Weekend Design Challenge 033018 - Your Signature Spellbook

Click through to see the requirements for your design test, due Monday morning. Every submission warrants feedback, which you may use to revise your submission any number of times. I will aim to review the most recent submission from each designer.

Ryan Siegel-Stechler's Essay Submission

(Wizards has alerted GDS3 Top 8 contestants that their essays would not be published on the mothership, and gave them clearance to self-publish. We reached out to all contestants and offered to host their essays.)

Meet the Top 8: Scott Wilson

Next up in our series of interviews with the GDS Top 8, we have Scott Wilson. Click through to read a little bit about him and some of his thoughts on Magic design.

CCDD 032818 - Royal Rumble

I was trying to capture the concept of a free for all, where all creatures can attack each other on a whim, and came up with this.

Weekend Art Challenge Review 032718 — Out of the Box

Weekend Art Challenge Review
Here's the challenge we're reviewing today!

Meet the Top 8: Chris Mooney

We are continuing our GDS3 Top 8 series of interviews, and today we're hearing from Chris Mooney. Click through to find out a little bit about his thoughts on Magic and Game Design.

Meet the Top 8: Jeremy Geist

I reached out to GDS3 Contestant Jeremy Geist for a brief interview as we ramp up to the show. Click through to find out a little bit about one of the Top 8 competitors.

Weekend Art Challenge 032318 — Out of the Box

Click through to see the requirements for your design test, due Monday morning. Every submission warrants feedback, which you may use to revise your submission any number of times. I will review the most recent submission from each designer.

Meet the Top 8: Alex Werner

I reached out to GDS3 Contestant Alex Werner for a brief interview as we ramp up to the show. Click through to find out a little bit about one of the Top 8 competitors. 

CCDD 032118 - Ogre Leper and Maddening Delays

I was thinking about the GDS3 Design Challenge, because frankly, I'm never not thinking about the GDS3 Design Challenge. My draft cards still need quite a bit of fine tuning, but I was considering how I didn't really push many odd game boundaries, which I probably should have done more of. So I made this guy.

CCDD 032018 - Planar Blade, Seldark, and Saldra

In a Weekend Challenge from a few weeks ago, Doug Kent submitted a Legendary creature that "turned on" if you controlled the legendary equipment associated with him. This is a trope that has played out on a few different cards in the past, and always fun space to explore. It did get me thinking, though, about the story implications of having a legendary equipment that interacted differently depending on who was holding it.

Weekend Design Challenge 031618 - Hole Filling in that Brilliant and Infuriating Design Test

Click through to see the requirements for your design test, due Monday morning. Every submission warrants feedback, which you may use to revise your submission any number of times. I will aim to review the most recent submission from each designer.

GDS3: Ranking the Contestants' Design Tests

I spent the last couple of days going through each of the Top 8's design tests, offering brief critique and grading them. The metric I used was as follows:

• Each card started at 1 point, and could have a final grade of 0-2 points.
• Each card gained a point if after reading it, I thought to myself, "hey, that's awesome"
• Cards accomplished this by doing things we haven't seen before, scaled appropriately to their rarity
• Chinese menu gold cards typically did not do this, even if the particular combination of their abilities hadn't necessarily been done before.
• Each card lost a point if it had design issues beyond basic templating mistakes, and lost two points for egregious design issues.
• This included things like unnecessary text, secretly being a monocolor card, color pie violations, misapplying rarity, needless complexity, etc.

Weekend Art Challenge Review 031418 — Tomas O. Muir

Weekend Art Challenge Review
Here's the challenge we're reviewing today! Apologies for the reviews coming in late.

How I Approached the Design Test

Mark Rosewater recently shared what the final Design Test was to help determine the finalists for GDS3, and then went over how he might've attacked the problem in Reading the Designs. I found that insightful and interesting; some of his methods were similar to mine, but some were very different. Today, I'm going to share how I approached the test, and suss out some conclusions from his approach and the differences. I'll also share a few methods of playtesting small numbers of Magic cards.

Designing for Discovery: Test Your Mettle

Designing for Discovery: Test Your Mettle
By Larcent

"What an odd card," I muttered to myself when I first read Path of Mettle and Metzali, Tower of Triumph, when they were spoiled in Rivals of Ixalan.

