Januray 2009 - MCC - Scoring

[Cashew]

Writers will now be voting on the top 5 entries for the winning card of the month. What-you thought it was all left up to numbers?

Top 5 Scores:
FrycHiKn - Lawful Arbiter 29.2
CoglineErro - Blessed Ephemeroptera 28.7
p-chan - Angel of Redemption 28.2
Coldstone - Spectral Angel 28.2
MechMage - Revived Revenant 27.3

Full Scoring:
Luthervamplord - Whitelight Prophet
Aesthetics: 4.7 Artistry: 4.5 Balance: 9 Design: 8
Total: 26.2/30
Notes: A few minor mistakes, and overall the card translated directly to White seemed to be a little less strong. One of the earliest things Magic proved is lifegain is not quite equal to life loss as Healing Salve vs Lightning Bolt and later Undermine vs. Absorb easily proved.

blinx511 - Holy Martyr
Aesthetics: 4.3 Artistry: 4.5 Balance: 9 Design: 9
Total: 26.8/30
Notes: Rather bland, but well done. The image is extremely washed out by white, which distracts from the visual appeal. It would also be nice to be able to search for a card that X or less than X as a back-up for people with brain farts.

Coldstone - Spectral Angel
Aesthetics: 4.7 Artistry: 4.5 Balance: 10 Design: 9
Total: 28.2/30
Notes: The name really sucks. So bland for what could have been a delightfully evil creature. Also what's up with the flavor text it contradicts itself. Wonder why so few people chose to do Black? (I kid!)

Castle - Angelic Knight
Aesthetics: 4.3 Artistry: 3.5 Balance: 10 Design: 8
Total: 25.8/30
Notes: I'm a little torn on this card, for one I can't get the flavor together in my mind, but the ability is something cool and I like cards that mess with the removed from game zone.I wish it had been tweaked a little more.

Akashmar - Chivalrous Pack
Aesthetics: 3.7 Artistry: 3.5 Balance: 10 Design: 7
Total: 24.2/30
Notes: The card reeked of low quality from the wording to the image, to the disjointed flavor. It did word itself and balance itself correctly, but I couldn't help but nitpick each every little detail of it.

ThunderHog - Descendant of Revenge
Aesthetics: 4.7 Artistry: 5 Balance: 8 Design: 9
Total: 26.7/30
Notes: I don't know what you're talking about. The card is leaps and bounds better in my mind than your White one. The flavor is much stronger, and although a little goyfy and we already have a Demigod of Revenge, I can't help but see connections and like it. Fear may have overpowered it a tad too much.

death_by_aggro - Malice Elemental
Aesthetics: 4.3 Artistry: 4 Balance: 9 Design: 8
Total: 25.3/30
Notes: The flavor here was a major detractor. It suffers the giant thing in the artwork with wings doesn't fly syndorme and a rather weak flavor text. Other than that a few small wording errors.

MechMage - Revived Revenant
Aesthetics: 4.3 Artistry: 5 Balance: 9 Design: 9
Total: 27.3 /30
Notes: Could see this coming straight from the Onslaught block a much better card than your original version. The fonting is still horrendous though. Definitely a cooler Scathe Zombie, although I do question any player playing the ability since it requires a specific tribe.

George G - Gate Guardian
Aesthetics: 4.3 Artistry: 4.5 Balance: 9 Design: 9
Total: 26.8/30
Notes: Seriously a cloud that looks like a dog, I'm assuming you struggled with artwork :). You had a fair amount of leeway to go with from Cerebus's core idea, but a cloud dog...haha.

p-chan - Angel of Redemption
Aesthetics: 4.7 Artistry: 4.5 Balance: 10 Design: 9
Total: 28.2/30
Notes: Just call me Angel of the Morningtide angel. Just touch my cheek before you leave me, baby. I could have respected that a little bit better than your Belinda Carlisle circa "Heaven is a Place on Earth" play on the whole card. Beyond the bad flavor text pretty strong card. Major 80's points to whoever understood all those references.

