Welcome back to Mog Madness, as it’s time once more for another elimination round. The judges didn’t think the schedule through too well in the planning stage, but rest assured no April Fool’s pranks here…despite what the contestants thought of having to match up with Marrowstrike or Glaive of the Pit. As we’ve said, the bar was collectively raised this round. Don’t believe me, consider that the Survivor vote resulted in 12 of the 20 receiving at least one vote and each top choice was different. In the end, with the most Survivor points was…
Congratulations to Godmother for being the Survivor and getting the pass into the third round! While the judges thoughts have no effect on her outcome now, let’s see what they thought…
D: This looks like an NPC. That? Is a compliment. The outfit comes across as relatively simple but I just love that it looks natural. We don’t always need to be the hero (or the only guy on the screen with a purple lightsaber…). The only thing I would change is actually using Marrowstrike. I didn’t change my score any because of it, it’s just that if you focus on her, the Glaive looks more like a torch. 13.8
TotA: Well I can’t look at her now without seeing a glowing ? over her head which just enhances the whole look for me! 13.8
Effy: I agree that this outfit is very well put together, and she does strike me as an NPC! Even as NPC, she can still be a hero! Maybe she was the only survivor of some vicious ambush on the front lines, and she wants you to help revenge her friends. Quest accepted! Overall, I like the recurring chainmail feel of this outfit, which makes me wish for more matching boots, like the Nexus-Strider or something similar. 14.1
So, looks like the judges were right in line with the Survivor opinion. So who else moves on? Time to see the other outfits first.
JD: First off, the hair matching the Glaive aura is a nice touch. The entire outfit goes with the polearm. The shoulders are borderline to me, but the beauty of it is that it pulls the browns out from the rest of the outfit and completes things perfectly. 13.6
TotA:She looks wonderful. Her hair and the glow from the weapon, great! Just have to say another yo dawg, to this lass! 13.8
Effy: Can I give bonus points for a redhead? 😉 I like that the more subtle orange hair was used, as I agree this complements the glow of the polearm very well. Dwarves in kilts, I love it, and it is why I have to wonder how it took so long for Blizzard to make Dwarves Shaman! (Even though, I think this is a Hunter do to the Rift Stalker pieces.) She looks fierce and primal and well-dressed to boot. I would not have thought to put the Elements and the Rift Stalker together, but I really like the way it was done here. Good decision in showing our model’s hair and face. 14.0
JD: I love this outfit. It took enough from the polearm to match up, but then deviated completely in such a way that it works wonders. The only thing I might have done differently is gone with a gold cape instead of blue as I think it would work just a bit better in “completing” the outfit than what you chose. 14.3
TotA: A very capable looking Troll. Understated and deadly. I do agree with JD, would love to see the outfit with a gold cape. 14.1
Effy: Perhaps not a bright gold, I am thinking a more subdued yellow, along the lines of the Bogstrok Scale Cloak. I agree the colors work very nicely, and this scores high in originality. I must admit. at first I wanted to see more of the pale gold utilized, but this outfit has a subtle sense that the light and color is being bled from it as you go top to bottom, which leaves me with a fascinating, creepy sense. 13.9
JD: As a friend of mine would say, “oh baby beanie!” This is a great look. The blue in the outfit matches up perfectly, while the bronze makes it stand out in such a unique way…right down to the perfect eye patch. Unfortunately what hurts the overall impression for me is the shoulders. They just don’t seem to fit at all. 13.6
TotA: I love the eye path, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a maleficent looking Draenei before, very nice! 13.6
Effy: I find this outfit all together original, visually pleasing, and menacing. Many of the pieces are unlike any others we have seen this round (including the fabulous addition of the great shirt!). However, I do have to agree with JD that the shoulders kind of jar my intake of the outfit as a whole. With only a minute taken of flipping around, I think my best suggestion for an alternate pair of shoulderpads would be the Coral-Barbed Shoulderpads. 13.9
