July MCC, Finals: In Brief

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void_nothing
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Post by void_nothing » 3 years ago

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Banner based on Austere Command by Anna Steinbauer and Wizards of the Coast. Thanks to bravelion83 for the "Core Set Style" MCC Logo
July MCC, Finals - In Brief

Welcome to the July MCC! It's Orderliness Month here at the MCC. Cards designed this month will have something clean, simple, or just well-put-together about their aesthetic.

Main Challenge: Design a card with twelve or fewer words of rules text.
Subchallenge 1: Your card's rules text uses a word that currently does not appear in any card's Oracle rules text.
Subchallenge 2: Your card is mythic rare.

DEADLINES

Design deadline: Monday, August 3rd 23:59 EDT

Judging deadline: Thursday, August 6th 23:59 EDT

Clarifications
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Main Challenge: Everything below the typeline that is neither reminder text nor flavor text is rules text.

Power and toughness numbers either in a creature's p/t box or in text count as one word.

Mana costs count as one word. "2GG: Create a 1/1 green Saproling creature token" is eight words.

Feel free to write as much flavor text or reminder text as you want or need. Time Stop qualifies for the main challenge with gusto despite the length of its reminder text.
Judges:
void_nothing
Ryder
Subject16

Players:
@Lorn Asbord Schutta
@Sojourner Dusk
@slimytrout
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Sojourner Dusk
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Post by Sojourner Dusk » 3 years ago

Efficacity
Sorcery (M)
Restart the game.
Cycling
When you cycle Efficacity, scry 4.
Why put off until tomorrow what you can change yesterday?
Last edited by Sojourner Dusk 3 years ago, edited 2 times in total.
May your games be chaotic and your decks be rogue.



UBR Nekusar (EDH)
RGW Mayael, Naturally (EDH)

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Post by slimytrout » 3 years ago

Jarov, Legion Quartermaster 2RW
Legendary Creature — Human Soldier (M)
Haste
Mentor (Whenever this creature attacks, put a +1/+1 counter on target attacking creature with lesser power.)
Strengthened creatures you control have double strike. (Enchanted creatures, equipped creatures, and creatures with +1/+1 counters on them are strengthened.)
4/4
Last edited by slimytrout 3 years ago, edited 2 times in total.

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void_nothing
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Post by void_nothing » 3 years ago

Bumping for visibility - @Lorn Asbord Schutta?
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Lorn Asbord Schutta
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Post by Lorn Asbord Schutta » 3 years ago

Ingenious Insight
Sorcery (M)
Draw three cards for each alternative casting cost you paid this turn.
"Magic at first glance is simple, even childlish. Each spell can be seen at surface, at the very top of it, as just some specific mana. The brilliance — the true reason why we all are mages — lies futher down."
—Ral Zarek

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void_nothing
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Post by void_nothing » 3 years ago

That will close out the round. Judges do your thing.
Psst, check the second page of Custom Card Contests & Games! Because of the daily contests, a lot of games fall down to there.

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Important Facts: Colorless is not a color, Wastes is not a land type, Changeling is not a creature type

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Ryder
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Post by Ryder » 3 years ago

Done
Sojourner Dusk
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Sojourner Dusk wrote:
3 years ago
Efficacity
Sorcery (M)
Restart the game.
Cycling
When you cycle Efficacity, scry 4.
Why put off until tomorrow what you can change yesterday?
Design
Appeal 1.5/3 - Johnny could use a superior card selection tool. Spike would love to have a card that would let her retry a bad game.
Elegance 2.5/3 - "Restart the game" shouldn't need any additional effects.

Development
Viability 3/3 - If such an effect would actually exist, I guess it would be Blue, fine. For Limited purposes, this is probably also good at Mythic.
Balance 0/3 - Broken beyond measure. Virtually any Blue-centered deck could play this and never lose a game (unless facing a Control deck which could counter this). This should cost twice that much mana and still be extremely powerful. Insta-ban for sanctioned play. If that wasn't enough to warrant a full 0 (it was), did you just casually add an Impulse-equivalent effect ON TOP OF THIS?

Creativity
Uniqueness 2/3 - Restarting the game already exists on Karn Liberated, but this is vastly different.
Flavor 1.5/3 - This card's main purpose is to turn a lose into a victory. It's completely EPIC. It completely voids a point of no return. For such a huge effect, "Efficacity" and this simple flavor text are woefully dissatisfying.

