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What is the Inventor’s Fair?

This Tumblr is a collaborative custom card competition blog for Magic: the Gathering. Each week, one of our rotating judges creates a contest prompt, and then people submit their entries. At the end of the week, the cards are judged and winners are chosen.

HERE is a general weekly schedule, updated for 2021.

Why is the Inventor’s Fair?

Since perhaps the inception of the game, players have been making their own cards. The creation of the internet, fandom, and online communities have led to many people sharing those cards online. Part of the love of the game is through creating new mechanics, ideas, stories and interactions. This blog exists as a challenge space for people who enjoy sharing their ideas in a low-stakes competitive sphere.

Wait, you already have an FAQ page. What’s this, then?

The FAQ page felt a little outdated, and people were asking questions that were there, so it’s clear that not everyone is using it. This is a pinned post with all the available information, starting points, etc.

Click the readmore for everything you need to know!

One of my greatest joys when it comes to designing is the ability to create something so incredibly...new. Unexplored design spaces, entirely new concepts, new approaches to old ones! It's a tricky business, and yet, sometimes it really is just as simple as combining A and B.

Design a card using two mechanics that have never appeared on the same card.

Pretty simple concept, I think, so not much elaboration required. Importantly, when I say "mechanic" I'm specifically thinking of named mechanics: keywords like menace or flashback, ability words like addendum or eerie, or even defined tokens like Clues or Roles. Anything beyond that, like loose mechanical themes, aren't precise enough to be considered, unfortunately.

Additionally, I'm looking for a combination of two mechanics, but the card can have as many mechanics as you'd like otherwise. How do you know if a combination has been used before? Guess and check, mostly.

Well, get mixing! —@spooky-bard

Brain Babies: You Made the Prompt Runners-Up

Here they are!

Caller of the Skybound by @xenobladexfan

So the itsy bitsy problem with Tolvada is... it's screwed. Like, every-inhabitant-goes-more-insane-every-day kinda screwed. But hey, we got sets on Innistrad right? This is one of the few submissions without a custom mechanic, but I don't think it needs one. This doesn't imlpy as much of a full set, but still offers some thoughts on how such a grim plane can support one- and how it can be creative with otherwise straightforward graveyard-matters themes. The politics are interesting, and the name implies a potential throughline of flying-matters, given the crack in the sky. Altogether, this one asks a lot of interesting questions, but leaves me wanting on the answers.

Doting Nanny by @bread-into-toast

Ah, Late to Dinner- one of the cards that gets me weepy every time. From your added text, this card is choosing to take the interpretation that Late to Dinner takes place on Belenon, which we've also seen in March of the machine- which honestly, I think works? This card takes that concept of an animalistic society with fine dining and posh manners, which i think is VERY cute and not a direction I would have ever conceived of in a set! It would be interesting to see how this gets blended with some of the lore we've gotten from Belenon's other cards, like the Knightly Orders and such. It almost feels like a three-way cross between Eldraine, Bloomburrow, and Lorwyn, in a very fun way. Manners/Composure is pretty out there for a magic mechanic, but I love it. I also love that the cards could be evenly split between "if you kept your composure" and "if you lose your composure". I in particular love that you are being rewarded for throwing a temper tantrum. Good stuff!

Throne of Ancient Victory by @superoffbatter

So, this was absolutely not intentional, but all six podium places happen to be different planes- that's fun! Equilor is an interesting plane lore-wise. Home to a superpowered race of magical "humans", devoid of life in most areas... a lot of open endedness here, and lots of mysteries to solve. This card takes a look at the immense history of the plane and the ruination of it all, and does so pretty well. I like the art chosen, I like the flavor text- though I'm not sold on "victory" in the name. Maybe Conquest or something? Ruined is also super cute, I can think of a lot of ways this could be utilized- like Impending, but wayyy more flexible!

For those who still want commentary on their cards, come poke your head in the Discord!

And that's that, folks! I'll see ya around in a few weeks! Thanks for doing half my job this week :) Maybe we'll do it again sometime!

Hometown Heroes: You Made the Prompt Winners

Hey gang! After many deliberations, I have come to present the podium! Due to the wording of our community-generated prompt, the lens through which I am judging these is centralized around what I can envision of the set that could contain this card. A lot of entries came up with new mechanics (and these three are no exception), but these three do a good job of beginning the foundation of a set structure.

