#intro contest 2025

[inventors-fair]

Back to our Own Foundations

Welcome to a new year, new us. Except we're not the new us, because the clone captivity circle is still holding. But enough about those weirdos—let's get back to basics.

Why are we here? Easy answer: making cards is fun. Sometimes we witness an interaction and that sparks a notion of what-ifs that creates a vision. Some folks here are actively involved in game design and want to pursue their technical prowess with these sorts of contests. Some folks enjoy the challenging aspects of Magic's intricacies and like playing with the inner workings of a game that we love.

For this week, I think it's time we introduce ourselves again. We'll get into the wackier side of contests soon enough and there's more to come as the year goes on. This one is going to be a little more of an open book.

Design a card that demonstrates your skills as a card creator!

What do you feel is your strongest area of design? Is it coming up with new mechanics? Is it an idea for a return to an old world, a love letter to where you began? Do you like to make flavorful designs that capture a moment in the best possible connection between word and world? Are you a Commander player who knows how best to play politics and make good memories?

I'm hoping that this will be the time to really show off, say, cards that you might have made in the past that haven't fit any previous prompts. Things that you're proud of, you know? There are a lot of folks who make cards that perhaps haven't had their time to shine.

As for how I'm judging this contest, I'm going to base it off of the well-roundedness of the design in question. An exceptionally flavorful card with poor gameplay interaction isn't going to succeed just because of the story. A mechanically interesting card that leads to repetitive one-sided gameplay needs tweaking before those mechanics can actually shine.

N.B.—at the end of this year, we're gonna exclude this contest from the big list on the rewind. We're just looking to get things off the ground here.

You can message a judge here or on Discord with any questions! Have fun.

@abelzumi

>> Desktop Submissions >> Mobile Submissions/Asks >> IF Discord Server

[mythauragame]

Development Update - December 2024

Happy New Year, everyone! We're so excited to be able to start off 2025 with our biggest news yet: we have a planned closed beta launch window of Q1 2026 for Mythaura!

Read on for a recap of 2024, more information about our closed beta period, Ryu expressions, January astrology, and Ko-fi Winter Quarter reward concepts!

2024 Year in Review

Creative

This year, the creative team worked on adding new features, introducing imaginative designs, and refining lore/worldbuilding to enrich the overall experience.

New Beasts and Expressions: All 9 beast expression bases completed for both young and adult with finalized specials for Dragons, Unicorns, Griffins, Hippogriffs, and Ryu.

Mutations, Supers and Specials: Introduced the Celestial mutation as well as new Specials Banding & Merle, and the Super Prismatic.

New Artist: Welcomed Sourdeer to the creative team.

Collaboration and Sponsorship: Sponsored several new companions from our Ko-Fi sponsors—Amaru, Inkminks, Somnowl, Torchlight Python, Belligerent Capygora, and the Fruit-Footeded Gecko.

New Colors: Revealed two eye-catching colors, Canyon (a contest winner) and Porphyry (a surprise bonus), giving players even more variety for their Beasts.

Classes and Gear: Unveiled distinct classes, each with its own themed equipment and companions, to provide deeper roleplay and strategic depth.

Items and Worldbuilding: Created a range of new items—from soulshift coins to potions, rations, and over a dozen fishable species—enriching Mythaura’s economy and interactions.

Star Signs & Astrology: Continued to elaborate on the zodiac-like system, connecting each Beast’s fate to celestial alignments.

Questing & Story Outline: Laid the groundwork for the intro quest pipeline and overarching narrative, ensuring that players’ journey unfolds with purposeful progression.

Code

This year, the development team worked diligently on refining and expanding the codebase to support new features, enhance performance, and improve gameplay experiences. A total 429,000 lines of code changed across both the backend and frontend, reflecting:

New Features: Implementation of systems like skill trees, inventory management, community forums, elite enemies, npc & quest systems, and advanced customization options for Beasts.

Optimizations and Refactoring: Significant cleanup and streamlining of backend systems, such as game state management, passive effects, damage algorithms, and map data structures, ensuring better performance and maintainability.

Map Builder: a tool that allows us to build bespoke maps

Regular updates to ensure compatibility with modern tools and frameworks.

It’s worth noting that line changes alone don’t capture the complexity of programming work. For example:

A single line of efficient code can replace multiple lines of legacy logic.

Optimizing backend systems often involves removing redundant or outdated code without adding new functionality.

Things like added dependencies can add many lines of code without adding much bespoke functionality.

Mythaura Closed Beta

We are so beyond excited to share this information with you here first: Mythaura closed beta is targeted for Q1 2026!

On behalf of the whole team, thank you all so, so much for all of the support for Mythaura over the years. Whether you’ve been around since the Patreon days or joined us after Koa and Sark took over…it’s your support that has gotten this project to where it is. We are so grateful for the faith and trust placed in us, and the opportunity to create something we hope people will truly love and enjoy. This has truly been a collaborative effort with you and we are constantly humbled by all of the thoughtful insights, engaging discussions, and great ideas to come out of this amazing community of supporters.

So: thank you again, it’s been an emotional and amazing journey for the dev team and we’re delighted to join you on your journeys through Mythaura.

Miyazaki Full-Time

Hey everyone, Koa here!

We’re thrilled to share some news about Mythaura’s development! Starting in 2025, Miya will be officially dedicating herself full-time to Mythaura. Her focus will be on bringing even more depth and wonder to the world of Mythaura through content creation, worldbuilding, and building up the brand. It’s a huge step forward, and we’re so excited for the impact her passion and creativity will have on the project!

In addition, I’ve secured 4-day weeks and will be working full-time each Friday to dive deeper into development. This extra push is going to allow us to keep moving steadily forward on both the art and code fronts, and with Miya’s expanded role, the next year of development is looking really promising.

Thank you all for being here and supporting Mythaura every step of the way. We can’t wait to share more as things progress!

Closed Beta FAQ

In the interest of keeping all of the information about our Closed Beta in one place and update as needed, we have added as much information as possible to the FAQ page.

If you have any questions that you can think of, please feel free to reach out to us through our contact form or on Discord!

Winter Quarter (2025) Concepts

It’s the first day of Winter Quarter 2025, which means we’ve got new Quarterly Rewards for Sponsors to vote on on our Ko-fi page!

Which concepts would you like to see made into official site items? Sponsors of Bronze level or higher have a vote in deciding. Please check out the Companion post and the Glamour post on Ko-fi to cast your vote for the winning concepts!

Votes must be posted by January 29, 2025 at 11:59pm PDT in order to be considered.

All Fall 2024 Rewards are now listed in our Ko-fi Shop for individual purchase for all Sponsor levels at $5 USD flat rate per unit. As a reminder, please remember that no more than 3 units of any given item can be purchased. If you purchase more than 3 units of any given item, your entire purchase will be refunded and you will need to place your order again, this time with no more than 3 units of any given item.

Fall 2024 Glamour: Diaphonized Ryu

Fall 2024 Companion: Inhabited Skull

Fall 2024 Solid Gold Glamour: Hippogriff (Young)

NOTE: As covered in the FAQ, the Ko-fi shop will be closing at the end of the year. These will be the last Winter Quarter rewards for Mythaura!

New Super: Zebra

We've added our first new Super to the site since last year's Prismatic: Zebra, which has a chance to occur when parents have the Wildebeest and Banding Specials!

Zebra is now live in our Beast Creator--we're excited to see what you all create with it!

New Expressions: Ryu

The Water-element Ryu has had expressions completed for both the adult and young models. Expressions have been a huge, time-intensive project for the art team to undertake, but the result is always worth it!

Mythauran Astrology: January

The month of January is referred to as Hearth's Embrace, representing the fireplaces kept lit for the entirety of the coldest month of the year. This month is also associated with the constellation of the Glassblower and the carnelian stone.

Mythaura v0.35

Refactored "Beast Parties" into "User Parties," allowing non-beast entities like NPCs to be added to your party. NPCs added to your party will follow you in the overworld, cannot be made your leader, and will make their own decisions in combat.

Checkpoint floor functionality ironed out, allowing pre-built maps to appear at specific floor intervals.

The ability to set spawn and end coordinates in the map builder was added to allow staff to build checkpoint floors.

Various cleanups and refactors to improve performance and reduce the number of queries needed to run certain operations.

Added location events, which power interactable objects in the overworld, such as a lootable chest or a pickable bush.

Thank You!

Thanks for sticking through to the end of the post, we always look forward to sharing our month's work with all of you--thank you for taking the time to read. We'll see you around the Discord.

[kirbyoctournament]

currently: 💤💤💤 the blog and event are on hiatus!

. · ͙ * ̩̩͙˚ ̩̥̩̥ * ̩̩̥͙ ✩ * ̩̩̥͙ ˚ ̩̥̩̥ * ̩̩͙ ‧ ͙ .. · ͙ * ̩̩͙˚ ̩̥̩̥ * ̩̩̥͙ ✩ * ̩̩̥͙ ˚ ̩̥̩̥ * ̩̩͙ ‧ ͙ .

Hello, and welcome to the Kirby OC Tournament! This is a fun and friendly popularity contest for Kirby-verse original character designs and their associated stories or lore. The event is hosted from 2024 on by @moonverc3x 🌙 and @starflungwaddledee 💫

After an especially long year in 2024, the tournament will be CLOSED for all of 2025. We understand a lot of folks keenly wanted it to run again as soon as possible, but after more than 6 months of near-full time work, the moderators and hosts need to recuperate before we consider it again.

However, this is a vibrant and creative community, and new events of all sorts are popping up all the time, including other tournaments and contests!! We recommend keeping an eye on tags such as #kirby-oc-event in case any take your fancy, and we hope that in 2026 we'll be ready to host again!

In the interim, below are some links from the 2024 tournament in case you'd like to revisit its highlights. Competitors and spectators produced almost 2000 propaganda posts in 2024 alone, so if you're excited to see some Kirby original character content, there's plenty there to keep you busy!

Thank you again for joining us for 2024, and we look forward to seeing more of your Kirby OCs in the future!

. · ͙ * ̩̩͙˚ ̩̥̩̥ * ̩̩̥͙ ✩ * ̩̩̥͙ ˚ ̩̥̩̥ * ̩̩͙ ‧ ͙ .. · ͙ * ̩̩͙˚ ̩̥̩̥ * ̩̩̥͙ ✩ * ̩̩̥͙ ˚ ̩̥̩̥ * ̩̩͙ ‧ ͙ .

quick links to previous tournament content

The 2024 Tournament Review Post a comprehensive selection of stats and highlights from the 2024 event "Propaganda" Archive and Tag 2000+ pieces of content created by competitors and spectators to encourage voting for their favourite OCs from 2024 and 2023. Includes illustrations, animations, roleplays, lore-dumps, and more! Grand Final Winners and all 2024 polls Final results announcements, and all poll results on tumblr, stored for posterity. Our full competitors list, easy links to character intro posts, and the match-ups (as they were posted during the event) can be seen in our official 2024 Competitors Sheet.

