IMPORTANT Guide to Advanced Cards (Please read this before posting)

[宇佐見 蓮子@C94]

Table of Contents
I. Foreword
II. Basics of RC
II.1 - What is RC about?
II. 2 - What kind of cards should I post in RC?
II. 3 - What kind of mindset should I adopt in RC?
III. General Rules
IV. How to Respond to Criticism
IV. 1 - Differentiating CnC and Flaming
IV. 2 - Responding to "Harsh Criticism"
IV. 3 - Responding to CnC
V. What to do if your thread gets locked
VI. Do's and dont's
VII. How to properly review cards
VII. 1 - What should be reviewed
VII. 2 - Making the AC less of a burden
VII. 3 - Example Review
VIII. The Multiple Cards Section
VII. 1 - General Etiquette and Tips in Multiple Cards
IX. Reviewing Archetypes
X. End
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I. Foreword
First and foremost, hello and thank you for taking the time to open this page. Now, don't go and click the big red X button on the top right corner of your screen yet, it's better to take 10 minutes or so to read this guide instead of getting flamed when you post a card. Are you still here? Good. As you can see from the title, this is a guide for the Realistic Card Section on the Yu-Gi-Oh Card Maker Forum. This place is your one-stop destination for posting cards which you think are good enough to show to the world. Without further adieu, the first section of this guide.
[hr]
II. The Basics
II. 1 - What is RC?
RC is short for "Realistic Cards", AKA the section you are viewing right now. Throughout this guide, Realistic Cards will be referred to as RC so keep that in mind. Now, you may notice that there are two sections of RC in this forum. The first is RC - Single Cards and the other is RC - Archetype and Sets. RC - Single Cards is strictly for posting one cards only. No more, no less. Archetypes, multiple cards with similar strategies, or a bunch of random collection of cards go to RC - Archetype and Sets. What sets RC apart from the other Created Card sub-forums is that RC is made so that you can post cards which are realistic, meaning cards that look like real Konami cards and balanced cards.

II. 2 - What kind of cards should I post in RC?
As previously said, cards that are realistic and balanced. Pop Culture Cards are also welcome here, provided you designed them with balance and realism in mind (or at least make an attempt to design them at a level suitable for Advanced/RC).

 

Putting it into words can be difficult, so instead, I'll give you an example of the kind of card that should be posted in RC.
 
Should be posted in RC

This is an example of a card that is RC-worthy. It is realistic, in that it has stats proportional to its level, an effect that isn't completely overpowered and broken as well as a Yu-Gi-Oh-esque picture. This is the sort of standard RC cards should follow. Realistic, balanced enough effect as well as overall quality that resembles an acctual YGO Trading card.

Shouldn't Be Posted in RC

 
"But Toyo!" I hear you cry. "It IS a realistic card! In fact, it's even more realistic than the above card!" Well... Yes. In many ways, it is a realistic card. However, RC isn't just for realistic cards, it's for BALANCED realistic cards. This mistake of a card clearly violates the "Balanced" aspect of RC. The card steals every monster while it is face-up on the field, which is not only broken and badly designed, it's also not very realistic. Basically, if you're creating a card with the intent of heavily changing the game state, don't post it in RC. Reconsider its effects, or post it here anyways and watch as it get ripped apart by critiques. 
 
 
II. 3 - What kind of mindset should I adopt in RC?
RC is not exactly the place for rainbows and frilly unicorns, it is much more professional than that. What I'm trying to say is that you should never expect your card to get perfect reviews all the time, and that you have to brace for criticism and even harsh ones. Basically, don't act overreact to criticism and actually listen to it instead of hating them for it.
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III. General Rules
http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/forum-9/announcement-53-new-custom-cards-section-rules/
[hr]

IV. How to Respond to Criticism
IV. 1 - Differentiating CnC and Flaming
CnC is short for "Constructive Criticism", and is usually what you would expect when somebody reviews your card. I am bringing up this topic because there has been a lot of new members who are chased away from RC because they thought they were being flamed, when really, people were just criticizing their card. The difference between CnC and flaming can be summed up in this one situation:

AxeDivider: *posts card* Guys, this is my newest card. I want CnC, okay?
Toyota: This card is a piece of s**t. It's horrible and you're a horrible cardmaker. I hope you leave this site forever, f**ker.
Zazubird: Well, the card is pretty bad. The effect could have been better and the OCG is really lacking. I think that you should fix the effect up a bit and learn about OCG for a bit.

