Ultimate Card Maker Tournament 2010

Forgive me for being late. Stress, work, and holiday shopping has made it difficult.

Round 2 Scores

Undeadflayme (Izumo & Kotetsu)
ARTWORK 3.75/5
-Actual picture used for card
Is it grainy? No
Is it rendered well? Is it smooth? Mostly smooth. Seems ever so slightly blurry
Does it have a white line? Is it smooth? Yes.
Does it have a dropped shadow? No.
Is the placement correct?
The lightning symbol is covered by Kotetsu and fire symbol is on top of him. It's a little bit awkward.
Is the image quality good? For the most part, yes.

CARD LAYOUT 4.5/5
-The Actual Template itself
Is the template itself clear/clean? Yes
Are the symbols placed correctly? Fire symbol is on top of the Ninja, which again, seems off.
Are the symbols easy to read? The word "Lightning" is chopped off by Kotetsu
Are the numbers on the card clear? Yes
Is the combat attribute clear? Yes
Card Number/Set Symbol/Rarity? (Optional) Rarity is there

TEXT LAYOUT 3.75/5
-The Actual Formatting of the Text of the Card (Effect Text, Characteristics, Name, Flavor Text, Effect Surname)
Is the font correct? Not for the ampersand. Also, the surname is bold and looks very off.
Is the color correct? Yes
Is the sizing correct? Yes
Is the spacing correct? Yes
Is the templating correct? (Everything level and lines up correctly?) Yes.

-Characteristics
Is everything in order? Sort of. Depending on the templating, Proctor can be before or after Mental Power.
I believe the most recent has Proctor after Mental Power.

SPELLING & GRAMMAR 4.25/5
-Spelling on the card and the grammar on the card
Is everything spelled correctly? Yes.
Does the card make sense when you read it? Yes
Is it too difficult to understand what's going on? Sort of. (See below in effect)
Is it worded properly?/Does it follow the correct effect structure for cards?
Not exactly. The only card I know that does this style of effect is "Naruto & Neji" platoon
and it uses "If you put this Ninja in play" rather than "When this Ninja is put in play." Minor problem.

Using "May" instead of "Can"/Use "Can" when appropriate? Yes

EFFECT TEXT 3/5
-Balance & Creativity
Is it too powerful/weak overall? Kind of powerful.
Is it too powerful/weak for it's requirements/rarity/cost/turn marker? Kind of powerful for it's turn.

Being able to "Wood Style: Tree Bind Eternal Burial" a single team off of just a platoon is very powerful, and it
doesnt' seem to befit Izumo at all. Likewise, Kotetsu seems over powered by having a put in play "Sand Tsunami" effect.
The 4 chakra requirements makes it a little bit more fair. Well as fair as a ridiculous effect can be with a cost that's
too high.

Despite that, I do actually like this card a lot. My only real problems are the balance on the card itself (Why would
you want Kotetsu when Izumo probably locks the game up for free?), it's two ninja that aren't commonly played,
and the effect text seems like it should be just 2 blocks (but due to space constraints can't be done) of text. It
reads like 4 effects but then you realize it's just 2 "If/Then" effect blocks.

Final Score: 19.25/25

MJM (Killer Bee [Eight Tail's Cloak])
ARTWORK 5/5
-Actual picture used for card
Is it grainy? No
Is it rendered well? Is it smooth? Yes
Does it have a white line? Is it smooth? New SR Template doesn't use it
Does it have a dropped shadow? Yes.
Is the placement correct? Yes.
Is the image quality good? Yes.

Not only is everything placed correctly and clean, the fact that you made the cloak just shows
extra dedication. One of the best looking created cards I've ever seen.

CARD LAYOUT 5/5
-The Actual Template itself
Is the template itself clear/clean? Yes
Are the symbols placed correctly? Yes
Are the symbols easy to read? Yes
Are the numbers on the card clear? Yes. I thought they were "Off" but they're comparable to Deva Path (POP) to they're okay
Is the combat attribute clear? Yes
Card Number/Set Symbol/Rarity? (Optional) Yes

TEXT LAYOUT 5/5
-The Actual Formatting of the Text of the Card (Effect Text, Characteristics, Name, Flavor Text, Effect Surname)
Is the font correct? Yes
Is the color correct? Yes
Is the sizing correct? Yes
Is the spacing correct? Yes
Is the templating correct? (Everything level and lines up correctly?) Yes

-Characteristics
Is everything in order? Yes

SPELLING & GRAMMAR 4.75/5
-Spelling on the card and the grammar on the card
Is everything spelled correctly? Yes
Does the card make sense when you read it? Yes
Is it too difficult to understand what's going on? No
Is it worded properly?/Does it follow the correct effect structure for cards? Almost.
Should be "this Ninja and Jutsu cards used by this Ninja cannot be affected by your opponent's effects during this turn."

Using "May" instead of "Can"/Use "Can" when appropriate? Yes


EFFECT TEXT 3/5
-Balance
Is it too powerful/weak overall? Powerful, but it's a turn 6.
Is it too powerful/weak for it's requirements/rarity/cost/turn marker? Right on target for the turn marker.

It would be broken if you didn't have to commit to the effect before your opponent declares the blockers.

-Creativity
The only short coming of the card is the creativity. Protection effects are about as cookie cutter as they come.

