YMTC Idol has come to be one of the longest running contests on these forums, and I'm happy to help usher it into its 10th year of challenging creative minds to etch their names into YMTC history.
The previous year saw 30 contestants enter the fray; in the end, Mown was left victorious. Those wishing to achieve such glory must first audition in this thread before my panel of judges. Should you meet their favor, you will then have to find your way through 10 rounds of elimination card creation, whereupon one magnificent mind will remain and be crowned YMTC Idol. Your judges this year are...
Mown, the winner of YMTC Idol 9!... Kavu_Overlord, the winner of YMTC Idol 8!... And your host, Rush_Clasic, the winner of... um... erm... your hearts and affections!
Audition Criteria: In the past 5 years or so, Magic has made strive to reuse old material, especially when it can do it in exciting, new contexts. The past was once seen as a sacred resource, with the core sets receiving most of the reprints, with expert sets receiving barely anything to recall the past, and with such initiatives as the "reserve list" being created. But Magic has grown, and in that growth realized that the past should not only be utilized, but that it is fun to do so.
Assignment: Below is a list of 10 cards, 5 of which are slotted to be reprinted in the upcoming imaginary set The Siege of Genevi. Reprints are used to highlight both minor and major themes, but often are simply called upon to play well with the set's mechanics or flavor. Using 5 of these 10 cards as the basis, create the prelease/release promo card for The Siege of Genevi. There is no absolute correct theme to follow from the samples below; use them as inspiration for the world of this set and use your imagination (and justifications if you feel they're warranted) to make your submission. If a few cards don't fit your theme, try not to worry so much; this contest is still about making good cards.
- make a prelease/release promo card - that means it should be rare or mythic - and should highlight some of the set themes (whatever you decide those are) - it doesn't need to be a creature; however, creatures are chosen as promos for a reason - list the 5 cards you're using as your basis
You have one week to submit your audition card. The number of entrants promoted into the contest's next round will be based on the number of individuals auditioning.
Fickle Spelgeon Creature - Devil Shaman (R) Surge -- Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, you may exile it. If you do, flip a coin. If you win the flip, copy the exiled spell twice. You may cast the copies without paying their mana costs. If you lose the flip, draw a card. 4/3
These cards play heavily into a single theme: storm. Not the exact mechanic, of course, but that playstyle. They want to play cards, and play them fast. This is pushed for that environment, for a few reasons. 1) The set seems to want to play as many cards for as cheaply and as fast as you can, giving up your resources to do so (Elvish Spirit Guide). 2) There would be a creature/noncreature spit. With the increase in needing non-permanent spells, that increases the chances of removal, which means creatures need to have an impact, especially expensive ones. 3) It's a card that players want to get.
Bonded Fetch also plays up to this, due to the siphoning, so you get the perfect hand before you go off, while Revive helps along the process, fitting in perfectly for ramp-based decks, so green has a competitive nature here.
Nix was one of the most important cards here, though. For a rare to be reprinted, it needs to be important. Here, it would definitely shine. It's a holder on the rest of what the set would show, being a way to stop degenerate combos. This also puts a minor subtheme (which this card shows) on copying spells.
And, the card is a rare, rather than a mythic, because mythics aren't prerelease cards anymore. :P
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
Reaper of the Lost Creature - Spirit {Rare} Whenever a creature dies, if it received no damage this turn, you may exile it. ~ gets +1/+1 and has flanking for each creature in exile. The souls of the fallen must not go to Waste. 3/3
The major theme of this set is the Exiled zone, and interactions therewith (see, I sound smart!) Anyway, a number of cards will receive bonuses for having specific types of cards in exile, while a very select few will even be able to bring them back. Two sub-themes of the set will be alternate costing for spells, which will tie in to the exile theme by being able to exile itself (like the guide) or other cards (thus the free spells to make nix useful) as well as non-damage death. This is an interesting one because it can be tied into flanking (getting enough flanking to outright kill with -1/-1s), the blind creeper can kill itself that way, triggering positive effects, and also kill spells. The Gloom Surgeon and its elk will help with the exile theme, as will (perhaps) a cycle of spirit guides.
