Welcome to the fourth and final stage of the You Make the Card Championships! Seven contestants entered the ring and were presented with a challenging criterion. Here are the contestants and the categories they represent:
Most Creative Mind: Mown Best Contest Holder: OutsideTheAsylum Best Judge: Yarium Best Set Designer: CKY Most Likely to be an Intern at R&D: Imidazoline Best Newcomer: Echo Robin Invitational: 13th Horseman
Elevate, last year's winner, presented them with a devious challenge that would force the contestants to think outside the box. Here was his challenge:
A little while back, Q contacted me in regards to Champs 2011 with a message that could be described as a short novel. In summation, he said he wanted me to start pondering on a criteria for it - one that is sufficiently challenging for the gravity of the event, but one that was not as f***** ridiculous as last year's, since the ranking feedback was laughably small.
Me being me, I put it at the back of my mind and continued studying for my university exams.
Flash forward two months.
Mono contacted me in regards to Champs 2011 with a message that could be described as a short sentence, namely "If you could get your criterion to me as soon as you can, that would be great."
It being my duty as reigning champion, I felt it appropriate to weave some of my essence into my criteria, which is as follows:
Design seven cards. Each card must break one or more rules of Magic (you must quote the broken rules in your submission). Each card must flavourfully resonate with each other card.
If a contestant is to have the greatest chance of winning Champs 2011, he or she must have a firm grasp of innovation, mechanical prowess, flavourful prowess, and must be able to deliver all these in an elegant package.
Therein lies your challenge. Go forth and seek inspiration, my fellow card designers.
P.S. I am aware that a significant percentage of contestants may dislike this criteria. Part of being a great designer is the ability to work with any criteria required of you. (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.)
The contestants had two weeks to complete the challenge. Here are their entries, placed in sblocks because 49 cards takes up a lot of room.
You may vote for one contestant. To make your vote loud and clear, please bold your vote so I can avoid any confusion. I'll leave the voting round open for 8 days. If there happens to be a tie by the time I update it that Monday, then we'll have a runoff round where you can only vote for one of the tied contestants.
Alright contestants, it's out of your hands now. All you can do now is plead with the random posters of YMtC who wander in here to vote for you.
Werewolves Invade YMtC!: Town-aligned Rotworm Mass, Survived, Mafia Victory Heroes Mafia: Angela Petrelli, Town-Aligned Undercover Revengeful Mother, Win for Me, Mafia Victory Super Smash Bros. Mafia: Town-Aligned Mason, Survived, Town Victory Bear Mafia: Town-Aligned Vanilla, Lynched Day 1, Mafia Victory YMtC Mafia II: Henry-Stern, Town-Aligned Vanilla, Town Victory, Town MVP Time Fracture Mafia: Mafia-Aligned Nero, the Last Romulan, Lynched Day 3, Borg Victory Touhou Mafia III: Tenshi Hinani, Town-Aligned Vanilla, Survived, Mafia Victory, Town MVP Mafia 2010: Lynched Day 1, Town-Aligned Vanilla, Mafia Victory Dragonball Z Mafia: Goku, Town-Aligned Charismatic Townie, Mafia Victory Quarantined Mafia: Lynched Day 4, J. Walter Weatherman, Infected-Aligned Administrative Assistant, Mr. T (so basically mafia) Victory Glass Box Mafia: Killed Night 2, Icthys, Town-Aligned Networker, Town Victory Battle Royale Mafia: Killed Night 3, Zipperflesh and Dark Stryke Victory Scars of Mirrodin Mafia: