Nyx's Christmas Card Contest

[The Nyx Avatar]

Don't mind this video. It's just for background music to set the tone, or something like that.

READ before submitting any card

Theme

SO...what is the theme this time? What card should be designed? Christmas-related of course! Okay, that's not entirely true. Entries that will also be allowed are ice and snow-related cards. So you don't have to stick to just making a Santa Claus or Super Plum Fairy card. No. You can make a big monstrous snow dragon, an Ice Barrier card, a frost queen, or whatever else pops into your head. So long as it relates to Christmas, snow, or ice in some shape or form.

No entry requirements necessary. Just a minimum of three users participating to get the contest going. It's not much of a contest if there's only one or two users.

Deadline

Contrary to previous contests, I am ready to declare the cutoff date for submissions right from the start. The deadline for this contest is December 24 12:00 p.m. CDT. I don't anyone to miss out on their Christmas Eve traditions. That day is legit more fun than Christmas Day.

Prize

So...is there anything I can offer to the victor(s)? Well, we were made aware that Points exist. But without anything to do with them aside from donation, they're nothing more than pointless right now. So I'm not going to be donating those as a prize. 

Now, this is the part where I would say that I can offer header images as a prize. However, for this occasion (and this one ONLY), I thought of a new prize.

Steam games.

Sure, this will require you to have a Steam account.

1st place: Any 1 game that can cost $70 or less!

2nd place: Any 1 game that can cost $40 or less!

3rd place: Any 1 game that can cost $20 or less!

I have a few guidelines, though.

NO sports games! Also, if you win any of these tiers and don't want a Steam game, you can either request a header image for your profile, or offer your prize to someone else from the contest. Also, do put in effort in your submissions. If the contest submissions goes from choosing the top 3 best to the top 3 least bad, I reserve the right to deny the winner(s) their prize. So don't skimp out on your submissions! If you've been following my contests long enough, you should be fine.

Judgment:

How will your card submission be judged? It will be judged on an out of 10 scale. This scale depends on these factors:

3: Practicality

It doesn't matter how flavorful or cool-looking aesthetically your card is...if it's not something that people would want to use in real life. Now I'm not saying to make a broken card. But just something that is attractive from a practical gameplay standpoint. Which, brings me to my next Point criteria

3: Balance

Your card should be at least somewhat realistic, and not something that would be on a banlist within a month. So don't go and make a Dragon or Super Saiyan with high ATK, a blanket of protection, and an instant win condition effect. You will not yield a single one of these 3 points if you do something like this.

1: OCG

Is your card written properly? If you are unsure, ask another user who has experience on the card game. Or look it up. Proper wording yields half the point, and proper spelling yields the other half. The only exception is the card name. For example, if the card is named "Phantastic Girl", or "Synchkuro Drago", I can write it off as wordplay for the monster's name. But if it's name is reprised in the card effect, it must be spelled the same as well.

1: Art

Art's not absolutely necessary, unless you want to aim for a perfect score. Half of this point will depend on whether or not I like the art. The other half will depend on how clear it is. It doesn't matter how majestic your dragon or how cool your demon lady is if it's one of the crustiest jpegs I've seen in a while, or has visible garbage area.

1:Theme

Does your submission relate to this holiday season in some shape or form? Whether it be thematic to the Winter Solstice, snow, ice, or something or other. Feel free to ask if you have any doubts about your idea.

1: Do I like how it plays?

I URGE anyone who participates to ask me what I like in card playstyles. I don't feel that was done enough in the last contest. And regardless, I don't feel I elaborated enough when asked. And I want everyone to have a good shot in this contest.

 

Other:

Anything else? Yes. Don't submit cards that you've already posted elsewhere. If I find a card, that you posted in a different thread submitted here, I will give you chance to post a real submission. Else, you risk disqualification.

