Brawl #1 - Round 6 [Voting Phase]

[UTAlan]

Deadline: Time is up!

Spoiler for Submissions:

Spoiler for Submission #1:

Eliminate Off-Topicker's Task (well not really, but it needs changed)
For most of the tasks, the OT'er just became another Writer. I don't think it necessarily needs to be eliminated, but it needs some refining. The problem is, that's it's really hard to keep this task while not making it too similar to the Writer task.
The Round 6 task was a good idea for what this task should be about. Creating something funny makes it fun. The Boss' Task about making a new Forum Game was also a good example. (Also, on a side note... Boss shouldn't have a task and be able to help the team out with anything that needs to be done.)

No Anonymous Submissions
This is one that would be hotly-disputed, but I think it would be for the best. Because participants can't even hint at what their submission is, the discussion for each Round is almost minimal. Without discussion, people just can't really get into the event as much as they should, and comments end up gravitating towards how the voting wasn't fair.

Increased Points Gained In Each Successive Round
After the first few rounds most teams were really far behind. With little chance of catching up, submission quality and quantity went down. Voting also dropped off as people lost interest in the blowout. This will keep the community more interested as the submissions increase in quality.
Also, who doesn't love a comeback story??

Spoiler for Submission #2:

Objectivity: Make it so that players cannot vote. Instead, only the public can vote, as well as the admins for more points. To also increase objectivity, members will post in a spoiler on which they voted for and why. Knowing the voting guidelines and criteria will make it so the best quality material will be chosen instead of the most gaudy or flashy.

Options at redemption: Perhaps not something as drastically as the RNG, but an option for redemption would be nice. Even in war, the results of battle rested in the hands of fate. A first place team can easily slide down into last, and a last place team can just as easily climb their way up. While it is nice that brawl is based on quality as opposed to pure RNG, a redemption "extra credit" assignment should be availiable to every team EXCEPT the one in first place. This gives the second and third place, as well as the team in last place a fighting chance in winning brawl.

Auction: Just like in war, brawl should start with an auction. This greatly helps balance out the starting game, because a team full with strong contenders needs a handicap in order for them to be on the same leveling field as the other teams. Bids will be negative points, and there is no limit as to how low a bid can be, so brawl captains need to take caution in finding both the best members for the team, as well as strategic auctioning so they have an edge in points before the first round even begins.

Spoiler for Submission #3:

1.   Only Jr. members or above can vote and everyone can vote up to two times. This way only people with a at least a little bit of experience on the forums will be able to vote but with up to two votes a member you shouldn’t be short on the amount of votes.

2.  Only do the task which is required: don’t use all kinds of beautiful formats and images, deckbuilder tasks should be about the deck only and not about the layout.

3.  Remove anonymous voting: it’s very easy to recognize someone’s writing style and it’s easy to see what artist made what submission. Have some faith in the community that they will vote for the best submission and not for their friend.

Spoiler for Submission #4:

Brawl Improvements

Brawl is a fantastic forum event, yet being that this is its first time being implemented - its beta version so to speak - there is plenty of room for improvement which will help take this unique team competition to the next level

1)  The Voting System - Currently, the way that voting is structured for brawl, every team must vote for their own members in order to get the most points possible.  This leaves the votes of non-brawl players the only votes that truly decide the order of finish for each category.  I think that each player shouldn't aim to only pay attention to his/her own team's submissions, and instead, should be encouraged to vote for other teams.  However, this cannot happen at the expense of one's own votes.  Therefore, I propose that each voting member must vote at least twice.  The effects of this measure would be two-fold.  First, as previously stated, each brawl player would need to review the other submissions and vote for the ones that he/she thinks is best.  Secondly, non-brawl players can vote for two submissions (or more) if they think that multiple submissions are expertly done.

2)  The Scoring System - The single most necessary change for brawl is the scoring system.  Currently, teams are awarded points on an exponential scale, such that a team who scores highly in a few categories in a round absolutely and utterly dominates that round, making it difficult for other teams to make a comeback, unless they do the same.  Therefore, I propose a linear rate of lncrease, or at least a close to linear rate of increase, so that one team doesn't take a drastic, irreversible lead over the others.

3) Cooperative Tasks - Brawl is a team event, but it doesn't involve much team cooperation, other than checking over each other's work.  Therefore, I propose that tasks be group tasks that require multiple members to work together, such as designing an elements comic, or making a deck using cards designed by the card designer.  Not every task would need to have EVERY member work together EVERY round, but there should at least be one task every round that requires at least 2-3 members to cooperate.

4) Change the Substitution System - This brawl, mesaprotector was unfortunately not included on the draft list for writers.  As a result, he became a substitute.  Team Aether then chose to switch their writer for mesaprotector.  Mesaprotector would have been one of the top picks for writer if he were included on the list, and Team Aether was able to basically get him for free.  That's nothing against them - they were just being opportunistic, as any good team should be.  However, I do think that this points towards a flaw in the subbing system.  Substitutes should be requested directly to the brawlmaster(s).  The brawlmaster(s) would then pick an appropriate sub for the required position at random.  The person chosen would then be contacted to see if he/she would be able and willing to fill the role.  If they accept, they get the position.  If they decline, another person is chosen.

