March MCC Round 2
Investigation
As is tradition by now, this month we will celebrate the latest set, in this case Murders at Karlov Manor, by exploring its mechanics and themes, as usual in this kind of MCC months.
The story continues.
EPISODE 2
Family business
The next day, Detective Roy summed up what was left to do in his mind.
"So, the killer was clearly a Gruul young man in a Dimir disguise, with signs of poison on it. They might have acted on their own account, or hired by somebody else to do the job. It can't be excluded that the Selesnya themselves hired him to solve some kind of internal disagreement. An Izzet goblin who also could have been a useful witness has disappeared, and anyway they had run away before the murder, and not to take a bow and then return to shoot a poisoned arrow at the hierarch with it from the back of the crowd, he had run away because of fear and guilt, and anyway the murderer was a human and not a goblin, I saw it once I managed to take off the cloak. I could find some Izzet member to talk to them about this, but I don't think the Izzet are actually behind this given the current evidence. All the other guilds that were in the crowd look like they can be excluded as well, judging by their testimonies. The guild the culprit belongs to, if any, was not there in the hierarch's audience, which leaves the Gruul, after all the killer could have been hired by a high-ranking member of his same guild, the Selesnya, because of an internal feud, and…" He sighed. "The Azorius and the Boros. I know who I have to talk to next."
Roy felt a wave of discomfort hitting him as hard as an inner tsunami, and he was now forced to face it, trying to stand against it as strongly as the man he had yet to become.
The reason Roy had joined the Agency instead of any guild was because he wanted to know the truth behind all the guilds at their worst, when they were committing crimes, before he chose one, if any. His father, a Wojek Shift Captain, had always wanted to have him in his patrolling squad in the Boros Legion. He used to take Roy with him on his patrol relatively often, when it was safe enough, and he liked to walk the streets with his dad at his side, ready to protect him if the need should have ever risen, and such a need had already risen several times in Roy's still relatively short life. Once, he had witnessed a Boros patrol catching a criminal on the act and taking it a step too far by killing them on the spot instead of arresting them and consigning them to the Azorius, but at the same time he was also there another time when another Boros patrol saw an orphan child stealing food to survive and they chose to not even intervene. He knew the Boros could cover the whole range between heartly compassionate and stubbornly inflexible in law enforcement. He liked the former but had never understood the latter. His father had always told him that it was all part of the job and he shouldn't worry too much about it. Since then, Roy had left his parents' house to go to live with a friend of his. Roy rarely met either of his parents anymore since he left their house a couple years ago.
Roy knew where to find his father: the local seat of the Wojek League. He had free access there. He could go wherever he wanted, people there knew him and had always treated him as if he actually were the Boros soldier his father had always wanted him to become. After all, Roy was still their boss's son. They knew their boss would have wanted to have a talk with them if they kept him out of the buildings as they were technically supposed to, but they were all too afraid of that talk, as they knew it would have been the kind of talk you'd never want to have with your boss. So they all just let Roy reach his father's office and enter there as they always did. Roy ignored all the eyes that were looking at him as he reached the door, sighed, and entered the room without even knocking.
"Hi, dad." Roy was looking at the floor, not even daring to look his father in the eyes. He didn't want him to try to convince him to join the Boros yet again, and he didn't want to disappoint him by having to tell him no again, and that he wanted to find his own path, and that it was not a given that path led to him joining the Legion.
"Roy! My joy!"
"Dad, please… I don't know how many times you told me that rhyme in my life. You know I don't like it. I'm not a child anymore."
"But you are! It's been a while since you were here last time. What brings you here? You've finally decided you want to join the righteous side?"
"No, sorry, not yet. I'm still in the Agency, and that's why I'm here."
"Ok, I'll still wait then… How can I help you, son?"
"A Selesnya hierarch has been killed yesterday while holding a sermon in the main plaza, and I'm investigating his death. Were any of your men around there yesterday?"
"Some certainly were. You know we patrol the whole precinct constantly, day and night."
"Any report about that?"
"Not to me yet."
"Dad, please be sincere for once. Could the Boros do something like that?"
"You mean kill somebody while on service? Yes, it has happened before… Some of our guys get carried away by the frenzy of the moment sometimes… Don't tell anyone about that."
"I know, I've seen that myself as a child. Multiple times in fact. But even religious people? Hiring a Gruul archer boy wearing a Dimir cloak who shoots an arrow poisoned with an unknown poison right at their heart?"
"No, that doesn't sound like a Boros way to deal with criminals, I don't think it's been one of us. Anyway, let me hear from the zone Sergeant…"
Roy's father open the door of his office and shouted:
"Is Sergeant Namezt around here? Please anybody send him to report to me here! NOW!"
After a few minutes, the door of Roy's father's room was slammed open with the same violence that a local Grunt would use if it led to a criminal hideout instead of their boss's office. A male Boros minotaur entered the room.
"Sergeant Namezt, what are you doing? That's my office door, you know it!"
"Sorry, Captain Biklyev. You've called for me and I ran here. Inertia can be a force more binding than the law. At your orders! Oh, and hi, Royznod!"
"Hi, Zonez."
"Do you have any reports about a homicide in the main plaza yesterday? Roy is investigating that on behalf of the Agency."
"The Selesnya hierarch, sir?"
Roy replied in his father's stead:
"Yes, Zonez. That one."
"Roy, my son, you'd fit wonderfully in this role! You already know everybody here!"
"Dad, please, not in front of one of your subjects…"
"Anyway, anything about that, Sergeant?"