Also, don't be lazy and repost an already existing card under a new name. Like copying Revival Jam's effect, but using a different Type, Attribute, name, and art. The only time it's permitted to use the exact same effect is if real life cards have done it multiple times, like Rainbow Flower and Jinzo #7, or Lancer Dragonute and Dark Driceratops. But...I urge you not to. As those would make for boring submissions.

Also, don't post in this thread if you're not participating in the contest, or considering joining. I will do what I see fit with your replies if you aren't participating at all. My only exception is if you have any questions before you'd want to join. If you have a genuine question, you are free to ask that here.

Well, with all that said, let us begin.

[Loleo]

Cold Soulstice

Field Spell

Must be activated at the start of Main Phase 1. Skip Each player's battle phases or Main phases (their choice). Perform each player's end phase twice. This card is unaffected by card effects during the end phase.

 

Shorter days and longer nights each player will meet the end twice. No time to wait. No time to rest. Even in the endless end. Draw, then play or battle, and end and end again.

[Sleepy]

I'll reserve a place. I'm not fond of the way things ended up in the previous one I was on but I guess a sample size of 1 is too little. 
I have been silently watching the thread for a few days and I expected more people would have jumped in by now. WTH YCM?

In the spirit of trying to keep good vibes and support more activity on the forum, lets have fun here.

[Loleo]

On 12/6/2021 at 8:36 PM, Sleepy said:

I'll reserve a place. I'm not fond of the way things ended up in the previous one I was on but I guess a sample size of 1 is too little. 
I have been silently watching the thread for a few days and I expected more people would have jumped in by now. WTH YCM?

In the spirit of trying to keep good vibes and support more activity on the forum, lets have fun here.

I hope more people come thanks for joining. @The Nyx Avatar can you maybe advertise the contest in status? I don't know if it's allowed.

[Sleepy]

1 minute ago, Loleo said:

I hope more people come thanks for joining. @The Nyx Avatar can you maybe advertise the contest in status? I don't know if it's allowed.

Sorry but actually I dropped out last night over Discord. I've been showing different concepts for potential entries and they haven't been all that much to Nyx's liking. 
After enough I've come to the conclusion what Nyx is looking for is pretty much a blind spot for me between "too bland" or "too weird". To save myself from being in the "bottom 3, you guys get no prize" judgment day, I'm opting out.

[tripledawn]

@The Nyx Avatar is the "1: Do I like how it plays?" similar to the last contest? 

[The Nyx Avatar]

2 hours ago, tripledawn said:

@The Nyx Avatar is the "1: Do I like how it plays?" similar to the last contest? 

What do you mean?

[tripledawn]

You detailed some style preferences in this post.

I'm asking if there's anything else we should consider when it comes to your preferences?

 

[The Nyx Avatar]

44 minutes ago, tripledawn said:

You detailed some style preferences in this post.

I'm asking if there's anything else we should consider when it comes to your preferences?

 

Ah yes. My personal favorite Extra Deck monster is Synchro monsters, my favorite type of floodgate hinders your opponent's GY (So..stuff like Necrovalley and Masked HERO Daek law just to name a few), my favorite playstyle in Decks is building a board. So...Six Samurai (not turbo builds, though), and D/D just to give examples.

Let me know if you would like me to elaborate further

[Ray.]

ok so this is my card

 

Its effect.....frost breath 'freezes' the opponent monster witch is like a good connection to the winter I guess

 

[tripledawn]

On 12/13/2021 at 10:09 AM, GALAXY DUELIST said:

ok so this is my card

Please don't forget to add a written version of the card, as it's both the polite thing to do, and a requirement across the forums.

This time I'm not going to bog you down with a wall of text on my thoughts and design, and try to let my card speak. If anyone is interested in any aspect of my entry, I'll be happy to explain/expand.