JD: If we had “judge’s passes” again, we wouldn’t even be talking right now. I would just say see you in the next round. The kilt and boots draw perfectly from the aura of the Glaive, while the rest of the outfit looks stunning. Well done. 14.8
TotA: She looks just absolutely stunning. I love the use of the kilt and boots with the weapon, just beautiful! 14.7
Effy: This outfit immediately stands out from the others in its bold usage of orange above all else. A color that seems it would be difficult to pull off, but in this case – slam dunk! The pic I am looking at here is the beltless shot, and I think it does look better than the Fine Leather Sash. So in terms of needing a belt, might I suggest the Heraldic Belt? It seems closest to the kilt’s original belt line. I also think perhaps the Dervish Bracers, for a better tie-in. But that is nit-picky, simply because I love this outfit, right down to the sleeveless shirt that makes the harness look that much better, since as a chestpiece, I usually do not care for that one. The shirt also ties the gloves and shoulders in with this outfit. Very portrait quality. 14.8
JD: This one grabbed me very quickly. I have always been a fan of the Kilt of the Night Strider, and the orange in it meets the Glaive’s aura very well. To me, the rest of the outfit falls in line after that. The one thing that feels out of place is the shoulders. The tone is off, and the design looks like ringmail. Otherwise, very nice. 13.8
TotA: My first thought on seeing this was I loved the screen shot. I loved the angle on the weapon and the orange in the foreground, just beautifully staged shot. She looks like she is REALLY ready to use that weapon! 13.8
Effy: I find this outfit beautifully subtle, but still possessing enough color in the polearm to just make it pop out. The polearm has become the focus here, with the whole outfit complementing it beautifully. I missed the eyepatch at first, because it blends with the outfit and the model! Overall, she strikes me as a very capable and serious fighter. Subtle and beautiful… one more time for emphasis! 14.4
JD: Concerns over the boots throwing off the outfit here had merit. Unfortunately, they aren’t alone. I like the gold in the cloak, and its trim does match other components here. You did a great job pulling the teal together, but in this case it doesn’t work for me. I think a different chestpiece would have made a big difference. 12.8
TotA: I can’t put my finger on it because I actually like the boots, maybe like JD suggests a stronger chestpiece to counter the strong look of the boots. I love the cloak too and the overall use of the teal. 13.1
Effy: Yes, perhaps a different chestpiece… The Vest of Living Lightning, perhaps? I think the cloak, belt, and boots all work very nicely together, and could use a few more complementing pieces to tie them in. I am not sure about making it fit great with Marrowstrike… I would have to see some more pieces put together… but honestly, if these boots hold meaning, I say throw the polearm out and finish this outfit based around the boots! Great start, and I would love to see what you do with this idea beyond the contest! 13.0
JD: This is a great look, and for two reasons. For starters the outfit would stand alone as a solid transmog, despite my first thought that the Goggles didn’t work (they’re actually a perfect fit). More importantly the outfit’s less vibrant projection makes Marrowstrike stand out in a bold and positive manner. 14.1
TotA: Yup, Cymre still looks elegant as a Blood Elf or Orc, goggles are great and I love the shoulders, I would not mess with this incarnation of Cymre! 14.1
Effy: This right here… This is making an Orc female look good. These pieces all work together so well. And I had to stop and look up the shirt, which I did not realize at first makes a nice little pop of purple that adds just a little bit more. About the only thought of change I have would be to add just a tad more bright blue like in the kilt, but I just like lots of color. Overall, though, I think these pieces all work great together! 14.2
JD: Who would have thought green in an outfit to match this polearm? Not me, and that’s why I had to really give this some consideration and thought. In the end the outfit pulled the colors from the Glaive perfectly and the green is a nice accent. It’s still just a bit too bold though. 14.5
TotA: Really, really, like this. I guess you can tell I like lots of color! I think it would have been my free pass if we had one this round! 14.6