Punkrockanarchymagic - Perfection of Equinity
Aesthetics: 4 Artistry: 2.5 Balance: 6 Design: 6
Total: 18.5/30
Notes: While worded and quite pretty to look at, the sheer amount of abilities and random decisions made this card rather overpowered and quite janky as a whole. Focus on a central concept and work around it, if you find yourself
adding more and more that isn't bound together...you're probably off track.

FrycHiKn - Lawful Arbiter
Aesthetics: 4.7 Artistry: 4.5 Balance: 10 Design: 10
Total: 29.2/30
Notes: I might call an Arbiter an Advisor, I might have also changed up the name to match the overall theme of the card a little better as well. Beyond that though, I can find no faults with the card. It's pretty well made and could see print as is imo. The only entry to score a 10 in Design this round.

_b4g3r_ - Demonic Archer
Aesthetics: 4.7 Artistry: 4 Balance: 9 Design: 8
Total: 25.7/30
Notes: This card still betwixts me in black. Why does an Archer transform someone into a Demon?

GG Crono - Tenebrous Watcher
Aesthetics: 4 Artistry: 4.5 Balance: 9 Design: 8
Total: 26.5/30
Notes: I liked this better in the original form. I did have some problems with an overall flavor mismatch between a defensive creature and one that thrives on loss of life.

NeoMagicwarrior - Light Keeper
Aesthetics: 4.3 Artistry: 4.5 Balance: 9 Design: 8
Total: 25.8/30
Notes: I think alot of this card works, then some it doesn't. For one thing the name is far to similar to Keeper of the Light, second the name evokes the image of a lighthouse keeper, not a big shiny dragon. Beyond that I think instead of going non-creature, non-land. You should have just said destroy target Enchantment or Artifact which would be right for it to do. Unfortunately the way you worded it dominates planeswalkers which I don't see.

Azrael Subucni - Wonderkin
Aesthetics: 4.7 Artistry: 5 Balance: 8 Design: 8
Total: 25.7/30
Notes: No! Seriously, no! Did you just combine the Archon and Mutant tribes? What in the heck? I can't figure out if you truly grasp what an Archon is (high level of Angel) since your image so closely resembles the Archons from
Starcraft. Beyond that, the card is in serious lack of some power.

Rainbow7 - San-hu Protector
Aesthetics: 3.3 Artistry: 4.5 Balance: 8 Design: 8
Total: 23.8/30
Notes: I have no idea what a San-hu is, nor am I quite sure why a Barbarian is flying. Lost points for lots of little areas of the design such as set symbol, no artist, weird fonting as well.

CoglineErro - Blessed Ephemeroptera
Aesthetics: 4.7 Artistry: 5 Balance: 10 Design: 9
Total: 28.7/30
Notes: Seriously? Ephemeroptera. You couldn't call it a Mayfly (thanks google), although your image seems to more fairly project a Lepidoptera (Butterfly). Ha! It's a cutey for sure and definitely works at the common level.

Niv-Mizzet Rulez! - Dawn Knight
Aesthetics: 4.7 Artistry: 4.5 Balance: 9 Design: 9
Total: 27.2/30
Notes: I can't find much wrong with it despite being utterly boring.

evol intentions - Vengeful Spirit
Aesthetics: 5 Artistry: 5 Balance: 5 Design: 8
Total: 23/30
Notes: Tidehollow Strix called to make fun of your card. It definitely lacks much of the kick of your White version and is considerably underpowered. I thought you could have easily translated it to Black in the form of a Vampire, but this works, if it had a tad more power to really deserve that casting cost.

KlassyReborn - Corrupting Demon
Aesthetics: 3.3 Artistry: 4 Balance: 9 Design: 9
Total: 25.3/30
Notes: I don't think Vigilance really belongs in Black despite Ghost Hounds which at least evoke a sense of speed. The artwork was very low quality which hurt your overall aesthetics. Thought the flavor text could use some work too.

[Cashew]

That's it for me. As far as I know I plan on next month whooping your butt in the contest, as the new contest admin and MCC host takes over the reins. Who will it be? I haven't a clue.

