[Finished]Ultimate Support Contest [Finished. Lock when ready]

[Xi-3]

Welcome, everyone, to my second contest. This one is going to take an even higher level of involvement than my previous contest, the Spellcaster/Warrior Contest, and I anticipate that it will be a lot of fun. What do I mean by 'Ultimate Support?' In creating my sets in the Popular Culture Cards section I often find that I make Equip Cards for my monsters for most of their incarnations, both low- and high-level. Much of the time I succeed, with cards based on the characters' equipment in-series. In a duel, though, supporting your monster cards is not limited to Equip Spells, nor to other monster cards like in the Spellcaster/Warrior Contest. For this contest, I'm lifting the limit.

[b]The Assignment[/b]
Create 1 Spell and/or Trap Card to support either existing or custom monster cards. Your cards must support 1 Level-4 or lower monster and 1 Level-8 or higher monster in battle. How the Spell and/or Trap Cards do so is up to you, just as it's up to you whether you use an existing monster card, or create one for the purposes of this contest. Alternative to using 1 Spell and/or 1 Trap Card, you can also support your monsters with another Monster Card, specifically designed to support your chosen Tier-1 and Tier-3+ monsters. Including 2 custom monsters you should be submitting no more than 6 cards (if you support both your low- and high-level monster with 1 Spell and 1 Trap).

[b]Rules[/b]
1. All Spell and Trap Cards must be Permanent (Continuous, Equip, or Field).
2. Supporting Monster Cards should be Level-6 or lower to simplify things.
3. Custom sub-typing is permitted, as long as you also include established Archetypes.
4. OCG is not a requirement, and neither is my own grammar. What's most important is that we have fun with the cards, and that the cards make sense.
5. If you have any questions or require clarification, ask. How you fulfill my expectations based on the Assignment above will affect your Points in Evaluation.

[b]Evaluation[/b]
I will once again ask for 2 Volunteer Judges to help me out. They are free to uuse their own criteria. Mine is based on an even split of 25% each to:
1. Creative Naming & Picture
2. Card's Balance
3. Card's Cogency (whether or not it makes sense).
4. Support Factor (how well it supports your cards).
You can earn bonus points by using creative and balanced custom cards as the ones to be supported. Fair warning: the bonus points will be entirely subjective. Each card you submit will contribute evenly to your final score, and just like with my previous contest I will offer suggestions for improvement as I see them.

This contest is open to a field of 3-10 Contestants. We open for entry as soon as I submit this post, and close on June 10 at 12:00 EST. Because there are so many cards involved, the Submission Period will be 2 weeks long, from June 10 to June 24. If you are up to the challenge please send 25 points to my account.

[spoiler=Contestants]
1. newhat
2. No. 34 Terror-Byte
3. david ice
4. Beginning446
5. KuraiOokami
6. --
7.--
8.--
9.--
10.--
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Assistant Judges]
1. MILITARYSTRIKE
2. --
[/spoiler]
Any questions?

[newhat]

Hey, I think I'll join. The points have been sent.

[вєgσттєη ιηѕαηιту]

I'm in, points sent... I'm just gunna make a 6 card Archtype for this if thats cool

[Xi-3]

So you'll make 2 custom monsters each supported by a Spell and a Trap? Yeah, that's cool. Welcome to the contest, you two.

[david ice]

Am in.......

[Xi-3]

In that case, david ice, please send me your 25 point entry fee. All you have to do is follow the link in my nickname, click the 'Donate Points' button, and enter in the 25 points and 'contest entry fee' and you're done. I look forward to seeing everyone's cards.

EDIT: Welcome to the contest, david ice.

[david ice]

can i make 3 monsters?

[Xi-3]

If you want to make 3 monsters, then you could have the low-level, the high-level, and support for one (or both if you can get it back on the field) of them all be monsters. The idea of offering the option to make the support a monster instead of a spell and/or trap was to be able to take lessons from the Spellcaster/Warrior Contest and apply them here. The advantage of doing so is counteracted through the fact that you can do a lot less with a monster card than you can with a spell or trap due to text space. So go ahead if that's what you want to do, david ice.

[Love of Ghibli]

Points sent and I would like a spot

My question is when you say "in battle" do you mean that when the effected monster attacks another monster or just when the effected monster attacks period?