Effy: I love the bold nature of the colors in this piece! The golds all work nicely together, the blues match well, and how can I not be wow’d about how gorgeously the green adds that little bit of pop! The only piece I feel takes anything away is the helm – it just does not strike me with the same boldness of the rest of the piece. I tried to find another helm that might be more gold, but I believe this one is thesame model as the Glorious Headdress, and I could not find the same style (which I do love this style) in more golden. 14.9
JD: From head to toe, I really like this outfit and feel it did a great job drawing from the shade of blue on the Glaive, while accenting the off colour very well. It’s above the head I’m not a fan of. I don’t mind the helm, I just think it would work better on an outfit that felt more akin to a Druid than this one does. 13.5
TotA: Again, while I do like the outfit and think it works very well with the weapon I see the helm and can’t help thinking about the “Shake Your Bunny-Maker” achievement and how I’ll never get it done and get sad. 13.4
Effy: I too really like this outfit. I think I like the blue/gold helm just a tiny bit more than the blue/black, as it sets up both the blue and gold in Marrowstrike very well – much like the other piece of the Stormrage recolor. Once more, though, I have to throw out the fact that these are great gloves and go with this set through and through, but they do need consideration to the wrists. What I found worked best was the Dragonhawk Bands, based on what shows with these gloves – just the yellow. And once more these shoulders do not really do it for me, though, I wholly admit this was a very difficult round for me to find shoulders I really liked. 13.7
JD: This is one of those outfits where I love the idea. The all gold, with blue highlights approach comes across as original, and I love the helm. Unfortunately, it’s also an outfit where there’s a bit too much going on. A few too many motifs takes away from an otherwise great idea. 13.2
TotA: I like the idea of going with the gold from the weapon for this outfit. Love the boots, very nice! 13.5
Effy: I love the fact this outfit accented a different color in the polearm than many of the others in this Round. I also love what was done with the helm (squee! a hood I did not know about!), but I feel it needs just a bit more to fit with this outfit. In fact, if the hood were allowed to flow into the cloak, I think the small amount of disjointedness I feel here might be remedied. (As frustrating as I discovered the task of matching that helm, the best I could come up with was perhaps the Mantle of Gilneas – is that moggable??) Overall, I love the bold creativity of this piece. 14.0
JD: Oh she looks bad ass! Though, oddly, happy about it. I get the impression she was a gladiator or fighter who was just awarded Marrowstrike as an honor. Very nice, and a unique look. This is an outfit that allows the polearm to stand out. Not sold entirely on the gloves, I think Knight’s Gauntlets would have been a bit better fit. 14.1
TotA: Well, now she’s intimidating! And like JD says she’s quite happy about it. I very interesting look, it takes an Orc to pull that off! 14.1
Effy: I also agree in this being one badass female Orc. A gladiator is a good personae here. I agree with JD about the gloves, the Knight’s would look good, otherwise another piece with a motif similar to the gloves used. I like the gloves and what they do style and color-wise. Also, this is more of a personal preference, but I more fond of slimmer gloves and boots… the Champion’s or the Imbued Infantry hands and feet would complement nicely, I think. My overall opinion, though, is that I do not feel as strongly as my fellows that this outfit matches Marrowstrike. 13.0
JD: Clearly Michelle and Guildmum were on the same page with their thinking, which tells you it’s a pretty good design. I like the belt here better, but the boots Guildmum used. I’m going to say the same thing here regarding the helm, as I don’t really feel it with the whole feel of the outfit. The shoulders were a good idea to enhance the helm and the grey in other points of the design, but again they don’t quite feel right to me. 13.6
TotA: I’m loving everything until I get to the helm I don’t know if it’s the time of year but they are reading as bunny ears to me. Other than the ears the whole outfit works well for me. 13.5
