Welcome to the culmination of GatheringMagic.com's first monthly Alter contest! We're very excited to bring you the judged results of this month's entries. For those of you following along, last week's article allowed you all to determine the popular vote winner and runner up!

Popular Vote

Congratulations to both of them as they will be receiving gift certificates for these prizes! Jackie gets $15 and Malte $10!

Judging!

Below is the results of judging, the entries were judged on four metrics described as follows:

• Artistic Merit - If the art is an extension of the card art, does it fit in/flow well with the original artwork? If it's completely new, does it represent the idea in a clear and concise way?
• Quality of Work - Do the colors work with each other? Are the lines clean or dirty? Is there difficulty understanding what the artist is trying to show you?
• Innovation - Does the artist try soemthing new within the frame of the card or do they stick to the tried and tested methods of previous alters?
• Originality - Is their alter like everybody else? Does it feel original?

This week's judges are three names that you all should know, Eric Klug, Mike Linnemann, and Andre Garcia. Eric is of course the well known alter artist. Mike is our weekly Vorthos writer, having done art analysis. And Andre is our friend of the site, the artist who draws T:apped. With each entry's scores, I've included one of the three comments left by the judges, judge name withheld.

Judge Results

Black Wing Studios - (72 pts)

• Artistic Merit - 19 (7, 9, 3)
• Quality of Work - 17 (6, 7, 4)
• Originality - 20 (8, 9, 3)
• Innovation - 16 (6, 9, 1)

Judge's Note: I really enjoyed this piece. I like that the background was changed to mimic the phyrexian transformation we see on Elspeth. The lettering was done very nicely and fits the mood of the card. The only real criticism I have is that the line in the middle of the text box is crooked and takes away from an otherwise fantastic piece. It also would've been nice to see the mana symbols altered to look phyrexian, though I can understand that a turn-2 Elspeth would certainly be unfair regardless of what faction you belong to.

Dave Strainer - (76 pts)

• Artistic Merit - 18 (5, 7, 6)
• Quality of Work - 21 (5, 8, 8)
• Originality - 18 (7, 7, 4)
• Innovation - 19 (7, 6, 6)

Judge's Note: I feel like this alter relies too much on the card name when regarding the contest theme. It just feels like zombie Hulk to me. I'd appreciate more fine line work seeing as this is a straight black and white alter. The composition is probably what I like most about this card.

Henrion Yannis - (95 pts)

• Artistic Merit - 22 (8, 9, 5)
• Quality of Work - 21 (9, 8, 4)
• Originality - 27 (9, 9, 9)
• Innovation - 25 (6, 10, 9)

Judge's Note: This is my favorite piece. I love innovation in alterations because there is a lot of copycats out there. I love this piece because it shows real innovation of the challenge. Henrion thought about being Phyrexianized and took an iconic, flavorful card to do so.

The tie of two cards, to another card, Figure of Destiny, is amazing.

The time-lapse alteration needs to happen considerably more often. This all relates back to the seminal "Tribute Money," where passage of time happens. It's very comic book based and Scott McCloud would be cheering to hear us talk about it.

This is a flavor issue here, in that there was only one darksteel and blightsteel colossus. It's hard to know that it is not legendary, but omit one colossus in the background and you're golden.

Jackie Lee - (90 pts)

• Artistic Merit - 25 (8, 10, 7)
• Quality of Work - 26 (8, 9, 9)
• Originality - 18 (7, 9, 2)
• Innovation - 21 (6, 9, 6)

Judge's Note: Having three corrupted Karns in the contest is definitely going to be tough on the judging. That said, this artist went the extra mile, almost completely repainting the artwork. The quality is high. I hate that the name overlaps the art but appreciate the cleanliness elsewhere in the work.

