Custom CAP Trading Cards [Calling All Artists]

[Deck Knight]

The last thread on this was terrible, so I'll be laying some ground rules.

Rule #1: No Google Card Creator (or similar online App).

It's too cheap, too sloppy, and too generically terrible. Do not post up random cards created through this medium, it will be seen to that you are taken care of if you try this.

Rule # 2: All submissions should submit a concept, not specific attacks/costs etc.

The submission form will be at the bottom of the OP. Fill it out and I (or anyone else who wants to join the creation crew) will create a card based on your submission. If the card is for a CAP Pokemon, I will also try and work in some of their flavor elements of that CAP.

For those unfamiliar with TCG lingo, all cards will be "balanced" in some way. For example powerful offensive cards will have either high cost attacks or high retreat costs, cards with large amounts of HP will likely have weaker attacks, etc.

Rule #3: All artistic elements MUST be credited.

For my purpses this means:

I use blanks from CascadeGonPory
Symbols are credited to KougaWolf (Now Akiyuki Aretukasu) at Pokecommunity
Artists will be credited as "Illus:" on the cards as well as in the card's section in a post.

For fonts I generally alternate between Century Gothic and Gill Sans MT. I'm not sure which Fonts the current cards actually use or how to upload them, but it looks decent enough.


So those are the ground rules.

Now, for what I need from the CAP community:

1. Artists.

Currently I have a large number of WIP's in need of Art for the initial post. There are two elements of art needed for most cards: a picture of the Pokemon and also a picture of the trainer using them (for Pokemon SP, which have the SP logo and a place for the trainer's picture, which does jut into the card picture.)

The space for the Pokemon with background is approximately 320 (W) x 220 (L) pixels. The Trainer Pic space is more fungible, so I'll link to examples for it.

Dialga G (Cyrus), Altaria C (Cynthia) , Dragonite FB (Palmer) , Mismagius GL (Fantina).

Alternatively, if you want to use your own photo and have it cropped I suppose that's fine too. Wacky hair is not neccesary btw.

2. Creation Team

Since I don't want this to be a one man show, I'll also be looking for a few people to help in the actual creation of cards. I currently have all the materials saved on my computer in a zipped format, and have them uploaded to a personal site.

Basically all I need you these people to do is have a goodly amount of time and experience with the current TCG. So if for example someone asks for a "LuxChomp Counter" concept you know that means Luxray GL Lv. X + Garchomp C Lv. X. You'd also be generally aware of the benefits of the various types as well as being Pokemon SP, Basic, Evolved, Level-Up, etc.
A good knowledge of card grammar as well as established attacks in their in-game -> TCG incarnations is also helpful (ex. Earthquake always does 10 to your Benched Pokemon, despite its widely varying energy costs and base damage.)

Submission form (for new cards):
Pokemon: (This is the Pokemon you'd like the card to be of. CAP creations are, of course, allowed.)
Concept: (What do you want your card to do? Is it disruptive, does it enhance drawing power, is it a standalone attacker? Does it do direct damage or try to snipe? Does it seek to counter a certain archetype? etc.)

[Deck Knight]

Current WIP cards:

Stratagem Zl and Lv. X



Zystral asked me to make a "LuxChomp Counter" card for him and this is what I came up with. For the most part Luxchomp relies on using Dragon Rush (80 Damage to a selected Pokemon) with a DCE discard and Energy Gain to quickly snipe a benched Pokemon. Luxray GL Lv.X is used to drag a bench-sitter up to the active position (with Bright Look) allowing Garchomp C free reign to snipe while they attempt to retreat.

Paleo Wave essentially puts an active Stratagem out of KO range of any of the attacks used in Luxchomp. It can OHKO an active Luxray GL with Paleo Wave if it has an Expert Belt attached.

The second attack, Swift Burial, is a generic anti-SP attack. It'll OHKO Garchomp C and Luxray GL, and with an Expert Belt attached it can OHKO Luxray GL Lv. X and Garchomp C Lv. X. LuxChomp rarely uses Expert Belt itself.

