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Circuit contest 2: Recursion? What? Could you repeat that? Recursion? What? Could you repeat that?
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Judging pending.
From 4th to 1st, I present:
At 4th place, @Faiths_guide: Angelic Aid
I don't have that much to say. The entry was refined a few times by it's author, and the design is simple and straightforward. My only gripe is that the name of the creature sounds like a sorcery/instant + the text box name of the creature doesn't fit the name of the card :P
It's cohesive card with a clear purpose that is easy to use and has defined features that promotes it for specific decks, clearly outlining its strengths and weaknesses. 4th place for elegance and functionality.
Coming in 3rd, is @Cryptonight. He had two great entries, one being Dimir Summon's, which I have decided to add to the honorable mentions. The other, the one that won 3rd place, however, is Orzhovian Sympathizer.
It's a fun card, and as I called it in the comment section, it's Protean Hulk lite. It's a card that opens a lot of doors to creative deck building, while being in vastly different colors than Protean Hulk - Which is good, because it let's people brew with the concept in a way it has not before. It's nothing new and revolutionary, but it is well done and designed with purpose.
Additionally, I know how hard Cryptonight worked to ensure the card was not broken. While I didn't oversee him as he researched (!), I do know that he put some hours into checking and verifying and chatting with me and Kkarn about the possible combos of the card. And that effort has paid off.
For 2nd place, a repeat performance, @Animist, with Tortured Devotee
The card is just great. Painborn is an interesting mechanic with a lot of design space, that both involves the -1/-1 counters, amount of life paid and making tactical decisions based on how much life to pay (or not to pay).
The card is decently flexible and fits right into the B+W color combination, aka recursions that brings back "small" creatures.
It gained 2nd place mostly for Painborn, because it one of the few good custom mechanics I've enjoyed in a while, but on top of that, it is backed up by a clause that fits perfectly with the keyword. The card is properly restricted to not be "too good". In some sense, it's a BW Snapcaster Mage, bringing back creatures rather than instants and sorceries, while providing a body to block.
My only gripe is that it is a four-drop that will almost never be used as a four-drop. Paying 2 or 1 for painborn is just so much more powerful than paying none, so if it was printed, no one would play it for four 4.
And finally, top of the podium, stands @koover, with Horrid Transmuter
The card has a certain simplicity to it. It's straightforward, with huge potential, but is also vulnerable (and becomes more so once you start using the recursion) - Throw this kind of repeat-recursion onto a creature body and then making it depend on +1/+1 counters to BOTH stay alive AND to use its recursion is brilliant. It gives the card a lot of dynamics to play around.
The card has potential to be super, super powerful, and it's one of those cards to begs to be built around. It promotes healthly deckbuilding where you include both instants+sorceries AND permanents, seeing as you need permanents to fuel your instants and sorceries.
Get some tokens, sac them to this guy, protect as he brings back your bolts/remands/whatnot. A true value card, if you can build and protect it properly.
The card is not that outwardly powerful, honestly. All the former entries has a higher initial power level and are all playable in Modern (I could see Orzhovian Sympathizer hitting legacy decks, maybe some sort of combo deck), while Horrid Transmuter strikes me as more of a commander/edh card - It would definitely be in its standard rotation, was it printed (So would the others, for that sake, except maybe Angelic Aid as it requires a lot of 1-drops).
I also enjoyed the art the most. There's something truly ghastly about that... thing in the art, with the skeletal-like body, the wicked smile, then combining with bright colors, and I'm pretty sure I'm spotting a heart symbol on its chest.
It's expensive and takes some to get going, but it just has so much build potential (without being OP) that I had to give it first place.
Congratulations to the winners!
For the honorable mentions, I have just two cards this time.
Dimir Summon's
I already mentioned this, by Cryptonight. I would've put it in the top four most likely, if I wasn't so afraid of the abuse potential. Maybe not in standard, maybe not in modern, but legacy and vintage will certainly find a way to break a 2-mana Worldspine Wurm/Ulamog, Ceaseless Hunger/whatnot. It has some constraints and prevent EtB abuse, but it won't matter how much you prevent EtB triggers if the opponent puts two Inkwell Leviathans and a Worldspine Wurm on the field for four mana. Super interesting card, but I find myself incapable of judging the true scope of the card on my own.
Secondly, I have chosen Resist the Grave by @DomriKade
This is a really nice card, but it didn't fulfill the requirement due to the lack of an additional cost that modified the card. It was also a mana too cheap in my opinion, for the last clause to be there. It's a really good and interesting control card that walks the fine line of "double-edged sword", whereas you would have to build your deck intelligently, including only creatures you don't mind saccing or none at all. It fits the color for an Esper-control shell too.
@DomriKade I hope you participate next time!
Thank you for participating, everyone! New contest will be up by midnight, and it will be a simpler one, seeing as it will only last till wednesday.
Additionally, I will go onto my "trophy account" and favourite each entry some time tonight. Stay tuned.
@Faiths_Guide , @Cryptonight , @Animist - All gain a circuit point.
@Koover gains 2.
The current standings are as follows:
@Koover 2 points.
@Cadstar369: 2 points
@Animist: 2 points
@kkarn: 1 point
@Mana_M0nger: 1 point
@Faiths_Guide 1 point
@Crypotnight 1 points
@Animist currently holds the highest winstreak, and has been top 4 twice in a row (Unprecedented!)
If anyone wants to bank in their prizes, they can do so in this thread or in a PM - If you want feedback on specific cards instead of me "working alongside you to create a card", that is perfectly fine as well. If you can link me some of the cards you feel should be favourited, that would be great too. I won't favourite everything linked, but I will look upon it as a sample of your what you yourself believe is some of your most interesting and/or well done cards.
http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/festering-menace?list=user
http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/tormented-nighthawk?list=user
http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/cackling-hellhag?list=user
Thanks again.
Thanks @Grimshac
No guaranteed favorites, tis true, but could you give my epic spells and Detonation Twins an elongated glance?
How exactly does the "work alongside you to help you create" card deal work? Do I come up with a rough card idea and throw it at you for help with revisions?
I'm glad you asked - It means you make a card, and I will help you (as you ask accordingly) to improve/change it until you feel the card is finalized. Additionally I can help you with an already-created card, which I think most will prefer. Basically, I'm your work partner as long as it pleases you, but the product is yours, if that makes sense.
Good job everyone & congrats! Horrid Transmuter definitely nailed what the contest asked for. Just a note on how I would deal with it if I had the misfortune of facing it across the table; when the ETB triggers, that's when I would respond by doing 1 damage - before anything is actually sacrificed on the resolution of the trigger; it's at it's most vulnerable.
Woohoo thanks for choosing my card and thanks for this detailed feedback. Always admiring the effort and time you put into giving feedback!
@Cryptonight
Thanks for your feedback on the card
Also congrats to all winners and participants, there were a lot of awesome cards in this thread, so I'm even more happy, that I've been chosen to be 1st place.