Oversoul
The Tentacled One
Nemesis
Nomination thread: http://www.casualplayers.org/forums/threads/nominations-for-nemesis-casual-card.14275/
Winner: Saproling Burst
Nominees
Oversoul: Saproling Burst
Killer Joe: Treetop Bracers
Limited: Blastoderm
Mooseman: Wandering Eye
Melkor: Moggcatcher
Committee: DarthFerret, Spiderman, Ransac
Highlights
Well, there were only five nominations again, so those dropped off pretty severely. Anyway, there was this exchange.
My thoughts now
It occurs to me that in this one respect, Nemesis is a pretty strange set. I mean, go and look at it. There are some very strong cards, most of which don’t have any special casual appeal I can discern. And there are a bunch of weird, mediocre cards that I also wouldn’t want to play in my casual decks. I recall liking this set when it was new, but I’m at a loss to identify a roster of great casual cards here. The best I could do would be to point out the cards I’ve used successfully or witnessed doing powerful things, and that’s not the same as “Casual Card Hall of Fame” material.
I’m reaching here, but casual standouts I’d consider include Flowstone Overseer, Overlaid Terrain, Belbe’s Portal, Kor Haven, Saproling Cluster, and Predator, Flagship. If I chose a casual card today, I’d stick with my original choice of Saproling Burst.
Nomination thread: http://www.casualplayers.org/forums/threads/nominations-for-nemesis-casual-card.14275/
Winner: Saproling Burst
Nominees
Oversoul: Saproling Burst
Killer Joe: Treetop Bracers
Limited: Blastoderm
Mooseman: Wandering Eye
Melkor: Moggcatcher
Committee: DarthFerret, Spiderman, Ransac
Highlights
Well, there were only five nominations again, so those dropped off pretty severely. Anyway, there was this exchange.
Killer Joe said:CRIMINY! Are you even AWARE that magic has four other colors?!?
The nomination and selection processes were both pretty quiet, but Saproling Burst generated some buzz in the Hall of Fame discussion thread.Mooseman said:Blue, Light Blue, Aqua marine, Teal, ......... oh yeah, colorless...... right?
Spiderman said:Again, the committee didn't feel any of the cards nominated were really worthy of Hall of Fame status. However, having to vote, the unanimous winner of the Nemesis casual card is Saproling Burst.
Killer Joe said:Saproling Burst is TRUELY a "tourney" card, so why'd it win?
Mooseman said:I would guess that's why.
Spiderman said:Well, here was my thinking:
It was a tourney card in that it comboed well with certain other cards. However, on its own, having Saprolings are pretty casual ala Thallids and fading. And faced with the other nominees, it was the strongest; the others were narrow in application and while most were indeed casual, none were worthy of Hall of Fame status.
And like I said in the Hall of Fame thread, none of us were very happy with the nominees anyway. But Burst was the best choice out of all of them.
Ransac said:Exactly what Spidey said. Saproling Burst was a great tourney card, but only if you combined it with Fires of Yavimaya or Pandemonium and the like. By itself, it was a pretty fun card. I was kind suprirsed that Shrieking Mogg wasn't nominated. That woud've been a vote from me.
Mooseman[/quote said:Actually, the nominations have been done only by a few people, so the choices are limited.
Also, I don't really think I understand what criteria is being applied to the choices. The first few choices didn't seem to be ever played in a tournament deck, but lately it seems that is not the case..........
I'll still nominate, but am resigned not to having one chossen.....
Spiderman said:I agree, which may mean that makes this whole exercise kinda pointless.
I think we're getting into expansions where people knew more about Magic and how to "abuse" cards, etc., so right now, good cards in casual play have also seen play in tourneys.
Ransac said:Would it be appropriate to revisit what makes cards "casual"?
DarthFerret said:Perhaps it would. I guess one of my main problems is that I have not seen the tourney scene for so long, and have been stuck playin just a couple of people, so I don't know these killer combos, or what has been in tourney. I just go based on what I feel about the card itself.
Spiderman said:Well, if there's "guidelines" on what makes a casual card, then there's really no need for a committee.
Everyone has their own idea of what casual means, so when the three members of the committee meet, it's how those three ideas mesh to get one card. And of course that's taken from who people nominate what they think is a casual card.
Unless you're talking about that, what kinds of cards people should be nominating in the first place. Which again all goes back to being subjective anyway…
Well, that was a journey. Mostly good points all around, I’d say. I wonder if the members involved in that discussion still feel the same, or if their views have shifted.Killer Joe said:I think every "committee" has done an awesome job for each set and the results HAVE varied due to who's ON the committee. When I was a member I had my own criteria but listened (read) the opinions of the other two at the time of chossing a card and/or ranking the cards as was the case during my tenure.
That's what makes the whole process work and unique! Technically, no chosen card could be totally wrong. As long as the chosen cards are justified by a committee member as was the case here. Unfortunately when I was a member I didn't always defend our choices, my bad![]()
As for criteria, well, since everyone is different then all of the criteria would be different. Perhaps a "template" is needed, a sort of "Casual Prisim" if you will.
What actually MAKES a card casual? To me, a casual card is a card that hasn't been in a significant number of decks in PTQ's like Wrath of God, Kokusho the Evening Star, Counterspell, Eternal Witness, Wildfire, etc...
I also consider the impact a card has in any given game I've seen it in. The lower the impact the better, imo.
Perhaps Nominated committee members should post a quick blurb about what kind of "Casual Prisim" they use when considering what makes a card casual? You know, a "Stump Speech" kind of thing. I've stated mine so do you still want to vote for me? Maybe you agree with my kind of idea for casual cards, maybe you don't.
Maybe a "Sticky" can be made and folks can go there before voting for a member.
Saproling Burst is okay and I whole-heartedly accept it to the CCHOF!![]()
Thanks guys for putting time into this whole process, sometimes it's a pain in the butt but we all do appreciate it.
My thoughts now
It occurs to me that in this one respect, Nemesis is a pretty strange set. I mean, go and look at it. There are some very strong cards, most of which don’t have any special casual appeal I can discern. And there are a bunch of weird, mediocre cards that I also wouldn’t want to play in my casual decks. I recall liking this set when it was new, but I’m at a loss to identify a roster of great casual cards here. The best I could do would be to point out the cards I’ve used successfully or witnessed doing powerful things, and that’s not the same as “Casual Card Hall of Fame” material.
I’m reaching here, but casual standouts I’d consider include Flowstone Overseer, Overlaid Terrain, Belbe’s Portal, Kor Haven, Saproling Cluster, and Predator, Flagship. If I chose a casual card today, I’d stick with my original choice of Saproling Burst.