In the above situation, Toyota's review is generally considered as flaming, as it offers no insights on the card and rather focuses on hating the maker itself. If you do get flamed, do not fight back. Seriously. Ignore and move on. Or, if you feel that it broke the rules, you are more than welcome to report it to the moderators using the "Report" button on the lower left-hand corner of said post.

IV. 2 - Responding to "Harsh Criticism"
Harsh Criticism is the term which is used to describe when someone is being overly critical on your card. Usually, this isn't a problem for more experienced members who actually want harsh criticism, but this seems to a problem for newbies on this subsection. An example of harsh criticism is as follows:
AxeDivider: The card is really bad. Like, seriously bad. It's so unbalanced and is really bad design. You should really fix up the effect to prevent abuse or just throw it into the bin. This is probably just gonna be locked for bad design.

While it is true that Axe is being harsh, it's not so much as flaming as he is just being critical about the card. When you do get replies like these, listen to what he has to say, and argue his points if you feel that his review is wrong. Whatever you do though, don't ever, ever respond like this:

Toyota: F**k all of you! You all don't know anything about Yu-Gi-Oh! This site is full of morons, I'm leaving forever!

Just... just don't.

IV. 3 - Responding to CnC
The logical step would be to fix the card according to their suggestion. However, if you feel that their review is wrong, feel free to argue them. However, do differentiate CnC and "Criticism". Don't listen to people who goes "10/10 great card" because most of the time, they're stupid and you should just ignore them.
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V. What to do if your thread gets locked/moved to AoC
If you have read the rules, you should know that your threads may get locked or moved to the Any other Cards section. When this happens, the moderator who locked/moved it will state why it is locked, either due to it belonging in the wrong section, or far more likely, being unbalanced and broken. If it is broken/and or unbalanced, think about your card for a brief moment and look at other RC threads and analyze why it is broken/unbalanced. If you can figure out why and fix it on your own, good for you! You can now re-post that card in RC and prepare for the reviews. If you can't, well, think harder or ask more experienced members. Having the thread moved to AoC isn't the end for your card, because it can still be reviewed by other people.
[hr]

VI. Do's and don'ts in RC.
Do: Read this guide until it's over
Do: Read and follow the rules
Do: Read the cardmaking and OCG guides
Do: Listen to CnC
Do: Have a positive attitude
Do: Be creative with your cards
Do: Learn from other cardmakers
Do: Help other cardmakers with CnC
Do: Know a thing or two about competitive YGO and the metagame

Don't: Flame
Don't: Flame back at someone
Don't: Whine when your thread is locked/moved to AoC
Don't: Write bad reviews
Don't: Ignore CnC and focus on "10/10 good card" type reviews
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VII. How to properly review cards
VII. 1 - What should be reviewed
Ah yes, reviewing cards. The backbone of RC. The cards are the brain and the reviews are what keeps it going. Being a part of RC is not just about making cards, but also about reviewing them. However, a lot of new members' reviews tend to be bad and sometimes just wrong. Now, assuming you have knowledge about competitive YGO and how cards should work, this is what you should review, or at the very least, what you should keep in mind in your review:
1. The balance of the card
2. What happens if it were to be released IRL?
3. What possible uses would it have IRL?
4. What you think is possibly broken/abusable.
And many more. Translating into words can often be difficult, so feel free to move to section VII. 3 to look at an example review.

VII. 2 - Making the AC less of a burden
AC is short for Advanced Clause. If you have read the rules, then this shouldn't be your first time hearing about this. Advanced Clause was created to help reviews get better, not to suppress reviews. However, a lot of people, myself included, have once thought: "Man, what a bother this AC is." Well, this section of the guide is dedicated to you guys. The first step to make AC less of a burden is to detail your reviews more. For example:

"The card is broken."
Can be re-worded into:
"The card is possibly broken, because it's effect can potentially..."