Effy: Another example that apparently I was much on the same track as some of our contestants, in regards to specific sets that would look good with Marrowstrike. I am apparently alone in my love of this helm and its gold/blue (Moon-Crown Antlers) mate! I find the antlers a bold choice, and as one more helm that actually looks good on a Worgen (and a female Worgen at that!) Honestly, for me the only part that does not work for me is the shoulders. They feel out of place. Also, I want to comment that these particular gloves have a large break between the hand and forearm, therefore these particular gloves need some further thought in regards to wrists. Were this a full transmog outfit, you would notice the bracers showing. Just some food for thought. I also would have liked to see a tiny more variation in pieces, as a good percentage are Glyphed or look alike pieces. IMO, the gloves do not count in that, as they are a different style than the Glyphed Mitts, to which I give kudos. 13.5
JD: I like this. There’s a good balance going on (though the belt and shirt don’t quite lineup visually together), and the darker shades below the waist are a nice variable instead of matching it all up. I like that the boots ever so slightly accent Marrowstrike. 13.7
TotA: A lovely outfit, I like that the helm and shoulders balance to keep Marrowstrike from being overbearing, especially the gold shoulders, nicely done! 13.6
Effy: I too like the pale gold accents and even the brown boots. They seem like they should detract from the outfit, but they do not! She strikes me as hardcore adventurer, willing to get dirty, and tromping around in the boots to get the job done. The boots also go great with the gloves, which in turn pull the helm into this outfit nicely. Forgive me waxing poetic for a moment, but this outfit does for me what a good painting does, it makes my eyes follow it all around to each piece, and making them a coherent whole. 14.4
JD: This is a phenomenally designed outfit and looks awesome on the Worgen. That’s where the high marks come from. Unfortunately the overall impression suffers because while I think it’s visually great, I find it clashes with the blue of the polearm and that was the key item of the round so as I say that’s why I scored that area lower. 13.7
TotA: This is such a wonderful outfit and really works so well on a Worgen but like JD I get jarred out of my appreciation when my eye strays to the weapon. 13.7
Effy: This outfit is very difficult for me to judge, as something along this line was the very first outfit I thought to put on my own Druid with Marrowstrike! I am also very partial to the Whisperwind Headdress, as this is a skin I think looks great on Druids of all races. However, though this outfit does indeed look fabulous on a Worgen, I agree that despite the great scrolling… somehow it does not quite match up. I also cannot give real high originality, as these pieces are a questing set in BC – the Telhamat set. I think this outfit is fabulous, though, and I bet it would look phenomenal with an icy blue polearm! 13.0
JD: This is borderline too much going on. However, it stays on the side of effective and comes out phenomenal. Another unique combination and the purple catches my eye right away in a good way. Model choice really helps this outfit stand out. 14.3
TotA: I just love the whole look. Doesn’t hurt that she’s a Goblin. Really beautiful! Yo dawg! 14.4
Effy: A very bold combination of pieces, I agree, especially the shirt. I never would have thought to through that piece in, but it looks great as an addition of modesty to bare-midriff chestpiece. My singular wish with this outfit would be that the gloves matches just a bit better, the colors almost to it, but the rest of the piece has such solid blues with gold accents, I am wishing for a less scaly piece there. Overall, I find this to be a Shaman to take seriously! 13.5
JD: I give this outfit credit for matching up the blue of Marrowstrike really well. The Rift Stalker gear does that impeccably. With it matching up, it makes the gold of the polearm stand out from the outfit but I’m not 100% that it does so properly. The goggles and shoulderpads are a nice touch though. 13.5
TotA: I’m such a sucker for goggles, love those. Marrowstrike can be a rather overwhelming weapon to carry and this outfit stands up to it, very nice! 13.5
Effy: Indeed, the Rift Stalker and Nexus-Strider (which looks to be the same skin as the Wax-Polished Armor) both look great with this polearm. I also think the simple brown pieces on the hands, waist and feet work nicely to tie the shoulders in with this outfit. I have to say, I am always fond of goggles, as well as jealous! as I have no “serious” Engineers. The goggles and the baby blue of the shoulders set one another off nicely. I find myself wishing for some moving, engineerish pieces to finish this fabulous display, as even the hairstyle makes me think Engineer! 13.3