Spoiler for Submission #5:

Creativity over skills: all tasks should emphasize creativity and not be dependent on the users' ability to use certain tools, or their access to these tools. All tasks should require products to be made from a program chosen from a subset of freeware that is easy to use, so that all participants have an equal chance.

Unambiguous delimitation of assignment: it should be clear what and what is not part of the task, for example with card art it should be just card art and anything added to it be found illegal. Well defined rules help against attempts to bend it to one's favor.

Fun(!): not all tasks were found to be equally fun to complete. Especially because some roles were significantly different from the expectancies from the person that signed up for said role, some haven't really enjoyed certain tasks. Although this brawl in itself should help with that, it should be clear to people signing up what to expect. Many people do not enjoy typing walls of text for example.

Spoiler for Submission #6:

The following proposals are my suggestions:

<BOSS ACTION #1: ETG fight>

 In the beginning of each round, a Brawl Team Boss has the right to challenge another Brawl Team Boss into a 1v1 duel. That duel will happen with normal PvP rules (unupped, shardless, best of five etc.) and maybe a few subrules made by the Brawl organizers (Brawlmasters). The challenged has the right to decline the challenge, however his/her team loses 4 Brawl Points and the challenger's team wins 8 Brawl Points. If the challenge is accepted, the winner's brawling team gains 15 Brawl points, while the loser's brawling team loses 10 Brawl points.
Q: why is this useful?
A: This would help to catch the interest of Bosses who have no artistic or writing skills, but they are mostly good at ETG PvP.

Example: Willing, who plays at Team Life's Boss position in Brawl 2, decides to challenge Jenkar, who plays at Team Air's Boss position in Brawl 2, into a PvP duel. Matches are unupped, shardless, best of five, and the Brawlmasters decide to also ban Discord, Dim Shield and a few other cards. Moreover, the Brawlmasters may decide that both have to play with Catapult OTK decks, with mono-decks of their element or whatever crazy rule comes into their mind.
 
<BOSS ACTION #2: Instant Replacement>

 In the beginning of each round, a Brawl Team Boss has the right to replace a member of his team with another community member for one round only. That community member must be officialy asked to do so and if he/she accepts, then he/she may help the team with the task. If that member declines, the Boss has just wasted his/her Boss action for this Brawl's round.
Q: Why is this useful?
A: This can help teams who are not well-prepared for a round or a task and they need foreign assistance at once. This is hopefully going to help weaker Brawl Teams rather than stronger ones.

Example: Higurashi, who plays as Team Aether's Forum Expert, has a serious problem with her task and none of her fellow brawlers can assist her. Because of this, Deuce, who plays at Brawl 2 Team Aether's Boss position, decides to ask Zanzarino's help for this task by posting it in Forum Brawl 2 Actions. Now, it is up to Zanzarino to either decide to keep working on his new ETG patch and leave Deuce's plea unanswered or to descend from the heavens and help Higs with her Forum Expert task.

<BOSS ACTION #3: Brawl's Sanctuary>

 In the beginning of each round, a Brawl Team Boss has the right to prevent his/her team to participate in this round. If this action is taken, then that team gains 10 points for this round but it is not allowed to post any submissions.
Q: Why is this useful?
A: This action can be taken if the majority of a team doesn't have any free time at all this week or if they find the tasks too difficult to be accomplished.

Example: Brawl 2 Team Water's Boss, known as Raving Rabbit, finds this round's task to be difficult and unfair. Furthermore, his fellow team members have difficulties due to lack fo time, so he decides to abandon this round and to gain those 10 points instead of failing every single task.


<MEMBER ACTION #1: Challenge>

 In the beginning of each round, a Boss or non-Boss member has the right to challenge another member of the same role at a 1v1 challenge. The challenge's type must fit the member's role (card designing for card designers, deckbuilding for deckbuilders etc.) and the challenge is decided by the Brawlmasters. The challenged has the right to decline the challenge, however his/her team loses 4 Brawl Points and the challenger's team wins 8 Brawl Points. If the challenge is accepted, the winner's brawling team gains 15 Brawl points, while the loser's brawling team loses 10 Brawl points. However, keep in mind that you can't challenge a member whose team has taken Brawl's Sanctuary action. The submission will be judged by the Brawlmasters and the admins.
Q: Why is this useful?
A: Because it gives greater flexibility and opportunities to every single brawler.

Example: Ralouf, who serves under Brawl 2 Team Death via the deckbuilder role, decides to challenge Calindu, who serves under Brawl 2 Team Fire via the same role (deckbuilder), into a deckbuilding challenge. Now Brawlmasters have to think about the challenge's goal. The don't really need to be very original if they have run out of ideas, so an unupped AI3 farmer can always be a fair solution (just and idea)...


<MEMBER ACTION #2: Defensive>

 In the beginning of each round, a Boss or non-Boss member can prevent anyone from challenging him/her (see the Member Action #1 suggestion) and he/she can't challenge anyone in return. This action last for this round only and it costs 3 Brawl points, so it is a good thing to discuss it with your team before choosing this action.
Q: Why is this useful?
A: Because not everyone likes challenges.

Example: Kakerlake, who holds Brawl 2 Team Earth's Card Designer position, decides he doesn't really wants to participate into any challenges so he sacrifices 3 Brawl points (after discussion with his team) and takes the Defensive action.


