Bonus (4/5): The art is fits somewhat, but it is ripped straight out of FF9. And it looks kind of squished.
Balance (5/10): It just seems too weak. At best, it's a 6 mana wrath, that makes you discard your hand and you can't control any creatures. It really doesn't do enough for the cost. I really don't think it should shuffle itself back in if you attack, at least that way you get something useful.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (6/10): The flavour is amazing. I remember when Alexander came out of nowhere and destroyed everyone, and you card does just that. It's also fairly creative, even though the way it's worded currently doesn't actually work. You should need to reveal it, I think. The card is confusing because it allows you to search your library/shuffle regardless of whether you have the card in your deck. You can just say you're using Alexander and then fail to find him.
Total (15/25)
Bonus (5/5): Beautiful.
Balance (9/10): This card is amazing. It's a potentially cheap creature with a strange way of casting, but there's no super cheap ways to create her so she's easily balanced. The only qualm I have is that, if she's green/white it should be mandatory to be using those colours in some way or another.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (9/10): I love the flavour, and she's so incredibly unique and I must admit, I'd try and break the card so much. Everything fits well except one thing. The name kind of gives off the impression of a blue creature.
Total (23/25)
Bonus (5/5): I like.
Balance (6/10): I don't think this card is that balanced at all. It is better than the bauble's because you get the card right away. Sure it costs you one life, but that means nothing when you get to shuffle for Sensei's Divining Top and Brainstorm. I would include 4 of these in pretty much EVERY deck I made ever, simply because it truly makes you running a 56 card deck. Not to mention obvious goodies with Astral Slide and Lightning Rift.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (9/10): I like the card. It does have flavour even though it is potentially too strong, and all of the wording is 100%. I'm not sure it's that unique though. To me it just feels like a cross between thebaubles and the [card=Polluted Delta]fetches.
Total (20/25)
Bonus (5/5): Nice Art.
Balance (9/10): This card is well balanced. It is powerful enough to impact the board but not good enough to utterly dominate anything. I really would love this card in limited, or with Wraths.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (8/10): I can see a few things that bug me about the card. Firstly, it should have haunt, otherwise "haunting target creature" doesn't really make sense. Secondly, the card is cast from guildmana so I, personally, think it should have the same fade one colour to another border. Other than that, really well done.
Total (22/25)
Bonus (5/5): Nice.
Balance (8/10): I'm not sure f this card is balanced well or not. Basically, it's "all coloured spells cost C less to play" and it costs 0. This is because, since it's a mana ability, you can anounce the spell then use this targeting the same spell to pay for itself. So it's like a free land.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (7/10): I think this card is very creative and well done, but I'm not sure it works the way you intended. I think you meant for it to add mana for abilities or for the NEXT spell you would play? If so, it should be play this ability only any time you could play an instant. My only other problem is that, since it's green, you should need a forest or something to give it that green identity. Also, it should have a type.. it seems like you skipped giving it a type only to avoid losing the "not an instant point".
Total (20/25)
Bonus (5/5): Nice
Balance (7/10): This card is a bit powerful. In limited it would just be nuts, but even in type 2. A 2 mana 4/4 is a bit powerful. If they let you have birds instead, you'll win through massive card advantage. I think at the very least, it needs a "play this ability only once each turn" clause.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (8/10): The card is quite creative and I like it. The option is very white, and it's worded flawlessly. However, it isn't really that creative. It just seems to be a much more powerful version of Pride of Clouds.
Total (20/25)
Bonus (4/5): Not a fan of animeish art unless it's really good.
Balance (8/10): I'm on the fence about being too weak or too strong. If you have decent discard outlets than the card is a powerhouse. If your deck is mostly creatures, then the "directly above it" clause doesn't mean all that much.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (8/10): This card is very creative, and the wording is well done, however the flavour is kind of random. Why does it remove all creatures that would be below it? They don't effect it in any way barring some kind of mass mill, and even then not that much. Also, if it's some kind of seal, that should be shown, not a random anime girl who doesn't have the power to put anyone into, nor prevent them from escaping, that coffin.
Total (20/25)
Bonus (5/5): Okay.
Balance (9/10): Really really good. It's powerful enough to possibly see play, but not overly good as it's just a conditional 3/3 for 3.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (4/10): The card is okay, and the quality is there, but it is not much of anything else. It's a ninja without a damage trigger. It's incredibly generic. It's also a Tengu, which in your link says is some kind of kami, and the kami are spirits, so why isn't it a spirit?
