Welcome to the fifth NGA Chopped tournament!

To escape the chopping block, your cards must be cohesive, interesting, and flavorful!

This season, we're changing up the formula a bit. Rather than have set criteria for the round, you get to choose which and how many criteria you want to fulfill from a list of 33 criteria. This means that you can potentially burn through all the criteria and have a final round with no restrictions, or you might end up with mutually exclusive criteria if you choose poorly. For reference, standard chopped rounds progress like so: 4 4 4 5 7 9 and we will be following the same number of cards as usual; 2 2 2 3 3 3. (Unless we get fewer contestants than normal, then the number of rounds will be fewer, and one of the two card rounds will be cut.) Submissions are due at 4PM MST each Saturday, grades and the next round's criteria will be posted at that same time. At the end of each round, the bottom 1/4 of scoring contestants will be eliminated, rounded to the nearest number. The final round will be graded, then each surviving contestant's cumulative grades will be compared to choose a winner.

If you have questions about whether or not something fits the criteria during any round, merely write an explanation why you think what you made does. Provided the explanation is not too absurd and/or gaming the system, I'll allow it. That said, I will be available at least once a day to provide clarifications. In your submission, please indicate which criteria are fulfilled by which card. If you wish to accompany your cards with notes regarding them, that is welcome and in keeping with how the reality TV show operates. Don't feel pressured to do so, if you don't want to.

A minor matter of record keeping:
When posting your submission, post your copy of the criteria list, with previously used criteria in strikethrough.

Now that all that is out of the way, let's get started.


Round 1

Make 2 cards.

three entities, obsessive behavior of an otherwise brilliant mind, a necessary madness

The Fates Unraveled —
Legendary Creature — Hag God
, : Put the top X cards of each player's library into their respective graveyards, where X is target creature's converted mana cost.
, : Target creature's controller loses life equal to its toughness.
, : Target creature deals damage to itself equal to its power.
: Untap The Fates Unraveled.
1/3

planeshifted legendary, nonwhite merciful

Teferi, the Worldtender —
Legendary Creature — Human Druid
Indestructible
Your opponents can't cast spells during your turn.
At the beginning of each other player's untap step, you may put a land card from your hand onto the battlefield.
To save all planes, he must restore his own.
4/3

ooh, this is complicated. gonna have to think about it.

* An action and its reverse


Ebb -
Instant
Each player puts a creature he or she controls into their libraries third from the top.
"May the tides claim our worries for now."
//////////
Fuse
//////////
Flow -
Instant
Scry 2. Each player draws a card.
"So that this day, we may dance yet again with inspiration."


* Is non-white and merciful
* Affects all creatures on the battlefield

Mundar, Merciful Butcher -
Legendary Creature - Orc Warrior
Menace
At the beginning of each end step, destroy all other creatures that was dealt damage this turn.
: Regenerate ~.
"The mercy I give is the end of your suffering."
2/2

* Is a non-blue, non-green mutant
* Is non-white and merciful
* A member of the aristocracy that lives in floating cities above the working poor
* From a canonical plane, thousands of years in the future from the last time it was shown in WotC media.
* A monocolor rare/mythic rare that uses flavor to justify a significant color bleed. (eg: Form of the Dragon having a Moat effect)
* Uses an original counter type (Past examples: Divinity, gold, fate, etc)

Trias Karlov, Refined Plutocrat

Legendary Creature - Mutant Advisor
Whenever a player pays life, put that many wealth counters on Trias Karlov.
Creatures can't attack you or planeswalkers you control unless their controller pays for each wealth counter on Trias Karlov.
Sacrifice a nontoken creature: Remove a number of wealth counters equal to the sacrificed creature's power from Trias Karlov. Any player may activate this ability.
A hundred generations of the Karlov line have followed since the fall of the Obzedat. Their manner changed constantly, their holdings shifted steadily, and even their race was lost along the line to history and the demands of Upper Ravnican aesthetics. The wealth remained, eternal and indomitable.
1/3


* A planeswalker with only one activated ability and one static ability
* Something that is somewhere in the uncanny valley, for a given race
* Produces mana

Nissa, Wonder of Gilt-Leaf

Legendary Planeswalker - Nissa
: Add
When Nissa, Wonder of Gilt Leaf is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, return her to her owner's hand.
"How can something so strange be so beautiful? Or should I ask how something so beautiful can be so strange?" - Dwynen

*I'm going to add a special extra criterion for myself: All my cards in this thread must feature a quotation by a notable philosopher in a Magic context, and I can't use the same person twice.



