May CCL Top6/Round 3: The Choice is Yours

[slimytrout]

CCL May Top 6/Round 3

"The Choice is Yours"


Harmless Offering, by Howard Lyon and Wizards of the Coast

Welcome to the Card Creation League![/b]

Participants:

@RaikouRider
@void_nothing
@Ink-Treader
@netn10
@Henlock
@MonoRedMage

Theme

It's Giving Month here at the CCL -- we're going to be giving things.

Challenge

Design a card that gives your opponent a choice.

Clarifications

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• Make sure to include a rarity.
• Examples include cards like Risk Factor, Tempting Contract, Smothering Tithe, etc. You may choose how liberally to interpret this challenge, but it should probably have a "may" or a "choose" on there somewhere.

Your submissions are due Wednesday, May 25th, 23:59 EDT.

Schedule

• Round 1 — Open to Everyone (April 30th-May 8th)
• Round 2 — Open to Everyone (May 10th-17th)
• Rounds 1 and 2 Critiques (Due May 19th)
• Top 8 — Open to top 8 finishers (May 21st–25th)
• Top 8 Critiques (Due May 28th)
• Top 4 — Open to top 4 finishers (May 28th–31st)
• Top 4 Critiques (Due May 30th)
• Final (June, winner determined by public poll)

Please note: For this month we will continue asking first and second round contestants to evaluate seven other contestants during the critique and top 3 period, in order to increase the total number of evaluations each contestant gets.

[netn10]

Penny for Your Thoughts W
Instant (Uncommon)
Counter target spell you don't control unless its controller lets you draw two cards.

[RaikouRider]

Gaze of the Defiler
Sorcery {U}
Spend only mana from a land that could produce B and R to cast this spell.
Target creature's controller may sacrifice it. If that player doesn't, gain control of that creature until end of turn. Untap that creature. It gains haste until end of turn.

[MonoRedMage]

Pardic Expansion 1RR
Sorcery {R}
When you cast Pardic Expansion, any opponent may have Pardic Expansion deal 4 damage to them. If no one does, copy Pardic Expansion twice.
Create a 1/1 red Dwarf creature token. Search your library for a Mountain card and put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle your library.

[void_nothing]

Echylaos, Bejeweled Bull 1GW
Legendary Creature - Ox (R)
Tribute 2
Whenever a creature with tribute enters the battlefield under your control, if tribute was paid, you gain life equal to that creature's power. If tribute wasn't paid, creatures you control get +2/+2 until end of turn.
2GW, T: Return target creature card with mana value 3 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield with tribute 2.
2/2

[slimytrout]

24 hours for @Henlock and @Ink-Treader to add their submissions!

[Ink-Treader]

Senate's Squabble 2BB
Sorcery (R)
Each opponent reveals their hand, then each player chooses a different nonland card revealed this way. Search each opponent's graveyard, hand, and library for any number of cards with that name and exile them. Then each player whose library was searched this way shuffles.

[Henlock]

Angelic Intervention 2w
Instant (u)
Exile target nonland permanent an opponent controls unless its controller has you to create a white 4/4 Angel creature token with flying.

[slimytrout]

And that'll do it for the round! Thanks everyone for prompt submissions! Please critique the other entries and put them into a top 3.

[Ink-Treader]

RaikouRider

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This I rather like. It can pretty easily just say "Target creature's controller sacrifices it" if you have your own sac outlet. Which is a nice rate. If you don't have anything obvious about, both options can be favorable for the low cost.

void_nothing

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Tribute tribal, with some self-enabling. I kind of like this, but feel paying the tribute will often be correct unless its controller lacks a board state of any significance. That being said, the reward either way can be substantial, and the resurrection effect can be cute with creatures that have abnormally high power to MV ratios.

netn10

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I can't quite pinpoint what about this I don't like. It might be the color pie bend/break, or the fact that these results are difficult to influence with other cards, at least in white.

Henlock

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A reasonable pair of choices. Both are reasonably efficient, but this doesn't quite excite me.

MonoRedMage

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This gets a bit more interesting in multiplayer, since 1v1 it will often be correct to eat the 4 unless you're already low. I do like that the effects are both rather strong for the cost, and that it can be hard for the opponent to try and clean up the punishment for not taking the 4. Also amusing with triggered ability copying.

Top 3

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1. RaikouRider
2. void_nothing
3. MonoRedMage

[slimytrout]

Bumping this!

[RaikouRider]

netn10: I think this is a complete break for what white can do. White's counterspells tend to be temporary or taxing in nature. While white can give its controller compensation to destroy any permanent, it cannot for countermagic. The design is good, but I just think this is a blue card and not a white card.

MonoRedMage: I think this is also a pie break for mono-red. Mono-red can get temporary mana ramp e.g. Alpine Guide, but not permanent ramp like this. This should be a multicolored red/green card. This is also a very strong rate for this effect. This should probably only copy the spell once; three 1/1s and ramping by three for 3 mana, or four damage plus a 1/1 and a ramp for 3 mana are both wonderful.

void_nothing: A tribute legend, interesting! The name feels very Theros, too. This is a package I feel is almost strong enough for Constructed. I feel it and/or the creatures you bring back with it should have trample, to make your pump effect matter more. Unless you're already established, there is no real incentive for your opponent to pay the tribute.

Ink-Treader: Wow this is a strong take on this type of effect. This feels devastating to resolve; I like that this scales for multiplayer, but you get to nab both the best and the worst card out of their hand and all the copies in their deck. This is my favorite design of this round by far.

Henlock: The concept of this is very cool, but at three mana it's competing with so many cards that unconditionally answer any permanent, land or not. I'd feel more comfortable playing this if one mana and one P/T were dropped from it.

1) Ink-Treader
2) void_nothing
3) Henlock

[MonoRedMage]

Top 3 -
1 - Henlock
2 - Ink-Treader
3 - RaikouRider

[slimytrout]

Ok, cutting this off in 8 hours (midnight ET), so get your critiques (or at least T3's) in if you haven't!

[Henlock]

Top 3

1. Ink Treader
2. RaikouRaider
3. Monoredmage

[void_nothing]

Critiques

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netn10 - Probably a reasonable tax-counter. This is... marginal color pie-wise, but I like the thought behind it.

RaikouRider - That cost restriction is oddly infuriating - it's flavorless and makes no sense outside the context of something like a cycle. This should probably cost BR and cantrip or similar.

MonoRedMage - Nice thinking making a punisher spell not "just" damage to the face, but the power level on this seems like it'd range from high to absurd.

Ink-Treader - Appropriate name for a great multiplayer-politics card. I appreciate the heck out of this from a Mel perspective.

Henlock - Good stuff - another white "punisher" card but arguably, with the "punishment" being a benefit for this card's controller, it's more of a tax. And this time, both effects are in white's slice of the pie!

Top 3

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1. Ink-Treader
2. Henlock
3. netn10

[slimytrout]

Ok, the top 4 is:

Ink-Treader
RaikouRider
Henlock
void_nothing

Next round to come shortly.