The Lv. X card turns Stratagem into a fairly effective offensive force of its own, as the base card's attacks against evolution decks are poor. It can't really hit above 90 damage without Expert Belt though, so that's something to look out for. The cards have low HP in general to keep them balanced, and are designed with Expert Belt in mind.

WIP notes: I need Art and some way to render the Lv.X text on the bottom of the card, as I don't really want to rip it from scans (they tend to be much brighter than the blanks.

Giratina JB and Lv. X


The second request was from Jibaku. These are supposed to be Giratina-o btw, but the cards don't specify formes anymore, so use your imagination.

The idea here was basically dirsuption and a spread attack. It's tough to do that with only one card, so I split it up between the base and the X. Dimension Call is more anti-disruption I suppose, as it keeps your opponent from getting a large card advantage, but can also be used with Supporter's like Cyrus' Initiative to turn the tables on your opponent.

Otherwise the base card is very passive, and its only means of damage is through Pain Split, which provides longevity if nothing else, making it difficult to take out.

The Lv. X is more aggressive, but it's attacks are still fairly weak. It has massive HP to utilize with Pain Split and Dimension Call, and while Energy Chasm is very inefficient (Discard for 20), it does have sniping capabilities and the ability to stack damage on a single target is valuable.

WIP notes: again I need the LvX text and art, and the only important note is that these are Giratina-o.

Pyroak DK and LvX


This was a fun aside for me. Basically I wanted to marry "Grass Aggro" with some of the stronger Fire cards. There are already multiple Cherrim that play on the "Sunny Day" theme of boosting Grass and Fire, but they don't go far enough.

The Base card is essentially a dual-typed Big Attacker. It's fairly slow but it can do a lot of damage. Since many Water types are weak to Grass attacks, the card is difficult to deal with unless they are fully evolved, as it has a decent amount of HP. Notably, Pyroak can OHKO Feraligatr Prime after a Wooden Stance.

The Lv.X has a very powerful Poke-Body, marrying fire support and grass support. For those unfamiliar, Grass has some of the best search and support powers and bodies, which include Shaymin Lv.X's Thankfulness with grants +40 HP, various search powers that find Grass Pokemon, Wild Growth which effective halves the energy cost of attacks with all G energy required, etc. Fire on the other hand has a lot of energy searching and Heatran Lv.X, which re-attaches discard costs to Fire and Metal Pokemon (and now Grass). It even alters some Stadiums, letting Fire types benefit from Dawn Stadium and Grass types from Stark Mountain.

On it's own the attacks are still expensive and it's fairly difficult to retreat, but otherwise it's a strong attacker because it can avoid resistance and also hit two popular types, Fire and several Fighting and Water types for X2 damage.

Kitsunoh EM and LvX


EM brought Stallbreaker Kitsunoh to Ubers. Kitsunoh is so anti-metagame. Pokemon Tools run rampant as a strategy for many decks, and just by being active Kitsunoh removes them. It's attack is pretty weak, but since almost every deck uses at least one Pokemon Tool there's a high likelihood it will end up with 40 or so base damage.

The Lv.X is much more disruptive, as it can seek out tools and discard supporters from the opponent's hand in case they were trying to reserve them. Shadowstrike is fairly mediocre as attacks go, but it can 2HKO a large number of cards since it never has to worry about Expert Belt.

Kitsunoh is Metal, so it can also use special Metal Energy to pad it's mediocre HP level. This combined with an immunity to Expert Belt make it harder to take down than it appears, just like Kitsunoh in CAP.

WIP notes: Needs Art and LvX text, basically.

Cyclohm RD and Lv. X


So Rising_Dusk apparently popularized TR Cyclohm in CAP Ubers. Go figure. Anyway Trick Room as an existing attack is pretty darned lame, so I decided to go down the Poke-Body route. So many decks rely on Broken-Time Space (or in DP-on, Moonlight Stadium) to buff their cards or synergize with their strategy, and Cyclohm keeps your opponent from benefitting while you are free to exploit it.

Attackwise, Dragon Bolt is vanilla damage but can be used immediately with Energy Gain and DCE. Cyclohm has a large amount of HP for a basic (even for SP), so it can last a while in the active position.

