optional Card Contest Judging Exam V2 [UPDATED: 5/7/2015]

[Flash Flyer - Sakura]

Welcome to the CC Judging Examination (Version 2.0).
For the original version that is now defunct, please see here. 
 
Yes, the card contest examination for judging/hosting is back online.
 
You are NOT required to take this exam before hosting/judging a contest.
However, it IS required, should you judge in the CC Monthly tournaments.

This is mainly as a competence test / self-check: Do you know what you're doing when hosting/judging contests?
 
Why should I take this exam?
 
As noted above, this exam is meant to see if you are capable of judging/hosting a contest properly.
Passing this exam will show that you're able to adhere to RC-level standards when analyzing card(s).
 
Keep in mind that a lot of the veteran members hosting a contest do require that you've passed this exam at least once before offering to help with the judging.
Getting certified will allow you to take part in their contests as a potential helper, should any be needed.
 
Additionally, by being certified, you are entitled to a nice reward for hosting/judging a contest, depending on your ranking.
As noted above, you also need to have taken this exam before judging in the CC Monthly.
 
Who should take this exam?

• Members new to Custom Cards (or YCM) and/or are interested in hosting a contest / assisting in the judging of another member's.
• Members who have been out of the game for a while are also encouraged to take the exam
  • As the gamestate may have changed considerably from the last time you picked up a Deck, it's best that you take this exam and get yourselves up to speed a bit.

Those of you who took this under Aix/.Saber's administration may also do this version, as it will add on to the number of exams you've taken.
(As noted above, I will be retaining the results from the older exam, since you all should've known what you're doing to pass the exams in the first place).
 
Keep in mind that we may ask you to take the exam BEFORE making a contest, if it's shown that you don't have an understanding of proper grading or knowledge of the game in previous ones (or your performance in the general card area).
 
Task

You are to grade two cards as if they were in a contest within the 1v1 section.
 
You must explain your reasoning for each of them, and at the end, you decide which card is better.

 

In the case of a tie (or if both cards are bad), why are you voting for card C (neither should win); however keep an eye on the requirements. Some months may not extend the card C option, and you WILL have to vote either way.
 
If you'd like, a grading scale may be used or CnC them individually like you would for cards in the normal sections; or a combination of both.
 
Using a grading scale doesn't excuse you from explaining your reasoning, however it should not be difficult for you to do so.
 
 
Keep in mind that certain months may have additional things to consider; make sure you read them. (If any, they will be posted above the cards)
 
Otherwise, this should be a relatively easy exam to pass.
 
Things you may wish to consider:

• Design (Is the card broken? Are there any loopholes that can be exploited?)
• Playability (Can the card work well in tandem with other cards [at a minimum] or does it require 5+ cards to even be effective? Possible combinations that work?)
• Flavor (Does the card follow the theme like it's supposed to?)
• OCG (Is the effect easy to follow? Are there any spelling/grammatical errors in standard English?) I would advise staying away from this, unless it is very difficult to follow.

You may have your own criteria that differs from here, but you should cover the top 3. (Judging pictures is not a valid grading criteria)
 
After you grade the cards, submit your exam in a PM towards me; I will review your exam and tell you whether you passed it or not.
 
Unless explicitly mentioned, DO NOT send your exams to Nai or Zextra.
Exams sent to them will not be recognized; remember that I'm in charge of this exam, not them.
 
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(If you fail the first time, you can retake it once per day; however we encourage you to pass the exam within 3-4 tries. We want you to improve, so you can be a good judge/host.)
 
Every 4 weeks, the cards will change to a new set; same rules apply. (To make things uniform, the exam changes every 4 weeks on a Friday)
 
For simplicity, I will be retaining the system .Saber set during his administration of the exam. (All tests you took under him/Aix will still count here)
If you take this exam three times and pass, you will not need to take a further exam unless you want to make sure you're up to speed with things.
 
At this point, you should have sufficient knowledge of what to look for in cards.
 
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If you have any questions/concerns about stuff, please ask either in here or PM.
 
