August MCC Round 1 - The beginning

[Henlock]

Dark Inquisitor 1WB
Creature - Human Cleric (r)
Each player can't cast more than one spell each turn.
At the beginning of your upkeep, each opponent loses life equal to the number of cards in his or her hand minus 4.
Silence is a confession in itself.
2/4

[Kypster]

Entombed Matriarch 1BB
Creature - Vampire (R)
Defender, Infect
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may have it deal 1 damage to another target nontoken creature you control.
2, Sacrifice a creature: Transform Entombed Matriarch and put X +1/+1 counters on it where X is equal to double the number of -1/-1 counters on the sacrificed creature.
0/2
//
Lakshmi, Unleashed Plague
(b) Legendary Creature - Vampire
Flying, Infect, Lifelink
At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, Lakshmi, Unleashed Plague deals 1 damage to them.
1/1

[bravelion83]

The round is officially closed.

BRACKETS

Judge: Rithaniel
Freyleyes
kwanyeegor-ii
Kypster
Sagharri
SecretInfiltrator
Superbajt

Judge: bravelion83
Flatline
Gateways7
marioguy3
netn10
Raptorchan
spacemonaut
StonerOfKruphix

Judge: void_nothing
Algernone25
barbecube
Henlock
Icarii
RaikouRider
Subject16
+ mellifluoresce's card out of competition

Judge: mellifluoresce
Dragonlover
Jimmy Groove
slimytrout
Sojourner Dusk
The_Hittite
user_938036

The top 4 from each bracket advance to Round 2.

Good work, judges. Let's do our thing!

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Judgments complete.

Flatline

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Ragtag Captain rw
Creature — Human Soldier (R)
Creature tokens you control get +1/+1.
At the beginning of your upkeep, create a 0/0 red Soldier creature token with haste.
"Sometimes I feel like I'm the only thing holding this motley crew together!"
2/2

Design
(2.5/3) Appeal - Timmy likes swarming the battlefield with tokens and buffing them. Johnny might like the challenge of how to make the tokens survive when this dies, even if it's rather easy to solve (just use other anthems). Spike likes cards like this, even if she would obviously like it more if the tokens had some kind of evasion, but she's aware that not all cards can be the new Bitterblossom.
(2.5/3) Elegance - Some less experienced players might be confused at the thought of a 0/0 token, but as soon as they figure it out, it will be intuitive enough to them too. After all, amass and living weapon exist, as well as three other one-of cards (Grip of Phyresis, Karn, Scion of Urza, Urza, Lord High Artificer) that create 0/0 tokens with bonuses, and I don't know of any players that have big problems with them.

Development
(3/3) Viability - No problems with the color pie or rarity.
(3/3) Balance - Bitterblossom and Goblin Assault feel like reasonable comparisons. Well, I didn't expect to write "Bitterblossom" and "reasonable" in the same sentence... but the lack of evasion for the tokens is very relevant, and helps making this more balanced than Bitterblossom (not a high bar, I admit...) and actually closer to Goblin Assault. Master of Waves, as well as the other two cards I've mentioned, saw Standard play (Bitterblossom even more of course), so I expect this card to do too. You'll certainly play this in limited too, obviously. I see no problems in casual or multiplayer, even though this card might actually get a little weaker in multiplayer formats, as you will have less turns overall. Also, this card is particular weak to wrath effects, and there are a lot of those in multiplayer formats, especially Commander. I don't see this as a problem though.

Creativity
(2/3) Uniqueness - This card immediately reminded me of Master of Waves, another card that creates tokens that die without it. Also, anthems have a very long history, and one specifically for tokens already exist: Intangible Virtue. The aforementioned mechanics and cards (see Elegance) already exist too. I'd put this card in the category of "old elements put together in an (almost) new way". Almost because of Master of Waves, as I've already mentioned.
(3/3) Flavor - Very good work. The name and flavor text fit the mechanics and the card concept wonderfully. I especially like how well "feeling like the only thing holding this motley crew together" reflects the fact that if it this creature dies it brings all its tokens with it.

Polish
(3/3) Quality - All good.
(2/2) Main Challenge - Good.
(1/2) Subchallenges - Permanent, but not monocolored.

Total: 22/25

Gateways7

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Torturous Artisan 2B
Creature - Horror (rare)
At the beginning of your upkeep, each opponent loses life equal to the difference between the number of cards in their hand and 3.
3/2

The Rack and Black Vise rolled into one!

Design
(2/3) Appeal - I can't see Timmy caring too much. Johnny and Spike both like this card, for different reasons. It's a challenging card to optimize for Johnny, and a card that looks definitely good enough for Spike.
(2/3) Elegance - Not the simplest of cards, and requires quite some math. I'd have no problems with it, but I know that's a thing they keep in mind too while designing real cards.

Development
(3/3) Viability - No problems with the color pie or rarity.
(2/3) Balance - The Rack punishes players for having few cards in hand, which is difficult in the early game but rather probable in the late game, and I remember it seeing some Standard play when it was reprinted in Time Spiral, but far from universal play. Black Vise punishes player for having a lot of cards in hand, which is usually hard in the late game unless you're playing against heavy control decks but very easy in the early game, and it costs only one mana, so I can see why it has been banned in older formats. This is much closer to Black Vise than The Rack in this regard, and I'm not sure I like that, but it's true that this costs three mana, so it won't come down until turn three at least, unlike Black Vise, that can hit the board on turn one, when it's best. On the other side, this also has a relevant body, that The Rack and Black Vise don't have. But the body also makes this vulnerable to creature removal, which the two artifacts are not. I'm going back and forth in the comparison, honestly not sure of where I end up. Anyway, I totally expect this to be played in Standard and all other formats, including limited, where you don't have access to the two artifacts. In older formats, I still think they are better. I also have to mention that this doesn't look like a very fun card to play against, and that's relevant in casual. In multiplayer, it gets even better as it hits "each opponent".

Creativity
(2/3) Uniqueness - You acknowledged yourself the existence of The Rack and Black Vise, and you even implicitly admitted they were the direct inspiration for this card. This prevents you from getting full points here, but it's also true that this is technically a new card using those old elements, things that we haven't seen since a very long time ago. Time Spiral to be specific (timeshifted reprint of The Rack), 13 years ago. Many current players won't even remember playing with those cards. Personally, I do remember playing with that reprint of The Rack, as I had started playing the year before with original Ravnica, but I've never played with Black Vise.
(1.5/3) Flavor - I'm not a big fan of using the word "Artisan" on a non-Human or humanoid card, as it sounds to me like one that does manual work, and I don't even know if this Horror has hands, but the other word ("Torturous") is just perfect here. No flavor text despite being a lot of room on it. I already knew by myself, but I still checked with MSE, and it totally confirmed my initial impression.

Polish
(1.5/3) Quality - You should write nothing more than your text card in your submission post. That already goes against the guidelines (so -1), but the irony is that the two cards you mention are exactly the proof that the wording you used is wrong. Check their Oracle text. It proves that this should be "At the beginning of your upkeep, each opponent loses X life, where X is the number of cards in their hands minus 3." (-0.5)
(2/2) Main Challenge - Good.
(2/2) Subchallenges - Both met.

Total: 18/25

marioguy3

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The Blooming Environment 1GG
Enchantment (R)
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a luxury counter on a basic land you control. Lands you control with luxury counters on it have "t, Add one mana of any color."
5GG, Sacrifice The Blooming Forest: Remove all luxury counters from lands you control, then draw cards equal to the number of counters removed this way.

Design
(2.5/3) Appeal - Timmy likes mana fixing, even though he probably wishes this were actually mana ramp to get his big monsters out early. He also likes to be able to draw a bunch of cards later, as does Spike. Could Johnny use luxury counters in some unintended way? I honestly don't see how, but maybe he can come up with something. I'm a Timmy/Spike, not much of a Johnny.
(2.5/3) Elegance - Very long text, but still very easy to understand.