Polish
Quality 3/3 - No problems here.
Main Challenge 2/2 - Met.
Subchallenges 1.5/2 - Mythic, but the only word not to be found on existing Magic cards is your card's name.

TOTAL 17/25
slimytrout
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slimytrout wrote:
3 years ago
Jarov, Legion Quartermaster 2RW
Legendary Creature — Human Soldier (M)
Haste
Mentor (Whenever this creature attacks, put a +1/+1 counter on target attacking creature with lesser power.)
Strengthened creatures you control have double strike. (Enchanted creatures, equipped creatures, and creatures with +1/+1 counters on them are strengthened.)
4/4
Design
Appeal 2/3 - Timmy likes an all-upside beater and +1/+1 counters; Johnny would try to fit it in his "combat damage to a player".dec; Nothing in particular for Spike here.
Elegance 3/3 - All clear.

Development
Viability 3/3 - No problems. The enchanted / equipped relation to White / Red in "stengthened" definition is pleasing. Mythic is fine, I would totally windmill-slam this in Limited.
Balance 2/3 - Questing Beast is not to be considered the power baseline. This is usually better than the Beast. 4/4 haste is already very solid at 4 mana. Was Lava Hounds that long ago? Maybe. Anyway Aurelia, Exemplar of Justice is much less oppressive. Give it 5cmc and it'd be much better.

Creativity
Uniqueness 2.5/3 - Pretty innovative, but not as much as the other submissions.
Flavor 2/3 - "Quartermaster" rang well for me only after the second read. Solid stuff, just not too awesome (at least for my Vorthos). Maybe I wish that "strengthened" definition was a bit more open-ended (any counters on creatures? idk)

Polish
Quality 3/3 - No problems here.
Main Challenge 2/2 - Met.
Subchallenges 2/2 - Both met.

TOTAL 21.5/25
Lorn Asbord Shutta
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Lorn Asbord Schutta wrote:
3 years ago
Ingenious Insight
Sorcery (M)
Draw three cards for each alternative casting cost you paid this turn.
"Magic at first glance is simple, even childlish. Each spell can be seen at surface, at the very top of it, as just some specific mana. The brilliance — the true reason why we all are mages — lies futher down."
—Ral Zarek
Design
Appeal 1/3 - Jenny is definitely interested, others don't really care.
Elegance 3/3 - No problems here.

Development
Viability 1/3 - If this effect existed, I'm not sure if this should be Red. Maybe Green instead? Or just mono Blue? There is nothing Epic in this card, so Rare would be more appropriate (extra penalty as this was a subchallenge).
Balance 2/3 - I thoroughly researched what an "alternative casting cost" is, as an early version of my last MCC Finals submission used that exact phrase. And unfortunately I must tell you it's not about hybrid mana, but rather stuff like Flashback, Madness, Miracle, Spectacle, Dash, Suspend, Morph. To get any real value over Mind Spring you'd have to play at least 2 alt cost spells and this. Maybe Suspend + Madness + Miracle? Anyway, it's definitely going to underperform.

Creativity
Uniqueness 3/3 - Definitely a nice try.
Flavor 3/3 - Very nice flavor text and a fitting name to what you've tried to accomplish.

Polish
Quality 3/3 - No problems here.
Main Challenge 2/2 - Met.
Subchallenges 2/2 - Both met.

TOTAL 20/25
Results
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Sojourner Dusk: 17
slimytrout: 21.5
Lorn Asbord Shutta: 20

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Subject16
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Post by Subject16 » 3 years ago

Sojourner Dusk
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Design
(1/3) Appeal – Spike sees a way out of a losing game; I'm not sure Johnny or Timmy particularly like this effect.
(3/3) Elegance – It all reads fine.

Development
(1.5/3) ViabilityKarn Liberated is the only black bordered card to restart games. There are three silver bordered card that deal with subgames, however, but none of them are blue. Flavor-wise blue has the most interaction with time so that's an argument for it. I also think it's an effect that definitely warps the game all too easily, since you can keep casting this every game to just endlessly play Magic. This NEEDS to be a mythic.
(0/3) Balance – I think I can say this quite confidently: restarting the game isn't enjoyable. It leaves players without any closure on their last game and makes it feel like wasted time. It isn't appropriate for any kind of constructed/tournament format where rounds are limited with real time. I'm repeating myself, the fact that when you restart the game with this card in your deck means you can endlessly restart the game over and over until you win. That's not just oppressive, it's unsportsmanlike.