Telu-Set Stampede by @izzet-always-r-versus-u

For our first card, we have Muraganda! We saw them in Aetherdrift a little, but they deserve a set to themselves. While a lot of people try and take Muraganda's original "vanilla-matters" and run with it, there are a lot of issues that can arise trying to make that a set theme. "Primal" I think does an excellent job of being a love letter to that- a batch that evokes simplicity and prehistoricness, in a way that evokes the same feelings as vanilla-matters, but with less play design issues. One-creature-type is a particularly clever stroke, as almost every creature with only one type is going to be a racial type, rather than a class/job. This really starts to shape how archetypes can meld or oppose each other, with things like the Druids being ineligible for the bonus. Territory is also cool- a take on Adamant, but more land-focused and potentially repeatable within the same turn. Encouraging less colours is also a great feel for Muraganda, and this is exactly the type of card I was imagining when this prompt took shape.

Wasteland Warband by @helloijustreadyourpost

Take 2 is Gastal this time! A number of people did draft signpost cards, which is certainly an effective way to go about conveying a lot of set-skeleton information, but this takes that above and beyond. Much like its twisted twin behold, forsake seems like a mechanic that can be spread throughout the set, tied to different card types or even subtypes. Forsake a Vehicle, anyone? This card explains what the Gruul archetype would be, but more so looks at a set on Gastal as one that is about burning resources to burn temporarily brighter, and using the graveyard as a resource in many different ways. While we've already seen land-graveyard synergies in sets like Thunder Junction, I think Gastal is the perfect fit, and this card does well to communicate that.

Savvy Negotiator by @maypletreeway

Finally, we come to the first card I had to do some proper research on. Kinshala. An African-inspired plane that shows up on a single Planechase card is not a lot to go on, but I like the idea of a set centered entirely around commerce and trading. We got snippets of it in sets like Conspiracy, but a set about bartering, trading, and yes- bargaining, sounds like an excellent time. In particular, I think bargain is a pretty genius recontextualization. A far cry from the faerie tale version of the word, but of course you'd be exchanging bits and bobs and trinkets for better deals! Bargain just fits so perfectly in both name and function, it's wild that it came from such a different source. Influence is also pretty interesting- I'd have to see how it played, and I'm assuming treasures make a big appearance in this set as well, so there's plenty of triangle synergy between them, Influence, and Bargain. Altogether, a wholly original idea with vast implications, wrapped up in a neat little bow.

Well done to all of you! See you shortly for runners-up!

You Made the Prompt Entries

Assault the Outpost//Raid the Encampment by @benthicinfiltrator Alacrian Hippocamp By @tanknspank Ashen Trance By @lanabutnotdelray Bladebrood Twins By @etharia1 Break the Symmetry By @derplingvonderp Caller of the Skybound By @xenobladexfan Chakshi, Dawnchaser Pilgrim By @fractured-infinity Doting Nanny By @bread-into-toast Fang-Druid Ordainer By @yoshifawful64 Fomori Guard By @i-am-the-one-who-wololoes Gav Beleren, Ring Engineer By @nyxbird Highway Manticore By @wirelessmousegirl Implacable Timesower By @thepeppermintpig Katchessk, Emerald Successor By @bog-witch-extraordinaire Muragandan Sabrecat By @dimestoretajic Naar Marketplace By @wildcardgamez Oasis Warden By @nine-effing-hells Offering to the Ashen Idol By @deg99 Praetorian Lightseeker By @fluffycattens Pyrulean Lily Strider By @misterstingyjack Savvy Negotiator By @maypletreeway Sneaky Tactics By @flaetsbnort Soul-Bastion Sentinel By @hypexion Telu-Set Stampede By @izzet-always-r-versus-u Territorial Silverback By @curiooftheheart Throne of Ancient Victory By @superoffbatter Valorian Penitent By @phyrexiandreadgyatt Wasteland Warband By @helloijustreadyourpost

So for those not aware, last week I turned to the good folks on our Discord server for some... inspiration for this week! That is to say, they lovingly constructed this week's prompt word by word with a daily poll. And we have now come to the fruits of that labor, so let's go!

Design a card from a plane that doesn't have a set.

Pretty straightforward (at least compared to some of the other possibilities), but let's clarify!

Your goal is to showcase what a full set would look like, on a plane that has not been the main focus of a full set.

Planes depicted in any multi-planar set like Modern Horizons, Foundations, or even Aetherdrift (looking at you, Muraganda) are absolutely fair game.

With a single card, show me something about the set itself- maybe the draft archetypes, a fitting mechanic, or what a cool rare+ might imply about some other themes.

Have fun! (This part's the most important one.)