"Yes, Captain. Two of my Grunts saw an Izzet goblin running away from the plaza screaming curses to that hierarch, and they followed him. He entered a building a few blocks down and never came out of there for the rest of the day. At a certain point they saw the Azorius also going down the same street transporting a loxodon body."
"I told them to bring it to their evidence locker."
"Good idea, Roy! Sergeant, were any of your Grunts in the plaza at the moment that loxodon was killed?"
"No, sir. They were all patrolling the zone, but none was in the plaza at that exact moment as far as I know."
Roy said nothing, but he thought: "So no Boros were there at that moment. Dad's right, it can't be them."
Then he said aloud: "I wanted to talk to that runaway Izzet goblin…"
"Sergeant, could you take Roy to wherever your Grunts saw that goblin went?"
"Sure, Captain!"
"Do you want to go there right now, Roy?"
"Yes, dad. If you don't mind…"
"Not at all! Sergeant Namezt, take Roy there, and answer to him like you would to me. Stay with my son until he needs you, regardless of how long it might be. Feel free to go now if you want."
"Let's go, Zonez."
"Yeah, Royznod Biklyev, please follow me."
"Oh, come on, Sergeant Zonez Namezt!"
They left the Wojek local seat heading towards the building the Izzet goblin entered.
"Zonez, please, don't actually answer me as you would to my dad. I'm not in the Boros officially despite what dad would like. And you all essentially saw me grow up…"
"No problems, Roy! No one should be forced to join the Legion if they don't want to, and there is no law requiring a child to enter the same guild as one of his parents…"
"That sounds like something my mother might actually like… Don't give her ideas, please!"
"I don't think she's hearing us now…"
"You never know. The Senate has surveillance devices almost everywhere in the city."
"That's true. But then why didn't any of those devices detect anything happening in the plaza yesterday?"
"They might have. The Senate would never tell you unless it's needed. Invoke city secrets or something like that…"
"But then how would you know?"
"Don't worry, I'll take care of that later. I've already swallowed a bitter pill today. I might as well just swallow another one later. Now just take me there, Zonez."
"As you wish, Roy."
"At least you didn't reply 'At your orders!' to me…"
"You've asked me! And even if you didn't, I would have known anyway that you don't like it."
"Sometimes I feel like the rest of you understand me more than my dad actually does…"
"That's for you to figure out, Roy. If you ever need us you know where to find us! But only if and when you want it."
"Don't worry, I'll let you all know. Are we far?"
"Not much, but if you feel like you need some training, we can take a run there!"
"Why not? Let's go, Zonez!"
Zonez and Roy knocked at the door that the Grunts had seen the runaway Izzet goblin go in. A raspy voice replied from the inside:
"GO AWAY!"
Zonez and Roy looked each other right in the eyes. Roy lifted his hand to stop immediate action by the Boros Sergeant. Roy replied with the calmest voice he could use while still making it sound determined:
"We are Detective Royznod Biklyev of the Ravnica Agency of Magicological Investigations and Sergeant Zonez Namezt of the Boros Legion. We need to talk with you. Please open the door."
"NO! AWAY!"
"Please do not force us to act."
"I! SAID! AWAY!"
Roy looked again at Zonez and this time nodded at his minotaur companion. Zonez nodded back at Roy, grinning. While Roy was relatively slim, Zonez was pretty big and muscular, even going by minotaur standards. In perfect sync, the two of them smashed the door with their shoulder. What appeared in front of them was clearly an Izzet research lab, with the same male goblin that fled from the plaza hiding behind a laboratory bench with several vials of reagents on it, the color of the solutions ranging from transparent to red, then yellow, then green, and violet. All the colors of the rainbow were represented among them. Roy recognized that last purple coloration. The goblin screamed again:
"TOLD YOU! TO GO! AWAY!"
Roy screamed back:
"That purple solution! I've already seen that color! It's the poison that killed the hierarch! Who are you?"
"DOESN'T MATTER! GO AWAY!"
"It will matter very soon if you keep behaving like this! Why did you run away from the hierarch?"
"ACCUSED! SCARED! NOW TOO! GO AWAY!"
"No, we won't! Answer me or I'll have you arrested right now! How convenient that I'm with a Boros Sergeant… What's that purple solution?"
A shaky goblin hand came up from behind the bench, took that purple solution and poured it into the vial with the transparent one. The purple drops also turned transparent as they reached and fused with the mass of the other solution.
"What's this magic?" asked Rov. Still hiding behind the bench, the raspy voice replied:
"It's not magic! They're called 'indicators'! Used for chemical analysis! Change color based on acidity! Red turns to yellow, purple disappears!"
"So it's not a poison?"
"NO! GO AWAY! NOW!"
"Wait! So you didn't come back to the plaza to shoot the loxodon after running away?"
"NO! CAME HERE! SCARED! NEVER LEFT AGAIN! NOW YOU TWO LEAVE!"
"Or give a poison to a Gruul boy to use on his arrow and have him shoot?"
"I don't know what you're talking about! And it's not poison! Real Izzet don't use poisons! NOW LEAVE!"
"How about the Dimir? They do, and the cloak was Dimir."
"Dimir could use poisons! Izzet don't! GO AWAY!"
Zonez intervened for the first time:
"Roy, that's true. Think about it. Have you ever heard about the Izzet experimenting with poisons? That's more of a Golgari or Simic thing, and the Dimir can use poisons as well. Not the Izzet. I don't think this goblin or his guild are involved in this."
"BIG GUY IS RIGHT! NOW GO!"
"You're right, Zonez. I guess the Izzet aren't involved."