I was not alone in that reaction. Luis Scott-Vargas called them "bizarre" in his initial set review. Melissa DeTora called it the "weirdest card in the set."

GDS3 Round 3 Submissions

Hey Artisans. Below you will find links to individual pages for each of the Design Test Submissions that earned their author a spot in the Top 8. Please use the comments in those pages to to offer critique for their designs ahead of the Judges' critique when the GDS show starts in earnest. General discussion of the contestants and/or the design tests collectively as a whole can be done in the comments here.

• Jeremy Geist
• Linus Ulysses Hamilton
• Chris Mooney
• Ari Nieh
• Ryan Siegel-Stechler
• Jay Treat
• Alex Werner
• Scott Wilson

Weekend Art Challenge 030918 — Tomas O. Muir

Click through to see the requirements for your extra-long design test, due Wednesday morning. Every submission warrants feedback, which you may use to revise your submission any number of times. I encourage you all to use the extra time for this test to revise your designs at least once in response to feedback. I will review the most recent submission from each designer.

GDS3 Finalists Revealed!

Congratulations to Artisans Ari Nieh, Jay Treat, Ryan Siegel-Stechler, and Jeremy Geist for making it into the Top 8 of the Great Designer Search! Show those judges how its done.

CCDD 030818 - Cataclysmic Fury, Gift of the Basilisk, and Pathfinding Ritual

Seven cards into my first pass. I've made one common and two each of the other rarities, and I still need a Gruul sorcery, Rakdos enchantment, and Golgari instant.

CCDD 030718 - Sriracha, Seeker of Balance

At this point, I've locked in my card types to each guild, at least for now. My Simic card had to be a creature, which is probably the easiest type to design for. I had a rare slot open, and I wanted something that would make a splash.

A Taxing Argument

A Taxing Argument
By Jim Harbor

Welcome artisans. Today I’m going to do something a bit different. I’m posting a single card design and will talk about its implications for an overall format and the game as a whole. This is more “big picture” design about how the implications of one simple card can be quite impactful on design.

GDS3 Discussions: Scott Wilson's Challenge 5 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Scott's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Ari Nieh's Challenge 5 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Ari's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Chris Mooney's Challenge 5 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Chris's submission on their official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Jeremy Geist's Challenge 5 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Jeremy's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Scott Wilson's Challenge 4 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Scott's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Ryan Siegel-Stechler's Challenge 4 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Ryan's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Ari Nieh's Challenge 4 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Ari's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Chris Mooney's Challenge 4 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Chris's submission on their official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Jeremy Geist's Challenge 4 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Jeremy's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Scott Wilson's Challenge 3 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Scott's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Jay Treat's Challenge 3 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Jay's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Ryan Siegel-Stechler's Challenge 3 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Ryan's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Ari Nieh's Challenge 3 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Ari's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Chris Mooney's Challenge 3 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Chris's submission on their official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Jeremy Geist's Challenge 3 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Jeremy's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Scott Wilson's Challenge 2 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Scott's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Jay Treat's Challenge 2 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Jay's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Ryan Siegel-Stechler's Challenge 2 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Ryan's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Ari Nieh's Challenge 2 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Ari's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Chris Mooney's Challenge 2 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Chris's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Linus Ulysses Hamilton's Challenge 2 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Linus's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Jeremy Geist's Challenge 2 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Jeremy's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Scott Wilson's Challenge 1 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Scott's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Alex Werner's Challenge 1 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Alex's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Jay Treat's Challenge 1 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Jay's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Ryan Siegel-Stechler's Challenge 1 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Ryan's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Ari Nieh's Challenge 1 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Ari's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Chris Mooney's Challenge 1 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Chris's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Linus Ulysses Hamilton's Challenge 1 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Linus's submission on his official GDS page)

GDS3 Discussions: Jeremy Geist's Challenge 1 Submission

(These posts are being backdated for administrative purposes. They were not disclosed to nor published on this site prior to their publication on the mothership. You can read the judge commentary on Jeremy's submission on his official GDS page)