Normally MJM, I think your cards are good but don't really have that WOW!" factor but these last two you've
submitted are just amazing. Keep this up and you might well be on your way to the finals!

Final Score: 22.75/25

User Name (Kakuzu)
ARTWORK 1.5/5
-Actual picture used for card
Is it grainy? Yes
Is it rendered well? Is it smooth? No
Does it have a white line? Is it smooth? Yes
Does it have a dropped shadow? No
Is the placement correct? Yes
Is the image quality good? Not in the slightest. Very very poor image quality.

CARD LAYOUT 4/5
-The Actual Template itself
Is the template itself clear/clean? The template seems blurry and/or the colors seemed washed.
Are the symbols placed correctly? Yes
Are the symbols easy to read? Yes
Are the numbers on the card clear? (Shadows/Correct Size/Font) Yes
Is the combat attribute clear? Yes
Card Number/Set Symbol/Rarity? (Optional) Yup

TEXT LAYOUT 1.5/5
-The Actual Formatting of the Text of the Card (Effect Text, Characteristics, Name, Flavor Text, Effect Surname)
Is the font correct? No
Is the color correct? Yes
Is the sizing correct? No
Is the spacing correct? The 1+ and 2+ shouldn't have spaces between it and the parenthesis
Is the templating correct? (Everything level and lines up correctly?)
Everything is very crammed and about to run into the edges of the card
("Replacing the Hearts" is almost touching the red line. The mark of good text layouts is the white space. More
white space is good. It doesn't overwhelm the reader)

-Characteristics

The templating on the Characteristic line is way off.

Is everything in order? Yes

SPELLING & GRAMMAR 2/5
-Spelling on the card and the grammar on the card
Is everything spelled correctly? Yes
Does the card make sense when you read it? Yes
Is it too difficult to understand what's going on? No.
Is it worded properly?/Does it follow the correct effect structure for cards? No.
It should read as:

"Valid: When this Ninja's Team removes one of your opponent's Ninja's from play, place 1 Ninja Blade coin
(Symbolizing a Heart Coin) on this Ninja at the end of the turn.

Valid: During your Mission Phase, you can remove 1 or more Heart coins from this Ninja. In that case, apply one of the following
effects according to the number of Heart coins removed:

1+)Put 1 "Four Souls of Kakuzu" in play from your Reinforcement deck.
2+)Remove this Ninja from the game and put 1 "Kakuzu (Soul Form)" in play from your Reinforcement Deck ignoring the effect of Sacrifice."

Use "Can" when appropriate? (Can is correct.) No. You used "May", which while proper English, isn't correct Naruto templating. *sigh* I hate having
to take points off for this (because I think it should be "may"). It makes my soul burn.


EFFECT TEXT 2/5
-Balance
Is it too powerful/weak overall? Weak
Is it too powerful/weak for it's requirements/rarity/cost/turn marker? Weak for it's turn. I guess it's okay for people who don't have a SR Kakuzu, being it's a rare.

In terms of power, it's weaker than TP2 Kakuzu and Multiple Hearts. You gain Four Souls of Kakuzu actually SLOWER than Multiple Hearts and you don't burn 4 chakra.
The only upside is being able to get Soul Form out faster by a whole turn, meaning you HAD to get him out on 6 exactly. Ignoring the Sacrifice isn't a big deal since
most of the time the cost doesn't matter on turn 8, although it is nice I guess.

-Creativity
I'll give you the creativity points though. The card is definitely very flavorful with the character.
The card is simply too weak though to see an constructed (or even limited) play.

Final Score: 11/25

Ninja Pebble (Karin)
ARTWORK 3/5
-Actual picture used for card
Is it grainy? No
Is it rendered well? Is it smooth? Yes
Does it have a white line? Is it smooth? Yes
Does it have a dropped shadow? Yes
Is the placement correct? Yes
Is the image quality good? Sort of. Clearly it's an image from a manga scan/cover.

CARD LAYOUT 5/5
-The Actual Template itself
Is the template itself clear/clean? (Can't be grainy/blurry)
Are the symbols placed correctly? Yes
Are the symbols easy to read? Yes
Are the numbers on the card clear? (Shadows/Correct Size/Font) Yes
Is the combat attribute clear? Yes
Card Number/Set Symbol/Rarity? (Optional) Yes

TEXT LAYOUT 5/5
-The Actual Formatting of the Text of the Card (Effect Text, Characteristics, Name, Flavor Text, Effect Surname)
Is the font correct? Yes
Is the color correct? Yes
Is the sizing correct? Yes
Is the spacing correct? Yes
Is the templating correct? (Everything level and lines up correctly?) Yes

-Characteristics
Is everything in order? Yes and no. It follows the templating of "Sensing" which has Hebi as an "Active Characteristic"
Assuming it follows set 19 templating it should be as such:

Should be: Sound | Hebi | Rogue Ninja | Female | Mental Power: 2 | Medical |
AMBUSH

Regardless, I can't penalize you as there isn't really a correct way for making her both Hebi & Sound under Set 19 templating.

SPELLING & GRAMMAR 3.5/5
-Spelling on the card and the grammar on the card
Is everything spelled correctly?
No. AWBUSH should be AMBUSH. I realize a W is a M upside down, but it doesn't cut it. Is this a joke? Or just an earnest mistake? Ha ha.