"No. And this one just fled because of fear. Nothing to hide. Just my opinion, Roy."
"Ok. Excuse the intrusion and have a nice day, whatever your name is."
Roy and Zonez were back on the street, and clueless about what to do next. The big Boros minotaur told to the slim detective boy:
"Weren't you talking about your mother before?"
"Do we really have to talk about her?"
"No. It was just an idea. I can also just go back to the Wojek department if you prefer."
"No, it's fine. You can stay with me. If I have to go to talk to her as well, I'd feel good with you as moral support at least."
"Thank you. Do you want to do that now?"
"Why not? I might as well just swallow the other bitter pill sooner rather than later."
"Why is it bitter? If you don't mind…"
"No problem, you're like my second family. It's just that you only know half of my first one."
"I know your mother is Azorius. Why are you afraid of her?"
"I'm not afraid. Just uncomfortable, like when I came to talk to my dad at your department earlier today."
"Why are you uncomfortable with your own parents? That feels wrong to me."
"They both want me in their own guild. I don't feel ready to join either of them, and if I join one's guild, I know I will inevitably disappoint the other."
"If they really want what's good for you above everything else, like any parent is supposed to do, they won't be disappointed."
"They will. They're both very proud. Too proud. My dad doesn't miss a chance to make anybody notice how well I would fit in the Boros, you've heard it yourself earlier today and I'm sure it wasn't the first time. My mum does the same in the Azorius. It's always been like that. I feel like a rope in a game of tug of war, being pulled from two opposite sides at the same time. The end state is that the rope stands still, or if you prefer, I stay guildless. And if I end up in a different guild, I disappoint both at the same time. That's even worse."
"But would you disappoint yourself? That's what matters."
"No, but it's not that easy. If I have to join a guild at all, I want to know what they can do at their worst, even those who want to maintain a facade of goodness. At least the Rakdos and the Dimir are open about that, for how open the Dimir can be. but all the others aren't that better actually. You don't know how much dirt I've already seen since I joined the Agency a couple years ago as I left my parents' home. They all can do horrible things. All of them. Including yours. I'm sorry, Zonez, but that's the truth."
"No problem, Roy. Don't think I don't know."
"I want to understand. I want to know the truth about the guilds, all of them. Only then I will be able to make a decision, if any. In the meantime, I try to stay neutral. That's what I want for now. Neutrality, and knowing the truth. You know, the same ideals Ezrim founded the Agency for. For now, that's what I want. That's what I know I want. That's what I feel I want."
"Then that's what you should strive for, not whatever either of your parents want you to do."
"That's the problem." Roy sighed. "Let's go to find my mum."
"Here we are, Zonez."
"Where? This is just a secondary dead-end alley, Roy."
"I don't feel like passing through all the security checks of the local Azorius quarters just to talk to my mother."
"So you brought us to this wall instead?"
"There is a secret passage here. One that my mother set up specifically so that I could reach her office at any time I wanted."
"That doesn't sound like something the Azorius would do. At the very least it means your mother must trust you if she set up a way for you to bypass their security."
Roy sighed again. "Yeah, I guess… Just let me open this and follow me."
"If you prefer going there alone, just tell me. I'd understand."
"No. Come with me."
"Hi, mum."
"Good morning, madam."
"Roy! It's been so long since I last saw you!"
"Mum, this is Zonez. He's one of dad's subjects. Zonez, this is my mother."
"Sergeant Zonez Namezt. Nice to meet you, mistress…"
"Manyela Privak-Biklyev, advocate, prosecutor, and keeper of the local Azorius library and archives. Pleased to meet you, Sergeant."
"She always has to do this… couldn't she just say 'Manyela' and be done with it?" Roy thought, but lacked the courage to say it out loud. It was part of Azorius customs for one to say their full name, surname, and official titles when they introduce themselves to someone they don't know, and he didn't want his mother to see him as too detached from her guild. Instead, he told her:
"He's helping me on a case. A Selesnya hierarch was killed yesterday in a public plaza by a seemingly Gruul archer in a Dimir disguise with a poisoned arrow. We're looking for any information the archives can provide."
"No problem! Let me take the form to compile to access the archives…"
"Mum, it's me."
"...obviously in duplicate…"
"Me and my friend."
"...or maybe in triplicate it's even better, you never know one of the copies might be lost…"
"Mum?"
"Oh, sorry, son. It's just that there are laws to follow, I can't let anyone enter the archives like this…"
"You made a secret passage for me to get here, mum. Couldn't you just let me and my friend pass? I can guarantee for him myself if you want."
Zonez was looking at her rolling his eyes, thinking:
"This is why I'm proud to be Boros and not Azorius… Sometimes you have to close your eyes. I would allow my child immediate access, that's if I had one of course… If you don't trust your own child, who do you trust? And why does she trust her child enough to allow him access to his own office but not to the archive? It makes it look like there are some secrets in the archives she doesn't want even her child to know…"
But then what he actually told her was:
"If I am the problem, madam, I can stay here with you while he goes to look in the archive…"
"No, no, you can go together. You're right, son. Sometimes I let myself be carried away by the joy of formal paperwork! I will accompany you two there, just to be safe..."
"...at least, if someone sees us they will think we filled all the proper forms to be there. Got it, mum. Thank you. Let's follow her, Zonez."
Zonez went downstairs with Roy and his mother while thinking:
"'The joy of formal paperwork', sure… 'Joy' is a very subjective word I guess…"
Manyela had left Roy and Zonez to search the archives and had gone back to her office, waiting for them to be back there. Given the sheer extension of the archives, the young detective and his minotaur companion had chosen to check separate parts of the archives each by himself, calling each other if either of them found anything noteworthy. While still searching, Zonez sighed and then told Roy from afar:
"Roy, there are several cases of corruption involving Boros members here…"
"Told you your guild isn't actually as clean as it wants to look like."
