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"Keyword Tribal" Contest [JUDGED + REVIEW FOR EACH ENTRY]
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I'll make a very short review for every entry as well
Thanks a lot to every participant, as I anticipated I struggled *A LOT* to choose the winners because of how many amazing designs were proposed. Actually, it was just a little too hard to choose only three winners, so I allowed myself to do a TOP 5 instead of a TOP 3 x)
Here are the new prizes:
- 1st place: 5 favourites of your choice
- 2nd place: 4 favourites of your choice
- 3rd place: 3 favourite of your choice
- 4th place: 2 favourite of your choice
- 5th place: 1 favourite of your choice
And now, let's announce the five winners! If you're not in the TOP 5, I still left you a short review of your cards after this, so keep scrolling =D (I strongly suggest using CTRL+F to find your name as there were a lot of entries ^^)
Farbog Apostle by @KalamMekhar
This is the kind of cards where I can see there is a lot of thought behind a seemingly simple design ^^ The synergy between Skulk and Double strike is extremely well-thought since it allows the skulking creatures to deal more damage without undermining their evasive ability. What really strikes me though is the choice of colours. Choosing white/black among all the combination of white/red and blue/black gives it a really unique flavour (that you managed to tie brilliantly to the plane of Innistrad) and I'm really impressed that you thought of Behind the Scenes to make the best choice possible. It's a card that is coherent with the environment it is supposed to be in at every level, all of it while being simple, elegant, flashy, flavourful and well-balanced.
Okhin, the East Wind by @Platypusburger
This card immediatly gave me that "Wait, what?" effect that you usually find on Mythic Rares (which makes me think it could have been one.) It's both really simple and really daring, as writing "prowess, prowess" on a card would usually be frowned at since "Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn" is just cleaner. But you managed to find this very specific situation where stacking Prowess triggers on the same creature just makes perfect sense. It's a card that strikes you in just a few words, is immediatly intuitive while being whole new, perfectly balanced, with a coherent Tarkir flavour to top it all, and overall a super fun design.
Paragon of Swift Blades by @Platypusburger
I hesitated with a lot of very clever designs that played with the rules of first strike and double strike, and I think this little uncommon is my favourite because of how intuitive it is. First, I find the reference to the Paragons of M15 a really clever idea, and it works great mechanically. I think the choice of abilities is especially impactful because it's simple but hits righ in the bull's eye. Getting +1/+0 is the simplest thing and also the one thing that a creature with first strike could ask. The last ability is especially daring for an uncommon, and it really feels like a bonus to your first strike creature even though it's technically changing its ability entirely, which is very clever. The best thing about this is that the creature has both first strike and double strike until end of turn, so it still gets the +1/+0 bonus, just how cool is that?
Faint-Hearted Felony by @ManaChrome
In my opinion, this design is a huge success on two fronts. First, it is an expensive removal spell which is both very important for a set and very difficult to design in an interesting way. You found a cool intersection between blue and black and made a card that, with no flavour elements, would already be a very clean card from a balancing point of view. Obviously the second front where this card is amazing is its flavour. I think you manage to find a very specific way to evoke flavour through mechanics that is reminiscent of how cards like Terror were designed all the way back in Alpha. It just works, the flavour of this card makes my skin crawl and it's still a simple design with an effect any set could want.
Marsh Elemental by @Tomigon
That is such a cool twist. I can't think of one card that repurposed a keyword ability like this before. The very concept of asking you to pay for a keyword ability cost to get a completely different effect is really pure genius, and you manage to find the perfect flavour to sell that idea. On top of that, the balancing is great, as it naturally allows you to only get back one Scavenge creature per turn, it creates just the right amount of tension since it makes you think twice before using your scavenge cards in the graveyard (What if I draw a Marsh Elemental later and could get that card back instead?) Finally, it's the little things but I like that you gave it Scavenge as well so you don't have to search for what Scavenge does. It's a card that really excites me from a design perspective, is balanced, intuitive, has a strong flavour, and full of little details that makes it really thoughtful design. Amazing card
Congratulations to the winners, but also to everyone else! =D
@KalamMekhar Which one card do you want me to favourite?
