April MCC, Round 3 - Multiversal Trip

[void_nothing]

Banner based on Megaflora Jungle, by John Avon and Wizards of the Coast. Thanks to bravelion83 for the "Core Set Style" MCC Logo

April MCC, Round 3 - Multiversal Trip

Welcome to the April MCC! It's Formats Month here at the MCC. This round, we'll be taking on Planechase, which is the format referenced by this month's banner. As you may know, Planechase has a number of unique mechanics related to its central concept of plane cards.

Main Challenge: Design a monocolored card that cares about the current plane or that has "planeswalk", "planar die", "chaos ensues", or "phenomenon" in its text.

Subchallenge 1: Your card has an ability word, whether existing or one of your own design. (1 point)

Subchallenge 2: Choose one or both -
• Your card is an instant, has flash, or can gain flash through its own abilities. (0.5 points)
• Your card has an activated ability. (0.5 points)

DEADLINES

Design deadline: Sunday, April 21st 23:59 EDT

Judging deadline: Tuesday, April 23rd 23:59 EDT

If time extensions are required, they WILL eat time from the next round to realign with the calendar, so please ask them only if you really need them. This is for both players and judges.

Clarifications

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CONTESTANTS

First Seed @Lorn Asbord Schutta (45.25) vs. Sixth Seed @Raptorchan (41)
Second Seed @slimytrout (44.5) vs. Fifth Seed @netn10 (41.5)
Third Seed @shullz (43.75) vs. Fourth Seed @Subject16 (42)

RUBRIC

MCC Rubric

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

Code: Select all

[b]Design[/b]
[b](X/3) Appeal[/b] - Do the different player psychographics (Timmy/Johhny/Spike) have a use for the card?
[b](X/3) Elegance[/b] - Is the card easily understandable at a glance? Do all the flavor and mechanics combined as a whole make sense?
 
[b]Development[/b]
[b](X/3) Viability[/b] - How well does the card fit into the color wheel? Does it break or bend the rules of the game? Is it the appropriate rarity?
[b](X/3) Balance[/b] - Does the card have a power level appropriate for contemporary constructed/limited environments without breaking them? Does it play well in casual and multiplayer formats? Does it create or fit into a deck/archetype? Does it create an oppressive environment?
 
[b]Creativity[/b]
[b](X/3) Uniqueness[/b] - Has a card like this ever been printed before? Does it use new mechanics, ideas, or design space? Does it combine old ideas in a new way? Overall, does it feel "fresh"?
[b](X/3) Flavor[/b] - Does the name seem realistic for a card? Does the flavor text sound professional? Do all the flavor elements synch together to please Vorthos players?
 
[b]Polish[/b]
[b](X/3) Quality[/b] - Points deducted for incorrect spelling, grammar, and templating.
[b](X/2) Main Challenge (*)[/b] - Was the main challenge satisfied? Was it approached in a unique or interesting way? Does the card fit the intent of the challenge?
[b](X/2) Subchallenges[/b] - One point awarded per satisfied subchallenge condition.
 
[b]Total: X/25[/b]
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.

JUDGES
void_nothing
Ink-Treader

[netn10]

Termi, Tamer of the Wilds 1WW
Legendary Creature - Human Warlock (Mythic)
Prowess
Sheriff - Termi has the following activated abilities as long as it's the authority (It's the authority if you control more creatures than each opponent and if Termi's power is greater than each other creature.)
1: If target spell or ability has the word "random" in it, its effects are chosen by its controller instead.
1: Counter target chaos ensues ability.
4/2

[Subject16]

Ashmouth Taunters 2R
Creature — Devil (R)
Havoc — Whenever you roll the planar die, exile the top card of your library. You may play that card this turn.
Whenever chaos ensues, choose a nonland card at random exiled with Ashmouth taunters. You may cast that card without paying its mana cost.
T: Roll the planar die.
3/2

[slimytrout]