Total (18/25)
Bonus (0/5): Is blue, is an instant AND has no render
Balance (5/10): The balance of this card, hangs in mediocrity right now, we don't know what cards this will effect. It possible this card could be either broken or useless. So unless you have a full TS spoiler (and if you do, pm it to me I'll give you 26/25) it just doesn't cut it.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (5/10): Again, right in the middle, as I have no idea. I do know however that the flavour text is awful, Teferi loves waiting. He phased out Shiv for so many years.
Total (10/25)
Bonus (5/5): Okay
Balance (10/10): This card is really well balanced. It gives red a nice boost against life gain/damage prevention without being overpowered in the slightest. It is a sideboard card at best, but that seems to be what it was designed for, so kudos.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (7/10): It is missing an "of" which you should have caught and it also is, again, one of those cards that should have some reason why it is red. You need to have a mountain or something, otherwise it's at it's best in a Circle of Protection deck which makes it.. odd.
Total (22/25)
Bonus (4/5): Art is pretty generic.
Balance (8/10): This card generally will do one of two things, either craft the perfect hand in some combo deck, or do absolutely nothing. So it is potentially good, but I don't really see it seeing much play except in combo decks that want to go off turn one.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (7/10): The wording is well-done and the card is pretty well designed. However I don't like cards that don't do anything, and if you draw this after your opening hand (or don't have a swamp) it does nothing. Also it does seem like a wierd Serum Powder variant so it's not that unique.
Total (19/25)
also i've changed the md a little bit, replacing 2 Opt with 2 Words of Wisdom
Why, oh why would you do that
The deck needs to hit it's land drops and having 8 one-drop dig spells that offer selection is important.
Words is a good card, but ONLY as a win condition, which if you are going off, you should be able to wish for.
Using it as a draw spell is not that great.
That is probably because up untill her laptop broke and the MTGeditor site went down , she used it
I had to convince her MSE2 was just plain better
I'm still not wholly convinced
I'm too used to mtgeditor, and I like it. I don't feel points should be taken off unless the render looks absolutely horrible. MTGEditor might not have the sleekest looking renders, but they are decent.
As a sidenote: WotC sent a Cease and Desist letter to the MTGEditor site and now they had to take down the program
Oh darnit, you're right... Hmm...So, how does that actually change things? Except make it simpler..? Or are you just talking about the first turn?
Well firstly, it clears up the wording so that it isn't very awkward. Secondly, it makes it so that at the beginning of your upkeep it will destroy your opponents untapped lands, preventing him from countering or messing with your spells/permanents in some way (barring Shoals and such of course).
@ the corset business: I did actually make it (them, in fact) myself. I use a very basic pattern I made myself (using my own measurements, obviously) with 8 pannels (and 9 pieces of boning). I should mention though, that these are not full corsets, but underbust ones. They consist of one layer of tougher fabric (white or black cotton) that also has the boning channels & boning. The white one is lined with white satin, and on the black one i decided that the side with the boning was going to be the inside, with light blue & lace on the outside (basically it's lined with that and worn inside-out).
I could have guessed that it wasn't a good idea, but they just look so good I had to wear them.
Wow both of those sound very good looking. I especially like the sound of the one with the blue and lace. Sounds really nice.
I think the real lesson learned however is, do not attend parties that are "smokey". I'd be coughing all over the place, and have to leave, regardless of whether I was wearing a corset or not.
wow... didn't know that. that's weird. so if you announce your spell, but couldn't pay the costs, it's countered? Or are you forced to pay the costs if you ever declare a spell?
The game rewinds, the card goes back to your hand and any costs you tried to pay are returned to how they were.
rules clarification: don't you have to pay all costs for a spell before putting it on the stack? Raia, how does my card let you play the only card left in your hand? You could only add the mana after the spell is on the stack, right?
Actually no, you announce a spell, place it on the stack, then pay costs, so unless you have "play this ability only any time you could play an instant" ala Lion's Eye Diamond or Charmed Pendant you could use it to pay for the last card in your hand.
Bonus (5/5): I like
Balance (9/10): This very very balanced. The restriction makes it not too powerful, but it also doesn't just go into any deck. It's reminiscent of Lion's Eye Diamond only not as powerful. The only small flaw I can see is that it allows you to play the only card in your hand.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (7/10): I really love the flavour of this card. It's powerful, usable, and makes sense. The quality is perfect as well. My only issue is on creativity. It is simply a random mox variant and the thing that makes it different is just an LED variant.
