Iron Smith: Battle: The Obligatory Tribal Challenge!!

The time has come once again to answer life's most magical question: Who's smithing reigns supreme. This is Iron Smith!

A delectable Japanese tradition has taken root on MTGcardsmith community forums soil. We have been graced with the establishment of our very own Smithing Stadium, where our nimble chairman has brought together the most pungent card designs of both east and west. It is here, where the best of the best from around the world meet and face the ultimate card design challenge.

image

So please allow me to introduce a veritable pantheon of cardsmithing giants, your very own Iron smiths MTGCardsmith community forums!

Iron Smith @modnation675!

Iron Smith @Faiths_Guide!

REDACTED

In mere moments, Iron Smith @Faiths_Guide will be pitted against our challenger, who thirsts to discover our secret ingredient, and enter the heat of battle here in smithing stadium.

Today's challenger is...

@AustinSmith!

@AustinSmith is a college student in Texas pursuing a career in web development with a special interest in Magic: The Gathering. He is using this site as a means of developing a portfolio of sorts to present my skills in game development. He is sure to be a worthy opponent for the Iron Smith today.

But there is one more ingredient in this battle; a secret ingredient! The theme on which our smiths will offer their succulent Variations. Today's secret ingredient is...

Epic music intensifies

TRIBAL!
imageimageimageimage

I want to see your best designs based upon the theme of Tribal. You will be picking one of 4 tribes and 3 designs relating to that tribe. One card will be designed with Legacy or Modern in mind. Whether you make a Modern or Legacy card depends on the tribe, make sure to read their descriptions. The second will be designed with Commander in mind. It does not have to be legendary, but it should be playable in the Commander format. Your third card can be whatever you like.

Which 4 tribes will you be using, might you ask?

Zombies
Zombies have been a force in magic since the very beginning. Unfortunately, these guys haven't made it to tournament tables outside of Standard. I think it's high time we change that. I want to see your best design for a zombie for Modern

Faeries
Faeries were once one of the most feared tribal decks in magic. Back in the days of the extended format, Faeries were a force to be reckoned with, and they Dominated standard thanks to Bitterblossom. They were so good, in fact, that Bitterblossom was banned at the inception of Modern. I think we should return the Fae to their dominance. No, lets take them to a place they have never visited- Legacy

Spirits
For the number of times spirits have been showcased as a tribe in a block, it is very strange that they don't have a tier deck in Commander or an Eternal Format. I think it's time we change that. Make a Modern playable spirit!

Squirrels
This is an MTGCardsmith contest about tribal. You really expect the Squirrels of @Corwinnn to not be on the list of choices? Since most of the Squirrels printed up until this point were either from the Pre-Modern age of Magic or Unsets, lets make our Eternal Squirrel playable in Legacy


Smiths, you will have until February 17th, 2018 at 11:59 P.M. to create your best 3 original, new card designs relating to this theme.

So now MTGCardsmith, with an open heart and an empty deckbox, I say unto you in the words of my uncle: 'Allez Cardsmithing!'
«1

Comments

  • I think it will be more interesting if we don't end up picking the same tribe. If you agree, @AustinSmith, I'll let you pick first.
  • @Faiths_Guide I agree :) The reason I selected 4 specific tribes for you to choose from is because these are (in my opinion) the 4 most interesting tribes that don't see competitive play at the time I'm writing this.
  • @Faiths_Guide I'm taking Spirits first. Gonna let the ol noodle simmer for a bit before I make a submission, though.
  • @AustinSmith & @KrampisZman
    Great. I guess I'll go with Faeries.
  • edited February 2018
    First entry, aimed at the Modern format:

    image
  • edited February 2018
    @AustinSmith
    Oooh, my first was also going to be a 2 CMC, flash, flying, uncommon, 1/1 in blue... then I realized I couldn't publish it because my premium wore off...
  • Eh, if @Faiths_Guide can't make cards temporarily, how do we go on about this? Am I allowed to make my other entries before his responses?
  • @AustinSmith & @KrampisZman
    No big deal, I'll just use my alternate account.
  • edited February 2018
    [ REDACTED ] XD
  • Whelp, I guess neither of us get much points for originality, since Spellstutter Sprite exists. LOL
  • @AustinSmith I don't know, Distracting Sprite is better than Spellstutter Sprite if you control no other Faeries when you play it. I don't know if it is enough to bring the Fae back to prevalence, but it might see a little bit of play.
  • edited February 2018
    @AustinSmith
    Ya, pitty that. I didn't remember Spellstutter until I looked up possibly relevant Modern Faerie lists after I'd thought out my concept. I was going to do "As an additional cost to cast cardname, counter target spell unless its controller pays {2}." but it sounded weird. It was both a benefit and a "drawback," so I went with the simpler wording.

    @KrampisZman
    I think in the list I linked, you could probably run four Distracting Sprites instead of four Mana Leaks. Keep in mind that she also makes Spellstutter better.
  • Distracting Sprite isn't necessarily better than Spellstutter even if you control no other Faeries. Opponents can still pay the {2} if they have mana open.

    I think what sets mine apart is that 1) I'm not countering a spell, I'm bouncing a permanent, which synergizes with the tempo playstyle Spirits really seem to be pushed towards, and 2) the rules clearly state that a Legacy Faerie was asked for, not Modern.
  • I think I'm a bit out of my depth as I only play "Kitchen-Table" and/or sealed. I'm not competitive or learned when it comes to MtG formats.

    I thought that we had the same goal (1Modern, 1EDH, & 1Wild), so that's what I did :P
  • edited February 2018
    I guess I need to be designing with this in mind then? Do I need to redo Distracting Sprite?
  • @Faiths_Guide Sorry for not making the restrictions clear enough. You can make a Modern Faerie if you want, I really only added the Legacy rider for the Squirrels, but I wanted to balance the Modern and Legacy cards so I made the Fae legacy.

    Probably shouldn't have done it that way in retrospect. You don't need to redo Distracting Sprite if you don't want, but you might want to try making a different competitive design and bump that one to your wildcard.

    Sorry for any inconvenience.
  • edited February 2018
    @KrampisZman
    So, I'm going to square one (I invite @AustinSmith to do the same if he chooses).
    I'm going to try and make all three cards tonight.

    Another thing, why do I feel like I'm facing the Iron Smith?
  • @Faiths_Guide Maybe because @AustinSmith is another popular and innovative smith? This was one of the matches I was looking forward to the most for that reason.
  • Oh yes, I was very glad that he entered.
  • Excited to see the entries. :)

    @KrampisZman @Faiths_Guide @AustinSmith
    Should I post a prize for the best artwork among all rounds? I think it's a nice idea to give the ironsmiths something to look towards.
  • @modnation675 Art is one of the judging stipulations already.
  • I'm a little sick and I fell asleep after work before getting to this. I'll try and remedy my shortcoming soon. XD
  • Sorry I haven't been on in a while. My entire family has the flu and I've been having to care for everyone. I'll get my last two entries in today.

    Also, I'll keep my Modern entry as is since I submitted it first :P
  • Second entry, non-categorical:

    image
  • @AustinSmith
    Buttering him up with a set symbol. Next level stuff. XD
  • Final entry, EDH category:

    image

    @Faiths_Guide lol, I forgot Krampis was a Bidoof enthusiast, I just picked a limited edition joke symbol since I still have premium status for a goofy entry ^-^
  • O, but I like that last symbol XD
  • Yep, gotta love the depository symbol.
  • edited February 2018
    Legacy (Entry 1):
    image

    The versatility here is that it lets you save more important creatures and reset things like Sower of Temptation Spellstutter Sprite, & Vendilion Clique. I think this versatility would make it the preference to Quickling in this Sultai legacy list. Also it focuses on the tribal thing a bit more obviously.
This discussion has been closed.