A creation rebelling against its creator is a non-blue, non-green mutant.

Defiant Prototype -
Creature - Metathran Mutant Rebel
Protection from blue.
, : If X is equal to or greater than the number of cards in target opponent's hand, search your library for a Rebel permanent card with converted mana cost 4 or less and put it onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library.
"I refuse to be erased! I will stand as a witness against you; a witness that you are a second-rate author!” - Soren Kierkegaard, to Urza.
3/2

A necessary madness that affects all creatures on the battlefield.

Selesymbiosis -
Enchantment
At end of turn, put a +1/+1 counter on each creature, then put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control.
"Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule." - Nietzsche, "Twilight of the Guildpact".

so the typical round structure is 15 cards total, meaning slightly over 2 criteria per card, but this seems to not be getting as many entrants so we may drop a round, down to 13 cards total, requiring about 2.5. to be safe, Imma try to start with three per card, to make sure I don't get stuck with too many. also, to help keep me organized, I sorted the criteria by type:



that's 12 mechanical ones, 18 flavor ones, and 3 that are sort of both or neither, so if I try to get at least one of each and try to combine pairs of flavor ones where possible, this should be pretty doable.

Phantasmal Embrace-
Enchantment-Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gets +3/+3 and gains flying.
When enchanted creature becomes the target of a spell or ability, sacrifice it and transform Phantasmal Embrace.
"It is, of course, well known among scholars that dragons are no more than a fantasy designed to keep the population in line..."~Grevin Eir, Lecturer in Crytozoology
//
Aetherform Whelp
Creature-Dragon
Flying
"...but it should be noted that even fantasies can be deadly in the hands of an incautious magician."
3/3

-aura that transforms, illusion becoming reality, fake that is more than the original (it's becomes a real dragon in a world where dragons are fake), creation rebelling against its creator (the illusionist conjures the fake version, but when they get disrupted it takes the opportunity to kill them and become real.)

cost was hard here. the phantasm ability is a drawback, but the aura and the body are both strong. in the end I looked to Drake Umbra and Angelic Reward for guidance. neither one is absurdly good, and this is probably better, but the phantasm vulnerability means your giant flyer is exposed in ways those cards don't do. I considered putting it at 4 and just saying it was a rare that was pushed for constructed, but I think 5CMC, probably uncommon, is where this actually wants to sit.

Skybrood Baroness-
Creature-Vampire
Flying, lifelink
When Skybrood Baroness enters the battlefield, it deals 1 damage to each other creature. Whenever a creature dealt damage this way dies this turn, you lose 2 life.
"You are fortunate that your labor is still required in the mines. Next time you cross the Sovereignty, I will not be so merciful."
3/4

basically you can ping everything and gain a bunch of life but you don't want them to actually die 'cause then you're losing potential workers. I thought it was cute.

-affects all creatures on the battlefield (technically all others, hope that's ok.), a member of a floating-city aristocracy (Skybrood, the Sovereignty, references to forced labor), is non-white and merciful (doesn't actually want to kill things.)

Hmm. If I cut off the entry round here, I would have to cut two rounds. Or, I could have the first two rounds not eliminate players. The final possibility is to postpone the deadline of the entry round for one more week. What are your preferences, current and prospective contestants?

I suspect leaving it open won't do much: the additional complexity of the format is likely scaring folks away, so adding more time isn't gonna lure them in. I'm fine with whichever solution, though.

I'd go with a multi-round prelim out of those options.

Upon further reflection, I think I will go with a sort of compromise. Until the deadline of round 2, the contest is open to all entrants, who can submit for both entry rounds. At the end of round 3, eliminations will begin.
Grades for round 1 will be up in a bit.

Grades:











Standings:
1) ParadOxymoron
1) razorborne
3) Tevish Szat
3) Eph
5) Confused

No one is eliminated this round.
____________________________________________

Round 2

Make 2 cards.