"Yeah… At least I don't know any of the names I'm seeing here personally."
"And I know you well enough to know you can't be among those."
"I've never taken a single bribe in my whole life, and have no intention to do so in the future."
"As I said, I know you."
Zonez had a folder in his hands and was scouring through it.
"Azorius too? Wow!"
"Doesn't surprise me. You don't know what I've seen through the Agency. None of the guilds is totally innocent. Not even a single one, and not even the lawmakers themselves. We're lucky there aren't more than ten guilds, or Ravnica would be even more fallible than it already is. Ten guilds are enough, no more are necessary."
"I can't imagine a Ravnica with more than ten guilds."
"In fact. I tell you: no more than ten. That's enough."
"Hold on! Roy, you might want to read this line that I've found here…"
"Coming, Zonez. I've found nothing in this other aisle so far anyway."
Roy went to check what Zonez had found.
"Read here, Roy."
"...and according to the aforementioned Regulament on Transport and Retention, vol. 20, section 5, colloquially referred to as 'Law on Illicit Substances', and as reaffiremed by the subsequent Government law n. 880 and Decree of public interest n. 29983, the production, detention and use of all known poisons are managed as detailed in article 9-ter of the Nature Act, that thorougly and extensively lists all of them, also specifying which ones are free and which ones require affiliation to a guild, and the physical and chemical properties to which each of them must adhere for its adoption to be inherently authorized without the need of any further permissions…"
"We might want to read that list."
"Yeah. It turns out some poisons require affiliation to a guild to use while others can also be used by the guildless. Under which category would something like what I saw on that Dimir cloak fall?"
"Who knows?"
"Is there a copy of the Nature Act somewhere in this archive?"
"There must be. This is so big that it looks like it must contain a copy of the whole New Prahv main archives..."
"Let's look for it."
They spent several hours researching the archive, looking for the Nature Act.
"See, Zonez? This is not what I want to do in my life. What is this all for? Nothing!"
"Come on, Roy! Don't give up! It must be here somewhere. It's true that I just can't see you in the Azorius, for how well I can know you..."
"You do know me, you've seen me grow up!"
"As did the whole Wojek department by the way..."
"Yeah. Not a problem, don't worry. Keep searching."
"Did your mother ever gave you a full tour of the Azorius offices here?"
"No. Ever. Not a single time. I can come and go as I please in your Wojek seat, and I could navigate that whole building with a blindfold on my eyes, without even being officially part of the Boros... Here I would have to pass all security checks and ask for directions to get to my mum's office if she didn't set up that secret passage. Except for my mother's room, I don't know a single corridor in the building that's above us right now. I could draw the whole map of the Wojek department, but I couldn't draw a single line if I were to map this building instead."
"Complete opposites..."
"Yeah, indeed. I'm used to that by now. It's not that my mother doesn't trust me, it's just that while my dad shows it too much, she doesn't show it at all instead. She's not a bad person though."
"Never said that. It just that the difference between those two extremes caught my attention..."
"Tell that to me! I used to live it every day until I chose to leave home, and yes, that was part of the reason why I did that."
"HERE IT IS!"
"Did you find it?"
"Yeah! 'The Nature Act'.Finally! Come here, Roy! Let's take a look."
"Go directly to article 9-ter. I wanna see that list of poisons right now!"
"Here!"
"Wow, look at this table! It's so long!"
"How did it say? 'Thorough and extensive' or something like that?"
"Well, this certainly qualifies!"
"I had no idea so many poisons existed... so many ways to die..."
"Can't blame you for seeing it that way, Zonez... WAIT! What's that name?"
"'Stain of Violets'?"
"Yeah! Let's see what it says about it... violet color..."
"Who would have guessed?"
"Violets are flowers, Zonez."
"Yeah. And what color are they?"
"Violet, of couse. Ok, you're right."
"How does the saying go? 'Roses are red, violets are violet' or something like that?"
"Not exactly, but it gives the idea quite well. Let's see the rest of the physical and chemical properties... It doesn't mention anything about turning transparent in an acid environment."
"The Izzet goblin was right. This is not the one we saw in his lab."
"Indeed."
"And what does it say about any eventual guild affiliation required to use it?"
"'Requires guild affiliation..."
"Well, that rules out whoever hired the killer being guildless then..."
"Yeah, but look at how it goes on: '...to one of the following guilds: Dimir House, Cult of Rakdos, Gruul Clans, Selesnya Conclave, Orzhov Syndicate, Golgari Swarm, or Simic Combine.'"
"Could have just said 'almost everybody'..."
"No, Zonez! Don't focus too much on who's there, also pay attention to who is not there!"
"I'm just happy my own guild is not on that list..."
"Me too. Dad and all of you at the Wojek seat are clean, as well as mum and everybody who works in this building."
"True. Doesn't say Azorius either. Of course, this was also written by some Azorius bureaucrat, so they might want to still have access to it out of the law..."
"'Out of the law'? The Azorius? Do you feel fine, Zonez? The ceiling here is low, maybe you might have hit it with your horns or some other part of your head..."
"Yeah, you're right. I was thinking as Boros, sorry. Of course the Azorius would spell it out even if it was themselves writing this... Makes them appear lawful, and anyway it's not their job to patrol the streets and have to deal with the real s..."
