Congrats @KnightofDust ! Awesome job everyone.
Contest July 2020 CaC: Special Conditions (All Results Up!)
- Thread starter Jabberwock
- Start date
Text-Based Judging
Judge: @FourteenAlmonds
Hey guys!
As most of you are aware, I posted this earlier today but due to a fairly significant oversight (I missed an entry '>.>) I ended up needing to go through it again. I made a few tweaks after consultation with Jabber, but without further ado, here are your July results.
This month saw a range of scores come through, but it was overwhelmingly a great performance by everyone who entered. We had four people score above 40 points this month, which is a real testament to how much this community has improved as a whole. As a general comment that I found applied to a lot of people this time, do try to pay a lot of close attention to wording and balancing, as minor errors cost people a lot of points this round. There was a lot of great referencing going on here, and it was a shame to have to dock points for minor inaccuracies. Of course, feel free to ask any questions about my judging or how you can improve in general.
--FourteenAlmonds
@FireLizard
@Kaizaac
@DashKing
@PMJ
@Babywinds
@Nyora
@Vom
@47bennyg
3rd Place: Nyora’s Mesmerising Musharna V, with 43/50 points.
2nd Place: Babywinds’ Terrific Toxtricity, with 43.5/50 points.
1st Place: Vom’s Zesty Zangoose, with 44/50 points.
Judge: @FourteenAlmonds
Hey guys!
As most of you are aware, I posted this earlier today but due to a fairly significant oversight (I missed an entry '>.>) I ended up needing to go through it again. I made a few tweaks after consultation with Jabber, but without further ado, here are your July results.
This month saw a range of scores come through, but it was overwhelmingly a great performance by everyone who entered. We had four people score above 40 points this month, which is a real testament to how much this community has improved as a whole. As a general comment that I found applied to a lot of people this time, do try to pay a lot of close attention to wording and balancing, as minor errors cost people a lot of points this round. There was a lot of great referencing going on here, and it was a shame to have to dock points for minor inaccuracies. Of course, feel free to ask any questions about my judging or how you can improve in general.
--FourteenAlmonds
@FireLizard
Venomoth-GX HP 220
Stage 1-Evolves from Venonat
[Ability]-Panic Scale
As long as this Pokèmon is your Active Pokèmon, the Special Conditions are not removed when your opponent's Pokèmon evolve or devolve.
[G] [G] [C] Toxic Wing 90
Your opponent's Active Pokèmon is now Poisoned.Put 5 damage counters instead of 1 on that Pokémon and discard an Energy attached to it between turns.
[G] Moth's Attack-GX
Your opponent's Active Pokèmon is now Burned and Confused.If it's also Poisoned,discard your opponent's hand.
Weakness:[R]X2
Resistance:None
Retreat Cost:[C]
Stage 1-Evolves from Venonat
[Ability]-Panic Scale
As long as this Pokèmon is your Active Pokèmon, the Special Conditions are not removed when your opponent's Pokèmon evolve or devolve.
[G] [G] [C] Toxic Wing 90
Your opponent's Active Pokèmon is now Poisoned.Put 5 damage counters instead of 1 on that Pokémon and discard an Energy attached to it between turns.
[G] Moth's Attack-GX
Your opponent's Active Pokèmon is now Burned and Confused.If it's also Poisoned,discard your opponent's hand.
Weakness:[R]X2
Resistance:None
Retreat Cost:[C]
Creativity: 15/20
There are some good ideas in here, FireLizard! Both Toxic Wing and Moth’s Attack-GX include effects that haven’t been seen before, and that shows that you’re well on the way towards creating something truly original and exciting. That being said, Panic Scale is a simple combination of effects and neither Toxic Wing nor Moth’s Attack-GX actually contribute anything significant to the game or utilise unexplored design space, and that dragged down your marks a bit. I’d love to see you try and make something truly outside of the box, as I think you have the creativity and skills to really nail something like that.
Wording (Judged in SM era, as it is a GX): 9/15
- Missing space between punctuation point and next word x5 -2pts
- Not a deduction, but the accent in Pokémon is pointing in the wrong direction -0pts
Panic Scale
- Remove “the” -1pt
Toxic Wing
- “attached to” -> “from” -1pt
Moth’s Attack-GX
- “If it’s also” -> “Then, if that Pokémon is” -2pts
Believability: 9/15
Panic Scale is a well-balanced upgrade of some existing abilities. It’s immediately comparable to Sea of Nothingness and Muk TEU, and I have no trouble imagining something like this existing in the SUM era.
The balancing on Toxic Wing is slightly rougher. It’s essentially a 140-damage attack plus an energy discard for three energy, which as a stage 1 is best compared to Torkoal V. However, if the opponent can’t switch out their active, it becomes a 190-damage attack with a double energy discard. That’s just too much for three energy, even on a stage 1 GX.
Similarly to Toxic Wing, Moth’s Attack-GX contains a new effect that’s difficult to balance. Any card that allows for hand disruption is always a risk, and we’ve seen how the vast majority of banned cards in both Standard and Expanded format are cards that allow for that kind of disruption conveniently and quickly. Even as a single-use attack, it’s so fast and easy to set up with the other cards in Expanded, for example (such as Hypnotoxic Laser and Mewtwo & Mew-GX), that it would only cause problems.
The HP is high for a Stage 1 GX, but not outside the realms of believability. That being said, the existing Venomoth-GX only has 200 HP, so try to stick within about 10 points of existing cards . -0pt
No type, -1pt
Final Score: 33/50
Having a look at some of your past cards, I’d say that this is an improvement, FireLizard. You’re starting to branch out from established effects and if you can go further with that I’d love to see it. Your balancing was also markedly better, although there is still room for improvement. I’d suggest getting more familiar with the meta of the eras you fake for, and developing a more thorough understanding of what makes a card ban-worthy in the eyes of TPCI. You’ve also made a lot fewer errors in wording than last time, so congratulations on that. All in all, it’s a nice card and I can see you still have a lot of potential for improvement.
