Post by Ben-Ra on Jan 28, 2004 8:36:10 GMT -5
This could've gone in vs. Player or Deck Construction, but whatever. People may or may not be familiar with the term metagame, it basically just means the game outside the game. In Culdcept there are three main elements that can affect the strength of a card or strategy. They are: number of players/alliance on or off, map, and contents of opponent's deck. The number of rounds and magic goal an also have an effect.
Certainly the number of players is a big big factor. The card Mistletoe has been discussed recently, and it's a prime example of a card whose usefulness increases with the number of players. A slightly less obvious card is Drain Magic. If there are three opponents instead of one, it's much more likely one of them will have enough g to make the Drain profitable at any given time.
On the other hand, a lot of cards lose efficiency with a greater number of opponents. In general, cards which target a single opponent for a single effect, like discard-type effects, are less useful with more opponents because you're doing proportionately less "damage" every time. For example, if you have 4 Shatter in your deck, during a 40-round game against a single opponent you may get to use it 4 times and remove around 9% of the total cards the opponent draws. In a 40-round game against three opponents, if you cast it 4 times you would only remove about 3% of the enemies' total cards.
Which map is used has a big effect on the usefulness of many cards. The most obvious example is symbol decks/cards. They are totally ineffective on maps without a temple. Cards which increase movement (Holy Word X, Fly, etc) become more potent on smaller maps, since for the same investment of g you move a proportionately larger distance (thus gaining castle bonus faster).
Whether or not a map has an intersection can also greatly influence the strength of various cards/decks. The classic Old Willow/Kelpie is 100% effective (at stopping the opponent) on maps without intersections. On maps with intersections, it's still important to place them in an area the opponents cannot avoid if they wish to lap.
Fairy Light becomes very powerful on maps with intersections, and the longer the map is, the better it is. Obviously Manna is much stronger on short maps since you will lap more often (increasing the amount of g it's worth).
Of course, what's in your opponent's deck(s) is perhaps the biggest factor. On the most obvious level, the card Sculpture is worthless if the opponent has no creatures in their deck with less than 40 HP. Beyond the simple function of a single card, however, there are deck types which have very specific strengths and weaknesses. This can result in various rock-paper-scissors scenarios.
This thread is for general discussion of the metagame and how it affects deck design.
Certainly the number of players is a big big factor. The card Mistletoe has been discussed recently, and it's a prime example of a card whose usefulness increases with the number of players. A slightly less obvious card is Drain Magic. If there are three opponents instead of one, it's much more likely one of them will have enough g to make the Drain profitable at any given time.
On the other hand, a lot of cards lose efficiency with a greater number of opponents. In general, cards which target a single opponent for a single effect, like discard-type effects, are less useful with more opponents because you're doing proportionately less "damage" every time. For example, if you have 4 Shatter in your deck, during a 40-round game against a single opponent you may get to use it 4 times and remove around 9% of the total cards the opponent draws. In a 40-round game against three opponents, if you cast it 4 times you would only remove about 3% of the enemies' total cards.
Which map is used has a big effect on the usefulness of many cards. The most obvious example is symbol decks/cards. They are totally ineffective on maps without a temple. Cards which increase movement (Holy Word X, Fly, etc) become more potent on smaller maps, since for the same investment of g you move a proportionately larger distance (thus gaining castle bonus faster).
Whether or not a map has an intersection can also greatly influence the strength of various cards/decks. The classic Old Willow/Kelpie is 100% effective (at stopping the opponent) on maps without intersections. On maps with intersections, it's still important to place them in an area the opponents cannot avoid if they wish to lap.
Fairy Light becomes very powerful on maps with intersections, and the longer the map is, the better it is. Obviously Manna is much stronger on short maps since you will lap more often (increasing the amount of g it's worth).
Of course, what's in your opponent's deck(s) is perhaps the biggest factor. On the most obvious level, the card Sculpture is worthless if the opponent has no creatures in their deck with less than 40 HP. Beyond the simple function of a single card, however, there are deck types which have very specific strengths and weaknesses. This can result in various rock-paper-scissors scenarios.
This thread is for general discussion of the metagame and how it affects deck design.
