Ultimate Card Maker Tournament 2010

Holy Crap I made it. GG LI I truly think an initial tie with you is the best I could have pulled off if that.

Will there be a third judge for the final round and if so who?

Ninja Pebble wrote:

Will there be a third judge for the final round and if so who?

I can judge if you all want.

I think that's a good idea Shino.

Shino'sDad wrote:

Ninja Pebble wrote:

Will there be a third judge for the final round and if so who?

I can judge if you all want.

I don't know if MJM said anything yet, but I figured somebody might as well say it here. He said iit is okay as long as the judges agree to it. I'm personally in favor, so that just leaves naruto4ever, but I can't really imagine opposition there either, so I guess tentatively welcome aboard?

Hikari Link wrote:

Shino'sDad wrote:

Ninja Pebble wrote:

Will there be a third judge for the final round and if so who?

I can judge if you all want.

I don't know if MJM said anything yet, but I figured somebody might as well say it here. He said iit is okay as long as the judges agree to it. I'm personally in favor, so that just leaves naruto4ever, but I can't really imagine opposition there either, so I guess tentatively welcome aboard?

No opposition to Shino'sDad being a judge. I know he knows what hes doing. So we have our judge roster:
Hikari Link
Shino'sDad
naruto4ever

I'm really excited to see what the finalists come up with.

Hikari Link wrote:

I'm really excited to see what the finalists come up with.

I know what they are both making! I just need to finish up the art for each of them >.< I procrastinate...

Alright so here we go, here's my card. I didn't really get to do any special effects with my card like i wanted to since I'm swamped in finals right now and just got the picture :p. Thank you N4E. Either way it's been a great run and GG MJM no matter who wins. It's an honor to make it to the finals of what looks to be the first Card Making Tourney of the Year that's actually gonna conclude.

Card Explanation: Ok, so here I got a Shika who can do alot with a little. I purposely am letting his effect go off during any time the game allows effects to go off so that it can be highly combo'ed with any missions, jutsus, etc. And yes i didnt put a limit on him because well, if he's -10 mental then no one has less mental than that so its not doing much, unless some card gives a ninja +1/+1 for each -1 mental power :p. Additionally, with willpower i suppose ive been told it will combo well with a card named shogi match? Where since he's sure to survive you draw cards. Link for willpowers effect below, its one of my old abilities from a long time ago.



Reminder of Willpower's effect

Before I present my card I have to state that I haven't had any contact with naruto4ever today so I was not able to get the picture I requested but no big deal, life happens. To make up for this, I've selected a picture in the same pose but by a different line artist and colorer. Also, I must wish good luck to mendokuse, his card is amazing and nicely created. Good luck to you and good game whoever wins as well. Without further adieu, I present, Mifune.



I know it's a shame that I did not make my favorite character Killer Bee like mendo did with Shikamaru... A Killer Bee was the original plan but after a little bit of a hassle I was not able to make one. Anyway, let's get to this guy's explanations. The picture was to be with white armor but it seems that his red armor fits a lot better now that I think about it. Reason being is that long ago great Shinobi such as Madara and Hashirama have similar armor and I believe it portrays Mifune's old style beliefs. Since Mifune was not previously created by Bandai yet, I had complete liberty over this guy.

I chose to make him Wind because I saw the Samurai's as Wind for some reason. I just don't know why but it seemed like it fit. Next up, his characteristics. Land of Iron and Male for for obvious reasons. Also Samurai seemed fitting, and yes it is a real characteristic, printed on the Samurai promos. I know he is the leader of the Land of Iron but since they are not a Shinobi Village giving him Satoosa was not necessary. Mastery because he is such a skilled samurai. Also, the 3 mental power seems needed because compared to Hanzo they are somewhat in the same level. Speaking of which I purposely made his stats in corresponding to Hanzo's 7/3 5/2. To portray Mifune surviving after the battle with Hanzo I made him have 1 less Combat but 1 higher Support in both Healthy and Injured Status.

His effect [MASTER OF IAI] portrays his skill in the Art of Iai. Which by my knowledge is the skill of drawing your blade and returning to its sheath as fast as possible, or something along those lines. In short, while he is using a Jutsu, opposing Ninjas cannot use Jutsu cards. So while he wields a blade (Jutsu), he stops his opponent's techniques (Jutsu). Also, Weapon Combat Attribute for obvious reasons.