There are some good ideas in here, FireLizard! Both Toxic Wing and Moth’s Attack-GX include effects that haven’t been seen before, and that shows that you’re well on the way towards creating something truly original and exciting. That being said, Panic Scale is a simple combination of effects and neither Toxic Wing nor Moth’s Attack-GX actually contribute anything significant to the game or utilise unexplored design space, and that dragged down your marks a bit. I’d love to see you try and make something truly outside of the box, as I think you have the creativity and skills to really nail something like that.
Wording (Judged in SM era, as it is a GX): 9/15
- Missing space between punctuation point and next word x5 -2pts
- Not a deduction, but the accent in Pokémon is pointing in the wrong direction -0pts
Panic Scale
- Remove “the” -1pt
Toxic Wing
- “attached to” -> “from” -1pt
Moth’s Attack-GX
- “If it’s also” -> “Then, if that Pokémon is” -2pts
Believability: 9/15
Panic Scale is a well-balanced upgrade of some existing abilities. It’s immediately comparable to Sea of Nothingness and Muk TEU, and I have no trouble imagining something like this existing in the SUM era.
The balancing on Toxic Wing is slightly rougher. It’s essentially a 140-damage attack plus an energy discard for three energy, which as a stage 1 is best compared to Torkoal V. However, if the opponent can’t switch out their active, it becomes a 190-damage attack with a double energy discard. That’s just too much for three energy, even on a stage 1 GX.
Similarly to Toxic Wing, Moth’s Attack-GX contains a new effect that’s difficult to balance. Any card that allows for hand disruption is always a risk, and we’ve seen how the vast majority of banned cards in both Standard and Expanded format are cards that allow for that kind of disruption conveniently and quickly. Even as a single-use attack, it’s so fast and easy to set up with the other cards in Expanded, for example (such as Hypnotoxic Laser and Mewtwo & Mew-GX), that it would only cause problems.
The HP is high for a Stage 1 GX, but not outside the realms of believability. That being said, the existing Venomoth-GX only has 200 HP, so try to stick within about 10 points of existing cards . -0pt
No type, -1pt
Final Score: 33/50
Having a look at some of your past cards, I’d say that this is an improvement, FireLizard. You’re starting to branch out from established effects and if you can go further with that I’d love to see it. Your balancing was also markedly better, although there is still room for improvement. I’d suggest getting more familiar with the meta of the eras you fake for, and developing a more thorough understanding of what makes a card ban-worthy in the eyes of TPCI. You’ve also made a lot fewer errors in wording than last time, so congratulations on that. All in all, it’s a nice card and I can see you still have a lot of potential for improvement.
@Kaizaac
Amoongus- Grass - HP 110
Stage 1 - Evolves from Foongus
Ability - Crippling Toxins
During Pokémon Checkup, if your Opponent’s Active Pokémon is poisoned, discard an Energy card from it. You cannot apply more than one Crippling Toxins Ability At a time.
[G] [C] [C] Finishing Fungus 50+
This attack does 30 more damage for each Energy card in your Opponent’s Discard Pile.
Weakness: Fire X 2
Resistance: None
Retreat: [C] [C]
Stage 1 - Evolves from Foongus
Ability - Crippling Toxins
During Pokémon Checkup, if your Opponent’s Active Pokémon is poisoned, discard an Energy card from it. You cannot apply more than one Crippling Toxins Ability At a time.
[G] [C] [C] Finishing Fungus 50+
This attack does 30 more damage for each Energy card in your Opponent’s Discard Pile.
Weakness: Fire X 2
Resistance: None
Retreat: [C] [C]
Creativity: 14.5/20
There’s nothing initially striking in here from a creativity standpoint, but I like where you’ve gone with this card. There’s some good synergy between the attack and ability, and the lack of a way to poison the opponent through this card alone means that formulating a smoothly functioning deck that combos into this card becomes even more important. The between-turns discard is also nice, and while beyond that both Crippling Toxins and Finishing Fungus are just combinations of existing effects, I like the approach you’ve taken here. If you can maintain the same level of self-synergy and emphasis on deckbuilding that you have here moving forwards while branching out to some truly original effects, I think you can go a long way.
Wording: 10/15
- Amoongus -> Amoonguss -0.5pt
Crippling Toxins
- Don’t capitalise “Opponent’s” x2 -1pt
- Capitalise “poisoned” -0.5pt
- “Energy card” -> “Energy” -1pt
- “cannot” -> “can’t” -1pt
- Don’t capitalise “At” -0.5pt
Finishing Fungus
- Don’t capitalise “Discard Pile” -0.5pt
Believability: 8.5/15
While I like the way that the card places an emphasis on deckbuilding and strategy, both Crippling Toxins and Finishing Fungus are still quite strong. Energy denial is usually a red flag unless properly balanced, and while you’ve limited it to one ability being applied at a time, as a passive, between-turns ability Crippling Toxins still up there in terms of power level. Finishing Fungus most comparable to Lycanroc-GX’s GX move, but as a reusable attack that does 50 more damage for an attack cost of just two extra energy, it’s a bit too high.
Missing Pokédex entry -1pt
Missing data line -1pt
Final Score: 31/50
The way this card is intended to fit into decks is the main draw for me. Going simply by the numbers and effects it’s quite strong, but requires a well-functioning deck to operate properly. That can be really difficult to accomplish, so really well done on that. I’d suggest paying a little more attention to your wording and balancing, however, as small errors in those categories really tripped you up. You should also make an effort to include an attack or effect that is really groundbreaking somewhere in your card, as while it’s rare for people to pull that off it’s always exciting and can really help boost your creativity score.