Total (21/25)
Bonus (4/5): The art is very meh.
Balance (7/10): This card is rather on the weak side. Wishing for things into your library is never a powerful effect, especially since in any sanctioned event, you can only use your sideboard. Very few decks have THAT many shuffle effects, espcially in blue, and even if you did, I hardly think there would be more than 1 or 2 cards I would ever want to shuffle in.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (9/10): The flavour and creativity of this card is outstanding, it's unique, flavourful, and fits right into the colour pie. The only point I would take off is because of the wording which should be "would cause you to shuffle your library, do something else instead."
Total (20/25)
In a close matchup, the art became relevant and Scoob moves on.
Bonus (5/5): Yup, you did hit the art well
Balance (9/10): The card is very balanced. Barring some kind of huge hand, the life loss will be negligible, and leaving them with one card allows them to come back. It's like a slightly better Wit's End which was awful. The point off is because massive discard never feels right.. I know I'm ready to stab someone when a Persecute resolves.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (6/10): It seems to be a generic mass discard spell. Only the small tacked on life loss makes this any different from cards of the same nature, and the fact that you get to decide which cards they keep makes it annoying.
Total (20/25)
Bonus (5/5): Good
Balance (6/10): This card is perhaps a bit too strong I think. As an instant, you'll likely play it during your opponent's end step, drawing 3, and then discard one during your draw phase. That's just like a much better Inspiration. The only time this card would have a downside would be if you were playing against Howling Mines and instant speed targetted draw.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (10/10): Wow, I don't know what to say, the flavour is amazing, the effect is unique. It feels like Plagiarize but it is so different. The wording is all perfect, and I would LOVE to see the card printed.
Total (21/25)
nightshift moves on despite a valiant effort from AnTwan
Bonus (4/5): Okay but fonts are a little off center.
Balance (8/10): It's pretty well balanced. It does seem a little on the weak side unless you give your opponent some creature. Even then, it's only marginally better than Tidings. But it is correctly costed, as any less would be too good.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (7/10): The flavour is great, and the effect is certainly unique. However the quality is rather poor. The last line should be "whenever a creature dealt damage by ~ is put into a graveyard from play this turn, copy ~."
Total (19/25)
Bonus (5/5): Okay
Balance (8/10): It's pretty balanced, but it just doesn't seem powerful enough. Players will take a point of mana burn to keep their lands, and you will lose 4 lands, the upkeep after you cast it (less if you used elves).
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (5/10): It's rather out of flavour. Despite the normal flavour being interesting, mass land kill is red, or maybe white. The flavour of nature taking back the land only makes sense if the lands become normal forests or whatever again. Also the wierd wording is unneccessary. It only gains flavour by destroying each players lands on YOUR upkeep, as then it hoses blue like green should.
Total (18/25)
@Raia: I'll gladly post the decklists up after the tourney.
Sorry the matches are taking so long. I have been swamped with lab work this week, getting about 5 hours sleep a day for the week. I will play Isamaru when I see him next.
Also, a thought occured in my head. (run away in disbelief or look shocked in awe, I don't care) As we only have 16 people, should I do the top 4 only, or should it be top 8? Feedback is useful, as I hate making executive decisions.
Well top 4 is how it normally would be run, I think. Personally I'm all for top 8 that way I have a chance to make it still
Balance (5/10): It just seems too weak. At best, it's a 6 mana wrath, that makes you discard your hand and you can't control any creatures. It really doesn't do enough for the cost. I really don't think it should shuffle itself back in if you attack, at least that way you get something useful.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (6/10): The flavour is amazing. I remember when Alexander came out of nowhere and destroyed everyone, and you card does just that. It's also fairly creative, even though the way it's worded currently doesn't actually work. You should need to reveal it, I think. The card is confusing because it allows you to search your library/shuffle regardless of whether you have the card in your deck. You can just say you're using Alexander and then fail to find him.
Total (15/25)
Balance (9/10): This card is amazing. It's a potentially cheap creature with a strange way of casting, but there's no super cheap ways to create her so she's easily balanced. The only qualm I have is that, if she's green/white it should be mandatory to be using those colours in some way or another.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (9/10): I love the flavour, and she's so incredibly unique and I must admit, I'd try and break the card so much. Everything fits well except one thing. The name kind of gives off the impression of a blue creature.
