Could I sign up for image based too?
How big is the penalty for editing? Trying to think if it's worth it for mine...
If you edit your post you’ll have an instant deduction of 2 points from your overall score, and posting your entry again on a different post also deducts 2 points. When you submit, make sure you’re done!
Well, I’ve checked, double-checked, and triple-checked my entry. It still feels like it’s missing something, but I can’t fathom what that might be, so I’m going to go ahead and post it.
This is my first attempt at an M-Pokémon-EX, which I think turned out rather well. The issue with Megas in the CAC, I found, is that creativity is somewhat limited when you only get one attack. Realizing this, I decided to give it an Ancient Trait as well, and naturally, who better to ask about that than Asche. All thanks to him for the blank, the template, and the advice on 3D text and the weird purple things in the art.
I suppose an explanation is in order as well, because I went for flavor over mechanics. The idea behind this is that Metagross is based on a supercomputer, and so its effects are based on a supercomputer as well. Before I get into that, however, I want to establish that this is for the XY-on format.
The Ancient Trait, Ө Upgrade, has fairly obvious flavor. Computers and other devices are constantly improving, with new upgrades, and when they are, they’re always pushed to the front of the market. M-Metagross-EX’s upgrade comes in the form of a fast Energy boost, and then a push to the front of the field.
Meteor Hammer was originally intended to reflect the brute force of Mega Metagross in OU, but then I decided on the supercomputer angle. At that point, however, I had already done the 3D text for it, so I couldn’t change the name (and no, I didn’t want to redo the 3D text). So I cast around for an effect that would mirror both computers and meteors. I eventually decided on a sort of disabling effect, recalling the powerful energy caused by the meteor in ORAS, and harnessed by Devon Co.’s computers. It’s true that it can be powered up fairly quickly through Ө Upgrade and Bronzong, but since you can’t OHKO opposing Megas (except through Weakness), I doubt it's too overpowered. There’s also the issue of not-unlimited switching, since you can’t abuse Keldeo-EX.
The existing M-Metagross-EX has 220 HP, which doesn’t seem right to me. I would have liked to have given it 240 like M-Aggron and M-Tyranitar, but there’s also the Believability points to consider. I opted for 230 HP in the end.
The Weakness, Resistance, and Retreat Cost are the same as the existing M-Metagross.
This card has wording and power level from the HGSS era.
This card's development was... interesting, to say the least. I had designed the effect a couple of months ago, but never worded it. I choose a Pokémon (Genesect) that I could twist to this month's theme (which I will explain more later). As I started to discover all the unnecessary clauses PCL had put in place for such effects, I started to have the sinking feeling that the text would be too large. A nightmare. I start placing the text on the card, thinking it may just fit with little space to spare. It does. I check other cards to make sure my positioning was accurate... and discovered I did it all wrong! After fixing up the placements it looked like I had got my hopes waaaay too high. The text just won't fit.
Being as determined as I am, I decide to find a way to sneak past the system. LEGEND cards immediately come to mind - they have smaller text size! Coincidentally Genesect fit the bargain perfectly, so I thought up a pair. Mewtwo. And it fitted in both the theme and the flavour perfectly! Next came the hunt. After a search, I discovered there was little quality LEGEND resources available. I contact Aschefield as a last resort, who luckily was developing LEGEND blanks. He kindly PMs me one and I start getting working.
I later decide that my traces would most certainly not cut on a LEGEND card, so I start searching for someone who could do the art for me. BigfootAUS came to mind, completing the card jigsaw.
So, you may be wondering how Mewtwo and Genesect made the cut under "in-animate objects". Genesect is some prehistoric bug, while Mewtwo is this cat thing. Well, not exactly. Both were made through science - they are both artificial. Plus, Genesect is a bug with a cannon on its back. And if you want to get even more specific, they were made from fossils. And then after all of that, if you don't think that's enough... Spoon said he'd accept it anyway...
I personally really like the attack effect. I've never heard of any particular interaction like this, and I do believe there is no card that can flip over your opponent's prize cards. Power wise, you may originally think this is OP. I'm here to tell you otherwise. Firstly, you need to [in theory] attack before you can get any type of power boost, and as a LEGEND, it is already pretty difficult to get the cards out in the first place. I guess a HGSS Town Map card would make this quite powerful, although even then you have to get a decent amount of Trainers in your prizes. Secondly, presuming you run about 9 Energy so you can actually attack consistently, you are technically going to get at least 1 Energy in your prizes at least 64% of the time, and that's not including other cards that provide a null damage change. Thirdly, you would ideally need a lot of Trainer cards in your deck to get a decent amount in your prizes. However, if you add a lot of Trainers, your poor deck will fail against any type of item lock (looking at you Vileplume).
Huge thanks to:
@aschefield101 for being the literal saviour - supplying blanks + other tips. This would not have been possible without him.
@BigfootAUS for the AMAZING art
@PMJ for HGSS power-level tips
@bacon for "Coruscation Cannon"
@Luispipe8 for a bit of help with HGSS wording
Psy Scanner: Ursaring UL, Gallade-EX, Steven, Team Aqua's Kyogre-EX, Vileplume UD
Coruscation Surge: Town Map, Rotom UD, Mawile GE, Altaria ROS, Palmer's Contribution/Fossil Researcher
That's more than you Vom :U
Wording was originally XY, hence half XY resources >.>When bbninjas approached me for art for this card, I thought the concept for it was really cool. Genesect battling Mewtwo – it’s awesome! At first I thought Genesect might be a bit iffy for this month's theme, but I remember that Genesect is actually a cannon. A cannon with a bug attached to it. That made it extra cool. Then as we got into the specifics for it and as my university semester started up, I realized that if it’s going to look good then it’ll take a lot of time to work on, so I ditched my solo entry entirely and asked bbninjas if we could properly team up like a usual CaC duo. It’s been great since bbninjas has had a clear idea of what the card needs from the start.
Taking a complicated/cool concept and putting it to a larger-than-usual card is really good, since LEGEND cards are awesome with the amount of artistic leg-room available to use. It’s very different to making a render for a usual BW/XY card (or even an EX or half-art card) due to the proportions and room available, but I managed to teach myself a bit more about scene composition and such to make it all work right. I even got to try out some new 3D object materials and hone my 3D rendering skills some more as well!
After putting the art and the card and the effects (laser, lightning) together, bbninjas did all the holosheet stuff. I typically don’t do holosheets since the effort/fiddlyness they take doesn’t seem worth it to me, but I’m really happy with how he pulled it off. I’m really happy with how this month’s entry turned out! Good luck to the other entrants!
I think the 3D text would've fallen under the font/placement score previously (though I don't think I've ever had to use it), I guess it falls under aesthetics now. If it's roughly accurate, it probably won't affect your aesthetics score, being spot on might increase it a bit and being totally off and badly done might you lose a point or so, but that's about it.I must ask, though I probably should have done so before posting my entry, whether the Aesthetics score takes into account aesthetic accuracy (i.e. the 3D text on Megas or the right textures on FAs, etc.), or just how aesthetically appealing an entry is? I've checked the paragraph describing the scoring, but it doesn't clear this up.