December MCC Round 4 (finals) - Leave out all the rest

[bravelion83]

(This month's banner is my own elaboration on the art of the card Orazca Puzzle-Door by Cristi Balanescu.)


December MCC Round 4

Leave out all the rest

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

There are so many different mechanics in LCI that after using descend, discover, and craft, I still have too many left, I could make several rounds out of them, but I only have one left, and it's the final one, so it's supposed to be the most difficult. How about this: I'll put this problem onto you three remaining players. You will be the ones who have to deal with having too many things pointing in different directions. The difficulty will not just be the requirements themselves, but also the sheer quantity of them. Will you be able to escape this maze unscathed? Or will it prove better to leave some of them out?

Also, I'm trying something new for the Subchallenges. I'm dividing each of them in two parts, each worth 0.5 points. You can read it as having four Subchallenges instead of two if you want. Remember that Subchallenges are optional: you CAN give up part of them or even all of them if you want. What you MUST meet is just the Main Challenge, and that will also be intentionally restrictive as well. It's the final round after all. We're crowning our champion here, and they have to deserve it.


Main Challenge - Design a battle, enchantment, or planeswalker card that has an activated ability that directly causes a creature you control to explore.
(Here, "directly" means by saying explicitly "[creature] explores" and NOT by using an intermediate means like Map tokens for example. Those count for Subchallenge 2, here the "explore" keyword has to be on the card itself.)

Subchallenge 1
The card is a DFC with a nonland on its front face that transforms into a land on its back face. (0.5 points)
---AND/OR---
The card's rules text (specifically rules text, NOT type line) includes the word "Cave" being used as a land subtype. (0.5 points)

Subchallenge 2
The card creates Map tokens (in addition to the Main Challenge requirement). (0.5 points)
---AND/OR---
The card uses finality counters. (0.5 points)


VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: In January we are trying some changes. Those do NOT apply here for December.

Clarifications

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Anyway, on to a question for the December MCC Finals
bravelion83 wrote: ↑1 day ago
Main Challenge - Design a battle, enchantment, or planeswalker card that has an activated ability that directly causes a creature you control to explore.
(Here, "directly" means by saying explicitly "[creature] explores" and NOT by using an intermediate means like Map tokens for example. Those count for Subchallenge 2, here the "explore" keyword has to be on the card itself.)
By "causes a creature to explore" does this specifically mean one creature? Would a card that says "each creature you control explores" not meet the criteria?

At least one creature has to explore. Nothing prevents you to make a card that has multiple creature exploring, as long as it's a direct effect of the card and there is no intermediate means (such as Map tokens). "Each creature you control explores" does indeed pass the Main Challenge: there is at least one creature exploring as a direct effect of the card. As long as that's true for any wording you propose, the Main Challenge is met.

Main Challenge - Design a battle, enchantment, or planeswalker card that has an activated ability that directly causes a creature you control to explore.
(Here, "directly" means by saying explicitly "[creature] explores" and NOT by using an intermediate means like Map tokens for example. Those count for Subchallenge 2, here the "explore" keyword has to be on the card itself.)

Subchallenge 1
The card is a DFC with a nonland on its front face that transforms into a land on its back face. (0.5 points)

Assuming I go for Subchallenge 1. Does putting the activated ability on the back face of the card fulfill the Main Challenge, or does the front face require the activated ability?

The back face can have it, and the Main Challenge allows that just fine. The back face of a DFC is indeed a part of the card from a design standpoint, so if the required ability is on the back face of a DFC it's still there in the single card entity and the Main Challenge is met with no problems.

As for the scores, this kind of Main Challenge is essentially binary: it's either fully met (all the above requirements are met at the same time, 2/2), or not met at all (either one or both of the requirements are not met, that's a 0/2 and a DQ). There is no middle ground here, so the MC score should always be either 2/2 or 0/2 (with consequent DQ in this last case).


If you have any more questions, feel free to post them in the MCC discussion thread.

You can also check out the MCC Guidelines and FAQ if you have the will and time. You can find it in a low size PDF version attached to this post and you can also find the link to the original higher size PDF in my signature. They are the same document, I just had to compress it more to be able to put it here as an attachment as the original file, the one linked in my signature, is too large to be attached 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.


