July CCL, Top 8: Life About to Change

[void_nothing]

CCL July Top 8/Round 3

"Life About to Change"


Ajani Vengeant, taken from magicthegathering.com, by Wayne Reynolds 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 Planeswalker's Journey Month here in the CCL! Many classic CCL months back in MTGSalvation had the contestants take a single character from round to round. We're bringing that back this month.

Challenge

Design a new card for your planeswalker. It must keep its original color but add one new one.

Clarifications

Show

Hide

• For example, if you made a U card in round 1 you could make a WU, UB, UR, or GU card.
• Your card must have the same planeswalker type.
• Make sure to include a rarity.

Contestants:
@RaikouRider
@Subject16
@slimytrout
@Lorn Asbord Schutta
@Ink-Treader
@marioguy3
@Sojourner Dusk
@Jimmy Groove

Your submissions are due Wednesday, July 22nd, 23:59 EST.

Schedule

• Round 1 — Open to Everyone (June 30th–July 7th)
• Round 2 — Open to Everyone (July 8th–14th)
• Rounds 1 and 2 Critiques (Due July 17th)
• Top 8 — Open to top 8 finishers (July 19th–22nd)
• Top 8 Critiques (Due July 24th)
• Top 4 — Open to top 4 finishers (July 25th–28th)
• Top 4 Critiques (Due July 30th)
• Final (August, 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.

[Subject16]

Round 1 planeswalker

Show

Hide

Milena, Field Physicist 2RR
Legendary Planeswalker — Milena (Mythic)
+1: The next instant or sorcery spell you cast this turn costs 2 less to cast.
-2: You get an emblem with "At the beginning of your precombat main phase, add R."
-7: Until end of turn, you may pay 0 rather than the mana cost for instant or sorcery spells that you cast.
Starting Loyalty:4

Milena, Time Analyst 3UR
Legendary Planeswalker — Milena (Mythic)
At the beginning of your first upkeep each turn, you get an additional upkeep step after this one.
+1: Exile the top card of your library. You may cast that card. If its a nonland card and you don't, put three time counters on it. If it doesn't have suspend, it gains suspend.
-3: Milena, Time Analyst deals X damage to any target, where X is twice the number of spells you cast this turn.
-7: You get an emblem with "If an ability you control would trigger, you may trigger that ability an additional time."
Loyalty: 4

[slimytrout]

Angus, Armed for War 2RW
Legendary Planeswalker - Angus (M)
Angus, Armed for War enters the battlefield with an additional loyalty counter on him for each creature you control.
+1: Create a 1/1 white Soldier creature token. Creatures you control gain haste and vigilance until end of turn.
-X: Angus, Armed for War deals 1 damage to X target creatures. Those creatures can't block this turn.
-6: You get an emblem with "Whenever a creature you control attacks, it deals 1 damage to the player or planeswalker it's attacking. You gain 1 life."
0

[Sojourner Dusk]

Illiya, Despondent
Legendary Planeswalker — Illiya (R)
If you would gain life, an opponent of your choice loses that much life instead.
+1: Up to one target creature you control gains lifelink until end of turn.
-4: You get an emblem with "Whenever a creature attacks, you gain 1 life."
3

[RaikouRider]

Lila, Living Contagion 3BG
Legendary Planeswalker - Lila {M}
+1: Proliferate.
-2: Sacrifice a creature. If you do, distribute -1/-1 counters equal to that creature's power among creatures you don't control.
-8: You get an emblem with "Creatures you control get +1/+1" and "Damage that would be dealt by sources you control is treated as though its source had infect."
5

[Ink-Treader]

Round 1

Show

Hide

Carris, the Rootless 2G
Legendary Planeswalker - Carris (M)
Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, scry 1, then put a loyalty counter on Carris if that land doesn't share a name with another land you control.
0: You may sacrifice a land. If you do, reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a land card. Put that card onto the battlefield, then put each other card revealed this way on the bottom of your library in a random order.
-5: Gain control of each land target opponent controls until end of turn. Untap them. Those lands can't be sacrificed for as long as you control them.
[3]

Carris, Novelty Seeker 2UG
Legendary Planeswalker — Carris (M)
+1: Reveal the top card of your library and put it into your hand. If it was a permanent card that doesn't share a name with a permanent you control, put a loyalty counter on Carris.
-1: Until your next turn, untapped permanents you control have hexproof. You may untap up to two permanents you control.
-8: You get an emblem with: "1: Gain control of target permanent an opponent controls until end of turn. Untap it. It gains haste and can't be sacrificed for as long as you control it. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery."
[3]

