Rawky's Rock'em Sock'em C.o.W. Level Enemy Deck Pack

[TheKillerNacho]

What part of the Shandalar ini is changed for your deck pack?

[Rawky]

What part of the Shandalar ini is changed for your deck pack?

CastleAdvantage | Open

WhiteApprentice=Angel's Feather
BlueApprentice=Kraken's Eye
BlackApprentice=Demon's Horn
RedApprentice=Dragon's Claw
GreenApprentice=Wurm's Tooth
WhiteMagician=Staff of the Sun Magus
BlueMagician=Staff of the Mind Magus
BlackMagician=Staff of the Death Magus
RedMagician=Staff of the Flame Magus
GreenMagician=Staff of the Wild Magus
WhiteSorcerer=Marble Diamond
BlueSorcerer=Sky Diamond
BlackSorcerer=Charcoal Diamond
RedSorcerer=Fire Diamond
GreenSorcerer=Moss Diamond
WhiteWizard=Heliod, God of the Sun
BlueWizard=Thassa, God of the Sea
BlackWizard=Erebos, God of the Dead
RedWizard=Purphoros, God of the Forge
GreenWizard=Nylea, God of the Hunt

DungeonAdvantage | Open

White=Marble Diamond
Blue=Sky Diamond
Black=Charcoal Diamond
Red=Fire Diamond
Green=Moss Diamond

DuelAdvantage | Open

White1=Angel's Feather
White2=Staff of the Sun Magus
White3=Marble Diamond
Blue1=Kraken's Eye
Blue2=Staff of the Mind Magus
Blue3=Sky Diamond
Black1=Demon's Horn
Black2=Staff of the Death Magus
Black3=Charcoal Diamond
Red1=Dragon's Claw
Red2=Staff of the Flame Magus
Red3=Fire Diamond
Green1=Wurm's Tooth
Green2=Staff of the Wild Magus
Green3=Moss Diamond

Nochoose | Open

-Brainstorm
-Mind Twist
-Ponder
+Badlands
+Bayou
+Plateau
+Savannah
+Scrubland
+Taiga
+Tropical Island
+Tundra
+Underground Sea
+Volcanic Island

If I made others, I can't recall what they were at the moment.

[Aswan jaguar]

Heliod, God of the Sun the top level bonus is a real disaster to white castle and it wrecks all the decks.It made quite easy my pass through there, only in my 2nd attempt and in my first attempt I lost because I never saw a 3nd land.
The problem is the feature of AI activating in upkeep anything that is set to do that.Either it needs tuning or it is bugged and AI is "forced" to activate everything that is set to be activated also in upkeep.

See AI activate everything that can be activated the Mishra's Factory activation to make creature and then activate it to boost it is hilarious.

So in Heliod, God of the Sun case there are 2 major issues:
1- AI will play or activate anything else only if it doesn't have enough mana to activate Heliod, God of the Sun.So if AI has less than 4 mana or with the mana that is left over after AI activates Heliod, God of the Sun or if it has more than 4 but less than 8 or/and other multiplications of 4 mana.
2- AI values way too much the tokens made by Heliod, God of the Sun and prefers to trade other creatures way more valuable for the decks + the usual AI problem of AI not being aggressive enough with tokens.

I didn't have the same problem with Purphoros, God of the Forge in red castle nor with Erebos, God of the Dead in black castle.For blue castle and Thassa, God of the Sea I didn't notice a problem either but I have tried only once there.

The first major problem can probably be circumvent by changing the ct_all value of Heliod, God of the Sun "activate before combat" to "activate after combat" and leave the "activate before blockers" value as it is.I am not certain though as I haven't test it.

[Rawky]

As of the release of Gemcutters Guild, I've noticed a lot more casting of instant spells/abilities during the AI's upkeep. Rather than speaking up about it or trying to change it, I've just sort of been going with it to see as much of the results as possible before forming a critical opinion. I had wondered if some settings or code had been changed and we're only now able to see the results, which could end up going away in a later patch. If it's something I can adjust in a file and then include that in the RAR, then I'm all for it. However, I'm going to guess there will be many instances that need changing.

I've also seen the issue with Heliod, God of the Sun, but less so since my approach is to go in armed with ample spells to dispatch it (or its brethren) asap. So in the meantime for anyone interested, here's a short list of removal options. There are more, but less optimal for quick removal of the offending card, either briefly or permanently.

