What Did He Say?

So the topic of discussion around here has obviously been Keelhaul‘s comments regarding Mog Madness.  In case you missed it, the remarks came during a recent version of WoW Factor (thanks to Toki for bringing it to our attention as well).  The episode can be found here and the specific discussion runs from 1:23:05 to 1:25:45, just over a two and a half minute segment.

My initial reaction was a bit defensive.  Namely I took issue with Keelhaul laughing and saying “it’s fine for people who want to sit around and do that.”  I found the co-host of a lengthy in-game transmog competition (and a recurring one at that) to be a bit hypocritical with that remark.

Once I got past that, though, I thought Ironyca did a reasonable job of pointing out what Mog Madness was about, but I don’t agree that contestants here built outfits without realizing how difficult they would be to actually make.  They realized exactly how difficult they were, which is why some tried as best they could in a six day span to actually make said outfit and then turned to other means to showcase the full outfit if they came up a piece or two short.   Some also made it clear they now plan to make said outfits as well, and know how long it will take.

I won’t dispute that several contestants used addons or out of game viewers throughout the contest and I really am happy to have encouraged them to do so.  As competitor comments here will tell you, this contest would have failed or been completely different if people had to build the outfit.  I would like to see the results of an event like WoW Factor where contestants are told to make an outfit and have less than a week to do it.  It becomes limited to those who have a bank of gear selection, gold, time, and RNG luck.  The end result would still have some incredible outfits, but the overall quality wouldn’t be nearly the same because of the previously mentioned mitigating factors.  I admit it also wouldn’t be worth trying and why at the end of the day WoW Factor and Mog Madness are two completely different events/contests.  The segment in their show even ends loosely on that conclusion.

So after those thoughts and topics settled and I had plenty of time to reflect on the whole situation, where did that leave me?

Absolute confusion.

Seriously, I’m honestly baffled and if you go back and listen to the comments you will be too.  There’s a build up of how Mog Madness is going to get slam dunked, and that he’s going to do the complete opposite of showing support for it…but to me it falls flat of doing any of that.  Keelhaul says it’s just not the same using MogIt versus seeing the outfit in the natural environment of the game.  Keelhaul clearly has a level of artistic appreciation and he’s also entirely right in this case.  But why not have just said something to the effect of “that’s why I prefer how we hold the contest in-game rather than in a manner such as Mog Madness” instead?  In fact, I was waiting for an elaboration on why he feels so strongly…not in favour of the in-game, but against our contest.  It never came.  All I got was “it just bugs me.”

“I’ve gone over and taken a look at some of the looks and it’s all being generated…” Now I’ve already touched on some folks outright using the programs at my behest, but I need to pause for a second to point something out.  The first round was over 70% in-game shots.  So I’m going to presume the comment was made based on the rounds where contestants were required to have a specific item in their outfit and thus it was harder for people to have everything they wanted/needed.

I’m not going to defend our guidelines any further, they are what they are and other people seem to understand how completely different the mechanics to our contest were in comparison to something such as WoW Factor.  I’m genuinely surprised that Keelhaul didn’t acknowledge the reasons they would be the way they are.  The part where I’m really confused is less than two minutes later he comes right out and says he really hasn’t “spent enough time checking it out.” Let’s just pause to see where we’re at:

• Keelhaul prefers judging based on in-game (which I agree looks better)
• It just bugs him that we allow the use of MogIt and ModelViewers
• We don’t know why.
• He didn’t really look at the contest too much.

So, the segment opens with someone basically rolling up their sleeves to get something off their chest, we get a brief grumble, and then a logical counter-argument that leads to a seemingly understood idea behind Mog Madness.  And that’s it.

Then the question I have to ask out loud is what was the point to the segment then?  It’s not like I’m aware of any previous remarks against us that this was a veiled apology for.  So, I’ve taken the time to process the entire quote and have come to my own possible conclusions on that one.  They all tie in to the remark suggesting there was a great deal of prattle on Twitter regarding our contest.

I have a media and promotions background.  It’s important that I share that so you understand where I’m coming from in my first thought on the matter.  While Keelhaul suggested we were getting a free plug from this, a person in promotions would’ve used this scenario for the opposite effect: to bring more attention to them.  Think about it for a second.  There’s been hardly a remark made (that I’m aware) about Mog Madness otherwise.  But, people are going to check out what he said about us.  It’s bringing WoW Factor more attention.  One could also argue that’s why it was said on the show rather than simply in a blog post or even said here for that matter.

Was he perhaps trying to knock our contest (or its Tweeters) down a peg or two?  It certainly comes across that way at first, and based on the artistic appreciation I mentioned before.  He suggests seeing the gear in the realm, its natural environment, you appreciate it so much more.  Almost like WoW Factor is superior to Mog Madness for doing that.

