September MCC Round 3 - Confusion in the ranks

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bravelion83
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Post by bravelion83 » 1 year ago

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(This month's banner is my own elaboration on the art of Slimefoot's Survey by Piotr Dura.)


September MCC Round 3

Confusion in the ranks


As is tradition by now, this month we will celebrate the latest set, in this case Dominaria United, by exploring its mechanics and themes, as usual in this kind of MCC months.

Sleeper agents? Who talked about sleeper agents? I'll repeat: are there any sleeper agents among us? Teferi, are you one? And how about you, Jaya? Karn? Jodah? Jhoira? Stenn? Ajani? What a confusion, what a terrible mess this is… Who can we trust? So, are you one? Or… am I?



Main Challenge - Design a card that can put stun counters on one or more permanents your opponents control.

Subchallenge 1 - Your card is not monoblue.

Subchallenge 2 - Your card is an artifact, enchantment, or planeswalker with no other card types and it can't gain any other card types via its own abilities.


Clarifications
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Main Challenge
• The card has to have itself an effect of any kind that puts the stun counters.
• That effect can work from any zone.
• The card has to be able to put stun counters on permanents your opponents control. "Put a stun counter on target permanent" is fine because you can do it on your opponent's permanents. "Put a stun counter on target permanent you control" or "put a stun counter on target permanent a teammate controls" are NOT fine because they can't put counters on your opponent's permanents. Ask yourself: can my card put stun counters on my opponent's permanent even if only in some cases? If the answer is yes, the Main Challenge is met. If it's no, it's not.
• Your card can also put stun counters on permanents you and/or your teammates control, as long as it does so in addition to being able to do it on your opponents' permanents. For example, a card with an effect that says "For each player, choose target permanent that player controls. Put a stun counter on each of the chosen permanents." is fine, as would be "Each player puts a stun counter on a permanent they control."
• Why do I keep saying "permanents" and not just "creatures"? Because according to the CR, stun counters work on any permanent. Feel free to take advantage of this fact. Emphasis mine:
CR (DMU) wrote: 122.1d A stun counter on a permanent creates a replacement effect that stops the permanent from untapping. That effect is "If a permanent with a stun counter on it would become untapped, instead remove a stun counter from it."
• Your card can put any other counters in addition to putting stun counters on your opponents' permanents. For example, a creature with two activated abilities, one that says "T: Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature." and the other that says "T: Put a stun counter on target creature." passes the Main Challenge just fine.

Subchallenge 1
• This Subchallenge only cares about ordinary color, not color identity. You can have all blue mana symbols you want of any kind you want in the text box.
• All kinds of multicolored cards are fine. As long as blue is NOT the only color in your card's mana cost, you're fine.

Subchallenge 2
• Your card natively has one or more of the "artifact", "enchantment", and/or "planeswalker" card types printed on its type line, while also not having any other card types other than those three at the same time.
• ALSO, your card cannot gain any card type other than one or more of the three specified ones by using any of its own abilities.
• If your card happens to be able to gain a card type other than those three by interacting with another already existing card, that's fine. It just can't do it on its own.


If you have any questions, post them in the MCC discussion thread.


DEADLINES

Design deadline: Wednesday, September 28rd 23:59 EDT

Judging deadline: Saturday, October 1st 23:59 EDT


RUBRIC
MCC Rubric
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Design
(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
void_nothing


PLAYERS

@CunningGabe
@kwanyeegor-ii
@MonoRedMage
@slimytrout


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 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

This is the versus round. Two pairings where both judges will judge both entries and the player with the highest combined score will advance to the final round.

