We got our precon on in Qualifier 6! Let’s recap the challenge, discuss the results, and check in on the spicy Judge Vote race as we near the end of Season 2 Qualifiers.
Qualifier 6 – Not So Typical
Design a mono-black, creature-type matters card that would be the face card for a pre-con package (like a starter deck.)
- Only black in color.
- Cares about a specific creature type.
- Standard power level.
- One card submission.
- All card types allowed.
As always, you can skip this article and read the Judge comments by clicking here.
Qualifier 6 – Runners Up
Pyknix, Coveted Confection by garduu
Redbay: Pyknix’s art makes for a very fun mental image of a booster pack or deckbox. This card being a whole-package card means the player doesn’t have to commit that hard to the bit, but I think this design gets a lot more exciting if you do. Great job!
Kayiu: Ah, Insect + Food is a fun and flavorful pairing. Definitely feels like the type of cheeky thing they’d do as a precon for a new plane. I like the ability to bounce between making Foods and then making insects to get maximum value, or just skip straight to huge tokens if you’ve got Food already from your other cards. High ceiling is balanced by needing external fuel and doing nothing on ETB as a six-mana card.
Elekh, Vizier of Eternity by squidpizza
Redbay: This does a good job of telling the player what cards to put in the deck and leans into themes present within the Typal Archetype; Zombies and Sacrifice/Self-Mill go hand in hand and Eternalize is a nice pay off. Copying other Zombie tokens is a nice bonus, though I’m not really understanding the flavor connection with the rest of the card. Small note that Eternalize would likely get some reminder text for this theoretical product
Kayiu: Straightforward, powerful, synergistic, at an attractive cost. Not much more you could ask for. I do think that this is a card that feels maybe a little too functional for the face card of a precon – perhaps could’ve used some splash factor. Feels very spike-y right now, which I feel like usually aren’t the target audience for precons.
Qualifier 6 Winner:
Heist Mastermind by Ludosgd
Tim: The name and rules text are well matched. Perhaps fittingly for a heist, this card seems very swingy. I could get 10 mana worth of cards or nothing at all.
Redbay: I want a pile of Rogues in this deck, for sure! First flush this came off really strong– Exiling a bunch of cards and then getting to cast them for free? Wow! I still think it might be safer to do a “Whenever one or more Rogues” in the second clause rather than the player free-rolling a couple spells.
Kayiu: Yeah, this slaps. It’s like Fallen Shinobi, but less self-enabling. I like that it’s splashy and powerful (and flavorful in executing both of those) but also requires you have a wide board already to get maximum value out of it, needs you to actually connect with creatures to get your value as an additional hoop, and if it dies the cards end up stranded in limbo. I suspect this is a card that might require minor tweaks based on how it playtests, but as it is now I’m still a fan.
Congratulations, Ludos! You’re joining Northern Gun, Sage B, Dillon, platypeople, and Rowan in our Design League Season 2 Tournament!
Judge Vote Update
Ludos winning Qualifier 6 is the biggest shake up to the Judge Vote race, but the other big news is neither perryk or MonoWhiteBorder received a Judge vote in this Qualifier. Our esteemed Judge Panelist Kayiu pointed out this possibility as we head into the final qualifier:
Qualifier 7 is sure to be an exciting one, with special attention being afforded to the points leaders in perryk and MonoWhiteBorder– there’s 8 people behind them all hoping to win Qualifier 7, or to snag the 8th slot if the stars align.
| Designer | Judge Votes |
| perryk | 7 |
| MonoWhiteBorder | 6 |
| Craftedlavaistrue | 4 |
| Wobbles | 4 |
| Larcent | 4 |
| GrrrBear | 3 |
| CryptRat | 3 |
| Juliet | 3 |
| Garduu | 3 |
| Squidpizza | 3 |
| kuyashiiPlays | 2 |
| Bradley Rose | 1 |
| toasty | 1 |
| Fleur | 1 |
The last Qualifier is underway, which will determine our 7th and 8th Tournament participants. Head over to the Beacon of Creation Discord to get in on the action!