Designer's Gauntlet [Week 3] - Sign(post)s of the Times

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Comments

  • shadow123shadow123
    @bnew07 got second!? Crazy!

    In all seriousness, congrats to everyone in the top 8, especially @TheCenterOfTheUniverse !

    I knew that my counterspell was a little complicated/weird for common. I thought about removing it, but I liked the idea so much, and decided to keep it. I’m still super happy with this result thought! This round was pretty awesome!
  • TheCenterOfTheUniverseTheCenterOfTheUniverse
    Wow! Congrats to everyone else, and thanks for the contest @DomriKade!
  • RanshiRanshi
    Welp... I guess I'll have to do even better next time...

    Congrats to the winners of this round!
  • TerryTagsTerryTags
    Congrats, everyone!! :smile:  Great contest!
  • burgerpowerburgerpower
    I honestly cant be the only one who feels like the competition is kinda rigged by this point. Im not a sore loser by any means, there are tons of great entries. Its a fun competition with no prizes and a place to show off cool card design but there is no point in even continuing to enter. Nobody outside of the top 8 has ever even been in the top 8 after this many rounds. Before the next round is even announced, we all know who will win it. I feel like im playing a pay to win game and losing as intended until i pay money. Thats why im dropping out. Im pretty confident the bottom 14 people feel the same. This is the first and last competition I enter. From now on, I just make cards for my decks and print.  Sorry for the negative attitude but it is always healthy to talk about issues.  my 2c
  • JeroukooJeroukoo
    @burgerpower

    If you want, we can send each other our entries before hand and see what we think, so we can get some more input on how to improve our cards. I also don't know what could be done to improve our cards, but hearing comments about our designs from other users could help those who don't make it in the top 8.
  • ShadaarShadaar
    Congrats everyone!

    This one was really fun, and definitely tough.  I always have trouble making commons/uncommons :persevere:  @DomriKade, would you mind sending me my scoring/feedback when you have a chance?  I definitely want to shore up my designs for the next round
  • burgerpowerburgerpower
    @jeroukoo Its not going to make a difference. You can already see people are wondering why they cant win a single point. There is nothing that can be done to improve your cards. They are totally fine and cool. Theres no such thing as a "better card". Its like saying which is better apples, bananas, or oranges? 
    Personally i loved your 2mana treefolk thing that gives +1/+1 counters.
    The problem is judging keeps picking the same 4 people every round to the point they disqualified 2/3 of the field of entries by round 3. I feel like im playing hockey and going into the 3rd period and its 12-0, whats the point in trying? Its obvious the judges dont like your way of designing cards or mine. Im sponsored by WOTC and run the biggest games night in my town and I design supplemental game products, yet I cant top 8 even once. Even if i was in first place i wouldnt be happy because 2/3 of people are eliminated and the top 4 are so heavily favored that people are giving up and saying its rigged. Even if you win next round, do you really think you won or did they just give it to you because its already decided and they dont want you to get frustrated and drop out like me? I would like to hear from the judges why this is such a blowout with clear favorites. It has nothing to do with how you me or anyone else designs our cards. Ill just point at the premium account that keeps winning endlessly and say "pay to win obviously". Im not a sore loser in any way, I couldnt care less if i win. Its just obviously not a fair competition for most people who entered. The guy in first place has about a 1 in 900 chance of getting a score like that. Good job Bnew07 you blew the competition out of the water like a joke.
  • CorwinnnCorwinnn
    @burgerpower - Saying you're not a sore loser and continuing on about it feels contradictory. It's true that a Judge tends to skew things toward their perceived notion of what THEY want the card(s) to be, which is why we pick different judges for every circuit challenge (I apologize for not having that up to date, but it will be by the end of the week) We don't mind discussions and even heated discussions, but there is no reason to drag anyone down for something they don't have any control over. The judges also have their pedigree with WotC, and are heavily involved in their Magic communities, and not just this community. You're new around here, not even a month in. I would suggest just having fun and entering some of the less demanding challenges can help you get a feel for what kind of designs work well. Some of these folks have been looking at custom cards for years, and when cards all come in strong, they have to consider small details to create separation... for example, Fatal Growth. If this card is dead even with another card, I would look at the lack of artist credit and the lack of flavor text/utilization of the empty space/formatting issues (call it what you will) as "tie breakers".  It's a nice card, but lacks a lot of sophistication.

    In short (tl;dr) Don't be mean because you wanted to get more accolades than you did. Just have fun, learn from others and in time, you'll most likely be winning challenges like a BOSS
  • shadow123shadow123
    @Corwinnn Well said. I'm having a lot of fun in this challenge!
  • RanshiRanshi
    edited August 2020
    Deleted.
  • burgerpowerburgerpower
    @Corwinnn Thats my point. What kind of cards are the judges looking for? what format etc. Agro, control, commander, modern, standard.... 
    Most people i play with hate wordy complicated cards.
    My biggest issue is the lead is now so far blown out that unless the points are upped for the last 2 rounds or some other fix, most of the people cant even compete anymore. Thats not fun for anyone, we can all agree about that. 
    The rules are:
    -We have a top-secret in-house grading system but points are awarded each week based on placement as follows:
    The same people endlessly win and everyone else cant even place anywhere on the charts, I just want to know what is everyone doing wrong and why do those guys endlessly win? After 3/5 rounds the judges should really clarify a bit. Nobody wants to work really hard then auto-lastplace. Thats extremely frustrating. There are no losers because everyone has done a great job so far. Its a fun challenge series but why is it so lopsided in favor of a few people? I just feel like no matter what i do, I will auto-lose. For the dozen people who cant even get on the scoreboard, How do we even win a single point?
  • RanshiRanshi
    edited August 2020
    Aggro and control are playstyles, not formats, for what it's worth.