The LvX card is where its offense gets interesting. Grand Swell turns Triple Thunder from a mediocre attack to a devastating one, capable of wiping out many of the bench-sitting Pokemon that hover at 70-80 HP. It's inability to strike the active and eliminate that threat is the only real downside. Even then, with the number of damage reducing attacks and powers, Grand Swell can also compensate since it almost doubles the damage of Dragon Bolt. Either way it turns Cyclohm into a dangerous front-end threat, and since it still hampers Stadiums while Active, getting it out is difficult. In fact, because of the Poke-Body Cyclohm makes excellent use of Snowpoint Temple, being able to snipe all of the bench-sitting basics while only your side of the field gains the +20 HP.

Supporters:

WIP notes: These just need Art. It's usually just a pic of the trainer and some relevant background.

DougJustDoug's Reboot


Easily the most powerful supporter for card advantage, however the downside of ending your turn is substantial, especially if your opponent has disruptive attacks or supporters that make you shuffle your hand into your deck.

Rising_Dusk's Unstoppable RAGE


Quite possibly the longest card effect ever concieved. Basically you have one turn before you deck out unless you're crafty with your face down and have something in your discard. Definitely a late-game card.

[vonFiedler]

I was about to start working on my trading card mafia idea when I saw this. If you're interested in having me on the creative team, it shouldn't take me long to research the current metagame. I'm an experienced CCG designer who has created thousands of cards for several games, I can provide a portfolio if need be.

[Fatecrashers]

I'd be interested in doing some art for this, just gotta find some free time first...

[Rising_Dusk]

This is cool. On Stratagem ZI, you misspelled "Defending" in Swift Burial.

[Cartoons!]

Hey, CAP spin-off projects are cool. I'd be happy to contribute some art. Will hold off on claiming either of the gem cards for now as I'm pretty slow.

WIP notes: I need Art and some way to render the Lv.X text on the bottom of the card, as I don't really want to rip it from scans (they tend to be much brighter than the blanks.

Not sure what is meant here. If Photoshop is needed, I can help, but I don't really have an idea what Lv.X text is.

[Deck Knight]

Originally Posted by Fat Cartoons!

Hey, CAP spin-off projects are cool. I'd be happy to contribute some art. Will hold off on claiming either of the gem cards for now as I'm pretty slow.



Not sure what is meant here. If Photoshop is needed, I can help, but I don't really have an idea what Lv.X text is.

The Lv. X text is basically "put this card on your Active (SP Pokemon), (SP Pokemon) Lv. X has every attack, Poke-Power, and Poke-Body of its previous Level."

Here are examples:
Luxray GL Lv.X, Snorlax Lv. X, Hippowdon Lv.X

The Lv.X cards usualy have a fancier, more "breakout" style, but I'm just not that picky.

[LouisCyphre]

Oh why the hell not, right?

Pokémon: Absol LC
Concept: Total card advantage. I want to flaunt my hand size in my opponent's face while they are forced to go without a hand until they draw for the turn. Maybe an attack that ties into Absol's lovely crit rate in-game, but that's secondary. The attacks should run off of my hand size compared to the opponent's, or a similar mechanism.

It's shameful how bad Absol has been treated by the TCG. It is time for change.

[SgtWoodsy]

Thought I'd give it a crack. It's obviously not perfect but I'm pretty happy with it.

Pokémon: Drapion SW
Concept: I'm trying to bring back the Haymaker archetype (despite SP being very similar to Haymaker to begin with).

Credit to the Drapion art goes to some "Joey" guy on /vp/, and credit for the trainer art goes to Kioku. Blanks and SP overlay are credited to the appropriate sources.

[Seven Deadly Sins]

Havin' a ball.

Talked about these with Deck on IRC, and made them up.



I figured that Arghonaut should be your standard tank, and I figured that Unaware was a neat way to do it. The main purpose of Unaware is to deal with stuff like Expert Belt, Buck's Training, and other stuff that buffs damage. This also works well against various self-boosting attacks like Jumpluff's Mass Attack, which, while Arghonaut is weak to it, will only do 20 damage maximum to him due to the negation of the bonus damage. Generally a good "anti-metagame" card, though it loses to flat out attackers and is a neat tank. Jack Slug is your standard "kinda slow, decent damage" attack, and lets Arghonaut hurt stuff.