"...service that must be offered to Ravnica's population. I guess that was what you were about to say, wasn't it?"
"Oh, sure... Yeah, it was certainly that... Nothing to worry about. But it's true that it's too easy for them to just sit behind their desks while we have to deal with the real-life consequences of the laws they like so much to write while they're safe sitting in a building with security checks and everything..."
"That's what makes you Boros, Zonez."
"Indeed. Couldn't see myself doing that, sorry."
"No need to apologize. To each their own, no?"
"Yeah, of course. So does this also clear out the Azorius too in your opinion?"
"Yes, it does. If they aren't allowed to possess or use this poison, which I'm convinced is the correct one after reading its properties, the one that I saw on the sleeve of the Dimir cloak, then it makes it much less likely that it's one of them who has hired the Gruul archer killer. Yes, they are also clean. The Boros, the Azorius, and the guildless. Also, remember it's named after a kind of flower... That could point to the Selesnya, the Golgari, and probably the Simic too..."
"Have you already interrogated anyone from those guilds?"
"I've talked to a Golgari elf and to a Simic melfolk, and they both seemed sincere. The Golgari guy even looked like he wanted to help me, and the Simic lady invited me to join them, even though she did want to feed the dead loxodon body to their Sharktocrabs... But I still have to hear from the Gruul and the Selesnya themselves, that's true. I will have to do that as soon as possible."
"We must have spent the whole day here in this huge archive. I can't even say if it's day or night outside..."
"Neither can I. Are you hungry?"
"A little... are you?"
"Yeah. Why don't we go to eat something together and then call it a day? I'll go to the Gruul and the Selesnya tomorrow."
"I'll go back to the Wojek department then after dinner."
"You don't have to. You can come to spend the night with me and my housemate and then be already with me as we wake up tomorrow to reprise our investigation. Didn't dad tell you to stay with me until I needed you?"
"Yeah, he did. But this is your case, Roy. Do you really still need me?"
"Absolutely, Zonez. Now more than ever. I told you before, you're my second family. How could I not need you now?"
"And what about your first family?"
"They're just in too deep with their own guild business..."
"I'm too theoretically..."
"You said that! 'Theoretically'. But in practice?"
Zonez reflected for a moment and then replied:
"Yeah! I'm Boros, I know that what really matters is the spirit of the law and not the letter. I'll gladly leave that to the Azorius. Your dad or somebody else will take care of the patrolling turns for tomorrow... In practice I have a friend, one that grew up with us more than with his actual parents, who needs me and my help. Who am I to say no to that?"
"I won't say no either. Let's go, Zonez. You patrol the streets every day, you must know all the restaurants in this part of the city... You pick one. We'll start thinking about this again tomorrow!"
"And together."
"Of course! Together, tomorrow!"
Main Challenge - Design a card that has investigate and does NOT have blue in its color identity.
Subchallenge 1 - Your card uses the collect evidence mechanic as part of an effect (NOT AS A COST! Yes, the CR allow that.) (Please see clarifications.)
Subchallenge 2 - Choose one or both —
• Your card has an activated ability with a non-mana component in its activation cost. (0.5 points)
• Your card has an activated ability that functions only from one or more zones other than the battlefield. (0.5 points)
• There are two requirements that your card has to meet at the same time to qualify:
1. It has investigate itself. Granting it doesn't count. Creating Clue tokens directly without using the investigate keyword also does NOT count.
2. It does NOT have blue in its color identity. Not just color, color identity! This means no blue mana symbols of any kind (normal, any hybrid containing blue, "twobrid", Phyrexian, etc...), neither in the mana cost nor in the text box (rules text + reminder text).
• Your card can be of any card type(s) and do whatever you want in addition to investigate.
Subchallenge 1
EXAMPLES
I will always use collect evidence 6. Adjust accordingly for other numbers.
"As an additional cost to cast this spell, collect evidence 6."
Here the text itself says it, it's a cost. Subchallenge NOT met.
"You may collect evidence 6 rather than paying this spell's mana cost."
Here it's a cost. An alternative cost, but still a cost. Subchallenge NOT met.
"You may cast this spell without paying its mana cost if you collect evidence 6."
Again an alternative cost. Remember that casting a spell "without paying its mana cost" is already an alternative cost. Subchallenge NOT met.
"Flashback—Collect evidence 6."
Alternative cost. Subchallenge NOT met.
"Suspend X— , Collect evidence X."
Alternative cost. Subchallenge NOT met.
"Kicker—Collect evidence 6."
Alternative cost. Subchallenge NOT met.
"Kicker
Collect evidence 6. If this spell was kicked, return a card from among the exiled cards to your hand."
Effect. Kicker is the additional cost and it's just mana. Subchallenge MET.
"Kicker
Target opponent loses 3 life. If this spell was kicked, they collect evidence 6."
Effect. Again, kicker is the additional cost and it's just mana. Subchallenge MET.
"Counter target spell unless its controller collects evidence 6."
Cost. In the CR, the word "unless" means "(some player) may (do whatever comes after the "unless", and this is a cost). If that player does, (do whatever comes before the "unless", this is an effect). Subchallenge NOT met.
"Collect evidence 6, then counter target spell if it shares a color with a card exiled this way."
Effect. Subchallenge MET.
"Whenever you collect evidence 6, you gain 3 life."
Trigger condition, not an effect. Subchallenge NOT met.
"Whenever CARDNAME enters the battlefield or you collect evidence 6, you gain 3 life."
Same as before. Part of the trigger condition, still not an effect. Subchallenge NOT met.