Does the card make sense when you read it? Yes.
Is it too difficult to understand what's going on? It's a bit difficult to wrap your head around. Cards should be easy to understand. This one simply has too much going on.
Is it worded properly?/Does it follow the correct effect structure for cards? Yes, it follows the correct "wording" structure but I still feel there's a simplier way to do this.
It is simply too wordy for what seems like a really simple effect. I don't know how you should word it but right now it comes off as a convoluted mess.

Using "May" instead of "Can"/Use "Can" when appropriate? Yes.

EFFECT TEXT 1.5/5
-Balance
Is it too powerful/weak overall? Powerful
Is it too powerful/weak for it's requirements/rarity/cost/turn marker? Powerful for the turn, for sure.

In no hand Water, Karin essentially gives you a free opportunity to cycle two of your useless chakra for 2 better Ambush Ninja or Jutsu, without actually ever losing the
resources (they go to the bottom of the effect). On top of that, she gets a free "The Fifth Hokage [Establishment of Medicine]" effect as long as you have 2 chakra. That's
a bit much don't you think? Especially for a rare? This is a super rare caliber effect, on a turn 1 body. Something like this would belong on a turn 6. Just a bit over powered.

-Creativity
I always like it when Karin cards heal as they reflect the flavor of the character very well. In this case though, the cost is beneficial and isn't even really a cost.
It just helps the user in multiple different ways. No matter how you look at it, this is Win-Win-Win in No-Hand Water.

Final Score: 18/25

Tsu Kiyo Me wrote:

TEXT LAYOUT 3.75/5
-The Actual Formatting of the Text of the Card (Effect Text, Characteristics, Name, Flavor Text, Effect Surname)
Is the font correct? Not for the ampersand. Also, the surname is bold and looks very off.
Is the color correct? Yes
Is the sizing correct? Yes
Is the spacing correct? Yes
Is the templating correct? (Everything level and lines up correctly?) Yes.

What is the ampersand?

Tsu Kiyo Me wrote:

Forgive me for being late. Stress, work, and holiday shopping has made it difficult.

User Name (Kakuzu)
ARTWORK 1.5/5
-Actual picture used for card
Is it grainy? Yes
Is it rendered well? Is it smooth? No
Does it have a white line? Is it smooth? Yes
Does it have a dropped shadow? No
Is the placement correct? Yes
Is the image quality good? Not in the slightest. Very very poor image quality. Yeah, I got it from screencapping the anime :P

CARD LAYOUT 4/5
-The Actual Template itself
Is the template itself clear/clean? The template seems blurry and/or the colors seemed washed.
Are the symbols placed correctly? Yes
Are the symbols easy to read? Yes
Are the numbers on the card clear? (Shadows/Correct Size/Font) Yes
Is the combat attribute clear? Yes
Card Number/Set Symbol/Rarity? (Optional) Yup

TEXT LAYOUT 1.5/5
-The Actual Formatting of the Text of the Card (Effect Text, Characteristics, Name, Flavor Text, Effect Surname)
Is the font correct? I used Elan-Medium... That's the closest you can get without paying/torrenting the actual one -.-
Is the color correct? Yes
Is the sizing correct? No Look at cards like Naruto [TA] (non-reinforcement). That's what I based the size on.
Is the spacing correct? The 1+ and 2+ shouldn't have spaces between it and the parenthesis I based the wording of Seimei: http://www.bandaicg.com/naruto/images/cards_s17/n806.jpg
There is a spacing on him
Is the templating correct? (Everything level and lines up correctly?)
Everything is very crammed and about to run into the edges of the card
("Replacing the Hearts" is almost touching the red line. The mark of good text layouts is the white space. More
white space is good. It doesn't overwhelm the reader) Again, Naruto [TA]

-Characteristics

The templating on the Characteristic line is way off.
Again, Naruto [TA]
Is everything in order? Yes

SPELLING & GRAMMAR 2/5
-Spelling on the card and the grammar on the card
Is everything spelled correctly? Yes
Does the card make sense when you read it? Yes
Is it too difficult to understand what's going on? No.
Is it worded properly?/Does it follow the correct effect structure for cards? No.
It should read as:

"Valid: When this Ninja's Team removes one of your opponent's Ninja's from play, place 1 Ninja Blade coin
(Symbolizing a Heart Coin) on this Ninja at the end of the turn.
The problem with this is that you only get 1 coin per turn (at least it seems that way with that wording). My current wording gives you one per ninja killed. That way, if you kill a whole team, you can 4 Souls then Soul form. If the wording has the same effect as mine, ignore this :P
Valid: During your Mission Phase, you can remove 1 or more Heart coins from this Ninja. In that case, apply one of the following
effects according to the number of Heart coins removed:

1+)Put 1 "Four Souls of Kakuzu" in play from your Reinforcement deck.
2+)Remove this Ninja from the game and put 1 "Kakuzu (Soul Form)" in play from your Reinforcement Deck ignoring the effect of Sacrifice."