Creativity
(3/3) Uniqueness – We've never seen a sorcery that restarts the game. Karn Liberated is the only card that's done so, so I think this qualifies as unique.
(1.5/3) Flavor – For an ability so game-warping as restarting the entire game, "Efficacity" doesn't seem all too impressive a name. The flavor text fits though.

Polish
(3/3) Quality – Don't see any.
(2/2) Main Challenge – Eleven words of text.
(2/2) Subchallenges – Efficacity is a new word, and this is a mythic.

Total: 17/25
slimytrout
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Design
(3/3) Appeal – Timmy sees a fast beater, spike likes the haste and the power this brings to the board. Johnny wants to experiment with strengthening creatures more.
(3/3) Elegance – This reads fine. The reminder text to explain strengthened creatures is appreciated.

Development
(3/3) Viability – This is definitely a boros card in both color and mechanics. It introduces a new concept grouping which we've seen before with Historic (and Combined creatures in silver border), so it's testing the boundaries of what we can and can't design for now, but I like it. This would wreck limited at rare, so mythic works for me.
(2/3) Balance – I put this card's power level on a similar one to Questing Beast. It's got a strong statline, can immediately attack, and provides a very potent power swing the turn it comes down. But it's also easier to block and kill than QB, and requires two colors. If you have a deck built around this guy I think this could be a little oppressive to be playing against. In EDH it would definitely make a splash. A slightly smaller statline, possibly 4/3 would have been better in my opinion.

Creativity
(3/3) Uniqueness – 'Strengthened' is something completely new and could be a fun grouping to explore.
(3/3) Flavor – Ravnican name, clearly a Boros in mechanics and name, Quartermasters helping smaller creatures fulfill their potential, it's all there.

Polish
(3/3) Quality – All good.
(2/2) Main Challenge – Nine words of rules text.
(2/2) Subchallenges – Strengthened is a new word for rules text; and this is a mythic.

Total: 24/25
Lorn Absord Schutta
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Design
(2/3) Appeal – Timmy likes drawing lots of cards. Johnny can't wait to build and all alternative casting costs deck. Spike sees a card that doesn't work by itself.
(1/3) Elegance – Without reminder text to specify what is and isn't an alternative casting cost this could create some confusion. There's also a level of memory involved which can always go wrong especially in a storm-like deck this card seems to favor.

Development
(3/3) Viability – Blue and red love casting lots of spells from all kinds of places. The mix of hybrid and regular mana is interesting, and it's a good thing this isn't purely hybrid because this wouldn't be red. It's definitely a mythic in power and splashiness.
(3/3) Balance – Four mana is a lot to commit in addition to casting other spells as well, which limits this to a late-game blowout style card. For storm decks that want to cast loads of spells in one turn this can obviously get out of hand, so I think this fits into that deck where Past in Flames meets Manamorphose. So it needs a lot of work to break, but for a card that doesn't fit into any other deck really I think that's fine.

Creativity
(3/3) Uniqueness – Drawing so much depending on other spells doesn't remind me of anything in particular. This feels very unique.
(3/3) Flavor – I find it quite interesting that Ral could be breaking the fourth wall somewhat by talking about Magic the game, and with a card named Ingenious Insight I think that's nifty. It's also the kind of crazy-whacky effect that fits the Izzet like a glove.

Polish
(3/3) Quality – There's no oracle ruling at all on alternative casting costs so I can't say for sure if it's the right wording. Personally I think I would have "Draw three cards for each spell you've cast this turn with an alternative casting cost.", but I can't be sure of that so I can't deduct any points on speculation alone.
(2/2) Main Challenge – Twelve words of text.
(2/2) Subchallenges – 'alternative' hasn't seen print on oracle text yet, and this is a mythic.

Total: 22/25

Results
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Sojourner Dusk: 17/25
slimytrout: 24/25
Lorn Absord Schutta: 22/25

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void_nothing
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Post by void_nothing » 3 years ago

Sojourner Dusk
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Design
(1.5/3) Appeal - Txmmy doesn't want all of their accomplishments to be undone. Jxnny likes a draw stacker that potent. Spike likes a "get out of losing free" button but really doesn't actually want to see something like this used, philosophically speaking.
(1.5/3) Elegance - Restarting a game is technically simple, yet very tiresome and will make everyone else at the table absolutely miserable.