CunningGabe vs. slimytrout
kwanyeegor-ii vs. MonoRedMage
Last edited by bravelion83 1 year ago, edited 2 times in total.
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).
After I'm done republishing my articles I want to reprise the series focusing it more on editing, wording, and templating. Suggest potential future article topics here.
My CCCG Resume (Updated on February 27th 2024)
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Blue = MTGSalvation Green = MTGNexus
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
CCL - Winner (4): Jul 2016 (tied with Flatline), May 2017, Jul 2019 (last on MTGS), Jun 2021 (tied with slimytrout) || Host (5): Feb 2015, Mar Apr May Jun 2016
DCC - Winner (3): Mar 2015 (tied with Piar), Feb Apr 2022 || Host (12): May Oct 2015, Jan 2016, Jun Sep Dec 2021, Mar Jun Sep Dec 2022, Mar Jun 2023

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MonoRedMage
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Post by MonoRedMage » 1 year ago

Blinding Oriflamme 2RW
Enchantment {R}
Attacking creatures you control get +1/+0.
At the beginning of combat on your turn, tap target creature an opponent controls and put a stun counter on it.
The Coalition lines faltered, but the tide turned as soon as they laid eyes on the banner of the Angelfire elite.

kwanyeegor-ii
Posts: 1912
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by kwanyeegor-ii » 1 year ago

Caltrop Launcher 3
Artifact (Uncommon)
2, T: Put a stun counter on target tapped creature.
2, T: Caltrop Launcher deals 2 damage to target stunned creature. (A creature is stunned if it has a stun counter on it.)
4: Untap Caltrop Launcher.
畫龍點睛

I'm a simple Magic player since several years ago from China. Now I live in New Jersey.

CunningGabe
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Post by CunningGabe » 1 year ago

Electrocutlass XR
Artifact - Equipment (R)
Electrocutlass enters the battlefield with X+1 charge counters.
Equipped creature gets +1/+0 for each charge counter on Electrocutlass.
Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage, remove a charge counter from Electrocutlass and tap target creature. Put a stun counter on that creature.
Equip 1
Winner of August '22 DCC and September '22 NCED

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bravelion83
MKM MCC going on now
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Post by bravelion83 » 1 year ago

Less than 24 hours to the deadline and we're still missing @slimytrout's submission.
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).
After I'm done republishing my articles I want to reprise the series focusing it more on editing, wording, and templating. Suggest potential future article topics here.
My CCCG Resume (Updated on February 27th 2024)
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Blue = MTGSalvation Green = MTGNexus
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
CCL - Winner (4): Jul 2016 (tied with Flatline), May 2017, Jul 2019 (last on MTGS), Jun 2021 (tied with slimytrout) || Host (5): Feb 2015, Mar Apr May Jun 2016
DCC - Winner (3): Mar 2015 (tied with Piar), Feb Apr 2022 || Host (12): May Oct 2015, Jan 2016, Jun Sep Dec 2021, Mar Jun Sep Dec 2022, Mar Jun 2023

slimytrout
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Post by slimytrout » 1 year ago

The Emperor in Peril 3WW
Planeswalker (M)
You may activate The Emperor in Peril's abilities any time you could cast an instant if you pay an additional 2.
+1: Choose target creature. If that creature is tapped, put a stun counter on it. Otherwise, tap it.
-2: The Emperor in Peril deals 2 damage to each tapped creature.
-8: You get an emblem with "Whenever a creature deals combat damage to you, destroy it."
4

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bravelion83
MKM MCC going on now
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Post by bravelion83 » 1 year ago

The round is closed.

BRACKETS

This is the versus round. Two pairings where both judges will judge both entries and the player with the highest combined score will advance to the final round.

CunningGabe vs. slimytrout
kwanyeegor-ii vs. MonoRedMage

My own judgments won't start until tonight at the very least.

EDIT October 1st - I'll just quote myself from the DCC. I'm sorry, but I just don't have the mental and physical energy to do this in this moment... tomorrow we'll see... hopefully...
bravelion83 wrote:
1 year ago
I've been sick since yesterday night, I've got a fever and I can barely bring myself to post this, let alone judging the MCC. I'm sorry, but it will have to wait. How to pass from your birthday to being in bed with a fever in just two days… actually, a day and a half… a lot of things can happen in less than two days, and just trust me when I say I know that from experience…
October 3rd - Sorry for the delay. I'm still not at my best physically but I feel well enough to start this now. Don't expect me to finish tonight though.