. · ͙ * ̩̩͙˚ ̩̥̩̥ * ̩̩̥͙ ✩ * ̩̩̥͙ ˚ ̩̥̩̥ * ̩̩͙ ‧ ͙ .. · ͙ * ̩̩͙˚ ̩̥̩̥ * ̩̩̥͙ ✩ * ̩̩̥͙ ˚ ̩̥̩̥ * ̩̩͙ ‧ ͙ .

quick answers to quick questions

When will the tournament be back? > We aren't able to confirm this for now, but at the time of writing we'd ideally like to host the tournament- or something like it- in 2026. This blog will receive the first updates. Are you sure the tournament won't run in 2025? > Absolutely positive, we're sorry. At this time we are not seeking to hand off to other hosts, either. We encourage folks to create and host their own competitions and events if they wish! Will you continue reblogging pieces mentioning @kirbyoctournament? > Not currently, but we might consider this sometime into 2025. We'd love to be able to highlight Kirby OCs and community creativity all year long, even when there is no active competition running. We'll keep you posted and update our guidelines if this happens! What about the Kirby OC Tournament Discord Server? > The Kirby OC Tournament Discord Server won't be going anywhere! While it will transition to being a more general Kirby OC server and may soon receive a name change, it will otherwise remain active even when there's no tournament running. Will you officially endorse my event in place of the tourney? > No. This is not something we can sufficiently moderate, and it comes with risks for everybody. Community members are welcome to make and host any kind of community event at any time, even ones inspired by ours, but we will remain affiliated only with our own blog and our server.

[fleelangston]

TASK ONE — BUILD A PROFESSOR.

fleelangston. admins  sidney,  mack,  &  james. april  25th,  2025.

meow meows,

HELLO  GORGINAS  !!!  today  more  or  less  marks  two  months  since  fleelangston  has  opened  its  doors  to  all  of  you,  and  we  couldn't  be  more  grateful  for  the  muns  and  muses  we've  accumulated  so  far,  the  flowing  dash  activity,  the  insatiable  discord  lust,  the  mini  games  and  contests  and  mun  -  led  community  docs  ...  literally  all  of  it  !  to  celebrate  this,  to  celebrate  us  -  our  beautiful,  thriving  group  with  beautiful,  thriving  people  -  we  introduce  our  first  task  ...  BUILDING  A  PROFESSOR  !

with  our  fondness  for  npcs,  we  figured  it's  about  time  to  put  faces  and  names  to  the  professors  guiding  our  muses'  classes.  below  the  read  more  is  a  mini  stats  list  &  questionnaire  -  your  goal  is  to  create  a  professor  for  the  major(s)  your  muse(s)  is  studying.  they  may  be  either  langston  or  palladian  professors,  and  you  may  create  as  few  or  as  many  professors  as  you'd  like  if  you  choose  to  participate.  graphics  aren't  a  required  part  of  the  task,  but  do  please  attach  a  gif  of  their  chosen  faceclaim  so  we  may  lust  after  them  accordingly  !

professor statistics.

name —

gender & pronouns —

age —

department — theater, dance, music, fine arts, etc.

classes taught — intro to screenprinting, the ethics of monster - fucking, etc.

temperament — i.e. grumpy, exhausted, overzealous, etc. overall personality.

teacher quirks — i.e. reciting every shakespearean monologue by heart, cancelling classes 4x a week, etc.

special interests — strawberry matcha, office - naps, watching the rain race down the car window as they contemplate their life choices, etc.

fierce aversions — dr. warmmouth, self - aggrandizing students, getting mud on their wellies, etc.

fun facts ! — lost the kids in the divorce, is balding, y'know. fun things.

rate a professor rating — on a scale of 1 to 10. may include a review.

mini questionnaire.

how  long  have  they  been  teaching?  do  they  enjoy  the  job  -  or  did  they  have  a  different  career  in  mind originally?

do  they  teach  at  langston,  or  palladian?  what  are  their  thoughts  on  the  opposing  university?

are  there  any  rumors  surrounding  them?  are  they  true?

[nossumusstellae]

Hello world!

Please read before following or tagging me!!!

DO NOT FOLLOW/INTERACT if you post ADULT/NSFW, anti-LGBTQIA, mysoginy, or other far-right nonsense. YOU WILL BE BLOCKED IMMEDIATELY.

IF YOU SUPPORT TRUMP: FUCK OFF. 🖕

ANYONE trying to sell services to me and blogs that are dedicated to a service/commercial product will be AUTOMATICALLY BLOCKED. I've got no patience for scammers.

ASK FOR DONATIONS = BLOCK.

Hello Tumblr,

My blog name is NosSumusStellae. That's latin for "we are stars."

My pen name is Ella Murphy.

I am a writer and a pixel artist.

Proud Canadian 🇨🇦 and Jets fan ✈️🏒❄️

#ella's jets hockey rambles

My art tag: #ella's tavern sketches

Mermay: #Meremayde Mermay

40 Follower Event: #ella's milestone contest

My novella novel, The Starsinger Chronicles, will be released April 2025.

Tumblr release post for The Starsinger Chronicles!

Novel info/updates tag: #the starsinger chronicles

I hope you join me on this journey through the moonlit waters of the Oceana.

Let's dive into the depths, shall we?

Longer intro post

Travel back in time with my blog archive!

My pixel art is currently on Lospec!

My released stories:

Reflections Collection (Republic of Doyle fanfic) (warning: contains mild Newfoundland swears)

Reflections Playlist

Reflections: The Shadows Cast By Farewell

Shadows Playlist

Reflections Nightfall: Archive of Memory Nightfall Ch Zero

Max's Short Fiction Game Submission

Beyond, a story with only one true line of dialogue

Stories for a DnD Adventure

Nevermore, a pilot-verse BBC Sherlock vampire fanfic

Reflections/Nevermore crossover

Silver Rose vampire fic

Reviews and feedback welcome 😊

Weekly short story tag: #ella's short story saturday

Poetry: #ella's random bursts of poetry

No context quotes: #no context quotes sunday

DnD stuff: #ella the dnd nerd #chessex dice

the last of us: #ella watches the last of us

911 on ABC things: #weewoo gay firefighter show <-note: no longer watching. Post if you want to know why

BBC Merlin things: #gay camelot show

Saint-Pierre CBC: #la dee doo cop show🇨🇦🇲🇫

My Dracula reading adventure: #blackberry tea and dracula

New Reflections backstory wip: #reflections nightfall

NEW Archive of Memory wip: #memory archive persephone

the "I'm writing tonight" tag: #the story flows tonight

Discussions with my moots: #gloved fox tavern chats #gloved fox tavern chats by the fire #gloved fox tavern chats around the cauldron

Gloved Fox lore post

discussions with my moots moots: #moot of my moot chats

book reviews: #ella reviews a book

shows/movies/book recs: #ella recommends

Writing tips: #ella's writing tips #ella's writing tips: mythical creatures #ella's worldbuilding tips

Asks: #tavern suggestion box

To the under 18: Anything potentially nswf/not under 18 friendly will be either hidden below "keep reading" cuts or have a red text warning. (hopefully this will never happen more than that one time, but I can't predict the future)

Ask games: worldbuilding fruity asks mystery emoji ask character asks nature-themed asks writer talk asks

WIP ask game more fic writer asks

No more asks due to a flood of scammers. (explanation post) Questions can be put to me by tagging me in a new post, or replying to a post.

Honourable mention to the fun memories blog:

[kisshuhua]

XLOV - Imma Be (Review)

Reviewed on January23rd, 2025

Sorry I was gone for quite a bit. It’s review time again. I was gonna do my Top 10 Worst Songs of 2024 list first but I figured since it’s already taking this long I might as well put out a separate review for something more recent. This group also has some former contestants from Boys Planet 999 so I along with many others were interested to look into the group.

Imma Be -XLOV

I don’t think there’s been a single time where I saw a boy group debut song I wholly liked the entire way through. Not because they’re as god awful as Twitter would have you believe but because sometimes they lack a certain charm. I liked the music video and song because it had a sultry vibe that I’ve yet to see from kpop groups in general as of recent. I also really enjoyed the choreography and how they showed off Rui’s background in ballet (which I know a certain fandom took to heart but that isn’t the point). Overall it’s a pretty solid introduction for a group and I hope they stay consistent with this theme

Final Verdict:

Music Video(s): 10/10

Intro: 6/10

Outro: 7/10

Chorus: 9.5/10

Overall: 8/10

[penna-nomen]

Finally, a pinned intro post!

About me: English literature major working in IT in the Pacific Northwest. She/her. Posting fanfic as penna_nomen since October 2013. Joined Tumblr in July 2023. Sometimes I remember my original blog and post there, too.

Fanfic on AO3:

Co-author with @silbrith of a White Collar AU series called Caffrey Conversation

Posted in 28 fandoms so far including Discworld, Doctor Who, Good Omens, The Good Place, Murderbot Diaries, Psych, Red White & Royal Blue, Schitt's Creek, Supernatural, and many of Jane Austen's novels.

I prefer writing stories with happy endings, often with a mix of humor, fluff, and angst.

Original works on Wattpad:

Short stories for fun

Short stories for contests or challenges

2025 Goals:

fanfic goals: write and post a White Collar fairytale titled Fairest of Them All, and start a finale for the Caffrey Conversation series.

original works goal: Deconstruct my WIP sci-fi novel into a series of short stories and start posting them. One of the characters is an opinionated purple duckling named Amethyst, and she's my Tumblr icon. She thinks of herself as my plot duckling, which is like a plot bunny but louder.

