IMPORTANT Guide to Designing Pop Culture Cards (and Casuals)

[Flash Flyer - Sakura]

To those of you who frequent this section, thanks for taking the time to read this guide to Casual Cards. After reading this guide, you should get an idea of what this section is for and how you should design your cards/write any comments.
 
This is similar to the guides that already exist in Advanced Cards, but with details that cater to this particular area. 
 
So let's begin.
 
1. What is Casual Cards?
 
This section is for you all to post cards without worrying about what goes on in the metagame and stuff. It's also for you to design cards based on characters from other anime, manga, comics, TV show, movies, video games or whatever.

 

In essence, you can make cards based on your favorite Pokémon characters/moves or whatever series you've chosen to showcase, without being being constrained to make them fit the metagame.

 

You also have the ability to design your own Types, summon mechanics and so forth in the Experimental section; meaning card effects and things that currently don't exist at present. 
 
2. What kind of cards should be posted in here?
 
Aside from the aforementioned cards based on multimedia characters, you should also post cards that are well-designed and balanced. We know some multimedia characters are overly powerful in their own right within their respective series, but you should make an attempt to balance it out so that any card you base off of them embodies their powers/strength, but keeps it in the realm of realistic-ness.

 

Unlike in Advanced, you are a bit freer to incorporate their natural abilities and stuff without much constraint. Though you still need to abide by the standard Types and things Konami already developed.

 

In other words, you should incorporate some of the Advanced principles in your designs. (This also means abiding by any stat rules Konami has set)

 

The following are examples of stuff you should/should not post here.

 
Good
 

 
Example Sets
http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/316853-a-fleeting-dream-final-fantasy-x-set-772014/ (Dracoswag)
http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/317081-j-max-pokevolution-season-5-the-hybrids-20-5-new-cards-added/ (J-Max)
 
Notice that the effects here reflect the character's abilities, but are designed in a way that they aren't seen as broken.

You can also design Pop Culture cards that can tie into Archetypes that exist in the real game (or RC if you put one there), or designed like cards in the Advanced section.
 
Espeon is reflective of Magic Bounce, an actual ability it can have in the Pokémon series (via HA) and Morning Sun (which it can learn at level 33 or so).
 
Bad
 

 
It should be obvious why this card is bad and should not be posted here.

 

Yes, the point of Casual is to give more leeway for card designs; BUT said card should be designed in a way so it doesn't come off as overly broken. In this case, the card is beyond repair (other than completing scrapping it), even though the card's effects embody Kaguya Otsutsuki from the Naruto series.

• Generic materials (several Decks are able to churn out Rank 8s with ease; specifically Galaxy/Photons [see Neo Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon, 107 (Tachyon) and 62 (Prime Photon)], Hieratics (in builds that bother to tech Sun Dragon Overlord) and Gimmick Puppets).
• Effect essentially says "lol I eat all your monsters and if you try to get rid of me, you get burned". Would get banned even with 0/0 stats.
• 4000 ATK/DEF and no drawbacks. (Remember, Prime Photon halves battle damage if you don't have GEPD on there, and other R8s with this much power require 3 mats or specific mats.)
• DIVINE; you know by now that any existing DIVINE cards are that of the original God cards and the Creator of Light. While DIVINE monsters are allowed, you need to use it sparingly, and make sure the character in question indeed warrants the usage of it.

Remember that Fire Princess card in Advanced that got a lot of crap for breaking the gamestate in mid-2014? Yeah, Kaguya is essentially that card on drugs; whatever comments that were written there are also applicable here.

 

Should be a very good example of what NOT to do; here's a link to it for those interested: http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/318881-princess-of-the-fire-pit/

 
While we don't expect you to be creating cards at the same level as Realistic Card users (if you do, then great), but you should make cards that embody the character/series in question (flavor) while maintaining balance/design. This means "don't make cards that resemble stuff on the ban list in the real game", otherwise you can expect your cards to get shredded mercilessly (as in being picked apart and criticized to no end).
 
Making your opponent lose 1/4 of their LP after negating something they activated is not balanced/well-designed.

There is a reason why certain cards that do similar things are on the format ban list.
 
(You should have an idea of cards that actually exist in the real game though; it will help you with designing yours. You may wish to read the card making guide by Aix or browse our TCG Section from time to time.)
 