October 9th - After several days of, as I wrote in my custom title, "fighting against the King" (yes, it's exactly what you probably think it is), I finally felt good enough to go on with these. I still need one more day though, I think and hope that I will be able to finish tomorrow. Sorry about the delay, but you know, fighting the King isn't easy... it's more than 2 years that he rules the whole world and I had managed to avoid it until now... The fight is going well, don't worry about that, but it can be tiring...

October 10th - Finally I've done it. Blame the King for the delay. I'm currently checking for typos, as soon as I'm done I'll post them here in a few minutes. EDIT I think I found them all, I apologize for any remaining ones. I've seen void_nothing's judgments. Round 4 will be posted as soon as I can, but I still have to write it. I mean, I have the challenges since a very long time, I just have to apply formatting and mostly write the intro, which, as you will see, to me is the most important part for a series of reasons, and I want to write it as best I can. It might be posted later tonight or maybe tomorrow.

Judgments (finally, sorry) complete.

EDIT - I obviously forgot to mention this here. It didn't end up mattering this round but it might apply in future ones. From the discussion thread:
About microtext
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bravelion83 wrote:
1 year ago
Lorn Asbord Schutta wrote:
1 year ago
@bravelion83, looking through 30th Anniversary Edition I saw two cards (Camouflage and Cyclopean Tomb) that have eleven lines and a singular line-break. I am not sure if they have actually smaller font then Animate Dead, but they certainly threaten this range. Since they are in modern frame, will you adjust MCC Guidelines for them, or due to their release not being made with playing in mind - so there is an argument to be made that WotC was not as strict as they would normally be - will you ignore them?
I haven't seen them yet, but from what you're saying I'm leaning towards probably yes, I will have to increase my line limit for microtext. Even if the cards have a different back, the front is still the M15 frame and as far as I know they aren't oversized cards or anything like that, the front is just the front of a regular Magic card as they are currently printed. If you just see the front of a card from the 30th Anniversary Edition and that of a Standard-legal card without seeing the back of the cards, you can't distinguish them. Good catch and thanks for letting me know because otherwise I would have very probably missed this.

Now I'll take a look at the 30th Anniversary Edition card image gallery and go through all notable cards in my opinion in regards to font size. It's the very first time I take a look at it, so we'll do it together. I will write notes as I go. Yes, this is a local text file which I will copy and paste as a post later.

• I see nothing worth of notice in white.
• Siren's Call is nine lines and two breaks in both the M15 and the old frame. It would be fine even with my current standards for microtext, but the font size is quite small anyway.
• Animate Dead is reprinted and the text box is identical to its EMA printing: ten lines and two breaks. Nothing new here, but seeing the text box hasn't changed between EMA and now is worthy of notice. Nothing had changed in the meantime until now. Also worth of notice is that it's also printed in the old frame with the same number of lines and breaks.
• Lich is nine lines but four breaks, so if you have nine lines of text you can have up to four breaks for sure. In the old frame, it's eight lines and four breaks.
• Word of Command is ten lines without breaks in both the M15 frame and the old one.
• Rock Hydra is also nine lines and four breaks, just like Lich, but in both frames.
• Raging River is eight lines without breaks in the M15 frame but nine lines without breaks in the old one.
• Camouflage (other than having a very unusual template, a text box that just looks aesthetically ugly to me, and just being a way too weird card for my taste) is indeed eleven lines and one break in the M15 frame and also in the old one. Again, the text box looks ugly to me but it absolutely counts as a new valid precedent for acceptable font size to me.
• Gaea's Liege is eight lines and one break in the M15 frame but nine lines and one break in the old one.
• Clockwork Beast is nine lines and two breaks in the M15 frame, and the text is also shifted to the top to fit with the P/T box, and so there is even additional space left in the text box. In the old frame, it's still nine lines and two breaks but vertically centered in the text box like most other existing cards.
• Cyclopean Tomb is ten lines and one break in the M15 frame, and that alone wouldn't have been enough to beat Animate Dead. Camouflage already did it though. The Tomb is indeed eleven lines and one break but in the old frame, not the M15 one, which is the current one, so, again, it wouldn't have counted by itself.
• Illusionary Mask is eleven lines without breaks in both the M15 and the old frame, and it would have set the new limit if, again, Camouflage hadn't done it already while also going even further by adding an additional break that the Mask doesn't have.