And that's pretty much it- see ya next week when I announce the winners!

~@naban-dean-of-irritation

An Enchanting Evening Runners!!

Flamerouser Phoenix by @fluffycattens

I’m not sure if this is more interesting as is, as a normal creature, or as an enchantment creature. I think the latter, cause it wouldn’t really be any more self-enabling than it already is, but this rewards playing an enchantment deck in red, a difficult ask, and so also being an enchantment itself would help to that end. Otherwise though, I like this a lot. I like how the anthem enchantment *does* enable it but it’s also probably something you’d rather have around so it asks you to have a more disposable enchantment if you can. I think this’d play in fun ways. I might cut the haste (and maybe shift some numbers around to compensate- prowess as a replacement maybe? It’d go well with the enchantment thing) because that’d encourage using the anthem during your attack and *then* sacrificing it to bring the phoenix, whereas currently it’s not unlikely that you sacrifice it before combat to bring your hasty creature back and never actually use the anthem. 

Song to the Fallen by @bergdg

I like this a lot. I can see something like memory tokens existing in a set, and I can see a design like this existing in such a set. My biggest worry is that I wonder if surveil 1 is impactful enough? These tokens might be more interesting as 2 mana surveil 2, but that would limit their usability in red and white a bit more. (But they’d *already* be limited in those colors, so maybe limiting them even more but making them more interesting in the other three is worth that trade off.)

Patrol the Perimeter by @grornt

An Enchanting Evening Winners!!!

Immortalize by @lanabutnotdelray

Cool, sleek, and flavorful. Ultimately, it’s a weird mind control effect, but it does it in a cool way that makes for interesting gameplay, and I do think the white helps here cause while blue gets mind control this does it in an odd enough way that it would feel off in mono blue. 

Beloved Captain by @real-aspen-hours

Great mechanic, and great use of it. If this mechanic ever existed, I think a card that basically looks like this would be a shoe-in. Once again, it’s just very clean.

Gel’Thik, Invasive Hunter by @xenobladexfan

An Enchanting Evening Entries

Song to the Fallen by @bergdg

Nyxbloom Shard by @phyrexiandreadgyatt

Nyxborn Channeler by @allaroundawesme

Gel'thik, Invasive Hunter by @xenobladexfan

Creditor of Sins by @thepeppermintpig

Career Advancement by @helloijustreadyourpost

Contemptuous Bootlegger by @flaetsbnort

Scavenging Typhon by @bread-into-toast

Sudden Chill by @benthicinfiltrator

Sloppy Storyteller by @maypletreeway

Safeguarding Seraph by @chippyyyz

Starlight Mycosower by @hanavesinauttija

Sarita's Craft by @hypexion

Orophon, Nyxbinder by @tanknspank

Immortalize by @lanabutnotdelray

Alquist Proft, Overworked by @nyxbird

Forge with Stars by @deg99

Cursemother by @misterstingyjack

Go Down Swinging by @izzet-always-r-versus-u

Resonant Defense by @bookmarks-reviews

Illicit Distributer by @curiooftheheart

Marina of the Labyrinth by @superoffbatter

Patrol the Perimeter by @grornt

Nocvena Sire by @reaperfromtheabyss

Martyr's Zeal by @teaxch

Virology Studies by @derplingvonderp

Beloved Captain by @real-aspen-hours

Spiteful Poppet-Pinner by @nine-effing-hells

Artifacts and enchantments are siblings, and like many siblings, there's unfortunately a clear favorite. Artifacts tend to take the lead on most things, with enchantments always on the backfoot playing catch up. So let's help them with some of that catch up, in at least one arena.

Design a card that makes enchantment tokens

This does *not* necessarily mean a predefined token, though it certainly can. Other acceptable ideas include (but aren't necessarily limited to): - Create an X/X enchantment creature token. - An enchantment that creates token copies of itself - Create a token that's a copy of target enchantment" - Create a token that's a copy of target permanent except it's an enchantment.

Something like "Create a token that's a copy of target permanent" isn't really what I want to see though. Even though it *can* create enchantment tokens, if it happens to target an enchantment, it just feels a touch too removed. I also don't want to see Shard tokens or any of the existing role tokens, simply because they've been done before. Similarly, if you do an enchantment creature token, check that it hasn't been done before please. If you have any further questions about what kind of things are eligible please ask. You're likely to get the quickest response on our discord, linked below.

Entries are due by 12:00 pm EST on Friday, June 5

Have fun! - judge @loreholdlesbian