DEADLINES

Design deadline: Friday, January 19th 2024 at 23:59 Eastern Time

Judging deadline: Tuesday, January 23rd 2024 at 23:59 Eastern Time


RUBRIC

MCC Rubric

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The MCC Rubric is given below, in an easily "copy and pasted" form. (Courtesy of Rithaniel.)

---

Code: Select all

[b]Design[/b]
[b](X/3) Appeal[/b] - Do the different player psychographics (Timmy/Johhny/Spike) have a use for the card?
[b](X/3) Elegance[/b] - Is the card easily understandable at a glance? Do all the flavor and mechanics combined as a whole make sense?
 
[b]Development[/b]
[b](X/3) Viability[/b] - 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?
[b](X/3) Balance[/b] - 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?
 
[b]Creativity[/b]
[b](X/3) Uniqueness[/b] - 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"?
[b](X/3) Flavor[/b] - 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?
 
[b]Polish[/b]
[b](X/3) Quality[/b] - Points deducted for incorrect spelling, grammar, and templating.
[b](X/2) Main Challenge (*)[/b] - Was the main challenge satisfied? Was it approached in a unique or interesting way? Does the card fit the intent of the challenge?
[b](X/2) Subchallenges[/b] - One point awarded per satisfied subchallenge condition.
 
[b]Total: X/25[/b]
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.

JUDGES

bravelion83
void_nothing


PLAYERS

@Raptorchan
@slimytrout
@Subject16


BRACKETS

Both judges will judge all the cards. The player with the highest combined score in this round will be the MCC champion for December.

[slimytrout]

Yanggu, Trusting Traveler 2GW
Legendary Planeswalker — Yanggu (M)
When Yanggu, Trusting Traveler enters the battlefield, create Brave Mowu, a legendary 3/3 green Dog creature token with "When this creature dies, transform each Yanggu you control."
0: Target creature you control explores. Until your next turn, all damage that would be dealt to Yanggu, Trusting Traveler is dealt to that creature instead.
-3: You get an emblem with "At the beginning of combat on your turn, target creature gains vigilance, lifelink, and indestructible until end of turn."
{3}
///
Tomb of Mowu
Land — Cave (M)
T: Add one mana of any color.
2GW, T: Return target creature card with mana value X or less from your graveyard to the battlefield with a finality counter on it, where X is the number of Caves you control plus the number of Cave cards in your graveyard. Activate only as a sorcery. (If a creature with a finality counter on it would die, exile it instead.)
"Forever my friend."

[Raptorchan]

Break into the Core 2g
Battle — Siege (R)
(As a Siege enters, choose an opponent to protect it. You and others can attack it. When it's defeated, exile it, then cast it transformed.)
When Break into the Core enters the battlefield, each of up to two target creatures you control explore.
2: Each creature that attacked Break into the Core this turn explores. Activate only once each turn.
5
//
River Herald Dowser
● Creature — Merfolk Scout
Vigilance
When River Herald Dowser enters the battlefield, create two Map tokens.
Whenever a creature you control exploring causes you to reveal a Cave card, you gain 2 life.
t, Sacrifice a Map: Create a Treasure token.
4/4

[Subject16]

Search for the Coin Empire 3W
Enchantment — Saga (M)
(As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter.)
I — Create two Map tokens and a Treasure token.
II — Return up to one target permanent card from your graveyard to the battlefield with a finality counter on it.
III — If there are ten or more permanent cards in your graveyard, exile this Saga, then return it to the battlefield transformed under your control.

///

Omenpath Nexus
Legendary Land — Cave
T: Add X mana of any one color, where X is the number of Caves you control plus the number of Cave cards in your graveyard.
1, T: Exile target creature you control, then return that card to the battlefield under its owner's control. It explores.

[bravelion83]

About 12 hours left before the design deadline. Remember you all can edit your card until then, but in that moment it's locked in.

EDIT - The round is closed. All judges will judge all cards. Judging may begin right now.

