|RESULTS| Consider yourselves very fortunate because I got @DomriKade to help with ranking my top picks (and consolidating choices from smiths that had multiple entries). He also provided a extra input for each of the top submissions!
First Place:
Crossroad Fountain - "It's an interesting design that can yield a lot of play. There are some scenarios where this will stack very powerfully (multiples of this land in particular seem frighteningly strong). It tackles producing mana in a way that makes you feel smart (a la Crumbling Vestige or Lotus Cobra). While I think the safety of causing lands to ETB tapped from library is warranted, this can still produce quite a lot of mana with fetchlands and since it's not legendary it can stack quite powerfully." - @DomriKade
Personally I thought this submission was great because it had the potential to be very powerful, you opted to put a safety valve on it to limit its power, and it was still simple and realistic looking. There was no question between us that this land took first. Congrats, @ningyounk!
Tidal Repository - "This card is so interesting to me but adding two mana on each turn after the first is probably too much. This is one of the coolest concepts presented in the contest, I just worry about power level and about stacking really well as a non-legendary land." - @DomriKade
Personally I enjoyed the uniqueness and simplicity of this submission. You managed to do something I didn't expect at all, and DomriKade and I both wanted it placed high in the rankings. Flavor text was also a nice touch. Congrats, @Temurzoa!
Tangled Woods - "The main mark against this card for me is that it takes a few passes to understand. It's a clever way to build-your-own multicolor land, but this looks to be best used to abuse its mechanics rather than as a fair value engine. The other side of it is that it's very narrow and doesn't enable itself - you're not discarding lands very often." - @DomriKade
Personally this card appealed to me as a bit of a build-around that felt unique and carefully thought out. I think DomriKade made good points, but this land stood out to me more than most of the other submissions. Congrats, @TenebrisNemo!
Death's Garden - "This feels like a more up-to-date, less Spirit themed Moorland Haunt. It's a clean design, if something we've seen before." - @DomriKade
Personally I liked this card for realism and flavor. It's lack of uniqueness and relatively safe design sensibility is the only thing that kept it off the podium. Congrats, @benw!
Hidden Gardens - "I almost designed this same card during my card-a-day this last year. Chrome Mox as a land is a cool idea, but it's very powerful to have an untapped land of any color, even at the cost of a card. That and this has the failsafe of just being a colorless land in case you don't want to invest the card. My inclination is that this is much to complex for common at the very least and probably too efficient." - @DomriKade
Personally I thought this card was very nice, but totally agreed that it was too complex/powerful for its rarity. Good work nevertheless. Congrats, @Shadow123!
Lotus Pond - "The formatting on this card is not ideal. It could be done pretty simply without modes just by using restrictions on each ability, but even then, this would have three separate activated abilities abilities. Mirrorpool shared a similar complexity with three abilities but it sacrificed itself to use them. This would stick around for multiple turns. Also worth noting that this is just three mana per turn with Solemnity." - @DomriKade
Personally I was drawn to this card's wackiness and fun Lotus theme. Definitely a pretty card that shows off some smart smithing solutions. Congrats, @Tomigon!
Each of these submissions have received a Faiths_Guide favorite!
Thanks for the contest @Faiths_Guide! I personally think all lands should add mana with {t} ability, so 1st and 2nd places were surprising. Using those cards with mana lock permanents(Winter Orb, Stasis, etc..) would be super unfair.
@DomriKade I did have several options of formatting for Lotus Pond. Three {t} abilities eat up a lot of text space, so I decided to choose modal ability idea. But aside from space issues, why do you think my idea isn't ideal? I don't know why three {t} abilities are better than one {t} ability with three modes in your head. I wouldn't mind Solemnity + this because people do Lotus Field + Brought Back or Tale's End in standard.
Also, do you think Hidden Garden would be fair if it was uncommon? I think losing one colored card from your hand is a big drawback, and unlike Chrome Mox, it doesn't ramp.
@Tomigon - Thanks for the feedback on my feedback! I can see the advantage of spacing for the sake of fitting this on a card, I just found that a land having three different abilities with different restrictions was odd (and a lot for one land). I don't like grouping them here primarily because two of the modes are mana abilities and one isn't. This can lead to some confusion since you can respond to one but not the others.
