Card Design Contest: December

[eudaimonia]

Update 1: Added clarification to prompt restrictions.

Introduction

Hello everyone, and welcome to December’s Card Design Contest! As always, we have a brand new design prompt, so be sure to give it a read (along with the General Rules).

If you have any questions/concerns, then please feel free to contact any of the jury members (or discuss via the Discussion Hub).

Lastly, the contest schedule is as follows:

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• Submission Deadline: 12/16 at 11:59pm (CST)
• Jury Evaluations: 12/17 - 12/20
• Community Voting: 12/21 - 12/28 at 11:59pm (CST)
• Next Card Design Contest: 1/1

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December's Prompt: "Mosaicism"

##Design a faction card that integrates a unique ability from a different faction.

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• For convenience, these are the faction-unique abilities: Zeal, Backstab, Blast, Deathwatch, Grow, and Infiltrate.
• Rebirth and Summon Dervish are not allowed. Their inclusion would stagger faction representation, and would make less sense given their dependence on in-faction synergy.
• Neutral cards are not allowed.
• You may include other abilities as well (e.g. Airdrop, Ranged, Dying Wish), though be careful and avoid ‘bloating’ the design.

• Bonus points if your design still feels authentic in its faction (even though it has an ability from a different faction).

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General Rules (click on any of these to read more)

All participants are allowed ONE contest submission per month.

• Of course, you may edit said submission as many times as you see fit.
• If your submission contains more than one design, then you will be disqualified (unless you explicitly state which design is your “final draft”).
• Abuse of additional accounts to make multiple submissions will result in disqualification from the current contest and all future contests.

All contest submissions must follow the current month's prompt.

• If you have any questions/concerns regarding the prompt, then please feel free to contact any of the jury members or discuss via the Discussion Hub.

All contest submissions must follow this basic template.

Name
Faction + Type
Cost + (Stats)
Card text.

OR

Name / Faction + Type / Cost / (Stats)
Card text.

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Therefore, a sample (designed by @phayze) would look like this:

Mindspike Mantle
Magmar Artifact
3 Mana
Whenever your opponent draws a card, deal 2 damage to the enemy General.

OR

Mindspike Mantle / Magmar Artifact / 3 Mana
Whenever your opponent draws a card, deal 2 damage to the enemy General.

All contest submissions must include a description of the design’s purpose.

• Why? (1) It give us jury members a better understanding of the thought-process behind your design and (2) It gives you and fellow participants a better way to discuss your design in the Discussion Hub.
• This can be very brief (or as long as you’d like).

All contest submissions must follow the official 125-character limit on card text (including spaces).

• This roughly amounts to 18-22 words. For example:
• Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer quis tempor nunc. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante metus.
• You may consider using the DuelystDB Custom Card Creator to verify.

Any content not pertaining to a contest submission (e.g. discussions, critiques) is NOT allowed.

• Why? We have an entirely separate topic for discussions/critiques/feedback: the Discussion Hub.
• This separation facilitates greater readability for both contest submissions and discussions.
• Of course, feel free to give a “Like” accordingly!

Clearly unbalanced or "meme" designs are NOT allowed.

• If you are concerned about the balance of your design, then please feel free to discuss or get feedback in the Discussion Hub.

New Generals, minion/card types, or keywords are NOT allowed.

• You may use a new keyword, minion/card type, or General if it is provided by the prompt.

Please use the “Hide Details” function for non-required content (e.g. lore, artwork).

• Why? To maintain readability for both jury members and other contest participants. While additional content is fantastic, we want to ensure a fair reading and judging environment.

Please avoid directly copying a card from another contest participant or CCG.

• If you are concerned about committing plagiarism, then please feel free to contact a jury member or discuss via the Discussion Hub.
• If you are reporting plagiarism, then please only contact a jury member via PM and we will investigate accordingly.

Prizes!

[details=1st place]

• Pixel art created by @DieMango
• Exclusive forum badge “Design God”
• 2 Orbs
• Place in the jury for the next month[/details]

[details=2nd place]

• 2 Orbs
• Place in the jury for the next month[/details]

[details=3rd place]

• 1 Orb

• Place in the jury next month[/details]

  Useful Links and Misc.

• Don’t forget to drop-by the Discussion Hub to discuss fellow submissions, give/ask for feedback, etc.

• Here is a document with the General Criteria that the jury consider while evaluating designs.

• Please note that these are not strictly-enforced criteria, and that any jury member reserves the right to emphasize/de-emphasize a given criterion as they see fit.

• This month’s jury members are:

• @attheedge

• @eudaimonia

• @nullaurelian

• @hellcat

• @bolthero

• @devildriven

• Best of luck on your submissions! We are very excited to see what you all come up with

[agentcamp]

Vornax
Vetruvian Minion
4 mana (3/4)
Zeal: Cannot be damaged by minions.

Zeal is not so far out of Vetruvian’s sphere theses days as it’s becoming a more general-centered faction. I think this guy would be interesting. He would give Vet some strong “up close and personal” presence as well as a bit of defense against Ranged. Vornax can still be removed by spells or by general hits (or dispel for that matter) so he’s not invincible. It would just allow Vet to keep a board state against “Rangers in every d*** corner!”. Vet can also buff this in a lot of different ways (can’t be damaged by generals, provoke, more health).

