Round Two Instructions

It’s week number two in MDV Idol 4: The New Blood. The entries are rolling in and the Judges are overwhelmed with the number of entries.

What is next in line? More card designs, by you, the Casual Fans.

Welcome back. The Judges have been bombarded by the entries over the last few days. However, I like to think that throwing a man in the water is the best way to teach him how to swim. Learn to tread the water, or float face down I always say.

So I left them in the back to argue about the best way to tell you guys that your entries are bad. Just terrible! Why… I could have designed a better Revolutionary with both of my thumbs tied behind my back and my left leg chopped off, which happened twice last week. NEVER! leave a hatchet laying anywhere near Cashew. That guy has a weird sense of humor…

I guess it is karmic justice then that he would have to sit and listen to the other Judges babble on and on about which 12 entries will be selected to make it into the next round. After all, pay back is best served cold… *gazes off into the distance with a twinkle in his eye...*

Oh! Sorry about that. Before I get started telling you about your next design, we need to pay some bills around here before the electric gets shut off. Streetz was the one paying them before and ah… well… he is a little short right now. We will be right back….

...COMMERCIAL BREAK...

Being the first time an Idol contest is being sponsored, I would like to take this moment to thank those sponsors, Jason and Nikki Clark. You know them as Tresserhorn and NeeNee in the MDV Forums. I had a chance to talk to Jason during the planning stages of Idol 4, and I found myself leaving the conversation impressed both with him and his company’s foundation. Being a person who is exploring my options in beginning a business, I have found that you really need to have your head on straight first and foremost, but you also need to have a foundation of what you will do and what you won’t do. The morals of your company will decide what direction, up or down, you will move in. Jason’s desire to please his customer is something that I have not seen in many vendors during my time as a player. Granted, most vendors do whatever it takes to get a big sale, but when it comes to you approaching someone, needing only a six dollar rare for your deck to be complete – you are going to either pay sticker price for that rare, or you are going to find another vendor. Sure, I’ll give you a needed uncommon if you buy two chase rares, but I won’t throw that average rare in. Far be it for a vendor to even go and look for a card for you. One would almost think that this is an antiquated concept – and it shouldn’t be. Customer satisfaction should be top priority, as you need a large clientele of customers in order to remain in business; after all, repeat customers are good customers. Want more proof that DA is a damn good company? When I approached Jason about being the sponsor for the contest, I didn’t get the familiar, “Well, how big is your reader base? How much do you charge for ad space?” Instead he replied in a positive manner, treated me with respect, and when I pitched the contest idea, he was receptive to both the contest and being its sponsor. Further, when I told him what the prize I was envisioning was, he replied, “Ok.” Mind you that I asked for a mint condition, autographed, Legends All Hallow’s Eve. A week later I received a forum personal message (pm) telling me that he had received the card in the mail and it was beautiful. The following day, I received another pm with the following message: So with that in mind, I’d like to say to you - the casual fan, we need support the people who support us. Jason and Nikki are members of our community and we should keep helping each other out as much as possible. If you need certain card at a good price, contact DA Gaming and you will get the service you need. Contact Info: DA Gaming Jason and Nikki Clark E-mail: DAGaming@gmail.com (will be getting a new one of these as well) MDV's Bazaar of Wonders

*Looking off stage* What was Heee doing here? I thought we got rid of him!

[Voice from off stage] It’s his article, he does what he wants.

No… We do what we want around here!

[Voice from off stage] *with a sigh* He is the Editor-in-Chief, he does what he wants.

Well, someone needs to figure something out, how can we… what?

[Voice from off stage] … your on, the camera is on!

*sheepish grin* Yea, ahhh *clears his throat. Is it that time again? Do we need a break?

[Voice from off stage] No, just roll with it!

*wiping embarrassment from his face* Yea, so buy some cards from DA Gaming. *rolls his eyes* Anyways, getting back to the important stuff at hand here. We need to let you know what the heck you are doing this week. Here goes: Every Revolutionary has his flunky. That Henchman that is typically strong on his own, or else he would not be the Henchman, yet he is also a lackey that gets smacked around by the hero and the villain. The perfect example is Vhati il-Dal. Poor Vhati. If he was not Greven’s side kick, he’d be a tough s.o.b. These three cards tell you what happened. The story goes that Vhati turned on Greven, but it didn’t work out like he planned, he begged for forgiveness, then screamed four lung fulls of air as he plummeted to the ground below. Moral of the story, aim better or do it while the ship is docked. Your mission, should you choose to accept it (and really why would you not), is to design a Henchman to pair with your Revolutionary. I did tell you that you needed to design a Revolutionary that you can build off of, and now I think you are going to see why making a narrow character in week one will be the demise of many contestants. Speaking of those narrow entries, whatever happened to this being the casual website, full of flavor and flair? From everything that I had heard, I would have expected that you guys were better than making guys with crappy abilities! I told you to make a REVOLUTIONARY! Not a tribal guy who would be an uncommon in whatever set he was created in. Make someone who is going to change the world. Make someone whose outlook on life is perpendicular to the established norm. Yet while I looked at the entries, I saw a bunch of cream puffs. Well, now we get to see what your cream puffs are worth. You cannot design your Henchman to be better than the Revolutionary. He must be inferior to the Revolutionary. He must be designed to conform to the new direction that your tribe is heading under your Revolutionary’s leadership. He must be of the same tribe, but can be of a different class. Finally, he must be a Legendary creature. Now, let me be clear on what I see as being inferior. A creature who is a 6/6 body with no abilities that costs seven mana is inferior to a 4/4 creature with flying that costs five mana. At the same time that Black Knight is a good creature, Knight of Stromgald is superior to it. Also, don’t make an Abyssal Specter version of Hypnotic Specter. That is the easy way out, and as you are going to learn next week when your Revolutionary cards are graded by the Judges, taking the easy way out only gets the New Blood Judges angry and no one wants them angry - just ask what’s left of Streetz. Before I give you an example, let me get in another commercial break before my producer’s eye pop out of his head. Lighten up already will ya?