Use "Can" when appropriate? (Can is correct.) No. You used "May", which while proper English, isn't correct Naruto templating. *sigh* I hate having
to take points off for this (because I think it should be "may"). It makes my soul burn.
Yeah, I'm a grammar-fag, so I automatically right "may"

EFFECT TEXT 2/5
-Balance
Is it too powerful/weak overall? Weak
Is it too powerful/weak for it's requirements/rarity/cost/turn marker? Weak for it's turn. I guess it's okay for people who don't have a SR Kakuzu, being it's a rare. [b]That was my goal with this card. Something for the poor guy who can't afford the Super

In terms of power, it's weaker than TP2 Kakuzu and Multiple Hearts. You gain Four Souls of Kakuzu actually SLOWER than Multiple Hearts and you don't burn 4 chakra. I posted the card before tP2 Kakuzu was previewed, so I was trying to make an alternative to [Multiple Hearts]
The only upside is being able to get Soul Form out faster by a whole turn, meaning you HAD to get him out on 6 exactly. Ignoring the Sacrifice isn't a big deal since
most of the time the cost doesn't matter on turn 8, although it is nice I guess.

-Creativity
I'll give you the creativity points though. The card is definitely very flavorful with the character.
The card is simply too weak though to see an constructed (or even limited) play.

Final Score: 11/25

Random thoughts in quote. Not complaints, just musings

Susano'o the Storm God wrote:

Tsu Kiyo Me wrote:

TEXT LAYOUT 3.75/5
-The Actual Formatting of the Text of the Card (Effect Text, Characteristics, Name, Flavor Text, Effect Surname)
Is the font correct? Not for the ampersand. Also, the surname is bold and looks very off.
Is the color correct? Yes
Is the sizing correct? Yes
Is the spacing correct? Yes
Is the templating correct? (Everything level and lines up correctly?) Yes.

What is the ampersand?

An ampersand is an and sign, like in M&M's candies. It's the & symbol.

Tsu Kiyo Me wrote:

MJM (Killer Bee [Eight Tail's Cloak])

Not only is everything placed correctly and clean, the fact that you made the cloak just shows
extra dedication. One of the best looking created cards I've ever seen.

Alright sorry, I dont want to be "that guy" but MJM is getting brownie points for making a chakra cloak but copying and pasting is a lot harder than actually lining/coloring your own art. Not that MJM didnt make it look good but I just dont want this to turn into a bias tourney because the Judges are friends with 3 competitors.

naruto4ever wrote:

Tsu Kiyo Me wrote:

MJM (Killer Bee [Eight Tail's Cloak])

Not only is everything placed correctly and clean, the fact that you made the cloak just shows
extra dedication. One of the best looking created cards I've ever seen.

Alright sorry, I dont want to be "that guy" but MJM is getting brownie points for making a chakra cloak but copying and pasting is a lot harder than actually lining/coloring your own art. Not that MJM didnt make it look good but I just dont want this to turn into a bias tourney because the Judges are friends with 3 competitors.

tbh, Tsu kiyo me, I have to kinda agree with Naruto4ever, because some of the statements you made sound like biasm.

Tsu Kiyo Me wrote:

CARD LAYOUT 4.5/5
-The Actual Template itself
Is the template itself clear/clean? Yes
Are the symbols placed correctly? Fire symbol is on top of the Ninja, which again, seems off.
Are the symbols easy to read? The word "Lightning" is chopped off by Kotetsu
Are the numbers on the card clear? Yes
Is the combat attribute clear? Yes
Card Number/Set Symbol/Rarity? (Optional) Rarity is there

EFFECT TEXT 3/5
-Balance & Creativity
Is it too powerful/weak overall? Kind of powerful.
Is it too powerful/weak for it's requirements/rarity/cost/turn marker? Kind of powerful for it's turn.

Being able to "Wood Style: Tree Bind Eternal Burial" a single team off of just a platoon is very powerful, and it
doesnt' seem to befit Izumo at all. Likewise, Kotetsu seems over powered by having a put in play "Sand Tsunami" effect.
The 4 chakra requirements makes it a little bit more fair. Well as fair as a ridiculous effect can be with a cost that's
too high.

Despite that, I do actually like this card a lot. My only real problems are the balance on the card itself (Why would
you want Kotetsu when Izumo probably locks the game up for free?), it's two ninja that aren't commonly played,
and the effect text seems like it should be just 2 blocks (but due to space constraints can't be done) of text. It
reads like 4 effects but then you realize it's just 2 "If/Then" effect blocks.

Final Score: 19.25/25

In addition to what Naruto4ever already pointed out, the bolded statements seem like there's some baism involved. What the heck do you mean by, "The word "Lightning" is chopped off by Kotetsu"? Last time I checked, Bandai does that all the time. Plus, when you said the effect feels like it shouldbe 2 blocks, but you apparently looked at the Naruto & Neji platoon, and that card's effect is all in one block.
Additionally, to the bolded + underlined statement, I thought Undeadflayme's card activated only once? So where did you get the idea that his card could lock up the game?

I'm srry for the ranting, but these are things that need to be looked at

naruto4ever wrote:

Tsu Kiyo Me wrote:

MJM (Killer Bee [Eight Tail's Cloak])

Not only is everything placed correctly and clean, the fact that you made the cloak just shows
extra dedication. One of the best looking created cards I've ever seen.

Alright sorry, I dont want to be "that guy" but MJM is getting brownie points for making a chakra cloak but copying and pasting is a lot harder than actually lining/coloring your own art. Not that MJM didnt make it look good but I just dont want this to turn into a bias tourney because the Judges are friends with 3 competitors.