By the now I'm sure you've noticed Samurai Stat Blades, Combat Attribute, Hand Cost, and Entrance Cost. It seemed like an interesting touch because of his Samurai-ness? Lol. It just seemed like the proper thing to do and I think it turned out quite well.

All in all, good luck mendokuse!

Oh right, Judges you have one week to judge!

Before I begin, let me just say that it's been an honor judging and I had a lot of fun seeing all of your amazing cards. I am more than willing to do the job again in the future if I am at all needed. Good luck to both contestants.

Mifune
Artwork: 5/5
This is non-anime art at its finest. If I didn’t know this wasn’t from the anime, I personally would not be able to tell at all.

Layout: 4.5/5
I’m really a sucker for alternate designs like Samurai and Knights, so it’s always a treat to see this sort of thing. I will say that it is a bit off-putting to have that huge gap where there is no village symbol. Shortening the box, though probably hard, would have made it look much better.

Text: 5/5
Everything seems to check out here.

Spelling: 4.5/5
I’ve already went over “the Chain” in the past, so I won’t bother here. However, “Jutsu card used” should be “Jutsu used”

Effect: 4/5
The effect is fine, albeit a bit generic. There is a bit of an issue with how easily his effect can break the game though, with cards like Fear by Genjutsu and Hydro-pump and the fact that he can use Mastery on said cards. Some sort of limiting qualifier would have made it acceptable, ether limiting the kind of jutsu he can play or making it a specific type, such as cards with “Requirements: Samurai” or something.

His stats also seem a little bland, straight out of the standard Turn 6 wheelhouse. I think a higher combat and lower support, or a high healthy combat that changes to a high injured support would have fit better. Just something to give him some more color.

I’d say he’s an all-around good card, but he comes off feeling sort of generic and while he could definitely see play, he lacks something that defines him.

Overall: 23/25


Shikamaru Nara
Artwork: 5/5
Not much else to say than just that the art here is great. I’m always impressed by the level of artwork that I see in this tournament, compared to the created cards I’m used to seeing and I just want to take this opportunity to give kudos to you and many of the other competitors for the excellent art you use, as well as to those who provide you with the art.

Layout: 4.5/5
The new SR ninja format is a design that I wholeheartedly support. The only problem I can find is that the Leaf symbol is either too small or too high in comparison to other cards of this format.

Text: 5/5
Everything seems to check out here.

Spelling: 4.5/5
I do believe it should say “less Mental Power than this Ninja”

Effect: 4.5/5
I can’t really find much to complain about in this card. It’s got pretty standard Shikamaru stats and the effect is pretty nice, though I have to admit it can get a little bit unfair Lightning, or something of that variety, the same could be said about just having Mental Power battles. Maybe if it was only ninjas battling against him it would be fine, but that might be a bit underwhelming. The effect is kind of in one of those weird zones where powering it down would make it kind of bad, but leaving it as-is makes it almost too good. Though admittedly, it wouldn’t have a great deal of affect on another Earth deck or a Wind deck. Perhaps it would help if the effect were negatable somehow through its own effect or if it were continuous and could be negated that way. Of course, then Willpower might be a problem, which by the way, is a mechanic that I think is pretty cool.

Overall: 23.5/25

Thank you for judging Hikari, it's been an honor having you here and I hope for you to judge more tournaments in the future!

However I'd like to point out that it is "Jutsu cards used" instead of "Jutsu used", just like it is on Jiraiya (Sage Mode)'s first effect. I'm also not so sure how I got points off on the Chain thing.

MJM wrote:

Thank you for judging Hikari, it's been an honor having you here and I hope for you to judge more tournaments in the future!

However I'd like to point out that it is "Jutsu cards used" instead of "Jutsu used", just like it is on Jiraiya (Sage Mode)'s first effect. I'm also not so sure how I got points off on the Chain thing.

You didn't lose points on the chain, I was referring to a previous instance where I did not take off points because it was too unclear on Bandai's part and I was citing that as the reson I wasn't penalizing you this time either.

The problem with Jutsu vs. Jutsu cards is that if you look at almost any reference of the terms from Set 19 onward, Jutsu refers to any Jutsu in play, while Jutsu card refers to aany Jutsu in your hand or coming into play. There are a few exceptions to this, which I chalk up to the inconsistency not uncommon to Bandai. In the case of Sage Mode that you brought up, it refers to the cards as it is coming into play and determining targets, while your card refers to a jutsu that is already and currently in play. I think that these cards demonstrate what I'm talking about. Obviously, there are many more, but in general, you can see when Jutsu should ne used versus Jutsu card.