Development
(2.5/3) Viability - Rarity is clearly right. At first sight, one could say that everything is in color, but if you follow Maro you've probably heard him say lately that green drawing cards based on lands is actually a bend. Green card draw should be really just tied to creatures. Yes, you can find many counterexamples in real Magic, but that's the way it's supposed to be theoretically.
(2.5/3) Balance - Prismatic Omen immediately comes to mind. It costs one less mana and hits all lands immediately, this costs one more mana and hits only basic lands and only one at a time. Seen from this point of view, it should be the opposite. It's true that here you also have the chance to activate the last ability and draw a bunch of cards, but that ability already has its own (correctly very high) mana activation cost. This card is certainly far from broken, but I wonder if it could just cost 1G like the Omen and still not be broken. I remember the Omen seeing some constructed play, so I think this card has some chances too. In limited, you will probably jusy play this as mana fixing. I see no problems in casual or multiplayer.

Creativity
(1.5/3) Uniqueness - Technically a new card, but none of its parts are particurly original. Maybe drawing cards equal to the number of counters removed, I can't remember any existing card doing that, but it feels like a bit of a stretch to me, and it's just a part of one ability anyway.
(2.5/3) Flavor - Gatherer confirms to me that the word "Environment" has never been used on a real Magic card before, and maybe that's why it sounds a little strange to me. It's still certainly better than calling this a "Forest" though (see Quality). The Blooming Forest totally sounds like a land name, and even then I'd avoid using the word "Forest" anyway because of its mechanical meaning in Magic. MSE shows me that one line of flavor text could have technically fit in the M15 frame, but the cards looks much better without it indeed, so that's not a big problem.

Polish
(0.5/3) Quality - "Lands you control with luxury counters on them have..." (-0.5). There should be a colon instead of a comma after the tap symbol, and this is a very serious functional mistake (-1), because the colon is exactly what identifies an activated ability. As is, with the comma, that isn't even an activated ability. It could be a triggered ability, but it has no trigger. Or it could be the start of an activated ability with adding mana as a cost (strange but probably not impossible). What it actually is now is non-functional rules text, likely just because of a simple typo. Finally, the name of the card changes in the last ability, probably because you (correctly in my opinion) realized that it was best avoided to use the word "Forest" in the name of an enchantment and so you changed the name from "Forest" to "Environment", forgetting to change it in the activation cost too. The card just couldn't be printed with such an evident error, it would be quite a misprint, so -1.
(2/2) Main Challenge - Good.
(2/2) Subchallenges - Both met.

Total: 18.5/25

netn10

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Trinket Trader 1UU
Creature - Human Artificer (Rare)
At the beginning of your upkeep, create a 1/1 artifact Servo creature token, a Clue token or a Treasure token.
Demons goes to him in order to get great deals.
2/4

Design
(2.5/3) Appeal - Timmy would probably just make Servos. Both Johnny and Spike are in love with this card. Johnny because he can use the tokens however he wants, and Spike because she really likes to be able to choose the right kind of token she needs in the specific situation she finds herself in.
(3/3) Elegance - No problems here.

Development
(2.5/3) Viability - Rarity is clearly right. As for the color pie, no problems with Servos and Clues in blue. Treasures look like a slight bend in blue. Yes, it's been done in Ixalan block, but blue is only tertiary in mana production, and often the mana it produces can only be used to cast or activate artifacts.
(3/3) Balance - I think this is at the best point you could be in this area: strong, but far from broken. I think a 2/4 for three mana already passes the Vanilla test, though not by a lot, and creating one token each turn pushes this into "good card" territory, but the three different kinds of token all look like a relatively minor addition. The strength of this card doesn't lie in the tokens itself, but in its high versatility and in the ability to choose the best kind of token for the specific situation you're in. No doubt you'd play this in limited. I can see this card in Standard too relatively easily. I see no problems in casual or multiplayer.

Creativity
(2.5/3) Uniqueness - Bestial Menace immediately comes to mind, as a single card capable of creating different kinds of tokens. It still creates them all together and not one at a time like this card, it's in a different color, and the tokens it creates are creatures and not artifacts. Putting together Servos, Clues, and Treasures is also technically new too.
(3/3) Flavor - Good name and card concept, and excellent flavor text (once you fix the grammar mistake, see Quality) that reflects the card mechanics perfectly.

Polish
(1/3) Quality - "...a 1/1 colorless Servo artifact creature token..." (see Servo Schematic for example, -0.5.) The wording suggests me that you have defined in the CR what a Clue token is, and no problem with that, but then you need reminder text, that isn't there here (see Rapacious Dragon, -0.5): "(A clue token is an artifact with "2, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card." A Treasure token is an artifact with "T, Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color.")". Magic uses the Oxford comma, so a comma is missing before "or" (-0-5). In the flavor text, the subject "demons" is plural, and the verb "goes" is singular. It should be "Demons go..." (-0.5).
(2/2) Main Challenge - Good.
(2/2) Subchallenges - Both met.

Total: 21.5/25

Raptorchan

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Ajani's Guidance gw
Enchantment - Aura (U)
Enchant creature or planeswalker
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a +1/+1 counter on enchanted permanent if it's a creature, then put a loyalty counter on it if it's a planeswalker.
"Come along now, Gideon."

Design
(2/3) Appeal - Timmy likes to buff his creatures and planeswalkers. Johnny could maybe use the counters in unexpected ways. Spike just sees this as an enchantment that does nothing as it hits the board, and she doesn't exactly like that.
(3/3) Elegance - No problems here.

Development
(3/3) Viability - This card could probably just be monowhite while keeping the exact same flavor, but the effect is also perfectly fine in GW, and the association with Ajani helps with that, so no problems with the color pie. This looks powerful if left unchecked, but I agree it's better as a strong uncommon rather than an underwhelming rare.
(2/3) Balance - I think you'd play this in limited most times if you have room, but it also depends on the specific environment. In a set like WAR you'd just play this, no doubt about it. In a set with fewer +1/+1 counters going around and a normal amount of planeswalkers, it's not a given. You will certainly prioritize removal and combat tricks over this, but I think that most of the times you would end up playing this in limited. I have a hard time seeing this in competitive constructed even in a set like WAR. No problems in casual constructed and multiplayer.

Creativity
(1/3) Uniqueness - As I will mention in just a moment (see Flavor), multiple Ajani cards with that same ability or very close ones already exist.
(3/3) Flavor - How can I penalize a card that mentions not just my favorite planeswalker, but my two favorite planeswalkers in all of Magic? I'm still very thankful to the Creative team for killing off my second favorite one... I'm obviously sarcastic, but knowing that in the early design version of WAR it was Ajani who died (Maro said that on Blogatog some time ago) helps me coping with Gideon's loss. Only that (Ajani dying) would have felt worse to me than Gideon dying, so if Ajani was really the alternative, I'm glad they took Gideon. But enough with personal preference, let's analyze the flavor from an objective point of view. Ajani's main trait is his altruism. He helps others, never himself. That's also represented in several ways in his planeswalker cards: mainly making you gain life and giving extra counters to other creatures and planeswalkers but never to himself. So, this ability feels very Ajani. In fact, it's very close to Ajani Steadfast's -2, Ajani Unyielding's ultimate, and Ajani, the Greathearted's -2. This is definitely an enchantment that Ajani would cast, and while this doesn't help in Uniqueness, it's very good here. The flavor text is also very appropriate. With only four words, you perfectly express Ajani's selfless attitude towards his fellow white member, and founder, of the Gatewatch. Ajani being there to help Gideon just feels right. You made me picture an alternate ending of the WAR trailer, one where the Eternals attacking Gideon pivot to attacking Bolas, thanks to Liliana changing her mind, Gideon is still kneeling down and Ajani is there to lend Gideon his hand and help him get back up on his feet. I'm actually almost crying picturing that scene in my mind. Allowing all of this to happen, again, with just four words of flavor text means you made an excellent job, if not just perfect.