Adherence to the newest OCG isn't required, however it'll help members understand your card better if you attempt to use proper terminology. There is a guide to writing OCG properly, designed by Zazu in the regular Advanced forums; or you can ask a CC mod to help you write it. 
 
3. How to act in this section?
 
http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/326539-ycm-casual-cards-designs-rules/
 
While the standards here aren't as strict as those in Realistic/Advanced Cards, you are expected to do a couple of things. Unlike the RC version of this guide, stuff will be summed up in one section. You can read the RC guides if you want more explanations.

 
Main point is not to throw a tantrum if someone doesn't say your cards are perfect or get marked down for several things.You cannot expect your cards to be perfect on the first try. If someone suggests a fix, actually take the fixes into consideration and edit it accordingly; especially if explained in detail for you.

 
While commenting on a card, explain your reasoning for why you think it's good/bad; since just saying "this card is broken" doesn't help.

You can comment on the flavor of the card and how its effects correlate to their actual abilities (i.e. if the effect of a Pokémon-themed card is related/not to its actual counterpart in X/Y or the anime).

 

Heck, you can even give an Advanced-style review and bring the metagame into it. In essence, provide something that can help the thread creator improve their craft; you're fine. However, the purpose for Casual is general design, so if you need to reference the metagame, keep discussion on that to a minimum. 

 

This does NOT, however, include fixing their OCG and nothing else. You can help fix it if you'd like (assuming you are capable of doing so properly), but ALSO provide comments related to the cards in question.

 
Examples of good reviews.
 

I don't like the S/T negation effect because it is a "you can't play yugioh" effect and thus bad for the game. Granted, it doesn't destroy the negated S/T and it costs a discard but:
1. By negating the activation the S/T will either go to the graveyard anyways if it a Normal, or will remain dead on the field if it is Continuous so, in the end, not destroying it barely makes any difference, except when the opponent has other cards to make use of dead Continuous S/Ts (Pleiades, Scrap Dragon, etc.). Actually, I don't know where Continuous S/Ts are meant to go if their activation is negated, because 1 thing is negating their effects, in which case they stay on the field, and another negating their activation without sending it to somewhere else (destroy it, banish it, etc.).
2. Atlantean variants can turn the discard into an advantage by dumping Atlantean monsters.
 
I get that it is intended to be a reference to Taunt, but I don't think an S/T negation effect is the best representation of said move. Instead, an effect that disrupts the actions opponent's monster would suit it better. For instance, something like this:
 
Monsters your opponent controls whose Levels and Ranks are lower than this card's Level cannot activate their effects during your opponent's Main Phase 1.
 
In my opinion, this feels like a Taunt-esque effect because:
- Just like Taunt stops Pokemon from doing moves, this effect delays the opponent from using their effects. It blocks only during the MP1 for to allow the opponent to still do his/her plays, but after skipping the Battle Phase; also, it would be unfair if it stopped the effects continuously.
- The Level/Rank restriction is meant to represent speed: If Keldeo is faster (has a higher Level) then it will successfully use Taunt on the opponent's monsters, but if they are faster they will be able to make their moves before Keldeo. You can replace the Level/Rank restrictions with ATK if you wish.
 
I admit it also feels like a "you can't play yugioh" effect, but it is certainly not as abusive as the S/T negation effect.
 
 
Or you could go for variants of that effect, such as:
Monsters your opponent controls whose Levels and Ranks are lower than this card's Level cannot activate their effects during the turn they are Normal or Special Summoned.
 
 
By the way, If the first effect is a reference to Calm Mind, then raising DEF as well would add a bit more of flavor since, you know, Calm Mind raises both Sp. ATK & DEF.

 

Critique on a Keldeo card that was in this section prior to the split. (You can find it in Advanced, or in the summative Set 2 thread, which is also there)

 

Shouldn't Sakura say "once per turn" for the first effect? Without an activation limit its a one card infinite life point loop. I'm sure making it that way that was accidental though. Assuming you meant once per turn on the first effect, she looks good. Negating a targeting effect once per turn helps stop chainable traps that are popular in response to summons these days. Also deters 101 and castel. Therefore your opponent will have to use up at least 1 card before they get through in some situations. I'm not sure how being LV6 mixes with popular warrior-type archetypes, but its well within the scales for pendulum summoning her.

 
See all of the stuff listed under Pop Culture Cards and General Rules in the provided link? They are there for a reason; you need to follow them.