Time counters also typically pair with Vanishing, Fading and Suspend, so I was surprised to see that counter type in this setting. It's also very minor, but the text should be ~ enters the battlefield tapped with a time counter on it.
Judging contests is tough work - the top 6 were all interesting in their own right and my written feedback often comes across more critically than I intend. It's an interesting design that plays in a smart technical space and I don't want my thoughts to detract from that.
@Tomigon I agree that lands should probably have a {t} mana ability and the "lock permanent" synergy you mentioned is super scary! I was hoping to see unique submissions that showed off a lot of ingenuity (like yours), and, while there were a number of those, a lot of the submissions here were just small tweaks to existing designs. I valued wackiness pretty highly here, especially if it was clean, concise, and presented well. Glad you enjoyed the contest!
I think Hidden Garden might need to be a rare?
@Shadow123 No problem, buddy! Glad you participated.
Woohoo I won something \o/ Thanks a lot for the contest and feedback! We don't often get to think of original land designs so this was fun =D Congratulations to everyone who participated ^^
@DomriKade Thanks for the feedback on my feedback on your feedback! >Two of the modes are mana abilities and one isn't. That's a fair concern. I don't think WotC would put mana ability in a modal spell/ability. Other two problems are because my English isn't good. I'll fix the grammar later. What type of counters would you use btw? And the question about Hidden Garden was also @ ed to you. Would you mind answering to that? It was rare with more drawbacks before I gave the author a few advice.
@Faiths_Guide Hidden Garden would be too weak for a rare. No one would choose it over City of Brass.
@ningyounk Congratulations! Glad you participated ^^
@Tomigon I think limited should be considered here in addition to comparing with other cards, but cards like City of Brass that consistently ping you can be nearly unplayable in a large number of matchups that the Hidden Garden wouldn't be any worse against and might even be more important due to incidental lifegain. They certainly can't be directly compared due to the large disparity in function. The Garden might not need to go all the way to rare, but I think it'd be safer than leaving it as an uncommon, so there's a judgement call to be made.
@Faiths_Guide "Damage or losing a card" is a good way to think. In Japan, people often think "one nonland card=3 damage". (That came from burn deck drawing 7 red cards is enough to kill one player.) >"might even be more important due to incidental lifegain." Hard disagree. You wouldn't want to lose one nonland card from your hand if you want to save 1 life. Even if the card was 0/1 vanilla, it can block a creature. And the creature you want to block would probably have power 1 or greater. I agree with making the garden uncommon, and I remember that I said it's safe to make it an uncommon, but I also remember that I said the card power is way too weak to be more than common. But you seem to disagree with how I see the card power. Sorry, @Shadow123, you asked wrong person for feedback.
@Tomigon All of your comments have made sense and I'm inclined to agree with you.
@Shadow123 I don't want you to be disappointed, so, be aware that your card would have been in the HM section for me regardless of any of these changes. Cards that managed to surprise me while remaining simple and realistic looking edged out the competition for the top three spots. Your entry was very good even as a common.
@Tomigon What do you mean I asked the wrong person? I asked the people who I asked on purpose. All of you know what you’re doing! I learned a lot from your feedback!
@Faiths_Guide I understand that! I’m already happy that I earned the Faiths_Guide fave! That’s enough for me. If I ever earn premium because I’m not allowed to buy it myself, I’ll go on an editing spree to edit all the cards, including this one. Many thanks for your excellent, fun contest!
@DomriKade Thanks for your insightful feedback as well!
Comments
Alrighty!
Thanks for entries folks. We're getting down to the wire!
They all told me the card exiling was a large enough drawback
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/complete/full/2019/12/30/1577768104836865.png
Sorry, I don't know how to post the actual picture, but here's the link to the card
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/complete/full/2019/12/30/1577768627051426.png
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/complete/full/2019/12/30/1577769165472468.png
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/sun-village
Entry 1: Azorius control, but slapped onto a utility land.
Yeah, that's it. I was going to make more buuuuuuut I haven't had time and entries close today sooooo
You technically missed the deadline, but I didn't check the discussion until now so I'll let your entries count.