Polish
(2.5/3) Quality - It should be "...if it's a creature and a loyalty counter..." (see Forge of Heroes, -0.5).
(2/2) Main Challenge - Good.
(1/2) Subchallenges - Permanent but not monocolored.

Total: 19.5/25

spacemonaut

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Blighted Scarab B
Creature — Insect (U)
Blighted Scarab can't block.
At the beginning of your upkeep, Blighted Scarab deals 1 damage to you.
Madness B (If you discard this card, discard it into exile. When you do, cast it for its madness cost or put it into your graveyard.)
If Blighted Scarab's madness cost was paid, it enters the battlefield under target opponent's control.
2/1

Design
(2/3) Appeal - I can't see Timmy caring too much. Johnny likes this in some kind of Donate deck, especially if he can find unintended ways to give this to his opponent. Spike is just fine using madness though, to give her opponent a creature that can't block hers and that damages her opponent. The only thing she wishes is that this card did something the moment it hits the battlefield.
(1.5/3) Elegance - The text is very long. None of the abilities are hard to understand in a vacuum, but put together they generate a whole package that can require a high mental focus to be played correctly. One more reason to make this a rare (see Viability).

Development
(2/3) Viability - In the second ability, the triggered one, I would have made it life loss instead of damage ("At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose 1 life.") to make it feel more black. Yes, black can also do it in the form of damage, and R&D experimented with that more recently, only to come back on their steps and (rightly in my opinion) confirm that the default for black is life loss, with damage being used only in the cases where life loss wouldn't work, such as draining a creature or damaging a planeswalker for example. This looks a bit too complicated for me at uncommon, especially the madness part. I'd see it better as a rare.
(2/3) Balance - On your side, this card is a 2/1 for one mana in a color that shouldn't have it, but with two drawbacks (the first two abilities) that make it fine. If you use madness, the drawbacks turn into advantages, but you give the body to the opponent, so the high rate of the creature turns into the drawback. I think this card is very interesting in how the drawbacks turn into advantages and vice versa depending on whether you use madness or not, it's very clever. I think you'd most likely play this in limited most of the time, and I can easily see it in a Standard madness deck. I must also say, though, that this doesn't look very fun to play against, and that's relevant in all casual formats. I could easily see this as a card that's liked in competitive formats but just hated in casual ones. In multiplayer I think that you usually won't play this as a one mana creature with drawbacks on your side, but the choice of which opponent to give this to looks interesting.

Creativity
(2.5/3) Uniqueness - I can't remember a similar use of madness already existing. The rest of the card text isn't new, but the play pattern this card implies does feel fresh, even though not completely new. Cards like Akroan Horse already exist, but it's a vein of design space that still feels rather unexplored.
(2.5/3) Flavor - No problems with the name or card concept. MSE shows me that one line of flavor text could have technically fit in the M15 frame, but the cards looks much better without it indeed, so that's not a big problem.

Polish
(2/3) Quality - The last ability is a static ability that modifies how this card enters the battlefield. This kind of ability doesn't use the stack, so you have no chance to choose targets. For this reason, that ability doesn't work as is (-1 for functional mistake). You have to reword it to avoid using the word "target". For example, you could say: "If Blighted Scarab's madness cost was paid, choose an opponent. Blighted Scarab enters the battlefield under that player's control." or you could just use a triggered ability like Akroan Horse's one with an intervening if: "When Blighted Scarab enters the battlefield, if its madness cost was paid, an opponent gains control of it."
(2/2) Main Challenge - Good.
(2/2) Subchallenges - Both met.

Total: 18.5/25

StonerOfKruphix

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Hordecaller Lich 3BB
Creature — Zombie Wizard (MR)
At the beginning of your upkeep, create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token. Then if you control ten or more Zombies, destroy all creatures your opponents control.
2B, T: Exile target creature card from an opponent's graveyard. Create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.
"They have arrived. You might want to look away."
3/3

Design
(3/3) Appeal - Timmy is rejoicing at the thought of a Zombie horde in the form of tokens, especially ten or more. Johnny can definitely find uses for the tokens. Spike also really likes that this card feeds itself and that the tokens don't enter tapped, as other Zombie tokens do.
(3/3) Elegance - No problems here.

Development
(3/3) Viability - No problems with the color pie or rarity. I can easily see this as a mythic, both because of the way it affects the board and because of the splashiness of "if you control ten or more Zombies".
(3/3) Balance - Boneclad Necromancer strikes me as an interesting comparison. Same mana cost, same body, and both exile creature cards from graveyards to give you Zombie tokens. The Necromancer gives you the token only once but immediately, this gives you tokens repeatedly but you have to wait until your next upkeep to get the first one. The exchange looks fair. Then you also give this an additional splashy ability to do a one-sided wrath if you have ten Zombies, but it's true that this is a mythic and the Necromancer a common, so it's very probably fine. Having ten Zombies also looks like a difficult enough hoop to jump through. Overall, I see this as a very balanced card that's an auto-include in limited (but most mythics are), and has a good chance to see at least some Standard play, especially if Zombie tribal decks are viable in the format. I'm thinking of something like Amonkhet block, where this would also be an answer to embalm and eternalize by the way. I see no problems in casual or multiplarer.

Creativity
(1.5/3) Uniqueness - The line "if you control ten or more Zombies" does feel original, but the rest of the card is just old known elements put together in a technically new way.
(3/3) Flavor - The flavor of this card is just perfect. Name, flavor text, mechanical flavor, card concept... everything. "Ten or more Zombies" is certainly a "Horde". This creature creating the Zombie tokens itself is perfect for a "caller". A "Lich" being the head of a group of Zombies (you can choose whether the pun is intended or not) feels very appropriate. And if a horde of Zombies marched towards me, I'd definitely want to look away.

Polish
(3/3) Quality - All good.
(2/2) Main Challenge - Good.
(2/2) Subchallenges - Both met.

Total: 23.5/25

Results (bold advance)

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StonerOfKruphix: 23.5
Flatline: 22
netn10: 21.5
Raptorchan: 19.5
marioguy3: 18.5
spacemonaut: 18.5
Gateways7: 18

[Rithaniel]

It's Judgin' Time

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Freyleyes

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Creeping Roots G
Enchantment - Aura {R}
Enchant creature.
At the beginning of your upkeep, destroy enchanted creature.
3: Destroy Creeping Roots. Any player may play this ability.

---

Design
(1/3) Appeal — Timmy doesn't like being stopped. As far as removal spells go, Timmy wants a board wipe that can't be countered. This has a built in method of being stopped, and so Timmy is not a fan. Johnny might be a bit of a fan here, as he could use this in a deck focused on keeping your opponent off tempo. However, Johnny also doesn't see any good combos to slot this card into, so he feels 50/50 on the matter. Spike, meanwhile, would probably have a good time analyzing this card. Any one mana removal is potentially excellent for spike, and this also has the chance to keep your opponent off tempo. The only issue is that green control isn't common, and so Spike might not have a deck to use this card with. Again, Spike ends up going 50/50.
(2/3) Elegance — The card is easy to understand, but the design doesn't immediately work towards making it understood. Why is the second ability an activated ability? Why is it even a second ability and not rolled in together with the first? It would have been far more elegant to write "At the beginning of your upkeep, destroy enchanted creature unless a player pays . If a player does, destroy Creeping Roots." This has the same effective end result (If a player wants to put mana into removing the enchantment, they can also leave that mana open and pay the tax when the ability is triggered), but unifies the abilities, indicating to the player how this is meant to work.