@Platypusburger Which five cards do you want me to favourite?
@ManaChrome Which four cards do you want me to favourite?
@Tomigon Which five cards do you want me to favourite?
For the rest of the particpants, you'll find below a small review for each of your entries=D
Very simple but very flavourful design
Mamushik, Sewer Kingpin by KalamMekhar
I think you got a bit greedy with the colours, it clearly didn't need blue and would probably have benefited from bein monoblack I think. That said, the combination of deathtouch and indestructible is quite spicy (I don't think any creature has done that except Rhonas, the Indomitable), and I like the idea of having an Eminence card for a keyword tribal in the same way of a creature type tribal ^^
Future Past by KalamMekhar
Simple and efficient. The concept is great, though I think you made it a little too strong if we compare it to similar cards for cycling like Sacred Excavation or Shadow of the Grave.
Blaze, Ravage Demon by sorinjace
Really spicy design that's kind of terrifying ^^ The activated abilities are too undercosted though, as it's basically "T: Destroy target creature." Also, on templating, the second ability has no source of damage indicated
Chaotic Demon by sorinjace
It does fill the bill though it's a bit messy. There are definitely some original concepts and good flavour in this design but 7-mana is a lot to ask for a card with so many downsides, and the last ability feels pretty disconnected from the rest. I think if it was simpler by removing the last ability and more agressively costed it would have been even scarier ^^
Frantic Devil by sorinjace
Really cool twist on the Devil mechanic! It's simple, well-balanced and have a surprising strategical depth
Pain Demon by sorinjace
The recursive potential of this card and the fact that two copies will loop themselves indefinitely makes me really nervous but at least it's 6-mana. Otherwise the concept is clean and flavourful
Dance with the Devil by sorinjace
It's a really beautiful card that's visually striking with a good choice of art and a cool name, but I'm not 100% convinced by your choice of colours for a flying tribal card. Basically I have a hard time aligning the flavour with the mechanical aspect of the card.
Aviator Mage by Mila
Very clean design that I also consider as an ingenuous twist of the Curiosity ability, even though I don't know if that was the intention? ^^ I think you missed some opportunities to justify the Scry ability with a more flavourful name though, I'm thinking a reference to either oracles that read the future in the flight of birds, or simply messenger birds ^^
Gempalm Furystoker by AustinSmith
It's well-balanced, and does something new and cool which is especially impressive for a common card!
Combat Finesse by TenebrisNemo
A clever design that plays with the subtleties of first strike and double strike in a really innovative way ^^ Having to do that much math is a little downsides though.
Striking Archangel by TenebrisNemo
Between this and Combat Finesse, are you sure this is not becoming a big breast angel tribals? xD Are all those illustration connected somehow? x) Anyways, this is again a cool way of playing with the qwirkiest aspects of First/Double Strike in a way that is reminiscent of cards like Drana, Liberator of Malakir. Indestructible may be a little strong though, it probably would have benefited from being a little subtler.
Ties That Bond by Faiths-Guide
It's very striking visually as a one-mana enchantment with very few lines of text ^^ I also like that you found a really unexpected keyword, though for that rarity I would have expected just one more twist that synergized more deeply with the Soulbond mechanic itself.