"Whenever CARDNAME enters the battlefield, if you've collected evidence 6 this turn, you gain 3 life."
Intervening if clause, still not an effect. Here the effect is the "you gain 3 life" at the end. Subchallenge NOT met.
"Whenever CARDNAME enters the battlefield, you collect evidence 6 and you gain 3 life."
Effect. Subchallenge MET.
"At the beginning of your upkeep, you collect evidence 6 and you gain 3 life."
Effect. Subchallenge MET.
" , Collect evidence 6: You gain 3 life."
Activation cost, but still a cost. Subchallenge NOT met.
" : Collect evidence 6, then you gain 3 life."
Effect. Subchallenge MET.
" : You gain 3 life unless an opponent collects evidence 6."
Cost. Same reasoning from before about the word "unless". In this case, it means "an opponent may collect evidence 6 (cost). If none of your opponents does, you gain 3 life (effect). Subchallenge NOT met.
(on a planeswalker card) "-2: Collect evidence 6, then you gain life equal to the number of colors among the exiled cards."
Effect. Subchallenge MET.
(on a planeswalker card) "-X: Collect evidence X."
Effect. Subchallenge MET.
(first ability of a planeswalker card) "As CARDNAME enters the battlefield, you may collect evidence 6. If you do, CARDNAME enters the battlefield with two additional loyalty counters on her."
Cost. In general, in "you may (something). If you do, (something)", the first "something" is a cost, something that you can pay to get the second "something", that after the "if you do", and that part is an effect. As worded in this specific example, Subchallenge NOT met.
(first ability of a planeswalker card) "When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, you may collect evidence 6. If you do, put two additional loyalty counters on her."
Still a cost. Same reasoning as the example right above this one. The fact that the previous one was a static ability and this one is a triggered ability doesn't matter. As it's a cost, Subchallenge NOT met.
(first ability of a planeswalker card) "When CARDNAME enters the battlefield, collect evidence 6. If there are two or more cards that share a color among the exiled cards, put two additional loyalty counters on her."
Effect. The fact that there is a condition check right afterwards doesn't matter. Subchallenge MET.
For now I can't think of any other possibility. If something comes to my mind later, I will add it here.
NOTES
• The collect evidence value can be any number. X counts too, just remember to define it.
• Again, yes, the CR have no problems with collect evidence being an effect instead of a cost. "Collect evidence N" is just shorthand for the rules text "Exile any number of cards with total mana value N or more from your graveyard." It's just a way to exile cards from graveyards. You can absolutely collect evidence as an effect and then do whatever you want with the exiled cards. You could have a card that says, for example, "Exile any number of cards with total mana value 6 or more from your graveyard, then destroy all permanents that share a color with one or more of the exiled cards", couldn't you? That's perfectly valid as an effect. You could just write it as "Collect evidence 6, then destroy all permanents that share a color with one or more of the exiled cards." There you go, collect evidence used as an effect!
• The effect can be any kind of effect: an instant or sorcery spell resolving, or the effect of an activated or triggered ability. All it matters is that collecting evidence is part of an effect and NOT a cost!
• There are only two cards in the MKM main set that would meet this Subchallenge: Evidence Examiner and Surveillance Monitor. All the others use collect evidence as a cost. This Subchallenge is intentionally pushing you to find new design space for the mechanic.
Axebane Ferox - cost (ward, uses "unless" wording, see examples above)
Behind the Mask - cost (additional cost)
Bite Down on Crime - cost (additional cost)
Conspiracy Unraveler - cost (alternative cost)
Crimestopper Sprite - cost (additional cost)
Cryptex - cost (activation cost)
Deadly Cover-Up - cost (additional cost)
Evidence Examiner - EFFECT! (of a triggered ability)
Extract a Confession - cost (additional cost)
Forensic Researcher - cost (activation cost)
Hedge Whisperer - cost (activation cost)
Incinerator of the Guilty - cost (see "you may... if/when you do" in the examples above, it's a cost to get the reflexive trigger)
Izoni, Center of the Web - cost (see "you may... if/when you do" in the examples above, it's a cost to get the Spider tokens)
Kylox's Voltstrider - cost (activation cost)
Lamplight Phoenix - cost (to reanimate it)
Memory Vampire - cost (see "you may... if/when you do" in the examples above, it's a cost to get the reflexive trigger)
Polygraph Orb - cost (activation cost)
Sample Collector - cost (see "you may... if/when you do" in the examples above, it's a cost to get the reflexive trigger)
Surveillance Monitor - EFFECT! (of a triggered ability)
Tenth District Hero - cost (activation cost)
Urgent Necropsy - cost (additional cost)
Vitu-Ghazi Inspector - cost (additional cost)
• Also remember that triggered abilities can also ask you to pay some cost to get an effect, and that's also a cost. Things like this for example:
"When/whenever/at (trigger condition), you may pay COST. If/when you do, EFFECT."
That ability's effect is:
"you may pay COST. If/when you do, EFFECT."
and this is itself an effect, but one that asks you to pay a further cost, and that further cost is, precisely, a COST. If/when you pay that further cost, you get the EFFECT. To pass this Subchallenge with such a triggered ability, collect evidence being part of that second additional cost does NOT count. It CANNOT be:
"(trigger condition), you may collect evidence N. If/when you do, EFFECT."
There, collect evidence is still a COST in the CR. What DOES count is:
"(trigger condition), you may pay (some other cost). If/when you do, collect evidence N and do whatever else."
There, collect evidence is part of the effect, so this Subchallenge is passed.
• Collecting evidence as an additional or alternative cost for anything does NOT count.