Development
(1/3) Viability — Green doesn't get plain creature removal. It removes creatures with flying, sure, but it likes to keep creatures in general around. The closest thing to creature removal in green would be Beast Within or Desert Twister, but one actively gives a creature back to the player, while the other is a very old design. There are also Arachnus Web and Utopia Vow, but note that they don't destroy (and in the case of Utopia Vow, is from a set focused mainly on twisting the color pie). Now, color bleed is more acceptable at higher rarities, I suppose, but I also don't feel this mechanic is impressive enough to be a rare. Removing a single creature for one mana is good, great even. However, to remove that creature, you have to wait a turn, giving your opponent the chance to untap and potentially remove the enchantment. It's not splashy or impressive enough to make it worth a rare, in my opinion. It would make an excellent uncommon, though.
(3/3) Balance — This is a difficult one to evaluate, but I think it's very good. When it comes down to it, the design it is most similar to is Mana Leak, which is a famously useful card (It can also be compared to a one-target, one-upkeep The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, but the connection there is more tenuous). The tempo of keeping your opponent behind for a turn can decide games. Creeping Roots will almost never ensure the removal of a creature, because it allows your opponent to untap before paying the tax. It can potentially put them off of playing whatever cards they would have otherwise played in a turn, of course. All in all, this would be a very useful card in a control deck. It's very strategic. The only issue is the potential lack of decks to play this card in, but that's more an issue with viability than it is with balance.

Creativity
(3/3) Uniqueness — While the fact that this card is green makes it not very viable, it does make it very unique. Green has never done anything like this, because, well, it wouldn't do anything like this. Though, aside from the color bleed granting uniqueness, this particular kind of enchantment is unusual. The nearest type of enchantment to this is Parasitic Implant, but the implementation makes the two cards play entirely differently.
(3/3) Flavor — The name explains the effect very well. Roots are slowly encasing the creature. That's why it takes until your upkeep to kill them, and if the opponent chooses to, they can "clean off the roots" by paying .

Polish
(2/3) Quality — "Enchant creature" shouldn't have a period and the activated ability should read "Any player may activate this ability."
(2/2) Main Challenge — Check.
(2/2) Subchallenges — Double Check.

Total: 19/25

kwanyeegor-ii

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Cinderblossom 2B
Tribal Enchantment--Elemental (Rare)
At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose 3 life and create a 3/1 red Elemental Shaman creature token with haste.
In Shadowmoor's short twilights the odor of murdered fires always hangs in the air.

---

Design
(2/3) Appeal — Timmy dislikes any kind of downside on a creature, so he doesn't want to have to pay 3 life for one. Timmy also doesn't like to wait for his big army, so he won't put up with a trickle of one creature each turn. So, through and through, Timmy dislikes this card. Johnny, meanwhile, would love to combo this with an effect that gives his creatures lifelink, or with Paradox Haze to optimize the number of 3/1 creatures he gets in a turn. Spike is in love with this card completely and absolutely. The offensive power this card provides is massive, and could win games by itself if used effectively, which is a quality that swiftly wins Spike's attention.
(2.5/3) Elegance — This is a very simple and straight-forward effect, so there isn't a whole lot to talk about on the elegance front. The only slight issue is that a black enchantment is creating red tokens. Now, this isn't unheard of, but it's not the best thing for elegance, to have a mono-colored card make off-color tokens.

Development
(2/3) Viability — Considering that Bitterblossom was bumped up to mythic in later printings, I would argue that any card so close to that card should also be mythic. Aside from that, we have no real issues with the design. This exact design has been done in mono-black before, so there is no reason it couldn't be done again.
(1/3) Balance — Alright, so the problem here is that Bitterblossom is an overpowered card. As soon as it was printed, it burst onto the scene in legacy and hasn't really ever left that environment. It's not the most powerful card ever printed, but it's certainly in the top 100. That being said, Cinderblossom is even more powerful. Keep in mind, if you are being ultra-competetive in Magic, you are willing to take some damage. Even without healing, you can take up to 19 damage and still win. The cost of 3 life is nothing next to the ability to swing with a 3/1 for several turns. It's not an amount of life you can take several turns in a row without dying, but the benefit of 3/1 haste dudes is worth the cost, provided it's put in any kind of decent control deck. The haste makes it so that, so long as you're on tempo, you'll be swinging with a 3/1 the same turn you'd have been swinging with a 1/1 flier (in the Bitterblossom case), so the comparison is really 3/1 creatures against 1/1 flying creatures. The flying is a big thing, but you'll be stacking up several creatures, over time. Three 3/1 Elementals will beat three 1/1 Faeries any day of the week. On top of all this, Bitterblossom is already a card that exists, and if this card were printed, you could effectively have eight copies of the same card in a deck, which is a bit of an issue.

Creativity
(0/3) Uniqueness — Bitterblossom, but with 3/1 haste Elementals instead of 1/1 flying Faeries. That's the only unique part of the card.
(1.5/3) Flavor — I don't see the connection between Cinders and flowers, so the name already throws me off a little bit. Meanwhile, in the flavor text, you mention "murdered fires," when I believe you mean to say "murdered cinders." Other than these things, the flavor is fine, though I do wonder why it mentions twilight specifically.

Polish
(3/3) Quality — Things seem fine to me.
(2/2) Main Challenge — Check.
(2/2) Subchallenges — Double Check.

Total: 16/25

Kypster

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Entombed Matriarch 1BB
Creature - Vampire (R)
Defender, Infect
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may have it deal 1 damage to another target nontoken creature you control.
2, Sacrifice a creature: Transform Entombed Matriarch and put X +1/+1 counters on it where X is equal to double the number of -1/-1 counters on the sacrificed creature.
0/2
//
Lakshmi, Unleashed Plague
(b) Legendary Creature - Vampire
Flying, Infect, Lifelink
At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, Lakshmi, Unleashed Plague deals 1 damage to them.
1/1

---

Design
(1.5/3) Appeal — So, Timmy is conflicted. He sees a potentially big creature with some impressive keywords attached, but he doesn't like the conflict of having to weaken and sacrifice his other creatures in order to make that creature bigger. It also takes time in order for him to make the creature big in the first place. Johnny, meanwhile, is salivating. He would put this into his proliferate/infect deck and design methods of piling -1/-1 counters on creatures to sacrifice to this vampire. This with any of the Hatchling cycle is just great. Spike, meanwhile, is less than enthused. There isn't enough competetive ability for this card. In order to get the "better" form of the card on the turn you play it, you need five mana and a creature to sacrifice. If you don't try and go that route, then it's a dead card until you transform it. Though, even then, transforming it incurs natural card disadvantage, which Spike dislikes.
(1.5/3) Elegance — So, I'm unsure about why an entombed character is able to freely feed on other creatures you control, because it seems to be that the mechanics on the front side of the card imply this is what is happening. It might have been more interesting to have the front side be a land or an artifact, representing the place where Lakshmi is entombed. Another, smaller issue is that you could replace Lakshmi's triggered ability with one that just gives poison counters directly, instead of phrasing it as damage. Other than that, the mechanics work well together and convey the idea of what you're trying to get across very well.

Development
(2/3) Viability — One thing you don't do is mix +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters in the same set. The way they interact is not immediately apparent (if both a +1/+1 counter and a -1/-1 counter are on a creature, they cancel each other out, both being removed from the creature), and so it's not wise to let them interact in limited or any kind of format where a new player might experience the game. This mixes the two types of counter on the same card, which is fairly major issue. Other than that, you are fine. The mechanics fit in black, the impact and feel of the card is appropriate for rare.
(1.5/3) Balance — Okay, so infect is a bit of a dangerous mechanic. It is intentionally designed such that there are no cards to allow you to remove poison counters once you've received them, and it only takes 10 damage for infect to kill you. As a result, creatures with infect need to be very carefully managed, to ensure that they don't end up feeling unfun to play. It's easy to end up this way, after all. Unfortunately, I think this design falls into that trap. On one side, it is fairly underpowered, as detailed in the Appeal section, but, in the case that it manages to go off properly, you could potentially have a 9/9 flying infector on turn five, which then can swing through and effectively end an opponent's game in one turn. So, no matter what, someone is having a bad time with this card.