---

Judgments complete. Waiting for @void_nothing's ones to finally crown this month's champion.

slimytrout

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Yanggu, Trusting Traveler 2GW
Legendary Planeswalker — Yanggu (M)
When Yanggu, Trusting Traveler enters the battlefield, create Brave Mowu, a legendary 3/3 green Dog creature token with "When this creature dies, transform each Yanggu you control."
0: Target creature you control explores. Until your next turn, all damage that would be dealt to Yanggu, Trusting Traveler is dealt to that creature instead.
-3: You get an emblem with "At the beginning of combat on your turn, target creature gains vigilance, lifelink, and indestructible until end of turn."
{3}
///
Tomb of Mowu
Land — Cave (M)
T: Add one mana of any color.
2GW, T: Return target creature card with mana value X or less from your graveyard to the battlefield with a finality counter on it, where X is the number of Caves you control plus the number of Cave cards in your graveyard. Activate only as a sorcery. (If a creature with a finality counter on it would die, exile it instead.)
"Forever my friend."

Design
Appeal 2/3 - Timmy likes pretty much everything here. Johnny could maybe try to do something with the back face, but I don't see much for him here. Spike appreciates that the costs aren't too high.
Elegance 2.5/3 - Very wordy, but still easy enough to understand at your first reading.
Development
Viability 3/3 - Both colors are represented in the mechanics. Rarity is obviously correct. No problems with the rules.
Balance 3/3 - The most important part of the balance of this card is that the front face has no built-in ways to gain loyalty. It's like Sarkhan the Mad in that regard. That allows the mana cost to be as low as possible while still having meaningful abilities. Another consequence is that if you want the emblem you have to act quick, because if Yanggu loses even just 1 loyalty you won't be able to get it anymore unless something like proliferate is involved. You essentially have to make a choice between the emblem and the land on the back: which one do you prefer? Because it's very hard to get both, and I see it as a good thing. Another interesting thing is the damage redirection being able to protect Yanggu while at the same time causing Brave Mowu to die, thich gets you the land on the back face. The back face already being a Cave itself is also good, so the X in the activated ability will always be at least 1. I can see a lot of thought went into balancing this card, and the results definitely show. Planeswalkers are usually must-play in limited, and I feel like this one is no exception. I think this could easily see Standard play at the very least. No problems in casual or multiplayer.
Creativity
Uniqueness 3/3 - A DFC planeswalker transforming into a land is new. Nothing more to say here.
Flavor 3/3 - I cried. Literally. I've been through that. His name was not Mowu, but he has been and will be indeed forever my friend, or actually, as I used to call him, the younger brother I've never had. I'm an only child. If a card is capable of invoking such feelings with its flavor, it just deserves full points here.
Polish
Quality 3/3 - All good.
Main Challenge 2/2 - The 0 ability makes a creature you control explore. Good.
Subchallenges 1.5/2 - Nonland DFC with land on the back face. (+0.5) "Cave" in rules text. (+0.5) Uses finality counters. (+0.5)
TOTAL 23/25

Raptorchan

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Break into the Core 2g
Battle — Siege (R)
(As a Siege enters, choose an opponent to protect it. You and others can attack it. When it's defeated, exile it, then cast it transformed.)
When Break into the Core enters the battlefield, each of up to two target creatures you control explore.
2: Each creature that attacked Break into the Core this turn explores. Activate only once each turn.
5
//
River Herald Dowser
● Creature — Merfolk Scout
Vigilance
When River Herald Dowser enters the battlefield, create two Map tokens.
Whenever a creature you control exploring causes you to reveal a Cave card, you gain 2 life.
t, Sacrifice a Map: Create a Treasure token.
4/4

Design
Appeal 3/3 - Timmy likes everything here. Johnny really likes the unusual trigger condition on the back face, and will try to manipulate the top card of his library to be a Cave. Could he make an infinite life engine out of this? Spike likes the low costs, and is more interested in the rate of the back face rather than that unusual triggered ability. Gaining 2 life as the output isn't interesting to her, though a relevant 4/4 with vigilance and additional upside definitely is.
Elegance 2.5/3 - Very wordy, but still easy enough to understand at your first reading.
Development
Viability 3/3 - No problems with the color pie, rarity, or the rules.
Balance 3/3 - Costs and rate look good to me. Playable in limited, and probably in Standard good, mostly because of the good rate of the back face. No problems in casual or multiplayer.
Creativity
Uniqueness 2/3 - Battles are still new, with a lot of unexplored design space, and that's good, but this card doesn't really explore any of that new design space, it just feels like more of what we got in MOM.
Flavor 3/3 - You hit the door repeatedly to break into Ixalan's Core and then a River Herald guides you downwards. It works.
Polish
Quality 3/3 - All good.
Main Challenge 2/2 - The front face makes creatures you control explore. Good.
Subchallenges 1/2 - "Cave" in rules text. (+0.5) Creates Map tokens. (+0.5)
TOTAL 22.5/25

