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Twelve Words or Less! - **Circuit Challenge**
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Thanks! Glad to hear that you like it
Can I check to see whether this one counts? I'm pretty sure it's exactly 12, but it would be foolish to enter something that's breaking the rules and I wasn't certain about whether mana symbols counted.
@bnew07 Nice entries!
Haven't checked out the Forums in a while except for yesterday to post my entry to the Artful August challenge, and didn't realize it also qualified for this, so to here it goes.
Everyone: Just one day left for entries! Get your last few entries in!
Detailed Feedback Pt 1/3
Quolo, Foulfire Zealot by @MemoryHead
This card could be absolutely crazy in some madness decks/other graveyard oriented decks. The ascension mechanic seems a little odd, and doesn’t seem too viable except in specific situations and on specific cards. Having it become a dragon is cool, but I can’t see this mechanic really working as a good mechanic, even in a set like Dragons of Tarkir
Variance Blast by @MemoryHead
Not much to say about this card. Simple, clean, and fun! The border makes this quite creative too! I love the flexibility in this spell too.
Shake the World by @LordTachanka123
Unfortunately, this card’s effects aren’t too fitting for its colors. There are also memory issues with this card as well, sadly. Many people will forget that a set amount of their lands are 1/1’s after a while too. I also wouldn’t want to spend 3 mana (with a taxing color cost) on an effect like this. The wording for the second ability would also be “Each player sacrifices a creature.” It took me a second to understand the flavor text, but wow! That’s really clever!
Renetus, God of Ice by @fire12
This is a very interesting effect that’s unfortunately executed in a way that makes it too powerful. One mana for an effect that repeatedly triggers your etb effects can be CRAZY! I must say, I was impressed by the creativity here. Well done!
Infinite Expression by @Shadaar
I love the synergy between the abilities. I love the feeling where you feel like you’ve cheated but you actually haven’t! The problem with this is it makes all your instant/sorceries do nothing. Sadly at 7 mana (with 4 colorless symbols in the cost) this is underpowered and it sets you pretty far back in the game instead of putting you ahead. By turn 7, people will be casting crazy spells. If you’re restricted to only getting 2/2’s each turn that can sometimes give you some value, you’d end up losing the game quickly most of the time. Not to mention that this also does very little right away.
Razing Dragon by @Shadaar
This seems like a lot of value for a 5 mana. I also wouldn’t place this too high on the creative side for this effect, unfortunately, which places it a little behind some other entries.
Warlord Zurgo by @Shadaar
This is a clean design and I liked how you had this have protection from creatures with common rarity. While everything else here is balanced, the rest of this is also rather un-creative. Using only keywords that don’t synergize too well won’t create a cool card that will place at the top. The flavor text is very nice here though! It really brings the card together!
Rhox Beyond Peace by @CassZero
Like I said in some of the earlier cards. All of these effects are already things I’ve seen before. I could also see this being an 8/8 because it is a mythic after all with a taxing mana cost.
Arborio Monk by @CassZero
I love the flavor here! I worry if this might be slightly too powerful because of flash. Nice job!
Turtle Village by @CassZero
0 words? Whether or not this places, this deserves an award! It’s nice to see a blue version of Dryad Arbor with nice flavor text! Well done!
Arid Ranger by @TerryTags
I love the desert subtype here! It’s like a parallel to snow! Very fun! Unfortunately, this doesn’t do anything creative with its abilities, nor does it seem to warrant the uncommon status.
Relentless Questions by @TerryTags
The art and flavor text are quite good, but when I have only two mechanics on a card, I like it when they synergize a little somehow. I don’t feel like jump-start and surveil do that. This seems like this cold be mono blue as well!
Zombunky by @TerryTags
Nice, clean design. I worry that this might be on the good side for common unfortunately.
Ghostfire Drakeling by @TerryTags
Very well done! I love how each of the abilities are somewhat connected when you link it back to the jeskai clan. The one problem is the flavor of ghostfire on this card, which I don’t think fits.
Reminiscent Shift by @joemamajoe
This is a nice, balanced design! Replicate adds a nice touch to it too! I don’t think this would be as useful as you think- especially since this requires a lot of mana AND because it is a sorcery instead of an instant too.
Ordain Sequence by @joemamajoe
Nice card, but the flux effect can really cause a feels bad moment when you waste one mana to let an opponent draw 2 cards. The benefit doesn’t really outweigh the risk here.