Alright folks, this is it the final round of the tourney. Our competitors Mendokuse long time veteran and MJM whos been around for a while and is known by many.

For cards we have Mendokuse with none other than Shikamaru. MJM sporting a spiffy new Ninja Mifune leader of the Samurai and non bias party during the 5 kage summit.

Lets see how they did.

Mendokuse (Shikamaru Nara)

Artwork: 5/5
Love it, that may be because I crafted it. I have to say a good amount of my art was used in the tourney and I am truly glad I was able to help even all the way to the finals!

Layout: 4.5/5
Well, the super rare template being used is always a nice thing a good amount of people put a lot of work into these, that being the case during the main set up there was a problem with symbols as my co-judge Link pointed out and for this I cannot be nice I must take away points.

Text: 5/5
I think the text is finally down.

Spelling: 4.75/5
As far as wording goes I looked into Link’s rendition no cards have that wording so I cannot agree with him however I do think it should be worded like that.

Effect: 4.5/5
I love this effect, when you first posted this card I knew right away that I loved it. The effect has so much synergy in Mental Decks. Key point and example would be using the Card Shogi Lesson. I can target this Shikamaru get my Mental Power Battle and if something goes wrong and my Shikamaru is going to get killed Im alright with that ill still get my 2 cards for Shogi Lesson and if needed a good slap to my opponent’s Team power. That being the case this card may be a bit on the OP side. I can essentially nuke a team and kill it with my Shikamaru alone (in terms of Team Power.) Overall I love this card and it has a lot of flavor but it is a tad OP so I cannot give you a prefect score.

Overall: 23.75/25

MJM (Mifune)

Artwork: 4.75/5
Its good and I apologize that I couldn’t get you my art in time. That being said I cannot say that this art is correct. As far as armor color is concerned I am not worried but with Hair color and skin tone his is technically off when compared to his Anime art and for that I must deduct.

Layout: 4.75/5
Well I knew the Samurai thing would work out nicely and you pulled it off magnificently. That being the case, the Hand cost number looks off as it doesn’t have enough “Drop Shadow” . Everything else however looks fantastic. I wont be marking off for no Village Symbol as he doesn’t have one and Bandai has yet to alter the text box for Super Rare Ninjas.

Text: 5/5
Like I said with Mendo’s card its fantastic text is looking awesome!

Spelling: 4.5/5
Link has put up more than enough support for talking about Jutsu v Jutsu terms. So I am obligated to agree with him and the evidence.

Effect: 4.25/5
Alright now before I say anything else, I have to say his effect fits his Manga explanation to a “T”. That being put out, I think is effect is well bland nothing to special that would make me want to run him or anything of the sort. You made him a “Wind” card, which right now is based around Puppets and Surging. This card does nothing for either of those themes so he is virtually useless in those decks. He has an effect that most of the time ensures my Super Jutsu’s go off without a hitch and he has Mastery to boot. This makes the card a tad overpowered. His stats are above that of the Third Hokage’s and with Mastery I think he is more over the top than he should be. I do like Link’s idea of having a strong offense and a weak support because from what we have seen he is a lone fighter either telling his Samurai to stay out of the way or fighting alone, nothing to show support. Finally, having said all that I do feel that this card could see some play as a splash just because not to many good jutsu’s have requirements now a days. So overall it’s a nice card and fits him for the most part but it just doesnt have that Spark most of your cards have had this tourney.

Overall: 23.25/25


Alright there you have it. Now we must wait for Nick to judge to see how this explosive match pans out. Congrats to all those who participated, I had fun.

For those of you who made Top 4 please PM me to receive you Super Rare templates and/or anything you need to help your card making. If I can supply it Ill be more than happy to.

naruto4ever wrote:

Alright folks, this is it the final round of the tourney. Our competitors Mendokuse long time veteran and MJM whos been around for a while and is known by many.

For cards we have Mendokuse with none other than Shikamaru. MJM sporting a spiffy new Ninja Mifune leader of the Samurai and non bias party during the 5 kage summit.

Lets see how they did.

Mendokuse (Shikamaru Nara)

Artwork: 5/5
Love it, that may be because I crafted it. I have to say a good amount of my art was used in the tourney and I am truly glad I was able to help even all the way to the finals!

Layout: 4.5/5
Well, the super rare template being used is always a nice thing a good amount of people put a lot of work into these, that being the case during the main set up there was a problem with symbols as my co-judge Link pointed out and for this I cannot be nice I must take away points.