Subject16

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Search for the Coin Empire 3W
Enchantment — Saga (M)
(As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter.)
I — Create two Map tokens and a Treasure token.
II — Return up to one target permanent card from your graveyard to the battlefield with a finality counter on it.
III — If there are ten or more permanent cards in your graveyard, exile this Saga, then return it to the battlefield transformed under your control.

///

Omenpath Nexus
Legendary Land — Cave
T: Add X mana of any one color, where X is the number of Caves you control plus the number of Cave cards in your graveyard.
1, T: Exile target creature you control, then return that card to the battlefield under its owner's control. It explores.

Design
Appeal 2/3 - Timmy likes this card, except in the cases when it fails to transform. Johnny has the challenge of putting ten permanent cards in his graveyard before chapter III resolves. He also can use the mana from the back face in a lot of different ways. Spike also likes a land that's capable to produce more than one mana, though she'd probably prefer to get there right away rather than having to jump through the hoops of the Saga.
Elegance 2.5/3 - Very wordy, but still easy enough to understand at your first reading.
Development
Viability 2/3 - Treasure tokens aren't supposed to be in white, but other than that, the color pie is satisfied. I can see this at mythic, but I could also see it at regular rare. No problems with the rules technically, even though chapter III might fail...
Balance 1.5/3 - ...because if you have fewer than ten permanent cards in your graveyard by the time it resolves, the "if" will not be true, so the Saga won't be exiled and returned transformed, staying on the battlefield with three lore counters and ready to be sacrificed as a state-based action the next time a player would get priority without any chapters triggering anymore. It would be nice to have a default small effect that happens anyway if that's the case. A land that could produce more than one mana is worth the effort though if you can make it. If you're fine with the possibility of having to sacrifice it with no effect, this is playable for sure in limited and maybe in constructed too. A land producing more than one mana is certainly tempting in constructed. No additional problems in casual or multiplayer.
Creativity
Uniqueness 2/3 - To me, this feels like it's just transforming Sagas from NEO plus permanents transforming into lands from original Ixalan and LCI. The result is technically new, but it's just the sum of two parts we've already seen before.
Flavor 3/3 - It's a very good representation of the story of LCI, and especially Quint's role in it.
Polish
Quality 2/3 - Reminder text should be in italics (-1 for serious mistake).
Main Challenge 2/2 - The last ability on the back face makes a creature you control explore. Good.
Subchallenges 2/2 - Nonland DFC with land on the back face. (+0.5) "Cave" in rules text. (+0.5) Creates Map tokens. (+0.5) Uses finality counters. (+0.5)
TOTAL 19/25

Results

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slimytrout: 23
Raptorchan: 22.5
Subject16: 19

[void_nothing]

slimytrout

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Design
(2.5/3) Appeal - Txmmy likes the repeated exploring and, yes, the emblem. Jxnny has plenty of things to play around with. Spike doesn't like how conditional the recursion ability of the back face is despite the general high power of repeated creature resurrection.
(1.5/3) Elegance - The front face here has a play pattern that strikes me as kind of odd - it's almost modal, with either the emblem OR the land face being your choices, given no built-in way to gain loyalty. The back face, meanwhile, is plenty wordy, by necessity, but it might take a couple of readings for new players to get it.

Development
(3/3) Viability - Definitely a GW design and it has multiple reasons to be mythic.
(3/3) Balance - There is a hoop to jump through (that some players would be unwilling to, lol) in order to get the back face, powerful as it is, and you need Caves to make this work. Pretty balanced, I would say.