<ADVERTISMENT>

Honestly speaking, Forum Brawl #1 wasn't advertised enough. Adding a direct voting link at the forum's main page was an excellent move but not enough at all. We need:
1) More discussion topics about it in the forum.
2) A directly Forum Brawl advertisment in the game (possibly while the game loads).
3) A direct Forum Brawl link under the game, much like the link to ETG community and to ETG Wiki.
4) A "Brawled by..." icon, much like "reigned by..." war icon. However, I am not talking about replacing the "reigned by..." with the "brawled by..." icon, but we need that icon at least within the Brawl topics.
Q: Why is advertisment useful?
A: If we don't advertise Brawl, no one will know about this event, so no one will vote for its submissions. Plain and simple.


<DIFFERENT VOTING SYSTEM>

1) I don't think Brawlers should have the right to vote at all, since the majority votes for their team only. I suggest their accounts should be blocked and every team to instantly recieve 7 votes for their team members. There would possibly be less hipocrisity that way.
2) I suggest an either 2 voting system (where each voter can vote up to 2 submissions) or a scaling voting system in which every single voter has to vote for every single submission. His/her first vote would give 12 points, the second one 10, the third one 8, the fourth 5, the sixth 3 and the seventh 1 point. I believe that variety could make both the voting system more fair and the voters more interested in looking deeper into each submission before just putting a random vote somewhere.
3) Another voting system suggestion is a Gold/Silver/Bronze voting system, where each voter gives a golden vote to a single submission, a silver one to another submission and finally a bronze vote to a third submission. Golden gives 3 points, Silver gives 2 and Bronze gives 1 to each respective submission.
Q: Why do we need a different voting system?
A: Brawl #1 was accused by a fair amount of participants for unfair voting results. Because of this, more variety and objectivess are needed to Brawl's voting system and I truly believe it can be achieved through the above.

Spoiler for Submissions:

Spoiler for Submission #1:

NAME: Toadfish ELEMENT: Water COST: 5 TYPE: Creature ATK|HP: 4 | 3 TEXT: Inflate: Upon targeting, Toadfish is delayed and poisons whatever targets it.	NAME: Pufferfish ELEMENT: Water COST: 3 TYPE: Creature ATK|HP: 3 | 3 TEXT: Inflate: Upon targeting, Pufferfish is delayed and poisons whatever targets it.  Venomous.

ART: IDEA: NOTES: So I've kept Toadfish | Pufferfish more or less in its attack niche, as well as Pufferfish's Venomous ability. Inflate is passive and cannot be lobotomized. SERIES:

Spoiler for Submission #2:

*Remade Card: Cockatrice | Elite Cockatrice

NAME: Cockatrice ELEMENT: Life COST: 3 TYPE: Creature ATK|HP: 4|4 TEXT: : Anger, Cockatrice permanently gains +1/-1. This ability can be used multiple times per turn.	NAME: Elite Cockatrice ELEMENT: Life COST: 3 TYPE: Creature ATK|HP: 5|5 TEXT: : Anger, Elite Cockatrice permanently gains +1/-1. This ability can be used multiple times per turn.

ART: ??? IDEA: ??? NOTES: I have always viewed Cockatrices as extremely aggressive and extremely territorial creatures which could lose their temper very easily. Furthermore, many people thinks Cockatrices are a bit underpowered. As a result, I decided to add an active ability to it which requires quanta to function (good for / synergy) and makes a good use of Cockatrice's health. Enjoy! SERIES: Brawl Card Designer #6

Spoiler for Submission #3:

NAME: Parasite ELEMENT: Darkness COST: 4 TYPE: Spell ATK|HP: TEXT: Infect target creature. Infected creatures cost 2 quanta of their element to attack.  Infection may spread.	NAME: Parasite ELEMENT: Darkness COST: 4 TYPE: Spell ATK|HP: TEXT: Infect target creature. Infected creatures cost 3 quanta of their element to attack.  Infection may spread.

ART: N/A IDEA: [CENSORED] NOTES: (Infection) is a passive ability that cannot be Lobotomized. The chance for the infection to spread is 40%. Creatures infected this way can also pass the infection on. The quanta needed to attack, is the quanta that matches the element of the creature... So a Phoenix would take quanta to attack. If the creature is 'Other' (Malignant Cell, or a flown 'Other weapon'), the creature will take quanta from a random element. If the creature's owner doesn't have enough of the specific quanta to attack, the creature's attack fails. No damage is done. If the creature is poisoned, it still takes its poison damage. SERIES: Forum Brawl #1 - Round 6

Spoiler for Submission #4:

NAME: Antlion ELEMENT: Earth COST: 3 TYPE: Creature ATK|HP: 2|4 TEXT: Tunneling: Attacks may delay a random enemy permanent Burrow: Deals half damage but becomes untargetable.	NAME: Elite Antlion ELEMENT: Earth COST: 3 TYPE: Creature ATK|HP: 4|4 TEXT: Tunneling: Attacks may delay a random enemy permanent Burrow: Deals half damage but becomes untargetable.