 

-----

Also, if another member takes the time to look at your cards and review; show that you appreciate them coming in and critiquing your card. Remember that we are not required to actually look at your craft. 
 
4. End
 
Think that covers up everything that needs to be said for making good cards in Pop Culture and how to write/respond to CnC and comments in this section. Hopefully this helps all of you design cards that are based on your favorite series, but also retain an air of balance/design.
 
Until then, hope to see your creations in this section and have a nice day.

 

[Maeriberii Haan]

Sakura, I love you for this. Now Pop culture can actually be good.

Will reread this a few times to see whether there's something that needs to be added/cleared/yeah.

[J-Max]

Thank you for using my Set as an example. I know in the past, a lot of members would post stupid 9999/9999 cards thinking that just because its their favorite character it would count. Glad to see that the Rules will apply here as well.

[Flash Flyer - Sakura]

@Ain: Saber, Striker and I were discussing making this for PC.

Granted, we need to fix RC first since that's the main one, but over here needs some fixing as well.

 

The bad card (Kaguya) is pretty much designed the same as Toyo's RC one (and by extension, that card, although it is more broken); even though it is reminiscent of her powers thus far. Either that or I post up some bad Chuck Norris card from 2009.

 

@J-Max: No problem; it earns a spot over there because of the work you've put into it.

 

As for the 9999/9999 cards, that was one of the reasons we decided to enforce some of the RC rules in this section. Throwing the full RC rulebook at members here wouldn't help, even though the quality would be higher. Some stuff won't be applied because of their nature, but the rest of the stuff will be.

 

Hopefully PC gets its quality level up; because there's a limit to how long we'll put up with Pop Culture cards with 9000+ ATK/DEF or something along those lines.

[Tentacruel]

Even though I really don't make cards, I have one question.  Obviously 9999/9999 "you win da duel" cards are pointless and a waste of space, but to what degree should they take the actual metagame into account?

[Flash Flyer - Sakura]

You can ignore the metagame if you want (if you really don't care for the meta, considering it is prone to change every couple months). Though it's advised that you have an idea for general card balance and some knowledge of existing cards (considering that a lot of members who post here don't play tournaments, and by extension, don't go into TCG). This isn't supposed to be as regulated as RC is, but good design is emphasized and unfortunately, card design is sometimes dictated by what Konami releases in the coming months (or has released so far).

 

Just follow the set rules Konami already established for cards and you should be fine: No going over the 5000 ATK/DEF threshold for original stats; stay with the legal Types/Subtypes that exist (all characters should be able to fit into one of them; there isn't much need to make a new Type) and making sure you don't make broken effects, much like the example in thread.

[I Hate Snatch Steal]

I was just going to point out a mistake on Sakura but then I figured I'd do a full review instead, and if you liked it you could use it as an example of a good review.

 

I don't know much about Naruto or recent Pokemon games, but here goes:

 

Shouldn't Sakura say "once per turn" for the first effect? Without an activation limit its a one card infinite life point loop. I'm sure making it that way that was accidental though. Assuming you meant once per turn on the first effect, she looks good. Negating a targeting effect once per turn helps stop chainable traps that are popular in response to summons these days. Also deters 101 and castel. Therefore your opponent will have to use up at least 1 card before they get through in some situations. I'm not sure how being LV6 mixes with popular warrior-type archetypes, but its well within the scales for pendulum summoning her.

[Flash Flyer - Sakura]

The review works as an example of what to do. As mentioned, a RC review works fine here [and is somewhat implied by the new rules].
 
Sakura's one is intended to trigger on Main Phase 1 only (not the MP2 if you battle), so yeah it's once per turn. I'll fix it though so it doesn't lend to any confusion. (I originally had a SS clause on her, but took it off because too much stuff on her is bad).

 

[No, it is not a member card tribute...]

[Atypical-Abbie]

Shouldn't the name here be changed? And nice guide too.

[Flash Flyer - Sakura]

I originally wrote this guide when Pop Culture was still its own section, but yeah a name change + revamp would be necessary here, considering that it matters not if your card is Pop Culture or a normal one.

 

Basically, this was for members who design cards based on other series characters.

 

Essentially, try to balance out their actual abilities against their power in the Yugioh game.

 

The Kaguya card (the BAD example) was designed after that Fire Princess one in RC last April or something; I don't quite recall.

Actually, this one is worse (as I noted in the example of what NOT to do); actually has stats, does even more broken things, is abusable by a ton of R8 decks and stuff.