Jason Schneider - (68 pts)

• Artistic Merit - 14 (6, 7, 1)
• Quality of Work - 13 (4, 7, 2)
• Originality - 15 (5, 8, 2)
• Innovation - 26 (9, 9, 8)

Judge's Note: First off, I have to point out that this is a great job for a first attempt. The tone is whimsical without losing any of the implied darkness. I appreciate the nod to Amy Weber's old-school Phyrexian Gremlins. I hope this motivates Jason to continue making alters.

Lane Watson - (71 pts)

• Artistic Merit - 17 (6, 6, 5)
• Quality of Work - 12 (6, 5, 1)
• Originality - 18 (5, 5, 8)
• Innovation - 24 (7, 7, 10)

Judge's Note: Art is often a conversation. An artist is trying to explain a concept to you via their medium. Often it is either forced, as in reused found objects/garbage in art explaining consumption (every 19 year old does a project on it), or so layered with meaning that it's hard to decipher what is being conveyed.

(Explain Magritte's pipe to a child. "But it's not a pipe." "YES IT IS.")

This type of alteration needs to happen more: finding obscure, semi-playable cards for commander and posting them. I really, really like this piece for its potential. Firm up that illustration, you, like all the artists were crunched for time, and you'd have a winner.

Also, please sign your work, providence is important; unless you don't want people to know you made it.

Malte Milbrand - (101 pts)

• Artistic Merit - 24 (8, 8, 8)
• Quality of Work - 26 (9, 9, 8)
• Originality - 27 (9, 9, 9)
• Innovation - 24 (6, 9, 9)

Judge's Note: The wear-and-tear effect on this card really sells it. Malte clearly had a good time altering this card and it shows. The blue energy around Karn's hands is rendered in a somewhat cartoonish way, but the fact that the rest of the art was made to match it makes it pop nicely against the grim background and card frame.

Manuel Castellanos - (72 pts)

• Artistic Merit - 15 (5, 5, 5)
• Quality of Work - 10 (5, 4, 1)
• Originality - 12 (7, 3, 2)
• Innovation - 11 (7, 3, 1)

Judge's Note: I like the idea of taking a non-Phyrexian piece and corrupting it. So if one was to choose an already Phyrexian card for the contest, like the choice made here, I want it to be very Phyrexian. This alter goes out on a limb, but just doesn't push the envelop enough. I like the idea of playing almost entirely with the frame. There hasn't been a lot done with that.

Marina Velo - (73 pts)

• Artistic Merit - 19 (7, 7, 5)
• Quality of Work - 18 (6, 6, 6)
• Originality - 22 (7, 7, 8)
• Innovation - 14 (7, 6, 1)

Judge's Note: "Being innovative is always good, but be ever careful around Vorthos when trying to push the envelope conceptually. Jace is not Phyrexianized. It's an innovative piece, but it isn't positively innovative. It's a swing and a miss.

I first thought that he was countering Phyrexian ""words"" or chants in the form of spells, which I thought interesting, but realized that the card is actually Jace's Erasure. Why is he casting Phyrexian spells? Why is he wearing their symbol? If he is on their ""side,"" why isn't he Phyrexianized at all? How is milling a Phyrexian ability?

Why is spell magically costing 1 colorless more?

I would love to read Marina's art label for this piece and interpret it because it would be quite deep.

Attention to detail is key here and the lingering questions I have make me struggle."

Thomas Parker - (99 pts)

• Artistic Merit - 26 (8, 9, 9)
• Quality of Work - 25 (8, 9, 8)
• Originality - 24 (7, 9, 8)
• Innovation - 24 (7, 9, 8)

Judge's Note: Being the last Karn I'm seeing in the lineup, I'm glad this artist chose the Saga version. The background and work on the face are the best parts for me. Both really transform the original. I think the oil could be toned down a bit, but it also adds to the creepy feeling of this alter. So I'm a little split. Nice piece!

Congratulations to our judged winner Malte Milbrand, and who came in second from the popular vote, so he'll be receiving a $35 gift certificate from CoolStuffInc.com. Congratulations again to Jackie for winning the popular vote!