Beacon of Creation Episode 24 Notes

Hey there beaconeers!

First things first:  We have a new way to vote!  I made four separate surveys where you can vote for the creatures types that will be the main ones in Castmire.

The links are here:

White
Blue
Black
Red/Green

Some notes:  I had to do four separate surveys because the service wants to charge if I do more than ten questions at a time.  Luckily, this time it's an easy fix, but we will have to be careful in the future to not have too many votes each time. Also, the Red and Green ones are together because green has no fliers and red has no small flyers, so it only takes up 8 spaces for both!

Next week's challenges (due Monday, June 4 at 7pm Pacific) :

Host/Augment:

Two colorless creatures that "partner with" each other.

Worldbuilding:

A style guide for the plane. (Thanks to Jonanthan Woodward)

Two weeks from now (due Monday June 11 at 7pm Pacific):

Host/Augment:

Something silver-bordered that isn't dice rolling that uses twobrid for a good reason. (Thanks to Chris Mooney and Ryan Siegel-Stechler)

Worldbuilding:

Just do the survey at the top of the page!

Bonus!

Here are renders of all the cards that were submitted for this week's wordbuilding challenge.

Beacon of Creation Episode 23 notes

Hey there Beaconeers,

Design Challenges due on Monday, May 28th:

Host/Augment Challenge:
A Vehicle that works better in multiplayer

Worldbuilding Challenge:
Cycle of five rare legendary creatures that came into Castmire via the plane’s extraplanar portals, they don’t have to be mechanically or “planarly” linked.


Challenges due on Monday, June 4th:

Host/Augment Challenge:
Two creatures that each have "partenr with" for the other/ they must both be colorless.


Worldbuilding Challenge:
"Style guide" for the plane.  Send pictures along with descriptions.

Here's a link to the most recent worldbuilding challenge, the Creature Grid. I've left some spaces open for anyone to add their own creature grids for Castmire. Please don't erase anything that other folks have put in here.  I trust you all to be professional.


Our guest, Jonathan Woodward, sent us an email to pass along this Two Headed Giant draft variant for four players:

"Here is my explanation of how to run a full two-headed giant draft with just four players.

A common problem I have encountered is that drafting with fewer than eight players can really skew the drafting experience.  If there are only four players present, having only 12 packs to pick cards from means that the decks assembled often look very little like the decks that would be built from a 24 pack draft.  These drafting issues get even worse if the format of choice is 2HG, as four players normally only represents two teams.  However, there is a solution to this issue that works very smoothly for drafting 2HG with just four players.

Our four players are A, B, C, and D.  For the drafting portion of the event, each of these players represents an entire 2HG team (you can pretend they have imaginary partners seated beside them who don't offer any input).  Each player begins with six packs (or four packs of Battlebond) in front of him or her, and drafts a pool of cards from which to build two 2HG decks, the same as in a regular four team 2HG draft.  After drafting, each of the four players builds two decks from the cards they drafted - again, the same as a regular 2HG draft.

When deck construction is complete, it is now time to play player A's decks against those of the player who drafted on the opposite side of the table from him, player C.  Player B joins player A, and together they each play one of the A decks in a 2HG game against players C and D playing C's decks.  Let's say that the A decks beat the C decks.

The next game will be players B and C playing B's decks against players A and D playing D's decks.  Let's say that the B decks win.

In the third and final round of our single-elimination tournament, players A and C will play A's decks against players B and D with B's decks.

I've found this structure to work quite well.  One of the fun features of this method is that everyone gets an opportunity to play on a team with everyone else."

See you next time!

-Adam

GDS3 Design Challenge 2: A Circus Act (for fun)

So, to keep up the trend, I'm doing all the GDS3 challenges in the limited time frame available before the real results are out.  The rules for design challenge 2 are here.

Here are my circus cards:

Some notes:

My mythics are a little weird, I know.

Lion Tamer seems a little out of color pie mechanically, but flavorfully, I believe it fits.  His control over the cats isn't magical as much as it is nature-oriented.  He befriends them instead of dominating their will. (He might actually be a Druid instead of a Shaman, now that I think about it.)