There’s nothing initially striking in here from a creativity standpoint, but I like where you’ve gone with this card. There’s some good synergy between the attack and ability, and the lack of a way to poison the opponent through this card alone means that formulating a smoothly functioning deck that combos into this card becomes even more important. The between-turns discard is also nice, and while beyond that both Crippling Toxins and Finishing Fungus are just combinations of existing effects, I like the approach you’ve taken here. If you can maintain the same level of self-synergy and emphasis on deckbuilding that you have here moving forwards while branching out to some truly original effects, I think you can go a long way.
Wording: 10/15
- Amoongus -> Amoonguss -0.5pt
Crippling Toxins
- Don’t capitalise “Opponent’s” x2 -1pt
- Capitalise “poisoned” -0.5pt
- “Energy card” -> “Energy” -1pt
- “cannot” -> “can’t” -1pt
- Don’t capitalise “At” -0.5pt
Finishing Fungus
- Don’t capitalise “Discard Pile” -0.5pt
Believability: 8.5/15
While I like the way that the card places an emphasis on deckbuilding and strategy, both Crippling Toxins and Finishing Fungus are still quite strong. Energy denial is usually a red flag unless properly balanced, and while you’ve limited it to one ability being applied at a time, as a passive, between-turns ability Crippling Toxins still up there in terms of power level. Finishing Fungus most comparable to Lycanroc-GX’s GX move, but as a reusable attack that does 50 more damage for an attack cost of just two extra energy, it’s a bit too high.
Missing Pokédex entry -1pt
Missing data line -1pt
Final Score: 31/50
The way this card is intended to fit into decks is the main draw for me. Going simply by the numbers and effects it’s quite strong, but requires a well-functioning deck to operate properly. That can be really difficult to accomplish, so really well done on that. I’d suggest paying a little more attention to your wording and balancing, however, as small errors in those categories really tripped you up. You should also make an effort to include an attack or effect that is really groundbreaking somewhere in your card, as while it’s rare for people to pull that off it’s always exciting and can really help boost your creativity score.
@DashKing
Venusaur
Type: [G] – HP170
Stage 2 – Evolves from Ivysaur
Pokédex: A bewitching aroma wafts from its flower. The fragrance becalms those engaged in a battle.
NO. 003, Seed Pokémon, Height: 6'07", Weight: 220.5 lbs.
Ability: Flowering Spores
As often as you like during your turn, you may discard a [G] energy from your hand. If you do, you may put 1 damage counter on 2 of your opponent’s Pokémon.
[G] Enchanting Enzyme
Your opponent's Active Pokémon is Poisoned. Move any number of damage counters on your opponent's Pokémon to their Active Pokémon.
[G] Catalyzed Cocktail 10+
If your opponent’s Active Pokémon is Poisoned, this attack does 110 more damage and your opponent’s Active Pokémon is Paralyzed. If 1 of your Pokémon used Catalyzed Cocktail during your last turn, this attack can't be used.
Weakness: [R] X 2
Resistance: None
Retreat: [C][C][C]
Type: [G] – HP170
Stage 2 – Evolves from Ivysaur
Pokédex: A bewitching aroma wafts from its flower. The fragrance becalms those engaged in a battle.
NO. 003, Seed Pokémon, Height: 6'07", Weight: 220.5 lbs.
Ability: Flowering Spores
As often as you like during your turn, you may discard a [G] energy from your hand. If you do, you may put 1 damage counter on 2 of your opponent’s Pokémon.
[G] Enchanting Enzyme
Your opponent's Active Pokémon is Poisoned. Move any number of damage counters on your opponent's Pokémon to their Active Pokémon.
[G] Catalyzed Cocktail 10+
If your opponent’s Active Pokémon is Poisoned, this attack does 110 more damage and your opponent’s Active Pokémon is Paralyzed. If 1 of your Pokémon used Catalyzed Cocktail during your last turn, this attack can't be used.
Weakness: [R] X 2
Resistance: None
Retreat: [C][C][C]
Creativity: 15/20
This card is really well-designed, DashKing, nice work! The attacks and ability are all combinations of existing effects with nothing particularly new, but there’s some sweet self-synergy and skill-testing attributes to the card. Giving Venusaur efficient, low-energy attacks is a departure from what is normally seen, and I like that a lot. If you can venture outside the box a bit more next time while managing those great attributes, you’re well on the way to a really high creativity score.
Wording: 12/15
Enchanting Enzyme
- “is Poisoned” -> “is now Poisoned” -1pt
- “opponent's Pokémon” -> “opponent’s Benched Pokémon” -1pt
Catalyzed Cocktail
- “is Paralyzed” -> “is now Paralyzed” -1pt
Believability: 15/15
Flowering spores is really nice. In a deck that isn’t built to focus on the ability, it provides a good way to remove your excess energy and buff up your attacks slightly. It looks like it has fearsome potential in an infinite loop style of deck, but without a way to constantly loop energy back to your hand, I can’t see how that deck would be built. Plus, the more energy you have in your deck to use with this ability, the less consistent the deck becomes.
Enchanting Enzymes costing [G] on a Stage 2 means that the attack becomes inherently balanced by the strength of the ability. As the ability is nicely balanced, so is this. No problems here.
Catalyzed Cocktail is also excellently balanced – 120 damage is very reasonable for [G] on a Stage 2, and the guaranteed Paralysis that would normally break an attack is counteracted by the end clause. If anything it’s slightly underpowered, but I like it a lot. Overall, congratulations on a superbly balanced card
Final Score: 42/50
This is a really great card, DashKing, and one of the few that manages to get me excited without needing any flashy new effects. It’s one of those cards that makes me want to mock up a list and play a few rounds just to see how it goes. The balancing is superb and the wording is also close to perfect. This is something you should be proud of for sure. I think you’re close to achieving a 50/50 card, and with some boosts to creativity I’m sure you can make it.
