish you from our land!"
"Do you think I care?"
No, Jeff didn't care. He ran to the dying human and gave him a healing potion:
"Here! This will heal you! Use it and then wait for me over there, behind those rocks!"
Okite attacked Jeff. The time for words was over, and that for action had come. After a long and exhausting battle, Jeff finally dealt the fatal strike to Okite.
"I'm sorry, boss. I'm sorry. I can't believe what I've just done! I didn't want to do it! What have I done?!? WHAT HAVE I DOOOOONE!!!"
The man, whoever he was, had seen it all from behind the rocks Jeff indicated him. Now he was looking at a scene that felt very strange to him. There were two leonin in a fight's aftermath. One, the boss, was losing a flood of blood from his wounds, clearly on the point of dying. He was laying down in a pool of his own blood, looking upwards with an empty gaze. The other, the soldier, was clearly repenting what he had just done, and he was screaming while his body was disappearing, fading away. The roads of the two leonin were obviously going to separate right now, and it looked like the same one who told the other not to worry as there was an Underworld for the man's soul was heading there himself, while the man was healed, and the other leonin had completely disappeared from view by then. The man thought:
"But he had said he would have come to me! Where has he gone? Is it safe for me to come out of my cover?"
But after a few moments, two things happened at the same time. First, the leonin who had just disappeared suddenly reappeared, looking around himself. He saw him still hidden behind the rocks, and went to talk to him. Second, the other leonin, the boss, Okite, had just definitely closed his eyes on the mainland of Theros, and exhaled his last breath on that land.
But it wasn't over. Okite, as he had just demonstrated, knew that an Underworld existed, and that it was exactly there that he was headed.
"But how will I get there?"
He was on an unknown land, covered in mist. He could hear the flowing waters of what was probably some kind of river nearby, but it wasn't any river he knew, somehow he knew that. He was also feeling a strange and very intense drive to walk there and reach those waters. The thick fog prevented him from seeing the river, but he knew he was there, and there was something calling him there, but without any spoken word. He thought:
"Is this the Underworld? Am I already there? Have my adventures in the Underworld already started? I don't understand anything anymore. I don't understand what's this place, I don't understand why I instinctively know that this water noise is a river, I don't understand why I'm not perceiving anything and anyone else around me... Shouldn't there be plenty of people here? All those who have died since the beginning of time? Where are them? Where am I?"
He gave in to his drive, and started walking towards the river.
Main Challenge - Design a common card that has exactly one of the four named mechanics from Theros: Beyond Death (Constellation, devotion, escape, Sagas).
Subchallenge 1 - Your card contains the word "enchantment(s)" in its rules text.
Subchallenge 2 - Your card has a monocolored color identity.
Main Challenge
• Don't worry, this is not a prosecution of the "all commons" theme we've had last month. But this month, each round a different rarity will be required as a hard Main Challenge requirement. As for this round requiring once again a common card, it's just that the lowest rarity in Magic happens to be that.
• Your card has to belong at the required rarity. You can't just take Heliod, God of the Sun, put in a common rarity instead of mythic and submit it as is. Or better, you technically can, but expect huge deductions in several areas of the rubric if you do. Trust me, it's not a good idea.
• Your card must have exactly one or the four mechanics from THB: it has to have one (no cards without any of the four mechanics), and it can't have more than one (no mix-and-match cards).
• Your choices will NOT be tracked this month, so don't worry about them influencing future rounds. They won't. You will be able to make all four rounds with the same mechanic if you want.
• For Sagas, having the Saga mechanic means that your card is a Saga. It can't simply reference Sagas, it has to be a Saga itself.
Subchallenge 1
• This subchallenge only looks at rules text, NOT at the type line and NOT at the flavor text.
Subchallenge 2
• "Color identity" means that mana symbols in the rules text are also checked in addition to those in the card's mana cost. All the symbols must be monocolored and of the same color, both those in the mana cost AND in the rules text.
If you have any other questions that are not covered here, feel free to ask in the discussion thread.
DEADLINES
Design deadline: Monday, January 6th 2020, 23:59 EDT
Judging deadline: Friday, January 10th 2020, 23:59 EDT
Happy new year to everyone!
RUBRIC
(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
Ryder
Sojourner Dusk
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 and 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 4 from each bracket advance.
Judge: Ryder
barbecube
Ink-Treader
Kypster
Legend
slimytrout
void_nothing
Judge: bravelion83
Blydden
Jimmy Groove
netn10
Raptorchan
StonerOfKruphix
Subject16
Judge: Sojourner Dusk
ForestsCarl
Freyleyes
Gateways7
Henlock
Icarii
marioguy3