JD: This is the second outfit where green is a phenomenal accent colour! The point of using the Lumberjack shirt as a fill in to enhance the belt and boots makes this get some creativity bonus points with me. Not sure about the helm with this outfit, and I have to say Blog of the Treant had the right idea with the Rift Stalker Hauberk being a better fit than the Stormforge one. 13.6
TotA: Really creative thinking with the shirt bringing the greens together for a wonderful overall effect. Lovely outfit! I am however getting a little uncomfortable, is she staring at me? 13.6
Effy: The more I look at this, the more I picture an army of these dwarves – or maybe an army of the Earthen Ring! I think all of the pieces complement one another nicely, including the helm, which I am usually moved to hide on my characters, but I really like this one. I also like the bold usage of the green accents, they kind of add the hint of another element (teehee) into the piece. Even the chest fits, in my opinion, because it ties in with the gloves nicely. 13.8
JD: Let me just say I love the black pants here. That was a bold move and gave the outfit potential. I love the helm and chestpiece and as such think Pauldrons of the Promise would’ve been a better choice here. Also, the boots just feel “there” rather than contributing. 13.4
TotA: I too like the black pants. I like the helm, I think what’s missing for me are boots that would balance the strong look of the helm and chest. 13.4
Effy: I totally agree with both JD and Ancient – this outfit would be over the top with some fancy shoes. But I still think this outfit is incredible. I am not big on the style of helm represented usually, but I love the colors of this one and how well it matches the outfit as a whole. I also agree that the black pants and the delicate belt add something great too. 13.5
JD: Purple? Never saw that coming. I didn’t want to like this outfit with Marrowstrike because well, purple shouldn’t normally work with it. But then you see the effort to match the “lightning” in the core of the polearm and you realize just what’s going on here and your jaw kind of drops in amazement. 14.6
TotA: I didn’t even realize it was purple until I looked at the outfit for a while. Everything worked so well together it took a moment to even register the colors for me. 14.6
Effy: Yes, at some point, this outfit becomes not about the colors used, but the flow of the accent lines. I agree, very well put together, and matches without having to match. 14.8
So there’s all the contestants and their wide array of amazing entries once more. Time to add it all up and see who is headed to the third round with Godmother:
- Harpy 44.3
- Andrew (Elune) 44.0
- Kamalia 44.0
- Cymre 42.4
- Sean B 42.3
- Tolbi 42.2
- Reluctant Raider 42.0
- Kathleen T 41.7
- Blog of the Treant 41.4
- Bronwyn 41.2
- Missescake 41.1
- (bfft) Deb 41.0
- Guildmum 40.6
- Michelle R 40.6
- Nightwill 40.4
- Lindadmorrer 40.3
- Melissa C 40.3
- Chatmay 39.7
- Matty 38.9
Just 5.5 (!!!) points separated the entire round, showing you how good everyone of these was. If you had us to rank them instead of score them, the three of us probably would have just walked away from the table. It would’ve simply been too tough. Congratulations to those who moved on to the next round. The details for that will be up in a few hours.
arcanewordsmith.wordpress.com 
Woot! I made the top 5, that was a big improvement from Round 1 for me. Congrats to The Godmother on her survivor vote and the other 14 🙂
See you in the next round.
Congratulations to all the winners, and well-done, everyone!
I’ve already commented on Blog of the Treant, Erinys, Reluctant Raider, Cymre, and Chatmay’s own personal blogs about how much I like their outfits. Some other favorites from this round — the Godmother’s awesome pseudo-NPC, I love the dangerous space-pirate sorf of look from Missescake (whom I somehow forgot to mention as a favorite from the first round, too!), Guildmum & Michelle R who tapped into the fabulous perfection of matching the Glyphed Chestpiece with this polearm and also used the moose antlers (I prefer the dark version myself, because I think the gold is a bit too bright), the toned-down brown of Melissa C’s outfit really makes the polearm stand out, Bronwyn’s for its elegant simplicity, and Andrew from Elune’s because it is simply so unexpected.