Either of those could be true.  Heck, both could be.  But the one I’ve thought out the most is the one I believe to be the most likely scenario.  Using myself as an example, I’ve organized and ran many different things from charity events, to D&D campaigns, to a HeroClix Tournament (Google it).  As someone who is very passionate and a bit OCD when it comes to running something, I tend to do it just the way I think it should be.  If someone else takes that idea and removes the aspects I think are the heart and soul of it, it bothers me.

I think Keelhaul’s passionate about Transmogrification as much as anyone, and to think otherwise is truly absurd.  There’s no doubt a pride in what they do in WoW Factor and I get that he doesn’t feel MogIt or what have you is a proper way to do it.  So, there was probably a “hrmph, that’s not how I’d do it” thought to it.  Then comes the Twitter comments.  I have no idea what was said or how much because I’m not on Twitter and don’t follow it at all.  But the comment Keelhaul makes leads me to think there was a fair bit at some point.

Have you ever woken to the sound of a bird singing?  It’s a nice sound.  Ever heard about fifty or more outside your window?  You want to kill them all.  I’m thinking there might have been too much chatter about us on Twitter in some form and in a number of ways may have irked him (just the constant talk of it, people comparing the two contests, shameless plugging, I honestly don’t know).  Combined with the thoughts on their process versus ours, you hear the end result in the episode.

At no point does it feel malicious, or even trolling.  As I say, only the part where he laughs at the people who took part was I even remotely offended.  In fact, I was tempted to just let the whole thing pass by.  However, as it became the topic of discussion and did directly involve me I didn’t want to do that.  I wanted to address it and in doing so I still don’t have a clear picture of why it bothered him to the point of over two minutes of discussion (and for those who don’t think that’s much time, time the next radio newscast you hear and realize how much is normally talked about in two minutes).

I’m hoping that through pingback, and no doubt word of mouth, Keelhaul will pop by these parts just to discuss the matter further.  I’ve appreciated his efforts in the Transmogrification community since day one, including his brilliant usage of the auction house and the demand people had for gear.  There was a science to that idea that was well thought out and executed.  I’ve never said a bad word about him and still have no reason to.  At no point should anyone view what I have said as slander or with any type of spite.

Let’s face it, the end result is a community of people passionate about the same thing.  I see no reason why there should be any frustration or issue with how anything builds on that passion in a positive way.  I’ve said my peace, and speculated on the whole scenario as well.  With any luck, no offense was taken by any of it and Keelhaul will respond in kind should he see fit.

Reflecting On Mog Madness

Now that it’s over, I wanted to go back and share my thoughts on what I personally think was a successful contest.  For starters, in the beginning I had hoped for at least 12-15 entrants.  We got 26, so I was more than pleased with the interest and how quickly word spread.

I also want to quickly say to each and every entrant that your participation in this was beyond appreciated.  I never took any of you, or your outfits, for granted.  You made it incredibly difficult to be a judge because I recognized the passion and effort that went into the more than seventy outfits I got the pleasure of judging.  I hope my words never came across as personal attacks in any way nor were they interpreted as such.  The idea the whole time was to have fun and I recognize as it became more challenging some of that was lost and I’m truly sorry for it.

I mentioned in another comment to khizzara that we threw this thing together incredibly quickly.  I got the idea and told Effy and with Tome involved we made it happen.  Given the title, it was extremely important to me to launch it the same day as the NCAA March Madness.  If it looked like we had it together all along, then we’ll take that as a compliment.  But I admit in many ways it can be improved upon and I’m sure each of you would have done at least one thing differently (and possibly better) were you running it.  I’ve mentioned all along that I have something else in mind for the not too distant future and I think the groundwork I’ve put into it will make it better because it already includes things that have since been talked about during the contest.  There will also be more time and more judges (should they see fit).

Speaking of judging, One of the things I felt strongest in reading some of the comments was confusion over how we did things and voted.  I’ll explain the overall process and then tell you things from my personal process.  To start, once I received all the entries for a round they were put into a document with the details of the transmog, spots for each judge to score the three categories, and then a comments section at the end.  We never sat down together and talked about any entry aside from “wasn’t ‘X’ something neat?” after the judging was done.  Each judge opened the document on their own and entered their appropriate scores and comments.  When all was said and done it came back to me to wrap up the details in the blog posts you saw here.

I never looked at how the other judges scored an outfit.  There were at least two rounds where I was the last to score and comment.  I might see what Tome and Effy thought, but not their scores.  Speaking of which, never once did I play favourites with contestants.  Quite often, the way my window was set up, looking at the picture and entering my scores meant the name wasn’t in view so I didn’t even know who I was voting on half the time. When I posted the results in my blog, that’s when I found out the total scores and who was moving on. 