This card is really well-designed, DashKing, nice work! The attacks and ability are all combinations of existing effects with nothing particularly new, but there’s some sweet self-synergy and skill-testing attributes to the card. Giving Venusaur efficient, low-energy attacks is a departure from what is normally seen, and I like that a lot. If you can venture outside the box a bit more next time while managing those great attributes, you’re well on the way to a really high creativity score.
Wording: 12/15
Enchanting Enzyme
- “is Poisoned” -> “is now Poisoned” -1pt
- “opponent's Pokémon” -> “opponent’s Benched Pokémon” -1pt
Catalyzed Cocktail
- “is Paralyzed” -> “is now Paralyzed” -1pt
Believability: 15/15
Flowering spores is really nice. In a deck that isn’t built to focus on the ability, it provides a good way to remove your excess energy and buff up your attacks slightly. It looks like it has fearsome potential in an infinite loop style of deck, but without a way to constantly loop energy back to your hand, I can’t see how that deck would be built. Plus, the more energy you have in your deck to use with this ability, the less consistent the deck becomes.
Enchanting Enzymes costing [G] on a Stage 2 means that the attack becomes inherently balanced by the strength of the ability. As the ability is nicely balanced, so is this. No problems here.
Catalyzed Cocktail is also excellently balanced – 120 damage is very reasonable for [G] on a Stage 2, and the guaranteed Paralysis that would normally break an attack is counteracted by the end clause. If anything it’s slightly underpowered, but I like it a lot. Overall, congratulations on a superbly balanced card
Final Score: 42/50
This is a really great card, DashKing, and one of the few that manages to get me excited without needing any flashy new effects. It’s one of those cards that makes me want to mock up a list and play a few rounds just to see how it goes. The balancing is superb and the wording is also close to perfect. This is something you should be proud of for sure. I think you’re close to achieving a 50/50 card, and with some boosts to creativity I’m sure you can make it.
@PMJ
Shedinja GX - HP 160 - P
Stage 1 - Evolves from Nincada
Ability: Spirit Payback
Once during your turn (before your attack), you may remove all Special Conditions from this Pokémon. Count the number of Special Conditions removed in this way and put four times that many damage counters on your opponent's Pokémon in any way you like.
P - Unstable Soul
This Pokémon is now Burned, Confused, and Poisoned. Prevent all effects of attacks, including damage, done to this Pokémon during your opponent's next turn. If 1 of your Pokémon used Unstable Soul during your last turn, this attack can't be used.
P - Life Steal GX
If this Pokémon was your Active Pokémon at the start of this turn and was damaged by your opponent's Active Pokémon during their last turn, your opponent's Active Pokémon is Knocked Out and for the rest of this game, damage done to any of your Shedinja-GX by attacks is reduced by 30 (after applying Weakness and Resistance). (You can't use more than 1 GX attack in a game.)
WK: D x2 / RS: F-20 / RC: -
Stage 1 - Evolves from Nincada
Ability: Spirit Payback
Once during your turn (before your attack), you may remove all Special Conditions from this Pokémon. Count the number of Special Conditions removed in this way and put four times that many damage counters on your opponent's Pokémon in any way you like.
P - Unstable Soul
This Pokémon is now Burned, Confused, and Poisoned. Prevent all effects of attacks, including damage, done to this Pokémon during your opponent's next turn. If 1 of your Pokémon used Unstable Soul during your last turn, this attack can't be used.
P - Life Steal GX
If this Pokémon was your Active Pokémon at the start of this turn and was damaged by your opponent's Active Pokémon during their last turn, your opponent's Active Pokémon is Knocked Out and for the rest of this game, damage done to any of your Shedinja-GX by attacks is reduced by 30 (after applying Weakness and Resistance). (You can't use more than 1 GX attack in a game.)
WK: D x2 / RS: F-20 / RC: -
Creativity: 16.5/20
Spirit Payback comes across to me as if it was intended to bring something totally new into the game, but unfortunately it can be worded in a pretty straightforward way using existing effects. That being said, it still manages to feel fresh, and the way you’ve integrated special conditions into the card is impressive and something I never would have expected.
Unstable Soul is much simpler and really just a combination of effects, but the new requirement you’ve added in for Life Steal-GX is pretty clever. Overall there’s some good creativity and ideas in here, and while I’d enjoy seeing you make a considerable exploration into as of yet unutilised design space, this is a neat card.
Wording (Judged in SM era, as it is a GX): 12/15
Spirit Payback
- “Count the number of Special Conditions removed in this way and put four times that many damage counters” -> “For each Special Condition removed in this way, put 4 damage counters” -3pts
Believability: 11/15
Spirit Payback is just straight-up busted in a single-prize or evolution-focused format… which didn’t really exist towards the end of the SM era. One use of Unstable Soul is worth 120 damage of spread the next turn, which even when limited to every other turn gives a per-turn damage of 60. The best partner to run alongside this looks like Nihilego-GX, which can add 80 damage per turn by poisoning and confusing a second Shedinja-GX. That’s an average of 140 damage spread per turn, with minimal investment – compare that to Espeon-GX and Espeon & Deoxys-GX’s GX attacks, and really seems over the top. That being said, this is being judged for a format dominated by Tag Team Pokémon, so it’s important to note that those matchups would be a lot harder for this deck to deal with and hence I doubt it would immediately rise to become BDIF. While I dislike the evolution hate and from a numbers standpoint the spread is simply too much, the card is somehow not straight broke.
Looking at Unstable Soul, it mainly functions as a tool to use with the ability but the provided immunity is also quite strong. The setup that this attack provides for the ability, however, is somewhat mitigated by the fact that it can only be used on alternating turns and is very vulnerable to gust effects. That’s a good way of balancing it out, and I’m pretty happy here.