Fiery Eradication by @joemamajoe
This needs to be at least instant speed. Also, one flavor thing- there’s a dragon in the artwork and this says “when the ground trembles”. I love the artwork and name you chose though!
Holy Blast by @fire12
I’m not sure exactly how good this is. One one hand, it does exile the creature, but on the other, I’d run celestial flare over this because of it’s better versatility. The flavor text seems also all over the place. You have a good eye for art though! It fits this card perfectly!
Enter the Den by @Revan
This is pretty much strictly worse than Soul’s Grace since shroud isn’t being printed anymore. This needs to at least be instant speed.
Out of Action by @Revan
AMAZING flavor, yet the effect is rather uncreative. (Whoa! This feedback sums up my thoughts in less than 12 words!)
Hardened Blurrg by @Revan
What a nice simple design! I love how you made a WAY simpler version of mutate that is super easy for everyone to understand before mutate existed! This is the type of clean design I’m looking for. While it may not bring crazy new ideas to the table, it still shines through its creative use of simple effects. Well done!
Macar’s Touch by @fire12
Beautiful flavor. It’s a shame that this is a strictly better version of Gild.
Detailed Feedback Pt 2/3
Chargeling by @DomriKade
Ingenious! This card is very fun and it definitely brings out the uniqueness I was looking for. I think, like many others in the comment section do, that the cost could potentially become RR though. This might need some playtesting to see exactly how powerful this is, but I like it nevertheless. Congrats on such a creative card!
Mana Surge by @fire12
You may have seen this in the comments, but I don’t believe this card works. This is such an awesome, creative effect though! Well done.
Lethal Blast by @LyndonF
This is very well executed, though it might be a little too good for me especially when compared to shivan meteor. I love how the flashback cost is a different color!
Angelic Rebirth by @LyndonF
Another very clean design that seems quite fun. My one problem is that, if I understand animate correctly, this basically loops over and over. Which isn’t too bad because you have to pay its mana cost, but it’s definitely something to watch out for especially because white shouldn’t be better than black at returning creatures to the battlefield like this. Does Animate always create 4/4’s? If that’s true, that’s my second mark against this card as animate wouldn’t be too playable at lower mana costs. These are both minor things and the card itself is super cool!
Chaotic Rebirth by @LyndonF
Very nice, yet again. The hybrid mana just doesn’t work for me, unfortunately. I wouldn’t want white to reduce someone’s life total so much by itself. This would be perfect as a multi-colored RW card. Nice work, yet again! I love this crazy effect paired with wonderful flavor text.
Tide of Blood by @Fallen_Lord_Vulganos
While I love this effect (and the flavor of this card too), it seems too potent at such a low cost.
Keeper of Evermore by @Potato13
I love this effect so much! The problem is that “keyword” isn’t actually a term you can use on a card. I think if this was worded properly, it would run over the word limit.
Knight of Absolution by @Potato13
I had an idea similar to this, so I naturally like this idea a lot. The card itself is quite narrow in design. I could see this being two mana, to be honest.
Shoreside Patrol by @fire12
This is very flavorful and interesting, but the card design here is really narrow. Its ability won’t really be used much. That said, I still love how you’re choosing more unique card designs on all your cards.
Skillful Bandit by @Ranshi
Very nice! This is a clean design that I like! The second ability won’t be used very much outside of attacking, but I can see cards that will work with it nicely. Well done.
Practice the Forbidden by @Ranshi
I like this, but when I design modal spells, I like more even power level between the modes. Given that this is uncommon, how would you feel about this just drawing two cards on the second mode?
Discordant Melody by @Ranshi
I’m less fond of this entry than your other two awesome ones to be honest. Bard isn’t a creature type either as of now, so I’m not sure how this supports anything? I think just keeping this as an enchantment may have been the best idea to be honest.
Scenic Thoroughfare by @Ranshi
This is quite a fun card! It’s flavorful too. I feel like this effect is something I’ve seen before and early game, I feel like this card actually doesn’t help you at all since it requires 2 mana to add 2 mana of different colors. All of this is actually really minor, sop great job on such an amazing card! I love designing lands like this.
Steadfast Protector by @joemamajoe
This is a clean card, but I’m not sure if this actually does anything really interesting? It’s an effect already seen before at two mana.