Omenpaths Itinerant 2G
Creature — Human Shaman (R)
Haste
Converge — When Omenpaths Itinerant enters the battlefield, roll the planar die once for each color of mana spent to cast it.
T: Copy target triggered ability from a plane source. You may choose new targets for the copy.
3/3

[Raptorchan]

World Plunderers 3rr
Creature — Human Pirate (R)
First strike, haste
Raid — At the beginning of your postcombat main phase, if you attacked this turn, chaos ensues.
Boast — 2r: Planeswalk. (Activate only if this creature attacked this turn and only once each turn.)
5/4

[shullz]

Assassin's Homing Shuriken
Artifact — Equipment (U)
Flash
Equipped creature gets +2/-2 and has deathtouch.
Hello World — When Assassin's Homing Shuriken enters or a player planeswalks, you may attach it to target creature.
Equip

[Lorn Asbord Schutta]

Persistent Vagabond
Creature — Elf Scout (R)
Whenever you roll a blank on the planar die, you may pay . If you do, Persistent Vagabond explores.
Delirium — Exile two cards from your graveyard: Each rolling of the planar die costs you less this turn. Activate only if there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard.
She used to visit every known place before time and chaos made them unrecognisable. With the advent of Omenpaths, this routine became much more demanding.
1/2

[void_nothing]

@Ink-Treader let's judge! Just for easy reference here are the pairings:

First Seed Lorn Asbord Schutta (45.25) vs. Sixth Seed Raptorchan (41)
Second Seed slimytrout (44.5) vs. Fifth Seed netn10 (41.5)
Third Seed shullz (43.75) vs. Fourth Seed Subject16 (42)

[Ink-Treader]

Judgments rendered

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Lorn Asbord Schutta

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Design
(3/3) Appeal - I'd say this is an all-rounder; can get big, has combo interest, and is efficient.
(2.5/3) Elegance - A fair amount of tracking involved if a player intends to keep delirium active while using this ability, plus tracking the amount of die rolls, but otherwise fine.

Development
(2.5/3) Viability - Rarity outside of Mythic Rare in Planechase seems mostly tied to powerlevel; rare seems appropriate, as does green. The activated ability probably should have a sorcery speed restriction, since it's mostly pointless to be able to activate it on other players' turns.
(3/3) Balance - This seems very useful in Planechase, with the sheer amount of die rolling it enables. Strong more for utility than the ability to get big via explore.

Creativity
(3/3) Uniqueness - This challenge does push towards scoring high here, and your card is no exception.
(3/3) Flavor - Excellent flavor.

Polish
(2.5/3) Quality - "Rolling the planar die costs you 2 less this turn." looks more in line with standard syntax.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Indeed.
(1.5/2) Subchallenges - Has an ability word and an activated ability, but no flash/not an instant.

Total: 23/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.

vs.

Raptorchan

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Design
(2/3) Appeal - Timmy appeal is definitely the highest; it's a sizeable enough creature, and being able to force chaos, and gamble on the next plane is quite cool. Johnny will find the ability to force chaos to ensue and planeswalk of some interest. It's efficient enough for Spike, and though they might not want chaos to ensue at times, they can at least build their planar deck to be optimally likely to be at least non-harmful to planeswalk with.
(3/3) Elegance - Quite so.

Development
(3/3) Viability - I really quite like that you've managed to design a 'gambling' type card in red that doesn't use the word "random". WotC seems comfortable with cards that allow planeswalking and chaos outside of rolling the die, so fair enough.
(2.5/3) Balance - Excellent stats, with a surprisingly variable floor and ceiling thanks to being able to force chaos to ensue and planeswalk. I expect this to overperform.

Creativity
(2.5/3) Uniqueness - There are existing cards that can force chaos or planeswalk, but not both simultaneously (Will of the Planeswalkers puts both up to an either/or vote, at closest)
(2/3) Flavor - This works well, but there's room for more. A less generic name with some flavor text could really elevate the flavor. Honestly kind of surprised these aren't Demons from Immersturm or something like that.