Creativity
(2/3) Uniqueness - No one single thing here is unique, but it is a different dynamic than we've ever seen for a planeswalker design.
(2/3) Flavor - I really don't want these events to happen, but the flavor is very poignant. I will note that "Trusting" seems like an odd adjective to apply to Yanggu in this case - his relationship with Mowu actually goes well beyond mere trust. Also: Shouldn't Tomb of Mowu also be legendary?

Polish
(3/3) Quality - Good.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Done.
(1.5/2) Subchallenges - Hits everything but the Maps.

Total: 20.5/25

Raptorchan

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Design
(2.5/3) Appeal - Txmmy and Jxnny want to spam explore for different reasons, and Txmmy also like the back face quite a bit, being a vigilant beater that helps ramp and throws in a little lifegain too. Spike sees a lot of efficiency for a deck where exploring matters, but kind of wish the back face were higher-impact.
(2.5/3) Elegance - Front face looks pretty elegant - back face has a bit in the way of tracking complexity.

Development
(3/3) Viability - Definitely monogreen and definitely rare.
(3/3) Balance - This seems reasonable. The back face certainly isn't gamebreaking and while 5 defense might seem overly high, this card has abilities that make it usually much easier to defeat, so that's fine by me. I'd actually lean on the side of this being underpowered, but I can also see it being amazing in Limited. I actually wish that River Herald Dowser produced two Treasures per Map sacrificed, maybe even three... but that's skirting the line.

Creativity
(2/3) Uniqueness - Not a lot of unique effects - this is mostly a card that makes a LOT of things explore and does a couple of utility things on the back face - but multiple unique concepts, like giving creatures that attack a battle a bonus, caring about what's revealed while exploring...
(3/3) Flavor - I like the idea that a dowser turns Maps into Treasures, and the front face feels sufficiently like a Siege despite not having the Phyrexian invasion flavor of the March of the Machine battles.

Polish
(3/3) Quality - Looks good.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Done.
(1/2) Subchallenges - Meets everything but using finality counters and being a land on the back.

Total: 22/25

Subject16

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Design
(3/3) Appeal - Txmmy and Jxnny want that back face, while Spike is maybe more interested in the Treasures and the ability to recur anything but sees a powerful land as a great bonus for when their 'yard is full, Might even spawn a W/x self-mill deck or two!
(2/3) Elegance - Both the Saga chapters and the transformed face are somewhat wordy (although their function is very clear) and create some tracking complexity, and also the second chapter feels "off" because it's an odd mashup of descend 8 and ascend.

Development
(2.5/3) Viability - This feels perfectly at home at mythic, and white is more than capable of creating Maps and recurring any permanent type. However, the back face here is one of those things that would be fine as a colorless card but comes off a bit odd in white - not the blink + explore ability, but more so the massive ramping mana ability.
(2.5/3) Balance - Possibly a little pushed, but not overpowered in actuality.

Creativity
(2/3) Uniqueness - While this is a unique combination of effects, no single part is really unique, even if they're their own variants of old effects.
(2.5/3) Flavor - It's perfectly fine for the Omenpath Nexus to be a Cave, but odd that that's where the search for the Coin Empire leads exactly: After all, weren't they presumably traveling the planes long before omenpaths spread to the entire multiverse?

Polish
(2.5/3) Quality - Saga reminder text should be italicized.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Done.
(2/2) Subchallenges - All done.

Total: 21/25

[bravelion83]

I saw void's judgments but I will allow at least a few hours for people to comment on the judgments in the discussion thread if anybody wishes to do so. Now it's almost midnight here in Italy. I'm going to bed now and tomorrow as soon as I can after I wake up, if nobody has anything to say, I will officially declare the winner, also because the judging deadline is officially in about six hours from this post and that's when judgments are officially final. Have I said the word "officially" enough? People, if any of you has to say something about the judgments, please say it now! See you all tomorrow.

[bravelion83]

Final scores:

Raptorchan: 22.5 + 22 = 44.5
slimytrout: 23 + 20.5 = 43.5
Subject16: 19 + 21 = 40

@Raptorchan is officially the winner for December. Congratulations!

This has been a hard month, especially to me, and I'm so glad for it to finally be over. Now we can look forward to the next set, Murders at Karlov Manor, for which I will host again in March. I hope you all are ready to solve some mysteries! See you all then.