Tournament of Champions 2 (The game has begun)

edited January 2019 in Sagas
Ladies and gentlemen! Warriors and wizards! Beasts and summoners! Angels and demons!

I welcome you to the 17th-*cough*-2nd Tournament of Champions!

Choose your champion to enter the arena where he, she, or it shall face the champions of other cardsmiths until only one stands as the true champion!

8 or 16 champions will enter the tournament. After each stage, the winning champions will continue to the next stage stronger than before until only one remains.

If there would be an odd number of competitors, the 8 or 16 best of them will be chosen to fight in the tournament.

Rules:
- Each cardsmith creates a legendary creature with converted mana cost 3 or less that will represent them in the tournament.
- After each victorious match, the champion will grow stronger (its mana cost will increase). A new, more powerful card will be created with the stronger champion for each level.
- Each champion's color identity is allowed to change partly between levels (colors may be added or removed but a core color must remain).
- Champions of higher level must be similar to their earlier versions. Main abilities must be the same or similar, secondary abilities may be removed or added. Make it look like natural evolving!
- Artwork between levels must be different. It would be preferred if they share some similarities.
- Champions must be balanced. Don't make a 10/10 for 3 mana without drawbacks.
- Champions may be replaced/remade but only before the first deadline.
- Old cards are allowed as long as they match the requirements.

Instructions

Pre- first stage:
The draft period will be 2 weeks at minimum. This may be increased if the desired quantity of champions is not reached.
If the number of champions is an odd one, a knockout competition will occur, where the "best" champions will be taken to the tournament.

First stage:
When the 8 or 16 champions have been chosen, the positions will be randomized. Champions will then fight in an arena where the winners are determined through different factors. Some of these are: Power/toughness, abilities, balance, extra costs, flavor, etc, but also some special factors. The winners will be presented after some time.

Post- First stage:
The winners of the matches will then be given a minimum of one week to upgrade their champion. Extra time will be given if one cannot upgrade their champion within the given time. This will continue in a similar pattern until the last 2 champions remain. Some special rules will occur then but more about that then.

Converted mana cost for the stages are as follows:

First stage: 1-3

Second stage: 4-5

Third stage: 6-7

Example:

imageimageimage

The first preliminary deadline is 1st of May.

Tournament of Champions 2 Bracket
«13456752

Comments

  • Yay! I have been waiting! @TenebrisNemo ... redemption here I come
  • edited April 2018
    @DoctorFro - A second chance... go for it!

    Attention!

    Each cardsmith is allowed to create an optional, complementing signature card alongside their champion's 1st stage, if they believe it needs it for any reason, such as having a "lesser" creature type or having a low CMC compared to other creatures that share a creature type with it.

    A signature card is a noncreature, nonplaneswalker card which the champion uses in matches. It could be connected to it mechanically and/or lorewise.

    I would recommend you to present your contestants as you post them here. They are your champions, so deliver them as such!
  • edited April 2018
    @TenebrisNemo what about tokens?
    Also I presume new cards only? Right?
  • edited April 2018
    @DoctroFro - Your cards are allowed to create tokens, but a token can't be a signature card.

    Edit: "Old card are allowed as long as they match the requirements."
  • edited April 2018
    image

    Here you go, I am really excited! I may post a signature card later.
  • The Arcanians will be back! Jahanacicus may have lost, but life goes on. A new arcanian shall be summoned to fight.
  • edited April 2018
    Hope you don't mind a really, really big animal.

    image

    (I can change this to something more sensible/capable of communication/not city devouring if you so desire.)
  • Suddenly, all went quiet in the challenge audition hall.

    Strange electric sparks flew all around. The hall doors swung open.

    A stranger walked in. His eyes were a divine blue shade, and he carried a strange apparatus on his back. He spoke, with a strange calmness in his voice: "I am Jaholion of the Arcane Gods. Some of you already know my brother, Jahanacicus. He fought in the previous challenge. They say he contended bravely, but failed to bring victory back with him. Never mind, though, he wasn't too much of a sore loser"

    Everyone gazed in wonder at the stranger's clothes. He was equipped with gauntlets, packs, and what seemed to be a mechanical cat walked beside him.

    He contnued his speech: "I am quite different from my brother, you know. He is a great god, but he fails to see the value in construct forging. I create machines, corporeal and ethereal, to battle my opponents. And worthy opponents you are - I mean - Wurms, Faeries, this is the most diverse menagerie of gladiators I have ever ---"

    Suddenly, he was interrupted by a voice from one of the people in the croud: "A tinkerer god? Give me a break! He is just one of those rich boys with expensive toys who drank too much venerian ale! Throw the drunken idiot out of here!"