Polish
(3/3) Quality - Looks good.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Indeed.
(1.5/2) Subchallenges - Has an ability word and an activated ability, but no flash/not an instant.

Total: 21.5/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.

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slimytrout

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Design
(3/3) Appeal - An all-rounder; it's got good stats, and everyone generally likes copying, especially when it's efficient.
(3/3) Elegance - Quite so.

Development
(2.5/3) Viability - Rare and green look appropriate here, mostly for flavor, since there's no real color requirement known for rolling the planar die. This probably should only interact with plane abilities you control, otherwise it might disincentivize your opponent's rolling the die, something I feel a card made for Planechase should not do.
(2.5/3) Balance - I've played Strionic Resonator in Planechase; this will do very powerful things; at least it can't interact with Phenomenon.

Creativity
(3/3) Uniqueness - This challenge does tend to cause cards to score highly here.
(2/3) Flavor - It works, but there is some room for flavor text to elevate it.

Polish
(3/3) Quality - Looks good.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Indeed.
(1.5/2) Subchallenges - Has an ability word and an activated ability, but no flash/not an instant.

Total: 22.5/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.

vs.

netn10

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Design
(2/3) Appeal - Authority is a mechanic with Timmy appeal, and the creature itself is fairly strong for its cost. Johnny can appreciate the activated abilities. Spike despises the condition that needs to be fulfilled for the abilities, and would probably only going to plan for the second activated ability as a result. At least the creature is otherwise efficient.
(2/3) Elegance - Authority requires a bit of tracking, and there are some very weird and broad implications for that first activated ability, the sheer number of cards that put cards on the bottom of your library "in a random order", notably, and how much of a drag on the game that will inflict.

Development
(1.5/3) Viability - Mythic seems appropriate for a card that could be headlining a preconstructed Planechase deck. This really should be some additional combination of red and/or black; more colors for the Planechase deck is nice, as at least with the second set of Planechase decks, they had headlining legendary creatures which matched the deck's colors. That and most of the "random" I would expect this to be paired with in a precon is red or black. Also the ability to interfere with other player's chaos abilities may disincetivize rolling the planar die, which doesn't seem right for a made-for-Planechase card.
(2/3) Balance - On one hand, the authority can be tricky to achieve, on the other hand, allow me to use "in a random order" to stack my deck however I like with that first ability.

Creativity
(3/3) Uniqueness - Absolutely.
(2/3) Flavor - A warlock with the title "Tamer of the Wilds" that is also a sheriff begs many questions. Flavor text isn't an option with how wordy the rules text is, but it certainly would have been nice to have a snippit. At least it does 'tame' something.

Polish
(1.5/3) Quality - I don't think that first activated ability works. It would have been less total, but something as simple as letting the spell or abilities controller choose new targets for it would have an elegant solution, even if it doesn't hit other random options. Might have been possible to work something in for random choices too. The comprehensive rules suggest that they should be called "chaos abilities", not "chaos ensues abilities".
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Indeed.
(1.5/2) Subchallenges - Has an ability word and an activated ability, but is neither an instant nor has flash.

Total: 17.5/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.

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shullz

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Design
(1.5/3) Appeal - Not really of interest to Timmy; some minor Johnny interest due to the unusual trigger condition. A Spike card through and through, I'd say.
(3/3) Elegance - Elegant enough.

Development
(2.5/3) Viability - Black and uncommon seem fine, but an ability that potentially discourages your opponents from rolling the planar die seems unwise for the format.
(2.5/3) Balance - It can potentially get a lot of work done for its cost. X/2's beware.

Creativity
(2.5/3) Uniqueness - The planeswalk trigger adds a lot here, and there aren't a lot of Equipment intended to end up on an opponent's creature, though it ultimately plays in familiar black territory.
(3/3) Flavor - I think this works well overall; I'd like a more concise name, but it feels like you're trying to make a pun with "Hello World" visiting new worlds and the famous programming reference, considering this is an artifact.