• From the discussion thread:
bravelion83 wrote: ↑2 months agoNo, it does not pass. It's a cost. The "A unless B" means "you may A. If you don't, B." A is a cost, B an effect. In this case, "collect evidence 6" is A (a cost) and "tap this creature" is B (an effect).haywire wrote: ↑2 months ago@bravelion83 in the past, there have been issues where I have followed the letter of a challenge but not the spirit, so I wanted to ask for subchallenge 1: would an effect such as "at the beginning of combat on your turn, tap this creature unless you collect evidence 6" pass? To my knowledge, even though it functions as a sort of cost, the CR still sees this ability as an effect.CR (MKM) wrote:118.12a Some spells, activated abilities, and triggered abilities read, "[Do something] unless [a player does something else]." This means the same thing as "[A player may do something else]. If [that player doesn't], [do something]."
As for the rest, I actually believe it's not that counterintuitive what is a cost and what is an effect, even with no knowledge of the CR. A cost is something you need to do to get something. An effect is what actually happens when something resolves. We can go more technical and quote the CR directly for definitions......but I don't think it's actually that hard to get intuitively. It's just something you might not think about while you're playing, but what you do in ordinary gameplay is just paying costs to get effects (plus combat). Spells that require additional costs even use the word "cost" in the additional cost itself: "As an additional cost to cast this spell, (whatever)."CR (MKM) wrote:609.1. An effect is something that happens in the game as a result of a spell or ability. When a spell, activated ability, or triggered ability resolves, it may create one or more one-shot or continuous effects. Static abilities may create one or more continuous effects. Text itself is never an effect.
See when I say I always fail when trying something that's outside the box? This is a perfect example. Having you use collect evidence as an effect felt like a genius idea to me, and almost an auto-include in the challenges. I was excited to do it, it felt very original to me, and it was kind of the point of the round to me. I even thought about making it the Main Challenge at first, then I thought it was better as a Subchallenge, but there was no point in time while planning this month that this challenge wasn't there. I also crafted both modes in Subchallenge 2 around that. Now it has suddenly become yet another failure... Leo, you need to stay inside the box! That's where your strenght lies, and you know it. Stop trying to be original! What else must happen for you to get that? Anyway, did you want an article topic? There's one! Add it to the list. Thanks, inner self... Don't worry, this is normal. On a totally unrelated note, I'm going to write about Kim in the DCC right now...
I'll be honest: I'm not going to change the challenge. I mostly built the whole round around this idea. What I can do and I'm willing to do is to tell you, any player, whether the way you're using collect evidence counts or not as an effect, aka whether it passes the Subchallenge or not. Feel free to ask me either here or via pm.
For example, @marioguy3's current submission uses collect evidence as a trigger condition, and that's NOT an effect. It does NOT currently pass Subchallenge 1:@Caspernicus and @Komandon's submissions do use collect evidence as an effect and currently pass Subchallenge 1. No other players have submitted yet.marioguy3 wrote: ↑2 months agoOceanic Cleanup Machine
Artifact (Rare)
When Oceanic Cleanup Machine enters the battlefield, investigate for each Fish, Jellyfish, Merfolk, and Octopus cards in graveyards.
Whenever you collect evidence 4, mill two cards.
, Sacrifice three clues: Return Oceanic Cleanup from your graveyard to the battlefield.
bravelion83 wrote: ↑2 months agohaywire wrote: ↑2 months ago@bravelion83 since the existing CR for Collect Evidence only provides support for how it is done as an optional use, e.g. 701.57b/c, how do we interpret its use as a mandatory effect? For example, if my card says "Target opponent collects evidence 6", and they only have a 3 drop and 2 lands in their yard, do they exile everything? Or only the 3 drop, since the lands don't provide any progress towards collecting evidence so they don't fall under "Does as much as it can" rules of thumb?
I'm asking because it feels like, similarly to the prowess counters in my previous rounds, while an extremely simple change to the CR, it would still require a change/additional bullet to cover the use of collect evidence in the non-optional scenario, which, by the rubric, would lose points.As I interpret it, exiling only the 3-drop would be enough to "do as much as it can", as you are exiling "any number" (1) of cards with total mana value as close to 6 as you can. Though, "any number" also includes 2 and 3, so it still would be legal for them to also exile one or both lands in addition to the 3-drop. It's still "any number" of cards and the total mana value is still as close to 6 as possible. In the case you proposed, I'd say that them exiling the 3-drop is the minimum requirement and would be enough. They MUST exile their 3-drop, but if they want they CAN also exile one or both lands. All of those would be legal choices for your opponent, and they would get to choose which one to do, not you.CR (MKM) wrote:701.57a To "collect evidence N" means to exile any number of cards from your graveyard with total mana value N or greater.
As a counterexample, suppose that instead of the 3-drop your opponent has a 4-drop and a 1-drop plus whatever number of lands in their graveyard. In this case, exiling only the 4-drop or only the 1-drop would not be doing "as much as it can", so they would not be legal choices for your opponent. In this case, they are forced to exile both the 4-drop and the 1-drop (plus any of the lands if they want, including none) to do "as much as it can".
@Subject16Here collect evidence is a cost. See my previous post about "unless" meaning "you may COST. If you do, EFFECT." This submission as is would NOT pass Subchallenge 1.Subject16 wrote: ↑2 months agoAlibi Extractor
Creature — Demon Detective (M)
Flying, trample
Pay 2 life: Investigate. (Create a colorless Clue artifact token with " , Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.")