As for how I voted.  I apologize for any inconsistencies anyone felt in how I judged.  What I did was look at each outfit independently.  I never compared except in the cases where it was obvious due to gear piece or similar entries.  I didn’t look at Kuroma and compare to Cymre or anything like that.  I looked at an outfit, studied it, picked out gear pieces, checked the gear pieces, and voted based on my honest reaction.  For the three categories, I felt Originality was the uniqueness of the outfit’s look.  Creativity was the gear pieces used to reach that look.  In some cases if I felt someone went with the first shoulders that matched rather than a pair that made the outfit just that much better, I did hold back a bit in marks.  Overall Impression was my thoughts just looking at it.  That means I could still score you high for the other two categories even if I didn’t like the end product (or the other way around).

Let me wrap up this train of thought with two comments.  The first is that I created the categories, so feel free to direct your thoughts about them at me with applause or frowns.  I’m always open to improvement.  Second ties into the categories, the scoring, and results.  When I looked back on a round and saw someone was eliminated and I knew my judging pulled down their overall score…that felt horrible.  As in, I felt bad/responsible for it and that was at no point fun.  In hindsight I hated each and every elimination.

Now I know there was some surprise when it..erm…came out…that there was going to be a prize.  Now, while I’m not begrudging Effy at all for letting it slip out, I had planned to keep that quiet and for a reason.  Problem is, I never told the other judges that (or why) so it’s my own darn fault.  I’ve been in many contests and competitions for fun, and they’re just that.  However, with some people, the second you mention money or a prize, their perception becomes horribly tainted.  It becomes more personal.  They start reading into things that aren’t there and it just becomes a more venomous environment and that’s the last thing I wanted Mog Madness to become.

I do plan to hold Mog Madness again (and again?  lol), and will take much feedback during the process and there will be more time and effort into improving on it.  Honestly, hearing some people say the contest was less fun or stressful as it went on was disheartening.  But, I say that in a learning way rather than a negative.  So of course I’m going to want ways to make it better.

Having said that, there is something else I have laid the foundation for.  Yes, it’s transmogrification related, but from entry to process to end result it’s going to be different.  If you want to be a part of it as a judge (ok, well, that aspect is still there), please let me know by the end of the month.  For those seeking more details at this time, I will not be obliging you.  All I can say is keep checking in around these parts because it will be announced early so that word of mouth will draw in as many as possible.

I’m going to close things out by saying Mog Madness did turn out better than I had imagined.  Spur of the moment things can work or fail and I didn’t know which end we’d created when we first launched.  When it showed up on WoWInsider, I really wondered what we were in for.  That was like putting a spotlight on an alley mouse as far as I was concerned.  But I thank Anne for it.  I thank Effy and Tome for jumping on board to judge and the three of us making the positives of the event what they were.  I thank each and every contestant for laying it all out there each round, and for outfits that were just so incredible and diverse.  Also, for those who weren’t participating but read along the way (biggest Cheerleader was Mrs. Amateur…who by the way probably would’ve made a solid judge in her own right), thank you as well.  So many people on so many levels made this worth doing and I’m proud of it.

Mog Madness: Time For A Winner!

Someone jokingly asked me today if I was waiting to post the results to torture the final five contestants, and I assure you that was not my intent.  It’s just been one of those busy days.  But let’s get right to those Anti-Paladins, shall we?

Kamalia

JD: Someone’s mind is tuned in to YOGG-FM.  Great job here of getting the color of the sword into the rest of the outfit, and everyone knows my fondness of the “Predator” helm.  The shoulders here were a bit of a bold step (despite the belt and boots), but they’re successful.  The only thing I might have done differently is the model.  For some reason I kept thinking her midriff was some sort of undershirt and the bit off-colour in the chestpiece was her actual skin.  Then again it’s one of those “it’s not you, it’s me” things.

TotA: Well, this is proving to be not only the hardest round to judge but the scariest too. Between the looming shoulders and helm and that menacing weapon, I don’t think I’ve seen a more intimidating Tauren and that’s saying a lot! Yogg would approve!

Effy: WoW tested, Yogg approved?  This is one evil Paladin… and the idea of corrupting a Tauren is also quite intriguing, considering the honorable race they are.  I am impressed by the use of the bandage-shirt in several of the entries, and here it really works as a match in coloring to the sword (which is actually a demon sword, but looks far more Old God to me!).  I adore the shoulders, and they were a piece I really sought to incorporate into this Round myself, but I find that though the orange fires work perfect, the green is just slightly throwing my eyes off.  Overall, I find this outfit well thought out and exactly the mood we were looking for this Round.

Tolbi

JD: Yogg’s definitely got a first in command going here.  He strikes me as Azeroth’s version of Lord Soth.  I love the teeth in the belt, and the helm of course.  The chestpiece has always been one of my favourites in the game for plate, but I could never come up with a clever concept for it.  Well done!

