MTG Cardsmith Community Forums
Meet the Nephilim (AKA: The Wacky Art Challenge!)
Hi folks! It's time for another creature cycle challenge! This one is inspired by a video I stumbled upon recently, which reminded me of an oft-forgotten cycle: the Nephilim.
The Nephilim were a cycle of wacky cards from Guildpact, representing bizarre primordial beasts from prehistoric Ravnica. In the story they basically just wake up, cause a mess, and then all get killed.
Mechanically, the Nephilim didn't have much of a theme going on. They kinda just did whatever. The only things they had in common were their four-color mana costs and their bizarre, fascinating art. Which is what brought about this contest! I'm sure plenty of you have seen cool fantasy art out there that you really liked, but was just a little too quirky or odd for your normal Cardsmith designs. This contest finally gives you an excuse to pull out the weird stuff!
So, I'd like to see some Nephilim, please! Here are your rules:
1. Your card must be a creature, or create or become a creature in some manner.
2. The creature must have the creature type Nephilim.
3. The card must have unusual art (loosely defined here as art depicting some sort of being that a casual observer couldn't immediately identify as a specific creature type e.g. a tentacled monster that could pass for an Eldrazi wouldn't cut it). Use your best judgement, and try to find cool, off-the-wall art!
The judging criteria will be the usual standard: formatting, creativity, balance, and most importantly, ART.
Your prizes are as follows:
First place: 4 faves, available on request
Second place: 3 faves
Third place: 2 faves
Honorable Mentions: Shoutouts and a fave for their entries.
A pre-emptive FAQ:
1. Entries can be any color, or colorless. They do not have to be multicolor.
2. Entries can be any rarity, although I encourage you to be creative and aim for around rare.
3. Please credit your artist. If you don't, at least post a link to where you found the art. I won't DQ you for forgetting, but it's part of good Cardsmithing and it may affect your final placement.
4. The setting for the card's flavor doesn't have to be Ravnica. In can be from any MtG world, or one of your own design, or from no where in particular.
5. Judging will begin ~March 30th.
6. Limit of three entries per Cardsmith.
Have fun, and happy Cardsmithing!
The Nephilim were a cycle of wacky cards from Guildpact, representing bizarre primordial beasts from prehistoric Ravnica. In the story they basically just wake up, cause a mess, and then all get killed.
Mechanically, the Nephilim didn't have much of a theme going on. They kinda just did whatever. The only things they had in common were their four-color mana costs and their bizarre, fascinating art. Which is what brought about this contest! I'm sure plenty of you have seen cool fantasy art out there that you really liked, but was just a little too quirky or odd for your normal Cardsmith designs. This contest finally gives you an excuse to pull out the weird stuff!
So, I'd like to see some Nephilim, please! Here are your rules:
1. Your card must be a creature, or create or become a creature in some manner.
2. The creature must have the creature type Nephilim.
3. The card must have unusual art (loosely defined here as art depicting some sort of being that a casual observer couldn't immediately identify as a specific creature type e.g. a tentacled monster that could pass for an Eldrazi wouldn't cut it). Use your best judgement, and try to find cool, off-the-wall art!
The judging criteria will be the usual standard: formatting, creativity, balance, and most importantly, ART.
Your prizes are as follows:
First place: 4 faves, available on request
Second place: 3 faves
Third place: 2 faves
Honorable Mentions: Shoutouts and a fave for their entries.
A pre-emptive FAQ:
1. Entries can be any color, or colorless. They do not have to be multicolor.
2. Entries can be any rarity, although I encourage you to be creative and aim for around rare.
3. Please credit your artist. If you don't, at least post a link to where you found the art. I won't DQ you for forgetting, but it's part of good Cardsmithing and it may affect your final placement.
4. The setting for the card's flavor doesn't have to be Ravnica. In can be from any MtG world, or one of your own design, or from no where in particular.
5. Judging will begin ~March 30th.
6. Limit of three entries per Cardsmith.
Have fun, and happy Cardsmithing!
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
Entry numero uno.
Number two, and finally, the third.
(Nephil-bump.)
Your card links back to the forum.
Full piece is neat:
Secret flavor text: "It ends lives as readily as it revives them, adhering to laws from a time and place long lost."
Anyways, consider this an accidental bump!
HM1: Life-Keeper Nephilim, by @sanjaya666
I really liked the art and concept for this cards, but it didn't really have a strong association with the blue in its color identity.
HM2: Backbreaker Nephilim, by @Beeswax
Beautiful art! The effect was also very interesting, but the addition of lifelink made it a little too swingy for me.
HM3: Hollow Nephilim, by @Lujikul
Now this was a very flavorful and interesting design, and a strong contender for the top three spots. However, I found the art to be a little dull, and a little more Beast-ly than the indescribable Nephilim.
And on to the final three:
Third Place: Keen-Insight Nephilim, by @koover
This is just a solid card all around. Cool art, well balanced, and a fun concept. What more could I possibly ask for?
Second Place: Globetrotter Nephilim, by @atrus159
I absolutely LOVE this art. It's a shame you weren't able to credit the artist, but it was pretty difficult for me to find as well, so I didn't take off any points for that. (His name is Shawn Koo, by the way.) I also appreciate that you took care to justify each color of the creature's color identity in its abilities, although it probably didn't need to be mythic.
First Place: Lifeshaper Nephilim, by @0wlb0y
Wow, I love this card. It creates interesting gameplay, but it's not overpowered. I would love to play with it in Commander. And the art is fantastic: it's alien and haunting. You look at that thing, and you don't even know how to describe it, which makes it perfect for this challenge. I'll definitely be looking up Vincent Van Hoof's work in the future.
Thank you to all of you who submitted. This was a fun contest with lots of beautiful art showcased, and I had a great time. Winners please PM me with your requests for faves whenever you like.