As for Tibalt, I think emblem manipulation is a fun mechanic that hasn't been explored yet.  There are some weird rules interactions that might need to be fudged, but I would say the ability is pretty grokkable.

Beacon of Creation Episode 22 Notes

Hey there Beaconeers,

Next week's design challenges are :

Host + Augment Challenge

An oversized command zone card (planar deck, archenemy deck, or marquee legendary of a Commander product)/ must have “numerical elegance” in some way (i.e. Cone of Flame, Griselbrand, Mitotic Slime, Demon of Death’s Gate)


Worldbuilding Challenge:


Suggestion from a listener below

Tribbles314 (from email)

Hey guys,

I have a suggestion for a worldbuilding challenge: a creature grid.

Maro describes the idea here:
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/odds-ends-amonkhet-part-1-2017-05-22And here's an example of a fan-made grid:
http://forums.mtgcardsmith.com/discussion/comment/82805/#Comment_82805If a few people made grids, or even partial grids, you'll get a better idea which areas you'll struggle with later.

I'd suggest making a template, so that everyone's grid is submitted in the same order.

Due Monday, May 28th by 7pm Pacific time:

Host/Augment:

A card that works better in multiplayer/ must be a vehicle.

Worldbuilding:

Five Rare Legendary creature cycle (they don’t have to be mechanically or planarly linked), that came through one of the portals that Brad had imagined might be the case with Gates mattering for this day to day use of the mansion.

GDS3 Design Challenge 1: You Might as Well Tribal (for fun)

I haven't made it to the top 8, but I've decided to give this challenge a try.  The tribe I chose was Advisor. You can find the rules here. Here are my submissions:

Beacon of Creation Episode 21 notes

Hey there Beaconeers,


The votes are in are for the mechanic we remove from Castmire, and it turns out that Shadow is being removed.

Due on Monday the 14th:

Host + Augment Challenge
Design a card that uses exert, but not on a creature

Rules text must be exactly four sentences long.

Worldbuilding Challenge

What is the climax or aftermath of the story, and how do the characters play into it.

Barstoe, Dack, Tacatta, Kaya, Ashioc(?),

the yet unnamed green planeswalker are the characters that are set up so far. If you are not familiar with the story basics, old episodes have some information.

Due on Monday the 21st:

Host + Augment Challenge

HOST - An oversized command zone card (planar deck, archenemy deck, or marquee legendary of a Commander product)

AUGMENT - Have “numerical elegance” in some way (i.e. Cone of Flame, Griselbrand, Mitotic Slime, Demon of Death’s Gate)

Worldbuilding Challenge:

Suggestion from a listener below

Tribbles314 (from email)

Hey guys,

I have a suggestion for a worldbuilding challenge: a creature grid.

Maro describes the idea here:
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/odds-ends-amonkhet-part-1-2017-05-22And here's an example of a fan-made grid:
http://forums.mtgcardsmith.com/discussion/comment/82805/#Comment_82805If a few people made grids, or even partial grids, you'll get a better idea which areas you'll struggle with later.

I'd suggest making a template, so that everyone's grid is submitted in the same order.

Castmire Voting I - Green Planeswalker

Hey there Beaconeers!

Welcome to the first round of voting for specifics in Castmire.  Since Brad and I want this to be a community project, we really need your feedback to make this the coolest set it can be.


The flavor of the green planeswalker is that of growth.  It is an ever-growing treefolk/plant/fungus/TBD that had grown too large for this plane and has recently sparked, sending offshoots to other planes. It believes nature's way is to have everything become a part of it.

Note: All submissions are listed alphabetically.


Vote I - Name

We have a few different names to choose fro

1. Argoa
2. Mjor-Stal
3. Old Sole
4. Rashole
5. Roxa
6. Worthport


Vote II - Name modifier

We all know that most planeswalkers have something after their name.  This is a list of the things that were provided.

1. ~, Antique Collector
2. ~, Misery's Company
3. ~, Sprouting
4. ~ the Vast
5. (none)


Vote III - First Ability (Usually a +N)

Some versions don't list a + ability, so I will put the ability as written

1. +1: Create a 1/1 green Saproling creature token with “At the beginning of your upkeep, create a copy of this token.”