    Jaholion's eyes swirled, sparks flew through his automaton and his wild, untamable hair. 2 ghostly-blue golems rose from the ground and approached the quivering speaker. They lifted him of the ground with ease. An ethereal clamp of the same arcane shade clasped around his throat... When everything stopped. The victim fell to his chair, petrified, but unhurt.

    "Sorry!" Spoke Jaholion. "I need to get out of the habit of strangling boors that question the ethereal gods and their sons. He noiselessly signed his name on the challenger sheet, and sat down on a table, leaving the dazed public in wonder.
  • edited April 2018
    @HeroKP I don’t know if you knew this, but your art is an official mtg planeswalker art...
    Ral Zarek
  • Nice job, everybody! And yes, @HeroKP, your art is from an Izzet League planeswalker Ral Zarek. You might want to change it!

    I've faved all your entries. Jaholion had an awesome presentation, and I would suggest everyone to do the same as you post your champions!

    @Lujikul - Remember R5-T4's goblins? If Gyar is accompanied with someone, whom the hosts of the tournament can communicate with, it would be fine.
  • edited April 2018
    image

    https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/jaholion-surge-of-gods-1

    Ok, pretend that was the card from the start!

    Thanks for pointing my error out, @TenebrisNemo and @DoctorFro
  • edited April 2018
    Come to think of it, this artwork suits my charcter better. Huh.
  • edited April 2018
    Zintius, Vampire Adept
    Then this is my entry :)
  • edited April 2018
    Say hello to Kift:
    image
    More coming soon-ish. Original Comments.
  • @Faiths_Guide

    I love it - but you need to make it 3 CMC
  • edited April 2018
    @HeroKP
    For this tournament you can enter CMC 1-3.
  • edited April 2018
    And - just a piece of advice - I actually would add 1 to the mana cost to make it balanced. But you do you, especially with a great card like that.
  • @HeroKP
    He is a little on the strong side.
  • The beast is coiled in the back of the challenge audition hall, seemingly sleeping. A young man stands not too far from it, dressed in simple traveling clothes and carrying a pack seemingly filled with food, and no weapons. He and the wurm had arrived at the same time, the creature emerging from the ground next to him at the entrance to the city. Bringing it into the city without having it burrow underneath and destroy the ground had been a difficult task, and scratches along the entrance into the hall were visible. For just a hatchling of a few months, the creature had already grown substantially. It eventually begins to stir in its sleep, and the young man warns the nearest competitors to give it some room. It uncoils slightly and lets out a monstrous yawn, shaking the room and revealing its large, stake like teeth, before closing its mouth and coiling up once more.
  • Are we supposed to make little story-type posts like that^?
  • A figure skulks in a dark corner. It stays away from the light, so as to avoid pain, for the figure is a vampire. He touches the points of his fangs, still not being used to them. The figure knew he would need to feed soon, and looked around at the rest of the challengers, trying to decide if any of them would do.
    Finally, he decided to play fair and not kill any of them. He would live with his hunger, for this challenge shouldn't last long and he could feast.
  • edited April 2018
    Jaholion approached the Wurm's owner. Both were smiling at each other as the god sat down at the same table as his comrade, they were clearly kindred spirits.

    Suddenly, they were no more. They instead materialized in a wasteland, some 6 miles away. The wurm was also there, already digging up the turf. The keeper of the beast was not surprised, surprisingly. He expected something like that from the brother of Jahanacicus.

    Jaholion didn't have to say a word. Instead, he just flicked his finger at the wurm. Suddenly, it grew largely in size. His mouth outfitted with metal spikes. Just like that, the wurm was augmented by ethereal magic.

    image

    Jaholion spoke: "If you want to, I can do that when you are fighting your battle. The question is, what can you give in return?"

    And just like that, they were back in the tavern. "Of course - the trade will have to be reverted if we are up against each other. But aside from that, I really believe in the deal" - said Jaholion and left the table.
  • Impress me, @Lujikul . Give me something that I can trade for augmentation. I have faith you have something I want.
  • edited April 2018
    The wurm's handler simply shrugs with a smirk. "I have nothing to trade. All I keep on me is enough provisions for our journeys. Besides, I have faith in Gyar." He was speaking largely to himself, though at this moment the wurm stirs in its sleep once more and uncoils enough to bring its head to "look" at the young man. "You're amazing as is. We've gotten this far already. I know you'll be able to fight for yourself." The beast nods its head slightly and coils up once more.
This discussion has been closed.