We let some Planeswalkers off the hook on their usual multiversal adventures and encouraged them to take a relaxing vacation at their favourite destination. You can look over the original challenge here.
Juliet had these thoughts to share on the challenge, as well as some options for destinations:
“Planeswalker cards are harder to get right than they look, and not something that the average Magic designer has as much experience with compared to the other cardtypes. How much can you convey the heart of your chosen planeswalker, while doing something new?
Celebration and relaxation are rare in a game based on conflict. How you choose to mechanically represent a holiday — or what the planeswalker is encountering during their holiday — will go a long way in anchoring your submission, just as much as your choice of PW & plane.
Favorite multiversal destination planes: The all-day-nice-day of Lorwyn, especially the Kithkin and Merrow. Bant, especially the coastal beaches of Jhess. Or giving a guest lecture at Strixhaven.” -Juliet.
Mark offered this interesting tidbit during the Judging portion:
“Patrick Sullivan talks a fair bit about rewarding ‘the right people’ when distributing power. So, if we could imagine a world where your best card was a Siege Rhino like helix on a body card, vs one where it was a wasteland effect, which one would be putting power in the place with the most net fun. So I think about A.) is this card good, and B.) given A, who would benefit from it. So, Mox Amber is rewarding you for doing the fun thing more than Simian Spirit Guide, but still dubious as an example.” -Mark Confidant.
You can find the six designer’s work by clicking here.
Let’s see who sent their chosen Planeswalker on a dream vacation–
Tournament Round 2 High Score
Dillon’s Quintorius Goes to Dominaria
Juliet: Quint delivering as a way to get Lorehold vibes out into the world to see the history of other places is good; the Lurrus ability is always a little stronger than people give it credit for, but 2RW gets us there for sure. This isn’t going to break ground in competitive 1v1, but is an all-star in any casual format. I’d make this my commander if I could!
Mark: Quintorius discovering Feldon is a really good mirroring, and this narratively is executed quite well, with a fun little gag at the end. Great job.
Tim: That’s a powerful and appealing passive! It fully makes up for the other modes being simple. Good cards. Solid storyline and setting.
Kayiu: Overall, I think your storytelling was effective – each card served a specific purpose in the narrative, and you conveyed that purpose in short but descriptive packages. I also think your choice of vacation location and planeswalker were creative and heads-up. I had some gripes with your designs, but ultimately I think this ended up as a decent entry.
Congratulations, Dillon! You’re moving onto Design League Semi-Final.
The Eliminated
While the Vacation round is over for our Tournament participants, two of our designers will be taking a permanent vacation from this season of Design League. The two designers that received the lowest total score from the judges are eliminated.
We thank Northern Gun and Rowan for their time and submissions throughout this Design League, and look forward to both of them participating again in future seasons.
To review the full feedback from the judges, you can click here.
Our Third Tournament Challenge will be posted soon! Watch the Beacon of Creation Discord for the announcement, and see Dillon, platypeople, LudosGD, and perryk battle it out for a spot in the final round!