"Oh, no," Chainer said dramatically. "Angels and justicars! The Order has come for me! Whatever shall I do?" He focused on the Mirari back in his chamber, concentrated, and every door in the huge arena slammed shut and melted into the wall around it. His eyes were long gone, and his voice boomed out louder than the announcer's. "Come one, come all. The Mirari awaits. Who is strong enough to take it from me?" - excerpt from Chainer's Torment, by Scott McGough
What happened to Elite Inquisitor? I guess this means I have to scrap any DFC ideas?
Riscer, Arch-Necromancer Legendary Creature - Zombie Wizard [MR] You may play cards from any player's graveyard as though they were in your hand. Cards that would be put in a graveyard from anywhere are exiled instead as long as Riscer, Arch-Necromancer is on the battlefield. Dying is a gift for the living, and also the living's gift to Riscer. 4/4
This seems to be a set open to graveyard interaction as a theme. I designed Riscer not only to allow play in one's own graveyard, but incorporate control over an opponent's graveyard. I think Riscer offers either nice synergy or hate with the chosen cards. Also, I brought in blind creeper for some zombie synergy, along with making your opponent not want to cast spells that could end up in exile or under the control of the lich.
so I decided I'd look at each of the 10 cards and discuss a little bit what it implied about the set, both from a flavorful and mechanical perspective, then try to piece together the most coherent options I can.
also of note: flavor text and art can change, so the only thing that really restricts flavor is the name and any subtypes. however, due to the nature of futureshifting, bonded fetch and nix need to basically remain within the same concept. anyway here we go:
bonded fetch : mechanically, this doesn't imply a whole lot. it's a fairly basic looter variant. the defender/haste thing could however be some sort of mechanical subtheme in a set about activated abilities. flavorfully, though, like I said, it's fairly restrictive. it lays out a world where mages study the infinite, and construct arcane beings to comb their minds. I could certainly work with that, but it does box me in a bit.
goatnapper : this does not seem like a good reprint. outside of changeling, it demands your set be heavily goat-dominated. which is bizarre. and, beyond that, it demands that those goats be non-anthropic, because the flavor is pretty iffy in a world of intelligent Caprinae. although I could have an intelligent race and an unitelligent subspecies, flavoring it as kidnapping the latter but allowing it mechanically to interact with the former. could work.
gloom surgeon : this might actually be at home in my old Alexandris block, if you set aside the name. mechanically, he feels like he wants to be in a library block, although I found out the hard way that library blocks are VERY hard to make. outside of that, there's not much mechanical indication, and I'm not a huge fan of arbitrary reprints that have no real connection with the set they're in. not a huge fan of this one.
Nix : this is great. it implies a world of alternate costs, which are a passion of mine. the flavor implies some heretical presence, which is nice. I could definitely see this working out. maybe the goat-people have mastered spellcasting without mana? who knows?
Blind Creeper : I feel like putting this in a block that encourages spellcasting like the one Nix indicates is a little cruel, since it's already bad on its own. I might do it, but it seems mean.
Elgaud Inquisitor : the name requires me to return to Innistrad to reprint it. with the restrictions placed by the other cards, I don't see that as a possibility. sorry, bro.
Elvish Spirit Guide : my "cast lots of spells" block is comming together nicely. this card is another in line with Nix and Fetch that encourages a lot of spells. the flavor is fairly easily workable.
pitchstone wall : depending on the mechanics I go with, this could fit as well. it makes me use discard, which I'm not a huge fan of when I'm encouraging a lot of casting, but it could work.
Cavalry Master : flanking does nothing. if he's reprinted it's just for flavor. while I'm okay with that, he doesn't excite me.
revive : again implies discard as a theme, but doesn't smack you over the head with it so I don't need to listen, flavorfully, completely open.
so if I go for a world run by intelligent goat-people who raise regular goats and who love alternate costs, the cards I can use are Bonded Fetch, Goatnapper, Nix, Spirit Guide, and Revive. I'll go with that. let's look into the flavor first.