[isaidwhatisaidyt]

Road to the Final Four: March Madness Sweet Sixteen Breakdown! March Madness Sweet Sixteen Preview #marchmadnees #collegebasketball #ncaabasketball Things are getting SERIOUS now that the Sweet Sixteen round of March Madness is here and we have you covered when it comes to everything regarding this round of the NCAA Tournament! We preview the Thursday matchups, breaking down every game, picking the winner of each contest, discussing the potential upsets that could come before discussing the Friday games and diving into those contests and picking the winner. After that, we give our early thoughts on potential Elite Eight matchups that could take place over the weekend in March Madness! Let us know who you think is going to advance to Final Four of the NCAA Tournament in the comments! ☑️TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 02:49 - BYU vs. Alabama 04:39 - Florida vs. Maryland 7:39 - Duke vs. Arizona 10:31 - Texas Tech vs. Arkansas 13:54 - Michigan State vs. Ole Miss 17:10 - Kentucky vs. Tennessee 20:10 - Auburn vs. Michigan 24:45 - Houston vs. Purdue 27:21 - Early Elite Eight Thoughts 31:00 - Outro 🔔𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬. https://www.youtube.com/@iswis_pod/?sub_confirmation=1 ⭐⭐⭐ Audio Podcast is currently on your favorite platforms: Spotify:https://ift.tt/AqsXrtk ApplePodcast:https://ift.tt/0MvWcTD 🔗 Stay Connected With Us. Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/iswis_pod Instagram: https://ift.tt/JRMVg3T Tiktok: https://ift.tt/7NxnZ24 Discord: https://ift.tt/S7umbXH ============================= 🎬Suggested videos for you: ▶️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RMAaVxOb2w&t=41s ▶️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8Z5sBpuoqw&t=17s ▶️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgBYRlI5hOg ▶️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-q0axEvvak ▶️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYcq_KnUqVI ▶️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po0kLf3Cu6k ================================= ✅ About I Said What I Said. Welcome to I Said What I Said, the ultimate sports podcast channel where bold opinions and fresh perspectives take center stage! Hosted by Brad Wakai and Tyson Gentri, we bring you in-depth discussions on football and basketball while exploring the hottest topics across the sports world. Whether you're here for expert takes, unique insights, or tips to sharpen your edge in sports gambling, this is your go-to destination. From game analysis to betting strategies, we’ve got everything you need to stay ahead of the game. Subscribe now and join the conversation! 🔔 Hit subscribe and stay ahead of the game with unfiltered sports talk, bold opinions, and game-winning betting strategies on football, basketball, and beyond! https://www.youtube.com/@iswis_pod/?sub_confirmation=1 ================================= 🔎 Related Phrases: March Madness Preview, Sweet Sixteen Preview, March Madness, March Madness 2025, Sweet Sixteen 2025, March Madness Sweet Sixteen, Sweet Sixteen Analysis, Sweet Sixteen Picks, Sweet Sixteen Predictions, NCAA Tournament, NCAA Tournament 2025, NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen, College Basketball, College Basketball Sweet Sixteen #collegebasketball #marchmadness #sweetsixteen #ncaab #ncaatournament #cbb #college via I Said What I Said https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNpFZBTd7DXTq8vwghPztwA March 27, 2025 at 02:13AM

[forenerblog]

YouTube Growth Hacks: Proven Strategies to Rank Higher and Go Viral

Ever wondered why some YouTube videos explode in popularity while others struggle to get views? It’s not just luck—it’s strategy. The YouTube algorithm plays a huge role in determining which videos get recommended, and if you understand how it works, you can use it to your advantage. In this guide, we’ll break down the best YouTube growth hacks to help you rank higher, gain more views, and increase your subscribers.

1. Understanding the YouTube Algorithm

The YouTube algorithm is what determines which videos appear in search results, on the home page, and in recommended sections. It prioritizes videos that:

Keep viewers watching for longer (Watch Time).

Get high engagement (likes, comments, and shares).

Have a high Click-Through Rate (CTR).

Think of YouTube as a giant popularity contest. The more people interact with your video, the more YouTube promotes it.

2. Why Engagement is the Key to Growth

The more engagement a video gets, the more the YouTube algorithm pushes it to new viewers. Here’s how to increase engagement:

Ask a question in the comments to encourage discussions.

Remind viewers to like and subscribe early in the video.

Reply to every comment to create more interaction.

Videos with higher engagement outperform those with low interactions.

3. The Power of Click-Through Rate (CTR)

CTR measures how many people click on your video after seeing it. A low CTR means people are ignoring your video, which tells YouTube it's not interesting. Improve your CTR by:

Creating compelling thumbnails (eye-catching images matter!).

Writing click-worthy titles (we’ll cover this next).

Using emotional triggers (curiosity, surprise, or urgency).

4. How to Optimize Titles for More Clicks

Your title must grab attention while remaining clear. Some proven strategies:

Use numbers: “5 YouTube Hacks You MUST Try”.

Create curiosity: “You’re Doing YouTube SEO WRONG—Here’s Why”.

Keep it under 60 characters so it’s fully visible.

5. Thumbnails That Get People to Click

A strong thumbnail can double your views! Here’s what works:

Bright colors and high contrast.

Large, bold text that’s easy to read.

Emotional expressions to make it more engaging.

Think of your thumbnail as a movie poster—it should make people want to watch.

6. The Role of Watch Time and Audience Retention

YouTube rewards videos that keep people watching. If viewers leave too early, YouTube stops recommending it. To increase watch time:

Hook viewers in the first 10 seconds.

Use storytelling techniques to keep them engaged.

Avoid long intros—get straight to the content!

7. How to Use Keywords for Better Rankings

SEO isn’t just for Google—it works on YouTube too! To rank higher:

Use keywords in your title, description, and tags.

Find keywords using YouTube’s search bar suggestions.

Place keywords naturally—don’t overstuff!

Example: Instead of "How to Get More YouTube Views", try "How to Get More YouTube Views in 2025 (YouTube Algorithm Tips)".

8. YouTube Shorts: The Fast Track to Growth

YouTube Shorts are exploding in popularity. Here’s why they work:

They’re recommended more frequently.

They bring in new subscribers fast.

They work well for viral trends.

Post Shorts daily to increase your reach quickly.

9. The Secret to Getting on Suggested Videos

The "Suggested Videos" section is where most viral videos get their traffic. To get recommended:

Make related content to trending topics.

Use end screens and cards to push viewers to more of your videos.

Get people to watch multiple videos in one session.

10. Playlists: The Hidden Growth Hack

Playlists make viewers watch more videos back-to-back, increasing your total watch time. Group videos into themed playlists, like:

"Beginner’s Guide to YouTube Growth"

"Best YouTube Shorts Strategies"

More watch time = more algorithm promotion.

11. Best Posting Schedule for Maximum Reach

Timing affects how many people see your video. The best times to post:

Weekdays: 5-9 PM (after work/school).

Weekends: 10 AM-2 PM.

Use YouTube Analytics to see when your audience is most active.

12. Why Video Descriptions and Tags Still Matter

Descriptions and tags help YouTube understand what your video is about. Optimize them by:

Writing a detailed description with relevant keywords.

Adding timestamps for longer videos.

Using tags that match search intent.

13. Collabs and Cross-Promotion: How to Grow Faster

Teaming up with other YouTubers is a great way to get more views. Some ideas:

Guest appearances on each other’s channels.

Shoutouts and link exchanges.

Collaboration videos to tap into new audiences.

14. How to Analyze YouTube Analytics for Growth

Your YouTube Analytics tells you what’s working (and what’s not). Focus on:

Audience Retention – Are people watching till the end?

CTR – Are your thumbnails and titles effective?

Traffic Sources – Where are your views coming from?

Use this data to improve future videos.

15. Final Thoughts: Mastering YouTube Growth Hacks

Growing on YouTube isn’t about luck—it’s about strategy. By understanding the YouTube algorithm, optimizing your videos, and keeping viewers engaged, you can rank higher, get more views, and even go viral.

[inventors-fair]

Introductory Entries! ~

@bergdg — Livio, People's Champion @bread-into-toast — Young Telepath @brookeuwo — Malamet Cairn @corporalotherbear — Kami of Togetherness @cthulhusaurusrex — Fetid Lurker @curiooftheheart — Crackling Eel @deg99 — Mishra's Agglomerate @dimestoretajic — Sythis' Presence @feyd-rautha-apologist — Dawn of Faceless Days @grornt — Reefbed Remnant @helloijustreadyourpost — Greel, Genteel Goblin @horsecrash — Seven Earth-Shattering Strikes @hyde-the-toad-bard — Serial Driller @hypexion — Land Grab @i-am-the-one-who-wololoes — Magic-Intrigued Corvid @izzet-always-r-versus-u — Small Miracle @lanabutnotdelray — Excruciating Interrogation @melancholia-ennui — Channel the Scarlands @nine-effing-hells — Kindling Bargain @piccadilly-blue — Pontiff's Alms @real-aspen-hours — Gnaw from Within @reaperfromtheabyss — Shapeling Artisan @sparkyyoungupstart — Salvaging Phalange @tanknspank — Ovalchase Mechanic & Reliable Roadster @wildcardgamez — Kaito, Towashi Reckoner / Kaito, Kami-Sparked @xenobladexfan — Gesserith, Master of Shields @yd12k — Nifah, Skysurfing Amateur @yourrightfulking — Fungus-Feeder Ants

Whew, what a list. Thank you all for your entries!

[mythauragame]

Development Update - April 2025

Hello hello, folks!

Content development for what we'll have available at launch is well underway, utilizing all the tools that Koa and Sark have built for us—like a dialogue creator that powers all of our questlines and a map builder that's allowing us to build 2.5D levels for your characters to explore. It's full steam ahead for our team as we continue to prepare for Closed Beta next year.

Sark has built a fishing minigame for Mythaura, which we will explore in this update. We also have the results for the Spring Quarter Ko-fi Rewards, and would like to remind everyone interested in winning some Radiant Wolfwasps for their journey through Mythaura to enter our Wolfwasp Giveaway on Instagram by 11:59 AM on May 31!

Fishing

Mythaura is filled with all manner of bodies of water—lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans. In addition to being able to traverse water by swimming, Sark has created a way for players to explore them in another dynamic way: fishing.

The fishing minigame will be available at launch, with some post-launch additions planned as well.

Mechanics

After acquiring a fishing pole from the Grinning Gar, players will be able to fish along any body of water.

Players will have to keep their lure close to the fish in order to reel it in. The higher the rarity of the fish, the more difficult it will be to reel them in.

Rarer fish yield better effects when consumed and have a higher sales value with in-game vendors.

Fishing Rewards

Fishing does not exclusively yield consumables—there's also the chance to fish up certain Companions as well!

Pictured above are just some of the creatures that you can fish up from the rivers and streams around Talon's Rest.

The Grinning Gar

"Mind your fingers around the Ottergrebe. He's insatiable."

The Grinning Gar is an adventurer's destination for all things fishing-related. Its proprietor, Captain Hawthorne, is always quick with a recommendation and quicker yet with a fantastic tale about the epic battles he has waged with the fish in Lake Lacrima.