Bounce | Open

Void Snare
Compelling Deterrence
Boomerang
Disperse
Keeper of the Nine Gales
Time Elemental
Æther Tradewinds
Temporal Adept
Rescind
Regress
Consign to Dream
Resounding Wave
Crosis's Charm
Grixis Charm
Recoil
Tradewind Rider
Venser, Shaper Savant
Clutch of the Undercity
Dispersing Orb
Heidar, Rimewind Master
Dinrova Horror
Tidespout Tyrant

Exile | Open

Celestial Purge black & red only
Glare of Heresy white only
Devout Lightcaster black only
Grasp of Fate
Banishing Light
Oblivion Ring
Detention Sphere
Anguished Unmaking
Isolation Zone
Utter End
Archon of Justice
Lightwielder Paladin black & red only
Admonition Angel
Exclusion Ritual
Scour from Existence
Ashen Rider
Erase
Leonin Relic-Warder
Silverchase Fox
Wipe Clean
Revoke Existence
Devout Chaplain
Act of Authority
Fate Forgotten
Ironwright's Cleansing
Fade into Antiquity
Altar's Light
Iona's Judgment
Angelic Edict
Kalemne's Captain
Sylvan Reclamation
Merciless Eviction

Sac | Open

Simplify
Abzan Advantage
Tribute to the Wild

Steal | Open

Steal Enchantment
Confiscate
Volition Reins

Tuck | Open

Unexpectedly Absent
Consign to Dream red & green only
Temporal Spring
Totally Lost
Gone Missing
Aura Extraction
Disempower
Banishment Decree

changing the ct_all value

No clue about that. Where would I find that stuff? I'm not in the know, but willing to learn.

[Rawky]

Soulcatchers' Aerie

It worked for me when I was playtesting that deck a while back.

If it's still not working, swap them out for Favorable Winds for now.

Code | Open

.12368 3 Favorable Winds

[Rawky]

sceptical with the low land ratio you have at least in lower level enemies 20/21 lands but I was surprised to see that it worked fine with the new Mulligan system and AI was mana screwed rarely I would estimate it to something like 5-10% (without knowing it's hand of course).

I put in a good amount of time to achieve multiple things with these decks.
* Meager spells, easy to deal with once you collect a half way decent deck. Most of cards, even the rares and uncommons, are manageable. Sorry about the Mortivore.
* The majority of the spells in each deck are readily usable by a new player/deck. So it doesn't matter what they ante, you can use it if it's your color(s). Almost none of the cards are immediate throwaways (vendor trash) for a new deck once you win them.
* Steep mana curve, emphasizing low costs. This ensures the AI has something to do on 1 or 2 mana, as does the player who wins the cards from those decks.
* The lower land count increases the likelihood of a no-land hand, which forces the AI to mulligan. Reducing the initial hand-size improves the card parity for the player who may have a terrible starting deck. I've had many starting decks that were virtually unplayable, so I had to either start again or hope for mana screwed opponents. Reducing the land count (but justifying it with increased quantity of low mana spells) makes it all fix itself. The lower land count also increases the card pool of potentially winable cards. You might also notice that the Tier 1 decks have no sideboard; these could throw a wrench in the mana curve, while also maybe making the first several duals too difficult for a raw starting deck.
* If you look closely at the deck lists, you will find certain cards or certain card types that are in every deck or at least every deck in that tier. This is because I think it's a highly needed and useful card, that doesn't break the game, and I want you to have an improved chance to win it and have it and hopefully use it. At the very least, they're less likely to be overlooked. Wayfarer's Bauble, anyone?
* Something to do with "fun to play against" while also being "fun to use" if you get forced to do so. Personally, I get a little excited when the game hands me one of the enemy decks to use, since I know they are very playable decks despite the failings of the AI.
* Nothing in the lower tiers can burn your face off. All the decks have to walk the damage over. I tried to make each do it in their own special, sometimes traditional ways. You don't need to worry about too much burn until Tier 4, but even then it's not too bad if you are putting creatures down.
* A small number of the decks were somewhat rushed because I didn't have any grand inspiration for them, such as the Beastmaster. Tier 8 is getting redone first, since I screwed up the rarities (underpowered). I'm trying to give them that little something extra. I might also drop the rare swords down from Tier 9.

At the moment, the Nether Fiend deck is giving me some problems since it's not timing Small Pox very well. So unless I can find a solution which makes the deck run smoothly without shooting itself in the foot, I'll have to scrap the whole Pox Deck idea and start over with something fresh and fun. We shall see how many revisions I can stomach.