[deekester]

Crystal Assassin
Vanar Minion
3 mana 1/4
Backstab 3, Opening gambit: flip the board

so, to explain what it does. when you play it. it would leave every unit in the same place it was, but turn them around and change which sides are the starting side of each player. this obviously synergises with the backstab the unit already has, and can be used to get infiltrate off and use avalanche and SotW on different sides of the field

[devildriven]

Keres

Abyssian card 6 mana 4/6

Zeal: At the end of your turn all nearby enemy minions lose -1/-1, this minion gains +1/+1 for each

Summary

While she can be dispelled the next turn. The vampiric caress of Keres has already happened

[oranos]

Deathfire Cannon
Vetruvian minion
4 mana (0/4)
Blast
Deathwatch: +1/0

blast is an under-utlilized keyword as is deathwatch. given how close the vetruvians and abyssians are, it makes sense that one might steal magic from the other and integrate it into a weapon of mass destruction. it acts as a good finisher for and against swarm,zoo, and obelysk decks which are sorely lacking in vetruvian. it even synergizes with both generals BBS and anything that makes wind dervishes.

[anastenazontas]

Essence Freezer
Vanar Minion (rare)
4 mana (2/3)
Deathwatch: stun a random enemy minion or general.

The idea here is to use the freeze flavor of vanar. It can be used both agressively and defensively, since killing one of your units might stun a minion that is still active for the later case and killing a weak enemy minion might invalidate their stronger ones. Could be altered a bit to be “an adjacent” minion or general, or “all adjacent”, and the mana cost and stats could be altered too, I am willing to take any feedback I can. I like the idea of staying with a 4mana minion since that is the time where playing it will impact the board the most, while normally your opponent will have 2-3 minions out, meaning that triggering the ability on the correct creature becomes a tactical gambit for both players.

-Edit: 2/3 ->2/4 to be able to die more easilly. 2 more mana for the same stats as healing mystic.

[fok12]

The Red Oni
Songhai Minion
6 Mana (4/5)
Backstab (3)
Deathwatch: Gains a random non-faction ability.

Description

A bio-mechanical devil-like minion fits Songhai well I think, as far as minion theme goes. Now about its abilities, at 4 health you cannot get immediate value out of it with Inner Focus. Its Deathwatch ability is random, fitting its chaotic nature. Of course each ability can only be gained once, so the more minions that die, the more powerful this minion becomes.

Lore Piece

The Red Oni, terror of this land, feeds upon the living. One cannot be sure if its gluttony for power will make it ever-powerful, or lead it to its downfall.

EDIT: Edited in Description and Lore.

Note: Oni means Demon/Devil in Japanese.

[mrmana3]

"Silithar Guardian"
Magmar Aspects
Minion (Rare)
4 Mana 3/2

Zeal: Give all friendly Eggs “Forcefield”.

I’ll do my best to explain my reasoning behind the card. As of now, egg minions don’t have a lot of synergy, and oftentimes, people won’t attack with a “Rebirth” minion due to how vulnerable it becomes. I think that giving eggs “Forcefield” would give players more freedom to use “Rebirth” minions offensively rather than fear having the egg picked off next turn. The “Rebirth” minions don’t get “Forcefield”, only the eggs, so those minions don’t get too out of hand. “Zeal” limits positioning, while the 3/2 stats prevent players from abusing "Flash Reincarnation in devastating combos. It can also be beat in 1 hit by the enemy general. I think these drawbacks help to balance the card while providing Magmar with an in-faction card that threatens from a distance unlike most of Magmar’s in-faction cards.

[colexiel]

Dune Dervish Behemoth
Vetruvian Dervish
4 Mana (4/3)
Grow: +2/+3
If this minion kills an enemy then it grows at the end of the turn.

Summary

Some Lore “Amazing, with every grain of sand, stone and foe, it grows ever larger. Truly it is a sight to behold, and fear. A shame that the rest of the convoy was just consumed by it.” ~ Veleren Sandseer

[Sorostaran]

Rasha’s Tomb
Vetruvian Structure
3 Mana (0/6)
Zeal: At the end of your turn, put a Rasha’s Curse in your action bar.

Much of the Vetruvian “zone control and fight from range” play style has been hobbled by the obliteration of Siphon Energy. With Rasha’s Tomb, Vetruvian may have enough “standoff weapon” to bring them back to the glory of the old Syvrel-Obelysk decks again. Perhaps we can get some non-meme use out of Wind Slicer with this, too.

Also Zirix or Sajj as a tethered robot doll makes for an attractive mental image. =S

[eternamemoria]

Calamitous Scavenger/ Magmar Minion (Arcanyst) / 5 Mana / (3/4)
Deathwatch: add a Natural Selection to your hand.

Summary

This minion has an abyssian keyword, but is based on Storm Kage when it comes to mechanics. I made it an arcanyst because it is a shame Songhai is the only faction with them.