ART: -No art allowed in brawl card submissions IDEA: I could tell you… but then I'd have to shoot you NOTES: Gives some much needed to this undervalued and underplayed earth card to make it once again a valuable tool in the earth arsenal. The idea is, every time it successfully attacks the opponent (e.g. like scorpion, etc.) a random permanent on the enemy side is delayed for 1 turn. SERIES:

Spoiler for Submission #5:

NAME: Hope ELEMENT: Light COST: 3 TYPE: Permanent ATK|HP: TEXT: Lone creatures gain +1/+1 for every enemy creature.	NAME: Hope ELEMENT: Light COST: 4 TYPE: Permanent ATK|HP: TEXT: Lone creatures gain +2/+2 for every enemy creature.

ART: None IDEA: [Censored] NOTES: A lone creature is one that is a creature with no other creatures on its side of the field. Enemy creatures refer to the creatures on the field opposite. Hope is a defensive card, but this changes it into an offense one, but one that requires hope and perseverance. A shielded elemental doesn't need hope, one who needs hope is the lone creature, fighting against all odds, facing off against a myriad of foes. This card truly captures the feeling of desperation that one feels when confronted with an arduous task at their darkest hour. Let light's hope shine forth! SERIES:

Spoiler for Submissions:

Spoiler for Submission #1:

SUB ZERO

{MORTAL COMBAT SERIES}

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i4 5i7 5i7 5i8 5i8 5i9 5i9 5ib 5ib 5ib 5id 5id 5id 5on 5on 5on 5on 5on 8pr

 Sub Zero is considered a "good guy" by the majority of Mortal Combat players. However, in the 1st Mortal Kombat movie (1995), Sub Zero was indeed a villain who fights against Liu Kang and tries to kill him. However, in the end, he is killed by Liu Kang.
 Sub Zero can freeze his opponent for a while via various of his attacks, hence all these freezing cards in the deck. Furthermore, he is also very skilled at dealing damage in hand-to-hand combat, hecne those Ice Dragons. Finally, his most famous final blow (Fatality) is freezing his opponent and then smushing him/her to pieces with a final strike, which is represented in this deck with Freeze & Shockwave combo.

Spoiler for Submission #2:

Juggernaut

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

55m 55q 55q 55q 55q 55q 562 562 562 562 562 576 576 576 576 576 58o 58o 58o 58o 58o 594 594 594 594 594 594 5c4 5c4 5c4 5c4 5de 5de 5de 5de 5de 8pm

Juggernaut is an X-Men villain depicted here as Armagio.

Spoiler for more info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juggernaut_(comics)

Characteristics: Accelerates to gain momentum while becoming effectively unstoppable, extreme durability and weak to mental attacks so he wears a helmet for protection.

Spoiler for Submission #3:

Catwoman

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

6ua 6ua 6ua 6ua 710 710 710 710 710 710 710 710 710 717 717 717 717 71b 71b 71b 7t4 7t4 7t4 7t4 7ta 7ta 7ta 7tb 7ti 7ti 8pj

Hiding in the cover of the night, Cat woman stalks her prey. Watching, she takes refuge in Graveyards, a place no one will look for her. When the moon is just right, her often allied undead protectors join her cruise through the night, empowered by the clash of light and darkness. Catwoman rules the night where chaos and darkness flow, cloaked in the unseen randomness of endless worldly possibilities.

Spoiler for Submission #4:

Emperor Palpatine

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

7t4 7t4 7t4 7t4 7t4 7t4 7t4 7t4 7t4 7t4 7t4 7t4 7t8 7t8 7t9 7t9 7tc 7tc 7tc 7tc 7ti 7ti 7ti 7ti 80a 80a 80a 80a 80a 80a 80e 80e 8pu

If you will not be turned, you will be destroyed!
Shoots Luke with Force lightning
Young fool... Only now, at the end, do you understand...
The Emperor shoots at Luke with more Force lighting
Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the Dark Side.
Shoots Luke with another burst of Force lighting
Now, you will pay the price for your lack of vision!
Shoots more Force lighting

Spoiler for Submission #5:

Villain presented by media: Calories.

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

6qq 6qq 6qq 6qq 6qq 6qq 6qq 6qq 6qq 6qq 6qq 6qq 6qq 6u2 6u2 74a 74a 74b 74b 74b 7ap 7ap 7ap 7gp 7jv 7jv 7q3 7qa 7qa 7qa 7qa 8pl

Spoiler for Card by Card breakdown::

Misc. : QT: Obvious

Calorie ingestion:

Otyugh - The biggest mouth, all for eating more (calories).
Scarab - Although they have smaller mouths, they can eat together even more.

Getting more calories:

Mitosis
Fatty Cards - Blessing, Chaos Power, Unstoppable

And lastly, the result of so many calories: Slowness

Permafrost Shield
Turtle Shield

Spoiler for Submission #6:

Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz

Hover over cards for details, click for permalink

Deck import code : [Select]

6qq 6qq 6qq 6qq 6qq 6qq 6s2 6s2 6tt 6u3 6u3 6u3 6u3 6u3 713 71b 745 74d 77g 77g 7ah 7dq 7gm 7k1 7n3 7q5 7tf 80a 80a 80b 8pj

Spoiler for Submissions:

Spoiler for Submission #1:

Spoiler for Submission #2:

Spoiler for Submission #3:

Spoiler for Submission #4:

Spoiler for Submission #5:

Spoiler for Submissions:

Spoiler for Submission #1:

The bartender stood behind the bar rubbubbing a glass with a dirty rag as he watched a man finish his Vodka.