Polish
(2/3) Quality - The "enters" change hasn't kicked it quite yet. Generally for ability words, words beyond the first aren't capitalized; because the second word is, this looks much more like a flavor word than an ability word.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Indeed.
(2/2) Subchallenges - All fulfilled.

Total: 21/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.

vs.

Subject16

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Design
(3/3) Appeal - I'd say this has all-rounder appeal; some 'gambling' for Timmy, and both Johnny and Spike can appreciate the sheer amount of impulse draw this can generate.
(2.5/3) Elegance - I'd say there's a reason Fractured Powerstone only lets you roll the die at sorcery speed.

Development
(2.5/3) Viability - Rarity and color are certainly correct. I'm less fond of the bonus whenever chaos ensues, as that may disincentivize opponent's from rolling the planar die.
(2.5/3) Balance - That's a lot of value on a relatively low mana value creature.

Creativity
(2.5/3) Uniqueness - The die roll and chaos triggers add quite a bit, though it's not unfamiliar red design space overall.
(2/3) Flavor - Yeah, that works alright. Not extremely flavorful, but it does the job. Not quite sold on Havoc being the right term for "whenever you roll the planar die".

Polish
(3/3) Quality - Looks good.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Indeed.
(1.5/2) Subchallenges - Has an ability word and an activated ability, but no flash/not an instant.

Total: 21.5/25
*An entry with 0 points here is subject to disqualification.

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Scores

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Lorn Asbord Schutta - 23 vs Raptorchan - 21.5
slimytrout - 22.5 vs netn10 - 17.5
shullz - 21 vs Subject16 - 21.5

[void_nothing]

netn10

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Design
(2.5/3) Appeal - Definitely a Txmmy/Jxnny card. Spike might not be all that interested - the second activated ability is something they would very much want in Planechase, but there are hoops to jump through to get it.
(1/3) Elegance - Rather text-heavy, and I'd say that first activated ability has some serious issues ruleswise - does Specter's Wail suddenly become Coercion? You could iron these issues out by directly referencing random choices, but this definitely needs rewording.

Development
(2.5/3) Viability - Definitely a mythic. White I guess potentially fits, as this card has abilities without much precedent, but countering in white is still at the edge of its color pie slice.
(2.5/3) Balance - Only docking half a point here because of just how dang hard to evaluate that de-randomizing ability is.

Creativity
(3/3) Uniqueness - Many unusual or unique features on this card. Being the authority does seem a bit win-more.
(2.5/3) Flavor - Name is a bit generic, but works for this card anyhow.

Polish
(2/3) Quality - Missing a period in the sheriff ability and yeah, I can't really offer many suggestion on how to reword the first activated ability but it needs to be done.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Done.
(1.5/2) Subchallenges - Ability word and activated abilities, but no instant/flash.

Total: 19.5/25

Subject16

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Design
(3/3) Appeal - Txmmy, Jxnny, and Spike all want card advantage and potential free casts for doing something they definitely want to do in a Planechase game anyway.
(2.5/3) Elegance - A bit of tracking complexity with all the cards this could be exiling, but nothing too bad.

Development
(3/3) Viability - Definitely red and rare.
(2.5/3) Balance - Possibly a bit swingy given it's a three-mana card that can cast spells for free given the right conditions.

Creativity
(2.5/3) Uniqueness - Hah, I remember havoc from Collaborative Create-A-Booster. Some neat features here that no card has referenced before.
(3/3) Flavor - Name works for me, although I could also see the name "Ashmouth Taunters" on a Devil that instead goaded creatures.

Polish
(2.75/3) Quality - Just one minor capitalization mistake.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Done.
(1.5/2) Subchallenges - Ability word, check. Activated ability, check. But not an instant or flash.