Frostbite Roc by @fire12
This is another fun design! My only problem is that this can tap so many creatures quickly and the fact that this is a flyer makes it even better. If you buff this creature it could easily mean the end of the game unless the opponent is playing go-wide or tokens. Even then, this is good.
Pious Devotee by @MemoryHead
Don’t worry! I know about True-Name Nemesis. This is a very cool concept, but it took me a few times to read through and understand this. I would say “one or less devotion to all colors” to make it a little more understandable.
Song of the Maelstrom by @Fallen_Lord_Vulganos
While this being 5 colors is quite taxing, this can really do a lot. I think mythic would be better for such a powerful effect.
Ritual of Removal by @fire12
Nice creativity, again! The problem is players have devotion and not permanents.
Abunno, Liege of Aspects by @Usaername
Very nicely done! This impacts the game very meaningfully and I’m sure there are some broken combos with this. The one change I’d make is removing flying and only have this copy abilities of creatures you control.
Solemn Observance by @Usaername
Another cool card that I almost designed! The problem is, it doesn’t do anything against an opponent with their own graveyard and if it did, giving this hexproof is too much, honestly. Still, great idea, as this still has some use in your sideboard.
Benkan, Eternal of the Forest by @Usaername
A green creature that’s a 3/3 that returns to the battlefield over and over again untapped from your graveyard plus added card draw is way too much, in my opinion. However, this is quite flavorful. I love your ideas so far.
Accursed Secretkeeper by @Usaerame
Wow, you’ve got some excellent ideas! This seems very difficult to play in black, unfortunately. I’m not sure if you wanted it that way or not. The power swings this can have is also crazy, and I’m not sure how much I support that at 1 mana, but this idea is still very cool. I’d probably make this blue and cost two mana (maybe 1 would still work, I’m not too sure)
Mindwracking Encounter by @Usaername
Excellent job with such an interesting card. Your ideas are definitely among the best in this competition. I can’t see insanity counters working much outside of specific cards since the reminder text is so word and the effect itself is quite powerful and complex. This also might be too good at 1 mana, especially if you have no creatures.
Steadfast Memory by @Usaername
Nice! Another hate card. There’s nothing too creative here, but I enjoy the formatting a lot!
Ride of the River Lanterns by @Usaername
Very well done. I’d personally make the buyback discard a card, then make this uncommon. The formatting is also quite cool too, but I would have loved to see flavor text about these mysterious river lanterns.
Forgotten Hourglass by @Fallen_Lord_Vulganos
This is a cool card. I think this would need to be playtested to see exactly how powerful this is. THe fact that the activation cost is so low scares me a little
. Other than that, well done.
Miari Reforged by @Fallen_Lord_Vulganos
This is quite fun and flavorful! I have a feeling that this might be a little too oppressive though at 5 mana. I’d also definitely want this to enter tapped.
Razorclaw Devastator by @MemoryHead
This is nice. Since vehicles already have above average p/t in many cases, I would have liked to see some keyword on this to help make it a little better (maybe then make it a 6/6). I wouldn’t want to pay 4 life and have a high chance of getting nothing out of it.
Detailed Feedback Pt. 3/3
Charming Ritualist by @CassZero
Very well done getting a level up creature! I’d have preferred to see this on a dimir (UB) card though.
Terrestrial Mox by @CassZero
Combined with returning lands to the battlefield effects and ramp stuff, this card seems way too good. I love how you tried to balance a mox as those designs are among my favorite ones!
Koyel Greatbreaker by @Memoryhead
I love how you made an adventure here, though I feel like this might be a little too powerful given it’s colors and having haste. I feel like this would just end games once it comes out which I find a little unfun.
Melodic Bogeyman by @CassZero
This is a cool card. I just don’t feel any synergy between the creature and the adventure. In addition to that The exiling creature part seem too powerful as well. Just because you’re already given a creature with an adventure,, then you can exile a creature for 1 mana. Nice art choice, by the way!
Speckcharmer by @Potato13
This is a very nice entry! I think I’d have liked to see this in red, but I can’t stop thinking about how awesome this entry is. Well done!
King for a Kingdom by @Temurzoa
Nice creativity! I think the flavor is spot on too! I’m pretty sure that you don’t control things outside of the battlefield and the stack unfortunately. I could see it becoming a thing later, we’ll see! This is still quite well designed though, so great job!