Text: 5/5
I think the text is finally down.

Spelling: 4.75/5
As far as wording goes I looked into Link’s rendition no cards have that wording so I cannot agree with him however I do think it should be worded like that.

Effect: 4.5/5
I love this effect, when you first posted this card I knew right away that I loved it. The effect has so much synergy in Mental Decks. Key point and example would be using the Card Shogi Lesson. I can target this Shikamaru get my Mental Power Battle and if something goes wrong and my Shikamaru is going to get killed Im alright with that ill still get my 2 cards for Shogi Lesson and if needed a good slap to my opponent’s Team power. That being the case this card may be a bit on the OP side. I can essentially nuke a team and kill it with my Shikamaru alone (in terms of Team Power.) Overall I love this card and it has a lot of flavor but it is a tad OP so I cannot give you a prefect score.

Overall: 23.75/25

MJM (Mifune)

Artwork: 4.75/5
Its good and I apologize that I couldn’t get you my art in time. That being said I cannot say that this art is correct. As far as armor color is concerned I am not worried but with Hair color and skin tone his is technically off when compared to his Anime art and for that I must deduct.

Layout: 4.75/5
Well I knew the Samurai thing would work out nicely and you pulled it off magnificently. That being the case, the Hand cost number looks off as it doesn’t have enough “Drop Shadow” . Everything else however looks fantastic. I wont be marking off for no Village Symbol as he doesn’t have one and Bandai has yet to alter the text box for Super Rare Ninjas.

Text: 5/5
Like I said with Mendo’s card its fantastic text is looking awesome!

Spelling: 4.5/5
Link has put up more than enough support for talking about Jutsu v Jutsu terms. So I am obligated to agree with him and the evidence.

Effect: 4.25/5
Alright now before I say anything else, I have to say his effect fits his Manga explanation to a “T”. That being put out, I think is effect is well bland nothing to special that would make me want to run him or anything of the sort. You made him a “Wind” card, which right now is based around Puppets and Surging. This card does nothing for either of those themes so he is virtually useless in those decks. He has an effect that most of the time ensures my Super Jutsu’s go off without a hitch and he has Mastery to boot. This makes the card a tad overpowered. His stats are above that of the Third Hokage’s and with Mastery I think he is more over the top than he should be. I do like Link’s idea of having a strong offense and a weak support because from what we have seen he is a lone fighter either telling his Samurai to stay out of the way or fighting alone, nothing to show support. Finally, having said all that I do feel that this card could see some play as a splash just because not to many good jutsu’s have requirements now a days. So overall it’s a nice card and fits him for the most part but it just doesnt have that Spark most of your cards have had this tourney.

Overall: 23.25/25


Alright there you have it. Now we must wait for Nick to judge to see how this explosive match pans out. Congrats to all those who participated, I had fun.

For those of you who made Top 4 please PM me to receive you Super Rare templates and/or anything you need to help your card making. If I can supply it Ill be more than happy to.

This is completely true, but as you seem to agree, so I'm sure you understand, the wording is far too vague. Whenever Baandai releases wording this vague, such as with Rasengan, they errata it, because although anyone with common sense can string together the meaning, the card still has to work on the technical level, lest rule sharks take advantage.

My judging will be up tonight. Was in Jersey/New York/Phili all weekend and have stuff to do this afternoon. Expect score no later than 8:00pm EST.

Now that the big tourney is over(ish), I look forward to rekindling the other one(s), and I hope others with a interest in them will go post there, so that we know how many people still want to competitively make cards. Post some ideas, too, if you have them.

Ok, so I finally got some spare time to judge. And here are the results...

Mendokuse: Shikamaru Nara

Artwork: 5/5: Very well done artwork. You can tell it was fan drawn, due to something that just stands out about the face. I will not take points off though, because it's very very subtle.

Layout: 4.75/5.0: Only thing that I can tell as already pointed out was the Leaf symbol being a bit too high. The bottom of it should be lined up with the bottom left point of the EC star.

Text: 4.75/5.0: Everything looks to be in place and is the correct font. The one thing I can spot is that the flavor text is a bit too far to the left. The " mark should start just a bit past where the outline box flattens out horizontally.

Spelling/Grammar: 4.75/5.0: "In that case, all of your Opponent's Ninjas with less Mental Power than this Ninja get -X/-X," seems to be the correct wording we're looking for here.

