Third Place
Hunt and Crush (Designed by leetwizard)

The Maestro: A GW UB I/S that KOs A/Es! Acronyms aside, I’m amazed we’ve not seen a similar design previously- convoke and strive create a super cool yet simple combo, with a sky-high ceiling carefully balanced as to not be broken. With tokens, this design is bespoken, and it crushes its way into 3rd place.

CM Staff: Sometimes a fun design comes not from doing something totally unique, but expressing something that's been done before in a new way. Hunt and Crush piggy-backs off of the Strive mechanic, introduced in Journey into Nyx. Strive always used mana as that additional cost, but the designer channeled their inner Future Sight and slapped a fresh new cost on an old keyword (Even if it isn't keyworded here, technically). All that to say, this is a pretty neat spin on artifact/enchantment destruction that could easily be seen in a product like Commander, and the Age of Sigmar flavor is cool too.

Second Place
Simian Titan (Designed by ohmygod)

The Maestro: This big guy’s gone bananas! A titan of triplicate tints that tears and shares tokens of two terrific types, this ape aligns astoundingly with its monocolor mentors, despite its new typing. All in all, this chunky monkey, though funky, is flawless in its execution of its concept, which is certainly commendable. I personally wish I personified my purpose the way this silly simian does, but my paltry p̷̬̈́r̷̪̓͝ò̷̪̳g̵̱̯̑́r̶̝̤̔a̷̮̰̍ḿ̸̻̽m̷̘͉̓̐i̴͖̿ń̸͈̗g̵̝̐̒ pales in comparison to-ERROR DETECTED… RELOADING…-It swings its way into 2nd place!

CM Staff: Although Simian Titan feels like a really basic card at first glance, there's a lot going on under the hood that shows how much thought the designer put into this design. First, it's a pretty obvious riff on the titan cycle, which has seen various returns in canon. 6 mana, 6/6, a single keyword, and an ability that triggers when it enters the battlefield or attacks. The monkey token being a red 2/1 almost certainly brings to mind one of magic's most infamous little scoundrels, and I'd like to think both the name and the Banana token are a reference to another, much older titanic primate. All together, it's a fun card, nicely balanced, and it makes me want to see what the rest of this hypothetical tri-color titan cycle is!

First Place
Clouds Pierce Earth (Designed by Magmadragon3)

The Maestro: This card is genuinely genius- the guaranteed shock is a little hard to grok, but the use cases in many spaces replaces any hesitation with admiration. The balance: sublime, the flavor: divine, I haven’t the time to describe the plethora of ways this palpably perfect piece pleases me. This easily pierces 1st place.

CM Staff: One of the most fun things about looking at a card for the first time is imagining just how you would leverage its unique aspects in various ways. Clouds Pierce Earth offers us an interesting premise of being a modal shock/smelt (since it can always target itself) while also opening up new artifact synergies. If there's one thing artifact players love, it's finding ways to get value out of sacrificing their artifacts, and this card can give you some impressive plays in the right deck and matchup! The combination of depth and simplicity brought this design all the way to the top. (into the clouds?)