Total (23/25)
Balance (6/10): I don't think this card is that balanced at all. It is better than the bauble's because you get the card right away. Sure it costs you one life, but that means nothing when you get to shuffle for Sensei's Divining Top and Brainstorm. I would include 4 of these in pretty much EVERY deck I made ever, simply because it truly makes you running a 56 card deck. Not to mention obvious goodies with Astral Slide and Lightning Rift.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (9/10): I like the card. It does have flavour even though it is potentially too strong, and all of the wording is 100%. I'm not sure it's that unique though. To me it just feels like a cross between the baubles and the [card=Polluted Delta]fetches.
Total (20/25)
Balance (9/10): This card is well balanced. It is powerful enough to impact the board but not good enough to utterly dominate anything. I really would love this card in limited, or with Wraths.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (8/10): I can see a few things that bug me about the card. Firstly, it should have haunt, otherwise "haunting target creature" doesn't really make sense. Secondly, the card is cast from guildmana so I, personally, think it should have the same fade one colour to another border. Other than that, really well done.
Total (22/25)
Balance (8/10): I'm not sure f this card is balanced well or not. Basically, it's "all coloured spells cost C less to play" and it costs 0. This is because, since it's a mana ability, you can anounce the spell then use this targeting the same spell to pay for itself. So it's like a free land.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (7/10): I think this card is very creative and well done, but I'm not sure it works the way you intended. I think you meant for it to add mana for abilities or for the NEXT spell you would play? If so, it should be play this ability only any time you could play an instant. My only other problem is that, since it's green, you should need a forest or something to give it that green identity. Also, it should have a type.. it seems like you skipped giving it a type only to avoid losing the "not an instant point".
Total (20/25)
Balance (7/10): This card is a bit powerful. In limited it would just be nuts, but even in type 2. A 2 mana 4/4 is a bit powerful. If they let you have birds instead, you'll win through massive card advantage. I think at the very least, it needs a "play this ability only once each turn" clause.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (8/10): The card is quite creative and I like it. The option is very white, and it's worded flawlessly. However, it isn't really that creative. It just seems to be a much more powerful version of Pride of Clouds.
Total (20/25)
Balance (8/10): I'm on the fence about being too weak or too strong. If you have decent discard outlets than the card is a powerhouse. If your deck is mostly creatures, then the "directly above it" clause doesn't mean all that much.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (8/10): This card is very creative, and the wording is well done, however the flavour is kind of random. Why does it remove all creatures that would be below it? They don't effect it in any way barring some kind of mass mill, and even then not that much. Also, if it's some kind of seal, that should be shown, not a random anime girl who doesn't have the power to put anyone into, nor prevent them from escaping, that coffin.
Total (20/25)
Balance (9/10): Really really good. It's powerful enough to possibly see play, but not overly good as it's just a conditional 3/3 for 3.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (4/10): The card is okay, and the quality is there, but it is not much of anything else. It's a ninja without a damage trigger. It's incredibly generic. It's also a Tengu, which in your link says is some kind of kami, and the kami are spirits, so why isn't it a spirit?
Total (18/25)
Balance (5/10): The balance of this card, hangs in mediocrity right now, we don't know what cards this will effect. It possible this card could be either broken or useless. So unless you have a full TS spoiler (and if you do, pm it to me
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (5/10): Again, right in the middle, as I have no idea. I do know however that the flavour text is awful, Teferi loves waiting. He phased out Shiv for so many years.
Total (10/25)
Balance (10/10): This card is really well balanced. It gives red a nice boost against life gain/damage prevention without being overpowered in the slightest. It is a sideboard card at best, but that seems to be what it was designed for, so kudos.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (7/10): It is missing an "of" which you should have caught and it also is, again, one of those cards that should have some reason why it is red. You need to have a mountain or something, otherwise it's at it's best in a Circle of Protection deck which makes it.. odd.
Total (22/25)
Balance (8/10): This card generally will do one of two things, either craft the perfect hand in some combo deck, or do absolutely nothing. So it is potentially good, but I don't really see it seeing much play except in combo decks that want to go off turn one.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (7/10): The wording is well-done and the card is pretty well designed. However I don't like cards that don't do anything, and if you draw this after your opening hand (or don't have a swamp) it does nothing. Also it does seem like a wierd Serum Powder variant so it's not that unique.