Creativity
(3/3) Uniqueness — This is completely unique. Unavoidable poison counters are not very common and non-legendaries that transform into legendaries are unheard of (it has been done on flip cards, but not transform cards).
(3/3) Flavor — I think the flavor comes across well. An ancient, forgotten vampire queen returns from her tomb, but she's weak, and needs to feed. Once she has, though, she returns to her old, plague-spreading self. Good use of mechanics to explain the flavor of the card.

Polish
(0/3) Quality — So "have it deal" in the front-side triggered ability. The "double" in the activated ability should be "twice." Also, in that activated ability, it should place the counters first, and then end with "Then transform Entombed Matriarch." On the opposite side, "them" should be "that player."
(2/2) Main Challenge — Check.
(2/2) Subchallenges — Double Check.

Total: 16.5/25

Sagharri

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Bloodfly Nest 1B
Enchantment - Aura (U)
Enchant Swamp
At the beginning of your upkeep, each player loses 1 life.
2B: Until end of turn, enchanted Swamp becomes 3/1 black Insect creature with flying. It's still land.
Buzzing is the last thing you want to hear on those mires.

---

Design
(1/3) Appeal — Timmy sees this as something that kills him as fast as the opponent, and only gives you a 3/1 flying guy in exchange. He's not a big fan. Johnny is busy trying to come up with combos to use with the card, but can't find very many. The best Johnny can see is to use this as land removal, as he turns an opponent's land into a 3/1 and then deals 1 damage to it. Spike is the most excited for this card, meanwhile, as it gives the opponent a clock which starts counting down early, and then gives a 3 power flier to make the opponent feel that clock tick down a little bit faster. Spike might not use the card in constructed, but would utilize it as a bomb in limited.
(2/3) Elegance — The effects are simple and easy to understand, but the life loss feels a bit out of place. It honestly prevents the design from coming together as a whole. Perhaps if the man-land ability cared about how much life each player has, it would feel like it has a little more purpose. As it is, it feels like it's just there to give the card something to do outside of animate the Swamp. Though, this is all just one problem.

Development
(3/3) Viability — Black does love to mess with the land, turning it into a weapon or making it a swamp. So, this is on color. Manlands are something all colors get, and a 3/1 flier is something you would see in black. The complexity feels appropriate at uncommon, and it would make a good bomb in limited, so that's another reason to put it at uncommon. All in all this is good.
(3/3) Balance — This ends up right in the lower end of the region I would label as "good balance." Each mechanical strength has a mechanical flaw. It can be used as a powerful advantage, but requires you to go out on a limb to utilize that advantage. It cheaply puts your opponent on a clock that will slowly tick them down to 0, but requires that you also go onto the clock. It gives you a 3 power flier (which can be a huge beat stick, able to make your opponent feel that clock ticking down much more than you) but also requires an investment of three mana each turn you want to utilize it, which will keep you off tempo the more you try to use it. I doubt it's strong enough to see constructed play, but in limited, once again, it will swing games.

Creativity
(2/3) Uniqueness — This is similar enough to Genju of the Fens to warrant taking a point off, I feel. It even has the text "Enchant Swamp" on it. The costs are different, the creature the land becomes is different, and the additional ability is different, but the spirit of the card is the same.
(3/3) Flavor — You put a bloodfly nest in a swamp and suddenly the swamp can send out painful 3/1 flying bloodflies. Meanwhile, the presence of the flies slowly drains the life of the surrounding world, draining 1 life from everyone during your upkeep. This nest just makes the swamp a terrifying place, which is reinforced by the flavor text.

Polish
(3/3) Quality — Technically, in the flavor text, "on those mires" should be "in those mires," but that's a small enough mistake that it's not worth a deduction, in my opinion.
(2/2) Main Challenge — Check.
(2/2) Subchallenges — Double Check.

Total: 21/25

SecretInfiltrator

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Ayana, Packmother 2G
Legendary Creature - Wolf (U)
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a +1/+1 counter on each Wolf you control with power less than ~'s power.
1G: ~ gets +2/+2 until end of turn. Activate this ability only once each turn.
A parent's love is nothing without a parent's example.
3/3

---

Design
(2.5/3) Appeal — Timmy sees a big creature that can get bigger and who can make his other creatures bigger as well, making him want one, right now. Johnny sees an engine that needs to be fed, keeping that power high such that other wolves will keep getting bigger as well. Johnny also sees a potential source of +1/+1 counters for other engines. Spike sees an aggressively costed 5/5 beat stick that, in some circumstances, might make a few 2/2 tokens into 3/3 tokens. Spike is fine with just swinging with a 5/5 on turn four (in limited). Also, if there are enough good wolves in the format that supporting them with this Packmother is a viable strategy, then he'll love the card. However, that possibility isn't enough to win Spike's full endorsement. As is, Spike sees this as a limited bomb.
(3/3) Elegance — The effects are simple and they work together in a clear way. The flavor works towards shaping the concept as well, allowing the whole thing to come together quite well. Nothing to critique here, in all honesty.

Development
(2/3) Viability — Everything here is green. Wolf tribal would be green, the activated ability is very much a classic green ability, and the creature being a 3/3 for 2G is a common green setup. The only thing I would say is that this actually feels a little bit more rare. A legendary wolf? The mother of a pack who teaches and guides her children? A potentially very powerful anthem effect? Yeah, this is splashy enough to be a rare, for sure.
(2.5/3) Balance — So, assuming this card is in a vacuum, without any other wolves on the field, this creature isn't the best in the world. Green has some good 3/3 creatures with converted mana cost 3, but they tend to have some sort of defensive ability, if they're going to be used competitively. Hexproof, protection from a color, or even just regeneration. As is, Ayana ends up being a Nessian Courser with the potential to be a Silverback Ape if you are willing to pay 1G to make it happen. An aggressively costed vanilla creature, in effect, which is not necessarily bad, but also not the best thing in the world. However, with other wolves around, Ayana becomes much more exciting. She needs some help to keep going past making the other wolves 5/5, but if you have multiple 5/5 creatures on the field, you shouldn't need to keep going past that point.

Creativity
(2.5/3) Uniqueness — This is unique in multiple ways. A 3/3 with a +2/+2 temporary boost is unique, wolf tribal is unique, and a legendary, nontoken wolf is unique. A lot of the individual pieces feel a little tired, so a half point for that, but overall this design is unlike anything that has come before.
(3/3) Flavor — Ayana seems like a cool character. I disagree with the message in the flavor text (love can mean a lot just by itself) but it conveys what Ayana is about very well. She's a mother who teaches her young to fight by fighting.

Polish
(2/3) Quality — Taking a point off for using ~ in the card abilities. I know what you are referring to, and so would MSE, but the card is not named ~. It's like wearing a shirt without removing any of the tags. Everything else works, though.
(2/2) Main Challenge — Check.
(2/2) Subchallenges — Double Check.

