My logic tends to outline a space that complements Jadefire's, so I'll skip to my conclusion since his earlier post is likely more constructive that anything I might come up with here. I'm halfway between judges A and D on Urza's Mine.
Urza's Mine is a bit of a special case, not only because it's a real Magic card, but because it's also part of a set that's intended to be played with each other. We'd need to get on the same page when evaluating a card like this. Is it to be approached as a standalone card without reference to anything else? Is it to be recognized as part of a set, but without any information as to what the other cards in the set do? Or is it to be evaluated with full information? Missing information when judging a card or not being given the necessary explanation to appreciate it in its proper context is probably going to knock down the rating of a card by 2-4 points, easily.
I know what the Urzatron does, so I'll evaluate it from that point of view. I'd probably give it around 86. It's a bit blah on its own, but it's got some all-or-nothing high potential when the set is completed. The fact that it references not just one other card in its rules text but two is still an extremely rare occurrence in Magic and bumps up the novelty factor. It also appeals to the deckbuilder, not just in figuring out how to reliably assemble the set but how to best abuse such a glut of mana so early in the game.
I guess I would look at this as both a single card (with no support) and as a card with the other supporting cards.
On its own, its a pretty okay land, but nothing impressive as a number of lands today can tap for one colorless but also have some decent other effects (thinking of some commander related lands that tap for colorless but can also have additional effects and/or tap for the commander's colors.) Would probably go with Judge emoji if looked at this way.
With the other two lands (looked them up on Scryfall to know what the other ones did) It does become much better, but they are still only able to tap for colorless mana. So one could have seven mana on turn three, but if they need colored mana they still can't do much. So to make use of it with the tower and power plant, it would likely have to be placed in a colorless/ artifact deck that needs colorless mana (the devoid eldrazi could be included in this since some of them used colorless mana), but it is still very limiting since none of them help cover colored mana unless paired with lands that want generic mana paid for colored mana or mana rocks that do a similar thing. I would probably go with Judge A in this regards, only because you can't get colored mana out of the mine or the other urza lands unless you have lands and/or artifacts that can "transmute" colorless mana into colored mana.
I agree that this card is technically pretty close to flawless. Nothing about it is over powered, over costed, a flavor fail, a color break, or non-functional. It takes a pretty popular card (Fleshbag Marauder) and gives it a little something extra for one more mana. The ETB can be used to the fuel the activated ability, which is a definite bonus. Essentially, it's a great card design. The biggest flaw I can find is that I don't know think the art is "real". It looks pretty AI generated. The flavor text is nice, though.
Give it real art, and I would not be sure without looking it up whether it's a real card or not. It could be printed in any upcoming set, and fit right in. It wouldn't, however, stand out, make for much new or original play, or inspire any excitement from players. It would get used in some decks, but be forgotten by most.
Because it could be a real card, I feel it should warrant at least an 80. Because it would be playable, at least a 90. Because it doesn't stand out, no more than a 90, and because it has art that doesn't work for me, I'll dock it a couple extra points and give it an 87.
Final updates of the season podcast is 8:30 CT on 8/30 League. Boxes. Encounters. All updates wrap up in one podcast before we finish the year as update free as possible ?
Yeah, a bad AI wouldn't be able to have as much consistency in their cards, and a good AI would make better cards. This looks like 90% chance of troll, 10% chance of someone that just doesn't know any better. Either way, it's pretty unfortunate.
This season's been filled with trial runs, feedback, and tweakages (i made that word up). I thank you for your patience. As things get back to normal and stable around here, I want to make you aware of the final changes that are a result of the past few months of community feedback and whatnot.
I've destroyed the other judges, or pacified them, or returned them to their owner's hand, or burned them, or um.. whatever green does these days. Now it's just me again judging. They weren't members of the community anyways, so I didn't want to expect too much from them or ask too much of them.
I'm shortening the seasons to 8 weeks + 2 weeks of playoffs. This will give us approximately... 7 seasons a year and 2 weeks off for the Holidays at the end of the year.
I've decided I'm going to offer my own prizes for the champions of each division, especially since I'm adding 3 seasons.
Each week of a season, I'll focus on a different criteria of a card. So you may be inactive for a bit, and if so, your card could receive different ratings each week, based on the criteria. Keeping things interesting.