[FrycHiKn]

That's it for me.

That's too bad and the one that will be replacing you will have big shoes to fill (you get the idea, right?)


Edit: Did anyone noticed that I used the same art guy for the cards? :E

[p-chan]

*Rises his fist with golden and red sun shinning at his back*

Yup! Top five!

Also, it seems like I've some problems with english, because I usually fail with the flavor text XP

Oh, and one more thing. I guess he did't participate because of the mess with the qualifications of some of his cards, but this month I really missed YWN's entry

[Cashew]

I honestly don't know why he didn't participate I missed it if he ever said why. He was gone for awhile. Maleficent his usual super competition has gone mia.

I'm pretty harsh on all flavor texts. Your text just didn't quite fit the card as whole, as the concept of graveyard removal is more to putting soul's to final rest, or devouring their remains than anything else.

[death by aggro]

And here I spent half an hour trying to think of something cool to say for my flavor text, finally thought of that, and thought it was the coolest thing since Green card draw. At least the rest of the card didn't fail too badXD.

[NeoMagicwarrior]

NeoMagicwarrior - Light Keeper
Aesthetics: 4.3 Artistry: 4.5 Balance: 9 Design: 8
Total: 25.8/30
Notes: I think alot of this card works, then some it doesn't. For one thing the name is far to similar to Keeper of the Light, second the name evokes the image of a lighthouse keeper, not a big shiny dragon. Beyond that I think instead of going non-creature, non-land. You should have just said destroy target Enchantment or Artifact which would be right for it to do. Unfortunately the way you worded it dominates planeswalkers which I don't see.


yeah, the name coulda been better, i couldnt think of anything to be opposite of the other card. As for going "non-creature,non-land" i MEANT for it to kill planeswalkers, artifacts, enchantments...all things that "arnt natural"
and as for why kill a planeswalker, it needed more power for the cost of "return a creature"...if i lowered the cost, then that'd work..but it'd seem underwhelming compared to its black counterpart

[CoglineErro]

Man, Cashew finally starts warming up to my designs and he's leaving...Oh well. Such is life.

[Azrael Subucni]

Actually, that is not what an archon is. It can mean various things. In D&D, they are the representations of law and good in the world, but are different than angels. Angels merely represent good, and can be lawful, chaotic, or neutral, in addition to that, based on the individual. Most archons don't even have wings.

In Magic, it is difficult to determine exactly what they are, because there are only two. But we know a few things. They are white, humanoid, wingless, powerful beings, which are inspiring to the point of near-legend. They seem to fill in a nich of powerful white creatures, without flying, that aren't soldiers.

Slaughterkin was a Horror Mutant because it was a humanoid who mutated after drinking demon blood. This left me looking for race options for it's mirror, among the allowed types. It didn't have flying, so it wasn't an angel. Also, angel seemed like a mirror to demon, not horror. It clearly wasn't a lammasu, or pegasus. Nor were incarnation or spirit correct, for it had only changed, not died. And avatar didn't seem right for something that might travel in groups. This left me with archon and elemental, and I picked the one that fit better. An Archon Mutant is unusual, but there's no known reason it could not work.

The problem came in the art. There's no lack of images of evil, demonic, and downright freakish humanoids out there that could be a horror mutant. But an archon mutant... that was tough. How do you mutate something to make it more holy? Yes, you are right, that is an archon from Starcraft, that I found with one of my searches. But it fits better than anything else I could have found. It's a white, humanoid, wingless, powerful being, which could be quite an inspiring sight. And at the same time, it's clearly no longer human, having been changed into a creature of pure light.

Maybe I could have made my choices better. And I'd have definitely increased the power level, if I could find a way. But overall, I'm satisfied with the way Wonderkin came out. I could have done worse.

[3cheesed]

Well, since i missed out on the first round, i couldn't enter after that. I had my card done, too... I just couldn't enter it because of problems with art. I think i would have done quite well. I'll upload the card and the art I was going to use, if you all like.

P.S., I did the first and second rounds, the first one was because I wanted to enter, and i still made the second, "Flip colour" round card as well just for kicks to see how it would have turned out.