Total: 22.5/25

Superbajt

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Lonely Spirit 2BB
Creature - Spirit (R)
Haste
Lonely Spirit can't block.
At the beginning of each upkeep, if you control no creatures, return Lonely Spirit from your graveyard to the battlefield.
2/2

---

Design
(1.5/3) Appeal — Timmy likes that this guy keeps coming back, but just wishes that it were bigger or had more keywords. Johnny sees this as a tricky puzzle, as he tries to discern how to trigger the upkeep ability while still having creatures to do stuff with. Johnny also sees this as a once-per-turn sack-engine. Spike loves 2-power weenies that come back to the battlefield easily, but is less than excited about this one because of the cost and the fact that multiple copies of this guy will be less effective.
(1.5/3) Elegance — One issue you will hit is that, if you have multiple of these in the graveyard, only one will be brought back. Suppose you have four in the yard. All four abilities will trigger at the same time, putting them on the stack. The first will resolve, see no creatures, and then return the card to the battlefield. Then the next will resolve and will see the Lonely Spirit already there, staying in the yard. Then the third stays in the yard, as does the fourth. At a glance, a person might think all four get returned, which is not the case. Also, why does it check at each upkeep if it can't block and has haste? Clearly it's meant to return during your turn in order to attack. Returning during an opponent's turn is effectively the same thing. Other than these two issues, the design is easily understandable.

Development
(3/3) Viability — This is perfectly acceptable at rare and absolutely on-color in monoblack. Nothing really to pick apart, here. It's right on the money.
(1/3) Balance — This card is definitely underpowered. First, just casting it straight from your hand, you get a 2/2 haste for 4 mana. That's not worth an investment like that. Granted, you don't want to make a card that immitates Bloodghast and ends up too powerful, as a result, but 4 mana is too expensive. Next, the triggered ability that returns the creature to the battlefield: if that ability is utilized, it means you only have a 2/2 which can't block, putting you in a bad position if your opponent has any kind of board presence. There are situations where you would be happy the ability triggered, but those situations are few and difficult to ensure. As a rule of thumb, if you would rather be in a situation where a creature's ability isn't used, then that ability is underpowered.

Creativity
(2/3) Uniqueness — This "only if you control no creatures" mechanic is new, so full credit on that front. Though, we've seen plenty of 2 power black creatures with haste who can't block and who bounce back from the graveyard easily enough, so it loses out a little bit on that front.
(3/3) Flavor — "Lonely Spirit" is the perfect name for this idea. The only thing that could have made it better is if it also couldn't be blocked, like Tormented Soul, to hammer that sense of isolation home even more. As is, it's a good, flavorful design.

Polish
(3/3) Quality — No issues that I could find.
(2/2) Main Challenge — Check.
(2/2) Subchallenges — Double Check.

Total: 19/25

Top Four Progress

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1. SecretInfiltrator: 22.5
2. Sagharri: 21
3. Freyleyes: 19
4. Superbajt: 19
5. Kypster: 16.5
6. kwanyeegor-ii: 16

[void_nothing]

Algernone25

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Design
(3/3) Appeal - Txmmy and Spike both have reasons for wanting to draw ALL THE CARDS, while Jxnny wants to drop The Wanderer and laugh.
(2.5/3) Elegance - A wordy card for sure, but it has exactly one, pretty clear function.

Development
(3/3) Viability - Extremely red although the original Necropotence concept is black and mythic is definitely the right place.
(2/3) Balance - While likely not an overpowered card - not being able to play the cards already in your hand is a big balance help - it's certainly a strong and what's more swingy card. This hitting the table means the game will soon be over no matter what; I don't envision this being used for careful measured play using life as a resource to impulse draw two-three cards per turn over many turns, although it's theoretically possible.

Creativity
(2/3) Uniqueness - Has some precedent in past risky-draw cards of course; it's a Necropotence riff so why would it not? However it does carve out its own space.
(2.5/3) Flavor - Nice epic-feeling name but maybe a bit too abstract without knowing what Nexus this is or without art. No flavor text but boy is there not a lot of room on this card to spare.

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

Total: 22/25

barbecube

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Design
(2/3) Appeal - Txmmy and Jxnny have probably obvious like for this effect. Spike dislikes giving away information when this whiffs or they don't want to use it, and also dislikes how it's less reliable than its predecessors.
(3/3) Elegance - Pretty elegant stuff even though it's a multi-part process.

Development
(2.5/3) Viability - Rare is the right place; black is mostly appropriate but it still feels like a pie bend for black to put stuff onto the battlefield from the library. Getting out an enchantment in this way feels particularly odd even though black interacts positively with enchantments from time to time.
(2.5/3) Balance - Another "not OP really but swingy" card; "black permanent card" stops you from Emrakuling out but you could also hit Griselbrand right away and mess everyone's day up. The fragility of 1 toughness is a good balancing agent.

Creativity
(2/3) Uniqueness - Bob riff (and ultimately Phyrexian Arena riff) is, well, that, but it's a more unique take on the ability
(2/3) Flavor - Being a diviner via cards is an interesting take but possibly too meta/literal for this effect. Wizard seems like a much better creature type than Shaman in this instance flavorwise. Also, could have used flavor text here.

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

Total: 21/25

Henlock

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Design
(2.5/3) Appeal - Txmmy does want to deal big damage but doesn't want to be limited to one spell per turn. Jxnny wants to abuse the triggered ability in general and Spike sees a possibly very potent sideboard option.
(3/3) Elegance - Nicely elegant stuff with two abilities that tie very clearly together synergistically.

Development
(3/3) Viability - A bit of a combination platter multicolor design but that just means the colors and rarity are perfect.
(3/3) Balance - Very strong stuff but basically fair especially given the symmetricality of the static ability.

Creativity
(1.5/3) Uniqueness - Sure, it's Magus of the Rule of Vise but these effects being put together in this way is really quite inspired imho.
(3/3) Flavor - Absolutely perfect, love the flavor text.

Polish
(3/3) Quality - Good.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Done.
(1/2) Subchallenges - Not monocolor.

Total: 22/25

Icarii

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Design
(2/3) Appeal - While Txmmy and Jxnny both might want to turn a Krosan Cloudscraper face up at a discount, Spike decidedly does not; efficient game-winnign combos this card does not make for.
(3/3) Elegance - Not inelegant, for sure.

Development
(3/3) Viability - Color and rarity seem just right.
(2.5/3) Balance - Underpowered if anything; this card has a quite parasitic ability as it does literally nothing unless you have a face-down permanent.

Creativity
(1/3) Uniqueness - It's a delayed Ixidor, Reality Sculptor ability usage. The self-bounce is an interesting addition, however.
(2.5/3) Flavor - The word order of the name "Concealed Reveal" doesn't make a lot of sense. Renamed as "Reveal the Concealed" this flavor would all be fine.

Polish
(2/3) Quality - The status is "face-down" with a hyphen; "face down" only occurs in the verb form after "turn." The possessive form of "it" is "its" and not "it's", which stands for "it is."
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Done.
(2/2) Subchallenges - And done.

Total: 20/25

RaikouRider

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Design
(2/3) Appeal - Jxnny and Spike want a piece very much while Txmmy isn't really into the risk.
(3/3) Elegance - No issues.

Development
(3/3) Viability - Colors and rarity seem perfectly correct.
(2/3) Balance - This card seems very abuseable. Put simply, it would go in decks where its drawback is actually an advantage; there are lots of decks that want to discard cards.

Creativity
(1.5/3) Uniqueness - Plenty of precedent, this card is clearly mostly a Sylvan Library riff.
(1/3) Flavor - "Rummage the Archives" is a very generic name for a looting card. It does nothing to convey why not throwing away some of the material at the end of the turn could be dangerous. Also, there's definitely room for flavor text here but we get none.

Polish
(3/3) Quality - Fine.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Done.
(1/2) Subchallenges - Multicolor.

Total: 19.5/25

Subject16

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Design
(1/3) Appeal - This is primarily a Jxnny card - Txmmy doesn't want to give away their own creatures and Spike doesn't like symmetricality or unreliability or being forced to do something that might be unfavorable.
(2.5/3) Elegance - Not inelegant per se but this card could change hands many, many times along with other cards between different zones… hope your sleeves are really distinct from your opponents'! This gets especially problematic in multiplayer.

