Manalink Update June 2 2009 - The race to 2000

[jatill]

Welcome all. I'm back, did you miss me? I am going to continuously add cards until we hit the 2000 limit.
I'll post updates to this thread as I add cards. I expect almost daily updates, so
keep your eyes peeled!

http://www.savefile.com/files/1997761

Here are today's updates:
-Remove the 'lose immediately when at 20 life' code, since it was broken
-Converted Rules Engine to physical card. Click this card to activate cycling and other in-hand abilities.

Added cards:
-Forgotten Cave
-Tranquil Thicket
-Barren Moor
-Lonely Sandbar
-Secluded Steppe
-Elvish Spirit Guide
-Simian Spirit Guide
-Gempalm Incinerator

Please post all bugs related to the latest batch of cards HERE instead of the bug thread.
Thanks, and enjoy.

Edit: Poll removed, since the problem seems to be solved.

[Bog Wraith]

Welcome back jatill!

I hope that you are still working with Snacko to eventually break the 2000 card limit!

I cast my vote and I'm interested in seeing what the vote tally will be.

[Blackblade]

When removing Simian spirit guide i can draw a card from fecundity, also when cycling Gempalm Incinerator it deals black damage( cant kill white Knight with it etc.)

[Nachomancer]

Excellent work, as always! Here's what I've found so far:

The Gempalm Incinerator cycle ability can target creatures with Protection from Black, but won't do any damage to them. (as pointed out above) Does the Rules Engine card count as a black card? I wasn't able to target the opponent's Freewind Falcon, so that makes me think the cycle ability counts as red.

The Rules Engine can be Boomerang'd, which will bury it rather than bouncing it. Tranquility kills it, too.

EDIT: Playing against a Chaos Orb Lite deck, the AI played a Derelor. I'm not sure what to make of it, since it's not even in the deckbuilder yet.
EDIT #2: Okay, I get it now. Chaos Orb pulls cards from the CSV, even if they aren't fully implemented yet. I just drew a LAST AVAILEABLE SLOT.

[mathusalem]

regarding the vote, I think that the physical card can lead to quite a few bugs since you got upheaval and disk but, deed, disenchant and naturalize as well, I don't know it seems like a good idea and spirit guides, well, I don't care that much for cycling but spirit guides are real nice, but I'm afraid it will lead to a lot of hassle. so I voted for the legacy card only. which is a good solution for the moment.

ow for people looking for the arts : the whole bunch has been uploaded and is available on the graphic update thread as usual.

[aww1979]

As a partial solution, give the rules engine the shroud ability. That should stop disenchants or other similar cards from hitting it, leaving only mass removal like Nevinyrral's Disk or Pernicious Deed.

I didn't vote on the issue, but I'm in favour of any solution that allows us to play with cycling and other abilities. Having the legacy only show up if the deck needs it wouldn't be that big a deal, since the AI doesn't know to take advantage of it, and as far as I know, nobody has actually gotten multiplayer to work reliably, or in most cases, at all. It's probably best to leave it in play, though, and make it as hard to destroy as possible (shroud, indestructible ability, etc) to prevent odd things from happening.

If it isn't already possible, perhaps allowing the debug mode to put the rules engine into play, should it disappear for some reason, could be done. With the above suggestions, there will only be a few rare cases in which this is needed, but when it is, you'd be able to just put the engine back into play no problem.

[Nachomancer]

An Auratog just ate the rules. I thought it was kind of funny. I was playing an all bears deck against an all Auratog deck, just to see if it would happen.

[stassy]

It might be a problem later if AI count the 2 cards in his thinking pool bug (game locked if too many cards in game), but as there are not a lot of very slow pacing deck/card atm it should be still ok. I vote for 2 cards

[0rion79]

EDIT: Playing against a Chaos Orb Lite deck, the AI played a Derelor. I'm not sure what to make of it, since it's not even in the deckbuilder yet.
EDIT #2: Okay, I get it now. Chaos Orb pulls cards from the CSV, even if they aren't fully implemented yet. I just drew a LAST AVAILEABLE SLOT.

LOL!
Very strange! I've made a check right now and Derelor is not an active cards (0 and not 1) so there is no whay that it should figure into the game!

[aww1979]

Cycling is a newer ability, I think it came out in Urza's Saga or so. The cards are typically slightly subpar, but have the ability (2) discard this card and draw another card. Sometimes the cost is something other than (2) but the original ones were all (2), though a few are something else now.

[jatill]

EDIT: Playing against a Chaos Orb Lite deck, the AI played a Derelor. I'm not sure what to make of it, since it's not even in the deckbuilder yet.
EDIT #2: Okay, I get it now. Chaos Orb pulls cards from the CSV, even if they aren't fully implemented yet. I just drew a LAST AVAILEABLE SLOT.

LOL!
Very strange! I've made a check right now and Derelor is not an active cards (0 and not 1) so there is no whay that it should figure into the game!

Ug. I guess all the new cards that aren't coded will show up when playing Momir, and Chaos Orb. If this is a big deal, there is a workaround, but it's irritating, so someone else would need to help with it. My get_random_card proc has a list of hard-coded id's never to use. If someone wants to update this list, in the following format, I'll stick it in the code:

if( card != 43 && card != 56 && card != 479 && card != 431 && card != 60 && card != 763 && card != 810 ){

[0rion79]

Jatill, even if I liked much more the "effect" only state for "rules" card, is it possible to enhance a little bit its shape?
Instead than black, it would be "less disturbing" for the eye to have it as an artifact or a golden enchantment, maybe with another imange like one from here (http://images.google.it/images?source=ig&hl=it&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ITIT313&=&q=ingranaggi&lr=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi)
And what giving it the "shroud" effect from the exe, to prevent it from being destroyed by boomerang or triggered effect creatures (when it comes into play, destroy target permanent).
Imho, it would be a little bit better.

[Blackblade]

Just noticed that Ohran Viper is unblockable for me:(

[jatill]

http://www.savefile.com/files/1997761

I'm doing the hardest cards first, so expect small updates for a while.

Updates:
-Change Spirit Guides to not trigger Fecundity. (now they will trigger Megrim... it's the best I can do, I think)
-Turned the Rules Engione Red, so that damage done by Gempalm Incinerator is red
-Made the rules engine untargetable
-Tracked down the 'None' card and made sure it wouldn't show up in Chaos Orb mode

Added cards:
-Cryptic Command
-Yawgmoth's Will*
-Treetop Village

Confirmed Bugs:
-Spirit Guides trigger Megrim
-Rules Engine card can get killed by mass removal. Gotta debug it back into play.
-New uncoded cards appear in Momir and Chaos Orb
-So Yawgmoth's Will is buggy beyond belief, but there are 2 major mitigating factors.
First, most bugs don't affect the game often. Second, Will is such a Vintage staple
that I consider it a must-include, even if it doesn't work 100% right. I will address
any issues that I learn how, but for now they're all mysteries.
Here are the known Yawgmoth's Will bugs:
-No interaction with cost modifiers (ex: Sphere of Resistance)
-Bad interaction with Fastbond / Exploration / land drop for turn
-Spells played do not use the stack, so cannot be countered
-The card itself is an Enchantment instead of a Sorcery
-You often get a 'Fast Effects Regeneration' message
-All spells can be played at interrupt speed
-Cards hit the graveyard before getting RFG'd

[Blackblade]

When i cycle Gempalm Incinerator i still can draw card from Fecundity.