For my own part, I chose to submit the outfit with the green in it because I figured that there would be nothing else like it in the array. Instead of choosing another hat, however, I think I’d simply opt to turn off my helm display.
Wonderful outfits all! Eek…I gotta step up my game for the next round! I think Blog of the Treant and I had a similar muse as well! 😛 Good luck to all on the next round, and a big THANKS to the judges!
I had to keep myself from rushing straight home after the Hunger Games and lunch, because sneaking a peek at this post from Google Reader gave me only “14.9” which was very sad indeed!
Thank you so much for doing the math and making this post, JD!
And thank you to everyone who has been participating and following along with Mog Madness! The numbers cannot even begin to express how difficult this judging is becoming, but they make a good effort! 😉
See all our top 15 in Round 3! Congrats!
~ Effy
Yay! I made it to the next round! 😀 (By the way, for any readers who may be confused, Blog of the Treant is my blog.)
I can hardly believe it, the other entries are so amazing that I thought I’d be number 20. Good work, everyone!
It’s a good thing I’m not a judge or I’d just keep moving everyone forward and it wouldn’t be so much a contest as an eternal transmog marathon.
Out of curiousity, is it possible for you to add links to people’s blogs with their entries or on the ranking list? It would be handy for leaving comments on individual entries and tracking down new blogs to follow. 🙂
I’m going to put the full list of participants on the main Mog Madness page and will then link to each person’s blog where applicable. 🙂
Thanks so much!
Done and done. I THINK I got `em all.
Congrats to all! Now to go get back to digging archeology….! lol!
I am so sad I am out 😦 (does beauty pageant wave) lol
Chatmay
We’re sad that anyone was eliminated in the first place. I remember during the first round when someone said “oh my god we have to eliminate 6 people” and then we realized when all was said and done we’ll have eliminated 25 people. There was much sad going on. 😦
Thanks to the judges for their hard work and congratulations to everyone who makes it to Round Three. This is going to be hard work 😀
Hear hear! Thank you for your fun and fair work!
*finally figures out how to log on here*
WOW, thank you, judges, for taking kindly to my Storm Crow Mog, and thank you, everyone, for the kind words. And congratulations to everyone else these past two rounds for the incredible outfits! Can’t wait to see what y’all will come up with this next round (mail…why did it have to be mail?).
I believe it was after the first round where I told Cymre “you just never know what we’re going to throw at you.” 😉
Aaaaah I didn´t make it! I confess I was not completelly happy with my choices here. I´m amazed to see how all contestants could give different versions of the same color scheme. Congrats to all 🙂
Thank you math wizard JD for all your hard work and thanks to all the contestants, you are all amazing. My husband (non-gamer) wanted to know what I was doing when he saw the contestants and stayed to view them all and pick his favorites.
Now I have to report to him on how his favorites are faring!
hehe Very cool! Maybe we can pull him in as a “Celebrity Judge” if he was pretty on par with our thoughts? 😉
~ Effy
He was so NOT, his top pick was one of the eliminated and then he washed his hands of us, lol!
Doesn’t mean he has bad taste. Just think how a half point from any or all of us could have completely changed things for any or all contestants. The rounds get tougher and tougher.
Aww, I’m so sad to be out especially after reading the round three challenge! Those shoulders are one of my fav. pairs. But grats to everyone that made it through it’s been a blast and I’ll def. keep watching the progress.
Glad to see you’re sticking around to enjoy the remainder with us. That moving on/elimination was the difference between a point here and there is still just…wow. This is why we vote separately and just add it all up at post time. Never know how it’ll go.
Grats Winners and look forward to seeing what you guys come up with next round!