So, I think these will be my new limits for microtext. In the M15 frame, you can have:
• Up to eight lines with however many breaks you want.
• Nine lines with up to four breaks. If you have more than four breaks, it's microtext.
• Ten lines with up to two breaks. If you have more than two breaks, it's microtext.
• Eleven lines and a single break. If you have more than one break, it's microtext.
• If you have twelve lines of more, it's microtext regardless of breaks.

I'm not sure if I mention Animate Dead as an official limit for microtext in the MCC Guidelines, I don't actually think so but I will have to check. If I did, then yes, consider that updated as far as I'm concerned.

I will implement these new limits with the judgments I'm still currently writing for September Round 3 (sorry for the delay but that's what happens when you get sick for a few days in a row, now I feel better though still not in full shape), and I'll repeat this there or just straight up quote this post, we'll see. Anyway, I will mention this there somehow. Thanks again.
CunningGabe
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CunningGabe wrote:
1 year ago
Electrocutlass XR
Artifact - Equipment (R)
Electrocutlass enters the battlefield with X+1 charge counters.
Equipped creature gets +1/+0 for each charge counter on Electrocutlass.
Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage, remove a charge counter from Electrocutlass and tap target creature. Put a stun counter on that creature.
Equip 1
Design
Appeal 2.5/3 - Timmy likes increasing the power of his own creatures and making his opponent's ones unable to block his huge monsters. Johnny could probably manipulate the counters somehow. Spike would probably just prefer hard removal.
Elegance 2/3 - Entering with "X plus one" instead of "X" charge counters doesn't help here, and the length of the rules text doesn't either.
Development
Viability 2/3 - Red can't tap or freeze creatures, that's out of color. The effect of the triggered ability requires some white or blue to be here, as confirmed in the latest Mechanical color pie article. See "tapping creatures". I understand that's meant to represent stunning by electrical current, but flavor is much more flexible than mechanics. You could use flavor to justify a lot of bends and breaks. All the rest is good, including rarity and rules.
Balance 2/3 - A nice tension between maximizing the power bonus and having to connect to stun a creature. Or better, it would be nice if it were an actual choice. Here stunning a creature is NOT optional, so if you prefer to have the power bonus your only option is not to attack at all, but then what use is the power bonus that you want to keep? Reversely, if what you want to do is stunning a creature you will have to connect first, but if you were able to stun the creature before damage it would be easier to connect. I suppose you could make it an attack trigger, but that would be a very different card functionally. It might not be bad in limited but I don't think you'd always pick or play this over other rares you might have drafted or opened. In constructed, the more relevant thing is allowing red access to stunning creatures, which would become a pretty important effect in red I think, as it allows red's creatures to go the head much more reliably, making aggro decks stronger, possibly too strong. A very similar issue to when they tried bounce in red in Planar Chaos. We know that's exactly why that didn't stick, it was too strong of a tempo play for red. I see no particular problems in casual or multiplayer.
Creativity
Uniqueness 1.5/3 - The most original part of this card is introducing freezing in monored, which in my opinion shouldn't be done because it's not in color, so I'm not sure how good I feel about that.
Flavor 3/3 - Yes, an electric cutlass works perfectly as flavor here. It's an Equipment that gives electrical shocks to creatures when it makes contact with them. No problems here. This is a perfect example of how you can use flavor to justify things that aren't in color mechanically, kind of like Hornet Sting, but the flavor does work indeed.
Polish
Quality 2.5/3 - In the first ability, "X+1" should be written out as "X plus one" (see Epiphany at the Drownyard for a relatively recent example, certainly recent enough to count as precedent for modern Magic design, -0.5). Reminder text for stun counters doesn't fit on the card and it's at least a rare, so no problems with that.
Main Challenge 2/2 - Good.
Subchallenges 2/2 - Both met.
TOTAL 19.5/25
slimytrout
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slimytrout wrote:
1 year ago
The Emperor in Peril 3WW
Planeswalker (M)
You may activate The Emperor in Peril's abilities any time you could cast an instant if you pay an additional 2.
+1: Choose target creature. If that creature is tapped, put a stun counter on it. Otherwise, tap it.
-2: The Emperor in Peril deals 2 damage to each tapped creature.
-8: You get an emblem with "Whenever a creature deals combat damage to you, destroy it."
4
Design
Appeal 3/3 - Timmy almost always likes planeswalkers. Johnny could do things like using the +1 on his own creatures in a tap/untap engine. Spike likes that she's able to activate loyalty abilities as an instant and the various forms of removal going on here.