TotA: This outfit does read like a Paladin outfit for me, but a Paladin I would never, ever want to meet up with, sheesh, just looking at it I’m hearing voices. I’d better move on, I don’t want to stare into that face too long. Just wonderfully scary outfit!

Effy: I really like this outfit, but I keep finding the texture of the boots throwing me off.  If it matched any of the textures of the other pieces better (especially the chest piece which is perfect and simple in this outfit) my eyes would flow better across this as a whole.  Aside from that one piece, I find this to be a perfect representation of what we were looking for in this Round.  Overall, I am enamored with the combination of colors and textures.

Reluctant Raider

JD: I’d never even seen the sword until this round and it’s a perfect fit for an Old God.  I’m really torn on this one.  I like the outfit and the colors, and I’m definitely feeling the evil Paladin vibe.  I’m not sure that I’m feeling “Old God” vibe though.

TotA: I love the colors in this outfit. I see creepy eyes staring out of the helm and then repeated in the belt, who knew you could turn a Paladin to the dark side like this. The weapon works beautifully for me and the seething shoulders, lovely or should I say evil. Don’t think she’d appreciate me calling her lovely, sorry. No offense meant, really, I’ll just back away now.

Effy: This outfit says Death Knight more to me than Old God.  Evil?  In spades.  Scary?  Definitely.  Old God like sword?  Check.  Perhaps the Troll model?  I cannot quite put my finger on it.  But I think this outfit complements its model well.  At first, the belt was catching my eye, but then it drew me to the sword and I realized how great the colors were together.  Overall, I think this is a great outfit that works really well, but not quite Old God.

Missescake

JD: Wow.  I know what voices this guy hears the loudest without question.  Phenomenal looking, taking the colors of AQ very well here.  While more demon than Old God, the helm actually works really well here.  In fact, I applaud the entire outfit.  The only thing I might have changed was the pants.  Perhaps something like Legplates of Radiant Glory?

TotA: Oh no, I always think of Draenei males as being stand-up guys, never evil. Apparently I was wrong. This one has moved to the dark side. The outfit captures the menace of someone who will carry out the orders of the Old God without question.

Effy: This does indeed capture a color scheme that says Old Gods.  It always fascinates (and saddens) me to see the corruption of WoW’s most Light-driven race, the Draenei.  I think my favorite part of this outfit is the helm – it exaggerates this Draenei’s own features and makes them more evil.  Overall, nice composition, though, I do agree with JD that my eyes are asking for different pants – either perhaps the Saltstone to match the chest or the pants that match the shoulders.  The colors all swirl together in a murky yet fitting combination.

Cymre

JD: I love Dark Edge of Insanity for creepy characters.  It suits this outfit well.  I might have liked to see more of the vein/flesh tone pop up, but it would have taken away from the excellent off-color of the gloves/belt/shoulders.  I love the helm, but I’m not sure about the Purple “Judgement” skirt, though it may just be the way it contorts for the Blood Elf.  On a Human I found it looked much better (though could be lower graphics of my WoW settings as well).

TotA: Oh this is worse, lovely AND creepy. Just looking at her I imagine the sounds of skittering feet behind me. This is one cruel yet beautiful evil Paladin. I love the colors and the weapon seems to reinforce the slithering, silithid feel of the outfit. Oh the voices, make them stop!

Effy: The more I review this outfit, the more I like it.  I am quite fond of the look of the purple Judgment set, and to have it twisted most evilly here, mostly by the weapon.  I picture her as a Paladin adventurer who stumbles across this axe in her travels and begins to hear the voices of C’Thun.  Overall, I think the colors complement one another very well throughout the outfit – right down to the gloves and belt, of which I like the slight change up.

Those are five absolutely great outfits.  Now, if you noticed at this stage I’ve actually refrained from including the usual judge scores as we went along.  The reason being, I didn’t want any possible spoilers as you read along the way.  Time to tally up the results.

Our third and fourth runners up respectively are Cymre (41.9) and Reluctant Raider (40.8).  Before I continue any further I want to thank both for their efforts through the whole contest and even in the finals.  Those are still solid scores and both had great outfits.  It speaks to the caliber of the final round.  A further testament to that is the remaining three were less than half a point apart!

Our second runner up, with a 42.5 is Missescake!  Again, a phenomenal outfit and just as with Cymre and Reluctant Raider I want to take the time to applaud her for an amazing outfit and solid outfits throughout the competition.  Very well done.

So that brings us to the final two.