Development
(3/3) Viability - Black and rare is where I would put this.
(2.5/3) Balance - Pretty slow and expensive for what it does; I would say this card is perhaps a bit underpowered.

Creativity
(2/3) Uniqueness - Reminds me of Endless Whispers plus Scion of Darkness.
(1/3) Flavor - First, the good point. Sinister flavor text sells it. Feels very Innistrad… probably because Corpse Traders is already a card name. Would prefer not to have a singular version of an existing plural card name, that seems ripe for confusion. Shaman does NOT seem like the correct creature type; this feels like a Rogue through and through.

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

Total: 19/25

Scores

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Algernone25 22
Henlock 22
barbecube 21
Icarii 20
RaikouRider 19.5
Subject16 19

[bravelion83]

I'm taking care of mellifuoresce's bracket myself. It will be a speed run, so I apologize in advance if the level of detail won't be up to my own usual standards, but I just need the contest to move on now. I'll do this and then post Round 2 (which I've had ready for two whole days by now) right afterwards.
I hope that mellifluoresce will join us again as a judge next round. And anyway, if she posts her judgments before I'm done with these, that's even better.
Let's go.

---

Judgments complete. As I expected, a speed run. Two hours total for six cards. I've matched my own historical record. Obviously, this is at the expense of detail, and I apologize for that. I don't have time to reread these for typos, so I also apologize in advance if you find any (you probably will given how fast I've written them).

Dragonlover

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The Gatewatch, Together 1WUBRG
Enchantment (M)
At the beginning of your upkeep, if you control at least five non-Bolas planeswalkers of different types, you win the game.
United, they can face any challenge the Multiverse throws at them.

Design
(2/3) Appeal - Timmy likes planeswalkers and winning the game by controlling a bunch of them is something he absolutely likes. Johnny can have fun choosing different planeswalker combinations to use, possibly ones that other people haven't thought about or that they have discarded as not good enough. Spike just wants a five-color card to immediately affect the board because of how hard it is to cast.
(3/3) Elegance - No problems here.

Development
(3/3) Viability - No problems from a color pie point of view with a five-color alternate win condition that will most often require permanents of different color combinations to be played together. This card certainly feels mythic.
(1.5/3) Balance - I think this card would never get played in limited, not even in a set like WAR. This is purely a constructed card, and even then, you have to be able to play five colors with relative ease in the format you're playing (aka usually not Standard, but Modern for sure with the "fetchlands plus shocklands" mana base), and you also have to specifically build your deck around this card. This is a very narrow card. I think casual players would like this more than competitive ones. In multiplayer, the fact that it's "you win" and not "target opponent loses" is very relevant, as you get to defeat all opponents at the same time.

Creativity
(3/3) Uniqueness - This card is certainly unique.
(2/3) Flavor - I can't really see this name printed on a real card, but it does make sense from a flavor perspective. The flavor text is also a bit generic but makes sense with the flavor of this card. The mechanics are well reflected by the flavor, and the card concept is good.

Polish
(3/3) Quality - All good.
(2/2) Main Challenge - Good.
(1/2) Subchallenges - Permanent but not monocolored.

Total: 20.5/25

Jimmy Groove

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Lock and Load 1R
Enchantment (R)
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may exile an instant or sorcery card from your hand face up.
You may cast cards exiled with Lock and Load and those cards cost 1 less to cast.
"Who needs surprise when you have overwhelming magical power?"
- Chandra, to Jace

Design
(2/3) Appeal - I don't think Timmy cares too much. Johnny and Spike care a lot instead, the former because he can certainly do things with this card, and the latter because of the mana discount that this card can give her.
(3/3) Elegance - No problems here.

Development
(2.5/3) Viability - As an apparent variant of impulsive draw, this ability could make sense in red, but it isn't actual impulsive draw, as the cards you exile were already in your hand and don't come from the top of your library. This feels more like imprint than impulsive draw to me. I feel like this ability would make more sense in blue than red, but it's certainly far from a break in red. If you asked me the second color I would put it in after blue, I'd say red. No problems with rarity.
(2.5/3) Balance - You might end up playing this in limited but it's not a given. You might also end up needing to cut this. I can easily see this in some kind of constructed spell deck. I see no particular problems in casual and multiplayer.

Creativity
(2/3) Uniqueness - As I've already said, this card feels like imprint meets impulsive draw. The play pattern of "I want to exile this to get the discount" feels original, but no single part is. A classic case of "all old elements but put together to do something new", which is far from bad in this area, but also not perfect.
(2/3) Flavor - Honestly, I could see this card name only for a split card. While not unprecedented (Tooth and Nail comes to mind), reading (something) and (something else) as the name of a non-split card feels a little strange to me. I could see Chandra saying the flavor text, but maybe Jaya would be a better fit.

Polish
(2.5/3) Quality - My instinct says that "those cards cost..." should be a separate sentence, but I haven't been able to find any precedent, so I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt on this. What I am certain about is that no space should be there between the dash and the name in the flavor text attribution (-0.5) and that "face up" isn't technically needed because it's the default anyway (-0.5). As I read those two words, I expected to see something involving face-down cards, morph, or manifest on the rest of the card.
(2/2) Main Challenge - Good.
(2/2) Subchallenges - Both met.

Total: 20.5/25

slimytrout

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Teyo, Reinforced 1WW
Planeswalker - Teyo (MR)
At the beginning of your upkeep, put a loyalty counter on each planeswalker you control.
0 – Until your next turn, creatures with power greater than the number of loyalty counters on Teyo, Reinforced can't attack.
-1 – Create a 0/X white Wall creature token with defender, where X is the number of loyalty counters on Teyo, Reinforced.
-2 – Return each creature card with power less than the number of loyalty counters on Teyo, Reinforced from your graveyard to the battlefield.
3

Design
(3/3) Appeal - Timmy likes planeswalkers, especially ones with abilities that can affect the board in a meaningful way. Johnny can use the triggered ability, the tokens, and the recursion. Spike also likes a three-mana planeswalker with effective abilities.
(2.5/3) Elegance - The text is quite long, as it often happens on planeswalkers, but very easy to understand.

Development
(3/3) Viability - No problems with the color pie or rarity.
(2.5/3) Balance - Most planeswalkers are auto-includes in limited. The only time I remember opening a planeswalker in limited and end up not playing it is with Sorin at the M20 2HG prerelease. We had him with a really bad black and without a single vampire in black. We just didn't play it. But back on track now. I can easily see this getting played in Standard. It gets even better in superfriends decks thanks to his triggered ability giving loyalty to all planeswalkers. While I can see some potentially unfun things here, like being able to repeatedly use the 0 without any real cost, or ending up with a wall of Walls (pun obviously intended) you can't get through, I can't see any really serious problem in casual or multiplayer.

Creativity
(2.5/3) Uniqueness - Seeing a planeswalker with a static or triggered ability doesn't feel original anymore after WAR. Caring about the number of loyalty counters in the effects is something that I vaguely remember as something that has already been done, but it's vein of design space still rather unexplored.
(2.5/3) Flavor - Teyo's ability to makes shields to protect himself or others lets the word "Reinforced" make a lot of sense in the card name. Planeswalker have no flavor text by default. Are these abilities that Teyo could do flavorfully? Honestly, the triggered ability strikes me as something that Ajani would do, not so much Teyo. The 0 and -1 do feel like Teyo, protecting you from attacks with his shields, and making such shields. Reanimation is not something that I associate with Teyo based on how we've known him in WAR.

Polish
(2/3) Quality - The loyalty abilities must have a colon instead of a dash. As is, they aren't even activated abilities. Functional mistake, so -1.
(2/2) Main Challenge - Good.
(2/2) Subchallenges - Both met.