Elegance 2.5/3 - A bit long, but planeswalker with four abilities tend to be long. Still very easy to understand though.
Development
Viability 3/3 - There were several points that I thought about as potentially out of color here, but I investigated all of them, and all of them are actually fine. White is tertiary in flash, with the Emperor of Kamigawa herself having both flash and a rather similar static ability. Freezing is blue, but we've seen glimpses of it in white before, and Stall for Time doesn't go that far from establishing white as the secondary color for stun counters, which actually makes a lot sense if you think about it, and anyway that +1 has an "otherwise, tap it" at the end that feels very white, and white is primary in just tapping creatures. I was sure white could destroy tapped creatures but unsure whether it could deal damage to them, but then I found several examples in very recent sets which I didn't remember about. The ultimate too actually feels very white when you see it as purely revenge killing: "as long as you don't touch me I'll let you live, but don't make the mistake of actually touching me" does indeed feel very white to me. Well, no problems with the color pie then, I guess. Good job in exploring things white can do but that might not be so obvious at first glance. No problems with rarity or the rules either, so full points here.
Balance 3/3 - Most planeswalkers are limited bombs and I don't think this makes an exception. The loyalty abilities might look a little weak for a 5-mana planeswalker at first, but then you have to remember that you can activate them at instant speed. And also there are indeed things that might be appealing in constructed, like getting that emblem at instant speed, or the fact that all three loyalty abilities are different forms of removal, so this would probably be quite good at protecting itself, which is a very important thing for a planeswalker card in constructed, or the potential to gain card advantage from the -2, and probably more. I see no problems in casual or multiplayer.
Creativity
Uniqueness 1.5/3 - Very reminiscing of The Wandering Emperor, which is both good in Flavor as it gives a sense that the character is executed right and also not that good here at the same time unfortunately.
Flavor 3/3 - It's very hard to communicate flavor on a planeswalker card without flavor text, you only have the name and mechanical flavor to work with. You did the best job you could with the limited instruments you had.
Polish
Quality 3/3 - Reminder text for stun counters doesn't fit on the card and it's at least a rare, so no problems with that. The wording of the first ability is probably (and rightfully) meant to replicate that of cards that allow you to cast themselves as though they had flash if you pay some additional cost, an ability last seen on Oakshade Stalker. Except for a single case (Risen Executioner), there are currently no other variants of that wording, or at least none that I've been able to find. What's for sure is that this kind of wording has never been used for activated abilities. Your proposed one sounds very plausible to me, so I won't deduct any points for that here, and I especially like the fact that you say "any time you could cast an instant" instead of "as though it had flash" because activated abilities can't have the keyword flash, only spells have it, and activated abilities are not spells. Personally I would have added "to activate them" at the end to better mirror the existing wording for spells, but as there is no actual precedent for activated abilities and this looks way more than realistic enough to me, I'll accept it as is. Yes, you could consider the Emperor of Kamigawa as a precedent to herself, but what I'm actually mostly talking about here is the "if you pay an additional cost" part. Leo, why are you writing all of this if you're not deducting any points here? Excellent question, still half-sick brain. Mostly, I wanted everybody to know what YOU were thinking about when WE decided not to deduct any points here. Why do you always have to hinder me? Just let me live!
Main Challenge 2/2 - Good.
Subchallenges 2/2 - Both met.
TOTAL 23/25
kwanyeegor-ii
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kwanyeegor-ii wrote:
1 year ago
Caltrop Launcher 3
Artifact (Uncommon)
2, T: Put a stun counter on target tapped creature.
2, T: Caltrop Launcher deals 2 damage to target stunned creature. (A creature is stunned if it has a stun counter on it.)
4: Untap Caltrop Launcher.
Design
Appeal 2/3 - I can see some Timmies liking this but I also can't really see Timmy getting fully excited by this card. Johnny can manipulate the counters. The mana costs could be a little too high for Spike.
Elegance 3/3 - No problems here.
Development