See? Not too hard, right?
The next step is to fully understand said card and properly think about what it can do in the long run, not just in hindsight. This is why it's called Review and not Preview, because it's about a proper analysis of the card, not a first-look kind of deal. For example:

"Well, this could be useful in some deck, I think."
Can be re-worded into:
"This could be useful in X Deck, since its effects support said deck and could prove useful to them."
And the rest is just simple really. Repeat step 1 for each sentence of the review you make. However, this does mean that you shouldn't fill it with padding and/or useless bits of trivia. Unless your review already passes the word count needed for the AC.

VII. 3 - Example Review
 
\
[spoiler="Effect for Card"]2 Level 9 Monsters
When this card is Xyz Summoned, neither players can activate Spell and Trap cards until the next turn. Once per turn, during either player's turn, when your opponent activates an effect that would remove a card(s) you control: you can Detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; Negate the activation of that card and Destroy it.[/spoiler]
 

 

 
The card is pretty good, it covers most bases on it's negate effect, but still retains a somewhat low ATK (for a Rank 8 or higher that is) and is a OPT so it's possible to get around it and doesn't have anything to powerful to it. It can keep everything alive, but also makes you unable to combo with Spells/Traps, but as well keeps your opponent from doing the same for quite awhile because of it's effect. Not quite sure what it does as Psychic when it looks more like a Rock-Type monster, but that's it's your choice I suppose. Not half bad, a nice addition for Rank 9s with nice DEF stats to boost, but also kinda generic and doesn't have anything to really top it over the edge, but still a nice staple. Now what is bad is your OCG and the fact that you put a Continuous Effect as a Trigger Effect instead, which makes no sense at all. Look at this, and you should see what I mean. There's also a part at the end that you kinda messed up on. Anyway, OCG fix on the way!

When this card is Xyz Summoned (no reason for that, as saying it or not makes no difference at all), neither player can activate Spell and Trap cards until the next turn (way simpler said my way). Once per turn, during either player's turn, when your opponent would activate a Spell or Trap Card that would remove a card(s) you control: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; negate the activation of that card and destroy it. (I changed this completely as you made it quite confusing, you see the wrote it, you make it seem like it's for every card and by battle at first, but later you say "the activation of that card" which means that this would only apply to Spells and Traps being activated, not to effects of already face-up Spell and Traps and Monsters. If you actually mean it to be that way, you should consider rewording your card, but for now, I have written it with the way it would work if you just looked at it).

 
Above is an example of a good review. Why? Because it explains what the individual effects could do IRL, an analysis of the stats (ATK/DEF), and a proper OCG fix. This is the kind of review you should strive to write, not, for example, this one:
 

 

 
Nice looking card, not sure if I understand it but I am drunk. I do applaud you for Popoff , that made me laugh. I do hope that you make a card named "Supernatural Card Cancellation". Could be a trap card or a magic card or something

 
....Yes. This barely constitutes as a review. Not only did it break the Advanced Clause, but also because it makes mentions of things that are not relevant to the card. As I said earlier, it's okay to incorporate a few jokes and/or things unrelated to the card, but please, for the love of everything, fulfill the AC before you do any of it.
[/quote]
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VIII - The Multiple Cards Section of RC
As some of you already know, the second half of RC is for posting more than one card. Generally, you can post any string of cards, with or without relation to each other. Archetypes, multi-card combos, heck, even compilations of your own cards be posted here. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU POST MORE THAN ONE CARD IN RC. If you need another card you previously made for your card to work, simply link to it's original thread, don't post it again. The rules that apply in RC also apply in this section, including the AC to an extent. This means that you shouldn't throw around one sentence reviews in bulk, and actually critique the card as you would a card posted in Single Cards.

VIII.1 - General Etiquette and Tips in Multiple Cards
-As there is no written rule about how many cards you can post in Multiple Cards, you can technically post any amount of cards as you wish, including your entire card gallery if you so wish. However, do take in consideration that this is a public forum, which means that giant card sets can slow down those with bad internet.
-It is generally understood that: More cards in an archetype = Less professional reviews. Large card sets are a big drag for a lot of people. Nobody wants to review 20 cards at once, especially if they are all cards with not-so-interesting effects.
-It is okay to post a few cards from your archetype and then add on more cards to the original post. If you have a massive 30 card archetype, you are better off posting 5-10 cards first, let those get reviews and then post the rest of the cards in an orderly fashion. This way, you have a better chance of having all of your cards critiqued.
-Small archetypes with a focused gimmick is far more interesting to review than a massive, HERO-style archetype with no clear gimmick. This should be more detailed in the Cardmaking Guide written by A I X, also found in this page.