So here's my entry: 

Lonely Invitation & White Holiday [ EARTH / Zombie / Synchro / Effect / Level 6 / 0 ATK / 1800 DEF ]

1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters
To Synchro Summon this card, you can treat 1 Zombie Tuner monster you control as a non-Tuner material. If a card effect would activate in the hand or GY: You can banish this card; negate the activation of that effect, and if you do, banish that card. If this card is sent to the GY by battle or card effect: Banish this card and 1 Tuner with 0 ATK from your GY; add 1 card with same name as the banished Tuner from your deck to your hand. You can only activate each effect of "Lonely Invitation & White Holiday" once per turn.

Quote

 

[The Nyx Avatar]

11 hours ago, tripledawn said:

This time I'm not going to bog you down with a wall of text on my thoughts and design, and try to let my card speak.

You...are speaking my language. Not to say it's bad to explain your card. I just don't like reading a paragraph or more.

[Ray.]

On 12/15/2021 at 4:27 PM, tripledawn said:

Please don't forget to add a written version of the card

you want a written version? I will give you a written version

 

Crystal Ice dragon

WATER

Level 8

Dragon/Fusion/Effect

Luster Dragon #2 + Krystal Dragon
Must be Fusion Summoned. This card gains 200 ATK for each dragon on the field. Once per turn: You can target one monster your opponent controls, Its can't attack, activate its effects or be targeted by your opponents effects. Also it can't change its position and loses 1000 ATK. These effects last till your opponents next end phase. In the turn you used this effect this card can only attack the targeted monster, If this card destroyed the targeted monster and sent it to the GY this card can make a second attack during that battle phase
 

ATK/3000    DEF/2000

[The Nyx Avatar]

Alright, everyone. If it wasn't evident, the contest has since ended. Now, we only got the minimum 3 participants this contest. But...it's something.

Now onto the judgment:

 

Loleo:

Practicality:

 

It certainly is practical. skipping Phases can be pretty rough. And moving 2 End Phases ahead? Um...Valkyries and Gold Sarcophagus unite? Also Final Countdown. So yeah. A full 3 points for being mighty, despite not directly hindering your opponent's cards.

Balance:

Now, this here does come into question. Because while it doesn't directly hurt your opponent's cards, it can sill hurt your opponent in other ways. Like the aforementioned Final Countdown. I'm just gonna split this one down the middle. 1.5 out of a possible 3.

OCG:

The wording is generally correct, and the punctuation errors are very few. But they're not super glaring. A full 1 point.

Art:

No art here, so a 0 out of a possible 1.

Theme:

It's certainly there with how it relates to the unfortunate lack of sunlight in Winter. 1 out of 1.

Do I like how it plays:

While I don't think too highly of Final Countdown, I like my Valkyries and Gold Sarcophagus. Plus, it is possible to get rid of. 1 out of 1.

 

So it's a total  7.5/10

 

GALAXY DUELIST:

Practicality:

While it may not be the most difficult Fusion Monster to bring out, it takes too many resources to do so little. Specific Fusion Materials, and an underwhelming effect. So it's just a 1 out of a possible 3 here.

Balance:

It's certainly a fair card. But a bit...too fair. With how specific its materials are, it could have a much more potent effect. Or keep the effect, and make it much easier to Fusion Summon. So it's a 2 out of a possible 3.

OCG:

There are a couple of errors in this card's text. A few wording and punctuation errors. Not too many, so it sits at 0.5 out of 1.

Art:

Now that's some clean and good art right there! Full point here.

Theme:

It certainly fits the ice niche of the theme, so full point here.

Do I like how it plays:

No. The effect is way too underwhelming. Now, if it was a Contact Fusion monster with generic materials, this could be overlooked. An incredibly easy Fusion monster to Summon, with the effect just as frosting. Instead of 2 specific monsters, it could say "1 WATER monster + 1 Dragon monster" and "Must first be either Fusion Summoned, or Special Summoned by sending the above cards you control (in which case you do not use "Polymerization").". Or...if you want specific materials...give us more incentive. A very potent effect. As is, it's a 0 out of a possible 1 here.