Killed Night 3, Town-Aligned Charismatic, Mafia Victory Portal Mafia: Lynched Day 3, Test Subject #2, Mafia-Aligned Rolestopper, Town Victory (that was utter BS) Toxic Waste Mafia: Survived, Violet, Hive (Cult)-Aligned Powerless Taskmaster, Hive Victory PK Hatez You Mafia: Survived, Town-Aligned Goth, Mafia Victory Dreven City: A Wild West Mafia: Town-Aligned "Los Angeles" Reed, One-Shot Vig, Survived, Town Victory (just barely, major props to Just a Cleric) YMtC Mafia III: Killed Night 2, Mafia Victory Vampire Mafia: Mafia-Aligned Pander, Mafia Victory Touhou Border Collapse: Bill Cosby, Town-Aligned, Killed Night 1, Mafia Victory Harry Potter Mafia: Argus Filch, Town-Aligned Tracker, Lynched Day 5, Mafia Victory [Basic #5] Bandit Mafia: Town-Aligned Vanilla, Survived, Mafia Victory Borderlands Mafia: Town-Aligned Mason, Killed Night 1, Town Victory eBay Mafia: Mafia-Aligned, Survived, Mafia Victory Full Metal Alchemist Mafia: Alphonse Elric, Town-Aligned Mason, Killed Night 1, Town Victory Sunflowers for Ragnarokio: Lynched Day 3, Town/Just a Cleric/Tevish Szat/Faux-Razor Victory True Blood Mafia: Lynched Day 4, Mafia Victory My Mafia Diary: Skyhunter, Mafia-Aligned Emo, Survived, Flawless Mafia Victory Paper Mario Mafia: Blue Goomba, Town-Aligned Lover, Killed Night 2, Mafia Victory Small Town Mafia: Pigsticker Mafia-Aligned Coward, Killed Night 2, Caveman Mafia and Zipperflesh Victory Stuff on my Desk Mafia: Lotus Cobra, Town-Aligned Vanilla, Survived, Mafia Victory Order of the Chaos Rose Mafia: Lord Dagol Ji'Lovik, Town-Aligned Hypnotist, Mafia Victory, Town MVP Camp Crystal Lake Mafia: Ongoing A Certain Magical Mafia: Killed Night 1, Town-Aligned The Siege of Balignor Mafia: Ongoing, Killed Day 4 Mafia of Ancient Egypt: Replaced in for Murica day 2, Ra, Town-Aligned Charismatic, Town Victory, Town MVP Lord of the Rings Mafia: Replaced in for Dr Demento, Town-Aligned Mason/One-Shot Self-Doc, Town Victory, Town MVP Internet Stars Mafia: Town-Aligned Vanilla, Mafia Victory Mythos Mafia: Ongoing
Werewolves Invade YMtC!: Town-aligned Rotworm Mass, Survived, Mafia Victory Heroes Mafia: Angela Petrelli, Town-Aligned Undercover Revengeful Mother, Win for Me, Mafia Victory Super Smash Bros. Mafia: Town-Aligned Mason, Survived, Town Victory Bear Mafia: Town-Aligned Vanilla, Lynched Day 1, Mafia Victory YMtC Mafia II: Henry-Stern, Town-Aligned Vanilla, Town Victory, Town MVP Time Fracture Mafia: Mafia-Aligned Nero, the Last Romulan, Lynched Day 3, Borg Victory Touhou Mafia III: Tenshi Hinani, Town-Aligned Vanilla, Survived, Mafia Victory, Town MVP Mafia 2010: Lynched Day 1, Town-Aligned Vanilla, Mafia Victory Dragonball Z Mafia: Goku, Town-Aligned Charismatic Townie, Mafia Victory Quarantined Mafia: Lynched Day 4, J. Walter Weatherman, Infected-Aligned Administrative Assistant, Mr. T (so basically mafia) Victory Glass Box Mafia: Killed Night 2, Icthys, Town-Aligned Networker, Town Victory Battle Royale Mafia: Killed Night 3, Zipperflesh and Dark Stryke Victory Scars of Mirrodin Mafia: Killed Night 3, Town-Aligned Charismatic, Mafia Victory Portal Mafia: Lynched Day 3, Test Subject #2, Mafia-Aligned Rolestopper, Town Victory (that was utter BS) Toxic Waste Mafia: Survived, Violet, Hive (Cult)-Aligned Powerless Taskmaster, Hive Victory PK Hatez You Mafia: Survived, Town-Aligned Goth, Mafia Victory Dreven City: A Wild West Mafia: Town-Aligned "Los Angeles" Reed, One-Shot Vig, Survived, Town Victory (just barely, major props to Just a Cleric) YMtC Mafia III: Killed Night 2, Mafia Victory Vampire Mafia: Mafia-Aligned Pander, Mafia Victory Touhou Border Collapse: Bill Cosby, Town-Aligned, Killed Night 1, Mafia Victory Harry Potter Mafia: Argus Filch, Town-Aligned