Life Steal-GX has two conditions that need to be met for its use, and the unlikeliness of those being accomplished due to Shedinja-GX’s low HP balances the instant knock-out. I like the damage reduction effect as well, but all in all I feel that the requirements make this attack too difficult to pull off in the intended meta. As a GX attack, it’s underpowered if anything.
Final Score: 39.5/50
This is a good card, PMJ, no doubt about it. Your approach to the theme is great as always, your wording only had two errors, and your balancing was only really thrown off by Shedinja-GX’s combo potential with existing cards. While the latter is something you need to be more aware of in future, I have no complaints about any particular aspects of the card. To improve, the best you can do is just to refine what you’re already good at and take the extra steps to think about how your card would interact with the environment in which it would be placed. Congratulations on a very solid card overall!
Spirit Payback comes across to me as if it was intended to bring something totally new into the game, but unfortunately it can be worded in a pretty straightforward way using existing effects. That being said, it still manages to feel fresh, and the way you’ve integrated special conditions into the card is impressive and something I never would have expected.
Unstable Soul is much simpler and really just a combination of effects, but the new requirement you’ve added in for Life Steal-GX is pretty clever. Overall there’s some good creativity and ideas in here, and while I’d enjoy seeing you make a considerable exploration into as of yet unutilised design space, this is a neat card.
Wording (Judged in SM era, as it is a GX): 12/15
Spirit Payback
- “Count the number of Special Conditions removed in this way and put four times that many damage counters” -> “For each Special Condition removed in this way, put 4 damage counters” -3pts
Believability: 11/15
Spirit Payback is just straight-up busted in a single-prize or evolution-focused format… which didn’t really exist towards the end of the SM era. One use of Unstable Soul is worth 120 damage of spread the next turn, which even when limited to every other turn gives a per-turn damage of 60. The best partner to run alongside this looks like Nihilego-GX, which can add 80 damage per turn by poisoning and confusing a second Shedinja-GX. That’s an average of 140 damage spread per turn, with minimal investment – compare that to Espeon-GX and Espeon & Deoxys-GX’s GX attacks, and really seems over the top. That being said, this is being judged for a format dominated by Tag Team Pokémon, so it’s important to note that those matchups would be a lot harder for this deck to deal with and hence I doubt it would immediately rise to become BDIF. While I dislike the evolution hate and from a numbers standpoint the spread is simply too much, the card is somehow not straight broke.
Looking at Unstable Soul, it mainly functions as a tool to use with the ability but the provided immunity is also quite strong. The setup that this attack provides for the ability, however, is somewhat mitigated by the fact that it can only be used on alternating turns and is very vulnerable to gust effects. That’s a good way of balancing it out, and I’m pretty happy here.
Life Steal-GX has two conditions that need to be met for its use, and the unlikeliness of those being accomplished due to Shedinja-GX’s low HP balances the instant knock-out. I like the damage reduction effect as well, but all in all I feel that the requirements make this attack too difficult to pull off in the intended meta. As a GX attack, it’s underpowered if anything.
Final Score: 39.5/50
This is a good card, PMJ, no doubt about it. Your approach to the theme is great as always, your wording only had two errors, and your balancing was only really thrown off by Shedinja-GX’s combo potential with existing cards. While the latter is something you need to be more aware of in future, I have no complaints about any particular aspects of the card. To improve, the best you can do is just to refine what you’re already good at and take the extra steps to think about how your card would interact with the environment in which it would be placed. Congratulations on a very solid card overall!
@Babywinds
Toxtricity HP110 Darkness
Stage 1 ~ Evolves from Toxel
NO. 849 Punk Pokemon HT: 5’3” WT: 88.2 lbs.
/Ability/ ~ 50//50
Once during your turn, when this Pokemon moves from your Bench to the Active Spot, you may choose 1:
• Your opponent’s Active Pokemon is now Poisoned.
• Flip a coin. If heads, your opponent’s Active Pokemon is now Paralyzed.
[C][C][C] Vantage Point 60
If your opponent’s Active Pokemon is Poisoned, this attack can be used for [D]. At the end of your opponent’s turn, if your opponent’s Active Pokemon recovers from the Special Condition Paralyzed, this Pokemon may use this attack. (You still need the necessary Energy to use this attack.)
This short-tempered and aggressive Pokémon chugs stagnant water to absorb any toxins it might contain.
Weakness - Fighting x2
Resistance - None
Retreat - 2
Stage 1 ~ Evolves from Toxel
NO. 849 Punk Pokemon HT: 5’3” WT: 88.2 lbs.
/Ability/ ~ 50//50
Once during your turn, when this Pokemon moves from your Bench to the Active Spot, you may choose 1:
• Your opponent’s Active Pokemon is now Poisoned.
• Flip a coin. If heads, your opponent’s Active Pokemon is now Paralyzed.
[C][C][C] Vantage Point 60
If your opponent’s Active Pokemon is Poisoned, this attack can be used for [D]. At the end of your opponent’s turn, if your opponent’s Active Pokemon recovers from the Special Condition Paralyzed, this Pokemon may use this attack. (You still need the necessary Energy to use this attack.)
This short-tempered and aggressive Pokémon chugs stagnant water to absorb any toxins it might contain.
Weakness - Fighting x2
Resistance - None
Retreat - 2
Creativity: 17.5/20
This card is really great in terms of creativity, BabyWinds. “Choose” effects have never been seen as abilities before, and while the effects you choose between aren’t anything new, it’s a great touch. However, the main event is Vantage Point for sure – simply put, it’s a great exploration into fresh and unutilised design space. Reducing attack costs when specific conditions are met is something I’d love to see more of in the actual TCG, and you’ve implemented it excellently here – it fits with the theme, and synergises well with both the ability and existing cards. But what’s really stunning is the way you’ve worked in a way to attack between turns. I can see that you were inspired by Nyora’s Eternatus VMAX, but you’ve done your own thing here and you should be really proud.
