Events

Custom Magic Flashback: Challenge of the Week

Written by Tracker007

For this newsletter, taking place during the month of love and friendship, I wanted to highlight an old event that exemplified the incredible community that we have on the server. Back in October of 2019 (which seems like forever ago, I know), a user named Arkouchie came to us with a plan to run the Challenge of the Week, one of the first whole-server design competitions to ever take place. The idea for this event was the following...



What happened next was nothing short of amazing. Mainly guided by Arkouchie, practically the whole community got together to collaborate, uplift each other, and make the event a smashing success. Everybody put their best Custom Magic foot forward as friends just as much as they were designers. Unfortunately the Challenge of the Week hasn't been run for a few years now, but who knows? Maybe it'll reappear sometime in the future!


So for this month, I wanted to look back on the top 3 submissions from this first Challenge of the Week. This week, the challenge we were provided was thus...






You are tasked with creating the cards unique to a brand new planeswalker introduced into a planewalker deck. These cards must be appropriate for a beginner product while also evoking a character and flavor of the new planeswalker.

1 - A Foil mythic rare planeswalker, designed to be fun and flavorful but not pushed for tournament play. Expensive to cast and splashy.


2 - A rare spell that has an effect and also tutors for the specific planeswalker. The rare usually will cost one mana less than the planeswalker. It only looks for the Planeswalker Deck's version of the planeswalker and not any version. Two copies of this card would be included in the deck.


3 - An uncommon permanent that is enhanced by having the planeswalker (or any other version of the planeswalker) on the battlefield. Three copies of this card would be included in the deck.


4 - A common flavored to the planeswalker with a basic staple effect. Four copies of this card would be included in the deck.

In third place, we had quite possibly the spookiest planeswalker I've ever seen. Meant to lead an army of fearsome flickering phantoms, this finalist designed by qwerty_in_your_vodka was none other than...

In second place, we had a really neat flavor-driven submission by Enzio. In just these four cards I could only imagine the story that can be written about this planeswalker, and I would love to see their world fleshed out. This time commanding an army of skeletons instead of spirits, we have the bony baroness herself...

And finally in first place, we have the triumphant execution of a reani-mill planeswalker designed by Valor. Have fun imagining bringing big ol' baddies back to life with the mad magical madcap, the winner of this iteration of the Challenge of the Week...

The thing I liked so much about this challenge was just how achievable everything is. Usually, custom designers are interested in making the most interesting or splashy designs there are, so much so that the simple introductory-level designs are forgotten. Here, the designers tapping into what many of us remember from being taught Magic really let the simplicity shine. I remember a time when I would've loved to shove these face cards into my binder and show it off to all my friends. 

Looking back at these submissions gives me such a sense of nostalgia, thinking about the time that captured this lightning in a bottle. So many people have come and gone since then, but our community continues to impress me with the sheer amount of love and support that permeates it. No matter if this event returns or not, the future is sure to hold great things. 

Of course though, this wasn't the only Challenge of the Week that was run before. Look forward to future issues of the newsletter to highlight more! Love y'all.