That being said, I'm ending the season now at 8 weeks, and we'll take a pause until 9/11 to allow less active members a chance to complete their collection in time for playoffs. This'll also give everyone a breath to reset their minds and keep things happy 'round here.
You guys know me, I'm all for keeping things interesting, and it's time for a slight change like this to keep things strong. IMHO
Comments
Let's play a game (part 2) Which judge do you agree more with?
![Image: https://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=2890&type=card Urzas Mine](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=2890&type=card)
Judge A: 90Judge B: 95
Judge C: 97
Judge
I know what the Urzatron does, so I'll evaluate it from that point of view. I'd probably give it around 86. It's a bit blah on its own, but it's got some all-or-nothing high potential when the set is completed. The fact that it references not just one other card in its rules text but two is still an extremely rare occurrence in Magic and bumps up the novelty factor. It also appeals to the deckbuilder, not just in figuring out how to reliably assemble the set but how to best abuse such a glut of mana so early in the game.
On its own, its a pretty okay land, but nothing impressive as a number of lands today can tap for one colorless but also have some decent other effects (thinking of some commander related lands that tap for colorless but can also have additional effects and/or tap for the commander's colors.) Would probably go with Judge emoji if looked at this way.
With the other two lands (looked them up on Scryfall to know what the other ones did) It does become much better, but they are still only able to tap for colorless mana. So one could have seven mana on turn three, but if they need colored mana they still can't do much. So to make use of it with the tower and power plant, it would likely have to be placed in a colorless/ artifact deck that needs colorless mana (the devoid eldrazi could be included in this since some of them used colorless mana), but it is still very limiting since none of them help cover colored mana unless paired with lands that want generic mana paid for colored mana or mana rocks that do a similar thing. I would probably go with Judge A in this regards, only because you can't get colored mana out of the mine or the other urza lands unless you have lands and/or artifacts that can "transmute" colorless mana into colored mana.
Playoff Eligibility Summary - Playoffs Start 9/11.
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https://discord.gg/ePfQ5t4B
Give it real art, and I would not be sure without looking it up whether it's a real card or not. It could be printed in any upcoming set, and fit right in. It wouldn't, however, stand out, make for much new or original play, or inspire any excitement from players. It would get used in some decks, but be forgotten by most.
Because it could be a real card, I feel it should warrant at least an 80. Because it would be playable, at least a 90. Because it doesn't stand out, no more than a 90, and because it has art that doesn't work for me, I'll dock it a couple extra points and give it an 87.
Guess that puts me agreeing mostly with judge D.
Final updates of the season podcast is 8:30 CT on 8/30 League. Boxes. Encounters. All updates wrap up in one podcast before we finish the year as update free as possible ?
We are live for podcast with a special view of Hurricane Idalia live feed.
https://discord.gg/ePfQ5t4BJoin any time with or without a mic. Should end in approximately 2 hours or so.
Or that person may be under 13 years old, if I am not mistaken. I don't think AI can really react to other people who spoke to em...
Must be TheKeefMan in disguise or something
Final Updates to Cardsmith League
This season's been filled with trial runs, feedback, and tweakages (i made that word up). I thank you for your patience. As things get back to normal and stable around here, I want to make you aware of the final changes that are a result of the past few months of community feedback and whatnot.- I've destroyed the other judges, or pacified them, or returned them to their owner's hand, or burned them, or um.. whatever green does these days. Now it's just me again judging. They weren't members of the community anyways, so I didn't want to expect too much from them or ask too much of them.
- I'm shortening the seasons to 8 weeks + 2 weeks of playoffs. This will give us approximately... 7 seasons a year and 2 weeks off for the Holidays at the end of the year.
- I've decided I'm going to offer my own prizes for the champions of each division, especially since I'm adding 3 seasons.
- Each week of a season, I'll focus on a different criteria of a card. So you may be inactive for a bit, and if so, your card could receive different ratings each week, based on the criteria. Keeping things interesting.
That being said, I'm ending the season now at 8 weeks, and we'll take a pause until 9/11 to allow less active members a chance to complete their collection in time for playoffs. This'll also give everyone a breath to reset their minds and keep things happy 'round here.You guys know me, I'm all for keeping things interesting, and it's time for a slight change like this to keep things strong. IMHO