I never said that copy/pasting was harder than vectoring artwork. I know damn well how hard it is to line/color your own art and major kudos to those who do it. However, the criteria I'm judging on (as told to me by several card creators, even those not in this tournament) "Does it look like a real card?" and "Does it look like it came from the anime?" That means that unless it's a damn good vector, it's hard to give the full points as someone who used the professional artwork. I always am sure though to award some bonus points in creativity for using your own artwork assuming it doesn't ruin the way the card looks.

You have nothing to fear with the bias though. As I hinted at before, I'm not a huge fan of the cards MJM makes sometimes. Most of his cards would score very low in the effect department. I feel that he is one of the best card designers in terms of aesthetics but as far as the actual card goes, his effects usually end up costing him. Its just with these last two ones, he seems to have broken out of his shell and tried to go for something that is a little less . . . broken or random. I'm simply stating he's determined to go the distance it seems.

Besides, someone like you is more than capable of rising to the challenge, I'm sure of it.

As for the issue of something like "Kotetsu cutting off the Lightning symbol" and "Bandai does that stuff all the time", I'm not saying Bandai is perfect on every card (See Naruto & Yamato Platoon, Tortoise Ninja, several others). Again, I'm going based on the criteria I was given. If you all think I'm being too strict, I will try to be more lax in the future. . . I am after all still new at this. I have an eye for effects (which is why I was asked to do this), not so much artistic perfection.

As for Kotetsu "locking up the game", see every tempo mission ever. The card is Emi when played off of Izumo. The card is Sand Tsunami for 4 chakra when played off of Kotetsu. Both effects are powerful but 9 times out of 10, I think I'm going to want the "I lock down your best team and swing for game or at least bombard your field with (snipe) Jutsu since you can't respond to them"

As for the two paragraphs/blocks thing, I sincerely do. I know that there's no room on the card for doing so, but it's difficult to tell where the Izumo effect stops and the Kotetsu one begins. The reason why some effects for cards have never been made (See: Kakuzu that was reviewed above) is that the amount of text necessary to make the card flavorful/do everything they want to do with the card makes it into a convoluted mess. You want effects that are simple yet unique/powerful. "Concise is key."

Tsu Kiyo Me wrote:

naruto4ever wrote:

Tsu Kiyo Me wrote:

MJM (Killer Bee [Eight Tail's Cloak])

Not only is everything placed correctly and clean, the fact that you made the cloak just shows
extra dedication. One of the best looking created cards I've ever seen.

Alright sorry, I dont want to be "that guy" but MJM is getting brownie points for making a chakra cloak but copying and pasting is a lot harder than actually lining/coloring your own art. Not that MJM didnt make it look good but I just dont want this to turn into a bias tourney because the Judges are friends with 3 competitors.

I never said that copy/pasting was harder than vectoring artwork. I know damn well how hard it is to line/color your own art and major kudos to those who do it. However, the criteria I'm judging on (as told to me by several card creators, even those not in this tournament) "Does it look like a real card?" and "Does it look like it came from the anime?" That means that unless it's a damn good vector, it's hard to give the full points as someone who used the professional artwork. I always am sure though to award some bonus points in creativity for using your own artwork assuming it doesn't ruin the way the card looks.

You have nothing to fear with the bias though. As I hinted at before, I'm not a huge fan of the cards MJM makes sometimes. Most of his cards would score very low in the effect department. I feel that he is one of the best card designers in terms of aesthetics but as far as the actual card goes, his effects usually end up costing him. Its just with these last two ones, he seems to have broken out of his shell and tried to go for something that is a little less . . . broken or random. I'm simply stating he's determined to go the distance it seems.

Besides, someone like you is more than capable of rising to the challenge, I'm sure of it.

As for the issue of something like "Kotetsu cutting off the Lightning symbol" and "Bandai does that stuff all the time", I'm not saying Bandai is perfect on every card (See Naruto & Yamato Platoon, Tortoise Ninja, several others). Again, I'm going based on the criteria I was given. If you all think I'm being too strict, I will try to be more lax in the future. . . I am after all still new at this. I have an eye for effects (which is why I was asked to do this), not so much artistic perfection.

As for Kotetsu "locking up the game", see every tempo mission ever. The card is Emi when played off of Izumo. The card is Sand Tsunami for 4 chakra when played off of Kotetsu. Both effects are powerful but 9 times out of 10, I think I'm going to want the "I lock down your best team and swing for game or at least bombard your field with (snipe) Jutsu since you can't respond to them"

As for the two paragraphs/blocks thing, I sincerely do. I know that there's no room on the card for doing so, but it's difficult to tell where the Izumo effect stops and the Kotetsu one begins. The reason why some effects for cards have never been made (See: Kakuzu that was reviewed above) is that the amount of text necessary to make the card flavorful/do everything they want to do with the card makes it into a convoluted mess. You want effects that are simple yet unique/powerful. "Concise is key."

Ok I can give you that, but if you go back to your judging on my card I lost points on the Green Drop shadow because it was distracting. However if we go to the original card where I vectored it you will see:
https://2img.net/h/i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd227/narutoman_bucket/iruma_2001-img400x600-1223284288ladblg18056.jpg

The green drop shadow is prevalent and my self wanting to make bandai quality cards knows that when bandai uses art from Japanese cards they keep the art the same no editing of that caliber to where they would reline/color to remove a drop shadow so I kept mine. So if MJM has a good but not perfect cloak he gets full points but when I have the same pic as an official Bandai card I lose points that is where my concern is.