[Xi-3]

By 'in battle' I mean anytime your monster attacks or is attacked, although I could also see a monster needing support against effects from other monsters, Spells, and Traps. So do with this what you can. Equip Spells do come in more varieties than those that just boost a stat too. I leave it to you to determine how much support you want to give your monsters, based on your own knowledge of the game.

Welcome to the contest, Beginning446.

[Love of Ghibli]

I have finished my 4 cards (if I read the rules right I do not have to make supporting monsters) and I have 2 spells and 2 traps so do I post them here or wait till the 10th.

[LeoVeracruse]

I'm in, I think i may just do a field spell though.

[Xi-3]

A Field Spell could support both the low-level and high-level monster, yes. I would advise a backup card, though, just in case your Field Spell gets knocked out.

Fee received. Welcome to the contest.

[Retroninja15]

May you give me an example on the[b] "assignment" [/b]

[Xi-3]

Okay, so first you need your low-level monster:
- Skilled Dark Magician
Next, a card to support it:
- Book of Spells or
- Yami,"
Actually, take the one you don't use for SDM and use it to support "Dark Magician" if you want an example of a high-level monster coming from a low-level monster. I didn't really put that as a condition for the assignment, although the 'ultimate support' would be to continue to support a monster even when you change it from low- to high-level. Maybe I'll give bonus points if someone does that. The supporting spell doesn't have to boost stats. It can also do things like negate cards' effects. Anything to help it win a battle.
If you want, throw in a Trap like "Negate Attack." I gave the option of a Spell [i]and[/i] a Trap to give you the opportunity to cover your monsters' vulnerabilities as best as you can. I also gave the option of using another monster to support your first monster instead of the Spell/Trap combination if you wanted to use what happened in my first contest as your basis. There's a high degree of freedom in this contest because there are so many cards involved in it (4-6, all told), because you're providing support for 1 monsters (1 low-level and 1 high-level).

EDIT: Beginning446, please do include the names of the cards your cards are supporting as well. You could also include links to these cards to make it easier to find them. As you are not creating custom cards for your spells and traps to support they must be able to support official Konami cards, as indicated in the assignment. That's why I'm asking you to include what these cards are.

And yes, I ask that you wait for the Submission Period to begin on the 10th before you post your cards. Thank you.

Any further questions?

[MILITARYSTRIKE]

Can I be a judge?

[LeoVeracruse]

This one was unusually difficult me, but I hope you enjoy my cards.
[img]http://i.imgur.com/mCZLW.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i.imgur.com/VHHGo.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i.imgur.com/Y5pvB.jpg[/img]

[Xi-3]

Better late than never: The Entry Period is over. You all now have until 12:00 EST on June 24 to create and submit your cards. You can make any changes to your cards that you wish right up until the Submission Period ends.

I will accept your help, MILITARYSTRIKE.

KuraiOokami, shouldn't you decide whether it's "Level Despair" or "Level Despare?" Sidenote: the main villain in the old FPS [i]Heretic[/i] was named 'D'Sparil.' It takes a lot to beat him because he keeps spam-summoning more Chaos Mages, which aren't that powerful but they're a pain when they're in groups.

[Love of Ghibli]

For my two sets I am supporting Dark Scorpions and Archlords/Darklords

[spoiler=Dark Scorpion]
http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Scorpion

[IMG]http://i48.tinypic.com/29pcf0o.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i50.tinypic.com/fefcsi.jpg[/IMG]

[/spoiler]

[spoiler= Archlords/Darklords]
http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Archlord http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Darklord and any other big fairy like Hyperion, Venus, or Time Lord

[IMG]http://i47.tinypic.com/vqip3c.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i47.tinypic.com/1g3fxy.jpg[/IMG]

[/spoiler]

[newhat]

[spoiler="Lightray Daedalus"][img]http://images.wikia.com/yugioh/images/b/b5/LightrayDaedalus-GAOV-EN-C-1E.jpg[/img][/spoiler]
[spoiler="Battle Support:"]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/rounA.jpg[/img]
[spoiler="Lore:"]If this card is sent from the hand or Deck to the Graveyard: Place it face-up on the field. When 2 cards are sent to the Graveyard simultaneously by the effect of a monster you control, that monster gains 1000 ATK and DEF until your next Standby Phase. This card is unaffected by the effects of Effect Monsters.[/spoiler]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/Bl7jJ.jpg[/img]
[spoiler="Lore:"]If there are 4 or more LIGHT monsters in your Graveyard: You can target 1 face-up LIGHT monster you control; equip this card from your hand to that target. During each turn, for each different type of card (Spell, Trap, or Monster) that is destroyed by the equipped monster (by battle or by its effect), it gains 1 extra attack this turn. If this equipped card or the equipped monster would be destroyed, you can banish all LIGHT monsters from your Graveyard instead.[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]