[marioguy3]

Thrush, Tactician Expert
Legendary Planeswalker — Thrush (Mythic Rare)
1: Untap up to one target creature you control. If the target is a bird, draw a card.
-2: Bird creatures you control get +1/+1 and gain vigilance until end of turn.
-7: Shuffle your library, then reveal the top ten cards of your library. Put all bird creatures from among them onto the battlefield, then exile the rest. Put a hexproof counter on each bird you control.
4

[Lorn Asbord Schutta]

Artago, Bounty Hunter
Legendary Planeswalker - Artago (M)
+1: Target creature an opponent controls must attack Artago, Bounty Hunter during its controler next turn if able. Until your next turn, its activated abilities can't be activated.
0: Tap a creature target opponent controls. If that player control no untapped creature, scry 3 instead.
-2: Exile target tapped creature.
2

[void_nothing]

Round is now closed! Please critique and provide a top 3 of all the other contestants.

[Ink-Treader]

RaikouRider

Show

Hide

The ultimate while technically powerful, doesn't feel that powerful beyond infect's own power. The +1 is simple and cute, and the -2 can be quite nasty, but requires sacrificing something truly powerful to get crazy.

Subject16

Show

Hide

This is quite unique. Paradox Haze as a static is fine, and plays nicely with the +1. The -3 can be really strong. It's quite good at 2 spells, and gets down right silly beyond that... it'd probably be the main focus for people who want to play this. The ultimate is kind of lame by comparison. It takes enough time to get there that it doesn't feel nearly powerful enough on its own. I do like that it's pretty silly with suspend with her on the board, removing 4 time counters at once, but it once again takes some doing to make this ultimate shine.

slimytrout

Show

Hide

A strange one to be sure. Definitely a card where you're usually going to ultimate if you get the chance, but there's times where the -X might be the game winning play. Seems fine overall. The ultimate is nice enough but not backbreaking if you are able to power it out instantly. I wish he had at least 1 starting loyalty though, just so he's never a dead card.

Lorn Asbord Schutta

Show

Hide

The 0 feels a bit weird here, since it can't interact with the -2 under normal circumstances. Otherwise, he feels like a tiny Gideon Jura. With that in mind, I wonder if Artago is a little undercosted, either in terms of cost or his -2. I do like that the +1 can force mana dorks to suicide though. Overall, this feels too efficient at what it does.

marioguy3

Show

Hide

Strangely enough, that -2 could quite easily be a +1 I'd bet, or at least a 0. Especially since this card can't make Birds on its own. It's strongish, but being tribal focused (on a tribe with some, but not a lot of support) that seems fair.

Sojourner Dusk

Show

Hide

The static isn't quite Sanguine Bond, but it does what you'd want from it anyway, which is a little worrying considering Illiya costs less than Bond. The rest of it is fine.

Top 3

Show

Hide

1. slimytrout
2. Subject16
3. RaikouRider

[slimytrout]

Subject16

Show

Hide

Static is fun but not busted, as is the plus ability. Ultimate is a bit underwhelming, especially on Turn 8+. The -3 is really where it's at, though -- it's not great if it just deals 2 damage, but 4 or 6 is very good, especially since it's to any target.

Sojourner Dusk

Show

Hide

Yikes, a three mana walker that comes in and basically doubles a creature's power for +1? Would be kinda difficult to build a deck around because it doesn't play nicely with other lifegain synergies, but still very strong. Too good for 3 mana and rare.

RaikouRider

Show

Hide

+1 is really a +2, but not too scary. Not quite sure why the emblem doesn't just give things infect -- is there some rules thing I'm missing. -2 can be quite good if you have something spicy to sacrifice, but isn't generically powerful. Does some new things, but ultimately falls into the typical 'walker mode -- + for value, - to protect itself, ultimate.

Ink-Treader

Show

Hide

I like that the +1 subtly pushes you to play lots of nonbasics, which is in line with first-round card. -1 is kinda weak, but does a good job of protecting Carris. Ultimate basically says "you can't interact any more," since you just take all their lands during your turn, then use their lands to take all their other stuff -- basically "you win the game" but not in a terribly fun way (*cough*Teferi, Hero of Dominaria*cough*). Like RaikouRider's submission, it has some innovations but falls into the standard 'walker template.

marioguy

Show

Hide

Solid, but not really innovative except for the ultimate, which is the easiest place to innovate by far.