2.  +1: Create a copy of a token you control.

3. +1: You gain 2 life for each card you and target opponent own in exile. Untap up to one target creature you control

4. (triggered) When a land enters the battlefield under your control, put a loyalty counter on ~.



Vote IV - Second Ability (Usually a -N)

1. -1: Create a 1/1 green Plant token.

2. -1: Create a token copy of a land an opponent controls.

3. -2: Create a token that’s a copy of ~, except it’s not legendary.

4. -2: Exile target creature until ~ leaves the battlefield. You gain life equal to its toughness.



Vote V - Third ability (Usually a big -N, ultimate)

The minus number on whatever one you choose isn't final, it's just what was given originally.  The number will most likely be changed in the final iteration.

1. -3: Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature and each other creature with the same name as that creature.

2.  -4: You get an emblem with “If an effect would create one or more tokens under your control, it creates twice that many of those tokens instead.”

3. -7: You get an emblem with “Creature you control have hexproof” and “When this creature enters the battlefield exile target creature an opponent controls until this creature leaves the battlefield.”

4. -6: Return a card of each type from your graveyard to your hand.


Vote VI - What type of thing is this planeswalker?

1. Treefolk
2. Fungus
3. Plant
4. (something else) - Please include write in candidate.

Okay, I know this is a little complicated, but the best way for you give your answers is by sending us an email at beaconcreation@gmail.com or by commenting on this blog post.

Please format it like this:

Subject line - Planeswalker Vote

I. (number of selection)
II. (same)
III. (same)
...etc.

Feel free to vote for any or all of the categories.  This planeswalker is an important part of our set and the story, and we want you all to be a part of its creation.

You are welcome to write in other options in the comments.  If you come up with something great, other folks might vote for it too!

Okay, that's it for the first vote.  May the best things win!

Beacon of Creation Episode 20 notes

Hey there Beaconeers,

Just a reminder that next week's submissions are due by Monday, May 7 at 7pm Pacific time.

The challenges are:

Host/Augment:

An uncommon sorcery with CMC 8 or greater / has to feature a creature type not seen in Magic before.

Worldbuilding: (This is a big one!)

1. Design a new mechanic replacing one of the current five in Castmire, and explain why.
2. Rank the five mechanics from 1(best) to 5 (worst). The lowest ranked mechanic will be ousted in favor of one of the new submissions.

Again the five mechanics are: Haunt, Detain, Investigate, Shadow, Gates

Challeneges due on May 14th:

Host/Augment:

Design a card that uses exert, but not on a creature/ rules text must be exactly four sentences long.

Worldbuilding:

What is the climax or aftermath of the story, and how do the characters play into it. Barstoe, Dack, Tacatta, Kaya, Ashioc(?), the yet unnamed green planeswalker are the characters that are set up so far.



Stay tuned for voting on the green planeswalker abilites.  That post will be coming soon.

Beacon of Creation Episode 19 notes

Hey there Beaconeers,

We got some big stuff happening.

I've uploaded Version 1.0 of the Castmire set file here.  I don't know if you'll be able to download it or not, but i think it will work...

On to the challenges! 

Due Monday, April 30 at 7pm Pacific time:

Host/Augment:

A rare virtual vanilla creature/ white card advantage.

Worldbuilding:

Uncommons! Make any number of uncommons for Castmire.  All will be added to the Master File and eventually, we will whittle them down.  We also need red commons, becasue no one has made those yet.

Due Monday, May 7 at 7pm Pacific time:

Host/Augment:

An uncommon sorcery with CMC 8 or greater/ must reference a creature type never seen before in Magic.

Worldbuilding:

1. Rank the 5 mechanics of Castmire from 1 (your favorite) to 5 (your least favorite). Give an explanation if you like.

2. Submit a new mechanic replacing one those currently in Castmire, and explain why it is better.

 This worldbuilding challenge is going to affect the future of the set greatly.  There will be huge swaths of unusable cards when we decide what mechanic or mechanics to kill. 

Thanks for listening and submitting.  Castmire is everyone's baby, and we are all doing our best to make it as awesome as it can be. 

