The Gauntlet - Contest of Champions

[Roo]

Welcome one and all!

This is the final round of The Gauntlet to decide the Gauntlet champion of 2006.

Contestants:

- Forgotten One
- Thonan
- RobertHMayFire
- Fireball's Wake
- The Equalizers

Judges:

- Weedmonkey
- Winkle (TheVoid)
- jozan_destroyer

Rules:

- Instead of the usual one theme for the round, there are five chalenges to complete. There will be a longer period of time to complete them to reflect this.

- Once everyone has submitted their entries, judging will be external. This means that contestants do not post judging, or scores during judging as normal.

- Scores for judging will be slightly different, but the judges have already been informed of how it works. Judges will be looking for:

- How well the cards suit the challenge
- The infamous X-Factor
- How well the five cards submitted synergise (how the five cards link together (is there a theme for example), work together, would they clash if they were in the same deck, etc.)

- The winner will be the person with the highest overall score

Now you know how it works, here we go!

Challenge #1:

Design a card that would fit into the following deck:

RGw Aggro
Creatures: 4x Birds of Paradise 4x Granger Guildmage 4x Horned Kavu 3x Yavimaya Elder 3x Radiant Kavu 3x Voracious Cobra 2x Yavimaya Kavu Spells: 4x Fertile Ground 4x Symbiosis 4x Shock 3x Vitalizing Cascade	Lands: 4x Savannah 4x Taiga 4x Plateau 4x Gemstone Mine 4x Forest 2x Mountain

Challenge #2:

This is fairly open, but the card must adhere to the following restrictions:

- The name of the card is 'Nostalgia'
- There can be no more than 120 characters on the card in total
- There must be at least one static ability on the card
- It cannot be a land, or an Aura

Challenge #3:

Note: This will not be able to be completed immediately

Make a card of the one of the two finalists at Worlds 2006:

- It must be an artifact creature
- It cannot cost or less

Challenge #4:

Make a card that contains the following mechanic:

Rally [MANA COST] (If you have 15 or less cards in your library, you may pay [MANA COST] instead of this card's mana cost)

Challenge #5:

Make a card to suit the following flavor text:

His eyes had seen pain unmeasurable by the living. His hands had been dirtied with blood of infinite dead. Yet he believes he can redeem himself. That alone is reason to hope.

- It cannot be an artifact
- It must have at least two abilities
- It cannot contain less than twenty words

Good luck to all the contestants. Deadline for all five submissions is 18th December 2006.

[Godsbreath]

Hey, is the gauntlet finished for this year completely ?

EDIT: I didnt notice its december already Why do I always feel as though it is april?

[Thonan]

I like how the contest is modeled after the Great Designer Search. I do have a question about the design criteria, though.

Originally Posted by Weedmonkey

- How well the three cards submitted synergise.

What does that mean? Is that a typo? Are we only supposed to submit three? Are the cards supposed to work together or do you mean how well the mechanics on each card seem like they belong on the same card?

[Roo]

Thonan: That was a typo I also edited into the first post to better explain what is being looked at synergy-wise.

Also, there is one week remaining to post final submissions. Get to it!

[jozan_destroyer]

4 days left guys....

[Thonan]

My cards were intended to have a slight graveyard theme to them, although they all refer to it in slightly different ways.

Challenge #1
Fury of the Earth
Instant
As an additional cost to play Fury of the Earth, sacrifice a land.
Fury of the Earth deals 3 damage to target creature or player. If a Forest was sacrificed to play Fury of the Earth, put a 3/3 green Elemental creature token into play.

It's a burn spell, it's a creature, it goes into a red/green deck, and it puts cards in your graveyard.

Challenge #2
Nostalgia
Creature- Incarnation
, Sacrifice Nostalgia: Return target land card from your graveyard to play.
At the beginning of your upkeep, if Nostalgia is in your graveyard, you may pay . If you do, return Nostalgia and target card in your graveyard to your hand.
3/2

The first thing I thought when I heard the name was "Incarnation." That's mostly where this graveyard theme came from.

Challenge #3
Makahitovus
Artifact Creature- Construct
Makahitovus comes into play with three +1/+1 counters on it.
, Remove a +1/+1 counter from Makahitovus: Add to your mana pool.
, T: Remove X cards in your graveyard from the game: Put X +1/+1 counters on Makahitovus.
1/1

I'm not really sure I understood this challenge, but I made a combo engine based on Makahito Mihara's Dragonstorm deck. All the +1/+1 counters turn into Rite of Flame.

Challenge #4
Sap Life
Sorcery
Rally (If you have fifteen or less cards in your library, you may pay instead of this card's mana cost.)
Target opponent loses 2+X life and you gain 2+X life.