Total: 22/25

Sojourner Dusk

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Fractured Thoughts 1GUR
Enchantment (R)
At the beginning of each upkeep, each player discards their hand.
At the beginning of each draw step, each player draws two cards.
Any player may cast spells as though they had flash.

Design
(2.5/3) Appeal - Timmy likes the thrill of "let's see what I get" and also likes being able to cast his big creatures at instant speed. Johnny could be interested in the last ability to turn some combo from sorcery speed to instant speed, which is relevant because then he can do it in response of something his opponent does. Spike likes to refill her hand when it's empty, and also likes being able to cast things at instant speed, but I don't think she likes this effect being symmetrical.
(3/3) Elegance - No problems here.

Development
(2.5/3) Viability - To me, this card feels more Izzet than Temur, even keeping the same flavor. The first two abilities make a variant of Wheel of Fortune, so red without doubt. The second ability is something that colorless artifacts have done, but if we had to place it in a single color, it would clearly be blue. The last ability is technically something that both green and blue can do, even if being focused on any "spells" and not, say, just "creature spells", makes it feel more blue than green to me. Personally, I would have just made this card Izzet. No problems with rarity.
(2/3) Balance - Not sure you'd play this in limited, but the last ability especially is highly attractive there too. You also have to be in three specific colors, which is far from a given in limited. This looks more like a constructed card. I could see this getting some constructed play. Casual players won't like to discard their hands. In multiplayer, the last ability affecting "any player" is highly relevant.

Creativity
(2/3) Uniqueness - This is also a classic case of "all old elements but put together to do something new", which is far from bad in this area, but also not perfect.
(2/3) Flavor - The name makes a lot of sense with the mechanics. I would have liked to see some flavor text, and MSE shows me there's room for up to three lines of flavor text for sure, maybe even four.

Polish
(3/3) Quality - All good.
(2/2) Main Challenge - Good.
(1/2) Subchallenges - Permanent but not monocolored.

Total: 20/25

The_Hittite

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Pendant of Patience 1W
Artifact [R]
At the beginning of your upkeep, choose an opponent. That player gains control of Pendant of Patience.
You can't cast spells.
It'll be your turn soon enough.

Design
(1.5/3) Appeal - Timmy hates the thought of playing against this card. He wants to cast his spells! The only subset of Timmy that will enjoy this card is griefers, and they're not exactly the ideal player... (I have quite some thoughts about them.) Johnny can appreciate this protecting his combos from opposing spells. Spike will use this is it proves strong enough, but this is not the kind of cards she likes best.
(3/3) Elegance - No problems here.

Development
(1.5/3) Viability - I see no problems with the color pie or rarity. The very big problem that I do have with this card is that it looks like the exact opposite of fun. If I were in R&D, I would think for a lot of time before giving this card the green light, provided that I would green light it in the first place, which I'm honestly not sure I would.
(1/3) Balance - I can't see this played in limited. In competitive constructed, this might get played but I'd honestly prefer if it doesn't. In casual constructed, and especially multiplayer, I think this card will get hated really soon. It looks really unfun. At least Silence only lasted one turn and couldn't be used again under ordinary circumstances. Being on the receiving end of this, and multiple times during a single game, looks really unfun to me. But maybe I'm wrong. On one side I wish I'm wrong, on the other I really don't want to play against this card.

Creativity
(3/3) Uniqueness - I can't remember any existing card working in a similar way.
(2/3) Flavor - I can't say this card isn't flavorful. The name is very good, but I don't think they'd print that flavor text on a real card. It fits here with what the card does, but I would have tried to avoid using words that have Magic-specific meaning.

Polish
(3/3) Quality - All good.
(2/2) Main Challenge - Good.
(2/2) Subchallenges - Both met.

Total: 19/25

user_938036

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Paradise

4WW

Enchantment

At the begining of each upkeep, each player's life total becomes the highest life total among all players.
At the beginning of each end step, each player shuffles their graveyard into their library.

Art by None

0??/280

Design
(1.5/3) Appeal - Timmy likes life gain, but I'm not sure this is the way he likes it. Johnny can definitely use the last ability at least. Spike likes cards that let her win rather than ones that merely prevent her to lose.
(2.5/3) Elegance - Very easy to understand, but the two abilities being completely disconnected made me think I missed something at first.

Development
(2/3) Viability - No problems with first ability or with rarity. I do have problems with the last ability though. That's green, not white.
(1/3) Balance - Here the point is not so much the limited, constructed, or casual playability, that might or might not be there (I wouldn't play this in limited, and it finding a place in constructed is not a given), but the fact the this prolongs the game a looooot. Every turn, all players will be back to the highest life total. If you want to defeat your opponent(s) via damage, it will take a very long time. We know that R&D likes to print cards that make the game go faster, not as slower as this card appears to do. Under this, the game risks to feel like a drag by the time it ends, and you probably won't want to play another game (the main reason for the fact I mentioned before). And that's excluding all the potential time issues in tournaments due to almost every match involving this card going to additional turns. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but that first ability does worry me. Yes, Loxodon Lifechanter exists in the most recent set, but at least the Loxodon's ability is one-shot, not repeatable under ordinary circumstances, and you won't always use it in the first place, as sometimes it would actually cause you to lose life. Also, it only affects you.

Creativity
(2/3) Uniqueness - We've already seen the last ability multiple times. I think the first ability has also been already done, or something very close, just not as often. And pairing those two ability on a single card is something that I'm certain has not been done before, even if, again, I don't see much of a connection between them.
(2/3) Flavor - I had to check Gatherer to make sure that the name wasn't taken yet and no, it isn't. Finding good one-word card names that haven't been used yet is hard. I would have liked to see some flavor text, and MSE shows me there's room for up to three lines of flavor text for sure, maybe even four.

Polish
(2.5/3) Quality - "begining" with a single "n" is a typo (-0.5).
(2/2) Main Challenge - Good.
(2/2) Subchallenges - Both met.

Total: 17.5/25

Results (bold advance)

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slimytrout: 22
Jimmy Groove: 20.5
Dragonlover: 20.5
Sojourner Dusk: 20
The_Hittite: 19
user_938036: 17.5

[void_nothing]

Maybe this will lure her back?

mellifluoresce

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Design
(3/3) Appeal - All-rounder. Who doesn't want to step on the gas to this degree?
(3/3) Elegance - Three abilities, yes, but tightly connected ones.

Development
(1.5/3) Viability - While exiling from the top and letting you play the card is red, that's only the case as long as you have a limited time to play the card. Otherwise it's not impulse draw, it's pretty much straight up draw. And "at the beginning of your upkeep, draw a card" is certainly not a red effect. The playing without paying mana costs part can be red, but all that means is the card NEEDS to be UR. Rare is... maybe okay, but I would prefer for this card to be mythic for various reasons.
(1/3) Balance - Maybe you were trying to emulate impulse draw here, but what you get closer to is a Phyrexian Arena, in red, with no drawback; since you can play the exiled cards whenever (instead of "this turn/until the end of your next turn" or similar), the only thing that differentiates this from pure card draw a lot of the time is enchantment removal, and even then it has extra advantages over card draw such as not being vulnerable to Thoughtseize, etc, and ignoring maximum hand size. The play-for-free ability is just gravy. Altogether this card is too powerful by a large margin.

Creativity
(1.5/3) Uniqueness - While drawing every turn is not new, this version of the effect is unprecedented in red, and the tension between playing now and saving up to play a huge number of cards later is interesting.
(2.5/3) Flavor - Name is very good, but not fully red imho; it implies a kind of patience that red normally isn't known for, just as the play style might.

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

Total: 20.5/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.

[bravelion83]

On one side, I hope so. On the other, I'm already halfway through her bracket... (hitting F5 every few minutes to see if she has posted her own judgments in the meantime)

EDIT: I'm done. See my previous post. Round 2 will be up in a few minutes. is up now.