Lorn Asbord Schutta

Show

Hide

Not sure that it's great to have a character whose identity is "the 2-mana walker guy," since those are notoriously very dangerous. In this case, I think it's a bit too good at defusing aggro decks -- just so many options of how to stall out their board. Also don't really feel like bounty hunters are white-blue, so a bit of a flavor miss.

T3

Show

Hide

1. Subject16
2. RaikouRider
3. Ink-Treader

[Sojourner Dusk]

Almost there.

Subject16: Setting aside the templating fixes... A Paradox Haze static, with a +1 to cheat the top card of your library (sped up by the static). Thankfully, free spells are never problematic. The -3 means you need to keep a Storm count with a Planeswalker that doesn't show any interest in a Storm count. The -7 emblem with an auto trigger doubler can give you a third upkeep step, so that the +1 is ridiculous. The -3 doesn't fit with the other Saffron Olive abilities.

slimytrout: Have it start with 2 loyalty and make the last ability -8/-9 if you're that concerned about the Hellrider emblem, The +1 is deceptively strong, as only two cards can grant haste and vigilance to your entire team, and the latter takes more effort. -X for Blinding Flare works. Did you intend to only gain 1 life for your attack step with the emblem?

RaikouRider: Your +1 and emblem do not synergize very well, though the +1 puts War Ajani's -2 to shame for PW decks. The -2 is fine, but sac a creature for Contagion Engine's ETB would have been cleaner. "Sources you control have infect." That's all you need.

Ink-Treader: It's an EDH card for GU, because Simic needs more help since M20. Your -1 should read "Until your next turn, permanents you control have hexproof as long as they are untapped." Works like Paradise Druid that way. As written, the permanents that are untapped when you activate the ability gain hexproof until your next turn, but the two you untap would not. Why is the emblem a 1 mana Catch // Release (Izzet side) on a Simic card?

marioguy3: Bird matters PW, but the abilities are all low power. Getting token copies of the birds you control, or getting a Dovescape emblem would have been more thematic.

Lorn Asbord Schutta: You can tap a tapped creature. If no opponent controls creatures, you can't activate any of your PWs abilities.

Top 3
3. RaikouRider
2. Subject16
1. slimytrout

Comment Response

Show

Hide

For those comparing Illiya to Sanguine Bond, you may not have noticed, but when you upshift from Uncommon to Rare, Sanguine Bond costs 3 mana. Illiya replaces the lifegain, so the overall effect is weaker.

@slimytrout: Double power? Try blocking. Does Vito somehow triple a creature's power in your math, since you actually gain the life? Too good for 3 mana and Rare? This is nowhere near T3feri's level.

@RaikouRider: I think old, mostly forgotten Uncommon Enchantments as emblems aren't too pushed a concept.

[marioguy3]

RaikouRider: I see Liliana has a little sibling practicing Magic. That ultimate is a great ultimate in that it definitively wins the game because infect is fun and I'm pro infect (if not a superfan of it.) The abiliies on your planeswalker have high synergy and are low in complexity, which is a good sign for a planeswalker. I enjoy the design of your card. Abilities all suite the name very well.

Subject16: Milena is a pretty well done planeswalker overall. Her abilities tie into both Panharmonicon and the original Jhoira. The storm damage ability is costed fairly, but hitting players is quite powerful. Her ultimate is dependent on deck building, so in theory it could be extremely powerful or do very little, so the first two abilities will likely see the most action. Very solid design in my book.

slimytrout: I'd hate to see instant speed removal blank this four mana walker. It wouldn't be so horrific if it entered with one counter so as to prevent potential blowouts, even if the deck is heavy on creatures. If you do have a bunch of creatures, that ultimate will end up winning games fast.

Lorn Asbord Schutta: A zero mana potential scry three ability can quickly get out of hand, especially in those colors. Interesting walker in that it enters with as much loyalty as its mana cost. It's quite good at shutting down abilities, reminds me of Oko, standard breaker, but the ability is technically "temporary." The ultimate is okay in emergency situations, but playing this turn two can cause a whole bag of issues for the opponent.

Ink-Treader: The plus one is quite unique and the minus one ability is quite powerful and helpful to combat Oko effects. However, I don't see the ultimate fully in-colors. It feels odd having a simic card stealing and giving haste to permanents it steals. I'd say it's likely a bend. The flavor is pretty cool in the name though "Novelty Seeker" and this does novel things, so credit to that.

Sojourner Dusk: The only of the "rare" planeswalkers in this design round. There's a lot of this "I gain, you lose effect" printed within the last decade that it is solidly an Orzhov theme. This card is going to play difficult for red decks at only three mana. Illiya's good as a support card and won't necessarily win the game for you singlehandedly, which is good at its cost.