Total (19/25)
Why, oh why would you do that
The deck needs to hit it's land drops and having 8 one-drop dig spells that offer selection is important.
Words is a good card, but ONLY as a win condition, which if you are going off, you should be able to wish for.
Using it as a draw spell is not that great.
I'm still not wholly convinced
I'm too used to mtgeditor, and I like it. I don't feel points should be taken off unless the render looks absolutely horrible. MTGEditor might not have the sleekest looking renders, but they are decent.
As a sidenote: WotC sent a Cease and Desist letter to the MTGEditor site and now they had to take down the program
Well firstly, it clears up the wording so that it isn't very awkward. Secondly, it makes it so that at the beginning of your upkeep it will destroy your opponents untapped lands, preventing him from countering or messing with your spells/permanents in some way (barring Shoals and such of course).
Wow both of those sound very good looking. I especially like the sound of the one with the blue and lace. Sounds really nice.
I think the real lesson learned however is, do not attend parties that are "smokey". I'd be coughing all over the place, and have to leave, regardless of whether I was wearing a corset or not.
Like Angel of Despair or Flametongue Kavu
The game rewinds, the card goes back to your hand and any costs you tried to pay are returned to how they were.
Actually no, you announce a spell, place it on the stack, then pay costs, so unless you have "play this ability only any time you could play an instant" ala Lion's Eye Diamond or Charmed Pendant you could use it to pay for the last card in your hand.
Balance (9/10): This very very balanced. The restriction makes it not too powerful, but it also doesn't just go into any deck. It's reminiscent of Lion's Eye Diamond only not as powerful. The only small flaw I can see is that it allows you to play the only card in your hand.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (7/10): I really love the flavour of this card. It's powerful, usable, and makes sense. The quality is perfect as well. My only issue is on creativity. It is simply a random mox variant and the thing that makes it different is just an LED variant.
Total (21/25)
Balance (7/10): This card is rather on the weak side. Wishing for things into your library is never a powerful effect, especially since in any sanctioned event, you can only use your sideboard. Very few decks have THAT many shuffle effects, espcially in blue, and even if you did, I hardly think there would be more than 1 or 2 cards I would ever want to shuffle in.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (9/10): The flavour and creativity of this card is outstanding, it's unique, flavourful, and fits right into the colour pie. The only point I would take off is because of the wording which should be "would cause you to shuffle your library, do something else instead."
Total (20/25)
Balance (9/10): The card is very balanced. Barring some kind of huge hand, the life loss will be negligible, and leaving them with one card allows them to come back. It's like a slightly better Wit's End which was awful. The point off is because massive discard never feels right.. I know I'm ready to stab someone when a Persecute resolves.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (6/10): It seems to be a generic mass discard spell. Only the small tacked on life loss makes this any different from cards of the same nature, and the fact that you get to decide which cards they keep makes it annoying.
Total (20/25)
Balance (6/10): This card is perhaps a bit too strong I think. As an instant, you'll likely play it during your opponent's end step, drawing 3, and then discard one during your draw phase. That's just like a much better Inspiration. The only time this card would have a downside would be if you were playing against Howling Mines and instant speed targetted draw.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (10/10): Wow, I don't know what to say, the flavour is amazing, the effect is unique. It feels like Plagiarize but it is so different. The wording is all perfect, and I would LOVE to see the card printed.
Total (21/25)
Balance (8/10): It's pretty well balanced. It does seem a little on the weak side unless you give your opponent some creature. Even then, it's only marginally better than Tidings. But it is correctly costed, as any less would be too good.
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (7/10): The flavour is great, and the effect is certainly unique. However the quality is rather poor. The last line should be "whenever a creature dealt damage by ~ is put into a graveyard from play this turn, copy ~."
Total (19/25)
Balance (8/10): It's pretty balanced, but it just doesn't seem powerful enough. Players will take a point of mana burn to keep their lands, and you will lose 4 lands, the upkeep after you cast it (less if you used elves).
Flavor/Creativity/Quality (5/10): It's rather out of flavour. Despite the normal flavour being interesting, mass land kill is red, or maybe white. The flavour of nature taking back the land only makes sense if the lands become normal forests or whatever again. Also the wierd wording is unneccessary. It only gains flavour by destroying each players lands on YOUR upkeep, as then it hoses blue like green should.
Total (18/25)
Nightshift
Yavimaya
Well top 4 is how it normally would be run, I think. Personally I'm all for top 8