[spoiler="Steelswarm Genome"][img]http://images.wikia.com/yugioh/images/9/9c/SteelswarmGenome-DT06-EN-DNPR-DT.jpg[/img][/spoiler]
[spoiler="Battle Support:"]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/KrZuE.jpg[/img]
[spoiler="Lore:"]You can Tribute 2 "Steelswarm" monsters to Tribute Summon this card during your opponent's Battle Phase. When this card is Tribute Summoned by Tributing a "Steelswarm" monster(s): Send 1 random card from your opponent's hand to the Graveyard and gain 500 Life Points.[/spoiler]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/QaQzq.jpg[/img]
[spoiler="Lore:"]Add 1 "Steelswarm" monster with 1000 ATK or more from your Deck to your hand. When a "Steelswarm" monster is Tribute Summoned with 2 or more Tributes while this card is in your Graveyard: Banish this card from your Graveyard; for the rest of the turn, you can Normal Summon any number of "Steelswarm" monsters in addition to your Normal Summon or Set, and you cannot add cards from your Deck to your hand.[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]

An Inherent Normal Summon? During the opponent's Battle Phase? No one can stop me! Ahahaha!

[LeoVeracruse]

ya, i meant to change it to "Level Despair" i guess i just forgot...

[Xi-3]

This is the last day for submissions. And changes.

[Xi-3]

These are the last few hours for submissions. Anything posted later than 12:00EST will not be accepted (although I haven't checked to see if anyone has not submitted yet).

[Xi-3]

The Submission Period is over. Now is the time for Evaluations. I will start doing them tomorrow, if I can, since it's already late and I would prefer to evaluate the cards when my mind is fresh.

[Xi-3]