This doesn't play into the graveyard theme as much, although the keyword would benefit from an environment with a lot of library self-destruction. I didn't know what to do with the keyword at first, since you would generally only need a reduced mana cost this late in the game is if you are really losing badly or if you've been destroying your own library. So I decided to make at an X spell where you could only pay with the alternate cost, which should serve you quite well in the late game.

Challenge 5
Reluctant Reaper
Creature- Spirit Assassin Spellshaper
: Destroy target tapped creature.
:sym2:, , Discard a card: Return target creature card from a graveyard to play under target player's control.
His eyes had seen pain unmeasurable by the living. His hands had been dirtied with blood of infinite dead. Yet he believes he can redeem himself. That alone is reason to hope.
2/2

More graveyard stuff! This is my favorite of the bunch. I liked the idea of a creature that could kill creatures and then bring them back. Plus, it throws more reanimation targets into your graveyard and lets you do something crazy like put a Leveler into play under your opponent's control. However, I must point out that cards with 20+ words of rules text tend not to have 30+ words of flavor text.

[The Equalizer]

Challenge #1
Soulbound Mana 1GG
Enchantment
Whenever a creature becomes tapped, that creature's controller adds 1 to his or her mana pool.

Basicly allows you to use most of these quick fast creatures to help out your mana pool, but by being symetrical and adding colorless mana rather than colored, I believe it is not broken.

Challenge #2
Nostalgia 1U
Sorcery
Return all instants and sorcerys put into the graveyard this turn to their owners hands.

Short, simple, and flavorful, in my opinion. It does something that is very close to whats been done before while still breaking new ground. Also its inspired by Hurkyl's Recall, which is one of my alltime fav cards.

Challenge #3
Miharian Engine 7
Artifact Creature- Dragon Engine
Flying
1, put a card from your graveyard on the bottom of your library: Miharian Engine gets +1/+0 until end of turn.
4/4

Like RobertHMayfire, I really don't keep up with Worlds. But I figure a Dragon that can return its fallen comrades to be returned by Dragonstorm would be cool.

Challenge #4
Lebre Legionare 2WW
Creature- Human Soldier
Vigilance
Rally WW (If you have 15 or less cards in your library, you may pay WW instead of this card's mana cost)
3/3

Flavorwise, I can't think of any creature type that would rally as resources dwindle more than soldiers. Its a okay card without the rally and with it, it becomes a powerful white weenie.


Challenge #5
Blood Oath WR
Enchantment- Aura
Enchant Creature
Whenever Enchanted Creature deals combat damage, put a +1/+1 counter on it.
Whenever Enchanted Creature would be put into the graveyard from play, return that creature to play under it's owners control.
His eyes had seen pain unmeasurable by the living. His hands had been dirtied with blood of infinite dead. Yet he believes he can redeem himself. That alone is reason to hope.

I decided to go in a less obvious direction and try making a non-creature card. I think it came out very good, although with the flavor text it is a little wordy

[RobertHMayfire]

Challenge #1
Crux Poppyseed
Creature - Treefolk

Put a +1/+1 counter on Crux Poppyseed.
Sacrifice Crux Poppyseed: Deal X damage to all creatures and players for each +1/+1 counter on Crux Poppyseed.

2/2
Basicly a creature that can be beefy or be a walking Hurricane.

Challenge #2
Nostalgia

Return a card in your graveyard, other than Nostalgia, to your hand.
If Nostalgia is in your graveyard you may pay to search your deck for another Nostalgia card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Shuffle your deck afterward.
I just went for what I felt the definition of the word should be in magic

Challenge #3
Ogura ex Machina
Artifact Creature - Golem Avatar

Flying, vigilance.
When Ogura ex Machina comes into play lose 10 life minus 1 for each creature you control.

12/12
I don't keep up with the World Tourneys

Challenge #4
Goblin Stompingspree
Instant

Each attacking goblin gets +1/+1 for each goblin that is blocked this turn until end of turn.
Rally (If you have 15 or less cards in your library, you may pay instead of this card's mana cost)
Alternative name: December 24th before the store closes

Challenge #5
Fallen Yojimbo
Creature - Vampire Samurai

Whenever a creature dealt damage by Fallen Yojimbo this turn is put into a graveyard, put a +1/+1 counter on Fallen Yojimbo.
Discard X cards from your hand: Fallen Yojimbo gets Bushido X.

2/4

His eyes had seen pain unmeasurable by the living. His hands had been dirtied with blood of infinite dead. Yet he believes he can redeem himself. That alone is reason to hope.

Text seem a bit vampirey.

[Juggler]

GG and GL to all competitors.

To RobertHMayfire:

Originally Posted by RobertHMayfire

Challenge #1
Each attacking goblin gets +1/+1 and for each goblin that is blocked until end of turn.

I think you forgot something after that "and", I guess another +1/+1 effect?

[jozan_destroyer]

This is the last day guys... get your stuff in.