• Both were listening to Yogg-Saron.
• Both were solid entries.
• One scored a 42.6 and the other a 42.9

And the winner is…

Congratulations to the first ever Mog Madness Champion!  I think everyone involved will agree that it was incredibly well-earned and there’s absolutely nothing negative to say regarding the runner up.  Just phenomenal outfits all around.  For those wondering, here was the complete voting breakdown:

1. Tolbi (Effy – 14.1)(Tome – 14.4)(JD – 14.4)
2. Kamalia (Effy  – 14.1)(Tome – 14.3)(JD – 14.2)
3. Missescake (Effy – 14.1)(Tome – 14.2)(JD – 14.2)
4. Cymre (Effy – 14.4)(Tome – 13.9)(JD – 13.6)
5. Reluctant Raider (Effy – 13.3)(Tome – 13.8)(JD – 13.7)

There you have it.  Even in the grand scheme of things the finals were 2.1 points apart from top to bottom.  It caps off over a month of just wonderful transmogrifications.  From the first round entries, to Tolbi’s winning design, I hope everyone is proud of their work.  To have come up with this and have it turn out the way it did is amazing.  But I will share my full thoughts in tomorrow’s post.  For now, we have another matter to attend to.

Tolbi is our (pageant?) winner and it came out last week that there is, in fact, a prize for first place.  I want to say without sounding corny that getting to be a part of this was an awesome prize for me, no matter how hard it was.  But, the judges all agreed that the contestants all worked hard to look good in-game with what we gave them.  As such, we figured it’s only right the prize involve looking good out of game.  So, congratulations to Tolbi on winning a 25 dollar gift certificate for J!nx.  It’s like they new, too, as they just released their new spring line. You’ll have to let the community know what you ended up picking up!

So, I guess that brings us to a close.  It feels really strange to say that, to be honest with you.  Over a month of transmogging and judging and a couple late nights for judging and entries I have no doubt.  It just seems strange that I’m not posting a guideline after this.  The good news is that something else is already in the works.  I’ll touch on it a bit more in my post tomorrow, but keep your eyes out because you’ll get plenty of notice.

I’d like to close by thanking Tome and Effy for joining me on the judges panel and all 26 contestants for taking part.  Putting your work out there for scrutiny can be hard, especially with the hard work and pride you put into it.  Thanks so much for taking that risk with Mog Madness.

…if this were a show, the closing credits would start rolling…

What Is, Was, And Never Will Be

Welcome to another collection of thoughts by yours truly on this Tuesday morning.  As is often the case a few topics of discussion could probably warrant their own post but it’s important to hit them while they’re fresh and relevant.

• The 2012. Well, unfortunately for me that goal has most assuredly gone by the wayside.  I had plans to put a really good dent in it, too.  I do still plan to track the progress of everyone else, though.  So if you’re participating, rest assured I will still be following with vested interest.
• Myth.  My guild on Blade’s Edge.  Towachi and Reluctant Raider are a blast, as is the rest of the crew.  I had a good chat with the Guild Leader one day and flat out told him how much I enjoyed the guild as it reminded me of Claws of Nature and what I wanted it to be.  Unfortunately, I never got to the point of really contributing and being a part of things.
• Twitterland Raiding. Also something I never got to participate in.  Obviously not the same type of situation as Myth, but still I had really looked forward to getting involved.
• Killing Arthas. I may still try to knock this off, but I’ve not fought the Lich King.  Ever.  I’d certainly like to do it before my time us up this month.
• Mog Madness. The final round has here.  It’s been an experience, that’s for sure.  Almost entirely positive and despite hopes that we wouldn’t hurt anyone’s feelings along the way I think we failed.  Still quite happy with it.
• The Prize. I’m still not telling you what it is.
• Walking Away.  Despite the people I will miss, I’ve still made the right decision at this time.

I was going to add this in as a note along with the rest.  However, that wouldn’t be right at all.  I’m happy with where I’m at, but Saturday’s post was actually pretty tough to write.  I also managed to finally get online Sunday night and that meant informing some of the news, while facing others for the first time since sharing the decision -and at least one person asked…Mrs. Amateur found out the same way the rest of you did.  Speaking of the rest of you…

Obviously I didn’t write Saturday’s post or share it for attention.  I wrote it because that’s what we do.  I don’t private post, what you see is what you get.  So I wasn’t looking for a spotlight or for anything from anyone in sharing it.  But that doesn’t mean for one second I’m not thankful for everything you all said.  The supportive responses were overwhelming, and all the comments telling me how happy you were that I’m continuing to blog…I know I joked with Effy that I’m not modest at all but the truth is I’m a pretty humble guy and that was quite an amazing feeling.  Whether I realized it or not, it’s also something I think I needed.  It was like icing on my cake-like decision.  Or something.  I suck at metaphors like that.  Seriously, though, thank you all so much.