Tracker, Lynched Day 5, Mafia Victory [Basic #5] Bandit Mafia: Town-Aligned Vanilla, Survived, Mafia Victory Borderlands Mafia: Town-Aligned Mason, Killed Night 1, Town Victory eBay Mafia: Mafia-Aligned, Survived, Mafia Victory Full Metal Alchemist Mafia: Alphonse Elric, Town-Aligned Mason, Killed Night 1, Town Victory Sunflowers for Ragnarokio: Lynched Day 3, Town/Just a Cleric/Tevish Szat/Faux-Razor Victory True Blood Mafia: Lynched Day 4, Mafia Victory My Mafia Diary: Skyhunter, Mafia-Aligned Emo, Survived, Flawless Mafia Victory Paper Mario Mafia: Blue Goomba, Town-Aligned Lover, Killed Night 2, Mafia Victory Small Town Mafia: Pigsticker Mafia-Aligned Coward, Killed Night 2, Caveman Mafia and Zipperflesh Victory Stuff on my Desk Mafia: Lotus Cobra, Town-Aligned Vanilla, Survived, Mafia Victory Order of the Chaos Rose Mafia: Lord Dagol Ji'Lovik, Town-Aligned Hypnotist, Mafia Victory, Town MVP Camp Crystal Lake Mafia: Ongoing A Certain Magical Mafia: Killed Night 1, Town-Aligned The Siege of Balignor Mafia: Ongoing, Killed Day 4 Mafia of Ancient Egypt: Replaced in for Murica day 2, Ra, Town-Aligned Charismatic, Town Victory, Town MVP Lord of the Rings Mafia: Replaced in for Dr Demento, Town-Aligned Mason/One-Shot Self-Doc, Town Victory, Town MVP Internet Stars Mafia: Town-Aligned Vanilla, Mafia Victory Mythos Mafia: Ongoing
We are the Izzet Some think we are scattered after the disappearance of Niv-Mizzet He is connected to us by the firemind He has formulated a master plan Before, we were just experimenters, looked down upon Now we have a greater purpose This bit is random And so is this Yeah
With all due respect to Elevate (Who is amazing and handsome), I kind of hated this criteria. I really think that it's more difficult to design interesting cards within the bounds of the rules than it is design cards that break them. And there are only so many rules that are really worth explicitly breaking, which is why most of the contestants chose many of the same ones.
And seven cards cards a piece? It's asking a lot of the community to read through 49 cards and accompanying commentary, arbitrarily rate them as groups, and then choose a winner. This is a contest that traditionally already has a problem with getting enough voters. I think three cards is enough to get the point across.
None of the entries really wowed me, which is probably because of my distate for the critera itself. But after reading through them all, I'm going to have to give my vote to Mown.
Hoard of Notions: Cards and general design musings from yours truly.
I made a complicated chart. It ranked each of the designers as well as each of their designs.
In the end, my vote goes to Imidazoline.
Contest-Specific Redeemable Prizes: DaytimeLantern - +5 points on any score-based contest. Redeemable once. If contest is multiple rounds, only redeemable in a single round.
No offence to anyone, but I found most of the submissions rather dull. Currently it's a toss-up between Outside_the_Asylum and Mown. I'll review the submissions again later and explain my rationale.
Edit: And maybe Imi as well
I have a sig because it gives my posts better spacing.
We are the Izzet Some think we are scattered after the disappearance of Niv-Mizzet He is connected to us by the firemind He has formulated a master plan Before, we were just experimenters, looked down upon Now we have a greater purpose This bit is random And so is this Yeah
We are the Izzet Some think we are scattered after the disappearance of Niv-Mizzet He is connected to us by the firemind He has formulated a master plan Before, we were just experimenters, looked down upon Now we have a greater purpose This bit is random And so is this Yeah