"Want another?" the bartender asked. The man just nodded, his dark skin standing out against his purple clothing.

Suddenly, the bar door burst open. Standing at the doorway was a tall, moustached, Graviton Guard. But not just any Graviton Guard. The master.

"Nilsieboy", the man breathed as he stood up. "Oi!" he called.

Nilsieboy, the Master of Gravity, turned towards the man.

"Onizuka", he said. "We meet at last".

"First and last time", Onizuka growled. "I hear you've been stopping my Entropy Elementals having fun".

"I've done nothing of the sort. All I do is bring order to this chaotic world. Is that so bad?"

"Yes!" Onizuka said, lunging towards Nilsieboy and grabbing him by the throat. "You. Me. Battle. Now".


One minute later the Masters of Gravity and Entropy were glaring into each other's eyes. A crowd had gathered around them, to watch this amazing battle.

Onizuka flipped a coin while Nilsieboy rolled his eyes.

"RNGs are overrated" he muttered as it landed on death.

"I start", Onizuka smiled, and placed out 4 Entropy Towers, a Discord and an Abomination.

Nilsieboy countered this with 5 Gravity Towers and an Armagio.

The battle continued like this, and though Nilsieboy could barely play anything due to Onizua's Discord, his Armagio toughed it out until his opponent ran out of cards.

"I win!" Nilsieboy said. "Now the world will be ruled by order forevermore!"

"Best out of three?"

"Sure".

...

"Best out of five?"

"Okay. You were lucky that first match."

...

"Best out of seven?"

"You know, I'm really tired. Another time?"

"Sure".


Onizuka smiled a sly smile.

"Order may beat chaos. But I will always win the battle of the mind".

Spoiler for Submission #2:

phoenixfire4321: aw why does it take so long to get a connection
phoenixfire4321: still waiting cmon you dumb comp
phoenixfire4321: match found - looks like some noob with way less than my awesome 400 score
laszlo: GAME START
phoenixfire4321: hey noob i'm gonna beat your butt in 9 turns with my awesome fire rush
laszlo: VERY PLEASED TO MEET YOU
phoenixfire4321: turn 1 golem. game over.
phoenixfire4321: aw cmon lightning? no fair you can't kill my creatures
phoenixfire4321: aw dang, a phase dragon
phoenixfire4321: i can't kill it
phoenixfire4321: no fair i should be able to kill your creatures
laszlo: WHERE ARE YOU OF
laszlo: I AM OF GREECE
phoenixfire4321: can't even speak American what a stupid noob
phoenixfire4321: if you're gonna be a douche i'll deflag all your pillars
phoenixfire4321: now i win
phoenixfire4321: what is this dimensional shield thing
phoenixfire4321: why aren't my creatures attacking
laszlo: HOW YOU LIKE MY STRATEGY
phoenixfire4321: no you suck
phoenixfire4321: your strategy sucks
laszlo: I AM VERY HAPPY FOR YOU TOO
phoenixfire4321: at least I'm still winning, I just need to draw a deflag
phoenixfire4321: aw darn, a fire pillar
phoenixfire4321: next turn then
phoenixfire4321: another fire pillar this is so freaking stupid
laszlo: YOU MEET IN KONGREGATE?
phoenixfire4321: shut up greeky i need to rage
phoenixfire4321: i only have 30 pillars in my deck how am i drawing this many
phoenixfire4321: what is this "desynchronization error"
phoenixfire4321: why is there an immortal shrieker attacking me
phoenixfire4321: how is he drawing 3 pillars every turn
phoenixfire4321: he must be hacking
phoenixfire4321: stop hacking you stupid douche
phoenixfire4321: i hate you
phoenixfire4321: i hate this game
phoenixfire4321: i hate my life
laszlo: WHY ARE YOU DOING
laszlo: WHY ARE YOU KILLING YOUR OWN CREATURE
laszlo: WHAT YOU MEAN "ffuuua'we,['aw,pegawpmg234[2m;alm"
laszlo: WHY YOU NO RESPONDING
laszlo: I MUCH ENJOYED GAME WITH YOU
laszlo: IT WAS NICE GAME

Spoiler for Submission #3:

(The following characters and their behaviour has nothing to do with reality.)

 In the tournament arena which floats above the Forest of Life the first participant makes his move. After watching closely his starting hand, he decides to play all his Emerald Towers first and summon his Giant Frog right after.
This participant has not a steady appearance. He may change his appearance to match that of a Horned Frog, Cockatrice, Lion, Firelfy, Dragon or even Emolga! He is here, and he is Willing to fight with the Mark of Life!
The pink-haired girl who faces him played her four towers from her starting hand and a Psion enters play under her command. That ethereal figure with the tirquoise clothing is the infamous Higurashi...
The duel has already started! Willing summons another Giant Frog he has just drawn...

Willing: Giant Frogs, attack!

The pink-haired girl answered the next turn by casting a Thunderbolt above a Giant Frog's head, instantly killing it.

Higurashi: I conjure Thunderbolts against your Frog! And now, Psion, strike Willing with spell damage! And I end my turn...
Willing: No, my Giant Frog! How dare you. But now is my turn.

After drawing 4 (!) cards at the same turn, Willing Fractal his Frog, he plays his 9 (!) Giant Frogs from his hand and attacks right after.