One final note.  Mrs. Amateur got into selling tea recently.  It’s like Avon, but tea (Steeped Tea is the company).  I just want to go on record and say it’s really good.  She gave me a cup about a week ago that was pure “l33t.”  After Eight.  Seriously, tasted just like the chocoloate.  Smelled amazing…mmm.  Anyway, I don’t have advertising space because I’m a crappy salesperson.  But I support a good thing when it’s good and I didn’t share that so you’d go out and buy it from her (I mean, you’re welcome to).  I just wanted to go on record at some point just saying how awesome the stuff is.

Enjoy your day.

Mog Madness: The Final Round!

Mog Madness Finals:

• When: April16th – April 20th (judging results revealed April 22nd)
• Who: Missescake, Cymre, Reluctant Raider, Kamalia, Tolbi.
• How: Send an e-mail with your screenshot(s) to arcanewordsmith@gmail.com or post your entry on the Mog Madness page of Amateur Azerothian, Tome of the Ancients, or Effraeti’s RP.
• Mog Requirement: For the finals, contestants must create an “Anti-Paladin of the Old God.”  To elaborate, your outfit can include anything for a Paladin or Death Knight.  You must also choose whether your entry is an Anti-Paladin for C’thun or for Yogg-Saron (Judge’s tip…avoid looking anything like Twilight Cultists).

Which Voice Do You Hear?

Best of luck to our 5 finalists…and yes, in this EXACT moment I realized the irony in the final round and the title of the contest…

Mog Madness: Round Four Results!

We apologize for not getting the results out sooner but it’s been a crazy busy few days for all of us judges.  But, we’re bunkered in and performed our duties once more in an effort to see who moves on to the finals!  Goodness knows the contestants were thrilled with Round Four and having to match up with the Tabard of the Illidari.  Having said that, let’s see how they did!

Kamalia

JD: Another impressive compilation here.  I wanted to not like the helm because of the orange “eyes” but the problem is you don’t notice them until long after the rest of the outfit.  That’s a good thing.  Great weapon choices here, and am surprisingly in love with the Chromite Legplates here.  14.2

TotA: I really like the color in the legs and how it’s echoed by the weapon choice. I think the helm works for me because of the hint of a similar glow from the cloak’s border. Overall everything works well for me, lovely. 14.3

Effy: This outfit required a temporary “Oh shiny”-like moment, as I had to see this larger.  This meant firing up WoW and MogIt and a whole 10 or so minutes of fiddling and zooming and twirling.  Because from the picture, I could tell this outfit had a lot of character, I just could not tell how much.  This is one of those outfits that grow on me, mostly because the combination of colors is at first overwhelming – which is not too surprising considering the combinations of purple, green, and yellow.  Belts must be a be a larger eye-catcher for me, because that seems to be where I find myself commenting most in this judging – but I find my eyes wanting more purple there.  I like that the outfit is purple, trimmed and accessorized with green.  I also like the Chromite pieces here, which I find surprising, but once more Kamalia makes the simple pieces the most likeable.  They just go well with the shield.  The shoulders are also still throwing me off, as they are more of the majority of the outfit, which is primarily purple.  Overall, what an exciting piece for the eyes. 13.9

Blog of the Treant

JD: I want to like “Frank” here.  I really really do, and the truth is I like what’s been put together.  The hat was a great choice…it’s all a great choice.  The problem for me is that I look at it and think Darkmoon Faire.  I can’t get past that impression and that hurts my overall score for an otherwise solid outfit. 13.4

TotA: OMG! Frank, I know an Undead Warlock lady who would love to meet you. She keeps nudging me saying “get his number” so it’s hard to pay attention. Maybe I’ll send her to gather some cloth so I can have some peace. There whew, she’s out of the way. I don’t know what to say Frank. Your lovely hat, your weapon and then showing a little skin doesn’t hurt … sorry I meant bones. I do understand what JD means by the Darkmoon Faire look but in spite of that I can’t help but be smitten. What? Yes, yes, you can put your lumberjack shirt back on now Frank. 14.0

Effy: I am actually quite fond of this outfit (and character), too, Ancient.  And for any of our readers, I suggest following the link and learning more about Frank, as it is all quite pertinent to his item choices.  I like the whole farmer by day and Warlock by night thing Frank has going – does that mean he moonlights for Illidan?  Or just that he swiped this tabard from some unwitting follower and now sports it to show off his prowess?  I feel the tabard, belt and cloak are the focus of this outfit, and the hat and shoulders complement them well.  BTW, kudos for the shoulders!  I had to pick up a pair for myself a while back, but unfortunately I have yet to find anything I really want to pair them up with.  I also like the remaining pieces for being simple, and adding to the outfit overall. 14.1

Tolbi

JD: Illidari squire!  Peasant?  I have no idea but I love it! The Darkmist Handguards are a near perfect match to that tabard, and I love the use of grey here.  Just phenomenal.  Kudos for one of my favourite shoulders in the game as well as the staff and belt to bring out the tabard’s green…to say nothing of the model choice and her eyes.  Well done. 14.2

