Clearly my number one column of 2005. Possibly my number one column of all time (it does have some competition but it's at least a contender). If you enjoy when I invest a little of my personal life into my columns then this column is for you. Also, the non-Magic advice in this column is dead-on. I had multiple letters from readers who deal with these types of issues professionally who were impressed with much of what I said. And hey, my dating embarrassments are entertaining if nothing else.

Twoweeks ago I announced that I was going to let all of you choose my topic for today. Then to shake things up I announced that I was going to let you pick not one, but two topics (one Magic design related and the other not) that I would then entwine into an offbeat but entertaining column. So, here's what you all picked:

List A – Magic Design Themed Topics (Choose one)
10 Worst Designed Cards96312.1%
Impossible things to do in Magic90211.4%
Pros and Cons of Introducing a Sixth Color7349.2%
Why R&D has been hosing blue4175.3%
Biggest changes in Magic that never happened4165.2%
Enchant Worlds3734.7%
Original Decisions in Magic (Why five colors? Why those basic lands?, etc.)3624.6%
Evolution of Power (How the Power Level of Magic Has Evolved)3584.5%
Where Is Magic Heading?3544.5%
Design follies (Card and Mechanic Designs That Went Awry)2713.4%
Cards That Failed To Get Through Design1782.2%
Popular Cards vs. Good Cards (And How We Design Each)1692.1%
What Would Magic Be Like Without Rarity1582.0%
New Race/Class System1481.9%
Creatures with Power of 2 That Cost 11471.9%
Designing Multicolor Cards1381.7%
Why Better & Worse Versions of Existing Cards Get Printed1331.7%
Evolution of a Color1271.6%
Designing for multiplayer1181.5%
The Changing of the Color Wheel1091.4%
Designing Blue Cards1001.3%
Designing For Deck Archetypes Kept In Check (Discard Decks, Land Destruction Decks & Permission Decks)951.2%
The Creation of Frogs In Magic921.2%
The Role of Chaos Inducing Cards881.1%
Choosing Set Themes871.1%
Designing Ante Cards, Licids, and Nettling Imp Style Creatures801.0%
How Sixth Edition Rules Affect Design740.9%
Mana Costs Commensurate with Their Power630.8%
Alpha "Boon" cycle540.7%
Mana Costs520.7%
Revisit the Top You Make the Card Mechanics510.6%
Designing for Limited460.6%
Learning from Design Mistakes440.6%
The Kindle/Burst mechanic390.5%
Non-Elegant Cards390.5%
Themes outside Magic affecting Magic design360.5%
Ebb and Flow of Creature Types350.4%
Designing Cost Reduction Mechanics350.4%
How the Public Impacts Magic340.4%
Designing Removal310.4%
Designing Enchantments310.4%
Timing and Tempo and Their Impact on Design310.4%
How Designing Magic Is Similar to Building a Paper Airplane310.4%
How has my personal life affected my design300.4%
Designing Creature Stealing Cards300.4%
Juxtaposition in Design140.2%
Designing for various formats120.2%
Design of the card Firestorm110.1%
Total7940100.0%
List B – Non-Design Themes (Choose One)
Girls105312.0%
“Mark Rosewater is &$%^# Insane”7538.6%
Mathematics & Magic7058.0%
Monty Python6317.2%
Dungeons & Dragons4945.6%
“Old School” Magic4435.0%
Slivers4124.7%
What It's Like To See Your Cards Banned4024.6%
Top 10 Vital Lessons for New Players3984.5%
How the Internet Affected Magic3263.7%
Gleemax3233.7%
The Dune Chronicles2933.3%
Lack of Marsupials in Magic2352.7%
Card Advantage Without Card Drawing2302.6%
Invisible Banana Splits2122.4%
Time Travel1651.9%
Flying Pigs1581.8%
Rock Music1541.8%
Saprolings1521.7%
Lhurgoyfs1461.7%
“Roseanne”1381.6%
Mistform Ultimus1331.5%
Reiver Demon1301.5%
Sit-coms Changing Actors Mid-Show1121.3%
Pitfalls to Learning the Game861.0%
Dinosaurs820.9%
Love810.9%
Book Recommendation for Designers640.7%
How I Became a Magic Designer620.7%
Family Relationships and Magic (Ruel Brothers, Phil and Kaja, etc.)610.7%
Money600.7%
How has Magic design affected my personal life480.5%
Reptiles240.3%
How I Choose My Topics/ How My Columns Are Created160.2%
Total8782100.0%

Top 10 Worst Designed Cards and Girls. Hmm. This should prove to be interesting.

And for those that have noticed that I gave this little experiment its own name and then numbered it number one might tip my hat that I just might do this again in the future. (I've been told my A list was, well, A-List.) By the way, I'm curious to hear what all of you thought about this experiment, so please drop me a line once you're done.

But let's get back to the column at hand. Bad Designs, women. Where do those two topics merge? Click below to find out.

CLICK HERE IF YOU'RE A FAN OF BAD DESIGNS OR FEMALES (CLEARLY AN EXAMPLE OF GOOD DESIGN)