So if any of you want to see it, I'm willing to upload the card and the art separately.

[p-chan]

C'mon 3cheesed, upload your card. You're eager for it XD

[3cheesed]

Ahaha yeah I just want people to see it xD. I don't want people to think i didnt put any effort into this month. Anyway, here it is.

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/3705/handofdemiserk3.jpg

That was the original version, and the art, I don't have photoshop or anything so it messed up a bit xD.

The white version for the second round was a bit tougher, and this is what i came up with:

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/8664/handofrighteousnessgp5.jpg

i had the art for the first one, but I was too lazy to find art for the second one. either way, I hope you like it =D. I don't know how the whole flip idea would have worked for this, but there were no restrictions on it, so it might have worked.

EDIT: i was thinking that they were a bit overcosted for the original casting cost, but whatever. There's no point in changing it xD

[Cashew]

Azrael, you seem to know a fair amount of Archons. However I apparently did a little more research than you when it comes to them in Magic. Got unlucky in that aspect. Wrote an article (http://www.magicdeckvortex.com/mdvarticle0450.htm) talking about them when Eventide expanded on several oddball tribes.


To most people if you say the word Archon, they probably think of a giant blue pulsing ball of psionic energy that's created when two Protoss Templars fuse together. Luckily, that's not the Magic version and merely the Starcraft version. Like many of the Shadowmoor creatures, understanding where they come from is as simple as understanding their real world mythology. Archon is a Greek word meaning quite simply “ruler.” This is not what we're looking for though.

The best representative of Archons comes from Gnosticism. Gnosticism for those not familiar is a vastly complex religious movement that I'll simply explain as equal parts Christianity and Mysticism. To Gnostics, Archons are the servants of the Demiurge ("The Creator God") and are celestial beings most easily explained to be demons and angels. Not necessarily evil, they are known for their wrathful nature and definitely aren't huggable. These are your Old Testament-style beings that rain down sulfur and smite their foes. Many descriptions are a combination of Greek and Hebrew mythology.

Archons in Magic are a small tribe consisting of two powerful White fliers. The Archon of Justice atop his flying stag and the Blazing Archon, a Boros Guild standby who rides a fiery lion. The mechanic similarities start and end with flying and White, while the artwork on both contains subtle references to an underlying tribal theme of absolute good. Both arts seem to reference figures of power whose morale compass is unwaveringly on the side of truth and justice. The kind of creatures that would show no compassion for a starving street rat stealing bread, sorry Alladin.


Oh as to our winner. I thought it was a no brainer this month. Turned out I was right - Lawful Arbiter - congratulations FrycHiKn you finally got one.

Coldstone's Spectral Angel recieved the next highest votes, which was still less than half of Lawful Arbiter's.

February? That's a good question.

[CoglineErro]

Just wondering, where'd I lose a point in design?

[Cashew]

Just wondering, where'd I lose a point in design?
I simply thought that it couldn't see print as is due to minor details. Basically the name, artwork, and possibly the flavor text would have to see changes to see print. It was great entry, but by no means absolutely perfect.

[CoglineErro]

Thanks, I was just wondering. Interesting response.

[FrycHiKn]

Oh as to our winner. I thought it was a no brainer this month. Turned out I was right - Lawful Arbiter - congratulations FrycHiKn you finally got one.


And I got one YaY! Thanks to Cashew for hosting the MCC and I'm very happy to win your last contest.

I need to thank a friend that help me with the black card, AlasterEisaroh :E and my brother...


One last thing... Don't forget to update the winners page XD

[Azrael Subucni]

Wow. I stand rebuttled. I guess I should have been a little more thorough in my research. I didn't even realize Blazing Archon had flying... mostly because it isn't flying in the art.

Maybe I should have made it a spirit... eh, there weren't enough choices for white creatures. Not the contest's fault, though. There's a saying that goes something like "Man has always been better at designing demons than gods. Which is why there are so many of them."

Congratulations FrycHiKn. Glad to see you finally hit the big one.