IX - Reviewing Archetypes
Before we get down to things, please keep this in mind: This section is only to help you in reviewing archetypes, not reviewing multiple cards with no relation to each other. You got that? Good, now we can begin my most favorite bit.

First, find the gimmick of the archetype. Sometimes, the thread creator can detail how the archetype works in the first post, but if not, just take a glance at the cards and find a common effect that binds them together. If you can't, then it's either: A badly designed archetype or, well... It's a badly designed archetype.

Then, review each individual card like you would review a single card in RC - Single Cards. But incorporate your opinion on how the card interacts with the rest of the cards in the archetype. The AC here is less tight, but you should still incorporate the basics of card reviewing, such as balance and the lot.

Once that's done, and you have a rough idea of how the archetype would work in real life, you can critique the archetype itself. Begin by mentioning how it would work in relation to other existing archetypes, or by commenting on the gimmick itself. Sometimes, an archetype can have fully balanced individual cards but is actually broken with the right combinations and draws. Critique on that too.

X. End
Whoo, that was a mouthful, wasn't it? Well, I applaud you for sticking this far into my guide. I hope this has been useful to you, the reader as this is my first tutorial. I hope to see you and your cards soon in RC! Thank you and have a good night/evening/morning.

Further reading:

 

Rules of Realistic Cards - Written by Sakura (current CC moderator)
Guide to OCG, otherwise known as Official Card Grammar - Written by Zazubat (Zaziuma)
A Guide To Making Cards - Written by the lovely, lovely A I X.

Card Design Guide - Written by .Saber, our ex-Custom Cards moderator

[PrimeAceJohn]

This was very much needed, Toyo. I honestly get sick of seeing so many people, even though they're beginners, make honestly dumb cards. I know I'm not the best at card making. but compared to the level 1ers and what not, it was much needed.

 

I think this should most definitely be pinned because many people come on here and post stupid cards; not knowing how to really know about posting cards. They need something to structure their time here in order to immediately get used to it, and what you did was perfect.

 

This is why this should strongly be pinned. 

[Therrion]

I agree, very much needed. Even when I began at the age of 10 or so I made cards more sensible then some of these people (even though my cards were limited to gaining/losing ATK in a horrible OCG manner, I atleast had them balanced XD). It is sad to see someone "trying", and looking at their attempt and seeing a 2300 ATK Level 4 with a destroy effect or something crazy like that.

A like for your efforts, Toyo-nee~~~

[Zazubat]

I lol'ed at Zazubird. Well anyway, good guide, I see you really put some effort into it, so you get a like from me.

 

EDIT: I would like to ask you put my OCG Thread as a link somewhere, I'm sure that would help people out a bit. You don't have to if you don't wanna, just asking.

[宇佐見 蓮子@C94]

I would like to ask you put my OCG Thread as a link somewhere, I'm sure that would help people out a bit. You don't have to if you don't wanna, just asking.

Oh yeah, that's a great idea.

I might add a FAQ section in the near future, so keep your eye out for that. Also, requesting this to be pinned. Pwetty pweaze? 

[Sora1499]

I was looking forward to my alt name :( 8/10, good guide, needs better pics In all seriousness, this is a great guide to RC and I'm very glad you made this, especially since the RC community seems to be reshaping itself as of late. Requesting this to be pinned.

[宇佐見 蓮子@C94]

Clarified that Pop Culture cards belong in Pop Culture, because people are posting cards of an androgynous Naruto character here, somehow. 

[Zazubat]

Clarified that Pop Culture cards belong in Pop Culture, because people are posting cards of an androgynous Naruto character here, somehow. 

Seen that too. It's good to clarify. Also, just noticed, you used my review for your Rank 9 monster you made some time ago. I still like the card, one of your best cards (at least that I can remember), so my word still stands on that card :D

[Zazubat]

This is a suggestion in regards to reviewers. I would like to see a format that all reviews should be set up like. My reviews tend to be all over the place, and because of that, I want that to change. I see some use something that looks kind of like this below (Koko used something like this to review one of my cards, and I liked the way she did it). I also am thinking of putting up a version of the card which is a different version than the original, calling it "How I would have made it", since that would maybe make people use a version that suits what they are saying in their review, and might be another way to understand where they are coming from in the review. So, Toyo, do you agree that a review structure would be a good idea?