[spoiler=KuraiOokami]
[b]Level Despare[/b]
[b]1. Naming & Picture[/b]: I'm not sure 'Level' describes what it is. It's more like a tower or even just a silo. It's actually fairly hard to tell what I'm seeing here, but at least even though it's a dark picture it's not overly dark. You also never bothered to change the spelling of 'despare' in the card At the least, you can see that this card is about 'despair [12/25].'
[b]2. Balance: [/b]On the plus side, this card boosts monster cards by level instead of by Attribute or Type, which is something that is rarely used. It also offers a larger boost to the lower-tier monster. It's also offering support to both tier monster at once, combining the functionality that I asked for in this contest. Doing so, however, opens it up to being vulnerable to effect negation and destruction, and it makes for a pretty big target. As a Field Spell it can also generally be destroyed when another Field Spell is activated, so there's also that. I get the idea that "Rotted Abomination" and Victor are supposed to protect "Level Despare," but their ability to do so is hampered by two facts, which affect the cards' cogency. I admit I'm pretty suspicious of such large boosts to ATK and DEF, especially for the Level-4 guys. I would say to pick a side. On top of that, the boosting effects from the monsters affect 'all' monsters, including themselves. This is extraordinary, to the point where I believe I will simply count any bonus you might have gained through them as being negated. Oh, but these effects will affect your opponent's monsters too. My bad. [20/25].
[b]3. Cogency: [/b]The spelling error has a huge effect on the cards. Your two monsters depend on a card called "Level Despair," and this one is called "Level Despare." That means it cannot provide the second boost to stack on their own. Yes, their negation abilities do not get affected by this error, but they cannot do everything they were clearly designed to do. As it suddenly occurred to me your monsters' boosting effects, together with that of "Level Despare" uniformly affect all monsters on the field, not just your own. That. as a concept, does not make much sense: what advantage do you give yourself over your opponent unless s/he only controls Level-5 or Level-6 monsters? You probably meant for it to affect just your monsters, but that's not what you put on the cards. So while your card grammar might not be so bad, the concept trips all over itself [12/25].
[b]4. Support Factor:[/b] Type-1 (stat-boosting) Support to all qualifying cards regardless of Attribute or Type. This is something rarely seen, so that's something I appreciate. On the other hand, it supports all qualifying cards regardless of who controls it, so it's not exactly a deciding factor in a duel. In fact, your custom monsters could do more damage on their own, with their negation effects [15/25].
[b]Conclusion:[/b] I like the concept of a booster that works depending on level instead of on Attribute or Type. It's a lot newer to me than a lot of the other types. On top of that, it's a Field Spell, which means its effects are more open to be used by your opponent. But that's also a big problem because the effect itself does not discriminate. Some slight errors mean it cannot do its job as well as it could, but with a little fixing you could easily solve that. You can really feel the 'despair' from the picture, though. [Overall Score: 59%. Boosted to [b]65%[/b] due to creative cards.]
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Beginning446]
[b]Honour Among Thieves[/b] & [b]Better From the Rooftops[/b]
[b]1. Naming & Picture:[/b] I have always liked the concept of 'honour amongst thieves,' and here you're playing on the theme of one covering for another. All I see, though, is a figure standing on a building so it's not a very expressive picture. The colouring on it is also very stark, but that also reflects how a thief usually does not like being noticed. [b]BFTR[/b]'s picture is more expressive of the name, if only things were a little brighter: that low silhouetting effect wouldn't help the player see very much of what the card's about all on its own. Thankfully you have a descriptive name. [15/25 & 20/25]
[b]2. Balance:[/b] It's a simple target swapping card, and it relies on having a monster of the same level in your hand to work. In this manner, having it as a Continuous Trap could be against the player's favour, exhausting your hand if you use its effect. I also want to know what happens to the target-shifted monster if it survives the attack, because it was Special Summoned to the Field. For [b]BFTR[/b] I'm not so sure about having both effects and calling it 'balanced.' I have a personal dislike of direct damage effects in and of themselves, and to top that off your opponent cannot activate any Spells or Traps until afterward. To me, that second effect would have been enough -- mind you, the direct attack is okay by me as long as the monster that does it doesn't have more than 1000 ATK, as indicated in the link you gave [25/25 & 20/25].
[b]3. Cogency:[/b] You have minimal grammatical errors that I can see -- things like capitalizing Special Summon. I only had to re-read your cards once, and I think it was more about the second set. They did make sense, so I will give both cards a single score as a set [23/25].
[b]4. Support Factor:[/b] I understood the Dark Scorpions' main weakness to be their low attack. Your first card covers that by covering your first monster with a second monster. Your second card covers 1 monster against Spells and Traps when it attacks, but leaves it open to monster effects. I got the sense raising the monsters' ATK would be more helpful. This seems more like surviving another turn, unless the cards get negated or destroyed -- and then it wouldn't matter if they did boost ATK. I'll give 1 score for these 2 cards again [18/25].
[b]Sword of Perpetual Supremacy[/b] & [b]Solemn Immunity[/b]
[b]1. Name & Picture:[/b] Both seem kind of generic. I like "Solemn Immunity" as a name, but it's kind of hard to tell what kind of being is being depicted. [18/25].
[b]2.[/b] [b]Balance:[/b] You have to banish another monster to boost the equip monster's ATK 'by its level.' I'm not sure if that would mean by 8 or 800 if you used something as powerful as a Level-8 monster. But other than that, since this is an Equip Spell there is the potential to boost more than once, and the boosts stack. Once we know by how much the monster is being boosted we can say how balanced the card is. For now, the answer is 'not very.' [b]SI[/b], like the card above it, provides temporary Spell and Trap immunity. Its second effect can be negated as long as you keep non-Fairies out. On the other hand, "DNA Surgery" and similar cards are certainly not this card's friend [15/25].