The Lv. X isn't crucial, but provides a bit more fun. The HP boost is much needed, while Plunder allows Arghonaut to provide fairly neat utility even if it has to retreat to the bench. Knock Off can provide more disruption, and can disrupt against "big damage" attacks which usually depend on stuff like DCE, or can remove annoying stuff like Call Energy. It can also chip Energy Gain off of SP Pokemon, and if anything, is at least cheaper than Jack Slug.

[Master of the Six Kings]

Small nitpicks on Argo X, it should be "Whenever" and prolly should be "1 of your opponent's Pokemon" and "use this power" but the whenever is more important. Also, Plunder should be hitting the "Defending pokemon" not the active : D

And I love the way you made unaware work :D That's pretty cool. I'd make cards if I were any good at em, but could always just post stats/attacks/powers/bodies if someone who can make them is low on ideas.

[Deck Knight]

Originally Posted by Fat LouisCyphre

Oh why the hell not, right?

Pokémon: Absol LC
Concept: Total card advantage. I want to flaunt my hand size in my opponent's face while they are forced to go without a hand until they draw for the turn. Maybe an attack that ties into Absol's lovely crit rate in-game, but that's secondary. The attacks should run off of my hand size compared to the opponent's, or a similar mechanism.

It's shameful how bad Absol has been treated by the TCG. It is time for change.

Actually the Absol cards have done alright for themselves. Wait until the one from Lost Link comes out, heh.



SDS gave me a cool link to a font that approximates the Font used on DP cards, so that's why these look different.

Anyway the base card can draw up to 3 cards without KOing itself if you need it to, and its attack discards a card in an opponent's hand "randomly" (although you can combo it with something like Looker's Investigation, but you only end up with 5 cards then). It's attack is fairly weak in the long-term, but remember as an SP card you can use Poke-turn on it and theoretically draw up to 6 cards before using it.

The Level X card ties it all together with a Poke-Body that you can Dead Draw to activate, and an attack that actually deals damage. 60 for DDC isn't so great, although it can do 120 damage 25% of the time (just like Absol's Crit rate). The other condition is unlikely to affect you, especially if you run more Absol G or use stronger card advantage supporters, but in any case Asbol also benefits from Special Darkness energy if you need a damage boost.

[Naraku301]

I'm pretty interested in doing art for this project. Just a card or two...or maybe a few.

[SgtWoodsy]

Name: Ampharos SW
Concept: "Jamming". Amphy does a stream of damage to opposing active SPs, being a useful tech against them.

Art credit goes to Christy135790 on DeviantArt. Trainer credit goes to Kioku, as always.

[KnightoftheWind]

I like cards, so here it goes.

Pokemon: Victini KW
Concept: Taking advantage of prizes being taken or taking the prizes themselves. I was thinking something along the lines of a Poke-Power that you can use after you take a prize, which triggers an effect such as drawing cards, hand disruption etc. The attacks can be prize related, but they don't have to.

[Robo-Ky]

Totally sold on this idea.

Pokemon: Spiritomb AS
Concept: Energy trapping. Basically, preventing your opponent from playing Energy, punishing them for playing it, or discarding their Energy. This obviously puts them in a bad spot, since if they can't power up their Pokemon, they can't do much.

[Wichu]

As cool as the cards are, the fonts are still all wrong. Here's a tutorial with fonts and stuff (let me know if I'm breaking any rules by linking it).

[Seven Deadly Sins]

holy shit so specific

(hi5)

[wickdaggler]

Still needs the trainer, and a lot of tweaking on the faces.

[Robo-Ky]

I kinda want to get in on making some cards. Where are people getting Cipher's blanks?

[Alchemator]

Pokemon: Feebas
Concept: In its simplest form, avoid attacks as much as possible whilst causing non-damage chaos. To make up for this, make it be defeated by pretty much anything. I don't think LvXs are made for NFEs, but a cool idea would be to have it bring another Persistence's Feebas into the hand upon death.

[Bucky]

Oooo! I'll definitely do some art for this...Once I'm done procrastinating! :D