 

Effect & Use

 

Design

Flavor & Image

Overall

 

(Then, if there needs to be any)

 

OCG Fix

 

My Version

 

EDIT:
I made a review using it, and I found that it was much better than what I did before. I suggest, if you don't do it already, that you do it, it really is a better way to review, at least in my opinion: http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/304775-grimoire-the-wicked-tome-week-10card-1/

[宇佐見 蓮子@C94]

Long overdue it may be, but an update is still an update regardless. Added a few tidbits about the Multiple Cards section.

 

Please read warmly with the beverage of your choice close to you~

[Catterjune]

In Section II. 2, what's the point of Card B (Pot of Pot of Greed)? You don't talk about it or even really make a reference to it in any way. I mean, the board knows it's what not to do, but the Guide doesn't even really mention it in anyway. You should either state that Card B is bad and you should feel bad, or you should just remove the image of Card B.

in my opinion

 

oh okay

[Slinky]

Can we just say a card is broken if its EXTREMELY OBVIOUS?

 

Such as:

 

lol, "this card nukes the field for free yo, totally legit. oh, i also get to draw 2 cards and shit"

 

Stuff like that.

[宇佐見 蓮子@C94]

[quote name="DysonSlinky" post="6333748" timestamp="1389299139"]Can we just say a card is broken if its EXTREMELY OBVIOUS?   Such as:   lol, "this card nukes the field for free yo, totally legit. oh, i also get to draw 2 cards and shit"   Stuff like that.[/quote] Thing is, this is only obvious to experienced people. I want this guide to be able to be understood by those with limited YGO knowledge.

[宇佐見 蓮子@C94]

Bumping to remove the unsightly "Guest Toyoko Kuroki" thing off. Thanks to Axi (or Zex, idk who put it there) for placing the "IMPORTANT" tag.

This is now open to suggestions, guys. If you have anything you would like me to add to the guide, please feel free to post in the thread.

[DiabloMask]

Hi, I read most of the rules and guides, but there's something I didn't find an answer to:

 

I couldn't help but notice that most of the avatars used in the cards in RC had beautiful arts.

Does everyone design the avatars on their own? or do they use random pictures from

anywhere in the internet?

 

For me, I've been drawing the card designs on my own, but they're not good enough to be

"Realistic" which is kinda bothering me.

Is there a specific site where I could get such cool designs?

[Maeriberii Haan]

They mostly use random pictures from the internet. For more information about this, check the Card Creation Guide that's also pinned in this section.

[ScarletViper]

As some of you already know, the second half of RC is for posting more than one card. Generally, you can post any string of cards, with or without relation to each other. Archetypes, multi-card combos, heck, even compilations of your own cards be posted here. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU POST MORE THAN ONE CARD IN RC.

 

Wait... what? I'm new here and I was going over this whole thing, and this confuses me....

[AGATHODAIMON BANGTAIL COW]

Wait... what? I'm new here and I was going over this whole thing, and this confuses me....

There are two sections of Realistic Cards. [url=http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/forum/9-realistic-cards-single-cards/]Single Cards[/url] is where you post only one card. [url=http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/forum/9-realistic-cards-single-cards/]The other half is Multiple Cards,[/url] where you post two or more cards in the same thread.

[Trebuchet MS]

Ah, the infamous Fire Pit Princess became a shining negative example. Props to doing that.

[Chiz Fri]

If I wanted to post a Ritual Monster card along with it's Ritual Spell card, would that have to go in "Multiple Cards" or could it be posted in "Single Cards?"

[Flash Flyer - Sakura]

Ritual Monsters and their corresponding Rituals count as one card, so you're free to post them here in the Singles section. (This only applies if you're posting 1 Ritual Monster).

[Atypical-Abbie]

Could you update the OP with the new OCG thread?

 

http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/322020-ocgpsct-thread-writing-your-card-properly/

[Flash Flyer - Sakura]

It's been done.

Also added .Saber's guide to card design, if it helps anything.

 

Frankly though, people should read this guide more often; really sets the standards for how you should be expected to act here (and in Multiples by extension).