Viability 2.5/3 - This allows every color access to stun counters/freezing, which is certainly not a problem in blue or white, probably fine in black, but I can't really see it in red of green. Not a big problem though, there are several effects found on colorless artifacts that are usually established in one or more specific colors but still allowed, mainly because of high costing when compared to the colors that effect is supposed to be. I'm fine with this as an uncommon. The term "stunned" would have to be defined in the CR, but it looks like a very easy thing to do if this card were to be printed for real, and honestly I can even see them actually doing it in the future rather easily.
Balance 2/3 - For once I don't think there is much to say here. I can easily see this in limited as weak removal that all colors can use, but honestly not in constructed. I don't see any problems in casual or multiplayer.
Creativity
Uniqueness 2.5/3 - The "stunned" terminology is new, but it's nothing groundbreaking. It feels like a very easy place to go to. DMU just introduced the base form of stun counters because they are new, but I think that we will eventually see something like this for real, maybe even sooner than we might think.
Flavor 3/3 - I have no problems with the flavor of this card. It's a device that shoots a spiked strip (aka the stun counter) when it's turned on (aka tapped), then the creature that doesn't see it because it's confused (aka stunned) walks on it and is hurt by it (aka takes damage). And the device can also be reloaded and used multiple times in a short amount of time (aka can be untapped at instant speed). Yeah, it works.
Polish
Quality 2.5/3 - While stun counters are indeed evergreen, they're still new enough to need reminder text in the first ability, and you can't leave it out on an uncommon, not even due to missing room. I'm convinced that if this card were to be printed today, it would have that reminder text. Maybe in a few years, if stun counters keep being evergreen, we could talk about dropping it everywhere and not just on a card that's at least a regular rare. In the meantime, -0.5 for this.
Main Challenge 2/2 - Good.
Subchallenges 2/2 - Both met.
TOTAL 21.5/25
MonoRedMage
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MonoRedMage wrote:
1 year ago
Blinding Oriflamme 2RW
Enchantment {R}
Attacking creatures you control get +1/+0.
At the beginning of combat on your turn, tap target creature an opponent controls and put a stun counter on it.
The Coalition lines faltered, but the tide turned as soon as they laid eyes on the banner of the Angelfire elite.
Design
Appeal 2/3 - Timmy likes pumping his attackers and removing potential blockers. Johnny would probably like to be able to tap his own creatures for some strange kind of benefit. Spike likes the temporary removal but could see the mana cost as a little too high for her taste.
Elegance 3/3 - No problems here.
Development
Viability 3/3 - I see no problems here. Both colors are represented, we've seen freezing in white before, and white is primary in tapping creatures anyway. Rarity looks fine to me and I don't see any problems with the rules.
Balance 3/3 - If you have room for a noncreature enchantment and if you're in the right colors, you might consider this in limited. It's tempting for sure, removing a blocker each turn while also pumping your own attackers looks quite good, and maybe in constructed too. When you see it this way, the relatively high mana cost looks justified. This looks quite strong in white weenie or token decks. I see no problems in casual or multiplayer.
Creativity
Uniqueness 1/3 - Nothing really new here.
Flavor 3/3 - Wow, is this a deep cut. It sure feels like one to me. I'm far from an expert in old Dominarian lore. I know the Coalition was a thing in Invasion block (before my time as a player, back when I didn't even know about this game existing) that's getting a throwback now in DMU, and I have a vague idea of it. But I admit I had to check the Wiki for that Angelfire name drop in the flavor text, and I also admit I spent way more time searching the internet about it than I probably should have. My starting point was this: https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Church_of_Angelfire, which then lead me onto a pathway of connected links. Ok, now I know what that refers to, and in a vacuum that flavor text does make sense to me. I'm only left wondering one thing that I didn't find anywhere: does the timeline make sense here? Was the Church of Angelfire already a thing in the same time frame as Invasion block? If the timelime holds here, this flavor text is very good and I like it very much. It's still very comprehensible to people like me who don't know much about Dominaria's huge history before Time Spiral while also probably evoking a huge sense of nostalgia and many many memories to people who do. I will assume the timeline works and that you probably know way more about the history of Dominaria than I do. I feel like you could teach the teacher about it. I am a high school teacher in real life for those who might not know. Get your full points here.
Polish
Quality 2.5/3 - See the previous card about the reminder text for stun counters. This is a rare, but that doesn't change anything about that reasoning, there is plenty of room for it here, so it should be there even on a rare. (-0.5)
Main Challenge 2/2 - Good.
Subchallenges 2/2 - Both met.
TOTAL 21.5/25
Results
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CunningGabe: 19.5
slimytrout: 23