Top 3

1st Place: RaikouRider
2nd Place: Subject16
3rd Place: Sojourner Dusk

[Lorn Asbord Schutta]

Done

Subject16

Show

Hide

Milena, Time Analyst 3UR
Legendary Planeswalker — Milena (Mythic)
At the beginning of your first upkeep each turn, you get an additional upkeep step after this one.
+1: Exile the top card of your library. You may cast that card. If its a nonland card and you don't, put three time counters on it. If it doesn't have suspend, it gains suspend.
-3: Milena, Time Analyst deals X damage to any target, where X is twice the number of spells you cast this turn.
-7: You get an emblem with "If an ability you control would trigger, you may trigger that ability an additional time."
Loyalty: 4

The first ability has an unpleasant interaction with the static. With Paradox Haze in play, one can cast each card without paying its mana cost at the next upkeep. While 5 mana planeswalkers are usually strong, I think this is pushed.
The -3 is on the other hand undervalued. Due to Milena's high CMC I am not sure if strom decks would try her and outside of storm there is little incentive to pay three loyalty to conditional removal/burn when the plus option is so tempting.
Especially if plusing allows you to hit an ultimate, which is busted with the plus and with the static. While due to its cost this card would not make waves in standard, for slower formats this would become an almost broken staple, I am afraid.

slimytrout

Show

Hide

Angus, Armed for War 2RW
Legendary Planeswalker - Angus (M)
Angus, Armed for War enters the battlefield with an additional loyalty counter on him for each creature you control.
+1: Create a 1/1 white Soldier creature token. Creatures you control gain haste and vigilance until end of turn.
-X: Angus, Armed for War deals 1 damage to X target creatures. Those creatures can't block this turn.
-6: You get an emblem with "Whenever a creature you control attacks, it deals 1 damage to the player or planeswalker it's attacking. You gain 1 life."
0

It feels strange. Where in first card the player was encouraged to control a single, high-powered creature to quickly drop Angus on board, this one requires Boros weenies to properly start off. It has the already mentioned problem of being a dead card or even a trap option if the opponent has an instant-speed removal.
Other then this I like it. The plus ability reminds me of Heroic Reinforcements - great limited card - and haste-vigilance combination is always pleasant to me. X is less appealing Cosmotronic Wave, yet this type of effect in right deck might become a winning play. And the emblem is a solid - if little overused - effect for red-white that rarely dissapoints.

Sojourner Dusk

Show

Hide

Illiya, Despondent
Legendary Planeswalker — Illiya (R)
If you would gain life, an opponent of your choice loses that much life instead.
+1: Up to one target creature you control gains lifelink until end of turn.
-4: You get an emblem with "Whenever a creature attacks, you gain 1 life."
3

To be honest, the shift from tax/damage prevention to "vampiric" life gain for some reason feels drastic to me. Especially since the name makes the reasons for it very vague.
I am actually interested if there would be a possibility of Esper-Tendrils-Storm (due to effectively doubling each Tendril) or maybe Abzan Storm replacing Tendrils with Weather the Storm due to this card.
I think that despite being having only two ablities this deserves the mythic might deserve mythic. Not only that, but this messes up with the fact that life gain spells have higher numbers then spells dealing life loss or damage outright to opponent at similiar CMC. Even if this nullifies the life gain, it feels as too much of a broken effect, especially considering the cost of the one similiar to it. While this nullifies life gain, it is a planeswalker, which is - even with more hate cards printed - still a more problematic permanent type then a creature. While Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose does indeed shrink the Sanguine Bond effect in terms of cost, one have to remember that due to its type the enchantment will be costed more heavily. Maybe this is not as pushed as it appeared at first glance, but I still have some reservation.
The lifelink is nice, yet in practice it makes target creature a Thorn Elemental when combined with static. Similiary, the emblem is fine by itself, maybe even not that backbreaking - it is more broad Linden, the Steadfast Queen and much worse pseudo-one-sided-Fog - but with the static out there it becomes somewhat too much.

RaikouRider

Show

Hide

Lila, Living Contagion 3BG
Legendary Planeswalker - Lila {M}
+1: Proliferate.
-2: Sacrifice a creature. If you do, distribute -1/-1 counters equal to that creature's power among creatures you don't control.
-8: You get an emblem with "Creatures you control get +1/+1" and "Damage that would be dealt by sources you control is treated as though its source had infect."
5

It seems that adding green to Lila made her less suicidal. Good for her, but it had its charm.
It is much more traditional planeswalker then the first Lila, with abilities so clean - with small exception to ultimate - that they feel like from the era of Lorwyn Five or Conflux block.
The first ability is spot on, the second is also a nice rendition of original Lila's removal. The ultimate is not bad in gameplay terms - other then the fact it gives an infect anthem and some people hate poison mechanic - but it would be much cleaner to just give the infect to creatures. It makes little sense for Golgolari to care about damage if it is not dealt by creature and Infect Bolt is not really that exciting to me.