For a total of 5.5/10

 

tripledawn:

Practicality:

ABSOLUTELY! The negation, mixed in with the possible search, makes for a super cool and super handy Synchro monster. And given how vital the GY can be to some Decks, it makes for some solid disruption. A full 3 out of 3.

Balance:

I'd say it is balanced. You have to decide between keeping your hand traps in your hand, or using them to make this little lady. Emergency Teleport just to bring out Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit, and then Normal Summoning the other one. And her negation costs herself. A full 3 out of 3 in my book.

OCG:

No glaring issues with wording, spelling, or punctuation (if any). Full point here.

Art:

Certainly good art! And fitting with the theme of the girl spirits. Full point for clarity and being to my liking.

Theme:

Certainly fits the theme! The name, along with the recurring theme of spirits and ghosts with Christmas (thanks Charles Dickens....). Full Point.

Do I like how it plays:

Absolutely! I LOVE ruining my opponent's GY plays. And I love Synchro Summoning. It's a small Synchro Monster, but what it accomplishes is just enough. Full point.

A perfect 10/10

 

And that was the last contest for the year. Will later approach each participant to discuss their prize.

[tripledawn]

Thank you Nix for the contest, and I'm glad you enjoyed my card.

I appreciate the work put into these. Also happy holidays

[DifferentDimensionVanessa]

Lonely Invitation & White Holiday was an instant wow for me. I've always wanted a way to Summon an Honest (it's the only "handtrap" I own, so, for lack of a real handtrap) without looking stupid and having no reason to do so. Finally I'd have a reason to Summon the Ghost Girls.

Jokes aside, the design ideas are perfect.

[Loleo]

On 12/25/2021 at 10:37 AM, The Nyx Avatar said:

Alright, everyone. If it wasn't evident, the contest has since ended. Now, we only got the minimum 3 participants this contest. But...it's something.

Now onto the judgment:

 

Loleo:

Practicality:

 

It certainly is practical. skipping Phases can be pretty rough. And moving 2 End Phases ahead? Um...Valkyries and Gold Sarcophagus unite? Also Final Countdown. So yeah. A full 3 points for being mighty, despite not directly hindering your opponent's cards.

Balance:

Now, this here does come into question. Because while it doesn't directly hurt your opponent's cards, it can still hurt your opponent in other ways. Like the aforementioned Final Countdown. I'm just gonna split this one down the middle. 1.5 out of a possible 3.

I was honestly thinking about start of the end phase triggers or things like that. A play style oriented to the end phase. I forgot that the turn count increased in all honesty.

OCG:

The wording is generally correct, and the punctuation errors are very few. But they're not super glaring. A full 1 point.

If you're willing to take the time to do so I would love to know where I made the few mistakes. No worries if it's too much of a hassle.

Theme:

It's certainly there with how it relates to the unfortunate lack of sunlight in Winter. 1 out of 1.

I find it calming and I get to sleep more :3 Silver lining!

Do I like how it plays:

While I don't think too highly of Final Countdown, I like my Valkyries and Gold Sarcophagus. Plus, it is possible to get rid of. 1 out of 1.

 

So it's a total  7.5/10

 

GALAXY DUELIST:

Having named cards as material without alternate conditions to summon is very hard to give a powerful enough effect to. Out of curiosity (and I don't know if it's allowed or not I just personally don't like reusing cards in contest) have you posted this a long time ago?

 

tripledawn:

It was amazing in every way you deserve your perfect score, and it was incredibly creative.

 

A perfect 10/10

 

And that was the last contest for the year. Will later approach each participant to discuss their prize.

I don't know if it's too late to say this, but I wanted to make some comments. It seemed like a very open and shut contest with clear places. This was really cool and I appreciate it. @tripledawn Absolutely spectacular well done.

[The Nyx Avatar]

Well, this contest was...disappointing. But there's no changing the past.

Wave goodbye everyone, because this may very well be my last contest.