Development
(1.5/3) Viability - I'm not convinced that, if you had to put a color to this effect, it would be blue. The only card that does it presently is a colorless planeswalker, as its ultimate, and just because an effect is extremely strong and new doesn't mean it should be blue. That's A/B/U thinking lmao. I might be so bold as to say this is a white effect. Besides that, a game restart that requires nothing but a mana payment may not even be printable.
(1/3) Balance - This card would catch an immediate ban in at least Commander - I don't think a card that ends a game one way or another (even if it's a "let's try something else") with no conditions attached is something R&D would print. The extremely efficient card filtering plus draw is just icing on the cake.

Creativity
(1/3) Uniqueness - Karn Liberated, as mentioned, already restarts games, and scry plus draw is... certainly not new.
(2/3) Flavor - I don't get the time travel flavor from the one-word name "Efficacity."

Polish
(3/3) Quality - Looks okay.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Done.
(1.5/2) Subchallenges - Is mythic, but the only unique word in the text here is the card's own name.

Total: 15/25
slimytrout
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Design
(2.5/3) Appeal - Almost an all-rounder; it's a bit overly straightfoward for Jxnny but the strengthened conditions are many and varied.
(2.5/3) Elegance - A bit wordy, especially with all the necessary reminder text, and creates tracking complexity, but doesn't do anything confusing.

Development
(3/3) Viability - Clearly a RW mythic legend, associated with the Boros.
(2.5/3) Balance - A quite pushed card, but it needs setup to be really really powerful.

Creativity
(1.5/3) Uniqueness - You can compare this card with Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder and Rafiq of the Many as well as the other mentor creatures. Strengthened is unique, but often parallel-designed in custom card terms. I called it "altered" when I made it.
(3/3) Flavor - Name succinctly gets the mechanics across quite nicely.

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

Total: 21/25
Lorn Asbord Schutta
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Design
(2.5/3) Appeal - Jxnny is obviously all over this. Txmmy loves the idea of refilling their hand after freecasting. Spike would consider this if they had a Jxnny bent or if there was enough support in Standard for it.
(2.5/3) Elegance - Very elegant assuming you understand what is an alternate cost and what is not (I think some people might be confused when additional costs come into the picture).

Development
(2.5/3) Viability - Other than going well with overload - the other two Izzet keywords actually use additional costs - the red seems unnecessary here. If it counted both types of non-normal costs I'd say it was perfectly synced to the guild mechanics and given full points, tbh.
(3/3) Balance - Can draw you a lot of cards, but you need to be able to play multiple specific spells first. Dumb with Dream Halls, maybe? Yes, but the Corollary to the CrustaceanCrusader Axiom says that bad cards making broken cards more broken is not a problem.

Creativity
(2.5/3) Uniqueness - It's "just" massive card draw but the idea of counting all alternate costs is a really unique idea.
(3/3) Flavor - I'm into it!

Polish
(2.5/3) Quality - "...for each alternate cost you paid this turn" or "for each other spell you cast for an alternate cost this turn", something like that.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Looks good.
(2/2) Subchallenges - And done.

Total: 22.5/25
Psst, check the second page of Custom Card Contests & Games! Because of the daily contests, a lot of games fall down to there.

The greatest (fake) pro wrestling on the internet - Collaborative Create-A-Booster - My random creations (updated regularly)

Important Facts: Colorless is not a color, Wastes is not a land type, Changeling is not a creature type

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void_nothing
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Post by void_nothing » 3 years ago

Sojourner Dusk 17 + 17 + 15 = 49
slimytrout 21.5 + 24 + 21 = 66.5
Lorn Asbord Schutta 20 + 22 + 22.5 = 64.5

Congratulations to @slimytrout!
Psst, check the second page of Custom Card Contests & Games! Because of the daily contests, a lot of games fall down to there.

The greatest (fake) pro wrestling on the internet - Collaborative Create-A-Booster - My random creations (updated regularly)

Important Facts: Colorless is not a color, Wastes is not a land type, Changeling is not a creature type

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