The beta @steemmonsters cards are out, and I haven't been sure of what to think of them... but I think I've formulated some form of opionon.

Now, I've heard of the debate, too lighthearted anime/pokemon vs nice and fitting.
Let me just tell you, this game is for all ages. If your kid is 3, they will enjoy it. If you're 55+ you can still find enjoyment in it. If you're at that ripe age where strategy and money come together to form the perfect mix of the best team, great.
This is where the debate comes in. Beta cards are for the next generation. VERY FITTING, because they are the next generation of cards. Bravo.

Summoners

Now, off of the debate and on to my own opinion. PS. They're a little too childish for me

First, I don't like the last names of all of these. The other one's were cool, the way they fit into their splinter: Inferno, Natura, Mortalis, but these one's are just too blunt: Seachan, Firestorm, "the Undead." I think you can do better than that.

Now I'm just going to start with 2 right off the bat, the two that we saw in the animation.

Talia and Kiara

We should have gotten their (Kiara's?) dad instead. These two just look like they want to go invade a pretend castle or something. I like how they relate to the inital idea of Steemmonsters. Kid's throwing cards onto the ground which turn into monsters, but besides that, I don't fell like they belong. At least Summoners aren't directly involved in fighting, because that would bring some issues...

For the artwork, Talia is ok. She has a lot of contradictions though. The hair does not mix with the horns and ears. She's a lizard/dragon/reptile thing. The fact that she has hair seems like the only reason it was put there is to make her look more feminine. However, this wasn't needed because her face brings this out. She is a loving creature... except that her clothing is clearly made of animal fur.
Unless she just likes putting fuzz on her armholes, and nowhere else on the trimming of her clothes. Even her bracelets have the same trim as her clothes, but her armholes, nope.
(I'm just judging the art on the card, so don't get me started on her legs)
In all, I'd rate Talia as a 5/10

Kiara definetly lives up to her name, lightbringer. It's really hard to look at this picture. Her pale face, multiple bunching curls, and bright blue rainbow eyes actually (looks really creepy if you just stare at her face) confuses your eyes when you're trying to look at it. Her outfit looks like a child made it (which she probably did), and her sword... IS THAT METAL???
Or is it glass? That's still just as bad, you saw her temper in the animation... that could get dangerous. OK
In my opinion, it's not great, but I'd still give it a 4/10

Xia

Zie? Zyah? I don't know.
When looked at a glance or distance, Xia looks like a menacing, aqueous, teenage lizard man, but when you actually look at the card, you realize, It's a girl. You also realize the tentacles and the skirt. The fin things at the top is actually just a crown, and she apparently harness the power of water through her hands.
It's a cool concept, although, the way it was brought out was too skinny and edgy. The shoulder blades and waist are disproportionate (I know it's trying to be a seasnake thing), and the muscles, elbows and... yeah... stick out a little too much.

The clothes seem to attempt to contrast and complement her skin at the same time, causing a weird effect in your brain, and the adding in of the gemstones for the extra color, just didn't fit in this outfit. Change the color of the stones (to that light blue perhaps) and smoothen out the edges, and it would be perfect.
Overall, Xia seems like a really well made character. 9/10

Xander

Xander is my friends name, so I'm not going to have much against that. He seems like he would attempt to protect the forest, until you realize he sends out the "spirit of the forest" to fight instead of going out there himself. He looks like Tinkerbell abandoned Peter Pan, so he had to grow wings to start flying.

He seems to have a more menacing personality. Every part of his skin looks very sharp and pointy, his ears, elbows, fingers, and even chin. His outfit actually looks pretty good together. The green and brown bringing out the colors of the forest, and the red hair to match his last name(see above). He seems really skinny, maybe he lost some weight so that his tiny wings can carry him.
Gain some weight and drop the wings. Unless you do that, this is only an 8/10

Jarlax

I think he's supposed to look like an undead king here, and I kind of see it. But what I see more is a mix of outfits. His (what do you want to call it...) Robe (?) looks like a jester's, and his crown looks like that of a knight, and don't even get me started on his face. The glowy eyes are just uncharacteristic of an undead creature, and the mouth is just trying to say...

"I'm here guys"

Besides that, he's pretty reminiscient of a ghost. Flowy tattered robes and hair, skeletal hands, gross teeth. And the best part about him, his reinhardt helmet.
That alone earns this one a total of 6/10

And before we finish, it's time for

SotP

I'm not writing that out :P. This week, our SotP is:
@clove71
I visited one of her streams once when she was talking about steemmonsters, and we talked for a while. She generously gave me some cards :> and later pointed me out to @littlescribe, which resulted in me meeting @o07 and the @contestkings discord/steemmonsters guild. We've been productive and are getting ready to do great in battle!
Check out the discord HERE
Once again, thanks to clove for introducing me to some people.

Summary

That was all, a decent batch of cards. Could definetly do better though. Xia was probably my favorite, but maybe Xander... I don't know.
If you want me to do this with the neutral beta cards, I will, but I'll either make a video or go into less detail about it.

Pictures thanks to @yabapmatt and whoever draws the pictures... This Serge guy?
You can find them using this link.

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-Buddy

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