Brutal Venomblade by @MemoryHead
I love the synergies between this and its partner. I wouldn’t mind this being 4 mana though.
Sadistic Anglemage by @MemoryHead
I like this design a lot! The flavor text is honestly pretty awesome too.
Beholden to Wonder by @RohaanDragoon
This is quite a cool card! It works nicely in WAR of the spark, especially with amass, even though this isn’t black.
Eldritch Rapturewing by @RohaanDragoon
This card is quite weird to be honest. I feel like it’s rather disconnected mechanically. The flavor of this is perfect though!
Cloudwash by @RohaanDragoon
This is pretty cool, I don’t have any problems with it, but I wouldn’t call it the most creative either.
Impose Authoriuty by @RohaanDragoon
I love this design. It’s simple, but it supports a different type of gameplay which I’m totally for!
Remystify by @joemamajoe
Very cool and flavorful, but drawing a card off of this is too good.
Warding Physician by @GameQnQ
This seems balanced and it’s definitely a clean design. Nothing really stands out to me here though. I could see this being a real card in SOI, so that’s cool!
Shambling City by @GameQnQ
First I looked at this and I thought this is horribly overpowered and shouldn’t be a card! But I was definitely wrong! This is a fantastic card, though trample might me a little much on a vehicle land like this. Well done.
Reanimator Engine by @GameQnQ
The interactions this has with the game are really interesting! I’d be fine making this a 3/4 because it does affect all creatures, and by turn 7 this can easily be taken out by most colors. I think there might be some potent combos with this, but great job nevertheless!
Curse of the Forgotten by @BurningWaffle
Nice job here! This is quite flavorful and seems balanced too! However, I don’t think this would find much utility without flash.
Pool of Healing by @BurningWaffle
Phyrexian mana is quite difficult to use on many cards, unfortunately, I don’t think you used it well here. The flavor text is quite fun though!
Sudden End by @BurningWaffle
Boardwipe for 1 mana!? Also, since this is on an artifact I think you need some way to trigger the effect, or else it doesn’t work. I feel like if this card did work, it would be broken. The art is very nice here though!
Last Drop by @Je_Suis_Oluwa
I love this. It’s quite simple, yet it’s also flavorful and fun too! I also love the panic subtype! Did you make it?
Whims of the Audience by @Je_Suis_Oluwa
This is cool, but I’m strongly against the hybrid mana in the spectacle cost. This needs to have black to not break the color pie. The border should also be Black/Red/Gold. Other than that, this is pretty cool! Nice work.
Beautiful Gift of Griselbrand by @Je_Suis_Oluwa
Very well done! I think just “Gift of Griselbrand would be a better name though. Keep uop the good work!
Ready Elves, Heart Tether, and Resuscitate by @Je_Suis_Oluwa
Unfortunately, only 3 old entries were allowed, so I randomly chose three of your entries to judge. The three listed here were not counted while judging. I’ll still give you feedback on them though.
Ready Elves: This is a cool card as well. I think this might be better as an uncommon, but common works here too. Very nice!
Heart Tether: Wow, this card is very cool! I love how this is designed so much! Late game, this might become a little good, but I still LOVE it!
Resuscitate: Another creative effect, though I don’t like this being a mechanic, especially because of its high complexity, power, and the fact that regenerate is already another mechanic.
Season Wardens by @Faiths_Guide
This was a treat to review! This fits selesnya colors nicely, but it makes me sad that you can’t use any fun instant speed spells in selesnya colors. I’d probably use Voice of Resurgence over this. I think Voice of Resurgence leads to more interesting gameplay as it doesn’t shut out all instant speed spells. This definitely doesn’t mean your card is bad, this one is definitely clean and simple, which is something I value a lot. Nice work!
Alexis, Time Winder by @Undead
This is a fun and very flavorful card! As mentioned in the comment section (which I participated in), there is a two card infinite combo with this.
Decipher the Nyxweave by @bnew07
This is a very cool card, but my main mark against this is the fact that this is either super good (especially in the UB self-mill archetype in THB) or not useful at all. It would have to be playtested to really see how good this is, I guess.
Distort the Mundane by @bnew07
This is a cool, simple card! The reason this didn’t place super high is just because I found other entries that used the 12 word limit more creatively. Still, great job here. I also love the flavor text!