As a reminder, when posting your submission, post your copy of the criteria list, with previously used criteria in strikethrough.

my brain is too small for this contest

* Is a planar chaos version of a legendary creature
* Earns the ire of all they meet
* Overwhelms something with a single emotion
* Affects all creatures on the battlefield
* Three entities represented on one creature card
* A necessary madness
* Has ": <cardname> Deals 1 damage to any target."

Triad of Wills

Legendary Creature - Human Wizard
: Triad of Wills deals 1 damage to any target.
, : Until your next turn, creatures attack you each combat if able
, : Until your next turn, whenever a player is dealt noncombat damage, draw a card.
To liberate Theros from the chains of fate, three sisters raised their hands against the gods and suffered their world's scorn.
3/3

In Prime Theros, the Triad of Fates are somewhat god-like but presumed to be beholden to Athreos, for whom they set and manipulate the span of mortals. As addressed in at least one WotC article, they represent a negation of free will, and their abilities the purposes of the fates: Setting, measuring, and finally cutting the thread that determines a mortal's life. In Alter Theros, the Triad are tricksters who seek to overthrow the gods' design and permit true free will an absolute reign. Their abilities represent their strategies: Violence, Chaos, and Revelation. Their efforts are largely resisted by Theros and those upon it -- after all, traitors to the gods aren't well regarded.


* An illusion that becomes reality
* An artifical moon with a specific purpose
* A fake that is more than the original
* A creation rebelling against its creator
* Interacts with a celestial body (star, moon, asteroid, etc)
* Counters spells of a single card type.
* Draws a card the turn it is played, and cares about what that card is

Reflection of the Null Moon

Legendary Enchantment
When Reflection of the Null Moon enters the battlefield and at the beginning of your upkeep, reveal the top card of your library. If it is a land card, exile it and repeat this process. When a nonland card is revealed this way, draw a card.
Counter all spells that share a type with the last card revealed by Reflection of the Null Moon.
The original Null Moon was a Thran artifact, wielded against the city of Halcyon in its downfall. Jodah's arcane recreation bettered its magic-draining power by design and followed its treacherous outcome by accident.

Oops too late

Still in time, Hello World. I'll grade that submission sometime this week, so go ahead and start working on your round 2 submission.

Second 4 criterias then:
5 and 6

* Three entities represented on one creature card
* An artifical moon with a specific purpose

Sleep,slumber and lethargy, the sky exiles:1:
Legendary Creature-Spirit God
Cardname enters the battlefield tapped.
At the end of each opponent turn, exile cardname until the end of your next post combat main phase.
:return target creature you control to its owner hand.
:take another turn after this one, activate this ability only during your opponent turn.
9/9

7 and 8

* A fake that is more than the orignal
* A creation rebelling against its creator

Rebelling portrait
Enchantment
:Sacrifice cardname:Create a token copy of target creature ,except it enters the battlefield with two +1/+1 counters on it and has "This card cannot attack or block if a creature with the same name is attacking or blocking."

* Obsessive behavior of an otherwise brilliant mind
* Overwhelms something with a single emotion
* Draws a card the turn it is played, and cares about what that card is
* A necessary madness

Soloms, Blinded for Answers -
Legendary Creature - Human Detective
Whenever ~ enters the battlefield and at the beginning of your upkeep, name a card and draw three cards.
At the beginning of your end step, reveal your hand and discard all cards that were not named by ~.
A furor for truth paired with the unquenchable thirst for knowledge.
3/3


* A monocolor rare/mythic rare that uses flavor to justify a significant color bleed.
* Interacts with a celestial body (star, moon, asteroid, etc)
* An artifical moon with a specific purpose
* Resolves at the end of the turn
* From a canonical plane, thousands of years in the future from the last time it was shown in WotC media.


Moonfall -
Enchantment
Vanishing 1
All lands are islands.
When ~ is sacrificed, destroy all creatures and non-basic lands. Then, transform ~.
///////////////////////////////////////
Emrakul, Rise from Ruins
Legendary Creature - Eldrazi
Flying, Trample, Protection from Colored Spells.
Whenever an opponent would take an extra turn or phase, you control them during that extra turn or phase.
When this card transforms into ~, target player takes an extra turn after this one.
11/11