MTG Cardsmith Community Forums
Contest That Ended a Cardsmith
Hello, if you didn't know, I'm hosting Tournament of Champions 4, where different cardsmiths create cards based on their original characters and roleplay them in a grand story and a shared environment. As the name suggests, each cardsmith compete against each other in a single elimination tournament until there is only one winner left. The winner of each match is determined by card quality and character quality. (More information about the point system is in the first page of the discussion. A link to the tournament bracket if you want to know how the game essentially works: Tournament of Champions 4 Bracket)
A couple of days ago, I hosted a match between cardsmiths named CassZero and Red_Tower. It was a tough judging process, as both of their cards and characters were excellent, but what made me decide to give the win to Red_Tower was that their cards portrayed their character's qualities better than how CassZero's cards did. (Link to the match if you want to read it completely: First Round - Match 5)
CassZero reacted to the result of the match normally at first, but soon after, they deleted all their cards and removed all favorites from other people's cards.
They also ended all their discussions...
And deleted the story segments of their character from the tournament and replaced them with the word "disappointed" in Portuguese.
It seems to me that they wanted to delete everything they had in cardsmith because they lost in the contest I started. Over a year of work deleted because of a match I hosted in a day. I can't think of a worse outcome for a contest I wanted to host for fun. Was I too harsh with the match I wrote? Did I somehow treat them disrespectfully? Maybe they had planned to leave cardsmith for some time, but it looks obvious that the tournament was the last straw for them. I don't know what they were going through, I didn't know CassZero that well, but these sad news make me feel pretty bad. Please let me know your thoughts on this matter, I don't know what I should do.
A couple of days ago, I hosted a match between cardsmiths named CassZero and Red_Tower. It was a tough judging process, as both of their cards and characters were excellent, but what made me decide to give the win to Red_Tower was that their cards portrayed their character's qualities better than how CassZero's cards did. (Link to the match if you want to read it completely: First Round - Match 5)
CassZero reacted to the result of the match normally at first, but soon after, they deleted all their cards and removed all favorites from other people's cards.
They also ended all their discussions...
And deleted the story segments of their character from the tournament and replaced them with the word "disappointed" in Portuguese.
It seems to me that they wanted to delete everything they had in cardsmith because they lost in the contest I started. Over a year of work deleted because of a match I hosted in a day. I can't think of a worse outcome for a contest I wanted to host for fun. Was I too harsh with the match I wrote? Did I somehow treat them disrespectfully? Maybe they had planned to leave cardsmith for some time, but it looks obvious that the tournament was the last straw for them. I don't know what they were going through, I didn't know CassZero that well, but these sad news make me feel pretty bad. Please let me know your thoughts on this matter, I don't know what I should do.
Comments
I just read the match between Noah and Nilfi, and I thought the battle was pretty evenly matched, so I don't think that you treated them disrespectfully or harshly. Knowing that Cass had to translate everything must have been pretty frustrating for them at times. Maybe ToC was the final thing that made Cass leave, but I feel like the main reason for leaving is probably the language barrier.
The thing with these stories is that a lot of time and effort goes into creating these characters and sometimes (even for myself) you feel disappointment that others don't feel the same way that you do about your creation.
Ultimately in the Saga category, as it is in every contest, everyone loses except the winner. We can't all be the winner, and we can't win all the time, so we just have to understand that if it isn't out chance to win this time, there will always be another chance if we want to take it.
Sometimes we don't want to take that chance. It's a big loss that all that work was removed, and I feel bad about it too, because I did invite @CassZero to come to the forums. (I think we all agree with their amazing talent)
And we can't know if other outside forces coincided to exacerbate the situation, so just know that you did nothing wrong on your part. People LOVE what you've been creating. Some Cardsmiths only participate in the Sagas because of how creative they get to be. It's Magic the Dungeoning (D&D reference), it's a creative writing experience, it's an opportunity to let your imagination loose in a time when people have needed an escape.
I hope beyond all hope that @CassZero had a great time while here, and I hope we made a difference for them in that time. I hope we make a difference for everyone who comes here, even if it's just a temporary escape from our individual realities. They chose to make an exit, and make a display of it I might add.
We're a very diverse group of people, with different backgrounds, cultures, beliefs, orientations, ages and so much more. The thing that binds us here is our appreciation for one another and our love of these cards, and this game, and the stories we tell about these cards! We're all Cardsmiths, and that is the thing that binds us together. That's why it hurts to see someone go.
Sorry for the tangent. TL:DR - Have fun everyone! We're gonna miss you @CassZero!
Don't you judge me!
:::eyeballing a certain somebody:::
I was a little dissapointed I didn't qualify, but I accepted the blow and thought "Well, whatever, I can still get involved in the match." And it was no big deal. To push the blame on to you would be unfair. Don't feel to bad about it, please.
@Corwinnn - Thank you. Your words helped my self-esteem, and I will continue this project, which I enjoy to do with other creative cardsmiths. I have wanted to do this ever since the first tournament and a couple of failed attempts, and I'm blessed that so many other people support this work, just like how Cass did. I hope they are okay, wherever they went.
@TheDukeOfPork - Thanks. If it were anyway possible, I would have taken all your heroes into the competition.
For instance. I know I was quite involved crafting cards happily alone, without any real community involvement, for some time.
Then in Sept 2019 I just wasn't into it. I didn't delete my account, but it was like a year before I came back. I just took a big break than that part of a MTG hobby. Even with the sitting at home due to COVID thing, found other things to do.
Not being involved in the forums at all, I'm not sure if anyone really noticed. If I had been on the forums, I wouldn't have been back to even check if someone asked why.
I've become more involved in the forums and such this time around. But again, I might just find other things taking precedence someday.
F
I've hard reset before. I'm not sure if you've ever done this before yourself.
Your contest may or may not have made them hit that hard reset button, but there's no way it single handedly caused someone to press delete.
Knowing how long it takes to delete all my work and favorites, there's a strong chance cass is still around, but under a new identity and incognito for a bit.
I drafted 5 paragraphs out for this, but less is more, and I didn't want to speak for Cass by assuming too much.
I like @CassZero, and I hope they read this and at least feel better about their decision to reset/delete. It's not an easy one to make... I've done it before... it feels bad...almost like a downward spiral type of thing... BUT I know that in the end, peace and resolution is eventually attained.