    And Burger, if this irks you so so much, just don't play. I have no clue what the rubric is either, but I work with it.
  • LuckyLooterLuckyLooter
    edited August 2020
    @burgerpower I notice this time around that I don't have very many notes for the top four this time, and as DK mentioned that's partly due to having less feedback to give, and partly because I echo the sentiments he's already expressed.

    However I DO have many, many thoughts on those not in the top 4 including your designs, and I believe DK has offered to private message anyone who would like to hear their feedback. I am offering the same, I will gladly go over your cards design by design if that would help you feel any better.
  • burgerpowerburgerpower
    @LuckyLooter Ya i would love to hear feedback, it is always good for constructive criticism and improvement. The issue I have is that the rules were cryptic at first and by the time I even hear any kind of feedback, the competition is already over. I designed cards more for general purpose fits into many decks and commander. Apparently I was wrong. Theres simply no way to come back now no matter how hard I try. That just feels cheap.
  • JeroukooJeroukoo
    @DomriKade
    @LuckyLooter
    I didn't know feedback through DMs was an option. I would appreciate that when you get a chance!
  • RanshiRanshi
    @burgerpower you are complaining because the contest is multiple rounds?
  • spookoopsspookoops
    edited August 2020
    @burgerpower, @Jeroukoo If you're really looking for feedback on any of your cards, there is a Discord server we use to bounce ideas off of each other. Pretty much all the people in this contest use Discord. I did for this specific contest. Sometimes, I use it for proper wording or formatting issues.

    As for this contest, I'm just sitting out of the top eight, and just got my first top eight mention. I know the odds of me winning are slim. However, I like how @DomriKade and @LuckyLooter have intense and unique challenges, it helps me grow as a 'Smith and work within new ideas. Use this as a learning challenge and extend your creative knowledge.
  • shadow123shadow123
    @spookoops I totally agree!
  • burgerpowerburgerpower
    @Ranshi @spookoops No ranshi i was complaining because It looks incredibly rigged. Look at it from my point of view. This is my first competition here, I dont care if i lose as long as it is fair. Check out the score, the top guys that cant even remotely be touched after round 3 are paid members. That screams "pay to win". Its understandable why I would say that. I sent messages to Domrikade and luckylooter asking why the score is so lopsided and if it is even worth my time to ever enter again. They seem like cool guys so ill give the community the benefit of the doubt and finish the next 2 rounds. Spookoops is right and has the best attitude just use it as a learning experience. I doubt ill enter any more contests tho. 3 of my friends looked at the scoreboard and laughed saying its obviously rigged. Its physically impossible to comeback, thats hard to ignore. Thankyou for invite to discord tho.
  • RanshiRanshi
    DomriKade has nothing to do with the official site. The members who pay, such as myself just take it seriously enough to want to get the benefits of paying such as editing in post.
  • burgerpowerburgerpower
    Sorry for getting pissy, if i made anyone mad I apologize. It was a misunderstanding. (Lets be real everyone hates pay to win BS). I have actually designed many many cards here, this is just the first time i came into the forums. Usually i never publish cards, just save the image.
  • shadow123shadow123
    edited August 2020
    @burgerpower

    Don't worry! Everyone has those moments. I hope you consider entering another contest in the future. If you ever need any feedback on a card, you can PM me on the forums and I'd be happy to help! Have a great rest of your day.
  • DomriKadeDomriKade
    edited August 2020
    Thank you all for your patience - week 4 is up with a delayed deadline to account for the late start. As a reminder, LuckyLooter and I are always open for feedback or inquiries!
  • TheCenterOfTheUniverseTheCenterOfTheUniverse
    (quick fact check: I am not a paid member and have never paid for a membership on MTGC - I've just been around a while)
  • Faiths_GuideFaiths_Guide
    edited August 2020
    @burgerpower
    If I had extra time I'd be happy to help you refine your submissions and correct your formatting. Years ago I used to do that with other entrants so we could help each other produce higher level designs. However, I don't really have that extra time lately so I've just been swinging by, leaving my card links, and taking off.

    I think you'd improve quickest if you researched existing cards similar to the ones you are trying to make to help you with balance, formatting, etc.

    I also wouldn't rate some cards as highly as they have been in these contests, but everyone has different tastes and gravitates to certain cards more than others. If we want to join in someone's contest we have to let them make up their own mind(s) on judging.
  • TerryTagsTerryTags
    edited August 2020
    If I can add my two cents:

    I'm really new to the site, and I only enter these contests to get practice with card design, and if people click on a card I've designed and "fav" it, then I know I'm doing better.  It's like anything creative.  As a songwriter, I've written dozens and dozens of songs that never get sung or heard because ... well ... they're not awesome!  But I miss every shot I don't take, and to get better at anything - card design, art, music, etc - I just have to keep doing that thing over and over and make mistakes until I get better at it.  My motto (which my wife and kids are probably tired of hearing) is: "Oh, I was wrong about that? Welp. I've been wrong before, I'll be wrong again, and ... I was wrong today!"  It's just personal growth.

    I say all that to say this: for me, winning isn't anything important.  It's not like we're getting jobs at WOTC from the cards we're designing, and no one's getting financial compensation for their winning cards.  :wink:  

    Thank you to everyone who judges and puts on these contests.  I find them very fun, and I like the fellowship and camaraderie here.  Thanks also for making a n00b grandpa feel like one of the guys. LOL
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