Hyjack Warcaller by Faiths_Guide
As already mentioned, you like to play within the gey zones
Incite Agression by Faiths_Guide
Goad is a really cool and versatile mechanic, I think you did a good job at capturing some of its unexplored potential ^^ It reminds me a bit of how Grenzo, Havoc Raiser works, and tying it to an attack trigger definitely creates some interesting strategic choices
Toxin Analyst by Faiths_Guide
An especially flavourful design that's really well balanced and elegantly takes care of the memory issue a card like this would have had otherwise without the help of +1/+1 counters =D
Dark Devourer by zizick123
A really original design that links two keywords in a rather unexpected way
Consume Continuity by Blueant
It's basically a twist of New Perspectives which could have been a good idea except it's buyback instead of cycling which makes it very broken I'm affraid >.< The third ability just finishes to kill any chance for this card to ever be realistic unfortunately, it's just too strong, even at 7 mana
Infiltration Leader by Blueant
A fun concept but the execution suffers from too many issues unfortunately. First, the choice of Skulk, Flying and Menace out of all the evasion keywords feel very random, it needs to be justified by some flavour. On top of that, it's really too strong. Basically, if it was balanced for this cost it would have had only one of the options available and would only trigger when it entered the battlefield ^^"
Trapped // Bleeding by Yro
It's very daring to propose a split card! I liked that you tried something totally new mechanically as well by using it as an aura, unfortunately it gets really messy since both halves could target two different creatures
Kazandu Shieldmate by Alchemist
Unfortunately Rally is not a keyword ability, it's an ability word, therefore the game can't look if a card has Rally
A really fun idea that reminds me a lot of Ydris, Maelstrom Wielder. Your version costs one more mana without being a 5/4 Trample creature and only give Cascade to cards that already have Cascade, but at the same time you need one less color of mana to cast it, its ability works all the time, enchantments are much more resilient than creatures and it does have Cascade itself so overall the balancing seems fair
Backstabber's Dagger by Tomigon
"Nonregular damage" is not really a thing that exists in the rules of MTG I'm afraid x) I checked a bit the comprehensive rules and it is really difficult to do what you're trying to do because the two combat damage step share the same name in the rules. Nevertheless, the concept is clever, unique and matches the flavour perfectly, so it's still a really solid design
Zhur-Taa Stormhowler by Beeswax
I completely forgot that flying-hate cards were a common thing in modern Magic design x) I like that you managed to have a damage-doubling card that really feels like an uncommon ^^ It feels very clean.
Memory mining by Beeswax
Really spicy concept at the core, I'm excited to think it could be applied to many other mechanics. On the execution though, I'm confused by the choice of the Izzet flavour, and the wording doesn't really work (Delve can't be used to play alternative costs like Flashback, you need to spell out what you want to actually happen in the rules text.)
Mayura, the Interstice by DragonSage
A very original and exciting concept! It's really clever, though I think it's unfortunate that you removed any kind of tension by making the creatures unblockable.
Stand // Ground by ManaChrome
Broaden is a cool conept in itself, and the use of split cards is bold and perfectly justified in this case
Vargh, Worldblazer sanjaya666 (This card does not exist anymore but its thumbnail still appears on forum.)
You managed to weave the keyword tribal into the creature tribal in a very clever way ^^ The card is original, daring, and definitely worth a Mythic slot ^^ I'm not sure the second ability was necessary though, it was already very flashy without it.
I really like the theme of this contest. I think I'll make more keyword tribal cards in the future!
P.S. I thought I edited my dagger before the deadline.. I should have posted a new comment for the update.
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/alabaster-hero?list=user
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/aya-flamedancer-3?list=user
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/ancient-invocation?list=user
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/dreamwhisper-harmonist-2?list=user
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/katrite-the-auroramancer-5?list=user
Thanks!
Fave this, maybe? https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/influential-bureaucrat
It's ok. I did that two or three times! lol
I knew "If equipped creature has first strike or double strike, ..." is simpler but I thought you might like the tricky wording:P
Thank you so much for such detailed feedback for all cards!
Please fave my two entries for this contest, this card, and any other two from my recent cards that you happen to like.
And congrats to everyone else who participated! You all did wonderful!
@ManaChrome Done, I favourited Sunkept Crypt, Psychosis Skulk, Silva Whisperwind and Archmage's Insight ^^
@Corwinnn Could you close this thread for me, please?
Thanks very much! Congrats @Winners.