Willing: And now, Giant Frog army, attack Higs!!
Higurashi: Hey, wait a moment. You have just drawn 4 cards, Fractaled your Frogs without having any Aether quanta, created 9 Giant Frog copies while you can create only up to 8 and summoned them all together without having enough Life quanta?
Willing: Yes, I did, so?
Higurashi: That is against the rules!
Willing: Screw the rules, I am Master of Life!

The poor pink-haired girl was in the direst state. By putting all her belief in the heart of the cards, she drew her final card from her grandfather's deck...

Willing: Come on, Higurashi. Draw your final worthless card in order to end this game.
Higurashi: My grandpa's deck has not worthless cards. It has the invincible... Chuck Norris!
Willing: This card doesn't exist in Elements The Game!
Higurashi: Wrong. It exist in the forum's humor section in the following link: http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,39874.0.html
Willing: You can't play a humor section card! That's against the rules!!
Higurashi: Screw the rules, I am an admin!
Willing: No, I can't lose...
Higurashi: And now, Chuck Noris, r o u n d h o u s e  k i c k !!!
Willing: Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!

Spoiler for Submission #4:

Dysfunctional Justice
 

Two apprentices, Axel (Aether elemental) and Wade (Water elemental), were both being taught from the Zanzarino. The boys had a very negative relation. Surging 20 years later, they set aside their differences and decided who wins the three decade long struggle for dominance.

On the battle ground Axel, bearing the Mark of Aether, erected pillars of space, spreading a glowing teal around the atmosphere.

Meanwhile Wade, bearing the Mark of Water, established fountains of flowing water, dowsing the ground, sending water vapor into the air, sparkling against the sunlight

“You’ve got to be kidding me, all this time and you still use water! What a joke!” Reaching into the substance of the universe, Axel pulled out a fork-tipped sword that shone with flowing electricity. Casually striking Wade, Axel was already enjoying this.

The water around Wade started to open and push a creature to the surface of the shallow pool of water. An abyss crawler emerged just outside the water. Wade launched a bolt of ice to Axel, damaging him slightly but turning Electrocutor into a block of dry ice.

               

“Ah! You’ve gotten lucky!” Almost all of Axel’s Aether disappears, and in a blink of an eye, a dragon, shimmering in and out of existence, it looks down on the battlefield. With a ferocious roar, the dragon suddenly appears in front of Wade and swipes a claw against his body.

Another Abyss crawler emerges from the waves, while Wade can’t do anything. Being made of nothing actual, the dragon can’t be frozen or struck with bolts. Using their tails as weapons, the crawlers charge Axel and cause him to lose his balance. He doesn’t even look hurt.

“Not looking good for you, my friend!” The Aether dims and a shield appears, defending Axel with a cocky smile on his face. The dragon attacks again, with the exact ferocity as the previous assault.

“Mon Zanz!” Wade had nothing he could do, as his side of the field generated water, but not to the point of flooding. The crawlers tried to attack, but the shields appeared in front of them regardless of from where they attacked.

And so the cycle continued, Axel was defended by his shields and dragons appeared lightly often, while Wade had nothing to do but throw the unlikely bolt he might get. Wade was definitely in a losing position until…..

Axel, ready to give the command to finish Wade as soon he made his turn, thought he was imagining what he was seeing. Wade’s image was becoming blurry and then stopped moving altogether, a blink later he was gone.

Wade saw the exact same thing.

Then they both appeared to the other once more.

Axel commanded his creatures to attack and they did, but Axel himself was their target. Barely holding onto life, Axel was shocked.

Confused, Wade finally got another bolt, and when it collided, both Axel and his creatures shattered into a million pieces.

Spoiler for Submissions:

Spoiler for Submission #1:

Ugh.  Mark of Aether.  Why are there so many of these monos in PvP?  Oh well, at least my monofire has a chance. 

Well, he put down three aether pillars, I guess all I can do now is hope for a good draw...

Thank you Good Guy Draw!  Now at least I have a chance. 
And he gets another pillar? Inconceivable!
Well, up to two pillars now.  I can almost bring out a pheonix - I'm lucky mono-aether is so expensive. 
Another pillar apiece.  Next turn I'll be able to start wearing him down with a pheonix--

You know what.  It's time to go all out.  Pheonix is too conservative. 

Please no Lightning please no Lightning please no Lightning

Hah, another pillar! Soon you will face the might of Fire!

Alright, don't panic, you have some deflags in your deck somewhere, he can't possibly kill you before you can break through those dims, it's not like Aether has much damage anyways.  Just play that pillar you just drew and take a deep breath, and hope for a deflag soon.
An Immortal, that's just great.   I'm going to be subjected to death by a million papercuts.
DEFLAG! Hallelujah! Deflag and my Crimson Dragon, exactly enough quanta to combine with Seraph and do 22 damage to your FACE! BWAHAHAH, can't stop me now!

Oh. 
Look, I only have to attack three times to win this one.  I can do that for sure.  Just save the creatures in my hand until I can play them all at once when dim is down.  It's too bad I have these useless rage potions.
Alright, I need to clear up some room in my hand, I'll just firebolt him once or twice so I don't have to discard-

Oh.  That wasn't good.  Bye Seraph. 
Wait.  No.  That can't be.