Total: 22.75/25

slimytrout

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Design
(3/3) Appeal - Everyone is into this - Txmmy likes the greater possibility for the planar die to do something, Jxnny has thing to play around with, and Spike would like to double up on the right chaos ability.
(2.5/3) Elegance - Multiple planar die rolls adds a layer of complication, but nothing too much here.

Development
(2.5/3) Viability - Looks right at rare. I can't say this is exactly wrong in green since there's not much precedent, but it also seems to feel red.
(3/3) Balance - Sure, nothing to complain about here.

Creativity
(2.5/3) Uniqueness - Playing around in a bit of new space for the planechase format.
(3/3) Flavor - Name works very well with the effect.

Polish
(3/3) Quality -
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) -
(1.5/2) Subchallenges - Has an ability word and activated ability but not an instant and no flash.

Total: 23/25

Raptorchan

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Design
(2.5/3) Appeal - Definitely a Txmmy card. Jxnny likes having the kind of control over the planar deck this card enables. However, Spike is a bit split because sometimes they won't want chaos to ensue after this attacks.
(3/3) Elegance - Nothing too inelegant here at all.

Development
(3/3) Viability - Colors and rarity look right here.
(2.5/3) Balance - Certainly potentially a bit swingy, but that's to be expected for a five-mana rare red creature especially.

Creativity
(2/3) Uniqueness - The combination of raid and boast is fun and feels like both Modern Horizons and Planechase. Forcing chaos to ensue is also a new idea. However, the meat of this card is rather familiar.
(3/3) Flavor - Love the name and raid and boast again contribute to great flavor.

Polish
(3/3) Quality - Good.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Looks good.
(1.5/2) Subchallenges - Activated ability and ability word but no flash.

Total: 22.5/25

shullz

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Design
(2/3) Appeal - Txmmy is maybe not that interested in a smallish Equipment that reduces their own creature's toughness, but Jxnny and Spike both have ideas here.
(2.5/3) Elegance - The Hello World ability is a bit wordy and might take a second reading to figure out it works on opponents' creatures also.

Development
(2.5/3) Viability - Black looks right, but I would say this actually feels more rare than it does uncommon for a number of reasons.
(3/3) Balance - Sure, nothing objectionable here.

Creativity
(2/3) Uniqueness - Equipment that ETB and attach are a very old idea, but this one being usable as removal and caring about planeswalking are interesting twists.
(2.5/3) Flavor - Both the flavor of caring about planeswalking and ability word here would have been a lot more clear with explicit reference to Kaito.

Polish
(3/3) Quality - Looks good to me - you're perfectly clear to use the shortened "enters" given Bloomburrow previews.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Looks good.
(2/2) Subchallenges - All done!

Total: 21.5/25

Lorn Asbord Schutta

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Design
(2.5/3) Appeal - Txmmy sees an initially small and somewhat "do-nothing" creature but likes the growth potential of all that exploring. Jxnny enjoys making blank rolls fun. Spike would like to free roll until they get to the plane they really want.
(1.5/3) Elegance - Definitely a lot going on here, including multiple non-evergreen mechanics, but each individual ability is comprehensible.

Development
(3/3) Viability - Definitely a green rare.
(3/3) Balance - Yeah, nothing to worry about here - yes you can get multiple free planar die rolls out of this but it takes work.

Creativity
(3/3) Uniqueness - Very original for a number of reasons. I love the idea of caring about the blank rolls.
(3/3) Flavor - I like this a lot. I assume the flavor text means that "every known place" to this creature was initially only one plane, but that expanded thanks to the omenpaths.

Polish
(3/3) Quality - Not sure how to word that activated ability exactly, but I think in this instance I can trust you're right.
(2/2) Main Challenge (*) - Looks good.
(1.5/2) Subchallenges - Yes activated ability, yes ability word, no instant/flash.

Total: 22.5/25

[void_nothing]

And our players advancing to the finals are Lorn Asbord Schutta, slimytrout, and Subject16! Congrats to all, and final round coming soon.