Wording: 11/15
- Missing accented e in Pokémon x6 -2pts
Vantage Point
- “At the end of your opponent’s turn” -> “During Pokémon Checkup” -2pts
(Note: this is a different scenario to that in Nyora’s card, as Sleep and Paralysis are recovered during Pokémon Checkup – in your card, recovering is a requirement, but in Nyora’s it is not.)
Believability: 15/15
50//50 is balanced fine overall. The paralysis is the only concern I had going into this card, as with one switch and one retreat you have a 75% chance of success. However, there have been ways to actually guarantee paralysis in Pokémon for quite a while at this point, and there’s no reason as to why this would break the game when none of those did.
Vantage Point is a great exploration of unused design space, and the 60 damage is very reasonable for [D]. I’m happy with the 120 damage which is possible if you succeed in Paralyzing the opponent, as that’s roughly in line with Kyurem UNB. Stacking all the possible effects in this card on top of one another is very strong, but by no means broken.
Final Score: 43.5/50
You should be really happy with this one, Babywinds! It’s outstanding across the board, and is a testament to your skill as a faker. I’d seriously recommend taking the time to add in the accented e’s, even if it means copying and pasting them individually from the internet, as that was all that stopped you from taking the top spot today. Keep up the great work!
This card is really great in terms of creativity, BabyWinds. “Choose” effects have never been seen as abilities before, and while the effects you choose between aren’t anything new, it’s a great touch. However, the main event is Vantage Point for sure – simply put, it’s a great exploration into fresh and unutilised design space. Reducing attack costs when specific conditions are met is something I’d love to see more of in the actual TCG, and you’ve implemented it excellently here – it fits with the theme, and synergises well with both the ability and existing cards. But what’s really stunning is the way you’ve worked in a way to attack between turns. I can see that you were inspired by Nyora’s Eternatus VMAX, but you’ve done your own thing here and you should be really proud.
Wording: 11/15
- Missing accented e in Pokémon x6 -2pts
Vantage Point
- “At the end of your opponent’s turn” -> “During Pokémon Checkup” -2pts
(Note: this is a different scenario to that in Nyora’s card, as Sleep and Paralysis are recovered during Pokémon Checkup – in your card, recovering is a requirement, but in Nyora’s it is not.)
Believability: 15/15
50//50 is balanced fine overall. The paralysis is the only concern I had going into this card, as with one switch and one retreat you have a 75% chance of success. However, there have been ways to actually guarantee paralysis in Pokémon for quite a while at this point, and there’s no reason as to why this would break the game when none of those did.
Vantage Point is a great exploration of unused design space, and the 60 damage is very reasonable for [D]. I’m happy with the 120 damage which is possible if you succeed in Paralyzing the opponent, as that’s roughly in line with Kyurem UNB. Stacking all the possible effects in this card on top of one another is very strong, but by no means broken.
Final Score: 43.5/50
You should be really happy with this one, Babywinds! It’s outstanding across the board, and is a testament to your skill as a faker. I’d seriously recommend taking the time to add in the accented e’s, even if it means copying and pasting them individually from the internet, as that was all that stopped you from taking the top spot today. Keep up the great work!
@Nyora
Musharna V HP 220 Psychic
Basic Pokémon
[P][P][C] Nightmare Cast 80
Both Active Pokémon are now Asleep. At the end of your opponent's next turn, if this Pokémon is Asleep, put damage counters on your opponent's Benched Pokémon in any way you like equal to the same amount of damage you did to your opponent's Active Pokémon.
[P][P][C][C] Moonbeam 130
If your opponent's Pokémon is not Knocked Out by damage from this attack, you may switch your opponent's Active Pokémon with 1 of their Benched Pokémon. The new Active Pokémon is now Asleep.
When your Pokemon V is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.
Weakness: Darkness x2
Resistance: Fighting -30
Retreat: 3
Basic Pokémon
[P][P][C] Nightmare Cast 80
Both Active Pokémon are now Asleep. At the end of your opponent's next turn, if this Pokémon is Asleep, put damage counters on your opponent's Benched Pokémon in any way you like equal to the same amount of damage you did to your opponent's Active Pokémon.
[P][P][C][C] Moonbeam 130
If your opponent's Pokémon is not Knocked Out by damage from this attack, you may switch your opponent's Active Pokémon with 1 of their Benched Pokémon. The new Active Pokémon is now Asleep.
When your Pokemon V is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.
Weakness: Darkness x2
Resistance: Fighting -30
Retreat: 3
Creativity: 16/20
You’ve done well here as usual, Nyora. Nightmare Cast in particular is a creative way of dealing with spread that hasn’t been seen before, and changing up when damage is applied is a fun and interesting idea. Unfortunately, Moonbeam is just a relatively simple combination of effects, and without both of the card’s major effects including your trademark flair, I wasn’t able to give you a top-tier score here. In future, if you can maintain that top level of creativity throughout the whole card as I’ve seen you do before, you should be able to push your score even higher than this.
Wording: 12/15
Nightmare Cast
- Remove “same amount of” -1pt
Moonbeam
- “switch your opponent's Active Pokémon with 1 of their Benched Pokémon” -> “switch 1 of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon with their Active Pokémon” -2pts
Believability: 15/15
My favourite aspect of this card’s balancing is the significant counterplay allowed for and encouraged by Nightmare Cast. The 80 spread is strong in a vacuum, but your specific effect allows the opponent a chance to heal and reorganise their bench or gust Musharna out of your active spot, and even a coin flip that can immediately prevent the effect. Encouraging counterplay is something I love to see, and it means that both players will have to plan ahead and strategise appropriately to win the game. Moonbeam doesn’t need that kind of mechanic to be fair, and you’ve bolstered the slightly low damage output with some neat effects. Well done here!