[RobertHMayfire]

Originally Posted by Juggler

GG and GL to all competitors.

To RobertHMayfire:



I think you forgot something after that "and", I guess another +1/+1 effect?

Nah. I removed a ablility from the final draft of my entry and somehow didn't remove "and".

[Fireball's Wake]

Challenge 1

Prismatic Envoy
Creature – Dryad
Forestwalk
Whenever you play a multicolor creature spell, you may search your library for a creature card that shares at least two colors with the card played and reveal it. Then shuffle your library and put the revealed card on top.
3/2

Challenge 2

Sneak Commander
Creature – Goblin Tactician
Creature cards in your hand have Flash.
Creatures you control have Haste.
2/2

Challenge 3

Miharan Summoner
Creature – Golem
: Search your library for a creature card and put it into play. Use this ability only if you searched your library this turn.
3/3

Challenge 4

Standing Shocker
Creature – Beast
Rally (If you have 15 or less cards in your library, you may pay instead of this card's mana cost)
Search your library for four cards and remove them from the game: ~ deals 1 damage to target creature or player.
3/4

Challenge 5

Redemption
Creature – Incarnation
, Sacrifice ~: Return target creature from your graveyard to play.
If Redemption is in your graveyard and you control a plains, creatures you control have “Sacrifice this creature: Prevent the next 3 damage that would be dealt to target creature this turn.”
2/5

[Forgotten One]

I am also posting mine. It'll take me a few minutes to type it all in.

[Forgotten One]

Challenge #1:
Lucid Chamleon
Creature - Lizard
Whenever you play a non-basic land, put a +1/+1 counter on Lucid Chameleon.
Whenever you play a multicolored spell, Lucid Chameleon cannot be the target of spells or effects until end of turn.
2/1
It not only blended into it's surroundings, but the surroundings blended into it.

I'll have to admit that I had trouble with this one. The deck didn't really have a theme or any inherent synergy with which to build a card specific to it, so I thought I'd play a little bit on it's multi-color theme. This card definitely gives you incentive to play all those duals lands and gold spells while maintaining the aggro feel of the deck.


Challenge #2:
Nostalgia
Instant
As an additional cost to play Nostalgia, sacrifice a creature you control.
Return target creature card in your graveyard with a converted mana cost less than or equal to the sacrificed creature's converted mana cost to play.
Buyback
He longed so much for the past that he soon became a part of it.

As part of the flavor text fiasco game, I actually already designed a card named Nostalgia here, so this actually became even harder since I didn't want to repeat myself. Trying to stick with a multi-color/non-basic theme was difficult, so I figured I'd focus on making a strong, cheap card worth playing in lots of different decks.

Challenge #3:
Mihara, Dragon Guide
Legendary Artifact Creature - Nomad Dragon
Flying, Haste
Mihara, Dragon Guide gets +2/+2 for each other dragon in play.
3/3
Being around dragons all his life, Mihara earned their trust by leading them in battle. In turn, they took him in as one of their own.

Not really knowing anything about either world's finalist, I decided that I'd make Mihara into a dragon to help with Dragonstorm (not that it needs much help, but that's not the point). Anyway, at 6 or more mana, I decided to play up the timmy side a little bit and encourage a dragon themed deck.


Challenge #4:
Cultivate
Sorcery
Put two target cards in a single graveyard on top of their Owner's library.
Flashback - Remove all cards in your library from the game.
Rally

Without any context, it's hard to know what to do with Rally. It has synergy with mechanics like Dredge, some effect that mills both players, or as a potential late game card in limited. As such, I decided to look towards greens recursive theme a little bit. This card makes for good disruption, as well as has some weird combo interactions and it's good for getting back your bombs in limited.

Challenge #5:

Markros, the Damned
Legendary Creature - Vampire Demon
Flying
At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice a permanent.
If you control no other permanents other than Markros, the Damned, flip it.
4/4
/////////FLIP///////////
Markros, the Redeemed
Legendary Creature - Angel Spirit
Flying, Protection from Black
Markros, the Redeemed is White
At the beginning of your upkeep, put target artifact, creature, land or enchantment card into play from your graveyard .
4/4

His eyes had seen pain unmeasurable by the living. His hands had been dirtied with blood of infinite dead. Yet he believes he can redeem himself. That alone is reason to hope.

The idea here is that he is damned to evil until he can do evil no more, at which point he is redeemed and can undo his evil. He is inherently hard to flip on his own (and it was designed that way because his flipped side is very good), so I envision this being used in conjunction with Upheaval or temporary RFG effects in order to flip Mr. Rosewater Markros.

[Roo]

Okay now that everyone's got their submissions in, for the final time this year, the round is closed for submission and open for judging.

Judges, make sure you follow your rules. You can post comments, but no scores, and try to send scores to me before the new year

Notice: The new season of The Gauntlet will begin Friday, January 5th 2007.