the Caprinae are no ordinary anthropomorphic race. they did not evolve to be what they are. they were mere goats before a duel between planeswalkers ripped a hole in the fabric of Arracor, leaving a window into the Blind Eternities. a goatherd's flock wandered by the hole and, as they gazed into the infinite dark, infinity gazed back into them. many died died, while a few found themselves suddenly awakened to the mysteries of the universe. they found their bodies transformed, more into the forms of the perfect beings they had seen flitting through the unknown. they now stood on two legs, towering over their former kin. desperate to share this awakening with others, they dragged many of their fellow goats to the tear, lamenting as many died before they could realize their gifts. in time, they learned that only the strongest of minds could handle the knowledge that was being imparted. they brought together their kind, protecting the tear zealously from outsiders, while raising their comrades to be able to absorb the knowledge. when they found one with potential, they would bring them to the hole in the shining citadel of Gennevi, let them stare into infinity, and hopefully have a new-born Caprinate. they are vastly protective of their docile kin, guarding them from goblin poachers and elvish hunters. in time, they learned to construct homunculi, creating small ones to help them in their studies of the infinities revealed, and large ones to protect their flocks. the Caprinae are a chiefly blue race, secondary in green and tertiary in white.
mechanically, The Siege of Gennevi is about playing spells. it doesn't care what spells you play, just keep playing them. it'd be the perfect block for storm if storm wasn't pretty near inherently broken. if I were making the block for real I might take a stab at balancing storm, but after what happened the last two times I don't know that that's a good idea. but anyway, Arracor is all about spells. as such, it also has to be about card draw, because spells don't come from nowhere. it's also about alternate costs. ways to play spells that don't take mana, so you can play more spells. one way to do that is featured on our preview card:
Gor-Alek, Caprinate Eversage- Creature-Goat Wizard (M) At the beginning of each end step, draw a card for each spell you played this turn. Fathom 6 (you may cast this card without paying its mana cost if you've cast 6 or more spells this turn.) "The homunculi have found something. Assemble the council, there is much to be done." 4/4
a few quick design notes: while, like I said, this block is about playing spells, playing 6 in one turn will still be hard. Gor-Alek obviously wins the game if you resolve it off Fathom (drawing 7 cards tends to do that) but the set will be balanced so that that will not be easy to do without investing at least a par amount of mana. also, fathom will not exist in numbers less than 2, requiring some amount of commitment while still allowing exciting fathom chains.
Unity Harvesters - Creature - Homunculus You may exile a creature you control rather than pay ~'s mana cost. When ~ enters the battlefield, gain control of target creature and pair it with ~. Exile ~ and that creature when they are no longer paired. "With blood on the hands, all will be one once more." -Carnith Seer 2/2
All of the reigning races have seen the apocalypse, but only the undergrowth has seen its end. With the devils freed from their demon lords' clutches and phoenixes reborn with only vengence, each race, willing or not, must vie for survival and control. Thriving saprolings against the desparate nomads against the roiling earth... all must endure The Siege of Genevi.
Unity Harvesters highlights the one of the most illusives race living on Genevi (the homonculi), one of the returning keywords (soulbond), and the vain efforts to restore order to this bedlam world.
The homonculi, with no one to guide them, are left to their own devices. They act on impulse and often strive for purposes unknown. No cost is too great. No effort too large. Though their frames are feeble, few venture to demand reason or secrets from the homonculus hive.
Soulbond is back and it's better than ever. Avacyn Restored introduced soulbond, but The Siege of Genevi has perfected it. Bland bonuses are repalced by dynamic interactions that are easy to pick up by a novice, but able to be truly explored by a master.
All of the "inspirations" should be fairly obvious except for Revive. Revive serves as a perfect example of what enemy colors truly are. The homunculi are like the "worst" of today's humans. Recycling is a foreign concept. Everything is either used, exhausted, and/or thrown away. In sharp contrast, the saprolings are nothing but a writhing compost heap.
Note that this concept is an extension of one that I have been toying with for a while. One that was most explored in Flopfoot's contest, but is largely still a fledgling open for development.
Genevi is a living land with a mind and agenda seemingly of its own. The strongest broke in its wind and the rest are struggling to bend
The Carnith are a band of nomads. The last remaining humans and a smattering of civilized beings search for a land to rebuild upon.
The homonculi are a hive of impulse. Raised in custody, they have never had a mind of their own. They do as they see fit, and nothing more.
The devils, without their demon masters, strive for nothing more than ascendancy. Eons of being ruled has left them with a lust for comeuppance.
The pheonixes have inherently survived and are infernos of chaos. All burn in their flights of unrest.
Saprolings have emerged from the ashes and seek to expand their borders. Their growth is unparalleled in this fertile, if volatile, earth.