Another deflag! Now I've at least got a shot.  Deflag, Lava Golem, that's 17 damage right there!
Well.  I'm down to 2 hitpoints.  Good game, Mr. Mono-Aether.  I just can't do enough damage.
And that was the day I learned...

Spoiler for Submission #2:

Spoiler for Submission #3:

Spoiler for Submission #4:

Spoiler for Submissions:

Spoiler for Submission #1:

Challenge modes!:

Game modes that grant alternate ways of fighting: Whereas the majority of game modes are basically fighting different AI (or players) with upped or non-upped cards and bigger decks/additional marks, Challenge Modes provide a refreshing way of giving players alternate game-analysis in different situations. How does a deck faire when played repeatedly against tough opponents? What would happen if certain cards were already put in play before the game began? What if cards were automatically disabled (i.e. - could not be put in one's deck) upon winning with them? These five modes can offer score, electrum, cards, and personal achievements in regards to creative and analytical deck-building compositions for all player levels.

Gamble (Medley mode): You keep on battling the same type of enemy (different False Gods, plat arena, etc.), but for more bonus rewards (think of it like arena, except it's all or nothing affair. Who can defeat the most enemies in a row?). Double score/electrum/rewards each time you defeat the same enemy over and over again, but if you die/lose, you gain nothing. Your health will (not?) reset for each new battle, but you must retain the same deck. High risk and high reward.

Fields (Environment-based mode): enemy and/or player gain special effects with certain types of cards. In one battle, you may gain bonuses for all your airborne creatures (they deal more damage/dodge targeting/cost less to play), whereas another field with have a protected Eclipse in play before starting the battle. Can have 12 separate environments for each element, or just a bunch of grab-bag ones for certain effects (creatures, skills, quanta costs, elements, permanents, deck size, turn plays [how many cards did you play?], spells, etc.). Offers smart deck-building styles.

Decay (Moderation mode): Every deck you play will have an effect on what cards you can have in your next battle; if you have access to every card, for example, using 6 copies of a card will prevent all access to it; if you use 5 copies of a card, you have 1 copy left for any future battle. Pillars cannot be removed. If a player manages to use all non-pillar/pendulum cards in an element, they are given all copies of those cards back. Losing a battle removes the cards still. Creates unique deckbuilding strategies win or lose.

Power (False god mode): Play with arena bonuses. Depending on one's arena level, one can customize their playing style to either have more hp, dexterity, or a double or triple mark. PvP with other players in False God mode will be possible, and PvP will try and find opponents who are near you in power level. Be warned that using this option puts a limit to how many upped card one can have in a deck unless they want to invest more level points into it!

Elder (old mode): You get to have double draw, but it comes with the cost of starting with half HP. Max HP is still 100.

Spoiler for Submission #2:

In-Game Tournaments

As it stands, many forum users voice their opinions about the tournament time rotations being "outside of their timezones" all the time. The overwhelming majority of Elements players have not even entered a tournament before, despite the allure of prizes. The following proposal will make basic tournaments easy to run in the game client and available on an as-needed basis.

Tournament Setup

There are two possible ways of running tournaments inside the game client: queue-based or time-based. In the former, players who choose to enter a tournament will enter a queue in which they all wait until a certain number of players have confirmed their entry into the tournament (generally, 16 makes for a good size), after which the tournament will begin. In the latter, players will have to arrive at the tournament prior to its start time (probably one tournament occurring every 4-6 hours), and the tournament runs if there are enough players present.

Tournament structure would be Swiss rounds, with number of rounds scaling with the number of participants. For example, 16 players would run 4 rounds of Swiss. Matches will be best-of-three.

Only players who have finished the main Quest Chain are allowed to enter in-game tournaments in order to ensure that players have taken the time to experience the game.

Tournament Rules

Tournament deckbuilding rules are generated semi-randomly. Most of the tournaments will be Speedbuilding with a small list of allowed cards, so that the tournaments encourage creative deckbuilding. Having no special deckbuilding rules does not encourage that, so they generally won't be in tournament rules rotations. Other fairly uncomplicated rulesets (X number of elements, etc.) may show up, but the majority of tournaments will be Speedbuilding.

Number of upgrades allowed may also vary from unupped only, X number of upgrades allowed, or any number of upgrades allowed. Separating the three could be an option with the queue-based tournament entry.

Desynch rulings are automatically enforced by the game client. If both players win post-desynch, then they will replay with the same decks. Post-desync match results will only be accepted if there is a definite winner.

[color=yellow[/b]Tournament Rewards[/b][/color]

As Zanz wants Nymphs and Marks to be ungrindable, and official forum-hosted Tournaments need to maintain their main prize attraction, prizes for In-Game Tournaments will primarily be electrum and foil cards. Prizing will be tiered, where players with better win-loss records receive more prizes.

Foil cards can either be alternate art cards (a possibility is using "legacy art" -- i.e. old Spore art that was replaced by vrt/pepokish/Cryotube artwork, although new alternate art pieces are always great) or regular-art cards with a sparkly "foil" effect when the full card is viewed.

Spoiler for Submission #3:

Three words

Spoiler for 1st word:

NERF

Spoiler for 2nd word:

THE

Spoiler for 3rd word:

SHARDS!

But this is not original!
Indeed, however it is by far what the game foremost needs right now.

