@Jpastor, will you upload it on youtube too? Cause not everyone has the time to join discord at the time when youre streaming. That way more people could watch it.
@LvB I will for the next one. These past 2 were trial runs if you will for length, formatting, judging, reviewing, etc. - this most recent one - my mic didn't record. so - i'll just have to make another one next week for the new cards.
Prepping for a podcast recording today. Everything is set this time, webcam, mic, screen, etc. I'm finishing judging these cards, and then we'll be set.
Join the discord server anytime with or without mic.
Topics today:
- Match results - 90+ cards - Expanding the podcast - Cardsmith League Basics - The Cantina - Mystery Box Prize List - Encounters
I've been wanting to expand the podcast to MTG & MTGCardsmith in general. So, I've decided to start the podcast now. Like right now. Join any time, be a part of the community. Here's what I'd like to openly discuss tonight:
Which real magic cards do you consider to be well-designed, and which do you consider have bad designs?
What do you think about our current judging system and criteria? What would be your criteria?
Archenemy
What are some of your favorite contests/discussions all-time on the forums?
How much is too much?
If you want to join mic or no mic, feel free. We will record the podcast and post it as usual.
I would agree with Judge B the most. Mana cost is reasonable with overall, you can get away with three mana cost for 3/3. Creature type is Human Cleric which makes sense about reducing power to 2. An ability causes each player sacifice a creature have no effect on mana cost, another ability on another hand, can be activated more than once. That increases mana cost up to 4 because of how cheap it takes to activate. (Losing 1 life isn't usually issue for black lovers anyway) The card is simply and not much unique, would makes sense for uncommon.
The only thing that damages rating is: Wording in last ability. I would prefer "{b}, Exile a creature from your graveyard: Create a flying black Spirit 1/1 token. You lose 1 life." Better.
I also agree with judge B, the ability is balanced with the life paying, and it's cost is proportionate to it's rarity and abilities. I find it's first ability to be fair and balanced. Though personally, I don't see this as a human subtype I would go with a more Vampire Cleric to stay on track with the lifepay side.
In my non-expert opinion, I think judge (judge D) is correct. I think that for a few reasons. First of all, there are 2 ways to use this card; you can cast it, sac another creature and move on, or you can use it as essentially a sorcery to make each opponent sac a creature by sacrificing itself. If you choose for it to sac itself, then it's basically just an over costed Fleshbag Marauder. On the other hand, you can sacrifice another creature, but paying 3B and sacrificing a creature is a high price to pay for a 2/3 with an ability that costs mana, life, and requires you to have stuff in your graveyard that you're okay with getting rid of. Also, it's second ability is pretty bad in commander, while making everyone sac a creature is only good in commander. Overall, it's a clever concept, but doesn't quite work in practice.
If I were to score this card, I wouldn't land on the exact rating of any of the judges. I think I'd give it something in the range of 87-88, so I guess Judge D?
The card is technically flawless in its execution: P/T, cost, and rarity are fully in line with one another. The two abilities have utility on their own, but also have synergy to offset the disadvantage an Innocent Blood creates (and in some cases can upgrade an otherwise an easily blockable creature into an evasive attacker). The weaker body with respect to mana value is offset by the low cost and repeatability of the second ability and the fact that it's unaffected by summoning sickness. The wording of the abilities is spot on. The art is appropriate to the card and the addition of flavour text is a nice touch.
For a card to crack 90, it needs to go above and beyond in terms of originality or creating an exciting gameplay dynamic when it gets cast. Soulwither Acolyte gets close with the ability to hit the board and immediately recycle a bunch of your dead creatures into a potentially stalemate-breaking board position or just eliminate that last creature you've been struggling to get rid of. With an extra {b} and a creature card in your graveyard, it effectively becomes a Predatory Nightstalker, since you can satisfy its own sacrifice requirement with the Spirit you just made. The branching play decisions and versatility make this card easily >85 and the specific choice of abilities combine to bring it close to 90, but these are still fairly standard black effects at the end of the day, so no new ground is being broken.
If the four options reflect four real results from the judges, the mean of the four (or the mean of the middle two after eliminating the two outliers) is actually pretty close to the truth.
Comments
Week 8 Schedule
@catcraft1776 - you need 7 cards in your collection to proceed
Everything is set this time, webcam, mic, screen, etc. I'm finishing judging these cards, and then we'll be set.
Join the discord server anytime with or without mic.
Topics today:
- Match results
- 90+ cards
- Expanding the podcast
- Cardsmith League Basics
- The Cantina
- Mystery Box Prize List
- Encounters
Will post link when it's time.
Live Podcast: https://discord.gg/2mP4gptH
YouTube Still Processing (Subscribe to Channel for Notifications)
Spotify Link:
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/enterflow/episodes/The-Revisited--The-Anticipated-24-Aug-2023-e28gt3s- Which real magic cards do you consider to be well-designed, and which do you consider have bad designs?
- What do you think about our current judging system and criteria? What would be your criteria?
- Archenemy
- What are some of your favorite contests/discussions all-time on the forums?
- How much is too much?
If you want to join mic or no mic, feel free. We will record the podcast and post it as usual.Let's get it.
https://discord.com/channels/700092840675508305/700092840675508309
Let's play a game. Which judge do you agree with more?
Judge A: 82
Judge B: 92
Judge C: 96
Judge 85
The only thing that damages rating is:
Wording in last ability. I would prefer "{b}, Exile a creature from your graveyard: Create a flying black Spirit 1/1 token. You lose 1 life." Better.
That'd be all.
The card is technically flawless in its execution: P/T, cost, and rarity are fully in line with one another. The two abilities have utility on their own, but also have synergy to offset the disadvantage an Innocent Blood creates (and in some cases can upgrade an otherwise an easily blockable creature into an evasive attacker). The weaker body with respect to mana value is offset by the low cost and repeatability of the second ability and the fact that it's unaffected by summoning sickness. The wording of the abilities is spot on. The art is appropriate to the card and the addition of flavour text is a nice touch.
For a card to crack 90, it needs to go above and beyond in terms of originality or creating an exciting gameplay dynamic when it gets cast. Soulwither Acolyte gets close with the ability to hit the board and immediately recycle a bunch of your dead creatures into a potentially stalemate-breaking board position or just eliminate that last creature you've been struggling to get rid of. With an extra {b} and a creature card in your graveyard, it effectively becomes a Predatory Nightstalker, since you can satisfy its own sacrifice requirement with the Spirit you just made. The branching play decisions and versatility make this card easily >85 and the specific choice of abilities combine to bring it close to 90, but these are still fairly standard black effects at the end of the day, so no new ground is being broken.