Final Score: 43/50
As usual, there’s not much I can fault you for here, Nyora – congratulations on a great card! If there’s one thing that you can improve on for next time, it’s maintaining your creativity throughout the whole card as that was where most of your marks were dropped. Your wording only had two mistakes and it was clear that the card was well-referenced. Believability and balancing was perfectly done. Congratulations on a great card overall
You’ve done well here as usual, Nyora. Nightmare Cast in particular is a creative way of dealing with spread that hasn’t been seen before, and changing up when damage is applied is a fun and interesting idea. Unfortunately, Moonbeam is just a relatively simple combination of effects, and without both of the card’s major effects including your trademark flair, I wasn’t able to give you a top-tier score here. In future, if you can maintain that top level of creativity throughout the whole card as I’ve seen you do before, you should be able to push your score even higher than this.
Wording: 12/15
Nightmare Cast
- Remove “same amount of” -1pt
Moonbeam
- “switch your opponent's Active Pokémon with 1 of their Benched Pokémon” -> “switch 1 of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon with their Active Pokémon” -2pts
Believability: 15/15
My favourite aspect of this card’s balancing is the significant counterplay allowed for and encouraged by Nightmare Cast. The 80 spread is strong in a vacuum, but your specific effect allows the opponent a chance to heal and reorganise their bench or gust Musharna out of your active spot, and even a coin flip that can immediately prevent the effect. Encouraging counterplay is something I love to see, and it means that both players will have to plan ahead and strategise appropriately to win the game. Moonbeam doesn’t need that kind of mechanic to be fair, and you’ve bolstered the slightly low damage output with some neat effects. Well done here!
Final Score: 43/50
As usual, there’s not much I can fault you for here, Nyora – congratulations on a great card! If there’s one thing that you can improve on for next time, it’s maintaining your creativity throughout the whole card as that was where most of your marks were dropped. Your wording only had two mistakes and it was clear that the card was well-referenced. Believability and balancing was perfectly done. Congratulations on a great card overall
@Vom
[Basic] Zangoose HP90 [C]
NO. 335 Cat Ferret Pokémon HT: 4' 03'' WT: 88.8 lbs.
Ability: Poison Gene
Once during your turn, if this Pokémon is Poisoned, this Pokémon may recover from that Special Condition. If it does, until the end of this turn, its attacks do 20 more damage to your opponent's Active Pokémon for each time this Pokémon was affected by that Special Condition during this turn.
[C][C][C] Blood Feud 120
If this Pokémon is Poisoned, this attack costs [C] less for each Seviper you have in play. If you have more Seviper than Zangoose in play, this attack does nothing.
Weakness: [F]x2
Resistance: -
Retreat: [C]
Memories of battling its archrival Seviper are etched into every cell of Zangoose's body. This Pokémon adroitly dodges attacks with incredible agility.
NO. 335 Cat Ferret Pokémon HT: 4' 03'' WT: 88.8 lbs.
Ability: Poison Gene
Once during your turn, if this Pokémon is Poisoned, this Pokémon may recover from that Special Condition. If it does, until the end of this turn, its attacks do 20 more damage to your opponent's Active Pokémon for each time this Pokémon was affected by that Special Condition during this turn.
[C][C][C] Blood Feud 120
If this Pokémon is Poisoned, this attack costs [C] less for each Seviper you have in play. If you have more Seviper than Zangoose in play, this attack does nothing.
Weakness: [F]x2
Resistance: -
Retreat: [C]
Memories of battling its archrival Seviper are etched into every cell of Zangoose's body. This Pokémon adroitly dodges attacks with incredible agility.
Creativity: 18/20
Ooh boy, this is a fun one. Both the attack and the ability expand on and open up possibilities in design space, and I consider the ability in particular to have actually opened doors in card faking. Poison Gene counting the number of times a Pokémon has been poisoned in one turn is just super neat and creative – it’s something I never would have thought of, and I’m genuinely impressed. This is the kind of effect I can imagine being repeated and mimicked by other fakers in the future, including myself, and you should be heartily commended for that.
Blood Feud is also very cool, and I really like how the flavour makes reference to the Pokémon’s lore. It’s a lot closer than the Ability to treading the line of being a combination of effects, but there’s enough interesting aspects here to lift it up above just being that.
Wording: 13/15
Poison Gene
- “this Pokémon may” -> “it may” -1pt
- “its attacks” -> this Pokémon’s attacks” -1pt
Believability: 13/15
The effects tie into one another and are generally well balanced. While there is potential for very high damage at an extremely low cost, it requires a lot of setup and would be inconsistent, requiring two Ariados, two Seviper, and one Zangoose on the bench. That isn’t unachievable, but it’s not easy, and the options for the player to prioritise damage, lower energy costs, or consistency is something I like a lot. The low HP also means that this card won’t be sticking around for long, so that likely weakened consistency necessitated by all the combo pieces of this deck would have more of an impact than in a Tag Team card, for example. However, the potential for dealing 160 damage with 30 of poison for [C] in a perfectly set-up board state is still too much and is something I have to dock points for.
Final Score: 44/50
This is a great card, Vom, and I’m glad to see that your cards are still at this level of quality. I will say that the balancing needed a little tweaking, though given the totally new effects you introduced it’s no surprise to me that it was difficult to get just right. Your wording was also close to perfect, and it was hard for me to make a judgement call as to what the right phrasing was too. It’s a very complex card with lots of fresh and fun ideas, and you handled it superbly. This is a well-rounded and exciting piece of work, Vom – congratulations!
Ooh boy, this is a fun one. Both the attack and the ability expand on and open up possibilities in design space, and I consider the ability in particular to have actually opened doors in card faking. Poison Gene counting the number of times a Pokémon has been poisoned in one turn is just super neat and creative – it’s something I never would have thought of, and I’m genuinely impressed. This is the kind of effect I can imagine being repeated and mimicked by other fakers in the future, including myself, and you should be heartily commended for that.