TotA: There seems to be a story behind this entry, wonderful look. The shoulders and belt do a great job of tying the tabard into an overall look. The weapon and eyes are icing on the cake! Very nice. 14.2

Effy: I agree that the Blood Elf, especially with the dark, simple haircut, makes for a great complement to this outfit.  The shoulders and belt (and even the gem in the very simple staff) go perfect with the green in this tabard, and yes, the gloves fit well with the purple.  Even though the heaviest focus is from the belt up, the good usage of a similar shirt and pants brings the simplicity of the bottom half together with the rest.  Great composition. 14.0

Reluctant Raider

JD: Another one of these creepy ones.  At first I looked at the cloak and thought it didn’t belong, but then I saw it from the back and foolishly realized how perfect it was.  I’ve commented on the trim of the tabard being out of place before, but here it actually gets lost in the image.  As the tabard itself is still the focus (again weapon and shoulder choice help), that’s nicely done. 13.8

TotA: I love the reflection of the evil glow emanating from the weapon mirrored by the shoulders, very nice. And the skulls on the boots, shudder. I’d hate to see this group of ten coming for me. Very evil which in this case is a good thing! 13.9

Effy: I think this is my favorite this round, partly because it is along the same idea I had for an Illidari Death Knight, only a completely different take than mine.  Also, a great combination of different set pieces, with some simple and non-detracting but great matching quest drops.  Well thought out, well executed, well done. 14.8

Nightwill

JD: As a complete outfit, I’ve never ever been a fan of the purple Judgement gear.  The pieces that were used here, I’m incredibly impressed with as it relates to the whole outfit.  She means business.  Great choice of weapon to make both it and the tabard stand out.  Also, I love that you’re in the middle of a raid when you took this. 14.0

TotA: Oh, I love the action shot! This Tauren is not to be taken lightly. At first glance I didn’t think just using the green in the weapon was enough to overpower that tabard but it really does balance the outfit for me … or it might be her look. I’m not telling her it’s not working, would you? 14.0

Effy: I, on the other hand, am a big fan of the Judgment gear – especially the purple variety.  (I have a purple-skinned Draenei Paladin, what can I say?)  I think the black fur does a great job of bringing out this outfit, and the weapon reminds us that the fel-green of the tabard is a very important part of this outfit too.  However, I have to mark down, because this outfit does set off my internal alarm in regards to number of set pieces – I count four and perhaps five with the chest.  Other than that, I count this as an outfit I could see one of my toons running around in. 12.4

Cymre

JD: I’m terrified, again.  Seriously I would not want to irk this woman for fear she would turn me into much more than a newt.  Another outfit that uses the Patronizing Practicioner to enhance the tabard, but off-illuminated by the weapon choice here as well.  Nothing here feels out of place. 14.3

TotA: I’m going to have nightmares tonight. This is the scariest bunch of competitors so far. The staff seems to counterbalance the shoulders and tabard perfectly. Overall lovely, while scary outfit! 14.3

Effy: Scary lady, indeed.  I think this outfit has a lot of great elements to it – that staff for one is gorgeous with this tabard, not to mention it ties in the lesser elements of the helm.  Yes, usually I am not one for helms, but I think outfits for matching these two tabards are well complemented by attention here and giving thought to some of the great and eerie helms available to all the armor types.  The only constructive criticism I have here I that I would prefer to see this outfit with a belt matching the glow of the purple in the shoulders, despite how much I really like the belt used.  I feel the staff’s glow has enough green to carry that part of the tabard, and a purple belt would add to the movement of the eye along the outfit as a whole. 14.0

(bttf) Deb

JD: This one jumps out at me for looking evil…yet quite content about it.  Good use of the purples and greens, while the shoulders and staff just rip all innocence away.  Love the belt too.  Only drawback is the trim color of the tabard looks completely out of place on the outfit. 13.9

TotA: Oh the horror! Nothing says evil like a little Gnome with glowing green skulls! Run! This Gnome managed to put that tabard in its place. Shoulders and staff are wonderful. JD’s right about the tabard trim but I didn’t even notice until he pointed it out. I think I was hypnotized by the glowing skull eyes! 14.0

Effy: I am not distracted by the lack of tabard-border color throughout.  Honestly, I think this is great work done with a small Gnome palette – focus was placed on the pieces most visible: shoulders, staff, belt.  And kudos for shoulders that scream fel, but are not awkwardly large on a Gnome.  He looks like a powerful Warlock who I dare say enjoys his work. 13.8