But this is not explained in detail!
False, every explaination someone needs lies within the following links:
http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,38644.0.html
http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,40392.0.html
http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,41437.0.html
http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,41406.0.html
There are also more nerf topics about Shards and almost every single Shard needs an either major or minor nerf of some kind.

But why it this going to work?
 Simply, because it will stop people leaving both the game and the forums. A person is much more likely to stop playing ETG as soon as he/she has just ragequitted a match.
Ragequitting happens when you are pissed off something in the game and sometimes makes you to dislike the game so much that you stop playing it at all. And what is the most common reason for ragequitting? Shards!
If a newb encounters a veteran in PvP1 who plays fair & square with him/hre by using rareless cards it is ok, even if the newb loses. However, when a newb encounters SoSacs & SoFs in PvP1 and in Bronze/Silver Arenas every once in a while, how do we expect that person not to ragequit and leave the game forever?
Moreover, even an experienced player of the game enters PvP2 to have some player versus player fun and he/she encounters one SoF-based rainbow BH-Discord deck again and again. Sometimes, this great annoyance alone is enough to make even experienced players to leave ETG once and for all.
As long as a fixing patch for shards isn't released, more and more players will abandon it.

So, what changes do you suggest?
 First of all, making Shards more expensive isn't going to solve anything, since they are Other cards and rainbows can easily play them via Novas|Supernovas. The thing we have to study are the following:
* Which non-shard cards can be compared with Shards?
* Are Shards too powerful in comparison with their non-Other, non-rare counterpart?
* Are Shards too expensive, making them hard to be played by mono-decks and easy to be played by rainbows?
* Are Shards favoring their corresponding sub-element too much or too little?
* How many counters for each Shard exist? Are these counters reliable?

I won't post the exact changes Shards have to overtake, because I believe this has to be a serious discussion between every community member and even Zanzarino, if possible...

Spoiler for Submission #4:

Cards Galore

What is the most common request in elements?

Please, please please add more cards to the game. And I may have forgotten a please - or missed a threat coming with that statement.

And what are the two main obstacles in the way of this happening?

1) The work to code the new cards
2) The effort to make sure the cards are balanced.

Perhaps there is a way around this?

The Tool
What if Zanz were to write a tool that produced game code?
A tool that would allow new cards to be created and added to the game?

It would need to be driven by a nice graphical interface where after using something like the card creation tool you'd set an abilities targetting restrictions and effects, and an ai targetting priorities.

Now in and of itself this tool would save Zanz no work, it would however allow him to delegate to others the task of adding cards to the game without losing control of the code himself.

The Team
If Zanz asked the forum administration to create a play testing team that would be responsible for taking cards created by the community and playtesting and balancing them they could then be handed this tool. They would also need a private & secure version of the trainer in which playtesting could be conducted - both PvP and PvE access would be needed.

I imagine the Playtesting team would be created like many of the other forum roles, they Council would ask for applications and would select 5-10 players to form this team, it makes sense that this team both has the experience needed to determine card balance as well as the time and drive to invest in playtesting.

The Task
The Playtesting team could then select cards on their own as well as taking direction from Zanz on cards to develop or redevelop and add to the game. This would free Zanz from the task of programming new cards and allow him to invest time in new playing environments like he did with the arena. In addition this would allow him to add the development and management of a playtest team to his resume.

And on behalf of the players, having consistent balancing of cards as well as a steady influx of new cards to the game would continue to draw new players in - as well as holding veterans interest.

[ARTHANASIOS]

Holy Crap OT#3, Holy Crap OT#3, Holy Crap OT#3, Holy Crap OT#3, Holy Crap OT#3, Holy Crap OT#3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Enough said...

[PlayerOa]

Off-Topicker #4, let the mind games begin...

[Drake_XIV]

Why are people asking me how to vote for Brawl?

[Annele]

Off-Topicker #4, let the mind games begin...

Simple. If it was NS's entry, it would have been disqualified. Vote for it. (Cos I don't know which one is ours)

[OldTrees]

Wow.

I am impressed by the Card Designers this round. The balancing was a bit iffy but the ideas were gold. I will have to come back a few more times before I can finally pick one to vote for.

Wow.

[Naesala]

Wow.

I am impressed by the Card Designers this round. The balancing was a bit iffy but the ideas were gold. I will have to come back a few more times before I can finally pick one to vote for.

Wow.

-This- is the kind of reaction I love to see. Wonderful job card designers! And bosses, I'm grateful for the excellent input. Brawl 2 will be much better for the input! (And from all of you in the other thread)

[Annele]

One thing I have to say about the boss task; I do not want to see brawl turned into another PvP event, even if only partly.

[ARTHANASIOS]

All superheroes of the world, beware the greatest villian of all time... Calories!!!!! (DB#5)

[Chapuz]

I do not want to see brawl turned into another PvP event, even if only partly.

+1

[Opsinis]

Writer #2... Oh my gosh

[ARTHANASIOS]

-This- is the kind of reaction I love to see. As long as the submissions are anonymous, people will be afraid of expressing their true feelings for the submissions and this kind of reaction will be rare.
 Wonderful job card designers! Thank you!
 And bosses, I'm grateful for the excellent input. Thanks again!
 Brawl 2 will be much better for the input! (And from all of you in the other thread) I also believe that! Go go go Brawl#2!!!