[Certain]

Lars: Your style is assertively reader-friendly, so crisp and polished, loaded with rhymes. It's unfortunate that you sometimes lose votes (if not battles) for the directness that I think often is your greatest strength, but we're still at a point where people mention "vocab" as a point of praise or fault. Your diction here was outstanding because it allowed the message of your verse to shine. The use of a child as our narrator was a really wise choice here to juxtapose the picture of old men. We get that sense from the first line, but you never hit us over the head or let this verse become an unnatural description of that narrator. The content itself was a bit simplistic, but the way you delivered it made this verse seem like something more. It reminded me a lot of some of my old topical approaches in that it stuck to a clear central method and expounded with wit and lyricism. Adding in the narrative frame was crucial to executing, but you did that well. This verse was a fine showing of what you bring to the table, what has made you such a rock in the topical battle community for a decade.

Vulgar: I understand that this story did relate to the general theme of the topic, but I thought it missed the mark a bit. You chose to focus on wealth, but look at what they're gambling. Aside from topic issues, this verse was good. It had the feel of a ZYG verse, with its central moral and universal truth, like a fable in rhyme. Your rhymes were weaker than they normally are, though, and in some cases it became a distraction. At your best, your rhyme depth and schemes are as good as anyone's, but here, you put the pressure on the story. And the story wasn't particularly original or completely thought through. The girl wished for a cut of lamb? That was strange. I'm not sure I understood the decision to name the main character Nicodemus, either, other than that he needed to have a name of some sort. Quibbles aside, there were plenty of things to like. I liked the way you characterized Genevieve through all sorts of small things, like her calling the imp "Phil" and showing off some lip to her old uncle. You underdeveloped Nicodemus' transformation, though. There was some potential here, but it wasn't fully realized.

Vote: Lars