Effect: 4.25/5.0: The effect itself is incredibly creative. Sacrificing Mental Power in order to debuff the opponent is an interesting concept. The problem comes from the fact that this Shikamaru is going to be debuffing a lot of people. If he goes down to 2 MP, that's -2/-2 to over 77 Ninjas (after a quick Block list search), that number is overshadowed by the amount of 0 Mental Power Ninjas, who would be taking a -3/-3 hit since he can go down to 1 MP against them. It's tough to balance out the effect without nerfing him completely, but the effect as it stands feels very powerful. Even going -1 Mental Power every turn to make all Mental Power: 2 or less (the majority of Ninjas do not go over that number) can allow you to swarm your opponent with Teams and put them on the defense when it comes to casting justu first (if you have to play a jutsu first, you're losing).

Total: 23.50/25.00


MJM: Mifune

Artwork: 4.5/5.0: Well drawn, but I feel that the image is a bit flat, shading wise. Once you get past his shoulder pads looking rightwards, the image just sort of blots down and feels flat. The oven mitten hand also gets me. I know it might have looked like that in the manga, but a bit more detail would have made a huge difference. I think just a bit more subtle shading in some points would have changed the whole look of the image for the better.

Layout: 5.0/5.0: Everything seems to be in place, no complaints here.

Text: 4.75/5.0: Just as with Mendo's card, the flavor text should be inched to the right just a bit more. As a good rule of thumb, the edge of the Flavor text, Characteristics, Effect name, and Effect text should all line up together.

Spelling/Grammar: 4.5/5.0: So after a bit of searching, it is the hidden text of Mastery that reveals the final truth of the "Jutsu vs Jutsu card debate." 'Valid: When the effect of a Jutsu used by this Ninja is applied, you can pay 1 Chakra that shares a Symbol with that Jutsu. In that case, return that Jutsu to your hand' From what I can tell, the first instance of Jutsu should not have 'card' with it, so "While a Jutsu used by this Ninja is on the Chain," and the second one should have 'card' after it, "Ninjas Battling against this Ninja's Team cannot become the user of Jutsu cards." similar to Hinata [Power to Protect]'s effect text. Other than that, while Iai is left by itself in the manga, the proper name for the form is Iaido (do = way) or Iaijutsu (jutsu = technique). Just a small qualm of mine.

Effect: 4.0/5.0: Mastery with those stats feels a bit much. They're strictly better than the Kages with Mastery (6/4 3/1, 5/4 5/0, 5/4 4/2), so I have to mark down a bit because of that. Rank doesn't matter much anymore, so not having a rank doesn't boost stats any longer. Also, he has the Mental Power: 3 which is above average for even the highest drops. As for the effect itself, I originally thought to myself "Well there is always negation from a different team" but then I realized that sending out a single big Team of him and two others with a Hydro Pump or something that can clear the opposing team is deadly. He is definitely a target for effect negation right away.

Total: 22.75/25.00

Congratulations mendokuse! You are the 2010 Ultimate Card Maker! As a host I congratulate you and as your opponent, it was an honor making it to the final round and sparring against you. You really deserve it!

Congratulations mendokuse!

Thank you so much to all the judges for working hard and MJM for leading the first ever officially completed yearly tourney to an end. I'm honored to have done so well against so many tough ppl. As most know this tourney is pretty much the end of me as a card maker but I've had a lot of fun times here and I hope this site will continue to thrive on.

mendokuse wrote:

Thank you so much to all the judges for working hard and MJM for leading the first ever officially completed yearly tourney to an end. I'm honored to have done so well against so many tough ppl. As most know this tourney is pretty much the end of me as a card maker but I've had a lot of fun times here and I hope this site will continue to thrive on.

That's a shame because I'd personally like to see more stuff from you. Now I'm kinda sad...

I'm sorry. But life sorta take over sometimes. As some know I've got alot going on and I don't even play naruto anymore.

Mendo for winning the UMCT you get the prize of Sannin, but since you all ready have the title Sannin you get to pick your fellow Sannin member, choose wisely for there will only be 3 Sannin ever.

mendokuse wrote:

I'm sorry. But life sorta take over sometimes. As some know I've got alot going on and I don't even play naruto anymore.

Pick me! Or not. Whatever. Though if you did, it would be awesome.

NP, thanks so much for offering that prize! I felt the prizing was a little scarce! Just curious, how many Sannin are there currently besides Mendo?