Saviors of Skyfire Ridge by @Temurzoa
This is a really cool riff off of the new part mechanic that’s coming out. This is quite flexible, and can help in different tribal decks too. Nicely done.
Asaka, Iron Mythoclast by @Damnation
This is a great card, though I do worry a lot about cost reduction effects that allow this to coms straight to the battlefield.
Corporeal Evanescence by @DomriKade
This is a cool card that would be really fun in some W/U token deck! I feel like hitting nonland permanents might be a little good at 5 mana, however. Nice card nevertheless.
Mechanical Maw by @DomriKade
Wow! When I see a card with two keyword abilities that work together so well, I just love it. This card seems so nicely tied together on all fronts. It might be a good idea to make this cast 4 mana, but I’m not super sure. Very well done.
Nimble Guardian by @Mila
Last but not least, we have this cute card! I like it a lot, but I feel like the creativity isn’t there, unfortunately. I love the flavor text too.
Here are the RESULTS!!!
This has been such a fun contest to judge! There were so many amazing entries and so many amazing cardsmiths who made them. It was difficult to separate these top entries from the rest because ALL of them were so amazing! I didn't realize people could show so much creativity in just 12 words! Without further ado, let me announce our glorious winners from among 84 amazing entries.
Congrats, @Revan for creating such a wonderful card. This was by far the strongest of your designs and I really love how this emulates mutate before it was even created in a much simpler way. This is simple, yet so fun at the same time. You get 2 faves and 1/2 a circuit point.Nicely done, @MemoryHead ! Each and every one of your designs were quite fun to review. I loved all of them so very much! This one stood out to me the most becuase of its flexibility, simplicity, and creativity all in one fun package. I enjoyed all of your designs very much. Congrats! You've earned 3/4 circuit point and 3 faves.
Now, let's get on to the honorable mentions:
@Je_Suis_Oluwa You did a very nice job with the panic subtype and its function. The way you used it appealed to me too! Sometimes, 1 life can be a really big thing! I've witnessed that firsthand myself when I lost after someone pinged me for 1 damage... Congrats! You designed a very fun, cool card!
@Temurzoa I'm never disappointed by your designs! Each of them are always so creative and all of them have a mechanical uniqueness to it. You've inspired me ever since I started off cardsmithing and your ideas continue to do so today. The way you used party here was very clever! Congrats on such a wonderful card!
Nice job to both honorable mentions! You both earned a fave and 1/4 circuit point!
Our honorable cardsmith is: @fire12 !
I felt that each of your designs brought something new to the table and I could tell that you put a lot of effort into your designs. The only thing that kept them off the top cards were the fact that they were plagued with little mistakes. I just want you to know that I really appreciated your ideas that you came up with. Each of your cards were very fun to review! I hope you continue to grow, 'cause I see some real potential here! Congrats! You've earned 1 fave.
A close second for this spot was @Usaername
Our best flavor text is on: Shake the World by @LordTachanka123
While the card itself, wasn't as good, I really enjoyed deciphering the flavor text! Your use of different symbols made this quite fun! You've earned 1 fave as well!
I debated (with myself) long and hard about this entry. I felt like the cost may have been better as RR because this is such an aggressively red card, which I think was stated in the comments. @DomriKade , you succeeded in giving me the very same feeling I had when I saw Beeswax's Constantin for the very first time. The level of ingenuity, creativity, and understanding that came from this card was amazing! I definitely feel like, yes, this can be quite powerful in many cases, but there's so much to love about this card that the tiny little errors seem like they don't really matter. I remember saying this early on in the contest:
Thank you to EVERYONE for participating! This has been my favorite contest I've made so far thanks to everyone's wonderful entries!!
Wait! I forgot to add this list of amazing cards-
Turtle Village by @CassZero
Chaotic Rebirth by @LyndonF
Skillful Bandit by @Ranshi
Speckcharmer by @Potato13
King for a Kingdom by @Temurzoa
Sadistic Anglemage by @MemoryHead
Impose Authority by @RohanDragoon
Shambling City by @RohanDragoon
Abunno, Liege of Aspects by @Usaername
Mechanical Maw by @DomriKade
All of these designs were contenders for the top entries, so congrats to all the people who designed these 10 cards!
Also, do you mind if I ask for more in-depth feedback on some of my cards so I can improve for future contests?
Fave whatevers you want
I'll take my favorites on whatever looks good from my collection, or you can wait if nothing catches the eye.