[Voice from off stage] Then get to commercial!

...COMMERCIAL BREAK...

Thanks for tuning in again to MDV Idol 4. I wanted to take a quick moment of your time to offer a nice incentive to come and see me about your gaming needs. While MDV Idol 4 is rolling along, if you make a purchase with DA Gaming, I will send your order anywhere in the U.S. and I will pay the shipping. If you are in Canada, I will pay the shipping on any orders over $20.00. Times are tough right now with all the gas price spikes and stamp costs going up and up. Let me cover that cost for you and help you get the cards you really need to finish off your deck or collection. Good luck to you all in Idol, and I’ll talk to you again soon.

...COMMERCIAL BREAK...

Did you hear about the new Blog system that MDV has installed? It’s true; Streetz went out and purchased the upgrade package to the Forums that adds the Blog feature to it. You hadn’t heard about it? Well now you have, so go check it out. You can either follow this link or you can find it at the top of your Forum window; click the second option from the left called Blog. Once inside you can read small articles written by members of the Forum. You may even want to start blogging yourself. So check out the MDV Blog and stay in touch with the happenings of MDV.

*Very red in the face* I told you to…

[Voice off stage] …

…

...COMMERCIAL BREAK...

Did you hear about the new Blog system that MDV has installed? It’s true; Streetz went out and purchased the upgrade package to the Forums that adds the Blog feature to it. You hadn’t heard about it? Well now you have, so go check it out. You can either follow this link [Streetz, link to Blog please] or you can find it at the top of your Forum window; click the second option from the left called Blog. Once inside you can read small articles written by members of the Forum. You may even want to start blogging yourself. So check out the MDV Blog and stay in touch with the happenings of MDV.

*Regained composure* Welcome back to MDV Idol 4 – where the tough will survive! As we went to break, I promised you an example to follow. Before I give you the example, I will remind you of my Revolutionary:

Thananite, the New Way RR2
Legendary Creature – Human Knight
First Strike
All knights you control are Red.
When a knight you control attacks, it deals 1 damage to target creature the defending player controls.
Chivalry has always been a limitation of the knighthood, not a definition.
2/2

Remembering that my Henchman must follow the direction of the Revolutionary, I know that he must be Red - as Thananite says all Knights are Red. It only makes sense for me to retain the Knight class, so I will do so. The rules of the contest state that he must be the same tribe as my Revolutionary, so he must be Human. That gives me the following layout:

[Name] [Cost = Red]
Legendary Creature – Human knight
[Ability]
[Flavor Text]
[P/T]

I must keep in mind that I am breaking out of the Knightly caste, but not all of the traditional features need to be discarded, as my Revolutionary retained First Strike. Another thing to think about here is that this Henchman is telling more of your Revolutionary’s story. Just as Vhati gave us information on Greven, your Henchmen will further define what someone will learn about this entire revolutionary movement. With that thought in mind, I have chosen to give my Henchman Fear. This might sound strange now, but it will intrigue a person into asking the question ‘Why?’ and makes him want to see more of this movement. My Henchman belonged to the traditional Human Knight tribe/class two weeks ago, so this must still be reflected somewhere in the design. Now I can begin to fill in some blanks:

Earlong, the Fallen BB1
Legendary Creature – Human Knight
Fear, Protection from Black
Though his heart changed, his tactics remained. Evil fears him, but so too does good.
2/2

“Wait! He is not Red!” Of course he is Red. Thananite says he is. While the two abilities Fear and Protection from Black seem odd together, the flavor text nicely draws them together into a synergy that makes my Henchman both tough while alone on the battlefield, yet still inferior to my Revolutionary. If you controlled Earlong, and I attacked, I would destroy Earlong with Thananite and his Knights without much effort and the attack would still go through unhindered. If I had both creatures on my side and attacked with both, most likely one of your creatures would be killed, and you’d be unable to block Earlong. Also, note that when Earlong became Black, alone he could not overthrow the White Knight society, as they all have Protection from Black, so he needs Thananite; Thananite does not need Earlong.

Hope this gives you enough direction on your design, here is a cleaned up list of your design requirements:

• Design a Henchman to pair with your Revolutionary
• Your Henchman must be inferior to the Revolutionary
• He must conform to the new direction of your Revolutionary
• He must be of the same tribe as your Revolutionary
• He can be of a different class than your Revolutionary
• He must be a Legendary creature

Your submission is due by Friday, November 14. You will have one additional day for editing your submission (Saturday, November 15).  You can discuss the contest here.

Now get outta here!

You can discuss this article in the MDV forums here.
Find other articles by this author here.
Find other articles from this series here.

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The Games People Play - Market & EDH.
Sarpadian Empires, Vol VII: Foreword.
More Evil Than Evil.
Pauper Chronicles: Top O' the Morningtide to You!
Words from the Streetz: Uncommon and Common Magical Treasures.
The Writers Guild: The Inside Scoop.