Tsu Kiyo Me wrote:

naruto4ever wrote:

Tsu Kiyo Me wrote:

MJM (Killer Bee [Eight Tail's Cloak])

Not only is everything placed correctly and clean, the fact that you made the cloak just shows
extra dedication. One of the best looking created cards I've ever seen.

Alright sorry, I dont want to be "that guy" but MJM is getting brownie points for making a chakra cloak but copying and pasting is a lot harder than actually lining/coloring your own art. Not that MJM didnt make it look good but I just dont want this to turn into a bias tourney because the Judges are friends with 3 competitors.

As for the issue of something like "Kotetsu cutting off the Lightning symbol" and "Bandai does that stuff all the time", I'm not saying Bandai is perfect on every card (See Naruto & Yamato Platoon, Tortoise Ninja, several others). Again, I'm going based on the criteria I was given. If you all think I'm being too strict, I will try to be more lax in the future. . . I am after all still new at this. I have an eye for effects (which is why I was asked to do this), not so much artistic perfection.

I still don't get why you are taking off points for the lightning word being cut off part. It's not a mistake when the art covers the word. As long as the symbol is in clear enough view. Honestly, Zetsu n890, Chiyo n942, The Fourth Hokage n914, Might Guy n915, Jirobo n921, etc etc etc. I can name at least 50 more if you want

naruto4ever wrote:

Tsu Kiyo Me wrote:

naruto4ever wrote:

Tsu Kiyo Me wrote:

MJM (Killer Bee [Eight Tail's Cloak])

Not only is everything placed correctly and clean, the fact that you made the cloak just shows
extra dedication. One of the best looking created cards I've ever seen.

Alright sorry, I dont want to be "that guy" but MJM is getting brownie points for making a chakra cloak but copying and pasting is a lot harder than actually lining/coloring your own art. Not that MJM didnt make it look good but I just dont want this to turn into a bias tourney because the Judges are friends with 3 competitors.

I never said that copy/pasting was harder than vectoring artwork. I know damn well how hard it is to line/color your own art and major kudos to those who do it. However, the criteria I'm judging on (as told to me by several card creators, even those not in this tournament) "Does it look like a real card?" and "Does it look like it came from the anime?" That means that unless it's a damn good vector, it's hard to give the full points as someone who used the professional artwork. I always am sure though to award some bonus points in creativity for using your own artwork assuming it doesn't ruin the way the card looks.

You have nothing to fear with the bias though. As I hinted at before, I'm not a huge fan of the cards MJM makes sometimes. Most of his cards would score very low in the effect department. I feel that he is one of the best card designers in terms of aesthetics but as far as the actual card goes, his effects usually end up costing him. Its just with these last two ones, he seems to have broken out of his shell and tried to go for something that is a little less . . . broken or random. I'm simply stating he's determined to go the distance it seems.

Besides, someone like you is more than capable of rising to the challenge, I'm sure of it.

As for the issue of something like "Kotetsu cutting off the Lightning symbol" and "Bandai does that stuff all the time", I'm not saying Bandai is perfect on every card (See Naruto & Yamato Platoon, Tortoise Ninja, several others). Again, I'm going based on the criteria I was given. If you all think I'm being too strict, I will try to be more lax in the future. . . I am after all still new at this. I have an eye for effects (which is why I was asked to do this), not so much artistic perfection.

As for Kotetsu "locking up the game", see every tempo mission ever. The card is Emi when played off of Izumo. The card is Sand Tsunami for 4 chakra when played off of Kotetsu. Both effects are powerful but 9 times out of 10, I think I'm going to want the "I lock down your best team and swing for game or at least bombard your field with (snipe) Jutsu since you can't respond to them"

As for the two paragraphs/blocks thing, I sincerely do. I know that there's no room on the card for doing so, but it's difficult to tell where the Izumo effect stops and the Kotetsu one begins. The reason why some effects for cards have never been made (See: Kakuzu that was reviewed above) is that the amount of text necessary to make the card flavorful/do everything they want to do with the card makes it into a convoluted mess. You want effects that are simple yet unique/powerful. "Concise is key."

Ok I can give you that, but if you go back to your judging on my card I lost points on the Green Drop shadow because it was distracting. However if we go to the original card where I vectored it you will see:
https://2img.net/h/i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd227/narutoman_bucket/iruma_2001-img400x600-1223284288ladblg18056.jpg

The green drop shadow is prevalent and my self wanting to make bandai quality cards knows that when bandai uses art from Japanese cards they keep the art the same no editing of that caliber to where they would reline/color to remove a drop shadow so I kept mine. So if MJM has a good but not perfect cloak he gets full points but when I have the same pic as an official Bandai card I lose points that is where my concern is.

I wasn't aware that the green glow was actually part of the image you used. I thought you added it. In the future, I'll inquire about these matters.

On the subject of the lightning symbol being covered up, I'll be more lax on that area from now on and have to update the template I was given for judging to reflect this.

Tsu Kiyo Me wrote:

naruto4ever wrote:

Tsu Kiyo Me wrote:

naruto4ever wrote:

Tsu Kiyo Me wrote:

MJM (Killer Bee [Eight Tail's Cloak])

Not only is everything placed correctly and clean, the fact that you made the cloak just shows
extra dedication. One of the best looking created cards I've ever seen.