The shop was designed by our own lovely Sourdeer and Hawthorne's design was pulled from one of the NPC Design Contest that we held. Thank you for the design submission, Satyrn! 🎣✨

Ko-fi Spring Quarter 2025 Winners

Thank you to all the Ko-fi sponsors who voted for the Spring Quarter 2025 rewards. Next month we will show the finalized artwork for the Frilled Nester Companion and the Bumblebaby Ryu Glamour. Stay tuned!

Radiant Wolfwasp Giveaway

A reminder that entries for our Radiant Wolfwasp Giveaway will close on May 31, 2025 at 11:59am PST. We will use Wask to determine our winners, and will stream the award selection on our Discord on May 31, 2025 at 12:00pm PST.

Prizes

1st place: Wolfwasp Queen (Radiant), Wolfwasp King (Radiant)

2nd place: Wolfwasp Warrior Drone (Radiant) and Wolfwasp Worker Drone (Radiant)

3rd place: Corgbee (Radiant)

How to Enter

Users will just need to follow three steps:

Follow the @mythauragame Instagram account

Like the giveaway post

Tag a friend in the comments

Writing & Design Updates

2/8 bespoke levels created for intro quest

Dialogue trees begun for intro quest

Companion descriptions rewritten: 2/95

Item descriptions rewritten: 2/69

Wind's End landmarks named: 1/9

Talon's Rest primary businesses & landmarks named: 3/13

Map regions named: 1/12

Territories named: 1/32

Mythaura v0.37

Quest System Foundation: Players can now take on structured quests with objectives and rewards.

Lineage Data for Beasts: Lineage tracking has been added to beast profiles.

Repeatable Event Support: Events can now be repeated. For example, being able to harvest apple trees in Talon's Rest once a week.

Player Blocking System: Added functionality to block other players.

Buildings can be added to maps and entered: The player can enter and explore buildings with interiors.

Ability to talk to party: You can now interact with your party members to get context-specific dialogue.

New Game Pipeline: Starting a new game now initiates the first quest and generates a random second starter beast.

Map Editor Features: Dozens of new features were added and refined in the internal map tool.

Active Quest Tracking: The codex now shows your active and completed quests. One quest can be tracked as the main quest.

Dynamic Fishing Lighting: When fishing at night, the assets are darker.

Beast Contract Termination: Players are rewarded from a loot pool based on the tier of the terminated beast

Thank You!

Thanks for sticking through to the end of the post, we always look forward to sharing our month's work with all of you--thank you for taking the time to read. We'll see you around the Discord.

[qnewsau]

Malta's Miriana Conte reworks song Kant after Eurovision ban

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/maltas-miriana-conte-reworks-song-kant-after-eurovision-ban/

Malta's Miriana Conte reworks song Kant after Eurovision ban

Malta’s Eurovision hopeful Miriana Conte has released a rewritten and reworked version of her song Kant, after the song was blocked for its similarities to the c-word.

The 2025 Eurovision Song Contest is in Basel, Switzerland from May 13 to 17.

Last month, Malta selected Miriana Conte for this year’s contest after her catchy banger Kant went viral. The song’s title means “singing” in Maltese. But the UK’s BBC reportedly objected to Miriana singing about “serving kant” on the Eurovision stage.

Miriana Conte announced Eurovision bosses had ruled against her song title and its very kanty chorus. She said she was “shocked and disappointed” to find out at short notice before the formal submission deadline.

“While I’m shocked and disappointed, especially since we have less than a week to submit the song, I promise you this: the show will go on – Diva NOT down,” she wrote on Instagram.

Now, Eurovision has unveiled the music video for Miriana’s reworked song with the new title Serving. The Maltese word is now out of the chorus of the English-language song.

The music video’s intro also references the backlash, incorporating grabs of commentators talking about the original version of the song.

Australia is celebrating 10th year in Eurovision

Meanwhile, Australia is celebrating its 10th anniversary of competing in Eurovision this year. In Basel, WA singer Go-Jo will represent us with his song Milkshake Man.

In December, Joel Creasey and Myf Warhurst announced their departure as our commentators. We haven’t got any news on their replacement.

The 2025 Eurovision Song Contest is in Basel, Switzerland and broadcast from May 13 to 17. Australia is competing in semi-final two on the 15th.

For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

[flauntpage]

How to Fix the NHL, a League That's Broken

We don't need a big intro. The NHL is broken in countless ways. Let's fix the NHL.

1) Get rid of the salary cap. The salary cap unfairly depresses salaries and creates parity, the most boring thing in sports. I used to be a very big proponent of salary caps so everything would be "fair," but I was an idiot. If you own a team and want to spend $100 million on it, let's go. Can't keep up with the spending? Too bad, find a new way to win. I could do 10,000 words alone on this but a salary cap hinders a lot of fun things in sports, like trades, free agency, and the ability to earn so much money that I can eventually buy the Miami Marlins after I retire.

2) Get rid of the draft. My fallback here is "get rid of the draft lottery," but again, the draft unfairly suppresses earning ability. Rich people are only in favor of a free market as long as they're the ones that get to exploit it. Let's replace the draft with a recruiting system like in the NCAA, where if you make a good enough pitch to an available player, that player will come to your team. Sure, this favors big-market clubs but too bad.

Every system for bringing workers into the NHL will have a flaw, but this one will have players like Rasmus Dahlin sitting at a table with five hats in front of him and his mom next to him. Then he will move his hand toward the Coyotes hat before laughing and putting on the Maple Leafs hat. I need that.

Listen to the latest episode of Biscuits, VICE Sports' hockey podcast

3) Get rid of fighting. Yeah, yeah. I pee sitting down and if I don't like fighting I should go play tennis or whatever. You know what? Fuck you. There's nothing wrong with peeing while sitting down and people actually watch tennis so maybe let's consider going with what that sport does, which is not allow the 567th-ranked player in the world fight Roger Federer to fire himself up. We're at a point where most fights are staged goon-on-goon affairs so if you're still into that, go watch a game from 1983 when nobody knew how to skate.

4) The FIEGI playoff format. You know it. You love it. Let’s do it.

But really, we need to get rid of this divisional nonsense. Let's meet in the middle and go to a 1-8 format. Stop changing things nobody wants changed.

5) Leaving your feet to block a shot is a penalty. I hate when sports reward no-talent try-hards, and hockey rewards them more than any other sport. It boggles my mind when people get pumped about a fourth-line penalty killer sliding to block an Alex Ovechkin bomb from the face-off circle. Seriously? You don't want to see where that slapper was headed?

This would increase goals and reduce injuries. You can dive to take away the puck if you're in chase mode, but no more squaring up a shooter and sliding in front of the shot. Remember when John Tortorella took over the Canucks and people were excited about the Sedins blocking shots? The Sedins! Get out of here with this nonsense.

6) Bigger nets. Let's go three inches vertically and horizontally and see what happens. I've heard the argument against this idea because goalies would eat more blasts in the mask but whenever that happens, it's always by accident and it's always with the goalie on his knees well below the crossbar. If anything, creating more room around the goalie's skull would reduce those instances but really, shots to the mask are always accidental and wouldn't go anywhere either way. More goals, though. Let's get more goals.

7) Puck off the netting is in play. If there's one general thing I'd change about the NHL, I'd reduce the number of whistles during games. Hockey sells itself on flow and speed, but man can there be a lot of whistles. I don't understand why shots that hit the protective netting above the glass can't be played when they bounce back onto the ice. Everyone has had time to adjust to the netting over the years and everyone knows when a puck leaves a stick if it's headed toward the netting. When it bounces behind the goal line, go get it. Keep playing.

For the sake of fairness, anything off the netting and into the net off the goalie doesn't count.

8) No more offside. This also means no more offside reviews. Everyone is happy. Why do we even have offside? If I could go back in time, I'm killing Hitler and kidnapping the guy in 1898 or whenever who was so passionate about an offside line. It's not like the offside line makes the game safer; it's there to give the defense an advantage against oncoming opponents. Why?

Removing offside is another way to get some whistles out of the game and help with flow.

9) Home teams wear white, road teams wear dark. Bring it back.

10) One outdoor game per year. I know I've stumped for giving one to every team every year, but the realistic solution to this dying gimmick is to return to playing one game per year on New Year's Day—EVEN IF THE NFL IS PLAYING THAT DAY. What a cowardly league, afraid to go up against Week 17 of the NFL schedule, which is always terrible. The NHL was like, "We are taking over January 1! Try to stop us!... but hey if there's a Giants-Falcons game that day, we can play on January 2, no problem, sorry for yelling."

And now, we break to hear from the people:

I agree. Blackouts are stupid. If you paid to watch the game on your mobile device, you can do that. Motion passes.

I normally would be on board but now that I'm running the league the idea of shortening the schedule and taking money out of my pocket doesn't work for me. Motion denied.

Yes. Public shamings for any referees that blatantly ignore penalties because they want "the players to decide the game." Do your job. I'm also making referees available to the media after every game—regular season and playoffs. Face the music, fellas!

And now, back to my genius ideas:

11) Referees must explain every video review ruling. I need more than "the call on the ice stands" or "the call on the ice has been overturned." Tell me why! It's not always clear! I don't need a 1,000-word explanation, just the basic reasoning. This is very important for goalie interference reviews. Was the goaltender outside the crease when he was contacted? Did you determine the contact wasn't enough to disrupt the goalie? What's particularly annoying is after the non-explanation explanation, you know what refs do? They go to the bench and explain the decision to the coach! Fuck that coach! What about me?

12) A 3-2-1 points system. Three for a regulation win, two for an overtime/shootout win, one point for an overtime/shootout loss. Rewarding teams with the same amount of points for a 7-0 thumping and a 1-0 win in a breakaway contest or three-on-three competition is asinine. You know it. I know it. Let's change it. Get your artificially inflated point totals for the sake of parity and making teams look better than they are out of here.

13) No more in-game coach interviews. Anyone conducting or participating in an interview with a coach on the bench during a game is subject to 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. The network will lose broadcast privileges for 25 years. It's time we got tough on this. Nobody wants these. Fans don't. Coaches don't want to talk to Pierre McGuire. Hell, let's give Pierre the benefit of the doubt and say he has no interest in doing it. Then who are these interviews for? "Honey, hurry up and get back here, Brian Boucher is going to ask Peter DeBoer about the Sharks' start!" Never again.

14) No more in-game, between-periods player interviews. How did this ever get started? After watching 20 minutes of hockey, I need an out of breath guy to tell me about being harder on the puck and getting pucks in deep and any other hockey cliché he can muster in 30 seconds? Just throw it back to the studio or to a commercial break. Again, who are these interviews for?