Beacon of Creation Episode 18 notes

Hey there Beaconeers,

This week's episode turned out awesome.  We got Corey Cshuta on this week, and was great. 

Submissions due this Monday, the 23rd:

Worldbuilding:

Commons!  Any nonblack (or nongreen, we actually have a bunch of those now) commons.

Host/Augment:

Anything that uses a batch.

Submissions due Monday, the 30th:

Worldbuilding:

Uncommons!  As many as you like from a single color. 

You can find a spreadsheet with common and uncommon set skeleton here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18zmxH-daMPY3hrdMBXoudNrnJTb4mrSQiXomOFucWNY/edit?usp=sharing

Scryfall information:

https://scryfall.com 

Scryfall on Twitter: https://twitter.com/scryfall

Sign up for an account to support us: https://scryfall.com/pricing  .

Beacon of Creation Episode 17 notes

Hey there Beaconeers,

We are getting close to having a full set file, so our worldbuilding challenge is to make at least five (5) commons for a color of your choosing that isn't black.  (Thanks to @Reuxben form doing those already.) 

Our Host/Augment challenge is to make something that has a batch on it (like historic, but different; or not, your choice.) Brad and I chose the same thing for hosting and augmenting for the first time, so we're just going with it.

The deadline for the submissions is April 23, 2018 at 7pm Pacific time.  Any sent after that may not be mentioned on the podcast. As a reminder, our submissions are now due over a week after the podcast is published to give people who don't listen right away a chance to participate. (I get it, there are a lot of podcasts to keep up on.)

As always, send your submissions to beaconcreation@gmail.com.

Thanks all, y'all're the best.

Beacon of Creation Episode 16 notes

Hey there Beaconeers! 

Last week's design challenge had quite a few submissions, and we didn't have enough time on the show to go over them so Ive made a mockup of each submission.

The  host/augment challenge last week was to make a common or uncommon planeswalker that appeals to Johnnies/Jennys and wouldn't be liked by Timmies/Tammies.  I've listed them all here, with creator credits on the artist line.

The most interesting trends that I noticed on these cards is that they all have only one or two loyalty abilities and most of them are not Legendary. Only one of them has an ability that adds counters. This group gives us a great idea of what planeswalkers could look like at lower rarites.

Our worldbuilding challenge was to make commons that highlight the five mechanincs of Castmire, our custom set.

These five cards each interact with gates.  Two of them are gates themselves, two give you a bonus if you're playing with gates, and one of them punishes opponents who are playing gates.

It's strange how designers design cards that are similar.  Melonbomb and I both designed a "shade" card.  I like his design better, though.  The flavor of Shady Past is perfect.

Speaking of parallel design.  Bradley Wilson and I made almost the same card this time around.  Mine is probably undercosted and his is probably overcosted, but maybe a 1W or 2W creature with a version of this ability will be in our final set file.

I really enjoy Brad's cycle of artifacts.  They all trigger from one of the five mechanics in the set.

I'm really enjoying the direction that Haunt is taking in Castmire. These cards all do something a little different with Haunt, and I think there is a lot of cool design space that we haven't explored yet, too.

I'm also enjoying investigate in Castmire, as well.  It's a really nice smoothing mechanic, and can easily replace cantrips in the set.  It gets bonus points for it making tokens that you can interact with in interesting ways..

Next week's challenges:

Host/Augment: Has to have Kaya's Name in the title/ planeswalker deck specific card.

Worldbuilding: Cycle of common creatures that live outside the mansion; like the guy who clears the gutters, or whatever.

Beacon of Creation Episode 15 notes

Hey there Beaconeers!

This weeks's challenges are as follows:

Host/Augment: Anti-Timmy/Tammy, pro-Johnny/Jenny, common or uncommon Planeswalker.

Worldbuilding: Design one uncommon card for each of the sets mechanics. (Investigate, Haunt, Gates matter, Shadow, and Detain)

You can send your designs to beaconcreation@gmail.com, or tweet them @magicdesigncast. We usually record on Monday evening, so you have the whole weekend to do them!You are always welcome to do old design challenges if you're not fully caught up yet.  We look at all the emails.


-Adam