kwanyeegor-ii: 21.5
MonoRedMage: 21.5
Last edited by bravelion83 1 year ago, edited 5 times in total.
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).
After I'm done republishing my articles I want to reprise the series focusing it more on editing, wording, and templating. Suggest potential future article topics here.
My CCCG Resume (Updated on February 27th 2024)
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Blue = MTGSalvation Green = MTGNexus
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
CCL - Winner (4): Jul 2016 (tied with Flatline), May 2017, Jul 2019 (last on MTGS), Jun 2021 (tied with slimytrout) || Host (5): Feb 2015, Mar Apr May Jun 2016
DCC - Winner (3): Mar 2015 (tied with Piar), Feb Apr 2022 || Host (12): May Oct 2015, Jan 2016, Jun Sep Dec 2021, Mar Jun Sep Dec 2022, Mar Jun 2023

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void_nothing
Look On My Sash...
Posts: 14922
Joined: 4 years ago
Answers: 124
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Tal Terig, Zendikar

Post by void_nothing » 1 year ago

MonoRedMage
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Design
(2/3) Appeal - Txmmy and Spike both like this, but it may be too straightforward for Jxnny.
(2.5/3) Elegance - While putting a stun counter on turn after turn involves SOME tracking, this card isn't too bad otherwise.

Development
(2.5/3) Viability - Hard to tell whether that triggered ability is more white or more blue. Rarity is of course fine.
(2.5/3) Balance - Not sure how pushed this is: Tapping and stunning the biggest threat every turn is a potentially big deal, and the other ability is also obviously very relevant, all for four mana. In other senses, though, that seems like a safe cost: Typically, the best anthems (Honor of the Pure) cost less.