15) Fans pick everyone at the All-Star Game. We cut Colin Campbell completely out of the process (which is a good starting point for anything you do that's hockey-related) and let fans vote in any player they want. An All-Star Game full of goons? Sure. If we actually let fans pick all the players, what's the most likely outcome? That the entire Chicago Blackhawks team gets voted to the game, right? And is there anything the NHL loves more than a Blackhawks game? So we get a Blackhawks vs. Pacific game? This idea makes everyone happy.

16) Unrestricted free agency begins two years after your entry-level deal expires. As of now, 25 is pretty much the age when players can explore free agency but that number is almost always higher because teams buy UFA years and that player winds up getting there when he's 29 and on the downside of his career. I'm trying to get players to market when they are 23, which I'm sure is still a flawed idea but I'd like to care about July 1 again and I'm sure other fans would, too.

17) One interconference game between teams per season. Do the Jets really need to play the Panthers twice? Who is dying for a home-and-home between the Islanders and Flames? The current rule exists so you can see the stars in your building once a year, but come on, it's 2018. It's not 1988 when Wayne Gretzky was someone you saw for eight seconds on SportsCenter every third night; it's 2018, when you can watch every Connor McDavid shift and postgame interview on your phone.

Take those excess dates and use them for games within your conference or division. McDavid comes to your building once every two years. That should be enough. By 2025, you'll be able to buy an app that allows you inside McDavid's head a la Being John Malkovich, so let's bag this twice yearly Oilers-Lightning matchup and let those teams play rivals one more time instead.

18) Mandatory Olympics. We are going to the Olympics every four years whether they are in Vancouver or on the surface of Jupiter.

19) World Cup in years between Olympics. And then we play our silly cash grab with Team North America and Team Europe so we have a best-on-best tournament every two years. The games are always in North America. Sorry, rest of the world.

20) Get rid of the trapezoid. Martin Brodeur retired nearly three years ago. We don't need it anymore. If anything, allowing goaltenders to play more pucks would result in more goals because most goaltenders play the puck like they've never seen a puck in their lives. I want more goals with the goalie behind the net with his arms in the air or with him on his back.

Time for another interlude to hear from fans:

We gave Atlanta two cracks at the NHL and it didn't work out. Sometimes things aren't meant to be. Denied.

Yes. I will hire a Senior Vice President of Ball Sitting Prevention. Motion passes.

Unpaid labor for five years? Please wait here while security escorts you from the building. Denied.

Oh look it's more great stuff from me:

21) You can't ice the puck while shorthanded. I'm on the fence about this because teams will just ice the puck and create more whistles, but it has to generate more power-play goals so let's do it.

22) Power plays at the start of a period begin in the offensive zone. Let's say you draw a penalty with six seconds to go. Those six seconds are almost useless. Yeah, you can score off a draw but it's hard. Then the next period starts and the faceoff is at center ice. If you win the draw, you need to circle back, organize your rush, and if everything goes perfectly when you set up, you've lost 30 seconds of 5-on-4 time due to circumstances beyond your control.

Drop the puck in the offensive zone, this way if you win the draw clean, you're set up and have close to a full power play.

23) Ban the shootout. Earlier, when I said one point for a shootout win or loss, I was lying, because the shootout has been abolished and we now play 3-on-3 until someone scores. Personally, I think 3-on-3 is as dumb or dumber than shootouts, but you people seem to like it so let's compromise and play 3-on-3 until someone scores to avoid shootouts.

24) Overtime goes until someone scores. Yeah, like it says. If you can play 5-on-5 in the playoffs until 1 AM, you can play beyond five minutes at 3-on-3 in the regular season.

25) 3-on-3 wins are separated from regulation wins in tiebreaker. I quietly seethe when I see that the current tiebreaker lumps regulation and overtime wins together when overtime wins are just as stupid as shootout wins. But we don't have the shootout anymore so regulation wins are all we care about in this brave new world.

26) Organ music only during stoppages. I know this makes me seem old but they've been playing popular music during stoppages since I was a kid and enough already. Exceptions include playing "Take On Me" because it's cool when the crowd sings along and you can do a theme night if a famous musician just died. Play all their hits during every stoppage. Otherwise, organ.

27) High sticking penalties can be challenged. It doesn't happen a lot, but it happens enough where we need a safety net against guys being issued high sticking penalties when really the guy who got hit in the face was hit by his own teammate's stick. It's easily correctable and should never take more than a minute.

28) "Original Six" results in prison time. If anyone is caught using the term "Original Six" you will receive 25 years to life in a federal prison.

29) Any head contact results in an ejection and is reviewable. I understand that hockey is fast and you can wreck a guy's head with a "clean" hit that gets torso first, but aren't we at a point medically where we can say it's way too easy to destroy a brain? Do we really need a guy wiping out another guy with a "clean" open-ice hit that renders him unconscious?

The point of a check is to separate the other guy from the puck so you can take it. "Clean" hits involving the head almost always result in the receiver of the hit needing medical attention, which stops the game and defeats the purpose of the hit. There's nothing wrong with slowing the game in the context of these hits, which will all be reviewed so no one is ejected for the wrong reasons.

There's no reason to condone any head hits.

After that, let''s go to the phones one last time:

So two guys to the box for roughing and we play 4-on-4? Done. Motion passes.

This goes without saying. Motion passes with ease.

Yes, but the independent party will be me, dispensing justice free from the CBA, NHLPA or owners. I am judge, jury, and executioner. When I take over the league on Tuesday, Zac Rinaldo is out of the league by Friday. Motion passes.

Now let's wrap it up:

30) You can kick pucks for goals. If you think this is dangerous but are still steaming over me minimizing hitting in the previous rule change, take a deep breath and realize this rule is way less dangerous than mashing a guy in the head. People seem to think that if kicking is allowed it's going to result in sliced tendons, but the opportunities to kick pucks are so few and far between. Guys aren't digging in a goalies pads with their skates.

Also, one fewer thing we have to review.

31) The trade deadline is one week before the end of the regular season. You lose your star center with four games to go? Well, guess what! In my league, you still have time to trade for another one before the playoffs begin.

32) Hand passes are legal everywhere. What percentage of hand pass whistles are for actual hand passes? Most of them are just accidental deflections and redirections with the glove that happen to go to a teammate in the neutral zone. These whistles are also flow killers. I understand we have to get to commercial breaks three times per period so if we adopt all my rules we can go to commercial after goals when necessary.

33) All broadcasts need a shot total graphic on the screen at all times. I used to hate it but now I can't live without it. If I turn on a game and it's 0-0 at the 10-minute mark of the first period, seeing the shots are 8-1 tells me something about the game.

34) Linesmen can call penalties. You know what linesmen have? Eyes. You know what else? Whistles. You know what else besides that? Arms that can be raised into the air. Linesmen are basically the neighborhood kids that pretend they didn't see a crime because they don't want to be rats. If you see something, say something.

35) No more Lady Byng Trophy. Jesus, who cares? Gentlemanly play? You won't find a dumber award nobody in the world cares about than this one. "Here you go, I found a guy with a lot of points and very few penalty minutes and this is your trophy for that random collection of attributes." Let's melt it down and use it to add another level to the Stanley Cup.

36) NBC can't broadcast games anymore. We gave it a try. Time to find someone else willing to air this sport in America. Doesn't matter who. Split the package between Lifetime and TruTV. Stream games on Pornhub. I do not give a shit.

37) NHL.com’s stats page is overhauled. Sure, fixing the stats page will take 10-20 years but I will have the world's best minds on it for as long as it takes.

38) Every team needs one person wearing a 69 jersey. Someone on the roster needs this. It will boost jersey sales league-wide by about 69 percent.

39) Radar guns. The speed of every pitch in a baseball game is posted on a scoreboard, so why can't NHL arenas do it for slap shots? It's weird that we don't know how hard an Alex Ovechkin bomb is. It would be cool to look up at the scoreboard and see that PK Subban blast was 98 mph. The NHL shouldn't be behind MLB in anything.

40) You can't put the goalie back on the ice after an icing. Ever notice that when you ice the puck, you can't change personnel, but if you do it with the goalie pulled for an extra attacker, you can put the goalie back out there? That bullshit ends under my watch.

41) Delay of game penalties for goalies freezing the puck outside the crease. Sometimes a goalie will be above the crease and he'll make a save that sticks in his pads. Fine. Can't penalize that. But what about when goalies come out of the crease to catch a high dump-in to avoid the short hop? That's a penalty! Why do we allow that? I hate it and it's out.

42) Puck over glass is no longer a penalty. I love power plays and goals as much as anyone, but the punishment does not fit the crime. Treat it like an icing. The offending team can't change players and the face-off is in the offensive zone.

But besides that, I wouldn't change anything.

This article originally appeared on VICE Sports CA.

How to Fix the NHL, a League That's Broken published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

[inventors-fair]

And So it Begins: Intro Commentary

I'm finally awake! Criminy, what a week. And we're doing it all again next week, too! Hm. Look, I'll level with y'all: the way my work schedule is right now, commentary's gonna be consistently pretty late unless we figure out some other way to do this. I can attempt cutting to one paragraph or lingering in the workshop at night, which I do enjoy doing after work from time to time! I just want to make sure that everyone gets a timely response to their cards, 'cause that's what we're all looking for when we submit.

In the generic sense, though: positive notes include the massive amount of subtle and pleasant storytelling that went into cards this week! Whenever someone submits a card that has a strong mechanical bend with flavor implications, that's where my heart shines. I really appreciate the effort that people put it to make the blend work together, and it's a tough talent.

In things to watch out for, there were a lot of mechanical blends this week. It's super cool to see, and there are also a lot of wording interactions to keep in mind for how things should appear on card with new precedent, reminder text, etc. to keep the card smooth. It's always worth double-checking to ensure your presentation matters.

JUDGE PICKS are cards that I'm terrified of choosing because there were so many good ones this week. How many after the fact? 22? I'll select... I guess five, but there's more. Y'all brought your a-game fr fr. Read on.

@bergdg — Livio, People's Champion

There's the inherent timing question that this card asks: can I cast this without flash? And yes, on that technicality you can do that but I don't feel that ambush groks as well without that minor addendum—an easy fix, though, so that's not too bad. Where it gets tricky is what ambushing means in a format. There are combat-like mechanics such as ninjutsu that, when known about, make combat more complicated. The fact that ambush is castable during an opponent's turn, I feel, disincentivises attacking into a known trick in a way that's harder to play around than just having combat tricks in a set. I feel that it needs some tweaking to avoid being a "Gotcha!" mechanic.