While we don't want to force this exam down your throats like how V1 turned out for a while, it's important that you all are capable of judging/hosting a contest properly for the sake of the members who take the time to enter it.
 
We want this section to be open for creativity, but we need to make sure that cards are being judged properly instead of random criteria.
 
Best of luck!
 

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Task: Design a card based on an Eastern zodiac animal.

Next Exam: June 5th, 2015

 

You may wish to consult the Card Design Guide that .Saber wrote before taking this exam.

Remember, you need to grade these cards based on the criteria listed above AND explain why you believe them to be so.

 

 

Yeah, borrowed the theme from SCS 3 and April's CC monthly.

Take into consideration that card A was designed BEFORE 'tellars and other 3-mat spam Decks were created.

 

[spoiler=Card Lore]
[spoiler=Number 114: Blue Sky Flower Lop]
3 Level 4 monsters
When this card is Xyz Summoned: Target 1 card your opponent controls; banish it. Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card, then choose 1 of your opponent's unused Monster Card Zones; while this card is face-up on the field, that Card Zone cannot be used. You can only control 1 "Number 114: Blue Sky Flower Lop".
[/spoiler]
 
[spoiler=Aella]
During each of your Standby Phases, gain 300 LP. Once per turn, during either player's turn: You can negate the Summon of a monster OR the activation of a Spell/Trap Card.
[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]
 
[spoiler=Certified Judges]
The members in this section have taken the examination at least once and passed.
Totals will be carried over from .Saber/Aix's one; should this become a mandatory thing again.
 
1-TIME

OmegaWave
wightpower
Degritone
J-Max
0DST
Renegade
kanokarob
TEM 23
TPagSwaqq
krakonfour
Zologe
Generaxius
Duel Emperor
JamesMuddy
EndUser
Radiant FURY
Cirrus
 
2-TIME
 
josholche

I Hate Snatch Steal

3-TIME (Permanent Judges)

Sakura Haruno
Zextra
-Aqua-
Voltex Curse
The Progenitor
Broke N.
Gadjiltron
Striker
YugsterMajor
[/spoiler]

[Flash Flyer - Sakura]

Just as a heads-up.

 

If you see a member with a gold-colored name with a black shadow, it denotes that they've passed the exam and have been certified. Makes it easier to determine if you've indeed been certified.

 

There is no distinction in color between either rank; you can check your standings on this thread.

 

 

You should have similar privileges to what VIP members have.

 

If you'd like to remain in your current usergroup (or cannot be changed, if you're a mod), then feel free to PM me about it and you'll have something else to show that you're certified. Probably will be a small logo of sorts that can be placed in your signature or profile.

 

 

Just remember that the official list of candidates who've passed are in the main post, and I do update them on a regular basis once someone passes.

 

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Again, this exam is strictly optional, but it shows that you know what you're doing when grading contests.

[Flash Flyer - Sakura]

Exam has been updated for the March 2015 period.

Please note that certain months may have additional requirements, but in a lot of those cases, it's basically flavor based and should already tie into standard cardmaking procedures.

 

This is a Pop Culture based thing, so factor in their abilities as well.

(Flavor notes have been given to you)

[Flash Flyer - Sakura]

Exam updated for April.

If you guys want to get certified and qualify for the end of contest stipends, now's a good time to do it.

 

This time, grade on general card things.

 

(And yes, they are Pokemon-based; however they are Numbers. Let's assume Konami doesn't release the other stuff for a while; considering the manga is closing up.)

[Flash Flyer - Sakura]

Exam updated for May. (Should've been done on Monday, but had a lot of other things on my mind at the time)

I am considering giving points for every test that you take and pass; more/less as an incentive to keep testing yourself.

 

I will update the main post with appropriate amounts when a decision is made.

Likely will be 500 points or something.

[Flash Flyer - Sakura]

I had deactivated the exam at the beginning of the month, but only now have I removed it from the section.

Will keep it around in here in case we need to reference this again, or revive should it be necessary.

 

However, we probably won't need to.