NO MORE ENTRIES. THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED FOR JUDGING!
Consider yourselves very fortunate because I got @DomriKade to help with ranking my top picks (and consolidating choices from smiths that had multiple entries). He also provided a extra input for each of the top submissions!
First Place:
Crossroad Fountain - "It's an interesting design that can yield a lot of play. There are some scenarios where this will stack very powerfully (multiples of this land in particular seem frighteningly strong). It tackles producing mana in a way that makes you feel smart (a la Crumbling Vestige or Lotus Cobra). While I think the safety of causing lands to ETB tapped from library is warranted, this can still produce quite a lot of mana with fetchlands and since it's not legendary it can stack quite powerfully." - @DomriKade
Personally I thought this submission was great because it had the potential to be very powerful, you opted to put a safety valve on it to limit its power, and it was still simple and realistic looking. There was no question between us that this land took first. Congrats, @ningyounk!
Prize - Faiths_Guide favorite on placing submission, A MONTH OF PREMIUM TO KEEP OR GIVE AWAY courtesy of @murkletins, added to the Hall of Fame, one favorite of your choice (at my discretion), and a token of you in this set - http://mtgcardsmith.com/user/Faiths_Guide/sets/5502
Second Place:
Tidal Repository - "This card is so interesting to me but adding two mana on each turn after the first is probably too much. This is one of the coolest concepts presented in the contest, I just worry about power level and about stacking really well as a non-legendary land." - @DomriKade
Personally I enjoyed the uniqueness and simplicity of this submission. You managed to do something I didn't expect at all, and DomriKade and I both wanted it placed high in the rankings. Flavor text was also a nice touch. Congrats, @Temurzoa!
Prize - Faiths_Guide favorite on placing submission, A MONTH OF PREMIUM TO KEEP OR GIVE AWAY courtesy of @murkletins, and added to the Hall of Fame -
http://forums.mtgcardsmith.com/discussion/2135/hall-of-fame
Third Place:
Tangled Woods - "The main mark against this card for me is that it takes a few passes to understand. It's a clever way to build-your-own multicolor land, but this looks to be best used to abuse its mechanics rather than as a fair value engine. The other side of it is that it's very narrow and doesn't enable itself - you're not discarding lands very often." - @DomriKade
Personally this card appealed to me as a bit of a build-around that felt unique and carefully thought out. I think DomriKade made good points, but this land stood out to me more than most of the other submissions. Congrats, @TenebrisNemo!
Prize - Faiths_Guide favorite on placing submission, A MONTH OF PREMIUM TO KEEP OR GIVE AWAY courtesy of @murkletins, and added to the Hall of Fame -
http://forums.mtgcardsmith.com/discussion/2135/hall-of-fame
Death's Garden - "This feels like a more up-to-date, less Spirit themed Moorland Haunt. It's a clean design, if something we've seen before." - @DomriKade
Personally I liked this card for realism and flavor. It's lack of uniqueness and relatively safe design sensibility is the only thing that kept it off the podium. Congrats, @benw!
Hidden Gardens - "I almost designed this same card during my card-a-day this last year. Chrome Mox as a land is a cool idea, but it's very powerful to have an untapped land of any color, even at the cost of a card. That and this has the failsafe of just being a colorless land in case you don't want to invest the card. My inclination is that this is much to complex for common at the very least and probably too efficient." - @DomriKade
Personally I thought this card was very nice, but totally agreed that it was too complex/powerful for its rarity. Good work nevertheless. Congrats, @Shadow123!
Lotus Pond - "The formatting on this card is not ideal. It could be done pretty simply without modes just by using restrictions on each ability, but even then, this would have three separate activated abilities abilities. Mirrorpool shared a similar complexity with three abilities but it sacrificed itself to use them. This would stick around for multiple turns. Also worth noting that this is just three mana per turn with Solemnity." - @DomriKade
Personally I was drawn to this card's wackiness and fun Lotus theme. Definitely a pretty card that shows off some smart smithing solutions. Congrats, @Tomigon!
Each of these submissions have received a Faiths_Guide favorite!