[deathsadvocate]

Shinobi of the Frozen Moon
Vanar Minion
1 mana (1/3)
Infiltrate: Backstab 6

[details=Design Notes]The basic premise is doubling the difficulty of an already difficult to use mechanic should yield double the results. The ultimate risk vs reward card. While it may seem strong, without inner focus to break it, it should be very powerful, but have have tons of counterplay. In fact it is probably a little weak with how tough it is to pull off. Vanar is second only to Songhai when it comes to position manipulation, cards like this could really make that sub theme of theirs shine.

Currently it is intentionally trying to mirror Katara for both flavor and mechanical balance. The base is the same and its value should be about equal. Flavor wise it is supposed to be kataras counterpart with a Vanar spin, sort of planar chaos style from MTG.

So onto the name and flavor. Vanar also has a little bit of a ninja theme, although they are more about stealth (Infiltrate) then they are assassination(Backstab). They could be the Ice Shinobi, the counterpart to the Fire Ninjas.

Frozen Moon has several different meanings. First the obvious Frozen/Ice and Moon/Water theme. Then frozen moon could refer to something such as an eclipse and therefore darkness. A very rare event, but spectacular when it happens, and an ideal circumstance for a stealthy assasin. Just like the cards effect, very hard to pull off but beautiful when you do.[/details]

[zer0billion]

Corruption Obelysk
Vetruvian Structure
4 mana (0/4)
Summon Dervish
Deathwatch: Give all wind dervishes +1 attack for the turn

A deathwatch effect works well with Vetruvian since they summon a lot of dervishes that die when they attack. This gives them a great payoff if they can successfully get many dervishes. It only applies to wind dervishes, and the buff lasts until the end of the turn to make sure the effect stays within the obelysk playstyle and can’t be abused with dervishes that last permanently. (Also so it doesn’t overshadow fireblaze obelysks.) This also brings a 9 mana dream combo of Corruption Obelysk + Star Fury

[mmf]

Greb
Magmar minion
5 mana 2/6
Infiltrate: Whenever this minion attacks or counterattacks place a card from your opponents deck into your action bar

Greb is a greedy little bugger, with 2 attack he does a decent, while not overpowered, amount of damage. His ability doesn’t provide instant value, but over time can prove to be detrimental to your opponent unless dealt with swiftly. just like everything else he suffers from dispel and ranged but if protected can both deny your opponent key cards whilst strengthening your own options.

Or if that doesn’t cut it then ROOK:joy:

EDIT: sorry about that. I really should read the prompts more carefully shouldn’t I?

[stewiehs]

Eradicator

Magmar minion
5 mana (4/3)
Deathwatch: Grow +1/+1.

Pretty simple design, this guy has a crescendo kind of effect that’s more manageable. It can also fill a role in the curve of a zoo-ish kinda deck… Can go off with quite the stats but you need a board to clear and even then it can also be dispelled…

[tsevech]

Corrupted egg
Magmar minion
1 mana 1/3
Deathwatch: gain +1/+0
Dying wish: summon a Deviant Komodo Dragon with the same stats of this minion

A nice addition to Zoo Magmar. The idea is having a cheap sticky minion, which will produce another minion when destroyed, thus keeping constant pressure on the board even after an AoE. At the same time, the Deathwatch synergizes with other small dying minions, making the inside beast stronger.

[buyingcoats]

Tomb Keeper
Vetruvian Minion
4 mana 2/6
Deathwatch: Deal 1 damage to a random enemy minion

Vetruvian gets a fancy new minion to kill annoying back line value generators.

[archer4]

Silverguard Sniper
Songhai Minion
4 Mana 3/3
Ranged
Zeal: Gain +2/+0.

More songhai and lyonar rivalry! Sick and tired of seeing ranged minions hang out in the corner? This card forces Songhai to make a meaningful decision: should I risk keeping this sniper close for more damage, or do I safely position him away? Statline is chosen to match a heartseeker + KE.

[gabriek]

Shadow Assassin
Abyssian Minion
Legendary
3 Mana 1/1
Backstab(4)
Dying Wish- Summon a Shadow Assassin nearby a random enemy.

Summary

The purpose of this card is to give dying wish abyssinian that one extra push into viability and to bait dispel. It also gives abyssian a solid 3 drop and punishes minion heavy decks such as tempo argeon. Imagine having 2 or 3 in play at the same time, with cards like consuming rebirth or nether summoning. Although it is not without counterplays (IE dispel or not having any minions for it to resummon by) and you can’t choose exactly where it spawns so it might not always be very useful, which means, hopefully, it wouldn’t broken

Thematics

Thematically it makes a lot of sense, abyssians live deep in well, an abyss. It would make sense that some of them have adapted very well to life in the shadows, making them the perfect assassin, one that can appear anywhere and one that is always deadly if left unnoticed.

[thefirstgokun]

Brazier Spirit
SongHai
4 Mana 4/4
Blast, Cannot move

Explanation

Positioning is key in SongHai, and this minion is the epitomy of it. Honestly Blast is the abiliity that needs movement spells more than anything, so Songhai is the best faction for it Thought about it being a 3/3 for 3, but the Inner Focus threshold is a little too strong to overlook.

Art Direction

Cute lil fire spirit in a brazier