[Aswan jaguar]

The upkeep activation for all cards in upkeep is this new feature:

- allow normal AI to activate abilities and play instants during upkeep

The reason it couldn't before, despite adding an abbreviated AI loop to
upkeep_phase(), was part of the detritus left over from MicroProse's hack for
Armageddon Clock.

Initial results are promising, despite the AI loop only lasting until the end of
upkeep instead of end of turn; it properly taps my creatures with its Icy
Manipulator during my upkeep and activates either player's Infinite Hourglass
only when it would be beneficial (i.e., when I've got a bunch of weenies, and he
doesn't).

Form my short experience with this feature, AI has become quite good with cards that specifically need action/responce in upkeep - (2 patches ago AI never activated or played anything except few specific microprose cards through a hack-and never responded to a trigger) .However it seems it causes problems with cards and abilities that can be also played at other times and in upkeep.Possibly it is because of "AI loop only lasting until the end of upkeep instead of end of turn" so I guess AI seems to translate that as "play it in upkeep or it will be lost- ? because it simulates only until the end of upkeep so AI tries to make as much as it can with it's mana in upkeep".

[Rawky]

it properly taps my creatures with its Icy Manipulator during my upkeep

Yeah, this sort of thing was something I noticed early on, probably in the form of a small white creature like the one or two in my Cleric deck. Pretty sure I went wide-eyed when it happened, so I all but ignored the other oddities during its own upkeep. It seems as though we're on the right track. I rather enjoy being confounded by a reasonably competent AI picking me apart and beating me down. Been having some epic back and forth with the new Nether Fiend deck, so I think it's done.

[Rawky]

Version 1.1 is here!

Many minor tweaks and a few bigger changes.

Grab files from the main post.

Please let me know if you find that certain cards are not being handled well by the AI. I will try to find suitable replacements to keep the disruptions to a minimum.

Enjoy!

[stassy]

So far so good, the only misplays I seen was against Sainted One 0021 : 1/3 of his time with Ancestral Recall is cast when his hand is full thus discarding for nothing, and Mishra's Factory is activated during player turn under summoning sickness so an easy target for burn deck, but those case were very situationnal and this enemy gave me more trouble than usual with all his removals/hinderers

[Korath]

Lieutenants never pay ante when they lose, so giving creatures like Summoner cards like Rebirth feels unfair. Tempest Efreet is very broken in GG, so having it in War Mage is an especial problem. Getting back to town to find half your deck missing in exchange for 2991 copies of Tempest Efreet is only funny the first time.

Seeing the same card over and over gets a bit monotonous. Elixir of Immortality is the worst offender, since it's in all but two decks. Jeweled Bird also stands out, since it's such a feels-bad moment - it doesn't actually help the AI win, and doesn't usually even lower your ante payout (the number of bonus cards you get for winning a duel depends on the rarity of the ones in ante and the ones already chosen), just makes you feel like you're being cheated.

Putting the ini changes in a separate file, with instructions to include that in your Shandalar.ini's [Config] section, would be a lot more maintainable and a lot more transparent.

[TheKillerNacho]

Lieutenants never pay ante when they lose, so giving creatures like Summoner cards like Rebirth feels unfair. Tempest Efreet is very broken in GG, so having it in War Mage is an especial problem. Getting back to town to find half your deck missing in exchange for 2991 copies of Tempest Efreet is only funny the first time.

Seeing the same card over and over gets a bit monotonous. Elixir of Immortality is the worst offender, since it's in all but two decks. Jeweled Bird also stands out, since it's such a feels-bad moment - it doesn't actually help the AI win, and doesn't usually even lower your ante payout (the number of bonus cards you get for winning a duel depends on the rarity of the ones in ante and the ones already chosen), just makes you feel like you're being cheated.

Putting the ini changes in a separate file, with instructions to include that in your Shandalar.ini's [Config] section, would be a lot more maintainable and a lot more transparent.

Hi, Korath.

[Maligannt]

Love to find a way to try this out. Thieves hideout version of the game which I have was fun, but imbalanced with the new cards...

[Aswan jaguar]

Rawky and anyone using this deckpack, in Paladin deck = 0175 the card Nightwind Glider is misspelled as Nightwing Glider causing crashes.I guess renaming the card in the deck should be enough to avoid that.