As for Livio itself, though, I can also read this as just being a flash creature for combat, and on that note it's a perfectly fine card. Disregarding the ambush side of things, flashing in a a lord/anthem is a great piece of strategy at rare and can turn that tide of combat quite effectively. I'm curious about the juxtaposition of "rebel" and "knight," though that's more a questioning of in-world fealty. Looking back on precedent, I guess Knight of the Holy Nimbus and its ilk are reasonable comparisons, but that's from a set that's not the greatest for precedent. Hey, maybe there's some worldbuilding to check up on for me. I'm sure there's an in-world explanation to expound upon here—or it's just "knight because protector, rebel because people's protector." That's not quite as compelling but it's understandable.

~

@bread-into-toast — Young Telepath (JUDGE PICK)

I like the classroom perspective that you've provided here. This student's bored in class, delving into the minds of their classmates and mouthing off, and the early-Jace comparisons are in full force. It's a great way to tie together simple trope-based worldbuilding in a slice-of-life manner. Why are we looking at random? Because the student's just poking around the minds in class, unstimulated but talented. All of your strengths are sincerely on display here, and I could write out an art description based on this illustration quite easily with the same impact. Good stuff.

I will say that this is a fun support card for limited, and that's the extent to which its power would show up anywhere—and that's totally fine. Double-draw is a great archetype, or at least it was in the couple places where I've played it the most (FDN and BRO). Perhaps there's something to be said for slowing down the game when choosing randomly at higher levels; I doubt that's an actual concern, but timers are timers. I think this card could've easily been a 2/3 because of the supporting role that its supposed to have, maybe to be a better blocker as needed, but that's small potatoes. This card was really great to see among the mix, and I'm looking forward to some wild and worldly choices from you.

~

@brookeuwo — Malamet Cairn (JUDGE PICK)

First things first: great flavor text here, short and simple worldbuilding. Secondly, the design sensibilities are pretty neat! Ixalan's ability to boost with exploration, equipment, and/or auras is a fine reason to play this card and even more so to want it on-curve. Even if you don't have as many things to boost its power, the strong lifelinking blocker can be a real savior in the later parts of the game. Green and white weren't the easiest colors to draft in LCI, I'll say that for sure. Whether or not this card would've saved the archetype, I dunno, but I enjoy the little twist on a defender that pairs well with the world in question.

I also like how it's a good topdeck because of those defensive capabilities. Maybe it doesn't necessarily get around the evasive creatures, but that hardly matters when you're using it mostly to get around full swings and the lot. That's the gist, and there's not a whole lot I feel I need to add that the card doesn't already say. It awakens when you put the power into it, and it's still a staunch defender even without that. I feel the will of Ixalan's world coming into play here as a quiet and ancient force to be reckoned with. So yeah, not bad!

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@corporalotherbear — Kami of Togetherness

Oh, affinity, how we love thee... It's pretty fun how this card plays with itself, in the same way that a lot of the best affinity cards do. Getting bigger and better means that you're gonna pop off effectively just as much as you need to in limited, and there's the encouragement of multiples and/or spirit-based synergy that makes it pretty awesome. Honestly, I'm reminded a little bit of the MHX cards, although I understand that it's reasonable to have affinity as a one-off mechanic; there was a pseudo-affinity in NEO, I remember that one quite well.

Fair choice of PT also, because I can imagine the earliest you could get this card would be... Well, depends on the other cards in the set, but if there's some kind of other Spirit token generation then turn four or five would be reasonable, yeah? And with that you can have a solid body down. Good choice of the statline. It's definitely playing to my Kamigawa love, and I do appreciate that, even if the name feels just a touch less ethereal than I'd expect. Sensible, but maybe a little too grounded. I think that what I'm really curious about is whether or not the AD would be totally gorgeous or totally horrific. All depends on your relationship with the spirit world, I suppose?

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@cthulhusaurusrex — Fetid Lurker (JUDGE PICK)

The first comparison that comes to mind is that of Tireless Tracker, whose first line is effectively the same. That said, I'd still want to play both of them in the deck that's asking for it, because they play into somewhat different spaces. Sacrificing your clues to the Tracker is a way to get your card advantage and beef on the board because of it, whereas this fish just wants to eat them up, a trade in resources. I like that choice of differences. Sometimes you want to just get your power up and swing in, and sometimes you need the draw—perhaps into the next land for the next clue.

Regardless, I can imagine this card as a multi-archetypal card that can still stand on its own in a draft. UB evasion, UG ramp, UR artifacts, UW card-advantage-control... Yeah! Don't fix what isn't broken. There's this general trope as well, flavor-wise, of river monsters living in sewers and marshes and swamps. Where does this one come from, I wonder? Probably a place with lots of artifacts to spare (a cousin of Gearseeker Serpent? Or a resident of Capenna?). That's a minor inquiry, though, because this card's definitely focused on power above other things. Slam dunk and/or hatedraft this card in limited, that's for sure.

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@deg99 — Mishra's Agglomerate

In the submission, you mentioned niches and the fulfillment of a niche for a card like TSP's legendary Mishra. The questions that follow are a) whether or not that's a niche that necessarily needs to be filled, and b) whether or not this is the best application of the necessary mechanics. The obvious one is the "relentless" aspect, having any number with that name. Is the remainder of the plan just to beat down with Assembly-Workers, then? Besides Mishra having random complicated combos in EDH already, I'm not sold on a rare card as the best place for "relentless" in general. This is more of a meta issue with distribution, honestly, but I hope it's fairly evident why it's a little bit of a limited feelsbad to open a rare that plays best when you have multiple copies.

I also feel that, regardless of Mishra's possibilities, there are some easier ways to word this card for a similar effect and/or ways to make it less wordy. The middle two can be combined into a single activation that's similar to the Enduring cycle from DSK, e.g. "UBR, Exile another artifact card from your graveyard: Return this card from your graveyard to the battlefield. It's an artifact. (It's not a creature.)" As it stands, though, for this niche I think having a common/uncommon artifact could've helped with the start of this idea. It's a solid beater if you're going for Assembly jank, and I don't fault it there at all. Execution is the name of the game.

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@dimestoretajic — Sythis' Presence

I'll start with the positive parts of this card's intentions, namely that it's a strong aura for limited and deserves its legendary potential. My second thought is me wanting to make a token copy of it somehow, and the kinds of awesome shenanigans that you can get away with because of it. The weird thing is that there are only a handful of legendary auras that have been printed...ever? It's actually kinda weird! This would be fun for Yenna, though, and other loops that you can do with multiple copies. I keep thinking that this card gives it lifelink, and maybe that could've usurped the first strike, but hey, that's minor tinkering.

The major and minor wording issues are the other part. When an Aura gives both a PT boost and abilities, the PT boost use "gets" and the abilities use "has." And with the return, I think modern templating could say "this card" instead of the name in the last ability, but I'm not entirely sure. It's the middle trigger that's egregious, though, because you gotta say "another Aura you control" and also specify where it's going into the graveyard from. Is this from anywhere? From the battlefield? Specificity really does matter here because otherwise, well, the rules just don't work with it, and also I can't totally guess the intention. Also, the "instead" is only necessary on replacement effects, "if an Aura would" etc.

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@feyd-rautha-apologist — Dawn of Faceless Days

I'm almost positive that the draw trigger goes first, so let's shift that around. Let's follow that up with the question of what this card does, exactly. Right now, I know that there are the various creature-shifting combos that you can use with Arcane Adaptation and Leyline of Transformation, all that jazz. So why play this card over those, besides the cost and the draw, to transform a number of other cards? I'm wondering what kind of limited environment could use this, and I'm thinking about Lorwyn. There are a few funny cast triggers there, that's for sure, although the effect of the cards remains the same and might usually care about the creatures types of that archetype as-is.

In a limited format with an abundance of creature types, I can imagine that this card could serve as a glue between shenanigans. It's also asking a massive amount from the format in question to be able to have that amount of kindred cards. I think it just kind of hit me that this card effectively acts as a noncreature type-changer for the usual creature-only type-changing cards, and I can sense the niche there. Is that either too powerful or too narrow for what these effects are supposed to do? Why not change the creatures that you're probably gonna have more of to match the kindred stuff rather than this? But there are certainly combos I know I'm not seeing and interactions yet to exist. This card might be a little too ahead of the curve for me, if I'm being honest, and ultimately I say that positively. BTW, the name is a 10/10.

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@helloijustreadyourpost — Greel, Genteel Goblin

I think that we can all agree on how this card works and how neat it is overall. I really appreciate this week's efforts, with this card and others, to have more succinct and slice-of-life storytelling. This goblin has a hat, other goblins take the hat, and he gets mad when his hat becomes taken. Boom, easy enough and funky enough that he could easily be someone's favorite card from limited and/or become someone's pet commander deck. Pass the hat around, everyone!

A limited deck that runs this card has the minor issue of needing at least one other goblin around in order to give Greel trample for the turn and/or to use this equipment at all if Greel leaves the battlefield. I think that's the inherent flaw, honestly, because without at least one other piece of equipment and/or another goblin, a lot falls apart here. But perhaps that's just something that's inherent to this card with the deckbuilding that you'd want for it, y'know? Limited is really the only place that it would be the most likely to not work. Sometimes a 3/3 with haste is worth it. The other small note is that the second line should definitely be a trigger. Feels really weird that it doesn't use the stack.

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@horsecrash — Seven Earth-Shattering Strikes

Starting with the amazing name, I'm more confused than anything as to whether there's no flavor text to go with it. This seems like the perfect place, where I want to know so much more about the card than I do in this moment. Still, regardless of that, there's the push and the question of whether or not this card is at the kind of limited power level that's acceptable for multicolor. And the honest answer is that I don't know, but I don't think so. Not necessarily. The difference between this and a Dreadbore is pretty narrow. Is this the amount of damage that's needed in a specific imagined format? Is this the kind of multicolor power that you'd want?

I'm thinking of the top end right now for two mana, things like Scorching Shot. Unholy Heat has limitations, others have color restrictions on what they can hit... This feels like it goes too far into destructive territory, even with the way that the name leads us to understand it. I'm really torn here, because as much as I want this card to work with its presentation, I feel that it's just...off, numerically. Red burn's efficiency needs to have limitations even in multicolor, and black wants to do other things for this mana. This is quite a difficult card to talk about, but a welcome challenge still.

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@hyde-the-toad-bard — Serial Driller

The weird thing is that I think this card would be better at home in EDH than limited or standard constructed. Maybe that's me just thinking of how impulse draws work, and/or the question of what Gruul-stompy wants for the longer games. Don't wanna hit something too big, don't wanna hit something you're not able to use in the moment. Hm! I think from a pure design perspective that this card's a real pain in the butt to have to deal with on the other side of the table but not so much that it's an insta-remove. I'd definitely play this in my Xenagos deck after a little bit of ramp, just so I'm guaranteed to hit the big drops.