Ink-Treader

Show

Hide

Carris, Novelty Seeker 2UG
Legendary Planeswalker — Carris (M)
+1: Reveal the top card of your library and put it into your hand. If it was a permanent card that doesn't share a name with a permanent you control, put a loyalty counter on Carris.
-1: Until your next turn, untapped permanents you control have hexproof. You may untap up to two permanents you control.
-8: You get an emblem with: "1: Gain control of target permanent an opponent controls until end of turn. Untap it. It gains haste and can't be sacrificed for as long as you control it. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery."
[3]

I saw that this card bounced from Simic to Gruul and again. I think it would be better in red-green, especially since the emblem's effect is hardly blue, not to mention lack of green in it. And it would make Carris differ from Tamiyo in flavour, because as of now they both seem to be "curiosity-driven wanderer".
The first ablity is not a big thing. It is a "+1: draw a card", that has inherent disadvantage of revealing it and possible bonus loyalty counter.
I am not sure if the second ability is worded in right order, as right now it would not give the hexproof to those two untapped permanents. Maybe this was an intention, but it would confuse people nontheless. And untapping shaneningas makes me shudders.
I see no reason for the emblem, neither in flavour nor in colors. It accentuates a problem I have with this Carris: the abilities feels unconnected, just the "goodstuff" - ignoring if it would be actually good-stuff or not - and with little reason for them to coexist.

marioguy3

Show

Hide

Thrush, Tactician Expert
Legendary Planeswalker — Thrush (Mythic Rare)
1: Untap up to one target creature you control. If the target is a bird, draw a card.
-2: Bird creatures you control get +1/+1 and gain vigilance until end of turn.
-7: Shuffle your library, then reveal the top ten cards of your library. Put all bird creatures from among them onto the battlefield, then exile the rest. Put a hexproof counter on each bird you control.
4

Once again, rather lower on power spectrum. But this time the flavour is better, definitely pleasing. All of abilities makes me think of a navy commander that instead of ships commands the squadrons of birds.
To my surprise, there is actually little birds with abilities, so it is not easy to get the most out of the plus ability.
The minus is fine, while not backbreaking either. To get out the most of the +1/+1 usually would require low-CMC birds, which are not suitable to block most of the ground threats, while those which will benefit from vigilance will not be in large flocks at the time of playing Thrush.
The last ability is likewise good, but not pushed. I wonder however, if the deck playing Thrush would not lean to aggro, where getting to turn six might be hard to achieve, as more traditional UW control might hit to many interaction and to few birds to actually care.

Top 3

Show

Hide

1.RaikouRider
2.slimytrout
3.marioguy3

[RaikouRider]

Subject16: I think Milena's degree of self-protection is just low enough that this is balanced...maybe. Plus loyalty for free spells, even delayed free spells, is pretty dangerous though. I like the concept, but...I can't help but feel this should be 6 mana 6 loyalty.

slimytrout: I think this should start with at least 1 loyalty to begin with, as to not be completely dead on an empty board. Card seems sweet in any kind of token deck, ready to ultimate as soon as it comes down.

Sojourner Dusk: Righteous Cause is an interesting card to emblem. Only issue is it has trouble protecting itself, but if you're in those colors you probably have all kinds of removal to defend it.

Ink-Treader: Gains loyalty quickly, especially in singleton formats where it will see the most play. The -1 should probably be targeted, but I can see why it isn't. This is probably the most unique of the submissions but I'm unsure how it would play.

marioguy3: I could even seen this having two plus abilities and raising the final ability to 8 or 9. Other than that, it's fine if a little reliant on its tribe.

Lorn Asbord Schutta: I think this is a good stab at a two mana planeswalker. The only part about this that's blue is the second ability. I'd loved to have seen maybe a -1 to freeze a creature instead of just tapping it.

1) Ink-Treader
2) slimytrout
3) Sojourner Dusk

The top two were standouts but third place was a really tough call.

[void_nothing]

Sorry for the delay - here are your top 4:

slimytrout
RaikouRider
Subject16
Ink-Treader

Semifinal round to come shortly.