Blood Feud is also very cool, and I really like how the flavour makes reference to the Pokémon’s lore. It’s a lot closer than the Ability to treading the line of being a combination of effects, but there’s enough interesting aspects here to lift it up above just being that.
Wording: 13/15
Poison Gene
- “this Pokémon may” -> “it may” -1pt
- “its attacks” -> this Pokémon’s attacks” -1pt
Believability: 13/15
The effects tie into one another and are generally well balanced. While there is potential for very high damage at an extremely low cost, it requires a lot of setup and would be inconsistent, requiring two Ariados, two Seviper, and one Zangoose on the bench. That isn’t unachievable, but it’s not easy, and the options for the player to prioritise damage, lower energy costs, or consistency is something I like a lot. The low HP also means that this card won’t be sticking around for long, so that likely weakened consistency necessitated by all the combo pieces of this deck would have more of an impact than in a Tag Team card, for example. However, the potential for dealing 160 damage with 30 of poison for [C] in a perfectly set-up board state is still too much and is something I have to dock points for.
Final Score: 44/50
This is a great card, Vom, and I’m glad to see that your cards are still at this level of quality. I will say that the balancing needed a little tweaking, though given the totally new effects you introduced it’s no surprise to me that it was difficult to get just right. Your wording was also close to perfect, and it was hard for me to make a judgement call as to what the right phrasing was too. It’s a very complex card with lots of fresh and fun ideas, and you handled it superbly. This is a well-rounded and exciting piece of work, Vom – congratulations!
@47bennyg
Tauros V – Colorless – HP200
Basic Pokémon
Ability: Bullring
If this Pokémon is in the Active Spot and there is any Stadium card in play, this Pokémon is now Confused.
[C][C] Disoriented Thrash 100+
If this Pokémon is Confused, this attack does 100 more damage.
Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance:
Retreat: [C][C][C]
V rule: When your Pokémon V is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.
Basic Pokémon
Ability: Bullring
If this Pokémon is in the Active Spot and there is any Stadium card in play, this Pokémon is now Confused.
[C][C] Disoriented Thrash 100+
If this Pokémon is Confused, this attack does 100 more damage.
Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance:
Retreat: [C][C][C]
V rule: When your Pokémon V is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.
Creativity: 12/20
I like your approach to the theme, benny, but the card feels sort of… empty. Bullring is an interesting take on self-statusing, but there’s nothing really special about it. Disoriented Thrash is super vanilla, and has seen time and time again in the TCG for pretty much every status condition out there. The risk-vs-reward style of the card as a whole is nice, but it’s quite basic and just not at the level of your Jynx image fake, for example.
Wording: 11/15
There’s an inherent issue concerning the ability here. Leaving Tauros V confused is an action, but the rest of the ability is worded as a passive, ongoing effect. Established wordings require that either the confusion is an effect that is immediately applied in response to another action, or it’s an ongoing state of being for the card. Trying to stay as true to your effect as possible, I would word it as follows:
Believability: 15/15
There’s no issues with balancing here, so not much to say. The ability and attack tie into each other well, and the extra 100 damage is nicely matched by the risk of whiffing on a coin flip. 100 damage for [C][C] is fairly strong on its own, but without DCE in standard and with better attackers in Expanded, it should be fine. The allowance for your opponent to play their own stadium to confuse your Tauros V is also neat, and might come into play in certain matchups. Overall, good stuff here.
Final Score: 38/50
It’s always good to see people return to the community, and I’m glad you did – you’ve clearly got talent for making both text-based and image-based fakes, and I’d love for you to stick around and show that off some more. I do think that the relatively simplistic approach you took towards making this card let you down a bit, though, so I strongly suggest thinking outside the box a lot more for your next card. That being said, this is really well done for your first attempt in five years, so well done!
I like your approach to the theme, benny, but the card feels sort of… empty. Bullring is an interesting take on self-statusing, but there’s nothing really special about it. Disoriented Thrash is super vanilla, and has seen time and time again in the TCG for pretty much every status condition out there. The risk-vs-reward style of the card as a whole is nice, but it’s quite basic and just not at the level of your Jynx image fake, for example.
Wording: 11/15
There’s an inherent issue concerning the ability here. Leaving Tauros V confused is an action, but the rest of the ability is worded as a passive, ongoing effect. Established wordings require that either the confusion is an effect that is immediately applied in response to another action, or it’s an ongoing state of being for the card. Trying to stay as true to your effect as possible, I would word it as follows:
“As long as this Pokémon is in the Active Spot and there is any Stadium card in play, this Pokémon is Confused. That Special Condition is not recovered when that Stadium card leaves play.” -4pts
Believability: 15/15
There’s no issues with balancing here, so not much to say. The ability and attack tie into each other well, and the extra 100 damage is nicely matched by the risk of whiffing on a coin flip. 100 damage for [C][C] is fairly strong on its own, but without DCE in standard and with better attackers in Expanded, it should be fine. The allowance for your opponent to play their own stadium to confuse your Tauros V is also neat, and might come into play in certain matchups. Overall, good stuff here.
Final Score: 38/50
It’s always good to see people return to the community, and I’m glad you did – you’ve clearly got talent for making both text-based and image-based fakes, and I’d love for you to stick around and show that off some more. I do think that the relatively simplistic approach you took towards making this card let you down a bit, though, so I strongly suggest thinking outside the box a lot more for your next card. That being said, this is really well done for your first attempt in five years, so well done!
3rd Place: Nyora’s Mesmerising Musharna V, with 43/50 points.
2nd Place: Babywinds’ Terrific Toxtricity, with 43.5/50 points.
1st Place: Vom’s Zesty Zangoose, with 44/50 points.
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