There are a few shouts and murmurs with the name and the flavor, and I'm kinda on board there. I think that the flavor text is leaning into the faux-dramatic a little more than necessary, and "You never know where they'll strike next" does the job well enough with the implication that they're an aggressive miner. The "killer" to "driller" name feels like it could be a lot more gruesome than the mechanics are presenting here, in the sense that I would be expecting the drilling to be even worse than murderous plans—but no, we're just digging away. The tension/surprise is difficult to do on MTG cards; it's possible I'm posting my expectations on top of what's ostensibly a card that knows just how fun it is and I should stop being a spoilsport. All I know is that I'd slot this card in, so heck, the rest is opinion.

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@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes — Magic-Intrigued Corvid

Now, as a morally bankrupt Brago player on occasion, this card's an absolute delight with enough blinking effects, especially if you can make them happen more in your favor. The fact that you get to cast the cards that you exile even if they're not yours is pretty baller. There are always strange rules cases that come to mind, such as whether or not doubling the effect with Panharmonicon that somehow exiles multiple spells would make the LTB trigger cast one or two spells, but there are contingencies for that, I'm sure. We've been through Spell Quelling before, after all.

It's a really fun EDH card and a really fun limited top-end card. I think a five-mana 3/3 body would've been fine for modern power levels, considering the stage of the game in which that would be relevant, but that's a minor push and it's okay to err on the side of lower power rather than higher power. Design-wise, I think this is one of the coolest ones I've seen from you, well thought-out and quite cute. The name could use a little bit more mysticism, or at lease some other kind of adjective. Even "Curious" could do some work here, y'know? But names are sometimes the hardest parts of these things. Just like exiling an opponent's one-sided boardwipe...

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@lanabutnotdelray — Excruciating Interrogation

When thinking about limited formats in which -1/-1 counters appear, there's the question of how they're going to be used, what they combo with, how they affect your side vs. an opponent's side. The ability to put a -1/-1 counter on whatever your want every turn can be beneficial for wearing something down. It's also worth considering the cards that have -1/-1 counters that they want to get rid of, like Grim Poppet or Channeler Initiate. I'm curious if the intent was more to put it on your own stuff or to put it on your opponent's cards and get the benefit? It's a real pain with defenders and the like, but all the same. I'm really curious about that part.

Flavorfully, though, it would make more sense to put it on something that you don't control. Extra card advantage is the side benefit, and I suppose that uncommon can get the extra push from this card. Could encourage some chump-blocking, definitely speeds up the game. I wonder what the environment would be to allow for such a card, because there are times and places where the draw is just advantage on top of advantage, and others where it's a slow burn down. There were some murmurings about this card, and I think I'm curious enough about it to give it a thumbs-up overall. The flavor text certainly scans well, although I'm not sold on what it actually means? Why wouldn't the prisoner just keep screaming, I suppose. I might just not be parsing.

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@melancholia-ennui — Channel the Scarlands

The thing that stands out to me first and foremost is the use of the UB property as a mechanical name here. It feels strange to me, but perhaps not to the people who enjoyed that sort of thing. Perhaps. If this set isn't a callback to Fallout itself, then that deliberate choice lands more awkwardly than not, all things considered, and IIRC this is meant to be a different U-within world. So... I don't know, I'm not sure about this concept in a standard set in general. Milling works well in Commander because of the 99 cards; in a draftable format where practically all of your cards matter, having a milling mechanic as a main aspect of the set doesn't seem like the best choice.

Conceptually, for Commander, I would've removed all the ability-things you put on here and just gone with the whole rad counter shenanigans as-is. Without that, I don't personally believe that this is the best place for rad counters in general. Multiplayer mechanics are often overpowered in 1v1 formats, see Monarch and Undercity. Having a set with a major theme of rad counters could be relatively balanced if the entire set was worked like the sets that used poison/toxic. Big 'if' there. Even then, rad counters are majorly more difficult to remember rules-wise than poison. There are just too many caveats to make this work in the way it needs to, I'm afraid.

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@piccadilly-blue — Pontiff's Alms

—205.4i Any permanent with the supertype "link" is a link permanent. Any link permanents are subject to the rules regarding link permanents (see rule 704.5z). —704.5z If a player controls a link permanent, any player may choose another permanent they control and link it to that permanent as a sorcery. This is a special action and does not use the stack. A player may unlink a permanent they control from a link permanent as a sorcery. This is a special action and does not use the stack. The link and unlink actions may only be performed once per turn per link permanent. A permanent can only be linked to one link permanent at a time, and a link permanent can only be linked to one permanent per player at a time. A permanent cannot be linked to itself. If, somehow, a permanent would become linked to itself, the link fails to form. —704.5aa A link permanent is considered "fully linked" when each player controls a permanent linked to it. —704.5ab Link permanents linked to each other form a chain. A chain has a number of links equal to the number of link permanents in that chain. Multiple separate chains may exist.

You are a mad person and I highly respect that. Firstly, unlinking should probably be something you add as reminder text. Secondly... I think that this card is garnering a lot of respect from me, but what the heck do I actually do with this? Maybe I can just leave this card on a miniature pedestal as a reminder of what MTG's future could be, but maybe I'll do a little bit of theorizing.

Battle representation. Multiple link enchantments can be really strange if there are different links on the battlefield, but that's fine. As a visual representation, what about when a permanent has auras and equipment attached to it, but that aren't linked to an enchantment, or vice-versa? There are some pragmatic weirdnesses, but I'm imagining on a digital client you could have little red strings of energy that chain them together. Having "Link" as a supertype is pretty neat, too, although I've been hanging around too many YGO players not to have an unconscious connection. All the same, though: three life for the alms, that's a real clock. Not the wildest clock in the world, but a clock all the same. I think this might last one turn, honestly. You link something up probably as soon as you play it, and  an opponent sacrifices a permanent (basically) to not have that happen again. I... Huh. Sounding it out, that doesn't sound that powerful all things considered. I think I'd like to have seen a more perpetual linkage, perhaps? The thing that I'm imagining the most of, as a last thought, are links on links on links, giant chains of cards. What a nightmare, but what a visual into the world of possibility.

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@real-aspen-hours — Gnaw from Within

With the modern wording, "this" should at least be "this enchantment" or "this permanent," right? Nine Lives Familiar and all. Feels weird without that stuff... Anyway. I think the art direction is pretty great, and I saw it got some attention by word of mouth. Totally reasonable there, it's a nasty time for everyone involved. Mechanically AND flavorfully, though, why is this an enchantment? Something like Stab Wound represents the grievous injury, bleeding out over time, and it's the wound that's causing the life loss. This card feels like it should've been conceived as a removal spell similar to Stolen by the Fae, as a similar example. It works best as a kill spell and I can't see a pragmatic reason for it being an enchantment.

I'd definitely play with it as either, though, although I'd only use it as a kill spell if it was released as an enchantment. Getting to kill something and get a bunch of tokens is usually a safe place to be if you're going to remove what you want to remove. In a rat-themed strategy, or any wide black one where you're going to want fodder and/or to go wide, the late-game benefits of this card can't be overstated. Maybe having guys that can't block is a little bit of a rough spot, but what're you gonna do, right? It's the next turn that's gonna blow them out of the water, and into a dark alleyway. 

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@reaperfromtheabyss — Shapeling Artisan (JUDGE PICK)

I can say for sure that some interesting choices were made here. Having checked for precedent, I don't believe that "changing" counters is something that the rules really allow as such. I think this could be an activated ability you can do at sorcery speed once a turn, removing a counter as a cost to put a counter on something else. That said, it's more about the weird notions that this card allows for. The absolute floor is that you have a 4/4 that can graft itself onto other creatures you control as they enter, but shifting things around to give your current hand extra abilities when the creatures enter is a really neat idea.

Playing into the UG +1/+1 counter space allows for some strange things to happen, and while I'd argue that Evolve was the best iteration of Simic's mechanics as it plays in that space, this is a breath of fresh, squiddy air. I like the way that this card works conceptually a lot, even if that upkeep trigger isn't something that's currently supported to the best of my knowledge. You know how the humble octopus will sometimes remove its arms in various circumstances? I can imagine this creature taking a limb and just hucking it at an ally as it transforms into a grafted addendum to their body. Huh! I wonder how the 200X Simic would feel about ability counters these days. I'm actually really glad that you're tapping into that, assuming this is a Simic-themed design at all. If not, it's evolved into one.

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@sparkyyoungupstart — Salvaging Phalange

This card feels like it's trying to tap into some Horizons-y territory, and I'm really trying to meet it halfway here. Foraging feels a little odd here when there's no specific Food feeling here, and I wouldn't expect this thing to necessarily be a squirrel skeleton, but... Is the Swarm here from the Golgari? I assume so, because my other consideration would be Grist's swarm, and that's a whole other kettle of bugs. My point about the flavor is that it doesn't mesh with the presentation, and foraging with Food wouldn't actually do anything to beef the power and toughness, so the question is why not have a direct mechanical tie-in with something like Escape?

Even though the mechanical aspect is powerful as well, I get the sense that it's looking to turn the exile zone into essentially a second graveyard as far as the numbers go. No matter what plane you're on, the intended gameplay/flavor intersection of these sorts of cards should be tied to the graveyard for play balance reasons. The exile zone has pragmatically no interaction, and I don't feel that that's a gameplay style (especially for these colors) that should be pursued. Caring about the graveyard as a resource matters for gameplay balance. The intent is noble, but the establishment of BG graveyard resources is established for a reason.

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@tanknspank — Ovalchase Mechanic & Reliable Roadster

In general, unless it's specifically asked for we do ask that you submit only one card for the purposes of intent/balance. That said, this was an open-ended contest, so I get the appeal, and I also get the general story that's taking place here—the mechanic beefs the dragster, the dragster swings in. Colorless partners does open up a few possibilities for limited, but that said I never drafted Battlebond, so what would I know about that specifically? The independence of each piece makes the individual possibilities open, which is a fair thing to keep in mind, while also begging the question: why partner?

The inherent problem is that partnering these cards doesn't actually add anything to the synergy that would inherently be found in a limited environment. Playing these cards together would be awesome! So, you just hope to draft both of them, and that's that. All that partner does is tutor up that synergy and make limited slightly less randomized. Is that necessarily fun? Is that what a standard limited environment necessarily needs? I'd argue: absolutely not. Partners in Battlebond were designed with a hyper-specific draft strategy in mind that could reward a number of cross-color interactions between players on a team. And otherwise... I'm just not sold yet, honestly.