[b]3. Cogency:[/b] The issue with not knowing if the boost is 8 or 800 is a biggie. Actually, the way this is phrased (additional attacks) implies that it means the 'number of times the monster can attack,' not 'attack point' or 'ATK.' If it's this, it's really unbalanced in your favour. If it's ATK, then by all means proceed. In the meantime, I'm reducing your points from Balance from 18. This card just doesn't make that much sense, now that I've looked at it for a while. [b]SI[/b] fails to specify whether it's your or your opponent's monster doing the attacking that can trigger this card's effect. You also mispelled 'you.' As it stands, your opponent could use the effect, but why would s/he want to take away his/her own ability to use Spells and Traps [10/25]?
[b]4. Support Factor:[/b] Depends on if it's number of attacks or ATK for the sword. Effect negation (from SI) is always nice, and I believe the Arch- Type monsters are already fairly powerful, so effects would be where they are vulnerable and need support [18/25].
[b]Conclusion:[/b] Small mistakes can turn out to be truly costly. Some of these cards, like the top two, have really good concepts. I can kind of see what you're getting at with the other two, but because they weren't phrased precisely I can't tell for certain. You chose to support established cards, which means their weaknesses and strengths are known. This gave you the advantage of knowing where these cards would need support, and you managed to take advantage of that at least in part. I believe you can take it the rest of the way there. [Overall Score:[b] 63%[/b]]
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=newhat]
I'm afraid you have misunderstood the rules of this contest: You could use the Spell/Trap option or you could use the Monster Card option, not both. Because you have supplied both, I will be taking the first card in both sets and disregarding the second card. On top of that, "Lightray Daedalus" is neither the Level-4 or below or Level-8 or above monster I specified to be supported. The scores I would give you cannot be used to obtain a total score. I will take "Genome" as the Level-4 or lower to be supported, however since you only would have fulfilled the requirement for half the assignment your score will be halved.
[b]Lightray Glorious Iris[/b]
[b]1. Name & Picture:[/b] I see something dark and numinous. I don't know what it is. Is it an 'iris' as part of an 'eye,' or in the way in which it opens and reveals itself? Both picture and name leave me curious: What does the name have to do with what it does [13/25]?
[b]2. Balance:[/b] I see what you're doing. This is the Field Spell Daedalus sends, so it doesn't have to be on the Field In fact, if this card is on the Field its self-recovery effect does not work. On top of that, it sends itself the Field (no cost?), and is immune from monster effects. It's boosting effect functions as long as you send 2 cards to the Graveyard with one of your own monsters' effects, and this boosting only lasts until a certain phase. I'm curious though: If you manage to send 2 cards to the Graveyard more than once, does the effect stack on itself? In the meantime, because the conditions under which this card's effects work are limited I would say its balance is 'fair [20/25].'
[b]3. Cogency:[/b] Other than not knowing if its boost effect can stack, and the strange flow of saying 'effect of Effect Monsters' it seems pretty clear -- unless I've misunderstood something [23/25].
[b]4. Support Factor:[/b] It's clearly designed to support "Lightray Daedalus" by boosting its stats, effectively making it into a beatstick that can destroy cards as long as there's a Field Spell involved. It can be negated or circumvented, but your opponent needs to know its whole effect to do so. The only thing I can think of to help Daedalus would be to gran it some sort of immunity, since it's already fairly powerful [20/25].
[b]Steelswarm Millipede[/b]
Very similar to "Steelswarm Girastag," except it's a Level-6, meaning it only really needs 1 Tribute. I can't really talk about the ability to send 1 of your opponent's cards to the Graveyard since "Girastag" does the same.
[b]1. Name & Picture:[/b] Shouldn't a millipede have lots of legs? I see a tentacled creature with blue-fire swords. These things do not reflect each other, but they are interesting [10/25].
[b]2. Balance:[/b] If the effect didn't already exist I'd say sending an opponent's card is not balanced. I just don't understand the purpose of the other effect. Summoning during your opponent's turn is also very unusual. I suppose, though, it's the same as if you could use one of the Skilled Magician (Dark or Light)'s effects. In that case, it needs a "Steelswarm" monster to work. But it doesn't necessarily need "Genome [23/25]."
[b]3. Cogency:[/b] Okay, it makes sense. It's basically a downgraded version of "Giristag." I never said that wasn't allowed, so I'll give you the points [23/25].
[b]4. Support Factor:[/b] It's more like it's the one being supported by "Genome," and both of them aren't on the field at the same time so it's not really a 'support' type of effect, but more of a 'tribute' effect [5/25].
[b]Conclusion:[/b] Evidently the rules were misunderstood, but I also could have taken a closer look at the cards ahead of time to give people hints about how they were doing. You fulfilled half the assignment due to misunderstanding what it was. Next time I will know to look ahead before I leap, so I can minimize misunderstandings. [Total Score: 30.5%]
[/spoiler]
[b]Conclusion:[/b] I can only think that my instructions must have been unclear. On top of that, this was a really complicated contest. My next one shall be much simpler. I thank everyone who participated, even though we only ended up with 3 submissions. I look forward to the next opportunity to learn more from you all.

[b]Ranking[/b]
1. KuraiOokami - 50
2. Beginning446 - 30
3. newhat - 20

I would like to ask for 1 week from now in which Contestants can give feedback and other comments in regards to this very complex contest, on top of any Evaluations MILITARYSTRIKE might have. After the 1 week is over Moderators may Lock and Archive this contest.