Alright sorry, I dont want to be "that guy" but MJM is getting brownie points for making a chakra cloak but copying and pasting is a lot harder than actually lining/coloring your own art. Not that MJM didnt make it look good but I just dont want this to turn into a bias tourney because the Judges are friends with 3 competitors.

I never said that copy/pasting was harder than vectoring artwork. I know damn well how hard it is to line/color your own art and major kudos to those who do it. However, the criteria I'm judging on (as told to me by several card creators, even those not in this tournament) "Does it look like a real card?" and "Does it look like it came from the anime?" That means that unless it's a damn good vector, it's hard to give the full points as someone who used the professional artwork. I always am sure though to award some bonus points in creativity for using your own artwork assuming it doesn't ruin the way the card looks.

You have nothing to fear with the bias though. As I hinted at before, I'm not a huge fan of the cards MJM makes sometimes. Most of his cards would score very low in the effect department. I feel that he is one of the best card designers in terms of aesthetics but as far as the actual card goes, his effects usually end up costing him. Its just with these last two ones, he seems to have broken out of his shell and tried to go for something that is a little less . . . broken or random. I'm simply stating he's determined to go the distance it seems.

Besides, someone like you is more than capable of rising to the challenge, I'm sure of it.

As for the issue of something like "Kotetsu cutting off the Lightning symbol" and "Bandai does that stuff all the time", I'm not saying Bandai is perfect on every card (See Naruto & Yamato Platoon, Tortoise Ninja, several others). Again, I'm going based on the criteria I was given. If you all think I'm being too strict, I will try to be more lax in the future. . . I am after all still new at this. I have an eye for effects (which is why I was asked to do this), not so much artistic perfection.

As for Kotetsu "locking up the game", see every tempo mission ever. The card is Emi when played off of Izumo. The card is Sand Tsunami for 4 chakra when played off of Kotetsu. Both effects are powerful but 9 times out of 10, I think I'm going to want the "I lock down your best team and swing for game or at least bombard your field with (snipe) Jutsu since you can't respond to them"

As for the two paragraphs/blocks thing, I sincerely do. I know that there's no room on the card for doing so, but it's difficult to tell where the Izumo effect stops and the Kotetsu one begins. The reason why some effects for cards have never been made (See: Kakuzu that was reviewed above) is that the amount of text necessary to make the card flavorful/do everything they want to do with the card makes it into a convoluted mess. You want effects that are simple yet unique/powerful. "Concise is key."

Ok I can give you that, but if you go back to your judging on my card I lost points on the Green Drop shadow because it was distracting. However if we go to the original card where I vectored it you will see:
https://2img.net/h/i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd227/narutoman_bucket/iruma_2001-img400x600-1223284288ladblg18056.jpg

The green drop shadow is prevalent and my self wanting to make bandai quality cards knows that when bandai uses art from Japanese cards they keep the art the same no editing of that caliber to where they would reline/color to remove a drop shadow so I kept mine. So if MJM has a good but not perfect cloak he gets full points but when I have the same pic as an official Bandai card I lose points that is where my concern is.

I wasn't aware that the green glow was actually part of the image you used. I thought you added it. In the future, I'll inquire about these matters.

On the subject of the lightning symbol being covered up, I'll be more lax on that area from now on and have to update the template I was given for judging to reflect this.

Well to be easier on the judges I will post up the original art, that was bad on my part. As to the judging temp im not sure who was involved in it (I know some not all) but would have been happy to throw my 2 cents in even if they didnt make the cut. Im always happy to help out when it involves card making.

Regarding the subject of vector vs copy & paste and nothing else. This is not a vectoring contest, the goal is to create the best possible card. Certainly a part of the contest is getting a quality render for your card, but as long as the picture isn't something already used by Bandai I can't fault people for it if it looks really good. Do I respect you more if you vectored your own render? Hell yeah, its hard as **** and even more time consuming. But if your vector work doesnt look as good as a simple render job I can't score you higher on that.

On that note and before I finish my judging here, what are all of your thoughts on me adding a "subjective" category as part of my rubric? I think it could give the flexibility to reward that kind of hard work. Respond quick though because im posting em up tonight one way or the other.

Thayli wrote:

Regarding the subject of vector vs copy & paste and nothing else. This is not a vectoring contest, the goal is to create the best possible card. Certainly a part of the contest is getting a quality render for your card, but as long as the picture isn't something already used by Bandai I can't fault people for it if it looks really good. Do I respect you more if you vectored your own render? Hell yeah, its hard as **** and even more time consuming. But if your vector work doesnt look as good as a simple render job I can't score you higher on that.

On that note and before I finish my judging here, what are all of your thoughts on me adding a "subjective" category as part of my rubric? I think it could give the flexibility to reward that kind of hard work. Respond quick though because im posting em up tonight one way or the other.

It depends on how much. If you give them an extra half point in the art category, but their max points in the art category is still 5, then maybe. Otherwise no, because it would give some people an unfair advantage.

Enter User Name There
Picture 2/5
-Its Blurry and poorly rendered. The choppyness shows up terribly on the white line

Layout 4/5
-No kanji for the combat attribute

Text 2/5
-Way too crammed in the text box. Flavor text and characteristics are off.

Grammar/Wording 3/4
-Not worded in correct naruto effect form

Effect 4/5
-I like this effect, its fairly well balanced and keeps the spirit of the character. Having to beat your opponent’s ninjas is a reasonable cost for the effects and they can avoid it just by not blocking.