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@xenobladexfan — Gesserith, Master of Shields

MSE is great for a number of things. One of the things that it's not necessarily good for is reminder text stacking. Things got a wee bit hard to parse in there, eh? I'm teasing a little bit because otherwise, well... Actually, jeez, looking more, there's a lot of text on this one; I feel the flavor text could've been sacrificed for legibility. That's just what happens when you combine abilities like this, right? I feel I'm being harsh: to be clear, I like the card overall. It's a decent one with some strong limited capabilities, definitely a snap-up for the archetype and a card you'd hope to draw in basically any situation.

There's a little futzing to make it absolutely perfect, though. The wording in the trigger feels a little off, but that's just because of the wording of bolster. Imagine if the attack/block (maybe when it enters as well?) gave the bolster, and there was another line that whenever you put a +1/+1 counter on a creature you control, if it doesn't have a shield counter, it gets a shield counter? I did a mockup and it's about the same amount of text. What I'm trying to say is that there are a couple minor tweaks to get yourself really up to a great legend, and the choice to give shield counters makes this a limited bomb for sure. Those things were a real pain in SNC... But hey, it's a flavor fit, and good stuff overall.

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@yd12k — Nifah, Skysurfing Amateur (JUDGE PICK)

It feels good and probably plays great, so that's a good start. I feel that there were a few cards this week that blended lots of counter types—is that where we're at now as designers? I'm not complaining, I'm just more fascinated that there's that space. I was NOT a fan of ability counters when they premiered, but I've come around on them as a complex tool. Nifah certainly likes them, and I think this space wants to play into some synergies that are...different? Very different. I'd love to see Ride the Horizon cast after I make a Spider Spawning play in limited, for example. Really gross but in the fun way.

What world is Nifah soaring through, too? Let's put the mechanics on the back seat for just a second, because there's a bit of joyous worldbuilding that makes me want to know more about this character and where they're coming from. The simplicity feels nice. Again, that seems to be a running theme through a lot of these cards, but it goes to show the power of consistency. Exploration and exuberance is a combination that creates uplifting intrigue. Back to mechanics! The support for exploration might be a little tight here, but in all the Ixalan sets where it was prevalent it also had some weird buildy-aroundy feels, so I'll give that a bit of a pass. I do love exploration as a mechanic, too, and I like how this card gives that evasive necessity to the grounded feel of UG explore as a draft archetype that often felt missing.

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@yourrightfulking — Fungus-Feeder Ants

I do distinctly remember helping you out with this one in the workshop, your highness. And how am I to judge it now that I helped sculpt each of these six golden legs? I dunno. I mean, obviously I can't be 100% impartial here. Yeah? Let's talk instead about the general polish and overall stuffitude with this card. It's...a weird set that has a double-pip common with no generic mana attached to it, but it's not impossible, I suppose. There were power concerns, I remember that... Eh, 1G could've been fine on second thought. 

What if you were able to get back any land card, not just one that been milled this way? Maybe that would necessitate a bigger cycling cost, or maybe a rarity up because it's a generic way to get some mana fixing, but whatever, there are lots of minor things. This card plays into the archetype well enough and there's nothing inherently wrong with it that a number couldn't fix. If you're not gonna add cycling reminder text, though, you might as well add some flavor text; right now the card's about as dry as the sawdust that the ants just ate through. Heyo! But in all seriousness, it's got this jungle-potential that could've been upped just a teensy bit.

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Time to go back to sleep <3 Be well, nerds one and all. @abelzumi

[inventors-fair]

Hot on the Heels: Introductory Runners-up!

Our runners-up this week are @izzet-always-r-versus-u, @nine-effing-hells and @wildcardgamez!

@izzet-always-r-versus-u — Small Miracle

The very small wording change I'd give is to have the second half of the sentence read "or if it was put there from the battlefield this turn, re:Brought Back. Okay, that's out of the way. This card rocks! There's a question of how much white gets cards like this at uncommon. I'm not knocking that portion, of course, because of cards like Brought Back as precedent for this effect in white; all the usual near-death suspects for this as precedent for black are already apparent. Hybrid cards are challenging to build but you definitely made it work. Cauldron Haze is actually a card that comes to mind! I remember that one from way back in the day.

Drafting with this card in various W/X builds would be a real pain for the players who are going black, but in a set with heavier hybrid I can imagine that this card would allow those players to also have hybrid options, so the inherent/implied balance is super neat to me. Getting hatebears back is awesome too, heh. Flavorfully, I also like how you're taking the reanimation stuff and putting the more hopeful and determined parts of these colors together. Talk about black's positive side has been on the forefront here and there, and having this kind of card really feels like it's the best aspect of a harmonic relationship with life and death, especially as it exists on Theros. Fascinating card overall.

@nine-effing-hells — Kindling Bargain

We'll be getting to some of the mechanically unique cards this contest and the cards that really mess with design space as has been precedent. Out of the cards that were submitted, I plucked this one up because I think it's an underutilized space—or at least one that seems powerful at first but would certainly burn a player later. That's effectively what this card's all about overall, so that makes sense, heh. Regardless: getting an emblem on yourself, even a negative one, is...not wholly unprecedented, at least in the sense that players have had "rest of the game" effects before, but actually having it on the card text as an emblem feels wild.

I believe in the past that Maro has mentioned emblems as being a unique planeswalker thing. I get that viewpoint, but cards like this are the natural argument for directing things to different design space. I feel that deals with demons are cool enough that they could give you permanent effects; the question of whether this HAS to be an emblem also comes up. Could this just be a "for the rest of the game" card? Yeah, but it wouldn't feel as demarcated. The flavor and the description of this horrific event are devilishly dark, and I want that to be more permanent than just a piece of reminder text. Besides, it's complex enough to warrant. This is a real thinker, and I like that.

@wildcardgamez — Kaito, Towashi Reckoner / Kaito, Kami-Sparked

Hooooo boy there seems like a lot of text on this card. In reality, though, I think you managed a simple enough effect that there's not a lot to worry about in terms of overcomplexity, especially compared with other flip walkers. Planeswalkers with triggers aren't the newest design space, and it seems like it adds a lot to the card, but man, the intuition is something else. I really like where this card's going. Could we see UB ninjas as an archetype in a future Origins-style set? I have no idea, but people do seem to like Kaito, so I'll chalk that up to being popular and cool enough as precedent to give him a pass.

The effects of both sides lean into a lower aggro build that I appreciate when I play these colors. Last night I played a fairly slow threshold deck, but I've played the fast and furious low-to-the-ground UB rogueish deck before and I've loved it a lot. As an archetype there's a lot of needed support, but being able to easily -3 to draw at least one card and still have a flying blocker back in the form of Himoto is pretty amazing. Tapping down to get in with your other creatures is awesome, and being able to control combat in general is strong. Flying and menace is interesting, and I wonder if something like lifelink or deathtouch as a counter for the 0 might've been a little better. Regardless, it's a streamlined design that's perfect for the character. Thumbs up!

We've had some call-outs at the LGS, so unfortunately commentary is gonna be a little while. That said, there's a LOT to talk about and we had a pretty huge list of entries and I can't wait to dive in. Thank you for all of your submissions, and talk to you soon!

@abelzumi

[inventors-fair]

Fresh Start: Introductory Winners!

Our winners this week are @curiooftheheart, @grornt, and @hypexion!

@curiooftheheart — Crackling Eel

In the midst of general consensus, I find myself agreeing: Yearling is an awesome mechanic that approaches Prototype's groundwork from a fun new flavor perspective. I appreciate the differences between it and the animal-themed mechanics of precedent as well as the similarities. Offspring and Mutate both come to mind, at least in the sense of "young animal" and "changing animal" vibes, but it plays to a mana usage that's almost akin to flashback/monstrous/adapt, i.e. spend some mana now and more mana later for bigger effects. This framework is precisely the kind of work that makes new mechanics feel intuitive and approachable.

The card itself plays into the framework of punisher effects, and I think that bolting an opponent for their fetchlands/equips/planeswalker abilities is very cool. Small red hatebears are some of the most difficult things for midrange decks to deal with. Limited might be slightly less down on the effect, depending on the environment, but there are always cool corner cases, and getting up to a 3/5 body eventually makes the menace worth it. Everything about the card is balanced to the best of my knowledge, and the shock of a wild eel is menacing indeed. This one seemed to be a workshop favorite, and you should take solace in that being well-earned.

@grornt — Reefbed Remnant

I swear that this isn't a sea-creature-themed bias in the winners this week! As I was going through entries and narrowing down our winners, I just kept coming back to this card as a limited all-star and a major flavor win. Looting decks, more aggressive creature-heavy decks, discarding-to-hand-size decks—just about every archetype is going to be okay with having this card in it. The only archetype that might not want it is a UW type, but that depends on the number of creatures you're dealing with; in limited, it's excellent. Even discarding noncreature cards can be worth it because, well, looting is good.

I love the scavenging aspect of this card as well, not just because the name is wonderful. Whenever you give this creature food, it gets bigger, and as long as it's still around it gets to look for things to eat from the sea floor. It's an ideal simplicity, IMO. The flavor text is pretty much on point, too. I think if I break through the editorial side of my heart, I can concur that it's just what this card needs as a bit of whimsy, which is a flavor aspect that I don't think I lean into enough. It feels like a tongue-in-cheek Planet Earth aside, you know? This scuttling bug plays well, feels good, and—oh no! Look out! There's an eel right above you! Swim away!

@hypexion — Land Grab

I had said that this card was a winner as soon as I saw it and even after narrowing things down and doing some editing I stuck with my gut. You know the first thing I thought about? Amulet Titan. Turn one: Forest, Amulet, sac the Forest and plot Land Grab. Turn two: Untapped land, Arboreal Grazer, bounceland, cast Land Grab, get another land, Azusa or Dryad—etc. Like, it's a ridiculously powerful card even for its cost, but the cost at which it comes is enough for a rare. This is by far one of the most constructed-viable cards I've seen submitted to the Fair in quite some time, and I say that with love. Arguably powerful in ways that might necessitate a {1} in addition to the sacrifice, maybe, but for now, I'd play it as-is.

And I think you leaned into cards telling their own stories as well in a way that I appreciate. I know that sometimes flavor gets lost in the weeds, but this one speaks for itself in a naturally thematic way. You can either pay the cost for a land, or literally plot out by clearing a forest to build something with additional framework later. It's slightly insidious if you want to lean into that story of land grabs as corporate evil—depends on your point of view. Could just be nomads in uncharted territory settling their survival, could be dryads wrestling with spirits to find a new home, could be a lot of things. But the action of the story remains the same regardless of intent, and I'm curious as to the intentionality behind that. Great job overall. I'd love this for my Vorinclex deck.

Runners sooner rather than later... @abelzumi