@Winners, you've been added to the Hall of Fame!
I personally think all lands should add mana with {t} ability, so 1st and 2nd places were surprising. Using those cards with mana lock permanents(Winter Orb, Stasis, etc..) would be super unfair.
@DomriKade
I did have several options of formatting for Lotus Pond. Three {t} abilities eat up a lot of text space, so I decided to choose modal ability idea. But aside from space issues, why do you think my idea isn't ideal? I don't know why three {t} abilities are better than one {t} ability with three modes in your head.
I wouldn't mind Solemnity + this because people do Lotus Field + Brought Back or Tale's End in standard.
Also, do you think Hidden Garden would be fair if it was uncommon? I think losing one colored card from your hand is a big drawback, and unlike Chrome Mox, it doesn't ramp.
Time counters also typically pair with Vanishing, Fading and Suspend, so I was surprised to see that counter type in this setting. It's also very minor, but the text should be ~ enters the battlefield tapped with a time counter on it.
Judging contests is tough work - the top 6 were all interesting in their own right and my written feedback often comes across more critically than I intend. It's an interesting design that plays in a smart technical space and I don't want my thoughts to detract from that.
I agree that lands should probably have a {t} mana ability and the "lock permanent" synergy you mentioned is super scary! I was hoping to see unique submissions that showed off a lot of ingenuity (like yours), and, while there were a number of those, a lot of the submissions here were just small tweaks to existing designs. I valued wackiness pretty highly here, especially if it was clean, concise, and presented well. Glad you enjoyed the contest!
I think Hidden Garden might need to be a rare?
@Shadow123
No problem, buddy! Glad you participated.
We don't often get to think of original land designs so this was fun =D Congratulations to everyone who participated ^^
Thanks for the feedback on my feedback on your feedback!
>Two of the modes are mana abilities and one isn't.
That's a fair concern. I don't think WotC would put mana ability in a modal spell/ability.
Other two problems are because my English isn't good. I'll fix the grammar later. What type of counters would you use btw?
And the question about Hidden Garden was also @ ed to you. Would you mind answering to that? It was rare with more drawbacks before I gave the author a few advice.
@Faiths_Guide
Hidden Garden would be too weak for a rare. No one would choose it over City of Brass.
(Edited)
Wow, the texts actually fit.
Congratulations! Glad you participated ^^
@Tomigon
I think limited should be considered here in addition to comparing with other cards, but cards like City of Brass that consistently ping you can be nearly unplayable in a large number of matchups that the Hidden Garden wouldn't be any worse against and might even be more important due to incidental lifegain. They certainly can't be directly compared due to the large disparity in function. The Garden might not need to go all the way to rare, but I think it'd be safer than leaving it as an uncommon, so there's a judgement call to be made.
(Edited)
Oooh, that Pond looks pretty
"Damage or losing a card" is a good way to think. In Japan, people often think "one nonland card=3 damage". (That came from burn deck drawing 7 red cards is enough to kill one player.)
>"might even be more important due to incidental lifegain."
Hard disagree. You wouldn't want to lose one nonland card from your hand if you want to save 1 life. Even if the card was 0/1 vanilla, it can block a creature. And the creature you want to block would probably have power 1 or greater.
I agree with making the garden uncommon, and I remember that I said it's safe to make it an uncommon, but I also remember that I said the card power is way too weak to be more than common. But you seem to disagree with how I see the card power. Sorry, @Shadow123, you asked wrong person for feedback.
All of your comments have made sense and I'm inclined to agree with you.
@Shadow123
I don't want you to be disappointed, so, be aware that your card would have been in the HM section for me regardless of any of these changes. Cards that managed to surprise me while remaining simple and realistic looking edged out the competition for the top three spots. Your entry was very good even as a common.
You also get to pick one more card you'd like me to favorite.
@Faiths_Guide I understand that! I’m already happy that I earned the Faiths_Guide fave! That’s enough for me. If I ever earn premium because I’m not allowed to buy it myself, I’ll go on an editing spree to edit all the cards, including this one. Many thanks for your excellent, fun contest!
@DomriKade Thanks for your insightful feedback as well!
That's the spirit! Thanks again for being a part