Add sideboarding as a new feature

[Scientiafide]

For those of you who don't know what a sideboard is in a TCG, a sideboard is a collection of cards (much smaller than the deck) with which a player can swap cards (at a one for one basis) between games in a match. This would accomplish the following:

1) Matches are not as easily predetermined based on what file types are being played. A player could pack cards in their sideboard to help combat their deck's weaknesses. This helps make file-building more interesting, but more importantly makes matches more competitive and interesting overall.

2) This actually makes the more specific cards in the game much more useful. Ever seen a card you wanted to add, but thought, "Man I don't have room in my file for that, and I wont exactly be using it every match"? Just add it to your sideboard instead.

Of course, this new addition only works if there's a way to play 3 game matches... and before that can be implemented, there should be an option for players to reconnect after getting disconnected XD

[gadu]

That's a good idea, but I'm not sure if I want to play the same dude or dudette 3 times in a row.

[angelspawns]

'Cuz 25 cards just aint enuf. Playin 1 match against the same player neither..?
I do know that feeling all to well of lacking room. There's no way i can include a Grim that makes me 'Engage immune' or 'MaxHP immune" or "Disengage friendly unit"... but when that match appears you expect that rasam SS you feel helpless.

I've been walking around with an idea for a sideboard myself. One where you have 1 "Spellcard" in, placed simulair to SoulSkills. Spellcards appear upside down for the opponent and turn once active, closes when the effect is over.
Their effect go before grimoire opens and you can toggle it on again after a cooldown. (if you have the matching spherelvls and pay the SP requirement)

Effects are all based on counterplay and could be something along the line of:
Lvl3 Falkow - (1SP) "If opponent has activated a Spellcard this turn, you get SP+2. Lock opponents Spellcard next turn". 3 Turns cooldown.
Lvl1 Refess/Falkow - (1SP) "Disengage all units at the beginning next turn. If 1 or more units are disengaged, you get SP+2." 3 Turns cooldown. (aka. Total Failure)
Lvl3 Refess - (2SP) "You get SP=0. You get current SP +2 at the beginning of next turn". 5 Turns Cooldown. (aka. Meeting of Kings)
Lvl2 Gowen - (1SP) "Restore Def, Atk and Agi to base value for this turn". 5 Turns Cooldown. (aka. Reforestation)
Lvl1 Gowen - (1SP) "Target unit gets Lvl+2 for this turn"
Lvl1 Lawtia - (1SP) "All friendly units cannot be affected by MaxHP change untill next turn". 5 Turns Cooldown. (aka. Dark Confederation)
Etc.

The effects are often only usefull when predicted in advance. (like disengage friendly units next turn before Rasam hits, Set SP=0 when Shade or Zuja hits, etc) They reward SKILLFUL play. Your ability to predict your opponents moves. It counters when timed right, punishing when it's not.


Ofcourse this is all fantasizing. There's no way this game will get this much indepth gameplay. Nor do i trust current designers to balance it and eliminate possible abuse. (like self engaging Rhino + Disengage Spell... though the Spell needs 1 Refess&Falkow...) Complicated stuff. ;/

[AqvasFire2]

Well, total failure on rhino...2 SP just to disengage him one turn earlier? Why not play Forest of Hate in advance, and maybe even put that thing up front to chump block if your opponent has some speed damage incoming?

[Scientiafide]

Gadu,

Well half the time the match would only last 2 games, but I know what you mean. I just came up with the idea because I know MM mentioned experimenting with new game modes, and I felt that this should be one of the first additions implemented. I feel you should still be able to play single games if you want, but I'd like the option to play matches with a sideboard as well. Of course, the rewards involved for winning and participating in a match should be increased accordingly (due to the extra time involved and the extra games you're playing).

Angelspawns,

That's exactly what I mean. People might actually consider packing cards like those if they had a sideboard they could use. I think it's also worth mentioning that you could probably use your sideboard to store extra potential SS to change your SS lineup.

Your spell card idea is interesting as well, if I'm not mistaken it seems like a permanent iczer ability of sorts? It could make for an interesting new alteil game mode.

[WhiteDragon2]

While I like the idea of a sideboard I'm not sure if alteil is the right place for a facing the same opponent with the same file multiple times. If you don't allow changing the SS lineup your opponent will know exactly what you're using, making any SS that could backfire a larger risk. If you allow changing SS though you get the major problem of the opponent counter-picking (e.g. my opponent plays a lawtia rush, I switch my SS to lawtia hate). Other than that some matchups are unbalanced to the point where you know you'll win/lose over 95% of the time, you don't really want to go trough a second match then.

For games like yu-gi-oh you have the advantage of random drawing cards which means the outcome of the match isn't as predetermined and you also can't hard-counter someone with your sideboard that easily, making best out of 3 more attractive. For alteil we could add futures that make more than 25 cards available during the match, though maybe something without the need for playing 3 matches would be preferred (like that of angelspawns, or just giving the option to switch out cards still in the file during a set turn during the match, or ...).

[Pikeru]

Speaking of normal card games such as Yugioh and the random draw ratio, it would be great to see a format with Elgandi's abilities inherently set in the rules. Like WhiteDragon says, one large problem with a sideboard is the fact everyone would load it with effects that heavily target a specific sphere. SS's such Refugee Citizens or Mermaid Sorceress [Human] and the like. It would certainly need refinement and alternate formats could certainly have certain deck building restrictions similar to how UD does. In that case, it may be necessary to increase the base number of decklists by 3 or 5, but only maybe.

[Scientiafide]

Yea the Sphere-hate SS argument is a good point. Although, I suppose it also depends on how large exactly the devs make the sideboard (should the idea be implemented of course). I mean if you only had say 6 slots, I'm not sure if sphere hate would be the way to go. Also, not all sphere hate is created equal. I feel like the "50 damage to all x sphere" SS would still be a subpar addition against bigs and even quite a few mids, and the "deal 40 damage and lower your opponents x sphere by 2" SS would actually be kind of worse than Vol agni SS to be honest. With all the multi-sphering going on, Vol agni usually has the same result, with the added bonus of always draining sphere (unlike the sphere hate SS). They'd definitely see more use than they do now, though, which I don't really think is necessarily a bad thing actually. But yea the sphere hate SS is definitely something I hadn't considered before that could definitely be a potential problem.

I suppose pikeru's suggestion could be applied as well (a ban list), but part of the reason for the suggestion was to increase card usage for cards that were way too specific in nature. It's something worth considering though.

The suggestion to simply increase the file size is also an interesting one to consider. One of the interesting aspects of deck building though is creating a functioning deck with the restrictions put into place. If you could simply add w/e you want and play it whenever you want, that aspect of deck building is entirely lost. So increasing the size of the file has to strike a balance between making deck building interesting while still allowing the player to have different options during a match. I feel sideboarding better retains the decisions involved in deck building. Every time you sideboard, you have to decide on what to remove to make room for what you wish to add, keeping in mind that your opponent is doing the same. On the other hand, increasing the file size keeps the element of surprise in every game. That's not to say you can't switch around your SS line up or make changes to keep things fresh, but of course after a game your opponent has a better idea of what you're playing. Then again, one could argue that often times you already know what your opponent is playing given certain cues (like their LP, how they raise their spheres, their opening units, etc.). Both ideas have their merits, and they both could be added as different game modes to provide different challenges I suppose.