Godmother

D: I like the color scheme blending closely with the tabard in this one.  In particular I’m a big fan of the helm choice, as well as the weapon, and using the Rich Purple Silk Shirt to fill in the gaps.  However, I’m not sold on the Symbolic pieces.  Not because there’s too much of it (as I know Effy will address), but I just don’t feel the symbols on it match up with the tabard all that well.  Much like a prior entry, they fit the outfit, but not the piece the round was based on. 12.9

TotA: I’m not a fan of helms but in this case it really works well. As expected this round is proving the hardest so far. I’m not as knowledgeable as Effy and JD about gear so I’ll have to proceed using the “gentlemen, my eyes are up here” approach. I love the overall look of the outfit but it’s not blending the tabard to the point that it works as a set for me. 13.0

Effy: As JD was alluding to, yes, I have a mental limit where I feel an outfit moves from created to reused from Blizzard sets, but that limit is 3 pieces and so I believe this outfit meets the criteria.  Personally, I think the Symbolic pieces go beautifully with this tabard, what I am thinking is the detracting point here is the helm and shoulders look so great with this tabard that the Symbolic pieces almost seem like too much color.  A head and shoulders shot of this toon next to the full body I think would be the perfect illustration of this.  Overall, I think this outfit did a great job of matching the tabard, but I do somewhat feel we have more than one thing going on here. 13.6

Kathleen T

JD: I like this outfit, and the overall look.  Jaina’s Staff was a great choice, while the headdress and shoulders work as well.  Unfortunately for me, the rest of the outfit just gets too busy -in both design and colors.  As a sum of all parts, the tabard doesn’t quite suit the outfit.  Parts of the outfit yes, but with the complete package I’m thinking less Illidari and more Sen’jin (in colors). 13.2

TotA: The staff is wonderful with this outfit. I have to admit I’m a great fan of busy as far as color goes, the problem I’m having is with the gloves, the shoulders are perfect, staff is great, I just wish the gloves had a touch of the green from the tabard. 13.3

Effy: I have to veer off and disagree with JD here, as I do not see this outfit as too busy.  The only part that temporarily gives me halt is the shoulders, as they have less vibrancy than the lower pieces, but I think I think this outfit works as a whole.  I mean, we have to consider the source of this tabard – the Legion, Illidan, and the Burning Crusade expansion, all of which are color saturated… and why I adore them.  I think this outfit conveys the feel of a BC outfit.  Also, I cannot help but think of what the story behind this outfit might be – a fel Druid??  Illidan converting his brother Malfurion’s disciples to loyalty to himself?  It gives a great slant to an outfit I am already pleased with.  Also, I like the use of purple Night Elf hair to complement the entirety. 14.6

Missescake

JD: This is hideous.  Before you say anything, though, I mean that in a good way.  I mean, there are SO MANY colors going on here…and yet, it actually all works!  How you managed to keep the tabard the focal point is beyond me, but I could actually see this outfit on an instance NPC.   14.5

TotA: OMG! Who is this crazy person, run for your lives! Okay I think I’ve owned up to loving a lot of color and this just so works for me. Very bold move Ms. Night Elf! 14.5

Effy: At first, I really wanted to dislike this outfit.  It is so colorful, it almost hurts.  But then, I stopped and remembered – BC, color, LOTS of color – and I realized this fits.  This is like the Illidari version of Druids of the Flame – Druids of the Fel?  Or even more “modest” on the part of our dear Illidan – Druids of the Illidari?  I think this is the one place I could ever like those Druid shoulders or helm.  I want to say this Druid belongs in Hellfire Peninsula, where she would almost blend in.  heh  Great combination of unrelated pieces and somehow making them look coherent – I still cannot put my finger on how it works, but it does. 14.4

You know, for an incredibly hideous tabard these outfits turned out amazing, didn’t they?  There’s a reason I didn’t post a “if I was in it” as I was drawing a complete blank on ideas.  As I’ve said all along, the final round was my idea.  Before we get there, though, we need to know who’s going to be taking part.  So let’s tally up the the points!

Mog Madness: Round Four Rules

Mog Madness Round Four:

• When: April 9th – 13th (judging results revealed April 15th)
• Who: Our Top 10.
• How: Send an e-mail with your screenshots (in-game, MogIt, ModelViewer, etc) to arcanewordsmith@gmail.com or post your entry here, Effy’s RP, or Tome of the Ancient.
  
• Mog Requirement: You’ll be happy to know it’s not mail.  Well, it can be if that’s what you’d like to use.  Honestly, it’s entirely up to you what type of armor you go with (just remember to maintain the same type throughout) as you match up with either Tabard of the Illidari. So again, any armor type is allowed but you cannot use robes/skirts.  We want to see the full tabard.

It’s crunch time now as this is our second last round.  Regardless of the challenge so far, the contestants keep rising to the occasion.  We wish all ten the best of luck, as when this round is over we’ll be down to our final five.