15/25








Pebble Beach
Picture 4/5
-The lines are too mild for the to be a picture that bandai would use.


Layout 5/5


Text 5/5


Grammar/Wording 3/5
-“Awbush” misspelling.

Effect 2/3
-I really didn’t want to give this effect a low score, but I had no choice. The first effect is perfect. Its an excellent effect that’s both creative and useful. A unique form of draw power for handless water. The low score is because the healing effect breaks the card. There is no reason why one card should have two strong effects that could both easily exist on their own. With State 2 sauske at one, healing effects take on a much more important role in water. It’s a shame because I would have given this effect a 5/5 with only the first effect.

19/25






MJMMM
Picture 5/5


Layout 5/5


Text 5/5


Grammar/Wording 5/5


Effect 4/5
-Its fairly well balanced, points were lost because I feel the game has seen enough immunity effects in any form.








Undeadish flame
Picture 3/5
-Blurry. White line is too thick. Drop shadow is not properly done.


Layout 3/5
-Set symbol missing
-Text is crammed in too tight

Text 2/5
-incorrect font in a number of placed. Most notable is the “&” sign in the name.


Grammar/Wording 4/5
-A bit hard to understand, but it follows a precedent well.


Effect 2/5
-Interesting, but overpowered. Injuring an entire team for four chakra is not that large a cost. The other effect is overpowered as well. The emi effect is something the game shouldn’t have. Itachi gig was proof of that.

14/25

If Zero doesn't judge by the end of tonight, I'm gonna stick to Thayli and Tsu's Judgings. Is that okay with everyone?

I feel we need a 3rd judge. If Zero doesnt judge I will pull my self from the competition and Judge.

naruto4ever wrote:

I feel we need a 3rd judge. If Zero doesnt judge I will pull my self from the competition and Judge.

Noo, dont drop out thats not acceptable.

Well, Im glad people dont want me to leave but look at it this way. The prize for the top 4 is getting the new templates. By the looks of it Im almost positive that 3/4 people making it to the top 4 have them. If I take my self out of the mix that means its possible for 2 more people to get them. Plus lets be honest im pretty sure out of the 12 people who have posted up a card I have helped at least half of them lol.

naruto4ever wrote:

Well, Im glad people dont want me to leave but look at it this way. The prize for the top 4 is getting the new templates. By the looks of it Im almost positive that 3/4 people making it to the top 4 have them. If I take my self out of the mix that means its possible for 2 more people to get them. Plus lets be honest im pretty sure out of the 12 people who have posted up a card I have helped at least half of them lol.

you could change it to the top 8, or make it a consolation prize etc etc etc.

naruto4ever wrote:

Well, Im glad people dont want me to leave but look at it this way. The prize for the top 4 is getting the new templates. By the looks of it Im almost positive that 3/4 people making it to the top 4 have them. If I take my self out of the mix that means its possible for 2 more people to get them. Plus lets be honest im pretty sure out of the 12 people who have posted up a card I have helped at least half of them lol.

I don't see your point, as to the prize i think thats something that should be passed down the line if winners already have it. To me this is just a last time to have fun making cards before i call it quits and if i remember you said you were planning on leaving to so you should continue your participation, who knows you might win.

mendokuse wrote:

naruto4ever wrote:

Well, Im glad people dont want me to leave but look at it this way. The prize for the top 4 is getting the new templates. By the looks of it Im almost positive that 3/4 people making it to the top 4 have them. If I take my self out of the mix that means its possible for 2 more people to get them. Plus lets be honest im pretty sure out of the 12 people who have posted up a card I have helped at least half of them lol.

I don't see your point, as to the prize i think thats something that should be passed down the line if winners already have it. To me this is just a last time to have fun making cards before i call it quits and if i remember you said you were planning on leaving to so you should continue your participation, who knows you might win.

dont think I will be winning this one to many competitors that can wipe the floor with me. However I guess the pass down thing can work. I just want to make sure that people get it without going to the source. Well anyways, who read the rock lee manga spin-off? It was awesome! Also where is my naruto 520...

naruto4ever wrote:

mendokuse wrote:

naruto4ever wrote:

Well, Im glad people dont want me to leave but look at it this way. The prize for the top 4 is getting the new templates. By the looks of it Im almost positive that 3/4 people making it to the top 4 have them. If I take my self out of the mix that means its possible for 2 more people to get them. Plus lets be honest im pretty sure out of the 12 people who have posted up a card I have helped at least half of them lol.

I don't see your point, as to the prize i think thats something that should be passed down the line if winners already have it. To me this is just a last time to have fun making cards before i call it quits and if i remember you said you were planning on leaving to so you should continue your participation, who knows you might win.

dont think I will be winning this one to many competitors that can wipe the floor with me. However I guess the pass down thing can work. I just want to make sure that people get it without going to the source. Well anyways, who read the rock lee manga spin-off? It was awesome! Also where is my naruto 520...

As of 9:45 CT, it's up at Manga Stream. I just got to read it before I leave for work.

The Rock Lee spin-off is epic! I love it when he touchs Sakura and it gets silence...

Also N4E I don't think you should you drop out either. Your going to stop making cards after this and I believe you should enjoy the time you have in this tournament. Also I bet you'll make it at least to the top 6.

Fine, Ill stay that still doesnt remove the fact that we need 3 judges.

what happened to the third judge anyway?