Whenever you sacrifice a Clue, each opponent loses 2 life unless they collect evidence 2. (To collect evidence 2, that player exiles cards with total mana value 2 or greater from their graveyard.)
4/5
Hope this helps. I'm going to update the clarifications adding examples.
bravelion83 wrote: ↑2 months agoYou're correct, I just missed it. On that card, collect evidence is an effect. It's also a good precedent to show that I wasn't too crazy making it a Subchallenge, Wizards did it themselves! I'll edit the clarifications. Thanks for making me notice.
EDIT - It's not the only one. Surveillance Monitor is the other, but I checked and they are the only two existing cards from MKM that would pass Subchallenge 1. Updating the clarifications again.
bravelion83 wrote: ↑2 months ago@Subject16 Here collect evidence is indeed an effect (of a triggered ability). This submission WOULD pass Subchallenge 1.Subject16 wrote: ↑2 months agoAlibi Extractor
Creature — Demon Detective (M)
Flying, trample
Pay 2 life: Investigate. (Create a colorless Clue artifact token with " , Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.")
Whenever you sacrifice a Clue, each opponent collects evidence 2. If they can't, they lose 2 life. (To collect evidence 2, that player exiles cards with total mana value 2 or greater from their graveyard.)
4/5@haywire Here too collect evidence is an effect (of a spell ability), so this submission as it currently is WOULD also pass Subchallenge 1.haywire wrote: ↑2 months agoBurn Your Source
Sorcery {R}
Sacrifice each Clue you control. Burn Your Source deals X damage to target opponent and up to one target creature they control, where X is the number of Clues sacrificed this way. That opponent collects evidence X, then you may cast a spell exiled this way without paying its mana cost.
Chase a Risky Lead — , Reveal Burn Your Source from your hand: Investigate. Burn Your Source deals 2 damage to you. Activate only as a sorcery.
A good detective never gives up their sources. But if you do, make sure you do it spectacularly.@netn10 Here collect evidence is a cost (that you may pay to investigate, that's an effect). This submission as is does NOT pass Subchallenge 1.netn10 wrote: ↑2 months agoCase of the Meticulously Framed
Enchantment - Case (Rare)
When this Case enters the battlefield, exile target creature until this Case leaves the battlefield. If you can't, sacrifice this Case.
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may collect evidence 4. If you do, investigate. If you don't, sacrifice this Case.
To solve — You control three or more Clues.
Solved — Sacrifice this Case: Put the exiled creature into its owner's graveyard.
As a reference, here is the definition of a cost:And here is that of effect:CR (MKM) wrote:118.1. A cost is an action or payment necessary to take another action or to stop another action from taking place. To pay a cost, a player carries out the instructions specified by the spell, ability, or effect that contains that cost.CR (MKM) wrote:609.1. An effect is something that happens in the game as a result of a spell or ability. When a spell, activated ability, or triggered ability resolves, it may create one or more one-shot or continuous effects. Static abilities may create one or more continuous effects. Text itself is never an effect.
Subchallenge 2, mode 1
• An activated ability always has a colon, and everything that comes BEFORE the colon is the activation cost. In that activation cost, there must be something that's NOT a mana payment.
• There can be any mana payment in the activation cost in addition to the non-mana component.
• For example all the following pass this Subchallenge mode:
"Sacrifice a creature: EFFECT."
"MANA, Sacrifice a creature: EFFECT."
"MANA, : EFFECT."
Yes, the tap symbol is a non-mana component. The same goes for , the untap symbol.
You can also use energy, that's also not mana. The following passes this Subchallenge mode:
"MANA, Pay : EFFECT."
• Here the intended difficulty is that you're tempted to use collect evidence as a cost, as it's being used in MKM. You CAN do that, and collect evidence WOULD count as a non-mana component for this Subchallenge mode, but if you do that, you won't pass Subchallenge 1 at the same time. It's still very possible to do both at the same time, you just have to use collect evidence as an effect and have any different non-mana component in the activation cost.
Subchallenge 2, mode 2
• This Subchallenge mode asks a simple question: "Can this activated ability possibly work from the battlefield?" The answer must be NO to pass.
• If the activated ability can work from multiple zones, this Subchallenge mode is met ONLY is the battlefield is NOT included among those zones. For example, an ability that can work from the graveyard but also on the battlefield does NOT pass this Subchallenge mode. One that only works from the graveyard and NOT from the battlefield DOES pass it. One that can work from both the graveyard and exile but NOT the battlefield DOES pass it as well. All that matters is that the battlefield is NOT included in the list of zones that the ability can work from.
• The ability can be keyworded or not, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that it's an activated ability that can't work from the battlefield. For example, embalm (from Amonkhet) would count for this Subchallenge mode.
• The ability that counts for this Subchallenge mode can be the same one that also counts for the other Subchallenge mode, or they can be two different activated abilities. Both ways count.
If you have any more questions, feel free to post them in the MCC discussion thread.
DEADLINES
Design deadline: Wednesday, March 13th 2024 at 23:59 Eastern Time
Judging deadline: Saturday, March 16th 2024 at 23:59 Eastern Time
RUBRIC
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
Ink-Treader
PLAYERS
@AnotherAlias
@Caspernicus
@haywire
@Komandon
@Lorn Asbord Schutta
@marioguy3
@netn10
@slimytrout
@Subject16
@void_nothing
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.
BRACKETS
Judge: bravelion83
Caspernicus
Lorn Asbord Schutta
netn10
slimytrout
void_nothing
Judge: Ink-Treader
AnotherAlias
haywire
Komandon
marioguy3
Subject16
Top 3 in each bracket will advance to the next round.