Welcome to the inaugural “Altered Reality Challenge”!

Every month, GatheringMagic.com will sponsor a card-altering contest. The contest will vary from month to month as we will provide a new and different challenge or prompt for the contest.

Rules for Entry

• You must physically alter a card. You may decide how to do the alter and in what sort of medium, but no digital alterations will be accepted.
• Your entry must be your own. No entering on behalf of others.
• You must send clear photos of your alter. Preferably multiples including detail shots. Scanning tends to work best.
• Your alter must follow the challenge set forth.
• Each submission must be in our e-mail inbox by the announced deadline to qualify.
• You may only enter once.
• Have fun!

Winners

Judged Winner – There will be a three-person rotating judging committee, which will judge entries and pick their favorite. They will judge on the following points, scoring each from 1 to 10:

• Artistic merit
• Quality of work
• Originality
• Innovation

Popular Vote – When all the entries are posted, we will open up voting to the general public and determine a secondary winner.

Prize

The judged winner will receive a $25 gift certificate to CoolStuffInc.com, the popular vote winner will receive a $15 gift certificate, and the popular vote runner-up will receive a $10 gift certificate to CoolStuffInc.com. Yes, the same person can win both the judging and the popular vote.

Aside from the prizes, here are other reasons to enter:

• As many card-altering artists sell their work, we will happily link to an eBay auction (for the card) when we post the cards.
• We will also be more than happy to link to your site or provide contact information.
• Something different – Rather than doing your forty-seventh full-art alteration of the same depiction, working outside your normal repertoire can improve your artistic skill.
• Respect from your peers.

Challenge #1 – Phyrexian

When Wizards of the Coast revealed New Phyrexia, they did so along with an image of Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite in the form of Phyrexian. It seems a shame that it is the only card ever shown in Phyrexian script. Your challenge is to pick another card, Scars Block or other, and make a Phyrexian version of it.

Entering

Your entry must be e-mailed to alters@gatheringmagic.com with the subject line “ARC #1” and have the images attached. Along with the images, your e-mail should contain the following info: Name, E-mail address, Twitter (if applicable), Alter title, Links

Deadline for entries: Monday, June 27, 2011 11:59:59 p.m. EST

Entries posted: Wednesday, June 29, 2011 (voting opens)

Voting Closes: Monday, July 4, 2011 11:59:59 p.m. EST

Winners Announced: Wednesday, July 6, 2011