Creativity
(1.5/3) Uniqueness - Basically a mashup along combination-platter-multicolor lines.
(3/3) Flavor - Very nice flavor text that goes nicely with the name too.

Polish
(3/3) Quality - Looking fine.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Done.
(2/2) Subchallenges - And done.

Total: 21/25
kwanyeegor-ii
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Design
(3/3) Appeal - Txmmy likes blasting stuff, Jxnny is wondering about what can be done with this stunned term, Spike likes the flexibility.
(2.5/3) Elegance - Three activated abilities, yes - but very easy to tell what this card's doing.

Development
(2.5/3) Viability - This is complex enough and potentially disruptive enough in Limited that I think it might be better at rare than uncommon.
(2.5/3) Balance - Besides the aforementioned Limited concerns, this card's repeated use is expensive enough that I think it's fine.

Creativity
(2.5/3) Uniqueness - Sets itself apart from other repeating-fire pingers of the past. The use of the "stunned" terminology is interesting, flavorful, and elegant.
(2.5/3) Flavor - Maybe short flavor text would have been nice, but I buy into this card simply by the fact that the ammo is caltrops.

Polish
(3/3) Quality - Looking fine.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Done.
(2/2) Subchallenges - And done.

Total: 22.5/25
CunningGabe
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Design
(2/3) Appeal - Txmmy and Jxnny do like the idea of an X-equipment, much less so Spike, who doesn't want to prepay for that power boost that's going to deplete.
(1.5/3) Elegance - Wordiness and "X+1" and tracking two different counter types aside, this card has an unintuitive function. That is, even if you can't remove a charge counter from this card, you can still tap a creature and put a stun counter on it when the triggered ability resolves.

Development
(1.5/3) Viability - Really not a fan of that triggered ability in red. Rimescale Dragon notwithstanding, tapdown just isn't monored. Also feels borderline as a rare: I could easily see it as uncommon, and it'd be regarded as a bad rare. Now, bad rares are necessary and often truly positive to have, but my point is it would maybe sit more comfortably at the lower rarity.
(3/3) Balance - Sure - if anything this feels a little weak. Since there's no way of replenishing the charge counters you'll get diminishing returns with this and it'll just have the tap-and-stun function (which, again, see the Elegance section).

Creativity
(2.5/3) Uniqueness - Nothing about this card is unprecedented, but it is pretty unusual. I can't say I've ever seen a design quite like it.
(3/3) Flavor - I can't fault the top-down design here.

Polish
(2.5/3) Quality - Should say "X plus one".
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Done.
(2/2) Subchallenges - And done.

Total: 20/25
slimytrout
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Design
(2/3) Appeal - This kind of almost purely defensive card appeals not that much to Txmmy, but both Jxnny and Spike have reasons to like it.
(2.5/3) Elegance - The activated ability "flash" thing is a bit wordy but the card does get its point across.

Development
(2/3) Viability - I question the ultimate's place in the color pie - as recently as Mikaeus, the Unhallowed there seems to be the suggestion that No Mercy is still black although the retaliation concept would seem to be somewhat white. Even the -2 feels a little borderline with red. Rarity, however, is fine of course.
(3/3) Balance - No issues here.

Creativity
(2/3) Uniqueness - Abilities themselves all feel familiar, but this feels like a new version of the flashwalker concept (that seemingly pays tribute to the likes of Rout).
(3/3) Flavor - Sure - this feels like a similar portfolio to The Wandering Emperor and, indeed, like that character struggling to escape a dangerous situation in a particular story moment.

Polish
(2.5/3) Quality - Since this card is clearly meant to be the Wanderer - she has no subtype, but she is still legendary. (Minor note: That first ability should really say "up to one target" as per convention.)
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Fine.
(2/2) Subchallenges - And done.

Total: 21/25
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